cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Genetic diversity of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates during an outbreak in a non-human primate research colony.

Background Klebsiella pneumoniae can be a serious pathogen in non-human primates, particularly Neotropical monkeys. Methods During a K. pneumoniae outbreak in an owl monkey research colony, 13 K. pneumoniae isolates were DNA fingerprinted by automated repetitive extragenic palindromic-polymerase chain reaction and the profiles compared to isolates obtained from other non-human primate species during the same time period and isolates from previous outbreaks. Results Eleven different types of K. pneumoniae were circulating in the owl monkey colony at the time of the outbreak. When comparing owl monkey isolates relatedness to previous colony outbreak isolates and squirrel monkey and capuchin monkey isolates, all were different. Conclusions These results agree with recent reports where K. pneumoniae nosocomial isolates in hospital settings can have high genetic diversity, and multiple strains can be circulating simultaneously. This potential genetic diversity should be considered when designing strategies for controlling K. pneumoniae outbreaks in captive non-human primate colonies.
Early learners as health coaches for older adults preparing for surgery.

Abstract Background Few opportunities exist for early learners to engage in authentic roles on health care teams. In a geriatric optimization clinic for frail high-risk surgical patients, first-year medical and nurse practitioner students were integrated into an interprofessional team as health coaches. Materials and methods Frail surgical patients with planned operations were referred to a new preoperative optimization clinic to see a geriatrician, occupational, and physical therapists and a nutritionist. A curriculum for health coaching by early learners was developed, implemented, and evaluated in this clinic. Students attended the clinic visit with their patient, reviewed the interdisciplinary care plan, and called patients twice weekly preoperatively and weekly in the first month after discharge. Students logged all calls, completed patient satisfaction surveys 1 wk before surgery and participated in feedback sessions with team members and medical school faculty. Call success rate was calculated, and team communications were recorded and analyzed. Results Median call success rate was 69.2% and was lowest among medical students ( P = 0.004). Students and research assistants contacted or facilitated patient contact with their medical team 84 times. Overall, patients were extremely satisfied with the health coach experience, felt better prepared for surgery, and would recommend the program to others. Conclusions Early medical and nurse practitioner students can serve the important function of health coaches for frail patients preparing for surgery. Motivated students benefited from a unique longitudinal experience and gained skills in communication and care coordination. Not all students demonstrated capacity to engage in health coaching this early in their education.
Convection-Enhanced Delivery.

Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) is a promising technique that generates a pressure gradient at the tip of an infusion catheter to deliver therapeutics directly through the interstitial spaces of the central nervous system. It addresses and offers solutions to many limitations of conventional techniques, allowing for delivery past the blood–brain barrier in a targeted and safe manner that can achieve therapeutic drug concentrations. CED is a broadly applicable technique that can be used to deliver a variety of therapeutic compounds for a diversity of diseases, including malignant gliomas, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. While a number of technological advances have been made since its development in the early 1990s, clinical trials with CED have been largely unsuccessful, and have illuminated a number of parameters that still need to be addressed for successful clinical application. This review addresses the physical principles behind CED, limitations in the technique, as well as means to overcome these limitations, clinical trials that have been performed, and future developments.
Possibility of N ¯ N , Λ ¯ Λ , Σ ¯ Σ , and Ξ ¯ Ξ quasinuclear states

We provide very qualitative estimates of the energies and widths of bound states and resonances of the $\overline{N}N$, $\overline{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\ensuremath{\Lambda}$, $\overline{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}\ensuremath{\Sigma}$, and $\overline{\ensuremath{\Xi}}\ensuremath{\Xi}$ systems, using the real one-boson-exchange potential of Nagels, Rijken, and de Swart, supplemented by a phenomenological absorptive part, to represent the baryon-antibaryon interaction. Numerous bound states (including $\overline{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}\ensuremath{\Sigma}$ states with $I=2$) and resonances with $L\ensuremath{\ge}1$ are obtained in the region from 1.6 to 2.7 GeV, some of which may have small widths. These states may be distinguishable from the usual quark-model states by their "quasinuclear" nature, i.e., weak binding and relatively large rms radius.
Performance analysis of distributed iterative linear solvers

The solution of large, sparse systems of linear equations is an inherent part of many computational methods in science and engineering. For such systems, iterative methods are often more attractive than direct methods because of their small (and constant) memory requirements. Also, the performance of iterative solvers can easily be improved by using distributed systems. A common performance characteristic of distributed applications is their speedup which is usually defined as the ratio of the execution time of an application on a single processor to the execution time of the same workload on a P-processor system. The paper estimates the speedup of distributed linear iterative solvers, analyzes the influence of different communication schemes on the speedup, and compares the estimates with the measurements of real distributed programs.
Anti-SIRPα antibody immunotherapy enhances neutrophil and macrophage antitumor activity.

