cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spore prevalence and toxigenicity of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis isolates from U.S. retail spices.

Recent incidents of foodborne illness associated with spices as the vehicle of transmission prompted this examination of U.S. retail spices with regard to Bacillus cereus. This study focused on the levels of aerobic-mesophilic spore-forming bacteria and B cereus spores associated with 247 retail spices purchased from five states in the United States. Samples contained a wide range of aerobic-mesophilic bacterial spore counts ( 107 CFU/g). Using a novel chromogenic agar, B. cereus and B. thuringiensis spores were isolated from 77 (31%) and 11 (4%) samples, respectively. Levels of B. cereus were <3 to 1,600 MPN/g. Eighty-eight percent of B. cereus isolates and 91%of B. thuringiensis isolates possessed at least one type of enterotoxin gene: HBL (hemolysin BL) or nonhemolytic enterotoxin (NHE). None of the 88 isolates obtained in this stu...
Divorce and health: good data in need of better theory

A very large literature links the experiences of marital separation and divorce to risk for a range of poor distal health outcomes, including early death. What is far less clear, however, is the mechanistic pathways that convey this risk. Several plausible mechanisms are identified in the literature, and the central thesis of this paper is that the empirical study of divorce and health will benefit enormously from a renewed reliance on theory to dictate how these mechanisms of action may unfold over time. This review emphasizes the roles of attachment and social baseline theories in making specific mechanistic predictions and highlights the ways in which these perspectives can contribute new empirical knowledge on risk and resilience following marital dissolution.
Disability-Adjusted Life Years

The disability-adjusted life year (DALY) is a summary measure of population health that accounts for both mortality and nonfatal health consequences. DALYs were first developed for the primary purpose of quantifying the global burden of disease, expressed in terms of the relative magnitude of losses of healthy life associated with different causes of disease and injury. DALYs also are used to measure health benefits in the denominator of cost-effectiveness ratios. This article introduces the conceptual and computational basis for DALYs and discusses key issues relating to value choices underlying DALYs. The article describes two components of DALYs: ‘years of life lost’ (YLLs), which capture premature mortality, and ‘years lived with disability’ (YLDs), which capture lost healthy life due to living in states worse than perfect health. Value choices are discussed, including the normative target lifespan for measuring premature mortality, disability weights that provide commensurability between information on mortality and information on nonfatal outcomes, and additional considerations that have sometimes been incorporated into DALYs, such as temporal discounting and nonuniform age weights. The article concludes with a brief discussion of how DALYs relate to quality-adjusted life years (QALYs).
Abstract 3776: Mechanistic evaluation of AG311 - an OXPHOS inhibitor - as a potential treatment for breast cancer

About fifty percent of breast cancer patients receiving a combination of surgery, radiation and systemic therapy will not remain cancer-free. Most solid tumors, including breast tumors, have hypoxic regions that can contribute to chemoresistance, radioresistance, and poor differentiation in tumors resulting in a poor clinical outcome in patients with advanced disease. It has been reported that mitochondrial respiration remains active in these hypoxic microenvironments. Complex I of the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) has been shown to switch to a de-active catalytic state under hypoxic conditions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential anticancer action of a novel compound with antimitochondrial activity under hypoxic conditions. AG311 (5-[(4-Methylphenyl)thio]-9H-pyrimido[4,5-b]indole-2,4-diamine) is a small molecular weight compound shown to inhibit complex I activity in vitro and to drastically reduce mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate by 62.9% at 7.5 μM in breast cancer cells (p Citation Format: Anja Bastian, Satoshi Matsuzaki, Kenneth M. Humphries, Lora C. Bailey-Downs, Aleem Gangjee, Michael A. Ihnat. Mechanistic evaluation of AG311 - an OXPHOS inhibitor - as a potential treatment for breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3776.
Authentically African: Arts and the Transnational Politics of Congolese Culture (Van Beurden)

This work is a book review considering the title Authentically African: Arts and the Transnational Politics of Congolese Culture by Sarah Van Beurden.
Seeds capture the diversity of genetic resource collections of Malus sieversii maintained in an orchard

Many species in genebank collections are maintained vegetatively either as in vitro cultures or as plants in the field or greenhouse. In these cases, individual genotypes (cultivars) are the focus of conservation. In crop wild relatives, where the value of an accession is in the heterogeneity of segregating genotypes, seeds may be the most representative form of conservation. We used two sets of field-planted Malus sieversii apple trees that originated from seeds collected from two wild populations in Kazakhstan as a model system to determine if seeds from hand-pollinated crosses could be used to represent the allelic diversity of the parent trees in a genebank orchard. A crossing design was developed that used each of the selected trees from the two Kazakhstan collection sites as mothers and also as fathers in the form of bulked pollen pools. The sets of offspring from these crosses were genotyped using microsatellite markers. Paternity analyses revealed the percentage of offspring that was derived from each of the parent trees. We also determined the contribution of each parent to the fertilization events from the pollen pools. Although there were some unintended pollination events (fertilization by trees in unexpected pollen pools) and unequal contribution of pollen parents within pollen pools, we demonstrated that the seedlings effectively captured the allelic frequency and diversity of the parents. A seed collection strategy is the most efficient way to conserve the diversity of crop wild relatives even in collections typically conserved as individual clones.
Predictors of nodal metastasis in pediatric differentiated thyroid cancer

