cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Can distributed software development be agile

Three organizations studied here suggest the answer is "yes," when the unique characteristics of both environments are successfully blended.
CLARIFY: Software for Interpreting and Presenting Statistical Results

Clarify is a program that uses Monte Carlo simulation to convert the raw output of statistical procedures into results that are of direct interest to researchers, without changing statistical assumptions or requiring new statistical models. The program, designed for use with the Stata statistics package, offers a convenient way to implement the techniques described in: Gary King, Michael Tomz, and Jason Wittenberg (2000). "Making the Most of Statistical Analyses: Improving Interpretation and Presentation." American Journal of Political Science 44, no. 2 (April 2000): 347-61. We recommend that you read this article before using the software. Clarify simulates quantities of interest for the most commonly used statistical models, including linear regression, binary logit, binary probit, ordered logit, ordered probit, multinomial logit, Poisson regression, negative binomial regression, weibull regression, seemingly unrelated regression equations, and the additive logistic normal model for compositional data. Clarify Version 2.1 is forthcoming (2003) in Journal of Statistical Software.
"Hands-Free" continuous echocardiography during treadmill exercise using a novel ultrasound transducer.

Background Echocardiographic imaging using a handheld transducer in conjunction with treadmill exercise testing is commonly used for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Motion of the hand and the transducer during peak exercise preclude optimal imaging. To circumvent the limitations of handheld transducers, we developed a low profile transducer (CONTISON) which can be attached to the chest wall for continuous cardiac imaging. Methods and results This feasibility study was performed in 10 normal male subjects (28 to 36 years). The ultrasound transducer was placed in the third or fourth intercostal space at the left sternal border to permit imaging of the left ventricle in its short axis. The transducer was interfaced with a commercially available ultrasound machine. The left ventricle was imaged at rest and while subjects exercised according to a standard Bruce protocol. All segments of the left ventricular short axis were seen at rest and peak exercise. Increased left ventricular wall thickening and wall motion were seen at peak exercise. There were no complications from the procedure. Conclusion We demonstrated the feasibility of hands-free left ventricular imaging during treadmill exercise using the CONTISON transducer. Further evaluation of the technique to detect stress-induced wall motion abnormalities, as a means of diagnosing myocardial ischemia, appears warranted. (ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY 2010;27:563-566).
Rhizosphere Microbial Community Structure in Relation to Root Location and Plant Iron Nutritional Status

Root exudate composition and quantity vary in relation to plant nutritional status, but the impact of the differences on rhizosphere microbial communities is not known. To examine this question, we performed an experiment with barley (Hordeum vulgare) plants under iron-limiting and iron-sufficient growth conditions. Plants were grown in an iron-limiting soil in root box microcosms. One-half of the plants were treated with foliar iron every day to inhibit phytosiderophore production and to alter root exudate composition. After 30 days, the bacterial communities associated with different root zones, including the primary root tips, nonelongating secondary root tips, sites of lateral root emergence, and older roots distal from the tip, were characterized by using 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) fingerprints generated by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Our results showed that the microbial communities associated with the different root locations produced many common 16S rDNA bands but that the communities could be distinguished by using correspondence analysis. Approximately 40% of the variation between communities could be attributed to plant iron nutritional status. A sequence analysis of clones generated from a single 16S rDNA band obtained at all of the root locations revealed that there were taxonomically different species in the same band, suggesting that the resolving power of DGGE for characterization of community structure at the species level is limited. Our results suggest that the bacterial communities in the rhizosphere are substantially different in different root zones and that a rhizosphere community may be altered by changes in root exudate composition caused by changes in plant iron nutritional status.
Dual-loop direct VCO modulation for spread spectrum clock generation

This paper presents a new spread spectrum clock generator (SSCG) circuit for EMI reduction. The proposed design adopts a standard integer-N phased locked loop (PLL) with two dual-voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs). A frequency modulation loop is implemented with a digital frequency limit detector to direct the spectrum-spreading profile. An integrator is applied to generate the triangular modulation signal. Comparing with some recent designs [1,2,3,4] in the literature, the spread spectrum clock generator in this paper is simple and area efficient.
A promise is a promise.

