cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abnormalities of nitroblue tetrazolium reduction in leukocytes of patients with alcoholism.

Quantitative nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction was determined in polymorphonuclear leukocytes of 19 alcoholic patients. While some individual values were normal, mean prestimulation NBT reduction was significantly elevated (P < .05) over controls. Those with elevated values were not found to have current infection, more acute alcohol exposure, or leukopenia. Incubation of normal polymorphonuclear leukocytes in alcoholic plasma did not increase NBT reduction, nor did normal plasma restore baseline activity to alcoholic polymorphonuclear leukocytes. In three of four specimens concurrently tested by NBT slide test, increased reduction was also noted. Relative folate deficiency or a toxic effect of alcohol may either produce or prolong an earlier infectious or inflammatory stimulus. Alternatively, escape from alcohol toxicity or dietary folate repletion may produce a surge of young polymorphonuclear leukocytes with increased metabolic activity. Alcoholism may thus cause abnormally high NBT reduction without current infection.
Protein Crowding within the Postsynaptic Density Can Impede the Escape of Membrane Proteins.

Mechanisms regulating lateral diffusion and positioning of glutamate receptors within the postsynaptic density (PSD) determine excitatory synaptic strength. Scaffold proteins in the PSD are abundant receptor binding partners, yet electron microscopy suggests that the PSD is highly crowded, potentially restricting the diffusion of receptors regardless of binding. However, the contribution of macromolecular crowding to receptor retention remains poorly understood. We combined experimental and computational approaches to test the effect of synaptic crowding on receptor movement and positioning in Sprague Dawley rat hippocampal neurons. We modeled AMPA receptor diffusion in synapses where the distribution of scaffold proteins was determined from photoactivated localization microscopy experiments, and receptor–scaffold association and dissociation rates were adjusted to fit single-molecule tracking and fluorescence recovery measurements. Simulations predicted that variation of receptor size strongly influences the fractional synaptic area the receptor may traverse, and the proportion that may exchange in and out of the synapse. To test the model experimentally, we designed a set of novel transmembrane (TM) probes. A single-pass TM protein with one PDZ binding motif concentrated in the synapse as do AMPARs yet was more mobile there than the much larger AMPAR. Furthermore, either the single binding motif or an increase in cytoplasmic bulk through addition of a single GFP slowed synaptic movement of a small TM protein. These results suggest that both crowding and binding limit escape of AMPARs from the synapse. Moreover, tight protein packing within the PSD may modulate the synaptic dwell time of many TM proteins important for synaptic function. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Small alterations to the distribution within synapses of key transmembrane proteins, such as receptors, can dramatically change synaptic strength. Indeed, many diseases are thought to unbalance neural circuit function in this manner. Processes that regulate this in healthy synapses are unclear, however. By combining computer simulations with imaging methods that examined protein dynamics at multiple scales in space and time, we showed that both steric effects and protein–protein binding each regulate the mobility of receptors in the synapse. Our findings extend our knowledge of the synapse as a crowded environment that counteracts molecular diffusion, and support the idea that both molecular collisions and biochemical binding can be involved in the regulation of neural circuit performance.
Role of Activation of Interleukin-6/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 Signaling in Interleukin-17 Producing CD4~+ T Cell/Regulatory T Cell Imbalance of Children with Acute Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Objective To investigate the role of IL-6/transducer and activator of transcription 3(STAT3) signaling in IL-17 producing CD4+ T helper cell(Th17)/regulatory T cell(Treg) imbalance of children with acute immune thrombocytopenic purpura(ITP). Methods Thirty children with acute ITP and 30 age-matched healthy children were collected.Plasma concentration of IL-6 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Expression levels of RORγt mRNA,FOXP3 mRNA,SOCS1 mRNA and SOCS3 mRNA were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR).The proportions of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ Treg,CD4+IL-17A+ T cells and mean fluorescence intensity(MFI) for phosphorylated-STAT3(pSTAT3) protein in CD4+ T cells were analyzed by flow cytometry.Quantitative methylation specific PCR was used to evaluate methylation status of CpG islands in SOCS1 exon2,and 3 potential bind sites for STAT3 in 5′-untraslated region(5′-UTR) of SOCS3 in CD4+ T cells. Results 1.Compared with healthy control group,the proportion of Th17 cells and expression levels of RORγt mRNA in acute ITP were significantly elevated(Pa0.05) while the proportion of Treg and transcription levels of FOXP3 were significantly decreased(Pa0.05),resulted in a higher ratio of Th17/Treg(P0.05).2.Compared with healthy control group,plasma concentrations of IL-6 and pSTAT3 MFI of CD4+ T cell were elevated significantly during acute ITP(Pa0.05).3.Expression levels of SOCS1 and SOCS3 in ITP patients increased significantly(P0.05) and negatively correlated with the ratio of Th17/Treg(r=-0.63,-0.70,Pa0.05).Furthermore,CpG islands in SOCS1 exon2 and the third potential bind site for STAT3 in SOCS3 5′-UTR were fully demethylated in healthy controls,and demethylation levels of those in acute ITP were significantly decreased(P0.05).Positive correlations between demethylation levels of SOCS1 or SOCS3 with their expressions were observed in ITP patients(r=0.76,0.65,Pa0.05),respectively.CpG islands in the other two bind sites for STAT3 in SOCS3 5′-UTR were fully demethylated in the 2 groups(P0.05). Conclusions Aberrant activation of IL-6/STAT3 signaling caused by hypomethylation of SOCS1 and SOCS3 may be one of the factors contributing to imbalance of Th17/Treg in acute ITP.
Preparation and Application Technologies of Nanoferrofluid

