cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fear of missing out, need for touch, anxiety and depression are related to problematic smartphone use

Problematic smartphone use is an important public health challenge and is linked with poor mental health outcomes. However, little is known about the mechanisms that maintain this behavior. We recruited a sample of 308 participants from Amazon's Mechanical Turk labor market. Participants responded to standardized measures of problematic smartphone use, and frequency of smartphone use, depression and anxiety and possible mechanisms including behavioral activation, need for touch, fear of missing out (FoMO), and emotion regulation. Problematic smartphone use was most correlated with anxiety, need for touch and FoMO. The frequency of use was most correlated (inversely) with depression. In regression models, problematic smartphone use was associated with FoMO, depression (inversely), anxiety, and need for touch. Frequency of use was associated with need for touch, and (inversely) with depressive symptoms. Behavioral activation mediated associations between smartphone use (both problematic and usage frequency) and depression and anxiety symptoms. Emotional suppression also mediated the association between problematic smartphone use and anxiety. Results demonstrate the importance of social and tactile need fulfillment variables such as FoMO and need for touch as critical mechanisms that can explain problematic smartphone use and its association with depression and anxiety. Problematic smartphone use was most related to the fear of missing out, depression (inversely), and a need for touch.Behavior activation mediated associations between smartphone use and both anxiety and depression.Results demonstrate the importance of social and tactile need fulfillment variables that explain problem smartphone use.
Genetics of Early Childhood Absence Epilepsy

The clinical and EEG family data of 140 cases of early childhood epilepsy with absences selected from the epilepsy family archive are reported from the Neuropaediatric Department of the University of Kiel, Germany.
Mechanism for Si–Si Bond Rupture in Single Molecule Junctions

The stability of chemical bonds can be studied experimentally by rupturing single molecule junctions under applied voltage. Here, we compare voltage-induced bond rupture in two Si–Si backbones: one has no alternate conductive pathway whereas the other contains an additional naphthyl pathway in parallel to the Si–Si bond. We show that in contrast to the first system, the second can conduct through the naphthyl group when the Si–Si bond is ruptured using an applied voltage. We investigate this voltage induced Si–Si bond rupture by ab initio density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations that ultimately demonstrate that the excitation of molecular vibrational modes by tunneling electrons leads to homolytic Si–Si bond rupture.
Three Doses to Finish: A Review on Completion of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination among Adolescent Females Aged 12-17 years

Human papillomavirus (HPV) related cancers have become a major public health concern. About 90% of HPVrelated cancers are caused by HPV 16 and 18 strains. The virus can cause various cancers, such as oropharyngeal, anal, penile, but most of the HPV related cancers are dominated by cervical cancer. About 70% of all cervical cancers are caused by HPV infection. HPV vaccination in the U.S still remains an important public health challenge with the rate of vaccine initiation of just 50%. Therefore increasing the pattern of HPV vaccine uptake is an important public health issue to increase the overall vaccination coverage. Improving parental awareness among adolescents and their mothers about HPV vaccine and its triple course regimen can significantly reduce later risk of HPV infection and cervical cancer among adolescent females. This article expands the understanding of HPV vaccine’s initiation and completion among adolescent females. An intervention called three doses to finish is also proposed in the article, to increase the awareness of HPV vaccine, and completion rates of the vaccination by an educational seminar and text message reminders.
Tensile strength and failure load of sutures for robotic surgery

Robotic surgical platforms have seen increased use among minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgeons (von Fraunhofer et al. in J Biomed Mater Res 19(5):595–600, 1985. doi: 10.1002/jbm.820190511 ). However, these systems still suffer from lack of haptic feedback, which results in exertion of excessive force, often leading to suture failures (Barbash et al. in Ann Surg 259(1):1–6, 2014. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0b013e3182a5c8b8 ). This work catalogs tensile strength and failure load among commonly used sutures in an effort to prevent robotic surgical consoles from exceeding identified thresholds. Trials were thus conducted on common sutures varying in material type, gauge size, rate of pulling force, and method of applied force. Polydioxanone, Silk, Vicryl, and Prolene, gauges 5-0 to 1-0, were pulled till failure using a commercial mechanical testing system. 2-0 and 3-0 sutures were further tested for the effect of pull rate on failure load at rates of 50, 200, and 400 mm/min. 3-0 sutures were also pulled till failure using a da Vinci robotic surgical system in unlooped, looped, and at the needle body arrangements. Generally, Vicryl and PDS sutures had the highest mechanical strength (47–179 kN/cm2), while Silk had the lowest (40–106 kN/cm2). Larger diameter sutures withstand higher total force, but finer gauges consistently show higher force per unit area. The difference between material types becomes increasingly significant as the diameters decrease. Comparisons of identical suture materials and gauges show 27–50% improvement in the tensile strength over data obtained in 1985 (Ballantyne in Surg Endosc Other Interv Tech 16(10):1389–1402, 2002. doi: 10.1007/s00464-001-8283-7 ). No significant differences were observed when sutures were pulled at different rates. Reduction in suture strength appeared to be strongly affected by the technique used to manipulate the suture. Availability of suture tensile strength and failure load data will help define software safety protocols for alerting a surgeon prior to suture failure during robotic surgery. Awareness of suture strength weakening with direct instrument manipulation may lead to the development of better techniques to further reduce intraoperative suture breakage.
Thoracoabdominal Asynchrony Is Not Associated with Oxyhemoglobin Saturation in Recovering Premature Infants.

