cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Event-driven network programming

Software-defined networking (SDN) programs must simultaneously describe static forwarding behavior and dynamic updates in response to events. Event-driven updates are critical to get right, but difficult to implement correctly due to the high degree of concurrency in networks. Existing SDN platforms offer weak guarantees that can break application invariants, leading to problems such as dropped packets, degraded performance, security violations, etc. This paper introduces EVENT-DRIVEN CONSISTENT UPDATES that are guaranteed to preserve well-defined behaviors when transitioning between configurations in response to events. We propose NETWORK EVENT STRUCTURES (NESs) to model constraints on updates, such as which events can be enabled simultaneously and causal dependencies between events. We define an extension of the NetKAT language with mutable state, give semantics to stateful programs using NESs, and discuss provably-correct strategies for implementing NESs in SDNs. Finally, we evaluate our approach empirically, demonstrating that it gives well-defined consistency guarantees while avoiding expensive synchronization and packet buffering.
Assessment of electrical resistivity method to map groundwater seepage zones in heterogeneous sediments

Underwater electrical-resistivity data were collected along the southwest shore of Mirror Lake, NH, as part of a multi-year assessment of the utility of geophysics for mapping groundwater seepage beneath lakes. We found that resistivity could locate shoreline sections where water is seeping out of the lake. A resistivity line along the lake bottom starting 27-m off shore and continuing 27-m on shore (1-m electrode spacing) showed the water table dipping away from the lake, the gradient indicative of lake discharge in this area.
Lymph-node infarction in two young men.

Two cases of massive lymph-node infarction in young men are described. Both patients had fever and lymphadenopathy and findings that suggested the possibility of viral infection. Follow up has revealed both patients to be asymptomatic, without lymphadenopathy, and with normal laboratory findings.
Survey on Intestinal Parasitic Infection in Kaiping City

Objective To survey the intestinal parasitic infection status in Kaiping city. Method Faces were examined for the eggs of the intestinal par asites, and the T. trichuria-ovum was examined by anus-scaped. Results 5species of intestinal parasites were found. 170 out of 1 516 individuals were infected, with a rate of 11.21%. The infection rates of A.lumbricoides, hookworm, E.vermi cularis, T.trichuria and Clonorchis sinensis were 4.68%, 0.59%, 0.59%, 25.49% an d 4.42% respectively. Conclusion The intestinal nematode infection rate had dr opped, and the Clonorchis sinensis infection rate was significantly increased.
A Preliminary Study of Microbial Diversity of the Top Sediment from the MD06-3047

Total DNA was extracted from the top sediment layer(0-10 cm) of MD06-3047 in the Kuroshio and was used as template for polymerase chain reaction(PCR) amplification employing specific primers for bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA genes.The 16S rDNA libraries were then constructed.Microbial diversity was analyzed by using restriction fragment length polymorphism(RFLP),DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis.The results show that there are six phyla in the Bacteria domain: Proteobacteria,Acidbacterium,Planctanycenea,Verrucomicrobia,Candidate division OP8 and Bacteroidetes,and the phylum Proteobacteria is predominant.In the Archaea domain,Crenarchaeota dominates over Euryarchaeota.There are four divisions in the Crenarchaeota kingdom: MCG,C3,Marine Benthic Group A,Marine Group;three divisions in Euryarchaeota kingdom: South Africa Golden mine Euryarchaeota Group、Marine Benthic Group E and MEG,and the Marine Benthic Group E is the dominating group.
The North Korean Military in the Kim Jong-un Era

This chapter will address the challenges that the North Korean military have faced since Kim Jong-un has taken over as the leader of North Korea. The evidence confirms that Kim Jong-un has struggled to gain total control — and loyalty over the military. North Korea has continued to advance its weaponry and capabilities since Kim Jong-un took over as the leader of the country. The difference in the Kim Jong-un regime is the fact that, unlike his grandfather and his father, he does not appear to have a strong grip on the military. In following a script already laid out for him by his father, Kim Jong-un will continue to maintain and upgrade the conventional military forces, the asymmetric forces, and the nuclear capabilities of his country.
Diagnosis and the Towers of Babel: A Parable

(1989). Diagnosis and the Towers of Babel: A Parable. Hospital Practice: Vol. 24, No. 10, pp. 27-35.
Subnational Authoritarianism in the United States

On the fundamental issue, only the Federal Government was to be feared. V. O. Key THE UNITED STATES AS A COMPARATIVE CASE In the years following the Civil War of 1861–65, the United States experienced a “transition to democracy.” Sweeping national legislation granted full citizenship to four million people and enfranchised more than a million. However, this was not a transition to democracy in the sense used traditionally by democratization scholars. The national government had been democratic for more than 80 years, and most men living in the country already enjoyed these rights. What the United States experienced during that period was the most extensive case of territorial democratization in history. Clusters of voting and civil rights long available to inhabitants of other jurisdictions of the country were extended to inhabitants of a group of states that held more than one-third of the national population. Most of these had been slaveholding states before the Civil War and had formed part of the short-lived secessionist experiment known as the Confederate States of America (Figure 3.1). As a result, competitive state-party systems, linked to a national competitive party system, emerged throughout the region.
Efficient system modeling of a high-resolution zoom-in PET scanner