Cancer immunotherapy has emerged as a promising therapeutic intervention. However, complete and durable responses are only seen in a fraction of patients who have cancer. A key factor that limits therapeutic success is the infiltration of tumors by cells of the myeloid lineage. The inhibitory receptor signal regulatory protein-α (SIRPα) is a myeloid-specific immune checkpoint that engages the “don’t eat me” signal CD47 expressed on tumors and normal tissues. We therefore developed the monoclonal antibody KWAR23, which binds human SIRPα with high affinity and disrupts its binding to CD47. Administered by itself, KWAR23 is inert, but given in combination with tumor-opsonizing monoclonal antibodies, KWAR23 greatly augments myeloid cell-dependent killing of a collection of hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic human tumor-derived cell lines. Following KWAR23 antibody treatment in a human SIRPA knockin mouse model, both neutrophils and macrophages infiltrate a human Burkitt’s lymphoma xenograft and inhibit tumor growth, generating complete responses in the majority of treated animals. We further demonstrate that a bispecific anti-CD70/SIRPα antibody outperforms individually delivered antibodies in specific types of cancers. These studies demonstrate that SIRPα blockade induces potent antitumor activity by targeting multiple myeloid cell subsets that frequently infiltrate tumors. Thus, KWAR23 represents a promising candidate for combination therapy.
Enacted stigma and felt stigma experienced by adults who stutter.

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to (1) document the experiences of enacted stigma (external stigma, experienced discrimination) and felt stigma (anticipation and expectation of discrimination or negative treatment by others) in adults who stutter, (2) investigate their relationships to each other, and (3) investigate their relationships to global mental health. Method Participants were 324 adults who stutter recruited from clinicians and self-help group leaders in the United States. Participants completed an anonymous web survey consisting of measures of enacted stigma, felt stigma, and global mental health. Data analysis focused on obtaining descriptive statistics for enacted stigma and felt stigma, and performing correlational analysis between these variables, and also between these variables and global mental health. Results Most participants reported experiencing several different forms of social devaluation and negative treatment from other people at some point in their lives (i.e., enacted stigma), although they rarely experienced these events during the past year. Most participants agreed that they anticipate future stigmatizing experiences (i.e., felt stigma). Enacted stigma in the past year demonstrated a significant positive relationship to felt stigma. Both enacted stigma in the past year and felt stigma demonstrated significant negative relationships with global mental health. Enacted stigma in the past year and felt stigma were unique predictors of participants’ global mental health. Conclusions People who stutter experience discrimination and social devaluation, and they anticipate future stigmatizing experiences. Both of these types of stigma, enacted and felt, are associated with reduced mental health in adults who stutter. Assessment and therapy with adults who stutter should address these aspects of stuttering.
Health Information Technology: Clinical and Policy Context

Health care lags far behind other sectors of the economy with respect to seamless integration of technology to maximize service benefit and efficiency. Over the past few years, physicians and policymakers have recognized the need to update from paper-based systems of record keeping to electronic-based systems, but the transition has been challenging and electronic health record (EHR) adoption has been slow.
A review of the methods for human iPSC derivation

The ability to reprogram somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offers an opportunity to generate pluripotent patient-specific cell lines that can help model human diseases. These iPSC lines could also be powerful tools for drug discovery and the development of cellular transplantation therapies. Many methods exist for generating iPSC lines but those best suited for use in studying human diseases and developing therapies must be of adequate efficiency to produce iPSCs from samples that may be of limited abundance, capable of reprogramming cells from both skin fibroblasts and blood, and footprint-free. Several reprogramming techniques meet these criteria and can be utilized to derive iPSCs in projects with both basic scientific and therapeutic goals. Combining these reprogramming methods with small molecule modulators of signaling pathways can lead to successful generation of iPSCs from even the most recalcitrant patient-derived somatic cells.
Infiniteness and Boundedness in 0L, DT0L, and T0L Systems

We investigate the boundary between finiteness and infiniteness in three types of L systems: 0L, DT0L, and T0L. We establish necessary and sufficient conditions for 0L, DT0L, and T0L systems to be infinite, and characterize the boundedness of finite classes of such systems. First, we give a pumping lemma for these systems, proving that the language of a system is infinite iff the system is pumpable. Next, we show that the number of steps needed to derive any string in any finite 0L or DT0L system is bounded by a function depending only on the size of the alphabet, and not on the production rules or start string. This alphabet boundedness does not hold for finite T0L systems in general. Finally, we show that every infinite 0L system has an infinite D0L subsystem.
Comparison of microbiomes of cold-water corals Primnoa pacifica and Primnoa resedaeformis, with possible link between microbiome composition and host genotype

