cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Informed consent to HIV cure research

Trials with highly unfavourable risk-benefit ratios for participants, like HIV cure trials, raise questions about the quality of the consent of research participants. Why, it may be asked, would a person with HIV who is doing well on antiretroviral therapy be willing to jeopardise his health by enrolling in such a trial? We distinguish three concerns: first, how information is communicated to potential participants; second, participants' motivations for enrolling in potentially high risk research with no prospect of direct benefit; and third, participants' understanding of the details of the trials in which they enrol. We argue that the communication concern is relevant to the validity of informed consent and the quality of decision making, that the motivation concern does not identify a genuine problem with either the validity of consent or the quality of decision making and that the understanding concern may not be relevant to the validity of consent but is relevant to the quality of decision making. In doing so, we derive guidance points for researchers recruiting and enrolling participants into their HIV cure trials, as well as the research ethics committees reviewing proposed studies.
Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace Flight Applications

Additive manufacturing can provide many advantages to the future of space flight. Although it has been in use for plastic prototyping applications, it is only more recently that additive technologies have been investigated to produce metal and ceramic flight parts. This review paper presents some of the specific issues that arise for space flight applications, including materials selection, processing and postprocessing parameters, and the qualification process. With these concerns in mind, there are seven main applications in which additive manufacturing can provide a benefit. These applications include innovative design strategies that use the unique parameters of additive manufacturing, as well as some specific uses such as mass reduction or in situ production in space.
Effective Game-Based Training at the Point of Need

The military requires delivery of training to the warfighter at the point of need, which means whenever and wherever the training is needed. We set out to determine if a soldier could train using a graphically intensive game hosted in a “cloud.” We conducted a usability study in a lab with twelve participants trying to complete a mission using a military simulation training game. The participants played the game in ten different configurations that varied the number of VMs per server, CPU cores and CPU topologies of the VMs, screen resolution settings, and WAN emulator bandwidth and latency settings. The usability study found that the simulation training game performed acceptably in a virtualized environment. It also determined that with the specific hardware and network characteristics used in the study, participants rated 6–8 VMs set to low-resolution best.
HIGHER ORDER DEFECTS IN SILICON

Higher order defects, i.e., a hexagonal phase, {113} stacking faults and second order twins, are detected in ion implanted Si as well as in laser annealed, ion implanted Si. Atomic models of minimum energy configurations of these defects are proposed.
Effects of a Peer Evaluation Technique on Nursing Students' Anxiety Levels

Techniques to help decrease students' stress and anxiety during a nursing program can be beneficial to their overall health and mental well-being. A quasi-experimental design was used to examine if a peer evaluation technique during clinical skill practice sessions decreases anxiety prior to skill performance evaluation with nursing faculty. Participant feedback supports the integration of a peer evaluation technique when learning clinical skills.
Reconstructing ERK signaling in the Drosophila embryo from fixed images

The early Drosophila embryo provides unique opportunities for quantitative studies of ERK signaling. This system is characterized by simple anatomy, the ease of obtaining large numbers of staged embryos, and the availability of powerful tools for genetic manipulation of the ERK pathway. Here, we describe how these experimental advantages can be combined with recently developed microfluidic devices for high throughput imaging of ERK activation dynamics. We focus on the stage during the third hour of development, when ERK activation is essential for patterning of the future nerve cord. Our approach starts with an ensemble of fixed embryos stained with an antibody that recognizes the active, dually phosphorylated form of ERK. Each embryo in this ensemble provides a snapshot of the spatial and temporal pattern of ERK activation during development. We then quantitatively estimate the ages of fixed embryos using a model that links their morphology and developmental time. This model is learned based on live imaging of cellularization and gastrulation, two highly stereotyped morphogenetic processes at this stage of embryogenesis. Applying this approach, we can characterize ERK signaling at high spatial and temporal resolution. Our methodology can be readily extended to studies of ERK regulation and function in multiple mutant backgrounds, providing a versatile assay for quantitative studies of developmental ERK signaling.
Bilayer nano-waveguide resonators for sensing applications

This paper presents an acoustically engineered nano-waveguide resonator implemented in an aluminum nitride-on-silicon bilayer with an overall thickness of less than 200nm. Acoustic engineering using dispersion characteristics of laterally propagating waves with cross-sectional flexural polarization has been used to realize efficient energy trapping without the need for narrow suspending supports, thus improving device power handling. Having a large aspect ratio, the bilayer nano-waveguide resonator experiences an amplified thermally induced axial stress, which results in a very high temperature coefficient of its resonance frequency. Such characteristics along with the minuscule volume and large peripheral acoustic energy density make the device an exceptional candidate for sensing applications where an increased thermal responsivity and large interaction cross-section are desirable. A prototype device operating at ∼870kHz frequency with a Q of ∼140 — measured in air — shows a vibration amplitude of 100nm at 3V and a linear TCF of ∼ −710 ppm / °C when actuated piezoelectrically with 500 mv at resonance.
Recognizing CADASIL: a Secondary Cause of Migraine with Aura.

