cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surgical treatment of prosthetic valve endocarditis.

Abstract Prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) remains an uncommon but serious complication of cardiac valve replacement. Operative intervention is frequently required in its management, although timing and outcome are incompletely defined. We reviewed cases of PVE in 75 patients who underwent valve replacement at Stanford University Medical Center from August, 1966, to September, 1981. Patients were classified into two groups. The healed PVE group included those patients who had completed a planned course of antibiotic therapy (N = 12); operations performed prior to completion of such a course defined the active PVE group (N = 63). Average age for both groups was 53 years, with men predominating at a ratio of 2:1. Indications for operation included congestive heart failure (87%), recurrent emboli (15%), and persistent sepsis (4%). Staphylococcal and streptococcal organisms accounted for 47% of late PVE cases (occurring after 60 days; N=58). Staphylococcal organisms were the primary causative agents in 43% of cases of early PVE (occurring before 60 days; N=7). The operative mortality rate for all patients with PVE was 23% (25% for active PVE, 8% for healed PVE); deaths were caused principally by myocardial or multiple system failure present before operation. The primary predictors of operative mortality, as determined by multiple regression analysis, were emboli, renal dysfunction, type of PVE, and valve site. Operative mortality for the subgroup with active early PVE was 57%. At the present time, 29 of 47 operative survivors with active PVE (62%) and 8 of 11 patients with healed PVE (73%) are living, with the average postoperative interval being 3.8 years (range, 2 months to 15 years). There was no correlation between duration of preoperative antibiotic therapy and either intraoperative bacteriological findings or operative outcome. The 5-year actuarial survival rate (mean ± standard error of the mean) of patients with active PVE discharged from hospital was 54 ± 9%. Recurrent/residual endocarditis occurred in 7 patients (15%) with active PVE; actuarial analysis showed 76 ± 8% of active PVE patients to be free of recurrent/residual endocarditis at 5 years. Postoperative peri-prosthetic leakage developed in 12 patients (26%) with active PVE, necessitating replacement in 10; actuarial analysis showed 65 ± 9% of patients to be free of periprosthetic leak at 5 years. The multivariate predictor of an overall unsatisfactory result (defined in terms of early and late cardiac deaths and operations for recurrent/residual endocarditis, or periprosthetic leak, or both) was the type of endocarditis—early active PVE, late active PVE, and healed PVE. When this classification was removed from the multiple regression analysis, preoperative renal dysfunction emerged as the main predictor of an overall unsatisfactory result. Earlier surgical intervention before these risk factors develop should result in fewer complications and a higher survival rate.
Presence of wax esters and squalene in human saliva

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the presence and relative composition of neutral lipids in human saliva.
Order Dispatching and Labor Assignment in Cellular Manufacturing Systems

Although order and labor dispatching in the job shop manufacturing setting have been investigated extensively over the last three decades, its representation of actual processes found in practice today is limited due to the move to cellular manufacturing (CM). Manufacturing cells have become an important approach to batch manufacturing in the last two decades, and their layout structure provides a dominant flow structure for the part routings. The flow shop nature of manufacturing cells adds a simplifying structure to the problem of planning worker assignments and order releases, which makes it more amenable to the use of optimization techniques. In this paper we exploit this characteristic and present two mathematical modeling approaches for making order dispatching and labor assignment/reassignment decisions in two different CM settings. The two formulations are evaluated in a dynamic simulation setting and compared to a heuristic procedure using tardiness as the primary performance measure. The formulations are superior to the heuristic approach and can be incorporated into detail scheduling systems that are being implemented by corporations employing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems today.
Cigarette Smoking During Early Cocaine Abstinence

Use of cocaine has been reported to increase cigarette smoking, but there are no published studies of cigarette smoking during early cocaine abstinence. The authors assessed ad libitum cigarette smoking of 12 cocaine-dependent smokers housed on a closed research ward. Last cocaine use averaged 0.6 grams 1.8 days before admission. Smoking was measured indirectly with computerized cigarette dispensers. There was no significant difference between self-reported daily number of cigarettes smoked before admission and the number of cigarettes dispensed daily for the first 7 full days after admission. These findings suggest that early cocaine abstinence does not significantly alter cigarette smoking.
Family court—A social laboratory for adolescent and parental interaction

During a one-year study period in a family court, 304 parents were referred for psychiatric evaluation. An inverse relationship in prevalence of parental and adolescent psychopathology was found. Delinquent juveniles showed a higher prevalence of emotional illness than juveniles in the neglect category. Parents of the delinquent juveniles demonstrated less psychopathology than parents of neglect juveniles. Theories of family systems and dynamics are applicable. The findings have implications for the various theoretically based treatment programs for antisocial and disturbed adolescents.
Development of a gene silencing DNA vector derived from a broad host range geminivirus