Philip Morris promised to “shut down instantly”if cigarettes were found to be harmful. Now that the company has admitted that “smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and other serious diseases”, when will they keep their promise to stop making cigarettes?
Robotic prostate surgery

The increasing popularity of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy has put the field of robotics in the spotlight. However, the relationship between medical robotics and the field of urology is older than most urologists know and it will most likely have a bright future beyond any contemporary application. The objective of this review is to provide an insight into the fundamentals of medical robotics and to highlight the history, the present and the future of urological robotic systems with an emphasis on robotic prostate interventions.
How Can a Massive Training Artificial Neural Network (MTANN) Be Trained With a Small Number of Cases in the Distinction Between Nodules and Vessels in Thoracic CT?1

Rationale and Objectives. To demonstrate that a massive training artificial neural network (MTANN) can be adequately trained with a small number of cases in the distinction between nodules and vessels (non-nodules) in thoracic computed tomography (CT) images. Materials and Methods. An MTANN is a trainable, highly nonlinear filter consisting of a linear-output multilayer artificial neural network model. For enhancement of nodules and suppression of vessels, we used 10 nodules and 10 non-nodule images as training cases for MTANNs. The MTANN is trained with a large number of input subregions selected from the training cases and the corresponding pixels in teaching images that contain Gaussian distributions for nodules and zero for non-nodules. We trained three MTANNs with different numbers (1, 9, and 361) of training samples (pairs of the subregion and the teaching pixel) selected from the training cases. In order to investigate the basic characteristics of the trained MTANNs, we applied the MTANNs to simulated CT images containing various-sized model nodules (spheres) with different contrasts and various-sized model vessels (cylinders) with different orientations. In addition, we applied the trained MTANNs to nontraining actual clinical cases with 59 nodules and 1,726 non-nodules. Results. In the output images for the simulated CT images by use of the MTANNs trained with small numbers (one and nine) of subregions, model vessels were clearly visible and were not removed; thus, the MTANNs were not trained properly. However, in the output image of the MTANN trained with a large number of subregions, various-sized model nodules with different contrasts were represented by light nodular distributions, whereas various-sized model vessels with different orientations were dark and thus were almost removed. This result indicates that the MTANN was able to learn, from a very small number of actual nodule and non-nodule cases, the distinction between nodules (spherelike objects) and vessels (cylinder-like objects). In nontraining clinical cases, the MTANN was able to distinguish actual nodules from actual vessels in CT images. For 59 actual nodules and 1,726 non-nodules, the performance of the MTANN decreased as the number of training samples (subregions) in each case decreased. Conclusions. The MTANN can be trained with a very small number of training cases (10 nodules and 10 non-nodules) in the distinction between nodules and non-nodules (vessels) in CT images. Massive training by scanning of training cases to produce a large number of training samples (input subregions and teaching pixels) would contributed to a high generalization ability of the MTANN.
An intuitive model of perceptual grouping for HCI design

Understanding and exploiting the abilities of the human visual system is an important part of the design of usable user interfaces and information visualizations. Good design enables quick, easy and veridical perception of key components of that design. An important facet of human vision is its ability to seemingly effortlessly perform "perceptual organization; it transforms individual feature estimates into perception of coherent regions, structures, and objects. We perceive regions grouped by proximity and feature similarity, grouping of curves by good continuation, and grouping of regions of coherent texture. In this paper, we discuss a simple model for a broad range of perceptual grouping phenomena. It takes as input an arbitrary image, and returns a structure describing the predicted visual organization of the image. We demonstrate that this model can capture aspects of traditional design rules, and predicts visual percepts in classic perceptual grouping displays.
On EFL Teachers, awareness, and agency

If the rhetoric of linguistic imperialism (hereafter LI) has been fashionablefor some time, we are now seeing another rhetoric become more fash-ionable and pitted against it. What I will call the linguistic hybriditymovement (LH) celebrates the fluidity in languages, identities, and cul-tures, thus pluralizing these constructs. In their extreme versions, while LIis absolutist in defining these constructs monolithically as constituted byone ideology or the other, LH is relativistic in seeing them as alwaysshifting in meaning and shape. While LI is deterministic in perceiving theseconstructs as always pliable in the hands of dominant forces, LH is anti-nomian, in seeing them as perpetually unstable, and resisting control.While LI is activist in struggling against hegemonic discourses to re-construct a more democratic order, LH leads to apathy (as languages areseen as deconstructing themselves, transcending domination) or evenplayfulness (as the provision of new meanings to these constructs istreated as subverting the status quo). Leaping from one rhetoric to anotherwithout engaging rigorously with any, or clobbering one rhetoric with theother, are easy and eventually unproductive exercises. These are, after all,times when academic discourses, spawned freely in opposition to eachother, swing wildly between extremes like a pendulum. As a teacher, fo-cused on the concerns of my students, I negotiate with these divergentrhetorics to consider how they may develop a richer awareness of lan-guage and social life, enabling me to act more rewardingly in the class-room.
Authentic Happiness and Meaning at Law Firms

We advocate that law firms can and should foster authentic happiness and meaning in the professional lives of their associates. Based upon empirical and experimental research in behavioral economics and positive psychology, we consider how law firms can implement policies to promote authentic happiness and meaning in their associates' professional lives. We also believe that law schools can and should help to reduce the anxiety, stress, and unhappiness that individuals feel as law students and help them develop abilities to achieve meaningful careers as law firm associates. We provide a guide as to how law firms and law schools can design policies and procedures to nudge people towards achieving more authentic happiness and meaning in their professional (and personal) lives if people so desire.
Decay of Co 55 ; Levels in Fe 55

