cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transient transfection of human peripheral blood basophils

The human basophil has resisted previous attempts at transient transfection. Basophils were transfected by nucleoporation and to test whether there was sufficient expression to modify cell function, the cells were transfected with a syk kinase tandem SH2 construct linked to GFP. This approach was taken because in RBL cells and murine mast cells syk kinase is known to play a very early role in signal transduction and previous studies in RBL cells demonstrated that expression of the tandem SH2 domains of syk would inhibit signaling, presumably by competition with endogenous syk for binding to ITAMs. Results from basophil transfections with SH2syk were compared to an empty construct. Basophils were stimulated with anti-IgE antibody and analyzed for single cell changes in cytosolic calcium levels. Basophils expressing the empty GFP construct showed a cytosolic calcium response similar to non-expressing cells. In contrast, basophils expressing the GFP-tandem SH2syk construct, on average, showed an anti-IgE-induced calcium response that was completely ablated. The transfection frequency was 8% (median), with an average viable recovery of 12% (n=18). While the procedure is not benign and is not always successful, these studies indicate that with gating techniques, the human basophil, a non-dividing primary leukocyte, can be transiently transfected to express high enough levels of an inhibitory protein to alter an IgE-mediated response.
Ozone impacts on assimilation and allocation to reproductive sinks in the vegetatively propagated C4 weed, yellow nutsedge.

Crop production in many irrigated agricultural regions is challenged by both air pollution and weed pressure. Impacts of ozone (O 3 ) on C 4 plants have received little attention. Yet many important crops and weeds utilize the C 4 pathway, including yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus L.). A previous study suggested that this species may respond to O 3 exposure with enhanced allocation of biomass below ground, including potentially to reproductive tubers, an apparent exception to the general weakening of belowground sink strength. This hypothesis was not supported by the current experiments, as exposure to 60 nL L -1 and 115 nL L -1 O 3 (12-h daylight mean O 3 concentration) reduced biomass allocation to tubers, relative to 4 nL L -1 . Chlorophyll content, specific leaf weight, and carbon assimilation were reduced, while intercellular CO 2 concentration increased, reducing water use efficiency. We conclude that (i) this C 4 species exhibits substantial sensitivity to ambient O 3 ; (ii) O 3 -inhibition of allocation belowground is not limited to roots but also applies to tubers; and (iii) the O 3 component of global change will increase the competitiveness of nutsedge with respect to specific crops as shown previously, but will decrease tuber production and degrade water use efficiency of this challenging C 4 weed.
Protein-lipid interactions: Glycophorin and dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine

Abstract The choline methyl groups of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine were enriched with 13 C, and glycophorin extracted from human erythrocytes was included in bilayers of this phospholipid. At temperatures below the transition temperature, the 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra have two components, one sharp and one broad. The sharp signal is attributed to relatively “fluid” lipids in the immediate vicinity of the glycoprotein. In a defined ternary mixture consisting of 13 C-labeled dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine, dielaidoylphosphatidylcholine and glycophorin, the sharp 13 C resonance signal disappears below the transition temperature of the mixture, indicating that the unsaturated lipid is preferentially associated with the glycoprotein under these conditions.
A definition of and linguistic support for partial quiescence

The global quiescence (GQ) of a distributed computation (or distributed termination detection) is an important problem. Some concurrent programming languages and systems provide GQ detection as a built-in feature so that programmers do not need to write special synchronization code to detect quiescence. This paper introduces partial quiescence (PQ), which generalizes quiescence detection to a specified part of a distributed computation. PQ is useful, for example, when two independent concurrent computations that both rely on GQ need to be combined into a single program. The paper describes how we have designed and implemented a PQ mechanism within an experimental version of the JR concurrent programming language, and have gained experience with several representative applications. Our early results are promising qualitatively and quantitatively. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Intracerebral Hemorrhage Specific Intensity of Care Quality Metrics

Background Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) care can vary among centers and previous studies have demonstrated differences in ICH outcome based on variations in patient care in various settings. The purpose of this paper is to present the design of an evidence-based dataset of elements of a new ICH specific intensity of care quality metrics. Methods The articles were identified based on personal knowledge of the subject supplemented by data derived from multi-center randomized trials, and selected non-randomized or observational clinical studies. The information was identified with multiple searches on MEDLINE from 1986 through 2009. The current guidelines from American Heart Association (AHA)/American Stroke Association (ASA) Stroke Council and The European Stroke Initiative (EUSI) Writing Committee for management of ICH were reviewed extensively for identifying quality indicators and available scientific evidence. For certain elements where stroke-specific data was not available, data derived from other disease process with direct relevance was used. Results A total of 26 quality indicators related to 18 facets of care with thresholds for quality response were identified. A pilot study was performed to asses and score 1300 (26 indicator per patientX25 patientsX2 raters) quality indicators. The minimum proportion of patients meeting quality parameter ranged from 44% to 100% depending upon the variable. The lowest performance scores were observed in the early intubation and mechanical ventilation, treatment of significant intracranial mass effect or transtentorial herniation, and timely acquisition of neuroimaging. The highest performance scores were seen in treatment of any seizure within 2 weeks of admission, status epilepticus, and prevention of gastric ulcer. Conclusions The next step in development of a new ICH specific intensity of care quality metrics is validation and refinement of the quality indicators and thresholds presented in the current report. Future activities may include selection and validation based on consensus of experts and application of the system to a large series of patients with ICH and assessment of relationship of components in isolation and as a group to outcome after severity adjustment.
Emerging Imaging Modalities in Regenerative Medicine

