cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A family of surface-exposed proteins of 20 kilodaltons in the genus Borrelia.

Abstract Relapsing fever and Lyme disease spirochetes of the genus Borrelia display at their surfaces abundant lipoproteins: Vmp proteins in Borrelia hermsii and Osp proteins in Borrelia burgdorferi. Vmp and Osp proteins largely determine serotype specificity, and neutralizing antibodies of infected or immunized animals are directed at them. For the present study, we examined B. hermsii serotype 33, which is unique among strain HS1 serotypes in the low frequency of switches to other serotypes during infections and in vitro cultivation. Failing to clone the complete vmp33 gene, we accomplished its further characterization by (i) determining three partial amino acid sequences, (ii) designing oligonucleotide primers based on these amino acid sequences, (iii) cloning and sequencing the central portion of vmp33, and (iv) using outwardly directed primers and the inverse PCR to clone the 5' and 3' ends of the gene and flanking regions. The transcriptional start site was identified by primer extension analysis. Vmp33 was a polypeptide of 211 amino acids; the three partial amino acid sequences were identified in the open reading frame. Vmp33 was found to be more similar to other 20-kDa Vmp proteins of B. hermsii and to OspC proteins of B. burgdorferi than it was to 35- to 39-kDa Vmp proteins of the same strain. Moreover, OspC proteins were more similar to Vmp33 than they were to OspA, -B, or -D proteins of B. burgdorferi. These sequence similarities were consistent with Western blot (immunoblot) findings of cross-reactions between Vmp33 and OspC with anti-Vmp33 and anti-OspC sera. The promoter for the expressed vmp33 gene was found to be different from the expression site for other active vmp genes characterized to date. These results indicate that Vmp33 and other small Vmp's belong with OspC to a genus-wide family of 20-kDa proteins and that expression of these proteins may be coordinated with expression of other Vmp and Osp proteins in Borrelia spp.
PPAR-γ Pro12Ala genotype and risk of cognitive decline in elders

Abstract Background The Pro12Ala polymorphism of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-γ) has been associated with decreased risk of diabetes and obesity, both disorders linked to cognitive impairment. We tested whether this polymorphism is associated with cognition. Methods Two thousand nine hundred sixty-one participants (mean age, 74.1; 41% Black; 52% women) were administered the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) and Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) at baseline and 4 year follow-up. Test scores were adjusted for age, sex, education, cerebrovascular disease, depression and APOE genotype and additionally for race. We determined the association between Ala allele and development of cognitive decline (3MS decline of ≥5 points). Results At baseline, unadjusted scores on both cognitive tests were higher for Ala carriers compared to non-carriers (3MS, 94.2 versus 92.5, p p Conclusions The PPAR-γ Ala12 allele carriers may have less risk of developing cognitive decline.
LibGuides: Web 2.0 Content Management and Library Knowledge Sharing System

Springshare’s LibGuides takes the standard library pathfinder and turns it into a Web 2.0 sensation. Organizing information is easy; creating an entire guide and completing the research for it can be done in a matter of hours. LibGuides has wiki-like features, allowing users to comment on the information, give suggestions for future content, and rate the material. The guides can also be posted on Facebook and Twitter.
Using Job-Title-Based Physical Exposures From O*NET in an Epidemiological Study of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Objective:We studied associations between job-title-based measures of force and repetition and incident carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS).Background:Job exposure matrices (JEMs) are not commonly used in studies of work-related upper-extremity disorders.Method:We enrolled newly hired workers in a prospective cohort study. We assigned a Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code to each job held and extracted physical work exposure variables from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET). CTS case definition required both characteristic symptoms and abnormal median nerve conduction.Results:Of 1,107 workers, 751 (67.8%) completed follow-up evaluations. A total of 31 respondents (4.4%) developed CTS during an average of 3.3 years of follow-up. Repetitive motion, static strength, and dynamic strength from the most recent job held were all significant predictors of CTS when included individually as physical exposures in models adjusting for age, gender, and BMI. Similar results were found using time-weighted...
Rapid and Versatile Photonic Annealing of Graphene Inks for Flexible Printed Electronics

Intense pulsed light (IPL) annealing of graphene inks is demonstrated for rapid post-processing of inkjet-printed patterns on various substrates. A conductivity of ≈25,000 S m(-1) is achieved following a single printing pass using a concentrated ink containing 20 mg mL(-1) graphene, establishing this strategy as a practical and effective approach for the versatile and high-performance integration of graphene in printed and flexible electronics.
The Impact of Contextual Self‐Ratings and Observer Ratings of Personality on the Personality–Performance Relationship1