Nanoferrofluid is a new kind of liquid functional material developed in 1960's. It is a colloid formed by ferromagnetic nano particles which are coated with surfactant layer stably dispersing in a liquid carrier. The characteristics of nanoferrofluid, its preparation methods and applications in seal, lubricating, damping, grinding, printing and medicine fields are reviewed. Some suggestions of our research in future are proposed.
Tryptophan Synthetase α Chain Positions Affected by Mutations near the Ends of the Genetic Map of trpA of Escherichia coli

The codons specifying the amino acid residues at positions 15 and 243 in the α chain of Escherichia coli tryptophan synthetase are altered in nonsense mutants whose mutations lie at the ends of the genetic map of trpA, the structural gene of the α chain. A missense mutant, trpA218, altered near the beginning of trpA, has an amino acid change at position 22 in the α chain. The relationship of the genetic map of trpA to the amino acid sequence of the α chain is considered.
A produção simultânea de masculinidades hegemônicas e subalternas

I take the argument of Andre Gunder Frank in his classic studies on Latin America, that economic development and underdevelopment were not simply stages through which all countries pass. Rather, he argued, there was a relationship between development and underdevelopment, that, in fact, the development of some countries implied the specific and deliberate underdevelopment of others. The creation of the metropole was simultaneous and coordinated with the creation of the periphery. As with economic development, so too with gender, with the historical constructions of the meanings of masculinity. As the hegemonic ideal was being created, it was created against a screen of “others" whose masculinity was thus problematized and devalued. Hegemonic and subaltern emerged in mutual, but unequal interaction in a gendered social and economic order. In this paper, I trace the historical emergence of the hegemonic version of masculinity in the United States and Western Europe from the 18th century to the present. I describe the ways in which the “self-made man" displaced and discredited other versions of masculinity – of men of color, immigrants, gay men, older men, upper class men, working class men – as well as women as it became the dominant form of gendered success in the public arena. I then describe the contemporary version of hegemonic masculinity – the global capitalist, watching CNN in luxury hotels in every country, talking on his cell phone, wearing power ties and eating power lunches – as the direct descendent of the 18th century merchant.
Identification and validation of regulatory SNPs that modulate transcription factor chromatin binding and gene expression in prostate cancer

// Hong-Jian Jin 1 , Segun Jung 1 , Auditi R. DebRoy 1 , Ramana V. Davuluri 1 1 Division of Health and Biomedical Informatics, Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA Correspondence to: Ramana V. Davuluri, email: ramana.davuluri@northwestern.edu Keywords: SNP, prostate cancer, transcription factor, CRISPR/Cas9, eQTL Received: March 23, 2016 Accepted: May 23, 2016 Published: July 09, 2016 ABSTRACT Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common solid tumor for cancer related deaths in American men. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the increased risk of PCa. Because most of the susceptibility SNPs are located in noncoding regions, little is known about their functional mechanisms. We hypothesize that functional SNPs reside in cell type-specific regulatory elements that mediate the binding of critical transcription factors (TFs), which in turn result in changes in target gene expression. Using PCa-specific functional genomics data, here we identify 38 regulatory candidate SNPs and their target genes in PCa. Through risk analysis by incorporating gene expression and clinical data, we identify 6 target genes (ZG16B, ANKRD5, RERE, FAM96B, NAALADL2 and GTPBP10) as significant predictors of PCa biochemical recurrence. In addition, 5 SNPs (rs2659051, rs10936845, rs9925556, rs6057110 and rs2742624) are selected for experimental validation using Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), dual-luciferase reporter assay in LNCaP cells, showing allele-specific enhancer activity. Furthermore, we delete the rs2742624-containing region using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing and observe the drastic downregulation of its target gene UPK3A. Taken together, our results illustrate that this new methodology can be applied to identify regulatory SNPs and their target genes that likely impact PCa risk. We suggest that similar studies can be performed to characterize regulatory variants in other diseases.
On Sampled Control with Distributed Processing

