cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the design of content-based multimedia authentication systems

Recently, a number of authentication schemes have been proposed for multimedia data. The main requirement for such authentication systems is that minor modifications which do not alter the content of the data preserve the authenticity of the data, whereas modifications which do modify the content render the data not authentic. These schemes can be classified into two classes depending on the underlying model of image authentication. We look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of these schemes and their relationship with limitations of the underlying model of image authentication. In particular, we study feature-based algorithms and hash-based algorithms. The main disadvantage of feature-based algorithms is that similar images generate similar features, and therefore it is possible for a forger to generate dissimilar images with the same features. On the other hand, the class of hash-based algorithms utilizes a cryptographic digital signature scheme and inherits the security of digital signatures to thwart forgery attacks. The main disadvantage of hash-based algorithms is that the image needs to be modified in order to be made authenticatable. We propose a multimedia authentication scheme which combines some of the best features of these two classes of algorithms. The proposed scheme utilizes cryptographic digital signature schemes and the data does not need to be modified in order to be made authenticatable. We show how results in sphere packings and coverings can be useful in the design. Several applications including the authentication of images on CD-ROM and handwritten documents are discussed.
Preservation of post-transplant lung function with aerosol cyclosporin

Post-lung transplant use of aerosol cyclosporin (ACsA) is considered by examining the relationship between deposited aerosol dose and effect. In a sub-study of placebo controlled trials of ACsA as a rejection prophylaxis, 15 drug subjects received aerosol dose quantification tests to gage their ability to effectively deposit the nebulised drug in their transplanted lung(s). A total of seven placebo subjects received mock deposition tests. The deposited doses and mock doses were compared to changes in the forced expiratory volume in one second, at six time points during the 2‐yr trial period (ACsA was started within 6 weeks post-transplant). Linear relationships were demonstrated between deposited dose and improvement in lung function in the drug subjects at all intervals. Mock dose data from placebo subjects did not demonstrate similar correlation. Based on these results, subjects were grouped by dose and compared. Subjects depositing ≥5 mg of the drug in the periphery of their transplant(s) had improving pulmonary function on average. Low-dose and placebo subjects demonstrated declines, more A2–A4 rejection events in the latter portion of the trial, and more chronic rejection beyond the end of the trial. A dose-to-effect relationship is demonstrated for aerosol cyclosporin in terms of pulmonary function and biopsy proven rejection.
Topology and Function of CcmD in Cytochrome c Maturation

The system I cytochrome c biogenesis pathway requires CcmD, a small polypeptide of 69 residues in Escherichia coli. Here it is shown that CcmD is a component of the CcmABC ATP-binding cassette transporter complex. CcmD is not necessary for the CcmC-dependent transfer of heme to CcmE in the periplasm or for interaction of CcmE with CcmABC. CcmD is absolutely required for the release of holo-CcmE from the CcmABCD complex. Evidence is presented that the topology of CcmD in the cytoplasmic membrane is the N terminus outside and the C terminus inside with one transmembrane domain.
The extracellular matrix in breast cancer predicts prognosis through composition, splicing, and crosslinking

The extracellular matrix in the healthy breast has an important tumor suppressive role, whereas the abnormal ECM in tumors can promote aggressiveness, and has been linked to breast cancer relapse, survival and resistance to chemotherapy. This review article gives an overview of the elements of the ECM which have been linked to prognosis of breast cancers, including changes in ECM protein composition, splicing, and microstructure.
Recruitment and retention in obesity prevention and treatment trials targeting minority or low-income children: a review of the clinical trials registration database

Background Efforts to recruit and retain participants in clinical trials are challenging, especially in studies that include minority or low-income children. To date, no studies have systematically examined recruitment and retention strategies and their effectiveness in working successfully with this population. We examined strategies employed to recruit or retain minority or low-income children in trials that included an obesity-related behavior modification component.
Quantifying plant phenotypes with isotopic labeling & metabolic flux analysis

Analyses of metabolic flux using stable isotopes in plants have traditionally been restricted to tissues with presumed homogeneous cell populations and long metabolic steady states such as developing seeds, cell suspensions, or cultured roots and root tips. It is now possible to describe these and other metabolically more dynamic tissues such as leaves in greater detail using novel methods in mass spectrometry, isotope labeling strategies, and transient labeling-based flux analyses. Such studies are necessary for a systems level description of plant function that more closely represents biological reality, and provides insights into the genes that will need to be modified as natural resources become ever more limited and environments change.
Progress on Numerical Modeling of the Dispersion of Ceramic Nanoparticles During Ultrasonic Processing and Solidification of Al-Based Nanocomposites

