cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differential response of myofibrillar and cytoskeletal proteins in cells treated with phorbol myristate acetate.

Muscle-specific and nonmuscle contractile protein isoforms responded in opposite ways to 12-o-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Loss of Z band density was observed in day-4-5 cultured chick myotubes after 2 h in the phorbol ester, TPA. By 5-10 h, most I-Z-I complexes were selectively deleted from the myofibril, although the A bands remained intact and longitudinally aligned. The deletion of I-Z-I complexes was inversely related to the appearance of numerous cortical, alpha-actinin containing bodies (CABs), transitory structures approximately 3.0 microns in diameter. Each CAB consisted of a filamentous core that costained with antibodies to alpha-actin and sarcomeric alpha-actinin. In turn each CAB was encaged by a discontinuous rim that costained with antibodies to vinculin and talin. Vimentin and desmin intermediate filaments and most cell organelles were excluded from the membrane-free CABs. These curious bodies disappeared over the next 10 h so that in 30-h myosacs all alpha-actin and sarcomeric alpha-actinin structures had been eliminated. On the other hand vinculin and talin adhesion plaques remained prominent even in 72-h myosacs. Disruption of the A bands was first initiated after 15-20 h in TPA (e.g., 15-20-h myosacs). Thick filaments of apparently normal length and structure were progressively released from A segments, and by 40 h all A bands had been broken down into enormous numbers of randomly dispersed, but still intact single thick filaments. This breakdown correlated with the formation of amorphous cytoplasmic aggregates which invariably colocalized antibodies to myosin heavy chain, MLC 1-3, myomesin, and C protein. Complete elimination of all immunoreactive thick filament proteins required 60-72 h of TPA exposure. The elimination of the thick filament-associated proteins did not involve the participation of vinculin or talin. In contrast to its effects on myofibrils, TPA did not induce the disassembly of the contractile proteins in stress fibers and microfilaments either in myosacs or in fibroblastic cells. Similarly, TPA, which rapidly induces the translocation of vinculin and talin to ectopic sites in many types of immortalized cells, had no gross effect on the adhesion plaques of myosacs, primary fibroblastic cells, or presumptive myoblasts. Clearly, the response to TPA of contractile protein and some cytoskeletal isoforms not only varies among phenotypes, but even within the domains of a given myotube the myofibrils respond one way, the stress fibers/microfilaments another.
Sheathless transradial intervention using standard guide catheters.

Objectives: Our aim was to report our preliminary experience performing complex transradial interventions using a sheathless technique with standard large bore nonhydrophilic guiding catheters. Background: A major limitation of transradial percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the inability to use large guides because of the relatively small size of the radial artery. Methods: We identified consecutive patients who had transradial PCI between September 2009 and March 2010 using large-bore guides (7 or 8 Fr) with a sheathless technique. Results: Ten patients were identified (90% men, mean age 68.8 ± 9.8 years). Indications for PCI were stable angina (60%) and acute coronary syndrome (40%). Treatment was attempted on 15 vessels. Bifurcation lesions were present in six patients. One patient had a chronic total occlusion, one had a saphenous vein bypass graft lesion requiring filter wire placement prior to intervention, and one patient required rotational atherectomy. In the majority of patients (60%) a 7-Fr guiding catheter was used for the intervention; 8-Fr guide catheters were used four patients. PCI was unsuccessful in one vessel; this was a completely occluded obtuse marginal which could not be crossed. There were no radial artery access site complications and in no case was cross-over to a femoral artery access site required. One minor coronary complication occurred. Conclusions: Sheathless transradial PCI using standard large-bore guiding catheters is a safe and effective method for treatment of complex lesions. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
NO mobilizes intracellular Zn2+ via cGMP/PKG signaling pathway and prevents mitochondrial oxidant damage in cardiomyocytes

Objective Our aim was to determine if NO prevents mitochondrial oxidant damage by mobilizing intracellular free zinc (Zn2+). Methods Zn2+ levels were determined by imaging enzymatically isolated adult rat cardiomyocytes loaded with Newport Green DCF. Mitochondrial membrane potential (Δ Ψ m) was assessed by imaging cardiomyocytes loaded with tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester (TMRE). Results S -nitroso- N -acetylpenicillamine (SNAP) dramatically increased Zn2+, which was blocked by both ODQ and NS2028, two specific inhibitors of guanylyl cyclase. The protein kinase G (PKG) inhibitor KT5823 blocked the effect of SNAP while the PKG activator 8-Br-cGMP mimicked the action of SNAP, indicating that the cGMP/PKG pathway is responsible for the effect of SNAP. The increased Zn2+ was prevented by 5-hydroxydecanoate (5HD) but was mimicked by diazoxide, implying that mitochondrial KATP channel opening may account for this effect. Since chelation of Zn2+ blocked the preventive effect of SNAP on H2O2-induced loss of Δ Ψ m and exogenous zinc (1 μM ZnCl2) prevented dissipation of Δ Ψ m, Zn2+ may play a critical role in the protective effect of NO. The MEK (mitogen-activated protein kinase or extracellular signal-regulated kinase) inhibitor PD98059 blocked the preventive effects of SNAP and zinc on Δ Ψ m, indicating that extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) mediates the protective effect of both these compounds on mitochondrial oxidant damage. A Western blot analysis further showed that ZnCl2 significantly enhances phosphorylation of ERK, confirming the involvement of ERK in the action of Zn2+. Conclusions In isolated cardiomyocytes, NO mobilizes endogenous zinc by opening mitochondrial KATP channels through the cGMP/PKG pathway. In these cells, Zn2+ may be an important mediator of the action of NO on the mitochondrial death pathway.
Validation of Vortex-Lattice Method for Loads on Wings in Lift-Generated Wakes