The distributed temporal processing of input and output is the main feature of distributed sampling control (DSC). The DSC method was first used to improve the performance of multi-input multi-output (MIMO) control systems for robots. Control algorithms for which this method can be applied require each system output (or state variable) at a different time point and generate each plant input at a different time point. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the underlying concept and to demonstrate its performance through examples of simple robots operating with model-based controllers. Two controllers are used to drive the same plants. One is based on conventional control principles where feedback signals are simultaneously sampled and plant inputs are applied simultaneously and the other utilizes DSC. Differences in the control action are then analyzed. General aspects of the distributed sampling control are also discussed.
Gender-Specific Considerations in Pulmonary Hypertension

Publisher Summary Despite the higher incidence of many forms of pulmonary arterial hypertension in women, still little is known about the reasons for the predisposition or about potential therapeutic implications. Both familial pulmonary arterial hypertension (FPAH) and idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) may have a genetic basis for the predisposition although environmental triggers, such as anorexigenic drugs, may further contribute to the incidence. Collagen vascular diseases, with scleroderma as the prototype, may have an increased incidence in women related to microchimerism and pregnancy. Further information is needed to explain the female predominance in all these settings. Such information may, in the end, have implications for disease treatment or prevention that have yet to be explored. This chapter in particular reviews IPAH and scleroderma because recognized gender issues are associated with these disorders.
Factor V Leiden Mutation and Neonatal Stroke

Three infants with familial factor V Leiden mutation and neonatal cerebrovascular disorders are reported from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, PA.
Coordinated Implementation and Evaluation of Flipped Classes and Peer-Led Team Learning in General Chemistry

The research-based pedagogical strategy of flipped classes has been shown to be effective for increasing student achievement and retention in postsecondary chemistry classes. The purpose of flipped classes is to move content delivery (e.g., lecture) outside of the classroom, freeing more face-to-face time for active learning strategies. The opportunity to engage in active learning with students can be a challenge for instructors of large classes (more than 100 students). Furthermore, there has been little discussion in the chemical education literature to provide instructors with detailed descriptions of successful implementations of flipped classes combined with active learning in large classes. To this end, this report provides a comprehensive description and evaluation of a coordinated implementation of flipped classes with peer-led team learning (PLTL) for second-semester general chemistry with class sizes greater than 200 students. This approach is described as “Flipped PLTL”. This report includes de...
Neural correlates of explicit and implicit emotion processing in relation to treatment response in pediatric anxiety.

Background Approximately 40%–45% of youth with anxiety disorders do not achieve remission (or a substantial reduction in symptoms) following treatment, highlighting the need to identify predictors of treatment response. Given the well-established link between attentional biases and anxiety disorders in youth and adults, this study examined the neural correlates of directing attention toward and away from emotional faces in relation to pediatric anxiety treatment response. Method Prior to beginning treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) sertraline or cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), 37 youth (age 7–19 years) with generalized and/or social anxiety disorder completed a task with conditions that manipulated whether participants were instructed to match emotional faces (explicit emotion processing) or match shapes in the context of emotional face distractors (implicit emotion processing) during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results Results revealed that reduced activation in superior frontal gyrus (SFG), encompassing the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (PFC), during implicit processing of emotional faces predicted a greater reduction in anxiety severity pre-to-post treatment. Post hoc analyses indicated that effects were not significantly moderated by the type of treatment or anxiety type. Conclusions Findings suggest that less recruitment of SFG, including the dorsal ACC and dorsomedial PFC, during implicit emotion processing predicts a greater reduction in youth anxiety symptoms pre-to-post treatment. Youth who exhibit reduced activation in these areas while matching shapes in the context of emotional face distractors may have more to gain from CBT and SSRI treatment due to preexisting deficits in attentional control. These findings suggest that neuroimaging may be a useful tool for predicting which youth are most likely to benefit from anxiety treatment.
Optogenetic Control of Membrane Tethering and Inter-Membrane Communications

Owing to its unsurpassable flexibility and spatiotemporal precision to manipulate biochemical pathways, the field of non-opsin-based optogenetics has been gaining rapid momentum in cell biology over the past decade. By installing light sensitivities into a series of polybasic domains (PB) that mediate phosphoinositide binding in mammalian cells, we report herein the development of a set of single-component optogenetic tools to control protein translocation (termed “optoPB”) toward the plasma membrane, and to further manipulate membrane contact sites between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the plasma membrane (PM). We demonstrated the use of these tools to i) perturb phosphoinositide metabolism and cell signaling on the plasma membrane; ii) reversibly control the formation of ER-PM junctions with high spatial and temporal precision; iii) aid the dissection of molecular determinants that govern protein-phosphoinositide interactions; and iv) photo-tune the distance between ER-PM junctions to restrict protein diffusion on the plasma membrane. These noninvasive optical tools will likely open new possibilities for cell biologists to quantitatively examine the effect of chemical or protein modulators that regulate the dynamics of ER-PM junctions at defined spatiotemporal resolution in living cells. (This work was supported by grants from the NIH (R01GM112003 to Y.Z.) and the Rober A. Welch Foundation (BE-1913 to Y.Z.), the China Scholarship Council (to J.J.) )
Gene Expression Profiling Reveals Genes Predictive of Outcome In Infant Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and Distinctive Age-Related Gene Expression Profiles ( 90 Days): A Children's Oncology Group Study

