cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Improved Method of Enumeration of Attached Bacteria for Study of Fluctuation in the Abundance of Attached and Free-Living Bacteria in Response to Diel Variation in Seawater Turbidity

Sample preparation for enumerating attached bacteria in turbid seawater by epifluorescence microscopy was improved by treating samples with a surfactant (Tween 80) followed by sonication. With optimal treatment with Tween 80 (final concentration, 10 ppm [10 μg/ml]) and sonication, as many as 10 times more attached bacteria were enumerated from turbid seawater relative to the number enumerated from an untreated control. Dispersion of bacteria by sonication alone resulted in the enumeration of only 42 to 72% of the attached bacteria. By this technique, fluctuations in the number of attached and free-living bacteria were determined in water from Aransas Pass, Tex., where surface sediments are resuspended on a regular basis by tidal currents. The abundance of attached bacteria increased in proportion to the seawater turbidity that resulted from sediment resuspension. The variation in abundance of free-living bacteria was not directly related to seawater turbidity. However, the magnitude of fluctuation in the abundance of free-living bacteria was related to the extent of turbidity variation during diurnal tides.
from saints to shibboleths: image, structure, and identity in Maya religious syncretism

Local concepts of Catholic saints in the Mam (Maya) town of Santiago Chimalten-ango in the western highlands of Guatemala reveal that syncretism there represents not an indiscriminate seamless fusion of Maya and Christian religiosity but a highly differentiated recombination of conventional forms that serves primarily to articulate the moral and physical—and thus ethnic—boundaries of the community. The symbolic reassortment of saints with other local images of community, in particular ancestors and “earth lords,” shows syncretism to be an essential property of local identity, not simply a quaint or arbitrary survival of the Maya past. Contrasts with antecedent saint cults in 16th-century Spain demonstrate the “Mayan-ness” of this syncretism; comparison with saint cults in other Maya communities relates syncretism more closely to local contexts of community morality than to enduring “deep structures” of some primordial Maya culture or to a “false consciousness” born of persistent colonialist oppression. [Maya religion, religious syncretism, saint cults, Guatemala, ethnic identity]
Collaboration Technology Support for Knowledge Conversion in Virtual Teams: A Theoretical Perspective

Collaboration technologies (CTs) are making it feasible for organizations to rapidly bring together dispersed Corkers into virtual teams that perform a variety of tasks. Group support systems (GSS) are a type of CT that is often deployed to facilitate virtual team operations, which typically involve an exchange of knowledge among team members. This paper builds on Nonaka's theory of organizational knowledge creation, and other research, to present a theoretical framework that links the factors that are most relevant to knowledge conversion in GSS-aided virtual teams. The paper advances some research propositions that suggest a positive contribution of GSS to knowledge conversion and the levels of shared understanding and performance that could emerge in virtual teams. In addition, the propositions indicate positive relationships between member perceptions of the virtual work environment, their willingness to share knowledge, and the processes of knowledge conversion in those teams
Antibiotics in head and neck surgery in the setting of malnutrition, tracheotomy, and diabetes.

Objectives/Hypothesis: The objectives of this study are to compare short vs. long antibiotic prophylaxis in the setting of malnutrition, diabetes, and tracheotomy. Study Design: Retrospective chart review. Methods: The charts of 407 patients undergoing clean-contaminated head and neck surgery were reviewed for disease type, operation performed, length of antibiotic prophylaxis, wound complications, and length of hospital stay. Three intrinsic patient risk factors for infection (malnutrition, diabetes mellitus, and tracheotomy) were evaluated for an effect on the optimal length of antibiotic prophylaxis. The data was statistically analyzed using the two-tailed Fisher's exact test. Results: Overall, the incidence of infection was 7% in short-course antibiotics and 13% in long-course antibiotics (P = .06). The incidence of infection was 18% in malnourished patients and 3% in well-nourished patients (P < .0001). In malnourished patients, the incidence of infection was 16% in short-course antibiotics and 19% in long-course antibiotics (P = 1). The incidence of infection was 11% in diabetics and 23% in nondiabetics (P = .13). In diabetic patients, the incidence of infection was 0% on short-course antibiotics and 16% on long-course antibiotics (P = .55). The incidence of pneumonia was 14% in patients with tracheotomy and 5% in patients without tracheotomy (P = .0014). In patients with tracheotomy, the incidence of pneumonia was 8% on short-course antibiotics and 15% on long-course antibiotics (P = .6931). Conclusions: Malnutrition and tracheotomy were associated with a higher infection rate while diabetes was not found to be a risk factor. Prolonged antibiotics were not associated with a lower infection rate in the overall group or in any subgroup. Laryngoscope, 119:549–553, 2009
RETHINKING EDUCATION FOR AUTONOMY IN PLURALISTIC SOCIETIES