The decay of 18-h ${\mathrm{Co}}^{55}$ \ensuremath{\rightarrow} ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{55}$ has been re-examined with a magnetic beta spectrometer and a Ge(Li) detector. It has been established that both the 1316.4-keV and 411.4-keV levels are populated in the gamma cascades. Positron emission and electron capture populate the 1408.4-keV level (36%), the 1316.4-keV level (5%), and the 931.2-keV level (54%). The remaining 5% of the decay populates seven levels above 1408 keV. Positron decay to the 411-keV level and to the ground state in sum is 3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$ per disintegration. From the endpoint of the maximum-energy positron group, ${E}_{0}=(1513\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2)$ keV, feeding the 931.2-keV gamma ground-state transition, the total decay energy is found to be (3466\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2) keV. The decay scheme requires only levels already known in ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{55}$ from nuclear reaction studies. A survey of the reaction data and the decay information reveals that the only conflict is the assignment of $l=4$ (from some of the ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{54}(d,p){\mathrm{Fe}}^{55}$ studies) to the level at 2589 keV.
Effects of using copra meal, palm kernel expellers, or palm kernel meal in diets for weanling pigs

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate effects of including copra meal, palm kernel expellers (PKE), and palm kernel meal (PKM) in diets for weanling pigs from approximately 9 to 20 kg of BW. A total of 128, 128, and 160 pigs were used in the experiments with copra meal, PKE, and PKM, respectively. In each experiment, pigs were randomly allotted to 4 dietary treatments with 4 or 5 pigs per pen and 8 replicates per treatment. The control diet was based on corn, soybean meal, and 4% fish meal. Three additional diets were formulated by including 5, 10, or 15% copra meal, PKE, or PKM at the expense of corn and soybean meal. Diets were formulated to contain equal quantities of digestible AA and P, and ME. Pigs were fed experimental diets for 20 or 21 d, and ADG, ADFI, and G:F were calculated. Results indicated that pigs fed increasing levels of copra meal had a linear reduction (P < 0.05) in final BW, overall ADG, and ADFI, but overall G:F was unaffected. Pigs fed increasing levels of PKE had a linear reduction (P < 0.05) in final BW and overall ADG, but overall ADFI and G:F were not influenced. No differences were observed in growth performance if PKM was used. In conclusion, if diets are formulated based on digestible nutrients and ME, diets for weanling pigs may include up to 15% PKM without affecting overall growth performance, but if copra meal or PKE is used, pig performance may be reduced.
Going Her Own Way: The Achievement of Miné Okubo

In the fall of 1993, I had just finished writing a dissertation chapter on Mine Okubo's famous illustrated memoir of the internment camps, Citizen 13660, and had just moved from California to begin my first job teaching women's studies on the East Coast. During my first trip to New York, I resolved to look up this artist who also hailed from my hometown of Riverside, California. I was thrilled when my friend and colleague, Shirley Geok-lin Lim, offered to make the introduction possible. Besieged with requests for visits and information by a battery of graduate students, researchers, educators, art collectors, filmmakers, and journalists, Mine was wary of using up her time to entertain the endless stream of visitors who called her at home and showed up on her doorstep at all hours of the day and night.
RNAi-mediated gene knockdown by microinjection in the model entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora

Parasitic nematodes threaten the health of humans and livestock and cause a major financial and socioeconomic burden to modern society. Given the widespread distribution of diseases caused by parasitic nematodes there is an urgent need to develop tools that will elucidate the genetic complexity of host-parasite interactions. Heterorhabditis bacteriophora is a parasitic nematode that allows simultaneous monitoring of nematode infection processes and host immune function, and offers potential as a tractable model for parasitic nematode infections. However, molecular tools to investigate these processes are required prior to its widespread acceptance as a robust model organism. In this paper we describe microinjection in adult H. bacteriophora as a suitable means of dsRNA delivery to knockdown gene transcripts. RNA interference was used to knockdown four genes by injecting dsRNA directly into the gonad of adult hermaphrodite nematodes. RNAi phenotypes were scored in the F1 progeny on the fifth day post-injection, and knockdown of gene-specific transcripts was quantified with real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). RNAi injection in adult hermaphrodites significantly decreased the level of target transcripts to varying degrees when compared with controls. The genes targeted by RNAi via injection included cct-2, nol-5, dpy-7, and dpy-13. In each case, RNAi knockdown was confirmed phenotypically by examining the progeny of injected animals, and also confirmed at the transcriptional level by real-time qRT-PCR. Here we describe for the first time the successful use of microinjection to knockdown gene transcripts in H. bacteriophora. This technique can be used widely to study the molecular basis of parasitism.
The Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain Is Required for Organismal Adaptation to Hypoxia

Hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are crucial for cellular and organismal adaptation to hypoxia. The mitochondrial respiratory chain is the largest consumer of oxygen in most mammalian cells; however, it is unknown whether the respiratory chain is necessary for in vivo activation of HIFs and organismal adaptation to hypoxia. HIF-1 activation in the epidermis has been shown to be a key regulator of the organismal response to hypoxic conditions, including renal production of erythropoietin (Epo). Therefore, we conditionally deleted expression of TFAM in mouse epidermal keratinocytes. TFAM is required for maintenance of the mitochondrial genome, and TFAM-null cells are respiratory deficient. TFAM loss in epidermal keratinocytes reduced epidermal levels of HIF-1α protein and diminished the hypoxic induction of HIF-dependent transcription in epidermis. Furthermore, epidermal TFAM deficiency impaired hypoxic induction of renal Epo expression. Our results demonstrate that the mitochondrial respiratory chain is essential for in vivo HIF activation and organismal adaptation to hypoxia.
Early Starch Catabolism by Rhizomucor Pusillus

(1986). Early Starch Catabolism by Rhizomucor Pusillus. Mycologia: Vol. 78, No. 1, pp. 129-131.
Assessing Sympathetic Function from Dynamics of Norepinephrine Metabolism and False Transmitters

About 40 years ago, tritiated norepinephrine (3H-NE) and epinephrine (3H-EPI) were introduced as a means for examining the fate of catecholamines in experimental animals and in humans. By examining the urinary products of 3H-EPI and 14C-metanephrine, the O-methylated product of EPI, it was shown that O-methylation of the administered catecholamine was the major means of metabolic termination of its action.1 When 3H-NE was administered, a major portion of the administered radioactivity appeared to be sequestered in the tissues, such as the hearT., that were richly innervated by sympathetic nerves.2 After chronic denervation, however, this uptake of 3H-NE was abolished, indicating that intravenously administered catecholamines are taken up into sympathetic nerve terminals.3 The supersensitivity to NE released from sympathetic nerves that developed after such denervation indicated that reuptake was the major means of terminating the action of released NE.
Urban Renewal and Highway Construction

THIS CHAPTER COVERS TWO OF THE LARGE-SCALE NATIONAL URBAN PRO-GRAMS of the mid-twentieth century United States: urban renewal and highway construction. It begins with a description of perceived urban problems in the first several decades of the century and how conflicting ideas on what was best for cities all seemed to agree that dramatic measures were needed to solve growing threats to prosperity. Next is a more detailed discussion of demographic trends of this era including the ending of large-scale immigration, the out movement of the higher-income Whites to the suburbs, and the growing tide of Blacks moving into cities from the rural South. Then the chapter describes how urban planners and politicians used health metaphors to justify the need for large-scale programs.
From global to local, food insecurity is associated with contemporary armed conflicts

Food security has attracted widespread attention in recent years. Yet, scientists and practitioners have predominately understood food security in terms of dietary energy availability and nutrient deficiencies, rather than in terms of food security’s consequential implications for social and political violence. The present study offers the first global evaluation of the effects of food insecurity on local conflict dynamics. An economic approach is adopted to empirically evaluate the degree to which food insecurity concerns produce an independent effect on armed conflict using comprehensive geographic data. Specifically, two agricultural output measures – a geographic area’s extent of cropland and a given agricultural location’s amount of cropland per capita – are used to respectively measure the access to and availability of (i.e., the demand and supply of) food in a given region. Findings show that food insecurity measures are robustly associated with the occurrence of contemporary armed conflict.
How Parallel Are Excited State Potential Energy Surfaces from Time-Independent and Time-Dependent DFT? A BODIPY Dye Case Study.

To support the development and characterization of chromophores with targeted photophysical properties, excited-state electronic structure calculations should rapidly and accurately predict how derivatization of a chromophore will affect its excitation and emission energies. This paper examines whether a time-independent excited-state density functional theory (DFT) approach meets this need through a case study of BODIPY chromophore photophysics. A restricted open-shell Kohn–Sham (ROKS) treatment of the S1 excited state of BODIPY dyes is contrasted with linear-response time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). Vertical excitation energies predicted by the two approaches are remarkably different due to overestimation by TDDFT and underestimation by ROKS relative to experiment. Overall, ROKS with a standard hybrid functional provides the more accurate description of the S1 excited state of BODIPY dyes, but excitation energies computed by the two methods are strongly correlated. The two approaches al...
Prototype Willingness Model Drinking Cognitions Mediate Personalized Normative Feedback Efficacy

