cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Malignant lymphoma of the spleen. A review of 49 cases in which the diagnosis was made at splenectomy.

A group of 49 Mayo Clinic patients in whom the original diagnosis of lymphoma was made at splenectomy is reported. Systemic symptoms and pain were the commonest complaints and peripheral blood cytopenias were the major abnormal laboratory findings. The correct diagnosis was suspected in almost half of the patients prior to surgery. The 5-year survival rate for the entire group was 31%. The survival rate of 17 patients with localized lesions that were resected was considerably better than in those with residual tumor left after surgery. Patients of various histologic types of lymphoma with a follicular pattern of distribution tended to have a better prognosis than those with diffuse infiltration. The group with lymphocytic lymphoma had a 5-year survival rate of 60%, considerably higher than that for patients with lesions of other histologic types.
Impact of electromagnetism on phase structure for Wilson and twisted-mass fermions including isospin breaking

In a recent paper we used chiral perturbation theory to determine the phase diagram and pion spectrum for Wilson and twisted-mass fermions at nonzero lattice spacing with nondegenerate up and down quarks. Here we extend this work to include the effects of electromagnetism, so that it is applicable to recent simulations incorporating all sources of isospin breaking. For Wilson fermions, we find that the phase diagram is unaffected by the inclusion of electromagnetism---the only effect is to raise the charged pion masses. For maximally twisted fermions, we previously took the twist and isospin-breaking directions to be different, in order that the fermion determinant is real and positive. However, this is incompatible with electromagnetic gauge invariance, and so here we take the twist to be in the isospin-breaking direction, following the RM123 Collaboration. We map out the phase diagram in this case, which has not previously been studied. The results differ from those obtained with different twist and isospin directions. One practical issue when including electromagnetism is that the critical masses for up and down quarks differ. We show that one of the criteria suggested to determine these critical masses does not work, and propose an alternative.
Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)-induced Synthesis of Early Growth Response Factor 3 (Egr3) Controls the Levels of Type A GABA Receptorα4 Subunits in Hippocampal Neurons

Altered function of gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptors (GABA(A)Rs) in dentate granule cells of the hippocampus has been associated with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in humans and in animal models of TLE. Such altered receptor function (including increased inhibition by zinc and lack of modulation by benzodiazepines) is related, in part, to changes in the mRNA levels of certain GABA(A)R subunits, including alpha4, and may play a role in epileptogenesis. The majority of GABA(A)Rs that contain alpha4 subunits are extra-synaptic due to lack of the gamma2 subunit and presence of delta. However, it has been hypothesized that seizure activity may result in expression of synaptic receptors with altered properties driven by an increased pool of alpha4 subunits. Results of our previous work suggests that signaling via protein kinase C (PKC) and early growth response factor 3 (Egr3) is the plasticity trigger for aberrant alpha4 subunit gene (GABRA4) expression after status epilepticus. We now report that brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is the endogenous signal that induces Egr3 expression via a PKC/MAPK-dependent pathway. Taken together with the fact that blockade of tyrosine kinase (Trk) neurotrophin receptors reduces basal GABRA4 promoter activity by 50%, our findings support a role for BDNF as the mediator of Egr3-induced GABRA4 regulation in developing neurons and epilepsy and, moreover, suggest that BDNF may alter inhibitory processing in the brain by regulating the balance between phasic and tonic inhibition.
Melatonin-Based Therapeutics for Neuroprotection in Stroke

The present review paper supports the approach to deliver melatonin and to target melatonin receptors for neuroprotection in stroke. We discuss laboratory evidence demonstrating neuroprotective effects of exogenous melatonin treatment and transplantation of melatonin-secreting cells in stroke. In addition, we describe a novel mechanism of action underlying the therapeutic benefits of stem cell therapy in stroke, implicating the role of melatonin receptors. As we envision the clinical entry of melatonin-based therapeutics, we discuss translational experiments that warrant consideration to reveal an optimal melatonin treatment strategy that is safe and effective for human application.
A New 'Risky' World Order: Unstable Risk Premiums: Implications for Practice

Investors have to be offered risk premiums to invest in risky assets. These risk premiums take different forms in different asset markets: equity risk premiums (ERP) in stock markets, default spreads in bond markets and real asset premiums in other asset markets. These premiums have their roots in fundamentals and will vary as a function of uncertainty about the economy, the risk aversion of investors, information uncertainty and fear of catastrophe, among other factors. In practice, analysts in developed markets have generally looked backwards to estimate risk premiums, using historical data to arrive at their estimates. Implicitly, they assume that historical averages are not only precise but also that risk premiums are stable and revert back quickly to historical norms. In this paper, we present evidence that risk premiums in equity, bond and real asset markets are not only imprecise, but are also unstable and linked across markets. We present estimation approaches that are more in line with dynamic, shifting risk premiums. We argue that the resulting estimates can help use make more informed asset allocation and asset valuation judgments in portfolio management and better investment, financing and dividend decisions in corporate finance.
Predictive transform: a simple and optimum unified approach to signal modeling, coding, estimation, and control

