cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Accepting Being Poz: The Incorporation of the HIV Identity Into the Self

In a previous study, the first author of the current study examined how people who were diagnosed with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) when it was considered a terminal illness incorporated their HIV/AIDS identity into the self over time. In the qualitative study reported here, we examined HIV identity incorporation in participants diagnosed with HIV after 1996, when it was considered a chronic illness in the United States. We uncovered a three-step process: diagnosis, a postdiagnosis turning point, and integration. We compared and contrasted the results to those from the previous study and studies of other chronic illnesses. The findings advance our understanding of HIV/AIDS, chronic illness, and identity. Practical implications for HIV/AIDS educators are also discussed.
Ozone-Induced Ethylene Emission Accelerates the Loss of Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase and Nuclear-Encoded mRNAs in Senescing Potato Leaves

The relationships among O3-induced accelerated senescence, induction of ethylene, and changes in specific mRNA and protein levels were investigated in potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv Norland) plants. When plants were exposed to 0.08 [mu]L L-1 O3 for 5 h d-1, steady-state levels of rbcS mRNA declined at least 5-fold in expanding leaves after 3 d of O3 exposure and ethylene levels increased 6- to 10-fold. The expression of OIP-1, a 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate synthase cDNA from potato, correlated with increased production of ethylene and decreased levels of rbcS mRNA in foliage of plants treated with O3. In plants exposed to 0.30 [mu]L L-1 O3 for 4 h, rbcS transcript levels were reduced 4-fold, whereas nuclear run-on experiments revealed that rbcS transcription declined an average of 50%. The loss of rbcS mRNA may be due, in part, to posttranscriptional regulation. The levels of transcripts for other chloroplast proteins, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and a photosystem II chlorophyll a/b-binding protein decreased in O3-treated plants, in parallel with the decrease in rbcS mRNA. The steady-state mRNA level of a cytosolic glyceral-dehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase increased in O3-treated plants. The induction of ethylene and changes in transcript levels preceded visible leaf damage and decreases in ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase protein levels.
Dewey and Vygotsky Viewed Through the Rearview Mirror—and Dimly at That

In an article comparing John Dewey and Lev Vygotsky, Glassman (2001, pp. 3–14) emphasized the profound differences that he believes separate the two great theorists, a view that is challenged in this response. The author argues that the intellectual agendas pursued by the two scholars grew and changed in very similar ways in the course of each individual’s work. Also refuted in this response are stereotypic ideas about Dewey and Vygotsky such as the notion that the former put process ahead of product in education or that the latter downplayed the role of student diversity in learning
CORR Insights®: Developmental Dislocation of the Hip Successfully Treated by Preoperative Traction and Medial Open Reduction: A 22-year Mean Followup

T he Ludloff medial approach to the hip for the treatment of pediatric developmental hip dysplasia is popular in some centers with reports of equivalent clinical outcomes and lower avascular necrosis (AVN) rates. Some surgeons may be unfamiliar or lacking confidence in this approach. Therefore, it is only reasonable to believe that surgeons who are unfamiliar with the Ludloff approach will likely prefer traditional anterior access. The current study by Farsetti and colleagues involves 71 hips treated by medial open reduction with followup to skeletal maturity. The authors are commended for their thoughtful preoperative program (including 4 weeks of preoperative traction), for their long-term followup efforts, and for their thorough assessment of the patients involved. The benefit of preoperative traction remains controversial and warrants well-designed and controlled trials. A similar recent Level III paper by Hoellwarth et al. [3] also compared medial and anterior approaches, with 19 in each matched group, and found no differences in AVN rates or need for further surgery. They reported no protective benefit of a preoperative ossific nucleus. The current study by Farsetti and colleaguies reports a lower AVN rate in children without ossification of the femoral head at the time of surgery—22 of their 71 patients did not have ossified heads. This remains a topic of debate however, with mixed reports.
Evaluation and Characterization of Forage Sorghum as Feedstock for Fermentable Sugar Production

Sorghum is a tropical grass grown primarily in semiarid and drier parts of the world, especially areas too dry for corn. Sorghum production also leaves about 58 million tons of by-products composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The low lignin content of some forage sorghums such as brown midrib makes them more digestible for ethanol production. Successful use of biomass for biofuel production depends on not only pretreatment methods and efficient processing conditions but also physical and chemical properties of the biomass. In this study, four varieties of forage sorghum (stems and leaves) were characterized and evaluated as feedstock for fermentable sugar production. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to determine changes in structure and chemical composition of forage sorghum before and after pretreatment and the enzymatic hydrolysis process. Forage sorghums with a low syringyl/guaiacyl ratio in their lignin structure were easy to hydrolyze after pretreatment despite the initial lignin content. Enzymatic hydrolysis was also more effective for forage sorghums with a low crystallinity index and easily transformed crystalline cellulose to amorphous cellulose, despite initial cellulose content. Up to 72% hexose yield and 94% pentose yield were obtained using modified steam explosion with 2% sulfuric acid at 140 °C for 30 min and enzymatic hydrolysis with cellulase (15 filter per unit (FPU)/g cellulose) and β-glucosidase (50 cellobiose units (CBU)/g cellulose).
Missing Men: Determinants of the Gender Gap in Education Majors

