cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enabling cloud bursting for life sciences within Galaxy

Summary Fueled by the radically increased capacity to generate data over the past decade, the field of biomedical research has been constrained by the ability to analyze data. Galaxy, a Web-based, open-source data integration and analysis platform for life science research, has been democratizing access to data analysis tools. However, the scale of data and the scope of tools required have proven to be a significant challenge for any monolithic deployment of the Galaxy application. We have found that a distributed and federated approach to utilizing compute and storage resources is necessary. This paper describes the ongoing efforts in creating a ubiquitous platform capable of simultaneously utilizing dedicated as well as on-demand cloud resources. Specifically, the requirements, process, and an implementation of a cloud-bursting system are detailed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Influence of Indium-tin Oxide Surface Structure on the Ordering and Coverage of Carboxylic Acid and Thiol Monolayers

This paper analyses the variability of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) formation on ITO depending on the substrate surface features. In particular, we report on the formation of carboxylic acid- and thiol-based SAMs on two lots of commercially prepared indium–tin oxide (ITO) thin films. Contact angle measurements, electrochemical experiments, and near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy showed that the quality of monolayers formed differed substantially between the two ITO batches. Only one of the two ITO substrates was capable of forming well-organized thiol- and carboxylic acid-based SAMs. In order to rationalize these observations, atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffraction analyses were carried out, and SAMs were prepared on ITO substrates fabricated by sputtering in our laboratories. An attempt was made to influence the film microstructure and surface morphology by varying substrate temperatures during ITO deposition. Good-quality thiol and carboxylic acid SAMs were obtained on one of the ITO substrates prepared in-house. While our characterization could not single out conclusively one specific parameter in ITO surface structure that could be responsible for good SAMs formation, we could point out homogeneous surface morphology as a relevant factor for the quality of the SAMs. Evidence was also found for ITO crystallographic orientation to be a parameter influencing SAMs organization.
Designing improved MAC packet schedulers for 802.11e WLAN

The enhanced distributed coordination function (EDCF) is one of the main features of 802.11e quality of service (QoS) enhancement over legacy 802.11 distributed coordination function (DCF). In order to control network performance, a network designer needs to understand how the EDCF parameters affects the QoS performance explicitly. However, we are unaware of any publications regarding EDCF analysis that includes all of the protocol details. Most evaluations only use numerical results. We propose a simple but extremely accurate analytical model to compute the saturation throughput performance of 802.11e EDCF, with the assumption of ideal channel conditions and same different inter frame space (DIFS). The analysis consists of two cases. The first case demonstrates how different nodes can achieve differentiate access in uplink. In the second scenario, there are multiple flows in one node, and they compete for the channel in downlink. With the help of the analysis, we show how to design a distributed MAC weighted round robin (WRR) packet scheduler to emulate an ideal network layer scheduler. Simulation comparison indicates that the MAC layer scheduler can achieve higher utilization, smaller delay than the network layer WRR and bandwidth ratio as wanted.
Evaluation of a positive conditioning technique for influencing big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subspp, wyomingensis ) consumption by goats

Diets of angora goats (Capra hircus) positively conditioned to eat big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subspp. wyomingensis) were contrasted with control groups to assess the effects of positive conditioning. Goats were conditioned by including ever-increasing amounts of sagebrush in the daily ration, to a maximum of 25% by weight as fed. Conditioning effects were evaluated by comparing relative consumption of big sagebrush in a rangeland setting. Field trials were conducted at the Squaw Butte Experimental Range, a shrub steppe rangeland in eastern Oregon. Our results indicate that neither conditioned does nor kids had significantly different intake of sagebrush when compared with control animals. Young animals consumed shrub species sooner than adults and ate significantly more shrubs throughout all seasons until the second summer when diets did not differ between age groups.
Incidence of cardiac arrhythmias with therapeutic versus diagnostic ultrasound and intravenous microbubbles

Objective. The purpose of this study was to determine the type of arrhythmias induced with therapeutic versus diagnostic transthoracic low-frequency ultrasound (TLFUS) transducers in the presence of intravenous microbubbles. Methods. Intravenous perfluorocarbon-exposed sonicated dextrose albumin (PESDA) microbubbles were infused or given as a bolus injection while TLFUS was applied in the standard parasternal and apical views with either a 1-MHz therapeutic ultrasound transducer or high-mechanical-index diagnostic ultrasound (1.7 MHz). Results. Significantly more ectopy was produced by the therapeutic transducer, especially at higher-intensity settings in the continuous wave mode after bolus injections of PESDA (P <.001 compared with lower intensities and lower continuous infusion rates). Six patients (15%) had either clinical supraventricular tachycardia or nonsustained ventricular tachycardia after intravenous PESDA with therapeutic TLFUS. In comparison, diagnostic high-mechanical-index ultrasound produced only isolated ventricular ectopy and no sustained ventricular arrhythmias. Conclusions. Intravenously injected microbubbles and low-frequency therapeutic transducers operating at longer duty cycles and wide beam widths have the capability of eliciting clinically important arrhythmias in patients at high risk for such events.
Potential therapeutic role of microRNA in lung cancer treatment

