cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparative proteomics of Mn(II)‐oxidizing and non‐oxidizing Roseobacter clade bacteria reveal an operative manganese transport system but minimal Mn(II)‐induced expression of manganese oxidation and antioxidant enzymes

Manganese (Mn) is an essential nutrient and precipitates as minerals with technological and environmental relevance. To gain a proteomic understanding of how bacteria respond to Mn(II) and its connection to oxidation, a comparative examination of the proteomic response of Mn(II)-oxidizing (Roseobacter sp. AzwK-3b) and non-oxidizing (Ruegeria sp. TM1040) alphaproteobacteria was conducted. Both bacteria show an operative Mn(II) transport system. In the absence of Mn(II), both bacteria have higher expression of proteins that were homologous to SitA and SitB, known proteins in the Mn(II) transport system of other alphaproteobacteria. Overall, each bacterium demonstrated a varied response to Mn(II). Ru. TM1040 had a greater number of proteins differentially expressed in response to Mn(II) and also had a group of proteins related to chemotaxis at higher concentrations of Mn(II), suggesting a potential stress response. While both bacteria are able to generate extracellular superoxide and Mn(II) is a known antioxidant, the presence of Mn(II) did not significantly alter the expression of proteins related to antioxidant activity. Heme peroxidases, previously connected to Mn(II) oxidation, were found in the soluble protein extract of R. AzwK-3b, but only minor differential expression was observed as a function of Mn(II), indicating that their expression was not induced by Mn(II).
Predictive Density Estimation for Multiple Regression

Suppose we observe X » Nm(Afl;ae 2 I) and would like to estimate the predictive density p(y j fl) of a future Y » Nn(Bfl;ae 2 I). Evaluating predictive estimates ^ p(y j x) by KullbackLeibler loss, we develop and evaluate Bayes procedures for this problem. We obtain general su‐cient conditions for minimaxity and dominance of the \noninformative" uniform prior Bayes procedure. We extend these results to situations where only a subset of the predictors in A is thought to be potentially irrelevant. We then consider the more realistic situation where there is model uncertainty and this subset is unknown. For this situation we develop multiple shrinkage predictive estimators and obtain general minimaxity and dominance conditions. Finally, we provide an explicit example of a minimax multiple shrinkage predictive estimator based on scaled harmonic priors.
A Major Locus Influencing Plasma High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels in the San Antonio Family Heart Study: Segregation and Linkage Analyses

To detect and measure the effects of a single locus on quantitative variation in plasma concentrations of HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), we conducted statistical genetic analyses on data from 526 Mexican American individuals in 25 randomly ascertained pedigrees. By using maximum-likelihood complex segregation analysis, we found evidence for a major locus with a codominant mixture model that included the phenotypic means, standard deviations, relative frequency of a low HDL-C allele, and heritability for plasma HDL-C levels, plus the effects of sex (genotype specific), age-by-sex, age2-by-sex, plasma concentrations of apolipoprotein (apo)AI and triglycerides (genotype specific), exogenous sex hormone use, and menopausal status under an unrestricted general model. Inclusion of the four covariates (in addition to the sex and age-by-sex effects) accounted for nearly 79% of the variance in total plasma HDL-C levels. Of the remaining 21% of the variance, the detected major locus accounted for approximately 55% in men and 21% in women; the total genetic contributions to the variance by genes were approximately 82% in men and 69% in women. Linkage analyses with penetrance parameter estimates from the segregation analysis excluded tight linkage between the detected major locus and markers for the following candidate loci: the apoAI/apoCIII genomic region (P < .05), apoB (P < .01), hepatic lipase (P < .001), lipoprotein lipase (P < .001), and the LDL receptor (P < .001). While not excluding the apoE locus (LOD = -0.348, P < .21), the analysis provided no support for tight linkage between it and the detected major locus.
Researching workplace relationships What can we learn from qualitative organizational studies

The study of workplace relationships is now well established. Although initially conducted with quantitative methods, when the qualitative turn in organizational communication intersected with increased recognition of the value of qualitative/interpretive methods for understanding interpersonal relationships, research on work relationships began to move in a similar direction, resulting in an increasingly rich knowledge base. This article traces the rise of qualitative research on workplace relationships, highlighting exemplary studies and identifying resources that can guide continued qualitative research on workplace relationships.
Software Design Techniques for Automatic Checkout

As electronic devices became increasingly more complex, it was no longer feasible to test such mechanisms with traditional methods. With practically no transition period, the need for a new technology came into existence. The amazing lack of an organized approach in the development of automatic testing techniques has been a handicap to much needed progress. This paper discusses some of the many problem areas that should be considered in the design of the software for a sophisticated checkout project.
Green Clubs and Voluntary Governance: ISO 14001 and Firms' Regulatory Compliance