Cold-water corals provide critical habitats for a multitude of marine species, but are understudied relative to tropical corals. Primnoa pacifica is a cold-water coral prevalent throughout Alaskan waters, while another species in the genus, Primnoa resedaeformis, is widely distributed in the Atlantic Ocean. This study examined the V4-V5 region of the 16S rRNA gene after amplifying and pyrosequencing bacterial DNA from samples of these species. Key differences between the two species’ microbiomes included a robust presence of bacteria belonging to the Chlamydiales order in most of the P. pacifica samples, whereas no more than 2% of any microbial community from P. resedaeformis comprised these bacteria. Microbiomes of P. resedaeformis exhibited higher diversity than those of P. pacifica, and the two species largely clustered separately in a principal coordinate analysis. Comparison of P. resedaeformis microbiomes from samples collected in two submarine canyons revealed a significant difference between locations. This finding mirrored significant genetic differences among the P. resedaeformis from the two canyons based upon population genetic analysis of microsatellite loci. This study presents the first report of microbiomes associated with these two coral species.
A baseline analysis of coastal water quality of the port Honduras marine reserve, Belize: a critical habitat for sport fisheries

This analysis examines temporal changes in water quality of the Port Honduras Marine Reserve (PHMR), Belize from 1998 to 2015. Trends in dissolved oxygen (DO), salinity, temperature and pH were analyzed from ten sites throughout PHMR for statistically significant relationships. Maintaining satisfactory water quality is critical for sustaining healthy fisheries. PHMR represents a unique link between upland watersheds and coastal wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrass beds. These ecosystems comprise important habitat for many fisheries including the economically valuable sport fish species of Megalops atlanticus (Atlantic tarpon), Albula vulpes (bonefish) and Trachinotus falcatus (permit). Sport fishing in the PHMR area has become increasingly popular in recent decades and is responsible for generating direct and indirect income opportunities for local communities, including Punta Gorda, the largest town in southern Belize. As a result, degradation of water quality of PHMR through land-based human activities could have ecological and economic consequences for southern Belize. The results of the analyses revealed significant seasonal variations and slight increasing trends in DO and salinity at several sampling sites. These relatively stable results are likely related to several factors including limited coastal development and low population density of southern Belize. This study provides baseline information for future research and outlines recommendations for management strategies of PHMR to mitigate impacts from current and future threats to water quality.
Derivation of a simple postoperative delirium incidence and severity prediction model

Background: Delirium is an important postoperative complication, yet a simple and effective delirium prediction model remains elusive. We hypothesized that the combination of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) risk calculator for serious complications (NSQIP-SC) or risk of death (NSQIP-D), and cognitive tests of executive function (Trail Making Test A and B [TMTA, TMTB]), could provide a parsimonious model to predict postoperative delirium incidence or severity. Methods: Data were collected from 100 adults (>65yo) undergoing major non-cardiac surgery. In addition to NSQIP-SC, NSQIP-D, TMTA and TMTB, we collected participant age, sex, ASA score, tobacco use, type of surgery, depression, Framingham risk score, and preoperative blood pressure. Delirium was diagnosed with the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM), and the Delirium Rating Scale-R-98 (DRS) was used to assess symptom severity. LASSO and Best Subsets logistic and linear regression were employed in line with TRIPOD guidelines. Results: Three participants were excluded due to intraoperative deaths (2) and alcohol withdrawal (1). Ninety-seven participants with a mean age of 71.68+4.55, 55% male (31/97 CAM+, 32%) and a mean Peak DRS of 21.5+6.40 were analyzed. Of the variables included, only NSQIP-SC and TMTB were identified to be predictors of postoperative delirium incidence (p<0.001, AUROC 0.81, 95% CI: 0.72, 0.90) and severity (p<0.001, Adj. R2: 0.30). Conclusions: In this cohort, preoperative NSQIP-SC and TMTB were identified as predictors of postoperative delirium incidence and severity. Future studies should verify whether this two- factor model could be used for accurate delirium prediction. Keywords: aging, delirium, perioperative, prediction, surgical risk. Clinical Trial Registration ID #NCT03124303 and #NCT01980511
Biochemical effects of some CeO 2 , SiO 2 , and TiO 2 nanomaterials in HepG2 cells