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 12-16, 2008; San Diego, CA SY31-01 MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are regulatory RNAs found in multicellular eukaryotes, including humans where they are implicated in cancer . miRNAs control gene expression through complementary elements in the 3’UTRs of target mRNAs. The let-7 microRNA is phylogenetically conserved and temporally expressed in many animals. C. elegans let-7 controls terminal differentiation in a stem cell-like lineage in the skin, while human let-7 has been implicated in lung cancer. Four closely related miRNAs constitute the C. elegans let-7 family. To elucidate let-7 ’s role in temporal control of nematode development, we used sequence analysis and reverse genetics to identify candidate let-7 target genes . Additionally we found that one let-7 family member, mir-84 , is expressed dynamically in vulval precursor cells at the time that they are specified for distinct roles in vulval morphogenesis. Specifically, mir-84 is absent when let-60/ras is actively specifying the 1 vulval fate in P6.p. The 3’UTR of let-60/ras contains multiple mir-84 miRNA complementary sites, and restricts reporter gene expression to P6.p. mir-84 over-expression suppresses the multivulva phenotype of activating let-60/ras mutations. This suggests that let-60/ras is a target of mir-84 , which modulates ras signaling leading to vulval cell fate specification. In addition, mammalian HRAS , KRAS and NRAS 3’UTRs contain multiple let-7 complementary sites, suggesting conservation of gene interactions . The 3’ UTRs of the human RAS genes contain multiple LCSs, allowing let-7 to regulate RAS expression. let-7 expression is lower in lung tumors than in normal lung tissue while RAS protein is significantly higher in lung tumors , providing a possible mechanism for let-7 in cancer. The RAS family makes up major oncogenes in various cancers, including lung cancer. We showed that let-7 is highly expressed in lung tissue and that inhibiting let-7 function leads to increased cell division in A549 lung cancer cells, providing evidence that let-7 functions as a tumor suppressor in lung cells . Over-expression of let-7 in cancer cell lines alters cell cycle progression and reduces cell division. let-7 was previously shown to regulate the expression of the RAS lung cancer oncogenes. We also showed that multiple genes involved in cell cycle and cell division functions are also directly or indirectly repressed by let-7. This work reveals the let-7 microRNA to be a master regulator of cell proliferation pathways. This work also suggests that the level of expression of the let-7 miRNA might be an important factor in limiting or contributing to oncogenesis. This may also be the first step in a possible cancer therapy, targeting RAS with a microRNA. This work was supported by a grant from the Connecticut Department of Public Health and from Asuragen, Inc.
Picturing the Life Course of Procreative Choice

For a substantial part of women’s lives, regulating fertility is a primary project. This Article depicts the life course of women’s procreative choice through a series of complex visual representations of data derived from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and the National Survey of Family Growth 2002. These graphic representations illustrate that preventing procreation, through a variety of choices, including contraception, sterilization, abortion, abstinence, and partner choice, occupies most of a woman’s fertile years, as compared with childbirth.
Radionuclide concentrations in air particulate at Palermo (Italy) following Fukushima accident

Following the Fukushima accident, a series of samplings were carried out with a daily frequency to detect the arrival of radioactive contamination in air at Palermo (Italy) and to follow its evolution during the time. Air particulate collection was performed by suction of atmospheric air through cellulose filter paper by means of a high-volume air sampler (∼15 000 m(3) d(-1)). Spectrometric analysis of the filters highlights the presence of (131)I, (134)Cs, (137)Cs and, only for a few samples, traces of (132)Te-(132)I and (136)Cs. Maximum airborne concentrations were 883 μBq m(-3) for (131)I (only particulate), 81 μBq m(-3) for (137)Cs and 70 μBq m(-3) for (134)Cs. From a dose to population point of view, no significant values were obtained. The concentration values are from 1000 to 100 000 times lower than the ones measured after the Chernobyl accident, while, for only (137)Cs, are comparable with the ones highlighted after the Algeciras accident (Spain, 1998).
Tolerance of Cool-Season Turf grasses to Feeding by Japanese Beetle and Southern Masked Chafer (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Grubs

Response of Kentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis L.; tall fescue, Festuca arundinacea Schreber; hard fescue, F ovina L. var. duriuscula; perennial rye grass, Lolium perenne L.; and creeping bent grass, Agrostis palustris (Hudson), to herbivory by root-feeding by grubs of Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica Newman, and southern masked chafer, Cyclocephala lunda Bland, was evaluated in greenhouse trials. Potted turf grasses were infested with initial densities equivalent to 73 or 146 grubs per 0.1 m2 in spring and fall trials, and effects on plant growth and grub survival were determined. All turf grasses tolerated significant damage to roots without loss of foliage yield. In fact, feeding by grubs stimulated increased growth of foliage in some grasses. With comparable densities of grubs, loss of roots tended to be proportionately less in creeping bent grass than in other grass species. Survival of grubs was similar in all turf grasses, and between low and high grub densities. P. japonica caused greater loss of roots than C. lurida in the spring trial, but the reverse was true in the fall. Root loss per grub decreased with increasing larval density, suggesting food limitation even though root systems were not completely devoured. Implications of these findings for tolerance and recovery of grub-damaged turf grasses are discussed.
Food Regime Analysis in a Post‐Neoliberal Era: Argentina and the Expansion of Transgenic Soybeans