The field of regenerative medicine has experienced considerable growth in recent years as the translation of pre-clinical biomaterials and cell- and gene-based therapies begin to reach clinical application. Until recently, the ability to monitor the serial responses to therapeutic treatments has been limited to post-mortem tissue analyses. With improvements in existing imaging modalities and the emergence of hybrid imaging systems, it is now possible to combine information related to structural remodeling with associated molecular events using non-invasive imaging. This review summarizes the established and emerging imaging modalities that are available for in vivo monitoring of clinical regenerative medicine therapies and discusses the strengths and limitations of each imaging modality.
Behavioral economics and the economics of Keynes

The aim of this paper is two-fold: it first evaluates some of the psychological insights offered by Keynes in his economic theories, and secondly it weighs up these insights in the light of recent research in behavioral and experimental economics. We found that many of the psychological ideas set forth by Keynes in his economic works, especially in The General Theory, have a defensible behavioral foundation and fit broadly the actual behavior of economic agents in the real world as suggested by recent empirical evidence. As a consequence, we argue that Keynesian economics can benefit from this interaction, especially for issues related to judgment under uncertainty and building solid microfoundations for macroeconomics.
Topology optimization of nonlinear structures

In this paper, topology optimization of both geometrically and materially nonlinear structure is studied using a general displacement functional as the objective function. In order to consider large deformation, effective stress and strain are expressed in terms of 2nd Piolar-Kirchhoff stress tensor and Green-Lagrange strain tensor, and constitutive equation is derived from the relation between the effective stress and strain. Sensitivity analysis of the general displacement functional is derived using the adjoint method. Numerical results of mean compliance design are compared under linear analysis, geometrical nonlinear analysis, material nonlinear analysis, and combined nonlinear analysis.
Non-invasive silicon temperature measurement by infrared transmission for rapid thermal processing applications

A method for the noninvasive measurement of silicon wafer temperature based on infrared transmission is presented. The method is well suited to the 400-800dC temperature range, can be used through thick quartz walls, and is compatible with rapid thermal processing and epitaxial growth. The approach relies on the decreased bandgap, higher phonon population, and increased free carrier concentrations in silicon at elevated temperatures. These effects cause increased optical absorption in the infrared (near band-edge) region due to both increased band-to-band and intraband absorption. By measuring the infrared optical transmission of the wafer in situ during processing, an intimate measure of the wafer temperature can be attained. Improved control of silicon-germanium film growth has been demonstrated
Biosynthesis of Polyketides in Heterologous Hosts

Polyketide natural products show great promise as medicinal agents. Typically the products of microbial secondary biosynthesis, polyketides are synthesized by an evolutionarily related but architecturally diverse family of multifunctional enzymes called polyketide synthases. A principal limitation for fundamental biochemical studies of these modular megasynthases, as well as for their applications in biotechnology, is the challenge associated with manipulating the natural microorganism that produces a polyketide of interest. To ameliorate this limitation, over the past decade several genetically amenable microbes have been developed as heterologous hosts for polyketide biosynthesis. Here we review the state of the art as well as the difficulties associated with heterologous polyketide production. In particular, we focus on two model hosts, Streptomyces coelicolor and Escherichia coli. Future directions for this relatively new but growing technological opportunity are also discussed.
Nonlinear Finite-Element Analysis of Posttensioned Concrete Bridge Girders

Posttensioning is an effective method for the construction of different types of bridge girders such as those used in segmentally erected bridges. Available nonlinear analysis programs for bridge girders under severe loading conditions are computationally expensive though. In addition, they neglect important phenomena such as bond-slip, friction, and anchorage losses. The objective of the proposed work is to develop a new nonlinear finite-element program for analysis of posttensioned bridge girders. The new model overcomes most of the difficulties associated with existing models. The model is based on the computationally efficient mixed formulation and considers bond, friction, and anchorage loss effects. The mixed formulation is characterized by its fast convergence, usually with very few finite elements and its robustness even under severe loading conditions. The posttensioning operation is accurately simulated using a phased-analysis technique, in which each stage of the posttensioning operation is simulated through a complete nonlinear analysis procedure. Correlation studies of the proposed model with experimental results of posttensioned specimens are conducted. These studies confirmed the accuracy and efficiency of the newly developed software program, which represents an advancement over existing commercial software packages for evaluating posttensioned bridge girders, in particular those subjected to severe loading conditions.
A type system for preventing data races and deadlocks in the java virtual machine language: 1