Abstract Background/purpose There are limited data identifying risk factors for nodal metastasis in children with differentiated thyroid cancer. Methods The 1998–2011 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program database was queried for patients ≤18years of age diagnosed with differentiated thyroid cancer who underwent nodal examination. Patients were grouped by absence or presence of nodal metastasis. Multivariable logistic regression methods were used to identify independent risk factors for nodal metastasis. Results In total, 1075 children met study criteria: 734 (68%) had nodal metastases, while 341 (32%) did not. After adjustment, risk factors for nodal metastasis included larger tumor size (1.1–2cm: odds ratio [OR] 2.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.22–3.34, p=0.006; 2.1–4cm: OR 3.37, 95% CI 2.03–5.60, p 4cm: OR 3.39, 95% CI 1.69–6.81, p=0.001), extrathyroidal extension (OR 7.28, 95% CI 4.07–13.01, p Conclusions Increasing tumor size, extrathyroidal extension, and multifocal disease are independent factors associated with nodal metastases in pediatric differentiated thyroid cancer. If these risk factors are present, children with differentiated thyroid cancer should undergo careful preoperative evaluation for evidence of lateral cervical lymph node metastases, and the central compartment should be evaluated intraoperatively, with consideration of central lymphadenectomy. Level of evidence Level III.
3D temperature mapping of cellular passive cooling structures fabricated by additive manufacturing for lasers

3D temperature mapping of passive cooling structures built by additive manufacturing was interrogated by in-fiber Rayleigh backscattering using optical frequency domain reflectometry for therm-mechanic structure optimization for laser and photonic systems.
History of ADHD traits related to general test and specific math anxiety in college students

Abstract College students with ADHD are considered to be “high-functioning” when compared to other ADHD populations, yet tend to experience higher general test anxiety when compared to non-affected students. Research has also shown Math Computation performance of students with ADHD to be impaired. However, no published study has examined the connection between ADHD and specific math anxiety. Undergraduates with retrospectively reported ADHD traits and an existent diagnosis ( n = 40) and peers without ADHD ( n = 163) completed a battery of self-report measures tapping general, test, and math anxiety, as well as a standardized math achievement test and measures of current emotional state. Controlling for current trait anxiety, those with ADHD traits experienced higher specific math anxiety and negative affect after completing the math task, versus peers without ADHD. Mathematics may pose a specific risk for anxiety in college students with clinically-elevated ADHD symptoms, one that future academic and clinical interventions should take into consideration.
There and ‘not there’: Todd Haynes and the queering of genre

ABSTRACTFocusing upon Todd Haynes’ Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There, this study illuminates a narrative strategy that I describe as a ‘queering through genre’ because it operates against the grain, using the conventions of genre both to integrate and familiarise, and to de-contextualise and render strange. While genre conventions structure many of Haynes’ films, the inclusion of generic elements becomes the pretext for exploring systems of meaning inaccessible in classically organised biopics – systems that also lie outside the parameters of a restrictive heteronormativity. I assert that the centrality of queerness is not only a deconstructive operation, but also a model for restructuring systems of meaning, even when the film narrative neither includes gay characterisations nor represents homosexual subject matter. This analysis promotes a line of inquiry that identifies queerness’s potential for revealing hegemonic mechanisms through which the politics of heteronormativity continues to be naturalised and ...
Classifying ancient west mexican ceramic figures using three-dimensional modelling and machine learning