If we are to posit, as do many liberal theorists, that autonomy is an educational goal that the state should endorse across cultural difference, key questions remain: What type of autonomy should we strive for, exactly, and how should this goal be achieved? Many liberal philosophers of education have argued that autonomy should enable cultural choice and that the development of autonomy requires students to be exposed to different beliefs and traditions. Shelley Burtt has challenged this dominant position, however, insisting that autonomy (properly understood) can be developed within a “comprehensive education” that does not seek to sympathetically expose students to cultural difference. In this essay, Bryan Warnick responds that Burtt's arguments are inconsistent and lack cultural imagination, and that her underlying concept of autonomy is inadequate, primarily because it lacks a compelling picture of cultural self-criticism. There is a lack of appreciation, he argues, for how frameworks of cultural comparison are necessary in the development of this self-criticism. At the same time, Warnick argues that there is much to be learned from Burtt's analysis about the tough choices that need to be made as liberals seek to champion autonomy as an educational end across cultural difference.
Optimum processing for acoustic arrays

Bryn's optimum detector is briefly described. Its performance is compared with the conventional detector for background noise consisting of self-noise and isotropic sea-noise
Applying Acceptance, Mindfulness, and Values to the Reduction of Prejudice: A Pilot Study

Two classroom approaches to reducing racial and ethnic prejudice among college students were compared: a class session based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and an educational lecture drawn from a textbook on the psychology of racial differences. Undergraduates who were enrolled in two separate classes on racial differences were exposed to each approach in a counterbalanced order. Results indicate that only the ACT intervention was effective in increasing positive behavioral intentions at post and a 1-week follow-up. These changes were associated with other self-reported changes that fit with the ACT model. Implications of a potentially new model of prejudice are briefly discussed.
Measurement of filtration effects on the transmissivity of geocomposite drains for phosphogypsum

Geocomposite curtain drains are commonly used in phosphogypsum waste stacks to mitigate stability concerns. Specifically, they are used to lower the piezometric surface in the phosphogypsum by diverting water flow near the toe of the stack slopes. Phosphogypsum has high fines content, low plasticity, and slight solubility, all of which are indicators that its filtration behavior should be evaluated in addition to using filtration criteria developed for soils. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of filtration on the in-plane flow capacity of geocomposites used as a curtain drain in problematic soils like phosphogypsum. Specifically, a flexible-wall permeameter was adapted with a bottom platen that permits both a gradient ratio filtration test and an in-plane transmissivity test to be performed on a soil– geocomposite system. Measured gradient ratio values for compacted phosphogypsum underlain by a geocomposite with 200 g/m 2 nonwoven geotextiles ranged from 0.94 to 0.63 for cross-plane target gradients ranging from 0.7 to 24.9. Although these gradient ratio values indicate a possibility for some particle loss across the filter via piping, especially under high target gradients, steady seepage conditions were obtained. However, the transmissivity measured after each filtration test was not observed to change significantly, indicating that the geocomposite was suitable for use as a curtain drain in phosphogypsum. The dual-purpose experimental approach developed in this study was found to provide complementary information to existing filtration criteria when using geocomposites in potentially problematic soils.
Biosensors: An overview

Biotechnology and biomedicine require improved measurement devices for purposes of analysis, monitoring, and control, with specific applications in fermentation, antibody production, drug testing, and patient monitoring. Electrochemical biosensors provide a possible means of meeting such needs provided the capabilities of such sensors can be extended to a wider range of biomolecules and more complex matrices. Several recent initiatives suggest that some new approaches to the development of potentiometric and amperometric biosensors may be effective for this purpose. Such initiatives for the development of novel biosensors require a synthesis of biological and analytical concepts. Possible strategies involve the use of chemoreceptor structures, immunoagents, and cellular materials from plant or animal sources.
Review of An Introduction to Modern Econometrics Using Stata by Baum

This article reviews An Introduction to Modern Econometrics Using Stata by Christopher F. Baum.
Endoscopic management of Zenker's diverticulum: stapler assisted versus Harmonic Ace.

Objectives/Hypothesis: Endoscopic repair has become the preferred method of treatment for Zenker's diverticuli. The objective of this study is to compare the endoscopic stapling technique with a novel technique using the Harmonic Ace device (Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., Cincinnati, OH). Study Design: A retrospective chart review. Methods: Medical records of 48 consecutive patients who underwent endoscopic repair of a Zenker's diverticulum were reviewed. Data were gathered for demographics, symptoms, treatment techniques, and outcomes. Analysis was made using standard statistical methods. Results: A total of 52 endoscopic procedures were attempted and 50 performed: 28 stapler assisted, 20 Harmonic Ace assisted, and 2 using both techniques. Three procedures were aborted due to anatomic limitations. Forty-four (88%) patients reported complete resolution of their symptoms. Overall, there were six (12%) reported complications. Five (17.9%) complications involved the stapler technique and 1 (5%) using the Harmonic Ace. The difference between these two groups was not significant (P < .38). The average diverticulum size was smaller in the Harmonic Ace group compared to the stapler group (P < .0017). Patients with diverticuli larger than 2 cm were more likely to have postoperative complications than those with smaller ones. Conclusions: Stapler and Harmonic Ace assisted endoscopic repair of Zenker's diverticulum are two safe and effective minimally invasive techniques. Postoperative complications are more likely due to size of the diverticulum and not the device used. The Harmonic Ace used alone or in combination with the stapler may offer additional advantages over conventional open and stapler assisted techniques, addressing size limitations and persistent symptoms. Laryngoscope, 2009
Doing disagreement in the House of Lords: ‘Talking around the issue’ as a context-appropriate argumentative strategy

