cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Genus Acanalonia in America North of Exico (Fulgoridae, Homoptera)

The purpose of this paper is to give as nearly as possible a comprehensive systematic resume of the genus Acanalonia (Fulgoridae, Homoptera) in America, north of Mexico. Recent studies have included only the eastern and southeastern forms. This paper is an attempt at a comparative study of all previously described species. Descriptions of five new species are included in the text and a key to all North American forms has been devised.
Epidemiology of Wire-Bristle Grill Brush Injury in the United States, 2002-2014:

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of wire-bristle grill brush injury.Study Design and SettingCross-sectional analysis of national databases; literature review.Subjects and MethodsThe Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was used to derive a national weighted estimate of emergency department visits for wire bristle injury from 2002 to 2014. Date, location of injury, demographics, and outcomes were analyzed. A literature search and a consumer-reported injury database (SaferProducts.gov) were interrogated to provide ancillary sources of data.ResultsA total of 43 cases were found within the NEISS database, which extrapolated to an estimated 1698 (95% confidence interval, 1468-1927) emergency department visits nationwide. In the NEISS database, the mean age was 30 years, and the sex distribution of the patients was similar (21 males vs 22 females). The most common location of injury was the oropharynx in both the NEISS...
Nuclear-Magnetic-Resonance Studies of Er 167 in Erbium Iron Garnet

The nuclear magnetic resonance of ${\mathrm{Er}}^{167}$ in erbium iron garnet (ErIG) has been studied at 4.2 \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K using both single crystals and polycrystalline powders. The zero-field spectrum obtained with the powder samples shows the existence of two types of rare-earth sites that would be expected when the magnetization is along a 〈100〉 direction. The two types of sites are found to have hyperfine fields of about 5.74 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{6}$ and 2.87 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{6}$ G, while the absolute magnitudes of the quadrupole coupling constants, $P=\frac{\mathrm{eQ}{V}_{\mathrm{eff}}}{4I(2I\ensuremath{-}1)h}$, for the two sites are found to be 17 and 1 MHz, respectively. With an external field of a few kilogauss applied along a 〈100〉 direction of the single crystal, the ${\mathrm{Er}}^{167}$ spectrum is found to be similar to the zero-field powder spectrum, in agreement with the fact that 〈100〉 is an easy direction of magnetization in ErIG. With the external field oriented along a 〈111〉 direction of the crystal, the observed spectrum is found to be quite different from the 〈100〉 spectrum and more difficult to interpret in detail. Hyperfine fields quadrupole coupling constants are discussed and compared with those expected from other studies. Nuclear relaxation times at the various sites have been measured and interpreted in terms of a relaxation mechanism involving the slow relaxation of the rare-earth ion.
3-D Simulation of Low-Temperature Plasma Development Under Pulsed Conditions

The development of a low-temperature plasma in a needle-protrusion to plane gap is investigated utilizing a 3-D particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision method implemented to run on single NVIDIA graphics processing unit. In addition to electron collisions, the model includes field detachment, photon tracking, and a drift-diffusion approximation for positive ions. The simulated geometry tracks several million electrons with 15-μm spatial resolution.
Field Evaluation of the Sex Pheromone Components of Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Cone Traps

To determine an optimal sex pheromone blend for attracting Heliothis virescens (F.), field studies were conducted using pheromone-baited cone traps. Tests with various combinations of the seven components found in sex pheromone glands indicated that a blend of ( Z )-11-hexadecenal, ( Z )-9-tetradecenal, hexadecanal, and ( Z )-11-hexadecenal dispensed to rubber septa at a ratio of 65.1:1.6:32.6:0.7 was optimal. Blends containing no ( Z )-11-hexadecenol, or those with levels greater than 1% relative to ( Z )-11-hexadecenal, were generally found to be suboptimal.
Managed competition and managed care. What are the ethical issues

Managed competition and managed care, two hallmarks of President Clinton’s health care reform proposal, would significantly change the way that health care in the United States is structured and delivered. This article presents ethical debates about managed care in historical perspective, reviews ethical arguments for and against managed care systems, and concludes with a set of practism existing managed care arrange its Throughout the paper, special attention is devoted to the impact of managed care on the elderly population and on physician-patient relationships.
Recognition of Plasmodium falciparum asexual stage antigens by antibodies in sera from people exposed to Plasmodium vivax.

