cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Automated cellular imaging system III for assessing HER2 status in breast cancer specimens: development of a standardized scoring method that correlates with FISH.

The goal of this study was to assess the performance characteristics of the Automated Cellular Imaging System (ACIS III) for HER2 immunohistochemical analysis. The study was performed on 187 biopsy slides from patients who underwent HER2 testing between January and February 2008. Three scoring methods by the ACIS III were compared with the manual score and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) results for HER2 amplification. The equal distribution score (EQD) method, in which 2 areas each of high-, moderate-, and low-intensity staining were measured, most closely matched the FISH HER2 amplification result. The numbers of immunohistochemically negative (0 or 1+)/ FISH+ cases were equivalent for all methods. The EQD method had significantly fewer 2+ cases (n = 16) (P < .001) vs the manual method (n = 35) and yielded a higher positive predictive value (38%) for HER2 amplification compared with the manual method (20%). The EQD method may more accurately identify FISHamplified HER2 cases with fewer 2+ cases that would be “reflexed” to FISH compared with the manual method. The proto-oncogene HER2 is amplified in 20% to 30% of breast cancers, resulting in overexpression of the HER2 protein. HER2+ breast cancer is associated with rapid tumor growth, increased risk of recurrence after surgery, poor response to conventional chemotherapy, and significantly shorter disease-free survival and overall survival than HER2– breast cancer. 1-3 Trastuzumab (Herceptin, Genentech, San Francisco, CA), a humanized monoclonal antibody, has been shown to improve clinical outcomes in the setting of HER2+ metastatic disease or adjuvant treatment for HER2+ invasive breast cancer when used in combination with chemotherapy as a first line. 4 Currently, 2 laboratory methods used to assess HER2 status include immunohistochemical analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), which assess protein overexpression and gene amplification, respectively. Immunohistochemical analysis and FISH are commonly used assays for determining HER2 status because morphologic examination is used to ensure that HER2 analysis is localized within tumor cells. Unfortunately, recent studies have demonstrated less-than-optimal concordance rates between immunohistochemical analysis and FISH among laboratories performing HER2 testing, which has been attributed to lack of standardized testing protocols and test interpretation by inexperienced personnel. 4-6
Elaboration of B Gene Function to Include the Identity of Novel Floral Organs in the Lower Eudicot Aquilegia

The basal eudicot Aquilegia (columbine) has an unusual floral structure that includes two morphologically distinct whorls of petaloid organs and a clearly differentiated fifth organ type, the staminodium. In this study, we have sought to determine how Aquilegia homologs of the B class genes APETALA3 (AP3) and PISTILLATA (PI) contribute to these novel forms of organ identity. Detailed expression analyses of the three AP3 paralogs and one PI homolog in wild-type and floral homeotic mutant lines reveal complex patterns that suggest that canonical B class function has been elaborated in Aquilegia. Yeast two-hybrid studies demonstrate that the protein products of Aquilegia's AP3 and PI homologs can form heterodimers, much like what has been observed for their core eudicot homologs. Downregulation of AqvPI using virus-induced gene silencing indicates that in addition to petal and stamen identity, this locus is essential to staminodial identity but may not control the identity of the petaloid sepals. Our findings show that preexisting floral organ identity programs can be partitioned and modified to produce additional organ types. In addition, they indicate that some types of petaloid organs are not entirely dependent on AP3/PI homologs for their identity.
Stereological analyses of reward system nuclei in maternally deprived/separated alcohol drinking rats

The experience of early life stress can trigger complex neurochemical cascades that influence emotional and addictive behaviors later in life in both adolescents and adults. Recent evidence suggests that excessive alcohol drinking and drug-seeking behavior, in general, are co-morbid with depressive-like behavior. Both behaviors are reported in humans exposed to early life adversity, and are prominent features recapitulated in animal models of early life stress (ELS) exposure. Currently, little is known about whether or how ELS modulates reward system nuclei. In this study we use operant conditioning of rats to show that the maternal separation stress (MS) model of ELS consumes up to 3-fold greater quantities of 10% vol/vol EtOH in 1-h, consistently over a 3-week period. This was correlated with a significant 22% reduction in the number of dopaminergic-like neurons in the VTA of naive MS rats, similar to genetically alcohol-preferring (P) rats which show a 35% reduction in tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive dopaminergic neurons in the VTA. MS rats had a significantly higher 2-fold immobility time in the forced swim test (FST) and reduced sucrose drinking compared to controls, indicative of depressive-like symptomology and anhedonia. Consistent with this finding, stereological analysis revealed that amygdala neurons were 25% greater in number at P70 following MS exposure. Our previous examination of the dentate gyrus of hippocampus, a region involved in encoding emotional memory, revealed fewer dentate gyrus neurons after MS, but we now report this reduction in neurons occurs without effect on the number of astrocytes or length of astrocytic fibers. These data indicate that MS animals exhibit neuroanatomical changes in reward centers similar to those reported for high alcohol drinking rats, but aspects of astrocyte morphometry remained unchanged. These data are of high relevance to understand the breadth of neuronal pathology that ensues in reward loci following ELS.
Rescuing Those Left Behind: Recovering and Characterizing Underdigested Membrane and Hydrophobic Proteins To Enhance Proteome Measurement Depth.