The potential mammalian hepatotoxicity of nanomaterials was explored in dose-response and structure-activity studies in human hepatic HepG2 cells exposed to between 10 and 1000 μg/ml of five different CeO2, three SiO2, and one TiO2-based particles for 3 days. Various biochemical parameters were then evaluated to study cytotoxicity, cell growth, hepatic function, and oxidative stress. Few indications of cytotoxicity were observed between 10 and 30 μg/ml. In the 100 to 300 μg/ml exposure range, a moderate degree of cytotoxicity was often observed. At 1000 μg/ml exposures, all but TiO2 showed a high degree of cytotoxicity. Cytotoxicity per se did not seem to fully explain the observed patterns of biochemical parameters. Four nanomaterials (all three SiO2) decreased glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity with some significant decreases observed at 30 μg/ml. In the range of 100 to 1000 μg/ml, the activities of glutathione reductase (by all three SiO2) and glutathione peroxidase were decreased by some nanomaterials. Decreased glutathione concentration was also found after exposure to four nanomaterials (all three nano SiO2 particles). In this study, the more responsive and informative assays were glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase, lactate dehydrogenase, and aspartate transaminase. In this study, there were six factors that contribute to oxidative stress observed in nanomaterials exposed to hepatocytes (decreased glutathione content, reduced glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and increased catalase activities). With respect to structure-activity, nanomaterials of SiO2 were more effective than CeO2 in reducing glutathione content, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione reductase, and superoxide dismutase activities.
EFFECT OF VAT INCENTIVES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF EPZ FIRMS IN KENYA

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of VAT Incentive on the performance of EPZ firms in Kenya. Methodology : This research used correlation research design. Sample size of all the 86 registered EPZs firms was used in this study. Primary data was obtained using questionnaires. Secondary data from the registered firms was collected on; ROA, number and value of jobs and the length of stay of the firms. The study used both descriptive and inferential statistics to conduct data analysis. Results : The results of study revealed that at 5% significance level, VAT incentives had a positive and significant relationship with performance of EPZ firms measured using ROA. The results further revealed that at 5% significance level, VAT incentives were found to have positive and significant relationship with performance of EPZ firms measured using the number of total jobs created in Kenya. The results also revealed that at 5% significance level, VAT incentives were found to have positive and significant relationship with performance of EPZ firms measured using the number of years in operation Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy Based on the study findings, it was recommended that the government should reconsider its VAT policy by encouraging more VAT rebates to firms in order to boost their productivity and increase the volume of exports. The study also recommends that the government should introduce a strong monitoring unit to oversee the administration of tax incentives. Government should equally pay attention to the issue of security and infrastructure which are basic in order to maximize the benefits of tax incentives.
Twitter Query Expansion via Word2Vec-Urban Dictionary Model

Query expansion has been a field of interest within the field of information retrieval for quite some time. We propose a novel approach for expanding queries on microblogs, using a word2vec-Urban Dictionary hybrid model built on a prior collection of documents, to expand the search set by adding additional slang terms. In our case, we will focus on the social network site Twitter and tweets related to the topic of marijuana. The result of this approach indicated that we were able to collect several tweets that would not otherwise be collected. We also increased the average degree of the social network of contributors as the expanded list of terms also resulted in marijuana-related tweet contributors who would not have been collected as well.
Microbial Epiphytes of Deep-Water Moss in Crater Lake, Oregon

We characterized the microbes that are attached to deep-water moss in Crater Lake, Oregon. Moss leaves are densely colonized with a microbial community that differs from that found in the water column. Most notably, the cyanobacterial epiphytes on Crater Lake's moss are absent from the water column. Algal and cyanobacterial moss epiphytes were surveyed and identified using microscopy and gene sequencing. We found that diatoms and filamentous algae took up the greatest surface area on moss, with cyanobacterial epiphytes present in fewer numbers. Heterotrophic bacteria were more abundant on moss leaves than eukaryotes but occupied far less surface area. Eukaryotic large subunit rRNA gene sequences obtained from moss DNA extracts verified the presence of several different genera of algae associated with moss. In addition, sequence analysis revealed the presence of symbiotic fungi and protozoa. To identify prokaryotic nitrogen fixers on moss, nitrogenase and nitrogenase-like gene sequences were obtained from moss epiphytes. All of the nitrogenase genes associated with moss epiphytes were cyanobacterial sequences. In contrast, no nitrogenase sequences were detected in the water column. In addition, we cultured and identified four different genera of cyanobacteria from Crater Lake moss leaves. Given that Crater Lake has virtually undetectable levels of nitrate in the zone where moss grows most abundantly, the nitrogen fixing ability of cyanobacterial epiphytes is likely to provide a growth advantage to cyanobacteria and to nearby organisms.
Characterization of Air Dissolution and Reappearance under Pressure in Cement Pastes by Means of Rheology