Purpose of Review CADASIL (cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy) is an important disease to consider in the differential diagnosis of migraine with aura. This review examines current literature regarding migraine in CADASIL, as well as diagnostic and treatment modalities.
Molecular sieve membranes for N2/CH4 separation

Natural gas consumption has grown from 5.0 trillion cubic feet (TCF) in 1949 to 27.0 TCF in 2014 and is expected to be ∼31.6 TCF in 2040. This large demand requires an effective technology to purify natural gas. Nitrogen is a significant impurity in natural gas and has to be removed since it decreases the natural gas energy content. The benchmark technology to remove nitrogen from natural gas is cryogenic distillation, which is costly and energy intensive. Membrane technology could play a key role in making this separation less energy intensive and therefore economically feasible. Molecular sieve membranes are ideal candidates to remove natural gas impurities because of their exceptional size-exclusion properties, high thermal and chemical resistance. In this review, the state of the art of molecular sieve membranes for N2/CH4 separation, separation mechanisms involved, and future directions of these emerging membranes for natural gas purification are critically discussed.
Preparation and characterization of an oxide-oxide continuous fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composite with a zinc oxide interphase

Abstract In this study, metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) was used to deposit zinc oxide (ZnO) for use as a ceramic matrix composite (CMC) interphase. ZnO coatings (400–500 nm) were deposited on 3 M Nextel™ 610 fabric by thermal decomposition of zinc acetate dihydrate in a low pressure hot wall CVD reactor. An α-alumina matrix was applied to the 8 ply fabric lay up for a total CMC porosity of 30% with 32% fiber volume. The morphology, structure and strength of the resulting continuous fiber CMC were characterized in conjunction with a control CMC with no interphase. The results show that when a zinc acetate dihydrate precursor is used, a functional interphase can be obtained. Flexural strength of the Oxide-Oxide CMC could be increased up to 30% upon addition of this oxide interphase with corresponding toughening mechanisms.
The new Sultan: Erdogan and the crisis of modern Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ranks as one of the world’s most important and noteworthy political leaders. In part, this is a reflection of Turkey’s geopolitical position, as Erdogan becam...
Investor Attention and Municipal Bond Returns

We analyze the extent to which investors in opaque markets price information from more transparent markets. Exploiting the natural experiment created by bond-insurer insolvency, we show that municipal bond investors ignore insurers’ equity prices and CDS premia, yet react to insurers’ downgrades. The severity of the investor inattention we document is relevant to the current debate over the costs and benefits of SEC proposals to improve the timeliness and quality of local government disclosure. Our secondary contribution is a straightforward method for conducting event studies in illiquid markets across several characteristics, while controlling for bond optionality and liquidity biases.
Variational particle smoothers and their localization

Author(s): Morzfeld, M; Hodyss, D; Poterjoy, J | Abstract: Given the success of 4D-variational methods (4D-Var) in numerical weather prediction, and recent efforts to merge ensemble Kalman filters with 4D-Var, we revisit how one can use importance sampling and particle filtering ideas within a 4D-Var framework. This leads us to variational particle smoothers (varPS) and we study how weight-localization can prevent the collapse of varPS in high-dimensional problems. We also discuss the relevance of (localized) weights in near-Gaussian problems. We test our ideas on the Lorenz'96 model of dimensions n = 40, n = 400, and n = 2,000. In our numerical experiments the localized varPS does not collapse and yields results comparable to ensemble formulations of 4D-Var, while tuned EnKFs and the local particle filter lead to larger estimation errors. Additional numerical experiments suggest that using localized weights may not yield significant advantages over unweighted or linearized solutions in near-Gaussian problems.
Spinal Cord Monitoring in Pediatric Cervical Spine Surgery

The role of sensory and motor, intraoperative, and neurophysiological monitoring of spinal cord physiology at multiple, neural levels has become an established routine. The chapter "Spinal cord monitoring in pediatric cervical spine surgery" is a review of the principles and concepts that need further study in this very specialized area of pediatric cervical spine surgery. This is a discussion of the basic science and clinical application, including practical concerns and protocols. A thorough understanding of the current thinking in this area is germane to surgery of the child’s cervical spine and generalizable to any children’s spinal surgery. The response to alarm criteria is discussed in both a proactive and reactive way. The conclusion is that the principles of neurophysiological monitoring of the spinal cord during orthopedic and neurosurgical procedures are well established and should be followed in the management of disorders of the child’s cervical spine.
The Effect of Thiazide Diuretics on Blood Lipid Profile in Hypertensive Adults: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

