cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Biochemical Fluorometric Method for Assessing the Oxidative Properties of HDL

Most current assays of HDL functional properties are cell-based. We have developed a fluorometric biochemical assay based on the oxidation of dihydrorhodamine 123 (DHR) by HDL. This cell-free assay assesses the intrinsic ability of HDL to be oxidized by measuring increasing fluorescence due to DHR oxidation over time. The assay distinguishes the oxidative potential of HDL taken from different persons, and the results are reproducible. Direct comparison of this measurement correlated well with results obtained using a validated cell-based assay (r2 = 0.62, P < 0.001). The assay can be scaled from a 96-well format to a 384-well format and, therefore, is suitable for high-throughput implementation. This new fluorometric method offers an inexpensive, accurate, and rapid means for determining the oxidative properties of HDL that is applicable to large-scale clinical studies.
Hilbert Problems (Almost) 100 Years Later (From the Viewpoint of Interval Computations)

Hilbert problems. In 1900, the world-wide mathematical community asked David Hilbert, the leading mathematician of his time, to prepare the list of challenging mathematical problems for the coming 20th century. After careful analysis, Hilbert selected 23 problems that he considered to be the most important and the most promising. These problems were delivered in his famous 1900 lecture [12]. From the mathematical viewpoint, Hilbert’s selection was extremely successful. The short list of problems indeed inspired breakthroughs and developments that formed the core of the 20th century mathematics. Some of these problems even mentioned the notion of what we would now call an algorithm, the notion that was still in infancy in 1900, but which now shapes the world of science and the humanity in general. Hilbert problems: a view from the year (almost) 2000. In the course of these developments, practically all Hilbert’s problems were solved [6]. Solved – in the sense in which Hilbert himself would like them to be solved: if he asked whether a certain mathematical object existed, he meant to obtain a proof that such an object existed, not necessarily an explicit construction. Of course, a construction is always desirable but back then in 1900, before computers were invented, even the existence of a construction did not necessarily mean that we could actually construct: it could be that this construction required thousands of steps, which was, at that time, next to impossible. Nowadays, computers routinely make millions and billions of steps, so a theoretical ability to construct most frequently means that we can actually construct (if not now, then in the near future). With this fascinating computational ability in mind, it is desirable to re-visit year-1900 Hilbert problems from this year-2000 computational viewpoint.
Folic Acid Deficiency During Late Gestation Decreases Progenitor Cell Proliferation and Increases Apoptosis in Fetal Mouse Brain

In mice and rats, maternal dietary choline intake during late pregnancy modulates mitosis and apoptosis in progenitor cells of the fetal hippocampus and septum. Because choline and folate are interrelated metabolically, we investigated the effects of maternal dietary folate availability on progenitor cells in fetal mouse telencephalon. Timed-pregnant mice were fed a folate-supplemented (FS), control (FCT) or folate-deficient (FD) AIN-76 diet from d 11-17 of pregnancy. FD decreased the number of progenitor cells undergoing cell replication in the ventricular zones of the developing mouse brain septum (46.6% of FCT), caudate putamen (43.5%), and neocortex (54.4%) as assessed using phosphorylated histone H3 (a specific marker of mitotic phase) and confirmed by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling of the S phase. In addition, 106.2% more apoptotic cells were found in FD than in FCT fetal septum. We observed 46.8% more calretinin-positive cells in the medial septal-diagonal band region of FD compared with pups from control dams. FS mice did not differ significantly from FCT mice in any of these measures. These results suggest that progenitor cells in fetal forebrain are sensitive to maternal dietary folate during late gestation.
Fast Reactor Development in the United States

This article chronicles the rise and fall of fast-reactor research in the United States. Research on fast reactors began at the end of World War II and represented a large fraction of the total U.S. research effort on civilian nuclear energy until the early 1980s. The goal of most of this research was to develop a plutonium breeder reactor capable of producing more plutonium from U-238 than is consumed. But with the termination of the Clinch River Breeder Reactor project in 1983, fast reactor development in the United States essentially ended. Safety issues played a role in this end to the fast breeder reactor program, but more important reasons were nuclear proliferation concerns and a growing conviction that breeder reactors would not be needed or economically competitive with light water reactors for decades, if ever.
Evaluation of HIV-1 kinetic models using quantitative discrimination analysis

