cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Systematic Review: Exposure to Community Violence and Physical Health Outcomes in Youth.

Objective To systematically review the evidence for associations between exposure to community violence and physical health outcomes in children and adolescents. Methods A thorough search of multiple online databases and careful consideration of inclusion and exclusion criteria yielded a final 28 studies for detailed review. In addition to review of findings, studies were rated on overall quality based on study design. Results Seven categories of physical health outcomes emerged, including asthma/respiratory health, cardiovascular health, immune functioning, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis functioning, sleep problems, weight, and a general health category. There were mixed findings across these categories. Evidence for a positive association between community violence exposure and health problems was strongest in the cardiovascular health and sleep categories. Conclusion There is reason to believe that community violence exposure has an effect on some areas of physical health. Additional well-designed research that focuses on mechanisms as well as outcomes is warranted.
High resolution accurate mass (HRAM) mass spectrometry

Abstract Over the past decade, mass spectrometry has grown from a primary use as an analytical method relegated to research or industrial applications to a method routinely applied in clinical settings. The utilization of mass spectrometry in a clinical setting requires accurate and robust measurement of diverse sets of analytes from a variety of matrices. The adoption of mass spectrometry in the clinic has certainly been slow because in many cases, there are large-scale immunoassay analyzers that meet the clinical requirements and can provide thousands of results for several assays every day. In many cases, immunoassay-based platforms can be more sensitive than mass spectrometers, though in recent years this divide is closing and in some cases mass spectrometry has surpassed immunoassays in this respect. However, there is a greater likelihood of analytical interference in immunoassay-based analyzers than mass spectrometers. This has caused some professional societies, such as the Endocrine Society, to mandate that in the near future steroid hormone levels be generated from a mass spectrometry based analyzer for consideration for publication in the Society Journal. This mandate comes at a time when the mass spectrometer has started to see considerable adoption in several clinical fields: small molecule analysis (e.g., toxicology), microbial identification, and molecular diagnostics. However, these fields may have not realized the clinical utility of mass spectrometry if not for the advent of high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS).
Tag-SNP analyses of activin receptors with risk of breast cancer and breast density.

A191 Introduction : The TGF-B family of polypeptide growth factors plays an important role in normal mammary gland development and function. Activin and its receptors are part of this pathway. We examined the association of nonsynonymous coding SNPs and tagSNPS in four activin receptors (ACVRL1, ACVR1, ACVR1B and ACVR2) with breast cancer (BC) as well as with breast density in a case-control study. Methods : Incident cases of invasive BC were identified at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN from 2001 through 2005. Caucasian controls (N=843) were frequency matched to cases (N=798) on age and region of residence. Percent density (PD) was estimated using a thresholding algorithm on those controls for whom mammograms were available (N=686). Genotype data were downloaded from public databases. LDSelect (Carlson, 2004) was utilized with parameters of MAF>0.05 and minimumr2=0.8 to select tagSNPs. Genotyping was performed on an Illumina BeadLab using the Illumina GoldenGate genotyping assay. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for BC. Linear regression was used to estimate mean and 95% CI for PD for each copy of the minor allele. All models were adjusted for age, residence, and confounding factors. A global test of significance for the entire gene was performed for both BC and PD using multiple regression (logistic/linear, respectively) or haplotype analyses. Results : The mean age of cases and controls was 56.6 and 57.6, respectively. 483 (64%) cases and 579 (72.5%) controls were postmenopasual at the time of questionnaire. Two (of 18) SNPS in ACVR1 were associated with risk of BC in a dominant manner. The first, located in intron 3 was associated with decreased risk of BC (OR=0.75; 0.58-0.99); the second, located in intron 1, was associated with increased risk of BC (OR=1.24; 1.00-1.53). No SNPs in the other three genes were associated with risk of BC. Variation in none of the four genes were significant when tested at the gene level. Five SNPs in ACVR1 (not overlapping with those for breast cancer above) were associated with increased PD, however there was no association at the gene level. ACVRL1 was significantly associated with PD at the gene level. Two variants in this gene were significantly associated with PD. Both displayed a U-shaped association, with the highest breast density found in women with 1 copy of the common allele. One SNP in the 59UTR of ACVR1B was significantly associated with PD (mean PD=21.2, 20.0-22.3; 25.3, 22.5-28.1; and 22.4, 11.1- 33.7 for 0, 1 and 2 copies of the variant allele, respectively.) This gene also was not associated with PD when tested at the gene level. Conclusion : These analyses suggest that SNPs in ACVRL1, which is known to cause increased endothelial cell proliferation, are associated with PD. In addition, there is a possible association with ACVR1 SNPs and risk of BC.
Public Health Issues

