cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Market Price Analysis

There seem to be several good reasons why market price should be handled in special courses separate from marketing organization. Furthermore, the general subject of marketing lends itself to being divided on this basis. The market price analysis is concerned with the actual prices prevailing in the market, and the manner of their determination and the reasons for their fluctuations. The market-
Is Aid Conditionality an Answer to Antigay Legislation? An Analysis of British and American Foreign Aid Policies Designed to Protect Sexual Minorities

This Article examines several emerging questions in international law. First, is aid conditionality that takes into account the treatment of LGBT people an effective mechanism to foment changes to antigay laws in other nations? If so, have the recent decisions to do so announced by the British and American governments an appropriate way to institute these policies? After examining both aid policies and the attendant negative reactions to those policies by foreign governments, I conclude that the policies, while well intentioned, are not constructed in a manner that would encourage the bootstrapping-up of rights for LGBT people in countries threatened with decreased aid. The Article concludes with a functionalist critique of the aid policies and explores ways in which the governments, if serious about taking action to improve the lives of LGBT people in antigay nations, could better effectuate that goal.
The effect of triethylene glycol vapor on airborne beta hemolytic streptococci in hospital wards; the action of glycol vapors at low relative humidities.

The early laboratory studies on the bactericidal action of glycol vapors revealed that maximum efficiency is obtained at relative humidities between 40 and 60%. Equally effective killing could be achieved at lower humidities only when higher concentrations of glycol were employed.1 These results, confirmed by several workers2'3 showed that the maintenance of an adequate relative humidity is desirable, but did not indicate to what extent low relative humidi-
BUOYANT DISCHARGES FROM SUBMERGED MULTIPORT DIFFUSERS

The application of submerged multiport diffusers for the discharge of degradable liquid wastes and of heated cooling water from electric power generation forms an important aspect of coastal zone management. Previous buoyant jet models for submerged diffuser discharge have been developed for the limiting case of discharge in unconfined deep water in the form of rising buoyant jets. These models can be used for sewage diffusers, but are not applicable for diffusers in shallow receiving water with low buoyancy, the type used for thermal discharges ("thermal diffusers"). A multiport diffuser will produce a general three-dimensional flow. Yet the predominantly two dimensional flow which exists in the center portion of the three-dimensional diffuser can be analyzed as a two-dimensional "channel model". Theoretical solutions for diffuser-induced dilutions are derived for the two-dimensional case and verified experimentally. Furthermore, the theory can be applied to the three-dimensional situation by requiring equivalency of far-field effects, that is the frictional resistance governing the diffuser-induced motion at larger distances from the diffuser line.
Resonance-strength parameter for 18 O( p , γ ) at E p = 90 keV

For the 90-keV resonance in ${}^{18}$O($p$,\ensuremath{\gamma}), I have combined the measured value of \ensuremath{\omega}\ensuremath{\gamma} ($p$,\ensuremath{\alpha}) $=$ 0.16(5) \ensuremath{\mu}eV and the spectroscopic strength (2$J$+1) ${C}^{2}S$ $=$ 0.097 from ${}^{18}$O(${}^{3}$He,$d$) to compute the ($p$,\ensuremath{\gamma}) resonance-strength parameter. The result is \ensuremath{\omega}\ensuremath{\gamma} ($p$,\ensuremath{\gamma}) $=$ 0.70(28) \ensuremath{\mu}eV, which is about 90(36) times the most recent upper limit.
Observations on a Pygmy Killer Whale (Feresa Attenuata Gray) from Hawaii

A living specimen of the little-known pygmy killer whale, Feresa attenuata Gray, was caught off the Kona coast of the island of Hawaii. It is found to be a relatively abundant inhabitant of Hawaiian waters. The occurrence and behavior of wild animals is discussed, as is the unusually aggressive behavior of the captive animal. Morphology of the captive animal is described.
Naturally Aspirating Isokinetic Total Water Content Probe: Intake Deicing and Heat Transfer

A total water content probe for flight and ground based testing is under development. During operation across a range of altitudes and water content conditions the probe tip has to remain clear of ice to ensure the undisturbed flow of air and hydrometeors into the probe. The heating strategy is presented with the heat transfer analysis, including trade-off studies for material properties. Wind tunnel results under icing conditions are presented and compared to the simulated results.
Investigation on Health Status of Oil Supplier in Langfang City

[Objective]To understand the health status of oil suppliers,and the effect of long-term exposure to gasoline and benzene on their health.[Methods]Occupational health check was performed on 273 oil suppliers in Langfang City.Examination items included conventional medicine,general neurology,blood routine,urinanalysis,ALT,ECG,abdominal B-ultrasonography.The results were analyzed.[Results]The detection rate of neurasthenic syndrome,hypertension,blood routine abnormality,abnormal urine,abnormal ECG,abnormal abdominal B-ultrasonography,and abnormal liver function was 7.0%,22.3%,12.5%,21.6%,11.45,19.45 and 7.3%,respectively.The results of trend chi-square test showed the linear trend of each abnormal rate of blood pressure,blood routine,urinanalysis,abdominal B-ultrasonography,ECG increasing with age (P0.05);and the linear trend of each abnormal rate of blood pressure,blood routine,urinanalysis,ECG increasing with the extending length of service.[Conclusion]Long-term exposure to gasoline and benzene is chronically harmful to the nervous system,hematopoietic system,urinary system and cardiovascular system of oil suppliers in Langfang City.
Microvascular Reconstruction of Complex Branch Renal Artery Disease

