cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Population-specific gene expression in the plant pathogenic nematode Heterodera glycines exists prior to infection and during the onset of a resistant or susceptible reaction in the roots of the Glycine max genotype Peking

A single Glycine max (soybean) genotype (Peking) reacts differently to two different populations of Heterodera glycines (soybean cyst nematode) within the first twelve hours of infection during resistant (R) and susceptible (S) reactions. This suggested that H. glycines has population-specific gene expression signatures. A microarray analysis of 7539 probe sets representing 7431 transcripts on the Affymetrix® soybean GeneChip® were used to identify population-specific gene expression signatures in pre-infective second stage larva (pi-L2) prior to their infection of Peking. Other analyses focused on the i nfective L2 at 12 h ours post infection (i-L212h), and the i nfective sedentary stages at 3 d ays post infection (i-L23d) and 8 d ays post infection (i-L2/L38d). Differential expression and false discovery rate (FDR) analyses comparing populations of pi-L2 (i.e., incompatible population, NL1-RHg to compatible population, TN8) identified 71 genes that were induced in NL1-RHg as compared to TN8. These genes included putative gland protein G23G12, putative esophageal gland protein Hgg-20 and arginine kinase. The comparative analysis of pi-L2 identified 44 genes that were suppressed in NL1-RHg as compared to TN8. These genes included a different Hgg-20 gene, an EXPB1 protein and a cuticular collagen. By 12 h, there were 7 induced genes and 0 suppressed genes in NL1-RHg. By 3d, there were 9 induced and 10 suppressed genes in NL1-RHg. Substantial changes in gene expression became evident subsequently. At 8d there were 13 induced genes in NL1-RHg. This included putative gland protein G20E03, ubiquitin extension protein, putative gland protein G30C02 and β-1,4 endoglucanase. However, 1668 genes were found to be suppressed in NL1-RHg. These genes included steroid alpha reductase, serine proteinase and a collagen protein. These analyses identify a genetic expression signature for these two populations both prior to and subsequently as they undergo an R or S reaction. The identification of genes like steroid alpha reductase and serine proteinase that are involved in feeding and nutritional uptake as being highly suppressed during the R response at 8d may indicate genes that the plant is targeting. The analyses also identified numerous putative parasitism genes that are differentially expressed. The 1668 genes that are suppressed in NL1-RHg, and hence induced in TN8 may represent genes that are important during the parasitic stages of H. glycines development. The potential for different arrays of putative parasitism genes to be expressed in different nematode populations may indicate how H. glycines evolve mechanisms to overcome resistance.
Dose-rate effects on the total-dose threshold-voltage shift of power MOSFETs

Radiation-hardened and -unhardened n-channel power MOSFETs were tested at dose rates approaching space-radiation levels. The hardened parts exhibited large superrecovery effects during and after very low total doses of ionizing radiation. The superrecovery was attributed to in situ interface-trap formation. These positive threshold shifts and the accompanying interface traps can reduce current-drive capability in power MOSFETs. The impact on space-system use is discussed. The threshold-voltage shift of the positively biased unhardened parts was dominated by generation of oxide trapped charge at all dose-rates; the threshold voltage of these parts decreased monotonically at all doses and dose rates examined. >
Commentary on Ditch, Stitch and Pitch: the niche is here to stay

A recent set of discussion papers in the Journal of Biogeography by McInerny and Etienne (henceforth ME I discuss this point. I also review several criticisms raised by M&E about the use of the concept of fundamental niche in the context of modelling species' distributions and their environments.
An enhanced linearity sampled-data voltage amplifier

A sampled-data feedback circuit topology is presented for the implementation of an enhanced linearity voltage amplifier that does not require an operational amplifier in continuous-time feedback. By oversampling the analog input signal, nonlinearities and gain errors of the internal circuitry are overcome to obtain linearity beyond that of the individual components.
CO 2 variability in mid-ocean ridge basalts from syn-emplacement degassing: Constraints on eruption dynamics

Abstract Basaltic glasses produced during mid-ocean ridge (MOR) eruptions display a wide range of dissolved CO2 concentrations with respect to equilibrium saturation at their eruption depth. This variability is thought to reflect the dynamics of magma ascent and emplacement, with rapid ascent and depressurization leading to supersaturated conditions and slower ascent resulting in equilibrium saturation. In this study we examine a suite of samples from the 2005–06 eruption of the East Pacific Rise (EPR), collected at ~ 200 m intervals along two well-defined flow pathways within a single seafloor eruption to examine syn-emplacement degassing, using measurements of vesicularity, crystallinity, volatile contents, and helium. This new data set is unique because flow pathways of individual MOR lava flows have rarely been mapped and have never been systematically sampled. Here we show that a large range in dissolved CO2 concentrations exists within this single eruption that nearly spans that observed in tens of flows measured along this portion of the EPR crest. This lava flow experienced equilibrium degassing of dissolved CO2 from supersaturated conditions at the vent (and persisting over the first 750 m of flow) toward equilibrium with seafloor pressures along a ~ 2.5 km-long flow path. This was accompanied by an increase in vesicularity and characteristic bubble radius along the flow, indicating the importance of bubble growth by diffusion for degassing. Nearly constant total helium concentrations (melt + vesicles) indicate that no bubbles were lost during emplacement. With a model of diffusion-controlled bubble growth constrained by observations from the samples along the largest flow lobe of the eruption, we calculate minimum ascent rates of 0.15 m/s, and – for this portion of the eruption – an eruption duration of ~ 30 h and flow rates from 0.02 to 0.12 m/s. This study represents the first quantitative assessment of eruption dynamics using volatiles in a mid-ocean ridge lava flow.
Zebrafish Models for Cancer