The decoder of a minimum mean-square-error predictive transform (PT) coder is found to be the key to a simple and optimum unification and transformation enhancement of well-established techniques in linear and nonlinear signal modeling, coding, estimation, and control. The fundamental property of the PT decoder that makes this possible is that the PT decoder is a whitening model of the signal that one wishes to model, encode, estimate, and/or control. In addition, the PT decoder is capable of exactly identifying a large class of linear and nonlinear whitening signal sources. Hence, this whitening signal modeling property of the PT decoder allows its integration with well-known signal-processing techniques such as Kalman estimation and linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control. An added bonus of this integration is the appearance of a transformation mechanism that leads to significant simplifications of the Kalman estimator as well as the LQG controller. The transformation-enhanced Kalman estimator is illustrated with monochrome images embedded in additive white noise and is found to produce a design and implementation complexity that is simpler than that of a classical Kalman estimator-without transformation-by a factor that approaches four in the smoothing case. >
Asymmetries in the Thai lending–deposit rate spread: an econometric analysis

This study examines the asymmetric behaviour of lending–deposit rate spread in the emerging Thai economy over the period 1991:1 to 2007:1. Although both the threshold autoregressive model and the Momentum Threshold Autoregressive (MTAR) model detect asymmetries, the MTAR model is a better fit for the sample data. The finding that Thai banks exhibit faster adjustment in lending rates when the spread is widening (i.e. falling deposit rates) than when the spread is narrowing (i.e. rising deposit rates) supports the consumer reaction hypothesis of Stiglitz and Weiss. This phenomenon is the result of the ‘oligopsonistic’ relationship between the banks and their powerful corporate customers, and the attendant practice of the ‘name’-based lending.
Imaging Embryonic Morphogenesis in C. elegans

The Caenorhabditis elegans embryo is well suited to morphogenetic analysis via modern microscopy, due to its short generation time, transparency, invariant lineage, and the ability to generate transgenic embryos expressing various fluorescent proteins. This chapter provides an overview of microscopy techniques for imaging embryonic morphogenesis, including making agar mounts, capturing four-dimensional (4D) data using Nomarski microscopy, imaging of actin in embryos, factors important for optimizing 4D fluorescence microscopy, and recent techniques that leverage fluorescence microscopy for intracellular imaging of cellular components during morphogenesis.
Integration of actin dynamics and cell adhesion by a three-dimensional, mechanosensitive molecular clutch

During cell migration, the forces generated in the actin cytoskeleton are transmitted across transmembrane receptors to the extracellular matrix or other cells through a series of mechanosensitive, regulable protein-protein interactions termed the molecular clutch. In integrin-based focal adhesions, the proteins forming this linkage are organized into a conserved three-dimensional nano-architecture. Here we discuss how the physical interactions between the actin cytoskeleton and focal-adhesion-associated molecules mediate force transmission from the molecular clutch to the extracellular matrix.
In Israel and Palestine

Every year for the last ten years I have visited Palestine/Israel, seven times leading a group of students who had spent a semester studying the conflict. Much can be learned from news reports, documentaries, and scholarly literature. But seeing Israel/Palestine in person creates the most vivid and compelling form of knowledge.
Ethics in nursing.

Using an illustrative example, the author shows how nurses can be powerful facilitators in ethical decisions. (non-author abstract)
Time trend analysis of atmospheric POPs concentrations in the Great Lakes region since 1990.

Using a multiple linear regression model of the concentrations of several persistent organic pollutants in the atmospheric vapor and particle phases and in precipitation, we have analyzed a data set of about 700,000 values to determine the rate at which these concentrations are decreasing. These concentrations were measured as part of the Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network (IADN), which has operated several sites near the North American Great Lakes since 1991. The pollutants measured include 83 polychlorinated biphenyl congeners, 17 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and 24 organochlorine pesticides. In the approach used here, for each of the three phases, the concentrations of a specific chemical at all the sites were combined and fitted with a regression incorporating the sine and cosine of the Julian Day (relative to 1 January 1990 and with a periodicity of one year) and the population living and working within a 25-km radius of the sampling site. Partial residuals were then calculated for each d...
Water-Energy-Food Nexus Framework for facilitating multi-stakeholder dialogue

Water, energy and food are deeply interlinked resources. Food and energy production require over 90% of our global water resources. In this time of climate change and rapid population growth, water...
Binding Isotope Effects for para-Aminobenzoic Acid with Dihydropteroate Synthase from Staphylococcus aureus and Plasmodium falciparum

