Adapting SAM for CDF

The CDF and D0 experiments probe the high-energy frontier and as they do so have accumulated hundreds of Terabytes of data on the way to petabytes of data over the next two years. The experiments have made a commitment to use the developing Grid based on the SAM system to handle these data. The D0 SAM has been extended for use in CDF as common patterns of design emerged to meet the similar requirements of these experiments. The process by which the merger was achieved is explained with particular emphasis on lessons learned concerning the database design patterns plus realization of the use cases.Comment: Talk from the 2003 Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics (CHEP03), La Jolla, Ca, USA, March 2003, 4 pages, pdf format, TUAT00

Genetic and Serologic Properties of Zika Virus Associated with an Epidemic, Yap State, Micronesia, 2007

One-sentence summary for table of contents: The full coding region nucleic acid sequence and serologic properties of the virus were identified

The selectivity, voltage-dependence and acid sensitivity of the tandem pore potassium channel TASK-1 : contributions of the pore domains

We have investigated the contribution to ionic selectivity of residues in the selectivity filter and pore helices of the P1 and P2 domains in the acid sensitive potassium channel TASK-1. We used site directed mutagenesis and electrophysiological studies, assisted by structural models built through computational methods. We have measured selectivity in channels expressed in Xenopus oocytes, using voltage clamp to measure shifts in reversal potential and current amplitudes when Rb+ or Na+ replaced extracellular K+. Both P1 and P2 contribute to selectivity, and most mutations, including mutation of residues in the triplets GYG and GFG in P1 and P2, made channels nonselective. We interpret the effects of these—and of other mutations—in terms of the way the pore is likely to be stabilised structurally. We show also that residues in the outer pore mouth contribute to selectivity in TASK-1. Mutations resulting in loss of selectivity (e.g. I94S, G95A) were associated with slowing of the response of channels to depolarisation. More important physiologically, pH sensitivity is also lost or altered by such mutations. Mutations that retained selectivity (e.g. I94L, I94V) also retained their response to acidification. It is likely that responses both to voltage and pH changes involve gating at the selectivity filter

Motivations, expectations, and experiences of expatriate academic staff on an international branch campus in China

This article explores the experiences of non-Chinese academic staff working on an international branch campus in China. The article presents findings from an interview study that explored the expectations of expatriate staff and what motivated them to want to work abroad. The second part of the article reports on whether and how these expectations and motivations were fulfilled. The findings suggest that, although staff found many benefits from working on the international branch campus, they were insufficiently prepared for the structural and cultural differences inherent in working as an academic in China. The authors argue that more of the academics’ initial expectations and motivations could have been realized if better staff induction and ongoing collective professional development had been in place. In particular, university-level discourse communicated through policy and marketing texts, which promoted the vision of one inclusive and diverse international university community, militated against attention being paid to the structural, political, and cultural differences inherent in working as an academic in China. The authors argue that professional development that acknowledges the differences, difficulties, and disjunctions that staff are likely to encounter in their work is important in building successful international branch campuses both at the level of the organization and of the individual

Beyond antibiotic prescribing rates: first-line antibiotic selection, prescription duration, and associated factors for respiratory encounters in urgent care

Abstract Objective: Assess urgent care (UC) clinician prescribing practices and factors associated with first-line antibiotic selection and recommended duration of therapy for sinusitis, acute otitis media (AOM), and pharyngitis. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Participants: All respiratory UC encounters and clinicians in the Intermountain Health (IH) network, July 1st, 2019–June 30th, 2020. Methods: Descriptive statistics were used to characterize first-line antibiotic selection rates and the duration of antibiotic prescriptions during pharyngitis, sinusitis, and AOM UC encounters. Patient and clinician characteristics were evaluated. System-specific guidelines recommended 5–10 days of penicillin, amoxicillin, or amoxicillin-clavulanate as first-line. Alternative therapies were recommended for penicillin allergy. Generalized estimating equation modeling was used to assess predictors of first-line antibiotic selection, prescription duration, and first-line antibiotic prescriptions for an appropriate duration. Results: Among encounters in which an antibiotic was prescribed, the rate of first-line antibiotic selection was 75%, the recommended duration was 70%, and the rate of first-line antibiotic selection for the recommended duration was 53%. AOM was associated with the highest rate of first-line prescriptions (83%); sinusitis the lowest (69%). Pharyngitis was associated with the highest rate of prescriptions for the recommended duration (91%); AOM the lowest (51%). Penicillin allergy was the strongest predictor of non–first-line selection (OR = 0.02, 95% CI [0.02, 0.02]) and was also associated with extended duration prescriptions (OR = 0.87 [0.80, 0.95]). Conclusions: First-line antibiotic selection and duration for respiratory UC encounters varied by diagnosis and patient characteristics. These areas can serve as a focus for ongoing stewardship efforts

