cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Current reclamation practices after oil and gas development do not speed up succession or plant community recovery in big sagebrush ecosystems in Wyoming

Reclamation is an application of treatment(s) following disturbance to promote succession and accelerate the return of target conditions. Previous studies have framed reclamation in the context of succession by studying its effectiveness in reestablishing late-successional plant communities. Reestablishment of plant communities is especially important and challenging in drylands such as shrub steppe ecosystems where succession proceeds slowly. These ecosystems face threats from climate change, invasive species, altered fire regimes, and land-use change, as well as fossil-fuel extraction and associated disturbance. As such, the need for effective reclamation after this type of energy development is great. However, past research regarding this type of reclamation has focused on mining rather than oil and gas development. To better understand the effect of reclamation on rates of succession in dryland shrub steppe ecosystems, we sampled oil and gas wellpads and adjacent undisturbed big sagebrush plant communities in Wyoming, U.S.A., and quantified the extent of recovery for forbs, grasses, and shrubs on reclaimed and unreclaimed wellpads relative to undisturbed plant communities. Reclamation increased the recovery rate for early-successional types, including combined forbs and grasses and perennial grasses, but did not affect recovery rate of late-successional types, particularly big sagebrush and perennial forbs. Rather, subsequent analyses showed that recovery of late-successional types was affected by soil texture and time since wellpad abandonment. This is consistent with studies in other ecosystems where reclamation has been implemented, suggesting that reclamation may not help reestablish late-successional plant communities more quickly than they would reestablish naturally.
Can Broadly Neutralizing Monoclonal Antibodies Lead to a Hepatitis C Virus Vaccine

While licensed vaccines elicit protective antibody responses against a variety of viral infections, an effective vaccine for hepatitis C virus (HCV) has remained elusive. The extraordinary genetic diversity of HCV and the ability of the virus to evade the immune response have hindered vaccine development efforts. However, recent studies have greatly expanded the number of well characterized broadly neutralizing human monoclonal antibodies (bNAbs) against HCV. These bNAbs target relatively conserved HCV epitopes, prevent HCV infection in animal models, and are associated with spontaneous clearance of human HCV infection. In this review, recent high-resolution bNAb epitope mapping and structural analysis of bNAb–epitope complexes that may serve as a guide for vaccine development are discussed along with major obstacles.
Using Hands-on Physical Computing Projects to Teach Computer Programming to Biomedical Engineering Students

Rapid advancements in the multidisciplinary field of biomedical engineering (BME) require competitive engineers with skill sets in a broad range of subjects including biology, physiology, mechanics, circuits, and programming. Accordingly, such a need should be reflected in the training of BME students. Among those skills, computer programming is an essential tool that is used in a wide variety of applications. In this paper, we have provided our experience in incorporating project-based learning, a promising approach in active learning, for teaching computer programming to BME students. We describe a low-cost method for using physical, hands-on computing that directly relates to BME. Additionally, we detail our efforts to teach multiple programming languages in one semester and provide a detailed analysis of the outcomes. We also provide basic materials for other instructors to adapt to fit their own needs.
Are Even Torturers Immune from Suit?: How Attorney General Opinions Shield Government Employees from Civil Litigation and Criminal Prosecution

The Attorney General, or the Office of Legal Counsel (as the Attorney General's designee), issues formal written guidance, known as an Attorney General opinion, in response to legal queries from federal government agencies. These opinions are considered binding on all government employees. Two recent Attorney General opinions have sparked considerable controversy. One opinion provided an extremely high threshold for a government activity to constitute "torture," while the other authorized an "alternative set of procedures" for the Central Intelligence Agency to utilize on high-value terrorists it had detained. Civil lawsuits have been filed regarding the matters contained in these Attorney General opinions. Some critics are clamoring for criminal prosecutions. This Article analyzes the legal protection that such Attorney General opinions provide for federal government employees who take action in reliance upon them. The Article concludes that current law completely shields government employees from both civil liability and criminal prosecution in virtually every circumstance. Such a result is appropriate. Legitimate concerns exist about flawed Attorney General opinions, as well as the possible negative impact immunity will have on government employee performance and activity. However, these concerns prove to be overstated when removed from the rhetoric. More importantly, Attorney General opinions constitute complex, binding guidance issued by the highest legal advisor in the executive branch. If such guidance proves to be incorrect, it is the federal government, not the individual government employee, who should be held responsible.
Sequence Organization and Expression of a Plasmid DNA Molecule Found in Yeast

