cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect kinetics of N-acetylprocainamide-induced QT interval prolongation.

We attempted to correlate clinical response with the effects of N-acetylprocainamide (NAPA) on the QT interval in five patients with stable chronic ventricular arrhythmias. A 15 mg/kg dose of NAPA was administered and a pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model was used to relate plasma NAPA concentrations to changes in corrected QT interval (QTC). NAPA volume of distribution, elimination clearance, and elimination half-life averaged 1.37 ± 0.19 L/kg, 174 ± 63 ml/min, and 8.2 ± 1.4 hours, respectively (mean ± SD), and NAPA renal clearance averaged 1.9 ± 0.6 times creatinine clearance. QTC prolongation was characterized by a linear-effect model in the first four patients and averaged 2.4 msec for every microgram per milliliter NAPA in a hypothetic biophase. QTC prolongation in patient 5 was exaggerated and was analyzed with an Emax model. Nonetheless, NAPA did not control this patient's arrhythmia. Conversely, patient 1 subsequently developed torsade de pointes even though QTC prolongation in this patient was comparable to that in patients 2 through 4, who responded satisfactorily to NAPA. We conclude that QT interval changes during initial NAPA administration do not reliably predict subsequent clinical response. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1987) 42, 107–112; doi:10.1038/clpt.1987.117
Measurement of clustering and of sequential constancies in repeated free recall.

An operational version of Underwood's distinction between response recall and associative hook-up is applied to the analysis of sequences of freely recalled items. This distinction contrasts what are designated respectively as item properties and order properties. Formulas derived from this rationale are proposed for the assessment of clustering and the development of constancies in the sequential ordering of successive free recalls of given stimulus items. Consideration is given to the diversity of identifiable ordering effects in free recall.
Misuse of anecdotes in primatology: lessons from citation analysis.

This study analyzes the accuracy of anecdotes cited in behavioral primatology publications. Anecdotes (n = 1 cases) recounting tool use were sought in the four main primatological journals. Citations of anecdotes in the scientific literature that met three criteria were systematically coded for recognition and accuracy. The results showed that 60% of the time, authors who cited anecdotes did not explicitly acknowledge them as such. To a lesser extent, the citations exaggerated the frequency of anecdotal events or misrepresented their status. For tool use specifically, the actor was misreported more often than the tool or its target. Multiple citations were incorrect more often than single citations. Overall, it seems that citation of anecdotes is problematic and may have far-reaching implications in terms of misleading overgeneralizations. Primatologists should take care in citing singular or rare events. Am. J. Primatol. 65:283–288, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Numerical evaluation of the original “Neuber’s rule” for pure out-of-plane shear loading:

Neuber’s rule has become a popular analytical tool for evaluating notch root stress and strain for fatigue life estimation. The original study was based on the geometry of prismatic bodies with hyperbolic notches under pure out-of-plane shear with a nonlinear material model. From this study, the author observed that “The geometric mean of stress and strain concentration factors is equal to theoretical elastic stress concentration factor, Kt.” Although this conclusion was based on a “special deformation law,” Neuber suggested that it can be approximately extended to any stress–strain law and to tensile and bending loads replacing shear stress and strain with equivalent von Mises stress and strain and Neuber’s rule evolved. Extensive research has been conducted to evaluate and generalize Neuber’s rule for fatigue analysis. However, the applicability of Neuber’s rule to a specific situation requires consideration of the material model utilized, in addition to the notch geometry and loading conditions. This a...
Mutational Analysis of the N-Terminal Domain of Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus Capsid Protein

Retroviral capsid (CA) proteins contain a structurally conserved N-terminal domain (NTD) consisting of a β-hairpin and six to seven α-helices. To examine the role of this domain in Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMLV) replication, we analyzed 18 insertional mutations in this region. All mutants were noninfectious. Based on the results of this analysis and our previous studies on additional mutations in this domain, we were able to divide the NTD of MoMLV CA into three functional regions. The first functional region included the region near the N terminus that forms the β-hairpin and was shown to control normal maturation of virions. The second region included the helix 4/5 loop and was essential for the formation of spherical cores. The third region encompassed most of the NTD except for the above loop. Mutants of this region assembled imperfect cores, as seen by detailed electron microscopy analyses, yet the resulting particles were efficiently released from cells. The mutants were defective at a stage immediately following entry of the core into cells. Despite possessing functional reverse transcriptase machinery, these mutant virions did not initiate reverse transcription in cells. This block could be due to structural defects in the assembling core or failure of an essential host protein to interact with the mutant CA protein, both of which may prevent correct disassembly upon entry of the virus into cells. Future studies are needed to understand the mechanism of these blocks and to target these regions pharmacologically to inhibit retroviral infection at additional stages.
Impaired immune function in Gulf War Illness