The metal-matrix-nano-composites (MMNCs) in this study consist of a 6061 alloy matrix reinforced with 1.0 wt. % SiC nanoparticles that are dispersed uniformly within the matrix using an ultrasonic cavitation dispersion technique (UCDS). A recently developed multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is applied to study the effects of electromagnetic field from the induction coils and the magnitude of the fluid flow on the nanodispersion. The CFD model accounts for turbulent fluid flow, heat transfer and solidification, electromagnetic field as well as the complex interaction between the solidifying alloy and nanoparticles. SEM analysis was performed on the as-cast MMNC coupons processed via UCDS and confirmed the distribution of the nanoparticles predicted by the current CFD model.
Near Infrared Surface Plasmon Resonance Phase Imaging and Nanoparticle-Enhanced Surface Plasmon Resonance Phase Imaging for Ultrasensitive Protein and DNA Biosensing with Oligonucleotide and Aptamer Microarrays

The techniques of surface plasmon resonance-phase imaging (SPR-PI) and nanoparticle-enhanced SPR-PI have been implemented for the multiplexed bioaffinity detection of proteins and nucleic acids. The SPR-PI experiments utilized a near-infrared 860 nm light emitting diode (LED) light source and a wedge depolarizer to create a phase grating on a four-element single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) microarray; bioaffinity adsorption onto the various microarray elements was detected via multiplexed real time phase shift measurements. In a first set of demonstration experiments, an ssDNA aptamer microarray was used to directly detect thrombin at concentrations down to 100 pM with SPR-PI. Two different ssDNA aptamers were used in these experiments with two different Langmuir adsorption coefficients, KA1 = 4.4 × 108 M–1 and KA2 = 1.2 × 108 M–1. At concentrations below 1 nM, the equilibrium phase shifts observed upon thrombin adsorption vary linearly with concentration with a slope that is proportional to the appropriate Lang...
Quantum Interferences and Electron Transfer in Photosystem I

We have studied the electron transfer occurring in the photosystem I (PSI) reaction center from the special pair to the first iron–sulfur cluster. Electronic structure calculations performed at the DFT level were employed to determine the on-site energies of the fragments comprising PSI, as well as the charge transfer integrals between neighboring pairs. This electronic Hamiltonian was then used to compute the charge transfer dynamics, using the stochastic surrogate Hamiltonian approach to account for the coherent propagation of the electronic density but also for its energy relaxation and decoherence. These simulations give reasonable transfer time ranging from subpicoseconds to nanoseconds and predict coherent oscillations for several picoseconds. Due to these long-lasting coherences, the propagation of the electronic density can be enhanced or inhibited by quantum interferences. The impact of random fluctuations and asymmetries on these interferences is then discussed. Random fluctuations lead to a cla...
Synthesis of Isoxazolines and Isoxazoles Inspired by Fipronil

Phenylpyrazoles (or arylpyrazoles) are known to be extremely potent as noncompetitive inhibitors of the GABA-gated chloride channel on the GABA receptor. This project involves the synthesis of novel isoxazole and isoxazoline heterocycles that have similar structural features to the commercially used phenylpyrazole, fipronil. Synthesis of the appropriately substituted styrenes and phenylacetylenes is followed by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with several aliphatic nitrile oxides, which are prepared in situ from aldoximes with bleach. Relative reaction rates were determined for these specialized alkene and alkyne dipolarophiles.
Study on Personal Computer Auto-control of UniFed SBR Process with Air Weir

Based on the traditional SBR process,a new type of biological phosphorus and nitrogen removal process―UniFed SBR process was developed.The personal computer auto-control system of the UniFed SBR process incorporating the nutrient removal and the air weir principle was developed using Visual C++ language on personal computer and input/output card.The sequential and process optimization controls of the process were realized.The auto-control system may be used in both lab-scale and pilot-scale studies of the UniFed SBR process,and can provide a new method for the development of the auto-control system in a full-scale wastewater treatment plant using the UniFed SBR process.The configuration including software and hardware constitution and function and main control flow chart of the personal computer auto-control system were introduced.
Diagnosis and Management of Pulmonary Insufficiency

Respiratory distress syndrome is an acute impairment in the effectiveness of the lungs to exchange gas at the alveolar level. It may be caused by a variety of clinical conditions, including hyaline membrane disease, postoperative respiratory failure, sepsis, shock, trauma, gastric aspiration, oxygen toxicity, or near-drowning. The authors outline their method for treating respiratory distress syndrome.
A Response to The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion from two Perspectives

This review considers the The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion (Rambo and Farhadian 2014) from the perspective of Western counseling practice and its applicability to Eastern religious traditions. The Handbook presents a nuanced approach to conversion that emphasizes its complex and dynamic qualities, providing counselors/pastors with practical perspectives to enhance their understanding of people in various stages of a conversion career. By addressing non-Abrahamic traditions, The Handbook also looks at “conversion” from a wider perspective, raising issues about whether it can legitimately be applied to traditions that do not share Western religious assumptions (such as exclusivity) and religious identity. From both perspectives, The Handbook challenges readers to expand their perspectives and rethink their preconceived notions of religious conversion, especially those assumptions based on Western Protestant interpretation of the story of Paul’s conversion.
Decision Tree Approach to Accident Prediction for Highway–Rail Grade Crossings: Empirical Analysis:

Highway–rail grade crossings (HRGCs) are critical spatial locations that are of utmost importance for transportation safety because traffic crashes at these locations are often catastrophic. Compared with traditional regression models, the decision tree is more advanced in its ability to handle large data sets, deal with missing values, and not require predefined underlying relationships between target variables and predictors. Thus the decision tree approach is explored in this study, which evaluates HRGC crashes. Because crashes at HRGCs are rare, the majority of data will have a zero-crash classification. A traditional decision tree method will have a bias toward the majority classification, which will result in a good prediction for the majority class but a relatively poor prediction for rare events. To improve model accuracy with the decision tree model, especially for forecasting rare events, previous probability and decision profit values are adjusted. Historical crash data of North Dakota State fr...
Repetition priming of motor activity mediated by a central pattern generator: the importance of extrinsic vs. intrinsic program initiators

Repetition priming is characterized by increased performance as a behavior is repeated. Although this phenomenon is ubiquitous, mediating mechanisms are poorly understood. We address this issue in a model system, the feeding network of Aplysia This network generates both ingestive and egestive motor programs. Previous data suggest a chemical coding model: ingestive and egestive inputs to the feeding central pattern generator (CPG) release different modulators, which act via different second messengers to prime motor activity in different ways. The ingestive input to the CPG (neuron CBI-2) releases the peptides feeding circuit activating peptide and cerebral peptide 2, which produce an ingestive pattern of activity. The egestive input to the CPG (the esophageal nerve) releases the peptide small cardioactive peptide. This model is based on research that focused on a single aspect of motor control (radula opening). Here we ask whether repetition priming is observed if activity is triggered with a neuron within the core CPG itself and demonstrate that it is not. Moreover, previous studies demonstrated that effects of modulatory neurotransmitters that induce repetition priming persist. This suggests that it should be possible to "prime" motor programs triggered from within the CPG by first stimulating extrinsic modulatory inputs. We demonstrate that programs triggered after ingestive input activation are ingestive and programs triggered after egestive input activation are egestive. We ask where this priming occurs and demonstrate modifications within the CPG itself. This arrangement is likely to have important consequences for "task" switching, i.e., the cessation of one type of motor activity and the initiation of another.
A 1 mW, 500 MHz 4-bit adder using two-phase dynamic FET logic gates

A 4-b two-phase dynamic FET logic adder is presented which has been demonstrated to operate up to 740 MHz with an associated power dissipation of only 2.4 mW. AT 500 MHz, the adder dissipates 1 mW. The adder core is composed of 44 TDFL gates, and 72 TDFL inverters are used to form shift registers so that the five bits of a sum are shifted out of the adder on the same clock cycle. It operates from a 1-V supply and ground and two clocks. The adder, including shift registers, occupies only 0.23 mm/sup 2/. >
THU0512 Insulin Resistance as An Independent Predictor of Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Patients with Gout

Background Gout is linked with metabolic disorders those are important risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. Objectives The aim of the present study was to identify independent predictor of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with gout by measuring presence of atherosclerotic plaque and prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED). Methods We analyzed 80 patients with gout and 70 healthy controls. Carotid plaque and ED were assessed by using ultrasound measurement of carotid plaque and the five-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire in participants, respectively. Logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the effect of variables on presences of carotid plaque or ED on all of the study subjects and patients with gout. Results Gout patients had more ED (55.3% vs. 41.4%, p Conclusions In our study, insulin resistance was an independent predictor of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with gout. Disclosure of Interest None declared
Using task features for zero-shot knowledge transfer in lifelong learning

Knowledge transfer between tasks can improve the performance of learned models, but requires an accurate estimate of the inter-task relationships to identify the relevant knowledge to transfer. These inter-task relationships are typically estimated based on training data for each task, which is inefficient in lifelong learning settings where the goal is to learn each consecutive task rapidly from as little data as possible. To reduce this burden, we develop a lifelong reinforcement learning method based on coupled dictionary learning that incorporates high-level task descriptors to model the intertask relationships. We show that using task descriptors improves the performance of the learned task policies, providing both theoretical justification for the benefit and empirical demonstration of the improvement across a variety of dynamical control problems. Given only the descriptor for a new task, the lifelong learner is also able to accurately predict the task policy through zero-shot learning using the coupled dictionary, eliminating the need to pause to gather training data before addressing the task.
Photochemical Properties and Structure–Activity Relationships of RuII Complexes with Pyridylbenzazole Ligands as Promising Anticancer Agents

