cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of LED-controlled spatially-averaged light intensity and wavelength on Neochloris oleoabundans growth and lipid composition

Abstract This study evaluated variations in Neochloris oleoabundans' growth rate and biochemical characteristics (fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profile and lipid granule properties) in response to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) at a range of spatially-averaged light intensities (LISA) in either the red or white spectra. The red-light spectra (630–700 nm) yielded the greatest proportions of total lipids (25.2 ± 0.2 wt%) as well as monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) such as C16:1 and C18:1, producing a high-quality FAMEs profile for biodiesel production. Using white and red spectra, the half-maximum-rate light irradiance (KL) was 35 and 37 μE m−2 s−1 and the half-inhibition-rate light irradiance (KI) was 299 and 502 μE m−2 s−1, respectively. The greater red-light KI value suggests that N. oleoabundans is less sensitive to photoinhibition by light of that spectra. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images also showed enlarged lipid bodies in algal cells grown under high light intensities in the red spectra, a clear advantage for lipid production. These results demonstrate that control over light wavelength is a powerful tool for the production of high-quality fatty acids in microalgae could be a viable and sustainable medium for algae cultivation.
Using Hair-Combing Interactions to Enhance Relationships between Black Women and Girls Impacted by Homelessness

AbstractThis mixed-methods study explored the intimate relationship between a homeless caregiver and her daughter as they participated in an 8-week, multiethnic hair-combing interaction (HCI) suppo...
COMPLETE NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE OF BEAN POD MOTTLE VIRUS RNA1 : SEQUENCE COMPARISONS AND EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIPS TO OTHER COMOVIRUSES

The complete nucleotide sequence of bean pod mottle comovirus (BPMV) RNA1 was determined. It is 5983 nucleotides long, excluding the poly(A) tail, and encodes a polyprotein of 1850 amino acid (aa) residues. Multiple alignments of the deduced aa sequence of BPMV polyprotein with those of cowpea mosaic virus (CPMV), red clover mottle virus (RCMV) and cowpea severe mosaic virus (CPSMV) indicated that BPMV RNA1 encodes the predicted set of five mature proteins: the equivalent of CPMV 32K protease cofactor, 58K putative helicase, VPg, 24K protease and 87K putative RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Of the four proposed cleavage sites in BPMV RNA1 polyprotein, the one at the 32K/58K site (Q/A) is distinct for BPMV polyprotein and those at the 58K/VPg and VPg/24K junctions (Q/S and Q/M, respectively) are identical in all four comovirus polyproteins. Sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis revealed that BPMV RNA1 is more closely related to CPSMV than to CPMV or to RCMV.
Effects of an automatic discontinuation of antibiotics policy: A novel approach to antimicrobial stewardship.

PURPOSE A novel automatic discontinuation policy implemented within an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) is described, and results of an evaluation of the policy's effects on antibiotic usage are reported. METHODS A retrospective, before-and-after study was conducted at an 800-bed, tertiary care, academic teaching hospital to evaluate selected antibiotic usage outcomes in both intensive care unit (ICU) and non-ICU adult patients targeted for ASP interventions before and after implementation of an automatic discontinuation of antibiotics policy (ADAP) authorizing the ASP team to automatically halt antibiotic therapy in cases involving inappropriate duplicate antimicrobial coverage or excess duration of therapy. The primary outcome was total days of antibiotic therapy. Secondary outcomes included excess days of therapy and rates of 30-day readmission, Clostridioides difficile infection, and multidrug-resistant infection. RESULTS There were no statistically significant differences in group demographics or clinical characteristics. The most common indication for antibiotics was hospital-acquired pneumonia, and the most common reason for ASP intervention was excess duration of therapy. The mean total number of antibiotic days per patient was reduced from 7.6 days in the pre-ADAP group to 6.6 days in the post-ADAP group (p < 0.05). The mean number of excess days of antibiotics was similarly reduced, from 2.3 days to 1.5 days, after implementation of the ADAP (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Adoption of an ADAP-a more active approach to ASP interventions-was effective in reducing overall antibiotic usage and improving the efficiency of the ASP.
Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome: Another FAT RN?

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is a member of a larger group called thrombotic-microangiopathies (TMA). HUS leads to endothelial injury, platelet activation, and vaso-occlusive fibrin and platelet thrombi accumulation that lead to destruction of red blood cells and injury to the brain, heart, lungs, GI tract, and kidneys. HUS can result from shiga toxin exposure or from a defect in complement activity.
Multiple Examples Support Children’s Word Learning: The Roles of Aggregation, Decontextualization, and Memory Dynamics

Young children discover the meaning of words from hearing words used across time and across contexts. Children learn to label not only the specific instances they have experienced, but they also learn the meaning of words appropriately to new instances. Moreover, children remember these word-referent pairs across a period of time, such that they are able to recall the appropriate word after delays of days or weeks. In this chapter, we address these aspects of word learning – how do children generalize instances to new situations and remember word-referent pairs across time? In doing so, we discuss statistical learning as a mechanism for word learning with a specific focus on the processes of aggregation and abstraction. Second, we discuss how multiple examples dynamically support the retention of word-referent pairs.
HEKA: A Novel Intrusion Detection System for Attacks to Personal Medical Devices

