cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
TRANSACYLASE FORMATION OF BIS(MONOACYLGLYCEROL)PHOSPHATE

Abstract Recent work within our laboratory has focused on the enzymes we hypothesize are involved in the biosynthesis of bis(monoacylglycerol)phosphate from phosphatidylglycerol. Here we describe a transacylase, active at acidic pH values, isolated from a macrophage-like cell line, RAW 264.7. This enzyme acylates the head group glycerol of sn-3:sn-1′ lysophosphatidylglycerol to form sn-3:sn-1′ bis(monoacylglycerol)phosphate. Here we demonstrate that this enzyme uses two lysophosphatidylglycerol molecules, one as an acyl donor and another as an acyl acceptor, and that the acyl contributions from all other lipids tested are comparatively minor. This enzyme prefers saturated acyl chains to monounsaturates, 16 and 18 carbon fatty acids over 14 carbon fatty acids, and saturated acyl chains at the sn-1 position to monounsaturated acyl chains on the sn-2 carbon of lysophosphatidylglycerol. We present data which show the transacylase activity depends on the presence of a lipid-water interface and the lipid polymorphic state.
Effects of cation substitutions in garnet and pyroxene on equilibrium oxygen isotope fractionations

High-grade metamorphic rocks were used to explore oxygen isotope fractionations between pyroxene and garnet, and to investigate the effects on fractionation factors of the cation substitutions Fe3+Al−1 and Ca(Fe,Mg)−1. Recrystallized, granulite facies (725 °C) wollastonite ores from the northern Adirondack highlands contain essentially only the minerals clinopyroxene (a Di–Hd solid solution)+garnet (a Grs–Adr solid solution)±wollastonite, and exhibit a systematic dependence of measured fractionations on the Fe3+ content of calcic garnet: Δ(Cpx–CaGrt)=(0.14±0.12)+(0.78±0.20)XAdr and Δ(Wo–CaGrt)=(0.15±0.22)+(0.57±0.33)XAdr. In eclogites formed at T ≤650 °C, measured compositions of Ca-poor garnet and omphacite combined with experimental data indicate that Ca-poor, Fe-rich garnet is enriched in 18O compared to both diopside and grossular: extrapolating to 1000 K, Δ(Alm–Di)≈c. 0.2 and Δ(Alm–Grs)≈c. 0.5. Orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene from Gore Mountain, New York, show a constant fractionation that is independent of rock type, as expected if they have the same closure temperature. These data imply Δ(Opx-Cpx)≈c. 0.7 at 1000 K. Measured fractionations among Ca-poor garnet, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and hornblende in the Gore Mountain rocks further indicate an 18O enrichment in Ca-poor garnet over Grs (≈c. 0.5 at 1000 K). The new measurements are indistinguishable from expected equilibrium values based on experiments for the minerals enstatite, diopside, grossular, wollastonite and feldspar, but consistently indicate a significant isotope effect for the simple octahedral cation substitutions Fe3+Al−1 (Grs vs. Adr) and Ca(Fe,Mg)−1 (Ca-poor garnet vs. Grs; Opx vs. Cpx). Neither cation substitution has been directly investigated for its effect on 18O/16O fractionation with experiments in silicates. Chemical characterization of minerals is required prior to petrological interpretation of oxygen isotope trends.
Influence of the light chain repertoire on immunoglobulin genes encoding thyroid autoantibody Fab from combinatorial libraries.

The diversity of the immunoglobulin heavy (H) and light (L) gene libraries used to construct a combinatorial library is an important parameter in determining the characteristics of antigen-specific Fab obtained from the library. To investigate the role of library diversity, we compared Fab specific for the autoantigen thyroid peroxidase (TPO) isolated from two different combinatorial libraries. Both libraries contained the same H chain genes. The original combinatorial library (H/R) utilized kappa chains generated using a single kappa variable region oligonucleotide primer. We constructed a second combinatorial library (H/D) containing kappa chains amplified with a diverse panel of variable region primers. From the the original H/R library, only two groups of TPO-specific Fab had been obtained, involving two H chain types (V1-3B and hvlL1) but only one kappa chain type (012). In contrast, among the seven TPO Fab characterized from the second library (H/D) we observed five different VH/VL combinations, com...
IDLOG: extending the expressive power of deductive database languages

The expressive power of pure deductive database languages, such as DATALOG and stratified DATALOGS, is limited in a sense that some useful queries such as functions involving aggregation are not definable in these languages. Our concern in this paper is to provide a uniform logic framework for deductive databases with greater expressive power. It has been shown that with a linear ordering on the domain of the database, the expressive power of some database languages can be enhanced so that some functions involving aggregation can be defined. Yet, a direct implementation of the linear ordering in deductive database languages may seem unintuitive, and may not be very efficient to use in practice. We propose a logic for deductive databases which employs the notion of “identifying each tuple in a relation”. Through the use of these tuple-identifications, different linear orderings are defined as a result. This intuitively explains the reason why our logic has greater expressive power. The proposed logic language is non-deterministu in nature. However, non-determinism is not the real reason for the enhanced expressive power. A deterministic subset of the programs in this language is computational complete in the sense that it defines all the computable deterministic queries. Although the problem of deciding whether a program is in this subset is in general undecidable, we do provide a rather general sufficient test for identifying such programs. Also discussed in this paper is an extended notion of queries which allows both the input and the output of a query to contain interpreted constants of an infinite domain. We show that extended queries involving aggregation can also be defined in the language.
Pure range-only sub-sea SLAM

