cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Maternal Immunization against Organ Tissues on Embryonic Differentiation in the Mouse

The role of mechanisms resembling those of antibody formation in processes of embryonic differentiation has been discussed widely in recent years. Such considerations have led, for example, to the development of the auto-antibody concept by Tyler who states ‘that each of the various macromolecular substances of which cells are constructed bears the same sort of relationship to another of these substances as do antigen and antibody and that their mode of origin is analogous to that of antibody formation’. The applicability of this concept to problems of differentiation and even gene action has been discussed in some detail recently (Tyler, 1955). In search for a mechanism by which certain mutations in the house mouse with severe effects on early embryonic differentiation (for review cf. Gluecksohn-Waelsch, 1953) might produce their effects, the possibility presented itself that these particular mutations might interfere with normal differentiation by way of immune type processes.
Cultivating Diversity Through Critical Literacy in Teacher Education

Those of us who have the privilege and responsibility of teaching literacy teachers are charged with designing learning experiences that support their development of the knowledge, skills and dispositions needed to work confidently with culturally and linguistically diverse children and families, especially those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Toward a Multimodal, Multiscale Understanding of White Matter Abnormalities in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Convergent evidence suggests that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is manifest in anatomic changes to the brain during development that affect neural connectivity. Autism as a disconnection syndrome has been discussed for some time (1), and recent effort has focused on measuring and characterizing aberrant structural and functional connectivity in the disorder. For practical reasons, most of these studies were conducted in older children or adults. However, gross measures, such as head circumference and brain volume, suggest a change in the phenotypic profile from early childhood, when children with ASD have increased brain size relative to control subjects, to older childhood and adulthood, when the effect is not seen (2). Thus, there is strong motivation to expand the study of ASD characteristics in very young cohorts to better understand the developmental trajectory of the disease. Moreover, the rapid increase in ASD incidence, estimated to affect 1 in 68 8-year-old American children (3), suggests an urgent need for improved understanding of the pathologic features and especially the early developmental pathophysiology to assist early diagnosis, identify high-risk individuals, and inform therapeutic options. In this issue of Biological Psychiatry, Solso et al. (4) provide convincing evidence for irregular developmental trajectories in frontal fiber tracts in young children 1–4 years old with autism. This investigation included what may be the largest toddler ASD cohort in a diffusion imaging study to date (N 5 61), a subset of whom (n 5 14) was scanned twice approximately 1 year apart. With data from this population, the researchers have an exceptional opportunity to capture early alterations in brain development that may pinpoint root causes of ASD behaviors and provide a basis for assisting early diagnosis. The fundamental result of this work showed that average fractional anisotropy (FA) values within several fiber tracts that innervate the frontal lobes (forceps minor, inferior frontal– superior frontal tract, uncinate tract, and arcuate fasciculus) were significantly higher in children with ASD than in control subjects among the youngest study participants, with three of these pathways also showing increased tract volume. Furthermore, for the older children with ASD—even within this very young sample—the increased FA and volume values disappeared or showed signs of reversal, reflecting distinct trajectories of white matter (WM) development for children with ASD and control subjects. Fiber bundles interconnecting the posterior cortices did not show the same pattern of altered FA, suggesting the critical importance of frontal lobe development during the time period in which ASD symptoms and diagnoses stabilize. The measures from frontal fiber tracts in the youngest participants (12–28 months old), particularly from the
Does Earning More Than Your Spouse Increase Your Financial Satisfaction? A Comparison of Men and Women in the United States, 1982 to 2012

Scholars have argued that both husbands and wives are less satisfied if wives outearn their husbands because this violates the norms of the male breadwinner model. Some scholars find support for this hypothesis when studying the division of household work, marital dissolution, or depression, but other scholars do not find clear evidence. This article adds to this literature by asking how people’s roles in bringing money into the household (as a primary or secondary earner) affect how they feel about that money itself. Analysis of decades of U.S. data finds a clear and consistent result: individuals—whether men or women, whether committed to the male breadwinner model or not—are all more satisfied with their family’s financial situation when they earn more than their spouse. Here, generic social psychological processes (like relative deprivation) appear to trump even powerful worldviews, like the male breadwinner model.
Ethanol-induced reduction in myocardial oxygen consumption can be attenuated by inhibiting guanylyl cyclase

