cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
T Cell–Independent Interleukin 15rα Signals Are Required for Bystander Proliferation

Cytokine driven or “bystander” proliferation of T cells occurs in vivo independently of major histocompatibility complex–T cell receptor interactions. This process may be important for supporting T cell homeostasis and facilitating T cell responses to microbial antigens, and may involve the cytokine interleukin (IL)-15. In this study, we find that IL-15Rα–deficient (IL-15Rα−/−) mice fail to undergo poly I:C or IL-15 driven bystander proliferation of CD8+ T cells. Surprisingly, IL-15Rα−/− CD8+ T cells proliferate in response to poly I:C when adoptively transferred into normal mice, and normal CD8+ T cells fail to proliferate in IL-15Rα−/− mice. Normal mice reconstituted with IL-15Rα−/− bone marrow cells also fail to exhibit bystander responses. Thus, CD8+ T cell independent IL-15Rα signals from radiation sensitive hematopoietic cells are likely required for bystander responses. Moreover, normal CD8+ T cells proliferate in IL-15Rα−/− mice after treatment with IL-15. Therefore, IL-15Rα signals may mediate a positive feedback loop involving the further physiological production of IL-15. These findings provide new insights into how IL-15Rα supports memory phenotype CD8+ T cell proliferation, and suggest novel mechanisms by which memory CD8+ T cells are maintained in vivo.
A possible origin of some olive‐green cells in aphotic marine environments1

Spheroidal cellular fragments were produced by resting cells of Amphora coeffaeformis (Bacillariophyceae) in laboratory cultures simulating the cold, dark conditions of aphotic ocean water. The light microscopic morphology and ultrastructure of these cellular fragments resemble olive-green cells (group 1) that occur below the euphotic zone. The abundance of olive-green cells in deep water beneath high productivity regions may result from the settling of phytoplankton into the dysphotic and aphotic zones where resting cells and their cellular fragments could be produced.
Design challenges for secure implantable medical devices

Implantable medical devices, or IMDs, are increasingly being used to improve patients' medical outcomes. Designers of IMDs already balance safety, reliability, complexity, power consumption, and cost. However, recent research has demonstrated that designers should also consider security and data privacy to protect patients from acts of theft or malice, especially as medical technology becomes increasingly connected to other systems via wireless communications or the Internet. This survey paper summarizes recent work on IMD security. It discusses sound security principles to follow and common security pitfalls to avoid. As trends in power efficiency, sensing, wireless systems and bio-interfaces make possible new and improved IMDs, they also underscore the importance of understanding and addressing security and privacy concerns in an increasingly connected world.
Anoxic oxidation of arsenite linked to chemolithotrophic denitrification in continuous bioreactors

In this study, the anoxic oxidation of arsenite (As(III)) linked to chemolithotrophic denitrification was shown to be feasible in continuous bioreactors. Biological oxidation of As(III) was stable over prolonged periods of operation ranging up to 3 years in continuous denitrifying bioreactors with granular biofilms. As(III) was removed with a high conversion efficiency (>92%) to arsenate (As(V)) in periods with high volumetric loadings (e.g., 3.5–5.1 mmol As L day−1). The maximum specific activity of sampled granular sludge from the bioreactors was 0.98 ± 0.04 mmol As(V) formed g−1 VSS day−1 when determined at an initial concentration of 0.5 mM As(III). The microbial population adapted to high influent concentrations of As(III) up to 5.2 mM. However, the As(III) oxidation process was severely inhibited when 7.6–8.1 mM As(III) was fed. Activity was restored upon lowering the As(III) concentration to 3.8 mM. Several experimental strategies were utilized to demonstrate a dependence of the nitrate removal on As(III) oxidation as well as a dependence of the As(III) removal on nitrate reduction. The molar stoichiometric ratio of As(V) formed to nitrate removed (corrected for endogenous denitrification) in the bioreactors approximated 2.5, indicating complete denitrification was occurring. As(III) oxidation was also shown to be linked to the complete denitrification of NO to N2 gas by demonstrating a significantly enhanced production of N2 beyond the background endogenous production in a batch bioassay spiked with 3.5 mM As(III). The N2 production also corresponded closely to the expected stoichiometry of 2.5 mol As(III) mol−1 N2–N for complete denitrification. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;105: 909–917. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Clustering algorithms for the design of a cellular manufacturing system—an analysis for their performance

