cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mammary Development in the Thyroprived Bovine by Stilbestrol and Thyroprotein Administration

SummaryIn the thyroprived cow with pronounced myxedema no mammary development was obtained by diethylstilbestrol or thyroprotein administration. Negative results were also obtained with the simultaneous administration of these two substances as long as myxedema persisted. Substantial mammary development and lactation resulted from diethylstilbestrol administration following recovery from myxedematous symptoms by thyroprotein therapy. It is suggested that the failure of mammary development in the myxedematous animal is due to some phase of the myxedema and that the response obtained following thyroid therapy is not due to a synergistic action of thyroxine and diethylstilbestrol.
Measurements of secondary scintillation in low-pressure CF(4) with a SiPM, from a parallel-plate avalanche geometry

In this work we report and discuss the characterization of the secondary scintillation light emitted by low-pressure tetrafluoromethane (CF4) during avalanche gas processes. The experimental setup consists of a Parallel Plate Avalanche Counter (PPAC) irradiated by 5.5 MeV alpha particles from a collimated 241-Am source. The PPAC is operated in CF4 at pressures ranging from 5 to 50 torr. The electroluminescence light is readout by a VUV-sensitive Multi-Pixel Photon Counter (MPPC, Hamamatsu), placed along the PPAC axial direction. The secondary scintillation yield at different operational pressures was computed from the correlation between avalanche charge and electroluminesce light, recorded on an event-by-event basis; it was found to be in the range of 0.01–0.15 photons/electron depending on the reduced field applied between the PPAC electrodes. The role of the quencher impurities is also briefly discussed. In addition, the coincidence resolving times (CRT) for 5.5 MeV α -particles crossing the PPAC has been measured; time resolutions of 600 picosecond were achieved at different pressures.
Enzymatic hydrolysis of 2,4-diketo acids.

SUMMARY It has been found that extracts of liver and kidney catalyze the hy- drolysis of 2,4-diketovaleric acid, yielding nearly equivalent amounts of pyruvic and acetic acids. This reaction occurs aerobically and anaerobi- cally, and without detectable acetoacetate formation. The effects of substrate and liver extract concentration on the rate of hydrolysis have been studied. Formation of pyruvic acid from 2,4-diketovaleric acid has also been demonstrated in liver slices. A series of eleven other 2,4-diketo acids is hydrolyzed in a similar manner to yield pyruvic acid. The hydroly- sis of 2,4-diketoundecylic acid resulted in the appearance of equimolar amounts of pyruvic and octanoic acids. Of the diketo acids studied, 2,4- diketohexanoic and 2,4-diketocapric acids are hydrolyzed most rapidly. The pH optima for hydrolysis of the normal aliphatic 2,4-diketo acids are in the range 7.2 to 7.9 for the 5-, 6-, and 7-carbon acids, and 8.0 to 8.9 for the acids containing between 8 and 11 carbon atoms. The term “acylpyruvase” is proposed for the enzyme or enzymes which catalyze 2,4-diketo acid hydrolysis. Acylpyruvase activity is present in the liver and kidney of the rat, rabbit, cat, and mouse. All other tissues studied, including primary rat hepatoma, possess little enzymatic activity. A partially purified enzyme preparation has been obtained from rat liver. Methods of preparation of the disodium salts of 2,4-diketo acids are given. The ultraviolet absorption spectra for the ethyl esters of aliphatic and aromatic 2,4-diketo acids and the relationship between enolization and ultraviolet absorption are described. A spectrophotometric method for the determination of acylpyruvase activity is presented. Implications of these findings in terms of intermediary metabolism are discussed.
MO-E-BRC-00: Online Adaptive Radiotherapy - Considerations for Practical Clinical Implementation

Online adaptive radiation therapy has the potential to ensure delivery of optimal treatment to the patient by accounting for anatomical and potentially functional changes that occur from one fraction to the next and over the course of treatment. While on-line adaptive RT (ART) has been a topic of many publications, discussions, and research, it has until very recently remained largely a concept and not a practical implementation. However, recent advances in on-table imaging, use of deformable image registration for contour generation and dose tracking, faster and more efficient plan optimization, as well as fast quality assurance method has enabled the implementation of ART in the clinic in the past couple of years. The introduction of these tools into routine clinical use requires many considerations and progressive knowledge to understand how processes that have historically taken hours/days to complete can now be done in less than 30 minutes. This session will discuss considerations to perform real time contouring, planning and patient specific QA, as well as a practical workflow and the required resources. Learning Objectives: 1.To understand the difficulties, challenges and available technologies for online adaptive RT. 2.To understand how to implement online adaptive therapy in a clinical environment and to understand the workflow and resources required. 3.To understand the limitations and sources of uncertainty in the online adaptive process I have research funding from ViewRay Inc. and Philips Medical Systems.; R. Kashani, I have research funding from ViewRay Inc. and Philips Medical Systems.; X. Li, Research supported by Elekta Inc.
African Traditional Therapeutics: Disease Causation, Agency, and Efficacy

