cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification, Cloning, and Initial Characterization of rot, a Locus Encoding a Regulator of Virulence Factor Expression in Staphylococcus aureus

A chromosomal insertion of transposon Tn917 partially restores the expression of protease and alpha-toxin activities to PM466, a genetically defined agr-null derivative of the wild-type Staphylococcus aureus strain RN6390. In co-transduction experiments, transposon-encoded erythromycin resistance and a protease- and alpha-toxin-positive phenotype are transferred at high frequency from mutant strains to agr-null strains of S. aureus. Southern analysis of chromosomal DNA and sequence analysis of DNA flanking the Tn917 insertion site in mutant strains revealed that the transposon interrupted a 498-bp open reading frame (ORF). Similarity searches using a conceptual translation of the ORF identified a region of homology to the known staphylococcal global regulators AgrA and SarA. To verify that the mutant allele conferred the observed phenotype, a wild-type allele of the mutant gene was introduced into the genome of a mutant strain by homologous recombination. The resulting isolates had a restored agr-null phenotype. Virulence factor gene expression in mutant, restored mutant, and wild-type strains was quantified by measuring alpha-toxin activity in culture supernatant fluids and by Northern analysis of the alpha-toxin transcript. We named this ORF rot (for repressor of toxins) (GenBank accession no. AF189239) because of the activity associated with rot::Tn917 mutant strains.
The Internship Imbalance in Professional Psychology: Current Status and Future Prospects

The internship is an essential part of doctoral training in professional psychology. Most students access internships through the annual match sponsored by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC). For two decades the match has seen an increasing shortfall of internship positions relative to applicants, exceeding 650 unmatched clinical students as of 2013. Efforts to solve this problem have not met appreciable success. This review discusses the structure of the internship placement process, including and beyond the APPIC match, and identifies the reasons for the failed efforts, which lie principally in the varied standards for an acceptable internship among doctoral programs. Efforts to establish a common standard and the need for a governance structure to enforce whatever standard is agreed upon are discussed. Projections for the future of the placement process and the imbalance are sketched, and links to other issues in the field are briefly reviewed.
TRPV4 Agonist GSK1016790A Regulates Respiration through Indirect Activation of Bronchopulmonary Sensory Neurons

Transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 4 (TRPV4) is a calcium-permeable non-selective cation channel that has recently been implicated in numerous physiological functions. In this study, w...
Expository paper: Foundations of system theory: Decomposable systems

The algebraic language of category theory is the setting for a theory of reachability, observability and realization for a new class of systems, the decomposable systems, which generalize linear systems and group machines. Linearity is shown to play no role in the core results of Kalman's theory of linear systems. Moreover, we provide a new duality theory. The category-theoretic tools of powers, copowers and image factorization provide the foundations for this study. Even though the results are more general, the proofs are simpler than those of the classical linear theory, once the basic category theory, presented here as a self-contained exposition, has been mastered.
Two-Pronged Jet Formation Caused by Droplet Impact on Anisotropic Superhydrophobic Surfaces

When a liquid droplet impacts a superhydrophobic surface with anisotropic surface patterning in the form of alternating ribs and cavities, the rebounding droplet may exhibit a unique two-pronged jet emission. Droplet impact experiments with 11 different fluids of viscosity that varied by more than three orders of magnitude were conducted, and this paper quantifies the Capillary number, Ca, and Ohnesorge number, Oh, ranges over which the two-pronged phenomenon occurs. For Oh > 0.0154, the behavior was never observed, while at lower values of Oh, the behavior occurs for an intermediate range of Ca that depends on Oh.
A Shape-Controlled Compliant Microarchitectured Material

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a new kind of actively controlled microarchitecture that can alter its bulk shape through the deformation of compliant elements. This new type of microarchitecture achieves its reconfigurable shape capabilities through a new control strategy that utilizes linearity and closed-form analytical tools to rapidly calculate the optimal internal actuation effort necessary to achieve a desired bulk surface profile. The microarchitectures of this paper are best suited for high-precision applications that would benefit from materials that can be programmed to rapidly alter their surfaces/shape relatively small amounts in a controlled manner. Examples include distortion-correcting surfaces on which precision optics are mounted, airplane wings that deform to increase maneuverability and fuel efficiency, and surfaces that rapidly reconfigure to alter their texture. In this paper, the principles are provided for optimally designing 2D or 3D versions of the new kind of microarchitecture such that they exhibit desired material property directionality. The mathematical theory is provided for modeling and calculating the actuation effort necessary to drive these microarchitectures such that their lattice shape comes closest to achieving a desired profile. Case studies are provided to demonstrate this theory.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Poly(carbonate–amide)s Derived from Bio-Based Resources: Poly(ferulic acid-co-tyrosine)