Modern Smart Health Systems (SHS) involve the concept of connected personal medical devices. These devices significantly improve the patient’s lifestyle as they permit remote monitoring and transmission of health data (i.e., telemedicine), lowering the treatment costs for both the patient and the healthcare providers. Although specific SHS communication standards (i.e., ISO/IEEE 11073) enable real-time plug-and-play interoperability and communication between different personal medical devices, they do not specify any features for secure communications. In this paper, we demonstrate how personal medical device communication is indeed vulnerable to different cyber attacks. Specifically, we show how an external attacker can hook into the personal medical device’s communication and eavesdrop the sensitive health data traffic, and implement manin-the-middle, replay, false data injection, and denial-of-service attacks. Furthermore, we also propose an Intrusion Detection System (IDS), HEKA, to monitor personal medical device traffic and detect attacks on them. HEKA passively hooks into the personal medical traffic generated by medical devices to learn the contiguous sequence of packets information from the captured traffic and detects irregular traffic-flow patterns using an n-grambased approach and different machine learning techniques. We implemented HEKA in a testbed consisting of eight off-the-shelf personal medical devices and evaluated its performance against four different attacks. Our extensive evaluation shows that HEKA can effectively detect different attacks on personal medical devices with an accuracy of 98.4% and Fl-score of 98%.
Estimating the Impact of COVID-19 on Urology: Data from a Large Nationwide Cohort.

Abstract The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on urology worldwide has been the subject of frequent speculation, but population-level estimates on changes in urology care are sparsely reported. Here, we use newly released data from a large USA-based cohort to provide further insight into the impact of the pandemic on our field. For a final cohort of 900,900 patient encounters in 418 hospitals, we describe an approximately 20% decrease in urology-specific emergency room (ER) visits (19.4%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 17.4–21.5%), admissions to a urology service (19.3%, 95% CI 13.7–24.9%), and ambulatory urology surgeries (22.9%, 95% CI 13.2–32.6%) during March 2020 relative to baseline. On linear regression, region was the sole predictor of decrease in volume, reflecting the heterogeneous spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus within the USA. Selected higher-acuity ER presentations, such as obstructing kidney stones and “acute scrotum”, appeared to be preserved relative to lower-acuity presentations, such as nonobstructing stones, hematuria, and urinary retention. These data create context for changes observed by individual urology practices and shed light on triage patterns during natural disasters. Patient summary The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic decreased the amount of urology care provided in the USA by approximately 20% during March 2020. Patients with complaints potentially requiring imaging tests or surgery seemed to come to the emergency room at nearly normal levels.
Recent Trends in Food Availability and Nutritional Wellbeing

This paper notes that, despite a doubling of the world's population, the past half century has witnessed marked improvements in per capita food availabilities and nutritional wellbeing in most parts of the globe. Aggregate diet quality has gone up in most developing countries and the incidence of child malnourishment and infant mortality has declined sharply. For the two groups falling outside of these generalizations—those living in Sub-Saharan Africa and the more impoverished of the three countries of the Indian subcontinent—remedial action lies less with agriculture than in political reform (Africa) and more and better paying jobs (Asia).
Proximity to a critical point driven by electronic entropy in URu2Si2

The strongly correlated actinide metal URu2Si2 exhibits a mean field-like second order phase transition at To ≈ 17 K, yet lacks definitive signatures of a broken symmetry. Meanwhile, various experiments have also shown the electronic energy gap to closely resemble that resulting from hybridization between conduction electron and 5f-electron states. We argue here, using thermodynamic measurements, that the above seemingly incompatible observations can be jointly understood by way of proximity to an entropy-driven critical point, in which the latent heat of a valence-type electronic instability is quenched by thermal excitations across a gap, driving the transition second order. Salient features of such a transition include a robust gap spanning highly degenerate features in the electronic density of states, that is weakly (if at all) suppressed by temperature on approaching To, and an elliptical phase boundary in magnetic field and temperature that is Pauli paramagnetically limited at its critical magnetic field.
Accuracy, Sensitivity, and Specificity of the LLIS and ULL27 in Detecting Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema

Breast cancer-related lymphedema occurs in up to 30% of women following axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) and less commonly following sentinel lymph node biopsy. To quantify disability in these patients, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) have proven useful; however, given the overlap of symptoms between ALND and lymphedema, examination of their accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity in detecting lymphedema in breast cancer patients undergoing ALND is needed. The Lymphedema Life Impact Scale (LLIS) and the Upper Limb Lymphedema 27 scale (ULL27) were administered to patients who had undergone ALND at least 2 years prior and either did or did not develop lymphedema. Survey responses and the degree of disability were compared to generate receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves, and the sensitivity and specificity of PROMs to diagnose lymphedema were analyzed. Both PROMs were highly accurate, sensitive, and specific for detecting lymphedema. The LLIS had an accuracy of 97%, sensitivity of 100%, and specificity of 84.8% at a cutoff of ≥ 5.88 overall percent impairment score (higher scores indicate worse disability). The ULL27 had an accuracy of 93%, sensitivity of 88.6%, and specificity of 90.9% at a cutoff of ≤ 83.3 global score (lower scores indicate worse disability). The LLIS and the ULL27 appear to be highly specific for lymphedema and capable of differentiating it from symptoms resulting from ALND alone. Our findings suggest that use of these questionnaires with a threshold may be effective for diagnosing lymphedema, potentially reducing the need for frequent clinic visits and time-consuming measurements.
Best Practices for School Safety to Prevent School Shootings

This chapter will provide a review of best practices for school safety to prevent school shootings. Recommendations for prevention strategies and programming, crisis response, threat assessment, and dealing with the aftermath on individual and community levels will be discussed in detail. National and state prevention efforts and resources will be presented. Personal perspectives from relevant individuals will be shared.
Collective computation and the emergence of hunter-gatherer small-worlds

Abstract Two defining features of human sociality are large brains with neurally-dense cerebral cortices and the propensity to form complex social networks with non-kin. Large brains and the social networks in which they are embedded facilitate flows of fitness-enhancing information at multiple scales, but are also energetically expensive. In this paper, we consider how flows of energy and information interact to shape the macroscopic features of hunter-gatherer socioecology. Collective computation is the processing of information by complex adaptive systems to generate inferences in order to solve adaptive problems. In hunter-gatherer societies the adaptive problem is how to maximize fitness by optimizing information processing given the energy constraints of complex environments. The solution is the emergent macroscopic structure of the socioecology. Here we show how computation is extended across social networks to form the decentralized knowledge systems characteristic of hunter-gatherer societies. Data show that hunter-gatherer bands of co-residing families constitute computationally powerful networks that are embedded within hierarchically modular social networks that form complex metapopulations bound by fission-fusion dynamics at multiple scales facilitating the flow of information far beyond local interactions. These dynamics lead to the emergence of hunter-gatherer small-worlds where highly clustered local interactions are embedded within much larger, but sparsely connected metapopulations. Hunter-gatherers optimize local energy budgets in small groups but maintain interactions with much larger social networks while avoiding many of the ecological costs.
Signal from the Noise: A Mixed Methods Process Mining Approach to Evaluate Care Pathways.

Objective Mapping real-world practice patterns vs. deviations from intended guidelines and protocols is necessary to identify and improve the quality of care for emergent medical conditions like stroke. We propose a process mining algorithm applied to Electronic Health Record (EHR) event log data as a unique opportunity to more easily identify and compare real-world care processes. Materials Data was obtained from the event log of a major EHR vendor (Epic) for Stanford Health Care Hospital patients aged 18 years and older presenting to the ED from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2018 and receiving tPA within 4.5 hours of presentation. Our algorithm was built using the Python programming language. Methods An unsupervised process-mining algorithm was developed and used to create a process map for our cohort. This map was then used to identify the most common path as well as individual and average conformity to this path across all encounters. Results Our automatically generated process mining graph, specifically its most common path, mimicked our institution-recommended code stroke clinical pathway. The average conformity score for our cohort was 0.36 with a range from high of 0.64 and low of 0.20. Discussion This method allows for greater detail into common process measures to be more easily illustrated to evaluate the quality of care at a given institution. It may be extended to other, similarly well-defined processes or those which currently lack standardized clinical pathways. Conclusion Our mixed methods approach represents an essential data analysis step to improve complex care processes by automatically generating a qualitative and quantitative process measures from existing event log data which can then be used to target quality improvement initiatives.
Metric Distortion Bounds for Randomized Social Choice.

Consider the following social choice problem. Suppose we have a set of $n$ voters and $m$ candidates that lie in a metric space. The goal is to design a mechanism to choose a candidate whose average distance to the voters is as small as possible. However, the mechanism does not get direct access to the metric space. Instead, it gets each voter's ordinal ranking of the candidates by distance. Given only this partial information, what is the smallest worst-case approximation ratio (known as the distortion) that a mechanism can guarantee? A simple example shows that no deterministic mechanism can guarantee distortion better than $3$, and no randomized mechanism can guarantee distortion better than $2$. It has been conjectured that both of these lower bounds are optimal, and recently, Gkatzelis, Halpern, and Shah proved this conjecture for deterministic mechanisms. We disprove the conjecture for randomized mechanisms for $m \geq 3$ by constructing elections for which no randomized mechanism can guarantee distortion better than $2.0261$ for $m = 3$, $2.0496$ for $m = 4$, up to $2.1126$ as $m \to \infty$. We obtain our lower bounds by identifying a class of simple metrics that appear to capture much of the hardness of the problem, and we show that any randomized mechanism must have high distortion on one of these metrics. We provide a nearly matching upper bound for this restricted class of metrics as well. Finally, we conjecture that these bounds give the optimal distortion for every $m$, and provide a proof for $m = 3$, thereby resolving that case.
Between Waking and Sleeping