First established as a valuable vertebrate model system for studying development, zebrafish have emerged as an attractive animal system for modeling human cancers. Major technical advances have been essential for the generation of zebrafish cancer models relevant to human diseases. These models develop tumors in various organ sites that bear striking resemblance to human malignances, both histologically and genetically. Thus, the focus of cancer research in zebrafish has transcended the need to validate zebrafish as a viable model organism to study cancer biology. With the significant advantages of in vivo imaging, the power of forward genetics, well-established high efficiency for transgenesis, and ease of transplantation, further exploration of the zebrafish cancer models not only will generate unique insights into underlying mechanisms of cancer but will also provide platforms useful for drug discovery.
Democratic values and citizen action: a view from US ninth graders

As part of the IEA study of civic education, US ninth graders were assessed for their civic knowledge, concepts, attitudes, and experiences. The study yielded information about the development of democratic attitudes and dispositions toward social action. US ninth graders rated free expression and free elections as most important for democracy. They were less sure about the importance of peaceful protests. US ninth graders were above the international average in their support of rights for both women and immigrants. However, not all groups of students were willing to extend rights to ‘‘the other.’’ Additionally, students were most likely to have experienced social actions to help the community; far fewer were likely to engage in more politically oriented actions. Socio-economic variables and race/ethnicity were related to civic knowledge. r 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONSUMER PREFERENCES AND TRAINED PANEL RESPONSES

. Eight samples of dried tomato soups were profiled by a trained panel, who also provided ratings of overall liking and liking for particular attributes on relative-to-ideal rating scales. A consumer panel tested a subset of four of the soups in home trials, assessing them for overall liking and for particular attributes on either hedonic or relative-to-ideal rating scales. The pattern of overall preferences differed between the trained and untrained panelists, demonstrating the inappropriateness of using trained panelists to provide measures of preference or acceptance. The conclusions regarding consumer preferences would differ depending on which rating scale was used; these differences disappeared when the relative-to-ideal ratings were converted into values of the same form as the hedonic ratings. The overall liking was best predicted by flavor rather than color or thickness. A principal components analysis (PCA) of the profile data compared well with a plot based on the trained panel preference data using MDPREF. The preference data were also fitted to the PCA dimensions using the PREMAP vector model, which gave a good fit for only six of the 15 trained panelists; the PREMAP ideal point model failed to show a better fit. In order to test these models adequately more than eight samples would need to be tested.
An anatomy of authority: Adam Smith as political theorist

Authority for Smith arises ironically from the desire to attain a high station in life. Given that most people fail, they 'free ride': they identify their ego with high-ranking agents, through 'vicarious sympathy'. Vicarious sympathy gives rise to status and, if combined with utility, would occasion political allegiance, the basis of political order (an invisible hand argument). Smith's theory challenges liberal political theory (of the classical type a la Locke or of the social type a la Bentham). It also challenges traditionalist political theory that deposits authority in the hands of selected guardians (from Plato to Strauss).
Direct Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Biofluid Samples Using Slug‐Flow Microextraction Nano‐Electrospray Ionization

Direct mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of biofluids with simple procedures represents a key step in the translation of MS techniques to clinical and point-of-care applications. The current study reports the development of a single-step method using slug-flow microextraction and nano-electrospray ionization for MS analysis of organic compounds in blood and urine. High sensitivity and quantitation precision have been achieved in the analysis of therapeutic and illicit drugs in 5 μL samples. Real-time chemical derivatization has been incorporated for analyzing anabolic steroids. The monitoring of enzymatic functions has also been demonstrated with cholinesterase in wet blood. The reported study encourages the future development of disposable cartridges, which function with simple operation to replace the traditional complex laboratory procedures for MS analysis of biological samples.
Aberration considerations in lens tolerancing