This study examined 2 possible ways of increasing the predictive validity of personality measures: using observer (i.e., supervisor and coworker) ratings and work-specific self-ratings of Big Five personality factors. Results indicated that among general self-ratings of Big Five personality dimensions, Conscientiousness was the best predictor of in-role performance, and Agreeableness and Emotional Stability were the best predictors of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Observer ratings of personality accounted for incremental variance in job performance (in-role performance and OCB) beyond that accounted for by general self-ratings. However, contrary to our expectations, work-specific (i.e., contextual) self-ratings of personality generally did not account for incremental variance in job performance beyond that accounted for by general self-ratings.
TRAVEL TIME AS THE BASIS OF COGNITIVE DISTANCE

Cognitive distance is analyzed in relation to various elements of the built environment. The basis for accepting a power function as the underlying functional relationship between cognitive distance and its objective counterpart is discussed. This counterpart has been assumed to be objective distance. Evidence is presented to indicate that cognition of distance is based upon travel time rather than upon objective distance or upon objective distance modified by other elements of the built environment.
Utilization of a balanced steady state free precession signal model for improved fat/water decomposition.

Purpose Chemical shift based fat/water decomposition methods such as IDEAL are frequently used in challenging imaging environments with large B0 inhomogeneity. However, they do not account for the signal modulations introduced by a balanced steady state free precession (bSSFP) acquisition. Here we demonstrate improved performance when the bSSFP frequency response is properly incorporated into the multipeak spectral fat model used in the decomposition process. Theory and Methods Balanced SSFP allows for rapid imaging but also introduces a characteristic frequency response featuring periodic nulls and pass bands. Fat spectral components in adjacent pass bands will experience bulk phase offsets and magnitude modulations that change the expected constructive and destructive interference between the fat spectral components. A bSSFP signal model was incorporated into the fat/water decomposition process and used to generate images of a fat phantom, and bilateral breast and knee images in four normal volunteers at 1.5 Tesla. Results Incorporation of the bSSFP signal model into the decomposition process improved the performance of the fat/water decomposition. Conclusion Incorporation of this model allows rapid bSSFP imaging sequences to use robust fat/water decomposition methods such as IDEAL. While only one set of imaging parameters were presented, the method is compatible with any field strength or repetition time. Magn Reson Med, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Failure to Identify the Left Arcuate Fasciculus at Diffusion Tractography Is a Specific Marker of Language Dysfunction in Pediatric Patients with Polymicrogyria.

Background. Polymicrogyric cortex demonstrates interindividual variation with regard to both extent of dyslamination and functional capacity. Given the relationship between laminar structure and white matter fibers, we sought to define the relationship between polymicrogyria (PMG), intrahemispheric association pathways, and network function. Methods. Each arcuate fasciculus (AF) was categorized as present or absent. Language was characterized by a pediatric neurologist. The presence of dysplastic cortex in the expected anatomic locations of Broca's (BA) and Wernicke's areas (WA) was evaluated by two pediatric neuroradiologists blinded to DTI and language data. Results. 16 PMG patients and 16 age/gender-matched controls were included. All normative controls had an identifiable left AF. 6/7 PMG patients with dysplastic cortex within BA and/or WA had no left AF; PMG patients without involvement of these regions had a lower frequency of absence of the left AF (p < 0.006). All patients without a left AF had some degree of language impairment. PMG patients without a left AF had a significantly greater frequency of language impairment compared to those PMG patients with a left AF (p < 0.003). Conclusion. In patients with PMG (1) the presence of dysplastic cortex within WA and/or BA is associated with absence of the left AF and (2) absence of the left AF is associated with language impairment.
On the structure of hypersonic turbulent boundary layers

Extensive hot-wire auto- and cross-correlation measurements obtained in a fully developed compressible turbulent boundary layer are presented. A tentative mechanism of turbulence production and growth in hypersonic flow suggested by these measurements is developed. This flow model is consistent with previous observations in incompressible flows. Detailed measurements of the mean properties of the hypersonic turbulent boundary layer are also presented and compared with results from various transformation and finite-difference prediction methods. It is shown that none of the theories predict all the properties of the hypersonic turbulent boundary layer and that additional measurements are needed to provide more adequate physics of turbulent processes for use in the various theories.
Involutions and Abelian Manifolds of Quaternion Type

Certain abelian manifolds have large algebras of endomorphisms. The most common case is that of Complex Multiplication, which is treated extensively in the literature. Almost as important is the case when this algebra contains a quaternion algebra. I have therefore included this section as an example of such manifolds, which will provide easier access to their more advanced theory.
Large Perovskite Grain Growth in Low-Temperature Solution-Processed Planar p-i-n Solar Cells by Sodium Addition.

