cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Farm-to-School Programming in South Carolina: An Economic Impact Projection Analysis

Farm-to-school (F2S) programs are among the new and innovative initiatives that are emerging from the local food systems movement. These programs connect K–12 schools with local farms with the objectives of improving the access and availability of healthful, local foods while at the same time supporting area small- to medium-sized farmers. Researchers have demonstrated that F2S programs are beneficial for both youth and farmers because program participation is associated with improved wellness among youth and a better economic outlook among farmers. Importantly, however, though F2S benefits abound, there are many challenges that oftentimes must be overcome for F2S implementation to be fully realized. This research examines the F2S movement nationally and explores the potential economic impacts associated with the initiative within South Carolina.
Diagnosis of Usual Interstitial Pneumonitis in the Absence of Honeycombing: Evaluation of Specific CT Criteria With Clinical Follow-Up in 38 Patients

OBJECTIVE. We sought to evaluate specific CT criteria for the diagnosis of usual interstitial pneumonitis (UIP) in the absence of honeycombing. These criteria included peripheral reticulation and lobular distortion; some upper lobe involvement, but a lower zone predominance; a heterogeneous appearance with areas of normal lung, minimal reticulation, and substantial distortion alternating throughout the study and often on an individual image; a nonsegmental distribution; and traction bronchiectasis. MATERIALS AND METHODS. We searched reports of CT studies performed between January 1, 2009, and January 1, 2012, to identify patients for whom UIP was a likely or probable diagnosis and reviewed the CT study for each case (n = 106). There were 38 patients who met all CT criteria and who also had a clinical diagnosis of idiopathic UIP (also known as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis [IPF]) and follow-up of at least 6 months, as determined from the electronic medical record. We reviewed prior and subsequent CT examin...
SNARE: Social Network Analysis and Reasoning Environment

The importance of diversity in reasoning and learning to successfully address complex problems is examined. We discuss an approach by which a multiagent framework with decentralized control mechanisms provides diverse perspectives and hypotheses addressing a class of complex problems. We introduce the SNARE multiagent system. SNARE performs tasks to gain situational awareness of situations of interest in a Social Media Space. It applies a decentralized control mechanism for each agent; this mechanism enables an agent to interact with other agents to reason and learn. This approach facilitates dynamic agent organizations that adapt the topologies of interactions between agents based on the problem context.
IEEE 1451.2-a network independent standard for smart transducers

Sponsored by NIST and chaired by HP, and supported by sensor manufacturers and end users, the IEEE 1451.2 standard has been approved and is being published and distributed to the sensor and industrial controls market in the US. It is not another fieldbus but a complimentary interface to various fieldbuses and networks. By examining the common needs of the customer and systems, the various committees on the IEEE 1451 standards groups are working to define a long term solution to system sensor software drivers, physical hardware interfaces, distributed intelligence and distributed sensors. This standard defines from the sensor point of view, the manufacturer, the calibrations, the corrections, the tolerance and the digital interface in an information field attached to the sensor. (4 pages)
Use of stochastic resonance methods for improving laparoscopic surgery performance

Vibrotactile feedback (VIB) has been utilized in previous research as sensory augmentation to improve performance during minimally invasive surgical tasks. Stochastic resonance (SR), introduced into the human control system as white noise at a subthreshold level, has shown promise to improve the sensitivity of tactile receptors resulting in performance enhancement for sensorimotor tasks. The purpose of this study was to determine whether SR could improve performance (accuracy, speed) in a simulated laparoscopic palpation task. Sixteen subjects performed a palpation task using a laparoscopic tool to detect the presence of tumors (compacted felt) embedded in simulated tissue samples (silicone gel) inside a laparoscopic trainer box. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the four different conditions: (1) SR, (2) VIB, (3) VIB + SR, and (4) Control. The VIB and SR signals were administered via two separate haptic actuators attached to the subjects’ dominant upper arms and forearms, respectively. All subjects were presented with 36 tissue samples with no sensory augmentation (Control) to establish baseline, followed by another 36 samples under one of the randomly assigned vibration conditions (SR, VIB, VIB + SR, or Control). Results show a significantly larger improvement in tumor detection accuracy in the SR group compared to the VIB and Control groups. There was no difference in the time to task completion, indicating that there was no speed–accuracy trade-off. The results have implications for the design of instruments and methods for increasing detection accuracy such as in palpation tasks. This technology could help surgeons better identify tumors located in healthy surrounding tissue.
Active Surface Topographies in Constrained Hydrogel Films