The task of renal revascularization is considerably more complicated in patients with branch disease because of the necessity to perform multiple vascular anastomoses to renal artery branches that may be difficult to expose and are small in caliber. Technical advances during the past decade, namely, incorporation of microvascular and extracorporeal techniques into the armamentarium of the renovascular surgeon, have improved this outlook. This article focuses on general microvascular principles and specific reconstructive techniques currently applicable to patients with branch renal artery disease.
Reproductive responses, progesterone profiles and ovarian characteristics of cycling, fine-wool ewes treated with an inhibitor of progesterone synthesis (epostane).

In Exp. 1, 45 fine-wool ewes received (sc) either 0, 50 or 100 mg epostane (3-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase inhibitor) to examine effects on return to estrus and conception rates. Treatments were imposed on d 10 of an estrous cycle (estrus = d 0) and jugular blood samples were collected once daily on d 8 and 9, twice daily on d 10 through 13 and once daily from d 14 until first post-treatment estrus or d 20 (15 ewes/treatment). Intensive samples were obtained hourly for 6 h after treatment (d 10; five ewes/treatment). Serum progesterone (P4) before treatment was similar among groups; but by 2 h after treatment, epostane-treated ewes had lower (P less than .10) values than controls. By 6 h post-treatment, serum P4 in ewes receiving 50 (1.0 ng/ml) and 100 (.9 ng/ml) mg epostane was well below control values (3.2 ng/ml). By 7 d after treatment, 93.3% of ewes treated with 50 mg epostane had recycled compared with 66.7 and 33.3% of those receiving 100 and 0 mg, respectively (P less than .10). Similarly, 93.3, 53.3 and 26.7% of ewes receiving 50, 100 or 0 mg epostane, respectively, lambed to breeding within 7 d of treatment (P less than .05). Overall conception rates during a 34-d breeding season were similar among groups. Preweaning performance of offspring did not differ among maternal treatments.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The Agonistic City at Home and Abroad: the Role of Reputation in Maintaining the Politeia of Plato’s 'Laws'

What keeps the politeia of Plato’s 'Laws' stable? Herein I seek to characterize this process and to establish the role of reputation (doxa) in it. I begin by asking: what kind of environment is Magnesia? I discuss two kinds of proposals found in the secondary literature: that of a static city populated by obedient automatons and that of a conflict-free association of friends. I counter-propose a picture of Magnesia as an agonistic and agonistically passionate city. I submit that because citizens individually aim at a good reputation, Magnesia suffers from the pathologies of agonism, such as envy and hubristic or prideful impiety. This leads me to my second question: how does Magnesia cope with the posited agonistic environment? The answer, generally stated, is via the social mechanisms of praise and blame that the lawcode sets forth and the citizens act out. I flesh out this answer as follows. First, laws and their preludes respond directly to those disruptive motivations that urge self-love and impiety. They do this by urging citizens to yoke their reputation to that of the city and by making the city a theocracy. Second, the practices in which Magnesians engage, specifically the war-cum-athletics, are geared to making citizens similar in judgment, and not just similar in virtue. Third, in an effort to minimize the pathologies of an agonistic citizenry, political institutions both encourage and depend upon Magnesians to watch over one another. Finally, I argue that in order to have a fuller grasp of how Magnesia is maintained, we have to attend to Magnesia’s reputation as a city in world of other cities. In other words, the domestic arrangements of Magnesia are insufficient to maintain it. In section 3, I argue that the city’s foreign policy aims at peace and at deterring possible aggressors. By comparison with its mother, Cnossos, Magnesia is kinder to foreigners. All this is conducive to a more stable interpolis environment, which, in turn, maintains the city. I conclude that an important feature of Magnesian institutional design is that its citizens are politically motivated. Insofar as this design implicates reputation as an attribute of individuals and cities, a conceptual limitation inheres in such theorizing. For it is far from straightforward that the reputation of an individual is of a piece with the reputation of a city.
Small for Gestational Age: The Differential Mortality When Detected versus Undetected Antenatally.

