cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Trait Loci for Aggressive Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

Aggressive behavior is observed across animal taxa and is likely to be evolutionarily conserved. Although potentially advantageous, aggression can have social and health consequences in humans, and is a component of a number of psychiatric disorders. As a complex genetic trait, it is modulated by numerous quantitative trait loci (QTL) with allelic effects that can vary in direction and magnitude and that are sensitive to environmental perturbations. Assays to quantify aggressive behavior in Drosophila melanogaster have been developed, making this an ideal model system in which to dissect the genomic architecture underlying manifestation of and variation in aggressive behavior. Here, we map QTL affecting variation in aggression between two wild-type Drosophila strains. We identified a minimum of five QTL in a genomewide scan: two on chromosome 2 and three on chromosome 3. At least three and possibly all five of these QTL interact epistatically. We used deficiency complementation mapping to subdivide two linked, epistatically interacting QTL of large effect on chromosome 3 into at least six QTL, and complementation tests to mutations identified four candidate quantitative trait genes. Extensive epistasis poses a serious challenge for understanding the genetic basis of complex traits.
Estimating the effect of zidovudine on Kaposi's sarcoma from observational data using a rank preserving structural failure-time model

Researchers commonly express scepticism about using observational data to estimate the effect of a treatment on an outcome the treatment is intended to affect. In this paper, we consider using data from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) to determine whether zidovudine prevents the development of Kaposi's sarcoma among HIV-positive gay men. Several methodologic issues common to observational data characterized the study: information on potentially important confounders was missing at some study visits; investigators did not always know the time of changes in treatment level, nor the value of confounders at that time, and the censoring process depended strongly on time-varying covariates related to outcome. We describe application to our data of Robins' paradigm for defining, modelling and estimating the effect of a time-varying treatment and show how to modify his approach to deal with the methodologic issues we have mentioned. Further, we demonstrate that relative risk regression is less well equipped to deal with these issues. We compare our results to the findings from randomized trials, and conclude that observational studies may sometimes be useful in evaluating the effect of treatment on an intended outcome.
Role of Heat Shock Proteins in MPTP‐Induced Neurotoxicity

1. MPTP and its major metabolite MPP+ have significant effects on body temperature regulation in mice, which are both age and strain dependent. 2. These effects were produced by intraperitoneal injection of either MPTP or MPP+ suggesting that the predominant site of action lies outside the blood-brain barrier. 3. The initial hyperthermia induced in CD-1 mice, which was sufficient to lead to the induction of HSP 72, appears to have a protective effect with regard to striatal dopamine depletion. 4. Cultured CHO cells are sensitive to MPP+ cytotoxicity at high concentrations. This toxicity can be reduced by heat shocking the cells prior to the addition of MPP(+)-containing media. 5. In summary, these in vivo and in vitro data strongly suggest that heat shock proteins (HSP 72) play a neuroprotective role in MPTP-induced neurotoxicity.
Clinical indicators for the use of antidepressants in the treatment of bipolar I depression.

Objectives: Current guidelines provide little practical information on the clinical characteristics of bipolar I patients who are likely to benefit from the combination of a mood stabilizer and an antidepressant. Rather, guidelines simply state that an adjunctive antidepressant is recommended in cases of ‘severe’ depression. Our objective was to evaluate the clinical and demographic differences between patients who remitted on a mood stabilizer alone and patients who subsequently required an adjunctive antidepressant to achieve stabilization. Methods: We retrospectively compared the pharmacological treatment strategies of 39 patients with bipolar I disorder who were in a current depressive episode. Patients who did not respond to mood stabilizer monotherapy were prescribed an adjunctive antidepressant. We evaluated the clinical differences at baseline and week 1, 2 and 3 of treatment between patients stabilizing on a mood stabilizer alone and patients that did not remit until they subsequently received an adjunctive antidepressant. Results: Patients who required an adjunctive antidepressant had significantly higher total Hamilton Depression Rating (HRS-D) scores at week 1, 2 and 3 of treatment, but not at baseline. Patients who remitted on mood stabilizer monotherapy were more likely to be married, achieved stabilization in less time, presented with higher Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) scores, and experienced the previous episode of depression more recently than patients who required an antidepressant. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that rapid improvement after achieving a therapeutic dose of a mood stabilizer is clinically significant and represents a surrogate endpoint in the treatment of bipolar I depression. Larger, prospective, and controlled studies are needed to verify our results and to identify additional indicators for a mood stabilizer and antidepressant combination treatment strategy.
Evaluating Parent Involvement and Family Support in Early Intervention and Preschool Programs

Early intervention and preschool programs for children with disabilities are also accountable for providing certain types of support for families. How should these efforts be evaluated? This article describes three potential levels of accountability: (a) providing the legally required services for families, (b) providing services that are considered recommended, and (c) achieving certain outcomes as a result of working with families. Issues and considerations related to each level of accountability are discussed and recommendations are made for advancing policy and practice related to the evaluation of parent involvement and family support efforts.
Molecular Beacons Illuminate Subcellular Events