Often the tolerancing of an optical system is performed by treating the optical system as a black box in which the designer sets tolerances for perturbations and then runs a Monte Carlo analysis to determine the as-built performance. When the effects of the perturbations are not considered, the tolerances might result tighter than necessary, proper compensation might be missed, and manufacturing cost can be increased. By acquiring aberration sensitivity for each type of perturbation, an optical engineer can increase tolerances by ad hoc compensation. An aberration sensitivity evaluation can be performed quickly and can be incorporated into the initial lens design phase. A lens designer can find what surfaces or elements within the optical system will be problematic before any time-consuming Monte Carlo run is performed. In this paper we use aberration theory of plane symmetric systems to remove, to some useful extent, the black-box tolerancing approach and to provide some insights into tolerancing. The tolerance sensitivities that are analyzed are with respect to surface tilt, center thickness, index value, and radius. To analyze these perturbations, exact wavefront calculations are performed for the following aberrations: uniform astigmatism, uniform coma, linear astigmatism, distortion I, distortion II, spherical aberration, linear coma, quadratic astigmatism, and cubic distortion. We provide a discussion about how the aberration tolerancing analysis is useful.
Adaptive multirate data acquisition of 3D cell images

We present an algorithm for efficient acquisition of fluorescence microscopy data sets, a problem not addressed until now in the literature. We do this as part of a larger system for protein classification based on their subcellular location patterns, and thus strive to maintain the achieved level of classification accuracy as much as possible. This problem is similar to image compression but unique due to additional restrictions, namely causality; we have access only to the information that has been scanned up to that point. While we do want to acquire fewer samples with as low distortion as possible to achieve compression, our goal is to do so while affecting the overall classification accuracy as little as possible. We achieve this by using an adaptive multiresolution scanning scheme which samples the regions of the image area that hold the most pertinent information. Our results show that we can achieve significant compression which we can then use to increase either time or space resolution of our data set, all while minimally affecting the classification accuracy of the entire system.
A review of the Homestake solar neutrino experiment

Abstract The observations from the Homestake radiochemical solar neutrino experiment over the period 1970 to 1992 are given. The observations will be compared to those from the Kamiokande II experiment, the gallium experiments and solar model calculations. A discussion is given of the question of a possible variation of the solar neutrino flux in anticorrelation with the solar activity cycle. The operation of the Homestake experiment, the sensitivity to the solar neutrino spectrum, the background processes and the various tests that have been performed are given in some detail. The Homestake and Kamiokande II experiments are compared on the basis of the standard model and the flux of 8 B neutrinos. There is agreement between these two experiments during the period June 1987 to April 1990 when both experiments were observing. The average 8 B neutrino flux during this period was (2.2 ± 0.2) × 10 6 cm −2 sec −1 . A non-standard solar model of Sienkiewicz, Bahcall, and Paczynski (1990) which presumes that 50% of the core of the Sun is continually mixed on a slow time scale accounts for this reduced 8 B flux and the total neutrino capture rate of the chlorine and gallium experiments.
Effective detection and elimination of impulse noise for reliable 4:2:0 YCbCr signals prior to compression encoding

This paper presents an efficient two-stage filtering method that provides highly reliable 4:2:0 YCbCr signals, which are widely used in the image- and video-processing community. In the first phase, we use an index mapping, center-weighted median filter (IMCWMF) to detect and remove noise from luminance (Y) components while inheriting the chrominance components (Cb and Cr) for the selected median luminance. In the second phase, we use a downsampling sigma filter (DSF) to detect and remove noise from the chrominance components while performing the downsampling process. Simulation results indicate that the proposed method outperforms other nonlinear filters in terms of both noise attenuation and signal-detail preservation while providing accurate color channel information for the JPEG compression process and overall image quality.
Dead Birds Migrating: DVD Reinvigorates Classic Ethnographic Film

The DVD release of Robert Gardner's Dead Birds exemplifies the added value of extra features and the improvement in viewing quality when existing ethnographic films are distributed in this new medium. Whereas in the past, ethnographic films have been experienced as transitory performances, a nonlinear medium like DVD makes it possible to read a film the way one reads a book, stopping, reflecting, and reviewing. The inclusion of multiple soundtracks, additional sequences, and associated texts affords a density of content that has not previously been possible in either films or books.
Damage and plastic deformation of reservoir rocks: Part 1. Damage fracturing

