cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The determinants of renovation and redevelopment in Baltimore City

Like many historical industrial cities, population in Baltimore City has declined dramatically in recent years. Despite losing nearly half its population since 1950, some neighbourhoods in Baltimore City are revitalizing. Using a probit model, this study examines the probability of a parcel receiving a renovation building permit given certain characteristics of individual parcels and the surrounding neighbourhood and location in spatial policy areas. Results reveal renovation varies systematically with characteristics of the property and the neighbourhoods in which they are located. Many policy areas positively impact the probability of renovation but the magnitude of impact is slight. Results support the claim by previous studies that structural characteristics are the strongest predictors of renovation. Resumen. Al igual que muchas otras ciudades industriales historicas, la poblacion de la ciudad de Baltimore ha disminuido dramaticamente en los ultimos anos. A pesar de haber perdido casi la mitad de su poblacion desde 1950, algunos barrios de Baltimore estan siendo revitalizados. Mediante la utilizacion de un modelo probit, este estudio examina la probabilidad de que una parcela o lote de terreno logre un permiso de construccion para su renovacion, en funcion de ciertas caracteristicas individuales de cada lote, del barrio en el que se halla y de su localizacion dentro de un area de planificacion del territorio. Los resultados muestran que la renovacion varia sistematicamente con respecto a las caracteristicas de la parcela y el barrio en el que se encuentra. Muchas de las areas de planificacion tienen un impacto positivo en la probabilidad de lograr un permiso de renovacion, pero la magnitud de este impacto es muy pequena. Los resultados apoyan la afirmacion de estudios previos de que las caracteristicas estructurales son los mejores predictores de renovacion. Figure 1. Download figure to PowerPoint
An adaptive QIM- and SVD-based digital image watermarking scheme in the wavelet domain

This paper presents a blind, adaptive quantization index modulation (QIM)- and singular value decomposition (SVD)-based watermarking scheme to embed watermark bits in the approximation subband of the wavelet domain. The QIM technique adaptively determines the quantization step for each embedding block using a statistical model. The SVD technique uses the quantization step to modify the SVs of each embedding block. This modification ensures the SVs of highly textured blocks are largely modified and the SVs of smooth textured blocks are slightly modified. The successive packing interleaving (SPI) scheme and the one-way hashing functions are respectively applied to improve the robustness of the proposed system. A statistical-clustering method is also applied offline to decide two optimal weighting parameters for the QIM technique so the adaptive quantization steps are optimal for all embedding blocks. Experimental results demonstrate our scheme is robust against JPEG compressions down to a level of 20% quality factor. It also performs better than a peer SVD-based wavelet domain watermarking approach.
Sociological Perspectives on Life Transitions

Research on life translt10ns highlights the normative and nonnormative changes that individuals experience over time. During the past two decades, life course perspectives have provided a strategic context for studying the genesis of life transitions and their personal and social consequences. Both population-based and individual models of transitions have become more complex, focusing on the ways that social and historical contexts shape life transitions. At the individual level, progress has also been made in identifying the mechanisms by which transitions affect outcomes. Research on life
Strain, Muscle Length and Work Output in a Crab Muscle

The relationships between muscle length, fractional change in length (strain) and work output during cyclic contraction were examined in scaphognathite levator muscle L2B of the green crab Carcinus maenas (L.). The muscle was subjected to sinusoidal strain at 2 Hz and to phasic stimulation in the strain cycle. At an average length and stimulus phase which are optimum for net work output, the work from muscle L2B during shortening rises to a peak or a plateau with increasing strain. The failure of shortening work to increase continuously with strain is due, in part, to the greater shortening velocity associated with greater strain, and to the consequent reduction in muscle force during shortening at higher velocity. The work required to re-lengthen a muscle following contraction is a complex function of strain, with an initial peak followed by a work minimum and then a monotonic rise in work with further increase in strain. The early work minimum is a result of shortening inactivation which reduces muscle force and thus the work which must be done to re-lengthen the muscle. Because shortening work rises to a peak or plateau with increasing strain while lengthening work, for the most part, increases with strain, there is a sharp optimum strain (about 8%) for net work output. Muscle relaxation becomes slower with increasing muscle length. As muscle length is increased, fusion of tension from cycle to cycle becomes more pronounced and shortening inactivation becomes a more important determinant of optimum strain.
The Detection and Importance of Subtle Biofacies within a Single Lithofacies: The Upper Ordovician Kope Formation of the Cincinnati, Ohio Region