Background: Recovering premature infants are at risk for hypoxemia and lack of synchrony between their rib cage and abdomen due to airflow obstruction and poor respiratory compliance. Thoracoabdominal asynchrony (TAA) is a useful marker of resistive and elastic lung properties. Whether TAA predicts oxygenation is unknown. Objectives: We investigated oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2%) and TAA (phase angle, φ) in preterm infants with/without high-humidity nasal cannula (HHNC). Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted in 92 infants at 32 weeks' postmenstrual age. We measured SpO2% with pulse oximetry and TAA with φ via respiratory inductance plethysmography in infants (mean gestational age: 26.4 + 1.3 weeks) who required room air (n = 18) or HHNC with/without supplemental oxygen (1-5 liters per minute, FiO2 0.21-0.33, n = 74). We calculated median SpO2% from 24.7 + 10.0 min of quiet sleep and median φ from up to 60 breaths. Results: Infants breathing room air alone had marked TAA (φ = 83.6 + 32.9°, range: 10.9-148.5) as did those receiving varying degrees of ventilatory and oxygen support via HHNC (range of group means, φ = 47.0-90.0°). Infants breathing room air had statically greater median SpO2% than those receiving support (96.3 + 0.6% vs. 91.3 + 0.6%; ANOVA p = 0.001). SpO2% was not associated with TAA in either group (r2 = 0.09). Conclusion: Recovering premature infants exhibited TAA regardless of need for ventilatory support and supplemental oxygen. TAA was not associated with SpO2% in either group. Maintenance of SpO2% does not require correction of TAA.
Synthesis of Small-Molecule/DNA Hybrids through On-Bead Amide-Coupling Approach

Small molecule/DNA hybrids (SMDHs) have been considered as nanoscale building blocks for engineering 2D and 3D supramolecular DNA assembly. Herein, we report an efficient on-bead amide-coupling approach to prepare SMDHs with multiple oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) strands. Our method is high yielding under mild and user-friendly conditions with various organic substrates and homo- or mixed-sequenced ODNs. Metal catalysts and moisture- and air-free conditions are not required. The products can be easily analyzed by LC–MS with accurate mass resolution. We also explored nanometer-sized shape-persistent macrocycles as novel multitopic organic linkers to prepare SMDHs. SMDHs bearing up to six ODNs were successfully prepared through the coupling of arylenethynylene macrocycles with ODNs, which were used to mediate the assembly of gold nanoparticles.
Epidemiology of valvular heart diseases in Africa

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) resulting from rheumatic fever (RF) is the main form of valve disease in Africa. Other forms of valve diseases such as myxomatous mitral valve disease, age-related valve disease, sub-valvular aneurysms or valve disease related to endomyocardial fibrosis are less common than RHD. In developed countries, RF and RHD are rare and no longer pose a public health problem, but the combination of poverty, lack of awareness, lack of infrastructure and resources, and social instability contribute to the persistence of RF and RHD in Africa. The presence of other major infectious diseases also shifts attention away from RF and RHD. Contemporary population-based epidemiologic data utilising echocardiography to detect valve disease suggests the prevalence of valve diseases in Africa is likely much higher than previously thought, meaning the estimated mortality, morbidity and socio-economic burden they cause could also be much higher than currently appreciated. Increased efforts are needed to define the scope of the problem of valve diseases in Africa to draw attention to these illnesses and step up public health efforts to control and eradicate them as has already been achieved in other parts of the world. This article highlights the public health problem of valve diseases in Africa, the efforts underway to combat them and the attendant challenges.
Regulator of G-protein signaling Gβ5-R7 is a crucial activator of muscarinic M3 receptor-stimulated insulin secretion.

In pancreatic β cells, muscarinic cholinergic receptor M3 (M3R) stimulates glucose-induced secretion of insulin. Regulator of G-protein signaling (RGS) proteins are critical modulators of GPCR activity, yet their role in β cells remains largely unknown. R7 subfamily RGS proteins are stabilized by the G-protein subunit Gβ5, such that the knockout of the Gnb5 gene results in degradation of all R7 subunits. We found that Gnb5 knockout in mice or in the insulin-secreting MIN6 cell line almost completely eliminates insulinotropic activity of M3R. Moreover, overexpression of Gβ5-RGS7 strongly promotes M3R-stimulated insulin secretion. Examination of this noncanonical mechanism in Gnb5-/- MIN6 cells showed that cAMP, diacylglycerol, or Ca2+ levels were not significantly affected. There was no reduction in the amplitude of free Ca2+ responses in islets from the Gnb5-/- mice, but the frequency of Ca2+ oscillations induced by cholinergic agonist was lowered by more than 30%. Ablation of Gnb5 impaired M3R-stimulated phosphorylation of ERK1/2. Stimulation of the ERK pathway in Gnb5-/- cells by epidermal growth factor restored M3R-stimulated insulin release to near normal levels. Identification of the novel role of Gβ5-R7 in insulin secretion may lead to a new therapeutic approach for improving pancreatic β-cell function.-Wang, Q., Pronin, A. N., Levay, K., Almaca, J., Fornoni, A., Caicedo, A., Slepak, V. Z. Regulator of G-protein signaling Gβ5-R7 is a crucial activator of muscarinic M3 receptor-stimulated insulin secretion.
The effect of young children's faeces disposal practices on child growth: evidence from 34 countries