Ferulic acid (FA), a bio-based resource found in fruits and vegetables, was coupled with a hydroxyl-amino acid to generate a new class of monomers to afford poly(carbonate–amide)s with potential to degrade into natural products. l-Serine was first selected as the hydroxyl-amino partner for FA, from which the activated p-nitrophenyl carbonate monomer was synthesized. Unfortunately, polymerizations were unsuccessful, and the elimination product was systematically obtained. To avoid elimination, we revised our strategy and used l-tyrosine ethyl ester, which lacks an acidic proton on the α position of the ethyl ester. Four new monomers were synthesized and converted into the corresponding poly(carbonate–amide)s with specific regioselectivities. The polymers were fully characterized through thermal and spectroscopic analyses. Preliminary fluorescent studies revealed interesting photophysical properties for the monomers and their corresponding poly(carbonate–amide)s, beyond the fluorescence characteristics of l...
Primary influenzal pneumonia.

Pneumonia is more likely to complicate influenza in the elderly and those with chronic disease but can strike the previously healthy younger person as well. Age and previous state of health also strongly influence prognosis. Appropriate therapy depends on careful initial assessment of the pneumonia and includes antibiotic treatment as well as intensive respiratory care for patients manifesting acute respiratory failure.
MMP-7,MMP-10 and TIMP-4 expression in ventricular remodeling of human heart failure

AIM:To sieve matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and the tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (TIMPs) closely associated with ventricular remodeling of human heart failure using antibody chip technology. METHODS:We performed cytokine-specific antibody array analysis using individual left ventricular myocardial samples from 6 patients with heart failure due to arrythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) undergoing transplantation and matched samples from 6 non-failing subjects to screen differentially expressed MMPs and TIMPs associated with the ventricular remodeling of heart failure. The results were further validated by ELISA and immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS:We identified high expression of MMP-7 and MMP-10 and low expression of TIMP-4 in ARVC failing hearts compared to non-failing hearts by hybridization with the cytokine-specific antibody arrays containing 17 MMPs and 4 TIMPs on the chips. ELISA and immunohistochemical analyses further confirmed that differentially expressed levels of MMP-7,MMP-10,and TIMP-4 were observed not only in ARVC failing heart,but also in failing hearts due to ischemic (ICM) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). CONCLUSION:Highly expressed MMP-7 and MMP-10 and lowly expressed TIMP-4 may be involved in the ventricular remodeling of heart failure derived from cardiomyopathy of different etiology.
Sulphur greases the wheels

To predict where deposits of oil and natural gas can be found, and to exploit these resources, it would be very useful to know what are the fundamental chemical reactions that generate petroleum. A new study gives clues about these reactions, and the authors propose that organically derived sulphur species are pivotal in regulating the rate at which petroleum is generated.
Game Theoretic Modeling and Computational Analysis of N-Player Conflicts over Resources

This paper considers the problem of n-player conflict modeling, arising due to competition over resources. Each player represents a distinct group of people and has some resource and power. A player may either attack other players(i.e., groups) to obtain their resources or do nothing. We present a game-theoretical model for interaction between the players, and show that key questions of interest to policy makers can be answered efficiently, i.e., in polynomial time in the number of players. They are: (1) Given the resources and the power of each group, is no-war a stable situation? and (2) Assuming there are some conflicts already in the society, is there a danger of other groups not involved in the conflict joining the conflict and further degrading the current situation? We show that the pure strategy Nash equilibrium is not an appropriate solution concept for our problem and introduce a refinement of then ash equilibrium called the asymmetric equilibrium. We also provide an algorithm (that is exponential in the number of players) to compute all the asymmetric equilibria and propose heuristics to improve the performance of the algorithm.
Comments on Halat L., Galway M.E., Gitto S. & Garbary D.J. 2015. Epidermal shedding in Ascophyllum nodosum (Phaeophyceae): seasonality, productivity and relationship to harvesting. Phycologia 54(6): 599–608.

Halat et al. (2015. Phycologia 54: 599–608) presented data collected on the epidermal shedding of the intertidal alga Ascophyllum nodosum (Phaeophyceae, Fucaceae) in Nova Scotia, Canada. An analysi...
Nipple‑sparing mastectomies: Clinical outcomes from a single academic institution