This chapter purports not only to chronicle the existence of centuries-old health care practices that have served the African people, but also to assess their impact, importance, and future. The African continent is under immense pressure from Western-trained physicians, governments, and religious organizations which, while continuing to pay lip service to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s urgent call for African traditional therapeutics incorporation into the national therapeutic systems, are intent on playing down the so-called “unscientific” and unproven medical practices and eventually eliminating them altogether. The move towards accomplishing this goal has been slow because traditional health care practices are still extremely popular in Africa. Authorities fear the citizens’ angry reaction if they were to eliminate them through a national fiat. Any open radical proscription of the sanctioned health care traditions could, in fact, result in the call for the removal of any politician suggesting that these culturally based but honored traditions be discontinued.
Can social presence be contagious? Effects of social presence priming on interaction with Virtual Humans

This paper explores whether witnessing a Virtual Human (VH) in what appears to be a socially engaging discussion with another virtual human confederate/accomplice (VHC) can prime a person to feel and behave more socially engaged with the VH in a subsequent interaction. To explore this social priming phenomenon, we conducted an experiment in which participants in a control group had no priming while those in an experimental group were briefly exposed to an engaging social interaction between a VH and a nearby VHC. The participants primed by exposure to the brief VHC-VH interaction reported being significantly more excited and alert, perceiving the VH closer, and showed significantly higher measures of Co-Presence, Attentional Allocation, and Message Understanding dimensions of social presence towards the VH, compared to those who were not primed.
The BvgAS Regulon of Bordetella pertussis.

Nearly all virulence factors in Bordetella pertussis are activated by a master two-component system, BvgAS, composed of the sensor kinase BvgS and the response regulator BvgA. When BvgS is active, BvgA is phosphorylated (BvgA~P), and virulence-activated genes (vags) are expressed [Bvg(+) mode]. When BvgS is inactive and BvgA is not phosphorylated, virulence-repressed genes (vrgs) are induced [Bvg(-) mode]. Here, we have used transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) to define the BvgAS-dependent regulon of B. pertussis Tohama I. Our analyses reveal more than 550 BvgA-regulated genes, of which 353 are newly identified. BvgA-activated genes include those encoding two-component systems (such as kdpED), multiple other transcriptional regulators, and the extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factor brpL, which is needed for type 3 secretion system (T3SS) expression, further establishing the importance of BvgA~P as an apex regulator of transcriptional networks promoting virulence. Using in vitro transcription, we demonstrate that the promoter for brpL is directly activated by BvgA~P. BvgA-FeBABE cleavage reactions identify BvgA~P binding sites centered at positions -41.5 and -63.5 in bprL Most importantly, we show for the first time that genes for multiple and varied metabolic pathways are significantly upregulated in the B. pertussis Bvg(-) mode. These include genes for fatty acid and lipid metabolism, sugar and amino acid transporters, pyruvate dehydrogenase, phenylacetic acid degradation, and the glycolate/glyoxylate utilization pathway. Our results suggest that metabolic changes in the Bvg(-) mode may be participating in bacterial survival, transmission, and/or persistence and identify over 200 new vrgs that can be tested for function.IMPORTANCE Within the past 20 years, outbreaks of whooping cough, caused by Bordetella pertussis, have led to respiratory disease and infant mortalities, despite good vaccination coverage. This is due, at least in part, to the introduction of a less effective acellular vaccine in the 1990s. It is crucial, then, to understand the molecular basis of B. pertussis growth and infection. The two-component system BvgA (response regulator)/BvgS (histidine kinase) is the master regulator of B. pertussis virulence genes. We report here the first RNA-seq analysis of the BvgAS regulon in B. pertussis, revealing that more than 550 genes are regulated by BvgAS. We show that genes for multiple and varied metabolic pathways are highly regulated in the Bvg(-) mode (absence of BvgA phosphorylation). Our results suggest that metabolic changes in the Bvg(-) mode may be participating in bacterial survival, transmission, and/or persistence.
Association of body mass index with lung transplantation survival in the United States following implementation of the lung allocation score.

Abstract Background The association of body mass index (BMI) with survival after lung transplantation remains controversial, owing to conflicting evidence in the literature. Previous reports have used traditional BMI categories, included patients who underwent transplantation before implementation of the lung allocation score (LAS), or were limited by single-center experiences. Here we evaluated the association of individual BMI units with short-term and long-term mortality in a large national database following implementation of the LAS. Methods The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients database was used to collect data for 17,233 adult lung transplantations performed between May 2005 and June 2016. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality at 90 days and 1 year posttransplantation. Logistic regression modeling was used to independently predict mortality per BMI unit, adjusting for donor and recipient factors. Results BMI was an independent predictor of mortality at both 90 days and 1 year. At 90 days, a BMI of 25 was associated with the lowest predicted probability of death (0.053; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.047-0.049), with increased odds of mortality at BMI ≤20 and ≥28. At 1 year, a BMI of 26 was associated with the lowest predicted probability of death (0.12; 95% CI, 0.11-0.13), with increased odds of mortality at BMI ≤24 and ≥28. Conclusions Each individual BMI unit has a quantifiable effect on posttransplantation survival, and the patterns of effect do not fit into the predefined BMI categories. The mortality risk associated with BMI should be considered by transplant centers when making listing decisions and by regulatory bodies for estimating expected outcomes.
Preventable Tooth Loss in Hawai'i: The Role of Socioeconomic Status, Diabetes, and Dental Visits.