Objective To characterize the relationship between child faeces disposal and child growth in low- and middle-income countries. Methods We analysed caregiver responses and anthropometric data from Demographic and Health Surveys (2005–2014) for 202 614 children under five and 82 949 children under two to examine the association between child faeces disposal and child growth. Results Child faeces disposal in an improved toilet was associated with reduced stunting for children under five [adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR) = 0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89–0.92] and a 0.12 increase in height-for-age z-score (HAZ; 95% CI: 0.10–0.15) among all households. Among households with improved sanitation access, practicing improved child faeces disposal was still associated with a decrease in stunting (aPR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.91–0.96) and a 0.09 increase in HAZ (95% CI: 0.06–0.13). Improved child faeces disposal was also associated with reductions in underweight and wasting, and an increase in weight-for-age z-score (WAZ), but not an increase in weight-for-height z-score (WHZ). Community coverage level of improved child faeces disposal was also associated with stunting, with 75–100% coverage associated with the greatest reduction in stunting. Child faeces disposal in an unimproved toilet was associated with reductions in underweight and wasting, but not stunting. Conclusions Improved child faeces disposal practices could achieve greater reductions in child undernutrition than improving toilet access alone. Additionally, the common classification of child faeces disposal as ‘safe’ regardless of the type of toilet used for disposal may underestimate the benefits of disposal in an improved toilet and overestimate the benefits of disposal in an unimproved toilet.
Pih1p-Tah1p Puts a Lid on Hexameric AAA+ ATPases Rvb1/2p.

Summary The Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sc) R2TP complex affords an Hsp90-mediated and nucleotide-driven chaperone activity to proteins of small ribonucleoprotein particles (snoRNPs). The current lack of structural information on the ScR2TP complex, however, prevents a mechanistic understanding of this biological process. We characterized the structure of the ScR2TP complex made up of two AAA+ ATPases, Rvb1/2p, and two Hsp90 binding proteins, Tah1p and Pih1p, and its interaction with the snoRNP protein Nop58p by a combination of analytical ultracentrifugation, isothermal titration calorimetry, chemical crosslinking, hydrogen-deuterium exchange, and cryoelectron microscopy methods. We find that Pih1p-Tah1p interacts with Rvb1/2p cooperatively through the nucleotide-sensitive domain of Rvb1/2p. Nop58p further binds Pih1p-Tahp1 on top of the dome-shaped R2TP. Consequently, nucleotide binding releases Pih1p-Tah1p from Rvb1/2p, which offers a mechanism for nucleotide-driven binding and release of snoRNP intermediates.
Distributed control implementation for zonal MVDC ship power systems

In this paper, we present a potential distributed adaptive control architecture applied to a zonal medium voltage DC (MVDC) ship power systems. The power sharing in the MVDC network among distributed generators will be presented first. Second, the active and reactive power sharing among zones in the low voltage AC (LVAC) network will be addressed. The effect of control in LVAC network on the MVDC network and vice-versa regarding power sharing and voltage stability will be investigated in this paper for the first time. Simulation results in MATLAB/Simulink and PLECS validate the promising distributed control architecture for ship power systems.
The Animal in the Machine: Punishment and Pleasure in Victorian Magic Lantern Shows

Long before the development of film, the magic lantern entertained and educated audiences by projecting images on glass slides through a lens with the use of a light source. Although the magic lant...
Polychromatic speckle mitigation at surface discontinuities

Speckle mitigation via polychromatic illumination is used for many applications, including remote sensing, active target tracking, and optical tomography. However, the impacts of target surface discontinuities on polychromatic speckle mitigation have not been studied in the past. This work investigates such impacts by using polychromatic wave-optics simulation of the imaging of a cutoff-cone target and other complex shapes. It compares results from the depth-slicing, spectral-slicing, and full-time methods for polychromatic wave-optics simulation. The results show that points of discontinuity cause changes in speckle mitigation, and these changes occur over distances on the order of the diffraction limit. Because of the high degree of accuracy of the full-time method, its results are taken as truth. The other methods are numerically efficient, but less accurate. A comparison of the results from those methods to the truth data shows that the spectral-slicing method is accurate about points of discontinuity. On the other hand, the depth-slicing method is a bit inaccurate in some cases. Ultimately, the results indicate that one needs to properly model the transitions in speckle mitigation caused by surface discontinuities to create accurate speckle images. Further, such transitions are captured correctly by both the full-time and spectral-slicing wave-optics methods.
Aggravation of Glomerulonephritis by Hypertension