Most strains of baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, contain closed-circular duplex DNA plasmid molecules approximately 2 μm (6,200 base pairs) in contour length. There are about 100 plasmid molecules per cell, the sum of which comprises about 2.5% of the haploid genome. The plasmid possesses a nontandem inverted repeat sequence of about 650 base pairs about which intramolecular reciprocal recombination occurs to generate two forms of sequence organization. We have identified a 750 base pair restriction enzyme fragment that contains the inverted repeat sequence and have determined its complete nucleotide sequence by Maxam/Gilbert analysis. We have also screened a bank of approximately 3,000 random yeast DNA fragments cloned in E. coli via the poly dA:T method for the presence of yeast plasmid sequences. The hope was that we would identify a cloned yeast DNA fragment which contained a boundary between the yeast plasmid sequence and a yeast chromosomal sequence. This would prove that the yeast plasmid was capable of integrating into chromosomal DNA.
Approximating Points by a Piecewise Linear Function: II. Dealing with Outliers

In this paper, we study the violation versions of the planar points approximation problems, which deal with outliers in the input points. We present efficient algorithms for both the step function and the more general piecewise linear function cases, and for both non-weighted and weighted points. Most of our results are first-known. Our algorithms are based on interesting and nontrivial geometric techniques and data structures, which may find other applications.
Modeling Medical Cost Trends for Advancing Age in the Long Run

Medical costs are among the most significant factors in determining long run fiscal requirements for the federal budget of the United States, and for the individual household budgets of retirees. Rapid growth and high individual variance make projections of future expenditures in the 20 to 50 year range both difficult and uncertain. This paper builds upon prior work to demonstrate that the apparent patter process changes systematically as the span and unit of observation changes; linear in the short-run of months, morphing into a smoothed reflection of GDP growth over multiple years, and ultimately fitting a logistic growth curve over decades in the long run. A structural model of the health system as a function of decisions made at different levels of organization (individual, employer, group, city, nation, global) with effects that endure for differing amounts of time is constructed. The nature of medical transactions and the importance of budgetary boundaries are considered. Data from U.S. Health Expenditures 1929-2013 are used to makes estimates. Results show lags of 3 to 6 years, and suggest lower-frequency effects that last for decades. It appears that the excess growth rates of medical costs during the 1970s and 1980 has moderated considerably, and is likely to continue to bend the medical cost curve downward. However, the budgetary impact of increasing longevity is apt to continue to increase over the next fifty years, by which time it is not implausible that the elderly could account for more than 40% of medical expenditures and require 10% of GDP funded through taxes or premiums. Questions are raised as to whether aging, medical costs, retirement and technological advances are best modeled as quasi-independent elements with causal effects, or as integral aspects of joint process characteristic of modern economies.
Targeting the paracrine hormone-dependent guanylate cyclase/cGMP/phosphodiesterases signaling pathway for colorectal cancer prevention

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer related-deaths. The risk of development of CRC is complex and multifactorial, and includes disruption of homeostasis of the intestinal epithelial layer mediated though dysregulations of tumor suppressing/promoting signaling pathways. Guanylate cyclase 2C (GUCY2C), a membrane-bound guanylate cyclase receptor, is present in the apical membranes of intestinal epithelial cells and maintains homeostasis. GUCY2C is activated upon binding of paracrine hormones (guanylin and uroguanylin) that lead to formation of cyclic GMP from GTP and activation of downstream signaling pathways that are associated with normal homeostasis. Dysregulation/suppression of the GUCY2C-mediated signaling promotes CRC tumorigenesis. High-calorie diet-induced obesity is associated with deficiency of guanylin expression and silencing of GUCY2C-signaling in colon epithelial cells, leading to tumorigenesis. Thus, GUCY2C agonists, such as linaclotide, exhibit considerable role in preventing CRC tumorigenesis. However, phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are elevated in intestinal epithelial cells during CRC tumorigenesis and block GUCY2C-mediated signaling by degrading cyclic GMP to 5`-GMP. PDE5-specific inhibitors, such as sildenafil, show considerable anti-tumorigenic potential against CRC by amplifying the GUCY2C/cGMP signaling pathway, but cannot achieve complete anti-tumorigenic effects. Hence, dual targeting the elevation of cGMP by providing paracrine hormone stimuli to GUCY2C and by inhibition of PDEs may be a better strategy for CRC prevention than alone. This review delineates the involvement of the GUCY2C/cGMP/PDEs signaling pathway in the homeostasis of intestinal epithelial cells. Further, the events are associated with dysregulation of this pathway during CRC tumorigenesis are also discussed. In addition, current updates on targeting the GUCY2C/cGMP/PDEs pathway with GUCY2C agonists and PDEs inhibitors for CRC prevention and treatment are described in detail.
A preliminary naturalistic clinical case series study of the feasibility and impact of interoceptive exposure for eating disorders