We tested the hypothesis that low-dose ethanol-induced reductions in myocardial metabolism were related to increased cyclic guanosine monophosphate (GMP). Anesthetized open chest rabbits were divided into four groups: control (Ringers lactate and vehicle), ETOH (250 mg/kg i.v. ethanol and vehicle), ODQ (Ringers lactate and 1 H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one, ODQ 10(-4) M ), and ETOH-ODQ (ethanol and ODQ). ODQ, a soluble guanylyl cyclase inhibitor, or vehicle was applied topically to the epicardium for 15 min, while either Ringers lactate or ethanol was administered intravenously. Oxygen consumption (VO2 ) in both the subepicardium (EPI) and subendocardium (ENDO) was determined from coronary blood flow (radioactive microspheres) and O2 extraction (microspectrophotometry). Cyclic GMP was determined by radioimmunoassay. ETOH significantly decreased VO2 in the subepicardium (9.2 +/- 1.0-5.6 +/- 0.7 ml O2 /min/100 g) and subendocardium (9.7 +/- 0.8-7.1 +/- 0.8) and increased cyclic GMP in the subepicardium (10.2 +/- 1.7-13.8 +/- 0.8 pmol/g) and subendocardium (11.0 +/- 0.5-13.7 +/- 0.9). With ODQ, there was no significant change in the subepicardial (9.5 +/- 1.3) or subendocardial (9.0 +/- 0.9) VO2. However, ODQ caused a significant increase in both wall thickening (12.9 +/- 0.9-17.2 +/- 1.2%) and maximal rate of change in wall thickness (10.8 +/- 0.9-16.3 +/- 1.9 mm/s) and decreased subepicardium (8.3 +/- 1.3) and subendocardium (7.8 +/- 1.2) cyclic GMP. The ETOH-ODQ group had cyclic GMP (subepicardium 9.0 +/- 1.8, subendocardium 8.6 +/- 2.4) and VO2 (subepicardium 7.9 +/- 0.5, subendocardium 8.4 +/- 0.4) values similar to control. Thus, the ethanol-induced rise in cyclic GMP was associated with a decrease in myocardial O2 consumption. When this rise was blocked with a soluble guanylyl cyclase inhibitor, the reduction in metabolic demand was also eliminated. This demonstrated that the alcohol-induced reduction in myocardial metabolism was related to increased cyclic GMP and suggests a novel mechanism for the effect of ethanol.
A note on psychogenic polydipsia

Water drinking behavior of albino rats was studied as a function of two schedules of food reinforcement and one schedule of shock avoidance. Considerable water drinking occurred concurrently with the food reinforced response but none with the shock avoidance response. This difference might be attributed either to the use of food instead of shock or to the presence of timing behavior in conjunction with the food schedules but not the shock schedules.
RESPIRATORY MOTOR NERVE ACTIVITIES DURING SPONTANEOUS BLADDER CONTRACTIONS

We monitored spontaneous bladder contractions (SBCs) in decerebrate vagotomized paralyzed ventilated cats while recording respiratory motor nerve activities and intravesical pressure under isovolumetric conditions. Phrenic nerve discharge diminished during SBCs, as did the activities of the hypoglossal nerve, the nasolabial branch of the facial nerve, and inspiratory (posterior cricoarytenoid) and expiratory (thyroarytenoid) branches of the recurrent laryngeal nerve. Hypoglossal activity was most strikingly reduced during SBCs, disappearing completely in some animals. The triangularis sterni nerve exhibited an initial decrease, followed by an increase in activity during SBCs, whereas the cranial iliohypogastric nerve showed increased activity. The changes in nerve activities during SBCs could also be elicited by passive distension of the bladder and were abolished by bilateral section of the pelvic nerves. These findings extend the understanding of reflexes originating from the urinary bladder to include a coordinated respiratory response and suggest that these reflexes may compromise upper airway patency under some conditions.
A Framework for Conceptualizing and Evaluating the Validity of Instructionally Relevant Assessments

Assessments that function close to classroom teaching and learning can play a powerful role in fostering academic achievement. Unfortunately, however, relatively little attention has been given to discussion of the design and validation of such assessments. The present article presents a framework for conceptualizing and organizing the multiple components of validity applicable to assessments intended for use in the classroom to support ongoing processes of teaching and learning. The conceptual framework builds on existing validity concepts and focuses attention on three components: cognitive validity, instructional validity, and inferential validity. The goal in presenting the framework is to clarify the concept of validity, including key components of the interpretive argument, while considering the types and forms of evidence needed to construct a validity argument for classroom assessments. The framework's utility is illustrated by presenting an application to the analysis of the validity of assessmen...
Taurine transport in skate hepatocytes. I. Uptake and efflux.

Taurine is an amino sulfonic acid maintained at relatively high concentrations in skate (Raja erinacea) hepatocytes (65 mmol/l intracellular water). To identify the transport mechanisms involved in intracellular taurine accumulation, uptake and efflux of [14C]taurine was measured in freshly isolated skate hepatocytes. Uptake of 50 microM taurine at 15 degrees C was essentially linear over 3 h when measured in normal elasmobranch Ringer, was diminished by replacement of extracellular Cl- with NO3-, and was almost completely abolished by replacement of Na+ with choline+ or K+. Kinetic studies suggested the presence of two saturable Na(+)-dependent taurine uptake systems [apparent taurine Michaelis constant = 0.089 +/- 0.028 and 4.47 +/- 0.49 mM and maximal velocity (Vmax) = 0.19 +/- 0.07 and 1.65 +/- 0.42 (SE) nmol.microliter-1.15 min-1 for high- and low-affinity components, respectively; n = 4], as well as a small contribution from an Na(+)-independent uptake system. Uptake was inhibited by other beta-amino acids but not by alpha-amino acids, taurocholate, or 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (0.5 mM). In contrast to uptake, efflux of [14C]taurine was relatively slow (approximately 10% in 2 h) and was unaffected by isosmotic replacement of extracellular Na+ with choline+ or K+ or by replacing Cl- with NO3-. These findings suggest distinct mechanisms for taurine uptake and efflux in skate hepatocytes; uptake is largely Na+ dependent and requires Cl- for maximal activity, whereas the efflux pathway is independent of transmembrane Na+, K+, or Cl- gradients. Maintenance of high intracellular taurine levels in skate hepatocytes is achieved by active Na(+)-dependent uptake processes and a relatively slow efflux.
Robotic automated analysis of foods for aflatoxin