Introduction Tooth preservation in adults and children is one of the Healthy People 2020 goals for oral health. Although the overall prevalence of tooth loss has been declining in the United States, substantial racial/ethnic differences in preventable tooth loss persist as a public health problem. We examined the strength of the association of health risk factors and tooth loss in Hawai'i. Methods We used data from the Hawai'i Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey collected from 2011 through 2014. Participant responses were included if they self-identified as Native Hawaiian, white, Japanese, or Filipino. Differences in excess tooth loss (6 or more teeth) and known risk factors (demographics, diabetes, and dental visits) were analyzed by using univariate analyses and adjusted stepwise, logistic regression models. Results We identified oral health inequity among the 4 ethnic groups studied; among the groups, Native Hawaiians had the largest proportion of excess tooth loss. The univariate analyses found differences in the strength of these associations among the 4 racial/ethnic groups. The stepwise analyses found that the associations of excess tooth loss and race/ethnicity were not significant after adjusting for demographics, diabetes status, and dental visits. Conclusion Findings suggest a need for programs and policies that improve access to oral health care in Hawai'i for those with low levels of income and education and those with diabetes.
Quality Assurance and Laboratory Regulation

All laboratory test results must be validated by a set of standardized processes that insure both precision (reproducibility) and accuracy prior to being reported to clinicians. Sophisticated terminology, mathematical formulae and both assayed and unassayed samples are used to insure the precision or reproducibility and the accuracy where results reflected the average values of quality control samples are required to insure accuracy of patient results. Patient results are not reported to diagnostic and treatment personnel unless quality control values meet certain standards.
Antibodies to glycoconjugates in human motor neuron disease

IgM monoclonal gammopathy has been reported in some patients with motor neuron disease. The monoclonal IgMs in several of the patients bind to the carbohydrate epitope Gal (β1–3) GalNAc, which is shared by gangliosides GM1 and GD1b and glycoproteins in the nervous system and crossreacted with Gal (β1–3) G1cNAc. They also immunostain spinal cord and gray matter and presynaptic terminals of motor neurons at the neuromuscular junction. The role and mechanisms of action of these antibodies in motor neuron disease is under investigation.
Bright Quasars and the Local Supercluster

The hypothesis that some or all quasars originate in ejection events from galaxies (Arp 1987) implies that many of the brightest quasars will be associated with the brightest nearby galaxies. This is particularly true if the dispersion in intrinsic luminosities among, assumed local, quasars is small. This is a difficult prediction to test for at least two reasons: 1) quasar samples are incomplete even at very bright apparent magnitude levels (e.g. m≤17.5) and 2) the correlation scale is unknown but can be expected to be quite large (many degrees). The latter conclusion is forced upon us by the observation that bright quasars are found in regions of the sky where there are few bright galaxies. Recent tests (Sulentic 1988) involving quasars (m≤17.5) and low redshift galaxies (m≤11.0) imply a correlation between these two classes.
Neuropsychological Diagnosis with Children

Neuropsychological diagnosis with children is a highly specialized endeavor. It draws heavily from disciplines that encompass neuropsychology, functional psychodiagnosis, and pediatrics. It also departs from these established disciplines in some important ways. For example, unique issues in child neuropsychological diagnosis such as referral bias, assessment technique, and poor taxonomy distinguish it from functional psychodiagnosis, especially with adults. These issues, which serve to militate against high degrees of diagnostic accuracy, have been well articulated by Achenbach (1985), Fletcher and Taylor (1984), and Rapoport and Ismond (1984).
The Pathogenesis and Pathology of Neoplasms Caused by Avian Leukosis Viruses

The subfamily Avian Oncovirinae of the family Retroviridae is composed of avian leukosis viruses (ALVs), which transform target cells slowly, and avian sarcoma viruses (ASVs) and avian (acute) defective leukemia viruses (DLVs), which transform target cells relatively rapidly. Before this subdivision was made, the entire group was called avian leukosis/sarcoma viruses, avian type C viruses, avian oncorna and avian oncoviruses. The subdivision is used in this monograph to facilitate the discussion of the genomic structure of the avian retroviruses in other Chapters. It should be recognized, however, that the pathologic expression of the various avian retroviruses is variable and depends on many factors other than belonging to ALV, ASV, or DLV. For example, field and laboratory isolates of avian retroviruses induce various leukemias, but it is not clear what proportion of the leukemias are caused by ALVs or DLVs or even ASVs. Also, nothing is known of the genomic structure of the field viruses that cause the occasional outbreaks of sarcomas, erythroblastosis, myelocytomatosis or other tumors.
Summary and Prospects

173 Implementing an EHR is one of the largest and most complex projects a CDO can undertake. More than that, it presents your organization (large or small) with an opportunity to re-think and re-design the ways you do business. It necessitates identifying all your customers, internal and external. It requires an intensified focus on cooperation among work groups (e.g., pediatric and adult subspecialties, physicians and nurses, practices and hospitals, clinicians and administrators). It requires that the lab, pharmacy, and other services analyze their internal customers’ carefully. Table 21.1 lists some of the primary process improvements the EHR has made feasible for us.
Future of the Malagasy Lemurs: Conservation or Extinction?