Voluntary programs have become widespread tools for governments and nongovernmental actors looking to improve industry’s environmental and regulatory performance. Voluntary programs can be conceptualized as club goods that provide nonrival but potentially excludable benefits to members. For firms, the value of joining a green club over taking the same actions unilaterally is to appropriate the club’s positive brand reputation. Our analysis of about 3,700 U.S. facilities indicates that joining ISO 14001, an important nongovernmental voluntary program, improves facilities’ compliance with government regulations. We conjecture that ISO 14001 is effective because its broad positive standing with external audiences provides a reputational benefit that helps induce facilities to take costly progressive environmental action they would not take unilaterally.
Can prostitutes marry? Thai attitudes toward female sex workers

Abstract This study explores popular attitudes towards female sex workers in Thailand by examining the general public's perceptions of a prostitute's ability to marry based on focus group data. The tentative conclusion emerging from our findings that the general public believes sex workers can marry is that a relative lack of severe or lasting social stigma is an important part of a Thai context that facilitates recruitment into prostitution and permits it to persist on a widespread scale. We interpret this conclusion in terms of the broader value system in Thai society. Although our findings are implicitly comparative in nature, a lack of comparable information from other countries on how those who provide commercial sex are viewed by the general population prevents a more definitive conclusion. There is an obvious need for research on this topic as well as on how sex workers view themselves, and how this translates into actual behavior. Data set used: focus group transcripts from the project “Theinfluence of primary female partners and male peers on male extramarital sexual behavior in Thailand”.
Sequential development of interleukin 2–dependent effector and regulatory T cells in response to endogenous systemic antigen

Transfer of naive antigen-specific CD4(+) T cells into lymphopenic mice that express an endogenous antigen as a systemic, secreted protein results in severe autoimmunity resembling graft-versus-host disease. T cells that respond to this endogenous antigen develop into effector cells that cause the disease. Recovery from this disease is associated with the subsequent generation of FoxP3(+)CD25(+) regulatory cells in the periphery. Both pathogenic effector cells and protective regulatory cells develop from the same antigen-specific T cell population after activation, and their generation may occur in parallel or sequentially. Interleukin (IL)-2 plays a dual role in this systemic T cell reaction. In the absence of IL-2, the acute disease is mild because of reduced T cell effector function, but a chronic and progressive disease develops late and is associated with a failure to generate FoxP3(+) regulatory T (T reg) cells in the periphery. Thus, a peripheral T cell reaction to a systemic antigen goes through a phase of effector cell-mediated pathology followed by T reg cell-mediated recovery, and both require the growth factor IL-2.
Statistical Investigation of Correlations Between Serum Potassium Levels and Electrocardiographic Findings in Patients on Intermittent Hemodialysis Therapy

Simultaneous determinations of serum potassium and sodium, blood pH, blood pressure, and 12-lead electrocardiograms were obtained in hyperkalemic patients with chronic renal failure. Statistical investigation of the data showed a high correlation between serum potassium levels and ventricular repolarization abnormalities. "Mean intracellular potassium concentration" derived from total body potassium and total body water values was not accurate enough to show significant correlations to ECG changes and did not improve on the already significant correlations with serum potassium levels. Equations are presented which would permit the estimation of serum potassium levels (in a narrow range) from electrocardiographic findings in patients with chronic renal failure and suspected hyperkalemia.
Do Wing Markings in Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) have Sexual Significance

The patterned wings of tephritid fruit flies often are moved in complex manners during sexual encounters. However, there are few cases of sexual dimorphism, and wing movements also may occur in non-sexual contexts. There was no evidence that enhancing or obliterating the patterns on the wings of male Caribbean fruit flies, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew), had any effect on their sexual success. There is convergence in wing patterns with another Dipteran family, the distantly related Bombyliidae. Additional studies of mating systems with this family might illuminate the significance of similar wing patterns in tephritids.
Patient Recall Imaging in the Ambulatory Setting.

OBJECTIVE. Recalling a patient to repeat a radiology examination is an adverse and, in certain cases, preventable event. Our objectives were to assess the rate of patient recalls for all imaging performed in the outpatient setting at our institution and to characterize the underlying reasons for the recalls. MATERIALS AND METHODS. We performed a retrospective review of all repeat imaging requests for an inadequate initial imaging study between January 2012 and March 2015. RESULTS. We identified 100 recall requests (mean, 2.6 requests per month), for an overall recall rate of approximately 1 in 8046 ambulatory studies and 1 in 1684 MRI studies. Nearly all recalls (98%) involved adults. A total of 95% of the recalls were for MRI studies. The most common reason for a patient recall request was an incomplete examination, making up 24% of all requests. The other causes were inadequate coverage of the area of interest (22%), protocoling errors (20%), poor imaging quality (15%), additional imaging to clarify a f...
Evaluation of a Personalized Method for Proactive Mind Wandering Reduction

