cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Investigation of VP_7 From Rotaviruse Strains in Ningbo City,China

Objective To know the currently prevalent genotype of rotavirus strains in Ningbo City,which will help to the study of vaccine of group A rotavirus.Methods The VP7 fragments were amplified by RT-PCR and sequence analysis was conducted from 2 of the 11 virus strains.Results VP7 amino acid sequences homogeneity of the two strains Ningbo 06-1 and Ningbo 06-3 was 90.2%.They all shared higher amino acid sequences homogeneity with G1 strain Wa(95.1% and 87.7%,respectively)than with other serotypes(G types)rotavirus(85%).In two divergence regions VR5 and VR8,they all still shared higher amino acid sequences homogeneity with G1 strain Wa(89.3% and 75%.0,respectively)than with other serotypes(G types)rotavirus( 67.9% and 60.7%,respectively).Conclusion The rotaviruses prevalent in Ningbo belong to serotype G1-1.
TRUST, TRUSTWORTHINESS, AND BUSINESS SUCCESS: LAB AND FIELD FINDINGS FROM ENTREPRENEURS

This article contributes to the literature on trust and small businesses in developing countries by linking the level of trust in others that entrepreneurs display in a lab setting to sales data outside of the lab. The results show a robust positive correlation between trust and business success (with sales used as a measure of success): The successful entrepreneurs invested in trust more than the less successful ones did. In the lab, trusting in others is highly profitable, with successful entrepreneurs doing so to the degree required to maximize revenue. However, I found no association between trustworthiness and business success. (JEL O17, L26, C91)
All-arthroscopic anatomical reconstruction of anterior talofibular ligament using semitendinosus autografts.

We introduced a new technique of all-arthroscopic anatomical anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) reconstruction using semitendinosus autografts. From June 2012 to June 2013, 28 patients with chronic ATFL rupture underwent arthroscopic anatomic reconstruction of the ATFL. They were divided into the Brostrom group (n = 16) and reconstruction group (n = 12). The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score and visual analogue score (VAS) was recorded before the operation, 12 months after the operation and 30 months after the operation. Physical examination and radiographs were performed in follow-ups. The patients had higher AOFAS score after the operation in both the Brostrom group and the reconstruction group. 12 months after operation, the patients in the reconstruction group showed significantly higher AOFAS score and lower VAS score than those in the Brostrom group (P = 0.003 and 0.001, respectively), while the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant 30 months later (P = 0.425 and 0.323, respectively). Contemporary numbness of the lateral dorsal part of the foot appeared in one (8.3%) patient in the reconstruction group and two (12.5%) patients in the Brostrom group, and the symptoms diminished after neurotrophic treatment. No other complications, including recurrent instability, were encountered. No donor-side morbidity such as infection or delayed wound healing was observed. The novel surgical technique enhanced post-operative rehabilitation by providing better ankle joint function than modified Brostrom procedure at 12 months after operation, while the advantage was not statistically significant 30 months later. The long-term outcome requires further investigation. The technique of all-arthroscopic anatomical ATFL reconstruction using semitendinosus autografts proved to be a viable option for ATFL injuries.
Tobacco product use and mental health status among young adults

Background Individuals with mental health conditions represent a priority population for tobacco control. This population smokes cigarettes at disproportionately higher rates than the general population, but less is known about the relationship between non-cigarette tobacco use and mental health status.
Scalp Acupuncture for the Treatment of Motor Function in Acute Spinal Cord Injury: A Case Report

Abstract An acute spinal cord injury is the result of a traumatic injury to the spinal cord caused by a contusion, compression, or severing of the spinal cord. There are approximately 17,000 new cases each year, of which, males account for 80%. Approximately 65% of these injuries cause incomplete or partial damage to the spinal cord. Comprehensive treatment is essential to restore maximum function. Surgical procedures, stem cell therapy, pharmaceutical agents, and physical therapy are employed to minimize and repair damage done to the nervous system. The majority of motor and sensory recovery occurs during the first 12 to 15 weeks after the injury. Acupuncture has shown promising results in mediating neural plasticity and could be a useful treatment modality in hospital and rehabilitation settings. This case presents the treatment of an acute spinal cord injury, level T5, incomplete, with scalp acupuncture both within and beyond the optimal recovery window. The treatments given within the optimal window seemed to facilitate better restoration of nervous system communication when performing specific action.
AFFECTIVE ATMOSPHERES OF TERROR ON THE MEXICO-U.S. BORDER: Rumors of Violence in Reynosa's Prostitution Zone