Madagascar, with its unique flora and fauna, is one of the many areas of the world which has become a focus of concern for conservationists. To date, the emphasis (as evidenced by papers presented at the Conference Internationale sur la Conservation de la Nature et de ses Ressources a Madagascar 1970) has been on what we consider to be chronic but probably not critical aspects of the problem. These are the ongoing hunting and agricultural practices of the Malagasy living in rural areas. Undoubtedly, indigenous exploitation of the forest and animals does have an impact, but in this chapter we shall also attempt to pinpoint some of the factors which we believe are more immediate and crucial threats to the survival of the Malagasy lemurs. We shall also provide information on the present status of the lemurs and address ourselves to some of the practical problems involved in establishing an adequate program of conservation in Madagascar.
ClueMeIn: Enhancing the ESP Game to Obtain More Specific Image Labels

The ESP Game (Google Image Labeler) demonstrated how the crowd could be used to perform a task that is easy for humans but challenging for computers - annotating images. The game facilitated the task of basic image labeling but often the labels provided were at a high level and not sufficient to distinguish similar images from one another. We introduce ClueMeIn, an entertaining web-based game that uses a similar format to obtain more detailed image labels than the ESP game. The results will improve the accuracy of image searches and better accessibility for the visually impaired.
THE ECONOMIC PAMPHLETEER: The Future of Food: Separation or Integration?

First paragraphs: In a previous Economic Pamphleteer column, I wrote of a battle for the future of food and farming (see Ikerd, 2018). The battle is between those attempting to fix the current agri-food system versus those attempting to replace it. The defining question is whether agriculture can be separated from nature and society or instead must be integrated with nature and society. I used hydro­ponics and concentrated animal feeding operations as examples of attempts to separate or insolate agricultural production from the vagaries and fragilities of nature and the sensitivities and vulner­abilities of society. Synthetic proteins, manu­fac­tured from neither plant nor animal tissue, is per­haps a radical example of the separation cur­rently promoted by some food futurists (Locke, 2016). Admittedly, separating, or at least insulating, some intensive systems of plant and animal production from nature reduces their most apparent negative ecological and social externali­ties. Separation may also reduce production risks and increase economic efficiency. However, sep­aration often raises far larger questions. As humans, we have evolved along with plants and animals as our food sources. The evidence is now clear that diet-related illnesses have increased dramatically as societies have shifted from diets made up of locally grown, raw, and minimally processed plant- and animal-based foods to indus­trially produced, processed, and manufactured foods (World Health Organization, n.d.). The economic costs of public health externalities are sometimes mentioned, though rarely estimated, but the total cost of human suffering from diet-related illnesses is incalculable. . . . . See the press release for this article.
Impact of Deletions within the Bam HI-L Fragment of Attenuated Marek's Disease Virus on vIL-8 Expression and the Newly Identified Transcript of Open Reading Frame LORF4

Marek's disease (MD) in chickens is caused by MD herpesvirus (MDV), which induces T cell lymphomas. The early pathogenesis of MDV infection is characterized by a primary infection in B lymphocytes followed by infection of activated T lymphocytes. It has been speculated that a MDV-encoded homologue of interleukin-8 (vIL-8) may be important to attract activated T lymphocytes to infected B lymphocytes. Recently, more virulent strains of MDV have emerged, named very virulent plus (vv+)MDV, that cause earlier and more prolonged cytolytic infections compared to less virulent strains. In this report, it was found that vIL-8 mRNA expression in vivo was increased in very virulent (vv) and vv+MDV strains compared to mild (m) and virulent (v) strains, and could not be detected in two attenuated MDV strains examined using very sensitive real-time quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays. In order to identify potential mechanisms for the increased vIL-8 mRNA expression in more virulent strains, and lack thereof in attenuated strains, the vIL-8 gene and putative promoter sequences upstream of the vIL-8 gene were compared from 10 different MDV strains, including attenuated derivatives. Only the JM-16 strain (both non-attenuated and attenuated) and attenuated 584A (584Ap80C) encoded a predicted vIL-8 gene sequence different from all other strains examined. Within the putative vIL-8 gene promoter sequence, there was little difference among the non-attenuated strains; however significant deletions were identified in the attenuated JM-16/p71, Md11 (R2/23), and 584Ap80C strains. Additionally, these deletions were located within a previously hypothetical open reading frame (ORF) named LORF4. Rapid amplification of cDNA ends identified a full-length transcript of LORF4 in the MDV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell line MSB-1, and deletions within this ORF caused truncated predicted proteins in 4 out of 6 attenuated MDV strains examined.
Iodine immobilization by silver-impregnated granular activated carbon in cementitious systems