Dihydropteroate synthase is a key enzyme in folate biosynthesis and is the target of the sulfonamide class of antimicrobials. Equilibrium binding isotope effects and density functional theory calculations indicate that the substrate binding sites for para-aminobenzoic acid on the dihydropteroate synthase enzymes from Staphylococcus aureus and Plasmodium falciparum present distinct chemical environments. Specifically, we show that para-aminobenzoic acid occupies a more sterically constrained vibrational environment when bound to dihydropteroate synthase from P. falciparum relative to that of S. aureus. Deletion of a nonhomologous, parasite-specific insert from the plasmodial dihydropteroate synthase abrogated the binding of para-aminobenzoic acid. The loop specific to P. falciparum is important for effective substrate binding and therefore plays a role in modulating the chemical environment at the substrate binding site.
Accurate determination of arsenic and selenium in plant food samples by using ICP-MS/MS

Arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) in food have caused public concern. Determination of As and Se in plant food samples encounters mass spectral interferences. The influence of polyatomic and doubly charged ions on the determination was evaluated by monitoring 75As, 77Se, 78Se, 80Se, and 82Se in four modes. The result showed that serious interferences were observed by using “no gas” mode (octopole vented, single quadrupole mode). Most but not all interferences could be removed when using He mode (He used as the collision gas, single quadrupole mode) or H2 mode (H2 used as the reaction gas, MS/MS mode), while O2 mass-shift mode (O2 used as the reaction gas, MS/MS mode) enabled the effective removal of all interferences. In the O2 mass-shift mode configuration, the ions of interest were filtered twice by using the mass-to-charge ratio, enabling the removal of all interfering species. As and Se concentrations could be determined interference-free by using mass-shift mode with O2 as reaction gas. The performance of O2 mass-shift mode was investigated for the determination of As and Se in five plant reference materials. The obtained results were consistent with the certified values, indicating that the O2 mass-shift mode was an effective method to determine As and Se in plant food samples. The detection limits of the method for 75As, 77Se, 78Se, 80Se, and 82Se were 0.5, 0.7, 1.1, 0.3 and 0.6 ng g−1, respectively.
6 – Increasing Risk: I. A Definition*

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the problem of defining an increase in risk in a way that can be used for economic purposes. Comparisons of riskiness or uncertainty are commonly restricted to comparisons of variance, largely because of the long history of the use of the first three approaches lead to a single definition of greater riskiness, different from that of the fourth approach. The indefinite integral induces a partial ordering on the set of distribution functions, which is equivalent to the partial ordering induced by the first two approaches. It is impossible to prove that one definition is better than another. This fact is not a license for agnosticism or the suspension of judgment. The chapter presents a geometrically motivated definition of what it means for one random variable to have more weight in the tails than another. A definition of greater risk should be transitive.
Normal Lipoproteins Inhibit Binding of SAA-Rich Lipoproteins to Polyvinylchloride Surfaces

A direct binding ELISA for serum amyloid A (SAA) proteins has been developed in which noncovalent interactions of SAA with other plasma constitutents are disrupted with heat, high salt and alkaline pH to permit coating of the wells of polyvinyl chloride microtitration plates with an amount of SAA antigen proportional to its concentration in plasma (J. Immunol. Methods, 125:125, 1989). When standard preparations of SAA-rich high density lipoprotein (HDL) were added to plasma lacking SAA, the ELISA values were lowered by 100-fold. Therefore standard curves were constructed by adding known amounts of SAA-HDL complex to solutions of purified human IgG and albumin of the same concentration as the diluted plasma samples. In the present study, it was found that addition of the lipoprotein fraction of normal plasma to the mixture of albumin, IgG and SAA-HDL, inhibited binding of SAA antigens by the Polyvinylchloride surface. This suggests a strong affinity between SAA and lipoproteins lacking SAA.
Grandparent education for assisted living facilities

ABSTRACTThe assisted living population is forecast to increase at a rapid rate. Quality of life for residents should be improved by giving greater attention to their cognitive, emotional, and social needs. A university lifespan development team provided a grandparent education course at a large assisted living facility with the assistance of 20 resident volunteers (ages 77–91). The volunteers were trained to guide small classes. Scheduling allowed participants to attend 90-minute sessions; average weekly attendance was 65 residents. Cooperative learning principles were introduced to govern the processes used for class instruction and ensure mental stimulation. The guidebook lessons included grandparents giving and seeking advice, understanding child and adolescent development, goals and expectations of modern families, recognizing parent success, managing family conflicts, learning in later life, drugs and sex, living in single and blended families, and the influence of media and technology. Participants ...
Application of Maleic Anhydride-Based Materials

Exploration of maleic anhydride’s utility continues in this chapter, which is a continuation from Chap. 9. Written as a survey, this chapter addresses the most important maleic anhydride applications while discussing a few more interesting topics in detail. It is our hope that the reader will finish this chapter with a greater appreciation for the broad applicability and emerging potential for maleic anhydride.
Glutamate in Pyridoxine-Dependent Epilepsy