Gulf War Illness (GWI) remains a serious health consequence for at least 11,000 veterans of the first Gulf War in the early 1990s. Our understanding of the health consequences that resulted remains inadequate, and this is of great concern with another deployment to the same theater of operations occurring now. Chronic immune cell dysfunction and activation have been demonstrated in patients with GWI, although the literature is not uniform. We exposed GWI patients and matched controls to an exercise challenge to explore differences in immune cell function measured by classic immune assays and gene expression profiling.
Improving splitless injection with electronic pressure programming

An experimental injection port has been designed for split or splitless sample introduction in capillary gas chromatography; the inlet uses electronic pressure control, in order that the column head pressure may be set from the GC keyboard, and the inlet may be used in the constant flow or constant pressure modes. Alternatively, the column head pressure may be programmed up or down during a GC run in a manner analogous to even temperature programming. Using electronic pressure control, a method was developed which used high column head pressures (high column flow rates) at the time of injection, followed by rapid reduction of the pressure to that required for optimum GC separation. In this way, high flow rates could be used at the time of splitless injection to reduce sample discrimination, while lower flow rates could be used for the separation. Using this method, up to 5 μl of a test sample could be injected in the splitless mode with no discrimination; in another experiment, 2.3 times as much sample was introduced into the column by using electronic pressure programming. Some GC peak broadening was observed in the first experiment.
Continuity and Change: Hmong Settlement in California's Sacramento Valley

California is home to the greatest number of Southeast Asian immigrants in the United States. Among the various groups, the Hmong have established enclaves in the state's Sacramento Valley. The recent development of a Hmong ethnic landscape in quasi-rural northern California attests to the importance of residential clustering, traditional farming practices, and belief systems in the Hmong transition to American life. In particular, traditional farming provides locational stability as well as maintenance of gender roles and dietary preference. Likewise, enduring animistic and shamanistic beliefs provide continuity with the past and reinforce the cultural practices that are at the very core of Hmong identity.
An Introduction to Gravitational Anomalies

The study of anomalies in global and gauge currents in Quantum Field Theory has had a remarkable number of important applications during the 70’s. In the original version of the anomaly1 one considers a massless fermion triangle diagram with one axial current and two vector currents. Requiring the vector currents to be conserved, one finds that the axial current is not conserved therefore leading to a breakdown of chiral symmetry in the presence of gauge fields coupled to conserved vector currents. This breakdown of chiral symmetry led to the understanding of π° decay and to the resolution of the u (1) problem.2 The anomaly has also been instrumental in posing constraints to insure the mathematical consistency of gauge theories coupled to chiral currents. If one considers a theory with gauge fields coupled for instance to left handed currents, one must look at a fermion triangle diagram with V-A currents at each vertex. Again, this diagram is anomalous, and unless the anomalies cancel when summing over all the fermion species running around the loop, one finds that the V-A currents are not conserved, implying that gauge invariance is broken and thus the anomaly renders the theory inconsistent. The anomaly cancellation condition has proven to be very useful in constraining the particle content of unified gauge theories.3 More recently4, the anomaly has also been shown to be useful in analyzing the spectrum of massless fermions in confining theories. In the context of low energy chiral theories, the Wess-Zumino lagrangian5 has recently played a central role in showing that the soliton solutions of certain models6 can be identified with baryons.7 This recent development has in turn shed new light into our understanding of chiral anomalies.
Caspase Activation in MCF7 Cells Responding to Etoposide Treatment

Studies of the biochemical mechanisms evoked by conventional treatments for neoplastic diseases point to apoptosis as a key process for elimination of unwanted cells. Although the pathways through which chemotherapeutics promote cell death remain largely unknown, caspase proteases play a central role in the induction of apoptosis in response to a variety of stimuli including tumor necrosis factor, fas ligand, and growth factor deprivation. In this article, we demonstrate the induction of caspase protease activity in MCF7 human breast carcinoma cells exposed to the topoisomerase inhibitor, etoposide. Caspase protease activity was assessed by incubating cell lysates with the known caspase substrates, acetyl-L-aspartic-L-glutamic-L-valyl-L-aspartic acid 4-methyl-7-aminocoumarin or acetyl-L-tyrosyl-L-valyl-L-aspartic acid 4-methyl-7-aminocoumarin. We observed maximal cleavage of acetyl-L-aspartic-L-glutamic-L-valyl-L-aspartic acid 4-methyl-7-aminocoumarin within 6 hr following etoposide addition, a time that precedes cell death. In contrast, acetyl-L-tyrosyl-L-valyl-L-aspartic acid 4-methyl-7-aminocoumarin was resistant to cleavage activity. This substrate cleavage specificity implies that a caspase-3-like protease is activated in response to DNA damage. Consistent with the lysate protease activity, an intracellular marker of caspase activation, poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP), was cleaved in a concentration- and time-dependent manner after etoposide-treatment. PARP cleavage followed caspase activation and reached maximum cleavage between 12 and 16 hr. Incubation of the cells with the peptidic caspase inhibitor z-valine-alanine-asparagine-CH2F prevented caspase activation, inhibited PARP cleavage, and inhibited cell death. Thus, etoposide killing of MCF7 cells requires a caspase-3-like protease.
Suitability of metal gate stacks for low-power and high-performance applications: impact of carrier confinement