This work involves the creation of a taxonomy of three-dimensional posture and gesture combinations represented by ceramic human figures associated with shaft and chamber tombs in the western coastal states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacan and Colima of Mexico. Gordon Hewes (1966) proposed that posture and gesture of actual human subjects communicates a tremendous amount of information that was not being gathered on a consistent basis (Hewes 1966:106). While Hewes presented his paper on "The Domain Posture" fifty years ago, his observation rings true today. The three-dimensional taxonomy should demonstrate that posture and gesture are correlated with sexual characteristics and are not random, but rather, an illustration of a purposeful series of postures and gestures that transmit cultural meaning within the ancient constructs of West Mexican culture. There is an opportunity for anthropologists to begin seeing and evaluating and documenting the non-verbal communications made through posture and gesture both in artefacts crafted as figures, as in the case of the shaft tomb figures, and in modern cultural anthropology. The process of classification of the ceramic human figures according to posture and gesture takes three major steps: three-dimensional imaging, posture representation and finally classifying these representations. The three-dimensional imaging consists of creating three-dimensional models of the ceramic human figures. The posture representation consists of collecting measures of the fourteen major limb joints of the human body as they are represented in three-dimensional models of the ceramic figures. The last step is to use learning algorithms to classify the posture representation of the ceramic figures. The goal is to demonstrate the usefulness of the three-dimensional imaging to accurately and consistently identify key posture/gesture combinations for comparison with other biological and cultural variables expressed by the figures. Initially, this project focuses on archaeological material located in the Gilcrease Museum collection in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but will also utilise other collections as points of comparison. While this work will identify patterns of posture and gesture within West Mexican ceramic shaft tomb figures, its application does not end there. With the utilisation of technology in the form of three-dimensional imaging, its application spans both archaeological material from other cultures and modern cultural anthropology. This technology can advance studies related to the cultural meaning of this important class of artefacts. From a musicological perspective, this technology could become a critical element in metadata collection to document collections.
Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage: A Review of Treatment Modalities and Emerging Therapies

Gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) may present as an acute or chronic condition. Acute GIB can carry significant risk of mortality. After stabilization and resuscitation, localization and control of active hemorrhage are paramount. Several modalities are available for localization. An increasing number of tools are available to interventional radiologists, endoscopists, and surgeons to intervene to achieve hemostasis. Here reviewed are an array of endoscopic, transarterial, and surgical methods to diagnose and treat GIB, with a focus on new and emerging technologies.
Acquired color vision loss and a possible mechanism of ganglion cell death in glaucoma.

Abstract PURPOSE: First, to study the cellular mechanisms of acquired color vision loss in retinal detachment and diabetic retinopathy. Second, to learn why, in glaucoma, the type of color vision deficit that is observed is more characteristic of a retinal injury than it is of an optic neuropathy. Third, to test a hypothesis of photoreceptor-induced, ganglion cell death in glaucoma. METHODS: Various histologic techniques were employed to distinguish the L/M-cones (long/medium wavelength-sensitive cones, or red/green sensitive cones) from the S-cones (short wavelength-sensitive cones, or blue sensitive cones) in humans and monkeys with retinal detachment, humans with diabetic retinopathy, and both humans and monkeys with glaucoma. To test if the photoreceptors were contributing to ganglion cell death, laser photocoagulation was used in a experimental model of glaucoma to focally eliminate the photoreceptors. As a control, optic nerve transection was done following retinal laser photocoagulation in one animal. RESULTS: Selective and widespread loss of the S-cones was found in retinal detachment as well as diabetic retinopathy. By contrast, in human as well as experimental glaucoma, marked swelling of the L/M-cones was the predominant histopathologic feature. Retinal laser photocoagulation followed by experimental glaucoma resulted in selective protection of ganglion cells overlying the laser spots. This was not seen with retinal laser photocoagulation by optic nerve transection. CONCLUSIONS: In retinal detachment and diabetic retinopathy, acquired tritan-like color vision loss could be caused, or contributed to, by selective loss of the S-cones. Both L- and M-cones are affected in glaucoma, which is also consistent with a tritan-like deficit. Although not a therapeutic option, protection of ganglion cells by retinal laser in experimental glaucoma is consistent with an hypothesis of anterograde, photoreceptor-induced, ganglion cell death.
Quantitative Approaches to Characterizing Natural Chemical Weathering Rates

Silicate minerals, constituting more than 90% of the rocks exposed at the earth’s surface, are commonly formed under temperature and pressure conditions that make them inherently unstable in surficial environments. Undoubtedly, the most significant aspect of chemical weathering resulting from this instability is the formation of soils which makes life possible on the surface of the earth. Many soil macronutrients in this “critical zone” are directly related to the rate at which primary minerals weather (Huntington, 1995; Chadwick et al., 2003). Chemical weathering also creates economically significant ore deposits, such as those for Al and U (Samma, 1986; Misra, 2000), as well as potentially releasing high concentrations of toxic trace elements such as Se and As (Frankenberger and Benson, 1994). Silicate weathering is a significant buffer to acidification caused by atmospheric deposition (Driscoll et al., 1989) and from land use practices (Farley and Werritty, 1989). Atmospheric CO2 levels have been primarily controlled by the balance between silicate weathering and the rate of volcanic inputs from the Earth’s interior, a relationship which may explain long-term climate stability (Ruddiman, 1997) These issues require quantifying natural chemical weathering rates, the topic of the present discussion. Mass balance approaches describing changes in solid state and solute compositions in weathered regoliths will be emphasized. Additional discussions on fundamental mechanisms controlling weathering reactions and the development of advanced computation approaches are described elsewhere in this volume. Chemical weathering is commonly dependent on a complex relationship between geochemistry, hydrology, biology, and physical erosion and is therefore site specific. As such, mass balance techniques for a number of field examples will be discussed.
Distortion and Information

