cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tunable stress relaxation behavior of an alginate-polyacrylamide hydrogel: comparison with muscle tissue.

Factors controlling the time-dependent mechanical properties of interpenetrating network (IPN) hydrogel materials are not well understood. In this study, alginate-polyacrylamide IPN were synthesized to mimic the stress relaxation behavior and elastic modulus of porcine muscle tissue. Hydrogel samples were created with single-parameter chemical concentration variations from a baseline formula to establish trends. The concentration of total monomer material had the largest effect on the elastic modulus, while concentration of the acrylamide cross-linker, N,N-methylenebis(acrylamide) (MBAA), changed the stress relaxation behavior most effectively. The IPN material was then tuned to mimic the mechanical response of muscle tissue using these trends. Swelling the hydrogel samples to equilibrium resulted in a dramatic decrease in both elastic modulus and stress relaxation behavior. Collectively, the results demonstrate that alginate-polyacrylamide IPN hydrogels can be tuned to closely mimic both the elastic and ...
Sentiment and Evaluation as Ecological Variables

This article focuses on the different correlates of residents' evaluative and sentimental feelings toward local areas in the Seattle, Washington metropolitan area. Evaluation is measured by satisfaction with the residential environment, while sentiment is indicated by the degree to which respondents would miss an area after moving away from it. The two types of feelings about the local community are correlated positively, partly because they have similar major predictors. However, certain aspects of neighborhood life and certain individual characteristics relate' differently to the two variables, and it appears that the types of feelings have different conceptual bases. Both evaluation and sentiment are found to affect, although sometimes in dissimilar ways, the probability of individuals' moving and taking political action to defend their community.
Effects of DDT on the Respiratory Enzymes of the Mealworm, Tenebrio Molitor Linnaeus, and of the House Fly, Musca Domestica Linnaeus

The amount of inhibitation caused by 10−3 M DDT increased with a decrease in enzyme concentration both with cytochrome oxidase and succinic dehydrogenase of mealworm and house fly homogenates; hence, DDT appears to be irreversible in its action. It is an inhibitor of cytochrome oxidase and succinic dehydrogenase, but not of alcohol, glucose, lactic, alpha-glycerophosphate, or isocitric dehydrogenases, or of the malic enzyme. It inhibits only the cyanide-sensitive respiration. The inhibition of the cytochrome oxidase activity of a 0.3 percent homogenate of the house fly larva was 65 percent. This inhibition remained constant over a 2-hour period.
Functioning free-muscle transplantation for the upper extremity

Functioning free-muscle transplantation (FFMT) is an advanced microneurovascular technique indicated in patients who have an injury with major functional muscle or muscle group loss or denervation and no locally available or ideal musculotendinous donor units. Over the 9-year period, from 1986 to 1994, 47 FFMTs were applied in patients who had severe hand and upper-extremity injuries (not including brachial plexus injury). Thirteen patients had 15 FFMTs to reconstruct muscle loss caused by severe Volkmann's ischemia. Seventeen patients had 21 FFMTs for reconstruction after severe crushing and traction injuries of the forearm or arm, with major muscle loss or major nerve injury. Nine patients, with 11 FFMTs, sustained major limb avulsion amputation for which replantation without nerve repair was done initially. FFMT was the only technique available to resolve the motor deficit and consequent deformity. Most patients achieved significant functional improvement.
Establishment of fatty liver model of rat

[Objective]To establish a rat model of fatty liver based on alcohol and high fat diet.[Methods]Female Wistar rats were randomly divided into the control group and the model group. Rats in the control group were fed by normal food and water,and given the normal saline via intragastric administration daily. Rats in the model group were feed by high fat food and 15% alcohol water,and given the 50% alcohol solution via intragastric administration daily. The experiment was lasting for 5 weeks. The levels of triglyceride( TG),total cholesterol( TC),aspartate aminotransferase( AST) and alanine aminotransferase( ALT) in serum,as well as TG and TC in hepatic tissue were measured. The pathological condition of liver was observed.[Results]The index of liver in the model group was higher than that in the control group,but the difference was not significant( P 0. 05). The serum TC level in the model group [( 2. 93 ± 0. 62) mmol / L] was higher than that in the control group [( 2. 27 ± 0. 28) mmol / L] significantly( P 0. 05). The serum TG level increased,but the difference was not significant( P 0. 05). The levels of TG and TC in hepatic tissue increased significantly( P 0. 05). There were no significant differences in serum AST and ALT activity between two groups( P 0. 05). The food utilization rate in the model group was significantly lower than that in the control group( P 0. 05). The pathological section showed that the obvious fatty degeneration was observed in hepatic tissue of rats in the model group.[Conclusion]The fatty liver model of rat is successfully established by applying the alcohol and high fat diet for 5 weeks.
Epidemiological Characteristics of Hand-foot-mouth Disease in Dazhu County,2009-2013