This paper is about using range-only data to navigate an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). We assume the vehicle is equipped with conventional long base line (LBL) transceiver which measures acoustic time of flights (TOFs) between vehicle and small submerged transponders. Using only range data and no prior information other than approximate water column depth, we solve for both transponder location and vehicle trajectory. Results are given using data from a AUV operating in shallow water. A ground truth comparison is made with surveyed transponder locations and trajectory estimates from an on-board Doppler/Compass/LBL derived navigation filter.
Biochemical Characterization of the Epithelial Dystroglycan Complex

Dystroglycan is a widely expressed extracellular matrix receptor that plays a critical role in basement membrane formation, epithelial development, and synaptogenesis. Dystroglycan was originally characterized in skeletal muscle as an integral component of the dystrophin glycoprotein complex, which is critical for muscle cell viability. Although the dystroglycan complex has been well characterized in skeletal muscle, there is little information on the structural composition of the dystroglycan complex outside skeletal muscle. Here we have biochemically characterized the dystroglycan complex in lung and kidney. We demonstrate that the presence of sarcoglycans and sarcospan in lung reflects association with dystroglycan in the smooth muscle. The smooth muscle dystroglycan complex in lung, composed of dystroglycan, dystrophin/utrophin, β-, δ-, e-sarcoglycan, and sarcospan, can be biochemically separated from epithelial dystroglycan, which is not associated with any of the known sarcoglycans or sarcospan. Similarly, dystroglycan in kidney epithelial cells is not associated with any of the sarcoglycans or sarcospan. Thus, our data demonstrate that there are distinct dystroglycan complexes in non-skeletal muscle organs as follows: one from smooth muscle, which is associated with sarcoglycans forming a similar complex as in skeletal muscle, and one from epithelial cells.
Response to a bolus of conivaptan in patients with acute hyponatremia after brain injury

Abstract Purpose The aim of the study was to analyze the response to the vasopressin-receptor antagonist conivaptan in a large cohort of brain-injured patients with acute hyponatremia. Materials and Methods The natremic response (rise in serum sodium) to an initial bolus of conivaptan was retrospectively evaluated in 124 patients over a 3-year period in our neurosciences intensive care unit. Variables associated with this response were identified using linear regression. Results Median pretreatment sodium was 132 mEq/L, and duration of hyponatremia before dose was 1 day. Median natremic response was +4 mEq/L (interquartile range, 2-7 mEq/L), measured a median of 9 hours (interquartile range, 6-12 hours) after conivaptan administration. This was associated with significant urine output (median, 2.6 L over 12 hours), with degree of aquaresis associated with natremic response (regression coefficient, B = 1.8 change in sodium per liter; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-2.4; P Conclusions Conivaptan given as a bolus can effectively treat acute hyponatremia in brain-injured patients.
A Panel Assessment of Glaucoma Management: Modification of Existing RAND-like Methodology for Consensus in Ophthalmology. Part I: Methodology and Design

Purpose To examine ways to improve existing methodology to reach appropriate consensus in the treatment of primary open-angle glaucoma. Design Evidence-based literature and accumulated expert opinion. Methods A core nonvoting steering committee composed of four individuals created 148 statements. Another nonvoting individual with expertise in clinical epidemiology reviewed all evidence in support of or against each statement and summarized this information. After review of these summaries, 10 panelists voted on each of the statements both before and after a panel meeting where each question was discussed by the panel. The polling was conducted online using a customized software program for the process. Results Consensus was reached on most statements both before and after the panel meeting. The proportion of questions where consensus agreement or disagreement was reached increased from 82 of 148 before the panel meeting to 110 of 148 after the meeting. Detailed information regarding the results of the polling are provided in the accompanying article. 1 Conclusions Refinements to existing descriptions of modified RAND-like appropriateness methodology was successful in allowing a group of ophthalmology panelists to reach consensus for or against most statements developed by nonpanelists. Future studies should be conducted to compare how robust and valid this methodology is as compared with other methods of determining optimal clinical care decision making.
Two Approaches for Identifying Shared Personality Dimensions Across Methods