Abstract 412 ALL arising in infants is a highly refractory disease. Overall event-free survival (EFS) remains poor and infants with MLL rearrangements (MLL-R) or those 90 days of age (in the overall cohort and in the MLL-AF4 cases). Specifically evaluating the impact of patient age treated as a continuous variable revealed a striking transition in expression profiles at 90 days with a differential expression pattern involving many genes encoding histone-related, heat shock family, or immune response regulators (including HLA-DRB4, IL1R2, HSPA1A///1B ) . These distinctive profiles may reflect different transformed stem/precursor cells or susceptibilities to leukemic transformation at different patient ages, altered marrow microenvironments, or altered immune status; high expression of the heat shock proteins in particular among the youngest infants may reflect a more limited immune surveillance capacity. Given the rarity of infant ALL, this study represents one of the largest uniformly treated groups of infant leukemia to undergo gene expression profiling. In these studies we have identified genes that are highly predictive of outcome at diagnosis, in all infant ALL and in MLL-AF4 cases. Further analysis of these expression profiles, coupled with validation studies in other infant ALL cohorts, may allow for the identification of novel therapeutic targets among the genes discovered herein and ultimately for the development of more effective therapies. ![Figure][1] Disclosures: Felix: None: Patent not licensed. [1]: pending:yes
Dreams and political imagination in colonial Buganda

This article explores the intellectual history of dreaming practices in the eastern African kingdom of Buganda. Whereas Muslim dissenters used their dreams to challenge colonial authority following the kingdom's late nineteenth-century religious wars, political historians such as Apolo Kaggwa removed the political practice of dreaming from Buganda's official histories to deplete the visionary archives from which dissenters continued to draw. Kaggwa's strategy, though, could only be pressed so far. Recently unearthed vernacular sources show that Christian activists, such as Erieza Bwete and Eridadi Mulira, continued to marshal their dreams and literacy to imagine competing visions of Buganda's colonial monarchy. Earlier scholars had argued that modernity and literacy would displace the political function of dreams. This article, by contrast, proposes that sleeping visions took on new, more complicated meanings throughout the twentieth century. Literacy offered new technologies to expound upon the political implications of dreams and a vast repository of symbols to enrich interpretative performances.
Evaluation of Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccination Among Newly Arrived Refugees

Objectives. To assess US availability and use of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination documentation for refugees vaccinated overseas.Methods. We selected 1500 refugee records from 14 states from March 2013 through July 2015 to determine whether overseas vaccination records were available at the US postarrival health assessment and integrated into the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices schedule. We assessed number of doses, dosing interval, and contraindications.Results. Twelve of 14 (85.7%) states provided data on 1118 (74.5%) refugees. Overseas records for 972 (86.9%) refugees were available, most from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Electronic Disease Notification system (66.9%). Most refugees (829; 85.3%) were assessed appropriately for MMR vaccination; 37 (3.8%) should have received MMR vaccine but did not; 106 (10.9%) did not need the MMR vaccine but were vaccinated.Conclusions. Overseas documentation was available at most clinics, and MMR vaccinations typically were giv...
The US Black–White Infant Mortality Gap: Marker of Deep Inequities

An introduction is presented in which the author discusses a report in the issue dealing with the differences between the infant mortality rates for Black and White babies in the U.S., and it mentions health inequities and access to women's and perinatal health care in America.
Reframing Data as a Gift

In this talk, I use Mauss' theory of the gift in order to shift how we think about data sharing and data donation, particularly in the context of biomedical research. I argue that if we think of data as a gift, we can think of the role data can play in building relationships and exposing tensions and social hierarchies.
Laboratory Studies to Investigate Subsurface Fracture Mechanics

Abstract Fracturing laboratory studies to support understanding of fracturing behavior in the field have been performed for more than six decades. These research studies have focused on various aspects of fracturing, including fracture orientation and borehole orientation with respect to the orientation of principal stresses, rock anisotropy, the effects of various types of discontinuities (also with respect to orientation), leak-off into the formation, fracturing fluid viscosity, and nontraditional methods. The studies have advanced in complexity and scale over the decades, with initial tests performed on very simple isotropic systems at the sub-15 cm scale, to very elaborate anisotropic natural and composed media at the near-meter scale. Studies have included laboratory-manufactured samples with known characteristics and natural samples with natural flaws. Although the potential experimental matrix of tests is very large and thus incompletely covered, the tests performed have provided much insight into subsurface fracturing behavior.
Chapter 17 Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Treatment

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the treatment of the systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Lupus nephritis (LN) is serious complication of SLE. The goals of therapy include induction of remission, prevention of relapse, and prevention of progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Both the induction of remission and prevention of relapse improve outcome. When treating LN patients, it is important to recognize that LN is a heterogeneous disease both in the pattern and the severity of renal involvement. Therefore, treatment must be individualized. It is often difficult to reliably predict renal histology on the basis of clinical and laboratory manifestations of LN and the renal histology remains an excellent predictor of long-term outcome. Although the pathogenesis of LN remains incompletely understood, advances in this area have identified new treatment options that appear atleast as effective as older regimens. As long-term outcomes continue to improve, the toxicity of treatment becomes increasingly important.
The left-right asymmetry of liver lobation is generated by Pitx2c-mediated asymmetries in the hepatic diverticulum.