Concrete pumping is the most used technique to transfer concrete from the mixer truck to the formwork. Numerous studies have been performed on the flow behavior of concrete in pipes, as well as the consequences of pumping on fluid and hardened concrete properties. One of the negative consequences of pumping concrete is a decrease in freeze-thaw resistance. This is caused by a decrease in air content and an increase in air bubble size, due to dissolution and reappearance of air and air bubble coalescence under pressure. This paper investigates the capability of rheology to understand air dissolution and reappearance in cement paste under combined action of pressure and flow. A majority of the air bubbles in the cement pastes show low capillary-numbers, indicating the applied stress is insufficient to overcome the surface tension. Removing air causes a decrease in viscosity (or shear stress), up to a certain threshold pressure sufficient for full dissolution of the air. For mixtures with small air bubbles, the sudden application of pressure causes an immediate decrease in viscosity or shear stress. Mixtures with larger bubbles display a more gradual decrease in viscosity with the application of pressure. At depressurization, the viscosity of the sample is recovered almost instantly, although in some cases the viscosity is not fully recovered. This can be attributed to either an immediate air loss or to a coarsening of the air-void system, resulting in less non-deformable air bubbles in the paste.
The public pedagogy of neighborhood Facebook communities: negotiating relations with urban coyotes

AbstractCommunity and city Facebook pages have proliferated in popularity in the last several years, offering a forum for residents to openly and publicly negotiate relations with urban wildlife, i...
Part 8 – Structures

This part describes the process by which the most important of the structural elements of a highway system, bridges, are designed. This involves a top-down approach, starting with the various components of the bridge itself, then the support piers, then the footings. There are three types of bridge designs for basic highway overpasses: (1) cored slabs, (2) concrete reinforced girders, and (3) steel beams. For single-span bridges, they are supported exclusively on what are called “end bents.” For multispan bridges, there are two types of interior pier supports: (1) multiple column and (2) hammerhead. And there are two general types of footings for piers: (1) spread and (2) pile. End bents are typically built around driven pile systems. So as to include as much insight into the engineering that goes into a bridge design, only multispan bridges with steel beams supported by hammerhead piers on pile footings will be considered. The other combinations are still used and follow a similar design process. However, the combination chosen here is the most interesting, and considered the more elegant for its intended function than the other possibilities.
The multi-tasking gut epithelium of insects

The insect gut epithelium plays a vital role in multiple processes, including nutrition, immunity and osmoregulation. Recent research is revealing the molecular and biochemical basis of these functions. For example, the pattern of nutrient acquisition by the gut epithelium is integrated into the overall regulation of nutrient allocation, as illustrated by evidence for systemic controls over expression of key genes coding digestive enzymes and transporters in carbohydrate acquisition; and the abundance and diversity of microorganisms in the gut lumen is regulated by multiple molecular properties of the gut epithelial cells, including the synthesis of enzymes that produce reactive oxygen species and anti-microbial peptides. These traits are underpinned by the function of the gut epithelium as a selective barrier which mediates the controlled movement of water, ions, metabolites and macromolecules between the gut lumen and insect tissues. Breakdown of the gut epithelial barrier has been implicated in muscle paralysis of insects at low temperatures (chill coma) and in aging. The key challenge for future research is to understand how the multiple functions of the insect gut epithelium are integrated by signaling interactions among epithelial cells, the gut microbiota and other insect organs.
Extragalactic Radio Astronomy: Galaxy Classification, Active Galactic Nuclei, Superluminal Motion, Galaxy Clusters, and the Cosmic Microwave Background

This chapter presents a summary of observations conducted at radio frequencies of extragalactic astronomical sources. An initial discussion is given on the general properties of galaxies, cosmology, and Hubble’s law. Radio observations of normal galaxies—both HI line and radio continuum—are examined, including an introduction to the Tully–Fisher relation. Radio galaxies and active Galactic nuclei (AGNs) are examined next, along with jets associated with these sources and the accompanying phenomenon of apparent superluminal motion. Radio lobes of galaxies are discussed next, including the spectral energy distributions of these galaxies and the phenomenon of inverse Compton scattering. Doppler boosting associated with AGNs, blazars and their associated taxonomy are discussed as well. The chapter concludes with presentations on the radio properties of the diffuse emission from galaxy clusters, the cosmic microwave background, and the Sunyaev–Zeldovich effect.
The 'Feminist Methodology' Muddle

Should science and philosophy use "feminist methodology?" Haack is asked, and answers: no, for many reasons, most importantly that they are in the inquiry business, not the social justice business. She goes on to explain the many ambiguities of the idea, and the damage it would do to science, to philosophy, AND to women.
What We Listen for

Two autoethnographic sketches investigate what we listen for across popular culture. Written by a student and a professor, respectively, we hope these autoethnographic sketches stimulate dialogue a...
The Important Role of Chemistry Department Chairs and Recommendations for Actions They Can Enact to Advance Black Student Success