Immunoaffinity column-based sample preparation procedures for determination of aflatoxins B 1 , B 2 , G 1 , and G 2 in several food matrixes and aflatoxin M 1 in milk have been automated by using flexible automation, or robotics. Components used to assemble the system were purchased commercially or developed and built in-house. A liquid-level sensor developed in-house to assist elution of the immunoaffinity column is described. After immunoaffinity column cleanup, aflatoxins are separated by reversed-phase liquid chromatography and determined by fluorescence without derivatization. Mean recoveries of aflatoxins B 1 , B 2 , and G 1 added to corn and nuts at 9-36 ng/g total aflatoxins were >85% (coefficient of variation [CV] = 16%). Recoveries of aflatoxin G 2 averaged 50% (CV = 28%). Recoveries of aflatoxin M 1 added to milk at 0.12-0.50 ng/mL averaged 78% (CV = 19%). The ability of the automated system to reproduce its results is demonstrated by the fact that the CV of replicate assays is generally better than 10%. Comparability between the automated procedure and the AOAC official method is demonstrated.
Catalyst Degradation Mechanisms in PEM and Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

While much attention has been given to optimizing initial fuel cell performance, only recent research has focused on the various materials degradation mechanisms observed over the life-time of fuel cells under real-life operating conditions. This presentation will focus on fuel cell durability constraints produced by platinum sintering/dissolution, carbon-support oxidation, and membrane chemical and mechanical degradations. Over the past 10 years, extensive R&D efforts were directed towards optimizing catalysts, membranes, and gas diffusion layers (GDL) as well as combining them into improved membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs), leading to significant improvements in initial performance of H2/air-fed proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and methanol/air-fed direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). 3 While the required performance targets have not yet been met, current PEMFC and DMFC performance are close to meeting entry-level applications and many prototypes have been developed for field testing. This partially shifted the R&D focus from performance optimization to more closely examining materials degradation phenomena which limit fuel cell durability under real-life testing conditions. The predominant degradation mechanisms are sintering/dissolution of platinum-based cathode catalysts under highly dynamic operating conditions, dissolution of ruthenium from DMFC anode catalysts, the oxidation of carbon-supports of the cathode catalyst during fuel cell startup and shutdown, and the formation of pinholes in proton exchange membranes if
Martingales and Optional Times

Filtrations and optional times; random time-change; martingale property; optional stopping and sampling; maximum and upcrossing inequalities; martingale convergence, regularity, and closure; limits of conditional expectations; regularization of submartingales
Differential modification of seawater carbonate chemistry by major coral reef benthic communities

Ocean acidification (OA) resulting from uptake of anthropogenic CO2 may negatively affect coral reefs by causing decreased rates of biogenic calcification and increased rates of CaCO3 dissolution and bioerosion. However, in addition to the gradual decrease in seawater pH and Ω a resulting from anthropogenic activities, seawater carbonate chemistry in these coastal ecosystems is also strongly influenced by the benthic metabolism which can either exacerbate or alleviate OA through net community calcification (NCC = calcification – CaCO3 dissolution) and net community organic carbon production (NCP = primary production − respiration). Therefore, to project OA on coral reefs, it is necessary to understand how different benthic communities modify the reef seawater carbonate chemistry. In this study, we used flow-through mesocosms to investigate the modification of seawater carbonate chemistry by benthic metabolism of five distinct reef communities [carbonate sand, crustose coralline algae (CCA), corals, fleshy algae, and a mixed community] under ambient and acidified conditions during summer and winter. The results showed that different communities had distinct influences on carbonate chemistry related to the relative importance of NCC and NCP. Sand, CCA, and corals exerted relatively small influences on seawater pH and Ω a over diel cycles due to closely balanced NCC and NCP rates, whereas fleshy algae and mixed communities strongly elevated daytime pH and Ω a due to high NCP rates. Interestingly, the influence on seawater pH at night was relatively small and quite similar across communities. NCC and NCP rates were not significantly affected by short-term acidification, but larger diel variability in pH was observed due to decreased seawater buffering capacity. Except for corals, increased net dissolution was observed at night for all communities under OA, partially buffering against nighttime acidification. Thus, algal-dominated areas of coral reefs and increased net CaCO3 dissolution may partially counteract reductions in seawater pH associated with anthropogenic OA at the local scale.
LEARNING PARSIMONIOUS ENSEMBLES FOR UNBALANCED COMPUTATIONAL GENOMICS PROBLEMS.

