cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Overseeding Buffalograss Turf with Fine‐Leaved Fescues

Buffalograss [Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.] use as a turf in the northern USA is limited to a certain extent by its extended winter dormancy. A mixture of buffalograsswith cool-season turfgrasses might extend the turf's green appearance and enhance quality. Research was conducted to determine the effects of overseeding fine-leaved fescue (Festuca spp.) in buffalograss turf on turfgrass color and quality and the effects of species, seeding rate and date, and core cultivation on fine-leaved fescue establishment in buffalograss turf. Hard fescue (F. longifolia Thuill.), blue fescue (F. ovina L var. glauca Lam.), and Chewings fescue (F. rubra L ssp. commutata Gaud.); seeding rates (10, 20, and 30 g m -2 ); seeding dates (fall, spring, or split fall-spring); and core cultivation (single or double pass) were evaluated for species composition, turfgrass quality, color, and green cover at the John Seaton Anderson Turfgrass Research Facility located near Mead, NE. Buffalograss turf overseeded with blue fescue in fall had the highest turfgrass quality, color, and green cover ratings. Fall overseeding resulted in the highest shoot density values. Spring over-seedings were below acceptable levels. Botanical composition of the mixtures overseeded in fall reached 75 to 80% fescue and 20 to 25% buffalograss after 2 yr. Seeding rate effect was linear with each increment between 10 g m -2 and 30 g m -2 increasing fine-leaved fescue shoot density, turfgrass quality, color, and green cover. Blue fescue-buffalograss mixtures overseeded in the fall exhibited 80% green cover when buffalograss was dormant. Turfgrass green cover in the mixture was extended by 2 months when compared to buffalograss monostands growing in areas adjacent to the study. The results of this study support the use of fine-leaved fescue and buffalograss mixtures to extend turfgrass green appearance and enhance quality.
Copolymerization studies. III. Reactivity ratios of model ethylene copolymerizations and their use in Q–e calculations

Monomer reactivity ratios for the copolymerization of ethylene (M2) with n-butyl acrylate, vinyl chloride, vinyl acetate, and vinyl fluoride have been measured at 1000 atm. The respective values and the experimental temperatures are r1 = 11.9, r2, = 0.03, 70°C.; r1 = 3.6, r2 = 0.24, 90°C.; r1 = 1.08, r2 = 1.07, 90°C.; r1 = 0.16, r2 = 4.39, 160°C. Price Q and e values for ethylene calculated from these reactivity ratios, uncorrected for differences in reaction pressure, are 0.03 and −0.43, respectively. New Q and e values (Q0 and e0) for these four comonomers were calculated on the basis of ethylene rather than styrene as the reference monomer. Assuming that the Q0 and e0 values for ethylene are 1.0 and zero, respectively, the monomer's Q and e0 value are as follows: n-butyl acrylate, 33.3, + 1.02; vinyl chloride, 4.2, + 0.37; vinyl acetate, 0.93, ∼0; vinyl fluoride, 0.25, + 0.6. These Q0 and e0 values give calculated reactivity ratios which are in reasonable agreement with experimental ones. Good agreement is also obtained when the r2 value for the vinyl acetate/ethylene copolymerization is compared with the directly determined rate constant ratio for the addition of an ethyl radical to ethylene and to vinyl acetate, respectively, calculated from previously published data.
How to Support and Expand Strong, Existing Study-Abroad Programs: The Elon College Experience

Since the beginning of Elon College’s study-abroad program 30 years ago, it has been an ever-expanding part of the Elon academic program. Indeed, 46 percent of May 1999 Elon graduates participated in study abroad, ranking Elon second in the country among comprehensive colleges and universities for the percentage of students who study abroad. This short article summarizes some recent activities undertaken at Elon College that support its strong study-abroad program. Cost and time commitment vary by activity.
Promoting Win–Win Development of Global Value Chains

The following sections are included:IntroductionWhat are global value chains?Global value chains and economic developmentConclusionData AppendixReferences
An Analytical Comparison of COTS Geographical Databases Through the Development of Error Distributions

The development of a synthetic vision system (SVS) to aid aircraft pilots in times of inclement weather or loss of situational awareness requires the validation of a digital elevation model (DEM). This paper presents a study of a comparison of two Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) DEMs for the purpose of validating the accuracy of a database for the use in a SVS. Airport Safety Modeling Data (ASMD) will be utilized as the test database and the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) 7.5’ DEM will be utilized as the benchmark database. The two COTS databases have different horizontal and vertical resolutions, data densities, datums and coverage areas. ASMD data is synthesized from DTED1 data. USGS DEMs are widely accepted as the most comprehensive and accurate study of terrain data in the United States. A methodology is developed to compare the COTS databases despite their inherent differences. The methodology considers the different sampling techniques, data densities and coverage areas. An error distribution is derived from the methodology that can be used to validate the integrity of the ASMD data.
Maynard Smith's Model and Corroborating Evidence: No Reason for Misinterpretation

