cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An assessment of buoy-derived and numerical weather prediction surface heat fluxes in the tropical Pacific

[i] As part of the Eastern Pacific Investigation of Climate Processes program, from 2000 through 2003, the easternmost 95°W Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) moorings were enhanced to provide time series of net surface heat flux, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship maintaining the 95°W and 110°W TAO lines was enhanced to monitor surface heat fluxes and atmospheric boundary layer structure. In this study we compare the ship-based and buoy-based radiative, bulk latent, and sensible heat fluxes, as well as the meteorological state variables used to compute the turbulent heat fluxes. The buoy net surface heat flux measurements appear to have an overall uncertainty near the target 10 W m -2 , when careful attention is paid to the state variables. When hourly averaged data were unavailable, the telemetered daily averaged data were used in combination with an estimate of the mesoscale gustiness. In the eastern tropical Pacific a warm layer correction to account for stratification above 1-m depth was important only during the warm season (January-May) near the equator. These high-quality, cross-validated buoy heat flux time series are then used to assess the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR), NCEP/Department of Energy, and 40-year European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts reanalyses' surface heat fluxes. All reanalyses show that over warm water where deep convection is prominent, latent heat loss is too large and net solar radiation is too weak; conversely, in regions of stratocumulus over cool water, net solar radiation is too strong, and for NCEP/NCAR, latent heat loss is too weak.
Unique aspects of laser energy deposition in the fs pulse regime

Ultrashort laser pulse tissue ablation has demonstrated advantages of greatly reduced required energy and collateral damage. These advantages stem directly from the fact that laser energy is absorbed nonlinearly in a time too hsort for significant thermal dn hydrodynamic response. The high peak power and short pulse duration both have implications for practical fiber delivery systems.
Ikiculter chojabaruensis, a New Genus and Species of Cyprinid Fish from the Miocene of Iki Island, Nagasaki, Japan

Abstract. Ikiculter chojabaruensis is described on the basis of three specimens from the Miocene of Iki Island, Nagasaki, Japan, as a new genus and species of the family Cyprinidae. This new species possesses an elongate body, modified first unbranched fin ray of dorsal fin, extremely stout third dorsal spinelike fin ray with smooth posterior edge, apart tips of deeply forked basipterygium with a dorsal wing, elongated pterotic, smooth surface of opercle, large third vertebra twice as large as second one, 13 branched anal fin rays and 21 abdominal and 20 caudal vertebrae. A phylogenetic study using the character matrix of a previous study suggests that the species is related to leuciscins+phoxinins, Ecocarpia, Iquius, xenocyprinins and cultins and is probably a sister taxon to a clade of Iquius+xenocyprinins and cultrins. An extinct group closely related to Recent cultrins and xenocyprinins existed in Miocene East Asia.
Theoretical study of the CH bond dissociation energies of CH4, C2H2, C2H4, and H2C2O

The successive C-H bond dissociation energies of CH4, C2H2, C2H4, and H2C2O (ketene) are determined using large-basis sets and a high level of correlation treatment. For CH4, C2H2, and C2H4 the computed values are in excellent agreement with experiment. Using these results, the values 107.9 + or - 2.0 and 96.7 + or - 2.0 kcal/mol are recommended for the C-H bond dissociation energies of H2C2O and HC2O, respectively.
Discharging Their Duty: A Critical Assessment of the Tax Court's Refusal to Consider Bankruptcy Discharge Questions

The Tax Court has held for more than 20 years that it has no jurisdiction in an ordinary deficiency proceeding to determine whether the tax claim in dispute before it was previously discharged in bankruptcy. Taxpayers seeking to avoid repaying discharged tax claims have two choices: they can reopen their bankruptcy cases and move the bankruptcy court to hold the Internal Revenue Service in contempt for seeking to collect discharged taxes, or they can bring a second proceeding in the Tax Court under IRC Section 6330(d) after the deficiency is assessed, and after pursuing a lengthy administrative proceeding, to obtain a determination that the tax claims were discharged. Taxpayers with legitimate discharge defenses are forced to endure two expensive proceedings and the stress of assessment and threatened collection. Taxpayers without legitimate discharge defenses can attempt improperly to delay assessment and collection. In one notorious case, an attorney taxpayer was able to delay collection of a deficiency that was clearly excepted from discharge for ten years, through two separate appeals to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Cassidy v. Commissioner, 814 F.2d 477 (7th Cir. 1987). In re Cassidy, 892 F.2d 637 (7th Cir. 1990), cert. denied 498 U.S. 812 (1990). Fairness and judicial economy would not matter if the Tax Court's "no jurisdiction" rule was a correct interpretation of the law. But the rule is not correct. The Tax Court based its initial decision on faulty reasoning and erroneous references. The Tax Court failed to review the tortuous history of bankruptcy-tax jurisdiction to see that Congress intended the Tax Court to have concurrent jurisdiction over bankruptcy discharge questions. In following its then recent "no jurisdiction" rule after the enactment of the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, the Tax Court failed to consider the legislative history of the Reform Act, in which the principal proponents of the new law in both the House and Senate explained Congress' intent to provide for concurrent Tax Court jurisdiction over bankruptcy discharge questions in order to achieve an efficient judicial procedure. The Tax Court also failed to recognize that a bankruptcy discharge is a standard affirmative defense, not a jurisdictional limitation. The Tax Court's "no jurisdiction" rule is based on theory inconsistent with its own recent jurisdictional rulings on other affirmative defenses such as the statute of limitations, requests for innocent spouse relief, and equitable recoupment. Finally, there is no good reason for Congress to have intended to limit the Tax Court's jurisdiction over bankruptcy discharge questions. Tax Court judges are as qualified as Bankruptcy Court judges to determine whether a tax claim was discharged - the issue is almost always computational. The Tax Court should recognize its error by overturning the "no jurisdiction" rule and accepting the full measure of jurisdiction that Congress intended it to have.
Neurofilament networks: Salt-responsive hydrogels with sidearm-dependent phase behavior.