Motivation: Since the identification of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) over twenty years ago, many mathematical models of HIV dynamics have been proposed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate intracellular and intercellular scale HIV models that best described the dynamics of viral and cell titers of a person, where parameters were determined using typically available patient data. In this case, 'best' was defined as the model most capable of describing experimental patient data and was determined by Bayesian-based model discrimination analysis and the ability to provide realistic results. Results: Twenty models of HIV-1 viral dynamics were initially evaluated to determine whether parameters could be obtained from readily available clinical data from established HIV-1 patients with stable disease. Based on this analysis, three models were chosen for further examination and comparison. Parameters were estimated using experimental data from a cohort of 338 people monitored for up to 2484 days. The models were evaluated using a Bayesian technique to determine which model was most probable. The model ultimately selected as most probable was overwhelmingly favored relative to the remaining two models, and it accounted for uninfected cells, infected cells and cytotoxic T lymphocyte dynamics. The authors developed a fourth model for comparison purposes by combining the features of the original three models. Parameters were estimated for the new model and the statistical analysis was repeated for all four models. The model that was initially favored was selected again upon model discrimination analysis. Contact: srivasta@engr.uconn.edu
Navigation-assisted fluoroscopy in minimally invasive direct lateral interbody fusion: a cadaveric study

Background Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is dependent on intraoperative fluoroscopic imaging for visualization, which significantly increases exposure to radiation. Navigation-assisted fluoroscopy (NAV) can potentially decrease radiation exposure and improve the operating room environment by reducing the need for real-time fluoroscopy. The direct lateral interbody fusion (DLIF) procedure is a technique for MIS intervertebral lumbar and thoracic interbody fusions. This study assesses the use of navigation for the DLIF procedure in comparison to standard fluoroscopy (FLUORO), as well as the accuracy of the NAV MIS DLIF procedure.
Differences among nursing homes in outcomes of a safe resident handling program

A large nursing home corporation implemented a safe resident handling program (SRHP) in 2004-2007. We evaluated its efficacy over a 2-year period by examining differences among 5 centers in program outcomes and potential predictors of those differences. We observed nursing assistants (NAs), recording activities and body postures at 60-second intervals on personal digital assistants at baseline and at 3-month, 12-month, and 24-month follow-ups. The two outcomes computed were change in equipment use during resident handling and change in a physical workload index that estimated spinal loading due to body postures and handled loads. Potential explanatory factors were extracted from post-observation interviews, investigator surveys of the workforce, from administrative data, and employee satisfaction surveys. The facility with the most positive outcome measures was associated with many positive changes in explanatory factors and the facility with the fewest positive outcome measures experienced negative changes in the same factors. These findings suggest greater SRHP benefits where there was lower NA turnover and agency staffing; less time pressure; and better teamwork, staff communication, and supervisory support.
Nutrient and light availability regulate the relative contribution of autotrophs and heterotrophs to respiration in freshwater pelagic ecosystems

In this study, two main hypotheses were addressed. (1) Bacteria contribute proportionally less than autotrophs to ecosystem respiration as trophic status increases. This hypothesis was examined in a pond phosphorus-fertilization experiment and two microcosm nutrient-fertilization experiments. (2) The relative contribution of autotrophs to ecosystem respiration, at a given nutrient availability, increases as light availability increases. This hypothesis was tested in three light by nutrient factorial microcosm experiments. Rates of total plankton community, bacterial ( ,1 mm fraction), and phytoplankton (total 2 bacterial) respiration all increased as nutrient availability increased. The contribution of bacteria to community respiration ranged between ;10 and 90%, with the highest contribution occurring under the most oligotrophic conditions. As light availability increased within each nutrient availability treatment, there was a similar decline in the contribution of bacteria to community respiration. Under oligotrophic conditions bacteria are better competitors for nutrients that limit both autotrophs and heterotrophs, but as nutrient availability increases, conditions become increasingly favorable for larger celled phytoplankton that have higher maximal nutrient uptake rates. As light availability increases, the relative contribution of phytoplankton to ecosystem respiration also increases. Light and nutrient availability are important regulators of the relative contributions of autotrophs and heterotrophs to ecosystem respiration, but the observed patterns are primarily driven by changes in phytoplankton production rates.
Bisulfite Effect on the Chemistry and Activity of Horseradish Peroxidase

SUMMARY: Bisulfite retarded the inactivaton of horseradish peroxidase by weak acids. Spectral analysis indicated that the retardation was accomplished by the stabilization of the linkage between the iron containing prosthetic group and the protein. Cyanide, azide and fluoride, which form reversible complexes with peroxidase iron, exerted a similar effect; thus, it is inferred that bisulfite also forms a complex with peroxidase iron. A kinetic method was used to calculate a dissociation constant of 0.2M for the bisulfite peroxidase complex.
User support: lessons learned from HST

The goal of STScI's user support is to provide HST observers with the tools, documentation and assistance they need to maximize the scientific return of their observations. This includes pre-observing support to design feasible observing programs which meet their scientific goals and post- observing support in the calibration, reduction, and analysis of the data. The current model for user support evolved over the first five years of HST operations and culminated in our contact scientist (CS) and program coordinator (PC) team. The CS is a professional astronomer as well as an instrument scientific for one of the HST instruments. The PC provides technical support as an expert in the language and tools of HST observation specification, implementation and scheduling. The underlying philosophy is that (1) the CS/PC team supports the observer from 'cradle to grave' of the observation and (2) the team is a 'single point of contact' for the observer. This means the observer can contact the CS/PC team during any phase in the life cycle of an HST program to receive assistance. It also ensure that the use obtains help from the two people at STScI who are the most familiar with the program, without being shuffled among many different experts. The STScI help desk provides parallel support for requests which do not deal with a given HST program. Requests are received, tracked, and assigned to the appropriate expert for reply. Our holistic approach combines CS/PC support with documentation, software and tools, and the help desk to create ann efficient and powerful support structure for observers.
Multiple high voltage modulators operating independently from a single common 100 kV dc power supply