Environmental controls on the distribution of fossils most commonly are found by recognizing that certain distinctive fossil assemblages are associated with particular lithofacies. Lack of change in lithofacies commonly is used as indicating a lack of significant environmental effects on the stratigraphic distribution of fossils. The results presented here challenge that view. The Upper Ordovician Kope Formation of the Cincinnati, Ohio, area has long been considered a single unit, both lithostratigraphically and in terms of depositional environment. Gradient analysis of over 1000 fossil assemblages reveals subtle environmental control on the distribution of fossils, in the absence of obvious lithologic change. This gradient analysis is used to construct an ecological model of the Kope fauna, with values of preferred depth, depth tolerance, and peak abundance estimated for the most common fossils. This method, conducted within a single lithofacies, offers the potential for reconstructing sequence architecture because faunas can be more sensitive recorders of environment than lithofacies. In addition, the presence of subtle facies control as in the Kope raises the prospect that environmental controls on paleobiologic and biostratigraphic patterns may be more pervasive than generally acknowledged.
Unfolding Trees & Symmetrically-Associated Graphs

An unfolding tree is an object reflecting the connectivity properties of a vectorlabelled graph. First introduced in the context of theoretical computer science as a way of describing information flow in a neural net model of graph-structured data, unfolding trees have remained unexplored within graph theory. They give rise to an equivalence relation on the vertices of a graph, one which describes the connective environments of vertices but is not reducible to automorphism group orbits. This thesis formalizes unfolding trees and investigates their properties along with the implications of this vertex relation. This leads to the graph property of symmetric-association; graphs with this property have predictably-behaved unfolding trees. Symmetric-association is presented as a generalization of k-regularity, culminating in a Havel-Hakimi type result featuring a graph transformation that preserves unfolding trees.
Schoenberg's Musical Imagination: Dramatic conflict in Pelleas und Melisande

It was around 1900 when Maurice Maeterlinck fascinated composers, stimulating them to create music to his dramatic poems. What attracted all was his art of dramatizing eternal problems of humanity in the form of fairy-tales, lending them timelessness without adhering to imitation of ancient styles. I had first planned to convert Pelleas and Melisande into an opera, but I gave up this plan, though I did not know Debussy was working on an opera at the same time. I still regret that I did not carry out my initial intention. It would have differed from Debussy's. I might have missed the wonderful perfume of the poem; but I might have made my characters more singing. On the other hand the symphonic poem helped me, in that it taught me to express moods and characters in precisely formulated units, a technique which an opera would perhaps not have promoted so well. Thus my fate evidently guided me with great foresight. Arnold Schoenberg, February 17, 1950 In December of 1901, Schoenberg moved from Vienna to Berlin having accepted a position as musical director at the relatively new and highly successful Uberbrettl cabaret. Schoenberg would stay in Berlin until the summer of 1903. It was during this period that he became acquainted with Richard Strauss, and it was Strauss who suggested that Schoenberg set Maeterlinck's drama.
Deciding to Retire From the Federal Service

The swelling wave of federal retirements heightens the importance of understanding the factors that influence retirement decisions. We examine both behavior and intentions to retire using two large data sets on federal white-collar employees aged 50 and above. Analysis of personnel records for 1979-2009 shows that several of the usual factors—in particular, age, federal experience, and pension design—have strong effects on when employees retire. Perhaps more revealing is our analysis of the 2012 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), which indicates that satisfaction with agency leadership and with one’s own job appear to encourage postponing retirement plans, whereas satisfaction with supervisors and with recognition received on the job do not. These relationships—especially those for pension design, satisfaction with leadership, and satisfaction with one’s job—produce interesting implications for both theory and practice.
Pathophysiology of Diarrheal Disorders

Travelers' diarrhea is only mild or moderate in the majority of cases. Consequently, severe fluid and electrolyte losses are encountered only rarely. Secretory, osmotic, and inflammatory processes in the intestine result in increased losses of fluid and electrolytes due to diarrhea. Disorders of intestinal motor activity, coupled with fluid secretion, may also have a role in causing an increase in the frequency of bowel movements. Several systemic symptoms, such as malaise, fatigue, anorexia, nausea, and fever, are commonly associated with diarrhea and contribute to significant morbidity, which is often sufficient to compromise effective participation in a vacation or business trip. Several putative mechanisms for the systemic symptoms associated with travelers' diarrhea are discussed in light of recent understanding of the enteric nervous system, intestinal neuropeptides and hormones, and other inflammatory mediators released from the bowel wall during enteric infections.
The relationships of the Bornean Bristlehead(Pityriasis gymnocephala) and the Black-collared Thrush(Chlamydochaera jefferyi)

The taxonomic relationships of two Bornean endemics,Pityriasis gymnocephala andChlamydochaera jefferyi, have been considered to be uncertain. DNA-DNA hybridization was used to compare the single-copy sequences of each of these two species with other passerine taxa. The DNA data support other evidence indicating thatPityriasis is a cracticine corvoid, most closely related to the Australo-Papuan generaCracticus, Gymnorhina, Strepera, andPeltops. Chlamydochaera is a typical turdine thrush, closely related toTurdus. This supports and confirms the morphological evidence presented byAmes (1975).Chlamydochaera is not related to the cuckoo-shrikes (Campephaga, etc.) of the Tribe Oriolini.
Morphology transitions in bilayer spinodal dewetting systems