Abstract Background Neurofilaments (NFs) — the neuron-specific intermediate filament proteins — are assembled into 10 nm wide filaments in a tightly controlled ratio of three different monomer types: NF-Low (NF-L), NF-Medium (NF-M), and NF-High (NF-H). Previous work on reconstituted bovine NF hydrogels has shown the dependence of network properties, including filament alignment and spacing, on the subunit composition. Methods We use polarized optical microscopy and SAXS to explore the full salt-dependent phase behavior of reconstituted bovine NF networks as a function of various binary and ternary subunit ratios. Results We observe three salt-induced liquid crystalline phases: the liquid-ordered B G and N G phases, and the disordered I G phase. We note the emergent sidearm roles, particularly that of NF-H in driving the parallel to cross-filament transition, and the counter-role of NF-M in suppressing the I G phase. Conclusions In copolymers of NF-LH, NF-H shifts the I G to N G transition to nearer physiological salt concentrations, as compared to NF-M in copolymers of NF-LM. For ternary mixtures, the role of NF-H is modulated by the ratio of NF-M, where beneath 10 wt.% NF-M, NF-H drives the transition to the disordered phase, and above which NF-H increases interfilament spacing. General significance Understanding the role of individual subunits in regulating the network structure will enable us to understand the mechanisms that drive the dysfunction of these networks, as observed in diseased conditions.
Working with sparse data in rated language tests: Generalizability theory applications:

Sparse-rated data are common in operational performance-based language tests, as an inevitable result of assigning examinee responses to a fraction of available raters. The current study investigates the precision of two generalizability-theory methods (i.e., the rating method and the subdividing method) specifically designed to accommodate the technical complexity involved in estimating score reliability from sparse-rated data. Examining the estimation precision of reliability is of great importance because the utility of any performance-based language test depends on its reliability. Results suggest that when some raters are expected to have greater score variability than other raters (e.g., a mixture of novice and experienced raters being deployed in a rating session), the sub-dividing method is recommended as it yields more precise reliability estimates. When all raters are expected to exhibit similar variability in their scoring, both the rating and sub-dividing methods are equally precise in estimat...
Is the basic conditional probabilistic

Nine experiments examined whether individuals treat the meaning of basic conditional assertions as deterministic or probabilistic. In Experiments 1-4, participants were presented with either probabilistic or deterministic relations, which they had to describe with a conditional. These experiments consistently showed that people tend only to use the basic if p then q construction to describe deterministic relations between antecedent and consequent, whereas they use a probabilistically qualified construction, if p then probably q, to describe probabilistic relations-suggesting that the default interpretation of the conditional is deterministic. Experiments 5 and 6 showed that when directly asked, individuals typically report that conditional assertions admit no exceptions (i.e., they are seen as deterministic). Experiments 7-9 showed that individuals judge the truth of conditional assertions in accordance with this deterministic interpretation. Together, these results pose a challenge to probabilistic accounts of the meaning of conditionals and support mental models, formal rules, and suppositional accounts.
Commenter anonymity affects reader perceptions

An experiment examines how attributes of reader comments about online news stories affect perceptions of the story as well as readers’ intentions to share it. Attributes of both the comment and the...
210 OUTSIDE THE SCIENTIFIC PARADIGM: PATIENTS' BELIEFS ABOUT THE MOMENT OF DEATH AND CADAVER SENTIENCE.

