cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
VH CDR3-dependent positive selection of murine VH12-expressing B cells in the neonate

Five to fifteen percent of peritoneal B1 (CD5+) cells from unmanipulated mice produce antibodies that bind bromelain-treated mouse red blood cells and the hapten phosphatidylcholine (PtC). The majority of these B cells express either of two VH/V kappa gene combinations, VH12/V kappa 4 or VH11/V kappa 9. Both the VH11 and VH12 genes are rearranged to JH1 and encode third complementarity determining regions (CDR3) of restricted length and sequence. These and other observations argue strongly that PtC-specific B1 cells are antigen selected. To determine when selection of PtC-specific B1 cells begins in mice we have used the polymerase chain reaction to amplify VH12-D-JH1 rearrangements from livers of fetal and neonatal mice, and determined the CDR3 encoding sequences of individual clones. We find an unusually low ratio of productive (P) to non-productive (NP) rearrangements (0.4-1.0) at both developmental stages. P rearrangements in day 1 neonates are biased in D gene use and in the sequence and length of their deduced VHCDR3. These biases are similar to those of PtC-specific B1 cells in the adult peritoneum. D gene use and CDR3 length and sequence are significantly less biased among VH12 P rearrangements 2 to 3 days earlier in the day 18 fetal liver. We suggest that this rapid change in repertoire is due to positive ligand selection that is dependent on the sequence of VHCDR3. We suggest further that the majority of VH12-expressing cells are not ligand selected and consequently undergo programmed cell death. The evidence of restriction in day 1 neonatal livers and the low P/NP ratio in the fetus suggests that selection of VH12-expressing cells begins before birth.
Pilot study to gauge acceptability of a mindfulness-based, family-focused preventive intervention.

The purpose of the present study was to conduct a test of acceptability of a new model for family-focused drug prevention programs for families of early adolescents. An existing evidence-based behavioral intervention, the Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10–14 (SFP), was adapted to include concepts and activities related to mindfulness and mindful parenting (an extension of mindfulness to the interpersonal domain of parent–child relationships). The foundation for this innovative intervention approach stems from research on the effects of mind-body treatments involving mindfulness meditation and the function of stress and coping in relation to parenting and parent well-being. One group of families participated in a seven-week pilot of this mindfulness-enhanced version of SFP. Results of a mixed-method implementation evaluation suggest that the new intervention activities were generally feasible to deliver, acceptable to participants, and perceived to yield positive benefits for family functioning and parent psychological well-being. The next phase of this research will involve curriculum refinement based upon results of this initial study, and a larger pilot efficacy trial will be conducted.
Mossbauer Spectroscopy Studies of Amorphous Metallic Solids

Mossbauer spectroscopy as applied to the studies of amorphous metallic, and often magnetic solids will be discussed. The advantages of using this microscopic technique will be compared with others in terms of obtaining information on electronic, magnetic, hyperfine, structural and other properties. Examples of magnetic ordering structures, concentration dependence of ordering temperature, hyperfine field distribution, spin-wave excitations, crystallization behavior, quadrupole interaction, isomer shift, etc., as obtained by Mossbauer spectroscopy will be presented.
Earthworm, infiltration, and tillage relationships in a dryland pea–wheat rotation

Dryland farming in the Mediterranean climate of the Pacific Northwest, USA supports extremely low earthworm populations under conventional tillage. Increases in earthworm populations are being observed in fields under no-till cropping systems. A3 0+ year experiment with four tillage levels in a pea (Pisum sativum L.)-winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotation was evaluated for earthworm populations and ponded infiltration rates. Where tillage has been limited to 2.5 cm depth, Apporectodea trapezoides (Duges) mean population was 25 m −2 . Plots subject to tillage by plow (25 cm depth) or chisel (35 cm depth) averaged less than 4 earthworms m −2 . The shallow tillage treatment also had the highest average infiltration rate of 70 mm h −1 compared to 36 for chisel, 27 for spring plow, and 19 mm h −1 for fall plow treatments. The highly variable nature of earthworm counts and infiltration measurements prevented conclusive correlation between the two, but increases in both can be attributed to minimum tillage. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.
CDMA sparse channel estimation using a GSIC/AM algorithm for radiolocation

This paper considers channel parameter estimation in a sparse channel environment for radiolocation. The generalized successive interference cancellation (GSIC) algorithm is used to eliminate the multiple access interference (MAI). To adapt GSIC to sparse channels the alternating maximization (AM) algorithm is considered and the continuous time delay of each path is estimated. The time-of-arrival (TOA) of the first arrival ray is treated as the line-of-sight component. The TOAs from multiple reference nodes to a master node are then used to compute master node position.
International Perspectives on Quality Assessment of Deep Mixing

