cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Regulation of Cadherin–Catenin Biology by Mechanical Force and Phosphorylation

In the adherens junction (AJ), cadherin and catenin proteins form a cell–cell adhesion complex that is indispensable for tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis. The complex mechanically couples neighboring cells through intercellular binding by cadherins, and actin binding and regulation by the cytoplasmic catenins. In addition, the cadherin–catenin complex participates in signaling pathways that direct cellular organization, proliferation, and motility. Some of these signaling pathways can be regulated by mechanical stimulation or posttranslational modification of the components of the AJ. In light of these findings, we discuss our current understanding of how AJ signaling and mechanical functions are regulated by phosphorylation and force, and speculate on the mechanisms underlying the coordination between these two types of modifications.
Family and School Factors and Headache Prevalence

The prevalence of headache in children aged 7-16 years, representing districts of the city of Goteborg with socioeconomic, family, and school variables, is reported from Sahlgrenska Hospital, Goteborg, Sweden.
Observation of Poynting’s vector reversal in an active photonic cavity

Optical power flow along an active cavity having net gain can differ dramatically from that in a passive cavity. We report the first observation of Poynting’s vector reversal in an active cavity under scattering boundary conditions. At a sub-lasing gain, which we call Poynting’s threshold, a null develops in Poynting’s vector, which divides the cavity into sections with oppositely directed energy flows. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the direction of Poynting’s vector at a fixed point in an active cavity can be controllably reversed without changing its magnitude via an intra-cavity passive element, thereby suggesting a potential methodology for optical switching.
Net Neutrality| From Net Neutrality to Net Equality

I argue that the conceptual foundations for net neutrality assume a race neutrality that obfuscates the daily experiences of racial discrimination and the institutional dynamics of structural racism. I begin this study with an assessment of the race-neutral conceptual foundations of net neutrality reasoning, and then discuss how Critical Race Theory (CRT) has challenged these race-neutral frameworks. Drawing from CRT, I locate the ways in which legal and economic structures of discrimination have historically inhibited people of color from gaining access to employment, ownership, and decision-making power in the media and telecommunications sectors. I conclude with thoughts on how CRT can inform media policy scholarship to challenge race-neutral thinking and develop conceptual foundations for supporting what advocacy groups representing people of color have called “net equality.”
A blind transform based approach for the detection of isolated astrophysical pulses

This paper presents a blind algorithm for the automatic detection of isolated astrophysical pulses. The detection algorithm is applied to spectrograms (also known as “filter bank data” or “the (t,f) plane”). The detection algorithm comprises a sequence of three steps: (1) a Radon transform is applied to the spectrogram, (2) a Fourier transform is applied to each projection parametrized by an angle, and the total power in each projection is calculated, and (3) the total power of all projections above 90° is compared to the total power of all projections below 90° and a decision in favor of an astrophysical pulse present or absent is made. Once a pulse is detected, its Dispersion Measure (DM) is estimated by fitting an analytically developed expression for a transformed spectrogram containing a pulse, with varying value of DM, to the actual data. The performance of the proposed algorithm is numerically analyzed.
Relaciones internacionales y procesos de paz. Proyecciones sobre escenarios.

En este articulo el proceso de paz colombiano es analizado a la luz de la influencia ejercida por diversos factores internacionales. El autor toma en cuenta las posicio nes adoptadas por los Estado...
The Examination of the Factors Influencing Faculty Climate at a Northwest Region University: A Case Study

The extent of tenure of higher education administrators may seem to be the topic of discussion at many universities in American society. The corporatized structure of universities across America has turned their institutions’ focus. This business-like approach has transformed university presidents into CEOs, threatening the integrity of key educational and research functions of faculty and staff. This redirection of instruction and reorienting of curriculum affects the climate on many campuses. This study is important because it seeks to understand the elements that ensure a healthy faculty relationship with administrators. A qualitative case study method was utilized to interview 5 faculty within one college within a university in the Northwest region of the United States. The question sought in this study is: What are the things that build trust between faculty and administrators that create a healthy collegial academic environment? It is the goal of this project to identify the elements of a positive faculty climate. The study results will be helpful to administrators and faculty who have an interest in faculty-administrator relations.
Pattern of perioperative gabapentinoid use and risk for postoperative naloxone administration.