In previous work on SafeJava we presented a type system extension to the Java source language that statically prevents data races and deadlocks in multithreaded programs. SafeJava is expressive enough to support common programming patterns, its type checking is fast and scalable, and it requires little programming overhead. SafeJava thus offers a promising approach for making multithreaded programs more reliable. This paper presents a corresponding type system extension for the Java virtual machine language (JVML). We call the resulting language SafeJVML. Well-typed SafeJVML programs are guaranteed to be free of data races and deadlocks. Designing a corresponding type system for JVML is important because most Java code is shipped in the JVML format. Designing acorresponding type system for JVML is nontrivial because of important differences between Java and JVML. In particular, the absence of block structure in JVML programs and the fact that they do not use named local variables the way Java programs do make the type systems for Java and JVML significantly different. For example, verifying absence of races and deadlocks in JVML programs requires performing an alias analysis, something that was not necessary for verifying absence of races and deadlocks in Java programs. This paper presents static and dynamic semantics for Safe JVML. It also includes a proof that the SafeJVML type system is sound and that it prevents data races and deadlocks. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first type system for JVML that statically ensures absence of synchronization errors.
Neurophobia: a chronic disease of medical students.

Almost 20 years ago, the term neurophobia was coined to describe medical students' fear of neurology.1 Neurophobia has putatively resulted in US medical students and practicing physicians not learning neurology and neurosciences sufficiently well. Neurophobia is not only present in the United States; a recent survey of UK medical students demonstrated that medical students still fear neurology.2 With the aging of the US population, more patients with neurologic disease will be making their way to their primary care provider. The projected shortfall of practicing neurologists in this country3 may lead to primary care providers having to confront neurophobia to help care for their patients. Indeed, only 2.6% of US medical school graduates matched into neurology residencies in 2014.
Mechanistic Understanding of Cr Poisoning on La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ (LSCF)

The effects of Cr poisoning on the catalytic activity of La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ (LSCF) and the poisoning mechanism was investigated. AC impedance spectroscopy and temperature programmed isotopic exchange (TPX) were consistent in proving poisoning mainly degraded the surface catalytic activity as a passive layer evolved on the surface or near-surface region. The formation of small particles was clearly observed in scanning electron microscopy when LSCF was heat treated in the presence of Crofer22APU. Low angle X-ray diffraction identified these were SrCrO4. As a result of Sr diffusion to form SrCrO4 particles, it was found that a Sr-deficient phase was formed and a phase transition from rhombohedral to cubic perovskite occurred in the near surface region. While previous Cr poisoning studies on LSCF mostly emphasized the effects of SrCrO4 formation, the Sr deficient surface layer also significantly degrades the catalytic activity of LSCF due to reduction of oxygen vacancies and surface Co/Fe concentration.
Prevalence and characteristics of central nervous system involvement by chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Abroad array of conditions can lead to neurological symptoms in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients and distinguishing between clinically significant involvement of the central nervous system by chronic lymphocytic leukemia and symptoms due to other etiologies can be challenging. Between January 1999 and November 2014, 172 (4%) of the 4174 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia followed at our center had a magnetic resonance imaging of the central nervous system and/or a lumbar puncture to evaluate neurological symptoms. After comprehensive evaluation, the etiology of neurological symptoms was: central nervous system chronic lymphocytic leukemia in 18 patients (10% evaluated by imaging and/or lumbar puncture, 0.4% overall cohort); central nervous system Richter Syndrome in 15 (9% evaluated, 0.3% overall); infection in 40 (23% evaluated, 1% overall); autoimmune/inflammatory conditions in 28 (16% evaluated, 0.7% overall); other cancer in 8 (5% evaluated, 0.2% overall); and another etiology in 63 (37% evaluated, 1.5% overall). Although the sensitivity of cerebrospinal fluid analysis to detect central nervous system disease was 89%, the specificity was only 42% due to the frequent presence of leukemic cells in the cerebrospinal fluid in other conditions. No parameter on cerebrospinal fluid analysis (e.g. total nucleated cells, total lymphocyte count, chronic lymphocytic leukemia cell percentage) were able to offer a reliable discrimination between patients whose neurological symptoms were due to clinically significant central nervous system involvement by chronic lymphocytic leukemia and another etiology. Median overall survival among patients with clinically significant central nervous system chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Richter syndrome was 12 and 11 months, respectively. In conclusion, clinically significant central nervous system involvement by chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a rare condition, and neurological symptoms in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia are due to other etiologies in approximately 80% of cases. Analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid has high sensitivity but limited specificity to distinguish clinically significant chronic lymphocytic leukemia involvement from other etiologies.
HYBRID ZONES WITH DOBZHANSKY-TYPE EPISTATIC SELECTION.