Thin-film p-i-n type planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells have the advantage of full low temperature solution processability and can, therefore, be adopted in roll-to-roll production and flexible devices. One of the main challenges with these devices, however, is the ability to finely control the film morphology during the deposition and crystallization of the perovskite layer. Processes suitable for optimization of the perovskite layer film morphology with large grains are highly desirable for reduced recombination of charge carriers. Here, we show how uniform thin films with micron size perovskite grains can be made through the use of a controlled amount of sodium ions in the precursor solution. Large micrometer-size CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite grains are formed during low-temperature thin-film growth by adding sodium ions to the PbI2 precursor solution in a two-step interdiffusion process. By adjusting additive concentration, film morphologies were optimized and the fabricated p-i-n planar perovskite...
The platelet function profile. A new format for recording platelet function tests

A platelet function profile that provides a concise record of platelet function tests has been developed. This format can be easily modified to meet local requirements or to include hematologic tests unique to each laboratory.
Integrating the Behavioral Sciences and Management

Discusses the problems posed for schools of business in translating the research findings of the developing field of behavioral science into the subject matter and teaching patterns of schools of business. Problem areas in transmitting the findings of behavioral science through the divisions of colleges and universities; How to make the findings of behavioral sciences intelligible to business administration students; Solutions to the problems.
PMRS Studies of Right Frontal Lobe Metabolism in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) and quantitative morphometric analysis were used to investigate neurometabolite concentrations in the right prefrontal white matter in relation to attention skill and frontal anatomy of 23 children (17 male) with ADHD and 24 matched controls at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
Non-Seismic Geophysical Approaches to Monitoring

This chapter deals with the application of a number of different geophysical techniques for monitoring geologic storage of CO 2 . The relative merits of the seismic, gravity, electromagnetic (EM) and streaming potential (SP) geophysical techniques as monitoring tools are examined. The chapter evaluates the capabilities of a number of geophysical techniques on two synthetic modeling scenarios. The first scenario represents combined CO 2 enhance oil recovery (EOR) and storage in a producing oil field, the Schrader Bluff field on the north slope of Alaska, USA. The second scenario is of a pilot DOE CO 2 storage experiment scheduled for summer 2004 in the Frio Brine Formation in South Texas, USA. Numerical flow simulations of the CO 2 injection process for each case were converted to geophysical models using petrophysical models developed from well log data. These coupled flow simulation-geophysical models allow comparison of the performance of monitoring techniques over time on realistic 3D models by generating simulated responses at different times during the CO 2 injection process. These time-lapse measurements are used to produce time-lapse changes in geophysical measurements that can be related to the movement of CO 2 within the injection interval.
One New Type Controller of Screen Design Basing on FPGA

In order to overcome the disadvantages(such as,using more CLB,asynchronous operations and so on) of traditional DMA controller of LED screen,one dedicated DMA controller that adapts to LED screen is designed.By emulation and experiment,the controller shows its high-performance and wide application foreground contrast to the tradition controller,it has utility value.
Analysis of Severe Cases of HFMD in Fuzhou City during 2009

[Objective]To analyze the situations of severe patients with hand,foot and mouth disease(HFMD),and provide scientific basis for the correct control and prevention as well as treatment of this disease.[Methods]Descriptive epidemiology was adopted to analyze 27 severe cases of HFMD in Fuzhou City in 2009.[Results]Of 27 cases of HFMD,most were male,80% of cases distributed in rural areas,the household living conditions was poor.The common clinical manifestations were high fever,multiple skin rashes and multisystem damage.40.74% were EV71 positive.[Conclusion]Rural area and farmers are the focus in controlling the infectious disease,natural and social environment are significant factors for the changes of HFMD epidemic situation.
Examination of the DNA methylation properties in nontumorigenic and tumorigenic breast epithelial cell lines

Molecular changes in the progressive state of tumorigenesis often include altered patterns of DNA methylation. Utilizing a series of breast epithelial cell lines, the overall 5-methylcytosine content in genomic DNA demonstrated an overall decrease when comparing two malignant cell lines (MCF-7 and T47D) with a mortal cell line (MCF 1 2M) and several derivative cell lines of the immortalized MCF10 cultures (MCF10A,-2A, -5A, A1neoT2, and 139B6). Further investigation on the methylation status of these cells lines indicated no difference in DNA methyltransferase activity, both at a protein and mRNA levels, in the nontumorigenic cell lines examined while activity was 3-10 fold higher in the tumorigenic lines (MCF7, T47D, SkBr3, MB-MDA-231, -468). Examination of the CpG island in the 5' promoter region of the estrogen receptor gene indicates that this region is unmethylated in the mortal and immortal nontumorigenic lines as well as the tumorigenic lines examined, with the exception of the estrogen receptor negative breast cell line MB-MDA-468 which appears to be partially methylated at this site. These results indicate methylation of this CpG island does not account for the inactivation of the estrogen receptor gene in immortalized nontumorigenic breast cells, suggesting another mechanism of transcriptional inactivation of ER in this environment.
Five Constitutional Controversies, Five Judicial Opinions: The Theory Illustrated