We have proposed a “zoom-in” PET system that integrates a higher-resolution detector capable of measuring depth of interaction (DOI) into an existing scanner to obtain highresolution images of a targeted region with high-sensitivity. The system acquires coincidence events between the high-resolution detector and low-resolution detectors, as well as those between the low-resolution detectors. Because of the irregular system geometry and the use of a DOI detector, the system matrix of the zoom-in PET system requires far greater storage space than that of a conventional PET scanner, which also results in long computational time for image reconstruction. To address this issue, here we propose a system matrix factorization for the zoom-in PET to reduce the storage and computational cost while maintaining the accuracy in image reconstruction. The proposed factored system matrix consists of two major components: a detector response (or sinogram blurring) matrix and a geometrical projection matrix. We present a novel method to design the geometrical component and an iterative algorithm to estimate the detector response matrix. A 2D simulation study showed that the proposed method can reduce the storage space and reconstruction time by a factor of 5 without noticeable sacrifice in image quality.
Morocco: Modelling Stability in Turbulent Waters

Morocco and Egypt both experienced similar socioeconomic challenges in the last decade, but the Moroccan monarchy has been able to address those challenges without prompting civil conflict or anti-government rebellions. This presents an interpretive problem for the political science literature that views socioeconomic trends as being primary indicators of political instability. This case study proposes a more nuanced, multidisciplinary approach to the analysis of Morocco’s political culture by mapping findings in historical and anthropological research on to a political process framework in order to explain the Moroccan regime’s stability in terms of its religious legitimacy. It concludes with an assessment of how this knowledge can be used by countries outside the Middle East North Africa region (MENA) to better partner with MENA countries in developing stable political cultures.
Promoting the Inclusion of Lung Volumes in the Reversibility Evaluation-Reply.

In reply: We greatly appreciate the thoughts Dr Ben Saad has shared with us about hyperinflation and our research. We think his research on lung volume reversibility[1][1] complements ours.[2][2] The question of whether residual volume change was more sensitive than FEV1 or FVC change is a
Saving Media or Trading on Trust

Extending research from Wojdynski and Evans, this experimental study replicates the challenges of effectively disclosing native advertising to readers and demonstrates a promising inoculation method that increases likelihood of recognition. Moreover, this quantitative research indicates that both legacy and online news publishers were evaluated less favorably for displaying native advertising. Attitudes toward the publisher and perceptions of its credibility declined for both, although online publishers suffered greater attitudinal damage than did legacy publishers who may benefit from their established reputation.
Multi-scale shape memory effect recovery in NiTi alloys additive manufactured by selective laser melting and laser directed energy deposition

Abstract NiTi shape memory alloys (SMAs) are fabricated using powder bed fusion via selective laser melting (SLM) and laser-based directed energy deposition (LDED) additive manufacturing (AM) techniques in order to characterize the microstructure and compressive shape memory effect (SME) recovery of as-built alloys. Composition and grain structure vary spatially for LDED alloys relative to SLM. Columnar grains oriented in the build height direction and spanning multiple layers exist in SLM alloys. LDED produces equiaxed grains with dimensions that correlate with the layer thickness. LDED and SLM alloys are martensitic at room temperature with complete phase transformation between room temperature up to 110 °C. In spite of the contrasting microstructures, the elastic moduli, critical stresses, and yield stresses are equivalent. Consequences of the contrasting microstructures become evident by the differential SME responses. In excess of the critical stress, LDED NiTi alloy responses exhibit a hardening like response compared to a plateau for SLM. SME recovery for LDED alloys ensued immediately upon heating whereas a finite thermal input was required to initiate recovery for SLM alloys. The contrasts indicate the residual martensite was relatively unstable in the LDED alloy microstructure. For multiple stress-strain-temperature cycles, the critical stress and elastic moduli decrease until the values become stable. Underlying martensitic phase transformation morphologies, visualized from full-field strain measurements, evolve uniformly for the homogeneous SLM alloy microstructure and localized strain concentrations evolve for LDED. The deformation analysis confirmed complete SME recovery of approximately −2.0% macro-scale and −4.0% micro-scale/concentrated strains.
Electron Microprobe Chemical Dating of Uraninite as a Reconnaissance Tool for Leucogranite Geochronology