Cerebrospinal fluid levels of glutamate, g-aminobutyric acid, and pyridoxal-5-phosphate examined in a patient with pyridoxine dependency while on and off vitamin B6 treatment are reported from Universitat Munchen, and Universitats-Nervenklinik, Wurzburg, Germany.
HDTV is the slogan, high volume-high tech is the issue

High-definition television (HDTV) is a central concern for US business and policy: US high-tech preeminence cannot be sustained without participation in high-volume markets for high-technology products. High-volume markets are increasingly driving sophisticated component quality and cost, which threatens even the ability of preeminent US computer companies to control their own technological destiny. The US failure to participate in high-volume, high-tech markets carries several risks that intensify as high-volume products become ever more sophisticated. It is argued that, before embarking on an ad-hoc HDTV policy that is uncoordinated with other needs, US policy makers ought to consider the underlying problem. An American HDTV initiative should be only one small part of a more comprehensive infrastructure strategy. >
Chocolate Islands: cocoa, slavery and Colonial Africa

In Chocolate Islands: Cocoa, Slavery and Colonial Africa, Catherine Higgs offers new insights into the question of slavery and forced labor in Portuguese colonial central Africa. This issue first s...
Characterization of wild North American grapevine cold hardiness using differential thermal analysis.

The cold hardiness of 33 different grapevine genotypes, representing six wild North American grapevine species, one wild Asian grapevine species, and six hybrid grapevines, was evaluated by measuring lethal temperatures for dormant buds using low temperature exotherms. Studies were conducted over three different winters to characterize the relative level of cold hardiness and responsiveness to changing weather patterns of each species. Major differences in the winter conditions demonstrated that wild grapevine has a great capacity for responding to both warm and cold temperature events during the dormant season. Results indicated that wild grapevine species with northern distributions tended to exhibit greater cold hardiness and responsiveness to temperature fluctuations than their southern-dwelling counterparts. Statistical modeling of low temperature exotherm results across the three winters indicated that each grapevine species had a distinct and innate capacity for responding to temperature. These results may be important for future grapevine breeding in areas with expected increases in winter temperature variation. Additionally, these results demonstrate the potential for genetic determinants of temperature responsiveness that may be investigated and mapped for future grapevine improvement.
Endometriosis in Adolescents: A Systematic Review:

IntroductionThe aim of this manuscript is to present a systematic review of characteristics and management of endometriosis in adolescents in order to gain some relevant insight into the most appropriate clinical management of the disease.MethodsThe literature review was done using electronic database PubMed focusing on the terms ‘adolescents’, ‘endometriosis’, ‘teenagers’, ‘pain’, ‘infertility’, ‘quality of life’, ‘medical’ and ‘surgical management’ from 1980 onward and was limited to articles in English. Articles were only included if they reported original relevant research.ResultsThe 24 studies selected for review included 1148 adolescents with laparoscopic proven endometriosis. The diagnosis of endometriosis was histologically confirmed in 39.02% (448/1148) of cases. The results from trials have been tabulated and main results presented in a question and answer format.ConclusionsThe majority of adolescent girls with chronic pelvic pain not responding to conventional medical therapy have endometriosis...
Investigation of Methionine Sulfoxide Formation as a Regulator of Proteolysis

The oxidation status of the methionine in the Tyr-Met cleavage site of von Willebrand Factor affects its rate of proteolysis and therefore oxidation has been proposed as a potential regulator of coagulation. More generally, little is known of the effects of methionine sulfoxide formation at the cleavage site in substrates on protease binding and kinetics. Bovine kappa-casein, a significant milk protein, is cleaved by chymosin between a phenylalanine and a methionine, the latter of which can be oxidized to form a methionine sulfoxide. The methionine is not conserved in camel kappa-casein and both bovine and camel chymosins are produced commercially. This makes it a very interesting model system to examine the potential for the evolution of methionine sulfoxide as a regulatory mechanism controlling protein cleavage. This cleavage reaction is also of considerable importance in its own right both in the nutrition of newborn mammals and in commerce, specifically for its application in cheese making. Peptide substrates of various lengths, matching the sequences of camel and both oxidized and reduced bovine kappa-casein, were digested with bovine and camel chymosin to determine the effects of oxidation upon the enzymatic activities in this system. In addition a comparison was made between the effects of peptide substrate oxidation and whole protein oxidation. Oxidation of substrates caused experimentally significant changes in both Km and kcat, although the effect in the latter was more substantial. Since large effects are observable even in systems not showing conservation of methionine in critical binding sites, this indicates that methionine oxidation could easily become a selection factor, leading to evolution of methionine oxidation as a regulatory mechanism for protein or peptide cleavage.
Sequential matched analysis of racial disparities in breast cancer hospitalization outcomes among African American and White patients.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study is to determine if racial disparities in inpatient outcomes persist among hospitalized patients comparing African American and White breast cancer patients matched on demographics, presentation and treatment. Methods A total of 136,211 African American and White breast cancer patients from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project − Nationwide Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS) database, matched on demographics alone, demographics and presentation or demographics, presentation and treatment were studied. Conditional logistic regression was conducted to evaluate post-surgical complications, length of stay and in-hospital mortality outcomes. Analysis was further stratified by age (≤65 years and >65 years) to evaluate whether disparities were larger in younger or older patients. All analysis was conducted using SAS 9.3. Results White women had significantly shorter hospital length of stay when matched on demographics (β= −0.87, p-value = 65 years Conclusion African American women experienced higher odds of inpatient mortality and longer length of stay compared with White women even after accounting for differences in demographics, presentation and treatment characteristics.
Brief Amici Curiae of 58 Law, Economics, and Business Professors in Support of Appellants' Petition for Panel Rehearing or Rehearing En Banc