Two approaches are illustrated, one exploratory and one confirmatory, or determining the extent to which personality dimensions are invariant across different methods of measurement. Using the interbattery factor model (Browne, 1979, 1980; Tucker, 1958), Study 1 explores the links between the Five-Factor Model of Personality, as assessed by the NEO-PI (Costa & McCrae, 1985), and the Needs system of Murray, as assessed by the Personality Research Form (Jackson, 1984). Study 2 uses an interbattery approach to examine the common structure underlying two widely used coping measures: the revised Ways of Coping Cchecklis (Folkman, Lazarus, Dunkel-Schetter, Delongis, & Gruen, 1986) and the COPE Inventory (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989). The two studies illustrate the use of interbattery factor analysis as a means of separating battery-specific (method) factors from interbattery (trait) factors, in contrast to traditional factor analysis that describes underlying structure without regard to method of measurement. By maintaining the distinction between variability that is method-specific and variability that is common across methods, the interbattery factor model allows the common trait structure underlying multiple measures to be described more accurately.
Effect of High Dietary Vitamin A Levels on the Utilization of Carotenoids by Broilers

Abstract HIGH dietary levels of vitamin A have been reported to reduce the carotenoid content of egg yolks, liver and blood of hens (Deuel et al., 1943), skin carotenoids of chicks (Hammond and Harshaw, 1941), and the carotenoid content of the plasma and liver of chicks (Mattson and Deuel, 1943). Rubin and Bird (1946) showed that inhibition of pigmentation takes place even when there is sufficient storage of vitamin A in the body. The source of vitamin A employed in most of the early work was either shark liver oil or cod liver oil, and, therefore, it was rather difficult to conclude whether the interference in the carotenoid utilization was due to vitamin A per se or some impurity in the oils. Recently, Donovan et al. (1961) and Sunde (1962) observed that high dietary levels of vitamin A palmitate depressed egg yolk color. Since high dietary vitamin A levels are sometimes…
National Westminster Bank mass storage archiving

The problem of retrieving records at random from a very large archival data base has not previously been effectively soluble by data processing techniques. This paper describes such an application, in which a large bank in the United Kingdom uses the IBM 3850 Mass Storage System for storing and retrieving customer account statements.
Rapid Screening of E. coli Extracts by Heteronuclear NMR

Assessing whether a protein or protein complex is amenable to structural analysis is an important component in the structural genomics effort. In particular, if complete sets of structures for entire genomes are to be obtained within a reasonable time frame, high throughput methodologies for all steps along the way have to be developed. These days, cloning and expression systems are highly optimized and a variety of commercially available vectors can be used. However, heterologous proteins or protein domains expressed in bacteria may not be soluble or correctly folded, necessitating intricate solubilization and refolding schemes prior to structural or functional studies. NMR spectroscopy is an important tool for assessing the solubility, stability, and structural integrity of a gene product. It allows efficient evaluation of many variations of polypeptide length and sequence (without time- and labor-intensive purification/refolding procedures) using 1H-15N-HSQC spectroscopy of samples of 15N-labeled proteins directly from crude E. coli extracts. In addition to screening for particular properties of the expressed protein alone, it is also possible to map intermolecular interactions such as ligand binding. In this unit, the basic methodology for bacterial growth, isotope labeling, and spectroscopic evaluation of the protein structure is provided.
Middle School Students' Perceptions of and Responses to Cyber Bullying.

This study explored the nature and extent of middle school students' (n = 665) experiences with cyber bullying. Approximately one in five students reported being cyber bullied in the past year, with 55% of those students being repeatedly victimized within the past 30 days. Female students were more likely to be involved in cyber bullying (victim, bully, and witness) compared to male students. One aspect of this study involved an examination of student disclosure and the consequences to victims and witnesses when informing others when they were affected by cyber bullying. Approximately 64% of youth reported the incident when they were cyber bullied and 60% reported when they witnessed cyber bullying. Peers and parents were told most frequently, while teachers were rarely informed. The likelihood of the cyber bullying behavior terminating was not influenced by the group informed of the incident. Overall, neither peers nor adults were very effective in assisting youth to reduce the cyber bullying behavior. T...
Spatial Distribution in Routing Table Design for Sensor Networks

We propose a generic routing table design principle for scalable routing on networks with bounded geometric growth. Given an inaccurate distance oracle that estimates the graph distance of any two nodes with constant factor upper and lower bounds, we augment it by storing the routing paths of pairs of nodes, selected in a spatial distribution, and show that the routing table enables 1 + epsiv stretch routing. In the wireless ad hoc and sensor network scenario, the geographic locations of the nodes serve as such an inaccurate distance oracle. Each node p selects O (log n loglog n) other nodes from a distribution proportional to 1/r 2 where r is the distance to p and the routing paths to these nodes are stored on the nodes along these paths in the network. The routing algorithm selects links conforming to a set of sufficient conditions and guarantees with high probability 1 + epsiv stretch routing with routing table size O(radicn log n loglog n) on average for each node. This scheme is favorable for its simplicity, generality and blindness to any global state. It is a good example that global routing properties emerge from purely distributed and uncoordinated routing table design.
A Receptor for Auxin

A long-sought hormone receptor has been found. Two recent Nature articles reveal that the F-box protein TRANSPORT INHIBITOR RESPONSE1 (TIR1) binds auxin and responds to the phytohormone even when heterologously expressed in animal systems ([Dharmasiri et al., 2005a][1]; [Kepinski and Leyser, 2005][2
Duration of sound prolongation and sound/syllable repetition in children who stutter: preliminary observations

