cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Non-synonymous variant (Gly307Ser) in CD226 is associated with susceptibility to multiple autoimmune diseases

Objectives. Recently, a non-synonymous (Gly307Ser) variant, rs763361, in the CD226 gene was shown to be associated with multiple autoimmune diseases (ADs) in European Caucasian populations. However, shared autoimmunity with CD226 has not been evaluated in non-European populations. The aim of the present study is to assess the association of this single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with ADs in non-European populations. Methods. To replicate this association in non-European populations, we evaluated case–control association between rs763361 and coeliac disease (CED) samples from Argentina; SLE, RA, type-1 diabetes (T1D) and primary SS (pSS) from Colombia; and SLE samples from China and Japan. We genotyped rs763361 and evaluated its genetic association with multiple ADs, using � 2 -test. For each association, odds ratio (OR) and 95% CI were calculated. Results. We show that rs763361 is significantly associated with Argentinean CED (P = 0.0009, OR = 1.60). We also observed a trend of possible association with Chinese SLE (P = 0.01, OR = 1.19), RA (P = 0.047, OR = 1.25), SLE (P = 0.0899, OR = 1.24) and pSS (P = 0.09, OR = 1.33) in Colombians. Meta-analyses for SLE (using our three populations) and T1D (our population and three published populations) yielded significant association with rs763361, P = 0.009 (OR = 1.16) and P = 1.1.46 10 9 (OR = 1.14), respectively. Conclusions. Our results demonstrate that the coding variant rs763361 in CD226 gene is associated with multiple ADs in non-European populations.
INHIBITION OF SCHWANN CELL MYELINATION IN VITRO BY ANTIBODY TO THE L1 ADHESION MOLECULE

The specific axonal and Schwann cell surface molecules that mediate the initiation of myelination have not been identified. We have used cocultures of purified rat dorsal root ganglion neurons and Schwann cells and purified polyclonal antibodies to the L1 adhesion molecule to study the role of L1 in myelin formation. Schwann cells were first arrested in a basal-lamina-free premyelination stage (by serum/ascorbate deprivation), then manipulated to allow basal lamina deposition and myelination (by serum/ascorbate addition) in the absence or presence of anti-L1. Using electron microscopy, immunocytochemistry, and myelin sheath quantitation after Sudan-black staining, we determined the effect of anti-L1 on (1) basal lamina formation, (2) the segregation by Schwann cells of axons into a 1:1 relationship, (3) galactocerebroside (Gal-C) expression, (4) laminin deposition, and (5) myelin formation. Anti-L1 strongly blocked myelin formation, Gal-C expression, and axon segregation but did not block basal lamina formation. In controls, elongated Schwann cell processes completely covered the axons and exhibited uniform surface staining for laminin; in anti-L1-treated cultures, shortened Schwann cells, intensely stained for laminin, were observed in clusters separated by unstained lengths of axons. When 50 micrograms/ml exogenous purified laminin was added to the medium, Schwann cell length and laminin staining were similar in control and treated cultures. However, the inhibition of myelination of anti-L1 was not altered by the addition of laminin. Myelination was also inhibited with antigen-binding fragments (Fab) of polyclonal anti- L1, but an antibody to liver membranes did not block myelination. These results indicate that L1 is involved in the linear extension of Schwann cell processes along axons, the engulfment of axons, and the induction of myelin-specific components within the Schwann cell. We conclude that anti-L1 prevents myelination by blocking these events rather than by blocking basal lamina deposition.
Microbial control of Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) with Beauveria bassiana strain GHA: field applications

The effects of Beauveria bassiana strain GHA, applied as BotaniGard ES, on newly colonised and well-established populations of emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) were evaluated in the field using foliar and trunk sprays in Michigan in 2004� 2005. Results from field trials at a newly colonised white ash site showed a 41% reduction in A. planipennis population in fungal-treated trees compared with that of untreated controls. In addition, fungal infection was also found in 20% of the larval population within 14 days of incubation under laboratory conditions. At a site with a well-established A. planipennis population in green ash trees, larval density was reduced by 47% for trees treated with the fungus compared with that of the controls; 21% of larvae from the current generation were found infected after 14 days of laboratory incubation. Fungal-treated green ash trees also produced fewer adults emerging in the next generation, with a 63% reduction in adult density observed in treated trees compared to that of controls. As a result, fungal-treated trees sustained 42% less crown dieback than did controls. Agrilus planipennis larval density was negatively correlated with trunk height above the ground, and positively correlated with log diameter. Results of laboratory leaf bioassays on A. planipennis adults showed that fungal conidia persisted well under field conditions, with mortality of 78� 100% at 7-days post-exposure for leaves collected between 2 and 264 h after application. Potential strategies for using B. bassiana strain GHA for managing A. planipennis are discussed.
Neurodevelopmental Effects of Early Deprivation in Postinstitutionalized Children

