cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Glucocorticoid receptor isoform expression in peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis

Background In several inflammatory disorders, altered peripheral blood mononuclear leukocyte (PBML) glucocorticoid (GC) receptor isoform expression has been associated with GC resistance and disease severity. However, it is unclear if PBML GC receptor isoforms are expressed differentially and are associated with worsened disease severity in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Methods PBMLs were isolated from control (n = 8), CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) (n = 8), atopic CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) (n = 8), non-atopic CRSwNP (n = 8), and allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS) (n = 8) patients. Demographics, atopic status, asthmatic status, 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) scores, Lund-Kennedy nasal endoscopy scores, Lund-Mackay sinus computed tomography (CT) scores, Kennedy Osteitis scores, and GC utilization 6 months postoperatively were collected. Intracellular immunostaining was then performed for functional GC receptor α (GCRα) and nonfunctional GC receptor β (GCRβ), followed by flow cytometry analysis of geometric mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) and the percentage of cells expressing each GC receptor isoform. Results Compared to controls, each CRS subtype had decreased PBML GCRα and GCRα:GCRβ MFI expression, but no difference in GCRβ expression. Decreasing PBML GCRα in AFRS was associated with increasing Lund-Mackay sinus CT scores (r = -0.880, p =0.004). No significant associations were found between GC receptor isoform expression and other clinical measures. Conclusion CRS patients have reduced functional PBML GCRα expression and decreased GCRα:GCRβ compared to controls. Reductions in GCRα in AFRS are associated with worsening Lund-Mackay sinus CT scores. The clinical implications of decreased functional GC receptor expression merits further investigation.
Improving the Supply and Quality of Deceased-Donor Organs for Transplantation

Supply and Quality of Deceased-Donor Organs Solid-organ transplantation is the treatment of choice for many patients with end-stage diseases, but the supply of organs is limited. Recent advances ar...
Philosophy of Project Management: Lessons from the Philosophy of Science:

This article examines how insights offered by a well-established philosophy of science can provide lessons that have a bearing on formulating a philosophy of project management. It has three princi...
Foreign Policy Decision-Makers Viewed Psychologically: Cognitive Processes Approaches

Foreign policy analysis has been dominated by approaches that conceptualize the acting unit as a “unitary rational actor,” but many of the more interesting studies of the past few years have pointed to several limitations and inadequacies of such models. Norms and interactions within the decision-making group may serve certain needs (emotional support, feelings of solidarity, and the like) of group members. However, group dynamics may also have some dysfunctional consequences for the quality of decisions by inhibiting search or cutting it off prematurely, ruling out the legitimacy of some options, curtailing independent analysis, and suppressing some forms of intra-group conflict that might serve to clarify goals, values and options. Organizational norms, routines, and standard operating procedures may shape and perhaps distort the structuring of problems, channeling of information, utilization of expertise, and implementation of executive decisions. The consequences of bureaucratic politics within the executive branch or within the government as a whole may significantly constrain the manner in which issues are defined, the range of options that may be considered, and the manner in which executive decisions are implemented by subordinates.
Uncovering the Neuroanatomy of Core Language Systems Using Lesion-Symptom Mapping:

Recent studies have integrated noninvasive brain-imaging methods and advanced analysis techniques to study associations between the location of brain damage and cognitive deficits. By applying data...
A RANDOMIZED, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED, DOUBLE-BLIND, ASCENDING SINGLE-DOSE, PHASE 1 STUDY TO EVALUATE THE SAFETY, TOLERABILITY, PHARMACOKINETICS, AND PHARMACODYNAMICS OF AMG 529, A NOVEL ANTI-ASGR1 MONOCLONAL ANTIBODY, IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS

Heterozygous carriers of a rare 12-base-pair deletion (del12), loss-of-function variant in the asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) subunit 1 ( ASGR1 ) had lower levels of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, reduced risk for myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease, and increased
Entrapment for Wireless Eavesdroppers

Due to the open nature of wireless medium, wireless communications are especially vulnerable to eavesdropping attacks. This paper designs a new wireless communication system to deal with eavesdropping attacks. The proposed system can enable a legitimate receiver to get desired messages and meanwhile an eavesdropper to hear “fake” but meaningful messages, thereby confusing the eavesdropper and achieving additional concealment that further protects exchanged messages. Towards this goal, we propose techniques that can conceal exchanged messages by utilizing wireless channel characteristics between the transmitter and the receiver, as well as techniques that can attract an eavesdropper to gradually approach a trap region, where the eavesdropper can get fake messages. We also implement and evaluate the proposed system on top of Universal Software Defined Radio Peripherals (USRPs). Experimental results show that an eavesdropper at a trap location can receive fake information with a bit error rate (BER) that is close to 0, and the transmitter with multiple antennas can successfully deploy a trap area.
Improving Access to and Use of Ocean Observations from Animal Borne Sensors

