cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anatomy and Ultrastructure of Bone – Histogenesis, Growth and Remodeling

Bones have three major functions: to serve as mechanical support, sites of muscle insertion and as a reserve of calcium and phosphate for the organism. Recently, a fourth function has been attributed to the skeleton: an endocrine organ. The organic matrix of bone is formed mostly of collagen, but also non-collagenous proteins. Hydroxyapatite crystals bind to both types of proteins. Most components of the bone matrix are synthesized and secreted by osteoblasts. Resorption of the bone matrix is required for adaptation to growth, repair and mineral mobilization. This process is performed by the macrophage-related osteoclast. Bone is remodeled throughout life through a coordinated sequence of events which involve the sequential actions of osteoclasts and osteoblasts, replacing old bone with new bone. In the normal adult skeleton, remodeling is coupled such that the level of resorption is equal to the level of formation and bone density remains constant. Intramembranous ossification is the process by which flat bones are formed. For this process, osteoblasts differentiate directly from mesenchymal cells to form the bone matrix. Long bones are formed by endochondral ossification, which is characterized by the presence of a cartilaginous model in which chondrocytes differentiate and mineralized cartilage is replaced with bone through remodeling. For complete coverage of all related areas of Endocrinology, please visit our on-line FREE web-text, WWW.ENDOTEXT.ORG .
Comparison of placenta samples with contamination controls does not provide evidence for a distinct placenta microbiota.

Recent studies have suggested that bacteria associated with the placenta—a “placental microbiome”—may be important in reproductive health and disease. However, a challenge in working with specimens with low bacterial biomass, such as placental samples, is that some or all of the bacterial DNA may derive from contamination in dust or commercial reagents. To investigate this, we compared placental samples from healthy deliveries to a matched set of contamination controls, as well as to oral and vaginal samples from the same women. We quantified total 16S rRNA gene copies using quantitative PCR and found that placental samples and negative controls contained low and indistinguishable copy numbers. Oral and vaginal swab samples, in contrast, showed higher copy numbers. We carried out 16S rRNA gene sequencing and community analysis and found no separation between communities from placental samples and contamination controls, though oral and vaginal samples showed characteristic, distinctive composition. Two different DNA purification methods were compared with similar conclusions, though the composition of the contamination background differed. Authentically present microbiota should yield mostly similar results regardless of the purification method used—this was seen for oral samples, but no placental bacterial lineages were (1) shared between extraction methods, (2) present at >1 % of the total, and (3) present at greater abundance in placental samples than contamination controls. We conclude that for this sample set, using the methods described, we could not distinguish between placental samples and contamination introduced during DNA purification.
Colorectal Cancer Screening Preferences among Black and Latino Primary Care Patients.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates in the U.S. have historically been lower among blacks and Latinos than whites. The advent of a new stool-based test, Cologuard, calls for research to determine which CRC screening test minority individuals might prefer. Ninety black and Latino patients who had undergone screening colonoscopy were personally educated about four CRC screening tests and subsequently asked about their test preference, attributes that influenced preference, and strength of preference. Cologuard (31.1 %) and colonoscopy (64.4 %) were preferred over computerized tomographic colonography and fecal immunochemical tests. Preference was influenced by distinct test attributes. Individuals who selected Cologuard over colonoscopy were more likely to be >60 and have greater strength of test preference. There was an overriding preference for Cologuard and colonoscopy among black and Latino individuals who had undergone screening colonoscopy. To further improve CRC screening in these populations, patient preferences should guide recommendations.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE ATMOSPHERIC WATER BALANCE OVER THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

An analysis of the atmospheric water balance over the Southern Hemisphere is conducted for the time period June 1980 through May 1984 that includes the 1982–1983 El Nino event. Notable spatial and temporal variations are evident in the moisture flux divergence fields, in the mean meridional transport of water vapor, and in the moisture content of portions of the tropical atmosphere that are attributable to the 1982–1983 ENSO event. Estimates of the net gain/loss of atmospheric water are provided for 10° latitude belts; although the magnitudes of the differences between evaporation and precipitation fall within the range of previous estimates, they are most probably underestimated. [Key words: atmospheric water balance, El Nino, hydrologic cycle, southern hemisphere, water vapor flux.]
Interference-aware routing and spectrum allocation for millimeter wave backhaul in urban picocells

The exponential growth in demand for mobile data requires significant increases in spatial reuse, motivating an evolution towards picocellular architectures with densely deployed base stations. Providing backhaul for such a network is a key challenge, because of the high access link rates, and the cost and difficulty of running optical fiber to base stations that might be opportunistically placed on lampposts and rooftops. Wireless backhaul using millimeter (mm) wave spectrum is therefore an attractive and flexible approach, given the plentiful availability of spectrum and the possibility of synthesizing highly directive, steerable links. In this paper, we formulate and investigate the problem of joint resource allocation and routing on such a mm wave backhaul network, providing a linear programming formulation that accounts for mutual interference across simultaneously active links. While the number of variables grows exponentially in network size, it is possible to prune the problem size so that it is manageable for moderately sized networks. Numerical results and design implications are briefly discussed.
Labor Mobility and Productivity: Evidence from Finance