This is what happened to me today: sitting in the coffeeshop before work, I glanced through the wide front window out at the patio and saw a girl crying on the steps. I looked around behind me: the usual action, a few people walled in be hind newspapers at widely-separated tables, a pair of lovers with their heads bent together over photographs, the green-aproned girls behind the counter busying about with trays of pastries and the cappuccino machine. An indis tinct string melody on the speakers, a warm scent of coffee and cinnamon; the typical effects of the day; and on the steps outside, unnoticed by anyone but myself, this crying girl?this sobbing girl, actually, her sleek black-haired head bent down toward her clenched knees, her sUm shoulders shaking be neath a black velvet suit jacket. She wore open-toed shoes and her toenails were painted the color of earth. She was twenty-two, twenty-five, something Uke that. I watched, mesmerized, as sadness poured out of her Uke water onto stones. Through the glass I could hear Uttle besides the more strident of street noises: sirens, rumbling trucks. Why would she just sit there and sob? I won dered. Isn't there somewhere she can go? Someone she can call? It was clearly about to rain; the clouds were dark and heavy, the air thick with breeze. The girl cried and cried.
Emerging Role of Digital Technology and Remote Monitoring in the Care of Cardiac Patients

Current available mobile health technologies make possible earlier diagnosis and long-term monitoring of patients with cardiovascular diseases. Remote monitoring of patients with implantable devices and chronic diseases has resulted in better outcomes reducing health care costs and hospital admissions. New care models, which shift point of care to the outpatient setting and the patient's home, necessitate innovations in technology.
The Shape of Kleopatra

Kleopatra is an M-type asteroid rich in metal; such asteroids have been difficult to study or image. In a Perspective Hartmann discusses the new radar observations of this asteroid reported by Ostro et al. in this issue and their conclusions that this asteroid is composed of a loose assemblage of metal grains forming an overall dumbell shape. Such a collection of metal grains in an asteroid might be ammenable to mining in space, that is, an asteroid opportunity rather than a hazard.
Naturalistic Exhibits May be More Effective Than Traditional Exhibits at Improving Zoo-Visitor Attitudes toward African Apes

Zoos play a unique role in wildlife conservation, particularly in the area of conservation education. Because of their popularity and flagship status for broader conservation issues, great apes may...
Nb/sub 3/Sn quadrupole magnets for the LHC IR

The development of insertion quadrupoles with 205 T/m gradient and 90 mm bore represents a promising strategy to achieve the ultimate luminosity goal of 2.5 /spl times/ 10/sup 34/ cm/sup -2/s/sup -1/ at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). At present, Nb/sub 3/Sn is the only practical conductor which can meet these requirements. Since Nb/sub 3/Sn is brittle, and considerably more strain sensitive than NbTi, the design concepts and fabrication techniques developed for NbTi magnets need to be modified appropriately. In addition, IR magnets must provide high field quality and operate reliably under severe radiation loads. The results of conceptual design studies addressing these issues are presented.
Conservatism: Theory and Contemporary Political Ideology

This article is reproduced from the previous edition, volume 4, pp. 2628–2631, © 2001, Elsevier Ltd., with revisions made by the Editor.
Regulation of the G-protein alpha i-2 subunit gene in LLC-PK1 renal cells and isolation of porcine genomic clones encoding the gene promoter.

Abstract Heterotrimeric G-proteins function as signal transducers for a variety of hormone-coupled enzyme and ion transport systems in eukaryotic cells. We have studied G-protein-coupled processes that appear to be developmentally regulated in polarized pig kidney cells (LLC-PK1). Following trypsinization, LLC-PK1 cells differentiate from a rounded cell type to a fully polarized epithelium by 7 days of culture. During this differentiation, the expression of G-protein alpha i-2 subunit mRNA was not detected until day 4 of culture, it peaked at day 6, and declined thereafter. In contrast, G-protein alpha s subunit mRNA which peaked on day 4 was easily detected on all culture days. The presence of the alpha i-2 protein on epithelial cell basolateral membranes followed the same pattern of mRNA expression during culture. To understand the developmental expression of the alpha i-2 subunit in non-polarized cells and its potential regulation by hormones and second messengers in polarized cells at the transcriptional level, genomic DNA segments encoding the alpha i-2 gene promoter were isolated from an EMBL-3 porcine genomic library. S1 nuclease analysis of LLC-PK1 mRNA with cRNA probes derived from these DNA segments revealed major and a minor transcriptional start sites 131 and 171 base pairs upstream of the translation initiation site. The porcine and human alpha i-2 subunit genes shared a 78% sequence identity in their 5' flanks which suggested an evolutionary conservation of cis elements required to influence their transcription. The porcine alpha i-2 gene promoter was identified by fusing DNA segments encoding putative 5'-flanking areas of the gene to a plasmid that contained a firefly luciferase reporter gene but lacked a promoter. The minimal promoter was found between -130 and -60 base pairs from the major transcription start site. No typical "TATA-like" sequences were found. However, a "GC" box and a "TGTGG" sequence were two potential cis elements required for basal transcription of the porcine gene promoter which shared a 76% sequence identity to the promoter of another GTP-binding protein, the human c-Ha-ras proto-oncogene. Transcription of the gene was inhibited following treatment of renal cells with 10(-8) M dexamethasone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Does Doctor–Patient Communication Affect Patient Satisfaction with Hospital Care? Results of an Analysis with a Novel Instrumental Variable

