cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cervicovaginal prolactin: A marker for spontaneous preterm delivery

Objective: Our purpose was to determine whether the presence of prolactin in cervicovaginal washings is associated with preterm birth. Study Design: A cohort of 80 patients underwent a washing of the ectocervix and vaginal fornices with a normal saline solution. The cohort consisted of two groups: 40 inpatients requiring tocolysis and 40 asymptomatic outpatients. The saline solution aspirates were centrifuged, the supernatant was stored at -70° C, and a radioimmunoassay for prolactin was run in batch fashion. A prolactin concentration greater than the detection limit of the assay was considered a positive test result. Results: Prolactin was identified in significantly more symptomatic patients than asymptomatic controls (50% vs 5%, p p = 0.02) and had significantly lower birth weights (1985 ± 729 vs 2583 ± 696 gm, p = 0.01) compared with patients testing negative. Prolactin was also identified in two asymptomatic patients, both of whom were delivered before term. Conclusions: Cervicovaginal prolactin is a biochemical marker for preterm delivery, a shorter latency period to delivery, and lower birth weight in symptomatic patients. This test may also prove to be a valuable marker for preterm birth in asymptomatic women.
Broadening participation: The why and the how

There are many reasons for striving to increase the representation of women in the computing field, but the most compelling one is the enhanced quality of the solutions diverse contributors can achieve. This is one of five articles providing industry perspectives on gender diversity in computing.
Dental management for children with chronic renal failure undergoing hemodialysis therapy

Patients with chronic renal failure who are undergoing hemodialysis therapy demonstrate problems of significant importance for dental treatment. A case is presented in which secondard hyperparathyroidism, resulting from renal failure and hemodialysis, was noted in a child. Other relationships between renal failure, hemodialysis, and dental care were also presented.
On the gain and beamwidth of directional antennas

A formula is given for the maximum gain of a class of antennas having fields expressible as a finite number of spherical wave functions. This maximum gain can be achieved for arbitrarily polarized radiation fields, and it can be related to antenna size by requiring the near fields to be small in magnitude. Also, the radiation field is in the form of a polynomial, so that patterns optimum in the Tchebycheff sense can be defined. Formulas for the relationship of beamwidth to sidelobe level are given.
LVAD bloodstream infections: therapeutic rationale for transplantation after LVAD infection

Abstract Introduction Patients who have ventricular assist devices (VADs) and experience bloodstream infection (BSI) have high mortality. We addressed 2 questions raised by the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) priority policy for this problem: 1) Are organs wasted on this ultra-high-risk group? 2) Can device-related BSI be differentiated from transient BSI? Methods Patients with VADs who underwent heart transplantation from 1987 to 2001, who had BSI during VAD support, and who had positive cultures at VAD explant (device-related BSI, n = 10) were compared with those with negative cultures at explant (non–device-related BSI, n = 11). Results Patients with device-related BSI had an 80% (8/10) rate of persistent bacteremia; 30 days and 1 year after transplantation, mortality was 14% and 26%, respectively. Non–device-related BSI ( n = 11) persisted in 18% (2/11); peri-operative and 1-year mortalities were 9% and 13%. Duration of VAD support predicted infection (132 vs 48 days, p p Conclusions These data suggest that urgent (Status 1A) cardiac transplantation is effective in stable patients with device-related BSI, and these data support the current UNOS policy. However, an extra-device source of BSI should be excluded by considering the isolated organism, the baseline nutritional status, and other risk factors.
Chemosensory guidance cues in a turbulent chemical odor plume

The characteristics of chemical odor plumes released into a turbulent open channel flow are evaluated in the context of chemical plume tracking. The objective is to assess the availability and usefulness of chemosensory cues to animals, such as benthic crustaceans, attempting to orient in the plume. Releasing fluorescent dye into the fully developed turbulent boundary layer of a large laboratory-scale flume created turbulent odor plumes. Flow visualization of odor fields created with varying release velocity, release distance from the bed, and nozzle diameter indicated that chemosensory cues in plumes depend on the release characteristics as well as the ambient flow conditions. Thus, to understand animal behavior, it is important to quantify the plume release properties and characteristics. We chose to quantify concentration fields for the case of isokinetic release using the planar laser-induced fluorescence technique. These measurements indicate that the time-averaged concentration converges far too slowly to be useful to a foraging animal. Similarly, resolving the rise slope of a concentration burst requires sampling rates unattainable by animals, and the spatial variation of rise slope is too mild to follow without lengthy sampling periods. In addition, only mild variation with distance from the source is observed in the concentration burst magnitude and duration. Thus, the time-averaged concentration, rise slope, and burst shape all appear to have limited usefulness for plume orientation for animals known to orient effectively to these types of odor sources.
A Revision of the New Zealand Species of the Genus Sagola Sharp (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae: Faronitae)