We report on a project with the goal of creating a proactive system that attempts to reduce the propensity to mind wander (MW) by optimizing learning conditions (e.g., text difficulty and value) for individual learners. Our previous work had shown that supervised classification based on individual at- tributes could be used to detect the learning condition with the lowest MW rates. Here we test the model by comparing MW rates for the predicted optimal conditions to MW rates from a random control condition or in the condition with the overall best MW rate across all learners. Our results suggest that our method is better than these non-adaptive alternatives in certain contexts.
The Effect of a Trading Stamp Discontinuance on Supermarket Performance: A Panel Approach:

The relative efficiency of trading stamps as a promotional tool has been debated by the supermarket industry for many years. This study presents the results of a panel type study designed to evalua...
THE DREADNOUGHT REVOLUTION OF TUDOR ENGLAND

In particular I must warn you that the enemy's intention will be to fight at long distance, on account of his advantage in artillery…The aim of our men, on the contrary, must be to bring him to close quarters and grapple with the weapons they hold in their hands; and you will have to be very careful to carry this out. So that you will be well informed, I am sending you some reports from which you will see the way in which the enemy employs his artillery to fire low and sink his opponent's ships; and you will have to take such precautions as you consider necessary in this respect.2
Variations in Sagittal Alignment Parameters Based on Age: A Prospective Study of Asymptomatic Volunteers Using Full-Body Radiographs.

STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional cohort study. OBJECTIVE Describe age-stratified normative values of traditional and novel sagittal alignment parameters. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Full-body radiographic techniques can capture coronal and sagittal standing images from the occiput to the foot without stitching or vertical distortion. This provides an ideal method to evaluate measures of global alignment. METHODS Adults with no back or neck symptoms were recruited. Age, body mass index, Neck Disability Index, and Oswestry Disability Index scores were recorded. The following parameters were measured: center sacral vertebral line, Occiput-C2 (O-C2) lordosis, cervical lordosis (C2-C7, CL), thoracic kyphosis (T2-12, TK), T2-T5 kyphosis, T5-T12 kyphosis, thoracolumbar kyphosis (T10-L2), lumbar lordosis (L1-S1, LL), sacral slope, pelvic tilt, pelvic incidence (PI), knee flexion angle, global sagittal angle, T1-pelvis angle, C2-S1 sagittal vertical axis (SVA), C7-S1 SVA, Basion-C7 SVA, B-S1 SVA and Basion to the center of the femoral head SVA and PI minus LL. Comparisons of sagittal alignment parameters between different age groups were performed. A Pearson correlation was used to determine relationships. RESULTS One hundred fifteen volunteers had imaging suitable for analysis; average age as 50.1 years (range 22-78), average body mass index was 28, average Neck Disability Index was 3.4 ± 4.4, and average Oswestry Disability Index was 1.7 ± 4.9. CL (r = -0.34, P = 0.001), T1-pelvis angle (r = 0.44, P < 0.001), knee flexion angle (r = 0.42, P < 0.001), global sagittal angle (r = 0.56, P < 0.001), and C7 SVA (r = 0.46, P < 0.001) all increased with age. LL decreased with age (r = 0.212, P = 0.039). We were able to establish a chain of correlation extending from the toes to the occiput and report age-based normative values for all parameters. CONCLUSION We describe age-based normative sagittal alignment parameters in the adult spine with complete visualization from the occiput to the feet. We describe compensatory changes that occur to maintain sagittal balance. These values may be used as a reference for future studies. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4.
Estrogen receptor-beta is expressed in Barrett's metaplasia and associated adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.

Estrogen receptor-beta (ER-B) has been identified in benign and malignant tissues of a variety of human organs including the colon. In breast carcinoma, ER-B was found to be a significant predictor of response to adjuvant hormonal therapy with tamoxifen. The aim of the present study was to determine whether esophageal adenocarcinoma, and its precursosr, Barrett's metaplasia, express ER-B. Sections of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue from 31 esophagectomy specimens were immunostained for ER-B using the immunoperoxidase technique, and the percent of positive cells in areas of Barrett's metaplasia negative for dysplasia (ND), low-grade dysplasia (LGD), high-grade dysplasia (HGD) and adecocarcinoma, (CA) were recorded. Nuclear ER-B staining in >50% of the cells was seen in all 23 CA (100%), 10 out of 11 (91 %) HGD, 8 out of 11 (83%) LGD and in 10 of 15 (66.6%) ND. It is concluded that all adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and most precursor lesions, Barrett's Metaplasia (BM) with or without dysplasia, express ER-B in a significantly high percentage of the cells. These findings raise the possibility that esophageal adenocarcinomas may benefit from treatment and/or chemoprevention with antiestrogens, such as tamoxifen.
Bacterial Species Concepts