In spontaneous pattern formation by spinodal dewetting, attractive intermolecular forces overcome surface tension and cause an ultrathin liquid film on a low energy substrate to produce ordered structures. Spinodal dewetting in single-layer film on a substrate is usually manifested by an early stage surface deformation and a highly nonlinear ripening stage that results in characteristic morphologies, typically bicontinuous- or holelike states. Here we have experimentally constructed the dewetting morphology phase diagrams for a bilayer (Ag, Co) liquid film system on SiO${}_{2}$. Nanosecond pulsed laser melting was used to initiate and foster the dewetting as a function of film thickness and arrangement. The early stage ripening morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy from which the phase diagrams were constructed. Unlike single-layer films, which only show one morphology transition between the bicontinuous to hole states as the film thickness is increased, the bilayer system can have multiple transitions. We have utilized the thickness-dependent free energy curvature approach [Sharma and Khanna, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 3463 (1998)] to analyze the phase diagram. The location of the multiple transitions cannot be predicted from the curvature minima, as was the case for single-layer films. Nevertheless, despite the complexity from multiple interacting forces and different surface deformation mode in bilayer systems, the phase diagram can be completely generated by knowledge of the free energy curvature of the respective single-layer films. These results can permit improved modeling of the nonlinear dynamics in naturally driven self-organized phenomenon and help design nanomaterials for advanced applications.
Effect of hemorrhage rate on early hemodynamic responses in conscious sheep.

Physiological compensatory mechanisms can mask the extent of hemorrhage in conscious mammals, which can be further complicated by individual tolerance and variations in hemorrhage onset and duration. We assessed the effect of hemorrhage rate on tolerance and early physiologic responses to hemorrhage in conscious sheep. Eight Merino ewes (37.4 ± 1.1 kg) were subjected to fast (1.25 mL/kg/min) and slow (0.25 mL/kg/min) hemorrhages separated by at least 3 days. Blood was withdrawn until a drop in mean arterial pressure (MAP) of >30 mmHg and returned at the end of the experiment. Continuous monitoring included MAP, central venous pressure, pulmonary artery pressure, pulse oximetry, and tissue oximetry. Cardiac output by thermodilution and arterial blood samples were also measured. The effects of fast versus slow hemorrhage rates were compared for total volume of blood removed and stoppage time (when MAP < 30 mmHg of baseline) and physiological responses during and after the hemorrhage. Estimated blood volume removed when MAP dropped 30 mmHg was 27.0 ± 4.2% (mean ± standard error) in the slow and 27.3 ± 3.2% in the fast hemorrhage (P = 0.47, paired t test between rates). Pressure and tissue oximetry responses were similar between hemorrhage rates. Heart rate increased at earlier levels of blood loss during the fast hemorrhage, but hemorrhage rate was not a significant factor for individual hemorrhage tolerance or hemodynamic responses. In 5/16 hemorrhages MAP stopping criteria was reached with <25% of blood volume removed. This study presents the physiological responses leading up to a significant drop in blood pressure in a large conscious animal model and how they are altered by the rate of hemorrhage.
The clinical observation on the efficacy of hirudoid for infantile eczema

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of Hirudoid for infantile eczema.Methods:A randomized,open-label,parallel-group controlled study was conducted in 140 infants with dry sub-acute eczema.The patients in treatment group were given topical hirudoid cream twice daily for 3 weeks while controls treated with topical heparin sodium cream twice daily for 3 weeks.The efficiency and adverse effects were evaluated after the treatment.Results:The total effective rate was significantly higher in treatment group than in controls(75.3%for treatment group and 53.7%for the controls,P0.01).No adverse reaction was observed in either group.Conclusions:Hirudoid cream is effective and safe for infantile dry sub-acute eczema.
Silas Marner : Narration as Work-Discipline

George Eliot’s Silas Marner (1861) provides a convenient point of entry for the problems posed by unproductive labor at the beginning of the 1860s for reasons that will be familiar to the novel’s critics. As an allegory of economic relations, it posits narrative as a compensatory relation for unresolved social tensions that constructs new connections between author and reader. In this way, the novel offers narration as a new form of socially productive work that conjures unproductive labor while remaining distinct from it. Of course, critics are divided as to the efficacy of such narrative work. Although Susan Graver, Mary Poovey, Richard Mallen, and Courtney Berger offer disparate readings of the novel, they largely view Eliot’s narrative project in a Habermasian light, accepting Eliot’s gambit that language is a space of clear communication for the making of community. Indeed, Graver tellingly calls Eliot’s view ‘community as communication’.1 By contrast, critics such as Gillian Beer, Susan Cohen, Sally Shuttleworth, and Hao Li focus on the problems of discontinuity posed by the text and their effects on its constructions of society, personal psychology, and history.2
First experimental verification of collection length limited gate induced drain leakage

