cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Antiretroviral dynamics determines HIV evolution and predicts therapy outcome

Despite the high inhibition of viral replication achieved by current anti-HIV drugs, many patients fail treatment, often with emergence of drug-resistant virus. Clinical observations show that the relationship between adherence and likelihood of resistance differs dramatically across drug class. We developed a mathematical model that explains these observations and makes novel predictions. Our model incorporates drug properties, fitness differences between susceptible and resistant strains, mutation, and adherence. We show that antiviral activity falls quickly for drugs with sharp dose-response curves and short half-lives, such as boosted protease inhibitors, limiting the time when resistance can be selected. We find that poor adherence to such drugs causes failure via growth of susceptible virus, explaining puzzling clinical observations. Furthermore, our model predicts that certain single-pill combination therapies can prevent resistance regardless of patient adherence. Our approach represents a first step for simulating clinical trials and may help select novel drug regimens for investigation.
Lateral Live Load Distribution in Prestressed Concrete Highway Bridges

The design of prestressed concrete highway bridges in the USA is governed by the provisions of the “Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges” of The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) (7). These specifications, or slightly modified versions, have been extensively used in the design of bridges throughout the world (4). The AASHTO Specifications are known to be rather conservative, and in some areas ambiguous. Some, if not most, bridge engineers tend to implement the provisions faith-fully, without due consideration to the first paragraph of the Specifications, which reads “In any case where the specifications provide an empirical formula as a design convenience, a rational analysis based on a theory accepted by the Committee on Bridge Superstructures of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, with stresses in accordance with the specifications, will be considered as compliance with the Specifications.” The flexibility provided by these statements should be considered by bridge engineers in the review of generally accepted research findings and their implementation in the design of bridges.
Cavitation resistance and seasonal hydraulics differ among three arid Californian plant communities

Vulnerability to water stress-induced cavitation was measured on 27 woody shrub species from three arid plant communities including chaparral, coastal sage and Mojave Desert scrub. Dry season native embolism and pre-dawn water potential, and both wet and dry season xylem specific hydraulic conductivity (Ks) were measured. Cavitation resistance, estimated as water potential at 50% loss in conductivity (Y50), was measured on all species during the wet season and on a subset of species during the dry season. Cavitation resistance varied with sampling season, with 8 of 13 sampled species displaying significant seasonal shifts. Native embolism and water potential were useful in identification of species displaying seasonal shifts.The Ks was not different among sites or seasons. The Y50 varied among species and communities.Within communities, interspecific variation may be partially explained by differences in rooting depth or leaf habit (evergreen, semi-deciduous, deciduous). Communities diverged in their Y50 with chaparral species displaying the greatest cavitation resistance regardless of sampling season. The greater cavitation resistance of chaparral species is surprising, considering the greater aridity of the Mojave Desert site.Adaptation to arid environments is due to many plant traits, and aridity does not necessarily lead to convergence in cavitation resistance.
A new chromatographic system for vitamin D3, and its metabolites: resolution of a new vitamin D3, metabolite

A simple yet powerful new chromatographic procedure for vitamin D(3) and its metabolites is described. Liquid-gel partition chromatography on Sephadex LH-20 using a solvent of various percentages of CHCl(3) in Skellysolve B (petroleum ether, bp 67-69 degrees C) permits excellent resolution of vitamin D(3), 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3), and their more polar metabolites. Of special importance is the resolution of the metabolites of vitamin D(3) more polar than 25-hydroxycholecalciferol. Because of this resolution, a new metabolite of vitamin D(3) has been demonstrated in the plasma of rats and in the intestines of chicks given 100 IU of vitamin D(3)-1,2-(3)H.
Ultrasonic calibration of a magnetic tracker in a virtual reality space

This paper describes a system for calibrating the position component of a 6-degree-of-freedom magnetic tracker by comparing the output with a custom-built ultrasonic measuring system. A look-up table, created from the collected difference data, is used to interpolate for corrected values. The error of the resulting corrected magnetic tracker position is measured to be less than 5% over the calibrated range.
Recursive Maximum Entropy Algorithm and its Application to the Luminescence Lifetime Distribution Recovery

A simple algorithm, based on recursive quadratic optimization, is suggested for the numerical inversion of integral transforms. The algorithm was found particularly useful for ''small scale'' problems, with the number of independent parameters ranging between 100 and 200. The programming, parameterization, and performance of the algorithm are discussed, as well its application to the analysis of time-resolved luminescence data.
Measurement of nonlinear coefficient and phase matching characteristics of AgGaS/sub 2/

The nonlinear optical characteristics of AgGaS/sub 2/ were investigated by measuring visible parametric fluorescence with a pump wavelength of 600 nm. A value of d/sub 36/ (AgGaS/sub 2/)=31+or-5*10/sup -12/ m/V for the nonlinear coefficient was determined. The temperature dependence of phase matching up to 100 degrees C was studied. A significant temperature effect, although much smaller than for LiNbO/sub 3/, was found and results in a change in the infrared difference frequency generated of approximately 0.6 cm/sup -1/- degrees C/sup -1/. >
Recovery of submerged plants from high water stress in a large subtropical lake in Florida, USA