This study explores the effect of diuretics use on metabolic markers (i.e., the lipid profile) since thiazide diuretics are extensively used to treat cardiac patients with hypertension (HTN) and other comorbidities. The Embase and PubMed databases were searched for relevant English-language peer-reviewed articles. Different search terms and medical subject headings (MesH) terms were used to find the relevant articles. Our study included randomized controlled trials with hypertensive adult patients in the intervention group receiving thiazide diuretics; controls receiving any other diuretic or any other intervention for HTN where an intention to treat analysis was performed. We collected the demographic details, baseline lipid profile values, and end-of-study lipid profile values of all the participants in the studies along with the standard deviation of each value to calculate the net change effect. Five studies were included. We used the Q-test and I2 index for heterogeneity and the inverse variance method for weighting. We used the fixed effects model for total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) because TC and LDL-C had no heterogeneity (I2 was 0%). We used a random-effects model for triglycerides (TG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), which showed moderate heterogeneity (I2 was 57.2% and 59.5%, respectively). We used the Cochrane quality assessment to assess the quality level of the included studies. We used a funnel plot to avoid publication bias. Diuretics have a significant effect on lipid profiles. However, because this conclusion is supported by a low number of studies, further research is needed, and physicians are advised to use their best clinical judgment until the relationship between diuretics and lipid profiles seen in this study can be further supported by additional studies.
Electron Microscopy of Skeletal Aging

Several ultrastructural studies of aging cartilage are known (Barnett et al., 1963; Silberberg et al., 1961, 1964, 1970), and a few electron microscopic studies have been reported on bone aging per se (Tonna, 1972a,b, 1973a-c, 1974b, 1975a,b, 1976b, 1978, 1979). The paucity of the literature understandably stems from the technical burdens of aging studies, and the problem of finding suitable animal models. An animal colony must be bred by the investigator for years at significant cost in advance of commencing an experiment in order to reap sufficient animal numbers to constitute a study. Aged animals of suitable quality and recorded birth dates usually cannot be purchased. Furthermore, the studies are generally long-term and technically more difficult to execute and especially to interpret. Existence of these caveats does not, however, justify our ignorance of the ultrastructural changes of aging skeletal tissues when significant biomedical problems exist concomitant with, or in a cause and effect or contributional relationship with, aging. Such problems are an integral part of known skeletal and degenerative joint diseases, to physiologic imbalances, as well as to biomechanical problems with congenital and growth anomalies or surgical and accidental perturbations. In oral biology, alveolar bone loss in association with periodontal disease and aging is paramount to gerodontics. Knowledge of age changes is not exclusively significant to biomedical gerontology and geriatrics, but scientific information regarding the entire life cycle of cells and their matrices is necessary to a fuller understanding of the behavior and response potential of these bioelements to natural environmental and induced stresses of all types experienced throughout the life span of the individual.
Techniques in pathology in atherosclerosis research.

Publisher Summary This chapter presents an overview of the techniques suitable in the study of atherosclerosis and also presents a number of concepts that have given some impetus to the study of this disease process. Atherosclerosis is a process with a complex interplay of various factors, which, in turn, require multiple experimental approaches; judicial use of the numerous techniques at the disposal in combined retrospective studies is the key to understanding and controlling this disease. The success in solving the problems of the complex interplay of factors involved in this disease process depends on a combination of both retrospective–epidemiological and prospective–experimental approaches. Reliable and accurate quantitative evaluations of lesions are important prerequisites for epidemiological and experimental studies. Clinical techniques on living subjects, although recently immensely improved, have only limited sensitivity, and only extreme changes in the vessel wall can be diagnosed with certainty. Morphometric techniques are useful for exact evaluation and measurement of the lesions and for identifying stages of development and assessing the extent and topography of damage resulting from the factor under investigation. This type of investigation is valuable not only in facilitating the study of cause–effect relationships but also in clarifying mechanisms.
Future Processing of Spent Reactor Fuels

The probable future for the reprocessing of nuclear fuels over the next 50 years is discussed in the light of four main factors: the processing of light water reactor (LWR) fuel on schedules to be determined by individual national policies; the eventual processing of fast reactor fuels; present and future degrees of concern on arms proliferation issues and the vulnerability of processing plants to terrorist activities; and general public acceptance of reprocessing. An overriding factor may well be the institutional and financial arrangements necessary for reprocessing (and therefore the whole fuel cycle) to progress. The general principles of reprocessing technology have already been established although improvements may still be necessary in meeting new safeguard requirements and developing methods of waste disposal that are acceptable to the public. Use of the “sphere pac” fuel fabrication process colocated with appropriately designed reprocessing plants may allay the serious concern about possible diversion of plutonium.
Co-Administered Polymeric Nano-Antidotes for Improved Photo-Triggered Response in Glioblastoma.