Dobzhansky's model of epistatic selection assumes that viable genotypes form "clusters" in genotype space so that populations can evolve from one state to a reproductively isolated state following a "ridge" of well-fit genotypes without crossing any deep adaptive valleys. Recently, the importance of Dobzhansky-type models in evolutionary studies has been reemphasized by Gavrilets (1997a) and Gavrilets and Gravner (1997) who argue that the existence of "ridges" of well-fit genotypes connecting reproductively isolated genotypes is actually a general property of multidimensional adaptive landscapes. Using rigorous techniques and numerical simulations, I analyze clines in the frequencies of selected and neutral alleles maintained by a balance of migration and Dobzhansky-type epistatic selection acting on two diallelic loci. I show that Dobzhansky-type epistatic selection can build up a very strong barrier to neutral gene flow. I describe properties of clines that are indicative of Dobzhansky-type selection.
Resistance to metabolic actions of insulin and its role in hypertension

Insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia have been postulated to be important in raising blood pressure in obese as well as lean hypertensive individuals. However, cause-and-effect relationships among these variables have not been clearly established. The three most widely used methods to assess insulin resistance in vivo (fasting plasma insulin, glucose disposal after a glucose load, or glucose disposal during a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp) may provide different estimates of insulin resistance under various physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Fasting hyperinsulinemia may reflect mainly hepatic insulin resistance, whereas impairment of glucose disposal indicates resistance to the metabolic effects of insulin in skeletal muscle. The importance of these different sites of insulin resistance in the etiology of cardiovascular diseases, however, is still unclear. Although hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance have been speculated to cause hypertension, most of the evidence supporting this hypothesis has come either from correlation studies or from short-term studies of the cardiovascular, renal, and sympathetic effects of insulin. The few long-term studies that have been conducted in dogs and in humans do not support the insulin concept of hypertension. In fact, these studies suggest that the vasodilator actions of insulin tend to reduce, rather than elevate, blood pressure. Correlations between insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and hypertension do not appear to be explainable by the concept that insulin resistance occurs secondary to hypertension. Obesity may be a key factor in explaining these relationships; weight gain appears to cause insulin resistance, compensatory hyperinsulinemia, and hypertension through parallel, but not necessarily linked, mechanisms. However, insulin resistance and compensatory hyperinsulinemia may contribute to increased risk of other cardiovascular diseases associated with hypertension, such as coronary artery disease.
CP-125 The effect of a pharmacist led inhaler technique assessment, education and training intervention on asthma control test scores in a paediatric hospital outpatient setting

Background Studies have consistently demonstrated that the correct and effective use of inhaler therapy reduces the frequency and severity of asthma symptoms and thus improves asthma control. Pharmacists are particularly well positioned to educate and train patients in the correct use of their inhaled therapy.1 They are often the last healthcare professionals to have contact with patients prior to the use of prescribed inhaled medication.2 This places pharmacists in an opportune situation for patient counselling with regard to inhaler technique. An extensive literature search revealed that pharmacist led inhaler technique assessment and training has not, to my knowledge, been carried out in the paediatric population in a hospital setting. Purpose To determine if pharmacist led inhaler technique assessment, education and training improves asthma control scores in the paediatric population (4–16 years). Material and methods This prospective single centre interventional study was undertaken in patients (n = 45) with a confirmed diagnosis of asthma between the 1 April and 30 June 2014. Those prescribed inhaled therapy prior to attendance at clinic were referred to the investigating pharmacist. Patients with concurrent respiratory conditions and those Results The results of this study showed that inhaler technique assessment, education and training in a single session by a hospital based clinical pharmacist significantly improved ACT scores (baseline score=19.33 ± 3.312, follow-up score=21.75 ± 2.701, (p = 0.04)) and childhood ACT (cACT) scores (baseline score=19.50 ± 4.993, follow-up score=21.04 ± 4.647, (p = 0.047)). Conclusion This study shows the feasibility and potential for clinical pharmacists in the hospital healthcare setting to provide inhaler technique assessment, education and training for patients with asthma. This study also provides a unique insight into a snapshot of the paediatric population with asthma in Ireland. References and/or Acknowledgements Government of Western Australia: DoH (2012). Asthma Model of Care: Respiratory Health Network. Available at: http://www.healthnetworks.health.wa.gov.au/modelsofcare/docs/Asthma_Model_of_Care.pdf (Accessed: 15/9/2014) Giraud, V., Allaert, F. & Roche, N. (2011), “Inhaler technique and asthma: Feasibility and acceptability of training by pharmacists”, Respiratory medicine, vol. 105: no. 12, pp. 1815-1822 No conflict of interest.
Aggressive treatment and survival outcomes in NUT midline carcinoma (NMC) of the head and neck (HN).