A simulation study is carried out to assess the competitiveness of metal gate stacks for low-power and high-performance technologies using realistic oxynitride and high-permittivity gate dielectric stacks having insulator leakages appropriate for each application. In the first part of this paper, the metal-gate work function is fixed at a value near midgap. For this value of work function, the performance (obtained from mixed-mode simulations of inverter delay chains) of metal gate stacks is found to exceed that of polysilicon gate stacks for low-power applications, but to be uncompetitive for high-performance applications. Both of these observations are explained by understanding the role of carrier confinement determined by the channel doping required for each application. In the second part of this paper, the metal-gate work function is allowed to vary in order to obtain the optimal work-function ranges for each application. Metal gate stacks are shown to be especially suitable for low-power applications over a wide range of possible work functions, with optimal performance away from the band edges. For high-performance applications, work functions near the band edges yield the best performance, but significant gains compared to polysilicon-gated devices are found only when additional scaling is achieved through a use of a high-permittivity gate insulator.
A 33pJ/bit 90nm CMOS UWB single-chip transceiver with embedded multi-gigabit modem

In this paper a low-power multi-gigabit single-chip transceiver is demonstrated in 90nm CMOS operating in the worldwide allocated 7.2GHz–8.5GHz ultra-wideband frequency spectrum. The transceiver operates as an MB-OFDM compatible front-end as well as a single-carrier modulator/demodulator with an integrated BPSK baseband modem. An embedded pulse shaping filter enables transmission of 2.4Gbps data while meeting the UWB spectral mask from 7.2GHz–10.2GHz and 1Gbps in the worldwide-allocated band of 7.2GHz–8.5GHz. The analog bandwidth of the transmitter is greater than 2GHz in a 7.7GHz–8.9GHz carrier frequency range. The receiver supports up to 2.5Gbps demodulation with a voltage conversion gain of 48dB, a 3dB double-sided bandwidth of around 2.5GHz, and a noise figure of only 4.5dB. The transceiver operates at a power budget of less than 33pJ/bit. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this demonstrates the maximum throughput at minimum power budget and noise figure among CMOS transceivers operating at higher ultra-wideband frequencies.
Predictive significance of the overvaluation of shape/weight in obese patients with binge eating disorder: findings from a randomized controlled trial with 12-month follow-up.

BackgroundUndue influence of body shape or weight on self-evaluation – referred to as overvaluation – is considered a core feature across eating disorders, but is not a diagnostic requirement for binge eating disorder (BED). This study examined the concurrent and predictive significance of overvaluation of shape/weight in obese patients with BED participating in a randomized clinical trial testing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and behavioral weight loss (BWL).MethodA total of 90 participants were randomly assigned to 6-month group treatments of CBT or BWL. Assessments were performed at baseline, throughout- and post-treatment, and at 6- and 12-month follow-ups after completing treatments with reliably administered semi-structured interviews and established measures.ResultsParticipants categorized with overvaluation (n = 52, 58%) versus without overvaluation (n = 38, 42%) did not differ significantly in demographic features (age, gender and ethnicity), psychiatric co-morbidity, body mass index or binge eating frequency. The overvaluation group had significantly greater levels of eating disorder psychopathology and poorer psychological functioning (higher depression and lower self-esteem) than the non-overvaluation group. Overvaluation of shape/weight significantly predicted non-remission from binge eating and higher frequency of binge eating at the 12-month follow-up, even after adjusting for group differences in depression and self-esteem levels.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that overvaluation does not simply reflect concern commensurate with being obese or more frequent binge eating, but also is strongly associated with heightened eating-related psychopathology and psychological distress, and has negative prognostic significance for longer-term treatment outcomes. Overvaluation of shape/weight warrants consideration as a diagnostic specifier for BED as it provides important information about severity and treatment outcome.
A Hierarchical Model Of The Structural Relationships Between Environmental Attitudes And Beliefs

This study explores the hierarchical relationships between a selected group of environmental attitudes and beliefs. Data support the hierarchical model hypotheses that broad and specific beliefs are linked by a hierarchy of mediating beliefs and that permanent change begins at the top of the belief hierarchy.
Fair Use: The Case of the Missing Case

Three Supreme Court cases dominate fair use: Sony, Harper and Row, and Campbell. One case has gone mysteriously missing. In Stewart v. Abend, the Supreme Court held that it was not fair use for the producers of Alfred Hitchcock’s film "Rear Window" to continue showing the film. Their rights had been terminated in the underlying story, "It Had To Be Murder," by an unanticipated shift in copyright case law. Stewart remains well known in copyright law for its lengthy discussion of a complex issue of copyright renewal, but Stewart’s short, sharp fair use discussion has gone by the wayside. At best, Stewart makes a cameo in judicial opinions and casebooks. Sony, Harper and Row, and Campbell appear together every time, like three musketeers. Stewart’s fair use analysis is brief, but offers valuable precedent on the application of fair use to transactions, the definition of relevant markets, and the very meaning of “fair.”
Landscape Restoration Handbook

