cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Explaining the Geographical Variation of HIV Among Injection Drug Users in the United States

Distinct physical and chemical types of street heroin exist worldwide, but their impact on behavior and disease acquisition is not well understood or documented. This article presents a hypothesis to explain the unequal diffusion of HIV among injection drug users in the United States by examining the distribution and use of one type of heroin—“Mexican black tar.” Drawing on ethnographic, clinical, epidemiological, and laboratory data, we suggest that the chemical properties of black tar heroin promote the following safer injection practices: (1) the rinsing of syringes with water to prevent clogging; (2) the heating of cookers to promote dissolution; and (3) a rapid transition from venous injection to subcutaneous or intramuscular injections.
The risk of success: cultural determinants of chronic disease and sexually transmitted infections among urban Chinese men

SUMMARY During the 1950s and 1960s, the People’s Republic of China successfully waged a series of public health campaigns to control the infectious diseases that were ravaging them as a nation. This included a campaign that targeted the social roots of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). China is now facing a new disease profile that includes emerging epidemics of chronic disease as well as reemerging epidemics of STIs. Many of these diseases are strongly associated with gender and occupation, suggesting need for a critical model of health literacy that recognizes the role of social risk in promoting risky behaviors rather than focusing on a simple model that disseminates knowledge about biomedical risk. Such a model is useful for explaining why people armed with knowledge about biomedical risk continue to engage in risky behaviors. This article focuses on the social risks that wealthy Chinese businessmen and government officials negotiate on a daily basis. It highlights the concept of guanxi that is so central to building relationships in China and explains the traditional process of yingchou used to establish and maintain relationships among this cadre of men who depend on one another for political and economic success. This process, which has become pervasive in China’s era of market reform, requires men to engage in frequent practices of smoking, drinking, eating and female-centered entertainment that are contributing both to their success and to their increasing vulnerability to chronic disease and STIs. The paper concludes by offering some alternative approaches to addressing this emerging disease pattern among this particular segment of China’s population.
High level communication primitives for concurrent systems

To support high-level specification and analysis of distributed systems, the authors propose two constructs: handshake and unit. The handshake construct is a remote procedure call generalized for multiple parties. The unit construct has three functions: to restrict the possible calls to various handshake procedures, to provide a synchronization mechanism, and to specify computation that is directly relevant to communication. These constructs are part of a formal model called the synchronous token based communicating state (STOCS) model, which lends itself to automatic analysis. These constructs can be added to any existing language easily, and the current system, called ConC (Concurrent C), extends C for concurrent programming. A prototype of the system runs on a Sun cluster operating under Unix 4.2 BSD. >
Biological Mechanisms that Influence Soy Protein Concentration and Composition

Publisher Summary Soybean is the world's most valuable legume crop with numerous food, feed, health, and industrial uses due to the unique seed composition. Soybean seed, with its high protein content, is a primary vegetable protein for human and animal consumption. The nutritional and economic value of soybean is directly correlated with seed compositional traits, mainly protein and oil. With increasing world demand for soy-based food for humans and high protein meal for livestock feed, there is increased economic potential for productive, high protein soybean varieties for animal feed and human consumption. High-throughput DNA sequencing, proteomics, and metabolomics platforms have increased the amount of plant genome information from which one can infer proteomes and often major parts of metabolism and regulatory pathways. There are many challenges to completely elucidate molecular and biochemical regulatory aspects of soybean seed storage protein synthesis, accumulation, and utilization. There are genomic, proteomics, and metabolomics resources available for soybean; however, it is essential to further analyze the regulatory networks of metabolic and hormonal signals in seed filling and development.
Nonstationary filtering for removal of signal dependent noise in reconstructions from projections

The authors discuss a way to improve transmission tomograms in the presence of large density data variations and low photon dosage. They present a design for nonstationary filters that exploits the detectability of high-density regions in the object to match filters to local noise properties. The design of each filter is formulated as a least-squares optimization problem, with linear equality and inequality constraints that protect the resolution of detail while minimizing noise power in the reconstruction. Experimental results show reconstructions in whitened noise of power equivalent to those of conventional convolution backprojection, but with significantly better resolution. >
On the stability and sensitivity of multidimensional signal reconstruction from Fourier transform magnitude

In this paper, we deal with the problem of retrieving a finite-extent signal from the magnitude of its Fourier transform. We consider the discrete phase retrieval problem as a special case of a more general problem which consists of recovering a real-valued signal x from the magnitude of the output of a linear distortion: |Hx| (j), j=1 ....,n. An important result concerning the conditioning of this problem will be obtained for this general setting by means of algebraic-geometric techniques. In particular, the problems of the existence of a solution for phase retrieval, conditioning of the problem and stability of the (essentially) unique solution will be addressed.
Retroaortic abscess: an unusual complication of a retained epicardial pacing wire

