cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Taking central nervous system regenerative therapies to the clinic: curing rodents versus nonhuman primates versus humans.

The central nervous system is known to have limited regenerative capacity. Not only does this halt the human body’s reparative processes after central nervous system lesions, but it also impedes the establishment of effective and safe therapeutic options for such patients. Despite the high prevalence of stroke and spinal cord injury in the general population, these conditions remain incurable and place a heavy burden on patients’ families and on society more broadly. Neuroregeneration and neural engineering are diverse biomedical fields that attempt reparative treatments, utilizing stem cells-based strategies, biologically active molecules, nanotechnology, exosomes and highly tunable biodegradable systems (e.g., certain hydrogels). Although there are studies demonstrating promising preclinical results, safe clinical translation has not yet been accomplished. A key gap in clinical translation is the absence of an ideal animal or ex vivo model that can perfectly simulate the human microenvironment, and also correspond to all the complex pathophysiological and neuroanatomical factors that affect functional outcomes in humans after central nervous system injury. Such an ideal model does not currently exist, but it seems that the nonhuman primate model is uniquely qualified for this role, given its close resemblance to humans. This review considers some regenerative therapies for central nervous system repair that hold promise for future clinical translation. In addition, it attempts to uncover some of the main reasons why clinical translation might fail without the implementation of nonhuman primate models in the research pipeline.
A Benford Analysis of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Finance Data

The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) database and the USA Today NCAA athletics department finance database are two of the most commonly used databases for scholars, policy makers, and othe...
Gender representation of speakers at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine postgraduate courses: a 20-year review.

BACKGROUND The percentage of female physicians has grown significantly in past decades, with women currently making up 56% of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's board-certified membership. OBJECTIVE We aimed to describe trends in the gender of invited speakers at postgraduate courses, panels, and debates at the annual meetings of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine over the last 2 decades. STUDY DESIGN We performed a retrospective observational study examining annual meetings of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in 1999, 2009, and 2015-2019. Invited speakers were identified through publicly available programs and examined by gender, degree, and the session of involvement. Postgraduate lectures (including courses, workshops, and forums), panels, and debates were examined. Speakers with Medicinae Doctor (or equivalent) degrees and obstetrics and gynecology training were included. RESULTS Among the 3 time points 1999, 2009, and 2019, there were 330 speaker slots. There was a significant difference in gender representation in the 3 time points; female representation was 25% in 1999, 21.5% in 2009, and 55.7% in 2019 (P<.001). There were significantly higher odds of having a female speaker in 2019 than in 2009 (odds ratio, 4.58; 95% confidence interval, 2.40-8.72; P<.001). Between 2015 and 2019, 813 speaker slots were identified, with a significant positive correlation between increasing year and increasing female representation (correlation coefficient=0.099; P=.005). When controlling for type of session, there were higher odds of having a female speaker with a later year (adjusted odds ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.28; P=.003). There was a significant difference in gender representation among different sessions (P=.028), with females listed in 51.2% of lecture slots but only 42.4% of panels and 38.0% of debates. Male moderators resulted in an average female representation of 29.8%±23.7% in a given session, whereas female moderators and a combination of both genders as moderators had average female representations of 71.6%±25.0% and 43.3%±19.4%, respectively, in a given session (P<.001). There was no correlation between the gender of the postgraduate course chair and either moderator or speaker gender. CONCLUSION There was a significant increase in the percentage of speaker slots allocated to females over the past 2 decades, a trend that moves toward reflecting the gender composition of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine membership.
Minimally Invasive Repair of Ascending Aortic Pseudoaneurysms: An Alternative to Open Surgical Repair in High-Risk Patients

Development of a pseudoaneurysm of the ascending aorta is an uncommon complication of aortic surgery. Several nonsurgical techniques are available for treatment of ascending aortic pseudoaneurysms (AAPs). This report outlines a single-center retrospective experience with 14 nonsurgical procedures for treatment of AAPs in 10 patients. Modified stent grafts, septal defect occlusion devices, coil embolics, and liquid embolics were deployed by transthoracic and endovascular approaches. Complete stasis of the AAP was achieved in 7 of 10 patients (70%). Mean postprocedural recoveries occurred within 3.5 days. Nonsurgical techniques for repair of AAPs offer a comparatively safe and effective alternative to open surgical repair.
Catharine MacKinnon and the Common Law

