cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Sulfasalazine on Rheumatoid Arthritic Synovial Tissue Chemokine Production

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an aggressive inflammatory disease in which chemokines are thought to recruit leukocytes and induce angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of sulfasalazine (SASP) and its metabolites, sulfapyridine (SP), and 5-aminosalicylic acid (5ASA) on chemokine production by RA synovial tissue explants and interleukin (IL)-1beta-stimulated RA synovial tissue fibroblasts using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and flow cytometry. Synovial tissue explants from RA patients secreted a decreased amount of the chemokines IL-8 and growth-related gene product alpha (GROalpha) when treated with SASP over a broad range of concentrations based on the typical clinical dosage of 2 g/day. SP had a significant effect in that it decreased RA synovial tissue explant secretion of IL-8 (22%), GROalpha (55%), and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) (42%) (P < 0.05). 5ASA had no effect on RA synovial tissue explant production of IL-8 and MCP-1, while increasing GROalpha production. In IL-1beta-stimulated RA synovial tissue fibroblasts, SASP significantly increased chemokine secretion, while SP significantly decreased IL-8 (24%) and GROalpha (21%) secretion (P < 0.05). Flow cytometry showed that the number of IL-8 expressing RA synovial tissue fibroblasts did not significantly change following SP treatment. These data suggest that SASP may function to reduce inflammation in RA through the effects of its metabolite SP to reduce the secretion of the inflammatory chemokines IL-8, GROalpha, and MCP-1.
Comes digital pathology

One year ago, it was predicted that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was likely to approve whole slide imaging (WSI) for digital pathology ‘‘within the next few months.’’ Get ready. Digital pathology will soon be the glass slide’s diagnostic companion. On February 25, 2015, the FDA issued its draft guidance for the technical performance assessment of digital pathology WSI devices. When this language is finalized, it will represent the FDA’s ‘‘current thinking’’ on WSI devices. Importantly, the FDA’s guidance is limited, as per its legislatively determined jurisdiction, to only the ‘‘technical performance of WSI systems for regulatory evaluation.’’ It divides the WSI system into 2 parts or ‘‘subsystems:’’ one the imaging ‘‘acquisition subsystem that converts the content of a glass slide into a digital file’’ (essentially the slide scanner; also termed by the FDA image acquisition); and the other the ‘‘workstation environment for viewing the digital images’’ (essentially the computer screen and associated software; also termed by the FDA image display). The FDA’s draft guidance goes into significant detail, and although it includes items with which most pathologists have some familiarity, such as ‘‘physical size of the display available for image visualization’’ and ‘‘touch screen technology,’’ most of the items described and discussed are not typically within the pathologist’s realm, including ‘‘pixel-offset correction,’’ ‘‘luminance stability,’’ and the ominous-sounding ‘‘dark current level.’’ Clearly most of this language is directed at manufacturers, but because WSI is likely to soon be part of the pathologist’s armamentarium, pathologists should pay heed to these guidelines and provide appropriate commentary. Digital pathology is unlikely to replace glass slides any time soon, but glass slides and digital pathology appear destined to be comites diagnosticus.
Breadwinner vs. Non-Breadwinner Differences in Married Women's Job Satisfaction and Perceptions of Organizational Climate

The present study investigated differences in job satisfaction, interpersonal values, and perceptions of organizational climate between "breadwinning" and non-breadwinning married working women in a private sector organization. The data suggested that the breadwinners were significantly more satisfied with their pay and their opportunities for promotion and that they perceived a more favorable reward system in the organization. The results suggest that the family status of employees may be a variable important in accounting for variance in organizational behavior and for identifying issues particularly salient to female employees.
Modification of slot-machine preferences through the use of a conditional discrimination paradigm.

The present experiment investigated the impact of contextually trained discriminations on gambling behavior. Nine recreational slot-machine players were initially exposed to concurrently available computerized slot machines that were each programmed on random-ratio schedules of reinforcement and differed only in color. All participants distributed responding equally across the two slot machines. A conditional discrimination procedure was then used to teach the contextual cues representing the arbitrary relations of “greater than” and “less than.” Following contextual cue training, participants were reexposed to the concurrent slot-machine task. After training of the contextual cues, a higher proportion of responses were made to the slot machine that shared formal properties (i.e., color) with the contextual cue representing “greater than.”
Perceived Benefit of Teaching Patient Safety to Pharmacy Students by Integrating Classroom Teaching With Introductory (IPPE) Visits.

Introduction:Ensuring a culture that prioritizes and implements patient safety requires educating all future health care professionals to prepare them for their active role in reducing medical erro...
Impulse Breakdown Characteristics of 13.2 kV Covered Conductor Insulator/Tie Configurations

Utility companies which use covered conductors on 13.2 kV primary distribution systems have experienced a number of outages due to burndown conductors. Burndown is believed to result from a stationary arc, triggered by a lightning induced surge, in the insulator/tie region melting and separating an overhead conductor. An experimental investigation has been carried out to determine the lightning impulse characteristics of two types of insulator and four types of cable tie, used in conjunction with covered conductors on 13.2 kV distribution systems. The results obtained are discussed in terms of two types of prebreakdown events.
Examination of potential methods to predict pulmonary arterial pressure score in yearling beef cattle.