This article examines the effects of rumors within the Mexican and U.S. governments' militarized war on drugs. Focusing on a period during which Mexican drug organizations were strengthened and violence increased, the article follows the lives of Mexican sex workers and their clients, as well as American missionaries living in a prostitution zone in Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Borders between nurco-controlled and state-controlled territory were shifted in and through the bodies of Reynosa's residents as a contagion of performative rumors came to occupy la zona. As residents told or listened to stories about torture and murder at the hands of narcos, their perceived vulnerability increased andjear came to predominate. In this article I theorize how rumors of violence shaped affective atmospheres of terror and altered spatial practices in a drug-war zone. Feelings of bodily risk first affected vulnerable populations and later spread to people who had previously Jelt secure in border zones. These narco-stories not only circulated terror but also allowed people to achieve intimacy and maintain social bonds through the shared experience of terror, [violence; affect; performativity; rumor; militarization; Mexico; borders]
Nickel telluride as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for efficient water splitting in alkaline medium

Designing efficient electrocatalysts has been one of the primary goals for water electrolysis, which is one of the most promising routes towards sustainable energy generation from renewable sources. In this article, we have tried to expand the family of transition metal chalcogenide based highly efficient OER electrocatalysts by investigating nickel telluride, Ni3Te2 as a catalyst for the first time. Interestingly Ni3Te2 electrodeposited on a GC electrode showed very low onset potential and overpotential at 10 mA cm−2 (180 mV), which is the lowest in the series of chalcogenides with similar stoichiometry, Ni3E2 (E = S, Se, Te) as well as Ni-oxides. This observation falls in line with the hypothesis that increasing the covalency around the transition metal center enhances catalytic activity. Such a hypothesis has been previously validated in oxide-based electrocatalysts by creating anion vacancies. However, this is the first instance where this hypothesis has been convincingly validated in the chalcogenide series. The operational stability of the Ni3Te2 electrocatalyst surface during the OER for an extended period of time in alkaline medium was confirmed through surface-sensitive analytical techniques such as XPS, as well as electrochemical methods which showed that the telluride surface did not undergo any corrosion, degradation, or compositional change. More importantly we have compared the catalyst activation step (Ni2+ → Ni3+ oxidation) in the chalcogenide series, through electrochemical cyclic voltammetry studies, and have shown that catalyst activation occurs at lower applied potential as the electronegativity of the anion decreases. From DFT calculations we have also shown that the hydroxyl attachment energy is more favorable on the Ni3Te2 surface compared to the Ni-oxide, confirming the enhanced catalytic activity of the telluride. Ni3Te2 also exhibited efficient HER catalytic activity in alkaline medium making it a very effective bifunctional catalyst for full water splitting with a cell voltage of 1.66 V at 10 mA cm−2. It should be noted here that this is the first report of OER and HER activity in the family of Ni-tellurides.
Microvasculature of the Plantar Plate Using Nano-Computed Tomography.

Background:Lesser toe plantar plate attenuation or disruption is being increasingly implicated in a variety of common clinical conditions. A multitude of surgical techniques and devices have been r...
Development of Nanoparticle-Enabled Protein Biomarker Discovery: Implementation for Saliva-Based Traumatic Brain Injury Detection

In this chapter we will discuss a new approach for amplifying low-abundance proteins for biomarker discovery and how this new approach can be applied to identifying new markers for the detection of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and concussion. Of particular focus is the discovery of nonsubjective, sensitive, and specific biomarkers for early detection of TBI/concussion that can be quantified accurately and which can be measured in an easily obtainable biofluid. We propose that such a method can be applied to TBI detection in saliva—a biofluid that heretofore has not been considered for this application.
"Recurrence" of a plasma cell granuloma 11 years after initial resection.

From the Division of Pulmonary Diseases, Departments of Medicine and Pathology, North Carolina Memorial Hospital, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Vocal Behavior and Mating Tactics of the Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer): A Field Exercise in Animal Behavior

Publisher Summary This chapter discuses vocal behavior and mating tactics of the spring peeper ( Pseudacris crucifer ) through a field experiment. Beginning with the snow melt of late February and the onset of the March rainy season, peepers aggregate in virtually any site that holds water. Males position themselves throughout the breeding habitat and begin emitting an endless sequence of monophasic "peeps," that represent their species-specific advertisement call. The resulting breeding congress frequently includes hundreds of individuals and may be heard several kilometers away. Spring peepers are classified as prolonged breeders that are reproductively active over a broad range of environmental temperatures. As a consequence, they represent an excellent model for a field investigation of anuran mating systems. Male peepers produce calls that differ in certain measurable properties. For example, there is variation in call duration (length in seconds), fundamental frequency (pitch), intensity (loudness in decibels), and call repetition rate (number of peeps per minute), to mention only a few parameters.
Cognitive relay networks with energy and mutual-information accumulation