Once again, misinterpretation of models of sympatric speciation and the misinterpretation of current data from Chrysopa impede a constructive evaluation of sympatric speciation. Much of Henry's (1982) problem in dealing with sympatric speciation comes from inadequate reading of Maynard Smith's (1966) paper.
X-ray Diffraction of the Binary System Tristearin-Tripalmitin

The phase transition of the polymorphic forms in the binary system, tristearin-tripalmitin, has been studied by X-ray diffraction.(1) The lowest melting form α was obtained by melting and chilling the mixtures, and the next form β' and β was obtained by transition form α-form. All three forms in this binary system formed solid solutions of which long spacings varied with composition of the system.(2) Using the continuously variable specimen-temperature devise, it was observed that α-form in this system transformed into subα-form at -50°C or so and that this phase trasition was reversible.(3) Using the same devise, X-ray diffraction pattern of β' and β-forms at elevated temperature was obtained up to its melting point. It was observed that the specific lattice spacing in β' and β-forms changed at elevated temperatures and authors called β' and β at near its melting point as β'* andβ* respectively. This β'* and β*-forms transformed reversibly into β' and β near at room temperature.(4) Using the same devise, it was observed the α-form transformed into β* in the pure glyceride by heating. In the solid solution, it was concluded that α-form transformed into β'* (or β'), deformed β*, and β* successively. It was suggested that the deformed β* might be imperfectly β* in which the specific crystal face of β* yet developed. It would be concluded that the intermediate pattern named by Hoerr was attributed to mixture of β'* and deformed β*.(5) The value of side spacings of each polymorphic form is summarized as follows :(1) β 4.58, 3.85, 3.69A (room temp.)β* 4.58, 3.85, 3.75A (near its mp)It is observed that the last lattice spacing often changed a little in the solid solutions.(2) deformed β* 4.58, broad 3.8 A (near its mp)(2) β' 4.19, 3.80A (room temp.)β'* 4.19, 3.85A (near its mp)(4) α 4.14 A (room temp.)sub α 4.12, broad 3.7 A (below -50°C)
Antibacterial activities of amphiphilic cyclic cell-penetrating peptides against multidrug-resistant pathogens.

Multidrug-resistant pathogens have become a major public health concern. There is a great need for the development of novel antibiotics with alternative mechanisms of action for the treatment of li...
Identification of Novel Steroidal Androgen Receptor Degrading Agents Inspired by Galeterone 3β-Imidazole Carbamate

Degradation of all forms of androgen receptors (ARs) is emerging as an advantageous therapeutic paradigm for the effective treatment of prostate cancer. In continuation of our program to identify and develop improved efficacious novel small-molecule agents designed to disrupt AR signaling through enhanced AR degradation, we have designed, synthesized, and evaluated novel C-3 modified analogues of our phase 3 clinical agent, galeterone (5). Concerns of potential in vivo stability of our recently discovered more efficacious galeterone 3β-imidazole carbamate (6) led to the design and synthesis of new steroidal compounds. Two of the 11 compounds, 3β-pyridyl ether (8) and 3β-imidazole (17) with antiproliferative GI50 values of 3.24 and 2.54 μM against CWR22Rv1 prostate cancer cell, are 2.75- and 3.5-fold superior to 5. In addition, compounds 8 and 17 possess improved (∼4-fold) AR-V7 degrading activities. Importantly, these two compounds are expected to be metabolically stable, making them suitable for further ...
Patient-Reported Symptom Interference as a Measure of Postsurgery Functional Recovery in Lung Cancer.

Abstract Context Few empirical studies have combined the patient's perspective (patient-reported outcomes [PROs]) with clinical outcomes (risk for complications, length of hospital stay, return to planned treatment) to assess the effectiveness of treatment after thoracic surgery for early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Objectives Quantitatively measure PROs to assess functional recovery postsurgery. Methods Treatment-naive patients (N = 72) with NSCLC who underwent either open thoracotomy or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) used the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) to report symptom interference with general activity, work, walking, mood, relations with others, and enjoyment of life for three months after surgery. Functional recovery was defined as interference scores returning to presurgery levels. The MDASI's sensitivity to change in functional recovery over time was evaluated via its ability to distinguish between surgical techniques. Results Interference scores increased sharply by Day 3 after surgery (all P Conclusion Repeated measurement of MDASI interference characterized functional recovery after thoracic surgery for NSCLC and was sensitive to VATS' ability to enhance postoperative recovery. Further study of the clinical applicability of measuring recovery outcomes using PRO-based functional assessment is warranted.
Surgical Problems Encountered in Interruption of Multiple Anomalous Pathways of Atrioventricular Conduction (Kent Bundles)