This paper examines the dramatic gender imbalance in college education majors. Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, a model of major choice is estimated. In addition to variables commonly included in previous studies of college major choice, this analysis includes “values” variables capturing the degree of importance students place on making money, helping people, and having children, to better understand gender difference in choosing an education major. The findings suggest that valuing money affects major choices similarly for both genders, but there is significant gender difference in major choice among students for whom highly value having children.
A Fresh Look at the Jurisdictional Provisions of the Statute of the International Criminal Court: The Case for Scrapping the Treaty

Since the end of the Nuremberg trials, many in the international community dreamt of a permanent tribunal with the power to bring international malefactors to justice. As the 20th Century came to a close, the world community witnessed repetitions of the kinds of atrocities committed during World War II, this time in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Rwanda. The graphic depictions broadcast to our living rooms made these crimes impossible to ignore. A United Nations Commission and numerous other non-governmental organizations were on the ground interviewing the victims and compiling a detailed record upon which war crimes prosecutions could be based. Part I of this article argues that U.S.-influenced compromises in the final treaty produced a fatally-flawed International Criminal Court that would function less well than the patchwork approach to international crimes characterizing the existing system. Equally unfortunate is the fact the treaty in its present form is one the United States will be unlikely ever to ratify, and, without U.S. participation, any international criminal court is doomed to fail. Part II of the article depicts the treaty negotiation process and the U.S. role in it. Then, Part Ill describes how the jurisdictional rules in the treaty, those provisions that were most directly affected by the U.S. efforts to dilute the Court's power, will function. Part IV examines the flaws in Article 12, the "jurisdictional" provision in the treaty. Part V details how the admissibility provisions will create difficult, perhaps even intractable, problems for the Court and potentially put it in conflict with the Security Council. Part VI applies these rules in a case study of the Lockerbie bombing, and Part VII sets forth conclusions.
Contemporary pancreatic necrosectomy: an analysis of outcomes, mortality and timing of intervention

INTRODUCTION: The anatomic features of the hepatic hilum facilitate invasion of the hepatic arteries by perihilar cholangiocarcinoma. To accomplish curative resection in such advanced cases, hepatic artery resection and reconstruction is sometimes required. The aims of this retrospective study were to evaluate both the safety of concomitant arterial resection and the survival impact of the procedure for perihilar cholangiocarcinoma.
Promoting Positive Youth Development Through Sport: Continuing Education Opportunities for Coaches and Future Directions for Health Promotion of Athletes

Purpose: Higher educational attainment is linked to better longterm health outcomes. Summer enrichment programs for high school students build tangible skills to promote college and career readiness. These programs have grown in demand as the academic and employment climate have become more competitive. Few publications inform the development of enrichment programs focused on educating adolescents in research. In July 2015, the Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team hosted its first Summer Scholars program. The purpose of this program was to engage adolescents towards achieving three objectives: 1. developing research skills, 2. learning about research careers, and 3. conducting their own research project. Methods: The principles of Experiential, Applied and ProblemBased Learning guided curriculum development. Four primary components structured curriculum design: Research Process, Poster Presentation, Mentor Support Groups, and Career Exposure. Aim 1: The research process and poster presentation curriculum was a stepwise progression incorporating learned activities followed by an opportunity to directly apply to the individual’s research project. The mentor support groups provided continuous individualized guidance and feedback. Aim 2: The career exposure involved interactive tours, expert panels, and training on the diverse career opportunities. Aim 3: The primary variable of interest was the completion of an independent research project and poster presentation. Assessments included a preand post-survey to measure acquired skills and comfort with material. In addition, the post-survey included program evaluation questions to collect participant feedback. Results: Twenty-five scholars, 88% female, 28% Caucasian, and an average age of 16, successfully completed the program. Aim 1: The majority of Summer Scholars reported an increase in understanding of the steps of the research process at the end of the program (81%). Aim 2: Working with mentors and career exposure were frequently highlighted as favorite parts of the program. Aim 3: All participants presented a completed research project. For example, one project was an observational field study evaluating phone use while crossing the street. Another project used a survey to investigate the associations of online emojis with mood. Most participants conducted content analysis or developed surveys to answer questions related to health and social media. Most (80%) reported an increase in comfort and understanding with public speaking and presenting. The most frequent suggestion for improvement was to increase the length of the program.
Vasculitis in Behçet's disease.