Prediction problems in biomedical sciences are generally quite difficult, partially due to incomplete knowledge of how the phenomenon of interest is influenced by the variables and measurements used for prediction, as well as a lack of consensus regarding the ideal predictor(s) for specific problems. In these situations, a powerful approach to improving prediction performance is to construct ensembles that combine the outputs of many individual base predictors, which have been successful for many biomedical prediction tasks. Moreover, selecting a parsimonious ensemble can be of even greater value for biomedical sciences, where it is not only important to learn an accurate predictor, but also to interpret what novel knowledge it can provide about the target problem. Ensemble selection is a promising approach for this task because of its ability to select a collectively predictive subset, often a relatively small one, of all input base predictors. One of the most well-known algorithms for ensemble selection, CES (Caruana et al.’s Ensemble Selection), generally performs well in practice, but faces several challenges due to the difficulty of choosing the right values of its various parameters. Since the choices made for these parameters are usually ad-hoc, good performance of CES is difficult to guarantee for a variety of problems or datasets. To address these challenges with CES and other such algorithms, we propose a novel heterogeneous ensemble selection approach based on the paradigm of reinforcement learning (RL), which offers a more systematic and mathematically sound methodology for exploring the many possible combinations of base predictors that can be selected into an ensemble. We develop three RL-based strategies for constructing ensembles and analyze their results on two unbalanced computational genomics problems, namely the prediction of protein function and splice sites in eukaryotic genomes. We show that the resultant ensembles are indeed substantially more parsimonious as compared to the full set of base predictors, yet still offer almost the same classification power, especially for larger datasets. The RL ensembles also yield a better combination of parsimony and predictive performance as compared to CES.
Feasibility of pancreatectomy following high-dose proton therapy for unresectable pancreatic cancer.

Feasibility of pancreatectomy following high-dose proton therapy for unresectable pancreatic cancer
Intertwining opportunities:: participants’ perceptions of professional growth within a multiple-site teacher education network at the secondary level

Abstract Teachers’ professional growth is far better documented within elementary professional development schools than it is within multi-site school partnerships at the secondary school level. This article fills an empirical gap by focusing on the professional development of 35 secondary school teachers and two professors within a school/university teacher education partnership focused on one content area. The University of Georgia Network for English Teachers and Students (UGA-NETS) is attached to a Research I institution and committed to on-going, discipline-based, collaborative inquiry and the education of 25 teacher candidates each year. Analysis of surveys, focus group and individual interviews, field notes, and documents across 5 years reveals that participants perceive 4 sites for their own professional development: individual school and university classrooms, school and university departments, the teacher network, and teacher education locally and beyond. The author also presents challenges to professional development within multi-site and secondary school partnerships including disturbing the status quo and the question of agendas, levels of buy-in, and diversity and equity.
Swimming with multiple propulsors: measurement and comparison of swimming gaits in three species of neotropical cichlids.

ABSTRACT Comparative studies of fish swimming have been limited by the lack of quantitative definitions of fish gaits. Traditionally, steady swimming gaits have been defined categorically by the fin or region of the body that is used as the main propulsor and named after major fish clades (e.g. carangiform, anguilliform, balistiform, labriform). This method of categorization is limited by the lack of explicit measurements, the inability to incorporate contributions of multiple propulsors and the inability to compare gaits across different categories. I propose an alternative framework for the definition and comparison of fish gaits based on the propulsive contribution of each structure (body and/or fin) being used as a propulsor relative to locomotor output, and demonstrate the effectiveness of this framework by comparing three species of neotropical cichlids with different body shapes. This approach is modular with respect to the number of propulsors considered, flexible with respect to the definition of the propulsive inputs and the locomotor output of interest, and designed explicitly to handle combinations of propulsors. Using this approach, gait can be defined as a trajectory through propulsive space, and gait transitions can be defined as discontinuities in the gait trajectory. By measuring and defining gait in this way, patterns of clustering corresponding to existing categorical definitions of gait may emerge, and gaits can be rigorously compared across categories.
Nickel-Catalyzed Copolymerization of Ethylene and Vinyltrialkoxysilanes: Catalytic Production of Cross-Linkable Polyethylene and Elucidation of the Chain-Growth Mechanism