Cognitive radio networks, a.k.a. dynamic spectrum access networks, offer a promising solution to the problems of spectrum scarcity and under-utilization. In this paper, we consider two single-user links: primary and secondary links. To increase secondary user (SU) transmission opportunities and increase primary user (PU) throughput, we consider a cognitive relay network where a SU relays PU packets that are unsuccessfully received at the primary receiver (PR). At the PR side, two protocols are suggested: i) energy accumulation (EA), and ii) mutual-information accumulation (MIA). The average stable throughput of the secondary link is derived under these protocols for a specific throughput selected by the primary link. Results show that EA and MIA can significantly improve the secondary throughput compared with the no accumulation scenario, especially under extreme environment.
Bridges to Success in High School for Migrant Youth

Background/ContextAmong the children of immigrants, one of the populations placed at greatest risk of not finishing high school are the children of migrant farmworkers. Although it is difficult to ...
Cesium ion exchange testing using crystalline silicotitanate with Hanford tank waste 241-AP-107

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has been tasked with demonstrating the unit operations for the Low Activity Waste Pretreatment System with actual Hanford tank waste. Crystalline silic...
“Str[a]ight from My Heart”: Black Lives, Affective Citizenship, and 1960s American Politics

In postwar America, the black freedom struggle opened school doors to increase black children’s educational opportunities. Drawing on public correspondence from children in the 1960s archived in presidential, gubernatorial, and civil rights repositories, this chapter argues that young citizens relied on constitutional principles and emotional rhetoric to provide political counsel and direct policy outcomes. Their letters represented political acts highlighting how racial violence mobilized many black and white youth to promote civil rights reforms, or, for anti-civil rights youth, generated their perception as politically marginalized citizens and victims of integration legislation. Through a practice of “affective citizenship,” children and teenagers attempted to influence policy decisions, champion generational responsibility, and reclaim human rights.
Surgical techniques for visceral artery revascularization

Publisher Summary This chapter describes surgical techniques for visceral artery revascularization. Atherosclerotic visceral artery lesions, in conjunction with lesions in the renal arteries, may be a part of an unusually extensive atherosclerotic process of the abdominal aortic wall, which can make grafting at this level technically difficult. Antegrade prosthetic visceral bypass reconstructions may be desirable as the grafts will originate from the usually undiseased distal thoracic aorta. Antegrade graft placement is hemodynamically superior to retrograde placement, which may predispose to early graft thrombosis. The antegrade route is shorter and usually requires shorter grafts. Retrograde bypass is particularly awkward for the revascularization of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) because this artery arises from the aorta at an acute angle and is quite mobile, predisposing to kink and occlusion. Arterial autografts are ideal for revascularization procedures involving the renal arteries. In visceral artery revascularization, synthetic grafts are preferred because the most common autografts, the hypogastric arteries, constitute a part of the visceral collateral system. The hypogastric artery autograft is generally too short for the antegrade revascularization of the SMA.
Selenium Biofortification of Agricultural Crops and Effects on Plant Nutrients and Bioactive Compounds Important for Human Health and Disease Prevention - a Review.

Selenium supplementation in humans has been suggested for the prevention of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Selenium biofortification of plants has been explored as a method for increasing selenium content of food and dietary selenium intake in humans. However, the effects of selenium biofortification on other dietary nutrients is often a secondary discussion. These effects are especially important to explore considering selenium-biofortified foods contain many other nutrients important to human health, such as other minerals and antioxidant compounds, which can make these foods superior to selenium supplementation alone. Investigation of selenium biofortification’s effect on these nutrients is necessary for a comprehensive human nutrition perspective on biofortification strategies. This review considers the effects of selenium biofortification on selenium content, other minerals, and antioxidant compounds as they pertain to human health in order to suggest optimal strategies for biofortification. Pre-clinical and clinical studies assessing the effects of consumption of selenium biofortified foods are also discussed.
Exploration of Gender-Specific Authorship Disparities in the Pain Medicine Literature.

Background Given the readily increasing membership of the pain physician community, efforts toward correcting notable gender disparities are instrumental. The under-representation of women is particularly prevalent within leadership roles in academic medicine, thought to be driven largely by diminished research efforts. Consequently, we aimed to characterize gender differences among the highest impact pain literature. Methods The 20 highest cited articles per year from 2014 to 2018 were extracted from each of seven impactful journals affiliated to the largest pain medicine societies. Collected data from each article included genders of the first and last authors, the number of citations accumulated and the journal impact factor at the time of publication. Results Across all considered literature, female authors were surprisingly not under-represented when considering the national prevalence of female pain physicians. However, more in-depth analysis found trends toward significance to suggest that female authorship was relatively diminished within more impactful and higher cited literature. When exploring gender–gender collaboration patterns, we found that male authors were favored over female counterparts with statistical significance; it must be noted that this likelihood analysis and preference toward male authors may be statistically obfuscated by the high prevalence of male authors. Nonetheless, these findings help to quantify overt, demonstrated disparity patterns. Of note, this inequity may also be fully secondary to the lower number of female pain physicians and/or those involved in research endeavors and decreased number of submissions from female physicians. Establishing gender discrimination patterns as causal factors in such disparities can be extremely challenging to determine. Conclusion In our analysis of authorship between genders within the context of pain medicine literature, we found trends, although non-significant, toward women being lesser represented in the more impactful literature. We suggest that these inequities are possibly resultant of a markedly small and outnumbered female pain physician membership that has yet to achieve a critical mass and possible implicit gender biases that may restrict female authorship. However, further exploration and analysis of this issue are necessary to more clearly illuminate which systemic deficits exist and how they may, in turn, be corrected with cultural and macroscopic organizational-driven change.
Longest protein, longest transcript or most expression, for accurate gene reconstruction of transcriptomes?