A study is described that evaluates the accuracy of vortex-lattice methods when they are used to compute the loads induced on aircraft as they encounter lift-generated wakes. The evaluation is accomplished by the use of measurements made in the 80 by 120 ft Wind Tunnel of the lift, rolling moment, and downwash in the wake of three configurations of a model of a subsonic transport aircraft. The downwash measurements are used as input for a vortex-lattice code in order to compute the lift and rolling moment induced on wings that have a span of 0.186, 0.510, or 1.022 times the span of the wake-generating model. Comparison of the computed results with the measured lift and rolling-moment distributions the vortex-lattice method is very reliable as long as the span of the encountering or following wing is less than about 0.2 of the generator span. As the span of the following wing increases above 0.2, the vortex-lattice method continues to correctly predict the trends and nature of the induced loads, but it overpredicts the magnitude of the loads by increasing amounts.
An Evaluation of Certain Hypotensive Agents I.*: Diquaternarized Amino Alcohol Esters of Piperidinecarboxylic Acids and a Pyridinecarboxylic Acid

A series of eight new bis-quaternized piperidine and pyridine carboxylic acid esters of amino alcohols were screened and evaluated for their hypotensive activity in rats. Further studies of certain of these compounds were conducted on dogs for qualitative correlation. Pentolinium bitartrate and chlorisondamine dimethochloride were used as standards. β-Dimethylaminoethyl N-methyl-α-piperidinecarboxylate di-methobromide was the most promising of the experimental compounds.
Differential regulation of mouse germline Ig gamma 1 and epsilon promoters by IL-4 and CD40

Before Ig class switching, RNA transcription through the specific S regions undergoing recombination is induced by cytokines and other activators that induce and direct switching. The resulting germline (GL) transcripts are essential for switch recombination. To understand the differential regulation of mouse IgG1 and IgE, we compared the promoters for GL γ1 and e transcripts. We addressed the question of why the promoter that regulates GL e transcription is more responsive to IL-4 than the γ1 promoter and also why GL e transcription is more dependent on IL-4 than is γ1 transcription. We found that the IL-4-responsive region of the GL e promoter is more inducible than that of the γ1 promoter, although each promoter contains a binding site for the IL-4-inducible transcription factor Stat6, located immediately adjacent to a binding site for a basic region leucine zipper (bZip) family protein. However, the arrangement and sequences of the sites differ between the e and γ1 promoters. The GL e promoter binds Stat6 with a 10-fold higher affinity than does the γ1 promoter. Furthermore, the bZip elements of the two promoters bind different transcription factors, as the GL e promoter binds and is activated by AP-1, whereas the γ1 promoter binds and is activated by activating transcription factor 2. C/EBPβ and C/EBPγ also bind the γ1 bZip element, although they inhibit rather than activate transcription. However, inhibition of promoter activity by C/EBPβ does not require the bZip element and may instead occur via inhibiting the activity of NF-κB.
Nutrition and the Adaptation to Endurance Training

Maximizing metabolic stress at a given level of mechanical stress can improve the adaptive response to endurance training, decrease injury, and potentially improve performance. Calcium and metabolic stress, in the form of heat, decreases in the adenosine triphosphate/adenosine diphosphate ratio, glycogen depletion, caloric restriction, and oxidative stress, are the primary determinants of the adaptation to training. These stressors increase the activity and amount of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α), a protein that can directly induce the primary adaptive responses to endurance exercise: mitochondrial biogenesis, angiogenesis, and increases in fat oxidation. The activity of PGC-1α is regulated by its charge (phosphorylation and acetylation), whereas its transcription is regulated by proteins that bind to myocyte enhancing factor 2, enhancer box, and cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element sites within the PGC-1α promoter. This brief review will describe what is known about the control of PGC-1α by these metabolic stressors. As the duration of calcium release and the amount of metabolic stress, and therefore the activation of PGC-1α, can be directly modulated by training and nutrition, a simple strategy can be generated to maximize the adaptive response to endurance training.
Identification of speech transients using variable frame rate analysis and wavelet packets.