Periodic wrinkles or corrugations can appear on the free surfaces of constrained hydrogel films. The constraint generates a residual compressive stress that is partially relieved through deviation of free surfaces from a planar configuration. The morphology, amplitude and wavelength of the surface instability are generally well-defined and depend on the strength of the constraint. If swelling of the hydrogel overcomes the constraint, the film can slip along its substrate, altering the resultant compressive stress and surface topography. By tuning this slippage, we aim to direct the surface features presented by thin hydrogel films. Active control of surface morphology could have important implications in several applications ranging from sensors to controlled cell attachment and detachment. In this work, we discuss a method of tuning the amount of slippage and surface topography of patterned poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (poly-NIPAAm) films. The films were fabricated from photo-crosslinkable polymers comprising NIPAAm and photo-active methacroyloxy-benzophenone (MaBP) monomers. The patterned films were anchored to a substrate through a hydrogen-bonding self-assembled monolayer. The relationship between pattern geometry, pattern dimensions, and solvent were investigated with respect to the mechanical instability generated at the free surface. We observed that the wavelength, width, and amplitude of the instability always increased with the thickness of the polymer pattern. The morphology of the surface instability, however, was especially sensitive to thickness of the pattern, the solvent, and the spatial position with respect to the edge of polymer pattern. If the slippage of the film against the substrate is minimal, a wrinkle pattern in the form of bicusps was observed. If the compressive stress exceeded the hydrogen-bonding anchors, slippage of the film generated either a blister pattern or a honeycomb pattern.
Paradoxical induction of tyrosine aminotransferase by progesterone in vivo: potentiation of effects of low levels of glucocorticoid hormone.

SummaryProgesterone, a steroid hormone with well-defined antiglucocorticoid properties in vitro, is shown, paradoxically, to be a potent inducer of hepatic tyrosine aminotransferase in normal but not in adrenalectomized rats. It is further shown that progesterone, in adrenalectomized animals, markedly potentiates the induction of TAT by low doses of hydrocortisone, but that this synergism disappears at high doses of the latter hormone. In contrast, there is no synergism between progesterone and the synthetic steroid dexamethasone, which, unlike both hydrocortisone and the natural endogenous glucocorticoid corticosterone, does not bind to transcortin. These observations suggest that both the induction of TAT in the normal animal, as well as the potentiation of the inducing effects of low doses of exogenous hydrocortisone in the adrenalectomized animal, are attributable to the displacement by progesterone of endogenous corticosterone and exogenous hydrocortisone, respectively, from transcortin and the conse...
Renormalized Mori-Zwanzig-reduced models for systems without scale separation.

Model reduction for complex systems is a rather active area of research. For many real-world systems, constructing an accurate reduced model is prohibitively expensive. The main difficulty stems from the tremendous range of spatial and temporal scales present in the solution of such systems. This leads to the need to develop reduced models where, inevitably, the resolved variables do not exhibit (spatial and/or temporal) scale separation from the unresolved ones. We present a brief survey of recent results on the construction of Mori–Zwanzig-reduced models for such systems. The construction is inspired by the concepts of scale dependence and renormalization which first appeared in the context of high-energy and statistical physics.
Balancing push and pull in Confuga, an active storage cluster file system for scientific workflows

Summary Most big-data analysis systems require users to adopt restricted abstractions to achieve scaling and system stability. While highly effective at establishing data locality and eliminating interdependencies, this approach is not easily incorporated into scientific workflows that are often complex and irregular graphs of sequential programs with multiple dependencies. To address this, we have developed an active storage cluster file system named Confuga which harnesses the file information already available in the workflow to enable efficient and controlled distribution of dependencies across active storage nodes. Confuga is built upon the idea of leveraging a job's namespace to eliminate unknown transfers and to plan the replication of all job dependencies. Replication is carried out through two opposing transfer methodologies: centrally managed push transfers and distributed pulls. We evaluate the effectiveness of the two transfer mechanisms using workflows that stress the ability of the cluster to replicate dependencies. Ultimately, we show that a balance of the two approaches achieves optimal file distribution. This is shown in two bioinformatics workflows where a careful balance of the two mechanisms leads to 48% and 77% improvements over only push or pull. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Crystal Chemistry of the Amphiboles

The first structural analysis of an amphibole was carried out by Warren (1929) on tremolite. A year later, Warren and Mmodell (1930) determined the related structure of anthophyllite. Until fairly recently, these two works were the only ones available regarding the atomic arrangement of the double-chain silicates. After Whittaker (1949) and Zussman (1955) elucidated the structures of a crocidolite (fibrous sodic amphibole, in this case magnesioriebeckite) and an actinolite respectively, interest in this group of minerals revived among mineralogists. More recent refinements include the following: six hornblendes —Heritsch et al (1957, 1960), Heritsch and Kahler (1960), Heritsch and Riechert (1960); tremolite —Zussman (1959); grunerite —Ghose and Hellner (1959), Finger and Zoltai (1967); cummingtonite —Ghose (1961), Fischer (1966); arfvedsonite —Kawahara (1963); two synthetic amphiboles —Prewitt (1964); synthetic proto-amphibole —Gibbs (1965); riebeckite —Colville and Gibbs (1965); glaucophane —Papike and Clark (1967).
Top-K Similarity Search for Query-By-Humming