Abstract : The U.S. IOOS Program (IOOS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Navy s Office of Naval Research (ONR) Marine Mammals and Biological Oceanography Program propose to collaborate with the Tagging of Pelagic Predators (TOPP) program a project of the Census of Marine Life to facilitate improved access and use of associated ocean observing data, particularly physical oceanographic data, by ocean modelers and other scientists. Technical staff at IOOS and ONR will work with scientists and computer programmers at TOPP to implement webbased data services and other community-based software tools and technologies that can enable broader exposure of TOPP animal tagging data sets based on customer requirements for data representation, metadata, QA/QC, format and delivery. The project will be conducted over a 6-8 month period.
Modeling Uncertainty in Predicting Emotional Attributes from Spontaneous Speech

A challenging task in affective computing is to build reliable speech emotion recognition (SER) systems that can accurately predict emotional attributes from spontaneous speech. To increase the trust in these SER systems, it is important to predict not only their accuracy, but also their confidence. An intriguing approach to predict uncertainty is Monte Carlo (MC) dropout, which obtains predictions from multiple feed-forward passes through a deep neural network (DNN) by using dropout regularization in both training and inference. This study evaluates this approach with regression models to predict emotional attribute scores for valence, arousal and dominance. The analysis illustrates that predicting uncertainty in this problem is possible, where the performance is higher for samples in the test set with lower uncertainty. The study evaluates uncertainty estimation as a function of the emotional attributes, showing that samples with extreme values have lower uncertainty. Finally, we demonstrate the benefits of uncertainty estimation with reject option, where a classifier can decline to give a prediction when its confidence is low. By rejecting only 25% of the test set with the highest uncertainty, we achieve relative performance gains of 7.34% for arousal, 13.73% for valence and 8.79% for dominance.
Knowledge on Cervical Cancer Prevention and HPV Vaccination Among Female Students in Tertiary Education Centers in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka

Background: Carcinoma of cervix is common yet preventable. Sri Lankan young population is at risk. This study was conducted among the students attached to three non-conventional higher education institutions with ref­erence to assessing the awareness, screening methods, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) as causative factor and attitude towards HPV vaccination. Methods: A validated questionnaire was used. Data were analyzed using SPSS 25 software. Results: 120 females participated, age ranging 19 to 25 years. Seventy (57.5%) participants were aware of the cervical cancer. Seventy percent of them were also aware HPV as causative factor. About half of the participants (50.8%) were not aware of availability of cervical screening. Among those aware of the screening, about half re­ported the availability of both Pap smear and HPV testing. Totally about 87% were aware of the Pap smear. Sixty nine students [57.5%] were ‘not sure’ of the availability of HPV vaccine and 58 of them stated ‘unsure of vaccine received’. About 16% did not want to receive the vaccine. One third mentioned that the HPV Vaccine is available in Sri Lanka. Conclusions: The awareness noted under 60% of the participants indicates the need for structured awareness programs to young population. Majority of participants were confused about the availability and whether they had received of HPV vaccine.
Multiplicity of Inertial Self-Similar Conical Shapes in an Electrified Liquid Metal

In the liquid-metal ion sources that anchor key technologies for nanoscience, above a critical electric field strength a droplet of liquid metal sprouts a conical tip that undergoes continuous sharpening and field self-enhancement, culminating in ion emission. Despite decades of research, details of this process remain mysterious. Here the authors focus on the influence of inertial effects on the self-similar process leading to divergent growth. Asymptotic analysis and numerical simulations reveal a multiplicity of tip configurations that may help to explain decades-old observations of tip pulsation, droplet emission, liquid recoil, and collapse.
Improved constraints increase the predictivity and applicability of a linear programming-based dynamic metabolic modeling framework

Abstract Background Current metabolic modeling tools suffer from a variety of limitations, from scalability to simplifying assumptions, that preclude their use in many applications. We recently created a modeling framework, LK-DFBA, that addresses a key gap: capturing metabolite dynamics and regulation while retaining a potentially scalable linear programming structure. Key to this framework’s success are the linear kinetics and regulatory constraints imposed on the system. Here, we present improvements to these constraints to improve the predictivity of LK-DFBA models and their applicability to biological systems. Method Three new constraint approaches were created to better model interactions between metabolites and the reactions they regulate. These new approaches (and the original LK-DFBA approach) were tested on several synthetic and biological systems to determine their performance when using both noiseless and noisy data. To validate our framework, we compared experimental data to metabolite dynamics predicted by LK-DFBA. Results There was no single optimal type of constraints across all synthetic and biological systems; rather, any one of the four approaches could perform best for a given system. The optimal approach for fitting to wildtype data of a given model was consistently the best approach when predicting new phenotypes for that model. Furthermore, many of LK-DFBA’s predictions qualitatively agreed with experimental data. Conclusions LK-DFBA can be improved by using several kinetics constraint approaches, with the ideal one selected based on wild-type training data. LK-DFBA’s ability to predict metabolic trends in experimental data further supports its potential for modeling metabolite dynamics in systems of all sizes.
Reinforced Feature Extraction and Multi-Resolution Learning for Driver Mobility Fingerprint Identification