The purpose of this study was to measure the duration of sound prolongations and sound/syllable repetitions (stutterings) in the conversational speech of school-age children who stutter. The relationships between duration and (a) frequency and type of speech disfluency, (b) number and rate of repeated units per instance of sound/syllable repetition, (c) overall speech rate, and (d) articulatory rate were also examined. Results indicated that for the children in this study the average duration of stuttering was approximately three-quarters of a second, and was not significantly correlated with age, length of post-onset interval, or frequency of speech disfluency. In addition, findings can be taken to suggest that part of the clinical significance of stuttering duration for children who stutter might lie in its relationship to the amount of sound prolongations these children produce, as well as their articulatory rate during fluent speech.
Profiling of pathway-specific changes in gene expression following growth of human cancer cell lines transplanted into mice

Background Tumor cells cultured in vitro are widely used to investigate the molecular biology of cancers and to evaluate responses to drugs and other agents. The full extent to which gene expression in cancer cells is modulated by extrinsic factors and by the microenvironment in which the cancer cells reside remains to be determined. Two cancer cell lines (A549 lung adenocarcinoma and U118 glioblastoma) were transplanted subcutaneously into immunodeficient mice to form tumors. Global gene-expression profiles of the tumors were determined, based on analysis of expression of human genes, and compared with expression profiles of the cell lines grown in culture.
Student-generated, faculty-vetted multiple-choice questions: Value, participant satisfaction, and workload

Abstract Objective To evaluate a student-generated question assignment in a pharmacotherapy course for (1) perceived educational value, (2) faculty and student satisfaction, (3) item quality, (4) workload, and (5) perceived benefit. Methods Second-year pharmacy students in a dual campus college participated in generating patient-based vignettes with associated multiple-choice questions for an exam. Submissions were assessed by faculty in terms of structure and content and then made available to all students as a study aid. Project evaluation included examination of item quality as well as faculty and student surveys exploring educational value, general satisfaction with the assignment, and workload. Results Post-project satisfaction surveys were completed by 97% of students ( n = 165) and 100% of faculty ( n = 8). Overall, 80% of students agreed or strongly agreed that they were proud of their group's final submission, and more than 85% agreed or strongly agreed that participation in the project assisted them in analyzing concepts and guidelines taught in class. All faculty members agreed or strongly agreed that the activity should be conducted in future offerings of the course. The average point biserial correlation coefficient for the student-generated items was 0.26 versus 0.22 for faculty-written items. Structure- and content-focused faculty spent an average of 27 minutes (SD 6) and 52 minutes (SD 14), respectively, to complete each assignment. Conclusion A student-generated question assignment can be feasibly conducted across two campuses as an active learning exercise that enhances student-perceived learning of pharmacotherapy principles with a high level of both student and faculty satisfaction.
Early Pathways Therapy for Young Children in Poverty: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Early Pathways is a home-based, parent and child therapy program for the treatment of disruptive behaviors among young children living in poverty. In this study, 199 clinically referred children we...
Automating the Archives: A Case Study

The establishment of an archival automation program requires that the archivist address issues of both a technical and a managerial nature. These issues include needs assessment, selection of hardware and software to meet identified needs, redesigning archival tasks in light of the system selected, and ongoing maintenance of the system selected. The present article discusses the issues Washington University Archives staff members faced in developing an automation program and the solutions they adopted. It concludes with a brief discussion of possible future directions for the automation program.
Boundary Spanning in the Entrepreneurial Firm: Effects on Innovation and Firm Performance

Innovations have been found to frequently originate from outside of organizations (Quinn, 1985; Utterback, 1971). While both small and large firms may face obstacles to achieving innovation, pursui...
Working for the Environment

This was a lengthy, 113-page draft I prepared before distilling the material into a journal article of 30 pages or less, "Working for the Environment," which was published in January 1998 in Environmental History. The purpose of this draft was to arrange the material chronologically and select all the most interesting pro- (or in some cases, anti-) environmental statements from union leaders and members that I encountered in federal hearings or elsewhere from the 1940s through the 1970s. In addition to helping to prepare for the article, I had hoped to write my second academic history book about the relationship between organized labor and the environmental movement. Instead, I was repaid for all my efforts by getting driven out of the academic history profession. But I always found my research on the history of labor-environmentalist cooperation to be perhaps the most interesting and useful research I ever undertook as a historian, it helped to expose the lies of the Reaganite spin-doctors regarding the topic (that labor unions and workers inevitably were and must be hostile to environmentalists), and it remains my favorite project from that period. The draft includes statements from the AFL-CIO's Anthony Biemiller, George Riley, Joseph Doherty, and John Curran from the 1950s-60s; from the UAW's Walter Reuther, Victor Reuther, Olga Madar, Leonard Woodcock, and Kenneth Worley from the 1960s-70s; from the UFW's Cesar Chavez and Jerome Cohen; from the USWA's Joseph Germano; from the OCAW's Anthony Mazzocchi, and from various other union officials or members. Many of these statements were stridently pro-environmental for their time (for instance, in the late 1950s or early 1960s); some of them are stridently pro-environmental for any time. The union statements on environmental issues cover air pollution, water pollution, wilderness preservation, atomic radiation, and various other topics. The draft also includes examples of anti-environmental statements from union officials or members, including Anthony Boyle of the UMW, who feared restrictions on coal-mining and further erosion of the coal mining industry, and Pacific Northwestern lumberjacks who disfavored preservation of Redwoods National Park and other old-growth forest preserves. At any rate, overall, the record of union statements and actions shows a clear pattern of cooperation between labor unions and pro-environmental reformers (who only later would come to be called "environmentalists") through the 1950s and 1960s, as well as a pattern of union leaders rejecting the anti-environmental arguments of representatives and lobbyists from industrial trade organizations such as the National Association of Manufacturers and the US Chamber of Commerce.
Characterization of Hepatitis B and C Among Liver Transplant Recipients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma: An Analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample Database