Prokaryotic systematics has defined species as phenotypically distinct groups that form clusters based on a fixed level of molecular similarity. These criteria have provided stability for species demarcation but yield enormous levels of ecological diversity within a typical species taxon. Investigations of prokaryotic diversification have not focused on the broadly defined species taxa of systematics but rather on the more newly divergent lineages expected to have dynamic properties attributed to species. Regardless of whether species are demarcated as clusters or by evolutionary properties, full genome sequences provide an efficient way to discover diversity at the species level and to infer the ecological roles of species.
Designing herpes viruses as oncolytics

Oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV) was one of the first genetically-engineered oncolytic viruses. Because HSV is a natural human pathogen that can cause serious disease, it is incumbent that it can be genetically-engineered or significantly attenuated for safety. Here, we present a detailed explanation of the functions of HSV-1 genes frequently mutated to endow oncolytic activity. These genes are nonessential for growth in tissue culture cells but are important for growth in postmitotic cells, interfering with intrinsic antiviral and innate immune responses or causing pathology, functions dispensable for replication in cancer cells. Understanding the function of these genes leads to informed creation of new oHSVs with better therapeutic efficacy. Virus infection and replication can also be directed to cancer cells through tumor-selective receptor binding and transcriptional- or post-transcriptional miRNA-targeting, respectively. In addition to the direct effects of oHSV on infected cancer cells and tumors, oHSV can be “armed” with transgenes that are: reporters, to track virus replication and spread; cytotoxic, to kill uninfected tumor cells; immune modulatory, to stimulate antitumor immunity; or tumor microenvironment altering, to enhance virus spread or to inhibit tumor growth. In addition to HSV-1, other alphaherpesviruses are also discussed for their oncolytic activity.
Evidence-Based Practice with Serious Emotional Problems of Children and Adolescents

This chapter focuses on serious emotional problems of childhood and adolescence including borderline personality disorder, which often has its origins in childhood, child and adolescent schizophrenia, and because of its serious nature and its relationship to high suicide and co-occurring disorders such as substance abuse, bi-polar disorder. Before discussing borderline personality disorder (BPD), the chapter briefly summarizes the larger category of personality disorders, since BPD is part of the family of personality disorders. One of the most difficult problems facing clinicians is the treatment of clients diagnosed with a personality disorder. In the popular mind, personality disorders suggest major treatment problems. Establishing the number of people with severe personality disorders in the population is difficult because of the diversity of diagnostic criteria used. Drake and Vaillant estimate the prevalence in the population as one percent with borderline personality disorders, and a lifetime risk of antisocial personality disorder of just under three percent, with a fourfold increase in risk among men.
Sentence Creep: Increasing Penalties in Michigan and the Need for Sentencing Reform

The governor and several legislators have requested review of Michigan’s sentencing practices with an eye toward sentence reform. Michigan leads the country in the average length of prison stay, and by internal comparisons the average minimum sentence has nearly doubled in the last decade. This Article explores cumulative increases to criminal penalties over the last several decades as reflected in amendments to the sentencing guidelines, increased maximum sentences, harsh mandatory minimum terms, increased authority for consecutive sentencing, wide sentencing discretion for habitual and repeat drug offenders, and tough parole practices and policies. The reality for legislators is that it is much easier to increase a penalty than to decrease it, but the continued incremental increases in penalty and sentence length over the years have led Michigan to the point of necessary sentence reform.
Networks of Passing: Experiences of Undocumented Latin American Immigrants’ Identity Negotiation

AbstractUndocumented Latin American immigrants are one of the fastest-growing populations in the United States, and they are one of the most vulnerable. Due to constant fear of deportation, these immigrants have to communicatively “pass” for documented in a variety of situations, and they might be likely to use informal network ties (social capital) to do so. Through eight diverse focus group interviews of undocumented immigrants, this study explores how this population passes. Undocumented immigrants used talk, the body, or documents to pass either individually or through network members. Implications for both theory and practice are discussed.
Math and verbal academic self-concept: Subject-specificity across four distinctive groups of high ability adolescents

Abstract Academic self-concept has a pronounced role in high ability students' academic achievement. Current conceptions of self-concept are multidimensional, hierarchical, and influenced by internal valuations and external comparisons. This research utilized the NELS:88 dataset; the sample consisted of high ability students who had participated in their schools' gifted program in eighth-grade and in tenth-grade and were enrolled in advanced placement (AP) courses. This study examined subject-specificity of Marsh's (1986) Internal/External Frame of Reference Model across four groups of high ability students: a) AP math and AP English classes, b) AP math classes only, c) AP English classes only, and d) neither AP math nor AP English classes. Unexpected path findings suggest certain aspects of the I/E model are malleable depending upon group placement. Implications are discussed in the context of the larger social comparison literature.
MEGARes: an antimicrobial resistance database for high throughput sequencing