Abstract Silver (Ag)-based technologies are amongst the most common approaches to removing radioiodine from aqueous waste streams. As a result, a large worldwide inventory of radioactive AgI waste presently exits, which must be stabilized for final disposition. In this work, the efficacy of silver-impregnated granular activated carbon (Ag-GAC) to remove iodide (I−), iodate (IO3−) and organo-iodine (org-I) from cementitious leachate was examined. In addition, cementitious materials containing I−, IO3−, or org-I loaded Ag-GAC were characterized by iodine K-edge XANES and EXAFS to provide insight into iodine stability and speciation in these waste forms. The Ag-GAC was very effective at removing I− and org-I, but ineffective at removing IO3− from slag-free grout leachate under oxic conditions. I− or org-I removal was due to the formation of insoluble AgI(s) or Ag-org-I(s) on the Ag-GAC. When I−-loaded Ag-GAC material was cured with slag-free and slag grouts, I− was released from AgI(s) to form a hydrated I− species. Conversely, when org-I loaded Ag-GAC material was cured in the two grout formulations, no change was observed in the iodine speciation, indicating the org-I species remained bound to the Ag. Because little IO3− was bound to the Ag-GAC, it was not detectable in the grout. Thus, grout formulation and I speciation in the waste stream can significantly influence the effectiveness of the long-term disposal of radioiodine associated with Ag-GAC in grout waste forms.
Automated Dyadic Data Recorder (ADDR) Framework and Analysis of Facial Cues in Deceptive Communication

We developed an online framework that can automatically pair two crowd-sourced participants, prompt them to follow a research protocol, and record their audio and video on a remote server. The framework comprises two web applications: an Automatic Quality Gatekeeper for ensuring only high quality crowd-sourced participants are recruited for the study, and a Session Controller which directs participants to play a research protocol, such as an interrogation game. This framework was used to run a research study for analyzing facial expressions during honest and deceptive communication using a novel interrogation protocol. The protocol gathers two sets of nonverbal facial cues in participants: features expressed during questions relating to the interrogation topic and features expressed during control questions. The framework and protocol were used to gather 151 dyadic conversations (1.3 million video frames). Interrogators who were lied to expressed the smile-related lip corner puller cue more often than interrogators who were being told the truth, suggesting that facial cues from interrogators may be useful in evaluating the honesty of witnesses in some contexts. Overall, these results demonstrate that this framework is capable of gathering high quality data which can identify statistically significant results in a communication study.
My Autobiographical-Poetic Rendition: An Inquiry into Humanizing our Teacher Scholarship

In this paper, I highlight four distinct but interconnected areas of my life history that I refer to as autobiographic poetic waves. These waves are layered with the complex underpinning of racial, linguistic, gendered, classed, and professional identity politics that continue to not only liberate but also subjugate me at times. These autobiographic poetic waves highlight my experiences as a hyphenated Korean-American woman living in the midst of discourses that continue to privilege dominant ideologies that contradict my lived experiences, yet permeate through every fiber of my being as a member of the academic community. Hence, I focus on two questions: In what ways, do I perceive and understand my lived experiences as a Korean-American, second language writer, English teacher, teacher-scholar, and Mama PhD? And, how can my understanding of these lived experiences further influence the work I do as a teacher-educator? Learning from and moved by the work of Hanauer (2012a, 2012b, 2013), my autobiographical-poetic rendition is an epistemological and ontological revolution that involves understanding my life history as four distinct but interconnected waves: (1) Immigration and Emergence of Hyphenated Identities; (2) Legitimization of the Hyphenated Identities in Higher Education; (3) Epistemological and Ontological Revolution; (4) Perception of Mama PhDs. These waves are interspersed with an extended version of the poem, Untitled, I wrote in 1984. I focus on the loss, divide, privileges, disenfranchisement, and identity that have permeated my life history since my family’s immigration. I conclude with implications for the field of TESOL teacher education.
Solubility of Lanosterol in Organic Solvents and in Water-Alcohol Mixtures at 101.8 kPa

Lanosterol is a sterol derivative whose physicochemical properties are poorly understood. Pure lanosterol (>95%) was isolated from a crude product (54.6%) by a newly developed C18 reverse-phase hig...
Migratory Polyarthralgias and Skin Rash: Rat Bite Fever with a Positive Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide.