Vasculitis of arteries and veins is an important feature of Behcet's disease. When it occurs in systemic or pulmonary arteries or in large veins it is life threatening. Retinal vasculitis is the hallmark of eye disease, and much of the central nervous system disease is linked to small artery occlusions. Treatment with immunosuppressive drugs has improved the prognosis for sight and life.
A modular hierarchy-based theory of the chemical origins of life based on molecular complementarity.

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi once defined discovery as seeing what everyone else sees and thinking what no one else thinks. I often find that phenomena that are obvious to other people are not obvious to me. Molecular complementarity is one of these phenomena: while rare among any random set of compounds, it is ubiquitous in living systems. Because every molecule in a living system binds more or less specifically to several others, we now speak of “interactomes”. What explains the ubiquity of molecular complementarity in living systems? What might such an explanation reveal about the chemical origins of life and the principles that have governed its evolution? Beyond this, what might complementarity tell us about the optimization of integrated systems in general?My research combines theoretical and experimental approaches to molecular complementarity relating to evolution from prebiotic chemical systems to superorganismal interactions. Experimentally, I have characterized complementarity involving specific bindin...
A New Russula of the Subsection Nigricantes from Northeastern North America

Emerson, R. 1958. Mycological organization. Mycologia 50: 589-621. Hickman, C. J., and H. H. Ho. 1966. Behaviour of zoospores in plant-pathogenic Phycomycetes. Annual Rev. Phytopath. 4: 195-220. Machlis, L. 1969. Zoospore chemotaxis in the watermold Allomyces. Physiol. Plant. 22: 126-139. Prescott, H. E. 1966. Orientation movements of zoospores of the water fungus Achyla (Saprolegniaceae) in a concentration gradient of nutrients. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa., 74 pp. Unestam, T. 1969. On the adaptation of Aphanomyces astaci as a parasite. Physiol. PI. 22: 221-235. Ziegler, H. 1962. Chemotaxis, p. 484-532. In W. Ruhland [ed.], Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology. Vol. 17, Part 2, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Systemic Chemotherapy Decreases Resting Brain Glucose Metabolism (P4.215)

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to characterize the temporal and regional effects of chemotherapy on resting glucose metabolism in the brain of cancer patients. BACKGROUND: Cancer patients treated with systemic chemotherapy may experience central nervous system toxicity, such as memory impairment, executive dysfunction, depression and fatigue. The mechanisms underlying such neurotoxic syndromes, that can be progressive even after cessation of chemotherapy, remain poorly understood. DESIGN/METHODS: Using FDG-PET/CT imaging prior to and after administration of chemotherapy, we characterized the effects of intravenously administered chemotherapy on brain glucose metabolism in a cohort of 10 patients with newly diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer. Patients received various chemotherapy agents, including alkylating agents, antimetabolites and anti-angiogenic therapy. RESULTS: Chemotherapy was associated with a significant reduction in resting brain glucose metabolism in gray matter structures, including frontal and parietal cortices, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. In addition, decreased glucose metabolism was evident in white matter tracts, including the corpus callosum, subcortical and periventricular white matter. CONCLUSIONS: Chemotherapy significantly decreases resting brain glucose metabolism in gray matter and white matter, and brain regions critically relevant for brain plasticity and regeneration. This study potentially offers novel insights into the mechanisms underlying cancer therapy associated nervous system toxicity. Supported by the NIH, American Academy of Neurology Foundation, American Cancer Society and Dept. of Radiology (Brigham and Women9s Hospital) Disclosure: Dr. Dietrich has nothing to disclose. Dr. Gerbaudo has nothing to disclose. Dr. Zaitsev has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hainer has nothing to disclose. Dr. Plesniak has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kikinis has nothing to disclose. Dr. Horky has nothing to disclose.
Comparison of Poliomyelitis Vaccine Routine Immunization Data from Different Sources in 8 Provinces ( Municipalities) in China