Abstract Internal organs exhibit left-right asymmetric sizes, shapes and anatomical positions, but how these different lateralities develop is poorly understood. Here we use the experimentally tractable Xenopus model to uncover the morphogenetic events that drive the left-right asymmetrical lobation of the liver. On the right side of the early hepatic diverticulum, endoderm cells become columnar and apically constricted, forming an expanded epithelial surface and, ultimately, an enlarged right liver lobe. In contrast, the cells on the left side become rounder, and rearrange into a compact, stratified architecture that produces a smaller left lobe. Side-specific gain- and loss-of-function studies reveal that asymmetric expression of the left-right determinant Pitx2c elicits distinct epithelial morphogenesis events in the left side of the diverticulum. Surprisingly, the cellular events induced by Pitx2c during liver development are opposite those induced in other digestive organs, suggesting divergent cellular mechanisms underlie the formation of different lateralities.
Normal Development of the Perineuronal Net in Humans; In Patients with and without Epilepsy

Abstract The perineuronal net (PN), a highly organized extracellular matrix structure, is believed to play an important role in synaptic function, including maturation and stabilization. In addition to its role in restricting plasticity, alterations in the PN are implicated in disorders such as epilepsy and schizophrenia. However, the time course of PN development is not known in humans. Therefore we set out to document the developmental timeline of the PN formation in humans in 14 frontal and hippocampal specimens from donors aged 27 days to 31 years old. Using immunohistochemistry and western blotting, we demonstrate that the PN begins to form as early as the second month of life but does not reach its robust, mature appearance until around 8 years of age, though aggrecan cleavage products are observed prior to this. A similar developmental time course was observed in specimens from epilepsy patients. Our data suggest that aggrecan is present early in development but the structured PN develops throughout early childhood, similar to what has been observed in rodents. This timeline provides information for future pathological studies on the role of the PN in disease and an additional parallel between human and rodent development.
Equations of Motion; Surface Gravity Waves

For a rotating stratified fluid, the general equations of motion can be written as: 1. Momentum equation: $$ \rho \left[ {\frac{{d\vec u}}{{dt}} + 2\Omega \times \vec u} \right] = - \nabla p + \mu {\nabla ^2}\vec u + k\nabla (\nabla \cdot \vec u)\;(if\;\mu \;cons\tan t,\;k\;is\sec ondvisosity) $$ (3.1) 2. Mass conservation: $$ \frac{{\partial \rho }}{{\partial t}} + \nabla \cdot (\rho \vec u) = 0\;;and $$ (3.2) 3. Thermodynamic energy equation: $$ \frac{{ds}}{{dt}} = H $$ where s is specific entropy and H is the nonreversible heat addition. This can be rewritten, assuming that s is a thermodynamic function of p and ρ, $$ {c_p}\frac{{dT}}{{dt}} - \frac{{\alpha T}}{{\rho t}}\frac{{dp}}{{dt}} = \Phi + \frac{k}{\rho }{\nabla ^2}T + Q + k{(\nabla \cdot \vec u)^2} \equiv H $$ (3.3) where s is specific entropy and H is the nonreversible heat addition.
Opinion: Offshore aquaculture in the United States: Untapped potential in need of smart policy.

The United States had a $14 billion seafood trade deficit in 2016, importing more than 2.5 million tons of edible fishery products, 90% of the value of the seafood Americans eat (1). Half of those seafood imports are from aquaculture (2). Meanwhile, demand in the United States for local, fresh, and sustainably produced seafood is growing, and the absence of sufficient local supply to meet this demand clearly represents a lost opportunity for sustainability and economic growth. Expanded domestic seafood production in the United States could promote significant economic development and job creation. Yet, wild-fishery production has only a relatively modest potential for sustainable growth. Aquaculture, therefore, represents the only realistic option for expanding domestic production (3). Indeed, the vast expanses of favorable growing areas with suitable depths, current speeds, temperatures, and access to ports give the United States some of the highest offshore aquaculture production potential in the world (4). And yet, despite huge potential benefits in terms of a reduced trade deficit, local job and revenue creation, and a domestic source of safe and sustainable seafood, marine aquaculture production in the United States lags far behind many other countries worldwide. This failure to realize offshore aquaculture potential is partially attributable to reasonable concerns over environmental impacts and the lack of a streamlined, objective, and predictable policy framework for offshore aquaculture permitting and regulation. The key to addressing both is scientifically informed, proactive spatial planning that identifies optimal locations for sustainable aquaculture development. This type of spatial planning could minimize negative environmental, social, and economic impacts on marine ecosystems and coastal communities while reducing uncertainty for investors and the industry. The opportunity is right beyond our shores. We just need to seize it. Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food-production sector globally (5) and is increasingly seen as an important … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: slester{at}fsu.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Pushing perfection: Exploring activity systems through international elite gymnastics scoring