In this series of studies, we develop a numerical tool for modeling finite deformation of reservoir rocks. We present an attempt to eliminate the main limitations of idealized methods, for example, elastic or kinematic, that cannot account for the complexity of rock deformation. Our approach is to use rock mechanics experimental data and finite element models (Abaqus). To generate realistic simulations, the present numerical rheology incorporates the dominant documented deformation modes of rocks: (1) rock mechanics experimental observations, including finite strength, inelastic strain hardening, strength dependence on confining pressure, strain-induced dilation, pervasive and localized damage, and local tensile or shear failure without macroscopic disintegration; and (2) field observations, including large deformation, distributed damage, complex fracture networks, and multiple zones of failure. Our analysis starts with an elastic–plastic damage rheology that includes pressure-dependent yield criteria, stiffness degradation, and fracturing via a continuum damage approach, using the Abaqus materials library. We then use experimental results for Berea Sandstone in two configurations, four-point beam and dog-bone triaxial, to refine and calibrate the rheology. We find that damage and fracturing patterns generated in the numerical models match the experimental features well, and based on these observations, we define damage fracturing, the fracturing process by damage propagation in a rock with elastic–plastic damage rheology. In part 2, we apply this rheology to investigate fracture propagation at the tip of a hydrofracture.
Secondhand smoke exposure and serum cotinine levels among current smokers in the USA

Background Secondhand smoke (SHS) likely provides additional exposure to nicotine and toxins for smokers, but has been understudied. Our objective was to determine whether SHS exposure among smokers yields detectable differences in cotinine levels compared with unexposed smokers at the population level. Methods Using the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for the years 1999–2012, we compared serum cotinine levels of 4547 current adult cigarette smokers stratified by self-reported SHS exposure sources (home and/or work) and smoking intensity. A weighted multivariable linear regression model determined the association between SHS exposure and cotinine levels among smokers. Results Smokers with SHS exposure at home (43.8%) had higher cotinine levels (β=0.483, p≤0.001) compared with those with no SHS exposure at home after controlling for the number of cigarettes smoked per day and number of days smoked in the previous 5 days, survey year, age, gender and education. Smokers with SHS exposure at work (20.0%) did not have significantly higher cotinine levels after adjustment. The adjusted geometric mean cotinine levels of light smokers (1–9 cigarettes per day) with no SHS exposure, exposure at work only, home only, and both home and work were 52.0, 62.7, 67.2, 74.4 ng/mL, respectively, compared with 219.4, 220.9, 255.2, 250.5 ng/mL among moderate/heavy smokers (≥10 cigarettes per day). Conclusions Smokers living in residences where others smoke inside the home had significantly higher cotinine levels than smokers reporting no SHS exposure, regardless of individual smoking intensity. Future research should target the role that SHS exposure may have in nicotine dependence, cessation outcomes and other health impacts among smokers.
MRGIS: A MapReduce-Enabled High Performance Workflow System for GIS

The growth of data used by data-intensive computations, e.g. geographical information systems (GIS), has far outpaced the growth of the power of a single processor. The increasing demand of data-intensive applications calls for distributed computing. In this paper, we propose a high performance workflow system MRGIS, a parallel and distributed computing platform based on MapReduce clusters, to execute GIS applications efficiently. MRGIS consists of a design interface, a task scheduler, and a runtime support system. The design interface has two options: a GUI-based workflow designer and an API-based library for programming in Python. Given a GIS workflow, the scheduler analyzes data dependencies among tasks, then dispatches them to MapReduce clusters based on the current status of the system. Our experiment demonstrates that MRGIS can significantly improve the performance of GIS workflow execution.
Mothers of children with Down syndrome reflect on their postnatal support.

Objective. Since 1964, researchers have been examining the ways in which physicians deliver a postnatal diagnosis of Down syndrome (DS). Almost all of the studies, however, have been limited to reflections or very small sample sizes. The objective of this study was to document, in the most robust comprehensive way, the reflections of mothers in the United States who received diagnoses of DS for their children. Methods. An 11-page survey was mailed to 2945 persons on the membership lists of 5 DS parent organizations. The survey gathered both quantitative and qualitative data with yes/no questions, open-ended questions, and a series of statements asking the mothers to rate their level of agreement on a Likert scale of 1 to 7. Results. Of the 1250 responses (42.4%), 985 were from mothers who received postnatal diagnoses of DS for their children. The majority of these mothers reported being frightened or anxious after learning the diagnosis, and very few rated the overall experience as a positive one. Mothers reported that their physicians talked little about the positive aspects of DS and rarely provided enough up-to-date printed materials or telephone numbers of other parents with children with DS. Improvement has been made with time, albeit slowly. Conclusion. Mothers have called on physicians to improve the way in which postnatal diagnoses are delivered. Specific recommendations are offered.
Phonological awareness: The role of reading experience

Abstract A cross-cultural study of Japanese and American children has examined the development of awareness about syllables and phonemes. Using counting tests and deletion tests, Experiments I and III reveal that in contrast to first graders in America, most of whom tend to be aware of both syllables and phonemes, almost all first graders in Japan are aware of mora (phonological units roughly equivalent to syllables) but relatively few are aware of phonemes. This difference in phonological awareness may be attributed to the fact that Japanese first graders learn to read a syllabary whereas American first graders learn to read an alphabet. For most children at this age, awareness of phonemes may require experience with alphabetic transcription, whereas awareness of syllables may be facilitated by experience with a syllabary, but less dependent upon it. To further clarify the role of knowledge of an alphabet in children's awareness of phonemes, Experiments II and IV administered the same counting and deletion tests to Japanese children in the later elementary grades. Here the data reveal that many Japanese children become aware of phonemes by age whether or not they have received instruction in alphabetic transcription. Discussion of these results focuses on some of the other factors that may promote phonological awareness.
Does Anti-IgE Therapy Help in Asthma? Efficacy and Controversies

Omalizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against IgE, is clinically efficacious when it neutralizes almost all free IgE and reduces IgE receptors on basophils and mast cells. Asthmatic subjects on inhaled corticosteroids who are treated with omalizumab as an add-on therapy experience only modest benefits in symptoms and perhaps in quality of life, but the most significant effects are reductions in airway inflammation and in exacerbation rate. Airway obstruction and hyperresponsiveness do not change significantly. Although the magnitude of the beneficial effects is small, they are observed even in the most severe cases, particularly the reduction in exacerbation rate. The safety profile of omalizumab is very encouraging, although phase IV studies are ongoing to clarify the incidence of neoplasias. Because of its cost, omalizumab therapy may be most cost-effective in patients with severe and refractory asthma, particularly those with frequent exacerbations requiring hospital care. Further clinical studies are now evaluating the best place for omalizumab in the algorithm of asthma management.
Ontology Driven Content Mining and Semantic Queries for Satellite Image Databases

Extracting domain-specific knowledge from image databases is challenging and requires a deep understanding of the domain. For example, in the geospatial domain knowledge discovery computationally expensive due to the huge amount of generated imagery. Existing content-based image retrieval systems utilize models that are trained and optimized to experts' knowledge using expert-in-the-loop approaches. However, such approaches may lead to suboptimal models especially when the number of training images is small. In this paper, we propose incorporating existing domain knowledge resources into knowledge discovery. More specifically, we have developed methods for using ontological relationships between geospatial semantics to oversample under-represented semantics. Our experimental results show that our technique improves the knowledge discovery process, as evidenced by increased precision of semantic queries.
Taking Exception to Traditional Exceptions ClauseJurisprudence: On Congress's Power to Limit the Court's Jurisdiction

Commentators sharply disagree about the extent to which Congress can invoke its Exceptions Clause power and withdraw jurisdiction over certain contested matters from the federal courts. Some suggest that Congress has plenary power over the Court's appellate jurisdiction, others suggest that Congress cannot destroy the Court's essential role, and still others offer different theories. Still other commentators focus on the degree to which Congress is precluded from shielding matters from federal judicial review more generally, suggesting that the Congress can preclude the Court from hearing certain matters as long as some federal court can hear the matter at issue. These latter commentators suggest that in important respects the Supreme Court is on a par with the other federal courts. This article suggests that these interpretations are neither particularly plausible nor likely to be adopted by the Court, concluding instead that the Court would likely adopt the position that seems to account better for the intentions of the Framers, namely, that Congress has much less discretion to limit the Court's jurisdiction than is commonly supposed, especially if the proposed limitation could not be explained by appealing to the need for specialized legal expertise.
Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection: Much Ado About Nothing?

Florida’s beaches are critical to the State's economy and provide significant protection for upland property, but erosion from natural forces, coastal development, and construction and maintenance of navigation inlets threatens the beaches’ ability to provide these vital services. Of the 825 miles of sandy beach in the State, over 485 miles (about fifty-nine percent) are eroding, with 387 miles of beach (about forty-seven percent) experiencing ‚critical erosion. To protect and manage critically eroding beaches, the Legislature enacted the Beach and Shore Preservation Act (BSPA) directing the State to provide for beach restoration and nourishment projects. The State has spent at least six hundred million dollars on beach erosion control and beach restoration, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) now manages over two hundred miles of restored beaches. In 2006, the Florida First District Court of Appeal put the Florida Beach Erosion Control Program in jeopardy, however, by finding that the BSPA deprived the beachfront property owners of their constitutionally protected riparian rights without just compensation. The case eventually worked its way to the United States Supreme Court. But in the U.S. Supreme Court, the issue of focus was not so much whether riparian rights had been unconstitutionally taken - a unanimous Court agreed they had not - but whether the constitution encompasses a doctrine of judicial takings. This article reviews the Florida and U.S. Supreme Courts' dispositions of the case. Although the State prevailed in both cases, from the Florida perspective, the case left many questions about the legal status of beach restoration and application of the BSPA. At the U.S. Supreme Court level, the case provided a flimsy vehicle for Justice Scalia to introduce his theory of judicial takings. Nevertheless, none of the Justices categorically denied the existence of the concept of a judicial taking; four Justices specifically adopted the doctrine, and six Justices agreed that state supreme court decisions that eliminate existing property rights might be unconstitutional. In the end, the case left the law unsettled in a way that will likely incite property rights advocates to continue to cause "much ado".
Learning relational sum-product networks