This paper uses the food regime literature to analyse the political and economic relations promoting the expansion of soybeans in Argentina following the post-neoliberal turn in the early 2000s. Continuities of the agrarian expansion from the neoliberal to post-neoliberal model highlight the state's role in supporting a neoliberal food regime. Neoregulation in the post-neoliberal agenda continues to favour increased production of transgenic food over ecological and human-health considerations. Moreover, the emergence of new corporate and transnational actors has contributed to a new form of corporate-agrarian governance premised on biotechnology. First, a food regime lens is used to describe the expansion of transgenic soybeans in Argentina, followed by an analysis of planning documents to show the state's position in reproducing neoliberal discourses and policies favouring the expansion of agriculture. The conclusion discusses the utility of food regime analysis for explaining the new forms of agricultural governance in Argentina.
Chromokinesins NOD and KID use Alternative Nucleotide Mechanisms and One-Dimensional Diffusion to Target Microtubule Plus Ends

Chromokinesins have been found to associate with chromosomes during cell division and play a variety of functions including chromosome positioning, chromosome condensation, spindle bipolarity, and cytokinesis. These motors are thought to generate the elusive polar ejection force that drives chromatin away from the spindle poles. Kinesin-10's are chromokinesins that include human KID (also known as KIF22) and Drosophila melanogaster NOD, which share an N-terminal kinesin-like catalytic domain, a central stalk domain, and a C-terminal DNA-binding domain. Due to their common in vivo physiologies, we propose that kinesin-10's work together in teams of motors to translocate/target to spindle microtubule plus-ends. Using steady-state kinetics, we have characterized the motor domain constructs of NOD and KID by measuring the basal, unpolymerized tubulin-stimulated, and MT-stimulated steady-state ATPase and GTPase kinetics under both low (∼21 mM) and physiologically relevant (∼111 mM) ionic strength conditions. These results suggest both purine nucleotides may be utilized by kinesin-10's in vivo and set the foundation for comparing the ATPase and GTPase mechanisms of these two unconventional kinesins. Using GFP-tagged kinesin-10's and total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, we observed the microtubule-bound NOD either remaining stationary or engaging in a one-dimensional random walk across the microtubule lattice. These two modes of microtubule binding are interchangeable and movement along the microtubule is rapid (similar to kinesin-13 and other microtubule end-binding proteins) and without directionality preference. Under these conditions, we observe significantly higher incidence of microtubule end-binding events, which is increased after removal of the negatively-charge C-terminal tails of tubulin using subtilisin. Our continued studies reveal mechanistic and functional details of kinesin-10 force generation and therefore provide new insights into the molecular motion that drives the polar ejection force during cell division.
Selective Coagulant Recovery from Water Treatment Plant Residuals Using Donnan Membrane Process

Fouling of membrane surfaces by particulate matter and large organic molecules is relatively common for pressure-driven membrane processes, namely, reverse osmosis (RO), nanofiltration (NF), and ultrafiltration (UF). Donnan membrane process (DMP) or Donnan Dialysis is driven by electrochemical potential gradient across a semipermeable ion exchange membrane. Theoretically, DMP is not susceptible to fouling by fine particulates and/or large organic molecules. According to information available in the open literature, however, DMP has not been tried to treat slurry or sludge with relatively high concentration of suspended solids or large organic molecules. This study presents the salient results of an extensive investigation pertaining to selective alum recovery from water treatment residuals (WTR) using DMP. Water treatment plants use alum, Al2(SO4)3·14H2O, as a coagulant, alum being finally converted and discharged as insoluble aluminum hydroxide along with natural organic matters (NOM), suspended solids, ...
Stochastic Models for Multivariate Neural Point Processes: Collective Dynamics and Neural Decoding

This chapter reviews a stochastic point process framework for the modeling, analysis and decoding of neuronal ensembles. The spiking probability of any neuron in an ensemble is computed recursively via a system of stochastic nonlinear equations with delays in discrete time. These equations are expressed in terms of conditional intensity functions, which capture the effects of the neuron’s own spiking history (intrinsic dynamics), ensemble history (collective dynamics), and dependencies on stimuli and behavioral covariates. Four related approaches for the statistical modeling of conditional intensity functions are presented: generalized linear models (GLM), penalized splines, hierarchical Bayesian P-splines, and nonparametric function approximation. Decoding of neuronal ensemble spike trains is implemented via stochastic state-space models with point process observations. The framework is illustrated with examples of neural decoding of hand velocities and assessment of collective dynamics in primary motor cortex.
Effect of Functional End-Groups on Lubricant Reflow in Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR)