Abstract An analysis of Plasmodium falciparum antigen-specific antibodies was performed on 44 serum samples from Guatemala, a region endemic for P. vivax. Most sera showed positive reactivity to P. falciparum asexual stage antigens by indirect immunofluorescent assay, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and immunoprecipitation analysis using biosynthetically labeled parasites. Although several antigens were recognized by these sera, proteins with molecular weights of 195 kD, 140 kD, and in the range of 70–80 kD were strongly recognized by many of the sera studied. No such reactivity was observed for any of the surface antigens in the male and female gametes and zygotes of P. falciparum. These studies suggest that P. vivax and P. falciparum, two major human parasites, may share certain epitopes in several antigens of immunologic significance.
Secretion of interleukin-1 by acute myeloblastic leukemia cells in vitro induces endothelial cells to secrete colony stimulating factors

The interaction of acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) cells with stromal cells was investigated by adding AML-conditioned media to cultures of human endothelial cells. This conditioned media contained factors that induced expression of both the granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and granulocyte CSF (G-CSF) genes and release of colony stimulating activity from endothelial cells. The conditioned media contained interleukin-1 (IL-1) bioactivity and the endothelial cell stimulatory activity was partially neutralized by anti-IL-1 antiserum. Constitutive expression of the IL-1-beta gene was detected in ten of 17 AML cases analyzed. These results suggest that the unregulated secretion of IL-1 by AML cells can induce stromal cells in vitro to overproduce CSFs. This could contribute to the unrestricted growth of AML cells.
Retrograde Coronary Venous Ethanol Infusion for Ablation of Refractory Ventricular Tachycardia.

Background— Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of ventricular tachycardia (VT) can fail because of inaccessibility to the VT substrate. Transarterial coronary ethanol ablation can be effective but entails arterial instrumentation risk. We hypothesized that retrograde coronary venous ethanol ablation can be an alternative bail-out approach to failed VT RFA. Methods and Results— Out of 334 consecutive patients undergoing VT/premature ventricular contraction ablation, 7 patients underwent retrograde coronary venous ethanol ablation. Six out of 7 patients had failed RFA attempts (including epicardial in 3). Coronary venogram-guided venous mapping was performed using a 4F quadripolar catheter or an alligator-clip–connected angioplasty wire. Targeted veins included those with early presystolic potentials and pace-maps matching VT/premature ventricular contraction. An angioplasty balloon (1.5–2×6 mm) was used to deliver 1 to 4 cc of 98% ethanol into a septal branch of the anterior interventricular vein in 5 patients with left ventricular summit VT, a septal branch of the middle cardiac vein, and a posterolateral coronary vein (n=1 each). The clinical VT was successfully ablated acutely in all patients. There were no complications of retrograde coronary venous ethanol ablation, but 1 patient developed pericardial and pleural effusion attributed to pericardial instrumentation. On follow-up of 590±722 days, VT recurred in 4 out of 7 patients, 3 of whom were successfully reablated with RFA. Conclusions— Retrograde coronary venous ethanol ablation is safe and feasible as a bail-out approach to failed VT RFA, particularly those originating from the left ventricular summit.
Bold, Persistent Social Work

The pathway to Frances Perkins’s career in social work and government combines empirical observation and scientific method with quirky pragmatism and personal commitment. The era before social work practice is codified stamps both Perkins’s mode of work and the New Deal’s “temper [of] bold, persistent experimentation” [Franklin D. Roosevelt, “Address at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia, May 22, 1932]. This chapter outlines Perkins’ personal history, ranging from her initial encounters with poverty to her reading of Riis’s How the Other Half Lives, which inspires her to do something about the poor. Perkins’s experiences in Chicago’s Hull House, Philadelphia Research and Protective Association, and National Consumers League, in addition to her investigation of the Triangle Fire, prepare her to help shape New York State and national government and the New Deal.
Ocular Disease due to Toxoplasma gondii

Publisher Summary Even though ocular toxoplasmosis is the most common etiology of posterior uveitis in the United States and the world, it remains a poorly understood disease. For instance, there is limited understanding as to why macular lesions are common in congenitally infected individuals, limited understanding regarding the details of ocular recurrences, and there is no agreement on best treatment. There is no regimen that can eliminate the bradyzoite stage of infection; therefore, once an individual is infected by Toxoplasma gondii the retina is randomly undetectably seeded, resulting in a chance for local recurrences in the future. There is irreversible damage to the involved retina where a recurrence occurs. If a recurrence occurs within the central macula, the consequence is severe visual morbidity. Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common parasitic infections in the world, with as many as one-third of all humans being infected. Currently, there is considerable controversy concerning the treatment of ocular toxoplasmosis. Some clinicians reserve treatment for active disease unless there is imminent threat to a patient's vision.
Strategic Use of Affiliative Vocalizations by Wild Female Baboons