Nipple-sparing mastectomies (NSMs) are increasingly used in the surgical treatment of patients with breast cancer and for prevention of breast cancer. The present study was performed to review the outcomes of patients undergoing NSMs at a single large university setting. A retrospective chart review was performed on all patients undergoing NSMs from 2008-2014. Charts were reviewed for demographic data and patient characteristics. Tumor and breast size, cancer recurrence and complications were also evaluated. Descriptive statistics were utilized to summarize the findings. From 2008-2014, 110 patients underwent 197 NSMs. The mean patient age was 44.4 years (range, 20-77). The average body mass index was 24 (range, 18-47). Breast weight was available for 106 specimens, with a mean weight of 475.5 g (range, 124.1-1,625.0 g). Seventy-three NSMs were performed for cancer and 124 were performed prophylactically. The mean tumor width was 1.38 cm (range, 0-6.0 cm), with an average nipple to tumor distance of 5.87 cm (range, 2.93-10.0 cm). Three (4%) patients required removal of the nipple areolar complex (NAC) due to pathological extension of the tumor. A total of 34 (17.2%) complications occurred, including infections, hematomas and nipple necrosis, with 9 requiring removal of the NAC and 13 requiring removal of the tissue expander or implant. Smokers had a 36.0% (9/25) complication rate, compared with 14.5% (25/172) of nonsmokers (P<0.05). During follow-up, one recurrence was noted, located on the chest wall. There were no recurrences in the NAC group. Therefore, NSMs may safely be performed without compromising oncologic outcomes or increasing complication rates in properly selected patients.
Intervention Effects on Stage of Change Membership and Transitions among Adolescent Energy Balance Behaviors.

ABSTRACTThe transition from childhood to adolescence is a crucial period for the development of healthy behaviors to be sustained later in life. With obesity a leading public health problem, the promotion of healthy behaviors has the potential to make a huge impact. The current study evaluated Stage of Change progression in a large (N = 4158) computer-delivered, Transtheoretical Model-tailored intervention focusing on physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption (FV). Markov models were used to explore stage transitions and patterns of discrete change from sixth to ninth grade. Nested model comparisons examined the consistency of these patterns across time and intervention condition. Major findings supported models in which participants were free to transition forward and backward to any of the stages, but higher probabilities were observed for remaining in the same stage or for transitioning one or two stages forward. Participants in the intervention group had higher probabilities of transitioni...
Benign positional vertigo and endolymphatic hydrops: what is the connection?

Background Although benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and endolymphatic hydrops are considered to be distinct diagnoses, a minority of vertiginous patients exhibit features of both conditions. This coincidence has been reported previously in the literature, and is reviewed here in terms of possible aetiology. Results and conclusion A new hypothesis to account for both conditions is offered, implicating free-floating degenerating debris from the otolithic apparatus. It is postulated that the gelatinous/proteinaceous component may account for an osmotically induced hydrops, while the calcified fragments may induce positional vertigo.
Introduction: Symposium on Toward a Feminist Theory of the State, Twenty-Five Years Later

This paper introduces the peer-reviewed “Symposium on Toward a Feminist Theory of the State, Twenty-Five Years Later.” In these essays in honor of the work of Catharine MacKinnon, edited by Lori Watson, the authors attend primarily to MacKinnon’s book, critically reflecting on it and connecting it with recent scholarship. This symposium is in part the outcome of the set of papers emerging from the Book Symposium at the Pacific Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association, held Saturday, April 4, 2015: “Catharine MacKinnon, Toward a Feminist Theory of the State: 25 Years Later.”
Immunohistochemical Detection of β-Galactosidase or Green Fluorescent Protein on Tissue Sections

With the recent advances in mouse genetics, it is now possible to mark specific cell types genetically in vivo and to study the fate of cells during development and adulthood. Cells are labeled and followed in vivo through the stable expression of reporter genes in particular cell types. The two most commonly used reporter genes are LacZ, which encodes the enzyme beta-galactosidase (beta-gal), and green fluorescent protein (GFP). beta-Gal expression can be detected enzymatically, using 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside (X-gal) as a substrate, and GFP can be directly visualized by fluorescence microscopy. However, with single detection of beta-gal or GFP, it is often impossible to determine whether expression of the reporter protein is restricted to a particular cell type. To ascertain the identity of individual cells within a multicellular tissue, beta-gal or GFP proteins must be visualized in conjunction with additional cellular markers. For such experiments, specific antibodies raised against beta-gal or GFP can be used in coimmunofluorescence analyses. Such double-staining analyses on tissue sections are a powerful tool to study transgene expression or to trace cells in multicellular tissues.
Cardiovascular care of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) on tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy

Cardiovascular (CV) health has emerged as an important consideration in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) because of improved prognosis. Indeed, the success of BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has increased the focus on survivorship and late toxicity in oncological care. Survivorship issues in this population include CV disease prevention, given its prevalence in the general population. The introduction of BCR-ABL1 TKIs represented a unique concept of indefinite cancer therapy, only recently evolving to include "treatment-free remission." Importantly, later-generation BCR-ABL1 TKIs have been associated with CV complications. Dasatinib has been associated with pleural/pericardial effusions and pulmonary hypertension, whereas nilotinib and ponatinib have been linked to the development of vascular occlusive events. There is currently a dearth of data with respect to the mechanisms of drug toxicities, the subsets of patients at risk, and prevention and treatment strategies to mitigate CV complications in patients with CML. Nevertheless, optimal patient CV risk assessment needs to become a more central tenet of patient care in CML. We propose several practical considerations for the practicing oncologist relative to the CV health of patients with CML, especially those on chronic TKI therapy.
Local adaptation of tree lizards to canyon dwelling