Copolymerizations of ethylene with vinyltrialkoxysilanes using cationic (α-diimine)Ni(Me)(CH3CN)+ complexes 4a,b/B(C6F5)3 yield high molecular weight copolymers exhibiting highly branched to nearly linear backbones depending on reaction conditions and catalyst choice. Polymerizations are first-order in ethylene pressure and inverse-order in silane concentration. Microstructural analysis of the copolymers reveals both in-chain and chain-end incorporation of −Si(OR)3 groups whose ratios depend on temperature and ethylene pressure. Detailed low-temperature NMR spectroscopic investigations show that well-defined complex 3b (α-diimine)Ni(Me)(OEt2)+ reacts rapidly at −60 °C with vinyltrialkoxysilanes via both 2,1 and 1,2 insertion pathways to yield 4- and 5-membered chelates, respectively. Such chelates are the major catalyst resting states but are in rapid equilibrium with ethylene-opened chelates, (α-diimine)Ni(R)(C2H4)+ complexes, the species responsible for chain growth. Chelate rearrangement via β-silyl el...
Anion Complexation Studies of 3-Nitrophenyl-Substituted Tripodal Thiourea Receptor: A Naked-Eye Detection of Sulfate via Fluoride Displacement Assay.

A thiourea-based tripodal receptor L substituted with 3-nitrophenyl groups has been synthesized, and the binding affinity for a variety of anions has been studied by 1H NMR titrations and nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy experiments in dimethyl sulfoxide-d6. As investigated by 1H NMR titrations, the receptor binds an anion in a 1:1 binding mode, showing the highest binding and strong selectivity for sulfate anion. A competitive colorimetric assay in the presence of fluoride suggests that the sulfate is capable of displacing the bound fluoride, showing a sharp visible color change. The strong affinity of L for sulfate was further supported by UV–vis titrations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Time-dependent DFT calculations indicate that the fluoride complex possesses a different optical absorption spectrum (due to charge transfer between the fluoride and the surrounding ligand) than the sulfate complex, reflecting the observed colorimetric change in these two complexes. The rec...
Anterior cervical arthrodesis in children

Despite its limited use in the pediatric population, anterior arthrodesis of the cervical spine remains a valuable tool for the treatment of cervical spine abnormalities in children. This chapter describes the indications for anterior cervical spine arthrodesis with the use of single-level versus multiple-level discectomy or corpectomy, with and without instrumentation. We discuss the use of structural bone graft versus cages and morselized bone graft, as well as the contraindication of bone morphogenic protein.
Stable isotopes of Hawaiian spiders reflect substrate properties along a chronosequence

The Hawaiian Islands offer a unique opportunity to test how changes in the properties of an isolated ecosystem are propagated through the organisms that occur within that ecosystem. The age-structured arrangement of volcanic-derived substrates follows a regular progression over space and, by inference, time. We test how well documented successional changes in soil chemistry and associated vegetation are reflected in organisms at higher trophic levels-specifically, predatory arthropods (spiders)-across a range of functional groups. We focus on three separate spider lineages: one that builds capture webs, one that hunts actively, and one that specializes on eating other spiders. We analyze spiders from three sites across the Hawaiian chronosequence with substrate ages ranging from 200 to 20,000 years. To measure the extent to which chemical signatures of terrestrial substrates are propagated through higher trophic levels, we use standard stable isotope analyses of nitrogen and carbon, with plant leaves included as a baseline. The target taxa show the expected shift in isotope ratios of δ15N with trophic level, from plants to cursorial spiders to web-builders to spider eaters. Remarkably, organisms at all trophic levels also precisely reflect the successional changes in the soil stoichiometry of the island chronosequence, demonstrating how the biogeochemistry of the entire food web is determined by ecosystem succession of the substrates on which the organisms have evolved.
Reducing overhead in hybrid precoding design for millimeter wave MIMO systems

To compensate the high path loss in millimeter wave (mmWave) systems, large antenna arrays are used. In such circumstances, low cost hardware and power consumption are the main challenges. Furthermore, the hardware is tasked with computation of high dimensional optimal matrices of hybrid precoding design using the Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP). This paper proposes an algorithm to enhance the efficiency of OMP reconstruction algorithm. The spectral efficiency of the mmWave system using the proposed algorithm is compared with the previously reported research and the optimal case (fully digital precoder). The results show that the proposed algorithm performs very closely to the optimal design even though the complexity of the design is reduced.
The Next Phase of Business Sustainability

Business sustainability has come a long way. From the dawn of the modern environmental movement and the establishment of environmental regulations in the 1970s, it has now become a strategic concern driven by market forces. Today, more than 90 percent of CEOs state that sustainability is important to their company’s profits and success, and companies develop sustainability strategies, market sustainable products and services, create positions such as the chief sustainability officer, and disclose their performance to consumers, investors, activists, and the public at large in sustainability reports.
Concluding Remarks: The Pacific Alliance – Stocktaking and the Way Forward

The Pacific Alliance (PA) is a regional integration initiative that was officially established in 2011 by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. One of the PA’s principal objectives is to build – in a participatory and consensual way – an area of deep integration to move progressively towards the free movement of goods, services, resources and people. Bringing together a group of like-minded countries that have long embraced a trade- and foreign direct investment-driven growth and development and pursued a number of pro-competitive market reforms at the domestic level, the PA is notable for the high level of hard and soft law interaction ambitions it espouses despite the low level of intra-regional trade and investment characterizing the regional grouping. This chapter offers a summary and informed reading of the contributions made by a diverse group of academics, policy experts, lawyers, and officials from national governments and international organizations at the conference from which this edited volume is drawn.
Tensor Field Design: Algorithms and Applications