Abstract Rat bite fever is a rare, underdiagnosed disease caused by Streptobacillus moniliformis in the United States, and is typically characterized by leukocytosis, elevated C-reactive protein, migratory polyarthralgias, and pustular skin rash. Rat bite fever is frequently misdiagnosed as either a viral illness or a rheumatologic disease and carries a high mortality risk if untreated. We report the first case of rat bite fever associated with positive anti–cyclic citrullinated peptide. The patient initially presented with low back pain and developed a pustular rash as well as severe asymmetric polyarthralgias. Blood cultures turned positive for S. moniliformis and the patient completed a 4-week course of antibiotics for presumed septic arthritis.
Uniform Loss Algorithms for Online Stochastic Decision-Making With Applications to Bin Packing

We consider a general class of finite-horizon online decision-making problems, where in each period a controller is presented a stochastic arrival and must choose an action from a set of permissible actions, and the final objective depends only on the aggregate type-action counts. Such a framework encapsulates many online stochastic variants of common optimization problems including bin packing, generalized assignment, and network revenue management. In such settings, we study a natural model-predictive control algorithm that in each period, acts greedily based on an updated certainty-equivalent optimization problem. We introduce a simple, yet general, condition under which this algorithm obtains uniform additive loss (independent of the horizon) compared to an optimal solution with full knowledge of arrivals. Our condition is fulfilled by the above-mentioned problems, as well as more general settings involving piece-wise linear objectives and offline index policies, including an airline overbooking problem.
The Ethics of a Recommendation System

In this paper, we extend the current research in the recommendation system community by showing that users’ did attach ethical utility to items. In an experiment (N = 111) that manipulated several moral factors regarding the potentially harmful contents in movies, books and games, users were asked to evaluate the appropriateness of recommending these items to teenagers and dating couples (adults). Results confirmed with previous studies that gender plays a key role in making moral judgment especially regarding the ethical appropriateness of an item. The study further identifies degrees of aversion regarding the appeal of these elements in media for ethical recommendations. Based on the study, we propose a user-initiated ethical recommender system to help users pick up morally appropriate items during the post-recommendation process. We believe that the ethical appropriateness of items perceived by end users could predict the trust and credibility of the system.
Measures of Violence

The quick-view table in this chapter provides easy access to basic descriptive information on each measure of violence that was reviewed. The goal is to provide preliminary information and to assist the practitioner in deciding whether additional information about a particular measure would prove fruitful. Table entries are organized alphabetically and provide the name of the measure, the purpose for which the measures was developed, and the target population. The table also provides information on the method of assessment, the amount of time involved, and the page number where additional information is available. The table is followed by the individual review for each of the 55 measures deemed relevant to the assessment of violence.
Choice reaction time for repetitions and non-repetitions ☆: A re-examination of the information hypothesis

Abstract The principal objective of this study was to describe some of the characteristics of the responses to repetitions and altercations in choice RT tasks. To the extent that these responses were shown to be differentially sensitive components of the overall RT, whose weighted sum yielded the linear relationship between the mean overall RT and transmitted information, it was suggested that a more detailed study of these components may be the more fruitful approach toward understanding the microstructure of RT processes. Clearly these arguments are not restricted to RT tasks alone but are applicable to a wide variety of experimental results which have been described in terms of a linear relationship between information and performance measures. Our results in no way deny the descriptive statements of the information hypothesis. On the contrary, our data in fact provide one more confirmation of the hypothesis. However, we have pointed toward a possible artifactual reason for the relationship and a change of emphasis has been suggested which may lead to more explanatory types of statements than have been forthcoming from the information approach.
A STUDY OF THE HAZARDS IN THE STORAGE AND HANDLING OF LIQUID HYDROGEN

The need to improve propulsion systems for missiles and space vehicles has focused attention on many fuels and oxidants heretofore not considered practical for such applications. A factor in the earlier rejection of these propellants had been the extreme hazards associated with their use-at least, as revealed in laboratory programs. One of these propellants is liquid hydrogen. Although it has been a laboratory curiosity for years, there was insufficient knowledge of its characteristics to provide a sound basis for many of the design problems faced in its production and use. Its low ignition-energy requirement when mixed with air, its wide limits of flammability, and its known detonation effects under confined conditions made handling and storage hazards appear great. For these reasons, the Air Research and Development Command felt it desirable, before producing liquid hydrogen in large quantity, to initiate a research program to develop realistic safety criteria. Such criteria could bring about substantial savings in the capital equipment costs of production.and storage facilities and could point out safety devices which would prevent major losses. Also a reduction in the required area for a production or storage facility might be. effected, thus decreasing the costs of such facilities.
Magnesium chemistry and biochemistry