This paper will describe a system where three gyrotrons can be independently operated, each with their own current, voltage and timing parameters, from a single 100 kV dc power supply. The supply enables each load to run simultaneously, sequentially, or by overlapping each other as long as the power rating of the dc supply is not surpassed. By taking full advantage of the capabilities of the front end power system, there is reduced cost, maintenance, and a lower number of high risk, high voltage components. The system also saves maintenance and complexity in lower level components thanks to a common safety and control system shared by each of the load regulators. Gyrotrons have a nonlinear voltage-current characteristic that need to be isolated from each other, so they each have their own modulators. By operating parallel modulators from a single supply, versus operating parallel gyrotrons from a single modulator, different operating modes can be obtained. For example, these modulators may be run simultaneously, where two gyrotrons can be run in parallel. They may also be ‘phased’ in and out so that they can be driven sequentially or by staggering the turn on and turn off times. This phased method will allow three gyrotrons operating, a number not otherwise supported by the rectifier power rating to be operated from a single 100 kV supply. In addition, different fault handling techniques, using a blended control system will be presented. This system implements a PLC for general ‘Master’ control, and ‘slow’ safety protections while relying on fast analog electronic logic circuits for the critical and potentially load damaging faults. Finally, there is acceptable risk of losing operation of all three gyrotrons simultaneously due to a single power supply fault. However, as presented in this paper, steps including fast logic control, and Tetrode ‘blocking’ have been implemented to mitigate this risk as much as possible.
Nitrogen removal in constructed wetlands employed to treat domestic wastewater.

Abstract In many locations nitrogen (N) addition to the environment is of concern because of the existing quality or intended use of groundwater. To address this concern we evaluated the impact of residence time on N removal in constructed wetlands employed to treat domestic wastewater. Constructed subsurface flow (SF) wetlands were installed at two locations for this study. Twelve small, gravel-based, SF wetlands were constructed at the Virginia Tech’s Kentland Research Farm (KRF). Treatments included combinations of two plant species [woolgrass (Scirpus cyperinus) and cattail (Typha latifolia)] and three residence times (2.6, 3.9 and 5.9 days). Twelve larger SF wetlands were constructed at the Powell River Project (PRP) site. Treatments at the PRP site consisted of the same plant species and three residence times (4, 8 and 12 days). The wastewater at both sites was septic tank effluent (STE) from a single family residence. Changes in ammonium (NH+4), nitrate (NO−3), and total Kjeldahl N (TKN) were determined by monitoring influent and effluent quality over a 3-year period. Plant species had little impact on N concentration or removal. Both NH+4 and TKN concentrations in the wetlands decreased exponentially with increased residence time. Removal of NH+4 and TKN ranged from 18.1 to 39.0% and from 31.3 to 45.8%, respectively, for the KRF site and from 44.4 to 73.4% and from 46.2 to 67.5%, respectively, at the PRP site. The NO−3 concentrations in the influent and effluent at both sites were low and no differences in concentrations with residence time was observed. Temperature dependent rate constants (KT), developed from NH+4–N and TKN data collected from the KRF site, was effective in predicting NH+4–N and TKN concentrations as a function of residence time in the wetlands at the PRP site.
Microfabricated packed‐bed reactor for phosgene synthesis

A silicon micropacked-bed reactor for phosgene synthesis is demonstrated as an example of the potential for safe on-site/on-demand production of a hazardous compound. Complete conversion of chlorine is observed for both a 2:1 CO/Cl 2 feed at 4.5 std.cm 3 /min and a 1:1 feed at 8 std.cm 3 /min. The latter gives a projected productivity of ∼100 kg/yr from a 10-channel microreactor, with the opportunity to produce significant quantities through operating many reactors in parallel. The versatility of silicon microfabrication technology for producing reactors for corrosive gases is demonstrated by a protective oxide coating formed during reactor fabrication. The increased heat and mass transfer inherent at the submillimeter reactor length scale provides a larger degree of safety, control, and suppression of gradients than is available in macroscale systems. These advantages are also explored in the extraction of chemical kinetics from microreactor experiments. The preexponential factor and apparent activation energy for phosgene formation are determined demonstrating the utility of micropacked-bed reactors as laboratory research tools.
Compiler-assisted generation of error-detecting parallel programs

We have developed an automated a compile time approach to generating error-detecting parallel programs. The compiler is used to identify statements implementing affine transformations within the program and to automatically insert code for computing, manipulating, and comparing checksums in order to detect data errors at runtime. Statements which do not implement affine transformations are checked by duplication. Checksums are reused from one loop to the next if this is possible, rather than recomputing checksums for every statement. A global dataflow analysis is performed in order to determine points at which checksums need to be recomputed. We also use a novel method of specifying the data distributions of the check data using data distribution directives so that the computations on the original data, and the corresponding check computations are performed on different processors. Results on the time overhead and error coverage of the error detecting parallel programs over the original programs are presented on an Intel Paragon distributed memory multicomputer.
Clinicopathologic and cytogenetic characterization of therapy-related acute T lymphoblastic leukemia in adult population.