In this article I analyze talk in a political setting to demonstrate how disagreement-relevant practices are fitted to context to accomplish a kind of argumentative strategy. I propose that in the British Parliament’s House of Lords, interlocutors deal with dilemmas of disagreement by doing something I refer to as ‘talking around the issue’, a practice involving 1) institutional positioning , 2) display of emotionality, and 3) orientation to the issue . I suggest that these practices are indicative of institutional norms, but also comprise some of the argumentative resources available to interactants in everyday argumentative practice. These practices also reflect key areas of interest in disagreement and conflict research related to context, style, and issues in conflict.
Qualitative probability and order of magnitude reasoning

In recent years there has been a spate of papers describing systems for probabilistic reasoning which do not use numerical probabilities. In some cases these systems are unable to make any useful inferences because they deal with changes in probability at too high a level of abstraction. This paper discusses one of the problems this level of abstraction can cause, and shows how the use of a technique for order of magnitude reasoning can reduce its impact.
Basolateral Uptake of Inorganic Mercury in the Kidney

Renal disposition of administered inorganic mercury was studied in rats that had undergone an acute bilateral ureteral ligation shortly before being injected with a nontoxic 0.5-micromol/kg iv dose of inorganic mercury with or without 2.0 micromol/kg glutathione (GSH) or cysteine. Ureteral ligation and induction of "stop-flow" conditions were carried out to decrease glomerular filtration rate to negligible levels prior to the administration of inorganic mercury. The disposition of mercury was studied in the kidneys, liver, and blood 1 h after treatment. In rats given only mercuric chloride, the renal burden of mercury was approximately 20-25% of the administered dose of mercury, which is approximately 50% of the renal burden of mercury detected on average in normal rats. Coadministration of inorganic mercury with GSH or cysteine caused a significant increase in the renal uptake of mercury 1 h after treatment. The enhanced uptake of mercury in the kidneys was due to increased uptake of mercury in the renal cortex and outer stripe of the outer medulla. Pretreatment with para-aminohippuric acid caused significant reductions in the renal concentration and burden of inorganic mercury in all the rats administered inorganic mercury, regardless of whether the inorganic mercury was coadministered with GSH or cysteine. Overall, the findings from the present study provide additional evidence that there is basolateral uptake of inorganic mercury in the kidneys and that the primary mechanism involved in this basolateral uptake is dependent on the activity of the organic anion transporter. More importantly, the present findings also show that GSH and cysteine enhance the basolateral uptake of mercuric ions in the kidney when they are coadministered with inorganic mercury (presumably in the form of mercuric conjugates). On the basis of the present findings, one is led to believe that mercuric conjugates of GSH and cysteine are taken up at the basolateral membrane following exposure to inorganic forms of mercury.
DV-CAST: A distributed vehicular broadcast protocol for vehicular ad hoc networks

The potential of infrastructureless vehicular ad hoc networks for providing safety and nonsafety applications is quite significant. The topology of VANETs in urban, suburban, and rural areas can exhibit fully connected, fully disconnected, or sparsely connected behavior, depending on the time of day or the market penetration rate of wireless communication devices. In this article we focus on highway scenarios, and present the design and implementation of a new distributed vehicular multihop broadcast protocol, that can operate in all traffic regimes, including extreme scenarios such as dense and sparse traffic regimes. DV-CAST is a distributed broadcast protocol that relies only on local topology information for handling broadcast messages in VANETs. It is shown that the performance of the proposed DV-CAST protocol in terms of reliability, efficiency, and scalability is excellent.
Postmastectomy/postlumpectomy pain in breast cancer survivors

Few studies have focused on careful assessment of postmastectomy pain (PMP); a chronic neuropathic pain syndrome that can affect women postlumpectomy or postmastectomy for breast cancer (BC). Study aims were to determine the prevalence of PMP in an outpatient sample of breast cancer survivors (BCS), describe subjective and objective characteristics of PMP, and examine the relationship between PMP and quality of life. Breast cancer survivors (n = 134) participated in telephone interviews, and those reporting PMP (n = 36) were invited to a pain center for further evaluation and treatment. Results show PMP is a distinct, chronic, pain syndrome affecting 27% of BCS. Findings support the need for clinical trials evaluating the effectiveness of nonpharmacological or cognitive behavioral therapies in alleviating mild to moderate PMP.
Terrain simplification simplified: a general framework for view-dependent out-of-core visualization