Speech transients are important cues for identifying and discriminating speech sounds. Yoo et al and Tantibundhit et al were successful in identifying speech transients and, emphasizing them, improving the intelligibility of speech in noise (3) (4). However, their methods are computationally intensive and unsuitable for real-time applications. This paper presents a method to identify and emphasize speech transients that combines subband decomposition by the wavelet packet transform with variable frame rate (VFR) analysis and unvoiced consonant detection. The VFR analysis is applied to each wavelet packet to define a transitivity function that describes the extent to which the wavelet coefficients of that packet are changing. Unvoiced consonant detection is used to identify unvoiced consonant intervals and the transitivity function is amplified during these intervals. The wavelet coefficients are multiplied by the transitivity function for that packet, amplifying the coefficients localized at times when they are changing and attenuating coefficients at times when they are steady. Inverse transform of the modified wavelet packet coefficients produces a signal corresponding to speech transients similar to the transients identified by Yoo et al and Tantibundhit et al. A preliminary implementation of the algorithm runs more efficiently.
Renal Replacement Therapy in Acute Kidney Injury

Although the use of renal replacement therapy (RRT) to support critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) has become routine, many of the fundamental questions regarding optimal management of RRT remain. This review summarizes current evidence regarding the timing of initiation of RRT, the selection of the specific modality of RRT, and prescription of the intensity of therapy. Although absolute indications for initiating RRT—such as hyperkalemia and overt uremic symptoms—are well recognized, the optimal timing of therapy in patients without these indications continues to be a subject of debate. There does not appear to be a difference in either mortality or recovery of kidney function associated with the various modalities of RRT. Finally, providing higher doses of RRT is not associated with improved clinical outcomes.
State registration and inspection programs for particle accelerators: A 1984 revisit

Abstract In 1976, Bailey [1], reported the results of a survey of state radiation control programs' regulatory requirements and practices related to accelerators. A new survey was conducted in the latter half of 1984 to assess current requirements and practices. This survey used a questionnaire that was almost identical to the one used in 1976 so that comparisons between the 1976 and the 1984 responses could be made. The Appendix lists the questions on the survey.
Lateral- and thickness-field coupling in lithium tetraborate

Calculations have previously been made for rotated y-cuts, including the regions where the quasi-extensional and quasi-shear thickness modes have zero temperature coefficients of frequency. This work extends the calculations to doubly rotated bulk-wave resonators, and computes the coupling factors for the three simple-thickness modes driven by thickness (TE) and lateral (LE) quasistatic electric fields as a function of the orientation angles phi and theta , and the direction of the applied lateral field psi . Because of the temperature coefficients of the piezoelectric coupling factors, the temperature coefficient of a resonator depend not only upon orientation, but also upon harmonic number and location of the resonator operating point on the immittance circle. These considerations are addressed. >
Treatment of multiple brain metastases with a divide-and-conquer spatial fractionation radiosurgery approach

Brain metastases are a common problem, managed with surgery, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), whole brain irradiation (WBI), or a combination. SRS targets individual tumors with large dosages of radiation. There is a trend toward using more SRS and less WBI, due to a reduction in cognitive damage, shorter treatment course, and improved tumor control. In conventional radiation a total dose of radiation is frequently divided over time into several smaller ‘‘fractions’’, which helps spare normal tissues such as the brain. Two doses of 10 Gy each given on separate days will result in 45% less damage to normal brain tissue than a single dose of 20 Gy, according to the linear quadratic model for biologically effective dose (BED). Unfortunately, standard fractionation also reduces the effective dose to the tumor. It would therefore be highly beneficial to be able to fractionate the dose to the normal brain, but not fractionate the tumor dose. When a tumor is irradiated, there are dozens of beams that pass through the skull and converge on the tumor, also irradiating healthy brain tissue in the beam paths. If multiple tumors are irradiated, there are areas of brain that are overlapped by beams that are targeting separate tumors. If these tumors were treated on separate days, then on any given day portions of normal brain may only see the radiation beams for one tumor instead of 2 or more. That is how spatial fractionation of multiple metastases works. By treating groups of tumors on separate days the beams are spread out over time, reducing areas of beam overlap, and effectively fractionating the dose to healthy brain. Yet, each tumor still receives a single treatment. The hypothesis is that an array of metastases may be divided into 2–5 different groups that are treated on different days such that the BED to normal brain tissue is minimized. This should benefit patients by reducing side effects, allowing greater numbers of tumors to be treated, and making retreatment safer. An algorithm is discussed, which places the largest tumors and tumors situated close together into different groups. Modifications for axial beam delivery systems such as helical tomotherapy are discussed. 2014 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
Application of staggered undersampling to power quality monitoring

In this paper we address the issue of monitoring power quality with limited sensing and computational resources. The proposed staggered sampling methodology utilizes close-to-periodic nature of waveforms of interest. The sparse samples obtained in our scheme are reordered (shuffled) before FFT is used for spectral calculations. We provide a complete characterization of the shuffling process in time domain and of the dual inverse shuffling in the frequency domain. The methodology is applied to a number of cases of interest in power quality, demonstrating that harmonics of the fundamental frequency can be recovered without error, and that effective descriptions are possible for flicker, sag, interharmonics, and noisy measurements.
Using cerebrospinal fluid for in situ fabrication of injectable alginate hydrogels for spinal cord repair