Abstract The heuristic clustering methods based on similarity coefficient are considered to be very efficient for providing modularity and flexibility in a cellular manufacturing systems (CMS's). Various algorithms have been implemented in these heuristic methods. However, these algorithms suffer from string effect which is also known as “chaining”. Sedveral studies have reported this problem, yet not much research has been conducted to investigate its impact on actual clustering process. This paper presents results from an analytical study performed to determine the severity of chaining problem and other characteristics associated with the clustering process of four selected algorithms. The four algorithms are Single linkage clustering (SLINK), Average linkage clustering (ALINK), Weighted average linkage clustering (WLINK), and Complete linkage clustering (CLINK). A sample of fifty problems with randomly generated data sets was used to determine feasible solutions consisting of machine cells and corresponding part families from each of the four algorithms. A quantitative measure is proposed for evaluating the performance of different algorithms. The study concludes that the chaining effect for CLINK, WLINK, ALINK and SLINK progresively worsens from CLINK to SLINK in the same order. The study also provides important guidelines to designers of a CMS in selecting the most efficient algorithm for a given problem data. Several important statistical results are also presented.
Mobile robot for automatic installation of floor tiles

This paper describes the configuration of a floor-tile installation robot for commercial buildings. The research is motivated by the need to reduce the installation time and cost while guaranteeing consistent quality. An autonomous, electrically-powered mobile robot with omnidirectional locomotive capability, and stereo cameras and light-striper for sensing has been developed. High resolution imaging is needed to identify tile seams and edges, assess the quality of automatic installation, and locate where the next tile should be placed. A mechanically compliant placement device would place the tile quickly and accurately without damaging the placed and surrounding tiles, emulating a human capability. Vinyl/ceramic tiles, adhesives, and grout are carried onboard the robot and replenished by the operator. Navigation and positioning are performed through a laser-based triangulation system, and by detecting, counting and dead-reckoning off of tiles placed on the floor. Tile and installation quality are continuously monitored and errors corrected for, based on an overall layout map.
Evaluating Comprehensive Community Drug Risk Reduction Interventions Design Challenges and Recommendations

Comprehensive community interventions pose several challenges to rigorous evaluation design. This article summarizes the recommendations for a feasible and rigorous design that were formulated by a...
Measurement, Regression, and Calibration

Introduction 1. Simple linear regression 2. Multiple regression and calibration 3. Regularized multiple regression 4. Multivariate calibration 5. Regession on curves 6. Non-linearity and selection 7. Pattern recognition A. Distribution theory B. Conditional inference C. Regularization dominance E. Partial least-squares algorithm Bibliography Index
Access to Health Care and Nonemergency Medical Transportation: Two Missing Links

Although lack of access to nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) is a barrier to health care, national transportation and health care surveys have not comprehensively addressed that link. Nationally representative studies have not investigated the magnitude of the access problem or the characteristics of the population that experiences access problems. The current study, relying primarily on national health care studies, seeks to address both of those shortcomings. Results indicate that about 3.6 million Americans do not obtain medical care because of a lack of transportation in a given year. On average, they are disproportionately female, poorer, and older; have less education; and are more likely to be members of a minority group than those who obtain care. Although such adults are spread across urban and rural areas much like the general population, children lacking transportation are more concentrated in urban areas. In addition, these 3.6 million experience multiple conditions at a much higher rate than do their peers. Many conditions that they face, however, can be managed if appropriate care is made available. For some conditions, this care is cost-effective and results in health care cost savings that outweigh added transportation costs. Thus, it is found that great opportunity exists to achieve net societal benefits and to improve the quality of life of this population by increasing its access to NEMT. Furthermore, modifications to national health care and transportation data sets are recommended to allow more direct assessment of this problem.
A new parallel algorithm for time-slot assignment in hierarchical switching systems

The time-slot assignment (TSA) problem in a TDM switching system is to find a conflict-free assignment of traffic-units to slots such that the frame-length is minimized. In this paper, we develop a new parallel algorithm for the TSA problem in hierarchical switching systems (HSS). To design the parallel algorithm, we first reduce the TSA problem to the problem of routing permutations in three-stage Clos networks; we also show how this reduction can be achieved in polylogarithmic time using a polynomial number of processors on the EREW PRAM model. Once this reduction is achieved, we use existing parallel algorithms in literature to route permutations in Clos networks. The overall time-complexity of our parallel algorithm is O(log/sup 3/ X) using O(MX) processors, where X=max{M, L}, M is the number of inputs of the HSS, and L is the length of the time-slot assignment. This result is a significant improvement upon the earlier parallel algorithms, which require O(M/sup 2/ log M log L) time and O(ML) processors to solve the TSA problem.
Nox2 as a potential target of mitochondrial superoxide and its role in endothelial oxidative stress.