Purpose Beliefs about the physiologic signs pinpointing the moment of death and about cadaver sentience may affect people9s ideas about how to handle the cadaver. Because no research exists, we explored such beliefs according to two possible influences, ethnic group and gender. Methods We conducted open-ended interviews with 26 Mexican American (MA), 18 European American (EA), and 14 African American (AA) men and women. A consensus-based content analysis identified themes. Because some subjects did not respond to every theme, percentages may add to under 100%. Results Signs that subjects said pinpoint the moment of death differed among the six ethnic-gender groups. Most responses fell into three categories—stoppage of the heart, stoppage of the lungs, and cooling of the body. No one sign predominated. Responses for MA men and EA women ranged over all three categories: 14%, 7%, and 21%, respectively, for MA men; 27%, 45%, and 27%, respectively, for EA women. AA women mentioned only stoppage of the lungs (and just 43% did that). Yet the other three groups opined little: just 8-14% of MA women, EA men, and AA men mentioned any of the three signs above. Hence, the data do not characterize the opinions of those groups. Only two subjects mentioned brain criteria. Some subjects in all groups except MA women described out-of-body experiences, which subjects attributed to death (see the Table). Such experiences occurred with comas or cardiac arrests. All were visual; most were auditory. Subjects in all groups—including 29% or more of MA men, EA women, and AA men?believed the cadaver retains sentience, especially hearing or feeling. Conclusions Ethnic group and gender influence beliefs about signs pinpointing the moment of death and about cadaver sentience. Those beliefs sometimes originate outside the scientific paradigm. When declaring death or discussing postmortem procedures such as organ donation or autopsy, health professionals may need to set aside the scientific paradigm and to work within people9s unscientific beliefs.
In vitro assays in natural products research – a matter of concentration and relevance to in vivo administration using resveratrol, α-mangostin/γ-mangostin and xanthohumol as examples

Herbal or botanical dietary supplements are an ever increasingly popular category of products in the United States and around the world. In vitro data can provide meaningful insight into the potential target and mechanism of action for a proposed active compound but may also be misused to promote a supplement to consumers with unverified health claims. In vitro data need to be considered alongside pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data in preclinical animal and clinical human trials. While considerable activity of compounds and extracts in vitro may lead to further testing in vivo, in many instances, concentrations tested in cell lines or isolated targets are not achievable at the target site in vivo. Thus, whether the in vitro data are relevant to humans after oral administration is questionable. This review will discuss this discrepancy using in vitro and in vivo data of resveratrol, xanthones (α-mangostin and γ-mangostin) and xanthohumol.
Response to Alarm Pheromone by European and Africanized Honeybees

SummaryWorkers of two honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) geographical types, European and Africanized, in Venezuela were assayed for response to sting-associated alarm pheromone. Groups of young bees were exposed to either isopentyl acetate (IPA) or a mixture of 10 alarm chemicals, including IPA, at five concentrations. Africanized bees were more active before exposure to the pheromones, responded with greater intensity and in greater numbers, and continued to respond for a longer time. Europeans bees responded more quickly for concentrations of 1/100 and 1/1000; otherwise, the speed of response was the same as for Africanized bees. It was concluded that relatively more intense colony defence by Africanized bees is caused, in part, by greater responsiveness to alarm pheromones.
Children exposed to intimate partner violence: identifying differential effects of family environment on children's trauma and psychopathology symptoms through regression mixture models

The majority of analytic approaches aimed at understanding the influence of environmental context on children's socioemotional adjustment assume comparable effects of contextual risk and protective factors for all children. Using self-reported data from 289 maternal caregiver-child dyads, we examined the degree to which there are differential effects of severity of intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure, yearly household income, and number of children in the family on posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) and psychopathology symptoms (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems) among school-age children between the ages of 7-12 years. A regression mixture model identified three latent classes that were primarily distinguished by differential effects of IPV exposure severity on PTS and psychopathology symptoms: (1) asymptomatic with low sensitivity to environmental factors (66% of children), (2) maladjusted with moderate sensitivity (24%), and (3) highly maladjusted with high sensitivity (10%). Children with mothers who had higher levels of education were more likely to be in the maladjusted with moderate sensitivity group than the asymptomatic with low sensitivity group. Latino children were less likely to be in both maladjusted groups compared to the asymptomatic group. Overall, the findings suggest differential effects of family environmental factors on PTS and psychopathology symptoms among children exposed to IPV. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
Nickel Absorption and Elimination in Human Volunteers

This study was performed to confirm and extend the observations of Solomons et al. (1982) concerning the inhibitory effect of food on intestinal absorption of nickel in human volunteers. The protocol included (a) stringent precautions against nickel contaminination, (b) quantitation of nickel elimination in feces, and (c) analyses of nickel in body fluids and excreta by sensitive and specific techniques of electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry.
Comment on Mueller