A wide range of in situ techniques has been developed in the last two decades in Europe and Asia to assess the quality of deep mixed soil columns. These methods use either conventional or specially designed tools to penetrate into the hard columns (such as pushing, pulling, rotary, driven, or displacement methods); or use geophysical concepts (such as seismic, resistivity, and echo-pulse methods). The main objective of this paper is to present the results of an international survey conducted for the quality assessment of deep mixed columns. The objectives were (a) to identify the most commonly accepted field methods of quality assessment practiced in different parts of the world, and (b) to understand the operational problems occurred when the method was applied for deep mixing projects. The respondents of the survey had diverse backgrounds, which included engineers, academicians, researchers, and contractors. The summary of the international survey provided valuable insights for the selection of in situ techniques for the quality assessment of deep mixing projects.
Recollective homeostasis and the immune consequences of peritransplant depletional induction therapy

One's cellular immune repertoire is composed of lymphocytes in multiple stages of maturation - the dynamic product of their responses to antigenic challenges and the homeostatic contractions necessary to accommodate immune expansions within physiologic norms. Given that alloreactivity is predominantly a cross-reactive phenomenon that is stochastically distributed throughout the overall T-cell repertoire, one's allospecific repertoire is similarly made up of cells in a variety of differentiation states. As such, the continuous expansion and elimination of activated memory populations, producing a 'recollective homeostasis' of sorts, has the potential over time to alter the maturation state and effector composition of both ones protective and alloreactive T-cell repertoire. Importantly, a T cell's maturation state significantly influences its response to numerous immunomodulatory therapies used in organ transplantation, including depletional antibody induction. In this review, we discuss clinically utilized depletional induction strategies, how their use alters a transplant recipient's cellular immune repertoire, and how a recipient's repertoire influences the clinical effects of induction therapy.
Locomotion- and mechanics-mediated tactile sensing: antenna reconfiguration simplifies control during high-speed navigation in cockroaches

SUMMARY Animals can expend energy to acquire sensory information by emitting signals and/or moving sensory structures. We propose that the energy from locomotion itself could permit control of a sensor, whereby animals use the energy from movement to reconfigure a passive sensor. We investigated high-speed, antenna-mediated tactile navigation in the cockroach Periplaneta americana . We discovered that the passive antennal flagellum can assume two principal mechanical states, such that the tip is either projecting backward or forward. Using a combination of behavioral and robotic experiments, we demonstrate that a switch in the antenna9s state is mediated via the passive interactions between the sensor and its environment, and this switch strongly influences wall-tracking control. When the tip of the antenna is projected backward, the animals maintain greater body-to-wall distance with fewer body collisions and less leg–wall contact than when the tip is projecting forward. We hypothesized that distally pointing mechanosensory hairs at the tip of the antenna mediate the switch in state by interlocking with asperities in the wall surface. To test this hypothesis, we performed laser ablation of chemo-mechanosensory hairs and added artificial hairs to a robotic antenna. In both the natural and artificial systems, the presence of hairs categorically increased an antenna9s probability of switching state. Antennal hairs, once thought to only play a role in sensing, are sufficient for mechanically reconfiguring the state of the entire antenna when coupled with forward motion. We show that the synergy between antennal mechanics, locomotion and the environment simplifies tactile sensing.
Revisiting Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA)

Carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) is one of the basic medium access control (MAC) protocols specified in the popular IEEE 802.11 standard. One important feature of CSMA/CA is its use of in-band control frames for dealing with hidden terminals and reducing the cost of potential collisions. However, control frames have limited effectiveness in dealing with hidden terminals. Moreover, they introduce significant overhead into the network. This paper proposes a novel approach to addressing these two disadvantages of in-band control frames and significantly improve the performance of the CSMA/CA protocol.
p53 Basic C Terminus Regulates p53 Functions through DNA Binding Modulation of Subset of Target Genes

The p53 gene encodes a transcription factor that is composed of several functional domains: the N-terminal transactivation domain, the central sequence-specific DNA binding domain, the tetramerization domain, and the highly basic C-terminal regulatory domain (CTD). The p53 CTD is a nonspecific DNA binding domain that is subject to extensive post-translational modifications. However, the functional significance of the p53 CTD remains unclear. The role of this domain in the regulation of p53 functions is explored by comparing the activity of ectopically expressed wild-type (WT) p53 protein to that of a truncated mutant lacking the 24 terminal amino acids (Δ24). Using quantitative real time PCR and chromatin Immuno-Precipitation experiments, a p53 CTD deletion is shown to alter the p53-dependent induction of a subset of its target genes due to impaired specific DNA binding. Moreover, p53-induced growth arrest and apoptosis both require an intact p53 CTD. These data indicate that the p53 CTD is a positive regulator of p53 tumor suppressor functions.
Captive Financing Arrangements and Information Asymmetry: The Case of REITs