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of hand-foot-mouth disease( HFMD) in Dazhu county.Methods Descriptive epidemiological method was employed to analyze the surveillance data collected during 2009-2013 in Dazhu.Results A total of 893 HFMD cases were reported during the period in Dazhu,with an annual incidence of 19.81 /105 and one death case.The incidences among the 5 years showed statistical difference( χ2= 845.07,P 0.01),with the highest incidence in2013.All the fifty towns through the county reported HFMD cases and Zhuyang town was the main foci place.The incidence exhibited a double-peak distribution:4-7th and 10-12 th month of the year.The cases were mainly under 5 years and male cases were more than the female cases.The population distribution was mainly scattered children and kindergarten children.The pathogens were Coxsackie virus( Cox A16) and enterovirus( EV 71).Conclusion The epidemic of HFMD is characterized with differences on variables of season,age,gender and area.
The Discussion on the Automobile Company Sharing Fastener

This article describes the fastener application status in an automobile company,analyzes the strongpoint and risks for sharing fasteners,and puts forward detailed countermeasures and proposals for sharing fasteners.
Resistance of Musca domestica and its control countermeasure in Anyang city

ObjectiveTo get know the resistance status of Musca domestica,and give guidance for using insecticides scientifically so as to improve the killing efficacy.MethodsSeparating the insecticides into 6～7 groups according to their former resistance results.The back of Musca domestica was dripped insecticide for 1 μl with microdripper.There were 20 Musca domestica at each group.Under normal breeding condition,observing for 24 hours and writing down mortality status.ResultsThe LC50 of Musca domestica to DDVP,deltamethrin,cypermethrin and permetrin were 0.783 7,0.101 4,0.205 8 and 0.167 6 mg/m3 respectively.ConclusionIn contrast with national standard sensitive strain,the relative resistance of Musca domestica to DDVP,deltamethrin,cypermethrin and permethrin were 68.7,169,45.7 and 28.9 respectively.Musca domestica in Anyang city had different degree of resistance to the above mentioned insecticides,and had the highest resistance to deltamethrin.
The Measurement and Interpretation of Capacity Utilization

Recognition of scarcity or fixity of resources is the key to development of the concepts of capacity and capacity utilization. The degree of scarcity, in fact, uniquely determines the amount of available capacity because “capacity” refers to the amount of resources — say fixed capital and/or labor and energy resources — one has available to “utilize” for production of output. If “not enough” (somehow defined) output is being produced, we say that capacity is underutilized. People could potentially obtain more goods and services at lower cost given the available inputs and technology.
Resign in Protest? A Cure Worse Than Most Diseases:

Advocates of cultivating a resignation-in-protest ethic understate the costs and exaggerate the benefits. Military officers who believe that the policymaking process is heading in a bad direction a...
An experimental study of democracy breakdown, income and inequality

Many empirical studies investigate the relationships between economic development, inequality, and democracy survival; however, establishing causal links with naturally occurring cross-country data is problematic. We address this question in a laboratory experiment, where in democracy citizens can invest in profitable projects and vote on income taxation. In the alternative regime—autocracy—efficient investment levels and equitable redistribution are implemented exogenously, but there is a risk of resources being partially expropriated. Citizens can voluntarily switch from democracy to autocracy by a majority vote, which mimics recent historical examples, where voters voluntarily delegate political powers to an autocrat in exchange for a promise of high taxation and redistribution. We find that the likelihood of democracy breakdown increases with the degree of inequality but does not vary with productivity. The link between productivity and democracy survival depends critically on the degree of sophistication of the median voter.
A small molecule screening to detect potential therapeutic targets in human podocytes.