Building on decades of technological advances and imaging experience, during which noninvasive imaging of cardiac structure and function, myocardial perfusion and viability, and noncoronary vascular pathology have become intimately entwined in routine clinical practice, advanced imaging techniques are now poised to deliver noninvasive coronary arteriograms and to delineate the coronary artery wall in exquisite detail. At the same time that these highly promising methods for anatomic imaging at the macroscopic level are creating great excitement among physicians, their patients, and the public, a quieter imaging revolution is underway with steady progress in detecting and tracking fundamental biological processes at the cellular and subcellular levels. In the era of genomic research, molecular biology, and stem cell therapies, these methods have great potential to accelerate understanding of basic pathophysiological processes in animals and humans and to develop new tools for early diagnosis and drug development. Cardiovascular molecular imaging is taking hold. See p 1800 Molecular imaging is the science of visually representing, characterizing, and quantifying cellular/subcellular biological processes in intact organisms. These processes include gene expression, protein–protein interaction, signal transduction, cellular metabolism, and both intracellular and intercellular trafficking. Molecular imaging has the potential to quantify these events, to monitor multiple events simultaneously, to localize these events in 3 dimensions, and to monitor these events serially. Thus, biological processes can be identified and studied in time and space, providing “4-dimensional” information. The emergence of molecular imaging has coincided with and has been made possible by the enormous progress in molecular biology, cell biology, and transgenic animal models, as well as the development of imaging probes that are specific, reproducible, and quantifiable.1 Molecular imaging was once the sole domain of nuclear medicine, with tracers developed for both positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Examples include antimyosin antibodies for …
Prolonged Reactive Oxygen Species Generation and Nuclear Factor-κB Activation after a High-Fat, High-Carbohydrate Meal in the Obese

Background: Because obesity is associated with chronic oxidative and inflammatory stress, and high-fat, high-carbohydrate meals induce significant oxidative and inflammatory stress in normal subjects, we have now hypothesized that the intake of a high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal would result in a greater and more prolonged oxidative and inflammatory stress in the obese than in normal subjects. Methods: Ten normal-weight and eight obese subjects were given a high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal after an overnight fast. Blood samples were collected at baseline and hourly following the meal for 3 h. Results: Reactive oxygen species generation by mononuclear cells increased significantly by 2 h in both groups but continued to increase significantly at 3 h in the obese subjects, whereas in normal subjects it returned to baseline. Levels of p47phox increased significantly (by 81 ± 26%) at 3 h in obese individuals (P < 0.05), whereas there was no significant change in p47phox in normal subjects. Nuclear factor-κB DN...
Experiment 2: Going Ballistic—On a Diet

In Chapter 17, the diet intervention mirrors the way most dieters try to lose weight—in a ballistic sort of way. They determine a caloric deficit to achieve a desired weight loss and then maintain it for the duration of the diet. More often than not, the result of such a ballistic approach is disappointment.
Satellite assessment of sea spray aerosol productivity: Southern Ocean case study

Despite many years of observations by multiple sensors, there is still substantial ambiguity regarding aerosol optical depths (AOD) over remote oceans, in particular, over the pristine Southern Ocean. Passive satellite retrievals (e.g., Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)) and global aerosol transport models show a distinct AOD maximum around the 60°S latitude band. Sun photometer measurements performed by the Maritime Aerosol Network (MAN), on the other hand, indicate no increased AODs over the Southern Ocean. In this study elevated Southern Ocean AODs are examined from the modeling perspective. The primary aerosol component over the Southern Ocean is sea spray aerosol (SSA). Multiple simulations of SSA concentrations and optical depths are carried out using a single modeling framework, the Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System (NAAPS) model. Several SSA emission functions are examined, including recently proposed formulations with sea surface temperature corrections. The differences between NAAPS simulations are primarily due to different SSA emission formulations. The results are compared against satellite-derived AODs from the MISR and MODIS instruments. MISR and MODIS AOD retrievals are further filtered to eliminate retrievals potentially affected by cloud contamination and cloud adjacency effects. The results indicate a very large impact of SSA emission parameterization on the simulated AODs. For some scenarios, the Southern Ocean AOD maximum almost completely disappears. Further MISR and MODIS AOD quality screening substantially improves model/satellite agreement. Based on these comparisons, an optimal SSA emission function for global aerosol transport models is recommended.
Scanning time-resolved standoff Raman instrument for large-area mineral detection on planetary surfaces