Abstract The pselaphine genus Sagola Sharp (type species: Sagola misella Sharp) comprises 143 species occurring in the New Zealand region and divided among 31 species-groups. Ninety-five species are described as new herein: Sagola coromandelensis Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola northlandensis Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola taranakiensis Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola kuscheli Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola newtoni Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola thorpei Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola dugdalei Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola thayerae Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola hunuaensis Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola waikatoensis Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola gisbornensis Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola weiri Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola brookesi Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola waipouaensis Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola brouni Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola plentyensis Park and Carlton, new species; Sagola crawi Par...
Controlled Environment Transmission Electron Microscopy

The basic design features of a controlled environment transmission electron microscope and the details of the one at the University of Illinois are described. Examples of how this instrument has been used to determine fundamental mechanisms of hydrogen embrittlement in metals are presented.
Thermal Analysis and Heat Exchanger Design for Pulse Detonation Engine

The thermal environment of a pulse detonation engine was modeled using a space-time averaging procedure. The method allowed the one-dimensional, lumped-capacitance model to be used. The tube dimensions were a bore of 100 mm and a length of 1 m. For the calculations, the PDE pulse was split into a heating, exhaust and purging subprocess. Assumptions for the duration of each process were made based on previous experiments. The PDE was also assumed to operate at about 19 Hz. The calculations were performed for a stoichiometric air and octane mixture initially at STP. Wall materials consist of stainless steel, copper and Haynes alloy. Different water flow rates and jacket radii were used. The study showed that high water flow rates and large jackets were able to reduce the temperature at the water jacket. The temperatures of the inner and outer PDE walls were unaffected by the coolant flow or the jacket dimensions. These surfaces remain at high temperatures and indicate that a PDE requires advanced cooling te...
Compact low-cost detection electronics for optical coherence imaging

A compact and low-cost detection electronics scheme for optical coherence imaging is demonstrated. The performance of the designed electronics is analyzed in comparison to a commercial lock-in amplifier of equal bandwidth. Images of a fresh-onion sample are presented for each detection configuration.
Distinct subdomain organization and molecular composition of a tight junction with adherens junction features.

Most polarized epithelia constrain solute diffusion between luminal and interstitial compartments using tight junctions and generate mechanical strength using adherens junctions. These intercellular junctions are typically portrayed as incongruent macromolecular complexes with distinct protein components. Herein, we delineate the molecular composition and subdomain architecture of an intercellular junction between sensory and non-sensory cells of the inner ear. In this junction, claudins partition into claudin-14 and claudin-9/6 subdomains that are distinguishable by strand morphology, which contrasts with in vitro data that most claudins co-assemble into heteromeric strands. Surprisingly, canonical adherens junction proteins (p120ctn, α- and β-catenins) colocalize with the claudin-9/6 subdomain and recruit a dense cytoskeletal network. We also find that catenins colocalize with claudin-9 and claudin-6, but not claudin-14, in a heterologous system. Together, our data demonstrate that canonical tight junction and adherens junction proteins can be recruited to a single junction in which claudins partition into subdomains and form a novel hybrid tight junction with adherens junction organization.
Theranostic Gd(III)-lipid microbubbles for MRI-guided focused ultrasound surgery

We have synthesized a biomaterial consisting of Gd(III) ions chelated to lipid-coated, size-selected microbubbles for utility in both magnetic resonance and ultrasound imaging. The macrocyclic ligand DOTA-NHS was bound to PE headgroups on the lipid shell of pre-synthesized microbubbles. Gd(III) was then chelated to DOTA on the microbubble shell. The reaction temperature was optimized to increase the rate of Gd(III) chelation while maintaining microbubble stability. ICP-OES analysis of the microbubbles determined a surface density of 7.5 × 105 ± 3.0 × 105 Gd(III)/μm2 after chelation at 50 °C. The Gd(III)-bound microbubbles were found to be echogenic in vivo during high-frequency ultrasound imaging of the mouse kidney. The Gd(III)-bound microbubbles also were characterized by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 9.4 T by a spin-echo technique and, surprisingly, both the longitudinal and transverse proton relaxation rates were found to be roughly equal to that of no-Gd(III) control microbubbles and saline. However, the relaxation rates increased significantly, and in a dose-dependent manner, after sonication was used to fragment the Gd(III)-bound microbubbles into non-gas-containing lipid bilayer remnants. The longitudinal (r1) and transverse (r2) molar relaxivities were 4.0 ± 0.4 and 120 ± 18 mM−1s−1, respectively, based on Gd(III) content. The Gd(III)-bound microbubbles may find application in the measurement of cavitation events during MRI-guided focused ultrasound therapy and to track the biodistribution of shell remnants.
Genome-wide analysis relating expression level with protein subcellular localization.