Infectious complications related to retained temporary epicardial pacing wires are rare. We report a case of a focal retroaortic abscess in association with retained pacing wires that became manifest 3 years after surgery for tricuspid valve endocarditis.
III. NIH TOOLBOX COGNITION BATTERY (CB): MEASURING EPISODIC MEMORY

One of the most significant domains of cognition is episodic memory, which allows for rapid acquisition and long-term storage of new information. For purposes of the NIH Toolbox, we devised a new test of episodic memory. The nonverbal NIH Toolbox Picture Sequence Memory Test (TPSMT) requires participants to reproduce the order of an arbitrarily ordered sequence of pictures presented on a computer. To adjust for ability, sequence length varies from 6 to 15 pictures. Multiple trials are administered to increase reliability. Pediatric data from the validation study revealed the TPSMT to be sensitive to age-related changes. The task also has high test-retest reliability and promising construct validity. Steps to further increase the sensitivity of the instrument to individual and age-related variability are described.
Influences of binding transitions on the homogeneous nucleation of mercury

Nucleation rates from supersaturated vapor are calculated for mercury. Previous measurements of nucleation rates using an upward thermal diffusion chamber demonstrated that critical supersaturations for Hg vapor are roughly three orders of magnitude lower than the predictions of the classical Becker-Doring-Zeldovich theory. [J. Martens, H. Uchtmann, and F. Hensel, J. Phys. Chem. 91, 2489 (1987)] This discrepancy was attributed to a metal-nonmetal transition in Hg clusters that occurs near the critical cluster size. [H. Uchtmann, K. Rademann, and F. Hensel, Annalen der Physik. 48, 207 (1991)] That view is supported by the similarity of cohesive energies and optical spectra for Hg clusters and rare gas clusters. [H. Haberland et al., Z. Phys. D 26, 8 (1993)] Using this analogy and the framework of the classical theory, we calculate nucleation rates that agree with the experiments within experimental uncertainties without any adjustable parameters.
Folded Ferrite Loaded Cavities for Impedance Matching in the AGS

The AGS conversion requires twice the accelerating volts/turn and driving amplifiers removed from the ring to a central building. The accelerating cavities must be tuned over a frequency range of 2.5 MHz to 4.5 MHz. In addition the number of accelerating positions will be reduced from twelve to eight. These specifications combine to place severe restrictions on the accelerating cavity structure. To minimize power losses in the cavity it is necessary that more ferrite be added. A method of folding the cavities in the radial direction yields a structure which not only raises the cavity impedance, but also enables matching to the input line without using a broad band transformer. A further desirable feature of the structure is the ability to place four gaps, rather than two, in each accelerating straight section thus halving the voltage per gap and halving the voltage on the input lines. A sample computation has been made using currently available ferrite in sizes essentially the same as have been used at the AGS and PPA. The results look favorable and additional ferrites are being investigated to find higher ?Qf values.
Recent advances in discrete analysis and control of hybrid systems

A standard approach to the formal analysis of hybrid systems (that is, systems with both continuous and discrete state variables) is to first construct purely discrete-state models, usually by building transition systems based on finite partitions of the continuous state space. Analysis and synthesis techniques for discrete-state systems are then applied to the discrete model to verify properties of the hybrid system and to synthesize supervisory controllers. This brief paper reviews the theory for discrete analysis of hybrid systems.
Successful surgical decortication for trapped lung in a patient with decompensated cirrhosis

Hepatic hydrothorax affects 5% to 10% of patients with cirrhosis. Infection of the pleural fluid may result in “trapped lung” physiology, which may jeopardize a patient’s candidacy for liver transplant, and thus compromise long-term survival. We report a case of a patient with decompensated cirrhosis whose transplant candidacy hinged on management of his trapped lung, and who underwent successful decortication. In this particular case, surgical intervention was necessary not only as a “bridge” to transplant, but also because the patient’s short-term survival was limited by ongoing infection, which was refractory to medical therapy alone. In conclusion, our case illustrates that this high-risk surgery can be successfully carried out in the decompensated cirrhotic, but that further research is needed to ascertain the role for surgical decortication specifically for the purpose of “bridging” a patient to transplant.
Vaccination with γ‐Irradiated Neospora caninum Tachyzoites Protects Mice Against Acute Challenge with N. caninum

Neospora caninum, an apicomplexan parasite, is a leading cause of bovine abortions worldwide. The efficacy of gamma-irradiated N. caninum strain NC-1 tachyzoites as a vaccine for neosporosis was assessed in C57BL6 mice. A dose of 528 Gy of gamma irradiation was sufficient to arrest replication but not host cell penetration by tachyzoites. Female C57BL6 mice were vaccinated with two intraperitoneal inoculations of 1 x 10(6) irradiated tachyzoites at 4-wk intervals. When stimulated with N. caninum tachyzoite lysates, splenocytes of vaccinated mice, cultured 5 and 10 wk after vaccination, secreted significant (P<0.05) levels of interferon gamma, interleukin (IL)-10, and small amounts of IL-4. Antibody isotype-specific ELISA of sera from vaccinated mice exhibited both IgG1 and IgG2a isotypes of antibodies. Vaccinated mice were challenged intraperitoneally with 2 x 10(7)N. caninum tachyzoites. All vaccinated mice remained healthy and showed no obvious signs of neosporosis up to the 25th day post-challenge when the study was terminated. All unvaccinated control mice died within 1 wk of infection. Gamma-irradiated N. caninum tachyzoites can serve as an effective, attenuated vaccine for N. caninum.
Impurities in the Early Universe