Abstract Background Single preoperative gabapentinoid (gabapentin and pregabalin) administration has been associated with respiratory depression during Phase I anaesthesia recovery. In this study, we assess for associations between chronic (home) use and perioperative administration (preoperative and postoperative) of gabapentinoids, and risk for severe over-sedation or respiratory depression as inferred from the use of naloxone. Methods From 2011 to 2016, we identified patients undergoing general anaesthesia discharged to standard postoperative wards and administered naloxone within 48 h of surgery in a single centre. These patients were 2:1 matched on age, sex, and type of procedure. Patient and perioperative characteristics were abstracted and compared to assess for risk for naloxone administration. Results We identified 128 patients that received naloxone after operation [odds ratio 1.2; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0, 1.4 per 1000 general anaesthetics]. Patients on chronic or postoperative gabapentinoid therapy were at significantly higher risk for receiving naloxone after operation. Multivariable analysis detected significant interactions between chronic and postoperative use of gabapentinoids, where continuation of chronic gabapentinoid medications into the postoperative period was associated with an increased rate of naloxone administration (6.30, 95% CI 2.4, 16.7; P=0.001). Obstructive sleep apnoea (P=0.005) and preoperative disability (P=0.003) were also associated with an increased risk for postoperative naloxone administration. Patients who received naloxone had longer hospital stays and higher rates of postoperative delirium. Conclusions Continuation of chronic gabapentinoid medications into the postoperative period is associated with the increased use of naloxone to reverse over-sedation or respiratory depression. Such patients requiring this therapy warrant high levels of postoperative monitoring.
Late outcomes of subcostal exchange of the HeartMate II left ventricular assist device: a word of caution.

Objectives Previous studies have shown the usefulness of the subcostal exchange of the HeartMate II left ventricular assist device for device malfunction. However, long-term data are still limited. Methods Between March 2004 and July 2017, 41 of 568 (7.2%) patients who had received a HeartMate II implant at our institution had a device exchange via a subcostal incision. We summarized early and late outcomes. Results Forty-one patients had a total of 48 subcostal pump exchanges. Indications for device exchange included device thrombosis (n = 31, 76%), driveline infection (n = 2, 5%) and driveline injury (n = 8, 19%). All of the procedures were successful, and there were no in-hospital deaths. A Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed 30-day and 1-year survival rates after subcostal exchange of 100% and 94.6%, respectively. However, 10 (25%) patients had left ventricular assist device-related infections following subcostal exchange that included 7 pump pocket infections and 3 driveline infections. Freedom from left ventricular assist device-related infection at 1 year after subcostal exchange was 79.3%. Thirteen (32%) patients had device malfunction due to pump thrombosis that required a 2nd device exchange. Seven patients had recurrent thrombosis. Three (7%) patients had a stroke. Freedom from device thrombosis and from a stroke event at 1 year was 74.4%. Conclusions Subcostal pump exchange can be safely performed. However, there is a substantial risk of infection and recurrent thrombosis. Careful follow-up for late complications is mandatory.
Brain pathology is related to total daily physical activity in older adults.

Objective To test the hypothesis that brain pathology is associated with total daily physical activity proximate to death in older adults. Methods We studied brain autopsies from 428 decedents of the Rush Memory and Aging Project. The quantity of all physical activity was measured continuously for up to 10 days with actigraphy (Actical; Philips Healthcare, Bend, OR). Multiple regression analyses controlling for age and sex were used to examine the relation of brain indexes to total daily physical activity and other clinical covariates proximate to death. Results Average total daily activity was 1.53 × 10 5 counts/d (SD 1.14 × 10 5 counts/d), and mean age at death was 90.6 (SD 6.12) years. Nigral neuronal loss (estimate −0.232, standard error [SE] = 0.070, p = 0.001) and macroinfarcts (estimate −0.266, SE 0.112, p = 0.017) were independently associated with total daily physical activity proximate to death, accounting for an additional 2.4% of the variance of total daily activity. Other postmortem indexes (Alzheimer disease, Lewy bodies, TAR DNA-binding protein 43, hippocampal sclerosis, microinfarcts, atherosclerosis, arteriolosclerosis, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy) were not associated with total daily activity. In 295 cases (70%), we derived a measure of white matter tissue integrity from postmortem brain MRI. This metric accounted for an additional 5.8% of the variance of total daily physical activity when controlling for age, sex, nigral neuronal loss, and macroinfarcts. Conclusion Macroinfarcts, nigral neuronal loss, and white matter pathologies are related to total daily physical activity in older adults, but further studies are needed to explain its pathologic basis more fully.
Cerebral Phosphorus Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Perinatal Distress

Perinatal asphyxia occurs in 1% to 5% of all births and frequently results in a permanent neurological handicap.1 The extent of brain damage is probably related to the duration and degree of fetal hypoxia and ischemia and to resultant changes in cerebral metabolism. Following hypoxic-ischemic insults, cortical metabolism changes from aerobic to anaerobic glycolysis and has secondary changes in phosphorus-containing metabolites, lactate accumulation, and acidosis.2 These changes may represent the final common pathway of hypoxic cerebral damage that occurs after hypoxia or ischemia.3
Psychiatric Disorders in Women