Acute leukemias arising as the result of prior cytotoxic therapy are considered therapy-related and include therapy-related acute myeloid (t-AML) and lymphoblastic leukemia (t-ALL).[1,2] t-AML, the...
Disruption of a hydrogen bond network in human versus spider monkey cytochrome c affects heme crevice stability.

The hypothesis that the recent rapid evolution of primate cytochromes c, which primarily involves residues in the least stable Ω-loop (Ω-loop C, residues 40-57), stabilizes the heme crevice of cytochrome c relative to other mammals, is tested. To accomplish this goal, we have compared the properties of human and spider monkey cytochrome c and a set of four variants produced in the process of converting human cytochrome c into spider monkey cytochrome c. The global stability of all variants has been measured by guanidine hydrochloride denaturation. The stability of the heme crevice has been assessed with the alkaline conformational transition. Structural insight into the effects of the five amino acid substitutions needed to convert human cytochrome c into spider monkey cytochrome c is provided by a 1.15A resolution structure of spider monkey cytochrome c. The global stability for all variants is near 9.0kcal/mol at 25°C and pH7, which is higher than that observed for other mammalian cytochromes c. The heme crevice stability is more sensitive to the substitutions required to produce spider monkey cytochrome c with decreases of up to 0.5 units in the apparent pKa of the alkaline conformational transition relative to human cytochrome c. The structure of spider monkey cytochrome c indicates that the Y46F substitution destabilizes the heme crevice by disrupting an extensive hydrogen bond network that connects three surface loops including Ω-loop D (residues 70-85), which contains the Met80 heme ligand.
Opioid Considerations for Emergency Practice.

On a backdrop of increasingly distressing opioid misuse in our communities, and safety concerns expressed by The Joint Commission and others, emergency physicians are further increasing their utilization of these important agents in our patients.1,2 Are we selecting the best opioid for our patients? Are we providing the relief they need? And are we doing this safely? We all hope these questions can effectively be answered yes, now and into our futures.
On the Diffusion of Acetonitrile in Nanoscale Amorphous Silica Pores. Understanding Anisotropy and the Effects of Hydrogen Bonding

Molecular dynamics simulations are used to examine the diffusion of acetonitrile within ∼2.4 nm diameter amorphous silica pores with a focus on the mechanism. The role of the pore surface chemistry is examined by comparison of a hydrophilic, −OH terminated, silica pore with one that has hydrogen-bonding turned off and with an effectively hydrophobic pore obtained by setting all pore charges to zero. The anisotropy of diffusion, along and perpendicular to the pore axis, is examined through the mean-squared displacements. The origins of the anisotropy are investigated through the dependence on the acetonitrile position within the pore. The effect of hydrogen bonding of acetonitrile molecules to the hydrophilic pore surface is also probed. The simulations show that acetonitrile molecules do not diffuse axially next to the pore surface. Rather, axial diffusion is preceded by radial diffusion away from the pore surface. The same mechanism is observed for molecules independent of their hydrogen-bonding status t...
Spectral and spatial filtering using waveguide grating mirror

Excitation and re-emission of guided modes in a planar waveguide grating structure is known to result in sharp features in wavelength and angular reflectance spectra [1]. By physical nature, the resonant reflection from a waveguide grating is similar to the Wood anomalies of light diffraction at metallic gratings associated with excitation and re-emission of surface plasmons. Due to much lower absorption in dielectric structures, the quality factor of the resonant waveguide mode excitation can be very high. To the best of our knowledge the highest reported finesse is 1.5⋅104 [2]. Potential applications include spectral filtering [3-5], optical switches [2], optical sensors [6], polarization control in lasers [7], and spatial filtering of lateral modes in large volume lasers [8]. Special cases of normal incidence [9] and two-dimensional gratings [10] have been considered. In this talk we summarize recent achievements in study of the resonant reflection of light by waveguide gratings and report our latest results on lateral mode control in lasers using the waveguide grating mirror.
Phenylbutazone Potentiation of Anticoagulant Effect Fluorometric Assay of Warfarin