As an important way of music retrieval, Query-By-Humming has gained wide attention because of its effectiveness and convenience. This paper proposes a novel Top-K similarity search technique, which provides fast retrieval for Query-By-Humming. We propose a distance function MDTW for multi-dimensional sequence matching as well as a subsequence matching method \(MDTW_{sub}\). We show that the proposed method is highly applicable to music retrieval. In our paper, music pieces are represented by 2-dimensional time series, where each dimension holds information about the pitch or duration of each note, respectively. In order to improve the efficiency, we utilize inverted lists and q-gram technique to process music database, and utilize q-chunk technique to process hummed piece. Then, we calculate the MDTW distances between hummed q-chunks and music q-grams, and we can get the candidate music and their sensitive data areas. We proposes TopK-Brute and TopK-LB Algorithm to search the Top-K songs. The experimental results demonstrate both the efficiency and effectiveness of our approach.
Methodology to Promote Physical Activity Monitoring Adherence in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background: Objective physical activity (PA) monitoring via accelerometry is both costly and time consuming. Furthermore, overall adherence to a monitoring protocol is often complicated by disability. Therefore it is essential that strategies for supporting accelerometer wear for youth with disabilities are maximized. The purpose of this perspective was to provide researchers a set of efficacious PA monitoring strategies based on the retrospective examination of support methodology on adherence rates for youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Method: Accelerometer data was collected for 163 participants with ASD in three independent cohorts. Each cohort was provided a varying set of support strategies to help maximize adherence. Chi-square analysis was used to determine differences in adherence between each cohort. Results: Adherence rates significantly increased from 51.9% in cohort 1 to 88.7% in cohort 2 [X2(1) =18.333, p<0.001] and again from 88.7% in cohort 2 to 97.4% in cohort 3 [X2(1) =2.663, p=0.103]. The greatest increase in adherence was observed from 51.9% in cohort 1 to 97.4% in cohort 3 [X2(1) =19.837, p<0.001]. Support strategies associated with these increases included: 1) social story; 2) incentive; 3) concealing techniques; and 4) 24 hrs/day wear instructions. Conclusions: Adherence to PA measurement increased when additional support strategies were utilized in combination with a traditional protocol. We recommend these support methodology be considered as preliminary best-practices when measuring objective PA in youth with ASD with likely success in other disability populations.
Indeterminacy and Good Faith: Politics and Legitimacy

The paper, which will be published in Droit et Philosophie, briefly considers three “moments” of the legal indeterminacy debate, in order to gain an overview of the debate’s issues and themes: (1) Joseph Hutcheson’s discussion of “hunches” in judicial decision-making, with the implications that fact about decision-making may have for legal indeterminacy; (2) Mark Tushnet’s work on advocacy and legal outcomes, showing the importance of focusing on (in)determinacy over the longer term; and (3) the work of various empirical political science theorists constructing an “attitudinal model” of judicial decision-making (along with other related empirical work), displaying how judges’ political inclinations (and other extralegal factors) explain outcomes in a large class of cases. All three topics raise serious concerns of a “rule of law” or “legitimacy” nature.
Pre-service teacher use of communication strategies upon receiving immediate feedback

Abstract The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of immediate feedback through bug-in-ear eCoaching on early childhood special education pre-service teachers’ use of communication strategies using an activity-based intervention approach. Three early childhood special education pre-service teachers participated in this study. A multiple-probe, single-case design was used to determine the effects of immediate feedback through bug-in-ear eCoaching on teachers’ use of communication strategies. Results indicate that immediate feedback through bug-in-ear eCoaching enhanced pre-service teachers’ use of communication strategies within small-group activities. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Explaining Ethnic Variability of Transporter Substrate Pharmacokinetics in Healthy Asian and Caucasian Subjects with Allele Frequencies of OATP1B1 and BCRP: A Mechanistic Modeling Analysis.

Ethnic variability in the pharmacokinetics of organic anion transporting polypeptide (OATP) 1B1 substrates has been observed, but its basis is unclear. A previous study hypothesizes that, without applying an intrinsic ethnic variability in transporter activity, allele frequencies of transporters cannot explain observed ethnic variability in pharmacokinetics. However, this hypothesis contradicts the data collected from compounds that are OATP1B1 substrates but not breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) substrates. The objective of this study is to evaluate a hypothesis that is physiologically reasonable and more consistent with clinical observations. We evaluated if allele frequencies of two transporters (OATP1B1 and BCRP) are key contributors to ethnic variability. In this hypothesis, the same genotype leads to the same activity independent of ethnicity, in contrast to the previous hypothesis of intrinsic ethnic variability in OATP1B1 activity. As a validation, we perform mechanistic pharmacokinetic modeling for SLCO1B1 (encoding OATP1B1) and ABCG2 (encoding BCRP) genotyped pharmacokinetic data from 18 clinical studies with healthy Caucasian and/or Asian subjects. Simulations based on the current hypothesis reasonably describe SLCO1B1 and ABCG2 genotyped pharmacokinetic time course data for five transporter substrates (atorvastatin, pitavastatin, pravastatin, repaglinide, and rosuvastatin) in Caucasian and Asian populations. This hypothesis covers the observations that can (e.g., ethnic differences in rosuvastatin pharmacokinetics) or cannot (e.g., lack of differences for pitavastatin pharmacokinetics) be explained by the previous hypothesis. It helps to characterize sources of ethnic variability and provides a foundation for predicting ethnic variability in transporter substrate pharmacokinetics.
Distribution and frequency of Bru 1, a major brown rust resistance gene, in the sugarcane world collection