The spatial and temporal dynamics of submerged plants were examined in a large subtropical lake in Florida, USA. The objective was to characterize succession of the community following a natural experiment in 2000–2001, when release of water from the lake, followed by a severe drought, reduced water levels by 2 m, alleviating stress of multiple years of high water. A systematic survey of shoreline transects was used to compare attributes of submerged plants under pre-drought versus post-drought conditions. Initially, the plants did not respond to lower water because shoreline areas had high turbidity from resuspended sediments and, later algal blooms. In June 2000, approximately 2 months after the water level was lowered, Chara (a macro-alga) rapidly expanded across the near-shore landscape. For over 1 year, this plant strongly dominated the submerged plant community, with just scattered individuals or isolated beds of vascular plants, including Potamogeton, Vallisneria, and Hydrilla. This included a period when the lake reached a record low elevation, where much of the habitat became dry, and then subsequently re-flooded in late summer 2001. However, in November 2001,Chararapidly declined and vascular taxa (Hydrilla and Potamogeton) became dominant. They subsequently increased their biomass and spatial extent, and the previous Chara dominance did not return. Just prior to the loss of Chara, a frontal system passed over the lake, with wind velocities in excess of 30 km h −1 for 3 days. Concentrations of solids in the water more than doubled and uprooted Chara was observed floating in the water. In this large, wind-driven lake, Chara may only be an ephemeral pioneer because, lacking roots, it is probably more sensitive to excessive wind-related stress (e.g. wave energy and scouring) than vascular plants. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Co-evolution of user and organizational interfaces: a longitudinal case study of WWW dissemination of national statistics

The data systems, policies and procedures, corporate culture, and public face of an agency or institution make up its organizational interface. This case study describes how user interfaces for the Bureau of Labor Statistics web site evolved over a 5-year period along with the larger organizational interface and how this co-evolution has influenced the institution itself. Interviews with BLS staff and transaction log analysis are the foci in this analysis that also included user information-seeking studies and user interface prototyping and testing. The results are organized into a model of organizational interface change and related to the information life cycle.
Molecular interplay between T-Antigen and splicing factor, arginine/serine-rich 1 (SRSF1) controls JC virus gene expression in glial cells

Human polyomavirus JCV is the etiologic agent of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a fatal demyelinating disease characterized by lytic infection of glial cells in the central nervous system. PML is seen primarily in immunosuppressed patients and is mainly classified as an AIDS-defining disease. In addition to structural capsid proteins, JCV encodes multiple regulatory proteins, including T-antigen and agnoprotein, which are required for functional lytic infection. Previous studies have suggested that molecular interaction between viral proteins and host factors play an important role in reactivation of JCV and progression of the viral life cycle in glial cells. Recently, serine/arginine rich splicing factor 1 (SRSF1), a cellular alternative splicing factor, was identified as a strong negative regulator of JCV in glial cells. SRSF1 inhibits JCV gene expression and viral replication by directly interacting with viral promoter sequences. Here, we have investigated possible impact of JCV regulatory proteins, T-antigen and agnoprotein, on SRSF1-mediated suppression of JCV gene expression in glial cells. Reporter gene analysis has suggested that T-antigen rescues viral transcriptional suppression mediated by SRSF1. Further analyses have revealed that T-antigen promotes viral gene expression by suppressing SRSF1 gene transcription in glial cells. A subsequent ChIP analysis revealed that T-antigen associates with the promoter region of SRSF1 to induce the transcriptional suppression. These findings have revealed a molecular interplay between cellular SRSF1 and viral T-antigen in controlling JCV gene expression, and may suggest a novel mechanism of JCV reactivation in patients who are at risk of developing PML.
Ankle restraint modifies motility at E12 in chick embryos.

The chick's relationship to its environment changes dramatically over 21 days of embryonic development. At early ages embryos are buoyant; their posture and movements are relatively unconstrained. ...
Book Review: The Power to Spring Up: Postsecondary Education Opportunities for Students with Significant Disabilities

Author: Diana M. Katovitch Reviewer: Frank R. Rusch Publication Data: ­­­­­­­Bethesda, MD: Woodbine House 2009 Softcover: ISBN: 978-1-890627-95-9 Cost: $24.95, 265 pages,
Battered Women and the State: The Struggle for the Future of Domestic Violence Policy