Personalized normative feedback (PNF) interventions have been shown to be efficacious at reducing college student drinking. Because descriptive norms have been shown to mediate PNF efficacy, the current study focused on examining additional prototype willingness model social reaction cognitions, namely, prototypes and willingness, as mediators of intervention efficacy. We expected the PNF interventions to be associated with increased prototype favorability of students who do not drink, which would in turn be associated with decreased willingness to drink and subsequently, less drinking. The current study included 622 college students (53.2% women; 62% Caucasian) who reported one or more heavy drinking episodes in the past month and completed baseline and three-month follow-up assessments. As posited by the framework of the prototype willingness model, sequential mediation analyses were conducted to evaluate increases in abstainer prototype favorability on willingness on drinking, and subsequently willingness to drink on drinking behavior. Mediation results revealed significant indirect effects of PNF on three-month drinking through three-month prototypes and willingness, indicating that the social reaction pathway of the prototype willingness model was supported. Findings have important implications for PNF interventions aiming to reduce high-risk drinking among college students. Study findings suggest that we should consider looking at additional socially-based mediators of PNF efficacy in addition to perceived descriptive norms.
Distribution bias and biochemical characterization of TOP1MT single nucleotide variants

Mitochondrial topoisomerase I (TOP1MT) is a type IB topoisomerase encoded in the nucleus of vertebrate cells. In contrast to the other five human topoisomerases, TOP1MT possesses two high frequency single nucleotide variants (SNVs), rs11544484 (V256I, Minor Allele Frequency = 0.27) and rs2293925 (R525W, MAF = 0.45), which tend to be mutually exclusive across different human ethnic groups and even more clearly in a cohort of 129 US patients with breast cancer and in the NCI-60 cancer cell lines. We expressed these two TOP1MT variants and the double-variant (V256I-R525W) as recombinant proteins, as well as a less common variant E168G (rs200673353, MAF = 0.001), and studied their biochemical properties by magnetic tweezers-based supercoil relaxation and classical DNA relaxation assays. Variants showed reduced DNA relaxation activities, especially the V256I variant towards positively supercoiled DNA. We also found that the V256I variant was enriched to MAF = 0.64 in NCI-60 lung carcinoma cell lines, whereas the TOP1MT R525W was enriched to MAF = 0.65 in the NCI-60 melanoma cell lines. Moreover, TOP1MT expression correlated with the 256 variants in the NCI-60 lung carcinoma cell lines, valine with high expression and isoleucine with low expression. Our results are discussed in the context of evolution between the nuclear and mitochondrial topoisomerases and potential cancer predisposition.
The Independence Road to Fort Laramie: By Aerial Photograph

Aerial photographs have been used to locate the eastern portion of the Oregon Trail, one of the earliest and most frequently used routes west. The section discussed is the section between Independe...
Bad Metallic Transport in a Modified Hubbard Model.

Strongly correlated metals often display anomalous transport, including $T$-linear resistivity above the Mott-Ioffe-Regel limit. We introduce a tractable microscopic model for bad metals, by restoring in the well-known Hubbard model---with hopping $t$ and on-site repulsion $U$---a ``screened Coulomb'' interaction between charge densities that decays exponentially with spatial separation. This interaction lifts the extensive degeneracy in the spectrum of the $t=0$ Hubbard model, allowing us to fully characterize the small $t$ electric, thermal, and thermoelectric transport in our strongly correlated model. Throughout the phase diagram we observe $T$-linear resistivity above the Mott-Ioffe-Regel limit, together with strong violation of the Wiedemann-Franz law and a large thermopower that can undergo sign change.
Coagulation parameters following equine herpesvirus type 1 infection in horses.

BACKGROUND Equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) is the cause of respiratory disease, abortion storms, and outbreaks of herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM). Infection of the spinal cord is characterised by multifocal regions of virally infected vascular endothelium, associated with vasculitis, thrombosis and haemorrhage that result in ischaemia and organ dysfunction. However, the mechanism of thrombosis in affected horses is unknown. OBJECTIVES To evaluate tissue factor (TF) procoagulant activity and thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT) levels in horses following infection with EHV-1. STUDY DESIGN In vitro and in vivo studies following experimental EHV-1 infection. METHODS Horses were infected with EHV-1 and levels of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-associated TF activity; plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-derived microvesicle (MV)-associated TF activity and TAT complexes in plasma were examined. RESULTS EHV-1 infection increased PBMC TF procoagulant activity in vitro and in vivo. In infected horses, this increase was observed during the acute infection and was most marked at the onset and end of viraemia. However, no significant differences were observed between the horses that showed signs of EHM and the horses that did not develop EHM. Significant changes in MV-associated TF procoagulant activity and TAT complexes were not observed in infected horses. MAIN LIMITATIONS A small number of horses typically exhibit clinical EHM following experimental infection. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate that EHV-1 infection increases PBMC-associated TF procoagulant activity in vivo and in vitro. Additional in vivo studies are needed to better understand the role of TF-dependent coagulation during EHM pathogenesis in horses.
Mechanism of Integrated β-Lactam Formation by a Nonribosomal Peptide Synthetase during Antibiotic Synthesis