Susceptibility of beef cattle to high altitude disease (HAD) is of major importance to economic and genetic selection on high elevation ranches. However, currently the best indicator of HAD susceptibility is the pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) test, a test with high cost and invasive nature. Therefore, 2 experiments were undertaken to determine whether emerging technologies that predict blood components could be used to predict the PAP score in yearling Angus cattle. In Exp. 1, 39 yearling Angus bulls were used to determine if a relationship existed between PAP score and 10 blood components provided by a hemogram using whole blood or oxygen saturation as predicted by pulse oximetry in nonanesthetized cattle measured rectally or orally. Three of the hemogram values (packed cell volume, hemoglobin concentration, and red cell distribution width) were correlated (P 0.10) or with each other (P > 0.10). In Exp. 2, 84 yearling Angus cattle (62 bulls, 22 heifers) were used to evaluate the ability of a portable clinical analyzer to predict the PAP score using 11 blood components from a sample of whole blood evaluated at the processing chute. The portable clinical analyzer was able to provide values for all of the 11 blood components; however, none of the predicted values were correlated with the PAP score (P > 0.10). In these preliminary experiments, 3 blood component values provided via the hemogram were the only variables both correlated with the PAP score and able to contribute to the development of a useful PAP prediction equation that could reduce the cost of traditional measures of HAD susceptibility. Future research is needed to determine whether additional blood components or emerging blood analysis technologies are able to accurately predict the PAP score in beef cattle.
The development and application of small molecule modulators of SF3b as therapeutic agents for cancer

The identification of potent spliceosome modulators that demonstrate antitumor activity indicates that this complex may be a target for drug development. Several natural products have been demonstrated to bind to the SF3b1 subunit of this macromolecule and these agents modulate alternative RNA splicing. In this article we describe their biological properties, discuss the validity of the spliceosome as a therapeutic target, and propose that alteration of alternative splicing represents a viable approach for inducing tumor-selective cytotoxicity.
Population structure in an endangered songbird: maintenance of genetic differentiation despite high vagility and significant population recovery

Black-capped vireos (Vireo atricapilla), an endangered, migratory species dependent upon early successional habitat, have experienced significant recovery since its protection. In light of its vagility and known increase in population size and range, limited genetic differentiation would be expected in the species. Using 15 microsatellite loci and an extensive sampling regime, we detected significant overall genetic differentiation (FST = 0.021) and high interpopulation differentiation compared to other migratory birds. Although proximate sites (separated by < 20 km) tended to be genetically similar, there was no apparent association of either geographical distance or landscape attributes with differentiation between sites. Evidence of a population bottleneck was also detected in a site located near other large concentrations of birds. Although black-capped vireos are capable of large-scale movements and the population has experienced a recent expansion, dispersal appears too insufficient to eliminate the genetic differentiation resulting from restricted colonization of ephemeral habitats.
Irrigation Water and Surface Runoff Quality and Quantity in Carson Valley, Nevada

: Best management practices for irrigated agriculture are not restricted to the control of sediments in the return flow. Salts and nutrient loading and oxygen depletion are also of environmental concern. Since knowledge of waste loading returned from agricultural irrigation is limited, specific characterization of irrigatin and runoff water quality should precede corrective measures. In 1974, 1975 and 1976, four study sites with in a 50,000-acre irrigated area were monitored to characterize the quantity and quality of irrigation water and surface return flow. Simple correlatins among constituents showed strong relationships among BOD, TP, PO4,-P, and No3-N. Least significant difference tests among seasonal means of change-in-load per irrigation showed that only TDS and PO4-P were significant.
Where are the Males? Gender Differences in Undergraduates’ Interest in and Perceptions of the Genetic Counseling Profession

Genetic counseling is a female-dominated field, with women comprising about 95% of the profession (Smith et al. 2009). Greater patient choice and satisfaction may be achieved by increasing the number of male counselors, but empirical evidence about the reasons for this gender imbalance is limited. In this study 190 undergraduates (110 females, 79 males, 1 unknown) in upper division bioscience courses completed a survey assessing their knowledge and perceptions of and interest in genetic counseling as a career. There were only two significant gender differences. Females indicated significantly greater interest than males in pursuing a genetic counseling career, and they rated interpersonal skills as more integral to genetic counseling than males. Multiple regression analyses of knowledge and perceptions as possible predictors of male and female interest in pursuing a genetic counseling career yielded no significant predictors of male interest. For females, there were four significant predictors: estimated salary, career characteristics, perceptions of genetic counseling as interpersonally focused, and whether they had already chosen a career. Implications for recruiting males to the profession, and research recommendations are presented.
The decomposition pressure, congruent melting point and electrical resistivity of cerium nitride☆