Abstract Recent literature suggests that individuals with eating disorders demonstrate altered interoceptive processing, which may relate to the maintenance of symptoms and thus represent a salient treatment target. Adopting treatment techniques effective for other conditions characterized by disturbed interoceptive processes (e.g., anxiety disorders) could aid in improving the outcomes of psychological interventions for eating disorders. The current investigation was a naturalistic case series (N = 4) that examined adjunctive interoceptive exposure (IE) for eating disorders, with an emphasis on evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of this intervention on anxiety sensitivity, interoceptive deficits, and eating disorder symptoms. Results suggested that all individuals who received 4 consecutive sessions of traditional and eating-disorder-specific IE exercises demonstrated decreases in interoceptive deficits and subjective distress. Results for anxiety sensitivity and eating disorder symptoms were encouraging yet more mixed. Findings also generally suggested that the intervention was feasible and acceptable, yet between-session practice compliance varied considerably among participants. Overall, we describe how IE may be used to target interoceptive deficits in eating disorders and provide preliminary evidence of how this may be accomplished within naturalistic intensive outpatient settings.
Case 1: Diagnostic Dilemma - White and Red lesion

This 55-year-old woman is a patient who recently transferred care to your practice seeking comprehensive dental rehabilitation, including the replacement of several, poorly contoured amalgam restorations. You delivered a full-coverage crown for tooth # 2 3 months ago and are planning other full-coverage restorations in the coming months. Today, she is here for a routine hygiene visit.
Education Policy Networks: The Co-Optation, Coordination, and Commodification of the School-to-Prison Pipeline Critique:

This study utilizes social network visualization and content analysis of policy reports to explore the changing structure and function of a network of organizations, including government agencies, ...
Eye Tracking to Evaluate Comprehension of Computational Thinking

concepts (CTCs), specifically in block-based programming environments like Scratch, has been challenging, and assessment instruments developed and presented in prior studies either do not provide a complete picture about students' cognitive processes or they are not easy-to-administer, subjective, or requires lengthy analysis of qualitative data. Eye-tracking has become one of the most popular methods to study what individuals view, in what order, for how long, and how often, and it is a technology that could give us a window into students' cognitive processes and could be used as an assessment tool for comprehension of CTCs [1].This study presents eye-tracking technology as an objective, non-intrusive, and easy-to-administer assessment instrument to measure students' comprehension of core CTCs including sequences, loops, events, parallelism, conditionals, operators, data, motion, looks, sound, pen, and sensing. It explores gradual changes in students' comprehension of CTCs as reflected on three eye-gaze data as a proxy; FD (Fixation Duration), SA (Saccade Amplitudes), and RF (Regression Frequency).
Variation in repeat copy number of epithelial adhesin 1 tandem repeat region leads to variable protein display through multiple mechanisms

The pathogenic yeast Candida glabrata is reliant on a suite of cell surface adhesins that play a variety of roles necessary for transmission, establishment, and proliferation during infection. One particular adhesin, Epithelial Adhesin 1 [Epa1p], is responsible for binding to host tissue, a process which is essential for fungal propagation. Epa1p structure consists of three domains: an N-terminal intercellular binding domain responsible for epithelial cell binding, a C-terminal GPI anchor for cell wall linkage, and a serine / threonine-rich linker domain connecting these terminal domains. The linker domain contains a 40-amino acid tandem repeat region, which we have found to be variable in repeat copy number between isolates from clinical sources. We hypothesized that natural variation in Epa1p repeat copy may modulate protein function. To test this, we recombinantly expressed Epa1p with various repeat copy numbers in S. cerevisiae to determine how differences in repeat copy number affect Epa1p expression, surface display, and binding to human epithelial cells. Our data suggest that repeat copy number variation has pleiotropic effects, influencing gene expression, protein surface display, shedding from the cell surface, and host tissue adhesion of the Epa1p adhesin. Understanding these links between repeat copy number variants and mechanisms of infection provide new understanding of the variety of roles of repetitive proteins contribute to pathogenicity of C. glabrata.
Lost in the ACA: Bit Parts in a Landmark Law

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a mosaic across a spectrum of health policy domains. The law contains hundreds of smaller and mostly unnoticed reforms aimed at nearly every segment of American health policy. Ten years later, these provisions include successes, failures, and mixed bags, which should be considered in any full assessment of the ACA. This article examines 11 from each of these 3 categories, drawn from 9 of the ACA's 10 titles. These mininarratives deepen recognition that the ACA is our best example of comprehensive health reform and defies simplistic judgments.
Protective Activity of Programmed Cell Death Protein 1 Blockade and Synergy With Caspofungin in a Murine Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis Model