Ruthenium complexes capable of light-triggered cytotoxicity are appealing potential prodrugs for photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT). Two groups of Ru(II) polypyridyl complexes with 2-(2-pyridyl)-benzazole ligands were synthesized and investigated for their photochemical properties and anticancer activity to compare strained and unstrained systems that are likely to have different biological mechanisms of action. The structure-activity relationship was focused on the benzazole core bioisosterism and replacement of coligands in Ru(II) complexes. Strained compounds rapidly ejected the 2-(2-pyridyl)-benzazole ligand after light irradiation, and possessed strong toxicity in the HL-60 cell line both under dark and light conditions. In contrast, unstrained Ru(II) complexes were non-toxic in the absence of light, induced cytotoxicity at nanomolar concentrations after light irradiation, and are capable of light-induced DNA damage. The 90-220-fold difference in light and dark IC50 values provides a large potential therapeutic window to allow for selective targeting of cells by exposure to light.
Abstract B19: Pediatric Cancer Late Effects Clinic Patients in Utah: Potential Barriers to Care

Background: Cancer late effects clinics are important to manage health complications experienced by cancer survivors, but little is known about potential barriers to attendance in rural states where many patients live far away from cancer centers. We identify demographic, clinical and residency factors associated with clinic attendance at the only pediatric cancer late effects clinic in Utah. Methods: Medical records identified survivors diagnosed with cancer at age ≤25 years from 1986-2011 who currently reside in Utah. We linked records to the late effects clinic patient registry, available from 2010 to present. Participants were geocoded using their most recent residential zip code according to medical and driver9s license records. The Euclidean distance between the clinic and the centroid of each zip code were calculated. Participants were classified into median income brackets based on the same zip code information. Log-linear models identified associations between attendance and the demographic and clinical factors. Generalized estimating equations were used in analyses for zip-code level residential distance and income with attendance. Results: Of 1,935 survivors, only 10% had ≥1 clinic visit. Attendance is associated with leukemia/lymphoma diagnosis (odds ratio [OR]=1.65; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.14-2.39 vs. other solid tumors) and current age between 19-30 years (OR=3.01; 95% CI=1.33-6.79 vs. ≥30 years). Hispanic ethnicity was not associated with late effects clinic attendance (OR=0.94; 95% CI =0.47-1.87 vs Non-Hispanic). Living in a zip code with a residential distance of less than 20 miles (OR=1.37, 95% CI=0.73-2.58 vs. ≥60 miles), and living in zip codes with median income between $60,000 and $70,000 (OR=1.45, 95% CI=0.67-3.11 vs. >$50,000/year) showed positive, non-significant associations with attendance. Conclusions: Late effects clinics are not widely attended by childhood and adolescent cancer survivors in Utah. Current age and previous cancer diagnosis are associated with attendance. Area of residence and income show possible associations with clinic attendance, although more investigation is needed to examine how these access-related factors influence attendance. Outreach efforts may be needed to connect cancer survivors with late effects clinics. Further investigation is needed to identify potential economic and geographic barriers to care. Citation Format: Judy Y. Ou, Rochelle R. Smits-Seemann, Jennifer A. Wright, Anne C. Kirchhoff. Pediatric Cancer Late Effects Clinic Patients in Utah: Potential Barriers to Care. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Ninth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2016 Sep 25-28; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(2 Suppl):Abstract nr B19.
Out of the dark: 350 million years of conservatism and evolution in diel activity patterns in vertebrates

Many animals are active only during a particular time (e.g., day vs. night), a partitioning that may have important consequences for species coexistence. An open question is the extent to which this diel activity niche is evolutionarily conserved or labile. Here, we analyze diel activity data across a phylogeny of 1914 tetrapod species. We find strong phylogenetic signal, showing that closely related species tend to share similar activity patterns. Ancestral reconstructions show that nocturnality was the most likely ancestral diel activity pattern for tetrapods and many major clades within it (e.g., amphibians, mammals). Remarkably, nocturnal activity appears to have been maintained continuously in some lineages for ∼350 million years. Thus, we show that traits involved in local-scale resource partitioning can be conserved over strikingly deep evolutionary time scales. We also demonstrate a potentially important (but often overlooked) metric of niche conservatism. Finally, we show that diurnal lineages appear to have faster speciation and diversification rates than nocturnal lineages, which may explain why there are presently more diurnal tetrapod species even though diurnality appears to have evolved more recently. Overall, our results may have implications for studies of community ecology, species richness, and the evolution of diet and communication systems.
Pazopanib therapy for adolescent and young adult desmoid tumors.

10547Background: There is a lack of reliably effective medical therapies for desmoid tumors (DT). Surgical resection may be morbid, and even a complete resection does not preclude recurrence. Radio...
Ultrawide thermal free-carrier tuning of dielectric antennas coupled to epsilon-near-zero substrates.