Widmeier E, Tan W, Airik M, Hildebrandt F. A small molecule screening to detect potential therapeutic targets in human podocytes. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 312: F157–F171, 2017. First published Oc...
Assessing the Target Reliability Index for Nuclear Piping

Previous research developed Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) equations for Class 2 and 3 nuclear piping for different reliability levels and load combinations. The LRFD equations consider separate safety factors for each load and for the strength of steel in opposition to the Allowable Stress Design (ASD) equations used in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel (B&PV) Code, Section III, Div. 1, where only one safety factor is considered. In order to use the developed LRFD equations for the design of nuclear piping, specific reliability levels or else acceptable probabilities of failure need to be assigned to each Code equation. The paper discusses the available methods for evaluating the target reliability index, such as historical data of piping failures, expert-opinion elicitation, and Code calibration. Code calibration is the method of determining the existing level of reliability in the Code equations and assigning the same reliability to the developed LRFD equations in a consistent manner. Code Calibration is explained to be the more appropriate method of assigning reliability levels to the LRFD equations. The other methods can supplement the analysis results.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
One night of sleep restriction following heavy exercise impairs 3-km cycling time-trial performance in the morning

The goal of this project was to examine the influence of a single night of sleep restriction following heavy exercise on cycling time-trial (TT) performance and skeletal muscle function in the morn...
Development of Real Time Expert System Applications for the On-line Analysis of Fermentation Respiration Data

Abstract A knowledge and model based expert system approach for the control of industrial fermentations at Eli Lilly and Company is under development. This paper reports the integration of the G2 Real-Time Expert System (Gensym Corporation Cambridge, MA) into a fermentation pilot plant. Process specific knowledge has been combined with simple modeling techniques to provide on-line expert decision making. A convenient testing utility was created to allow the rapid development of knowledge based applications. Key features of this utility are a) its ability to run historical data files “through” the application at 100 times the rate of real time data acquisition and b) its access to literally thousands of files, any one of which can serve as a test case.
Reduced Test Spaces for DPG Methods Using Rectangular Elements

Abstract This paper shows that the test spaces in discontinuous Petrov Galerkin (DPG) methods can be reduced on rectangular elements without affecting unisolvency or rates of convergences. One reduced case is obtained by decreasing the polynomial degree of a standard test space in both coordinate directions by one. A further reduction of test space by almost another full degree is possible if one is willing to implement a nonstandard test space. The error analysis of such cases is based on an extension of the second Strang lemma and an interpretation of the DPG method as a nonconforming method. The key technical ingredient in obtaining unisolvency is the identification of a discontinuous piecewise polynomial on the element boundary that is orthogonal to all continuous piecewise polynomials of one degree higher.
Speech-Language Pathology Evaluation and Management of Hyperkinetic Disorders Affecting Speech and Swallowing Function.

Background: Hyperkinetic dysarthria is characterized by abnormal involuntary movements affecting respiratory, phonatory, and articulatory structures impacting speech and deglutition. Speech–language pathologists (SLPs) play an important role in the evaluation and management of dysarthria and dysphagia. This review describes the standard clinical evaluation and treatment approaches by SLPs for addressing impaired speech and deglutition in specific hyperkinetic dysarthria populations. Methods: A literature review was conducted using the data sources of PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. Search terms included 1) hyperkinetic dysarthria, essential voice tremor, voice tremor, vocal tremor, spasmodic dysphonia, spastic dysphonia, oromandibular dystonia, Meige syndrome, orofacial, cervical dystonia, dystonia, dyskinesia, chorea, Huntington’s Disease, myoclonus; and evaluation/treatment terms: 2) Speech–Language Pathology, Speech Pathology, Evaluation, Assessment, Dysphagia, Swallowing, Treatment, Management, and diagnosis. Results: The standard SLP clinical speech and swallowing evaluation of chorea/Huntington’s disease, myoclonus, focal and segmental dystonia, and essential vocal tremor typically includes 1) case history; 2) examination of the tone, symmetry, and sensorimotor function of the speech structures during non-speech, speech and swallowing relevant activities (i.e., cranial nerve assessment); 3) evaluation of speech characteristics; and 4) patient self-report of the impact of their disorder on activities of daily living. SLP management of individuals with hyperkinetic dysarthria includes behavioral and compensatory strategies for addressing compromised speech and intelligibility. Swallowing disorders are managed based on individual symptoms and the underlying pathophysiology determined during evaluation. Discussion: SLPs play an important role in contributing to the differential diagnosis and management of impaired speech and deglutition associated with hyperkinetic disorders.
"The Wrong Building, in the Wrong Place, at the Wrong Time": Marcel Breuer and the Grand Central Tower Controversy, 1967-1969