In this paper, I address five controversies — controversies concerning constitutional rights — that have arisen under the constitutional law of the United States: the controversies concerning, respectively, capital punishment, race-based affirmative action, same-sex marriage, physician-assisted suicide, and abortion. My discussion of each controversy takes the form of an opinion drafted by an imaginary justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Nemo. The five opinions by Justice Nemo serve to illustrate the implications, for the five controversies, of the theory of judicial review elaborated and defended in a paper I posted to SSRN last month: Michael J. Perry, "A Theory of Judicial Review" (2016), http://ssrn.com/abstract=2624978.That is, Justice Nemo's five opinions serve that illustrative function if they are truly faithful to that theory of judicial review, to which Justice Nemo professes to be committed. Are they? Justice Nemo is not always explicit in her opinions about her judicial philosophy; she nonetheless wants to draft opinions that align with her philosophy. A question to ask, then, about each of her five opinions: Has Justice Nemo succeeded in drafting an opinion faithful to the theory of judicial review to which she professes to be committed?
Athlete’s dystonia (P4.320)

OBJECTIVE: Characterize a rare form of adult-onset focal dystonia among athletes. BACKGROUND: Certain occupations are associated with focal forms of dystonia. A new form of focal task-specific dystonia was recently described among runners, with only 20 reported cases to date. We wished to characterize further our cases of runner’s dystonia, determine the usefulness of electrophysiology in making the diagnosis, and determine whether non-runner athletes could suffer a similar disorder. DESIGN/METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and neurophysiologic information of adult patients with task-specific dystonia arising after a prolonged history of any repetitive lower limb exercise. The findings were compared to all 20 previously reported cases. RESULTS: Eighteen patients (50[percnt] men) were identified, 12 runners and six non-runner athletes. Median age at dystonia onset was 48.6 years (range 25-69 years). Correct diagnosis was delayed by a median of 2.7 years, by which time 44[percnt] of patients had undergone or been recommended unnecessary invasive procedures. Most patients had dystonia onset in the distal lower limb (72[percnt]). A novel observation was truncal dystonia in three patients. Strict task specificity was seen at onset in every patient. Eventually, dystonia progressed to affect walking in most patients (83[percnt]). Sensory tricks were reported in five patients. No patient reported a family history of dystonia, though four had a family member with a different movement disorder. In general, MRI of the brain and spine was unremarkable, as were nerve conduction studies and needle EMG. Surface EMG and gait analysis were informative, providing electrophysiologic confirmation of task-specific agonist-antagonist muscle co-contraction in every case that they were performed. CONCLUSIONS: We describe the largest series of athlete’s dystonia, a task-specific lower limb and truncal dystonia seen in runners and other athletes. Diagnosis is often delayed. Electrophysiology is helpful in confirming the diagnosis, potentially avoiding unnecessary tests and procedures. Disclosure: Dr. Cutsforth-Gregory has nothing to disclose. Dr. Bower has nothing to disclose.
ALK FISH patterns and the detection of ALK fusions by next generation sequencing in lung adenocarcinoma.

// Sanja Dacic 1 , Liza C. Villaruz 2 , Shira Abberbock 2 , Alyssa Mahaffey 1 , Pimpin Incharoen 1 , Marina N. Nikiforova 1 1 University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Department of Pathology, Pittsburgh, PA, USA 2 University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Correspondence to: Sanja Dacic, email: dacics@upmc.edu Keywords: ALK, immunohistochemistry, FISH, NGS, lung Received: July 25, 2016 Accepted: October 07, 2016 Published: October 17, 2016 ABSTRACT Break-apart ALK FISH probe is the FDA approved approach for detection of ALK rearrangements in lung carcinoma patients who may benefit from ALK kinase inhibitors. The FISH assay can be technically challenging and difficult to interpret. ALK immunohistochemistry and next generation sequencing have been proposed as alternative approaches. In this study, we compared various ALK –FISH patterns to next –generation sequencing (NGS) for gene fusion detection, ALK immunohistochemistry (IHC) and tumor responses to crizotinib. 72 (4%) of 2116 lung adenocarcinoma were positive by ALK- FISH. Of 28 ALK -FISH positive cases selected for the study, FISH patterns included 15 (54%) cases with split signal, 10 (36%) with single orange signal and 3 (10%) with “mixed pattern”. 12 (80%) cases with split signal and 4 (40%) cases with single orange signal were positive by NGS and IHC, while mixed cases were all negative. Mutation analysis of discordant cases revealed multiple mutations including oncogenic mutations in EGFR , KRAS , BRAF and ATM genes. All discordant cases in groups with split and mixed signal showed a lower number of cells with rearrangement (mean 28.5%; range 20.5-36.9%). No statistically significant association between response to crizotinib and FISH patterns was observed (p=0.73). In contrast, NGS fusion positive cases were associated with more responses to crizotinib than NGS negative cases (p= 0.016). Our study suggests that ALK FISH alone may not be the most reliable assay for detection of ALK gene rearrangements, and probably should be used in parallel with ALK IHC and NGS for detection of gene fusions and mutations.
Code clone detection using coarse and fine-grained hybrid approaches