In re Wellbutrin XL Antitrust Litigation, a Third Circuit panel, in evaluating a drug patent settlement, required the plaintiffs to show definitively that the brand's patent was invalid or not infringed, which would have allowed the generic to enter the market earlier absent the settlement. This brief offers four critiques of the decision. First, the decision makes multiple unsupported assumptions: it requires a “dispositive” connection between payment and patent weakness; it carves out special rules—nowhere found in FTC v. Actavis—for “complex and multi-faceted” settlements; it accepts risk-based defenses rejected in Actavis; and it finds holdings adopted in Actavis “effective[ly] rebutt[ed]” by arguments rejected in the case. Second, the panel decision contradicts the Supreme Court's landmark decision in Actavis. In that decision, the Court emphasized antitrust’s vital role in evaluating settlements by which brand firms pay generics to delay entering the market. In findings ignored by the panel, the Court treated a large and unjustified payment as a “surrogate” for a patent’s weakness and made clear that settling parties could not defend their payment on the grounds that it would avoid the risk of losing the patent case. Third, the panel decision is not consistent with decisions of the Third Circuit. In King Drug, the Third Circuit extended the Supreme Court’s rejection of a risk-aversion defense to “no authorized generic” agreements by which brands promise not to introduce their own generics that would compete with “true” generics. And less than two weeks after the decision, the Third Circuit reached a conclusion contrary to the panel in In re Lipitor Antitrust Litigation, making clear that a payment’s size “may very well correspond with the magnitude” of a “patent holder[’s] concern[] about the validity of its patent” and finding that the brand’s forgiveness of the generic’s damages in a separate case “was ‘large’ enough to permit a plausible inference” that the brand “had serious doubts about the ability of [its] patents to lawfully prevent competition.” Finally, the panel decision is not consistent with the policies of the relevant regulatory regimes. The Hatch-Waxman Act, Congress’s framework balancing competition and innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, promotes generic competition by encouraging challenges to invalid patents. Such challenges also reflect the important policy, found in patent law itself, of challenging patents. The brief concludes that for all of these pressing reasons, the petition for panel rehearing or rehearing en banc should be granted.
Gifted Minds and Cultural Differences: Facts vs. Values

The guiding theme of this chapter follows David Hume's split between facts (“is”) and values (“ought”). A program of analytical investigation is described, its purpose to allow gifted minds to see how values differ between and among cultures, especially “mainstream” American values in relation to selected non-American values. The argument is that if this program is followed, students will develop receptive dispositions – encompassing recognition, understanding, and appreciation – toward ethical values differing from their own. If acted upon, these dispositions enhance the tendency to accommodate, rather than be threatened by, culturally diverse values.
Cortical spike multiplexing using gamma frequency latencies

One of the fundamental problems in understanding the brain, in particular, the cerebral cortex, is that we only have a partial understanding of the basic communication protocols that underlie signal transmission. This makes it difficult to interpret the significance of particular phenomena such as basic firing patterns and oscillations at different frequencies. There are, of course, useful models. Motivated by single-cell recording technology, Poisson statistics of cortical action potentials have long been a basic component in models of signal representation in the cortex. However, it is increasingly difficult to integrate Poisson spiking with spike timing signals in the gamma frequency spectrum. A potential way forward is being sparked by new technologies that allow the exploration of very low-level communication strategies. Specifically, the voltage potential of a cell9s soma now can be recorded with very high fidelity in vivo, allowing correlation of its fine structure to be correlated with behaviors. To interpret this data, we have developed a unified model (gamma spike multiplexing, or GSM) wherein a cell9s somatic gamma frequencies can modulate the generation of action potentials. Such spikes can be seen as the basis for a general-purpose method of modulating fast communication in cortical networks. In particular, the model has several important advantages over traditional formalisms: 1) It allows multiple, independent processes to run in parallel, greatly increasing the processing capability of the cortex 2) Its processing speed is 100 to 1,000 times faster than population coding methods 3) Its processes are not bound to specific locations, but migrate across cortical cells as a function of time, facilitating the maintenance of cortical cell calibration.
Spatial representation of magnitude in humans (Homo sapiens), Western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), and American black bears (Ursus americanus).