Superoxide (O2·−) production by the NADPH oxidases is implicated in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension. We have previously shown that activation of NADPH oxidases increases mitochondrial O2·− which is inhibited by the ATP-sensitive K+ channel (mitoKATP) inhibitor 5-hydroxydecanoic acid and that scavenging of mitochondrial or cytoplasmic O2·− inhibits hypertension. We hypothesized that mitoKATP-mediated mitochondrial O2·− potentiates cytoplasmic O2·− by stimulation of NADPH oxidases. In this work we studied Nox isoforms as a potential target of mitochondrial O2·−. We tested contribution of reverse electron transfer (RET) from complex II to complex I in mitochondrial O2·− production and NADPH oxidase activation in human aortic endothelial cells. Activation of mitoKATP with low dose of diazoxide (100 nM) decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (tetramethylrhodamine methyl ester probe) and increased production of mitochondrial and cytoplasmic O2·− measured by site-specific probes and mitoSOX. Inhibition of RET with complex II inhibitor (malonate) or complex I inhibitor (rotenone) attenuated the production of mitochondrial and cytoplasmic O2·−. Supplementation with a mitochondria-targeted SOD mimetic (mitoTEMPO) or a mitochondria-targeted glutathione peroxidase mimetic (mitoEbselen) inhibited production of mitochondrial and cytoplasmic O2·−. Inhibition of Nox2 (gp91ds) or Nox2 depletion with small interfering RNA but not Nox1, Nox4, or Nox5 abolished diazoxide-induced O2·− production in the cytoplasm. Treatment of angiotensin II-infused mice with RET inhibitor dihydroethidium (malate) significantly reduced blood pressure. Our study suggests that mitoKATP-mediated mitochondrial O2·− stimulates cytoplasmic Nox2, contributing to the development of endothelial oxidative stress and hypertension.
General Motors Optimizes Its Scheduling of Cold-Weather Tests

The General Motors Cold Weather Development Center is responsible for performing vehicle road tests under excessively cold weather conditions; each vehicle must undergo a specified number of tests under various temperatures in specified sequences. The center usually completes a vehicle's tests over several weeks based on such factors as the number of days cold enough to provide meaningful results. The center prepares a master test schedule daily with the goals of maximizing overall efficiency, assigning enough tests to each vehicle, and respecting operating constraints. To address this scheduling problem, we developed a decision-support tool with a specialized heuristic. Implementing the tool improved throughput by more than 100 percent and saved millions of dollars in vehicle warranty cost.
Validity of the Cognitive Representations of Hypertension Scales (CRHTN)1

Leventhal and Diefenbach's (1991) self-regulatory theory is discussed in explaining the dynamic nature of “how” and “what” people think about hypertension and how this information is different according to severity of hypertension. Using a sample of hypertensive adults who had controlled and uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) status, the factor structure of the Cognitive Representations of Hypertension (CRHTN) scales, an instrument based on self-regulatory theory of Leventhal & Diefenbach, is examined through exploratory, confirmatory, and multigroup factor analyses. Results indicate that a 5-factor model is representative of theoretical constructs of disease label or symptoms, consequences, and controllability. The model accurately fits observed data for outpatients with controlled and uncontrolled BP status. Results provide support for an understanding of individuals’ cognitive structuring of disease-specific attitudes, beliefs, and self-management skills.
Engineering metabolic systems for production of advanced fuels

The depleting petroleum storage and increasing environmental deterioration are threatening the sustainable development of human societies. As such, biofuels and chemical feedstocks generated from renewable sources are becoming increasingly important. Although previous efforts led to great success in bio-ethanol production, higher alcohols, fatty acid derivatives including biodiesels, alkanes, and alkenes offer additional advantages because of their compatibility with existing infrastructure. In addition, some of these compounds are useful chemical feedstocks. Since native organisms do not naturally produce these compounds in high quantities, metabolic engineering becomes essential in constructing producing organisms. In this article, we briefly review the four major metabolic systems, the coenzyme-A mediated pathways, the keto acid pathways, the fatty acid pathway, and the isoprenoid pathways, that allow production of these fuel-grade chemicals.
Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate Dehydrogenase Is Regulated on a Daily Basis by the Circadian Clock

Circadian clocks function to govern a wide range of rhythmic activities in organisms. An integral part of rhythmicity is the daily control of target genes by the clock. Here we describe the sequence and analysis of a novel clock-controlled gene, ccg-7, showing similarity to glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), a glycolytic enzyme widely used as a constitutive control in a variety of systems. That ccg-7 encodes GAPDH was confirmed by demonstrating that in vitro synthesized CCG-7 possesses GAPDH activity. Rhythms in both ccg-7 mRNA accumulation and CCG-7 (GAPDH) activity are observed in a clock wild-type strain where the peak in GAPDH activity lags several hours behind the peak in ccg-7 mRNA accumulation in the late night. Together with our previous observation that ccg-7 mRNA is not developmentally regulated, we show that ccg-7 is not induced by environmental stresses such as glucose or nitrogen deprivation (which also trigger development), heat shock, or osmotic stress. Thus, the finding that GAPDH is clock-regulated points to a specific role for the circadian clock in controlling aspects of general metabolism and provides evidence for circadian regulation of a gene found in most living organisms.
Animatronics, Children and Computation

In this article, we present CTRL_SPACE: a design for a software environment with companion hardware, developed to introduce preliterate children to basic computational concepts by means of an animatronic face, whose individual features serve as an analogy for a programmable object. In addition to presenting the environment, this article briefly discusses the reasons and methods used to reach a set of guidelines, which were in turn used to develop the prototype system that CTRL_SPACE is based on.
Graduation Policies—How Are They Articulated in Handbooks and Guides?