We investigate the role of impurities in first-order phase transitions in the early universe. General arguments are given of how impurities serve as seeds for nucleation of bubbles of a new phase, when the temperature drops below the critical temperature. We clarify various conditions for this kind of bubble nucleation to take place to complete a phase transition. In the minimal SU(5) theory the fundamental Higgs scalar fields play the role of impurities in the grand-unified-theory phase transitions. It is shown, however, that impurity effects are very small in most cases where weak-coupling perturbation theory is reliable. Only in special cases for which fine tuning of parameters is necessary do impurities become quite relevant. It is also seen that the Coleman-Weinberg SU(5) theory adopted in the new inflationary-universe scenario contains no impurities.
A decision support system for funds management in a public university

Senior administrators at public universities spend a great deal of time attempting to manage university funds. As the portion of total operations supported by state allocations has decreased, the number of sources of funding has been expanded by universities. This has led to a vastly more complex funds management problem for officials of public universities. The president and senior financial officer require up-to-date information on the status of university funds in terms of availability from numerous sources and applications to various uses over time. This need is more critical than ever due to legal, contractual, and legislated restrictions related to the uses of funds from the various sources. Assistance is also needed for the process of planning the allocation of funds from the various sources to potential uses over time. This paper reports on a computer based decision support system developed and implemented at a large public university to provide senior university administrators with up-to-date inf...
LOW-COST HOUSING: SPATIAL DECONCENTRATION AND COMMUNITY CHANGE

Subsidized housing developed outside poverty areas often has promoted opposition. This study constructed nine scenarios by varying three geographic aspects of such housing: size, or number of units built, location, and density. Anticipated changes in eleven community characteristics were identified for a midwestern suburb. The relationships between these changes and the geographic aspects were explored. Size, but not density or location, was an important determinant of expected change. Designing housing programs to reduce anticipated impacts appears to be difficult, however. Substantial decreases in a variety of neighborhood qualities can be expected, even for small housing programs.
Phase continuity in polystyrene–nylon 6,10 graft copolymers

Using a modified interfacial polymerization route, a graft copolymer of nylon 6,10 and polystyrene was prepared. First, an aqueous suspension of styrene monomer was encapsulated with nylon 6,10, followed by polymerization of the styrene to form the graft copolymer. When the material was subsequently molded below the crystalline melting point of nylon 6,10 (220°C), modulus–temperature behavior intermediate between polystyrene and nylon 6,10 was observed. However, when this graft copolymer was molded above the melting point of nylon 6,10, behavior more like pure polystyrene was observed. Phase contrast microscopy revealed that material molded below 220°C showed a continuous cellular-phase structure of about 30 microns in diameter, the interior of the cells being composed of polystyrene and the cell walls being composed of nylon 6,10. Phase inversion phenomenon was observed in the graft copolymer as the molding temperature was raised above 220°C. The nylon 6,10 phase became discontinuous, small globules being formed. This behavior is analogous to spheroidization in steel. It is thought that molten nylon 6,10 spheroidizes to attain a lower surface-energy state.
Practical utilization of power spectrum estimation techniques

The author explores fundamental characteristics of several power spectrum estimation techniques including the periodogram, the Blackman-Tukey method, and some of the more common rational transfer function models. The emphasis is on autoregressive methods, with reference to the closely related maximum-entropy method. The validity of each technique when applied to illustrative sequences is demonstrated. >
Reduced Order Thermal Models of Multi-Scale Microsystems