Severe mechanical trauma of the spinal co rd induces a secondary injury response that contributes to post injury cell death and the formation of barriers inhibitory to neuronal regeneration. It is believed that engineered scaffolds produce favorable results when they mimic the properties of the t issue that they are aiming to replicate. Alginate hydrogels have been shown to be beneficial in a number of biomaterial applications and this study shows that alginate hydrogels formed in the presence of an artificial cerebrospinal fluid are able to form hydrogels with mechanical properties similar to those exhibited by neural tissue in the CNS. Extracellular concentration of calcium is increased in the cerebrospinal fluid after spinal cord injury and has been linked to the apoptosis of surviving cells. The use of in situ forming alginate hydrogels is a novel approach that may aid in the regeneration of neurons after spinal cord injury and in the reduction of the effects of secondary injury.
Inversion of sonic waveforms with unknown source and receiver functions

SUMMARY A seismogram that is several times the length of the source-receiver wavelet is windowed into two parts—these may overlap—to obtain two seismograms with approximately the same source function but different Green's functions. A similarly windowed synthetic seismogram gives two corresponding synthetic seismograms. The spectral product of the window 1 data with the window 2 synthetic is equal to the spectral product of the window 1 synthetic with the window 2 data only if the correct earth model is used to compute the synthetic. This partition principle is applied to well-log sonic waveform data from Ocean Drilling Project hole 806B, a slow formation, and used there to estimate Poisson's ratio from a single seismogram whose transmitter and receiver functions are unknown. A multichannel extension of the algorithm gives even better results. The effective borehole radius Rb, was included in the inversion procedure, because of waveform sensitivity to Rb. Inversion results for Rb agreed with the sonic caliper, but not the mechanical caliper; thus if Rb is not included in the inversion its value should be taken from the sonic caliper.
Partition Lattice q -Analogs Related to q -Stirling Numbers

We construct a family of partially ordered sets (posets) that are q-analogs of the set partition lattice. They are different from the q-analogs proposed by Dowling l5r. One of the important features of these posets is that their Whitney numbers of the first and second kind are just the q-Stirling numbers of the first and second kind, respectively. One member of this family l4r can be constructed using an interpretation of Milne l9r for Sln, kr as sequences of lines in a vector space over the Galois field Fq. Another member is constructed so as to mirror the partial order in the subspace lattice.
SIZE-MEDIATED PERFORMANCE OF A GENERALIST HERBIVORE FEEDING ON MIXED DIETS

Mixed diets can allow generalist insect herbivores to obtain nutritionally balanced resources or dilute toxins from specific foods, but also present the generalist with greater chal- lenges in decision-making and require a greater ability to detoxify a wide range of plant defensive compounds. Young and small generalist larvae can have different nutritional requirements, ability to detoxify compounds, and mobility compared to older and larger larvae. In this field study, I asked how larval size affected performance of the woolly bear (Platyprepia virginalis), a generalist herbivore, on a uniform diet of bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus) compared to a mixed diet including bush lupine. Large larvae had greater survival on the mixed diet treatment compared to the lupine-only diet, but survival of small larvae did not vary with diet. Larval size also influenced growth on each diet, but this effect varied with year. In 1997, large larvae had higher growth on a lupine-only diet compared to a mixed diet, whereas small larvae had equivalent growth on both diets. In 1998, larvae of each size did not differ in their response to diet treatments. In the field, large larvae apparently eat a more diverse diet than small larvae, which contrasts with the growth result for 1997. This suggests that factors other than growth, such as parasitism or predation, might influence choice of host plants.
Effect of Perfluorochemical Emulsion on Particle Clearance in the Isolated Perfused Rat Liver

Oxypherol-E.T. administration causes a decrease in Kupffer cell uptake of colloidal carbon in the perfused liver. This decrease in KC phagocytosis is compensated for in vivo.
Suppression of Cocaine-Evoked Hyperactivity by Self-Adjuvanting and Multivalent Peptide Nanofiber Vaccines

The development of anti-cocaine vaccines that counteract the rewarding effects of the drug are currently being investigated as adjunct therapies for prevention of relapse in abstinent users. However, cocaine is weakly immunogenic and requires conjugation to carrier proteins and coadministration with strong adjuvants, which carry the risk of local reactogenicity and systemic toxicity. Here we report synthetic and multivalent self-assembling peptide nanofibers as adjuvant-free carriers for cocaine vaccines. A novel cocaine hapten modified at the P3 site was conjugated to the N-terminus of an amphipathic self-assembling domain KFE8. In aqueous buffers the cocaine-KFE8 conjugate assembled into β-sheet rich nanofibers, which raised anti-cocaine antibodies without the need for added adjuvants in mice. Vaccinated mice were treated with cocaine and a significant negative correlation was observed between antibody levels and cocaine-evoked hyperactivity. These totally synthetic and multivalent nanofibers with well-...
Effects of coherent population trapping in vibrational levels on group velocity and Raman scattering

We study Raman scattering in molecular media by applying two laser fields in a two-photon resonance with vibrational transition. The role of rotational levels has been investigated. It is shown that the molecular vibrational coherence strongly depends on the effect of coherent population trapping for rotational levels. The obtained results are important for application of Raman spectroscopy to molecular detection for engineering, chemical, and biological applications.
Identification and estimation of discriminatory auctions when bidders have private values and singleton demand

This note shows how to identify and estimate the distribution of valuations of bidders participating in discriminatory auctions when valuations are private and bidders have singleton demand.
Psychological Stress and Skin Symptoms in College Students: Results of a Cross-sectional Web-based Questionnaire Study.