How and under what situations populations adapt to local conditions remains a key question in evolutionary biology. This study tests if the particular morphology of a population of Tree lizards, Urosaurus ornatus, located in a canyon on the margin of the species range represents an adaptation to canyon habitat. Morphology was compared across 40 populations showing that relative hind limb length, tail length, and mass were all outliers for this population. The function of the relatively longer hind limbs, tail, and lower mass was proposed to be for better sprinting ability on the sheer canyon walls that provide the only available habitat structure for this population. Partial least squares regression found significant effects of tail length on top speed on a broad, steep surface. Partial least squares logistic regression identified significant effects of tail length on survival as well in males but not females of this population. Another canyon population of Tree lizards with access to alternative substrates (trees) showed no evidence of selection on the same morphological features. Ancestral state reconstruction using a phylogeny inferred for 21 populations found that the unique morphology of the focal population was evolutionarily derived compared to closely related populations and so likely arose under the present environmental conditions. Population genetic structure also supported the process of adaptive divergence as there was no evidence for migration and/or a recent genetic bottleneck in the focal population. Lizards in this population appear to have responded to selection allowing them to become specialists for running on canyon walls while other canyon populations with access to a greater variety of habitat structure have not.
Hochberg on the Logic of “Extrinsic Epistemic Preferability”

As it has been seen, efforts at evolving viable calculie of preference have been pursued mainly from two distinct directions. One seeks to formalize within a modal logic the intension of preferential expressions, considered in terms of object having intrinsic value. The other proceeds by taking preference in an extrinsic sense, and then axiomatizing preference-principles. However, beyond a few elementary relationships of preferring, e.g., (pPq) → −(qPp), (pPq & qPr) → pPr, etc., there is virtually no general consensus within any one of these two traditions of analysis as to what counts as a “genuine” preference-principle.
A Conceptual Model for Emergency Department Patient Experience

Emergency department (ED) patient experience continues to be a growing area of focus for ED physicians, administrators, and regulatory agencies. Recent literature has suggested a strong correlation between positive ratings of patient experience and important health system goals, including improved clinical outcomes and care quality, increased staff satisfaction, and reduced medicolegal risk. However, given the myriad of factors driving ED patient experience, identifying effective and synergistic interventions can present a challenge, especially in the setting of limited ED resources. Utilizing the themes identified in a recent systematic review of the ED patient experience literature, we developed a conceptual "logic model" of ED patient experience in order to provide a broadly applicable framework for practical intervention and to guide further study of ED patient experience interventions. The logic model was modified in an iterative fashion through review by local patient and staff groups as well as a national interest group until arriving at the current, comprehensive version. Here, we describe the creation of the logic model and, with the aim of providing a framework for readers to develop similar models for their practice settings, provide a case discussion of its use by an ED medical director.
Geography, geopolitics, and policy in the performance of transition economies

The economic performance of the transition economies as of 2015 is well explained by three variables: (1) years of membership in the EU; (2) physical distance from the heart of the EU economy, taken to be Dusseldorf; and (3) annual revenues from oil and gas production, reflecting natural resource deposits. These three factors account for around 86 percent of the variation in per capita income across the 28 transition economies, and reflect the interplay of domestic policy, geopolitics, geography and natural resources.
Trends in the Motherhood Wage Penalty and Fatherhood Wage Premium for Low, Middle, and High Earners

Many studies have shown that women pay a wage penalty for motherhood, whereas men earn a wage premium for fatherhood. A few recent studies have used quantile regression to explore differences in the penalties across the wage distribution. The current study builds on this research and explores trends in the parenthood penalties and premiums from 1980 to 2014 for those at the bottom, middle, and top of the wage distribution. Analyses of data from the Current Population Survey show that the motherhood wage penalty decreased, whereas the fatherhood wage premium increased. Unconditional quantile regression models reveal that low-, middle-, and high-earning women paid similar motherhood wage penalties in the 1980s. The motherhood wage penalty began to decrease in the 1990s, but more so for high-earning women than for low-earning women. By the early 2010s, the motherhood wage penalty for high-earning women was eliminated, whereas low-earning women continued to pay a penalty. The fatherhood wage premium began to increase in the late 1990s, although again, more so for high-earning men than for low-earning men. By the early 2010s, high-earning men received a much larger fatherhood wage premium than low- or middle-earning men.
Change as the Loss and Reinvention of Control

This paper links planned and emergent theories of change to examine how organizations can foster a system of continuous improvement. While most studies treat planned and emergent change as dichotom...
Clinical Assessment of Metal Artifact Reduction Methods in Dual-Energy CT Examinations of Instrumented Spines