Taking into account the availability of the historical GPS trajectories of drivers, given a new GPS trajectory, Driver mobility fingerprint (DMF) identification aims at (i) determining whether a generated trajectory belongs to a potential driver, and (ii) detecting if a trajectory is likely anomalous based on a driver's historical data. Prior studies often consider hand-crafted feature engineering techniques to extract DMFs while contextual factors like weather and points-of-interest (POIs) are hardly accounted for, which might not achieve satisfactory identification results. To address above, we propose RM-Drive, a novel framework based on reinforced feature extraction and multi-resolution learning. Specifically, we first employ spatio-temporal inverse reinforcement learning (ST-IRL) to extract DMFs from historical trajectories. Then, we generate trajectory embeddings by fusing the extracted DMFs and the contextual factors using the multi-resolution trajectory embedding network (MTE-Net). Our proposed MTE-Net consists of multi-resolution convolutional neural network (MR-CNN), which enables the model to learn the multi-resolution features of the DMFs. Finally, we leverage the trajectory embeddings for the driver classification and anomaly detection. We have conducted extensive evaluation studies upon RM-Drive with two real-world datasets, and our results demonstrate the performance improvements from the state-of-the-art of driver classification and anomaly detection respectively by 21% and 11% on average based on several evaluation metrics, including accuracy, precision, and recall, etc.
Positional Cloning of Nodulation Genes in Soybean: Coupling Dna Amplification and Bulked Segregant Analysis

In the positional cloning of genes involved in legume nodulation, we have generated markers linked to loci controlling nodule formation (nts, rj1 and rj6) and early nodule development (enod2) in soybean (Glycine max L.) using bulked segregant analysis (BSA) (Michelmore et aI., 1991) and genomic scanning with arbitrary oligonucleotide primers (Caetano-Anolles, 1994). Wild-type Bragg and EMS-induced mutants defective in autoregulation (nts382) or nodulation (nod49 and nod139) were crossed with G. soja PI468.397 to generate F2 and F3 segregating populations. DNA of individual segregants that expressed or failed to express a particular phenotypic (wild-type and mutant plants) or genotypic (RFLP pattern) trait were pooled and analyzed using DNA amplification fingerprinting (DAF) with sets of mini-hairpin (Caetano-Anolles and Gresshoff, 1994) and unstructured primers (Caetano-Anolles et al., 1991). The enod2 gene was mapped on linkage group I of the Utah soybean map using Minsoy x Noir 1 recombinant inbred lines, and was linked to the seed coat color gene I and a quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling race 3 cyst nematode resistance. BSAIDAF was used to find additional molecular markers in the region. Screening with 181 unstructured primers produced only one amplification marker placed 26 cM away from the supemodulation nts gene. The inefficiency to produce diagnostic markers indicates the relatively conserved nature of the nts region. In contrast, DAF with mini-hairpin primers and the generation of arbitrary signatures from amplification profiles (ASAP) (Caetano-Anolles and Gresshoff, submitted) were especially successful in detecting putatively linked polymorphisms. Some DNA polymorphisms were confirmed as bonafide markers linked to the trait of interest by individual analysis of segregants, and prepared to convertion or converted into sequence-characterized amplified regions (SCARs)(Paran and Michelmore, 1993). These sequence-tagged markers, together with others from a previous study (Caetano-Anolles et al., 1993), will be used for high density mapping of the relevant genomic regions and as landmarks for linking cloned soybean DNA from YAC and BAC libraries currently under construction.
State Estimation and Stability

State estimation and stability are fundamental components of power grid control and are also used in communication systems; both topics are reviewed with particular emphasis on application in power systems. Networked control extends control of the power grid over communication networks and must overcome challenges that variable performance and reliability of the communication network impose upon the control system. While state estimation and stability are well understood when implemented via centralized processing, the scale and reliability requirements of the power grid require that they be implemented using distributed processing. Thus, distributed state estimation is explained as a more scalable and fault-tolerant approach. The need for stability occurs in many forms throughout the power grid. One aspect of stability is related to the high penetration of distributed generation sources. Many moderate- or low-power generators will lack the stable momentum of a single, large, centralized generator. Solutions to stability and the corresponding communication requirements are discussed.
Household Securities Purchases, Transactions Costs, and Hedging Motives