Few scholars have influenced an area of law more profoundly than Catharine MacKinnon. In Sexual Harassment of Working Women (1979), MacKinnon virtually invented the law of sexual harassment by arguing that it constitutes a form of discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Her argument was in some ways quite radical. She argued, in effect, that sexual harassment was not what it appeared to be. Behavior that judges at the time had thought was explained by the particular desires (and lack thereof) of individuals was better understood as a form of social domination of women by men. Judges, she argued, had failed to see that such conduct was a form of oppression because the social and legal categories through which they interpreted it was itself the product of male power. This argument is not your typical legal argument. It may not even seem like a legal argument at all. But this article explains why on one, but only one, model of legal reasoning, MacKinnon’s argument properly qualifies as a form of legal reasoning. Neither the rationalist nor the empiricist tradition of common-law adjudication can explain the rational force of her argument. But a third, holistic tradition of the common law captures its logic well. It does so because, like MacKinnon’s argument (but unlike the other two traditions), it treats judgments of fact and value as interdependent. This structural compatibility between MacKinnon’s argument about gender oppression, on the one hand, and the holistic tradition of the common law, on the other, has theoretical and practical implications. It not only tells us something about the nature of law; it also suggests that critical theorists (like MacKinnon) may have more resources within the common law tradition to make arguments in court than has been assumed.
Food Insecurity in Households with Adolescents: Links to Youth Mental Health

Grounded in a developmental perspective, this chapter focuses, in particular, on food insecurity among adolescents. Using survey data from parents and adolescents in the same family (N = 581 families with both parent and adolescent reports), results show that though parents and adolescents largely agree about their families’ food insecurity, parents are more likely than adolescents to report food insecurity. When both parent- and adolescent-reported food insecurity are used to predict adolescent mental health problems, both parent and adolescent reports predict high levels of psychological distress. Adolescent-reported food insecurity is also linked to higher levels of aggressive and deviant behavior. By providing important additional evidence about food insecurity as a risk factor for adolescent mental health problems, this chapter underscores the need for more attention to this developmental period.
Uncovering Extremely Metal-Poor Stars in the Milky Way's Ultra-Faint Dwarf Spheroidal Satellite Galaxies

We present new metallicity measurements for 298 individual red giant branch stars in eight of the least luminous dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) in the Milky Way (MW) system. Our technique is based on medium resolution Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy coupled with spectral synthesis. We present the first spectroscopic metallicities at [Fe/H] < -3.0 of stars in a dwarf galaxy, with individual stellar metallicities as low as [Fe/H] = -3.3. Because our [Fe/H] measurements are not tied to empirical metallicity calibrators and are sensitive to arbitrarily low metallicities, we are able to probe this extremely metal-poor regime accurately. The metallicity distribution of stars in these dSphs is similar to the MW halo at the metal-poor end. We also demonstrate that the luminosity-metallicity relation previously seen in more luminous dSph galaxies (M_V = -13.4 to -8.8) extends smoothly down to an absolute magnitude of M_V = -3.7. The discovery of extremely metal-poor stars in dSphs lends support to the LCDM galaxy assembly paradigm wherein dwarf galaxies dissolve to form the stellar halo of the MW.
Combining UAS and Sentinel-2 Data to Estimate Canopy Parameters of a Cotton Crop Using Machine Learning

Immense growth is witnessed in the application of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for precision agriculture in recent years. Though UAS can provide precise high spatial resolution data, large aerial coverage is still practically not feasible due to limited battery, flight time and large size of the data. Contrarily, satellite images cover larger area but provide coarser spatial resolution data compared to UAS imagery. The objective of this research was to combine UAS's ability to provide precise high spatial resolution data with the vast areal coverage provided by satellite data to estimate canopy parameters. Experimental field was divided into 10m x 10m grids to match Sentinel-2 pixel size. High resolution UAS data was collected covering the entire experimental field over which grid-wise canopy parameters were computed such as canopy height and canopy volume. Using artificial neural networks (ANN) based regression model, a relationship was developed between Sentinel-2 pixel values and UAS based canopy parameters with R2 greater than 0.9. ANN model results were also compared with support vector machine (SVM) regression model results.
Effect of cannabis use in peri- and post-menopausal women: a systematic review

Objectives Objective Menopausal patients often report using cannabis as an adjunct to their hormonal replacement therapy or by itself to alleviate menopausal symptoms such as insomnia and anxiety. There are no guidelines addressing the use of cannabis in peri- and post-menopausal women. The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the published data on the effect of cannabis use in peri- and post-menopausal women. Methods The following databases were searched: Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Ovid EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Control Trials and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, LILACS, and AMED. Searches were conducted in ClinicalTrials.gov, the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Registry. The first 200 results were imported from Google Scholar. Selected studies assessed peri- or post-menopausal women, the impact of cannabis use, and menopausal symptoms. All study designs were included. Review articles, letters to the editor, non-clinical studies, and case reports were excluded. There were no restrictions on study time period or language. Results 564 studies were retrieved. Nine studies were selected for full text review and three met inclusion criteria. One study controlled for participant cannabis use and reported on the effects of cannabis and placebo cigarette smoking on mood in 10 postmenopausal women. Another study assessed associations between drug use with hot flashes and insomnia in 120 HIV-infected women and found that menopausal status and cannabis use was crudely associated with hot flashes. The last study evaluated expectancies of 115 menopausal patients who endorsed lifetime cannabis use and reported that women expected cannabis to improve depression, anxiety, hot flashes, and problems with sleep but not sexuality. Conclusions There is limited research on the impact of cannabis use on menopausal symptoms in peri- and/or post-menopausal women. None of these studies assessed quality of life as an outcome and no study was performed by a group of menopause specialists. Research into cannabis use in menopause is essential, as it is currently being utilized to alleviate symptoms without objective proof of its benefits.
DOWELL: Diversity-induced Optimally Weighted EnsembLe Learner for Predictive Maintenance of Industrial Internet of Things Devices

