cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The development of a simple, low cost set of universal access features for electronic devices

A simple set of universal access features has been developed, which can be applied to almost any public or personal electronic device, providing access for people with a wide variety of sensory and physical disabilities, and a wide variety of functional limitations imposed by circumstance. Implementing the features require adding one to three buttons to the device (or using existing buttons on a device if appropriate), adding speech output and enhancing the programming of the device to utilize the techniques. In our experience, thus far, adding these features can be done for approximately 1% or less of the retail value of the device. This paper introduces the access features (collectively called EZ Access™, pronounced “easy access”), and discusses some of the key underlying principles which make the features easy to learn and use. Other issues concerning industrial transfer or the techniques are also discussed.
Changing Orientations among Cocaine Users: Consequences of Involvement in Community Distribution Networks

A study of 44 participants in a rural community cocaine network was conducted to determine the factors associated with increased expenditures for cocaine and the consequences of such involvement. Through correlational analysis techniques, four major categories of variables were shown to be strongly related to extent of involvement: demographic, purchasing ability, supply opportunities, and cost-reduction efforts. The major effects of increased involvement were an increase in egocentrism in relations with drug-using friends, a decline in self-control over administration, heightened concerns about possession, and strengthened justifications regarding drug use.
Pseudomonas syringae Exchangeable Effector Loci: Sequence Diversity in Representative Pathovars and Virulence Function in P. syringae pv. syringae B728a

Pseudomonas syringae is a plant pathogen whose pathogenicity and host specificity are thought to be determined by Hop/Avr effector proteins injected into plant cells by a type III secretion system. P. syringae pv. syringae B728a, which causes brown spot of bean, is a particularly well-studied strain. The type III secretion system in P. syringae is encoded by hrp (hypersensitive response and pathogenicity) and hrc (hrp conserved) genes, which are clustered in a pathogenicity island with a tripartite structure such that the hrp/hrc genes are flanked by a conserved effector locus and an exchangeable effector locus (EEL). The EELs of P. syringae pv. syringae B728a, P. syringae strain 61, and P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000 differ in size and effector gene composition; the EEL of P. syringae pv. syringae B728a is the largest and most complex. The three putative effector proteins encoded by the P. syringae pv. syringae B728a EEL—HopPsyC, HopPsyE, and HopPsyV—were demonstrated to be secreted in an Hrp-dependent manner in culture. Heterologous expression of hopPsyC, hopPsyE, and hopPsyV in P. syringae pv. tabaci induced the hypersensitive response in tobacco leaves, demonstrating avirulence activity in a nonhost plant. Deletion of the P. syringae pv. syringae B728a EEL strongly reduced virulence in host bean leaves. EELs from nine additional strains representing nine P. syringae pathovars were isolated and sequenced. Homologs of avrPphE (e.g., hopPsyE) and hopPsyA were particularly common. Comparative analyses of these effector genes and hrpK (which flanks the EEL) suggest that the EEL effector genes were acquired by horizontal transfer after the acquisition of the hrp/hrc gene cluster but before the divergence of modern pathovars and that some EELs underwent transpositions yielding effector exchanges or point mutations producing effector pseudogenes after their acquisition.
15N,15N spin–spin coupling constants across N—H—N and N—H+—N hydrogen bonds: can coupling constants provide reliable estimates of N—N distances in biomolecules?

Predictive quantum chemical methods based upon coupled cluster theory of spin–spin coupling constants offer a direct tool to explore a variety of questions concerning the relationship between coupling constants and intermolecular distances, molecular orientation, changes in hybridization and related issues. Of particular interest are 2hJ(15N,15N) couplings across hydrogen bonds. In this work we present EOM–CCSD coupling constants [2hJ(15N,15N)] for a series of cationic complexes stabilized by either traditional or proton-shared N—H+—N hydrogen bonds, and relate these to 15N,15N coupling constants in neutral complexes with N—H—N hydrogen bonds. The computed 15N,15N coupling constants in these complexes vary smoothly with N—N distance, regardless of the charge or the particular binding at the N atoms. We propose that the curves which show this dependence have sufficient generality that they should be useful for determining N—N distances from experimentally measured coupling constants. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A new finite element formulation for RF scattering by complex bodies of revolution

A formulation for and results of solving electromagnetic scattering from complex inhomogeneous axisymmetric bodies are presented. The approach presented uses the finite element method in the frequency domain. A node-based approach is used to solve for the three components of the electric or magnetic field. The finite element mesh is truncated using a three-dimensional vector absorbing boundary condition based on the Wilcox expansion theorem. A harmonic expansion of the near-field solution obtained from the finite element solution is used to compute the far fields and radar cross section. >
Coffeehouses, guilds and oriental despotism government and civil society in late 17th to early 18th century Istanbul and Isfahan, and as seen from Paris and London