This paper estimates threshold (S,s) models of household securities purchases, allowing for transactions costs. Purchases are related to excess market returns, the ratio of securities holdings to total wealth, and other variables capturing labor market and demographic transitions. Purchases are also related to various summary measures of households? hedging motives. In contrast to previous focus on income risk, the measures here include consumption-risk, which is more consistent with theoretical models of portfolio choice. The Consumer Expenditure Survey is used to calculate the standard deviation of household consumption growth and the correlation of consumption growth with market returns. A second, higher frequency set of measures is taken from the monthly Michigan consumer sentiment surveys. The survey questions have households themselves identify the financial risks they believe they will face in the future, and so provide more informative and forward-looking measures of their hedging motives. Securities purchases are found to increase with excess market returns and decrease with the securities-to-total-wealth ratio. Even controlling for these variables, securities purchases vary significantly with the measures of hedging motives. Household with more volatile consumption, or a larger consumption-return correlation, buy fewer securities. Households that are pessimistic about the future, expecting a deterioration in financial conditions or an increase in unemployment risk, also buy fewer securities. The marginal effects of the hedging motives are greater than the marginal effect of returns. However, the sensitivity of investors to returns has increased in recent years, even controlling for changes in the composition of investors.
The Sum of the Parts Is Greater Than the Whole in Online Graduate Education

Distance education programs have been available to the adult learner in various subject areas and delivery formats for nearly 300 years. The advent of the computer and recent advances in technology and telecommunications provides new avenues for pursuing this form of education.
Improving the performance of OLTP workloads on SMP computer systems by limiting modified cache lines

Symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) computer systems with more than four CPUs often exhibit significantly lower overall performance than would be expected from the sum of the performance of the individual CPUs. One of the causes of this degradation is the increased average memory latency due to cache to cache migration of modified cache lines. Such transfers often incur significantly longer latencies than a simple cache miss, which can be satisfied from main memory. By setting an upper bound on the number of modified cache lines that are allowed to exist in a main memory when this limit is exceeded, the average memory latency and overall system performance on an online transaction processing (OLTP) workload can be improved. This paper presents an investigation of this concept, called original limiting, on a commercial SMP system. The Original Limiting concept was implemented in the second level cache (SLC) of the Unisys NX6830 series of SMP systems, which support up to eight CPUs. An original limiting queue (OLQ) was added to limit the number of exclusive or modified lines in a 5% improvement in the number of transactions processed per minute, by reducing the average memory latency. A variety of experiments indicate that the OLQ is a simple, but effective, mechanism to enhance the performance of OLTP applications on SMP systems.
Institutional Vulnerablity and Opportunity: Immigration and America's “War on Terror”

New legal realism focuses on the complexity of individual action and the view of law from the “bottom-up.” Neoinstitutionalism also suggests that rational-actor models are too simplistic, but spotlights enduring historical effects on individual action and thus tends to view the world from the “top-down.” In this article, we seek to marry the two disparate approaches by centering on moments of institutional vulnerability and opportunity when a system can change or be redefined. The terrorist attacks on September 11 provided a unique opportunity for institutional change. Policymakers seized this opportunity to introduce reforms into American immigration law that fundamentally altered how that law is administered. The implications of these legal reforms were to group many migrants into the category of potential “terrorist” and to make it increasingly difficult for any migrant to claim “victim” status. Immigrants responded to these reforms by refraining from public criticism of the United States and by becoming American citizens. We discuss the potential implications of those actions on the institution of citizenship.
Powerful radiative jets in supercritical accretion discs around non-spinning black holes

We describe a set of simulations of super-critical accretion onto a non-rotating supermassive BH. The accretion flow is radiation pressure dominated and takes the form of a geometrically thick disk with twin low-density funnels around the rotation axis. For accretion rates $\gtrsim 10 \dot M_{\rm Edd}$, there is sufficient gas in the funnel to make this region optically thick. Radiation from the disk first flows into the funnel, after which it accelerates the optically thick funnel gas along the axis. The resulting jet is baryon-loaded and has a terminal density-weighted velocity $\approx 0.3c$. Much of the radiative luminosity is converted into kinetic energy by the time the escaping gas becomes optically thin. For an observer viewing down the axis, the isotropic equivalent luminosity of total energy is as much as $10^{48}\,\rm erg\,s^{-1}$ for a $10^7 M_\odot$ BH accreting at $10^3$ Eddington. Therefore, energetically, the simulated jets are consistent with observations of the most powerful tidal disruption events, e.g., Swift J1644. The jet velocity is, however, too low to match the Lorentz factor $\gamma > 2$ inferred in J1644. There is no such conflict in the case of other tidal disruption events. Since favorably oriented observers see isotropic equivalent luminosities that are highly super-Eddington, the simulated models can explain observations of ultra-luminous X-ray sources, at least in terms of luminosity and energetics, without requiring intermediate mass black holes. Finally, since the simulated jets are baryon-loaded and have mildly relativistic velocities, they match well the jets observed in SS433. The latter are, however, more collimated than the simulated jets. This suggests that, even if magnetic fields are not important for acceleration, they may perhaps still play a role in confining the jet.
Changing patterns of infectious disease