An immunopathogenetic mechanism, immune complex or antiglomerular basement membrane antibody, is held responsible for most forms of primary glomerular disease in man. Although immunologic mechanisms and the mediators of glomerular damage that they induce may well form the basis initially for most glomerular diseases, certain clinical observations and experimental data suggest that the progression of these diseases is influenced by the operation of nonimmunologic factors as well. The present discussion deals with the role of intrarenal vascular disease and hypertension as mechanisms of glomerular damage.
Waveguides and Resonators

The preceding chapter introduced general properties of Maxwell’s equations. It identified power flow and energy density and derived the uniqueness theorem and the reciprocity theorem. This background is necessary for the analysis of metallic waveguides and resonators as used in microwave structures. In this chapter, we analyze the modes of waveguides with perfectly conducting cylindrical enclosures. We determine the mode patterns and the dispersion relations, i.e. the phase velocity as a function of frequency. We derive the velocity of energy propagation and show that it is equal to the group velocity, i.e. the velocity of propagation of a wavepacket formed from a superposition of sinusoidal excitations within a narrow band of frequencies. Then we study the modes in an enclosure, a so-called cavity resonator. We determine the orthogonality properties of the modes. Next, resonators coupled to the exterior via “ports of access” are analyzed. Their impedance matrix description is obtained and the reciprocity theorem is applied to the impedance matrix. This analysis is in preparation for the study of noise in multiports, which begins in Chap. 5. Finally, we look at resonators in a general context. The analysis is based solely on the concept of energy conservation and time reversal. The derivation is applicable to any type of resonator, be it microwave, optical, acoustic, or other. Most of the results obtained here are contained in the literature [21,27–30]. The concepts of the waveguide mode and of resonant modes are necessary for the quantization of electromagnetic systems. Even though the analysis in this chapter concentrates on waveguides and resonators in perfectly conducting enclosures, the generic approach to resonance is independent of the details of the electromagnetic mode and is based solely on the concept of losslessness and time reversibility. This is the approach used in the analysis and quantization of the modes of optical resonators.
A Multicenter, Prospective, Observational Study to Determine Predictive Factors for Multidrug‐Resistant Pneumonia in Critically Ill Adults: The DEFINE Study

OBJECTIVE This study was conducted to describe the prevalence, epidemiology, and clinical outcomes of multidrug-resistant (MDR) organism (MDRO) pneumonia in critically ill patients. METHODS A multicenter, prospective, observational study of patients admitted to 60 intensive care units (ICUs), from 34 hospitals, in the United States from November to December 2016. Adults (> 18 yrs) receiving antimicrobial therapy at least 5 days for pneumonia were included. Patients were classified into two categories, with or without MDRO, and subcategorized by pneumonia type. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Demographics, medication histories, and health care exposure were collected during ICU admission and compared using t test and chi-square tests. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine predictive factors for MDRO pneumonia and hospital mortality. Of 652 patients, 92 patients (14.1%) developed MDR pneumonia. Predictors of MDRO pneumonia were acid suppression therapy within the previous 90 days (odds ratio [OR] 1.88 [1.14-3.09]; p=0.013), mechanical ventilation (OR 1.96 [1.14-3.35]; p<0.001), and history of MDRO infection (OR 4.74 [2.21-10.18]; p<0.001). Appropriate initial antimicrobial selection occurred in 58 patients (63%) with MDRO pneumonia compared to 464 patients (82.7%) in patients without MDRO pneumonia (p<0.001). MDRO pneumonia was not associated with hospital mortality (18.5% vs 17.6%, p=0.087). CONCLUSIONS In a broad cohort of critically ill patients, MDRO pneumonia is infrequent, and associated with factors describing the intensity of health care provided. Presence of MDRO pneumonia is not associated with hospital mortality. Further study is needed to clarify risk factors for multidrug-resistant pneumonia in critically ill patients.
Mucosal Injury From Calcium Oxalate Crystals Resembling Anaphylaxis and Angioedema.

Abstract Background There are 215 families of plants that contain insoluble needle-shaped calcium oxalate crystals on the surface of their tissues. Upon mucosal contact, injury can cause extreme pain, soft-tissue swelling, salivation, dysphagia, and even aphonia. This presentation can resemble angioedema or anaphylaxis. Case Report A 55-year-old Asian female presented to the emergency department complaining of oral pain, swelling, and numbness. Her family reported that she began to experience sharp pain of the tongue and lips immediately after eating “elephant root.” Physical examination revealed a patient sitting in an upright position, leaning forward with pooling secretions. She had few lingual petechiae, a subtle diffuse erythema, and mild edema of the lower lip. Due to pain, she was unable to speak and swallow. Her vitals remained within normal limits. The patient was taking lisinopril for hypertension. Why Should An Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Injury by calcium oxalate crystals is a relatively common occurrence that will present to the emergency department. Although most exposures are benign, patients can develop critical illness, requiring emergent therapies and airway management. Due to the nature of presentation, exposure can easily be misdiagnosed as anaphylaxis or hereditary and drug-induced angioedema. Severe pain and the temporal relationship to plant ingestion distinguish insoluble calcium oxalate crystal exposure from these alternative causes of angioedema. There is minimal evidence-based data evaluating treatment of these injuries. Standard treatment regimen includes a local anesthetic, corticosteroids, opioids, and antihistaminergic agents. Given the relative low cost, ease of administration, and benign adverse effect profile, sodium bicarbonate rinse may have a role as an adjunct therapy, however, research is needed.
Why the 'New Brandeis Movement' Gets Antitrust Wrong

