cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Degenerative ataxias, from genes to therapies: The 2015 Cotzias Lecture.

Objective: To review progress in spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) and novel approaches to treatment. Results and conclusions: Autosomal dominant ataxias are now referred to as SCAs, with polyglutamine expansion mutations constituting the most common cause of SCAs. Phenotypic variation in patients with SCA is remarkable even in patients with identical mutations. In patients with SCA2, cerebellar ataxia is typically associated with slowed saccadic eye movements. In addition to classic cerebellar and brainstem signs, however, SCA2 can also present as a parkinsonian syndrome or as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. After identifying the SCA2 gene (gene symbol ATXN2 ) in 1996, we generated several mouse models that recapitulated salient features of the human disease. In these models, behavioral and physiologic changes preceded cell death. Modified antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) provide a unique tool to target mRNA transcripts in vivo with extended stability of ASOs and better activation of RNAse H. We generated methoxyethyl group–gapmer ASOs that reduced ATXN2 expression >80% in vitro and then progressed the lead ASO to in vivo testing in an SCA2 mouse model. Compared to intraventricular injection of saline, treatment with ASO resulted in significant knockdown of endogenous mouse and human transgenic ATXN2 . In addition, progression of the motor phenotype was slowed and Purkinje cell firing in the acute cerebellar slice normalized. ASO-based therapies are underway in humans providing hope that this approach will also be applicable to patients with cerebellar degenerations.
Ethambutol regimen in renal tuberculosis.

AbstractA 10-year experience with an ethambutol regimen for renal tuberculosis is presented. Precaution must be taken with ethambutol since optic nerve atrophy can occur. This oral therapy is now given as a single, daily dose before breakfast and has proved successful in therapy and patient acceptance. No urine reconversions have occurred in the 10 years. The regimen of ethambutol, isoniazid, cycloserine and pyridoxine may now be considered a first choice in therapy for renal tuberculosis.
Can oligonucleoside methylphosphonates form a stable triplet with a double DNA helix

Molecular dynamics simulations of oligonucleoside methylphosphonates (MP) and naturally occurring oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) as the third strand to double-stranded (ds) DNA targets predict that the third strand with MP backbone is more favorable to triple helix formation than the native phosphodiester ODN third strand. In contrast to experimental data, the calculated DNA conformations in both fully solvated triple helical system are found to be in hybrid A and B conformations. The calculations predict that a third strand with MP backbone is readily accommodated in the major groove of the ds DNA target, and adopts a different conformation from a helical triplet formed with native ODN as the third strand through the Hoogsteen base pairing scheme.
Object injection vulnerability discovery based on latent semantic indexing

Object Injection Vulnerability (OIV) is an emerging threat for web applications. It involves accepting external inputs during deserialization operation and use the inputs for sensitive operations such as file access, modification, and deletion. The challenge is the automation of the detection process. When the application size is large, it becomes hard to perform traditional approaches such as data flow analysis. Recent approaches fall short of narrowing down the list of source files to aid developers in discovering OIV and the flexibility to check for the presence of OIV through various known APIs. In this work, we address these limitations by exploring a concept borrowed from the information retrieval domain called Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) to discover OIV. The approach analyzes application source code and builds an initial term document matrix which is then transformed systematically using singular value decomposition to reduce the search space. The approach identifies a small set of documents (source files) that are likely responsible for OIVs. We apply the LSI concept to three open source PHP applications that have been reported to contain OIVs. Our initial evaluation results suggest that the proposed LSI-based approach can identify OIVs and identify new vulnerabilities.
Conodonts from the Middle Devonian Plum Brook Shale of north-central Ohio

The Plum Brook Shale of north-central Ohio lies disconformably between the Eifelian (lower Middle Devonian) Delaware Limestone and the middle Givetian (upper Middle Devonian) Prout Dolomite. Its diverse conodont fauna indicates that it represents a transgression into the area in earliest Givetian time accompanied by the products of a notable adaptive radiation within two lineages of Icriodus. One of these (I. expansus Group) includes I. expansus, I. arkonensis and I. brevis, and complete intergradation of forms suggests that the group at this level involves conspecific ecotypes. A more extensive radiation involved descendants of I. regularicrescens (I. regularicrescens Group), including three new species, I. eriensis, I. janeae and I. ohioensis. Other representatives of this lineage occur here as well as in strata of comparable age in the type region of the Givet Limestone as described by Bultynck (1987). A third lineage is represented by I. excavatus in both areas, but evidence of radiation within this branch is limited to the Givet Limestone. Remarkable diversity also occurs among forms considered herein to involve Polygnathus pseudofoliatus and its descendants. The existence of intermediate forms and shared characteristics between and among the various species, including some that first appeared well before the end of the Eifelian, implies that they may be conspecific ecotypic variants at this level. New morphotypes within this group are treated informally. The greatest overall diversity occurs just above the basal Plum Brook, in strata interpreted to reflect inner-sublittoral conditions. The entire Plum Brook belongs to the upper ensensis Zone. A considerable part of the type Givetian placed in the Lower varcus Subzone by Bultynck (1987) lies below the lowest occurrence of its index species (P. timorensis); it contains some of the species found in the Plum Brook, and much of this section may also belong to the ensensis Zone.
Secret-key generation with arbitrarily varying eavesdropper's channel