The marine archaeon Nanoarchaeum equitans is dependent on direct physical contact with its host, the hyperthermophile Ignicoccus hospitalis. As this interaction is thought to be membrane-associated, involving a myriad of membrane-anchored proteins, proteomic efforts to better characterize this difficult to analyze interface are paramount to uncovering the mechanism of their association. By extending multienzyme digestion strategies that use sample filtration to recover underdigested proteins for reprocessing/consecutive proteolytic digestion, we applied chymotrypsin to redigest the proteinaceous material left over after initial proteolysis with trypsin of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-extracted I. hospitalis-N. equitans proteins. Using this method, we show that proteins with increased hydrophobic character, including membrane proteins with multiple transmembrane helices, are enriched and recovered in the underdigested fraction. Chymotryptic reprocessing provided significant sequence coverage gains in both ...
Sources of Variation in the Cornell Controls at Two Locations

Abstract INTRODUCTION GENOTYPE by environment interactions, if they exist as a significant portion of the total variation in economic traits, create difficult problems in the design of efficient control populations and selection programs. Although poultry breeders and investigators dealing with selection problems have recognized the possible existence of these interactions for some time, only recently have estimates of their importance begun to be brought to light. Munroe (1936) suggested the possibility of genotype-environment interactions in poultry. However, many investigators, including Gutteridge and O’Neil (1942), King et al. (1952) Gowe and Wakely (1954), Lowry et al. (1956), Abplanalp (1956), Proudfoot et al. (1957), McBride (1962), Becker (1961) and Proudfoot (1962), either found no such interactions or found them to be of little importance. Significant interactions were found by Osborn (1952), Skaller and Sheldon (1955), Gowe (1956), Merritt and Gowe (1956), Hill and Nordskog (1956), Huston and Joiner (1957), Johnson and Asmundson (1957),…
Epizootic Phenology of Erynia Disease of the Alfalfa Weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in Central Kentucky

The phenology of Erynia epizootic development among larval alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal), populations in central Kentucky during 1979 through 1982 is described. Critical biological and physical factors governing initiation, progression, and termination of the epizootic under field conditions are identified. The first incidence of Erynia disease in H. postica in central Kentucky occurred between 200 and 290 celsius day-degrees accumulated from 1 January, using a base temperature of 9°C. Day-degrees were used to initiate annual field sampling but did not fully explain differences in overall epizootic phenology. Although the general sigmoid shape of Erynia epizootic mortality curves were very similar in 1979 through 1982, certain microclimatic factors appeared to dictate the magnitude and duration of the epizootics after first incidence of disease was observed. It is proposed that accumulated moisture above a base humidity threshold can serve as a key factor for explaining epzootic behavior as related to favorable and unfavorable conditions for conidial development and discharge. Natural termination of Erynia epizootics occurred when host densities fell below a critical threshold density value of 1.7 larvae per stem.
Buffered potassium permanganate-uranyl acetate-lead citrate staining seguence for ultrathin sections.

An effective electron stain for thin sections of tissue cut from most epoxy embedments results from treatment of sections mounted on copper grids with a 0.9% KMnO4 solution buffered at pH 6.5 with phosphates, then by treatment with a solution of uranyl acetate saturated in 50% ethanol, followed by treatment in a 0.2% lead citrate solution. The use of acid-washed copper grids and a phosphate buffer rinse following permanganate staining minimizes contamination. It is suggested that the increase in electron density produced by the triple stain may result in part from KMnO4 induced alterations of protein that lead to the formation of an increased number of available bonding sites for the uranyl acetate and lead citrate.
Multifocal electroretinography in the presence of temporal and spatial correlations and eye movements

Releasing patients from the fixation task, and permitting them to view natural stimuli such as movies, would provide increased comfort, and potentially additional signs of retinal function, when recording multifocal electroretinograms (mfERGs). Techniques must be developed to handle the difficulties that arise from these alternative stimulation strategies. Multifocal stimuli were presented to volunteer human subjects with and without fixation. Retinocentric analyses were performed to deal with shifts of the stimulus across the retina in the presence of eye movements. Artificial scotomas that moved with the eyes to simulate local retinal defects were presented to assess whether such defects might be detectable in the presence of eye movements. Temporal and spatial correlations in the stimulus can be discounted, permitting retinal kernels to be measured in response to natural stimuli. Responses to temporally natural stimuli tend to have slightly stronger amplitudes because of the presence of low temporal frequencies in these stimuli. The effects of eye movement artifacts can be reduced, permitting similar kernels to be obtained in the absence and presence of eye movements. Convergence to stable kernels took slightly longer in the presence of temporal correlations or eye movements. Artificial scotomas can be localized with these methods. It may be possible to perform multifocal ERG recordings in the clinic using more flexible, natural techniques. However, work is needed to achieve results comparable to those routinely obtained with conventional methods.
Predicting mortality from burns: The need for age-group specific models