Abstract Methods of transcript assembly and reduction filters are compared for recovery of reference gene sets of human, pig and plant, including longest coding sequence with EvidentialGene, longest transcript with CD-HIT, and most RNA-seq with TransRate. EvidentialGene methods are the most accurate in recovering reference genes, and maintain accuracy for alternate transcripts and paralogs. In comparison, filtering large over-assemblies by longest RNA measures, and most RNA-seq expression measures, discards a large portion of accurate models, especially alternates and paralogs. Accuracy of protein calculations is compared, with errors found in popular methods, as is accuracy of transcript assemblers. Gene reconstruction accuracy depends upon the underlying measurements, where protein criteria, including homology among species, have the strength of evolutionary biology that other criteria lack. EvidentialGene provides a gene reconstruction algorithm that is consistent with genome biology.
Immunization with recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor as a vaccine adjuvant elicits both a cellular and humoral response to recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GMCSF) is an important cytokine for the generation and propagation of antigen-presenting cells and for priming a cellular immune response. We report here that use of recombinant human GM-CSF (rhGM-CSF), administered as an adjuvant in a peptide-based vaccine trial given monthly by intradermal injection, led to the development of a T-cell and antibody response to rhGM-CSF. An antibody response occurred in the majority of patients (72%). This antibody response was not found to be neutralizing. In addition, by 48-hour delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin testing, 17% of patients were shown to have a cellular immune response to the adjuvant rhGM-CSF alone. Thymidine incorporation assays also showed a peripheral blood T-cell response to rhGM-CSF in at least 17% of the patients. The generation of rhGM-CSF‐ specific T-cell immune responses, elicited in this fashion, is an important observation because rhGM-CSF is being used as a vaccine adjuvant in various vaccine strategies. rhGMCSF‐specific immune responses may be incorrectly interpreted as antigen-specific immunity, particularly when local DTH responses to vaccination are the primary means of immunologic evaluation. We found no evidence of hematologic or infectious complications as a result of the development of rhGM-CSF‐specific immune responses. r 1999 by The American Society of Hematology.
Meaningful Fissures: The Value of Divergent Agendas in Patient Advocacy.

Patient advocacy organizations emerged in the 1950s to collectivize patient power and promote patient’s shared interests and rights. Since that time, patient advocacy organizations have grown in nu...
Numerical Modeling of a Flooded-Bed Dust Scrubber Integrated into a Longwall Shearer

Dust generation and its dispersion in a longwall mine pose significant health and safety issues. The concern is prominent at both the working face, where coal excavation exposes workers to high dust concentrations, and also in the return, where float dust accumulates. To address this issue, researchers at the University of Kentucky designed and fabricated a flooded-bed dust scrubber integrated into a full-scale physical model of a longwall shearer. This mock-up was installed in the longwall test gallery at the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL) of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). A full-factorial experiment was designed to measure the effectiveness of the scrubber on dust capture. Test results indicated dust reduction of up to 57% in the return airways. This paper presents the development of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model and its validation by comparing the simulation results against the experimental results. The CFD simulations show good agreement with experimental results with differences between + 6.9 and − 9.7%. The validated CFD model was used further to predict the scrubber performance under additional operating conditions, resulting in a dust reduction of up to 66.5%. With this level of success, the scrubber concept can be a game changer for the mining industry, and it can be utilized to improve health and safety in longwall mines.
Exploiting chemistry and molecular systems for quantum information science

The power of chemistry to prepare new molecules and materials has driven the quest for new approaches to solve problems having global societal impact, such as in renewable energy, healthcare and information science. In the latter case, the intrinsic quantum nature of the electronic, nuclear and spin degrees of freedom in molecules offers intriguing new possibilities to advance the emerging field of quantum information science. In this Perspective, which resulted from discussions by the co-authors at a US Department of Energy workshop held in November 2018, we discuss how chemical systems and reactions can impact quantum computing, communication and sensing. Hierarchical molecular design and synthesis, from small molecules to supramolecular assemblies, combined with new spectroscopic probes of quantum coherence and theoretical modelling of complex systems, offer a broad range of possibilities to realize practical quantum information science applications. Molecular design and synthesis, from small molecules to supramolecular assemblies, combined with new spectroscopic probes of quantum coherence and theoretical modelling, offer a broad range of possibilities to realize practical quantum information science applications in computing, communications and sensing.
Taxable Acquisitive Deal Structures for C Corporations