Pharmacological immune checkpoint blockade has revolutionized oncological therapies, and its remarkable success has sparked interest in expanding checkpoint inhibitor therapy in infectious diseases. Herein, we evaluated the efficacy of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade in a murine invasive pulmonary aspergillosis model. We found that, compared with isotype-treated infected control mice, anti-PD-1-treated mice had improved survival, reduced fungal burden, increased lung concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines and neutrophil-attracting chemokines, and enhanced pulmonary leukocyte accumulation. Furthermore, combined treatment with anti-PD-1 and caspofungin resulted in a significant survival benefit compared with caspofungin or anti-PD-1 therapy alone, indicating a synergistic effect between PD-1 inhibitors and immunomodulatory antifungal agents.
Embedding clinical audit into everyday practice: Essential methodology for all clinicians

Clinical audits should underpin everything we do as clinicians - to constantly evaluate and improve our day-to-day clinical practice. Errors in practice, suboptimal practice or inefficiencies can occur in any part of our health-care system, despite the training and best intentions of health-care professionals. Audits examine how clinical care is being provided and whether benchmarks are being met, and identify opportunities for improvement. Detection of problems is greatly improved when audits of practice are undertaken, ideally regularly, and as part of a continuous process of quality improvement. Audits also make ideal entry-level research projects for students and trainees through to senior clinicians. Despite a willingness to undertake audits, and improvements in both undergraduate and postgraduate training, not all clinicians have had formal teaching in audit methodology, and a refresher can also be helpful. This short overview covers basic clinical audit methods, discusses key facilitators for embedding audit into every day practice, and references additional resources to guide clinicians wanting to take up the challenge of regularly and efficiently undertaking audits.
Improving Online Learning Experience Using Facial Expression Analysis

Growth in digitalization and a rise remote work environments have amplified the importance of remote training using online learning platforms. Online training effectiveness relies on various factors including training content, methods, trainer skills, and technology platforms. In addition to these internal and, generally, controllable factors, various uncontrollable factors also have a significant impact on the overall learning experience and outcomes. This article investigates how facial recognition technology can aid in creating an engaging learning experience for diverse online training participants. The study explores factors affecting the learning experience through an empirical analysis. Incorporating learner feedback, practical design methods are delineated to form a highly inclusive learning model using facial expressions analysis.
Credentials and Core Clerkships: Who's Training Our Physician Assistant Students (and Does It Matter)?

PURPOSE Evaluating the effectiveness of supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs) is a primary responsibility of the clinical education team. Physician assistant (PA) education is unique because preceptors are not confined to one professional credential. This study evaluated the relationship between students' perceptions of rotation experiences and the professional credentials of the preceptor of record. METHODS This retrospective data analysis evaluated data from 3 cohorts (2016-2018) across 4 PA programs. Preceptors of record were categorized as MDs/DOs or advanced practice providers (APPs). RESULTS Analysis of 209 SCPEs found 91 APP preceptors (43%) and 119 MD/DO preceptors (57%). APP preceptors were most prevalent in family medicine/primary care (57%), internal medicine (50%), and emergency medicine (49%). Students' evaluation scores were higher for APP preceptors compared to MD/DO preceptors, but not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS This study showed that a considerable number of APPs are serving as preceptors and were found to have similar student evaluation scores to those of MD/DO preceptors.
Relationship Strategies Revisited

Based on technological alliances, reverse marketing and human relationship, relationship marketing is a strategy which aims to expand and maintain the target markets, new marketing opportunity, and to promote special relationship between sellers and buyers for mutual benefits. The strategies, thus, include customized product, effective communication, good human relationship in the global and cultural contexts, technological cooperation, and well-researched consumer and industrial database.
Male Violence toward Women: An Integrated Perspective

Publisher Summary The chapter describes the single and multifactor theories that have been used to explain male violence against women. Early evolutionary theories argued that male violence was rooted in genetics and biology due to natural selection pressure. It was also argued that rape, in particular, was a reproductive strategy. Social learning theories focus on the socialization experiences of men that lead them to be violent toward women. Intrapsychic theories focus on acts of violence as manifestations of deviations in one's personality. Feminist theories integrate features of social learning theory and sociocultural theory by stressing the impact of sociocultural influences on the learning process. Certain sociocultural variables are common to all types of male violence against women. Cultures in which less traditional gender roles are prescribed and in which male dominance and female subordination are not encouraged show fewer instances of male violence against women, supporting the idea of sociocultural contributions to such violence.
Financing Exports: Government and Multinational Programs

Eximbank has a plethora of financing programs, ranging from the very short-term to long-term, up to twelve or fourteen years. In dollar terms, most Eximbank financing (perhaps two-thirds) is of a longterm nature, and I anticipate that most of you will be more interested in this type of financing, especially if you are representing foreign borrowers or suppliers of major equipment. The shorter and medium-term financing plans would be of greater interest to those representing banks or small suppliers; I will not discuss those programs.
On design methods for sampled-data systems

In this paper we compare, via example, the standard approaches to sampled-data design with recently developed direct design methods for these hybrid systems. Simple intuitive examples are used to show that traditional design heuristics provide no performance guarantees whatsoever. Even when the sampling rate is a design parameter that can be chosen as fast as desired, using design heuristics can lead to either severe performance degradation or extreme over-design. These effects are apparently well-known to practitioners, but may not be widely appreciated by the control community at large. The paper contains no new theoretical results and is intended to be of a tutorial nature.
Effect of interactions among algae on nitrogen fixation by blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in flooded soils.