Engel proposed the biopsychosocial model for patient care in 1977, which called on physicians to care for patients in an integrated manner. Despite the longstanding adaptation of this theory in the training of physicians, mental disorders remain underdiagnosed in primary care settings (1, 2, 3). Strategies to improve detection and treatment of mental disorders are imperative to the mental and physical health of a striking number of individuals worldwide. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2001 report on mental health revealed a significant “treatment gap,” claiming that, of the 450 million people suffering from a mental or behavioral disorder, only a small minority were receiving treatment. A Needs Study found that two-thirds to three-quarters of all people were identified as suffering from mental health symptoms, and did not report receiving treatment (4). This further highlights the gap between epidemiology and service use. An epidemic of untreated and poorly treated mental disorders exists in the United States, especially among vulnerable groups and the under-insured (5). Patients’ race, sex, and coexisting medical conditions affect physicians’ awareness of mental health issues. This calls for improved strategies of detection and intervention (6).
Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts Protect ob/ob Mice From Obesity and Metabolic Complications

The global obesity epidemic is fueling alarming rates of diabetes, associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Leptin is a hormone secreted by adipose tissue that is a key regulator of body weight (BW) and energy expenditure. Leptin-deficient humans and mice are obese, diabetic, and infertile and have hepatic steatosis. Although leptin replacement therapy can alleviate the pathologies seen in leptin-deficient patients and mouse models, treatment is costly and requires daily injections. Because adipocytes are the source of leptin secretion, we investigated whether mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), capable of forming adipocytes, could be injected into ob/ob mice and prevent the metabolic phenotype seen in these leptin-deficient mice. We performed a single subcutaneous injection of MEFs into leptin-deficient ob/ob mice. The MEF injection formed a single fat pad that is histologically similar to white adipose tissue. The ob/ob mice receiving MEFs (obRs) had significantly lower BW compared with nontreated ob/ob mice, primarily because of decreased adipose tissue mass. Additionally, obR mice had significantly less liver steatosis and greater glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. obR mice also manifested lower food intake and greater energy expenditure than ob/ob mice, providing a mechanism underlying their metabolic improvement. Furthermore, obRs have sustained metabolic protection and restoration of fertility. Collectively, our studies show the importance of functional adipocytes in preventing metabolic abnormalities seen in leptin deficiency and point to the possibility of cell-based therapies for the treatment of leptin-deficient states.
Reward and executive control network resting-state functional connectivity is associated with impulsivity during reward-based decision making for cocaine users.

Abstract Background Cocaine addiction is related to impulsive decision making that is mediated by brain circuitry involved in reward processing and executive functions, such as cognitive control and attentional salience. Resting-state functional connectivity between reward and executive control circuitry is altered among cocaine users, with concomitant deficits in impulsivity and learning. Prior research has examined how select brain regions interact to influence impulsive decision making for drug users; however, research examining interactions between large-scale brain networks and impulsive behavior is limited. Methods The current study compared reward and executive control network resting-state functional connectivity and its relationship to impulsive decision making between cocaine users (n = 37) and non-cocaine using control participants (n = 35). Participants completed computerized decision-making tasks and a separate resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Data underwent independent component, dual regression, and linear regression moderation analyses. Results Higher impulsivity on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) was associated with inverse resting-state connectivity between the left cognitive control and subgenual anterior cingulate extended reward networks for cocaine users, while the opposite was found for controls. Less impulsivity on the monetary choice questionnaire was associated with stronger positive resting-state connectivity between the attentional salience and striatal core reward networks for controls, while cocaine users showed no association between impulsivity and resting-state connectivity of these networks. Conclusions Cocaine users show aberrant associations between reward-executive control resting-state network coupling and impulsive decision making. The findings support the conclusion that an imbalance between reward and executive control circuitry contributes to impulsivity in drug use.
Aldous Huxley: The Political Theologian

This chapter argues that we should think of Aldous Huxley as a political theologian, but that in order to do so we need to take literary aesthetics seriously with respect to political discourse and crises in liberal democracy. This is an echo of the broader argument about aesthetics in Chap. 1. Largely focusing on Huxley’s work, there is a digression on the concept of “soma” and an argument that academic interest in soma codes aspirations toward liberalism and globalization that are still entrenched within a European phantasy structure. Returning to Huxley, it argues for a deeper reading of Huxley’s works to show how he uses characters to display aspects of metempsychosis and incarnation. Such readings offer deliberative insight into current crises.
Patient-reported symptoms during and after direct-acting antiviral therapies for chronic hepatitis C: The PROP UP study.