The war in Southeast Asia was a competition in resolve between the United States (with its clients in Saigon) and the Vietnamese Communists. In the preceding article John Mueller presents a fine analysis of half of this competition. The worst that could be said is that the result is a bit like the sound of one hand clapping. It is hard to appreciate fully the question of the Communists' breaking point without more explicitly considering America's. My critique, therefore, is marginally supplementary more than contradictory. Mueller's point-that the Communists absorbed great losses in pursuit of a goal that was not vital to national survival-may undervalue North Vietnam's stake in unifying the country. The mystique of union always makes civil wars more brutal and less susceptible to resolution short of complete victory by one side than wars between separate states. If North Vietnam conceived the south as a separate entity it wanted to acquire, rather than as part of itself that it wanted to get back, it might indeed have decided it would rather switch than fight, once it felt the weight of American power. In reality, the goal of unification may have been close to absolute, rather than a relative interest that would decline in proportion to pain. Given the tremendous disparity in the power of the contestants, the key to Hanoi's ultimate success, and the reason Washington reached the breaking point first, must lie in the asymmetry of stakes. U.S. interests were relative. In terms of Realpolitik, American involvement was driven by the containment doctrine, but in this regard Southeast Asia was a tertiary theater. Only the defense of Europe could provoke unlimited American commitment. In terms of idealistic motives, Washington wanted to make Vietnam safe for democracy, but years of paternalistic attempts to create strength and stability in Saigon's governing capacity failed to overcome the fatal fissiparous weakness in the political culture
Prelaunch antenna calibration of CubeSat MMW/SMMW radiometers with application to the PolarCube 3U temperature sounding mission

Space-borne radiometric sounding measurements used to provide data for weather prediction necessitate design of highly precise antenna systems whose patterns are exactly characterized pre-launch. This study focuses on the rigorous and precise numerical analysis of the complex diffracted field produced by a corrugated feed located at the focal point of a lens/reflector focussing element. The analysis leads to the determination of an optimal feed horn and lens/reflector geometry such that the main beam and spillover efficiencies of the system are maximized, and these and the ohmic efficiency are precisely known. The above analyses is applied to the antenna subsystem of the PolarCube 3U CubeSat 118.75 GHz radiometer payload.
Development of Protein Kinase C and Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitors As Potentiators of Cytotoxic Drug Action in Leukemia

During the last decade, the approach to cancer chemotherapy has been revolutionized by two major advances: an accelerated understanding of the cell-death process (apoptosis) (1) and progress in the development of molecularly targeted agents directed against specific oncogenes and enzymes responsible for neoplastic transformation, e.g., STI571 in the case of Bcr/Abl+ malignancies (2). Such efforts have served to focus attention on two general classes of agents: inhibitors of (a) cell-cycle regulation and (b) cytoprotective signal transduction pathways. The rationale for developing cell-cycle inhibitors is based on abundant evidence that neoplastic cells are defective in cell-cycle regulation, i.e., loss of the G1 checkpoint (3). In addition, it is now recognized that a variety of neoplastic cells, particularly those of hematopoietic origin, exhibit increased activity of certain pro-survival signaling pathways, i.e., the Ras/Raf/MEK/MAP kinase cascade (4). Thus, interference with specific cell-cycle progression and/or signaling pathways represents a logical alternative (or adjunct) to the use of cytotoxic agents, which kill neoplastic cells through more general mechanisms.
Collaborative Paradigm of Preventive, Personalized, and Precision Medicine With Point-of-Care Technologies

Recent advances in biosensors, medical instrumentation, and information processing and communication technologies (ICT) have enabled significant improvements in healthcare. However, these technologies have been mainly applied in clinical environments, such as hospitals and healthcare facilities, under managed care by well-trained and specialized individuals. The global challenge of providing quality healthcare at affordable cost leads to the proposed paradigm of P reventive, Personalized, and Precision Medicine that requires a seamless use of technology and infrastructure support for patients and healthcare providers at point-of-care (POC) locations including homes, semi or pre-clinical facilities, and hospitals. The complexity of the global healthcare challenge necessitates strong collaborative interdisciplinary synergies involving all stakeholder groups including academia, federal research institutions, industry, regulatory agencies, and clinical communities. It is critical to evolve with collaborative efforts on the translation of research to technology development toward clinical validation and potential healthcare applications. This special issue is focused on technology innovation and translational research for POC applications with potential impact in improving global healthcare in the respective areas. Some of these papers were presented at the NIH-IEEE Strategic Conference on Healthcare Innovations and POC Technologies for Precision Medicine (HI-POCT) held at the NIH on November 9–10, 2015. The papers included in the Special Issue provide a spectrum of critical issues and collaborative resources on translational research of advanced POC devices and ICT into global healthcare environment.
Kinetic Pelvic Limb Model to Support Students' Understanding of Spatial Visualization in Gross Anatomy

Visual aids currently being used for anatomy education are often only designed to help identify structures and, in some cases, to facilitate understanding of the spatial relationships amongst structures. However, a knowledge of the basic functions of structures is crucial to understanding anatomy and is vastly neglected in the design of instructional tools. One major concept which current tools lack the ability to demonstrate is basic biomechanics. A possible solution to address this oversight is the creation of a kinetic, interactive model that demonstrates movement. Creation of this type of model should incorporate aspects of many different disciplines and should facilitate learning by providing engaging and intuitive interaction. To test this hypothesis, a physically based interactive kinetic simulation model of the canine pelvic limb was constructed. From the user studies, positive student feedback as well as improved quiz scores show that the interactive simulation model had a positive effect on student comprehension in anatomy education.
Long term gluten consumption in adults without celiac disease and risk of coronary heart disease: prospective cohort study.