Traditional burn mortality models are derived using all age groups. We hypothesized that age variably impacts mortality after burn and that age-specific models for children, adults, and seniors will more accurately predict mortality than an all-ages model. We audited data from the American Burn Association (ABA) National Burn Repository (NBR) from 2000 to 2009 and used mixed effect logistic regression models to assess the influence of age, total body surface area (TBSA) burn, and inhalation injury on mortality. Mortality models were constructed for all ages and age-specific models: children ( 60 years). Model performance was assessed by area under the receiver operating curve (AUC). Main effect and two-way interactions were used to construct age-group specific mortality models. Each age-specific model was compared to the All Ages model. Of 286,293 records 100,051 had complete data. Overall mortality was 4% but varied by age (17% seniors, <1% children). Age, TBSA, and inhalation injury were significant mortality predictors for all models (p<0.05). Differences in predicted mortality between the All Ages model and the age-specific models occurred in children and seniors. In the age-specific pediatric model, predicted mortality decreased with age; inhalation injury had greater effect on mortality than in the All Ages model. In the senior model mortality increased with age. Seniors had greater increase in mortality per 1% increment in burn size and 1 year increase in age than other ages. The predicted mortality in seniors using the senior-specific model was higher than in the All Ages model. "One size fits all" models for predicting burn outcomes do not accurately reflect the outcomes for seniors and children. Age-specific models for children and seniors may be advisable.
Public perception of bioenergy in North Carolina and Tennessee

The goal of the study is to examine the general public’s understanding and perceptions of bioenergy and biofuels in North Carolina (NC) and Tennessee (TN). The study focuses on the public concerns, support and risk evaluations of alternative bioenergy feedstocks and biofuels, and includes an assessment of the economic, environmental, social, and policy impacts of bioenergy production and use. A sample of consumers in NC and TN were surveyed in the fall of 2013 and spring of 2014 for their perceptions about bioenergy and specifically, biofuels for transportation. Five hundred eighty-six consumers completed the questionnaire electronically (376 in NC and 210 in TN). Respondents reported that the price and vehicle compatibility with biomass-based transportation fuels were the most important factors in their choice of biofuels over gasoline at a pump. Results show that the acceptance of bioenergy depends on the extent of knowledge and available information to consumers about the energy source. A principal component analysis (PCA) indicated seven distinct dimensions of consumer’s perception about bioenergy. The key dimensions are the following: how bioenergy benefits the society, risks of bioenergy use, government support for bioenergy, increase in food cost, conditional use of trees, support for low-cost biofuel alternative to current energy, and market attributes of bioenergy purchase. The findings from this study reflect the need for communicating the benefits and risks from the use of bioenergy to the general public through trustworthy channels of communication and targeted policy, market, and institutional support.
Addressing Bio-sequence and Bio-structure Problems

In computational biology, many fundamental bio-sequence and bio-structure problems are computationally intractable, which call for the development of algorithmic techniques and complexity analysis methods in theory of computing. This paper presents a review of our work on developing novel algorithmic techniques and new complexity analysis methodology and applying them to address bio-sequence and bio-structure problems. This research also demonstrate beautiful theoretical properties and important practical applications.
Community Structure, Species Variation, and Potential Functions of Rhizosphere-Associated Bacteria of Different Winter Wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) Cultivars.

Minimal tillage management of extensive crops like wheat can provide significant environmental services but can also lead to adverse interactions between soil borne microbes and the host. Little is known about the ability of the wheat cultivar to alter the microbial community from a long-term recruitment standpoint, and whether this recruitment is consistent across field sites. To address this, nine winter wheat cultivars were grown for two consecutive seasons on the same plots on two different farm sites and assessed for their ability to alter the rhizosphere bacterial communities in a minimal tillage system. Using deep amplicon sequencing of the V1-V3 region of the 16S rDNA, a total of 26,604 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were found across these two sites. A core bacteriome consisting of 962 OTUs were found to exist in 95% of the wheat rhizosphere samples. Differences in the relative abundances for these wheat cultivars were observed. Of these differences, 24 of the OTUs were found to be significantly different by wheat cultivar and these differences occurred at both locations. Several of the cultivar-associated OTUs were found to correspond with strains that may provide beneficial services to the host plant. Network correlations demonstrated significant co-occurrences for different taxa and their respective OTUs, and in some cases, these interactions were determined by the wheat cultivar. Microbial abundances did not play a role in the number of correlations, and the majority of the co-occurrences were shown to be positively associated. PICRUSt was used to determine potential functions associated with OTUs by association with rhizosphere members which have sequenced metagenomics data. Potentially-beneficial pathways for nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, and malate metabolism, as well as antimicrobial compounds, were inferred from this analysis. Differences in these pathways and their associated functions were found to differ by wheat cultivar. In conclusion, our study suggests wheat cultivars are involved in shaping the rhizosphere by differentially altering the bacterial OTUs consistently across different sites, and these altered bacterial communities may provide beneficial services to the host.
Location-based news in mobile news apps: Broadcast leads in geolocated news content, newspapers lag behind:

This study investigates which news organizations are using location-based services, particularly with geolocating content in their mobile apps, and how they are doing so. Based on findings from a c...
The Role of Neuropsychology on Organ Transplant Teams

Neuropsychological evaluations have been a required component of heart transplant workups at the University of Minnesota Medical Center since 1989. Since end stage kidney, liver, pancreas, and lung disease commonly effects cognition, our service now regularly consults on those transplant teams as well. This article details the role of neuropsychology in a large transplant center, outlining the requisite training and skills needed to serve these patient populations. While transplant is restricted to major medical centers, patients with end stage organ failure are plentiful and can benefit from neuropsychological expertise, providing a substantial source of clinical expansion and research study for our profession.
Insights into Mechanochemical Reactions at Targetable and Stable, Sub-ambient Temperatures.

We provide insights into the effects of stable and verifiable, low-temperature conditions on mechanochemical reactions. These are made possible by modifications made to a SPEX 8000 m Mixer/mill allowing reliable fine control of low-temperature mechanochemical reactions. Using the reduction of 4-tert-butylcyclohexanone as a model system we find the diastereomeric product distribution bore a strong dependence on the selected temperature. The same reduction in methanol at room temperature shows similar stereoselectivity trends. In both cases decreasing temperature favors increases in selectivity, although the effect is more pronounced in the solvent-free mechanochemical conditions. These results indicate that the cooled jar provides a heatsink to mitigate the exothermic character of the reaction. Stereoselectivity also showed a dependence on operating frequency, although the nature of this dependence remains unclear. Applications of our reactor extend far beyond what is presented herein.
Health-Related Quality of Life and Family Functioning of Parents of Children with Medical Complexity

Children with medical complexity (CMC) have complex chronic conditions, functional limitations, and high resource utilization. When compared to other parents, parents of children with disabilities report low levels of health-related quality of life (HRQOL). We describe the HRQOL of parents of CMC. One hundred seventy parents of CMC (mean age =3.4 years; 57% male) in a Comprehensive Care Program at a tertiary care center completed the PedsQL Family Impact Module (PedsQL FIM™). Scores were low across all sections, with a total average of 52 (SD + 17.7). Parental HRQOL was not associated with the child’s medically complexity, level of parental education, parental medical training, number of children, number of CMC in the home, or advance directive status. Parents of CMC report low HRQOL. Strategies to better support parents of CMC are needed.
Reducing Mcl-1 gene dosage induces dopaminergic neuronal loss and motor impairments in Park2 knockout mice.

Mutations in the PARK2 gene are associated with early onset Parkinsonism. The Park2−/− mouse, however, does not exhibit neurodegeneration or other Parkinson’s disease (PD) phenotypes. Previously, we discovered that translation of Mcl-1, a pro-survival factor, is upregulated in the Park2−/− mouse, suggesting a compensatory mechanism during development. Here we generated the Park2−/− Mcl-1+/− mouse and show that by reducing Mcl-1 gene dosage by 50%, the Park2−/− genotype is sensitized, conferring both dopaminergic neuron loss and motor impairments. We propose that this murine model could be a useful tool for dissecting PD etiology and developing treatment strategies against this neurodegenerative disease. Susanna Ekholm-Reed et al. develop a Parkinson mouse model by reducing Mcl-1 gene dosage by half, which leads to dopaminergic cell loss and motor impairments in Park2 knockout mice that otherwise do not exhibit any of the hallmark phenotypes associated with Parkinson’s disease.
Pilot Evaluation of a Conservation Corps Program for Young Adults

Education and employment programs may be effective at reducing problem behaviors among at-risk young adults. This pilot study evaluated whether participants in a Conservation Corps program (N = 100) showed changes in antisocial behavior, gang membership, and substance use during the program. Participants were young adults between 18 and 24 years who were predominantly male (60%) and ethnic minority (62% Latino; 31% African American). Over the course of the 22-week program, participants showed significant decreases in self-reported antisocial behavior and gang involvement, and approximately 28% earned a high school diploma. However, only 61% completed the program, and subgroup analyses suggested that decreased gang membership and antisocial behaviors were mostly driven by program completers. These limited pilot results suggest that the Conservation Corps offers vulnerable young adults opportunities for education advancement and a possible pathway to criminal desistance. However, education and employment programs should make retention a priority.
Severe Sepsis in Pediatric Liver Transplant Patients: The Emergence of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms.