We suggest that electron microprobe techniques may be employed to date Tertiary samples of uraninite (UO~2~), which can contain very high concentrations of radiogenic Pb after only a few million of years of U and Th decay. Although uraninite is regarded as a rare accessory mineral, it is relatively abundant in leucogranitic rocks such as those found in the Himalayan orogen. We apply the U-Th-total Pb electron microprobe chemical dating method to a uraninite crystal from a ca. 18.3 Ma dike of the Mugu granite from the Upper Mustang region of central Nepal. With this technique, we calculate a mean chemical date that is consistent with isotope-dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) U-Pb dates obtained from seven other uraninite grains and a monazite crystal from the same sample. Electron microprobe chemical dating yields results that typically will be an order of magnitude less precise than conventional dates: in the specific case of the Mugu granite, single point chemical dates each have ca. 1.5 Ma 2[sigma] (95%) confidence level uncertainties. However, the mean chemical date of 15 point analyses of the crystal we study has a 2SE (2 standard error) uncertainty of ca. 400 ka, comparable to uncertainties obtained with ID-TIMS. These results show that electron microprobe chemical dating of uraninite has substantial promise as a reconnaissance tool for the geochronology of young granitic rocks. The electron microprobe work also reveals substantial chemical complexity within uraninite that must be taken into account. The analyzed crystal displays a texturally and chemically distinctive core and rim that suggests episodic growth. Concentration gradients in U, Th, and Y across the boundary imply diffusive modification. We estimate the diffusivity of U, Th, and Y in uraninite at ca. 700 °C to be > 10-7 cm2 s-1. In contrast, Pb shows no distinctive concentration gradient across the core-rim boundary, implying that Pb has a much higher diffusivity in uraninite than U, Th, or Y. We estimate that Pb loss of as much as ca. 8.9% has occurred in the uraninite grains we analyzed by ID-TIMS.
Married with Children : The Family Status of Female Agricultural Labourers at Two Southwestern Farms in the 1830s and 1840s

While female factory workers and agricultural servants were primarily young and single, female agricultural labourers were more likely to be middle-aged, married mothers. This paper examines the female labourers at two south-western farms and finds that middle-aged married women account for the majority of days worked. Widows and mothers of illegitimate children account for only a small fraction of the workforce. While evidence from the Bragg farm suggests that some mothers worked when their children were still infants, evidence from the Estcourt farm suggests that women reduced their labourforce participation when their children were young. Child care was available for mothers who worked outside the home, but it was expensive.
Contextualizing the Drink-Spiking Narrative That “Everyone Knows”:

Accounts of drink tampering and subsequent sexual assault are commonly shared among students on college campuses, with more than a third of college students in one study claiming to know someone wh...
Transgenerational CRISPR-Cas9 Activity Facilitates Multiplex Gene Editing in Allopolyploid Wheat

Abstract The CRISPR-Cas9-based multiplexed gene editing (MGE) provides a powerful method to modify multiple genomic regions simultaneously controlling different agronomic traits in crops. We applied the MGE construct built by combining the tandemly arrayed tRNA–gRNA units to generate heritable mutations in the TaGW2, TaLpx-1, and TaMLO genes of hexaploid wheat. The knockout mutations generated by this construct in all three homoeologous copies of one of the target genes, TaGW2, resulted in a substantial increase in seed size and thousand grain weight. We showed that the non-modified gRNA targets in the early generation plants can be edited by CRISPR-Cas9 in the following generations. Our results demonstrate that transgenerational gene editing activity can serve as the source of novel variation in the progeny of CRISPR-Cas9-expressing plants and suggest that the Cas9-inducible trait transfer for crop improvement can be achieved by crossing the plants expressing the gene editing constructs with the lines of...
Critical Legal Studies and the Rule of Law

This brief essay, to appear in the Cambridge Companion to the Rule of Law (Marti Loughlin & Jens Meierhenrich eds.), describes what critical legal scholars said – or perhaps more accurately – would have said – about the concept of the rule of law. Describing critical legal studies as a project in American legal thought rather than analytical jurisprudence, it argues that “the rule of law” is an ideological project, and can come in various versions – liberal, social democratic, and more. It addresses Morton Horwitz’s critique of E.P. Thompson’s assertion that the rule of law is an unqualified human good, and situates the CLS critique of the rule of law within more general discussion of the rule of law by Hayek and Fuller. It concludes by applying ideology-critique to the rule of law, arguing that in whatever form it takes the rule of law contributes to a culture of justification, which may indeed be an unqualified human good.
Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury.

Trauma to the spinal cord can have devastating functional consequences, and treatments are limited once the injury is fully established. Therefore, any patient with possible acute neck trauma should have the neck immobilized in the field until the injury can be excluded by appropriate imaging. Once in the Emergency Department, a focused but detailed examination and CT scanning of the spine can reliably determine if spinal cord injury has occurred, though its severity may be confounded by the initial spinal shock. Severe spinal cord injury is often associated with circulatory shock (neurogenic or hypovolemic), and this must be immediately corrected to prevent secondary injury from spinal cord hypoperfusion. When indicated, definite surgical stabilization should be pursued within the first 1–2 days. Prognosis should be approached cautiously during the early phase. This chapter will provide a practical overview of the acute evaluation and medical management of traumatic spinal cord injury.
The Structure of Groups