There is a severe shortage of Black scientists in the United States. Amid the recent national movement to dismantle systemic racism and racial injustices, many scientists publicly highlighted the prevalence of racist learning environments in STEM, contributing to the underrepresentation of Black students in STEM fields. Acknowledging this longstanding troubling reality, this article emphasizes the instrumental role of chemistry department chairs in advancing Black student success in chemistry and STEM broadly. Guided by literature on systemic change and equity in higher education as well as our research on the Black student experience and teaching practices in chemistry, this article describes the following five recommendations for actions that chemistry chairs should consider enacting to promote equity-mindedness within their departments to advance Black student success: (i) disaggregate data to make publicly visible racial inequities; (ii) offer formal opportunities for Black students to candidly share their perspectives; (iii) conduct systematic assessment of course syllabus; (iv) measure teaching practices; and (v) create chemistry education research positions. The enactment of these recommendations by chemistry chairs provides meaningful opportunities for faculty and staff to critically examine the chemistry learning environment using an equity-minded approach to in turn inform the development of strategic efforts to support the advancement of Black student success.
Associated medical conditions in children

Abstract Children with acute and chronic associated medical conditions often present for surgical and radiological procedures. An understanding of the implications of these conditions for anaesthesia is important for preventing perioperative adverse events. In this article, we outline the relevant clinical features of some of the commonly encountered associated medical conditions and provide guidance on the current evidence for the perioperative anaesthetic management of these children.
Systemic follicular lymphoma in a patient with a history of thyroid eye disease: a case report.

The most common cause of both unilateral and bilateral proptosis in adults is thyroid eye disease (TED), and the diagnosis in typical cases is made without imaging. However, many other orbital dise...
Design and discovery of a novel half-Heusler transparent hole conductor made of all-metallic heavy elements

Materials that are both electrically conducting and transparent to light are vital for optoelectronic devices, but are rare. Here, the authors perform a quantum mechanical search for such materials and identify the compound TaIrGe as an unexpected possibility, which they then synthesize.
All Together Now

While virtual humans are proven tools for training, education and research, they are far from realizing their full potential. Advances are needed in individual capabilities, such as character animation and speech synthesis, but perhaps more importantly, fundamental questions remain as to how best to integrate these capabilities into a single framework that allows us to efficiently create characters that can engage users in meaningful and realistic social interactions. This integration requires in-depth, inter-disciplinary understanding few individuals, or even teams of individuals, possess. We help address this challenge by introducing the ICT Virtual Human Toolkit, which offers a flexible framework for exploring a variety of different types of virtual human systems, from virtual listeners and question-answering characters to virtual role-players. We show that due to its modularity, the Toolkit allows researchers to mix and match provided capabilities with their own, lowering the barrier of entry to this multi-disciplinary research challenge.
UMTS bearer performance in the presence of the synchronisation channel

The paper considers the impact of the UMTS synchronisation channel (SCH) on bearer performance. The SCH is described, and it is shown that it has significantly different characteristics from other interference and noise sources. For this reason, it is important to understand whether it can be generally modelled in a simple way, e.g. by using its average received power. In reality, it is found that this is not the case, and that the performance degrades when the SCH is present for the same average level of E/sub b//N/sub t/. This shows that the coding/interleaving schemes used are not sufficient to average the temporally selective interference. In particular, it is found that convolutionally coded bearers show higher sensitivity than turbo coded ones, resulting in an increase in the E/sub b//N/sub t/ targets set by the outer loop. A basic analysis indicates that the resulting system capacity loss is not significant. However, a full evaluation of this effect is going to require a more complex analysis based on system simulation.
Studies on the effects of lactate transport inhibition, pyruvate, glucose and glutamine on amino acid, lactate and glucose release from the ischemic rat cerebral cortex

A rat four vessel occlusion model was utilized to examine the effects of ischemia/reperfusion on cortical window superfusate levels of amino acids, glucose, and lactate. Superfusate aspartate, glutamate, phosphoethanolamine, taurine, and GABA were significantly elevated by cerebral ischemia, then declined during reperfusion. Other amino acids were affected to a lesser degree. Superfusate lactate rose slightly during the initial ischemic period, declined during continued cerebral ischemia and then was greatly elevated during reperfusion. Superfusate glucose levels declined to near zero levels during ischemia and then rebounded beyond basal levels during the reperfusion period. Inhibition of neuronal lactate uptake with alpha-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate dramatically elevated superfusate lactate levels, enhanced the ischemia/reperfusion evoked release of aspartate but reduced glutamine levels. Topical application of an alternative metabolic fuel, glutamine, had a dose dependent effect. Glutamine (1 mM) elevated basal superfusate glucose levels, diminished the decline in glucose during ischemia, and accelerated its recovery during reperfusion. Lactate levels were elevated during ischemia and reperfusion. These effects were not evident at 5 mM glutamine. At both concentrations, glutamine significantly elevated the superfusate levels of glutamate. Topical application of sodium pyruvate (20 mM) significantly attenuated the decline in superfusate glucose during ischemia and enhanced the levels of both glucose and lactate during reperfusion. However, it had little effect on the ischemia-evoked accumulation of amino acids. Topical application of glucose (450 mg/dL) significantly elevated basal superfusate levels of lactate, which continued to be elevated during both ischemia and reperfusion. The ischemia-evoked accumulations of aspartate, glutamate, taurine and GABA were all significantly depressed by glucose, while phosphoethanolamine levels were elevated. These results support the role of lactate in neuronal metabolism during ischemia/reperfusion. Both glucose and glutamine were also used as energy substrates. In contrast, sodium pyruvate does not appear to be as effectively utilized by the ischemic/reperfused rat brain since it did not reduce ischemia-evoked amino acid efflux.
Pneumatic Tire Hydroplaning and Some Effects on Vehicle Performance