Brown rust, caused by Puccinia melanocephala, is an important disease of sugarcane worldwide. Molecular markers for a major brown rust resistance gene, Bru1, were used to screen a total of 1,282 clones in the World Collection of Sugarcane and Related Grasses (WCSRG) to determine the distribution and frequency of the gene in Saccharum species and related genera. Bru1 was found across all species within the Saccharum complex, but the frequency varied among species. Bru1 was more prevalent in S. robustum clones (59.1%), whereas it occurred in low frequency and exhibited the highest level of variability as determined by the presence of one or both markers (18.8%) in clones of S. spontaneum. Bru1 frequency was highest in the two secondary cultivated species, S. barberi (79.3%) and S. sinense (71.8%). The frequency of Bru1 was 26.4% and 21.0% in S. officinarum and interspecific hybrid clones, respectively. Knowledge of the distribution and frequency of Bru1 in the WCSRG will complement efforts to characterize diversity in the Saccharum complex for the expected expanded use of marker-assisted selection in the future.
The Country, the City, and the Corporation: Rio Tinto Kennecott and the Materiality of Corporate Rhetoric

ABSTRACTContributing to extant discourses about corporate environmental advocacy, this paper argues that corporations can embed discursive rhetorical strategies in material places and spaces. This ...
Autofiction in the Third Person, with a Reading of Christine Brooke-Rose’s Remake

In third-person fiction, the teller and the characters, as different people, are typically distinguished by different speaking styles. Yet particularly in third-person autobiography-fiction blends, narrator and protagonist may sound alike—presumably because the author identifies with both. Such breaches in the areas of mood and voice can be exploited by design. In her ‘autobifography’ Remake (1996), Christine Brooke-Rose employs a range of techniques—lipograms, split characters, telepathy—in order to undermine the notion of identity, against which she polemicises in her critical writings. By relinquishing personal pronouns and creating multiple avatars of the ‘old lady’, she suggests that she is not self-identical but multifarious. But by letting locutions slide from one of these avatars to another, she covertly identifies all these characters as Christine Brooke-Rose.
Ligation of Intersphincteric Fistula Tract (LIFT)

Sphincter sparing techniques to treat fistula in ano have resulted in variable success rates. A novel technique for treating fistula in ano, the ligation of intersphincteric fistula tract (LIFT), has added another option to the surgical armamentarium for fistula treatment. The LIFT is not only successful in healing fistulas but also has the ability to downstage transsphincteric fistulas to intersphincteric fistulas allowing multiple treatment options, even when the LIFT itself is unsuccessful. In addition, low rates of incontinence have been reported using subjective measures and validated incontinence scores.
Rigid-Plastic and Simplified Elastic-Plastic Solutions for Dynamically Side-Loaded Frames*

The estimation of permanent and maximum (plastic plus elastic) deformations of a portal frame subjected to a pulse of pressure on one column is considered here. Simple techniques are developed which furnish estimates both of the local dishing deformation of the column and of the general side-sway deflection of the frame. Modifications of the simple mode approximation technique [1] are required for this purpose. The first part of the response is treated as wholly elastic. It provides momentum input to a rigid-plastic stage, which we take as starting with a local deformation pattern in the column which leads into the closing mode-form response. Fairly crude estimates of elastic deflection components are added to the rigid-plastic deflections to obtain maximum values. Some comparisons are made with deflection magnitudes computed† by a finite element numerical program, assuming perfectly plastic behavior. The method is applicable to a rate sensitive material, and comparisons for this case are planned for the near future. Emphasis in this paper is on the treatment of the rigid-plastic stage.
Pharmacologic Treatment of Intensive Care Unit Delirium and the Impact on Duration of Delirium, Length of Intensive Care Unit Stay, Length of Hospitalization, and 28-Day Mortality.