Despite a century of often successful prevention and control efforts, infectious diseases remain an important global problem in public health, causing over 13 million deaths each year. Changes in society, technology and the microorganisms themselves are contributing to the emergence of new diseases, the re-emergence of diseases once controlled, and to the development of antimicrobial resistance. Two areas of special concern in the twenty-first century are food-borne disease and antimicrobial resistance. The effective control of infectious diseases in the new millennium will require effective public health infrastructures that will rapidly recognize and respond to them and will prevent emerging problems.
Supporting the creation of scholarly bibliographies by communities through online reputation based social collaboration

Bibliographic digital libraries play a significant role in conducting research and, in the past few years, have started to move from closed to more open social platforms. However, in this, they have faced challenges (e.g., from Web spam) in maintaining the level of scholarly precision--the ratio of relevant citations retrieved by search. This paper describes a hybrid approach that uses online social collaboration and reputation based social moderation to reduce the cost and to speed up the construction of scholarly bibliographies that are comprehensive, have better quality citations and higher precision. We implemented selected social features for an established digital humanities project (the Cervantes Project) and compared the results with a number of closed and open current bibliographies. We found this can help in building scholarly bibliographies and significantly improve precision outcomes.
In the Presence of the Living Cockroach: The Moment of Aliveness and the Gendered Body in Agamben and Lispector

In this paper, I consider Giorgio Agamben's critique of Heidegger's understanding of animality, using Clarice Lispector's novel The Passion According to G.H. as an illustration. I argue that the present (living) moment itself separates the human from the animal for Heidegger, because, as Agamben notes, Heidegger subsumes this moment under the notion of "animal captivation" and thus fails to think the spontaneity of "bare life." But while Agamben goes on to argue that the creation of the human/animal binary is the primary move of the "anthropological machine," I argue that the man/woman dichotomy is equally basic and equally destructive.
Radial Artery as the Second Choice Conduit: Some Unsolved Problems

To the Editor: Zacharias and colleagues1 deserve credit for publishing the first ever propensity-matched 6-year outcomes comparison of radial artery (RA) and venous conduits in coronary bypass surgery with left internal thoracic artery to left anterior descending artery grafting (CABG-LITA-LAD) patients. Their conclusion that using radial arteries as a second arterial conduit in CABG-LITA-LAD as opposed to vein grafting improves long-term outcomes as a result of decreased late deaths, especially after the third postoperative year, sounds exciting. However, there are still some unsolved problems that raise genuine concerns about using radial artery as the second choice conduit instead of the right internal thoracic artery (RITA). In the modern era of total arterial myocardial revascularization, the radial artery has been reevaluated and rediscovered as an alternative arterial conduit. Its revival became possible because of the availability of antispastic agents and the improvement in the harvesting technique.2 Nevertheless, the 2 major problems of hyperspasticity and intimal hyperplasia are still unsolved entirely. Anatomically, the RA is a muscular artery.3 Therefore, there has been a functional problem about hyperreactivity to various external stimuli, …
Teichuronic acid reducing terminal N-acetylglucosamine residue linked by phosphodiester to peptidoglycan of Micrococcus luteus.

Abstract Teichuronic acid-peptidoglycan complex isolated from Micrococcus luteus cells by lysozyme digestion in osmotically stabilized medium was treated with mild acid to cleave the linkage joining teichuronic acid to peptidoglycan. This labile linkage was shown to be the phosphodiester which joins N-acetylglucosamine, the residue located at the reducing end of the teichuronic acid, through its anomeric hydroxyl group to a 6-phosphomuramic acid, a residue of the glycan strand of peptidoglycan. 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the lysozyme digest of cell walls demonstrated the presence of a phosphodiester which was converted to a phosphomonoester by the conditions which released teichuronic acid from cell walls. Reduction of acid-liberated reducing end groups by NaB3H4 followed by complete acid hydrolysis yielded [3H] glucosaminitol from the true reducing end residue of teichuronic acid and [3H]glucitol from the sites of fragmentation of teichuronic acid. The amount of N-acetylglucosamine detected was approximately stoichiometric with the amount of phosphate in the complex. Partial fragmentation of teichuronic acid provides an explanation of the previous erroneous identification of the reducing end residue.
Optimal gene expression and amplification strategies for batch and continuous recombinant cultures.