Neuroimaging Evidence of Major Morpho-Anatomical and Functional Abnormalities in the BTBR T+TF/J Mouse Model of Autism

BTBR T+tf/J (BTBR) mice display prominent behavioural deficits analogous to the defining symptoms of autism, a feature that has prompted a widespread use of the model in preclinical autism research. Because neuro-behavioural traits are described with respect to reference populations, multiple investigators have examined and described the behaviour of BTBR mice against that exhibited by C57BL/6J (B6), a mouse line characterised by high sociability and low self-grooming. In an attempt to probe the translational relevance of this comparison for autism research, we used Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to map in both strain multiple morpho-anatomical and functional neuroimaging readouts that have been extensively used in patient populations. Diffusion tensor tractography confirmed previous reports of callosal agenesis and lack of hippocampal commissure in BTBR mice, and revealed a concomitant rostro-caudal reorganisation of major cortical white matter bundles. Intact inter-hemispheric tracts were found in the anterior commissure, ventro-medial thalamus, and in a strain-specific white matter formation located above the third ventricle. BTBR also exhibited decreased fronto-cortical, occipital and thalamic gray matter volume and widespread reductions in cortical thickness with respect to control B6 mice. Foci of increased gray matter volume and thickness were observed in the medial prefrontal and insular cortex. Mapping of resting-state brain activity using cerebral blood volume weighted fMRI revealed reduced cortico-thalamic function together with foci of increased activity in the hypothalamus and dorsal hippocampus of BTBR mice. Collectively, our results show pronounced functional and structural abnormalities in the brain of BTBR mice with respect to control B6 mice. The large and widespread white and gray matter abnormalities observed do not appear to be representative of the neuroanatomical alterations typically observed in autistic patients. The presence of reduced fronto-cortical metabolism is of potential translational relevance, as this feature recapitulates previously-reported clinical observations

Measurement of the Nucleon Structure Function F2 in the Nuclear Medium and Evaluation of its Moments

We report on the measurement of inclusive electron scattering off a carbon target performed with CLAS at Jefferson Laboratory. A combination of three different beam energies 1.161, 2.261 and 4.461 GeV allowed us to reach an invariant mass of the final-state hadronic system W~2.4 GeV with four-momentum transfers Q2 ranging from 0.2 to 5 GeV2. These data, together with previous measurements of the inclusive electron scattering off proton and deuteron, which cover a similar continuous two-dimensional region of Q2 and Bjorken variable x, permit the study of nuclear modifications of the nucleon structure. By using these, as well as other world data, we evaluated the F2 structure function and its moments. Using an OPE-based twist expansion, we studied the Q2-evolution of the moments, obtaining a separation of the leading-twist and the total higher-twist terms. The carbon-to-deuteron ratio of the leading-twist contributions to the F2 moments exhibits the well known EMC effect, compatible with that discovered previously in x-space. The total higher-twist term in the carbon nucleus appears, although with large systematic uncertainites, to be smaller with respect to the deuteron case for n<7, suggesting partial parton deconfinement in nuclear matter. We speculate that the spatial extension of the nucleon is changed when it is immersed in the nuclear medium.Comment: 37 pages, 15 figure

Developing User‐Friendly Habitat Suitability Tools from Regional Stream Fish Survey Data

We developed user‐friendly fish habitat suitability tools (plots) for fishery managers in Michigan; these tools are based on driving habitat variables and fish population estimates for several hundred stream sites throughout the state. We generated contour plots to show patterns in fish biomass for over 60 common species (and for 120 species grouped at the family level) in relation to axes of catchment area and low‐flow yield (90% exceedance flow divided by catchment area) and also in relation to axes of mean and weekly range of July temperatures. The plots showed distinct patterns in fish habitat suitability at each level of biological organization studied and were useful for quantitatively comparing river sites. We demonstrate how these plots can be used to support stream management, and we provide examples pertaining to resource assessment, trout stocking, angling regulations, chemical reclamation of marginal trout streams, indicator species, instream flow protection, and habitat restoration. These straightforward and effective tools are electronically available so that managers can easily access and incorporate them into decision protocols and presentations.Received April 9, 2010; accepted November 8, 2010Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141005/1/nafm0041.pd