Abstract Objective To determine whether treatment of delirium affects outcomes. Patients and Methods A retrospective cohort study of patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) from July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016, was conducted. Patients with ICU delirium, defined by a positive Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU score, were included. Patients were stratified into 4 treatment groups based on exposure to melatonin and antipsychotic agents during ICU stay: no pharmacologic treatment, melatonin only, antipsychotics only, and both melatonin and antipsychotics. A time-dependent cause-specific hazards model with death as a competing risk was used to evaluate the effect of melatonin or antipsychotic drug use for delirium on duration of ICU delirium, length of ICU stay, and length of hospitalization. A logistic regression was used to evaluate 28-day mortality. Covariates significantly associated with exposure to melatonin and antipsychotics were included in the minimally adjusted model. Covariates significantly associated in the minimally adjusted model were included in a final adjusted model. Results A total of 449 admissions to the medical ICU were included in the analysis. Exposure to melatonin or antipsychotic agents did not reduce the duration of ICU delirium, ICU/hospital length of stay, or 28-day mortality. However, antipsychotic use only was associated with longer hospitalization. Conclusion Antipsychotic drugs for the treatment ICU delirium may not provide the benefit documented in earlier literature. Further investigation on patient selection, type of antipsychotic, and dosing is needed.
Direct laser metal deposition of Inconel 738

Abstract Inconel 738 is one of the widely used nickel-based superalloys in high-temperature applications, especially in land-based and aerospace gas turbine engines. This paper reports the feasibility of direct laser metal deposition (LMD) of Inconel 738. Cracks evolved during deposition at the substrate/deposit interface and within the deposit along high angle grain boundary for scanning speed of 6 and 12 mm/s due to the intense residual stress and incipient melting. Results showed liquation cracking due to low melting crack boundary γ′ and significant micro-segregation of Al and Ti along the crack boundaries. By maximizing the energy density and by reducing the scanning speed to 3 mm/s, crack-free single wall specimens were successfully manufactured. Microstructural evolution of primary, secondary, grain boundary γ′, MC carbides, and M2B borides in the as-deposited and heat-treat specimens are discussed. Mechanical properties and microstructural development were investigated using tensile testing and scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive spectroscopy confirmed significant micro-segregation on various elements along the interdendritic and grain boundaries. X-ray diffraction validated the presence of the observed carbides and boride in the as-deposited and heat-treated samples.
Effect of microalgae cell composition and size on responsiveness to ultrasonic harvesting

Ultrasonic harvesting could reduce the energy consumption and costs associated with separating microalgae from growth media. The responsiveness of microalgae cells to an ultrasonic standing wave depends on the cell radius and acoustic contrast factor (ACF). The ACF can vary as cell composition (e.g. lipid, protein, carbohydrate content) varies depending on the algae strain, cultivation conditions, and growth stage. Two independent experimental methods were used to characterize the ACF of three algae ;strains—Nannochloropsis salina, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and Tetraselmis chuii—as a function of dynamic cellular composition over 9- to 14-day growth periods. For N. salina, lipid content increased from 25 ± 1% to 33 ± 1% ash-free dry weight (AFDW) and ACF decreased by 46% (from 0.041 ± 0.002 to 0.022 ± 0.002) between growth days 3 and 10. For C. reinhardtii, lipid content increased from 26 ± 1% to 40 ± 1% AFDW and ACF decreased by 33% (from 0.051 ± 0.013 to 0.034 ± 0.006) between growth days 3 and 9. For T. chuii, lipid content and ACF remained stable (~ 10% AFDW and ~ 0.3) over the growth period. ACF decreased as lipid content increased because lipids have a negative ACF in the growth media; however, cell size had a greater impact on cell responsiveness because the ratio of the acoustic radiation force to the drag force is proportional to cell radius squared.
Microwave Quantum Acoustic Processor

We propose an architecture for microwave quantum information processing based on high-Q microwave mechanical resonators coupled to a superconducting qubit. Detailed calculations of the error budget show that there is a trade-off between cross-talk and amplitude damping that leads to an optimal value of g on the order of 10 MHz. Obtaining such g’s in a nanomechanical systems requires a material with a large piezoelectric coefficient and hence we fabricate our resonators from thin-film lithium niobate (LN). We demonstrate a fabricated device integrating a superconducting qubit with LN nanomechanical resonators as a first step to microwave superconducting qubits.
Cambiarenes: Single-Step Synthesis and Selective Zwitterion Binding of a Clip-Shaped Macrocycle with a Redox-Active Core

A novel macrocyclic host molecule was synthesized that forms in a single step from commercially available starting materials. The core of the macrocycle backbone possesses two quinone rings and, thus, it is redox-active. Host-guest binding involving the clip-shaped cavity indicates selective binding of pyridine N-oxides based on the electron density of and steric bulk around the anionic oxygen.
Characterization of trace elements exposure in pregnant women in the United States, NHANES 1999-2016.