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of three metal artifact reduction methods in dual-energy CT (DECT) examinations of instrumented spines. MATERIALS AND METHODS. T...
Hydromagmatic Processes and Platinum-Group Element Deposits in Layered Intrusions

The role of hydrothermal fluids during the crystallization of layered intrusions and the ore deposits they contain has long been debated. This book summarizes the evidence for fluid-crystal-liquid (hydromagmatic) interactions and their importance for the understanding of the formation of platinum-group deposits in layered intrusions. It discusses the composition of igneous fluids in mafic magmatic systems, the generation and movement of these fluids in layered intrusions, their impact in altering the mineralogy and composition of the originally precipitated assemblages, and their role in the transport of the platinum-group elements (PGE). Using examples from the Bushveld complex of South Africa and other intrusions, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the hydromagmatic model for the origin of various features of layered intrusions. It is a useful reference for academic researchers and professional geologists working on economic mineral exploration, layered igneous intrusions, and hydrothermal metallogenesis.
Scalable, Secure and Broad-Spectrum Enforcement of Contracts, Without Blockchains.

This paper introduces a scalable and secure contract-enforcement mechanism, called Cop, which can be applied to a broad range of multi-agent systems including small and large systems, time-critical systems, and systems-of-systems. Cop enforces contracts (or protocols) via the existing Law- Governed Interaction (LGI) mechanism, coupled with a new protective layer that significantly enhances the dependability and security of such enforcement. Cop is arguably superior to the currently popular blockchain-based smart-contract mechanisms, due to its scalability, interoperability, and the breadth of the spectrum of its domain of applications.
Bupivacaine-induced Cardiac Arrhythmias and Plasma Cation Concentrations in Normokalemic Cats

Hyperkalemia has been proposed to explain cardiac disturbances from high blood concentrations of bupivacaine following intravascular injection. Arterial plasma potassium and sodium concentrations were determined in 44 ventilated cats given intravenously twice the convulsant dose of lidocaine (58.3 mg/kg) or bupivacaine (10.1 mg/kg). The 19 cats given lidocaine maintained sinus rhythm throughout the infusion and postinfusion periods, whereas 23 of 25 cats given bupivacaine at equiconvulsant rates developed ventricular arrhythmias before the onset of convulsions. The arterial plasma sodium concentration remained unchanged at 146 mEq/L with either lidocaine or bupivacaine. The arterial plasma potassium level, conversely, was significantly lower by 7 percent than the control (3.3 mEq/L) at the onset of arrhythmias in the bupivacaine group and following convulsions (both groups), returning towards control levels (3.0-3.5 mEq/L) in 5 to 30 minutes. However, plasma potassium concentrations did not differ significantly between lidocaine- and bupivacaine-treated cats. As bupivacaine intravenously administered induces arrhythmias even in normokalemic cats, hyperkalemia is not a necessary factor, though it may be a contributing one.
Globally Harmonized Carbon Storage Data using a Simple Decision Tree Approach

This paper presents methods and results that combine multiple carbon storage (or above-ground biomass) datasets using a simple decision tree approach. The data are converted to similar units and reprojected to a 30 arcsecond grid before application of the decision tree. The benefits of this dataset are that it combines the positive attributes of the multiple input datasets in order to have global, high-resolution extent while utilizing the best statistical methods where possible. Visual inspection shows very different spatial configurations of carbon storage between the results and the input data, suggesting that combination of methods can improve estimates. The summation of the decision tree result was 336.55 petagrams while the summation of a dataset based on the IPCC Tier 1 method was 502.38 petagrams (49.27% higher than the results from the decision tree).
Study on the ampacity of single-core submarine power cable with return conductor

In order to analyze the effect of internal Cu return conductor on ampacity, this paper establish three types of single core submarine power cable and calculate losses and thermal resistances. Results show that the internal return conductor can effectively reduce the cable loss, thereby increase the cable current carrying capacity. Cable with separated return conductor shows highest ampcity. When section area of return conductor increases, ampacity of cable improves correspondingly.
Predicting sedimentary bedrock subsurface weathering fronts and weathering rates.