Sum-product networks (SPNs) are a recently-proposed deep architecture that guarantees tractable inference, even on certain high-treewidth models. SPNs are a propositional architecture, treating the instances as independent and identically distributed. In this paper, we introduce Relational SumProduct Networks (RSPNs), a new tractable first-order probabilistic architecture. RSPNs generalize SPNs by modeling a set of instances jointly, allowing them to influence each other's probability distributions, as well as modeling probabilities of relations between objects. We also present LearnR-SPN, the first algorithm for learning high-treewidth tractable statistical relational models. LearnRSPN is a recursive top-down structure learning algorithm for RSPNs, based on Gens and Domingos' LearnSPN algorithm for propositional SPN learning. We evaluate the algorithm on three datasets; the RSPN learning algorithm outperforms Markov Logic Networks in both running time and predictive accuracy.
Targeting senescent cells enhances adipogenesis and metabolic function in old age

Senescent cells accumulate in fat with aging. We previously found genetic clearance of senescent cells from progeroid INK-ATTAC mice prevents lipodystrophy. Here we show that primary human senescent fat progenitors secrete activin A and directly inhibit adipogenesis in non- senescent progenitors. Blocking activin A partially restored lipid accumulation and expression of key adipogenic markers in differentiating progenitors exposed to senescent cells. Mouse fat tissue activin A increased with aging. Clearing senescent cells from 18-month-old naturally-aged INK- ATTAC mice reduced circulating activin A, blunted fat loss, and enhanced adipogenic transcription factor expression within 3 weeks. JAK inhibitor suppressed senescent cell activin A production and blunted senescent cell-mediated inhibition of adipogenesis. Eight weeks-treatment with ruxolitinib, an FDA-approved JAK1/2 inhibitor, reduced circulating activin A, preserved fat mass, reduced lipotoxicity, and increased insulin sensitivity in 22-month-old mice. Our study indicates targeting senescent cells or their products may alleviate age-related dysfunction of progenitors, adipose tissue, and metabolism. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.12997.001
Cyclin A2 and CDK2 as Novel Targets of Aspirin and Salicylic acid: a Potential Role in Cancer Prevention

Data emerging from the past 10 years have consolidated the rationale for investigating the use of aspirin as a chemopreventive agent; however, the mechanisms leading to its anticancer effects are still being elucidated. We hypothesized that aspirin's chemopreventive actions may involve cell-cycle regulation through modulation of the levels or activity of cyclin A2/cyclin-dependent kinase-2 (CDK2). In this study, HT-29 and other diverse panel of cancer cells were used to demonstrate that both aspirin and its primary metabolite, salicylic acid, decreased cyclin A2 (CCNA2) and CDK2 protein and mRNA levels. The downregulatory effect of either drugs on cyclin A2 levels was prevented by pretreatment with lactacystin, an inhibitor of proteasomes, suggesting the involvement of 26S proteasomes. In-vitro kinase assays showed that lysates from cells treated with salicylic acid had lower levels of CDK2 activity. Importantly, three independent experiments revealed that salicylic acid directly binds to CDK2. First, inclusion of salicylic acid in naive cell lysates, or in recombinant CDK2 preparations, increased the ability of the anti-CDK2 antibody to immunoprecipitate CDK2, suggesting that salicylic acid may directly bind and alter its conformation. Second, in 8-anilino-1-naphthalene-sulfonate (ANS)-CDK2 fluorescence assays, preincubation of CDK2 with salicylic acid dose-dependently quenched the fluorescence due to ANS. Third, computational analysis using molecular docking studies identified Asp145 and Lys33 as the potential sites of salicylic acid interactions with CDK2. These results demonstrate that aspirin and salicylic acid downregulate cyclin A2/CDK2 proteins in multiple cancer cell lines, suggesting a novel target and mechanism of action in chemoprevention. Implications: Biochemical and structural studies indicate that the antiproliferative actions of aspirin are mediated through cyclin A2/CDK2. Mol Cancer Res; 14(3); 241–52. ©2015 AACR . This article is featured in Highlights of This Issue, [p. 239][1] [1]: /lookup/volpage/14/239?iss=3
Macune's Monopoly: Economic Law and the Legacy of Populism