Information-theoretic secret-key generation often requires the legitimate users to know the eavesdropper's statistics, which might not always be a realistic assumption. We study secret-key generation for a channel model with unknown and arbitrarily varying channel states at the eavesdropper. We first develop an achievable secret-key rate in the case of finite alphabets. We then extend the result to multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels with continuous alphabets. In this case, we show that a positive secret-key rate, optimal in terms of secure degrees of freedom, is achievable if the eavesdropper has strictly less antennas than the legitimate users.
A brush-polymer/exendin-4 conjugate reduces blood glucose levels for up to five days and eliminates poly(ethylene glycol) antigenicity

The delivery of therapeutic peptides and proteins is often challenged by short half-lives and the consequent need for frequent injections that limit efficacy, reduce patient compliance and increase treatment cost. Here, we demonstrate that a single subcutaneous injection of site-specific (C-terminal) conjugates of exendin-4 (exendin)—a therapeutic peptide that is clinically used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus—and poly[oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate] (POEGMA) with precisely controlled molecular weights lowered blood glucose for up to 120 h in fed mice. Most notably, we show that an exendin-C-POEGMA conjugate with an average of nine side-chain ethylene glycol (EG) repeats exhibits significantly lower reactivity towards patient-derived anti-poly(ethylene glycol) (anti-PEG) antibodies than two US FDA-approved PEGylated drugs, and that reducing the side-chain length to three EG repeats completely eliminates PEG antigenicity without compro­mising in vivo efficacy. Our findings establish the site-specific conjugation of POEGMA as a next-generation PEGylation technology for improving the pharmacological performance of traditional PEGylated drugs, whose safety and efficacy are hindered by pre-existing anti-PEG antibodies in patients. Conjugation of exendin-4 — a drug to treat type 2 diabetes — with a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based brush polymer reduces the conjugate's reactivity towards anti-PEG antibodies and leads to lower blood glucose levels in mice for up to 5 days after a single injection.
Comparison of Postoperative Outcomes in Elderly Patients With a Do-Not-Resuscitate Order Undergoing Elective and Nonelective Hip Surgery.

Purpose:Emergency hip surgery generally has worse outcomes than elective hip surgery, even when adjusted for patient and surgical factors. Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) status patients are typically at ...
Associations Between Cardiac Troponin, Mechanism of Myocardial Injury, and Long‐Term Mortality After Noncardiac Vascular Surgery

Background The time‐sensitive hazard of perioperative cardiac troponin T (cTnT) elevation and whether long‐term mortality differs by mechanism of myocardial injury are poorly understood. Methods and Results In this observational study of 12 882 patients who underwent noncardiac vascular surgery, patients were assessed for cTnT sampling within 96 hours postoperatively. Mortality out to 5‐years was stratified by cTnT level and mechanism of myocardial injury. During a median follow‐up of 26.9 months, there were 2149 (16.7%) deaths. By multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis, there was a graded increase in mortality with any detectable cTnT compared to P =0.002), 0.03 to 0.099 ng/mL HR 1.86 (95% CI 1.49–2.31, P P P P P P Conclusions Any detectable cTnT ≥0.01 ng/mL is associated with increased long‐term mortality after vascular surgery. This risk is greatest within the first 10 months postoperatively. While short‐term mortality is greatest with Type 1 myocardial infarction, long‐term mortality appears independent of the mechanism of injury.
Controls on surface soil drying rates observed by SMAP and simulated by the Noah land surface model

Abstract. Drydown periods that follow precipitation events provide an opportunity to assess controls on soil evaporation on a continental scale. We use SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) observations and Noah simulations from drydown periods to quantify the role of soil moisture, potential evaporation, vegetation cover, and soil texture on soil drying rates. Rates are determined using finite differences over intervals of 1 to 3 days. In the Noah model, the drying rates are a good approximation of direct soil evaporation rates, and our work suggests that SMAP-observed drying is also predominantly affected by direct soil evaporation. Data cover the domain of the North American Land Data Assimilation System Phase 2 and span the first 1.8 years of SMAP's operation. Drying of surface soil moisture observed by SMAP is faster than that simulated by Noah. SMAP drying is fastest when surface soil moisture levels are high, potential evaporation is high, and when vegetation cover is low. Soil texture plays a minor role in SMAP drying rates. Noah simulations show similar responses to soil moisture and potential evaporation, but vegetation has a minimal effect and soil texture has a much larger effect compared to SMAP. When drying rates are normalized by potential evaporation, SMAP observations and Noah simulations both show that increases in vegetation cover lead to decreases in evaporative efficiency from the surface soil. However, the magnitude of this effect simulated by Noah is much weaker than that determined from SMAP observations.
Distributed Computing in Cognitive Analytics