This Article examines the fundamental tensions that exist within current domestic violence law and policy, which may destroy the progress made over the past twenty years in developing an effective response to domestic violence. The implementation of aggressive criminal domestic violence laws has long been opposed by some battered women's advocates, who believe that such heavy reliance on state intervention results in domestic violence victims' loss of decision-making autonomy. The advocates' critique is rooted in strong concern for domestic violence victims, and many of their concerns have been borne out. However, a different and dangerous strain of criticism has recently made its way into the popular culture, espoused by men's rights advocates, conservative feminists, and others who have resisted changes in the law that treat domestic violence seriously. These critics argue that women are as violent as men in intimate relationships, so that the focus of attention on female victims is misplaced. Some posit that domestic violence is caused by the psychological dynamic between two violent partners. This Article argues that by criticizing current criminal justice laws, but failing to articulate a viable alternative, battered women's advocates have sent mixed messages about the necessity of public attention to domestic violence. Supporters of the current policies are also at fault for failing to address the valid criticisms of these advocates. This have left room for the growing influence of the violent women and private family matter theories of domestic violence in the popular culture and among policy makers. This Article argues that the supporters of aggressive state intervention and the battered women advocates who criticize this involvement must work together to confront the problems in current criminal justice laws, without abandoning them altogether. The Article proposes several concrete strategies to begin this work. Unless this effort begins soon, the future of domestic violence policy will be its very old past, when domestic violence was not a matter of public concern, and battered women were buried out of sight, without alternatives for safety.
Summer Migration of the Alfalfa Weevil, Hypera postica (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

The summer migratory period of the alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal), in New York began about mid-June, reached its peak in late June and early July, and ended by mid-August. Most of the adults, usually 95% or more, participated in this migration. Only where the alfalfa was succulent during the feeding period of the adults did significantly fewer adults migrate. Females outnumbered males by a small, though significant, number in field populations. Approximately the same percentage of the male population as the female population migrated. Most adults that migrated did so at 14–25 days of age. Conditions resulting from harvest of alfalfa during the latter part of the adult feeding period prompted migration at an age comparatively earlier than where succulent alfalfa was in continuous supply. Possible causes of the migration are discussed.
Elevated free calcium levels in the subretinal space elevate the absolute dark-adapted threshold in hypopigmented mice.

Abundant evidence spanning 25 years demonstrates that hypopigmentation is associated with sensory abnormalities manifested most clearly as elevated absolute dark-adapted thresholds in hypopigmented...
Management of Stored Barley in Minnesota: Practices Versus Recommendations

With the cooperation of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, a questionnaire was developed to review practices of protecting stored barley from damage caused by insects. The questionnaires were mailed during June 1985 to 1,000 private and commercial barley managers randomly selected by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. A summary of the findings, based on a 13% return of completed questionnaires, revealed a variety of storage practices; some recommended and some not. For instance, most barley managers cleaned their bins before storing new grain, but very few treated these empty bins with a residual insecticide. Of the total 551 bins used for barley storage, 31% of those in private facilities and 38% of those in commercial facilities were equipped for aeration. About half of the managers cooled their barley to a specific temperature during winter. Few managers warmed their grain during spring. Periodic grain monitoring and sampling methods were inadequate to detect insect problems. Fewer than 40% of the managers surveyed applied chemical grain protectants or fumigants to stored barley to suppress insect populations. Malathion was the most commonly used protectant. Commercial managers were marginally better than private managers in following recommended methods of grain storage.
Masculinity and the Stalled Revolution How Gender Ideologies and Norms Shape Young Men’s Responses to Work–Family Policies

Extant research suggests that supportive work–family policies promote gender equality in the workplace and in the household. Yet, evidence indicates that these policies generally have stronger effects on women’s preferences and behaviors than men’s. In this article, we draw on survey-experimental data to examine how young, unmarried men’s gender ideologies and perceptions of normative masculinity may moderate the effect of supportive work–family policy interventions on their preferences for structuring their future work and family life. Specifically, we examine whether men’s prescriptive beliefs about what work–family arrangements most people ought to prefer and whether men’s descriptive beliefs about what work–family arrangements most of their male peers actually do prefer influence their responses to supportive policies. Our analysis shows that men’s responses to supportive work–family policy interventions are highly dependent upon their beliefs about what their male peers actually want, rather than on ...
Pneumonia due to Staphylococcus aureus infection

SUMMARY Staphylococcus aureus is the second most common infectious agent of pneumonia in the ICU. The virulence of this organism is highlighted by toxins and enzymes that result in severe damage to lung tissue. Clinical features fail to distinguish Staphylococcus aureus pneumonias from other pathogens, and clinical diagnosis has the same limitations that beset other bacterial causes of pneumonia. Effective therapy is dictated by carefully performed susceptibility testing. First-line therapy is with a β-lactam agent. If BRSA is detected or β-lactam intolerance occurs, vancomycin should be administered. Despite agents active in vitro, the mortality of this disease remains high, especially if spread through hematogenous routes.
Protective Effect of Fetal Hemoglobin On Inflammation-Induced Expression of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α (HIF-1α) in Sickle Mice: Microvascular Implications