For the sample period of 1985 and 1986, captive real estate investments trusts (REITs) have a larger bid-ask spread than noncaptive REITs, after controlling for trading volume, price volatility, insider holdings, institutional holdings and firm size. Based on the bid-ask spread literature, the results suggest that captive firms are subject to a greater degree of information asymmetry. This implies a higher cost of capital for captive firms. The evidence here and the trend toward self-administered REITs imply that information asymmetry and conflicts of interests within REITs are priced.
Hop reservation multiple access (HRMA) for multichannel packet radio networks

A new multichannel MAC protocol called hop reservation multiple access (HRMA) for packet-radio networks is introduced, specified and analyzed. HRMA is based on very-slow frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) and takes advantage of the time slotting necessary for frequency hopping. HRMA allows a pair of communicating nodes to reserve a frequency hop (channel) using a hop reservation and handshake mechanism on every hop to guarantee collision-free data transmission in the presence of hidden terminals. HRMA provides a baseline to offer QoS in ad-hoc networks based on simple half-duplex slow FHSS radios. We analyze the throughput achieved in HRMA for the case of a fully-connected network assuming variable-length packets, and compare it against an ideal multichannel access protocol and the multichannel slotted ALOHA protocol. The numerical results show that HRMA can achieve much higher throughput than multichannel slotted ALOHA in the traffic-load ranges of interest especially when the average packet length is large compared to a slot size, in which case the maximum throughput of HRMA is close to what can be obtained with an ideal protocol.
Deriving Spectral ,Reflectance Functions of Computer-Simulated Object Colours

A method is presented which, given the RGB values of a colour stimulus displayed on a given cathode ray tube (to which a CIE XYZ triple corresponds), makes it possible to find a spectral reflectance function characterizing an object colour. Such an object when “illuminated” by a given illuminant produces a metameric spectral power distribution, that is, one with the same XYZ tristimulus values. The method is useful in the colorimetric matching of colours on different media or supports.
QUANTITATIVE ACETONE PLIF IN TWO-PHASE FLOWS

A model for fluorescence signal extinction due to an acetone droplet is developed. When combined with existing models, it provides a system of two equations in two unknowns for the fluorescence and extinction in a pixel in two-phase flow. The model is used to define parameters necessary for sufficient resolution in an acetone PLIF experiment. It can also be used to convert acetone PLIF images into images of droplet location and size as well as local vapor concentration. Approximation methods to achieve this conversion are discussed. The qualitative effects expected based on the model are shown in experimental results.
SULFUR DIOXIDE-ETHANOL-WATER PULPING OF HARDWOODS

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has developed a two-stage process to separately convert hemicellulose and cellulose to sugars leaving behind a high-lignin solid residue. Research at The University of Alabama has led to a proposed three-stage process utilizing sulfur dioxide to remove hemicellulose, followed by organosolv delignification to remove lignin and the remaining hemicellulose, then acid hydrolysis of the cellulose to glucose. The purpose of the work presented in this paper was to determine whether the sulfonation and delignification steps could be successfully combined. This would result in a simpler process with improved yield of glucose. Pulping of hardwoods in a sulfur dioxide-ethanol-water system has been shown to give a 50 to 52 percent yield of solid residue with a lignin content of approximately 7%.These results offer improvements to the TVA process in several ways. Removal of the lignin from the lignocellulose matrix would allow more efficient acid hydrolysis of cellulose and the use...
The science of plant morphology: definition, history, and role in modern biology

As a scientific discipline, plant morphology is 211 yr old, originated by Goethe in 1790. It is a discipline that has largely been Germanic in practice. Because it took its origins from the study of the natural history of plants and the United States is principally an engineering society, the discipline of plant morphology in its pure form has never been widely practiced in this country. What has been labeled "plant morphology" in the United States has served largely as a handmaiden for systematics, using morphological characteristics to carve up diversity into its systematic subunits. Because the heart of plant morphology as a science is a focus on the convergences rather than the homologies in a phylogenetic sense, the German tradition of plant morphology is a unifying science that focuses on fundamental themes that transcend systematic boundaries. This paper traces the history of the science of plant morphology through the lineage of its principal practitioners: Goethe, Hofmeister, von Goebel, and Troll. It also evaluates the principles of plant morphology by applying them to the phyletically diverse Pteridophytes, showing that contemporary members of that group exhibit levels of shoot organization comparable to that of seed plants and discusses the implications of these findings.
Biodynamic and phyletic paradigms for sensory organs in camerate crinoids