Although bedrock weathering strongly influences water quality and global carbon and nitrogen budgets, the weathering depths and rates within subsurface are not well understood nor predictable. Determination of both porewater chemistry and subsurface water flow are needed in order to develop more complete understanding and obtain weathering rates. In a long-term field study, we applied a multiphase approach along a mountainous watershed hillslope transect underlain by marine shale. Here we report three findings. First, the deepest extent of the water table determines the weathering front, and the range of annually water table oscillations determines the thickness of the weathering zone. Below the lowest water table, permanently water-saturated bedrock remains reducing, preventing deeper pyrite oxidation. Secondly, carbonate minerals and potentially rock organic matter share the same weathering front depth with pyrite, contrary to models where weathering fronts are stratified. Thirdly, the measurements-based weathering rates from subsurface shale are high, amounting to base cation exports of about 70 kmolc ha-1 y-1, yet consistent with weathering of marine shale. Finally, by integrating geochemical and hydrological data we present a new conceptual model that can be applied in other settings to predict weathering and water quality responses to climate change.
Resting-State fMRI: Preclinical Foundations

This chapter introduces a neuroimaging approach that has become popular among scientists over the last decade and that now is starting to attain clinical uses. The technique is called resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC), and it typically utilizes functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans collected from subjects at rest (i.e., doing nothing) in the scanner. This chapter covers how the data are collected, processed, and turned into measures of brain organization. Some preliminary clinical uses of RSFC are presented. The priority of the chapter is not to broadly survey the field but instead to help readers better understand and more critically assess studies using RSFC techniques.
Correlates of school gun carrying among black, hispanic, and white male adolescents: Evidence from a nationally representative sample of youth.

Abstract Previous studies have found that individual, environmental, geographic, and demographic factors correlate with adolescent gun carrying. Comparatively less research has focused on identifying correlates of adolescent gun carrying to schools. The current study examined whether previously identified factors associated with adolescent gun carrying similarly predict adolescent school gun carrying. Logistic regression models were used to predict risk of school gun carrying among a nationally representative sample of adolescent males (n = 4559). Results revealed that a range of individual- and environmental-level factors increased the odds of school gun carrying, including a 13% increased likelihood of carrying a gun to school among individuals with more symptoms of anxiety and depression. Additionally, analyses indicated that several individual- and environmental-level factors differentially increase the likelihood of school gun carrying across race and ethnicity. Policies aimed at reducing gun carrying in schools should address both the known correlates of adolescent school gun carrying broadly and the specific correlates of gun carrying as they vary across particular groups of youth. Future research should attempt to replicate these and other studies findings across diverse samples of adolescents and identify other potential correlates of adolescent school gun carrying not previously addressed. Public significance statement Mental health, school-level, and geographic factors are associated with school gun carrying differentially across race and ethnicity. Programming efforts may benefit from considering the influence of race/ethnicity on dynamic risk factors for school gun carrying when designing and implementing school safety measures.
4'-Fluorouridine is a broad-spectrum orally efficacious antiviral blocking respiratory syncytial virus and SARS-CoV-2 replication

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical need for broad-spectrum therapeutics against respiratory viruses. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major threat to pediatric patients and the elderly. We describe 4-fluorouridine (4-FlU, EIDD-2749), a ribonucleoside analog that inhibits RSV, related RNA viruses, and SARS-CoV-2 with high selectivity index in cells and well-differentiated human airway epithelia. Polymerase inhibition in in vitro RdRP assays established for RSV and SARS-CoV-2 revealed transcriptional pauses at positions i or i+3/4 post-incorporation. Once-daily oral treatment was highly efficacious at 5 mg/kg in RSV-infected mice or 20 mg/kg in ferrets infected with SARS-CoV-2 WA1/2020 or variant-of-concern (VoC) isolate CA/2020, initiated 24 or 12 hours after infection, respectively. These properties define 4-FlU as a broad-spectrum candidate for the treatment of RSV, SARS-CoV-2 and related RNA virus infections. One-Sentence Summary4-Fluorouridine is an orally available ribonucleoside analog that efficiently treats RSV and SARS-CoV-2 infections in vivo.
Data-driven test selection at scale

Large-scale services depend on Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) processes to maintain their agility and code-quality. Change-based testing plays an important role in finding bugs, but testing after every change is prohibitively expensive at a scale where thousands of changes are committed every hour. Test selection models deal with this issue by running a subset of tests for every change. In this paper, we present a generic, language-agnostic and lightweight statistical model for test selection. Unlike existing techniques, the proposed model does not require complex feature extraction techniques. Consequently, it scales to hundreds of repositories of varying characteristics while capturing more than 99% of buggy pull requests. Additionally, to better evaluate test selection models, we propose application-specific metrics that capture both a reduction in resource cost and a reduction in pull-request turn-around time. By evaluating our model on 22 large repositories at Microsoft, we find that we can save 15%−30% of compute time while reporting back more than ≈99% of buggy pull requests.
Non-Market Equivalence between Production Rights in France

Publisher Summary The generalization of production rights in French regulations encourages the departmental commissions to take into account all the production rights held by farmers in order to gauge the economic potential of holdings. The commissions can acquire a comprehensive view of the production potential of holdings before redistributing rights from the reserve and can control land attributions depending on enterprise based equivalence criteria and prior set limits. However, direct competition among producers for the available rights, largely related to the economic rent generated by holding an entitlement, makes the choice of scale an extremely intricate business. The choice of criterion for assessing equivalent income and the chosen enterprises may favor certain producers to the detriment of others. Many disparities arise between producers. Moreover, using a standard scale based on the assessment of income by enterprise requires constant adaptation, as economic conditions and the size of the aid payments change constantly.
Tomographic Imaging Devices