A pair random process (X; Y) = {X n , Y n } can be generated by a source and a channel, a source and a code, a combination of a source, channel, encoder, and decoder, or two sources and a coupling. We have developed in some detail the properties of two quantities characterizing relations between the two components of a pair process: the average distortion between the components and their mutual information rate. In this chapter relations are developed between distortion and rate, where rate is measured by mutual information. The primary results concern the Shannon distortion-rate function and its dual, the Shannon rate-distortion function, which will be seen to provide bounds on the relationships between distortion and entropy and to characterize the optimal performance in source coding and rate-constrained simulation systems.
Phase II trial of ixazomib combined with gemcitabine and doxorubicin in patients with SMARCB1-deficient kidney malignancies.

TPS678Background: SMARCB1 (also known as INI-1, hSNF5, or BAF47) is a potent tumor suppressor inactivated in all cases of renal medullary carcinoma (RMC) and renal cell carcinoma unclassified with ...
Effect of initial airway strategy on time to epinephrine administration in patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Abstract Introduction Epinephrine and advanced airway management are commonly used during treatment of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Recent studies suggest that early but not late administration of epinephrine is associated with improved survival. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of initial airway strategy on timing to the first epinephrine dose in OHCA. Methods This is a secondary analysis of patients enrolled in the Pragmatic Airway Resuscitation Trial who had an advanced airway attempted. We examined differences in time to epinephrine administration by randomly assigned airway strategy, laryngeal tube (LT) or endotracheal tube (ETI); by the duration of airway attempt; and by number of attempts. We used survival methods to account for interval censoring due to unknown administration time. We also examined the association of epinephrine administration timing with survival to hospital discharge. Results Among 2652 subjects (1299 ETI and 1353 LT), 2579 received epinephrine.There were no significant differences between ETI and LT in median time to initial epinephrine administration (min) (ETI – 9.0 vs. LT – 8.6, p = 0.55). There was no significant association between the duration of airway attempt or number of attempts and time to initial epinephrine administration (p = 0.12 and 0.66, respectively). Early administration of epinephrine ( Conclusions There was no significant association between airway strategy and time to initial epinephrine administration. Earlier administration of epinephrine (
Synthesis and characterization of hydrazine-appended BODIPY dyes and the related aminomethyl complexes

The synthesis and characterization of three new organic hydrazines containing BODIPY dyes is described. The respective aminomethyl complexes were also synthesized to aid in the assignment of the physical properties that were hydrazine-based vs. BODIPY-based. Incorporation of a BODIPY dye into an organic hydrazine introduced a reduction event (average value of −1.70 V vs. Cp2Fe/Cp2Fe+). Although two irreversible oxidation events were observed, it was unclear whether the oxidation events arose from BODIPY-based or amine/hydrazine-based oxidations. The respective BODIPY-appended hydrazine complexes exhibited excited state lifetimes on the order of 2–6 ns, suggesting the presence of a singlet excited state. The excited state lifetimes of the BODIPY-appended hydrazine complexes were about a factor of ten greater than the respective aminomethyl complexes. Computational analysis showed that by appending a BODIPY dye to a hydrazine fragment the hydrazine fragment becomes more susceptible to transfer H2 equivalents as protons and hydrides as opposed to H-atoms, which occurs with common organic hydrazines. Computational analysis also revealed that the BODIPY-based redox events can be used to manipulate the mechanism for H2 transfer from the BODIPY-appended hydrazine, where a BODIPY-based reduction favors H-atom transfer and a BODIPY-based oxidation favors proton transfer followed by hydride transfer.
Decellularization methods for developing porcine corneal xenografts and future perspectives

Corneal transplantation is the only option to cure corneal opacities. However, there is an imbalance between supply and demand of corneal tissues in the world. To solve the problem of corneal shortage, corneal xenotransplantation studies have been implemented in the past years using porcine corneas. The corneal xenografts could come from (a) wild-type pigs, (b) genetically engineered pigs, (c) decellularized porcine corneas, and (d) decellularized porcine corneas that are recellularized with human corneal cells, eventually with patients' own cells, as in all type of xenografts. All approaches except, the former would reduce or mitigate recipient immune responses. Although several techniques in decellularization have been reported, there is still no standardized protocol for the complete decellularization of corneal tissue. Herein, we reviewed different decellularization methods for porcine corneas based on the mechanism of action, decellularization efficacy, biocompatibility, and the undesirable effects on corneal ultrastructure. We compared 9 decellularization methods including: (a) sodium dodecyl sulfate, (b) triton x-100, (c) hypertonic saline, (d) human serum with electrophoresis, (e) high hydrostatic pressure, (f) freeze-thaw, (h) nitrogen gas, (h) phospholipase A2 , and (i) glycerol with chemical crosslinking methods. It appears that combined methods could be more useful to perform efficient corneal decellularization.
Long-term leaching characteristic study of coal processing waste streams.