A S canning St andoff R aman S pectroscopy (SSTRS) system has been developed to map out the spatial distributions of selected minerals at long distances (10–100 m). The SSTRS is based on a standoff Raman system, which is mounted inside a custom pan and tilt scanner. Computer software is used to control the direction of the pan-tilt scanner and to point the laser beam onto the distant samples. Measurements are made in an x-y grid pattern on a target area defined by the user. The Raman spectra collected at each grid point are processed to identify the distribution of minerals present from their respective Raman fingerprints. In the initial experiment, the Raman spectra of barite (BaSO 4 ), gypsum (CaSO 4 ·2H 2 O), plagioclase feldspar (solid solution of NaAlSi 3 O 8 -CaAl 2 Si 2 O 8 ), α -quartz ( α -SiO 2 ) rocks, and silica glass were measured at 30 m distance. The Raman spectra at the grid points are measured and processed to obtain a Raman mineral image of the distant minerals by selecting respective Raman fingerprints of α -quartz, gypsum and plagioclase feldspar. The ability to provide interpolated Raman images of distant mineral species is illustrated. The new SSTRS system works well and now offers the ability to obtain spatial distribution maps of distant mineral species from their Raman fingerprints.
The Effect of Molecular Architecture on the Phase Diagram and Mobility of a Polymer Blend Exhibiting a Lower Critical Solution Temperature: Cycles Mixed with Linear Chains.

We examine the role of molecular architecture on the phase diagram of the PS/PVME (poly[styrenel /poly[vinyl methyl ether]) blend, a mixture which in previous studies with linear chains exhibited a lower critical solution temperature, (LCST) i.e. it phase separated on heating. In this investigation, two blends with components exceeding the critical molecular weight for entanglement were compared: one consisting of linear PS and PVME and a second with cyclic PS and linear PVME. Cloud point experiments over a broad composition range reveal that the blend containing cyclic PS undergoes phase separation at temperatures 7–8 °C higher than the analogous linear blend. In other words, the mixture of cycles and linear chains is more thermodynamically stable than the mixture of two linear chains. p]The LCST nature of the system facilitates examining chain mobility by considering the phase separation kinetics. Time-resolved light scattering studies of blends near their critical compositions tracked the spinodal decomposition following a rapid temperature jump from the one-phase to the two-phase region. An analysis of the scattering intensity growth ultimately led to mutual diffusion coefficients whose temperature dependence confirmed the observed cloud points. An approximation of the second derivative of the free energy function based on SANS studies of the linear PS/PVME blend allowed us to estimate mutual mobilities. The values determined for the cycle-containing blend were considerably lower than those for the blend of linear chains at these molecular weights.
Microstructural Effects on Damage Behaviour in Particle Reinforced Composites

This paper discusses the effects of non-uniform, random particle distribution on damage initiation and growth, leading to short cracks and breakage of particle reinforced composite specimens. A multi-scale technique was employed to model and simulate damage. Damage was described at the constituent material level (i.e. micro-level) and the results were compared qualitatively and quantitatively with experimental observation. Both results agreed well. Non-uniform, random particle distribution yielded sporadic crack initiation and growth within a uniform tensile specimen. No local crack propagated beyond a certain size. Breakage of the specimens was not caused by the continuous growth of a single critical crack. Instead, coalescence of neighbouring sporadic short cracks resulted in breakage of the specimens. Computer simulation indicated that random particle distribution affected the strength of the composite significantly, but as expected, not its effective stiffness. However, if there was a pre-existing crack in the specimen before loading, the effect of the random particle distribution on the initial crack and the strength of the composite was almost negligible.
Productivity, Education, and the Economic Inclusion of Workers and Small Firms in East Asian Development

East Asia’s much-heralded “economic miracle” has generated a vast literature on the role of manufactured exports in generating growth in economies lacking natural resources and agricultural potential. That growth, made sustainable by continuing technological advance, has brought favorable social outcomes as well, particularly in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. These outcomes include comparatively low levels of income inequality, dramatic reductions in poverty, improved standards of living, and the emergence of dynamic small enterprises in key economic sectors.
How to prevent burnout (maybe)

• Incidence and prevalence of burnout among US physicians and surgeons, with discussion of variation between specialties.
The Relationship Between Hope, Social Inclusion, and Mental Wellbeing in Supported Employment

This study explored the relationships between hope, social inclusion, and mental wellbeing in a sample of people in recovery from mental illness. Participants were 70 adults (60% male) with a psychiatric disability (71.4% schizophrenia) who were engaged in supported employment by an Australian Disability Enterprise. Compared to others diagnosed with a mental disorder, the participants in this study had higher levels of hope, social inclusion, and mental wellbeing, and lower levels of psychological distress. Hope and social inclusion predicted mental wellbeing, with social inclusion partially mediating the relationship between the other two constructs. Participants reported experiencing the psychosocial benefits of work (e.g., structured activity and a shared purpose) but were dissatisfied with their wages. The findings support Jahoda's Latent Deprivation theory of social inclusion and the psychosocial benefits of work participation to recovery from mental illness.
Women of Industry and Reform: Shaping the History of Pennsylvania, 1865–1940. By Marion W. Roydhouse