Conventional gamma cameras and rectilinear scanners provide two-dimensional planar images of three-dimensional objects. Structural information in the third dimension, depth, is obscured by superimposition of all data along this direction. Although imaging of the object in different projections (posterior, anterior, lateral, and oblique) can give some information about the depth of a structure, precise assessment of the depth of a structure in an object is made by tomographic scanners. The prime objectives of these scanners are to display the images of the activity distribution in different sections of the object at different depths.
Tractable Structures for Constraint Satisfaction Problems

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on structure-driven constraint processing algorithms. It discusses that search in constraint satisfaction takes the form of depth-first backtracking, while inference is performed by variable-elimination and tree-clustering algorithms, or by bounded local consistency enforcing. Compared to human problem solving techniques, conditioning is analogous to guessing, or reasoning by assumption. On the other hand, inference corresponds to reinterpreting or making deduction from the problem at hand. Inference-based algorithms derive and record new information, generating equivalent problem representations that facilitate an easier solution. The chapter also reviews that inference algorithms shows their performance is controlled by graph parameters such as tree-width, induced-width and hypertree width. The chapter also discusses that hybrids of search and inference can be controlled by graph-based parameters such as cycle-cutset, and w-cutset and separator-size. It presents the notion of AND/OR search spaces for exploiting independencies displayed in the constraint graph during search, which, similar to inference, leads to graph-based performance bounds using parameters such as the depth of the pseudo-tree, path-width and tree-width.
Dietary supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in patients with stable coronary heart disease: Effects on indices of platelet and neutrophil function and exercise performance

Abstract It has been suggested that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may alter the course of coronary artery disease by influencing platelet and neutrophil function, arachidonic acid metabolism, and circulating lipid concentrations. To examine this hypothesis, placebo or omega-3 PUFAs as Max-EPA (equivalent to 3.2 g of eicosapentaenoic acid and 2.2 g of docosahexaenoic acid daily) was administered to eight patients with stable coronary artery disease and positive exercise stress test results in a randomized, double-blind, crossover fashion over a 12-week period. With Max-EPA administration, platelet aggregation threshold to epinephrine was increased in only two patients, but neutrophil aggregation and chemotaxic functions decreased consistently (both p 2 concentrations decreased 40 percent and 28 percent, respectively (both p ≤0.05). Neutrophil leukotriene B 4 formation decreased 23 percent (p ≤0.01) and synthesis of leukotriene B 5 became apparent in all subjects. Serum triglyceride concentrations fell 52 percent (p
The evolution of parasite-defence grooming in ungulates

Grooming repertoires are exhibited by all terrestrial mammals, and removal of ectoparasites is an important ances- tral and current function. Parasite-defence grooming is regulated both by a central control mechanism (programmed grooming model) and by cutaneous stimulation from bites (stimulus-driven model). To study the evolution of para- site-defence grooming in ungulates, we compared species-typical grooming behaviour with host morphology and hab- itat to test predictions of the programmed grooming model while taking into account phylogenetic relatedness. We observed grooming in 60 ungulate species at ectoparasite-free zoological parks in which the confound of differential tick exposure was controlled for and stimulus-driven grooming was ruled out. Concentrated-changes tests indicated that sexually dimorphic grooming (in which breeding males groom less than females) has coevolved with sexual body size dimorphism, suggesting that intrasexual selection has favoured reduced grooming that enhances vigilance of males for oestrous females and rival males. Concentrated-changes tests also revealed that the evolution of complex oral grooming (involving alternate use of both teeth and tongue) and adult allogrooming (whereby conspecifics oral groom body regions not accessible by self grooming) was concentrated in lineages inhabiting closed woodland or for- est habitat associated with increased tick exposure, with such advanced grooming being most concentrated in Cervidae. Regression analyses of independent contrasts indicated that both host body size and habitat play a role in the evolution of species-typical oral grooming rates, as previously reported. These results indicate that the observed grooming represents centrally driven grooming patterns favoured by natural selection in each lineage. This is the first phylogenetically controlled comparative study to report the evolution of parasite-defence grooming behaviours in response to selection pressures predicted by the programmed grooming hypothesis. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 81, 17-37. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: body size - habitat - parasites - programmed grooming - sexual size dimorphism - ticks - vigilance.
A detailed study of plastic scintillating strips with axial wavelength shifting fiber and VLPC readout