Objective To determine the relationship between physicians’ communication behaviors and patients’ overall satisfaction with hospital care using a novel instrumental variable to address possible confounding of this association by patient attributes.
Effect of parenteral administration of short-chain triglycerides on leucine metabolism

The present studies investigated the effects of intravenous administration of the short-chain triglyceride triacetin on leucine metabolism in dogs. Animals received infusions of triacetin at 1.0 x estimated resting energy expenditure (REE), hyperenergetic triacetin at 1.5 x REE, glycerol, or saline during infusion of [1-14C]leucine. During both triacetin infusions, plasma alpha-ketoisocaproate concentrations increased (P < 0.05). During triacetin infusion at 1.5 REE, the plasma leucine concentration decreased (P < 0.05) and leucine rate of appearance decreased by approximately 19% (P < 0.05); this was significantly greater than the changes that occurred during triacetin at 1.0 x REE and glycerol (P < 0.05). There was no difference in leucine oxidation between the dogs given triacetin at 1.0 x REE and control groups, whereas leucine oxidation decreased by 53% during triacetin infusion at 1.5 x REE (P < 0.05). Nonoxidative leucine disappearance, an indicator of protein synthesis, did not change in any of the studies. These results indicate that triacetin has effects on leucine metabolism similar to those previously reported with long-chain triglyceride emulsions. Because of its water solubility, lack of toxicity, and favorable effects on protein metabolism, further studies are warranted regarding the use of triacetin as a parenteral nutrient.
Autogenous fascia lata grafts: clinical applications in reanimation of the totally or partially paralyzed face.

Background: Although they are traditionally reserved for “aesthetic refinement” in the latter stages of facial reanimation surgery, the author uses a variety of autogenous fascia lata grafts in a very aggressive approach as the primary therapeutic option in static facial rebalancing and/or in conjunction with dynamic muscle transfers to achieve architectural integrity and functional restoration of the totally or partially paralyzed face. Methods: Forty-nine autogenous fascia lata grafts, harvested through serial incisions in the lateral thigh, were placed in 35 totally or partially paralyzed faces. The grafts were categorized by anatomical location: I and II, lateral lip in totally paralyzed and partially paralyzed faces, respectively; III, nostril suspension; IV, lower eyelid suspension; V, bimalar lower lip sling; and VI, platysma transfer/autogenous fascia lata extension for lower lip invagination. Results: In all group I and II cases, static balance of facial architecture was restored at 4 to 6 weeks (after swelling resolved). Average lip commissure displacement was corrected to within 0.5 cm of the horizontal axis. Subjective functional improvement in speech, fluid retention, and chewing was immediate in all cases. In group I (n = 10; median age, 10.5 years), a 60 to 100 percent symmetrical smile was achieved with voluntary gracilis contraction of 3 of 5 to 5 of 5. In group II (n = 20; median age, 33 years), with 16 sling only patients, one to two grades of voluntary risorius and lip elevator motion were achieved in most. When accompanied by a temporalis turnover flap, both risorius and lip elevator function improved two to three grades. In group III (n = 5), inspiratory collapse was ameliorated in all cases and nasal flow improved subjectively 80 to 100 percent. In group IV (n = 4), scleral show and keratitis were improved in all cases. In group V (n = 6), improved oral competence was achieved in all patients. In group VI (n = 4), static lip evagination was achieved in all cases; voluntary lip depressor function was two to four grades improved. Conclusions: Early placement of autogenous fascia lata restores static balance of the deeper facial architecture in repose. Functional improvement of chewing, fluid retention, speech articulation, smile symme-try, and ectropion is immediate. The psychological effect is also immediate, with achievement of self-esteem and acceptance by family and peers.
The effect of hot zone velocity and temperature gradient on the directional recrystallization of polycrystalline nickel

Abstract Cold-rolled polycrystalline nickel sheets were directionally annealed at 1000°C with either a large (1000°C/cm) or a small (50°C/cm) temperature gradient ahead of the hot zone. Columnar grains were produced at hot zone velocities from 2 to 100 mm/h for the large temperature gradient with only two ~6 mm wide grains across the width at 5, 10 and 30 mm/h. With increasing hot zone velocity above 30 mm/h, the columnar grains became narrower. For the same range of hot zone velocities with a small temperature gradient, equiaxed grains were produced, with the grain size decreasing with increasing hot zone velocity. This difference arises because for the low temperature gradient recrystallization followed by substantial grain growth occurs ahead of the hot zone. Both interrupted directional annealing runs and runs (with the large temperature gradient) of nickel in which the nickel had been primary recrystallized at low temperature showed that the columnar grain structure developed by secondary recrystallization.
When things come undone: the promise of dissembling education policy

