cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Molecular design and in vitro studies of novel pH-sensitive hydrogels for the oral delivery of calcitonin

pH-sensitive hydrogels are suitable candidates for oral drug delivery of peptides due to their ability to respond to their environment. We have developed new hydrogels composed of poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) grafted with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) (P(MAA-g-EG)) which can be used as drug delivery carriers for salmon calcitonin. P(MAA-g-EG) hydrogels were prepared by free radical solution polymerization. The monomer mixture was diluted using a 50% w/w solution of ethanol and water. The percentage of monomer in solution was varied from 84% to 45% v/v. Swelling studies were conducted to investigate the effects of solvent content used during polymer preparation in the swelling behavior. The effects of dilution on the swelling behavior were not observed until the monomer mixture was diluted to approximately 50%. Salmon calcitonin was successfully incorporated and released in vitro from the system. Solutions of approximately 0.1 mg/mL of salmon calcitonin were used to load the protein into the gels at pH = 7 ...
Health effects and risk assessment of arsenic

Humans can be exposed to arsenic (As) through the intake of air, food and water. Although food is usually the major source of As exposure for people, most adverse effects are seen after As exposure from drinking water. The two main reasons for this situation are that most food arsenicals are organic and have little or no toxicity, and in many cases, As exposures from drinking water sources are to the more toxic inorganic form and occur at relatively high doses, e.g., hundreds of micrograms per day. In various parts of the world, As in drinking water is associated with such effects as gastroenteritis, neurological manifestations, vascular changes, diabetes and cancers (bladder, lung, liver, kidney and prostate). After reviewing the As database, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency promulgated a maximum contaminant level for As in drinking water of 10 micro g/L.
Proinflammatory response and IL-12 expression in HIV-1 infection.

HIV-1 infection elicits a broad range of host responses, many of which interfere with the regulatory pathways of gene expression of interleu- kin-12 (IL-12), a heterodimeric cytokine essential for cell-mediated immunity against microbial infec- tion. The inhibition of IL-12 production by acces- sory cells after HIV-1 infection has been identified as a potential factor responsible for impaired in- nate and Th1 cell-mediated responses observed in AIDS patients. The mechanism by which HIV-1 infection suppresses IL-12 gene expression is largely uncharacterized. Here we review all path- ways identified that could potentially mediate HIV- induced impairment of IL-12 gene expression, such as IL-10, transforming growth factor b, inter- feron-a/b, tumor necrosis factor a, Fc receptors, complement regulatory proteins, and receptors. Also discussed is the decreased CD40 ligand induc- tion in CD4 T cells during HIV infection, which may have a strong impact on T cell-dependent IL-12 production that is critical for the establish- ment and maintenance of a Th1 response. J. Leu- koc. Biol. 68: 383-390; 2000.
Use of Two Selective Media and a Broth Motility Test Can Aid in Identification or Exclusion of Bacillus anthracis

During the anthrax attack of 2001, the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) Bureau of Laboratories in Tampa received hundreds of isolates suspected of being Bacillus anthracis. None were confirmed to be B. anthracis since most isolates were motile and not even in the Bacillus cereus group. Although the sentinel laboratories now send fewer isolates to FDOH laboratories, should another attack occur the number of isolates submitted would likely increase dramatically, and this upsurge would seriously challenge personnel who are expected to be busy examining an increased number of environmental samples. We examined two selective and differential growth media and alternative motility methods that could be used to streamline the processing of suspicious isolates. Of 60 isolates previously sent to the FDOH laboratory, 56 were endospore-forming gram-positive rods and only 7 grew on mannitol-egg yolk-polymyxin B agar and/or the Anthracis chromogenic agar. Microscopic observation of early-log-phase growth (2 to 3 h) in a shaking broth was the best method to detect motility in 40 isolates that appeared nonmotile in the motility media investigated. One of these growth media and microscopic examination of shaken broth cultures can be used to show that an isolate is not B. anthracis before expensive molecular and antibody-based tests are performed. By doing so, costs could be reduced and analysis time shortened.
HIV Vulnerabilities and Risk Perception of Justice-Involved Women

Women with histories of justice involvement are not only more likely to enter prison with a diagnosis of HIV infection, but also are up to 15 times more likely to be HIV positive than women in the general U.S. population. Given the growing prevalence of both women affected by HIV and women in the criminal justice system, an urgent need exists for prevention interventions tailored for justice-involved women. This formative qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews to examine formerly incarcerated women’s perspectives on their HIV risks and behaviors. Findings inform future HIV-risk reduction interventions for justice-involved women.
Postoperative electrocardiogram in a man with the Marfan syndrome.