Background Antenatal detection of fetal growth restriction (FGR) prompts antepartum surveillance to reduce perinatal mortality, yet most cases of FGR are undetected. Objective This study aims to compare rates of adverse neonatal outcomes when FGR is detected versus undetected. Study Design Small-for-gestational-age (SGA) newborns (birth weight Results Out of 29,885 neonates, 2,475 (8.3%) were SGA. Out of the 826 (33%) SGA neonates who underwent growth ultrasound, 185 (22%) were considered FGR. In the SGA-no US group, the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for Apgar Conclusion Fetal growth ultrasound effectively stratifies risk amongst SGA neonates.
Reactions of Nucleophiles and Bases

A nucleophile is an electron donor (has an electron pair available for bonding) that bonds to an atom other than hydrogen. A base is an electron donor that bonds to hydrogen. The transformations that result from the action of bases or nucleophiles are numerous and varied. These transformations follow a set of principles and can be categorized leading to a level of understanding that can be applied across many situations. The types of electrophiles, as well as the type of nucleophiles, can have an effect on the transformation. Examples of a few types of processes are described and the rearrangements and outcomes of the action of nucleophiles and base-promoted transformations are presented.
A Logarithmic-Time Adaptive Block-Matching Algorithm for Estimating Large-Displacement Motion Vectors

Since its inception in the early 1970s [l]–[3], the concept that image quality of temporal prediction can be enhanced with the help of motion information has had a substantial influence on the progress of image sequence coding. The use of motion estimation/compensation, which attempts to obtain knowledge of the displacements of moving objects in successive frames and apply it to remove temporal redundancy, has been suggested as one of the important reasons that current video coding schemes have achieved a level of performance that was widely considered impossible thirty years ago.
Using Landsat Time-Series and LiDAR to Inform Aboveground Forest Biomass Baselines in Northern Minnesota, USA

AbstractThe publicly accessible archive of Landsat imagery and increasing regional-scale LiDAR acquisitions offer an opportunity to periodically estimate aboveground forest biomass (AGB) from 1990 to the present to align with the reporting needs of National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (NGHGIs). This study integrated Landsat time-series data, a state-wide LiDAR dataset, and a recent cycle of the national forest inventory (NFI) records in Minnesota, USA, to obtain a spatially explicit inventory of AGB across a large region of space and time back to the 1990 baseline used by the US NGHGI. Pixel-level polynomial models were fit to 6 time-series metrics of Landsat data to obtain fitted predictors that were ultimately coupled with the NFI data in a nonparametric modeling framework to map temporal AGB baselines. Eighteen candidate models, formulated using different combinations of LiDAR and Landsat metrics, revealed that the model using both Landsat and LiDAR metrics consistently performed better than the alterna...
On the computation of a truncated SVD of a large linear discrete ill-posed problem

The singular value decomposition is commonly used to solve linear discrete ill-posed problems of small to moderate size. This decomposition not only can be applied to determine an approximate solution but also provides insight into properties of the problem. However, large-scale problems generally are not solved with the aid of the singular value decomposition, because its computation is considered too expensive. This paper shows that a truncated singular value decomposition, made up of a few of the largest singular values and associated right and left singular vectors, of the matrix of a large-scale linear discrete ill-posed problems can be computed quite inexpensively by an implicitly restarted Golub---Kahan bidiagonalization method. Similarly, for large symmetric discrete ill-posed problems a truncated eigendecomposition can be computed inexpensively by an implicitly restarted symmetric Lanczos method.
The Tumor Microenvironment in Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL): Novel Targets to Overcome Chemo-Resistance in MCL

Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) is a relatively uncommon, aggressive form of B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), defining approximately 5-8% of adult NHL in the United States. Although individual survival times have increased in recent years, prognosis remains among the poorest of NHL, with a median survival of 5 to 7 years. Despite an initial response to chemotherapy, MCL cells remain residually in the marrow and digestive tract, making MCL prone to recur leading to short survival prognosis. The characteristic re-emergence of MCL is likely related to drug resistance generated from the tumor microenvironment (TME). In particular, stromal cells found in bone marrow and secondary lymphoid sites promote the movement and proliferation and possibly drug resistance from cross-talk between stromal and lymphoma cells. While studies show a correlation between stromal cells and tumor survival in various forms of NHL, the mechanisms are poorly understood and its role in MCL has not extensively explored. Based on our experimental studies on an extensive spectrum of representative patient samples, we have shown that in vitro culturing of primary leukemic phase MCL cells (15 cases) usually leads to the spontaneous formation of activated CD68+ monocytic macrophages and stromal cells. The MCL tumor cells tended to form rosettes, clustering around and adhering to these cultured lymphoma-associated macrophages (LAM). The LAM formed in culture coexisted with rosetted MCL tumor cells for up to 4 months. During this period, a small subset of MCL cells showed limited mitotic figures, suggesting that these cells were proliferating and possibly becoming incipient immortalized MCL cells. When these cells were weaned from the adherent LAM, they began to expand autonomously and proliferate as an autonomous cell line. Using this methodology, we have developed 3 MCL cell lines (PF-1, PF-2, and PF-3) from 15 leukemic phase MCL cases. PF-1 MCL cell line represents classic typical MCL cells, while PF-2 and PF-3 MCL cell lines represent the in situ indolent MCL cells that are CD200 positive. When these cells were xeno-transplanted into SCID mice, lymphoma cell uptakes were disseminated throughout the lymphatic system, including the spleen, lymph nodes, and GI tract, representing excellent in vivo models for MCL. Next, we delineate the biologic functions of LAM in the MCL microenvironment milieu. Our data showed that when we initially removed the accessory cells (monocytes, etc.) from the MCL primary culture, no LAM were formed and the purified MCL cells died out in Disclosures Pham:Onyx/Amgen: Research Funding.
Weighted Poincaré inequality and rigidity of complete manifolds