The neurodevelopmental sequelae of early deprivation were examined by testing (N = 132) 8- and 9-year-old children who had endured prolonged versus brief institutionalized rearing or rearing in the natal family. Behavioral tasks included measures that permit inferences about underlying neural circuitry. Children raised in institutionalized settings showed neuropsychological deficits on tests of visual memory and attention, as well as visually mediated learning and inhibitory control. Yet, these children performed at developmentally appropriate levels on similar tests where auditory processing was also involved and on tests assessing executive processes such as rule acquisition and planning. These findings suggest that specific aspects of brain-behavioral circuitry may be particularly vulnerable to postnatal experience.
Propofol Infusion Syndrome in Critically Ill Patients

OBJECTIVE:To describe the clinical presentation of propofol infusion syndrome in critically ill adults.DATA SOURCES:Clinical literature was accessed through MEDLINE (1966 — March 2001). Key search terms included Diprivan, propofol, and propofol infusion syndrome. Case reports and small case series evaluating the use and toxicity of propofol in sedating critically ill adults were reviewed.DATA SYNTHESIS:The association between propofol infusion syndrome and death in children secondary to myocardial failure is well documented. However, few data are available regarding the syndrome in critically ill adults. Based on a review of those data, it appears that propofol infusion syndrome can occur in both children and adults. Common clinical features of propofol infusion syndrome may include hyperkalemia, hepatomegaly, lipemia, metabolic acidosis, myocardial failure, and rhabdomyolysis. Although the premise has not been proven, recent published cases appear to demonstrate an association between propofol infusion a...
Space-borne observations link the tropical atlantic ozone maximum and paradox to lightning

Abstract. The potential enhancement of tropospheric column ozone values over the Tropical Atlantic Ocean on a seasonal basis by lightning is investigated using satellite derived ozone data, TRMM lightning data, ozonesonde data and NCEP reanalysis during 1998-2001. Our results show that the number of lightning flashes in Africa and South America reach a maximum during September, October and November (SON). The spatial patterns of winds in combination with lightning from West Africa, Central Africa and South America is likely responsible for enriching middle/upper troposphere ozone over the Tropical South Atlantic during SON. Moreover, lightning flashes are high in the hemisphere opposite to biomass burning during December, January, and February (DJF) and June, July and August (JJA). This pattern leads to an enrichment of ozone in the middle/upper troposphere in the Southern Hemisphere Tropics during DJF and the Northern Hemisphere Tropics during JJA. During JJA the largest numbers of lightning flashes are observed in West Africa, enriching tropospheric column ozone to the north of 5 S in the absence of biomass burning. During DJF, lightning is concentrated in South America and Central Africa enriching tropospheric column ozone south of the Equator in the absence of biomass burning.
Tissue-Specific Hemostasis in Mice

Blood coagulation is essential to maintain hemostasis in organisms with a vascular network. Formation of a fibrin-rich clot at a site of vessel injury is a highly complex process that is orchestrated by the coagulation protease cascade. This cascade is regulated by 3 major anticoagulant pathways. Removal of a clot is mediated by the fibrinolytic system. Defects in the regulation of clot formation lead to either hemorrhage or thrombosis. Tissue factor, the primary cellular initiator of blood coagulation, is a transmembrane receptor that is expressed in a tissue-specific manner. The 3 major anticoagulants are tissue factor pathway inhibitor, antithrombin, and protein C, the latter requiring a transmembrane receptor called thrombomodulin for its activation. Tissue factor pathway inhibitor and thrombomodulin are expressed by endothelial cells in a tissue-specific manner, whereas antithrombin and protein C circulate in the plasma. Fibrinolysis requires the activation of plasminogen to plasmin, which is mediated by tissue-type plasminogen activator and urokinase-type plasminogen activator. Interestingly, tissue-type plasminogen activator is expressed by a subset of endothelial cells of discrete size and location. These observations, together with the phenotypes of mice that have defects in the procoagulant, anticoagulant, and fibrinolytic pathways, indicate that hemostasis is regulated in a tissue-specific manner.
Fast static contingency screening based on reactive loss compensation index

This paper presents a method of reducing the response time to system operators of static contingency screening. To achieve this objective, the reactive loss compensation index is selected as the critical system factor and an approximate power flow model is employed to solve line flow non-iteratively. The index determines the severity of transmission line contingencies. The compensation index in line outage situation is obtained, first, by evaluating the amount of reactive losses on the lines connected to the system load buses, and second, by determining the appropriate reactive compensation required to maintain their pre-contingency voltage magnitude. The compensation is simulated by applying artificial Var compensators placed at the load buses. The effectiveness of the new method in screening performance and computation time reduction is tested on the standard IEEE 30-bus system.
Thermal Expansion of the Orthorhombic Phase in the Ln2TiO5 System