The principal challenge for achieving reconfigurable optical antennas and metasurfaces is the need to generate continuous and large tunability of subwavelength, low-Q resonators. We demonstrate continuous and steady-state refractive index tuning at mid-infrared wavelengths using temperature-dependent control over the low-loss plasma frequency in III–V semiconductors. In doped InSb we demonstrate nearly two-fold increase in the electron effective mass leading to a positive refractive index shift (Δn > 1.5) that is an order of magnitude greater than conventional thermo-optic effects. In undoped films we demonstrate more than 10-fold change in the thermal free-carrier concentration producing a near-unity negative refractive index shift. Exploiting both effects within a single resonator system—intrinsic InSb wires on a heavily doped (epsilon-near-zero) InSb substrate—we demonstrate dynamically steady-state tunable Mie resonances. The observed line-width resonance shifts (Δλ > 1.7 μm) suggest new avenues for highly tunable and steady-state mid-infrared semiconductor antennas. Achieving large tunability of subwavelength resonators is a central challenge in nanophotonics. Here the authors demonstrate refractive index tuning at mid-infrared wavelengths using temperature-dependent control over the low loss plasma frequency in III-V semiconductors.
The Influences of Child Intelligibility and Rate on Caregiver Responses to Toddlers With and Without Cleft Palate.

Objective:The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of child speech intelligibility and rate on caregivers’ linguistic responses.Design:This study compared the language use of chi...
Barriers to Cross-state Movement for Disabled People and Their Families: A Social Problem

Research on geographic mobility in the US has neglected disabled people, missing their experiences of abridged citizenship as their desires to move across states are frustrated by social policy barriers. To illustrate how meso- and macro-level factors impact individual lives, I review three publicly-reported stories of Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) users. To advance research in this area, I analyzed these three stories and developed an original conceptual model, Moves in Context. The model attends to the individual cross-state move trajectories of disabled people, and HCBS users, in particular. Moves in Context focuses on the individual journey (i.e., impetus, ability, and success of move; and the influence of the move story) in relation to both social position/personal resources and social structure/ideology. Through the model, I introduce and explain intrastate confinement , a term to describe the geographic immobility resulting from policy variations across states. I conclude with a discussion of the broader implications of both the Moves in Context model and intrastate confinement for further research on disabled people and interrogating other social problems.
The Myopathy of Phosphate Depletion

Phosphate depletion is commonly associated with proximal muscle weakness, muscle pain, impaired resting membrane potential (1) and mild elevation of creatine phosphokinase and aldolase (1). Phosphorus depletion in experimental animals has been shown to cause severe muscle weakness and creatinuria (2). Fuller and associates (1) examined the effect of phosphate depletion and repletion on skeletal muscle in the dog; they found that resting muscle membrane potential and muscle content of potassium and total phosphorus fell, while muscle sodium, chloride and water content rose with phosphate depletion. All these abnormalities returned to, or towards, normal with phosphate repletion. Further studies by the same group of investigators demonstrated that overt rhabdomyolysis may be precipitated by the superimposition of severe hypophosphatemia on pre-existing subclinical myopathy (3). In addition, a rise in creatine phosphokinase occurs in patients who develop acute fall in the serum levels of phosphorus (4). The observation that myopathic symptoms develop only in severe hypophosphatemia (4), and that acute hypophosphatemia may be associated With acute rhabdomyolysis suggest that both serum and cellular inorganic phosphorus levels play an important role in the myopathy.
Psychologists’ Willingness to Provide Services to Individuals at Risk of Suicide

OBJECTIVE This study examined psychologists' willingness to accept a new client into their private practice as a function of the client's clinical presentation (with or without overt suicidality). Psychologists' openness to working with a client at risk of suicide was evaluated in the context of potential barriers to treatment provision, such as practitioners' endorsement of stigmatizing attitudes, concerns over liability and inadequate training, and limited access to community resources. METHOD Eighty-six licensed psychologists practicing within the United States were surveyed via e-mail and randomly assigned to one of two conditions, consisting of exposure to a vignette describing either a client reporting current suicidal ideation and a history of attempts or a client without explicitly elevated suicide risk. All participants were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their likelihood of accepting the hypothetical client into their practice and examining possible explanations for disinclination to provide treatment. RESULTS Psychologists were less willing to work with a client experiencing suicidality than an individual without elevated suicide risk. Those indicating a reluctance to provide services reported greater concerns over the adequacy of their suicide-related skills and training and fewer resources in the community. CONCLUSIONS Recommendations for improving the responsiveness of private practitioners are provided, with an emphasis on enhancing clinical training and increasing the availability and accessibility of mental health resources.
Electron Transfer Reactions in Nitrogenase and the Role of MgATP Hydrolysis