We use unique data on careers of investment managers to study the relation between labor markets and productivity differences across sectors in finance. We document significant labor mobility between mutual funds and hedge funds during the 1990s and 2000s. Descriptive evidence suggests potential inefficiencies in the allocation of skill and capital: switching from mutual funds to hedge funds results in large gains in return-based productivity and value-added. Hedge funds absorb mutual fund managers from the left and the right tails of the distribution of abnormal returns, lower Sharpe ratios, and higher volatility. To explain these patterns, we estimate a simple model of supply and demand for labor, with heterogeneous sector-specific skills. The model is identified using shocks to investor demand. Selection of low-skilled mutual managers into hedge funds was driven by a decrease in the mutual fund demand for such managers, an increase in hedge fund demand across the skill distribution, and idiosyncratic expected gains. Selection-adjusted average treatment effects show a much smaller hedge fund premium in return-based productivity and a we cannot reject a zero premium in value added.
Dissipative Effects of Bubbles and Particles in Shear Flows

Author(s): Dinsmore, C; Aminfar, AH; Princevac, M | Abstract: Chemical reactors, air lubrication systems, and the aeration of the oceans rely, either in part or in whole, on the interaction of bubbles and their surrounding liquid. Even though bubbly mixtures have been studied at both the macroscopic and bubble level, the dissipation field associated with an individual bubble in a shear flow has not been thoroughly investigated. Exploring the nature of this phenomenon is critical not only when examining the effect a bubble has on the dissipation in a bulk shear flow but also when a microbubble interacts with turbulent eddies near the Kolmogorov length scale. In order to further our understanding of this behavior, this study investigated these interactions both analytically and experimentally. From an analytical perspective, expressions were developed to model the dissipation associated with the creeping flow fields in and around a fluid particle immersed in a linear shear flow. Experimentally, tests were conducted using a simple test setup that corroborated the general findings of the theoretical investigation. Both the analytical and experimental results indicate that the presence of bubbles in a shear flow causes elevated dissipation of kinetic energy.
Robustness Analysis of a Memristive Crossbar PUF Against Modeling Attacks

In the greater context of computer security, hardware security issues such as integrated circuit counterfeiting, cloning, reverse engineering and piracy have emerged as critical issues due in part to an increasingly globalized supply chain. To help combat hardware security vulnerabilities, a wide range of security primitives have emerged in recent years. A popular example is physical unclonable functions (PUFs) that leverage process variations to provide unique signatures or fingerprints that can be used for authentication or secret key generation. Nanoelectronic technologies, such as the memristor technologies considered here, provide an excellent opportunity to engineer dense, energy-efficient PUF circuits with desirable statistical properties. Here, we specifically focus on the design considerations of a memristive crossbar based PUF that generates response bits as a function of variable memristor switching time. In addition to describing the operation of the crossbar PUF, we also consider its resilience to two specific machine learning attacks, specifically through the use of linear regression and support vector machines. Two circuit design modifications for the crossbar PUF are provided to improve the resilience to machine learning attacks: XORing of response bits and internal column swapping. We show that the design modifications lead to a reduction in the likelihood of successful attack to about 50% (near ideal) even given 5000 iterations for the attack itself. We also provide power estimates and performance considerations for the crossbar PUF based on three specific memristive material stacks: hafnium-oxide, tantalum-oxide, and titanium-oxide.
Patterns of surveillance after curative intent surgery in elderly stage I-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer patients.

7541 Background: The optimal strategy for imaging surveillance of stage I-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients (pts) after curative intent surgery is unknown. In general, current guidel...
Behavioural response of the invasive Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) to host plant stimuli augmented with semiochemicals in the field

Although much work has focused on understanding how the invasive brown marmorated stink bug, or Halyomorpha halys, responds to pheromonal stimuli, very little research has explored the response of H. halys to plant volatiles and other host stimuli. The present study aimed to determine (i) whether more acceptable, less acceptable or unacceptable host plants augmented with plant volatile mixes and/or pheromone can enhance the retention capacity of plants for H. halys in the field and (ii) whether plant volatiles [apple, peach or green leaf volatile (GLV) mixtures] can increase attraction to pheromone-baited pyramid traps. The presence of the H. halys pheromone was the primary factor in increasing the retention capacity of tagged, released adults to host plants, although plant volatile mixtures added a small increase in retention. Plant species helped to modulate the effectiveness of both the pheromone and additional plant volatiles in retaining individuals. Plant volatiles did not increase attraction of adults to baited pyramid traps and may have inhibited the attraction of nymphs. Overall, the results of the present study suggest that host plant stimuli, construed broadly, are important for the foraging decisions of H. halys, although further research is needed to identify the most effective stimuli.
Introduction: The Affordable Care Act as a National Experiment