Modular nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) are large, multidomain engines of bioactive natural product biosynthesis that function as molecular “assembly lines” in which monomer units are selectively bound, modified, and linked in a specific order and number dictated by their mega-enzyme templates. Recently, a condensation domain in an NRPS was discovered to carry out the synthesis of an integrated β-lactam ring from a substrate seryl residue during antibiotic biosynthesis. We report here a series of experiments supporting a mechanism that involves C–N bond formation by stepwise elimination/addition reactions followed by canonical NRPS-catalyzed amide bond synthesis to achieve β-lactam formation. Partitioning of reactive intermediates formed during the multistep catalytic cycle provided insight into the ability of the NRPS to overcome the reversibility of corresponding reactions in solution and enforce directionality during synthesis.
Exploring the Role of the Hippocampus in Migraine (S47.008)

Objective: To interrogate changes in hippocampal morphology in migraine patients and investigate whether hippocampal structure relates to migraine disease characteristics. Background: Migraine is associated with structural alterations in widespread cortical and subcortical regions associated with the sensory, cognitive, and affective components of pain processing. Recent studies have shown that migraine patients have changes in hippocampal structure relative to healthy control subjects but the relationship between hippocampal structure and disease characteristics such as mood (anxiety, depression), disease burden (frequency of attacks, years lived with disorder), and allodynia remains unknown. Here, we explore differences in hippocampal volume in migraine patients relative to healthy controls and examine whether hippocampal structure relates to severity of mood dysfunction, migraine disease burden, and cutaneous allodynia. Design/Methods: This study included 61 migraine patients and 57 healthy control subjects. (healthy controls: mean age=36.7, SD=10.8; migraine patients: mean age=35.8, SD=11.3; p=0.88). Hippocampal volumes were automatically calculated using FreeSurfer version 5.3. Depression and anxiety were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory. Symptoms of allodynia were calculated using the Allodynia Symptom Checklist 12 (ASC-12). Results: Migraine patients had less total hippocampal volumes compared to healthy controls (migraine patients: mean= 8342 mm3, SD= 918 mm3; healthy controls: mean= 8691 mm3, SD=855 mm3; p=0.035). BDI-II scores and anxiety scores for both groups were in the normal range. There was no correlation between total hippocampal volume with depression, anxiety, headache frequency, or years lived with migraine. For migraine patients, there was a negative correlation between total hippocampal volume and allodynia symptom scores (r= −.325; p= 0.011). Conclusions: Migraine patients have less hippocampal volume compared to healthy controls. Migraineurs with less hippocampal volume have more severe symptoms of allodynia suggesting involvement of the hippocampus in migraine-related cutaneous allodynia. Study Supported by: NIH K23NS010891 Disclosure: Dr. Chong has nothing to disclose. Dr. Dumkrieger has nothing to disclose. Dr. Schwedt has received personal compensation for activities with Allergan, Amgen, Autonomic Technologies Inc, Avanir, Dr. Reddy9s, GBS, Second Opinion, Supernus, and Teva as a consultant and advisory board member. Dr. Schwedt has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Headache, Cephalalgia, and Pain Medicine.
On predictive linear gaussian models

Models are used by artificial agents to make predictions about the future; agents then use these predictions to modify their behavior. In many cases, these models are not known a priori and so the agent must learn a model through experience with a system. At the core of most models is the concept of state—an estimate of the current situation of the world from which a model's predictions are derived. A recent development in the study of models is the predictive state model. Predictive state models use predictions about potential future events as their state, as opposed to unobserved, unobservable variables, as in most traditional models. For example, a traditional model may represent a robot's location using latitude and longitude, which is unobservable without a GPS unit. A predictive state model of the same robot might represent its location with two events like “If I traveled forward 4 feet I would hit a wall” and “If I turned right and traveled forward 6 feet I would move into a hallway.” This dissertation presents two models that expand the limits of predictive state models, which had mostly modeled dynamical systems with discrete, scalar-valued observations, with linear predictions of future events. The first model, the e-test predictive state representation (EPSR), is the first nonlinear predictive state model that can be used to model a large class of dynamical systems. The EPSR models deterministic systems with discrete actions and observations, and is sometimes exponentially smaller than the equivalent model with linear predictions. The second model is the predictive linear Gaussian model (PLG), which models dynamical systems with continuous vector-valued actions and observations. I present theoretical results that show the PLG is representationally equivalent to the linear dynamical system (LDS), a popular traditional model, and that the parameter estimation algorithm I present is consistent—that is, in the limit of infinite data, it produces a correct model. I also apply this algorithm to (a) a number of artificial, randomly generated systems and (b) a real-world traffic prediction problem; and show that it performs well compared to expectation maximization, a parameter estimation algorithm for the LDS.
Polyuria in children: clinical evaluation and differential diagnosis.