The Industrial Internet of Things (I-IoT) enables a smarter maintenance approach for various industrial applications, such as manufacturing, logistics, etc. This approach is based on continuously observing system data to predict device failures and increase device efficiency. This smart maintenance, also known as predictive maintenance (PDM), finds an optimal maintenance schedule to reduce operational and capital costs. Accurate remaining useful life (RUL) prediction is critical for an effective PDM system. Data-driven RUL estimation methods are quite popular owing to their easier implementation. We observe that the performance of data-driven methods varies drastically based on the data set and underlying system parameters, thus making it difficult to have a single algorithm and a parameter set that work best for all settings. We propose an ensemble learning framework where accurate and diverse base learners are selected out of 20 different state-of-the-art deep learning models. For accuracy, we discover the optimal weights of base learners by constructing an optimization problem. For diversity, we measure the similarity among base learner predictions and iteratively select the most diversified set of models while keeping the accuracy at a certain level. We show that our approach can have 39.2% faster retraining compared to an accuracy-based ensemble with only 3.4% loss in accuracy.
History of atopy confers improved outcomes in IDH mutant and wildtype lower grade gliomas.

A history of atopy or allergy has been shown to be protective against the development of glioma, however the effect of atopy on patient outcomes, especially in conjunction with the survival benefit associated with IDH mutation, has not yet been investigated, and is the focus of the study we present here. Low grade glioma (LGG) data from the TCGA was downloaded, along with IDH, TERT, 1p/19q and ATRX mutational status and genetic alterations. History of asthma, eczema, hay fever, animal, or food allergies, as documented in TCGA, was used to determine patient atopy status. Patients with missing variables were excluded from the study. 374 LGG studies were included. Patients with a history of atopy demonstrated longer overall survival (OS) compared to those without (145.3 vs. 81.5 months, p = 00.0195). IDH mutant patients with atopy had longer OS compared those without atopy (158.8 vs. 85 months, p = 0.035). Multivariate cox regression analysis demonstrated that the effects of atopy on survival were independent of IDH and histological grade, (p = 0.002, HR 0.257, 95% 0.109–0.604), (p = < 0.001, HR 0.217, 95% 0.107–0.444), and (p = 0.004, HR 2.72, 95% 1.373–5.397), respectively. In terms of treatment outcomes, patients with atopy did not differ in treatment response compared to their counterpart. Pathway analysis demonstrated an upstream activation of the BDNF pathway (p = 0.00027). A history of atopy confers a survival benefit in patients with diffuse low-grade glioma. Activation of the BDNF pathway may drive the observed differences.
A Framework for the Discipline of Information Technology

This paper presents a framework for the academic discipline of information technology. The framework defines four independent elements to the discipline: People, Information, Technology, and the Solutions or Needs that connect them. In IT practice, the information technology discipline aim is the selection, creation, integration, application, security, and administration of solutions that use technology to empower people through information. In IT research, the discipline aim is the investigation, discovery, and dissemination of needs that connect people, information, and technology. The proposed framework presents a theory for the discipline of information technology to inform its research and practice. It builds on past efforts to define the information technology discipline and provides a foundation for academic institutions and the industry to proactively address the need for talent and innovation to sustain the economic engine of our society.
Continuing Medical Education Questions: August 2021

Article Title: Antispasmodics for Chronic Abdominal Pain: Analysis of North American Treatment Options.
Colorado’s first year of extreme risk protection orders

Background Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) are a relatively new type of law that are being considered or implemented in many states in the United States. Colorado's law went into effect on January 1, 2020, after significant controversy and concern over potential misuse of the law to confiscate weapons; many (n = 37 of 64) counties declared themselves "2nd Amendment (2A) sanctuaries" and said they would not enforce the law. Here, reviewed the patterns of use of the law during its first year. Methods We obtained all court records for ERPO petitions filed between January 1 and December 31, 2020. Data elements were abstracted by trained staff using a standardized guide. We calculated the proportion of petitions that were approved or denied/dismissed, identified cases of obvious misuse, and examined patterns by 2A county status. Finding and results In 2020, 109 ERPO petitions were filed in Colorado; of these, 61 were granted for a temporary ERPO and 49 for a full (year-long) ERPO. Most petitions filed by law enforcement officers were granted (85%), compared to only 15% of petitions filed by family or household members. Of the 37 2A sanctuary counties, 24% had at least one petition filed, versus 48% of non-2A sanctuary counties. Across the 2A counties, there were 1.52 ERPOs filed per 100,000 population, compared to 2.05 ERPOs filed per 100,000 in non-2A counties. There were 4 cases of obvious law misuse; none of those petitions resulted in an ERPO or firearm confiscation. Conclusion State-level studies suggest ERPOs may prevent firearm injuries. Robust implementation, however, is critical for maximal effect. Understanding ERPO experiences and challenges can inform policy creation and enaction in other states, including identifying how best to address concerns and facilitate evaluation.
The impact of policy design on payment concentration in Ad-hoc disaster Relief: Lessons from the Market Facilitation and Coronavirus food Assistance programs.