A 53-year-old man with the Marfan syndrome had undergone aortic valve replacement with a Bjork-Shiley prosthesis for aortic regurgitation at another hospital 15 years earlier. At the same operation he had a Kay-type suture plication tricuspid annuloplasty of the posterior-septal commissure. He came to the cardiology clinic for preoperative clearance for inguinal hernia repair. An aortic regurgitation murmur was noted, and he admitted to exertional dyspnea. An electrocardiogram showed sinus rhythm, a normal P-R interval, and right bundle branch block. An echocardiogram revealed a dilated ascending aorta, severe aortic regurgitation due to a perivalvular leak, normal left ventricular systolic function, and pulmonary arterial hypertension with tricuspid regurgitation and a large right ventricle. Because of these findings he underwent a Cabrol procedure, i.e., a composite aortic valve and root replacement with reimplantation of the coronary arteries, and tricuspid valve replacement. Mechanical valves were used in both the aortic and tricuspid positions. A postoperative electrocardiogram showed sinus arrhythmia, at a rate of 88 beats/minute, that was completely dissociated from a regular, accelerated junctional rhythm, at a rate of 67 beats/minute, with right bundle branch block and left anterior fascicular block (Figure). Alternatively, the subsidiary pacemaker could have been in the left posterior fascicle. Many of the P waves were positioned where they would be expected to be conducted to the ventricles, but the perfectly regular ventricular rhythm indicated that none were. Thus, there was some degree of atrioventricular block. The relatively rapid subsidiary pacemaker may have contributed to the complete atrioventricular dissociation, and the atrioventricular block may have not been complete. Marriott has referred to this as “block-acceleration dissociation” (1). Figure Electrocardiogram recorded in the early postoperative period. See text for explication. Aortic valve replacement requires the surgeon to operate in close proximity to the atrioventricular conduction tissue (2). As a consequence, atrioventricular block and/or an accelerated junctional rhythm may develop, and the chances of this are greater if, as in this patient, the anatomy has been distorted by a prior operation. The rhythm disturbance in this patient is a combination of the two, i.e., a conduction disturbance in combination with increased automaticity. Other conditions, such as inferior myocardial infarction or digitalis toxicity, also may produce block-acceleration atrioventricular dissociation (1). Complete atrioventricular block is virtually never persistent in patients with inferior myocardial infarction or digitalis toxicity, and consequently these patients do not require permanent electronic pacing. In contrast, complete atrioventricular block developing after aortic valve surgery may be persistent, and those patients require permanent pacing (3, 4).
Joint factor analysis and latent clustering

Many real-life datasets exhibit structure in the form of physically meaningful clusters - e.g., news documents can be categorized as sports, politics, entertainment, and so on. Taking these clusters into account together with low-rank structure may yield parsimonious matrix and tensor factorization models and more powerful data analytics. Prior works made use of data-domain similarity to improve nonnegative matrix factorization. Here we are instead interested in joint low-rank factorization and latent-domain clustering; that is, in clustering the latent reduced-dimension representations of the observed entities. A unified algorithmic framework that can deal with both matrix and tensor factorization and latent clustering is proposed. Numerical results obtained from synthetic and real document data show that the proposed approach can significantly improve factor analysis and clustering accuracy.
Boundary integral methods for harmonic differential forms in Lipschitz domains

A layer potential based approach for boundary value problems for harmonic differential forms in nonsmooth domains is developed. This allows a complete and unified treatment of several fundamental problems in potential theory.
THz-Range Instability from the Coupling of High Mobility Streaming Carriers with Acoustic Lattice Vibrations

Unstable interaction of streaming electron plasma waves with acoustic lattice waves causes THz excitation in high mobility semiconductors. The coupled plasmon-phonon dispersion yields the instability growth rate and bias threshold. Convective amplification occurs in transit.
Glucose loading prevents freezing injury in rapidly cooled wood frogs.

The wood frog (Rana sylvatica) is the most commonly studied of ten species of freeze-tolerant vertebrates. Under natural (i.e., slow) rates of cooling, freezing initiates the production of the cryoprotectant glucose, which is mobilized from the liver and distributed to tissues throughout the body. Rapid cooling during freezing is injurious to wood frogs, probably because cryoprotectant production and mobilization are inhibited. To test this hypothesis, we investigated whether rapid-cooling injury is reduced if exogenous glucose is experimentally introduced to tissues before freezing. Glucose-loaded and control (saline-injected) wood frogs were rapidly cooled during freezing to -2.5 degrees C and subsequently assayed for injury at both cellular (erythrocyte) and neuromuscular (behavioral reflex) levels. Rapid cooling produced substantial hemolysis in control frogs, but erythrocyte injury was significantly reduced in glucose-loaded frogs. Similarly neuromuscular injury was significantly higher in control frogs than in glucose-loaded frogs. These findings suggest that rapid-cooling injury results from an inadequate production and distribution of endogenous glucose during freezing. Furthermore, the inverse relationship between the degree of freezing injury and the quantity of exogenous glucose present strongly implicates glucose as a cryoprotectant in R. sylvatica.
Depth Profiling of Molybdenum Thin Films Using Grazing Incidence X-Ray Scattering

It is important that inherent strains (or stresses) be controlled during thin film processing. This study used grazing incidence x-ray scattering (G1XS) to determine the strain gradient present in a ~1700 A sputtered molybdenum thin film. In particular, the gradient in the hydrostatic strain was measured. This observation corresponded to assessing the average change in the lattice parameter as a function of depth throughout the thickness of the film. In addition, the strain ellipsoids, which represent the state of strain in three dimensions, were calculated as a function of film depth. It was shown that the strain varied throughout the ~1700 A Mo film thickness and that the principal strains were anisotropic, with one principal strain much larger than the others in magnitude.
The Marlowe-Crowne, repressor-sensitizer, and internal-external scales and attribution of unconscious hostile intent.