Antimicrobial resistance has become an imminent concern for public health. As methods for detection and characterization of antimicrobial resistance move from targeted culture and polymerase chain reaction to high throughput metagenomics, appropriate resources for the analysis of large-scale data are required. Currently, antimicrobial resistance databases are tailored to smaller-scale, functional profiling of genes using highly descriptive annotations. Such characteristics do not facilitate the analysis of large-scale, ecological sequence datasets such as those produced with the use of metagenomics for surveillance. In order to overcome these limitations, we present MEGARes (https://megares.meglab.org), a hand-curated antimicrobial resistance database and annotation structure that provides a foundation for the development of high throughput acyclical classifiers and hierarchical statistical analysis of big data. MEGARes can be browsed as a stand-alone resource through the website or can be easily integrated into sequence analysis pipelines through download. Also via the website, we provide documentation for AmrPlusPlus, a user-friendly Galaxy pipeline for the analysis of high throughput sequencing data that is pre-packaged for use with the MEGARes database.
Tubal origin of ovarian cancer - the double-edged sword of haemoglobin.

Ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) is the most malignant neoplasm of the gynaecological tract. While the origins of many human malignant neoplasms are clear, the origin of HGSC remains poorly understood. This lack of knowledge limits our understanding of its pathogenesis and compromises efforts devoted to developing better early detection tools and effective preventative interventions. The paradigm of the tubal origin of HGSC has been advanced since the initial report of dysplastic lesions (now known as serous tubal intraepithelial carcinomas or STICs) that morphologically resemble HGSC in the Fallopian tube. These were observed in a group of patients with a genetic predisposition to ovarian cancer who were undergoing risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy. Since then, a series of clinico-pathological and molecular studies have characterized STICs and their concurrent HGSCs, and the results support the new paradigm of a tubal origin of many 'ovarian' HGSCs. Reactive oxygen species-containing ovulatory follicular fluid has been thought to be the major culprit behind DNA damage in tubal epithelial cells, leading to either cell death or, if the cells survive, mutagenesis. A recent report from this journal demonstrates that ferryl haemoglobin (Hb) in peritoneal fluid could prevent cell death from DNA-damaged fimbrial epithelial cells, facilitating ovulation-induced carcinogenesis of tubal epithelium. This timely study provides new insight into the tumour initiation event in HGSC. Copyright © 2017 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quantitative phase-imaging method for measuring the phototoxicity effects of blue light on in-vitro cell

Phototoxicity often occurs upon exposing cells to illumination from lasers and high-intensity arc-discharge lamps and is critical to long-term live cell imaging studies [1]. This issue still receives too little attention by researchers. Generally, this problem could be solved choosing for the lowest intensity and shortest exposure time possible for the optical setup. Not only power plays an important role in phototoxicity, but the photon energy should also be considered. It is known that organic materials inside the cell absorb ultraviolet or visible light depending on the molecular compounds. In this way, the cell system behaviour highly depend on the energy and power used to analyse live cell imaging. Accordingly, when visible light is used to study the cell dynamics, both aspects should be considered in order to perform good experiments and best behaviour descriptions. For example, some quantitative methods for measuring phototoxicity in live-cell imaging has been proposed for the fluorescent microscopy [2], nevertheless such methods are restricted only to this technique. Recently, a new advanced microscopy technique, called digital holographic microscopy (DHM) has been widely used to make quantitative measurements and diagnostics in biological specimens by phase retrieving [3]. The technique has many advantages, non-invasiveness is one of the most important. However, as light is also used to analyze the specimens, the role of phototoxicity must be considered and understood. That is why we have worked to obtain a quantitative method for studying the limits between injurious and safe exposure conditions by a DHM apparatus. To validate the technique, a blue laser of 473 nm has been used as laser source to illuminate fibroblast NIH-3T3, used as live test sample. The in-vitro experiments are carried out by means of a micro-incubator to ensure optimal cellular environment. Sigmoidal curve is retrieved by analyzing the temporal variation of phase from the cell death process. Thus, quantitative information about morphology, volume and death time are obtained. Moreover, this technique also can be used to characterize the morphological features between necrotic or apoptotic cell death pathways. Our method is widely applicable and we show that it can be adapted to other paradigms, including other cell culture lines and other wavelength ranges in the electromagnetic spectrum.
Women of Color in Marriage and Family Therapy Programs

ABSTRACTConsistently since 2005, women have obtained more doctorate degrees than men. However, women of color comprise 8% of full-time faculty and 4% of full-time professor. Diverse faculty and student body creates rich learning environments. This article describes the challenges women of color encounter as both students and faculty members within marriage and family therapy training programs, highlights the unique contributions that women of color bring into the academia, and discusses steps that can be taken to increase diverse student and faculty representation in marriage and family therapy training programs.
The Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor, CSF-1, and Its Receptor (c-fms)