Polymer-based nanoparticles (NPs) are useful vehicles in treating glioblastoma because of their favorable characteristics such as small size and ability to cross the blood–brain barrier, as well as reduced immunogenicity and side effects. The use of a photosensitizer drug such as Verteporfin (BPD), in combination with a pan-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), Cediranib (CED), encapsulated in NPs will provide the medical field with new research on the possible ways to treat glioblastoma. Concomitant administration of BPD and CED NPs have the potential to induce dual photocytotoxic and cytostatic effects in U87 MG cells by (1) remotely triggering BPD through photodynamic therapy by irradiating laser at 690 nm and subsequent production of reactive oxygen species and (2) inhibiting cell proliferation by VEGFR interference and growth factor signaling mechanisms which may allow for longer progression free survival in patients and fewer systemic side effects. The specific aims of this research were to synthesize, characterize and assess cell viability and drug interactions for polyethylene-glycolated (PEGylated) polymeric based CED and BPD NPs which were less than 100 nm in size for enhanced permeation and retention effects. Synergistic effects were found using the co-administered therapies compared to the individual drugs. The major goal of this research was to investigate a new combination of photodynamic-chemotherapy drugs in nano-formulation for increased efficacy in glioblastoma treatment at reduced concentrations of therapeutics for enhanced drug delivery in vitro.
Surgical Activities Recognition Using Multi-scale Recurrent Networks

Recently, surgical activity recognition has been receiving significant attention from the medical imaging community. Existing state-of-the-art approaches employ recurrent neural networks such as long-short term memory networks (LSTMs). However, our experiments show that these networks are not effective in capturing the relationship of features with different temporal scales. Such limitation will lead to sub-optimal recognition performance of surgical activities containing complex motions at multiple time scales. To overcome this shortcoming, our paper proposes a multi-scale recurrent neural network (MS-RNN) that combines the strength of both wavelet scattering operations and LSTM. We validate the effectiveness of the proposed network using both real and synthetic datasets. Our experimental results show that MS-RNN outperforms state-of-the-art methods in surgical activity recognition by a significant margin. On a synthetic dataset, the proposed network achieves more than 90% classification accuracy while LSTM’s accuracy is around chance level. Experiments on real surgical activity dataset shows a significant improvement of recognition accuracy over the current state of the art (90.2% versus 83.3%).
Nuclear failure, DNA damage, and cell cycle disruption after migration through small pores: a brief review

In many contexts of development, regeneration, or disease such as cancer, a cell squeezes through a dense tissue or a basement membrane, constricting its nucleus. Here, we describe how the severity of nuclear deformation depends on a nucleus' mechanical properties that are mostly determined by the density of chromatin and by the nuclear lamina. We explain how constriction-induced nuclear deformation affects nuclear contents by causing (i) local density changes in chromatin and (ii) rupture of the nuclear lamina and envelope. Both processes mislocalize diffusible nuclear factors including key DNA repair and regulatory proteins. Importantly, these effects of constricted migration are accompanied by excess DNA damage, marked by phosphorylated histone γH2AX in fixed cells. Rupture has a number of downstream consequences that include a delayed cell cycle-consistent with a damage checkpoint-and modulation of differentiation, both of which are expected to affect migration-dependent processes ranging from wound healing to tumorigenic invasion.
A chiral trick to map protein ligandability.

Biological receptors distinguish between S- and R-enantiomers and these subtle differences in chirality can lead to vastly different protein affinities. Now, a proteomics approach has been developed that capitalizes on chirality to map enantiomeric probe pairs and provides a rapid and global view of protein ligandability within the cell.
Preparing for the 2019‐2020 influenza season

Although the 2017-2018 influenza season had very high rates of influenza-associated illness, the 2018-2019 influenza season was comparable to previous seasons. Influenza A was the most commonly identified type worldwide, although variations in influenza A subtype prevalence existed. Influenza vaccination remains the single most effective way to prevent influenza-associated illness. A novel influenza antiviral, baloxavir, has demonstrated promising results; however, concerns about development of resistance exist.
Misconception with Pad-Based CDM ESD Protection

On-chip ESD protection is a major reliability problem to ICs. Human body model (HBM) and charged device model (CDM) are fundamentally different ESD phenomena. This review depicts a big common misconception in CDM ESD protection designs. It is well known that CDM ESD is much faster than HBM ESD, therefore, vast design efforts for CDM ESD protection has been devoted to making an CDM ESD protection device faster. Our study concludes that the commonly used pad-based ESD protection methods, while working well for “external-oriented” HBM ESD protection, are theoretically faulty for the “internal-oriented” CDM ESD protection. This misconception with pad-based CDM ESD protection designs is believed to be the root cause to the mystery of CDM ESD failures today.
District decisions regarding the national commitment to mitigate climate change from the reduction of CO2 in the city of Bogotá