Tensor field design has found increasing applications in computer graphics, geometry processing, and scientific visualization. In this chapter, we review recent advances in tensor field design and discuss possible future research directions.
Fatty Acid Metabolism in Cultured Skin Fibroblasts from Patients with Peroxisomal Disorders: Lignoceroyl-CoA Ligase Deficiency in Childhood Adrenoleukodystrophy

We have previously reported that the peroxisomal B-oxidation system for very long chain (>C22) fatty acids is defective in the peroxisomal disorders, adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) and Zellweger’s cerebro-hepato-renal syndrome (CHRS), (Singh, et. al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 81, 4203, 1984). In order to elucidate the specific enzyme defect, we examined the oxidation of [1-14C]lignoceric acid and [1-14C]lignoceroyl-CoA (substrates for the 1st and 2nd steps of the B-oxidation cycle). In agreement with our previous observation, we found that oxidation of lignoceric acid (substrate for the 1st step) in fibroblasts from childhood ALD was only 32% of the control. However, the rates of oxidation of lignoceroyl-CoA (substrate for the 2nd step) in cultured fibroblasts from childhood ALD and control were essential equivalent (44,853 ± 8,243 and 41,530 ± 3,708 CPM/mg protein/hr respectively). These studies indicate that oxidation of lignoceric acid is defective while degradation of lignoceroyl-CoA is normal in childhood AL. This identifies lignoceroyl-CoA ligase as the enzyme impaired in childhood ALD. Since lignoceric acid is oxidized in peroxisomes, it is likely that peroxisomal lignoceroyl- CoA ligase activity is defective in chilhood ALD. We also examined this oxidation in CHRS cells and found that degradation of both of these substrates is defective. These studies indicate that the molecular mechanism for the pathognomonic accumulation of very long chain fatty acids in X-linked childhood ALD is different from that in CHRS.
(De)Activating the Economic Vote: The Moderating Effect of Economic Campaign Rhetoric in the United States and Mexico

This paper develops and tests a campaign-centered theory of variation in the magnitude of the economic vote. Even in light of powerful structural and institutional predictors, and despite recent challenges, I argue that political campaigns play an integral, yet undertheorized, role in conditioning the political-economic correspondence. Building on existing research, I contend that this moderating effect is contingent upon the campaign’s economic message and is dynamic within campaigns, even in the short-run. As the intensity of the economic campaign fluctuates, so does the economic vote. In order to test this argument, I explore the impact of economic rhetoric in televised campaign advertisements on the magnitude of the economic vote in the 1992 and 2000 United States presidential campaigns and the 2000 and 2006 Mexican presidential campaigns. To do so I combine public opinion data with measures of advertising frequency and original content analysis of economic news and televised campaign advertisements. I find strong evidence that economic campaign rhetoric moderates the economy-vote link, but that the effect varies by candidate and type of message. The results help explain non-monotonic, within-campaign variation in the conomic vote and shed light on four election outcomes that conventional models struggle to explain.
B cells drive auto-T cells to the brain

Self-reactive T cells that traffic to the brain tissue of patients with multiple sclerosis are driven by antigen-experienced B cells.
Combining robotic exoskeleton and body weight unweighing technology to promote walking activity in tetraplegia following SCI: A case study

Context: To investigate the feasibility of combining the lower-limb exoskeleton and body weight unweighing technology for assisted walking in tetraplegia following spinal cord injury (SCI).Findings...
Pro-market reforms in developing countries and the marketing capability-performance relationship

We analyze the impact of relative marketing capability on the performance of developing country firms. We extend the institution-based view by separating the scope (i.e., degree) from the rhythm (i...
Super PACs, Personal Data, and Campaign Finance Loopholes

Personal data is a commodity—frequently bought, sold, and traded on the open market by for-profit and non-profit organizations alike. It is now commonplace for political campaigns to synthesize large amounts of personal information to tailor messaging to particular individuals for persuasion, turnout, and fundraising. As campaigns and other political organizations use data in increasingly sophisticated ways, they have also dramatically increased their data collection and transfer efforts. This Note explores how federal election laws and regulations have failed to keep pace with these developments, creating a loophole through which virtually unlimited money can flow to campaigns. This Note argues that personal data should be regulated like any other campaign asset. Federal political campaigns are subject to strict contribution limits as well as a comprehensive disclosure regime. Current Federal Election Commission advisory opinions and agency inaction have allowed campaigns to receive valuable personal data at practically no cost, even from organizations like super PACs that are otherwise prohibited from making contributions to campaigns. Perhaps even more troubling is that these contributions are not subject to the disclosure requirements that form the backbone of the federal campaign finance system. The transfer of this class of assets is subject to neither meaningful restrictions nor public scrutiny. This Note details the problem and proposes several simple regulatory changes to close existing campaign finance loopholes.
Obesity education in medical schools, residencies, and fellowships throughout the world: a systematic review