Abstract Introduction Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections account for most hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and subsequent liver transplant cases. Racial/ethnic disparities exist in access to liver transplantation and post-transplantation survival, and we sought to compare and explore potential disparities in HBV and HCV-related liver transplant populations. Method The Nationwide Inpatient Sample database was used (2001 to 2010). Results In this study, 2269 liver transplant recipients were included: 56% HCV, 6% HBV, and 37% non-HV. HBV and HCV patients were mostly Asian/Pacific Islander (API) and white, respectively. Within HBV transplant recipients, the mean age was youngest in black patients (P = .02); variation of mean age was not seen within HCV patients. Regarding the transplant recipients' income and insurance, most API and white patients were in the highest income quartile, whereas most black and Hispanic patients were in the lowest income group (P Conclusion Differences were found in the HBV and HCV-associated liver transplant populations. More work needs to be done to elucidate disparities regarding black and Hispanic liver transplant recipients as they receive transplants at younger mean ages, are in lower income quartiles, and have longer lengths of hospitalization compared with other racial/ethnic groupings.
תפיסת הדמוקרטיה המתגוננת של ישראל (Israel's Militant Democracy Perception)

בשנת המשפט תשע"ה בית המשפט העליון נתן מספר פסקי דין מרכזיים -- בפרשות דיראני, זועבי, ואבנרי (חוק החרם) -- מהם עולה תמונה מעניינת של תפיסת הדמוקרטיה המתגוננת של מדינת ישראל בעת הנוכחית. כשאנו דנים בדמוקרטיה מתגוננת, אנו מפתחים נרטיב כי דמוקרטיה אינה חייבת, ואפילו אסור לה, ליתן בידי אלה המבקשים להחריבה את הכלים הדמוקרטיים באמצעותם היא תושמד. שעה שעקרון זה אומץ וקיבל לגיטימציה במדינות הדמוקרטיות המודרניות, רבות מהן מכירות בכך שהוא מקפל בחובו "פרדוקס דמוקרטי." בשם ההגנה על הדמוקרטיה, מדינות אלה משתמשות בכלים שאינם דמוקרטיים. לפיכך, כלי הדמוקרטיה המתגוננת אמורים להיות בשימוש רק מקום בו מדובר בסכנה ממשית לערכים הכי חשובים ויסודיים בדמוקרטיה. כזו היא גישת הפסיקה הישראלית כביטויה בסוגיות של פסילת מפלגות ו"תיקון חוקתי שאינו חוקתי" שהינן, לטענתי, סוגיות המהוות ראי האחת של רעותה.המעניין הוא שמפסיקת בית המשפט העליון בשנת תשע"ה ניתן להתרשם כי השופטים נשענים על שתי הנמקות מרכזיות כדי לבסס ולהרחיב את תפיסת הדמוקרטיה המתגוננת. האחת – יצירת הדדיות, כמעט סימטריה, בין פרט למדינה. האחרת – השענות מסיבית על המשפט ההשוואתי כמקור לגיטימציה לנקיטה בצעדי הגנה. לטענתי, דווקא משום שכלי הדמוקרטיה המתגוננת מעוררים את שאלת הפרדוקס הדמוקרטי, חובה עלינו להותירם ככלי מוצא אחרון מניעתי בלבד. אין להבין מדבריי שהמדינה חייבת בהכרח לממן פעילות כנגדה או שאין מוטלות חובות על הפרט ביחסו למדינה. אך, עלינו להיזהר ממצב בו אנו יוצרים רטוריקה של ביסוס דמוקרטיה מתגוננת על יחסי הדדיות בין הפרט למדינה, כך שמותר למדינה לנקוט בגישת "מידה כנגד מידה" ביחסה לפרט. אל למדינה להשתמש בכלי הדמוקרטיה המתגוננת כתגמול למעשי הפרט. יש להיזהר גם מהשענות על המשפט ההשוואתי בסגנון "שאם הדבר קורה מעבר לים, מותר שיקרה גם אצלנו."
Influence of season and refrigerated storage on Campylobacter spp. contamination of broiler carcasses.