We continue our study of groups according to the plan outlined in the introduction of Chapter I. The chief emphasis will be on obtaining structure theorems of some depth for certain classes of abelian groups and for various classes of (possibly non-abelian) groups that share some desirable properties with abelian groups. The chapter has three main divisions which are essentially independent of one another, except that results from one may be used as examples or motivation in the others. The interdependence of the sections is as follows.
Deduced Amino Acid Sequence and Potential O-Glycosylation Sites for the Bovine Coronavirus Matrix Protein

The nucleotide sequence of the matrix (M) protein gene of the bovine coronavirus (BCV) was determined by sequencing cDNA clones derived from genomic RNA. The gene was found to map at the 5′ side of the nucleocapsid protein gene and its sequence predicts a protein of 230 amino acids having a molecular weight of 26,376. The BCV M protein shares extensive sequence homology with the matrix protein of the mouse hepatitis coronavirus (MHV) but differs notably in the amino terminal region external to the virion envelope where BCV apparently uses at least two of its six potential O-glycosylation sites.
Infralimbic prefrontal cortex structural and functional connectivity with the limbic forebrain: a combined viral genetic and optogenetic analysis.

The medial prefrontal cortex is critical for contextual appraisal, executive function, and goal-directed behavior. Additionally, the infralimbic (IL) subregion of the prefrontal cortex has been implicated in stress responding, mood, and fear memory. However, the specific circuit mechanisms that mediate these effects are largely unknown. To date, IL output to the limbic forebrain has been examined largely qualitatively or within a restricted number of sites. To quantify IL presynaptic input to structures throughout the forebrain, we utilized a lentiviral construct expressing synaptophysin-mCherry. Thus, allowing quantification of IL efferents that are specifically synaptic, as opposed to fibers of passage. Additionally, this approach permitted the determination of IL innervation on a sub-structural level within the multiple heterogeneous limbic nuclei. To examine the functional output of the IL, optogenetic activation of IL projections was followed by quantification of neuronal activation throughout the limbic forebrain via fos-related antigen (Fra). Quantification of synaptophysin-mCherry indicated that the IL provides robust synaptic input to a number of regions within the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, with limited input to the hippocampus and nucleus accumbens. Furthermore, there was high concordance between structural connectivity and functional activation. Interestingly, some regions receiving substantial synaptic input did not exhibit significant increases in Fra-immunoreactivity. Collectively, these studies represent a step toward a comprehensive and quantitative analysis of output circuits. This large-scale efferent quantification or ‘projectome’ also opens the door for data-driven analyses of the downstream synaptic mechanisms that mediate the integrative aspects of cortico–limbic interactions.
A supported dendrimer with terminal symmetric primary amine sites for adsorption of salicylic acid

Abstract The aim of this work is to evaluate the uptake of salicylic acid (SA), an emerging pollutant, using a nano-polar dendrimer containing highly branched terminal symmetric amine groups immobilized on mixed-oxide nanoparticles of SiO2-Al2O3. Several variables, including the effect of initial SA concentration, contact time, temperature, initial pH, adsorbent dosage, interfering ions, and the hydrophobicity of the adsorbent (SANP-G1.0) were studied. Because of the electrostatic and hydrogen bonding interactions between SA and the amine functional sites of the nano-polar dendrimer, the adsorbent featured a remarkable SA uptake capacity of over 254.5 mg/g after 5 min contact time. The solution pH had a considerable impact on SA uptake by SANP-G1.0, with optimal uptake occurring around pH 2–5. Kinetic and isotherm studies confirmed that SA removal could be fit with the Sips and pseudo-second-order kinetic models, respectively, implying that a chemical process dominates SA uptake by the SANP-G1.0. The uptake of SA decreased at elevated temperature, demonstrating that this is a chemically and naturally exothermic process between 15 and 80 °C. The uptake efficiency of the reused nanodendrimer was 54% after the tenth adsorption-desorption cycle. Moreover, the SANP-G1.0 showed a high capacity for adsorbing SA from Cayuga Lake water. We studied the possible mechanism of SA uptake, including the effect of interfering ions, using zeta potential, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and the hydrophobicity of the nanodendrimer. The prepared supported dendrimer, featuring high chemical and mechanical stability, demonstrates good reusability for SA adsorption from aqueous media. An artificial neural network (ANN) model was also designed to simulate SA uptake by SANP-G1.0. The results revealed an excellent fit between the ANN-modeled and experimental data, with a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.9841.
The effects of clavulanic acid and amoxicillin on cue-primed reinstatement of cocaine seeking.