Nitrogenase catalyzed substrate reduction requires electron transfer between two component proteins, the iron (Fe) protein and the molybdenum-iron (MoFe) protein in a reaction coupled to MgATP hydrolysis. Previous studies suggest that a single electron is transferred from the [4Fe-4S] cluster of the Fe protein to the [8Fe-7S] (P) cluster of the MoFe protein prior to being transferred to the site of substrate reduction in the MoFe protein at a unique [Mo-7Fe-9S]-homocitrate (M) cluster. While much information is available on the properties of the metal centers in the individual proteins, very little is known about the properties of these centers in the nitrogenase complex. Furthermore, the exact role of MgATP hydrolysis in electron transfer has not been established. In the present work, we have taken advantage of an altered Fe protein that binds tightly to the MoFe protein and catalyzes MgATP-independent primary electron transfer in order to address these two points. Previous mutagenesis experiments on the Fe protein have shown that deletion of Leu 127 results in an Fe protein that appears locked in a conformation similar to the wild-type Fe protein when MgATP is bound (Ryle, Seefeldt, 1996). Notably, both the wild-type Fe protein with MgATP bound and the L127A Fe protein have a midpoint potential (E m) of −420 mV. In addition, the L127Δ Fe protein was found to form a tight complex with the MoFe protein and could transfer a single electron to the MoFe protein (Lanzilotta et al, 1996). This work shows that the E m of the [4Fe-4S] cluster of the L127Δ Fe protein undergoes an additional shift from −420 to −620 mV when the L127Δ Fe protein binds to the MoFe protein.
The Relationship Between High-Level Violin Performers’ Movement and Evaluators’ Perception of Musicality

The purpose of this study was to examine possible relationships between the extent of high-level violin performers’ movement during performance and evaluators’ perceptions of their musicality. Stim...
Comment on “The fragility of alkali silicate glass melts: Part of a universal topological pattern” by D.L. Sidebottom

Abstract A recent article in this journal [D.L. Sidebottom, J. Non-Cryst. Solids 516 (2019) 63–66] proposes a “universal topological pattern” for the composition dependence of liquid fragility in terms of the number of coarse-grained topological constraints in the glass-forming network. This “universal topological pattern,” however, is reported without any physical derivation from Angell's definition of liquid fragility. Alternatively, temperature-dependent constraint theory shows that fragility is indeed governed by the underlying topology of the glass network, but in terms of the temperature dependence of the constraints rather than the absolute magnitude of those constraints. Temperature-dependent constraint theory offers quantitatively accurate predictions of the composition dependence of fragility, together with insights regarding the contributions of each individual constraint to the overall fragility.
Distinct neural encoding of context-dependent error signals and context-dependent changes in behavior during adaptive learning

Abstract Learning effectively from errors requires using them in a context-dependent manner, for example adjusting to errors that result from unpredicted environmental changes but ignoring errors that result from environmental stochasticity. Where and how the brain represents errors in a context-dependent manner and uses them to guide behavior are not well understood. We imaged the brains of human participants performing a predictive-inference task with two conditions that had different sources of errors. Their performance was sensitive to this difference, including more choice switches after fundamental changes versus stochastic fluctuations in reward contingencies. Using multi-voxel pattern classification, we identified context-dependent representations of error magnitude and past errors in posterior parietal cortex. These representations were distinct from representations of the resulting context-dependent behavioral adjustments in dorsomedial frontal, anterior cingulate, and orbitofrontal cortex. The results provide new insights into human brain that represent and use errors in a context-dependent manner to support adaptive behavior.
Leveraging Google Earth Engine User Interface for Semiautomated Wetland Classification in the Great Lakes Basin at 10 m With Optical and Radar Geospatial Datasets

As one of the world's largest freshwater ecosystems, the Great Lakes Basin houses thousands of acres of wetlands that support a variety of crucial ecological and environmental functions at the local, regional, and global scales. Monitoring these wetlands is critical to conservation and restoration efforts; however, current methods that rely on field monitoring are labor-intensive, costly, and often outdated. In this article, we present a graphical user interface constructed in Google Earth Engine called the Wetland Extent Tool (WET), which allows semiautomatic wetland classification according to a user-input area of interest and date range. WET conducts multisource, moderate resolution processing utilizing Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager, Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument, Sentinel-1 C-SAR, and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) datasets to classify wetlands in the entire Great Lakes Basin. We evaluated classification results of wetlands, uplands, and open water from May–September 2019, and tested whether SRTM elevation, slope, or the Dynamic Surface Water Extent produced the most accurate results in each Great Lake Basin in conjunction with optical indices and radar composites. We found that slope produced the most accurate classification in Lake Michigan, Huron, Superior, and Ontario, while elevation performed best in Lake Erie. Classification results averaged 86.2% overall accuracy, 70.0% wetland consumer's accuracy, and 82.7% wetland producer's accuracy across the Great Lakes Basin. WET leverages cloud-computing for multisource processing of moderate resolution remote sensing data, and employs a user interface in Google Earth Engine that wetland managers and conservationists can use to monitor wetland extent in the Great Lakes Basin in near real-time.
Addressing Wavenumber Error in Interference Pattern Structured Illumination Imaging