Abstract 3250 Chronic inflammation is a salient feature of human sickle cell disease (SCD) and transgenic-knockout sickle (BERK) mouse model. Although tissue ischemia is the primary instigator of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) activation, a number of inflammatory factors/pathways and oxidative stress can potentially induce expression of HIF-1α. Increased oxidative stress and inflammation are implicated in the activation of HIF-1α under normoxic conditions. HIF can trigger transcription of genes for vasoactive molecules such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and endothelin, which are implicated in the pathophysiology of SCD. We hypothesize that, in SCD, inflammation coupled with nitric oxide (NO) depletion will induce expression of HIF-1α. To this end, we have examined the expression of HIF-1α in normoxic BERK mice expressing exclusively human α- and βS- globins, and evaluated the effect of HbF in BERK mice (i.e., <1.0%, 20% and 40% HbF). We have previously shown that HbF exerts anti-sickling and anti-inflammatory effects (Kaul et al. J Clin Invest, 2004; Dasgupta et al. Am J Physiol, 2010). Here, we show that HIF-1α is expressed in BERK mice under normoxic conditions (i.e., normal hemoglobin oxygen saturation levels). In BERK mice expressing HbF, HIF-1α expression decreased concomitantly with increasing HbF, commensurately with increased NO bioavailability, and showed a strong inverse correlation with plasma NO metabolites (NOx) levels. Reduced HIF-1α expression in BERK mice expressing HbF was associated with decreased HO-1 and VEGF expression, and reduced serum endothelin-1 (ET-1) levels, which are among the target vasoactive molecules of HIF-1α. Furthermore, the commensurate decrease in HIF-1α expression with increase in HbF levels in BERK mice was accompanied by a distinct decrease in soluble (s) forms of endothelial activation markers such as sP-selectin and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1). Notably, arteriolar dilation, enhanced volumetric blood flow and low blood pressure in normoxic BERK mice all showed a trend toward normalization with the introduction of HbF. Also, arginine treatment reduced HIF-1α expression as well as ET-1 levels in normoxic BERK mice, supporting a role of decreased NO bioavailability in HIF-1α activation. The present in vivo studies show that reduced inflammation and increased NO production in normoxic BERK mice (expressing HbF or treated with arginine) are distinctly associated with suppression of HIF-1α activation and inhibition of vasodilators, resulting in improved microvascular and hemodynamic parameters in the BERK model of sickle cell disease. The unique feature of inflammation in SCD is that it can be ameliorated by increased HbF, thereby coupling HbS polymerization/sickling to NO depletion, HIF-1α expression and inflammation in this disease. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Putting the Bios Back into Bioethics: Prospects for Health and Climate Justice

Global climate change is the most complex and significant ethical issue of our time. The urgent discussion of how to bring about alterations in human energy usage and economic production in order to mitigate the social and ecosystemic harm done by climate change calls for a bioethics voice. But bioethics will not be able to make this contribution if it merely addresses climate change as one more in a series of problems or dilemmas. The nature of the climate change challenge is such that bioethics will have to alter fundamentally its discourse and broaden its moral horizons. This chapter argues that bioethics should become more discerning and insightful concerning matters of political power and economics. It will also do well to establish new ties and overlapping perspectives with the ecological sciences. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the structure and the logic of the encounter between bioethics—understood as a particular kind of discourse—and climate change—understood as a systemic challenge to human and ecological health. Extended consideration is given to what needs to be added to the conceptual range of bioethics in its engagement with climate change, with particular emphasis on the concepts of autonomy, membership, and solidarity.
Abstract 1011: Endostatin regulates androgen receptor-mediated metabolic and oxido-reductive pathways in prostate cancer cells

Endostatin (ES) has been recognized for decades as an endogenous protein with antiangiogenic function. Recent findings, however, indicate the pleiotropic effects of ES in different tissue and cell types, ensuing further investigation on unidentified molecular mechanisms of action. Previously, we have shown that ES exerts a direct role in suppressing prostate cancer cell proliferation by inhibiting androgen receptor (AR) activity, signifying therapeutic potential of ES for targeting both tumor epithelia and endothelia. Subsequent to this finding, we identified robust glucose influx and significant reduction of intracellular ROS levels in LNCaP cells upon ES treatment. The ES mutants with low AR binding did not promote glucose uptake through GLUT1 augmentation, suggesting that AR-targeted effects of ES include modulation of downstream metabolic pathways. Surprisingly, global proteome analysis showed that the levels of major metabolic enzymes either in glycolytic pathway or TCA cycle were not changed upon ES treatment. Instead, ES markedly increased the levels of G6PD (5-fold), NAMPT (2.5-fold), and NAPRT (5-fold), indicating upregulation of the late-limiting steps in NAD biosynthesis and pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). Further proteome analysis of ES-treated LNCaP cells strongly indicated upregulation of ROS scavenging machinery, including SOD2 (3- fold), CAT (2-folds), GSS (2-fold), GSR (1.8-fold), and POR (4.6-fold). Overall, these data suggest that ES can modulate intracellular ROS levels by augmenting glucose uptake, NAD biosynthesis, and the NADPH levels by shunting metabolic pathways to PPP. Given that basal ROS levels are known to increase upon disease progression to higher grade prostate tumors, ES effect of promoting ROS scavenging machinery can be employed as an adjuvant to re-sensitize prostate cancer cells to ROS-inducing chemo- and radiation therapies. Abbreviations: CAT: catalase, GLUT1: glucose transporter isoform 1, G6PD: glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, GSS: glutathione synthase, GSR: glutathione reductase, NAMPT: nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase, NAPRT: nicotinate phosphoribosyltransferase, POR: NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase, ROS: reactive oxygen species, SOD2: manganese superoxide dismutase, TCA: tricarboxylic acid Citation Format: Joo Hyoung Lee, Minsung Kang, James A. Mobley, Guru Sonpavde, W. Timothy Garvey, Victor M. Darley-Usmar, Selvarangan Ponnazhagan. Endostatin regulates androgen receptor-mediated metabolic and oxido-reductive pathways in prostate cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1011.
16α-[123J]Jod-17β-Östradiol zeigt keine kurzfristigen toxischen Effekte in vivo