Abstract The melting point of CeN in nitrogen was determined at pressures between 10 −2 and 21 atmospheres. Congruent melting was observed at T = 2575 ± 20°C and P = 5 ± 1 atmospheres. With lower nitrogen pressures, the melting point was related to the applied (or decomposition) pressure by the equation log P atmos ( N 2 ) = 18·5 − 5·1 × 10 4 / T . The electrical resistivities of samples prepared from these melts were measured at temperatures between 150–900°K. The room temperature resistivity of congruently melted samples was 21 μΩ-cm, which may be compared with the value of 75 μΩ-cm for cerium metal at this temperature. These samples had a positive (metallic) temperature dependence of resistivity of 0·11 μΩ-cm/°C at room temperature and increased with temperature to a value of 0·22 μΩ-cm/°C at a temperature of 700°K. The noncongruently melted samples had a similar behavior, but with somewhat higher values of resistivity. The room temperature Seebeck coefficients for both types of samples were approximately + 5 μV/°C, relative to platinum.
Inflammatory cytokine receptor blockade in a rodent model of mild traumatic brain injury

In rodent models of traumatic brain injury (TBI), both Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) levels increase early after injury to return later to basal levels. We have developed and characterized a rat mild fluid percussion model of TBI (mLFP injury) that results in righting reflex response times (RRRTs) that are less than those characteristic of moderate to severe LFP injury and yet increase IL-1α/β and TNFα levels. Here we report that blockade of IL-1α/β and TNFα binding to IL-1R and TNFR1, respectively, reduced neuropathology in parietal cortex, hippocampus, and thalamus and improved outcome. IL-1β binding to the type I IL-1 receptor (IL-1R1) can be blocked by a recombinant form of the endogenous IL-1R antagonist IL-1Ra (Kineret). TNFα binding to the TNF receptor (TNFR) can be blocked by the recombinant fusion protein etanercept, made up of a TNFR2 peptide fused to an Fc portion of human IgG1. There was no benefit from the combined blockades compared with individual blockades or after repeated treatments for 11 days after injury compared with one treatment at 1 hr after injury, when measured at 6 hr or 18 days, based on changes in neuropathology. There was also no further enhancement of blockade benefits after 18 days. Given that both Kineret and etanercept given singly or in combination showed similar beneficial effects and that TNFα also has a gliotransmitter role regulating AMPA receptor traffic, thus confounding effects of a TNFα blockade, we chose to focus on a single treatment with Kineret.
Timeless Strategy Meets New Medium: Going Negative on Congressional Campaign Websites, 2002-2006

In a few short years, the World Wide Web has become a standard part of candidates’ campaign tool kits. Virtually all candidates have their own sites; and voters, journalists, and activists visit the sites with increasing frequency. In this paper, we study what candidates do on these sites - in terms of the information they present - by exploring one of the most enduring and widely debated campaign strategies: “going negative.” Comparing data from over 700 congressional candidate websites, over three election cycles (2002, 2004, and 2006), with television advertising data, we show that candidates go negative with similar likelihoods across these media. We also find that while similar dynamics drive negativity on the Web and in television advertising, there are some notable differences. These differences likely stem, in part, from the truncated sample available with television data (i.e., many candidates do not produce ads). Our results have implications for understanding negative campaigning, and for the ways in which scholars can study campaign dynamics.
3D VQI: 3D Visual Query Interface

The 3D Visual Query Interface (3D VQI) is a web-based database application that allows for shape-based searches in addition to more traditional text-based queries of the 3D vessel dataset. This interface allows researchers remote access to vessel collection that can be analyzed from anywhere in the world. The interface is divided into two sections with right half supporting the ability to draw profile curve both symmetric and asymmetric. This query can be further refined using the left half which provides contextual based information. Using a curve-matching algorithm the software then searches the database and returns a series of potential matches sorted by the percentage of similarity between the curves. Each match can then be selected for more detailed viewing of the 3D model and data or for further analysis.
ExploreIT! An Adaptive Tutor in an Informal Learning Environment

We created an application for the Apple iPad that families at a children’s museum used as they toured the museum. The application provided activities and explanation at various exhibit areas along with adaptive quizzes. We investigated their retention of the museum content and their attitudes toward the intervention. We found that content that provides an over-arching narrative to the museum experience along with the adaptive quizzes resulted in families enjoying the activities more, staying longer at the museum, and the children learning more information.
Score tests of genetic association in the presence of linkage based on the additive genetic gamma frailty model.