We describe a general framework for out-of-core rendering and management of massive terrain surfaces. The two key components of this framework are: view-dependent refinement of the terrain mesh and a simple scheme for organizing the terrain data to improve coherence and reduce the number of paging events from external storage to main memory. Similar to several previously proposed methods for view-dependent refinement, we recursively subdivide a triangle mesh defined over regularly gridded data using longest-edge bisection. As part of this single, per-frame refinement pass, we perform triangle stripping, view frustum culling, and smooth blending of geometry using geomorphing. Meanwhile, our refinement framework supports a large class of error metrics, is highly competitive in terms of rendering performance, and is surprisingly simple to implement. Independent of our refinement algorithm, we also describe several data layout techniques for providing coherent access to the terrain data. By reordering the data in a manner that is more consistent with our recursive access pattern, we show that visualization of gigabyte-size data sets can be realized even on low-end, commodity PCs without the need for complicated and explicit data paging techniques. Rather, by virtue of dramatic improvements in multilevel cache coherence, we rely on the built-in paging mechanisms of the operating system to perform this task. The end result is a straightforward, simple-to-implement, pointerless indexing scheme that dramatically improves the data locality and paging performance over conventional matrix-based layouts.
Trajectory of physical health, cognitive status, and psychological well-being among Chinese elderly

This study investigates the trajectory of various dimensions of health status among the Chinese elderly in their late years. We used growth-curve analyses on a subsample (n≈2000) of the elderly from the Chinese Longitudinal Health Longevity Survey (CLHLS) who had longitudinal information from 1998 to 2005. Analyses controlled for a large set of individual and family characteristics. Our findings indicate that elderly who had relatively advantaged childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and who regularly engaged in physical and/or leisure activities had significantly healthier well-being than their respective counterparts on all dimensions considered. In addition, regularly participating in physical and/or leisure activities was associated with slow deterioration of health well-being among the Chinese elderly. The results indicate the potential benefits of engaging in physical and/or leisure activities, and consequently, the importance of implementing programs that promote such activities among elders in China.
Effect of heat treatment on the electrical resistivity of lithium ferrite

Polycrystalline lithium ferrite samples were subjected to a variety of heat treatments. The most effective process in raising the sample resistivity was the oxidation process. The efficiencies of these heat treatment processes were compared. Effects of heat treatments on the thermoelectric, microwave line width, and dielectric properties of the samples were also reported.
Age Differences in the Association of Social Support and Mental Health in Male U.S. Veterans: Results From the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

Objective To examine the associations between multiple aspects of social support—perceived support, structural support, and community integration—and mental health difficulties in younger and older male veterans. Drawing from Socioemotional Selectivity Theory (SST), we hypothesized that greater support would be more strongly negatively related to mental health difficulties in older than younger veterans. Design Cross-sectional Web survey of younger and older male veterans recruited from a contemporary, nationally representative sample of veterans residing in the United States. Setting Data were drawn from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. Participants Participants were 290 younger male veterans (mean age: 37.0 years, SD: 6.9, range: 21–46) and 326 older male veterans (mean age: 81.7 years, SD: 3.2, range: 78–96). Measurements Participants completed measures of sociodemographic and military characteristics, perceived and structural social support, community integration, and mental health difficulties. Results In contrast to SST, higher perceived support was associated with fewer mental health difficulties in younger but not older veterans. In line with SST, community integration was associated with fewer mental health difficulties in older but not younger veterans. Structural support was not associated with mental health difficulties in either group. Conclusion Results of this study provide mixed support for SST and suggest that different aspects of social support may help promote the mental health of younger and older male U.S. veterans. Promotion of community engagement may help promote mental health in older veterans, whereas promotion of functional social support may help promote mental health in younger veterans.
13 Ebola virus: where does it come from and where is it going?

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the emergence and natural history of Ebola viruses. The fact that the Ebola virus subtypes, which have caused human disease episodes, have been different from one another makes it clear that a common source human-to-human transmission chain extending across sub-Saharan Africa is not the case and rather, virus subtypes lodged at or near each site of the recent human disease episodes have been responsible. Filovirus virions are enveloped and pleomorphic, appearing filamentous or bacilliform, U-shaped, 6-shaped, or circular. Particles have a uniform diameter of 80 nm, but vary greatly in length. The degree of the stability of filovirus sequences overall and the absence of genetic variability among Ebola virus isolates obtained within an outbreak match the character of other member viruses of the order, Mononegavirales. In rhesus monkeys, cynomolgus monkeys, African green monkeys, and baboons inoculated with Marburg virus or the Zaire subtype of Ebola virus, the incubation period is 4–6 days, during which time virus replicates to high titer in the reticuloendothelial system, endothelium, liver, and lungs. It is found that with the onset of clinical disease, there is severe necrosis of these target organs, which is most evident in the liver and there is an interstitial hemorrhage, which is most evident in the gastrointestinal tract.
Framing SCHIP Expansion: Ideology and Policy Legacies