16α-Jod17β-Ostradiol (J-E2) wird im Kern von Ostrogenrezeptor (ER)-reichen Zellen konzentriert. (Anderson und Holt 1989). 125J-E2 ist zytotoxisch fur ER-haltigehumane Mammakarzinomzellen in vitro durch die innerhalb des Zellkerns emittierten Augerelektronen (Bronzert et al. 1982). 123J-E2ist ebenfalls ein Augerelektronen-Emitter und hat eine 100fach groheren Zytotoxizitat verbunden sein sollte. Da 123 J-E2 klinisch zur Hormonszintigraphie von ER-haltigen Mammakarzinomen eingesetzt wird (Schober et al. 1990), untersuchten wir dessen Kurzzeittoxizitat in vivo.
Flow Instability Mechanism for Formation of Self-Ordered Porous Anodic Oxide Films

Abstract Experimental studies have suggested that oxide flow plays an important role in the growth of porous anodic oxide films on reactive metals. Here a mathematical model for anodic oxide formation is presented that includes viscous flow of oxide, along with high-field ionic conduction and interfacial oxygen transfer and metal dissolution reactions. Flow is driven by near-surface compressive stress, as has been detected by measurements of residual stress distributions in anodic alumina. Linear stability analysis of the model shows that pattern formation at the solution interface is possible near the critical value of a parameter expressing competition between stabilizing electrochemical oxide formation and destabilizing flow. According to the critical parameter value, pattern formation requires that the Faradaic efficiency for oxygen transfer at the solution interface must be close to the transport number for electrical migration of oxygen ions across the film. This relationship between efficiency and transport number is indeed suggested by experimental data. A scaling ratio of pore separation to voltage, as characteristically found in anodic films, is predicted by the wavelength at the critical point.
Technological Progress and Pious Modernity: Secular Liberals Fall Behind the Times

Since the European Enlightenment, secular liberals have imagined themselves to be at the forefront of technological and social progress. Our celebration of improved human prospects, however, is often laced with ambivalence: we have acquired greater power to destroy one another and the natural environment, and to produce more inventive forms of oppression. Therefore, secular liberals have often been accused of being too optimistic about the technical progress that shapes modernity. Today’s political climate, however, undermines secular notions of progress in a different way. The continued dominance of business-class conservatism, often allied with religious movements, has given secular liberal aspirations a nostalgic edge. Conservative constituencies have a better claim to be shaping technological progress today. It has become increasingly doubtful whether secular liberals represent the cutting edge of modernity any more.
Age-associated DNA methylation changes in naive CD4+ T cells suggest an evolving autoimmune epigenotype in aging T cells.

Aim: We sought to define age-associated DNA methylation changes in naive CD4+ T cells. Materials & methods: Naive CD4+ T cells were collected from 74 healthy individuals (age 19–66 years), and age-related DNA methylation changes were characterized. Results: We identified 11,431 age-associated CpG sites, 57% of which were hypermethylated with age. Hypermethylated sites were enriched in CpG islands and repressive transcription factor binding sites, while hypomethylated sites showed T cell specific enrichment in active enhancers marked by H3K27ac and H3K4me1. Our data emphasize cancer-related DNA methylation changes with age, and also reveal age-associated hypomethylation in immune-related pathways, such as T cell receptor signaling, FCγR-mediated phagocytosis, apoptosis and the mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway. The MAPK signaling pathway was hypermethylated with age, consistent with a defective MAPK signaling in aging T cells. Conclusion: Age-associated DNA methylation changes may alter regul...
Compartment model corrected blood input function estimation improves with iterative image reconstruction and cardiac gating