Abstract This study examines the distributional implications of two recent ad-hoc disaster aid programs, the 2018 and 2019 Market Facilitation Payment (MFP) programs that have distinctly different program designs, and the federal crop insurance program. Farm-level data are used to estimate the relationship between farm size, measured by crop sales, and the distribution of program benefits. Results indicate payments are more concentrated on larger farms that receive higher per acre payments under the 2018 MFP and federal crop insurance programs. Under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, with a design similar to the 2018 MFP, payments are also more heavily concentrated on larger farms.
Optimization of radiation schedules for proneural gliomas via mathematical modeling

Gliomas are the most common and malignant primary tumors of the brain and are commonly treated with radiation therapy. Despite modest advances in chemotherapy and radiation, survival has changed very little over the last 50 years. Radiation therapy is one of the pillars of adjuvant therapy for gliomas but despite treatment, recurrence inevitably occurs. Here we develop a mathematical model for the tumor response to radiation that takes into account the plasticity of the hierarchical structure of the tumor population. Based on this mathematical model we develop an optimized radiation delivery schedule. The efficacy of the optimized schedule is verified in a mouse model of pro-neural gliomas.
Light scattering as a probe of dynamics near the liquid-solid interface

Abstract The study of the inelastic scattering of light from the liquid-solid interface can serve as a useful probe of dynamics in the liquid, in the near vicinity of the interface. As an example, we consider the scattering produced by orientational fluctuations in liquid crystals near an interface, where the first layer of molecules is pinned rigidly in place. We develop a theoretical description of orientational fluctuations near such a pinned layer, with emphasis on the temperature regime near the phase transition from the isotropic to the nematic phase. We present theoretical predictions for the shape and integrated intensity of the contribution to the central peak from the orientational fluctuations, for a backscattering geometry described in the text.
Nuclear Explosion Monitoring

Systematic monitoring of nuclear testing is a primary task that is critical for the success of any proposed comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT). Current explosion monitoring methods use features of seismic and acoustic signatures to identify several thousand daily worldwide events as either naturally occurring or man-made. The task is unique among risk analysis applications in that the political ramifications of event identification errors are profoundly serious and may persist for decades after the event in question. An approach to characterizing risk applies classical and Bayesian methods to signature features and summarizes the results in the event classification matrix (ECM). The approach stems from a desire to emulate a current expert system and has evolved as a collaboration between seismologists and statisticians. Keywords: nuclear explosion monitoring; seismology; discrimination analysis; CTBT
Barbie Zelizer. About to Die: How News Images Move the Public

The great media critic Neil Postman, a proponent of the written word, described himself as a visual moron. 1 Unfortunately, he was not able to read About to Die, which won the 2011 James Tankard Bo...
Factors Affecting Perceived Satisfaction with a BPM Tool: A Student Perspective

This pedagogical study reports on an innovative collaboration with a business process management (BPM) software vendor. The purpose was to analyze factors affecting students’ perceived satisfaction with the vendor’s tool. Although BPM software potentially enhances organizations’ productivity, user satisfaction is necessary for realization of that goal. Students in teams participated in a process modeling and simulation assignment that required a description of their experience with the BPM tool. Analysis of students’ comments using grounded theory resulted in eight propositions and a conceptual model. User knowledge and the quality of the documentation affect perceived ease of use and the skills in report generation that result in user satisfaction. As a result of the student feedback, the vendor may modify the BPM software, which could improve perceived satisfaction and increase productivity in adopting organizations. Suggestions for teaching BPM courses offer implications for educational research.
Se nourrir en foyer d’éducation : entre nécessité éducative et plaisirs commensaux