Objectives:To describe characteristics of liver transplant patients with severe sepsis in the PICU.Design:Retrospective descriptive analysis.Setting:Tertiary children’s hospital PICU.Patients:Liver transplant recipients admitted January 2010 to July 2016 for pediatric severe sepsis.Interventions:Non
Variable pathways, residence time, and geochemical evolution of seepage beneath the Mississippi River levee during the 2011, 2015, and 2016 floods

Abstract Seepage beneath artificial levees is a common concern during flooding events. Risk of levee failure is elevated when piping erodes channels beneath the levee, evidenced by the formation of sand boils where transported sediments discharge. Along the lower Mississippi River, pathways of floodwater beneath the levee vary with surface geology, following deeper paths where the levee overlies fine-grained channel-fill deposits, and shallower (higher risk) paths where it overlies sand-bar deposits. Shallow, organic-rich alluvial aquifers are often geochemically stratified into upper oxic and lower anoxic zones, raising the possibility of using the geochemical signatures of discharging water from sand boils to differentiate flow pathways. A preliminary investigation north of Vicksburg, MS, (USA) during the 2011 Mississippi River flood demonstrated the potential of using geochemistry to identify deep and shallow pathways, though the study was limited to cation and trace element analyses. Sampling during the 2015 and 2016 floods for temperature, conductivity, redox potential (Eh), dissolved oxygen (DO), major ions, trace elements, tritium, and stable isotope ratios of oxygen, hydrogen, and strontium, facilitated a greater understanding of the nature of flow and geochemical evolution of groundwater in this environment. Characteristics of deeper flow pathways (relative to shallow) included (1) lower Eh and higher Fe and As, reflecting anoxic conditions and high-Fe sediments, (2) proportional increases in Fe and HCO3, indicating reductive dissolution of Fe-oxyhydroxides, and (3) higher ratios of Ba/Ca and Sr/Ca, reflecting differences in the elemental composition of minerals with depth. Tritium results indicate that subsurface flow pathways are dynamic, shifting spatially with the rapid changes in hydraulic gradients during and between flooding events. Estimated residence times of groundwater discharging from sand boils and relief wells ranged from essentially zero (discharge of concurrent floodwater) up to a quarter century. Lower strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) were observed in the aquifer relative to river water, though with no clear variation with flow depth. Oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios (δ18O and δ2H) show evidence of partial evaporation prior to recharge, also with no apparent variation with subsequent flow depth.
Anesthesia and Enhanced Recovery After Head and Neck Surgery

Enhanced recovery protocols have been developed from gastrointestinal, colorectal, and thoracic surgery populations. The basic tenets of head and neck enhanced recovery are: a multidisciplinary team working around the patient, preoperative carbohydrate loading, multimodal analgesia, early mobilization and oral feeding, and frequent reassessment and auditing of protocols to improve patient outcomes. The implementation of enhanced recovery protocols across surgical populations appear to decrease length of stay, reduce cost, and improve patient satisfaction without sacrificing patient quality of care or changing readmission rates. This article examines evidence-based enhanced recovery interventions and tailors them to a major head and neck surgery population.
Effect of Ultrasound Cavitation on Weight Reduction for Prediabetic Obese Patients

AbstractBackground: Obesity has received considerable attention as a major health hazard and can be an underlying cause of many disorders such as type 2 diabetes.Aim of Study: The purpose of present study is to investigate the effects of ultrasound cavitation on weight reduction for prediabetic obese patients.Design: Randomized control trial design.Subjects: Fifty patients prediabetic obese women from the out clinic of Faculty of Physical Therapy of Deraya University, Minia, Egypt. They were randomly assigned into two groups, each group twenty-five patients.Patients and Method: Group I (control group): Twenty-five patients were received aerobic exercises and low caloric diet, three times per week for twelve weeks. Group II (exper-imental group): Twenty-five patients were received aerobic exercise, ultrasound cavitation and low caloric diet treatment, twice weekly ultrasound cavitation sessions for six weeks, and aerobics exercise three times per weeks for twelve weeks. (Bщ WHR, skin fold, fasting blood sugar level, post prandial blood sugar level and HbA1c level) were measured before treatment (pre-test data), and after the completion of the treatment program, as a post-test measurement.Results: There was a statistical significant effect of ultra-sound cavitation to low calorie balanced diet and treadmill exercise on reduction in weight, Bщ WHR, skin fold, fasting blood glucose level, post prandial blood glucose level and HbA1c level in prediabetic obese female patients.Conclusions: Adding Ultrasound cavitation to low calorie balanced diet and treadmill exercise could be utilized as physical therapy program design for treatment to prediabetic obese female patients.
Proline biosynthesis is a vent for TGFβ-induced mitochondrial redox stress