The thermal expansion behavior of the orthorhombic phase in the Ln2TiO5 (Ln = La, Nd, Gd, Dy, and Y) system was evaluated, using synchrotron X-ray diffraction from room temperature to approximately 1500°C in air. The components of the thermal expansion tensor were calculated from the refined d-spacings, using the program CTEAS. Subsequent analysis of the thermal expansion and crystallographic information revealed that the mechanism behind the thermal expansion was a result of strained trigonal-bipyramidal structures overcoming an energy barrier to become more relaxed. The temperature at which a significant shift in the trigonal-bipyramidal structure manifests was correlated with the size of the rare-earth cation that dictates the volume of the overall cell. Larger rare-earth cations with larger cell volumes allow more room for the trigonal-bipyramidal structures to easily relax.
Default when Current House Prices are Uncertain

We specify a new model of homeowner mortgage default. In our model, homeowners do not know the current price of their home until they sell; rather, they maintain an unbiased guess of the price and optimally update this guess as new information, such as the sale price of similar homes, is observed. Compared to the predictions of a model where homeowners know the current price with certainty, uncertainty about the price considerably reduces the probability homeowners default even when the current price is likely substantially less than the mortgage balance. We estimate model parameters using data on self-assessed house prices, house-price indexes and mortgage defaults. We find uncertainty about the current level of house prices reduced defaults for a cohort of prime mortgages issued in 2006 by 25 percent in 2010 and 2011.
Diskussionsbeitrag zur Frage der Sicht in Wolken

Die vonTrappenberg auf Grund der Messungen vonRittberger festgestellte Diskrepanz zwischen gemessener (oder geschatzter) SichtweiteV g und der aus der Tropfengrosenverteilung berechnetenV b wird diskutiert. Es wird angenommen, das bei der Messung der Tropfengrosenverteilung die kleinen Tropfen nicht genugend zur Geltung kommen. Extrapoliert man die Verteilungen in zwangloser Weise bis zu Tropfendurchmessern von 2 oder 1 μ, so ergibt sich eine gute Ubereinstimmung vonV b mitV g.
Is Melanism a Consequence of Sexual Selection in Male Red-Eared Sliders, Trachemys scripta elegans?

Abstract Male slider turtles change coloration ontogenetically, becoming melanistic as they age and approach the body size of sexually mature females. Several investigators have suggested that melanism is favored by sexual selection, although there is little evidence to support this hypothesis. We conducted experiments in enclosures to test whether melanism in male Red-Eared Sliders is a visual signal favored by sexual selection. In female preference trials, females showed no preference for either nonmelanistic or melanistic males. Melanistic and nonmelanistic males associated together instead of being aggressive toward each other in trials testing male–male competition. Neither result supports the hypothesis that male melanism is a product of sexual selection. Our observations of nonaggressive interactions between melanistic and nonmelanistic males suggest that melanism in male slider turtles may function as sex recognition to avoid mistaken courtship of large males.
Ask the Professor: How Does the U.K. Client Money Rules Differ from the U.S. Customer Segregated Rules when the Custodian Firm Fails to Treat Customer Property Properly?

This article compares the client asset protection regimes between the U.K. and the U.S., and then examines their differences in these jurisdictions when a large global brokerage firm, in this case, Lehman Brothers, files for bankruptcy and how such an insolvency proceeding impacts the customers of the failed firm in the two jurisdictions. While the regulatory customer asset protections in place in both countries are designed to provide important customer protections, in reality, the U.K. regulatory structure needs dramatic changes as do the U.K. bankruptcy laws, to enhance its customer protections schemes.
Integrating an Answer Set Solver into Prolog: \(\mathbb{ASP}\) - \(\mathbb{PROLOG}\)

A number of answer set solvers have been proposed in recent years, such as Smodels, DLV, Cmodels, and ASSAT. Most existing ASP solvers have been extended to provide front-ends that are suitable to encode specialized forms of knowledge-e.g., weight-constraints, restricted forms of optimization, front-ends for planning and diagnosis. These features allow declarative solutions in speci.c application domains. However, this is not completely satisfactory:
Over-the-Counter Agents for the Treatment of Occasional Disturbed Sleep or Transient Insomnia: A Systematic Review of Efficacy and Safety

Objective: To investigate the level of evidence supporting the use of common over-the-counter (OTC) agents (diphenhydramine, doxylamine, melatonin, and valerian) for occasional disturbed sleep or insomnia.
A Portable Instrumented Tower for Use in Meteorologically Related Research

Portable equipment for the simultaneous measurement of wind velocity, wind direction, temperature, and relative humidity at heights of 1, 5, 10. 20, and 40 feet is described. All instruments are mounted on a collapsible 3-section tower attached to a 2-wheel trailer: Temperature and humidity measurements are made by calibrated wet and dry thermistors. Wind velocities are recorded at the 5 stations by cup anemometers and wind directions at the 10- and 40-foot stations by electric wind vanes. The equipment is suitable for field research associated with the biology and control of insects requiring the measurement of meterological factors at various heights.
A Chiral Nanosheet Connected by Amide Hydrogen Bonds