In a March Editorial piece in the Journal of European Competition Law and Practice, Lina Khan put forward some of the core tenets of the NBM, which in her view continues a political and economic tradition rooted in American republicanism and Justice Brandeis’s legal philosophy. For the NBM, antimonopoly includes an antitrust regime that seeks to “ensur[e] that markets [are] structured to promote openness and competition.” The Chicago School’s abandonment of this tradition, the story goes, has contributed to rising market concentration and economic inequality. In presenting the movement’s core tenets, Khan exposes a flawed understanding of the relation between antimonopoly and American democracy, confirms concerns that the NBM heralds a return to “big is bad,” and misconstrues the Chicago School’s intellectual foundations.
E4orf1: A protein for enhancing glucose uptake despite impaired proximal insulin signaling

Background Type 2 diabetes is often linked with impaired proximal insulin signaling. Hence, a therapeutic agent that enhances cellular glucose uptake without requiring proximal insulin signaling would be desirable for improving glycemic control. The E4orf1 peptide (E4) derived from human adenovirus 36 (Ad36) promotes cellular glucose uptake in vitro and in vivo, independent of insulin. E4 bypasses a part of insulin signaling to upregulate cellular glucose uptake. We tested the hypothesis that E4 requires the distal but not proximal insulin signaling to enhance cellular glucose disposal. Methods 3T3-L1 preadipocytes inducibly expressing E4 or a null vector (NV) were treated with inhibitor of insulin receptor (S961), inhibitor of insulin like growth factor-1receptor (IGF-1R) (Picropodophyllin, PPP), PPP+S961, or phosphatidyl inositol-3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor (Wortmannin, WM). We used PPP and S961 to block the proximal insulin signaling, or WM to block the distal insulin signaling. Cells were exposed to 0 or 100nM insulin. Results As expected, when the proximal or distal insulin signaling was blocked in NV cells, insulin could not enhance pAKT protein abundance, Glut4 translocation, or glucose uptake. Whereas, E4 cells significantly increased pAKT abundance, Glut4 translocation and glucose uptake independent of the presence of insulin or proximal insulin signaling. Enhanced glucose disposal in E4 cells was completely abrogated when the distal insulin signaling was blocked. Conclusions E4 bypasses the proximal insulin signaling but uses the distal insulin signaling to activate pAkt and in turn Glut4 translocation to improve cellular glucose uptake. E4 offers a promising template to improve glycemic control when the proximal insulin signaling is impaired.
Innovative Chemicals and Materials from Bacterial Aromatic Catabolic Pathways

Summary To drive innovation in chemical and material applications beyond what has been afforded by the mature petrochemical industry, new molecules that possess diverse chemical functionality are needed. One source of such molecules lies in the varied metabolic pathways that soil microbes utilize to catabolize aromatic compounds generated during plant decomposition. Here, we have engineered Pseudomonas putida KT2440 to convert these aromatic compounds to 15 catabolic intermediates that exhibit substantial chemical diversity. Bioreactor cultivations, analytical methods, and bench-scale separations were developed to enable production (up to 58 g/L), detection, and purification of each target molecule. We further engineered strains for production of a subset of these molecules from glucose, achieving a 41% molar yield of muconic acid. Finally, we produce materials from three compounds to illustrate the potential for realizing performance-advantaged properties relative to petroleum-derived analogs.
A renewed tool kit to explore Chlamydia pathogenesis: from molecular genetics to new infection models

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most prevalent sexually transmitted bacterial pathogen and the leading cause of preventable blindness in the developing world. C. trachomatis invades the epithelium of the conjunctiva and genital tract and replicates within an intracellular membrane-bound compartment termed the inclusion. To invade and replicate in mammalian cells, Chlamydia remodels epithelial surfaces by reorganizing the cytoskeleton and cell-cell adhesions, reprograms membrane trafficking, and modulates cell signaling to dampen innate immune responses. If the infection ascends to the upper female genital tract, it can result in pelvic inflammatory disease and tissue scarring. C. trachomatis infections are associated with infertility, ectopic pregnancies, the fibrotic disorder endometriosis, and potentially cancers of the cervix and uterus. Unfortunately, the molecular mechanisms by which this clinically important human pathogen subverts host cellular functions and causes disease have remained relatively poorly understood because of the dearth of molecular genetic tools to study Chlamydiae and limitations of both in vivo and in vitro infection models. In this review, we discuss recent advances in the experimental molecular tool kit available to dissect C. trachomatis infections with a special focus on Chlamydia-induced epithelial barrier disruption by regulating the structure, function, and dynamics of epithelial cell-cell junctions.
Deep-Learning-Based Human Intention Prediction Using RGB Images and Optical Flow