Of all that might be said about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)—one of the most important and most challenged pieces of legislation in our nation’s history—why emphasize that it is an experiment? First, any major policy innovation is an experiment. There will be hypotheses and expectations, but until implemented and tested, we cannot be certain of the results—so we need to collect data on the impact of innovations so that the nation learns from the challenges of doing such experiments. In addition to being an experiment itself, the ACA has strengthened the role of research in improving the quality, effectiveness, and value of health care. By creating the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Innovation Center and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the ACA has put research at the center of American healthcare improvement. Now, with the many improvements the ACA makes in American healthcare financing and delivery, and the important research it supports, there is the opportunity that all health policymakers and researchers long for, and on which the public depends, to have real impact on health.
A century of guayule: Comprehensive Genetic Characterization of the Guayule (Parthenium argentatum A. Gray) USDA Germplasm Collection

The fragility of a single-source, geographically concentrated supply of natural rubber, a critical material of the modern economy, has brought guayule ( Parthenium argentatum A. Gray) to the forefront as an alternative source of natural rubber. The improvement of guayule for commercial-scale production has been limited by the lack of genomic tools and well-characterized genetic resources required for genomics-assisted breeding. To address this issue, we developed nearly 50,000 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genetic markers and genotyped 69 accessions of guayule and its sister taxa mariola ( Parthenium incanum Kunth), representing the entire available NALPGRU germplasm collection. We identified multiple interspecific hybrid accessions previously considered guayule, including six guayule-mariola hybrids and non-mariola interspecific hybrid accessions AZ-2 and AZ-3, two commonly used high-yielding cultivars. We dissected genetic diversity within the collection to identify a highly diverse subset of guayule accessions, and showed that wild guayule stands in Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA have the potential to provide hitherto untapped guayule genetic diversity. Together, these results provide the most thorough genetic characterization of guayule germplasm to date and lay the foundation for rapid genetic improvement of commercial guayule germplasm.
A CyberGIS-Jupyter Framework for Geospatial Analytics at Scale

The interdisciplinary field of cyberGIS (geographic information science and systems (GIS) based on advanced cyberinfrastructure) has a major focus on data- and computation-intensive geospatial analytics. The rapidly growing needs across many application and science domains for such analytics based on disparate geospatial big data poses significant challenges to conventional GIS approaches. This paper describes CyberGIS-Jupyter, an innovative cyberGIS framework for achieving data-intensive, reproducible, and scalable geospatial analytics using the Jupyter Notebook based on ROGER - the first cyberGIS supercomputer. The framework adapts the Notebook with built-in cyberGIS capabilities to accelerate gateway application development and sharing while associated data, analytics and workflow runtime environments are encapsulated into application packages that can be elastically reproduced through cloud computing approaches. As a desirable outcome, data-intensive and scalable geospatial analytics can be efficiently developed and improved, and seamlessly reproduced among multidisciplinary users in a novel cyberGIS science gateway environment.
Im Krieg gegen Frankreich

In Karl Kraus ‘Drama Die letzten Tage der Menschheit, jener satirischen Revue des Ersten Weltkriegs in funf Akten, trifft der Spott alle — den Kaiser, den Leutnant, ebenso wie den einfachen Burger. Aber an einem Berufsstand ist es Kraus besonders gelegen: dem des Kriegsberichterstatters. Ob es sich um die Reporter in der Heimat handelt („Was sie vorne tun die Helden, / Schreib ich gleich von hinten auf“, Kraus 1986: 271) oder die Berichterstatter des Kriegspressequartiers an vorderster Front, ausgerustet mit ‚Kodak‘ und ‚Feldstecher‘: Sie sichern die mediale Inszenierung des Krieges sowohl in Vorbereitung der Kriegsgrunde und -ziele wie in Aufbereitung des Heldentums an der Front. Dass dabei zuweilen das ‚Fronttheater‘ selbst nur wieder inszeniert scheint, um fur einen Ganghofer oder eine Schalek das rechte Anschauungsmaterial bieten zu konnen, gehort in Karl Kraus‘ Pandamonium medialer Zirkulation zum selbstverstandlichen Bestand. Wenn Satire wie jede Form von Komik grundsatzlich auf der Inkongruenz zwischen dem Erwartbaren und dem Dargestellten beruht, so ergibt sich fur Kraus ein bestandiger eklatanter Bruch zwischen allen Reprasentationsformen des Krieges und seiner fundamentalen Nichtreprasentierbarkeit. Sicher geht es Kraus um den Nachweis der Luge, der Camouflage des Krieges unter der Rede vom Krieg. Aber er macht eben auch deutlich, dass Krieg ohne Camouflage nicht zu haben ist. Und an ihr, so seine Diagnose, arbeiten die Medien — die Schriftmedien ebenso wie Fotografie und Film.
Influence of Baseline Muscle Strength and Size Measures on Training Adaptations in Resistance-trained Men