A Haugh, Bruce N. 1978 04 IS: Biodynamic and phyletic paradigms for sensory organs in camerate crinoids Functional analysis of thecal pores and associated fixed pinnules of camerate crinoids reveals that they may have been organized into an integrated current-sensing biologic system. Paleobiologic, biodynamic, and geometric evidence reveals a potential for sensing the direction and intensity of horizontal water currents. An ahistoric paradigm predicts that the inferred sensory organs could have elicited several alternative feeding postures and a survival posture in response to current intensity. Possession of long anal tubes is judged to be related to the sensory function. By virtue of these adaptations certain camerates may have been discriminatory rheophilic feeders in complex fdter feeding communities. An historically founded phyletic paradigm suggests that a functional change in thecal pores and pinnules occurred in the Early Mississippian as an evolutionary concourse in several independent lineages. This specialized sensory innovation may have signifcantly contributed to the ‘flowering’ of camerates in rheic carbonate environments as well as their demise in terrigenous clastic environments. Phyletic paradigms illustrate the advantage of functional analysis of fossil structures at several points in time and especially at the acme of development when structure and function are commonly most clearly delimited.
Popcorn worker's lung: In vitro exposure to diacetyl, an ingredient in microwave popcorn butter flavoring, increases reactivity to methacholine

Workers who inhale microwave popcorn butter flavorings experience decrements in lung function and can develop clinical bronchiolitis obliterans, i.e., "popcorn worker's lung" (Kreiss, K., Gomaa, A., Kullman, G., Fedan, K., Simoes, E.J., Enright, P.L., 2002. Clinical bronchiolitis obliterans in workers at a microwave-popcorn plant. N. Engl. J. Med. 347, 330-338.). In a rat inhalation model, vapors of an artificial butter flavoring damaged the epithelium of the upper and lower airways (Hubbs, A.F., Battelli, L.A., Goldsmith, W.T., Porter, D.W., Frazer, D., Friend, S., Schwegler-Berry, D., Mercer, R.R., Reynolds, J.S., Grote, A., Castranova, V., Kullman, G., Fedan, J.S., Dowdy, J., Jones, W.G., 2002. Necrosis of nasal and airway epithelium in rats inhaling vapors of artificial butter flavoring. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 185, 128-135.). Diacetyl, a butter flavoring component, is a major volatile ketone in the popcorn-processing workplace. We investigated the effects of diacetyl on epithelium of guinea pig isolated airway preparations and the effects of diacetyl in vitro on reactivity to bronchoactive agents. In the isolated, perfused trachea preparation, diacetyl added to the intraluminal (mucosal) bath elicited responses that began with contraction (threshold ca. 3 mM) and ended with relaxation. After a 4-h incubation with intraluminal diacetyl (3 mM), contractions to extraluminal (serosal) methacholine (MCh) were slightly increased; however, sensitivity to intraluminally (mucosally) applied MCh was increased by 10-fold. Relaxation responses of MCh (3 x 10(-7) M)-contracted tracheas to extraluminally applied terbutaline and intraluminally applied 120 mM KCl, to evoke epithelium-derived relaxing factor release, were unaffected by diacetyl. Exposure of the tracheal epithelium in Ussing chambers to diacetyl decreased transepithelial potential difference and resistance. These findings suggest that diacetyl exposure compromised epithelial barrier function, leading to hyperreactivity to mucosally applied MCh. The respiratory epithelium appears to serve as an initial target for the toxic effects of diacetyl in the airways.
Adjuvant Chemotherapy in the Elderly: Whom to Treat, What Regimen?

As the elderly population continues to grow, adjuvant chemotherapy treatment in the elderly is becoming an increasingly important issue for the practicing oncologist. Decisions regarding adjuvant treatment involve a careful assessment of the risk for recurrent disease and side effects from treatment, balancing these risks against the beneficial effects of treatment. In this review, we discuss methods for assessing the elderly patient in terms of life expectancy, comorbid disease, and functional capacity. This assessment can then be used to help identify appropriate candidates for adjuvant chemotherapy. Tools for estimating the risk for relapse and mortality and the reduction in these risks with various forms of treatment are useful for clarifying treatment options. Elderly patients have been underrepresented in clinical trials, and patients are often given less intense and possibly inferior standard treatment as a function of age. Ongoing clinical trials targeting the elderly patient may help answer questions about the relative risks and benefits of adjuvant treatment in this age group. Recent data show that most fit elderly patients derive a benefit from standard adjuvant chemotherapy regimens that is equal to that of younger patients.
Ultraviolet phototherapy for cutaneous diseases: a concise review

Phototherapy is the use of non-ionizing radiation, primarily in the ultraviolet spectrum, to treat disease. In dermatology, ultraviolet (UV) phototherapy remains an established, lower cost, and often preferred option for many common skin conditions, despite the introduction of newer potent biologics. This article introduces a principal therapeutic modality in the treatment of psoriasis, atopic dermatitis (eczema), vitiligo, and morphea among other diseases where oral manifestations may be present, providing basic information about the use of UVA, UVB, and PUVA. Practical considerations and side effects of phototherapy are described. Phototherapy is an effective treatment for many illnesses and carries a relatively benign side-effect profile.
THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF DUCKS IN WETLAND SEED DISPERSAL