SummaryThe anticoagulant effect of warfarin is significantly potentiated by phenylbutazone in man. Using a fluorometric assay method for warfarin that is not influenced by the presence of phenylbutazone the prothrombin time increased and the plasma concentration and biologic half-life of warfarin decreased during treatment with phenylbutazone. These results are in agreement with those obtained earlier by a spectrophotometric assay of warfarin in which a correction for interference of phenylbutazone had to be applied.
Analysis of the detection results of rickettsial disease among patients with fever in Hainan province from 2009 to 2011

Objective To analyze the infection status and genotype of rickettsia among patients with fever of unknown origin( FUO) in Hainan province from 2009 to 2011,and to explore its prevention countermeasures. Methods Nested PCR was conducted to detect the specific fragment of gro EL gene of rickettsia in blood samples of patients with FUO from Hainan province,and cluster analysis was carried out among the samples with positive results of sequencing. Results 27 gro EL positive results were found in 236 blood samples of patients,and the positive rate was 11. 4%. Cluster and sequencing analysis of positive PCR showed that tsutsugamushi sequence shared a high homology with R. tsutsugamushi( M31887). The homology of eleven spotted fever group Rickettsia and Rickettsia sibirica( AY059014) were relatively close,but not with the spotted fever Rickettsia of Rickettsia sp Hainan 1( gb | EU402925) from a patient in Chengmai County in 2007. Typhus group rickettsiae and Rickettsia typhi str. B9991CWPP( CP003398) typhus group rickettsiae were in the same branch with 100% homology. Conclusion Spotted fever,typhus and scrub typhus persisted among patients with FUO in Hainan province. Disease surveillance and laboratory capabilities of rickettsial disease should be strengthened to help prevent and control the disease.
Baby Friendly Hospital Births and Lactation Consultants Are Associated with State-Level Breastfeeding Rates

BackgroundBreastfeeding has short and long term protective health implications for both the mother and the child. The breastfeeding rates in the US have not yet met the Healthy People 2020 goals. A...
A Contrarian View of How to Develop Creativity in Science and Engineering

I look forward to a deeper and more quantitative understanding of creativity as the science of brain research becomes more steadily and securely based in physiology and biology.
The New Racism in Europe: The politics of race and immigration in the Italian north and south

The Sicilian thesis In late January 1990, during the celebration of Carnival in Florence, about forty youths, masked and armed and calling themselves “avengers,” beat several North Africans and a Slav. Chanting “get the Moroccan” and “sporchi spacciatori, tunisini di merda” (“dirty dealers, shitty Tunisians”), they chased immigrants, destroyed property, and clashed with police (La Repubblica , 1 March 1990). This brutal expedition to “clean up the city” was not an isolated incident. A week earlier, merchants in the historic center of Florence had sponsored a march to gain public support for their objections to the presence of unlicensed immigrant street vendors. Posters warned ominously of giustizieri della notte (“avengers of the night”) (La Repubblica , 1 March 1990). The neo-fascist party, the Italian Social Movement (MSI), joined the march and led the chants of “rimandiamoli a casa” (“let's send them home”) and “facciamo la giustizia da soli” (“let's take justice into our own hands”) (La Repubblica , 21 February 1990). The party's poster, depicting hands ripping apart a map of Florence, was plastered throughout the city. Although the party claimed the hands represented corruption, to observers they appeared significantly dark skinned. From the vantage point of Palermo, these events, well publicized in the national media, prompted one to question why anti-immigrant violence and political mobilization had exploded in the prosperous north while the question of razzismo had remained muted in the impoverished south. Sicilians from all walks of life with whom I spoke tended to view the Florence episode – and similar ones to follow in other northern areas–as evidence of pervasive northern intolerance.
Trump University and Presidential Impeachment

In the final weeks of the 2016 Presidential campaign Donald J. Trump faces three lawsuits accusing him of fraud and racketeering. These ongoing cases focus on a series of wealth seminars called “Trump University” which collected over $40 million from consumers seeking to learn Trump’s real estate investing strategies. Although these consumer protection cases are civil proceedings, the underlying legal elements in several counts that plaintiffs seek to prove run parallel to the legal elements of serious crimes under both state and federal law. This essay provides a legal analysis of whether Trump’s alleged behavior would, if proven, rise to the level of impeachable offenses under the presidential impeachment clause of the United States Constitution. This essay begins with a summary of the evidence assembled in the three pending Trump University civil lawsuits. Next, it describes the legal claims involved in each matter. Then, this essay summarizes the applicable law of presidential impeachment under the United States Constitution and analyzes whether Trump’s actions in connection with Trump University are impeachable offenses. Finally, I offer concluding thoughts, considering in particular the policy implications of a major presidential campaign with simultaneously pending legal complaints of fraud and racketeering.
Advancing Empirical Scholarship to Further Develop Evaluation Theory and Practice.