School policies describing graduation requirements are often published in student handbooks. How well these handbooks in Illinois schools inform students and parents of these policies is reviewed by these writers, who remind readers of the need to keep student handbooks current.
Two-step reconstruction method using global optimization and conjugate gradient for ultrasound-guided diffuse optical tomography

Ultrasound-guided diffuse optical tomography (DOT) is a promising method for characterizing malignant and benign lesions in the female breast. We introduce a new two-step algorithm for DOT inversion in which the optical parameters are estimated with the global optimization method, genetic algorithm. The estimation result is applied as an initial guess to the conjugate gradient (CG) optimization method to obtain the absorption and scattering distributions simultaneously. Simulations and phantom experiments have shown that the maximum absorption and reduced scattering coefficients are reconstructed with less than 10% and 25% errors, respectively. This is in contrast with the CG method alone, which generates about 20% error for the absorption coefficient and does not accurately recover the scattering distribution. A new measure of scattering contrast has been introduced to characterize benign and malignant breast lesions. The results of 16 clinical cases reconstructed with the two-step method demonstrates that, on average, the absorption coefficient and scattering contrast of malignant lesions are about 1.8 and 3.32 times higher than the benign cases, respectively.
Aging Random Walks

Aging refers to the property of two-time correlation functions to decay very slowly on (at least) two time scales. This phenomenon has gained recent attention due to experimental observations of the history dependent relaxation behavior in amorphous materials (``Glasses'') which pose a challenge to theorist. Aging signals the breaking of time-translational invariance and the violation of the fluctuation dissipation theorem during the relaxation process. But while the origin of aging in disordered media is profound, and the discussion is clad in the language of a well-developed theory, systems as simple as a random walk near a wall can exhibit aging. Such a simple walk serves well to illustrate the phenomenon and some of the physics behind it.
Semiconducting Nanowire Field-Effect Transistor Biomolecular Sensors

Recent studies have demonstrated the ability of semiconducting nanowire (NW) field-effect transistors (FETs) to serve as highly sensitive label-free sensors for biochemicals, including small molecules, proteins, and nucleic acids. The nanoscale confinement of the channel current in concert with the large-surface area-to-volume ratio enables charged molecules bound to the surface to effectively gate the device. Functionalization of the NW surface with specific receptors therefore enables direct electronic detection of particular molecules of interest. The original work in the field relied on NWs grown by the chemical vapor deposition method, which require hybrid bottom-up fabrication processes for device realization. The lack of reproducibility with these techniques and the associated inability to leverage the central advantage of complementary MOSFETs, namely, very large scale integration, have recently led a number of groups to create NW sensors using only traditional top-down fabrication techniques. In this paper, we focus primarily on these most recent studies and discuss necessary future studies as dictated by experimental and theoretical considerations.
Setting a new standard in the analysis of binary stars: progress and challenges

This is an era of enormous opportunity in binary star research. The Leuven meeting provided an assessment of the broad scope of observational work, merits of the analysis methods, and connections with theory. Here I outline some of the issues related to spectroscopic, photometric, and high angular resolution observations of binary stars.
Awareness and convenience are important in increasing conference sustainability

Conference organizers are increasingly making efforts to reduce resource use at conferences, yet few responsibilities are placed on attendees. We hosted an ecology conference and offered attendees a discount if they took a sustainability pledge agreeing to reduce their resource use at the conference. In a post-conference survey, 83% of respondents reported fulfilling the pledge, but 62% indicated that convenience was the biggest obstacle impeding their ability to continue the pledge during and after the conference. We found great willingness by attendees to reduce resource use at and beyond our conference, and facilitating their participation was an important part of our success.
The Political Economy of Financial Regulation: Evidence from U.S. State Usury Laws in the 18th and 19th Century

We investigate the causes and consequences of financial regulation by studying the political economy of U.S. state usury laws in the 19th century. We find evidence that usury laws were binding and enforced and that lending activity was affected by rate ceilings. Exploiting the heterogeneity across states and time in regulation, enforcement, and market conditions, we find that regulation tightens when it is less costly and when it coexists with other economic and political restrictions that exclude certain groups. Furthermore, the same determinants of financial regulation that favor one group (and restrict others) are associated with higher (lower) future economic growth rates. The evidence suggests regulation is the outcome of private interests using the coercive power of the state to extract rents from other groups, highlighting the endogeneity of financial development and growth.
A preliminary analysis of socio-economic and accessibility attributes and landscape patterns in a coastal urban area

