Journal of Special Operations Medicine. Volume 5, Edition 2, Spring 2005

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

some Gram-positive bacteria.3 Sulconazole has some antibacterial activity against Gram- positive Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis...Medicine (JSOM). USSOCOM-SG distributes the JSOM to all our SOF units and our active editorial consultants. We can also email you the JSOM PDF; if you...continually had a very strong pro- gram and have definitely set the standard for NTMs among all the groups, both active and reserve component. This

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-07-30

of the U.S. reconstruction campaign launched in 2002 takes the form of written agreements. These commitments range from major pro - grams to equip...properly for maintenance hours and misrepresented readiness, and that DOD personnel in Kabul lacked the authority and experience to pro - vide... pro - fessionals that could be deployed at the outset of a contingency operation.34 To their credit, federal agencies have taken many of these concerns

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-30

audit (1) assesses the extent to which these USAID and CBP pro - grams achieved their intended outcomes, and (2) examines challenges to creating a...of steps required to trade across Afghanistan’s border. Specifically, it has been able to reduce the number of customs pro - cess steps at the nine...government’s pro - cess for investigating military aircraft incidents, whether an incident report had been completed, and whether U.S. military

Economics and Security: Resourcing National Priorities

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-21

passed two laws in 2005 and 2008 basically endorsing the Constellation pro - gram and the Bush administration’s future plans for NASA. Currently, Con ...10 percent. The pro - posed Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 federal budget is $3.8 trillion with a deficit for this year of $1.6 trillion, about 11 percent of...Quadrennial Defense Review examines Department of Defense strat- egies and priorities and rebalances strategies, capabilities, and forces. The pro - posed FY

Test Review: Huer, M. B., & Miller, L. Tecel (2011), "Test of Early Communication and Emerging Language." Austin, TX: Pro-Ed

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hua, Yi

2018-01-01

This article describes and reviews the "Test of Early Communication and Emerging Language" (TECEL; Huer & Miller, 2011). The test was constructed to assess infants' and toddlers' earliest communication and language abilities. The TECEL is a revision of the Nonspeech Test for Receptive/ Expressive Language (NST; Huer, 1983, 1988). The…

Compiling knowledge-based systems specified in KEE to Ada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Filman, Robert E.; Feldman, Roy D.

1991-01-01

The first year of the PrKAda project is recounted. The primary goal was to develop a system for delivering Artificial Intelligence applications developed in the ProKappa system in a pure-Ada environment. The following areas are discussed: the ProKappa core and ProTalk programming language; the current status of the implementation; the limitations and restrictions of the current system; and the development of Ada-language message handlers in the ProKappa environment.

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction Quarterly Report to the United States Congress

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-10-30

SIGAR produced four audits, four inspections, and one alert letter this quarter. Three of the audits assessed pro - grams to build and evaluate the ANSF...SIGAR produced a series of oversight access maps pro - jecting that no more than 21% of Afghanistan will be accessible to U.S. civilian oversight...those involved in the production, trafficking or trade of illicit drugs.”2 Crimes like theft, bribery, kickbacks, and money laundering deprive pro

Second Language Perception and Production of English Regular Past Tense: L1 Influence in Phonology and Morphosyntax

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Wen-Hsin

2016-01-01

The goal of this study is to provide a better understanding of the influence from first language (L1) phonology and morphosyntax on second language (L2) production and perception of English regular past tense morphology. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.) [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC.…

The Construction of Pro-Science and Technology Discourse in Chinese Language Textbooks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Yongbing

2005-01-01

This paper examines the pro-science and technology discourse constructed in Chinese language textbooks currently used for primary school students nationwide in China. By applying analytical techniques of critical discourse analysis (CDA), the paper critically investigates how the discourse is constructed and what ideological forces are manifested…

Sidestepping the Combinatorial Explosion: An Explanation of "n"-gram Frequency Effects Based on Naive Discriminative Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baayen, R. Harald; Hendrix, Peter; Ramscar, Michael

2013-01-01

Arnon and Snider ((2010). More than words: Frequency effects for multi-word phrases. "Journal of Memory and Language," 62, 67-82) documented frequency effects for compositional four-grams independently of the frequencies of lower-order "n"-grams. They argue that comprehenders apparently store frequency information about…

Comparing Medline citations using modified N-grams

PubMed Central

Nawab, Rao Muhammad Adeel; Stevenson, Mark; Clough, Paul

2014-01-01

Objective We aim to identify duplicate pairs of Medline citations, particularly when the documents are not identical but contain similar information. Materials and methods Duplicate pairs of citations are identified by comparing word n-grams in pairs of documents. N-grams are modified using two approaches which take account of the fact that the document may have been altered. These are: (1) deletion, an item in the n-gram is removed; and (2) substitution, an item in the n-gram is substituted with a similar term obtained from the Unified Medical Language System  Metathesaurus. N-grams are also weighted using a score derived from a language model. Evaluation is carried out using a set of 520 Medline citation pairs, including a set of 260 manually verified duplicate pairs obtained from the Deja Vu database. Results The approach accurately detects duplicate Medline document pairs with an F1 measure score of 0.99. Allowing for word deletions and substitution improves performance. The best results are obtained by combining scores for n-grams of length 1–5 words. Discussion Results show that the detection of duplicate Medline citations can be improved by modifying n-grams and that high performance can also be obtained using only unigrams (F1=0.959), particularly when allowing for substitutions of alternative phrases. PMID:23715801

Comparing Medline citations using modified N-grams.

PubMed

Nawab, Rao Muhammad Adeel; Stevenson, Mark; Clough, Paul

2014-01-01

We aim to identify duplicate pairs of Medline citations, particularly when the documents are not identical but contain similar information. Duplicate pairs of citations are identified by comparing word n-grams in pairs of documents. N-grams are modified using two approaches which take account of the fact that the document may have been altered. These are: (1) deletion, an item in the n-gram is removed; and (2) substitution, an item in the n-gram is substituted with a similar term obtained from the Unified Medical Language System Metathesaurus. N-grams are also weighted using a score derived from a language model. Evaluation is carried out using a set of 520 Medline citation pairs, including a set of 260 manually verified duplicate pairs obtained from the Deja Vu database. The approach accurately detects duplicate Medline document pairs with an F1 measure score of 0.99. Allowing for word deletions and substitution improves performance. The best results are obtained by combining scores for n-grams of length 1-5 words. Results show that the detection of duplicate Medline citations can be improved by modifying n-grams and that high performance can also be obtained using only unigrams (F1=0.959), particularly when allowing for substitutions of alternative phrases.

Small Wind Turbine Installation Compatibility Demonstration Methodology

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-08-01

was conducted for the Installation Technology Transfer Pro - gram. The project manager was Debbie Lawrence, US Army Engineer Re- search and Development...concerns (Rowley 2009). Though bases ban wind farms on or near DoD facilities when they are an- ticipated to be an unreasonable national security risk...related data collected by Fort Drum and a variety of other governmental agencies and private organizations. The pro - cess involved natural resources

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-30

implementation and oversight of reconstruction pro - grams, whether by U.S. agencies or the Afghan government. Contractors and nonprofit organizations...appropriation for these funds is still being negotiated. The President has asked for less in his FY 2014 budget pro - posal—$1.69 billion for ESF and $475...has failed to sufficiently coordinate An Afghan farmer gives his tractor a tough workout in Helmand Province. Improved roads and farm productivity

Affordance, Learning Opportunities, and the Lesson Plan Pro Forma

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Jason

2015-01-01

This article argues that the most commonly used lesson plan pro formas in language teacher education are inappropriately premised on an outcomes-based approach to teaching, one that is in conflict with what we know about how languages are learnt and how experienced teachers teach. It proposes an alternative, affordance-based approach to lesson…

How Technology and Data Affect Mission Command

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-17

critical enabler, allows the commander and staff to see farther and faster, ana - lyze and communicate with greater efficiency, and maintain a common...simply transition stand- alone legacy systems to web-based platforms and integrate those pro - grams as applications on common How Technology and Data...useful, the data has to be segmented by data type in a time- ly manner. Th is stresses any mission command or decision-making pro - cess that relies

Teaching the Tacit Knowledge of Programming to Novices with Natural Language Tutoring

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lane, H. Chad; VanLehn, Kurt

2005-01-01

For beginning programmers, inadequate problem solving and planning skills are among the most salient of their weaknesses. In this paper, we test the efficacy of natural language tutoring to teach and scaffold acquisition of these skills. We describe ProPL (Pro-PELL), a dialogue-based intelligent tutoring system that elicits goal decompositions and…

The Development of Antimicrobial α-AApeptides that Suppress Pro-inflammatory Immune Responses

PubMed Central

Padhee, Shruti; Smith, Christina; Wu, Haifan; Li, Yaqiong; Manoj, Namitha; Qiao, Qiao; Khan, Zoya; Cao, Chuanhai

2014-01-01

Herein we describe the development of a new class of antimicrobial and anti-infective peptidomimetics – cyclic lipo-α-AApeptides. They have potent and broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against a range of clinically relevant pathogens, including both multidrug-resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Fluorescence microscopy suggests that cyclic lipo-α-AApeptides kill bacteria by disrupting bacterial membranes, possibly through a mechanism similar to that of cationic host defense peptides (HDPs). Furthermore, the cyclic lipo-α-AApeptide can mimic cationic host-defense peptides by antagonizing Toll-Like Receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling responses and suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Our results suggest that by mimicking host-defense peptides (HDPs), cyclic lipo-α-AApeptides may emerge to be a new class of antibiotic agents through direct bacteria killing, as well as novel anti-infective agents through immunomodulation. PMID:24677440

Air Force Officer Specialty Structure. Reviewing the Fundamentals

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

Corporation, is the U.S. Air Force’s federally funded research and development center for studies and analyses. PAF pro - vides the Air Force with...Shirlene LeBleu for sharing their database and insights about job con - tent and specialty analyses. At the Air Force Manpower Agency, we thank Col...processes. Also, we thank Maj Ernest Wearren (AF/ A1MZ) and Gary Stockinger (AF/A1MX) for sharing their knowledge of the Manpower Pro - gramming Execution

Executive Overview of SEI MOSAIC: Managing for Success Using a Risk-Based Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

and pro - vides the lens through which all potential outcomes are viewed and interpreted. Defining the con - text is thus an essential first step when...Success Analysis and Improvement Crite- ria (SEI MOSAIC)—a suite of advanced analysis methods for assessing complex, distributed pro - grams, processes...achieve that set of objectives, four ac- tivities must be executed in the order shown, while also adhering to any cost and schedule con - straints. Process

Teaching the tacit knowledge of programming to noviceswith natural language tutoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lane, H. Chad; Vanlehn, Kurt

2005-09-01

For beginning programmers, inadequate problem solving and planning skills are among the most salient of their weaknesses. In this paper, we test the efficacy of natural language tutoring to teach and scaffold acquisition of these skills. We describe ProPL (Pro-PELL), a dialogue-based intelligent tutoring system that elicits goal decompositions and program plans from students in natural language. The system uses a variety of tutoring tactics that leverage students' intuitive understandings of the problem, how it might be solved, and the underlying concepts of programming. We report the results of a small-scale evaluation comparing students who used ProPL with a control group who read the same content. Our primary findings are that students who received tutoring from ProPL seem to have developed an improved ability to solve the composition problem and displayed behaviors that suggest they were able to think at greater levels of abstraction than students in the read-only group.

Structure-Based Design and Synthesis of a Small Molecule that Exhibits Anti-inflammatory Activity by Inhibition of MyD88-mediated Signaling to Bacterial Toxin Exposure.

PubMed

Alam, Shahabuddin; Javor, Sacha; Degardin, Melissa; Ajami, Dariush; Rebek, Mitra; Kissner, Teri L; Waag, David M; Rebek, Julius; Saikh, Kamal U

2015-08-01

Both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens or pathogen-derived components, such as staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) and endotoxin (LPS) exposure, activate MyD88-mediated pro-inflammatory cellular immunity for host defense. However, dysregulated MyD88-mediated signaling triggers exaggerated immune response that often leads to toxic shock and death. Previously, we reported a small molecule compound 1 mimicking BB-loop structure of MyD88 was capable of inhibiting pro-inflammatory response to SEB exposure in mice. In this study, we designed a dimeric structure compound 4210 covalently linked with compound 1 by a non-polar cyclohexane linker which strongly inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in human primary cells to SEB (IC50 1-50 μm) or LPS extracted from Francisella tularensis, Escherichia coli, or Burkholderia mallei (IC50 10-200 μm). Consistent with cytokine inhibition, in a ligand-induced cell-based reporter assay, compound 4210 inhibited Burkholderia mallei or LPS-induced MyD88-mediated NF-kB-dependent expression of reporter activity (IC50 10-30 μm). Furthermore, results from a newly expressed MyD88 revealed that 4210 inhibited MyD88 dimer formation which is critical for pro-inflammatory signaling. Importantly, a single administration of compound 4210 in mice showed complete protection from lethal toxin challenge. Collectively, these results demonstrated that compound 4210 inhibits toxin-induced inflated pro-inflammatory immune signaling, thus displays a potential bacterial toxin therapeutic. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Crosstalk: The Journal of Defense Software Engineering. Volume 22, Number 1, January 2009

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

con - tract project. They manage the pro - ject plan and its execution and ask: How do we get all of this accom- plished? • The marketing manager...struggle with the pros and cons of technological toys at home, with the cell phone probably being the most divisive. It’s great to keep our kids in...their technology behind? These concerns present us practitioners with many challenges. We must build trust with pro - gram managers, proving over and

The Processing of Relative Clause Attachment as a Tool for Resolving a Problem in Typology of Relative Clauses: Preliminary Evidence from Thai Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siriwittayakorn, Teeranoot

2018-01-01

In typological literature, there has been disagreement as to whether there should be distinction between relative clauses (RCs) and nominal sentential complements (NSCs) in pro-drop languages such as Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Khmer and Thai. In pro-drop languages, nouns can be dropped when its reference can be retrieved from context. Therefore,…

Pro-ELT; A Teacher Training Blended Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eshtehardi, Reza

2014-01-01

Pro-ELT is a blended teacher training course. The aim of Pro-ELT is to strengthen English teaching and learning through a blended training approach that includes; quality face to face delivery, supported distance learning and integrated proficiency and methodology training. It delivers quality language teaching and teacher development courses to…

Preschool-Based Programs for Externalizing Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnold, David H.; Brown, Sharice A.; Meagher, Susan; Baker, Courtney N.; Dobbs, Jennifer; Doctoroff, Greta L.

2006-01-01

Few mental health initiatives for young children have used classroom programs. Preschool-based efforts targeting externalizing behavior could help prevent conduct disorders. Additional benefits may include improved academic achievement and reduced risk for other mental health difficulties. Pro-grams that target multiple developmental domains are…

Childhood language skills and adolescent self-esteem in preterm survivors.

PubMed

Islam, Umna A; Poole, Kristie L; Schmidt, Louis A; Ford, Jennifer; Saigal, Saroj; Van Lieshout, Ryan J

2018-03-01

Fifty-seven percent of children with poor language skills are affected by socio-emotional problems. Despite the importance of language skills to interpersonal functioning and school performance, relatively little is known about how they affect self-esteem in adolescence. Data on youth at high risk for language problems (e.g. those born extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1000 grams)) are even more scarce. This prospective study examined associations between language skills at age 8 and self-esteem during adolescence (12-16 years) in individuals born at ELBW ( N = 138) or normal birth weight (NBW; >2500 grams) ( N = 111). Participants' language skills were assessed using the Verbal Scale of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised and the Token Test at age 8. In adolescence, participants completed the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents. Birth weight status was found to moderate associations between childhood language and adolescent global self-esteem (Token Test ( p = .006), Verbal Intelligence Quotient ( p = .033)) such that better language skills were associated with higher self-esteem in adolescent ELBW survivors, but not in NBW participants. Language skills may play a protective role in the development and maintenance of self-esteem in ELBW youth and could be an important target for optimizing their functioning, particularly before transitioning to the critical adolescent period.

Managing Stigma: Disclosure-Response Communication Patterns in Pro-Anorexic Websites.

PubMed

Chang, Pamara F; Bazarova, Natalya N

2016-01-01

Pro-anorexic websites are a popular online venue for individuals with anorexia, but recent research suggests that they play a role of "online negative enabling support groups" because they can undermine recovery and encourage negative behaviors by validating pro-anorexic views. By analyzing 22,811 messages from 5,590 conversations from the Pro-Ana Nation online discussion board forum, this study examines communicative mechanisms of online negative enabling support through language analysis of disclosure-response sequences, changes in the language of the initial discloser within an interaction exchange, and the role of responses in eliciting those changes. The findings show that initiating disclosures containing stigma-related emotion words, anorexia-specific content, and sociorelational content are typically met with negatively valenced responses from other members of the pro-anorexic community. Moreover, although the act of revealing stigmatized information has some cathartic effects, disclosers use more, not fewer, stigma-related emotion words when they receive negatively valenced responses. These results provide insight into communicative dynamics and effects of online negative enabling support through validation of the pro-anorexic identity and the dangerous cycle of stigma escalation in disclosure-response exchanges on pro-anorexic online communities.

Hardware Algorithm Implementation for Mission Specific Processing

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

knowledge about the VLSI technology and understands VHDL, scripting, and intergrating the script in Cadencersoftware pro- gram or Modelsimr. The main...possible to have a trade off between parallel and serial logic design for the circuit. Power can be saved by using parallization, pipelining, or a

A Type System For Certified Runtime Type Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-12-01

1999 ACM SIGPLAN International Conf. on Functional Pro- gramming (ICFP’99), pages 183–196. ACM Press, September 1999. [Min97] Yasuhiko Minamide. Full...lifting of type parameters. Technical report, RIMS, Kyoto University, 1997. [MMH96] Yasuhiko Minamide, Greg Morrisett, and Robert Harper. Typed

Intellectual Property Protection for Software

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-07-01

regulations. This book is useful for its practical, nical Data. New York: Government Contracts Pro- in-depth coverage of copyright licensing. gram, George ...quence and ordering of input formats could give rise Taylor to copyright liability. Synercom had developed a Taylor Instrument Cos. v. Fawley- Brost Co

U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technology Program and Its Impacts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weakley, Steven A.; Roop, Joseph M.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) has been working with industry since 1976 to encourage the development and adoption of new, energy-efficient technologies. ITP has helped industry not only use energy and materials more efficiently but also improve environ-mental performance, product quality, and productivity. To help ITP determine the impacts of its pro-grams, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) periodically reviews and analyzes ITP pro-gram benefits. PNNL contacts vendors and users of ITP-sponsored technologies that have been commer-cialized, estimates the number of units that have penetrated the market, conducts engineering analyses to estimate energy savings from the newmore » technolo¬gies, and estimates air pollution and carbon emission reductions. This paper discusses the results of PNNL’s most recent review (conducted in 2009). From 1976-2008, the commercialized technologies from ITP’s research and development programs and other activities have cumulatively saved 9.27 quadrillion Btu, with a net cost savings of $63.91 billion.« less

U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program and Its Impacts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weakley, Steven A.; Brown, Scott A.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) has been working with industry since 1976 to encourage the development and adoption of new, energy-efficient technologies. ITP has helped industry not only use energy and materials more efficiently but also improve environ-mental performance, product quality, and productivity. To help ITP determine the impacts of its pro-grams, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) periodically reviews and analyzes ITP pro-gram benefits. PNNL contacts vendors and users of ITP-sponsored technologies that have been commer-cialized, estimates the number of units that have penetrated the market, conducts engineering analyses to estimate energy savings from the newmore » technolo-gies, and estimates air pollution and carbon emission reductions. This paper discusses the results of PNNL’s most recent review (conducted in 2010). From 1976-2009, the commercialized technologies from ITP’s research and development programs and other activities have cumulatively saved 10.0 quadrillion Btu, with a net cost savings of $61.82 billion.« less

U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technology Program and Its Impacts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weakley, Steven A.; Roop, Joseph M.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) has been working with industry since 1976 to encourage the development and adoption of new, energy-efficient technologies. ITP has helped industry not only use energy and materials more efficiently but also improve environ-mental performance, product quality, and productivity. To help ITP determine the impacts of its pro-grams, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) periodically reviews and analyzes ITP pro-gram benefits. PNNL contacts vendors and users of ITP-sponsored technologies that have been commer-cialized, estimates the number of units that have penetrated the market, conducts engineering analyses to estimate energy savings from the newmore » technolo¬gies, and estimates air pollution and carbon emission reductions. This paper discusses the results of PNNL’s most recent review (conducted in 2008). From 1976-2007, the commercialized technologies from ITP’s research and development programs and other activities have cumulatively saved 6.17 quadrillion Btu, with a net cost savings of $63.0 billion.« less

Languages Beyond Ada and Lisp

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-08-05

adjectives rule with the no-pronoun rule: Take 250-grams-of-large-fresh-ripe-tomatoes. Peel the 250-grams-of-large-fresh-ripe-tomatoes. Chop the 250...me whether you store the word " banana " using one molecule of acetylcholine or two, and by a garden path argument I cannot therefore care whether you

Automatically Detecting Authors’ Native Language

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-01

exploring stylistic idiosyncrasies in the author’s writing [15]. Kop- pel used the data from International Corpus of Learner English version 1, which is... stylistic feature sets such as function words, letter n-grams, and er- rors and idiosyncrasies [15]. 1. Function words: 400 specific function words were...language on the choice of written second language words. Proceedings of the Workshop on Cognitive Aspects of Computation Language Acquisition, pp. 9–16

Cultural adaptation: translatability assessment and linguistic validation of the patient-reported outcome instrument for irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea.

PubMed

Delgado-Herrera, Leticia; Lasch, Kathryn; Popielnicki, Ana; Nishida, Akito; Arbuckle, Rob; Banderas, Benjamin; Zentner, Susan; Gagainis, Ingrid; Zeiher, Bernhardt

2016-01-01

Following a 2009 US Food and Drug Administration guidance, a new patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument was developed to support end points in multinational clinical trials assessing irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) symptom severity. Our objective was to assess the translatability of the IBS-D PRO instrument into ten languages, and subsequently perform a cultural adaptation/linguistic validation of the questionnaire into Japanese and US Spanish. Translatability assessments of the US English version of the IBS-D PRO were performed by experienced PRO translators who were native speakers of each target language and currently residing in target-language countries. Languages were Chinese (People's Republic of China), Dutch (the Netherlands), French (Belgium), German (Germany), Japanese (Japan), Polish (Poland), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian (Russia), Spanish (Mexico), and Spanish (US). The project team assessed the instrument to identify potential linguistic and/or cultural adaptation issues. After the issues identified were resolved, the instrument was translated into Spanish (US) and Japanese through a process of two forward translations, one reconciled translation, and one backward translation. The project team reviewed the translated versions before the instruments were evaluated by cognitive debriefing interviews with samples of five Spanish (US) and five Japanese IBS-D patients. Linguistic and cultural adaptation concerns identified during the translatability assessment required minor revisions, mainly the presentation of dates/times and word structure. During the cognitive debriefing interviews, two of five Spanish respondents misunderstood the term "bowel movement" to mean only diarrhea in the Spanish version. Consequently, the term was changed from "movimiento intestinal" to "evacuaciones". None of the Japanese respondents identified issues with the Japanese version. The translatability of the IBS-D PRO instrument into ten target languages was confirmed, with only minor changes made to the translations of the instrument. The translation and linguistic validation into Spanish (US) and Japanese provide evidence that this instrument can be used in multinational trials and clinical settings.

Antagonistic Properties of Some Halophilic Thermoactinomycetes Isolated from Superficial Sediment of a Solar Saltern and Production of Cyclic Antimicrobial Peptides by the Novel Isolate Paludifilum halophilum

PubMed Central

Frikha Dammak, Donyez; Zarai, Ziad; Najah, Soumaya; Abdennabi, Rayed; Belbahri, Lassaad; Rateb, Mostafa E.; Mejdoub, Hafedh

2017-01-01

This study has focused on the isolation of twenty-three halophilic actinomycetes from two ponds of different salinity and the evaluation of their ability to exert an antimicrobial activity against both their competitors and several other pathogens. From the 23 isolates, 18 strains showed antagonistic activity, while 19 showed activities against one or more of the seven pathogen strains tested. Six strains exhibited consistent antibacterial activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens characterized at the physiological and molecular levels. These strains shared only 94-95% 16S rRNA sequence identity with the closely related species of the Thermoactinomycetaceae family. Among them, the potent strain SMBg3 was further characterized and assigned to a new genus in the family for which the name Paludifilum halophilum (DSM 102817T) is proposed. Sequential extraction of the antimicrobial compounds with ethyl acetate revealed that the crude extract from SMBg3 strain had inhibitory effect on the growth of the plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens and the human pathogens Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Based on the HRESI-MS spectral data, the cyclic lipopeptide Gramicidin S and four cyclic dipeptides (CDPs) named cyclo(L-4-OH-Pro-L-Leu), cyclo(L-Tyr-L-Pro), cyclo(L-Phe-L-Pro), and cyclo(L-Leu-L-Pro) were detected in the fermentation broth of Paludifilum halophilum. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the isolation of these compounds from members of the Thermoactinomycetaceae family. PMID:28819625

LAND USE CHANGE DUE TO URBANIZATION FOR THE MID-ATLANTIC INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT REGION OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Regional Vulnerability Assessment Pro- gram (REVA) is designed to develop and demonstrate approaches to identify the ecosystems at the greatest risk from regional population growth and economic activity (Smith, 1999). A region is a...

Nurses’ Assessment and Teaching Behaviors Regarding Breast Self-Examination with Reasons for Actions.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-01-01

between patients and physicians because their training is more oriented toward illness and rehabilitation. No matter who provides the education it...client education based on 55 this assessment. Continuing education and inservice pro- grams could be provided oa BSE and how to complete more thorough

Iraq Reconstruction: Lessons from Auditing U.S.-funded Stabilization and Reconstruction Activities

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-01

Emergency Response Program: Hotel Construction Successfully Completed, but Project Management Issues Remain 09-025 7/26/2009 Commander’s Emergency...Emergency Response Pro- gram: Hotel Construction Completed, but Project Management Issues Remain,” 7/26/2009. 47. SIGIR Audit 11-003, “Iraqi Security Forces

Adaptive Statistical Language Modeling; A Maximum Entropy Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-04-19

models exploit the immediate past only. To extract information from further back in the document’s history , I use trigger pairs as the basic information...9 2.2 Context-Free Estimation (Unigram) ...... .................... 12 2.3 Short-Term History (Conventional N-gram...12 2.4 Short-term Class History (Class-Based N-gram) ................... 14 2.5 Intermediate Distance ........ ........................... 16

Efficient Embedded Decoding of Neural Network Language Models in a Machine Translation System.

PubMed

Zamora-Martinez, Francisco; Castro-Bleda, Maria Jose

2018-02-22

Neural Network Language Models (NNLMs) are a successful approach to Natural Language Processing tasks, such as Machine Translation. We introduce in this work a Statistical Machine Translation (SMT) system which fully integrates NNLMs in the decoding stage, breaking the traditional approach based on [Formula: see text]-best list rescoring. The neural net models (both language models (LMs) and translation models) are fully coupled in the decoding stage, allowing to more strongly influence the translation quality. Computational issues were solved by using a novel idea based on memorization and smoothing of the softmax constants to avoid their computation, which introduces a trade-off between LM quality and computational cost. These ideas were studied in a machine translation task with different combinations of neural networks used both as translation models and as target LMs, comparing phrase-based and [Formula: see text]-gram-based systems, showing that the integrated approach seems more promising for [Formula: see text]-gram-based systems, even with nonfull-quality NNLMs.

From language identification to language distance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gamallo, Pablo; Pichel, José Ramom; Alegria, Iñaki

2017-10-01

In this paper, we define two quantitative distances to measure how far apart two languages are. The distance measure that we have identified as more accurate is based on the perplexity of n-gram models extracted from text corpora. An experiment to compare forty-four European languages has been performed. For this purpose, we computed the distances for all the possible language pairs and built a network whose nodes are languages and edges are distances. The network we have built on the basis of linguistic distances represents the current map of similarities and divergences among the main languages of Europe.

A new C-type lectin (FcLec5) from the Chinese white shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis.

PubMed

Xu, Wen-Teng; Wang, Xian-Wei; Zhang, Xiao-Wen; Zhao, Xiao-Fan; Yu, Xiao-Qiang; Wang, Jin-Xing

2010-11-01

C-type lectins are one family of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that play important roles in innate immunity. In this work, cDNA and genomic sequences for a new C-type lectin (FcLec5) were obtained from the Chinese white shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis. FcLec5 cDNA contains an open reading frame of 1,008 bp and its genomic sequence is 1,137 bp with 4 exons and 3 introns. The predicted FcLec5 protein contains a signal peptide and two carbohydrate recognition domains (CRDs). The N-terminal CRD of FcLec5 has a predicted carbohydrate recognition motif of Gln-Pro-Asp (QPD), while the C-terminal CRD contains a motif of Glu-Pro-Gln (EPQ). Northern blot analysis showed that FcLec5 mRNA was specifically expressed in hepatopancreas. FcLec5 protein was expressed in hepatopancreas and secreted into hemolymph. Real-time PCR showed that FcLec5 transcript exhibited different expression profiles after immune-challenged with Vibrio anguillarum or White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV). Recombinant FcLec5 and its two individual CRDs could agglutinate most bacteria tested, and the agglutinating activity was Ca2+-dependent. Besides, the agglutinating activity to gram-negative bacteria is higher than that to gram-positive bacteria. Direct binding assay showed that recombinant FcLec5 could bind to all microorganisms tested (five gram-positive and four gram-negative bacteria, as well as yeast) in a Ca2+-independent manner. Recombinant FcLec5 also directly bound to bacterial peptidoglycan, lipopolysaccharide and lipoteichoic acids. These results suggest that FcLec5 may act as a PRR for bacteria via binding to bacterial cell wall polysaccharides in Chinese white shrimp.

Seismic classification through sparse filter dictionaries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hickmann, Kyle Scott; Srinivasan, Gowri

We tackle a multi-label classi cation problem involving the relation between acoustic- pro le features and the measured seismogram. To isolate components of the seismo- grams unique to each class of acoustic pro le we build dictionaries of convolutional lters. The convolutional- lter dictionaries for the individual classes are then combined into a large dictionary for the entire seismogram set. A given seismogram is classi ed by computing its representation in the large dictionary and then comparing reconstruction accuracy with this representation using each of the sub-dictionaries. The sub-dictionary with the minimal reconstruction error identi es the seismogram class.

Lipoproteins/peptides are sepsis-inducing toxins from bacteria that can be neutralized by synthetic anti-endotoxin peptides

PubMed Central

de Tejada, Guillermo Martinez; Heinbockel, Lena; Ferrer-Espada, Raquel; Heine, Holger; Alexander, Christian; Bárcena-Varela, Sergio; Goldmann, Torsten; Correa, Wilmar; Wiesmüller, Karl-Heinz; Gisch, Nicolas; Sánchez-Gómez, Susana; Fukuoka, Satoshi; Schürholz, Tobias; Gutsmann, Thomas; Brandenburg, Klaus

2015-01-01

Sepsis, a life-threatening syndrome with increasing incidence worldwide, is triggered by an overwhelming inflammation induced by microbial toxins released into the bloodstream during infection. A well-known sepsis-inducing factor is the membrane constituent of Gram-negative bacteria, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), signalling via Toll-like receptor-4. Although sepsis is caused in more than 50% cases by Gram-positive and mycoplasma cells, the causative compounds are still poorly described. In contradicting investigations lipoproteins/-peptides (LP), lipoteichoic acids (LTA), and peptidoglycans (PGN), were made responsible for eliciting this pathology. Here, we used human mononuclear cells from healthy donors to determine the cytokine-inducing activity of various LPs from different bacterial origin, synthetic and natural, and compared their activity with that of natural LTA and PGN. We demonstrate that LP are the most potent non-LPS pro-inflammatory toxins of the bacterial cell walls, signalling via Toll-like receptor-2, not only in vitro, but also when inoculated into mice: A synthetic LP caused sepsis-related pathological symptoms in a dose-response manner. Additionally, these mice produced pro-inflammatory cytokines characteristic of a septic reaction. Importantly, the recently designed polypeptide Aspidasept® which has been proven to efficiently neutralize LPS in vivo, inhibited cytokines induced by the various non-LPS compounds protecting animals from the pro-inflammatory activity of synthetic LP. PMID:26390973

Can the Pro-Drop Parameter Account for All the Errors in the Acquisition of Non-Referential "It" in L2 English?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antonova-Ünlü, Elena

2015-01-01

Numerous studies, examining the acquisition of non-referential it in [-pro-drop] English by learners of [+pro-drop] languages, have revealed that their participants omit non-referential subjects in English if their L1 allows null-subject position. However, due to the specificity of their focus, these studies have not considered other difficulties…

Primal Barrier Methods for Linear Programming

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-06-01

A Theoretical Bound Concerning the difficulties introduced by an ill-conditioned H- 1, Dikin [Dik67] and Stewart [Stew87] show for a full-rank A...Dik67] I. I. Dikin (1967). Iterative solution of problems of linear and quadratic pro- gramming, Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR, Tom 174, No. 4. [Fia79] A. V

Barriers and Solutions to Recruitment Strategies of Students into Post-Secondary Agricultural Education Programs: A Focus Group Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calvin, Jennifer; Pense, Seburn L.

2013-01-01

This qualitative study utilized focus group interviews of secondary Illinois agricultural education teachers to investigate the continuing problem of student recruitment into teacher preparation pro-grams of agricultural education. Using signal theory, image theory and person-organization fit theory, the researchers identified five themes relating…

Understanding the Cost and Quality of Military-Related Education Benefit Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

2002; Stanley, 2003). Evidence also suggests that a similar pro- gram in Canada led to large increases in college attainment ( Lemieux and Card, 2001...U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO-10-948T, 2010. Lemieux , Thomas, and David Card, “Education, Earnings, and the Canadian GI Bill,” The

U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Programs and Their Impacts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weakley, Steven A.; Roop, Joseph M.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) has been working with industry since 1976 to encourage the development and adoption of new, energy-efficient technologies. ITP has helped industry not only use energy and materials more efficiently but also improve environ¬mental performance, product quality, and productivity. To help ITP determine the impacts of its pro¬grams, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) periodically reviews and analyzes ITP pro¬gram benefits. PNNL contacts vendors and users of ITP-sponsored technologies that have been commer¬cialized, estimates the number of units that have penetrated the market, conducts engineering analyses to estimate energy savings from the newmore » technolo¬gies, and estimates air pollution and carbon emission reductions. This paper discusses the results of the most recent PNNL review (conducted in 2007). From 1976-2006, the commercialized technologies from ITP’s research and development (R&D) programs and other activities have cumulatively saved 5.65 quadrillion Btu, with a net cost savings of $37.8 billion.« less

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Industrial Programs and Their Impacts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weakley, Steven A.; Roop, Joseph M.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) has been working with industry since 1976 to encourage the development and adoption of new, energy-efficient technologies. ITP has helped industry not only use energy and materials more efficiently but also improve environ¬mental performance, product quality, and productivity. To help ITP determine the impacts of its pro¬grams, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) periodically reviews and analyzes ITP pro¬gram benefits. PNNL contacts vendors and users of ITP-sponsored technologies that have been commer¬cialized, estimates the number of units that have penetrated the market, conducts engineering analyses to estimate energy savings from the newmore » technolo¬gies, and estimates air pollution and carbon emission reductions. This paper discusses the results of the most recent PNNL review (conducted in 2006). From 1976-2005, the commercialized technologies from ITP’s research and development (R&D) programs and other activities have cumulatively saved 5.13 quadrillion Btu, with a net cost savings of $29.3 billion.« less

Shrimp serine proteinase homologues PmMasSPH-1 and -2 play a role in the activation of the prophenoloxidase system.

PubMed

Jearaphunt, Miti; Amparyup, Piti; Sangsuriya, Pakkakul; Charoensapsri, Walaiporn; Senapin, Saengchan; Tassanakajon, Anchalee

2015-01-01

Melanization mediated by the prophenoloxidase (proPO) activating system is a rapid immune response used by invertebrates against intruding pathogens. Several masquerade-like and serine proteinase homologues (SPHs) have been demonstrated to play an essential role in proPO activation in insects and crustaceans. In a previous study, we characterized the masquerade-like SPH, PmMasSPH1, in the black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon as a multifunctional immune protein based on its recognition and antimicrobial activity against the Gram-negative bacteria Vibrio harveyi. In the present study, we identify a novel SPH, known as PmMasSPH2, composed of an N-terminal clip domain and a C-terminal SP-like domain that share high similarity to those of other insect and crustacean SPHs. We demonstrate that gene silencing of PmMasSPH1 and PmMasSPH2 significantly reduces PO activity, resulting in a high number of V. harveyi in the hemolymph. Interestingly, knockdown of PmMasSPH1 suppressed not only its gene transcript but also other immune-related genes in the proPO system (e.g., PmPPAE2) and antimicrobial peptides (e.g., PenmonPEN3, PenmonPEN5, crustinPm1 and Crus-likePm). The PmMasSPH1 and PmMasSPH2 also show binding activity to peptidoglycan (PGN) of Gram-positive bacteria. Using a yeast two-hybrid analysis and co-immunoprecipitation, we demonstrate that PmMasSPH1 specifically interacted with the final proteinase of the proPO cascade, PmPPAE2. Furthermore, the presence of both PmMasSPH1 and PmPPAE2 enhances PGN-induced PO activity in vitro. Taken together, these results suggest the importance of PmMasSPHs in the activation of the shrimp proPO system.

Shrimp Serine Proteinase Homologues PmMasSPH-1 and -2 Play a Role in the Activation of the Prophenoloxidase System

PubMed Central

Jearaphunt, Miti; Amparyup, Piti; Sangsuriya, Pakkakul; Charoensapsri, Walaiporn; Senapin, Saengchan; Tassanakajon, Anchalee

2015-01-01

Melanization mediated by the prophenoloxidase (proPO) activating system is a rapid immune response used by invertebrates against intruding pathogens. Several masquerade-like and serine proteinase homologues (SPHs) have been demonstrated to play an essential role in proPO activation in insects and crustaceans. In a previous study, we characterized the masquerade-like SPH, PmMasSPH1, in the black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon as a multifunctional immune protein based on its recognition and antimicrobial activity against the Gram-negative bacteria Vibrio harveyi. In the present study, we identify a novel SPH, known as PmMasSPH2, composed of an N-terminal clip domain and a C-terminal SP-like domain that share high similarity to those of other insect and crustacean SPHs. We demonstrate that gene silencing of PmMasSPH1 and PmMasSPH2 significantly reduces PO activity, resulting in a high number of V. harveyi in the hemolymph. Interestingly, knockdown of PmMasSPH1 suppressed not only its gene transcript but also other immune-related genes in the proPO system (e.g., PmPPAE2) and antimicrobial peptides (e.g., PenmonPEN3, PenmonPEN5, crustinPm1 and Crus-likePm). The PmMasSPH1 and PmMasSPH2 also show binding activity to peptidoglycan (PGN) of Gram-positive bacteria. Using a yeast two-hybrid analysis and co-immunoprecipitation, we demonstrate that PmMasSPH1 specifically interacted with the final proteinase of the proPO cascade, PmPPAE2. Furthermore, the presence of both PmMasSPH1 and PmPPAE2 enhances PGN-induced PO activity in vitro. Taken together, these results suggest the importance of PmMasSPHs in the activation of the shrimp proPO system. PMID:25803442

Emerging Insights into Noncanonical Inflammasome Recognition of Microbes.

PubMed

Russo, Ashley J; Behl, Bharat; Banerjee, Ishita; Rathinam, Vijay A K

2018-01-19

Inflammasomes are cytosolic multi-molecular complexes that sense intracellular microbial danger signals and metabolic perturbations. Inflammasome activation leads to the activation of caspase-1 and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 accompanied by cell death. An inflammasome-based surveillance machinery for Gram-negative bacterial infections has been recently discovered. This noncanonical inflammasome relies on sensing the cytosolic presence of lipopolysaccharide of Gram-negative bacteria via inflammatory caspases such as caspase-4, -5, and -11. This review discusses the recent findings related to the mechanism of activation of the noncanonical inflammasome and its biological functions. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

'Biologic memory' in response to acute kidney injury: cytoresistance, toll-like receptor hyper-responsiveness and the onset of progressive renal disease.

PubMed

Zager, Richard A

2013-08-01

Following the induction of ischemic or toxin-mediated acute kidney injury (AKI), cellular adaptations occur that 're-program' how the kidney responds to future superimposed insults. This re-programming is not simply a short-lived phenomenon; rather it can persist for many weeks, implying that a state of 'biologic memory' has emerged. These changes can be both adaptive and maladaptive in nature and they can co-exist in time. A beneficial adaptation is the emergence of acquired cytoresistance, whereby a number of physiologic responses develop that serve to protect the kidney against further ischemic or nephrotoxic attack. Conversely, some changes are maladaptive, such as a predisposition to Gram-negative or Gram-positive bacteremia due to a renal tubular up-regulation of toll-like receptor responses. This latter change culminates in exaggerated cytokine production, and with efflux into the systemic circulation, extra-renal tissue injury can result (so-called 'organ cross talk'). Another maladaptive response is a persistent up-regulation of pro-inflammatory, pro-fibrotic and vasoconstrictive genes, culminating in progressive renal injury and ultimately end-stage renal failure. The mechanisms by which this biologic re-programming, or biologic memory, is imparted remain subjects for considerable debate. However, injury-induced, and stable, epigenetic remodeling at pro-inflammatory/pro-fibrotic genes seems likely to be involved. The goal of this editorial is to highlight that the so-called 'maintenance phase' of acute renal failure is not a static one, somewhere between injury induction and the onset of repair. Rather, this period is one in which the induction of 'biologic memory' can ultimately impact renal functional recovery, extra-renal injury and the possible transition of AKI into chronic, progressive renal disease.

Application of Bother in patient reported outcomes instruments across cultures

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background The objective of this study was to determine the applicability of the term bother, as used in Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) instruments that will be translated into foreign languages from English for the United States. Bother is versatile in English for the U.S., in that it can describe negative mental states and physical sensations, as well as social disturbances. Bother has many different meanings across cultures, due to this versatility. Alternatives for bother were explored for future PRO instrument development. Methods A PRO instrument used to evaluate the degree of bother resulting from psoriasis was analyzed. This disease can negatively impact patients physically, emotionally and socially. Translations of bother were analyzed to determine its meaning when translated into other languages. Cognitive debriefing was conducted on psoriasis patients with the instrument containing bother. Following cognitive debriefing, a questionnaire was distributed to linguists and cognitive debriefing subjects to collect definitions of bother in each target language, and detail any difficulty with translation. To establish alternatives to bother and demonstrate the breakdown of concepts within bother, translations of the Dermatology Quality of Life Index (DLQI) were analyzed. This instrument was selected for its focus on psoriasis and use of terminology that lacks the ambiguity of bother. Results An analysis of back-translations revealed that bother yielded a back-translation that was conceptually different from the source 20% of the time (5/26). Analysis of alternative terminology found in the DLQI revealed much greater conceptual equivalence when translated into other languages. Conclusion When developing the wording of PRO instruments, the terminology chosen should be applicable across languages to allow for international pooling and comparison of data. While all linguists and subjects of cognitive debriefing understood bother to have a negative connotation, a large variety of definitions and synonyms provided across languages showed a lack of conceptual equivalence. Ambiguity of the term across cultures may result in variation in translation, impacting subsequent international data pooling. Analysis of alternatives revealed that measurement of unambiguous terminology produces the greatest conceptual equivalency across languages and cultures. PMID:24520950

Development of the National Cancer Institute’s Patient-Reported Outcomes Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE)

PubMed Central

Reeve, Bryce B.; Mitchell, Sandra A.; Clauser, Steven B.; Minasian, Lori M.; Dueck, Amylou C.; Mendoza, Tito R.; Hay, Jennifer; Atkinson, Thomas M.; Abernethy, Amy P.; Bruner, Deborah W.; Cleeland, Charles S.; Sloan, Jeff A.; Chilukuri, Ram; Baumgartner, Paul; Denicoff, Andrea; St. Germain, Diane; O’Mara, Ann M.; Chen, Alice; Kelaghan, Joseph; Bennett, Antonia V.; Sit, Laura; Rogak, Lauren; Barz, Allison; Paul, Diane B.; Schrag, Deborah

2014-01-01

The standard approach for documenting symptomatic adverse events (AEs) in cancer clinical trials involves investigator reporting using the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE). Because this approach underdetects symptomatic AEs, the NCI issued two contracts to create a patient-reported outcome (PRO) measurement system as a companion to the CTCAE, called the PRO-CTCAE. This Commentary describes development of the PRO-CTCAE by a group of multidisciplinary investigators and patient representatives and provides an overview of qualitative and quantitative studies of its measurement properties. A systematic evaluation of all 790 AEs listed in the CTCAE identified 78 appropriate for patient self-reporting. For each of these, a PRO-CTCAE plain language term in English and one to three items characterizing the frequency, severity, and/or activity interference of the AE were created, rendering a library of 124 PRO-CTCAE items. These items were refined in a cognitive interviewing study among patients on active cancer treatment with diverse educational, racial, and geographic backgrounds. Favorable measurement properties of the items, including construct validity, reliability, responsiveness, and between-mode equivalence, were determined prospectively in a demographically diverse population of patients receiving treatments for many different tumor types. A software platform was built to administer PRO-CTCAE items to clinical trial participants via the internet or telephone interactive voice response and was refined through usability testing. Work is ongoing to translate the PRO-CTCAE into multiple languages and to determine the optimal approach for integrating the PRO-CTCAE into clinical trial workflow and AE analyses. It is envisioned that the PRO-CTCAE will enhance the precision and patient-centeredness of adverse event reporting in cancer clinical research. PMID:25265940

Systematic analysis of coding and noncoding DNA sequences using methods of statistical linguistics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mantegna, R. N.; Buldyrev, S. V.; Goldberger, A. L.; Havlin, S.; Peng, C. K.; Simons, M.; Stanley, H. E.

1995-01-01

We compare the statistical properties of coding and noncoding regions in eukaryotic and viral DNA sequences by adapting two tests developed for the analysis of natural languages and symbolic sequences. The data set comprises all 30 sequences of length above 50 000 base pairs in GenBank Release No. 81.0, as well as the recently published sequences of C. elegans chromosome III (2.2 Mbp) and yeast chromosome XI (661 Kbp). We find that for the three chromosomes we studied the statistical properties of noncoding regions appear to be closer to those observed in natural languages than those of coding regions. In particular, (i) a n-tuple Zipf analysis of noncoding regions reveals a regime close to power-law behavior while the coding regions show logarithmic behavior over a wide interval, while (ii) an n-gram entropy measurement shows that the noncoding regions have a lower n-gram entropy (and hence a larger "n-gram redundancy") than the coding regions. In contrast to the three chromosomes, we find that for vertebrates such as primates and rodents and for viral DNA, the difference between the statistical properties of coding and noncoding regions is not pronounced and therefore the results of the analyses of the investigated sequences are less conclusive. After noting the intrinsic limitations of the n-gram redundancy analysis, we also briefly discuss the failure of the zeroth- and first-order Markovian models or simple nucleotide repeats to account fully for these "linguistic" features of DNA. Finally, we emphasize that our results by no means prove the existence of a "language" in noncoding DNA.

Cestina pro Pokrocile (Intermediate Czech).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kabat, Grazyna; And Others

The textbook in intermediate Czech is designed for second-year students of the language and those who already have a basic knowledge of Czech grammar and vocabulary. It is appropriate for use in a traditional college language classroom, the business community, or a government language school. It can be covered in a year-long conventional…

Cultural adaptation: translatability assessment and linguistic validation of the patient-reported outcome instrument for irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea

PubMed Central

Delgado-Herrera, Leticia; Lasch, Kathryn; Popielnicki, Ana; Nishida, Akito; Arbuckle, Rob; Banderas, Benjamin; Zentner, Susan; Gagainis, Ingrid; Zeiher, Bernhardt

2016-01-01

Background and objective Following a 2009 US Food and Drug Administration guidance, a new patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument was developed to support end points in multinational clinical trials assessing irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) symptom severity. Our objective was to assess the translatability of the IBS-D PRO instrument into ten languages, and subsequently perform a cultural adaptation/linguistic validation of the questionnaire into Japanese and US Spanish. Materials and methods Translatability assessments of the US English version of the IBS-D PRO were performed by experienced PRO translators who were native speakers of each target language and currently residing in target-language countries. Languages were Chinese (People’s Republic of China), Dutch (the Netherlands), French (Belgium), German (Germany), Japanese (Japan), Polish (Poland), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian (Russia), Spanish (Mexico), and Spanish (US). The project team assessed the instrument to identify potential linguistic and/or cultural adaptation issues. After the issues identified were resolved, the instrument was translated into Spanish (US) and Japanese through a process of two forward translations, one reconciled translation, and one backward translation. The project team reviewed the translated versions before the instruments were evaluated by cognitive debriefing interviews with samples of five Spanish (US) and five Japanese IBS-D patients. Results Linguistic and cultural adaptation concerns identified during the translatability assessment required minor revisions, mainly the presentation of dates/times and word structure. During the cognitive debriefing interviews, two of five Spanish respondents misunderstood the term “bowel movement” to mean only diarrhea in the Spanish version. Consequently, the term was changed from “movimiento intestinal” to “evacuaciones”. None of the Japanese respondents identified issues with the Japanese version. Conclusion The translatability of the IBS-D PRO instrument into ten target languages was confirmed, with only minor changes made to the translations of the instrument. The translation and linguistic validation into Spanish (US) and Japanese provide evidence that this instrument can be used in multinational trials and clinical settings. PMID:27382346

Fusion with Language Models Improves Spelling Accuracy for ERP-based Brain Computer Interface Spellers

PubMed Central

Orhan, Umut; Erdogmus, Deniz; Roark, Brian; Purwar, Shalini; Hild, Kenneth E.; Oken, Barry; Nezamfar, Hooman; Fried-Oken, Melanie

2013-01-01

Event related potentials (ERP) corresponding to a stimulus in electroencephalography (EEG) can be used to detect the intent of a person for brain computer interfaces (BCI). This paradigm is widely utilized to build letter-by-letter text input systems using BCI. Nevertheless using a BCI-typewriter depending only on EEG responses will not be sufficiently accurate for single-trial operation in general, and existing systems utilize many-trial schemes to achieve accuracy at the cost of speed. Hence incorporation of a language model based prior or additional evidence is vital to improve accuracy and speed. In this paper, we study the effects of Bayesian fusion of an n-gram language model with a regularized discriminant analysis ERP detector for EEG-based BCIs. The letter classification accuracies are rigorously evaluated for varying language model orders as well as number of ERP-inducing trials. The results demonstrate that the language models contribute significantly to letter classification accuracy. Specifically, we find that a BCI-speller supported by a 4-gram language model may achieve the same performance using 3-trial ERP classification for the initial letters of the words and using single trial ERP classification for the subsequent ones. Overall, fusion of evidence from EEG and language models yields a significant opportunity to increase the word rate of a BCI based typing system. PMID:22255652

Symbolic Execution Over Native x86

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-01

Disassembly to a Hello World Program Packed with the Ulti- mate Packer for eXecutables (UPX) (Taken from IDA Pro) . . . . . . . 7 Figure 2.3 A Simple Hello...Program Packed with the Ultimate Packer for eXecutables (UPX) (Taken from IDA Pro) operation details. However, the design of an IL language leads to...The Unofficial Guide to the World’s Most Popular Disas- sembler. No Starch Press, 2008. [13] Hex-Rays, “Interactive disassembler (ida) pro.” [Online

A Fast Variational Approach for Learning Markov Random Field Language Models

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-01

the same distribution as n- gram models, but utilize a non-linear neural network pa- rameterization. NLMs have been shown to produce com- petitive...to either resort to local optimiza- tion methods, such as those used in neural lan- guage models, or work with heavily constrained distributions. In...embeddings learned through neural language models. Central to the language modelling problem is the challenge Proceedings of the 32nd International

Term Planning in Oriya: Problems and Prospects.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohanty, Panchanan; Pattanayak, Subrat Kalyan

1996-01-01

Discusses the failed attempt to cultivate Oriya as a modern language and to make it the official language of Orissa, India, in the 19th century. The reasons for this failure are a lack of language consciousness among the Oriyas, the pro-English attitude of the Oriya bureaucrats, and an irresolute corpus planning exercise. (eight references)…

AutoMap User’s Guide

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-10-01

Hierarchy of Pre-Processing Techniques 3. NLP (Natural Language Processing) Utilities 3.1 Named-Entity Recognition 3.1.1 Example for Named-Entity... Recognition 3.2 Symbol RemovalN-Gram Identification: Bi-Grams 4. Stemming 4.1 Stemming Example 5. Delete List 5.1 Open a Delete List 5.1.1 Small...iterative and involves several key processes: • Named-Entity Recognition Named-Entity Recognition is an Automap feature that allows you to

Proposal: A Hybrid Dictionary Modelling Approach for Malay Tweet Normalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muhamad, Nor Azlizawati Binti; Idris, Norisma; Arshi Saloot, Mohammad

2017-02-01

Malay Twitter message presents a special deviation from the original language. Malay Tweet widely used currently by Twitter users, especially at Malaya archipelago. Thus, it is important to make a normalization system which can translated Malay Tweet language into the standard Malay language. Some researchers have conducted in natural language processing which mainly focuses on normalizing English Twitter messages, while few studies have been done for normalize Malay Tweets. This paper proposes an approach to normalize Malay Twitter messages based on hybrid dictionary modelling methods. This approach normalizes noisy Malay twitter messages such as colloquially language, novel words, and interjections into standard Malay language. This research will be used Language Model and N-grams model.

Processing of the mother-cell sigma factor, sigma K, may depend on events occurring in the forespore during Bacillus subtilis development.

PubMed Central

Lu, S; Halberg, R; Kroos, L

1990-01-01

During sporulation of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis, transcription of genes encoding spore coat proteins in the mother-cell compartment of the sporangium is controlled by RNA polymerase containing the sigma subunit called sigma K. Based on comparison of the N-terminal amino acid sequence of sigma K with the nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding sigma K (sigK), the primary product of sigK was inferred to be a pro-protein (pro-sigma K) with 20 extra amino acids at the N terminus. Using antibodies generated against pro-sigma K, we have detected pro-sigma K beginning at the third hour of sporulation and sigma K beginning about 1 hr later. Even when pro-sigma K is expressed artificially during growth and throughout sporulation, sigma K appears at the normal time and expression of a sigma K-controlled gene occurs normally. These results suggest that pro-sigma K is an inactive precursor that is proteolytically processed to active sigma K in a developmentally regulated fashion. Mutations that block forespore gene expression block accumulation of sigma K but not accumulation of pro-sigma K, suggesting that pro-sigma K processing is a regulatory device that couples the programs of gene expression in the two compartments of the sporangium. We propose that this regulatory device ensures completion of forespore morphogenesis prior to the synthesis in the mother-cell of spore coat proteins that will encase the forespore. Images PMID:2124700

Laser Optics/Combustion Diagnostics.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-07-01

of Blackbody at Various Temperatures (K). . . 153 21 Transmission Attenuation of Quartz Fiber ... ............ .. 155 22 Schematic Diagram of Receiver...transfer pro- time-multiplexed via different lengths of fiber -optic cable to gram (machine code) of the TN- 1710 controls the handshak- a single...linewidths depend upon temperature, pressure, and , composition of the medium as well as the J value of the line. Collisional effects, as demonstrated for

A Computational Procedure for the Protection of Industrial Power Systems.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-11-01

Sumary ................................. ... 79 9 . CONCLUSIONS ....... ..................... ... 80 Recomnendations for Further Work ... ........... ... 81...34- - : "’< ’"’-......................"..-..-..--......-..... 9 Fuses. Two types of fuses are used in the coordination pro- gram. These are current-limiting and...NUMONICS Electronic Graphics Calculator [ 9 ]. The NUMONICS EGC then provided a convenient way to enter X-Y coordinate data representing any curve onto disk

Empathetic and Pro-Social Awareness in Primary School Students: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dar, Fatima Rehan

2016-01-01

The study addressed a cognitive-affective gap in a primary English curriculum and noticed whether the curriculum, texts and class activities utilized empathetic and pro-social themes in teaching English language. The findings from the document review, interviews and observations revealed that the said themes were underrepresented in the…

A Focus Group Assessment to Determine Motivations, Barriers and Effectiveness of a University-Based Worksite Wellness Program

PubMed Central

Hill-Mey, Patricia E.; Merrill, Ray M.; Kumpfer, Karol L.; Reel, Justine; Hyatt-Neville, Beverly

2013-01-01

Background: This study explores university employee perceptions and under­standing about its Worksite Health Promotion Program (WHPP). The WHPP included a Health Risk Appraisal (HRA), biometric screening, publicity for on-campus health programs and facilities, and health coaching. Methods: A qualitative design was used based on a grounded theory ap­proach. Four 90 minutes focus groups with 6-8 participants in each were conducted within a two 2 week period among employees, representing fac­ulty/participants, fac­ulty/nonparticipants, staff/participants, and staff/nonparticipants. Responses to questions about motivations, barriers, and perceived health benefits that impacted participation in the WHPP were digi­tally recorded, transcribed and coded for themes. Results: Incentives effectively motivated participation. Biometric screening had the largest impact on behavior change, followed by the information learned from the HRA. However, despite two-thirds of the employees partici­pating in the pro­gram, lack of a full understanding of WHPP benefits and services lowered partici­pation in follow-up services and supplemental pro­grams. Conclusions: Biometric screening and HRAs effectively motivate program par­ticipation. Communication of benefits and services are important when providing WHPPs. PMID:24688965

Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity of a temporin B peptide analogue on an in vitro model of cystic fibrosis.

PubMed

Bezzerri, Valentino; Avitabile, Concetta; Dechecchi, Maria Cristina; Lampronti, Ilaria; Borgatti, Monica; Montagner, Giulia; Cabrini, Giulio; Gambari, Roberto; Romanelli, Alessandra

2014-10-01

Natural peptides with antimicrobial properties are deeply investigated as tools to fight bacteria resistant to common antibiotics. Small peptides, as those belonging to the temporin family, are very attractive because their activity can easily be tuned after small modification to their primary sequence. Structure-activity studies previously reported by us allowed the identification of one peptide, analogue of temporin B, TB_KKG6A, showing, unlike temporin B, antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In this paper, we investigated the antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity of the peptide TB_KKG6A against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Interestingly, we found that the peptide exhibits antimicrobial activity at low concentrations, being able to downregulate the pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines interleukin (IL)-8, IL-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α produced downstream infected human bronchial epithelial cells. Experiments were carried out also with temporin B, which was found to show pro-inflammatory activity. Details on the interaction between TB_KKG6A and the P. aeruginosa LPS were obtained by circular dichroism and fluorescence studies. Copyright © 2014 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

What are the critical steps in processing blood cultures? A prospective audit evaluating current practice of reporting blood cultures in a centralised laboratory serving secondary care hospitals.