Tuberculosis has been a public health problem for centuries, and with an estimated two billion people living with latent infection, it will continue to wreak havoc in vulnerable populations. Strategies exist that can lessen the burden by treating those with latent infection, detecting and treating active disease earlier, and controlling transmission in congregate settings. Focusing efforts on high-risk populations and settings is likely to impact incidence more than in the general population and is likely more feasible [1]. We briefly review three key public health issues that if properly addressed have the potential to significantly impact the global tuberculosis burden: infection control, contact tracing, and preventive therapy.
Political Speeches and Stock Market Outcomes

Using data on political speeches, I demonstrate that U.S. presidential candidates influence stock market outcomes. Political speeches that contain economic information increase aggregate market returns and trading volume but decrease market volatility. Speeches with a net negative linguistic tone have the opposite effect. The magnitude of the effect becomes stronger during the first months of campaigns and varies based on the prevailing market conditions. In the cross-section of stock returns, I show that industries with high government exposure are more sensitive to government-spending information and that politically sensitive industries do not react more strongly to candidate speeches. Overall, my findings suggest that political speeches affect investor expectations and, in turn, stock market outcomes.
Pharmacotherapies for decreasing maladaptive choice in drug addiction: Targeting the behavior and the drug

Drug addiction can be conceptualized as a disorder of maladaptive decision making in which drugs are chosen at the expense of pro-social, nondrug alternatives. The study of decision making in drug addiction has focused largely on the role of impulsivity as a facilitator of addiction, in particular the tendency for drug abusers to choose small, immediate gains over larger but delayed outcomes (i.e., delay discounting). A parallel line of work, also focused on decision making in drug addiction, has focused on identifying the determinants underlying the choice to take drugs over nondrug alternatives (i.e., drug vs. nondrug choice). Both tracks of research have been valuable tools in the development of pharmacotherapies for treating maladaptive decision making in drug addiction, and a number of common drugs have been studied in both designs. However, we have observed that there is little uniformity in the administration regimens of potential treatments between the designs, which hinders congruence in the development of single treatment strategies to reduce both impulsive behavior and drug choice. The current review provides an overview of the drugs that have been tested in both delay-discounting and drug-choice designs, and focuses on drugs that reduced the maladaptive choice in both designs. Suggestions to enhance congruence between the findings in future studies are provided. Finally, we propose the use of a hybridized, experimental approach that may enable researchers to test the effectiveness of therapeutics at decreasing impulsive and drug choice in a single design.
Observers for Nonlinear Systems : Part 2: An Overview of the Special Issue

Most geometric control-design methods for nonlinear systems assume that all state variables are available for feedback in real time. Unfortunately, the entire state is usually too expensive or impossible to measure, and some form of estimation is necessary. Unlike linear timeinvariant systems, where the state-estimation problem is analogous to the control-design problem, the design of a stable observer is a significant and separate challenge in nonlinear systems.
Political Independence of Youth

One of the most common assumptions about young people is that they are liberal and always vote Democratic. Winston Churchill once said, “Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains.” Churchill is wrong. The connection of young Independents to youth voting behavior is that Independents as a whole are less likely to vote when compared to partisans. Young people are also more likely to identify as Independents, which would suggest that one explanation for a lack of youth turnout is due to the higher numbers of Independents among youth who are less likely to vote.
Open-Access Journals: The Future of Scientific Publishing?

The open-access publishing initiative started in the 1990s with the introduction of the World Wide Web that made the Internet available around the globe. The open-access publishing concept entails that scientific content is provided online to readers, free of charge. The “Public Library of Science” (PloS) was one of the first nonprofit open-access platforms launched with tremendous success in the early twenty-first century. Open-access publishing provides several unprecedented advantages compared to standard print journals. This includes the timely, unrestricted, free access to scientific knowledge by any reader with access to the Internet, by eliminating financial barriers related to expensive journal subscriptions and by reducing the usual time delay of several months (or years) from the time a scientific discovery is made until the information is available to the end user.
Entropy drives selective fluorine recognition in the fluoroacetyl–CoA thioesterase from Streptomyces cattleya

Fluorinated small molecules play an important role in the design of bioactive compounds for a broad range of applications. As such, there is strong interest in developing a deeper understanding of how fluorine affects the interaction of these ligands with their targets. Given the small number of fluorinated metabolites identified to date, insights into fluorine recognition have been provided almost entirely by synthetic systems. The fluoroacetyl–CoA thioesterase (FlK) from Streptomyces cattleya thus provides a unique opportunity to study an enzyme–ligand pair that has been evolutionarily optimized for a surprisingly high 106 selectivity for a single fluorine substituent. In these studies, we synthesize a series of analogs of fluoroacetyl–CoA and acetyl–CoA to generate nonhydrolyzable ester, amide, and ketone congeners of the thioester substrate to isolate the role of fluorine molecular recognition in FlK selectivity. Using a combination of thermodynamic, kinetic, and protein NMR experiments, we show that fluorine recognition is entropically driven by the interaction of the fluorine substituent with a key residue, Phe-36, on the lid structure that covers the active site, resulting in an ∼5- to 20-fold difference in binding (KD). Although the magnitude of discrimination is similar to that found in designed synthetic ligand–protein complexes where dipolar interactions control fluorine recognition, these studies show that hydrophobic and solvation effects serve as the major determinant of naturally evolved fluorine selectivity.
Hierarchical Task Analysis of a Synthetic Aperture Radar Analysis Process