Montesquieu popularized the notion of Oriental Despotism as the type of government pertaining to a lawless society based on the equality of subjects in fear and powerlessness. It typified Europe's Other in the age of absolutism. This essay does not examine the idea of total despotic power directly but rather the assumption of the absence of law and its guarantee of a sphere of civil autonomy and agency which will anachronistically be called “civil society”. While substantiating the emergence of a public sphere around coffeehouses, the growth of guilds on the basis of customary law and the development of educational and philanthropic endowments on the basis of the law of waqf, we also take the opportunity to compare the civic and educational institutions of the Ottoman and Safavid empires in the 17th and early 18th centuries.
OBSERVATIONS OF MOLECULAR CLOUD STRUCTURE AND INTERNAL MOTIONS

Recent observations of high-latitude clouds, giant molecular clouds, dark cloud complexes, and dark cloud cores are summarized in terms of cloud structure, motions, and stellar content. Data from large numbers of clouds are compared with predictions of equilibrium models. For ~ 100 self-gravitating clouds, power-law relations between velocity dispersion and size, and between density and size can be understood if the observed nonthermal motions arise from magnetic fields 5–150 μG.
A Nonlinear Electrostatic Potential Change in the T-System of Skeletal Muscle Detected Under Passive Recording Conditions Using Potentiometric Dyes

Voltage-sensing dyes were used to examine the electrical behavior of the T-system under passive recording conditions similar to those commonly used to detect charge movement. These conditions are designed to eliminate all ionic currents and render the T-system potential linear with respect to the command potential applied at the surface membrane. However, we found an unexpected nonlinearity in the relationship between the dye signal from the T-system and the applied clamp potential. An additional voltage- and time-dependent optical signal appears over the same depolarizing range of potentials where change movement and mechanical activation occur. This nonlinearity is not associated with unblocked ionic currents and cannot be attributed to lack of voltage clamp control of the T-system, which appears to be good under these conditions. We propose that a local electrostatic potential change occurs in the T-system upon depolarization. An electrostatic potential would not be expected to extend beyond molecular distances of the membrane and therefore would be sensed by a charged dye in the membrane but not by the voltage clamp, which responds solely to the potential of the bulk solution. Results obtained with different dyes suggest that the location of the phenomena giving rise to the extra absorbance change is either intramembrane or at the inner surface of the T-system membrane.
Quantitative and qualitative measure of intralaboratory two-dimensional protein gel reproducibility and the effects of sample preparation, sample load, and image analysis

We investigate one approach to assess the quantitative variability in two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) separations based on gel-to-gel variability, sample preparation variability, sample load differences, and the effect of automation on image analysis. We observe that 95% of spots present in three out of four replicate gels exhibit less than a 0.52 coefficient of variation (CV) in fluorescent stain intensity (% volume) for a single sample run on multiple gels. When four parallel sample preparations are performed, this value increases to 0.57. We do not observe any significant change in quantitative value for an increase or decrease in sample load of 30% when using appropriate image analysis variables. Increasing use of automation, while necessary in modern 2-DE experiments, does change the observed level of quantitative and qualitative variability among replicate gels. The number of spots that change qualitatively for a single sample run in parallel varies from a CV = 0.03 for fully manual analysis to CV = 0.20 for a fully automated analysis. We present a systematic method by which a single laboratory can measure gel-to-gel variability using only three gel runs.
Efficient Server Provisioning and Offloading Policies for Internet Data Centers with Dynamic Load-Demand

In data centers, traffic demand varies in both large and small time scales. A data center with dynamic traffic often needs to over-provision active servers to meet the peak demand, which incurs significant energy cost. In this paper, our goal is to reduce energy cost of a set of distributed Internet data centers (IDCs) while maintaining the quality of service of the dynamic traffic. In particular, we consider the outage probability as the QoS metric, where outage is defined as service demand exceeding the capacity. We require the outage probability at each IDC to be smaller than a predefined threshold. Our goal is thus to minimize total energy cost over all IDCs, subject to the outage probability constraint. We achieve the goal by dynamically adjusting server capacity and performing load shifting in different time scales. We propose three different load-shifting and joint capacity allocation schemes with different complexity and performance. Our schemes leverage both stochastic multiplexing gain and electricity-price diversity. Thus, improving over prior work, our schemes reduce energy consumption/cost even when all IDCs have the same electricity price. We use both simulated load traces and real traffic traces to evaluate the performance of the proposed schemes. Results show that our proposed schemes are efficient in reducing energy cost, and robust in QoS provisioning.
Learning the structure of Markov logic networks

Markov logic networks (MLNs) combine logic and probability by attaching weights to first-order clauses, and viewing these as templates for features of Markov networks. In this paper we develop an algorithm for learning the structure of MLNs from relational databases, combining ideas from inductive logic programming (ILP) and feature induction in Markov networks. The algorithm performs a beam or shortest-first search of the space of clauses, guided by a weighted pseudo-likelihood measure. This requires computing the optimal weights for each candidate structure, but we show how this can be done efficiently. The algorithm can be used to learn an MLN from scratch, or to refine an existing knowledge base. We have applied it in two real-world domains, and found that it outperforms using off-the-shelf ILP systems to learn the MLN structure, as well as pure ILP, purely probabilistic and purely knowledge-based approaches.
Cell-based reporters reveal in vivo dynamics of dopamine and norepinephrine release in murine cortex