Hydroplaning due to hydrodynamic pressures in tire-ground contact, examining effects of fluid depth, surface texture and tread design
Sex Segregation in American and Polish Higher Education

This article presents a study of sex segregation in higher education in the United States and in Poland. The analyses cover the period from the end of the nineteenth century to the 1930s. High levels of sex segregation in American higher education are linked to well-developed capitalism and democracy, which in the early stages empowered men but not women. They are also accounted for by an open-class system that produced high levels of competition for the most desirable jobs. A low level of economic development, the lack of democracy, and a less open-class system were the structural conditions in Poland. Together, they limited the power of men and led to relatively low levels of educational sex segregation.
Getting More from Out-of-Core Columnsort

We describe two improvements to a previous implementation of out-of-core columnsort, in which data reside on multiple disks. The first improvement replaces asynchronous I/O and communication calls by synchronous calls within a threaded framework. Experimental runs show that this improvement reduces the running time to approximately half of the running time of the previous implementation. The second improvement uses algorithmic and engineering techniques to reduce the number of passes over the data from four to three. Experimental evidence shows that this improvement yields modest performance gains. We expect that the performance gain of this second improvement increases when the relative speed of processing and communication increases with respect to disk I/O speeds. Thus, as processing and communication become faster relative to I/O, this second improvement may yield better results than it currently does.
BUSINESS LOSSES, TRANSPORTATION DAMAGE AND THE NORTHRIDGE EARTHQUAKE

The 1994 Northridge earthquake damaged four major freeways in the Los Angeles area. Southern California firms were surveyed to assess the role that these transportation disruptions played in business losses. Of the firms that reported any earthquake loss, 43% stated that some portion of their business loss was due to transportation damage. For the firms that attributed some loss to transportation damage, the average response was that 39% of their earthquake related business losses were due to the disruptions in the transportation system. Overall, the survey results suggest that transportation damage played an important role in business losses following the earthquake.
Mice lacking specific nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits exhibit dramatically altered spontaneous activity patterns and reveal a limited role for retinal waves in forming ON and OFF circuits in the inner retina.

Before phototransduction, spontaneous activity in the developing mammalian retina is required for the appropriate patterning of retinothalamic connections, and there is growing evidence that this activity influences the development of circuits within the retina itself. We demonstrate here that the neural substrate that generates waves in the mouse retina develops through three distinct stages. First, between embryonic day 16 and birth [postnatal day 0 (P0)], we observed both large, propagating waves inhibited by nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) antagonists and small clusters of cells displaying nonpropagating, correlated calcium increases that were independent of nAChR activation. Second, between P0 and P11, we observed only larger propagating waves that were abolished by toxins specific to α3 and β2 subunit-containing nAChRs. Third, between P11 and P14 (eye opening) we observed propagating activity that was abolished by ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists. The time course of this developmental shift was dramatically altered in retinas from mice lacking the β2 nAChR subunit or the β2 and β4 subunits. These retinas exhibited a novel circuit at P0, no spontaneous correlated activity between P1 and P8, and the premature induction at P8 of an ionotropic glutamate receptor-based circuit. Retinas from postnatal mice lacking the α3 nAChR subunit exhibited spontaneous, correlated activity patterns that were similar to those observed in embryonic wild-type mice. In α3−/− and β2−/− mice, the development and distribution of cholinergic neurons and processes and the density of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and the gross segregation of their dendrites into ON and OFF sublaminae were normal. However, the refinement of individual RGC dendrites is delayed. These results indicate that retinal waves mediated by nAChRs are involved in, but not required for, the development of neural circuits that define the ON and OFF sublamina of the inner plexiform layer.
Theology, Political Theory, and Pluralism: Beyond Tolerance and Difference

1. Introduction 2. The recent journey of liberal tolerance 3. Beyond tolerance to difference 4. Augustine and the theological turn 5. Towards a theology of public conversation 6. Conclusion.
The proteolytic enzyme system of skin. II. The characterization of esterase activities.