Nitrogen fixation (C2H2 reduction) by algae in flooded soil was limited by interactions within the algal community. Nitrogen fixation by either indigenous algae or Tolypothrix tenuis was reduced severalfold by a dense suspension of the green alga Nephrocytium sp. Similarly, interactions between the nitrogen-fixing alga (cyanobacterium) Aulosira 68 and natural densities of indigenous algae limited nitrogen-fixing activity in one of two soils examined. This was demonstrated by developing a variant of Aulosira 68 that was resistant to the herbicide simetryne at concentrations that prevented development of indigenous algae. More nitrogen was fixed by the resistant variant in flooded soil containing herbicide than was fixed in herbicide-free soil by either the indigenous algae or indigenous algae plus the parent strain of Aulosira. Interference from indigenous algae may hamper the development of nitrogen-fixing algae introduced into rice fields in attempts to increase biological nitrogen fixation.
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

Dendritic cells in the skin, called Langerhans cells, are the obvious candidates for transporting antigen from the epidermis to the lymph nodes and for activating T cell defense. However, as [Serbina and Pamer][1] discuss in their Perspective, at least in the case of viral antigens, it seems that other dendritic cell subsets residing in the dermis are the most important players in T cell-mediated defense against viral infection of the skin. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/301/5641/1856
Parsing inside-out

Probabilistic Context-Free Grammars (PCFGs) and variations on them have recently become some of the most common formalisms for parsing. It is common with PCFGs to compute the inside and outside probabilities. When these probabilities are multiplied together and normalized, they produce the probability that any given non-terminal covers any piece of the input sentence. The traditional use of these probabilities is to improve the probabilities of grammar rules. In this thesis we show that these values are useful for solving many other problems in Statistical Natural Language Processing. We give a framework for describing parsers. The framework generalizes the inside and outside values to semirings. It makes it easy to describe parsers that compute a wide variety of interesting quantities, including the inside and outside probabilities, as well as related quantities such as Viterbi probabilities and n-best lists. We also present three novel uses for the inside and outside probabilities. The first novel use is an algorithm that gets improved performance by optimizing metrics other than the exact match rate. The next novel use is a similar algorithm that, in combination with other techniques, speeds Data-Oriented Parsing, by a factor of 500. The third use is to speed parsing for PCFGs using thresholding techniques that approximate the inside-outside product; the thresholding techniques lead to a 30 times speedup at the same accuracy level as conventional methods. At the time this research was done, no state of the art grammar formalism could be used to compute inside and outside probabilities. We present the Probabilistic Feature Grammar formalism, which achieves state of the art accuracy, and can compute these probabilities.
Unsupervised learning for expert-based software quality estimation

Current software quality estimation models often involve using supervised learning methods to train a software quality classifier or a software fault prediction model. In such models, the dependent variable is a software quality measurement indicating the quality of a software module by either a risk-based class membership (e.g., whether it is fault-prone or not fault-prone) or the number of faults. In reality, such a measurement may be inaccurate, or even unavailable. In such situations, this paper advocates the use of unsupervised learning (i.e., clustering) techniques to build a software quality estimation system, with the help of a software engineering human expert. The system first clusters hundreds of software modules into a small number of coherent groups and presents the representative of each group to a software quality expert, who labels each cluster as either fault-prone or not fault-prone based on his domain knowledge as well as some data statistics (without any knowledge of the dependent variable, i.e., the software quality measurement). Our preliminary empirical results show promising potentials of this methodology in both predicting software quality and detecting potential noise in a software measurement and quality dataset.
Sampled-data control of double integrator systems

A sampled-data control system with bounded controls is introduced for double integrator systems. The control system uses samples of the output of a continuous-time, linear controller to determine the amplitude of a predetermined, piecewise constant (bang-bang), control signal. The pre-determined control signal defines the inter-sample behavior of the system and generalizes the constant inter-sample behavior associated with a zero-order hold. Simulation results of the nominal and robust performance are presented.
Fiscal Management Implications of the TABOR Bind

Following a wave of state-adopted tax and expenditure limitations (TELs), in 1992 the state of Colorado amended its constitution with the strictest TEL to date. Called the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and known as TABOR, the amendment has limited the size and scope of Colorado governments. Praised as a restraint on unbridled government growth in good economic times, TABOR reared its highly restrictive head as the state economy turned downward. The central issue explored is how binding tax and expenditure limitations affect the state’s ability to weather economic recessions and employ sound fiscal management practices. As in most institutional arrangements, the devil is in the details. The analysis presented here reveals that binding limitations create perverse incentives for budgetary actors to earmark, privatize, and shift responsibilities to other jurisdictions, which ultimately combine to reduce the state government’s ability to perform and to maintain sound fiscal management practices.
Underlying Motivations for Establishing E-Commerce Business and Their Relationship to E-Commerce Success