A chiral organic nanosheet spontaneously assembled under mild conditions from N,N′,N″-tris(n-octyl)benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide, which is a C3-symmetric supramolecular atropisomer. Similar to the β...
Structural Optimization of Joined-Wing Beam Model with Bend/Twist Coupling Using ESL

This study is based on the merger of two separate theories to further the efficiency with which joined-wing structural models are designed. The first theory is Geometrically Exact Beam Theory (GEBT). GEBT is a small strain beam theory which is capable of accurately capturing the geometric bend-twist coupling in beam elements. This is cruicial to the joined-wing problem as it is geometrically nonlinear. The second theory concerns Equivalent Static Loads (ESL). These ESL consist of a load vector that produces the same nodal displacements and rotations as those computed from a pure nonlinear analysis. The ESL displacements and rotations are then used to calculate ESL stresses. By merging these two theories into a single structural optimization effort, computational cost is reduced by orders of magnitude when compared to purely nonlinear analysis. The final design obtained by the optimization is the same for both types of analysis. The final result is a much simpler model than a detailed finite element model of the joined-wing aircraft that can be optimized without significant loss in fidelity in a fraction of the time required for a single optimization cycle using finite element analysis.
Analysis of 304 death cause with silicosis patients

Objective To study the death feature of silicosis patients.Methods Retrospective study was used for the death feature on 304 cases silicosis patients in a wolframium mine.Results The main proportional mortality were pulmonary tuberculosis(54.3%), pneumocardial disease (18.8%) and pneumo- coniosis (6.6%). As stage increase of the silicosis, the mortality rates of the silicosis patients ant pulmonary tuberculosis patients seemed to be increased gradually(p0.05). As stage increase of the silicosis, the mortality rates of the pulmonary carcinoma and the other carcinoma seemed to be lower gradually(p0.05). The mortality rate of silicosis(60 years old) was higher than that of geriatric silicosis(60 yeas old)(p 0.01). The mortality rates of the pneumocardial disease and the other angiocardiopathy in 60 yeare old were lower than those in 60 years old(p0.01).The mortality of 1990s was high than that in 1960s,1970s (p0.01), and the mortality of pulmonary tuberculosis was lowest (p0.01). The quarrymen mortality was highest (p0. 01). Conclusion The main proportional mortality of silicosis was pneumonophthisis, pneumocardial disease and pneumoconiosis for silicosis. The death cause was correlation to silicosis stage, age, years and type of work. Preventing and treating of pulmonary tuberculosis, pneumocardial disease were the emphases for silicosis.
Physically active vs. sedentary academic lessons: A dose response study for elementary student time on task.

Abstract Background Physically active academic lessons are an effective intervention to reduce sedentary time and increase student physical activity. They have also been shown to enhance task engagement, as indicated by observations of attention and behavior control, time on task (TOT). However, it is not clear if the improved TOT stems from the physical activity or if it is the result of an enjoyable break from traditional instruction. If it is due to physical activity, what dose of intensity is required for the effect? This study was designed to test these questions. Methods Participants were 320 children (7–9 years) recruited from school districts in Central Texas in 2012. They were assigned by classroom ( n = 20) to one of four conditions: 1) sedentary, standard lesson ( n = 72); 2) sedentary academic game ( n = 87); 3) low to moderate intensity PA (LMPA), academic game ( n = 81); and 4) moderate to vigorous intensity PA (MVPA), academic game ( n = 76). Measures included PA via accelerometer and TOT. Results Mixed-method RMANOVA indicated TOT decreased following the standard lesson ( p p = 0.68), and increased following the LMPA ( p p Conclusions While the sedentary, academic game prevented the reduction in TOT observed in the standard lesson, PA resulted in increased TOT. Future research should be designed to examine the potential academic benefits of the change in TOT.
System Hardening and Condition-Based Maintenance for Electric Power Infrastructure Under Hurricane Effects

The devastating impact of hurricanes on electric power systems calls for development of sophisticated asset management strategies for utility infrastructure. El Nino/La Nina are shown to have seasonal effects on hurricane arrivals in the long-term climatological horizon. The periodic effects of such natural phenomena need to be analyzed and incorporated into decision making processes for strategic asset management of power systems. In this paper, an integrated infrastructure hardening and condition-based maintenance scheduling model for critical components of the power systems is proposed. Partially observable Markov decision processes are used to formulate the problem. The survival function against hurricanes is derived as a dynamic stress–strength model, and is incorporated in the proposed framework. A generalized formulation for two hardening strategies, i.e., with temporary and permanent hardening effects, is proposed. Case studies are conducted to analyze the model and further illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.
Continuous-wave circular polarization terahertz imaging