PubMed

Meda, Manjula; Clayton, James; Varghese, Reela; Rangaiah, Jayakeerthi; Grundy, Clive; Dashti, Farnaz; Garner, David; Groves, Katherine; Fitzmaurice, Karen; Hutley, E

2017-04-01

To assess current procedures of processing positive blood cultures against national standards with an aim to evaluate its clinical impact and to determine the utility of currently available rapid identification and susceptibility tests in processing of blood cultures. Blood cultures from three secondary care hospitals, processed at a centralised laboratory, were prospectively audited. Data regarding processing times, communication with prescribers, changes to patient management and mortality within 30 days of a significant blood culture were collected in a preplanned pro forma for a 4-week period. Of 2206 blood cultures, 211 positive blood cultures flagged positive. Sixty-nine (3.1%) of all cultures were considered to be contaminated. Fifty per cent of blood cultures that flagged positive had a Gram stain reported within 2 hours. Two (0.99%) patients with a significant bacteraemia had escalation of antimicrobial treatment at the point of reporting the Gram stain that was subsequently deemed necessary once sensitivity results were known. Most common intervention was de-escalation of therapy for Gram-positive organisms at the point of availability of pathogen identification (25.6% in Gram positive vs 10% in Gram negative; p=0.012). For Gram-negative organisms, the most common intervention was de-escalation of therapy at the point of availability of sensitivity results (43% in Gram negatives vs 17.9% in Gram positive; p=0.0097). Overall mortality within 30 days of a positive blood culture was 10.9% (23/211). Antibiotic resistance may have contributed to mortality in four of these patients (three Gram negative and one Gram positive). Gram stain result had the least impact on antibiotic treatment interventions (escalation or de-escalation). Tests that improve identification time for Gram-positive pathogens and sensitivity time for Gram-negative pathogens had the greatest impact in making significant changes to antimicrobial treatment. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

A comparison of language use in pro- and anti-vaccination comments in response to a high profile Facebook post.

PubMed

Faasse, Kate; Chatman, Casey J; Martin, Leslie R

2016-11-11

Vaccinations are important for controlling the spread of disease, yet an increasing number of people are distrustful of vaccines, and choose not to (fully) vaccinate themselves and their children. One proposed contributor to this distrust is anti-vaccination misinformation available on the internet, where people search for and discuss health information. The language people use in these discussions can provide insights into views about vaccination. Following a prominent Facebook post about childhood vaccination, language used by participants in a comment thread was analysed using LIWC (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count). Percentage of words used across a number of categories was compared between pro-vaccination, anti-vaccination, and unrelated (control) comments. Both pro- and anti-vaccination comments used more risk-related and causation words, as well as fewer positive emotion words compared to control comments. Anti-vaccine comments were typified by greater analytical thinking, lower authenticity, more body and health references, and a higher percentage of work-related word use in comparison to pro-vaccine comments, plus more money references than control comments. In contrast, pro-vaccination comments were more authentic, somewhat more tentative, and evidenced higher anxiety words, as well as more references to family and social processes when compared to anti-vaccination comments. Although the anti-vaccination stance is not scientifically-based, comments showed evidence of greater analytical thinking, and more references to health and the body. In contrast, pro-vaccination comments demonstrated greater comparative anxiety, with a particular focus on family and social processes. These results may be indicative of the relative salience of these issues and emotions in differing understandings of the benefits and risks of vaccination. Text-based analysis is a potentially useful and ecologically valid tool for assessing perceptions of health issues, and may provide unique information about particular concerns or arguments expressed on social media that could inform future interventions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early Delayed Language Development in Very Preterm Infants: Evidence from the MacArthur-Bates CDI

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster-Cohen, Susan; Edgin, Jamie O.; Champion, Patricia R.; Woodward, Lianne J.

2007-01-01

This study examined the effects of being born very preterm on children's early language development using prospective longitudinal data from a representative regional cohort of 90 children born very preterm (gestational age less than 33 weeks and/or birth weight less than 1,500 grams) and a comparison sample of 102 children born full term…

Thai Automatic Speech Recognition

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

used in an external DARPA evaluation involving medical scenarios between an American Doctor and a naïve monolingual Thai patient. 2. Thai Language... dictionary generation more challenging, and (3) the lack of word segmentation, which calls for automatic segmentation approaches to make n-gram language...requires a dictionary and provides various segmentation algorithms to automatically select suitable segmentations. Here we used a maximal matching

Behavioral Objectives, Skinnerian Rats, and Trojan Horses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grittner, Frank M.

1972-01-01

Reviews the place of behavioral objectives in the foreign language curriculum. Paper delivered as part of a debate on Behavioral Objectives: Pro and Con" held on November 26, 1971, in Chicago, Illinois, at the Annual Meeting of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). (DS)

USSR Report, Political and Sociological Affairs.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-03-12

Chilingaryan, secretary of the party bureau. "We have to take into account the teenagers’ specific psychological characteristics , their impressionability ...language •sources are translated; those from English-language sources are transcribed •or reprinted, with the original, phrasing and other characteristics ...cir- culation basis in the-Yiddish language. In Birobidzhan, there are a pro- fessional Jewish chamber music theater, a philharmonic orchestra and a

A Simulation Program with Latency Exploitation and Node Tearing.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-02-01

translation table JUNODE is constructed to give the relation between the user-defined node set and the node set used in the pro- gram. The ground node...90, 0, 45 and 80, then, user’s node renumbered node JUNODE table 0(ground) 1 nodplc(IUNODE+1)=O 10 2 ( +2)=10 45 3 ( +3)=45 80 4 ( +4)=80 90 5 ( +5

Please Reduce Cycle Time

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

observed an ERP system implementation that encountered this exact model. The modified COTS software worked and passed the acceptance tests but never... software -intensive program. We decided to create a very detailed master sched- ule with multiple supporting subschedules that linked and Implementing ...processes in place as part of the COTS implementation . For hardware , COTS can also present some risks. Many pro- grams use COTS computers and servers

Team Software Process (TSP) Coach Mentoring Program Guidebook

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-08-01

SEI TSP Initiative Team. • All training was conducted in English only, and observations were limited to English- speaking coaches and teams. The...Certified TSP Mentor Coach programs also enable the expansion of TSP implementation to non-English- speaking teams and organizations. This pro- gram also...Communication Needs Significant Improvement Could Benefit from Development Capable and Effective Role Model 1. I listen before speaking . 2. I

Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis for State and Local Emergency Planning and Response. Operational Requirements Document

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-01

pro- gram requirements, and administering local and federal funding. Emergency services—organizations that provide for public safety by the...chemicals Nerve agent Chlorine tank explosion Major earthquake Major hurricane Radiological dispersal device Improvised explosive device Food ...state Locally Developed Software 1 city 1 county 1 city 1 county 3 states Lotus Notes Suite 1 NGO MABAS.ORG 1 county

The United States Air Force Academy: A Bibliography: 1968 - 1972

DTIC Science & Technology

1972-09-01

Hist - Aerospace Historian Aero Med - Aerospace Medicine Air Reservist Airman America Armed Forces Compt - Armed Forces Comptroller Armed Forces J...center for aviary medicine . Airman 15:48, May 1971. 235 Jeans, Kit. Children learn at Academy school--CHAP pro- gram. AF Times 30:26, 29 Apr...Indoctrination 10355 Merit lists 10356 Organization 10330 Wing strength 10354 Marihuana incidents 10912 Marriage of cadet 10326

Mapping the Terrain of Homosexually-Themed Language

PubMed Central

McCormack, Mark

2011-01-01

In this article, I present a new model for understanding homosexually-themed language. By detailing how old conceptualizations of homophobic language no longer maintain heuristic utility in explaining the social dynamics of many sport and educational settings, I situate other conceptualizations of homosexually-themed language depending on the cultural context. I argue that whether language is considered homophobic, or whether it is better conceptualized as fag discourse, gay discourse or pro-gay language, is primarily dependent on the homohysteria of a setting. This model should enable scholars and educators to understand the operation of homosexually-themed language in society and properly evaluate the homophobia of a setting. PMID:21534076

Test Review: D. D. Hammill & S. C. Larsen "Test of Written Language-Fourth Edition." (TOWL-4). Austin, TX--PRO-ED, 2009

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCrimmon, Adam W.; Climie, Emma A.

2011-01-01

This article presents a review of the "Test of Written Language-Fourth Edition" (TOWL-4), a newly updated individual or group-based measure of written language for students aged 9 years, 0 months through 17 years, 11 months. The stated purposes of the measure are to identify students in need of support or intervention in the area of…

Cambodia: Analysis of U.S. Military Assistance to Cambodia, 1970-1975.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-06-03

majority were fluent in French. The Departments responded rapidly to assign Fremch language specialists to MEDTC and by September 1971 the forward...Candidates, and Language Training. All three areas have shown significant improvement during the past two years. A major breakthrough was achieved in the...training program has resulted in a more careful selection of pro- fessionally qualified candidates. English language qualification has remained a key

Portrayal of tobacco in Mongolian language YouTube videos: policy gaps.

PubMed

Tsai, Feng-Jen; Sainbayar, Bolor

2016-07-01

This study examined how effectively current policy measures control depictions of tobacco in Mongolian language YouTube videos. A search of YouTube videos using the Mongolian term for 'tobacco', and employing 'relevance' and 'view count' criteria, resulted in a total sample of 120 videos, from which 38 unique videos were coded and analysed. Most videos were antismoking public service announcements; however, analyses of viewing patterns showed that pro-smoking videos accounted for about two-thirds of all views. Pro-smoking videos were also perceived more positively and had a like:dislike ratio of 4.6 compared with 3.5 and 1.5, respectively, for the magic trick and antismoking videos. Although Mongolia prohibits tobacco advertising, 3 of the pro-smoking videos were made by a tobacco company; additionally, 1 pro-smoking video promoted electronic cigarettes. Given the popularity of Mongolian YouTube videos that promote smoking, policy changes are urgently required to control this medium, and more effectively protect youth and young adults from insidious tobacco marketing. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Finding Common Language around Educational Equity in a Neoliberal Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bierbaum, Lauren

2014-01-01

Since 2005, New Orleans has proved fertile ground for the most extensive education reform movement in the United States. As such, the educational landscape in New Orleans is a highly contested space. Yet stakeholders across the pro/anti-charter divide lack a fully developed language that accommodates the multi-vocality of participants contributing…

Engineering and Scientific Applications: Using MatLab(Registered Trademark) for Data Processing and Visualization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sen, Syamal K.; Shaykhian, Gholam Ali

2011-01-01

MatLab(R) (MATrix LABoratory) is a numerical computation and simulation tool that is used by thousands Scientists and Engineers in many cou ntries. MatLab does purely numerical calculations, which can be used as a glorified calculator or interpreter programming language; its re al strength is in matrix manipulations. Computer algebra functionalities are achieved within the MatLab environment using "symbolic" toolbo x. This feature is similar to computer algebra programs, provided by Maple or Mathematica to calculate with mathematical equations using s ymbolic operations. MatLab in its interpreter programming language fo rm (command interface) is similar with well known programming languag es such as C/C++, support data structures and cell arrays to define c lasses in object oriented programming. As such, MatLab is equipped with most ofthe essential constructs of a higher programming language. M atLab is packaged with an editor and debugging functionality useful t o perform analysis of large MatLab programs and find errors. We belie ve there are many ways to approach real-world problems; prescribed methods to ensure foregoing solutions are incorporated in design and ana lysis of data processing and visualization can benefit engineers and scientist in gaining wider insight in actual implementation of their perspective experiments. This presentation will focus on data processing and visualizations aspects of engineering and scientific applicati ons. Specifically, it will discuss methods and techniques to perform intermediate-level data processing covering engineering and scientifi c problems. MatLab programming techniques including reading various data files formats to produce customized publication-quality graphics, importing engineering and/or scientific data, organizing data in tabu lar format, exporting data to be used by other software programs such as Microsoft Excel, data presentation and visualization will be discussed. The presentation will emphasize creating practIcal scripts (pro grams) that extend the basic features of MatLab TOPICS mclude (1) Ma trix and vector analysis and manipulations (2) Mathematical functions (3) Symbolic calculations & functions (4) Import/export data files (5) Program lOgic and flow control (6) Writing function and passing parameters (7) Test application programs

Building Great (Coalition) Engineers

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-04-01

36 Engineer May-August 201038 Engineer January-April 1 G’day from the Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) School of Military Engineering (SME) at Steele...Barracks, Moorebank, New South Wales, Austra- lia. Like more than 20 United States Army engineer ma- jors before me, I am the military personnel...exchange pro- gram officer assigned to the United States Army Engineer School, attached to United States Army Pacific, and further attached to SME. By

A Novel Anti-Beta2-Microglobulin Antibody Inhibition of Androgen Receptor Expression, Survival, and Progression in Prostate Cancer Cells

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-01

Uro -Oncology Research Pro- gram, Dept. of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8750 Beverly Blvd., Atrium 103, Los Angeles, CA 90048. Tel.: 310...ORGANIZATION: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles, California 90048 REPORT DATE: May...Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles, California 90048 9. SPONSORING / MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM

Natural Hazards Observer. Volume 32, Number 2, November 2007

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-11-01

global warming plan that proposed an obligatory, market -based, cap-and-trade pro- gram that would reverse the worst-case effects of climate change by... market penetration for flood insurance, building Report (under Goal 4: "Lofty Targets"). and elevation requirements, hazard mitigation grants, The Report...reinsurance markets in subsequent years. With an unbiased perspective of all catastrophe model- 8th Pacific Conference on Earthquake Engineering-Sin- ing

European Science Notes. Volume 39, Number 10.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-10-01

A.T. Hubbard (Santa Barbara, US), Electro- MODULEF--A MODULAR FINITE ELEMENT PRO- sorption at Well-Defined Surfaces; D.H. GRAM PACKAGE Kolb (Berlin...was described as having one sorption . of the highest theoretical energy densi- Finally, Despi6 described engineer- ties, about 2600 Wh/kg--a value 150...organic compounds , can be varied by compound these transport agents into changing the high temperature treatment organic solutions exhibiting high

A Decision Support Methodology for Space Technology Advocacy.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-12-01

determine their parameters. Program control is usually exercised by level of effort funding. 63xx is the designator for advanced development pro- grams... designing systems or models that successfully aid the decision-maker. One remedy for this deficiency in the techniques is to increase the...methodology for use by the Air Force Space Technology Advocate is designed to provide the following features [l11:146-1471: meaningful reduction of available

Efficient Adaptive FIR and IIR Filters.

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-12-01

Squared) algorithm. -An analysis of the simplified gradient approach is presented and confirmed experimentally for the specific example of an adaptive line...APPENDIX A - SIMULATION 130 A.1 - THE SIMULATION METHOD 130 A.2 - FIR SIMULATION PRO)GRAM 133 A.3 - IIR SIMULATION PROGRAM 136 APPENDIX B - RANDOM...surface. The generation of the reference signal is a key consi- deration in adaptive filter implementation. There are various practical methods as

Defense AT&L. Volume 37, Number 4, July-August 2008

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-08-01

allowed the Greek philosopher to share some tidbits of wisdom regarding pro- gram management and changing the way we view chaos and order. 21...on your team. Virtual teaming is chang- ing the way we develop and work with team members. 37 Project Manager and Program Manager : What’s the...Difference? Jeffrey Peisach and Timothy S. Kroecker Identifying the roles and responsibilities of project managers and program managers will

On Nonconvex Decentralized Gradient Descent

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-08-01

and J. Bolte, On the convergence of the proximal algorithm for nonsmooth functions involving analytic features, Math . Program., 116: 5-16, 2009. [2] H...splitting, and regularized Gauss-Seidel methods, Math . Pro- gram., Ser. A, 137: 91-129, 2013. [3] P. Bianchi and J. Jakubowicz, Convergence of a multi-agent...subgradient method under random communication topologies , IEEE J. Sel. Top. Signal Process., 5:754-771, 2011. [11] A. Nedic and A. Ozdaglar, Distributed

Naval Ship Procurement Process Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-07-01

was to drdw from the troublesome experiences of the past, compelling lessons which the Navy and the shipbuilding industry would be strongly motivated...These interviews provided a number of insights into the process of planning for the acquisition of Navy ships as well as the legal and business...strategies on recent pro- grams. Prospective shipbuilders have participated in the preparation of the con- tract design package, and it is planned on

Quality of Life Parity Analysis for POM-82

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-01

effectively manage the DOD Family Housing ’Program, and also to provide input for the Five Year Defense Program (FYDP). (U) The requirements resulting from...Program is a centrally managed social services assistance pro- gram. The Navy Family Program is a centrally coordinated support program. The Air Force has...Welfare and Recreation; U Family Housing; Unaccompanied Personnel Housing; 0ff-Duty Education; Familly Support; Alcohol and Drug Abuse 30. AISITRACT

A Day in the Life of JUSMMAT

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-01-01

jurisdiction over all U.S. DOD personnel and their dependents in Turkey. Security Assistance The U.S. Security Assistance Program in Turkey consists of a...variety of related activities. a. The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Military Assistance Pro- gram (MAP). These programs are designed to help...training. The FY85 IMET program for Turkey is about $3.1 million. [An expanded discussion of these security assistance activities is provided in the

Minority Representation. Efforts of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration.

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-05-01

agencies, such as HHS, are required by law, executive order, and regulation to design and implement affirmative action programs. EEOC directed HHS to...outside ADAMHA from both the private and public sectors); and -. . . ., ’According to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ( EEOC ) guidance...year 1988, we contacted an official in the Office of Federal Sector Pro- grams in EEOC and reviewed pertinent directives issued to federal agen- cies

Preliminary Observations on the Changing Roles of Malaria Vectors in Southern Belize

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-01-01

darlingi (Diptera: Cu- licidae) de la Ceiba, Atlantida, Honduras. Thesis. Maestria en Entomologia. Universidad de Panama, Panama City, Panama. 456...Brown and C. Cordon-Rosales. 1992. Potential malaria vectors in northern Guatemala (Vectores potenciales de ma- laria in la region norte de Guatemala...Serra de Aqua in June 1946 (Linthicum 1988). We initiated a malaria vector research pro- gram in Belize in 1990 and conducted extensive larval

The U.S. Department of Defense Millennium Cohort Study: Career Span and Beyond Longitudinal Follow-Up

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-01

PHQ*) Caffeine and fast food intake (2 questions) Strength and duration of physical activity (1 question with 3 items; NHIS *) Daily physical activity...Complementary and Alternative Medicine; NHIS , National Health Interview Survey; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; SF36-V, Short...USAMRMC) Military Operational Medicine Research Pro- gram (MOMRP). The Millennium Cohort Study requires considerable financial and logistical support that

Double-stranded helical twisted beta-sheet channels in crystals of gramicidin S grown in the presence of trifluoroacetic and hydrochloric acids.

PubMed

Llamas-Saiz, Antonio L; Grotenbreg, Gijsbert M; Overhand, Mark; van Raaij, Mark J

2007-03-01

Gramicidin S is a nonribosomally synthesized cyclic decapeptide antibiotic with twofold symmetry (Val-Orn-Leu-D-Phe-Pro)(2); a natural source is Bacillus brevis. Gramicidin S is active against Gram-positive and some Gram-negative bacteria. However, its haemolytic toxicity in humans limits its use as an antibiotic to certain topical applications. Synthetically obtained gramicidin S was crystallized from a solution containing water, methanol, trifluoroacetic acid and hydrochloric acid. The structure was solved and refined at 0.95 A resolution. The asymmetric unit contains 1.5 molecules of gramicidin S, two trifluoroacetic acid molecules and ten water molecules located and refined in 14 positions. One gramicidin S molecule has an exact twofold-symmetrical conformation; the other deviates from the molecular twofold symmetry. The cyclic peptide adopts an antiparallel beta-sheet secondary structure with two type II' beta-turns. These turns have the residues D-Phe and Pro at positions i + 1 and i + 2, respectively. In the crystals, the gramicidin S molecules line up into double-stranded helical channels that differ from those observed previously. The implications of the supramolecular structure for several models of gramicidin S conformation and assembly in the membrane are discussed.

Identification of a crustacean β-1,3-glucanase related protein as a pattern recognition protein in antibacterial response.

PubMed

Chai, Lian-Qin; Meng, Jing-Hui; Gao, Jie; Xu, Yi-Hui; Wang, Xian-Wei

2018-06-02

Prophenoloxidase (proPO) activating system is an important immune response for arthropods. β-1, 3-glucanase related protein (previously named as lipopolysaccharide and β-1, 3-glucan binding protein (LGBP) in crustaceans) is a typical pattern recognition receptor family involved in the proPO activation by recognizing the invading microbes. In this study, we pay special attention to a bacteria-induced β-1,3-glucanase related protein from red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii, an important aquaculture specie in China. This protein, designated PcBGRP, was found a typical member of crustacean BGRP family with the glucanase-related domain and the characteristic motifs. PcBGRP was expressed in hemcoyes and hepatopancreas, and its expression could be induced by the carbohydrate and bacteria stimulants. The induction by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and β-1,3-glucan (βG) was more significant than by peptidoglycan (PG). The response of PcBGRP to the native Gram-negative bacterial pathogen Aeromonas hydrophila was more obvious than to Gram-positive bacteria. Using RNA interference and recombinant protein, PcBGRP was found to protect crayfish from A. hydrophila infection revealed by the survival test and morphological analysis. A mechanism study found PcBGRP could bind LPS and βG in a dose-dependent manner, and the LPS recognizing ability determined the Gram-negative bacterium binding activity of PcBGRP. PcBGRP was found to enhance the PO activation both in vitro and in vivo, and the protective role was related to the PO activating ability of PcBGRP. This study emphasized the role of BGRP family in crustacean immune response, and provided new insight to the immunity of red swamp crayfish which suffered serious disease during the aquaculture in China. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patient reported outcomes in hip arthroplasty registries.

PubMed

Paulsen, Aksel

2014-05-01

PROs are used increasingly in orthopedics and in joint registries, but still many aspects of use in this area have not been examined in depth. To be able to introduce PROs in the DHR in a scientific fashion, my studies were warranted; the feasibility of four often used PROs (OHS, HOOS, EQ-5D and SF-12) was examined in a registry context. Having the PROs in the target language is an absolute necessity, so I translated, cross-culturally adapted and validated a Danish language version of an often used PRO (OHS), since this PRO had no properly developed Danish language version. To minimize data loss and to maximize the data quality I validated our data capture procedure, an up to date AFP system, by comparing scannable, paper-based PROs, with manual single-key- and double-key entered data. To help further registry-PRO studies, I calculated the number of patients needed to discriminate between subgroups of age, sex, diagnosis, and prosthesis type for each of four often used PROs (OHS, HOOS, EQ-5D and SF-12), and to simplify the clinical interpretation of PRO scores and PRO change scores in PRO studies, I estimated MCII and PASS for two often used PROs (EQ-5D and HOOS). The feasibility study included 5,747 THA patients registered in the DHR, and I found only minor differences between the disease-specific and the generic PROs regarding ceiling and floor effects as well as discarded items. The HOOS, the OHS, the SF-12, and the EQ-5D are all appropriate PROs for administration in a hip registry. I found that group sizes from 51 to 1,566 were needed for subgroup analysis, depending on descriptive factors and choice of PRO. The AFP study included 200 THA patients (398 PROs, 4,875 items and 21,887 data fields), and gave excellent results provided use of highly structured questionnaires. OMR performed equally as well as manual double-key entering, and better than single-key entering. The PRO translation and validation study included 2,278 patients (and 212 patients for the test-retest). I found that the translated PRO had good feasibility, an excellent response rate, no floor effect, but a high ceiling effect (as was expected with our postoperative patients) and few patients missed too many items to calculate a sum score. The translated PRO had high test-retest reliability and very high internal consistency, and appears to be a valid and reliable tool for outcome studies on THA patients in a hip registry setting. The MCII and PASS study included 1,335 patients, and I estimated that one year after THA, an improvement of 38-55% from mean baseline PRO score and absolute follow-up scores of 57-91% of the maximum score correspond to a minimal important improvement and acceptable symptom state, respectively.

Bag-of-visual-ngrams for histopathology image classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López-Monroy, A. Pastor; Montes-y-Gómez, Manuel; Escalante, Hugo Jair; Cruz-Roa, Angel; González, Fabio A.

2013-11-01

This paper describes an extension of the Bag-of-Visual-Words (BoVW) representation for image categorization (IC) of histophatology images. This representation is one of the most used approaches in several high-level computer vision tasks. However, the BoVW representation has an important limitation: the disregarding of spatial information among visual words. This information may be useful to capture discriminative visual-patterns in specific computer vision tasks. In order to overcome this problem we propose the use of visual n-grams. N-grams based-representations are very popular in the field of natural language processing (NLP), in particular within text mining and information retrieval. We propose building a codebook of n-grams and then representing images by histograms of visual n-grams. We evaluate our proposal in the challenging task of classifying histopathology images. The novelty of our proposal lies in the fact that we use n-grams as attributes for a classification model (together with visual-words, i.e., 1-grams). This is common practice within NLP, although, to the best of our knowledge, this idea has not been explored yet within computer vision. We report experimental results in a database of histopathology images where our proposed method outperforms the traditional BoVWs formulation.

Cross-cultural validity of the thyroid-specific quality-of-life patient-reported outcome measure, ThyPRO.

PubMed

Watt, Torquil; Barbesino, Giuseppe; Bjorner, Jakob Bue; Bonnema, Steen Joop; Bukvic, Branka; Drummond, Russell; Groenvold, Mogens; Hegedüs, Laszlo; Kantzer, Valeska; Lasch, Kathryn E; Marcocci, Claudio; Mishra, Anjali; Netea-Maier, Romana; Ekker, Merel; Paunovic, Ivan; Quinn, Terence J; Rasmussen, Åse Krogh; Russell, Audrey; Sabaretnam, Mayilvaganan; Smit, Johannes; Törring, Ove; Zivaljevic, Vladan; Feldt-Rasmussen, Ulla

2015-03-01

Thyroid diseases are common and often affect quality of life (QoL). No cross-culturally validated patient-reported outcome measuring thyroid-related QoL is available. The purpose of the present study was to test the cross-cultural validity of the newly developed thyroid-related patient-reported outcome ThyPRO, using tests for differential item functioning (DIF) according to language version. The ThyPRO consists of 85 items summarized in 13 multi-item scales and one single item. Scales cover physical and mental symptoms, well-being and function as well as social and daily function and cosmetic concerns. Translation applied standard forward-backward methodology with subsequent cognitive interviews and reviews. Responses (N = 1,810) to the ThyPRO were collected in seven countries: UK (n = 166), The Netherlands (n = 147), Serbia (n = 150), Italy (n = 110), India (n = 148), Denmark (n = 902) and Sweden (n = 187). Translated versions were compared pairwise to the English version by examining uniform and nonuniform DIF, i.e., whether patients from different countries respond differently to a particular item, although they have identical level of the concept measured by the item. Analyses were controlled for thyroid diagnosis. DIF was investigated by ordinal logistic regression, testing for both statistical significance and magnitude (ΔR (2) > 0.02). Scale level was estimated by the sum score, after purification. For twelve of the 84 tested items, DIF was identified in more than one language. Eight of these were small, but four were indicative of possible low translatability. Twenty-one instances of DIF in single languages were identified, indicating potential problems with the particular translation. However, only seven were of a magnitude which could affect scale scores, most of which could be explained by sample differences not controlled for. The ThyPRO has good cross-cultural validity with only minor cross-cultural invariance and is recommended for use in international multicenter studies.

Latent morpho-semantic analysis : multilingual information retrieval with character n-grams and mutual information.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bader, Brett William; Chew, Peter A.; Abdelali, Ahmed

We describe an entirely statistics-based, unsupervised, and language-independent approach to multilingual information retrieval, which we call Latent Morpho-Semantic Analysis (LMSA). LMSA overcomes some of the shortcomings of related previous approaches such as Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). LMSA has an important theoretical advantage over LSA: it combines well-known techniques in a novel way to break the terms of LSA down into units which correspond more closely to morphemes. Thus, it has a particular appeal for use with morphologically complex languages such as Arabic. We show through empirical results that the theoretical advantages of LMSA can translate into significant gains in precisionmore » in multilingual information retrieval tests. These gains are not matched either when a standard stemmer is used with LSA, or when terms are indiscriminately broken down into n-grams.« less

Proceedings of the International Workshop on High-Level Language Computer Architecture, May 26-28, 1980, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-01

pro - due to the instructions’ higher Information con - duce. These macros can then be Interpreted by tent. In Myer’s example, the number of instruc...the pro - power fail occurs only when tWe ma- cess on the next lower level machine. It con - chine is in certain states at some tinues checking lower...be pro - cessed. This line is accessed and con - Tabl3 1. Comparison of Process~ing Time catenated with the present contents of the W and W/O ’Line

America Makes: The National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) Status Report and Future Opportunities (Postprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-01

manufacturing, direct part manufacturing, manufacturing institute, public- private partnership, rapid manufacturing, 3D printing 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION...Manufacturing Science and Technology Pro- gram and selected Additive Manufacturing (or more popularly known as 3D printing ) as the technical subject. Working...operations, America Makes is starting to hit its stride in developing technology for 3D printing and in leading the way in how the United States should

A Computer Based Educational Aid for the Instruction of Combat Modeling

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-02-27

representation (36:363-370), and, as Knuth put it, "An algorithm must be seen to be believed" (23:4). Graphics not only aid in achieving instructional...consisted primarily of research, identification and use of existing combat model computer algorithms , interviews, and use of operation research...to-air combat models’ operating manuals provided valuable insight into pro- gram structure and algorithms used to represent the combat. From these

Men and Arms in the Middle East: The Human Factor in Military Modernization

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-06-01

countries under study supports their abilities to wield military power effectively, their large- scale reliance on importation of military technologies...statistics, and on quality from area experts. In many cases , we were unable to arrive at numerical estimates of the sources of supply. . Likely future...government agencies); on -the-job training (as in the case of counterpart pro- grams); and thle direct importation of both military and civilian labor

The Visible Signature Modelling and Evaluation ToolBox

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-12-01

Technology Organisation DSTO–TR–2212 ABSTRACT A new software suite, the Visible Signature ToolBox ( VST ), has been developed to model and evaluate the...visible signatures of maritime platforms. The VST is a collection of commercial, off-the-shelf software and DSTO developed pro- grams and procedures. The...suite. The VST can be utilised to model and assess visible signatures of maritime platforms. A number of examples are presented to demonstrate the

A Cache Design to Exploit Structural Locality

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-12-01

memory and secondary storage. Main memory was used to store the instructions and data of an executing pro- gram, while secondary storage held programs ...efficiency of the CPU and faster turnaround of executing programs . In addition to the well known spatial and temporal aspects of locality, Hobart has...identified a third aspect, which he has called structural locality (9). This type of locality is defined as the tendency of an executing program to

High Frontier: The Journal for Space and Cyberspace Professionals. Volume 7, Number 2

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-01

result of data provided by the SSA Data Sharing Pro - gram, satellite owners and operators worldwide maneuvered 51 times in 2009 to avoid... increased beyond the point where the US can expect to control it. Even without counterproductive export legislation, the US would have sustainability... timely delivery of integrated SSA information and national intelligence in order to support the command and control of US space forces. It

Report of the Defense Science Board Task Group on Independent Research and Development

DTIC Science & Technology

1967-02-01

been in existence for several years, was apparently rejuvenated . Shortly thereafter, the Minuteman pro- gram came into being. Let us, with a ten-year...the vehicle skin into the boun- dary layer: transpiration cooling. Here there were problems of injection control, to assure proper distribution of...13526QSection 3.5 Date: MAR 8 2011 The interaction of electromagnetic vave vith plasmas, labelled EM propagation, has seen a renewed emphasis in

Computer Program for Vibration Prediction of Fighter Aircraft Equipments

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-11-01

scribing a useful variety of flight vibration phases . Notice that identical variations can be reflected into the high frequency rolloff curve (equation 13...flight attitudes ranging from straight and level states to a variety of significant flight maneuvers and phases . Pro- gram outputs, digital and...R (f) adjusted value of R(f) due to c (g 2/Hz) SBT (f) special function for the buffet turn flight phase PBT (f) pressure spectral density speqtrum

China’s Foreign Aid and Government-Sponsored Investment Activities: Scale, Content, Destinations, and Implications

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

Ecuador , Brazil, Chile, and Venezuela. Before 2005, many of the regional programs focused on infrastructure, including power plants...prior academic work on China’s pro- grams have focused on Africa and include Davies et al. and Brautigam. Both these provide detailed case studies...Chinese engage- ment there is concentrated on four resource-rich countries: Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Ecuador . 26 China’s Foreign Aid and

The Future of Air Force Motion Imagery Exploitation: Lessons from the Commercial World

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

works during the filming of the show, the primary exception 14 Although not the first of its kind, the breakthrough program for this genre on U.S...recent genre of popular television pro- gramming that relies on the unscripted performances of people who are not professional actors (the cast...reality television production crews; such moments, from which the genre derives its name, are often prominently featured in reality television

Computer-assisted update of a consumer health vocabulary through mining of social network data.

PubMed

Doing-Harris, Kristina M; Zeng-Treitler, Qing

2011-05-17

Consumer health vocabularies (CHVs) have been developed to aid consumer health informatics applications. This purpose is best served if the vocabulary evolves with consumers' language. Our objective was to create a computer assisted update (CAU) system that works with live corpora to identify new candidate terms for inclusion in the open access and collaborative (OAC) CHV. The CAU system consisted of three main parts: a Web crawler and an HTML parser, a candidate term filter that utilizes natural language processing tools including term recognition methods, and a human review interface. In evaluation, the CAU system was applied to the health-related social network website PatientsLikeMe.com. The system's utility was assessed by comparing the candidate term list it generated to a list of valid terms hand extracted from the text of the crawled webpages. The CAU system identified 88,994 unique terms 1- to 7-grams ("n-grams" are n consecutive words within a sentence) in 300 crawled PatientsLikeMe.com webpages. The manual review of the crawled webpages identified 651 valid terms not yet included in the OAC CHV or the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) Metathesaurus, a collection of vocabularies amalgamated to form an ontology of medical terms, (ie, 1 valid term per 136.7 candidate n-grams). The term filter selected 774 candidate terms, of which 237 were valid terms, that is, 1 valid term among every 3 or 4 candidates reviewed. The CAU system is effective for generating a list of candidate terms for human review during CHV development.

Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers' Negotiations of Program Discourses in Their Construction of Professional Identities within a TESOL Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ilieva, Roumi

2010-01-01

The professional identity of language teachers has gained prominence in research on language instruction in the last decade. This article adds to work by critically exploring how teacher education programs allow non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) to construct positive professional identities and become pro-active educators. It reports…

ROSIE: A Programming Environment for Expert Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-10-01

ence on Artificial Inteligence , Tbilisi, USSR, 1975. Fain, J., D. Gorlin, F. Hayes-Roth, S. Rosenschein, H. Sowizral, and D. Waterman, The ROSIE Language...gramming environment for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. It provides particular support for designing expert systems, systems that embody

Subcellular localization for Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial proteins using linear interpolation smoothing model.

PubMed

Saini, Harsh; Raicar, Gaurav; Dehzangi, Abdollah; Lal, Sunil; Sharma, Alok

2015-12-07

Protein subcellular localization is an important topic in proteomics since it is related to a protein׳s overall function, helps in the understanding of metabolic pathways, and in drug design and discovery. In this paper, a basic approximation technique from natural language processing called the linear interpolation smoothing model is applied for predicting protein subcellular localizations. The proposed approach extracts features from syntactical information in protein sequences to build probabilistic profiles using dependency models, which are used in linear interpolation to determine how likely is a sequence to belong to a particular subcellular location. This technique builds a statistical model based on maximum likelihood. It is able to deal effectively with high dimensionality that hinders other traditional classifiers such as Support Vector Machines or k-Nearest Neighbours without sacrificing performance. This approach has been evaluated by predicting subcellular localizations of Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial proteins. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stakeholder Analysis for the CF Counter-IED Training Courses

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-05-01

for more than purely research purposes when the experimenter is present. 3.1.3 Learning Style- based Adaptation The Index of Learning Styles (Felder...student. It is recommended that the Adaption Module uses the same ontology based reasoning approach as the Evaluation Module. RacerPro is the recommended...reasoner. RacerPro is used as a system for managing semantic web ontologies based on Web Ontology Language (OWL). The design phase will confirm

Causality-Preserving Timestamps in Distributed Programs

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-06-01

monitoring,deh!bigging. tac-hvon,catisaIi tvý Abstract A tachyon is an improperly ordered event in a distributed program. Tachvonis are most often...that tachyons do in fact. occur commonly in distributed pro- grams on our Ethernet at Carnegie Mellon University. and we disc’ss some ways of...before it is sent) is called a tach yon. (’learly it is very disconcerting to try to debug a parallel program that contains tachyons . Of course, in "real

Understanding of Materials State and its Degradation using Non-Linear Ultrasound (NLU) Approaches - Phase 3

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-31

j] (11) A MATLAB code was written for finding the displacement at each node for all time steps. Material selected for the study was steel with 1 m...some of the dislocations are annihilated or rearranged. Various stages in the recovery are, entanglement of dislocations, cell formation, annihilation...frequency domain using an in-house pro- gram written in MATLAB . A time-domain signal obtained from nonlinear measurement and its corresponding fast

Laboratory Experiments to Simulate and Investigate the Physics Underlying the Dynamics of Merging Solar Corona Structures

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-05

have attended and made presen- tations at the annual APS Division of Plasma Physics Meeting, the bi-annual High Energy Laboratory Astrophysics meeting...the AFOSR Space Science Pro- gram Review, the SHINE solar physics meeting, the International Astrophysics Conference, and the workshop “Complex plasma...tor k and Resolving Space-time Ambiguity. GR-Space Physics . submitted. Bellan, P. M., Zhai, X., Chai, K. B., & Ha, B. N. 2015. Complex astrophysical

Initial Effects of Heavy Vehicle Trafficking on Vegetated Soils

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-01

ER D C/ CR R EL T R -1 2 -6 Optimal Allocation of Land for Training and Non-training Uses ( OPAL ) Initial Effects of Heavy Vehicle...the outdoor loam test section. Optimal Allocation of Land for Training and Non-training Uses ( OPAL ) ERDC/CRREL TR-12-6 August 2012 Initial...mal Allocation of Land for Training and Non-Training Uses ( OPAL ) Pro- gram. The work was conducted by Nicole Buck and Sally Shoop of the Force

An Analysis of Factors Influencing the Turnover of United States Air Force Pilots in the Six to Eleven Year Group

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-06-01

1979. 16. Donnelly, James H., Jr., James L. Gibson, and JohnM. Ivancevich . Organizations--Structure, Processes, Behavior. Dallas TX: Business...Publications, Inc., 1973. 17. Ivancevich , John M., Andrew D. Szilagyi, Jr., and Marc J. Wallace, Jr. Organizational Behavior and Performance. Santa Monica CA...215. 102 Lyons , Colonel Billy S., USAF, and Colonel KZjnald L. Marks, USAF. "An Alternate Pilot Management Pro- gram for Future Strategic Weapon

The Even-Rho and Even-Epsilon Algorithms for Accelerating Convergence of a Numerical Sequence

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-12-01

equal, leading to zero or very small divisors. Computer programs implementing these algorithms are given along with sample output. An appreciable amount...calculation of the array of Shank’s transforms or, -A equivalently, of the related Padd Table. The :other, the even-rho algorithm, is closely related...leading to zero or very small divisors. Computer pro- grams implementing these algorithms are given along with sample output. An appreciable amount or

An Update of Engine System Research at the Army Propulsion Directorate

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-01-01

6.1) pro- grams. Brush seals , illustrated in figure 14, offer great potential for reduc- ing secondary flow leakages and are inherently self...incorporate brush seals into the build of one of our workhorse engines in the early 1990’s as a replacement for shaft carbon seals , inner air labyrinth seals ...to steam and increasing its cooling capacity (ref. 12). The idea was conceived in-house and, following feasibility studies and fundamental heat

A Program Office Guide to Technology Transfer

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-11-01

Requirements 2-4 2.4.1 Equipment Complexity 2-5 2.4.2 Industrial Capabilities 2-5 2.4.3 Logistics Requirements/Configuration Control 2-5 2.4.4 Schedule...accomplishment of these milestones re- with the leverage of the FSD and production pro- sults in second source full production capability , grams. For more...MANUFACTURING PROCESSES BUILD UP COMPETITIVE PRODUCTION RATE CAPABILITY DURING LOT III Table 1.2-1 AMRAAM Technology Transfer The leader-follower approach is

Analysis of: A Military Leadership Assessment Development Program

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-05-01

assessment pro:’gram. Reliance, however, on these to the enclusion of other research methods such as direct observation, would engender criticism. (15:238...XE A~ICOLLEGE RESEARCH REPORT AD-A241 082 I~I~lhII 111IIJ ldII~l I "~ANALYSIS OF: A MILITARY LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM COMMANDER...SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY IN FULFILLMENT OF THE RESEARCH REQU I REMENT Research Advisor: Col. Bryan Strickland MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, ALABAMA MAY, 1990

Oncology patient-reported claims: maximising the chance for success.

PubMed

Kitchen, H; Rofail, D; Caron, M; Emery, M-P

2011-01-01

To review Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) labelling claims achieved in oncology in Europe and in the United States and consider the benefits, and challenges faced. PROLabels database was searched to identify oncology products with PRO labelling approved in Europe since 1995 or in the United States since 1998. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) websites and guidance documents were reviewed. PUBMED was searched for articles on PRO claims in oncology. Among all oncology products approved, 22 were identified with PRO claims; 10 in the United States, 7 in Europe, and 5 in both. The language used in the labelling was limited to benefit (e.g. "…resulted in symptom benefits by significantly prolonging time to deterioration in cough, dyspnoea, and pain, versus placebo") and equivalence (e.g. "no statistical differences were observed between treatment groups for global QoL"). Seven products used a validated HRQoL tool; two used symptom tools; two used both; seven used single-item symptom measures (one was unknown). The following emerged as likely reasons for success: ensuring systematic PRO data collection; clear rationale for pre-specified endpoints; adequately powered trials to detect differences and clinically significant changes; adjusting for multiplicity; developing an a priori statistical analysis plan including primary and subgroup analyses, dealing with missing data, pooling multiple-site data; establishing clinical versus statistical significance; interpreting failure to detect change. End-stage patient drop-out rates and cessation of trials due to exceptional therapeutic benefit pose significant challenges to demonstrating treatment PRO improvement. PRO labelling claims demonstrate treatment impact and the trade-off between efficacy and side effects ultimately facilitating product differentiation. Reliable and valid instruments specific to the desired language, claim, and target population are required. Practical considerations include rationale for study endpoints, transparency in assumptions, and attention to subtle variations in data.

Oncology patient-reported claims: maximising the chance for success

PubMed Central

Kitchen, H; Rofail, D; Caron, M; Emery, M-P

2011-01-01

Objectives/purpose: To review Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) labelling claims achieved in oncology in Europe and in the United States and consider the benefits, and challenges faced. Methods: PROLabels database was searched to identify oncology products with PRO labelling approved in Europe since 1995 or in the United States since 1998. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) websites and guidance documents were reviewed. PUBMED was searched for articles on PRO claims in oncology. Results: Among all oncology products approved, 22 were identified with PRO claims; 10 in the United States, 7 in Europe, and 5 in both. The language used in the labelling was limited to benefit (e.g. “…resulted in symptom benefits by significantly prolonging time to deterioration in cough, dyspnoea, and pain, versus placebo”) and equivalence (e.g. “no statistical differences were observed between treatment groups for global QoL”). Seven products used a validated HRQoL tool; two used symptom tools; two used both; seven used single-item symptom measures (one was unknown). The following emerged as likely reasons for success: ensuring systematic PRO data collection; clear rationale for pre-specified endpoints; adequately powered trials to detect differences and clinically significant changes; adjusting for multiplicity; developing an a priori statistical analysis plan including primary and subgroup analyses, dealing with missing data, pooling multiple-site data; establishing clinical versus statistical significance; interpreting failure to detect change. End-stage patient drop-out rates and cessation of trials due to exceptional therapeutic benefit pose significant challenges to demonstrating treatment PRO improvement. Conclusions: PRO labelling claims demonstrate treatment impact and the trade-off between efficacy and side effects ultimately facilitating product differentiation. Reliable and valid instruments specific to the desired language, claim, and target population are required. Practical considerations include rationale for study endpoints, transparency in assumptions, and attention to subtle variations in data. PMID:22276055

Equilibrium folding of pro-HlyA from Escherichia coli reveals a stable calcium ion dependent folding intermediate.

PubMed

Thomas, Sabrina; Bakkes, Patrick J; Smits, Sander H J; Schmitt, Lutz

2014-09-01

HlyA from Escherichia coli is a member of the repeats in toxin (RTX) protein family, produced by a wide range of Gram-negative bacteria and secreted by a dedicated Type 1 Secretion System (T1SS). RTX proteins are thought to be secreted in an unfolded conformation and to fold upon secretion by Ca(2+) binding. However, the exact mechanism of secretion, ion binding and folding to the correct native state remains largely unknown. In this study we provide an easy protocol for high-level pro-HlyA purification from E. coli. Equilibrium folding studies, using intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence, revealed the well-known fact that Ca(2+) is essential for stability as well as correct folding of the whole protein. In the absence of Ca(2+), pro-HlyA adopts a non-native conformation. Such molecules could however be rescued by Ca(2+) addition, indicating that these are not dead-end species and that Ca(2+) drives pro-HlyA folding. More importantly, pro-HlyA unfolded via a two-state mechanism, whereas folding was a three-state process. The latter is indicative of the presence of a stable folding intermediate. Analysis of deletion and Trp mutants revealed that the first folding transition, at 6-7M urea, relates to Ca(2+) dependent structural changes at the extreme C-terminus of pro-HlyA, sensed exclusively by Trp914. Since all Trp residues of HlyA are located outside the RTX domain, our results demonstrate that Ca(2+) induced folding is not restricted to the RTX domain. Taken together, Ca(2+) binding to the pro-HlyA RTX domain is required to drive the folding of the entire protein to its native conformation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Who Was Walking on the Beach? Anaphora Resolution in Spanish Heritage Speakers and Adult Second Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keating, Gregory D.; VanPatten, Bill; Jegerski, Jill

2011-01-01

The position of antecedent strategy (Carminati, 2002) claims that speakers of null-subject languages prefer to resolve intrasentential anaphora by linking pro to an antecedent in the specifier of the inflection phrase and the overt pronoun to an antecedent lower in the clause. The present study has two aims: (a) to determine whether adult early…

A discriminative method for protein remote homology detection and fold recognition combining Top-n-grams and latent semantic analysis.

PubMed

Liu, Bin; Wang, Xiaolong; Lin, Lei; Dong, Qiwen; Wang, Xuan

2008-12-01

Protein remote homology detection and fold recognition are central problems in bioinformatics. Currently, discriminative methods based on support vector machine (SVM) are the most effective and accurate methods for solving these problems. A key step to improve the performance of the SVM-based methods is to find a suitable representation of protein sequences. In this paper, a novel building block of proteins called Top-n-grams is presented, which contains the evolutionary information extracted from the protein sequence frequency profiles. The protein sequence frequency profiles are calculated from the multiple sequence alignments outputted by PSI-BLAST and converted into Top-n-grams. The protein sequences are transformed into fixed-dimension feature vectors by the occurrence times of each Top-n-gram. The training vectors are evaluated by SVM to train classifiers which are then used to classify the test protein sequences. We demonstrate that the prediction performance of remote homology detection and fold recognition can be improved by combining Top-n-grams and latent semantic analysis (LSA), which is an efficient feature extraction technique from natural language processing. When tested on superfamily and fold benchmarks, the method combining Top-n-grams and LSA gives significantly better results compared to related methods. The method based on Top-n-grams significantly outperforms the methods based on many other building blocks including N-grams, patterns, motifs and binary profiles. Therefore, Top-n-gram is a good building block of the protein sequences and can be widely used in many tasks of the computational biology, such as the sequence alignment, the prediction of domain boundary, the designation of knowledge-based potentials and the prediction of protein binding sites.

National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference - Find Nutrient Value of Common Foods by Nutrient

MedlinePlus

... grams Household * required field ​ USDA Food Composition Databases Software developed by the National Agricultural Library v.3.9.4.1 2018-06-11 NAL Home | USDA.gov | Agricultural Research Service | Plain Language | FOIA | Accessibility Statement | Information Quality | Privacy ...

A Survey of Research Methods to Study Design

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-06-01

Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing (ICAM) Definition Languages (IDEFO, IDEF 1, and IDEF 2) Nijssen’s Information Analysis Method (NIAM) * Michael ... Jackson Diagrams 1I-1 • Warnier-Orr Di.grams Hierarchical Input Process Output (HIPO) charts * Nassi Schneiderman Charts. These techniques were intended

LEARNING SEMANTICS-ENHANCED LANGUAGE MODELS APPLIED TO UNSUEPRVISED WSD

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

VERSPOOR, KARIN; LIN, SHOU-DE

An N-gram language model aims at capturing statistical syntactic word order information from corpora. Although the concept of language models has been applied extensively to handle a variety of NLP problems with reasonable success, the standard model does not incorporate semantic information, and consequently limits its applicability to semantic problems such as word sense disambiguation. We propose a framework that integrates semantic information into the language model schema, allowing a system to exploit both syntactic and semantic information to address NLP problems. Furthermore, acknowledging the limited availability of semantically annotated data, we discuss how the proposed model can be learnedmore » without annotated training examples. Finally, we report on a case study showing how the semantics-enhanced language model can be applied to unsupervised word sense disambiguation with promising results.« less

Program Manager: The Journal of the Defense Systems Management College, Volume 15, Number 2, March-April 1986.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-04-01

benefits to the user, and economic benefits to the host country. Figure 2 shows the develop- ment of the NATO Infrastructure Pro- grams since 1951. FH...generalized benefits of stream- classified programs work with less dollar expenditures based solely on the lined specialized management include: than one-third...for contractors to demon- significant cost and schedule benefits on-site visits by the SPO are strate their management integrity, and new improvements

The Department of Defense Statement on the Science and Technology Program by Mr. H. Mark Grove, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Advanced Technology Before the Defense Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations of the United States House of Representatives, 97th Congress, Second Session,

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-06-16

Technology Intergration (AFTI) Pro- gram, (2) a nonmetallic composite helicopter fuselage, and (3) a new initiative to develop Short Take-Off and...range of passive sonobuoys is being extended and the performance of a high gain extended life deployed horizontal line array is being investigated

A Structural Weight Estimation Program (SWEEP) for Aircraft. Volume 4 - Material Properties, Structure Temperature, Flutter and Fatigue

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-06-01

NAME AND ADDRESS Deputy for Development Planning Air Force Systems Command Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio READ INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE...6600 computer. Two stand-alone pro- grams operating within 100,000 octal units were also developed to provide optional data sources for SWEEP...JAMES H. HALL, Colonel, USAF Deputy for Development Planning ll jgaajaaMteaäiiaaBiiMiffliiäffliiteMä hi*^*Mi*^^*^&äitküli^ riMMiniiiMfWitii

Forward Aeromedical Evacuation: A Brief History, Lessons Learned from the Global War on Terror, and the Way Forward for US Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-01-01

DUSTOFF and PEDRO units increased throughout the conflict and were con - sidered an unqualified success during the war; the DUSTOFF units alone would...direction was provided in most cases by general medical officers ( GMO ) serving with aviation units. These GMOs generally completed internships and were...awaiting placement into residency pro - grams. Their primary job was to provide routine medical care to the aviators in that unit. No standardized

Airport Delay and Improvement Study, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-10-01

assumed aircraft tntv. These capacities are shtsn in lIgure 1. - I hie airfiteld stmiulat ion model used the out put ot the capacii modejl it, pros...atissi sputa D I VI-I OP LA iMAt WAKE VORTEX AVOIDANCE PRO- liuns durintg fle peak 6-liuur usprattng perisd ust the das - GRAM BY 1987: Future Savings...depending si tire as arlartnl of lie u ltimat e Wake Vortex Asoidance System. Withisut rile Wkake Vsortex .Asssdattcc System. an increased annual

Navy Budget: Potential Reductions for Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-11-01

available for use in future Navy programs, including the MK-50 tor- pedo and Vertical Launch Antisubmarine Rocket. A total of $49.9 million of fiscal...346 Travel 03 07 + 04 Support 224 225 + 01 Total Requested $122.61 $122.61 -0- In addition, the Navy plans to acquire six Acoustic Video Processor...units at $2.4 million in fiscal year 1991. The Acoustic Video Processor pro- gram is experiencing development problems, and the full-scale develop- ment

European Science Notes Information Bulletin. Reports on Current European and Middle Eastern Science

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-04-01

beamwidth of 2 degrees . Hie had interesting data wideband backscatter in the 2-50 kHz band and on profiles, including hydrothermal plumes ob- forward...civil aviation. Academician P. Naza- gravity in casting Al-Pb alloys. This process renko is rector of the institut’. and Professor N . produces a...pro- east -west sections across 36’ N from Gibraltar to grams such as WOCE (World Ocean Circulation Bermuda and northwest across the Gulf Stream

Improving the Cost Estimation of Space Systems. Past Lessons and Future Recommendations

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

a reasonable gauge for the relative propor- tions of cost growth attributable to errors, decisions, and other causes in any MDAP. Analysis of the...program. The program offices visited were the Defense Metrological Satellite Pro- gram (DMSP), Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), Advanced...3 years 1.8 0.9 3–8 years 1.8 0.9 8+ years 3.7 1.8 Staffing Requirement 7.4 3.7 areas represent earned value and budget drills ; the tan area on top

Historical Record of the U.S. Army Finance School for the Period 1 January 1963 - 31 December 1963

DTIC Science & Technology

1963-12-31

Canada 1 1 China Ghana - - Indonesia - Iran 4 1 1 1 6 1 1 2 3 Japan - - - - 2 2 Korea - 2 1 3 Peru - - - - - - - - 1 1 2...Finance Center, U S Army 28 Mr Eugene Newnam, Department of May Applied Mathematics and Sta- 63 tistics, Army Management En - gineer Training Agency...Management En - gineer Training Agency, Rock Island, Illinois 3 Maj Gen William B Bunker, Comp- Jun troller and Director of Pro- 63 grams, U S Army

Space WARC 1985 - Legal Issues and Implications.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-01-01

public releoa.I |_Distribution Unlimited DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT ACCESSION FOR NTIS GRAM! DTIC TAB UNANNOUNCED E] JUSTIFICATION 3LC r DISTRIBUTIOND...EXHAUSTED. -7 77 7-7 77 .1- *~AD-A 150 972 "A INSTRUCTIONS____ 1.RGOVT AC(,.iN~.~j~ RECIPIENT’S CATALOG NUMBER * ~AFIT/CI/NR 85-9T IO EOT&PRO OEE r ...reere ide if neceeeesy anid identiy by bock numbas,) 20. ABSTRACT (Continue orn revere. sid. If nocep--ty end idetify by bla~ck r --mbsr) ATTACHED FORM

Rapid Human-Computer Interactive Conceptual Design of Mobile and Manipulative Robot Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-19

algorithm based on Age-Fitness Pareto Optimization (AFPO) ([9]) with an additional user prefer- ence objective and a neural network-based user model, we...greater than 40, which is about 5 times further than any robot traveled in our experiments. 6 3.3 Methods The algorithm uses a client -server computational...architecture. The client here is an interactive pro- gram which takes a pair of controllers as input, simulates4 two copies of the robot with

Risk Factors for Colostomy in Military Colorectal Trauma: A Review of 867 Patients

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

tion with ostomy rate (43% for >12 U compared with 35% for #12 U; P = .06). Presenting base deficit did not differ between the 2 groups (2.82 colostomy...outcomes data to include postoperative morbidity, ostomy reversal rates, and complication rates, as well as overall quality-of-life outcomes requires...Health Pro- gram 6.7 grant ‘‘Quality of Life and Obstacles to Care in Injured Personnel with Ostomies ,’’ Primary Investigator: Sean C. Glasgow, MD

Sequence inversion and phenylalanine surrogates at the beta-turn enhance the antibiotic activity of gramicidin S.

PubMed

Solanas, Concepción; de la Torre, Beatriz G; Fernández-Reyes, María; Santiveri, Clara M; Jiménez, M Angeles; Rivas, Luis; Jiménez, Ana I; Andreu, David; Cativiela, Carlos

2010-05-27

A series of gramicidin S (GS) analogues have been synthesized where the Phe (i + 1) and Pro (i + 2) residues of the beta-turn have been swapped while the respective chiralities (D-, L-) at each position are preserved, and Phe is replaced by surrogates with aromatic side chains of diverse size, orientation, and flexibility. Although most analogues preserve the beta-sheet structure, as assessed by NMR, their antibiotic activities turn out to be highly dependent on the bulkiness and spatial arrangement of the aromatic side chain. Significant increases in microbicidal potency against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens are observed for several analogues, resulting in improved therapeutic profiles. Data indicate that seemingly minor replacements at the GS beta-turn can have significant impact on antibiotic activity, highlighting this region as a hot spot for modulating GS plasticity and activity.

Sequence inversion and phenylalanine surrogates at the β-turn enhance the antibiotic activity of gramicidin S

PubMed Central

Solanas, Concepción; de la Torre, Beatriz G.; Fernández-Reyes, María; Santiveri, Clara M.; Jiménez, M. Ángeles; Rivas, Luis; Jiménez, Ana I.; Andreu, David; Cativiela, Carlos

2010-01-01

A series of gramicidin S (GS) analogs have been synthesized where the Phe (i+1) and Pro (i+2) residues of the β-turn have been swapped while the respective chiralities (D-, L-) at each position are preserved, and Phe is replaced by surrogates with aromatic side chains of diverse size, orientation and flexibility. Although most analogs preserve the β-sheet structure, as assessed by NMR, their antibiotic activities turn out to be highly dependent on the bulkiness and spatial arrangement of the aromatic side chain. Significant increases in microbicidal potency against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens are observed for several analogs, resulting in improved therapeutic profiles. Data indicate that seemingly minor replacements at the GS β-turn can have significant impact on antibiotic activity, highlighting this region as a hot spot for modulating GS plasticity and activity. PMID:20411945

Implementing Linear Algebra Related Algorithms on the TI-92+ Calculator.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexopoulos, John; Abraham, Paul

2001-01-01

Demonstrates a less utilized feature of the TI-92+: its natural and powerful programming language. Shows how to implement several linear algebra related algorithms including the Gram-Schmidt process, Least Squares Approximations, Wronskians, Cholesky Decompositions, and Generalized Linear Least Square Approximations with QR Decompositions.…

Experiences with DCE: the pro7 communication server based on OSF-DCE functionality.

PubMed

Schulte, M; Lordieck, W

1997-01-01

The pro7-communication server is a new approach to manage communication between different applications on different hardware platforms in a hospital environment. The most important features are the use of OSF/DCE for realising remote procedure calls between different platforms, the use of an SQL-92 compatible relational database and the design of a new software development tool (called protocol definition language compiler) for describing the interface of a new application, which is to integrate in a hospital environment.

Protein classification using modified n-grams and skip-grams.

PubMed

Islam, S M Ashiqul; Heil, Benjamin J; Kearney, Christopher Michel; Baker, Erich J

2018-05-01

Classification by supervised machine learning greatly facilitates the annotation of protein characteristics from their primary sequence. However, the feature generation step in this process requires detailed knowledge of attributes used to classify the proteins. Lack of this knowledge risks the selection of irrelevant features, resulting in a faulty model. In this study, we introduce a supervised protein classification method with a novel means of automating the work-intensive feature generation step via a Natural Language Processing (NLP)-dependent model, using a modified combination of n-grams and skip-grams (m-NGSG). A meta-comparison of cross-validation accuracy with twelve training datasets from nine different published studies demonstrates a consistent increase in accuracy of m-NGSG when compared to contemporary classification and feature generation models. We expect this model to accelerate the classification of proteins from primary sequence data and increase the accessibility of protein characteristic prediction to a broader range of scientists. m-NGSG is freely available at Bitbucket: https://bitbucket.org/sm_islam/mngsg/src. A web server is available at watson.ecs.baylor.edu/ngsg. erich_baker@baylor.edu. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Using Self-Reported Patient Experiences to Understand Patient Burden: Learnings from Digital Patient Communities in Ankylosing Spondylitis.