This technical note outlines the consequences to the acquirer, target, and the target's shareholders from a basic taxable acquisition of C corporations. Specifically, asset acquisitions, stock acquisitions, and 338(g) elections are covered. A numerical example illustrates the calculation of the after-tax proceeds to the target's shareholders and the after-tax cost to the acquirer. Excerpt UVA-F-1875 Jun. 25, 2019 Taxable Acquisitive Deal Structures for C Corporations Introduction You lead a company and want to expand. You have a target (T) company in mind, and your team has estimated what T's stock may be worth. You know the estimate is merely preliminary because the structure of the deal affects the ultimate “value of the deal” to both parties. A key factor that affects the ultimate value of the deal to the parties is the tax consequences. Before you determine the price you are willing to pay, there are two questions to ask that highlight the tax consequences of the deal for T and for the acquirer (A) (see Exhibit 1 for a summary): What are T's shareholders receiving (cash or stock)? . . .
Widespread ST depression and ST elevation in avR in severe hypokalaemia.

A 35-year-old man with past medical history of sarcoidosis and chronic kidney disease stage III presented with cough, diarrhoea, weakness and pleuritic chest pain. SARS-CoV-2 RNA test was positive....
Optimizing Short Stature Patients Access to Transplantation through Surgical Downsizing of Donor Lungs

Purpose Due to donor/recipient size matching challenges, lung transplant candidates height may pose a significant disadvantage for receiving a transplant, resulting in longer wait times and increased waitlist mortality. We hypothesize that a proactive approach focused on donor lung size reduction improves access to transplantation with equivalent post-operative outcomes. Methods We retrospectively reviewed our experience with transplant candidates listed from Jan 2010 to May 2019. Since January 2016, our program considers surgical downsizing of donor lungs via non-anatomical reduction or lobar transplantation whenever LAS prioritization recommends matching to a shorter stature candidate and downsizing is anatomically feasible. We compared this cohort of patients (recent era) to those from our early era in which size reduction was not proactively performed (Jan 2010- Dec 2015). We excluded pediatric, redo and multiorgan transplants. Our primary endpoint was waitlist mortality or removal due to clinical deterioration. Secondary endpoints were time to transplant and post-operative outcomes. Results We included 410 patients with 226 in the early era and 184 in the recent era. Age (mean 54.46 vs 57.87) and LAS (mean 44.73 vs 44.18) were comparable between both groups. Donor characteristics were similar between periods. The number of patients with surgically downsized grafts was significantly higher in the current period compared to the early period (n=62; 34.4% vs n=20; 8.9%; p Conclusion Removal of size restrictions through proactive surgical downsizing improved access to transplantation. Despite more technically demanding, this change in practice has not impacted postoperative outcomes. The significant decreases in waitlist mortality and wait times suggest that this approach is able to address a significant disparity in our field.
Caregiver Perspectives of Pre-Transplant Evaluation in Children

Abstract Pre-transplant evaluation is mandated by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, but there is wide institutional variation in implementation, and the family experience of the process is incompletely understood. Current literature largely focuses on adult transplant recipients. This qualitative study begins to fill the knowledge gap about family experience of the pre-transplant evaluation for children through interviews with caregivers at a large pediatric transplant center. Prominent themes heard from caregivers include (1) the pre-transplant evaluation is overwhelming and emotional, (2) prior experiences and background knowledge frame the evaluation experience, and (3) frustration with communication among teams is common. These findings are relevant to efforts by transplant centers to optimize information delivery, minimize concrete barriers, and address healthcare systems issues.
High-Throughput Multiplex SARS-CoV-2 IgG Microsphere Immunoassay for Dried Blood Spots: A Public Health Strategy for Enhanced Serosurvey Capacity.