Frequently Pennsylvania history is a tale of two cities: Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. In contrast with this limited perspective, in Women of Industry and Reform Marion Roydhouse presents a statewide analysis of the recent literature on Pennsylvania women. Examining the public and private lives of Pennsylvania women from 1865 to 1940, she includes the voices of women from rural and urban areas, women who worked in heavy industry and light manufacturing, as well as working-class labor organizers and middle-class reformers. The words and thoughts of individual women illuminate and humanize this study.
IMPACT OF BLUE GROWTH ON BALTIC SEA REGION PORTS

There is little attention in the Baltics dedicated to the research of ports as economic subjects and their impact on environment. It is vital to strengthen the links between the ports and the Blue Growth while raising awareness of the Blue Growth and making it a cross-cutting issue of the sea-oriented priority areas by creating a special mechanism to support Blue Growth which so far has had insignificant links to port operations. The aim of the article is to analyze the trends and summarize the measures already taken for promotion and integration of the Blue Growth in the Baltic Sea region, and to develop guidelines for ports based on the general and the Baltic Sea Blue Growth strategy, to draw conclusions and to submit proposals for improvement and increase of the Blue Growth. Latvia needs to develop an action plan in order, without unnecessary errors, to quickly implement sustainable port infrastructure and reduce pollution of the sea. The task is to identify the best practices for usage of marine/coastal resources for economic development, and for identification and testing of new smart specialization measures.
Enhanced Order Reduction of Forced Nonlinear Systems Using New Ritz Vectors

Enhanced modal-based order reduction of forced structural dynamic systems with isolated nonlinearity has been performed using the iterated LELSM (Local equivalent linear stiffness method) modes and new type of Ritz vectors. The iterated LELSM modes have been found via iteration of the modes of the mass normalized local equivalent linear stiffness matrix of the nonlinear systems. The optimal basis vector of principal orthogonal modes (POMs) is found for such system via simulation and used for POD-based order reduction for comparison. Two new Ritz vectors are defined as a static load vectors where one of them gives a static displacement to the mass connected to the periodic forcing load and the other gives a static displacement to the mass connected to the nonlinear element. It is found that the use of these vectors, which are augmented to the iterated LELSM modes in the order reduction modal matrix, reduces the number of modes used in order reduction and considerably enhances the accuracy of order reduction. The combination of the new Ritz vectors with the iterated LELSM modes in the order reduction matrix yields more accurate reduced models than POD-based order reduction of forced and nonlinear systems. Hence, the LELSM modal-based order reduction is essentially enhanced over POD-based and linear-based order reductions by using these new Ritz vectors. In addition, the main advantage of using the iterated LELSM modes for order reduction is that, unlike POMs, they do not require a priori simulation and thus they can be combined with new Ritz vectors and applied directly to the system.
Open Common Bile Duct Exploration

Open common bile duct (CBD) exploration was historically a commonly performed operation. However, the development of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and endoscopic sphincterotomy has dramatically reduced the need for open CBD exploration. While many surgical residents training today are performing laparoscopic CBD explorations, many have never performed an open CBD exploration. This chapter provides the indications, essential steps, variations in techniques, and potential complications of this operation. The chapter concludes with a complete operative note dictation template.
The Role of Cultural Competence in Trauma-Informed Agencies and Services

This chapter explores the intersection between culture, trauma, and child welfare. As child welfare systems are becoming more trauma informed, this chapter examines the trauma-focused question of “what happened?” to children and their families as a consequence of their cultural identity and how might that influence the potential contact with the child welfare system. Included in this analysis are the experiences of children from immigrant and refugee families for whom the circumstances in their country of origin and their experiences once arriving in the United States can include traumatic events. This analysis also includes the experiences of children and families from marginalized populations for which there is a potential negative impact of historical trauma, present-day prejudice and discrimination, and disproportionate exposure to negative factors related to the social determinants of health. The second portion of the chapter focuses on the implementation and application of cultural and linguistic competence as an inextricable component to achieve a trauma-informed mission toward the safety, permanence, and well-being of children. The chapter defines cultural competence and delineates implementation of cultural competence for child welfare practitioners, organizations, and systems.
Functional electrical stimulation-induced muscular fatigue: Effect of fiber composition and stimulation frequency on rate of fatigue development

Abstract This investigation evaluated the progression towards fatigue in two muscles of differing fast- and slow-twitch fiber proportions (abductor pollicis brevis (APB) and vastus lateralis (VL)) when activated by functional electrical stimulation (FES) at three frequencies (10, 35, and 50 Hz). Fatigue was defined as a 50% drop from the initial FES-induced force of 25% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC). Ten healthy adults (mean age: 23.2 ± 3.0 years) were recruited; participants signed an IRB approved consent form prior to participation. Protocols were developed to evaluate the effects of muscle size, fiber type and FES frequency on total time to fatigue. Results indicated that the predominantly fast-twitch VL fatigued more quickly than the slow-twitch APB at the higher frequencies (p
Pressure-induced shear and interlayer expansion in Ti3C2 MXene in the presence of water.