The influence of baseline strength or muscle size on adaptations to training is not well-understood. Comparisons between novice and advanced lifters, and between stronger and weaker experienced-lifters, have produced conflicting results. This study examined the effect of baseline muscle strength and size on subsequent adaptations in resistance-trained individuals following a traditional high-volume, short-rest resistance training protocol. Fourteen resistance-trained men (24.0±2.7 y; 90.1±11.7 kg; 169.9±29.0 cm) completed pre-training (PRE) ultrasound measurements of muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) in the rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), pectoralis major, and triceps brachii (TRI) prior to strength assessments (e.g., one-repetition maximum strength bench press and back-squat). Post-training (POST) assessments were completed following 8-wks (4 d·wk-1) of resistance training. Comparisons were made between stronger (STR) and weaker (WKR) participants, and between larger (LGR) and smaller (SMR) participants, based upon PRE-muscle strength and size, respectively. When groups were based on upper-body strength, repeated measures analysis of variance indicated a significant group × time interaction where greater improvements in bench press strength were observed in WKR (12.5±8.6%, p = 0.013) compared to STR (1.3±5.4%, p=0.546). Within this comparison, STR also possessed more resistance training experience than WKR (mean difference=3.1 y, p=0.002). No other differences in experience or adaptations to training were observed. These data suggest that following a short-duration training program (8-weeks), baseline size and strength have little impact on performance gains in resistance-trained individuals who possess similar years of experience. However, when training experience is different, baseline strength may affect adaptations.
Reduced Translocation is Associated with Antagonism of Glyphosate by Glufosinate in Giant Foxtail (Setaria faberi) and Velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti)

Previous reports have underscored antagonism that may result from mixing glyphosate and glufosinate across a wide range of application rates and for various broadleaf and grass weed species, but no investigation has been conducted to characterize glyphosate absorption and translocation when combined with glufosinate. The objectives of this study were to evaluate herbicide efficacy and assess herbicide interaction and physiological response with combinations of glyphosate and glufosinate on common lambsquarters, velvetleaf, and giant foxtail. Greenhouse studies to determine interaction resulted in strong and persistent antagonism between glyphosate at 110 and 220 g ae ha-1 and glufosinate at 20 or 40 g ae ha-1 in giant foxtail, whereas only transient and reduced antagonism was noted for velvetleaf and common lambsquarters. Combining glyphosate and glufosinate increased the maximum absorption of glyphosate by 9% and 23% in velvetleaf and giant foxtail, respectively, compared with glyphosate alone. In velvetleaf, averaged over time, only 2.6% of the applied radioactivity translocated out of the treated leaf when glufosinate was mixed with glyphosate compared with 9.9% when glyphosate was applied alone. In giant foxtail, 21.6% of the [14C]glyphosate translocated out of the treated leaf when glufosinate was mixed with glyphosate compared with 52.4% when glyphosate was applied alone. Conversely, no change in the radioactive pattern of translocation was noted for common lambsquarters. These results suggest that reduced translocation of glyphosate is the physiological mechanism responsible for the antagonism observed between glyphosate and glufosinate in giant foxtail and, to a lesser extent, in velvetleaf.Nomenclature: Glufosinate; glyphosate; common lambsquarters, Chenopodium album L. CHEAL; giant foxtail, Setaria faberi Herrm. SETFA; velvetleaf, Abutilon theophrasti Medik. ABUTH.
Transplantation After Successful Downstaging by Multimodal Treatments of American Joint Committee on Cancer Stage IIIB Hepatocellular Carcinoma With Portal Vein Thrombi: A Case Report.

Abstract The effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with American Joint Committee on Cancer stage IIIB remains controversial and challenging because of the high recurrence rate after resection and low survival rate. The median survival of those with macroscopic portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is short. We reported such a case which received liver transplantation (LT) after successful consecutive downstaging therapies. A 40-year-old man with alcohol related liver cirrhosis and repeated esophageal varices bleeding had HCC with tumor thrombi in right main portal vein and the second portal branch of segment VI (stage IIIB). The received percutaneous alcohol injection, radiofrequency ablation, 8 sessions of transcatheter hepatic arterial chemoembolization, radiotherapy, and target therapy with sorafenib. Computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging after treatments showed no viable fragments in the tumor and revealed both the right main portal vein and V1 branch were patent. One month later, the patient received a deceased LT. The perioperative course was rather smooth. After discharge, the interval follow-up CT studies of the chest and liver and whole body bone scan showed no tumor recurrence or metastasis up to 20 months postoperation.
Cell Plasma Membranes and Phase Transitions

Cell plasma membrane phaseplays a large role in membrane trafficking and signaling. The rolethat membrane phase plays in cell function, current hypothesesconcerning the size and time duration of the phase transitions, andthe role in disease are discussed.
Acromegaly, Clinical Features of

From the purely clinical perspective, acromegaly is the most spectacular endocrine disease. Humanity has always been fascinated with giants, and from the biblical Goliath to James Bond's foe, Jaws, they populate the lore of virtually every era and culture.
The carboxylmethylation of membrane-bound proteins in the aging rat brain.