Two follow-up experiments demonstrated weak and inconsistent relationships between attribution of unconscious hostile intent and other variables, thus casting doubt on its use as a construct. The Repressor-Sensitizer and Internal-External scales intercorrelated for both sexes, but the Marlowe-Crowne scale was related to the other scales for males only, suggesting that results with this scale should not be generalized across sexes.
The Psychology of Tort Law

This chapter explores the interaction of tort law and psychology. The law of torts governs the circumstances under which one person or entity is to be held civilly liable for having caused harm to another. Tort law is thought to create incentives for appropriate behavior, to deter unacceptable behavior, and to accomplish corrective justice by remedying past wrongs. In seeking to accomplish these objectives, the law of torts is primarily concerned with determining whether an actor has acted intentionally or negligently in harming another, whether the act at issue caused the injury, whether there should be any other limitations on liability, how to appropriately compensate for that harm (compensatory damages), and whether and how much punishment or additional deterrence (punitive damages) is warranted. Psychological theory and research bear on each of these facets of tort law.
Fetal lung apparent diffusion coefficient measurement using diffusion-weighted MRI at 3 Tesla: Correlation with gestational age.

Purpose To evaluate the feasibility of using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) to assess the fetal lung apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) at 3 Tesla (T). Materials and Methods Seventy-one pregnant women (32 second trimester, 39 third trimester) were scanned with a twice-refocused Echo-planar diffusion-weighted imaging sequence with 6 different b-values in 3 orthogonal diffusion orientations at 3T. After each scan, a region-of-interest (ROI) mask was drawn to select a region in the fetal lung and an automated robust maximum likelihood estimation algorithm was used to compute the ADC parameter. The amount of motion in each scan was visually rated. Results When scans with unacceptable levels of motion were eliminated, the lung ADC values showed a strong association with gestational age (P < 0.01), increasing dramatically between 16 and 27 weeks and then achieving a plateau around 27 weeks. Conclusion We show that to get reliable estimates of ADC values of fetal lungs, a multiple b-value acquisition, where motion is either corrected or considered, can be performed. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;44:1650–1655.
Ethical Issues in the Management of Cerebrovascular Disease

Medical ethics, as a scholarly and applied discipline, is concerned with the morality of behavior in medical matters. The field of cerebrovascular disease is a worthy paradigm of medical ethical issue. Victims, whether they be patients or their families, are vulnerable, and the ethical virtues of kindness, understanding, compassion, mercy, and justice are badly needed. A variety of hypothetical ethical scenarios faced by the physician are discussed in this article in addition to four actual patient studies with commentary.
Improved Wideband DOA Estimation Using Modified TOPS (mTOPS) Algorithm

Test of orthogonality of projected subspaces (TOPS) estimates directions of arrival of wideband sources by exploiting orthogonality between signal and noise subspaces in spectral domain. TOPS performs well at mid signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) range, but fares poorly at high SNR and noise-free cases. The TOPS pseudospectrum often exhibits spurious peaks at all SNR levels. This paper attempts to explain the cause of poor performance, and proposes suitable modifications to extend the effectiveness of TOPS from low SNR to noise-free case. The proposed modified-TOPS (mTOPS) achieves reduction in spurious peaks by incorporating signal-subspace projection instead of null-space projection used in TOPS. It also uses trace as performance metric, instead of loss of rank used in TOPS. The effectiveness of mTOPS has been studied via simulations.
Novel "Superspreader" Bacteriophages Promote Horizontal Gene Transfer by Transformation.