Research using the cocaine self-administration and reinstatement animal model of relapse finds that the beta-lactam antibiotic, ceftriaxone, attenuates cocaine-primed reinstatement of cocaine seeking and upregulates two proteins that regulate glutamate release and reuptake (xCT and GLT-1, respectively) in the nucleus accumbens core (NAc). We tested three compounds with beta-lactam rings for their ability to attenuate cue-primed reinstatement and increase GLT-1 and xCT expression in the NAc and prefrontal cortex (PFC). Rats self-administered intravenous cocaine for 1 hr/day for 7 days then 6 hrs/day for 10 days. Cue-primed reinstatement tests began after 8-9 days of extinction training. Rats received oral vehicle, clavulanic acid (CA), amoxicillin (AMX), or CA + AMX (Augmentin; AUG) for 5 days prior to testing. Only AMX-treated rats demonstrated a reduction of cocaine-seeking that trended toward significance, warranting future investigation of a wider range of doses. In the NAc, GLT-1a expression was reduced in vehicle-treated rats relative to cocaine-naive controls and was not restored by AMX or AUG. CA-treated rats reinstated more than vehicle-treated rats and exhibited GLT-1a and xCT expression intermediate between cocaine-naive controls and vehicle-treated cocaine rats. In agreement with our previous work, cocaine did not decrease PFC GLT-1a expression. Cocaine reduced xCT expression in the PFC that was unchanged by any of the three compounds. These results indicate that AMX may be another beta-lactam that attenuates cocaine relapse. Furthermore, the upregulation of both GLT-1 and xCT in the NAc may be needed to attenuate cocaine seeking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Subnational estimates of health in low- and middle-income countries: a geospatial approach with interpolation and raster analysis

Abstract. Program and policy planners are eager for population health data at subnational levels in the era of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) is a major source of data for tracking population health in low- and middle-income countries, with over 300 surveys in 90 countries since the 1980s. The DHS is usually nationally representative and commonly sampled to be representative at one administrative level below the national level, often the region. However, regional estimates are still too broad and general to meet the needs of decision-makers, who desire to make data-driven decisions at more local levels. In addition to data on health the DHS collects and publishes the coordinates of all sampled clusters. This analysis proposes and demonstrates a spatial approach to generating subnational estimates of health using the publicly available spatial data. By pairing kriging for interpolation with raster analysis for weighting by population size and aggregation, estimates of antenatal care coverage are generated at the district level in Malawi, using data from the 2015–16 DHS. Preliminary results show that estimates generated with this geospatial approach are well-aligned with estimates published by the DHS. The resulting maps with a continuous surface of estimates is also able to demonstrate subnational heterogeneity in health status in a way standard choropleth maps are unable. While the approach requires refinement and further validation, it is a creative way to use spatial analysis tools to address the demand for health indicators at local levels.
A spatial–spectral semisupervised deep learning framework using siamese networks and angular loss

Abstract Deep learning has gained popularity in recent times in the field of feature-extraction, object-identification, object-tracking, change-detection, image-classification, spatio-temporal-data analysis, and hyperspectral imaging. Most of the supervised tasks using deep learning require a large number of labeled samples, barring which the model tends to overfit and do not generalize well to the test data. Semi-supervised learning is very beneficial for hyperspectral images which contain abundant unlabeled data samples in comparison to labeled data. Furthermore, it is known that for datasets in which samples are related to each other in all three dimensions such as videos, three-dimensional biological images and hyperspectral images, the use of spatial–spectral/spatial–temporal based deep learning strategies, which can exploit the relationship between pixels in all three-dimensions, has also seen a rise in the past few years. Moreover, to date, deep feature extraction and classification has been done using euclidean distance based metrics. Foray into the field of angular feature extraction and classification, which is known to work better when samples are impacted by resolution or illumination differences, has not yet been made. We propose a novel spatial–spectral semisupervised deep learning approach based on angular distances by projecting the deep features onto the surface of an l 2 -normalized unit hypersphere.
Trait Mindfulness and Relationship Satisfaction: The Role of Forgiveness Among Couples.

This study sought to understand the link between trait mindfulness, forgiveness, and relationship satisfaction. Previous research established a significant positive relationship between mindfulness and relationship satisfaction, but forgiveness had not been studied in relation to these variables. Two hundred and nineteen couples in committed romantic relationships were included in the sample and completed self-report measures on trait mindfulness, forgiveness, and relationship satisfaction. Upon conducting an actor-partner interdependence model mediation (APIMeM; Zeitschrift fur Sozialpsychologie, 2006, 37, 27-40) analysis for dyadic data, results indicated significant positive associations for both inter and intrapersonal effects for both men and women. Findings indicated forgiveness is linked to both individual and partner mindfulness and relationship satisfaction, such that a person's ability to be mindful can impact the ability to forgive and therefore increase relationship satisfaction.
A Meta-analysis of the known Global Distribution and Host Range of the Ralstonia Species Complex