Although vocal production in non-human primates is highly constrained, individuals appear to have some control over whether to call or remain silent. We investigated how contextual factors affect the production of grunts given by wild female chacma baboons, Papio ursinus, during social interactions. Females grunted as they approached other adult females 28% of the time. Supporting previous research, females were much more likely to grunt to mothers with young infants than to females without infants. Grunts also significantly increased the likelihood of affiliative interactions among all partners. Notably, however, grunts did not simply mirror existing social bonds. Instead, they appeared to perform a very different function: namely, to serve as signals of benign intent between partners whose relationship is not necessarily close or predictable. Females were less likely to grunt to their mothers or adult daughters—the individuals with whom they shared the closest and least aggressive bonds—than to other females. In contrast, patterns of grunting between sisters were similar to those between nonkin, perhaps reflecting sisters’ more ambivalent relationships. Females grunted at higher rates to lower-ranking, than to higher-ranking, females, supporting the hypothesis that grunts do not simply signal the signaler’s level of arousal or anxiety about receiving aggression, but instead function as signals of benign intent. Taken together, results suggest that the grunts given by female baboons serve to reduce uncertainty about the likely outcome of an interaction between partners whose relationship is not predictably affiliative. Despite their limited vocal repertoire, baboons appear to be skilled at modifying call production in different social contexts and for different audiences.
A Controversy Timeline

(1998). A Controversy Timeline. Journal of Museum Education: Vol. 23, Too Hot to Handle? Museums and Controversy, pp. 4-6.
Pineal Gland: Normal Size, Appearance, and Enhancement

At times, the pineal gland can appear prominent and simulate an enhancing lesion, with or without the presence of a cyst. The pineal gland increases in weight and volume with age and can even gradually increase in adulthood. Also, the degree of calcification of the pineal gland should not significantly increase after 30–40 years of age. The glands are typically not calcified in children younger than 5 years of age but may progressively calcify into adulthood. Pineal glands may appear partially cystic in up to 50–60 % of patients and may enhance inhomogeneously after administration of intravenous contrast (remember that the pineal gland enhances since it is outside the blood–brain barrier). However, the pineal gland should not cause mass effect on the adjacent midbrain tectum, which places the patient at risk for hydrocephalus as a result of aqueductal obstruction. Also, the margins of a normally enhancing pineal gland should be regular and rounded, although calcifications may cause the gland to appear to enhance inhomogeneously on MRI.
Reduced membrane cholesterol limits pulmonary endothelial Ca2+ entry after chronic hypoxia.

This research is the first to examine the direct role of membrane cholesterol in regulating pulmonary endothelial agonist-induced Ca2+ entry and its components. The results provide a potential mech...
Confused identity: Pseudoeudesis brasiliensis Franz transferred to Heteroscydmus Franz, and Pseudoeudesis castrii Franz placed in Anthicimimus Franz (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scydmaeninae).

Based on examination of the type specimens, the Brazilian Pseudoeudesis brasiliensis and Chilean Ps. castrii are removed from Scydmaenini and transferred to genera of Glandulariini: Heteroscydmus and Anthicimimus , respectively. Lectotypes for both species are designated. Heteroscydmus brasiliensis comb. n. and Anthicimimus castrii comb. n. are redescribed. Minor differences in morphological structures between the newly transferred species and previously known Heteroscydmus and Anthicimimus are discussed and regarded as representing character variability within genera. All non-Palaearctic species previously placed in Pseudoeudesis (and in Scydmaenini) are now placed in four genera of Glandulariini ( Afroeudesis , Oreoeudesis , Heteroscydmus and Anthicimimus ), and it can be concluded that Pseudoeudesis is restricted to the Mediterranean basin and does not occur in the Southern Hemisphere.
PCR analysis of muscular dystrophy in mdx mice

Animal models for human genetic diseases provide a biological system in which many of the basic features of a disease can be studied and in which approaches for therapeutic intervention can be tested. In many cases it is difficult to obtain human disease tissue samples in sufficient quantity or at particular stages of development to use in identifying the underlying pathological basis of the disease or to study the expression and mutation of the disease gene. The availability of an appropriate animal model of a human genetic disease enables exploration of many of these issues in the laboratory and can provide a rich source of information that can be applied to understanding or treating the corresponding human disease. Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies (DMD/BMD) are among the most common human genetic diseases. These allelic, X-linked recessive disorders are prevalent due to a high frequency of new mutation, with one-third of all cases showing no prior family history (Moser, 1984). Several mouse models, referred to as mdx mice, are available for the study of DMD/BMD (Bulfield et al., 1984; Chapman et al., 1989).
A Dirichlet Process Gaussian State Machine Model for Change Detection in Transient Processes

The ability to detect incipient and critical changes in real world process—esessential for system integrity assurance—is currently impeded by the mismatch between the key assumption of stationarity...
Planning as Storytelling

Planning, in essence, is a set of future-oriented activities where individuals and groups organize their current understandings of their circumstances in order to be better prepared for the future. Whether we are aware of it or not, all of us plan constantly. Planning is not a set of activities that is related to one’s chronological age or activities that are restricted to the human species. We could say that planning is hardwired into our psyche. Yet, in the United States, there is considerable skepticism and wariness about the role of planning in/for the public realm; many people believe that planning infringes on individual property rights while others believe that planning creates new and onerous regulations that inhibit growth and development. In resource-poor communities, planning is viewed as an enterprise that only serves the interests of the wealthy and powerful. When elected officials engage in conversations about planning, they are often feted by some sections of the electorate while being simultaneously vilified by others. Our society’s ambivalence toward planning places limits the kinds of projects, programs, and policies that local governments can pursue.
Being Good: Or at Least Not Bad

This chapter discusses the ways that Tyson presents themselves benignly and as part of a decent whole. Tyson presents themselves as part of a decent whole by aligning themselves with popular cultural values, and they present themselves benignly by constructing an image of a good corporate citizen/neighbor.
Obstructive sleep apnea and chronic kidney disease: open questions on a potential public health problem.

The relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) is the object of an increasing interest. OSA and CKD share some common risk factors, like older age and obesity, and both of them have complex interrelationships with conditions like systemic hypertension or diabetes, so that to some extent their joint occurrence may be expected. However, several mechanisms, like sympathetic hyperactivity, apnea-related hypertensive peaks, and oxidative stress with subclinical inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, could account for an independent harmful effect of OSA on the kidney, in addition to effects of comorbidities (1). In the last years, evidence has accumulated from both epidemiological and pathophysiological studies supporting some independent pathogenetic role of OSA in kidney disease.
Convolutional DLSTM for Crowd Scene Understanding

With the growth of crowd phenomena in the real world, crowd scene understanding is becoming an important task in anomaly detection and public security. Visual ambiguities and occlusions, high density, low mobility and scene semantics, however, make this problem a great challenge. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end deep architecture, Convolutional DLSTM (ConvDLSTM), for crowd scene understanding. ConvDLSTM consists of GoogleNet Inception V3 convolutional neural networks (CNN) and stacked differential long short-term memory (DLSTM) networks. Different from traditional non-end-to-end solutions which separate the steps of feature extraction and parameter learning, ConvDLSTM utilizes a unified deep model to optimize the parameters of CNN and RNN hand in hand. It thus has the potential of generating a more harmonious model. The proposed architecture takes sequential raw image data as input, and does not rely on tracklet or trajectory detection. It thus has clear advantages over the traditional flow-based and trajectory-based methods, especially in challenging crowd scenarios of high density and low mobility. Taking advantage of the semantic representation of CNN and the memory states of LSTM, ConvDLSTM can effectively analyze both the crowd scene and motion information. Existing LSTM-based crowd scene solutions explore deep temporal information and are claimed to be "deep in time". ConvDLSTM, however, models the spatial and temporal information in a unified architecture and achieves "deep in space and time". Extensive performance studies on the Violent-Flows and CUHK Crowd datasets show that the proposed technique significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods.
Predicting sign learning in hearing adults: The role of perceptual-motor (and phonological?) processes

The present study aimed to identify predictors of one aspect of sign language acquisition, sign learning, in hearing nonsigners. Candidate predictors were selected based on the theory that the observed relationship between phonological short-term memory and L2 lexical learning is due in part to common perceptual-motor processes. Hearing nonsigning adults completed a sign learning task, three assessments of short-term memory for movements (movement STM; two of which used sign-like stimuli), and two visuospatial STM tasks. The final sample included 103 adults, ranging between 18 and 33 years of age. All predictors were moderately to strongly correlated with the sign learning task and to each other. A series of regression analyses revealed that both movement and visuospatial STM uniquely contributed to the prediction of sign learning. These results suggest that perceptual-motor processes play a significant role in sign learning and raise questions about the role of phonological processing.
A Fracture Study of Ice Under High Strain Rate Loading

High strain rate compression tests were conducted with columnar ice grown in the laboratory. In addition to measuring stress and strain to failure at 2 strain rates, we examined the effects of end conditions on the failure process. Experiments were performed in a split Hopkinson pressure bar at 2 temperatures, −10 C and −40 C, and a strain rate in the range of 10 to 15 s−1. Additional experiments were performed on similarly grown ice at a lower strain rate of 3× 10−4 s−1 for comparison. In the high strain rate tests, the general observation is that most failures occurred by splitting, and the final failure by collapse of the columns, which become unstable under the sustained load during the passage of the stress wave. Most failures occurred around a value of 1000 microstrain. After crack initiation, failure is progressive, with multiple peaks in the stress–time history, and it takes a finite time for ejection of fragments before the final collapse. Reduction of temperature increases the peak stress values. We also note that although the initial fracture is brittle in nature, the final failure, or collapse, because of time for the fragment ejection, gives the appearance of viscoelastic failure.
Aggression Grows Up: Looking Through an Evolutionary Developmental Lens to Understand the Causes and Consequences of Human Aggression