e investigate the relationship between protein subcellularlocalization and gene expression for a variety of whole-genome expression datasets. We find high expression levels forcytoplasmic proteins and low ones for nuclear and membraneproteins. Excreted proteins have large fluctuations in expres-sion level over various time courses. Our results can be inter-preted in terms of protein structure and function. Detailed sta-tistics are at http://bioinfo.mbb.yale.edu/genome/expression.
Security-constrained unit commitment with AC constraints

In a restructured power market, the independent system operator (ISO) executes the security-constrained unit commitment (SCUC) program to plan a secure and economical hourly generation schedule for the day-ahead market. This paper introduces an efficient SCUC approach with ac constraints that obtains the minimum system operating cost while maintaining the security of power systems. The proposed approach applies the Benders decomposition for separating the unit commitment (UC) in the master problem from the network security check in subproblems. The master problem applies the augmented Lagrangian relaxation (LR) method and dynamic programming (DP) to solve UC. The subproblem checks ac network security constraints for the UC solution to determine whether a converged and secure ac power flow can be obtained. If any network violations arise, corresponding Benders cuts will be formed and added to the master problem for solving the next iteration of UC. The iterative process will continue until ac violations are eliminated and a converged optimal solution is found. In this paper, a six-bus system and the IEEE 118-bus system with 54 units are analyzed to exhibit the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Analysis of Bulked and Redundant Accessions of Brassica Germplasm Using Assignment Tests of Microsatellite Markers

This study was conducted to determine if Brassica germplasm bulks created and main- tained by the USDA-ARS North Central Plant Introduction Station (NCRPIS) were made with genetically indistinguishable component acces- sions and to examine newly identified putative duplicate accessions to determine if they can be bulked. Using ten microsatellite primer pairs, we genotyped two bulks of B. rapa L. ssp. dichotoma (Roxb.) Hanelt comprising four accessions and three bulks of B. rapa L. ssp. trilocularis (Roxb.) Hanelt comprising fourteen accessions, as well as four pairs of putatively duplicate accessions of B. napus L. Assignment tests on ten individual plants per accession were conducted using a model-based clustering method to arrive at prob- abilities of likelihood of accession assignment. The assignment tests indicated that one of the two bulks of B. rapa ssp. dichotoma involves geneti- cally heterogeneous accessions. It was observed in the B. rapa ssp. trilocularis bulks that the compo- nent accessions could be differentiated into groups, with misassignments observed most fre- quent within groups. In B. napus, only one of the four pairs of putative duplicates showed significant genetic differentiation. The other three pairs of putative duplicates lack differences and support the creation of bulks. The results of the assignment tests were in agreement with cluster analyses and tests of population differentiation. Implications of these results in terms of germplasm management include the maintenance and/or re-creation of some Brassica germplasm bulks by excluding those accessions identified as being unique in this study.
Paecilomyces lilacinus olecranon bursitis in an immunocompromised host: case report and review

Paecilomyces lilacinus is a little-known mold that causes rare cases of invasive infections in humans regardless of their immune status. We present a unique case in an immunocompromised host with olecranon bursitis because of multidrug-resistant P. lilacinus treated with systemic ketoconazole therapy and surgical debridement. Recognition of this fungus is difficult initially because of its appearance, which can be confused with that of other fungi. Once this organism has been identified, it is recommended that antifungal susceptibility testing be obtained to guide appropriate therapy. Combination of therapeutic modalities requires case-by-case assessment. Surgical debridement and removal of prosthesis may be indicated. Although P. lilacinus can be a laboratory contaminant, in our case, causation was established as the organism grew in repeated cultures, sufficient to confirm a fungal origin for his bursitis.
HALO: Haptic Alerts for Low-hanging Obstacles in white cane navigation

White canes give the visually impaired the freedom to travel independently in unknown environments, but they cannot warn the user of overhead hazards such as tree branches. This paper presents the development and evaluation of a device that provides haptic cues to warn a visually impaired user of low-hanging obstacles during white cane navigation. The Haptic Alerts for Low-hanging Obstacles (HALO) system is a portable and affordable attachment to traditional white canes. By pairing distance data acquired from an ultrasonic range sensor with vibration feedback delivered by an eccentric mass motor, the device aims to alert users of low-hanging obstacles without interfering with the standard functionality of a white cane. We conducted a preliminary validation study wherein twelve blindfolded subjects navigated a custom obstacle course with and without vibration alerts from HALO. The results showed that this new device is intuitive and highly effective at enabling the user to safely navigate around low-hanging obstacles.
Game theory approach for the integrated design of structures and controls

The problem of design of actively controlled structures subject to constraints on the damping parameters of the closed-loop system is formulated as a multiobjeetive optimization problem. The structural weight and the controlled system energy are considered as objective functions for minimization with cross-sectional areas of members as design variables. A computational procedure is developed for solving the multiobjeetive optimization problem using cooperative game theory. The feasibility of the procedure is demonstrated through the design of two truss structures.
Psychiatric diagnosis and the surgical outcome of pancreas transplantation in patients with type I diabetes mellitus.