Imagery analysts are given the difficult task of determining, post-hoc, if particular events of importance had occurred, employing Synthetic Aperture Radar SAR images, written reports and PowerPoint presentations to make their decision. We were asked to evaluate the current system analysis process and make recommendations for a future temporal geospatial analysis prototype that is envisioned to allow analysts to quickly search for temporal and spatial relationships between image-derived features. As such, we conducted a Hierarchical task analysis HTA; [3], [6] to understand the analysts' tasks and subtasks. We also implemented a timeline analysis and workload assessment [4] to better understand which tasks were the most time-consuming and perceived as the most effortful. Our results gave the team clear recommendations and requirements for a prototype.
Michigan State University Department of Statistics and Probability

The Agricultural College of the State of Michigan was founded in 1855. It became a land-grant institution under the Morrill Act of 1862 and reached university standing in 1955. The Department of Statistics was formed in 1955 around five faculty transferred from the Department of Mathematics. It was charged with the responsibility for teaching statistics courses, providing statistical consulting, and providing a center for routine desk calculations arising from statistical problems. On November 1, 1965, the department was renamed Statistics and Probability (S&P), a unique name that reflects the department’s commitment to both probability and statistics.
Chapter 25 – Family Arenaviridae

The name arenavirus comes from the Latin arenosus (sandy). Ribosomes are packaged within arenavirus virions and these are responsible for the “sandy” appearance of the particles. Arenavirus virions are enveloped with helical nucleocapsids and are pleomorphic, ranging in size from 100 to 130 nm in diameter. Structural proteins include a nucleocapsid protein (N), a matrix-like protein (Z), and two glycoproteins derived from a single precursor. Arenaviruses are segmented RNA viruses that replicate using an overall strategy common to negative-strand RNA viruses. However, both genome segments (large (L) and small (S)) are ambisense in their coding strategy. Rodents are natural hosts of many arenaviruses though some can infect humans through contact with infected rodents or inhalation of infectious urine or feces.
COVERAGE WITH EVIDENCE DEVELOPMENT: WHERE ARE WE NOW?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) coverage with evidence development (CED) policy has significantly impacted cardiovascular services, enabling access to novel therapies like TAVR and ICDs while collecting outcome and/or facility data through clinical studies or registries. We
A Comparison of Estimation Techniques for IRT Models With Small Samples

The usefulness of item response theory (IRT) models depends, in large part, on the accuracy of item and person parameter estimates. For the standard 3 parameter logistic model, for example, these p...
Toward an Ethic of Shared Selfhood

Turning a receptive ear toward the voice of women's experience, feminist ethical inquiry has begun to articulate an understanding of moral selfhood which takes seriously the depth and breadth of the selfs relationality. Recognizing that the moral self is formed and reformed in community with other selves, feminist ethical inquiry has begun to articulate an understanding of that moral agency which selves-in-relation exercise toward other selves-in-relation.1 Ethicists seem to have a sense of the ways in which separate selves influence each other as they pursue their own separate ends, but do we have a sense of the ways in which separate selves become one self in the shared pursuit of shared ends? What would it mean to share a self with someone and to exercise moral agency within the context of shared selfhood? In exploring this question, I will focus on intimate friends who are also 'character-friends.'2 Construed broadly intimate friends can include lovers, spouses, parents and grown children, and close co-workers. Character-friends are friends who love each other largely because of each other's character. They are attracted and attached to each other, drawn toward the promotion and shared enjoyment of each other's good, largely on account of the shape of each other's vision and virtue. Each charac ter-friend is captured and compelled in some measure by the other's understanding of the humanly good, by the other's interests in the concrete realization of that good, by her ways of receiving and responding to particulars in her purview, by her dispositions toward pleasure and pain, and by her manner of deliberating and committing herself to action. Spending a great deal of time with each other, living their lives in mutual awareness of their love and in mutual commitment to the
Chromosome conformation capture that detects novel cis- and trans-interactions in budding yeast.