Gate induced drain leakage (GIDL) is recognized as a constraint on the applicable gate-to-drain field imposed by cell leakage in DRAMs and standby power in logic applications. The transport-limited thermal generation model describes GIDL current behavior at gate-induced fields below 5 MV/cm. One unique feature of this model is the dependence of GIDL current on the gate overlap length. This paper presents experimental data which demonstrates the dependence of measured GIDL current on the gate overlap length. >
The impact of family information services on genetic testing uptake among relatives in Lynch syndrome families.

1573 Background: A mismatch repair (MMR) pathogenic mutation in an index patient provides a basis for predictive mutation testing in at-risk members of Lynch syndrome (LS) families. Mutation carrie...
Congenital Pseudarthrosis of the Tibia.

Patients with congenital pseudarthrosis of the tibia do not have a normal tibia. In such patients, the entire tibia is abnormal (even outside of the established pseudarthrosis site); the bone does not have a normal healing response to injury or osteotomy, and the proximal growth plate typically has
Understanding Parental Management of Information Regarding Their Children

Parents and caregivers need to process large volumes of information regarding their children’s education. Effective parental management of this information is critical for parents to actively participate in their child’s educational development. However, existing educational information management tools are designed from the perspective of the educator or student, not the parent. The objectives of this research were to identify how parents currently manage their children’s educational information and identify areas where challenges are perceived and/or realized for parents managing information regarding their children’s education. Two surveys were designed and conducted to gather the data. The first survey was conducted to understand the types of information parents receive regarding their children, ascertain a high-level view of what is done with the data and if there were any perceived difficulties in managing any particular type of data. Based on the results of the first survey, another survey was conducted that focused primarily on parental management of their children’s educational information. The results confirm that parents must manage a large volume of information regarding their children. The majority of issues related to this information management are associated with educational and medical information. Regarding educational information management, web-based software applications used by school districts allow parents to keep track of their students’ academic progress for the school year, but do not effectively allow parents to compare progress across years, integrate educational information from other sources or organize information in ways that may better meet the needs of the parent. For these reasons parents find themselves interfacing with numerous data sources or tools to maintain a current understanding of their children’s academic progress. Few tools are available and/or used by parents to manage the data. The results support the fact that parents need technological solutions to improve their management and use of educational information regarding their children.
Diffuse Colour Discrimination as Marker of Afferent Visual System Dysfunction in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

ABSTRACTAbnormalities of the inner and intermediate retinal structures in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have been described using optical coherence tomography and histopathology. Colour vision is a potential marker of these structural changes. The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that colour vision impairment is associated with ALS. Monocular (right eye) colour vision was assessed in subjects with definite or probable ALS (n = 25, aged 50–80 years) and control (n = 21, aged 46–89 years) subjects with corrected near visual acuity of at least 20/40 using the L’Anthony D15 color test (desaturated), scored by c-index, a measure of diffuse colour discrimination. Of ALS subjects, 16/25 (64%) had impaired colour vision (c-index >1.8). Comparing with our normal subjects and accounting for age, 72% (n = 18) of ALS subjects had colour vision below the 50th percentile, 52% (n = 13) had colour vision below the 25th percentile, 24% (n = 6) had colour vision below the 10th percentile,...
Combined νμ and $$\bar{\nu }_{\mu }$$ CCQE Measurements

With the high-statistics MiniBooNE ν μ [1] and \(\bar{\nu }_{\mu }\) (Chap. 8 and [2]) CCQE cross sections, an opportunity exists to extract even more information out of these data sets by exploiting correlated systematic uncertainties between the two measurements.
A Platform for Computationally Advanced Collaborative AgroInformatics Data Discovery and Analysis

The International Agroinformatics Alliance (IAA) is a coalition of public and private institutions that are cooperating to develop a platform for computationally advanced collaborative analysis of agricultural data. By combining large agricultural data sets with advanced analysis techniques, IAA seeks to catalyze agricultural research, leading to improved agricultural productivity and stability. IAA has constructed a platform that combines Jupyterhub web notebooks for interactive data analysis, relational databases for storage of crop genetic and geospatial data, and the Globus file transfer system for efficient data transfer and authentication. The platform uses a data permissions system that allows users to share data with collaborators. The central platform is located at the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute, at the University of Minnesota, which allows access to the large storage and compute resources required for advanced agroinformatics analysis pipelines.
Changes Over Time in the Comprehension of He and They as Epicene Pronouns.