Objective To provide basic data and estimate the incidence of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis( VAPP) by assessing oral poliomyelitis attenuated live vaccine( OPV) vaccination rate and comparing birth population data,OPV routine immunization data from the routine immunization report of National Immunization Program( NIP) vaccines and the Children Immunization Information Management System( CIIMS). Methods A questionnaire on poliomyelitis vaccination was designed. Respondents included 8 provinces( municipalities) including Hebei,Jiangsu,Shandong,Henan,Hubei,Guangdong,Guangxi and Sichuan. Topics included the birth population in 2013 from Statistical Bureau and Vaccination Registration, poliomyelitis vaccine doses administered data from routine immunization reports and CIIMS from October 2012 to March2014. We determined the birth population fromStatistical Bureau and Vaccination Registrationbirth population and the number of 1st doses ofpoliomyelitis vaccine from the routine immunization report and CIIMS. The number of each dose of poliomyelitis vaccineadministered came from two data sources. Results( 1) The difference of birth population from Statistical Bureau and Vaccination Registration varied from- 9. 8% to 66. 1% in 8 provinces,among which were Jiangsu,Henan,and Guangdong. In Hebei,Henan,Hubei,Guangdong,Guangxi,and Jiangsuthere were larger differences,as the birth populations determined from Vaccination Registration data were higher than that determined from the Statistical Bureau,while the registration data-determined rate was lower in Shandong and Sichuan.( 2) The number of children that had received the 4st dose was lower than that of children who received the 1st,2nd,and 3rddose from routine immunization reports in all provinces except Henan and Sichuan,and from CIIMS in all provinces except Hubei.( 3) The number of receiving the 1stdose according to routine immunization reports and CIIMS were higher than the birth population from Statistical Bureau and Vaccination Registration. The number of the 1stand 2nddoses from routine immunization reportswere higher than that from CIIMS,with differences of 8. 97% and 3. 30%,respectively. For the 3rdand 4thdoses,the differences were- 0. 17% and- 17. 89%,respectively.Conclusions Regardless of whether immunization data were from routine immunization reportsor CIIMS,it was necessary to use immunization reports and immunization investigations,combined with reliable birth population data sources,to draw valid conclusions. However,an advantage of CIIMS is that is can count the number of OPV and inactivated poliovirus vaccinedoses by dose and formulation,making is possible to use the number of OPV doses from CIIMS to estimate incidence rates of VAPP.
The Development and Use of Zinc-Finger Nucleases

Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) were the first of the targetable nucleases to be developed and exploited for genome engineering. They have proved remarkably effective, enhancing the frequency of gene targeting several orders of magnitude. The modularity of DNA recognition by zinc fingers has made it possible to design ZFNs for a wide range of genomic targets in a remarkable assortment of organisms and cell types. Use of this platform helped define the parameters and approaches for nuclease-stimulated genome manipulation. Although much of the territory has been ceded in the last few years to the more easily designed TALENs and CRISPR/Cas nucleases, successful ZFNs are still in wide use in a number of applications, including current clinical trials.
GTAP-HET: Introducing Firm Heterogeneity into the GTAP Model

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models incorporating firm heterogeneity can overcome the shortcomings of traditional Armington-based models in explaining changes in productivity and variety in the wake of reduced trade costs. In this paper, we present a new modeling framework where the firm heterogeneity theory of Melitz is introduced into the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model and calibrated to the GTAP 8 Data Base. The new mechanisms in the model are demonstrated in a stylized scenario with 3 regions (USA, Japan and the Rest of the World) and 2 sectors (manufacturing and non-manufacturing) where the elimination of tariffs levied by Japan on the import of US manufacturing goods is examined. Results are compared with those under monopolistic competition motivated by Krugman and under perfect competition motivated by Armington. The firm heterogeneity model incorporates endogenous variety, scale, productivity, and fixed cost effects into welfare change in addition to the traditional allocative efficiency and terms of trade effects. We observe that these effects are significant sources of welfare change. GTAP-HET presents the first GTAP implementation of firm heterogeneity. It is a powerful tool for policy analysis with improved abilities in tracing out productivity changes and entry/exit of firms following trade liberalization scenarios.
Case Study: Latanoprost: Isopropylester of a Prostaglandin F2α Analog

Latanoprost is an esterified prodrug and does not render its potent interaction with the prostaglandin F2α receptor until hydrolyzed to its free acid. The phenyl-substituted esters of PGF2α analogs were also found not to be metabolized by 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase, which is found in various ocular tissues, allowing them to penetrate the cornea where they are hydrolyzed to the active free acid form by esterases (Basu et al., 1994). In addition, latanoprost is also thought to be less irritating than the PGF2α isopropyl free ester when applied topically to the eye (Astin et al., 1994). Naturally occurring prostaglandins may cause marked microcirculatory changes in the eye; however, structural analogs with increased affinity and selectivity for prostaglandin F2 receptors, such as latanoprost, have little or no such effect (Stjernschantz et al., 2000).
Visible Light Photocatalysis: Applications and New Disconnections in the Synthesis of Pharmaceutical Agents

Photoredox catalysis has emerged as a powerful tool for the synthetic chemist to access challenging targets and to generate new structural complexity. This review focuses on the application of this mode of catalysis to arrive at known pharmaceutically active compounds. Within this setting, the growing synergy with other modes of catalysis, such as nickel/photoredox dual catalysis, as well as pioneering examples utilizing continuous flow to transition photoredox catalysis to preparative scale will be highlighted.
Use of Pharmacy Sales Data to Assess Changes in Prescription- and Payment-Related Factors that Promote Adherence to Medications Commonly Used to Treat Hypertension, 2009 and 2014