Background & Aims A comprehensive analysis of changes in symptoms and functioning during and after direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has not been conducted for patients treated in real-world clinical settings. Therefore, we evaluated patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in a diverse cohort of patients with HCV treated with commonly prescribed DAAs. Methods PROP UP is a US multicenter observational study of 1,601 patients with HCV treated with DAAs in 2016-2017. PRO data were collected at baseline (T1), early on-treatment (T2), late on-treatment (T3) and 3-months post-treatment (T4). PRO mean change scores were calculated from baseline and a minimally important change (MIC) threshold was set at 5%. Regression analyses investigated patient and treatment characteristics independently associated with PRO changes on-treatment and post-treatment. Results Of 1,564 patients, 55% were male, 39% non-white, 47% had cirrhosis. Sofosbuvir/ledipasvir was prescribed to 63%, sofosbuvir/velpatasvir to 21%, grazoprevir/elbasvir to 11%, and paritaprevir/ombitasvir/ritonavir + dasabuvir to 5%. During DAA therapy, mean PRO scores improved slightly in the overall cohort, but did not reach the 5% MIC threshold. Between 21–53% of patients experienced >5% improved PROs while 23–36% experienced >5% worse symptoms. Of 1,410 patients with evaluable sustained virologic response (SVR) data, 95% achieved SVR. Among those with SVR, all mean PRO scores improved, with the 5% MIC threshold met for fatigue, sleep disturbance, and functioning well-being. Regression analyses identified subgroups, defined by age 35–55, baseline mental health issues and a higher number of health comorbidities as predictors of PRO improvements. Conclusions In real-world clinical practices, we observed heterogeneous patient experiences during and after DAA treatment. Symptom improvements were more pronounced in younger patients, those with baseline mental health issues and multiple comorbidities. Lay summary Patients who received direct-acting antiviral medications for hepatitis C at several liver centers in the US did not generally experience significant changes in baseline symptoms during treatment. We observed a full range of patient experiences with some patients experiencing substantial symptom improvements, yet others experiencing less improvements and some even experiencing a worsening of symptoms. The 1,346 patients who were cured of hepatitis C experienced improvements in fatigue, sleep disturbance, and functional well-being, and trends for improved pain and depression; whereas the 64 who were not cured experienced minimal improvements. Clinicaltrial.gov: NCT02601820.
Let's do

In the nine stories of Let’s Do, various calamities strike ordinary Midwesterners, who cope with a mixture of good intentions and ineptitude. Balancing humor with painful clarity, author Rebecca Meacham pulls readers into the lives of characters who struggle with—and more often against—change. “Rebecca Meacham has one of the freshest voices I've encountered in a long time. Blatantly wise, she creates stories that are deliciously subversive, brave and outrageous, reminiscent of a young Alice Hoffman. As the lives of her characters get derailed, they move with the damaged grace of walking through broken glass on tiptoe. This is a writer whose words speak with emotional resonance about the resilience of the human heart—a beautiful, authentic talent who knows that when you turn life upside down, you get good measures of both trouble and laughter, a lesson the very best writers recognize early.”—Jonis Agee, judge
Evaluating Target: Stroke guideline implementation on assessment and treatment times for patients with suspected stroke.

Abstract Objectives Immediate ischemic stroke treatment improves outcomes and early alteplase administration is recommended for patients within window. We implemented stroke guidelines through a neuro-resuscitation initiative (NRI) and hypothesized that the intervention would decrease times to assessment and treatment. Methods We analyzed quality assurance data for EMS and triage patients arriving to our academic emergency department with suspected ischemic stroke to compare outcomes 12 months before to 6 months after initiative implementation at an academic certified primary stroke center in the U.S. Southwest. We examined four time-based outcomes: neurology at bedside, CT head without contrast, CT head angiogram, and alteplase administration. We summarized times with median and IQR values and compared pre and post times to event (in minutes) with Wilcoxon rank sum tests and Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Results We identified 203 EMS (83 pre, 120 post) and 66 (11 pre, 55 post) triage Stroke Alert patients. We observed decreased times for all outcomes in both the EMS and triage samples; however, only those in the EMS sample were significant. In the EMS sample, neurology at bedside median times decreased from 20 min to 2 min (p Conclusions An academic ED led stroke care initiative streamlined evaluation and care with significantly shortened times to all four events.
EVALUATING OSTIAL LEFT MAIN CORONARY ARTERY STENT USING A NOVEL TECHNIQUE WITH OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY

Adequate endothelialization of stents is critical for safe dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) discontinuation. Intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography (OCT) can be used to evaluate stent expansion, edge dissections, and strut apposition. Lack of endothelialized stent struts assessed
Optimizing data processing to improve the reproducibility of single-subject functional magnetic resonance imaging.