The majority of human activities contribute significantly to the emissions of Greenhouse Gases (GHG), which accumulate in the planet's atmosphere and are the main responsible for climate change. Colombia ranks third among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, for this reason it signs and ratifies the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), committing itself to reducing GHG emissions by 20% by 2030 [1 ]. One of the gases belonging to this group of GHG is carbon dioxide - CO2. On May 11, 2019, the atmospheric levels of this gas exceeded 415 parts per million - ppm worldwide, a figure that shows an emission into the atmosphere higher than what was considered possible 20 years ago [2]. One of the main contributors of CO2 are cities with large populations and strong mobility dynamics. Bogota being a capital city, the contribution of is 77.33% to CO2 emissions [3]. In response to this, the 2016-2020 District Development Plan sets a goal of reducing CO2eq emissions of 800 thousand tons. and the management of the city's tree cover through planning processes and the formulation of guidelines for the planting, maintenance and phytosanitary management of the city. Although the aforementioned goals are independent, there is a technical correlation that characterizes the dependence between the number of tree species and their CO2 fixation capacity that attends to the associated physical - biological and socio - economic benefits. Consequently, this document presents an analysis of the number of individuals of the species prioritized for planting and their relationship in the fixation of CO2 based on the information from the period 2010 - 2018 in order to evaluate the contribution to the fulfillment of the district goals in the reduction of CO2 emissions and their representativeness in national goals to identify the contribution of district decisions to mitigate climate change.
23255 Devices Engineered to Collect Exhaled Breath Condensate (EBC) and their Applications

ABSTRACT IMPACT: Human exhaled breath is rich in metabolomic content that represents pulmonary function and gas exchange with blood, which can provide insights into an individual’s state of health. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Human exhaled breath is rich in metabolomic content that represents pulmonary function and gas exchange with blood. It contains a mixture of compounds that offer insight into an individual’s state of health. Here, we present two novel non-invasive breath sampling devices for use in basic medical practice. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The two breath samplers have a disposable mouthpiece, a set of inhale and exhale one-way flap valves to allow condensation of exhaled breath only, and a saliva filter. The housing is constructed out of Teflon®, a chemically inert material to reduce chemical absorbance. The first device condenses exhaled breath into a frozen condensate using dry ice pellets and the other is a miniaturized design that liquifies exhaled breath on a condenser surface with micropatterned features on a cooling plate. Both designs have individual strategic and analytical advantages: frozen exhaled breath condensate (EBC) has high retention of analytes and sample volume; EBC collected in liquid phase offers facilitated sample collection and device portability. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: We investigated if breath aerosol size distribution affects the types or abundances of metabolites. We modified the geometry of the first device to redirect aerosol trajectories based on size. The trapping of larger aerosols increases with filter length, thus altering the aerosol size distribution although no significant changes in the metabolite profiles were found. With the miniaturized device, metabolite abundances were measured in a small cohort of healthy control and mild asthmatic subjects. Differences among subjects were found, as well as main differences between control and asthmatic groups. All analyses of EBC were performed with liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry. Inflammatory suppression found in asthmatic subjects can be explained by prescribed daily use of inhaled corticosteroids. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: Breath collection devices can be used in intensive care units, outpatient clinics, workplaces, and at home. EBC analysis has been used to monitor asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. It can be applied to infectious respiratory diseases (e.g. influenza, COVID-19) and for monitoring environmental and occupational chemical exposures.
Gender Inequality and the Direction of Ideas: Evidence from #MeToo

Does the #MeToo movement affect the gender orientation of ideas and who develops which types of ideas? We examine these questions in the context of Hollywood. Since #MeToo affected the entire industry, we use variation in whether producers had past collaborations with Harvey Weinstein to discern the movement’s impact. We find that relative to non-associated producers, there is, on average, no significant change in the likelihood of developing female-protagonist stories by Weinstein-associated producers after #MeToo versus before, despite the fact that they now work substantially more with female writers. This is because, among projects by Weinstein-associated producers, female writers are significantly less likely than male writers to work on female-protagonist stories after #MeToo. Moreover, compared to their non-associated counterparts, the depiction of female protagonists by Weinstein-associated producers after #MeToo is less traditionally feminine. Overall, our findings suggest that #MeToo may have helped mitigate the frictions and biases that prevent female talent from exploring parts of the idea space that are typically associated with men and may have shaped the nature of female-oriented works.
Community based research in language policy and planning. The language of instruction in education in Sint Eustatius: by Nicholas Faraclas, Ellen-Petra Kester and Eric N. Mijts, Nature, Switzerland, Springer, 2019, 195 pp., $89 (e-bk)/$119.99 (hbk), ISBN-13: 978-3-030-23225-2 (e-bk)/ISBN-13: 978-3-030-23222-1 (hbk)