Among the 160 patients operated on by the authors for anomalous pathways of atrioventricular conduction (APC), 15 had more than one APC, with 13 having two APCs and 2 having three. Nearly all possible combinations of APC were found. Four patients had Ebstein’s anomaly, all four having a right free wall and a septal pathway. The principal surgical problem, the identification of the APC, requires detailed electrophysiologic studies (EPS) before operation and intraoperatively. The suspicion of the presence of other APCs was raised by a wide QRS during reentrant tachycardia (RT) and chaning patterns of RT. Altera-tions of preexcitation patterns on the ECG during right and left atrial pacing and atrial flutter may denote other APCs. Atrial activation se-quences during RT were particularly helpful in finding APC with only retrograde function, as found in four patients, and also in demonstrat-ing septal pathways. Eight of the patients with 17 APCs had the APCs demonstrated before surgery. At surgery, EPS before and after division of the known APC was successful in identifying the additional APC in four patients. Failure to find the additional APCs during preoperative and intraoperative EPS may result from trauma to the pathway, close proximity of a second APC to the known APC, or suppression of the mani-festation of one pathway by the other. For these reasons three APCs were not identified until the postoperative period.
Religious Service Attendance, Divorce, and Remarriage Among U.S. Women

Religious participation can promote marital satisfaction and stability. However, current literature has mainly used cross-sectional data. We prospectively evaluated the associations between service attendance and either 1) divorce or separation; or 2) remarriage in the Nurses’ Health Study, a large prospective cohort study that consisted of US married female nurses, with repeated measures of service attendance and marital status. During 14 years of follow up, among 66,444 married nurses, frequent services attendance was associated with 50% lower risk of divorce (95% CI: 32%, 63%). Among divorced or separated women, frequent service attendance was not associated with likelihood of remarriage; however, among widowed women, frequent service attendance was associated with a 49% increased likelihood of remarriage (95% CI: 13%, 97%). The study provides evidence that frequent services attendance is associated with lower risk of becoming divorced, and increased likelihood of remarriage among widowed women, but not among divorced or separated women.
What Makes an ASIC Library Sign-Off?

Sign-off quality ASIC libraries must be sufficiently accurate to ensure that test programs created from simulations using the library will match the behavior of the part on the tester. The libraries should not be excessively conservative, and should model cell behavior in an appropriate manner to take advantage of the capabilities of the latest design tools offered by EDA vendors. Automating the creation and verification of models can reduce the time and effort required to support high-quality sign-off libraries.
The activity of the serotonin receptor 2C is regulated by alternative splicing

The central nervous system-specific serotonin receptor 2C (5HT2C) controls key physiological functions, such as food intake, anxiety, and motoneuron activity. Its deregulation is involved in depression, suicidal behavior, and spasticity, making it the target for antipsychotic drugs, appetite controlling substances, and possibly anti-spasm agents. Through alternative pre-mRNA splicing and RNA editing, the 5HT2C gene generates at least 33 mRNA isoforms encoding 25 proteins. The 5HT2C is a G-protein coupled receptor that signals through phospholipase C, influencing the expression of immediate/early genes like c-fos. Most 5HT2C isoforms show constitutive activity, i.e., signal without ligand binding. The constitutive activity of 5HT2C is decreased by pre-mRNA editing as well as alternative pre-mRNA splicing, which generates a truncated isoform that switches off 5HT2C receptor activity through heterodimerization; showing that RNA processing regulates the constitutive activity of the 5HT2C system. RNA processing events influencing the constitutive activity target exon Vb that forms a stable double stranded RNA structure with its downstream intron. This structure can be targeted by small molecules and oligonucleotides that change exon Vb alternative splicing and influence 5HT2C signaling in mouse models, leading to a reduction in food intake. Thus, the 5HT2C system is a candidate for RNA therapy in multiple models of CNS disorders.
Stabilization of Nonholonomic Integrators via Logic-Based Switching

Abstract This paper demonstrates how to stabilize a nonholonomic integrator using a hybrid control law employing switching and logic. Results concerning stability and performance of the resulting hybrid system are derived. One of the main advantages of this type of controller is that the stability analysis can be made using fairly straightforward arguments. The methodology used is generalizable to a larger class of control problems related to nonholonomic systems.
Facilitating Diverse Learning Contexts and Content on Children’s (School-Relevant) Cognitive Performance: Effects of Music and Movement Expression

In this study, 64 African-American and 64 White school children were exposed to two different short stories. One story was presented in a learning context with movement and music, infusing syncopated music and high levels of kinesthetic activity ( HME context); while the other story was presented devoid of such factors ( LME context). Further, half of the participants were presented stories with high movement content themes, embodying character and thematic content depicting high activity and kinesthetics ( HMC ); while the other participants were presented with stories embodying low movement content themes, depicting low levels of activity and movement expression ( LMC ). Performance was measured via recall of story information/encoding-inferring. Salient findings revealed the best performance emerged for African-American children when the HMC stories were presented under the HME contexts. In contrast, facilitating effects emerged for White children when the LMC stories were presented under the LME contexts. Other results are discussed in relation to previous findings. Implications for schooling practices are addressed, as are directions for future research.
Structure and role for active site lid of lactate monooxygenase from Mycobacterium smegmatis.