Chromosome Conformation Capture (3C) has emerged as a powerful approach for revealing the conformation and features of three-dimensional (3D) genomic organization. Yet attainment of higher resolution in organisms with compact genomes presents a challenge. Here, we describe modifications in the 3C technique that substantially enhance its resolution and sensitivity when applied to the 3D genome of budding yeast. Keys to our approach include use of a 4 bp cutter, Taq I, for cleaving the genome and quantitative PCR for measuring the frequency of ligation. Most importantly, we normalize the percent digestion at each restriction site to account for variation in accessibility of local chromatin structure under a given physiological condition. This strategy has led to the detection of physical interactions between regulatory elements and gene coding regions as well as intricate, stimulus-specific interchromosomal interactions between activated genes. We provide an algorithm that incorporates these and other modifications and allows quantitative determination of chromatin interaction frequencies in yeast under any physiological condition.
3D printed temporal bone as a tool for otologic surgery simulation.

Abstract Purpose In this face validity study, we discuss the fabrication and utility of an affordable, computed tomography (CT)–based, anatomy-accurate, 3-dimensional (3D) printed temporal bone models for junior otolaryngology resident training. Materials and methods After IRB exemption, patient CT scans were anonymized and downloaded as Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) files to prepare for conversion. These files were converted to stereolithography format for 3D printing. Important soft tissue structures were identified and labeled to be printed in a separate color than bone. Models were printed using a desktop 3D printer (Ultimaker 3 Extended, Ultimaker BV, Netherlands) and polylactic acid (PLA) filament. 10 junior residents with no previous drilling experience participated in the study. Each resident was asked to drill a simple mastoidectomy on both a cadaveric and 3D printed temporal bone. Following their experience, they were asked to complete a Likert questionnaire. Results The final result was an anatomically accurate (XYZ accuracy = 12.5, 12.5, 5 μm) 3D model of a temporal bone that was deemed to be appropriate in tactile feedback using the surgical drill. The total cost of the material required to fabricate the model was approximately $1.50. Participants found the 3D models overall to be similar to cadaveric temporal bones, particularly in overall value and safety. Conclusions 3D printed temporal bone models can be used as an affordable and inexhaustible alternative, or supplement, to traditional cadaveric surgical simulation.
THE ANTIEPILEPTIC POTENTIAL OF THE CANNABINOIDS

The anticonvulsant activity of marihuana and some of its surrogates was first described by Loewe and Goodman in 1947; however, detailed studies of the anticonvulsant activity of the cannabinoids were not undertaken until recently when relatively pure cannabinoids became available.
Introduction to the Peabody Journal of Education

What good is learning about algebra when you’re hungry? What good is learning about history if you don’t know where your next meal is coming from? Those things [sic] are important to survival, wher...
Universal crossed beam imaging studies of polyatomic reaction dynamics

The marriage between high level quantum calculations and experimental advances in laser technology, quantum state control, and detection techniques have opened the door to the study of molecular collision dynamics at a new level of detail. However, one current challenge lies in adapting these powerful strategies to address questions beyond the scope of the small ground state systems that have largely been the focus of reaction dynamics investigations to-date. For molecules with intermediate or large size (more than 6 atoms), lack of spectroscopic information and spectral congestion limit quantum state preparation, control and detection for experiment, and the large number of degrees of freedom of the system makes accurate quantum dynamics calculations prohibitively expensive. Nevertheless, studies of the chemical dynamics of such systems can reveal novel aspects of reactivity not anticipated based upon the behavior of smaller model systems. This Perspective will highlight applications of soft vacuum ultraviolet photoionization at 157 nm as a universal probe in combination with crossed beams and DC slice velocity map ion imaging to study bimolecular reaction dynamics of molecules of intermediate or large size, illuminated with support of high-level ab initio calculations. Here, we report on the chemical dynamics of atomic oxygen or chlorine reactions with organic compounds: propanol isomers, alkylamines (N(CH3)3 and NH(CH3)2), and isobutene ((CH3)2CCH2) studied using this approach. The polyatomic radical products from the hydrogen abstraction process have been detected by 157 nm photoionization and their slice ion images embody translational energy and angular information that directly reflect the underlying collision dynamics. Various reaction mechanisms (such as direct abstraction and addition–elimination) along with the involvement of roaming dynamics and novel intersystem crossing pathways are presented. These demonstrate the power of this technique to reveal fundamentally new aspects of reaction dynamics that arise in larger reaction systems.
140 – Spinal Vascular Malformations

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the various aspects of spinal vascular malformations. Vascular malformations of the spinal cord are a heterogeneous group of anomalies ranging from simple, dural arteriovenous fistulae to complex arteriovenous malformations that may involve the spinal cord parenchyma as well as adjacent spinal and extraspinal structures. Most spinal vascular malformations can be classified into one of four types that differ significantly in etiology, anatomy, pathophysiology, radiological appearance, and treatment. Type I spinal arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) have two or more arterial feeders that enter at separate segmental levels. In this situation, the additional segmental dural branches travel within the dura to the fistula nidus where they converge to communicate with the efferent vein. Type II spinal cord AVMs are also referred to as glomus malformations and consist of intramedullary vascular malformations that have a true compact nidus within the parenchyma of the spinal cord. Type I spinal AVMs are believed to be acquired lesions although the mechanism for their development is not understood. These malformations cause symptoms primarily though venous hypertension. The surgical treatment of these lesions is very straightforward and outcome is most dependent on the patient's condition at the time of diagnosis. The availability of magnetic resonance imaging has made the diagnosis much simpler but high quality spinal angiography is still necessary to establish the diagnosis, classify the lesion, and plan appropriate treatment, whether it is endovascular, surgical, or a combination.
Using Multi-core Architectures to Improve the Performance of Real-time Dynamic Binary Instrumentation