6057 Background: NMC is a rare subtype of squamous cancer defined by rearrangement of the NUT gene. NMC is typically found in the thorax, although ~20% of cases arise in the HN. NMC is almost unifo...
Sensorineural Deafness and MMR Immunization

Nine reports of sensorineural hearing loss after measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) immunization were evaluated at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, England.
Retrospective Accuracy Study of Point-of-Care Hemoglobin A1c in Field Conditions.

To the Editor: Diabetes mellitus (DM)1 is a high-burden disease that relies on laboratory testing for both diagnosis and subsequent monitoring. The American Diabetes Association guidelines include use of CLIA-waived point-of-care (POC) hemoglobin A1c (Hb A1c) testing for DM monitoring but not diagnosis. Recently, a POC device manufacturer applied for US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) CLIA-waived status for diagnosis of DM, spurring conversation regarding POC Hb A1c accuracy (1). This is particularly relevant for testing in waived sites where proficiency testing is not a regulatory requirement and testing is typically performed by nonlaboratorians. While laboratory studies have demonstrated reasonable POC accuracy for some methods (2), routine patient testing may result in greater variability (3). Furthermore, the FDA strategic plan includes postmarket surveillance of medical devices through mining of electronic medical records (EMRs) (4). We therefore queried our EMR to characterize infield POC Hb A1c accuracy at our institution's ambulatory sites (primarily with CLIA certificates of waiver or provider-performed microscopy) by comparison to central laboratory values (CLVs). Using DETECT (Data Mining EMRs to Evaluate Coincident Testing) (5), we analyzed coincident samples where routine testing for POC (DCA Vantage®, Siemens) and central …
Donor-Recipient Host-Versus-Graft (HVG) HLA Mismatches and Outcome of Cord Blood Transplants (CBT).

Abstract The influence of HLA mismatches on outcomes of CBT is yet to be fully defined. We hypothesized that donor-recipient mismatches in the host-versus-graft (HVG) and graft-versus-host (GVH) direction impact engraftment, treatment-related mortality (TRM) and survival after CBT, and addressed the question studying CBT performed in our institution from 3/1996 to June/2006. Methods: 91 patients (pts) were analyzed. Diagnoses were high-risk hematologic malignancies (n=85; 93%) or non-malignant disorders (n=6; 7%). Conditioning was myeloablative (n=86; 95%), while patients not eligible for high-dose therapy received reduced-intensity (n=5; 5%) regimens. ATG was part of the preparative regimen in 45 cases (49%). GVHD prophylaxis was tacrolimus with (n=83; 91%) or without methotrexate (n=6; 6%), and cyclosporine and MMF (n=2; 2%). Grafts were single (n=70; 77%) or double (n=21; 23%) CB units. 9 pts received ex-vivo expanded grafts. For patients receiving a double CBT, the engrafted unit was used as the reference for this analysis. HLA-A, B (intermediate resolution) and DRB1 typing (high-resolution) was available for all donor-recipient pairs. Results: Median age was 18 years (1–57); 46 (51%) were younger than 18 yrs old and 50 pts (55%) were males. The patients were heavily pre-treated with 18 (20%) having received prior autotransplants. Disease status at CBT was complete remission (CR; n=43; 47%) and active disease (n=48; 53%). Median number of infused total nucleated cell was 3.45x10E7/kg (0.81–23.6). Numbers of mismatches in the HVG direction were as follows: zero (n=11), 1 (n=37), 2 (n=36), 3 (n=6), and 4 (n=1). Numbers of mismatches in the GVH direction were as follows: zero (n=8), 1 (n=35), 2 (n=41), and 3 (n=7). 78 pts engrafted neutrophils (86%) at a median of 22 days (4–60). 65 pts engrafted platelets (71%) at a median of 42 days(0–133). 13 pts (14%) failed to engraft. Grade II–IV and III–IV acute GVHD rates were 49% and 8%, respectively, and chronic GVHD incidence was 33%. 35 pts are alive with a median follow-up of 25 months. 2-yr actuarial survival is 21%. 100-day and 1-yr NRM is 22%(14–32) and 37% (28–49). The influence of HVG mismatches on NRM, survival and engraftment is shown in the table and figure. The decreasing 2-yr survival and worse NRM associated with increasing number of HVG mismatches was limited to the group of pts Conclusion: HVG mismatches may influence outcomes of CBT. Number of Mismatches - HVG direction 1-yr NRM % engrafted 0 n=11 21% (CI: 6–74) 100 1 n=36 33% (CI: 20–54) 89 2 n=34 47% (CI: 33–67) 85 3 n=6 33% (CI: 11–100) P=NS 83 Abbreviations: HVG: host-versus-graft; NRM: non-relapse mortality; NS: not significant Download : Download high-res image (92KB) Download : Download full-size image
Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Excessive Daytime Sleepiness