Lactate monooxygenase (LMO) catalyzes the FMN-dependent "coupled" oxidation of lactate and O2 to acetate, carbon dioxide, and water, involving pyruvate and hydrogen peroxide as enzyme-bound intermediates. Other α-hydroxy acid oxidase family members follow an "uncoupled pathway," wherein the α-keto acid product quickly dissociates before the reduced flavin reacts with oxygen. Here, we report the structures of Mycobacterium smegmatis wild-type LMO and a wild-type-like C203A variant at 2.1 A and 1.7 A resolution, respectively. The overall LMO fold and active site organization, including a bound sulfate mimicking substrate, resemble those of other α-hydroxy acid oxidases. Based on structural similarity, LMO is similarly distant from lactate oxidase, glycolate oxidase, mandelate dehydrogenase, and flavocytochrome b2 and is the first representative enzyme of its type. Comparisons with other α-hydroxy acid oxidases reveal that LMO has a longer and more compact folded active site loop (Loop 4), which is known in related flavoenzymes to undergo order/disorder transitions to allow substrate/product binding and release. We propose that LMO's Loop 4 has an enhanced stability that is responsible for the slow product release requisite for the coupled pathway. We also note electrostatic features of the LMO active site that promote substrate binding. Whereas the physiological role of LMO remains unknown, we document what can currently be assessed of LMO's distribution in nature, including its unexpected occurrence, presumably through horizontal gene transfer, in halophilic archaea and in a limited group of fungi of the genus Beauveria. BROAD STATEMENT OF IMPACT: This first crystal structure of the FMN-dependent α-hydroxy acid oxidase family member lactate monooxygenase (LMO) reveals it has a uniquely large active site lid that we hypothesize is stable enough to explain the slow dissociation of pyruvate that leads to its "coupled" oxidation of lactate and O2 to produce acetate, carbon dioxide, and water. Also, the relatively widespread distribution of putative LMOs supports their importance and provides new motivation for their further study.
Circulating tumour DNA, microRNA and metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid as biomarkers for central nervous system malignancies

Central nervous system (CNS) malignancies can be difficult to diagnose and many do not respond satisfactorily to existing therapies. Monitoring patients with CNS malignancies for treatment response and tumour recurrence can be challenging because of the difficulty and risks of brain biopsies, and the low specificity and sensitivity of the less invasive methodologies that are currently available. Uncertainty about tumour diagnosis or whether a tumour has responded to treatment or has recurred can cause delays in therapeutic decisions that can impact patient outcome. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop and validate reliable and minimally invasive biomarkers for CNS tumours that can be used alone or in combination with current clinical practices. Blood-based biomarkers can be informative in the diagnosis and monitoring of various types of cancer. However, blood-based biomarkers have proven suboptimal for analysis of CNS tumours. In contrast, circulating biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), including circulating tumour DNA, microRNAs and metabolites, hold promise for accurate and minimally invasive assessment of CNS tumours. This review summarises the current understanding of these three types of CSF biomarkers and their potential use in neuro-oncologic clinical practice.
Prostate Shear Wave Elastography: Multiresolution Reconstruction Dependence on Push Beam Spacing

This study demonstrates the implementation of a multiresolution shear wave tracking algorithm that enables elasticity imaging of prostate cancer and zonal anatomy. The combined ARFI/SWEI sequence uses closely-spaced push beams across the lateral field of view, with on-axis and off-axis data simultaneously acquired after each push. The shear wave arrival times were determined with cross-correlation of velocity signals in two dimensions after 3-D directional filtering. To combine data from serially interrogated lateral push locations, arrival times from different pushes were aligned by estimating the propagation time between push locations. Shear wave data acquired in an elasticity lesion phantom and reconstructed using this algorithm demonstrate benefits to target contrast-to-noise ratio with increased push beam density and 3-D directional filtering. In human in vivo data, histologically-confirmed prostate cancer appears stiff in both SWEI and ARFI images, and regions of the prostate, including the peripheral zone, central gland, and urethra, are visualized.
Discovering and doing family medicine and community health research.

We dedicate this issue to aspiring family medicine and community health researchers. We include as our audience students, residents and fellows who are still learning the craft of clinical care, clinician educators making innovative strides in teaching, and experienced clinical practitioners who are
Flow-based attack detection and accommodation for networked control systems

This paper is concerned about detection and estimation of malicious attacks on the network and the linear physical system of a networked control system (NCS) by using linear matrix inequality (LMI)...
AUV Docking and Recovery with USV: An Experimental Study

This paper presents an early stage work on docking and recovery of Autonomous Surface Vehicles (AUVs) with Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs). The docking system is collapsible and adaptable to a wide range of AUVs. Control of the docking maneuver is completed based on a one camera, one light approach using a frontseat-backseat control setup. In this scenario, the vehicle navigates under frontseat control to within visual range of the dock. The backseat controller then takes over and performs terminal homing. Pool and open water testing was completed with docking to a small dinghy in both a manned and unmanned configuration. Two experimental docking attempts are presented, one docking to a slow moving target and another docking to a quickly moving target. The empirical results show that docking and recovery of an AUV from a USV while underway is feasible.
Targeting HDM2 (Human MDM2) in Sarcomas