Reports of successful community-based research projects are few and far between in the language planning and policy literature. This volume is an exceptional documentation of how the authors, who a...
The Economics of Information Technology: An Introduction

The Economics of Information Technology is a concise and accessible review of some of the important economic factors affecting information technology industries. These industries are characterized by high fixed costs and low marginal costs of production, large switching costs for users, and strong network effects. These factors combine to produce some unique behavior. The book consists of two parts. In the first part, Professor Varian outlines the basic economics of these industries. In the second part, Professors Farrell and Shapiro describe the impact of these factors on competition policy. The clarity of the analysis and exposition makes this an ideal introduction for undergraduate and graduate students in economics, business strategy, law and related areas.
Complementary use of chemical modification and site-directed mutagenesis to probe structure-activity relationships in enzymes

Publisher Summary This chapter uses chemical modification and site-directed mutagenesis to probe structure-activity relationships in enzymes. Site-directed mutagenesis provides a useful test of validity of conclusions based on chemical modification experiments. A number of putative essential residues can be replaced without a substantial activity loss. This was particularly true when the initial identifications were based on labeling by common, side-chain-selective modification reagents. Thus, His-291 in ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase, Cys-395 in glycyl-tRNA synthetase, Cys-148 in lac permease, and even Tyr-248 in carboxypeptidase A are expendable. The surprising result in the carboxypeptidase Tyr-248 case demonstrates the power of site-directed mutagenesis as a structure-function probe. It was also expected that replacement of some “essential” amino acids would cause a dramatic loss in enzymatic activity, thereby confirming their importance. This was generally observed when the initial assignment was based on affinity labeling, such as in the case of Ser-70 in p-lactamase, Lys-166 and Lys-329 in ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase, Lys-84 in aspartate transcarbamoylase, and Glu-165 of triosephosphate isomerase. These results confirm that affinity labeling is a much more reliable way to identify active-site amino acids than is modification by common side-chain-selective reagents.
Cautious Skepticism About the Benefit of Adding More Formalities to the Manual for Courts-Martial Rule-Making Process: A Response to Captain Kevin J. Barry

In Modernizing the Manual for Courts-Martial Rule-Making Process: A Work in Progress, 165 Mil. L. Rev. 237 (2000), Captain Kevin J. Barry, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired), advances seven specific proposals for improving the methods by which the procedural and evidentiary rules for courts-martial are made. This article addresses Captain Barry-s proposals. On the whole, none of the proposals is radical or dangerous. Indeed, each is closely analogous to procedures in the federal civilian criminal justice system. In addition, no insurmountable legal obstacles would prevent their adoption. Yet, closer inspection suggests that, in light of all the progress that already has occurred in the methods for amending the rules none of the proposals would yield significant new benefits. At the same time, all but one or two of the proposals would impose at least some significant burdens or costs. For these reasons, at least at present, the Joint Service Committee, the Department of Defense, the President, and Congress should view Captain Barry-s recommendations with cautious skepticism.
A Hermeneutic Interpretation of the Effect of Computerized BPR Tools on Redesign Effectiveness in Two Organizations

The business process reengineering (BPR) literature maintains that the use of computerized tools for BPR-related tasks such as process modeling, simulation, project management, and human resource analysis has a positive influence on the effectiveness of business process redesigns. Our hermeneutic study of text and text analogues surrounding BPR tool use in two organizations reveals that the use of computerized tools can have two opposing effects on redesign effectiveness. We find that, consistent with the existing BPR literature, BPR tools can indeed enhance redesign effectiveness by providing (1) a structure to the redesign process; (2) cognitive support to the redesigners; and (3) a mode for standardized representation of the redesigns. However, we also discover that the autonomization of electronically represented redesigns and the organizational members’ subsequent focus on standardized, detailed, and objectified representations (rather than on socially shared understandings) of the redesign, can lead to an alienation of the original redesigners from the business processes that they envisioned. This alienation, coupled with the redesigners’ frustration arising from the frequent and sometimes meaningless changes to the electronically objectified redesigns mandated by other BPR stakeholders in the organization, can contribute to inconsistencies in the redesign, thus resulting in a negative influence of BPR tools on redesign effectiveness.
Competition Among Rhizobium leguminosarum Strains for Nodulation of Lentils (Lens esculenta)