“Cognitive Analytics” used to be the phrase popular in academia and scientific circles until recently with very limited utilization within specialized industries such as travel and transport. However, in last year or two this phrase has gone viral across various business industries with experts predicting that the cognitive systems will play a very vital role in next generation of computing in general and especially in Big Data Analytics. In this chapter we will discuss importance and impact of Distributed Computing for Cognitive analysis followed by industry adoption and patterns observed. The chapter introduces various aspects of cognitive systems including the key components to build such systems. The chapter will also cover evolution of various technologies and methodologies in the cognitive analytics space. Finally we will discuss specific use cases being implemented currently in the enterprises in the areas of Health Care, Internet Of Things and Customer Care.
Subjective Socioeconomic Status Matters Less When Perceived Social Support Is High: A Study of Cortisol Responses to Stress:

Low objective and subjective socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with the experience of frequent stressors known to have physiological costs. We tested whether perceived social support, a key ...
Do selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors improve survival in multiple system atrophy

Abstract Introduction Loss of brainstem serotonergic neurons in MSA patients is implicated in respiratory dysfunction including stridor and may increase the risk of sudden death. Augmenting serotonergic transmission through selective serotonergic reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has been proposed to improve stridor and prolong survival in multiple system atrophy (MSA). We sought to determine whether MSA patients on an SSRI during their disease course have improved survival compared to those not on an SSRI. Methods Review of all MSA patients from 1998 to 2012 at Mayo Clinic, Rochester who completed autonomic function testing. Use of SSRI medications was obtained from patient-provided medication lists in the electronic medical record. Clinical symptoms were collected from patient histories; the presence of stridor was obtained from clinical histories and polysomnogram. Surviving patients were called to assess for stridor and SSRI use. Results Of 685 MSA patients, 132 (19%) were on an SSRI. Median time from symptom onset to death was 7.5 years with no difference based on SSRI use (p = .957). Rates of stridor were similar in SSRI users and non-users based on patient report and polysomnography (p = .494 and p = .181, respectively). SSRI use was associated with parkinsonism (p = .027) and falls (p = .002). Stridor was similar in SSRI users and those not on an SSRI. Conclusions There was no difference in survival in MSA patients on an SSRI. However, SSRI use was associated with higher rates of parkinsonism and falls.
Living The Good Life: An Economic View of Happiness in South Africa

The goal of economic policy is to improve people’s lives, often by alleviating poverty and deprivation. However, both poverty and deprivation in these contexts are proxies for utility. Utility is neither observable nor measurable, so economists have begun to use subjective measures of wellbeing and happiness. In South Africa, economic considerations figure heavily in the determination of happiness. Black South Africans enjoy large increases in happiness when they have better infrastructure and public goods. Wealthier and largely white South Africans find happiness in different things, including rising income, more consumption, better housing and higher levels of education. Understanding what makes people better off and using that knowledge to design sensible policy is an important component to maximize the benefits of public spending.
Staining for nerve fiber and cholinesterase activity in fresh frozen sections.

The staining of muscle for both nerve fibers and cholinesterase lias been described in several reports,""'' but only with tissues fixed by formalin before sectioning, which inactivates some enzymes. This report describes a procedure for staining nerve axons or myelin sheaths and cholinesterase in sections from unfixed frozen muscle and other tissues that has resulted in improved demonstration of these structures.
Reflective Coatings for the Future X-Ray Mirror Substrates

We present the development of the reflective coating by magnetron sputtering deposition onto precisely-fabricated thin X-ray mirrors. Our goal is to remove distortion induced by the coating and then keep their surface pro les. We first addressed the uniform coating to minimize the distortion by introducing a mask to control the spatial distribution of the coating thickness. The uniformity was finally achieved within 1%. We next tried a platinum single-layer coating on a glass substrate with a dimension of 200 mm 125 mm. The distortion caused by the frontside coating with a thickness of 320 A was found to be at most 1 m, smaller than the previous results obtained from the non-uniform coating. We then carried out the platinum coating with the same amount of the thickness on the backside surface of the glass substrate. The surface pro le of the glass substrate was fully recovered, indicating that the residual stress was successfully balanced by the backside coating. Furthermore, we tried to an iridium single-layer coating with a thickness of 150 Aon the silicon mirrors. The frontside coating caused the degradation of the imaging quality by 7:5 arcsec in half-power width. However, the backside coating with the same amount of the thickness reduced this degradation to be 3:4 arcsec. Finally, an additional backside coating with a thickness of 100 A and the annealing to relax the residual stress were found to eliminate the distortion completely; the final degradation of the imaging quality was only 0:4 arcsec.
The reaction of ethylene on a model automotive emissions control catalyst