To examine the role of psychiatric diagnosis in the surgical outcome of pancreas transplantation, we studied candidates with type I diabetes mellitus. Eighty of 140 candidates underwent transplantation. Survival analysis found the extent of human leukocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR) matching, two diagnoses, and patients' perceived support from first-degree relatives to be related to duration of full-graft function. Lifetime diagnoses of tobacco use disorder ( P =0.029) and alcohol abuse/dependence ( P =0.006) were associated with less favorable outcomes; perceived support was associated with positive outcomes ( P =0.048). Subsequent analysis suggested that the four variables independently and directly affect outcome.
Test facilities for future linear colliders

For many years now there has been active research around the world towards a future linear collider with an energy of about 1 TeV. This research has led to several test facilities around the world that seek to test key aspects of the various approaches. The purpose of this paper is to review the status of the test facilities. The test facilities focus on three primary areas in the linear collider: creating the low emittance beams in the injector and damping rings, accelerating the beams in the high energy linac, and focusing the beams to a small spot in the final focus. The damping ring and injection is the primary focus of the Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) at KEK. The accelerator technology is the primary focus of the Tesla Test Facility Linac, the S-Band Test Facility, the NLC Test Accelerator and the CLIC Test Facility. Lastly, the Final Focus Test Beam (FFTB) addresses the problems in the final focus system. We will discuss all the test facilities above except the FFTB.
Architectural design of a secure forensic state psychiatric hospital.

This article describes the architectural design of a secure forensic state psychiatric hospital. The project combined input from staff at all levels of the client organization, outside consultants, and a team of experienced architects. The design team was able to create a design that maximized patient dignity and privacy on one hand, and the ability of staff to observe all patient activity on the other. The design centers around 24-bed units, broken into smaller living wings of eight beds each. Each eight-bed living wing has its own private bathrooms (two) and showers (two), as well as a small living area solely reserved for these eight patients and their guests. An indoor-outdoor dayroom allows patients to go outside whenever they choose, while allowing staff to continue observing them. The heart of the facility is a large treatment mall, designed to foster the acquisition of social, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral skills that will help patients to safely return to their communities.
Localizing Objects with Smart Dictionaries

We present an approach to determine the category and location of objects in images. It performs very fast categorization of each pixel in an image, a brute-force approach made feasible by three key developments: First, our method reduces the size of a large generic dictionary (on the order of ten thousand words) to the low hundreds while increasing classification performance compared to k-means. This is achieved by creating a discriminative dictionary tailored to the task by following the information bottleneck principle. Second, we perform feature-based categorization efficiently on a dense grid by extending the concept of integral images to the computation of local histograms. Third, we compute SIFT descriptors densely in linear time. We compare our method to the state of the art and find that it excels in accuracy and simplicity, performing better while assuming less.
A low-cost, DSP-based, intelligent vision system for robotic applications

In this paper we present the design and implementation of a novel low-cost active vision system for robotic applications. The system is comprised of two parts: A 4-DOF trinocular active camera head and a DSP-based image acquisition and processing board. Design issues and tradeoffs are discussed. The performance of the system is evaluated by running an edge-based object tracking algorithm that is also presented in this paper. Experimental results show that the system is capable of tracking objects at 30 frames/sec.
Routing algorithm for network of homogeneous and id-less biomedical sensor nodes (RAIN)

Rapid development in microelectronics and MEMS technology in recent years, have led to a wide-scale application of sensor networks. Since the tiny wireless nodes will be deployed in thousands in near future, it will not be possible to provide each of them with unique hardware identifiers. Existing routing algorithms for sensor networks, which assume that all the nodes in the network can be uniquely identified, will not be suitable for being used in such networks of id-less sensors. In this paper we consider a biomedical application of such id-less sensor nodes and propose a routing algorithm (RAIN), that can be used in an in-vivo network of homogeneous and id-less biomedical sensor nodes. Simulation results show that RAIN performs much better than C-FLOOD, a controlled flooding algorithm in terms of reducing the average temperature rise and average energy consumption of the nodes.
Upside-down vitreolysis

We describe a technique for performing laser vitreolysis in patients lying upside down on a gurney.
Antioxidant functions of glutathione in human retinal pigment epithelium in relation to age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) is the leading cause of severe visual loss in the western world in people over 50 years of age1–3 Unfortunately, no effective preventive or treatment strategy for the disease exists. The mechanistic basis for development and progression of ARMD is not clearly understood but may involve degenerative changes to Bruch’s membrane, damage to choroidal vasculature, or oxidative injury to the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) photoreceptor complexe4,5.
The Role of Natural Functions in Shaping Community Resiliency to Floods

This chapter will examine the degree to which natural features of the landscape can support community-level resiliency with respect to flooding and flood impacts. First, specific features of the physical environment will be evaluated for their role in mitigating the adverse impacts of floods. These include, among others, naturally-occurring wetlands, floodplains, soils, topography, and pervious land cover. Empirical and statistical evidence from research conducted by the author will be used to support the concepts presented throughout the chapter. Based on the evidence presented, a series of policy recommendations will be formulated that can enhance a community’s ability to cope with the persistent threat of flooding.
Nativism or State Welfare? Exploring Anti-Immigrant Legislation in the States?