In this paper, we report the result of our preliminary research that aims to examine how spatio-temporal landscape patterns can be related to socio-economic and accessibility attributes with a coastal urban area as the case. Our research methodology emphasizes the use of remotely sensed data, in combination with census data and other geographically referenced data. We classify two satellite images to derive land use/cover information. Census data are linearly interpolated and redistributed by using the dasymetric mapping technique. Accessibility conditions considered include terrain elevation and slope and separate Euclidian distance measurements of each pixel to selected geographic features. We analyze the empirical relationship between the spatio-temporal landscape patterns and socio-economic and accessibility attributes by using step-wise multivariate regression. Our initial results suggest that socio-economic and accessibility metrics can explain much of the variability of the landscape patterns. Our study demonstrates that remote sensing and GIS-based spatial analysis can be quite useful to examine the possible drivers leading to land use/cover changes; such an understanding can help develop more realistic models for future change prediction, which is critical for environmental planning and management in such a rapidly growing coastal urban area.
Cancer Scene Investigation: how a cold virus became a tumor killer

Oncolytic therapy is a novel anticancer treatment with attenuated lytic viruses such as adenovirus (Ad). These viruses kill the host cells through their lytic replication cycle and are thus distinct from classical gene therapy viruses, which serve as gene delivery agents and do not replicate. Oncolytic Ads are genetically engineered so as to replicate only in cancer cells. Their replication cycle leads to viral multiplication, the killing of the host cells and spreading of the infection throughout the tumor. Following success in preclinical studies, their anti-tumor potential is now being evaluated in the clinic. Three oncolytic Ads (dl1520, Ad5-CD/TKrep, and CV706) have completed Phase I and II clinical trials in cancer patients where their administration via multiple routes and in combination with chemo- or radiotherapies, has demonstrated overall safety. These viruses are being re-engineered to arm them with additional therapeutic genes, bolstering their oncolytic activity with a bystander effect. For ...
Population Interaction Between Stethorus punctum picipes (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) in Red Raspberries at Low Predator and Prey Densities

Previous studies concluded that species in the coccinellid genus Stethorus Weise, although obligate predators of tetranychid mites, exhibit a strong numerical response only to high population densities of their prey. The study reported here was conducted to test the hypothesis that in western Washington red raspberries, Stethorus punctum picipes Casey is capable of detecting and attacking spider mite populations of very low density which are distributed in small, widely scattered patches during the early part of the growing season. In addition to using conventional leaf sampling methods, S. p. picipes interactions with prey were examined by observing their response to prey patches introduced into the field from laboratory cultures. Our results indicate that S. p. picipes is active at low prey densities, although undetected by conventional sampling methods, and is capable of locating rare, small prey patches. This finding suggests that dispersal and searching ability, rather than numerical response are the key components of this preypredator association.
Monitoring DNA binding to Escherichia coli lactose repressor using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation.

Lactose repressor protein (LacI) functions as a negative transcription regulator in Escherichia coli by binding to the operator DNA sequence. Our understanding of the immobilized LacI function and the effect of ligand binding on the conformation of LacI−DNA complexes remains poorly understood. Here, we have examined the difference in functionality of wild-type and mutant LacI binding to the target DNA using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D). To direct the orientation of LacI binding to the gold surface, residue 334 was substituted with cysteine (T334C) to generate a sulfur−gold linkage. Position 334 is located on the surface opposite the DNA-binding domain and remote from the site for inducer binding. With T334C immobilized on the gold surface, our sensors successfully detect operator binding as well as the release of the operator DNA from the repressor in the presence of inducer isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactoside (IPTG). Besides the natural operator DNA sequence (O1), a symmetric high-affin...
Application of Hydrous Zirconium Oxide to Catalyst

Zirconium oxide is stable and has been rarely used as a material for catalyst except for a carrier. Recently, some high catalytic activities of the hydrous zirconium oxide have been found.It catalyzes esterification, amidation, and acetalyzation. It also catalyzes a reduction of carboxylic acids to aldehydes with hydrogen gas. Ketones, aldehydes, carboxylic acids, esters, and nitriles are readily reduced to the corresponding alcohols with 2-propanol. It is worthy of remark because it implies an extension of the so-called Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction. The surface acidity of the oxide is weak and the reaction is applicable to acid-sensitive compounds.
Open Minds and Harmless Errors: Judicial Review of Post-Promulgation Notice and Comment