In contrast to traditional developmental perspectives of aggression, evolutionary perspectives examine the potential benefits as well as costs of aggression at different times in development. Following resource control theory and life history theory, children develop alternative strategies of attaining resources, some of which involve using aggression. These include coercive controllers, who use only aggressive means to attain resources, and bistrategic controllers, who use both aggressive and prosocial means. Levels of aggression decrease with age, although both the benefits (e.g., status, resources) and costs (e.g., incarceration, damage inflicted on others) of aggression in older children and adolescents are greater than earlier in life. Children are sensitive to early environmental conditions that are predictive of later environments. These early conditions entrain development, including a propensity to behave aggressively, and to be consistent with the likely future environment. Children growing up in resource-poor and unpredictable environments adopt a fast life history strategy that is marked by delinquent behavior and elevated levels of interpersonal coercion. We conclude with an evolutionary developmental look at bullying, asking “What’s in it for the bullies?,” and suggest how such a perspective may be applied to reduce the incidence of bullying.
Use of image-guided bone scalpel for resection of spine tumors: technical note

In the literature, the use of navigation for spine tumor surgery has largely centered on implant placement. We describe the cases of two patients with spinal tumors on whom we utilized our resection technique of registering an ultrasonic bone scalpel (UBS) to a navigation system. In both cases, we achieved a satisfactory tumor resection with negative margins and excellent neurologic outcomes. We feel that using the navigation-registered UBS is a valuable tool to increase the operator’s ability to achieve desired resections while minimizing the neurologic deficits and operative morbidity associated with these challenging surgical cases.
Dac-Man: data change management for scientific datasets on HPC systems

Scientific data is growing rapidly and often change due to instrument configurations, software updates or quality assessments. These changes in datasets can result in significant waste of compute and storage resources on HPC systems as downstream pipelines are reprocessed. Data changes need to be detected, tracked and analyzed for understanding the impact of data change, managing data provenance, and making efficient and effective decisions about reprocessing and use of HPC resources. Existing methods for identifying and capturing change are often manual, domain-specific and error-prone and do not scale to large scientific datasets. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of Dac-Man framework, which identifies, captures and manages change in large scientific datasets, and enables plug-in of domain-specific change analysis with minimal user effort. Our evaluations show that it can retrieve file changes from directories containing millions of files and terabytes of data in less than a minute.
Dynamic User Equilibrium of Mobility-on-Demand System with Linear Programming Rebalancing Strategy:

Mobility-on-demand (MoD) services are provided by multiple competing companies. In their competition for travelers, they need to provide minimum travel costs, or travelers will switch to competitor...
Contribution of scatter and beam hardening to phase contrast imaging

X-ray phase contrast imaging is being investigated with the goal of improving the contrast of soft tissue. Enhanced edges at material boundaries are characteristic of phase contrast images. These allow better retrieval of phase maps and attenuation maps when material properties are very close to each other. Previous observations have shown that the edge contrast of a target material reduces with increasing thickness of the surrounding bulk material. In order to accurately retrieve material properties, it is important to understand the contributions from various factors that may lead to this phase degradation. We investigate this edge degradation dependence due to beam hardening and object scatter that results from the surrounding bulk material. Our results suggest that the large propagation distances used in PB-PCI are effective at reducing the scatter influence. Rather, our results indicate that the phase contrast degradation due to beam hardening is the most critical. The ability to account for these variations may be necessary for more accurate phase retrievals using polychromatic sources and large objects.
Hydrologic similarity to reference wetlands does not lead to similar plant communities in restored wetlands

Few wetland restoration projects include long‐term hydrologic and floristic data collection, limiting our understanding of community assembly over restored hydrologic gradients. Although reference sites are commonly used to evaluate outcomes, it remains unclear whether restoring similar water levels to reference sites also leads to similar plant communities. We evaluated long‐term datasets from reference and restored wetlands 15 years after restoration to test whether similar water levels in reference and restored sites led to vegetation similarity. We compared the hydrologic regimes for three different wetland types, tested whether restored wetland water levels were different from reference water levels, and whether hydrologic similarity between reference and restored wetlands led to similarity in plant species composition. We found restored wetlands had similar water levels to references 15 years after restoration, and that species richness was higher in reference than restored wetlands. Vegetation composition was similar across all wetland types and was weakly correlated to wetland water levels overall. Contrary to our hypothesis, water table depth similarity between restored and reference wetlands did not lead to similar plant species composition. Our results highlight the importance of the initial planting following restoration and the importance of hydrologic monitoring. When the restoration goal is to create a specific wetland type, plant community composition may not be a suitable indicator of restoration progress in all wetland types.
Examining resting-state functional connectivity in first-episode schizophrenia with 7T fMRI and MEG