This article argues that the Populist legacy is embodied by the constrained conception of democracy underlying the American state, which restricts popular sovereignty from the economic sphere. Charles Macune led the Farmers’ Alliance according to a robust conception of democracy that insisted on subordinating economic law to popular sovereignty. Macune's distinct economic thought marked a departure from previous antimonopoly movements, but his reliance on an inductive, empirical, institutionalist economic methodology was shared by the founders of the American Economic Association. Populism did not fail because it relied on outdated economic theory; it was defeated because it represented a coherent and credible threat to the established order. A successful campaign established the hegemony of the deductive method, which posited that manmade laws must serve the natural, universally valid laws of economics and that popular sovereignty must therefore be restrained from the economic realm. Without the means to conceive an alternative relationship between the state and economy, the path of twentieth-century American political development has been limited to those possibilities available under a constrained conception of democracy. This article articulates Macune's political strategy and highlights its underlying principles in order to present a more robust conception of democracy and illustrate the mechanisms by which it was defeated.
Multicomponent Nanomaterials with Complex Networked Architectures from Orthogonal Degradation and Binary Metal Backfilling in ABC Triblock Terpolymers

Selective degradation of block copolymer templates and backfilling the open mesopores is an effective strategy for the synthesis of nanostructured hybrid and inorganic materials. Incorporation of more than one type of inorganic material in orthogonal ways enables the synthesis of multicomponent nanomaterials with complex yet well-controlled architectures; however, developments in this field have been limited by the availability of appropriate orthogonally degradable block copolymers for use as templates. We report the synthesis and self-assembly into cocontinuous network structures of polyisoprene-block-polystyrene-block-poly(propylene carbonate) where the polyisoprene and poly(propylene carbonate) blocks can be orthogonally removed from the polymer film. Through sequential block etching and backfilling the resulting mesopores with different metals, we demonstrate first steps toward the preparation of three-component polymer–inorganic hybrid materials with two distinct metal networks. Multiblock copolymer...
Adapting viral safety assurance strategies to continuous processing of biological products

There has been a recent drive in commercial large-scale production of biotechnology products to convert current batch mode processing to continuous processing manufacturing. There have been reports of model systems capable of adapting and linking upstream and downstream technologies into a continuous manufacturing pipeline. However, in many of these proposed continuous processing model systems, viral safety has not been comprehensively addressed. Viral safety and detection is a highly important and often expensive regulatory requirement for any new biological product. To ensure success in the adaption of continuous processing to large-scale production, there is a need to consider the development of approaches that allow for seamless incorporation of viral testing and clearance/inactivation methods. In this review, we outline potential strategies to apply current viral testing and clearance/inactivation technologies to continuous processing, as well as modifications of existing unit operations to ensure the successful integration of viral clearance into the continuous processing of biological products. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 21-32. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Comparing Variability, Severity, and Persistence of Depressive Symptoms as Predictors of Future Stroke Risk

Objective Numerous studies show that depressive symptoms measured at a single assessment predict greater future stroke risk. Longer-term symptom patterns, such as variability across repeated measures or worst symptom level, might better reflect adverse aspects of depression than a single measurement. This prospective study compared five approaches to operationalizing depressive symptoms at annual assessments as predictors of stroke incidence. Design Cohort followed for incident stroke over an average of 6.4 years. Setting The Adult Changes in Thought cohort follows initially cognitively intact, community- dwelling older adults from a population base defined by membership in Group Health, a Seattle-based nonprofit healthcare organization. Participants 3,524 individuals aged 65 years and older. Measurements We identified 665 incident strokes using ICD codes. We considered both baseline Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression scale (CES-D) score and, using a moving window of three most recent annual CES-D measurements, we compared most recent, maximum, average, and intra-individual variability of CES-D scores as predictors of subsequent stroke using Cox proportional hazards models. Results Greater maximum (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.18; 95% CI: 1.07–1.30), average (HR: 1.20; 95% CI: 1.05–1.36) and intra-individual variability (HR: 1.15; 95% CI: 1.06–1.24) in CES-D were each associated with elevated stroke risk, independent of sociodemographics, cardiovascular risks, cognition, and daily functioning. Neither baseline nor most recent CES-D was associated with stroke. In a combined model, intra-individual variability in CES-D predicted stroke, but average CES-D did not. Conclusions Capturing the dynamic nature of depression is relevant in assessing stroke risk. Fluctuating depressive symptoms may reflect a prodrome of reduced cerebrovascular integrity.
Gender, race, and class in organizational contexts.

Creating settings that support diversity has been a long-standing concern of community psychology. In this paper, I propose two qualities as important aspects of organizational contexts that support the meaningful participation of diverse groups:(a) a culture of connection and (b) recognition of multiple “realities.” For each theme, I first examine countervailing values that can undermine meaningful participation of nondominant groups. I suggest that organizational values for independence and a press for sameness can contribute to settings where members of traditionally oppressed groups will be prevented from meaningful participation. I also suggest that fostering a culture of connectedness that actively legitimizes multiple realities is a constructive alternative. To illustrate these points, I share observations based on experiences in manufacturing, educational, and community-based settings. Then, I explore two dynamics that are important when confronting the countervailing values and building more inclusive contexts: (a) accountability for impact and (b) privilege dynamics. Last, I turn to some possibilities for change through a stance of connected disruption.
Spectroscopic Observation of Reversible Surface Reconstruction of Copper Electrodes under CO2 Reduction