Les repas que nous avons observes et suivis en foyer ouvert d’education pour mineurs ne peuvent s’assimiler ni a un repas familial ni a un repas en cantine. Ils ont bien sur une fonction nutritive, mais surtout socialisatrice et centralisatrice puisqu’ils permettent de rassembler au moins une fois par jour l’ensemble des adolescents frequentant le foyer. A cette dimension se rajoutent les plaisirs commensaux (surtout a l’occasion de fetes) et la necessite educative qui se concentre sur l’elaboration de menus et leur confection, sur les manieres de table et sur la familiarisation a l’alimentation dite saine. Cet apprentissage, aussi important soit-il pour l’autonomie materielle ou la future independance des personnes placees, est neanmoins considere comme moins fondamental que ce qui permet de developper l’autonomie de la volonte, la communication et l’expression des emotions.
The pleiotropic effects of metformin: time for prospective studies

The global prevalence of diabetes has risen to epidemic proportions and the trend is predicted to continue. The consequent burden of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is a major public health concern and new treatments are required to mitigate the deleterious effects of cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients. Ischaemia–reperfusion injury is well known to exacerbate the harmful effects of acute myocardial infarction and subsequent therapeutic reperfusion, and several mechanical and pharmacological approaches to mitigating this injury have been investigated. Metformin, which is cheap, relatively safe and widely used in type 2 diabetes, is one such pharmacotherapy with considerable pre-clinical evidence for cardioprotective utility beyond its glucose-lowering effect. However, despite convincing basic evidence its translation to clinical application has largely been limited to studies of cardiovascular risk. There are several barriers to prospective randomized assessment in the context of acute myocardial infarction, not least the accessibility and already widespread use of metformin among patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk of cardiovascular events. In the place of class 1 evidence, well-designed prospective cohort studies of the potential pleiotropic utility of metformin in cardiovascular disease, and particularly its benefit in ischaemia–reperfusion injury, are needed. Given the availability of metformin worldwide, this is particularly true in low- and middle-income countries where the optimal therapy for acute myocardial infarction, primary percutaneous coronary intervention, may not be available, and instead patients are managed with thrombolysis. As this is less effective, metformin as an adjunct to thrombolysis (or PPCI) could represent an effective, cheap means of cardioprotection with global relevance.
Source tracing in Thailand following contamination of dog chew toys with Salmonella.

Abstract: Dog chew toys are growing in popularity around the world. They are manufactured primarily in Asia, in countries such as Thailand and China, and exported worldwide. The ingredients used in the manufacture and the manufacturing process can vary widely. Very often they are either pig ears or raw hide. The concerns associated with pathogen-contaminated chew toys have caused countries to consider banning their import. Such actions can cause major financial ramifications for the exporting countries. The following case study describes the challenges of microbial pathogen contamination of dog chew toys.
Health behaviors and quality of life among colorectal cancer survivors.

Purpose To examine, at the population level, health behaviors, comorbidities, and health-related quality of life among colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors compared with other cancer survivors and persons without cancer. Methods We used data from the 2009 and 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System cancer survivor modules. We calculated descriptive statistics, conducted chi-square tests for comparisons, and used multivariable logistic regression analysis to compare CRC survivors with other cancer survivors and persons without cancer. Results Of the 52,788 cancer survivors included in this analysis, 4001 reported being CRC survivors. When compared with other cancer survivors, CRC survivors reported higher percentages of obesity and lack of physical activity; however, they had lower levels of current smoking. Adjusted results show that CRC survivors were significantly more likely to report lack of physical activity, fair/poor health, and other chronic health conditions compared with persons without a cancer diagnosis. Conversely, CRC survivors reported lower levels of current smoking than persons without cancer. Conclusions CRC survivors have a higher proportion of heath conditions and behaviors that may significantly increase their risks for recurrence or development of a second cancer. Targeted interventions to address these health issues should be considered.
Treatment of feline intermediate‐ to high‐grade lymphoma with a modified university of Wisconsin–Madison protocol: 119 cases (2004–2012)

CHOP-based (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vinca alkaloid, prednisolone) chemotherapy protocols are often recommended for treatment of feline lymphoma. While maintenance-free CHOP-based protocols have been published and readily used in dogs, there is limited literature regarding similar maintenance-free protocols in cats. The purpose of this study was to describe the outcome of cats with intermediate- to high-grade lymphoma that were prescribed a modified 25-week University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW-25) chemotherapy protocol. A secondary objective was examination of potential prognostic factors. One hundred and nineteen cats from five institutions treated with a UW-25-based protocol were included. The Kaplan–Meier median progression-free interval (PFI) and survival time (MST) were 56 and 97 (range 2–2019) days, respectively. Cats assessed as having a complete response (CR) to therapy had significantly longer PFI and MST than those with partial or no response (PFI 205 versus 54 versus 21 days, respectively, P <0.0001 and MST 318 versus 85 versus 27 days, respectively, P <0.0001).
Structure and mechanism of the 2′,3′ phosphatase component of the bacterial Pnkp-Hen1 RNA repair system