AbstractThe study of polyuria in children can be performed in an organized systematic fashion when the differential diagnosis is in mind. We are trying to elucidate some of the intricacies, as well as clarify some of the important etiopathogenic mechanisms, for a group of disorders that may have polyuria as the major sign.
Electronic Cigarette Use and Risk of Harmful Alcohol Consumption in the U.S. Population.

BACKGROUND Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use is an increasingly common method of nicotine delivery in the general population. It is well-established that tobacco users are at increased risk to engage in hazardous drinking and meet criteria for alcohol use disorder (AUD) relative to nonusers. Less is known, however, about the risk of harmful alcohol use among people who use e-cigarettes. The current study reports on the association between e-cigarette and alcohol use in the U.S. population using a nationally representative sample. METHODS Data from 36,309 adults who participated in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-Wave III were included in the study. The Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule (AUDADIS) measured past-year e-cigarette and alcohol use outcomes. Based on past-year e-cigarette use, respondents were categorized as nonusers, nondaily users, or daily users. Alcohol use outcomes were drinking quantity/frequency, binge drinking frequency, AUD diagnostic status, and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism-defined hazardous drinking status. RESULTS Controlling for demographic characteristics, daily and nondaily e-cigarette users showed increased risk of harmful alcohol use compared to e-cigarette nonusers, including hazardous drinking (adjusted odds ratios [AORs] = 1.69; 2.48), AUD (AORs = 1.89; 2.44), and binge drinking frequency (AORs = 1.30 to 3.30). Nondaily e-cigarette use was associated with higher levels of risk than was daily use. Secondary analyses examined alcohol use outcomes according to participants' patterns of dual tobacco cigarette/e-cigarette use. These analyses confirmed that e-cigarette use alongside tobacco cigarette use is associated with additive risk of harmful alcohol consumption, particularly among nondaily users. CONCLUSIONS E-cigarette users, particularly those who engage in nondaily and dual use, show elevated rates of harmful alcohol use. Heavy drinking may constitute a source of health risk among e-cigarette users.
Crystallography and Its Impact on Carbonic Anhydrase Research.

X-ray and neutron crystallography are powerful techniques utilized to study the structures of biomolecules. Visualization of enzymes in complex with substrate/product and the capture of intermediate states can be related to activity to facilitate understanding of the catalytic mechanism. Subsequent analysis of small molecule binding within the enzyme active site provides insight into mechanisms of inhibition, supporting the design of novel inhibitors using a structure-guided approach. The first X-ray crystal structures were determined for small, ubiquitous enzymes such as carbonic anhydrase (CA). CAs are a family of zinc metalloenzymes that catalyze the hydration of CO2, producing and a proton. The CA structure and ping-pong mechanism have been extensively studied and are well understood. Though the function of CA plays an important role in a variety of physiological functions, CA has also been associated with diseases such as glaucoma, edema, epilepsy, obesity, and cancer and is therefore recognized as a drug target. In this review, a brief history of crystallography and its impact on CA research is discussed.
Clinically-relevant Shiga toxin 2 subtypes from environmental Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli identified by top-down/middle-down proteomics and DNA sequencing.

Abstract Thirty-five environmental isolates of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) were analyzed by MALDI-TOF-TOF mass spectrometry, top-down/middle-down proteomics and DNA sequencing. Clinically-relevant Shiga toxin 2 (Stx2) produced by these STEC strains were subtyped based on MS and MS/MS (tandem mass spectrometry) of the intact B-subunit (top-down) and A2 fragment (middle-down) of the A-subunit using antibiotic-induced protein expression. Antibiotic induction of Stx2 was found to be strain dependent. By proteomic analysis, seventeen strains were identified as Stx2a, six strains as Stx2c, four strains as either Stx2a or 2c and eight strains as either Stx2a, 2c or 2d. DNA sequencing indicated only stx2a and stx2c genes as being present in these strains. Weak induction of Stx2 for certain strains made it difficult to distinguish between clinical subtypes by proteomic analysis. Very weak toxin induction in eight strains was consistent with a ∼1300 bp transposon insertion in the stx2c A-subunit gene identified by DNA sequencing. DNA sequencing also revealed the presence of two bacteriophage (BP) in three strains with a stx2a gene in each BP genome. Middle-down proteomic analysis of the A2 fragment confirmed expression of two stx2a genes present in one of these strains based on a slight difference in the amino acid sequence (D ↔ E substitution) in the two A2 fragments.
Tobacco Use Behaviors, Attitudes, and Demographic Characteristics of Tobacco Opinion Leaders and Their Followers: Twitter Analysis