The hematopoietic colony stimulating factors (CSFs) affect the proliferation, differentiation, and survival of progenitor cells in the bone marrow and prime mature blood cells to carry out their differentiated functions (Metcalf, 1985; Clark and Kamen, 1987; Sieff, 1987). The in vitro proliferation of normal myeloid progenitor cells in semisolid medium requires the continuous presence of CSFs, and the types of colonies obtained, whether granulocyte, macrophage, or erythroid, depend on the types of factors added to the cultures. Unlike pluripotent cytokines such as multi-CSF (interleukin-3, or IL-3) and granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM-CSF) which affect the growth of colonies of multiple hematopoietic lineages, macrophage CSF (M-CSF or CSF-1), granulocyte CSF (G-CSF), and erythropoietin (Epo) stimulate the lineage-specific proliferation of macrophage, granulocyte, or erythroid precursors, respectively. Recently, each of these CSFs has been purified to homogeneity, and cDNA clones encoding the factors have been exploited to produce previously unrealizable quantities of CSFs for experimental and therapeutic use. CSFs are already proving their efficacy in clinical trials and have numerous potential applications in the treatment of blood cell disorders, malignancies, and in modulating the inflammatory response (Donohue et al., 1986; Weite et al., 1987; Eschbach et al., 1987; Groopman et al., 1987).
Emerging Methods of Optical Imaging in Developmental Biology

In this talk I will overview recent progress made in field of optical imaging of developing mammalian embryos. Specific attention will be given to characterize the performance of the relatively new methods of Optical Projection Tomography (OPT) and Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM) to the well-established technique of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) to assess murine embryonic development at different stages. Quantitative assessment of different developmental processes (such as formation of the brain, limb growth, and process of Neural Tube Closure) in normal and pathological states will be demonstrated. In summary, the conclusion will be drawn on the superior capability of SPIM and OPT for imaging fine structures with high resolution while only OCT can provide structural and functional imaging of live embryos with micrometer scale resolution.
Top ten challenges when interfacing a laboratory information system to an electronic health record: Experience at a large academic medical center

Abstract Background Recent U.S. government regulations incentivize implementation of an electronic health record (EHR) with computerized order entry and structured results display. Many institutions have also chosen to interface their EHR to their laboratory information system (LIS). Reported long-term benefits include increased efficiency and improved quality and safety. In order to successfully implement an interfaced EHR-LIS, institutions must plan years in advance and anticipate the impact of an integrated system. It can be challenging to fully understand the technical, workflow and resource aspects and adequately prepare for a potentially protracted system implementation and the subsequent stabilization. Objectives We describe the top ten challenges that we encountered in our clinical laboratories following the implementation of an interfaced EHR-LIS and offer suggestions on how to overcome these challenges. Methods This study was performed at a 777-bed, tertiary care center which recently implemented an interfaced EHR-LIS. Challenges were recorded during EHR-LIS implementation and stabilization and the authors describe the top ten. Results Our top ten challenges were selection and harmonization of test codes, detailed training for providers on test ordering, communication with EHR provider champions during the build process, fluid orders and collections, supporting specialized workflows, sufficient reports and metrics, increased volume of inpatient venipunctures, adequate resources during stabilization, unanticipated changes to laboratory workflow and ordering specimens for anatomic pathology. A few suggestions to overcome these challenges include regular meetings with clinical champions, advanced considerations of reports and metrics that will be needed, adequate training of laboratory staff on new workflows in the EHR and defining all tests including anatomic pathology in the LIS. Conclusion EHR-LIS implementations have many challenges requiring institutions to adapt and develop new infrastructures. This article should be helpful to other institutions facing or undergoing a similar endeavor.
Predictions for α-Helical Glycopeptide Design from Structural Bioinformatics Analysis

Glycosylation not only impacts the functions of glycoproteins but can also improve glycoprotein stability and folding efficiency—characteristics that are desirable for protein engineering and therapeutic design. To further elucidate the effects of N-glycosylation on protein structure and to provide principles useful for the rational design of α-helical glycopeptides, we investigate stabilizing protein–sugar interactions in α-helical glycosylation sites using an integrated structural bioinformatics analysis and molecular dynamics simulation approach. We identify two glycan conformations with an Asn χ1 of 180° or 300° that are amenable to α-helical structure in natural α-helical glycosylation sites in the Protein Data Bank. A combination of sterics and favorable intraglycopeptide enthalpy explains the existence of only these two conformations. Furthermore, we catalog all known protein–sugar interactions that utilize these conformational modes. The most common interactions involve either a Glu residue at the...
Sarah Schulman’s Empathy, Ties that Bind , and the Possibilities of the Stranger