A key technical issue for human intention prediction from observed human actions is how to discover and utilize the spatio-temporal patterns behind those actions. Inspired by the well-known two-stream architecture for action recognition, this paper proposes an approach for human intention prediction based on a two-stream architecture using RGB images and optical flow. Firstly, the action-start frame of each trial of a human action is determined by calculating the L2 distance of the positions of the human joints between frames of the skeleton data. Secondly, a spatial network and a temporal network are trained separately to predict human intentions using RGB images and optical flow, respectively. Both early concatenation fusion methods in the spatial network and sampling methods in the temporal network are optimized based on experiments. Finally, average fusion is used to fuse the prediction results from the spatial network and the temporal network. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach, a new dataset of human intentions behind human actions is introduced. This dataset contains RGB images, RGB-D images, and skeleton data of human actions of pitching a ball. Experiments show that the proposed approach can predict human intentions behind human actions with a prediction accuracy of 74% on the proposed dataset. The proposed approach is further evaluated on the Intention from Motion (IfM) dataset, a dataset of human intentions behind human actions of grasping a bottle. The proposed approach achieves a prediction accuracy of 77% on the IfM dataset. The proposed approach is effective in predicting human intentions behind human actions in different applications.
Muslim International Students in the United States: A Phenomenological Inquiry into the Experience of Identities

The number of Muslim international students in the U.S. has grown considerably in recent years, however these students face unique challenges related to their religious, racial/ethnic, and gender identities. By better understanding how Muslim international students experience their identities on U.S. campuses, university practitioners can better meet the unique needs of Muslim international students and assist them in succeeding and graduating. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to better understand how Muslim international students experience their identities at four-year universities in the Midwestern U.S. using Kim's (2012) International Student Identity (ISI) model as a guiding framework. Specifically, the study explored how Muslim international students experience their religious, ethnic/racial, and gender identities prior to coming to the U.S. and as students in the Midwestern U.S. This phenomenological study included semi-structured interviews with ten students who attended four-year institutions in the Midwestern U.S. Significant findings in this study emerged from six themes and included: (1) difficulties in practicing Islamic prayer in the Midwestern U.S., (2) Islam as a flexible religion, (3) racial construct as a new and troubling concept, (4) male/female interactions on campus and in the classroom, (5) perceptions of veiling in the Midwestern U.S., (6) stereotypes of Muslim international students based upon their national identity, (7) fear of practicing Islamic prayer due to stereotypes of Muslims, (8) coping with acts of discrimination, and (9) impact of Trump administration rhetoric and policies. Emergent themes in this study were viewed through Kim's (2012) International Student Identity model.
Region-Specific Sialylation Pattern of Prion Strains Provides Novel Insight into Prion Neurotropism

Mammalian prions are unconventional infectious agents that invade and replicate in an organism by recruiting a normal form of a prion protein (PrPC) and converting it into misfolded, disease-associated state referred to as PrPSc. PrPC is posttranslationally modified with two N-linked glycans. Prion strains replicate by selecting substrates from a large pool of PrPC sialoglycoforms expressed by a host. Brain regions have different vulnerability to prion infection, however, molecular mechanisms underlying selective vulnerability is not well understood. Toward addressing this question, the current study looked into a possibility that sialylation of PrPSc might be involved in defining selective vulnerability of brain regions. The current work found that in 22L -infected animals, PrPSc is indeed sialylated in a region dependent manner. PrPSc in hippocampus and cortex was more sialylated than PrPSc from thalamus and stem. Similar trends were also observed in brain materials from RML- and ME7-infected animals. The current study established that PrPSc sialylation status is indeed region-specific. Together with previous studies demonstrating that low sialylation status accelerates prion replication, this work suggests that high vulnerability of certain brain region to prion infection could be attributed to their low sialylation status.
Distribution of TDP-43 Pathology in Hippocampal Synaptic Relays Suggests Transsynaptic Propagation in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration.

Hyperphosphorylation, nuclear depletion, and aggregation of TDP-43 in ubiquitinated inclusions is a hallmark of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD-TDP). Evidence of potential spread of TDP-43 along synaptic connections in the human is largely limited to qualitative and semiquantitative observations. We quantitatively investigated potential transsynaptic propagation of TDP-43 across the well-established chain of single synaptic connections of the hippocampus. Hippocampi from 5 participants with clinical diagnoses of primary progressive aphasia and 2 participants with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, all with postmortem diagnoses of FTLD-TDP, were examined. TDP-43-positive mature (darkly stained) and pre-inclusions (diffuse puncta or fibrillar staining) in the granule cell layer of dentate gyrus (DG) and pyramidal cell layers of Cornu Ammonis (CA)3, CA2, and CA1 were quantified using unbiased stereology. The density of mature TDP-43 inclusions was higher in the DG than in the CA fields (p < 0.05). There were no differences in inclusion densities across the CA fields. TDP-43 pre-inclusions densities were not different across the 4 subregions. There was significantly higher preinclusion density than mature inclusions in CA3, but not in other subregions. Analysis of normalized total counts in place of densities revealed virtually identical results. Our finding of greatest mature inclusion deposition in the DG, coupled with more preinclusions than mature inclusions at the next relay station (CA3), and reduced densities of both in CA2-CA1, provide evidence in support of a sequential transsynaptic propagation mechanism of TDP-43 aggregates.
The Passion: Football and the Story of Modern Turkey / Welcome to Hell?: In Search of the Real Turkish Football