ABSTRACT This paper examines the reasons companies begin to use e-Commerce and whether these e-Commerce initiatives have been successful. Two hundred and three Internet business executives were surveyed. A factor analysis indicated that there are two major underlying dimensions—short-term productivity gains and long-term company competitiveness—that motivate the establishment of e-Commerce. Additionally, the results indicate that companies are quite satisfied with their e-Commerce initiatives and that the majority of the companies have achieved their projected ROI.
Hopfield neural network simulation on a massively parallel machine

Single instruction stream, multiple data stream architectures are well suited for parallel neural network simulations. This paper presents two parallel Hopfield network simulations that execute on the Adaptive Solution, Inc. CNAPS architecture. Trial executions on an assignment problem demonstrate the potential of the approach for solving large scale problems.
Cloning, high yield overexpression, purification, and characterization of AlgH, a regulator of alginate biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Abstract The most common cause of mortality among cystic fibrosis sufferers is infection by antibiotic resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Means to control these strains continue to be an important goal. An integral component of the ability of many of these strains to defy antibiotic therapies is the protection afforded by the mucoexopolysaccharide alginate. Production of alginate by P. aeruginosa is tightly regulated at the transcriptional level. AlgH, a putative transcriptional regulator, is involved in regulating alginate biosynthesis as well as nucleoside diphosphate kinase activity and succinyl coenzyme A synthetase activity in P. aeruginosa . Sequence homologues are found in many bacterial species. Here, we describe a method for high level overexpression and high yield/high purity production of AlgH for biophysical and functional studies. The algH gene was cloned and AlgH was overexpressed in Escherichia coli using a commercially available vector with an inducible T7 promoter. We purified the recombinantly produced protein using a rapid classical purification scheme. The yield of purified protein, either isotopically labeled for NMR studies or unlabeled, is excellent (30–37 mg of purified protein per liter of minimal media culture), as is the purity (>95% pure). Analysis of the secondary structure using circular dichroism and NMR indicates that the protein is comprised of both β-sheet and α-helical secondary structural elements. Heteronuclear NMR spectra indicate that AlgH is a monodisperse, folded globular protein. This rapid, high yield, and high purity method for AlgH production will permit further biophysical characterization of this protein including high resolution structural studies.
Stages and processes of change in Batterers' treatment

The transtheoretical model of change ( Prochaska & DiClemente, 1984 ) has been widely researched in the areas of substance abuse and health promotion. This model is applied to the problem of domestic violence, specifically to group treatment for abuse perpetrators. These interventions could benefit by incorporating the transtheoretical model's focus on motivational factors and stage-specific interventions. Clinical suggestions are provided that are appropriate to each stage of change (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance) and that correspond to the experiential and behavioral change processes identified by the transtheoretical model.
Validity of Temperament Constructs Using the Student Styles Questionnaire: Comparisons for Three Racial-Ethnic Groups

Studies establishing the validity of a test used with persons from different ethnic groups are necessary for understanding the extent to which the test adequately and consistently reflects the qualities it is designed to measure. The present study examined the construct and content validity of the Student Styles Questionnaire (SSQ) for three racial-ethnic groups (i.e., African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Anglo Americans). The SSQ is a temperament measure for students aged 8 through 17. Comparative construct validity results indicate that a high degree of factor similarity exists across racial-ethnic groups; factor similarity is less strong when Hispanic Americans living in New York and Texas are compared. Differential item functioning studies reveal similar response patterns for Hispanic Americans when compared to both African Americans and Anglo Americans; however, differences occur on 25% of items when African and Anglo Americans are compared.
Moral psychology and the problem of moral criteria

This article is intended as an initial investigation into the foundations of moral psychology. I primarily examine a recent work in moral education, Daniel Lapsley’s and Darcia Narvaez’s ‘Character education’, whose authors seem to assume at points that criteria for discerning moral actions and moral traits can be derived apart from ethics or moral philosophy. This assumption, which appears to stem from misconceptions about both the virtues traditionally understood and the non-empirical nature of moral-philosophical theorising, is problematic: (1) it courts moral relativism, which would preclude arguing for the superiority of any model of moral education, (2) deriving or validating a morality through empirical methods involves a self-undermining stance about the nature of empirical justification and (3) empirical criteria used to delineate morality are unavoidably arbitrary. After examining similarly problematic works by David Wong and Lawrence Kohlberg, I conclude that moral psychologists must wrestle wi...
(2E,4E)-8-Methyl-2,4-bis(3-thienylmethylene)- 8-azabicyclo(3.2.1)octan-3-one