The neuronal coding of stimulus-to-action sequences is believed to involve the release of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE). The electrochemical similarity of these monoamines, however, confounds real-time measurements of their release. Here we report cell-based neurotransmitter fluorescent engineered reporters (CNiFERs) that use the specificity of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) to discriminate nanomolar concentrations of DA and NE. CNiFERs were implanted into the frontal cortex of mice to measure the timing of neurotransmitter release during classical conditioning with the use of two-photon microscopy. The onset of DA release correlated with that of licking and shifted from the time of the reward toward that of the cue upon conditioning. In contrast, concurrent release of NE did not correlate with licking or the cue. This generation of CNiFERs provides unique tools to assess the release of monoamines. The molecular design of these CNiFERs may be generalized to realize CNiFERs for any molecule that activates a GPCR.
Vector-guided vehicle detection from high-resolution satellite imagery

Recent availability of high-resolution satellite imagery provides a new data source to extract small-scale objects such as vehicles. Seldom has vehicle detection been applied to high-resolution satellite imagery where panchromatic band resolutions are presently in the range of 0.6-1.0 m. With the limited spatial resolution, reliable vehicle detection can only be achieved by incorporating contextual information. Here we use a GIS road vector map to guide vehicle detection by restricting the search to the road network. A morphological shared-weight neural network (MSNN) is used to classify image pixels on roads into targets and nontargets. Then a target aim point selection algorithm is designed to locate vehicle centroids. The MSNN has been successfully used for automatic target recognition (ATR) from multiple sensors. In this paper, we present experimental results of MSNN vehicle detection applied to 1 m IKONOS panchromatic data. A vehicle image base library is built by collecting more than 300 cars manually from 16 road segments in 3 test images. To suppress false alarms, a screening algorithm is developed using morphological filtering to identify vehicle pixels and nontarget pixels that are similar to vehicle pixels. Subimages centered at those pixels are used as positive and negative training samples of the MSNN. The MSNN was trained on subimage samples from 11 road segments. The performance results on the training segments and remaining 5 validation segments are reported. The MSNN shows a good generalization behavior. After learning, the detection rate exceeds 85% with very few false alarms
Corproate Earnings and the Stock Market

Common stock prices and returns are alleged to depend on how corporate earnings progress over time. This paper investigates at the aggregate level how certain components of corporate earnings impacted stock market prices during the 1977‐93 period. The impact of market multipliers on stock market prices also is investigated. One major finding is that financial decisions, much more so than operating performance, caused the growth of stock prices during the period, while increased market multipliers had an even greater impact on the aggregate level of the stock market during that period.
Liver X receptor and farnesoid X receptor as therapeutic targets

Despite the success of existing therapies, new therapies targeted toward dyslipidemia are still needed. Liver X receptor (LXR) and farnesoid X receptor (FXR) represent 2 very different attractive targets for new therapeutic development. LXR is a nuclear receptor that primarily acts to rid cells and the body of excess cholesterol. LXR agonists have been shown to reduce atherosclerosis in animals and are therefore of great interest as a therapeutic approach. Despite some increases in hepatic fat and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in preclinical models, LXR remains an important new target. FXR is a nuclear receptor that primarily acts to protect hepatocytes against the effects of elevated bile acids. FXR agonists also have triglyceride-lowering properties and could be useful in treating certain types of dyslipidemia. FXR modulators or antagonists could potentially lower LDL cholesterol levels and even modulate high-density lipoprotein metabolism. FXR is a complicated but fascinating target for the development of new therapeutic approaches.
On the Trail of an EHR

Certified electronic health records (EHRs) are essential to the health care landscape primarily because of meaningful use requirements, which have their roots in the American Recovery and Reinvestm...
Teacher Pedagogical Beliefs: The Final Frontier in Our Quest for Technology Integration?.

Although the conditions for successful technology integration finally appear to be in place, including ready access to technology, increased training for teachers, and a favorable policy environment, high-level technology use is still surprisingly low. This suggests that additional barriers, specifically related to teachers’ pedagogical beliefs, may be at work. Previous researchers have noted the influence of teachers’ beliefs on classroom instruction specifically in math, reading, and science, yet little research has been done to establish a similar link to teachers’ classroom uses of technology. In this article, I argue for the importance of such research and present a conceptual overview of teacher pedagogical beliefs as a vital first step. After defining and describing the nature of teacher beliefs, including how they are likely to impact teachers’ classroom practice, I describe important implications for teacher professional development and offer suggestions for future research.
Contrast-Enhanced Sonography in Patients with Renal Pathology