The spatial-numerical association of response codes (SNARC) effect is the tendency for humans to respond faster to relatively larger numbers on the left or right (or with the left or right hand) and faster to relatively smaller numbers on the other side. This effect seems to occur due to a spatial representation of magnitude either in occurrence with a number line (wherein participants respond to relatively larger numbers faster on the right), other representations such as clock faces (responses are reversed from number lines), or culturally specific reading directions, begging the question as to whether the effect may be limited to humans. Given that a SNARC effect has emerged via a quantity judgement task in Western lowland gorillas and orangutans (Gazes et al., Cog 168:312–319, 2017), we examined patterns of response on a quantity discrimination task in American black bears, Western lowland gorillas, and humans for evidence of a SNARC effect. We found limited evidence for SNARC effect in American black bears and Western lowland gorillas. Furthermore, humans were inconsistent in direction and strength of effects, emphasizing the importance of standardizing methodology and analyses when comparing SNARC effects between species. These data reveal the importance of collecting data with humans in analogous procedures when testing nonhumans for effects assumed to bepresent in humans.
Transformation of Human Fibroblasts by N-RAS Oncogene

Study of retroviruses and development of gene transfer technology allowed an identification of retrovirus oncogenes and their cellular homologues (1). Later, activation of proto-oncogenes was shown in many human tumor cell lines and human tumors (2,3). Transforming potential of these genes was detemined in established rodent fibroblast cell systems, most commonly NIH 3T3 cells. Oncogenes detected in this system were mostly from the ras gene family. Studies on the role that ras oncogenes play in tumorigenesis have demonstrated the frequent and consistent mutational activation of ras genes in some animal tumors and only in 10–20% of human tumor samples studied (4). More recent findings have revealed ras mutations, for instance, in extensively studied colorectal carcinomas in 40 or 50% of the examined cases (5,6).
Correlation of the Flux Tube Constant with the Nucleon Electric Polarizability

A three-quark shell model of the nucleon is used to calculate analytically thepolarizability using a scalar linear flux tube potential with no one-gluon exchangepotential included. A value of 12.02 × 10−4 f 3 is obtained for the proton, ingood agreement with experiment, with the flux tube constant adjusted to reproducethe proton Δ average rest energy. The magnetic polarizability of the proton isthen calculated as 1.51 × 10−4 f 3, which is in agreement with the experimentalvalue. The neutron/proton electric polarizability ratio is calculated as 2/3, andthe neutron electric polarizability is predicted to be 8.01 × 10−4 f 3.
I Ching Divination and the Absolutely Poetic Reconstruction of Intentionality

If twentieth-century hermeneutics has taught us anything, it is that the understanding of a text or phenomenon is impoverished if it fails to take into account what is apparently anomalous, marginal, or suppressed. Among the most strikingly anomalous, marginal, and suppressed phenomena in the attempt of Western thought to come to terms with China is divination, as represented by the oldest extant, perhaps even the originary text of Chinese literature, the I Ching. In the positivistic, technological paradigm which still passes for common sense and which still threatens phenomenological thinking with subtle ideological contamination, especially in the a priori circumscription of the possible, divination is likely to come to presence as a quaint superstition; but to dismiss one of the paradigmatically original moments of Chinese civilization in such a thoughtless fashion is not only to exclude a very important event in the history of consciousness, but also to overlook an important fact of the nature of consciousness itself. Once allowed to enter into a productive juxtaposition with major concepts of twentieth-century Western philosophy, the phenomenon of divination casts new light on the difficult issue of the development of intentionality while, mutatis mutandis, a re-examination of intentionality illuminates an authentically philosophical approach to the phenomenon of divination.
A VIEW OF HARMONIZABLE PROCESSES

This paper contains an account of harmonizable processes, the structure of their spectral domains in many cases, and certain results on sampling and statistical inference problems. Also some potential avenues for future research in the area are indicated.
PRODUÇÃO E COMPOSIÇÃO BROMATOLÓGICA DE SILAGEM DE SORGO SOB DIFERENTES DOSES DE NITROGÊNIO

Avaliou-se a producao e composicao bromatologica da silagem de sorgo submetido a doses crescentes de nitrogenio. O experimento foi conduzido na area experimental do Instituto Federal Goiano – Campus Ceres, localizado na Rodovia GO 154, km 3, municipio de Ceres-GO. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos casualizados em esquema fatorial 4 x 2, com quatro tratamento (0; 50; 100 e 150) kg de N.ha-1 (ureia NOVATEC SOLUB 45%), duas cultivares e quatro repeticoes. Os dados foram submetidos a analise de variância pelo teste Tukey ao nivel de 5% de significância. As analises foram realizadas com auxilio do software R (R Development Core Team, 2010). Nao foram observados interacoes e efeito pela ANOVA (p>0,05) para os itens nitrogenio e cultivares, alem de nao apresentar diferenca para as variaveis nos teores medio de MS (28,12%), PB (5,64%), FDN (61,24%), FDA (23,31%) e MM (6,15%). As cultivares Volumax e SS318 possuem bom potencial produtivo de massa verde e massa seca produzida por unidade de area, independente das doses de N utilizadas.
A Comprehensive Study on the Sustainability of Agricultural Farms in Bulgaria