Pseudo-negative compressibility in layered materials is a phenomenon typically limited to in situ high-pressure experiments in some clay minerals and carbon-based materials. We show that the MXene Ti3C2T x expands along its crystallographic c direction when compressed in the presence of H2O. This expansive effect occurs when a mixture of powders and excess water is quasi-hydrostatically compressed in a diamond anvil cell; it also occurs to a much larger extent when powders are pressed uniaxially into discs and, notably, persists after pressure is released. We attribute the expansion to the insertion of H2O molecules and have identified shear-induced slipping of the nanosheets comprising multilayered MXene particles as a possible cause of this behavior in the latter case. This both has implications for the processing of MXenes and contributes to the field of materials with pseudo-negative compressibility by adding a new member for further investigation.
Free Energy Levels and Application to Muscle Contraction

A supplementary topic in relation to free energy transduction (Chapter 1) and the diagrams we have been discussing (Chapter 2) is the assignment of relative free energy levels to the states of the diagram. For most kinetic systems, this is of conceptual value, primarily, except for a new expression for the rate of free energy dissipation (introduced in Sections 4 and 5). However, free energy levels are much more important in understanding muscle contraction and related systems (dynein, kinesin).
Alterations in platelet alpha 2-adrenoceptors by aspirin.

Epinephrine-induced platelet aggregation (mediated through interaction with alpha2-adrenoceptors) is inhibited by aspirin. To determine if aspirin modulates alpha2-adrenoceptors, we quantitated dissociation constant (KD) and maximum number of binding sites (Bmax) on isolated platelet membranes using alpha2-antagonist3H-yohimbine in normal subjects given 650 mg of aspirin orally. Alpha2-receptor KD increased from 3.20±1.80 to 7.32±3.32 nM (p<0.02) and Bmax from 115±77 to 190±140 fmol/mg protein. To determine if these alterations in alpha2-receptors by aspirin were mediated through circulatory or intracellular effects, intact platelets or isolated platelet membranes were incubated with aspirin for 30 minutesin vitro. In thesein vitro experiments, alpha2-receptor KD increased from 2.92±1.76 to 9.83±8.55 nM and Bmax from 140±81 to 191±129 fmol/mg protein (p<0.05). Oral ingestion of aspirin or incubation of aspirin with intact platelets or lysates increased (3 to 10 fold) the concentration of 1-epinephrine required for inhibition, of3H-yohimbine binding by 50% (p<0.05). Basal platelet cyclic AMP as well as its elevation with PGE1 or PGI2 and decrease with catecholamines were not influenced by aspirin treatment of platelets. These data indicate that aspirin decreases platelet alpha2-receptor affinity for agonist as well as antagonist. These effects of aspirin are independent of circulatory or dynamic intraplatelet changes.
Gilles Deleuze and Hearing-Oneself-Speak

This essay attempts to do two things. On the one hand, it aims to clarify Deleuze’s relation to phenomenology and, in particular, to Husserl’s Ideas I. In this regard, the essay attempts to clarify what Deleuze means by sense in The Logic of Sense. On the other hand, the essay attempts to clarify what Deleuze means by event in The Logic of Sense. The two tasks are connected since Deleuze defines sense by event, and this new definition of sense defines Deleuze’s most basic criticism of phenomenology.
Preliminary findings from a pilot program to provide access to low-dose CT screening for high-risk patients.

e18844Background: Evidence suggests that there is a mortality reduction benefit from low-dose CT (LDCT) scans for patients at high-risk for lung cancer, yet screening rates remain low. The American...
The Physician’s Duty to Treat During Pandemics

Physicians assume a primary ethical duty to place the welfare of their patients above their own interests. Thus, for example, physicians must not exploit the patient-physician relationship for personal financial gain through the practice of self-referral. But how far does the duty to patient welfare extend? Must physicians assume a serious risk to their own health to ensure that patients receive needed care? In the past, physicians were expected to provide care during pandemics without regard to the risk to their own health. In recent decades, however, the duty to treat during pandemics has suffered from erosion even while the risks to physicians from meeting the duty has gone down. After exploring the historical evolution of the duty to treat and the reasons for the duty, I conclude that restoring a strong duty to treat would protect patient welfare without subjecting physicians to undue health risks.
Circadian regulation of energy intake in mammals