PubMed

Sunkureddi, Prashanth; Gibson, Dawn; Doogan, Stephen; Heid, John; Benosman, Samir; Park, Yujin

2018-03-01

Online communities contain a wealth of information containing unsolicited patient experiences that may go beyond what is captured by guided surveys or patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments used in clinical settings. This study described patient experiences reported online to better understand the day-to-day disease burden of ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Unguided, English-language patient narratives reported between January 2010 and May 2016 were collected from 52 online sources (e.g., general/health social networking sites, patient-physician Q&A sites, AS forums). Using natural language processing combined with manual curation, patient-reported experiences within narratives were evaluated and categorized into social, physical, emotional, cognitive, and role activity (SPEC-R) concepts to assess functional impairment. The same SPEC-R categorization was applied to 5 AS-specific PRO instruments to evaluate their coverage of concepts extracted from patient narratives. A total of 34,780 narratives from 3449 patients with AS were included. Physical aspects of AS (e.g., pain and mobility) were most commonly reported by patients (86.7%), followed by emotional (32.5%), cognitive (23.6%), role activity (8.7%) and social (5.1%). Some frequently discussed subconcepts were effectively captured by ≥ 2 PRO instruments, such as pain (65.3%), asthenia (19.9%), musculoskeletal impairment (19.9%), depression (9.9%), and anger/frustration (5.4%); others [e.g., anxiety (19.1%), mental impairment (3.2%), impulsivity (2.9%)] were not addressed by any of the PRO instruments. These findings highlight the importance of analyzing patient experiences beyond clinical trial settings and physician reports; continuous assessment of existing PRO instruments in collaboration with patients may increase their utility in real-world settings. Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

Automatic Summary Assessment for Intelligent Tutoring Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

He, Yulan; Hui, Siu Cheung; Quan, Tho Thanh

2009-01-01

Summary writing is an important part of many English Language Examinations. As grading students' summary writings is a very time-consuming task, computer-assisted assessment will help teachers carry out the grading more effectively. Several techniques such as latent semantic analysis (LSA), n-gram co-occurrence and BLEU have been proposed to…

The enhanced Software Life Cyle Support Environment (ProSLCSE): Automation for enterprise and process modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milligan, James R.; Dutton, James E.

1993-01-01

In this paper, we have introduced a comprehensive method for enterprise modeling that addresses the three important aspects of how an organization goes about its business. FirstEP includes infrastructure modeling, information modeling, and process modeling notations that are intended to be easy to learn and use. The notations stress the use of straightforward visual languages that are intuitive, syntactically simple, and semantically rich. ProSLCSE will be developed with automated tools and services to facilitate enterprise modeling and process enactment. In the spirit of FirstEP, ProSLCSE tools will also be seductively easy to use. Achieving fully managed, optimized software development and support processes will be long and arduous for most software organizations, and many serious problems will have to be solved along the way. ProSLCSE will provide the ability to document, communicate, and modify existing processes, which is the necessary first step.

A Battle of Words: "Dignity" and "Peace" in the Writings of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.

PubMed

Burnier, Daniel

2017-04-01

This article analyzes the writings of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross through the discursive lens of the phrase "dying with dignity." For her, the phrase meant allowing someone to die comfortably his/her own death. This phrase has to be understood in relationship with the final "stage of acceptance" of her model. Describing this key part of her well-known scientific output, she often used, in the early 1970s, the phrase "dying in peace and dignity." An evaluation of the evidence suggests that because the concept of dignity was co-opted by the pro-euthanasia movement during this decade, the language of dignity was little by little abandoned by her. In later years, only "peace" survived from her favorite expression. Although this concept of peace remains present to the end in all Kübler-Ross writings, the pro-euthanasia movement has also started to speak the language of peace.

Identification of antimicrobial compound, diketopiperazines, from a Bacillus sp. N strain associated with a rhabditid entomopathogenic nematode against major plant pathogenic fungi.

PubMed

Nishanth Kumar, S; Mohandas, C; Siji, J V; Rajasekharan, K N; Nambisan, Bala

2012-10-01

To purify and characterize antimicrobial compounds from Bacillus sp. strain N associated with rhabditid entomopathogenic nematode (EPN). The cell-free culture filtrate of a bacterium associated with an EPN, Rhabditis (Oscheius) sp., exhibited strong antimicrobial activity. The ethyl acetate extract of the bacterial culture filtrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography to obtain three diketopiperazines (DKPs). The structure and absolute stereochemistry of this compound were determined based on extensive spectroscopic analyses (FABMS, (1) H NMR, (13) C NMR, (1) H-(1) H COSY, (1) H-(13) C HMBC) and Marfey's method. The compounds were identified as cyclo(l-Pro-l-Leu), cyclo(d-Pro-l-Leu) and cyclo(d-Pro-l-Tyr), respectively. Three DKPs were active against all the five fungi tested (Aspergillus flavus, Candida albicans, Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani and Penicillium expansum) and are more effective than the standard fungicide bavistin. The highest activity of 4 μg ml(-1) by cyclo(l-Pro-l-Leu) and cyclo(d-Pro-l-Tyr) was recorded against P. expansum, a plant pathogen responsible for causing postharvest decay of stored apples and oranges. Cyclo(d-Pro-l-Leu) recorded good antibacterial activity against all the four bacteria tested (Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), and cyclo(l-Pro-l-Leu) and cyclo(d-Pro-l-Tyr) recorded good activity only against Gram-positive bacteria. To our knowledge, this is the first report of antifungal activity of the DKPs against the plant pathogenic fungi F. oxysporum, R. solani and P. expansum. The production of cyclo(l-Pro-l-Leu), cyclo(d-Pro-l-Leu) and cyclo-(d-Pro-l-Tyr) by a bacterium associated with EPN is also reported here for the first time. Isolated DKPs demonstrated high antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi, especially against plant pathogenic fungi. We conclude that the bacterium associated with EPN is a promising source of natural bioactive secondary metabolites which may receive great benefit in the field of agriculture. This study is a significant contribution to the knowledge of compounds unique from EPN bacteria as potential sources of new drugs in the agricultural and pharmacological industry. © 2012 The Authors Journal of Applied Microbiology © 2012 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

Biomedical information retrieval across languages.

PubMed

Daumke, Philipp; Markü, Kornél; Poprat, Michael; Schulz, Stefan; Klar, Rüdiger

2007-06-01

This work presents a new dictionary-based approach to biomedical cross-language information retrieval (CLIR) that addresses many of the general and domain-specific challenges in current CLIR research. Our method is based on a multilingual lexicon that was generated partly manually and partly automatically, and currently covers six European languages. It contains morphologically meaningful word fragments, termed subwords. Using subwords instead of entire words significantly reduces the number of lexical entries necessary to sufficiently cover a specific language and domain. Mediation between queries and documents is based on these subwords as well as on lists of word-n-grams that are generated from large monolingual corpora and constitute possible translation units. The translations are then sent to a standard Internet search engine. This process makes our approach an effective tool for searching the biomedical content of the World Wide Web in different languages. We evaluate this approach using the OHSUMED corpus, a large medical document collection, within a cross-language retrieval setting.

Host defense peptides of thrombin modulate inflammation and coagulation in endotoxin-mediated shock and Pseudomonas aeruginosa sepsis.

PubMed

Kalle, Martina; Papareddy, Praveen; Kasetty, Gopinath; Mörgelin, Matthias; van der Plas, Mariena J A; Rydengård, Victoria; Malmsten, Martin; Albiger, Barbara; Schmidtchen, Artur

2012-01-01

Gram-negative sepsis is accompanied by a disproportionate innate immune response and excessive coagulation mainly induced by endotoxins released from bacteria. Due to rising antibiotic resistance and current lack of other effective treatments there is an urgent need for new therapies. We here present a new treatment concept for sepsis and endotoxin-mediated shock, based on host defense peptides from the C-terminal part of human thrombin, found to have a broad and inhibitory effect on multiple sepsis pathologies. Thus, the peptides abrogate pro-inflammatory cytokine responses to endotoxin in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, they interfere with coagulation by modulating contact activation and tissue factor-mediated clotting in vitro, leading to normalization of coagulation responses in vivo, a previously unknown function of host defense peptides. In a mouse model of Pseudomonas aeruginosa sepsis, the peptide GKY25, while mediating a modest antimicrobial effect, significantly inhibited the pro-inflammatory response, decreased fibrin deposition and leakage in the lungs, as well as reduced mortality. Taken together, the capacity of such thrombin-derived peptides to simultaneously modulate bacterial levels, pro-inflammatory responses, and coagulation, renders them attractive therapeutic candidates for the treatment of invasive infections and sepsis.

A Comparative Study on the Amount of Extruded Material from the Apical Foramen with NiTi Rotary and Stainless Steel Hand Instruments

PubMed Central

Nazari, Shahrzad; MirMotalebi, Farshid

2006-01-01

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the present study was to quantify and compare the amount of extruded debris from apical foramen after instrumentation of the root canal system with hand and rotary instruments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Root canals of forty five fresh extracted single rooted human teeth with mature apexes and less than 15 degree of root curvature were instrumented in group A with stainless steel K-Type files, in group B with rotary NiTi Flex Master files, and in group C with rotary NiTi ProTaper files and followed weighting the extruded debris by a digital scale to within 0.0001 gram accuracy. RESULTS: In all groups, the mean weight of extruded debris was not more than 5 mg (P=0.0l) and was ranked as: Group A>Group B>Group C. There were statistically significant differences among three groups (p=0.0l). The mean value of extruded debris in the ProTaper and Flex Master groups were 0.652 and 0.788 mg, respectively. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that the amount of extruded debris from the apical foramen was minimal when ProTaper files were used. PMID:24470804

Investigation of Accelerated Methods for the Determination of Available Alkali in Pozzolans

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-02-01

181 p PC$9.50/MFS3.O0 Guidelines for Documentation of Computer Pro - Evaluation of Home Solar Heating System grams and Automated Data Systems UCL5...GrANT NO. 90, ORIGINATOR S REPORT NUMVIEEISI .PROJECT NO. Miscellaneous Pdper C-74-1 C. S. OTHER REPORT NOISP (AIr .dborms"M .0# Gmo Meol o SOl reo") tO...specification limit of 1.5 percent wifll not be exceeded when the pozzolan is evaluated by the present Standard Con - dition, 28 days at 38 C. In order to

Application of the Constant Exposure Time Technique to Transformation Experiments with Fission Neutrons; Failure to Demonstrate Dose-Rate Dependence

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-01-01

ive pro gramming or ltc’utrolns tld -, iii tile mixe’d field (’c)lthl(’ betet-- F-valer (calculation.is f’roni transfiirmiation data sets in min~ed...1991) but not all in vivo and fractions of the hypersensitive cells are expected at in vitro studies of radiation carcinogenesis (Ullrich the end of...fbrt donating beam time’ and dosimetry ticetrolls H. ( ;’suii berg. mauituscript ill prep- support and io the4 ntimerotis AFR RI staff members ara it

Cartographic projection procedures for the UNIX environment; a user's manual

USGS Publications Warehouse

Evenden, Gerald I.

1990-01-01

A tutorial description of the general usage of the cartographic projection program proj (release 3) along with specic cartographic parameters and illustrations of the ap- proximately 70 cartographic projections supported by the program is presented. The program is designed as a standard Unix lter utility to be employed with other pro- grams in the generation of maps and charts and, in many cases, used in map digitizing applications. Tables and shell scripts are also provided for conversion of State Plane Coordinate Systems to and from geographic coordinates.

Federal Agency Satellite Requirements.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-07-01

and data from DCPs within 20 minutes of ground station reception. 3. Weather Modification Proiect ( Morocco ) The goal of this project is to assist the...Government of Morocco " .’ in establishing a scientifically based weather modification pro- gram, especially for long-term precipitation enhancement. A...066J rl N -- m 0 ~ ~ ~ * VL. N~~E U E EE E E C C ~ E~W I ~~ S or. cc H O-0 3 q id IQ r.~ 0 w ni 0 633 ~.-.~ -1-, >’ %i~9 -9~S -- cSr .- t*~’* - ~- .nm

Intentions of Women (18-25 Years Old) to Join the Military: Results of a National Survey.

DTIC Science & Technology

1978-09-01

MILITARY : RESULTS OF A NATIONAL SURVEY __________________________ S . PERFORMING ORG. N~PQRT NUMUER 7. Au fllON(.) S CONTRACT OR GRANT NUNSER(.) Jules...I. Borack S . PERFORMING ORGANI ZAtION N AME~~~~D ADDRE SS ~~~~. PRO GRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT. TaS~- AREA & WÔRK UNIT NUMSERS Navy Personnel Research and...non— Be interested in hiking. traditional women ’ s activities a- Marital status Be married . Be single. Financial Have financial responsibility Have no

Automatic Cataloguing and Searching for Retrospective Data by Use of OCR Text.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tseng, Yuen-Hsien

2001-01-01

Describes efforts in supporting information retrieval from OCR (optical character recognition) degraded text. Reports on approaches used in an automatic cataloging and searching contest for books in multiple languages, including a vector space retrieval model, an n-gram indexing method, and a weighting scheme; and discusses problems of Asian…

The Enhancement of Concurrent Processing through Functional Programming Languages.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-06-01

ta * functional programming languages allow us to harness the pro- cessing power of computers with hundreds or even thousands of DD I 1473 EDITION OF...that it might be the best way to make imperative library", programs into functional ones which are well suited to concurrent processing. Accession For...statements in their code. We assert that functional programming languajes allok us to harness the processing power of computers with hundre4s or even

A practical approach to language complexity: a Wikipedia case study.

PubMed

Yasseri, Taha; Kornai, András; Kertész, János

2012-01-01

In this paper we present statistical analysis of English texts from Wikipedia. We try to address the issue of language complexity empirically by comparing the simple English Wikipedia (Simple) to comparable samples of the main English Wikipedia (Main). Simple is supposed to use a more simplified language with a limited vocabulary, and editors are explicitly requested to follow this guideline, yet in practice the vocabulary richness of both samples are at the same level. Detailed analysis of longer units (n-grams of words and part of speech tags) shows that the language of Simple is less complex than that of Main primarily due to the use of shorter sentences, as opposed to drastically simplified syntax or vocabulary. Comparing the two language varieties by the Gunning readability index supports this conclusion. We also report on the topical dependence of language complexity, that is, that the language is more advanced in conceptual articles compared to person-based (biographical) and object-based articles. Finally, we investigate the relation between conflict and language complexity by analyzing the content of the talk pages associated to controversial and peacefully developing articles, concluding that controversy has the effect of reducing language complexity.

Differences in physical status, mental state and online behavior of people in pro-anorexia web communities.

PubMed

Yom-Tov, Elad; Brunstein-Klomek, Anat; Hadas, Arie; Tamir, Or; Fennig, Silvana

2016-08-01

There is a debate about the effects of pro-anorexia (colloquially referred to as pro-ana) websites. Research suggests that the effect of these websites is not straightforward. Indeed, the actual function of these sites is disputed, with studies indicating both negative and positive effects. This is the first study which systematically examined the differences between pro-anorexia web communities in four main aspects: web language used (posts); web interests/search behaviors (queries); users' self-reported weight status and weight goals; and associated self-reported mood/pathology. We collected three primary sources of data, including messages posed on three pro-ana websites, a survey completed by over 1000 participants of a pro-ana website, and the searches made on the Bing search engine of pro-anorexia users. These data were analyzed for content, reported demographics and pathology, and behavior over time. Although members of the main pro-ana website investigated appear to be depressed, with high rates of self-harm and suicide attempts, users are significantly more interested in treatment, have wishes of procreation and reported the highest goal weights among the investigated sites. In contrast, users of other pro-ana websites investigated, are more interested in morbid themes including depression, self-harm and suicide. The percentage of severely malnourished website users, in general, appears to be small (20%). Our results indicate that a new strategy is required to facilitate the communication between mental health specialists and pro-ana web users, recognizing the differences in harm associated with different websites. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A novel method of language modeling for automatic captioning in TC video teleconferencing.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaojia; Zhao, Yunxin; Schopp, Laura

2007-05-01

We are developing an automatic captioning system for teleconsultation video teleconferencing (TC-VTC) in telemedicine, based on large vocabulary conversational speech recognition. In TC-VTC, doctors' speech contains a large number of infrequently used medical terms in spontaneous styles. Due to insufficiency of data, we adopted mixture language modeling, with models trained from several datasets of medical and nonmedical domains. This paper proposes novel modeling and estimation methods for the mixture language model (LM). Component LMs are trained from individual datasets, with class n-gram LMs trained from in-domain datasets and word n-gram LMs trained from out-of-domain datasets, and they are interpolated into a mixture LM. For class LMs, semantic categories are used for class definition on medical terms, names, and digits. The interpolation weights of a mixture LM are estimated by a greedy algorithm of forward weight adjustment (FWA). The proposed mixing of in-domain class LMs and out-of-domain word LMs, the semantic definitions of word classes, as well as the weight-estimation algorithm of FWA are effective on the TC-VTC task. As compared with using mixtures of word LMs with weights estimated by the conventional expectation-maximization algorithm, the proposed methods led to a 21% reduction of perplexity on test sets of five doctors, which translated into improvements of captioning accuracy.

The predictive value of plasma biomarkers in discharged heart failure patients: role of plasma NT-proBNP.

PubMed

Leto, Laura; Testa, Marzia; Feola, Mauro

2016-04-01

Natriuretic peptides (NPs) have demonstrated their value to support clinical diagnosis of heart failure (HF); furthermore they are also studied for their prognostic role using them to guide appropriate management strategies. The present review gathers available evidence on prognostic role of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients hospitalized for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). We searched Medline for English-language studies with the sequent key-words: "acute heart failure/acute decompensated heart failure", "NT-proBNP/N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide" and "prognosis/mortality/readmission". Almost 30 studies were included. NT-proBNP plasma levels at admission are strongly associated with all-cause short-term mortality (2-3 months), mid-term (6-11 months) or long- term mortality (more than one year) of follow-up. Regarding the prognostic power on cardiac death fewer data are available with uncertain results. NT-proBNP at discharge demonstrated its prognostic role for all-cause mortality at mid and long-term follow-up. The relation between NT-proBNP at discharge and cardiovascular mortality or composite end-point is under investigation. A decrease in NT-proBNP values during hospitalization provided prognostic prospects mainly for cardiovascular mortality and HF readmission. A 30% variation in NT-proBNP levels during in-hospital stay seemed to be an optimal cut-off for prognostic role. SNT-proBNP plasma levels proved to have a strong correlation with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, morbidity and composite outcomes in patients discharged after an ADHF. A better definition of the correct time of serial measurements and the cut-off values might be the challenge for the future investigations.

In vitro evaluation of tigemonam, a novel oral monobactam.

PubMed Central

Tanaka, S K; Summerill, R A; Minassian, B F; Bush, K; Visnic, D A; Bonner, D P; Sykes, R B

1987-01-01

Tigemonam, a novel, orally administered monobactam, exhibited potent and specific activity in vitro against members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Its activity was variable to poor against gram-positive bacteria, Acinetobacter spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and anaerobes. Within its spectrum of activity, tigemonam was far superior to oral antibiotics currently available, including amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefaclor, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. In addition, tigemonam was superior to cefuroxime, which is under development as an oral pro-drug, and more active than cefixime against several genera of the Enterobacteriaceae. The activity of tigemonam against the enteric bacteria, Haemophilus species, and Neisseria species was, in general, comparable to that of the quinolone norfloxacin. The excellent activity of tigemonam against beta-lactamase-producing bacteria reflected its marked stability to hydrolysis by isolated enzymes. The expanded spectrum of activity against gram-negative bacteria observed with tigemonam thus extends oral beta-lactam coverage to include members of the Enterobacteriaceae that are intrinsically or enzymatically resistant to broad-spectrum penicillins and cephalosporins. PMID:3105448

In vitro and in vivo antimicrobial efficacy of natural plant-derived compounds against Vibrio cholerae of O1 El Tor Inaba serotype.

PubMed

Kim, Hyung-Ip; Kim, Ji-Ae; Choi, Eun-Jin; Harris, Jason B; Jeong, Seong-Yeop; Son, Seok-Jun; Kim, Younghoon; Shin, Ok Sarah

2015-01-01

In this study, we investigated antibacterial activities of 20 plant-derived natural compounds against Gram-negative enteric pathogens. We found that both flavonoids and non-flavonoids, including honokiol and magnolol, possess specific antibacterial activities against V. cholerae, but not against other species of Gram-negative bacterium which we tested. Using various antibacterial assays, we determined that there was a dose-dependent bactericidal and biofilm inhibitory activity of honokiol and magnolol against Vibrio cholerae. In addition to antibacterial activities, these molecules also induced an attenuating effect on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and pro-inflammatory responses generated by macrophages in response to lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Additionally, Caenorhabditis elegans lethality assay revealed that honokiol and magnolol have an ability to extend a lifespan of V. cholerae-infected worms, contributing to prolonged survival of worms after lethal infection. Altogether, our data show for the first time that honokiol and magnolol may be considered as attractive protective or preventive food adjuncts for cholera.

A novel C-type lectin with two CRD domains from Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis functions as a pattern recognition protein.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiao-Wen; Xu, Wen-Teng; Wang, Xian-Wei; Mu, Yi; Zhao, Xiao-Fan; Yu, Xiao-Qiang; Wang, Jin-Xing

2009-05-01

Lectins are regarded as potential immune recognition proteins. In this study, a novel C-type lectin (Fc-Lec2) was cloned from the hepatopancreas of Chinese shrimp, Fenneropenaeus chinensis. The cDNA of Fc-Lec2 is 1219 bp with an open reading frame (ORF) of 1002 bp that encodes a protein of 333 amino acids. Fc-Lec2 contains a signal peptide and two different carbohydrate recognition domains (CRDs) arranged in tandem. The first CRD contains a QPD (Gln-Pro-Asp) motif that has a predicted binding specificity for galactose and the second CRD contains a EPN (Glu-Pro-Asn) motif for mannose. Fc-Lec2 was constitutively expressed in the hepatopancreas of normal shrimp, and its expression was up-regulated in the hepatopancreas of shrimp challenged with bacteria or viruses. Recombinant mature Fc-Lec2 and its two individual CRDs (CRD1 and 2) did not have hemagglutinating activity against animal red blood cells, but agglutinated some gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in a calcium-dependent manner. The three recombinant proteins also bound to bacteria in the absence of calcium. Fc-Lec2 seems to have broader specificity and higher affinity for bacteria and polysaccharides (peptidoglycan, lipoteichoic acid and lipopolysaccharide) than each of the two individual CRDs. These data suggest that the two CRDs have synergistic effect, and the intact lectin may be more effective in response to bacterial infection, the Fc-Lec2 performs its pattern recognition function by binding to polysaccharides of pathogen cells.

Generalising Ward's Method for Use with Manhattan Distances.

PubMed

Strauss, Trudie; von Maltitz, Michael Johan

2017-01-01

The claim that Ward's linkage algorithm in hierarchical clustering is limited to use with Euclidean distances is investigated. In this paper, Ward's clustering algorithm is generalised to use with l1 norm or Manhattan distances. We argue that the generalisation of Ward's linkage method to incorporate Manhattan distances is theoretically sound and provide an example of where this method outperforms the method using Euclidean distances. As an application, we perform statistical analyses on languages using methods normally applied to biology and genetic classification. We aim to quantify differences in character traits between languages and use a statistical language signature based on relative bi-gram (sequence of two letters) frequencies to calculate a distance matrix between 32 Indo-European languages. We then use Ward's method of hierarchical clustering to classify the languages, using the Euclidean distance and the Manhattan distance. Results obtained from using the different distance metrics are compared to show that the Ward's algorithm characteristic of minimising intra-cluster variation and maximising inter-cluster variation is not violated when using the Manhattan metric.

[Creating language model of the forensic medicine domain for developing a autopsy recording system by automatic speech recognition].

PubMed

Niijima, H; Ito, N; Ogino, S; Takatori, T; Iwase, H; Kobayashi, M

2000-11-01

For the purpose of practical use of speech recognition technology for recording of forensic autopsy, a language model of the speech recording system, specialized for the forensic autopsy, was developed. The language model for the forensic autopsy by applying 3-gram model was created, and an acoustic model for Japanese speech recognition by Hidden Markov Model in addition to the above were utilized to customize the speech recognition engine for forensic autopsy. A forensic vocabulary set of over 10,000 words was compiled and some 300,000 sentence patterns were made to create the forensic language model, then properly mixing with a general language model to attain high exactitude. When tried by dictating autopsy findings, this speech recognition system was proved to be about 95% of recognition rate that seems to have reached to the practical usability in view of speech recognition software, though there remains rooms for improving its hardware and application-layer software.

Diagnostic value of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide for pleural effusion due to heart failure: a meta-analysis.

PubMed

Zhou, Q; Ye, Z J; Su, Y; Zhang, J C; Shi, H Z

2010-08-01

N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a biomarker useful in diagnosis of pleural effusion due to heart failure. Thus far, its overall diagnostic accuracy has not been systematically reviewed. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to establish the overall diagnostic accuracy of the measurement of pleural NT-proBNP for identifying pleural effusion due to heart failure. After a systematic review of English-language studies, sensitivity, specificity, and other measures of accuracy of NT-proBNP concentrations in pleural fluid in the diagnosis of pleural effusion resulting from heart failure were pooled using fixed-effects models. Summary receiver operating characteristic curves were used to summarise overall test performance. Eight publications met the inclusion criteria. The summary estimates for pleural NT-proBNP in the diagnosis of pleural effusion attributable to heart failure were: sensitivity 0.95 (95% CI 0.92 to 0.97), specificity 0.94 (0.92 to 0.96), positive likelihood ratio 14.12 (10.23 to 19.51), negative likelihood ratio 0.06 (0.04 to 0.09) and diagnostic OR 213.87 (122.50 to 373.40). NT-proBNP levels in pleural fluid showed a high diagnostic accuracy and may help accurately differentiate cardiac from non-cardiac conditions in patients presenting with pleural effusion.

Myeloid-derived NF-κB negative regulation of PU.1 and cEBPβ-driven pro-inflammatory cytokine production restrains LPS-induced Shock

PubMed Central

Vanoni, Simone; Tsai, Yi Ting; Waddell, Amanda; Waggoner, Lisa; Klarquist, Jared; Divanovic, Senad; Hoebe, Kasper; Steinbrecher, Kris A.; Hogan, Simon P.

2017-01-01

Sepsis is a life-threatening event predominantly caused by gram-negative bacteria. Bacterial infection causes a pronounced macrophage (MΦ) and dendritic cell (DC) activation that leads to excessive pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α production (cytokine storm), resulting in endotoxic shock. Previous experimental studies have revealed that inhibiting Nuclear Factor kappa Beta (NF-κB) signaling ameliorates disease symptoms; however, the contribution of myeloid p65 in endotoxic shock remains elusive. In this study, we demonstrate increased mortality in mice lacking p65 in the myeloid lineage (p65Δmye) compared to wild type (WT) mice upon ultra-pure LPS (U-LPS) challenge. We show that increased susceptibility to Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced shock was associated with elevated serum level of IL-1β and IL-6. Mechanistic analyses revealed that LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokine production was ameliorated in p65-deficient bone marrow–derived macrophages (BMDMs); however, p65-deficient “activated” peritoneal macrophages (MΦs) exhibited elevated IL-1β and IL-6. We show that the elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion was due in part to increased accumulation of IL-1β mRNA and protein in activated inflammatory MΦs. The increased IL-1β was linked with heightened binding of PU.1 and CCAAT/Enhancer Binding Protein Beta (cEBPβ to Il1b and Il6 promoters in activated inflammatory MΦs. Our data provides insight into a role for NF-κB in the negative regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines in myeloid cells. PMID:27932520

Hotlines for Children: What Makes Them Effective?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Long, Thomas J.; Long, Lynette

1988-01-01

Points out that successful telephone hotlines for children share several common denominators, including a pro-family philosophy, the use of highly trained volunteers, a sensitivity to cultural and language differences, and other administrative and legal factors. Advocates the establishment of a national children's help line. (BB)

Comparative experimental infection of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria ivanovii in bovine trophoblasts.

PubMed

Rocha, Cláudia E; Mol, Juliana P S; Garcia, Luize N N; Costa, Luciana F; Santos, Renato L; Paixão, Tatiane A

2017-01-01

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive, facultative intracellular and invasive bacterium that has tropism to the placenta, and causes fetal morbidity and mortality in several mammalian species. While infection with L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii are known as important causes of abortion and reproductive failure in cattle, the pathogenesis of maternal-fetal listeriosis in this species is poorly known. This study used the bovine chorioallantoic membrane explant model to investigate the kinetics of L. monocytogenes, L. ivanovii, and L. innocua infections in bovine trophoblastic cells for up to 8 h post infection. L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii were able to invade and multiply in trophoblastic cells without causing cell death or inducing expression of pro-inflammatory genes. Although L. innocua was unable to multiply in bovine trophoblastic cells, it induced transcription of the pro-inflammatory mediator CXCL6. This study demonstrated for the first time the susceptibility of bovine trophoblastic cells to L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii infection.

Comparative experimental infection of Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria ivanovii in bovine trophoblasts

PubMed Central

Rocha, Cláudia E.; Mol, Juliana P. S.; Garcia, Luize N. N.; Costa, Luciana F.; Santos, Renato L.

2017-01-01

Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive, facultative intracellular and invasive bacterium that has tropism to the placenta, and causes fetal morbidity and mortality in several mammalian species. While infection with L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii are known as important causes of abortion and reproductive failure in cattle, the pathogenesis of maternal-fetal listeriosis in this species is poorly known. This study used the bovine chorioallantoic membrane explant model to investigate the kinetics of L. monocytogenes, L. ivanovii, and L. innocua infections in bovine trophoblastic cells for up to 8 h post infection. L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii were able to invade and multiply in trophoblastic cells without causing cell death or inducing expression of pro-inflammatory genes. Although L. innocua was unable to multiply in bovine trophoblastic cells, it induced transcription of the pro-inflammatory mediator CXCL6. This study demonstrated for the first time the susceptibility of bovine trophoblastic cells to L. monocytogenes and L. ivanovii infection. PMID:28467447

[Usefulness of brain natriuretic propeptide in the diagnosis and management of patent ductus arteriosus].

PubMed

Montaner Ramón, Alicia; Galve Pradel, Zenaida; Fernández Espuelas, Cristina; Jiménez Montañés, Lorenzo; Samper Villagrasa, María Pilar; Rite Gracia, Segundo

2017-06-01

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a prevalent condition in preterm infants, and may be related to increased morbidity and mortality in the most immature newborns. Recent studies have examined the usefulness of brain natriuretic propeptide (proBNP) in the diagnosis of this pathology. The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of proBNP as a marker of hemodynamic overload in PDA. A retrospective study was conducted on preterm infants less than 32 weeks of gestation and/or weight less than 1500 grams. Echocardiogram and determination of proBNP levels were performed on all patients. Comparison was made by subgroups according to the presence of PDA and their haemodynamic characteristics. Of the 60 patients enrolled, 71.7% had PDA, of which 86% had haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (HS-PDA). All of them, but one, received medical treatment with ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Surgical closure was required in 29.7% of HS-PDA. Higher values of proBNP were found in patients with HS-PDA (33338±34494.47pg/mL; p=.000) compared with patients with closed or non-haemodynamically significant ductus arteriosus. Higher values were also found in patients who required surgical closure of PDA (30596.8±14910.9; p=.004). A greater decrease inproBNP levels was found in the group of patients which duct closure after pharmacological treatment (68±24.69% vs -12.22±99.4%; p=.030). ProBNP cutoff-level for HS-PDA was calculated by ROC curve and it was 9321.5pg/mL (Specificity: 100%, Sensitivity: 94.6%). ProBNP levels are related to the presence or absence of haemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus; and its variations with treatment response. High values are also related to the need for surgical closure of PDA. Copyright © 2015 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Cyclic dipeptides from rhabditid entomopathogenic nematode-associated Bacillus cereus have antimicrobial activities.

PubMed

Nishanth Kumar, S; Nath, Vishnu Sukumari; Pratap Chandran, R; Nambisan, Bala

2014-02-01

The cell free culture filtrate of Bacillus cereus associated with an entomopathogenic nematode, Rhabditis (Oscheius) sp. exhibited strong antimicrobial activity. The ethyl acetate extract of the bacterial culture filtrate was purified by silica gel column chromatography to obtain four bioactive compounds. The structure and absolute stereochemistry of these compounds were determined based on extensive spectroscopic analyses (FABMS, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, (1)H-(1)H COSY, (1)H-(13)C HMBC) and Marfey's method. The compounds were identified as cyclic dipeptides (CDPs): cyclo(L-Pro-L-Trp), cyclo(L-Leu-L-Val), cyclo(D-Pro-D-Met), and cyclo(D-Pro-D-Phe), respectively. Compounds recorded significant antibacterial activity against all the test bacteria (Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-resistant S. aureus) except cyclo(L-Leu-L-Val). Cyclo(L-Leu-L-Val) recorded activity only against Gram positive bacteria. Best antibacterial activity was recorded by cyclo(L-Pro-L-Trp) against S. aureus (4 μg/ml). The four compounds were active against all the five fungi tested (Trichophyton rubrum, Aspergillus flavus, Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis and Cryptococcus neoformans) and the activity was compared with amphotericin B, the standard fungicide. The highest activity of 1 μg/ml by cyclo(L-Pro-L-Trp) was recorded against T. rubrum, a human pathogen responsible for causing athlete's foot, jock itch, and ringworm. The activity of cyclo(L-Pro-L-Trp) against T. rubrum, C. neoformans and C. albicans were better than amphotericin B, the standard antifungal agent. To our knowledge, this is the first report of antifungal activity of CDPs against the human pathogenic fungi T. rubrum and C. neoformans. The four CDPs are nontoxic to healthy human cell line up to 200 μg/ml. We conclude that the bacterium associated with entomopathogenic nematode is promising sources of natural antimicrobial secondary metabolites, which may receive greater benefit as potential sources of new drugs in the pharmaceutical industry.

Identifying the missing proteins in human proteome by biological language model.

PubMed

Dong, Qiwen; Wang, Kai; Liu, Xuan

2016-12-23

With the rapid development of high-throughput sequencing technology, the proteomics research becomes a trendy field in the post genomics era. It is necessary to identify all the native-encoding protein sequences for further function and pathway analysis. Toward that end, the Human Proteome Organization lunched the Human Protein Project in 2011. However many proteins are hard to be detected by experiment methods, which becomes one of the bottleneck in Human Proteome Project. In consideration of the complicatedness of detecting these missing proteins by using wet-experiment approach, here we use bioinformatics method to pre-filter the missing proteins. Since there are analogy between the biological sequences and natural language, the n-gram models from Natural Language Processing field has been used to filter the missing proteins. The dataset used in this study contains 616 missing proteins from the "uncertain" category of the neXtProt database. There are 102 proteins deduced by the n-gram model, which have high probability to be native human proteins. We perform a detail analysis on the predicted structure and function of these missing proteins and also compare the high probability proteins with other mass spectrum datasets. The evaluation shows that the results reported here are in good agreement with those obtained by other well-established databases. The analysis shows that 102 proteins may be native gene-coding proteins and some of the missing proteins are membrane or natively disordered proteins which are hard to be detected by experiment methods.

Statistical Analysis of the Indus Script Using n-Grams

PubMed Central

Yadav, Nisha; Joglekar, Hrishikesh; Rao, Rajesh P. N.; Vahia, Mayank N.; Adhikari, Ronojoy; Mahadevan, Iravatham

2010-01-01

The Indus script is one of the major undeciphered scripts of the ancient world. The small size of the corpus, the absence of bilingual texts, and the lack of definite knowledge of the underlying language has frustrated efforts at decipherment since the discovery of the remains of the Indus civilization. Building on previous statistical approaches, we apply the tools of statistical language processing, specifically n-gram Markov chains, to analyze the syntax of the Indus script. We find that unigrams follow a Zipf-Mandelbrot distribution. Text beginner and ender distributions are unequal, providing internal evidence for syntax. We see clear evidence of strong bigram correlations and extract significant pairs and triplets using a log-likelihood measure of association. Highly frequent pairs and triplets are not always highly significant. The model performance is evaluated using information-theoretic measures and cross-validation. The model can restore doubtfully read texts with an accuracy of about 75%. We find that a quadrigram Markov chain saturates information theoretic measures against a held-out corpus. Our work forms the basis for the development of a stochastic grammar which may be used to explore the syntax of the Indus script in greater detail. PMID:20333254

Bacterial Pore-Forming Toxins Promote the Activation of Caspases in Parallel to Necroptosis to Enhance Alarmin Release and Inflammation During Pneumonia.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Juarbe, Norberto; Bradley, Kelley M; Riegler, Ashleigh N; Reyes, Luis F; Brissac, Terry; Park, Sang-Sang; Restrepo, Marcos I; Orihuela, Carlos J

2018-04-11

Pore-forming toxins are the most common virulence factor in pathogenic bacteria. They lead to membrane permeabilization and cell death. Herein, we show that respiratory epithelial cells (REC) undergoing bacterial pore-forming toxin (PFT)-induced necroptosis simultaneously experienced caspase activation independently of RIPK3. MLKL deficient REC treated with a pan-caspase inhibitor were protected in an additive manner against PFT-induced death. Subsequently, cleaved versions of caspases-2, -4 and -10 were detected within REC undergoing necroptosis by immunoblots and monoclonal antibody staining. Caspase activation was observed in lung samples from mice and non-human primates experiencing Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial pneumonia, respectively. During apoptosis, caspase activation normally leads to cell shrinkage, nuclear condensation, and immunoquiescent death. In contrast, caspase activity during PFT-induced necroptosis increased the release of alarmins to the extracellular milieu. Caspase-mediated alarmin release was found sufficient to activate resting macrophages, leading to Interleukin-6 production. In a mouse model of Gram-negative pneumonia, deletion of caspases -2 and -11, the mouse orthologue of caspase-4, reduced pulmonary inflammation, immune cell infiltration and lung damage. Thus, our study describes a previously unrecognized role for caspase activation in parallel to necroptosis, and indicates that their activity plays a critical pro-inflammatory role during bacterial pneumonia.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN IN VITRO TEST AND A PROTOTYPE MODEL TO PREDICT CELLULAR PENETRATION OF NANOPARTICLES

EPA Science Inventory

This research will aid in developing a common language that describes NPs and their characteristics. The outcomes will set the stage for correlating the properties of nanoparticles with their impact on epithelial cells and ultimately their biological fate and toxicity. The pro...

Bad News: Analysis of the Quality of Information on Influenza Prevention Returned by Google in English and Italian

PubMed Central

Maki, Ali; Evans, Roger; Ghezzi, Pietro

2015-01-01

Information available to the public influences the approach of the population toward vaccination against influenza compared with other preventative approaches. In this study, we have analyzed the first 200 websites returned by searching Google on two topics (prevention of influenza and influenza vaccine), in English and Italian. For all the four searches above, websites were classified according to their typology (government, commercial, professional, portals, etc.) and for their trustworthiness as defined by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) score, which assesses whether they provide some basic elements of information quality (IQ): authorship, currency, disclosure, and references. The type of information described was also assessed to add another dimension of IQ. Websites on influenza prevention were classified according to the type of preventative approach mentioned (vaccine, lifestyle, hygiene, complementary medicine, etc.), whether the approaches were in agreement with evidence-based medicine (EBM) or not. Websites on influenza vaccination were classified as pro- or anti-vaccine, or neutral. The great majority of websites described EBM approaches to influenza prevention and had a pro-vaccine orientation. Government websites mainly pointed at EBM preventative approaches and had a pro-vaccine orientation, while there was a higher proportion of commercial websites among those which promote non-EBM approaches. Although the JAMA score was lower in commercial websites, it did not correlate with the preventative approaches suggested or the orientation toward vaccines. For each of the four search engine result pages (SERP), only one website displayed the health-of-the-net (HON) seal. In the SERP on vaccines, journalistic websites were the most abundant category and ranked higher than average in both languages. Analysis using natural language processing showed that journalistic websites were mostly reporting news about two specific topics (different in the two languages). While the ranking by Google favors EBM approaches and, in English, does not promote commercial websites, in both languages it gives a great advantage to news. Thus, the type of news published during the influenza season probably has a key importance in orienting the public opinion due to its high visibility. This raises important questions on the relationships between health IQ, trustworthiness, and newsworthiness. PMID:26697012

'You have a swelling': The language of cancer diagnosis and implications for cancer management in Kenya.

PubMed

Githaiga, Jennifer Nyawira; Swartz, Leslie

2017-05-01

To examine the ramifications of language as a vehicle of communication in the Kenyan healthcare system. (1) A review of literature search on language access and health care in Kenya, using Scopus, Web of Science, Ebscohost, ProQuest and Google Scholar electronic databases. (2) Two illustrative case studies from a Nairobi based qualitative research project on family cancer caregivers' experiences. Evidence from the case studies shows that language barriers may hinder understanding of cancer diagnoses and consequently, the nature of interventions sought by family members as informal caregivers of cancer patients. Findings demonstrate the significance of language in understanding cancer diagnosis as a basis for treatment seeking behaviour and specifically in light of the critical role played by informal caregivers in under resourced health care contexts. (1) The assumption that English and Swahili are adequate in communication in Kenyan health care contexts ought to be reviewed. (2) Further research and assessment of language needs as a basis for training of language interpreters in the Kenyan health care system is a necessity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Antimicrobial proline-rich peptides from the hemolymph of marine snail Rapana venosa.

PubMed

Dolashka, Pavlina; Moshtanska, Vesela; Borisova, Valika; Dolashki, Aleksander; Stevanovic, Stefan; Dimanov, Tzvetan; Voelter, Wolfgang

2011-07-01

Hemolymph of Rapana venosa snails is a complex mixture of biochemically and pharmacologically active components such as peptides and proteins. Antimicrobial peptides are gaining attention as antimicrobial alternatives to chemical food preservatives and commonly used antibiotics. Therefore, for the first time we have explored the isolation, identification and characterisation of 11 novel antimicrobial peptides produced by the hemolymph of molluscs. The isolated peptides from the hemolymph applying ultrafiltration and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) have molecular weights between 3000 and 9500 Da, determined by mass spectrometric analysis. The N-terminal sequences of the peptides identified by Edman degradation matched no peptides in the MASCOT search database, indicating novel proline-rich peptides. UV spectra revealed that these substances possessed the characteristics of protein peptides with acidic isoelectric points. However, no Cotton effects were observed between 190 and 280 nm by circular dichroism spectroscopy. Four of the pro-rich peptides also showed strong antimicrobial activities against tested microorganisms including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The AFRL MITLL WMT15 System: Theres More than OneWay to Decode It!

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-25

pages 376– 380 , Baltimore, Maryland, USA, June. Associ- ation for Computational Linguistics. Jacob Devlin, Rabih Zbib, Zhongqiang Huang, Thomas Lamar...LL/AFRL IWSLT-2014 MT system. In Pro- ceedings of the 11th International Workshop on Spo - ken Language Translation (IWSLT’14), Lake Tahoe, California

The Value of Picture-Book Reading-Based Collaborative Output Activities for Vocabulary Retention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sun, Chia-Ho

2017-01-01

This study investigated the effects of three instructional modes: picture-book reading-only (PRO), picture-book reading plus vocabulary instruction (PRVI), and picture-book reading plus reading-based collaborative output activity (PRCOA) on young adult EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' vocabulary acquisition and retention. Eighty…

Sharing the skies: the Gemini Observatory international time allocation process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Margheim, Steven J.

2016-07-01

Gemini Observatory serves a diverse community of four partner countries (United States, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina), two hosts (Chile and University of Hawaii), and limited-term partnerships (currently Australia and the Republic of Korea). Observing time is available via multiple opportunities including Large and Long Pro- grams, Fast-turnaround programs, and regular semester queue programs. The slate of programs for observation each semester must be created by merging programs from these multiple, conflicting sources. This paper de- scribes the time allocation process used to schedule the overall science program for the semester, with emphasis on the International Time Allocation Committee and the software applications used.

Computer-Assisted Update of a Consumer Health Vocabulary Through Mining of Social Network Data

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Consumer health vocabularies (CHVs) have been developed to aid consumer health informatics applications. This purpose is best served if the vocabulary evolves with consumers’ language. Objective Our objective was to create a computer assisted update (CAU) system that works with live corpora to identify new candidate terms for inclusion in the open access and collaborative (OAC) CHV. Methods The CAU system consisted of three main parts: a Web crawler and an HTML parser, a candidate term filter that utilizes natural language processing tools including term recognition methods, and a human review interface. In evaluation, the CAU system was applied to the health-related social network website PatientsLikeMe.com. The system’s utility was assessed by comparing the candidate term list it generated to a list of valid terms hand extracted from the text of the crawled webpages. Results The CAU system identified 88,994 unique terms 1- to 7-grams (“n-grams” are n consecutive words within a sentence) in 300 crawled PatientsLikeMe.com webpages. The manual review of the crawled webpages identified 651 valid terms not yet included in the OAC CHV or the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) Metathesaurus, a collection of vocabularies amalgamated to form an ontology of medical terms, (ie, 1 valid term per 136.7 candidate n-grams). The term filter selected 774 candidate terms, of which 237 were valid terms, that is, 1 valid term among every 3 or 4 candidates reviewed. Conclusion The CAU system is effective for generating a list of candidate terms for human review during CHV development. PMID:21586386

Pooling of cross-cultural PRO data in multinational clinical trials: how much can poor measurement affect statistical power?

PubMed

Regnault, Antoine; Hamel, Jean-François; Patrick, Donald L

2015-02-01

Cultural differences and/or poor linguistic validation of patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments may result in differences in the assessment of the targeted concept across languages. In the context of multinational clinical trials, these measurement differences may add noise and potentially measurement bias to treatment effect estimation. Our objective was to explore the potential effect on treatment effect estimation of the "contamination" of a cultural subgroup by a flawed PRO measurement. We ran a simulation exercise in which the distribution of the score in the overall sample was considered a mixture of two normal distributions: a standard normal distribution was assumed in a "main" subgroup and a normal distribution which differed either in mean (bias) or in variance (noise) in a "contaminated" subgroup (the subgroup with potential flaws in the PRO measurement). The observed power was compared to the expected power (i.e., the power that would have been observed if the subgroup had not been contaminated). Even if differences between the expected and observed power were small, some substantial differences were obtained (up to a 0.375 point drop in power). No situation was systematically protected against loss of power. The impact of poor PRO measurement in a cultural subgroup may induce a notable drop in the study power and consequently reduce the chance of showing an actual treatment effect. These results illustrate the importance of the efforts to optimize conceptual and linguistic equivalence of PRO measures when pooling data in international clinical trials.

The lipid A of Burkholderia multivorans C1576 smooth-type lipopolysaccharide and its pro-inflammatory activity in a cystic fibrosis airways model.

PubMed

Ieranò, Teresa; Cescutti, Paola; Leone, Maria Rosaria; Luciani, Alessandro; Rizzo, Roberto; Raia, Valeria; Lanzetta, Rosa; Parrilli, Michelangelo; Maiuri, Luigi; Silipo, Alba; Molinaro, Antonio

2010-12-01

Cystic fibrosis is an autosomal recessive disorder and it is characterised by chronic bacterial airway infection which leads to progressive lung deterioration, sometimes with fatal outcome. Burkholderia multivorans and Burkholderia cenocepacia are the species responsible for most of the infections of cystic fibrosis patients. Lipopolysaccharide endotoxins (LPSs) are among the foremost factors of pathogenesis of Gram-negative infection and, in particular, lipid A is the endotoxic portion of LPS responsible for eliciting host innate immune response. In this work, the complete primary structure of the lipid A from B. multivorans C1576 has been defined and, further, its pro-inflammatory activity in a cystic fibrosis airways model is shown. The structure of B. multivorans lipid A was attained by chemical, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses whereas its biological activity was assessed on the intestinal epithelial cell line CACO-2 cells, on the airway epithelial IB3-1 cells, carrying the ΔF508/W1282X CFTR mutation and on an ex vivo model of culture explants of nasal polyps.

Functional characterization of bovine TIRAP and MyD88 in mediating bacterial lipopolysaccharide-induced endothelial NF-kappaB activation and apoptosis.

PubMed

Cates, Elizabeth A; Connor, Erin E; Mosser, David M; Bannerman, Douglas D

2009-11-01

Mastitis is a prevalent disease in dairy cows. Gram-negative bacteria, which express the pro-inflammatory molecule lipopolysaccharide (LPS), are responsible for the majority of acute clinical cases of mastitis. Previous studies have identified differential susceptibility of human and bovine endothelial cells (EC) to the pro-inflammatory and injury-inducing effects of LPS. The Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 signaling pathway, which is activated by LPS, has been well studied in humans, but not in ruminants. Human myeloid differentiation-factor 88 (MyD88) and TIR-domain containing adaptor protein (TIRAP) are critical proteins in the LPS-induced NF-kappaB and apoptotic signaling pathways. To assess the role of the bovine orthologs of these proteins in bovine TLR-4 signaling, dominant-negative constructs were expressed in bovine EC, and LPS-induced NF-kappaB activation and apoptosis evaluated. The results from this study indicate that bovine MyD88 and TIRAP play functional roles in transducing LPS signaling from TLR-4 to downstream effector molecules involved in NF-kappaB activation, and that TIRAP promotes apoptotic signaling.

Tyrocidine A Analogues Bearing the Planar d-Phe-2-Abz Turn Motif: How Conformation Impacts Bioactivity.

PubMed

Cameron, Alan J; Edwards, Patrick J B; Harjes, Elena; Sarojini, Vijayalekshmi

2017-12-14

The d-Phe-Pro β-turn of the cyclic β-hairpin antimicrobial decapeptide tyrocidine A, (Tyrc A) was substituted with the d-Phe-2-aminobenzoic acid (2-Abz) motif in a synthetic analogue (1). The NMR structure of 1 demonstrated that compound 1 retained the β-hairpin structure of Tyrc A with additional planarity, resulting in approximately 30-fold reduced hemolysis than Tyrc A. Although antibacterial activity was partially compromised, a single Gln to Lys substitution (2) restored activity equivalent to Tyrc A against S. aureus, enhanced activity against two Gram negative strains and maintained the reduced hemeloysis of 1. Analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) suggested a membrane lytic mechanism of action for these peptides. Compound 2 also exhibits nanomolar antifungal activity in synergy with amphotericin B. The d-Phe-2-Abz turn may serve as a tool for the synthesis of structurally predictable β-hairpin libraries. Unlike traditional β-turn motifs such as d-Pro-Gly, both the 2-Abz and d-Phe rings may be further functionalized.

Extending Situated Language Comprehension (Accounts) with Speaker and Comprehender Characteristics: Toward Socially Situated Interpretation.

PubMed

Münster, Katja; Knoeferle, Pia

2017-01-01

More and more findings suggest a tight temporal coupling between (non-linguistic) socially interpreted context and language processing. Still, real-time language processing accounts remain largely elusive with respect to the influence of biological (e.g., age) and experiential (e.g., world and moral knowledge) comprehender characteristics and the influence of the 'socially interpreted' context, as for instance provided by the speaker. This context could include actions, facial expressions, a speaker's voice or gaze, and gestures among others. We review findings from social psychology, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics to highlight the relevance of (the interplay between) the socially interpreted context and comprehender characteristics for language processing. The review informs the extension of an extant real-time processing account (already featuring a coordinated interplay between language comprehension and the non-linguistic visual context) with a variable ('ProCom') that captures characteristics of the language user and with a first approximation of the comprehender's speaker representation. Extending the CIA to the sCIA (social Coordinated Interplay Account) is the first step toward a real-time language comprehension account which might eventually accommodate the socially situated communicative interplay between comprehenders and speakers.

Extending Situated Language Comprehension (Accounts) with Speaker and Comprehender Characteristics: Toward Socially Situated Interpretation

PubMed Central

Münster, Katja; Knoeferle, Pia

2018-01-01

More and more findings suggest a tight temporal coupling between (non-linguistic) socially interpreted context and language processing. Still, real-time language processing accounts remain largely elusive with respect to the influence of biological (e.g., age) and experiential (e.g., world and moral knowledge) comprehender characteristics and the influence of the ‘socially interpreted’ context, as for instance provided by the speaker. This context could include actions, facial expressions, a speaker’s voice or gaze, and gestures among others. We review findings from social psychology, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics to highlight the relevance of (the interplay between) the socially interpreted context and comprehender characteristics for language processing. The review informs the extension of an extant real-time processing account (already featuring a coordinated interplay between language comprehension and the non-linguistic visual context) with a variable (‘ProCom’) that captures characteristics of the language user and with a first approximation of the comprehender’s speaker representation. Extending the CIA to the sCIA (social Coordinated Interplay Account) is the first step toward a real-time language comprehension account which might eventually accommodate the socially situated communicative interplay between comprehenders and speakers. PMID:29416517

Rethinking Education--Emerging Roles for Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dar, Fatima Rehan

2015-01-01

The purpose of the study was to find out how teachers role modeled and taught empathetic and pro-social skills at the primary level. The study was qualitative in nature and followed a case study approach. Observations of regular English language classes were done from Grades 1-5 to see if class lessons incorporated the said themes and whether…

SBexpert users guide (version 1.0): a knowledge-based decision-support system for spruce beetle management.

Treesearch

Keith M. Reynolds; Edward H. Holsten; Richard A. Werner

1994-01-01

SBexpert version 1.0 is a knowledge-based decision-support system for spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rutipennis (Kby.)) management developed for use in Microsoft Windows with the KnowledgePro Windows development language. The SBexpert users guide provides detailed instructions on the use of all SBexpert features. SBexpert has four main topics (...

Bacteroides fragilis Lipopolysaccharide and Inflammatory Signaling in Alzheimer’s Disease

PubMed Central

Lukiw, Walter J.

2016-01-01

The human microbiome consists of ~3.8 × 1013 symbiotic microorganisms that form a highly complex and dynamic ecosystem: the gastrointestinal (GI) tract constitutes the largest repository of the human microbiome by far, and its impact on human neurological health and disease is becoming increasingly appreciated. Bacteroidetes, the largest phylum of Gram-negative bacteria in the GI tract microbiome, while generally beneficial to the host when confined to the GI tract, have potential to secrete a remarkably complex array of pro-inflammatory neurotoxins that include surface lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) and toxic proteolytic peptides. The deleterious effects of these bacterial exudates appear to become more important as GI tract and blood-brain barriers alter or increase their permeability with aging and disease. For example, presence of the unique LPSs of the abundant Bacteroidetes species Bacteroides fragilis (BF-LPS) in the serum represents a major contributing factor to systemic inflammation. BF-LPS is further recognized by TLR2, TLR4, and/or CD14 microglial cell receptors as are the pro-inflammatory 42 amino acid amyloid-beta (Aβ42) peptides that characterize Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brain. Here we provide the first evidence that BF-LPS exposure to human primary brain cells is an exceptionally potent inducer of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-kB (p50/p65) complex, a known trigger in the expression of pathogenic pathways involved in inflammatory neurodegeneration. This ‘Perspectives communication’ will in addition highlight work from recent studies that advance novel and emerging concepts on the potential contribution of microbiome-generated factors, such as BF-LPS, in driving pro-inflammatory degenerative neuropathology in the AD brain. PMID:27725817

[Effects of several inhibitors of intracellular signaling on production of cytokines and signal proteins in RAW 264.7 cells cultivated with low dose ammonium].

PubMed

Novoselova, E G; Parfeniuk, S B; Glushkova, O V; Khrenov, M O; Novoselova, T V; Lunin, S M; Fesenko, E E

2012-01-01

Effects of four inhibitors of NF-kappaB, SAPK/JNK and TLR4 signaling, namely, inhibitor XII, SP600125, CLI-095 and Oxpapc on a macrophage response to low dose ammonium were studied in RAW 264.7 cells. Low dose ammonium induced pro-inflammatory response in cells as judged from enhanced production of TNF-alpha, IF-gamma, and IL-6, and by activation of signal cascades. The increase in production of cytokines, namely TNF, IFN, and IL-6, demonstrated that low-dose ammonium induced a pro-inflammatory cellular response. In addition, an activation of NF-kappaB and SAPK/JNK cascades, as well as enhancement of TLR4 expression was shown. Each of used inhibitors reduced to a variable degree the pro-inflammatory response of RAW 264.7 cells on chemical toxin by decreasing cytokine production. The inhibitor of NF-kappaB cascade, IKK Inhibitor XII, was more effective, and not only prevented the development of pro-inflammatory response induced by ammonium, but also decreased cytokine production below control values. The inhibitor of extra cellular domains of TLR2 and TLR4 (OxPAPC) had almost the same anti-inflammatory effect, and an addition of the inhibitor of JNK cascade (SP600125) to cell culture practically neutralized effect of ammonium ions by decreasing cytokine production to control level. Inhibitory analysis showed that activation of RAW 264.7 cells induced by chemical toxin coincide incompletely with intracellular signaling pathways that were early determined regarding macrophage's response to toxin from gram-negative bacteria. Nevertheless, application of the inhibitors defended RAW 264.7 from toxic effect of the low dose ammonium.

High-throughput hydrophilic interaction chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry for the optimized quantification of the anti-Gram-negatives antibiotic colistin A/B and its pro-drug colistimethate.

PubMed

Mercier, Thomas; Tissot, Fréderic; Gardiol, Céline; Corti, Natascia; Wehrli, Stéphane; Guidi, Monia; Csajka, Chantal; Buclin, Thierry; Couet, William; Marchetti, Oscar; Decosterd, Laurent A

2014-11-21

Colistin is a last resort's antibacterial treatment in critically ill patients with multi-drug resistant Gram-negative infections. As appropriate colistin exposure is the key for maximizing efficacy while minimizing toxicity, individualized dosing optimization guided by therapeutic drug monitoring is a top clinical priority. Objective of the present work was to develop a rapid and robust HPLC-MS/MS assay for quantification of colistin plasma concentrations. This novel methodology validated according to international standards simultaneously quantifies the microbiologically active compounds colistin A and B, plus the pro-drug colistin methanesulfonate (colistimethate, CMS). 96-well micro-Elution SPE on Oasis Hydrophilic-Lipophilic-Balanced (HLB) followed by direct analysis by Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography (HILIC) with Ethylene Bridged Hybrid--BEH--Amide phase column coupled to tandem mass spectrometry allows a high-throughput with no significant matrix effect. The technique is highly sensitive (limit of quantification 0.014 and 0.006 μg/mL for colistin A and B), precise (intra-/inter-assay CV 0.6-8.4%) and accurate (intra-/inter-assay deviation from nominal concentrations -4.4 to +6.3%) over the clinically relevant analytical range 0.05-20 μg/mL. Colistin A and B in plasma and whole blood samples are reliably quantified over 48 h at room temperature and at +4°C (<6% deviation from nominal values) and after three freeze-thaw cycles. Colistimethate acidic hydrolysis (1M H2SO4) to colistin A and B in plasma was completed in vitro after 15 min of sonication while the pro-drug hydrolyzed spontaneously in plasma ex vivo after 4 h at room temperature: this information is of utmost importance for interpretation of analytical results. Quantification is precise and accurate when using serum, citrated or EDTA plasma as biological matrix, while use of heparin plasma is not appropriate. This new analytical technique providing optimized quantification in real-life conditions of the microbiologically active compounds colistin A and B offers a highly efficient tool for routine therapeutic drug monitoring aimed at individualizing drug dosing against life-threatening infections. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An urban area minority outreach program for K-6 children in space science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morris, P.; Garza, O.; Lindstrom, M.; Allen, J.; Wooten, J.; Sumners, C.; Obot, V.