This paper presents a novel technique and framework for decreasing instrumentation overhead in software systems that utilize dynamic binary instrumentation. First, we introduce a lightweight networking framework combined with an easily extensible BSON implementation as a heavy analysis routine replacement. Secondly, we bind instrumentation and analysis threads to non-overlapping cpu cores—allowing analysis threads to execute faster. Lastly, we utilize a lock-free buffering system to bridge the gap between instrumentation and analysis threads, and minimize the overhead to the instrumentation threads. Using this combination, we managed to write a dynamic binary instrumentation tool (DBI) in Pin using Pin++ that is 1000% faster than its counterpart DBI tool with no buffering.
COVID-19 Pandemic among Latinx Farmworker and Non-farmworker Families in North Carolina: Knowledge, Risk Perceptions, and Preventive Behaviors

Abstract (1) Background The COVID-19 pandemic poses substantial threats to Latinx farmworkers and other immigrants in food production and processing. Classified as essential, such workers cannot shelter at home. Therefore, knowledge and preventive behaviors are important to reduce COVID-19 spread in the community. (2) Methods Respondents for 67 families with at least one farmworker (FWF) and 38 comparable families with no farmworkers (non-FWF) in North Carolina completed a telephone survey in May, 2020. The survey queried knowledge of COVID-19, perceptions of its severity, self-efficacy, and preventive behaviors. Detailed data were collected to document household members’ social interaction and use of face coverings. (3) Results Knowledge of COVID-19 and prevention methods was high in both groups, as was its perceived severity. Non-FWF had higher self-efficacy for preventing infection. Both groups claimed to practice preventive behaviors, though FWF emphasized social avoidance and non-FWF emphasized personal hygiene. Detailed social interactions showed high rates of inter-personal contact at home, at work, and in the community with more mask use in non-FWF than FWF. (4) Conclusions Despite high levels of knowledge and perceived severity for COVID-19, these immigrant families were engaged in frequent interpersonal contact that could expose community members and themselves to COVID-19.
Activity Mapping the Acyl Carrier Protein: Elongating Ketosynthase Interaction in Fatty Acid Biosynthesis

Elongating ketosynthases (KSs) catalyze carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions during the committed step for each round of chain extension in both fatty acid synthases (FASs) and polyketide synthases (PKSs). A small α-helical acyl carrier protein (ACP) shuttles fatty acyl intermediates between enzyme active sites. To accomplish this task, the ACP relies on a series of dynamic interactions with multiple partner enzymes of FAS and associated FAS-dependent pathways. Recent structures of the Escherichia coli FAS ACP, AcpP, in covalent complexes with its two cognate elongating KSs, FabF and FabB, provide high-resolution details of these interfaces, but a systematic analysis of specific interfacial interactions responsible for stabilizing these complexes has not yet been undertaken. Here, we use site-directed mutagenesis with both in vitro and in vivo activity analyses to quantitatively evaluate these contacting surfaces between AcpP and FabF. We delineate the FabF interface into three interacting regions and demonstrate the effects of point mutants, double mutants, and region deletion variants. Results from these analyses reveal a robust and modular FabF interface capable of tolerating seemingly critical interface mutations with only the deletion of an entire region significantly compromising activity. Structure and sequence analyses of FabF orthologs from related type II FAS pathways indicate significant conservation of type II FAS KS interface residues and, overall, support its delineation into interaction regions. These findings strengthen our mechanistic understanding of molecular recognition events between ACPs and FAS enzymes and provide a blueprint for engineering ACP-dependent biosynthetic pathways.
Structural Disparities in Data Science: A Prolegomenon for the Future of Machine Learning.