Landscape Restoration HandbookD. Harker, S. Evans, M. Evans, K. Harker. Lewis PublishersBoca RatonFL, 1993 672 pp., $75.00 MAINTENANCE OF BIODIVERSITY and environmental quality through conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems are themes which resonate deeply with many biologists. While the ecological arguments stressing the need for habitat restoration are compelling, access to information on principles and specific techniques is limited. I was, therefore, very intrigued by the promise of a volume entitled the Landscape Restoration Handbook. When the book arrived, the first thing that struck me was the cover photo picturing a golf course on a misty morning. This did not necessarily meet my preconceived notions of a landscape restoration project, but did prompt me to turn to the forward to find out more about the purpose and background of this volume.
Therapeutic Vaccination With Dendritic Cells Loaded With Autologous HIV Type 1–Infected Apoptotic Cells

BACKGROUND We report the results of a phase I/II, open-label, single-arm clinical trial to evaluate the safety and anti-human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) efficacy of an autologous dendritic cell (DC)-based HIV-1 vaccine loaded with autologous HIV-1-infected apoptotic cells. METHODS Antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive individuals were enrolled, and viremia was suppressed by ART prior to delivery of 4 doses of DC-based vaccine. Participants underwent treatment interruption 6 weeks after the third vaccine dose. The plasma HIV-1 RNA level 12 weeks after treatment interruption was compared to the pre-ART (ie, baseline) level. RESULTS The vaccine was safe and well tolerated but did not prevent viral rebound during treatment interruption. Vaccination resulted in a modest but significant decrease in plasma viremia from the baseline level (from 4.53 log10 copies/mL to 4.27 log10 copies/mL;P= .05). Four of 10 participants had a >0.70 log10 increase in the HIV-1 RNA load in plasma following vaccination, despite continuous ART. Single-molecule sequencing of HIV-1 RNA in plasma before and after vaccination revealed increases in G>A hypermutants in gag and pol after vaccination, which suggests cytolysis of infected cells. CONCLUSIONS A therapeutic HIV-1 vaccine based on DCs loaded with apoptotic bodies was safe and induced T-cell activation and cytolysis, including HIV-1-infected cells, in a subset of study participants. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION NCT00510497.
Deformation Analysis of Sulfur Concrete Structures Made by Contour Crafting

This paper reports on the experiments with the Contour Crafting Automated Construction process using sulfur concrete as the choice of construction material. Sulfur concrete has numerous terrestrial applications and is potentially an ideal construction material for planetary construction. On Mars, sulfur can be found in abundance and the range of temperature variation on the planet is within the safe zone for the structures to be built and survive over reasonable length of time with sulfur concrete. Several experiments have been performed at centimeter and meter scales. A FEA simulation model for the behavior of sulfur concrete based structures has been developed. Experimental results were compared with the results of simulation.
Abstract PL04-02: Beta‐carotene chemoprevention trials and lessons for cancer epidemiology and prevention

The Alpha‐Tocopherol, Beta‐Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study was launched in the 1980s along with several other cancer chemoprevention trials and was predicated in part on epidemiological data showing that higher beta‐carotene blood levels and consumption of carrots and other vegetables were related to lower risk of lung cancer and other malignancies. Some investigations had observed stronger inverse associations in cigarette smokers, for example, and some laboratory research supported the findings. Following its planned closure in 1993, this large randomized controlled trial (RCT) of 29,133 male Finnish smokers demonstrated an unexpected 16% increase in lung cancer incidence (and 8% higher overall mortality) among participants supplemented with beta‐carotene, 20 mg daily for 5–8 years, as compared with those receiving placebo. The adverse effect was stronger in men who smoked at least 20 cigarettes daily (RR=1.25) and those who drank more than the median amount of alcohol daily (RR=1.35). One other RCT of high‐risk women and men, the Beta‐Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET), corroborated the ATBC Study findings with a 28% lung cancer excess (and 17% total mortality increase) in the trial arm supplemented with a combination of beta‐carotene (30 mg) and retinyl palmitate (25,000 IU). By contrast, the Physicians9 Health Study showed no effect on cancer incidence for a different formulation of beta‐carotene (50 mg every other day), an outcome very recently supported by the Women9s Antioxidant Cardiovascular Study (WACS) that tested beta‐carotene, and vitamins C and vitamin E, while the Nutritional Intervention Trial in China found 21% lower stomach cancer mortality rates in the trial arm supplemented with a combination of beta‐carotene (15 mg), alpha‐tocopherol (30 mg), and selenium (50 µg) daily. The latter finding highlighted the potential importance of background nutritional status of targeted populations. Taken together, the results of these trials led to a reexamination of several chemoprevention hypotheses and additional experimental investigation of the biological actions of beta‐carotene. The studies also raised important questions regarding the nutritional prevention of cancer and the role of RCTs. When is a trial of vitamin supplementation warranted and what data are necessary and sufficient to support one, including small clinical studies of efficacy for surrogate biomarkers? Can post‐intervention follow‐up shed additional light on the observed trial period effects? How to select the study population, agent(s), dosage, and intervention duration in order to optimize trial design and the potential to demonstrate efficacy? How can supplementation with such micronutrients lead to adverse effects when previous evidence points only to biologically plausible cancer inhibitory functions? What is the appropriate role of single synthetic phytochemicals versus consumption of whole foods that deliver all component compounds? Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(1 Suppl):PL04-02.
The Bathers of 1887 and Renoir's Anti-Impressionism