Abstract Schizophrenia is often characterized by dysconnections in the brain, which can be estimated via functional connectivity analyses. Commonly measured using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in order to characterize the intrinsic or baseline function of the brain, fMRI functional connectivity has significantly contributed to the understanding of schizophrenia. However, these measures may not capture the full extent of functional connectivity abnormalities in schizophrenia as fMRI is temporally limited by the hemodynamic response. In order to extend fMRI functional connectivity findings, the complementary modality of magnetoencephalography (MEG) can be utilized to capture electrophysiological functional connectivity abnormalities in schizophrenia that are not obtainable with fMRI. Therefore, we implemented a multimodal functional connectivity analysis using resting-state 7 Tesla fMRI and MEG data in a sample of first-episode patients with schizophrenia (n = 19) and healthy controls (n = 24). fMRI and MEG data were decomposed into components reflecting resting state networks using a group spatial independent component analysis. Functional connectivity between resting-state networks was computed and group differences were observed. In fMRI, patients demonstrated hyperconnectivity between subcortical and auditory networks, as well as hypoconnectivity between interhemispheric homotopic sensorimotor network components. In MEG, patients demonstrated hypoconnectivity between sensorimotor and task positive networks in the delta frequency band. Results not only support the dysconnectivity hypothesis of schizophrenia, but also suggest the importance of jointly examining multimodal neuroimaging data as critical disorder-related information may not be detectable in a single modality alone.
Cyclic Stretching of Fibrotic Microtissue Array for Evaluation of Anti-Fibrosis Drugs

Progression of pulmonary fibrosis, characterized by the deterioration of lung tissue’s mechanical properties, is affected by respiratory motion-induced dynamic loading. Since the development of anti-fibrosis drugs faces major hurdles in animal tests and human clinical trials, preclinical models that can recapitulate fibrosis progression under physiologically-relevant cyclic loading hold great promise. However, the integration of these two functions has not been achieved in existing models. Recently we developed static human lung microtissue arrays that recapitulate the progressive changes in tissue mechanics during lung fibrogenesis. In the current study, we integrate the lung microtissue array with a membrane stretching system to enable dynamic loading to the microtissues. The effects of a pro-fibrotic agent and anti-fibrosis drugs were tested under cyclic stretching. Cyclic stretching that mimics respiratory motion was shown to affect the cytoskeletal organization and cellular orientation in the microtissue and cause the increase in microtissue contractility and stiffness. Fibrosis induction using TGF-β1 further promoted fibrosis-related mechanical activity of the lung microtissues. Using this system, we examined the therapeutic effects of two FDA approved anti-fibrotic drugs. Our results showed that Nintedanib was able to fully inhibit TGF-β1 induced force increase but only partially inhibited stretching induced force increase. In contrast, Pirfenidone was able to fully inhibit both TGF-β1 induced force increase and stretching-induced force increase. Together, these results highlight the pathophysiologically-relevant modeling capability of the current fibrotic microtissue system and demonstrated the potential of this system to be used for anti-fibrosis drug screening.
Bridging sensory evaluation and consumer research for strategic leafy Brassica (Brassica oleracea) improvement

Plant breeders working with new or underrepresented horticultural crops often have minimal sensory resources available to aid in the breeding and selection of new varieties. Kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) is a recently popularized horticultural crop in Western markets, however, plant breeding programs have little knowledge regarding the underlying sensory characteristics motivating this trend. We employed a multilayered, sensory-driven approach to understand the inherent consumer values, sensory attributes, and consumer preferences for kale types currently available on the market and novel genotypes from the Cornell AgriTech vegetable breeding program. Underlying consumer values related to storability, health and wellbeing, and sensory characteristics were identified through Qualitative Multivariate Analysis (QMA). A trained descriptive panel developed a lexicon of 44 sensory attributes common within kale germplasm, 21 of which exhibited significant differences among the 15 tested kale genotypes. Following a consumer test, four clusters of kale consumers were identified with agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) and external preference mapping was used to connect consumer hedonic scores with descriptive data. Consumers demonstrated a preference for familiar kale types (that is, curly types), while new test hybrids scored favorably within flavor and appearance modalities. Preference mapping highlighted the utility of plant breeding in developing products to expand the existing sensory space. This work provides important resources for horticultural crop selection efforts, and it serves as a strategic model for breeding programs working with new or unfamiliar traits. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Plant breeders are responsible for selecting and improving traits that influence consumer acceptance, including quality traits such as appearance and flavor. Understanding the relative importance of sensory characteristics and the variation of these sensory characteristics can help plant breeders prioritize these traits within their program. We have developed a standardized sensory lexicon for kale and related leafy Brassicas, identified variation for texture and flavor in our breeding program, and gained a better understanding of consumer preferences to guide future breeding efforts.
Other Important Differences in Clinical Care

Racial/ethnic differences in pain perception, opioid abuse, sleep quality, mental health, alcohol use, vitamin supplementation, bone strength, and vaccinations in African Americans are examined. African Americans have greater pain sensitivity and lower pain tolerance yet they are more likely to have their pain discounted or underestimated. African Americans also have a statistically lower propensity for opioid abuse. Data shows that most providers think the exact opposite. There are also racial differences in sleep with African Americans having more complaints of insomnia. Finally, there are vitamin-related differences with African American requirements and potential toxicities that can impact overall survival.
Lipid–oligonucleotide conjugates for simple and efficient cell membrane engineering and bioanalysis