The production and secretion of matrix proteins upon stimulation of fibroblasts by transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) play a critical role in wound healing. How TGFβ supports the bioenergetic cost of matrix protein synthesis is not fully understood. Here, we show that TGFβ promotes protein translation at least in part by increasing the mitochondrial oxidation of glucose and glutamine carbons to support the bioenergetic demand of translation. Surprisingly, we found that in addition to stimulating the entry of glucose and glutamine carbon into the TCA cycle, TGFβ induced the biosynthesis of proline from glutamine in a Smad4-dependent fashion. Metabolic manipulations that increased mitochondrial redox generation promoted proline biosynthesis, while reducing mitochondrial redox potential and/or ATP synthesis impaired proline biosynthesis. Thus, proline biosynthesis acts as a redox vent, preventing the TGFβ-induced increase in mitochondrial glucose and glutamine catabolism from generating damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS) when TCA cycle activity exceeds the ability of oxidative phosphorylation to convert mitochondrial redox potential into ATP. In turn, the enhanced synthesis of proline supports TGFβ-induced production of matrix proteins.
Francophone Muslim intellectuals, Islamic associational life and religious authority in Burkina Faso

The attention paid to the security threats hanging over Burkina Faso, while legitimate, has overshadowed the underlying transformations in Islamic associational life since the fall of President Blaise Compaore in October 2014. This major political upheaval had a significant impact on the participation of Muslims in socio-political debates, the relations between generations and, more widely, the bases upon which religious authority is claimed. This article analyses the competition for religious leadership between Islamic actors in the public sphere in Burkina Faso by focusing mainly on francophone ‘Muslim intellectuals’. First, the study shows the gap between the gerontocracy at the helm of the main Islamic associations and the Burkinabe youth, which widened throughout the 1990s and 2000s and came strongly to the fore after the popular uprising of October 2014. Second, taking advantage of the space left vacant by traditional community leaders during the transition process, some young francophone ‘Muslim intellectuals’ actively sought to portray themselves as the vehicles of a ‘civil Islam’ and strove to promote new forms of civic engagement through religion. Other Muslim organizations have also tried to take advantage of the new political context to strengthen their presence in the socio-political arena.
ATTEST: Application-Agnostic Testing of a Novel Transistor-Level Programmable Fabric

A recently introduced TRAnsistor-level Programmable fabric (TRAP) has demonstrated great promise towards seamless unification of high-density reconfigurable logic with Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). However, practical deployment of TRAP relies on the development of a comprehensive mechanism for detecting manufacturing defects. Unfortunately, the state-of-the-art test schemes are developed either for ASICs or for Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and do not support this new transistor-level architecture. To address this limitation, we present a novel application-agnostic test methodology specifically tailored to the TRAP fabric. We first introduce a multi-phase, cascadable scheme to efficiently test the programmable transistors in TRAP’s Logic Elements (LEs). Then, we define the required test patterns for verifying the correct functionality of the built-in D flip-flop, full-adder, and multiplexer of each LE. Next, we present a systematic approach for testing the interconnect network. Lastly, we discuss the limitations in testing the memory cells used for storing the TRAP programming bits and we propose design modifications for improving test coverage.
Community Engagement to Improve Health

Community engagement programs are vehicles through which healthcare professionals can reach underserved populations. By providing communities with the information they need to make informed decisions about their health, targeted programs can overcome the barriers to healthcare faced by minority populations and improve health outcomes drastically. Theories of community engagement, various facilitators and barriers to community engagement programs, and the strategies employed by successful programs are presented. Peer-based health education, direct services offerings, community building, and/or responses to the direct needs of a community are aspects of many successful community engagement programs. When building a Lifestyle Medicine Center, community engagement programs should be developed, implemented, and optimized.
A new corticolous species of Mycena sect. Viscipelles (Basidiomycota: Agaricales) from the bark of a Living American elm tree in Texas, U.S.A.

A Mycena species new to science was obtained from moist chamber cultures of trunk bark of a living American elm tree (Ulmus americana) located in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Tarrant County, Texas. This discovery was part of an ongoing study of corticolous myxomycetes on larger American elm trees occurring in Fort Worth nature parks. More than 15 American elm trees were sampled for trunk bark but only a single tree yielded Mycena basidiomes. Collections of bark began in the summer of 2017 and continued until the beginning of 2020. Bark samples from the north, south and west side of the tree yielded fruit bodies of the mushroom in moist chamber culture. No fruit bodies were observed in nature nor were early formation stages on the underside of the bark. Crystals previously described in another study were present on the bark surfaces, edges, and undersides. Habit and morphological development were photographed using light microscopy applying multifocal imaging and computer stacking to increase depth of field. Basidiome development was observed and photographed from the earliest primordial beginning stage, the button stage, intermediate stage and the final emerging stalk elongation and mature cap formation stage. Mature mushroom development took from 9 to 21 days after wetting the bark in moist chamber cultures. Scanning electron microscopy was used to illustrate development of the button stage, emerging stalk and pileus stage, and the fully mature pileus, lamellae, and pseudocollarium. Morphological features and DNA sequence data confirmed that this Mycena species was undescribed and distinct from other Mycena taxa. Morphological features suggest placement of the novel taxon in Mycena sect. Viscipelles, distinct from other members based on morphological characters and phylogenetic analysis.
Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index Q1 2018

The Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index™ (Bloomberg ticker symbol: SVVCCI) is based on a recurring quarterly survey of San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley venture capitalists. The Index measures and reports the opinions of professional venture capitalists on their estimations of the high growth venture entrepreneurial environment in the San Francisco Bay Area over the next 6 - 18 months. The Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Confidence Index™ for the first quarter of 2018, based on a March 2018 survey of 34 San Francisco Bay Area venture capitalists, registered 3.76 on a 5-point scale (with 5 indicating high confidence and 1 indicating low confidence). This quarter’s index measurement increased from the previous quarter’s index reading of 3.66; and also rose above its 14-year average of 3.71. The increasing sentiment was driven in large measure by expectations of an improving exit market, abundant capital, and a continuing wave of sophisticated new ventures that aim to transform business as we know it.
Pediatric Living Lung Donor Transplant Candidates: Psychiatric Status of Utilized and Non-Utilized Donors

Living donor lung (lobar) transplantation has greatly decreased in the past decade due to the success of the lung allocation score (LAS) system, instituted in 2005 by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN). Between 1993 and 2006, 460 living lung donor transplants were performed in the United States with 369 donations occurring at the University of Southern California and Washington University in St. Louis. These two centers accounted for over 80% of all living donor lung transplants between 1994 and 2006. All potential donors received a psychological/psychiatric evaluation as part of the donor selection process, which is standard practice in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Utilized and non-utilized lung donors were compared in terms of their psychiatric history and present status. Results indicated that 31% (N = 54) of the total sample had a lifetime prevalence of a psychiatric disorder, which is less than that the 46% lifetime rate for the general population (Kessler in Arch Gen Psychiatry 62:593–602, 2005). This study did find that psychiatric history or status was not exclusion factor for transplant surgery in either group. This observation about psychiatric issues in potential living lung donors should be useful to transplant centers who utilize adult live donors of any solid organ type for pediatric recipients and in Japan where live donor lung transplants still represent a significant proportion of lung transplants (Date in J Thorac Dis 8: S631–S636, 2016).
Jurisprudence in Contemporary Perspective

inference. It is exactly the rather absurd and, in fact, impossible proposition that all legal decisions should flow with the necessity of formal logic from antecedently known premises that lies at the bottom of all those theories of jurisprudence which desperately though not always convincingly attempt to glorify the old-which, by insisting upon a misplaced reverence for antiquated
Grid adaptation and non-iterative defect correction for improved accuracy of numerical solutions of PDEs

In this work we present a computational approach for improving the order of accuracy of a given finite difference method for solution of linear and nonlinear hyperbolic partial differential equations. The methodology consists of analysis of leading order terms in the discretization error of any given finite difference method, leading to a modified version of the original partial differential equation. Singular perturbations of this modified equation are regularized using an adaptive grid distribution and a non-iterative defect correction method is used to eliminate the leading order, regular perturbation terms in the modified equation. Implementation of this approach on a low order finite difference scheme not only results in an increase in its order of accuracy but also results in an improvement in its numerical stability due to the regularization of singular perturbations. The proposed approach is applied to four different canonical problems including the numerical solution of (1) Liouville equation, (2) inviscid Burgers equation, (3) nonlinear reaction-advection equation and (4) a system of hyperbolic PDEs. When compared to exact solutions, the numerical results demonstrate the ability of this method in both boosting the accuracy of finite difference schemes up to the desired order and also providing a fully stable numerical solution.
An experimental investigation of reactivity to ecological momentary assessment frequency among adults trying to quit smoking.