Obesity is pandemic throughout the world, and there is concern that physicians are inadequately trained to treat their patients with obesity despite its prevalence. This review explores obesity education in medical students, resident, and fellow physicians throughout the world from 2005 to 2018. Previous reviews on obesity education were conducted before 2011, focused solely on medical students, and only explored obesity education in the United States. We systematically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and ERIC databases for studies which included the search terms "obesity education" AND either "medical students", "residency", or "fellowship" that met PICOS (Population, Interventions, Comparators, Outcomes, Study Design) criteria for articles published in English for obesity education and evaluation of outcomes. Our initial search yielded 234 articles, and 27 studies met criteria for our review. We described and analyzed these studies for their study design and graded quality, quantity, and consistency for each measured outcome. We applied an evidence grading system that has been previously applied in the literature in which each outcome measure was graded on a scale from A to D. We evaluated obesity education programs for outcomes regarding implicit and explicit bias, changes in attitude towards obesity, weight change, obesity knowledge, counseling confidence, intent to counsel, and counseling quality. There was a significant degree of heterogeneity in the studies included. While obesity knowledge was most frequently studied, counseling confidence was the only outcome with an overall grade A. There is currently a paucity of obesity education programs for medical students, residents, and fellow physicians in training programs throughout the world despite high disease prevalence. However, these programs often improve outcomes when they are administered. Our review suggests that more obesity education should be administered in undergraduate and graduate medical education to ensure optimal treatment of patients with obesity.
Congenital diaphragmatic hernia as a potential target for transamniotic stem cell therapy.

Abstract Purpose We sought to determine whether TRASCET could impact congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH). Methods Twelve pregnant dams received Nitrofen on gestational day 9.5 (E9; term = 22 days) to induce fetal CDH. Fetuses were divided into three groups: untreated (n = 31) and two groups receiving volume-matched intraamniotic injections of either saline (n = 37) or a suspension of 2 × 106 cells/mL of amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells (afMSCs; n = 65) on E17. Animals were euthanized at term. Expression of fibroblast growth factor-10 (FGF-10), vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), and surfactant protein-C (SPC) was quantified by qRT-PCR. Statistical analysis was by the Mann–Whitney U test with Bonferroni adjusted criterion (p ≤ 0.01). Results Among survivors with CDH (n = 27/133), the TRASCET group showed significant downregulation of FGF-10 and VEGF-A gene expressions compared to the untreated (p Conclusions Transamniotic stem cell therapy affects select processes of lung development in experimental congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Further scrutiny into this novel therapy as a potential component of the prenatal management of this disease is warranted. Level of evidence N/A (animal and laboratory study).
Interactive Robot Training for Temporal Tasks

Imagine a future where a domestic robot ships with a state-of-theart learning from demonstrations (LfD) system to learn household tasks. You would like the robot to set the dinner-table for you when you get home at dinner time. After you demonstrate how to set the dinner table a couple of times. Would you be confident that robot will not try to place the saucer on top of the cup, or finish as much of the task as possible if an object was missing?
P108 Mood and Eating Behaviors in College Students

Background Self-regulation seems to be an important factor in weight maintenance in college students. After college enrollment, some students experience impactful circumstances causing mood change, which may lead to weight gain. Not much is known about the relationship between mood and self-regulation of food in college students. Objective To examine the correlation between mood and self-regulation of food intake in college students using an objective methodology. Study Design, Setting, Participants Sixty undergraduate students (male and female with the mean age of 19.8 [SD = 1.43]) completed the study (2 visits with lunch buffets). Participants were offered a preload drink (with different calorie content each visit) 30 minutes prior to lunch. Students were asked to watch an emotional (sad) movie before lunch to change their emotional status. Measurable Outcome/Analysis Participants completed baseline questionnaires, and anthropometric measures. Compensation index (COMPX) was used to measure self-regulation. Regression analysis and ANOVA were used to examine the relationship between self-regulation and mood in different genders and Body Mass Index (BMI) categories. Results Female students had significantly better COMPX scores (72.34 ± 60.75) compared to male students (130.87 ± 83.59) (F = 9.223, P = .004). The average mood change was −2.021 (SD = 2.75) and −3.057 (SD = 3.53) in males and females respectively. The data indicated a significant correlation between COMPX scores and general mood change (F = 5.486, P = .026, R2 = 0.159) in female college students. No correlation was found among males. There was no correlation between COMPX scores, self-regulation questionnaires, and BMI (P > .05). Data showed no significant association between mood change and COMPX scores when comparing different BMI categories (P > .05). Conclusions There was no relationship between self-reported and objective data regarding self-regulation. In general, there seems to be better self-regulatory skills in females compared to males. However, when exposed to a mood stimulus, female students appear to be more affected with a higher influence on their eating behaviors, whereas male students’ eating behaviors were not altered by the mood changes.
Racial disparities in preemptive waitlisting and deceased donor kidney transplantation: Ethics and solutions.