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) is well-known as the Parisian painter of such radiant images as the Moulin de la Galette of 1876, the Luncheon of the Boating Party of 1881, and the Reclining Bath...
Crack Propagation Simulation: A Local Deformation-Based Mesh Mapping Method for Crack Modeling and a Direct Method for Residual Stress Representation in Welds

Cracks found in a nuclear power plant reactor coolant system (RCS), such as primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) and intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC), usually have natural crack front shapes that can be very different from the idealized semi-elliptical or rectangular shapes considered in engineering handbooks and other analytical solutions based on limited shapes. Simplifications towards semi-elliptical shape or rectangular shape may potentially introduce unnecessary conservatism when the simplified shape has to contain the actual crack shape. On the other hand, it is very time-consuming to create a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model to simulate crack propagation in a natural shape using existing public-domain software like ABAQUS or ANSYS. In this study, a local deformation-based mesh-mapping (LDMM) method is proposed to model cracks with a natural front shape in any 3D structures. This methodology is first applied to model circumferential surface cracks with a natural crack front shape in the cross-sectional plane of a cylinder. The proposed new method can be applied to simulate both shallow and deep cracks. Also discussed in this paper is a direct method to reproduce welding residual stresses in the crack model using temperature fields combined with other sustained loads to predict crack propagations. With this novel LDMM method, natural crack fronts and non-planar crack faces can be easily modeled. The proposed new method can be used to generate a high-quality finite element model that can be used for both linear-elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) and elastic-plastic fracture mechanics (EPFM) analyses. The study case illustrates that the proposed LDMM method is easy to implement and more efficient than the existing commercial software.© 2011 ASME
P05.04 Antimicrobial susceptibilities of persons with gonorrhoea at multiple sites are accurately reflected by urogenital specimens

Background Surveillance for gonococcal (GC) antimicrobial resistance is focused on susceptibilities of urogenital GC isolates. The ability of surveillance programs utilising only urogenital specimens to detect resistance in communitites could theoretically be compromised if extragenital (i.e. pharyngeal or rectal) GC infectons were more often resistant. We evaluated how GC antimicrobial susceptibilities at extragenital sites varied when compared to contemporaneously isolated urogenital infections. Methods We determined GC agar dilution MICs for ceftriaxone, cefixime, ciprofloxacin and azithromycin in isolates from 57 participants with multisite infections in a recent multicenter GC treatment trial. Results Extragenital infections were more common among men with male partners (MSM – 23 [19%] of 118) and women (21 [18%] of 118), than men with female partners (MSW- 13 [8%] of 169) In this study all extragenital infections in MSWwere pharyngeal while pharyngeal isolates comprised about half of extragenital infections from MSM (12\[52%] of 23) and women (14[67%] of 21, respectively). MICs were meaningfully different (2 or more dilutions) between urogenital and extragenital sites in 9 (16%) of 57 persons (14[6%] of 228 comparisons) with multiple site infections. Ceftriaxone or cefixime MICs varied between urogenital and extragenital sites in just 2 participants while MICs for ciprofloxacin and azithromycin varied in 3 and 7 participants, respectively. Only urogenital isolates from women and MSM had significantly elevated MICs to azithromycin when patients with infections at multiple sites were compared to those with only urogenital infection. There was no consistent pattern to these differences; in 5 urogenital MICs were greater than extragenital sites while in the remaining 4 participants, extragenital MICs were greater than for urogenital sites. Conclusions MICs for urogenital sites of infection most often reflect MICs of extragenital isolates in persons with multiple simultaneous sites of infection and are suitable for surveillance for antimicrobial resistance. Disclosure of interest Funding for this study was provided by Melinta Therapeutics.
The measurement of urinary mucopolysaccharides