In her novel Empathy (1992), Sarah Schulman imagines what it means to be caught between the assimilation of Ashkenazi Jewish Americans and the otherness of Eastern Europe. Schulman’s protagonist Anna O. traverses many landscapes and, unlike other characters in the novel that work to transcend their stranger identity, Anna O. makes a new life for herself through negotiating what I will call a liminal identity. For Schulman, the task of illuminating the stranger condition that her main character inhabits is a tricky one. While characters of earlier Jewish American texts by writers such as Anzia Yezierska were readily understood as strangers working towards ‘becoming American’, it is implicitly accepted that Anna O., living in queer 1990s New York City, is already a completely assimilated American. Schulman uses a variety of narrative strategies that culminate in a somewhat messy palimpsest attempting to convey the nuanced experience of the stranger. The resulting textual fragmentation removes any stable point of reference so that scholars and readers of Empathy must reconstruct various narrative elements in trying to make sense of Anna O.’s world. One is left to consult volumes of critical work that hardly get to the heart of Anna O.’s Jewish queer experience, to piece them together into a patchwork that may, by its end, accomplish the task of excavating Schulman’s postmodern stranger. In this article I argue that inhabiting the position of the stranger allows Anna O. the possibility of creating some sort of coexistence between, and cohabitation of, her queer and Jewish identities. In this way, Schulman constructs the stranger as a subject position replete with possibility rather than as a liability that must be shed in order to acculturate onself to American life.
The Illusion of Political Tolerance: Social Desirability and Self-Reported Voting Preferences:

Tolerance for diversity in America is often indexed by direct measures, such as self-reported “willingness to vote” polls. However, pressures to be or appear unprejudiced may bias such estimates, y...
Preconception Counseling for Adolescents and Young Adults with Diabetes: a Literature Review of the Past 10 Years.

Women with diabetes who have unplanned pregnancies and uncontrolled blood sugars are at a higher risk for maternal and fetal morbidities and mortalities. Preconception counseling (PC) has been shown to decrease the risks and improve health outcomes. From 2009 to 2017, the American Diabetes Association has recommended that preconception counseling be given at each clinic visit for all women with diabetes of childbearing age starting at puberty (prior to sexual debut). This article reports both national and international progress in PC efforts for adolescents and young adults (12–34 years) with diabetes over the past decade. Twenty-eight publications were identified and included in this article (11 were research, 12 clinical guidelines, and 5 reviews). Despite recommendations to start PC at puberty, only four studies had interventions that targeted the adolescent and young adult age group. Three of them were associated with the same PC awareness program. Positive outcomes were reported in all of these studies. Greater family vigilance was observed in a long-term follow-up of a cohort of women who received PC as teens. Adolescents should receive awareness PC. More early PC interventions and cohort follow-up studies are needed among adolescents and young adults, using technology that appeals to this age group. Programs should be expanded to include other populations like males with diabetes and females from other cultures and religions that would require program modification.
Relationship between sleep and exercise as colorectal cancer survivors transition off treatment

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between exercise and sleep disturbance in a sample of individuals diagnosed with stage I, II, and III colorectal cancer (CRC) as patients transitioned off first-line treatment. We also sought to identify heterogeneity in the relationship between sleep disturbance and exercise. Data were obtained from the MY-Health study, a community-based observational study of adults diagnosed with cancer. Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System® (PROMIS) measures (e.g., PROMIS Sleep) were administered, and participants self-reported demographics, comorbidities, cancer treatment, and exercise. Regression mixture and multiple regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between sleep disturbance and exercise cross-sectionally at an average of 10 months after diagnosis, and the change in sleep disturbance over a 7-month period, from approximately 10 to 17 months post-diagnosis. Patients whose exercise was categorized as likely at or above American College of Sports Medicine’s guidelines did not report statistically better sleep quality compared to patients who were classified as not active. However, retirement (B = − 2.4), anxiety (B = 0.21), and fatigue (B = 0.24) had statistically significant relationships with sleep disturbance (p < 0.05). Increase in exercise was not significantly associated with a decrease in sleep disturbance. No statistical heterogeneity was revealed in the relationship between sleep and exercise. Further prospective research using an objective measure of exercise is warranted to confirm or refute the nature of the relationship between exercise and sleep disturbance in individuals diagnosed with CRC transitioning off first-line treatment.
Post-disaster Building Deconstruction

In a major disaster such as wildfire or earthquake, large numbers of buildings will be damaged. One central theme of the research is the reality of building deconstruction as a green approach for post-disaster waste management and recovery. As a green approach to demolition, the deconstruction of a building is applied by disassembling building structures and segregating the materials for reuse or recycling with the goal of increasing the amount of components to be reused or materials to be recycled and minimizing the amount of materials going to landfills. This study of post-disaster building deconstruction begins with background and implication of building deconstruction and research questions. Chapter two is a review of scholarly and non-scholarly literature and the current practices in the deconstruction field to provide a snapshot of the emerging industry. With the research question of whether the governments of USA, PR China, and Japan are different in initiating and leading related areas under their unique political systems and political cultures, Chapter three discussed the most representative cases in each country, followed by the analysis of important factors such as political system, funding issue, and insurance systems, etc.. The green deconstruction best practice recommendations are made in Chapter four, including planning issues, techniques, and job creation. Summary and conclusions are drawn in Chapter five.
Authoring Adaptive Digital Computational Thinking Lessons Using vTutor for Web-Based Learning