Magnesium apparently derives its name from Magnesia, a district in the Volos area of Thessaly in northeastern Greece. It was used to refer to any of several minerals ranging from magnesite (magnesium carbonate or ‘magnesia alba’) to magnetite (manganese dioxide or ‘magnesia nigra’) and also magnesia stone (talc or soapstone), a magnesium silicate. However, there are also two ancient towns in Asia Minor named Magnesia from the Greek word magnes used to refer to the magnetic iron ore discovered in this area. Magnesia could have been derived from magnes but used for another mineral in a different place, just as magnesia in Greece referred to several minerals. Magnesium metal was first prepared by Sir Humphrey Davy around 1810 by making the amalgam of magnesium with mercury and then distilling off the mercury electrolytically (Treneer 1963). Davy named the new metal magnium and the word magnesium was initially used for manganese, derived from the mineral ‘magnesia nigra’. The pure metal is highly reactive and all magnesium in the biosphere is either the free cation Mg2+ in aqueous solutions or some salt or mineral form. There are several common mineral forms of magnesium in the environment. Dolomite [MgCa(CO3)2] derives its name from the Dolomite range in the Italian Alps. The story of the recognition of dolomite and various controversies that have ranged and still range around this mineral makes interesting reading for the historian of science (Hacking 1999; McKenzie 1991). Epsomite (MgSO4 · 7H2O) derives its name from the Epsom district in England, originally south of London but now incorporated into greater London. Epsom water originally came from a spring that arose on the common of Epsom village. Epsomite proved to be a major constituent of the waters. Application proved efficacious in healing of external ulcers, and the water became a destination for the sick. Until the first decade of the 18th century, Epsom was a well-known spa with many visitors partaking of the waters internally, where it acts as a purgative (Sakula 1984). Other minerals containing large amounts of magnesium are olivine (Mg2SiO4), magnesium calcite (MgSO4) and chrysolite [asbestos, Mg3Si2O5(OH)4], as well as garnet and spinel, which also contain aluminum with the magnesium.
Have U.S. surface waters responded to the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments

Regulatory measures have had a positive effect on acid content in many lakes and streams in the northern and eastern United States.
Glucose (Hexose 6-Phosphate) Dehydrogenase in Liver of Rainbow Trout

Abstract Liver of the rainbow trout and other salmonid fish contains a highly active glucose dehydrogenase which is also active toward glucose-6-P, galactose-6-P, 2-deoxyglucose-6-P, xylose, and galactose. It resembles one of the rat liver hexose-6-P dehydrogenase isozymes in its broad substrate specificity and its electrophoretic migration on starch gel; but differs in some kinetic properties. The enzyme, purified approximately 200-fold, is more active toward glucose than toward glucose-6-P at pH 7.4, but is less active toward glucose than glucose-6-P at pH 10. Km for glucose is 20 to 80 mm, depending on the pH; and for glucose-6-P it ranges from 0.01 to 0.1 mm. Over the pH range of 6.5 to 10.5 the glucose dehydrogenase activity is about the same for NAD+ or NADP+ as coenzyme, but Mg2+ ions are required with NADP+. The enzyme is much more active with NADP+ than NAD+ with glucose 6-phosphate as substrate, but activity with NADP+ is inhibited by Mg2+, whereas activity with NAD+ is unaffected. The enzyme appears to be equally divided between the particulate and soluble fractions. Trout liver also contains two other electrophoretically distinguishable glucose-6-P dehydrogenases, but which differ from this enzyme in their inactivity toward NAD+ and glucose.
The role of intensity and instrument sensitivity in Raman mineral identification

Mineral identification is a basic and common element of investigations in a wide variety of fields that deal with natural crystalline materials and their synthetic analogues. Raman spectroscopy has been shown to be effective for mineral identification through spectral pattern matching and, in addition, offers a number of practical advantages over established mineral-identification technologies. In order to make Raman technology accessible to the user community that routinely requires a mineral identification tool, the systematics of Raman spectra of minerals must be investigated and incorporated into instrument design, software design, and methodology documentation. This paper quantifies the range of Raman intensities that can be expected from natural minerals and investigates the incorporation of this information into instrument standards and analytical methodology. For this study, 7978 Raman spectra representing 2159 mineral species were extracted from the RRUFF database (http://rruff.info) and separated into four instrument-specific groups. Pseudo-logarithmic histograms show that Raman intensities of minerals can span four orders of magnitude, and opaque minerals tend to have one order of magnitude lower intensities than non-opaque minerals. Examples of inter-instrument comparisons show that instrument sensitivity can vary by a factor of 35. An experiment investigating the data quality required for mineral identification indicates that a functional minimum signal-to-noise ratio is 15. The results of this study can be used to design data collection strategies. The minerals quartz and pyrite are shown to represent the high-frequency center of intensity distributions for non-opaque and opaque minerals, respectively. The requirements for a relevant instrument-sensitivity standard are also discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Using a Wiki as a platform for formative evaluation

Expert reviewers used a Wiki to provide evaluative comments on a set of educational modules developed by the Digital Library (DL) Curriculum Development project, a joint effort of researchers at the University of North Carolina and Virginia Tech, with funding from the National Science Foundation. A total of 32 experts from 23 universities in 6 countries provided comments on 10 draft educational modules. The Wiki was an effective tool for the reviewers to identify and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the modules, to share their experiences of teaching DL courses, and to communicate with the project team. The Wiki played an important role as a venue for an evaluation process that was available to the DL community at large.
Stability analysis of Pielou's equation with period-two coefficient