An epicene pronoun is a gender-neutral singular pronoun used in sentences when the gender of the subject is unknown or unspecified. In English, he and they are commonly-used epicene pronouns. Until recently, he has been widely accepted as being grammatically correct. However, many have argued that he is sexist because it may bias people to think about males. Two experiments were performed using a lexical decision task in which participants reacted to gendered words (e.g., aunt and uncle) after reading sentences using he, they, or unrelated epicene pronouns. We conducted the experiments 15 years apart in order to explore whether change in pronoun usage and the social significance of pronouns would be associated with different priming effects. Both experiments demonstrated that pronouns influence the processing of gendered nouns. However, in Experiment 1 they facilitated the processing of feminine nouns whereas in Experiment 2, he slowed the processing of feminine nouns. We discuss these results with respect to language change and conclude that they is a more effective epicene.
Conservative populist politics and the remaking of the “white working class” in the USA

For decades, scholars and journalists have intricately tied presidential elections to the idea of a struggling “white working class.” They explained the 2016 presidential election by investigating the politics of low- or middle-income white conservative voters. This article instead focuses on the way in which white low-wage and unemployed small town residents question, distrust, and embrace conservative populist politics. The paper first explores how conservative populism and the media response are remaking the white working class along cultural and racial lines. Drawing from research conducted in a predominantly white former manufacturing town in central Maine, I then document that some poor and low-wage white workers distrust conservative populist politicians and are angry about being pushed aside by business-first politics. While populist and neoliberal politics have contributed to a remaking of the white working class around a white worker ideal, the concomitant decline in the social safety net and good jobs has been generating a sense of betrayal among those who are struggling the most. The article thus offers an alternative to the white working class caricature and argues that a contradictory consciousness results from workers living within and reacting against economic precarity and conservative populism.
Rates of Prevalent Colorectal Cancer Occurrence in Persons 75 Years of Age and Older: A Population-Based National Study.

There is a lack of studies describing the epidemiology of colorectal cancer (CRC) in patients aged 75 years and older (elderly). Current guidelines recommend against routine screening colonoscopies in this population. We sought to describe the epidemiology of CRC in the elderly, utilizing a large, population-based database as this may impact screening guidelines in this population. Utilizing a commercial database (Explorys Inc, Cleveland, OH), we identified a cohort of patients with a first-ever diagnosis of CRC between 2012 and 2017 based on the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms. We calculated the rate of first-ever CRC occurrence in the elderly, described age, race, and gender-based rates of new CRC diagnoses, and identified associated conditions for new CRC in the elderly. The rate of first-ever CRC in the elderly (aged 75 and above) was 102.6/100,000 persons. The rate of new CRC was higher in males than females and in African Americans than Caucasians and Asians. There was a higher prevalence of right than left colon cancer. The rate of new CRC was higher in elderly with certain comorbidities. The rate of new CRC diagnosis in the elderly was substantially greater compared to the overall population. Screening would be justified especially if a patient’s life expectancy warrants it particularly if the patient has specific associated conditions that increase the risk for CRC.
Research Design and Methods to Study the Genetic Epidemiology of Obesity

As discussed elsewhere in this volume, obesity is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Besides its apparent health consequences, obesity can be a source of psychosocial stress. The overweight may worry about their future health, and may be subject to direct or indirect social pressures to be thin. To understand the causes of individual differences in body composition is therefore an important scientific objective.
Vasopressin and Endocrine Function

In the field of endocrinology, there is an increasing number of examples of hormones that were originally identified and named on the basis of some particular effects and then subsequently found to exert other effects as well, some of which turn out to be of greater physiological importance than the original ones. Vasopressin (VP) is one of the earlier examples of this phenomenon in that it was identified and named because of its vasopressor properties; only later was it recognized that it is of even more importance as an antidiuretic hormone. Still later, this same peptide began attracting attention for its effects on the functions of a variety of endocrine organs, and it is this aspect of the physiology of VP that is addressed in this chapter. Because the earlier literature in this field was reviewed in 1968 by Doepfner, we concentrate on the advances since that time. As is often the case, many of these advances in our knowledge of the physiology involved have been possible only because of recent technological advances. For example, assays for the hormones affected by VP (as well as for VP itself) have improved dramatically, and the structures of some of these hormones (e.g., the hypophys-iotropic hormones) have only recently been elucidated. Also, the availability of synthetic agonists and antagonists for VP is proving to be as valuable to the study of the receptors involved in endocrine effects as it has been for the more classical pressor and antidiuretic effects of VP. Finally, the widespread use of the Brattle-boro rat, with its congenital lack of VP, has made a particularly strong contribution to the study of the endocrine effects of VP. The endocrinopathies of the Brat-tleboro rat are considered to some extent in this chapter, but the reader is also referred to a recent monograph (Sokol and Valtin, 1982) for further details.
“What Would I Look Like?”: How Exposure to Concentrated Disadvantage Shapes Hip-Hop Artists’ Connections to Community:

Hip-hop has deep historical ties to disadvantaged communities. Resounding success in mainstream and global music markets potentially disrupts those connections. The authors use in-depth interviews ...
Calculating turbulent transport tensors by averaging single-plume dynamics and application to dynamos

Transport coefficients in turbulence are comprised of correlation functions between turbulent fluctuations and efficient methods to calculate them are desirable. For example, in mean field dynamo theories used to model the growth of large scale magnetic fields of stars and galaxies, the turbulent electromotive force is commonly approximated by a series of tensor products of turbulent transport coefficients with successively higher order spatial derivatives of the mean magnetic field. One ingredient of standard models is the kinematic coefficient of the zeroth order term, namely the averaged kinetic pseudotensor $\bm{\alpha}$, that converts toroidal to poloidal fields. Here we demonstrate an efficient way to calculate this quantity for rotating stratified turbulence, whereby the pre-averaged quantity is calculated for the motion of a single plume, and the average is then taken over an ensemble of plumes of different orientations. We calculate the plume dynamics in the most convenient frame, before transforming back to the lab frame and averaging. Our concise configuration space calculation gives essentially identical results to previous lengthier approaches. The present application exemplifies what is a broadly applicable method.
Pulmonary Autograft Mitral Valve Replacement (Ross II): Long-Term Follow-Up of a US Center

Background:Mitral valve replacement (MVR) with a pulmonary autograft (Ross II) may be a useful technique for pediatric and young adult patients who wish to avoid anticoagulation. Our aim was to eva...
Relational values in environmental assessment: the social context of environmental impact

Relational values, or values that people hold on the basis of their relationships and responsibilities to society and the broader environment, are increasingly recognized as deeply important to human understanding of what is acceptable. This review argues that given that environmental impacts are mediated by relational values, in the sense that such values have a major effect on how impacts are experienced, environmental assessment processes designed to support infrastructure decisions should consider relational values explicitly. Currently, formal environmental assessment tools generally do not explicitly include societal values other than instrumental financial valuations, though the assessment community increasingly recognizes their significance. The environmental social sciences and humanities have produced substantial scholarship on relational values in communities experiencing environmental change, which can inform integration with environmental assessment.
Autosomal recessive Stickler syndrome resulting from a COL9A3 mutation

Stickler syndrome is a connective tissue disorder characterized by hearing loss, ocular anomalies, palatal defects, and skeletal abnormalities. The autosomal dominant form is the most common, but autosomal recessive forms have also been described. We report the second case of autosomal recessive Stickler syndrome due to homozygosity for a loss of function mutation in COL9A3, which encodes the α3 chain of type IX procollagen. The clinical features were similar to the previously described COL9A3 Stickler syndrome family, including moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss, high myopia, and both tibial and femoral bowing at birth. Radiographs demonstrated abnormal capital femoral epiphyses and mild irregularities of the vertebral endplates. This case further establishes the phenotype associated with mutations in this gene. We suggest that loss of the α3 chain of type IX collagen results in a Stickler syndrome phenotype similar to that of the other autosomal recessive forms caused by mutations in genes encoding the α1 and α2 chains of type IX collagen.
Theoretical modeling on CRISPR-coded cell lineages: efficient encoding and optimal reconstruction

Summary Delineating cell lineages is a prerequisite for interrogating the genesis of cell types. CRISPR/Cas9 can edit genomic sequence during development which enables to trace cell lineages. Recent studies have demonstrated the feasibility of this idea. However, the optimality of the encoding or reconstruction processes has not been adequately addressed. Here, we surveyed a multitude of reconstruction algorithms and found hierarchical clustering, with a metric based on the number of shared Cas9 edits, delivers the best reconstruction. However, the trackable depth is ultimately limited by the number of available coding units that typically decrease exponentially across cell generations. To overcome this limit, we established two strategies that better sustain the coding capacity. One involves controlling target availability via use of parallel gRNA cascades, whereas the other strategy exploits adjustable Cas9/gRNA editing rates. In summary, we provide a theoretical basis in understanding, designing, and analyzing robust CRISPR barcodes for dense reconstruction of protracted cell lineages.
Peripheral myelin protein 22 modulates store-operated calcium channel activity, providing insights into Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease etiology