If two fragments of source code are identical to each other, they are called code clones. Code clones introduce difficulties in software maintenance and cause bug propagation. Coarse-grained clone detectors have higher precision than fine-grained, but fine-grained detectors have higher recall than coarse-grained. In this paper, we present a hybrid clone detection technique that first uses a coarse-grained technique to analyze clones effectively to improve precision. Subsequently, we use a fine-grained detector to obtain additional information about the clones and to improve recall. Our method detects Type-1 and Type-2 clones using hash values for blocks, and gapped code clones (Type-3) using block detection and subsequent comparison between them using Levenshtein distance and Cosine measures with varying thresholds.
Point-based value iteration for partially-observed Boolean dynamical systems with finite observation space

This paper is concerned with obtaining the infinite-horizon control policy for partially-observed Boolean dynamical systems (POBDS) when measurements take place in a finite observation space, with application to Boolean gene regulatory networks. The goal of control is to reduce the steady-state mass of undesirable states, which might be associated with disease. The idea behind the proposed method is to transfer the partially-observed Boolean states into a continuous observed state space known as belief space, and then employ the well-known value iteration method based on Point-Based Value Iteration (PBVI). The performance of the method is investigated using a Boolean network model constructed from melanoma gene-expression data observed through Bernoulli noise.
Improving efficiency in sparse learning with the feedforward inhibitory motif

Abstract Neuro-inspired computing has made significant progress in recent years. However, its computation efficiency and hardware cost still lag behind the biological nervous system, especially during the training stage. This work targets to understand this gap from a neural motif perspective, particularly the feedforward inhibitory motif. Such a motif has been found in many cortical systems, presenting a vital role in sparse learning. This work first establishes a neural network model that emulates the insect's olfactory system, and then systematically studies various effects of the feedforward inhibitory motif. The performance and efficiency of the neural network models are evaluated through the handwritten digits recognition task, with and without the feedforward inhibitory motif. As demonstrated in the results, the utilization of the feedforward inhibitory motif is able to reduce the network size by > 3X at the same accuracy of 95% in handwritten digits recognition. Further simulation experiments reveal that the feedforward inhibition not only dynamically regulates the firing rate of excitatory neurons, promotes and stabilizes the sparsity, but also provides a coarse categorization of the inputs, which improves the final accuracy with a smaller, cascade structure. These results differentiate the feedforward inhibition path from previous understanding of the feedback inhibition, illustrating its functional importance for high computation and structure efficiency.
In Rotterdam, size really does matter: implications of pulmonary artery enlargement on mortality.

In a general population, the PA:A is associated with increased mortality in moderate to severe COPD http://ow.ly/L9S130bNuq7
Propensity to Save: Strengthening at the Expense of Lending Growth

In the course of the first five months of 2017, people tended to save in cash, bonds and in their bank accounts. One of the reasons could be retail lending growth, which increased households access to financial resources and resulted in larger assets savings.
Defining individual recurrence risk following surgery for high risk non-metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

664Background: Current models to estimate renal cell carcinoma (RCC) recurrence risk following surgery are derived from populations containing primarily low-risk patients. The objective of this stu...
The compositional variation of small bodies accross the solar system

Small bodies hold keys to our understanding of the Solar System. By studying these populations we seek the information on the conditions and structure of the primordial and current Solar System, its evolution, and the formation process of the planets. Constraining the surface composition of small bodies provides us with the ingredients and proportions for this cosmic recipe. This thesis, comprised of studies of inner and outer Solar System small bodies, is dedicated to understanding the compositional gradient across the Solar System through spectroscopic and photometric measurements. I present a taxonomy of visible and near-infrared spectral data based on 371 asteroid spectra. The taxonomy consists of 24 classes that best categorize the spectral variation seen among inner Solar System small bodies. From the creation of this taxonomy we learn that with only visible wavelength data there is uncertainty in shape of the 1-$\mu$m band. While near-infrared wavelength range is excellent for interpreting data containing diagnostic 1- and 2-$\mu$m bands, the more subtly featured C- and X-complexes appear to be largely degenerate in this wavelength regime. I analyze the photometric colors of 23 Transneptunian Objects and Centaurs, nine of which have never been previously observed, and assign them taxonomic classifications. I discuss objects that either have changed classes from previous data or have significant changes in absolute magnitude. Furthermore, I interpret the surface composition of three outer Solar System small bodies, Jupiter-coupled object (52872) Okyrhoe, and TNOs (90482) Orcus and (73480) 2002 PN$_{34}$, by modeling spectroscopic measurements in the visible and near-infrared wavelength ranges. The spectra reveal varying amounts of H$_2$O ice among these bodies. For Orcus I provide rough constraints for the presence of materials more volatile than water ice. I present a search for solid ethane, C$_2$H$_6$, on the surfaces of Pluto and Triton, based on near-infrared spectral observations. I model each surface using a radiative transfer model based on Hapke theory \citep{Hapke1993} with three basic models: without ethane, with pure ethane, and with ethane diluted in nitrogen. While the presence of less than a few percent of ethane cannot be excluded on both bodies, there is no strong detection on either. Finally, I review the current knowledge of the compositional distribution of material in our Solar System, providing the global view of small bodies. I particularly focus on the presence of water in all its phases which is especially pertinent our understanding of our own planet, Earth, and the life on it. I briefly compare the general structure of our Solar System to other imaged debris disks to put into perspective the detailed, though narrow, view of our own Solar System with the broad, low resolution view of others.
Chapter 12 Imaging