Cell membrane modification is important for tissue engineering, cell-based therapies, and cell biology studies. Recently, oligonucleotides have attracted considerable attention to remodel and functionalize live cell membranes. In particular, a type of amphiphilic lipid-oligonucleotide conjugates have been rationally designed and synthesized for this purpose. These conjugates have enabled a rapid, straightforward and efficient cell membrane modification. Taking advantage of the highly precise and programmable self-assembly of DNAs and RNAs, lipid-oligonucleotide conjugates have been used for membrane bioanalysis, therapeutics, building artificial membrane structures, and regulating cell-surface and cell-cell interactions. In this review, we have summarized the current knowledge in the design, synthesis, and regulating membrane properties of lipid-oligonucleotide conjugates. In addition, their state-of-the-art applications in cell membrane engineering and bioanalysis have been illustrated.
Trophic ecology of elasmobranch and teleost fishes in a large subtropical seagrass ecosystem (Florida Big Bend) determined by stable isotope analysis

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analyses were used to infer relative trophic structure and examine regional variation in trophic dynamics of fishes in the Florida Big Bend, an approximately 300 km stretch of relatively pristine coastline in the eastern Gulf Of Mexico that contains over 250,000 ha of seagrass. The Florida Big Bend is home to a diverse assemblage of fauna; and the ecosystem is regionally important through its support of robust fishing (recreational and commercial) and eco-tourism industries. Stable isotope analyses suggest assemblages of fishes in the Florida Big Bend are trophically diverse, with considerable isotopic overlap across many taxa. Patterns of trophic structure corroborated the results of similar studies of these and related taxa and in other seagrass ecosystems, and there appear to be multiple channels of primary production. Large elasmobranch fishes were most enriched in δ 15N with values well above the teleost fishes sampled, while smaller and demersal elasmobranchs had δ 15N signatures comparable to several species of predatory teleosts. Results of stable isotope analyses suggested high trophic redundancy and overlap in resource use among both teleost and elasmobranch fishes. Comparisons of regional stable isotope values revealed some spatial variability and indicated the southern Big Bend is isotopically distinct, suggesting a distinct regional faunal zone in this region, potentially due to greatly reduced river influence in the southern portion of the system.
A Zeroth-Order ADMM Algorithm for Stochastic Optimization over Distributed Processing Networks

In this paper, we address the problem of stochastic optimization over distributed processing networks, which is motivated by machine learning applications performed in data centers. In this problem, each of a total n nodes in a network receives stochastic realizations of a private function f i (x) and aims to reach a common value that minimizes $\sum\nolimits_{i = 1}^n {{f_i}} (x)$ via local updates and communication with its neighbors. We focus on zeroth-order methods where only function values of stochastic realizations can be used. Such kind of methods, which are also called derivative-free, are especially important in solving realworld problems where either the (sub)gradients of loss functions are inaccessible or inefficient to be evaluated. To this end, we propose a method called Distributed Stochastic Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (DS-ADMM) which can choose to use two kinds of gradient estimators for different assumptions. The convergence rates of DS-ADMM are $O(n\sqrt {k\log (2k)/T} )$ for general convex loss functions and O(nk log(2kT)/T) for strongly convex functions in terms of optimality gap, where k is the dimension of domain and T is the time horizon of the algorithm. The rates can be improved to $O(n/\sqrt T )$ and O(nlogT/T) if objective functions have Lipschitz gradients. All these results are better than previous distributed zerothorder methods. Lastly, we demonstrate the performance of DSADMM via experiments of two examples called distributed online least square and distributed support vector machine arising in estimation and classification tasks.
Evaluating the Influence of the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) on Blood Glucose, Blood Pressure, and Weight.

Background Diabetes, hypertension, and obesity are vastly prevalent in the United States. Lifestyle modification programs can aid in controlling chronic disease. The aim of the study was to evaluate the health outcomes of the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) concerning blood glucose, blood pressure, and weight. CHIP is a lifestyle medicine education program involving diet modification and increased physical activity. Methods A quantitative, summative program evaluation was performed to measure the outcomes of CHIP. Pre and post data sets were collected on 73 individuals who completed the 12-week CHIP program. Pre and post program blood glucose levels, blood pressure readings, and weight measurements were analyzed using a paired t-test with a 95% confidence level. Analysis determined influence of the intervention on the biomarkers. Results The post-intervention group means showed decreases in blood glucose, blood pressure, and weight. Statistical analysis revealed significant decreases in blood glucose (p = 0.008) and weight (p = 0.000). Blood pressure readings did not have statistically significant decreases (p = 0.403); however, the pre-intervention blood pressure readings were in the normotensive range. Conclusion Results indicated that the Complete Health Improvement Program decreased participants' blood glucose levels, blood pressure readings, and weight measurements. Statistically significant decreases in blood glucose and weight suggest enhanced control of diabetes and obesity through utilization of CHIP.
Do pharmaceutical prices rise anticipating branded competition