Background: Tobacco-related content on social media is generated and propagated by opinion leaders on the Web who disseminate messages to others in their network, including followers, who then continue to spread the information. Opinion leaders can exert powerful influences on their followers’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors; yet, little is known about the demographic characteristics and tobacco use behavior of tobacco opinion leaders on the Web and their followers, compared with general Twitter users. Objective: In this study, we hypothesized that opinion leaders use more tobacco products and have higher nicotine dependence than the other 2 groups (eg, followers and general Twitter users) and that followers—those who spread messages by opinion leaders—would more likely be in demographic groups that are vulnerable to tobacco marketing influence (eg, young adults and lower educational attainment). Methods: We constructed the social networks of people who tweet about tobacco and categorized them using a combination of social network and Twitter metrics. To understand the characteristics of tobacco opinion leaders and their followers, we conducted a survey of tobacco opinion leaders, their followers, and general Twitter users. The sample included 347 opinion leaders, 567 followers, and 519 general users. The opinion leaders had a median of 1000 followers, whereas followers and general users had fewer than 600 followers. Results: Opinion leaders were more likely than their followers to report past month use of tobacco products; followers, in turn, were more likely to report past month use of these products than general Twitter users. The followers appeared to be an especially vulnerable group; they tended to be younger (mean age 22.4 years) and have lower education compared with the opinion leaders and general users. Conclusions: Followers of Twitter tobacco opinion leaders are a vulnerable group that might benefit from antitobacco education to counter the protobacco communications they see on social media.
Evolution of Atomistic Topology at H2O/GaSb(100) Interface under Ambient Conditions and GaSb Surface Passivation

Gallium antimonide (GaSb) has emerged as a promising light absorber in solar cells and optoelectronics because of its high hot-carrier mobility. Here, the interfacial physiochemical process of H2O/...
Training Clinicians in Serious Illness Communication Using a Structured Guide: Evaluation of a Training Program in Three Health Systems.

Background: Failure to initiate discussions about patients' values and goals in serious illness remains a common problem. Many clinicians are inadequately trained for these discussions. Objective: ...
How Should We Judge Whether and When Mission Statements Are Ethically Deployed

Mission statements communicate health care organizations' fundamental purposes and can help potential patients choose where to seek care and employees where to seek employment. They offer limited benefit, however, when patients do not have meaningful choices about where to seek care, and they can be misused. Ethical implementation of mission statements requires health care organizations to be truthful and transparent about how their mission influences patient care, to create environments that help clinicians execute their professional obligations to patients, and to amplify their obligations to communities.
Incidence of and Risk Factors for Postoperative Urinary Tract Infection After Abdominal and Vaginal Colpopexy.

OBJECTIVE The aims of the study were to determine the rate of urinary tract infection (UTI) in women undergoing colpopexy and to evaluate risk factors and timing for postoperative UTI. METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2010 to 2017. Patients were grouped into those with and without UTI. Pairwise analysis between groups was performed using χ2 and Fisher exact test. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of UTI. RESULTS Of 23,097 women who underwent colpopexy, 1079 (4.7%) experienced a postoperative UTI. Urinary tract infection was most frequently diagnosed in the second week after surgery (38.2%), compared with week 1 (19.9%), 3 (22.8%), and 4 (19.1%) (P < 0.001). Patients diagnosed with a UTI were more likely to have insulin-dependent diabetes (2.8% vs 1.7%, P = 0.006), coagulopathy (1.3% vs 0.7%, P = 0.04), and chronic steroid use (2.7% vs 1.8%, P = 0.004). Patients with a UTI versus those without a UTI were more likely to have undergone an intraperitoneal or extraperitoneal vaginal colpopexy (37.8% vs 30.5%, P < 0.001) and (29.8% vs 25.6%, P = 0.003), respectively, and more likely to undergo combined anterior and posterior colporrhaphy (17.1% vs 12.2%, P < 0.001). After logistic regression, intraoperative cystotomy repair (adjusted odds ratio = 2.93, 95% confidence interval = 1.54-5.59) was the most significant risk factor. CONCLUSIONS Postoperative UTI after colpopexy occurred less frequently than previously reported. Vaginal colpopexy is associated with a higher risk of UTI than abdominal or laparoscopic colpopexy.
Transcranial Photobiomodulation Recipients Present Information Flow Alterations from the Site of Stimulation: a Granger Causality Analysis

The effects of tPBM on the brain are still unknown. This study has conducted a Granger based information flow analysis on tPBM data to uncover changes in information flow which were seen in delta/beta bands.
Imaging in Occupational and Environmental Lung Disease

This review article aims to highlight the common and uncommon imaging features of work-related and environmental lung disease to help the clinicians suspect diagnosis in patients with occult or known exposures to inhalational potent substances. Occupational and environmental lung disease are the most frequent work-related illness in the USA with a recent resurgence mainly due to inadequate exposure control, prolonged working hours, developing industries, and new antigens. Failure to accurately diagnose and promptly manage these lung disorders can lead to long-term and irreversible health conditions. Several case reports have documented misdiagnosis of these lung disorders which could be due to underestimation of their prevalence. It is critical for radiologist and clinicians to recognize the classic and uncommon imaging features of occupational and environmental lung diseases. Accurate elicitation of occupational history is a key point for differentiation in this patient population.