Sleep-related breathing disorders include obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), central sleep apnea, sleep-related hypoventilation, and sleep-related hypoxemia. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is frequently reported by patients with OSA but is not invariably present. The efficacy of positive airway pressure therapy in improving EDS is well established for OSA, but effectiveness is limited by suboptimal adherence. Non-OSA causes of sleepiness should be identified and treated before initiating pharmacotherapy for persistent sleepiness despite adequately treated OSA. Further research on the identification of factors that promote EDS in the setting of OSA is needed to aid in the development of better treatment options.
Hyaluronic acid is associated with organ dysfunction in acute respiratory distress syndrome

Hyaluronic acid (HA), an extracellular matrix component, is degraded in response to local tissue injury or stress. In various animal models of lung injury, HA has been shown to play a mechanistic role in modulating inflammation and injury. While HA is present in the lungs of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), its relationship to patient outcomes is unknown. We studied 86 patients with ARDS previously enrolled in the Phase II Randomized Trial of Fish Oil in Patients with Acute Lung Injury (NCT00351533) at five North American medical centers. We examined paired serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples obtained within 48 hours of diagnosis of ARDS. We evaluated the association of HA levels in serum and BALF with local (lung injury score (LIS)) and systemic (sequential organ failure assessment score (SOFA)) measures of organ dysfunction with regression analysis adjusting for age, sex, race, treatment group, and risk factor for ARDS. We found that both day-0 circulating and alveolar levels of HA were associated with worsening LIS (p = 0.04 and p = 0.003, respectively), particularly via associations with degree of hypoxemia (p = 0.02 and p < 0.001, respectively) and set positive end-expiratory pressure (p = 0.01 and p = 0.02, respectively). Circulating HA was associated with SOFA score (p < 0.001), driven by associations with the respiratory (p = 0.02), coagulation (p < 0.001), liver (p = 0.006), and renal (p = 0.01) components. Notably, the alveolar HA levels were associated with the respiratory component of the SOFA score (p = 0.003) but not the composite SOFA score (p = 0.27). Elevated alveolar levels of HA are associated with LIS while circulating levels are associated with both lung injury and SOFA scores. These findings suggest that HA has a potential role in both local and systemic organ dysfunction in patients with ARDS.
Optimizing human Treg immunotherapy by Treg subset selection and E-selectin ligand expression

While human Tregs hold immense promise for immunotherapy, their biologic variability poses challenges for clinical use. Here, we examined clinically-relevant activities of defined subsets of freshly-isolated and culture-expanded human PBMC-derived Tregs. Unlike highly suppressive but plastic memory Tregs (memTreg), naive Tregs (nvTreg) exhibited the greatest proliferation, suppressive capacity after stimulation, and Treg lineage fidelity. Yet, unlike memTregs, nvTregs lack Fucosyltransferase VII and display low sLeX expression, with concomitant poor homing capacity. In vitro nvTreg expansion augmented their suppressive function, but did not alter the nvTreg sLeX-l ° w glycome. However, exofucosylation of the nvTreg surface yielded high sLeX expression, promoting endothelial adhesion and enhanced inhibition of xenogeneic aGVHD. These data indicate that the immature Treg glycome is under unique regulation and that adult PBMCs can be an ideal source of autologous-derived therapeutic Tregs, provided that subset selection and glycan engineering are engaged to optimize both their immunomodulation and tropism for inflammatory sites.
The Transport and Intracellular Trafficking of Metal ions in Yeast

The bakers yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiaehas proven to be an excellent model organism in which to examine the regulation of metal homeostasis. Numerous genes involved in the transport, intracellular trafficking and detoxification of metals have been conserved between yeast and humans; furthermore, technological advances in yeast genetics and molecular biology have made it possible to rapidly identify such genes and gain an understanding of their function and regulation.
Sub-wavelength field enhancement in mid-IR: Photonics vs Plasmonics vs Phononics

We compare different means for the mid-infrared light enhancement on sub-wavelength scale. Depending on whether the magnitude of the bandwidth of enhancement is important, metallic or phononic structures are preferable.
Two- and three-dimensional self-folding of free-standing graphene by liquid evaporation

Two-dimensional (2-D) atomically thin graphene has exhibited overwhelming excellent properties over its bulk counterpart graphite, yet the broad applications and explorations of its unprecedented properties require a diversity of its geometric morphologies, beyond its inherently planar structures. In this study, we present a self-folding approach for converting 2-D planar free-standing graphene to 2-D and 3-D folded structures through the evaporation of its liquid solutions. This approach involves competition between the surface energy of the liquid, and the deformation energy and van der Waals energy of graphene. An energy-based theoretical model is developed to describe the self-folding process during liquid evaporation by incorporating both graphene dimensions and surface wettability. The critical elastocapillary length by liquid evaporation is extracted and exemplified by investigating three typical graphene geometries with rectangular, circular and triangular shapes. After the complete evaporation of the liquid, the critical self-folding length of graphene that can enable a stable folded pattern by van der Waals energy is also obtained. In parallel, full-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to monitor the evolution of deformation energies and folded patterns with liquid evaporation. The simulation results demonstrate the formation of 2-D folded racket-like and 3-D folded cone-like patterns and show remarkable agreement with theoretical predictions in both energy variations and folded patterns. This work offers quantitative guidance for controlling the self-folding of graphene and other 2-D materials into complex structures by liquid evaporation.
Motivating Truthful Upward Communication of Private Information for Resource Allocation in a Decentralized Firm: A Test of Alternate Control Mechanisms