SUMMARY Nuclear families with multiple affected sibs are often collected for genetic linkage analysis of complex diseases. Once linkage evidence is established, dense markers are often typed in the linked region for genetic association analysis based on linkage disequilibrium (LD). Detection of association in the presence of linkage localizes disease genes more accurately than the methods that rely on linkage alone. However, test of association due to LD in the linked region needs to account for dependency of the allele transmissions to different sibs within a family. In this paper, we define a joint model for genetic linkage and association and derive the corresponding joint survival function of age of onset for the sibs within a sibship. The joint survival function is a function of both the inheritance vector and the genotypes at the candidate marker locus. Based on this joint survival function, we derive score tests for genetic association. The proposed methods utilize the phenotype data of all the sibs and have the advantages of family-based designs which can avoid the potential spurious association caused by population admixture. In addition, the methods can account for variable age of onset or age at censoring and possible covariate effects, and therefore provide important tools for modelling disease heterogeneity. Simulation studies and application to the data sets from the 12th Genetic Analysis Workshop indicate that the proposed methods have correct type 1 error rates and increased power over other existing methods for testing allelic association.
Evaluating the economic benefits of pesticide usage

Abstract In regulating the use of a pesticide, one critical element taken into consideration by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is the magnitude of the benefits provided by the pesticide. A number of alternative, and legitimate, definitions of pesticide benefits are discussed and their implications for the regulatory process identified. Recommendations for improving the regulatory process are proposed.
Physical Cross-linkers: Alternatives to Improve the Mechanical Properties of Fish Gelatin

Fisheries industries are known to produce large amount of waste such as skins, heads, fins, and backbones, all rich in collagen, which are not always well used. Production of gelatin would be a way to add value to these wastes; however, the main commercial sources of raw materials are porcine or bovine bones and skins. Gelatin is a pure protein, digestible, functional biopolymer obtained by the hydrolysis of collagen, used in many food industries. Fish gelatin has been widely studied, although its mechanical properties are lower than of the mammals. In order to overcome this problem, modification of the structure of fish gelatin becomes an interesting alternative. Usually, chemical cross-linking agents are used to improve the mechanical properties of gelatin; nevertheless, these compounds may leave toxic residues. The use of physical cross-linking agents, such as high pressure or irradiation, could improve the quality of fish gelatins, placing them at a similar level to those of mammals, guaranteeing the absence of toxic metabolites, increasing the list of applications. This review shows information about these physical cross-linkers, promoting further research using these techniques.
Technical Communique: Robust D-stability via positivity

The main objective of this paper is to convert the general problem of robust D-stability of a complex polynomial to positivity in the real domain of the corresponding magnitude function. In particular, the obtained criterion for Hurwitz stability is applied to polynomials with interval parameters and polynomic uncertainty structures. The robust stability is verified by testing positivity of a real polynomial using the Bernstein subdivision algorithm. A new feature in this context is the stopping criterion, which is applied whenever the algorithm is inconclusive after a large number of iterations, but we can show that at least one zero of the polynomial is closer to the imaginary axis than a prescribed limit.
Carcinogens and anticarcinogens.

There is the potential for major progress in the prevention of cancer in the next 5 or 10 years. In the short term, progress in the prevention of cancer depends on a better understanding of some of the risk factors and antirisk factors for the major human cancers. In the longer term, the spectacular progress in molecular biology is in understanding some of the fundamental aspects of the nature of cancer which should contribute substantially to further intervention possibilities.
Abstract 66: Small Dense LDL Cholesterol Predicts Incident Diabetes Mellitus: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Background: Small dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (sd-LDL-C) is an independent predictor of vascular events even in individuals with lower levels of LDL-C. Diabetics in particular tend to have higher levels of sd-LDL-C compared to those without diabetes. It is not known if sd-LDL-C predicts incident diabetes mellitus (DM). Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that elevated levels of sd-LDL-C measured using a new automated assay predict incident DM in the biracial ARIC study. Methods: Plasma sd-LDL-C was measured in 9,451 men and women without prevalent DM using a newly developed automated homogeneous assay. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to examine the association of sd-LDL-C with risk for incident DM. Results: More individuals in the highest vs. lowest sd-LDL-C quartiles were men, Caucasians, had hypertension and higher mean body mass index (BMI) (P<0.001 for all comparisons). Similarly more individuals in the highest vs. lowest sd-LDL-C quartiles had parental history of DM (31.2 vs....
Double Plane Wave Reverse Time Migration in the Time Domain

Conventional reverse time migration (RTM) requires two wave equation propagations: the forward modeling of each shot record and the backward propagation of recorded receiver data to obtain an image of the subsurface. By transforming the shot gathers into the double slant stacked plane wave domain, we defined a RTM procedure for migrating double plane wave (DPW) components which has several advantages over the conventional RTM. First, we only need to forward propagate a limited number of synthetic source plane waves for the velocity model. The amount of synthetic forward propagations is much less than that of conventional RTM. Second, the DPW RTM is flexible. We can select a limited range of plane wave components for migration to obtain sufficient horizontal and vertical resolution. Thus, computing time is further reduced, which is beneficial for velocity analysis. Last, the DPW RTM can generate offset ray parameter domain common-image gathers (CIGs) directly after migrating plane wave components. No extra work is needed to get the ray parameter CIGs as is the case for conventional RTM, which is again convenient for velocity analysis. We solve the acoustic wave equation by employing a pseudo spectral method for the spatial derivatives and the rapid expansion method (REM) for time marching.
Prolactin gene-disruption arrests mammary gland development and retards T-antigen-induced tumor growth