Abstract A study of the mobility of major and potentially hazardous trace elements from coal processing waste materials was conducted using two types of leaching tests. The baseline leaching test simulates stable waste storage under water, whereas the kinetic test models the storage of waste under more variable conditions including intermittent exposure to air and variations in humidity. Coarse and fine refuse materials were obtained from three commercial coal preparation plants that were being used to upgrade US bituminous run-of-mine coal containing low-to-high amounts of pyritic sulfur. X-ray diffraction analyses revealed a large variation in mineralogy between the coarse and fine refuse streams due to the mineral fractionation that occurs in the processing units and plant. The coarse refuse samples contained higher pyrite contents while the fine refuse samples had high clay content and a minor amount of calcite. This variation in mineralogy resulted in relatively large difference in the leaching characteristics of the waste streams. The most acidic pH and highest release of trace elements were observed in the leachate of coarse refuse containing medium-to-high amounts of coal pyrite, while the fine refuse samples released lower amounts of trace elements in their circumneutral leachate. The least amount of trace elements was observed in the leachate of low pyritic refuse streams. The test data suggested that the most effective disposal practice for coal waste material is segregation and isolation of the coal pyrite and co-disposal of the coarse and fine refuse streams.
Variable aperture neutron collimator

Abstract We describe a completely adjustable, variable aperture neutron collimator that provides uniform sheilding outside the aperture. This aperture can be adjusted smoothly from a square-to-rectangular cross section while maintaining either a uniform or diverging channel.
Calibrate your confidence in research findings: A tutorial on improving research methods and practices:

This article provides an accessible tutorial with concrete guidance for how to start improving research methods and practices in your lab. Following recent calls to improve research methods and practices within and beyond the borders of psychological science, resources have proliferated across book chapters, journal articles, and online media. Many researchers are interested in learning more about cutting-edge methods and practices but are unsure where to begin. In this tutorial, we describe specific tools that help researchers calibrate their confidence in a given set of findings. In Part I, we describe strategies for assessing the likely statistical power of a study, including when and how to conduct different types of power calculations, how to estimate effect sizes, and how to think about power for detecting interactions. In Part II, we provide strategies for assessing the likely type I error rate of a study, including distinguishing clearly between data-independent (“confirmatory”) and data-dependent (“exploratory”) analyses and thinking carefully about different forms and functions of preregistration.
Sodium channel β1 subunits are post-translationally modified by tyrosine phosphorylation, S-palmitoylation, and regulated intramembrane proteolysis

Voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) β1 subunits are multifunctional proteins that modulate the biophysical properties and cell-surface localization of VGSC α subunits and participate in cell–cell and cell–matrix adhesion, all with important implications for intracellular signal transduction, cell migration, and differentiation. Human loss-of-function variants in SCN1B, the gene encoding the VGSC β1 subunits, are linked to severe diseases with high risk for sudden death, including epileptic encephalopathy and cardiac arrhythmia. We showed previously that β1 subunits are post-translationally modified by tyrosine phosphorylation. We also showed that β1 subunits undergo regulated intramembrane proteolysis via the activity of β-secretase 1 and γ-secretase, resulting in the generation of a soluble intracellular domain, β1-ICD, which modulates transcription. Here, we report that β1 subunits are phosphorylated by FYN kinase. Moreover, we show that β1 subunits are S-palmitoylated. Substitution of a single residue in β1, Cys-162, to alanine prevented palmitoylation, reduced the level of β1 polypeptides at the plasma membrane, and reduced the extent of β1-regulated intramembrane proteolysis, suggesting that the plasma membrane is the site of β1 proteolytic processing. Treatment with the clathrin-mediated endocytosis inhibitor, Dyngo-4a, re-stored the plasma membrane association of β1-p.C162A to WT levels. Despite these observations, palmitoylation-null β1-p.C162A modulated sodium current and sorted to detergent-resistant membrane fractions normally. This is the first demonstration of S-palmitoylation of a VGSC β subunit, establishing precedence for this post-translational modification as a regulatory mechanism in this protein family.
Utility and limitation of calciuric response to oral calcium load as a measure of intestinal calcium absorption: Comparison with isotopic fractional calcium absorption