Background Effective hypertension management often necessitates patients’ adherence to the blood pressure (BP)-lowering medication regimen they are prescribed. Patients’ adherence to that regimen can be affected by prescription- and payment-related factors that are typically controlled by prescribers, filling pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers, and/or patients’ health insurance plans. This study describes patterns and changes from 2009 to 2014 in factors that the literature reports are associated with increased adherence to BP-lowering medication. Methods and Findings We use a robust source of United States prescription sales data—IMS Health’s National Prescription Audit—to describe BP-lowering medication fill counts and spending in 2009 compared with 2014. Moreover, we describe patterns and changes in adherence-promoting factors across age groups, payment sources, and medication classes. From 2009 to 2014, the BP-lowering medication prescription fill count increased from 613.7 million to 653.0 million. Encouraging changes in adherence-promoting factors included: the share of generic fills increased from 82.5% to 95.0%; average days’ supply per fill increased from 45.9 to 51.8 days; and average total (patient contribution) spending per years’ supply decreased from $359 ($54) to $311 ($37). Possibly undesirable changes included: the percentage of fills for fixed-dose combinations decreased from 17.1% to 14.2% and acquired via mail order decreased from 10.7% to 8.2%. In 2014: 653.0 million fills occurred accounting for $28.81B in spending; adults aged 45–64 years had the highest percentage of fixed-dose combinations fills (16.9%); and fills with Medicaid as the payment source had the lowest average patient spending per fill ($1.19). Conclusions We identified both encouraging and possibly undesirable patterns and changes from 2009 to 2014 in factors that promote adherence to BP-lowering medications during this period. Continued tracking of these metrics using pharmacy sales data can help identify areas that can be addressed by clinical and policy interventions to improve adherence for medications commonly used to treat hypertension.
Ultrastructure of Amastigomonas bermudensis ATCC 50234 sp. nov.: A new heterotrophic marine flagellate.

Summary The ultrastructure of a new marine heterotrophic flagellate is described. The cell is dorso-ventrally flattened and displays a steady gliding forward movement. A longitudinal groove whose lips are appressed to the substrate runs along the ventral aspect of the cell. The two heterodynamic flagella originate from the proximal end of a cytoplasmic sheath that enfolds most of the length of the anterior flagellum. The lips of this sheath are continuous with the margins of the ventral groove. The posterior trailing flagellum is held closely appressed to the cell body on one side of the ventral groove. Three bands of microtubules extend posteriorly into the cell body and are associated with the kinetosomes. The part of the surface membrane extending over the cell's dorsal and lateral aspect is five-layered, giving the semblance of two fused cell membranes. There is a fibrillar layer underneath these membranes. There is also a fibrous network whose arrays are oriented in different directions within the cytoplasm. Mitochondria have tubular cristae. Based on a comparison with previously described species of Amastigomonas, we establish the species, A. bermudensis n.sp. We further conclude that Thecamonas is a junior synonym of Amastigomonas and move the three nominal species to the latter genus.
Bring your own camera to the trap: An inexpensive, versatile, and portable triggering system tested on wild hummingbirds

The study of animals in the wild offers opportunities to collect relevant information on their natural behavior and abilities to perform ecologically relevant tasks. However, it also poses challenges such as accounting for observer effects, human sensory limitations, and the time intensiveness of this type of research. To meet these challenges, field biologists have deployed camera traps to remotely record animal behavior in the wild. Despite their ubiquity in research, many commercial camera traps have limitations, and the species and behavior of interest may present unique challenges. For example, no camera traps support high-speed video recording. We present a new and inexpensive camera trap system that increases versatility by separating the camera from the triggering mechanism. Our system design can pair with virtually any camera and allows for independent positioning of a variety of sensors, all while being low-cost, lightweight, weatherproof, and energy efficient. By using our specialized trigger and customized sensor configurations, many limitations of commercial camera traps can be overcome. We use this system to study hummingbird feeding behavior using high-speed video cameras to capture fast movements and multiple sensors placed away from the camera to detect small body sizes. While designed for hummingbirds, our application can be extended to any system where specialized camera or sensor features are required, or commercial camera traps are cost-prohibitive, allowing camera trap use in more research avenues and by more researchers.
Feature Construction for Controlling Swarms by Visual Demonstration

Agent-based modeling is a paradigm of modeling dynamic systems of interacting agents that are individually governed by specified behavioral rules. Training a model of such agents to produce an emergent behavior by specification of the emergent (as opposed to agent) behavior is easier from a demonstration perspective. While many approaches involve manual behavior specification via code or reliance on a defined taxonomy of possible behaviors, the meta-modeling framework in Miner [2010] generates mapping functions between agent-level parameters and swarm-level parameters, which are re-usable once generated. This work builds on that framework by integrating demonstration by image or video. The demonstrator specifies spatial motion of the agents over time and retrieves agent-level parameters required to execute that motion. The framework, at its core, uses computationally cheap image-processing algorithms. Our work is tested with a combination of primitive visual feature extraction methods (contour area and shape) and features generated using a pre-trained deep neural network in different stages of image featurization. The framework is also evaluated for its potential using complex visual features for all image featurization stages. Experimental results show significant coherence between demonstrated behavior and predicted behavior based on estimated agent-level parameters specific to the spatial arrangement of agents.
Well-Preserved Low Thermal Inertia Ejecta Deposits Surrounding Young Secondary Impact Craters on Mars