In 2006 the international elite gymnastics community switched their scoring system from the iconic 10.0 to a limitless system. Because of the overlapping interests of NBC as media broadcasting the event, the change in scoring resulted in NBC creating a key to assist audiences in understanding the scoring change for the 2012 London Olympic broadcast. The theoretical concepts of multiple activity systems sharing an object and collaborative ecologies work well together to explain the motives and context surrounding the 2012 NBC scoring key. Thinking of international elite gymnastics and NBC as participating in an activity system sharing the score mediated through the international elite gymnastics code of points offers a framework from which to understand the interrelatedness of international elite gymnastics and NBC. Additionally, considering international elite gymnastics as a collaborative ecology clarifies why the code of points acted as a tool for the international elite gymnastics collaborative ecology and incurred so many changes over time. The paper explores the interdependency of activity systems that share an object and also how changes in the tools that mediate a shared object can result in altering how activity systems function as a
Environmental Health Studies

The urban environment has long posed difficult challenges for controlling threats to public health. Nonetheless, evidence-based strategies can be developed to advance the health of urban dwellers. This chapter sets a general context for researchers who carry out studies to develop the needed evidence. The examples cited make clear that informative studies can be completed, in spite of the challenges faced in carrying out research in urban settings.
Storing Versus Recomputation on Multiple DAGs

Recomputation and storing are typically seen as tradeoffs for checkpointing schemes in the context of adjoint computations. At finer granularity during the adjoint sweep, in practice, only the store-all or recompute-all approaches are fully automated. This paper considers a heuristic approach for exploiting finer granularity recomputations to reduce the storage requirements and thereby improve the overall adjoint efficiency without the need for manual intervention.
Patient perspectives on how living with a mental illness affects making and maintaining healthy lifestyle changes

Abstract Objective To understand the ways that mental health symptoms interfere with achieving health goals. Methods Individuals with mental illness diagnoses and varying levels of preventive service use were recruited from federally qualified health centers and an integrated health care delivery system and interviewed. Thematic analysis was used to characterize descriptions of how mental illness experiences influenced lifestyle change efforts. Results Three themes described patients’ (n = 163) perspectives on barriers to making healthy lifestyle changes: 1) Thinking about making lifestyle changes is overwhelming for individuals already managing the burdens of mental illnesses; 2) Depression makes it difficult to care about a healthy future; and 3) When mental illness symptoms are not adequately treated unhealthy behaviors that provide relief are unlikely to be discontinued. Participants also made suggestions for improving health care delivery to facilitate positive behavior change. Conclusion Patients with mental illnesses need their clinicians to be empathic, help them envision a healthier future, address unmet mental health needs, and provide resources. Practice Implications Primary care clinicians should encourage their patients with mental illnesses to make healthy lifestyle changes within the context of a supportive relationship. Lifestyle change can be overwhelming; clinicians should acknowledge progress and provide ongoing tangible support.
Reduced autophagy efficiency induces innate immune activation leading to neurodegeneration

Macroautophagy/autophagy and innate immunity are central processes in neurodegeneration, but it has been unclear whether they work independently or in combination to assault the neuron. We recently demonstrated that reduced efficiency of autophagy causes hyperactivation of innate immunity, which in turn is necessary and sufficient for loss of dopaminergic neurons in a Cdk5-mediated model of degeneration in Drosophila. Genetically restoring autophagy, or reducing innate immune activation, rescues the dopaminergic neuron loss that occurs due to altered Cdk5 activity. This work revealed an alliance of innate immunity and autophagy that causes neuron loss in Cdk5-mediated neurodegeneration.
Ulipristal acetate compared to levonorgestrel emergency contraception among current oral contraceptive users: a cost-effectiveness analysis