Although the process of cellular aging is admittedly highly complex, [1] evidence is accumulating to suggest that it has a molecular basis and, hence, that it may be profitably studied through investigations of the aging of intracellular proteins. Several types of modification may be incurred by proteins residing in aging cellular systems [2,3] and part of the relevant research has recently been summarized [4–6]. One type of an enzyme-catalyzed age-related protein modification is its carboxylmethylation. The cognate enzyme, protein carboxylmethyltransferase II (EC. 2.1.1.24) (PCMT). [7,8], appears to recognize only those proteins in which, via biological mechanisms still incompletely understood, [9,10] selected L-aspartate residues have been replaced by D-aspartate [11,12] and/or L- or D-isoaspartate [13–15]. Although several reports associating the presence of protein-bound D-aspartate with aging have appeared, [16–19] there is no unambiguous evidence for the presence of unnatural isoaspartates in proteins of either young or aged cells.
Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases in Signal Transduction

The phosphorylation of proteins at tyrosine residues is implicated in numerous cellular processes such as signal transduction, neoplastic transformation and the mitotic cycle. These processes are regulated by the activities of both protein-tyrosine kinases (PTKs) and protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs). PTPs represent a highly diversified and rapidly expanding family of enzymes (Fischer et al., 1991, Walton and Dixon, 1993). Indeed, since the identification of PTP1B six years ago (Tonks et al., 1988), more than 40 PTPs, excluding species homologies, have been identified. This is in striking contrast to the relatively small number of serine/threonine phosphatases identified over the past forty years. As with protein tyrosine kinases (PTK), there are two classes of PTPs: transmembrane (receptor-type) and intracellular enzymes. Most transmembrane PTPs have two conserved tandem intracellular catalytic domains with diversified receptor-like extracellular sequences. All the intracellular enzymes contain only one conserved catalytic domain with widely diversified non-catalytic amino or carboxyl termini.
Quantifying the thermal boundary conductance of 2D-substrate interfaces

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have tremendous potential for next-generation nano- and opto-electronics [1], [2]. However, heat dissipation and its removal from hot spots in the monolayer remains a critical concern to the design of 2D-based devices [2], [3]. Thermal currents flowing in a atomic layer can either dissipate through source/drain contacts, as in a transistor configuration, or through a supporting substrate via van der Waals (vdW) coupling to it. When a 2D mateiral is supported by a substrate, the interfacial area formed between it and the substrate is often far larger than the lateral source/drain contact area. Thus, it is suspected that the majority of waste heat is removed across the 2D-substrate interface and then via the substrate. Therefore, it is imperative that the thermal boundary conductance (TBC) between the 2D layer and substrate be well characterized for reliable 2D device performance. Herein we tackle the question of selecting the best substrate for each 2D material from the point of view of heat dissipation.
A low dose and individualized regimen for palliative treatment of head and neck squamous cell cancer.

e17501Background: Inoperable or metastatic HNSCC is known to have poor prognosis. Regimens TPF (Taxol, Platin and FU) or PFE (Platin, FU and EGFR inhibitors) are among first line therapies. Due to ...
High-coherence relativistic electron probes for ultrafast structural dynamics

We report on experimental activities on HiRES, a novel ultrafast electron diffraction beamline under development at LBNL. The instrument provides high-flux of relativistic electron pulses with sub-picosecond duration, which are then shaped in transverse and longitudinal phase space producing small spot sizes with femtosecond resolution. Alternatively beam shaping can be used to achieve large lateral coherence lengths for chemical and biological applications.
Music as Text in the Works of Bulgakov

The present article is a modest introduction to a larger theme that analyzes the use of music as text in the plays, short stories and novels of Mixail Bulgakov. The important contribution of Juri Lotman’s theoretical work on artistic space, the semiosphere, and the role of incorporating “texts within texts” (текст в тексте) is fundamental to our explication of the process of understanding Bulgakov’s use of music as text in a variety of its manifestations, resulting in an integrated and full-bodied textual structure that generates meanings critical to the works in which it is embedded. This analysis will focus on defining what “music as text” is for Bulgakov and specifically consider the use of music in the play, Zoya’s Apartment (Зойкина квартира).
Pressure-driven infiltration of water and bacteria into plant leaves during vacuum cooling: A mechanistic model

Abstract Vacuum cooling of leafy greens can quickly lower their temperature, thus efficiently extending their shelf-life. However, passive bacterial infiltration into the leaf through openings such as stomata or wounds during this process presents a risk. This study develops a mechanistic model of stomatal infiltration and elaborates controlling parameters. Water and vapor phases transport in the leaf tissue as a porous medium, with convective flow driven by pressure changes outside the leaf, capillary diffusion of water and molecular diffusion of vapor. Water exchange between symplast and apoplast in the leaf is driven by pressure changes. Bacteria are convected with intercellular water, along with their motility. Heat transfer includes evaporation that varies with pressure. Increased water and bacterial infiltration are primarily caused by longer re-pressurization time, lower initial moisture content of the leaf and larger stomatal pores, and less so by increased vacuum level. Findings should help make vacuum cooling processes microbiologically safer.
Tip-enhanced laser ablation and capture of DNA