Prolactin (PRL), interacting with other hormones from the pituitary, gonad, and placenta, activates specific signals that drive the appropriately timed morphological and functional development of the mammary gland. A mouse model of isolated PRL deficiency (PRL−/−) was created by gene disruption in an effort to further understand the molecular basis of mammary gland development and breast cancer. Whereas primary ductal growth was normal in PRL−/− mice, ductal arborization was minimal (branches/mm2=1.5±0.5), and lobular budding was absent. Replacement therapy with PRL injections stimulated a modest degree of lobular budding and ductal arborization (3.75±0.9). Pituitary transplants to the kidney capsule of PRL−/− mice restored lobular budding and ductal arborization, to the full extent of that seen in control animals (20.3±5.5). Pregnancy, established by mating progesterone-treated PRL−/− females with PRL−/− males, led to complete morphological development of the mammary gland, appropriate to the gestational stage. PRL treatment stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation and DNA binding activity of Stat5a, but not Stat1 in PRL−/− or PRL+/− females, and Stat5a, but not Stat1, was elevated by estradiol within 24 h. PRL-deficient mice were crossed with mice expressing a dominant oncogene (polyoma middle-T antigen driven by the MMTV promoter, PyVT mice). Palpable (1 mm3) tumors were detected an average of 9 days earlier in hormonally normal females (PRL+/−:PyVT) compared with littermates that were PRL-deficient (PRL−/−:PyVT). The growth rate of PyVT-induced tumors was 30% faster in PRL+/−, than in PRL−/− females.
Is the Cost Defense Workable

The cost defense under the Robinson-Patman Act once seemed to be a fairly routine process. Since 1962, however, serious problems have been posed by the Supreme Court and the Federal Trade Commissio...
Chapter 12 – Hyaluronan in Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury

This chapter presents the changes in the properties of hyaluronan caused by ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). Treatment of patients with acute lung injury (ALI) or the more severe form, termed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), often requires the use of mechanical ventilation with high levels of oxygen to adequately oxygenate the brain and other vital organs. ALI is a general term that refers to damage to the lungs that occurs in a number of different situations, including infection of the blood, lungs or abdomen, aspiration of stomach contents into the lungs, pancreatitis, multiple blood transfusions, trauma, drug overdose, or near-drowning. Mechanical ventilation with large tidal volumes is used in order to recruit diseased areas of the lung with low compliance. This unfortunately leads to overdistension of normal areas of lung that display normal compliance. In severely damaged lungs, in which air space is reduced by up to 60%, the use of even low tidal volumes, calculated on the basis of the patient's size, may lead to the overdistension of the remaining normal lung. The damage to the normal areas of the lung by overdistension in ALI/ARDS has become known as VILI. Hyaluronan has been shown to be increased and to play a possible role in many forms of lung disease, including cystic fibrosis, asthma, alveolar proteinosis, sarcoidosis, farmer's lung, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis bleomycin-induced lung injury, smoke-inhalation injury, lung injury from diesel fuel and emphysema. Hyaluronan has both structural and inflammatory properties in the lung. LMW HA may have an important role in inflammation as found in forms of ALI, including ARDS and VILI.
Influence of Nitrogen Rate, Seeding Rate, and Weed Removal Timing on Weed Interference in Barley and Effect of Nitrogen on Weed Response to Herbicides

Field experiments were conducted at the Montana State University Southern Agricultural Research Center, Huntley, MT, in 2011 through 2013 to determine the effect of nitrogen (N) rate, seeding rate, and weed removal timing on weed interference in barley. A delay in weed removal timing from the 3- to 4-leaf (LF) stage to the 8- to 10-LF stage of barley resulted in up to 3.5-fold increase in total weed biomass and 10% reduction in barley biomass, and this was unaffected by a N rate that ranged from 56 (low) to 168 (high) kg ha-1. The effect of N rate on barley biomass was more pronounced when weed removal was delayed from the 3- to 4-LF stage to the 8- to 10-LF stage of barley and in nontreated plots. Increasing the barley seeding rate from 38 to 152 kg ha-1 increased the barley plant density by 50%, biomass by 13%, and grain yield by 29%, averaged over N rates and weed removal timing. On the basis of 5 and 10% levels of acceptable yield loss, the addition of ≥112 kg N ha-1 delayed the critical timing of wee...
Conductor: A New Approach