This paper examines the framing of three phases of the expansion of publicly funded health insurance coverage for US children: the expansion of Medicaid eligibility in the 1980s, the creation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in 1997 and the contentious debate over the reauthorization and expansion of SCHIP between 2007 and 2009. The frames used by proponents of expanding Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women and children were (1) the morality of providing care to innocent and vulnerable children (2) the long-term cost-effectiveness of primary and preventive health services for pregnant women and children and (3) health-care access as an investment in the future US workforce. These frames were used again to argue for the creation of a separate children’s health insurance program in 1997 with the addition of the frame of the “hard-working” parents whose children would benefit. My analysis of Congressional hearings on SCHIP reauthorization shows that these frames continued to be used by proponents of SCHIP expansion, while opponents, notably President George W. Bush, framed eligibility expansion as a Trojan horse for “government-run health care for every American.” This framing echoed that used for decades by opponents of universal health insurance, but unlike earlier framing, did not represent the views of health services providers. I argue that the continuity of both sets of frames over time constitutes a set of “policy legacies.”
Promotion of Synthesis of TiAl Intermetallic Powder by Introducing Nitrogen into Milling Atmosphere

We observed the formation process of Ti-Al intermetallic compound powder during mechanical alloying of a powder mixture of Ti and Al by using a tumbling ball mill and found that the formation of the intermetallic compound powder was promoted by nitrogen gas in a milling atmosphere. Based on this finding, we introduced a small quantity of nitrogen gas into the milling atmosphere in order to shorten the time required for producing the intermetallic compound powder and to improve its yield. As a result, we found that an intervenient introduction of 1vol.% nitrogen gas into the milling atmosphere can achieve a yield of 98.8% after milling for 1440ks.
Clinical practice guidelines: non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.

BACKGROUND Despite the common clonal origin of the non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHLs), their characteristic diversity contributes to the difficulty of defining comprehensive treatment regimens. OBJECTIVES To review and compare historical and current data that define practice guidelines in the treatment of the NHLs. DISCUSSION Early-stage, low-grade NHLs: Irradiation remains the standard treatment. Late-stage, low-grade NHLs and advanced-stage indolent lymphomas: Alkylating agents (eg, chlorambucil, cyclophosphamide) are the standard response, although recent studies suggest maintaining a vigilant, watch-and-wait course anticipatory of intervention. Some new therapies, alone or in combination, offer potential for development (eg, the chemotherapeutic agents fludarabine, 2′-deoxycoformycin, and 2-chlorodeoxyadenosine for low-grade NHLs, and bone marrow transplantation, monoclonal antibodies, and recombinant interferon-alfa for advanced-stage indolent lymphomas). Intermediate-grade aggressive and high-grade NHLs: Combination chemotherapy (ie, CHOP) is the historical treatment, plus regional irradiation, with C N S prophylaxis an additional option in high-grade lymphoblastic disease, and bone marrow transplantation an additional option in large-cell immunoblastic and small noncleaved-cell NHLs. CONCLUSIONS Presently accepted therapies remain the mainstays in treating the NHLs; however, progressive therapeutic regimens, such as watching and waiting for intermediate-level disease progression or employing salvage, high-dose chemotherapeutic regimens, often with bone marrow transplantation, in intermediate- or high-grade disease stages, have yielded measurable successes in significant minorities of patients.
German Parliamentarism in 1848: Roll-Call Voting in the Frankfurt Assembly

The reputation of the Frankfurt Assembly of 1848 has undergone a partial revision in the last few years. Its members used to be considered political novices from whom one could learn little about how to run a parliament (Huber, 1960: 613 is typical). Ziebura (1963) was perhaps the first to challenge this view. He showed that the Frankfurt Assembly was, in fact, run in a very professional way: It created sophisticated and disciplined political parties, and these parties actually exerted effective control over parliamentary business. They even joined together to form a coalition that gave reliable political support to a German provisional government. Kramer (1968), Boldt (1971), Botzenhart (1977), and Langewiesche (1978) have subsequently documented the skillful organization of these parties and their attempts to control members, to create extraparliamentary connections, and to maintain both a formal government coalition and an organized opposition. Kramer (1968: 175-178) has shown that they were particularly successful in applying party discipline to voting
Aeroelastic Flutter of a Rotating Disk in an Unbounded Compressible Inviscid Fluid

The aeroelastic flutter of an unbaffled flexible disk rotating in an unbounded fluid is investigated, by modeling the disk-fluid system as a rotating Kirchhoff plate coupled to irrotational flow of a compressible inviscid fluid. The fluid motions are governed by the wave equation of linear acoustics. Fluid-structure coupling is achieved between the disk and the fluid by means of the fluid loading on the disk and the velocity matching boundary conditions on the disk surface. A perturbed eigenvalue formulation is used to compute systematically the coupled system eigenvalues. A series solution is presented for the dual integral equations, arising from the mixed boundary value problem governing the fluid motions. It is found that two distinct aerodynamic effects occur — radiation damping into the surrounding fluid and added fluid inertia effect. Provided the disk has zero material damping, the radiation damping causes the flutter speed to coincide with the critical speed. This flutter instability is a degenerate bifurcation with eigenvalues crossing into the right half plane through the origin with zero speed. The added fluid inertia effect modifies the frequencies of the traveling waves but does not affect the critical speed.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Abstract A39: Identification and biostatistical analysis of conserved metabolic profiles in breast tumors from transgenic mouse models