ABSTRACT Liposarcomas represent three families of genetically distinct cancers. The most common of these is well-differentiated / dedifferentiated liposarcoma (WD-DD LS), which represents half of the liposarcomas with an incidence of 4–5 per million people. The well differentiated version of the tumor appears somewhat like fat, while dedifferentiated liposarcomas have typically lost most or all ability to store lipids. WD-DD LS is a unique entity with high copy number amplification of chromosome 12q, followed by loss of portions of other chromosomes, such as 19q13, in more aggressive tumors, which notably is the locus for CEBPA, a key main adipocytic differentation gene. On chromosome 12q are located important genes in maintaining cell survival, such as CDK4 and HDM2 (the human version of MDM2) and YEATS4. Recent data also show epigentic effects to turn off adiopocytic differentiation genes. The presence of the amplified genes such as those above as well as AURKA nearby suggests inhibitors of these proteins may be useful to trigger dysregulation and cell death of these tumors cells with highl abnormal genomes. CDK4 inhibitors and HDM2 inhibitors are now being examined in phase I-II clinical trials in WD DD LS patients. In this talk, the biological background for examining HDM2 inhibitors in WD DD LS patients is discussed, as well as the potential role for these inhibitors both in cancers with wild type p53 as well as those with genetically altered p53. There may not be the need to limit the examination of HDM2 inhibitors to WD DD LS, although issues remain regarding the toxicity observed with these compounds to date. Disclosure R.G. Maki: Consulting fees: GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, Sanofi, Lilly, Morphotek, Eisai, Pfizer Research Support: Eisai, Ziopharm, Roche Honoraria: Ziopharm, Novartis Unpaid consulting: n-of-one, 23 & Me
Critical temperature T c and Pauli limited critical field of Sr 2 RuO 4 : Uniaxial strain dependence

Variations of critical temperature ${T}_{c}$ and in-plane critical field ${H}_{c2}$ of ${\text{Sr}}_{2}\text{Ru}{\text{O}}_{4}$ under uniaxial stress were recently reported. We compare the strain dependence of ${T}_{c}$ and ${H}_{c2}$ in various pairing channels ($d$ wave, extended $s$ wave, and $p$-wave) with the experimental observations by studying a three-band tight-binding model that includes effects of spin-orbit and Zeeman couplings and a separable pairing interaction. Our study helps narrow down the possibility of pairing channels. The importance of the multiband nature of ${\text{Sr}}_{2}\text{Ru}{\text{O}}_{4}$ is also highlighted.
Teaching Digital Circuit Design With a 3-D Video Game: The Impact of Using In-Game Tools on Students’ Performance

Contribution: This article presents the design of in-game tools to support learning within an educational video game and investigates the impact of tool usage on engineering students’ performance in an introductory digital circuit design course. Background: Despite the level of appeal of video games to college students, there is a lack of empirical evidence of how to design effective games to address educational goals. One component of games that can serve as a support mechanism to help players be successful in the game is the in-game tools. This article investigates the impact of three types of instructional in-game tools on engineering students’ performance on digital circuit design tasks. Research Questions: To what extent do different types of in-game tools (content-specific instructional guidance tool, scaffold, and productivity tool) contribute to players’ performance on digital circuit design tasks? Methodology: This article presents the design of an educational video game to teach digital circuits design. It presents three discrete types of in-game tools and investigates their impact on students’ learning performance. For this investigation, multiple regression analysis was used to show the relations between the tools and learning performance ( ${N}=176$ ). Findings: The results show the player use of tools that provide content-specific instructional guidance and scaffolding for troubleshooting is correlated with their learning performance. The productivity tool did not significantly contribute to the learning performance of the students.
MINED: An Efficient Mutual Information Based Epistasis Detection Method to Improve Quantitative Genetic Trait Prediction

Whole genome prediction of complex phenotypic traits using high-density genotyping arrays has attracted a great deal of attention, as it is very relevant to plant and animal breeding. More effective breeding strategies can be developed based on a more accurate prediction. Most of the existing work considers an additive model on single markers, or genotypes only. In this work, we studied the problem of epistasis detection for genetic trait prediction, where different alleles, or genes, can interact with each other. We have developed a novel method MINED to detect significant pairwise epistasis effects that contribute most to prediction performance. A dynamic thresholding and a sampling strategy allow very efficient detection, and it is generally 20 to 30 times faster than an exhaustive search. In our experiments on real plant data sets, MINED is able to capture the pairwise epistasis effects that improve the prediction. We show it achieves better prediction accuracy than the state-of-the-art methods. To our knowledge, MINED is the first algorithm to detect epistasis in the genetic trait prediction problem. We further proposed a constrained version of MINED that converts the epistasis detection problem into a Weighted Maximum Independent Set problem. We show that Constrained-MINED is able to improve the prediction accuracy even more.
Effects of diet quality on energy metabolism and methane production by beef steers fed a warm-season grass-based hay diet