Biomedical applications of terahertz (THz) radiation are appealing because THz radiation is nonionizing and has the demonstrated ability to detect intrinsic contrasts between cancerous and normal tissue. A linear polarization-sensitive detection technique for tumor margin delineation has already been demonstrated; however, utilization of a circular polarization-sensitive detection technique has yet to be explored at THz frequencies. A reflective, continuous-wave THz imaging system capable of illuminating a target sample at 584 GHz with either linearly or circularly polarized radiation, and capable of collecting both cross- and copolarized signals remitted from the target, is implemented. To demonstrate the system’s utility, a fresh ex vivo human skin tissue specimen containing nonmelanoma skin cancer was imaged. Both polarization-sensitive detection techniques showed contrast between tumor and normal skin tissue, although some differences in images were observed between the two techniques. Our results indicate that further investigation is required to explain the contrast mechanism, as well as to quantify the specificity and sensitivity of the circular polarization-sensitive detection technique.
Magical Realism’s Constructive Capacity

Since literary magical realism exploded out of Latin America and into international critical attention in the mid-twentieth century, the limbs of its narrative genealogy have continued to be sketched in both lower and higher than the branch bearing the immense impact of el boom. Perhaps the most often cited figure from magical realism’s pre-Latin American and pre-literary phase is Franz Roh, who deployed the term in 1925 to describe the German painting movement Magischer realismus, as critics such as Irene Guenther, Kenneth Reeds, Wendy Faris, and Lois Parkinson Zamora have discussed.2 Guenther traces the term even earlier, in fact, plotting a point in the late eighteenth century when it was deployed by Novalis, the German Romantic philosopher (34).3 By the time the term migrated transatlantically to Latin America, magical realism had formally mutated at least three times already, becoming a fixed literary concept after being developed in Latin American literature.
Approximate Inference by Belief Propagation

We discuss in this chapter a class of approximate inference algorithms which are based on belief propagation. These algorithms provide a full spectrum of approximations, allowing one to trade-off approximation quality with computational resources. Introduction The algorithm of belief propagation was first introduced as a specialized algorithm that applied only to networks having a polytree structure. This algorithm, which we treated in Section 7.5.4, was later applied to networks with arbitrary structure and found to produce high-quality approximations in certain cases. This observation triggered a line of investigations into the semantics of belief propagation, which had the effect of introducing a generalization of the algorithm that provides a full spectrum of approximations with belief propagation approximations at one end and exact results at the other. We discuss belief propagation as applied to polytrees in Section 14.2 and then discuss its application to more general networks in Section 14.3. The semantics of belief propagation are exposed in Section 14.4, showing howit can be viewed as searching for an approximate distribution that satisfies some interesting properties. These semantics will then be the basis for developing generalized belief propagation in Sections 14.5–14.7. An alternative semantics for belief propagation will also be given in Section 14.8, together with a corresponding generalization. The difference between the two generalizations of belief propagation is not only in their semantics but also in the way they allow the user to trade off the approximation quality with the computational resources needed to produce them.
Implementation and Acceptability of an Adapted Classroom Check-Up Coaching Model to Promote Culturally Responsive Classroom Management.

Literature suggests that improving teacher use of culturally responsive classroom management strategies may reduce the disproportionate number of racial and ethnic minority students who receive exclusionary discipline actions and are identified as needing special education, particularly for emotional and behavioral disorders. Coaching teachers is one way to support teachers’ development of such culturally responsive classroom management strategies; however, there is limited research on the implementation and teacher-perceived acceptability of coaching, both broadly and for this specific skill set. In this article, we focus on the adaptation of the Classroom Check-Up (CCU) coaching model for addressing culturally responsive classroom management strategies; we discuss issues related to the implementation dosage, fidelity, feasibility, and acceptability of the CCU model. Specifically, data from 146 coached teachers are included and summarize how coaches spent their time, the fidelity to the coaching model, and acceptability and feasibility of the CCU model. Findings indicated that the CCU required about 3 hours of active teacher participation. Coaches spent a substantial amount of time collecting data in the classroom as well as building relationships and trust within the schools to facilitate uptake. The results suggested that coaches implemented the model as intended and that the time required of teachers is relatively modest. Teachers provided positive feedback about four domains of the coaching, indicating the acceptability and feasibility of this adapted version of the CCU.
Newcache: Secure Cache Architecture Thwarting Cache Side-Channel Attacks

Newcache is a secure cache that can thwart cache side-channel attacks to prevent the leakage of secret information. All caches today are susceptible to cache side-channel attacks, despite software isolation of memory pages in virtual address spaces or virtual machines. These cache attacks can leak secret encryption keys or private identity keys, nullifying any protection provided by strong cryptography. Newcache uses a novel dynamic, randomized memory-to-cache mapping to thwart contention-based side-channel attacks, rather than the static mapping used by conventional set-associative caches. In this article, the authors present an improved design of Newcache, in terms of security, circuit design and simplicity. They show Newcache's security against a suite of cache side-channel attacks. They evaluate Newcache's system performance for cloud computing, smartphone, and SPEC benchmarks and find that Newcache performs as well as conventional set-associative caches, and sometimes better. They also designed a VLSI test chip with a 32-Kbyte Newcache and a 32-Kbyte, eight-way, set-associative cache and verified that the access latency, power, and area of the two caches are comparable. These results show that Newcache can be used as L1 data and instruction caches to improve security without impacting performance.
Reversible alkoxycarbene formation by C-H activation of ethers via discrete, isolable intermediates.