Maximizing the amount of protein produced from a cloned gene in a recombinant organism requires careful consideration of the trade-offs involved between cloned gene expression and host cell growth and biosythetic activity. Numerous experimental studies of recombinant Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae have shown that the presence of plasmids reduces host cell growth rate and, overall protein synthesis activity. Reduction host cell growth rates and biosynthetic activity in the presence of plasmid-directed macromolecular synthesis presumably occurs because of competition between plasmid-directed and host-cell-directed activity for common pools of precursors, chemical energy and electrons, activator species, repressor molecules, transport apparatus, and enzymes and other catalytic assemblies. The use of regulated promoters and plasmid replication controls amenable to environmental manipulation offers the opportunity of reconciling the opposing effects of cloned-gene content and expression level on process productivity. Several promoters are available for E. coli, S. cerevisiae, and other hosts that allow the expression level of the cloned gene to be switched from a relatively low to a relatively high level by a change in the organism environment. Similarly, in a plasmid replicon repressed by a temperature-sensitive molecule, such as the ColE1 origin of replication for E. coli plasmids with a mutant RNAmore » I gene providing temperature-sensitive replication repressor activity, cellular plasmid content can be altered from around 25 to 700 or more copies per cell by increasing the medium temperature. Similar temperature-sensitive replication regulators are known for R1 plasmids.« less
Differential cardiac gene expression during cardiopulmonary bypass: ischemia-independent upregulation of proinflammatory genes.

Objective Cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass induces both systemic and local inflammatory responses implicated in the pathogenesis of myocardial dysfunction. Multifactorial perioperative sources of myocardial injury complicate understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved. By using microarray technology, this study examines myocardial gene expression responses to cardiopulmonary bypass in the absence of cardioplegic arrest and ischemia-reperfusion injury. Methods We used a unique rat model of cardiopulmonary bypass in which sternotomy, direct operations on the heart, aortic crossclamping, and cardioplegic arrest were not performed. Hearts from 6 animals randomized to either 90 minutes of cardiopulmonary bypass or sham control animals were used to perform cDNA microarray analyses of 2343 genes. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to confirm the microarray results for a subset of genes. Results Compared with sham-operated control animals, myocardium from animals undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass revealed 42 differentially expressed genes. Upregulated genes include the transcription activator nuclear factor κB, adhesion molecules (vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 and P-selectin), and interleukin 6 receptor subunits; downregulated genes include transforming growth factor β receptor 2, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3, and mitogen-activated protein kinase 1. Distinct proinflammatory gene cascades were confirmed by means of category overrepresentation analysis. Conclusions This study represents an initial report on the use of microarray technology to elucidate cardiac transcriptional programs in response to cardiopulmonary bypass-specific injury in vivo. These preliminary findings, combined with future functional genomic studies superimposing ischemia and reperfusion and other inflammatory stimuli, should improve our understanding of the molecular regulatory networks involved in myocardial responses to injury and aid in the development of novel cardioprotective and perfusion strategies.
Interventions as an alternative to penalties in preventable readmissions

While expenditures in healthcare in the United States are the highest in the world, it is widely known that those resources are not being used efficiently. The government addressed this situation in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, in an attempt to improve quality and affordability of healthcare. In the fiscal year 2013, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began imposing financial penalties through the Inpatient Prospective Payment System to hospitals that have higher than expected readmission rates for specific diseases. The nature and effects of this new policy have raised several concerns. This article discusses Medicare’s hospital readmissions reduction program and presents an alternate policy based on diseasespecific interventions to reduce preventable readmissions. Our results show that a policy based on implementing disease-specific interventions, instead of penalties, may save 33.43% of hospitals from being under the penalization level in the first year, while at the same time improving the delivery of care.
Thermal history of mesosiderites: Quantitative constraints from compositional zoning and Fe-Mg ordering in orthopyroxenes

Abstract We have derived mathematical relations to calculate cooling rates from the extent of compositional zoning developed during cooling across the interface of a natural diffusion couple. These relations were used to calculate the high temperature cooling rates of the mesosiderites Lowicz and Clover Springs from the available data on compositional zoning across core-overgrowth interface of orthopyroxene grains. We have also determined the cation ordering in four selected orthopyroxene crystals from Bondoc and Estherville mesosiderites with very high precision, and used these data to calculate their low temperature cooling rates. The compositional zoning of orthopyroxene crystals reflects extremely rapid cooling rates, at least ~1°C/100 years in the temperature range 850–1150°C. However, simultaneous consideration of both metallographic and cation ordering data for Estherville, within the framework of either an asymptotic or an exponential cooling model, requires a cooling rate of ~l°C/Ma near 250°C. The cation ordering data for Bondoc, for which no metallographic data are yet available, are suggestive of even slower cooling rate, which implies excavation from a somewhat greater depth in the parent body. However, within the limits of their uncertainties, the measured site occupancies of the orthopyroxene crystals from Bondoc can be reconciled with a cooling rate similar to that of Estherville. The calculated cooling rates at both high- and low-temperatures have been used to develop a thermal evolution model of mesosiderites. The suggested model is not incompatible with an asteroidal parent body for these meteorites. Further, it is shown that the closure temperature of Ar-Ar age must be tied to the slow cooling rate below 500°C.
Dissipative dynamics in many-atom systems: A density matrix treatment