In 2012, the Government Accountability Office surprised many administrative law specialists by reporting that fully 35% of major rules and 44% of nonmajor rules issued by federal government agencies lacked pre-promulgation notice and opportunity for public comment. For at least most of the major rules, however, the issuing agencies accepted comments from the public after issuing the rule, and in most of those cases, the agencies followed up with new final rules, responding to comments and often making changes in response thereto. Post-promulgation notice and comment do not precisely comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, yet are arguably close enough that some courts have felt compelled to uphold them. Challenges to rules adopted in this manner have created a jurisprudential mess, as courts struggle to balance their duty to enforce the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act with the practical realities of the modern administrative state. The sheer extent of the practice demonstrates the need for a more consistent judicial response. This Article explores the different approaches courts have taken to judicial review of post-promulgation notice and comment. The Article concludes that the all-or-nothing models embraced by some courts are doctrinally and practically untenable, but that the middle-ground alternatives employed by other courts thus far do not ensure that post-promulgation notice and comment function as an equivalent substitute for pre-promulgation procedures. The Article proposes a solution to the middle-ground problem, first by reviewing the doctrinal theory surrounding agency rulemaking and then articulating a set of factors for courts to employ in evaluating post-promulgation notice and comment case by case.
The role of cognitive equivalence in studies of health-related quality-of-life assessments.

Stewart and Napoles-Springer,1 in their summary of the state of the art of measuring healthrelated quality of life (HRQOL) in diverse populations, point out that when HRQOL measures are used with cultural, economic, ethnic, or racial groups, there is a potential for conceptual or psychometric measurement errors. To avoid such errors, as well as the inappropriate application of HRQOL assessments, they ask investigators to demonstrate the equivalence of HRQOL assessment instruments before their use in a study of diverse groups. Table 1 summarizes methods that the authors suggest1 can be used to demonstrate psychometric equivalence between HRQOL assessments.
Understanding Multiple Behavioral Risk Factors for Cancer in Rural Women

Objectives To examine the demographic and health-related factors associated with risk behaviors that have been linked to cancer including smoking, high BMI, and low physical activity. Design and Sample A secondary analysis was conducted using data from Rural Families Speak about Health, a multistate, epidemiologic study of rural American women and their families (N = 444). Measures Validated measures for various demographic and health-related items including tobacco use, BMI, physical activity, and depression were used. Results Of the total sample with complete data (n = 399), the mean age was 32 years and the majority were White (64%), married (67%), had a high school education or higher (73%), and had an annual household income of less than $40,000 (90%). Regarding cancer risk behaviors, 36% of the sample were smokers, 39% reported low levels of physical activity, and 45% had a calculated BMI over 30. Thirty-five percent of participants reported engaging in two or more risk behaviors. There were significant differences in income, perceived health status, and depression depending on the number of risk behaviors reported. Conclusions Understanding combinations of risk behaviors can assist nurses and other health professionals in tailoring multiple health behavior change interventions to prevent cancer among rural women.
Congressional voting behavior on firearm control legislation: 1993-2000.

Firearm morbidity and mortality place an enormous burden on the health care enterprise and society at large. Recent research has shown strong public support for strategies to regulate firearms yet effective federal legislation to control the types of firearms sold, conditions of sale and purchase, limitation in transportation and storage, and responsibility for use of personally owned firearms has been limited. Thus the purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between Congressional voting on firearm control legislation and the following: political affiliation, military service, geographic location of representation, education level, sex, and gun rights and gun control contributions. This was accomplished using a retrospective assessment of Congressional voting records from the 103rd–106th Congresses (1993–2000) regarding firearm control legislation. The study found that $6,270,553 was donated to members of Congress, $5,394,049 to members of the House and $876,504 to members of the Senate by groups concerned with firearm legislation. In the House, males (Odds Ratio [OR], 3.87), Republicans (OR, 13), those from the South (OR, 5), and those who received gun rights funds (OR, 13 to 203, depending on level of donations) were more likely to vote pro gun rights. In the Senate, support for gun rights occurred more often for those from the West (OR, 3.56), Republicans (OR, 130.50), or those who had received gun rights donations (OR, 28.00). This study has found a strong and consistent relationship between a Congressional member's position on firearm legislation and the amount of money received, political affiliation, and geographic location of representation.
Domestic Violence against Albanian Immigrant Women in Greece: Facing Patriarchy

Immigration is becoming an increasingly important policy concern in Europe and in many other nations. Importantly, there is an ever-growing number of women who migrate, many of whom are undocumented. Violence against immigrant women is nearly impossible to estimate. However, immigrant women who are abused face multiple barriers to seeking legal protection from the abuse as a result of their migration status, their positions within family and the host country. This paper examines the issues related to intimate partner violence within the Albanian immigrant community in Greece. It explores how the situation in Greek society and the labor market (such as social policies, xenophobic attitudes, job segregation and the prevailing economic crisis) changed the traditional gender roles and distribution of the power within Albanian families and increased intimate partner violence (IPV). The study found evidence of an increase in IPV in the aftermath of the economic crisis, which could be explained by the ideology of familial patriarchy. Battered immigrant women also face challenges in the Greek criminal justice system, which is also influenced by patriarchal values, when they are seeking relief and assistance in cases of interpersonal violence.
Blood Volume Determination as a Function of Hematocrit and Mass in Three Preservative Solutions and Saline