A cationic iridium complex bearing a pendant ether ligand is shown to be in equilibrium with the corresponding dihydridoalkoxycarbene resulting from two consecutive C–H activations. Control of the conditions allows for the crystallographic characterization of all three complexes involved in the interconversion of ether and alkoxycarbene functionalities via sequential oxidative addition and α elimination.
Experiments in Curation: Towards Machine-Assisted Construction of Software Architecture Knowledge Bases

Software architects inhabit a complex, rapidly evolving technological landscape. An ever growing collection of competing architecturally significant technologies, ranging from distributed databases to middleware and cloud platforms, makes rigorously comparing alternatives and selecting appropriate solutions a daunting engineering task. To address this problem, we envisage an ecosystem of curated, automatically updated knowledge bases that enable straightforward and streamlined technical comparisons of related products. These knowledge bases would emulate engineering handbooks that are commonly found in other engineering disciplines. As a first step towards this vision, we have built a curated knowledge base for comparing distributed databases based on a semantically defined feature taxonomy. We report in this paper on the initial results of using supervised machine learning to assist with knowledge base curation. Our results show immense promise in recommending Web pages that are highly relevant to curators. We also describe the major obstacles, both practical and scientific, that our work has uncovered. These must be overcome by future research in order to make our vision of curated knowledge bases a reality.
Using the Elaboration Likelihood Model to Explain to Whom “#Black Lives Matter” … And to Whom it Does Not

Officer-involved shootings have become an unfortunate regular part of news coverage. After such events, the media often select expert sources to explain the news to the public. Social media has changed this media–source dynamic. Today, laypeople—often African Americans—can go online and provide information that counters the media’s narrative. This analysis examines the effect people’s perception of sources has on their opinion of the Black Lives Matter Movement (#BLM). It also tests what other factors shape audiences’ beliefs about this issue. It finds that people who oppose #BLM have a strong orientation toward social dominance, are less likely to view America as the land of opportunity, and have ideas akin to those of modern racists, in that they oppose Affirmative Action and other race-based programs. This analysis also proposes a change to the Elaboration Likelihood Model, which serves as its theoretical basis. On racially charged issues, the personal relevance of an issue does not appear to matter; p...
Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Health Care Access and Use Among U.S. Adults With Serious Psychological Distress.

Objective:This study compared health care access and utilization among adults with serious psychological distress by race-ethnicity and gender in years surrounding implementation of the Affordable ...
Synaptic potentials in locus coeruleus neurons in brain slices.

Neurons of the locus coeruleus (LC) fire action potentials spontaneously in vitro in the absence of any stimulation. This spontaneous activity is thought to arise from intrinsic membrane properties that include a balance between at least two ion conductances. One is a persistent inward sodium current that is active near the threshold for action potential generation. The second is a calcium-dependent potassium current that is activated following the entry of calcium during the action potential, is responsible for the after-hyperpolarization following the action potential, and decays over a period of 1–2 sec following the action potential. The spontaneous activity of LC neurons can be altered by both excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs. One excitatory input has been described that is mediated by glutamate receptors of both the non-NMDA and NMDA subtypes. Inhibitory synaptic potentials include those mediated by GABA (acting on GABAA-receptors), glycine (acting on a strychnine-sensitive receptor) and noradrenaline (acting on α2-adrenoceptors). The presence of synaptic potentials mediated by these transmitters, studied in vitro, correlate with studies made in vivo and with histochemical identification of synaptic inputs to the locus coeruleus.
Updating the immunology curriculum in clinical laboratory science.