good theory development is grounded in empirical inquiry. in the context of educational evaluation, the development of empirically grounded theory has important benefits for the field and the practitioner. in particular, a shift to empirically derived theory will assist in advancing more systematic and contextually relevant evaluation practice, as well as lead to the development of contingency theories that specify the conditions under which particular evaluation practices are optimal. in contrast to the historical outside-in stance, empirical research on the field of evaluation must acknowledge practitioners as “knowers,” allowing for unique insights into the intersection of theory and practice.
Informing malaria control policy using ABMS

Malaria is a vector-borne illness affecting millions of lives annually, and it imposes a heavy financial burden felt world-wide. Moreover, there is growing concern that global climate change, in particular, rising temperature, will increase this burden. As such, policy makers are in need of tools capable of informing them about the potential strengths and weaknesses of intervention and control strategies. We extend a previously developed agent-based model of the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, one of the primary vectors of malaria, to investigate how changes in temperature influence the dynamics of malaria transmission and the effectiveness of intervention methods. Our results suggest that temperature increase can both potentially lead to higher malaria transmission rates and alter the effectiveness of a common intervention method. The implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.
Coping, social support, stigma, and gender difference among people living with HIV in Guangxi, China.

AbstractThe current study examined whether gender, HIV-related stigma, social support, and the interaction between gender and social support are associated with coping responses among people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) in Guangxi, China. A total of 2987 PLWHA in Guangxi participated from October 2012 to August 2013. Multivariate analysis of covariance was conducted with gender and social support as main factors in the model, and stigma and other variables as covariates. After controlling for demographic variables and stigma, there were significant main effects of emotional social support (F = 1.61, p < .001), functional social support (F = 1.67, p < .001), and informational social support (F = 3.67, p < .001) on various coping strategies. The interaction between gender and informational social support (F = 1.33, p < .05), internalized stigma (F = 37.03, p < .001) and perceived stigma (F = 9.16, p < .001) were associated with various coping strategies. Findings signify the importance of HIV-related st...
Establishing A Contemporary Training Curriculum for the Next Generation of Interventional Cardiology Fellows.

> The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today’s work superbly well. > > —William Osler The last decade has witnessed several groundbreaking innovations in medical and interventional therapies for cardiovascular diseases.1 The field of interventional cardiology, which began with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty in the 1980s with no formal training programs, now encompasses coronary stent technology with various platforms—metallic scaffolds, bioresorbable polymers, and bioabsorbable vascular scaffolds and percutaneous treatment of complex chronic total occlusions. Furthermore, the field of interventional cardiology has expanded to include peripheral vascular interventions, involving superficial femoral, iliac, and renal artery interventions, to the more complex carotid, subclavian, below-the-knee interventions and endovascular repair of abdominal and thoracic aortic aneurysms. The interventional subspecialty that has exploded and caught the attention of many over the past 5 years is the field of structural heart interventions. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), which is now the standard therapy for patients with intermediate- and high-risk aortic stenosis, has been recognized among the top 10 innovations of the decade.2,3 Currently, TAVR is growing at a rate of >16% per year, and further growth is expected as new valves become available for widening indications. If TAVR is shown to be as effective as surgical aortic valve replacement in low-risk patients, the volume of cases is expected to significantly increase rapidly. In addition, percutaneous mitral and several tricuspid valve therapies are on the horizon that are expected to expand the gamut of structural heart procedures.4 Similar growth is expected in …
Osmotically assisted reverse osmosis for high salinity brine treatment

Abstract This work evaluates a novel osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (OARO) process for dewatering high salinity brines using readily available membranes and equipment. While traditional reverse osmosis processes are limited to treating brines with osmotic pressures below the membrane burst pressure, in OARO, the osmotic pressure difference across a membrane is reduced with a permeate side saline sweep. A series of OARO stages can be used to sequentially reduce the concentration of the feed until a traditional RO process can obtain fully desalinated water. This paper develops an OARO model to identify feasible operating conditions for this process and to estimate the water recovery and energy consumption across a range of brine feed concentrations. For a feed of 100–140 g/L sodium chloride, we estimate that the OARO process is capable of a 35–50% water recovery with an energy consumption of 6–19 kWh per m3 of product water. The results suggest that an OARO dewatering process improves upon the recovery of reverse osmosis for high salinity brines and has a comparable or lower energy consumption than mechanical vapor compression.
Effects of metformin on endothelial health and erectile dysfunction

Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects approximately 18 million American men. ED may be attributed to several etiologies, including arteriogenic, psychogenic, neurogenic, hormonal, drug-induced, and systemic disease or aging related factors. Specific to arteriogenic ED, three major mechanisms have been identified: (I) endothelium-dependent vasodilatory impairment; (II) sympathetic nerve activity elevation; (III) atherosclerotic luminal narrowing. Additionally, these insults have been linked to the insulin resistant state, which in turn is comorbid with obesity, dyslipidemia, diabetes, and hypertension. In this review, we summarize the evidence regarding the impact of metformin—an insulin sensitizer—on the three mechanisms of arteriogenic ED. We report that metformin treatment positively affects two of three pathways, specifically through enhanced endothelium-dependent vasodilation and sympathetic nerve activity attenuation, but does not seem to have a significant impact on hypertension regulation. Given the encouraging data found in both animal and clinical studies, we advocate for further studies on metformin use in ED.
Knowledge Reuse in Organizations: The Role of Governance Mechanisms