Accurate blood volume determination is useful both clinically and in research. In many instances, however, direct measurement of blood volume is impractical due to the risk of bacterial contamination. For this reason, mass is often used to estimate volume. The relationship between mass and volume (density) varies with different suspension solutions and hematocrits. In this paper, equations are derived to calculate volume as a function of hematocrit and mass for pooled red cells suspended in four solutions: CPD plasma (whole blood), additive solutions 1 and 3 (AS-1 and AS-3), and saline. To validate this approach, the actual versus predicted blood volumes in 10 individual blood samples suspended in either AS-1 or saline are compared. The equations predict the volume of blood to within 0.5% and 1.0% in samples with low/normal and high hematocrits (15% to 85%, respectively). Use of these equations allow for accurate and rapid conversion of mass to volume for these blood products.
Antihistamines (H1 Receptor Antagonists)

Abstract The Side Effects of Drugs Annuals forms a series of volumes in which the adverse effects of drugs, clinically significant drug interactions, pharmacogenetic variations of drug metabolism and new pharmacokinetic discoveries are reported. This series supplements the contents of Meyler’s Side Effects of Drugs: The International Encyclopedia of Adverse Drug Reactions and Interactions. This review from January 2016 to December 2016 contains a brief synopsis and references for adverse reactions to antihistamines: bilastine, chlorpheniramine, cyproheptadine, dimenhydrinate, ketotifen, levocetirizine, rupatadine.
TCT-165 ESRD patients undergoing angioplasty and bypass for CLI have worse outcomes compared to non-ESRD patients: A meta-analysis

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) is a severe form of PAD. ESRD is associated with increased morbidity and mortality following lower extremity amputation. Therefore, both angioplasty and bypass are used in ESRD patients with CLI; however, the treatment of choice remains controversial. We aimed to
The Obama effect? Inspiration and ACT scores

After Barack Obama’s 2008 election to the presidency of the United States, many predicted that the first Black president would inspire a generation of Black Americans, especially students. While stories of Obama inspiring individuals to overachieve are common, it remains to be seen if there was a systemic shift in Black student achievement after Obama’s election. Given the persistent racial score gap between Blacks and Whites on standardized tests, it is important to know if an inspirational figure could have a significant impact. Using ACT data from Chicago Public Schools, I find there is no evidence that Obama’s election had an impact on Black test scores. The racial ACT gap has been increasing since the beginning of the 21st century, and that trend continued after Obama was elected.
Outcomes and toxicities in patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer treated with brachytherapy alone or brachytherapy and supplemental external beam radiation therapy.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the cancer control outcomes and long-term treatment-related morbidity of brachytherapy as well as combination brachytherapy and external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) in patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective review was conducted in a prospectively collected database of patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer who were treated either with brachytherapy or brachytherapy and EBRT, with or without androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), in the period 1990-2014. Urinary and erectile dysfunction symptoms were measured using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), the Mount Sinai erectile function scale and the Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM). Cancer control endpoints included biochemical failure and development of distant metastases. All statistical analyses were carried out using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Survival curves were calculated using Kaplan-Meier actuarial methods and compared using log-rank tests. Cox regression multivariate analyses were used to test the effect of multiple variables on treatment outcomes. RESULTS A total of 902 patients were identified, with a median follow-up of 91 months. Of these, 390 received brachytherapy and 512 received combination therapy with EBRT. In patients with one intermediate-risk factor, the addition of EBRT did not significantly affect freedom from biochemical failure or distant metastases. Among patients with two or three intermediate-risk factors, added EBRT did not improve freedom from biochemical failure. Significant differences in late toxicity between patients treated with brachytherapy vs combination brachytherapy and EBRT were identified including urge incontinence (P < 0.001), haematuria (P < 0.001), dysuria (P < 0.001), and change in quality-of-life IPSS (P = 0.002). These symptoms were reported by patients at any point during treatment follow-up. Analysis of patients who were potent before treatment using actuarial methods showed that patients receiving combination therapy more frequently experienced loss of potency, as measured by the Mount Sinai erectile function scale (P = 0.040). CONCLUSION Brachytherapy monotherapy results in equal biochemical and distant control in both patients with one and more than one intermediate-risk features. While no significant benefit was shown, we believe that the addition of EBRT may prevent recurrence in patients with multiple intermediate-risk features and should be considered.
Optimal On Demand Delay-constrained Fair Distribution for self-coexistence WRAN