In the developing heat-assisted magnetic recording technology, a laser heats up the magnetic media to the Curie temperature of a few hundred degrees celsius for a few nanoseconds. Accordingly, the thin-film lubricant coating on the disk experiences thermo-capillary and evaporation effects followed by its depletion. In order to maintain a reliable head–disk interface, the lubricant needs to return to the initial uniform profile, in a process known as lubricant reflow. We performed numerical simulations of the lubricant reflow and compared the recovery times for widely used lubricants in hard disk industry including Z-dol, Z-tetraol, and ZTMD lubricants with similar molecular weights. We modeled the lubricant reflow on the disk for a wide range of film thicknesses and laser spot sizes, based on a classical lubrication theory and material properties reported by experiments. The results show that the recovery times for Z-tetraol 2200 and ZTMD are significantly greater than that for Z-dol 2000, while the recovery time for ZTMD is close to that for Z-tetraol, despite its higher viscosity value. It is also shown that all lubricants have an optimum film thickness for recovery time, and this optimum point largely depends on the dewetting behavior of the lubricant.
An upscaled rate law for magnesite dissolution in heterogeneous porous media

Abstract Spatial heterogeneity in natural subsurface systems governs water fluxes and residence time in reactive zones and therefore determines effective rates of mineral dissolution. Extensive studies have documented mineral dissolution rates in natural systems, although a general rate law has remain elusive. Here we fill this gap by answering two questions: (1) how and to what extent does spatial heterogeneity affect water residence time and effectively-dissolving surface area? (2) what is the upscaled rate law that quantifies effective dissolution rates in natural, heterogeneous media? With data constraints from experimental work, 240 Monte-Carlo numerical experiments of magnesite dissolution within quartz matrix were run with spatial distributions characterized by a range of permeability variance σ2lnκ (0.5–6.0) and correlation length (2–50 cm). Although the total surface area and global residence time (τa) are the same in all experiments, the water fluxes through reactive magnesite zones varies between 0.7 and 72.8% of the total water fluxes. Highly heterogeneous media with large σ2lnκ and long λ divert water mostly into non-reactive preferential flow paths, therefore bypassing and minimizing flow in low permeability magnesite zones. As a result, the water residence time in magnesite zones (i.e., reactive residence time τa,r) is long and magnesite dissolution quickly reaches local equilibrium, which leads to small effective surface area and low dissolution rates. Magnesite dissolution rates in heterogeneous media vary from 2.7 to 100% of the rates in the equivalent homogeneous media, with effectively-dissolving surface area varying from 0.18 to 6.83 m2 (out of 51.71 m2 total magnesite surface area). Based on 240 numerical experiments and 45 column experiments, a general upscaled rate law in heterogeneous media, R MgCO 3 , ht = kA e ,hm 1 - exp - τ a τ a , r α , was derived to quantify effective dissolution rates. The dissolution rates in heterogeneous media are a function of the rate constants k being those measured under well-mixed conditions, effective surface area in equivalent homogeneous media Ae,hm, and the heterogeneity factor 1 - exp - τ a τ a , r α . The heterogeneity factor quantify heterogeneity effects and depends on the relative magnitude of global residence time (τa) and reactive residence time (τa,r), as well as the shape factor α = 5 σ ln κ 2 of the gamma distribution for reactive residence times. Exponential forms of rate laws have been used at the micro-scale describing direct interactions among water and mineral surface, and at the catchment scale describing weathering rates and concentration-discharge relationships. These observations highlight the key role of mineral-water contact time in determining dissolution rates at different scales. This work also emphasizes the importance of critical interfaces between reactive and non-reactive zones as determined by the details of spatial patterns and effective surface area as a scaling factor that quantifies dissolution rates in heterogeneous media across scales.
“That proves you mad, because you know it not”: impaired insight and the dilemma of governing psychiatric patients as legal subjects

This article investigates “impaired insight,” a controversial psychiatric category describing a mad person unable to know his or her madness. Like “moral insanity” and other concepts before it, impaired insight offers a way to link the disparate logics of human responsibility in psychiatry and the law. I attribute its development to changes wrought by deinstitutionalization, the rise of antipsychotic medication, and patient incarceration in penal settings. In a system that aims to govern psychiatric patients through their freedom, the logic of impaired insight introduces a wrinkle: can a person make an informed choice to refuse treatment if madness itself impairs awareness of illness? Drawing on tools from the sociology of science, I trace the process by which researchers recast psychodynamic “denial” as a neurological and therefore non-volitional “impairment” in the 1990s. I then show how social movement actors mobilized the materialized form in the legal and policy fields in the 2000s, bringing insight science to bear upon the very questions of custodial management and patient rights that gave birth to it. At stake is this dilemma: how can societies that simultaneously privilege individual responsibility and somatic accounts of behavior govern those at the border of legal capacity, and with what justification?
The fragmenting of the civil sphere: How partisan identity shapes the moral evaluation of candidates and epistemology