The title compound, C18H17NOS2, was prepared by the base-catalyzed Aldol condensation of tropinone with thio­phene-3-carboxaldehyde. It crystallizes with the molecule on a mirror plane. Both double bonds linking the tropinone and thio­phene rings adopt the E configuration, with the thienyl-ring flip and the H atoms of the N-methyl group disordered.
Fatigue crack speed of materials with linear hardening

Abstract This investigation deals with the steady propagation of a fatigue crack in a thin plate, subjected to cyclic tensile remote loading. The problem is analyzed according to a Dugdale model of the fracture process zone. Material stretches periodically in the fracture process zone prior to its failure. The effect of crack closure is considered in the analysis. Unlike previous work, our study is based on a constitutive relation of the linear work-hardening for material in the fracture process zone. The criterion of total accumulative plastic work is adopted for determination of the growth rate of the fatigue crack. Theoretical results thus obtained are compared with experimental data.
Within-species variations in visual capacity among squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus): color vision

Color vision was studied in 27 squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) of Peruvian origin (Roman Arch variety). Tests of wavelength discrimination and Rayleigh matching as well as a search for a spectral neutral point were carried out in a behavioral paradigm involving a three-alternative, forced-choice discrimination. Significant individual variations in color vision were found in this species. Some squirrel monkeys have trichromatic color vision, others are dichromats. Within each of these catagories there appear to be three subtypes. Each of these color vision phenotypes can be interpreted as reflecting the presence of a different combination of the types of cone photopigments known to characterize this species. There is a striking gender difference in squirrel monkey color vision; whereas both trichromatic and dichromatic female monkeys were found, all of the males tested were dichromats.
Assessment and Significance of Behavioral Avoidance in Agoraphobia

Two behavioral avoidance tests were administered, before and after in vivo exposure treatment, to 39 female patients with chronic and severe agoraphobia. The first test consisted of walking alone along a standard course covering several city blocks, and the second of entering and remaining in five different, individually selected phobic situations. Although significant improvement on the tests was observed in the sample as a whole, neither test had a high nosographic sensitivity (nearly two-thirds of the patients completed them initially) and subgroups of avoiders and nonavoiders, classified simultaneously on both tests, did not differ significantly in their clinical characteristics or response to treatment. The difficulty for the behavioral test to account for the majority of variance in phobic avoidance, and the severity of agoraphobia in general, is discussed with particular reference to the differences between the “going to” and the “being in” types of phobic situations and the essentially anticipatory nature of anxiety and fear.
Synergistic Effects on Escape of a Ligand from the Closed Tryptophan Synthase Bienzyme Complex

Substrate channeling in the tryptophan synthase bienzyme complex is regulated by allosteric signals between the alpha- and beta-active sites acting over a distance of 25 A. At the alpha-site, indole is cleaved from 3-indole-D-glycerol 3'-phosphate (IGP) and is channeled to the beta-site via a tunnel. Harris and Dunn [Harris, R. M., and Dunn, M. F. (2002) Biochemistry 41, 9982-9990] showed that when the novel amino acid, dihydroiso-L-tryptophan (DIT), reacts with the beta-site, the alpha-aminoacrylate Schiff base, E(A-A), is formed and the enzyme releases indoline. The indoline produced exits the enzyme via the tunnel out the open alpha-site. When the alpha-site ligand (ASL) alpha-D,L-glycerol 3-phosphate (GP) binds and closes the alpha-site, indoline generated in the DIT reaction is trapped for a short period of time as the quinonoid intermediate in rapid equilibrium with bound indoline and the E(A-A) intermediate before leaking out of the closed enzyme. In this work, we use the DIT reaction and a new, high-affinity, ASL, N-(4-trifluoromethoxybenzenesulfonyl)-2-amino-1-ethyl phosphate (F9), to explore the mechanism of ligand leakage from the closed enzyme. It was found that F9 binding to the alpha-site is significantly more effective than GP in trapping indoline in the DIT reaction; however, leakage of indoline from the enzyme into solution still occurs. It was also found that a combination of benzimidazole (BZI) and GP provided even more effective trapping than F9. The new experiments with F9 and the combination of BZI and GP provide evidence that the coincident binding of GP and BZI at the alpha-site exhibits a strong synergistic effect that greatly slows the leakage of indoline in the DIT reaction and enhances the trapping effect. This synergism functions to tightly close the alpha-site and sends an allosteric signal that stabilizes the closed structure of the beta-site. These studies also support a mechanism for the escape of indoline through the alpha-site that is limited by ASL dissociation.
Philosophy as Melancholia: Freud, Kant, Foucault