The Houston area has minority populations with significant school dropout rates. This is similar to other major cities in the United States and elsewhere in the world where there are significant minority populations from rural areas. The student dropout rates are associated in many instances with the absence of educational support opportuni- ties either from the school and/or from the family. This is exacerbated if the student has poor English language skills. To address this issue, a NASA minority university initiative enabled us to develop a broad-based outreach program that includes younger children and their parents at a primarily Hispanic inner city charter school. The pro- gram at the charter school was initiated by teaching computer skills to the older chil- dren, who in turn taught parents. The older children were subsequently asked to help teach a computer literacy class for mothers with 4-5 year old children. The computers initially intimidated the mothers as most had limited educational backgrounds and En- glish language skills. To practice their newly acquired computer skills and learn about space science, the mothers and their children were asked to pick a space project and investigate it using their computer skills. The mothers and their children decided to learn about black holes. The project included designing space suits for their children so that they could travel through space and observe black holes from a closer proxim- ity. The children and their mothers learned about computers and how to use them for educational purposes. In addition, they learned about black holes and the importance of space suits in protecting astronauts as they investigated space. The parents are proud of their children and their achievements. By including the parents in the program, they have a greater understanding of the importance of their children staying in school and the opportunities for careers in space science and technology. For more information on our overall program, the charter school and their other space science related activities, visit their web site, http://www.tccc-ryss.org/solarsys/solarmingrant.htm

Incorporating advanced language models into the P300 speller using particle filtering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Speier, W.; Arnold, C. W.; Deshpande, A.; Knall, J.; Pouratian, N.

2015-08-01

Objective. The P300 speller is a common brain-computer interface (BCI) application designed to communicate language by detecting event related potentials in a subject’s electroencephalogram signal. Information about the structure of natural language can be valuable for BCI communication, but attempts to use this information have thus far been limited to rudimentary n-gram models. While more sophisticated language models are prevalent in natural language processing literature, current BCI analysis methods based on dynamic programming cannot handle their complexity. Approach. Sampling methods can overcome this complexity by estimating the posterior distribution without searching the entire state space of the model. In this study, we implement sequential importance resampling, a commonly used particle filtering (PF) algorithm, to integrate a probabilistic automaton language model. Main result. This method was first evaluated offline on a dataset of 15 healthy subjects, which showed significant increases in speed and accuracy when compared to standard classification methods as well as a recently published approach using a hidden Markov model (HMM). An online pilot study verified these results as the average speed and accuracy achieved using the PF method was significantly higher than that using the HMM method. Significance. These findings strongly support the integration of domain-specific knowledge into BCI classification to improve system performance.

Development of an Online Library of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Gastroenterology: The GI-PRO Database

PubMed Central

Khanna, Puja; Agarwal, Nikhil; Khanna, Dinesh; Hays, Ron D.; Chang, Lin; Bolus, Roger; Melmed, Gil; Whitman, Cynthia B.; Kaplan, Robert M.; Ogawa, Rikke; Snyder, Bradley; Spiegel, Brennan M.R.

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVES Because gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses can cause physical, emotional, and social distress, patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are used to guide clinical decision making, conduct research, and seek drug approval. It is important to develop a mechanism for identifying, categorizing, and evaluating the over 100 GI PROs that exist. Here we describe a new, National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported, online PRO clearinghouse—the GI-PRO database. METHODS Using a protocol developed by the NIH Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS®), we performed a systematic review to identify English-language GI PROs. We abstracted PRO items and developed an online searchable item database. We categorized symptoms into content “bins” to evaluate a framework for GI symptom reporting. Finally, we assigned a score for the methodological quality of each PRO represented in the published literature (0–20 range; higher indicates better). RESULTS We reviewed 15,697 titles (κ > 0.6 for title and abstract selection), from which we identified 126 PROs. Review of the PROs revealed eight GI symptom “bins”: (i) abdominal pain, (ii) bloat/gas, (iii) diarrhea, (iv) constipation, (v) bowel incontinence/soilage, (vi) heartburn/reflux, (vii) swallowing, and (viii) nausea/vomiting. In addition to these symptoms, the PROs covered four psychosocial domains: (i) behaviors, (ii) cognitions, (iii) emotions, and (iv) psychosocial impact. The quality scores were generally low (mean 8.88±4.19; 0 (min)−20 (max)). In addition, 51% did not include patient input in developing the PRO, and 41% provided no information on score interpretation. CONCLUSIONS GI PROs cover a wide range of biopsychosocial symptoms. Although plentiful, GI PROs are limited by low methodological quality. Our online PRO library (www.researchcore.org/gipro/) can help in selecting PROs for clinical and research purposes. PMID:24343547

ONRASIA Scientific Information Bulletin, Volume 16, Number 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-03-01

be expressed naturally in an and hence the programs produced by pline. They range from computing the algebraic language such as Fortran, these efforts...years devel- gram an iterative scheme to solve the function satisfies oping vectorizing compilers for Hitachi. problem. This is quite natural to do in...for it ential equations to be expressed in a on the plate, with 0,=1 at the outside to compile into efficient vectorizable natural mathematical syntax

Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report. Rolling Thunder

DTIC Science & Technology

1966-03-28

interdiction pro- grams. In February the USAF bad 18 F-100 ’s and 18 F-105 ’s at ))a Nang, 18 F-105’s at Korat , 18 F-lOO’s at Takhli and eight B-57’s at Bien...force back to its November 1964 strength. In Thailand, the F-105 squadron at Korat was joined in early February by two more squadrons of F-l.05’s, one...135) Ubon 45th Tactical Figbter Squadron Takhli 35th ’l."FS (F-105~ 563rd ’fFS (F-105 Korat 357th ’l."FS (F-105) 12th TJ’S (F-105) Udorn 15th

An Evaluation Methodology for Protocol Analysis Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

Main Memory Requirement NS: Needham-Schroeder NSL: Needham-Schroeder-Lowe OCaml : Objective Caml POSIX: Portable Operating System...methodology is needed. A. PROTOCOL ANALYSIS FIELD As with any field, there is a specialized language used within the protocol analysis community. Figure...ProVerif requires that Objective Caml ( OCaml ) be installed on the system, OCaml version 3.09.3 was installed. C. WINDOWS CONFIGURATION OS

Modelling and Bibliotherapy as Tools to Enhance Pro-Social Interactions during English Language Arts Lessons with First Graders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nguyen, Neal; Lyons, Catherine; Gelfer, Jeff; Leytham, Patrick; Nelson, Leslie; Krasch, Delilah; O'Hara, Katie

2016-01-01

Play is one of the essential components in proper development of first-grade students. Since the adoption by various states of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), two outcomes have developed: (a) increased instructional time and (b) decreased public school recess periods across school districts. Given the complex nature of daily instructional…

Overcoming Gender Bias in Oral Testing: The Effect of Introducing Candidates.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, Bonnie

1994-01-01

Examined the effect of gender on English language teachers' evaluations of audiotapes of Japanese students' spoken English. The results showed a slight pro-male bias when the speakers were introduced as students but none when the speakers were introduced as doctors or experts in their field. Teacher gender was found to have no effect on the rating…

SBexpert users guide (version 2.0): a knowledge-based decision-support system for spruce beetle management.

Treesearch

Keith M. Reynolds; Edward H. Holsten

1997-01-01

SBexpert version 2.0 is a knowledge-based decision-support system for spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kby.)) management developed for use in Microsoft (MS) Windows with the KnowledgePro Windows development language. Version 2.0 is a significant enhancement of version 1.0. The SBexpert users guide provides detailed instructions on the use of...

Novel signal transduction pathway utilized by extracellular HSP70: role of toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4.

PubMed

Asea, Alexzander; Rehli, Michael; Kabingu, Edith; Boch, Jason A; Bare, Olivia; Auron, Philip E; Stevenson, Mary Ann; Calderwood, Stuart K

2002-04-26

Recent studies have initiated a paradigm shift in the understanding of the function of heat shock proteins (HSP). It is now clear that HSP can and do exit mammalian cells, interact with cells of the immune system, and exert immunoregulatory effects. We recently demonstrated that exogenously added HSP70 possesses potent cytokine activity, with the ability to bind with high affinity to the plasma membrane, elicit a rapid intracellular Ca(2+) flux, activate NF-kappaB, and up-regulate the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in human monocytes. Here for the first time, we report that HSP70-induced proinflammatory cytokine production is mediated via the MyD88/IRAK/NF-kappaB signal transduction pathway and that HSP70 utilizes both TLR2 (receptor for Gram-positive bacteria) and TLR4 (receptor for Gram-negative bacteria) to transduce its proinflammatory signal in a CD14-dependent fashion. These studies now pave the way for the development of highly effective pharmacological or molecular tools that will either up-regulate or suppress HSP70-induced functions in conditions where HSP70 effects are desirable (cancer) or disorders where HSP70 effects are undesirable (arthritis and arteriosclerosis).

An Evaluation of the UMLS in Representing Corpus Derived Clinical Concepts

PubMed Central

Friedlin, Jeff; Overhage, Marc

2011-01-01

We performed an evaluation of the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) in representing concepts derived from medical narrative documents from three domains: chest x-ray reports, discharge summaries and admission notes. We detected concepts in these documents by identifying noun phrases (NPs) and N-grams, including unigrams (single words), bigrams (word pairs) and trigrams (word triples). After removing NPs and N-grams that did not represent discrete clinical concepts, we processed the remaining with the UMLS MetaMap program. We manually reviewed the results of MetaMap processing to determine whether MetaMap found full, partial or no representation of the concept. For full representations, we determined whether post-coordination was required. Our results showed that a large portion of concepts found in clinical narrative documents are either unrepresented or poorly represented in the current version of the UMLS Metathesaurus and that post-coordination was often required in order to fully represent a concept. PMID:22195097

Virulent Type A Francisella tularensis actively suppresses cytokine responses in human monocytes

PubMed Central

Gillette, Devyn D.; Curry, Heather M.; Cremer, Thomas; Ravneberg, David; Fatehchand, Kavin; Shah, Prexy A.; Wewers, Mark D.; Schlesinger, Larry S.; Butchar, Jonathan P.; Tridandapani, Susheela; Gavrilin, Mikhail A.

2014-01-01

Background: Human monocyte inflammatory responses differ between virulent and attenuated Francisella infection. Results: A mixed infection model showed that the virulent F. tularensis Schu S4 can attenuate inflammatory cytokine responses to the less virulent F. novicida in human monocytes. Conclusion: F. tularensis dampens inflammatory response by an active process. Significance: This suppression may contribute to enhanced pathogenicity of F. tularensis. Francisella tularensis is a Gram-negative facultative bacterium that can cause the disease tularemia, even upon exposure to low numbers of bacteria. One critical characteristic of Francisella is its ability to dampen or subvert the host immune response. Previous work has shown that monocytes infected with highly virulent F. tularensis subsp. tularensis strain Schu S4 responded with a general pattern of quantitatively reduced pro-inflammatory signaling pathway genes and cytokine production in comparison to those infected with the less virulent related F. novicida. However, it has been unclear whether the virulent Schu S4 was merely evading or actively suppressing monocyte responses. By using mixed infection assays with F. tularensis and F. novicida, we show that F. tularensis actively suppresses monocyte pro-inflammatory responses. Additional experiments show that this suppression occurs in a dose-dependent manner and is dependent upon the viability of F. tularensis. Importantly, F. tularensis was able to suppress pro-inflammatory responses to earlier infections with F. novicida. These results lend support that F. tularensis actively dampens human monocyte responses and this likely contributes to its enhanced pathogenicity. PMID:24783062

Interdisciplinary Discrepancies Between Parenteral Nutrition Macronutrient Prescribing and Recommendations: Is Body Mass Index a Factor?

PubMed

Elliott, Katie L; Kandiah, Jay; Walroth, Todd A

2017-07-01

Formal nutrition training in medical schools and residencies is lacking and needed. Registered dietitians (RDs) are formally trained in nutrition support and considered experts in the nutrition field. Our purpose was to examine prescribing and recommending discrepancies of parenteral nutrition macronutrients between medical residents (MRs) and RDs and compare results with the ASPEN clinical care guidelines. We also looked at discrepancies among obese patients, due to their increased risk of mortality. The primary end point of this retrospective review was discrepancies in nonprotein calories (NPCs) and grams of protein (PRO) between MRs and RDs. The secondary end point was discrepancies in NPCs and PRO between MRs and RDs among patients stratified by body mass index category. MRs prescribed 300 NPCs more versus RDs ( P < .001). When compared with RDs, MRs prescribed fewer NPCs for underweight patients and more for obese patients ( P < .001). The same analysis found that the PRO discrepancies significantly varied by body mass index classification as well ( P = .022). When these results were compared with the ASPEN clinical care guidelines, RDs adhered closer to the guidelines than did MRs in terms of permissive underfeeding of obese patients. It is widely accepted that MRs are in need of increased formal training, and the results of our study confirm this need and suggest a short-term solution of increasing order-writing privileges for the RD. RDs with this privilege may adhere more closely to clinical care guidelines and therefore increase patient safety.

Acquaintance: Language-Independent Document Categorization by N-Grams

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-11-01

the topics. A typical topic (number 32) read “Cual es la importancia de las Naciones Unidas (NU) para Mexico?” To overcome this, the topic...from the query rather than adding anything substantive to it. The rendering of the above query became “ importancia de las Naciones Unidas (NU) para...individual tracks will be discussed below, the same software and basic procedure were used in each track. For the work in TREC-4, a generic, unoptimized

Development skills of children born premature with low and very low birth weight.

PubMed

Ribeiro, Camila da Costa; Pachelli, Mariane Regina de Oliveira; Amaral, Natalie Camillo de Oliveira; Lamônica, Dionísia Aparecida Cusin

2017-01-30

To compare the performance of children born premature with low birth weight (LBW) and very low birth-weight (VLBW) with that of children born at term, within the age range of one to three years, regarding child development in the gross motor, fine motor-adaptive, personal-social and language domains. This is a cross-sectional study in a cohort of 150 infants born premature (experimental group) and at term (control group) divided into eight groups with respect to weight (low birth weight: <2500 grams and very low birth weight: <1500 grams) and age range (aged 12 to 24 and 25 to 36 months). The control groups were paired with the experimental groups as for gender, chronological age, and socioeconomic level. Assessment comprised the application of anamnesis protocol, socioeconomic classification, and Denver Developmental Screening Test (DDST-II). Corrected age was calculated for premature children up to 24 months of age. Descriptive statistical analysis and the Student's t-test were used. No statistically significant difference was found in the comparison between the groups of infants born premature and at term for all domains evaluated. The performance of infants born premature was lower than that of infants born at term regarding the gross motor, fine motor-adaptive, personal-social and language domains. In this study, the preterm groups presented different performances, i.e., normative, average, and below average performances were observed within the same group.

Calculation of color difference and measurement of the spectrum of aerosol based on human visual system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Mengyan; Liu, Jianghai; Cui, Jianlin; Chen, Chunsheng; Jia, Peng

2017-10-01

In order to solve the problem of the quantitative test of spectrum and color of aerosol, the measurement method of spectrum of aerosol based on human visual system was proposed. The spectrum characteristics and color parameters of three different aerosols were tested, and the color differences were calculated according to the CIE1976-L*a*b* color difference formula. Three tested powders (No 1# No 2# and No 3# ) were dispersed in a plexglass box and turned into aerosol. The powder sample was released by an injector with different dosages in each experiment. The spectrum and color of aerosol were measured by the PRO 6500 Fiber Optic Spectrometer. The experimental results showed that the extinction performance of aerosol became stronger and stronger with the increase of concentration of aerosol. While the chromaticity value differences of aerosols in the experiment were so small, luminance was verified to be the main influence factor of human eye visual perception and contributed most in the three factors of the color difference calculation. The extinction effect of No 3# aerosol was the strongest of all and caused the biggest change of luminance and color difference which would arouse the strongest human visual perception. According to the sensation level of chromatic color by Chinese, recognition color difference would be produced when the dosage of No 1# powder was more than 0.10 gram, the dosage of No 2# powder was more than 0.15 gram, and the dosage of No 3# powder was more than 0.05 gram.

Guidelines for Inclusion of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Clinical Trial Protocols: The SPIRIT-PRO Extension.

PubMed

Calvert, Melanie; Kyte, Derek; Mercieca-Bebber, Rebecca; Slade, Anita; Chan, An-Wen; King, Madeleine T; Hunn, Amanda; Bottomley, Andrew; Regnault, Antoine; Chan, An-Wen; Ells, Carolyn; O'Connor, Daniel; Revicki, Dennis; Patrick, Donald; Altman, Doug; Basch, Ethan; Velikova, Galina; Price, Gary; Draper, Heather; Blazeby, Jane; Scott, Jane; Coast, Joanna; Norquist, Josephine; Brown, Julia; Haywood, Kirstie; Johnson, Laura Lee; Campbell, Lisa; Frank, Lori; von Hildebrand, Maria; Brundage, Michael; Palmer, Michael; Kluetz, Paul; Stephens, Richard; Golub, Robert M; Mitchell, Sandra; Groves, Trish

2018-02-06

Patient-reported outcome (PRO) data from clinical trials can provide valuable evidence to inform shared decision making, labeling claims, clinical guidelines, and health policy; however, the PRO content of clinical trial protocols is often suboptimal. The SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) statement was published in 2013 and aims to improve the completeness of trial protocols by providing evidence-based recommendations for the minimum set of items to be addressed, but it does not provide PRO-specific guidance. To develop international, consensus-based, PRO-specific protocol guidance (the SPIRIT-PRO Extension). The SPIRIT-PRO Extension was developed following the Enhancing Quality and Transparency of Health Research (EQUATOR) Network's methodological framework for guideline development. This included (1) a systematic review of existing PRO-specific protocol guidance to generate a list of potential PRO-specific protocol items (published in 2014); (2) refinements to the list and removal of duplicate items by the International Society for Quality of Life Research (ISOQOL) Protocol Checklist Taskforce; (3) an international stakeholder survey of clinical trial research personnel, PRO methodologists, health economists, psychometricians, patient advocates, funders, industry representatives, journal editors, policy makers, ethicists, and researchers responsible for evidence synthesis (distributed by 38 international partner organizations in October 2016); (4) an international Delphi exercise (n = 137 invited; October 2016 to February 2017); and (5) consensus meeting (n = 30 invited; May 2017). Prior to voting, consensus meeting participants were informed of the results of the Delphi exercise and given data from structured reviews evaluating the PRO protocol content of 3 defined samples of trial protocols. The systematic review identified 162 PRO-specific protocol recommendations from 54 sources. The ISOQOL Taskforce (n = 21) reduced this to 56 items, which were considered by 138 international stakeholder survey participants and 99 Delphi panelists. The final wording of the SPIRIT-PRO Extension was agreed on at a consensus meeting (n = 29 participants) and reviewed by external group of experts during a consultation period. Eleven extensions and 5 elaborations to the SPIRIT 2013 checklist were recommended for inclusion in clinical trial protocols in which PROs are a primary or key secondary outcome. Extension items focused on PRO-specific issues relating to the trial rationale, objectives, eligibility criteria, concepts used to evaluate the intervention, time points for assessment, PRO instrument selection and measurement properties, data collection plan, translation to other languages, proxy completion, strategies to minimize missing data, and whether PRO data will be monitored during the study to inform clinical care. The SPIRIT-PRO guidelines provide recommendations for items that should be addressed and included in clinical trial protocols in which PROs are a primary or key secondary outcome. Improved design of clinical trials including PROs could help ensure high-quality data that may inform patient-centered care.

Ontologies and Information Systems: A Literature Survey

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

Science and Technology Organisation DSTO–TN–1002 ABSTRACT An ontology captures in a computer-processable language the important con - cepts in a...knowledge shara- bility, reusability and scalability, and that support collaborative and distributed con - struction of ontologies, the DOGMA and DILIGENT...and assemble the received information). In the second stage, the designers determine how ontologies should be used in the pro - cess of adding

Overcoming Vocabulary Limitations in Twitter Microblogs

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-11-01

lence footer By BARRY WILNER AP Pro Football Writer - National Football League news Table 2: Sample expansion terms for tweets Tweet Type Number of...written by a different au- thor that was forwarded) or are non- English tweets are non- relevant. Additionally, document expansion requires detect- ing and...retweets as well. 3.4 Language Identification The Microblog Track guidelines stipulate that non- English tweets are non-relevant. Therefore, the

Flore et menagerie phonetiques; Collages; Tirez a vous la couverture; A propos d'un quiproquo (Phonetic Flora and Fauna; Collages; Take the Covers; A Propos of a Quid Pro Quo).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Francais dans le Monde, 1987

1987-01-01

Four suggestions for classroom language-learning activities include a series of dot-to-dot phonetics games, small group collage making and presentation, use of magazine covers to stimulate class discussion and introduction of vocabulary, and student-written sketches based on misunderstandings. (MSE)

Influence of Biochemical Features of Burkholderia pseudomallei Strains on Identification Reliability by Vitek 2 System.

PubMed

Zakharova, Irina B; Lopasteyskaya, Yana A; Toporkov, Andrey V; Viktorov, Dmitry V

2018-01-01

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a Gram-negative saprophytic soil bacterium that causes melioidosis, a potentially fatal disease endemic in wet tropical areas. The currently available biochemical identification systems can misidentify some strains of B. pseudomallei . The aim of the present study was to identify the biochemical features of B. pseudomallei , which can affect its correct identification by Vitek 2 system. The biochemical patterns of 40 B. pseudomallei strains were obtained using Vitek 2 GN cards. The average contribution of biochemical tests in overall dissimilarities between correctly and incorrectly identified strains was assessed using nonmetric multidimensional scaling. It was found ( R statistic of 0.836, P = 0.001) that a combination of negative N-acetyl galactosaminidase, β-N-acetyl glucosaminidase, phosphatase, and positive D-cellobiase (dCEL), tyrosine arylamidase (TyrA), and L-proline arylamidase (ProA) tests leads to low discrimination of B. pseudomallei , whereas a set of positive dCEL and negative N-acetyl galactosaminidase, TyrA, and ProA determines the wrong identification of B. pseudomallei as Burkholderia cepacia complex. The further expansion of the Vitek 2 identification keys is needed for correct identification of atypical or regionally distributed biochemical profiles of B. pseudomallei .

Robust Speech Processing & Recognition: Speaker ID, Language ID, Speech Recognition/Keyword Spotting, Diarization/Co-Channel/Environmental Characterization, Speaker State Assessment

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-01

Scoring, Gaussian Backend , etc.) as shown in Fig. 39. The methods in this domain also emphasized the ability to perform data purification for both...investigation using the same infrastructure was undertaken to explore Lombard effect “flavor” detection for improved speaker ID. The study The presence of...dimension selection and compared to a common N-gram frequency based selection. 2.1.2: Exploration on NN/DBN backend : Since Deep Neural Networks (DNN) have

The importance of pro-inflammatory signaling in neonatal NEC

PubMed Central

Frost, Brandy L.; Jilling, Tamas; Caplan, Michael S.

2008-01-01

Despite modern medical advances, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in neonatal intensive care units, affecting 10 percent of premature neonates born weighing less than 1500 grams. Although many advances have been made in the understanding of this disease, the etiology and pathophysiology remain incompletely understood, and treatment is limited to supportive care. In recent years, studies have focused on the role of the inflammatory cascade and its’ impact on the disease process, and investigators are evaluating strategies to attenuate inflammatory signaling that might prevent and/or ameliorate neonatal NEC. In this review, we examine the key points in the signaling pathways involved in NEC, and potential strategies for prevention and treatment of this dreaded disease. PMID:18346533

Direct Detection of Stereospecific Soman Hydrolysis by Wild-Type Human Serum Paraoxonase

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-01-01

was used as Tc = (Ao/VmaA)(1 - (C/Co)( Kmc /KwA)(VmaxA/Vmac)) the carrier gas at a linear velocity of 45 crns-1. The oven + (B0/VmaxB)(1 - (C/Co)( Kmc ...KmB)(VmaxB/Vm.c)) temperature was held initially at 80 ’C for 14 min, pro- + (Co/Vmac)(1 - (C/Co)( Kmc / Kmc )(Vm.c/Vmac)) grammed from 80 to 90 ’C at 5...oC’min-1, and held at + (DO/VmaD)(1 - (C/Co)(K.C/KmD)(Vm.D1/V.aC)) 90 ’C for 3 min. Split injections of 1 tiL volume were made ( Kmc /VmaxC) Log(C/Co

Reasons for 2011 Release of the Evaluated Nuclear Data Library (ENDL2011.0)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, D.; Escher, J.; Hoffman, R.

LLNL's Computational Nuclear Physics Group and Nuclear Theory and Modeling Group have collaborated to create the 2011 release of the Evaluated Nuclear Data Library (ENDL2011). ENDL2011 is designed to sup- port LLNL's current and future nuclear data needs. This database is currently the most complete nuclear database for Monte Carlo and deterministic transport of neutrons and charged particles, surpassing ENDL2009.0 [1]. The ENDL2011 release [2] contains 918 transport-ready eval- uations in the neutron sub-library alone. ENDL2011 was assembled with strong support from the ASC program, leveraged with support from NNSA science campaigns and the DOE/Offce of Science US Nuclear Datamore » Pro- gram.« less

Disordered eating and group membership among members of a pro-anorexic online community.

PubMed

Rodgers, Rachel F; Skowron, Sabrina; Chabrol, Henri

2012-01-01

The objective of this study was to explore motivations to become a member of a French-language 'pro-ana' online community, perceptions of support provided by other members and the nature of the information provided. A sample of 29 members of an online community were assessed for disordered eating and responded to open-ended questions exploring perceptions of the online community. All participants reported high levels of disordered eating (Eating Attitudes Test > 30). The main motive for joining the online community was to be provided with both advice regarding weight loss and support. The majority of them equated thinness with happiness and were satisfied with their membership. Participants also described the types of advice that they had received concerning weight loss. Members of pro-ana online communities are likely to display high levels of disordered eating. Furthermore, membership to the online community was motivated not only by weight concerns but also by the support provided. Our findings confirmed the role of these online communities in encouraging harmful weight-loss and weight-control practices. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Planetary atmosphere models: A research and instructional web-based resource

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gray, Samuel Augustine

The effects of altitude change on the temperature, pressure, density, and speed of sound were investigated. These effects have been documented in Global Reference Atmospheric Models (GRAMs) to be used in calculating the conditions in various parts of the atmosphere for several planets. Besides GRAMs, there are several websites that provide online calculators for the 1976 US Standard Atmosphere. This thesis presents the creation of an online calculator of the atmospheres of Earth, Mars, Venus, Titan, and Neptune. The websites consist of input forms for altitude and temperature adjustment followed by a results table for the calculated data. The first phase involved creating a spreadsheet reference based on the 1976 US Standard Atmosphere and other planetary GRAMs available. Microsoft Excel was used to input the equations and make a graphical representation of the temperature, pressure, density, and speed of sound change as altitude changed using equations obtained from the GRAMs. These spreadsheets were used later as a reference for the JavaScript code in both the design and comparison of the data output of the calculators. The websites were created using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript coding languages. The calculators could accurately display the temperature, pressure, density, and speed of sound of these planets from surface values to various stages within the atmosphere. These websites provide a resource for students involved in projects and classes that require knowledge of these changes in these atmospheres. This project also created a chance for new project topics to arise for future students involved in aeronautics and astronautics.

Text generation from Taiwanese Sign Language using a PST-based language model for augmentative communication.

PubMed

Wu, Chung-Hsien; Chiu, Yu-Hsien; Guo, Chi-Shiang

2004-12-01

This paper proposes a novel approach to the generation of Chinese sentences from ill-formed Taiwanese Sign Language (TSL) for people with hearing impairments. First, a sign icon-based virtual keyboard is constructed to provide a visualized interface to retrieve sign icons from a sign database. A proposed language model (LM), based on a predictive sentence template (PST) tree, integrates a statistical variable n-gram LM and linguistic constraints to deal with the translation problem from ill-formed sign sequences to grammatical written sentences. The PST tree trained by a corpus collected from the deaf schools was used to model the correspondence between signed and written Chinese. In addition, a set of phrase formation rules, based on trigger pair category, was derived for sentence pattern expansion. These approaches improved the efficiency of text generation and the accuracy of word prediction and, therefore, improved the input rate. For the assessment of practical communication aids, a reading-comprehension training program with ten profoundly deaf students was undertaken in a deaf school in Tainan, Taiwan. Evaluation results show that the literacy aptitude test and subjective satisfactory level are significantly improved.

A language based on the fundamental facts of science.

PubMed

Devito, C L; Oehrle, R T

1990-12-01

The problem of how to communicate with the members of an alien society has been discussed by many authors but only one, Hans Freudenthal, has constructed a language for this purpose. Freudenthal assumes nothing other than the ability to reason as humans do and, because he assumes so little, it is necessary to communicate a great deal about the language itself before being able to communicate any interesting information. The problem is here approached differently. Since it is likely that contact between our civilization and an alien one would be via radio, potential correspondents would have a basic knowledge of science. Such beings should therefore be able to learn a language based on fundamental science. It is assumed, more specifically, that our correspondents can count, understand chemical elements, are familiar with the melting and boiling behaviour of a pure substance and understand the properties of the gaseous state. All this should be known to any society capable of developing the radio telescope. By systematically using this common knowledge one can communicate notation for numbers and chemical elements and then communicate our basic physical units; i.e., the gram, the calorie, the degree (Kelvin), etc. Once this is done more interesting information can be exchanged.

Use of BNP and NT-proBNP for the diagnosis of heart failure in the emergency department: a systematic review of the evidence.

PubMed

Hill, Stephen A; Booth, Ronald A; Santaguida, P Lina; Don-Wauchope, Andrew; Brown, Judy A; Oremus, Mark; Ali, Usman; Bustamam, Amy; Sohel, Nazmul; McKelvie, Robert; Balion, Cynthia; Raina, Parminder

2014-08-01

Our purpose was to determine the test performance characteristics of BNP and NT-proBNP in the diagnosis of heart failure for patients presenting to an emergency department or urgent care center. We searched Medline, Embase, AMED, Cochrane, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and CINAHL for English-language articles published between 1989 and June 2012. Studies were limited to those using FDA-approved assays. We examined test performance at three pre-specified cutpoints (manufacturers' suggested, researchers' optimal, and lowest) and considered the effect of age, gender, ethnicity and renal function. We used the QUADAS-2 tool to examine risk of bias and applicability, and the AHRQ Methods Guide to assess the strength of evidence. Seventy-six articles met our inclusion criteria, 37 examined BNP, 25 examined NT-proBNP, and 14 examined both. Pooled sensitivity and specificity for BNP at the three pre-specified cutpoints were 95, 91, and 95 % (sensitivity) and 55, 80, and 67 % (specificity), respectively. For NT-proBNP, sensitivity and specificity at the same cutpoints were 91, 90, and 96 % (sensitivity) and 67, 74, and 55 % (specificity). Both BNP and NT-proBNP perform well to rule out, but less well to rule in, the diagnosis of heart failure among persons presenting to emergency departments or urgent care centers. Both BNP and NT-proBNP levels are positively associated with age and negatively associated with renal function. However, the effect of these factors with respect to selecting optimal cutpoints is unclear. For BNP, 100 pg/mL appears to be a consensus cutpoint. No clear consensus has emerged for NT-proBNP, but the age-adjusted cutpoints of 450 pg/mL for <50 years, 900 pg/mL for 50-75 years and 1,800 pg/mL for >75 years appear promising and merit greater scrutiny and validation.

The Role of Cultural Understanding and Language Training in Unconventional Warfare

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-12-01

National Security Strategy (NSS), while acknowledging the dangers posed by non-military actions which can affect economic, financial, social and...security by causing direct or indirect consequences on the country’s economic and social life” (Security Strategy, 1999, Chapter 4). Among Romania’s...we rely on our allies help to defend our national integrity” (Iliescu, 2004, Pro memoria ). As a direct result of the progress in achieving its

CTPPL: A Continuous Time Probabilistic Programming Language

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-07-01

recent years there has been a flurry of interest in continuous time models, mostly focused on continuous time Bayesian networks ( CTBNs ) [Nodelman, 2007... CTBNs are built on homogenous Markov processes. A homogenous Markov pro- cess is a finite state, continuous time process, consisting of an initial...q1 : xn()] ... Some state transitions can produce emissions. In a CTBN , each variable has a conditional inten- sity matrix Qu for every combination of

The PASM Parallel Processing System: Hardware Design and Intelligent Operating System Concepts

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-07-01

IND-3 Jac Logic 0ISCAUTO-3 UK Jus Parallel IrAorf act Pori 90-7 el MS. IND-3 P110-3 Logic = .CUTO-3 AC-4 0 Sow PAIS WK.110-7 --------- CSS CC. THO...process communication are part of the ment, which must be part of the task body: jitsu VP-20043 uses 32-bit integers. Pro- language. The compiler actually

Discovery of the type VII ESX-1 secretion needle?

PubMed

Ates, Louis S; Brosch, Roland

2017-01-01

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiological agent of human tuberculosis, harbours five ESAT-6/type VII secretion (ESX/T7S) systems. The first esx gene clusters were identified during the genome-sequencing project of M. tuberculosis H37Rv. Follow-up studies revealed additional genes playing important roles in ESX/T7S systems. Among the latter genes, one can find those that encode Pro-Glu (PE) and Pro-Pro-Glu (PPE) proteins as well as a gene cluster that is encoded >260 kb upstream of the esx-1 locus and encodes ESX-1 secretion-associated proteins EspA (Rv3616c), EspC (Rv3615c) and EspD (Rv3614c). The espACD cluster has been suggested to have an important function in ESX-1 secretion since EspA-EspC and EsxA-EsxB are mutually co-dependent on each other for secretion. However, the molecular mechanism of this co-dependence and interaction between the substrates remained unknown. In this issue of Molecular Microbiology, Lou and colleagues show that EspC forms high-molecular weight polymerization complexes that resemble selected components of type II, III and/or IV secretion systems of Gram-negative bacteria. Indeed, EspC-multimeric complexes form filamentous structures that could well represent a secretion needle of ESX-1 type VII secretion systems. This exciting observation opens new avenues for research to discover and characterize ESX/T7S components and elucidates the co-dependence of EsxA/B secretion with EspA/C. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Neisseria meningitidis elicits a pro-inflammatory response involving IκBζ in a human blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier model.

PubMed

Borkowski, Julia; Li, Li; Steinmann, Ulrike; Quednau, Natascha; Stump-Guthier, Carolin; Weiss, Christel; Findeisen, Peter; Gretz, Norbert; Ishikawa, Hiroshi; Tenenbaum, Tobias; Schroten, Horst; Schwerk, Christian

2014-09-13

The human-specific, Gram-negative bacterium Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) is a leading cause of bacterial meningitis worldwide. The blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB), which is constituted by the epithelial cells of the choroid plexus (CP), has been suggested as one of the potential entry sites of Nm into the CSF and can contribute to the inflammatory response during infectious diseases of the brain. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are involved in mediating signal transduction caused by the pathogens. Using a recently established in vitro model of the human BCSFB based on human malignant CP papilloma (HIBCPP) cells we investigated the cellular response of HIBCPP cells challenged with the meningitis-causing Nm strain, MC58, employing transcriptome and RT-PCR analysis, cytokine bead array, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In comparison, we analyzed the answer to the closely related unencapsulated carrier isolate Nm α14. The presence of TLRs in HIBCPP and their role during signal transduction caused by Nm was studied by RT-PCR and the use of specific agonists and mutant bacteria. We observed a stronger transcriptional response after infection with strain MC58, in particular with its capsule-deficient mutant MC58siaD-, which correlated with bacterial invasion levels. Expression evaluation and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis pointed to a NFκB-mediated pro-inflammatory immune response involving up-regulation of the transcription factor IκBζ. Infected cells secreted significant levels of pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines, including, among others, IL8, CXCL1-3, and the IκBζ target gene product IL6. The expression profile of pattern recognition receptors in HIBCPP cells and the response to specific agonists indicates that TLR2/TLR6, rather than TLR4 or TLR2/TLR1, is involved in the cellular reaction following Nm infection. Our data show that Nm can initiate a pro-inflammatory response in human CP epithelial cells probably involving TLR2/TLR6 signaling and the transcriptional regulator IκBζ.

The In-Session and Long-Term Role of a Significant Other in Motivational Enhancement Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorders

PubMed Central

Bourke, Emilie; Magill, Molly; Apodaca, Timothy R.

2016-01-01

Objective To examine how significant other (SO) language in support of or against client abstinence from alcohol influences clients’ in-session speech and drinking behavior over the 9 months post-Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET). Method Sequential analyses were used to examine the language of Project MATCH clients who invited an SO to participate in an MET session. Hierarchical regressions investigated the predictive relationship between SO language and clients’ post-treatment drinking behavior. A cohort analytic design compared the change language of these SO-involved participants against a matched group who chose client-only therapy. Results 'SO Support Change' language increased the odds of client Change Talk in the next utterance (p < .01). SO Support Change did not significantly predict reduced post-treatment drinking whereas 'SO Against Change' significantly predicted an increase in average drinks per drinking day (DDD) across months 7-9 post-MET (p = .04). In the matched comparison, the proportion of change-related client language was comparable across the SO-involved and client-only groups. Conclusions Motivational interviewing theory was supported by the sequential association between SO and client language as well as the predictive link between SO Against Change and client drinking intensity. Given the centrality of pro-sobriety language in the literature, it was surprising that SO Support Change did not predict alcohol use outcomes. Findings are discussed in relation to contemporary treatment process research and clinical practice. PMID:26951920

Validation of the German patient-reported outcomes version of the common terminology criteria for adverse events (PRO-CTCAE™).

PubMed

Hagelstein, V; Ortland, I; Wilmer, A; Mitchell, S A; Jaehde, U

2016-12-01

Integrating the patient's perspective has become an increasingly important component of adverse event reporting. The National Cancer Institute has developed a Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE™). This instrument has been translated into German and linguistically validated; however, its quantitative measurement properties have not been evaluated. A German language survey that included 31 PRO-CTCAE items, as well as the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the Oral Mucositis Daily Questionnaire (OMDQ), was distributed at 10 cancer treatment settings in Germany and Austria. Item quality was assessed by analysis of acceptability and comprehensibility. Reliability was evaluated by using Cronbach's' alpha and validity by principal components analysis (PCA), multitrait-multimethod matrix (MTMM) and known groups validity techniques. Of 660 surveys distributed to the study centres, 271 were returned (return rate 41%), and data from 262 were available for analysis. Participants' median age was 59.7 years, and 69.5% of the patients were female. Analysis of item quality supported the comprehensibility of the 31 PRO-CTCAE items. Reliability was very good; Cronbach's' alpha correlation coefficients were >0.9 for almost all item clusters. Construct validity of the PRO-CTCAE core item set was shown by identifying 10 conceptually meaningful item clusters via PCA. Moreover, construct validity was confirmed by the MTMM: monotrait-heteromethod comparison showed 100% high correlation, whereas heterotrait-monomethod comparison indicated 0% high correlation. Known groups validity was supported; PRO-CTCAE scores were significantly lower for those with impaired versus preserved health-related quality of life. A set of 31 items drawn from the German PRO-CTCAE item library demonstrated favourable measurement properties. These findings add to the body of evidence that PRO-CTCAE provides a rigorous method to capture patient self-reports of symptomatic toxicity for use in cancer clinical trials. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

New antibiotics for bad bugs: where are we?

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is growing up day by day in both community and hospital setting, with a significant impact on the mortality and morbidity rates and the financial burden that is associated. In the last two decades multi drug resistant microorganisms (both hospital- and community-acquired) challenged the scientific groups into developing new antimicrobial compounds that can provide safety in use according to the new regulation, good efficacy patterns, and low resistance profile. In this review we made an evaluation of present data regarding the new classes and the new molecules from already existing classes of antibiotics and the ongoing trends in antimicrobial development. Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) supported a proGram, called “the ′10 × ´20′ initiative”, to develop ten new systemic antibacterial drugs within 2020. The microorganisms mainly involved in the resistance process, so called the ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumanii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and enterobacteriaceae) were the main targets. In the era of antimicrobial resistance the new antimicrobial agents like fifth generation cephalosporins, carbapenems, monobactams, β-lactamases inhibitors, aminoglycosides, quinolones, oxazolidones, glycopeptides, and tetracyclines active against Gram-positive pathogens, like vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) and MRSA, penicillin-resistant streptococci, and vancomycin resistant Enterococcus (VRE) but also against highly resistant Gram-negative organisms are more than welcome. Of these compounds some are already approved by official agencies, some are still in study, but the need of new antibiotics still does not cover the increasing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Therefore the management of antimicrobial resistance should also include fostering coordinated actions by all stakeholders, creating policy guidance, support for surveillance and technical assistance. PMID:23984642

Tenebrio molitor Gram-negative-binding protein 3 (TmGNBP3) is essential for inducing downstream antifungal Tenecin 1 gene expression against infection with Beauveria bassiana JEF-007.

PubMed

Yang, Yi-Ting; Lee, Mi Rong; Lee, Se Jin; Kim, Sihyeon; Nai, Yu-Shin; Kim, Jae Su

2017-05-23

The Toll signaling pathway is responsible for defense against both Gram-positive bacteria and fungi. Gram-negative binding protein 3 (GNBP3) has a strong affinity for the fungal cell wall component, β-1,3-glucan, which can activate the prophenoloxidase (proPO) cascade and induce the Toll signaling pathway. Myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) is an intracellular adaptor protein involved in the Toll signaling pathway. In this study, we monitored the response of 5 key genes (TmGNBP3, TmMyD88, and Tenecin 1, 2, and 3) in the Toll pathway of the mealworm Tenebrio molitor immune system against the fungus Beauveria bassiana JEF-007 using RT-PCR. TmGNBP3, Tenecin 1, and Tenecin 2 were significantly upregulated after fungal infection. To better understand the roles of the Toll signaling pathway in the mealworm immune system, TmGNBP3 and TmMyD88 were knocked down by RNAi silencing. Target gene expression levels decreased at 2 d postknockdown and were dramatically reduced at 6 d post-dsRNA injection. Therefore, mealworms were compromised by B. bassiana JEF-007 at 6 d post-dsRNA injection. Silencing of TmMyD88 and TmGNBP3 resulted in reduced resistance of the host to fungal infection. Particularly, reducing TmGNBP3 levels obviously downregulated Tenecin 1 and Tenecin 2 expression levels, whereas silencing TmMyD88 expression resulted in decreased Tenecin 2 expression. These results indicate that TmGNBP3 is essential to induce downstream antifungal peptide Tenecin 1 expression against B. bassiana JEF-007. © 2017 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

A novel approach for emerging and antibiotic resistant infections: Innate Defense Regulators as an agnostic therapy

PubMed Central

North, John R.; Takenaka, Shunsuke; Rozek, Annett; Kielczewska, Agnieszka; Opal, Steven; Morici, Lisa A.; Finlay, B. Brett; Schaber, Christopher J.; Straube, Richard; Donini, Oreola

2016-01-01

Innate Defense Regulators (IDRs) are short synthetic peptides that target the host innate immune system via an intracellular adaptor protein which functions at key signaling nodes. In this work, further details of the mechanism of action of IDRs have been discovered. The studies reported here show that the lead clinical IDR, SGX94, has broad-spectrum activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial infections caused by intracellular or extracellular bacteria and also complements the actions of standard of care antibiotics. Based on in vivo and primary cell culture studies, this activity is shown to result from the primary action of SGX94 on tissue-resident cells and subsequent secondary signaling to activate myeloid-derived cells, resulting in enhanced bacterial clearance and increased survival. Data from non-clinical and clinical studies also show that SGX94 treatment modulates pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels, thereby mitigating the deleterious inflammatory consequences of innate immune activation. Since they act through host pathways to provide both broad-spectrum anti-infective capability as well as control of inflammation, IDRs are unlikely to be impacted by resistance mechanisms and offer potential clinical advantages in the fight against emerging and antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. PMID:27015977

A novel approach for emerging and antibiotic resistant infections: Innate defense regulators as an agnostic therapy.

PubMed

North, John R; Takenaka, Shunsuke; Rozek, Annett; Kielczewska, Agnieszka; Opal, Steven; Morici, Lisa A; Finlay, B Brett; Schaber, Christopher J; Straube, Richard; Donini, Oreola

2016-05-20

Innate Defense Regulators (IDRs) are short synthetic peptides that target the host innate immune system via an intracellular adaptor protein which functions at key signaling nodes. In this work, further details of the mechanism of action of IDRs have been discovered. The studies reported here show that the lead clinical IDR, SGX94, has broad-spectrum activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacterial infections caused by intracellular or extracellular bacteria and also complements the actions of standard of care antibiotics. Based on in vivo and primary cell culture studies, this activity is shown to result from the primary action of SGX94 on tissue-resident cells and subsequent secondary signaling to activate myeloid-derived cells, resulting in enhanced bacterial clearance and increased survival. Data from non-clinical and clinical studies also show that SGX94 treatment modulates pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels, thereby mitigating the deleterious inflammatory consequences of innate immune activation. Since they act through host pathways to provide both broad-spectrum anti-infective capability as well as control of inflammation, IDRs are unlikely to be impacted by resistance mechanisms and offer potential clinical advantages in the fight against emerging and antibiotic resistant bacterial infections. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Differential induction of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in whole blood by bacteria: effects of antibiotic treatment.

PubMed

Frieling, J T; Mulder, J A; Hendriks, T; Curfs, J H; van der Linden, C J; Sauerwein, R W

1997-07-01

The in vitro production of interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), IL-6, and the IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) in whole blood upon stimulation with different bacterial strains was measured to study the possible relationship between disease severity and the cytokine-inducing capacities of these strains. Escherichia coli, Neisseria meningitidis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Bacteroides fragilis, Capnocytophaga canimorsus, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Streptococcus pyogenes induced the cytokines IL-1beta, IL-6, and IL-1ra. Gram-negative bacteria induced significantly higher levels of proinflammatory cytokine production than gram-positive bacteria. These differences were less pronounced for the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-1ra. In addition, blood was stimulated with E. coli killed by different antibiotics to study the effect of the antibiotics on the cytokine-inducing capacity of the bacterial culture. E. coli treated with cefuroxime and gentamicin induced higher levels of IL-1beta and IL-6 production but levels of IL-1ra production similar to that of heat-killed E. coli. In contrast, ciprofloxacin- and imipenem-cilastatin-mediated killing showed a decreased or similar level of induction of cytokine production as compared to that by heat-killed E. coli; polymyxin B decreased the level of production of the cytokines.

Molecular cloning and characterization of a C-type lectin in yellow catfish Tachysurus fulvidraco.

PubMed

Ke, F; Zhang, H B; Wang, Y; Hou, L F; Dong, H J; Wang, Z F; Pan, G W; Cao, X Y

2016-09-01

This study represents the first report of a C-type lectin (ctl) in yellow catfish Tachysurus fulvidraco. The complete sequence of ctl complementary (c)DNA consisted of 685 nucleotides. The open reading frame potentially encoded a protein of 177 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of c.y 20.204 kDa. The deduced amino-acid sequence contained a signal peptide and a single carbohydrate recognition domain with four cysteine residues and GlnProAsp (QPD) and TrpAsnAsp (WND) motifs. Ctl showed the highest identity (56.0%) to the predicted lactose binding lectin from channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. Quantitative real-time (qrt)-PCR analysis showed that ctl messenger (m)RNA was constitutively expressed in all examined tissues in normal fish, with high expression in trunk kidney and head kidney, which was increased following Aeromonas hydrophila challenge in a duration-dependent manner. Purified recombinant Ctl (rCtl) from Escherichia coli BL21 was able to bind and agglutinate Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria in a calcium-dependent manner. These results suggested that Ctl might be a C-type lectin of T. fulvidraco involved in innate immune responses as receptors (PRR). © 2016 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Effect of laser-assisted scaling and root planing on the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the gingival crevicular fluid of patients with chronic periodontitis: A systematic review.

PubMed

Kellesarian, Sergio Varela; Malignaggi, Vanessa Ros; Majoka, Hasham Abdullah; Al-Kheraif, Abdulaziz A; Kellesarian, Tammy Varela; Romanos, Georgios E; Javed, Fawad

2017-06-01

The aim of the present systematic review was to assess the efficacy of laser-assisted (low level laser therapy [LLLT], high intensity laser therapy [HILT], or antimicrobial photodynamic therapy [aPDT]) scaling and root planing (SRP) compared with SRP alone on the expression of inflammatory cytokines in the gingival crevicular (GCF) of patients with chronic periodontitis (CP). In order to address the focused question: "What is the efficacy of SRP with and without laser and/or aPDT on the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the GCF of patients with CP?" an electronic search without time or language restrictions was conducted up to and including February 2017 in indexed databases using various key words. Twenty-two randomized control trials were included in the present systematic review. Nine studies and six studies assessed the efficacy of LLLT and HILT, as adjunct to SRP, respectively. Seven studies assessed the efficacy of aPDT as adjunct to SRP on down-regulating the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the GCF among patients with CP. The outcomes of the studies included based upon the reduction in the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines were inconsistent. The role of laser-assisted SRP on the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the GCF of patients with CP remains unclear. Further long term and well-designed randomized clinical trials are needed in this regard. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The impact of medication on health-related quality of life in patients with generalized anxiety disorder.

PubMed

Wilson, Hilary; Mannix, Sally; Oko-osi, Hafiz; Revicki, Dennis A

2015-01-01

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by excess worry and anxiety. GAD impacts overall health-related quality of life (HRQL), level of functioning, and disability. This literature review was conducted to understand the impact of pharmacological treatments on HRQL and functional outcomes. A literature review was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing GAD pharmacological treatments with one or more patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure assessing HRQL, disability, functioning, or work productivity. Four databases were searched (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Reviews, PsycInfo). Limits included English-language publications from 2004-2014. Abstracts and articles were reviewed to select articles reporting results of RCTs of pharmacological treatments for GAD that included one or more PRO measure. Article abstraction and summarization focused on key elements of the study design and PRO results. One hundred sixty-three abstracts were reviewed; 44 articles were requested; 12 articles, representing 19 studies, were deemed relevant. The Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS) and the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q) were the most frequently utilized PRO measures. In clinical trials with significant anxiety symptom reductions, the SDS and Q-LES-Q also improved with treatment and differentiated from placebo. Two trials included a measure of work productivity; both demonstrated significant improvements with short-term treatment. Treatments that reduce anxiety symptoms are also associated with improvements in patient-reported HRQL, function, and disability. In addition to evaluation of treatment impacts on anxiety symptoms, clinical trials should include PRO measures of HRQL, disability, and functioning.

Developing Methodologies to Find Abbreviated Laboratory Test Names in Narrative Clinical Documents by Generating High Quality Q-Grams.

PubMed

Kim, Kyungmo; Choi, Jinwook

2017-01-01

Laboratory test names are used as basic information to diagnose diseases. However, this kind of medical information is usually written in a natural language. To find this information, lexicon based methods have been good solutions but they cannot find terms that do not have abbreviated expressions, such as "neuts" that means "neutrophils". To address this issue, similar word matching can be used; however, it can be disadvantageous because of significant false positives. Moreover, processing time is longer as the size of terms is bigger. Therefore, we suggest a novel q-gram based algorithm, named modified triangular area filtering, to find abbreviated laboratory test terms in clinical documents, minimizing the possibility to impair the lexicons' precision. In addition, we found the terms using the methodology with reasonable processing time. The results show that this method can achieve 92.54 precision, 87.72 recall, 90.06 f1-score in test sets when edit distance threshold(τ) = 3.

Analysis of Eye Movements and Linguistic Boundaries in a Text for the Investigation of Japanese Reading Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tera, Akemi; Shirai, Kiyoaki; Yuizono, Takaya; Sugiyama, Kozo

In order to investigate reading processes of Japanese language learners, we have conducted an experiment to record eye movements during Japanese text reading using an eye-tracking system. We showed that Japanese native speakers use “forward and backward jumping eye movements” frequently[13],[14]. In this paper, we analyzed further the same eye tracking data. Our goal is to examine whether Japanese learners fix their eye movements at boundaries of linguistic units such as words, phrases or clauses when they start or end “backward jumping”. We consider conventional linguistic boundaries as well as boundaries empirically defined based on the entropy of the N-gram model. Another goal is to examine the relation between the entropy of the N-gram model and the depth of syntactic structures of sentences. Our analysis shows that (1) Japanese learners often fix their eyes at linguistic boundaries, (2) the average of the entropy is the greatest at the fifth depth of syntactic structures.

A computational language approach to modeling prose recall in schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Rosenstein, Mark; Diaz-Asper, Catherine; Foltz, Peter W.; Elvevåg, Brita

2014-01-01

Many cortical disorders are associated with memory problems. In schizophrenia, verbal memory deficits are a hallmark feature. However, the exact nature of this deficit remains elusive. Modeling aspects of language features used in memory recall have the potential to provide means for measuring these verbal processes. We employ computational language approaches to assess time-varying semantic and sequential properties of prose recall at various retrieval intervals (immediate, 30 min and 24 h later) in patients with schizophrenia, unaffected siblings and healthy unrelated control participants. First, we model the recall data to quantify the degradation of performance with increasing retrieval interval and the effect of diagnosis (i.e., group membership) on performance. Next we model the human scoring of recall performance using an n-gram language sequence technique, and then with a semantic feature based on Latent Semantic Analysis. These models show that automated analyses of the recalls can produce scores that accurately mimic human scoring. The final analysis addresses the validity of this approach by ascertaining the ability to predict group membership from models built on the two classes of language features. Taken individually, the semantic feature is most predictive, while a model combining the features improves accuracy of group membership prediction slightly above the semantic feature alone as well as over the human rating approach. We discuss the implications for cognitive neuroscience of such a computational approach in exploring the mechanisms of prose recall. PMID:24709122

SETL for Internet Data Processing

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-01-01

early phase in the evolution of most large software systems, especially those featuring novel designs [135, 173, 66, 70, 71 ]. Second, SETL’s strong...into SETL/E [66, 61], a revision of SETL that was extended with a process creation operator and renamed ProSet [ 71 ] to signify its role in prototyping...set-oriented languages having intrinsic persistence features [60, 64, 67, 70, 71 , 62] that sought to spare the programmer the trouble of coding data

Implicit Learning of Recursive Context-Free Grammars

PubMed Central

Rohrmeier, Martin; Fu, Qiufang; Dienes, Zoltan

2012-01-01

Context-free grammars are fundamental for the description of linguistic syntax. However, most artificial grammar learning experiments have explored learning of simpler finite-state grammars, while studies exploring context-free grammars have not assessed awareness and implicitness. This paper explores the implicit learning of context-free grammars employing features of hierarchical organization, recursive embedding and long-distance dependencies. The grammars also featured the distinction between left- and right-branching structures, as well as between centre- and tail-embedding, both distinctions found in natural languages. People acquired unconscious knowledge of relations between grammatical classes even for dependencies over long distances, in ways that went beyond learning simpler relations (e.g. n-grams) between individual words. The structural distinctions drawn from linguistics also proved important as performance was greater for tail-embedding than centre-embedding structures. The results suggest the plausibility of implicit learning of complex context-free structures, which model some features of natural languages. They support the relevance of artificial grammar learning for probing mechanisms of language learning and challenge existing theories and computational models of implicit learning. PMID:23094021

[Optimization of education for laparoendoscopic technologies in Ukraine].

PubMed

Lesovoĭ, V N; Savenkov, V I; Tomin, M S

2014-09-01

International experience of training of surgeons, including urologists, in laparoendoscopic technologies, was analyzed. Practical course "The Fundamentals of aparoscopic Surgery" (FLS) and the European program of education for basic laparoscopic urologic skills (E-BLUS), which are used in specialized centers, constitute a standard programs of development of basic endosurgical skills. Such centers in Ukraine are absent. The project of complex system of a simulating education, testing and certification of surgeons, who are trained in endovideosurgical technologies, is proposed. While performing surveying of Ukrainian surgeons there were revealed the problems in a process of their education and introduction of highly technological methods: insufficient equipment with modern apparatuses, absence of a standardized pro- gram of education. The staged program of education was elaborated, taking into account progressive international experience and adopted to our environment and con ditions.

Large-Eddy Simulation of the Base Flow of a Cylindrical Space Vehicle Configuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meiß, J.-H.; Schröder, W.

2009-01-01

A Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) is performed out to in- vestigate high Reynolds number base flow of an axisymmetric rocket-like configuration having an underex- panded nozzle flow. The subsonic base region of low pressure levels is characterized and bounded by the interaction of the freestream of Mach 5.3 and the wide plume of the hot exhaust jet of Mach 3.8. An analysis of the base flow shows that the system of base area vortices determines the highly time-dependent pressure distribution and causes an upstream convection of hot exhaust gas. A comparison of the results with experiments conducted at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Cologne shows good agreement. The investigation is part of the German RESPACE Pro- gram, which focuses on Key Technologies for Reusable Space Systems.

National water summary 1983: Hydrologic events and issues

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1984-01-01

The United States as a Nation possesses abundant water resources and has developed and used those resources extensively. The national renewable supply of water is about 1,400 billion gallons per day (for the conterminous 48 States). Approximately 380 billion gallons per day of freshwater is withdrawn for use by the Nation's homes, farms, and industries, and about 280 billion gallons per day is returned to streams. Although a large percentage of the Nation's waste is carried in this return flow, the quality of water in streams has improved in many respects as a result of the pollution-control pro- grams of recent years. However, much remains to be learned about water quality particularly the extent of contamination by synthetic organic chemicals and heavy metals, and the effects of these contaminants on human health.

Anti-cancer, immunoregulatory, and antimicrobial activities of the frog skin host-defense peptides pseudhymenochirin-1Pb and pseudhymenochirin-2Pa.