The intestinal absorption of calcium (Ca), indirectly measured from the calciuric response to oral Ca load (1g), was compared to the more directly obtained isotopic fractional absorption, alpha (from the fecal recovery of orally administered 47Ca). In 17 normal subjects and 30 patients with absorptive hypercalciuria (AH), there was a significant (P less than 0.001) correlation of alpha with the Ca load responses, (r . 0.81). However, this correlation was not observed in patients with renal hypercalciuria (RH), and those with AH receiving thiazide or orthophosphate. In RH, 38 per cent of patients had elevated Ca load responses, despite normal values for alpha. The point correlating the calciuric response and alpha in these patients was below the 95 per cent confidence limit of the line correlating alpha and the load response. Thus, Ca load response often overestimated intestinal Ca absorption, because of the high basal (fasting) urinary Ca. Thiazide therapy in RH improved the correlation between the two tests of Ca absorption. However, thiazide therapy in AH produced normal Ca load responses despite persistently high alpha in 60 per cent of patients. Similarly, 50 per cent of patients with AH receiving orthophosphate had normal Ca load response, although alpha remainedmore » elevated. Thus, Ca load response underestimated Ca absorption when patients with AH took thiazide or orthophosphate, probably because these drugs augment renal tubular reabsorption of Ca. These data support the Ca load test as a valid indirect measure of intestinal Ca absorption in normal subjects and patients with AH, in whom fasting urinary Ca is not elevated. In conditions of renal Ca, leak or with various drugs known to alter renal Ca handling, there seen to be large deviations of Ca load response from alpha. Care should be exercised before reaching conclusions regarding the intestinal Ca absorption in these situations.« less
Settling-driven large-scale instabilities in double-diffusive convection

When the density of a gravitationally stable fluid depends on a fast diffusing scalar and a slowly diffusing scalar of opposite contribution to the stability, ‘double diffusive’ instabilities may develop and drive convection. When the slow diffuser settles under gravity, as is for instance the case for small sediment particles in water, settling-driven double-diffusive instabilities can additionally occur. Such instabilities are relevant in a variety of naturally occurring settings, such as particle-laden river discharges, or underground inflows in lakes. Inspired by the dynamics of the more traditional thermohaline double-diffusive instabilities, we ask whether large-scale ‘mean-field’ instabilities can develop as a result of sedimentary double-diffusive convection. We first apply the mean-field instability theory of Traxler et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 677, 2011, pp. 530–553) to high-Prandtl-number fluids, and find that these are unstable to Radko's layering instability, yet collectively stable. We then extend the theory of Traxler et al. (2011) to include settling and study its impact on the development of the collective instability. We find that two distinct regimes exist. At low settling velocities, the double-diffusive turbulence in the fingering regime is relatively unaffected by settling and remains stable to the classical collective instability. It is, however, unstable to a new instability in which large-scale gravity waves are excited by the phase shift between the salinity and particle concentration fields. At higher settling velocities, the double-diffusive turbulence is substantially affected by settling, and becomes unstable to the classic collective instability. Our findings, validated by direct numerical simulations, reveal new opportunities to observe settling-driven layering in laboratory and field experiments.
Calibration of Herbicide Applicators

If pesticide applicator equipment is not properly calibrated, the pesticide will probably be applied below or above the desired application rate. This 3-page document discusses the two most common methods for sprayer calibration. Written by Jason A. Ferrell, Brent A. Sellers, and Pratap Devkota, and published by the UF/IFAS Agronomy Department, revised May 2020. Previous version: Ferrell, Jason, and Brent Sellers. 2009. “Calibration of Herbicide Applicators”. EDIS 2009 (10). https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/118262.
Dual Mobility Reduces Dislocations-Why I Use It in All Revisions.

Abstract Background Instability remains the most common complication after revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) and presents a unique treatment dilemma for the orthopedic surgeon. Dual mobility (DM) bearing articulations have been used in France since the 1970s, but have only become more widely adopted in the United States over the last decade. The purpose of this symposium was to discuss the role for DM bearings in revision THA. Methods We reviewed the existing literature on outcomes after DM bearing articulations in revision THA. We also report several case examples of the use of DM in difficult revision THA cases, including acetabular bone loss, failed constrained liner, and adverse local tissue reaction. Finally, we briefly discuss the limitations associated with the use of DM. Results Several large retrospective series demonstrate that DM bearings reduce the incidence of dislocation after revision THA when compared with conventional single bearing THA. Specific complications related to DM bearings including polyethylene wear, loosening, intraprosthetic dislocation, and corrosion remain a concern, but appear to have drastically improved over time with modern implant designs. Conclusion Contemporary DM designs have been established as an effective bearing option to reduce instability in revision THA, although concerns do exist. High-quality prospective studies are necessary to further define the role this bearing option has in the coming years.
Fasting plasma metabolomic profiles are altered by three days of standardized diet and restricted physical activity.