2104 Objectives To evaluate that compartment model corrected blood input function (MCBIF) estimation (1), from small animal PET images in mice, in-vivo, improves with OSEM-MAP and cardiac gating (2) as compared to un-gated FBP reconstructed images. Methods Imaging of mice (n=3) was initiated under isoflurane anesthesia with the microPET scanner right after FDG administration to capture the initial time points. All the images acquired for an hour were reconstructed using OSEM-MAP into 23 time bins and 3 cardiac bins and into 23 time bins with no gates using FBP reconstruction algorithm. Blood samples were also obtained for each of the mice at late time points where the spill-over (SP) of radioactivity from the myocardium to the blood pool is expected to be high. Time activity curves were generated by drawing regions of interest in the blood-pool (BP) and the myocardial wall. Optimization of MCBIF was performed in MATLAB by simultaneous estimation of the compartment model parameters and the blood input function with SP and partial volume (PV) corrections using extended least squares (ELS). Results Figure 1A shows transverse PET images obtained from OSEM-MAP gated and FBP un-gated reconstructed images at the last time bin. Corresponding MCBIF estimates (figure 1B) are shown along with blood samples at 43 and 56 minutes post FDG administration. The resulting net myocardial FDG influx constant, Ki, was also computed. Conclusions Lower SP of radioactivity from the myocardium to the BP and higher recovery of BP radioactivity (PV) from OSEM-MAP gated images (figure 1A) lead to improved MCBIF estimate (solid curve with triangles) as compared to that obtained from un-gated FBP images (solid curve with squares), especially at the late time point. Mean myocardial Ki (0.196±0.013) computed using the rate constants generated by optimization of blood input function from OSEM-MAP gated images agreed well with that obtained using arterial blood sampling (0.14±0.07)(1), as the difference did not reach statistical significance on a Student t-test (p=0.24) Research Support NIH R21HL10262
Market Structure and the Advancement of Innovations

How do social heterogeneity and social inequality in markets affect the processes of social learning and consensus formation about the value of an innovation over time? This article develops and tests a dynamic model of innovation adoption in the presence of social heterogeneity and social inequality. Heterogeneity and inequality affect social learning over time -- the process by which individuals communicate with others and update their beliefs about the value of the innovation - to affect innovation uptake. The article provides a preliminary test of this model by simulating innovation uptake among 43 independent markets and comparing the distribution of simulated uptake to empirical uptake patterns in these markets over time. Insights from these analyses indicate that social heterogeneity exerted a positive effect on innovation adoption over time while social inequality exerted a negative effect on innovation adoption over time. Analytic solutions and empirical tests of this model reveal that market str...
Empirical significance, predictive power, and explication

Criteria of empirical significance are supposed to state conditions under which (putative) reference to an unobservable object or property is “empirically meaningful”. The intended kind of empirical meaningfulness should be necessary for admissibility into the selective contexts of scientific inquiry. I defend Justus’s recent argument that the reasons generally given for rejecting the project of defining a significance criterion are unpersuasive. However, as I show, this project remains wedded to an overly narrow conception of its subject matter. Even the most cutting edge significance criteria identify empirical significance with predictive power, and thereby rule out vocabulary with legitimate scientific functions. In a nutshell, the problem is that there are terms that reduce the computational burden of extracting predictions from theory, and that may therefore be scientifically useful, but that do not produce any additional predictions, and so are ruled scientifically inadmissibility by existing significance criteria. I spell out this objection by specifying terms of this kind that are ruled inadmissible by Creath’s and Schurz’s criteria. Having objected in this way to extant criteria, and to the equation of empirical significance with predictive power in general, I discuss an approach to defining empirical significance that is capable of avoiding my objection and, more ambitiously, that may break the cycle of “punctures and patches” that has plagued the project from the beginning: I gloss Goldfarb and Ricketts’s idea of “case-by-case” delineations of empirically significant terms as the provision of special rather than general explications of the informal concept of empirical significance.
Modeling RF and acoustic signal propagation in complex environments

A computational framework is described for modeling acoustic and radio-frequency (RF) signal propagation in complex environments, such as urban, mountainous, and forested terrain. In such environments, the influences of three-dimensional atmospheric fields and terrain variations must be addressed. The approach described here involves creation of a full environmental data representation (abstraction layer), which can be initialized with many different environmental data resources, including weather forecasts, digital terrain elevations, landcover types, and soil properties. The environmental representation is then converted into the parameters needed for particular signal modalities and classes of propagation algorithms. In this manner, execution of the signal propagation calculations is isolated from the sources of environmental data, so that all models will function with all types of environmental data. The formulation of the acoustic (infrasound and audible) and RF (VHF/UHF/SHF) feature spaces is also described. Example calculations involving infrasound propagation with 3D weather fields and RF propagation in mountainous terrain are provided.
HIV/AIDS in Indonesia

With a population of nearly 210 million people, Indonesia is the fourth largest country globally, and the largest Islamic country. It has over 250 ethnic groups most of whom are Muslim (Indonesian National AIDS Commission, Republic of Indonesia, 2001). As the fourth largest country in the world as well as being the largest Islamic nation, the evolution of the Indonesian response to HIV/AIDS deserves special attention and analysis. This analysis provides a consideration of some of the factors in the Indonesian response but should not be seen as a comprehensive overview.
Solar Retinopathy as a Function of Wavelength: Its Significance for Protective Eyewear