Gene silencing is proving to be a powerful tool for genetic, developmental, and physiological analyses. The use of viral induced gene silencing (VIGS) offers advantages to transgenic approaches as it can be potentially applied to non-model systems for which transgenic techniques are not readily available. However, many VIGS vectors are derived from Gemini viruses that have limited host ranges. We present a new, unipartite vector that is derived from a curtovirus that has a broad host range and will be amenable to use in many non-model systems. The construction of a gene silencing vector derived from the geminivirus Beet curly top virus (BCTV), named pWSRi, is reported. Two versions of the vector have been developed to allow application by biolistic techniques or by agro-infiltration. We demonstrate its ability to silence nuclear genes including ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase small subunit (rbcS), transketolase, the sulfur allele of magnesium chelatase (ChlI), and two homeotic transcription factors in spinach or tomato by generating gene-specific knock-down phenotypes. Onset of phenotypes occurred 3 to 12 weeks post-inoculation, depending on the target gene, in organs that developed after the application. The vector lacks movement genes and we found no evidence for significant spread from the site of inoculation. However, viral amplification in inoculated tissue was detected and is necessary for systemic silencing, suggesting that signals generated from active viral replicons are efficiently transported within the plant. The unique properties of the pWSRi vector, the ability to silence genes in meristem tissue, the separation of virus and silencing phenotypes, and the broad natural host range of BCTV, suggest that it will have wide utility.
Wnt-1 has multiple effects on the expression of glutamate transporters.

Abstract Central Glia-4 (CG-4) glioma cells exhibit Na + -dependent glutamate uptake, and mRNA for each of the GLT, GLAST, and EAAC glutamate transporters was found in the cells by RT-PCR. However, GLT protein in CG-4 cells was not detected by Western blotting. The Wnt-1 oncogene markedly decreased the expression of the mRNAs for GLT and GLAST glutamate transporters in CG-4 glioma cells. This effect of Wnt-1 is in direct contrast to its previously published effects on C6 astrocytoma cells where Wnt-1 induces the expression of GLT, but not protein, and on PC12 pheochromocytoma cells where Wnt-1 induces GLAST. We suggest that these differences in the ability of Wnt-1 to induce or repress GLT and GLAST are due to differences in Wnt-1 dosages or Wnt-1-induced signaling pathways in these cells. The abnormal translation of the GLT RNA in Wnt-1-expressing C6 cells was ascribed to some abnormality in the processing of the GLT transcript. Consistent with this idea is the finding that GLT mRNA was translated in Wnt-1-expressing C6 cells when the GLT mRNA required no splicing before translation occurred.
P-4: Fabrication of Extremely Low Roughness Polycrystalline Silicon and Its Correlation to Device Performance

The process of smoothing polycrystalline silicon surface has been investigated. By etching the precursor and controlling the laser annealing, The roughness of poly-Si can be planarized to a very low level RMS<2nm. In addition, TFTs based on poly-Si planarization process have been fabricated. We found the proposed device performs much better than the conventional one.
Novel Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Disease: Myeloperoxidase for Acute and/or Chronic Heart Failure?

Cardiac biomarkers continue to play a prominent role in the diagnosis and management of patients who present to the emergency department with symptoms suggestive of acute cardiovascular disease. The use of cardiac troponin was reaffirmed in 2007 by the European Society of Cardiology, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and World Heart Federation as the single most important biomarker for diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction (1). For acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF),1 the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association have opined that “measurement of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) can be useful in the evaluation of patients presenting in the urgent care setting in whom the clinical diagnosis of heart failure is uncertain (level of evidence: A)” (2). Despite these advancements, some clinical needs are not met by measurement of troponin and the natriuretic peptides. For acute coronary syndrome, novel biomarkers are needed for the early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, e.g., at the time of emergency department presentation. Biomarkers are also needed for risk stratification for future short-term (30 days) adverse cardiac events (death and acute myocardial infarction). For acute heart failure, new laboratory tests are needed to complement B-type natriuretic peptide and N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide, because these markers are influenced by obesity, renal failure, and pulmonary disease (3). In general, 2 strategies are employed for the discovery of novel biomarkers. The proteomic/metabolomic approach compares tissue and blood samples from diseased patients with similar samples from healthy or nondiseased individuals (4) …
Meaning-as-Use and Meaning-as-Correspondence