Aims Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) captures real-time reports in subjects’ natural environments. This experiment manipulated EMA frequency to estimate effects on abstinence and peri-cessation subjective experiences. Design In this randomized trial, subjects had an equal chance of being assigned to low-frequency (once) or high-frequency (six times) daily EMA for 4 weeks (1 week pre- and 3 weeks post-cessation). Participants completed six office visits over 5 weeks and 6- and 12-week follow-up telephone interviews. Setting Community participants were recruited from central New Jersey, USA. Participants One hundred and ten adult daily smokers seeking to quit smoking were included in intent-to-treat analyses of tobacco abstinence; 94 were available for secondary analyses of peri-cessation subjective ratings. Measurements Primary outcomes were cessation (abstaining at least 24 hours within 2 weeks of attempting to quit) and prolonged abstinence (no relapse between weeks 2 and 12 post-quit). Secondary outcomes were mean levels and growth in ratings of cigarette craving, affect and quitting motivation and self-efficacy. Findings EMA frequency was unrelated to cessation (odds ratio = 1.367, 95% confidence interval = 0.603–3.098) or prolonged abstinence (odds ratio = 1.040, 95% confidence interval = 0.453–2.388) in intent-to-treat analyses. High-frequency EMA was associated with lower craving (B = –0.544, standard error (SE) = 0.183, P = 0.004, anxiety (B = –0.424, SE = 0.170, P = 0.015), anger (B = –0.474, SE = 0.139, P = 0.001), hunger (B = –0.388, SE = 0.170, P = 0.025) and positive affect (B = –0.430, SE = 0.196, P = 0.03). Conclusions In smokers trying to quit, more frequent ecological momentary assessment self-monitoring results in lower craving, anxiety, anger, hunger and positive affect. It is not clear whether this translates into higher rates of smoking abstinence.
Gastrointestinal Disorders: A Focus on Acid-Suppressive Agents

Acid-related disorders are prevalent in many countries. Research over the last century into the physiology of gastric acid secretion has yielded valuable insight into pathophysiology of many of these disorders. The discovery that histamine, gastrin, and acetylcholine all effect the production of gastric acid paved the way for the development of the H2RAs and PPIs. These agents have subsequently revolutionized the treatment of many acid-related disorders in clinical practice. Keywords: gastrointestinal disorders; gastric acid secretion; histamine; gastrin; acetylcholine; histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RAS)
Abstract W P339: Time Is Brain: A Tale of Unintended Consequences

Background: There is a narrow therapeutic range for thrombolysis in stroke. “Time is Brain” emphasizes the concept that nervous tissue is rapidly lost as stroke progresses. Research suggests 1.9 million neurons are lost each minute of untreated stroke. Urgency to treat led to the practice of estimating weight on arrival. Unfortunately, expediency of weight estimation can result in over or under dosing. After a devastating adverse outcome related to misdose of tPA based on estimated weight, SBUH implemented a protocol that ensures actual weight measurement before administration of thrombolytics without delaying time to treatment. Process: Our state accredited stroke program is recognized with the AHA Gold Plus Award. Door to needle time for tPA was below 60 minutes. Estimated weight dosing was standard as supported in the NINDS t-PA stroke study as not having negative impact on outcome. At SBUH in 2013 a patient had estimated weight entered of 90 kg. A CT Scan was performed within 9 minutes and tPA dose of 81 mg given within 57 minutes. Stroke symptoms resolved. This was an apparent successful implementation of protocol. Five hours later patient had mental status changes and emergent CT Scan revealed catastrophic intracranial hemorrhage. The patient died 13 hours later. It was believed that this patient was among the 6.9% that experience this known complication of tPA. A review of the chart revealed that the measured weight entered on the stroke unit did not match the estimated weight; the calculated dose was 40% more than should have been. The error was disclosed to the family and a deep dive and RCAs were completed. The error was reported to TJC and the state DOH. Outcomes: EPR changes including soft stops, changes in the weight fields, and process changes including a tPA time out and equipment use to ensure measured weights were implemented. The new processes did not compromise door to needle time. Average Door to needle time pre implementation was 66.88 minutes. Post implementation time is 63.1. Conclusions: The expediency of weight estimation can result in over or under dosing of tPA. At SBUH, we implemented a process that ensures actual weights before administration of thrombolytics but does not delay time to treatment. This is a safer and more effective process for stroke care.
Serious Gaming for Orthotopic Liver Transplantation Anesthesia: Industry Track Demo Proposal

Patients with end-stage liver disease comprise a patient population whose only definitive treatment is liver transplantation. Anesthetic technique for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) requires specialized knowledge and skills because of the complications associated with the procedure and institution-specific equipment and guidelines. Normal "on the job" training may be inadequate, as transplants do not happen on a fixed schedule and the number of transplants that occur in a given year are very small relative to other types of surgeries. Therefore, there is a need for additional training in proper anesthetic technique for OLT. The objective of this project is to develop a serious game designed to teach best practices for the anesthetic management of an OLT that can be used by practitioners to better their skills.
Challenge: A Multidisciplinary Degree Program in Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is a new field that is poorly served by any of the traditional science programs in Biology, Computer science or Biochemistry. Known to be a rapidly evolving discipline, Bioinformatics has emerged from experimental molecular biology and biochemistry as well as from the artificial intelligence, database, pattern recognition, and algorithms disciplines of computer science. While institutions are responding to this increased demand by establishing graduate programs in bioinformatics, entrance barriers for these programs are high, largely due to the significant prerequisite knowledge which is required, both in the fields of biochemistry and computer science. Although many schools currently have or are proposing graduate programs in bioinformatics, few are actually developing new undergraduate programs. In this paper I explore the blend of a multidisciplinary approach, discuss the response of academia and highlight challenges faced by this emerging field.