Bacteriophages infect an estimated 1023 to 1025 bacterial cells each second, many of which carry physiologically relevant plasmids (e.g., those encoding antibiotic resistance). However, even though phage-plasmid interactions occur on a massive scale and have potentially significant evolutionary, ecological, and biomedical implications, plasmid fate upon phage infection and lysis has not been investigated to date. Here we show that a subset of the natural lytic phage population, which we dub "superspreaders," releases substantial amounts of intact, transformable plasmid DNA upon lysis, thereby promoting horizontal gene transfer by transformation. Two novel Escherichia coli phage superspreaders, SUSP1 and SUSP2, liberated four evolutionarily distinct plasmids with equal efficiency, including two close relatives of prominent antibiotic resistance vectors in natural environments. SUSP2 also mediated the extensive lateral transfer of antibiotic resistance in unbiased communities of soil bacteria from Maryland and Wyoming. Furthermore, the addition of SUSP2 to cocultures of kanamycin-resistant E. coli and kanamycin-sensitive Bacillus sp. bacteria resulted in roughly 1,000-fold more kanamycin-resistant Bacillus sp. bacteria than arose in phage-free controls. Unlike many other lytic phages, neither SUSP1 nor SUSP2 encodes homologs to known hydrolytic endonucleases, suggesting a simple potential mechanism underlying the superspreading phenotype. Consistent with this model, the deletion of endonuclease IV and the nucleoid-disrupting protein ndd from coliphage T4, a phage known to extensively degrade chromosomal DNA, significantly increased its ability to promote plasmid transformation. Taken together, our results suggest that phage superspreaders may play key roles in microbial evolution and ecology but should be avoided in phage therapy and other medical applications. Importance Bacteriophages (phages), viruses that infect bacteria, are the planet's most numerous biological entities and kill vast numbers of bacteria in natural environments. Many of these bacteria carry plasmids, extrachromosomal DNA elements that frequently encode antibiotic resistance. However, it is largely unknown whether plasmids are destroyed during phage infection or released intact upon phage lysis, whereupon their encoded resistance could be acquired and manifested by other bacteria (transformation). Because phages are being developed to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria and because transformation is a principal form of horizontal gene transfer, this question has important implications for biomedicine and microbial evolution alike. Here we report the isolation and characterization of two novel Escherichia coli phages, dubbed "superspreaders," that promote extensive plasmid transformation and efficiently disperse antibiotic resistance genes. Our work suggests that phage superspreaders are not suitable for use in medicine but may help drive bacterial evolution in natural environments.
Impact of a Safety Huddle-Based Intervention on Monitor Alarm Rates in Low-Acuity Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Patients.

Background Physiologic monitors generate high rates of alarms in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), yet few are actionable. Objective To determine the association between a huddle-based intervention focused on reducing unnecessary alarms and the change in individual patients' alarm rates in the 24 hours after huddles. Design Quasi-experimental study with concurrent and historical controls. Setting A 55-bed PICU. Participants Three hundred low-acuity patients with more than 40 alarms during the 4 hours preceding a safety huddle in the PICU between April 1, 2015, and October 31, 2015. Intervention Structured safety huddle review and discussion of alarm causes and possible monitor parameter adjustments to reduce unnecessary alarms. Main measurements Rate of priority alarms per 24 hours occurring for intervention patients as compared with concurrent and historical controls. Balancing measures included unexpected changes in patient acuity and code blue events. Results Clinicians adjusted alarm parameters in the 5 hours following the huddles in 42% of intervention patients compared with 24% of control patients (𝑃 = .002). The estimate of the effect of the intervention adjusted for age and sex compared with concurrent controls was a reduction of 116 priority alarms (95% confidence interval, 37-194) per 24 hours (𝑃 = .004). There were no unexpected changes in patient acuity or code blue events related to the intervention. Conclusions Integrating a data-driven monitor alarm discussion into safety huddles was a safe and effective approach to reducing alarms in low-acuity, highalarm PICU patients.
Palladium-Catalyzed Alkene Carboalkoxylation Reactions of Phenols and Alcohols for the Synthesis of Carbocycles.

Intermolecular alkene difunctionalization reactions between terminal alkenes bearing a pendant aryl or alkenyl triflate electrophile and exogenous alcohol or phenol nucleophiles are described. These transformations afford substituted indanyl or alkylidenecyclopentyl ethers in high yield with excellent diastereoselectivity. The transformations proceed through intermolecular capture of an intermediate [Pd(II)-alkene]+[OTf]− complex by the alcohol or phenol nucleophile.
Realms of Reason and Unreason

A Gallup Poll reported by Newsweek (June 1978) shows that “Nearly six Americans in ten believe in flying saucers.” This translates to about 138 million people. The same survey indicates that 60 million Americans believe in astrology. The elusive “Bigfoot” is thought by more than 30 million people to live on the fringes of civilization. An equal number are certain that the Loch Ness monster exists.
Endosomal Traffic Jams Represent a Pathogenic Hub and Therapeutic Target in Alzheimer’s Disease

While clues have existed that endosomal trafficking is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), whether it plays a central role in the disease and if so how has remained unknown. Here we rely on recent genetic and cellular findings to construct a model proposing that traffic jams in the early endosome can act as an upstream pathogenic hub in AD. We also rely on an independent series of findings to suggest how the traffic jams can act as a unified mediator of downstream pathophysiology. The model predicts, therefore, that interventions designed to unjam the endosome carry high therapeutic promise.
Does Election Day Registration Make a Difference? Evidence from Illinois

While many scholars have investigated whether election day registration (EDR) boosts turnout and who is influenced by it, empirical evidence is still mixed. Utilizing within-state registration rule difference in Illinois, this paper examines the effects of EDR on turnout rate, registration rate, and partisan composition of voters. In 2016 elections, counties in Illinois (i) with a population over 100,000 or (ii) using electronic poll books needed to allow their citizens to register to vote on election day at every precinct, while other counties only had to adopt the rule at one precinct per county. Analyses using randomization inference approach to regression discontinuity design reveal that EDR exerted small or no effects on turnout rate and registration rate (0-3%, statistically insignificant) but it seems to have somewhat increased the Democratic vote share (6-12%, statistically significant in most of the cases).
Change Is Constant in Estate Planning: Reflections of an ACTEC Law Journal Editor