The Ralstonia species complex is a genetically diverse group of plant wilt pathogens. Ralstonia strains are classified by a "phylotype-sequevar" phylogenetic system. Since the development of the phylotype-sequevar system, over one hundred papers have described the genetic diversity of Ralstonia strains isolated from agriculturally important crops, ornamental plants, and plants in natural ecosystems. Our goal is to create a database that contains the reported global distribution and host range of Ralstonia sequevars. In this first release, we have catalogued information from 35 manuscripts that report one or more Ralstonia strain isolated from 50 geographic regions. The database is hosted as a GitHub repository (https://github.com/lowepowerlab/Ralstonia_Global_Diversity) that will be updated regularly.
The neuron navigator 2 gene and Alzheimer's disease

Abstract Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of dementia, is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. The genetic heritability of Alzheimer's disease ranges from 49% to 79% based on reviews of twin and family studies. Several genes/loci have been suggested to be associated with Alzheimer's disease, among which we are interested in the neuron navigator 2 (NAV2) gene. In this review, we have summarized studies of NAV2 and the wealth of evidence demonstrating that NAV2 plays a role in cellular growth, migration, and nervous system development based on animal studies as well as genetic variants of NAV2 in human studies that showed significant association with Alzheimer's disease and age-related phenotypes (including our recent studies with three independent cohorts). Future functional, genomic, and epigenomic studies of these Alzheimer's disease–associated NAV2 variants could help us better understand the pathophysiology of the disease and its related phenotypes.
Universal transvaginal cervical length screening during pregnancy increases the diagnostic incidence of low-lying placenta and placenta previa.

Background Universal transvaginal cervical length screening has been increasingly implemented with both positive and negative consequences. Objective In this study, we described the diagnostic incidence of low-lying placenta and placenta previa with the implementation of universal transvaginal cervical length screening. Study Design This is a retrospective cohort study of women undergoing midtrimester universal transvaginal cervical length screening. The primary outcome was the rate of transvaginal diagnosis of low-lying placenta or placenta previa using midtrimester universal transvaginal cervical length screening. Results This study included 1982 midtrimester ultrasounds, of which 211 indicated a low-lying placenta or placenta previa on either transabdominal or transvaginal ultrasound. With transvaginal ultrasound, a low-lying placenta or placenta previa was diagnosed in 211 women (10.6% of the study population). Of the 211 patients with a low-lying placenta or placenta previa, 90 (42.6%) had a false-negative result, diagnosed using only transvaginal ultrasound; 112 (53.1%) had a true-positive result; and 9 (4.3%) had a false-positive result. The relative risk of having an abnormal finding on ultrasound with the addition of universal transvaginal cervical length screening was 9.2 (95% confidence interval, 4.6–18.1). Of the low-lying placenta or placenta previa diagnosed using midtrimester universal transvaginal cervical length screening, 98.9% resolved (95% confidence interval, 93.7–99.97). Conclusion Implementation of universal transvaginal cervical length screening increases the diagnostic incidence of low-lying placenta or placenta previa without an increase in the diagnoses that persist to term, which comes at the cost of increased follow-up ultrasounds and potentially increased anxiety for the patient.
Rapid and simple pressure-sensitive adhesive microdevice fabrication for sequence-specific capture and fluorescence detection of sepsis-related bacterial plasmid gene sequences.

Microbial resistance to currently available antibiotics poses a great threat in the global fight against infections. An important step in determining bacterial antibiotic resistance can be selective DNA sequence capture and fluorescence labeling. In this paper, we demonstrate the fabrication of simple, robust, inexpensive microfluidic devices for DNA capture and fluorescence detection of a model antibiotic resistance gene sequence. We laser micromachined polymethyl methacrylate microchannels and enclosed them using pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes. We then formed porous polymer monoliths with DNA capture probes in these microchannels and used them for sequence-specific capture, fluorescent labeling, and laser-induced fluorescence detection of picomolar (pM) concentrations of synthetic and plasmid antibiotic resistance gene targets. The relative fluorescence for the elution peaks increased with loaded target DNA concentration. We observed higher fluorescence signal and percent recovery for synthetic target DNA compared to plasmid DNA at the same loaded target concentration. A non-target gene was used for control experiments and produced < 3% capture relative to the same concentration of target. The full analysis process including device fabrication was completed in less than 90 min with a limit of detection of 30 pM. The simplicity of device fabrication and good DNA capture selectivity demonstrated herein have potential for application with processes for bacterial plasmid DNA extraction and single-particle counting to facilitate determination of antibiotic susceptibility.
Anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of the selective cannabinoid CB2 receptor agonist ABK5.