OBJECTIVE To determine essential content areas of immunology/serology courses at the clinical laboratory technician (CLT) and clinical laboratory scientist (CLS) levels. DESIGN A questionnaire was designed which listed all major topics in immunology and serology. Participants were asked to place a check beside each topic covered. For an additional list of serological and immunological laboratory testing, participants were asked to indicate if each test was performed in either the didactic or clinical setting, or not performed at all. SETTING A national survey of 593 NAACLS approved CLT and CLS programs was conducted by mail under the auspices of ASCLS. PARTICIPANTS Responses were obtained from 158 programs. Respondents from all across the United States included 60 CLT programs, 48 hospital-based CLS programs, 45 university-based CLS programs, and 5 university-based combined CLT and CLS programs. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The survey was designed to enumerate major topics included in immunology and serology courses by a majority of participants at two distinct educational levels, CLT and CLS. Laboratory testing routinely performed in student laboratories as well as in the clinical setting was also determined for these two levels of practitioners. RESULTS Certain key topics were common to most immunology and serology courses. There were some notable differences in the depth of courses at the CLT and CLS levels. Laboratory testing associated with these courses also differed at the two levels. Testing requiring more detailed interpretation, such as antinuclear antibody patterns (ANAs), was mainly performed by CLS students only. CONCLUSION There are certain key topics as well as specific laboratory tests that should be included in immunology/serology courses at each of the two different educational levels to best prepare students for the workplace. Educators can use this information as a guide to plan a curriculum for such courses.
Reactions of disulfiram and diethyldithiocarbamate with blood constituents

Disulfiram (DSSD) and diethyldithiocarbamate (DSH) interact with blood constituents in a variety of ways which are still poorly understood. Nevertheless these interactions are central to the design and evaluation of analytical procedures, as well as to the interpretation of experimental results and their biological consequences. Many investigators have reported on the difficulties experienced when seeking to recover DSSD added to blood, plasma or serum, and on their inability to detect DSSD in the plasma of animals or humans dosed with it. Conditions have now been described under which it is possible to stabilize DSSD added to blood in vitro and to recover it (Johansson, 1988). Using these conditions it is possible to detect DSSD in the blood of individuals dosed with it. The conditions that have to be used are, however, highly unphysiological and therefore underscore our poor understanding of how the interactions of DSSD with blood constituents permit its survival in blood in vivo.
Green’s tensor for the displacement field in unbounded media

In this chapter a solution is constructed, by means of integral transforms to the problem of determining the displacement field behind the expanding wavefront excited by a point body force in two and three-dimensions. By applying an integration technique of Burridge [31], an explicit solution is found in the two-dimensional case. In the three-dimensional situation, with the exception of a special combination of the elastic parameters (γ = α + β), explicit results can be obtained only on the symmetry axis. Seminal work on the subject matter of this chapter, especially on the existence of lacunas, has been done by Petrowski [32]. The survey article by Duff [24] also touches on many of the topics of this chapter and cites a number of recent references.
Abstract 3785: Loss of vacuolar ATPase in hematopoietic stem cells promotes breast tumor progression and pathogenesis

Vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) is expressed intracellularly on vesicular membranes, and controls intracellular pH and acidification of various intracellular vesicles. Most cancer cells express V-ATPase on their cell surface where they appear to acidify the extracellular environment and help cancer cells to metastasize. We have previously demonstrated that the a2 isoform of V-ATPase (a2V) of mammary epithelial cells plays a key role during breast tumor progression and metastasis. However, the role of a2V of hematopoietic stem cells during breast tumor pathogenesis is not known. Therefore, to understand the role of a2V in hematopoietic stem cells during breast tumor progression, we conditionally knocked out a2V (cKO) from the hematopoietic stem cells of mice. We observed that deletion of a2V leads to a significant reduction of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the periphery and spleen of the a2V cKO mice compared to control mice. We hypothesized that reduction of helper CD4+ cells, or cytotoxic CD8+ T cells would result in larger and faster-growing tumors in the a2V-cKO mice. After implantation of a syngeneic tumor cell line (E0771) in the breast tissue of mice, we observed that deletion of a2V led to larger and faster-growing breast tumors compared to control mice. Further investigation of the tumor microenvironment revealed that there was a significant reduction in percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the a2V-cKO mice compared to control mice. Targeted RNAseq of tumor microenvironment demonstrated that out of 499 genes that were analyzed, only 3 genes were significantly upregulated while 144 genes were significantly downregulated in the a2V cKO mice. The 144 downregulated genes included genes for pro-inflammatory cytokines, T cell specific genes, death receptors and proapoptotic genes. Collectively, these results demonstrate that deletion of a2V from the hematopoietic stem cells leads to a decrease in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the periphery, which results in a faster-growing and larger breast tumor. Further study is needed to understand the relative contribution of CD4+ or CD8+ T cells during breast tumor pathogenesis. Citation Format: Manoranjan Sahoo, Gajendra K. Katara, Mahamood Y. Bilal, Sara Fleetwood, Arpita Kulshrestha, Safaa A. Ibrahim, Kenneth D. Beaman. Loss of vacuolar ATPase in hematopoietic stem cells promotes breast tumor progression and pathogenesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3785.
Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) use in patients with hematologic malignancy-associated venous thromboembolism (VTE) and severe thrombocytopenia.