Early in the pandemic when diagnostic testing was not widely available, serosurveys played an important role in estimating the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in different populations. Dried blood spots (DBS), which can be collected in nonclinical settings, provide a minimally invasive alternative to serum for serosurveys. We developed a Luminex-based SARS-CoV-2 microsphere immunoassay (MIA) for DBS that detects IgG antibodies to nucleocapsid (N) and spike subunit 1 (S1) antigens. The assay uses a 384-well plate format and automated liquid handlers for high-throughput capacity. Specificity was assessed using a large collection of prepandemic DBS and well-characterized sera. Sensitivity was analyzed using serology data from New York State SARS-CoV-2 serosurvey testing and matched diagnostic test results. For DBS, the specificity was 99.5% for the individual N and S1 antigens. Median fluorescence intensity (MFI) values for DBS and paired sera showed a strong positive correlation for N (R2 = 0.91) and S1 (R2 = 0.93). Sensitivity, assessed from 1,134 DBS with prior laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, ranged from 83% at 0 to 20 days to 95% at 61 to 90 days after a positive test. When stratified using coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptom data, sensitivity ranged from 90 to 96% for symptomatic and 77 to 91% for asymptomatic individuals. For 8,367 health care workers reporting detailed symptom data, MFI values were significantly higher for all symptom categories. Our results indicate that the SARS-CoV-2 IgG DBS MIA is sensitive, specific, and well-suited for large population-based serosurveys. The ability to readily modify and multiplex antigens is important for ongoing assessment of SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses to emerging variants and vaccines. IMPORTANCE Testing for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 has been used to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 in different populations. Seroprevalence studies, or serosurveys, were especially useful during the early phase of the pandemic when diagnostic testing was not widely available, and the resulting seroprevalence estimates played an important role in public health decision making. To achieve meaningful results, antibody tests used for serosurveys should be accurate and accessible to diverse populations. We developed a test that detects antibodies to two different SARS-CoV-2 proteins in dried blood spots (DBS). DBS require only a simple fingerstick and can be collected in nonclinical settings. We conducted a robust validation study and have demonstrated that our test is both sensitive and specific. Furthermore, we demonstrated that our test is suitable for large-scale serosurveys by testing over 56,000 DBS collected in a variety of community-based venues in New York State during the spring of 2020.
Airgap-less Integrated Magnetic Array Using High Performance Magnetic Material in the EV Chargers

Emerging high-performance magnetic material on one side and high-power applications in ever-increasing electric vehicles (EV) infrastructure on the other side, encourages novel solutions for magnetic device design. In this paper using Metglas material and a proposed integrated magnetic array (IMA) [1], a new approach for designing magnetics in symmetrical converters is proposed. With this approach the high permeability of the material is conditioned for high power application. Finite element analysis and experimental fabrication and testing is done to prove the concept.
Role of Receptor Interacting Protein (RIP) kinases in cancer

Abstract The Receptor Interacting Protein (RIP) kinase family consists of seven Serine/Threonine kinases, which plays a key signaling role in cell survival and cell death. Each RIP family member contains a conserved kinase domain and other domains that determine the specific kinase function through protein–protein interactions. RIP1 and RIP3 are best known for their critical roles in necroptosis, programmed necrosis and a non-apoptotic inflammatory cell death process. Dysregulation of RIP kinases contributes to a variety of pathogenic conditions such as inflammatory diseases, neurological diseases, and cancer. In cancer cells, alterations of RIP kinases at genetic, epigenetic and expression levels are frequently found, and suggested to promote tumor progression and metastasis, escape of antitumor immune response, and therapeutic resistance. However, RIP kinases can be either pro-tumor or anti-tumor depending on specific tumor types and cellular contexts. Therapeutic agents for targeting RIP kinases have been tested in clinical trials mainly for inflammatory diseases. Deregulated expression of these kinases in different types of cancer suggests that they represent attractive therapeutic targets. The focus of this review is to outline the role of RIP kinases in cancer, highlighting potential opportunities to manipulate these proteins in cancer treatment.
The neurotrophic hypothesis and the cholinergic basal forebrain projection.

Publisher Summary Development of the nervous system is characterized by stages of cell proliferation, the formation of exuberant connections, cell death, maturation, and differentiation. During the development, an abundance of neurons are born and form connections, yet a much smaller number of these cells and connections are maintained into adulthood. The importance of trophic interactions mediated by diffusable agents during neural development was first proposed by Ramon y Cajal. The possibility that trophic agents mediate survival during the development has since been elaborated by others and formulated into the “neurotrophic hypothesis.” The general hypothesis provides a framework with which to contrast and compare trophic molecules in a detailed developmental process. Specifically, the neurotrophic hypothesis consists of three major tenets: (1) an overabundance of connections are formed during development; (2) projection neurons are dependent upon limiting amounts of a trophic molecule elaborated in the target tissue; (3) those neurons that compete successfully for the trophic molecule are maintained into adulthood, whereas the remainder undergo cell death. There exists a good deal of evidence supporting the neurotrophic hypothesis in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Originally formulated in the context of the PNS, the neurotrophic hypothesis has been largely extrapolated to the central nervous system (CNS). Moreover, the theory has been extended to propose that (a) trophic molecules are necessary for the maintenance of adult neurons and (b) decreasing amounts of trophic support predicate cell death in aging and neurodegenerative disorders. This chapter explains the legitimacy of these extrapolations and the known role of neurotrophic factors in development, maintenance, and promotion of survival in the CNS— namely, in the cholinergic projection of the basal forebrain.
Optimal digital system design in deep submicron technology