Abstract The role of various factors on the precipitation of urinary mucopolysaccharides has been investigated. With quaternary ammonium salts as precipitants, temperature, salt concentration, and presence of toluene influence the amount of material precipitated. Under optimal conditions, quaternary ammonium salts are more efficient precipitants than 5-aminoacridine HCl. As an alternate method for the measurement of urinary mucopolysaccharides, an aliquot of urine is passed over a column of ECTEOLA modified cellulose, and the mucopolysaccharides, eluted with NaCl solutions of increasing molarity, are measured as hexuronic acid or galactose. The two methods yield comparable results and confirm previously reported differences in the excretion of urinary mucopolysaccharides by males and females.
Contrast media use in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing coronary angiography: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Abstract Background Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) undergoing coronary angiography (CA), adequate hydration and minimizing volume of contrast media (CM) are class 1b recommendations for preventing contrast induced nephropathy (CIN). Current data are insufficient to justify specific recommendations about isoosmolar vs. low-osmolar contrast media by the ACCF/AHA/ SCA I guidelines. Methods Randomized trials comparing IOCM to LOCM in CKD stage 3 and above patients undergoing CA, and reporting incidence of CIN (defined by a rise in creatinine of 25% from baseline) were included in the analysis. The secondary outcome of the study was the incidence of serum creatinine increase by >1mg/dl. Results A total of 2839 patients were included in 10 trials, in which 1430 patients received IOCM and 1393 received LOCM. When compared to LOCM, IOCM was not associated with significant benefit in preventing CIN (OR=0.72, [CI: 0.50–1.04], P =0.08, I2=59%). Subgroup analysis revealed non-significant difference in incidence of CIN based on baseline use of N -acetylcystine (NAC), diabetes status, ejection fraction, and whether percutaneous coronary intervention vs coronary angiography alone was performed. The difference between IOCM and LOCM was further attenuated when restricted to studies with larger sample size (>250 patients) (OR=0.93; [CI: 0.66–1.30]) or when compared with non-ionic LOCM (OR=0.79, [CI: 0.52–1.21]). Conclusion In patients with CKD stage 3 and above undergoing coronary angiography, use of IOCM showed overall non-significant difference in incidence of CIN compared to LOCM. The difference was further attenuated when IOCM was compared with non-ionic LOCM.
Unusual molecular mechanism behind the thermal response of polypeptoids in aqueous solutions

Poly(α-peptoid)s, a structural isomer to polypeptides, have recently attracted a significant amount of scientific attention. However, the molecular mechanism behind the thermal response of this class of polymers is unknown. Here, the thermal response of two polypeptoids in aqueous solutions was studied by different methodologies, including dynamic light scattering, IR spectroscopies, NMR, etc. Our studies focused on two polypeptoids with identical alkyl side chain compositions, but different architecture; i.e., cyclic and linear. Aqueous solutions of the cyclic and linear polymers present phase transition temperatures at 43 °C and 47 °C, respectively, that have an anomalous dependence on the polymer morphology as expected from macromolecules having very similar solvent interactions, but different conformational entropy. The atypical trend in the phase transition temperature is found to be caused by the initiator required in the synthesis which favors the formation of soluble dimers in the cyclic polymer. Our experimental findings also demonstrate that the phase transition, irrespective of the morphology, is governed by the polymer backbone conformation which depends on the composition and structure of the alkyl side chains. This proposed mechanism is novel and different from the commonly assumed mechanism for thermo-responsive polymers in which the hydration of the polymer cause by a coil to globule transition is the determining factor. Moreover, the proposed mechanism is likely to be general since it can explain not only the experimental findings of this work, but also observations of the thermal response and conformation of other studied polypeptoids in water. Finally, our mechanism gives a molecular framework for the rational designed of polypeptoids with tailored phase transition temperatures.
Extending ATLAS computing to commercial clouds and supercomputers

The Large Hadron Collider will resume data collection in 2015 with substantially increased computing requirements relative to its first 2009-2013 run. A near doubling of the energy and the data rate, high level of event pile-up, and detector upgrades will mean the number and complexity of events to be analyzed will increase dramatically. A naive extrapolation of the Run 1 experience would suggest that a 5-6 fold increase in computing resources are needed impossible within the anticipated flat computing budgets in the near future. Consequently ATLAS is engaged in an ambitious program to expand its computing to all available resources, notably including opportunistic use of commercial clouds and supercomputers. Such resources present new challenges in managing heterogeneity, supporting data flows, parallelizing workflows, provisioning software, and other aspects of distributed computing, all while minimizing operational load. We will present the ATLAS experience to date with clouds, supercomputers and Volunteer Computing, and describe efforts underway to automate and scale the utilization of such resources. In particular, we will describe the successful use of these resources through the ATLAS workload management system, PanDA, and future development plans. The International Symposium on Grids and Clouds (ISGC) 2014
Comparison of false-negative rates and limits of detection following macrofoam-swab sampling of Bacillus anthracis surrogates via Rapid Viability PCR and plate culture