INTRODUCTION High reproducibility is critical for ensuring the confidence needed to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activation maps for presurgical planning. METHODS In this study, the comparison of different motion correction methods, spatial smoothing methods, regression methods, and thresholding methods was performed to see whether specific data processing methods can be employed to improve the reproducibility of single-subject fMRI activation. Three test-retest metrics were used: the percent difference in activation volume (PDAV), the difference in the center of mass (DCM), and the Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC). RESULTS The PDAV was minimized when using little or no spatial smoothing and AMPLE thresholding. The DCM was minimized when using affine motion correction and little or no spatial smoothing. The DSC was improved when using affine motion correction and generous spatial smoothing. However, it is believed that the overlap metric may be unsuitable for testing fMRI reproducibility. CONCLUSION Processing methods to improve fMRI reproducibility were determined. Importantly, the processing methods needed to improve reproducibility were dependent on the fMRI activation metric of interest.
Oxide-mediated mechanisms of gallium foam generation and stabilization during shear mixing in air.

Foaming of gallium-based liquid metals improves their processability and—seemingly in contrast to processing of other metal foams—can be achieved through shear-mixing in air without addition of solid microparticles. Resolving this discrepancy, systematic processing–structure–property characterization demonstrates that many crumpled oxide particles are generated prior to air bubble accumulation.
P852 Transcriptomic analysis of dysfunctional CD8+ TILs in melanoma identifies bile acid and MTOR pathways as novel potential immunotherapy targets

Background Coexpression of the immune checkpoint receptors PD-1 and TIM-3 is associated with dysfunction of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in melanoma (MEL) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). To identify the mechanisms underlying this dysfunctional phenotype and to identify targets to rescue immune function, we performed transcriptional profiling of PD-1+TIM-3+CD8+ TILs sorted directly from MEL and SCC tumors in conjunction with immunologic phenotyping. We identified a number of novel dysregulated pathways and associated gene signatures in the PD-1+TIM-3+ subset that have not previously been reported in TILs, including bile acid metabolism, and demonstrated that these pathways are highly correlated not only to immune checkpoint receptor expression but also to MTOR pathway activation. Methods Surgically excised melanoma tumors were dissociated and mononuclear cells were isolated by Ficoll gradient separation and cryopreserved. For sorting based on immune checkpoint receptor expression, a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies to the following targets, including viability dye was used: CD3, CD4, CD8, CD45RA, CD27, CCR7 PE, CD14, CD19, Live/Dead, BTLA, TIM-3, PD-1, CTLA-4, TIGIT and LAG-3. RNA was purified from 10,000 sorted cells using RNeasy Mini Kits (Qiagen), followed by RNASeq library generation using TruSeq Stranded Total RNA HT Kits (Illumina). Gene set variation analysis (GSVA) was used for pathway analysis, as well as linear regression modelling using limma (Bioconductor). Results Transcriptomic analysis of CD8+ TILs revealed 4,228 genes (P Conclusions Transcriptomic analysis of PD-1+TIM-3+ CD8+ TILs identified novel candidate mechanisms of immune dysfunction in CD8+ TILs from patients with metastatic melanoma who fail immunotherapy. Our study identifies the bile acid and MTOR metabolic pathways as a potential novel therapeutic targets for complementary therapy to restore immune function in melanoma and SCC patients. Ethics Approval This study was performed under an IRB approved protocol.
Comparison of season-long diffusivity measures in a cohort of non-concussed contact and non-contact athletes.

Concern surrounding short- and long-term consequences of participation in contact sports has become a significant public health topic. Previous literature utilizing diffusion tensor imaging in spor...
A Cross-National Comparison of the Applicability of Standardized International Advertising

One of the most controversial issues in international advertising is the applicability of international advertising standardization. The issue has created a lively debate over the past fifteen years because of the lack of sound empirical evidence. The purpose of this study was to examine the applicability of this advertising approach by investigating the homogeneity assumption made by those encouraging the use of standardization. American and foreign consumers were shown identical ads, and comparison of their responses to these ads were made. The findings indicated that the responses to these ads varied from group to group. Therefore, a standardized ad may be an effective way of providing necessary information internationally, and the conclusion of the present acceptance of standardization seems to be unsupported and premature.
The Common Instrument: An Assessment to Measure and Communicate Youth Science Engagement in Out-of-School Time.

There has been a growing need felt by practitioners, researchers, and evaluators to obtain a common measure of science engagement that can be used in different out-of-school time (OST) science lear...
Chaperonins in cancer: Expression, function, and migration in extracellular vesicles