In this essay, the author provides a brief overview of the history of the flagship publication of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, including its past leadership, focus and multiple name changes. The author reflects on her service as editor of the ACTEC Law Journal and the importance of a commitment to publish articles of ever-increasing quality, while simultaneously ensuring that the Journal remains a venue that is inclusive, appealing and useful to all ACTEC Fellows. Although the ACTEC Law Journal explicitly names and norms itself as a law review, as opposed to a newsletter or a venue for publication of CLE materials, it is important that the publication continues to function as resource and target venue for all of the organization's Fellows. Given the reality that busy practitioners and judges simply do not have the same time in their day that academics have to write long law review articles that engage with prior scholarship, solve novel problems, and propose normative solutions and related policy concerns, during the author's editorship, she sought to create multiple opportunities for all Fellows to submit shorter pieces to the ACTEC Law Journal. This included an issue devoted to short commentaries on the estate planning jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of the United States and the inclusion in other issues of brief reviews of articles published in the ACTEC Law Journal.
Mapping of the autosomal dominant cataract mutation (Coc) on mouse chromosome 16.

Purpose. To characterize the mouse cataract mutation Coc. Methods. Coc is an X-radiation-induced autosomal dominant cataract mutation maintained on a murine C3H inbred strain. The affected heterozygotes were outcrossed to C57BL/6, and (C3H Coc/+ X C57BL/6) mice that were Coc/+ were then backcrossed to C57BL/6 to generate a panel of 103 progeny for mapping. For linkage analysis, microsatellites from each autosome were selected. The maximum distance between markers was 30 centimorgans (cM). Results. The initial genome-wide screen of 14 backcrossed progeny indicated that die Coc locus resides on chromosome 16. Further mapping with additional markers from chromosome 16 for all 103 backcrossed progeny positioned Coc between markers D16MU134 and D16MU63. This region is syntenic to human chromosome 3. Conclusions. Mapping of the Coc locus to mouse chromosome 16 provides the positional information necessary to identify the candidate gene responsible for the Coc phenotype. The molecular characterization of the gene disrupted in the Coc mutation will provide insight into the mechanisms involved in cataract formation. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1997; 38:25022507.
Tunneling Motions in Sulfur Dioxide Complexes

Sulfur dioxide readily forms weak complexes with lone pair donors (amines, ethers), π donors (alkenes, aromatics) and proton donors (acids). Complexes are also known which do not readily fall into any of these categories as exemplified by (SO2)2 and Ar•SO2. This paper reviews the results for nine of these complexes which exhibit large amplitude tunneling motions: Ar•SO2, SO2•SO2, ethylene•SO2, benzene•SO2, toluene•SO2, furan•SO2, cyclopropane•SO2, water•SO2, and methanol•SO2. The tunneling motions are deduced from perturbations in the pure rotational spectra observed by Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy or molecular beam electric resonance techniques. In several cases, considerable insight can be obtained about the tunneling pathway and potential barriers hindering the process.
Estrogen Receptor Transformation and Nuclear RNA Synthesis

Studies from many laboratories (l) have demonstrated that the characteristic affinity of estrogen-responsive tissues for the hormone, both in vivo and in vitro, results from their content of specific estrogen-binding proteins called estrogen receptors or estrophiles. The interaction of estradiol with target tissues, such as uterus, takes place by a sequential mechanism in which the hormone first combines with an extranuclear receptor protein to form a complex which, by a temperature-dependent process, is translocated to the nucleus where most of the incorporated steroid becomes localized (Fig. 1).
Rwandan stakeholder perspectives of integrated family planning and HIV services

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the knowledge, attitudes, and practices among key Rwandan policymakers and stakeholders related to family planning (FP) and integrated HIV/FP services. Motivational in-depth interview format and content was developed after an extensive policy review. A convenience sample of 10 high-level HIV and FP Rwandan policymakers and stakeholders completed the interview. Stakeholders demonstrated strong foundational knowledge of HIV and FP. Given the choice, stakeholders would allocate more monies to FP and less to HIV than currently distributed. Respondents felt that improved FP method knowledge, especially long-acting reversible contraception, among clients/couples and providers, was needed to address myths, misconceptions, and biases. The most often cited way to integrate HIV/FP services was development of integrated tools (eg, training materials, data collection tools, and advocacy and policy guidance). We recommend strategies for policy advancement supportive of HIV/FP service integration inclusive of couples and long-acting reversible contraception methods.
BACTERIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON FROZEN STUFFED POULTRY0

The aerobic, anaerobic, and putrefactive anaerobe populations in the dressing of frozen stuffed chickens showed no significant changes during storage of the chickens for 12 months at —10°F. Packagi...
Cholesterol-dependent Modulation of Stem Cell Biomechanics: Application to Adipogenesis