PubMed

Mechkarska, Milena; Attoub, Samir; Sulaiman, Shahrazad; Pantic, Jelena; Lukic, Miodrag L; Conlon, J Michael

2014-11-01

Pseudhymenochirin-1Pb (Ps-1Pb) and pseudhymenochirin-2Pa (Ps-2Pa) are host-defense peptides, first isolated from skin secretions of the frog Pseudhymenochirus merlini (Pipidae). Ps-1Pb and Ps-2Pa are highly cytotoxic (LC50<12 μM) against non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells, breast adenocarcinoma MDA-MB-231 cells, and colorectal adenocarcinoma HT-29 cells but are also hemolytic against human erythrocytes (LC50=28±2 μM for Ps-1Pb and LC50=6±1 μM for Ps-2Pa). Ps-2Pa shows selective cytotoxicity for tumor cells (LC50 against non-neoplastic human umbilical vein (HUVEC) cells=68±2 μM). Ps-1Pb and Ps-2Pa (5 μg/mL) significantly inhibit production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and the multifunctional cytokine IL-6 from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated peritoneal macrophages from C57BL/6 mice and enhance the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-23 from both unstimulated and LPS-stimulated macrophages. Ps-1Pb potently (MIC≤10 μM) inhibits growth of multidrug-resistant clinical isolates of the Gram-positive bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, and the Gram-negative bacteria Acinetobacter baumannii and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Ps-2Pa shows the same high potency (MIC≤10 μM) against the Gram-positive bacteria but is 2-4 fold less potent against the Gram-negative isolates. Ps-1Pb at 4×MIC kills 99.9% of Escherichia coli within 30 min and 99.9% of S. aureus within 180 min. In conclusion, cytotoxicity against tumor cells, cytokine-mediated immunomodulatory properties, and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity suggest that the Ps-1Pb and Ps-2Pa represent templates for design of non-hemolytic analogs for tumor therapy and for treatment of infections in cancer patients produced by multidrug-resistant pathogens. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of Metal Contents in Portland Type V and MTA-Based Cements

PubMed Central

Dorileo, Maura Cristiane Gonçales Orçati; Bandeca, Matheus Coelho; Pedro, Fábio Luis Miranda; Volpato, Luiz Evaristo Ricci; Guedes, Orlando Aguirre; Villa, Ricardo Dalla; Tonetto, Mateus Rodrigues; Borges, Alvaro Henrique

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine, by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS), the concentration levels of 11 metals in Type V gray and structural white PC, ProRoot MTA, and MTA Bio. Samples, containing one gram of each tested cement, were prepared and transferred to a 100 mL Teflon tube with a mixture of 7.0 mL of nitric acid and 21 mL of hydrochloric acid. After the reaction, the mixture was filtered and then volumed to 50 mL of distilled water. For each metal, specific patterns were determined from universal standards. Arsenic quantification was performed by hydride generator. The analysis was performed five times and the data were statistically analyzed at 5% level of significance. Only the cadmium presented concentration levels of values lower than the quantification limit of the device. The AAS analysis showed increased levels of calcium, nickel, and zinc in structural white PC. Type V PC presented the greatest concentration levels of arsenic, chromium, copper, iron, lead, and manganese (P < 0.05). Bismuth was found in all cements, and the lowest concentration levels were observed in Portland cements, while the highest were observed in ProRoot MTA. Both PC and MTA-based cements showed evidence of metals inclusion. PMID:25436238

Influence of Biochemical Features of Burkholderia pseudomallei Strains on Identification Reliability by Vitek 2 System

PubMed Central

Zakharova, Irina B; Lopasteyskaya, Yana A; Toporkov, Andrey V; Viktorov, Dmitry V

2018-01-01

Background: Burkholderia pseudomallei is a Gram-negative saprophytic soil bacterium that causes melioidosis, a potentially fatal disease endemic in wet tropical areas. The currently available biochemical identification systems can misidentify some strains of B. pseudomallei. The aim of the present study was to identify the biochemical features of B. pseudomallei, which can affect its correct identification by Vitek 2 system. Materials and Methods: The biochemical patterns of 40 B. pseudomallei strains were obtained using Vitek 2 GN cards. The average contribution of biochemical tests in overall dissimilarities between correctly and incorrectly identified strains was assessed using nonmetric multidimensional scaling. Results: It was found (R statistic of 0.836, P = 0.001) that a combination of negative N-acetyl galactosaminidase, β-N-acetyl glucosaminidase, phosphatase, and positive D-cellobiase (dCEL), tyrosine arylamidase (TyrA), and L-proline arylamidase (ProA) tests leads to low discrimination of B. pseudomallei, whereas a set of positive dCEL and negative N-acetyl galactosaminidase, TyrA, and ProA determines the wrong identification of B. pseudomallei as Burkholderia cepacia complex. Conclusion: The further expansion of the Vitek 2 identification keys is needed for correct identification of atypical or regionally distributed biochemical profiles of B. pseudomallei. PMID:29563716

Multifaceted Role of Pneumolysin in the Pathogenesis of Myocardial Injury in Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

PubMed

Anderson, Ronald; Nel, Jan G; Feldman, Charles

2018-04-11

Pneumolysin (PLY), a member of the family of Gram-positive bacterial, cholesterol-dependent, β-barrel pore-forming cytolysins, is the major protein virulence factor of the dangerous respiratory pathogen, Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus). PLY plays a major role in the pathogenesis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), promoting colonization and invasion of the upper and lower respiratory tracts respectively, as well as extra-pulmonary dissemination of the pneumococcus. Notwithstanding its role in causing acute lung injury in severe CAP, PLY has also been implicated in the development of potentially fatal acute and delayed-onset cardiovascular events, which are now recognized as being fairly common complications of this condition. This review is focused firstly on updating mechanisms involved in the immunopathogenesis of PLY-mediated myocardial damage, specifically the direct cardiotoxic and immunosuppressive activities, as well as the indirect pro-inflammatory/pro-thrombotic activities of the toxin. Secondly, on PLY-targeted therapeutic strategies including, among others, macrolide antibiotics, natural product antagonists, cholesterol-containing liposomes, and fully humanized monoclonal antibodies, as well as on vaccine-based preventive strategies. These sections are preceded by overviews of CAP in general, the role of the pneumococcus as the causative pathogen, the occurrence and types of CAP-associated cardiac complication, and the structure and biological activities of PLY.

Searching for suicide-related information on Chinese websites.

PubMed

Chen, Ying-Yeh; Hung, Galen Chin-Lun; Cheng, Qijin; Tsai, Chi-Wei; Wu, Kevin Chien-Chang

2017-12-01

Growing concerns about cyber-suicide have prompted many studies on suicide information available on the web. However, very few studies have considered non-English websites. We aimed to analyze online suicide-related information accessed through Chinese-language websites. We used Taiwan's two most popular search engines (Google and Yahoo) to explore the results returned from six suicide-related search terms in March 2016. The first three pages listing the results from each search were analyzed and rated based on the attitude towards suicide (pro-suicide, anti-suicide, neutral/mixed, not a suicide site, or error). Comparisons across different search terms were also performed. In all, 375 linked webpages were included; 16.3% of the webpages were pro-suicide and 41.3% were anti-suicide. The majority of the pro-suicide sites were user-generated webpages (96.7%). Searches using the keywords 'ways to kill yourself' (31.7%) and 'painless suicide' (28.3%) generated much larger numbers of harmful webpages than the term 'suicide' (4.3%). We conclude that collaborative efforts with internet service providers and search engines to improve the ranking of anti-suicide webpages and websites and implement online suicide reporting guidelines are highly encouraged. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analyzing the Language of Therapist Empathy in Motivational Interview based Psychotherapy

PubMed Central

Xiao, Bo; Can, Dogan; Georgiou, Panayiotis G.; Atkins, David; Narayanan, Shrikanth S.

2016-01-01

Empathy is an important aspect of social communication, especially in medical and psychotherapy applications. Measures of empathy can offer insights into the quality of therapy. We use an N-gram language model based maximum likelihood strategy to classify empathic versus non-empathic utterances and report the precision and recall of classification for various parameters. High recall is obtained with unigram while bigram features achieved the highest F1-score. Based on the utterance level models, a group of lexical features are extracted at the therapy session level. The effectiveness of these features in modeling session level annotator perceptions of empathy is evaluated through correlation with expert-coded session level empathy scores. Our combined feature set achieved a correlation of 0.558 between predicted and expert-coded empathy scores. Results also suggest that the longer term empathy perception process may be more related to isolated empathic salient events. PMID:27602411

Automated Assessment of Patients' Self-Narratives for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Screening Using Natural Language Processing and Text Mining.

PubMed

He, Qiwei; Veldkamp, Bernard P; Glas, Cees A W; de Vries, Theo

2017-03-01

Patients' narratives about traumatic experiences and symptoms are useful in clinical screening and diagnostic procedures. In this study, we presented an automated assessment system to screen patients for posttraumatic stress disorder via a natural language processing and text-mining approach. Four machine-learning algorithms-including decision tree, naive Bayes, support vector machine, and an alternative classification approach called the product score model-were used in combination with n-gram representation models to identify patterns between verbal features in self-narratives and psychiatric diagnoses. With our sample, the product score model with unigrams attained the highest prediction accuracy when compared with practitioners' diagnoses. The addition of multigrams contributed most to balancing the metrics of sensitivity and specificity. This article also demonstrates that text mining is a promising approach for analyzing patients' self-expression behavior, thus helping clinicians identify potential patients from an early stage.

Women in the Military: A Selected Bibliography

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-08-01

Kelly. Women as Weapons of War: Iraq, Sex, and the Media . New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. 208pp. (U21.75 .O43 2007) Pecenco, Elena G. The...et al. "Female Veterans’ Identity Construction, Maintenance, and Reproduction." Women and Language 29 (Spring 2006): 10-15. ProQuest Yeager, Holly...C. Prividera. "The Fallen Woman Archetype: Media Representations of Lynndie England, Gender, and the (Ab)uses of U.S. Female Soldiers." Women’s

Connecting world youth with tobacco brands: YouTube and the internet policy vacuum on Web 2.0.

PubMed

Elkin, Lucy; Thomson, George; Wilson, Nick

2010-10-01

The internet is an ideal forum for tobacco marketing, as it is largely unregulated and there is no global governing body for controlling content. Nevertheless, tobacco companies deny advertising on the internet. To assess the extent and nature of English language videos available on the Web 2.0 domain 'YouTube' that contain tobacco brand images or words. The authors conducted a YouTube search using five leading non-Chinese cigarette brands worldwide. The themes and content of up to 40 of the most viewed videos returned for each search were analysed: a total of 163 videos. A majority of the 163 tobacco brand-related videos analysed (71.2%, 95% CI 63.9 to 77.7) had pro-tobacco content, versus a small minority (3.7%) having anti-tobacco content (95% CI 1.4 to 7.8). Most of these videos contained tobacco brand content (70.6%), the brand name in the title (71.2%) or smoking imagery content (50.9%). One pro-smoking music video had been viewed over 2 million times. The four most prominent themes of the videos were celebrity/movies, sports, music and 'archive', the first three of which represent themes of interest to a youth audience. Pro-tobacco videos have a significant presence on YouTube, consistent with indirect marketing activity by tobacco companies or their proxies. Since content may be removed from YouTube if it is found to breach copyright or if it contains offensive material, there is scope for the public and health organisations to request the removal of pro-tobacco content containing copyright or offensive material. Governments should also consider implementing Framework Convention on Tobacco Control requirements on the internet, to further reduce such pro-tobacco content.

Linguistic and content validation of a German-language PRO-CTCAE-based patient-reported outcomes instrument to evaluate the late effect symptom experience after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

PubMed

Kirsch, Monika; Mitchell, Sandra A; Dobbels, Fabienne; Stussi, Georg; Basch, Ethan; Halter, Jorg P; De Geest, Sabina

2015-02-01

The aim of this sequential mixed methods study was to develop a PRO-CTCAE (Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events)-based measure of the symptom experience of late effects in German speaking long-term survivors of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT), and to examine its content validity. The US National Cancer Institute's PRO-CTAE item library was translated into German and linguistically validated. PRO-CTCAE symptoms prevalent in ≥50% of survivors (n = 15) and recognized in its importance by SCT experts (n = 9) were identified. Additional concepts relevant to the symptom experience and its consequences were elicited. Content validity of the PROVIVO (Patient-Reported Outcomes of long-term survivors after allogeneic SCT) instrument was assessed through an additional round of cognitive debriefing in 15 patients, and item and scale content validity indices by 9 experts. PROVIVO is comprised of a total of 49 items capturing the experience of physical, emotional and cognitive symptoms. To improve the instrument's utility for clinical decision-making, questions soliciting limitations in activities of daily living, frequent infections, and overall well-being were added. Cognitive debriefings demonstrated that items were well understood and relevant to the SCT survivor experience. Scale Content Validity Index (CVI) (0.94) and item CVI (median = 1; range 0.75-1) were very high. Qualitative and quantitative data provide preliminary evidence supporting the content validity of PROVIVO and identify a PRO-CTCAE item bundle for use in SCT survivors. A study to evaluate the measurement properties of PROVIVO and to examine its capacity to improve survivorship care planning is underway. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Content validity and electronic PRO (ePRO) usability of the Lung Cancer Symptom Scale-Mesothelioma (LCSS-Meso) in mesothelioma patients.

PubMed

Gelhorn, Heather L; Skalicky, Anne M; Balantac, Zaneta; Eremenco, Sonya; Cimms, Tricia; Halling, Katarina; Hollen, Patricia J; Gralla, Richard J; Mahoney, Martin C; Sexton, Chris

2018-07-01

Obtaining qualitative data directly from the patient perspective enhances the content validity of patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments. The objective of this qualitative study was to evaluate the content validity of the Lung Cancer Symptom Scale for Mesothelioma (LCSS-Meso) and its usability on an electronic device. A cross-sectional methodological study, using a qualitative approach, was conducted among patients recruited from four clinical sites. The primary target population included patients with pleural mesothelioma; data were also collected from patients with peritoneal mesothelioma on an exploratory basis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted consisting of concept elicitation, cognitive interviewing, and evaluation of electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) usability. Participants (n = 21) were interviewed in person (n = 9) or by telephone (n = 12); 71% were male with a mean age of 69 years (SD = 14). The most common signs and symptoms experienced by participants with pleural mesothelioma (n = 18) were shortness of breath, fluid build-up, pain, fatigue, coughing, and appetite loss. The most commonly described symptoms for those with peritoneal mesothelioma (n = 4) were bloating, changes in appetite, fatigue, fluid build-up, shortness of breath, and pain. Participants with pleural mesothelioma commonly described symptoms assessed by the LCSS-Meso in language consistent with the questionnaire and a majority understood and easily completed each of the items. The ePRO version was easy to use, and there was no evidence that the electronic formatting changed the way participants responded to the questions. Results support the content validity of the LCSS-Meso and the usability of the electronic format for use in assessing symptoms among patients with pleural mesothelioma.

Capturing the Patient’s Experience: Using Qualitative Methods to Develop a Measure of Patient-Reported Symptom Burden: An Example from Ovarian Cancer

PubMed Central

Williams, Loretta A.; Agarwal, Sonika; Bodurka, Diane C.; Saleeba, Angele K.; Sun, Charlotte C.; Cleeland, Charles S.

2013-01-01

Context Experts in patient-reported outcome (PRO) measurement emphasize the importance of including patient input in the development of PRO measures. Although best methods for acquiring this input are not yet identified, patient input early in instrument development ensures that instrument content captures information most important and relevant to patients in understandable terms. Objectives The M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) is a reliable, valid PRO instrument for assessing cancer symptom burden. We report a qualitative (open-ended, in-depth) interviewing method that can be used to incorporate patient input into PRO symptom measure development, with our experience in constructing a MDASI module for ovarian cancer (MDASI-OC) as a model. Methods Fourteen patients with ovarian cancer (OC) described symptoms experienced at the time of the study, at diagnosis, and during prior treatments. Researchers and clinicians used content analysis of interview transcripts to identify symptoms in patient language. Symptoms were ranked on the basis of the number of patients mentioning them and by clinician assessment of relevance. Results Forty-two symptoms were mentioned. Eight OC-specific items will be added to the 13 core symptom items and six interference items of the MDASI in a test version of the MDASI-OC based on the number of patients mentioning them and clinician assessment of importance. The test version is undergoing psychometric evaluation. Conclusion The qualitative interviewing process, used to develop the test MDASI-OC, systematically captures common symptoms important to patients with ovarian cancer. This methodology incorporates the patient experience recommended by experts in PRO instrument development. PMID:23615044

Getting Your GIS Data into Google Earth: Data Conversion Tools and Tips

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurik, R.; Marks, M.

2009-12-01

Google Earth is a powerful platform for displaying your data. You can easily visualize content using the Keyhole Markup Language (KML). But what if you don't have your data in KML format? GIS data comes in a wide variety of formats, including .shp files, CSV, and many others. What can you do? This session will walk you through some of the tools for converting data to KML format. We will explore a variety of tools, including: Google Earth Pro, GDAL/OGR, KML2KML, etc. This session will be paced so that you can follow along on your laptop if you wish. Should you want to follow along, bring a laptop, and install the trial versions of Google Earth Pro and KML2KML. It is also recommended that you download GDAL from gdal.org and install it on your system.

Bordetella Pertussis Toxin does not induce the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines in human whole blood.

PubMed

Bache, Christina; Spreitzer, Ingo; Becker, Bjoern; Loeschner, Bettina; Rosskopf, Ute; Hanschmann, Kay-Martin; Schwanig, Michael; Schneider, Christian K; Lieb, Bernhard; Montag, Thomas

2012-08-01

Pertussis Toxin (PTx) is one of the most important virulence factors of Bordetella pertussis, the cause of whooping cough. Therefore, the inactivated toxin is an obligatory constituent of acellular pertussis vaccines. It is described in the literature that both native PTx and recombinant Pertussis Toxin (PTg) activate human monocytes whereas others report an inhibition of mammalian monocytes during pertussis infection. B. pertussis, as a Gram-negative bacterium, harbours naturally lipopolysaccharide (LPS, also known as endotoxin), one of the strongest stimulators of monocytes. The latter is triggered via the interaction of endotoxin with inter alia the surface receptor CD14. Consequently, it is necessary to consider a potential contamination of Pertussis Toxin preparations with LPS. First, we determined the LPS content in different preparations of PTx and PTg. All preparations examined were contaminated with LPS; therefore, possible PTx- and PTg-driven monocyte activation independently of LPS was investigated. To meet these aims, we examined monocyte response to PTx and PTg while blocking the LPS receptor CD14 with a specific monoclonal antibody (anti-CD14 mAb). In addition, all toxin preparations examined underwent an LPS depletion. Our results show that it is contaminating LPS, not Pertussis Toxin, which activates human monocytes. Blocking the CD14 receptor prevents Pertussis Toxin-mediated induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines in human monocytes. The depletion of LPS from Pertussis Toxin leads to the same effect. Additionally, the PTx toxicity after LPS depletion procedure was confirmed by animal tests. In contrast, the original Pertussis Toxin preparations not treated as mentioned above generate strong monocyte activation. The results in this publication allow the conclusion that purified Pertussis Toxin preparations do not induce the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines in human whole blood.

A Cross-Lingual Similarity Measure for Detecting Biomedical Term Translations

PubMed Central

Bollegala, Danushka; Kontonatsios, Georgios; Ananiadou, Sophia

2015-01-01

Bilingual dictionaries for technical terms such as biomedical terms are an important resource for machine translation systems as well as for humans who would like to understand a concept described in a foreign language. Often a biomedical term is first proposed in English and later it is manually translated to other languages. Despite the fact that there are large monolingual lexicons of biomedical terms, only a fraction of those term lexicons are translated to other languages. Manually compiling large-scale bilingual dictionaries for technical domains is a challenging task because it is difficult to find a sufficiently large number of bilingual experts. We propose a cross-lingual similarity measure for detecting most similar translation candidates for a biomedical term specified in one language (source) from another language (target). Specifically, a biomedical term in a language is represented using two types of features: (a) intrinsic features that consist of character n-grams extracted from the term under consideration, and (b) extrinsic features that consist of unigrams and bigrams extracted from the contextual windows surrounding the term under consideration. We propose a cross-lingual similarity measure using each of those feature types. First, to reduce the dimensionality of the feature space in each language, we propose prototype vector projection (PVP)—a non-negative lower-dimensional vector projection method. Second, we propose a method to learn a mapping between the feature spaces in the source and target language using partial least squares regression (PLSR). The proposed method requires only a small number of training instances to learn a cross-lingual similarity measure. The proposed PVP method outperforms popular dimensionality reduction methods such as the singular value decomposition (SVD) and non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) in a nearest neighbor prediction task. Moreover, our experimental results covering several language pairs such as English–French, English–Spanish, English–Greek, and English–Japanese show that the proposed method outperforms several other feature projection methods in biomedical term translation prediction tasks. PMID:26030738

Advanced LabVIEW Labs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, Eric D.

1999-06-17

In the world of computer-based data acquisition and control, the graphical interface program LabVIEW from National Instruments is so ubiquitous that in many ways it has almost become the laboratory standard. To date, there have been approximately fifteen books concerning LabVIEW, but Professor Essick's treatise takes on a completely different tack than all of the previous discussions. In the more standard treatments of the ways and wherefores of LabVIEW such as LabVIEW Graphical Programming: Practical Applications in Instrumentation and Control by Gary W. Johnson (McGraw Hill, NY 1997), the emphasis has been instructing the reader how to program LabVIEW tomore » create a Virtual Instrument (VI) on the computer for interfacing to a particular instruments. LabVIEW is written in G a graphical programming language developed by National Instruments. In the past the emphasis has been on training the experimenter to learn G . Without going into details here, G incorporates the usual loops, arithmetic expressions, etc., found in many programming languages, but in an icon (graphical) environment. The net result being that LabVIEW contains all of the standard methods needed for interfacing to instruments, data acquisition, data analysis, graphics, and also methodology to incorporate programs written in other languages into LabVIEW. Historically, according to Professor Essick, he developed a series of experiments for an upper division laboratory course for computer-based instrumentation. His observation was that while many students had the necessary background in computer programming languages, there were students who had virtually no concept about writing a computer program let alone a computer- based interfacing program. Thus the beginnings of a concept for not only teaching computer- based instrumentation techniques, but aiso a method for the beginner to experience writing a com- puter program. Professor Essick saw LabVIEW as the perfect environment in which to teach computer-based research skills. With this goal in mind, he has succeeded admirably. Advanced LabVIEW Labs presents a series of chapters devoted to not only introducing the reader to LabVIEW, but also to the concepts necessary for writing a successful computer pro- gram. Each chapter is an assignment for the student and is suitable for a ten week course. The first topic introduces the while loop and waveform chart VI'S. After learning how to launch LabVIEW, the student then leans how to use LabVIEW functions such as sine and cosine. The beauty of thk and subsequent chapters, the student is introduced immediately to computer-based instruction by learning how to display the results in graph form on the screen. At each point along the way, the student is not only introduced to another LabVIEW operation, but also to such subjects as spread sheets for data storage, numerical integration, Fourier transformations', curve fitting algorithms, etc. The last few chapters conclude with the purpose of the learning module, and that is, com- puter-based instrumentation. Computer-based laboratory projects such as analog-to-digital con- version, digitizing oscilloscopes treated. Advanced Lab VIEW Labs finishes with a treatment on GPIB interfacing and finally, the student is asked to create an operating VI for temperature con- trol. This is an excellent text, not only as an treatise on LabVIEW but also as an introduction to computer programming logic. All programmers, who are struggling to not only learning how interface computers to instruments, but also trying understand top down programming and other programming language techniques, should add Advanced Lab-VIEW Labs to their computer library.« less

Advanced LabVIEW Labs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jones, Eric D.

1999-06-17

In the world of computer-based data acquisition and control, the graphical interface program LabVIEW from National Instruments is so ubiquitous that in many ways it has almost become the laboratory standard. To date, there have been approximately fifteen books concerning LabVIEW, but Professor Essick's treatise takes on a completely different tack than all of the previous discussions. In the more standard treatments of the ways and wherefores of LabVIEW such as LabVIEW Graphical Programming: Practical Applications in Instrumentation and Control by Gary W. Johnson (McGraw Hill, NY 1997), the emphasis has been instructing the reader how to program LabVIEW tomore » create a Virtual Instrument (VI) on the computer for interfacing to a particular instruments. LabVIEW is written in "G" a graphical programming language developed by National Instruments. In the past the emphasis has been on training the experimenter to learn "G". Without going into details here, "G" incorporates the usual loops, arithmetic expressions, etc., found in many programming languages, but in an icon (graphical) environment. The net result being that LabVIEW contains all of the standard methods needed for interfacing to instruments, data acquisition, data analysis, graphics, and also methodology to incorporate programs written in other languages into LabVIEW. Historically, according to Professor Essick, he developed a series of experiments for an upper division laboratory course for computer-based instrumentation. His observation was that while many students had the necessary background in computer programming languages, there were students who had virtually no concept about writing a computer program let alone a computer- based interfacing program. Thus the beginnings of a concept for not only teaching computer- based instrumentation techniques, but aiso a method for the beginner to experience writing a com- puter program. Professor Essick saw LabVIEW as the "perfect environment in which to teach computer-based research skills." With this goal in mind, he has succeeded admirably. Advanced LabVIEW Labs presents a series of chapters devoted to not only introducing the reader to LabVIEW, but also to the concepts necessary for writing a successful computer pro- gram. Each chapter is an assignment for the student and is suitable for a ten week course. The first topic introduces the while loop and waveform chart VI'S. After learning how to launch LabVIEW, the student then leans how to use LabVIEW functions such as sine and cosine. The beauty of thk and subsequent chapters, the student is introduced immediately to computer-based instruction by learning how to display the results in graph form on the screen. At each point along the way, the student is not only introduced to another LabVIEW operation, but also to such subjects as spread sheets for data storage, numerical integration, Fourier transformations', curve fitting algorithms, etc. The last few chapters conclude with the purpose of the learning module, and that is, com- puter-based instrumentation. Computer-based laboratory projects such as analog-to-digital con- version, digitizing oscilloscopes treated. Advanced Lab VIEW Labs finishes with a treatment on GPIB interfacing and finally, the student is asked to create an operating VI for temperature con- trol. This is an excellent text, not only as an treatise on LabVIEW but also as an introduction to computer programming logic. All programmers, who are struggling to not only learning how interface computers to instruments, but also trying understand top down programming and other programming language techniques, should add Advanced Lab-VIEW Labs to their computer library.« less

Very Early Administration of Progesterone Does Not Improve Neuropsychological Outcomes in Subjects with Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

PubMed

Goldstein, Felicia C; Caveney, Angela F; Hertzberg, Vicki S; Silbergleit, Robert; Yeatts, Sharon D; Palesch, Yuko Y; Levin, Harvey S; Wright, David W

2017-01-01

A Phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (ProTECT III) found that administration of progesterone did not reduce mortality or improve functional outcome as measured by the Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE) in subjects with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. We conducted a secondary analysis of neuropsychological outcomes to evaluate whether progesterone is associated with improved recovery of cognitive and motor functioning. ProTECT III was conducted at 49 level I trauma centers in the United States. Adults with moderate to severe TBI were randomized to receive intravenous progesterone or placebo within 4 h of injury for a total of 4 days. At 6 months, subjects underwent evaluation of memory, attention, executive functioning, language, and fine motor coordination/dexterity. Chi-square analysis revealed no significant difference in the proportion of subjects (263/280 progesterone, 283/295 placebo) with Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test scores ≥75. Analyses of covariance did not reveal significant treatment effects for memory (Buschke immediate recall, p = 0.53; delayed recall, p = 0.94), attention (Trails A speed, p = 0.81 and errors, p = 0.22; Digit Span Forward length, p = 0.66), executive functioning (Trails B speed, p = 0.97 and errors, p = 0.93; Digit Span Backward length, p = 0.60), language (timed phonemic fluency, p = 0.05), and fine motor coordination/dexterity (Grooved Pegboard dominant hand time, p = 0.75 and peg drops, p = 0.59; nondominant hand time, p = 0.74 and peg drops, p = 0.61). Pearson Product Moment Correlations demonstrated significant (p < 0.001) associations between better neuropsychological performance and higher GOSE scores. Similar to the ProTECT III trial's results of the primary outcome, the secondary outcomes do not provide evidence of a neuroprotective effect of progesterone.

Very Early Administration of Progesterone Does Not Improve Neuropsychological Outcomes in Subjects with Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

PubMed Central

Caveney, Angela F.; Hertzberg, Vicki S; Silbergleit, Robert; Yeatts, Sharon D.; Palesch, Yuko Y.; Levin, Harvey S.; Wright, David W.

2017-01-01

Abstract A Phase III, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (ProTECT III) found that administration of progesterone did not reduce mortality or improve functional outcome as measured by the Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE) in subjects with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. We conducted a secondary analysis of neuropsychological outcomes to evaluate whether progesterone is associated with improved recovery of cognitive and motor functioning. ProTECT III was conducted at 49 level I trauma centers in the United States. Adults with moderate to severe TBI were randomized to receive intravenous progesterone or placebo within 4 h of injury for a total of 4 days. At 6 months, subjects underwent evaluation of memory, attention, executive functioning, language, and fine motor coordination/dexterity. Chi-square analysis revealed no significant difference in the proportion of subjects (263/280 progesterone, 283/295 placebo) with Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test scores ≥75. Analyses of covariance did not reveal significant treatment effects for memory (Buschke immediate recall, p = 0.53; delayed recall, p = 0.94), attention (Trails A speed, p = 0.81 and errors, p = 0.22; Digit Span Forward length, p = 0.66), executive functioning (Trails B speed, p = 0.97 and errors, p = 0.93; Digit Span Backward length, p = 0.60), language (timed phonemic fluency, p = 0.05), and fine motor coordination/dexterity (Grooved Pegboard dominant hand time, p = 0.75 and peg drops, p = 0.59; nondominant hand time, p = 0.74 and peg drops, p = 0.61). Pearson Product Moment Correlations demonstrated significant (p < 0.001) associations between better neuropsychological performance and higher GOSE scores. Similar to the ProTECT III trial's results of the primary outcome, the secondary outcomes do not provide evidence of a neuroprotective effect of progesterone. PMID:26973025

A promising method for identifying cross-cultural differences in patient perspective: the use of Internet-based focus groups for content validation of new Patient Reported Outcome assessments

PubMed Central

Atkinson, Mark J; Lohs, Jan; Kuhagen, Ilka; Kaufman, Julie; Bhaidani, Shamsu

2006-01-01

Objectives This proof of concept (POC) study was designed to evaluate the use of an Internet-based bulletin board technology to aid parallel cross-cultural development of thematic content for a new set of patient-reported outcome measures (PROs). Methods The POC study, conducted in Germany and the United States, utilized Internet Focus Groups (IFGs) to assure the validity of new PRO items across the two cultures – all items were designed to assess the impact of excess facial oil on individuals' lives. The on-line IFG activities were modeled after traditional face-to-face focus groups and organized by a common 'Topic' Guide designed with input from thought leaders in dermatology and health outcomes research. The two sets of IFGs were professionally moderated in the native language of each country. IFG moderators coded the thematic content of transcripts, and a frequency analysis of code endorsement was used to identify areas of content similarity and difference between the two countries. Based on this information, draft PRO items were designed and a majority (80%) of the original participants returned to rate the relative importance of the newly designed questions. Findings The use of parallel cross-cultural content analysis of IFG transcripts permitted identification of the major content themes in each country as well as exploration of the possible reasons for any observed differences between the countries. Results from coded frequency counts and transcript reviews informed the design and wording of the test questions for the future PRO instrument(s). Subsequent ratings of item importance also deepened our understanding of potential areas of cross-cultural difference, differences that would be explored over the course of future validation studies involving these PROs. Conclusion The use of IFGs for cross-cultural content development received positive reviews from participants and was found to be both cost and time effective. The novel thematic coding methodology provided an empirical platform on which to develop culturally sensitive questionnaire content using the natural language of participants. Overall, the IFG responses and thematic analyses provided a thorough evaluation of similarities and differences in cross-cultural themes, which in turn acted as a sound base for the development of new PRO questionnaires. PMID:16995935

A promising method for identifying cross-cultural differences in patient perspective: the use of Internet-based focus groups for content validation of new patient reported outcome assessments.

PubMed

Atkinson, Mark J; Lohs, Jan; Kuhagen, Ilka; Kaufman, Julie; Bhaidani, Shamsu

2006-09-22

This proof of concept (POC) study was designed to evaluate the use of an Internet-based bulletin board technology to aid parallel cross-cultural development of thematic content for a new set of patient-reported outcome measures (PROs). The POC study, conducted in Germany and the United States, utilized Internet Focus Groups (IFGs) to assure the validity of new PRO items across the two cultures--all items were designed to assess the impact of excess facial oil on individuals' lives. The on-line IFG activities were modeled after traditional face-to-face focus groups and organized by a common 'Topic' Guide designed with input from thought leaders in dermatology and health outcomes research. The two sets of IFGs were professionally moderated in the native language of each country. IFG moderators coded the thematic content of transcripts, and a frequency analysis of code endorsement was used to identify areas of content similarity and difference between the two countries. Based on this information, draft PRO items were designed and a majority (80%) of the original participants returned to rate the relative importance of the newly designed questions. The use of parallel cross-cultural content analysis of IFG transcripts permitted identification of the major content themes in each country as well as exploration of the possible reasons for any observed differences between the countries. Results from coded frequency counts and transcript reviews informed the design and wording of the test questions for the future PRO instrument(s). Subsequent ratings of item importance also deepened our understanding of potential areas of cross-cultural difference, differences that would be explored over the course of future validation studies involving these PROs. The use of IFGs for cross-cultural content development received positive reviews from participants and was found to be both cost and time effective. The novel thematic coding methodology provided an empirical platform on which to develop culturally sensitive questionnaire content using the natural language of participants. Overall, the IFG responses and thematic analyses provided a thorough evaluation of similarities and differences in cross-cultural themes, which in turn acted as a sound base for the development of new PRO questionnaires.

Activating and Attenuating the Amicoumacin Antibiotics.

PubMed

Park, Hyun Bong; Perez, Corey E; Perry, Elena Kim; Crawford, Jason M

2016-06-24

The amicoumacins belong to a class of dihydroisocoumarin natural products and display antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory activities. Amicoumacins are the pro-drug activation products of a bacterial nonribosomal peptide-polyketide hybrid biosynthetic pathway and have been isolated from Gram-positive Bacillus and Nocardia species. Here, we report the stimulation of a "cryptic" amicoumacin pathway in the entomopathogenic Gram-negative bacterium Xenorhabdus bovienii, a strain not previously known to produce amicoumacins. X. bovienii participates in a multi-lateral symbiosis where it is pathogenic to insects and mutualistic to its Steinernema nematode host. Waxmoth larvae are common prey of the X. bovienii-Steinernema pair. Employing a medium designed to mimic the amino acid content of the waxmoth circulatory fluid led to the detection and characterization of amicoumacins in X. bovienii. The chemical structures of the amicoumacins were supported by 2D-NMR, HR-ESI-QTOF-MS, tandem MS, and polarimeter spectral data. A comparative gene cluster analysis of the identified X. bovienii amicoumacin pathway to that of the Bacillus subtilis amicoumacin pathway and the structurally-related Xenorhabdus nematophila xenocoumacin pathway is presented. The X. bovienii pathway encodes an acetyltransferase not found in the other reported pathways, which leads to a series of N-acetyl-amicoumacins that lack antibacterial activity. N-acetylation of amicoumacin was validated through in vitro protein biochemical studies, and the impact of N-acylation on amicoumacin's mode of action was examined through ribosomal structural analyses.

Co-occurrence of anaerobic bacteria in colorectal carcinomas.

PubMed

Warren, René L; Freeman, Douglas J; Pleasance, Stephen; Watson, Peter; Moore, Richard A; Cochrane, Kyla; Allen-Vercoe, Emma; Holt, Robert A

2013-05-15

Numerous cancers have been linked to microorganisms. Given that colorectal cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths and the colon is continuously exposed to a high diversity of microbes, the relationship between gut mucosal microbiome and colorectal cancer needs to be explored. Metagenomic studies have shown an association between Fusobacterium species and colorectal carcinoma. Here, we have extended these studies with deeper sequencing of a much larger number (n = 130) of colorectal carcinoma and matched normal control tissues. We analyzed these data using co-occurrence networks in order to identify microbe-microbe and host-microbe associations specific to tumors. We confirmed tumor over-representation of Fusobacterium species and observed significant co-occurrence within individual tumors of Fusobacterium, Leptotrichia and Campylobacter species. This polymicrobial signature was associated with over-expression of numerous host genes, including the gene encoding the pro-inflammatory chemokine Interleukin-8. The tumor-associated bacteria we have identified are all Gram-negative anaerobes, recognized previously as constituents of the oral microbiome, which are capable of causing infection. We isolated a novel strain of Campylobacter showae from a colorectal tumor specimen. This strain is substantially diverged from a previously sequenced oral Campylobacter showae isolate, carries potential virulence genes, and aggregates with a previously isolated tumor strain of Fusobacterium nucleatum. A polymicrobial signature of Gram-negative anaerobic bacteria is associated with colorectal carcinoma tissue.

Acyloxyacyl hydrolase promotes the resolution of lipopolysaccharide-induced acute lung injury

PubMed Central

Tang, Zihui; Yang, Qian; Qian, Guojun; Qian, Jing; Zeng, Wenjiao; Gu, Jie; Chu, Tianqing; Zhu, Ning; Zhang, Wenhong; Yan, Dapeng; He, Rui; Chu, Yiwei

2017-01-01

Pulmonary infection is the most common risk factor for acute lung injury (ALI). Innate immune responses induced by Microbe-Associated Molecular Pattern (MAMP) molecules are essential for lung defense but can lead to tissue injury. Little is known about how MAMP molecules are degraded in the lung or how MAMP degradation/inactivation helps prevent or ameliorate the harmful inflammation that produces ALI. Acyloxyacyl hydrolase (AOAH) is a host lipase that inactivates Gram-negative bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, or LPS). We report here that alveolar macrophages increase AOAH expression upon exposure to LPS and that Aoah+/+ mice recover more rapidly than do Aoah-/- mice from ALI induced by nasally instilled LPS or Klebsiella pneumoniae. Aoah-/- mouse lungs had more prolonged leukocyte infiltration, greater pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine expression, and longer-lasting alveolar barrier damage. We also describe evidence that the persistently bioactive LPS in Aoah-/- alveoli can stimulate alveolar macrophages directly and epithelial cells indirectly to produce chemoattractants that recruit neutrophils to the lung and may prevent their clearance. Distinct from the prolonged tolerance observed in LPS-exposed Aoah-/- peritoneal macrophages, alveolar macrophages that lacked AOAH maintained or increased their responses to bioactive LPS and sustained inflammation. Inactivation of LPS by AOAH is a previously unappreciated mechanism for promoting resolution of pulmonary inflammation/injury induced by Gram-negative bacterial infection. PMID:28622363

The alyteserins: two families of antimicrobial peptides from the skin secretions of the midwife toad Alytes obstetricans (Alytidae).

PubMed

Conlon, J Michael; Demandt, Anni; Nielsen, Per F; Leprince, Jérôme; Vaudry, Hubert; Woodhams, Douglas C

2009-06-01

Two families of structurally related C-terminally alpha-amidated antimicrobial peptides have been identified in norepinephrine-stimulated skin secretions of the midwife toad Alytes obstetricans (Alytidae). The alyteserin-1 peptides (Gly-Leu-Lys-(Asp/Glu)-Ile-Phe-Lys-Ala-Gly-Leu-Gly-Ser-Leu-Val-Lys-(Gly/Asn)-Ile-Ala-Ala-His-Val-Ala-(Asn/Ser).NH(2)) show limited structural similarity to the ascaphins from the skins of frogs of the family Leiopelmatidae. Alyteserin-2a (Ile-Leu-Gly-Lys-Leu-Leu-Ser-Thr-Ala-Ala-Gly-Leu-Leu-Ser-Asn-Leu.NH(2)) and alyteserin-2b and -2c (Ile-Leu-Gly-Ala-Ile-Leu-Pro-Leu-Val-Ser-Gly-Leu-Leu-Ser-(Asn/Ser)-Lys-Leu x NH(2)) show limited sequence identity with bombinin H6, present in the skins of frogs of the family Bombinatoridae. The alyteserin-1 peptides show selective growth inhibitory activity against the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli (MIC=25 microM) whereas alyteserin-2a is more potent against the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (MIC=50 microM). The hemolytic activity against human erythrocytes of all peptides tested is relatively weak (LC(50)>100 microM). The data demonstrate that the frogs belonging to the family Alytidae are among those producing dermal antimicrobial peptides that may represent a component of the animal's system of innate immunity.

Report of the Task Force on Specifications and Standards

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-04-01

pro- cedures covering interim changes or corrections to specifications and standar (ls required to effect a procurement . A language change was proposed...DEFENSE SCIENCE BOARD SREPORT OF THE TASK FORCE ON 0 ’SPECIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS APRIL 1977 I S-J APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION...FORCE ON SPECIFICATIONS aSTANDARDS :::nm,1UTION STA T,~~ i vl for public Weeae; .-Aibution Ulnlimited Office of, 11h1 I irel-4,r. I )eh- iss R se rc

Immunotherapy in the management of sepsis.

PubMed

Sikora, Janusz Piotr

2002-01-01

This work presents the role of Gram-negative bacteria endotoxins, pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the complex and not fully explained pathogenesis of sepsis. The so-called "respiratory burst" of neutrophils and the antioxidant mechanisms of the host are also discussed. The work focuses on possible approaches to the management of sepsis connected with immunotherapy. Neutralization of endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS), anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) therapy with monoclonal antibodies or pentoxifylline (PTXF), as well as soluble recombinant cytokine agonists and antagonists used in clinical trials are taken into consideration. In addition, cytokine manipulation therapy, anti-adhesion techniques, glucocorticoides and antioxidant barrier interference are also described. So far there has been no immunotherapy of sepsis in children of proven clinical efficacy, which prompts an aggressive examination of the immune system aimed at affecting its function.

History of the Field Army Ballistic Missile Defense System Project, 1959-1962

DTIC Science & Technology

1963-01-01

design and/or development. The t o t a l funding of t he program under con- t r a c t a s of November 1959 was $4,984,000, An immediate te rmina t...p a b i l i t y of defending a g a i n s t a n a l l - a l t i t u d e , a i r - suppor t ed t h r e a t . Under t he se i n s t r u c t i o...ion of t he development phase i n t he . fol lowing f i s c a l year were t o be pro- grammed under t he l i n e i tem F i e l d Army B a l

Multinational trials-recommendations on the translations required, approaches to using the same language in different countries, and the approaches to support pooling the data: the ISPOR Patient-Reported Outcomes Translation and Linguistic Validation Good Research Practices Task Force report.

PubMed

Wild, Diane; Eremenco, Sonya; Mear, Isabelle; Martin, Mona; Houchin, Caroline; Gawlicki, Mary; Hareendran, Asha; Wiklund, Ingela; Chong, Lee Yee; von Maltzahn, Robyn; Cohen, Lawrence; Molsen, Elizabeth

2009-06-01

With the internationalization of clinical trial programs, there is an increased need to translate and culturally adapt patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. Although guidelines for good practices in translation and linguistic validation are available, the ISPOR Patient-Reported Outcomes Translation and Linguistic Validation Task Force identified a number of areas where they felt that further discussion around methods and best practices would be beneficial. The areas identified by the team were as follows: 1) the selection of the languages required for multinational trials; 2) the approaches suggested when the same language is required across two or more countries; and 3) the assessment of measurement equivalence to support the aggregation of data from different countries. The task force addressed these three areas, reviewed the available literature, and had multiple discussions to develop this report. Decision aid tools have also been developed and presented for the selection of languages and the approaches suggested for the use of the same language in different countries. It is hoped that this report and the decision tools proposed will assist those involved with multinational trials to 1) decide on the translations required for each country; 2) choose the approach to use when the same language is spoken in more than one country; and 3) choose methods to gather evidence to support the pooling of data collected using different language versions of the same tool.

The Role of Early Language Difficulties in the Trajectories of Conduct Problems Across Childhood.

PubMed

Yew, Shaun Goh Kok; O'Kearney, Richard

2015-11-01

This study uses latent growth curve modelling to contrast the developmental trajectories of conduct problems across childhood for children with early language difficulties (LD) and those with typical language (TL). It also examines whether the presence of early language difficulties moderates the influence of child, parent and peers factors known to be associated with the development of conduct problems. Unconditional and language status conditional latent growth curves of conduct problems were estimated for a nationally representative cohort of children, comprising of 1627 boys (280 LD) and 1609 girls (159 LD) measured at ages 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 and 10-11. Multiple regression tested interaction between language status and predictors of the level and slope of the development of conduct symptoms. On average, children's conduct problems followed a curvilinear decrease. Compared to their TL peers, LD boys and girls had trajectories of conduct problems that had the same shape but with persistently higher levels. Among boys, LD amplified the contributions of parental hostility and SES and protected against the contributions of sociability and maternal psychological distress to a high level of conduct problems. In low SES boys, LD was a vulnerability to a slower rate of decline in conduct problems. Among girls, LD amplified the contributions of low pro-social behaviour to a higher level and sociability to a slower rate of decline of conduct problems while dampening the contribution of peer problems to a higher level of problems.

Automated Classification of Radiology Reports for Acute Lung Injury: Comparison of Keyword and Machine Learning Based Natural Language Processing Approaches.

PubMed

Solti, Imre; Cooke, Colin R; Xia, Fei; Wurfel, Mark M

2009-11-01

This paper compares the performance of keyword and machine learning-based chest x-ray report classification for Acute Lung Injury (ALI). ALI mortality is approximately 30 percent. High mortality is, in part, a consequence of delayed manual chest x-ray classification. An automated system could reduce the time to recognize ALI and lead to reductions in mortality. For our study, 96 and 857 chest x-ray reports in two corpora were labeled by domain experts for ALI. We developed a keyword and a Maximum Entropy-based classification system. Word unigram and character n-grams provided the features for the machine learning system. The Maximum Entropy algorithm with character 6-gram achieved the highest performance (Recall=0.91, Precision=0.90 and F-measure=0.91) on the 857-report corpus. This study has shown that for the classification of ALI chest x-ray reports, the machine learning approach is superior to the keyword based system and achieves comparable results to highest performing physician annotators.

Automated Classification of Radiology Reports for Acute Lung Injury: Comparison of Keyword and Machine Learning Based Natural Language Processing Approaches

PubMed Central

Solti, Imre; Cooke, Colin R.; Xia, Fei; Wurfel, Mark M.

2010-01-01

This paper compares the performance of keyword and machine learning-based chest x-ray report classification for Acute Lung Injury (ALI). ALI mortality is approximately 30 percent. High mortality is, in part, a consequence of delayed manual chest x-ray classification. An automated system could reduce the time to recognize ALI and lead to reductions in mortality. For our study, 96 and 857 chest x-ray reports in two corpora were labeled by domain experts for ALI. We developed a keyword and a Maximum Entropy-based classification system. Word unigram and character n-grams provided the features for the machine learning system. The Maximum Entropy algorithm with character 6-gram achieved the highest performance (Recall=0.91, Precision=0.90 and F-measure=0.91) on the 857-report corpus. This study has shown that for the classification of ALI chest x-ray reports, the machine learning approach is superior to the keyword based system and achieves comparable results to highest performing physician annotators. PMID:21152268

The Growth Dynamics of Words: How Historical Context Shapes the Competitive Linguistic Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tenenbaum, Joel; Petersen, Alexander; Havlin, Shlomo; Stanley, H. Eugene

2012-02-01

Using the massive Google n-gram database of over 10^11 word uses in English, Hebrew, and Spanish, we explore the connection between the growth rates of relative word use and the observed growth rates of disparate competing actors in a common environment such as businesses, scientific journals, and universities, supporting the concept that a language's lexicon is a generic arena for competition, evolving according to selection laws. We find aggregate-level anomalies in the collective statistics corresponding to the time of key historical events such as World War II and the Balfour Declaration.

Universals versus historical contingencies in lexical evolution

PubMed Central

Bochkarev, V.; Solovyev, V.; Wichmann, S.

2014-01-01

The frequency with which we use different words changes all the time, and every so often, a new lexical item is invented or another one ceases to be used. Beyond a small sample of lexical items whose properties are well studied, little is known about the dynamics of lexical evolution. How do the lexical inventories of languages, viewed as entire systems, evolve? Is the rate of evolution of the lexicon contingent upon historical factors or is it driven by regularities, perhaps to do with universals of cognition and social interaction? We address these questions using the Google Books N-Gram Corpus as a source of data and relative entropy as a measure of changes in the frequency distributions of words. It turns out that there are both universals and historical contingencies at work. Across several languages, we observe similar rates of change, but only at timescales of at least around five decades. At shorter timescales, the rate of change is highly variable and differs between languages. Major societal transformations as well as catastrophic events such as wars lead to increased change in frequency distributions, whereas stability in society has a dampening effect on lexical evolution. PMID:25274040

Proposed Framework for the Evaluation of Standalone Corpora Processing Systems: An Application to Arabic Corpora

PubMed Central

Al-Thubaity, Abdulmohsen; Alqifari, Reem

2014-01-01

Despite the accessibility of numerous online corpora, students and researchers engaged in the fields of Natural Language Processing (NLP), corpus linguistics, and language learning and teaching may encounter situations in which they need to develop their own corpora. Several commercial and free standalone corpora processing systems are available to process such corpora. In this study, we first propose a framework for the evaluation of standalone corpora processing systems and then use it to evaluate seven freely available systems. The proposed framework considers the usability, functionality, and performance of the evaluated systems while taking into consideration their suitability for Arabic corpora. While the results show that most of the evaluated systems exhibited comparable usability scores, the scores for functionality and performance were substantially different with respect to support for the Arabic language and N-grams profile generation. The results of our evaluation will help potential users of the evaluated systems to choose the system that best meets their needs. More importantly, the results will help the developers of the evaluated systems to enhance their systems and developers of new corpora processing systems by providing them with a reference framework. PMID:25610910

Proposed framework for the evaluation of standalone corpora processing systems: an application to Arabic corpora.

PubMed

Al-Thubaity, Abdulmohsen; Al-Khalifa, Hend; Alqifari, Reem; Almazrua, Manal

2014-01-01

Despite the accessibility of numerous online corpora, students and researchers engaged in the fields of Natural Language Processing (NLP), corpus linguistics, and language learning and teaching may encounter situations in which they need to develop their own corpora. Several commercial and free standalone corpora processing systems are available to process such corpora. In this study, we first propose a framework for the evaluation of standalone corpora processing systems and then use it to evaluate seven freely available systems. The proposed framework considers the usability, functionality, and performance of the evaluated systems while taking into consideration their suitability for Arabic corpora. While the results show that most of the evaluated systems exhibited comparable usability scores, the scores for functionality and performance were substantially different with respect to support for the Arabic language and N-grams profile generation. The results of our evaluation will help potential users of the evaluated systems to choose the system that best meets their needs. More importantly, the results will help the developers of the evaluated systems to enhance their systems and developers of new corpora processing systems by providing them with a reference framework.

Acute ileitis facilitates infection with multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in human microbiota-associated mice.

PubMed

von Klitzing, Eliane; Ekmekciu, Ira; Bereswill, Stefan; Heimesaat, Markus M

2017-01-01

The rising incidence of multidrug resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa has become a serious issue in prevention of its spread particularly among hospitalized patients. It is, however, unclear whether distinct conditions such as acute intestinal inflammation facilitate P. aeruginosa infection of vertebrate hosts. To address this, we analysed P. aeruginosa infection in human microbiota-associated (hma) mice with acute ileitis induced by peroral Toxoplasma gondii challenge. When perorally infected with P. aeruginosa at day 3 post ileitis induction, hma mice displayed higher intestinal P. aeruginosa loads as compared to hma mice without ileitis. However, the overall intestinal microbiota composition was not disturbed by P. aeruginosa (except for lowered bifidobacterial populations), and the infection did not further enhance ileal immune cell responses. Pro-inflammatory cytokines including IFN-γ and IL-12p70 were similarly increased in ileum and mesenteric lymph nodes of P. aeruginosa infected and uninfected hma mice with ileitis. The anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 increased multifold upon ileitis induction, but interestingly more distinctly in P. aeruginosa infected as compared to uninfected controls. Immune responses were not restricted to the intestines as indicated by elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in liver and kidney upon ileitis induction. However, except for hepatic TNF-α levels, P. aeruginosa infection did not result in more distinct pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion in liver and kidney of hma mice with ileitis. Whereas viable intestinal bacteria were more frequently detected in systemic compartments such as spleen and cardiac blood of P. aeruginosa infected than uninfected mice at day 7 following ileitis induction, P. aeruginosa infection did not exacerbate systemic pro-inflammatory sequelae, but resulted in lower IL-10 serum levels. Acute intestinal inflammation facilitates infection of the vertebrate host with MDR bacteria including P. aeruginosa and might also pose particularly hospitalized patients at risk for acquisition. Since acute T. gondii induced inflammation might mask immunopathology caused by P. aeruginosa , a subacute or chronic inflammation model might be better suited to investigate the potential role of P. aeruginosa infection in the aggravation of intestinal disease.

Scoping review of response shift methods: current reporting practices and recommendations.

PubMed

Sajobi, Tolulope T; Brahmbatt, Ronak; Lix, Lisa M; Zumbo, Bruno D; Sawatzky, Richard

2018-05-01

Response shift (RS) has been defined as a change in the meaning of an individual's self-evaluation of his/her health status and quality of life. Several statistical model- and design-based methods have been developed to test for RS in longitudinal data. We reviewed the uptake of these methods in patient-reported outcomes (PRO) literature. CINHAHL, EMBASE, Medline, ProQuest, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were searched to identify English-language articles about RS published until 2016. Data on year and country of publication, PRO measure adopted, RS detection method, type of RS detected, and testing of underlying model assumptions were extracted from the included articles. Of the 1032 articles identified, 101 (9.8%) articles were included in the study. While 54.5 of the articles reported on the Then-test, 30.7% of the articles reported on Oort's or Schmitt's structural equation modeling (SEM) procedure. Newer RS detection methods, such as relative importance analysis and random forest regression, have been used less frequently. Less than 25% reported on testing the assumptions underlying the adopted RS detection method(s). Despite rapid methodological advancements in RS research, this review highlights the need for further research about RS detection methods for complex longitudinal data and standardized reporting guidelines.

Probiotics and prebiotics in prevention and treatment of diseases in infants and children.

PubMed

Vandenplas, Yvan; Veereman-Wauters, Genevieve; De Greef, Elisabeth; Peeters, Stefaan; Casteels, Ann; Mahler, Tania; Devreker, Thierry; Hauser, Bruno

2011-01-01

To evaluate the impact of probiotics and prebiotics on the health of children. MEDLINE and LILACS were searched for relevant English and French-language articles. Human milk is rich in prebiotic oligosaccharides and may contain some probiotics. No data suggest that addition of probiotics to infant formula may be harmful, but evidence of its efficacy is insufficient for its recommendation. Since data suggest that addition of specific prebiotic oligosaccharides may reduce infections and atopy in healthy infants, their addition to infant formula seems reasonable. Long-term health benefits of pro- and prebiotics on the developing immune system remain to be proven. Selected probiotics reduce the duration of infectious diarrhea by 1 day, but evidence in prevention is lacking, except in antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Some specific probiotics prevent necrotizing enterocolitis, and other microorganisms may be beneficial in Helicobacter pylori gastritis and in infantile colic. Evidence is insufficient to recommend probiotics in prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis. The use of probiotics in constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and extra-intestinal infections requires more studies. Duration of administration, microbial dosage, and species used need further validation for both pro- and prebiotics. Unjustified health claims are a major threat for the pro- and prebiotic concept.

Macrophage Pro-Inflammatory Response to Francisella novicida Infection Is Regulated by SHIP

PubMed Central

Parsa, Kishore V. L; Ganesan, Latha P; Rajaram, Murugesan V. S; Gavrilin, Mikhail A; Balagopal, Ashwin; Mohapatra, Nrusingh P; Wewers, Mark D; Schlesinger, Larry S; Gunn, John S; Tridandapani, Susheela

2006-01-01

Francisella tularensis, a Gram-negative facultative intracellular pathogen infecting principally macrophages and monocytes, is the etiological agent of tularemia. Macrophage responses to F. tularensis infection include the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-12, which is critical for immunity against infection. Molecular mechanisms regulating production of these inflammatory mediators are poorly understood. Herein we report that the SH2 domain-containing inositol phosphatase (SHIP) is phosphorylated upon infection of primary murine macrophages with the genetically related F. novicida, and negatively regulates F. novicida–induced cytokine production. Analyses of the molecular details revealed that in addition to activating the MAP kinases, F. novicida infection also activated the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway in these cells. Interestingly, SHIP-deficient macrophages displayed enhanced Akt activation upon F. novicida infection, suggesting elevated PI3K-dependent activation pathways in absence of SHIP. Inhibition of PI3K/Akt resulted in suppression of F. novicida–induced cytokine production through the inhibition of NFκB. Consistently, macrophages lacking SHIP displayed enhanced NFκB-driven gene transcription, whereas overexpression of SHIP led to decreased NFκB activation. Thus, we propose that SHIP negatively regulates F. novicida–induced inflammatory cytokine response by antagonizing the PI3K/Akt pathway and suppressing NFκB-mediated gene transcription. A detailed analysis of phosphoinositide signaling may provide valuable clues for better understanding the pathogenesis of tularemia. PMID:16848641

Introduction to the Natural Anticipator and the Artificial Anticipator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubois, Daniel M.

2010-11-01

This short communication deals with the introduction of the concept of anticipator, which is one who anticipates, in the framework of computing anticipatory systems. The definition of anticipation deals with the concept of program. Indeed, the word program, comes from "pro-gram" meaning "to write before" by anticipation, and means a plan for the programming of a mechanism, or a sequence of coded instructions that can be inserted into a mechanism, or a sequence of coded instructions, as genes or behavioural responses, that is part of an organism. Any natural or artificial programs are thus related to anticipatory rewriting systems, as shown in this paper. All the cells in the body, and the neurons in the brain, are programmed by the anticipatory genetic code, DNA, in a low-level language with four signs. The programs in computers are also computing anticipatory systems. It will be shown, at one hand, that the genetic code DNA is a natural anticipator. As demonstrated by Nobel laureate McClintock [8], genomes are programmed. The fundamental program deals with the DNA genetic code. The properties of the DNA consist in self-replication and self-modification. The self-replicating process leads to reproduction of the species, while the self-modifying process leads to new species or evolution and adaptation in existing ones. The genetic code DNA keeps its instructions in memory in the DNA coding molecule. The genetic code DNA is a rewriting system, from DNA coding to DNA template molecule. The DNA template molecule is a rewriting system to the Messenger RNA molecule. The information is not destroyed during the execution of the rewriting program. On the other hand, it will be demonstrated that Turing machine is an artificial anticipator. The Turing machine is a rewriting system. The head reads and writes, modifying the content of the tape. The information is destroyed during the execution of the program. This is an irreversible process. The input data are lost.

Composition and immuno-stimulatory properties of extracellular DNA from mouse gut flora.

PubMed

Qi, Ce; Li, Ya; Yu, Ren-Qiang; Zhou, Sheng-Li; Wang, Xing-Guo; Le, Guo-Wei; Jin, Qing-Zhe; Xiao, Hang; Sun, Jin

2017-11-28

To demonstrate that specific bacteria might release bacterial extracellular DNA (eDNA) to exert immunomodulatory functions in the mouse small intestine. Extracellular DNA was extracted using phosphate buffered saline with 0.5 mmol/L dithiothreitol combined with two phenol extractions. TOTO-1 iodide, a cell-impermeant and high-affinity nucleic acid stain, was used to confirm the existence of eDNA in the mucus layers of the small intestine and colon in healthy Male C57BL/6 mice. Composition difference of eDNA and intracellular DNA (iDNA) of the small intestinal mucus was studied by Illumina sequencing and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP). Stimulation of cytokine production by eDNA was studied in RAW264.7 cells in vitro . TOTO-1 iodide staining confirmed existence of eDNA in loose mucus layer of the mouse colon and thin surface mucus layer of the small intestine. Illumina sequencing analysis and T-RFLP revealed that the composition of the eDNA in the small intestinal mucus was significantly different from that of the iDNA of the small intestinal mucus bacteria. Illumina Miseq sequencing showed that the eDNA sequences came mainly from Gram-negative bacteria of Bacteroidales S24-7. By contrast, predominant bacteria of the small intestinal flora comprised Gram-positive bacteria. Both eDNA and iDNA were added to native or lipopolysaccharide-stimulated Raw267.4 macrophages, respectively. The eDNA induced significantly lower tumor necrosis factor-α/interleukin-10 (IL-10) and IL-6/IL-10 ratios than iDNA, suggesting the predominance for maintaining immune homeostasis of the gut. Our results indicated that degraded bacterial genomic DNA was mainly released by Gram-negative bacteria, especially Bacteroidales-S24-7 and Stenotrophomonas genus in gut mucus of mice. They decreased pro-inflammatory activity compared to total gut flora genomic DNA.