Our objective was to determine the effects of dietary quality and protein supplementation of a low-quality warm-season hay on energy metabolism and methane emissions of beef steers.Eight cross-bred steers were used in a respiration calorimetry study with a replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design. Experimental diets were (1) a low-quality forage-based diet (7.4% CP, 66.6% NDF); (2) a low-quality forage with supplemental cottonseed meal (10.0% CP, 66.3% NDF); (3) a medium-quality forage-based diet (10.5% CP, 65.0% NDF); and 4) a high-quality forage-based diet (13.0% CP, 58.4% NDF). Diets were based on bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum) hay cut at 2 stages of maturity.Organic matter, fiber, energy, and protein digestibility and energy retention increased (P < 0.05) as the quality of the forage-based diets increased. Total methane production was not affected by diet, but methane production per unit of digested OM or energy retention decreased (P < 0.05) with increased diet quality. Protein supplementation of the low-quality grass hay increased (P < 0.05) DM, fiber, energy, and protein digestion but did not affect methane production. Methane production per unit of energy and protein retention decreased (P < 0.05) with protein supplementation. Enteric nitrous oxide emissions were minor and not affected by diet. An automated head chamber system gave average emission results similar to respiration chambers.Results demonstrate that protein supplementation of low-quality forage or increasing the quality of forage-based diets will potentially decrease the carbon-footprint of beef production.
Money or Nothing: The Adverse Environmental Consequences of Uncompensated Land Use Control

The conventiona l wisdom holds that requiring compensation for environmental land use controls would severely limit environmental protection efforts. There are increasing reasons to question this assumption. Both e conomic theory and recent empirical research demonstrate that failing to compensate private landowners for the costs of environmental regulations discourages voluntary conservation efforts and can encourage the destruction of environmental resources. The lack of a compensation requirement also means that land -use regulation is “underpriced” as compared to other environmental protection measures for which government agencies must pay. This results in the “overconsumption” of land -use regulations relative to other environmental protection measures that could be more cost -effective at advancing conservation goals. While any specific compensation proposal would present implementation questions, there are reasons to believe t hat a compensation requirement c ould improve environmental conservation efforts .
Delayed Displacement of a Subtle Sacral Insufficiency Fracture Unmasking Lumbopelvic Instability: A Case Report.

Case There is limited literature reporting on sacral insufficiency fractures as a cause of lumbopelvic instability. We describe the presentation, treatment, and clinical outcome with a 2-year follow-up of a woman who sustained a low-energy spinopelvic dissociation diagnosed with magnetic resonance imaging. There was significant delayed displacement, and the patient was treated surgically with percutaneous iliosacral and trans-sacral screws. Conclusion U-type sacral insufficiency fractures may be subtle on advanced imaging and must be followed closely if nonoperative treatment is chosen. These patients may require surgical intervention. Iliosacral screws and lumbopelvic fixation are treatment options, each with advantages and disadvantages.
Glycine and N‐acetylcysteine (GlyNAC) supplementation in older adults improves glutathione deficiency, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, insulin resistance, endothelial dysfunction, genotoxicity, muscle strength, and cognition: Results of a pilot clinical trial

Background Oxidative stress (OxS) and mitochondrial dysfunction are implicated as causative factors for aging. Older adults (OAs) have an increased prevalence of elevated OxS, impaired mitochondrial fuel-oxidation (MFO), elevated inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, insulin resistance, cognitive decline, muscle weakness, and sarcopenia, but contributing mechanisms are unknown, and interventions are limited/lacking. We previously reported that inducing deficiency of the antioxidant tripeptide glutathione (GSH) in young mice results in mitochondrial dysfunction, and that supplementing GlyNAC (combination of glycine and N-acetylcysteine [NAC]) in aged mice improves naturally-occurring GSH deficiency, mitochondrial impairment, OxS, and insulin resistance. This pilot trial in OA was conducted to test the effect of GlyNAC supplementation and withdrawal on intracellular GSH concentrations, OxS, MFO, inflammation, endothelial function, genotoxicity, muscle and glucose metabolism, body composition, strength, and cognition. Methods A 36-week open-label clinical trial was conducted in eight OAs and eight young adults (YAs). After all the participants underwent an initial (pre-supplementation) study, the YAs were released from the study. OAs were studied again after GlyNAC supplementation for 24 weeks, and GlyNAC withdrawal for 12 weeks. Measurements included red-blood cell (RBC) GSH, MFO; plasma biomarkers of OxS, inflammation, endothelial function, glucose, and insulin; gait-speed, grip-strength, 6-min walk test; cognitive tests; genomic-damage; glucose-production and muscle-protein breakdown rates; and body-composition. Results GlyNAC supplementation for 24 weeks in OA corrected RBC-GSH deficiency, OxS, and mitochondrial dysfunction; and improved inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, insulin-resistance, genomic-damage, cognition, strength, gait-speed, and exercise capacity; and lowered body-fat and waist-circumference. However, benefits declined after stopping GlyNAC supplementation for 12 weeks. Conclusions GlyNAC supplementation for 24-weeks in OA was well tolerated and lowered OxS, corrected intracellular GSH deficiency and mitochondrial dysfunction, decreased inflammation, insulin-resistance and endothelial dysfunction, and genomic-damage, and improved strength, gait-speed, cognition, and body composition. Supplementing GlyNAC in aging humans could be a simple and viable method to promote health and warrants additional investigation.
Surgical Management of Axilla Following Neoadjuvant Endocrine Therapy.