Cell mechanics has been shown to regulate stem cell differentiation. We have previously reported that altered cell stiffness of mesenchymal stem cells can delay or facilitate biochemically directed differentiation. One of the factors that can affect the cell stiffness is cholesterol. However, the effect of cholesterol on differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) remains elusive. In this paper, we demonstrate that cholesterol is involved in the modulation of the cell stiffness and subsequent adipogenic differentiation. Rapid cytoskeletal actin reorganization was evident and correlated with the cell's Young's modulus measured using atomic force microscopy (AFM). In addition, the level of membrane-bound cholesterol was found to increase during adipogenic differentiation and inversely varied with the cell stiffness. Furthermore, cholesterol played a key role in the regulation of the cell morphology and biomechanics, suggesting its crucial involvement in mechanotransduction. To better understand the underlying mechanisms, we investigated the effect of cholesterol on the membrane-cytoskeleton linker proteins (ezrin and moesin). Cholesterol depletion was found to up-regulate the ezrin expression which promoted cell spreading, increased Young's modulus, and hindered adipogenesis. In contrast, cholesterol enrichment increased the moesin expression, decreased Young's modulus, and induced cell rounding and facilitated adipogenesis. Taken together, cholesterol appears to regulate the stem cell mechanics and adipogenesis through the membrane-associated linker proteins.
Anisotropic Synthesis of Armchair Graphene Nanoribbon Arrays from Sub-5 nm Seeds at Variable Pitches on Germanium

At widths below 10 nm, armchair graphene nanoribbons become semiconductors. One promising route to synthesize nanoribbons is chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of hydrocarbons on Ge(001), and synthesi...
Philosophical Deficiencies East and West

Male Western philosophers are typically less sensitive to psychological nuance than their female counterparts. But they also are typically better at precise analysis and argument and tend to be more systematic about the doing of philosophy than are female philosophers. Chinese philosophers, both male and female, are less accustomed to analytic thinking than typical Anglophone philosophers are, but they also tend to be more open-minded than philosophers in the West. Aristotle makes no room for open-mindedness in his depiction of the virtuous individual, but both Confucius and Mencius place great emphasis on being open to the point of view of other people. Future philosophy needs to be done with psychological sensitivity, analytic argumentation, open-mindedness, and an effort to connect ideas in a systematic fashion.
High Performance GaAs Solar Cells Grown at High Growth Rates by Atmospheric-Pressure Dynamic Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy

We report GaAs solar cells grown at rates exceeding 300 µm/h by atmospheric-pressure dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy (D-HVPE). The surface morphology of the GaAs layers grown at those rates is smooth, with root mean square surface roughness of OCs indicate that high material quality can be maintained at these extremely high growth rates, enabling the deposition of high efficiency cells in mere seconds instead of hours.
Morphometric data for five freshwater turtles in south, central, and west Texas.

From 2008 to 2013, we sampled freshwater turtle populations at 66 sites in south, central, and west Texas, USA. Sampling sites included ponds, lakes, resacas (oxbow lakes), canals, and rivers. We sampled turtle populations using baited hoop nets (66 sites) and basking traps (3 sites), and captured turtles by hand opportunistically in terrestrial habitat. We measured carapace length and width, plastron length and width, body depth, and weight of captured turtles. Excluding recaptures, we measured 356 Apalone spinifera emoryi (Texas Spiny Softshell), 24 Chelydra serpentina (Snapping Turtle), 20 Kinosternon flavescens (Yellow Mud Turtle), 47 Trachemys gaigeae (Big Bend Slider), and 1070 Trachemys scripta elegans (Red-eared Slider). Carapace length of Apalone spinifera emoryi ranged from 85 to 426 mm (mean = 182 mm). Carapace length of Chelydra serpentina ranged from 74 to 320 mm (mean = 233 mm). Carapace length of Kinosternon flavescens ranged from 64 to 147 mm (mean = 114 mm). Carapace length of Trachemys gaigeae ranged from 54 to 203 mm (mean = 141 mm). Carapace length of Trachemys scripta elegans ranged from 30 to 328 mm (mean = 171 mm). These data are useful for assessing spatial and temporal variation in size and body condition of freshwater turtles.
Valuing lead-time and its variance in batch-ordering inventory policies

Abstract Time-based competition has attracted a lot of attention since the 1980s. Supply chain managers have tried various approaches to improve their performance by lead-time reduction: both lead-time itself and its variance. This paper explores and quantifies these benefits of such lead-time reduction for commonly used reorder-point batch-ordering inventory policies. Rather than using approximate total cost equations, we present an exact total cost equation that is built on an inherent relationship between on-hand inventory and backorder. Thus, our marginal value analysis on lead-time and its variance achieves more accurate results. Our analytical results show that the inventory cost is a strictly increasing, concave function of both lead-time and its variance. In other words, the cost savings on both lead-time and its variance reduction decrease when lead-time becomes larger. We also show that both cost savings increase linearly in the inventory holding cost rate. Our numerical examples confirm our analytical results and provide sensitivity analysis on different levels of variable demand and variable lead-time. When both demand and lead-time coefficients of variation are very small, the focus is on lead-time variance reduction. For other cases, the focus should be on lead-time reduction.
The Inevitable Perils of a Precocious Giant