Considering quality of life for children with cancer: a systematic review of patient-reported outcome measures and the development of a conceptual model.

PubMed

Anthony, Samantha J; Selkirk, Enid; Sung, Lillian; Klaassen, Robert J; Dix, David; Scheinemann, Katrin; Klassen, Anne F

2014-04-01

An appraisal of pediatric cancer-specific quality-of-life (QOL) instruments revealed a lack of clarity about what constitutes QOL in this population. This study addresses this concern by identifying the concepts that underpin the construct of QOL as determined by a content analysis of all patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments used in childhood cancer research. A systematic review was performed of key databases (i.e., MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsychINFO) to identify studies of QOL in children with cancer. A content analysis process was used to code and categorize all items from generic and cancer-specified PRO instruments. Our objective was to provide clarification regarding the conceptual underpinnings of these instruments, as well as to help inform the development of theory and contribute to building a conceptual framework of QOL for children with cancer. A total of 6,013 English language articles were screened, identifying 148 studies. Ten generic and ten cancer-specific PRO instruments provided 957 items. Content analysis led to the identification of four major domains of QOL (physical, psychological, social, and general health), with 11 subdomains covering 98 different concepts. While all instruments reflected items relating to the broader domains of QOL, there was substantial heterogeneity in terms of the content and variability in the distribution of items. This systematic review and the proposed model represent a useful starting point in the critical appraisal of the conceptual underpinnings of PRO instruments used in pediatric oncology and contribute to the need to place such tools under a critical, yet reflective and analytical lens.

Development and content validity testing of a patient-reported outcomes questionnaire for the assessment of hereditary angioedema in observational studies.

PubMed

Bonner, Nicola; Abetz-Webb, Linda; Renault, Lydie; Caballero, Teresa; Longhurst, Hilary; Maurer, Marcus; Christiansen, Sandra; Zuraw, Bruce

2015-07-01

Hereditary Angioedema (HAE), a rare genetic disease, manifests as intermittent, painful attacks of angioedema. Attacks vary in frequency and severity and include skin, abdominal and life-threatening laryngeal swellings. This study aimed to develop a patient reported outcome (PRO) tool for the assessment of HAE attacks, including their management and impact on patients' lives, for use in clinical studies, or by physicians in general practice. The results of open-ended face to face concept elicitation interviews with HAE patients in Argentina (n = 10) and the US (n = 33) were used to develop the first draft questionnaire of the HAE patient reported outcomes questionnaire (HAE PRO). Subsequently, in-depth cognitive debriefing interviews were performed with HAE patients in the UK (n = 10), Brazil (n = 10), Germany (n = 11) and France (n = 12). Following input from eight multinational clinical experts further cognitive interviews were conducted in the US (n = 12) and Germany (n = 12). Patients who experienced abdominal, cutaneous or laryngeal attacks of varying severity levels were included in all rounds of interviews. Across the rounds of interviews patients discussed their HAE attack symptoms, impacts and treatments. Cognitive debriefing interviews explored patient understanding and relevance of questionnaire items. All interviews were conducted face to face following a pre-defined semi-structured interview guide in the patient's native language. Patients reported a variety of HAE symptoms, attack triggers, warning signs, attack impacts and treatment options which were used to develop the HAE PRO. The HAE PRO was revised and refined following input from patients and clinical experts. The final 18-item HAE PRO provides an assessment of the HAE attack experience including symptoms, impacts, treatment requirements, healthcare resource use and loss of productivity caused by HAE attacks. Patient and expert input has contributed to the development of a content valid questionnaire that assesses concepts important to HAE patients globally. HAE patients across cultures consider the HAE PRO a relevant and appropriate assessment of HAE attacks and treatment.

Language Model Combination and Adaptation Using Weighted Finite State Transducers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, X.; Gales, M. J. F.; Hieronymus, J. L.; Woodland, P. C.

2010-01-01

In speech recognition systems language model (LMs) are often constructed by training and combining multiple n-gram models. They can be either used to represent different genres or tasks found in diverse text sources, or capture stochastic properties of different linguistic symbol sequences, for example, syllables and words. Unsupervised LM adaption may also be used to further improve robustness to varying styles or tasks. When using these techniques, extensive software changes are often required. In this paper an alternative and more general approach based on weighted finite state transducers (WFSTs) is investigated for LM combination and adaptation. As it is entirely based on well-defined WFST operations, minimum change to decoding tools is needed. A wide range of LM combination configurations can be flexibly supported. An efficient on-the-fly WFST decoding algorithm is also proposed. Significant error rate gains of 7.3% relative were obtained on a state-of-the-art broadcast audio recognition task using a history dependently adapted multi-level LM modelling both syllable and word sequences

Molecular Hydrogen Formation from Proximal Glycol Pairs on TiO2(110)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Long; Li, Zhenjun; Smith, R. Scott

2014-04-16

Understanding hydrogen formation on TiO2 surfaces is of great importance as it could provide fundamental insight into water splitting for hydrogen production using solar energy. In this work, hydrogen formation from glycols having different numbers of methyl end-groups have been studied using temperature pro-grammed desorption on reduced, hydroxylated, and oxidized TiO2(110) surfaces. The results from OD-labeled glycols demon-strate that gas-phase molecular hydrogen originates exclusively from glycol hydroxyl groups. The yield is controlled by a combi-nation of glycol coverage, steric hindrance, TiO2(110) order and the amount of subsurface charge. Combined, these results show that proximal pairs of hydroxyl aligned glycol moleculesmore » and subsurface charge are required to maximize the yield of this redox reaction. These findings highlight the importance of geometric and electronic effects in hydrogen formation from adsorbates on TiO2(110).« less

[New antibiotics produced by Bacillus subtilis strains].

PubMed

Malanicheva, I A; Kozlov, D G; Efimenko, T A; Zenkova, V A; Kastrukha, G S; Reznikova, M I; Korolev, A M; Borshchevskaia, L N; Tarasova, O D; Sineokiĭ, S P; Efremenkova, O V

2014-01-01

Two Bacillus subtilis strains isolated from the fruiting body of a basidiomycete fungus Pholiota squarrosa exhibited a broad range of antibacterial activity, including those against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus INA 00761 (MRSA) and Leuconostoc mes6nteroides VKPM B-4177 resistant to glycopep-> tide antibiotics, as well as antifungal activity. The strains were identified as belonging to the "B. subtilis" com- plex based on their morphological and physiological characteristics, as well as by sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene fragments. Both strains (INA 01085 and INA 01086) produced insignificant amounts of polyene antibiotics (hexaen and pentaen, respectively). Strain INA 01086 produced also a cyclic polypeptide antibiotic containing Asp, Gly, Leu, Pro, Tyr, Thr, Trp, and Phe, while the antibiotic of strain INA 01085 contained, apart from these, two unidentified nonproteinaceous amino acids. Both polypeptide antibiotics were new compounds efficient against gram-positive bacteria and able to override the natural bacterial antibiotic resistance.

Chemical synthesis, NMR analysis and evaluation on a cancer xenograft model (HL-60) of the aminosteroid derivative RM-133.

PubMed

Maltais, René; Hospital, Audrey; Delhomme, Audrey; Roy, Jenny; Poirier, Donald

2014-04-01

The aminosteroid derivative RM-133 has been reported to be a promising pro-apoptotic agent showing activity on various cancer cell lines. Following the development of solid-phase synthesis that generated a series of libraries of aminosteroid derivatives, we now report the development of a convenient liquid phase chemical synthesis of RM-133, the most promising candidate, in order to obtain sufficient quantities to proceed with the first preclinical assays. A simple and convergent six-step synthesis was designed and allowed the preparation of a gram-quantity scale of RM-133. This aminosteroid derivative was also fully characterized by NMR experiments which revealed an interesting mixture of conformers. Finally, the in vivo potency of RM-133 was evaluated on a xenograft model in nude mice with HL-60 tumors, which has resulted in the blocking of tumor progression by 57%. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A productive clash of perspectives? The interplay between articles' and authors' perspectives and their impact on Wikipedia edits in a controversial domain.

PubMed

Jirschitzka, Jens; Kimmerle, Joachim; Halatchliyski, Iassen; Hancke, Julia; Meurers, Detmar; Cress, Ulrike

2017-01-01

This study examined predictors of the development of Wikipedia articles that deal with controversial issues. We chose a corpus of articles in the German-language version of Wikipedia about alternative medicine as a representative controversial issue. We extracted edits made until March 2013 and categorized them using a supervised machine learning setup as either being pro conventional medicine, pro alternative medicine, or neutral. Based on these categories, we established relevant variables, such as the perspectives of articles and of authors at certain points in time, the (im)balance of an article's perspective, the number of non-neutral edits per article, the number of authors per article, authors' heterogeneity per article, and incongruity between authors' and articles' perspectives. The underlying objective was to predict the development of articles' perspectives with regard to the controversial topic. The empirical part of the study is embedded in theoretical considerations about editorial biases and the effectiveness of norms and rules in Wikipedia, such as the neutral point of view policy. Our findings revealed a selection bias where authors edited mainly articles with perspectives similar to their own viewpoint. Regression analyses showed that an author's perspective as well as the article's previous perspectives predicted the perspective of the resulting edits, albeit both predictors interact with each other. Further analyses indicated that articles with more non-neutral edits were altogether more balanced. We also found a positive effect of the number of authors and of the authors' heterogeneity on articles' balance. However, while the effect of the number of authors was reserved to pro-conventional medicine articles, the authors' heterogenity effect was restricted to pro-alternative medicine articles. Finally, we found a negative effect of incongruity between authors' and articles' perspectives that was pronounced for the pro-alternative medicine articles.

A productive clash of perspectives? The interplay between articles’ and authors’ perspectives and their impact on Wikipedia edits in a controversial domain

PubMed Central

Jirschitzka, Jens; Halatchliyski, Iassen; Hancke, Julia; Meurers, Detmar; Cress, Ulrike

2017-01-01

This study examined predictors of the development of Wikipedia articles that deal with controversial issues. We chose a corpus of articles in the German-language version of Wikipedia about alternative medicine as a representative controversial issue. We extracted edits made until March 2013 and categorized them using a supervised machine learning setup as either being pro conventional medicine, pro alternative medicine, or neutral. Based on these categories, we established relevant variables, such as the perspectives of articles and of authors at certain points in time, the (im)balance of an article’s perspective, the number of non-neutral edits per article, the number of authors per article, authors’ heterogeneity per article, and incongruity between authors’ and articles’ perspectives. The underlying objective was to predict the development of articles’ perspectives with regard to the controversial topic. The empirical part of the study is embedded in theoretical considerations about editorial biases and the effectiveness of norms and rules in Wikipedia, such as the neutral point of view policy. Our findings revealed a selection bias where authors edited mainly articles with perspectives similar to their own viewpoint. Regression analyses showed that an author’s perspective as well as the article’s previous perspectives predicted the perspective of the resulting edits, albeit both predictors interact with each other. Further analyses indicated that articles with more non-neutral edits were altogether more balanced. We also found a positive effect of the number of authors and of the authors’ heterogeneity on articles’ balance. However, while the effect of the number of authors was reserved to pro-conventional medicine articles, the authors’ heterogenity effect was restricted to pro-alternative medicine articles. Finally, we found a negative effect of incongruity between authors’ and articles’ perspectives that was pronounced for the pro-alternative medicine articles. PMID:28575077

7 CFR 51.306 - Tolerances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... inches or 65 grams 63 grams 21/4 inches or 75 grams 70 grams 23/8 inches or 84 grams 82 grams 21/2 inches or 100 grams 95 grams 25/8 inches or 115 grams 109 grams 23/4 inches or 139 grams 134 grams...

7 CFR 51.306 - Tolerances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... inches or 65 grams 63 grams 21/4 inches or 75 grams 70 grams 23/8 inches or 84 grams 82 grams 21/2 inches or 100 grams 95 grams 25/8 inches or 115 grams 109 grams 23/4 inches or 139 grams 134 grams...

Using Markov chains of nucleotide sequences as a possible precursor to predict functional roles of human genome: a case study on inactive chromatin regions.

PubMed

Lee, K-E; Lee, E-J; Park, H-S

2016-08-30

Recent advances in computational epigenetics have provided new opportunities to evaluate n-gram probabilistic language models. In this paper, we describe a systematic genome-wide approach for predicting functional roles in inactive chromatin regions by using a sequence-based Markovian chromatin map of the human genome. We demonstrate that Markov chains of sequences can be used as a precursor to predict functional roles in heterochromatin regions and provide an example comparing two publicly available chromatin annotations of large-scale epigenomics projects: ENCODE project consortium and Roadmap Epigenomics consortium.

Anti-endotoxic and antibacterial effects of a dermal substitute coated with host defense peptides.

PubMed

Kasetty, Gopinath; Kalle, Martina; Mörgelin, Matthias; Brune, Jan C; Schmidtchen, Artur

2015-01-01

Biomaterials used during surgery and wound treatment are of increasing importance in modern medical care. In the present study we set out to evaluate the addition of thrombin-derived host defense peptides to human acellular dermis (hAD, i.e. epiflex(®)). Antimicrobial activity of the functionalized hAD was demonstrated using radial diffusion and viable count assays against Gram-negative Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Electron microscopy analyses showed that peptide-mediated bacterial killing led to reduced hAD degradation. Furthermore, peptide-functionalized hAD displayed endotoxin-binding activity in vitro, as evidenced by inhibition of NF-κB activation in human monocytic cells (THP-1 cells) and a reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokine production in whole blood in response to lipopolysaccharide stimulation. The dermal substitute retained its anti-endotoxic activity after washing, compatible with results showing that the hAD bound a significant amount of peptide. Furthermore, bacteria-induced contact activation was inhibited by peptide addition to the hAD. E. coli infected hAD, alone, or after treatment with the antiseptic substance polyhexamethylenebiguanide (PHMB), yielded NF-κB activation in THP-1 cells. The activation was abrogated by peptide addition. Thus, thrombin-derived HDPs should be of interest in the further development of new biomaterials with combined antimicrobial and anti-endotoxic functions for use in surgery and wound treatment. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

A periplasmic D-alanyl-D-alanine dipeptidase in the gram-negative bacterium Salmonella enterica.

PubMed

Hilbert, F; García-del Portillo, F; Groisman, E A

1999-04-01

The VanX protein is a D-alanyl-D-alanine (D-Ala-D-Ala) dipeptidase essential for resistance to the glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin. While this enzymatic activity has been typically associated with vancomycin- and teicoplainin-resistant enterococci, we now report the identification of a D-Ala-D-Ala dipeptidase in the gram-negative species Salmonella enterica. The Salmonella enzyme is only 36% identical to VanX but exhibits a similar substrate specificity: it hydrolyzes D-Ala-D-Ala, DL-Ala-DL-Phe, and D-Ala-Gly but not the tripeptides D-Ala-D-Ala-D-Ala and DL-Ala-DL-Lys-Gly or the dipeptides L-Ala-L-Ala, N-acetyl-D-Ala-D-Ala, and L-Leu-Pro. The Salmonella dipeptidase gene, designated pcgL, appears to have been acquired by horizontal gene transfer because pcgL-hybridizing sequences were not detected in related bacterial species and the G+C content of the pcgL-containing region (41%) is much lower than the overall G+C content of the Salmonella chromosome (52%). In contrast to wild-type Salmonella, a pcgL mutant was unable to use D-Ala-D-Ala as a sole carbon source. The pcgL gene conferred D-Ala-D-Ala dipeptidase activity upon Escherichia coli K-12 but did not allow growth on D-Ala-D-Ala. The PcgL protein localizes to the periplasmic space of Salmonella, suggesting that this dipeptidase participates in peptidoglycan metabolism.

7 CFR 51.306 - Tolerances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... largest fruit. Table II Red delicious Golden delicious 21/8 inches or 65 grams 63 grams 21/4 inches or 75 grams 70 grams 23/8 inches or 84 grams 82 grams 21/2 inches or 100 grams 95 grams 25/8 inches or 115 grams 109 grams 23/4 inches or 139 grams 134 grams Application of Tolerances ...

7 CFR 51.306 - Tolerances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... largest fruit. Table II Red delicious Golden delicious 21/8 inches or 65 grams 63 grams 21/4 inches or 75 grams 70 grams 23/8 inches or 84 grams 82 grams 21/2 inches or 100 grams 95 grams 25/8 inches or 115 grams 109 grams 23/4 inches or 139 grams 134 grams Application of Tolerances ...

7 CFR 51.306 - Tolerances.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... largest fruit. Table II Red delicious Golden delicious 21/8 inches or 65 grams 63 grams 21/4 inches or 75 grams 70 grams 23/8 inches or 84 grams 82 grams 21/2 inches or 100 grams 95 grams 25/8 inches or 115 grams 109 grams 23/4 inches or 139 grams 134 grams Application of Tolerances ...

Anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial activities of plant extracts used against hematological tumors in traditional medicine of Jordan.

PubMed

Assaf, Areej M; Haddadin, Randa N; Aldouri, Nedhal A; Alabbassi, Reem; Mashallah, Sundus; Mohammad, Mohammad; Bustanji, Yasser

2013-02-13

Mercurialis annua L., Bongardia chrysogonum L., and Viscum cruciatum Sieb have been traditionally used by local herbalists in Jordan for the treatment of hematopoietic neoplasms. To determine the anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial potentials of the three extracts against two of the most common hematopoietic malignancies in the Jordanian populations; Burkitt's lymphoma and Multiple myeloma. The anti-cancer activity was tested against the two cell lines (BJAB Burkitt's lymphoma and U266 multiple myeloma) using the MTT and trypan blue assays. The agar dilution assay was used to study the anti-microbial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria, anaerobic bacteria and yeast. The pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL) -1β, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured in the pretreated cell lines using ELISA assay to determine the anti-inflammatory activity of Viscum cruciatum Sieb against the two cell lines. The results show no evidence of stimulation of tumor growth by any of the three extracts comprising cell lines from hematological malignancies, but Viscum cruciatum Sieb showed a selective anticancer activity against BJAB cells, with IC(50) value of 14.21μg/ml. The antimicrobial effect was only noticed with Viscum cruciatum extract by inhibiting Staphylococcus aureus, Candida albicans and Propionibacterium acne, but not Pseudomonas aeruginosa at MIC of 1.25, 1.25, 0.625 and <5mg/ml, respectively. The highest activity was against the anaerobic bacteria Propionibacterium acne. Viscum cruciatum Sieb extract showed an inhibitory effect on the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8, but it increased TNF-α and IL-1β secretions in BJAB cells. Whereas, it had an inhibitory effect on TNF-α and IL-1β cytokines while it enhanced IL-8 secretions in U266 cells. Among the three tested herbal extracts used in the traditional medicine in Jordan, only Viscum cruciatum Sieb showed high anti-cancer and anti-microbial potentials. They also had an anti-inflammatory effect. These observations raise the prospects of using Viscum cruciatum Sieb for treatment of diseases associated with some bacterial and fungal infections, for imbalanced cytokine production and for enhancing cancer and other immunotherapies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The functional characterization and comparison of two single CRD containing C-type lectins with novel and typical key motifs from Portunus trituberculatus.

PubMed

Huang, Mengmeng; Mu, Changkao; Wu, Yuehong; Ye, Fei; Wang, Dan; Sun, Cong; Lv, Zhengbing; Han, Bingnan; Wang, Chunlin; Xu, Xue-Wei

2017-11-01

C-type lectins are a superfamily of Ca 2+ -dependent carbohydrate-recognition proteins, which play crucial roles in innate immunity including nonself-recognition and pathogen elimination. In the present study, two single-CRD containing C-type lectins were identified from swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus (designated as PtCTL-2 and PtCTL-3). The open reading frame (ORF) of PtCTL-2 encoded polypeptides of 485 amino acids with a signal peptide and a single carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD), while PtCTL-3's ORF encoded polypeptides of 241 amino acids with a coiled-coil region and a single-CRD. The key motifs determining carbohydrate binding specificity in PtCTL-2 and PtCTL-3 were EPR (Glu-Pro-Arg) and QPD (Gln-Pro-Asp). EPR is a motif being identified for the first time, whereas QPD is a typical motif in C-type lectins. Different PAMPs binding features of the two recombinant proteins - PtCTL-2 (rPtCTL-2) and PtCTL-3 (rPtCTL-3) have been observed in our experiments. rPtCTL-2 could bind three pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) with relatively high affinity, including glucan, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and peptidoglycan (PGN), while rPtCTL-3 could barely bind any of them. However, rPtCTL-2 could bind seven kinds of microbes and rPtCTL-3 could bind six kinds in microbe binding assay. Moreover, rPtCTL-2 and rPtCTL-3 exhibited similar agglutination activity against Gram-positive bacteria, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi in agglutination assay. All these results illustrated that PtCTL-2 and PtCTL-3 could function as important pattern-recognition receptors (PRR) with broad nonself-recognition spectrum involved in immune defense against invaders. In addition, the results of carbohydrate binding specificity showed that PtCTL-2 with novel key motif had broad carbohydrate binding specificity, while PtCTL-3 with typical key motif possessed different carbohydrate binding specificity from the classical binding rule. Furthermore, PtCTL-2 and PtCTL-3 could also function as opsonin to enhance encapsulation of hemocytes against Ni-NTA beads. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Levofloxacin for the treatment of respiratory tract infections.

PubMed

Torres, Antoni; Liapikou, Adamantia

2012-06-01

Fluoroquinolone use has dramatically increased since the introduction of the first respiratory fluoroquinolone in the late 1990s. Levofloxacin , like other fluoquinolones, is a potent antibiotic, due to high levels of susceptibility among Gram-negative, Gram-positive (including penicillin-resistant strains of Streptococcus pneumonia) and atypical pathogens. Levofloxacin is recommended for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and in the management of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (AECB). Levofloxacin demonstrates good safety, bioavailability and tissue penetration, thus maintaining adequate concentrations at the site of infection. High-dose (750 mg), short-course (5 days) therapy regimens may offer improved treatment, especially in HAP, due to higher drug concentrations, increased adherence and the potential to reduce the development of resistance. This article covers medical literature published in any language since 1990 until November 2011, on 'levofloxacin', identified using PubMed and MEDLINE. The search terms used were 'levofloxacin' and 'community acquired pneumonia', 'hospital pneumonia' or 'AECB'. Levofloxacin is a valuable antimicrobial agent and an optimal treatment option for AECB, CAP (as a monotherapy) and HAP (as combination therapy at a high-dose regimen). Its improved bioavailability and safety profile makes the possibility of shorter hospital stays a reality.

Pollen and spores of terrestrial plants

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bernhardt, Christopher E.; Willard, Debra A.; Shennan, Ian; Long, Antony J.; Horton, Benjamin P.

2015-01-01

Pollen and spores are valuable tools in reconstructing past sea level and climate because of their ubiquity, abundance, and durability as well as their reciprocity with source vegetation to environmental change (Cronin, 1999; Traverse, 2007; Willard and Bernhardt, 2011). Pollan is found in many sedimentary environments, from freshwater to saltwater, terrestrial to marine. It can be abundant in a minimal amount of sample material, for example half a gram, as concentrations can be as high as four million grains per gram (Traverse, 2007). The abundance of pollen in a sample lends it to robust statistical analysis for the quantitative reconstruction of environments. The outer cell wall is resistant to decay in sediments and allows palynomorphs (pollen and spores) to record changes in plant communities and sea level over millions of years. These characteristics make pollen and spores a powerful tool to use in sea-level research.This chapter describes the biology of pollen and spores and how they are transported and preserved in sediments. We present a methodology for isolating pollen from sediments and a general language and framework to identify pollen as well as light micrographs of a selection of common pollen grains, We then discuss their utility in sea-level research.

Psychometric Characteristics of the Hebrew Version of the Professional Quality-of-Life Scale.

PubMed

Samson, Tali; Iecovich, Esther; Shvartzman, Pesach

2016-10-01

Exposure to human suffering may have ramifications for the professional quality of life (ProQol) of palliative care teams. The ProQol scale was designed to assess both negative and positive work-related outcomes and has been used recently for the evaluation of work-related outcomes among palliative care workers. However, the assessment of ProQol among Israeli hospice workers is scant. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties and the factor structure of the Hebrew version of the 30-item ProQol questionnaire. The study population included 1100 health care providers including physicians, nurses, and social workers in primary health care and palliative care settings. A total of 380 workers participated in the study, representing a response rate of 34.5%. The confirmatory factor analysis did not show an adequate "goodness to fit." Using a factor coefficient of 0.35 or greater for inclusion, the exploratory factor analysis revealed a 23-item solution, loaded onto three factors: compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress, and burnout (BU). The internal consistency subscales were 0.87, 0.82, and 0.69, respectively. The subscales showed good convergent and exploratory validity because of significant correlations with measures that examine BU, work engagement, and peritraumatic dissociative experiences. Although the findings are consistent with those from studies in other languages, they are different from the original 30-item three-factor structure reported by Stamm. The Hebrew version of the compassion satisfaction subscale was found to be reliable and valid for studies among health care professionals, but further research is needed to improve the BU and secondary traumatic stress subscales. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A review of the current place of glycopeptides in turkish medical practice

PubMed Central

Erdem, Hakan; Oncul, Oral

2007-01-01

Background: Glycopeptide antibiotics are considered by many investigators to be the last resort in the treatment of gram-positive bacterial infections. Objective: The aim of this review was to assess the place of glycopeptides in the treatment of common gram-positive bacteria in accordance with the current epidemiologic data in Turkey. Methods: A search of both the English- and Turkish-language literature indexed on MEDLINE, Ulakbim (Turkey), and Pleksus (Turkey) was performed using the terms: vancomycin, teicoplanin, and glycopeptides, or their Turkish-language counterparts. The complete texts of the articles found in these databases were obtained from the electronic library of Gulhane Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey. Articles from regional journals, without the support of an electronic format, were obtained by direct communication. Articles of interest were those based on studies occurring in Turkish populations, with special consideration given to publications in press after 2002. Results: Staphylococci were the most frequent gram-positive pathogens encountered in Turkish hospitals. Studies have found that ∼74% of strains were Staphylococcus aureus and the remaining strains were coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS). Overall methicillin resistance in staphylococci was reported as ∼60%. In Turkey, S aureus was one of the most common infectious agents found inside hospitals and is deemed a growing threat in the community. While the rate of methicillin resistance in community-acquired isolates is ∼4%, the data from hospitals suggest that reduced resistance comprises most of the isolates. In the studies reviewed, older quinolones like ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin seem to be ineffective in nearly half of the S aureus isolates. Alternatives like rifampicin, gentamicin, tetracycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX), clindamycin, and erythromycin have had substantial resistance profiles in >50% of the strains. In recent Turkish studies, in vitro profiles of linezolid, quinupristin/dalfopristin (QD), and daptomycin have had positive results. As in the S aureus isolates, resistance trends have been observed in the CoNS group of pathogens. The possible use of β-lactams seems restricted, and alternative approaches have become necessary. Quinolones, gentamicin, tetracycline, TMP/SMX, clindamycin, and erythromycin have resistance profiles of >50%. Although glycopeptide resistance was not detected, the frequency of heterogenous vancomycin-intermediate S aureus, a precursor to future resistance, was 13% in 1 study. Current studies in Turkey have found that Enterococcus faecalis comprises three quarters of enterococci while the rest are comprised of Enterococcus faecium. Initial studies performed with linezolid, QD, and daptomycin suggest that these drugs might be effective alternatives for future enterococcal infections that may have high glycopeptide resistance. Approximately 8% of the Streptococcus pneumoniae strains had high-level resistance in Turkey. However, 10 million units of crystallized penicillin or 3 g of oral amoxicillin maintains the optimum treatment of pneumococcal infections outside the central nervous system (CNS). Resistance profiles in third-generation cephalosporins in Turkey range between 2% and 2.5%. Conclusions: In Turkey, a review of the existing literature found that the current use of glycopeptides in pneumococcal infections is restricted to CNS infections facing therapeutic failure in due course. However, the belief that these drugs are the last resort, either in staphylococcal or enterococcal infections, is no longer valid. If a patient has a critical status due to probable gram-positive microorganisms, clinicians should consider the empiric use of glycopeptides. However, new molecules such as linezolid, QD, and daptomycin, offered for use in the treatment of gram-positive bacterial diseases, should be reserved for the future, when glycopeptides eventually become obsolete. PMID:24678118

Intestinal, extra-intestinal and systemic sequelae of Toxoplasma gondii induced acute ileitis in mice harboring a human gut microbiota

PubMed Central

von Klitzing, Eliane; Ekmekciu, Ira; Kühl, Anja A.; Bereswill, Stefan

2017-01-01

Background Within seven days following peroral high dose infection with Toxoplasma gondii susceptible conventionally colonized mice develop acute ileitis due to an underlying T helper cell (Th) -1 type immunopathology. We here addressed whether mice harboring a human intestinal microbiota developed intestinal, extra-intestinal and systemic sequelae upon ileitis induction. Methodology/Principal findings Secondary abiotic mice were generated by broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment and associated with a complex human intestinal microbiota following peroral fecal microbiota transplantation. Within three weeks the human microbiota had stably established in the murine intestinal tract as assessed by quantitative cultural and culture-independent (i.e. molecular 16S rRNA based) methods. At day 7 post infection (p.i.) with 50 cysts of T. gondii strain ME49 by gavage human microbiota associated (hma) mice displayed severe clinical, macroscopic and microscopic sequelae indicating acute ileitis. In diseased hma mice increased numbers of innate and adaptive immune cells within the ileal mucosa and lamina propria and elevated intestinal secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators including IFN-γ, IL-12 and nitric oxide could be observed at day 7 p.i. Ileitis development was accompanied by substantial shifts in intestinal microbiota composition of hma mice characterized by elevated total bacterial loads and increased numbers of intestinal Gram-negative commensals such as enterobacteria and Bacteroides / Prevotella species overgrowing the small and large intestinal lumen. Furthermore, viable bacteria translocated from the inflamed ileum to extra-intestinal including systemic compartments. Notably, pro-inflammatory immune responses were not restricted to the intestinal tract as indicated by increased pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion in extra-intestinal (i.e. liver and kidney) and systemic compartments including spleen and serum. Conclusion/Significance With respect to the intestinal microbiota composition “humanized” mice display acute ileitis following peroral high dose T. gondii infection. Thus, hma mice constitute a suitable model to further dissect the interactions between pathogens, human microbiota and vertebrate host immunity during acute intestinal inflammation. PMID:28414794

Intestinal, extra-intestinal and systemic sequelae of Toxoplasma gondii induced acute ileitis in mice harboring a human gut microbiota.

PubMed

von Klitzing, Eliane; Ekmekciu, Ira; Kühl, Anja A; Bereswill, Stefan; Heimesaat, Markus M

2017-01-01

Within seven days following peroral high dose infection with Toxoplasma gondii susceptible conventionally colonized mice develop acute ileitis due to an underlying T helper cell (Th) -1 type immunopathology. We here addressed whether mice harboring a human intestinal microbiota developed intestinal, extra-intestinal and systemic sequelae upon ileitis induction. Secondary abiotic mice were generated by broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment and associated with a complex human intestinal microbiota following peroral fecal microbiota transplantation. Within three weeks the human microbiota had stably established in the murine intestinal tract as assessed by quantitative cultural and culture-independent (i.e. molecular 16S rRNA based) methods. At day 7 post infection (p.i.) with 50 cysts of T. gondii strain ME49 by gavage human microbiota associated (hma) mice displayed severe clinical, macroscopic and microscopic sequelae indicating acute ileitis. In diseased hma mice increased numbers of innate and adaptive immune cells within the ileal mucosa and lamina propria and elevated intestinal secretion of pro-inflammatory mediators including IFN-γ, IL-12 and nitric oxide could be observed at day 7 p.i. Ileitis development was accompanied by substantial shifts in intestinal microbiota composition of hma mice characterized by elevated total bacterial loads and increased numbers of intestinal Gram-negative commensals such as enterobacteria and Bacteroides / Prevotella species overgrowing the small and large intestinal lumen. Furthermore, viable bacteria translocated from the inflamed ileum to extra-intestinal including systemic compartments. Notably, pro-inflammatory immune responses were not restricted to the intestinal tract as indicated by increased pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion in extra-intestinal (i.e. liver and kidney) and systemic compartments including spleen and serum. With respect to the intestinal microbiota composition "humanized" mice display acute ileitis following peroral high dose T. gondii infection. Thus, hma mice constitute a suitable model to further dissect the interactions between pathogens, human microbiota and vertebrate host immunity during acute intestinal inflammation.

Recognition of microbial molecular patterns and stimulation of prophenoloxidase activation by a β-1,3-glucanase-related protein in Manduca sexta larval plasma

PubMed Central

Wang, Yang; Sumathipala, Niranji; Rayaprolu, Subrahmanyam; Jiang, Haobo

2011-01-01

Detection of pathogenic invaders is the essential first step of a successful defense response in multicellular organisms. In this study, we have identified a new member of the β-1,3-glucanase-related protein superfamily from the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta. This protein, designated microbe binding protein (MBP), is 61% identical in sequence to Bombyx mori Gram-negative bacteria binding protein, but only 34-36% identical to M. sexta β-1,3-glucan recognition protein-1 and 2. Its mRNA levels were strongly up-regulated in hemocytes and fat body of immune challenged larvae, along with an increase in concentration of the plasma protein. We expressed M. sexta MBP in a baculovirus-insect cell system. The purified protein associated with intact bacteria and fungi. It specifically bound to lipoteichoic acid, lipopolysaccharide, diaminopimelic acid-type peptidoglycans (DAP-PGs) from Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, but less so to laminarin or Lys-type PG from Staphylococcus aureus. The complex binding pattern was influenced by other plasma factors and additional microbial surface molecules. After different amounts of MBP had been incubated with larval plasma on ice, a concentration-dependent increase in phenoloxidase (PO) activity occurred in the absence of any microbial elicitor. The activity increase was also observed in the mixture of plasma and a bacterial or fungal cell wall component. The prophenoloxidase (proPO) activation became more prominent when DAP-PGs, Micrococcus luteus Lys-PG, or lipoteichoic acid was included in the mixture of MBP and plasma. Statistic analysis suggested that a synergistic enhancement of proPO activation was caused by an interaction between MBP and these elicitors, but not S. aureus Lys-PG, lipopolysaccharide, curdlan, or laminarin. These data indicate that M. sexta MBP is a component of the surveillance mechanism and, by working together with other pattern recognition molecules and serine proteinases, triggers the proPO activation system. PMID:21296155

Imaging Thromboembolism with Fibrin-Avid 99mTc-Peptide: Evaluation in Swine

PubMed Central

Aruva, Mohan R.; Daviau, Judy; Sharma, Shubh S.; Thakur, Mathew L.

2006-01-01

A pentapeptide, Gly-Pro-Arg-Pro-Pro, with high affinity for α-chain-fibrin was labeled with 99mTc (99mTc-TP850) and evaluated in swine to image experimental venous thromboembolism (deep vein thrombosis [DVT]) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Methods Scatchard analysis was performed to determine fibrin affinity for TP850 and the number of binding sites (receptors) per milligram of fibrin. DVT was induced in the left jugular vein and PE was induced by introducing a preformed autologous blood clot into the right atrium using a 7-French introducer sheath inserted into the right jugular vein. 99mTc-TP850 was injected at 4, 24, 48, 72, 96, or 120 h later. Animals were imaged for up to 4 h after injection, heparinized, and sacrificed. Lungs were extirpated, radiographed, and imaged, and the PE was removed. Other tissues, including blood and normal lungs, were harvested and, concomitantly, 99mTc was counted for determination of target-to-tissue ratios and the percentage injected dose per gram of tissue. Results The affinity for human fibrin was 10−9 mol/L and there were >1015 receptors per milligram of fibrin. DVT and PE were visualized for up to 4 h after injection with high DVT/blood (7.9–22.6), DVT/muscle (31.1–89.4), PE/blood (1–155), and PE/lung (0.8–245) ratios. Thereafter, the PEs fragmented spontaneously below the spatial resolution of the γ-camera and, despite the high associated radioactivity, could not be localized in vivo. The fragmented clots were detectable by scintigraphy on excised lungs and provided excellent concordance with radiograms. Conclusion 99mTc-TP850 with its modest affinity (10−9 mol/L), rapid blood clearance, and high DVT and PE uptake is a promising agent for imaging vascular thrombosis. PMID:16391200

A New Improved and Extended Version of the Multicell Bacterial Simulator gro.

PubMed

Gutiérrez, Martín; Gregorio-Godoy, Paula; Pérez Del Pulgar, Guillermo; Muñoz, Luis E; Sáez, Sandra; Rodríguez-Patón, Alfonso

2017-08-18

gro is a cell programming language developed in Klavins Lab for simulating colony growth and cell-cell communication. It is used as a synthetic biology prototyping tool for simulating multicellular biocircuits and microbial consortia. In this work, we present several extensions made to gro that improve the performance of the simulator, make it easier to use, and provide new functionalities. The new version of gro is between 1 and 2 orders of magnitude faster than the original version. It is able to grow microbial colonies with up to 10 5 cells in less than 10 min. A new library, CellEngine, accelerates the resolution of spatial physical interactions between growing and dividing cells by implementing a new shoving algorithm. A genetic library, CellPro, based on Probabilistic Timed Automata, simulates gene expression dynamics using simplified and easy to compute digital proteins. We also propose a more convenient language specification layer, ProSpec, based on the idea that proteins drive cell behavior. CellNutrient, another library, implements Monod-based growth and nutrient uptake functionalities. The intercellular signaling management was improved and extended in a library called CellSignals. Finally, bacterial conjugation, another local cell-cell communication process, was added to the simulator. To show the versatility and potential outreach of this version of gro, we provide studies and novel examples ranging from synthetic biology to evolutionary microbiology. We believe that the upgrades implemented for gro have made it into a powerful and fast prototyping tool capable of simulating a large variety of systems and synthetic biology designs.

FFTF Passive Safety Test Data for Benchmarks for New LMR Designs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wootan, David W.; Casella, Andrew M.

Liquid Metal Reactors (LMRs) continue to be considered as an attractive concept for advanced reactor design. Software packages such as SASSYS are being used to im-prove new LMR designs and operating characteristics. Significant cost and safety im-provements can be realized in advanced liquid metal reactor designs by emphasizing inherent or passive safety through crediting the beneficial reactivity feedbacks associ-ated with core and structural movement. This passive safety approach was adopted for the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), and an experimental program was conducted to characterize the structural reactivity feedback. The FFTF passive safety testing pro-gram was developed to examine howmore » specific design elements influenced dynamic re-activity feedback in response to a reactivity input and to demonstrate the scalability of reactivity feedback results to reactors of current interest. The U.S. Department of En-ergy, Office of Nuclear Energy Advanced Reactor Technology program is in the pro-cess of preserving, protecting, securing, and placing in electronic format information and data from the FFTF, including the core configurations and data collected during the passive safety tests. Benchmarks based on empirical data gathered during operation of the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) as well as design documents and post-irradiation examination will aid in the validation of these software packages and the models and calculations they produce. Evaluation of these actual test data could provide insight to improve analytical methods which may be used to support future licensing applications for LMRs« less

A Comparative biochemical study on two marine endophytes, Bacterium SRCnm and Bacillus sp. JS, Isolated from red sea algae.

PubMed

Ahmed, Eman Fadl; Hassan, Hossam Mokhtar; Rateb, Mostafa Ezzat; Abdel-Wahab, Noha; Sameer, Somayah; Aly Taie, Hanan Anwar; Abdel-Hameed, Mohammed Sayed; Hammouda, Ola

2016-01-01

Two marine endophytic bacteria were isolated from the Red Sea algae; a red alga; Acanthophora dendroides and the brown alga Sargassum sabrepandum. The isolates were identified based on their 16SrRNA sequences as Bacterium SRCnm and Bacillus sp. JS. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential anti-microbial and antioxidant activities of the extracts of the isolated bacteria grown in different nutrient conditions. Compared to amoxicillin (25μg/disk) and erythromycin (15μg/disk), the extracts of Bacterium SRCn min media II, III, IV and V were potent inhibitors of the gram-positive bacterium Sarcina maxima even at low concentrations. Also, the multidrug resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) was more sensitive to the metabolites produced in medium (II) of the same endophyte than erythromycin (15μg/disk). A moderate activity of the Bacillus sp. JS extracts of media I and II was obtained against the same pathogen. The total compounds (500ug/ml) of both isolated endophytes showed moderate antioxidant activities (48.9% and 46.1%, respectively). LC/MS analysis of the bacterial extracts was carried out to investigate the likely natural products produced. Cyclo(D-cis-Hyp-L-Leu), dihydrosphingosine and 2-Amino-1,3-hexadecanediol were identified in the fermentation medium of Bacterium SRCnm, whereas cyclo (D-Pro-L-Tyr) and cyclo (L-Leu-L-Pro) were the suggested compounds of Bacillus sp. JS.

A verification strategy for web services composition using enhanced stacked automata model.

PubMed

Nagamouttou, Danapaquiame; Egambaram, Ilavarasan; Krishnan, Muthumanickam; Narasingam, Poonkuzhali

2015-01-01

Currently, Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is becoming the most popular software architecture of contemporary enterprise applications, and one crucial technique of its implementation is web services. Individual service offered by some service providers may symbolize limited business functionality; however, by composing individual services from different service providers, a composite service describing the intact business process of an enterprise can be made. Many new standards have been defined to decipher web service composition problem namely Business Process Execution Language (BPEL). BPEL provides an initial work for forming an Extended Markup Language (XML) specification language for defining and implementing business practice workflows for web services. The problems with most realistic approaches to service composition are the verification of composed web services. It has to depend on formal verification method to ensure the correctness of composed services. A few research works has been carried out in the literature survey for verification of web services for deterministic system. Moreover the existing models did not address the verification properties like dead transition, deadlock, reachability and safetyness. In this paper, a new model to verify the composed web services using Enhanced Stacked Automata Model (ESAM) has been proposed. The correctness properties of the non-deterministic system have been evaluated based on the properties like dead transition, deadlock, safetyness, liveness and reachability. Initially web services are composed using Business Process Execution Language for Web Service (BPEL4WS) and it is converted into ESAM (combination of Muller Automata (MA) and Push Down Automata (PDA)) and it is transformed into Promela language, an input language for Simple ProMeLa Interpreter (SPIN) tool. The model is verified using SPIN tool and the results revealed better recital in terms of finding dead transition and deadlock in contrast to the existing models.

40 CFR 86.166-12 - Method for calculating emissions due to air conditioning leakage.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... determine a refrigerant leakage rate in grams per year from vehicle-based air conditioning units. The... using the following equation: Grams/YRTOT = Grams/YRRP + Grams/YRSP + Grams/YRFH + Grams/YRMC + Grams/YRC Where: Grams/YRTOT = Total air conditioning system emission rate in grams per year and rounded to...

[Estimation of activity of pharmakopeal disinfectants and antiseptics against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria isolated from clinical specimens, drugs and environment].

PubMed

Grzybowska, Wanda; Młynarczyk, Grazyna; Młynarczyk, Andrzej; Bocian, Ewa; Luczak, Mirosław; Tyski, Stefan

2007-01-01

The MIC of nine different disinfectants and antiseptics were determined for the Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Strains originated from clinical specimens, drugs and environment. A sensitivity was determined against chlorhexidinum digluconate (Gram-negative: 0,625-80 mg/L, Gram-positive: 0,3-10 mg/L), benzalconium chloride (Gram-negative: 2,5-1280 mg/L, Gram-positive: 1,25-20 mg/L), salicilic acid (Gram-negative and Gram-positive: 400-1600 mg/L), benzoic acid (Gram-negative: 800-1600 mg/L, Gram-positive: 400-1 600 mg/L), boric acid (Gram-negative: 800-12 800 mg/L, Gram-positive: 1 600-6400 mg/L), chloramine B (Gram-negative: 1600-6400 mg/L, Gram-positive:800- 6400 mg/L), jodine (Gram-negative: 200-1600 mg/L, Gram-positive: 200-1600 mg/L), etacridine lactate (Gram-negative: 40 do > 20480 mg/L, Gram-positive: 40-1280 mg/L) and resorcine (Gram-negative: 1600-6400 mg/L, Gram-positive: 800-6400 mg/L). Diversified values of MIC for different strains were obtained, especially in the case of benzalconium chloride, etacridine lactate, chlorhexidinum digluconate, boric acid and iodine. Strains isolated from environment were usually more susceptible to examined compounds than clinical strains. The biggest diversification of sensitivity was observed among strains originated from drugs where besides sensitive appeared strains characterizing by very high MIC values of some substances, eg. boric acid.

A Case Study on Sepsis Using PubMed and Deep Learning for Ontology Learning.

PubMed

Arguello Casteleiro, Mercedes; Maseda Fernandez, Diego; Demetriou, George; Read, Warren; Fernandez Prieto, Maria Jesus; Des Diz, Julio; Nenadic, Goran; Keane, John; Stevens, Robert

2017-01-01

We investigate the application of distributional semantics models for facilitating unsupervised extraction of biomedical terms from unannotated corpora. Term extraction is used as the first step of an ontology learning process that aims to (semi-)automatic annotation of biomedical concepts and relations from more than 300K PubMed titles and abstracts. We experimented with both traditional distributional semantics methods such as Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) as well as the neural language models CBOW and Skip-gram from Deep Learning. The evaluation conducted concentrates on sepsis, a major life-threatening condition, and shows that Deep Learning models outperform LSA and LDA with much higher precision.

Gram staining for the treatment of peritonsillar abscess.

PubMed

Takenaka, Yukinori; Takeda, Kazuya; Yoshii, Tadashi; Hashimoto, Michiko; Inohara, Hidenori

2012-01-01

Objective. To examine whether Gram staining can influence the choice of antibiotic for the treatment of peritonsillar abscess. Methods. Between 2005 and 2009, a total of 57 cases of peritonsillar abscess were analyzed with regard to cultured bacteria and Gram staining. Results. Only aerobes were cultured in 16% of cases, and only anaerobes were cultured in 51% of cases. Mixed growth of aerobes and anaerobes was observed in 21% of cases. The cultured bacteria were mainly aerobic Streptococcus, anaerobic Gram-positive cocci, and anaerobic Gram-negative rods. Phagocytosis of bacteria on Gram staining was observed in 9 cases. The bacteria cultured from these cases were aerobic Streptococcus, anaerobic Gram-positive cocci, and anaerobic Gram-negative rods. The sensitivity of Gram staining for the Gram-positive cocci and Gram-negative rods was 90% and 64%, respectively. The specificity of Gram staining for the Gram-positive cocci and Gram-negative rods was 62% and 76%, respectively. Most of the Gram-positive cocci were sensitive to penicillin, but some of anaerobic Gram-negative rods were resistant to penicillin. Conclusion. When Gram staining shows only Gram-positive cocci, penicillin is the treatment of choice. In other cases, antibiotics effective for the penicillin-resistant organisms should be used.

Classification of G-protein coupled receptors based on a rich generation of convolutional neural network, N-gram transformation and multiple sequence alignments.

PubMed

Li, Man; Ling, Cheng; Xu, Qi; Gao, Jingyang

2018-02-01

Sequence classification is crucial in predicting the function of newly discovered sequences. In recent years, the prediction of the incremental large-scale and diversity of sequences has heavily relied on the involvement of machine-learning algorithms. To improve prediction accuracy, these algorithms must confront the key challenge of extracting valuable features. In this work, we propose a feature-enhanced protein classification approach, considering the rich generation of multiple sequence alignment algorithms, N-gram probabilistic language model and the deep learning technique. The essence behind the proposed method is that if each group of sequences can be represented by one feature sequence, composed of homologous sites, there should be less loss when the sequence is rebuilt, when a more relevant sequence is added to the group. On the basis of this consideration, the prediction becomes whether a query sequence belonging to a group of sequences can be transferred to calculate the probability that the new feature sequence evolves from the original one. The proposed work focuses on the hierarchical classification of G-protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), which begins by extracting the feature sequences from the multiple sequence alignment results of the GPCRs sub-subfamilies. The N-gram model is then applied to construct the input vectors. Finally, these vectors are imported into a convolutional neural network to make a prediction. The experimental results elucidate that the proposed method provides significant performance improvements. The classification error rate of the proposed method is reduced by at least 4.67% (family level I) and 5.75% (family Level II), in comparison with the current state-of-the-art methods. The implementation program of the proposed work is freely available at: https://github.com/alanFchina/CNN .

Gram-negative, but not Gram-positive, bacteria elicit strong PGE2 production in human monocytes.

PubMed

Hessle, Christina C; Andersson, Bengt; Wold, Agnes E

2003-12-01

Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria induce different cytokine patterns in human mononuclear cells. We have seen that Gram-positives preferentially induce IL-12 and TNF-alpha, whereas Gram-negatives induce more IL-10, IL-6, and IL-8. In this study, we compared the capacity of these two groups of bacteria to induce PGE2. Monocytes stimulated with Gram-negative bacterial species induced much more PGE2 than did Gram-positive bacteria (5600 +/- 330 vs. 1700 +/- 670 pg/mL, p < 0.001). Blocking of COX-2 by NS398 abolished PGE2 production, but did not alter the cytokine patterns induced by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. We suggest that Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria may stimulate different innate effector functions; Gram-positive bacteria promoting cell-mediated effector functions whereas Gram-negative bacteria inducing mediators inhibiting the same.

NprR-NprX Quorum-Sensing System Regulates the Algicidal Activity of Bacillus sp. Strain S51107 against Bloom-Forming Cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa.

PubMed

Wu, Lishuang; Guo, Xingliang; Liu, Xianglong; Yang, Hong

2017-01-01

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms have severely impaired freshwater quality and threatened human health worldwide. Here, a Gram-positive bacterium, Bacillus sp. strain S51107, which exhibits strong algicidal activity against Microcystis aeruginosa , was isolated from Lake Taihu. We found that the algicidal activity of strain S51107 was regulated primarily by NprR-NprX quorum sensing (QS), in which the mature form of the signaling peptide NprX was identified as the SKPDIVG heptapeptide. Disruption of the nprR-nprX cassette markedly decreased the algicidal activity, and complemented strains showed significantly recovered algicidal activity. Strain S51107 produced low-molecular-weight algicidal compounds [indole-3-carboxaldehyde and cyclo(Pro-Phe)] and high-molecular-weight algicidal substance(s) (>3 kDa). Moreover, the production of high-molecular-weight algicidal substance(s) was regulated by NprR-NprX QS, but the production of low-molecular-weight algicidal compounds was not. High-molecular-weight algicidal substance(s) played a more important role than low-molecular-weight algicidal compounds in the algicidal activity of strain S51107. The results of this study could increase our knowledge about algicidal characteristics of a potential algicidal bacterium, Bacillus sp. strain S51107, and provide the first evidence that the algicidal activity of Gram-positive algicidal bacteria is regulated by QS, which will greatly enhance our understanding of the interactions between algae and indigenous algicidal bacteria, thereby providing aid in the design and optimization of strategies to control harmful algae blooms.

NprR-NprX Quorum-Sensing System Regulates the Algicidal Activity of Bacillus sp. Strain S51107 against Bloom-Forming Cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa

PubMed Central

Wu, Lishuang; Guo, Xingliang; Liu, Xianglong; Yang, Hong

2017-01-01

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms have severely impaired freshwater quality and threatened human health worldwide. Here, a Gram-positive bacterium, Bacillus sp. strain S51107, which exhibits strong algicidal activity against Microcystis aeruginosa, was isolated from Lake Taihu. We found that the algicidal activity of strain S51107 was regulated primarily by NprR-NprX quorum sensing (QS), in which the mature form of the signaling peptide NprX was identified as the SKPDIVG heptapeptide. Disruption of the nprR-nprX cassette markedly decreased the algicidal activity, and complemented strains showed significantly recovered algicidal activity. Strain S51107 produced low-molecular-weight algicidal compounds [indole-3-carboxaldehyde and cyclo(Pro-Phe)] and high-molecular-weight algicidal substance(s) (>3 kDa). Moreover, the production of high-molecular-weight algicidal substance(s) was regulated by NprR-NprX QS, but the production of low-molecular-weight algicidal compounds was not. High-molecular-weight algicidal substance(s) played a more important role than low-molecular-weight algicidal compounds in the algicidal activity of strain S51107. The results of this study could increase our knowledge about algicidal characteristics of a potential algicidal bacterium, Bacillus sp. strain S51107, and provide the first evidence that the algicidal activity of Gram-positive algicidal bacteria is regulated by QS, which will greatly enhance our understanding of the interactions between algae and indigenous algicidal bacteria, thereby providing aid in the design and optimization of strategies to control harmful algae blooms. PMID:29075240

The Impact of Meal Timing on Cardiometabolic Syndrome Indicators in Shift Workers

PubMed Central

Molzof, Hylton E.; Wirth, Michael D.; Burch, James B.; Shivappa, Nitin; Hébert, James R.; Johnson, Russell L.; Gamble, Karen L.

2017-01-01

The aims of this study were to 1) compare the inflammatory potential of night- and day-shift nurses’ diets in regard to time-of-day and work status, and 2) explore how the timing of food intake during work and off-work is associated with cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS) risk factors between these two groups. Female nurses (N = 17; 8 day-shift and 9 night-shift) reported food intake over 9 days. On a middle day off of work, metabolic parameters were measured after an overnight fast. Energy/macronutrient intake and inflammatory potential of dietary intake (as assessed via the Dietary Inflammatory IndexTM) were calculated for nurses’ workdays, work nights, off-work days, and off-work nights. Work-night total food intake (grams) accounted for a significant amount of variance in CMS risk factors for night-shift nurses only. Increased total gram consumption during night-shift nurses’ work nights was associated with increased lipid levels – independent of the macronutrient composition of the food consumed. Alternatively, for night-shift nurses, work-day intake of several food parameters accounted for a significant proportion of variance in HDL cholesterol levels, with higher intake associated with higher HDL levels. For both day- and night-shift nurses, food intake during the day was more pro-inflammatory regardless of shift-type or work status. Our novel approach of combining time-of-day-specific and work-day-specific analyses of dietary inflammatory factors and macronutrient composition with measurement of CMS risk factors suggests a link between meal timing and cardiometabolic health for shift-working nurses. PMID:28107043

Outer Membrane Vesicles Prime and Activate Macrophage Inflammasomes and Cytokine Secretion In Vitro and In Vivo

PubMed Central

Cecil, Jessica D.; O’Brien-Simpson, Neil M.; Lenzo, Jason C.; Holden, James A.; Singleton, William; Perez-Gonzalez, Alexis; Mansell, Ashley; Reynolds, Eric C.

2017-01-01

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are proteoliposomes blebbed from the surface of Gram-negative bacteria. Chronic periodontitis is associated with an increase in subgingival plaque of Gram-negative bacteria, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Tannerella forsythia. In this study, we investigated the immune-modulatory effects of P. gingivalis, T. denticola, and T. forsythia OMVs on monocytes and differentiated macrophages. All of the bacterial OMVs were phagocytosed by monocytes, M(naïve) and M(IFNγ) macrophages in a dose-dependent manner. They also induced NF-κB activation and increased TNFα, IL-8, and IL-1β cytokine secretion. P. gingivalis OMVs were also found to induce anti-inflammatory IL-10 secretion. Although unprimed monocytes and macrophages were resistant to OMV-induced cell death, lipopolysaccharide or OMV priming resulted in a significantly reduced cell viability. P. gingivalis, T. denticola, and T. forsythia OMVs all activated inflammasome complexes, as monitored by IL-1β secretion and ASC speck formation. ASC was critical for OMV-induced inflammasome formation, while AIM2−/− and Caspase-1−/− cells had significantly reduced inflammasome formation and NLRP3−/− cells exhibited a slight reduction. OMVs were also found to provide both priming and activation of the inflammasome complex. High-resolution microscopy and flow cytometry showed that P. gingivalis OMVs primed and activated macrophage inflammasomes in vivo with 80% of macrophages exhibiting inflammasome complex formation. In conclusion, periodontal pathogen OMVs were found to have significant immunomodulatory effects upon monocytes and macrophages and should therefore influence pro-inflammatory host responses associated with disease. PMID:28890719

Development and content validation of a patient-reported endometriosis pain daily diary.

PubMed

van Nooten, Floortje E; Cline, Jennifer; Elash, Celeste A; Paty, Jean; Reaney, Matthew

2018-01-04

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disorder that causes inflammation and pelvic pain. Endometriosis-related pain is best captured with patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures, however, assessment of endometriosis-related pain in clinical trials has been difficult in the absence of a reliable and valid PRO instrument. We describe the development of the Endometriosis Pain Daily Diary (EPDD), an electronic PRO developed as a survey instrument to assess endometriosis-related pain and its impact on patients' lives. The EPDD was initially developed on the basis of an existing Endometriosis Pain and Bleeding Diary, a targeted review of relevant literature, clinical expert interviews, and open-ended (concept elicitation) patient interviews in the United States (US) and Japan which captured patients' experience with endometriosis. Cognitive interviews of patients with endometriosis were conducted to evaluate patient comprehension of the EPDD items. A conceptual model of endometriosis was developed, and meetings with US and European regulatory authorities provided feedback for validating the EPDD in the context of clinical trials. Translatability assessments of the EPDD were conducted to confirm its appropriate interpretation and ease of completion across 17 languages. The iterative development progressed through three versions of the instrument. The EPDDv1 included 18 items relating to dysmenorrhea/pelvic pain, dyspareunia and sexual activity, bleeding, hot flashes, daily activities, and use of rescue medication. The EPDDv2 was a larger 43-item survey tested in cognitive interviews and subsequently revised to yield the current 11-item EPDDv3, consisting of five core items relating to dysmenorrhea, non-menstrual pelvic pain, and dyspareunia, and six extension items relating to sexual activity, daily activities, and use of rescue medication. The EPDD is a PRO for the evaluation of endometriosis-related pain and its associated impacts on patients' lives. The EPDD represents an important step in providing a PRO that is relevant to patients with endometriosis-related pain in the context of a clinical study setting (ie, fit-for-purpose), designed to evaluate pain associated with endometriosis, including regulatory agency support for its further exploration in clinical trials.

SQL-RAMS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alfaro, Victor O.; Casey, Nancy J.