Abstract Objective The objective of the current study is to report on urine, blood and serum metal concentrations to characterize exposures to trace elements and micronutrient levels in both pregnant women and women of child-bearing age in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) years 1999–2016. Methods Urine and blood samples taken from NHANES participants were analyzed for thirteen urine metals, three blood metals, three serum metals, speciated mercury in blood and speciated arsenic in urine. Adjusted and unadjusted least squares geometric means and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for all participants among women aged 15–44 years. Changes in exposure levels over time were also examined. Serum cotinine levels were used to adjust for smoke exposure, as smoking is a source of metal exposure. Results Detection rates for four urine metals from the ATSDR Substance Priority List: arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium were ~83–99% for both pregnant and non-pregnant women of child bearing age. A majority of metal concentrations were higher in pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women. Pregnant women had higher mean urine total arsenic, urine mercury, and urine lead; however, blood lead and mercury were higher in non-pregnant women. Blood lead, cadmium, mercury, as well as urine antimony, cadmium and lead in women of childbearing age decreased over time, while urine cobalt increased over time. Conclusions Pregnant women in the US have been exposed to several trace metals, with observed concentrations for some trace elements decreasing since 1999.
Peeling in Biological and Bioinspired Adhesive Systems

Biological adhesives have inspired synthetically manufactured adhesives with novel properties. Peeling-mode failure is critical to understand these systems and achieve optimal performance. The most common models to describe peeling are briefly reviewed, followed by a literature review of all biological adhesive systems in which peeling plays a critical role, including bioinspired synthetic implementations. From this review, two systems emerge as predominantly studied in this context: gecko feet and spider silk adhesives, both of which are discussed in detail. Gecko feet represent a nanostructured adhesive that has been widely studied because of its unique reversible adhesion and self-cleaning properties. Fibrous and permanent spider silk glues used in spider webs and anchors are interesting given their capacity to withstand hurricane winds and catch and store prey.
HIV and opiates dysregulate K+- Cl− cotransporter 2 (KCC2) to cause GABAergic dysfunction in primary human neurons and Tat-transgenic mice

Abstract Approximately half of people infected with HIV (PWH) exhibit HIV-associated neuropathology (neuroHIV), even when receiving combined antiretroviral therapy. Opiate use is widespread in PWH and exacerbates neuroHIV. While neurons themselves are not infected, they incur sublethal damage and GABAergic disruption is selectively vulnerable to viral and inflammatory factors released by infected/affected glia. Here, we demonstrate diminished K+-Cl− cotransporter 2 (KCC2) levels in primary human neurons after exposure to HIV-1 or HIV-1 proteins ± morphine. Resulting disruption of GABAAR-mediated hyperpolarization/inhibition was shown using genetically-encoded voltage (Archon1) and calcium (GCaMP6f) indicators. The HIV proteins Tat (acting through NMDA receptors) and R5-gp120 (acting via CCR5) but not X4-tropic gp120 (acting via CXCR4), and morphine (acting through μ-opioid receptors) all induced KCC2 loss. We demonstrate that modifying KCC2 levels or function, or antagonizing NMDAR, CCR5 or MOR rescues KCC2 and GABAAR-mediated hyperpolarization/inhibition in HIV, Tat, or gp120 ± morphine-exposed neurons. Using an inducible, Tat-transgenic mouse neuroHIV model, we found that chronic exposure to Tat also reduces KCC2. Our results identify KCC2 as a novel therapeutic target for ameliorating the pathobiology of neuroHIV, including PWH exposed to opiates.
Mothers’ Sophisticated Vocabulary Input and Children’s Story Comprehension

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine mothers’ sophisticated vocabulary while reminiscing with their preschool-aged children, and its relation to children’s story comprehensio...
Wearable Subtitles: Augmenting Spoken Communication with Lightweight Eyewear for All-day Captioning

Mobile solutions can help transform speech and sound into visual representations for people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH). However, where handheld phones present challenges, head-worn displays (HWDs) could further communication through privately transcribed text, hands-free use, improved mobility, and socially acceptable interactions. Wearable Subtitles is a lightweight 3D-printed proof-of-concept HWD that explores augmenting communication through sound transcription for a full workday. Using a low-power microcontroller architecture, we enable up to 15 hours of continuous use. We describe a large survey (n=501) and three user studies with 24 deaf/hard-of-hearing participants which inform our development and help us refine our prototypes. Our studies and prior research identify critical challenges for the adoption of HWDs which we address through extended battery life, lightweight and balanced mechanical design (54 g), fitting options, and form factors that are compatible with current social norms.
A Practical Screening Tool to Predict Early Childhood Obesity Risk: Examining a Birth Cohort.

Children obese at the age of 5 years are at greater risk of lifelong obesity. Because certain risks of obesity can be identified in early infancy, a tool for obesity risk prediction in early life w...
Salinity and inundation effects on productivity of brackish tidal marsh plants in the San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary

Plant productivity is central to numerous ecosystem functions in tidal wetlands. We examined how productivity of brackish marsh plants in northern California responded to abiotic stress gradients of inundation and salinity using two experimental approaches. In a greenhouse study with varying salinity, shoot production and biomass of Juncus balticus, Schoenoplectus acutus and S. americanus all declined monotonically with higher salinity, with evidence of differences in sensitivity among species by their varied functional responses. Salinity also negatively affected fecundity for the one species (S. americanus) that produced enough inflorescences during the experiment for analysis. In a field manipulation of inundation and initial pore water salinity, total end-of-season biomass and other metrics of growth in the high marsh species, J. balticus, had unimodal relationships with inundation. Root production tended to be greater strongly impacted by greater inundation than shoot production. The salinity treatment quickly dissipated for treatments that were flooded more frequently but persisted at a higher marsh elevation where it suppressed plant growth. These results suggest that both increased flooding and salinity associated with climate change and sea-level rise may negatively impact productivity of brackish marsh species, but with variable effects by species and stressor.
Caste-ing Space: Mapping the Dynamics of Untouchability in Rural Bihar, India