Ultrasound contrast agents are currently being evaluated for many potential clinical applications. One such application is in patients with indeterminate renal masses. Patients who do not have simple cysts by sonographic criteria often undergo multiple imaging procedures or intervention to achieve a diagnosis. This study examined the impact of the addition of an intravenous contrast agent on sonographic imaging in patients who had renal masses. This study was performed utilizing solely fundamental imaging and the continued evolution of contrast-specific software coupled with intravenous ultrasound contrast agents has the potential to increase diagnostic capabilities in sonography of renal pathology.
Configuration prefetch for single context reconfigurable coprocessors

Current reconfigurable systems suffer from a significant overhead due to the time it takes to reconfigure their hardware. In order to deal with this overhead, and increase the power of reconfigurable systems, it is important to develop hardware and software systems to reduce or eliminate this delay. In this paper we propose one technique for significantly reducing the reconfiguration latency: the prefetching of configurations. By loading a configuration into the reconfigurable logic in advance of when it is needed, we can overlap the reconfiguration with useful computation. We demonstrate the power of this technique, and propose an algorithm for automatically adding prefetch operations into reconfigurable applications. This results in a significant decrease in the reconfiguration overhead for these applications.
CRISPNESS IN FOODS-A REVIEW

From a review of the available literature on crispness there appears to be general agreement on the layman's use of the word crisp. However, the term has not been adequately defined. Several instrumental methods for measuring the crispness of a product have been developed. Although these objective methods may serve as indicators in a single commodity, they fail to indicate crispness in a variety of both wet-crisp and dry-crisp foods. These instrumental analyses are likely measuring parameters that change under the same conditions that cause changes in the true characteristic of crispness.
Efficient ranking of polyomino-based antennas

We demonstrated an efficient method, based on standard data compression, to estimate the relative rank of sidelobe suppression for squares tiled with different sets of identical polyominoes. The results were verified qualitatively by independent computation of sidelobe levels.
Wildfire's Place in Land Management: A Case Study

Letting wildfire burn in select remote forest and rangelands is needed to increase plant community diversity and production, even with the risk of increased annual bromegrasses. DOI:10.2458/azu_rangelands_v28i2_hughes
Glycogenesis from lactate in rabbit skeletal muscle fiber types.

The path of glycogen synthesis from three-carbon precursors was studied via single-pass perfusions in three distinct rabbit skeletal muscle preparations, i.e., glycolytic (greater than 99% type IIb), oxidative (greater than 97% type I), and mixed (type I, IIa, and IIb). The extent of interaction between the Krebs cycle and glycogenesis was assessed utilizing [1-14C]- or [2-14C]lactate at basal (1.1 +/- 0.1 mM) and elevated (8.1 +/- 0.3 mM) lactate concentrations (protocols 1 and 2). Under conditions in which the net balance of glucose and lactate, [14C]lactate removal, and venous lactate-specific activity were similar, the yields of 14CO2 and [14C]glycogen were not significantly influenced by position of the label. Additional perfusions were performed with lactate (8.0 +/- 0.1 mM) and acetate (1.0 +/- 0.1 mM) as sole substrates and either [U-14C]lactate or [2-14C]acetate as the tracer. Under conditions of net glycogen synthesis, the incorporation of [14C]lactate into glycogen [in disintegrations/min (dpm).g-1.2 h-1] was 40,940 +/- 3,320, 1,540 +/- 320, and 32,600 +/- 4,100 in the glycolytic, oxidative, and mixed preparations, respectively. However, no incorporation of [2-14C]acetate into glycogen was observed in any preparation, despite a significant yield of 14CO2. Mercaptopicolinic acid, a potent inhibitor of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), demonstrated no significant effect on net substrate balance, tracer uptake, net glycogen synthesis, incorporation of [14C]lactate and [3H]-glucose into glycogen, or 14CO2 yield. Current results suggest an extramitochondrial route for net glycogen synthesis from three-carbon precursors, exclusive of PEPCK, that is consistent across all mammalian skeletal muscle fiber types.
The Big Keep Getting Bigger: Too-Big-to-Fail Banks 30 Years Later

The most recent financial crisis made it clear that something had to be done to make sure that big banks would never again pose such a systemic threat to the financial system that they would have to be bailed out by the government. The main purpose of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 was to direct financial regulators to implement reforms to ensure that this would indeed be the case. In view of all the concern today over some banks’ being too big for regulatory comfort, this article offers a look back at the circumstances that gave rise to the decision that bank size per se could be a key factor, and how it came to be that big banks that encounter financial difficulties are treated differently from smaller banks. It maps bank consolidation to show how banks and big bank holding companies have gotten much bigger over the past 30 years.
Usefulness of the Mortality in Severe Sepsis in the Emergency Department score in an urban tertiary care hospital