Abstract The frequency and levels of Campylobacter spp. associated with processed broiler chicken carcasses were monitored quarterly over a two-year period because poultry has been implicated as a significant source of foodborne Campylobacter infections in humans. At three-month intervals, carcasses were collected from a local processing plant which had been in continuous operation for at least 12 hr previously. Ten of these carcasses were monitored initially and ten each were monitored after holding for 1, 3, 7, and 10 days of storage at 4°C. Prior to refrigerated storage, the levels detected on individual carcasses ranged from 0 to over 600,000 CFU of Campylobacter spp. in the 400 carcasses examined during the study. Detection of Campylobacter spp. was lowest after 10 days of storage at 4°C. We observed the lowest frequency of detection in spring and the highest frequency in summer and fall.
Au-Silica nanowire nanohybrid as a hyperthermia agent for photothermal therapy in the near-infrared region.

Nanomaterial-based photothermal therapy has shown great potential for efficient cancer treatment. Here, we report a new hyperthermia agent, Au–silica nanowire nanohybrid (Au-SiNW nanohybrid) with tunable optical properties, for photothermal therapy. The unique feature of the synthetic method is no need of surface modification of SiNWs for the direct deposition of Au seeds, which can avoid complicated synthetic procedures and improve the reproducibility. The Au-SiNW nanohybrid can generate significant amount of heat upon irradiation in the near-infrared (NIR) region for inducing thermal cell death. Moreover, compared to reported hyperthermia nanomaterials, the new nanohybrid requires a much lower laser irradiation density of 0.3 W/cm2 for destroying cancer cells. A549 lung cancer cells were used for in vitro photothermal study. The nanohybrid showed excellent in vitro biocompatibility by using a 96-nonradioactive-cell proliferation assay. Even at a high concentration of 0.500 mg/mL nanohybrid, over 80% cel...
Early improvement in obstructive sleep apnea and increase in orexin levels after bariatric surgery in adolescents and young adults.

Abstract Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) associated with obesity is known to improve after bariatric surgery, but little is known about early changes in this condition after surgery. Objectives To study the clinical course of OSA after bariatric surgery Setting Children’s hospital in the United States Methods Adolescents and young adults with obstructive sleep apnea undergoing vertical sleeve gastrectomy (n = 6) or gastric bypass (n = 1) were enrolled in this prospective study. Participants underwent formal polysomnography before and at 3 and 5 weeks after bariatric surgery. Anthropometric measurements and assay for orexin and leptin were also performed at study visits. Thirty-one adolescents who underwent 2 polysomnography studies that were 4 weeks apart served as control patients. Results Baseline mean (range) age of participants was 17.8 (15.4–20.7) years, 71% were male, with body mass index of 55.2 (41.3–61.6) kg/m2 and had a median apnea hypopnea index (AHI) of 15.8 (7.1–23.8) events/hour. Differences in least-square means from longitudinal analysis did not show significant differences in AHI in the control group but showed significant postoperative decline in AHI relative to baseline. AHI declined postoperatively from baseline by 9.2 events/hour (95% confidence interval: 3.8 to 14.5) at 3 weeks (P = .002) and 9.1 events/hour (95% confidence interval: 3.8 to 14.5) at 5 weeks (P = .002); there was no significant change from 3 to 5 weeks in AHI. Leptin decreased and orexin levels increased significantly by 3 weeks postoperatively. Conclusions These observations suggest that OSA responds early and out of proportion to weight loss after metabolic and or bariatric surgery, thus weight independent factors may at least in part be responsible for early improvement in OSA postoperatively.
Hormone-Based Treatments in Subfertile Males

Subfertility is defined as the condition of being less than normally fertile though still capable of effecting fertilization. When these subfertile couples seek assistance for conception, a thorough evaluation of male endocrine function is often overlooked. Spermatogenesis is a complex process where even subtle alterations in this process can lead to subfertility or infertility. Male endocrine abnormalities may suggest a specific diagnosis contributing to subfertility; however, in many patients, the underlying etiology is still unknown. Optimizing underlying endocrine abnormalities may improve spermatogenesis and fertility. This manuscript reviews reproductive endocrine abnormalities and hormone-based treatments.
Current and future vaccines for the prevention of bacterial diseases.

Recent advances in laboratory technology and understanding of host immunity have renewed interest in the development of new vaccines against pneumococci, meningococci, Hemophilus influenzae b, group A streptococci, shigella, and pseudomonas. These advances have also prompted review of current bacterial vaccines with respect to the relative importance of toxicity and protective benefit, basis of efficacy and adverse reactions, and optimal timing and number of booster injections.
Editor’s message: Groundwater modeling fantasies—part 2, down to earth