e21588Background: We have previously demonstrated safety of prophylactic LMWH in patients with platelet count ≤ 50,000/µL (ASH abstract; Blood 2015;126(23):3482), however, the outcome in the subset...
Monocusp valve placement in children with tetralogy of Fallot undergoing repair with transannular patch: A functioning pulmonary valve does not improve immediate postsurgical outcomes

Introduction In patients with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), use of transannular patch (TAP) may be required in order to relieve significant right ventricular outflow tract obstruction, subsequently resulting in pulmonary insufficiency (PI). The monocusp valve has been used to temporarily reduce insufficiency in hopes to improve short and midterm outcomes. The purpose of this study was to assess for potential benefits of the monocusp valve in this subset of patients. Design Between 2005 and 2016, 119 patients with TOF with pulmonary stenosis who underwent repair with TAP were analyzed, 43 (36.1%) had a monocusp valve placed. Immediate outcomes were assessed by postoperative echocardiograms, ICU data including time to extubation, chest tube duration, reintervention, length of stay, and mortality. Results Median age of repair was similar for monocusp group at 143.5 days and nonmonocusp at 137.0 days (P = .93). Peak preoperative right ventricular outflow tract obstruction was higher in the monocusp group (80 mm Hg vs. 70 mm Hg, P ≤ .01). Patients who had monocusp placed had longer bypass time. There was less PI for monocusp group immediately after repair and at discharge (P ≤ .01). There was no difference in days of intubation, chest tube duration, length of hospitalization, reintervention rates, or mortality. Conclusion Decreasing the degree of PI with a monocusp valve in patients undergoing repair for TOF repair with TAP does not improve clinical outcomes in the immediate postoperative period.
Vitamin D Screening Variations in Children and Adolescents: Who should be Screened?

Abstract Problem No consensus on vitamin D deficiency (VDD) screening in children and adolescents exists. Early VDD detection can improve the health of children. VDD can cause bone mineralization diseases, such as rickets in children. The purpose of this review is to determine existing VDD screening recommendations or clinical practice guidelines in children and adolescents. Eligibility criteria Inclusion criteria were VDD screening ‘guideline’, ‘clinical practice guideline’, and ‘recommendations’ for children and adolescents in English, published 2001–2018. Results Eight current guidelines addressed VDD screening recommendations with the common recommendation results endorsing screening only for VDD in at-risk children and adolescents. Conclusions There is insufficient evidence for pediatric healthcare providers to recommend which VDD risk factors should be utilized for screening in children and adolescents. Implications Further studies should focus on developing a validated VDD screening tool for children and adolescents based on risk factors.
Technology in Field Education: Managing Ethical Issues

AbstractGiven the growing importance of technology in social work practice, field educators need to prepare students for the competent and ethical use of technology. This article explores ethical c...
Economic Benefits from Biking Trails and Greenways

Due to a growing need for health and wellbeing of the urban population and revitalization of the rural economies biking has become one of the top recreational activities is the U.S. While the impact of individual health and wellbeing from biking activities well recognized in the literature, the economic impact of bike tourism in rural communities is less recognized. The purpose of this paper is to review the studies on the economic impact of biking trails and greenways on the local communities and provide a guideline on how to undertake such studies based on available methodologies in the literature. In doing so, the paper discusses the objectives and goals for creating infrastructure for greenway and biking trails in the local communities including methodologies used to assess the economic impacts. This study concludes that for a long-run sustainable development, local community’s social and economic resources that already exist can be utilized for building biker friendly communities.
Impact of Iliac Crest Bone Grafting on Postoperative Outcomes and Complication Rates Following Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion

OBJECTIVE The relationship between bone graft technique and postoperative outcomes for minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS TLIF) has not been well-defined. This study aims to determine the effect of iliac crest bone grafting (ICBG) on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and complication rates following MIS TLIF. METHODS Primary, single-level MIS TLIF patients were consecutively analyzed. Patients that prospectively received a percutaneous technique of ICBG were compared to patients that retrospectively received bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2). Complication rates were assessed perioperatively and up to 1 year postoperatively. Changes in Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), visual analogue scale (VAS) back, and VAS leg pain were compared. Rates of minimum clinically important difference (MCID) achievement at final follow-up for ODI, VAS back, and VAS leg scores were compared. RESULTS One hundred forty-nine patients were included: 101 in the BMP-2 cohort and 48 in the ICBG cohort. The ICBG cohort demonstrated increases in intraoperative blood loss and shorter lengths of stay. ICBG patients also experienced longer operative times, though this did not reach statistical significance. No significant differences in complication or reoperation rates were identified. The ICBG cohort demonstrated greater improvements in VAS leg pain at 6-week and 12-week follow-up. No other significant differences in PROs or MCID achievement rates were identified. CONCLUSION Patients undergoing MIS TLIF with ICBG experienced clinically insignificant increases in intraoperative blood loss and did not experience increases in postoperative pain or disability. Complication and reoperation rates were similar between groups. These results suggest that ICBG is a safe option for MIS TLIF.