2005-01-01

SQL-RAMS (where "SQL" signifies Structured Query Language and "RAMS" signifies Rocketdyne Automated Management System) is a successor to the legacy version of RAMS -- a computer program used to manage all work, nonconformance, corrective action, and configuration management on rocket engines and ground support equipment at Stennis Space Center. The legacy version resided in the File-Maker Pro software system and was constructed in modules that could act as standalone programs. There was little or no integration among modules. Because of limitations on file-management capabilities in FileMaker Pro, and because of difficulty of integration of FileMaker Pro with other software systems for exchange of data using such industry standards as SQL, the legacy version of RAMS proved to be limited, and working to circumvent its limitations too time-consuming. In contrast, SQL-RAMS is an integrated SQL-server-based program that supports all data-exchange software industry standards. Whereas in the legacy version, it was necessary to access individual modules to gain insight into a particular workstatus document, SQL-RAMS provides access through a single-screen presentation of core modules. In addition, SQL-RAMS enables rapid and efficient filtering of displayed statuses by predefined categories and test numbers. SQL-RAMS is rich in functionality and encompasses significant improvements over the legacy system. It provides users the ability to perform many tasks, which in the past required administrator intervention. Additionally, many of the design limitations have been corrected, allowing for a robust application that is user centric.

SQL-RAMS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alfaro, Victor O.; Casey, Nancy J.

2005-01-01

SQL-RAMS (where "SQL" signifies Structured Query Language and "RAMS" signifies Rocketdyne Automated Management System) is a successor to the legacy version of RAMS a computer program used to manage all work, nonconformance, corrective action, and configuration management on rocket engines and ground support equipment at Stennis Space Center. The legacy version resided in the FileMaker Pro software system and was constructed in modules that could act as stand-alone programs. There was little or no integration among modules. Because of limitations on file-management capabilities in FileMaker Pro, and because of difficulty of integration of FileMaker Pro with other software systems for exchange of data using such industry standards as SQL, the legacy version of RAMS proved to be limited, and working to circumvent its limitations too time-consuming. In contrast, SQL-RAMS is an integrated SQL-server-based program that supports all data-exchange software industry standards. Whereas in the legacy version, it was necessary to access individual modules to gain insight to a particular work-status documents, SQL-RAMS provides access through a single-screen presentation of core modules. In addition, SQL-RAMS enable rapid and efficient filtering of displayed statuses by predefined categories and test numbers. SQL-RAMS is rich in functionality and encompasses significant improvements over the legacy system. It provides users the ability to perform many tasks which in the past required administrator intervention. Additionally many of the design limitations have been corrected allowing for a robust application that is user centric.

Supporting the Cybercrime Investigation Process: Effective Discrimination of Source Code Authors Based on Byte-Level Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frantzeskou, Georgia; Stamatatos, Efstathios; Gritzalis, Stefanos

Source code authorship analysis is the particular field that attempts to identify the author of a computer program by treating each program as a linguistically analyzable entity. This is usually based on other undisputed program samples from the same author. There are several cases where the application of such a method could be of a major benefit, such as tracing the source of code left in the system after a cyber attack, authorship disputes, proof of authorship in court, etc. In this paper, we present our approach which is based on byte-level n-gram profiles and is an extension of a method that has been successfully applied to natural language text authorship attribution. We propose a simplified profile and a new similarity measure which is less complicated than the algorithm followed in text authorship attribution and it seems more suitable for source code identification since is better able to deal with very small training sets. Experiments were performed on two different data sets, one with programs written in C++ and the second with programs written in Java. Unlike the traditional language-dependent metrics used by previous studies, our approach can be applied to any programming language with no additional cost. The presented accuracy rates are much better than the best reported results for the same data sets.

An Internet snapshot study to compare the international availability of the novel psychoactive substance methiopropamine.

PubMed

Vermette-Marcotte, A-E; Dargan, P I; Archer, J R H; Gosselin, S; Wood, D M

2014-08-01

With the increased use of novel psychoactive substances, there is an increasing availability of these substances from Internet-based suppliers. Methiopropamine, first reported in 2011, is a recreational drug available over the Internet. The aim of this study was to investigate availability and cost of methiopropamine in three different countries: the UK, France, and Canada. Using the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction Internet snapshot methodology, this study, conducted in June 2013, was undertaken in two different languages: in English (the UK and Canada) and in French (France and Canada), using three Internet searching engines: " google.co.uk ", " google.fr " and " google.ca ". A total of 62 sites were found, most of them were found from the English searches. 45% of the suppliers seemed to originate from the UK. The prices of methiopropamine were comparable between suppliers, no matter which search engine or language was used. The cost of a unit of methiopropamine was inversely related to the purchased quantity, going from 19.49 ± 0.15 GBP per gram for a purchase amount of 500 mg to 3.54 ± 0.13 GBP per gram for a purchase amount of 1 kg. The results of the present study demonstrate that the sale of methiopropamine has the potential to reach users across the world. It also appears to support that snapshot studies could be used for toxicovigilance across different countries, by studying the Internet market of novel psychoactive substances. To date, snapshot studies, used to monitor the Internet novel psychoactive substances market, have only been undertaken in Europe. We have shown that the flexibility of this methodology enables comparison of the online activity of drug sellers between different countries and continents and that, at least for methiopropamine, the UK is the predominant source for Internet supply.

Identification of key genes in Gram-positive and Gram-negative sepsis using stochastic perturbation

PubMed Central

Li, Zhenliang; Zhang, Ying; Liu, Yaling; Liu, Yanchun; Li, Youyi

2017-01-01

Sepsis is an inflammatory response to pathogens (such as Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria), which has high morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. The present study aimed to identify the key genes in Gram-positive and Gram-negative sepsis. GSE6535 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus, containing 17 control samples, 18 Gram-positive samples and 25 Gram-negative samples. Subsequently, the limma package in R was used to screen the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Hierarchical clustering was conducted for the specific DEGs in Gram-negative and Gram-negative samples using cluster software and the TreeView software. To analyze the correlation of samples at the gene level, a similarity network was constructed using Cytoscape software. Functional and pathway enrichment analyses were conducted for the DEGs using DAVID. Finally, stochastic perturbation was used to determine the significantly differential functions between Gram-positive and Gram-negative samples. A total of 340 and 485 DEGs were obtained in Gram-positive and Gram-negative samples, respectively. Hierarchical clustering revealed that there were significant differences between control and sepsis samples. In Gram-positive and Gram-negative samples, myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 was associated with apoptosis and programmed cell death. Additionally, NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit S4 was associated with mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I assembly. Stochastic perturbation analysis revealed that NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit B2 (NDUFB2), NDUFB8 and ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase hinge protein (UQCRH) were associated with cellular respiration in Gram-negative samples, whereas large tumor suppressor kinase 2 (LATS2) was associated with G1/S transition of the mitotic cell cycle in Gram-positive samples. NDUFB2, NDUFB8 and UQCRH may be biomarkers for Gram-negative sepsis, whereas LATS2 may be a biomarker for Gram-positive sepsis. These findings may promote the therapies of sepsis caused by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. PMID:28714002

Directed natural product biosynthesis gene cluster capture and expression in the model bacterium Bacillus subtilis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yongxin; Li, Zhongrui; Yamanaka, Kazuya; Xu, Ying; Zhang, Weipeng; Vlamakis, Hera; Kolter, Roberto; Moore, Bradley S.; Qian, Pei-Yuan

2015-03-01

Bacilli are ubiquitous low G+C environmental Gram-positive bacteria that produce a wide assortment of specialized small molecules. Although their natural product biosynthetic potential is high, robust molecular tools to support the heterologous expression of large biosynthetic gene clusters in Bacillus hosts are rare. Herein we adapt transformation-associated recombination (TAR) in yeast to design a single genomic capture and expression vector for antibiotic production in Bacillus subtilis. After validating this direct cloning ``plug-and-play'' approach with surfactin, we genetically interrogated amicoumacin biosynthetic gene cluster from the marine isolate Bacillus subtilis 1779. Its heterologous expression allowed us to explore an unusual maturation process involving the N-acyl-asparagine pro-drug intermediates preamicoumacins, which are hydrolyzed by the asparagine-specific peptidase into the active component amicoumacin A. This work represents the first direct cloning based heterologous expression of natural products in the model organism B. subtilis and paves the way to the development of future genome mining efforts in this genus.

Directed natural product biosynthesis gene cluster capture and expression in the model bacterium Bacillus subtilis.

PubMed

Li, Yongxin; Li, Zhongrui; Yamanaka, Kazuya; Xu, Ying; Zhang, Weipeng; Vlamakis, Hera; Kolter, Roberto; Moore, Bradley S; Qian, Pei-Yuan

2015-03-24

Bacilli are ubiquitous low G+C environmental Gram-positive bacteria that produce a wide assortment of specialized small molecules. Although their natural product biosynthetic potential is high, robust molecular tools to support the heterologous expression of large biosynthetic gene clusters in Bacillus hosts are rare. Herein we adapt transformation-associated recombination (TAR) in yeast to design a single genomic capture and expression vector for antibiotic production in Bacillus subtilis. After validating this direct cloning "plug-and-play" approach with surfactin, we genetically interrogated amicoumacin biosynthetic gene cluster from the marine isolate Bacillus subtilis 1779. Its heterologous expression allowed us to explore an unusual maturation process involving the N-acyl-asparagine pro-drug intermediates preamicoumacins, which are hydrolyzed by the asparagine-specific peptidase into the active component amicoumacin A. This work represents the first direct cloning based heterologous expression of natural products in the model organism B. subtilis and paves the way to the development of future genome mining efforts in this genus.

Diabetes education project: community networking in rural Utah.

PubMed

DeBry, S M; Smith, A; Wittenberg, M; Mortensen, V

1996-01-01

People in rural areas often lack the financial resources, workforce, and professional network needed to sustain a diabetes education pro gram in their own community. HealthInsight, a nonprofit organization that works to improve the quality of health care in its community, developed a 2-day seminar in an effort to facilitate the networking of rural health professionals who educate patients with diabetes and to help those educators better learn how to use existing resources. Participants included nurses, dietitians, diabetes educators, quality managers, and education directors from hospitals and home health agencies in both rural and metropolitan areas. Speakers presented information on a variety of topics related to program development, and a resource manual containing numerous materials was given to each participant. At the end of the seminar, the group turned in goals for their own programs. Too often, providers of health care compete rather than collaborate with one another. There is a great need for such networking opportunities among health care professionals working on common goals--especially in rural areas.

Cervicovaginal bacteria are a major modulator of host inflammatory responses in the female genital tract.

PubMed

Anahtar, Melis N; Byrne, Elizabeth H; Doherty, Kathleen E; Bowman, Brittany A; Yamamoto, Hidemi S; Soumillon, Magali; Padavattan, Nikita; Ismail, Nasreen; Moodley, Amber; Sabatini, Mary E; Ghebremichael, Musie S; Nusbaum, Chad; Huttenhower, Curtis; Virgin, Herbert W; Ndung'u, Thumbi; Dong, Krista L; Walker, Bruce D; Fichorova, Raina N; Kwon, Douglas S

2015-05-19

Colonization by Lactobacillus in the female genital tract is thought to be critical for maintaining genital health. However, little is known about how genital microbiota influence host immune function and modulate disease susceptibility. We studied a cohort of asymptomatic young South African women and found that the majority of participants had genital communities with low Lactobacillus abundance and high ecological diversity. High-diversity communities strongly correlated with genital pro-inflammatory cytokine concentrations in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Transcriptional profiling suggested that genital antigen-presenting cells sense gram-negative bacterial products in situ via Toll-like receptor 4 signaling, contributing to genital inflammation through activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway and recruitment of lymphocytes by chemokine production. Our study proposes a mechanism by which cervicovaginal microbiota impact genital inflammation and thereby might affect a woman's reproductive health, including her risk of acquiring HIV. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

21 CFR 520.550 - Dextrose/glycine/electrolyte.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... ingredients: sodium chloride 8.82 grams, potassium phosphate 4.20 grams, citric acid anhydrous 0.5 gram, potassium citrate 0.12 gram, aminoacetic acid (glycine) 6.36 grams, and dextrose 44.0 grams. (b) Sponsor...

21 CFR 520.550 - Glucose/glycine/electrolyte.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... ingredients: Sodium chloride 8.82 grams, potassium phosphate 4.20 grams, citric acid anhydrous 0.5 gram, potassium citrate 0.12 gram, aminoacetic acid (glycine) 6.36 grams, and glucose 44.0 grams. (b) Sponsor. See...

21 CFR 520.550 - Glucose/glycine/electrolyte.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... ingredients: Sodium chloride 8.82 grams, potassium phosphate 4.20 grams, citric acid anhydrous 0.5 gram, potassium citrate 0.12 gram, aminoacetic acid (glycine) 6.36 grams, and glucose 44.0 grams. (b) Sponsor. See...

21 CFR 520.550 - Glucose/glycine/electrolyte.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... ingredients: Sodium chloride 8.82 grams, potassium phosphate 4.20 grams, citric acid anhydrous 0.5 gram, potassium citrate 0.12 gram, aminoacetic acid (glycine) 6.36 grams, and glucose 44.0 grams. (b) Sponsor. See...

21 CFR 520.550 - Glucose/glycine/electrolyte.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... ingredients: Sodium chloride 8.82 grams, potassium phosphate 4.20 grams, citric acid anhydrous 0.5 gram, potassium citrate 0.12 gram, aminoacetic acid (glycine) 6.36 grams, and glucose 44.0 grams. (b) Sponsor. See...

B-type and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptides are equally useful in assessing patent ductus arteriosus in very preterm infants.

PubMed

König, Kai; Guy, Katelyn J; Drew, Sandra M; Barfield, Charles P

2015-04-01

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal pro-BNP (NTproBNP) have been shown to correlate with the size of the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in preterm infants. We investigated whether BNP or NTproBNP was more closely correlated with PDA size. This prospective observational study included preterm infants born <32 weeks' gestation who had an echocardiogram performed within the first four days of life. Blood samples were taken simultaneously for BNP and NTproBNP measurements prior to echocardiographic examination. Of the 60 infants recruited, 58 had complete data sets. The cohort's mean and standard deviation (SD) gestational age was 27(+3) (2(+2)) weeks, the mean (SD) birthweight was 1032 (315) grams, and 46 (79.3%) infants had a PDA with a mean (SD) diameter of 3.2 (0.9) mm. Median and interquartile range (IQR) BNP levels were 486.5 (219-1316) pg/mL for infants with a PDA and 190 (95.5-514.5) pg/mL for infants without a PDA. Median (IQR) NTproBNP levels were 10 858.5 (6319-42 108) pg/mL for infants with a PDA and 7488 (3363-14 227.5) pg/mL for infants without a PDA. Both BNP (R = 0.35, p = 0.0066) and NTproBNP (R = 0.31, p = 0.018) were significantly correlated with PDA size. BNP and NTproBNP are similarly useful for assessing PDA size in preterm infants. ©2014 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Aspirin-triggered resolvin D1 is produced during self-resolving gram-negative bacterial pneumonia and regulates host immune responses for the resolution of lung inflammation.

PubMed

Abdulnour, R E; Sham, H P; Douda, D N; Colas, R A; Dalli, J; Bai, Y; Ai, X; Serhan, C N; Levy, B D

2016-09-01

Bacterial pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Host responses to contain infection and mitigate pathogen-mediated lung inflammation are critical for pneumonia resolution. Aspirin-triggered resolvin D1 (AT-RvD1; 7S,8R,17R-trihydroxy-4Z,9E,11E,13Z,15E,19Z-docosahexaenoic acid) is a lipid mediator (LM) that displays organ-protective actions in sterile lung inflammation, and regulates pathogen-initiated cellular responses. Here, in a self-resolving murine model of Escherichia coli pneumonia, LM metabololipidomics performed on lungs obtained at baseline, 24, and 72 h after infection uncovered temporal regulation of endogenous AT-RvD1 production. Early treatment with exogenous AT-RvD1 (1 h post infection) enhanced clearance of E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in vivo, and lung macrophage phagocytosis of fluorescent bacterial particles ex vivo. Characterization of macrophage subsets in the alveolar compartment during pneumonia identified efferocytosis by infiltrating macrophages (CD11b(Hi) CD11c(Low)) and exudative macrophages (CD11b(Hi) CD11c(Hi)). AT-RvD1 increased efferocytosis by these cells ex vivo, and accelerated neutrophil clearance during pneumonia in vivo. These anti-bacterial and pro-resolving actions of AT-RvD1 were additive to antibiotic therapy. Taken together, these findings suggest that the pro-resolving actions of AT-RvD1 during pneumonia represent a novel host-directed therapeutic strategy to complement the current antibiotic-centered approach for combatting infections.

Variation in the ovine cortisol response to systemic bacterial endotoxin challenge is predominantly determined by signalling within the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

You Qiumei; Karrow, Niel A.; Cao Honghe

Bi-directional communication between the neuroendocrine and immune systems is designed, in part, to maintain or restore homeostasis during physiological stress. Exposure to endotoxin during Gram-negative bacterial infection for example, elicits the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines that activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA). The secretion of adrenal glucocorticoids subsequently down regulates the host inflammatory response, minimizing potential tissue damage. Sequence and epigenetic variants in genes involved in regulating the neuroendocrine and immune systems are likely to contribute to individual differences in the HPAA response, and this may influence the host anti-inflammatory response to toxin exposure and susceptibility to inflammatory disease. In thismore » study, high (HCR) and low (LCR) cortisol responders were selected from a normal population of 110 female sheep challenged iv with Escherichia coli endotoxin (400 ng/kg) to identify potential determinants that contribute to variation in the cortisol response phenotype. This phenotype was stable over several years in the HCR and LCR animals, and did not appear to be attributed to differences in expression of hepatic immune-related genes or systemic pro-inflammatory cytokine concentrations. Mechanistic studies using corticotrophin-releasing factor (0.5 {mu}g/kg body weight), arginine vasopressin (0.5 {mu}g/kg), and adrenocorticotropic hormone (0.5 {mu}g/kg) administered iv demonstrated that variation in this phenotype is largely determined by signalling within the HPAA. Future studies will use this ovine HCR/LCR model to investigate potential genetic and epigenetic variants that may contribute to variation in cortisol responsiveness to bacterial endotoxin.« less

Automatic Dissection Of Plantlets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Batchelor, B. G.; Harris, I. P.; Marchant, J. A.; Tillett, R. D.

1989-03-01

Micropropagation is a technique used in horticulture for generating a monoclonal colony of plants. A tiny plantlet is cut into several parts, each of which is then replanted. At the moment, the cutting is performed manually. Automating this task would have significant economic benefits. A robot designed to dissect plants would need to be equipped with intelligent visual sensing. This article is concerned with the image acquisition and processing techniques which such a machine might use. A program, which can calculate where to cut a plant with an "open" structure, is presented. This is expressed in the ProVision language, which is described in another article presented at this conference. (Article 1002-65)

A comparison of Data Driven models of solving the task of gender identification of author in Russian language texts for cases without and with the gender deception

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sboev, A.; Moloshnikov, I.; Gudovskikh, D.; Rybka, R.

2017-12-01

In this work we compare several data-driven approaches to the task of author’s gender identification for texts with or without gender imitation. The data corpus has been specially gathered with crowdsourcing for this task. The best models are convolutional neural network with input of morphological data (fl-measure: 88%±3) for texts without imitation, and gradient boosting model with vector of character n-grams frequencies as input data (f1-measure: 64% ± 3) for texts with gender imitation. The method to filter the crowdsourced corpus using limited reference sample of texts to increase the accuracy of result is discussed.

Genomic basis for natural product biosynthetic diversity in the actinomycetes†

PubMed Central

Nett, Markus; Ikeda, Haruo; Moore, Bradley S.

2010-01-01

The phylum Actinobacteria hosts diverse high G + C, Gram-positive bacteria that have evolved a complex chemical language of natural product chemistry to help navigate their fascinatingly varied lifestyles. To date, 71 Actinobacteria genomes have been completed and annotated, with the vast majority representing the Actinomycetales, which are the source of numerous antibiotics and other drugs from genera such as Streptomyces, Saccharopolyspora and Salinispora. These genomic analyses have illuminated the secondary metabolic proficiency of these microbes – underappreciated for years based on conventional isolation programs – and have helped set the foundation for a new natural product discovery paradigm based on genome mining. Trends in the secondary metabolomes of natural product-rich actinomycetes are highlighted in this review article, which contains 199 references. PMID:19844637

The Implementation of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Yoga Therapy.

PubMed

Ross, Alyson; Birdee, Gurjeet; Touchton-Leonard, Katharine; Bevans, Margaret

2016-01-01

Yoga therapists are interested in knowing whether their therapeutic interventions are helpful in improving health and wellbeing in their yoga therapy clients. However, few yoga therapists use standardized, reliable, and valid questionnaires to determine the therapeutic effectiveness of their treatments. Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures are paper or web-based questionnaires used to assess an individual's perceptions of their symptoms and/or quality of life. In 2004, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the PROMIS ® initiative to standardize and simplify the collection of PROs in research and in clinical practice. The PROMIS ® initiative launched a multicenter cooperative group that collected and reviewed thousands of PROs, then extensively tested them in over 20,000 research participants. The result was a web-based collection of item banks of the best questions or "items" within three domains of interest: physical, mental, and social health. These item banks are housed in the Assessment Center, a free online resource for collecting PROs. 1 Incorporating PROMIS ® outcomes into yoga therapy streamlines and optimizes the collection of PROs by enabling access to reliable and valid questionnaires that are easy to read, simple to complete, and are available in multiple languages as well as in both adult and pediatric versions. The use of standardized PROs may improve yoga therapy implementation in healthcare and accelerate translation of clinical research by allowing yoga therapists to conduct indepth symptom assessments using tools that allow for comparisons to other therapeutic clinical and research interventions. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the development of the NIH PROMIS ® initiative and to provide suggestions for incorporating PRO collection into yoga therapy. Important considerations to consider when implementing PROs into yoga therapy are discussed, including the choice of questionnaires and method of delivery (paper or web-based), frequency of PRO administration, interpretation and management of PRO results, and the management of problematic issues that arise.

The Implementation of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Yoga Therapy.

PubMed

Ross, Alyson; Birdee, Gurjeet; Touchton-Leonard, Katharine; Bevans, Margaret

2016-09-01

Yoga therapists are interested in knowing whether their therapeutic interventions are helpful in improving health and wellbeing in their yoga therapy clients. However, few yoga therapists use standardized, reliable, and valid questionnaires to determine the therapeutic effectiveness of their treatments. Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures are paper or web-based questionnaires used to assess an individual's perceptions of their symptoms and/or quality of life. In 2004, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the PROMIS ® initiative to standardize and simplify the collection of PROs in research and in clinical practice. The PROMIS ® initiative launched a multicenter cooperative group that collected and reviewed thousands of PROs, then extensively tested them in over 20,000 research participants. The result was a web-based collection of item banks of the best questions or "items" within three domains of interest: physical, mental, and social health. These item banks are housed in the Assessment Center, a free online resource for collecting PROs. 1 Incorporating PROMIS ® outcomes into yoga therapy streamlines and optimizes the collection of PROs by enabling access to reliable and valid questionnaires that are easy to read, simple to complete, and are available in multiple languages as well as in both adult and pediatric versions. The use of standardized PROs may improve yoga therapy implementation in healthcare and accelerate translation of clinical research by allowing yoga therapists to conduct indepth symptom assessments using tools that allow for comparisons to other therapeutic clinical and research interventions. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the development of the NIH PROMIS ® initiative and to provide suggestions for incorporating PRO collection into yoga therapy. Important considerations to consider when implementing PROs into yoga therapy are discussed, including the choice of questionnaires and method of delivery (paper or web-based), frequency of PRO administration, interpretation and management of PRO results, and the management of problematic issues that arise.

Differential staining of bacteria: gram stain.

PubMed

Moyes, Rita B; Reynolds, Jackie; Breakwell, Donald P

2009-11-01

In 1884, Hans Christian Gram, a Danish doctor, developed a differential staining technique that is still the cornerstone of bacterial identification and taxonomic division. This multistep, sequential staining protocol separates bacteria into four groups based on cell morphology and cell wall structure: Gram-positive cocci, Gram-negative cocci, Gram-positive rods, and Gram-negative rods. The Gram stain is useful for assessing bacterial contamination of tissue culture samples or for examining the Gram stain status and morphological features of bacteria isolated from mixed or isolated bacterial cultures. (c) 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Misinterpretation of Gram Stain from the Stationary Growth Phase of Positive Blood Cultures for Brucella and Acinetobacter Species.

PubMed

Bazzi, Ali M; Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A; Rabaan, Ali A

2017-01-01

Acinetobacter baumannii and Brucella species are Gram-negative organisms that are vulnerable to misinterpretation as Gram-positive or Gram-variable in blood cultures. We assess the random errors in gram stain interpretation to reduce the likelihood of such errors and therefore patient harm. Aerobic and anaerobic blood cultures from two patients in an acute care facility in Saudi Arabia were subjected to preliminary Gram-staining. In case 1, VITEK-2 Anaerobe Identification, repeat Gram staining from a blood agar plate, Remel BactiDrop™ Oxidase test, Urea Agar urease test and real-time PCR were used to confirm presence of Brucella and absence of Coryneform species. In case 2, repeat Gram- staining from the plate and the vials, VITEK-2 Gram-Negative Identification, real-time PCR and subculture on to Columbia agar, blood agar, and MacConkey agar were carried out to identify A. baumannii . In case 1, initially pleomorphic Gram-positive bacteria were identified. Coryneform species were suspected. Tiny growth was observed after 24 h on blood agar plates, and good growth by 48 h. Presence of Brucella species was ultimately confirmed. In case 2, preliminary Gram-stain results suggested giant Gram-positive oval cocci. Further testing over 18-24 h identified A. baumannii . Oxidase test from the plate and urease test from the culture vial is recommended after apparent identification of pleomorphic Gram-positive bacilli from blood culture, once tiny growth is observed, to distinguish Brucella from Corynebacterium species. If giant Gram-positive oval cocci are indicated by preliminary Gram-staining, it is recommended that the Gram stain be repeated from the plate after 4-6 h, or culture should be tested in Triple Sugar Iron (TSI) medium and the Gram stain repeated after 2-4 h incubation.

Preschool outcome of less than 801-gram preterm infants compared with full-term siblings.

PubMed

Kilbride, Howard W; Thorstad, Karla; Daily, Donna K

2004-04-01

Extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants are at greater risk for neurodevelopmental delay than full-term infants. Outcomes may be compromised secondary to abnormal brain development associated with complications of prematurity. Long-term cognitive outcome has also been reported to be significantly influenced by postnatal factors. The objective of this study was to clarify the effects of prematurity separate from environmental factors on growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes by comparing ELBW children with their full-term siblings. The study consisted of 25 ELBW children, a subset selected from a larger population of infants who were <801 g birth weight and enrolled in a longitudinal follow-up project from birth and their 25 full-term, full-weight siblings. Twenty-three sets of siblings were evaluated at 5 years of age and 2 sets at 3 years of age with standardized medical, social, cognitive, motor, and language testing. Physical and neurodevelopmental outcomes were compared between groups, controlling for gender and socioeconomic status (SES). At follow-up, ELBW children were lighter, were shorter, and had smaller head circumference. The ELBW children had lower Stanford-Binet IQs (85 +/- 12 [mean +/- SD] and 95 +/- 11), with lower Stanford-Binet subtests except short-term memory and quantitative reasoning, lower spelling scores on the Wide Range Achievement Test, and lower Peabody motor quotients (79 +/- 11 and 92 +/- 17). Preschool Language Scale quotients were not different, but other receptive language measures were lower for ELBW children. High SES seemed to modify the impact of preterm status on cognitive and language but not motor scores. The mean IQ for high-SES ELBW children was equivalent to that of the low-SES term siblings. Preschool-age cognitive and language functioning in ELBW children seemed to be affected by both prenatal and birth influences (preterm status) and postnatal influences (SES variables). Motor scores were significantly related to preterm status but not to SES.

Angiotensin I-converting-enzyme-inhibitory and antibacterial peptides from Lactobacillus helveticus PR4 proteinase-hydrolyzed caseins of milk from six species.

PubMed

Minervini, F; Algaron, F; Rizzello, C G; Fox, P F; Monnet, V; Gobbetti, M

2003-09-01

Sodium caseinates prepared from bovine, sheep, goat, pig, buffalo or human milk were hydrolyzed by a partially purified proteinase of Lactobacillus helveticus PR4. Peptides in each hydrolysate were fractionated by reversed-phase fast-protein liquid chromatography. The fractions which showed the highest angiotensin I-converting-enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory or antibacterial activity were sequenced by mass spectrum and Edman degradation analyses. Various ACE-inhibitory peptides were found in the hydrolysates: the bovine alpha(S1)-casein (alpha(S1)-CN) 24-47 fragment (f24-47), f169-193, and beta-CN f58-76; ovine alpha(S1)-CN f1-6 and alpha(S2)-CN f182-185 and f186-188; caprine beta-CN f58-65 and alpha(S2)-CN f182-187; buffalo beta-CN f58-66; and a mixture of three tripeptides originating from human beta-CN. A mixture of peptides with a C-terminal sequence, Pro-Gly-Pro, was found in the most active fraction of the pig sodium caseinate hydrolysate. The highest ACE-inhibitory activity of some peptides corresponded to the concentration of the ACE inhibitor (S)-N-(1-[ethoxycarbonyl]-3-phenylpropyl)-ala-pro maleate (enalapril) of 49.253 micro g/ml (100 micro mol/liter). Several of the above sequences had features in common with other ACE-inhibitory peptides reported in the literature. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) of some of the crude peptide fractions was very low (16 to 100 micro g/ml). Some identified peptides were chemically synthesized, and the ACE-inhibitory activity and IC(50)s were confirmed. An antibacterial peptide corresponding to beta-CN f184-210 was identified in human sodium caseinate hydrolysate. It showed a very large spectrum of inhibition against gram-positive and -negative bacteria, including species of potential clinical interest, such as Enterococcus faecium, Bacillus megaterium, Escherichia coli, Listeria innocua, Salmonella spp., Yersinia enterocolitica, and Staphylococcus aureus. The MIC for E. coli F19 was ca. 50 micro g/ml. Once generated, the bioactive peptides were resistant to further degradation by proteinase of L. helveticus PR4 or by trypsin and chymotrypsin.

21 CFR 520.2380e - Thiabendazole with trichlorfon.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... Thiabendazole with trichlorfon. (a) Specifications. The drug contains 5 grams of thiabendazole with 4.5 grams of trichlorfon, or 20 grams of thiabendazole with 18 grams of trichlorfon. (b) Sponsor. See No. 017135 in § 510... ascarids (Parascaris spp. ) in horses. (2) Administer 2 grams of thiabendazole with 1.8 grams of...

21 CFR 558.635 - Virginiamycin.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... activity (5 grams per pound), 2.2 percent activity (10 grams per pound), 4.4 percent activity (20 grams per pound), 11 percent activity (50 grams per pound), and 50 percent activity (227 grams per pound) used as in paragraph (d) of this section; and 30 percent activity (136.2 grams per pound) for the manufacture...

21 CFR 558.635 - Virginiamycin.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... activity (5 grams per pound), 2.2 percent activity (10 grams per pound), 4.4 percent activity (20 grams per pound), 11 percent activity (50 grams per pound), and 50 percent activity (227 grams per pound) used as in paragraph (d) of this section; and 30 percent activity (136.2 grams per pound) for the manufacture...

21 CFR 520.1720c - Phenylbutazone paste.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

.... (a) Specifications—(1) Each gram of paste contains 0.2 grams phenylbutazone. (2) Each gram of paste contains 0.35 grams phenylbutazone. (b) Sponsors. See sponsor numbers in § 510.600(c) of this chapter. (1.... 1 to 2 grams of phenylbutazone per 500 pounds of body weight, not to exceed 4 grams daily. (2...

10 CFR 150.14 - Commission regulatory authority for physical protection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... significance in quantities greater than 15 grams of plutonium or uranium-233 or uranium-235 (enriched to 20 percent or more in the U-235 isotope) or any combination greater than 15 grams when computed by the equation grams=grams uranium-235+grams plutonium+grams uranium-233 shall meet the physical protection...

21 CFR 520.1720c - Phenylbutazone paste.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

.... (a) Specifications—(1) Each gram of paste contains 0.2 grams phenylbutazone. (2) Each gram of paste contains 0.35 grams phenylbutazone. (b) Sponsors. See sponsor numbers in § 510.600(c) of this chapter. (1.... 1 to 2 grams of phenylbutazone per 500 pounds of body weight, not to exceed 4 grams daily. (2...

21 CFR 558.635 - Virginiamycin.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... activity (5 grams per pound), 2.2 percent activity (10 grams per pound), 4.4 percent activity (20 grams per pound), 11 percent activity (50 grams per pound), and 50 percent activity (227 grams per pound) used as in paragraph (d) of this section; and 30 percent activity (136.2 grams per pound) for the manufacture...

10 CFR 150.14 - Commission regulatory authority for physical protection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... significance in quantities greater than 15 grams of plutonium or uranium-233 or uranium-235 (enriched to 20 percent or more in the U-235 isotope) or any combination greater than 15 grams when computed by the equation grams=grams uranium-235+grams plutonium+grams uranium-233 shall meet the physical protection...

21 CFR 558.635 - Virginiamycin.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... activity (5 grams per pound), 2.2 percent activity (10 grams per pound), 4.4 percent activity (20 grams per pound), 11 percent activity (50 grams per pound), and 50 percent activity (227 grams per pound) used as in paragraph (d) of this section; and 30 percent activity (136.2 grams per pound) for the manufacture...

21 CFR 558.635 - Virginiamycin.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... activity (5 grams per pound), 2.2 percent activity (10 grams per pound), 4.4 percent activity (20 grams per pound), 11 percent activity (50 grams per pound), and 50 percent activity (227 grams per pound) used as in paragraph (d) of this section; and 30 percent activity (136.2 grams per pound) for the manufacture...

10 CFR 150.14 - Commission regulatory authority for physical protection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... significance in quantities greater than 15 grams of plutonium or uranium-233 or uranium-235 (enriched to 20 percent or more in the U-235 isotope) or any combination greater than 15 grams when computed by the equation grams=grams uranium-235+grams plutonium+grams uranium-233 shall meet the physical protection...

21 CFR 520.2380e - Thiabendazole with trichlorfon.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... Thiabendazole with trichlorfon. (a) Specifications. The drug contains 5 grams of thiabendazole with 4.5 grams of trichlorfon, or 20 grams of thiabendazole with 18 grams of trichlorfon. (b) Sponsor. See No. 017135 in § 510... ascarids (Parascaris spp. ) in horses. (2) Administer 2 grams of thiabendazole with 1.8 grams of...

21 CFR 520.2380e - Thiabendazole with trichlorfon.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Thiabendazole with trichlorfon. (a) Specifications. The drug contains 5 grams of thiabendazole with 4.5 grams of trichlorfon, or 20 grams of thiabendazole with 18 grams of trichlorfon. (b) Sponsor. See No. 017135 in § 510... ascarids (Parascaris spp. ) in horses. (2) Administer 2 grams of thiabendazole with 1.8 grams of...

10 CFR 150.14 - Commission regulatory authority for physical protection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... significance in quantities greater than 15 grams of plutonium or uranium-233 or uranium-235 (enriched to 20 percent or more in the U-235 isotope) or any combination greater than 15 grams when computed by the equation grams=grams uranium-235+grams plutonium+grams uranium-233 shall meet the physical protection...

21 CFR 520.2380e - Thiabendazole with trichlorfon.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... Thiabendazole with trichlorfon. (a) Specifications. The drug contains 5 grams of thiabendazole with 4.5 grams of trichlorfon, or 20 grams of thiabendazole with 18 grams of trichlorfon. (b) Sponsor. See No. 017135 in § 510... ascarids (Parascaris spp. ) in horses. (2) Administer 2 grams of thiabendazole with 1.8 grams of...

10 CFR 150.14 - Commission regulatory authority for physical protection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... significance in quantities greater than 15 grams of plutonium or uranium-233 or uranium-235 (enriched to 20 percent or more in the U-235 isotope) or any combination greater than 15 grams when computed by the equation grams=grams uranium-235+grams plutonium+grams uranium-233 shall meet the physical protection...

21 CFR 520.1720c - Phenylbutazone paste.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

.... (a) Specifications—(1) Each gram of paste contains 0.2 grams phenylbutazone. (2) Each gram of paste contains 0.35 grams phenylbutazone. (b) Sponsors. See sponsor numbers in § 510.600(c) of this chapter. (1.... 1 to 2 grams of phenylbutazone per 500 pounds of body weight, not to exceed 4 grams daily. (2...

Comparative activity of ceftobiprole against Gram-positive and Gram-negative isolates from Europe and the Middle East: the CLASS study.

PubMed

Rossolini, Gian M; Dryden, Matthew S; Kozlov, Roman S; Quintana, Alvaro; Flamm, Robert K; Läuffer, Jörg M; Lee, Emma; Morrissey, Ian; CLASS Study Group

2011-01-01

to assess the in vitro activity of ceftobiprole and comparators against a recent collection of Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens, in order to detect potential changes in susceptibility patterns, and to evaluate the Etest assay for ceftobiprole susceptibility testing. contemporary Gram-positive and Gram-negative isolates (excluding extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing isolates) from across Europe and the Middle East were collected, and their susceptibility to ceftobiprole, vancomycin, teicoplanin, linezolid, ceftazidime and cefepime was assessed using the Etest method. Quality testing [using Etest and broth microdilution (BMD)] was conducted at a central reference laboratory. some 5041 Gram-positive and 4026 Gram-negative isolates were included. Against Gram-positive isolates overall, ceftobiprole had the lowest MIC50 (0.5 mg/L), compared with 1 mg/L for its comparators (vancomycin, teicoplanin and linezolid). Against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, all four agents had a similar MIC90 (2 mg/L), but ceftobiprole had a 4-fold better MIC90 (0.5 mg/L) against methicillin-susceptible strains. Only 38 Gram-positive isolates were confirmed as ceftobiprole resistant. Among Gram-negative strains, 86.9%, 91.7% and 95.2% were susceptible to ceftobiprole, ceftazidime and cefepime, respectively. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was less susceptible to all three antimicrobials than any other Gram-negative pathogen. There was generally good agreement between local Etest results and those obtained at the reference laboratory (for ceftobiprole: 86.8% with Gram-negatives; and 94.7% with Gram-positives), as well as between results obtained by BMD and Etest methods (for ceftobiprole: 98.2% with Gram-negatives; and 98.4% with Gram-positives). ceftobiprole exhibits in vitro activity against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens, including multidrug-resistant strains. No changes in its known susceptibility profile were identified.

Gram staining.

PubMed

Coico, Richard

2005-10-01

Named after Hans Christian Gram who developed the method in 1884, the Gram stain allows one to distinguish between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria on the basis of differential staining with a crystal violet-iodine complex and a safranin counterstain. The cell walls of Gram-positive organisms retain this complex after treatment with alcohol and appear purple, whereas gram-negative organisms decolorize following such treatment and appear pink. The method described here is useful for assessing bacterial contamination of tissue culture samples or for examining the Gram stain status and morphological features of bacteria isolated from mixed or isolated bacterial cultures.

Engineering-Level Model Atmospheres for Titan and Neptune

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Justus, C. G.; Duvall, Aleta; Johnson, D. L.

2003-01-01

Engineering-level atmospheric models for Titan and Neptune have been developed for use in NASA s systems analysis studies of aerocapture applications in missions to the outer planets. Analogous to highly successful Global Reference Atmospheric Models for Earth (GRAM, Justus et al., 2000) and Mars (Mars-GRAM, Justus and Johnson, 2001, Justus et al., 2002) the new models are called Titan-GRAM and Neptune-GRAM. Like GRAM and Mars-GRAM, an important feature of Titan-GRAM and Neptune-GRAM is their ability to simulate quasi-random perturbations for Monte- Carlo analyses in developing guidance, navigation and control algorithms, and for thermal systems design.

Gram staining.

PubMed

Coico, R

2001-05-01

Named after Hans Christian Gram who developed the method in 1884, the Gram stain allows one to distinguish between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria on the basis of differential staining with a crystal violet-iodine complex and a safranin counterstain. The cell walls of Gram-positive organisms retain this complex after treatment with alcohol and appear purple, whereas gram-negative organisms decolorize following such treatment and appear pink. The method described here is useful for assessing bacterial contamination of tissue culture samples or for examining the Gram stain status and morphological features of bacteria isolated from mixed or isolated bacterial cultures.

Sex Differences in the Cannabinoid Modulation of Appetite, Body Temperature and Neurotransmission at POMC Synapses

PubMed Central

Diaz, Shanna; Farhang, Borzoo; Hoien, Joshua; Stahlman, Megan; Adatia, Nadira; Cox, Jeremy M.; Wagner, Edward J.

2009-01-01

We sought to determine whether sex differences exist for the cannabinoid modulation of appetite, body temperature and neurotransmission at pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) synapses. Gonadectomized male and female guinea pigs were outfitted to monitor core body temperature and injected with either the CB1 receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 (1 mg/kg s.c.), antagonist AM251 (3 mg/kg s.c.) or vehicle (1 ml/kg s.c.) and evaluated for changes in six indices of feeding behavior under ad libitum conditions for 7 days. WIN 55,212-2 elicited an overt, sexually differentiated hyperphagia in which males displayed larger increases in hourly and daily intake, consumption/gram body weight, meal size and meal duration. The agonist also produced a more robust acute hypothermia in males than in females. In addition, males were more sensitive to the hypophagic effect of AM251, manifested by comparatively sizeable decreases in hourly intake, consumption/gram body weight, meal frequency and hyperthermia. To gain additional insight into the cellular mechanism underlying cannabinoid regulation of energy homeostasis, we performed whole-cell patch clamp recordings in hypothalamic slices prepared from gonadectomized male and female guinea pigs, and monitored miniature excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs and mIPSCs) in arcuate (ARC) neurons. ARC neurons from females exhibited a higher basal mEPSC frequency. WIN 55,212-2 dose-dependently reduced mEPSC and mIPSC frequency; however, cells from males were far less sensitive to the CB1 receptor-mediated decrease in mIPSC frequency. These effects were observed in neurons subsequently identified as POMC neurons. These data reveal pronounced sex differences in how cannabinoids influence the hypothalamic control of homeostasis. PMID:19136814

Antimicrobial/cytolytic peptides from the venom of the North African scorpion, Androctonus amoreuxi: biochemical and functional characterization of natural peptides and a single site-substituted analog.

PubMed

Almaaytah, Ammar; Zhou, Mei; Wang, Lei; Chen, Tianbao; Walker, Brian; Shaw, Chris

2012-06-01

The venoms of scorpions are complex cocktails of polypeptide toxins that fall into two structural categories: those that contain cysteinyl residues with associated disulfide bridges and those that do not. As the majority of lethal toxins acting upon ion channels fall into the first category, most research has been focused there. Here we report the identification and structural characterization of two novel 18-mer antimicrobial peptides from the venom of the North African scorpion, Androctonus amoreuxi. Named AamAP1 and AamAP2, both peptides are C-terminally amidated and differ in primary structure at just two sites: Leu-->Pro at position 2 and Phe-->Ile at position 17. Synthetic replicates of both peptides exhibited a broad-spectrum of antimicrobial activity against a Gram-positive bacterium (Staphylococcus aureus), a Gram-negative bacterium (Escherichia coli) and a yeast (Candida albicans), at concentrations ranging between 20 μM and 150 μM. In this concentration range, both peptides produced significant degrees of hemolysis. A synthetic replicate of AamAP1 containing a single substitution (His-->Lys) at position 8, generated a peptide (AamAP-S1) with enhanced antimicrobial potency (3-5 μM) against the three test organisms and within this concentration range, hemolytic effects were negligible. In addition, this His-->Lys variant exhibited potent growth inhibitory activity (ID(50) 25-40 μm) against several human cancer cell lines and endothelial cells that was absent in both natural peptides. Natural bioactive peptide libraries, such as those that occur in scorpion venoms, thus constitute a unique source of novel lead compounds with drug development potential whose biological properties can be readily manipulated by simple synthetic chemical means. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

21 CFR 520.1720c - Phenylbutazone paste.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

.... (a) Specifications—(1) Each gram of paste contains 0.2 grams phenylbutazone. (2) Each gram of paste contains 0.35 grams phenylbutazone. (b) Sponsors. See sponsor numbers in § 510.600(c) of this chapter. (1...—(1) Amount. 1 to 2 grams of phenylbutazone per 500 pounds of body weight, not to exceed 4 grams daily...

78 FR 69992 - Withdrawal of Approval of New Animal Drug Applications; Carbarsone; Roxarsone

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-22

...) * * * Combinations in Roxarsone in grams per ton grams per ton Indications for use Limitations Sponsor (i) [Reserved...) * * * Combinations in Roxarsone in grams per ton grams per ton Indications for use Limitations Sponsor (i) [Reserved... Roxarsone in grams per ton grams per ton Indications for use Limitations Sponsor (i) [Reserved] (ii) 22.7 to...

21 CFR 520.1720c - Phenylbutazone paste.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

.... (a) Specifications—(1) Each gram of paste contains 0.2 grams phenylbutazone. (2) Each gram of paste contains 0.35 grams phenylbutazone. (b) Sponsors. See sponsor numbers in § 510.600(c) of this chapter. (1...—(1) Amount. 1 to 2 grams of phenylbutazone per 500 pounds of body weight, not to exceed 4 grams daily...

An optimized staining technique for the detection of Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria within tissue.

PubMed

Becerra, Sandra C; Roy, Daniel C; Sanchez, Carlos J; Christy, Robert J; Burmeister, David M

2016-04-12

Bacterial infections are a common clinical problem in both acute and chronic wounds. With growing concerns over antibiotic resistance, treatment of bacterial infections should only occur after positive diagnosis. Currently, diagnosis is delayed due to lengthy culturing methods which may also fail to identify the presence of bacteria. While newer costly bacterial identification methods are being explored, a simple and inexpensive diagnostic tool would aid in immediate and accurate treatments for bacterial infections. Histologically, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Gram stains have been employed, but are far from optimal when analyzing tissue samples due to non-specific staining. The goal of the current study was to develop a modification of the Gram stain that enhances the contrast between bacteria and host tissue. A modified Gram stain was developed and tested as an alternative to Gram stain that improves the contrast between Gram positive bacteria, Gram negative bacteria and host tissue. Initially, clinically relevant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus were visualized in vitro and in biopsies of infected, porcine burns using routine Gram stain, and immunohistochemistry techniques involving bacterial strain-specific fluorescent antibodies as validation tools. H&E and Gram stain of serial biopsy sections were then compared to a modification of the Gram stain incorporating a counterstain that highlights collagen found in tissue. The modified Gram stain clearly identified both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, and when compared to H&E or Gram stain alone provided excellent contrast between bacteria and non-viable burn eschar. Moreover, when applied to surgical biopsies from patients that underwent burn debridement this technique was able to clearly detect bacterial morphology within host tissue. We describe a modification of the Gram stain that provides improved contrast of Gram positive and Gram negative microorganisms within host tissue. The samples used in this study demonstrate that this staining technique has laboratory and clinical applicability. This modification only adds minutes to traditional Gram stain with reusable reagents, and results in a cost- and time-efficient technique for identifying bacteria in any clinical biopsy containing connective tissue.

The Causes of Post-Operative Meningitis: The Comparison Of Gram-Negative and Gram-Positive Pathogens.

PubMed

Kurtaran, Behice; Kuscu, Ferit; Ulu, Aslihan; Inal, Ayse Seza; Komur, Suheyla; Kibar, Filiz; Cetinalp, Nuri Eralp; Ozsoy, Kerem Mazhar; Arslan, Yusuf Kemal; Aksu, Hasan Salih; Tasova, Yesim

2017-06-20

In this study, we aim to determine the microbiological etiology in critically ill neurosurgical patients with nosocomial meningitis (NM) and show the impact of Gram-negative rods and differences of patient's characteristics, clinical and prognostic measures between Gram-negative and Gram-positive meningitis. In this prospective, one center study we reviewed all adult patients hospitalized during a 12-year period and identified pathogens isolated from post-neurosurgical cases of NM. Demographic, clinical, and treatment characteristics were noted from the medical records. Of the 134 bacterial NM patients, 78 were male and 56 were female, with a mean age of 46±15.9 and median age of 50 (18-80) years. 141 strains isolated; 82 (58.2%) were Gram negative, 59 (41.8%) were Gram positive. Most common isolated microorganism was Acinetobacter baumannii (%34.8). In comparison of mortality data shows that the patients who have meningitis with Gram-negative pathogens have higher mortality than with Gram positives (p=0.034). The duration between surgery and meningitis was shorter in Gram negative meningitis cases compared to others (p=0.045) but the duration between the diagnosis and death was shorter in Gram-positive meningitis cases compared to Gram negatives (p= 0.017). CSF protein and lactate level were higher and glucose level was lower in cases of NM with Gram negatives (p value were respectively, 0.022, 0.039 and 0.049). As conclusions; in NM, Gram-negative pathogens were seen more frequently; A.baumanni was the predominant pathogen; and NM caused by Gram negatives had worse clinical and laboratory characteristic and prognostic outcome than Gram positives.

Domain fusion analysis by applying relational algebra to protein sequence and domain databases

PubMed Central

Truong, Kevin; Ikura, Mitsuhiko

2003-01-01

Background Domain fusion analysis is a useful method to predict functionally linked proteins that may be involved in direct protein-protein interactions or in the same metabolic or signaling pathway. As separate domain databases like BLOCKS, PROSITE, Pfam, SMART, PRINTS-S, ProDom, TIGRFAMs, and amalgamated domain databases like InterPro continue to grow in size and quality, a computational method to perform domain fusion analysis that leverages on these efforts will become increasingly powerful. Results This paper proposes a computational method employing relational algebra to find domain fusions in protein sequence databases. The feasibility of this method was illustrated on the SWISS-PROT+TrEMBL sequence database using domain predictions from the Pfam HMM (hidden Markov model) database. We identified 235 and 189 putative functionally linked protein partners in H. sapiens and S. cerevisiae, respectively. From scientific literature, we were able to confirm many of these functional linkages, while the remainder offer testable experimental hypothesis. Results can be viewed at . Conclusion As the analysis can be computed quickly on any relational database that supports standard SQL (structured query language), it can be dynamically updated along with the sequence and domain databases, thereby improving the quality of predictions over time. PMID:12734020

Is the gram stain useful in the microbiologic diagnosis of VAP? A meta-analysis.

PubMed

O'Horo, John C; Thompson, Deb; Safdar, Nasia

2012-08-01

In a meta-analysis examining respiratory specimen Gram stain for diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia, absence of bacteria on Gram stain had a high negative predictive value, but a positive Gram stain correlated poorly with organisms recovered in culture. Rapid and accurate diagnosis of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a major challenge and no generally accepted gold standard exists for VAP diagnosis. We conducted a meta-analysis to examine the role of respiratory specimen Gram stain to diagnose VAP, and the correlation with final culture results. In 21 studies, pooled sensitivity of Gram stain for VAP was 0.79 (95% confidence interval [CI], .77-0.81; P < .0001) and specificity was 0.75 (95% CI, .73-.78; P < .0001). Negative predictive value of Gram stain for a VAP prevalence of 20%-30% was 91%, suggesting that VAP is unlikely with a negative Gram stain but the positive predictive value of Gram stain was only 40%. Pooled kappa was 0.42 for gram-positive organisms and 0.34 for gram-negative organisms, suggesting fair concordance between organisms on Gram stain and recovery by culture. Therefore, a positive Gram stain should not be used to narrow anti-infective therapy until culture results become available.

21 CFR 520.1660d - Oxytetracycline powder.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

....14 grams of powder contains 1 gram of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC HCl) (packets: 4, 6.4, and 16 oz.). (2) Each 4.43 grams of powder contains 1 gram of OTC HCl (packets: 4 and 16 oz.). (3) Each 1.32 grams of powder contains 1 gram of OTC HCl (packets: 2.39, 4.78, and 9.55 oz.; jars: 2.25 lbs...

21 CFR 558.355 - Monensin.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... only), 44, 45, 60, or 90.7 grams per pound for use as in paragraphs (f)(1)(i) and (f)(4) of this section. (2) To 000986: 110 grams per lb., paragraphs (f)(1) (i), (iii), (iv), (v), (ix), and (x). (3) To 000986: 44 grams per lb. with 18 grams per lb. of roxarsone, 110 grams per lb. with 45 grams per lb. of...

21 CFR 520.1660d - Oxytetracycline powder.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

....14 grams of powder contains 1 gram of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC HCl) (packets: 4, 6.4, and 16 oz.). (2) Each 4.43 grams of powder contains 1 gram of OTC HCl (packets: 4 and 16 oz.). (3) Each 1.32 grams of powder contains 1 gram of OTC HCl (packets: 2.39, 4.78, and 9.55 oz.; jars: 2.25 lbs...

21 CFR 520.1660d - Oxytetracycline powder.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

....14 grams of powder contains 1 gram of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC HCl) (packets: 4, 6.4, and 16 oz.). (2) Each 4.43 grams of powder contains 1 gram of OTC HCl (packets: 4 and 16 oz.). (3) Each 1.32 grams of powder contains 1 gram of OTC HCl (packets: 2.39, 4.78, and 9.55 oz.; jars: 2.25 lbs...

21 CFR 520.1660d - Oxytetracycline powder.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

....14 grams of powder contains 1 gram of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC HCl) (packets: 4, 6.4, and 16 oz.). (2) Each 4.43 grams of powder contains 1 gram of OTC HCl (packets: 4 and 16 oz.). (3) Each 1.32 grams of powder contains 1 gram of OTC HCl (packets: 2.39, 4.78, and 9.55 oz.; jars: 2.25 lbs...

21 CFR 520.1660d - Oxytetracycline powder.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

....14 grams of powder contains 1 gram of oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC HCl) (packets: 4, 6.4, and 16 oz.). (2) Each 4.43 grams of powder contains 1 gram of OTC HCl (packets: 4 and 16 oz.). (3) Each 1.32 grams of powder contains 1 gram of OTC HCl (packets: 2.39, 4.78, and 9.55 oz.; jars: 2.25 lbs...

Simultaneous Fluorescent Gram Staining and Activity Assessment of Activated Sludge Bacteria

PubMed Central

Forster, Scott; Snape, Jason R.; Lappin-Scott, Hilary M.; Porter, Jonathan

2002-01-01

Wastewater treatment is one of the most important commercial biotechnological processes, and yet the component bacterial populations and their associated metabolic activities are poorly understood. The novel fluorescent dye hexidium iodide allows assessment of Gram status by differential absorption through bacterial cell walls. Differentiation between gram-positive and gram-negative wastewater bacteria was achieved after flow cytometric analysis. This study shows that the relative proportions of gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial cells identified by traditional microscopy and hexidium iodide staining were not significantly different. Dual staining of cells for Gram status and activity proved effective in analyzing mixtures of cultured bacteria and wastewater populations. Levels of highly active organisms at two wastewater treatment plants, both gram positive and gram negative, ranged from 1.5% in activated sludge flocs to 16% in the activated sludge fluid. Gram-positive organisms comprised <5% of the total bacterial numbers but accounted for 19 and 55% of the highly active organisms within flocs at the two plants. Assessment of Gram status and activity within activated sludge samples over a 4-day period showed significant differences over time. This method provides a rapid, quantitative measure of Gram status linked with in situ activity within wastewater systems. PMID:12324319

Simultaneous fluorescent gram staining and activity assessment of activated sludge bacteria.

PubMed

Forster, Scott; Snape, Jason R; Lappin-Scott, Hilary M; Porter, Jonathan

2002-10-01

Wastewater treatment is one of the most important commercial biotechnological processes, and yet the component bacterial populations and their associated metabolic activities are poorly understood. The novel fluorescent dye hexidium iodide allows assessment of Gram status by differential absorption through bacterial cell walls. Differentiation between gram-positive and gram-negative wastewater bacteria was achieved after flow cytometric analysis. This study shows that the relative proportions of gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial cells identified by traditional microscopy and hexidium iodide staining were not significantly different. Dual staining of cells for Gram status and activity proved effective in analyzing mixtures of cultured bacteria and wastewater populations. Levels of highly active organisms at two wastewater treatment plants, both gram positive and gram negative, ranged from 1.5% in activated sludge flocs to 16% in the activated sludge fluid. Gram-positive organisms comprised <5% of the total bacterial numbers but accounted for 19 and 55% of the highly active organisms within flocs at the two plants. Assessment of Gram status and activity within activated sludge samples over a 4-day period showed significant differences over time. This method provides a rapid, quantitative measure of Gram status linked with in situ activity within wastewater systems.

Neural speech recognition: continuous phoneme decoding using spatiotemporal representations of human cortical activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moses, David A.; Mesgarani, Nima; Leonard, Matthew K.; Chang, Edward F.

2016-10-01

Objective. The superior temporal gyrus (STG) and neighboring brain regions play a key role in human language processing. Previous studies have attempted to reconstruct speech information from brain activity in the STG, but few of them incorporate the probabilistic framework and engineering methodology used in modern speech recognition systems. In this work, we describe the initial efforts toward the design of a neural speech recognition (NSR) system that performs continuous phoneme recognition on English stimuli with arbitrary vocabulary sizes using the high gamma band power of local field potentials in the STG and neighboring cortical areas obtained via electrocorticography. Approach. The system implements a Viterbi decoder that incorporates phoneme likelihood estimates from a linear discriminant analysis model and transition probabilities from an n-gram phonemic language model. Grid searches were used in an attempt to determine optimal parameterizations of the feature vectors and Viterbi decoder. Main results. The performance of the system was significantly improved by using spatiotemporal representations of the neural activity (as opposed to purely spatial representations) and by including language modeling and Viterbi decoding in the NSR system. Significance. These results emphasize the importance of modeling the temporal dynamics of neural responses when analyzing their variations with respect to varying stimuli and demonstrate that speech recognition techniques can be successfully leveraged when decoding speech from neural signals. Guided by the results detailed in this work, further development of the NSR system could have applications in the fields of automatic speech recognition and neural prosthetics.

40 CFR 86.098-10 - Emission standards for 1998 and later model year Otto-cycle heavy-duty engines and vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

....1 grams per brake horsepower-hour (0.41 gram per megajoule), as measured under transient operating conditions. (B) Carbon monoxide. (1) 14.4 grams per brake horsepower-hour (5.36 grams per megajoule), as... flow at curb idle. (C) Oxides of nitrogen (1) 4.0 grams per brake horsepower-hour (1.49 grams per...

40 CFR 86.098-10 - Emission standards for 1998 and later model year Otto-cycle heavy-duty engines and vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

....1 grams per brake horsepower-hour (0.41 gram per megajoule), as measured under transient operating conditions. (B) Carbon monoxide. (1) 14.4 grams per brake horsepower-hour (5.36 grams per megajoule), as... flow at curb idle. (C) Oxides of nitrogen (1) 4.0 grams per brake horsepower-hour (1.49 grams per...

40 CFR 86.098-10 - Emission standards for 1998 and later model year Otto-cycle heavy-duty engines and vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

....1 grams per brake horsepower-hour (0.41 gram per megajoule), as measured under transient operating conditions. (B) Carbon monoxide. (1) 14.4 grams per brake horsepower-hour (5.36 grams per megajoule), as... flow at curb idle. (C) Oxides of nitrogen (1) 4.0 grams per brake horsepower-hour (1.49 grams per...

40 CFR 86.098-10 - Emission standards for 1998 and later model year Otto-cycle heavy-duty engines and vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

....1 grams per brake horsepower-hour (0.41 gram per megajoule), as measured under transient operating conditions. (B) Carbon monoxide. (1) 14.4 grams per brake horsepower-hour (5.36 grams per megajoule), as... flow at curb idle. (C) Oxides of nitrogen (1) 4.0 grams per brake horsepower-hour (1.49 grams per...