In his classic of French literature, Francois Rabelais described the adventures of a picaresque father, Gargantua, and his son, Pantaguel. Both are robust and powerful giants. Because of their size, they went into the world at very young ages and were treated by others as adults. Sometimes their precociousness served them well; at other times, not. Sometimes the people with whom they came into contact were poorly served because of their failure to reflect on the giants’ lack of maturity. The current problems of Asia are, in my mind, akin to the problems of Gargantua and Pantaguel. The West has confused economic size and power with legal and financial sophistication. Worse yet, the West appears surprised at the results of its confusion.
Cell Phones as Instructional Technology in the Civics Classroom

This study examines the use of cell phones for civics instruction in U.S. elementary, middle, and high schools. It employs data from an original 2019 survey of civics, social studies, and American government teachers nationwide to examine students' access to cell phone for instruction, the extent to which cell phones are used for teaching civics, the ways that cell phones are used in the civics classroom, and teachers perceptions of the effectiveness of cell phones as an instructional technology. The study raises doubts about employing cell phones as a mechanism for narrowing the gap in civic instruction between high-need and advantaged students. It points to differences in when and how cell phones are used in particular educational contexts. It reveals trends that point to a need for further empirical research on the effect of cell phones on students achievement of civic outcomes.
The transcriptional corepressor DSP1 inhibits activated transcription by disrupting TFIIA-TBP complex formation.

Abstract Transcriptional repression of eukaryotic genes is essential for many cellular and developmental processes, yet the precise mechanisms of repression remain poorly understood. The Dorsal Switch Protein (DSP1) was identified in a genetic screen for activities which convert Dorsal into a transcriptional repressor. DSP1 shares structural homology with the HMG-1/2 family and inhibits activation by the rel transcription factors Dorsal and NF-kappaB in transfection studies. Here we investigate the mechanism of transcriptional repression by DSP1. We found that DSP1 protein can act as a potent transcriptional repressor for multiple activator families in vitro and in transfection studies. DSP1 bound directly to the TATA binding protein (TBP), and formed a stable ternary complex with TBP bound to DNA. DSP1 preferentially disrupted the DNA binding of TBP complexes containing TFIIA and displaced TFIIA from binding to TBP. Consistent with the inhibition of TFIIA-bound complexes, DSP1 was shown to inhibit activated but not basal transcription reactions in vitro. The ability of DSP1 to interact with TBP and to repress transcription was mapped to the carboxy-terminal domain which contains two HMG boxes. Our results support the model that DSP1 represses activated transcription by interfering with the binding of TFIIA, a general transcription factor implicated in activated transcription pathways.
Design of Machine Learning Algorithms for Behavioral Prediction of Objects for Self-Driving Cars

Self-driving cars is a trending topic of modern world. Ability to control a vehicle without human interaction can significantly increase the safety on the road. In this research project, the main focus is on making the behavior of self-driving cars more like it was driven by a human driver in situations when pedestrians or animals are close by. While self-driving cars are equipped with cameras they can record and process the situations on the road and respond accordingly. It can be accomplished by image processing techniques, differentiation of objects, if they are alive or not, if they are moving or not, whether they are human or not and even from determination of pedestrian’s age. Analysis of such data shall provide a prediction of an object behavior. The algorithm that is being developed shall give a car increased safety for pedestrians and animals that may potentially appear in vehicle’s path. Computer vision library OpenCV, image processing, machine learning techniques and neural networks will be combined and used to build this algorithm. This paper presents the current progress of this research project to design machine learning algorithms for behavioral prediction of objects for self-driving cars.
US Tax Law Contributes to #MeToo

This Austaxpolicy post examines the Congressional response to #Me Too, which was to disallow tax deductions for sexual harassment settlements subject to non-disclosure agreements.
Sleep and asthma management in youth with poorly-controlled asthma and their caregivers: a qualitative approach.

ObjectiveYouth with poorly-controlled asthma are at increased risk for sleep disturbances caused by nocturnal symptoms like coughing. Asthma-related sleep disturbances can have downstream consequen...
A granular perspective on inclusion: Objectively measured interactions of preschoolers with and without autism.