The 2016 US presidential election upended a number of scholarly expectations about electoral politics. Many academics and pundits predicted that president Donald Trump’s flaunting of democratic norms, from his rhetoric on the campaign trail to his financial conflicts of interest, would undermine his candidacy. How do we explain Trump’s appeal to his core supporters and Republicans more generally? First, this chapter argues that Trump was able to exploit partisan identity becoming the key basis for moral evaluation among the democratic public. Second, this chapter argues that partisan identity has fractured civic epistemology, the basis upon which people understand and agree upon political facts and truths.
Better Together: A Collaborative Model for Embedded Music Librarianship

ABSTRACTThe literature on embedded librarianship typically describes activities initiated by the librarian. Yet research has also emphasized the importance of collaborative efforts for achieving optimal results. We detail our experience with a practical model for such collaboration, a model that promotes structured, systematic dialog between an embedded music librarian, the faculty of the music department, and higher-level administrators. Focusing in particular on information literacy and research instruction, we demonstrate the model’s ability to facilitate creative, collaborative solutions for both the academic unit and the library. The model’s structure and progress inventory tools are adaptable to a variety of similar contexts.
Transiently antigen primed B cells can generate multiple subsets of memory cells.

Memory B cells are long-lived cells that generate a more vigorous response upon recognition of antigen (Ag) and T cell help than naive B cells and ensure maintenance of durable humoral immunity. Functionally distinct subsets of murine memory B cells have been identified based on isotype switching of BCRs and surface expression of the co-stimulatory molecule CD80 and co-inhibitory molecule PD-L2. Memory B cells in a subpopulation with low surface expression of CD80 and PD-L2 are predominantly non-isotype switched and can be efficiently recruited into germinal centers (GCs) in secondary responses. In contrast, a CD80 and PD-L2 positive subset arises predominantly from GCs and can quickly differentiate into antibody-secreting plasma cells (PCs). Here we demonstrate that single transient acquisition of Ag by B cells may be sufficient for their long-term participation in GC responses and for development of various memory B cell subsets including CD80 and PD-L2 positive effector-like memory cells that rapidly differentiate into class-switched PCs during recall responses.
In-vivo quantitative assessment of pulmonary edema and fibrosis using ultrasound multiple scattering

The lung parenchyma is a highly complex and diffusive medium for which ultrasound (US) techniques have remained qualitative. US quantitative characterization of the lung has remained elusive due to the presence of air-filled alveoli which is responsible for Multiple Scattering (MS). There is a need from pulmonologists for a method which would enable them to stage and monitor pulmonary edema and fibrosis using US.
Dioxygen Activation by Nonheme Diiron Enzymes: Diverse Dioxygen Adducts, High-Valent Intermediates, and Related Model Complexes

A growing subset of metalloenzymes activates dioxygen with nonheme diiron active sites to effect substrate oxidations that range from the hydroxylation of methane and the desaturation of fatty acids to the deformylation of fatty aldehydes to produce alkanes and the six-electron oxidation of aminoarenes to nitroarenes in the biosynthesis of antibiotics. A common feature of their reaction mechanisms is the formation of O2 adducts that evolve into more reactive derivatives such as diiron(II,III)-superoxo, diiron(III)-peroxo, diiron(III,IV)-oxo, and diiron(IV)-oxo species, which carry out particular substrate oxidation tasks. In this review, we survey the various enzymes belonging to this unique subset and the mechanisms by which substrate oxidation is carried out. We examine the nature of the reactive intermediates, as revealed by X-ray crystallography and the application of various spectroscopic methods and their associated reactivity. We also discuss the structural and electronic properties of the model co...
Kruppel-like factor 15 is required for the cardiac adaptive response to fasting

Cardiac metabolism is highly adaptive in response to changes in substrate availability, as occur during fasting. This metabolic flexibility is essential to the maintenance of contractile function and is under the control of a group of select transcriptional regulators, notably the nuclear receptor family of factors member PPARα. However, the diversity of physiologic and pathologic states through which the heart must sustain function suggests the possible existence of additional transcriptional regulators that play a role in matching cardiac metabolism to energetic demand. Here we show that cardiac KLF15 is required for the normal cardiac response to fasting. Specifically, we find that cardiac function is impaired upon fasting in systemic and cardiac specific Klf15-null mice. Further, cardiac specific Klf15-null mice display a fasting-dependent accumulation of long chain acylcarnitine species along with a decrease in expression of the carnitine translocase Slc25a20. Treatment with a diet high in short chain fatty acids relieves the KLF15-dependent long chain acylcarnitine accumulation and impaired cardiac function in response to fasting. Our observations establish KLF15 as a critical mediator of the cardiac adaptive response to fasting through its regulation of myocardial lipid utilization.
Optoanesthesia: Use of Anesthetic Photolabels In Vivo.