Abstract Objective Few studies have examined the effects of participants’ diet and activity prior to sample collection on metabolomics profiles, and results have been conflicting. We compared the effects of overnight fasting with or without 3 days of standardized diet and restricted physical activity on the human blood metabolome, and examined the effects of these protocols on our ability to detect differences in metabolomics profiles in adolescent girls with obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) vs. sex and BMI-matched controls. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of 16 adolescent girls with obesity and PCOS and 5 sex and BMI-matched controls. Fasting plasma metabolomic profiles were measured twice in each participant: once without preceding restriction of physical activity or control of macronutrient content (“typical fasting visit”), and again after 12 h of monitored inpatient fasting with 3 days of standardized diet and avoidance of vigorous exercise (“controlled fasting visit”). Moderated paired t-tests with FDR correction for multiple testing and multilevel sparse partial least-squares discriminant analysis (sPLS-DA) were used to examine differences between the 2 visits and to compare the PCOS and control groups with the 2 visits combined and again after stratifying by visit. Results Twenty-three known metabolites were significantly different between the controlled fasting and typical fasting visits. Hypoxanthine and glycochenodeoxycholic acid had the largest increases in relative abundance at the controlled fasting visit compared to the typical fasting visit, while oleoyl-glycerol and oleamide had the largest increases in relative abundance at the typical fasting visit compared to the controlled fasting visit. sPLS-DA showed excellent discrimination between the 2 visits; however, when the samples from the 2 visits were combined, differences between the PCOS and control groups could not be detected. After stratifying by visit, discrimination of PCOS status was improved. Conclusions There were differences in fasting metabolomic profiles following typical fasting vs monitored fasting with preceding restriction of physical activity and control of macronutrient content, and combining samples from the two visits obscured differences by PCOS status. In studies performing metabolomics analysis, careful attention should be paid to acute diet and activity history. Depending on the sample size of the study and the expected effect size of the outcomes of interest, control of diet and physical activity beyond typical outpatient fasting may not be required.
Housing Market Capitalization of Pipeline Risk: Evidence From the San Bruno Explosion

Stated safety concerns are a major impediment to making necessary expansions to the natural gas pipeline network. While revealed willingness to pay to avoid existing natural gas pipelines appears small, it is difficult to know if this reflects true ambivalence or a lack of salience and awareness. We test this latter hypothesis by studying how house prices responded to a deadly 2010 pipeline explosion in San Bruno, CA, which shocked both attention and information. Using multiple identification strategies, we fail to find any evidence of a meaningful shift in the hedonic price gradient around pipelines following these events.
Utility of 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in potential living kidney donors.

INTRODUCTION Hypertension (HTN) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease; therefore, it is imperative to risk stratify potential kidney donors during evaluation. Clinic blood pressure (CBP) measurement is inaccurate in assessing presence or absence of HTN. There is paucity of data about utility of 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) during kidney donor evaluation. METHODS 24-h ABPM is performed on all kidney donors at Mayo Clinic Florida. We conducted retrospective review of 264 consecutive potential kidney donors from 1/1/2012 to 12/31/2017. Demographic, comorbid conditions, laboratory results and 24-h ABPM data were collected. Subjects were divided into two groups: Group1: Subjects with no prior history of HTN and new diagnosis of HTN using 24-h ABPM; Group 2: Subjects with no prior history of hypertension and normal BP on 24-h ABPM. RESULTS Baseline demographic included mean age 46.40 years, 39% males, 78.4% Caucasians, and mean BMI was 26.94. Twenty one subjects (8.0%) had prior diagnosis of HTN. Among 243 subjects without prior HTN, 62 (25.5%) were newly diagnosed with HTN using 24-h ABPM. CBP was high only in 27 out of 62 (43.6%) of newly diagnosed HTN subjects. Thirty-five subjects (14.4%) had masked HTN and 14 subjects (5.8%) had white-coat HTN. Newly diagnosed hypertensive subjects were more likely to be males as compared to Group 2 (53.2% vs 34.3% P = 0.008). There was a trend of more non-Caucasians subjects (30.6% vs 19.9% P = 0.08) and more active smokers (17.7% vs 11.6%, P = 0.054) in Group1 as compared to Group 2. Only 17 (27.4%) out of 62 newly diagnosed hypertensive subjects were deemed suitable for kidney donation as compared to 105 (58.0%) out of 181 normotensive subjects (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION In our cohort, use of ABPM resulted in new diagnosis of HTN in 1 out of 4 potential kidney donors. Newly diagnosed HTN was more common in men, those with non-Caucasian race, and in active smokers. There was a significantly reduced acceptance rate for kidney donation among newly diagnosed HTN subjects. Further studies are needed to determine the value of 24-h ABPM among these high risk groups.
The Impact of Texas HIPPY on School Readiness and Academic Achievement: Optimal Full Propensity Score Analysis Approach