Novel breast biomarkers with prognostic and therapeutic value include metabolites that are differentially expressed in breast tumors. The goal of this study is to identify global metabolic profiles of breast tumors derived from multiple established transgenic mouse models to gain insight into breast cancers of differing origin. We compared breast tumor samples to normal tissue and between cancer models from transgenic mouse breast cancer models overexpressing the following oncogenes: PyMT, PyMT-DB, Wnt1, Neu, and C3-TAg transgenic mice. Our breast tissue samples were analyzed on GC-MS and LC-MS/MS platforms, and analysis included 374 biochemical compounds of known identity. Comparison of global metabolic profiles between the different mouse breast cancer and normal tissue revealed many metabolic differences between genetic models. The vast majority of metabolomic profiles demonstrated differential levels of biochemicals between normal and tumor tissues consistent with changes in metabolism that support rapid growth. Breast tumors had increased glucose metabolism, amino acid metabolism, catabolism, and levels of the TCA cycle intermediates, consistent with increased energy production and anaplerotic contributions from amino acid catabolism. We also saw increased phospholipid metabolism, cholesterol uptake, and nucleotide metabolites. Combined with published gene expression data for these mouse models, we were able to conduct biostatistical analysis to search for correlation between gene expression and metabolite levels. We identified novel key metabolites and genes that correlate with the most other metabolites/genes; the list of these “hub” metabolites/genes could prove to be novel sites of regulation for breast cancer progression. We identified novel metabolic profiles of breast cancer that will be foundational in identifying metabolites with clinical prognostic value. Currently we are using both 3D culture and preclinical animal models to examine the role of the differentially expressed metabolites in breast cancer progression and treatment. Citation Format: Chen Dai, Laurie Littlepage, Jun Li. Identification and biostatistical analysis of conserved metabolic profiles in breast tumors from transgenic mouse models. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Metabolism and Cancer; Jun 7-10, 2015; Bellevue, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2016;14(1_Suppl):Abstract nr A39.
Amorphous Silicon Carbide for Neural Interface Applications

Abstract Implantable neural interfaces offer promise as prosthetic devices that enable communication and control of artificial limbs for individuals suffering from paralysis and amputation. While proof-of-concept recordings from microelectrode arrays (MEAs) have been promising, work in animal models demonstrates that the obtained signals degrade over time until device failure. Amorphous silicon carbide ( a -SiC), a robust material that is corrosion resistant, has emerged as an alternative encapsulation layer for biomedical devices. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss mechanisms involved in the degradation of MEA performance, the role of material choice in the tissue response, the biological response of neural tissue to a -SiC both in vitro and in vivo , and the utility of a -SiC as an encapsulant for implantable neural interfaces.
Begetting the Eukarya: An Unexpected Light

Concerning the origin of eukaryotic cells, much has been written but almost everything remains to be settled. No one disputes that mitochondria derive from free-living bacteria that established an intimate symbiotic relationship with a host of some kind and progressively turned into organelles, workhorses of metabolism, and a hallmark of eukaryotic organization. But consensus ends here; the nature of that host, the timing and circumstances of the partnership, and its role in generating the conspicuous complexity of eukaryotic cells all remain elusive and entangled in controversy. In a comprehensive review of the subject published in 2006, Martin Embley and William Martin (6) concluded bleakly that: “the evolutionary gap between prokaryotes and eukaryotes is now deeper, and the nature of the host that acquired the mitochondrion more obscure, than ever before.” No one will claim that the darkness has been lifted, but just in the past few years this intractable subject has begun to appear in a fresh light.
In Vitro Resistance Selection in Shigella flexneri by Azithromycin, Ceftriaxone, Ciprofloxacin, Levofloxacin, and Moxifloxacin.