We study global attractivity of the period-two coefficient version of the delay logistic difference equation, also known as Pielou's equation, where We prove that for , zero is the unique equilibrium point. If , then zero is globally asymptotically stable, with basin of attraction given by the nonnegative quadrant of initial conditions. If , then zero is unstable, and a sequence converges to zero if and only if . If , then the sequence converges to the unique period-two solution where and are uniquely determined by the equations
Obama and the Promotion of International Science

Six months after his 2009 inauguration, U.S. President Obama spoke at Cairo University in Egypt and called for a new beginning in relations between the United States and Muslim-majority countries, defined by collaboration in science and technology ( 1 ). Innovation, according to the president, is the “currency of the 21st century” and the means by which the United States and its partners would create new jobs and tackle the global challenges of climate change, hunger, and disease. The Cairo speech remains a seminal moment in President Obama's broader initiative to ramp up U.S. cooperation in international science as a core component of his foreign policy agenda ( 2 ).
The philosopher and the manager

This paper revisits the argument that management academics and managers benefit from being knowledgeable in Western philosophy. Salient debates in management research and education that have emerged over the last decades are first summarised. The theoretical uncertainties that these debates have highlighted are then located within a brief overview of mainstream Western philosophical traditions. Philosophical investigations into management theory help discern the origins of some of the difficulties that plague management theories, paving the way towards their clarification and resolution.
Improving compliance with influenza vaccination for hospital healthcare workers from high-risk areas: A 6-year analysis

BACKGROUND: Influenza causes significant morbidity and mortality among patients, mostly those with immunosuppression, at extremes of age, and with significant comorbidities. Healthcare workers (HCWs) play a significant role in preventing morbidity and mortality of their hospitalized patients by being properly immunized against infectious diseases. However, compliance with influenza control programs has been limited overall in the United States, with only 36% of the workers with direct patient care annually immunized. New challenges were placed to increase immunization among HCWs in 2004-2005 due to the influenza vaccine shortage. OBJECTIVES: 1) Increase accessibility to influenza vaccination program for HCWs in high-risk areas at an academic hospital through several activities. 2) Demonstrate through results of aggregated data from 6 years that there was a significant improvement in compliance with the influenza vaccination in those high-risk patient areas. PROJECT: In the past 6 years, we increased the access to influenza vaccination throughout the hospital by 1) open visits to employee health service with nursing staff for vaccination throughout the “flu” season, 2) mobile clinics throughout the hospital's high-risk areas at the various working shifts, 3) intensive educational campaigns, and 4) 12-hour blitzes open to HCWs through a prioritized system. Data on influenza vaccine administered to high-risk HCWs was collected and analyzed by chi square comparing 1999-2000 (baseline) to 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 seasons. LESSONS LEARNED: There was a significant overall improvement in compliance with the influenza vaccination program in high-risk areas (p = 0.001) in the year 2003-2004, when compared with baseline year (1999-2000). Two out of five identified high-risk areas had no significant improvement over the past 6 years. Compliance with influenza can be improved with a multifaceted approach emphasizing accessibility. Influenza vaccine shortage may have played a significant role in increasing compliance with the “flu” vaccination among high-risk HCWs. High-risk areas with poor response to the vaccination program will require specific training and different strategic planning.
Composition of the helical internal components of influenza virus as revealed by immunogold labeling/electron microscopy

The composition of the large helical internal components of influenza virus was investigated by immunogold labeling/electron microscopy with antibodies to the nucleoprotein (NP), matrix protein (M), and polymerase complex (PB1, PB2, and PA) of the virus. The morphologically intact helices, obtained by air-drying of the virions on the electron microscope grid, showed little or no labeling with any of the above antibodies. However, partial to full degradation of the helix by proteinase K (2 ng/ml) prior to immunogold labeling made the helices accessible to all three antibodies. The results are consistent with a model that the helix represents a polymer of M protein enclosing or containing the influenza ribonucleoprotein(s).
Low sensitivity of physical examination findings in necrotizing soft tissue infection is improved with laboratory values: a prospective study.

Abstract Background When clinical “hard signs” of necrotizing soft tissue infection (NSTI) are present, establishing the diagnosis of NSTI is not difficult. However, hard signs of NSTIs are often absent on presentation, thus potentially delaying diagnosis and surgical intervention. A prior retrospective study performed at our institution demonstrated that admission white blood cell (WBC) count >15,400/μL × 10 9 /L and/or serum sodium (Na) Methods Prospective observational data collection to determine the sensitivity of NSTI “hard signs” and administration of a questionnaire in which the surgeon was asked whether he believed the patient had an NSTI based on physical examination (PE) alone, and then after being informed of the Na level and WBC count. Results Twenty-one patients with a mean age of 41 years had NSTI. Mean admission WBC count and Na level were 31,500/μL and 127 mEq/L, respectively. Only 9 (43%) had hard signs of NSTI. Suspicion for NSTI increased from 9 to 18 (86%) after evaluating laboratory criteria ( P = .008). Conclusions Fewer than half of the patients presented with hard clinical signs of NSTI. Admission WBC count >15,400/μL or serum Na