THE purpose of this article is to examine two major arguments in favour of the philosophical thesis that the meaning of an expression is its use, and not its referent or what it corresponds to. A second philosophical thesis which is closely related to the first is that the study of the ordinary, "actual" uses of certain expressions is not of purely linguistic interest but in fact is a way, probably the only proper way, of solving the problems of traditional philosophy; in the sequel' to the present article, we shall examine one major argument in favour of this second thesis. Both theses occupy a place of central importance in the dominant movement2 in contemporary British philosophy, to which we shall refer as "the philosophy of ordinary language". Together they seem to constitute the basis of the most characteristic claim of this movement: that traditional philosophic discourse is logically improper and that philosophy is a legitimate cognitive discipline only if it is concerned with "the spatial and temporal phenomenon of language" by describing "the actual use of language"'.3 Both theses are necessary for the justification of this more general claim. If accepted alone, the first thesis may become the source of a decisive attack on the legitimacy of traditional philosophy and thus justify the first part of the above claim; but it is incapable of showing that there is room or need for a philosophical description of the actual use of language, or that such a description can have philosophical character in any usual sense of the word "philosophical". On the other hand, the second thesis must use the first thesis as its premise; for unless the meaning of an expression may only be determined in actual behavioural situations of its use, the claim that the objective, descriptive study of the ordinary uses of philosophical expressions is a study of the meaning
International R&D Strategies in Companies from Developing Countries - the Case of China

Traditionally, international R&D is a phenomenon of firms originating from advanced countries such as North America, Europe, and Japan. Based on the analysis of 1269 R&D locations, a new research framework is proposed that accounts for the increasing share of R&D toward or from developing countries. Investigating technology-intensive Chinese firms, motivations, strategies, and barriers to R&D internationalization are analyzed. The paper proposes two concepts of international R&D: "innovation capability enhancing" and "innovation capability exploiting", respectively, denoting superimposed networks that allow the absorption and implementation of new technologies.
Giftedness and Creativity

Early definitions usually equated giftedness with intelligence, and creativity has generally been conceptualized as incorporating originality and usefulness or value. Both constructs have changed over the years and been impacted by time, place, culture, and philosophical views. Because giftedness has been defined for educational services, formal definitions have been formulated by the federal and state governments with creativity often subsumed as a type of giftedness. It is predicted that the recent interest in creativity worldwide may result in greater interest in formal definitions of creativity as well, and the hierarchical relationship of giftedness and creativity may be reversed.
The Oklahoma City bombing: the roles of the dental teams ... and the lessons learned.

The Oklahoma City bombing is considered by most historians the worst act of domestic terrorism ever to have occurred in the United States. The response to the disaster, however, is considered by most experts in the field as being the best; creating what is known as the "Oklahoma Standard". The roles of the dental teams in the resolution were pivotal and until now, the recognition of these roles have not been described, due to this being considered a case of mass murder. The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the preparations, the initial responses, the roles of the dental teams in the resolution, the preparations for the criminal trials, and some of the lessons that were learned.
Managing Virtual Teams (B)

In the follow-up to the A case (UVA-BC-0210), Karl Henderson has convened the first meeting of the virtual team at Metrionic Systems. Because of the time-zone differences, some members are meeting from home, while another member cannot attend at all. Henderson decided that since it was cumbersome to schedule a meeting where everyone was present, each member of the team should send status reports to him on Fridays, and he would then decide whether to set up a conference call. As time passed, Henderson found himself spread too thinly at work. He was spending too much time trying to understand what each team member had done and then putting the pieces together--in fact, he was putting more time into that effort than any other task at work. Henderson must consider various problems in dealing with a virtual team that he had never even considered before, including spec, time zone, integration, technology, and network issues.
Lexical Stress and Linguistic Predictability Influence Proofreading Behavior.

There is extensive evidence that the segmental (i.e., phonemic) layer of phonology is routinely activated during reading, but little is known about whether phonological activation extends beyond phonemes to subsegmental layers (which include articulatory information, such as voicing) and suprasegmental layers (which include prosodic information, such as lexical stress). In three proofreading experiments, we show that spelling errors are detected more reliably in syllables that are stressed than in syllables that are unstressed if comprehension is a goal of the reader, indicating that suprasegmental phonology is both active during silent reading and can influence orthographic processes. In Experiment 1, participants received instructions to read for both errors and comprehension, and we found that the effect of lexical stress interacted with linguistic predictability, such that detection of errors in more predictable words was aided by stress but detection of errors in less predictable words was not. This finding suggests that lexical stress patterns can be accessed prelexically if an upcoming word is sufficiently predictable from context. Sensitivity to stress and predictability were not, however, strongly correlated with measures of individual differences. In two subsequent experiments, participants were instructed to read only for errors (Experiment 2) or only for comprehension (Experiment 3); the effect of stress disappeared when participants read for errors and reappeared when participants read for comprehension, reconfirming our hypothesis that predictability is a driver of lexical stress effects. In all experiments, errors were detected more reliably in words that were difficult to predict from context than in words that were highly predictable. Taken together, this series of experiments contributes two important findings to the field of reading and cognition: 1) The prosodic property of lexical stress can influence orthographic processing, and 2) Predictability inhibits the detection of errors in written language processing.
The impact of psychosocial stressors on postpartum weight retention