In the late 1960s, New York's Landmarks Preservation Commission rejected a scandalous proposal submitted by Marcel Breuer and Associates to float a fifty-five-story office tower in the air rights a...
Environmental Factors in Obesity

Obesity has reached epidemic levels in the United States and some other affluent countries over the past 30 years, and is a growing problem in the urban populations of developing countries. WHO estimates that the global rate of obesity will reach 13% by 2015. It has already reached 34% among American adults and another one-third are overweight. The rapid increase in obesity is linked to macrosocial changes that have fueled international trade and economic growth, increased food production, promoted urbanization, and generally increased the average standard of living, while reducing physical activity. The epidemiology of obesity is complex; it is the outcome of the interaction between genetics and the social, cultural, and physical environment. It is usually higher among women. It is positively associated with higher socioeconomic status in developing countries, but negatively in developed countries, except for African-American women, more than half of whom are obese. Because obesity puts people at risk to many comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, it threatens to undermine twentieth century gains in life expectancy. Unless effective interventions can be developed and quickly implemented, obesity will be the defining disease of the twenty-first century.
The Use of the WISC-III with Achievement Tests

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses certain general issues concerning the use of ability and achievement measures along with a comprehensive review of the specific studies on the WISC-III and achievement tests. The reader, in this context, is introduced to the research base from which decisions can be made. It is very practical and useful for clinicians. To this end, are provided tables, charts as well as case study examples, providing suitable guidelines for understanding difficult concepts. The chapter also demonstrates the use of tables along with furnished opportunities for practicing several essential skills. The achievement measure usually reflects operationalization of probability. Different variables are difficult to tease out one from the other. Psychologists need to formulate and test hypotheses of variables' influencing the achievement outcomes in each instance.
Current Results from Treatment of Bladder Tumors with Total cystectomy at Roswell Park Memorial Institute

AbstractResults of our recent cystectomy series revealed good survival for patients with superficial bladder tumors. The morbidity rate was low, 8.6 per cent. Our series showed a statistically significant postoperative morbidity rate in a high risk patient group, then justifying preoperative selection of patients as candidates for this major operation. However, we believe that despite relatively good results in reducing the morbitidy and mortality rates and improvement in survival, the over-all results in treatment of bladder tumors with operation alone are still unsatisfactory and there is an urgent need to develop and to investigate new and combined modalities of treatment.
Protein hydrogen-deuterium exchange FT-IR spectroscopy and secondary structure correlation

Most early FTIR and VCD studies of proteins were done in D2O solution in order to improve signal to noise ratio (S/N) and allow the use of cells with convenient path lengths. They therefore concentrated on spectra of the amide I’ band, with the foreknowledge that not all the amide groups would be deuterated if the protein is just dissolved in D2O or even H-D exchanged to an equilibrium state. It is currently possible to measure FT-IR spectra of proteins in H2O at short path lengths and concentrations sufficiently high to allow adequate signal to noise ratio [1].
Evaluation of Integrated Health Programs in School

School-based health clinics are prevalent both in the United States and throughout the world. This article, using the United States as an example, briefly lays out the historical development of school-based health clinics in the United States and subsequently examines the efforts at evaluating prominent aspects of school-based health clinics. Research has shown that school-based health clinics offer both educational and medical benefits. In particular, children who utilize school-based health clinics are significantly less likely to use emergency rooms and have a greater likelihood of a yearly physicians visit and annual dental examination. Increasingly, the performance expectations placed on school-based health clinics as a condition of funding has steadily increased. While they have demonstrated their efficacy, high-quality evaluations, employing flexible designs, need to be utilized to increase the evidence for their continued inclusion in schools.
Functional Analysis of Cellulose Synthase CesA4 and CesA6 Genes in Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) by Overexpression and RNAi-Mediated Gene Silencing