The reaction of ethylene on a model automotive emissions control catalyst consisting of Rh particles on an epitaxial ceria film grown on the (100) surface of an yttria‐stabilized zirconia single crystal was studied using TPD. The TPD results showed that ethylene undergoes dehydrogenation on the model catalyst at temperatures below 500 K depositing carbon on the Rh particles. Surface carbon formed in this manner was oxidized to CO upon heating to above 550 K using oxygen supplied by the ceria lattice. Heating to 900 K was found to induce reduction of the ceria film resulting in a marked decrease in oxidation activity.
A Lanczos-Stieltjes method for one-dimensional ridge function approximation and integration

Many of the input-parameter-to-output-quantity-of-interest maps that arise in computational science admit a surprising low-dimensional structure, where the outputs vary primarily along a handful of directions in the high-dimensional input space. This type of structure is well modeled by a ridge function, which is a composition of a low-dimensional linear transformation with a nonlinear function. If the goal is to compute statistics of the output (e.g., as in uncertainty quantification or robust design) then one should exploit this low-dimensional structure, when present, to accelerate computations. We develop Gaussian quadrature and the associated polynomial approximation for one-dimensional ridge functions. The key elements of our method are (i) approximating the univariate density of the given linear combination of inputs by repeated convolutions and (ii) a Lanczos-Stieltjes method for constructing orthogonal polynomials and Gaussian quadrature.
Adverse life experiences and risk of unintended pregnancy in adolescence and early adulthood: Implications for toxic stress and reproductive health.

Abstract Objective We examined the effects of adverse life experiences (ALEs) on rates of unintended first pregnancy, including differential effects by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status, among women in a national longitudinal cohort study. Methods We drew upon 15-years of data from 8810 adolescent and young adult females in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Using 40 different ALEs reported across childhood and adolescence, we created an additive ALE index, whereby higher scores indicated greater ALE exposure. We employed Cox proportional hazard models, including models stratified by racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups, to estimate the effects of ALEs on time to first unintended pregnancy, controlling for time-varying sociodemographic, health and reproductive covariates. Results Among all women, a 1-standard deviation increase in ALE scores was associated with an increased rate of unintended first pregnancy (adjusted Hazard Ratio 1.11, 95% Confidence Interval=1.04–1.17). In stratified models, associations between ALE scores and risk of unintended pregnancy varied across racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and age groups and according to various elevated ALE thresholds. For example, the 1-standard deviation increase in ALE score indicator increased the unintended pregnancy risk for African-American (aHR=1.12, CI=1.01–1.25), Asian (aHR 1.69, CI=1.26–2.26), and White women (aHR=1.12, CI=1.03–1.22), women in the lowest ($0-$19,999; aHR=1.21, CI = 1.03–1.23) and highest (>$75,000; aHR=1.36, CI=1.12–1.66) income categories, and women aged 20–24 (aHR=1.13, CI=1.04–1.24) and >24 years (aHR 1.25, CI=1.06–1.47), but not among the other sociodemographic groups. Conclusion ALEs increased the risk of unintended first pregnancy overall, and different levels of exposure impacting the risk of pregnancy differently for different sub-groups of women. Our ongoing research is further investigating the role of stress-associated adversity in shaping reproductive health outcomes and disparities in the United States.
Vaccine coverage for Lebanese citizens and Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Article history Following the refugee crisis in Lebanon, the on-going inflow of Syrian refugees presented new challenges to optimal immunization coverage for all the children living in the country. Healthcare facilities have been overburdened during this period and the country witnessed outbreaks of many infectious diseases. Thus, the evaluation of vaccine compliance for mandatory and non-mandatory vaccines as well as the factors affecting the vaccination rate among Lebanese residents and Syrian refugees is fundamental. Background Since 2012, Lebanon has hosted around 1.2 million Syrian refugees, a high number in a country whose population does not exceed 4.4 million. Healthcare facilities have been overburdened during this period, which has led to the spread of many infectious diseases, including outbreaks of measles, mumps and hepatitis. At the appearance of such outbreaks, it becomes essential to evaluate vaccine compliance and the factors influencing the vaccination rate among Lebanese residents and Syrian refugees in infants and children up to 15 y of age. Methods A total of 571 infants and children were recruited in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, two governorates that together host half of the Lebanese population. Results A very high rate of vaccine compliance was seen for mandatory vaccines, whereas an intermediate to very low rate of compliance was found for non-mandatory vaccines. Both bivariate and multiple regression analyses indicated that age group and regular consultation of a pediatrician were independently associated with immunization coverage. Bivariate analysis indicated that parental age, occupational and educational status of parents, family size and vaccine price were also independently associated with immunization coverage. Incomplete vaccination coverage was associated with socioeconomic factors. Conclusions From these results, it becomes apparent that it may be necessary to reassess vaccination priorities considering the current socioeconomic situation.
Optimization Under Uncertainty Explains Empirical Success of Deep Learning Heuristics