Publisher Summary Brain imaging plays an important role in the evaluation of patients with movement disorders. Anatomic imaging is essential for ruling out structurallesions in subcortical nuclei and cortex, and for identifying regional atrophic changes. Imaging of brain metabolism and neurotransmitter function is an important adjunct to the clinical examination in patients with atypical akinetic-rigid syndromes that might not be secondary to idiopathic Parkinson's disease. Functional activation studies provide unique insight into normal motor control and the pathophysiologic basis of abnormal motor control. These imaging methods encompass techniques based on conventional X-rays, magnetic resonance, and radionuclide tomography. In this chapter, these techniques are reviewed and related to clinical applications, basic research, and assessment of pharmacological and surgical therapy for movement disorders. The advent of single photon emission tomographic (SPECT) imaging provided early measurements of brain cerebral blood flow. With this method, patients are injected with a radioactive agent that binds to cerebral tissue in proportion to local cerebral blood flow, a receptor, or some other biologic marker.
Solving Small QAPs

Psychologically it is, of course, disadvantageous to start the last chapter with a disclaimer, but this is exactly what we are going to do. The software system that we are going to describe here is of a preliminary nature and our computational results should by no means be interpreted as limiting the potential of branch-and-cut algorithms for the solution of quadratic assignment and related quadratic zero-one optimization problems. The software system came about from our desire to write an interesting introductory chapter for this monograph dealing with the fascinating world of location, scheduling and design problems -see Chapters 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5. As an afterthought came then the idea to test the software system on a somewhat larger sample of the problems from QAPLIB. In spite of our reservations we have included this material in the book because it seems to fill a gap in the literature on how to solve quadratic assignment problems. Our efforts in locating suitable references notwithstanding and despite the fact that every author that we have read on quadratic assignment calls the problem a (mixed) zero-one programming problem, nobody seems to have taken the pain to solve QAPs via a standard mixed integer programming code using ordinary branch-and-bound. The development effort that is necessary to actually write such a software system for QAP is minimal — it took one of the authors about seven days of intense programming work to “string it all together and get the job done.”
Oil and meal characteristics of core and non-core safflower accessions from the USDA collection

Germplasm evaluation of ex situ collections is needed to document collection characteristics, enhance utilization, and to determine collection needs. The objectives of this study were to (1) provide oil and meal evaluation information for a major portion of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) collection, (2) compare ranges, variances and means between 203 core and 797 non-core accessions, and (3) determine if region of origin could be differentiated based on accession oil and meal characteristics. Means of the core and non-core accessions differed for % oil, palmitic acid, stearic acid, α-tocopherols, and phenolic glucosides (both bitter and cathartic) (P<0.05). Differences between linoleic acid, oleic acid and β-tocopherol means were not significant, and the variance between core and non-core accessions differed only for palmitic acid. Thus the core was not fully representative of the non-core accessions, but did capture a large fraction of the diversity in oil and meal factors present. Accessions from the Americas, China, South-West Asia, and South-Central Asia were differentiated using canonical discriminate analysis, but these regions overlapped to varying degrees with the E. European, Mediterranean, and E. African regions. Variation in % oil and fatty acids were generally more important than tocopherols and phenolic glucosides in differentiating accessions on a regional basis. The check cultivars Montola 2001 (high oleic) and Morlin (high linoleic) had oil and fatty acid content comparable to the maximums found in the collection. The ranges for tocopherols and phenolic glucosides among collection accessions, however, exceeded those of the cultivars, suggesting that collection accessions could be useful for genetic manipulation of these factors.
Can MR elastography be used to measure liver stiffness in patients with iron overload