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a leading lignocellulosic bioenergy feedstock. Cellulose is a major component of the plant cell walls and the primary substrate for saccharification. Accessibility of cellulose to enzymatic breakdown into fermentable sugars is limited by the presence of lignin in the plant cell wall. In this study, putatively novel switchgrass secondary cell wall cellulose synthase PvCesA4 and primary cell wall PvCesA6 genes were identified and their functional role in cellulose synthesis and cell wall composition was examined by overexpression and knockdown of the individual genes in switchgrass. The endogenous expression of PvCesA4 and PvCesA6 genes varied among including roots, leaves, stem, and reproductive tissues. Increasing or decreasing PvCesA4 and PvCesA6 expression to extreme levels in the transgenic lines resulted in decreased biomass production. PvCesA6-overexpressing lines had reduced lignin content and syringyl/guaiacyl lignin monomer ratio accompanied by increased sugar release efficiency, suggesting an impact of PvCesA6 expression levels on lignin biosynthesis. Cellulose content and cellulose crystallinity were decreased, while xylan content was increased in PvCesA4 and PvCesA6 overexpression or knockdown lines. The increase in xylan content suggests that the amount of non-cellulosic cell wall polysaccharide was modified in these plants., possibly as a compensation response to the decreased cellulose content; the result would be maintenance of cell wall integrity. The results suggest an interconnection between the cellular machinery controlling cellulose and xylan biosynthesis. Taken together, the results show that the manipulation of the cellulose synthase genes alters the cell wall composition and availability of cellulose as a bioprocessing substrate. Understanding the enzymes responsible for the synthesis and regulation of cellulose synthesis is key to engineering biofuel crops for cellulose production and more efficient extraction of glucose from cellulose.
The Guerrilla Hunters: Irregular Conflicts during the Civil War

Review of: The Guerrilla Hunters: Irregular Conflicts during the Civil War, edited by Brian D. McKnight and Barton A. Myers
Predicting microstructure and strength for AISI 304L stainless steel forgings

Abstract Specially designed billets of AISI 304L stainless steel were forged at two temperatures, 843 °C and 941 °C, and with varying transfer times. The machined 304L billets were thick near the center (51 mm) and thin near the periphery (10 mm) such that forging with a flat platen resulted in regions of high strain (center) and low strain (periphery). Multiple metallographic samples were extracted from one experimental forging for each temperature (water quenched forging with nominal transfer times). Microstructural analysis revealed that recrystallization initiated at about 1.4 plastic strain for forgings made at 843 °C and 1.1 plastic strain for 941 °C. Mechanical tests—performed using tensile bars from multiple locations from each forging—revealed that the resulting yield strength increased with strain up ~10–20% recrystallization, then decreased. Coupled thermo-mechanical simulations estimated a temperature increase of up to 162 °C in the center of the forging due to rapid deformation in the High Energy Rate Forging (HERF) press. Simulation using updated BCJ model parameters for 304L stainless steel predicted the strain distributions using the scalar value, equivalent plastic strain. The predicted trends for percent recrystallization and yield strength from this simulation (using the internal state variable BCJ model) agreed qualitatively with experimental tensile test results, but the quantitative comparison leaves room for improvement. Both the simulation and the experimental results clarify that the microstructure and strength of 304L forgings are difficult to control in a forging with excessive strain variation. It is recommended that strain variation be minimized and overall strain be kept under ~0.5 to best control the strength and grain structure of 304L stainless steel. Excessive transfer time appeared to have little effect on the forging yield strength, but air cooling and die cooling after forging indicated softening for the forgings made at 941 °C.
Contributions of Mainstream Sexual Media Exposure to Sexual Attitudes, Perceived Peer Norms, and Sexual Behavior: A Meta-Analysis.