Objective To examine the association of long term intake of gluten with the development of incident coronary heart disease. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting and participants 64 714 women in the Nurses’ Health Study and 45 303 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study without a history of coronary heart disease who completed a 131 item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire in 1986 that was updated every four years through 2010. Exposure Consumption of gluten, estimated from food frequency questionnaires. Main outcome measure Development of coronary heart disease (fatal or non-fatal myocardial infarction). Results During 26 years of follow-up encompassing 2 273 931 person years, 2431 women and 4098 men developed coronary heart disease. Compared with participants in the lowest fifth of gluten intake, who had a coronary heart disease incidence rate of 352 per 100 000 person years, those in the highest fifth had a rate of 277 events per 100 000 person years, leading to an unadjusted rate difference of 75 (95% confidence interval 51 to 98) fewer cases of coronary heart disease per 100 000 person years. After adjustment for known risk factors, participants in the highest fifth of estimated gluten intake had a multivariable hazard ratio for coronary heart disease of 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.88 to 1.02; P for trend=0.29). After additional adjustment for intake of whole grains (leaving the remaining variance of gluten corresponding to refined grains), the multivariate hazard ratio was 1.00 (0.92 to 1.09; P for trend=0.77). In contrast, after additional adjustment for intake of refined grains (leaving the variance of gluten intake correlating with whole grain intake), estimated gluten consumption was associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease (multivariate hazard ratio 0.85, 0.77 to 0.93; P for trend=0.002). Conclusion Long term dietary intake of gluten was not associated with risk of coronary heart disease. However, the avoidance of gluten may result in reduced consumption of beneficial whole grains, which may affect cardiovascular risk. The promotion of gluten-free diets among people without celiac disease should not be encouraged.
Prediction of land market value based on the real estate market in USA

The Land Market Value, defined as the total value of land price and quantity data are derived from data on housing values, is an important factor in the estimation of structure costs using price indexes for housing and construction costs. In this study, we gather and analyze 34 years' national data on past and present real estate transaction. According to the characteristics of raw data, we try to develop the potential Decomposition, Smoothing, ARIMA and other advanced forecasting models with appropriate transformations. Specifically, we employ an innovation space state underlying certain forecasting model. For regression analysis, we involves GDP, CPI, Construction Cost Index, population, unemployment rate, inflation rate and Purchasing Manage Index in multivariate statistical model. Most importantly, we obtain how to add value to business and apply skills set to real estate in a real world environment. The goal in providing crucial statistical method is to enable government and investors to make informed decisions regarding real estate.
Groups outperform individuals in tacit coordination by using consensual and disjunctive salience

Abstract Tacit coordination between individuals has received considerable research attention (Mehta, Starmer, & Sugden, 1994; Abele & Stasser, 2008). However, groups often must coordinate tacitly with other groups, and such intergroup coordination has been rarely studied. In three experiments, we found that interacting groups are more successful at coordinating tacitly than are individuals. This advantage is driven by two types of coordination salience that are uniquely derived from groups deliberating and making collective responses. Consensual salience occurs when groups select a response because a majority of members support it. Majorities efficiently identify popular response tendencies (i.e., focal points) and thereby increase the chances of matching other groups’ responses. Disjunctive salience occurs when at least one member of a group suggests a focal point. We propose that focal points are often demonstratively evident when mentioned, and if proposed by any group member, are likely to be adopted as the group response.
The Quasi-Coarse-Grained Dynamics Method to Unravel the Mesoscale Evolution of Defects/Damage during Shock Loading and Spall Failure of Polycrystalline Al Microstructures.