Growth in pharmaceutical prices is a major policy issue in the United States. Competition is encouraged to counteract such growth, yet less is known about the effect of brand competition on prices. We discover a unique feature of this market by studying the pricing strategies of incumbent drug manufacturers under tiered-insurance anticipating branded competition. Using the insulin market as a natural experiment, we exploit exogenous variation in several potential entrants' completion of clinical trials to identify the effect of drug pipeline pressure on the prices of incumbent drugs. We find that pipeline pressure exerts cumulative and significant upward pressure on prices of incumbent drugs. In the insulin market such pressure explained 10.5% of the growth of prices. We were able to replicate these findings among incumbents with other emerging biosimilars. Insurance designs that fail to promote price competition through negotiations and value-based principles may contribute to such price increases.
DeLTA 2.0: A deep learning pipeline for quantifying single-cell spatial and temporal dynamics

Abstract Improvements in microscopy software and hardware have dramatically increased the pace of image acquisition, making analysis a major bottleneck in generating quantitative, single-cell data. Although tools for segmenting and tracking bacteria within time-lapse images exist, most require human input, are specialized to the experimental set up, or lack accuracy. Here, we introduce DeLTA 2.0, a purely Python workflow that can rapidly and accurately analyze single cells on two-dimensional surfaces to quantify gene expression and cell growth. The algorithm uses deep convolutional neural networks to extract single-cell information from time-lapse images, requiring no human input after training. DeLTA 2.0 retains all the functionality of the original version, which was optimized for bacteria growing in the mother machine microfluidic device, but extends results to two-dimensional growth environments. Two-dimensional environments represent an important class of data because they are more straightforward to implement experimentally, they offer the potential for studies using co-cultures of cells, and they can be used to quantify spatial effects and multi-generational phenomena. However, segmentation and tracking are significantly more challenging tasks in two-dimensions due to exponential increases in the number of cells that must be tracked. To showcase this new functionality, we analyze mixed populations of antibiotic resistant and susceptible cells, and also track pole age and growth rate across generations. In addition to the two-dimensional capabilities, we also introduce several major improvements to the code that increase accessibility, including the ability to accept many standard microscopy file formats and arbitrary image sizes as inputs. DeLTA 2.0 is rapid, with run times of less than 10 minutes for complete movies with hundreds of cells, and is highly accurate, with error rates around 1%, making it a powerful tool for analyzing time-lapse microscopy data. Author Summary Time-lapse microscopy can generate large image datasets which track single-cell properties like gene expression or growth rate over time. Deep learning tools are very useful for analyzing these data and can identify the location of cells and track their position over time. In this work, we introduce a new version of our Deep Learning for Time-lapse Analysis (DeLTA) software, which includes the ability to robustly segment and track bacteria that are growing in two dimensions, such as on agarose pads or within microfluidic environments. This capability is essential for experiments where spatial and positional effects are important, such as conditions with microbial co-cultures, cell-to-cell interactions, or spatial patterning. The software also tracks pole age and can be used to analyze replicative aging. These new features join other improvements, such as the ability to work directly with many common microscope file formats. DeLTA 2.0 can reliably track hundreds of cells with low error rates, making it an ideal tool for high throughput analysis of microscopy data.
Postoperative complications and long-term outcomes in Currarino syndrome

This study aimed to present ten cases of Currarino syndrome, study their postoperative complications and prognosis, and analyze whether patient background and clinical factors influenced outcomes. Ten patients with Currarino syndrome who were followed up at our institution between 2004 and 2020 were enrolled. Patient records were retrospectively reviewed for clinical details, postoperative complications, and long-term outcomes. The incidence of early postoperative complications was 80%, most of which were transient dysuria. The dysuria significantly developed in the higher normal sacral vertebra (p = 0.024) and the complete type of Currarino syndrome (p = 0.033). Later, intractable constipation requiring rectal irrigation and intractable dysuria requiring clean intermittent catheterization occurred in 40% and 30% of the patients, respectively. There was a tendency for tethered cord syndrome (p = 0.076), and the height of the normal sacral vertebra (p = 0.071) was related to intractable constipation. The height of the normal sacral vertebra (p = 0.05) and the tumor size on the image (p = 0.012) were significantly higher and larger, respectively, in the group with intractable dysuria than in the group without intractable dysuria. Postoperative complications, especially early ones, occur at a high rate. Long-term intractable constipation and dysuria may be influenced by the degree of sacral dysplasia.