Pnkp is the end-healing and end-sealing component of an RNA repair system present in diverse bacteria from many phyla. Pnkp is composed of three catalytic modules: an N-terminal polynucleotide 5′ kinase, a central 2′,3′ phosphatase and a C-terminal ligase. The phosphatase module is a Mn2+-dependent phosphodiesterase–monoesterase that dephosphorylates 2′,3′-cyclic phosphate RNA ends. Here we report the crystal structure of the phosphatase domain of Clostridium thermocellum Pnkp with Mn2+ and citrate in the active site. The protein consists of a core binuclear metallo-phosphoesterase fold (exemplified by bacteriophage λ phosphatase) embellished by distinctive secondary structure elements. The active site contains a single Mn2+ in an octahedral coordination complex with Asp187, His189, Asp233, two citrate oxygens and a water. The citrate fills the binding site for the scissile phosphate, wherein it is coordinated by Arg237, Asn263 and His264. The citrate invades the site normally occupied by a second metal (engaged by Asp233, Asn263, His323 and His376), and thereby dislocates His376. A continuous tract of positive surface potential flanking the active site suggests an RNA binding site. The structure illuminates a large body of mutational data regarding the metal and substrate specificity of Clostridium thermocellum Pnkp phosphatase.
Vertical Turbulent Diffusion in a Stably Stratified Fluid

Abstract The vertical turbulent diffusion coefficient in a stably stratified fluid is derived analytically. This derivation does not require that the flux Richardson number be known or specified. The resulting expression for the diffusion coefficient is compared with the previous stratospheric results of Lilly et al. (1974) and its applicability to atmospheric diffusion and clear air turbulence is discussed.
Collective motion artifacts arising in long‐duration molecular dynamics simulations

We tested a variety of molecular dynamics simulation strategies in long-duration (up to several nanoseconds) constant-temperature simulations of liquid water under periodic boundary conditions. Such long durations are necessary to achieve adequate conformational sampling in simulations of membrane assemblies and other large biomolecular systems. Under a variety of circumstances, serious artifacts arise in the form of spurious collective behavior that becomes obvious only after the simulation has gone at least several hundred picoseconds. The potential energy of the system drops and the system changes from a liquid to an icy or glassy state. The underlying cause is accumulated center-of-mass motion of the system, coupled with velocity rescaling associated with constant-temperature control. The velocity rescaling in the constant-temperature algorithm reduces the thermal velocity as the net center-of-mass velocity grows, effectively causing the kinetic energy of the system to drain from thermal motions into coordinated motions. We found that the incidence and magnitude of the underlying artifactual motion leading to the spurious transition is mediated by: choice of method for computing electrostatic interactions; choice of ensemble; size of the simulation cell; SHAKE tolerance; frequency of nonbonded pairlist updating; and closeness of coupling to the temperature bath. The appearance of the spurious transition can be avoided by periodically subtracting net center-of-mass motion during the dynamics, or by improving the accuracy of the simulation by means of tightening SHAKE tolerance and updating nonbonded pairlists every timestep. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 21: 121–131, 2000
Examining the Communication of Personal Commitment: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model Analysis

This study assessed how individuals' personal commitment relates to their own and their partners' communication of commitment using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM; Kashy & Kenny, 2000). Premarital couples (N = 65) completed a questionnaire and a conversation task. Raters then evaluated the clarity (i.e., intensity, explicitness, repetition) of communication during conversations on commitment-indicative topics (Knapp, 1989; Knapp & Taylor, 1994). Results suggested females' personal commitment is associated with clear communication of their own and their partners' commitment during conversation about future rewards, as well as their partner's commitment during conversation about family and friends. Males' personal commitment is associated with clear communication of their own commitment during conversation about affection and caring. Evidence for the link between personal commitment and the communication of commitment was shown, along with the suggested importance of mutual influence affectin...
The usefulness and the limitations of animal models in identifying targets for therapy in arthritis

Animal models have played a critical role in the history of modern drug development for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this chapter I examine the contributions of animal models in arthritis therapy from adjuvant arthritis and COX-1 inhibitors to transgenic mice and biological response modifiers. Advances in knowledge of the mechanisms of connective tissue disease are frequently derived from the study of animal models, and these findings frequently identify therapeutic targets that are subsequently evaluated in animal models. Hence a critical relationship between insights into the pathology of arthritis and the development of novel therapeutic approaches exists around the study of animal models of arthritis. In particular, we examine how the study of collagen-induced arthritis in rodents led to pioneering work in cytokine inhibitors for the successful therapy of RA.
An LC-IMS-MS platform providing increased dynamic range for high-throughput proteomic studies