Optimal integration of central neural circuit regulating hunger-satiety and peripheral metabolic organs involved in nutrient metabolism is necessary for body weight regulation and metabolic homeostasis. Circadian rhythms play an important role in this integrative physiology of metabolism. At the cellular level, the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus functions as the master circadian oscillator and interacts with peripheral tissues to drive daily rhythm in activity–rest, sleep–wake, and associated rhythms in feeding–fasting. This leads to synchronization and coordination of circadian clocks in peripheral tissues. Several peripheral organs produce neural, hormonal and metabolic signals that convey the overall energy status of the organism to the hypothalamic nuclei regulating hunger and satiety. Circadian rhythms in the expression and function of key genes in both peripheral organs and hypothalamic energy sensing nuclei produce a temporally interactive regulatory mechanism for body weight regulation. Understanding this regulatory mechanism is poised to open new therapeutic avenues to combat obesity and metabolic diseases. In this review, we provide an overview of the neurobiological evidence linking circadian system and food intake regulation and update our understanding of these regulatory pathways from our latest gene expression dataset from a primate.
Protective Role of Endogenous Kallistatin in Vascular Injury and Senescence by Inhibiting Oxidative Stress and Inflammation

Kallistatin was identified in human plasma as a tissue kallikrein-binding protein and a serine proteinase inhibitor. Kallistatin exerts pleiotropic effects on angiogenesis, oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, fibrosis, and tumor growth. Kallistatin levels are markedly reduced in patients with coronary artery disease, sepsis, diabetic retinopathy, inflammatory bowel disease, pneumonia, and cancer. Moreover, plasma kallistatin levels are positively associated with leukocyte telomere length in young African Americans, indicating the involvement of kallistatin in aging. In addition, kallistatin treatment promotes vascular repair by increasing the migration and function of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Kallistatin via its heparin-binding site antagonizes TNF-α-induced senescence and superoxide formation, while kallistatin's active site is essential for inhibiting miR-34a synthesis, thus elevating sirtuin 1 (SIRT1)/eNOS synthesis in EPCs. Kallistatin inhibits oxidative stress-induced cellular senescence by upregulating Let-7g synthesis, leading to modulate Let-7g-mediated miR-34a-SIRT1-eNOS signaling pathway in human endothelial cells. Exogenous kallistatin administration attenuates vascular injury and senescence in association with increased SIRT1 and eNOS levels and reduced miR-34a synthesis and NADPH oxidase activity, as well as TNF-α and ICAM-1 expression in the aortas of streptozotocin- (STZ-) induced diabetic mice. Conversely, endothelial-specific depletion of kallistatin aggravates vascular senescence, oxidative stress, and inflammation, with further reduction of Let-7g, SIRT1, and eNOS and elevation of miR-34a in mouse lung endothelial cells. Furthermore, systemic depletion of kallistatin exacerbates aortic injury, senescence, NADPH oxidase activity, and inflammatory gene expression in STZ-induced diabetic mice. These findings indicate that endogenous kallistatin displays a novel role in protection against vascular injury and senescence by inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation.
Consultant Corner: Diverticulitis

Diverticulitis is a common gastrointestinal diagnosis among emergency room visits in the USA. Diverticulitis without hemorrhage is one of the most common gastrointestinal diagnoses among inpatients admitted with gastroenterological illness, and it accounts for 2 billion dollars in total healthcare expenditures in the USA. Acute diverticulitis can be diagnosed using a combination of clinical and radiologic features. Complications of diverticulitis such as perforation, local and distant abscess formation, and fistulas must be identified early and managed by a multidisciplinary team. Patients with the index episode of acute diverticulitis of the episode may be managed conservatively. Patients with recurrent diverticulitis should be referred for surgical resection.
Sciatic Nerve Entanglement Around a Femoral Prosthesis During Closed Reduction of a Dislocated Total Hip Prosthesis: The Role of Metal-Suppression MRI: A Case Report.

Case: A 68-year-old woman who had undergone a right total hip arthroplasty presented with a right posterior hip dislocation, and subsequently developed an ipsilateral sciatic nerve palsy after closed reduction. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with metal suppression demonstrated sciatic nerve entanglement around the prosthetic femoral neck. A sciatic nerve release was performed, resulting in poor early neurologic recovery. Conclusion: Sciatic nerve entanglement following closed reduction of a dislocated total hip prosthesis is a rare injury. Assessment of neurovascular status before and after reduction is imperative. We recommend prompt MRI with metal suppression in patients with acute neurologic symptoms following reduction of a dislocated hip prosthesis to evaluate for acute nerve pathology and assess the need for emergency surgery.
Leveraging Students to Help Generate Senior Plant Design Project Topics

In an effort to offer modern and engaging senior design projects, as well as to improve ABET student outcome achievement, students were tasked with proposing their own design project idea for potential use as a senior project. Survey results from two cohorts have indicated that the majority of the students felt they achieved targeted ABET student outcomes. Further, specific aspects of this assignment appear to be particularly beneficial to both female and URM students.
George Eliot, Lady Eastlake, and the Humbug of Old Masters