The issue of assessment of sustainability of agricultural farms as a whole and of different types is among the most topical for researchers, farmers, investors, administrators, politicians, interests groups and public at large. In Bulgaria, there are no assessments on sustainability level farming structures in conditions of European Union Common Agricultural Policy implementation. This paper applies a holistic framework and assesses the sustainability of Bulgarian farms as a whole and of different juridical types, sizes, production specialization, and ecological and geographical location. Initially, the method of the study is outlined and overall characteristics of surveyed holdings are presented. After that, an assessment is made of integral, governance, economic, social, environmental sustainability of farms in general and of different types and location. Next, the structure of farms with different sustainability levels is analyzed. Finally, the factors for improving the sustainability of Bulgarian farms are identified, and directions for further research and amelioration of farm management and public intervention in the sector are suggested.
Synthetic studies on maduropeptin chromophore 2. Synthesis of the madurosamine aryl amide and the C1′C9′ fragments

Abstract A retrosynthetic analysis (Scheme 1) of maduropeptin chromophore artifact 1 defined compounds 2 and 3 as required building blocks. The construction of 2 was achieved starting from the 2,5-dimethyl derived aromatic acid 8 and the d -serine derived δ-lactone 12 (Scheme 2), whereas the synthesis of 3 utilized an Evans's aldol condensation reaction between aldehyde 13 and chiral auxiliary 14 (Scheme 3).
The influence of arsenic chemical form and concentration on Spartina patens and Spartina alterniflora growth and tissue arsenic concentration

Arsenic (As) uptake by two perennial coastal marsh grasses growing in hydroponic conditions was studied in relation to the chemical form and concentration of As added to nutrient solution. A 4×3×2 factorial experiment was conducted with treatments consisting of four As chemical forms [arsenite, As(III); arsenate, As(V); monomethyl arsonic acid, MMAA; and dimethyl arsinic acid, DMAA], three As concentrations (0.2, 0.8, and 2.0 mg As L-1) and two plant species (Spartina patens and Spartina alterniflora). Arsenic phytoavailability and phytotoxicity were primarily determined by the As chemical form present in the nutrient solution, though As concentration also influenced both As availability and toxicity. Application of As(V) increased root, shoot and total dry matter production; this positive plant growth response may be linked with P nutrition. Organic arsenicals and As(III) were the most phytotoxic species to both marsh grasses when plant growth was considered. Arsenic uptake and transport in plant were species-specific. Phytoavailability of As followed the trend DMAA ≪MMAA ≅ As(V) < As(III). Root and shoot As concentrations significantly increased with increasing As application rates to the rooting medium, regardless of the As chemical form. Upon absorption, inorganic arsenicals and MMAA were mainly accumulated in the root system, while DMAA was readily translocated to the shoot.
Pangenome-Wide Association Studies with Frequented Regions

Connecting genetic variation (genotype) to trait variation (phenotype) is a critical but often difficult step in genetic research. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) is a common approach to connect underlying genetic variation to complex phenotypic traits, allowing for phenotypic prediction. GWAS is important in many disciplines, including identifying genetic risk factors for common, complex diseases, identifying genes underlying important traits and predicting phenotypes from genotypes. GWAS is limited, though, in that the types of variations typically studied are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified relative to a single reference genome. These limitations lead to bias and preclude GWAS from studies across related species. The advent of next-generation sequencing has brought an exponential growth in DNA sequence data. This has led to the more comprehensive pangenomics approach, where the entire sequence content and variation of a population are succinctly represented independent of a reference. In prior work, we developed a method for identifying genomic regions that characterize complex variations within pangenomic data and showed that these regions provide a more general way to study genetic variation than existing approaches. This work describes our initial results to develop new methods for a new branch of genomic analysis called pangenome-wide association studies (PWAS) that generalizes GWAS to pangenome datasets both within and across species. We make use of recently developed algorithms for fast compressed De Bruijn graph construction and identifying frequented regions in these graphs that can be used as machine-learning features to identify pangenomic regions, overlaid with gene annotations, that relate to complex phenotypic traits. Initial results on a pangenome composed of 100 yeast indicate that frequented region features provide better machine-learning regression models than SNPs for predicting phenotypic traits.
Suture thickness and transvaginal cervical cerclage outcomes.