Abstract Investigation of how anesthetics produce hypnosis requires knowledge of their effects at the molecular, neuronal, circuit, and whole-brain network level. Anesthetic photolabels have long been used to explore how anesthetics bind and affect known protein targets, but they could potentially assist in investigation of anesthetic effects at higher organizational levels of the central nervous system. Here, we advocate the use and provide detailed methods for the application of anesthetic photolabels in slice electrophysiology and in intact animals as a means of investigating anesthetic effects on distinct circuits and brain centers.
Query processing with guarantees in query-centric networks

Massive-scale self-administered networks like peer-to-peer and sensor networks have data distributed across thousands of participant hosts. End-users derive benefit by querying data in these networks in various ways (e.g., keyword searches, aggregate queries, and select-project-joins). These networks are however highly dynamic with short-lived hosts being the norm rather than an exception. In the face of such dynamism, traditional query processing algorithms either abort the query or return best-effort results with ill-defined semantics. In this dissertation, we present motivation, methodology and performance results on designing efficient and scalable systems that ensure valid semantics for a variety of queries: (a) coverage and freshness for keyword queries on text corpus, (b) privacy for access-controlled content under keyword queries, (c) validity for aggregate queries on shared numerical attributes, and (d) atomicity, isolation and durability for queries and updates on mutable content.
A Thermometric Investigation of the Reaction between Proteins and 12-Phosphotungstic Acid

Proteins in acid solution may be precipitated by the addition of a wide variety of anions including perchlorate, trifluoroacetate and tungstate(l). We have recently developed (2) a thermometric titration procedure for total serum protein based on their quantitative precipitation by 12-phosphotungstic acid (H3PW12O40). End point precision was~0 .5% when the total protein concentration was in the range of 1–10 g/l. Outside this range the precision deteriorates and the stoichiometry is not constant. At low protein concentration the reaction kinetics are too slow thereby inducing a positive error(3); while at high protein concentration the titration curve becomes quite nonlinear due to rather dramatic changes in the sample viscosity and concomitant changes in the rate of heat generation due to stirring (2).
A autoridade do educador no cenário tecnológico: interlocuções freireanas

O estudo, de bases hermeneuticas, problematiza a questao da crise da autoridade do educador no cenario tecnologico, tomando como locus investigativo a perspectiva freireana. Discutimos a questao da autoridade frente as multiplas possibilidades de construcao do conhecimento autoral na cultura digital. Em meio as contradicoes vigentes, trata-se de revitalizar as bases dialogicas entre autoridade e liberdade, pois e nesta tensao que se reconhecem e se retroalimentam as praticas formativas marcadas pela sensibilidade dialetica e pelo respeito aos saberes pedagogicos. Ha que se compreender e incorporar as novas linguagens digitais a reeducacao dos conhecimentos, criando vinculos autonomos e cooperativos para fazer valer a autoridade da autocritica e das inter-relacoes humanas.
Islam and Economic Performance: Historical and Contemporary Links

This essay critically evaluates the analytic literature concerned with causal connections between Islam and economic performance. It focuses on works since 1997, when this literature was last surveyed. Among the findings are the following: Ramadan fasting by pregnant women harms prenatal development; Islamic charities mainly benefit the middle class; Islam affects educational outcomes less through Islamic schooling than through structural factors that handicap learning as a whole; Islamic finance hardly affects Muslim financial behavior; and low generalized trust depresses Muslim trade. The last feature reflects the Muslim world's delay in transitioning from personal to impersonal exchange. The delay resulted from the persistent simplicity of the private enterprises formed under Islamic law. Weak property rights reinforced the private sector's stagnation by driving capital out of commerce and into rigid waqfs. Waqfs limited economic development through their inflexibility and democratization by restraining the development of civil society. Parts of the Muslim world conquered by Arab armies are especially undemocratic, which suggests that early Islamic institutions, including slave-based armies, were particularly critical to the persistence of authoritarian patterns of governance. States have contributed themselves to the persistence of authoritarianism by treating Islam as an instrument of governance. As the world started to industrialize, non-Muslim subjects of Muslim-governed states pulled ahead of their Muslim neighbors by exercising the choice of law they enjoyed under Islamic law in favor of a Western legal system.
Transitions: Major Events, Persons Honored, Obituaries

This chapter provides a listing of major events in the North American Jewish Communities from June 2013 to May 2014, a list of persons honored by the Jewish and general communities from June 2013 to May 2014, and a list of obituaries of North American Jews from June 2013 to May 2014.
Clinical utility of the cold pressor test: evaluation of pain patients, treatment of opioid-induced hyperalgesia and fibromyalgia with low dose naltrexone.