Aims We evaluated the effects of Bacillus anthracis surrogates, low surface concentrations, surface materials and assay methods on false-negative rate (FNR) and limit of detection (LOD95 ) for recovering Bacillus spores using a macrofoam-swab sampling procedure. Methods and results Bacillus anthracis Sterne or Bacillus atrophaeus Nakamura spores were deposited over a range of low target concentrations (2-500 per coupon) onto glass, stainless steel, vinyl tile and plastic. Samples were assayed using a modified Rapid Viability-PCR (mRV-PCR) method and the traditional plate culture method to obtain FNR and LOD95 results. Conclusions Mean FNRs tended to be lower for mRV-PCR compared to culturing, and increased as spore concentration decreased for all surface materials. Surface material, but not B. anthracis surrogate, influenced FNRs with the mRV-PCR method. The mRV-PCR LOD95 was lowest for glass and highest for vinyl tile. LOD95 values overall were lower for mRV-PCR than for the culture method. Significance and impact of study This study adds to the limited data on FNR and LOD95 for mRV-PCR and culturing methods with low concentrations of B. anthracis sampled from various surface materials by the CDC macrofoam-swab method. These are key inputs for planning characterization and clearance studies for low contamination levels of B. anthracis.
Cost-Effective and Passive RF-Based Drone Presence Detection and Characterization

Excerpted from "Matthan: Drone Presence Detection by Identifying Physical Signatures in the Drone's RF Communication," from MobiSys 2017, Proceedings of the 15th Annual ACM International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications, and Services, with permission. https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3081354 © ACM 2017.The rapidly increasing attention regarding drone privacy and security issues requires a robust solution in both detecting and characterizing unauthorized drones. We have designed a RF-based, cost-effective and passive drone detection system, named Matthan, based on two key physical signatures of the drones, i.e., body shifting and body vibration, in the drone's wireless communication channel. In realizing Matthan, there are many open challenges in wireless sensing and networking, software-defined radio deployment, network synchronization to passively and accurately detect, localize, and characterize drones.
Assessment of outcomes following high-dose opioid tapering in a Veterans Healthcare System.

Objective: To assess the impact of tapering of chronic high dose opioid therapy in veterans prompted by the implementation of the Opioid Safety Initiative in 2013. Design: IRB and VA Office of Research and Development-approved retrospective, observational chart review. Setting: North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System Patients: Veterans on high dose opioid therapy ( ≥ 300 mg of morphine equivalents per day) for chronic non-cancer pain as of 1/1/2012 with an opioid agreement discontinuation note documented in the medical record were included. Veterans treated for cancer pain or under palliative care were excluded. Outcomes: Descriptive outcomes include rate of opioid discontinuation, average duration of tapering, and rate of relapse. Differences before and after discontinuation assessed include healthcare utilization, monitoring via urine drug screens and state prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) queries, non-opioid analgesics, benzodiazepines, and non-pharmacologic modalities. Results: Forty-three patients were included. The mean duration of therapy was 7.8 years and 81.4 percent were on methadone prior to tapering. Opioids were tapered to discontinuation in 28 patients (65 percent) with long-term abstinence in 71 percent. The mean duration of tapering was 81 days and the median/mode was 30 days. Statistically significant differences after tapering include decreased PDMP queries, increased non-opioid analgesics, decreased benzodiazepine prescriptions, and increased use of mental health services (p < 0.05). There were zero adverse outcomes identified in those tapered and one death in the group who sought non-VA care for continuation. Conclusions: This study suggests that moderate speed tapering in high-risk veterans on chronic high-dose opioid therapy can be achieved, but caution is warranted in ensuring adequate follow-up and monitoring. Clinical pharmacy services may improve tapering outcomes by providing more frequent follow-up, monitoring via state PDMP queries to identify patients who have relapsed, and dispensing naloxone for increased safety.
A feminist world view conceptual framework.

Feminism and social work ideology are shown to be closely related in principle, but the application of the ideology is questioned. A case is made for a “feminist world view” in social work to facil...
The science of wood combustion

The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to the physical processes involved in the combustion of wood and other cellulosic fuels. This introduction is aimed towards the utilization of the cellulosic fuels as an energy source. A discussion of a design of the stove is also provided to aid the development of such a device.
ADHESION, CELL–MATRIX | Integrins

Integrins are a large family of cell adhesion receptors that mediate cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix adhesion. Integrin members are expressed on virtually every cell and provide essential links between the extracellular environment and intracellular signaling pathways. In doing so, integrins play a role in most essential cell behaviors, including cell survival, apoptosis, differentiation, and transcriptional regulation. Phenotypes of integrin knockout mice illustrate important roles of integrins in lung development, pulmonary fibrosis, and emphysema. Integrins contribute to immune response in the lung by mediating trafficking of leukocytes to areas of inflammation. In addition, they function as receptors for a variety of pulmonary pathogens. Because of their central role in different disease processes, therapeutic agents are being developed to target integrin–ligand interactions.
Reference Alternatives: Paraprofessional Staffing at a Small Academic Library