OR and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to conclude as to whether the low stress group had a lower probability of having (skin-) complaints than the high stress group. Due to the fact that sex was not equally distributed in the groups, sex and stress severity were used as a covariate in the binary logistic regressions which were subsequently conducted using the skin symptoms as dependent variables. This made it possible to report OR and 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusted for sex.
Impact-driven work: tearing down the firewalls between research and practice

This panel will showcase information research that aims to have strong impact on community at the local or national level and offer ideas for increasing the impact of information research on communities. It will also engage audience members in an interactive discussion of ideas for increasing the real-life impact of information research.
Study on Construction of Evaluation System for “Leading Enterprise + Farmer”Agrotechnical Diffusion

We have structured"leading enterprise + farmer"agrotechnical diffusion evaluation system through referring to literature,expert interview and test paper investigation,and determined the index weight by using analytic hierarchy process. This index system consisted of 22 indexes in 3 parts [before agrotechnical diffusion( B 1),during agrotechnical diffusion( B 2),after agrotechnical diffusion( B 3) ]. The results of comprehensive evaluation showed that index weight had the following sequence: B 2( 0. 5813) B 1( 0. 3297) B 3( 0. 1911). Expert guidance,implementation of production standard specifications,and specially-assigned personal responsibility for every link played important roles in agrotechnical diffusion link.
The Statistical Performance of Econometric and Implied Forecasting Models

This study examines the statistical performance of various econometric and implied correlation models applied to over-the-counter currency options. In evaluating the predictive accuracy of the forecast models, statistical performance measures, mainly in the form of the root mean squared forecast errors (RMSFE), are employed. Interestingly, we find that a simple exponential weighting scheme for variances produce the best results. Such models are very simple to estimate and forecast, thus potentially rendering considerably more complex and cumbersome models, such as the multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH), hardly worth the additional effort.
Structure of the nitrogenase MoFe protein: Spatial distribution of the intrinsic metal atoms determined by X-ray anomalous scattering

A focal point for discussions of the organization of the metal atoms bound to nitrogenase MoFe protein is the model proposed by Zimmerman et al. on the basis of a series of EPR and Mossbauer experiments [1]. This model defined two types of metal-sulfur clusters, M-centers and P-clusters. The original and current versions of the model both identify the M-centers as FeMo-cofactors. Two are bound per α2β2 tetramer; each comprises 1 Mo and 6–7 Fe atoms. P-clusters account for an additional 16 Fe atoms organized into four Fe4S4 clusters. The current model recognizes two pairs of two distinct types of P-clusters. Thus MoFe protein should bind one FeMo-cofactor and one P-cluster of each type per αβ unit [2].
Risk stratification of children with bronchiolitis.

Bronchiolitis is a common and sometimes serious viral lower respiratory tract infection in young children.
Using Linear Programming and Divide and Conquer to Solve Large Games of Imperfect Information.

Solving games of imperfect information with linear programming took a significant leap forward when Koller, Megiddo, and Stengel (KMS) proposed an exponentially more compact way to represent two-player games of imperfect information as linear programs. Despite this substantial advancement many recent works on solving these games rely on Counter Factual Regret Minimization (CFR) as opposed to linear programming. One reason CFR became a standard approach is that CFR is easily parallelizable whereas the linear program defined by KMS's technique is difficult to solve in parallel. Convenient parallelism made CFR more amenable to multi-core computing environments and large games. This paper presents a method to parallelize the linear programing techniques of KMS. The proposed iterative method divides a potentially intractable linear program representing a large game of imperfect information into many smaller linear programs. Each of the smaller LPs can be processed independently and in parallel. It is shown that the solutions to the smaller LPs interact together over multiple iterations of this algorithm to produce a strategy pair that converges to the Nash Equilibrium solution to the original undivided problem. This is the first work to propose a Dantzig-Wolfe style decomposition for solving two-player games of imperfect information.
Risk factors and impact of Clostridium difficile recurrence on haematology patients.