Glossing an entry in George Eliot’s journal where she records her reaction to paintings by Rubens in Antwerp provides an opportunity to consider the commonplaces and conventions that informed writing about art in the mid-nineteenth century and the place of two uncommonly gifted women as contributors to the discourse of the arts at that time. The paper asks what constituted ‘humbug’ in relation to old masters and what might be regarded as humdrum in their appreciation. In many ways contrasting figures, as authors, George Eliot and Elizabeth Rigby Eastlake manifest the manifold voices of woman writers and the multiple possibilities for writing about art historically. Rigorous researchers, acute observers, and keen literary stylists, they were serious, passionate, and humorous. Both wrote for different purposes and in different genres in ways that allow for an exploration of the degree to which a ‘woman’s experience and observations bring within her special knowledge’ (to quote George Eliot once again), or rather that they might bring special knowledge to a developing and debated realm of knowledge.
Effect of an Oversized Basketball on Shooting Ability and Ball Handling

Abstract This study attempted to discover if using a larger than regulation basketball would have an effect on shooting ability and ball handling. Twenty-six experienced male basketball players were tested on short shooting, foul shooting, passing, and ball handling with the regulation basketball and with the experimental ball. The data were treated statistically and there were no significant difference between the two balls on short shooting, foul shooting, or dribbling. There was a significant difference (at the 1 percent level of confidence) between the experimental ball and the regulation ball on the passing test.
Explaining Agent-Based Financial Market Simulation.

This paper is intended to explain, in simple terms, some of the mechanisms and agents common to multiagent financial market simulations. We first discuss the necessity to include an exogenous price time series ("the fundamental value") for each asset and three methods for generating that series. We then illustrate one process by which a Bayesian agent may receive limited observations of the fundamental series and estimate its current and future values. Finally, we present two such agents widely examined in the literature, the Zero Intelligence agent and the Heuristic Belief Learning agent, which implement different approaches to order placement.
Reconstitution of the heliobacterial photochemical reaction center and cytochrome c553 into a proteoliposome system

The heliobacterial reaction center (HbRC) is the simplest known photochemical reaction center, in terms of its polypeptide composition. In the heliobacterial cells, its electron donor is a cytochrome (cyt) c553 attached to the membrane via a covalent linkage with a diacylglycerol. We have reconstituted purified HbRC into liposomes mimicking the phospholipid composition of heliobacterial membranes. We also incorporated a lipid with a headgroup containing Ni(II):nitrilotriacetate (NTA) to provide a binding site for the soluble version of the heliobacterial cyt c553 in which the N-terminal membrane attachment site is replaced by a hexahistidine tag. The HbRC was inserted into the liposomes with the donor side preferentially exposed to the exterior; this bias increased to nearly 100% with higher concentrations (≥ 10 mol%) of the Ni(II)-NTA lipid in the membrane, and is most likely due to the net negative charge of the surface of the membrane. The HbRC in proteoliposomes without the Ni(II)-NTA lipid exhibited normal charge separation and subsequent charge recombination of the P800+FX− state in 15 ms; however, the oxidized primary donor (P800+) was not significantly reduced by added H6-cyt c553. In contrast, with proteoliposomes containing the Ni(II)-NTA lipid, addition of H6-cyt c553 resulted in a new kinetic component resulting from fast reduction (2–5 ms) of P800+ by H6-cyt c553. The contribution of this kinetic component varied with the concentration of added H6-cyt c553 and could represent 80% or more of the total P800+ decay. Thus, the HbRC and its interaction with its native electron donor have been reconstituted into an artificial membrane system.
Delayed peaks of acetaminophen in overdose patients with concomitant abdominal trauma.

To present two cases of delayed acetaminophen absorption in abdominal trauma patients with concomitant acetaminophen overdose. Case 1. A 25-year-old female arrived to the emergency department with ...
Does Cozen's phenomenon warrant surgical intervention?

Abstract Purpose Proximal tibial metaphyseal fractures can be complicated by a late valgus deformity, referred to as Cozen’s phenomenon. We studied children with such fractures to determine whether...
Cancer Pain Treatment and Management: An Interprofessional Learning Module for Prelicensure Health Professional Students.

Introduction The imperative of medicine is to treat suffering and to cure when possible. This learning module has been designed to expand providers' knowledge of how to sustain life, restore health...
Sounding soul (food): The discursive interconnection of sound, food, and place in Southern hip-hop

This essay will interrogate how hip-hop—a form whose sound is not only connected to but defined by ideas of place—uses food and place as discursive objects to construct notions Southern urban parti...
Hydrophobic versus Hydrophilic Interfacial Coatings on Silicon Nanoparticles Teach Us How to Design the Solid Electrolyte Interphase in Silicon-Based Li-Ion Battery Anodes

Herein, we evaluate the effect of covalently attached molecular coating hydrophobicity on the surface of the silicon nanoparticle (Si NP) active anode material for Li-ion batteries. The experiments...
Particle transfer and adherence to human skin compared with cotton glove and pre-moistened polyvinyl alcohol exposure sampling substrates.