Abstract Tip-enhanced laser ablation was used to extract DNA plasmid for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. A 532 nm nanosecond laser was directed onto a gold coated atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip 10 nm above a sample surface to ablate a 7.1 kbp green fluorescent protein (GFP) plasmid DNA sample on a glass coverslip. The ablated material was captured on a metal ribbon 300 µm above the sample surface. The ablation craters had diameters from 1 to 2 µm and an average volume of 0.14 µm3. PCR and nested PCR were employed for the amplification of the ablated DNA. The quantity of sample from each ablation crater for PCR amplification was 20 ag.
An exploratory multivariate study examining correlates of trait mental and physical fatigue and energy

Background: Mental and physical energy and fatigue can be assessed as either stable long-term traits or as a temporary state. Although researchers recognize the need to separate the two, most resea...
Cardiorenal Syndrome in Heart Failure Patients: ICU Management

Cardiorenal syndrome is a condition manifest by the complex interplay and bidirectional injury that occurs to the cardiovascular and renal systems, respectively. Etiologies of the cardiorenal syndrome may be wide ranging but most commonly implicate impairment in the cardiovascular system leading to a vicious cycle of worsening cardiac and renal function. Treatment and management principles of this condition are complicated, sometimes misunderstood, and fraught with empiricism and the need to extrapolate data from similar but sufficiently diverse conditions and studies to this syndrome. This chapter seeks to elucidate the definitions, mechanisms, and treatment approaches to the heart failure patient with the cardiorenal syndrome in the intensive care unit.
Injectable Oxygen Sensitive Chitosan Complex with High Oxygen Sensitivity and Stability to Oxidoreductants.

Various therapeutic approaches have been developed for vascularization of diseased tissues. To quickly and accurately evaluate efficacy of a therapy, reproducible monitoring of tissue oxygen concentration changes at the same tissue location by a minimally invasive or noninvasive spectroscopic approach represents a compelling strategy. Yet this cannot be achieved by any clinically available approaches. Magnetic-resonance-based method, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), has the potential to accomplish the goal. However, the existing small molecule EPR probes cannot maintain a consistent concentration at the same tissue location during vascularization period to acquire a stable EPR signal, and they cannot be implanted and/or retrieved by a minimally invasive approach such as injection. Herein, a polymeric, injectable, and degradable EPR probe was developed. The probe was based on the complex of chitosan and tetrathiatriarylmethyl (TAM) radical. The probe had high oxygen sensitivity and reproducibility. I...
Organizational Commitment Levels Among Clergy: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract This research examines demographic, personal, and organizational predictors of organizational commitment for paid employees in non-profit settings. Outcomes of commitment including hours worked and intentions to quit are also examined. These data indicate mat the calculative form of commitment, as expressed by salary in relation to hours worked and other outcomes, may be the most germane for non-profit paid-employee settings.
Reduced-flow ex vivo lung perfusion to rehabilitate lungs donated after circulatory death.

BACKGROUND Current ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) protocols aim to achieve perfusion flows of 40% of cardiac output or more. We hypothesized that a lower target flow rate during EVLP would improve graft function and decrease inflammation of donation after circulatory death (DCD) lungs. METHODS A porcine DCD and EVLP model was utilized. Two groups (n = 4 per group) of DCD lungs were randomized to target EVLP flows of 40% (high-flow) or 20% (low-flow) predicted cardiac output based on 100 ml/min/kg. At the completion of 4 hours of normothermic EVLP using Steen solution, left lung transplantation was performed, and lungs were monitored during 4 hours of reperfusion. RESULTS After transplant, left lung–specific pulmonary vein partial pressure of oxygen was significantly higher in the low-flow group at 3 and 4 hours of reperfusion (3-hour: 496.0 ± 87.7 mm Hg vs. 252.7 ± 166.0 mm Hg, p = 0.017; 4-hour: 429.7 ± 93.6 mm Hg vs. 231.5 ± 178 mm Hg, p = 0.048). Compliance was significantly improved at 1 hour of reperfusion (20.8 ± 9.4 ml/cm H2O vs. 10.2 ± 3.5 ml/cm H2O, p = 0.022) and throughout all subsequent time points in the low-flow group. After reperfusion, lung wet-to-dry weight ratio (7.1 ± 0.7 vs. 8.8 ± 1.1, p = 0.040) and interleukin-1β expression (927 ± 300 pg/ng protein vs. 2,070 ± 874 pg/ng protein, p = 0.048) were significantly reduced in the low-flow group. CONCLUSIONS EVLP of DCD lungs with low-flow targets of 20% predicted cardiac output improves lung function, reduces edema, and attenuates inflammation after transplant. Therefore, EVLP for lung rehabilitation should use reduced flow rates of 20% predicted cardiac output.
Quantitative MRI study of infant regional brain size following surgery for long-gap esophageal atresia requiring prolonged critical care.