Abstract Background The Mortality in Severe Sepsis in the Emergency Department (MISSED) score is a newly proposed scoring system. The goal of this study is to determine if the MISSED score is generalizable to an urban tertiary care hospital. Methods This is a retrospective chart review conducted from July 2012 to June 2014. Inclusion criteria consisted of adult emergency department (ED) patients with severe sepsis, defined as lactate level 4mmol/L or greater. Demographics, lactate, international normalized ratio (INR), albumin, intensive care unit admission, and ED intubation were analyzed using χ 2 test, t test, and logistic regression. The MISSED score was calculated using the variables albumin 27g/L or less, INR 1.3 or greater, and age 65years or older and analyzed using the area under the curve. The primary outcome was inhospital mortality. Results A total of 182 patients met inclusion criteria, and mortality was 32%. Patients in the mortality group had older age (58.1±17.2 vs 62.7±14.7; P =.07), higher lactate (5.9±2.7 vs 7.3±3.1; P P P P P Conclusion The MISSED score is useful for predicting mortality in ED patients with severe sepsis.
Pediatric Vaccine Adjuvants: Components of the Modern Vaccinologist's Toolbox.

The goal of immunization is the induction of an immune response to protect from infection or disease (1). Until the end of the 20th century, adjuvantation science was limited to the use aluminum salts (alum) (2). Over the past 20 years there has been explosive growth of information regarding pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that can activate leukocytes and thereby enhance immune responses (3). In parallel, a growing menu of adjuvants, agents that boost responses to vaccinal antigens following immunization, is now becoming available to immunologists and vaccinologists. However, immunity over life is not static but rather changes with age (4). Here, we will summarize the adjuvants currently in clinical use, new adjuvants in development and potential uses and benefits of a new “adjuvant toolbox” for developing novel early life vaccines (5).
Characterization of the Structural Proteins of the Murine Coronavirus Strain A59 Using Monoclonal Antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies reacting with the A59 strain of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV-A59) were characterized and those specific to the E2 major envelope glycoprotein were studied in detail. Antibodies were tested for their ability to neutralize viral infectivity (N+ characteristic) and prevent viral-induced cell-to-cell fusion (F+ characteristic). All four possible combinations of activities reflecting E2 functions were found, i.e., N+F+, N-F-, N+F-, and N-F+. In addition, competitive binding studies with these monoclonal antibodies revealed two nonoverlapping antigenic regions. The first region, designated A, was recognized by antibodies which included each of the four functional types. Region B was identified by a single monoclonal antibody with N-F- activities. The existence of antibodies which only neutralize virus or only block viral-induced fusion implies that the structures on E2 which serve as targets for neutralization and which induce fusion are not identical. The critical determinants for neutralization and fusion must be closely related topographically on E2 since both N+F- and N-F+ antibodies recognize the same antigenic region.
An Empirical Assessment of the Servperf Scale

Service economies worldwide are becoming increasingly transnational in nature (Drucker 1992). The prevailing view is that the primary means to attain a long-term strategic advantage in these emergi...
Physician spending and risk of malpractice claims: what about the effects of socioeconomic status?

Jena and colleagues’ evaluation of the association between physician spending and malpractice claims found that higher spending is associated with fewer claims.1 However, although they examined several potential confounders, including age, sex, race, diagnosis related group, and comorbid conditions, they did not include socioeconomic status (SES). Previous work has shown that, although there is a perception among physicians that patients of lower SES are more likely …
Development and characterization of a high-solids deacetylation process

Dilute-acid pretreatment has proven to be a robust means of converting herbaceous feedstock to fermentable sugars. However, it also releases acetic acid, a known fermentation inhibitor, from acetyl groups present in the biomass. A mild, dilute alkaline extraction stage was implemented prior to acid pretreatment to separate acetic acid from the hydrolysate sugar stream. This step, termed deacetylation, improved the glucose and xylose yields from enzymatic hydrolysis and ethanol yields from fermentation of the sugars relative to the control experiments using dilute-acid pretreatment of native corn stover without deacetylation. While promising, deacetylation as it was historically practiced is conducted at low solids loadings, and at fixed conditions. Thus, many questions have been left unanswered, including the relationship between sodium hydroxide and solids loading, and acetate and xylan solubilization, as well as the impact of temperature and residence time on the process efficacy. A central composite experiment was designed to evaluate the impact of solids loading, sodium hydroxide loading, reaction time and temperature during deacetylation on the acetate and xylan solubilization of corn stover. Using the ANOVA test, it became apparent that neither of the responses was significantly impacted by the solids loading, while the reaction time was a minor factor—the responses were largely driven by reaction temperature and the sodium hydroxide loading. Based on the results, we successfully demonstrated the ability to transition the low-solids (10 % w/w) deacetylation process to a higher-solids process (30 % w/w) with minimal impact on the ability to extract acetate from biomass. Conditions were selected to minimize xylose loss during deacetylation, while also removing 70 % of acetyl groups. The impact of selected conditions on the enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation was further investigated. Evaluation of the whole-process impact demonstrated that despite the upfront reduction in carbohydrate loss during deacetylation, the overall process sugar yields were depressed by the high-solids, low alkali process relative to the historical control. Consequently, ethanol titers were reduced, though strong fermentation performance was still observed, indicating that 70 % acetate removal is sufficient to depress acetic acid concentrations to a level that does not substantially inhibit ethanol fermentation by rZymomo nas.
The complications of endoesophageal tubes.