Abstract We prove structure theorems for complete manifolds satisfying both the Ricci curvature lower bound and the weighted Poincare inequality. In the process, a sharp decay estimate for the minimal positive Green's function is obtained. This estimate only depends on the weight function of the Poincare inequality, and yields a criterion of parabolicity of connected components at infinity in terms of the weight function.
X-ray crystal structure of human calcium-bound S100A1

S100A1 is a member of the S100 family of Ca2+-binding proteins and regulates several cellular processes, including those involved in Ca2+ signaling and cardiac and skeletal muscle function. In Alzheimer's disease, brain S100A1 is overexpressed and gives rise to disease pathologies, making it a potential therapeutic target. The 2.25 A resolution crystal structure of Ca2+-S100A1 is solved here and is compared with the structures of other S100 proteins, most notably S100B, which is a highly homologous S100-family member that is implicated in the progression of malignant melanoma. The observed structural differences in S100A1 versus S100B provide insights regarding target protein-binding specificity and for targeting these two S100 proteins in human diseases using structure-based drug-design approaches.
Targeting heparin and heparan sulfate protein interactions

Heparin and heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans are long, linear polysaccharides that are made up of alternating dissacharide sequences of sulfated uronic acid and amino sugars. Unlike heparin, which is only found in mast cells, heparan sulfate is ubiquitously expressed on the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix of all animal cells. These negatively-charged glycans play essential roles in important cellular functions such as cell growth, adhesion, angiogenesis, and blood coagulation. These biomolecules are also involved in pathophysiological conditions such as pathogen infection and human disease. This review discusses past and current methods for targeting these complex biomolecules as a novel therapeutic strategy to treating disorders such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and infection.
Hessian-based adaptive sparse quadrature for infinite-dimensional Bayesian inverse problems☆

Abstract In this work we propose and analyze a Hessian-based adaptive sparse quadrature to compute infinite-dimensional integrals with respect to the posterior distribution in the context of Bayesian inverse problems with Gaussian prior. Due to the concentration of the posterior distribution in the domain of the prior distribution, a prior-based parametrization and sparse quadrature may fail to capture the posterior distribution and lead to erroneous evaluation results. By using a parametrization based on the Hessian of the negative log-posterior, the adaptive sparse quadrature can effectively allocate the quadrature points according to the posterior distribution. A dimension-independent convergence rate of the proposed method is established under certain assumptions on the Gaussian prior and the integrands . Dimension-independent and faster convergence than O ( N − 1 ∕ 2 ) is demonstrated for a linear as well as a nonlinear inverse problem whose posterior distribution can be effectively approximated by a Gaussian distribution at the MAP point.
Relationship of distributed interactive simulation (DIS) to other networking protocols

The Distributed Interactive Simulation (DIS) protocol for networking simulators is discussed in relation to the TCP/IP and OSI protocols. The application of various network topologies and hardware media to DIS is discussed. The semantic content of the DIS data transmissions is introduced.
Do Nonseminomatous Germ Cell Tumors of the Testis With Lymphovascular Invasion of the Spermatic Cord Merit Staging as pT3

The staging of testicular nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCTs) with lymphovascular invasion (LVI) of the spermatic cord in the absence of cord parenchymal involvement remains controversial. Our previous study showed that tumors with spermatic cord LVI present at a higher clinical stage than tumors with LVI confined to the testis (pT2). We compared NSGCTs with LVI of the spermatic cord without direct involvement of the spermatic cord soft tissues to pT3 tumors to help clarify the appropriate staging of this histologic finding. A retrospective, multi-institutional review was performed to identify cases of NSGCTs with LVI in the spermatic cord without soft tissue invasion of the cord. The clinical-pathologic findings were compared with NSGCTs with spermatic cord soft tissue invasion (pT3). We identified 38 pT2 NSGCTs with LVI in the spermatic cord without soft tissue invasion of the cord and 89 pT3 tumors. There were no significant differences in patient age, tumor size, or clinical stage at presentation between the 2 groups. There were no significant differences in dominant histologic subtype, rete testis invasion, hilar soft tissue invasion, or margin status. There were no significant differences in disease recurrence/progression (P=0.63), recurrence/progression after chemotherapy (P=0.35), or death (P=0.51) between patients with only spermatic cord LVI versus patients with cord soft tissue invasion. In patients with pT2 NSGCTs according to the current staging, LVI in the spermatic cord without cord soft tissue invasion is comparable with pT3 tumors in terms of clinical stage at presentation as well as disease recurrence and survival.
Inclusion of Flowsheets from Electronic Health Records to Extend Data for Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Research