Motor inaccuracies in Interference Pattern Structured Illumination Imaging cause phase errors that effect image quality. We demonstrate that phase retrieval algorithms correct the phase errors and improve the resultant IPSII images.
GPR120 agonists enhance the fatty orosensation when added to fat-containing system, but do not evoke it by themselves in humans

Abstract Dietary fat, an important macronutrient, has been considered to be perceived by texture and olfaction. Recently, fatty acid transporter, CD36, and fatty acid receptor, GPR120 are considered to be involved in human gustatory fatty acids perception in humans. However, limited information is currently available to show that agonists of CD36 and GPR120 evoke fatty oral sensations regarding to dietary fat in humans. Therefore, the role of GPR120 agonists in dietary fat perception in humans was investigated herein. An emulsion prepared from vegetable oil had a stronger fatty orosensation, an orosensation similar to an oily mouth-coating sensed 5 – 10 s after tasting, than that prepared from mineral oil; however, the physical properties of both emulsions, such as viscosity, particle distribution, interfacial tension, contact angle, frictional load, and ζ-electric potential were similar. The potent GPR120 agonist, TUG-891 enhanced the fatty orosensation when added to the emulsion prepared from vegetable oil, but not to that from mineral oil. All GPR120 agonists tested enhanced the fatty orosensation when added to a low-fat food system whereas they did not evoke any fatty sensation in aqueous solution at the concentrations tested in food system, and sensory activity positively correlated with GPR120 activity. These results suggest that GPR120 agonists enhance the fatty orosensation in humans when added to vegetable oil or a low-fat food system, but do not evoke it by themselves.
MichiGAN: sampling from disentangled representations of single-cell data using generative adversarial networks

Deep generative models such as variational autoencoders (VAEs) and generative adversarial networks (GANs) generate and manipulate high-dimensional images. We systematically assess the complementary strengths and weaknesses of these models on single-cell gene expression data. We also develop MichiGAN, a novel neural network that combines the strengths of VAEs and GANs to sample from disentangled representations without sacrificing data generation quality. We learn disentangled representations of three large single-cell RNA-seq datasets and use MichiGAN to sample from these representations. MichiGAN allows us to manipulate semantically distinct aspects of cellular identity and predict single-cell gene expression response to drug treatment.
The impact of COVID-19 on early childhood reading practices

COVID-19 has changed the daily lives of families, impacted on work, social interactions, and mental health. Since spring 2020, parents have been working from home and children have been home from d...
Effect of COVID‐19 on Acute Ischemic Stroke Hospitalizations and Treatments: Population‐Level Experience

Abstract BACKGROUND Several studies have reported changes in the volume and type of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) hospitalizations during the early stage of the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, population...
Transforming Labor-Based Parties in Latin America: Crisis, Party Adaptation, and Democracy: Argentina in Comparative Perspective

The 1980s and 1990s constituted a new critical juncture in Latin American politics. Changes in the international economy, the exhaustion of statist economic models, and evolving class structures limited the viability of economic policies and political coalitions that had once predominated in the region, and new policy agendas and coalitions moved from the margins to the center of the political stage. As the ISI model entered into a terminal crisis, the labor-mobilizing parties that for decades had been the “fulcrum” of party systems in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela (Collier and Collier 1991: 40) were confronted with a fundamental challenge. The increased political and economic difficulties associated with traditional statist policies and the diminishing benefits associated with union support created a strong incentive for these parties to change course. For governing labor-based parties, the costs of nonadaptation were potentially very high: Failed strategies could lead to profound economic crisis and party collapse. The parties did not bear these costs alone. Where Latin American labor-based parties failed in the 1980s and 1990s, party systems often fragmented and decomposed, and some democratic regimes weakened and even broke down. Thus, labor-based party adaptation was critical not only to the political success of the parties themselves, but also to the performance and stability of democratic regimes. This book has examined the capacity of labor-based parties to adapt to the opportunities and constraints posed by changing electoral and economic environments.
The role of glycolysis in TGF-β-mediated airway smooth muscle cell proliferation