The ability of copper to catalyze the electrochemical reduction of CO2 has been shown to greatly depend on its nanoscale surface morphology. While previous studies found evidence of irreversible changes of copper nanoparticle and thin film electrodes following electrolysis, we present here the first observation of the reversible reconstruction of electrocatalytic copper surfaces induced by the adsorbed CO intermediate. Using attenuated total internal reflection infrared and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopies, the reversible formation of nanoscale metal clusters on the electrode is revealed by the appearance of a new C≡O absorption band characteristic of CO bound to undercoordinated copper atoms and by the strong enhancement of the surface-enhanced Raman effect. Our study shows that the morphology of the catalytic copper surface is not static but dynamically adapts with changing reaction conditions.
Visual Psychological Anthropology: A Vignette and Prospectus

The chapter proposes that ethnographic film can be a meaningful method in psychological anthropology, specifically recommending adapting the technique of person-centered ethnography to visual psychological anthropology (VPA). VPA can be used to create films that are character-focused, affective, and experience near, rendering internal and intersubjective worlds in a culturally contextualized manner. VPA can faithfully depict the subjective experience of mental illness specifically by de-emphasizing diagnosis and symptomatology in favor of emotion and character development. Calling upon the six-part Afflictions series, the first documentary series about mental illness in the developing world, as an example of VPA, the chapter introduces the films to be discussed throughout the book: The Bird Dancer, Kites and Monsters, Family Victim, Ritual Burdens, Memory of My Face, and Shadows and Illuminations.
Normative Self-Constitution and Individual Autonomy

Many trenchant moral and political issues turn on the question of whether values, commitments, and desires are considered essential to the identity of persons—that is, whether they must be seen as internal to the self. The central thesis of the paper is that normative commitments are, in fact, central to agency and to the self. I attempt to defend this position by sketching a model of the self that is meant to function in a theory of individual autonomy. It is my contention that the understanding of the self as separable from such commitments stems, in part, from a failure to differentiate the Me-self from the I-Self (using terminology developed by William James). The former contains aspects of the self that can be considered as the object of introspective appraisal. Such factors form our self-image, but they are elements of the self that we can bring to mind and contemplate. The I-self, however, refers to agentic consciousness itself, the functioning processes of judgment which operate according to norms and values which orient that judgment in a variety of ways. Seen in this way, norms structure the self in a way that guides reflective introspection itself. The difficulty that arises, and which plagues discussions of autonomy in many political contexts, is that agents interact in social settings where they are asked to justify their normative commitments to each other (often as part of social, democratic forms of deliberation), including justification of those commitments that partly constitute their (I-self) identities. I suggest an account of reflective self justification that can serve the purposes of interpersonal reason-giving while remaining consistent with the thesis that (autonomous) selves are partly constituted by normative commitments.
Correlation of the Electronic Transitions in Semiconducting Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes

Frequency-resolved femtosecond transient absorption was applied to study the spectral properties and excited-state dynamics in semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes. We find that the electronic transitions are intrinsically correlated, revealing the excitonic nature of the states.
The Association of Extent of Axillary Surgery and Survival in Women with N2–3 Invasive Breast Cancer

Although surgical management of the axilla for breast cancer continues to evolve, axillary lymphadenectomy remains the standard of care for women with advanced nodal disease. We sought to evaluate national patterns of care in axillary surgery, and its association with overall survival (OS) among women with N2–3 invasive breast cancer. Women (18–90 years) with clinical N2–3 invasive breast cancer who underwent axillary surgery were identified from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) from 2004 to 2013. Axillary surgery was categorized as sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB, 1–5 nodes) or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND, ≥ 10 nodes). Patient and treatment characteristics, trends over time, and overall survival (OS) were compared by surgical treatment. Overall, 22,156 patients were identified. At diagnosis, 68.5% had cN2 and 31.5% had cN3 disease. Treatment included: lumpectomy (27%), mastectomy (73%), adjuvant chemotherapy (53.4%), neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) (39.7%), radiation (74%), and endocrine therapy (54.4%). In total, 9.9% (n = 2190) underwent SLNB and 90.1% (n = 19,966) underwent ALND. Receipt of SLNB was associated with private insurance, grade 3 disease, invasive ductal cancer, NAC, and lumpectomy (all p < 0.001). After adjustment for known covariates, including chemotherapy use, ALND was associated with improved survival [hazard ratio (HR) 0.68, p < 0.001] and this effect was similar for N2 and N3 patients (axillary surgery × cN-stage interaction p = 0.29). Axillary lymphadenectomy was associated with improved survival in patients presenting with clinical N2–3 invasive breast cancer. Further studies, particularly in the neoadjuvant setting, are needed to identify breast cancer patients with advanced nodal disease who may safely avoid a lesser extent of axillary surgery.