Teaching style and personalized content delivery may have a significant impact on learning. While personalization for learners takes center stage in many research efforts, the same is not so true for teaching. A critical step in teaching is designing effective and customizable lesson plans using best-practices. In this paper, we present a web-based lesson plan design tool, called vTutor, that is designed keeping personalization for teachers in mind. We present and discuss content authoring using vTutor for web-based computational thinking classes.
Cost reduction in grinding plants through process optimization and control

The major cost in comminution is energy consumption, which can be as high as 50% of the operating cost. Improvements in plant operations have resulted in up to a 15% reduction in energy usage (kw-hr/t). These improvements have been made through the optimization of grinding efficiency and the use of expert model-based control systems. Optimization involves the determination of the levels of the critical-operating conditions that result in the most efficient breakage of ore in the mill. These optimal levels are identified through plant/laboratory test work and through computer simulation using advanced process models. Model-based expert control achieves the maximum performance from the grinding circuit by identifying the characteristics of the ore in the mill with an optimal on-line estimator. Using this information, the control system dynamically determines the operating point that will yield the optimal performance. Two industrial applications of grinding-circuit optimization and model-based control are presented to demonstrate the power of this new technology.
Conflict between Tradition and Change in Chinua Achebe's postcolonial novel Things Fall Apart

In studying the history of Asian and African countries, the colonial period plays an important role in understanding their history, religion, tradition and culture. Things Fall Apart is an English novel by the Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, published in 1957, which shows the African culture, their religious and traditions through the Igbo society. This novel captures the colonial period and its effect on Igbo society. It is a response and a record of control of western colonialism on the traditional values of the African people. This paper treats the novel as a postcolonial text, by focusing on the clash between occupied and colonizers, the clash between tradition and change, and the clash between different cultures, The Europe Empire and the African natives
In vivo interleukin-1 (IL-1) administration indirectly promotes type II IL-1 receptor expression on hematopoietic bone marrow cells: novel mechanism for the hematopoietic effects of IL-1.

Interleukin-1 (IL-1) has profound stimulatory effects on hematopoiesis but the mechanism(s) of action remain unknown. The direct action of IL- 1 on hematopoietic progenitor cells requires the presence of a specific IL-1 receptor (IL-1R). In this report, we tested the effect of in vivo IL-1 treatment on the expression of IL-1R on bone marrow (BM) cells. Injection of mice with IL-1 results in a marked upregulation of IL-1R on light-density BM cells as on a subpopulation enriched for myeloid precursors. Pretreatment of mice with anti-type I IL-1R antibody (35F5), which has been shown to prevent the radioprotective effect of IL-1, also blocked IL-1-induced IL-1R expression on BM cells. This antibody did not directly bind and block IL-1 binding to the type II IL- 1R expressed on hematopoietic cells, suggesting that IL-1R upregulation by IL-1 is indirect. It is therefore possible that IL-1 acts on type I IL-1R-expressing accessory cells such as stromal cells or T cells to induce production of hematopoietic growth factors (HGFs). In support of this, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor administration can induce the increase of IL-1R on BM cells. Thus, the increased expression of IL- 1R on hematopoietic BM cells by IL-1 is indirect, probably mediated in part through endogenous HGF production. These results also suggest that the restorative hematopoietic effect of IL-1 occurs through both indirect and direct mechanisms.
Impact of traumatic brain injury on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: from bedside to bench.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of upper and lower motor neurons, which manifests clinically as progressive weakness. Although several e...
A Darwinian Pilgrim's Middle Progress

Part two of three in an autobiographical series which retraces the most significant events, collaborations, and research results of Michael Ruse’s 55-year-long career in the history and philosophy of science. In this article, Ruse’s first forays into philosophy are intertwined with his growing interest in the history of science. The main topics summarized in this second installment are considered thematically as they developed: “design” as a Kuhnian paradigm in the history of evolutionary biology (from the early 1970s onwards); the involvement in the McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education 1981 legal case which saw the rise of neo-creationism as organized pressure group; the exploration of the science-religion relationship (mid-1980s to 1990s); the problem of free will and the critical confrontation with the New Atheism (early 2000s); the question of accommodationism and the identification of “organism” as the root metaphor of evolutionary biology (2010s).
Empirical evaluation of two-dimensional unsteady hydraulic models for applications in floodplain forest ecology

Two-dimensional unsteady hydraulic models can be attractive tools for characterizing the inundation dynamics relevant to floodplain forest ecosystems because of their ability to make dynamic, spati...