The optimization of a digital system in deep submicron technology should be done with two basic principles: energy waste reduction and energy-delay tradeoff. Increased energy resources obtained through energy waste reduction are utilized through energy-delay tradeoffs. The previous practice of obliviously pursuing performance has led to the rapid increase in energy consumption. While energy waste due to unnecessary switching could be reduced with small increases in logic complexity, leakage energy waste still remains as a major design challenge. We find that fine-grain dynamic leakage reduction (FG-DLR), turning off small subblocks for short idle intervals, is the key for successful leakage energy saving. We introduce an FG-DLR circuit technique, Leakage Biasing, which uses leakage currents themselves to bias the circuit into the minimum leakage state, and apply it to primary SRAM arrays for bitline leakage reduction ( Leakage-Biased Bitlines) and to domino logic (Leakage-Biased Domino). We also introduce another FG-DLR circuit technique, Dynamic Resizing, which dynamically downsizes transistors on idle paths while maintaining the performance along active critical paths, and apply it to static CMOS circuits. We show that significant energy reduction can be achieved at the same computation throughput and communication bandwidth by pipelining logic gates and wires. We find that energy saved by pipelining datapaths is eventually limited by latch energy overhead, leading to a power-optimal pipelining. Structuring global wires into on-chip networks provides a better environment for pipelining and leakage energy saving. We show that the energy-efficiency increase through replacement with dynamically packet-routed networks is bounded by router energy overhead. Finally, we provide a way of relaxing the peak power constraint. We evaluate the use of Activity Migration (AM) for hot spot removal. AM spreads heat by transporting computation to a different location on the die. We show that AM can be used either to increase the power that can be dissipated by a given package, or to lower the operating temperature and hence the operating energy. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Creating Effective Classroom Discipline.

Although discipline problems in the classroom may be a symptom of much larger problems, good order in the classroom usually results from a united effort on the part of students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Creating effective classroom discipline can become increasingly difficult when one or more of these agents fails to function properly. The teacher who plans well, by providing a variety of interesting and purposeful activities (not busy work) for his or her students, has established the first prerequisite of good classroom control (formalizing class goals and objectives). Contrast this to a teacher who has poorly defined goals and is weak in subject matter and group process techniques. The only salvation for this person appears to be relying upon an authoritarian approach. We would hope, however, that, even as this second teacher progresses, he or she would be able to move toward a more student-
IN VITRO PHAGOCYTOSIS OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO A POSSIBLE ANTIPHAGOCYTIC FUNCTION OF COAGULASE

Borchardt, Kenneth A. (Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, La.), and William A. Pierce, Jr. In vitro phagocytosis of Staphylococcus aureus with special reference to a possible antiphagocytic function of coagulase. J. Bacteriol. 87:311-315. 1964.-Rabbit antisera were prepared to Staphylococcus aureus strains of bacteriophage types 81 and 42D with vaccines consisting of washed, heat-killed cells grown in media which either did or did not support coagulase formation. Partially purified coagulases were prepared, and were used to produce rabbit anticoagulase antisera. In vitro phagocytic studies, with the two staphylococcal strains plus rabbit polymorphonuclear peritoneal exudate cells and the various types of rabbit antisera, did not yield evidence that coagulase per se contributes to staphylococcal resistance to either ingestion or intracellular killing. The role of coagulase, if any, in the virulence of these organisms for rabbits (and probably for man) must therefore be attributed to some other mechanism.
Mutational Analysis of Residues in the Coiled-Coil Domain of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Transmembrane Protein gp41

The envelope glycoprotein (Env) of human immunodeficiency virus mediates virus entry into cells by undergoing conformational changes that lead to fusion between viral and cellular membranes. A six-helix bundle in gp41, consisting of an interior trimeric coiled-coil core with three exterior helices packed in the grooves (core structure), has been proposed to be part of a fusion-active structure of Env (D. C. Chan, D. Fass, J. M. Berger, and P. S. Kim, Cell 89:263-273, 1997; W. Weissenhorn, A. Dessen, S. C. Harrison, J. J. Skehel, and D. C. Wiley, Nature 387:426-430, 1997; and K. Tan, J. Liu, J. Wang, S. Shen, and M. Lu, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:12303, 1997). We analyzed the effects of amino acid substitutions of arginine or glutamic acid in residues in the coiled-coil (heptad repeat) domain that line the interface between the helices in the gp41 core structure. We found that mutations of leucine to arginine or glutamic acid in position 556 and of alanine to arginine in position 558 resulted in undetectable levels of Env expression. Seven other mutations in six positions completely abolished fusion activity despite incorporation of the mutant Env into virions and normal gp160 processing. Single-residue substitutions of glutamic acid at position 570 or 577 resulted in the only viable mutants among the 16 mutants studied, although both viable mutants exhibited impaired fusion activity compared to that of the wild type. The glutamic acid 577 mutant was more sensitive than the wild type to inhibition by a gp41 coiled-coil peptide (DP-107) but not to that by another peptide corresponding to the C helix in the gp41 core structure (DP-178). These results provide insight into the gp41 fusion mechanism and suggest that the DP-107 peptide may inhibit fusion by binding to the homologous region in gp41, probably by forming a peptide-gp41 coiled-coil structure.
Ultraviolet Radiation and Immunology: Something New under the Sun-Presidential Address