Abstract Cannabinoid receptors are a potential target for anti-inflammatory and pain therapeutics. There are two subtypes, CB1 and CB2, and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol activates both of them, providing an analgesic effect but also psychoactive side effects. The psychoactive side effects are considered to be caused by activation of CB1, but not CB2. ABK5 is a CB2 subtype selective agonist that has a very different structure from known cannabinoid receptor agonists. Here, we report anti-inflammatory effects of ABK5 using the T-cell line Jurkat cells, and antinociceptive effect in an inflammatory pain model in rats. Production of the cytokines IL-2 and TNF-α was measured in stimulated Jurkat cells and MOLT-4 cells, and CXCL12-mediated chemotaxis of Jurkat cells was evaluated by a transwell migration assay. Anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects of ABK5 were also evaluated in a hindpaw CFA model in rats. ABK5 significantly decreased production of IL-2 and TNF-α measured as both mRNA and protein levels, and reduced chemotaxis towards CXCL12. It also attenuated edema and increased mechanical threshold in the hindpaw of CFA-treated rats. These results suggest that ABK5 is a good lead compound for the development of potential anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents.
Gene Expression Profiling of Lymph Node Sub-Capsular Sinus Macrophages in Cancer

Lymph nodes are key lymphoid organs collecting lymph fluid and migratory cells from the tissue area they survey. When cancerous cells arise within a tissue, the sentinel lymph node is the first immunological organ to mount an immune response. Sub-capsular sinus macrophages (SSMs) are specialized macrophages residing in the lymph nodes that play important roles as gatekeepers against particulate antigenic material. In the context of cancer, SSMs capture tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (tEVs), a form of particulate antigen released in high amounts by tumor cells. We and others have recently demonstrated that SSMs possess anti-tumor activity because in their absence tumors progress faster. A comprehensive profiling of SSMs represents an important first step to identify the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for SSM anti-tumor activity. Unfortunately, the isolation of SSMs for molecular analyses is very challenging. Here, we combined an optimized dissociation protocol, careful marker selection and stringent gating strategies to highly purify SSMs. We provide evidence of decreased T and B cell contamination, which allowed us to reveal the gene expression profile of this elusive macrophage subset. Squamous cell carcinomas induced an increase in the expression of Fc receptors, lysosomal and proteasomal enzymes in SSMs. Imaging of mouse and patient lymph nodes confirmed the presence of the top differentially expressed genes. These results suggest that SSMs respond to tumor formation by upregulating the machinery necessary for presentation of tumor particulate antigens to B cells.
Advocacy and Accountability:: A Comparative Design Analysis of Supporting Documentation for the Chinese Anti-Domestic Violence Law

This paper performs a comparative design analysis of documentation related to the anti-domestic violence law in China as an apparent feminist project. Examining how the government-affiliated “All-China Women's Federation” (WF) designs content on the anti-DV law, from an audit of its web resource database to a WeChat article on battling domestic violence during COVID-19, I argue that WF's political and sociocultural positionality meant that it rhetorically transcoded the anti-DV law into a mixed genre of promotional, educational, and informative communication, resulting in a confusing information system and less usable documents. In contrast, the “anti-DV vaccine handbook” created by a grassroots group and a public service organization serves as a feminist intervention, offering detailed content on how to respond to domestic violence during the pandemic, with actionable instructions that empower and advocate victims/survivors and bystanders, while also keeping accountable relevant agencies in enforcing and supporting the anti-DV law implementation. From this analysis, I provide a few questions toward a heuristic that helps TPC researchers think about applying apparent feminist methodology in global contexts that take account of networked arguments as well as the tensions between feminism and neoliberal and nationalistic ideologies, paying attention to the different manifestations of power dynamics.
Cardiac Surgery and the Cardiac Cath Lab

There has been a long history of collaboration at Mayo Clinic between cardiac surgery and the cardiac catheterization laboratory. Before the availability of cardiopulmonary bypass, cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons investigated hemodynamics of congenital malformations managed surgically including coarctation of the aorta and patent ductus arteriosus. Cardiologists in the catheterization laboratory were critical to the development of open-heart surgery by providing detailed preoperative diagnostic studies. Less well understood are the important contributions of Dr. Earl Wood and his colleagues in the catheterization laboratory to intraoperative and postoperative care of cardiac surgical patients. Much of the development of physiologic monitoring used routinely in current practice can be traced to the innovations of these investigators. The rapid development of percutaneous approaches to many structural heart diseases coupled with the availability of modern noninvasive imaging has changed the relationship of surgeons with the catheterization laboratory, and this chapter gives one surgeon’s overview of this changing landscape.
Auctions as algorithms

Abstract Computerized auction systems are introduced as a new form of market institution, characterized by communications technologies for passing messages between traders and a set of programmed rules that restrict the message space and process messages into transactions prices and quantities. The stationary distributions of price quotations and transactions prices, given order arrival rates conditioned on information available through the limit order book, are derived for an automated continuous auction system with price and time priority rules. The key to the analysis is the application of the theory of queues with preemptive priorities to the problem of two interactive queues. The model then is used to characterize the structure of the electronic order book in terms of the distributions of the number of buy and sell orders in the system and the waiting time to trade execution. The theoretical development is applied to a comparison of automated continuous and periodic single-price auctions, with respect to price volatility, the magnitude of the bid-ask spread, and volume traded per unit of time.
Virtual scholarly collaboration: a case study