A controlled feeding study and field collections of duck feces were used to examine the potential of ducks for dispersing wetland plant species in the prairie pothole region of North America. To determine how long seeds of wetland species remain in their digestive system, captive mallards were fed known quantities of seed of either Atriplex patula, Chenopodium album, Chenopodium rubrum, Echinochloa crusgalli, Polygonum spp., Scirpus acutus, Scirpus validus, or Sparganium eurycarpum. Fecal samples were collected hourly from ducks for 24 to 30 hours after seeds were ingested. On average, 23% of the seeds ingested were recovered intact, and 36% of these were still viable. In other words, only 7% of the seeds ingested were still viable when they were evacuated, with a range from 1% for Echinochloa crusgalli to 16% for Scirpus validus. The mean passage time of seeds was 7.6 h, with a range of 5.1 h for Echinochloa crusgalli to 11.1 h for Chenopodium rubrum. Nearly all seeds were evacuated after 24 to 30 h. Seed size and seed coat strength (lignin content) were negatively correlated with the probability of a viable passage but not correlated with passage rates. After ingestion, mallards are estimated to be able to transport internally viable seeds up to 1,400 km but more typically 20 to 30 km. Field collections of duck feces at five locations in the prairie pothole region confirmed that ducks are dispersing intact seeds of common wetland species (Carex sp., Echinochloa sp., Panicum sp., Polygonum spp., Potamogeton spp., Salix sp., and Scirpus spp.). There were between 0.3 to 5.2 intact seeds per duck. Only 1.6% of this intact seed of four taxa (Carex sp., Potamogeton spp., Salix sp., and Scirpus spp.) germinated under greenhouse conditions. Although any given duck is carrying only a few viable seeds, the millions of ducks moving among wetlands, especially during spring and fall migrations, collectively are effective dispersal agents for many wetland plant species.
Should family physicians routinely screen for lung cancer in high-risk populations? Yes: CT-based screening is complex but worthwhile.

There is still considerable uncertainty about the true magnitude of benefit from annual lung cancer screening, as well as the financial and psychological costs; therefore, the scope of the recommendation should be limited to one of individualized, shared decision making.
[Outbreak of tuberculosis in a high school in Zhejiang, China].

Objective To identify precipitating factors of a tuberculosis(TB)outbreak in a school and discuss the importance of index case detection on outbreak monitoring, follow up and related control measures. Methods A case survey of the index patient was conducted to evaluate the illness severity and infectious duration of the case. The initial response to this case was surveyed to understand the factors leading to the outbreak. Results A total of 25 TB cases were detected in the outbreak, including 14 cases in one class. The risk of catching TB among the classmates of the index case was 10.74 times higher than that among students in other classes (χ2=42.31, P<0.001). Although the index case had typical TB symptom of cough and expectoration, TB was not diagnosed until pulmonary cavity was detected by chest radiograph one month later. Among 64 close contacts, 56(87.5%) completed TB screening, 52(92.9%) were purified protein derivative positive. No TB cases were detected. Conclusion The factors leading to the outbreak included delayed diagnoses of the index case, no chemoprophylaxis taken by the close contacts; poor surveillance and follow-up for close contacts. Key words: Tuberculosis; Outbreak; Epidemiology
Connected Vehicle Systems with Nonlinear Dynamics and Time Delays

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the nonlinear dynamics of connected vehicle systems in presence of time delays, which may arise due to human reaction time and/or due to intermittency and packet drops in wireless communication. Stability conditions are derived by using the Lyapunov-Krasovskii theory. A generalized frequency response function is also developed to characterize the input-output response of nonlinear vehicle networks. Numerical simulations are used to validate the analytical results.
Multiple Evanescent White Dot Syndrome (MEWDS)

Multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS) is an idiopathic inflammatory condition, characterized by multiple white dots in the fundus typically localized to the outer retina, retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), or choroid.
Thinking and Deciding: Normative theory of choice under uncertainty

All presumptive evidence of felony should be admitted cautiously: for the law holds, that it is better that ten guilty people escape, than that one innocent suffer. William Blackstone (1769) This chapter begins the discussion of the normative theory of decision making: that is, the theory of how we should choose among possible actions under ideal conditions. The best decision, I argue, is the one that best helps us to achieve our goals. This idea follows directly from the definition of rationality introduced in Chapter 3. The application of this criterion, however, is not always so clear. Decisions often involve conflict. There may be conflict between the desirability of an outcome and its probability: The job at Harvard appeals to Ellen more, but the chances of obtaining tenure are better at Yale. The conflict may be between goals: The Yale job is better for her career, but the Boston area is a nicer place to live than New Haven. The goals involved can be those of different people: The Harvard job is better for Ellen, but her husband will have a better chance of finding a job in New Haven. How do we resolve such conflicts? Normatively, the best answer would depend on the extent to which each consequence of each option (for example, Harvard or Yale) achieves each goal for each person. This measure of extent of goal achievement is called utility . Our goals, of course, are what we want to achieve.
Renal xenotransplantation: experimental progress and clinical prospects