The dynamics of a many-atom system are described in terms of the density operator solution of the Liouville–von Neumann equation, for either isolated or dissipative (open) conditions. The treatment introduces a partial Wigner transform of the density operator of the isolated system or of a primary region of interest, respectively, classifying degrees of freedom as quantal or quasi-classical. A secondary region (the medium) is treated as a stochastic environment leading to a dissipative dynamics of the primary region. Dissipative phenomena are described in terms of dissipative potentials and rate operators. The quantum and quasi-classical degrees of freedom can be identified with the electronic and nuclear variables of a many-atom system to provide a description of electronic rearrangement and excitations during dissipative phenomena. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2002
Decomposition of Prediction Error

Abstract The problem considered is that of predicting the value of an unobservable random variable w from the value of an observable random vector y. This problem is considered under each of four states of knowledge about the joint distribution of w and y, ranging from complete knowledge to “no” knowledge. A (point) predictor or predictors are presented for each case. Prediction error is decomposed so that each component reflects an absence of information. Under certain conditions, these components are uncorrelated and have zero means. An exact or approximate expression is given for the variance of each component.
Alternative procedure for making a metal suprastructure in a milled bar implant-supported overdenture

Abstract The predictability of implant-supported prostheses has been established. Although the original Branemark design has been successfully used in the mandible, esthetic, speech, and hygiene-related problems have been reported in maxillary fixed prostheses. Implant-overdentures can overcome some of the problems encountered in maxillary fixed prostheses. Milled-bar implant-supported overdentures fabricated by electric discharge machining are characterized by stability similar to a fixed prostheses and are removable for hygiene procedures. However, the procedure is costly and requires highly trained technicians. An alternative procedure to produce an accurately fitting metal suprastructure is presented. This procedure does not require additional technical skills and uses instruments and materials that are readily available and relatively inexpensive. The use of simple and easy to replace attachments allows repairs to be performed in the dental office, thus reducing maintenance cost. The overall result is a prosthesis that incorporates the features of a spark erosion overdenture at a fraction of the cost and that is available to a broader patient population. (J Prosthet Dent 1998;80:253-8.)
Negative emotional photographs are identified more slowly than positive photographs

In three experiments, we investigated whether the emotional valence of a photograph influenced the amount of time required to initially identify the contents of the image. In Experiment 1, participants saw a slideshow consisting of positive, neutral, and negative photographs that were balanced for arousal. During the slideshow, presentation time was substantially limited (60 ms), and the images were followed by masks. Immediately following the slideshows, participants were given a recognition memory test. Memory performance was best for positive images and worst for negative images (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, two simultaneous photographs were briefly presented and masked. On a trial-by-trial basis, participants indicated whether the two images were identical or not, thus removing the need for memory storage and retrieval. Again, performance was worst for negative images. The results of Experiment 3 suggested that these valence-based differences were not related attentional effects (Experiment 3). We argue that the valence of an image is detected rapidly and, in the case of negative images, interferes with processing the identity of the scene.
A psychoeducational and support group for obsessive-compulsive disorder patients and their significant others

This report details the contents of a 10-week psychoeducational and support group for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients and their significant others. As growing numbers of OCD patients seek behavioral and psychopharmacologic treatments for their disorder, the need for such a group has increased. Little is written about this type of group, despite the need. Successful research and evaluation of this treatment entity will rely on a clearly defined group protocol such as the one reported here. In the present study, the group averaged 21 members in attendance. The 17 members present at the final session rated the group an average of 3.8 on a 0 (poor) to 4 (excellent) scale across several content areas. These uncontrolled data suggest that the format has clinical utility as a tool for the delivery of information and support to OCD patients and their significant others.
Notched strength of ceramic-matrix composites