The chaperonins CCT and Hsp60 are molecular chaperones, members of the chaperone system (CS). Chaperones are cytoprotective but if abnormal in quantity or quality they may cause diseases, the chaperonopathies. Here, recent advances in the understanding of CCT and Hsp60 in cancerology are briefly discussed, focusing on breast and brain cancers. CCT subunits, particularly CCT2, were increased in breast cancer cells and this correlated with tumor progression. Experimental induction of CCT2 increase was accompanied by an increase of CCT3, 4, and 5, providing another evidence for the interconnection between the members of the CS and the difficulties expected while manipulating one member with therapeutic purposes. Another in silico study demonstrated a direct correlation between the increase in the tumor tissue of the mRNA levels of all CCT subunits, except CCTB6, with bad prognosis. Studies with glioblastomas demonstrated an increase in the CCT subunits in the tumor tissue and in extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from them. Expression levels of CCT1, 2, 6A, and 7 were the most increased and markers of bad prognosis, particularly CCT6A. A method for measuring Hsp60 and related miRNA in exosomes from blood of patients with glioblastomas or other brain tumors was discussed, and the results indicate that the triad Hsp60-related miRNAs-exosomes has potential regarding diagnosis and patient monitoring. All these data provide a strong foundation for future studies on the role played by chaperonins in carcinogenesis and for fully developing their theranostics applications along with exosomes.
Identification of Oral Bacterial Biosynthetic Gene Clusters Associated with Caries

Small molecules are a primary communication media of the microbial world, and play crucial, yet largely unidentified, roles in microbial ecology and disease pathogenesis. Many small molecules are produced by biosynthetic gene clusters, which can be predicted and analyzed computationally given a genome. A recent study examined the biosynthetic repertoire of the oral microbiome and cross-referenced this information against the disease status of the human host, providing leads for biosynthetic gene clusters, and their natural products, which may be key in the oral microbial ecology affecting dental caries and periodontitis. This chapter provides a step-by-step tutorial to bioinformatically to locate biosynthetic gene clusters within genomes, predict the type of natural products that are produced, and cross-reference the identified biosynthetic gene clusters to microbiomes associated with disease or health.
Structural ceramic batteries using an earth-abundant inorganic waterglass binder.

Sodium trisilicate waterglass is an earth-abundant inorganic adhesive which binds to diverse materials and exhibits extreme chemical and temperature stability. Here we demonstrate the use of this material as an electrode binder in a lay-up based manufacturing system to produce structural batteries. While conventional binders for structural batteries exhibit a trade-off between mechanical and electrochemical performance, the waterglass binder is rigid, adhesive, and facilitates ion transport. The bulk binder maintains a Young’s modulus of >50 GPa in the presence of electrolyte solvent while waterglass-based electrodes have high rate capability and stable discharge capacity over hundreds of electrochemical cycles. The temperature stability of the binder enables heat treatment of the full cell stack following lay-up shaping in order to produce a rigid, load-bearing part. The resulting structural batteries exhibit impressive multifunctional performance with a package free cell stack-level energy density of 93.9 Wh/kg greatly surpassing previously published structural battery materials, and a tensile modulus of 1.4 GPa. Structural batteries hold particular promise for decarbonizing the aviation industry. Here, the authors demonstrate that waterglass, an earth-abundant water-soluble silicate adhesive, can be used as a binder in structural batteries allowing them to both bear load and store electricity at the same time.
The challenge of pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacterial infection

The incidence of nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease is increasing. Current treatment strategies are largely based on expert opinion. The lack of randomized clinical trials to inform treatment leave clinicians with many questions regarding the most effective and safe regimens. The risk-benefit ratio of therapy is often thought to favor observation given the chronic nature of the disease, multiple long-term antibiotics recommended for therapy, side effects associated with treatment, and perceived lack of efficacious therapies.
THE SOCIAL CONTRACT RECONSIDERED: PEASANT-STATE RELATIONS IN THE USSR

An American political scientist specializing in Soviet agricultural policy assesses the current state of the Soviet countryside as the product of a persistent urban bias, rather than as a function of an implicit post-Stalin “social contract” between rural dwellers and the state. In the process, he presents much current information about rural living conditions (including that generated in the field through interviews and personal observations) and resource transfers between city and countryside. He argues that unless the structural imbalances perpetuating rural-urban inequalities are adequately addressed, piecemeal efforts at agricultural reform will do little to ameliorate the overall “agrarian problem.”
What can the Aspergillus flavus genome offer to mycotoxin research

The genomic study of filamentous fungi has made significant advances in recent years, and the genomes of several species in the genus Aspergillus have been sequenced, including Aspergillus flavus. This ubiquitous mold is present as a saprobe in a wide range of agricultural and natural habits, and can function as an opportunistic animal and plant pathogen. A. flavus produces many secondary metabolites including aflatoxins, aflatrem and cyclopiazonic acid. In this chapter, our main focus is on the current status of the genomics of A. flavus as well as on the potential applications of genomics-based approaches to understanding mycotoxin production and fungal pathogenicity. It is hoped that the results of A. flavus genomics and functional genomics studies will empower researchers to find effective controlling strategies to eliminate mycotoxin contamination and to yield a safer and more abundant food and feed supply.
Fractionated matrix composition in CV3 Vigarano and alteration processes on the CV parent asteroid