Abstract Thirty-one cultures of Rhizobium leguminosarum were screened for effectiveness (C2H2 reduction) on lentils (Lens esculenta). Fluorescent antibodies prepared against three of the most effective strains (Hawaii 5-0, Nitragin 92A3, and Nitragin 128A12) exhibited a high degree of strain specificity; the antibodies reacted strongly with their homologous rhizobia in culture and with bacteroids in nodules. They did not cross-react with one another, and only weakly with 5 of the 47 other R. leguminosarum cultures tested. In competition studies in the growth chamber, whenever strain Nitragin 92A3 was included in the inoculum mixture, it consistently (but not always significantly, P = 0.05) occupied the majority of nodules on all four cultivars used. However, some degree of strain X cultivar interaction was apparent: Hawaii 5-0 was of equal competitiveness (P = 0.05) with Nitragin 92A3 on three of the varieties (Commercial, Tekoa, and Benewah), but inferior (P = 0.01) on the Chilean variety; Nitragin 92A3 completely dominated (P = 0.01) Nitragin 128A12 on all cultivars; and Hawaii 5-0 was of equal competitiveness (P = 0.05) to Nitragin 128A12 on the Chilean variety and more competitive (P = 0.01) on the commercial variety and less so on the other two varieties. In field experiments, Hawaii 5-0 proved of equal competitiveness (P = 0.01) with Nitragin 92A3 in one soil (an Inceptisol) and superior (P ≤ 0.05) to it in another (an Oxisol). Incidence of double-strain occupancy of nodules varied from 0 to 36% in vermiculite, depending on the strains in the mixture and the host variety, and from 0 to 38% in the field, depending on the strains in the mixture and the soil type. The results suggest a close relationship between the competitiveness of a strain and its occurrence in doubly infected nodules.
Counting problems in genomics

The past decade has seen the emergence of an overwhelming amount of genome data and the desperate need to catalog, organize, analyze, and interpret it. This “tsunami of information”, as Gene Myers, Jr. of Celera Genomics calls it, is continuously being fed by the masses of raw genome data erupting from the successful genome projects of various organisms, especially humans. It has forced the creation of the interdisciplinary field of Genomics — the union between computer science and biology, in which programmers acknowledge biology as an information science and biologists admit that there is too much data for them to fairly and efficiently sift through alone.
Association between age, sex, BMI and CT-evaluated spinal degeneration features

OBJECTIVE The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between age, sex and body mass index (BMI) and lumbar spine degeneration features evaluated on computed tomography (CT) in a community-based sample. METHODS This cross-sectional study was an ancillary project to the Framingham Study. A sample of 3529 participants of the Framingham study aged 40-80 had a CT scan performed to assess aortic calcification. 187 individuals were randomly enrolled in this ancillary study. The prevalence of intervertebral disc narrowing, facet joint osteoarthritis (OA), spondylolysis, spondylolisthesis and spinal stenosis were evaluated. To evaluate the association between spinal degeneration features and age, sex and BMI we used chi2 test and logistic regression analyses. RESULTS 104 men and 83 women, mean age 52.6 +/- 10.8 participated in the study. Statistically significant sexual dimorphism was found in prevalence of spondylolysis (p = 0.015) the male-to-female ratio was 3.3:1; and degenerative spondylolisthesis (p=0.008), the male-to-female ratio was 1:2.8. Prevalence of disc narrowing, facet joint OA, and degenerative spondylolisthesis showed a significant linear trend (p < 0.0001) of association with increasing age. Significantly higher prevalence of facet joint OA was found in the obese group OR (95%CI): 2.8 (1.1-7.2). CONCLUSIONS Marked differences in the prevalence of spinal degeneration features occur in association with age, sex and obesity. Given the high prevalence of many of these degeneration features these simple demographic factors should be considered when interpreting imaging results reporting these features.
Risk Assessment in the Law: Legal Admissibility, Scientific Validity, and Some Disparities between Research and Practice

Risk assessment expert testimony remains an area of considerable concern within the U.S. legal system. Historically, controversy has surrounded the constitutionality of such testimony, while more recently, following the adoption of new evidentiary standards that focus on scientific validity, the admissibility of expert testimony has received greater scrutiny. Based on examples from recent appellate court cases involving sexual violent predator (SVP) hearings, we highlight difficulties that courts continue to face in evaluating this complex expert testimony. In each instance, we point to specific problems in courts' reasoning that lead it to admit expert testimony of questionable scientific validity. We conclude by offering suggestions for how courts might more effectively evaluate the scientific validity of risk expert testimony and how mental health professionals might better communicate their expertise to the courts. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Language: en
Differences in stability effects on the marine survival of hatchery pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) within the upwelling and downwelling domains of the northeast Pacific Ocean

Regional coastal conditions have a strong influence on juvenile salmon survival during their critical first months in the marine environment. Salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) survival has been thought to be favored within the high latitude downwelling domain if water column stabilities increase, whereas stability may have the opposite effect in upwelling-dominated lower latitudes. In this study, the relationships between water column stabilities during early marine residence of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) in both the upwelling and downwelling domains of the northeast Pacific Ocean and marine survival rates for hatchery stocks ranging from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to Kodiak Island, Alaska, were explored. Contrary to expectation, there was no clear difference in the effect of stability on marine survival rates in the downwelling and upwelling domains. In both domains, marine survival rates increased for pink salmon stocks that experienced below-average stability on the inner shelf during early marine residence. Stability effects from the outer shelf showed no consistent relationship to marine survival within the northeast Pacific.
Subgroup of alpha ganglion cells in the adult cat retina is immunoreactive for somatostatin.