Rapid Discrimination of Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria in Liquid Samples by Using NaOH-Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Solution and Flow Cytometry

PubMed Central

Wada, Atsushi; Kono, Mari; Kawauchi, Sawako; Takagi, Yuri; Morikawa, Takashi; Funakoshi, Kunihiro

2012-01-01

Background For precise diagnosis of urinary tract infections (UTI), and selection of the appropriate prescriptions for their treatment, we explored a simple and rapid method of discriminating gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in liquid samples. Methodology/Principal Findings We employed the NaOH-sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution conventionally used for plasmid extraction from Escherichia coli and the automated urine particle analyzer UF-1000i (Sysmex Corporation) for our novel method. The NaOH-SDS solution was used to determine differences in the cell wall structures between gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, since the tolerance to such chemicals reflects the thickness and structural differences of bacterial cell walls. The UF-1000i instrument was used as a quantitative bacterial counter. We found that gram-negative bacteria, including E. coli, in liquid culture could easily be lysed by direct addition of equal volumes of NaOH-SDS solution. In contrast, Enterococcus faecalis, which is a gram-positive bacterium, could not be completely lysed by the solution. We then optimized the reaction time of the NaOH-SDS treatment at room temperature by using 3 gram-positive and 4 gram-negative bacterial strains and determined that the optimum reaction time was 5 min. Finally, in order to evaluate the generalizability of this method, we treated 8 gram-positive strains and 8 gram-negative strains, or 4 gram-positive and 4 gram-negative strains incubated in voluntary urine from healthy volunteers in the same way and demonstrated that all the gram-positive bacteria were discriminated quantitatively from gram negative bacteria using this method. Conclusions/Significance Using our new method, we could easily discriminate gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in liquid culture media within 10 min. This simple and rapid method may be useful for determining the treatment course of patients with UTIs, especially for those without a prior history of UTIs. The method may be easily applied in order to obtain additional information for clinical prescriptions from bacteriuria. PMID:23077549

Monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis in a single center: the emergence of Gram-negative bacteria as a common pathogen.

PubMed

Yahav, D; Duskin-Bitan, H; Eliakim-Raz, N; Ben-Zvi, H; Shaked, H; Goldberg, E; Bishara, J

2014-11-01

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a life-threatening soft tissue infection. It is usually caused by Streptococcus pyogenes and other Gram-positive bacteria. Several reports, however, emphasize the importance of Gram-negative rods in this infection. We retrospectively studied all cases of monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis hospitalized in our center during the years 2002-2012. We compared clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with Gram-negative versus Gram-positive infection. Forty-five cases were reviewed, 19 caused by Gram-negative organisms, 10 of them Escherichia coli, and 26 caused by Gram-positive organisms, 10 of them S. pyogenes. Compared to Gram-positive infections, patients with Gram-negative infections were more likely to have a baseline malignancy (9/19, 47.4%) or to have undergone recent surgery (4/19, 42.3%). The 30-day mortality was higher among Gram-negative infected patients (8/19, 42.1% vs. 8/26, 30.8%). Creatine phosphokinase (CPK) was elevated in a minority of patients with Gram-negative necrotizing fasciitis, and its absolute value was lower than in Gram-positive necrotizing fasciitis. In our center, 42% of monomicrobial necrotizing fasciitis cases were found to be caused by Gram-negative organisms, mostly E. coli. These infections usually appeared in immunocompromised or postoperative patients, often presented with normal CPK levels, and were associated with high mortality rates.

Natriuretic peptides and integrated risk assessment for cardiovascular disease: an individual-participant-data meta-analysis.

PubMed

Natriuretic Peptides Studies Collaboration; Willeit, Peter; Kaptoge, Stephen; Welsh, Paul; Butterworth, Adam; Chowdhury, Rajiv; Spackman, Sarah; Pennells, Lisa; Gao, Pei; Burgess, Stephen; Freitag, Daniel; Sweeting, Michael; Wood, Angela; Cook, Nancy; Judd, Suzanne; Trompet, Stella; Nambi, Vijay; Olsen, Michael; Everett, Brendan; Kee, Frank; Ärnlöv, Johan; Salomaa, Veikko; Levy, Daniel; Kauhanen, Jussi; Laukkanen, Jari; Kavousi, Maryam; Ninomiya, Toshiharu; Casas, Juan-Pablo; Daniels, Lori; Lind, Lars; Kistorp, Caroline; Rosenberg, Jens; Mueller, Thomas; Rubattu, Speranza; Panagiotakos, Demosthenes; Franco, Oscar; de Lemos, James; Luchner, Andreas; Kizer, Jorge; Kiechl, Stefan; Salonen, Jukka; Goya Wannamethee, S; de Boer, Rudolf; Nordestgaard, Børge; Andersson, Jonas; Jørgensen, Torben; Melander, Olle; Ballantyne, Christie; DeFilippi, Christopher; Ridker, Paul; Cushman, Mary; Rosamond, Wayne; Thompson, Simon; Gudnason, Vilmundur; Sattar, Naveed; Danesh, John; Di Angelantonio, Emanuele

2016-10-01

Guidelines for primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases focus on prediction of coronary heart disease and stroke. We assessed whether or not measurement of N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) concentration could enable a more integrated approach than at present by predicting heart failure and enhancing coronary heart disease and stroke risk assessment. In this individual-participant-data meta-analysis, we generated and harmonised individual-participant data from relevant prospective studies via both de-novo NT-proBNP concentration measurement of stored samples and collection of data from studies identified through a systematic search of the literature (PubMed, Scientific Citation Index Expanded, and Embase) for articles published up to Sept 4, 2014, using search terms related to natriuretic peptide family members and the primary outcomes, with no language restrictions. We calculated risk ratios and measures of risk discrimination and reclassification across predicted 10 year risk categories (ie, <5%, 5% to <7·5%, and ≥7·5%), adding assessment of NT-proBNP concentration to that of conventional risk factors (ie, age, sex, smoking status, systolic blood pressure, history of diabetes, and total and HDL cholesterol concentrations). Primary outcomes were the combination of coronary heart disease and stroke, and the combination of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure. We recorded 5500 coronary heart disease, 4002 stroke, and 2212 heart failure outcomes among 95 617 participants without a history of cardiovascular disease in 40 prospective studies. Risk ratios (for a comparison of the top third vs bottom third of NT-proBNP concentrations, adjusted for conventional risk factors) were 1·76 (95% CI 1·56-1·98) for the combination of coronary heart disease and stroke and 2·00 (1·77-2·26) for the combination of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure. Addition of information about NT-proBNP concentration to a model containing conventional risk factors was associated with a C-index increase of 0·012 (0·010-0·014) and a net reclassification improvement of 0·027 (0·019-0·036) for the combination of coronary heart disease and stroke and a C-index increase of 0·019 (0·016-0·022) and a net reclassification improvement of 0·028 (0·019-0·038) for the combination of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure. In people without baseline cardiovascular disease, NT-proBNP concentration assessment strongly predicted first-onset heart failure and augmented coronary heart disease and stroke prediction, suggesting that NT-proBNP concentration assessment could be used to integrate heart failure into cardiovascular disease primary prevention. British Heart Foundation, Austrian Science Fund, UK Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, European Research Council, and European Commission Framework Programme 7. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Neuroepidemiology of major neurological disorders in rural Bengal.

PubMed

Das, S K; Sanyal, K

1996-01-01

A Neuroepidemiological survey was carried at Malda district, 350 Km away from Calcutta; exactly at midpoint between Siliguri and Calcutta on a rural population of 37,286 (M 18,057; F 19,229; 1981 Census) under three Gram Panchayat areas with the help of non-professionals like Gram Panchayat members, ICDS workers, multipurpose health workers and motivated local youths, based on W.H.O. protocol (1981). House to house survey was carried out. Sensitivity reached 90 and Specificity 86. Total 961 individuals with neurological problems were screened and classified according to simple, but well defined criteria. Single disease was seen in 857 patients and 104 patients had double disease. Crude prevalence rate stands at ( 2856.26 per 1,00,000), epilepsy (305 per 1,00,000), vertigo (24.45 per 1,00,000), mental retardation (42.90 per 1,00,000), paralytic poliomyelitis (53.63 per, 1,00,000), movement disorders (26.81 per 1,00,000), spinal cord disorders (21 per 1,00,000), motor neurone disease (2.7 pre 1,00,000), development of speech and language (34 per 1,00,000). Age specific prevalence disease showed progressive increase in rate with advancing age upto 4th decade followed by a slightly decrease plateau upto 60 years of age and then sharp decline. Age and sex specific disease prevalence shows female dominance with maximum cases in 4th decade.

Programming biological models in Python using PySB.

PubMed

Lopez, Carlos F; Muhlich, Jeremy L; Bachman, John A; Sorger, Peter K

2013-01-01

Mathematical equations are fundamental to modeling biological networks, but as networks get large and revisions frequent, it becomes difficult to manage equations directly or to combine previously developed models. Multiple simultaneous efforts to create graphical standards, rule-based languages, and integrated software workbenches aim to simplify biological modeling but none fully meets the need for transparent, extensible, and reusable models. In this paper we describe PySB, an approach in which models are not only created using programs, they are programs. PySB draws on programmatic modeling concepts from little b and ProMot, the rule-based languages BioNetGen and Kappa and the growing library of Python numerical tools. Central to PySB is a library of macros encoding familiar biochemical actions such as binding, catalysis, and polymerization, making it possible to use a high-level, action-oriented vocabulary to construct detailed models. As Python programs, PySB models leverage tools and practices from the open-source software community, substantially advancing our ability to distribute and manage the work of testing biochemical hypotheses. We illustrate these ideas using new and previously published models of apoptosis.

Programming biological models in Python using PySB

PubMed Central

Lopez, Carlos F; Muhlich, Jeremy L; Bachman, John A; Sorger, Peter K

2013-01-01

Mathematical equations are fundamental to modeling biological networks, but as networks get large and revisions frequent, it becomes difficult to manage equations directly or to combine previously developed models. Multiple simultaneous efforts to create graphical standards, rule-based languages, and integrated software workbenches aim to simplify biological modeling but none fully meets the need for transparent, extensible, and reusable models. In this paper we describe PySB, an approach in which models are not only created using programs, they are programs. PySB draws on programmatic modeling concepts from little b and ProMot, the rule-based languages BioNetGen and Kappa and the growing library of Python numerical tools. Central to PySB is a library of macros encoding familiar biochemical actions such as binding, catalysis, and polymerization, making it possible to use a high-level, action-oriented vocabulary to construct detailed models. As Python programs, PySB models leverage tools and practices from the open-source software community, substantially advancing our ability to distribute and manage the work of testing biochemical hypotheses. We illustrate these ideas using new and previously published models of apoptosis. PMID:23423320

Minimization of Food Cost on 2000-Calorie Diabetic Diet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urrutia, J. D.; Mercado, J.; Tampis, R. L.

2017-03-01

This study focuses on minimization of food cost that satisfies the daily nutrients required based on 2000-calorie diet for a diabetic person. This paper attempts to provide a food combination that satisfies the daily nutrient requirements of a diabetic person and its lowest possible dietary food cost. A linear programming diet model is used to determine the cheapest combination of food items that satisfy the recommended daily nutritional requirements of the diabetic persons. According to the findings, a 50 year old and above diabetic male need to spend a minimum of 72.22 pesos for foods that satisfy the daily nutrients they need. In order to attain the minimum spending, the foods must consist of 60.49 grams of anchovy, 91.24 grams of carrot, 121.92 grams of durian, 121.41 grams of chicken egg, 70.82 grams of pork (lean), and 369.70 grams of rice (well-milled). For a 50 year old and above diabetic female, the minimum spending is 64.65 pesos per day and the food must consist of 75.87 grams of anchovy, 43.38 grams of carrot, 160.46 grams of durian, 69.66 grams of chicken egg, 23.16 grams of pork (lean) and 416.19 grams of rice (well-milled).

Bacteremic complications of intravascular catheter tip colonization with Gram-negative micro-organisms in patients without preceding bacteremia.

PubMed

van Eck van der Sluijs, A; Oosterheert, J J; Ekkelenkamp, M B; Hoepelman, I M; Peters, Edgar J G

2012-06-01

Although Gram-negative micro-organisms are frequently associated with catheter-related bloodstream infections, the prognostic value and clinical implication of a positive catheter tip culture with Gram-negative micro-organisms without preceding bacteremia remains unclear. We determined the outcomes of patients with intravascular catheters colonized with these micro-organisms, without preceding positive blood cultures, and identified risk factors for the development of subsequent Gram-negative bacteremia. All patients with positive intravascular catheter tip cultures with Gram-negative micro-organisms at the University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands, between 2005 and 2009, were retrospectively studied. Patients with Gram-negative bacteremia within 48 h before catheter removal were excluded. The main outcome measure was bacteremia with Gram-negative micro-organisms. Other endpoints were length of the hospital stay, in-hospital mortality, secondary complications of Gram-negative bacteremia, and duration of intensive care admission. A total of 280 catheters from 248 patients were colonized with Gram-negative micro-organisms. Sixty-seven cases were excluded because of preceding positive blood cultures, leaving 213 catheter tips from 181 patients for analysis. In 40 (19%) cases, subsequent Gram-negative bacteremia developed. In multivariate analysis, arterial catheters were independently associated with subsequent Gram-negative bacteremia (odds ratio [OR] = 5.00, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.20-20.92), as was selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) (OR = 2.47, 95% CI: 1.07-5.69). Gram-negative bacteremia in patients who received SDD was predominantly caused by cefotaxime (part of the SDD)-resistant organisms. Mortality was significantly higher in the group with subsequent Gram-negative bacteremia (35% versus 20%, OR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.00-4.49). Patients with a catheter tip colonized with Gram-negative micro-organisms had a high chance of subsequent Gram-negative bacteremia from any cause. This may be clinically relevant, as starting antibiotic treatment pre-emptively in high-risk patients with Gram-negative micro-organisms cultured from arterial intravenous catheters may be beneficial.

Biotechnology: the language of multiple views in Māori communities.

PubMed

Te Momo, O H Fiona

2007-09-01

In Aotearoa (New Zealand), the government funded studies on communicating biotechnology to different sectors in the community from 2003 to 2006. Subsequently, a researcher covering the Māori sector performed a content analysis of data gathered in the community. Qualitative analysis methods included examining text from participant interviews, focus groups, government documents, newspapers, Internet sites, and current literature. Content was coded by identifying common themes in the English and the Māori language. Words like genetic modification (GM), genetic engineering (GE), and biotechnology were explained to provide a basic understanding between the communities and researcher. The terminology applied in the research was essential to achieve communication between the researcher and the community. The resultant themes represented seven views to interpret the communities association with biotechnology: purist Māori, religious Māori, anti Māori, pro Māori, no Māori, uncertain Māori, and middle Māori views. The themes are taken from the analysis of data compiled after 3 years of completing different stages of a research project. The views indicate that a common understanding can be achieved in the diverse range of Māori tribal communities providing those communicating biotechnology can identify the view and interpretations communities associate with biotechnology. This knowledge is essential for government agencies, researchers, community practitioners, scientist, and businesses that desire to dialogue with Māori communities in the language of biotechnology.

21 CFR 172.802 - Acetone peroxides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... grams to 10 grams of hydrogen peroxide equivalent per 100 grams of the additive, plus carrier, for use in flour maturing and bleaching; or (2) approximately 0.75 gram of hydrogen peroxide equivalent per 100 grams of the additive, plus carrier, for use in dough conditioning. (c) It is used or intended for...

21 CFR 172.802 - Acetone peroxides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... grams to 10 grams of hydrogen peroxide equivalent per 100 grams of the additive, plus carrier, for use in flour maturing and bleaching; or (2) approximately 0.75 gram of hydrogen peroxide equivalent per 100 grams of the additive, plus carrier, for use in dough conditioning. (c) It is used or intended for...

21 CFR 172.802 - Acetone peroxides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... grams to 10 grams of hydrogen peroxide equivalent per 100 grams of the additive, plus carrier, for use in flour maturing and bleaching; or (2) approximately 0.75 gram of hydrogen peroxide equivalent per 100 grams of the additive, plus carrier, for use in dough conditioning. (c) It is used or intended for...

21 CFR 172.802 - Acetone peroxides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... grams to 10 grams of hydrogen peroxide equivalent per 100 grams of the additive, plus carrier, for use in flour maturing and bleaching; or (2) approximately 0.75 gram of hydrogen peroxide equivalent per 100 grams of the additive, plus carrier, for use in dough conditioning. (c) It is used or intended for...

Techniques for controlling variability in gram staining of obligate anaerobes.

PubMed Central

Johnson, M J; Thatcher, E; Cox, M E

1995-01-01

Identification of anaerobes recovered from clinical samples is complicated by the fact that certain gram-positive anaerobes routinely stain gram negative; Peptostreptococcus asaccharolyticus, Eubacterium plautii, Clostridium ramosum, Clostridium symbiosum, and Clostridium clostridiiforme are among the nonconformists with regard to conventional Gram-staining procedures. Accurate Gram staining of American Type Culture Collection strains of these anaerobic bacteria is possible by implementing fixing and staining techniques within a gloveless anaerobic chamber. Under anaerobic conditions, gram-positive staining occurred in all test organisms with "quick" fixing techniques with both absolute methanol and formalin. The results support the hypothesis that, when anaerobic bacteria are exposed to oxygen, a breakdown of the physical integrity of the cell wall occurs, introducing Gram stain variability in gram-positive anaerobes. PMID:7538512

Higher platelet reactivity and platelet-monocyte complex formation in Gram-positive sepsis compared to Gram-negative sepsis.

PubMed

Tunjungputri, Rahajeng N; van de Heijden, Wouter; Urbanus, Rolf T; de Groot, Philip G; van der Ven, Andre; de Mast, Quirijn

2017-09-01

Platelets may play a role in the high risk for vascular complications in Gram-positive sepsis. We compared the platelet reactivity of 15 patients with Gram-positive sepsis, 17 with Gram-negative sepsis and 20 healthy controls using a whole blood flow cytometry-based assay. Patients with Gram-positive sepsis had the highest median fluorescence intensity (MFI) of the platelet membrane expression of P-selectin upon stimulation with high dose adenosine diphosphate (ADP; P = 0.002 vs. Gram-negative and P = 0.005 vs. control groups) and cross-linked collagen-related peptide (CRP-XL; P = 0.02 vs. Gram-negative and P = 0.0001 vs. control groups). The Gram-positive group also demonstrated significantly higher ADP-induced fibrinogen binding (P = 0.001), as wll as platelet-monocyte complex formation (P = 0.02), compared to the Gram-negative group and had the highest plasma levels of platelet factor 4, β-thromboglobulin and soluble P-selectin. In contrast, thrombin-antithrombin complex and C-reactive protein levels were comparable in both patient groups. In conclusion, common Gram-positive pathogens induce platelet hyperreactivity, which may contribute to a higher risk for vascular complications.

Measuring the Level of Agreement Between Cloacal Gram's Stains and Bacterial Cultures in Hispaniolan Amazon Parrots ( Amazona ventralis ).

PubMed

Evans, Erika E; Mitchell, Mark A; Whittington, Julia K; Roy, Alma; Tully, Thomas N

2014-12-01

Cloacal or fecal Gram's stains and bacterial cultures are routinely performed during avian physical examinations to assess the microbial flora of the gastrointestinal tract. Although cloacal or fecal Gram's stains and bacterial cultures are considered routine diagnostic procedures, the level of agreement between the individual tests has not been determined. To investigate the level of agreement between results from Gram's stain and bacterial culture when used to assess cloacal or fecal samples from psittacine birds, samples were taken from 21 clinically healthy Hispaniolan Amazon parrots ( Amazona ventralis ) and tested by Gram's stain cytology and bacterial culture. Most bacteria (97.2%) identified by Gram's stain were gram positive. However, gram-negative organisms were identified in 7 of 21 (33.3%; 95% confidence interval: 13.3%-53.3%) birds. Escherichia coli was the only gram-negative organism identified on culture. Agreement between results of Gram's stain and culture was fair (weighted κ = 0.27). The results of this study suggest that Gram's stains and bacterial culture may need to be performed with a parallel testing strategy to limit the likelihood of misclassifying the microbial flora of psittacine patients.

Systemic Chemical Desensitization of Peptidergic Sensory Neurons with Resiniferatoxin Inhibits Experimental Periodontitis

PubMed Central

Breivik, Torbjørn; Gundersen, Yngvar; Gjermo, Per; Fristad, Inge; Opstad, Per Kristian

2011-01-01

Background and objective: The immune system is an important player in the pathophysiology of periodontitis. The brain controls immune responses via neural and hormonal pathways, and brain-neuro-endocrine dysregulation may be a central determinant for pathogenesis. Our current knowledge also emphasizes the central role of sensory nerves. In line with this, we wanted to investigate how desensitization of peptidergic sensory neurons influences the progression of ligature-induced periodontitis, and, furthermore, how selected cytokine and stress hormone responses to Gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation are affected. Material and methods: Resiniferatoxin (RTX; 50 μg/kg) or vehicle was injected subcutaneously on days 1, 2, and 3 in stress high responding and periodontitis-susceptible Fischer 344 rats. Periodontitis was induced 2 days thereafter. Progression of the disease was assessed after the ligatures had been in place for 20 days. Two h before decapitation all rats received LPS (150 μg/kg i.p.) to induce a robust immune and stress response. Results: Desensitization with RTX significantly reduced bone loss as measured by digital X-rays. LPS provoked a significantly higher increase in serum levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, but lower serum levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-10 and the stress hormone corticosterone. Conclusions: In this model RTX-induced chemical desensitization of sensory peptidergic neurons attenuated ligature-induced periodontitis and promoted a shift towards stronger pro-inflammatory cytokine and weaker stress hormone responses to LPS. The results may partly be explained by the attenuated transmission of immuno-inflammatory signals to the brain. In turn, this may weaken the anti-inflammatory brain-derived pathways. PMID:21339860

Homology modeling and in silico prediction of Ulcerative colitis associated polymorphisms of NOD1.

PubMed

Majumdar, Ishani; Nagpal, Isha; Paul, Jaishree

2017-10-01

Cytosolic pattern recognition receptors play key roles in innate immune response. Nucleotide binding and oligomerisation domain containing protein 1 (NOD1) belonging to the Nod-like receptor C (NLRC) sub-family of Nod-like receptors (NLRs) is important for detection and clearance of intra-cellular Gram negative bacteria. NOD1 is involved in activation of pro-inflammatory pathways. Limited structural data is available for NOD1. Using different templates for each domain of NOD1, we determined the full-length homology model of NOD1. ADP binding amino acids within the nucleotide binding domain (NBD) of NOD1 were also predicted. Key residues in inter-domain interaction were identified by sequence comparison with Oryctolagus cuniculus NOD2, a related protein. Interactions between NBD and winged helix domain (WHD) were found to be conserved in NOD1. Functional and structural effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms within the NOD1 NBD domain associated with susceptibility risk to Ulcerative colitis (UC), an inflammatory disorder of the colon was evaluated by in silico studies. Mutations W219R and L349P were predicted to be damaging and disease associated by prediction programs SIFT, PolyPhen2, PANTHER, SNP&GO, PhD SNP and SNAP2. We further validated the effect of W219R and L349P mutation on NOD1 function in vitro. Elevated mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL8 and IL-1β was seen as compared to the wild type NOD1 in intestinal epithelial cell line HT29 when stimulated with NOD1 ligand. Thus, these mutations may indeed have a bearing on pathogenesis of inflammation during UC. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structural Basis of Glyphosate Resistance Resulting from the Double Mutation Thr97 → Ile and Pro101 → Ser in 5-Enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate Synthase from Escherichia coli*S⃞

PubMed Central

Funke, Todd; Yang, Yan; Han, Huijong; Healy-Fried, Martha; Olesen, Sanne; Becker, Andreas; Schönbrunn, Ernst

2009-01-01

The shikimate pathway enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) is the target of the broad spectrum herbicide glyphosate. The genetic engineering of EPSPS led to the introduction of glyphosate-resistant crops worldwide. The genetically engineered corn lines NK603 and GA21 carry distinct EPSPS enzymes. CP4 EPSPS, expressed in NK603 corn and transgenic soybean, cotton, and canola, belongs to class II EPSPS, glyphosate-insensitive variants of this enzyme isolated from certain Gram-positive bacteria. GA21 corn, on the other hand, was created by point mutations of class I EPSPS, such as the enzymes from Zea mays or Escherichia coli, which are sensitive to low glyphosate concentrations. The structural basis of the glyphosate resistance resulting from these point mutations has remained obscure. We studied the kinetic and structural effects of the T97I/P101S double mutation, the molecular basis for GA21 corn, using EPSPS from E. coli. The T97I/P101S enzyme is essentially insensitive to glyphosate (Ki = 2.4 mm) but maintains high affinity for the substrate phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) (Km = 0.1 mm). The crystal structure at 1.7-Å resolution revealed that the dual mutation causes a shift of residue Gly96 toward the glyphosate binding site, impairing efficient binding of glyphosate, while the side chain of Ile97 points away from the substrate binding site, facilitating PEP utilization. The single site T97I mutation renders the enzyme sensitive to glyphosate and causes a substantial decrease in the affinity for PEP. Thus, only the concomitant mutations of Thr97 and Pro101 induce the conformational changes necessary to produce catalytically efficient, glyphosate-resistant class I EPSPS. PMID:19211556

Structural basis of glyphosate resistance resulting from the double mutation Thr97 -> Ile and Pro101 -> Ser in 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase from Escherichia coli.

PubMed

Funke, Todd; Yang, Yan; Han, Huijong; Healy-Fried, Martha; Olesen, Sanne; Becker, Andreas; Schönbrunn, Ernst

2009-04-10

The shikimate pathway enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) is the target of the broad spectrum herbicide glyphosate. The genetic engineering of EPSPS led to the introduction of glyphosate-resistant crops worldwide. The genetically engineered corn lines NK603 and GA21 carry distinct EPSPS enzymes. CP4 EPSPS, expressed in NK603 corn and transgenic soybean, cotton, and canola, belongs to class II EPSPS, glyphosate-insensitive variants of this enzyme isolated from certain Gram-positive bacteria. GA21 corn, on the other hand, was created by point mutations of class I EPSPS, such as the enzymes from Zea mays or Escherichia coli, which are sensitive to low glyphosate concentrations. The structural basis of the glyphosate resistance resulting from these point mutations has remained obscure. We studied the kinetic and structural effects of the T97I/P101S double mutation, the molecular basis for GA21 corn, using EPSPS from E. coli. The T97I/P101S enzyme is essentially insensitive to glyphosate (K(i) = 2.4 mm) but maintains high affinity for the substrate phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) (K(m) = 0.1 mm). The crystal structure at 1.7-A resolution revealed that the dual mutation causes a shift of residue Gly(96) toward the glyphosate binding site, impairing efficient binding of glyphosate, while the side chain of Ile(97) points away from the substrate binding site, facilitating PEP utilization. The single site T97I mutation renders the enzyme sensitive to glyphosate and causes a substantial decrease in the affinity for PEP. Thus, only the concomitant mutations of Thr(97) and Pro(101) induce the conformational changes necessary to produce catalytically efficient, glyphosate-resistant class I EPSPS.

Gram-negative diabetic foot osteomyelitis: risk factors and clinical presentation.

PubMed

Aragón-Sánchez, Javier; Lipsky, Benjamin A; Lázaro-Martínez, Jose L

2013-03-01

Osteomyelitis frequently complicates infections in the feet of patients with diabetes. Gram-positive cocci, especially Staphylococcus aureus, are the most commonly isolated pathogens, but gram-negative bacteria also cause some cases of diabetic foot osteomyelitis (DFO). These gram-negatives require different antibiotic regimens than those commonly directed at gram-positives. There are, however, few data on factors related to their presence and how they influence the clinical picture. We conducted a retrospective study to determine the variables associated with the isolation of gram-negative bacteria from bone samples in cases of DFO and the clinical presentation of these infections. Among 341 cases of DFO, 150 had a gram-negative isolate (alone or combined with a gram-positive isolate) comprising 44.0% of all patients and 50.8% of those with a positive bone culture. Compared with gram-positive infections, wounds with gram-negative organisms more often had a fetid odor, necrotic tissue, signs of soft tissue infection accompanying osteomyelitis, and clinically severe infection. By multivariate analysis, the predictive variables related to an increased likelihood of isolating gram-negatives from bone samples were glycated hemoglobin <7% (odds ratio [OR] = 2.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1-3.5) and a wound caused by traumatic injury (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.0-3.9). Overall, patients whose bone samples contained gram-negatives had a statistically significantly higher prevalence of leukocytosis and higher white blood cell counts than those without gram-negatives. In conclusion, gram-negative organisms were isolated in nearly half of our cases of DFO and were associated with more severe infections, higher white blood cell counts, lower glycated hemoglobin levels, and wounds of traumatic etiology.

A molecular gram stain using broad range PCR and pyrosequencing technology: a potentially useful tool for diagnosing orthopaedic infections.

PubMed

Kobayashi, Naomi; Bauer, Thomas W; Togawa, Daisuke; Lieberman, Isador H; Sakai, Hiroshige; Fujishiro, Takaaki; Tuohy, Marion J; Procop, Gary W

2005-06-01

The bacteria associated with orthopaedic infections are usually common gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. This fundamental grouping of bacteria is a necessary first step in the selection of appropriate antibiotics. Since polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is more rapid and may be more sensitive than culture, we developed a postamplification pyrosequencing method to subcategorize bacteria based on a few nucleotide polymorphisms in the 16S rRNA gene. We validated this method using well-characterized strains of bacteria and applied it to specimens from spinal surgery cases with suspected infections. Lysates of 114 bacteria including 75 species were created following standard cultivation to obtain DNA. The DNA was amplified by a broad-range real-time PCR. The amplicons were evaluated by pyrosequencing and were classified as gram-positive, gram-negative, or acid-fast bacilli based on the first three to five nucleotides sequenced. In addition, clinical cases of suspected infection were obtained from spinal surgery. The results of the "molecular Gram stain" were compared with the results of traditional Gram stain and culture. The lysates of 107 (93.9%) of the bacteria extracts tested were appropriately categorized as gram-positive and gram-negative or as acid-fast bacilli on the basis of this assay. The sensitivity and specificity of this assay were 100% and 97.4% for gram-positive and 88.3% and 100% for gram-negative isolates. All of the five clinical samples were appropriately categorized as containing gram-positive or gram-negative bacteria with this assay. This study demonstrates that high sensitivity and specificity of a molecular gram stain may be achieved using broad-range real-time PCR and pyrosequencing.

Gram-positive rods prevailing in teeth with apical periodontitis undergoing root canal treatment.

PubMed

Chávez de Paz, L E; Molander, A; Dahlén, G

2004-09-01

To identify Gram-positive rods from root canals of teeth with apical periodontitis and to examine their associations with other species. Consecutive root canal samples (RCSs) from 139 teeth undergoing root canal treatment were analyzed prospectively for cultivable microbes. Gram-positive rods in the first RCS submitted after chemo-mechanical preparation were categorised to genus level by selective media and gas-liquid chromatography (GLC), and identified to species level by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Associations between organisms were measured by odds ratios (OR). In the first samples submitted a total of 158 Gram-positive rods, 115 Gram-positive cocci, 26 Gram-negative rods and 9 Gram-negative cocci, were identified. At genus levels Gram-positive rods were classified into: Lactobacillus spp. (38%), Olsenella spp. (18%), Propionibacterium spp. (13%), Actinomyces spp. (12%), Bifidobacterium spp. (13%) and Eubacterium spp. (6%). The most frequent species were Olsenella uli, Lactobacillus paracasei and Propionibacterium propionicum. In subsequent samples taken during treatment, Gram-positive rods were also identified, although the number of strains was considerably reduced. Positive associations were observed between members of the genus lactobacilli and Gram-positive cocci (OR>2). Olsenella uli and Lactobacillus spp. predominated over other Gram-positive rods. A possible association exists between Lactobacillus spp. and Gram-positive cocci in root canals of teeth with apical periodontitis receiving treatment.

21 CFR 172.802 - Acetone peroxides.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... may be mixed with an edible carrier to give a concentration of: (1) 3 grams to 10 grams of hydrogen peroxide equivalent per 100 grams of the additive, plus carrier, for use in flour maturing and bleaching; or (2) approximately 0.75 gram of hydrogen peroxide equivalent per 100 grams of the additive, plus...

21 CFR 558.575 - Sulfadimethoxine, ormetoprim.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

.... Sulfadimethoxine, 113.5 grams (0.0125 percent) plus ormetoprim, 68.1 grams (0.0075 percent). (a) Indications for...) Amount per ton. Sulfadimethoxine, 113.5 grams (0.0125 percent) plus ormetoprim, 68.1 grams (0.0075 percent) plus roxarsone, 22.7 grams (0.0025 percent). (a) Indications for use. As an aid in the prevention...

21 CFR 558.575 - Sulfadimethoxine, ormetoprim.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

.... Sulfadimethoxine, 113.5 grams (0.0125 percent) plus ormetoprim, 68.1 grams (0.0075 percent). (a) Indications for...) Amount per ton. Sulfadimethoxine, 113.5 grams (0.0125 percent) plus ormetoprim, 68.1 grams (0.0075 percent) plus roxarsone, 22.7 grams (0.0025 percent). (a) Indications for use. As an aid in the prevention...

21 CFR 558.575 - Sulfadimethoxine, ormetoprim.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

.... Sulfadimethoxine, 113.5 grams (0.0125 percent) plus ormetoprim, 68.1 grams (0.0075 percent). (a) Indications for...) Amount per ton. Sulfadimethoxine, 113.5 grams (0.0125 percent) plus ormetoprim, 68.1 grams (0.0075 percent) plus roxarsone, 22.7 grams (0.0025 percent). (a) Indications for use. As an aid in the prevention...

21 CFR 558.575 - Sulfadimethoxine, ormetoprim.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

.... Sulfadimethoxine, 113.5 grams (0.0125 percent) plus ormetoprim, 68.1 grams (0.0075 percent). (a) Indications for...) Amount per ton. Sulfadimethoxine, 113.5 grams (0.0125 percent) plus ormetoprim, 68.1 grams (0.0075 percent) plus roxarsone, 22.7 grams (0.0025 percent). (a) Indications for use. As an aid in the prevention...

40 CFR 59.406 - Compliance provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... exception of low solids stains and low solids wood preservatives, determine the VOC content in grams of VOC...: VOC content = grams of VOC per liter of coating Ws = weight of volatiles, in grams Ww = weight of water, in grams Wec = weight of exempt compounds, in grams Vm = volume of coating, in liters Vw = volume...

40 CFR 59.406 - Compliance provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... exception of low solids stains and low solids wood preservatives, determine the VOC content in grams of VOC...: VOC content = grams of VOC per liter of coating Ws = weight of volatiles, in grams Ww = weight of water, in grams Wec = weight of exempt compounds, in grams Vm = volume of coating, in liters Vw = volume...

40 CFR 59.406 - Compliance provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... exception of low solids stains and low solids wood preservatives, determine the VOC content in grams of VOC...: VOC content = grams of VOC per liter of coating Ws = weight of volatiles, in grams Ww = weight of water, in grams Wec = weight of exempt compounds, in grams Vm = volume of coating, in liters Vw = volume...

40 CFR 59.406 - Compliance provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... exception of low solids stains and low solids wood preservatives, determine the VOC content in grams of VOC...: VOC content = grams of VOC per liter of coating Ws = weight of volatiles, in grams Ww = weight of water, in grams Wec = weight of exempt compounds, in grams Vm = volume of coating, in liters Vw = volume...

40 CFR 59.406 - Compliance provisions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... exception of low solids stains and low solids wood preservatives, determine the VOC content in grams of VOC...: VOC content = grams of VOC per liter of coating Ws = weight of volatiles, in grams Ww = weight of water, in grams Wec = weight of exempt compounds, in grams Vm = volume of coating, in liters Vw = volume...

Antibacterial activities of β-glucan (laminaran) against gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chamidah, A.; Hardoko, Prihanto, A. A.

2017-05-01

This study aimed to determine the antibacterial activity of β-Glucan (laminaran) of LAE and LME extracts from brown algae Sargassum crassifolium using HPMS and Ultrasonication against Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli). The highest antibacterial activities of LME extract obtained using the HPMS method against Gram-positive bacteria (B. subtilis and S. aureus) were at 18:10 and 18.80 mm. The ultrasonication method showed a lower inhibition trend than the HPMS method, with MIC and MBC values of 250 mg/ml and 2-8 CFU/ml, respectively, in all Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The results showed that LME extract at a concentration of 250 mg/mL is bacteriostatic against Gram-positive and -negative bacteria.

Gram staining apparatus for space station applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Molina, T. C.; Brown, H. D.; Irbe, R. M.; Pierson, D. L.

1990-01-01

A self-contained, portable Gram staining apparatus (GSA) has been developed for use in the microgravity environment on board the Space Station Freedom. Accuracy and reproducibility of this apparatus compared with the conventional Gram staining method were evaluated by using gram-negative and gram-positive controls and different species of bacteria grown in pure cultures. A subsequent study was designed to assess the performance of the GSA with actual specimens. A set of 60 human and environmental specimens was evaluated with the GSA and the conventional Gram staining procedure. Data obtained from these studies indicated that the GSA will provide the Gram staining capability needed for the microgravity environment of space.

75 FR 57778 - Issuance of an Experimental Use Permit

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-22

...) necessary for its production in Event TC1507 corn. There are 10.213 kilograms (kg) of eCry3.1Ab, 11.14 grams of Cry1Ab, 8,145 grams of Cry34Ab1, 112.1 grams of Cry35Ab1, 280.6 grams of Vip3Aa20, 217.9 grams of mCry3A, and 177.5 grams of Cry1F proteins in 69,473 kg seeds on 7,311 acres (3,830 PIP and 3,481 non...

Scalable Static and Dynamic Community Detection Using Grappolo

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Halappanavar, Mahantesh; Lu, Hao; Kalyanaraman, Anantharaman

Graph clustering, popularly known as community detection, is a fundamental kernel for several applications of relevance to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Hierarchical Identify Verify Exploit (HIVE) Pro- gram. Clusters or communities represent natural divisions within a network that are densely connected within a cluster and sparsely connected to the rest of the network. The need to compute clustering on large scale data necessitates the development of efficient algorithms that can exploit modern architectures that are fundamentally parallel in nature. How- ever, due to their irregular and inherently sequential nature, many of the current algorithms for community detectionmore » are challenging to parallelize. In response to the HIVE Graph Challenge, we present several parallelization heuristics for fast community detection using the Louvain method as the serial template. We implement all the heuristics in a software library called Grappolo. Using the inputs from the HIVE Challenge, we demonstrate superior performance and high quality solutions based on four parallelization heuristics. We use Grappolo on static graphs as the first step towards community detection on streaming graphs.« less

Membrane Vesicles of Group B Streptococcus Disrupt Feto-Maternal Barrier Leading to Preterm Birth

PubMed Central

Sthanam, Lakshmi Kavitha; Srivastava, Rohit; Basu, Bhakti; Dutta, Suryendu; Sen, Shamik; Modi, Deepak

2016-01-01

Infection of the genitourinary tract with Group B Streptococcus (GBS), an opportunistic gram positive pathogen, is associated with premature rupture of amniotic membrane and preterm birth. In this work, we demonstrate that GBS produces membrane vesicles (MVs) in a serotype independent manner. These MVs are loaded with virulence factors including extracellular matrix degrading proteases and pore forming toxins. Mice chorio-decidual membranes challenged with MVs ex vivo resulted in extensive collagen degradation leading to loss of stiffness and mechanical weakening. MVs when instilled vaginally are capable of anterograde transport in mouse reproductive tract. Intra-amniotic injections of GBS MVs in mice led to upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and inflammation mimicking features of chorio-amnionitis; it also led to apoptosis in the chorio-decidual tissue. Instillation of MVs in the amniotic sac also resulted in intrauterine fetal death and preterm delivery. Our findings suggest that GBS MVs can independently orchestrate events at the feto-maternal interface causing chorio-amnionitis and membrane damage leading to preterm birth or fetal death. PMID:27583406

A Review of Information for Managing Aging in Nuclear Power Plants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

WC Morgan; JV Livingston

1995-09-01

Age related degradation effects in safety related systems of nuclear power plants should be managed to prevent safety margins from eroding below the acceptable limits provided in plant design bases. The Nuclear Plant Aging Research (NPAR) Pro- gram, conducted under the auspices of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, and other related aging management programs are developing technical information on managing aging. The aging management process central to these efforts consists of three key elements: 1) selecting structures, systems, and components (SSCs) in which aging should be controlled; 2) understanding the mechanisms and rates ofmore » degradation in these SSCs; and 3) managing degradation through effective inspection, surveillance, condition monitoring, trending, record keeping, mainten- ance, refurbishment, replacement, and adjustments in the operating environment and service conditions. This document concisely reviews and integrates information developed under the NPAR Program and other aging management studies and other available information related to understanding and managing age-related degradation effects and provides specific refer- ences to more comprehensive information on the same subjects.« less

Impact of inflammation on male fertility.

PubMed

Sarkar, Oli; Bahrainwala, Jamila; Chandrasekaran, Sambamurthy; Kothari, Shiva; Mathur, Premendu P; Agarwal, Ashok

2011-01-01

The male uro-genital tract is susceptible to gram-negative bacterial infections that produce a state of inflammation, particularly in the testis and epididymis. Development of germline stem cells into motile spermatozoa takes place in these organs and thus any impairment therein has a direct effect on male fertility. A number of factors are known to impair male fertility including environmental and chemical factors, lifestyle, and infections. The last is a little-known and poorly understood cause of male sub-/infertility. The presence of the pro-inflammatory cytokines like tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF- alpha), interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) in the male uro-genital tract following bacterial infections suggests that such infections could have cytokine-mediated anti-fertility effects. Furthermore, inflammation has been associated with elevated levels of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress both of which affect male fertility. The present article summarizes the effects of inflammation on the testis, epididymis and spermatozoa. We review the correlations between inflammation and oxidative stress vis-à-vis spermatogenesis and discuss the implications of infections on male fertility/infertility and assisted reproductive technologies for the male.

Exploiting Vector and Multicore Parallelsim for Recursive, Data- and Task-Parallel Programs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ren, Bin; Krishnamoorthy, Sriram; Agrawal, Kunal

Modern hardware contains parallel execution resources that are well-suited for data-parallelism-vector units-and task parallelism-multicores. However, most work on parallel scheduling focuses on one type of hardware or the other. In this work, we present a scheduling framework that allows for a unified treatment of task- and data-parallelism. Our key insight is an abstraction, task blocks, that uniformly handles data-parallel iterations and task-parallel tasks, allowing them to be scheduled on vector units or executed independently as multicores. Our framework allows us to define schedulers that can dynamically select between executing task- blocks on vector units or multicores. We show that thesemore » schedulers are asymptotically optimal, and deliver the maximum amount of parallelism available in computation trees. To evaluate our schedulers, we develop program transformations that can convert mixed data- and task-parallel pro- grams into task block-based programs. Using a prototype instantiation of our scheduling framework, we show that, on an 8-core system, we can simultaneously exploit vector and multicore parallelism to achieve 14×-108× speedup over sequential baselines.« less

A Novel Therapy for Melanoma Developed in Mice: Transformation of Melanoma into Dendritic Cells with Listeria monocytogenes

PubMed Central

Bronchalo-Vicente, Lucia; Rodriguez-Del Rio, Estela; Freire, Javier; Calderon-Gonzalez, Ricardo; Frande-Cabanes, Elisabet; Gomez-Roman, Jose Javier; Fernández-Llaca, Hector; Yañez-Diaz, Sonsoles; Alvarez-Dominguez, Carmen

2015-01-01

Listeria monocytogenes is a gram-positive bacteria and human pathogen widely used in cancer immunotherapy because of its capacity to induce a specific cytotoxic T cell response in tumours. This bacterial pathogen strongly induces innate and specific immunity with the potential to overcome tumour induced tolerance and weak immunogenicity. Here, we propose a Listeria based vaccination for melanoma based in its tropism for these tumour cells and its ability to transform in vitro and in vivo melanoma cells into matured and activated dendritic cells with competent microbicidal and antigen processing abilities. This Listeria based vaccination using low doses of the pathogen caused melanoma regression by apoptosis as well as bacterial clearance. Vaccination efficacy is LLO dependent and implies the reduction of LLO-specific CD4+ T cell responses, strong stimulation of innate pro-inflammatory immune cells and a prevalence of LLO-specific CD8+ T cells involved in tumour regression and Listeria elimination. These results support the use of low doses of pathogenic Listeria as safe melanoma therapeutic vaccines that do not require antibiotics for bacterial removal. PMID:25760947

21 CFR 1314.100 - Sales limits for mail-order sales.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... a single calendar day sell to any purchaser more than 3.6 grams of ephedrine base, 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine base, or 3.6 grams of phenylpropanolamine base in scheduled listed chemical products. (b) Each... any 30-day period sell to an individual purchaser more than 7.5 grams of ephedrine base, 7.5 grams of...

21 CFR 1314.100 - Sales limits for mail-order sales.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... a single calendar day sell to any purchaser more than 3.6 grams of ephedrine base, 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine base, or 3.6 grams of phenylpropanolamine base in scheduled listed chemical products. (b) Each... any 30-day period sell to an individual purchaser more than 7.5 grams of ephedrine base, 7.5 grams of...

Global Reference Atmosphere Model (GRAM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Woodrum, A. W.

1989-01-01

GRAM series of four-dimensional atmospheric model validated by years of data. GRAM program, still available. More current are Gram 86, which includes atmospheric data from 1986 and runs on DEC VAX, and GRAM 88, which runs on IBM 3084. Program generates altitude profiles of atmospheric parameters along any simulated trajectory through atmosphere, and also useful for global circulation and diffusion studies.

21 CFR 1314.100 - Sales limits for mail-order sales.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... a single calendar day sell to any purchaser more than 3.6 grams of ephedrine base, 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine base, or 3.6 grams of phenylpropanolamine base in scheduled listed chemical products. (b) Each... any 30-day period sell to an individual purchaser more than 7.5 grams of ephedrine base, 7.5 grams of...

21 CFR 1314.100 - Sales limits for mail-order sales.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... a single calendar day sell to any purchaser more than 3.6 grams of ephedrine base, 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine base, or 3.6 grams of phenylpropanolamine base in scheduled listed chemical products. (b) Each... any 30-day period sell to an individual purchaser more than 7.5 grams of ephedrine base, 7.5 grams of...

21 CFR 1314.100 - Sales limits for mail-order sales.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... a single calendar day sell to any purchaser more than 3.6 grams of ephedrine base, 3.6 grams of pseudoephedrine base, or 3.6 grams of phenylpropanolamine base in scheduled listed chemical products. (b) Each... any 30-day period sell to an individual purchaser more than 7.5 grams of ephedrine base, 7.5 grams of...

n-Gram-Based Text Compression.

PubMed

Nguyen, Vu H; Nguyen, Hien T; Duong, Hieu N; Snasel, Vaclav

2016-01-01

We propose an efficient method for compressing Vietnamese text using n -gram dictionaries. It has a significant compression ratio in comparison with those of state-of-the-art methods on the same dataset. Given a text, first, the proposed method splits it into n -grams and then encodes them based on n -gram dictionaries. In the encoding phase, we use a sliding window with a size that ranges from bigram to five grams to obtain the best encoding stream. Each n -gram is encoded by two to four bytes accordingly based on its corresponding n -gram dictionary. We collected 2.5 GB text corpus from some Vietnamese news agencies to build n -gram dictionaries from unigram to five grams and achieve dictionaries with a size of 12 GB in total. In order to evaluate our method, we collected a testing set of 10 different text files with different sizes. The experimental results indicate that our method achieves compression ratio around 90% and outperforms state-of-the-art methods.

How bacterial cell division might cheat turgor pressure - a unified mechanism of septal division in Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.

PubMed

Erickson, Harold P

2017-08-01

An important question for bacterial cell division is how the invaginating septum can overcome the turgor force generated by the high osmolarity of the cytoplasm. I suggest that it may not need to. Several studies in Gram-negative bacteria have shown that the periplasm is isoosmolar with the cytoplasm. Indirect evidence suggests that this is also true for Gram-positive bacteria. In this case the invagination of the septum takes place within the uniformly high osmotic pressure environment, and does not have to fight turgor pressure. A related question is how the V-shaped constriction of Gram-negative bacteria relates to the plate-like septum of Gram-positive bacteria. I collected evidence that Gram-negative bacteria have a latent capability of forming plate-like septa, and present a model in which septal division is the basic mechanism in both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. © 2017 WILEY Periodicals, Inc.

n-Gram-Based Text Compression

PubMed Central

Duong, Hieu N.; Snasel, Vaclav

2016-01-01

We propose an efficient method for compressing Vietnamese text using n-gram dictionaries. It has a significant compression ratio in comparison with those of state-of-the-art methods on the same dataset. Given a text, first, the proposed method splits it into n-grams and then encodes them based on n-gram dictionaries. In the encoding phase, we use a sliding window with a size that ranges from bigram to five grams to obtain the best encoding stream. Each n-gram is encoded by two to four bytes accordingly based on its corresponding n-gram dictionary. We collected 2.5 GB text corpus from some Vietnamese news agencies to build n-gram dictionaries from unigram to five grams and achieve dictionaries with a size of 12 GB in total. In order to evaluate our method, we collected a testing set of 10 different text files with different sizes. The experimental results indicate that our method achieves compression ratio around 90% and outperforms state-of-the-art methods. PMID:27965708

A Myeloid Hypoxia-inducible Factor 1α-Krüppel-like Factor 2 Pathway Regulates Gram-positive Endotoxin-mediated Sepsis*

PubMed Central

Mahabeleshwar, Ganapati H.; Qureshi, Muhammad Awais; Takami, Yoichi; Sharma, Nikunj; Lingrel, Jerry B.; Jain, Mukesh K.

2012-01-01

Although Gram-positive infections account for the majority of cases of sepsis, the molecular mechanisms underlying their effects remains poorly understood. We investigated how cell wall components of Gram-positive bacteria contribute to the development of sepsis. Experimental observations derived from cultured primary macrophages and the cell line indicate that Gram-positive bacterial endotoxins induce hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) mRNA and protein expression. Inoculation of live or heat-inactivated Gram-positive bacteria with macrophages induced HIF-1 transcriptional activity in macrophages. Concordant with these results, myeloid deficiency of HIF-1α attenuated Gram-positive bacterial endotoxin-induced cellular motility and proinflammatory gene expression in macrophages. Conversely, Gram-positive bacteria and their endotoxins reduced expression of the myeloid anti-inflammatory transcription factor Krüppel-like transcription factor 2 (KLF2). Sustained expression of KLF2 reduced and deficiency of KLF2 enhanced Gram-positive endotoxins induced HIF-1α mRNA and protein expression in macrophages. More importantly, KLF2 attenuated Gram-positive endotoxins induced cellular motility and proinflammatory gene expression in myeloid cells. Consistent with these results, mice deficient in myeloid HIF-1α were protected from Gram-positive endotoxin-induced sepsis mortality and clinical symptomatology. By contrast, myeloid KLF2-deficient mice were susceptible to Gram-positive sepsis induced mortality and clinical symptoms. Collectively, these observations identify HIF-1α and KLF2 as critical regulators of Gram-positive endotoxin-mediated sepsis. PMID:22110137

Technical Versus Public Spheres: A Feminist Analysis of Women's Rhetoric in the Twilight Sleep Debates of 1914-1916.

PubMed

Johnson, Bethany; Quinlan, Margaret M

2015-01-01

Twilight Sleep (TS) describes the delivery, via an injection, of an amnestic drug cocktail to a parturient woman throughout labor. In order to understand the development of modern-day rhetoric surrounding childbirth methods and procedures, this article explores the debate over TS between the public and technical sphere in New York City between 1914 and 1916 and examines the ways in which this debate altered obstetric health care for middle- and upper-class White women. The public response to this campaign posed a direct challenge to male obstetricians in New York City, many of whom were ill-equipped, both literally and figuratively, to use this procedure. Using a feminist rhetorical criticism, we examined the pro-TS rhetoric of women writers in New York City, the methods they borrowed from the women's movement, and the ensuing dialogue between the public and technical spheres. For this study, we analyzed journal and newspaper articles, a pamphlet, a collection of pro-TS organizational documents, letters to the editor, and books published about TS and the history of birth. Lastly, we analyzed theoretical notions of childbirth in women's health and communication studies. After examining the TS debate, we found that birth practices for middle- and upper-class women in New York City shifted and the obstetric community gained ascendancy over female midwifery. We also found that in certain instances, the rhetoric of pro-TS activists was more technically accurate than the rhetoric of some physicians. Hence the TS debate emerged from an argument over the right to use technical language in the technical and/or the public sphere. Conclusions and implications offered by this historical, feminist analysis question our current understanding of women's health and birthing practices, doctor-patient communication, and patient empowerment and access to technical knowledge.

Reduction of chronic post-herniotomy pain and recurrence rate. Use of the anatomical self-gripping ProGrip laparoscopic mesh in TAPP hernia repair. Preliminary results of a prospective study

PubMed Central

Hoskovec, David

2015-01-01

Introduction The role of fixation of the mesh is especially important in the endoscopic technique. The fixation of mesh through penetrating techniques using staples, clips or screws is associated with a significantly increased risk of developing a post-herniotomy pain syndrome. Aim To demonstrate the safety and efficacy of the self-fixating anatomical Parietex ProGrip laparoscopic mesh (Sofradim Production, Trévoux France) used with laparoscopic transabdominal preperitoneal hernia repair. The incidence of chronic post-herniotomy pain and recurrence rate in the follow-up after 12 months were evaluated. Material and methods Data analysis included all patients who underwent inguinal hernia surgery at our Surgical Department within the period from 1.05.2013 to 31.12.2014, who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Standard surgical technique was used. Data were prospectively entered and subsequently analyzed on the Herniamed platform. Herniamed is an internet-based register in German and English language and includes all data of patients who underwent surgery for some types of hernia. Results There were 95 patients enrolled in the group and there were in total 156 inguinal hernias repaired. The mean follow-up was 15.52 months. At the assessment at 1 year mild discomfort in the groin was reported in 2 patients (3.51%) (1–3 VAS). No recurrence or chronic postoperative pain was reported. Conclusions Laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair using the transabdominal preperitoneal technique with implantation of the ProGrip laparoscopic mesh is a fast, effective and reliable method in experienced hands, which according to our results reduces the occurrence of chronic post-operative inguinal pain with simultaneously a low recurrence rate. PMID:26649083

Pro-inflammatory interleukins in middle ear effusions from atopic and non-atopic children with chronic otitis media with effusion.

PubMed

Zielnik-Jurkiewicz, Beata; Stankiewicz-Szymczak, Wanda

2016-06-01

Chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) is associated with irreversible changes in the middle ear, sometimes leading to hearing loss and abnormal language development in children. While the pathogenesis of OME is not fully understood, inflammatory and allergic factors are thought to be involved. The study aimed to investigate the role of cytokines in the local development of chronic OME, and assess differences in the cytokine profiles between atopic and non-atopic children. 84 atopic and non-atopic children with chronic OME (mean age of 6 years 7 months) were studied. Age-matched children with hypertrophy of the adenoids and Eustachian tube dysfunction served as the control group. The number of past acute otitis media (AOM) episodes, their age, and the type of effusion were recorded for all children. Pro-inflammatory cytokine concentrations (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8) were determined and the presence of pathogenic bacteria in the patients' effusions was examined. High concentrations of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 were found in the effusions in all children with chronic OME, with the highest levels observed in the non-atopic group. The atopic group showed persistently high IL-1β levels, while in the non-atopic children, IL-1β and TNF-α levels positively correlated with the patient's age and the number of past AOM episodes. Pathogenic bacteria were more frequently isolated from effusions in non-atopic children. In both atopic and non-atopic children, pro-inflammatory cytokines are found at high concentrations. This argues in favor of instituting anti-inflammatory management for treating OME, regardless of atopy.

Microbiology of liver abscesses and the predictive value of abscess gram stain and associated blood cultures.

PubMed

Chemaly, Roy F; Hall, Gerri S; Keys, Thomas F; Procop, Gary W

2003-08-01

Although rare, pyogenic liver abscesses are potentially fatal. We evaluated the predictive value of Gram stain of liver abscess aspirates and temporally associated blood cultures. Gram stains detected bacteria in 79% of the liver abscesses tested. The sensitivity and specificity of Gram stain of the liver abscesses were 90% and 100% for Gram-positive cocci (GPC) and 52% and 94% for Gram-negative bacilli (GNB). The sensitivities of the blood cultures for any GPC and GNB present in the liver abscess were 30% and 39%, respectively. Although, Gram stains and blood cultures offer incomplete detection of the microbial contents of pyogenic liver abscesses, both tests should always accompany liver abscess cultures.

Gram staining apparatus for space station applications.

PubMed Central

Molina, T C; Brown, H D; Irbe, R M; Pierson, D L

1990-01-01

A self-contained, portable Gram staining apparatus (GSA) has been developed for use in the microgravity environment on board the Space Station Freedom. Accuracy and reproducibility of this apparatus compared with the conventional Gram staining method were evaluated by using gram-negative and gram-positive controls and different species of bacteria grown in pure cultures. A subsequent study was designed to assess the performance of the GSA with actual specimens. A set of 60 human and environmental specimens was evaluated with the GSA and the conventional Gram staining procedure. Data obtained from these studies indicated that the GSA will provide the Gram staining capability needed for the microgravity environment of space. Images PMID:1690529

40 CFR 86.004-11 - Emission standards for 2004 and later model year diesel heavy-duty engines and vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... petroleum gas, 2.4 grams per brake horsepower-hour (0.89 gram per megajoule), as measured under transient... fueled with methanol, 2.4 grams per brake horsepower-hour (0.89 gram per megajoule), as measured under... Nitrogen plus Non-methane Hydrocarbons (or equivalent for methanol-fueled engines) standard of 2.5 grams...

40 CFR 86.004-11 - Emission standards for 2004 and later model year diesel heavy-duty engines and vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... petroleum gas, 2.4 grams per brake horsepower-hour (0.89 gram per megajoule), as measured under transient... fueled with methanol, 2.4 grams per brake horsepower-hour (0.89 gram per megajoule), as measured under... Nitrogen plus Non-methane Hydrocarbons (or equivalent for methanol-fueled engines) standard of 2.5 grams...

40 CFR 86.004-11 - Emission standards for 2004 and later model year diesel heavy-duty engines and vehicles.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... petroleum gas, 2.4 grams per brake horsepower-hour (0.89 gram per megajoule), as measured under transient... fueled with methanol, 2.4 grams per brake horsepower-hour (0.89 gram per megajoule), as measured under... Nitrogen plus Non-methane Hydrocarbons (or equivalent for methanol-fueled engines) standard of 2.5 grams...

7 CFR 58.938 - Physical requirements and microbiological limits for sweetened condensed milk.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... retain a definite form. (e) Microbiological limits. (1) Coliforms, less than 10 per gram; (2) yeasts, less than 5 per gram; (3) molds, less than 5 per gram; (4) total plate count, less than 1,000 per gram... amount of sediment retained on a lintine disc after a sample composed of 225 grams of product dissolved...