Summary 1. Nine new cases in which endoesophageal tubes were used for palliation of esophageal carcinoma are presented because of their complications. 2. The complications are classified. 3. Complications presented in the literature are discussed. 4. Suggested solutions for these difficulties are presented. The author wishes to express appreciation to Dr. Conrad A. Kuehn for his translations of the French literature, to Dr. D. Bonta Hiscoe for advisory assistance, and to the Medical Illustration Department, Oakland VA Hospital (Miss Beth Sherman [drawings] and Mr. Hubert Schwartz [photography]).
Association of sputum microbiota profiles with severity of community-acquired pneumonia in children

Competitive interactions among bacteria in the respiratory tract microbiota influence which species can colonize and potentially contribute to pathogenesis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, understanding of the role of respiratory tract microbiota in the clinical course of pediatric CAP is limited. We sought to compare microbiota profiles in induced sputum and nasopharyngeal/oropharyngeal (NP/OP) samples from children and to identify microbiota profiles associated with CAP severity. We used 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing and several measures of microbiota profiles, including principal component analysis (PCA), to describe the respiratory microbiota in 383 children, 6 months to <18 years, hospitalized with CAP. We examined associations between induced sputum and NP/OP microbiota profiles and CAP severity (hospital length of stay and intensive care unit admission) using logistic regression. Relative abundance of bacterial taxa differed in induced sputum and NP/OP samples. In children 6 months to < 5 years, the sputum PCA factor with high relative abundance of Actinomyces, Veillonella, Rothia, and Lactobacillales was associated with decreased odds of length of stay ≥ 4 days [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.69; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.48–0.99]. The sputum factor with high relative abundance of Haemophilus and Pasteurellaceae was associated with increased odds of intensive care unit admission [aOR 1.52; 95 % CI 1.02–2.26]. In children 5 to < 18 years, the sputum factor with high relative abundance of Porphyromonadaceae, Bacteriodales, Lactobacillales, and Prevotella was associated with increased odds of length of stay ≥ 4 days [aOR 1.52; 95 % CI 1.02–2.26]. Taxa in NP/OP samples were not associated with CAP severity. Certain taxa in the respiratory microbiota, which were detected in induced sputum samples, are associated with the clinical course of CAP.
Effects of the benzodiazepine GABAA α1-preferring antagonist 3-isopropoxy-β-carboline hydrochloride (3-ISOPBC) on alcohol seeking and self-administration in baboons.

Rationale The various α subtypes of GABAA receptors have been strongly implicated in alcohol reinforcement and consumption. Objectives The effects of the GABAA α1-preferring ligand, 3-propoxy-β-carboline hydrochloride (3-PBC), on seeking and self-administration responses were evaluated in two groups of baboons trained under a 3-component chained schedule of reinforcement (CSR). Methods Alcohol (4 %w/v; n05; alcohol group) or a preferred nonalcoholic beverage (n04; control group) was available for self-administration only in component 3 of the CSR. Responses in component 2 provided indices of motivation to drink (seeking). 3-PBC (1.0–30.0 mg/kg) and saline were administered before drinking sessions under both acute and 5-day dosing conditions. Results Repeated,andnot acute,dosesof3-PBCsignificantly decreased total self-administration responses (p<0.05), volume consumed (p<0.05), and gram per kilogram of alcohol (p<0.05) in the alcohol group. In the control group, 5-day administration of 3-PBC significantly decreased total selfadministration responses (p<0.05) but produced nonsignificantdecreases in volumeconsumed. Within-sessionpattern of drinking was characterized by a high level of drinking in the first 20 min of the session for both groups, which was significantly (p <0.05) decreased by all doses of 3-PBC (1.0– 18.0 mg/kg) only in the alcohol group. In contrast, the first drinking bout in the control group was only reduced at the highest doses of 3-PBC (10.0 and 18.0 mg/kg). Conclusions The results support the involvement of the GABAA α1 subtype receptor in alcohol reinforcement and consumption.
Yeast HMO1: Linker histone reinvented

Eukaryotic genomes are packaged in chromatin. The higher-order organization of nucleosome core particles is controlled by the association of the intervening linker DNA with either the linker histone H1 or high mobility group box (HMGB) proteins. While H1 is thought to stabilize the nucleosome by preventing DNA unwrapping, the DNA bending imposed by HMGB may propagate to the nucleosome to destabilize chromatin. For metazoan H1, chromatin compaction requires its lysine-rich C-terminal domain, a domain that is buried between globular domains in the previously characterized yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae linker histone Hho1p. Here, we discuss the functions of S. cerevisiae HMO1, an HMGB family protein unique in containing a terminal lysine-rich domain and in stabilizing genomic DNA. On ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and genes encoding ribosomal proteins, HMO1 appears to exert its role primarily by stabilizing nucleosome-free regions or "fragile" nucleosomes. During replication, HMO1 likewise appears to ensure low nucleosome density at DNA junctions associated with the DNA damage response or the need for topoisomerases to resolve catenanes. Notably, HMO1 shares with the mammalian linker histone H1 the ability to stabilize chromatin, as evidenced by the absence of HMO1 creating a more dynamic chromatin environment that is more sensitive to nuclease digestion and in which chromatin-remodeling events associated with DNA double-strand break repair occur faster; such chromatin stabilization requires the lysine-rich extension of HMO1. Thus, HMO1 appears to have evolved a unique linker histone-like function involving the ability to stabilize both conventional nucleosome arrays as well as DNA regions characterized by low nucleosome density or the presence of noncanonical nucleosomes.
Some geometric ideas for feature enhancement of diffusion tensor fields