Thermal systems often involve multiple spatial and temporal scales, where transport information from one scale is relevant at others. Optimized thermal design of such systems and their control require approaches for their rapid simulation. These activities are of increasing significance due to the need for energy efficiency in the operation of these systems. Traditional full-field simulation methodologies are typically unable to resolve these scales in a computationally efficient manner. We handle the simulations of conjugate transport processes over selected length scales of interest via reduced order modeling through approaches such as compact finite elements, and proper orthogonal decomposition. In order to incorporate the influence of length scales beyond these, lumped models are invoked, with appropriate handshaking between the two frameworks. We illustrate the methodology through selected examples, with a focus on information technology systems.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Essure Surgical Removal and Subsequent Resolution of Chronic Pelvic Pain: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Background. Hysteroscopic tubal sterilization (Essure) is a minimally invasive option for permanent contraception with high reported rates of patient satisfaction. A small percentage of these women subsequently choose to have the tubal inserts removed due to regret or perceived side effects such as late-onset pelvic pain secondary to placement of the Essure device. Case. A twenty-nine-year-old woman G4P4014 presented with a two-year complaint of chronic pelvic pain and dyspareunia after the hysteroscopic placement of an Essure device for sterilization. On reviewing the images of the HSG, it was noted that although tubal occlusion was confirmed, the left Essure coil appeared curved on itself in an elliptical fashion and did not seem to follow the expected anatomic trajectory of the fallopian tube. The patient reported resolution of chronic pelvic pain following laparoscopic removal of Essure device. Conclusion. A misplaced Essure device should be considered in the differential diagnosis of chronic pelvic pain in women who had difficult placement of the device. In addition to demonstrating tubal occlusion, careful examination of the configuration of the Essure microinserts on HSG examination provides valuable information in patients with pelvic pain after Essure placement.
Governance Challenges and Options for State and Local Governments

There is little new in a view that State and Local Governments are having a difficult time during what has come to be called the Great Recession. What is new is the endeavor to understand the dimensions and key factors in what is a global crisis for State and Local Governments in the United States. An innovative approach would be to attempt to explain the dynamics of this crisis facing State and Local governments and look for ways to address it. Accordingly, we decided to take up the effort and examine the challenges for Governance at the State and Local levels in our current situation of sustained economic downturn and look at how they might be addressed. This is an undertaking that is likely to provoke thought in those interested in how we govern the nonFederal parts of our government in the United States and that, ultimately, may raise as many questions as it answers. Because this is the final issue of Volume 42 of the State and Local Government Review, the first volume done completely under the auspices of its new publisher, Sage Publications, Inc., we wanted to do something that was both provocative and innovative for the Governance Matters section. In keeping with our desire to innovate, we decided to try something we had not done before in the Review: ask experts for their opinions. Fortunately for us, we were able to convince three experts who have their fingers on the pulse of policy and practice in state and local governments across the United States and who have within arm's reach the latest data and research on what is transpiring in them, Jacqueline Byers, Director of Research for the National Association of Counties, Chris Hoene, Director of the Center for Research and Innovation of the National League of Cities, and John Thomasian, Director of the Center for Best Practices of the National Governors' Association. We cannot thank them enough and are sure that readers will feel the same. They were consulted in a two-hour "roundtable discussion" phone conference on September 9, 2010, moderated by the editor of the Governance Matters section, who is also the author of this piece, though not the author of the ideas in it: those ideas belong to our experts. Each of the three experts took five minutes to give thenviews about challenges. Then they discussed their views in a follow-up conversation. The follow-up was far ranging, but all three continued to come back to certain issues that constitute
Radar Data Tracking Using Minimum Spanning Tree-Based Clustering Algorithm

This paper discusses a novel approach to associate and rene aircraft track data from multiple radar sites. The approach provides enhanced aircraft track accuracy and time synchronization that is compatible with modern air trac management analysis and simulation tools. Unlike existing approaches where the number of aircraft in the radar data must be assumed, this approach requires no such prior knowledge. While commercial aircraft provide ID tags captured in the radar data in the form of Mode 3 transponder codes, general aviation often lacks such transponders, which precludes using the number of codes sensed to count the number of aircraft in the data. To meet this challenge, an approach to track an unknown number of unidentied aircraft using a clustering algorithm is proposed. The paper presents a method to relate aircraft between consecutive time frames and rene the trajectories of those vehicles. Experimental results from evaluating the algorithm and demonstrating its viability are provided.
Investigation and disposal on the first cluster outbreak of person to person transmission of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome in southern Anhui Province

Objective To reveal the infection source,route of transmission and investigation process of the first aggregate epidemic of fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome spread from human to human in the south of Anhui. Methods The clinical and laboratory information was collected using the case study and descriptive epidemiological method,so as to analyze the risk factors of infection and the epidemiological characteristics. Results This epidemic situation had two cases who were sisters,both of them had the typical clinical features with a high fever,reduction of platelet and other"fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome"characters,laboratory test results also confirmed the infection of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome bunyavirus( SFTSV). The incubation period was 9-10 days,and the infect route was close contact with the body of index case. The incidence of close contacts was 58. 3%. Conclusions This is an infection outbreak of SFTSV caused by the close contact. The patients can spread pathogens by close contacts after her death,so it is necessary to strengthen the isolation and protection. Medical institutions should strengthen the monitoring and report of suspected cases in time,the medical workers need to take the necessary protective measures to prevent nosocomial infection.
SU-F-T-446: Improving Craniospinal Irradiation Technique Using Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) Planning and Its Dosimetric Verification