Arizona recently passed controversial immigration legislation, S.B. 170 that targets illegal immigration. Twenty-one additional states are in the process of drafting and passing similar bills. Critics of this legislation charge it is motivated by anti-immigrant, racist, and nativist attitudes. Defendants claim it is rooted in protecting the well being of the state, particularly in light of the failure of the federal government to pass immigration reform. This paper examines the introduction, hearings, and passage of illegal immigrant legislation at the state level. The focus is on whether states choose to pass or introduce such legislation, the nature of the bills, and the role of interests groups in mobilizing action in this area. Additionally, this paper assesses the motivations of these bills and variation among states in severity and success of the bills. I investigate the statutory language, legislative record of debate, advocacy group publications, and the political climate. Geographical location of the state, closeness in electoral races, racial and ethnic demographics of the state, strength of interests groups, proximity to passage of S.B. 170, and the percent of the states immigrant population are central explanatory variables to the language in the bill and its level of success. The findings have implications for both theoretical and policy debates over the role and consequences of state actions towards immigration.
To Stimulate, Provoke, or Incite? Hate Speech and the First Amendment

If protecting freedom of speech is one of mankind's noblest pursuits, then restricting it is the most difficult. Yet limit we must: even the purest civil libertarian will concede that false shouts of fire cannot be countenanced nor broadcasts of wartime troop movements; even those who object to obscenity laws recognize the need for enabling redress of libel; and even those who would protect the right to be insulting do not defend inflammatory words spit out nose-to-nose. Now a spate of "speech codes" on college campuses has once again brought the first amendment to the fore, part of a simmering debate on the extent to which we can constitutionally limit the language of hatred.The rule should be a simple one: expression of all ideas is protected, except for those in narrowly defined categories such as state secrets, obscenity, fighting words, and defamation. The last exception should include a civil action for group libel. While the rule may be simple, however, it is not simplistic--nor any more difficult to apply than the analysis required in the fact-finding process of a trial by judge or jury.This paper will briefly examine the various approaches to free speech both in America and elsewhere, suggest how they may be read in harmony with the rule stated above, and apply such reasoning to specific cases of group defamation.
Distributions and accumulation rates of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the northern Gulf of Mexico sediments.

Sediment samples collected from shelf, slope and interior basin of the northern Gulf of Mexico during 2011-2013, 1-3 years after the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, were utilized to characterize PAH pollution history, in this region. Results indicate that the concentrations of surface ΣPAH43 and their accumulation rates vary between 44 and 160 ng g(-1) and 6-55 ng cm(-2) y(-1), respectively. ΣPAH43 concentration profiles, accumulation rates and Δ(14)C values are significantly altered only for the sediments in the immediate vicinity of the DWH wellhead. This shows that the impact of DWH oil input on deep-sea sediments was generally limited to the area close to the spill site. Further, the PAHs source diagnostic analyses suggest a noticeable change in PAHs composition from higher to lower molecular weight dominance which reflects a change in source of PAHs in the past three years, back to the background composition. Results indicate low to moderate levels of PAH pollution in this region at present, which are unlikely to cause adverse effects on benthic communities.
Current status of allogeneic transplantation for aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Purpose of review To provide a succinct update on the role of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) in the management of patients with aggressive lymphomas. To clarify the indications for allogeneic transplantation vis-a-vis autologous transplant and to discuss the rationale and potential benefits of reduced intensity conditioning (RIC), nonmyeloablative (NMA) transplant, T-cell depletion and variations in graft vs. host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis. Recent findings Considerable effort has been spent in developing transplant regimens with reduced toxicity and reduced GVHD. The role of allogeneic transplantation has also been redefined in light of advances in lymphoma classification, diagnostic methods, particularly PET scan and advances in transplant technology. Haplo and umbilical cord blood SCT allow identification of a donor for nearly all patients. Summary In diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the outcome of allo-SCT depends on patient characteristics and chemosensitivity. It is useful after failure of auto-SCT and in partial responses to salvage therapy. Allo-SCT may be the treatment of choice for advanced T-cell and natural killer cell lymphoma and for adult T-cell leukemia-lymphoma. Prophylactic or preemptive donor lymphocyte infusion may be useful, but requires controlled studies. RIC and NMA conditioning have reduced early toxicity but are associated with increased risk for disease recurrence. Promising data have been reported from a novel conditioning regimen combining NMA with ibritumomab tiuxetan. T-cell depletion reduces chronic GVHD but has some increase in rate of recurrence. Rapamycin may be associated with reduction in risk for disease recurrence.
Intrinsic excitability of human motoneurons in biceps brachii versus triceps brachii