Randomized clinical trials support deescalation of axillary surgery in breast cancer patients with low-volume axillary disease treated with a surgery-first approach. However, few data exist to guide axillary surgery following neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET). Therefore, we evaluated the extent and outcomes of axillary surgery in a contemporary cohort of NET patients, a treatment approach that has become particularly relevant during the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. We identified invasive breast cancer patients treated with NET between October 2008 and November 2019. Patients presenting with stage IV disease or recurrent disease were excluded. Statistical analyses were performed using chi-square, Fisher’s exact, and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. 194 invasive breast cancers in 186 patients (median age 66 years) were evaluated; 81 patients had breast-conserving surgery (BCS), while 113 underwent mastectomy. Eighty-four patients (43.3%) were biopsy-proven cN+ with 4/84 (4.8%) ypN0 following NET. Among cN+ patients, 14 (16.7%) had sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) only, 27 (32.1%) had SLNB + axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), and 43 (51.2%) had ALND. Among 110 cN0 patients, 99 had axillary surgery with 28/99 (28.3%) ypN+: SLNB in 83 (75.5%), SLNB+ALND in 14 (12.7%), and ALND in 2 (1.8%). Among all ypN+ patients, 23/108 (21.3%) had SLNB alone: 18/43 (41.9%) of BCS and 5/65 (7.7%) mastectomy patients (p < 0.001). After median follow-up of 35 months, no regional recurrences were observed. Among biopsy-proven cN+ NET patients, we observed deescalation of axillary surgery in selected patients, despite a low nodal pathologic complete response (pCR) rate, without nodal recurrences. These data suggest that patients with low-volume axillary disease treated with NET may be managed similarly to patients treated with a surgery-first approach.
Experimental Concatenation of Quantum Error Correction with Decoupling

We experimentally explore the reduction of decoherence via concatenating quantum error correction (QEC) with decoupling in liquid-state NMR quantum information processing. Decoupling provides an efficient means of suppressing decoherence from noise sources with long correlation times, and then QEC can be used more profitably for the remaining noise sources. PACS: 03.67.Lx, 03.65.Bz
“It Makes You Rethink Your Choice of the Pill”: Theory-Based Formative Research to Design a Contraceptive Choice Campaign

Half of all pregnancies in the United States remain unplanned despite improved access to highly effective long-acting reversible contraception, including the intrauterine device and the implant. This study conducted theory-based formative research to develop a contraceptive choice campaign aimed at increasing long-acting reversible contraception uptake by women ages 18-44 years in Charleston, South Carolina, an urban area in the southeastern United States. Researchers developed and tested message concepts and designs. Six focus groups and 18 interviews were conducted among reproductive-age women (n = 79). Qualitative data analysis revealed messages and designs that resonated with these women. Emphasizing long-acting reversible contraception as the healthy option, highlighting long-acting reversible contraception effectiveness, including relatable and trustworthy characters, and using language of control emerged as themes. Women reported a preference for statistics illustrating effectiveness combined with empowering messages of control over contraceptive decision making. Findings from this study offer practical recommendations for developing contraceptive choice campaigns targeting long-acting reversible contraception use and further the goal of reducing unintended pregnancy among women.
Resprouting response of ninebark (Physocarpus malvaceus) shrubs to burning and clipping

Abstract Sixty shrubs at two sites on the Douglas-fir/ninebark ( Pseudotsuga menziesii/Physocarpus malvaceus ) habitat type were clipped or burned to soil surface temperatures of 200, 300 and 400°C in a completely random experimental design in April and May 1990. The area under the time-temperature curves recorded during the burn at 2-, 5- and 7-cm depths below the soil surface differed for the 400 and 200°C treatments ( P P
Noninvasive blood pressure monitoring from the supraorbital artery using an artificial neural network oscillometric algorithm.

Objective. Our objective was to overcome the limitations of linear models of oscillometric blood pressure determination by using a nonlinear technique to model the relationship between the oscillometric envelope and systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and then to use that technique for near-continuous arterial pressure monitoring at the supraorbital artery.Methods. An adhesive pressure pad and transducer were used to collect oscillometric data from the supraorbital artery of 85 subjects. These data were then used to train an artificial neural network (ANN) to report diastolic or systolic pressure. Arterial pressure measurements defined by brachial artery auscultation were used as a reference. ANN results were compared with those obtained using a standard oscillometric algorithm that determined pressures based on fixed percentages of the maximum oscillometric amplitude.Results. The ANN produced better estimates of reference blood pressures than the standard oscillometric algorithm. Mean difference between target and actual output for the ANN was 0.50±5.73 mm Hg for systolic pressures, compared to the mean difference of the standard algorithm of 2.78±19.38 mm Hg. For diastolic pressures, the ANN had a mean difference of 0.04±4.70 mm Hg, while the mean difference of the standard algorithm was −0.34±9.75 mm Hg.Conclusions. The ANN produced a better model of the relationship between the oscillometric envelope and reference systolic and diastolic pressures than did the standard oscillometric algorithm. Noninvasive blood pressure measured from the supraorbital artery agreed with pressure measured by auscultation in the brachial artery, and may sometimes be more clinically useful than an arm cuff device.
Fading probability density function of free-space optical communication channels with pointing error