This article focuses on the enactment of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the USA's broad sweeping federal education policy, in a persistently low-achieving school in which the majority of students are refugees and immigrants. Drawing on a 26-month ethnography, I reveal the ways in which a NCLB-guided school turnaround plan is enacted variably, especially for refugees. I utilize assemblage, a term often associated with actor network perspectives, to study how people, their material objects, and their discursive practices are brought together to implement the plan. Assemblage analysis reveals the struggles and contestations between various entities as they aim to establish the authority and legitimacy of ideas and practices of schooling refugees – most of whom speak languages other than English and have had several prolonged interruptions in their formal education. I trace how certain ideas come to cohere as a more-or-less durable curriculum assemblage, and how they are mobilized, defended, and challenged. The...
A Propensity Score-Enhanced Sequential Analytic Method for Comparative Drug Safety Surveillance

We introduce a new sequential monitoring approach to facilitate the use of observational electronic healthcare utilization databases in comparative drug safety surveillance studies comparing the safety between two approved medical products. The new approach enhances the confounder adjustment capabilities of the conditional sequential sampling procedure (CSSP), an existing group sequential method for sequentially monitoring excess risks of adverse events following the introduction of a new medical product. It applies to a prospective cohort setting where information for both treatment and comparison groups accumulates concurrently over time. CSSP adjusts for covariates through stratification and thus it may have limited capacity to control for confounding as it can only accommodate a few categorical covariates. To address this issue, we propose the propensity score (PS)-stratified CSSP, in which we construct strata based on selected percentiles of the estimated PSs. The PS is defined as the conditional probability of being treated given measured baseline covariates and is commonly used in epidemiological studies to adjust for confounding bias. The PS-stratified CSSP approach integrates this more flexible confounding adjustment, PS-stratification, with the sequential analytic approach, CSSP, thus inheriting CSSP’s attractive features: (i) it accommodates varying amounts of person follow-up time, (ii) it uses exact conditional inference, which can be important when studying rare safety outcomes, and (iii) it allows for a large number of interim tests. Further, it overcomes CSSP’s difficulty with adjusting for multiple categorical and continuous confounders.
Factors Influencing the Persistence and Metabolism of Chemicals in Fish

(1984). Factors Influencing the Persistence and Metabolism of Chemicals in Fish. Drug Metabolism Reviews: Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 697-724.
Role of transmembrane helix IV in G-protein specificity of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor.

G-protein activation by G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) is accomplished through proper interaction with the cytoplasmic loops rather than through sequence-specific interactions. However, the mechanism by which a specific G-protein is selected by a GPCR is not known. In the current model of GPCR activation, agonist binding modulates helix-helix interactions, which is necessary for fully determining G-protein specificity and stimulation of GDP/GTP exchange. In this study, we report that a single-residue deletion in transmembrane helix IV leads the angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor chimera CR17 to retain GTP-sensitive high affinity for the agonist angiotensin II but results in complete inactivation of intracellular inositol phosphate production. The agonist dissociation profile of CR17 in the presence of guanosine 5′-3-O-(thio)triphosphate suggests that the activation-induced conformational changes of the chimeric receptor itself remain intact. Insertion of an alanine at position 149 (CR17▿149A) in this chimera rescued the inactive phenotype, restoring intracellular inositol phosphate production by the chimera. This finding suggests that in the wild-type AT1 receptor the orientation of transmembrane helix IV-residues following Cys149 is a key determinant for effectively distinguishing among various structurally similar G-proteins. The results emphasize that the contacts within the membrane-embedded portion of transmembrane helix IV in the AT1 receptor is important for specific G-protein selection.
Lactoferrin interaction with salmonellae potentiates antibiotic susceptibility in vitro

Abstract Interaction of lactoferrin (Lf) with the cell envelope (CE) and outer membrane (OM) of Salmonella typhimurium- type strain ATCC13311 was tested by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western-blot analyses. The peroxidase-labeled bovine Lf (BLf) and human Lf both recognized a heat-modifiable protein with an estimated molecular mass of 38 kD in the OM. Simultaneous immunoblotting with an antiporin monoclonal antibody specific for a conserved porin domain in members of enterobacteriaceae confirmed that the Lf-binding protein is a porin. Such Lf-binding porin proteins (37–39 kD range) were readily detected in nine other common Salmonella species: S. dublin, S. panama, S. rostock, S. abony, S. hartford, S, kentucky, S. pullorum, S. thompson , and S. virchow . The latter six species also demonstrated one to three weak Lf-reactive bands of low molecular weight in their CE. The antibiotic susceptibility of Salmonella in the presence of Lf was examined. A mixture containing sub-minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) levels of Lf (MIC/4) and cefuroxime (MIC/2) inhibited the bacterial growth. Lf strongly potentiated the action of erythromycin (eightfold), whereas it increased the activity only by two-fold for ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, and rifampicin; similarly, these antibiotics also reduced the MIC of BLf by twofold in S. typhimurium . Such antimicrobial potentiation was not observed with BLf mixtures containing cefalexin, gentamycin, or polymyxin B against strain ATCC13311. BLf and cefuroxime also demonstrated potentiation of varying degrees (two to 16-fold) with nine other Salmonella species. These data established the binding of Lf to porins in salmonellae and a potentiation effect of Lf with certain antibiotics .
Diverse modes of evolutionary emergence and flux of conserved microRNA clusters