The carcinogenic activity of solar radiation has been known for nearly a century. However, within the past few years, we have realized that exposing the skin to sunlight also has profound immunological effects on the host and that these immunological changes can contribute to the development of skin cancer and alter host resistance to infectious diseases. These findings have led to the development of a new field of research, termed photoimmunology, which is concerned with the effects of UV radiation on immunological processes. Our interest in this field arose from studies on the antigenic properties of skin cancers induced in mice by chronic exposure to UV-B (280-320 nm) radiation. These cancers are highly antigenic and many are immunologically rejected upon transplantation to normal syngeneic recipients. In studying how these cancers were able to survive and grow in the primary host, we discovered that exposing the skin to UV radiation altered some types of immune responses, including the immune response against skin cancers. Studies on the nature and mechanism of the immunological alterations brought about by exposure to UV radiation suggested that UV-induced DNA damage triggers a cascade of events, leading ultimately to a state of antigen-specific, systemic T lymphocyte-mediated immunosuppression. Key components of this cascade are epidermal cytokines, which modulate the immune response to antigens introduced into the UV-irradiated host and divert the response toward a state of specific immunosuppression. The finding that UV radiation can redirect the immune response from an effector to a suppressor pathway has raised the possibility that immune responses to infectious diseases might also be influenced by exposure of the host to UV radiation. Interest in the health consequences of stratospheric ozone depletion, with its attendant increase in solar UV-B radiation, has stimulated recent investigations on the effects of UV radiation on the pathogenesis of infections in animal models and on immune responses in humans. In addition, attempts are being made to use information about UV-induced specific immunosuppression to eliminate unwanted immune responses, such as transplant rejection and graft-versus-host reactions. Thus, studies on the immunological effects of UV radiation are providing new information on how immune responses are regulated as well as improving our understanding of the role of the immune system in skin cancer induction. This information should facilitate the development of more effective measures for preventing the deleterious effects of overexposure to UV radiation.
The Impact of Stock Market Volatility Expectations on Investor Behavior: Evidence From Aggregate Mutual Fund Flows

We find that aggregate net equity fund flows are strongly negatively correlated with changes in expected future stock market volatility as measured by the VIX. Implying that investor purchase decisions are primarily driven by returns and sale decisions by risk perceptions, we further find that changes in the VIX primarily impact aggregate equity mutual fund redemptions with little impact on inflows while stock market returns impact inflows but not outflows. We also find that changes in the VIX are positively correlated with the degree of portfolio rebalancing. While the impact on outflows is much larger, both fund inflows and outflows tend to increase (decrease) when the VIX increases (decreases). Aside from possibly the change in civilian employment, we find no evidence that macroeconomic variables and consumer sentiment have an independent impact on mutual fund flows after controlling for the VIX and stock market returns.
The bof gene of bacteriophage P1: DNA sequence and evidence for roles in regulation of phage c1 and ref genes.

The C1 repressor of bacteriophage P1 acts via 14 or more distinct operators. This repressor represses its own synthesis as well as the synthesis of other gene products. Previously, mutation of an auxiliary regulatory gene, bof, has been shown to increase expression of some C1-regulated P1 genes (e.g., ref) but to decrease expression of others (e.g., ban). In this study the bof gene was isolated on the basis of its ability to depress stimulation of Escherichia coli chromosomal recombination by the P1 ref gene, if and only if a source of C1 was present. C1 alone, but not Bof alone, was partially effective. The bofDNA sequence encodes an 82-codon reading frame that begins with a TTG codon and includes the sites of the bof-1(Am) mutation and a bof::Tn5 null mutation. Expression of ref::lacZ and cl::lacZ fusion genes was partially repressed in trans by a P1 bof-1 prophage or by plasmid-encoded C1 alone, which was in agreement with effects on Ref-stimulated recombination and with previous indirect evidence for c1 autoregulation. Repression of both fusion genes by plasmid-encoded C1 plus Bof or by a P1 bof+ prophage was more complete. When the C1 source also included a 0.7-kilobase region upstream from C1 which encodes the coi gene, repression of both c1::lacZ and ref::lacZ by C1 alone or by C1 plus Bof was much less effective, as if Coi interfered with C1 repressor function.