Excessive gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention are implicated in future morbidity in women. To understand whether psychosocial stressors contribute to weight retention, we used data collected in a cohort of postpartum women and analyzed measures of stress, depression, social support, and health-related quality of life. Depressive symptoms at delivery and worse health-related quality of life and lower stress at 3 months postpartum were associated with 3-month weight retention. Interventions targeting depression and improving quality of life may further reduce weight retained.
Infinitesimals of Sensation

In order to obtain a clear concept of the content of an act of perception, it is necessary to look for the ultimate elements of which that perception consists. In other words, a process of analysis is required, by which the perception is dissolved into its constituent elements. As a preliminary condition of such an analysis the perception must be abstracted from all quantity and all quality, extensive and intensive alike. The analysis of the perception of a patch of red color, for instance, will lead to the abstraction of all extension, and the object will then be thought of as consisting of an infinite number of points, the combination of which results in the particular perception. These points constitute the differential elements of extension. Any given perception must thus be thought of, according to Maimon, as consisting of elements that constitute its differentials. In order that we may be conscious of a perception, it must have a certain degree of extension as well as a certain degree of quality, for we are incapable of perceiving the infinitesimals, i.e., the infinitely small points of which it consists. We are conscious only of the compound, i.e., of an object that has a certain degree of extension and quality.1
Size Dependent Surface Charge Properties of Silica Nanoparticles

Nanoparticle surface charge density plays an important role in many applications, such as drug delivery and cellular uptake. In this study, surface charge properties of silica nanoparticles with different sizes are studied using a multi-ion surface charge-regulation model. In contrast to most previous studies utilizing constant surface charge, protonation and deprotonation surface reactions are used to obtain the local surface charge, which depends on the particle size and electrolyte solution properties, including the salt concentration and pH. For a fixed particle size, the magnitude of the surface charge typically increases with an increase in pH or background salt concentration. For fixed background salt concentration and pH, the magnitude of surface charge decreases with an increase in the particle size and reaches a constant when the particle size exceeds a critical value. Size dependent surface charge is further characterized by the ratio of electrical double layer thickness to the particle diamete...
UTERINE EFFECTS, EPIGENETICS, AND POSTNATAL SKELETAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE MOUSE.

Reciprocal embryo transfer experiments show that skeletal dimensions in adult mice are significantly influenced by the genotype of the female providing the uterine environment in which they were raised. Embryo transfers among C3HeB/FeJ, SWR/J, and the C3SWF1 hybrid strain (C3H females x SWR males) permit separation of uterine maternal genotype effects from effects arising from the progeny's own genotype. Many different aspects of adult skeletal form are significantly influenced by uterine genotype and, in some instances, the pattern of these effects correlates with events during skeletal embryology. Analyses involving the highly heterozygous C3SWF, strain demonstrate the existence of significantv dominance in maternal genes affecting skeletal development in the progeny. Further, there is a large skeletal effect due to progeny heterosis. Uterine litter size can be manipulated as a nonheritable component of variability in embryo transfer experiments, and it has a large and systemic effect on skeletal growth and morphogenesis that persists in adult mice. Heritable uterine maternal effects are epigenetic interactions during devel- opment that can be incorporated into models of evolutionary change to provide a more complete picture of the causal agents producing morphological change.
A New Route to Polyselenoether Macrocycles. Catalytic Macrocyclization of 3,3-Dimethylselenetane by Re2(CO)9SeCH2CMe2CH2

was cyclooligomerized catalytically at 115 °C by the Three new polyselenoether macrocycles, 3,3,7,7-tetramethyl-1,5-diselenacyclooctane (2; Me48Se2), 3,3,7,7,11,11-hexamethyl-1,5,9-triselenacyclododecane (3; Me612Se3), and 3,3,7,7,11,11,15,15-octamethyl-1,5,9,13-tetraselenacyclohexadecane (4; Me816Se4), along with a polymer were obtained. Two complexes of 3, Re2(CO)9(Me612Se3) (5) and Cu4I4(μ-Me612Se3)2 (6), were obtained from the reactions with Re2(CO)9(NCMe) and CuI, respectively. All three macrocycles and the complexes 1, 5, and 6 were characterized crystallographically. In all cases the gem-dimethyl groups of the macrocycles are directed toward the exterior of the rings. Interestingly, some methylene groups are directed toward the interior of the ring. Compound 5 contains an η1-Me612Se3 ligand, while compound 6 contains bridging η2-Me612Se3 ligands that link Cu4I4 clusters into a three-dimensional network in the solid state.
Pathways to Citizen Accountability: Brazil’s Bolsa Família