Following the most recent updates to the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) daytime and nighttime infrared global mosaics, a colorized global map was produced that combines the thermophysical information from the nighttime infrared global mosaic with the morphologic context of the daytime infrared global mosaic. During the validation of this map, large numbers of low thermal inertia ejecta deposits surrounding small young impact craters were observed. A near-global survey (60°N-60°S) identified 4,024 of these low thermal inertia ejecta deposits, which were then categorized based on their apparent state of degradation. Mapping their locations revealed that they occur almost exclusively in regions with intermediate-to-high thermal inertias, with distinct clusters in northern Terra Sirenum, Solis Planum and southwestern Daedalia Planum. High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images show that the thermophysically distinct facies of the deposits are well correlated with the estimated average ejecta grain sizes, which decrease with radial distance from the crater. Comparisons with recent primary impact craters and secondary impact craters surrounding Zunil Crater show that the low thermal inertia ejecta deposits very closely resemble the secondary craters, but not the primary craters. We conclude that the low thermal inertia ejecta deposits are secondary impact crater ejecta deposits, many of which originated from the rayed crater primary impact events, and are both well-preserved and easily identifiable due to the absence of dust cover and aeolian modification that would otherwise reduce the thermal contrast between the ejecta facies and the surrounding terrain.
A Novel Modification to the Incremental Forming Process, Part 2: Validation of the Multi-directional Tooling Method

Abstract Incremental forming (IF), a novel sheet material forming technique which has the ability to eliminate the need for die sets, forms sheet material through the use of a non-cutting tool that gradually deforms the sheet material into the desired shape. Generally, the shape of the tool tip is a hemisphere. In the following works, the authors validate a novel tool shape, presented in Part 1 of this research, that allows forming of the sheet material in multiple directions at a rapid rate. The works described herein demonstrate that a more complex tool tip can result in greater formability, improved surface finish, and reduced springback. The tested tool tip shape described herein is that of two hemispherical tips, revolved about a common radius from a single axis, vertically offset to half of the tool path's step size.
Identification of Pre-Existing Adaptive Immunity to Cas9 Proteins in Humans

The CRISPR-Cas9 system has proven to be a powerful tool for genome editing allowing for the precise modification of specific DNA sequences within a cell. Many efforts are currently underway to use the CRISPR-Cas9 system for the therapeutic correction of human genetic diseases. The most widely used homologs of the Cas9 protein are derived from the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes). Based on the fact that these two bacterial species cause infections in the human population at high frequencies, we looked for the presence of pre-existing adaptive immune responses to their respective Cas9 homologs, SaCas9 (S. aureus homolog of Cas9) and SpCas9 (S. pyogenes homolog of Cas9). To determine the presence of anti-Cas9 antibodies, we probed for the two homologs using human serum and were able to detect antibodies against both, with 79% of donors staining against SaCas9 and 65% of donors staining against SpCas9. Upon investigating the presence of antigen-specific T-cells against the two homologs in human peripheral blood, we found anti-SaCas9 T-cells in 46% of donors. Upon isolating, expanding, and conducting antigen re-stimulation experiments on several of these donors anti-SaCas9 T-cells, we observed a SaCas9-specific response confirming that these T-cells were antigen-specific. We were unable to detect antigen-specific T-cells against SpCas9, although the sensitivity of the assay precludes us from concluding that such T-cells do not exist. Together, this data demonstrates that there are pre-existing humoral and cell-mediated adaptive immune responses to Cas9 in humans, a factor which must be taken into account as the CRISPR-Cas9 system moves forward into clinical trials.
Media, Art and History: Some Methodological Reflections

It is an honor and pleasure to read three thorough and engaged responses to Mr. Collier’s Letter Racks. It is also a pleasure to be prodded to reflect upon its practice and methodology one more tim...
What is past is prologue: excavations at the Econfina Channel site, Apalachee Bay, Florida, USA

Offshore submerged sites can retain valuable data concerning many questions of interest to archaeology, including what form coastal occupations may have taken during periods before the establishmen...
Positional Cloning of A Plant Salt Tolerance Gene