Applications communicating across heterogeneous networks, including the Internet, can require multiple coordinated and potentially distributed adaptations, something not well supported by existing adaptation frameworks. We have developed a systems service called Conductor that enables distributed adaptation, dynamically selecting and deploying adaptation at various points in the network.
Do Countries Consistently Engage in Misinforming the International Community about Their Efforts to Combat Money Laundering? Evidence Using Benford’s Law

Indicators of compliance and efficiency in combatting money laundering, collected by EUROSTAT, are plagued with shortcomings. In this paper, I have carried out a forensic analysis on a 2003-2010 dataset of indicators of compliance and efficiency in combatting money laundering, that European Union member states self-reported to EUROSTAT, and on the basis of which, their efforts were evaluated. I used Benford's law to detect any anomalous statistical patterns and found that statistical anomalies were also consistent with strategic manipulation. According to Benford's law, if we pick a random sample of numbers representing natural processes, and look at the distribution of the first digits of these numbers, we see that, contrary to popular belief, digit 1 occurs most often, then digit 2, and so on, with digit 9 occurring in less than 5% of the sample. Without prior knowledge of Benford's law, since people are not intuitively good at creating truly random numbers, deviations thereof can capture strategic alterations. In order to eliminate other sources of deviation, I have compared deviations in situations where incentives and opportunities for manipulation existed and in situations where they did not. While my results are not a conclusive proof of strategic manipulation, they signal that countries that faced incentives and opportunities to misinform the international community about their efforts to combat money laundering may have manipulated these indicators. Finally, my analysis points to the high potential for disruption that the manipulation of national statistics has, and calls for the acknowledgment that strategic manipulation can be an unintended consequence of the international community's pressure on countries to put combatting money laundering on the top of their national agenda.
Beyond GPS: Improved study of bicycling exposure through added use of video data

Abstract Bicycling has become increasingly popular in the United States in recent years for both recreation and utilitarian purposes. Yet, attributes of the bicycle riding experience and riding differences between adults and children and males and females are not well documented. Most existing data on bicycling trip characteristics are based on self-reported interviews or surveys, which are prone to recall bias. The purpose of this exploratory study was to capture naturalistic bicycling data to examine trip characteristics and compare exposure classification accuracy between GPS and video data. We enrolled 10 children and 10 adults and captured their bicycling trips for one week each using PedalPortal, a GPS-enabled helmet camera data capture and coding system developed by the authors and a team of engineering students. Overall, 261 trips, 57 h, and 670 miles of bicycling were captured. The video data allowed for correct classification of riding location (sidewalk, bicycle lane, street, etc.), an advantage over GPS data alone. Child trips were significantly shorter in both time and distance than adult trips (p
Chronic inflammation in older people : Recognition, consequences, and potential intervention

In elderly individuals, some chronic inflammatory diseases appear to occur with increased frequency, and recent evidence suggests that some very common chronic, age-related disoders may be propagated and perpetuated by inflammatory processes, perhaps giving rise to the abnormal acute phase protein levels that are seen with increased frequency with aging. The consequences of chronic inflammation in the elderly undoubtedly contribute to excessive morbidity in this population. Treatment of chronic inflammation in the elderly is often difficult, requiring utmost care and close follow-up by a knowledgeable and dedicated physician.
Applying the 15 Public Health Emergency Preparedness Capabilities to Support Large-Scale Tuberculosis Investigations in Complex Congregate Settings.

Public Health—Seattle and King County, a metropolitan health department in western Washington, experiences rates of tuberculosis (TB) that are 1.6 times higher than are state and national averages. The department’s TB Control Program uses public health emergency management tools and capabilities sustained with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant funding to manage large-scale complex case investigations.We have described 3 contact investigations in large congregate settings that the TB Control Program conducted in 2015 and 2016. The program managed the investigations using public health emergency management tools, with support from the Preparedness Program.The 3 investigations encompassed medical evaluation of more than 1600 people, used more than 100 workers, identified nearly 30 individuals with latent TB infection, and prevented an estimated 3 cases of active disease. These incidents exemplify how investments in public health emergency preparedness can enhance health outcomes in traditional...
Graphene: A New Protocol for Block Propagation Using Set Reconciliation

We devise a novel method of interactive set reconciliation for efficient block distribution. Our approach, called Graphene, couples a Bloom filter with an IBLT. We evaluate performance analytically and show that Graphene blocks are always smaller. For example, while a 17.5 KB Xtreme Thinblock can be encoded in 10 KB with Compact Blocks, the same information can be encoded in 2.6 KB with Graphene. We show in simulation that Graphene reduces traffic overhead by reducing block overhead.
Specification of Physiologic and Disease States by Distinct Proteins and Protein Conformations

Protein conformational states—from intrinsically disordered ensembles to amyloids that underlie the self-templating, infectious properties of prion-like proteins—have attracted much attention. Here, we highlight the diversity, including differences in biophysical properties, that drive distinct biological functions and pathologies among self-templating proteins. Advances in chemical genomics, gene editing, and model systems now permit deconstruction of the complex interplay between these protein states and the host factors that react to them. These methods reveal that conformational switches modulate normal and abnormal information transfer and that intimate relationships exist between the intrinsic function of proteins and the deleterious consequences of their misfolding.
Hepatitis in an adult caused by Herpes simplex virus type I.