This article examines the pathways – citizen-driven, bottom-up oversight or state-centred administrative controls – that have played the largest role in promoting the accountability of the Bolsa Fa...
Environmental Politics Casebook: Genetically Modified Foods

Environmental Politics Casebook: Genetically Modified Foods includes testimony, journal and newspaper articles, book chapters, and interest group communications such as press releases and on-line briefs, as well as other studies and reports that constitute the principal elements of the public debate on the genetic modification of food. A companion
Antibodies in autoimmune retinopathy

Introduction: Autoimmune retinopathy (AIR) is a rare condition characterized by profound vision loss, presence of anti-retinal antibodies and association with systemic malignancy within the paraneo...
The effect of polyanhydride chemistry in particle-based cancer vaccines on the magnitude of the anti-tumor immune response.

Abstract The goal of this research was to study the effect of polyanhydride chemistry on the immune response induced by a prophylactic cancer vaccine based on biodegradable polyanhydride particles. To achieve this goal, different compositions of polyanhydride copolymers based on 1,8-bis-(p-carboxyphenoxy)-3,6-dioxaoctane (CPTEG), 1,6-bis-(p-carboxyphenoxy)-hexane (CPH), and sebacic anhydride (SA) were synthesized by melt polycondensation, and polyanhydride copolymer particles encapsulating a model antigen, ovalbumin (OVA), were then synthesized using a double emulsion solvent evaporation technique. The ability of three different compositions of polyanhydride copolymers (50:50 CPTEG:CPH, 20:80 CPTEG:CPH, and 20:80 CPH:SA) encapsulating OVA to elicit immune responses was investigated. In addition, the impact of unmethylated oligodeoxynucleotides containing deoxycytidyl-deoxyguanosine dinucleotides (CpG ODN), an immunological adjuvant, on the immune response was also studied. The immune response to cancer vaccines was measured after treatment of C57BL/6J mice with two subcutaneous injections, seven days apart, of 50 μg OVA encapsulated in particles composed of different polyanhydride copolymers with or without 25 μg CpG ODN. In vivo studies showed that 20:80 CPTEG:CPH particles encapsulating OVA significantly stimulated the highest level of CD8+ T lymphocytes, generated the highest serum titers of OVA-specific IgG antibodies, and provided longer protection against tumor challenge with an OVA-expressing thymoma cell line in comparison to formulations made from other polyanhydride copolymers. The results also revealed that vaccination with CpG ODN along with polyanhydride particles encapsulating OVA did not enhance the immunogenicity of OVA. These results accentuate the crucial role of the copolymer composition of polyanhydrides in stimulating the immune response and provide important insights on rationally designing efficacious cancer vaccines. Statement of Significance Compared to soluble cancer vaccine formulations, tumor antigens encapsulated in biodegradable polymeric particles have been shown to sustain antigen release and provide long-term protection against tumor challenge by improving the immune response towards the antigen. Treatment of mice with cancer vaccines based on different polyanhydride copolymers encapsulating OVA resulted in stimulation of tumor-specific immune responses with different magnitudes. This clearly indicates that polyanhydride chemistry plays a substantial role in stimulating the immune response. Vaccination with 20:80 CPTEG:CPH/OVA, the most hydrophobic formulation, stimulated the strongest cellular and humoral immune responses and provided the longest survival outcome without adding any other adjuvant. The most important finding in this study is that the copolymer composition of polyanhydride particle-based vaccines can have a direct effect on the magnitude of the antitumor immune response and should be selected carefully in order to achieve optimal cancer vaccine efficacy.
The Power to Transform is Stronger than the Power to Punish: Public Defenders are the Key to Equal Justice

Those of us who practice and teach in the field of criminal justice are frequently asked by law students interested in helping to reform the criminal justice system whether they can have a greater impact as a prosecutor or a public defender. Frequently they are already leaning towards the view that they can have more power as a prosecutor, for it is widely accepted that prosecutors are the most powerful players in the justice system. However, I think this view underestimates the incredible power public defenders have as the vehicle through which the voice of our most impacted communities can be heard in the system. if we continue to ignore the community voice, true justice cannot be achieved. In this "letter to a social justice attorney" I argue that transforming our justice system requires that these voices are heard and that, therefore, a community of public defenders committed to amplifying the stories of "otherized" communities is critical to systemic reform. This letter provides a counter argument for the student who has repeatedly heard that prosecutors are all-powerful and public defenders are relatively powerless.
Assessment of Metabolic Flexibility by Means of Measuring Blood Lactate, Fat, and Carbohydrate Oxidation Responses to Exercise in Professional Endurance Athletes and Less-Fit Individuals