Untreated hepatic iron overload causes hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis and can predispose to hepatocellular carcinoma. MR elastography (MRE) provides a non-invasive means to measure liver stiffness, which correlates with liver fibrosis but standard gradient recalled echo (GRE)-based MRE techniques fail in patients with high iron due to very low hepatic signal. Short echo time (TE) 2D spin echo echoplanar imaging (SE-EPI)-based MRE may allow measurement of stiffness in the iron loaded liver. The purpose of this study was to describe the use of such an MRE sequence in patients undergoing liver iron quantification by MRI. In our preliminary study of 43 patients with mean LIC of 9.3 mg/g (range 1.8–21.5 mg/g), liver stiffness measurements could be made in 77% (33/43) of patients with a short TE, SE-EPI based MRE sequence. On average, mean LIC in patients with failed MRE was higher than in those with successful MRE (15.9 mg/g dry weight vs. 7.3 mg/g), but a cut-off value for successful MRE could not be established. Seven patients (21% of those with successful MRE) had liver stiffness values suggestive of the presence of significant fibrosis (> 2.49 kPa). A short TE, SE-EPI based MR elastography sequence allows successful measurement of liver stiffness in a majority of patients with liver iron loading, potentially allowing non-invasive screening for fibrosis.
Differences in typing forces, muscle activity, wrist posture, typing performance, and self-reported comfort among conventional and ultra-low travel keyboards.

Abstract This study investigated the relative impact of ultra-low travel keyboards on typing force, muscle activity, wrist posture, typing performance, and self-reported comfort/preference as compared to a conventional keyboard. In a repeated-measures laboratory-based study, 20 subjects were invited to type for 10 min on each of five keyboards with different travel distances of 0.5, 0.7, 1.2, 1.6 (ultra-low travel keyboards), and 2.0 mm (a conventional keyboard). During the typing sessions, we measured typing force; muscle activity in extrinsic finger muscles (flexor digitorum superficialis and extensor digitorum communis), shoulder (trapezius) and neck (splenius capitis); wrist posture; typing performance; and self-reported comfort/preference. While using the ultra-low travel keyboards, subjects typed with less force and wrist extension, and had more ulnar deviation (p's
Mode of Action of the Antimicrobial Peptide D4E1 on Aspergillus flavus

The synthetic, linear peptide, D4E1, demonstrates antimicrobial activity against a broad spectrum of organisms including the toxigenic filamentous Ascomycete, Aspergillus flavus with a minimal lethal concentration of 12.5 µM against germinating conidia. However, the mechanism associated with the antimicrobial properties of D4E1 has not been studied in detail. Here we demonstrate that D4E1 permeabilizes mycelial membranes through monitoring cellular infiltration of SYTOX Green dye, a nucleic acid intercalating agent that can only enter cells through compromised membranes. The membrane lesions resulting from treatment with D4E1 allowed translocation into cells of 3000 Da dextran-fluorescein conjugates but not 10,000 Da conjugates. In addition to permeabilizing membranes, treatment with D4E1 at concentrations as low as 1 µM induced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in germinating A. flavus conidia. ROS accumulation is associated with stress response and initiation of apoptosis. Thus, the antimicrobial activity of D4E1 likely results from membrane permeabilization and accumulation of ROS which induces apoptotic events.
Healing Chronic Wounds: Current Challenges and Potential Solutions

The purpose of this review is to raise awareness, examine the challenges faced by wound care researchers, and explore opportunities for potential improvements. Chronic wounds are associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and they represent a major medical and financial burden. Despite this, no new therapy has received FDA efficacy approval for the treatment of chronic wounds since 1997. Previous preclinical studies using animal models did not translate to human wounds due to inherent limitations of experimental models, variability in assessment methods, and overall experimental design. Clinical trials continued to be challenged by the balance of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the high cost and time expenditure of the trials, and the constraint of a single FDA-acceptable outcome of complete wound closure. Wound research faces multiple challenges in both preclinical and clinical research that slowed progress and development of efficacious therapies. Solutions to such challenges will provide new opportunities for improved study design in the future.
Activity Analysis of Iron in Water Using a Simple LED Spectrophotometer

Access to clean water is a vitally important part of the lives of all people, yet there is often a concern about the contamination of water by heavy metals. The detection and measurement of heavy metals in water can be performed using colorimetric reagents paired with ultraviolet–visible light (UV–vis) spectrophotometry. The presented activity includes construction of a simple, inexpensive single-wavelength spectrophotometer using LEDs as the light source and detector. Using a colorimetric reagent, 2,4,6-tripyridyl-s-triazine, the concentration of iron can be measured by the LED spectrophotometer. Multiple natural water samples were collected and analyzed by this technique, and the performance of the LED spectrophotometer was compared to that of a conventional UV–vis spectrophotometer. The LED spectrophotometer had comparable results to those of the conventional UV–vis spectrophotometer while teaching students about simple circuit design, spectroscopy, and water quality measurements.
(141) Nonpharmacological Pain Interventions in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: Who Receives What?