Football clubs – and their fans – are part of the cultural fabric of many nations, playing an important role in civil society by bringing people from many different ideological, racial, class, and ...
Pflegesysteme im internationalen Vergleich

Die demographischen und gesellschaftlichen Entwicklungen werden das deutsche Pflegesystem in den kommenden Dekaden vor grose Herausforderungen stellen. Insofern lohnt ein Blick uber die Grenzen Deutschlands, wie andere europaische Lander mit dieser Aufgabe umgehen. In diesem Zusammenhang wird die Ausgestaltung der Steuerungs-, Finanzierungs- und Leistungsstruktur im schwedischen, niederlandischen und spanischen Pflegesystem beschrieben. Darauf aufbauend werden die mit der unterschiedlichen Ausgestaltung der einzelnen Pflegesysteme einhergehenden Anreize theoretisch ausgefuhrt und die daraus gewonnenen Erkenntnisse im Kontext des deutschen Pflegesystems diskutiert. Dieses bietet aufgrund der zentralen Steuerungsstruktur und der daraus resultierenden einheitlichen Leistungsstruktur Anreize fur hohe Verteilungsgerechtigkeit. Ebenso sind Weichen fur hohe allokative Effizienz gestellt, da die Finanzierung aus einer Hand keine Anreize zu einer Leistungsverschiebung birgt. Als Nachteil der monistischen und allein an Arbeitseinkommen anknupfenden Finanzierung kann die Tendenz zu Unterversorgung gesehen werden.
Naltrexone treatment for prolonged grief disorder: study protocol for a randomized, triple-blinded, placebo-controlled trial.

There is a lack of effective pharmacotherapy for prolonged grief disorder (PGD). Evidence suggests that the neurobiology of PGD involves the same circuitry as the reward pathway. Based upon this evidence, we hypothesize that PGD can be conceptualized as a disorder of addiction and therefore could benefit from being treated with medications that are currently used to treat such disorders. One such medication is naltrexone, which is currently used to treat alcohol and opioid dependence. Oral naltrexone was chosen for its mechanism of action, safety, and convenience. The primary aim of this study is to establish the efficacy of using oral naltrexone as a pharmacological treatment for PGD. Specifically, we hypothesize that participants receiving naltrexone will demonstrate reduced PGD symptoms when compared to placebo. This is a randomized, placebo-controlled, triple-blinded (to healthcare professionals/study staff, participants, and data analysts) study in which we propose to enroll 48 participants who meet criteria for Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD). Participants will be randomly assigned to the naltrexone 50 mg oral arm or placebo arm; medications will be over-encapsulated to appear identical. Participants will take their assigned medication for 8 weeks, with clinic visits every 4 weeks to assess symptom severity, social closeness, and adverse reactions. Weekly surveys of Prolonged Grief-13-Revised (PG-13-R) will be used to relate naltrexone use to changes in PGD symptom severity. Follow-up 4 weeks after their last visit will assess the longevity of treatment, as well as any lingering adverse reactions. This study is the first to investigate the use of oral naltrexone as pharmacological treatment for PGD. The acute and debilitating nature of the disorder, in addition to the increased risk of comorbidities, highlights the need for pharmacological treatment like naltrexone that can act more rapidly, may help those for whom psychotherapy may not be effective, and/or may augment psychotherapy to promote PGD symptom grief resolution. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04547985 . Registered on 8/31/2020.
Past As Present: The Last Dead Heat in the State Senate, 100 Years Ago

This paper explores the most recent significant tie vote in the New York State Senate in 1908. It considers the implications for horse racing in New York State and the powers of the Lieutenant Governor.
Counting paths, cycles and blow-ups in planar graphs

For a planar graph $H$, let $\operatorname{\mathbf{N}}_{\mathcal P}(n,H)$ denote the maximum number of copies of $H$ in an $n$-vertex planar graph. In this paper, we prove that $\operatorname{\mathbf{N}}_{\mathcal P}(n,P_7)\sim{4\over 27}n^4$, $\operatorname{\mathbf{N}}_{\mathcal P}(n,C_6)\sim(n/3)^3$, $\operatorname{\mathbf{N}}_{\mathcal P}(n,C_8)\sim(n/4)^4$ and $\operatorname{\mathbf{N}}_{\mathcal P}(n,K_4\{1\})\sim(n/6)^6$, where $K_4\{1\}$ is the $1$-subdivision of $K_4$. In addition, we obtain significantly improved upper bounds on $\operatorname{\mathbf{N}}_{\mathcal P}(n,P_{2m+1})$ and $\operatorname{\mathbf{N}}_{\mathcal P}(n,C_{2m})$ for $m\geq 4$. For a wide class of graphs $H$, the key technique developed in this paper allows us to bound $\operatorname{\mathbf{N}}_{\mathcal P}(n,H)$ in terms of an optimization problem over weighted graphs.
Influence of vocabulary and sentence complexity and passive voice on the readability of consumer-oriented mental health information on the Internet.