Two mechanisms employed by organizations to motivate the reuse of knowledge from knowledge repositories is using experts to control or edit users’ contributions (such as in a refereed repository), or using a community of users to review, rate, or edit existing contributions (such as in a community-driven wiki). The goal of this paper is to explore these two mechanisms and study their impact on knowledge reuse by organizational members. Propositions are suggested by drawing upon the dual-process theory from cognitive psychology.
A numerical study of magnetohydrodynamics flow in Casson nanofluid combined with Joule heating and slip boundary conditions

Abstract A numerical study of Casson nanofluid past horizontal stretching surface with magnetic effect and Joule heating are presented. Slip and thermal convective boundary conditions are considered in the study. A numerical technique of Keller box is applied to the nonlinear ODEs which are obtained by applying the similarity transformation to the nonlinear partial differential equations. The magnetic field and Joule heating effects are observed graphically. Also the strength of convective heat exchange (Nusselt number) and the strength of mass exchange (Sherwood number) are analyzed. It is noted that Nusselt number declines whereas Sherwood number rises by increasing Eckert number. The impact of increasing Hartman number resulted in the decrease of both Sherwood and Nusselt number.
An Environmental Analysis of the Evolution of Readmission Reduction Strategies

Environmental factors have shaped changes within rising issues in the U.S. healthcare industry. One of these changes is in the area of quality improvement and specifically with the issue of readmis...
Differential Impact of Serial Measurement of Nonplatelet Thromboxane Generation on Long-Term Outcome After Cardiac Surgery.

BackgroundSystemic thromboxane generation, not suppressible by standard aspirin therapy and likely arising from nonplatelet sources, increases the risk of atherothrombosis and death in patients wit...
Modeling ship-induced waves in shallow water systems: The Venice experiment

Abstract As the size of vessels progressively increases to compete in the global trade, the impact evaluation of navigation in waterways and shallow coastal ecosystems become more important. Therefore, suitable tools to investigate processes are required to support a sustainable management of ship traffic. This work tests a new methodology, based on a numerical model chain, that reproduces the hydrodynamic field close to the ship hull and the ship-induced wave propagation in the surrounding shallow areas. The model chain includes an unstructured hydrodynamic model forced by the near-field estimation of a computational fluid dynamics simulation. The modeling system has been applied to a major navigation channel and surrounding tidal flats in the Venice Lagoon (Italy). Field observations and a theoretical framework were used to characterize the ship waves and to validate the modeling system. Results show that the deeper the initial depression, the larger the dissipation over the tidal flat. In these conditions smaller vessels sailing at higher speed produce smaller waves with low amplitudes compared to larger ships traveling at lower speed. We considered vessels moving at different speeds providing useful information to evaluate impacts and to define criteria for decision support systems for a sustainable management of navigation.
Laser processed Ni-Fe alloys as electrocatalyst toward oxygen evolution reaction

In this paper, a laser based manufacturing method is applied to prepare Ni-Fe alloys with varied Ni, Fe ratios as the electrocatalyst toward Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER). The crystal structures, morphologies, and compositions of the laser processed Ni-Fe alloys are examined by XRD, XPS and SEM prior and after electrochemical testing. The laser processed Ni6Fe4 alloy exhibits an excellent activity with an OER current density of 100 mA cm−2 at 464 mV overpotential in 1 M KOH aqueous solution, which is comparable to the performance of electrocatalysts reported to date. The application of laser based manufacturing for electrocatalyst synthesis may facilitate both electrode design and composition optimization, which paves a new way for the efficient development of novel electrocatalyst.
A New Integration Algorithm for Nearly Singular BIE Kernels

The boundary integral equation for the elasticity problem is written in terms of the boundary tractions tj and boundary displacements uj in the usual manner [1] $$C_{ij} u_j \left( P \right) + \iint {_{ } T_{ij} \left({P,Q} \right)u_j \left( Q \right)dS\left( Q \right) - \iint {_{ } U_{ij} \left( {P,Q} \right)t_j \left( Q \right)dS}\left( Q \right)}$$ (1) where denotes the principal value of the integrals on the boundary surface. The points Q(y) and P(x) respectively denote the integration point and the source point, corresponding to the point of application of the point load influence function. The tractions and displacements for the point load solution are written as Tij(P,Q) and Uij(P,Q), respectively. The Cij matrix corresponds to the value of the jump in the first integral as the interior displacement evaluation point p(x) is taken to the boundary point P(x).
THEORY OF RESISTIVITY “SATURATION”