Expanding on Freud's characterization of philosophy as “animism”, this essay appeals to the notions of mourning and melancholia as parameters of social criticism. The author considers the idealistic characterization of critique in the work of Kant and Foucault, and argues that such characterization is a symptom of melancholia. The philosophical remedy for social ills – more “thinking” – is seen as another symptom of those ills. In contrast, Freud's notion of the work of mourning allows us to conceive of the critic as one who struggles concretely and consciously with loss.
Effects of short-term hypothermic perfusion and cold storage on function of the isolated-perfused dog kidney

Abstract The isolated-perfused dog kidney was used as a model to measure the effects of short-term hypothermic preservation on renal function and metabolism. Kidneys were cold-stored in Collins' solution, hypotonic citrate, or phosphate-buffered sucrose for 4 and 24 hr, or were continuously perfused for 4 and 24 hr with a synthetic perfusate. Following preservation kidneys were perfused with an albumin-containing perfusate at 37 °C for 60 min for determination of renal function. The results indicate that many of the effects of short-term preservation on renal function in dog kidneys are similar to results reported for rat and rabbit kidneys. Cold storage for 4 hr resulted in a large decrease in GFR (57%), but only a small decrease in Na reabsorption (from 97 to 87%). Cold storage for 24 hr caused a further decline in renal function (GFR = 95% decrease, Na reabsorption = 49–64%). Results were similar for all cold storage solutions tested. Perfusion for 4 hr was less damaging to renal function than cold storage. The GFR decreased only 14% and urine formation and Na reabsorption were practically normal. After 24 hr of hypothermic perfusion, the GFR was reduced by 79%, urine flow was normal, and Na reabsorption was 78%. There were no obvious biochemical correlates (adenine nucleotides, tissue edema, or electrolyte concentration) with the loss of renal function during short-term preservation. The results suggest that the isolated-perfused dog kidney can be used to test the effects of preservation on renal function, and yields results similar to those obtained using small animal models. Dog kidneys preserved by the methods used in this study were fully viable on transplantation, suggesting that the initial renal injury, as revealed by the isolatedperfused system, did not compromise renal viability.
Dynamical finite element models for MEMS and smart structures

Advances in application of MEMS to smart structures can be accelerated by implementation of CAD tools, optimization and parametric studies which will result in rapid prototyping and virtual design. Dynamical finite element models are ideally suited to capture the complexity of active sensor and actuator devices that make up a smart structure. MEMS are miniature electro-mechanical devices that can also be modeled by FE analysis. Recent advances in FE analysis allows us to zoom in and magnify the mesh at desired locations while maintaining the larger structural model. Thus we can achieve economy in computational time without sacrificing accuracy. In designing a smart structure, the active devices whether they be MEMS or larger devices must be modeled in detail, with special attention to the coupled fields present in these devices (electric, magnetic, elastic, thermal, etc.) and the accompanying additional boundary conditions. Lumped parameter approximations are usually insufficient to describe the observed behavior of these devices. During optimization procedures, one must have the ability to move these devices on the structure and hence one needs automatic remeshing procedures. This paper will review finite element models for smart structures as they have evolved over the last decade and summarize some of the more recent advances for dynamical modeling of MEMS and smart structures including closed loop modeling and design optimization. Practical examples as well as comparisons and code validation with experimental results will be provided wherever possible.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Alcohol consumption patterns and work-related injuries among Colorado farm residents

Abstract Background Few studies have assessed the relationship between alcohol consumption patterns among farm populations and work-related injuries. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of alcohol consumption patterns on farmwork-related injuries. Methods Prospective cohort study of Colorado farm residents, 1993 to 1995. Self-reported injuries, alcohol consumption, and demographics were assessed over 3 years. A stratified probability sample of farms was selected to include approximately 2.6% of Colorado farm residences with a farm operator living on the property. A total of 485 farms, including 872 individuals, were recruited in the initial cohort. In the second year, 746 individuals were re-interviewed, and in the third year, 653 of the original group participated. Results Injuries during the study period were assessed in relationship to alcohol consumption. During the 3 years, 150 farm residents reported a total of 215 farmwork-related injuries. An increased risk of injury was associated with increased alcohol consumption. Compared to abstainers, farm residents who drank more frequently had higher farmwork injury incidence rates (3.09 and 3.35 injuries per 10,000 person-days of observation versus 1.94 injuries per 10,000). Farm residents who typically drank three or more drinks per day had a farmwork injury rate of 3.62 per 10,000 person-days (95% confidence interval [CI]=2.38–4.85). Farm residents who typically drank one to two drinks per day had a farmwork-related injury rate of 3.02 per 10,000 person-days (95% CI=2.44–3.60). In multivariate models, alcohol consumption frequency and quantity were significantly associated with farmwork-related injuries. Conclusions Alcohol consumption should be considered in studies of agricultural injuries.