Genetic analyses are increasingly being applied to explore the mechanisms of plant tolerance to environment stresses. With many mutants recovered from various genetic screens, positional cloning of the mutations has become inevitable. Here we described the methodology for positional cloning of an Arabidopsis salt tolerance gene, SOS3. The sos3 mutant plants are hypersensitive to Na+ stress and unable to grow under low K+ conditions. However, high Ca2+ in the medium suppressed these defects in the sos3 mutant. Positional cloning of the SOS3 gene revealed that SOS3 encodes a calcium-binding protein with similarities to the B subunit of calcineurin and animal neuronal calcium sensors. The results revealed a critical component mediating the widely recognized interaction of K+, Na+, and Ca2+ in higher plants.
Effect of rock breakage characteristics and fines/clay content on the autogenous grinding of iron ore

An analysis of an iron-ore processing plant showed that its performance was affected by seasonal temperature variations, resulting in reduced grinding efficiency during the winter months. Laboratory and pilot plant studies were conducted to determine the cause of the observed loss of efficiency at lower temperatures. Two types of experiments were performed: drop tests and wet grinding tests. Drop testing was performed to determine the effect of brittleness and frozen pore water on the breakage characteristics of the ore. The wet grinding tests were divided into laboratory tumble tests and pilot-plant tests. The combined results of drop testing and wet grinding were used to make predictions on the performance of plant-scale autogenous grinding. From the drop tests, it was determined that dry iron ore, basalt and sandstone did not change in brittleness over the temperature range studied (−25° to 25°C). However, when the rocks were water-saturated, the highly porous sandstone became considerably more fracture-resistant upon freezing, due to “grouting” of the pores and preexisting cracks by ice. This effect was not seen for either the iron ore or the basalt, because they were considerably less porous than the sandstone. Tumble tests on both laboratory and pilot scales showed that both the addition of fines to the test charge and a reduction in temperature caused a decrease in the amount of new fines produced. This reduced fines production was the result of increased slurry viscosity when either the fines content increased or the temperature decreased.
Recent findings from the Upper Limb Consortium Study: new approaches to risk assessment and additional health outcomes:

Historically, work-related upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) have comprised a significant portion of the number and cost of injuries in the workplace. The problem of work-related uppe...
RNA interference of tyrosine hydroxylase caused rapid mortality by impairing cuticle formation in Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae).

Background The application of RNA interference (RNAi) technique in controlling agricultural insect pests has been receiving much attention since the discovery of RNAi. The brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens, a notorious pest of rice, has evolved a high level of resistance to many kinds of insecticides. Tyrosine hydroxylase (Th) is an indispensable survival gene in holometabolous insects, playing key roles in cuticle tanning and immunity. In this study, we investigated whether Th could be used as a potential target in controlling N. lugens. Results Here, we demonstrated that NlTh had a periodical expression pattern during molting with the highest level observed in epidermis. Dysfunction of NlTH by dsNlTh microinjection or 3-IT feeding similarly caused rapid death of N. lugens. Compared with dsGFP control BPHs, dsNlTh injected BPHs (i) had cuticle pigmentation and sclerotizaton defects; (ii) had less endocuticle lamella in tergum integument; (iii) showed higher mortality during the molting process as a result of defective cuticle shedding; (iv) showed feeding disorders indicated by a low number of probe wound dots on rice; (v) had more vulnerable cuticle. Conclusion This study demonstrated that TH orthologues play a conservative and crucial role for exocuticle tanning in both holometabolous and hemimetabolous insects, and NlTh could be targeted for RNAi-mediated BPH control. The rapid lethal phenotype of NlTH dysfunction BPHs partly induced by cuticle formation defects. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.
A Multiyear Investigation of Student Computational Thinking Concepts, Practices, and Perspectives in an After-School Computing Program:

In this work, we examine whether repeated participation in an after-school computing program influenced student learning of computational thinking concepts, practices, and perspectives. We also exa...
Family Structure as a Social Determinant of Child Health

Maternal marital status may contribute to health disparities among children; marriage often associates with better outcomes. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we teste...
Multiple-Entity Planning to Reduce Self-Employment Taxes: Recent Cases Demonstrate the Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Tax practitioners use S corporations to mitigate self-employment taxes by classifying only a portion of entity distribution as wages and classifying the rest as dividends. This article analyzes recent cases where courts have invalidated attempts to lessen the burden of employment taxes by multiple-entity planning with the use of pass-through entities. This article focuses on two common practitioner flaws -- (1) deficiencies in salary setting procedures, and (2) deficiencies in multiple-entity planning. The article demonstrates the importance of setting a reasonable salary by documented procedures in S corporation taxation. The article also demonstrates how multiple-entity planning can be more effective by properly documenting and respecting the individual identities of the entities.
Are the advantages of chess expertise on visuo-spatial working-memory capacity domain specific or domain general?