The turbulent atmosphere causes wavefront distortion, beam wander, and beam broadening of a laser beam. These effects result in average power loss and instantaneous power fading at the receiver aperture and thus degrade performance of a free-space optical (FSO) communication system. In addition to the atmospheric turbulence, a FSO communication system may also suffer from laser beam pointing error. The pointing error causes excessive power loss and power fading. This paper proposes and studies an analytical method for calculating the FSO channel fading probability density function (pdf) induced by both atmospheric turbulence and pointing error. This method is based on the fast-tracked laser beam fading profile and the joint effects of beam wander and pointing error. In order to evaluate the proposed analytical method, large-scale numerical wave-optics simulations are conducted. Three types of pointing errors are studied , namely, the Gaussian random pointing error, the residual tracking error, and the sinusoidal sway pointing error. The FSO system employs a collimated Gaussian laser beam propagating along a horizontal path. The propagation distances range from 0.25 miles to 2.5 miles. The refractive index structure parameter is chosen to be C n 2 = 5×10 -15 m -2/3 and C n 2 = 5×10 -13 m -2/3 . The studied cases cover from weak to strong fluctuations. The fading pdf curves of channels with pointing error calculated using the analytical method match accurately the corresponding pdf curves obtained directly from large-scale wave-optics simulations. They also give accurate average bit-error-rate (BER) curves and outage probabilities. Both the lognormal and the best-fit gamma-gamma fading pdf curves deviate from those of corresponding simulation curves, and they produce overoptimistic average BER curves and outage probabilities.
Final toxicity results of a radiation-dose escalation study in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC): predictors for radiation pneumonitis and fibrosis.

Purpose: We aimed to report the final toxicity results on a radiation-dose escalation trial designed to test a hypothesis that very high doses of radiation could be safely administered to patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by quantifying the dose–volume toxicity relationship of the lung. Methods and Materials: A total of 109 patients with unresectable or medically inoperable NSCLC were enrolled and treated with radiation-dose escalation (on the basis of predicted normal-lung toxicity) either alone or with neoadjuvant chemotherapy by use of 3D conformal techniques. Eighty-four patients (77%) received more than 69 Gy, the trial was stopped after the dose reached 103 Gy. Estimated median follow-up was 110 months. Results: There were 17 (14.6%) Grade 2 to 3 pneumonitis and 15 (13.8%) Grade 2 to 3 fibrosis and no Grade 4 to 5 lung toxicity. Multivariate analyses showed them to be (1) not associated with the dose prescribed to the tumor, and (2) significantly ( p Conclusions: With long-term follow-up for toxicity, we have demonstrated that much higher doses of radiation than are traditionally administered can be safely delivered to a majority of patients with NSCLC. Quantitative lung dose–volume toxicity–based dose escalation can form the basis for individualized high-dose radiation treatment to maximize the therapeutic ratio in these patients.
An energy 'sources' and 'fractions' approach to the mechanical energy expenditure problem--III. Mechanical energy expenditure reduction during one link motion.

Abstract Mechanical energy economy and transformation during one link motion are analyzed on the basis of the theory developed in the previous publications (parts I and II of this series, J. Biomechanics 19, 287–300). The ‘compensation coefficient’ characterizing mechanical energy economy is introduced. The attempts to estimate MEE using only energy curves and neglecting the powers of real sources of energy implicitly lead to replacement of real force and moment systems by the systems reduced to the centers of mass. But such an unintentional substitution of imaginary sources for real ones, specifically, the reduction of forces acting on the link to the equivalent system, changes estimates of mechanical energy expenditure (MEE). That is why the methods of calculating MEE economy based on the determination of so-called ‘quasi-mechanical’ work (the sum of the kinetic and potential energy increases per one cycle of motion) are not correct. There are two mechanisms to reduce the MEE using the antiphase fluctuations (corresponding to energy transformations) of the (a) rotational and translational fractions of the total energy (at the expense of the F-sources); (b) potential and kinetic energies (at the expense of the mg-source).
STIM1 gates TRPC channels, but not Orai1, by electrostatic interaction.

Summary The receptor-evoked Ca 2+ signal includes activation of the store-operated channels (SOCs) TRPCs and the Orais. Although both are gated by STIM1, it is not known how STIM1 gates the channels and whether STIM1 gates the TRPCs and Orais by the same mechanism. Here, we report the molecular mechanism by which STIM1 gates TRPC1, which involves interaction between two conserved, negatively charged aspartates in TRPC1( 639 DD 640 ) with the positively charged STIM1( 684 KK 685 ) in STIM1 polybasic domain. Charge swapping and functional analysis revealed that exact orientation of the charges on TRPC1 and STIM1 are required, but all positive-negative charge combinations on TRPC1 and STIM1, except STIM1( 684 EE 685 )+TRPC1( 639 RR 640 ), are functional as long as they are reciprocal, indicating that STIM1 gates TRPC1 by intermolecular electrostatic interaction. Similar gating was observed with TRPC3( 697 DD 698 ). STIM1 gates Orai1 by a different mechanism since the polybasic and S/P domains of STIM1 are not required for activation of Orai1 by STIM1.