Background Cervical cerclage placement has been shown to benefit women who have cervical insufficiency; however, the best type of suture to use for transvaginal cerclage placement is unknown. Objective The objective of the study was to evaluate the association between transvaginal cerclage suture thickness and pregnancy outcomes. Study Design This was a retrospective cohort study of women with a singleton, nonanomalous gestation who underwent history-, ultrasound-, or physical examination–indicated transvaginal cerclage at a single tertiary care center (2013–2016). The primary outcome was gestational age at delivery. Secondary outcomes included preterm birth less than 34 weeks, chorioamnionitis, neonatal intensive care unit admission, and composite neonatal morbidity. Baseline characteristics and outcomes were compared by thickness of suture material: thick 5 mm braided polyester fiber (Mersilene tape) vs thin polyester braided thread (Ethibond) or polypropylene nonbraided monofilament (Prolene) with selection of suture type at the discretion of the provider. The association between thick suture and gestational age at delivery was estimated using Cox proportional hazard regression. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the association between thick suture and the secondary outcomes. Effect modification of cerclage indication was also assessed. Results A total of 203 women met inclusion criteria: 120 with thick suture (59%) and 83 with thin suture (41%). Of these, 130 women had history-indicated, 35 had ultrasound-indicated, and 38 had examination-indicated cerclages. Compared with women who had thin suture, women with thick suture were more likely to have had a history- or ultrasound-indicated cerclage, rather than examination-indicated cerclage, and more likely to have had a Shirodkar or cervicoisthmic approach, rather than McDonald. Women with thick suture were also more likely to have received progesterone and had placement at earlier gestational age, but there were no differences in cervical examination at placement. After adjusting for confounding factors, thick suture was associated with longer pregnancy duration among women with ultrasound-indicated cerclage (adjusted hazard risk, 0.61, 95% confidence interval, 0.41–0.91) and examination-indicated cerclage (adjusted hazard risk, 0.30, 95% confidence interval, 0.15–0.58) but not with history-indicated cerclage (adjusted hazard risk, 1.27, 95% confidence interval, 0.83–1.94). Thick suture was also associated with lower odds of preterm birth Conclusion Thick, compared with thin suture, for transvaginal cervical cerclage, was associated with longer duration of pregnancy among women with ultrasound- and examination-indicated cerclages and lower odds of chorioamnionitis and neonatal intensive care unit admission among all women, regardless of cerclage indication.
Unsupervised outlier detection techniques for well logs and geophysical data

Abstract Outliers in well logs and other borehole-based subsurface measurements are often due to poor borehole condition, problems in data acquisition, irregularity in operating procedures, the presence of rare geological formations, or certain rare process/phenomenon in the subsurface. Detection of outliers is an important step prior to building a robust data-driven or machine learning-based model. We perform a comparative study of the performances of four unsupervised outlier detection techniques (ODTs) on various original and synthetic well-log datasets. The four unsupervised ODTs compared in this study are isolation forest (IF), one-class SVM (OCSVM), local outlier factor (LOF), and density-based spatial application with noise (DBSCAN). The unsupervised ODTs are evaluated on four labeled outlier-prone validation datasets using precision-recall curve, F1 score, area under the curve (AUC) score, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Isolation forest is the most robust unsupervised ODT for detecting various types of outliers, whereas DBSCAN is particularly effective in detecting noise in a well-log dataset. Efficient feature engineering and feature selection is important to ensure robust detection of outliers in well-log and subsurface measurements using unsupervised outlier detection methods.
Growth differentiation factor-15 is associated with age-related monocyte immunosenescence

Background: Immunosenescence is an age-associated decrease in function of immune cells precipitated by a variety of mechanisms and affecting nearly every immune cell subset. In myeloid cell subsets, aging reduces numbers of phagocytes and impairs their functional abilities, including antigen presentation, phagocytosis, and bacterial clearance. Recently, we have described an aging effect on several functions indicating immunosenescence in monocytes, including impaired mitochondrial function and reduced inflammatory cytokine gene expression during stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We hypothesized that circulating factors altered by the aging process underly these changes. Growth/differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is a distant member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily that has known anti-inflammatory effects in macrophages and has recently been shown to be highly differentially expressed during aging. We used biobanked serum and plasma samples to assay circulating GDF-15 levels in subjects from our previous studies and examined correlations between GDF-15 levels and monocyte mitochondrial function and inflammatory responses. Results: Monocyte interleukin-6 production due to lipopolysaccharide stimulation was negatively correlated to plasma GDF-15 levels. Additionally, serum GDF-15 was positively correlated to circulating CD16+ monocyte proportions and negatively correlated to monocyte mitochondrial respiratory capacity. Conclusions: The results of these analyses suggest that GDF-15 is a potential circulating factor affecting a variety of monocyte functions and promoting monocyte immunosenescence, and thus may be an attractive candidate for therapeutic intervention to ameliorate this.