Searching for health care information is one of the most common uses of the Internet by the elderly. Our earlier research showed that health care information websites may present information at levels of readability that are excessively difficult for many potential users. This study investigated the influence of several aspects of readability (vocabulary and sentence complexity and use of passive voice construction) on overall readability at several different levels of readability. Results show that easier to read sites could be differentiated most consistently from more difficult sites by vocabulary complexity. Comparison of the easiest and most difficult sites in several cases showed that sentence complexity and passive voice may also be important. These results can provide guidance for those interested in improving the readability of websites that provide mental health information for consumers.
Integer Sets Containing No Solution to x + y = 3z

We prove that a maximum subset of {1,2, …, n} containing no solutions to x + y = 3z has $$ \left\lceil {\frac{n}{2}} \right\rceil $$ elements if n ≠ 4, thus settling a conjecture of Erdos. For n ≥ 23 the set of all odd integers less than or equal to n is the unique maximum such subset.
Coverage dependent work function of graphene on a Cu(111) substrate with intercalated alkali metals

Using first-principles calculations, it is shown that the work function of graphene on copper can be adjusted by varying the concentration of intercalated alkali metals. Using density functional theory, we calculate the modulation of work function when Li, Na, or K are intercalated between graphene and a Cu(111) surface. The physical origins of the change in work function are explained in terms of phenomenological models accounting for the formation and depolarization of interfacial dipoles and the shift in the Fermi-level induced via charge transfer.
Action of magnesium ion on diphosphopyridine nucleotide-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase from bovine heart. Characterization of the forms of the substrate and the modifier of the reaction.

Abstract The activity of DPN-linked isocitrate dehydrogenase is dependent on the concentration of magnesium d-isocitrate (MgI-) under conditions where the concentrations of free Mg2+ and isocitrate approach zero and saturation, respectively. These results can be interpreted in terms of magnesium isocitrate as the active substrate, however the present data cannot rule out the possibility of free Mg2+ and isocitrate as the substrates if the reaction mechanism is rapid equilibrium ordered with free Mg2+ being the first reactant. In the absence of ADP and in presence of 0.33 mm DPN+, S0.5 of magnesium dl-isocitrate has been found to be 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, and 1.0 mm at pH 6.65, 7.2, 7.4, and 7.75, respectively, with values of Hill slopes (n) near 2. Excess free Mg2+ causes apparent inhibition which is competitive with respect to magnesium isocitrate, the proposed substrate of the reaction. The inhibition by Mg2+ is much more severe at pH 6.65 than at pH 7.2 and above, e.g. the inhibition constant for Mg2+ is 40- to 80-fold larger at pH 7.2 than at pH 6.65. In contrast to the results which are consistent with magnesium isocitrate as the substrate, free ADP3- is the modifier of the enzyme and MgADP- is inactive. At pH 7.2 and 7.4, increasing concentrations of ADP3- lead to decreasing values of S0.5 for magnesium isocitrate accompanied by a decline of Hill slopes from n = 2 to near unity; these changes are less pronounced at pH 6.65. The values of Vmax are the same in the absence and presence of ADP at each pH tested; however, Vmax at pH 6.65 is about one-half of that at pH 7.2 and above. There is an interdependence in the interaction of the enzyme with substrate and modifier. Thus, at pH 7.2 and 7.4, the values of Km for ADP3- decline with increasing concentrations of magnesium isocitrate; however, the Hill slopes for ADP3- are not influenced by substrate concentration and remain constant at m = 1 between pH 6.65 and 7.75. A reaction model has been proposed in which initial binding of substrate to the enzyme at one site leads to a conformational change and subsequent binding of magnesium isocitrate at an additional site which is catalytically active.
Effect of body mass index on tumor characteristics and disease‐free survival in patients from the HER2‐positive adjuvant trastuzumab trial N9831

BACKGROUND Data suggest that weight, and specifically body mass index (BMI), plays a role in breast cancer development and outcome. The authors hypothesized that there would be a correlation between BMI and clinical outcome in patients with early stage, human epidermal receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer enrolled in the N9831 adjuvant trial. METHODS Patients were grouped according to baseline BMI as follows: normal (BMI <25 kg/m2), overweight (BMI ≥25 kg/m2 and <30 kg/m2), and obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). Disease-free survival (DFS) was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Comparisons between treatment arms A, B, and C (chemotherapy with or without trastuzumab) were performed using a stratified Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS Analysis was completed on 3017 eligible patients. Obese patients were more likely to be older and postmenopausal (P < .0001 for both), to have larger tumors (P = .002), and to have positive lymph nodes (P = .004). In the pooled analysis cohort, differences in DFS among the BMI groups were statistically significant (5-year DFS rate: 82.5%, 78.6%, and 78.5% for normal weight, overweight, and obese women, respectively; log-rank P = .02). The adjusted hazard ratio comparing the DFS of overweight women with the DFS of normal women was 1.30 (95% confidence interval, 1.06-1.61); and, comparing the DFS of obese women with the DFS normal women, the adjusted hazard ratio was 1.31 (95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.59). There were no statistically significant differences in DFS by weight group for women within any trial arm. CONCLUSIONS Patients with early stage, HER2-positive breast cancer and normal BMI had a better 5-year DFS compared with overweight and obese women. The current results indicated that adjuvant trastuzumab improves clinical outcome regardless of BMI. Cancer 2013;119:2447-2454. © 2013 American Cancer Society.