Kidney transplantation prior to dialysis, known as "preemptive transplant," enables patients to live longer and avoid the substantial quality of life burdens due to chronic dialysis. Deceased donor kidneys are a public resource that ought to provide health benefits equitably. Unfortunately, White, better educated, and privately insured patients enjoy disproportionate access to preemptive transplantation using deceased donor kidneys. This problem has persisted for decades and is exacerbated by the first-come, first-served approach to kidney allocation for predialysis patients. In this Personal Viewpoint, we describe the diverse barriers to preemptive waitlisting and kidney transplant. The analysis focuses on healthcare system features that particularly disadvantage Black patients, such as the waitlisting eligibility criterion of a single glomerular filtration rate or creatinine clearance ≤20 ml/min, and neglect of wide variation in the rate of progression to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in allocating preemptive transplants. We propose initiatives to improve equity including: (1) standardization of waitlisting eligibility criteria related to kidney function; (2) aggressive education for clinicians about early transplant referral; (3) innovations in electronic medical record capabilities; and (4) rapid status 7 listing by centers. If those initiatives fail, the transplant field should consider eliminating preemptive waitlisting and transplantation with deceased donor kidneys.
Providing Gender-Affirmative Care During the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Pandemic Era: Experiences and Perspectives from Pediatric Endocrinologists in the United States

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth are at risk of worsened health disparities during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. Health care delivery by pedia...
Foreign asset returns under exchange rate uncertainty: A classroom experiment

This paper provides details on a classroom experiment that focuses on returns to foreign assets given uncertain future exchange rates. Students are assigned the role of foreign analysts and decide ...
Research Domains and Brain Network Dysfunction: Towards a New Taxonomy of Neuropsychiatric Illness

Psychiatric disorders are brain disorders with high global prevalence that confer a significant personal and economic burden due to treatment costs, reduced productivity and increased morbidity and mortality. In the last three decades, neuroimaging has provided new tools and methods that enable the in vivo examination of brain organization in health and disease. The chapter summarizes brain structural and functional neuroimaging correlates of the major psychiatric disorders and discusses their implications for our understanding of psychiatric nosology and the challenges yet to be met.
Nondelegation in the States

American public law is on the precipice of a nondelegation revival. Yet scholars have largely ignored the greatest wellspring of American nondelegation law: that of the states. As a result, the nondelegation literature is badly in need of a broad and deep examination of state nondelegation. This article takes up that task by describing the kaleidoscope of contexts in which states apply the nondelegation doctrine. Significantly, state nondelegation reaches deep into public law and covers far more than the legislature-to-agency delegations that preoccupy the discussion at the federal level. This article analyzes this mess of state nondelegation jurisprudence, arguing that it can be explained coherently by two theories underlying nondelegation: the separation of powers and sovereignty. While these theories overlap to an extent, each supplies a distinct logic to nondelegation, thus motivating the doctrine’s disparate and varied applications. Finally, the article argues affirmatively that the Supreme Court ought to consult state nondelegation jurisprudence when it revives the federal nondelegation doctrine. The states’ experience counsels important lessons for the federal doctrine. For nondelegation supporters, state nondelegation indicates that a strong doctrine may require revising vast expanses of public law, especially the separation of powers. As a result, a revived doctrine may prove difficult to administer, though in a way few have recognized. Fortunately, where the nondelegation doctrine might overreach into other areas of public law, relatively straightforward doctrinal guardrails can be established so that a strong doctrine doesn’t prove to be an obstacle to effective governance.
Total synthesis of (±)-chaetoxanthone B

Abstract The first total synthesis of the antimalarial natural product chaetoxanthone B is described. The synthesis was completed in five steps from commercially available materials in 21% overall yield. A Heck coupling reaction provided the key aryl alkene intermediate that yielded chaetoxanthone B upon acid catalyzed intramolecular ketalization to form the dioxane/tetrahydropyran ring system.
Control of an assembly system with processing time and subassembly-type uncertainty

We address the problem of controlling an assembly system in which the processing times as well as the types of subassemblies are stochastic. The quality (or performance) of the final part depends on the characteristics of the subassemblies to be assembled, which are not constant. Furthermore, the processing time of a subassembly is random. We analyze the trade-off between the increase in the potential value of parts gained by delaying the assembly operation and the inventory costs caused by this delay. We also consider the effects of processing time uncertainty. Our problem is motivated by the assembly of passive and active plates in flat panel display manufacturing. We formulate the optimal control problem as a Markov decision process. However, the optimal policy is very complex, and we therefore develop simple heuristic policies. We report the results of a simulation study that tests the performance of our heuristics. The computational results indicate that the heuristics are effective for a wide variety of cases.
Peptic ulcer in pregnancy: A report of 3 cases

Abstract Three cases of active peptic ulcer occurring in pregnancy are presented. Two of these cases were complicated by hemorrhage.