Children's preschool experiences have consequences for development. However, it is not clear how children's real-time interactions with peers affect their language development; nor is it clear whether these processes differ between children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and two other groups of children, those with general developmental delays (DD) and typically developing (TD) children. We used objective measures of movement and vocalizations to quantify children's real-time dyadic vocal interactions and quantify classroom social networks. Participants included 56 preschoolers (22 female; M = 50.14 months) in five inclusive classrooms for children with ASD or DD and their TD peers. Each class was observed monthly on two to five occasions. Overall, children vocalized more to peers who had vocalized more to them in the previous observation. These dyadic vocalization patterns were associated with group differences in social network analyses. Modularity, the cohesiveness of group ties, was lower among children with ASD than it was among TD children or children with DD. Individually, children with ASD exhibited lower total levels of vocalizations with peers (lower degree centrality) than TD children and children with DD. In an exploratory analysis with a subset of the participants, children's degree centrality was strongly associated with their end-of-year assessed language abilities, even when accounting for mean differences between groups. Findings highlight the impact peers and social networks play in real-time language use and in the developing language abilities of children with ASD in inclusion classrooms. LAY SUMMARY: This study objectively measured associations between children's peer vocal interactions and assessed language abilities in inclusion classrooms for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their peers. All children benefited from peers talking to them, but children with ASD were less central to classroom speech networks than were typically developing children. Children's centrality to social speech networks, regardless of ASD status, was associated with assessed language abilities.
Ecogeographic variation and taxonomic boundaries in Large Treeshrews (Scandentia, Tupaiidae: Tupaia tana Raffles, 1821) from Southeast Asia

The Large Treeshrew, Tupaia tana Raffles, 1821, is a small mammal (∼205 g) from Southeast Asia with a complicated taxonomic history. Currently, 15 subspecies are recognized from Borneo, Sumatra, and smaller islands, and many were originally differentiated based on minor pelage differences and small sample sizes. We explored intraspecific variation in T. tana using quantitative osteological data obtained from the hands and skulls of museum specimens. Multivariate analyses reveal extensive overlap among T. tana populations in morphospace, indicating that the majority of currently recognized subspecies are not morphometrically distinct. In contrast, the separation between Bornean and Sumatran populations of T. tana is sufficient to recognize them as different subspecies. Comparisons of Bornean specimens to those on small, offshore islands reveal that the latter average smaller body size. This pattern is inconsistent with Foster's island rule, which predicts that island populations of small mammals (< 5 kg) will average larger body size relative to mainland forms. A similar lack of support for ecogeographic rules has been noted in T. glis (Diard, 1820), suggesting that these “rules” are poor predictors of geographic variation in treeshrews.
The eternal debate about eternal inflation

The idea that the universe is continually inflating isn't confirmed and there are still some misconceptions about it, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
Reducing conditions, reactive metals, and their interactions can explain spatial patterns of surface soil carbon in a humid tropical forest

Humid tropical forests support large stocks of surface soil carbon (C) that exhibit high spatial variability over scales of meters to landscapes (km). Reactive minerals and organo-metal complexes are known to contribute to C accumulation in these ecosystems, although potential interactions with environmental factors such as oxygen (O2) availability have received much less attention. Reducing conditions can potentially contribute to C accumulation, yet anaerobic metabolic processes such as iron (Fe) reduction can also drive substantial C losses. We tested whether these factors could explain variation in soil C (0–10 and 10–20 cm depths) over multiple spatial scales in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, using reduced iron (Fe(II)) concentrations as an index of reducing conditions across sites differing in vegetation, topographic position, and/or climate. Fine root biomass and Fe(II) were the best overall correlates of site (n = 6) mean C concentrations and stocks from 0 to 20 cm depth (r = 0.99 and 0.98, respectively). Litterfall decreased as reducing conditions, total and dead fine root biomass, and soil C increased among sites, suggesting that decomposition rates rather than C inputs regulated soil C content at the landscape scale. Strong relationships between Fe(II) and dead fine root biomass suggest that reducing conditions suppressed particulate organic matter decomposition. The optimal mixed-effects regression model for individual soil samples (n = 149) showed that aluminum (Al) and Fe in citrate/ascorbate and oxalate extractions, Fe(II), fine root biomass, and interactions between Fe(II) and Al explained most of the variation in C concentrations (pseudo R2 = 0.82). The optimal model of C stocks was similar but did not include fine root biomass (pseudo R2 = 0.62). In these models, soil C concentrations and stocks increased with citrate/ascorbate-extractable Al and oxalate-extractable Fe. However, soil C decreased with citrate/ascorbate-extractable Fe, an index of Fe susceptible to anaerobic microbial reduction. At the site scale (n = 6), ratios of citrate/ascorbate to oxalate-extractable Fe consistently decreased across a landscape O2 gradient as C increased. We suggest that the impact of reducing conditions on organic matter decomposition and the presence of organo-metal complexes and C sorption by short-range order Fe and Al contribute to C accumulation, whereas the availability of an Fe pool to sustain anaerobic respiration in soil microsites partially attenuates soil C accumulation in these ecosystems.
Cardiac transplantation in the United States of America

Cardiac transplantation in the United States began with the experimental work by Shumway and Lower at Stanford and culminated in the performance of clinical heart transplantation at Stanford beginning in 1968 and continuing to the present. The numbers of centers in the United States have increased significantly since the general use of cyclosporin therapy began in 1984. The number of centers have increased from 35 in 1984 to over 150 in 1990. With this increase has come a decreasing number of donor hearts available per center and the number of transplants has leveled out at about 1700 per year. The number of donors has not increased substantially in the last several years as well.