Abstract— Although CV3 Vigarano is one of the most primitive CV chondrites, it has lost most of the S from the matrix; matrix Na is also depleted relative to the concentration in bulk CV chondrites. We used a matrix-grid technique to study thirteen 50 × 50 μm regions in Vigarano; in each area, we used an electron microprobe to gather data with an electron beam 3 μm in width. We found two end-member types of matrix textures. One is coarse and porous, has lower Fe contents and lower analytical totals; it appears to be contaminated with comminuted chondrule debris. The other is finer grained and appears smooth; its mean composition has higher Fe, but lower S and Al contents, than the coarse matrix areas. Our tentative interpretation is that the larger grain size of the coarse areas resulted from the admixing of comminuted chondrule materials, and thus that the initial fraction of nebular fines was higher in the fine matrix regions. Aside from volatiles, the overall composition of Vigarano matrix is similar to that observed in matrix-grid studies of other carbonaceous chondrites: Al, Si, Fe, and Mn have high whole-chondrite-normalized abundance ratios; Ca concentrations are low and highly variable. Because asteroidal alteration effects are present in our sample, it is difficult to resolve nebular signatures in the compositions of the grid areas.
Teaching Time Management Concepts in an Office Procedures Course

(1983). Teaching Time Management Concepts in an Office Procedures Course. The Journal of Business Education: Vol. 58, No. 4, pp. 144-146.
Overcoming challenges associated with upright imaging of the cervicothoracic junction: a case report involving a novel repurposing of the O-arm.

Background Prior to the mobilization of patients with spinal fractures following treatment, it is important to confirm stability in the upright position. Methods A patient presented with T2 and T3 vertebral body fractures visible on recumbent CT. Supine and upright plain x-rays with additional swimmer's views were deemed suboptimal prior to mobilization. The default configuration of the O-arm was modified to enable imaging in the upright position. Results Images utilizing the O-arm were satisfactory and anatomic alignment confirmed in an upright position. It is believed that this is the first time the O-arm has been used for upright diagnostic imaging (off-label application). Excellent visualization of the cervicothoracic junction and upper thoracic regions was obtained in the desired upright position. Conclusion The O-arm was used successfully to image spinal trauma in the upright position and may represent a new application of the device, potentially fulfilling a frequently unmet medical imaging need. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Creating random structural descriptions of CAD models and determining object classes

Addresses two problems related to organizing CAD models represented as random parametric structural descriptions (RPSDs). First, the authors present a method to estimate the probability information for RPSDs from CAD models. The randomness arising from viewpoint variation is captured in the random variables corresponding to the attributes of the primitives and the relationship tuples. Next, and more significantly, they present a method to subdivide a large, heterogeneous set of models into smaller, structurally homogeneous subsets based on the distribution of the eigenvalues of property matrices derived from 2/spl frac12/ descriptions of the CAD models. Once this is done, each sublibrary of RPSDs can be hierarchically organized. >
Religion, social support, fat intake and physical activity.

Objective Most research on diet and exercise has focused on these health behaviours as proximate causes of disease, rather than examine the context of how diet and exercise are developed and maintained. This study examined religion and social support in relationship to fat intake and physical activity. Design, setting and subjects Data from surveys of 546 adults aged 17-91 years, residing in one upstate New York county, were analysed. Results Most relationships between the multiple facets of religion, fat intake and physical activity were not statistically significant. After controlling for demographics and social support, Conservative Protestant women and women specifying an "Other" religious affiliation reported higher fat intakes than did Catholic women. There were no relationships between religion and fat intake in men. In women, religious commitment was associated with greater moderate and vigorous physical activity, whereas in men, divine social support was associated with greater moderate physical activity. Social support did not substantially change the magnitude of the relationships between religion, diet and physical activity. Conclusion Overall, there were few relationships between religion, fat intake and physical activity, suggesting that in contemporary US society religion may play a small role in the context of how diet and exercise are developed and maintained. The limited range of religiosity in the sample, however, may have underestimated the role of religion. Significant relationships between religion and physical activity in women suggest that further research is needed to more clearly delineate religion's relationship with health behaviours.
Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Arabidopsis Mature Pollen and Germinated Pollen

Proteomic analysis was applied to generating the map of Arabidopsis mature pollen proteins and analyzing the differentially expressed proteins that are potentially involved in the regulation of Arabidopsis pollen germination. By applying 2-D electrophoresis and silver staining, we resolved 499 and 494 protein spots from protein samples extracted from pollen grains and pollen tubes, respectively. Using the matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry method, we identified 189 distinct proteins from 213 protein spots expressed in mature pollen or pollen tubes, and 75 new identified proteins that had not been reported before in research into the Arabidopsis pollen proteome. Comparative analysis revealed that 40 protein spots exhibit reproducible significant changes between mature pollen and pollen tubes. And 21 proteins from 17 downregulated and six upregulated protein spots were identified. Functional category analysis indicated that these differentially expressed proteins mainly involved in signaling, cellular structure, transport, defense/stress responses, transcription, metabolism, and energy production. The patterns of changes at protein level suggested the important roles for energy metabolism-related proteins in pollen tube growth, accompanied by the activation of the stress response pathway and modifications to the cell wall.
Study of the idiotypic response to autoantibody to the alternative pathway C3/C5 convertase in normal individuals, patients with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, and experimental animals.