Abstract Two simple approaches for characterizing the strength of notched ceramic-matrix composites are presented in non-dimensional form for finite geometries and are used to evaluate the notched strength of a woven-Nicalon-reinforced ceramic-matrix composite. Notch sensitivity can be evaluated with one parameter—the material toughness divided by the product of the unnotched strength and specimen width. For notchinsensitive behavior, a minimum toughness can be defined for the material on the basis of the Griffith criterion. For notch-sensitive behavior, an equation proposed by Suo et al. which envelopes many different bridging laws is used to define a material toughness and predict notched strength. Tests were conducted on two batches of the ceramic-matrix composite. One had a weak fiber/matrix interface, and the other had a strong interface. The testing and analysis revealed that the former had a toughness exceeding 10.9 MPa m 1 2 whereas the later had a toughness of only 5.4 MPa m 1 2 .
Prediction of postdischarge venous thromboembolism using a risk assessment model

Objective The risk of postdischarge venous thromboembolism (VTE) (either deep vein or pulmonary embolism) is increasingly recognized yet the prescription of postdischarge thromboprophylaxis is inconsistent. There is a paucity of information to aid clinicians in identifying surgical patients who are at increased risk for postdischarge VTE. This study aimed to determine the incidence and risk factors associated with symptomatic postdischarge VTE and develop a risk score to identify patients who may benefit from extended duration thromboprophylaxis. Methods This was a retrospective study. All nonorthopedic cases in which the patient was discharged alive without inpatient VTE were selected from the 2005-2009 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. A multivariate logistic regression was used to create a risk score for postdischarge VTE prediction. The dataset was split into two-thirds for risk score development and validated in the remaining one-third. Results The overall incidence of early postdischarge VTE for 2005-2009 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program was 0.3%. The risk score stratified patients into low, moderate, and high risk for postdischarge VTE with the incidence based on the risk score ranging from 0.07% to 2.2%. The risk score had good predictive ability with c-statistic = 0.72 for model development and c-statistic = 0.71 in the validation dataset. Factors associated with postdischarge VTE on multivariate analysis included race, increasing age, steroid use, body mass index ≥30, malignancy, higher American Society of Anesthesiologists class, increasing operative time, length of postsurgical stay, and major postoperative complication. Conclusions This novel postdischarge VTE prediction score utilizes patient, operative, and early outcome factors to accurately identify patients at increased risk of a postdischarge thromboembolic event. The development of a patient- specific postdischarge VTE risk profile may help address the challenge of determining postdischarge prophylaxis requirements.
Gravity and Magnetic Investigation, Eastern Shore Area, Virginia

A simple Bouguer gravity map and a total magnetic intensity map were made for the Eastern Shore area of Virginia. Both maps exhibit a great similarity, thus suggesting that the density contrast between the crystalline basement and the overlying sediments is the main source of the gravity anomalies. The maps show two major anomaly trends, north, and N. 30° W. The northwest end of a trough that trends N. 30° W. appears to occupy the northern half of the area and extends southeastward toward the Atlantic Ocean. It also appears to be separated from the adjacent Salisbury embayment, on the subaerial coastal plain, by a large basement uplift centered over the town of Girdletree, Maryland. Quantitative interpretations of the gravity map were made along three profiles. The thicknesses of the sedimentary rocks in the vicinity of the town of Cheriton, between the towns of Exmore and Melfa, and near Wallops Island are estimated to be 7,200; 2,200; and 6,300 ft (2,195; 670; and 1,920 m), respectively. A fault trending N. 30° W. through Exmore is also suggested; if present, its structural throw would be about 1,300 ft (400 m).
Whatever happened to jane and dick? Sexism in texts reexamined

Differences in the portrayal of females and males in children's reading material have been documented in studies for more than a decade. The under-representation of females as main characters or in careers outside the home in comparison to their representation in reality is a frequent finding in these studies. When portrayed, girls and women are seen in a limited number of familial and societal roles often reflecting a stereotypic definition of appropriate female behavior based on such characteristics as weakness, passivity, and emotionality.2 In contrast, boys and men are seen in a far greater range of roles although most of these also reflect stereotypic notions of appropriate male behavior, such as the display of strength, activity, and lack of emotion.3 As a result of such portrayals, research indicates that children may view females as less than full participants in society and view males as more predominant than in reality.4 Furthermore,
T-KDE: a method for genome-wide identification of constitutive protein binding sites from multiple ChIP-seq data sets

Background A protein may bind to its target DNA sites constitutively, i.e., regardless of cell type. Intuitively, constitutive binding sites should be biologically functional. A prerequisite for understanding their functional relevance is knowing all their locations for a protein of interest. Genome-wide discovery of constitutive binding sites requires robust and efficient computational methods to integrate results from numerous binding experiments. Such methods are lacking, however.
Representation type of the blocks of category OS in types F4 and G2

Abstract In this paper a complete classification of the representation type of the infinitesimal blocks of the parabolic category O S for the complex simple Lie algebras of types F 4 and G 2 is given.