The paper of Verhoeff and Bell (1) in 1916 became a landmark in the history of radiation injury to the retina. These authors demonstrated that high intensities of light on the retina produced burn lesions. In their own words, “our experiments show with the utmost distinctness that the effects known as eclipse blindness are wholly thermic, due to the intense concentrations of the solar energy upon the retina by the refracting system of the eye itself forming an image of destructive energy intensity---”. This emphasis on thermal injury, particularly for solar retinitis and eclipse blindness, tended during the ensuing years to obfuscate other possible effects of light on retinal tissue.
Frames for Emotional Expressions across Discourse Forms in an Ecology Course.

ABSTRACTResearch on emotions illustrates a range of emotions that students and teachers experience, both individually and as a collective, in science learning settings. However, not as much attention has been given to how opportunities for emotional expressions are framed. Since emotions and their expressions are embedded in the discourse in which they are constructed, this research sought to describe the ways in which expectations for emotional expressions were constructed during an ecology course for education undergraduates. Utilising sociolinguistics, emotional expressions were examined across and within forms of discourse (discourse events, written artifacts) to make salient how cues informed the number of emotions expressed. Data sources were ethnographic field notes, video recordings, and written artifacts from an entire semester of the course. The specific features of the emotional frames in discourse events and on written artifacts are presented. Contrast points are utilised to showcase the ways ...
The Fabrication of Freestanding Heterogeneous Copper-Tin Films with Meniscus Brush Plating Electrodeposition

A meniscus brush plating electrodeposition technique was utilized in conjunction with a post deposition heat treatment to formulate freestanding copper-tin alloy films for negative electrodes of lithium-ion batteries. The described fabrication technique intertwined the electrode and current collector for improved cell volume utilization and stability. Two designs were examined to establish the best diffusivity to form electrochemically proficient copper-tin alloys. Fabrication was optimized to promote diffusion of copper and tin and to form the desired intermetallic phase of Cu6Sn5. This improved design fabricated films with competitive areal capacities above 1000 mAh/cc and 2.5 mAh/cm2 for the complete electrode and current collector structure.
Authority and Gender: Flipping the F-Switch

The very rules of our language games contain mechanisms of disregard. Philosophy of language tends to treat speakers as peers with equal discursive authority, but this is rare in real, lived speech situations. This paper explores the mechanisms of discursive inclusion and exclusion governing our speech practices, with a special focus on the role of gender attribution in undermining women’s authority as speakers. Taking seriously the metaphor of language games, we must ask who gets in the game and whose moves can score. To do this, I develop an eclectic analysis of language games using basic inferential role theory and the concept of a semantic index, and develop the distinction between positional authority and expertise authority, which often conflict for members of oppressed groups. Introducing the concepts of master switches and sub-switches that attach to the index and change scorekeeping practices, I argue that women’s gender status conflicts with our status as authoritative speakers because sex marking in semantics functions as a master switch—“the F-switch”—on the semantic index, which, once thrown, changes the very game. An advantage of using inferentialism for understanding disregard of women’s discursive authority is that it locates the problem in the sanctioned moves, in the deontic structure of norms and practices of scorekeeping, and not primarily in the individual intentions of particular people.
Implementing the Comfortable Cafeteria Program to Foster Social Participation of Students with and without Hearing Impairments: A Look at the Outcomes

Students with hearing impairments often have difficulty participating in age-appropriate occupations among peers due to hearing, communication, and social skill deficits. This pilot study aims to d...
Filled to the brim: The characteristics of over-triage at a level I trauma center.

Abstract Background Interfacility transfers are necessary and valuable for the trauma system, but despite regional guidelines, many patients are inappropriately transferred. We evaluated over-triage at our Level I center and identified risk factors for over-triage. Methods Retrospective analysis at our Level I urban trauma center assessed patients transferred from regional facilities during 2017. Over-triage was defined as patients discharged Results Overall, 2352 patients met criteria. Nine hundred thirty (39.5%) with complete hospital records were discharged in Conclusion Many patients are inappropriately transferred to tertiary care centers without a definitive need for advanced services. Studies are needed to improve triage criteria without increasing under-triage.
LATCH: A Locality-Aware Taint CHecker