Objectives The incidence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in adults with malignancy is 7%-14% compared with 1%-2% in the general hospitalized population. Despite the increased incidence of CDI in this population, a major concern is the propensity of CDI to recur, leading to delays in therapy impacting outcomes. We conducted a retrospective case-control study to identify risk factors for recurrent CDI (rCDI) and to determine the impact of rCDI on adult patients with a haematological malignancy. Methods Adult haematology patients with CDI from June 2010 to December 2014 were divided into two groups: rCDI and non-rCDI. Multivariable models using logistic regression were constructed to identify risk factors for rCDI. Results A total of 100 patients in our study yielded a 41% recurrence rate. CDI impacted chemotherapy significantly more in the rCDI group (53.7% versus 11.9%, P <0.001), primarily due to interruptions in established treatment plans (46.3% versus 10.3%, P <0.001). Risk factors for rCDI identified at index included salvage lymphoma chemotherapy (OR 9.64, 95% CI 1.02-91.15, P = 0.048) and severe CDI (OR 4.82, 95% CI 1.31-17.66, P = 0.018). Longitudinal risk factors included exposure to fluoroquinolones (OR 3.96, 95% CI 1.04-15.15, P = 0.044), ceftriaxone (OR 18.93, 95% CI 1.27-281.95, P = 0.033) and piperacillin/tazobactam (OR 10.4, 95% CI 1.81-59.64, P = 0.009). Conclusions Haematology patients exhibit a higher rate of rCDI than general hospitalized patients. Utilization of this multivariable model to guide index CDI therapy at index may help to decrease the rCDI and prevent delays or interruptions in chemotherapy.
Transparent, high refractive index oxides: Control of the nanostructure of titanium hafnium oxide alloys by variation of the ion energy during reactive magnetron sputtering deposition

A range of optical and optoelectronic applications would benefit from high refractive index (n), dense and transparent films that guide, concentrate and couple light. However, materials with high n usually have a high optical extinction coefficient (κ) which keeps these materials from being suitable for optical components that require long optical paths. We studied titanium hafnium oxide alloy films to obtain high refractive index (n>2) with minimum optical extinction coefficients (κ < 10−5) over the visible and near IR spectrum (380-930 nm). Titanium hafnium oxide alloys were deposited using pulsed DC reactive magnetron sputtering with and without RF substrate bias on silicon dioxide. For a given deposition condition intended for a specific titanium/hafnium molar fraction ratio, the ion energy of deposition species was explicitly controlled by varying the RF substrate bias. Spectroscopic ellipsometry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to characterize the films. It appears that applying RF substrate bias reduces the nanocrystalline size, changes the surface morphology and increases the refractive index while maintaining comparable titanium/hafnium cation molar fraction. Precise control of the nanostructure of ternary metal oxides can alter their macroscopic properties, resulting in improved optical films.
Tuberculosis hospitalization expenditures per patient from private health insurance claims data, 2010-2014.

OBJECTIVE To determine hospitalization expenditures for tuberculosis (TB) disease among privately insured patients in the United States. METHODS We extracted TB hospital admissions data from the 2010-2014 MarketScan® commercial database using International Classification of Diseases version 9 codes for TB (011.0-018.96) as the principal diagnosis. We estimated adjusted average expenditures (in 2014 USD) using regression analyses controlling for patient and claim characteristics. We also estimated the total expenditure paid by enrollee and insurance, and extrapolated it to the entire US employer-based privately insured population. RESULTS We found 892 TB hospitalizations representing 825 unique enrollees over the 5-year period. The average hospitalization expenditure per person (including multiple hospitalizations) was US$33 085 (95%CI US$31 606- US$34 565). Expenditures for central nervous system TB (US$73 065, 95%CI US$59 572-US$86 558), bone and joint TB (US$56 842, 95%CI US$39 301-US$74 383), and miliary/disseminated TB (US$55 487, 95%CI US$46 101-US$64 873) were significantly higher than those for pulmonary TB (US$28 058, 95%CI US$26 632-US$29 484). The overall total expenditure for hospitalizations for TB disease over the period (2010-2014) was US$38.4 million; it was US$154 million when extrapolated to the entire employer-based privately insured population in the United States. CONCLUSIONS Hospitalization expenditures for some forms of extra-pulmonary TB were substantially higher than for pulmonary TB.
Case 49: A Leaking Endotracheal Tube in a Prone Patient

You are to anesthetize a 30-year-old man (200 lb) who is donating his bone marrow to an unknown person. He is classified as an ASA 1 with a class 1 airway. The patient has had no previous anesthesia/surgery, and his family history is negative for anesthesia-related complications. He takes no medication and has no drug allergy. An IV is placed in his left hand, and midazolam (2 mg) is given in the preoperative holding area with good effect. He is anesthetized in a routine manner and mask ventilation is uneventful. After the airway is secured with an endotracheal tube, the patient is turned prone. His head is turned to the side so that you can see both eyes. Everything is progressing as planned until 30 min before the end, when you notice that there is a progressive cuff leak in the ETT. With 10 min to go, you are eventually unable to blow up the cuff. At this point, the patient’s vital signs remain stable, but the oxygen saturation has decreased from 100% to 96%. The peak pressure has fallen from 36 cm H2O to 22 cm H2O.
Plasma C-reactive protein levels in bipolar depression during cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor combination treatment.