Background Increased muscle mitochondrial mass is characteristic of elite professional endurance athletes (PAs), whereas increased blood lactate levels (lactatemia) at the same absolute submaximal exercise intensities and decreased mitochondrial oxidative capacity are characteristics of individuals with low aerobic power. In contrast to PAs, patients with metabolic syndrome (MtS) are characterized by a decreased capacity to oxidize lipids and by early transition from fat to carbohydrate oxidation (FATox/CHOox), as well as elevated blood lactate concentration [La-] as exercise power output (PO) increases, a condition termed 'metabolic inflexibility'. Objective The aim of this study was to assess metabolic flexibility across populations with different metabolic characteristics. Methods We used indirect calorimetry and [La-] measurements to study the metabolic responses to exercise in PAs, moderately active individuals (MAs), and MtS individuals. Results FATox was significantly higher in PAs than MAs and patients with MtS (p Conclusions Blood lactate accumulation is negatively correlated with FATox and positively correlated with CHOox during exercise across populations with widely ranging metabolic capabilities. Because both lactate and fatty acids are mitochondrial substrates, we believe that measurements of [La-] and FATox rate during exercise provide an indirect method to assess metabolic flexibility and oxidative capacity across individuals of widely different metabolic capabilities.
Venom-gland transcriptomics and venom proteomics of the Hentz striped scorpion (Centruroides hentzi; Buthidae) reveal high toxin diversity in a harmless member of a lethal family

Abstract Of the 14 extant scorpion families, Buthidae has the most thoroughly characterized venoms. Most of this characterization, however, has been limited to species with medically significant stings, including members of the Centruroides genus, which have caused human deaths (e.g., Centruroides sculpturatus). To understand the origin and evolution of highly toxic venoms, we should also characterize the more harmless venoms of close relatives. We used Illumina sequencing to separately characterize the venom-gland transcriptomes of a male and female Hentz striped scorpion (Centruroides hentzi) and performed independent quantitative mass-spectrometry analysis of the venom from each individual, providing the first full venom characterization of a Centruroides species that poses no serious threat to humans. We identified 59 venom proteins that were proteomically confirmed, 63 additional transcripts that were identified on the basis of homology to known toxins, and 355 nontoxins expressed in the venom-glands. The most abundant toxins belonged to the Na+ and K+-channel toxin classes. Antimicrobial peptides and peptidases were also identified, along with a large group of venom proteins that could not be classified based on homology, suggesting C. hentzi is a source of previously untapped toxin diversity.
Resident Clinic Orientation and Expectations

Each year, academic medical practices will have an influx of residents who need to be orientated to the clinical site. This chapter covers the multiple types of orientation for new residents, what can be included in orientation, and examples of orientation checklists.
Pediatric septoplasty and functional septorhinoplasty: A quality of life outcome study.

Abstract Objective This study assessed disease-specific quality-of-life outcomes among pediatric patients undergoing septoplasty or functional septorhinoplasty. The Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) score was obtained pre- and post-operatively. Additional analyses determined whether demographics, nasal trauma, prior nasal surgery, or allergic rhinitis history affected NOSE scores. Methods Patients undergoing septoplasty or functional septorhinoplasty were evaluated prospectively at a tertiary children's hospital. NOSE scores were assessed pre- and post-operatively. Change in NOSE score was analyzed using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test, while multiple regression analysis evaluated factors associated with NOSE score change. Results 136 patients (mean age 15.7 ± 2.1 years) were evaluated; 52 (38.2%) underwent septoplasty while 84 (61.8%) underwent functional septorhinoplasty. Mean follow-up was 3.6 ± 5.1 months. There was a statistically significant decrease in NOSE score from pre-operative septoplasty and functional septorhinoplasty: median = 75 to post-operative septoplasty: median = 20 (z = −5.9, p Conclusion There was significant improvement in disease-specific quality-of-life in pediatric patients undergoing septoplasty or functional septorhinoplasty. Gender, nasal trauma, prior nasal surgery, and allergic rhinitis did not significantly affect NOSE scores in either group.
Messenger RNA Ribonucleases and mRNA Turnover in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses about messenger RNA ribonucleases and mRNA turnover in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Among the many different functions for ribonucleases, one fundamental role is to degrade messenger RNA (mRNA). The regulated turnover of mRNA is critical in the control of gene expression. The stabilization of certain unstable mRNAs encoding protooncogenes can contribute to oncogenesis. In addition, mRNA stability can be regulated in accordance with changes in the cell growth rate, progression through the cell cycle, and changes in the cellular environment. In many cases, mRNA abundance seems to correlate more closely with mRNA half-lives than with rates of transcription. The ability to perform both advanced genetics and biochemistry with S. cerevisiae makes it well suited for dissecting the fundamental mechanisms of mRNA degradation in eukaryotes. In yeast, some mRNAs are degraded with half-lives greater than 40 min, whereas others are degraded 20 times faster. Ultimately, differential mRNA decay is determined by the regulation of cellular mRNA ribonucleases (mRNases). This chapter discusses about the pathways of mRNA decay, deadenylation-dependent decapping, nonsense-mediated decay, and endonuclease-initiated turnover pathway. The chapter also elaborates about mRNA ribonucleases, decapping enzymes, and deadenylases.
Architecture and Human Attachment: An Interview with Jorge Otero-Pailos