We studied the fluctuation of autoantibody to the alternative pathway C3C5 convertase (C3NeF) and its autoantiidiotypic antibodies, Ab2α and Ab2β, in normal individuals, patients with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN), and New Zealand white rabbits. In normal individuals, serum levels of Ab2α (anti-id Ab without internal imagery to the native antigen) are several times higher than those for Ab2β (anti-id Ab bearing the internal image of the native antigen). When normal rabbits are immunized with Ab2β, Ab3 is produced which has strong C3NeF activity. Ab3 acts to stimulate the prompt production of Ab4α. Ab3 (C3NeF) titers then fall, followed by the appearance of Ab4β. Patients with MPGN and C3NeF activity were also studied. Untreated patients at the time of diagnosis have a two- to fourfold predominance of Ab2β which is a direct reversal of the normal situation. When the patients were treated with prednisone, C3NeF levels fell and Ab2α again predominated. These data suggest that the idiotypic network acts to control the production of autoantibody in a balanced fashion. Moreover, these data suggest that the patients' response to Ab1 is quite different than that found in normal individuals.
Schizophrenia: Incriminating genomic evidence.

The genetic factors that contribute to schizophrenia can vary, making it difficult to pinpoint which DNA changes are the main culprits. Large genome-wide studies provide the most reliable clues yet.
An automated overlying water-renewal system for sediment toxicity studies.

An automated water-renewal toxicity test system is described for exposing benthic invertebrates to whole sediments. The system will intermittently deliver laboratory or on-site water for overlying water replacement in sediment exposures. A range of cycle rates can be used to produce different volume additions of overlying water per day to exposure chambers. The system can be used with six different treatments and eight replicates per treatment producing 48 exposure chambers. Three formulated sediments with variable organic carbon (1.5%, 7.5%) and sand (14%, 63%) content were prepared to test the system exposing amphipods, Hyalella azteca and midges, Chironomus tentans in 10 day whole sediment tests. Intermittent water flow was used with a 90 min cycle time to create two volume additions of laboratory water per 24 h in exposure chambers (180 ml sediment, 320 ml water). Overlying water quality conditions, and survival and growth of both species were consistent and within acceptable limits for the testing requirements of the U.S. EPA guidelines for sediments with freshwater invertebrates.
Object-oriented implementation issues in an experimental CAD system

This case study of object-oriented program design illustrates two limitations of object-oriented programming languages. Existing object-oriented languages do not have good facilities to support two key program design problems: the definition of composite objects, or data structures that include sets of related subobjects; and the specification and run-time management of temporary data structures required to implement efficient algorithms. Both composite objects and temporary data structures are important to the construction of a wide variety of programs. We use the design and implementation of an interactive computer-aided design system to describe how the limitations of present object-oriented languages complicate the design of composite objects and temporary data structures.
Danger is in the eye of the beholders: Social representations of Information Systems security in healthcare

This paper investigates the social representations of Information Systems (IS) security of different communities working in a healthcare organization. It considers questions of IS security as socially constructed and dependent on how people make sense of their context of work. The social representations perspective presented in this paper is especially useful to make sense of IS security from the point of view of various communities. The paper illustrates the relevance of this perspective by analyzing the differences and similarities in the way members of seven occupational communities (e.g., physicians, nurses, IS professionals) working in the same healthcare organization represent IS security. The paper finally draws the strategic implications for research and practice of considering the social representations of IS security. In particular, security and awareness programs should be customized to acknowledge that members of various communities ''know'' different things about security and that they react differently to various security initiatives.
CASE STUDY: TEN THOUSAND STRONG

When a philanthropic organisation funds a new initiative, it's often hard for anyone involved to discern how the project is working out, much less improve it. Jeri Eckhart-Queenan and Matthew Forti believe that the rigour of corporate performance measurement should also be the standard in philanthropy.
Prevention and Intervention: Using Resiliency-Based Multi-Setting Approaches and a Process-Orientation

How to best help children grow up in the face of multiple risks is addressed. Two intervention approaches are presented. The first is a resiliency-based intervention approach focused on increasing protection and decreasing risks faced by children. The use of multi-setting resiliency-based interventions and the use of collaboration across schools, families and communities are discussed. The second approach focuses on using a process orientation in interventions with at-risk children and their families as a means of working with different cultural, family, and individual issues that affect children’s development and families’ goals. Successes of intervention approaches are discussed.