Truthful subordinate communication of private information is important to effective resource allocation. Analytical research has proposed mechanisms to attain this objective, yet few instances of their adoption have been reported. Instead, real world control mechanisms tend to be much simpler than those proposed by theoretical research. Empirical evidence which helps to identify the reasons for this divergence between theory and practice can contribute to the advancement of both. This experimental study tested five control mechanisms' effects on subordinates' communication truthfulness and the attendant firm loss from suboptimal resource allocations. It found that mechanisms proposed by theoretical research do reduce subordinate misrepresentations and their attendant firm loss. However, superiors who used a combination of simple controls, and who could exercise subjective judgment relating to their subordinates and their proposals, were able to equal the truth induction performance of the most effective analytically-derived mechanism. This performance, however, was not associated with a lower level of firm loss. Instead, the least amount of firm loss was produced by one of the analytical-derived incentive schemes. Another finding was that none of the mechanisms tested -- either from theory or practice -- was able to eliminate subordinate misrepresentations. Together, these results suggest that there is room for further development of both theory and practice. Theoretical research can benefit from considering the joint effects of multiple controls and incorporating more of the factors (e.g., learning, interpersonal relations, subjective judgments) that are operative in multi-period superior-subordinate relationships. There is also potential to enhance practice by trying out more of the mechanisms developed by analytical research.
Collagen Gene Structure

In the last two years, the known diversity of vertebrate collagens has increased dramatically. The number of different types of collagen has doubled, from five to more than nine composed of twenty or more genetically distinct polypeptide chains (1–10). As suggested by Kuhn and Timpl (11), these types can be grouped into families, based on their molecular and macromolecular structure.
Tariffs to Counteract Eco-dumping Caused by Regulatory Capture

It has been argued by several economists1 that regulatory capture by industries whose activities have negative environmental effects may induce governments to set too low environmental standards, in particular if the preservation of competitiveness of export or import-competing industries is at stake. If undertaken unilaterally, eco-dumping yields benefits for pressure groups2.
Introduction to Reef Ecosystems and Their Evolution

Living reefs are geologically and biologically a conspicuous ecosystem and one undeniably important both quantitatively and qualitatively. Reefs are restricted to tropical and subtropical settings primarily on eastern trunks of continents or western parts of oceans, and today range between 20° to 30° north and south of the equator. Indeed, the very word “reef” usually invokes images of warm trade winds, swaying palm trees, tropical coral seas with coral sand islands, and the crash of the surf on a rocky edifice. Living reefs, and the rocky ramparts they produce, are sizable. Today they cover about 15% of the total amount of shallow sea floor of ocean basins with a surface area of over 600,000 km2. Reefs require warm, well-lighted, shallow water marine conditions and can be found growing on top of volcanic islands and on the shallow shelf adjacent to continents. Ancient reefs are well known but they do not always resemble living counterparts so closely.
Mortal or Moodle? A Comparison of In-Person vs. Online Information Literacy Instruction

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of online and in-person instructional methods for teaching research skills, as well as to determine student preferences for each method. Under...
Future Changes in Rainfall and Temperature Under Emission Scenarios over India for Rice and Wheat Production

Indian Summer Monsoon (IMS) prevails during June–July-August-September (JJAS) and 80% of the annual precipitation is received during JJAS. The spatial and temporal variability of ISMR and surface temperature has been influencing agriculture and water resources. The changes in earth’s surface temperature is affecting the patterns of weather and climate and influencing the agriculture. The Coupled Model Inter comparison Project 5 (CMIP5) models output data is generally of higher resolution with different emission experiments and therefore rainfall and surface temperature over India is analyzed under CMIP5 which may be used for agricultural purposes.
A study on exploiting VAT to mitigate ordering effects in Fuzzy ART

The clustering structures formed by Adaptive Resonance Theory (ART) and many other algorithms are dependent on input presentation/permutation order. In this work, we exploit Visual Assessment of cluster Tendency (VAT) as a pre-processor for Fuzzy ART in order to mitigate this problem. This approach is a global strategy that uses similarity-based ordering before clustering. Experimental results show that this framework improved peak and average performance, reduced the number of categories, and incurred less variability in the clustering outcome. By enhancing performance and reducing sensitivity to input order presentation, this approach is recommended when it is suitable to perform off-line incremental learning.
Prevalence of mineralized elements in the rostra of bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera)