ABSTRACT Shigella flexneri continues to be a major cause of diarrhea-associated illness, and increasing resistance to first-line antimicrobials complicates the treatment of infections caused by this pathogen. We investigated the pharmacodynamics of current antimicrobial treatments for shigellosis to determine the likelihood of resistance promotion with continued global antimicrobial use. The mutant prevention concentration (MPC) and mutant selection window (MSW) were determined for azithromycin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and moxifloxacin against a wild-type strain of S. flexneri (ATCC 12022) and an isogenic gyrA mutant (m-12022). Time-kill assays were performed to determine antimicrobial killing. Concentrations of approved doses of ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and moxifloxacin are predicted to surpass the MPC for a majority of the dosage interval against ATCC 12022. However, against m-12022, concentrations of all fluoroquinolones are predicted to fall below the MPC and remain in the MSW for a majority of the dosage interval. Concentrations of ceftriaxone fall within the MSW for the majority of the dosage interval for both strains. All agents other than azithromycin displayed bactericidal activity in time-kill assays. Results of pharmacodynamic analyses suggest that all tested fluoroquinolones would achieve a favorable area under the concentration-time curve (AUC)/MPC ratio for ATCC 12022 and would restrict selective enrichment of mutants but that mutant selection in m-12022 would be likely if ciprofloxacin were used. Based on pharmacodynamic analyses, azithromycin and ceftriaxone are predicted to promote mutant selection in both strains. Confirmation of these findings and examination of novel treatment regimens using in vivo studies are warranted.
An Aristotelian View of Marx’s Method

A number of Marxist scholars have tied aspects of Marx’s thought to certain Aristotelian categories, yet remarkably little is said of Marx’s dialectical materialism in this literature. Here we attempt to lay a foundation for such an effort, paying particular attention to the way in which Aristotle’s mediated starting point resonates in Marx’s method. While Hegel is able to grasp man’s self-creation as a process, his dialectical method proceeds from an unmediated starting point, and impresses Idealism upon the Aristotelian categories. In rejecting the Idealist dimensions of Hegel’s dialectic, Marx implicitly reclaims the materialist dimensions of Aristotle’s system. It will be argued here that such an interpretation sheds important light on the nature of Marx’s departure from Hegel, and on his method in Capital.
Model order reduction of nonlinear parabolic PDE systems with moving boundaries using sparse proper orthogonal decomposition: Application to hydraulic fracturing

Abstract Developing reduced-order models for nonlinear parabolic partial differential equation (PDE) systems with time-varying spatial domains remains a key challenge as the dominant spatial patterns of the system change with time. To address this issue, there have been several studies where the time-varying spatial domain is transformed to the time-invariant spatial domain by using an analytical expression that describes how the spatial domain changes with time. However, this information is not available in many real-world applications, and therefore, the approach is not generally applicable. To overcome this challenge, we introduce sparse proper orthogonal decomposition (SPOD)-Galerkin methodology that exploits the key features of ridge and lasso regularization techniques for the model order reduction of such systems. This methodology is successfully applied to a hydraulic fracturing process, and a series of simulation results indicates that it is more accurate in approximating the original nonlinear system than the standard POD-Galerkin methodology.
Síndrome del espectro autista. Importancia del diagnóstico temprano

Aceptado: 4 de agosto de 2006 SUMMARY Autism, currently known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a lifelong neuropsychiatric disorder that starts before three years of age. The behavioral and cognitive symptoms seem to be caused by an abnormal synaptic connectivity that leads to deficits in the ability to filter sensory information. Poor filtering seems to constitute a barrier for the integration and processing of neuronal information. Because ASD is not a neurodegenerative disorder, under appropriate conditions, symptoms usually improve over time, probably because the autistic person learns to filter sensory information by alternative neuronal routes. This allows him/her to have a better understanding of the surrounding environment and in turn facilitates learning. Early intervention on children identified before age 2 notably improves prognosis. Currently, ASD can be detected in boys and girls when they are about 18 months old. However, parents and autism experts can observe symptoms before that age. The participation of the health system in order to prepare parents, pediatricians, and caregivers is highly important and leads to significant improvements in the quality of life of autistic individuals and of caregivers.
Duration of antibody responses to common enterobacterial and O antigens of children with pyogenic peritonitis.

Children with pyogenic peritonitis following appendicits produce antibodies against the common enterobacterial antigen (CA) in unusually high titers when compared to patients with salmonellosis, shigellosis, or urinary tract infection. The duration of this antibody response was determined in 19 children observed over a period of up to 31 months after the acute illness. CA antibody titers decreased significantly in 70% of the patients during the first year and in 91% of those studied between 13 and 31 months after the infection. In the majority (71%) of patients the antibody titers returned to pre-or near pre-infection levels within 31 months after the acute illness. Only in a few patients (19%) were near maximal titers maintained during the observation period. The titers of anti-bodies against the O antigens of the infecting microorganisms also decreased in the majority of subjects during the follow-up period of observation. These findings may be of importance in connection with studies on the immune response of patients with urinary tract and other infections.
Online vs. Traditional Learning in Teacher Education: A Comparison of Student Progress

Online education programs are well established in higher education, including graduate level and non-traditional teacher education programs. However, there is a lack of substantial research into on...
Decoding the Epitranscriptional Landscape from Native RNA Sequences