As disparities and data science researchers, we write in response to Char and colleagues (2020) paper on “Identifying Ethical Considerations for Machine Learning Healthcare Applications.” While the...
Radiological assessment of age from epiphyseal fusion at the wrist and ankle in Southern Nigeria

Abstract Objectives This cross-sectional study aims to examine the variation between stages of epiphyseal fusion at the distal end of radius, ulna, tibia, and fibula and its usefulness in the evaluation of age. Methods Anterior-posterior and lateral radiographs of the distal end of bones at the wrist and ankle of 199 males and 185 females aged 9–19 years were investigated. Four stages of fusion were observed, as described by Jit and Kulkarnis, stage 0: non fusion, stage 1: appearance, stage 2: partial fusion, and stage 3: complete fusion. The Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Oghara approved this research with Ethical Number: DELSUTH/HREC/2018/050/0347. Data obtained were analyzed with the aid of a Chi-square test via Statistical Package for Social Sciences and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results showed that the appearance of the epiphyseal centres at the distal ulna and radius of males and females began at the age of 9–16, while the appearance of epiphyseal centres in the distal tibia and fibula of males began at the age of 9–17. Males achieved complete epiphyseal fusion at the distal end of the tibia and fibula at age 19, while females showed complete fusion from 15 to 19 years of age.This indicates that females have consistently developed epiphyseal fusion at a younger age relative to males. Conclusion From these results, it can be inferred that radiographic examination of the distal end of bones in the wrist and ankle is a beneficial alternative for age assessment. This will be a useful tool to forensic experts and biological anthropologist.
Button Battery Ingestion: What Do You Do?

A 16-month-old male presented with 1-2 months of worsening cough. He had no fever, vomiting, drooling, choking, wheezing, stridor, or changes in his voice. His mother did not witness a foreign body ingestion. He was alert, active, breathing comfortably with clear breath sounds, had a clear oropharynx and no muffled voice. Parental concern prompted a chest x-ray which revealed an esophageal button battery. He was rapidly taken to the operating room where an upper endoscopy revealed a lithium battery lodged below the upper esophageal sphincter with surrounding mucosal erythema and soft tissue …
Abdominal Malakoplakia Secondary to Disseminated Mycobacterium Avium Complex after Lung Transplant

Introduction Malakoplakia is a rare granulomatous inflammation in response to a bacterial infection. It is incited by incomplete macrophagic degradation of bacteria. The presence of these remnant phagosomes on pathology is considered pathognomonic for malakoplakia and known as Michaelis-Gutmann bodies (MGB). There are few case reports describing malakoplakia after lung transplant and none of which describe disseminated Mycobacterium avium Complex (MAC) induced malakoplakia. Case Report A 60-year-old female, with history of hypogammaglobulinemia and double lung transplant for bronchiectasis, presented with abdominal pain 6 months after transplant. She was diagnosed with acute diverticulitis and treated with IV antibiotics. Subsequently, she was readmitted with perforated diverticulum and a new complex phlegmon by CT imaging. In spite of antibiotics, the phlegmon enlarged. She underwent exploratory laparotomy that revealed a dense abdominal mass. The histopathologic exam of this mass showed MGB, by PAS and Von Kossa stains, diagnostic of malakoplakia. Tissue cultures grew VRE and E. coli, but intra-peritoneal fluid cultures grew MAC. However, tissue PCR and blood cultures were negative. MAC was deemed a contaminant and no treatment was rendered. The malakoplakia was thought to be secondary to VRE and E. Coli infection for which she was treated appropriately, and immunosuppression was lowered. She was readmitted with ongoing pain, and CT of abdomen showed further increase in size of mass. Repeat AFB blood cultures were positive for MAC. She was started on MAC therapy with clinical and radiographic improvement. Summary Since differential of malakoplakia could include malignancy, it is imperative to obtain tissue sampling. In this case, despite early sampling, diagnosis was delayed due to the uncertainty surrounding the isolated growth of MAC with above negative testing. This discordance could be explained by only a 70% sensitivity of PCR with negative AFB smear. Notably, false negatives may occur if organisms are present in low numbers. Patient had positive AFB blood cultures with negative respiratory cultures suggesting an extrapulmonary etiology of disseminated MAC. This in combination with continued growth of the mass despite culture directed antibiotics and improvement following initiation of MAC therapy supports the diagnosis of MAC induced malakoplakia.
On regularization of charge singularities in solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation with a smooth solute-solvent boundary.

Numerical treatment of singular charges is a grand challenge in solving the Poisson-Boltzmann (PB) equation for analyzing electrostatic interactions between the solute biomolecules and the surrounding solvent with ions. For diffuse interface PB models in which solute and solvent are separated by a smooth boundary, no effective algorithm for singular charges has been developed, because the fundamental solution with a space dependent dielectric function is intractable. In this work, a novel regularization formulation is proposed to capture the singularity analytically, which is the first of its kind for diffuse interface PB models. The success lies in a dual decomposition – besides decomposing the potential into Coulomb and reaction field components, the dielectric function is also split into a constant base plus space changing part. Using the constant dielectric base, the Coulomb potential is represented analytically via Green's functions. After removing the singularity, the reaction field potential satisfies a regularized PB equation with a smooth source. To validate the proposed regularization, a Gaussian convolution surface (GCS) is also introduced, which efficiently generates a diffuse interface for three-dimensional realistic biomolecules. The performance of the proposed regularization is examined by considering both analytical and GCS diffuse interfaces, and compared with the trilinear method. Moreover, the proposed GCS-regularization algorithm is validated by calculating electrostatic free energies for a set of proteins and by estimating salt affinities for seven protein complexes. The results are consistent with experimental data and estimates of sharp interface PB models.
Current density distribution on composite structures under cathodic protection in seawater