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate a volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) treatment planning technique for supine craniospinal irradiation (CSI). Evaluate the suitability of VMAT for CSI with dosimetric measurements and compare it to 3D conformal planning using specific plan metrics such as dose conformity, homogeneity, and dose of organs at risk (OAR). Methods: Ten CSI patients treated with conventional 3D technique were re-planned with VMAT. The PTV was contoured to include the whole contents of the brain and spinal canal with a uniform margin of 5 mm. VMAT plans were generated with two partial arcs covering the brain, two partial arcs for the superior portion of the spinal cord and two partial arcs covering the remaining inferior portion of the spinal cord. Conformity index (CI), heterogeneity indexes (HI) and max and mean doses of OAR were compared to 3D plans. VMAT plans were delivered onto an anthropomorphic phantom loaded with Gafchromic films and OSLDs placed at specific positions to evaluate the plan dose at the junctions and as well as the plan dose distributions. Results: This VMAT technique was validated with a clinical study of 10 patients. The average CI was 1.03±0.02 for VMAT plans and 1.96±0.32 for conformal plans. And the average HI was 1.15±0.01 for VMAT plans and 1.51±0.21 for conformal plans. The mean and max doses to the all OARs for VMAT plans were significantly lower than conformal plans. The measured dose in phantom for VAMT plans was comparable to the calculated dose in Eclipse and the doses at junctions were verified. Conclusion: VMAT CSI was able to achieve better dose conformity and heterogeneity as well as significantly reducing the dose to Heart, esophagus and larynx. VMAT CSI appears to be a dosimterically advantageous, faster delivery, has better reproducibility CSI treatment.
Disorders of manganese transport

Abstract Manganese transport across cell membranes is highly regulated to prevent toxic accumulation or deficiency. In recent years, three autosomal recessive disorders of manganese transport have been reported. Patients with pathogenic variants in SLC30A10 manifest hypermanganesemia, dystonia, parkinsonism, liver dysfunction, and polycythemia, whereas patients with pathogenic variants in SLC39A14 have a similar neurological presentation but without polycythemia or liver disease. In both disorders, brain magnetic resonance imaging reveals T1 hyperintensities in the basal ganglia, pituitary, brainstem, and the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum. The treatment consists of chelation with disodium calcium edetate and oral iron supplementation to reduce manganese levels in blood. In contrast, patients with pathogenic variants in SLC39A8 present with infantile- or early childhood–onset manganese deficiency, together with a variety of neurodevelopmental features that include hypotonia, brain malformations, strabismus, growth retardation, and occasional seizures. Ongoing research aims to elucidate the regulatory mechanisms of manganese transport, its distribution at cellular and subcellular levels, and its role in neurotransmission, with the goal of developing new treatments.
Long Walks in Hierarchical Porous Materials due to Combined Surface and Configurational Diffusion

Hierarchical materials with porous structures at different length scales (i.e., micropore and mesopore) are an emerging class of materials. However, the lack of fundamental understanding of mass transport properties significantly limits rational development of these materials for applications in catalysis and separation. In this study, we evaluated the mass transport of two probe molecules, cyclohexane and 1-methylnaphthalene, in two different types of hierarchical porous materials, SBA-15 mesoporous silica and three dimensionally ordered mesoporous imprinted (3DOm-i) silicalite-1 zeolite, for comparison with nonmicroporous MCM-41 mesoporous silica. It was observed that the apparent diffusion lengths determined for hierarchical porous materials (i.e., SBA-15 and 3DOm-i silicalite-1) were significantly longer than predicted by the physical structure (i.e., radius) of the adsorbent particle, indicating that diffusion of molecules in hierarchical porous materials is much longer than expected. The unusually l...
Performance and Historicity in Racine's Mithridate: On the Dynamics of Temporal Order in the Seventeenth Century

This essay considers afresh the seventeenth-century ‘regime of historicity’ and thereby challenges a long critical tradition that has both identified in Racine's drama a systematically repetitive temporality and classified the so-called Grand Siecle as a century of stasis immobilised in a fantasy of eternity. The conflicting representations of time that subtend the dramaturgy of Racine's Mithridate enable a reflection on the historical nature of heroic models and political institutions. By closing with the spectacle of a bloody king dying amidst the admiration and tears of his relatives, Racine's play suggests that there is no better lieu de memoire than a tragic performance. Dynastic transition becomes a ‘liminal’ turning point that combines the perpetuation of past practices with the incorporation of new affective qualities. Mithridate exemplifies the way in which theatre as a stage performing art complicates the theory of the king's two bodies, by temporalizing the frozen time of absolutist discourses....
Hormonal Substances in Human Milk, Cow's Milk and Dairy Products