One of the main objectives of science and engineering is to predict the future state of the world and come up with devices and strategies that would make this future state better. In some practical situations, we know how the state changes with time—e.g., in meteorology, we know the partial differential equations that describe the atmospheric processes. In such situations, prediction becomes a purely computational problem. In many other situations, however, we do not know the equation describing the system’s dynamics. In such situations, we need to learn this dynamics from data. At present, the most efficient way of such learning is to use deep learning—training a neural network with a large number of layers. To make this idea truly efficient, several trial-and-error-based heuristics were discovered, such as the use of rectified linear neurons, softmax, etc. In this chapter, we show that the empirical success of many of these heuristics can be explained by optimization-under-uncertainty techniques.
Does Advertising Serve as a Signal? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Mobile Search

We develop a field experiment that assesses whether advertising can serve as a signal that enhances consumers’ evaluations of advertised goods. We implement the experiment on a mobile search platform that provides listings and reviews for an archetypal experience good, restaurants. In collaboration with the platform, we randomize about 200,000 users in 13 Asian cities into exposure of ads for about 600+ local restaurants. Within the exposure group, we randomly vary the disclosure to the consumer of whether a restaurant’s listing is a paid-ad. This enables isolating the effect on outcomes of a user knowing that a listing is sponsored—a pure signalling effect. We find that this disclosure increases calls to the restaurant by 77%, holding fixed all other attributes of the ad. The disclosure effect is higher when the consumer uses the platform away from his typical city of search, when the uncertainty about restaurant quality is larger, and for restaurants that have received fewer ratings in the past. On the supply side, newer, higher rated and more popular restaurants are found to advertise more on the platform; and ratings of those that advertised during the experiment are found to be higher two years later. Taken together, we interpret these results as consistent with a signalling equilibrium in which ads serve as implicit signals that enhance the appeal of the advertised restaurants to consumers. Both consumers and advertisers seem to benefit from the signalling. Consumers shift choices towards restaurants that are better rated (at baseline) in the disclosure group compared to the no disclosure group, and advertisers gain from the improved outcomes induced by disclosure.
LDAF1 Holds the Key to Seipin Function.

Seipin is an ER protein important for the assembly of cytoplasmic lipid droplets. In this issue of Developmental Cell, Chung et al. (2019) show that a stable seipin-binding protein, LDAF1/promethin, functions with seipin by attracting triacylglycerol and then allowing this lipid to accumulate and partition into nascent droplets.
A Flexible Job Shop Scheduling Representation of the Autonomous In-Space Assembly Task Assignment Problem.

As in-space exploration increases, autonomous systems will play a vital role in building the necessary facilities to support exploration. To this end, an autonomous system must be able to assign tasks in a scheme that efficiently completes all of the jobs in the desired project. This research proposes a flexible job shop problem (FJSP) representation to characterize an autonomous assembly project and then proposes both a mixed integer programming (MIP) solution formulation and a reinforcement learning (RL) solution formulation. The MIP formulation encodes all of the constraints and interjob dynamics a priori and was able to solve for the optimal solution to minimize the makespan. The RL formulation did not converge to an optimal solution but did successfully learn implicitly interjob dynamics through interaction with the reward function. Future work will include developing a solution formulation that utilizes the strengths of both proposed solution methods to handle scaling in size and complexity.
Simultaneous Transmission/Absorption Photometry of Particle-Laden Filters from Wildland Fires during the Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP) Field Campaign

Transmissivity and absorptivity measurements were carried out simultaneously in the visible (wavelength of 532 nm) at laboratory conditions using particle-laden filters obtained from a three-wavelength particle/soot absorption photometer (PSAP). The particles were collected on filters from wildland fires over the Pacific Northwest during the Department of Energy Biomass Burning Observation Project (BBOP) field campaign in 2013. The objective of this investigation was to apply this measurement approach, referred to as simultaneous transmission/absorption photometry (STAP), to estimate the aerosol extinction coefficient from actual field-campaign filter aerosol, and compare results with the PSAP. The STAP approach offers several advantages over the PSAP, including estimation of the extinction coefficient from temperature measurements (avoiding the complexities associated with filter reflectivity/scattering measurements), as well as determination of the filter optical properties and filter effects on particle absorption (resulting in particle absorption enhancement). The experimental arrangement included a laser probe beam impinging normal to the particle-coated surface of a vertically mounted filter, and a thermocouple placed flush in the middle of (and in thermal contact with) the filter uncoated back surface. With this simple arrangement, the transmissivity and absorptivity were determined simultaneously at a given laser beam wavelength. The measurement repeatability was better than 0.3 K (95 % confidence level) for temperature and 0.4 mW for laser power. The limit of detection for the extinction coefficient was estimated to be (8 to 12) Mm-1 (95 % confidence level) at about 1.9 mW laser power. The extinction coefficient was determined through measurement of both PSAP blank and exposed filters. Filters were obtained from nine different aircraft flights conducted during the BBOP campaign, representing different flight patterns, days, stages of burning, landscapes, and wildland fires. The STAP extinction coefficient matched the darkness of the filter coating, however the PSAP-filter results did not follow the same order. Although there were differences in transmissivity between the two techniques, the estimated values for absorption coefficient were in good agreement.
“At First I Wouldn’t Talk so Much…”: Coaching and Associated Changes in Language-Supportive Self-Efficacy among Infant/Toddler Educators

Developing strong language and communication skills in the first years of life provides young children with a foundation for a number of positive outcomes, including school readiness, early literac...
Well-Adhered Copper Nanocubes on Electrospun Polymeric Fibers.