Disseminated infection caused by Herpes simplex virus (HSV) type I is described in a previously healthy adult. The clinical course was characterized by progressive hepatic failure, fever, hypotension, atypical lymphocytosis, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. No skin lesions were present and the causal agent was not suspected premortem; however, HSV-I was isolated from autopsy liver, and characteristic histopathological lesions of herpes infection were observed in liver and esophagus.
ROLE OF ADENYLYLATED GLUTAMINE SYNTHETASE ENZYMES AND URIDYLYLATED REGULATORY PROTEIN ENZYMES IN THE REGULATION OF GLUTAMINE SYNTHETASE ACTIVITY IN ESCHERICHIA COLI

ABSTRACT. Regulation of glutamine synthetase in Escherichia coli is facilitated by an elaborate cascade system involving two kinds of nucleotidylylation reactions which are modulated by the ratios of various metabolites. The activity of glutamine synthetase is controlled by the covalent attachment and detachment of an adenylyl group to one or more of the enzyme's 12 subunits. The adenylylation and deadenylylation reactions are both catalyzed by a single adenylyltransferase (ATase), whose activity is specified by a regulatory protein. The capacity of the regulatory protein to stimulate adenylylation on the one hand or deadenylylation on the other is specified by the covalent attachment of a uridylyl group to one or more of its four identical subunits. Because glutamine synthetase and the regulatory protein are multimeric proteins composed of several identical subunits, the epigenetic modifications by nucleotidylylation lead to multimolecular enzyme forms. Hybrid molecules of glutamine synthetase (i.e., enzymes composed of both adenylylated and unadenylylated subunits) prepared in vitro by dissociation and reassociation of mixtures of fully adenylylated and fully unadenylylated forms, are indistinguishable from enzymes produced in vivo containing the same average number of adenylylated subunits. Whereas these enzymes cannot be physically separated from one another by chromatography or by electrophoresis, they can be detected on the basis of differences in their catalytic potential and in their susceptibility to inactivation by 4 M urea. Heterologous subunit interactions in hybrid molecules affect the capacities of adenylylated and unadenylylated subunits to catalyze the biosynthesis of glutamine in the presence of Mn 2+ and Mg 2+ , respectively, as well as their apparent affinities for the substrate glutamate. From the nonlinear relationship between Co 2+ -supported biosynthetic activity and the average state of adenylylation, it is suggested that adenylylation of a subunit causes inactivation of that subunit as well as those unadenylylated subunits that are in direct contact with it. Hybrids produced by reversible dissociation of a mixture containing equal amounts of fully unadenylylated and succinylated fully adenylylated glutamine synthetase can be separated from either parental type by electrophoresis; these hybrids are mixtures of partially adenylylated-succinylated molecules with 4 to 9 adenylylated subunits per dodecameric aggregate. In contrast to glutamine synthetase enzymes, the uridylylated and unmodified forms of the regulatory protein can be separated by disc gel electrophoresis.
Impact of multiplex molecular assay turn-around-time on antibiotic utilization and clinical management of hospitalized children with acute respiratory tract infections.

Abstract Background Empiric antibiotic treatment is common among children with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI), despite infections being predominately viral. The use of molecular respiratory panel assays has become increasingly common for medical care of patients with ARTIs. Study design This was a 6-year retrospective, single-centered study of pediatric inpatients who tested positive for an ARTI respiratory pathogen. We examined the relationship between clinical outcomes and whether the patient was tested using the Luminex Respiratory Viral Panel ([RVP]; in-use: Dec. 2009 – Jul. 2012) or Biofire Respiratory Pathogen Panel ([RP]; in-use Aug. 2012 – Jun. 2016). The prevalence and duration of pre-test empiric antibiotics, post-test oseltamivir administration to influenza patients, chest x-rays and length of stay between the two assays was compared. Results A total of 5142 patients (1264 RVP; 3878 RP) were included. The median laboratory turn-around-time for RP was significantly shorter than RVP (1.4 vs. 27.1 h, respectively; p Conclusions Rapid molecular testing positively impacts patient management of ARTIs. Adopting assays with a shorter turn-around-time improves decision making by decreasing empirical antibiotic use and duration, decreasing chest x-rays, increasing timely oseltamivir administration, and reducing length of stay.
Understanding the Learning Disabilities Linked to Sagittal Craniosynostosis.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to investigate further findings that corroborate similarities between corrected sagittal craniosynostosis and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The aim is to further characterize the neurocognitive deficits seen in adolescents with corrected craniosynostosis by comparing it to established learning deficits such as ADHD. METHODS A total of 30 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of 10 sagittal nonsyndromic craniosynostosis (sNSC), 10 ADHD-combined, and 10 control adolescents were studied. The fMRI scans were analyzed utilizing Statistical Parametric Mapping (University College London, UK) and analyzed with BioImageSuite (Yale University, New Haven, CT). RESULTS The ADHD has lower connectivity to Brodmann area (BA) 11 (Montreal Neurological Institution [MNI]: -12,26,-21), BA20 (MNI: 62,-24,-25), and BA21 (MNI: 62,-32,-23) compared to sNSC and controls (P < 0.001). The sNSC has a unique visuospatial defect, compared to ADHD, created by decreased connectivity to BA31 (MNI: -3,-68,37), BA7 (MNI: -4,-68,41), BA19 (MNI: 0,-83,31), visual association cortex (MNI: -4,-78,22), and primary visual cortex (MNI: 7,-74,21) (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION Patients born with sNSC have different neural connections than children born with ADHD. Patients born with sNSC have decreased connections in areas of visual processing and increased connections in areas of attention and auditory processing than patients with ADHD. Therefore, children with sagittal craniosynsotosis may have learning difficulties that, similar, yet different from ADHD.
Nonlinear Regression Models