Dr. Jorge Otero-Pailos is the director of the Historic Preservation program at Columbia University and one of the foremost practitioners of experimental preservation. His Ethics of Dust series in p...
Trace gas sensing using diode-pumped collinearly detected spontaneous Raman scattering enhanced by a multipass cell

A simple but highly effective method for enhancement of spontaneous Raman scattering from gases is described. It employs a multimode blue laser diode that receives feedback from a near-concentric bidirectional multipass cavity in such a way as to generate a circulating power on the order of 100 W for a sample volume of $ 10\,\,{{\rm mm}^3} $10mm3. The feedback, provided via a volume Bragg grating, reduces the laser bandwidth to $ 4\,\,{{\rm cm}^{ - 1}} $4cm−1. Spectra of spontaneous Raman scattering from ambient atmospheric air, detected collinearly with the pump, were recorded with a limit of detection below 1 ppm. The performance of the setup is further illustrated through detection of acetone, methane, and isotopic carbon dioxide in breath.
Soft Tissue Special Issue: Fibroblastic and Myofibroblastic Neoplasms of the Head and Neck

Fibroblastic and myofibroblastic neoplasms of the head and neck encompass a group of rare tumor types with often overlapping clinicopathologic features that range in biologic potential from benign to overtly malignant. Even neoplasms with no metastatic potential may provide significant therapeutic challenges in this region due to the unique anatomy of the head and neck. This review will cover the following entities, highlighting important clinical aspects of each neoplasm and then focusing on their characteristic histomorphology, immunophenotype, and molecular alterations: nodular and cranial fasciitis, fibrous hamartoma of infancy, nasopharyngeal angiofibroma, nuchal-type and Gardner fibromas, desmoid fibromatosis, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans and giant cell fibroblastoma, solitary fibrous tumor, inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor, low-grade myofibroblastic sarcoma, infantile fibrosarcoma, low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma, and sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma. While some of these neoplasms characteristically arise in the head and neck, others are rarely described in this anatomic region and may therefore be particularly difficult to recognize. Distinction between these entities, however, is crucial, particularly as the molecular pathogenetic basis for these neoplasms are being rapidly elucidated, in some instances allowing for targeted therapeutic approaches.
The Impact of Medical Financial Hardship on Children's Health.

Objective. To determine whether living in a family with medical financial hardship decreases children's access to health care. Methods. We identified children aged 4 to 17 years from the 2013 to 2018 National Health Interview Surveys. Medical financial hardship was defined as living in a family where one or more family members had problems paying medical bills in the past 12 months. Results. Of 53 483 children in the analysis, 19% were exposed to medical financial hardship. This was adversely associated with children's health status and health care use, especially greater odds of delaying care (odds ratio [OR] = 5.28; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.51-6.19) and having unmet health care needs (OR = 4.43; 95% CI = 4.00-4.91). Conclusions. One fifth of children live in families experiencing medical financial hardship, and this exposure is adversely correlated with child health outcomes even controlling for established measures of socioeconomic status, such as family income, health insurance coverage, and need-based program participation.
On-farm screw press and rotary drum treatment of dairy manure-associated antibiotic residues and resistance.

An on-farm solid-liquid separator (SLS) and rotary drum composter (RD) manure treatment system was monitored for its impact on antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Administered antibiotics were tracked, and treatment system mass flows were quantified. Total amounts of antibiotic residues and ARGs were calculated from measured concentrations and mass flows. Only oxytetracycline (OTC) and sulfadimethoxine (SDM) were detected in the manure treatment system influent. No β-lactams were measured despite comprising ∼25% of the antibiotics administered. Nearly 80% of OTC and >90% of SDM partitioned into SLS liquid effluent (SL). The RD reduced the mass of OTC remaining in the SLS solid effluent (SS) significantly by 50%, whereas the mass of SDM appeared to increase after RD treatment. All four ARGs tested were detected in influent, with >70% of the sul1, blaOXA-1 , and intI1 genes (normalized by the 16S ribosomal RNA gene) partitioning into the SL. In contrast, about eight times more normalized tetO gene copies partitioned into the SS than in the SL. All ARGs remaining in the SS were significantly reduced by the RD treatment, with a noteworthy 98% reduction in normalized tetO gene copies. This study provides insight into on-farm levels of antibiotic residues and ARGs in dairy manure, their partitioning during SLS treatment, and their fate after a high-temperature RD treatment reaching 72.2 ± 0.18 °C near the outlet. It also notes the importance of mass-flow standardization of data, and the need to work towards standardization of manure system sampling protocols for antibiotic residues and ARGs.
Incorporating systematic financial screening into the electronic health record.