Background The cold pressor test (CPT) has been used in experimental paradigms to measure pain tolerance. It is used clinically to evaluate for opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH), as part of the clinical evaluation of fibromyalgia, to document reversal of OIH by low dose naltrexone (LDN), and to document the clinical response of fibromyalgia to LDN. Methods We reviewed charts of 254 outpatients admitted to addiction medicine with chronic opioid treatment for pain, opioid addiction, or fibromyalgia. Controls were 46 non-addicted support persons. We invented the term "morphine years," a year at 60 mg/day, to estimate opioid exposure. Results The mean age of patients was 41.4 years and controls 51.5. Age was not significantly correlated with CPT within each group. Female patients' mean CPT score (in seconds) was 35.0, male patients' 56.1, female controls' 110.8, male controls' 114.3. More morphine years correlated with younger age, more depression, higher prevalence of borderline personality disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and low CPT. LDN increased CPT and reduced pain symptoms for both opioid users and fibromyalgia patients, with the increase being significantly higher for opioid users. Conclusions CPT is an objective complement to the subjective FACES pain scale. It gives an objective measure of changes in pain sensitivity accompanying administration of LDN. Limitations of a case series report are noted. Significance CPT is shown to be an objective test of pain tolerance with clinical applications: evaluation of OIH, evaluation of fibromyalgia, reversal of OIH, protracted withdrawal with LDN, and amelioration of fibromyalgia with LDN.
A conservative, consistent, and scalable meshfree mimetic method

Abstract Mimetic methods discretize divergence by restricting the Gauss theorem to mesh cells. Because point clouds lack such geometric entities, construction of a compatible meshfree divergence remains a challenge. In this work, we define an abstract Meshfree Mimetic Divergence (MMD) operator on point clouds by contraction of field and virtual face moments. This MMD satisfies a discrete divergence theorem, provides a discrete local conservation principle, and is first-order accurate. We consider two MMD instantiations. The first one assumes a background mesh and uses generalized moving least squares (GMLS) to obtain the necessary field and face moments. This MMD instance is appropriate for settings where a mesh is available but its quality is insufficient for a robust and accurate mesh-based discretization. The second MMD operator retains the GMLS field moments but defines virtual face moments using computationally efficient weighted graph-Laplacian equations. This MMD instance does not require a background grid and is appropriate for applications where mesh generation creates a computational bottleneck. It allows one to trade an expensive mesh generation problem for a scalable algebraic one, without sacrificing compatibility with the divergence operator. We demonstrate the approach by using the MMD operator to obtain a virtual finite-volume discretization of conservation laws on point clouds. Numerical results in the paper confirm the mimetic properties of the method and show that it behaves similarly to standard finite volume methods.
Preoperative opioid education has no effect on opioid use in patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair: a prospective, randomized clinical trial:

Objectives:Opioid analgesics are frequently utilized among orthopaedic surgeons to mitigate postoperative pain. These drugs are well-known for their addictive potential and recent literature has su...
Microbiome-gut-brain axis in cancer treatment-related psychoneurological toxicities and symptoms: a systematic review.

The microbiome-gut-brain (MGB) axis provides a dynamic model to understand associations between the gut microbiota and psychoneurological comorbidities. The role of the MGB axis in cancer treatment-related psychoneurological symptoms (PNS) remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the existing literature to identify the influence of the gut microbiota on cancer and cancer treatment-related PNS and toxicities mediated by the MGB axis. We searched the databases of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science from their earliest records to October 2019. All studies identified in the database searches were screened by title and abstract, followed by a review of the full texts. The Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Model was adopted to assess the evidence levels and qualities; the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools were used to assess the methodological quality and the possibility of bias for each included study. All the study findings were combined, synthesized, and presented through narrative format. Six studies were included in this systematic review. These studies primarily focused on cancer survivorship while receiving chemotherapy, and they were conducted between 2016 and 2019. The gut microbiome was assessed via fecal samples, which were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing approaches. With small-scale studies, the gut microbiota was associated with cancer treatment-related PNS, including fatigue, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, cognitive impairment, and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. A higher relative abundance of Bacteroides was associated with a higher level of fear of cancer recurrence but a higher relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae.g and Ruminococcus was associated with a lower level in fear of cancer recurrence. Changes in fatigue interference were associated with the frequency of genera Faecalibacterium and Prevotella, and changes in anxiety were associated with the frequency of genera Coprococcus and Bacteroides. The gut microbiota showed significant associations with cancer treatment-related PNS. Recent work regarding the MGB axis in cancer psychoneurological toxicities focused primarily on individual toxicity and symptoms in cancer survivors with chemotherapy exposure. Associations between the gut microbiota and PNS should be further studied in cancer populations across different ages, cancer types, and treatment modalities.
The Limits of Liberalization: WTO Entry and Chinese State-Owned Firms