B. R. Ambedkar, the scholar, activist, and chief architect of the Indian constitution, in his early twentieth century works, referred to the untouchable quarters in India as ghettos. He recognized that untouchability was manifested through combining social separation with spatial segregation. Ambedkar’s theorization of untouchability can be applied along with feminist and Dalit scholars’ theories of the relationship between dynamic spatial experiences and the reworking of caste hierarchies to understand how securing control over productive assets, such as land, has altered social and spatial segregation in rural Bihar. Combined with narratives of the past and present, maps drawn by Bhuiyan Dalit women depicting the physical spaces they occupy in their village (i.e. housing, community center), the locations of sources of water and electricity, and the quality of the resources to which they have access demonstrate that gaining control over land following the Bodhgaya Land Movement (BGLM) of the late 1970s helped end the most overt and readily discernible forms of caste-based discrimination. Nevertheless, resource discrimination and spatial and social segregation continue, albeit more covertly. The logic of untouchability still undergirds social interactions in rural Bihar, preventing Dalits from fully realizing their rights as guaranteed by law.
Exotic and Trendy Cuisine

Many foods, such as seafood or dairy products, are preferentially eaten raw or unpasteurized in their most fresh and tasty form. This maximizes their potential to act as vectors for bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Some of these pathogens are well known to clinicians; others cause rare zoonoses that do not normally infect humans and may escape early recognition, and some may in fact cause newly emerging diseases. Alas, even cooked food can transmit prions, leading to diseases such as kuru, but since the ingestion of human brains is now rare, in this chapter the author focuses on more likely or exotic diseases. The capture or slaughter of some animals for food can also be risky. The recent pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by a coronavirus is illustrative. Wild game meat is now the most common source of infection, with transmission from bears, cougars, and boars being well documented. In individuals with AIDS, the most common manifestation of toxoplasmosis is recrudescent disease of the brain from old, formerly silent cysts. Central nervous system (CNS) toxoplasmosis is the most common CNS opportunistic infection in AIDS patients in the developed world. There is evidence that treatment of pregnant women with acute toxoplasmosis leads to reduced risk of disease in the fetus.
Editing a Photographically Reproduced Mathematics Journal

This paper describes four years of experience of editing Communications in Algebra, a mathematics journal photographically reproduced directly from the author’s manuscript, published by Marcel Dekker, Incorporated of New York starting January 1974. Some of the good experiences have been comparatively rapid publication after acceptance of paper by the referee, cheapter cost of production, no mistakes due to typesetter, no corrections of galley proofs and no difficulties with papers in foreign languages and even foreign alphabets (e.g. Cyrillic). The bad experiences include the difficulties encountered by some authors in preparation of manuscripts for direct reproduction and the related poor physical appearance of the published article. For the most part, there has been a steady flow of good quality papers with an international representation. It is felt that Communications in Algebra is able to effectively compete with other algebra and mathematics journals of a comparable quality which are published by traditional typesetting methods.
Arginine Decarboxylase from Escherichia coli II. DISSOCIATION AND REASSOCIATION OF SUBUNITS

Abstract The inducible arginine decarboxylase of Escherichia coli B has a sedimentation coefficient, s°20, ω of 23.3 S and a molecular weight of 850,000. It dissociates to five subunits of identical size which have a sedimentation coefficient of 8.0 S and a molecular weight of 165,000. Dissociation occurs when the buffer cations are monovalent, the pH is greater than 6.5, and the concentration of monovalent cations is less than 0.05 m. It proceeds more rapidly at elevated temperatures and low protein concentrations. The characteristics of this dissociation suggest that it is caused by the creation of a new electrostatic repulsion, possibly by ionization of the carboxyl groups of glutamic or aspartic acid. The dissociated species can be reassociated fully with an activity loss of less than 10% by dialysis against a buffer containing divalent cations or a high concentration of monovalent cations at a pH less than 6. If the dissociated species is exposed to an inhibitory substrate analogue such as α-chloroδ-guanidovaleric acid, as many as five species can be observed in the ultracentrifuge. Two of these correspond to the 8 S and 23 S species; the other three have sedimentation coefficients of approximately 12.1 S, 16.4 S, and 19.5 S. The five sedimentation coefficients are consistent with a molecular weight ratio of 5:4:3:2:1, providing excellent support for the conclusion that the 23 S species is composed of five 8 S subunits. Preliminary experiments indicate that the 8 S subunit is itself a dimer; this is consistent with the observation of 10 pyridoxal-P binding sites per (associated) molecule. Measurements of decarboxylase activity indicate that the 23 S species is almost certainly active, whereas the 8 S species is either less active or inactive.
Protein labeling with fluorescent probes.