Clinical data repositories increasingly are used for big data science; flowsheet data can extend current CDRs with rich, highly granular data documented by nursing and other healthcare professionals. Standardization of the data, however, is required for it to be useful for big data science. In this chapter, an example of one CDR funded by NIH’s CTSA demonstrates how flowsheet data can add data repositories for big data science. A specific example of pressure ulcers demonstrates the strengths of flowsheet data and also the challenges of using this data. Through standardization of this highly granular data documented by nurses, a more precise understanding about patient characteristics and tailoring of interventions provided by the health team and patient conditions and states can be achieved. Additional efforts by national workgroups to create information models from flowsheets and standardize assessment terms are described to support big data science.
Advances in diagnosis and potential therapeutic options for familial chylomicronemia syndrome

Introduction: Familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) is a rare disorder in which there is a lack of chylomicron clearance from the plasma leading to severe hypertriglyceridemia. This is classicall...
Cystic biliary atresia: A distinct clinical entity that may mimic choledochal cyst

Cystic biliary atresia (CBA) is a relatively uncommon but clinically significant variant of biliary atresia. The presence of a cyst in the hepatic hilum on imaging in an infant with cholestasis supports the diagnosis of CBA, but can also be seen in patients with a choledochal cyst-the main differential diagnosis in patients with CBA. The reported case outlines the clinical presentation and imaging findings in a patient with surgically confirmed and treated CBA and emphasizes the importance of distinguishing CBA from choledochal cyst at diagnostic imaging given the disparate timing and type of surgical treatment necessary for successful management of these distinct entities.
Application of an inline dry powder inhaler to deliver high dose pharmaceutical aerosols during low flow nasal cannula therapy.

Abstract Inline dry powder inhalers (DPIs) offer a potentially effective option to deliver high dose inhaled medications simultaneously with mechanical ventilation. The objective of this study was to develop an inline DPI that is actuated using a low volume of air (LV-DPI) to efficiently deliver pharmaceutical aerosols during low flow nasal cannula (LFNC) therapy. A characteristic feature of the new inline LV-DPIs was the use of hollow capillary tubes that both pierced the capsule and provided a pathway for inlet air and exiting aerosol. Aerosolization characteristics, LFNC depositional losses and emitted dose (ED) were determined using 10 mg powder masses of a small-particle excipient enhanced growth (EEG) formulation. While increasing the number of inlet capillaries from one to three did not improve performance, retracting the inlet and outlet capillaries did improve ED by over 30%. It was theorized that high quality performance requires both high turbulent energy to deaggregate the powder and high wall shear stresses to minimize capsule retention. Best case performance included a device ED of approximately 85% (of loaded dose) and device emitted mass median aerodynamic diameter of 1.77 µm. Maximum ED through the LFNC system and small diameter (4 mm) nasal cannula was approximately 65% of the loaded dose. Potential applications of this device include the delivery of high dose inhaled medications such as surfactants, antibiotics, mucolytics, and anti-inflammatories.
The Misconstruction of the Deductions for Business and Personal Casualty Losses

Losses suffered on an individual’s personally used property generally are not deductible. Even after the changes made by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, in two circumstances an exception to this rule applies when “such losses arise from fire, storm, shipwreck, or other casualty, or from theft.” The principal issue that arises is determining the meaning of the term “other casualty.” Taking what they deemed to be the common elements in the three explicitly identified casualties, the courts and the Internal Revenue Service determined that an event will qualify as an “other casualty” only if it is “sudden,” “unusual,” and “unexpected.” This current definition of “other casualty” does not support the appropriate purpose of that provision. Applying this incorrect standard leads to unfair results in that the courts and the Service disallow deductions for some losses that should be deductible. Instead, courts and the Service should look to the purpose of allowing a casualty and theft loss deduction. The key issues are whether a loss of property as a result of an outside force constitutes a personal consumption and whether the event causing the loss is one that is part of the ordinary vicissitudes of life. If not, allowing a deduction complies with the congressional purposes for allowing one in the two circumstances in which the deduction is currently allowed.
HEAVY TAILS, PHASE TRANSITIONS, AND THE NATURE OF CUTOFF

It has recently been shown that NP-complete problems exhibit “phase transitions”—narrow regions in which the computational complexity and character of solutions to these problems change abruptly. Algorithms operating at or near the phase transition exhibit runtimes that can be characterized by heavy tailed distributions. In this paper we provide an overview of these results, and then use them to explaine the functionality and improve the performance of sequential decoders for convolutional codes. We show that cutoff rate can be interpreted as a particular point in the onset of heavy tailed behavior, and that heuristic techniques used to avoid heavy tailed behavior can be used to support sequential decoding above the cutoff rate. Connections are also drawn to other decoding problems, including that for expander codes.
Role of the Small Terminase Subunit Encoded by Staphylococcus Aureus Pathogenicity Island SaPI1 in Formation of SaPI1 Transducing Particles