The intrinsic excitability of spinal motoneurons is mediated in part by the presence of persistent inward currents (PICs), which amplify synaptic input and promote self-sustained firing. Studies us...
The Relation Between the Number of Bacteria and Acid Production in the Fermentation of Xylose

The study of the rate of growth of bacteria and the extent of the changes in the composition of the nutrient medium which accompany growth has engaged the attention of bacteriologists for many years. The most important contributions to this problem may be divided along two lines: first, the relation between the number of bacteria and the amount of the end products at different times; second, involved mathematical equations and formulae to explain the rate of multiplication of bacteria in nutrient solutions. The usual method of investigation is to seed a small number of bacteria into a suitable medium under known conditions, and after given intervals of time to estimate the number by the plate method. The rate of development can be obtained for many kinds of bacteria by measuring their products, i. e.,* the extent of fermentation is assumed to be proportional to the number of bacteria that have developed. This article is primarily concerned with the rate at which byproducts are formed and their relation to the number of bacteria. In order to study the mechanism of fermentation reactions, the rate of development of the micro-organism is of importance. At present, observations are not available which cover the whole period of growth from commencement of seeding to the period when growth ceases altogether, and by-products are no longer formed. It is true that there are ample observations available on the reproduction of bacteria and yeasts in the early stages of growth.
Swelling and pain 2 weeks after a dog bite.

(MRSA) infection presented to the emergency room with pain and significant swelling at the site of a dog bite on his left forearm. He had been bitten 2 weeks earlier by a friend’s dog, and the bite had punctured the skin. He also had red streaking on the skin of the left arm from the wrist to the elbow, and he reported feeling “feverish” and having night sweats.3At first, the bite had seemed to improve, then swelling and pain had developed and in-creased. He reported this to his primary care physician, along with the information that he had previously had an anaphylactic reaction to penicillin and a cephalosporin. His physi-cian, considering a penicillin allergy, started him on ciprofloxacin (Cipro) plus clindamy-cin (Cleocin). The patient took this for 5 days, but without improvement. The appear-ance of the red streaking on his left forearm prompted his presentation to our emergency room.■
The distribution and drug resistance of turinary tract infection pathogens from 2008 to 2010

Objective To understand the distribution of pathogens causing urinary tract infection and drug resistance.Methods The urinary tract infection urine samplesfrom 2008 to 2010 were cultured.The clinical isolates were identified by VITEK-60 of Bio-Merieux of France.Disk diffusion confirmatory test detected ESBLs.Results 1 561 pathogens were isolated,with Escherichia coli being the most common,accounting for 27.2%,followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae(6.34%),Proteus mirabilis(6.28%) and Enterococcus faecalis D group(6.215).Staphylococcus epidermidis,Candida albicans and Enterococcus faecium(D group) counted for 4.48%,4.36% and 3.91%,respectively.Staphylococcus epidermidis,Enterococcus faecalis(D group) and Enterococcus faecium(D group) were sensitive to vancomycin,and only one strain of Enterococcus faecalis(D group) was resistant to Linezolid.None of the E.coli strains was resistant to imipenem.There were one strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae and one Proteus mirabilis resistant to imipenem.The pathogens were resistant to other drugs in varying degrees.Conclusion Escherichia coli is the most common pathogen causing urinary tract infection.The rate of ESBLs producing strains is over 46.6%.Imipenem and piperacillin /tazobactam are the choice for the treatment of urinary tract infection caused by ESBLs producing bacteria.Urinary tract infections are caused by gram-positive bacteria,mainly enterococci.Penicillin can be used for the treatment of urinary tract infections cause by Enterococcus faecalis,but not for those caused by Enterococcus faecium due to a resistance rate as high as over 95%.Furazolidone,linezolid and vancomycin can be used as the first choice.
[Prediction of treatment response in acute mania: controlled clinical trials with divalproex].