Hormone-like substances are normal constituents of cow's and human milk. Progesterone has been quantified in cow's milk and dairy products with butter containing a high value of 300 ng/g. Estrogenic substances have been detected in cow's and human milk but literature values are sparse or tend to vary widely possibly because quanitative methods available lacked specificity and sensitivity. Pregnanediol is rather unique to human milk and its presence in elevated levels has been associated with prolonged neonatal jaundice of nursing infants. The concentration of this steroid in affected mother's milk appears to be in the range of 150-450 ng/ml. 17-Ketosteroids may be present in cow's and human milk but here again limited literature values vary widely. Corticoids have been reported in cow's milk at a concentration of 3.1-3.7 ng/ml. Thyroxine and triiodothyronine are present in human milk but practically undetectable in cow's milk. Prostaglandins (PGF2α) have been determined to be present in cow's milk at concentrations between 0.1 to 0.4 ng/ml.
Abstract 64: Conditional Knockout of Activin Like Kinase-1 (ALK-1) Leads to Heart Failure Without Maladaptive Remodeling

Activin like kinase 1 (ALK1) mediates signaling via the TGFb family of ligands. ALK1 activity promotes endothelial proliferation and migration. Reduced ALK1 activity is associated with arteriovenous malformations. No studies have examined the effect of global ALK1 deletion on indices of cardiac remodeling. We hypothesized that reduced levels of ALK1 promote maladaptive cardiac remodeling. Methods: We employed an ALK1 conditional knockout mice (cKO) harboring the ROSA26-CreER knock-in allele whereby a single dose of intraperitoneal tamoxifen triggered ubiquitous Cre recombinase mediated excision of floxed ALK1 alleles. Tamoxifen treated wild-type (WT-Tam; n=5) and vehicle treated ALK1-cKO mice (cKO-Veh; n=5) served as controls for tamoxifen treated ALK1-cKO mice (cKO-Tam; n=15). Results: ALK1 cKO-Tam mice demonstrated reduced 14-day survival compared to cKO-Veh controls (33% vs 100%, respectively, p<0.01). Seven days after treatment, ALK1 cKO mice began to exhibit reduced left ventricular (LV) fractional shortening, progressive LV dilation, and gastrointestinal bleeding. After 14 days total body mass was reduced, but LV and lung mass increased in cKO-Tam not cKO-Veh mice. Peak LV systolic pressure, contractility, and arterial elastance were reduced, but LV end-diastolic pressure and stroke volume increased in cKO-Tam, not cKO-Veh mice. LV ALK1 mRNA and protein levels were reduced in cKO-Tam, not cKO-Veh mice. LV levels of other TGFb-family ligands and receptors (ALK5, TBRII, BMPRII, Endoglin, BMP7, BMP9, and TGFB1) were unchanged between groups. Cardiomyocyte area and LV levels of BNP were increased in cKO-Tam mice, but LV levels of b-MHC, SerCA, and calcineurin were unchanged. No increase in cardiac fibrosis Type I collagen, CTGF, or PAI-1 levels were observed between groups. No differences were observed for any variable studied between cKO-Veh and WT-Tam mice. Conclusion: Global deletion of ALK1 is associated with the development of high output heart failure without maladaptive remodeling. Future studies exploring the functional role of ALK1 in cardiac remodeling are required.
Do exurban communities want more development

ABSTRACTMost land-use surveys of exurban residents focus on eliciting preferences for residential development and open space conservation. This article, in contrast, reports on a stated preference study of exurban residents that assesses the relative attractiveness of a variety of commercial and recreational land uses. Focus group participants and town planners proclaimed a demand for certain commercial services such as modern grocery stores and fine-dining restaurants, but survey respondents generally exhibit a strong preference for no additional development beyond the current rate of development. Results show that if additional development is to occur, then recreational services are generally preferred over more traditional commercial development. Combining two commercial services in a single development project are strongly preferred to stand-alone developments. Our approach illustrates how planners may uncover misconceptions about and priorities for land conversion through examining residents’ prefere...
The Wuchang ideal: Buddhist education and identity production in Republican China

Buddhist education in China went through a fervent period of growth and significant changes during the 1920s and 1930s. Focusing on the pedagogical goals and agenda of the Wuchang Buddhist Studies ...
Diseases of the Esophagus

This syllabus reviews the findings on esophagography for a variety of esophageal diseases, including reflux esophagitis, Barrett’s esophagus, other types of esophagitis, benign and malignant esophageal tumors, varices, lower esophageal rings, esophageal intramural pseudodi-verticulosis, and esophageal motility disorders.
Exploration of the Germline Genome of the Ciliate Chilodonella uncinata through Single-Cell Omics (Transcriptomics and Genomics).