The fleshy, movable tip of the snout of most mammals is supported by cartilaginous elements that provide leverage for muscles that control movement of the nose. Mineralization or ossification of the external nasal cartilages within the snout is thought to be associated with increased loading (e.g., in the snouts of pigs) or increased structural support of the snout (e.g., in taxa with elongated noses such as solenodons). However, little is known about the distribution of such structures across most groups of mammals, in part because they are easily overlooked during specimen preparation. Bats (Order Chiroptera) exhibit a diverse array of rostral forms, but have never been surveyed for evidence of mineralization or ossification of external nasal cartilages. We examined micro-CT scans of the heads of 83 fluid-preserved bat species representing 17 families. We observed mineralization of the external nasal cartilages within the snouts of only 5 species belonging to the families Pteropodidae, Molossidae, and Vespertilionidae, suggesting these elements are rare among bats. Mineralized elements varied in size, shape, location, and number among these 5 species, suggesting differences in function related to support and movement of the fleshy tip of the snout, or a role in echolocation.
Local Algorithms for Sensor Selection

We study local algorithms for sensor selection, in which each sensor in a network uses information from nearby sensors alone to decide if it should be selected to predict the data of non-selected sensors. Our goal is to show how the prediction quality can be improved by increasing the level of knowledge available to each sensor. We specifically study this for a graph model of the network, in which prediction quality is defined by virtual links between sensors. Each node knows the links along all paths of fixed length extending outward from itself. The maximum path length increases with the level of knowledge. We designed algorithms for the first few levels and evaluated them on randomly generated graphs and real datasets, determining the optimal parameters for each algorithm and comparing them to baseline global strategies. Our results show that just knowing the links to immediate neighbors is enough to be as good as a simple global greedy algorithm, and increasing the knowledge improves the selection quality.
Modern Theatre in Tunisia

Theatre in Tunisia is quite rich and advanced due to its close contact with European dramatic arts. Its modernity did not prevent Tunisian artists from seeking indigenous identity and addressing local subject matters with great subtlety. During the 31-year tenure of President Habib Bourguiba, the nationalist leader and statesman who served as the country’s leader from independence in 1956 to 1987, the father of Tunisian theatre was Aly Ben Ayed (1930–1972), who was a talented innovator of classics as director and actor. The second major figure who dominated Tunisian theatre was Moncef Souissi (1944–2016), whose reputation extended beyond Tunisia. He taught at Kuwait’s Theatre Academy and directed there the popular Bye, Bye London (1981) and followed it with Bye, Bye Arabs (1986). He directed 60 productions in more than a city and a country and eventually became the Artistic Director of Tunis National Theatre Company (1984–1988) where he put on some heralded productions.
Communicating climate change through documentary film: imagery, emotion, and efficacy

We used qualitative in-depth interviews to evaluate the effects of a mass media climate change program on audiences’ efficacy beliefs, outcome expectations, emotional responses, and motivations and intentions to address climate change. We conducted in-depth interviews with 73 participants from five US cities and three political parties who had watched episodes of the documentary television series, Season Two of Years of Living Dangerously. Eligible participants completed an in-depth interview within 24 h of viewing a select episode. Data were transcribed and then coded and analyzed using QSR NVivo 10. Weak efficacy beliefs limited intentions to enact concrete behavioral change. Outcome expectations, national-level actions, imagery, and emotional responses to stories played an important role in these processes. Explicit information about expected outcomes of various actions, and specifically successes, should be provided in order to boost efficacy and incentivize behavior.
Mammalian Models of Traumatic Brain Injury and a Place for Drosophila in TBI Research

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), caused by a sudden blow or jolt to the brain that disrupts normal function, is an emerging health epidemic with ∼2.5 million cases occurring annually in the United States that are severe enough to cause hospitalization or death. Most common causes of TBI include contact sports, vehicle crashes and domestic violence or war injuries. Injury to the central nervous system is one of the most consistent candidates for initiating the molecular and cellular cascades that result in Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Not every TBI event is alike with effects varying from person to person. The majority of people recover from mild TBI within a short period of time, but repeated incidents can have deleterious long-lasting effects which depend on factors such as the number of TBIs sustained, time till medical attention, age, gender and genetics of the individual. Despite extensive research, many questions still remain regarding diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of long-term effects from TBI as well as recovery of brain function. In this review, we present an overview of TBI pathology, discuss mammalian models for TBI and focus on current methods using Drosophila melanogaster as a model for TBI study. The relatively small brain size (∼100,000 neurons and glia), conserved neurotransmitter signaling mechanisms and sophisticated genetics of Drosophila allows for cell biological, molecular and genetic analyses that are impractical in mammalian models of TBI.
Schooling, democracy and the quest for wisdom: partnerships and the moral dimensions of teaching

Those who must be reminded of the notion that public schools are the bastions of a democratic society should read Schooling, Democracy and the Quest for Wisdom; Partnerships and the Moral Dimension...