Scholarly collaboration can certainly offer the potential to increase the productivity of scholars but can carry with it burdens and challenges not experienced by those who choose to write and publish individually. As scholarship itself becomes more complex the benefits of collaboration are likely to become more significant. Information technology can be used to facilitate scholarly collaboration over a distance in ways that were not available to scholars of previous generations. This is a case study, reporting and reflecting upon the experiences of authors in using information technology to facilitate their collaborative efforts. Parallels between scholarly writing and software programming are suggested.
Risk factors for hyperopia and myopia in preschool children: The multi-ethnic pediatric eye disease and baltimore pediatric eye disease studies

Purpose To describe the risk factors associated with hyperopia and myopia among children 6 to 72 months of age. Design Population-based cross-sectional study. Participants Population-based samples of 9970 children 6 to 72 months of age from Los Angeles County, California, and Baltimore, Maryland. Methods Participants were preschool African-American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white children (n = 9770) from Los Angeles, California, and Baltimore, Maryland. Parental questionnaires and a comprehensive eye examination were administered. Demographic, behavioral, and clinical risk factors associated with hyperopia (≥2.00 diopters [D]) and myopia (≤−1.00 D) were determined. Main Outcome Measures Odds ratios (ORs) for risk factors associated with myopia and hyperopia. Results Compared with non-Hispanic whites, African-American (OR, 6.0) and Hispanic (OR, 3.2) children were more likely to be myopic. Children 6 to 35 months of age were more likely to be myopic compared with those 60 to 72 months of age (OR, ≥1.7). Compared with African-American children, non-Hispanic white (OR, 1.63) and Hispanic (OR, 1.49) children were more likely to be hyperopic. Children whose parents had health insurance (OR, 1.5) and those with a history of maternal smoking during pregnancy (OR, 1.4) were more likely to have hyperopia. Astigmatism of 1.5 D or more at any axis was associated with myopia (OR, 4.37) and hyperopia (OR, 1.43). Conclusions Children in specific racial or ethnic groups and age groups are at higher risk of having myopia and hyperopia. Cessation of maternal smoking during pregnancy may reduce the risk of hyperopia in these children. Given that both myopia and hyperopia are risk factors for the development of amblyopia and strabismus, these risk factors should be considered when developing guidelines for screening and intervention in preschool children. Financial Disclosure(s) The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
C/EBPBeta and Elk-1 synergistically transactivate the c-fos serum response element

The serum response element (SRE) in the c-fos promoter is a convergence point for several signaling pathways that regulate induction of the c-fos gene. Many transcription factors regulate the SRE, including serum response factor (SRF), ternary complex factor (TCF), and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-beta (C/EBPβ). Independently, the TCFs and C/EBPβ have been shown to interact with SRF and to respond to Ras-dependent signaling pathways that result in transactivation of the SRE. Due to these common observations, we addressed the possibility that C/EBPβ and Elk-1 could both be necessary for Ras-stimulated transactivation of the SRE. In this report, we demonstrate that Elk-1 and C/EBPβ functionally synergize in transactivation of both a Gal4 reporter plasmid in concert with Gal4-SRF and in transactivation of the SRE. Interestingly, this synergy is only observed upon activation of Ras-dependent signaling pathways. Furthermore, we show that Elk-1 and C/EBPβ could interact both in an in vitro GST-pulldown assay and in an in vivo co-immunoprecipitation assay. The in vivo interaction between the two proteins is dependent on the presence of activated Ras. We have also shown that the C-terminal domain of C/EBPβ and the N-terminal domain of Elk-1 are necessary for the proteins to interact. These data show that C/EBPβ and Elk-1 synergize in SRF dependent transcription of both a Gal-4 reporter and the SRE. This suggests that SRF, TCF, and C/EBPβ are all necessary for maximal induction of the c-fos SRE in response to mitogenic signaling by Ras.
Ellingson, L. (2005). Communicating in the Clinic: Negotiating Frontstage Backstage Teamwork

Whenever a new book arrives from Amazon.com, I am optimistic that the writing will be original. I hope that the piece will change how I see things. I hope that it will have impact, or enrich discip...
Infants' preference for touch stimulation in face-to-face interactions

Abstract Infant preference for social stimulation that included touch during a face-to-face situation with an adult was investigated. Ten 1.5- to 3.5-month-old infants (M = 2.6, SD = .6) participated in a within-subjects repeated-measures design. Two treatment conditions were compared in an alternated, counterbalanced order with each infant. Under the touch treatment, the infant eye-contact responses were followed by continuous contingent adult smiling, cooing, and rubbing of the legs and feet. Under the no-touch treatment, the infant eye-contact responses were followed by contingent adult smiling and cooing, but not by touching. The results showed that, during the touch condition, infants emitted more eye contact and more smiles and vocalizations, and they spent less time crying and protesting compared with the no-touch condition. The results demonstrated that a social stimulus compound that included touching the infants functioned as a more effective reinforcer for infant eye-contact behavior than a stimulus compound that did not include touch.