There are >100,000 patients waiting for kidney transplants in the United States and a vast need worldwide. Xenotransplantation, in the form of the transplantation of kidneys from genetically engineered pigs, offers the possibility of overcoming the chronic shortage of deceased and living human donors. These genetic manipulations can take the form of (i) knockout of pig genes that are responsible for the expression of antigens against which the primate (human or nonhuman primate) has natural "preformed" antibodies that bind and initiate complement-mediated destruction or (ii) the insertion of human transgenes that provide protection against the human complement, coagulation, or inflammatory responses. Between 1989 and 2015, pig kidney graft survival in nonhuman primates increased from 23 days to almost 10 months. There appear to be no clinically significant physiological incompatibilities in renal function between pigs and primates. The organ-source pigs will be housed in a biosecure environment, and thus the risk of transferring an exogenous potentially pathogenic microorganism will be less than that after allotransplantation. Although the risk associated with porcine endogenous retroviruses is considered small, techniques are now available whereby they could potentially be excluded from the pig. The US Food and Drug Administration suggests that xenotransplantation should be restricted to "patients with serious or life-threatening diseases for whom adequately safe and effective alternative therapies are not available." These might include those with (i) a high degree of allosensitization to human leukocyte antigens or (ii) rapid recurrence of primary disease in previous allografts. The potential psychosocial, regulatory, and legal aspects of clinical xenotransplantation are briefly discussed.
Energy efficiency analysis for wireless-powered cellular networks

In this paper, we study the performance of wireless networks with randomly located access points (APs) and randomly located energy-harvesting user equipments (UE) focusing on network throughput and system energy efficiency. We consider harvest-and-transmit protocol for wireless-powered UEs that do not have embedded power sources, but harvest energy from densely deployed APs. We first characterize outage probabilities and achievable data rates as a function of the system parameters, i.e., uplink and downlink operating intervals, using tools from stochastic geometry. Then, we formulate an optimization problem that maximize the system energy efficiency (measured by throughput per total consumed energy) while taking the feasible operation interval constraint into account. Despite the difficulty in obtaining closed-form expressions for the optimal solution, the problem can be solved using standard numerical tools. Simulation results demonstrate that broadcasting energy-bearing signal at higher power level improves energy efficiency. Furthermore, circuit power consumption is shown to be a key factor affecting the performance gain as well as optimal downlink/uplink time allocation strategy.
Emerging Standards, Practices, and Technologies

This chapter will offer some food for thought as libraries look to sculpt a new type of partnership between vendors and libraries and a new supply chain that leverages emerging standards, practices, and technologies. The chapter encourages publishers, technology vendors, and libraries to streamline their separate processes so they form the Extended Supply Chain. Some examples in this chapter include incorporation of Search Engine Optimization as a core competency, use of a shared metadata standard among publishers and libraries to eliminate redundant work, and adoption of semantic linking as the default library resource description method. The goal of the chapter is to help libraries integrate with merging standards, practices, and technologies, so they can reach a new and higher level of scalability, visibility, and efficiency from their own networked operations to the Internet-level operations.
Fetishistic Concrete Abstraction, Social Constitution and Social Domination in Henri Lefebvre's Writings on Everyday Life, Cities and Space

This article reconstructs the role that fetishistic concrete abstraction plays in Henri Lefebvre’s writings on everyday life, cities and space. I begin by distinguishing between Lefebvre’s theories of alienation and romantic domination and fetishistic social domination. I then reconstruct the latter showing how Lefebvre interprets Marx’s critique of political economy as an account of the social constitution of the fetishistic concrete abstractions of economic social forms, which as supraindividual and autonomous entities invert to collectively dominate, but not entirely determine, the individuals within the social relations that collectively create them. Finally, I show how this conception of fetishistic concrete abstraction runs through Lefebvre’s work, where it serves as a ‘basis’ for his attempts to ‘elaborate, refine and complement’ Marx’s critique of political economy by conceiving how abstract social domination is constituted, embedded and resisted in everyday life, cities and space while also point...
The Hows and Whys of Information Markets

Abstract The use of information markets as a business intelligence (BI) technique for collecting dispersed intelligence and forming knowledge to support decision making is growing rapidly in many application fields. The objective of this chapter is to present a focused survey of how information markets work and why they produce accurate and actionable knowledge upon which effective decisions can be based. Numerous exemplars from the literature are described and key future research directions in information markets are highlighted.
The Moral Dimensions of Kant’s Anthropology