Abstract Sequencing of native RNA and corresponding cDNA was performed using Oxford Nanopore Technology. The % Error of Specific Bases (%ESB) was higher for native RNA than for cDNA, which enabled detection of ribonucleotide modification sites. Based on %ESB differences of the two templates, a bioinformatic tool ELIGOS was developed and applied to rRNAs of E. coli, yeast and human cells. ELIGOS captured 91%, 95%, ∼75%, respectively, of the known variety of RNA methylation sites in these rRNAs. Yeast transcriptomes from different growth conditions were also compared, which identified an association between metabolic adaptation and inferred RNA modifications. ELIGOS was further applied to human transcriptome datasets, which identified the well-known DRACH motif containing N6-methyadenine being located close to 3’-untranslated regions of mRNA. Moreover, the RNA G-quadruplex motif was uncovered by ELIGOS. In summary, we have developed an experimental method coupled with bioinformatic software to uncover native RNA modifications and secondary-structures within transcripts.
Majority rule and general decision rules

For ann-member body making dichotomous decisions, decision rules can be formulated as simple games. Of all possible decision rules, majority rule maximizes the average reponsiveness of the body to individual preferences. It is the unique decision rule which does this whenn is odd, but not whenn is even. Other conditions limit the choice of decision rules whenn is even.
Temperature dependent dielectric and magnetoelectric response of multiferroic CoFe2O4 and Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 multilayered structure

The temperature dependence of the dielectric properties, along with the field and frequency dependences of the magnetoelectric properties of a CoFe2O4/Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3/CoFe2O4 laminate structure has ...
Do I need to see a urologist for my vasectomy? A comparison of practice patterns between urologists and family medicine physicians

Urologists perform the majority of vasectomies in the United States; however, family medicine physicians (FMPs) perform up to 35%. We hypothesized that differences exist in practice patterns and outcomes between urologists and FMPs. Patients who underwent a vasectomy from 2010 to 2016 were identified. Postvasectomy semen analysis (PVSA) practices were compared between urologists and FMPs, before and after release of the 2012 AUA vasectomy guidelines. From 2010 to 2016, FMPs performed 1435 (35.1%) of all vasectomies. PVSA follow-up rates were similar between the two groups (63.4% vs 64.8%, P = 0.18). Of the patients with follow-up, the median number of PVSAs obtained was 1 (range 1–6) in both groups (P = 0.22). Following the release of guidelines, fewer urologists obtained multiple PVSAs (69.8% vs 28.9% pre- and post-2012, P
Metastatic cancer cell attachment to endothelium is promoted by endothelial glycocalyx sialic acid degradation

While it is known that cancer cell interactions with vascular endothelial cells (ECs) drive metastatic cancer cell extravasation from blood vessels into secondary tumor sites, the mechanisms of action are still poorly understood. Here, we tested the hypothesis that neuraminidase-induced degradation of EC surface glycocalyx (GCX), particularly the sialic acid (SA) residue components of the GCX, will substantially increase metastatic cancer cell attachment to ECs. To our knowledge, our study is the first to isolate the role of GCX SA residues in cancer cell attachment to the endothelium, which were found to be differentially affected by the presence of neuraminidase and to indeed regulate metastatic cancer cell homing to ECs. We hope that this work will eventually translate to identification of EC GCX-based cancer markers that can be therapeutically targeted to hinder the progression of metastasis.
Partisan Learning or Racial Learning: Opinion Change on Sanctuary City Policy Preferences in CA and TX

Significant research indicates that attitude change is often a product of partisan learning. However, as the party system continues to rearrange around issues of race and immigration, and as new racial policy issues thrust onto the agenda, it is unclear whether voters learn to adopt racial policy attitudes more based on race/ethnicity or on party identification. We evaluate the partisan-learning model versus a racial-learning model with regards to public opinion on sanctuary cities/policies among survey respondents in CA and TX. Given President Trump's public antipathy toward sanctuary cities, we argue and show that negative partisanship is the most plausible vehicle for sanctuary city attitude change between 2015 and 2017. In this particular case, we find no support for a racial/ethnic-learning model.
Dangerous Confidence? Chinese Views on Nuclear Escalation

Chinese views of nuclear escalation are key to assessing the potential for nuclear escalation in a crisis or armed conflict between the United States and China, but they have not been examined syst...
A Correlational Study to Compare Hospitalized Adultsâ€™ Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Complication Rates between those Indwelling > 96 Hours to those Indwelling 72 â€“ 96 Hours.

Background and Objectives: Care of peripheral intravenous catheters (PIVs) is a major component of hospital nursing practice, yet little published evidence exists to help nurses determine the maximum time PIVs can remain indwelling to minimize the risk of complications. This study sought to determine if PIVs that remained in place for > 96 hours would have the same complication rate as those that remained in place for 72-96 hours.Â Population: Hospitalized adults with a peripheral intravenous catheter indwelling at least 72 hours. Methods: A retrospective correlational design explored the relationship between complication rates with respect to these dwell times. Results: Of all charts reviewed, 490 met inclusion criteria, of which 110 were discontinued due to a complication. The most common complication was infiltration. The study found that there was no difference in complication rate between those PIVs dwelling for 72-96 hours and those for greater than 96 hours. Interpretation and conclusion: This research supports the current Infusion Nurses Society recommendation to remove PIVs based on clinical indication rather than standard interval.