In this chapter, nonlinear transformations are introduced that expand linear regression options to include situations in which marginal responses are either increasing or decreasing, rather than constant. We will explore Tukey’s Ladder of Powers to identify particular ways to efficiently rescale variables to produce valid models with superior fit. An example will be offered in the context of trend models built for forecasting, and in Chapter 11, examples with explanatory multiple regression models will be added.
MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY OF MEAT | Aeromonas spp.

Members of the genus Aeromonas are considered ubiquitous, opportunistic, and primary pathogens widely present on various raw meat products and vegetables, and in soil and aquatic environments. The three species Aeromonas sobria, Aeromonas hydrophila, and Aeromonas veronii biotype sobria account for approximately 85% of all clinical Aeromonas isolates. The vast majority of cases of Aeromonas septicemia occur in severely immunocompromised individuals. The predisposing factors for systemic infection are hepatic necrosis and malignancy. There are presently 24 species names in the genus Aeromonas in the published literature derived from recent descriptions of new species, some of which are considered synonymous with previously described species.
Reflection and Security

“Reflection and Security” introduces a distinctive notion of default assumptions, one that applies in human performance domains generally, and uses that notion to extend virtue epistemology in new directions.
American Speech-Language Pathologists' Training and Legislative Knowledge When Working With Immigrant and Refugee Populations: A Qualitative Study

Background American educational legislation suggests culturally competent speech and language services should be provided in a child's native language, but the number of multilingual speech-languag...
Macroevolutionary patterns and selection modes for general intelligence (G) and for commonly used neuroanatomical volume measures in primates

Abstract Various neuroanatomical volume measures (NVMs) are frequently used as proxies for intelligence in comparative studies, such as the size of the brain, neocortex, and hippocampus, either absolute or controlled for other size measures (e.g., body size, or rest of the brain). Mean species NVMs are moderately correlated with aggregate general intelligence (G), however G and NVMs are yet to be compared in their evolutionary patterns (e.g., conservatism and evolutionary rates) and processes (i.e., their fit to diverse models of evolution reflecting selection regimes). Such evolutionary information is valuable for examining convergence in the evolutionary history among traits and is not available from simple correlation coefficients. Considering accumulating evidence that non-volumetric neurological measures may be as important as (or more so than) volumetric measures as substrates of intelligence, and that certain NVMs negatively predict neuronal density, we hypothesized that discrepancies would be found in evolutionary patterns and processes of G compared to NVMs. We collated data from the literature on primate species means for G, the volumes of the brain, neocortex, cerebellum, and hippocampus, and body mass, and employed phylogenetic comparative methods that examine phylogenetic signal (λ, K), evolutionary rates (σ2), and several parameters of evolutionary models (Brownian motion, Early-burst, acceleration, and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck). Evolutionary rates and acceleration trends were up to an order of magnitude higher for G than for most NVMs, and a strong selection optimum toward which clades evolved was found for G, whereas NVMs conformed mostly to Brownian motion. Brain size was the most contrasting NVM compared to intelligence across most phylogenetic indices examined, showing signs of deceleration and extreme conservativeness. Only certain operationalizations of neocortical and hippocampal volume showed convergence with G, albeit still notably weakly. The NVM with results that most strongly approached the patterns identified for G is residual cerebellar size (relative to body size). In comparison to the most commonly used volumetric measures (operationalization of brain and neocortex size), G must be seen as an evolutionarily labile trait under considerable selection pressure, necessitating that the role of the cerebellum be more aptly recognized and that other neurological factors be invoked as potential substrates for its evolutionary trajectory.