Many animal miRNA loci reside in genomic clusters that generate multicistronic primary-miRNA transcripts. While clusters that contain copies of the same miRNA hairpin are clearly products of local duplications, the evolutionary provenance of clusters with disparate members is less clear. Recently, it was proposed that essentially all such clusters in Drosophila derived from de novo formation of miRNA-like hairpins within existing miRNA transcripts, and that the maintenance of multiple miRNAs in such clusters was due to evolutionary hitchhiking on a major cluster member. However, this model seems at odds with the fact that many such miRNA clusters are composed of well-conserved miRNAs. In an effort to trace the birth and expansion of miRNA clusters that are presently well-conserved across Drosophilids, we analyzed a broad swath of metazoan species, with particular emphasis on arthropod evolution. Beyond duplication and de novo birth, we highlight a diversity of modes that contribute to miRNA evolution, including neofunctionalization of miRNA copies, fissioning of locally duplicated miRNA clusters, miRNA deletion, and miRNA cluster expansion via the acquisition and/or neofunctionalization of miRNA copies from elsewhere in the genome. In particular, we suggest that miRNA clustering by acquisition represents an expedient strategy to bring cohorts of target genes under coordinate control by miRNAs that had already been individually selected for regulatory impact on the transcriptome.
Literature of Acquisitions in Review, 2008–9

In this review, the author discusses key trends in acquisitions found in the professional literature published in 2008 and 2009. During this period, the decline of funding for libraries led to more creativity in purchasing materials. The move from primarily print collections to more electronic journals, databases, and e-books became more pronounced. The Big Deals began falling out of favor because of shrinking library budgets. Workflow continued to change as skills required for print acquisitions adapted to the needs of electronic publications. Approval plans continued to survive in an environment where e-books were increasing in usage and popularity. The volatile vendor market escalated during this period causing consolidations of companies into “mega” companies. Electronic resources continued to create challenges for acquisitions librarians who were trying to find the best tools and workflows to manage the resources while also developing the ability to negotiate and interpret e-content licenses.
Creating a Local Print Repository for State Consortium Online Purchases

A group of eleven public university libraries, comprising the Council of State University Libraries consortium, created an experimental archive to retain one print copy of online journals for use of consortium members. The article addresses the initial concerns, development of the project, methods used, and concerns for the future. The article raises the question of whether libraries need to archive print backups for online materials as well as who should do the archiving and to what extent.
Determination of lopinavir cerebral spinal fluid and plasma ultrafiltrate concentrations by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry.

Abstract A method for the determination of lopinavir (LPV) concentrations in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and plasma ultrafiltrate (UF) was developed and validated to analyze clinical specimens from patients receiving antiretroviral treatment with lopinavir/ritonavir. The CSF (400 μL sample volume) final calibration range for LPV was 0.313–25.0 ng/mL. The final calibration range for UF (50 μL sample volume) was 1.25–100 ng/mL. The samples were prepared using liquid–liquid extraction, concentrated, and analyzed using a reversed phase isocratic separation. Detection was achieved in positive mixed reaction monitoring mode on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Isolation of LPV through chromatographic separation and proper selection of calibration matrix were important factors in achieving accurate results. Plasma UF was found to be an equivalent calibration matrix to CSF whereas plasma matrix produced a positive bias in samples with unknown concentrations. Artificial CSF media prepared chemically were biased and less superior than UF. Sources of plasma for the UF did not affect accuracy. Several CSF sources were tested for specificity of the method and LPV concentrations were accurately produced with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source producing more accurate results than the electrospray source. The method successfully measured LPV concentrations in CSF that were previously undetectable by HPLC as well as UF from protein binding studies.
De Novo Synthesis and Secretion of Heterogeneous Forms of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin and Its Free α-Subunit in the Human Choriocarcinoma Clonal Cell Line JEG-3

The clonal human choriocarcinoma cell line JEG-3 secretes hCG and heterogeneous forms of its free α-subunit. We have studied the relationship of these forms in de novo biosynthesis experiments. Cells at near confluence were labeled with [35S]methionine by continuous (10-min to 24-h exposure) and by pulse-chase (5-min exposure, 10-min to 4-h chase) techniques. Media and cell lysates, chromatographed on Sephadex G-100 or, after reduction, electrophoresed on 12–20% gradient sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide slab gels (SDSPAGE), were analyzed by immunoprecipitation with antisera to hCG-α and hCG-β. The intracellular labeled free α-subunit observed in lysates at all time points of either continuous or pulsechase experiments was the same size or was slightly smaller on G-100 (apparent mol wt, 21,600 ± 3,900) than urinary standard α-subunit (CR119α; apparent mol wt, 22,700 ± 1,500) and also somewhat smaller on SDS-PAGE (apparent mol wt, 19,400 ± 600) than urinary standard α-subunit (apparent mol wt, 20,200 ±...
Time Evolution of the Quaternary Structure of Escherichia coli Aspartate Transcarbamoylase upon Reaction with the Natural Substrates and a Slow Tight Binding Inhibitor