Abstract Introduction Little is known regarding the impact of concurrent critical illness and thoracic noncardiac perioperative critical care on postnatal brain development. Previously, we reported smaller total brain volumes in both critically ill full-term and premature patients following complex perioperative critical care for long-gap esophageal atresia (LGEA). Our current report assessed trends in regional brain sizes during infancy, and probed for any group differences. Methods Full-term (n = 13) and preterm (n = 13) patients without any previously known neurological concerns, and control infants (n = 16), underwent non-sedated 3 T MRI in infancy ( Results Absolute volumes of regions analyzed increased with advancing age, paralleling total brain size, but were significantly smaller in both full-term and premature patients compared to controls. Normalized volumes (%TBV) of forebrain, DGM, and cerebellum were not different between subject groups analyzed. Normalized brainstem volumes showed group differences that warrant future studies to confirm the same finding. Discussion Both full-term and premature critically ill infants undergoing life-saving surgery for LGEA are at risk of smaller total and regional brain sizes. Normalized volumes support globally delayed or diminished brain growth in patients. Future research should look into neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants born with LGEA.
Chylothorax: complication attributed to dasatinib use

A 63-year-old woman with a medical history of chronic myelogenous leukaemia treated with dasatinib, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction presented with difficulty in breathing. Chest X-ray showed large right-sided pleural effusion, which was confirmed on a CT angiogram of the chest. Echocardiogram showed an ejection fraction of 61% with moderate to severely dilated right ventricle and right ventricular systolic pressure of 60 mm Hg. Diagnostic and therapeutic thoracentesis was performed, and 2.2 L of pleural fluid was removed. Pleural fluid analysis was consistent with chylothorax. Significant symptomatic improvement was noted after thoracentesis. In the absence of an alternate explanation, chylothorax was attributed to dasatinib, which was switched to nilotinib. This resulted in resolution of her pleural effusions.
British Enlightenment Theatre: Dramatizing Difference

In this ground-breaking work, Bridget Orr shows that popular eighteenth-century theatre was about much more than fashion, manners and party politics. Using the theatre as a means of circulating and publicizing radical Enlightenment ideas, many plays made passionate arguments for religious and cultural toleration, and voiced protests against imperial invasion and forced conversion of indigenous peoples by colonial Europeans. Irish and labouring-class dramatists wrote plays, often set in the countryside, attacking social and political hierarchy in Britain itself. Another crucial but as yet unexplored aspect of early eighteenth-century theatre is its connection to freemasonry. Freemasons were pervasive as actors, managers, prompters, scene-painters, dancers and musicians, with their own lodges, benefit performances and particular audiences. In addition to promoting the Enlightened agenda of toleration and cosmopolitanism, freemason dramatists invented the new genre of domestic tragedy, a genre that criticized the effects of commercial and colonial capitalism.
The Problem of Flesh: Vegetarianism and Edible Matters

Beginning in the mid-seventeenth century, a surge of religious and philosophical speculation into the nature of matter, spirit, soul, and God arose in early modern Britain. Scholars, ministers, and other writers became newly curious about a wider religious problem of embodied substance—a complex of questions, intellectual curiosities, and cultural anxieties regarding corporeal bodies and their relationship to God. Amid a more general breakdown of the institutional controls over worship, print, and ideology in the 1640s, a range of writers sought new interpretations of the Christian project of corporeal redemption—the means by which the human body was deemed fit for divine knowledge, salvation, and contact with God. The Christian project of corporeal redemption became literalized and materialized: heterodox writers increasingly understood the influence of immaterial stuff—such as the soul, or God’s spiritual presence, or thought—as a broader materialized experience of knowledge and divine contact.
How to Prevent Your Smart Home Device from Turning into a Weapon

A current issue plaguing the industry is poorly designed, misconfigured Internet of Things (IoT) devices found in the home. To address this issue, students create their own IoT device and a program that monitors the IoT device’s behavior. This contributes to the student’s programming ability since most had never programmed in Python or on a Raspberry Pi. Core networking concepts, which is a vital skill in cyber security, are addressed through analyzing network traffic on the router and by creating a Python program that monitors for deviant network traffic.
6mer Seed Toxicity and Platinum Resistance in Ovarian Cancer

Development of platinum (Pt) resistance is a major barrier to curing ovarian cancer (OC). 6mer seed toxicity is a novel cancer killing mechanism mediated by tumor suppressive miRNAs with a toxic 6mer seed sequence (positions 2-7) through the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). The most toxic 6mer seeds are G-rich and kill cells by targeting the 39 untranslated region of genes critical for cell survival. We now show that treatment of OC cells with Pt leads to an increase in RISC-bound miRNAs carrying toxic 6mer seeds and a decrease in miRNAs with nontoxic seeds. Pt-resistant cells did not exhibit this Pt induced toxicity shift but retained sensitivity to death mediated by siRNAs carrying toxic 6mer seeds. Analysis of RISC-bound miRNAs in OC patients revealed that miRNA 6mer seed toxicity ratios were predictive of treatment outcomes. Our results suggest that 6mer seed toxicity can be exploited to treat patients with Pt-resistant OC.
Quantifying Isolation-by-Resistance and Connectivity in Dendritic Ecological Networks