High TC superconductors at room temperature and above have resistivities rising less rapidly with T than Bloch-Gruneisen theory predicts. Critical discussion of seven possible mechanisms is given. Three mechanisms (anharmonicity, Fermi smearing, T-dependent energy bands) are consistent with Boltzmann theory, and four (localization, Debye-Waller effects, Phonon drag and ineffectiveness, and non-classical conduction channels) are not. It is argued that the last mechanism is the most plausible.
Pituitary-Adrenocortical Effects on Intermale Agonistic Behavior

Until the mid-1960s, it was widely believed that the gonadal hormones, particularly the androgens, were the only hormones involved in the control of aggressive behavior. This belief was based on the rather full literature establishing that these hormones are important to aggression, and the effects of no other subsystem had received experimental attention. In the past 15 years, however, it has been established that there are indeed many other kinds of hormonal effects on aggressive behavior, and many of those are discussed in other chapters of this book. This chapter is concerned with the effects of the hormones of the pituitary-adrenocortical axis, ACTH and corticosterone.
Enhancing Team-Based Senior Capstone Projects: Opportunities and Challenges

Generally, capstone courses focus on the integration and application of technical knowledge and skills acquired in previous coursework along with a consideration of multiple realistic constraints. However, capstone courses also require students to focus on a variety of professional skills, including teamwork, unstructured task completion, and project management. Because students are often new at these skills, they may find it difficult to resolve issues as they arise, particularly when working with an actual industrial client. Capstone courses also pose challenges to faculty. Finding a consistent stream of projects that are at the appropriate level for senior level students can be difficult for faculty given the limited time frame of most courses. A fair and consistent method to evaluate student work on an individual and group level is also a challenge for instructors. This paper will outline the challenges and best practices learned in the development and implementation of a senior-level capstone course in engineering technology, based on qualitative data gathered over several years. Specifically, strategies for sourcing student projects, student team formation and management, and options for ensuring accountability among student teams will also be discussed. Ideas on fair and consistent assessment methods for group and individual work will also be emphasized.
Embryo Ethics: Justice and Nascent Human Life

If we were to contemplate killing mentally handicapped infants to obtain transplantable organs, no one would characterize the controversy that would erupt as a debate about organ transplantation.
Interaction Potentials and Transition Probabilities

Calculation of the angular differential cross section (for comparison with experiment or for use when experimental data are not available) requires a description of the interaction between the two colliding particles. This endeavor has kept physicists and chemists busy since the beginning of the century, the description being complicated by the fact that there are three different effects involved and, generally, many particles.
Lysine as a heme iron ligand: A property common to three truncated hemoglobins from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Abstract Background The nuclear genome of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii encodes a dozen hemoglobins of the truncated lineage. Four of these, named THB1–4, contain a single ~130-residue globin unit. THB1, which is cytoplasmic and capable of nitric oxide dioxygenation activity, uses a histidine and a lysine as axial ligands to the heme iron. In the present report, we compared THB2, THB3, and THB4 to THB1 to gain structural and functional insights into algal globins. Methods We inspected properties of the globin domains prepared by recombinant means through site-directed mutagenesis, electronic absorption, CD, and NMR spectroscopies, and X-ray crystallography. Results Recombinant THB3, which lacks the proximal histidine but has a distal histidine, binds heme weakly. NMR data demonstrate that the recombinant domains of THB2 and THB4 coordinate the ferrous heme iron with the proximal histidine and a lysine from the distal helix. An X-ray structure of ferric THB4 confirms lysine coordination. THB1, THB2, and THB4 have reduction potentials between −65 and −100 mV, are capable of nitric oxide dioxygenation, are reduced at different rates by the diaphorase domain of C. reinhardtii nitrate reductase, and show different response to peroxide treatment. Conclusions Three single-domain C. reinhardtii hemoglobins use lysine as a distal heme ligand in both Fe(III) and Fe(II) oxidation states. This common feature is likely related to enzymatic activity in the management of reactive oxygen species. General significance Primary structure analysis of hemoglobins has limited power in the prediction of heme ligation. Experimental determination reveals variations in this essential property across the superfamily.
Towards Placental Surface Vasculature Exploration in Virtual Reality

We present a case study evaluating the potential for interactively identifying placental surface blood vessels using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in virtual reality (VR) environments. We visualized the MRI data using direct volume rendering in a high-fidelity CAVE-like VR system, allowing medical professionals to identify relevant placental vessels directly from volume visualizations in the VR system, without prior vessel segmentation. Participants were able to trace most of the observable vascular structure, and consistently identified blood vessels down to diameters of 1 mm, an important requirement in diagnosing vascular diseases. Qualitative feedback from our participants suggests that our VR visualization is easy to understand and allows intuitive data exploration, but complex user interactions remained a challenge. Using these observations, we discuss implications and requirements for spatial tracing user interaction methods in VR environments. We believe that VR MRI visualizations are the next step towards effective surgery planning for prenatal diseases.