A long-standing problem in modeling of shock response of metals is the ability to model defect nucleation and evolution mechanisms during plastic deformation and failure at the mesoscales. This paper demonstrates the capability of the “quasi-coarse-grained dynamics” (QCGD) simulation method to unravel microstructural evolution of polycrystalline Al microstructures at the mesoscales. The various QCGD simulations discussed here investigate the shock response of Al microstructures comprising of grain sizes ranging from 50 nm to 3.20 µm and correspond to system sizes ranging from 150 nm to 9.6 µm, respectively. The QCGD simulations are validated by demonstrating the capability to retain atomistic characteristics of the wave propagation behavior, plastic deformation mechanisms (dislocation nucleation, dissociation/recombination behavior, dislocation interactions/reactions), evolution of damage (voids), and evolution of temperature during shock loading. The capability to unravel the mesoscale evolution of microstructure is demonstrated by investigating the effect of grain size, shock pulse and system size on the shock response and spall failure of the metal. The computed values of spall strengths predicted using the QCGD simulations agree very well with the trend predicted by MD simulations and a strain rate dependence of the spall strength is proposed that fits the experimentally available values in the literature.
“Not a Real Family”: Microaggressions Directed toward LGBTQ Families

The present study investigates microaggressions toward individuals in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) families. Microaggressions are subtle forms of discrimination experience...
American Urological Association Antibiotic Best Practice Statement and Ureteroscopy: Does Antibiotic Stewardship Help?

Abstract Purpose: To determine compliance with the American Urological Association (AUA) antimicrobial prophylaxis best practice statement and whether the use of postoperative antibiotics is associated with lower rates of postoperative urinary tract infection (UTI) in patients with nephroureterolithiasis and a negative preoperative urine culture undergoing ureteroscopy. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of all adult patients undergoing ureteroscopy from 2013 to 2014 for stone disease with a negative preoperative urine was conducted. Patients who did and did not receive postoperative oral antibiotics beyond 24 hours of surgery were identified. The rates of culture-proven postoperative UTI and unplanned postoperative encounters were determined for both groups. Between-group comparisons were made by using independent t-test and Chi-square analyses. Results: A total of 1068 patients met inclusion criteria and 31.6% were managed in accordance with the AUA best practice statement by not receiving an...
T-Cell Exhaustion Signatures Vary with Tumor Type and Are Severe in Glioblastoma

Purpose: T-cell dysfunction is a hallmark of glioblastoma (GBM). Although anergy and tolerance have been well characterized, T-cell exhaustion remains relatively unexplored. Exhaustion, characterized in part by the upregulation of multiple immune checkpoints, is a known contributor to failures amid immune checkpoint blockade, a strategy that has lacked success thus far in GBM. This study is among the first to examine, and credential as bona fide, exhaustion among T cells infiltrating human and murine GBM.Experimental Design: Tumor-infiltrating and peripheral blood lymphocytes (TILs and PBLs) were isolated from patients with GBM. Levels of exhaustion-associated inhibitory receptors and poststimulation levels of the cytokines IFNγ, TNFα, and IL2 were assessed by flow cytometry. T-cell receptor Vβ chain expansion was also assessed in TILs and PBLs. Similar analysis was extended to TILs isolated from intracranial and subcutaneous immunocompetent murine models of glioma, breast, lung, and melanoma cancers.Results: Our data reveal that GBM elicits a particularly severe T-cell exhaustion signature among infiltrating T cells characterized by: (1) prominent upregulation of multiple immune checkpoints; (2) stereotyped T-cell transcriptional programs matching classical virus-induced exhaustion; and (3) notable T-cell hyporesponsiveness in tumor-specific T cells. Exhaustion signatures differ predictably with tumor identity, but remain stable across manipulated tumor locations.Conclusions: Distinct cancers possess similarly distinct mechanisms for exhausting T cells. The poor TIL function and severe exhaustion observed in GBM highlight the need to better understand this tumor-imposed mode of T-cell dysfunction in order to formulate effective immunotherapeutic strategies targeting GBM. Clin Cancer Res; 24(17); 4175-86. ©2018 AACRSee related commentary by Jackson and Lim, p. 4059.
Intestinal Stem Cell Isolation and Culture in a Porcine Model of Segmental Small Intestinal Ischemia.

Intestinal ischemia remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in human and veterinary patients. Many disease processes result in intestinal ischemia, when the blood supply and therefore oxygen is decreased to the intestine. This leads to intestinal barrier loss and damage to the underlying tissue. Intestinal stem cells reside at the base of the crypts of Lieberkuhn and are responsible for intestinal renewal during homeostasis and following injury. Ex vivo cell culture techniques have allowed for the successful study of epithelial stem cell interactions by establishing culture conditions that support the growth of three-dimensional epithelial organ-like systems (termed "enteroids" and "colonoids" from the small and large intestine, respectively). These enteroids are composed of crypt and villus-like domains and mature to contain all of the cell types found within the epithelium. Historically, murine models have been utilized to study intestinal injury. However, a porcine model offers several advantages including similarity of size as well as gastrointestinal anatomy and physiology to that of humans. By utilizing a porcine model, we establish a protocol in which segmental loops of intestinal ischemia can be created within a single animal, enabling the study of differing time points of ischemic injury and repair in vivo. Additionally, we describe a method to isolate and culture the intestinal stem cells from the ischemic loops of intestine, allowing for the continued study of epithelial repair, modulated by stem cells, ex vivo.
The Rise of Rudists; Middle Cretaceous Facies in Mexico and the Middle East