Here, we present a study of the conformational changes of the quaternary structure of Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase, as monitored by time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering, upon combining with substrates, substrate analogs, and nucleotide effectors at temperatures between 5 and 22 degrees C, obviating the need for ethylene glycol. Time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering time courses tracking the T-->R structural change after mixing with substrates or substrate analogs appeared to be a single phase under some conditions and biphasic under other conditions, which we ascribe to multiple ligation states producing a time course composed of multiple rates. Increasing the concentration of substrates up to a certain point increased the T-->R transition rate, with no further increase in rate beyond that point. Most strikingly, after addition of N-phosphonacetyl-l-aspartate to the enzyme, the transition rate was more than 1 order of magnitude slower than with the natural substrates. These results on the homotropic mechanism are consistent with a concerted transition between structural and functional states of either low affinity, low activity or high affinity, high activity for aspartate. Addition of ATP along with the substrates increased the rate of the transition from the T to the R state and also decreased the duration of the R-state steady-state phase. Addition of CTP or the combination of CTP/UTP to the substrates significantly decreased the rate of the T-->R transition and caused a shift in the enzyme population towards the T state even at saturating substrate concentrations. These results on the heterotropic mechanism suggest a destabilization of the T state by ATP and a destabilization of the R state by CTP and CTP/UTP, consistent with the T and R state crystallographic structures of aspartate transcarbamoylase in the presence of the heterotropic effectors.
STUDIES ON THE OXIDATION AND REDUCTION OF IMMUNOLOGICAL SUBSTANCES : VIII. THE ANTIGENIC PROPERTIES OF HEMOLYTICALLY ACTIVE AND HEMOLYTICALLY INACTIVE MODIFICATIONS OF PNEUMOCOCCUS HEMOTOXIN.

The following modifications of the antigen (pneumococcus hemotoxin) were studied: (1) the hemolytically active (reduced) substance; (2) the hemolytically inactive, reversible oxidation product; (3) the inactive irreversible products formed by treatment With high concentrations of H2O2; (4) the inactive products formed by heat. The antibody-invoking property of the reversibly oxidized form seemed to be identical with that of the original, hemolytically active or reduced form; neither of the other two hemolytically inactive products invoked antibody production. The same modifications of the antigen which exhibited the antibody-invoking property in vivo possessed the antibody-combining property in vitro; and the modifications which lacked the one property also lacked the other. Evidence is presented that the groups of the hemotoxin molecule in which the true antigenic properties are resident are not necessarily altered by processes which inactivate the groupings responsible for the toxic (hemolytic) action of the original antigen. The lack of antigenic properties on the part of the other two hemolytically inactive modifications is evidence that the treatment employed to alter the toxic property of the molecule must be properly chosen to avoid profound changes which affect the antigenically effective groupings. From an immunological point of view, the reversibility of the antigenically effective oxidation product of pneumococcus hemotoxin is important as an index that the loss of toxicity (hemolysis) was accomplished without a profound change in the molecule. The theoretical significance of the antigenicity of non-toxic modifications of toxic antigens is discussed.
The epileptogenic action of Na-folate in the rat.

Abstract An epileptogenic action of Na-folate has been demonstrated in female rats weighing 180–200 g. A cobalt-induced epileptic focus is activated after intracortical (ICo) (0.5 μg) and intravenous (I.V.) (0.05 mg) injection. In normal rats focal epileptic activity is produced by the ICo injection of 0.01 mg. Running fits appear in 50% of the animals after intracisternal injection of 0.05 mg. Intravenous injection of 60–90 mg is followed by epileptic activity in the EEG. Rats with brain lesions produced by implanted intracortical electrodes, show epileptic activity in the ECoG after the IV injection of 1–15 mg. The ways in which Na-folate may produce epileptic activity are discussed.
PATHOGENESIS OF URINARY TRACT INFECTION: Role of Host Defenses

In the last decade there have been modest strides made in our understanding of the pathogenesis of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Matching the advances achieved in unraveling the complexities of bacterial virulence factors using molecular-genetic techniques has been a parallel increase in knowledge of host defense mechanisms. Host susceptibility to UTI in the past has been predominantly studied in patients with structural (obstruction) or functional abnormalities (diabetes mellitus); however, most patients with UTIs have no such demonstrable abnormalities, hence attention has now focused on host behavioral factors in addition to genetically determined cellular mechanisms that predispose to sporadic and recurrent UTI.