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) generates a 3- dimensional 2-tensor field that encapsulates properties of diffusing water molecules. We present two complementing ideas that may be used to enhance and highlight geometric features that are present. The first is based on Ricci flow and can be understood as a nonlinear bandpass filtering technique that takes into account directionality of the spectral content. More specifically, we view the data as a Riemannian metric and, in manner reminiscent to reversing the heat equation, we regularize the Ricci flow so as to taper off the growth of the higher-frequency speckle-type of irregularities. The second approach, in which we again view data as defining a Riemannian structure, relies on averaging nearby values of the tensor field by weighing the summands in a manner which is inversely proportional to their corresponding distances of the tensors. The effect of this particular averaging is to enhance consensus among neighboring cells, regarding the principle directions and the values of the corresponding eigenvalues of the tensor field. This consensus is amplified along directions where distances in the Riemannian metric are short.
Nuclear DAMPs in Hepatic Injury and Inflammation

Inflammation during tissue injury normally serves as a natural restorative response to wound healing and tissue regeneration. However, an excessive or uncontrolled inflammatory response can lead to further tissue injury through the release of damage-associated molecular pattern molecules (DAMPs). Different from pathogen-associated molecular pattern molecules (PAMPs) generated from foreign pathogens, DAMPs are endogenous molecules released by dead or dying cells. Both DAMPs and PAMPs can trigger inflammatory and immune responses through pattern recognition receptors such as toll-like receptors and the receptor for advanced glycation end products. Blocking the interplay between DAMPs and their receptors protects against inflammatory-associated diseases. This chapter will focus on the role of nuclear DAMPs, such as high-mobility group box 1 and histone, in linking regulated cell death and sterile inflammation during liver injury from drugs, alcohol, viruses, trauma, and cancer.
Harnessing the Power of Pharmacometabolomics: The Metabolic Footprint of Statins.

It has been 30 years since the approval of lovastatin, the first commercially available statin by the US Food and Drug Administration. Since that time, the uptake in statin use has been remarkable, with over 1 in 4 United States adults now taking statins for hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular disease, and nearly half of adults estimated to be statin eligible based on the 2013 ACC/AHA cholesterol treatment guidelines.1,2 Clearly, the cardioprotective effects of statins are linearly related to LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) lowering.3 However, despite the widespread use of statins, the extent to which event reduction is directly related to LDL lowering, versus effects on other lipid subclass or even pleiotropic effects remains unclear. See Article by Kofink et al The emerging use of metabolomic platforms to interrogate metabolites broadly representative of human metabolism has the potential to unravel on- and off-target effects and lend new insights into drug responses, referred to as pharmacometabolomics.4 In this issue, Kofink et al5 illustrate the power of pharmacometabolomics, by …
Evidence based practice--relevance to occupational health nurses.

More than 10 years have passed since Dr. Sally Lusk introduced this column to the AAOHN Journal in 1992. Its purpose, as stated by Dr. Lusk, is to acquaint occupational health nurses with an array ...
Exploring interfacial stability of solid-state electrolytes at the lithium-metal anode surface

Abstract Solid state electrolytes are promising materials to mitigate the issues derived from the extreme reactivity of the lithium metal anodes in Li-metal batteries. The main properties sought for this application are high ionic conductivity, low electronic conductivity, and high interfacial stability. Here we investigate a class of sulfides (Li10GeP2S12, Li2P2S6, β-Li3PS4, and Li7P3S11) that have shown relatively good ionic conductivities. However, little is known regarding their interfacial stability. We use density functional theory and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the time evolution of the interfacial structure. We characterize atomic diffusion and reactions happening at the picosecond time scale, allowing us to identify the main interfacial products: Li2S, Li3P and Li17Ge4. We then study how the reactivity changes when the Li metal surface is coated with a thin film of Li2S.
Using RFID to Improve Inventory Accuracy