A high-throughput approach and platform using 15 min reversed-phase capillary liquid chromatography (RPLC) separations in conjunction with ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) measurements was evaluated for the rapid analysis of complex proteomics samples. To test the separation quality of the short LC gradient, a sample was prepared by spiking 20 reference peptides at varying concentrations from 1 ng/mL to 10 μg/mL into a tryptic digest of mouse blood plasma and analyzed with both a LC-Linear Ion Trap Fourier Transform (FT) MS and LC-IMS-TOF MS. The LC-FT MS detected 13 out of the 20 spiked peptides that had concentrations ≥100 ng/mL. In contrast, the drift time selected mass spectra from the LC-IMS-TOF MS analyses yielded identifications for 19 of the 20 peptides with all spiking levels present. The greater dynamic range of the LC-IMS-TOF MS system could be attributed to two factors. First, the LC-IMS-TOF MS system enabled drift time separation of the low concentration spiked peptides fr...
Fire extinguishing ability of 1-bromo-1-propane and 1-methoxynonafluorobutane evaluated by cup burner method

Abstract The fire extinguishing ability of 1-bromo-1-propane/nitrogen (the molecular formula of 1-bromo-1-propane: CH 3 –CH 2 CH 2 Br) and 1-methoxynonafluorobutane/nitrogen gas mixtures (the molecular formula of 1-methoxynonafluorobutane: CF 3 CF 2 CF 2 CF 2 OCH 3 ) as total flooding agents were evaluated by a cup burner method. It was shown that addition of small amounts of 1-bromo-1-propane and 1-methoxynonafluorobutane to nitrogen can enhance the extinguishing ability of the inert gas by 47.1 and 31.5%, respectively, and the relative of the extinguishing concentration to the concentration of 1-bromo-1-propane or 1-methoxynonafluorobutane in the flooding agents is: Y=5.18866+26.72165 e −X/11.07715 or Y=5.96301+23.59368 e −X/22.46021 . Meanwhile, an arrangement for mixing organic compounds with inert gases (N 2 ) before applying to fire was proposed.
Variable-temperature Raman studies of Langmuir-Blodgett multilayers using integrated optical techniques

A unique integrated optical device has been constructed which allows the study of submicron films and Langmuir-Blodgett multilayers at both elevated (100°C) and cryogenic (−125°C) temperatures by Raman spectroscopy. The two-stage coupler maintains a constant pressure on the prism used for coupling the incoming laser light into the thin film whose spectrum is desired. A Raman study of L-B multilayers of cadmium arachidate (CdA) in the −125°C to 100°C illustrates the versatility of the integrated optical technique.
Leptospira pomona infection in an Eastern red fox (Vulpes fulva fulva).

THE presence of leptospirosis in Pennsylvania cattle has been well established1–3. An epizootiological investigation to determine the relationship between bovine and sylvan leptospirosis is at present being undertaken in south-eastern Pennsylvania. Infected cattle herds are identified and their premises intensively trapped for wild-life. Trapped animals are examined for infection by serological and cultural techniques. Isolations of leptospires have been made from the following animals : woodchuck4, opossum, skunk, racoon and Norwegian rat. This communication is believed to be the first to report the isolation of Leptospira pomona from an eastern red fox (Vulpes fulva fulva)5. The fox was trapped on the premises of a known infected cattle herd. Prior to the start of trapping, Leptospira pomona had been isolated from cattle and from surface waters on this farm.
ARITHMETICAL FUNCTIONS IN SEVERAL VARIABLES

In this paper we investigate the ring Ar(R) of arithmetical functions in r variables over an integral domain R. We study a class of absolute values, and a class of derivations on Ar(R). We show that a certain extension of Ar(R) is a discrete valuation ring. We also investigate the metric structure of the ring Ar(R).
The doubling property of conformal measures of infinite iterated function systems

Abstract We provide sufficient conditions for the conformal measures induced by regular conformal infinite iterated function systems to satisfy the doubling property. We apply these conditions to iterated function systems derived from the continued fraction algorithm—continued fractions with restricted entries. For these systems our conditions are expressed in terms of the asymptotic density properties of the allowed entries. As examples, we give some relatively large classes of sets of continued fractions with restricted entries for which the corresponding conformal measures have the doubling property. Similarly, we give some other classes for which the conformal measure does not have the doubling property.
Lattice Monopoles and Lattice Fermions

Abstract Various types of lattice magnetic monopole configuration, both self-dual and electrically neutral, are constructed and described. A time-independent Dirac operator is expressed in terms of staggered lattice fermions, and it is demonstrated that the spectrum of this operator in the monopole fields contains approximate zero energy modes with non-vanishing chirality, in accordance with semi-classical results. The prospects for the numerical measurement of magnetic charge at non-zero temperature are briefly discussed.
A Clock-and-Offer Auction Market for Grid Resources When Bidders Face Stochastic Computational Needs