Abstract The hydrolysis of esters containing aromatic amino acids are catalyzed by at least two enzymes, A 1 and Proteinase A, present in extracts of rat skin acetone powder. They have been characterized on the basis of (a) the stoichiometric inhibition of only Proteinase A by an inhibitor (AIn) prepared from blood, (b) the extractibility of the A 1 enzyme at lower ionic strengths than is required for Proteinase A, (c) the enrichment of enzyme preparations with Proteinase A by fractionation, (d) the greater stability of the A 1 enzyme when exposed to solutions of acid pH and (e) the ability of Proteinase A, but not A 1 , to hydrolyze L -tyrosine ethyl ester. Both enzymes catalyze the hydrolysis of acylated aromatic amino acid esters and of acylated and non-acylated dipeptide esters in which an aromatic amino acid is involved in the ester bond. The hydrolysis of amide substrates could not be demonstrated. For various reasons, viz. , the parallelism in the extraction of AIn-inhibitable esterase and AIn-inhibitable proteinase activity (against casein) from skin powder as a functin of ionic strength, the localization of both activities in the same fraction with purification and their stability to heating at 50° for two hours, it seems likely that the esterase and proteinase activity inhibited by AIn reflected the ability of Proteinase A to hydrolyze both an ester and a protein substrate. Since Proteinase C was rapidly destroyed by heating at 50°, this enzyme is different from A 1 and Proteinase A. Both A 1 and Proteinase A are inhibited by di iso propyl phosphorofluoridate, soybean inhibitor, and preparations of the lima bean inhibitor and the bovine plasma trypsin inhibitor. Ovumucoid had no effect on either activity. Sulfhydryl groups are apparently not essential for acitivity since HgCl 2 and p -chloromercuribenzoic acid did not produce inhibition and the addition of cysteine did not result in activation.
Determining the accuracy of gypsum casts made from type IV dental stone

Summary A study was conducted to evaluate the accuracy of casts made in Type IV dental stone. The results indicate that all casts distort, but that significant differences exist between various brands of die stone.
The Performance of the Apache Point Observatory 3.5 M Telescope

The Astrophysical Research Consortium 3.5 m telescope facility on Apache Point (2800 m above sea level) near the National Solar Observatory in southern New Mexico is nearing completion. The telescope mount has been installed and testing and fabrication of remaining subassemblies are underway. The f/1.75 lightweight honeycomb primary mirror was cast April 1988 by the Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory and is currently being figured.
A Stereoselective Total Synthesis of (plusmn;)-Callitrisic Acid

Abstract Callitrisic acid (1, 4-epidehydroabietic acid) was isolated from the Australian white cypress pine Callitris columelaris in 1967.2,3 allistrisic acid (1) was previously synthesized by Haworth and Barker;4 Sharma, Ghatak, and Dutta;5 Mori and Matsui6; and Pelletier and Herald.7 Interestingly enough Haworth and Barker's synthesis (the first total synthesis of a diterpenoid natural product) occurred 28 years before callitrisic acid (1) was isolated. We wish to report a short and highly stereoselective total synthesis of (±)-callitrisic acid (1).
BMP signaling in mesenchymal stem cell differentiation and bone formation.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are members of the TGF-β superfamily and have diverse functions during development and organogenesis. BMPs play a major role in skeletal development and bone formation, and disruptions in BMP signaling cause a variety of skeletal and extraskeletal anomalies. Several knockout models have provided insight into the mechanisms responsible for these phenotypes. Proper bone formation requires the differentiation of osteoblasts from mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) precursors, a process mediated in part by BMP signaling. Multiple BMPs, including BMP2, BMP6, BMP7 and BMP9, promote osteoblastic differentiation of MSCs both in vitro and in vivo. BMP9 is one of the most osteogenic BMPs, yet it is a poorly characterized member of the BMP family. Several studies demonstrate that the mechanisms controlling BMP9-mediated osteogenesis differ from other osteogenic BMPs, but little is known about these specific mechanisms. Several pathways critical to BMP9-mediated osteogenesis are also important in the differentiation of other cell lineages, including adipocytes and chondrocytes. BMP9 has also demonstrated translational promise in spinal fusion and bone fracture repair. This review will summarize our current knowledge of BMP-mediated osteogenesis, with a focus on BMP9, by presenting recently completed work which may help us to further elucidate these pathways.
Carotid stenting for symptomatic radiation-induced arteritis complicated by recurrent aneurysm formation

We describe a 56-year-old male who underwent successful carotid stenting (CS) with adjuvant distal protection in response to symptomatic radiation-induced carotid disease. During the CS procedure, it was incidentally noted that the lesion yield pressure was surprisingly low (2 atm). The patient returned with local symptoms from common carotid aneurysmal dilation at the proximal edge of the stent that was successfully treated with a stent graft. A second aneurysm developed proximal to the stent graft and, based on intravascular ultrasound mapping, he ultimately underwent venous bypass covered by a free-muscle graft. We believe the low lesion yield pressure in this case reflected loss of vessel integrity and it may be prudent to avoid oversizing the stent in such patients.