Measurement of skin exposure to particles using interception (e.g., cotton gloves) and removal (e.g., wiping) sampling techniques could be inaccurate because these substrates do not have the same t...
Understanding (with) the Drone

This chapter introduces the camera drone’s new aerial ways of seeing, moving, and relating. I discuss how the drone gaze can serve as both a practical and metaphorical lens for research into physical, corporeal, virtual, communicative, and imaginative mobilities. In particular, I concentrate on the example of drone-logs, the juxtaposing of sky video with ground audio, as an innovative, technographic method for video ethnography and elicitation. As a hybrid of multiple technologies and techniques, drone-logs sharpen the focus onto fleeting, slippery, sensory, and kinesthetic motions, notions, and emotions. Ultimately, I argue for the value of a larger “auto-drone” view for researchers to consider their own affective mobilities within research processes and acknowledge their respective relational emplacements from a distanced and detached top-down perspective.
HTLV-1 infection in acute t- lymphocytic leukemia/lymphoma

Adult T- lymphocyte leukemia/ lymphoma (ATLL), described by Uchiyama et al. in 1977, is a distinct neoplasia of peripheral T-lymphocytes caused by human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1). The authors describe the case of a 75-year-old female patient who presented with fever, chills, and altered mental status. The peripheral blood morphology showed large atypical lymphocytes with multilobed nuclei and flow cytometry consistent with ATLL. The authors discuss the pathophysiology, differential diagnosis, and subtypes of ATLL in addition to the diagnostic approach using flow cytometry when bone marrow biopsy is not available and modalities of treatment.
Vernier Machine Analysis and Analytical Design for Traction Applications

Surface permanent magnet machines gain more and more attention over recent years due to their high power density and high efficiency. This paper compares the Vernier machine and surface permanent magnet synchronous machine in electromagnetic structure, operating principle, and steady-state performances. FEA results are used to verify the analytical equations for comparing Vernier machine and SPM machine performance, with the exact dimensions, in terms of back-EMF, cogging torque, torque generation capability, and torque ripple. Moreover, the machine's back-EMF and torque performances regarding magnet thickness show that the Vernier machine utilizes magnets better than the surface PM machine.
Recruitment of the TolA protein to cell constriction sites in Escherichia coli via three separate mechanisms, and a critical role for FtsWI activity in recruitment of both TolA and TolQ.

The Tol-Pal system of Gram-negative bacteria helps maintain integrity of the cell envelope and ensures that invagination of the envelope layers during cell fission occurs in a well-coordinated manner. In E. coli, the five Tol-Pal proteins (TolQ, R, A, B and Pal) accumulate at cell constriction sites in a manner that normally requires the activity of the cell constriction initiation protein FtsN. While septal recruitment of TolR, TolB and Pal also requires the presence of TolQ and/or TolA, each of the the latter two can recognize constriction sites independently of the other system proteins. What attracts TolQ or TolA to these sites is unclear. We show that FtsN attracts both proteins in an indirect fashion, and that PBP1A, PBP1B and CpoB are dispensable for their septal recruitment. However, the β-lactam aztreonam readily interferes with septal accumulation of both TolQ and TolA, indicating that FtsN-stimulated production of septal peptidoglycan by the FtsWI synthase is critical to their recruitment. We also discovered that each of TolA's three domains can recognize division sites in a separate fashion. Notably, the middle domain (TolAII) is responsible for directing TolA to constriction sites in the absence of other Tol-Pal proteins and CpoB, while recruitment of TolAI and TolAIII requires TolQ and a combination of TolB, Pal, and CpoB, respectively. Additionally, we describe the construction and use of functional fluorescent sandwich fusions of the ZipA division protein, which should be more broadly valuable in future studies of the E. coli cell division machinery. IMPORTANCE Cell division (cytokinesis) is a fundamental biological process that is incompletely understood for any organism. Division of bacterial cells relies on a ring-like machinery called the septal ring or divisome that assembles along the circumference of the mother cell at the site where constriction will eventually occur. In the well-studied bacterium Escherichia coli, this machinery contains over thirty distinct proteins. We studied how two such proteins, TolA and TolQ, which also play a role in maintaining integrity of the outer-membrane, are recruited to the machinery. We find that TolA can be recruited by three separate mechanisms, and that both proteins rely on the activity of a well-studied cell division enzyme for their recruitment.
A Mold by Any Other Name: One Librarian's Battle Against a Mold Bloom.

Abstract The Rare Book Room in Newman Library at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University was besieged with a mold bloom in August 1995. The causes were an unmonitored rise in heat and humidity from an air cooling system that continuously circulated hot moist air in from the outside, accumulated dust on the books, and an influx of unprocessed and unclean materials into the room. Cleanup involved placing books in an environment that would facilitate drying the mold, removing dry mold from books, and checking frequently for regrowth.