The distribution of cathodic protection current between members of copper-steel and stainless steel-aluminum galvanic couples was found to vary by ratio of 940 to 0.05 as the relative areas were varied from 100:1 to 1:100. Polarization curves and the distribution of current are given. Above a 1:1 ratio of cathode to anode, cathodic protection does not appear to be practical.
Abstract 4324: BNip3 connects energy sensing to hepatic lipid metabolism and mitophagy

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA BNip3 is a hypoxia-inducible member of the Bcl-2 family that integrates into the outer mitochondrial membrane as stable homodimers where it acts as a receptor for mitochondrial engulfment through a conserved LC3 interacting region. Hepatic BNip3 levels are constitutively elevated relative to other tissues, and dramatically increase upon nutrient deprivation or glucagon stimulation, suggesting a key role for BNip3 in the fasting response. We have determined that the fasting-induced increase in hepatic BNip3 protein levels is not solely attributable to transcriptional induction and have identified post-translational modification of BNip3 that affects protein stability and function. In a mouse model of BNip3 loss, we observe metabolic defects including increased hepatic lipid synthesis and reduced fatty acid oxidation. Consistent with BNip3's role in mitophagy, defects in liver metabolism were linked to increased mitochondrial mass, but decreased mitochondrial function, including reduced oxygen consumption and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. Delivery of a mitophagy deficient mutant BNip3 to the BNip3 null liver indicates that defects in lipid metabolism are not simply due to the accumulation of defective mitochondria, but rather BNip3 has another role to regulate lipid metabolism based on nutrient status. Of relevance, BNip3 is epigenetically silenced in the more aggressive and common form of HCC (sub-type A) and thus this work identifies potential mechanisms by which this protein may act as a tumor suppressor. Citation Format: Michelle L. Boland, He Huang, Ramilla Shah, Almas Ali, Yingming Zhao, Christopher J. Rhodes, Kay F. Macleod. BNip3 connects energy sensing to hepatic lipid metabolism and mitophagy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4324. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4324
Informatikzentren für Spitzenmanager — ein aktuelles weltweites Beratungs- und Marketingkonzept

Zwei Trends der angewandten Informatik verandern ganz besonders das Bild von Industrie and Verwaltung, ja der gesamten Gesellschaft (und last not least, der informationstechnischen Industrie selbst):
An improved bioassay for victorin based on the use of oat protoplasts

A new bioassay for the host selective toxin from Helminthosporium victoriae was developed from studies of the effects on protoplasts. A suspension of protoplasts (0·2 ml) from susceptible or resistant oat leaves was placed in each well of microtiter plates and toxin (50 μl) was added. After incubation at 35 °C, protoplast death caused by toxin was determined by microscopic observation; quantitative data were possible by use of fluorescein diacetate as a vital strain. Toxin at 3·0 ng ml−1 killed 50% of the protoplasts in 3 h, and 10 ng ml−1 killed 90%. No toxin-induced death was observed in 20 min, even with very high toxin concentrations; thereafter, the percentage of dead cells increased with increased exposure time. Protoplasts were exposed to several toxin concentrations for 1, 10 and 30 min, then washed and incubated without toxin for 3 h; there were high, intermediate and minimal numbers of survivors, respectively. Survival percentages were equal in wells containing 2000 to 20 000 protoplasts, but were higher in wells containing > 20 000. Protoplasts from resistant oat leaves were not affected by toxin. The protoplast assay, which can be completed in 6 h, overcomes several limitations of other assays. The protoplast assay was used to test for toxin in culture filtrates and in solutions at all steps during the purification procedure.
Performance outcomes of cross-country running structured in a voluntary activity class.

Abstract Running performance and metabolic variables were evaluated in 28 college males during the period of a 10-wk cross-country activity class. The basic criterion measure was the 3-mi run time while treadmill tests were used to determine oxygen uptake at the speed of the field test as well as under maximal conditions. Increased running performance was not attributed to changes in maximum oxygen consumption but to a greater use of aerobic capacity. The results of the study support improved physiological efficiency during submaximal and maximal activity as an outcome of the training program. It was generally concluded, however, that training load within the constraints of a voluntary cross-country activity course may frequently be too limited to justify physical fitness as a course objective.
Contracting for Servicizing

Servicizing, a novel business practice that sells product functionality rather than products, has been touted as an environmentally beneficial business practice. This paper describes how servicizing transactions mitigate some problems associated with sales transactions, but creates several others. The success of servicizing or product service systems requires manufacturers to develop contracts that attract customers while protecting their interests. Several propositions are offered to facilitate empirical testing of the concepts discussed.
Comparison between Urine Protein: Creatinine Ratios of Samples Obtained from Dogs in Home and Hospital Settings