The majority of patients in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) experience pain daily, whether from their critical illness, therapies provided, and/or diagnostic procedures. Effective pain management is essential for this vulnerable population. Nonpharmacological interventions are indicated for pain management in children and may augment the effectiveness or even reduce the need for pharmacologic management. However, there is limited information on how nonpharmacological interventions are utilized in the PICU. To address this gap, a secondary data analysis was performed to determine what nonpharmacological interventions were recorded in the electronic health (EHR) record and patterns in use by patient demographics. Data were extracted from a 24-hour observational cohort study conducted in 15 PICUs. Of 220 eligible patients, 97 (44%) had nonpharmacological interventions recorded in their EHR. The most frequently recorded modalities for those 97 patients included repositioning (65%), decreasing environmental stimuli (55%), caregiver presence (37%), distraction (23%), and music therapy (20%). Differences in nonpharmacological interventions were examined using Fisher's exact test. Application of interventions did not differ by sex, race, diagnostic category, length of stay, communicative ability, mechanical ventilation, or neuromuscular blockade. Repositioning was provided more often for patients receiving a sedative (77% v. 49%, p = .005). Patients receiving a sedative were also more likely to receive music therapy (27% v. 10%, p = .042), as were patients under 2 years old (30% v. 7%, p = .004). Decreasing environmental stimuli was most often provided for patients with no pain documented (72%) as compared to those with mild pain (38%) or moderate/severe pain (42%) documented (p = .010). Findings indicate that nonpharmacological pain management may be under-documented and/or underutilized in the PICU and is applied inconsistently across populations. Further research is needed to determine how nurses decide to apply these interventions and whether they are effective in managing pediatric pain.
Solidarity and Self-Interest: Using Mixture Modeling to Learn about Social Policy Preferences

This article addresses the problem of measuring social policy preferences in a valid and reliable way. Scholars have faced a number of challenges in measuring these preferences. First, it is not clear how exactly we should conceive of this domain. Second, the literature presents contradictory findings regarding the effect of contextual factors on policy preferences. Third, abstract preferences regarding the welfare state and information about its performance can affect each other, complicating the attempt to distinguish between the two. Finally, latent manifestations of these preferences might not be equivalent across countries. We develop an approach that validly and reliably measures attitudes about the role of government in addressing inequalities in the market distribution of resources. Mixture modeling and in particular latent class analysis enables us to take advantage of information for multiple countries and survey questions while doing justice to the characteristics of the survey data. Using three waves of the International Social Survey Programme’s module on social inequality, we find that preferences towards the market and the role of government in the economy form four distinct clusters of individuals that we refer to as “moderate altruists”, “moderate egoists”, “extreme altruists”, and “extreme egoists”. These clusters tend to be homogenous with respect to both abstract notions of the role the government should play in the economy as well as about evaluations of actual performance. The exceptions are the last two survey waves, for which we find that one class exhibits a mixed profile of individuals: solidaristic with respect to some indicators, but self-interested with respect to others.
Evaluation of glint correction approaches for fine-scale ocean color measurements by lightweight hyperspectral imaging spectrometers

Low-power, lightweight, off-the-shelf imaging spectrometers, deployed on above-water fixed platforms or on low-altitude aerial drones, have significant potential for enabling fine-scale assessment of radiometrically derived water quality properties (WQPs) in oceans, lakes, and reservoirs. In such applications, it is essential that the measured water-leaving spectral radiances be corrected for surface-reflected light, i.e., glint. However, noise and spectral characteristics of these imagers, and environmental sources of fine-scale radiometric variability such as capillary waves, complicate the glint correction problem. Despite having a low signal-to-noise ratio, a representative lightweight imaging spectrometer provided accurate radiometric estimates of chlorophyll concentration—an informative WQP—from glint-corrected hyperspectral radiances in a fixed-platform application in a coastal ocean region. Optimal glint correction was provided by a spectral optimization algorithm, which outperformed both a hardware solution utilizing a polarizer and a subtractive algorithm incorporating the reflectance measured in the near infrared. In the same coastal region, this spectral optimization approach also provided the best glint correction for radiometric estimates of backscatter at 650 nm, a WQP indicative of suspended particle load.
Buried in stigma: Experimental investigation of the impact of hoarding depictions in reality television on public perception

Abstract Hoarding disorder (HD) has been newly classified as a distinct mental disorder and is a considerable public health concern. Treatment ambivalence is a problem in this clinical population, and stigma of HD may be one potential factor contributing to an unwillingness to seek treatment. Stigma of HD is understudied, despite the media often perpetuating severe and negative representations of individuals with HD. This study is the first to investigate experimentally the impact of a popular reality television show on attitudes and beliefs about individuals with HD. Participants were assigned to one of three conditions that randomized them to watch television shows with either low, medium, or high clutter depictions. Participant attitudes were evaluated before and after viewing. Results showed that participants who viewed A&E's Hoarders had higher increases in indices of stigma, including social distance (d = 1.18), difference (d = 0.63), and social restrictiveness (d = 0.94) when compared to the control group. Overall, these findings suggest that these types of television portrayals might produce more stigmatizing attitudes.
An Application of Transnational Feminist Practice with Latinas across Different Life Cycles

This article offers a perspective and an application of transnational feminist therapy with Latinas that affirm the value of testimonio as a theoretical framework. Political, social, and interperso...