Abstract Resource allocation plays a critical role in improving the performance of Wireless Regional Area Network (WRAN) in terms of throughput, delay and fairness. In this paper, we fully consider the distinct delay constraints and frame demands of users and formulate the resource allocation optimization problem as an integer programming problem. A new approach termed On Demand Delay-constrained Fair Distribution (ODDFD) is proposed to solve this optimization problem. One distinguished feature of the ODDFD is that it is able to deal with both delay-sensitive networks and delay-insensitive networks. In this manner, ODDFD is able to maximize the fairness of resource distribution both in short term and in long term. In addition, to better assess the fairness problem in resource allocation, we propose a new fairness metric termed priority-dependence Fairness Index (F-Index) to fully consider priority levels of different users. Simulation results verify that the proposed F-Index is applicable in situations with both homogeneous and heterogeneous priorities among users. Extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of ODDFD. We conclude that, compared to existing approaches, the ODDFD reduces the unexpected delays in frame transmissions in delay-sensitive networks and significantly improves the fairness of resource allocation in delay-insensitive networks.
Evaluation of Large L3 Caches Using TPC-H Trace Samples

In this chapter we evaluate the miss rates of four L3 cache architectures for small-scale multiprocessors. Eight processors are partitioned into 1, 2, 4, or 8 clusters with 8, 4, 2, or 1 processors, respectively. Each cluster has a large L3 cache, and the aggregate amount of L3 cache in each of the four architectures varies between 64 MB and 1 GB. The target of our evaluations is decision support systems. We use bus trace samples obtained during the execution of a 100 GB TPC-H on an 8-way multiprocessor. These 12 time samples were taken at one hour intervals during the first day of execution of TPC-H. Each sample contains 64 M bus references.
Denotationally cued interactional events: A special case

A travers un type particulier d'evenement langagier - les exemples du participant - dans lequel le participant occupe deux positions, celle de personnage dans l'exemple et celle de participant dans la conversation, l'A. examine le role que jouent les signaux denotationnels et non denotationnels pour indiquer les effets interactionnels des enonces. Il montre ainsi comment la complexite de cet evenement langagier apporte des elements pour suspecter les theories universelles de l'action linguistique
Comparative Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitor Monotherapy in the Treatment of Primary Hypercholesterolemia

Objective:To evaluate the comparative efficacy and safety of the 4 currently available hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, fluvastatin, lovastatin, pravastatin, and simvastatin, in the treatment of primary hypercholesterolemia.Data Sources:English-language clinical studies, abstracts, and review articles identified from MEDLINE searches and bibliographies of identified articles. Unpublished data were obtained from the Food and Drug Administration in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act.Study Selection:Placebo-controlled and comparative studies of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor monotherapy in the treatment of primary hypercholesterolemia.Data Extraction:Pertinent studies were selected and the data were synthesized into a review format.Data Synthesis:The chemistry, pharmacology, and pharmacokinetics of the 4 HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors are reviewed. Clinical trials evaluating the hypocholesterolemic efficacy of the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors are examined, and results o...
Integrated Cell Culture/PCR for Detection of Enteric Viruses in Environmental Samples

Recently, an integrated cell culture/polymerase chain reaction (ICC/PCR) technique has been developed for the detection of viruses in environmental samples providing a reliable method for practical analysis and direct monitoring of environmental samples for viral pathogens. CC/PCR allows for detection of infectious viruses in hours to days compared with the days or weeks necessary with cell culture alone. Bacterial indicator organisms are commonly used to evaluate environmental samples with respect to fecal contamination and potential public health impacts. These organisms do not correlate well with the presence of viruses, but a rapid, reliable method was not previously available for direct virus testing. Using ICC/PCR, environmental samples may be directly surveyed for pathogenic viruses, in a timely manner. Direct virus analysis will lead to better assessment of the presence and risk of human enteric viruses in the environment, so that control measures may be developed with true virus occurrence data. The ICC/PCR approach combines two previously applied virus detection methods, conventional cell culture and PCR amplification, utilizing the major advantages and overcoming the major limitations of each methodology when used alone. Cell culture assay is the standard method for the detection of viable human viruses (i.e., poliovirus, coxsackievirus, echovirus, adenovirus, hepatitis A virus, reovirus, and rotavirus) in environmental samples, serving as the method against which all newer technologies are evaluated. Although cell culture is theoretically capable of detecting a single viable virus in relatively large volumes of sample, the time required for confirmed results with conventional cell culture makes it an impractical method for routine monitoring of environmental samples. Furthermore, cell culture does not detect noncytopathogenic viruses (viruses that are viable, infecting cells, and continually spreading to neighboring cells but that do not cause a visible cytopathogenic effect [CPE] on the cell monolayer). Rotavirus and most wild-type hepatitis A viruses (HAV) are infectious to cell cultures but do not produce a clear CPE.