Electrospun polymer fibers can be used as templates for the stabilization of metallic nanostructures, but metallic species and polymer macromolecules generally exhibit weak interfacial adhesion. We have investigated the adhesion of model copper nanocubes on chemically treated aligned electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers based on the introduction of interfacial shear strains through mechanical deformation. The composite structures were subjected to distinct macroscopic tensile strain levels of 7%, 11%, and 14%. The fibers exhibited peculiar deformation behaviors that underscored their disparate strain transfer mechanisms depending on fiber size; nanofibers exhibited multiple necking phenomena, while microfiber deformation proceeded through localized dilatation that resulted in craze (and microcrack) formation. The copper nanocubes exhibited strong adhesion on both fibrous structures at all strain levels tested. Raman spectroscopy suggests chemisorption as the main adhesion mechanism. The interfacial adhesion energy of Cu on these treated PAN nanofibers was estimated using the Gibbs–Wulff–Kaischew shape theory giving a first order approximation of about 1 J/m2. A lower bound for the system’s adhesion strength, based on limited measurements of interfacial separation between PAN and Cu using mechanically applied strain, is 0.48 J/m2.
HILBERT–PÓLYA CONJECTURE, ZETA FUNCTIONS AND BOSONIC QUANTUM FIELD THEORIES

The original Hilbert and Polya conjecture is the assertion that the nontrivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function can be the spectrum of a self-adjoint operator. So far no such operator was found. However, the suggestion of Hilbert and Polya, in the context of spectral theory, can be extended to approach other problems and so it is natural to ask if there is a quantum mechanical system related to other sequences of numbers which are originated and motivated by Number Theory. In this paper, we show that the functional integrals associated with a hypothetical class of physical systems described by self-adjoint operators associated with bosonic fields whose spectra is given by three different sequence of numbers cannot be constructed. The common feature of the sequence of numbers considered here, which causes the impossibility of zeta regularizations, is that the various Dirichlet series attached to such sequences — such as those which are sums over "primes" of (norm P)-s have a natural boundary, i.e. they cannot be continued beyond the line Re(s) = 0. The main argument is that once the regularized determinant of a Laplacian is meromorphic in s, it follows that the series considered above cannot be a regularized determinant. In other words, we show that the generating functional of connected Schwinger functions of the associated quantum field theories cannot be constructed.
Performance Study of Multi-tenant Cloud FPGAs

Cloud deployments now increasingly provision FPGA accelerators as part of virtual instances. While commercial clouds still essentially expose single-tenant FPGAs to the users, the growing demand for hardware acceleration raises the need for architectures supporting FPGA multi-tenancy. In this work, we explore the trade-off between hardware consolidation and performance. Experiments show that FPGA multi-tenancy increases hardware utilization and decreases IO performance in the order of microseconds compared to the single-tenant model. The experiments also demonstrate that implementing on-chip communication between the hardware workloads of a cloud user significantly reduces the overall communication overhead.
Dopaminergic axon tracts within a hyaluronic acid hydrogel encasement for implantation to restore the nigrostriatal pathway

Parkinsons disease (PD) affects 10 million patients worldwide, making it the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease. Motor symptoms emerge from the loss of dopamine in the striatum after the death of dopaminergic neurons and the long-projecting axons of the nigrostriatal pathway. Current treatments, such as dopamine replacement, deep brain stimulation or cell therapies, disregard the loss of this pathway at the core of symptoms. We sought to address this by improving our tissue-engineered nigrostriatal pathway (TE-NSP) technology, which consists of a tubular hydrogel with a collagen/laminin core that encases an aggregate of dopaminergic neurons and their axons in a way that resembles the nigrostriatal pathway. These constructs can be implanted to replace the lost neurons and axons with fidelity to the pathway, and thus provide dopamine according to feedback from the host circuitry. While TE-NSPs have been traditionally fabricated with agarose, here we utilized a hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel to expand the functionality of the encasement and our control over its properties. Using rat ventral midbrain neurons, we found that TE-NSPs exhibited longer and faster neurite growth with HA relative to agarose, with no differences observed in electrically-evoked dopamine release. When transplanted, HA hydrogels reduced host neuron loss and inflammation around the implant compared to agarose, and the cells and axons within TE-NSPs survived and maintained their cytoarchitecture for at least 2 weeks. HighlightsO_LIWe fabricated engineered dopaminergic axons encased in a tubular hydrogel. C_LIO_LIWe made hydrogels from methacrylated hyaluronic acid and compared them to agarose. C_LIO_LIAxons in HA hydrogels had longer and faster axon growth and displayed evoked dopamine release. C_LIO_LIHA hydrogels reduced the host inflammatory response and supported neuron and axon survival in vivo. C_LIO_LIThis platform may be used to reconstruct the nigrostriatal pathway to treat Parkinsons disease. C_LI
Restoration of Enzymic Activity by Complementation in Vitro between Mutant α Subunits of Tryptophan Synthetase and between Mutant Subunits and Fragments of the α Subunit