Objectif: Determiner les facteurs predictifs de la reponse therapeutique thymoregulatrice dans les acces maniaques et etablir les proprietes thymoregulatrices du divalproex. Methode: Pour les facteurs predictifs, 179 sujets repartis en 3 groupes paralleles (divalproex, lithium, placebo) pendant 21 jours ont ete evalues avec un entretien structure realise par le clinicien (SADS-C) et par les infirmieres (ADRS). Pour l'etude de maintenance, 372 patients maniaques stabilises ont ete randomises en trois groupes placebo, lithium, divalproex. Resultats: L'existence de symptomes depressifs associes a l'acces maniaque est associee a une mauvaise reponse au lithium, les manies avec symptomes depressifs ou avec des cycles rapides ont une bonne reponse au divalproex, les manies dites classiques ont un fort taux de reponse au lithium et au divalproex et la manie dysphorique ou irritable a une reponse favorable au divalproex et non pas au lithium. Un nombre important d'episodes anterieurs tant maniaques que depressifs predit une mauvaise reponse au lithium et une reponse favorable au divalproex. Les effets des episodes depressifs et maniaques semblent independants l'un de l'autre et ne sont pas correles au nombre d'annees de la maladie et a l'âge de debut. Le divalproex etait meilleur que le placebo pour la prevention de tous les types d'episodes, que la rechute ait ete depressive ou maniaque et le divalproex etait meilleur que le lithium pour la prevention des episodes depressifs. Conclusion: Des elements propres a l'histoire de la maladie et a la semiologie de l'acces sont susceptibles de predire la reponse therapeutique aux thymoregulateurs.
Four-laboratory validation study of the determination of chloramphenicol in veal calf urine.

A four-laboratory validation study of a method for the quantitation and confirmation of low part-perbillion levels of chloramphenicol extracted from veal calf urine was done. With this method, chloramphenicol, derivatized to the bis(trimethylsilyl)ether, was quantitated by gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC-ECD) and confirmed by selected-ion monitoring in a negative ion chemical ionization gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-NICI-MS). Four analysts from 4 laboratories participated in the portion of the study devoted to chloramphenicol quantitation. Every analyst analyzed 5 sets, one set per day, on 5 different days. Each set included 6 samples consisting of a blank, 2 fortified samples, 2 incurred urine samples, and one duplicate. Thus, each analyst worked on a total of 30 samples. Chloramphenicol concentrations ranged from 0 to 9.7 ppb. All data were reported to 0.1 ppb. Coefficients of variation for distribution, CV d , ranged from 8.82 to 14.14% and for precision, CV r , ranged from 9.15 to 14.80%. Three analysts from 3 laboratories also participated in the confirmatory portion of the study, which was carried out to test whether the NICI-MS method developed earlier for higher concentrations of chloramphenicol and for an extract of muscle tissue could be applied to lower levels of chloramphenicol and to an extract prepared from urine. The extracts of 10 of the 30 samples were designated for confirmation only, but were obtained by the same procedure as extracts used for the quantitation part of the study. The confirmation part of the study failed to determine whether NICI-MS is still valid for these levels and this matrix because source temperature lower than that recommended by the originating laboratory as used by all collaborating laboratories. The spectra generated by collaborators were different from those expected
A case study on choosing normalization methods and test statistics for two-channel microarray data: Research Articles

DNA microarray analysis is a biological technology which permits the whole genome to be monitored simultaneously on a single slide. Microarray technology not only opens an exciting research area for biologists, but also provides significant new challenges to statisticians. Two very common questions in the analysis of microarray data are, first, should we normalize arrays to remove potential systematic biases, and if so, what normalization method should we use? Second, how should we then implement tests of statistical significance? Straightforward and uniform answers to these questions remain elusive. In this paper, we use a real data example to illustrate a practical approach to addressing these questions. Our data is taken from a DNA–protein binding microarray experiment aimed at furthering our understanding of transcription regulation mechanisms, one of the most important issues in biology. For the purpose of preprocessing data, we suggest looking at descriptive plots first to decide whether we need preliminary normalization and, if so, how this should be accomplished. For subsequent comparative inference, we recommend use of an empirical Bayes method (the B statistic), since it performs much better than traditional methods, such as the sample mean (M statistic) and Student's t statistic, and it is also relatively easy to compute and explain compared to the others. The false discovery rate (FDR) is used to evaluate the different methods, and our comparative results lend support to our above suggestions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prologue: Images of Man and Nature

Anthropologists and their associates in geography have been studying relationships between humans and the physical environment for a very long time. The form of attempts to measure the amount of influence a particular environment may have had in shaping particular cultural patterns. This task was approached from either an environmental bias, in which case the presence of considerable influence from nature was assumed, or from a cultural bias, in which case environmental influence was assumed to be minimal, with humans in full control of nature. The existence of something called cultural ecology can be made on the grounds of public policy. In its bare essence, the definition of cultural ecology is, therefore, a study of how and why humans use nature, how they incorporate nature into society, and what they do to themselves, in the process. The long historical perspective of anthropology provides opportunities for research on sequences of culture–environment relations in the past that may illumine the present.
Effect of temperature and hyaluronate on photochemical changes in calf skin collagen solutions at physiological PH