Although Kant famously calls his anthropology “pragmatic,” one ongoing debate is whether or not there also exists a distinctively moral anthropology within his pragmatic anthropology. In my contribution, I will begin by surveying the evidence and arguments on both sides of this important controversy before turning to a defense of my own position: If we are careful readers, we will find the rudiments of a moral anthropology within Kant’s lectures on anthropology, albeit one that is not fully articulated or developed. But it is important, indeed, necessary, to take note of these incompletely developed hints of moral anthropology in order both to make sense out of Kant’s practical philosophy as a whole as well as to defend his ethics against a long line of Hegel-inspired criticisms that accuse it of empty formalism.
Host blood-meal source has a strong impact on gut microbiota of Aedes aegypti

Gut microbial communities of mosquitoes can influence vector susceptibility to pathogens, yet the factors that govern their composition remain poorly understood. We investigated the impact of host blood-meal source on gut microbiota of Aedes aegypti L. Adult mosquitoes were fed on human, rabbit or chicken blood and their gut microbiota compared to those of sugar-fed and newly emerged adults. Microbial diversity was significantly reduced in blood-fed and sugar-fed mosquitoes but was restored to the levels of newly emerged adults at 7-days post-blood meal. Microbial composition was strongly influenced by host blood-meal source. Leucobacter spp., Chryseobacterium spp., Elizabethkingia spp. and Serratia spp. were characteristic of newly emerged adults and adults fed on chicken, rabbit and human blood, respectively. Sugar-fed mosquitoes had higher abundance of Pseudomonas spp. and unclassified Acetobacteraceae. Shifts in gut microbial communities in response to host blood-meal source may fundamentally impact pathogen transmission given the well-documented link between specific bacterial taxa and vector susceptibility to a variety of mosquito-borne pathogens and may be a key determinant of individual and population variation in vector competence.
The TRPP2-dependent channel of renal primary cilia also requires TRPM3

Primary cilia of renal epithelial cells express several members of the transient receptor potential (TRP) class of cation-conducting channel, including TRPC1, TRPM3, TRPM4, TRPP2, and TRPV4. Some cases of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) are caused by defects in TRPP2 (also called polycystin-2, PC2, or PKD2). A large-conductance, TRPP2-dependent channel in renal cilia has been well described, but it is not known whether this channel includes any other protein subunits. To study this question, we investigated the pharmacology of the TRPP2-dependent channel through electrical recordings from the cilia of mIMCD-3 cells, a murine cell line of renal epithelial origin. The pharmacology was found to match that of TRPM3 channels. The ciliary TRPP2-dependent channel is known to be activated by depolarization and by increasing cytoplasmic Ca2+. This activation was greatly enhanced by external pregnenolone sulfate, an agonist of TRPM3 channels. Pregnenolone sulfate did not change the single-channel current-voltage relation. The channels were effectively blocked by isosakuranetin, a specific inhibitor of TRPM3 channels. Both pregnenolone sulfate and isosakuranetin were effective at concentrations as low as 1 μM. Knocking out TRPM3 by CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing eliminated the ciliary channel. Thus the channel is both TRPM3-dependent and TRPP2-dependent, suggesting that it may include both types of subunit. Knocking out TRPM3 did not change the level of TRPP2 protein in the cilia, so it is unlikely that the absence of functional ciliary channels results from a failure of trafficking.
The fairness identity and the emergence of inequality.

Abstract Social exchange theories explain how differences in structural power can generate inequalities in exchange networks. We argue here that even in the absence of structural power differences, inequality can emerge out of the identity process. We posit that when structurally equivalent actors are uncertain about the resource levels available for distribution, different levels of the fairness identity and responses to identity non-verification will influence how they negotiate for resources. Results from an experiment that varies the fairness identity level and the identity verification of actors in two different equal power exchange networks confirm this. Absent structural power differences, the level of the fairness identity, identity non-verification, and structure of the network mutually influence the distribution of resources such that some dyads earn as much as two and a half times more than others. We discuss our findings as they pertain to unearthing the processes by which group inequalities arise and persist.
Decision-Making in Sequential Adaptive Clinical Trials, with Implications for Drug Misclassification and Resource Allocation

Sequential adaptive clinical trials for new drugs and treatment options represent flexible designs that allow for an earlier-than-planned trial termination, due to established benefit or futility. This novel and innovative approach to drug testing has the potential to accelerate patient access to new therapies and reduce expenditures on drug development. However, this approach also complicates the resource allocation (patient enrollment) and trial termination decisions, which, in turn, impact the probability of misclassification and time-to-market for the new drug, as well as the firm’s profit. In this chapter, we review current practices and the state of the art of sequential designs for adaptive clinical trials with binary response, present novel mathematical models that we have developed to address the resource allocation and trial termination decisions in these trials, and discuss their implications on public policy. We conclude with a discussion of the challenges and the opportunities for future research in this area.
Human brain development through the lens of cerebral organoid models