Abstract The wild type and all mutant α chains of tryptophan synthetase tested can, following denaturation-renaturation, enter into stable dimeric structures. Only certain combinations of mutant α chains yield dimers which have the enzymatic activity which the mutant monomers lack. Most α chains with mutational alterations in the NH2-terminal half of the molecule will complement most α chains that are altered in the COOH-terminal half. One of the five fragments generated by cyanogen bromide cleavage of the α chain complements (restores activity to) an intact mutant α chain. The site of the amino acid change in the mutant subunit is overlapped by the sequence in the fragment. Some fragments of the α chain generated by the presence of a nonsense (ochre) codon in the structural gene for the α chain are able to complement appropriate intact mutant α chains. The relative size of two such fragments is consistent with the map position of the nonsense codons. The presence of large amounts of other Escherichia coli proteins in the urea solution from which α chain dimers are recovered has only a small effect on the ability of α chains to renature as monomers. Similarly, there is little effect of nonspecific protein on the ability of mutant α chains to form functional dimers. In contrast, the β2 subunit of tryptophan synthetase appears to have a specific effect upon both α chain dimer formation and renaturation of the α monomer.
A non-linear Renewal Theorem with stationary and slowly changing perturbations

Non-linear renewal theory is extended to include random walks perturbed by both a slowly changing sequence and a stationary one. Main results include a version of the Key Renewal Theorem, a derivation of the limiting distribution of the excess over a boundary, and an expansion for the expected first passage time. The formulation is motivated by problems in sequential analysis with staggered entry, where subjects enter a study at random times.
The Role of the Board in Turbulent Times: Overseeing Risk Management and Executive Compensation

What should the board of directors of a public company do in critical economic times like these? The paper highlights "pressure points" for boards to consider, including practical actions that can be followed to help ensure directors fully meet their fiduciary responsibilities toward shareholders.
THE ADVERSE EFFECT OF SUPRAVENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA ON CARDIAC OUTPUT IN THE NEONATE

To assess the impact of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) on cardiac output in the neoante, we measured noninvasively ascending aortic blood flow (QAo) pre and post cardioversion (cv) in 4 neonates with paroxysmal atrial tachycardia (PAT) or atrial flutter (AF). Ascending aortic blood flow velocity (VAo) was determined using a portable, 5MHz, pulsed Doppler velocimeter and suprasternal transducer. Aortic cross sectional area (AAo) was calculated from echographic measurements of the internal diameter of the ascending aorta. Left ventricular output was computed as QAo(ml/min)=VAo (cm/sec)×AAo (cm2)×60sec/min. The infants ranged in age from 1 to 14 days, mean 5 days, and ranged in weight from 2.9 to 3.7kg, mean 3.5kg. 2 patients had PAT and 2 had AF with 2:1 block. Conversion required DC countershock in 2 patients, digoxin in 1, and facial ice application in 1. This study demonstrates that SVT impairs significantly cardiac output and stroke volume in the neonate and emphasizes the impact of successful cardioversion in returning systemic blood flow to normal levels.
Stimulation of neurogenesis in rat nucleus of the solitary tract by ghrelin.

Abstract Ghrelin, a gastric hormone, regulates growth hormone secretion and energy homeostasis. The present study shows that ghrelin promotes neural proliferation in vivo and in vitro in the rat nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). Systemic administration of ghrelin significantly increased 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation in the NTS in adult rats with cervical vagotomy. Cultured NTS neurons contain immature precursor cells as shown by expression of Hu protein. Exposure of cultured NTS neurons to ghrelin significantly increased the percentage of BrdU incorporation into cells in both dose- and time-dependent manners. Co-localization of Hu immunoreactivity with BrdU labeling was demonstrated by double fluorescent staining, suggesting that cells labeled with BrdU are neuronal cells. Ghrelin receptor mRNA was detected in tissues from the NTS. The mitotic effect of ghrelin was abolished by treatment of cultured NTS neurons with ghrelin receptor antagonists: d -Lys-3-GHRP-6 and [ d -Arg1, d -Phe-5, d -Trp-7, 9, Leu-11] substance P. Diltiazem, a l -type calcium channel blocker, significantly attenuated ghrelin-mediated increments in BrdU incorporation. Ghrelin acts directly on NTS neurons to stimulate neurogenesis.
The Gladding, Lewis, and Adkins Scale of Religiosity: Differences among a Sample of Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and Nonaffiliates