Chess experts have repeatedly demonstrated exceptional recall of chessboards, which is weakened by disruption of the chessboard. However, chess experts still perform better than novices when recalling such disrupted chessboards, suggesting a somewhat generalized expertise effect. In the current study, we examined the extent of this generalized expertise effect on early processing of visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM), by comparing 14 chess experts (Elo rating > 2000) and 15 novices on a change-detection paradigm using disrupted chessboards, where attention had to be selectively deployed to either visual or spatial features, or divided across both features. The paradigm differed in the stimuli used (domain-specific chess pieces vs. novel visual shapes) to evaluate domain-general effects of chess expertise. Both experts and novices had greater memory discriminability for chess stimuli than for the unfamiliar stimuli, suggesting a salience advantage for familiar stimuli. Experts, however, demonstrated better memory discriminability than novices not only for chess stimuli presented on these disrupted chessboards, but also for novel, domain-general stimuli, particularly when detecting spatial changes. This expertise advantage was greater for chessboards with supra-capacity set sizes. For set sizes within the working-memory capacity, the expertise advantage was driven by enhanced selective attention to spatial features by chess experts when compared to visual features. However, any expertise-related VSWM advantage disappeared in the absence of the 8 × 8 chessboard display, which implicates the chessboard display as an essential perceptual aspect facilitating the “expert memory effect” in chess, albeit one that might generalize beyond strictly domain-relevant stimuli.
Dielectric Metasurfaces made of Vertically Oriented Germanium Ellipses

In this work, we investigate the linear optical response of a dielectric metasurface made of vertically-oriented germanium ellipses deposited on walls of a micron-scale cubic silicon nitride unit cell support matrix.
Spatial Modeling in a National Charting Agency

Navigators have relied on conceptual models since before the dawn of history. Then, astronomical myths would suffice. Today navigation is more complex and must be more precise. The consequences of error are greater. Charts have replaced myths as the form of organizing navigational information. The future will present greater demands. Spatial models, perhaps a single universal model, will provide the conceptual framework on which data can be arranged and from which they can be extracted.Today, a variety of spatial models are being applied to specific surveying and cartographic tasks in national charting agencies such as the U. S. National Ocean Service (NOS).
Rejection of periodic disturbances with adaptation to unknown systems

The rejection of periodic disturbances is a problem frequently encountered in control engineering, and in active noise and vibration control in particular. The paper considers situations where the plant is stable but unknown and possibly time-varying. The approach consists in obtaining on-line estimates of the plant frequency response parameters and of the disturbance parameters. A least-squares identifier with forgettting and stabilization factors is used. The estimates are used to continuously update control parameters and cancel the effect of the disturbance. Experiments on an active noise control testbed demonstrate the ability of the algorithm to recover from abrupt system changes as well as to track slowly-varying plant parameters.
Identification of the Methanococcus voltae S-layer structural gene.

Abstract We have established that the gene which we had previously identified as encoding the Methanococcus voltae P-type ATPase is, in fact, the structural gene for the M. voltae S-layer protein. This conclusion is based on a comparison of the N-terminal sequence of S-layer protein prepared by two independent methods with that derived from the nucleotide sequence of the cloned gene. This conclusion was further supported by immunocytochemical localization of the antigen directed against the antibodies used in the cloning experiments.
Ovarian cortical stroma, a steroid-dependent tissue.

Abstract The ovaries of menopausal and postmenopausal women have been considered a source of estrogens in cases of endometrial hyperplasia and carcinoma. Eighty-four ovaries, removed at operation, were studied with special attention to the ovarian cortical stroma by histologic and histochemical techniques. The findings were correlated with other available clinical and pathologic data. Ovarian cortical stromal hyperplasia, unless accompanied by thecomatosis, does not show evidence for active steroidogenesis by the criteria of the presence of lipid or by hydrolytic or oxidative enzyme reactions. Cortical stromal atrophy and increased staining reactions for collagen are seen in ovaries where low estrogen levels or low estrogen/progesterone levels are to be expected. Local elevations of estrogen levels or ratios cause proliferation of the stromal cells and decreased staining reactions for collagen. Cortical stromal hyperplasia can then be regarded as a proliferative response of the ovarian stroma in the menopausal state to noncyclic, prolonged, low-grade estrogen stimulation which may originate in unruptured follicles, ovarian hilus cells, the adrenals, or, occasionally, functioning ovarian tumors of the opposite ovary.
Development Status of the International Space Station Urine Processor Assembly

NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is developing a Urine Processor Assembly (UPA) for the International Space Station (ISS). The UPA uses Vapor Compression Distillation (VCD) technology to reclaim water from pre-treated urine. This water is further processed by the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) to potable quality standards for use on the ISS. NASA has developed this technology over the last 25-30 years. Over this history, many technical issues were solved with thousands of hours of ground testing that demonstrate the ability of the UPA technology to reclaim water from urine. In recent years, NASA MSFC has been responsible for taking the UPA technology to "flight design" maturity. This paper will give a brief overview of the UPA design and a status of the major design and development efforts completed recently to mature the UPA to a flight level.