The brain is one of the most complex organs in the body, which emerges from a relatively simple set of basic 'building blocks' during early development according to complex cellular and molecular events orchestrated through a set of inherited instructions. Innovations in stem cell technologies have enabled modelling of neural cells using two- and three-dimensional cultures. In particular, cerebral ('brain') organoids have taken the center stage of brain development models that have the potential for providing meaningful insight into human neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders. We review the current understanding of cellular events during human brain organogenesis, and the events occurring during cerebral organoid differentiation. We highlight the strengths and weaknesses of this experimental model system. In particular, we explain evidence that organoids can mimic many aspects of early neural development, including neural induction, patterning, and broad neurogenesis and gliogenesis programs, offering the opportunity to study genetic regulation of these processes in a human context. Several shortcomings of the current culture methods limit the utility of cerebral organoids to spontaneously give rise to many important cell types, and to model higher order features of tissue organization. We suggest that future studies aim to improve these features in order to make them better models for the study of laminar organization, circuit formation and how disruptions of these processes relate to disease.
Long-term survival probability, not current habitat quality, predicts dispersal distance in a stream salamander

Dispersal evolves as an adaptive mechanism to optimize individual fitness across the landscape. Specifically, dispersal represents a mechanism to escape fitness costs resulting from changes in environmental conditions. Decades of empirical work suggest that individuals use local habitat cues to make movement decisions, but theory predicts that dispersal can also evolve as a fixed trait, independent of local conditions, in environments characterized by a history of stochastic spatiotemporal variation. Until now, however, both conditional and fixed models of dispersal evolution have primarily been evaluated using emigration data (stay vs. leave), and not dispersal distances: a more comprehensive measure of dispersal. Our goal was to test whether conditional or fixed models of dispersal evolution predict variation in dispersal distance in the stream salamander Gyrinophilus porphyriticus. We quantified variation in habitat conditions using measures of salamander performance from 4 yr of spatially explicit, capture-mark-recapture (CMR) data across three headwater streams in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in central New Hampshire, USA. We used body condition as an index of local habitat quality that individuals may use to make dispersal decisions, and survival probability estimated from multistate CMR models as an index of mortality risk resulting from the long-term history of environmental variation. We found that dispersal distances increased with declining survival probability, indicating that salamanders disperse further in risky environments. Dispersal distances were unrelated to spatial variation in body condition, suggesting that salamanders do not base dispersal distance decisions on local habitat quality. Our study provides the first empirical support for fixed models of dispersal evolution, which predict that dispersal evolves in response to a history of spatiotemporal environmental variation, rather than as a conditional response to current habitat conditions. More broadly, this study underscores the value of assessing alternative scales of environmental variation to gain a more complete and balanced understanding of dispersal evolution.
Love and Power: Grau and Pury (2014) as a Case Study in the Challenges of X-Phi Replication

Grau and Pury (Review of Philosophy and Psychology, 5, 155–168, 2014) reported that people’s views about love are related to their views about reference. This surprising effect was however not replicated in Cova et al.’s (in press) replication study. In this article, we show that the replication failure is probably due to the replication’s low power and that a metaanalytic reanalysis of the result in Cova et al. suggests that the effect reported in Grau and Pury is real. We then report a large, highly powered replication that successfully replicates Grau and Pury 2014. This successful replication is a case study in the challenges involved in replicating scientific work, and our article contributes to the discussion of these challenges.
Morphology and gene expression in mouse placentas lacking leptin receptors.

Abstract In the pregnant mouse, the hormone leptin is primarily produced by adipose tissue and does not significantly cross the placenta into fetal circulation. Nonetheless, leptin treatment during gestation affects offspring phenotypes. Leptin treatment also affects placental trophoblast cells in vitro, by altering proliferation, invasion and nutrient transport. The goal of the present study was to determine whether the absence of placental leptin receptors alters placental development and gene expression. Leprdb−3j+ mice possessing only one functional copy of the leptin receptor were mated to obtain wildtype, Leprdb−3j+ and Leprdb−3j/db−3j conceptuses, which were then transferred to wildtype recipient dams. Placentas were collected at gestational d18.5 to examine placental morphology and gene expression. Placentas lacking functional leptin receptor had reduced weights, but were otherwise morphologically indistinguishable from control placentas. Relative mRNA levels, however, were altered in Leprdb−3j/db−3j placentas, particularly transcripts related to amino acid and lipid metabolism and transport. Consistent with a previous in vitro study, leptin was found to promote expression of stathmin, a positive regulator of trophoblast invasion, and of serotonin receptors, potential mediators of offspring neurological development. Overall placental leptin receptor was found not to play a significant role in morphological development of the placenta, but to regulate placental gene expression, including in metabolic pathways that affect fetal growth.