Objective To estimate the cost-effectiveness of ulipristal acetate (UPA) and levonorgestrel (LNG) emergency contraception (EC) on pregnancy prevention among combined oral contraceptive (COC) pill users with an extended pill-free interval. We accounted for the potential interaction of COCs and obesity on EC efficacy. Methods We built a decision-analytic model using TreeAge software to evaluate the optimal oral EC strategy in a hypothetical cohort of 100,000 twenty-five-year-old women midcycle with a prolonged "missed" pill episode (8-14 days). We used a 5-year time horizon and 3% discount rate. From a healthcare perspective, we obtained probabilities, utilities and costs inflated to 2018 dollars from the literature. We set the threshold for cost-effectiveness at a standard $100,000 per quality-adjusted life-year. We included the following clinical outcomes: number of protected cycles, unintended pregnancies, abortions, deliveries and costs. Results We found that UPA was the optimal method of oral EC, as it resulted in 720 fewer unintended pregnancies, 736 fewer abortions and 80 fewer deliveries at a total cost savings of $50,323 and 79 additional adjusted life-years. UPA continued to be the optimal strategy even in the case of obesity or COCs impacting UPA efficacy, in which a COC interaction would have to change efficacy of UPA by 160% before LNG was the dominant strategy. Conclusion Our models found that UPA was the dominant choice of oral EC among COC users with a prolonged "missed" pill episode, regardless of body mass index or an adverse interaction of COCs on UPA. Implications Ulipristal acetate is the dominant choice of oral emergency contraception among combined oral contraceptive users.
A Controlled Drug-Delivery Experiment Using Alginate Beads.

This paper describes a simple, cost-effective experiment which introduces students to drug delivery and modeling using alginate beads. Students produce calcium alginate beads loaded with drug and measure the rate of release from the beads for systems having different stir rates, geometries, extents of cross-linking, and drug molecular weight. Transient concentration data are then analyzed to characterize the release profile and rate and to determine the predominant rate controlling mechanism. The purpose of the experiment is to provide engineering students with basic skills relevant to drug delivery while simultaneously introducing or reinforcing concepts related to core science and engineering principles, design of experiments and data analysis, and engineering design.
Uterine Contraction Parameters Before and During the Pre-Epidural Fluid Bolus: A Pilot Study.

Background:The first stage of labor is significantly longer with epidural analgesia use, implying an alteration in uterine contractility. Although the pre-epidural fluid bolus is used with every ep...
Varicella Zoster Virus

1. Robyn J. Blair, MD 1. Department of Pediatrics, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY Varicella zoster virus (VZV), human herpesvirus 3, is a highly contagious virus found worldwide. Humans are the only known reservoir. Transmission is via respiratory droplets, aerosolized vesicular contents, or direct contact with skin lesions. After infection, VZV becomes latent in sensory ganglia, with reactivation possible even decades later. Primary infection with VZV results in varicella (chickenpox), which is typically seen in school-age children in temperate climates in late winter and early spring. Before the varicella vaccine, there were approximately 4 million cases of varicella and 100 varicella-related deaths in the United States per year, whereas after vaccination, the incidence has declined 97%, with no reported pediatric deaths since 2010. Varicella disease presents as a diffuse, pruritic, vesicular rash, with fever and malaise appearing just before or on the day of the rash. The contagious period begins 1 to 2 days before the appearance of the rash and continues until all lesions are crusted, an average of 7 days. The incubation period lasts from 10 to 21 days, with an average of 14 to 16 days. Lesions begin as macules, progressing to papules, then vesicles. Initially, lesions are 2- to 4-mm, thin-walled, irregular vesicles with clear fluid over an erythematous base, classically described as “dewdrops on a rose petal.” The rash usually starts on the head, trunk, and then extremities but can appear anywhere, including mucous membranes. As they resolve, vesicles become umbilicated, fill with cloudy fluid, and develop crust. Lesions in varying stages of healing is a hallmark feature. Healthy, unvaccinated children have an average of 200 to 500 lesions. Lesions typically do not scar unless they become infected or excoriated. Once …
Long‐term evolutionary conflict, Sisyphean arms races, and power in Fisher's geometric model

Evolutionary conflict and arms races are important drivers of evolution in nature. During arms races, new abilities in one party select for counterabilities in the second party. This process can repeat and lead to successive fixations of novel mutations, without a long-term increase in fitness. Models of co-evolution rarely address successive fixations, and one of the main models that use successive fixations-Fisher's geometric model-does not address co-evolution. We address this gap by expanding Fisher's geometric model to the evolution of joint phenotypes that are affected by two parties, such as probability of infection of a host by a pathogen. The model confirms important intuitions and offers some new insights. Conflict can lead to long-term Sisyphean arms races, where parties continue to climb toward their fitness peaks, but are dragged back down by their opponents. This results in far more adaptive evolution compared to the standard geometric model. It also results in fixation of mutations of larger effect, with the important implication that the common modeling assumption of small mutations will apply less often under conflict. Even in comparison with random abiotic change of the same magnitude, evolution under conflict results in greater distances from the optimum, lower fitness, and more fixations, but surprisingly, not larger fixed mutations. We also show how asymmetries in selection strength, mutation size, and mutation input allow one party to win over another. However, winning abilities come with diminishing returns, helping to keep weaker parties in the game.
Addressing the problems of urban education: An ecological systems perspective

Many urban school districts have been beset by a variety of problems including low achievement, high dropout, and disciplinary referral rates. Frequently, efforts to improve urban education are foc...
Empirical testing of destination attribute preferences of women snow-sport tourists along a trajectory of participation

This study explored women snow-sport tourists’ destination attribute preferences in relation to their participation level (e.g. skill; sport career stage) through a complementary sequential mixed-m...
No, We're Driving! Steer or Be Steered. How to Keep UX Front and Center During a Vendor's Demo.