We have previously shown that two types of cells in the ganglion cell layer of the adult cat retina are immunoreactive for somatostatin (White et al., '90). One of the types was identified by morphological criteria as a wide-field amacrine cell. The other cell type had a large, angular soma that resembled the alpha ganglion cell, but evidence was not available to identify it definitively as a ganglion cell. Both cell types were distributed preferentially in the inferior retina. In this report, we demonstrate that the two types of cell are, indeed, displaced amacrine cells and alpha ganglion cells. First, when retrograde tracers were injected into central visual targets, the immunoreactive large cells but not the displaced amacrine cells were found to be labeled. Second, after unilateral section of the optic nerve, the immunoreactive large cells disappeared from the retina on the lesioned side, but the displaced amacrine cells occurred in the same numbers in both retinae. In the periphery, the large cells ranged in diameter from 33 to 47 microns, comparable only to alpha ganglion cells (Boycott and Wassle, '74). An antiserum to parvalbumin was used to visualize the dendrites (Rohrenbeck and Wassle, '88) of somatostatin-immunoreactive large cells. Based on dendritic stratification within the inner plexiform layer (Famiglietti and Kolb, '76), the somatostatin-immunoreactive large cells were found to include both on-center cells and off-center cells, but were predominantly of the off-center type. Within a local region, they were found to be arrayed with greater regularity than the overall population of alpha ganglion cells. These results indicate that alpha ganglion cells of the cat retina can be subdivided on the basis of their immunoreactive staining for somatostatin and suggest that the diversity of ganglion cells in the cat retina may be greater than has been recognized on the basis of morphological criteria alone.
Fast Atom Bombardment Mass Spectrometric Determination of the Molecular Weight Range of Uremic Compounds that Displace Phenytoin from Protein Binding: Absence of Midmolecular Uremic Toxins

Uremic compounds are known to displace phenytoin from protein binding, resulting in a higher concentration of the pharmacologically active free fraction of phenytoin. The true chemical identities and
Influence of ampoule coatings on cadmium telluride solidification

Abstract CdTe was directionally solidified by the vertical Bridgman-Stockbarger technique. Quartz ampoules were used uncoated, coated with carbon, or with a transparent film of boron nitride. Wetting by molten CdTe on these surfaces was determined by contact angle measurements. Wetting increased in the following order: BN-coated quartz, carbon-coated quartz, uncoated quartz. Ingots solidified in uncoated ampoules adhered to the ampoule after growth. These ingots exhibited nucleation of new grains throughout the growth. Ingots solidified in carbon-coated or BN-coated ampoules did not adhere to the ampoules. Ingots solidified in BN-coated ampoules had many small elongated indentations along their surface, presumably due to bubbles on the ampoule surface during solidification. These indentations did not affect the grain structure. The dislocation densities measured on the (111)Cd surface using the Nakagawa etchant increased in the following order: BN-coated quartz, carbon-coated quartz, uncoated quartz. A cellular arrangement of dislocations was observed for both uncoated and carbon-coated quartz. No cellular structure was found with BN-coated quartz. A correspondence was seen between the mean etch pit density and the wetting property of the corresponding ampoule surface.
Cyclic GMP stimulation and inhibition of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase from thymic lymphocytes.

Abstract A particulate preparation of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase from rat thymic lymphocytes exhibited two apparent Km's at 0.9×10−6M and 8.0×10−6M. The enzyme with the higher Km was stimulated by cyclic GMP by a mechanism involving an increase in the Vmax of the enzyme with no change in the Km. Cyclic GMP competitively inhibited the enzyme with the low apparent Km which had a Ki for cyclic GMP of 4×10−5M. The modulation of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity by cyclic GMP in the control of cyclic AMP-mediated lymphocyte proliferation is discussed.
Image BOSS: a biomedical object storage system

Researchers using biomedical images have data management needs which are oriented perpendicular to clinical PACS. The image BOSS system is designed to permit researchers to organize and select images based on research topic, image metadata, and a thumbnail of the image. Image information is captured from existing images in a Unix based filesystem, stored in an object oriented database, and presented to the user in a familiar laboratory notebook metaphor. In addition, the ImageBOSS is designed to provide an extensible infrastructure for future content-based queries directly on the images.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.