184Background: Routine screening for financial hardship may identify patients at risk of financial crisis (bankruptcy or inability to afford food or medication). Identifying financial hardship risk...
The Discipline of Teamwork: Participation and Concertive Control

Setting the Stage Overview Reading Organizational Culture as Generative Discipline Creating a Generative Discipline Molding a Community Demarcation Bonding the Individual Identification Maintaining the System Methdological Control Responding to the Generative Discipline of Concertive Control
Interindividual Variability of DNA Methylation

Methylation at the 5 position of cytosine is a form of covalent DNA modification found in a variety of species including plants and mammals. It plays an important role in gene regulation, chromatin structure, and a variety of other biological processes. It serves as an epigenetic mark and has been shown to change in response to environmental factors and disease. Owing to its importance in gene regulation, there has been considerable interest in trying to understand the role of DNA methylation in the production of organism-level phenotypes and especially in its contribution to human health and disease. Studies in many organisms have revealed large amounts of variation in DNA methylation between individuals. This interindividual variation in DNA methylation is highly complex. The amount of variation detected is locus- and tissue-specific and can be caused by genetic as well as environmental factors. In this chapter, we review the available data on interindividual variation in DNA methylation, its origins, and its consequences with a particular focus on its role in human disease.
Simplification of empiric therapy for the febrile, neutropenic oncology patient.

Empiric therapy for the neutropenic oncology patient with unexplained fever appears quite complicated to the uninitiated. However, as is the case with the game of chess, once a few basic rules are learned, a handful of principles are comprehended and a set of opening moves that have passed extensive field testing are adopted, empiric therapy of febrile, neutropenic cancer patients can be surprisingly straightforward in many respects. Management strategy is virtually independent of the patient’s age. The variety of organisms that commonly infect the neutropenic host is limited (Table 1). The usual sites of infection are few: the periorbital tissues, sinuses, oral and gastrointestinal mucosa, pharynx, cervical nodes, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, perirectal tissues, and skin, particularly at catheter exit sites and biopsy sites. The most daunting aspect of the management of the neutropenic cancer patient is, ironically, selecting empiric therapies from the large array of available antimicrobial agents and adjuvant therapies. The other common pitfall in treating infectious complications in neutropenic cancer patients is failure to recognize that management of these patients is a unique aspect of the practice of infectious diseases.
Seeking a Snapshot of an Alien World

PLANETARY SCIENCENow that we know extrasolar planets are out there, astronomers are gearing up to photograph one. But the job will require a sizable fleet of space observatories, capable of flying in precise formation with their relative positions controlled to minute precision, a technology that is still in its infancy. Space agencies are now planning a series of missions with the aim, by about 2020, of imaging features on a distant Earth-like planet.
TOWARDS AN EXO-SOCIOLOGY: CONSTRUCTS OF THE ALIEN

INTRODUCTION Of many issues to be confronted in the longterm development of a sociology of extra· terrestrial, intelligent societies (ETIS). the most crucial is that of assumptions that can reasonably be made. While such studies await the unlikely event of contact with ETIS. an intellectual preparation may increase sophistication in current sociological theories and observations of the institutional world. If contact with ETIS should occur. then a prior analysis of likely problems may avert disaster. What can be assumed after the discovery of an. ETIS? Social organization? A culture of symbols. of interaction? Socialization with social and physical adaptation? Asocial structure of economic and political institutions? Religion? Deviance? Social class contradictions? Social classes? To apply such categories uncritically would anthropomorphize the ETIS. Could an exo-sociology be constructed by using familiar sociological concepts? Perhaps. But first. some hidden cultural strata of presumptive ideas must be revealed concerning "alien" peoples. Sociological theories of human societies partly depend on buried assumptions regarding human nature. The epistemology defining ETIS requires discussion prior to deriving any first principles. To what extent do human conceptions of the stranger or the alien serve as objectified answers to human problems? Cultural fantasies thrive in empirically unknown areas. In the case of ETIS such myths prevent us from seeing extra-terrestrial societies for what they are. This is a necessary preparation for an effective exo-sociology. Yet. profound cultural implications can be drawn. Thatcher (1978) warns of "cosmic culture shock" following extra-terrestrial contact. How would Christianity respond. given the belief that humans "are made in God's image"? If mythical preconceptions guided our response. could we successfully overcome the dislocations of a superior technology? Sharp (1952) reported the devastating cultural impact of the steel axe on the Yir Yoront. Social relations. gender roles. economic institutions. traditional ideas and values became irreparably disrupted when steel axes replaced stone axes.