The upgrade of the D/spl phi/ detector at Fermilab is scheduled to run in 1999. One component of the upgrade is a cylindrically shaped preshower detector, placed on the outside of a solenoidal magnet that will surround the tracking volume. The technology for this detector will be plastic scintillating strips, with axial wavelength shifting (WLS) fiber and Visible Light Photon Counter (VLPC) readout. The VLPCs, with their quantum efficiency of /spl sim/70%, perform much better than traditional photomultipliers. We have performed extensive tests on different detector variations; investigating different scintillators, WLS fibers, and construction techniques. Prototype modules were placed in a cosmic ray test stand and over 120000 clean events per detector variant were collected. The large event sample and superior performance afforded by the VLPCs allow precise characterisation of the detector response. In this paper, we present results of our test programs, including uniformity of response, yields and interchannel crosstalk. We have achieved effective attenuation lengths exceeding 11 meters and yields of 4.5 photoelectrons per millimeter of scintillator traversed. An additional factor of 2 increase in yield seems achievable.
Combining bottom trawl and acoustic data to model acoustic dead zone correction and bottom trawl efficiency parameters for semipelagic species

We present a modeling method that combines acoustic and bottom trawl abundance measurements and habitat data to estimate acoustic dead zone (ADZ) correction and bottom trawl efficiency parameters. ...
The Gas-Phase Basicity of Sulfuric Acid

A flowing afterglow-tandem mass spectrometer has been used to measure the 298 K gas-phase basicity (GB) of sulfuric acid. The kinetic method gives GB(H2SO4) = 683 ± 5 kJ/mol, which corresponds to a...
Lin28-mediated post-transcriptional regulation of Oct4 expression in human embryonic stem cells

Lin28 acts as a repressor of microRNA processing and as a post-transcriptional regulatory factor for a subset of mRNAs. Here we report that in human embryonic stem cells Lin28 facilitates the expression of the pivotal pluripotency factor Oct4 at the post-transcriptional level. We provide evidence that Lin28 binds Oct4 mRNA directly through high affinity sites within its coding region and that an interaction between Lin28 and RNA helicase A (RHA) may play a part in the observed regulation. We further demonstrate that decreasing RHA levels impairs Lin28-dependent stimulation of translation in a reporter system. Taken together with previous studies showing that RHA is required for efficient translation of a specific class of mRNAs, these findings suggest a novel mechanism by which Lin28 may affect target mRNA expression and represent the first evidence of post-transcriptional regulation of Oct4 expression by Lin28 in human embryonic stem cells.
Groundwater Nitrate Spatial and Temporal Patterns and Correlations: Influence of Natural Controls and Nitrogen Management

To use shallow groundwater NO 3 –N concentration as an indicator of groundwater quality requires understanding its patterns, correlations, and controls across space and time. Within a study comparing variable-rate and uniform N management, our objectives were to determine groundwater NO 3 –N patterns and correlations at various spatial and temporal scales and their association with natural controls and N management. Experiments in a random, complete block design were conducted in a 2-yr crop rotation in North Carolina that included one variable-rate and two uniform N management treatments to wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) and corn ( Zea mays L.). We measured groundwater NO 3 –N and depth every 2 wk at 60 well nests, sampling the 0.9- to 3.7-m depth. Field-mean NO 3 –N varied with time from 5.5 to 15.3 mg NO 3 –N L −1 . These variations were correlated primarily with concurrent changes in water table elevation and depth. Mean NO 3 –N exhibited two preferred states: high when the water table was shallow and low when the water table was deep. Temporal NO 3 –N fluctuations greatly exceeded treatment effects. Treatments appeared to affect NO 3 –N temporal covariance structure. Groundwater NO 3 –N spatial patterns and correlations were associated mostly with saturated hydraulic conductivity and water table fluctuations and appeared influenced by subsurface lateral flow. When treatment effects became consistently significant later in the study, they overrode natural controls, and NO 3 –N was spatially uncorrelated or exhibited shorter spatial correlation ranges and patterns associated predominantly with treatments.
Divisibility tests (abstract only)

Divisibility tests have always fascinated people. My project shows tricks of how you can tell if really large numbers can be divisible by smaller numbers. Modular arithmetic is utilized to find and analyze divisibility tests. Three methods (Ending Digits Test, Sum of Digits Test, and Alternating Sum of Digits Test) in which you can test divisibility of a number (a) by a number (d) and proofs are presented in this poster.
Formation of block copolymers from polyurethanes containing reactive disulfides

Block copolymers containing polyether segments and segments of a vinyl polymer have been synthesized. A low molecular weight polyether terminated with isocyanate groups was condensed with bis-(β-hydroxyethyl disulfide) to give polyurethanes containing reactive disulfide linkages. When this polymer was photolyzed in the presence of a vinyl monomer such as styrene, methyl methacrylate, or acrylonitrile, homolytic cleavage of the disulfide polymerized the monomer, giving block copolymers. The mechanical properties of the products were investigated by means of modulus–temperature measurements.