Background: COPD is characterised by small airway remodelling involving airway smooth muscle (ASM) thickening, in part, due to ASM cell (ASMC) hyperplasia. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β, which is over-expressed in COPD lungs, is a potent inducer of ASMC hyperplasia. Metabolic deregulation involving increased glycolysis and decreased mitochondrial respiration (Warburg effect) has been linked to increased cell survival in pulmonary arterial hypertension and cancer. We hypothesised that TGF-β-induced ASMC hyperplasia is mediated by a shift in energy production to glycolysis. Aims and Objectives: Determine the effect of TGF-β on glycolytic and mitochondrial gene expression and the role of glycolysis in TGF-β-mediated ASMC proliferation. Methods: ASMCs were cultured from bronchoscopic biopsies of patients with COPD. mRNA expression was determined by real-time PCR. Cell proliferation was measured as rate of BrdU incorporation. Results: TGF-β (1ng/mL), in the presence of 2.5% foetal bovine serum (FBS), increased the mRNA levels of glucose transporter (GLUT)-1 (∼3-fold), the rate-limiting glycolytic enzyme hexokinase (HK)-2 (∼2-fold), the pyruvate dehydrogenase inhibitor, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK)-1 (∼3-fold) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDHA; ∼4-fold). It also potently inhibited the mRNA expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator (PGC)-1α (∼90%), a key inducer of mitochondrial respiration. Inhibition of glycolysis using 2-deoxy-D-glucose (1-10mM) inhibited TGF-β and FBS-induced ASMC proliferation (∼60%). Conclusion: TGF-β-induced ASMC proliferation may be mediated by a shift from mitochondrial respiration to glycolysis.
Role of Ahch in gonadal development and gametogenesis

Ahch (also known as Dax1) encodes a transcription factor that has been implicated in sex determination and gonadal differentiation. Mutations in human AHC cause X-linked, adrenal hypoplasia congenita (AHC) and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH). Duplication of the Xp21 dosage-sensitive sex reversal (DSS) region, which contains the Ahch locus, and transgenic overexpression of Ahch cause male-to-female sex reversal. Using Cre-mediated disruption of Ahch, we have generated a mouse model of AHC-HH that allows the function of Ahch to be examined in both males and females. Although Ahch has been postulated to function as an ovarian determination gene, the loss of Ahch function in females does not affect ovarian development or fertility. Ahch is instead essential for the maintenance of spermatogenesis. Lack of Ahch causes progressive degeneration of the testicular germinal epithelium independent of abnormalities in gonadotropin and testosterone production and results in male sterility. Ahch is thus not an ovarian determining gene, but rather has a critical role in spermatogenesis.
A framework for supporting advance reservation service in GMPLS-based WDM networks

This paper presents a framework for supporting advance reservation service in GMPLS-based WDM networks. In this framework, we develop a wavelength reservation model and a signaling control model for dynamic and automated provisioning of lightpaths for advance reservation requests. In the wavelength reservation model, time is divided into a series of short fixed-length timeslots. A wavelength can be reserved at the beginning of a timeslot, at the granularity of a timeslot, and for an integer number of timeslots. The signaling control model consists of two phases: resource reservation and resource utilization. The resource reservation phase is used for reserving wavelength resources. The resource utilization phase is used for confirming the reserved wavelength resources before they are utilized. To support advance reservation service in GMPLS, extensions to RSVP-TE and CR-LDP signaling protocols are also briefly discussed based on the signaling control model.
Oxygen Uptake and Hydrogen-Stimulated Nitrogenase Activity from Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS571 Grown in a Succinate-Limited Chemostat.

Succinate-limited continuous cultures of an Azorhizobium caulinodans strain were grown on ammonia or nitrogen gas as a nitrogen source. Ammonia-grown cells became oxygen limited at 1.7 μM dissolved oxygen, whereas nitrogen-fixing cells remained succinate limited even at dissolved oxygen concentrations as low as 0.9 μM. Nitrogen-fixing cells tolerated dissolved oxygen concentrations as high as 41 μM. Succinate-dependent oxygen uptake rates of cells from the different steady states ranged from 178 to 236 nmol min−1 mg of protein−1 and were not affected by varying chemostat-dissolved oxygen concentration or nitrogen source. When equimolar concentrations of succinate and β-hydroxybutyrate were combined, oxygen uptake rates were greater than when either substrate was used alone. Azide could also used alone as a respiratory substrate regardless of nitrogen source; however, when azide was added following succinate additions, oxygen uptake was inhibited in ammonia-grown cells and stimulated in nitrogen-fixing cells. Use of 25 mM succinate in the chemostat resevoir at a dilution rate of 0.1 h−1 resulted in high levels of background respiration and nitrogenase activity, indicating that the cells were not energy limited. Lowering the reservoir succinate to 5 mM imposed energy limitation. Maximum succinate-dependent nitrogenase activity was 1,741 nmol of C2H4h−1 mg (dry weight)−1, and maximum hydrogen-dependent nitrogenase activity was 949 nmol of C2H4 h−1 mg (dry weight)−1. However, when concentration of 5% (vol/vol) hydrogen or greater were combined with succinate, nitrogenase activity decreased by 35% in comparison to when succinate was used alone. Substitution of argon for nitrogen in the chemostat inflow gas resulted in “washout,” proving that ORS571 can grow on N2 and that there was not a nitrogen source in the medium that could substitute.