ROLE OF THE SMALL TERMINASE SUBUNIT ENCODED BY STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS PATHOGENICITY ISLAND SAPI1 IN FORMATION OF SAPI1 TRANSDUCING PARTICLES By Nicholas Paul Olivarez, M.S. A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2008 Major Director: Dr. Gail E Christie Professor, Microbiology & Immunology Staphylococcus aureus pathogenicity island SaPI1 is a genomic element that is mobilized and transduced at high frequency by helper phage 80α. SaPI1 encodes a small terminase protein that belongs to the phage small terminase subunit family. The presence of SaPI1encoded small terminase suggests that it plays a role in SaPI1-specific packaging into transducing particles by complexing with the 80α large terminase subunit and redirecting recognition to a pac site on SaPI1 DNA from 80α DNA. The effects of deleting the small xiii terminase genes in SaPI1 and in a prophage copy of 80α are consistent with this hypothesis. Induction of the 80α small terminase deletion mutant produces wild type levels of SaPI1 transducing particles, demonstrating that SaPI1 small terminase can replace that of 80α in SaPI1 packaging. Southern blot analysis of virion DNAs isolated from the deletion mutants confirms that SaPI1 redirects packaging of its DNA into SaPI1-sized capsids. CHAPTER
SYNTHESIS OF ALBUMIN BY RABBIT LYMPHOID CELLS

Publisher Summary This chapter presents an analysis of the synthesis of albumin by rabbit lymphoid cells. To investigate whether serum proteins other than immunoglobulins may be synthesized by lymphoid cells, two sets of experiments were conducted. In these experiments described in the chapter, rabbit lymphoid cells were incubated in Marbrook's chambers in leucine free RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with l4 C-leucine, rabbit serum, and streptococcal mitogen (SM). The culture medium of the inside chamber was collected and tested by immunoelectrophoresis with goat anti-rabbit serum or monospecific goat anti-rabbit albumin. The plates were extensively washed, dried, autoradiographed, and stained. The silver grain lines of the film were superimposable to the IgG line, albumin line for both antisera, and α-globulin line. The presence of radiolabeled albumin and α-globulin may be interpreted in two ways: (1) the cells released radiolabeled peptides or factors bound to the albumin and α-globulin, and (2) these serum proteins were actively secreted by lymphoid cells. The results suggest that it is possible that the lymphoid cell albumin is different from the serum albumin. However, because some lymphokines have been shown to be associated with albumin and α 2 macroglobulin, it may be speculated that these two proteins are produced as carriers of biologically active molecules of smaller weight.
When advanced ovarian cancer is not ovarian cancer.

e17066Background:Tissue diagnosis of advanced ovarian cancer (OC) is not universally obtained prior to up-front surgery. This study sought to investigate non-OC cases discovered in the systemic lap...
Online Dictionary Learning for Approximate Archetypal Analysis

Archetypal analysis is an unsupervised learning approach which represents data by convex combinations of a set of archetypes. The archetypes generally correspond to the extremal points in the dataset and are learned by requiring them to be convex combinations of the training data. In spite of its nice property of interpretability, the method is slow. We propose a variant of archetypal analysis which scales gracefully to large datasets. The core idea is to decouple the binding between data and archetypes and require them to be unit normalized. Geometrically, the method learns a convex hull inside the unit sphere and represents the data by their projections on the closest surfaces of the convex hull. By minimizing the representation error, the method pushes the convex hull surfaces close to the regions of the sphere where the data reside. The vertices of the convex hull are the learned archetypes. We apply the method to human faces and poses to validate its effectiveness in the context of reconstructions and classifications.
Abstract TMP55: Periodontal Disease Associated With Atrial Fibrillation, a Stroke Risk Factor

Introduction and Hypothesis: Previously we have reported that periodontal disease is associated with an increased risk of cardioembolic stroke. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common reason fo...
Responses of soil organic carbon, aggregate stability, carbon and nitrogen fractions to 15 and 24 years of no-till diversified crop rotations

Diversification within a cropping system together with no-till (NT) soil management can help to improve soil organic carbon (SOC). The present study was conducted to assess the impacts of crop diversity through crop rotations on SOC and other selected soil properties. The long-term experimental sites were located in Beresford and Brookings, South Dakota, USA. The Beresford site was initiated in 1991 (24 years) on Egan soil series (fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Udic Haplustolls), whereas, the Brookings site was established in 2000 (14 years) on a Barnes clay loam soil (fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, frigid Calcic Hapludolls) under a randomised complete block design with four replications. Treatments at both sites consisted of a 2-year (corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean (Glycine max L.)), and a 4-year (corn–soybean–winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–oat (Avena sativa L.)) rotation, all managed under NT soil management. Soil samples were collected in the fall of 2015 after crop harvest under the corn phase. Data showed that 4-year rotation increased SOC stock (8.3% in Brookings and 22% in Beresford) compared with that under 2-year rotation (not always significant) in the soil profile 0–60 cm. Soil particulate organic matter and organic matter were always higher under 4-year rotation than under 2-year rotation at 0–5 and 5–15 cm depths at both sites. Surface soil aggregate stability was improved in both locations under 4-year rotation (12% in Brookings, 4% in Beresford). Additionally, at 0–5 cm depth, the 4-year rotation increased light fractions of carbon (18% in Brookings, and 32% in Beresford) compared with 2-year. Results from this study showed that the use of diverse crop rotations (4-year) for longer (>24 years) duration enhanced SOC, carbon and nitrogen fractions, and soil aggregation compared with those under corn–soybean (2-year) rotation.
Extracting Topics from Semi-structured Data for Enhancing Enterprise Knowledge Graphs