Separate germline and somatic genomes are found in numerous lineages across the eukaryotic tree of life, often separated into distinct tissues (e.g., in plants, animals, and fungi) or distinct nuclei sharing a common cytoplasm (e.g., in ciliates and some foraminifera). In ciliates, germline-limited (i.e., micronuclear-specific) DNA is eliminated during the development of a new somatic (i.e., macronuclear) genome in a process that is tightly linked to large-scale genome rearrangements, such as deletions and reordering of protein-coding sequences. Most studies of germline genome architecture in ciliates have focused on the model ciliates Oxytricha trifallax, Paramecium tetraurelia, and Tetrahymena thermophila, for which the complete germline genome sequences are known. Outside of these model taxa, only a few dozen germline loci have been characterized from a limited number of cultivable species, which is likely due to difficulties in obtaining sufficient quantities of "purified" germline DNA in these taxa. Combining single-cell transcriptomics and genomics, we have overcome these limitations and provide the first insights into the structure of the germline genome of the ciliate Chilodonella uncinata, a member of the understudied class Phyllopharyngea Our analyses reveal the following: (i) large gene families contain a disproportionate number of genes from scrambled germline loci; (ii) germline-soma boundaries in the germline genome are demarcated by substantial shifts in GC content; (iii) single-cell omics techniques provide large-scale quality germline genome data with limited effort, at least for ciliates with extensively fragmented somatic genomes. Our approach provides an efficient means to understand better the evolution of genome rearrangements between germline and soma in ciliates.IMPORTANCE Our understanding of the distinctions between germline and somatic genomes in ciliates has largely relied on studies of a few model genera (e.g., Oxytricha, Paramecium, Tetrahymena). We have used single-cell omics to explore germline-soma distinctions in the ciliate Chilodonella uncinata, which likely diverged from the better-studied ciliates ~700 million years ago. The analyses presented here indicate that developmentally regulated genome rearrangements between germline and soma are demarcated by rapid transitions in local GC composition and lead to diversification of protein families. The approaches used here provide the basis for future work aimed at discerning the evolutionary impacts of germline-soma distinctions among diverse ciliates.
Using linked data to interpret tables

Vast amounts of information is available in structured forms like spreadsheets, database relations, and tables found in documents and on the Web. We describe an approach that uses linked data to interpret such tables and associate their components with nodes in a reference linked data collection. Our proposed framework assigns a class (i.e. type) to table columns, links table cells to entities, and inferred relations between columns to properties. The resulting interpretation can be used to annotate tables, confirm existing facts in the linked data collection, and propose new facts to be added. Our implemented prototype uses DBpedia as the linked data collection and Wikitology for background knowledge. We evaluated its performance using a collection of tables from Google Squared, Wikipedia and the Web.
Challenges in bridging plan synthesis paradigms

In the last three years, several "radically new" and promising approaches have been developed for tackling the plan synthesis problem. Currently, these approaches exist in isolation as there is no coherent explanation of their sources of strength vis a vis the traditional refinement planners. In this paper, I provide a generalized view of refinement planning, that subsumes both traditional and newer approaches to plan synthesis. I will interpret the contributions of the new approaches in terms of a new subclass of refinement planners called "disjunctive planners". This unifying view raises several intriguing possibilities for complementing the strengths of the various approaches. I will identify and pose these as challenges to the planning community.
Virtual reality applications in clinical medicine.

Virtual reality, the use of computational methods to present users with a multimedia environment that simulates reality, is becoming a practical, affordable technology for the teaching and practice of clinical medicine. Although limited-fidelity virtual reality systems have been used in medical education for decades, modern, high-fidelity virtual reality systems have practical applications in areas ranging from psychiatry to surgical planning and telemedicine. Factors that limit widespread use of virtual reality in medicine include a lack of standards for the re-purposing and sharing of system components and the resultant low return on investment from custom systems. The standards issue is being addressed by economic incentives from organizations such as the U.S. military, which requires computer-based educational materials, including simulations, to be interoperable. Similarly, the low return on investment is becoming less of a factor in clinical scenarios in which virtual reality systems offer physicians and their patients experiences that are impossible or impractical to gain elsewhere.
Modeling of delayed elasticity in glass

Abstract We have developed a numerical model based on finite element analysis (FEA) with a viscoelastic material model coupling stress relaxation and structural relaxation, using the Mauro-Allan-Potuzak (MAP) non-equilibrium viscosity equation as the shift function. A modeling study of the delayed elasticity behavior in glass under different equilibrium viscosity and non-equilibrium viscosity conditions is conducted. The delayed elastic response is found to be well described by a stretched exponential function with three parameters: the maximum delayed elasticity response, the retardation time of delayed elasticity response, and the stretching exponent of delayed elasticity response. The delayed elasticity magnitude is seen to increase with lower values of the stretching exponent bstress. At equilibrium viscosity, the retardation time shows a linear relationship with the stress relaxation time. However, when the temperature drops sharply in the non-equilibrium viscosity cases, the delayed elastic response may be frozen resulting in a lower magnitude for the delayed elasticity and the retardation time is not linear any more with the stress relaxation time. The delayed elasticity stretching exponent is seen to vary slightly at different relaxation times and normalized delayed elasticity response can roughly be collapsed into a single master curve. The impact of liquid fragility is also studied.
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis: A fibrosing alveolitis produced by inhalation of diverse antigens.