Accurate inventory is a key to effective supply chain management and store execution, affecting forecasting, ordering, and replenishment. Prior empirical research, however, shows that retailer perpetual inventory (PI) is inherently inaccurate. Radio frequency identification (RFID)-technology enables visibility into the movement of inventories within the supply chain. This research investigates the effectiveness of this visibility in improving retail store inventory record accuracy. We perform daily physical counts of 337 stock keeping units in one category in 13 stores of a major global retailer over 23 weeks. Eight stores auto-adjusted PI based on RFID-enabled visibility; five stores were RFID-enabled but did not auto-adjust PI. The preliminary results of the study show that RFID-enabled visibility results in a significant decrease in PI inaccuracy. We conclude that this visibility can help retailers improve store execution, specifically by reducing surplus inventories and labor costs.
Pressure Effects on Non-Linear Optical Phenomena

The effect of pressure has been measured for two non-linear optical phenomena: second harmonic generation (SHG) in organic crystals and one and two photon fluorescence excitations in a molecule dissolved in an organic polymer. Both sets of results are discussed in terms of theory.
Abstract B49: Factors affecting the treatment of young women with breast cancer at tertiary referral public and private hospitals

Background: Disparities persist in receipt of treatment and outcomes of breast cancer patients with varying race, English proficiency, and socioeconomic backgrounds. This is confounded in young women (≤ 45 years old), as age becomes an additional factor. We sought to assess our surgical experience with young breast cancer patients, at a public safety-net hospital (BH) and a private cancer center (PCC) that are staffed by specialty trained providers from the same university. Methods: We reviewed demographic and clinical-pathologic data from 275 breast cancer patients with invasive breast cancer (Stage I-III) 45 years old and younger from the public and private hospital IRB-approved databases. There were 69 patients in the BH group and 206 patients in the PCC group. Demographic variables (race, education, and primary language), surgery type, method of presentation, and stage were analyzed using Pearson9s chi-square tests and binary logistics. Results: At PC the patients were Caucasian (68%), Asian (11%), Hispanic (10%), and African American (8.7%). At BH patients were Spanish/Hispanic/Latino (47.8%), Asian (27.5%), and African American (10.1%). The majority of patients (82%) at PC had a college or graduate degree compared to 18.6% of the patients at BH (P Conclusion: Young women with breast cancer treated at public hospital affiliated with an academic center had equivalent surgical treatment regardless of race, primary language, method or stage or presentation, and education level as young breast cancer patients treated at an academic private hospital. Citation Format: Ami Patel, Shubhada Dhage. Factors affecting the treatment of young women with breast cancer at tertiary referral public and private hospitals [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Tenth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2017 Sep 25-28; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2018;27(7 Suppl):Abstract nr B49.
Statistical Thinking in Psychology: Some Needed Critical Perspective on What ‘Everyone Knows’

This chapter begins with the observation that although most advocates of mainstream thinking in psychology readily acknowledge that a statistical index used to represent a group as a whole cannot be taken to represent accurately every individual in the group, they have yet to come to terms with the fact that, actually, such a statistical index cannot be taken to represent any individual in the group. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to making clear what is conceptually problematic about various interpretive/discursive practices within the mainstream that obscure this reality and, in the process, sustain the mistaken belief that statistical knowledge of aggregates of individuals does convey some knowledge of the individuals within those aggregates. Examined critically are prevailing understandings of (a) the meanings of correlations between variables marking differences between individuals, (b) the prediction and explanation of individual psychological doings, and (c) claims to probabilistic knowledge about individuals. In this latter connection, note is taken of the failure of mainstream thinking to respect the distinction between frequentist and subjectivist understandings of probability. The chapter concludes by reiterating the need for genuinely paradigmatic changes in the investigative practices of mainstream psychologists.
Against English domination in educational contexts: an argument for learning our students’ languages and for allowing their voices to speak

This paper problematizes the English-dominant ideology that underlies the American educational system and discusses how to disrupt this English-dominant norm both in the classroom and within oursel...
Inappropriate ED visits: patient responsibility or an attribution bias?

The study by Naouri et al in this issue of BMJ Quality and Safety describes an ambitious, 24-hour cross-sectional physician survey and chart review of all the emergency departments (ED) in France to characterise the ‘inappropriateness’ of ED visits.1 The determination of inappropriateness for any given visit was based on (A) physician opinion, (B) physician determination of ambulatory care sensitivity, or (C) resource utilisation. Based on these measures, the authors concluded that between 13% and 27% of ED visits were inappropriate. Further, patients with supplemental public insurance (a proxy for the socioeconomic disadvantaged in France) were 15%–33% more likely to use the ED inappropriately. Naouri’s study is part of a growing body of literature that characterises ED use as inappropriate, avoidable, ambulatory care sensitive or preventable.2 3 While there is precedent and potential merit in classifying healthcare services based on their value,4 this trend raises some concerns—as the authors rightly conclude—when describing the use of EDs by disadvantaged populations. Determining the patient’s ED visit as inappropriate, without consideration of broader contextual factors, is an example of attribution bias: the tendency for people to overemphasise individual and personality-based explanations for behaviours while underemphasising situational explanations.5 We may blame patients for visiting the ED inappropriately, when in reality, healthcare systems are often designed to funnel patients towards …