Geologists have long recognized the Cretaceous as a time of outstanding development of carbonate platforms and offshore banks. These are known in an equatorial belt from 40° N to 20° S along the Tethyan seaway through southern Europe, in the Middle East, across southern Asia and the sunken Mid-Pacific and around the Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean region. This Chapter focuses particularly on Middle Cretaceous strata in these areas and on the role played in carbonate accumulation by the rudist bivalves within them. Rudists added immensely to the volume of material in Cretaceous buildups, forming a framework both within shelf mounds and along shelf margins. They are significant constituents of reservoir rock in some of the world’s greatest oil fields. In this Chapter a discussion of rudist morphology and paleoecology is followed by a description of some typical Middle Cretaceous facies patterns.
The stress of misfolded proteins: C. elegans models for neurodegenerative disease and aging.

A growing number of human neurodegenerative diseases are associated with the expres-ion of misfolded proteins that oligomerize and form aggregate structures. Over time, accumulation of misfolded proteins leads to the disruption of cellular protein folding homeostasis and eventually to cellular dysfunction and death. To investigate the relationship between misfolded proteins, neuropathology and aging, we have developed models utilizing the nematode C. elegans. In addition to being genetically tractable, C. elegans have rapid growth rates and short life-cycles, providing unique advantages for modeling neurodegenerative diseases of aging caused by the stress of misfolded proteins. The C. elegans models described here express polyglutamine expansion-containing proteins, as occur in Huntington’s disease. Through the use of tissue-specific expression of different lengths of fluorescently tagged polyglutamine repeats, we have examined the dynamics of aggregate formation both within individual cells and over time throughout the lifetime of individual animals, identifying aging and other genetic modifiers as an important physiologic determinant of aggregation and toxicity.
Black Walnut Allelopathy: Implications for Intercropping

Black Walnut (Juglans nigra L.) produces the chemical juglone that has an allelopathic effect on some companion species in intercropped systems. Nevertheless, black walnut continues to be a popular planted species in alley cropping, silvopastoral, and mixed species systems. Recent advances in management techniques, including the use of polyethylene root barriers, trenching or disking, and planting and managing the companion species during the early establishment of black walnut, have proven to be effective in alleviating the allelopathic effects of juglone. While allelopathic interference is a reality in black walnut intercropped systems, management intervention may help sustain the production potential so that they become an economically viable option for landowners.
Morphology and flow cytometry of atypical basophils

![Figure][1] A 74-year-old man was admitted following a syncopal episode and was incidentally found to have leukocytosis with basophilia. A peripheral smear evaluation revealed basophils with atypical nuclear lobation and decreased granularity (panel A; modified Wright's stain, original
Does CACREP Accreditation Make A Difference? A Look at NCE Results and Answers

With the establishment of CACREP in 1981 and the creation of the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) in 1982, counselor education gained accreditation standards and a method of measuring...
Hydrogen Activation by Silica-Supported Metal Ion Catalysts: Catalytic Properties of Metals and Performance of DFT Functionals

Single-site heterogeneous catalysts (SSHC) have received increasing attention due to their well-defined active sites and potentially high specific activity. Detailed computational studies were carried out on a set of potential SSHC’s, i.e., silica-supported metal ions, to investigate the reactivity of these catalysts with H2 as well as to evaluate the performance of density functional theory (DFT) methods in conjunction with triple-ζ quality basis sets (i.e., cc-pVTZ) on reaction energetics. The ions considered include 4d and 5d metals as well as several post-transition metal ions. A representative cluster model of silica is used to calculate reaction free energies of the metal hydride formation that results from the heterolytic cleavage of H2 on the M–O bond. The hydride formation free energy is previously shown to be strongly correlated with the catalytic activity of such catalysts for alkene hydrogenation. ONIOM calculations (CCSD(T)//MP2) are used to assess the accuracy and reliability of the MP2 resu...
Identifying coupled clusters of allostery participants through chemical shift perturbations

Allosteric couplings underlie many cellular signaling processes and provide an exciting avenue for development of new diagnostics and therapeutics. A general method for identifying important residues in allosteric mechanisms would be very useful, but remains elusive due to the complexity of long-range phenomena. Here, we introduce an NMR method to identify residues involved in allosteric coupling between two ligand-binding sites in a protein, which we call chemical shift detection of allostery participants (CAP). Networks of functional groups responding to each ligand are defined through correlated NMR perturbations. In this process, we also identify allostery participants, groups that respond to both binding events and likely play a role in the coupling between the binding sites. Such residues exhibit multiple functional states with distinct NMR chemical shifts, depending on binding status at both binding sites. Such a strategy was applied to the prototypical ion channel KcsA. We had previously shown that the potassium affinity at the extracellular selectivity filter is strongly dependent on proton binding at the intracellular pH sensor. Here, we analyzed proton and potassium binding networks and identified groups that depend on both proton and potassium binding (allostery participants). These groups are viewed as candidates for transmitting information between functional units. The vital role of one such identified amino acid was validated through site-specific mutagenesis, electrophysiology functional studies, and NMR-detected thermodynamic analysis of allosteric coupling. This strategy for identifying allostery participants is likely to have applications for many other systems.
Polydimethylsiloxane Replicas Efficacy for Simulating Fresh Produce Surfaces and Application in Mechanistic Study of Colloid Retention