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) is a TH1 lymphocyte–biased fibrosing alveolitis caused by antigens ranging from avian excreta, fungi, thermophilic bacteria, and protozoa to reactive chemicals found in the workplace. Mimicking a viral syndrome, acute exposures to inciting antigens cause abrupt onset of nonproductive cough, dyspnea, and chills with arthralgias or malaise usually from 4 to 8 hours later so that the temporal relationship between antigen exposure and symptoms might be unsuspected. The histology of HP reveals prominent lymphocyte infiltrates that thicken the alveolar septa with poorly formed granulomas or giant cells. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid demonstrates greater than 20% lymphocytes in nearly all patients. Abnormalities on high-resolution computed tomographic examinations range from nodular centrilobular opacities in acute/subacute disease to increased reticular markings and honeycombing fibrosis, which typically are predominant in the upper lobes, in patients with advanced disease. Descriptors include "mosaic" attenuation and ground-glass opacities. Repeated episodes can result in nodular pulmonary infiltrates and suspected nonspecific interstitial pneumonia or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Clinicians require a high level of suspicion to make an early diagnosis of HP before extensive pulmonary fibrosis or restrictive lung disease has occurred.
Absorption and Laser Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy of Neutral Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Argon matrices

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are considered as plausible carriers for the extended red emission (ERE), a photoluminescent process associated with a wide variety of interstellar environments, as well as for broad emission band features seen in cometary spectra. We report the absorption spectra of phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pentacene, pyrene, chrysene and triphenylene isolated at 10 K in solid argon matrices together with laser induced fluorescence (LIF) spectra at 355 nm of matrix-isolated anthracene and fluoranthene. LIF spectra are compared with the UV/blue fluorescence spectra of the Red Rectangle Nebula (RR). The LIF spectra measured in solid Ar matrices have been shifted to the predicted position of the PAH band emission in the gas phase for comparison with the astronomical observations (Fig. 1).
The La Traviata Affair: Opera in the Age of Apartheid

Music historian Hilde Roos, general manager of Africa Opera Institute for Music, Research, and Innovation at South Africa’s Stellenbosch University, provides an engaging examination of one of apart...
Social Persuasions in Math and Their Prediction of STEM Courses Self-Efficacy in Middle School.

The purpose of this study was to further clarify the structure of social persuasion as a source of self-efficacy in early adolescence and to examine the influence of social persuasion on STEM self-...
Hierarchical porous silicon structures with extraordinary mechanical strength as high-performance lithium-ion battery anodes

Porous structured silicon has been regarded as a promising candidate to overcome pulverization of silicon-based anodes. However, poor mechanical strength of these porous particles has limited their volumetric energy density towards practical applications. Here we design and synthesize hierarchical carbon-nanotube@silicon@carbon microspheres with both high porosity and extraordinary mechanical strength (>200 MPa) and a low apparent particle expansion of ~40% upon full lithiation. The composite electrodes of carbon-nanotube@silicon@carbon-graphite with a practical loading (3 mAh cm−2) deliver ~750 mAh g−1 specific capacity, 92% capacity retention over 500 cycles. This work is a leap in silicon anode development and provides insights into the design of electrode materials for other batteries. The authors here construct hierarchical porous CNT@Si@C microspheres as anodes for Li-ion batteries, enabling both high electrochemical performance and excellent mechanical strength. The work highlights the importance of mechanical properties in developing battery materials for practical applications.
Physical Activity Patterns and Health-Related Fitness Indicators in Adults Living with HIV in South Texas

Purpose: People living with HIV (PLHIV) are at an increased risk for many chronic diseases due, in part, to low physical activity (PA) levels. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between physical activity patterns and health-related fitness indicators of adults living with HIV in South Texas. Methods: Participants (N = 172) were mostly Hispanic/Latino (n = 105) adults with HIV. Measurements included a 7-day Physical Activity Recall (PAR) assessing light, moderate, and vigorous PA; a 6-minute walk test (6MWT) to assess cardiovascular fitness; a hand grip strength test to assess muscular strength; a back scratch test for flexibility; and anthropometrics (body mass index (BMI) and hip-waist ratio). Data were analyzed utilizing descriptive statistics, an independent samples t-test, Pearson’s correlations and partial correlations, and a hierarchical multiple regression analysis (HMRA). Results: There was a significant relationship between total PA and muscular strength. Light and total PA were associated with lower hip-waist ratios. In Hispanics/Latinos, both moderate and total PA were associated with muscular strength. All findings remained after controlling for age. Hispanics/Latinos had higher hip-waist ratios than non-Hispanics/Latinos. Conclusions: Results suggest a relationship between PA and muscular strength as well as between PA and hip-waist ratio for this population of adults living with HIV, but not between PA and other health-related fitness indicators. There appears to be some benefit associated with even low intensity PA for PLHIV. Future intervention studies may wish to examine strategies to increase PA- particularly that of moderate and vigorous intensity- in PLHIV.