Creating a model structure and determining values of model parameters is not a science, but rather an intuitive exercise, hopefully carried out with some wisdom concerning how natural systems function. Whether warranted or not, whether useful or not, parameter estimation has become a major part of model creation and this evolution has been fueled by the recent wide availability of automatic estimation software. In some sense, this wide availability has promulgated greater fallacious use of groundwater models. Automatic estimation software is truly a wonderful convenience when used properly, but it is no more than a convenience—and it should not be the primary objective of a modeling analysis to use it. The most-common estimation technique relies on the rather arbitrary assumption that a minimized least-squares objective function fit is the best one. There are other equally valid objective functions and estimation approaches, rarely used today, and these would give different parameter estimates in the same model. Error structure is another assumption rarely tested when fitting models to data. Should we be minimizing the error that is the square of absolute differences between model predictions and observations or perhaps the square of the differences in logarithm of model predictions and observations, or perhaps differences of another function of model predictions and observations? These all assume different error distributions. The choice between the first two possibilities is most often expressed in automatic estimation software via weighting of observation values. The selection is usually made by a modeler who is oblivious to the issues involved. This selection makes a huge difference in the estimated values of model parameters, but is not often admitted to be a major ambiguity in results. The selection yields additional uncertainty in model predictions. Deciding on the simplicity or complexity of a model when doing automatic calibration, here meaning determining the number of parameters that will be estimated, by turning a knob on a mathematical objective function, is one of many totally arbitrary possible approaches to simplification—and is not necessarily better or worse than other mathematical or scientific-judgment/human-intuition-based approaches. An objective function is merely one artificial construct to express what is desired from the model fit. There is no correct objective and no correct approach to regularization, and various such objectives will give different model complexities and different parameter estimates. Whether some are better than others is a matter of discussion, never to be fully resolved. In the experience of this writer, if there are more than perhaps ten parameters in a groundwater model of an actual area, some of the parameters become highly correlated and their individual values cannot be distinctly determined by automatic estimation. We might have a good discussion about how many parameters are appropriate to estimate for your current model.
Solution‐Processed Nanoporous Organic Semiconductor Thin Films: Toward Health and Environmental Monitoring of Volatile Markers

Porous materials are ubiquitous in nature and have found a wide range of applications because of their unique absorption, optical, mechanical, and catalytic properties. Large surface-area-to-volume ratio is deemed a key factor contributing to their catalytic properties. Here, it is shown that introducing tunable nanopores (50–700 nm) to organic semiconductor thin films enhances their reactivity with volatile organic compounds by up to an order of magnitude, while the surface-area-to-volume ratio is almost unchanged. Mechanistic investigations show that nanopores grant direct access to the highly reactive sites otherwise buried in the conductive channel of the transistor. The high reactivity of nanoporous organic field-effect transistors leads to unprecedented ultrasensitive, ultrafast, selective chemical sensing below the 1 ppb level on a hundred millisecond time scale, enabling a wide range of health and environmental applications. Flexible sensor chip for monitoring breath ammonia is further demonstrated; this is a potential biomarker for chronic kidney disease.
A novel PCB winding transformer with controllable leakage integration for a 6.6kW 500kHz high efficiency high density bi-directional on-board charger

Printed Circuit Board (PCB) transformer has been widely used in low power applications. Compared with conventional litz-wire transformer, the manufacture process is greatly simplified and the parasitic is much easier to control. However, in high power applications like on-board charger for electric vehicle, no one has ever done it due to the limitation of high winding loss and high multi-layer PCB cost. The emerging wide-band-gap devices provide the opportunity to adopt PCB transformer in high power applications. In addition, the low inductance requirement brought by high frequency also makes it possible to realize magnetic integration in PCB transformer. In this paper, by using a two stage variable DC-link voltage structure, a novel 6-layer only PCB winding transformer structure is proposed for the second stage of the 6.6kW on-board charger, of which leakage inductance is controllable without sacrificing winding loss. A 6.6kW 500kHz prototype with almost 98% efficiency and 130W/in3 power density is built to verify the feasibility of the proposed PCB winding transformer.
Identification Scheme for Cardiovascular Parameter Estimation

Abstract An identification scheme was developed for the parameter estimation of a lumped cardiovascular system model. The left ventricle was modeled as a time-varying capacitor and the systemic circulation was represented as a four-element RLC circuit. The estimations of the left ventricular function and the vascular bed parameters were performed separately. Left ventricular function was identified by a least-squares fit using pressure and flow measurements, and the systemic circulation parameters were estimated by an extended Kalman filter (EKF). The EKF algorithm can be used in the ejection and filling phases with different combinations of measurements. Preliminary performance evaluations using data from a computer simulation and from a patient during open-heart surgery are described.
Patient with Intractable Pain in Arteriovenous Graft

This is an unusual case in which the venous stenosis caused neurological symptoms, in this case, pain in the distribution of the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve. Treatment of the venous stenosis relieved the pain.
Self‐Assembled Aptamer‐Nanomedicine for Targeted Chemotherapy and Gene Therapy