Foodborne illnesses associated with fresh produce have attracted increasing attention in the food industry, scientific and public health communities. Studies have shown that surface properties of fresh produce can affect bacterial attachment and colonization, yet the mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. In our previous work, using colloids as bacterial surrogates, we demonstrated that colloid retention on fresh produce was controlled by water retention/distribution on produce surfaces, which were in turn governed by produce surface properties. However, high variabilities among the natural samples and multiple factors that were simultaneously involved made it difficult for interpreting the results and in pinpointing the mechanisms responsible for the observed colloid retention behavior. To better evaluate the mechanisms, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) replicas of tomato, lettuce, and spinach were fabricated and compared with fresh produce surfaces in this study. The PDMS replicas thoroughly preserved the surface topographical features of their natural counterparts while having identical chemical properties (for example, hydrophobicity), thus, allowing for the separation of surface topography/roughness and hydrophobicity effects. We found that residual water retention/distribution and colloid retention on the PDMS replicas were consistent with the results observed on the corresponding fresh produce surfaces, but had smaller deviations from the respective means when compared to the natural surfaces. The use of PDMS replicas improved experimental reproducibility, and enabled differentiation on the effects of surface hydrophobicity and surface roughness on colloid retention, thus, allowed more rigorous elucidation of the underlying mechanisms. Therefore, PDMS replicas could be used as surrogates of fresh produce for mechanistic studies of surface-bacteria interactions. Practical Application This work demonstrates the feasibility of using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to simulate fresh produce surfaces for studying interactions between produce surfaces and colloids, including bacteria. Although it is more realistic to use fruit or vegetable surfaces, the difficulties of working with natural surfaces that are heterogeneous and variable hinder systematic and mechanistic studies. The use of PDMS replicas can eliminate these difficulties and improve experimental reproducibility. This study demonstrated that PDMS replicas could adequately represent the topographical features of natural produce surfaces; the results on colloid retention provided insight into fresh produce contamination and the development of effective decontamination strategies.
Systematic Evaluation of Variables Associated with Emesis: A Case Study

Recurrent emesis (i.e., vomiting) during mealtime is often a great concern of caregivers of children with pediatric feeding disorders. Identifying the cause and treating the emesis may be difficult due to the multiple factors that may contribute to the occurrence overtime. Emesis may result from various factors, some of which include volume sensitivity, inadequate oral motor skills, and environmental factors related to food novelty and texture. This case study describes a 6-year-old boy with spina bifida who was dependent upon gastrointestinal-tube feedings due to frequent emesis when fed orally. Upon admission to an intensive feeding program, several potential factors maintaining the emesis were identified based upon clinical assessment, observation, and caregiver report. These factors were each evaluated systematically and results indicated that emesis was more likely to occur when foods of novel taste and texture were presented. With exposure, rates of emesis decreased across both type and texture of food. However, emesis decreased more quickly for novel foods at a pureed texture compared to the same food at a higher texture. There were no significant differences in rates of emesis during environmental manipulations related to observer response or associated with volume sensitivity. The methods utilized in this study may be useful to practitioners to systematically evaluate the variables contributing to the occurrence and maintenance of emesis.
An Algorithm that Exploits Symmetries in Bifurcation Problems

Frequently bifurcations in nonlinear eigenvalue problems are due to symmetries in the problem. At bifurcation points the symmetries in the solution are typically reduced on the bifurcating branches. We present an algorithm that by making explicit use of the symmetry behaviour of the solutions allows us to determine these in a reliable and efficient way. Numerical results are presented for a finite-difference discretization of a Duffing equation with periodic boundary conditions.
Modeling cobalt-nitrogen compounds as catalysts for dissociation of H 2 O

It has been shown experimentally that cobalt bonded to a nitrogen-doped graphene sheet can catalyze H removal from H2O. Density functional theory has been employed to obtain the minimum energy structure of H2O bonded to the cobalt–nitrogen graphene structure. The bond dissociation energy to remove an H atom from this structure was calculated to be 0.3 eV, which compared with the calculated value of 4.2 eV for the free H2O molecule, indicates this material can catalyze H2O dissociation. The agreement of the prediction of the theoretical model with the experimental observation lends support for the approach based on using bond dissociation energies. The model has been employed to show that a simpler structure, CN–Co, perhaps easier to synthesize, can also be an effective catalyst for the production of H from H2O.