ABSTRACT Statistical methods that quantify individual movements have limited applicability within dendritic ecological networks (DENs), to include riverscapes. We promote an approach herein by deriving an analytical framework (=DistNet and ResistNet) that more appropriately quantifies differentiation by meshing individual DEN segments with fitted distances and annotated environmental features. We first explored the spatial arrangement of diversity in a river network by fitting pairwise distances against graph edges. We then derived effective resistance models (e.g., as a composite of an array of possible environmental covariates) by using a genetic algorithm for heuristic model selection, invoking circuit theory (CircuitScape) to form a graph-based complement to ResistanceGA (a landscape ecology package). Although numerous pairwise distance metrics can be employed, we utilized genetic distances encompassing 13,218 ddRAD loci from N=762 Speckled Dace (Cyprinidae: Rhinichthys osculus) sampled at 78 Colorado River localities (µ=9.77/site). When distances for each locus were fitted into the network, we found intraspecific divergences due to stream reaches were greater than expected when distances alone. In fitting model-averaged ‘effective resistance’ models to the same network, we showed the manner by which a host of anthropogenic and environmental variables contribute to patterns of connectivity underlying riverscape genetic differentiation. Our framework represents a contemporary approach to deriving metapopulation/ metacommunity structure within DENs, in that it allows: (a) The extension of projections into unsampled temporal/spatial components; (b) Comparisons to be made among species and/or drainages, both of which benefit multi-species management; and (c) the quantification of locus-specific patterns, from which adaptive hypotheses could then be derived. “The intimate relation of hydrological conditions to fish life is proverbial; to be hopelessly or dangerously maladjusted to one’s environment is to be a ‘fish out of water’” (Hubbs 1941).
Effects of irradiation on selected pathogens in meat and meat products

59 Introduction 59 Materials and Methods 62 Sample preparation 62 External inoculation and packaging 63 Irradiation 64 Physical and chemical analyses 65 Microbiological analyses 65 Sensory color and odor evaluation 66 Statistical analyses 67 Results and Discussion 68 Effects of dose-rate on microorganisms and quality attributes 68 Effects of irradiation on microorganisms 68 Effects of irradiation on quality attributes 72 Conclusions 74 References 75 CHAPTER IV. EFFECT OF IRRADL\TION ON SURVIVAL OF SELECTED PATHOGENS AND ON QUALITY ATTRIBUTES OF BEEF LOINS, STEAKS, AND GROUND BEEF 87 Abstract 87 Introduction 87 Materials and Methods 90 Sample preparation 90 External inoculation and packaging 90 Irradiation 91 Physical and chemical analyses 92 Microbiological analyses 9387 Introduction 87 Materials and Methods 90 Sample preparation 90 External inoculation and packaging 90 Irradiation 91 Physical and chemical analyses 92 Microbiological analyses 93
Phospholipases: Degradation of Membrane Phospholipids

Phospholipases are interfacial enzymes that degrade phospholipids through hydrolytic cleavage. They participate in a broad spectrum of important physiological functions and pathophysiological processes through modification of phospholipids and generation of products that are potent regulators and messengers. These processes are controlled at enzymological and gene expression levels, and thus their effects range over periods of minutes to days. Keywords: eicosanoid; pancreatic secretion; snake venom; cell signalling; lipid remodelling; interfacial enzymes
Interleukin-18 as a Therapeutic Target in Acute Myocardial Infarction and Heart Failure

Interleukin 18 (IL-18) is a proinflammatory cytokine in the IL-1 family that has been implicated in a number of disease states. In animal models of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), pressure overload, and LPS-induced dysfunction, IL-18 regulates cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and induces cardiac contractile dysfunction and extracellular matrix remodeling. In patients, high IL-18 levels correlate with increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and with a worse prognosis in patients with established CVD. Two strategies have been used to counter the effects of IL-18:IL-18 binding protein (IL-18BP), a naturally occurring protein, and a neutralizing IL-18 antibody. Recombinant human IL-18BP (r-hIL-18BP) has been investigated in animal studies and in phase I/II clinical trials for psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. A phase II clinical trial using a humanized monoclonal IL-18 antibody for type 2 diabetes is ongoing. Here we review the literature regarding the role of IL-18 in AMI and heart failure and the evidence and challenges of using IL-18BP and blocking IL-18 antibodies as a therapeutic strategy in patients with heart disease.
The death and resurrection of tuberculosis.

Keywords: Drug Resistance, Microbial Reference EPFL-ARTICLE-153338doi:10.1038/11309 Record created on 2010-10-19, modified on 2017-05-12
Statistical learning and selective inference

We describe the problem of “selective inference.” This addresses the following challenge: Having mined a set of data to find potential associations, how do we properly assess the strength of these associations? The fact that we have “cherry-picked”—searched for the strongest associations—means that we must set a higher bar for declaring significant the associations that we see. This challenge becomes more important in the era of big data and complex statistical modeling. The cherry tree (dataset) can be very large and the tools for cherry picking (statistical learning methods) are now very sophisticated. We describe some recent new developments in selective inference and illustrate their use in forward stepwise regression, the lasso, and principal components analysis.