To make more efficient use of librarians' time at a small academic library while maintaining an effective reference assistance program, librarians at Willamette University's Mark O. Hat-field Library began using paraprofessionals to provide reference assistance. This article covers the reasons for the trial program, as well as its structure and outcomes.
Arbitration Case Law Update 2014

This chapter in the PLI Securities Arbitration 2014 Coursebook identifies decisions in the past year by the Supreme Court interpreting the FAA, as well as selected lower court decisions that could have an impact on securities arbitration practice.
Abstract P249: Central Obesity and Systemic Inflammation Predict Subsequent Levels of Procollagen Type III N-Terminal Peptide in Framingham Offspring Study Adults

Background: Fibrosis is a process that, in healthy individuals, is characterized by deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components. However, in pathological states, such as the low-grade infla...
Terms of trade volatility, exports, and GDP

This paper relates terms of trade volatility to exports and output in a two-sector model where entrepreneurs can produce non-tradable goods or pay a fixed cost in order to export. In order to compensate exporters for the fixed entry cost, the expected return to exporting must exceed the expected return to non-tradable production. As a result, exporters are more risk-exposed and trade volatility decreases entry into the export sector. However, terms of trade insurance and hedging strategies can increase exports, GDP, and welfare.
Oxidation of Natural Targets by Dioxiranes. 4.1 High Stereo- and Regioselective Conversion of Vitamin D2 to Its (all-R) Tetraepoxide and C-25 Hydroxy Derivative

Upon reaction with methyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane (1b) at −40 °C, vitamin D2 (2a) or its 3β-acetyl derivative (2b) give in high yield (78−80%) the corresponding tetraepoxide (3a,b) as a single di...
Determination of a probability distribution for pressure scanner noise and digitization uncertainty reporting

This paper proposes a probability distribution for the discrete noise on a pressure scanner system commonly used in major US wind tunnel facilities. The level of granularity allows for a close relation between the measurement process and the imparted uncertainty. The distribution selection methodology accounts for current discussions regarding uncertainty reporting, especially the error-bound definition recently proposed. Such an error-bound definition benefits from the relationship to the measurement process and provides information to a practitioner responsible for data collection methods to assist in uncertainty reduction resource allocation. A discretized four-parameter beta distribution is fitted to satisfy the requirements for reporting the sensor noise and analog-digital conversion uncertainty.
Harry’s Underworld Journey: Reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows through Vergil’s Aeneid

In this paper, I argue that a series of parallels make the Aeneid a compelling intertext for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (DH). My goal is not only to identify possible sources or parallels for Rowling’s work but also, and more importantly, to argue that only through reading the DH through the lens of the Aeneid can we appreciate the series as an ideological, foundational narrative. By the term foundational, I refer to the series’ ambitious agenda to present Harry’s victory as the dawing of a new world, governed by the principles of tolerance, democracy, and cooperation. The underwrold journey or katabasis motif is de ployed in several episodes of the DH , each of which can be linked to the Aeneid , and each presenting a new stage in Harry’s realization of the magnitude of his mission. First, I examine Harry’s visit to Godric’s Hollow side by side with Aeneas’ visit to Buthrotum as expressions of their inability to overcome their horrific past; next, I analyze Dobby’s death and burial as a pivotal moment for Harry’s journey toward leadership, reading it against the death an d burial of Aeneas’ comrade Misenus. Other katabasis elements deepen the connection between Vergil’s epic and the DH : the Golden Snitch and the Elder Wand can be seen as versions of the Golden Bough. Finally, I discuss Harry’s climactic encounter with Dumbledore in King’s Cross as a foil to Aeneas’ meeting with Anchises in Aeneid 6. My analysis helps us appreciate more fully how the modern novel combines ancient ideas on fatherhood, destiniy, and leadership, adapted to fit contemporary views regarding power, tolerance, and democracy.
The Effects of PC-Based Training on Novice Drivers' Risk Awareness in a Driving Simulator

Novice drivers are almost nine times more likely to die in a crash than more experienced drivers. This increased risk has been found to be largely due to novice drivers’ inability to predict the risks in the roadway ahead. A PC-based Risk Awareness and Perception Training Program (RAPT) was developed to teach novice drivers about different categories of risky situations likely to be encountered while driving. The format was an interactive multimedia presentation with both plan (i.e., top down) views and perspective views of roadway geometry that illustrated generally risky scenarios along with information about the type of risks and the relevant areas that attention should be allocated to in order to detect the risks. A set of novice drivers was trained with this program. The eye-movements of the participants were then evaluated in a driving simulator to determine whether areas of potential risk were fixated, and their performance was compared to a separate set of untrained novice drivers. The ability of the novice drivers to identify risks in static views improved after they completed the training program. More importantly, the trained novice drivers were significantly more likely to correctly fixate on risk relevant areas in the simulated driving environment than the untrained drivers 3-5 days after training.