We present LATCH (short for Locality-Aware Taint CHecker), a generalizable architecture for optimizing dynamic information flow tracking (DIFT). LATCH exploits the observation that information flows under DIFT exhibit strong temporal locality, with typical applications manipulating sensitive data during limited phases of computation. This property allows LATCH to monitor significant spans of execution using lightweight, coarse-grained checks, invoking precise, computationally intensive tracking logic only during periods of execution that involve sensitive data. LATCH implements this policy without sacrificing the accuracy of DIFT. We propose and evaluate three systems incorporating LATCH: S-LATCH to accelerate software-based DIFT on a single core; P-LATCH to accelerate multicore software-based DIFT, and H-LATCH to reduce the architectural complexity of hardware-based DIFT. We developed an FPGA prototype of the LATCH system, demonstrating that its advantages come with negligible impact on power and complexity and no effect on processor cycle time.
Continuation of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors on the Day of Surgery Is Not Associated With Increased Risk of Hypotension Upon Induction of General Anesthesia in Elective Noncardiac Surgeries

Objective The aim of this study was to find out whether the preoperative continuation of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-I) or angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) treatment is associated with intraoperative hypotension immediately after induction of general anesthesia in elective noncardiac surgeries. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Single institutional university hospital. Participants Four hundred patients who underwent elective noncardiac surgery under general anesthesia, with ACE-I or ARB on their list of preoperative home medications, were included. Intervention Preoperative ACE-I and ARB use was evaluated, and patients were divided into an ACE-I/ARB group versus non-ACE-I/ARB group. Measurements The primary outcome measure was intraoperative hypotension after induction of general anesthesia. The secondary outcome measure was preoperative medication use, medications taken the morning of surgery, induction medication and dosage, and vasopressor medication use during induction. Results Three hundred forty-nine patients were included for final analysis. The mean admission American Society of Anesthesiologists status was 2.7 ± 0.5, age 65 ± 11 years, and body mass index 31 ± 6.9 kg/m2. There were no statistically significant changes between the no ACE-I/ARB group and the ACE-I/ARB group in systolic blood pressure (p = 0.853), diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.357), and heart rate (p = 0.220) change over the 15 minutes. There was no statistical difference in induction medication dose (propofol, fentanyl, and rocuronium) and pressor use (p = 0.137) for hypotension between the 2 groups. Statistically significant hypotension (p Conclusion Continuation of ACE-I/ARB on the day of surgery was not associated with increased risk of intraoperative hypotension upon induction and within 15 minutes of general anesthesia in elective noncardiac surgeries.
CD13 is a Critical Regulator of Cell-cell Fusion in Osteoclastogenesis

In vertebrates, bone formation is dynamically controlled by the activity of two specialized cell types: the bone-generating osteoblasts and bone-degrading osteoclasts. Osteoblasts produce the soluble receptor activator of NFkB ligand (RANKL) that binds to its receptor RANK on the surface of osteoclast precursor cells to promote osteoclastogenesis, a process that involves cell-cell fusion and assembly of molecular machinery to ultimately degrade the bone. CD13 is a transmembrane aminopeptidase that is highly expressed in cells of myeloid lineage has been shown to regulate dynamin-dependent receptor endocytosis and recycling and is a necessary component of actin cytoskeletal organization. In the present study, we show that CD13-deficient mice display a normal distribution of osteoclast progenitor populations in the bone marrow, but present a low bone density phenotype. Further, the endosteal bone formation rate is similar between genotypes, indicating a defect in osteoclast-specific function in vivo. Loss of CD13 led to exaggerated in vitro osteoclastogenesis as indicated by significantly enhanced fusion of bone marrow-derived multinucleated osteoclasts in the presence of M-CSF and RANKL, resulting in abnormally large cells with remarkably high numbers of nuclei with a concomitant increase in bone resorption activity. Similarly, we also observed increased formation of multinucleated giant cells (MGC) in CD13KO bone marrow progenitor cells stimulated with IL-4 and IL-13, suggesting that CD13 may regulate cell-cell fusion events via a common pathway, independent of RANKL signaling. Mechanistically, while expression levels of the fusion-regulatory proteins dynamin and DC-STAMP are normally downregulated as fusion progresses in fusion-competent mononucleated progenitor cells, in the absence of CD13 they are uniformly sustained at high levels, even in mature multi-nucleated osteoclasts. Taken together, we conclude that CD13 may regulate cell-cell fusion by controlling expression and localization of key fusion proteins that are critical for both osteoclast and MGC fusion.
The effects of warmth-oriented and competence-oriented service recovery messages on observers on online platforms

Abstract The role of fellow customers in webcare remains underexplored in the literature. To address this gap, the current study examines how observers perceive and react to a retailer’s responses to online consumer complaints. Specifically, this work examines reactions to two service recovery strategies rooted in different dimensions of social cognition: warmth-oriented responses, which emphasize a retailer’s friendliness; and competence-oriented responses, which emphasize a retailer’s knowledge about products/services. In addition, the moderating role of the observer’s relationship orientation is examined. Results suggest that, compared to competence-oriented messages, warmth-oriented service recovery messages are more likely to enhance observers’ service perceptions in the online environment, leading to satisfaction with service recovery efforts and positive word-of-mouth intentions (Study 1). Furthermore, relationship orientation serves as a boundary condition in the effect of service recovery strategy on observers’ service perceptions (Study 2).