In enterprise companies, vendor products used in the workplace are often selected by a procurement team through a Request for Proposal (RFP). Driven by vendor claims, pricing, and show-and-tells, the process historically undervalued usability and design. This lack of attention to user experience (UX) often results in friction for users interacting with these products. We transformed the show-and-tell into a test drive, allowing us to take control of the UX our company wants for its employees. We mobilized a cross-disciplinary team to uncover solution truths and heuristic violations as they experienced the products for the first time. This paper describes our vetted methodology for supporting a UX evaluation during a vendor demo.
Variation in Abuse-Deterrent Formulation Opioid Prescribing in California, Florida, and Kentucky in 2018

Purpose Abuse-deterrent formulation (ADF) opioid analgesics have been developed as a means to address prescription opioid abuse. ADF opioid use in clinical practice is not well described in the literature. This study characterizes ADF opioid prescribing patterns in 3 diverse states. Methods This study used data from prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) in California, Florida, and Kentucky. The sample includes all ADF opioid prescriptions for patients ≥18 years old during the study period (CY 2018). Standardized prescribing rates were calculated by age, sex, and county rurality. The ADF opioid prescribing rate was calculated per 1,000 adult recipients of opioid analgesics. Findings The rate of ADF prescribing per 1,000 adult recipients of opioid analgesics was nearly twice as high in Florida (14.57; 95% CI: 14.44-14.69) than in California (8.30; 95% CI: 8.22-8.37) or Kentucky (8.20; 95% CI: 8.01-8.39). ADF prescribing rates were highest among adults ages 55-74 years and among males. ADF opioid prescribing in rural counties represented a greater proportion of total patients using opioid analgesics than in metro counties in California (RR 1.40; CI: 1.28-1.53). Opposite and less pronounced variation was observed in Kentucky (RR 0.93; 95% CI: 0.88-0.98), and a significant difference was not observed in Florida (RR 0.68; 95% CI: 0.38-1.19). Conclusions There were significant differences in the ADF prescribing rates among the 3 states and in rural versus metro counties within 2 states. ADF opioid prescribing by age and sex showed similar trends within states. Further research is needed to elucidate contextual factors which may lead to prescribing variation.
A Single-Center Retrospective Evaluation of the Use of Oral Factor Xa Inhibitors in Patients With Cerebral Venous Thrombosis.

Background:Clinical practice guidelines recommend that cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) be managed with long-term anticoagulant therapy using warfarin or low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) for 3 t...
Identification and classification of the Tetrasphaera genus in enhanced biological phosphorus removal process: a review

Tetrasphaera are an attractive putative group of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) that may play an important role in the enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process. Unlike conventional PAOs that mostly rely on volatile fatty acids (VFAs), Tetrasphaera can assimilate a wide range of carbon substrates including glucose and various amino acids (e.g., glycine, glutamate, and aspartate). In addition, they have the ability to produce VFAs. This functional versatility confers significant performance and economic benefits for its application in EBPR processes. However, before the wastewater industry can harness these benefits, fundamental knowledge of their taxonomy, classification and identification in EBPR and activated sludge systems must be understood. This review provides a summary of the polyphasic approach: use of phenotypic, genotypic, and chemotaxonomic methods for bacterial classification and its application in the classification of Tetrasphaera. A review of molecular tools currently used to identify Tetrasphaera in activated sludge systems is also provided. In addition, this review discusses how challenges with molecular tools limit our understanding and application of Tetrasphaera in EBPR processes.
Inelastic scattering of O 16 from Ca 4 0 , 4 2 , 4 4 , 4 8

The inelastic scattering of $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ has been studied on targets of $^{40,42,44}\mathrm{Ca}$ at 60 MeV, and $^{48}\mathrm{Ca}$ at 56 MeV incident energy. Oxygen-16 ions emerging from the reactions were momentum analyzed in a split-pole magnetic spectrograph and identified in the focal plane by a position-sensitive ionization chamber. Angular distributions were extracted for transitions of multipolarity $L=0\ensuremath{-}5$ to final states with excitation energies below 5 MeV. In most cases single-channel distorted-wave Born approximation calculations fail to reproduce the data, the discrepancies tending to increase with higher multipolarity. Coupled-channels calculations that explicitly treat the strong couplings connecting all final states observed show improved, though not fully satisfactory, agreement with the data.NUCLEAR REACTIONS $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ + $^{40,42,44}\mathrm{Ca}$, ${E}_{\mathrm{lab}}=60$ MeV; $^{16}\mathrm{O}$ + $^{48}\mathrm{Ca}$, ${E}_{\mathrm{lab}}=56$ MeV; elastic and inelastic scattering; measured $\ensuremath{\sigma}(\ensuremath{\theta})$; DWBA and coupled channels calculations.