Abstract Immune system activation and neuroinflammation appear to play a key role in the pathophysiology and treatment of bipolar depression (BDD). This study is the first to analyze blood levels of the pro-inflammatory biomarker C-reactive protein (CRP) in bipolar disorder patients treated with the cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, celecoxib (CBX). In this double-blind study, 47 consenting patients with BDD were randomized to receive either escitalopram (10 mg twice/day) + CBX (200 mg twice/day), or escitalopram (10 mg twice/day) + placebo (twice/day). Plasma CRP levels were measured in both patient groups at baseline, week 4, and week 8, and in a healthy control (HC) group of subjects (N = 35) once. Symptoms were rated using the 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-17). The CBX group had significantly lower HAMD-17 scores vs. placebo at week 4 (P = 0.026) and week 8 (P = 0.002). Therefore, SSRI + CBX is more effective than SSRI + placebo in reversing treatment resistance and augmenting antidepressant response in BDD. Baseline CRP levels were significantly increased amongst BDD patients versus HC subjects, indicating that CRP may be a useful biomarker for BDD (P = 0.044). No significant differences in CRP levels were measured between CBX and placebo groups at baseline (P = 0.156), but by week 8 CRP was significantly decreased in the CBX group vs. placebo (P = 0.003). This indicates reduced inflammation in CBX-treated patients, and that CRP may be a useful biomarker for monitoring treatment response in BDD patients during SSRI + CBX combination treatment. CRP and IL-6 levels were positively correlated in the CBX group, and CRP levels were positively correlated with BMI.
β-Hemolysis May Not Be a Reliable Indicator of Leukotoxicity of Mannheimia haemolytica Isolates

Mannheimia (Pasteurella) haemolytica causes bronchopneumonia in domestic and wild ruminants. Leukotoxin is the critical virulence factor of M. haemolytica. Since β-hemolysis is caused by a large number of leukotoxin-positive M. haemolytica isolates, all β-hemolytic M. haemolytica isolates are considered to be leukotoxic as well. However, conflicting reports exist in literature as to the leukotoxic and hemolytic properties of M. haemolytica. One group of researchers reported their leukotoxin-deletion mutants to be hemolytic while another reported their mutants to be non-hemolytic. The objective of this study was to determine whether β-hemolysis is a reliable indicator of leukotoxicity of M. haemolytica isolates. Ninety-five isolates of M. haemolytica were first confirmed for presence of leukotoxin gene (lktA) by a leukotoxin-specific PCR assay. Culture supernatant fluids from these isolates were then tested for presence of leukotoxin protein by an ELISA, and for leukotoxic activity by a cytotoxicity assay. All isolates were tested for β-hemolysis by culture on blood agar plates. Sixty-two isolates (65%) produced leukotoxin protein while 33 isolates (35%) did not. Surprisingly, 18 of the 33 isolates (55%), that did not produce leukotoxin protein, were hemolytic. Of the 62 isolates that produced leukotoxin, 55 (89%) were leukotoxic while 7 (11%) were not. All except one of the 55 leukotoxic isolates (98%) were also hemolytic. All seven isolates that were not leukotoxic were hemolytic. Taken together, these results suggest that β-hemolysis may not be a reliable indicator of leukotoxicity of M. haemolytica isolates. Furthermore, all M. haemolytica isolates that possess lktA gene may not secrete active leukotoxin.
The theory of organic emergence of systems: the case of virtual worlds

The early stages of emergence of technologies provide unique opportunities to observe and analyze the process of their assimilation into mainstream IT systems. The 3D virtual world (VWs) technology...
Special Issue: Prosecutorial Discretion: Editorial Introduction

In the early 2010s, several reviews noted that the largest gap in our understanding of court case processing and sentencing concerned prosecutorial discretion (e.g., Baumer, 2013; Bushway & Forst, ...
A 220- $\mu$ W −83-dBm 5.8-GHz Third-Harmonic Passive Mixer-First LP-WUR for IEEE 802.11ba

A 40-nm CMOS IEEE 802.11ba low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) is presented. It receives 802.11ba messages generated by an 802.11 orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) transmitter operating at 5.8 GHz. The power consumption of the RF front-end is minimized by removing active RF gain stages and using a third harmonic passive mixer with a ring-based local oscillator (LO) operating at one-third of the RF frequency. The noise figure is 14 dB, taking advantage of a 1:3 transformer that provides passive voltage gain in front of the high switch loss mixer-first RF front-end, and matching across 5.5–5.8 GHz with $S_{11}$ . The receiver achieves a sensitivity of −83-dBm and −20-dB adjacent channel signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) while consuming $220~\mu \text{W}$ at a bit error rate (BER) of $10^{-3}$ and data rate of 62.5 kb/s, which shows the best sensitivity-power tradeoff among >3-GHz receivers.
Parental Differential Treatment of Siblings and Adolescents' Health-Related Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Personality.

Youth who receive comparatively poorer parental treatment than a sibling are at risk for maladaptive behaviors in a variety of domains, but research has yet to examine links with adolescents’ health-related behaviors nor consider how those links may vary based on adolescents’ personality traits, namely conscientiousness and agreeableness. Two siblings (n = 590 adolescents; 53% female; Mage = 15.86, SD = 1.73) from 295 families reported on their differential conflict and closeness with their fathers and mothers as well as on their personality, sleep habits, exercise habits, and general health habits. Multilevel modeling revealed that, generally, the less conscientious adolescents had better health habits when they had comparatively warmer relationships with their mothers. Less conscientiousness adolescents may be less distressed by inequality in the family, and thus may experience positive effects of relatively better treatment.
Machine Learning for Fine-Grained Hardware Prefetcher Control