This study was intended to evaluate the impact of socioeconomically disadvantaged children’s participation in the Texas home instruction for parents of preschool youngsters (TXHIPPY) program on their school readiness and academic achievement for grades K to eight. The study used a quasi-experimental design and applied optimal full propensity score matching (PSM) to address the evaluation concern of the impact of the TXHIPPY program on HIPPY participants’ academic achievement compared to non-HIPPY participants. This study targeted former HIPPY participants and tracked them in the Dallas independent school district (DISD) database through grade levels. Data were obtained by administering istation’s indicators of progress (ISIP) for kindergarten, TerraNova/SUPERA for grades K to two, and State of Texas assessments of academic readiness (STAAR) for math and reading for grades three to eight. HIPPY and non-HIPPY groups were matched using propensity score analysis procedures. The findings show that the TXHIPPY program positively influences kindergarten students to start school ready to learn. The findings of math and reading achievements suggest that HIPPY children scored at the same level or higher than non-HIPPY children did on math and reading achievement, indicating that TXHIPPY program has achieved its goal of helping children maintain long-term academic success. However, the study findings also indicate that the impact evaluation framework must be designed with attention to higher-level factors beyond academic achievement that influence children’s academic success. This work is vital to policymakers, program managers, and evaluators in the field of home visiting interventions in which it guides implementing rigorous evaluation studies.
Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy: Current Treatment

Management of takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is currently empirical and supportive, via extrapolation of therapeutic principles worked out for other cardiovascular pathologies. Although it has been emphasized that such non-specific therapies for TTS are consequent to its still elusive pathophysiology, one wonders whether it does not necessarily follow that the absence of knowledge of TTS’ pathophysiological underpinnings should prevent us for searching, designing, or even finding, therapies efficacious for its management. Additionally, it is conceivable that therapy for TTS may be in response to pathophysiological/pathoanatomic/pathohistological consequences (e.g., “myocardial stunning/reperfusion injury”), common to both TTS and coronary artery disease, or other cardiovascular disorders). The present review outlines the whole range of management principles of TTS during its acute phase and at follow-up, including considerations pertaining to the recurrence of TTS, and commences with the idea that occasionally management of TTS should consist of mere observation along the “first do no harm” principle, while self-healing is under way. Finally, some new therapeutic hypotheses (i.e., large doses of insulin infusions in association with the employment of intravenous short- and ultrashort-acting β-blockers) are being entertained, based on previous extensive animal work and limited application in patients with neurogenic cardiomyopathy and TTS.
The Cognitive Consequences of Patterns of Information Flow

The flight deck of a moderm commercial airliner is a complex system consisting of two or more crew and a suite of technological devices. When everything goes right, all modem flight decks are easy to use. When things go sour, however, automated flight decks provide opportunities for new kinds of problems. A recent article in Aviation Week cited industry concern over the problem of verifying the safety of complex systems on automated, digital aircraft, stating that the industry must "guard against the kind of incident in which people and the automation seem to mismanage a minor occurrence or non-routine situation into larger trouble." The design of automated flight deck systems that flight crews find easy to use safely is a challenge in part because this design activity requires a theoretical perspective which can simultaneously cover the interactions of people with each other and with technology. In this paper, I will introduce some concepts that can be used to understand the flight deck as a system that is composed of two or more pilots and a complex suite of automated devices. As I will try to show, without a theory, we can repeat what seems to work, but we may not know why it worked or how to make it work in novel circumstances. Theory allows us to rise above the particulars of specific situations and makes the application of the roots of success in one setting applicable to other settings.
Gaussian Quadrature Applied to Adaptive Chebyshev Iteration

Chebyshev iteration has been a popular iterative scheme for the solution of large linear systems of equations with a symmetric positive definite matrix A. With the advent of parallel processors, there has been a resurgence of interest in this method. In Chebyshev iteration one determines iteration parameters so that the residual polynomials axe scaled Chebyshev polynomials for some interval [a, b] on the positive real axis. Chebyshev iteration is often implemented as an adaptive iteration scheme, in which one during the iterations seeks to determine an interval [a, b] that make the iterates converge rapidly to the solution of the linear system. Roughly, the interval should contain most of the spectrum of A and be as small as possible. Recently, Golub and Kent [6] proposed a new adaptive Chebyshev iteration method, in which inner products of residual vectors are interpreted as modified moments. These modified moments and the recursion coefficients for the residual polynomials yield a symmetric tridiagonal matrix, whose eigenvalues are used to determine an interval [a, b]. The eigenvalues are nodes of a Gaussian quadrature rule. We propose a modification of this scheme, in which the determination of a suitable interval is based on the weights of this quadrature rule also. Computed examples illustrate that a significant reduction in the number of iterations can be achieved by this modification.
Cavity-aided magnetic resonance microscopy of atomic transport in optical lattices

The power of magnetic resonance imaging for investigating physical and biological systems is well established. Here, it is shown how the sensitivity of cavity atom optics, together with the control provided by atom chips, enables the implementation of a magnetic-resonance-imaging technique that provides a minimally destructive, state-sensitive detection modality for atoms in ultracold gases.