Does state ownership reduce the effectiveness of trade agreements? We examine the case of China, which is not only the world's largest trading nation but also lends active support to its state-owned enterprises (SOEs), potentially distorting global trade. Using Chinese import data disaggregated by firm ownership, we analyze how state-ownership conditions the response to entry into the WTO. We demonstrate that after WTO entry, tariff cuts have a larger effect on private compared to SOE trade. We then show that state ownership alone does not block the liberalizing effects of the WTO. For most industries, SOEs display a commercial orientation that is similar to private firms. However, where strategic goods targeted by industrial policy hold a large share of bilateral trade, lowering tariffs has no impact on SOE trade. In short, the effect of WTO liberalization depends on the countervailing force of domestic industrial policy, rather than state ownership alone.
Nitrogen fluxes in Western streams

Nitrogen pollution to streams is altering the nitrogen cycling in unknown ways, causing challenges for predicting nitrogen fixation fluxes within aquatic ecosystems. Increasing nitrate pollution decreases the amount of nitrogen fixation occurring in streams. However, the relationship between stream nitrate concentration and the rate of nitrogen fixation is unknown. We predict that lower nitrate streams will have the highest rates of nitrogen fixation. Additionally, there will be much more energy produced in streams with nitrogen fixation compared to the amount required to fix the nitrogen. We estimated whole-stream gross primary production and nitrogen fixation fluxes using the diel change in dissolved nitrogen and oxygen gases compared to the expected dissolved gas saturation. Our whole-stream method is preferable to chamber estimates to understand the relationship between energy requirements for nitrogen fixation and gross primary production, but additional data is needed to distinguish between relationship types and make our measurements generalizable. Featured photo by Intermountain Forest Service, USDA Region 4 Photography on Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/jbTRUj
Does Dialog Length matter for Next Response Selection task? An Empirical Study.

In the last few years, the release of BERT, a multilingual transformer based model, has taken the NLP community by storm. BERT-based models have achieved state-of-the-art results on various NLP tasks, including dialog tasks. One of the limitation of BERT is the lack of ability to handle long text sequence. By default, BERT has a maximum wordpiece token sequence length of 512. Recently, there has been renewed interest to tackle the BERT limitation to handle long text sequences with the addition of new self-attention based architectures. However, there has been little to no research on the impact of this limitation with respect to dialog tasks. Dialog tasks are inherently different from other NLP tasks due to: a) the presence of multiple utterances from multiple speakers, which may be interlinked to each other across different turns and b) longer length of dialogs. In this work, we empirically evaluate the impact of dialog length on the performance of BERT model for the Next Response Selection dialog task on four publicly available and one internal multi-turn dialog datasets. We observe that there is little impact on performance with long dialogs and even the simplest approach of truncating input works really well.
The impact of childhood sexual abuse and adverse childhood experiences on adult health related quality of life.

Abstract Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been shown to be associated with adult physical, psychological, and socioeconomic well-being, indicative of poor health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, the association between child sexual abuse (CSA) and adult HRQoL, independent of other ACEs, has been less well examined. Objectives To examine associations between self-reported CSA, including the nature of CSA, and adult HRQoL. Participants Data are from 10,624 respondents to CSA and HRQoL questions on the 2015 Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. Methods Analyses included chi square and t-tests to compare sociodemographic and HRQoL differences among those with and without history of CSA. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to evaluate associations between nature of CSA and HRQoL, controlling for covariates. Results The prevalence of self-reported CSA in the sample was 10.3%. Compared to the non-exposed group, individuals exposed to CSA were more likely to report their general health as poor (AOR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.09–2.09), report 14 or more physical unhealthy days (AOR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.06–2.02), 14 or more mental unhealthy days (AOR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.30–2.64), and 14 or more activity limitation days (AOR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.58–3.10) in a month. HRQoL outcomes were worse for respondents who reported being forced to have sex as a child compared with those who reported being touched or forced to touch someone. Conclusions Self-reported CSA is associated with lower HRQoL. The association varies by the nature of reported sexual abuse. Understanding the long-term impacts of CSA can inform adult treatment options and policies to prevent and treat CSA.
Artificial Intelligence Based Framework to Quantify the Cardiomyocyte Structural Integrity in Heart Slices.

Drug induced cardiac toxicity is a disruption of the functionality of cardiomyocytes which is highly correlated to the organization of the subcellular structures. We can analyze cellular structures by utilizing microscopy imaging data. However, conventional image analysis methods might miss structural deteriorations that are difficult to perceive. Here, we propose an image-based deep learning pipeline for the automated quantification of drug induced structural deteriorations using a 3D heart slice culture model. In our deep learning pipeline, we quantify the induced structural deterioration from three anticancer drugs (doxorubicin, sunitinib, and herceptin) with known adverse cardiac effects. The proposed deep learning framework is composed of three convolutional neural networks that process three different image sizes. The results of the three networks are combined to produce a classification map that shows the locations of the structural deteriorations in the input cardiac image. The result of our technique is the capability of producing classification maps that accurately detect drug induced structural deterioration on the pixel level. This technology could be widely applied to perform unbiased quantification of the structural effect of the cardiotoxins on heart slices.