Chemotherapy is the mainstream treatment of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). However, chemotherapy can cause severe adverse effects in patients because it is not ALCL-specific. In this study, a multifunctional aptamer-nanomedicine (Apt-NMed) achieving targeted chemotherapy and gene therapy of ALCL is developed. Apt-NMed is formulated by self-assembly of synthetic oligonucleotides containing CD30-specific aptamer and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-specific siRNA followed by self-loading of the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX). Apt-NMed exhibits a well-defined nanostructure (diameter 59 mm) and stability in human serum. Under aptamer guidance, Apt-NMed specifically binds and internalizes targeted ALCL cells. Intracellular delivery of Apt-NMed triggers rapid DOX release for targeted ALCL chemotherapy and intracellular delivery of the ALK-specific siRNA induced ALK oncogene silencing, resulting in combined therapeutic effects. Animal model studies reveal that upon systemic administration, Apt-NMed specifically targets and selectively accumulates in ALCL tumor site, but does not react with off-target tumors in the same xenograft mouse. Importantly, Apt-NMed not only induces significantly higher inhibition in ALCL tumor growth, but also causes fewer or no side effects in treated mice compared to free DOX. Moreover, Apt-NMed treatment markedly improves the survival rate of treated mice, opening a new avenue for precision treatment of ALCL.
An introduction to test theory.

A basic understanding of test theory is an important prerequisite before one may create or use a scale to measure behavior. This paper provides a basic review of the tenets of measurement theory. Descriptions of the different types of reliability (i.e., test-retest, parallel forms, split-halves, internal consistency) and validity (content, criterion-related, and construct) are defined and explained. Suggestions for test construction are advanced and techniques of generating and then narrowing a large pool of preliminary items are discussed. Finally, specific questions that should be asked before a test is used in a clinical or research setting are proposed.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF REACTION AND STRESS GROWTH IN PROJECTILE-IMPACTED EXPLOSIVES

Detonation and sub-detonation reactions were initiated in explosive targets by the impact of flat steel cylindrical projectiles. The projectile diameters were generally larger than the explosive's failure diameter. The impacted surfaces were flat and normal to the projectile axis, and were either bare or steel-covered. Carbon resistors were mounted within the explosive and at the front and rear surfaces. These provided shock time-of-arrival data; their pressure dependance also showed reactive stress growth as the disturbance propagated inward. From these data, distances for growth to detonation in the targets were determined. For a range of impact velocities these distances were larger than the calculated ideal one-dimensional run-distances to detonation. The results are discussed in relation to a combined shock and shear mechanism for initiation of reactions in energetic materials.
Multiscale computation of pore-scale fluid dynamics: Single-phase flow

Abstract Direct numerical simulation (DNS) of interstitial fluid dynamics in porous media is hindered by the sheer size and complexity of the discretized equations. While reduced-complexity methods such as pore-network models (PNM) can occasionally yield satisfactory solutions at a much lower cost, they can neither estimate nor control their error. We focus on the single-phase Navier-Stokes equations and develop a computationally efficient multiscale method that produces a sequence of increasingly accurate approximations to DNS. The pore-level multiscale method (PLMM) decomposes the pore space into several subdomains and constructs a set of local basis functions on them. The bases are coupled with a global interface problem to obtain an initial approximation to DNS. The approximation is excellent because subdomains coincide with physical pores in the void space and physics-informed boundary conditions are used to construct the bases. Errors in the initial approximation can be arbitrarily reduced with an iterative strategy presented. The method is parallelizable, memory efficient, and allows for different physics, models, and meshes to be incorporated within each subdomain.
Characterization and Monitoring of Porous Media with Electrical Imaging: A Review

Electrical geophysical imaging is a widely used noninvasive technology for visualizing porous media at scales larger than individual pores. Originally developed for medical applications, the technology has been applied to investigate flow and transport properties/processes in a wide range of fields including earth sciences, civil and environmental engineering, agricultural sciences and biology. Conventional electrical imaging measures electrical conduction processes occurring through the fluids filling the interconnected pores and within the electrical double layer at the solid–fluid interface. Complex electrical imaging, an extension of the methodology, also measures electrical polarization processes within the electric double layer and in the presence of metals. Electrical imaging has been used to determine the spatial distribution of physical properties controlling flow/transport in porous media, image fluid dynamics, observe solute transport phenomena and capture matrix transformations. The method has been applied to investigate porous media processes in soils, rocks, concrete, engineered barriers, wastewater filters and living trees. Advances in the technology will result from (1) improving the understanding of the relationship of complex conductivity measurements to more processes occurring in porous media and (2) developing new instrumentation that will support longer-term autonomous electrical monitoring.
COMPARISON OF POLYMER-COATED, PACLITAXEL-ELUTING STENT (ELUVIA) IMPLANTATION AND POLYMER-FREE, PACLITAXEL-COATED STENT (ZILVER PTX) IMPLANTATION ON VASCULAR RESPONSE IN THE FEMOROPOPLITEAL ARTERY LESION ASSESSED ON INTRAVASCULAR ULTRASOUND

Although recent randomized control trial reported that the polymer-coated, paclitaxel-eluting stent (Eluvia) was non-inferior to the polymer-free, paclitaxel-coated stent (Zilver PTX) for femoropopliteal (FP) artery lesion, there are no intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) data about the difference of