Summary.-Comparisons with respect to age, sex, religious affiliation, and worship attendance were made using the Gladding, Lewis and Adkins Scale of Religiosity. The sample was comprised of 107 graduate students in education from a private Catholic university; students were categorized by religious preference. Those who attended religious services most often scored highest on the scale regardless of religious affiliation. Implications for use of these findings in cw~nseling are discussed. The importance of a religious, i.e., spiritual, dimension in the life of healthy individuals has been addressed frequently (Bergin, 1983, Lovinger, 1984, Maslow, 1971). Counselors cannot afford to ignore this aspect of human personality, although as O'Malley, Gearhart, and Becker (1984) point out some mental health traditions are more receptive to it than others. In 1951, the Gladding, Lewis, and Adkins Scale of Religiosity was developed as a quantitative, self-report instrument to assess the importance of a religious/ spiritual dimension in a person's life. The present study was undertaken to assess further the descriptive and discriminating power of the scale with respect co certain demographic variables. The specific question addressed in this research was whether age, sex, religious tradition, and attendance at religious services affect statistically significantly scores on this instrument. METHOD Smple From an Introduction to Personality Theories course at a private, Catholic university in southern Connecticut 107 graduate students in education (18 men and 89 women) volunteered to participate in the study. They ranged in age from 21 to 53 yr. old. The socioeconomic level of the families of participating students can be described as upper middle to upper class due to the fact that 90% of the students' families reside in one of the most affluent counties in the nation. The majority of respondents were Catholic (n = 59), but there were also Protestants (~t = 18), Jews (n = 12), and those with No Religious Affiliation (n = 18).
Two components of high-threshold Ca2+ current inactivate by different mechanisms

High-threshold Ca2+ current triggers neurotransmitter release, but the existence, significance, and correct identification of different types of high-threshold Ca2+ channels remain controversial. We show selective inhibition of a rapidly inactivating component of high-threshold Ca2+ current in rat sensory neurons by bursts of brief pulses that mimic trains of action potentials and by prolonged depolarization just above the normal rest potential. In contrast, a slowly inactivating component decreases only when sufficient Ca2+ accumulates within the cell. Thus, there are physiologically important differences: whereas availability of the transient component depends on the value of the rest potential and the pattern of a prior stimulus, the sustained component seems to provide a baseline level of voltage-dependent Ca2+ entry that is lost only when intracellular Ca2+ rises.
Resolution of synthetic att-site Holliday structures by the integrase protein of bacteriophage λ

Site-specific recombination of the bacteriophage λ genome into and out of the host bacterial genome is postulated to involve the formation of Holliday structure intermediates by reciprocal single-strand exchanges. Synthetic analogues of the predicted recombination intermediates are resolved in vitro by the protein product of the λ int gene. Some of the structural features and reaction conditions for this genetic recombination can now be defined.
Vibration monitoring by a spatially integrating fiber optic sensor

Fiber optic sensors (FOS) for vibration monitoring of smart structures have certain advantages over conventional strain gage based sensors due to electromagnetic environment insensitivity and high response bandwidth. During the present study, a spatially integrating fiber optic sensor was used for vibration monitoring. It is based on the concept that the optimal placement of the sensing element can be sought by using a priori knowledge of the mode shapes of the structure. The applicability of this approach to polarimetric optical fibers is described. The acquired integrating FOS signal was used to sense and control the vibration of an electrorheological adaptive structure subjected to a random external excitation.
Mitochondrial mechanisms of cell death and neuroprotection in pediatric ischemic and traumatic brain injury.

There are several forms of acute pediatric brain injury, including neonatal asphyxia, pediatric cardiac arrest with global ischemia, and head trauma, that result in devastating, lifelong neurologic impairment. The only clinical intervention that appears neuroprotective is hypothermia initiated soon after the initial injury. Evidence indicates that oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and impaired cerebral energy metabolism contribute to the brain cell death that is responsible for much of the poor neurologic outcome from these events. Recent results obtained from both in vitro and animal models of neuronal death in the immature brain point toward several molecular mechanisms that are either induced or promoted by oxidative modification of macromolecules, including consumption of cytosolic and mitochondrial NAD+ by poly-ADP ribose polymerase, opening of the mitochondrial inner membrane permeability transition pore, and inactivation of key, rate-limiting metabolic enzymes, e.g., the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. In addition, the relative abundance of pro-apoptotic proteins in immature brains and neurons, and particularly within their mitochondria, predisposes these cells to the intrinsic, mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis, mediated by Bax- or Bak-triggered release of proteins into the cytosol through the mitochondrial outer membrane. Based on these pathways of cell dysfunction and death, several approaches toward neuroprotection are being investigated that show promise toward clinical translation. These strategies include minimizing oxidative stress by avoiding unnecessary hyperoxia, promoting aerobic energy metabolism by repletion of NAD+ and by providing alternative oxidative fuels, e.g., ketone bodies, directly interfering with apoptotic pathways at the mitochondrial level, and pharmacologic induction of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory gene expression.
Serial Extraction without Orthodontic Treatment

Crowded mandibular incisors may correct themselves in some instances without serial extraction. In other patients, only partial correction occurs after serial extractions. Serial extraction treatment that is not followed by orthodontic treatment often results in the development of malocclusions.