Publisher Summary This chapter presents an overview of the field of fluorochrome bioconjugation, including a discussion of the basis of the procedures, optimization of the conjugation, and fluorochrome specific topics. The conjugation of fluorochromes to antibody molecules is emphasized, but the same principles can be applied to other large proteins. The ability to label proteins or antibodies with fluorochrome dyes empowers the researcher with the tools to investigate a myriad of biological questions. Foremost is the ability to couple antibodies with organic dyes and phycobiliproteins for use in flow cytometry and imaging. A reflection of the usefulness of these reagents is the growth of commercially available fluorescent-labeled antibodies in more recent years. However, as new monoclonal antibodies are made or new dyes discovered, it is important to understand the relatively simple chemistries involved in fluorescent conjugation. The most important fact to remember is that optimal conjugation may require slight modification of conditions for each protein labeled.
New paleomagnetic age constraints on the Decaturville impact structure and Weaubleau structure along the 38th parallel in Missouri (North America)

[1] Eight circular structures along the 38th parallel in the mid-continent United States are hypothesized to have formed from multiple impacts. Only two of these structures have been confirmed as impact features and they are not well dated. In this study we use paleomagnetic data to constrain the timing of the poorly dated Decaturville impact structure (Missouri) and the Weaubleau feature (Missouri), interpreted to be an impact structure, to evaluate the possibility of a serial impact event. A post depositional, mid Permian pole derived from impact-related breccias at Decaturville, as well as crosscutting relationships, show a Pennsylvanian-mid Permian age for the structure. A post-tilting Late Mississippian pole from deformed strata at Weaubleau indicates that the deformation event can be no younger than Late Mississippian. Our results demonstrate that the Decaturville and Weaubleau structures are of different ages and could not have been caused by a serial impact event.
No significant difference in antigenicity or tissue transglutaminase substrate specificity of Irish and US wheat gliadins.

The prevalence of clinical celiac disease has been shown to vary both across time and between genetically similar populations. Differences in wheat antigenicity and transglutaminase substrate properties are a possible explanation for these differences. This study assessed the antigenicity and transglutaminase substrate specificities of gliadins from regions of high and low celiac disease prevalence. Gliadin was extracted from three commercial US wheat sources and two Irish sources. SDS-PAGE and western blotting revealed minor, but significant variations in the gliadin extracts. However, ELISA showed no difference in the antigenicity of these gliadins. Transglutaminase pretreatment of gliadin resulted in no significant change in gliadin antigenicity and kinetic studies showed that the K ms of the various gliadins were very similar. Purified IgA and IgG had no effect on transglutaminase activity. In summary, minor variations in wheat gliadins are unlikely to explain the observed differences in disease expression across genetically similar populations.
Mechanism of failed labor after fetal death and its treatment with prostaglandin E2

Abstract Pregnancy was terminated with prostaglandin E 2 in 65 women harboring a dead fetus for 3 days to 8 weeks. The study was designed to: (1) elucidate the mechanism of failed onset of labor in the presence of fetal death, (2) determine appropriate dose-response relationships, and (3) evaluate safety and efficacy of this new method of intervention. Results indicate that plasma progesterone levels from 12 to 40 weeks' gestation are in the lower normal statistical range as compared to those seen in pregnancy with a living fetus. Uterine size as estimated from fetal birth weight is also in the low normal range compared to that seen in a viable pregnancy. Hence the uterine volume-progesterone ratio is equal to or greater than that in normal pregnancy and thereby partially explanatory for the failed initiation of labor. The dosage required to produce delivery declined in each month's grouping from a mean of 56 ± 26 (SD) mg at 12 to 15 weeks to 22 ±8.4 mg at 38 to 40 weeks. Dose-delivery response did not correlate with age, parity, or progesterone levels but did correlate with oxytocin response. Three unusual and serious complications occurred.
The advantages of machine-dependent global optimization

Using an intermediate language is a well-known, effective technique for constructing interpreters and compilers. This paper describes a retargetable, optimizing compilation system centered around the use of two intermediate languages (IL): one relatively high level, the other a low level corresponding to target machine instructions. The high-level IL (HIL) models a stack-based, hypothetical RISC machine. The low-level IL (LIL) models target machines at the instruction-set architecture level. All code improvements are applied to the LIL representation of a program. This is motivated by the observation that most optimizations are machine dependent, and the few that are truly machine independent interact with the machine-dependent ones. This paper describes several ‘machine-independent’ code improvements and shows that they are actually machine dependent. To illustrate how code improvements can be applied to a LIL, an algorithm for induction variable elimination is presented. It is demonstrated that this algorithm yields better code than traditional implementations that are applied machine-independently to a high-level representation.