Unifying information across the organizational data silos that lack documentation, structure and automated semantic discovery has been of an intense interest in the recent years. Enterprise knowledge graph is a common tool of data integration and knowledge discovery and it has become a backbone to APIs that demand access to structured knowledge. A piece which was previously unnoticed in building enterprise knowledge graph, is adding an abstract layer of themes and concepts which is mapped to various documents stored as semi-structured files in databases. Augmenting enterprise knowledge graphs by concepts will help companies to find the trends in their data and get a holistic view over their entire data stores. Extracting topics from semi-structured data suffers from lack of corpus or description as its major challenge. In this research, we investigate the impact of self-supplementation of words and documents on probabilistic topic modeling upon semi-structured data. Another contribution of this paper is finding the best tuning of probabilistic topic modeling that fits semi-structured data. The extracted topics are potential summaries and concepts about the dataset. Moreover, they can be mapped to their sources of origin in order to extend the enterprise knowledge graph. We consider 2 inferencing techniques and demonstrate the results on real data pools from Open City data and Kaggle data containing 7.5 GB and 1.15 GB of data stored in MongoDB collections, respectively. We also propose a selection heuristic for effective identification of topics hidden in various data sources.
A generalized model of a resource-population system : I. General properties.

A basic structure [Eqs. (5), (6), (3), (12), (30)] for mathematical models of resource-population systems is presented. This basic structure may be specified in order to include different alternative hypotheses and it represents, therefore, a family of particular models. The study of one of its particular realizations [Eqs. (31) and (39)] shows that its behavior agrees qualitatively with what should be expected from biological considerations.Even when the system of nonlinear differential equations could not be solved explicitly, important information has been obtained, by studying its properties in the limiting cases, its sensitivity to changes in the parameters, and the results of computer simulation.The proposed model, duplicating some of the basic features of a population living under resource limitation, and allowing a coupling with a predator population, is intended to be used as an elementary component in food web or ecosystem theoretical studies. The studies need not include detailed descriptions of the population variables, but rather only its essential, gross features, in order to explore the properties that characterize the complete systems.
A physics-constrained data-driven approach based on locally convex reconstruction for noisy database

Abstract Physics-constrained data-driven computing is an emerging hybrid approach that integrates universal physical laws with data-driven models of experimental data for scientific computing. A new data-driven simulation approach coupled with a locally convex reconstruction, termed the local convexity data-driven (LCDD) computing, is proposed to enhance accuracy and robustness against noise and outliers in data sets in the data-driven computing. In this approach, for a given state obtained by the physical simulation, the corresponding optimum experimental solution is sought by projecting the state onto the associated local convex manifold reconstructed based on the nearest experimental data. This learning process of local data structure is less sensitive to noisy data and consequently yields better accuracy. A penalty relaxation is also introduced to recast the local learning solver in the context of non-negative least squares that can be solved effectively. The reproducing kernel approximation with stabilized nodal integration is employed for the solution of the physical manifold to allow reduced stress–strain data at the discrete points for enhanced effectiveness in the LCDD learning solver. Due to the inherent manifold learning properties, LCDD performs well for high-dimensional data sets that are relatively sparse in real-world engineering applications. Numerical tests demonstrated that LCDD enhances nearly one order of accuracy compared to the standard distance-minimization data-driven scheme when dealing with noisy database, and a linear exactness is achieved when local stress–strain relation is linear.
EUROMACS-RHF Risk Score and 3D Echocardiography as Predictors of Right Heart Failure after Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation

Purpose Right heart failure (RHF) after LVAD implantation is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Recently, the EUROMACS-RHF risk score was developed to predict postoperative RHF in this setting. In a single-center analysis, we assessed the added value of 3D-echocardiography for predicting RHF after LVAD implantation. We hypothesized that measuring RV function based on pre-LVAD 3D-echocardiography right ventricle ejection fraction (3D RVEF) further improves the accuracy of predicting RHF. Methods We retrospectively studied adult patients who underwent durable LVAD implantation between 2015 and 2018. RV function was evaluated intraoperatively by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). 3D RVEF was assessed pre-implantation using dedicated software (TomTec Imaging Systems; Figure). Early RHF was defined as need for right ventricular assist device, or inotropic or inhaled pulmonary vasodilator support for >7 postoperative days. Two-sample t-tests were performed for differences between RHF and No-RHF groups. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify independent predictors of RHF. A subset analysis was performed in patients with available 3D RVEF data. Results A total of 192 patients were studied. RHF occurred in 108 patients (56%). Pre-implant patient characteristics are presented in the Table. We identified two independent predictors of RHF: African-American race (OR=2.32, 95% CI:1.18-4.52, p=0.01) and pre-implant right atrial (pre-RA) pressure (OR=1.12/mmHg, 95% CI:1.04-1.2, p=0.001). EUROMACS-RHF score was not an independent predictor. Among the 79 patients with 3D TEE data included in the subset analysis, 3D RVEF did not independently predict RHF. Conclusion Neither EUROMACS-RHF risk score nor 3D RVEF predicted RHF in our study cohort. African-American race and pre-RA pressure emerged as independent RHF predictors. Predicting RHF remains elusive and will require additional research efforts.
A dose response model for the inhalation route of exposure to P. aeruginosa