Modern architectures provide hardware memory prefetching capabilities which can be configured at runtime. While hardware prefetching can provide substantial performance improvements for many programs, prefetching can also increase contention for shared resources such as last-level cache and memory bandwidth. In turn, this contention can degrade performance in multi-core workloads. In this paper, we model fine-grained hardware prefetcher control as a contextual bandit, and propose a framework for learning prefetcher control policies which adjust hardware prefetching usage at runtime according to workload performance behavior. We train our policies on profiling data, wherein hardware memory prefetchers are enabled or disabled randomly at regular intervals over the course of a workload's execution. The learned prefetcher control policies provide up to a 4.3% average performance improvement over a set of memory bandwidth intensive workloads.
Multiple Testing Procedures: Monotonicity and Some of Its Implications

We review some results concerning the levels at which multiple testing procedures (MTPs) control certain type I error rates under a general and unknown dependence structure of the p-values on which the MTP is based. The type I error rates we deal with are (1) the classical family-wise error rate (FWER); (2) its immediate generalization: the probability of k or more false rejections (the generalized FWER); (3) the per-family error rate—the expected number of false rejections (PFER). The procedures considered are those satisfying the condition of monotonicity: reduction in some (or all) of the p-values used as input for the MTP can only increase the number of rejected hypotheses. It turns out that this natural condition, either by itself or combined with a property of being a step-down or step-up MTP (where the terms “step-down” and “step-up” are understood in their most general sense), has powerful consequences. Those include optimality results, inequalities, and identities involving different numerical characteristics of a procedure, and computational formulas.
Literacy and the language awareness hypothesis

In the study of reading and writing, the concept of language awareness has come forward for increased attention: that awareness of language form and pattern may be a central contributing factor tha...
Survival of the Funded? An Econometric Analysis of New-Firm Survival and Success

The purpose of this study is to evaluate how different founder and firm characteristics affect new venture performance. This research uses survival proportional hazard functions and limited-information maximum likelihood instrumental regressions to quantify the marginal effects of capitalization choices on revenues and employment. Panel data analysis on 4,298 new firms shows that financing strategy matters, especially in combination with particular human and social capital attributes of the founders.
Monte Carlo Analysis of the Performance of the ITER Diagnostic Residual Gas Analyzer

The composition of exhausted gas is a key parameter in long-pulse plasma fusion experiments, and its evolution shall be monitored at timescales relevant to plasma dynamics and plasma-wall interacti...
Association of Treatment Intensity With Survival in Older Patients With Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Importance Hodgkin lymphoma is an aggressive blood cancer that is highly curable in younger patients who receive multiagent chemotherapy. Worse survival in older patients may reflect less-aggressive treatment, competing risks of death, or different disease biological factors. Objective To examine the association between treatment intensity and cause-specific mortality among older adults with Hodgkin lymphoma. Design, setting, and participants This was a population-based cohort study of patients aged 65 years or older with Medicare Part A and B fee-for-service coverage who received a diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma from 2000 to 2013. The association between treatment intensity and cause-specific mortality was estimated separately for early-stage and advanced-stage disease with Cox proportional hazards models. Multivariable adjustment and propensity score weighting helped control for confounding. Data are from the 1999 to 2016 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Medicare database. Data analysis was performed from April 2020 to June 2021. Exposures First-line treatment categorized as (1) full chemotherapy regimen, (2) partial chemotherapy regimen, (3) single chemotherapy agent or radiotherapy, or (4) no treatment. Main outcomes and measures The main outcome was 3-year Hodgkin lymphoma-specific and other-cause mortality. Results Among 2686 patients (mean [SD] age, 75.7 [6.9] years; 1333 men [50%]), 1307 had early-stage disease and 1379 had advanced-stage disease. For Hodgkin lymphoma-specific mortality in patients with early-stage disease, hazard ratios (HRs) were higher for partial regimens (HR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.22-2.57) or no treatment (HR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.31-2.79) than for full regimens; there was no difference between single-agent chemotherapy or radiotherapy and full regimens. For other-cause mortality in patients with early-stage disease, HRs were higher for partial regimens (HR, 1.69; 95% CI, 1.18-2.44), single-agent chemotherapy or radiotherapy (HR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.13-2.33), or no treatment (HR, 2.71; 95% CI, 1.95-3.78) than for full regimens. For Hodgkin lymphoma-specific mortality in patients with advanced-stage disease, HRs were higher for partial regimens (HR, 3.26; 95% CI, 2.44-4.35), single-agent chemotherapy or radiotherapy (HR, 2.85; 95% CI, 1.98-4.11), or no treatment (HR, 4.06; 95% CI, 3.06-5.37) than for full regimens. For other-cause mortality in patients with advanced-stage disease, HRs were higher for partial regimens (HR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.32-2.33), single-agent chemotherapy or radiotherapy (HR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.15-2.37), or no treatment (HR, 2.24; 95% CI, 1.71-2.94) than for full regimens. Conclusions and relevance This cohort study found variability in the magnitude of the association between treatment intensity and mortality by stage and cause-specific mortality, possibly reflecting competing risks of death. However, full chemotherapy regimens were associated with lower mortality and could be considered for older adults who can tolerate them.