Background The urine protein:creatinine ratio (UPC) is used to quantify urine protein excretion and guide recommendations for monitoring and treatment of proteinuria. Hypothesis/Objectives Home urine samples will have lower UPCs than hospital samples. The objectives were to compare UPCs of samples collected in each setting and to determine whether environment of sample collection might affect staging, monitoring or treatment recommendations. Animals Twenty-four client-owned dogs. Methods Prospective, nonmasked study. Clients collected a urine sample from their dog at home and a second sample was collected at the hospital. Dogs receiving corticosteroids or angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors were excluded, as were those with urine samples of inadequate volume, no protein on dipstick analysis, or active urine sediment. Samples were refrigerated after collection, dipstick and sediment evaluations were completed and each sample was frozen at −80°C within 12 hours. UPCs were performed on frozen samples within 2 months. Results From 81 paired samples, 57 were excluded. Of the remaining 24, 12/24 (50%) had higher hospital sample UPCs, 9/24 (38%) had identical UPCs, and 3/24 (12%) had lower hospital UPCs. The UPCs of hospital samples were higher than home samples for the total population (P = .005) and the subset with UPC > 0.5 (P = .001). Conclusions Setting and related circumstances of urine collection in dogs is associated with UPC differences; results are usually higher in hospital than in home samples. This difference has the potential to affect clinical interpretation.
Critical Variables in Adaptive Motor Skills Training

Automatic adaptive training procedures for motor skills learning have been suggested for several years. Adaptive training is a closed-loop system in which some aspect of the student's performance is monitored and used in a computer algorithm to adjust the difficulty of the training task. Only limited research exists on the evaluation of these procedures both in basic laboratory motor learning tasks and in applications to flying training using synthetic flight trainers. In this paper critical variables dealing with the performance measurement procedure, the choice of the adaptive variable, and the appropriate adaptive logic are evaluated. The results of a series of laboratory studies are reviewed, and several suggestions for additional research as well as a general model of instruction are discussed. It was concluded that the most effective automated adaptive motor skills training probably should use multivariate performance measurement schemes which manipulate stimulus-related adaptive variables in connec...
Solar Element Abundances and the Composition of Meteorites

Abstract Many investigators, as for example E. Anders, assume that certain types of meteorites, in particular group I carbonaceous chondrites, represent the relatively unaltered condensable fraction of solar matter. This assumption meets with the difficulty that in all types of meteorites, including the carbonaceous chondrites, Fe is always more abundant by at least a factor of 4 than expected from its astronomical abundance value for the Sun. Therefore, either the astronomical value for Fe must be assumed to be incorrect, or it must be assumed that in none of the different classes of meteorites the elemental abundances reflect the solar abundances better than to within a factor of 4. Which of the two possibilities is the correct one can, in principle, be learned from general rules for the abundances of nuclear species. This can be done by comparing abundance values for different classes of meteorites and by investigating for each case how well the abundance rules are observed. Such a comparison is inconclusive for the case of iron alone, but becomes significant if other siderophile elements are included. The abundances of Co, Ni, and Cu, in particular, indicate that the siderophile elements are enriched relative to Si in group I carbonaceous chondrites. For chalcophile elements, as well as for volatile metals such as Zn and Cd, the abundance relative to Si in group I carbonaceous chondrites is a closer approximation of the solar abundances than those in ordinary chondrites. Some of these elements, as well as Br, which are depleted in ordinary chondrites appear to be somewhat enriched in carbonaceous chondrites. What type of process could have caused an enrichment of certain elements is not clear. The mechanism of fractionation is difficult to explain by ordinary chemical processes. As pointed out by Wasson, this is also true for the noble metals; Pd, for example, shows remarkable coherence with Ni, where Os and Pt vary over wide ranges of concentrations. A comparison of vapour pressure curves of elements with their relative abundances shows that the variations may, indeed, be caused by fractionated condensation. Should this be true, then the constituents of exceptionally low volatility should be enriched in meteorites, together with iron. Empirical abundance rules are not violated by such an assumption. The abundance rules, however, do not support the concept of a general depletion of all the elements with relatively high volatility. Separation according to vapor pressure may have occurred at an early stage of high temperature (T > 2000°K). During the later stages of condensation, however, it was significant only under special circumstances.
Methodology for energy-efficient digital circuit sizing: important issues and design limitations

This paper analyzes the issues that face digital circuit design methodologies and tools which address energy-efficient digital circuit sizing. The best known techniques for resolving these issues are presented, along with the sources of error. The analysis demonstrates that input slope independent models for energy and delay and stage based optimization are effective for analyzing and optimizing energy-efficient digital circuits when applied correctly.