Abstract This study develops a dose response model for Pseudomonas aeruginosa for the inhalation route of exposure using pre-existing data. P. aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen capable of causing community and hospital-acquired lung infections. As such, a dose response model for this route of exposure is needed to assess risks posed by the inhalation of aerosols from showers, humidifiers, or hot tubs contaminated with P. aeruginosa. Single-hit theory models traditionally used for dose response modeling did not provide significant fits to the limited available data. The multi-hit dose response model operates under the cooperativity theory and did provide a significant fit, suggesting that a single P. aeruginosa bacterium is not sufficient to initiate a pulmonary infection in an immunocompetent host. A hierarchical Bayesian analysis was used to benchmark this model against additional dose response experiments and results further suggested that the multi-hit model may better represent the dose response behavior for this exposure route. The best fitting model has an LD50 of 2,588,047 Colony Forming Units. This model can be used to quantify risk in inhalation exposure scenarios, however, due to the limited amount of primary data, it is especially important for any future risk assessment to analyze the impact that using different dose response models may have on the final risk estimates and recommended control measures.
Reflections on a Research Career: One Thing Leads to Another.

The CEC Research Award recognizes researchers for the significant contributions they have made to special education. We believe that the members of this distinguished group have much to share with our readers. We have invited each of them to contribute an article, addressing past, present, and future research needs and practices in special education. Barbara Keogh was awarded the Research Award in 1992, recognizing her 30 years of research in special education. Her article focuses on research and policy, the state of the art in special education research, and future research needs.
We are family: designing and developing a mobile health application for the San Francisco bay area House Ball and Gay Family communities

Author(s): Saberi, Parya; Berrean, Beth; Milionis, Cynthia; Wong, Jeffrey O; Arnold, Emily | Abstract: BackgroundThe House Ball community (HBC) and its affiliated Gay Families (GFs) consist of predominantly African American and Latinx sexual, gender, and ethnic minorities (SGEM), who form chosen families often as a way to provide support, and in the case of the HBC, to constitute houses that then compete in performative categories in balls. Members of both communities are disproportionately impacted by HIV. Although public health professionals have engaged with the HBC and GFs to improve HIV testing and clinical care, most intervention activities have relied on in-person modes of outreach and delivery. Little research has been conducted with the members of the HBC and GFs to develop and produce culturally-informed mobile health (mHealth) applications that would enable them to increase HIV-related knowledge, connect to HIV-related resources, receive HIV health support, and to celebrate their unique identities and communities in a safe space.MethodsWe conducted 45 in-depth interviews with HBC and GF members who attended balls. Topics included HIV-related health needs, suggestions for mHealth components, current usage of apps and desirable features, and wishes around privacy and security. Following analysis of the interview data, we convened a series of four workshops with N=15 participants who were split into two groups. The purpose of the workshops was to co-design a digital tool to help provide information, reduce HIV-related stigma, and locate HIV resources for participants. Each group attended two workshops. Data were analyzed by a team of social scientists, community members, and mobile health experts. Findings were used to design an mHealth app related to HIV prevention and care.ResultsParticipants requested an app that clearly reflected the community. The desired features of the app included accurate information and education on HIV transmission; links to resources such as HIV testing, lube and condoms, PrEP, and other health-related services; and the ability to rate and review local resources. In workshops, participants proposed several design elements and functions for the app. It had to be 'Mobile and Modern', 'Relatable, Raw, and "Reflective of Me"', 'Positive and Fun', feature community-generated content, and provide a safe space for users. Using these clear directives, the team designed an mHealth tool to be fielded as part of the larger "We Are Family" intervention that would provide HIV-specific information, resources, and support in a platform that was congruent with community norms and expectations.ConclusionsDesigning and fielding an mHealth app as part of a larger HIV prevention intervention that reflects the social support and relationships within existing House Ball and Gay Family communities allows those youth most at risk for HIV-related health disparities to gain access to HIV testing, or link and re-engage young people to care.
Computers in the Information Systems Classroom: Instructional Implications for the Anxious Learner

Developments in technology have significantly impacted the American society, with no aspect of society being immune. This situation may be particularly true within education where computers are pro...
Leptomeningeal metastasis presenting with blurry vision, nausea and headache

Leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) is a rare and late complication of cancer with limited treatment options and a poor survival rate. 1 LM occurs when malignant cells gain access to the leptomeninges, ...