M collagens contain several age-related fluorescent chromophores that are unstable to solar UV wavelengths. The consequences of the resulting collagen photo-degradation are not well known, since the direct collagen – UV interactions are poorly described at best. We are studying these interactions by following UV – induced changes in calf skin type I collagen fluorescence as functions of time, temperature, and hyaluronic acid (HA). We have observed that UVC radiation (mainly 254 nm) causes dimerization of tyrosyl residues to dityrosine and the disappearance of an age-related tyrosine oxidation product that is formed in the ground state. Dityrosine formation does not require oxygen and is relatively insensitive to changes in temperature and age of sample. The age-related oxidation product destabilizes the overall collagen supramolecular structure. Added sodium hyaluronate (2:1 ratio) shows little or no effect on these results. This latter result may indicate that there is little physical interaction between the collagen telopeptide and HA domains in vitro.
Self-organization in precipitation reactions far from the equilibrium

Far from the thermodynamic equilibrium, many precipitation reactions create complex product structures with fascinating features caused by their unusual origins. Unlike the dissipative patterns in other self-organizing reactions, these features can be permanent, suggesting potential applications in materials science and engineering. We review four distinct classes of precipitation reactions, describe similarities and differences, and discuss related challenges for theoretical studies. These classes are hollow micro- and macrotubes in chemical gardens, polycrystalline silica carbonate aggregates (biomorphs), Liesegang bands, and propagating precipitation-dissolution fronts. In many cases, these systems show intricate structural hierarchies that span from the nanometer scale into the macroscopic world. We summarize recent experimental progress that often involves growth under tightly regulated conditions by means of wet stamping, holographic heating, and controlled electric, magnetic, or pH perturbations. In this research field, progress requires mechanistic insights that cannot be derived from experiments alone. We discuss how mesoscopic aspects of the product structures can be modeled by reaction-transport equations and suggest important targets for future studies that should also include materials features at the nanoscale.
A 71–86-GHz Switchless Asymmetric Bidirectional Transceiver in a 90-nm SiGe BiCMOS

An $E$ -band (71–86-GHz) bidirectional transceiver is presented in this paper. The time-division duplex architecture avoids transmit (TX)/receive (RX) switches through the use of transistor biasing in the signal path to minimize high-frequency loss. The low-noise amplifier (LNA) and power amplifier (PA) are combined into a wideband PA/LNA circuit, which alleviates the parasitic loading of each circuit through a wideband power combiner. The bidirectional transceiver circuit is implemented in 90-nm SiGe BiCMOS process. In TX mode, the bidirectional transceiver transmits a maximum saturated power of 11 dBm at 78 GHz with a 3-dB bandwidth from 71 to 86 GHz. In RX mode, the maximum 30.6-dB conversion gain and the minimum 6.6-dB noise figure are measured at 73 GHz. The whole RF frontend chip consumes 350.2- and 137.7-mW dc power in TX and RX modes, respectively, including all the RF, IF, and local oscillator amplifiers. The overall chip size is $1.5~\text {mm}\times 0.9$ mm including pads.
AACP Special Taskforce on Diversifying Our Investment in Human Capital Interim Update.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe 2015-2017 AACP Special Taskforce on Diversifying our Investment in Human Capital was appointed for a two-year term, therefore the interim update from the Taskforce. A full report will be provided in 2017 in the form of a white paper for academic pharmacy on diversifying our investment in human capital.
Tracking in unstructured crowded scenes

This paper presents a target tracking framework for unstructured crowded scenes. Unstructured crowded scenes are defined as those scenes where the motion of a crowd appears to be random with different participants moving in different directions over time. This means each spatial location in such scenes supports more than one, or multi-modal, crowd behavior. The case of tracking in structured crowded scenes, where the crowd moves coherently in a common direction, and the direction of motion does not vary over time, was previously handled in [1]. In this work, we propose to model various crowd behavior (or motion) modalities at different locations of the scene by employing Correlated Topic Model (CTM) of [16]. In our construction, words correspond to low level quantized motion features and topics correspond to crowd behaviors. It is then assumed that motion at each location in an unstructured crowd scene is generated by a set of behavior proportions, where behaviors represent distributions over low-level motion features. This way any one location in the scene may support multiple crowd behavior modalities and can be used as prior information for tracking. Our approach enables us to model a diverse set of unstructured crowd domains, which range from cluttered time-lapse microscopy videos of cell populations in vitro, to footage of crowded sporting events.
From Then to Now: Emerging Directions for Youth Program Evaluation

Understanding the impact of youth development programs has been an important topic since the programs first began, and the past 25 years in particular have witnessed considerable advances in the evaluation of youth development programs. This article presents a brief history of youth development program evaluation, considering how it has changed over the years. From there, three contemporary trends related to youth program evaluation are examined: 1) a new evaluation focus, which is the emphasis on evaluating program quality; 2) organizational structures related to effective program evaluation, primarily in the area of program evaluability and evaluation capacity building; and 3) an emerging evaluation approach, involving youth in evaluating the programs that affect them. The article concludes with a call for programs to attend carefully to program implementation quality.