Although significant technical advances have been made in the commercial deployment of grid computing, the pricing and allocation of distributed computing resources remains understudied. We develop a customized clock auction that is able to allocate grid resources and discover separate prices for the different computing resources under the condition that buyers do not know with certainty how much of these resources they will need. The proposed clock auction facilitates the discovery of unit prices for the resources in each time period in a finite-horizon market. Our mechanism exploits the lopsided nature of the grid market where a small number of large-scale jobs are expected to be completed by a large number of heterogeneous, distributed machines. The traditional stopping rule used for clock auctions is not effective in our setting, and therefore we design several adaptations that can be implemented in real time, geared toward ending the auction process quickly while producing a close-to-efficient allocation. Our extensive computations show that our clock-and-offer auction outperforms the traditional clock auction in terms of computational tractability, social welfare, and expected bidder's utility. For large problems of practical interest, we develop a transportation-based heuristic for the NP-complete bid feasibility problem and demonstrate theoretically and computationally that it quickly produces high-quality solutions to the overall problem.
Narrow gap polymers and the quinonoid-aromatic transition

Summary form only given. A large group of conducting polymers possesses a nondegenerate ground state which can be structurally described as aromatic (A) or quinonoid (Q). Due to the strong electron - nuclear coupling typical for these conjugated materials, most of them change their structures significantly upon electronic excitation or doping: ones with an A ground state move towards a Q structure and vice versa. We review the following aspects of this A - Q transition: -Design of low band gap polymers via the control of the A - Q transition through side groups, topological modifications, copolymerization of groups with A and Q ground states with or without methine linking groups; -Interpretation of the electronic structures of new ladder polymers; -Calculation and interpretation of the vibrational spectra (IR and Raman) of doped and undoped poly(p-phenylene), PPP, and thiophene derivatives, determination of the percentage of Q character in doped PPP.
Kalman filter based optimal control approach for attitude control of a missile

The paper represents the Kalman Filter based optimal control approach to control the angle of attack of a missile attitude. The Kalman filter is used here to estimate the state of the system. A state feedback Linear Quadratic Gaussian controller which takes the filtered estimated states has been implemented into the system to control the angle of attack of the missile. The proposed method of controller takes care of the unwanted noise present in the system and ensures guaranteed convergence of the tracking error to zero as well. The performance of the proposed Kalman filter based controller has been evaluated with the presence of noise and disturbances in the system. Simulation results have been carried out to show the effectiveness of the controller.
Differential Uric Acid Excretion in Essential and Renal Hypertension

In 59 hypertensive patients, differences between the two kidneys in the handling of uric acid were found in renal arterial stenosis and unilateral renal disease but were not found in essential hypertension and bilateral renal parenchymal disease. The differences were greatest in 11 patients with unilateral renal arterial stenosis and were derived from reduced uric acid excretion per unit of glomerular filtration rate by the ischemic kidney. Six patients with unilateral stenosis underwent surgery with subsequent cure of hypertension. Another patient, who did not have impaired ipsilateral uric acid excretion, failed to respond to nephrectomy. Successful revascularization of the ischemic kidney in two patients augmented uric acid excretion with disappearance of the differences between the kidneys. Hyperuricemia was often found in all groups of hypertensive patients. Although the mechanisms underlying the differences in renal handling of uric acid are undefined, separate determinations of the uric acid excret...
Threat: Concept Analysis

Stress and threat are concepts used interchangeably in research; however, the conceptual definitions of each are clearly different. This concept analysis clarifies the meaning of threat. It outlines potential and negative affective emotions, antecedents, and consequences of threat. Clarity of the conceptual definition may increase validity of research findings related to theat.
Approximate transducer transient suppression with increased output amplitude.

A technique for the rapid, smooth turn-on of a transducer is described. The method is based on a previously described technique [J. C. Piquette, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 92, 1203–1213 (1992)]. In the previous method, transducer output amplitude is severely reduced compared to that obtained when driving the transducer using a standard gated sine due to the presence of a ramp component in the transient-suppressing voltage waveform. In the present work, approximate methods that eliminate the ramp component are described. Eliminating the ramp component results in significantly greater output amplitude, although the level of transient suppression that is achieved is not as good as that seen when using the exact transient-suppressing drive. Nonetheless, the smoothness (i.e., lack of spikes) in the transducer response is not compromised by the approximations.
Ex vivo measures of LDL oxidative susceptibility predict carotid artery disease

Abstract Aim: The purpose of the study was to assess whether ex vivo measures of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation improved prediction of carotid artery disease (CAAD) case-control status compared to standard lipid and smoking measures. Methods: One hundred and forty cases with a high degree of carotid artery stenosis aged 40–83 years and an equal number of controls without stenosis or other vascular disease were matched by censored age within 2 years. Matched logistic regression evaluated the significance of copper-induced oxidative measures with and without covariates. The relationship of LDL oxidation measures with statin use and current smoking was also evaluated. Results: Logistic regression demonstrated a significant effect of the three correlated measures of oxidative susceptibility (lag time, oxidation rate and maximal rate of oxidation) separately on disease prediction (all p Conclusions: Ex vivo measures of oxidation improved the prediction of carotid artery disease status, suggesting that this is an important determinant of atherosclerotic risk in this older population.