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is a peripheral neuropathy associated with gene duplication and point mutations in the peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22) gene. However, the role of PMP22 in Schwann cell physiology and the mechanisms by which PMP22 mutations cause CMT are not well-understood. On the basis of homology between PMP22 and proteins associated with modulation of ion channels, we hypothesized that PMP22 alters ion channel activity. Using whole-cell electrophysiology, we show here that heterologous PMP22 expression increases the amplitude of currents similar to those ascribed to store-operated calcium (SOC) channels, particularly those involving transient receptor canonical channel 1 (TrpC1). These channels help replenish Ca2+ in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) following stimulus-induced depletion. Currents with similar properties were recorded in WT but not pmp22−/− mouse Schwann cells. Heterologous expression of the CMT-associated PMP22_L16P variant, which fails to reach the plasma membrane and localizes to the ER, led to larger currents than WT PMP22. Similarly, Schwann cells isolated from Trembler J (TrJ; PMP22_L16P) mice had larger currents than WT littermates. Calcium imaging in live nerves and cultured Schwann cells revealed elevated intracellular Ca2+ in TrJ mice compared with WT. Moreover, we found that PMP22 co-immunoprecipitated with stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1), the Ca2+ sensor SOC channel subunit in the ER. These results suggest that in the ER, PMP22 interacts with STIM1 and increases Ca2+ influx through SOC channels. Excess or mutant PMP22 in the ER may elevate intracellular Ca2+ levels, which could contribute to CMT pathology.
The digital dilemma: L1 and L2 technology use, language learning, and motivation among US university students studying abroad

Abstract The study abroad (SA) experience now involves increased learner access via technology to the home (in the L1) and to the host culture (in the L2). L1 technology use could detract from host culture integration and language learning by allowing SA participants to remain immersed in the L1, while L2 technology use could aid in host culture integration by connecting participants to L2 speakers. Given this, it is urgent to determine the nature of the impact of L1 and L2 technology use abroad on motivation, language gains, and host culture integration. In the present study, we analyzed daily technology logs, learner motivation and L2 gains, and guided reflections on host culture engagement and L2 learning goals by eleven US university students studying abroad in Argentina. Motivation and L2 abilities increased significantly, and were positively correlated. Also, L1 and L2 digital contact showed important qualitative relationships with motivation and host culture integration.
Chapter 9 – Malignant Bleeding

Cancer patients experience bleeding related to local tumor effects and abnormal tumor angiogenesis and to systemic effects of the malignancies themselves and anticancer therapies. Bleeding episodes can be categorized as acute catastrophic bleeding, episodic major bleeding and low-volume oozing. Bleeding can be exacerbated by medications commonly used by cancer patients, such as bevacizumab, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and anticoagulants. Much of this bleeding manifests as visible bleeding resulting from bruising, petechiae, epistaxis, hemoptysis, hematemesis, hematochezia, hematuria, vaginal bleeding, and melena. Goals of care, life expectancy, and quality of life considerations should guide therapeutic intervention. Therapies include reversal of anticoagulation and discontinuation of contributing medications, administration of systemic agents and blood products, as well as local therapies. Local therapies include noninvasive approaches, such as applied pressure, a variety of dressings or packing, and radiotherapy. Invasive local therapies include percutaneous embolization, endoscopic procedures, and surgical ligation or resection of tumors.
Tumor Microenvironment-Derived NRG1 Promotes Antiandrogen Resistance in Prostate Cancer.

Summary Despite the development of second-generation antiandrogens, acquired resistance to hormone therapy remains a major challenge in treating advanced prostate cancer. We find that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) can promote antiandrogen resistance in mouse models and in prostate organoid cultures. We identify neuregulin 1 (NRG1) in CAF supernatant, which promotes resistance in tumor cells through activation of HER3. Pharmacological blockade of the NRG1/HER3 axis using clinical-grade blocking antibodies re-sensitizes tumors to hormone deprivation in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer with increased tumor NRG1 activity have an inferior response to second-generation antiandrogen therapy. This work reveals a paracrine mechanism of antiandrogen resistance in prostate cancer amenable to clinical testing using available targeted therapies.
Trem2 deficiency differentially affects phenotype and transcriptome of human APOE3 and APOE4 mice

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder influenced by aging and genetic risk factors. The inheritance of APOEe4 and variants of Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) are major genetic risk factors for AD. Recent studies showed that APOE binds to TREM2, thus raising the possibility of an APOE-TREM2 interaction that can modulate AD pathology. The aim of this study was to investigate this interaction using complex AD model mice - a crossbreed of Trem2ko and APP/PSEN1dE9 mice expressing human APOE3 or APOE4 isoforms (APP/E3 and APP/E4 respectively), and their WT littermates (E3 and E4), and evaluate cognition, steady-state amyloid load, plaque compaction, plaque growth rate, glial response, and brain transcriptome. In both, APP/E3 and APP/E4 mice, Trem2 deletion reduced plaque compaction but did not significantly affect steady-state plaque load. Importantly, the lack of TREM2 increased plaque growth that negatively correlated to the diminished microglia barrier, an effect most pronounced at earlier stages of amyloid deposition. We also found that Trem2 deficiency significantly decreased plaque-associated APOE protein in APP/E4 but not in APP/E3 mice in agreement with RNA-seq data. Interestingly, we observed a significant decrease of Apoe mRNA expression in plaque-associated microglia of APP/E4/Trem2ko vs APP/E4 mice. The absence of TREM2, worsened cognitive performance in APP transgenic mice but not their WT littermates. Gene expression analysis identified Trem2 signature - a cluster of highly connected immune response genes, commonly downregulated as a result of Trem2 deletion in all genotypes including APP and WT littermates. Furthermore, we identified sets of genes that were affected in TREM2- and APOE isoform-dependent manner. Among them were Clec7a and Csf1r upregulated in APP/E4 vs APP/E3 mice, a result further validated by in situ hybridization analysis. In contrast, Tyrobp and several genes involved in the C1Q complement cascade had a higher expression level in APP/E3 versus their APP/E4 counterparts. Our data demonstrate that lack of Trem2 differentially impacts the phenotype and brain transcriptome of APP mice expressing human APOE isoforms. The changes probably reflect the different effect of APOE isoforms on amyloid deposition.
MicroNet: Towards Image Recognition with Extremely Low FLOPs

In this paper, we present MicroNet, which is an efficient convolutional neural network using extremely low computational cost (e.g. 6 MFLOPs on ImageNet classification). Such a low cost network is highly desired on edge devices, yet usually suffers from a significant performance degradation. We handle the extremely low FLOPs based upon two design principles: (a) avoiding the reduction of network width by lowering the node connectivity, and (b) compensating for the reduction of network depth by introducing more complex non-linearity per layer. Firstly, we propose Micro-Factorized convolution to factorize both pointwise and depthwise convolutions into low rank matrices for a good tradeoff between the number of channels and input/output connectivity. Secondly, we propose a new activation function, named Dynamic Shift-Max, to improve the non-linearity via maxing out multiple dynamic fusions between an input feature map and its circular channel shift. The fusions are dynamic as their parameters are adapted to the input. Building upon Micro-Factorized convolution and dynamic Shift-Max, a family of MicroNets achieve a significant performance gain over the state-of-the-art in the low FLOP regime. For instance, MicroNet-M1 achieves 61.1% top-1 accuracy on ImageNet classification with 12 MFLOPs, outperforming MobileNetV3 by 11.3%.
New cloning vectors to facilitate quick allelic exchange in gram-negative bacteria.

New cloning vectors have been developed with features to enhance quick allelic exchange in gram-negative bacteria. The conditionally replicative R6K and transfer origins facilitate conjugation and ...
The Role of Department Chair

The leadership position of a departmental chair can be a positive and rewarding opportunity. These rewards principally stem from the success of the faculty, trainees, staff, and everyone supporting the department. With healthcare reform and the constraints of the federal budget, increasing attention and time has become directed toward administrative management. Formal courses and training in executive leadership and business management may be helpful in enhancing knowledge and skills in these disciplines. There are multiple and often competing constituencies and agendas requiring thoughtful strategies to achieve departmental goals. The objectives of the chair are advancing patient care, education, and research as well as a continual presence and visibility in the department. The true excellence of a department is achieved by the innovation of its faculty and trainees.
Photoautotrophs-Bacteria Co-Cultures: Advances, Challenges and Applications

Photosynthetic microorganisms are among the fundamental living organisms exploited for millennia in many industrial applications, including the food chain, thanks to their adaptable behavior and intrinsic proprieties. The great multipotency of these photoautotroph microorganisms has been described through their attitude to become biofarm for the production of value-added compounds to develop functional foods and personalized drugs. Furthermore, such biological systems demonstrated their potential for green energy production (e.g., biofuel and green nanomaterials). In particular, the exploitation of photoautotrophs represents a concrete biorefinery system toward sustainability, currently a highly sought-after concept at the industrial level and for the environmental protection. However, technical and economic issues have been highlighted in the literature, and in particular, challenges and limitations have been identified. In this context, a new perspective has been recently considered to offer solutions and advances for the biomanufacturing of photosynthetic materials: the co-culture of photoautotrophs and bacteria. The rational of this review is to describe the recently released information regarding this microbial consortium, analyzing the critical issues, the strengths and the next challenges to be faced for the intentions attainment.
Salivary Gland Ultrasound for Sjögren’s Syndrome

Sjogren’s syndrome is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the salivary glands which results in sicca symptoms. Ultrasound is a noninvasive imaging technique that has been increasingly used to evaluate the major salivary glands. In this chapter, we first introduce basic anatomy, scanning technique, and sonographic features of the normal parotid and submandibular glands. Subsequently, we review sonographic changes of the major salivary glands in Sjogren’s syndrome, commonly used scoring systems, and sonographic differential diagnosis of conditions which result in chronic sialadenitis such as sarcoidosis, HIV-associated salivary gland disease, amyloidosis, and IgG4-related disease. Ultrasonography for prognostication and prediction of therapeutic response in Sjogren’s syndrome is a subject of ongoing research.