Abstract Purpose Decades of research have examined the impact of exposure to nonexplicit portrayals of sexual content in media. There is only one meta-analysis on this topic, which suggests that exposure to “sexy media” has little to no effect on sexual behavior. There are a number of limitations to the existing meta-analysis, and the purpose of this updated meta-analysis was to examine associations between exposure to sexual media and users' attitudes and sexual behavior. Methods A thorough literature search was conducted to find relevant articles. Each study was coded for associations between exposure to sexual media and one of six outcomes including sexual attitudes (permissive attitudes, peer norms, and rape myths) and sexual behaviors (general sexual behavior, age of sexual initiation, and risky sexual behavior). Results Results from 59 studies, involving 394 effect sizes, revealed that exposure to sexual media had a small but significant effect on both sexual attitudes and behaviors; the effect size was comparable to other media effects meta-analyses. Effects were stronger for adolescents than emerging adults. In addition, effects were stronger for boys than girls and for white participants compared with black participants. Conclusion This study suggests that exposure to nonexplicit sexual media is associated with both sexual attitudes and behavior, particularly during adolescence. Implications for parents, media producers, and researchers are discussed.
CAN LOVE PROLONG A QT AND CAUSE TORSADES DE POINTES

A prolonged QT on ECG usually brings to mind congenital causes or medication toxicities. A 31 year old male presented to the hospital with two episodes of seizures witnessed by his girlfriend. He reported consuming energy drinks but no drug abuse. An ECG revealed junctional rhythm with a rate of 35
Drawxi: An Accessible Drawing Tool for Collaboration

Visual impairment can profoundly impact well-being and social advancement. Current solutions for accessing graphical information fail to provide an affordable, user-friendly collaborative platform for visually impaired and sighted people to work together. Therefore, sighted users tend to have low expectations from visually impaired people while working in a team. Hence, visually impaired people feel discouraged to participate in a mixed population collaborative environment. Consequently, their generative capabilities remain devalued. In this paper, we propose an audio-haptic enabled tool (Drawxi) for free-form sketching and sharing simple diagrams (processes, workflows, ideas, perspectives, etc.). It provides a common platform for visually-impaired and sighted people to work together by communicating each other's ideas visually. Thus, enabling the discovery of generative capabilities in a hands-on way. We relied upon participatory research methods (Contextual inquiry, Co-Design) involving visually impaired participants throughout the design process. We evaluated our proposed design through usability testing which revealed that collaboration between visually impaired and sighted people benefits from the use of common tools and platforms. Thereby, enhancing the degree of their participation in a collaborative environment and quality of co-creation activities.
Management of Urinary Incontinence in Older Adults in Rehabilitation Care Settings

This review focuses on updates in the management of urinary incontinence occurring in older adult populations living with conditions frequently managed by physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists. Urinary incontinence is common among older adults who live with neurologic diseases, such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and traumatic brain injury, and may be cared for in outpatient and acute rehabilitation facilities. While the evidence is growing regarding treatment strategies specific to patients with neurogenic bladder, behavioral treatment approaches may be a viable first option depending on cognitive status and mobility. Drug therapy choices should consider mechanism of action and formulation to minimize the potential for adverse effects. Minimally invasive strategies provided by continence specialists are available for refractory symptoms. Evidence suggests a multidisciplinary approach incorporating multicomponent treatment strategies can improve common urinary symptoms among older adults in both outpatient and acute inpatient rehabilitation settings of care.
Markets Are Moral Spaces

This chapter argues that markets function better when participants are virtuous, although markets could function without especially virtuous actors. Additionally, we show that market participants tend to be virtuous. Deirdre McCloskey has forcefully and convincingly made the same point that markets are compatible with and depend on virtuous behavior. The bourgeois virtues are both bourgeois (i.e. born of markets) and virtuous (i.e. exhibiting the very virtues we have long admired). Beyond exhibiting the seven virtues that McCloskey highlighted (love, faith, hope, courage, temperance, prudence, and justice), we show that people in market societies tend to be more altruistic, are less likely to be materialistic and corrupt, and are more likely to be cosmopolitan as well as trusting and trustworthy.
The Potential Effects of Policy-driven Air Pollution Interventions on Childhood Lung Development.

Rationale: Although elevated air pollution exposure impairs lung-function development in childhood, it remains a challenge to use this information to estimate the potential public health benefits o...
Quantifying Plant-Borne Carbon Assimilation by Root-Associating Bacteria

Herbaspirillum seropedicae is a rhizobacteria that occupies a specialized ecological niche in agriculture. As an endophyte and prolific grass root colonizer it has the potential to promote plant growth, enhancing crop yield in many cereal crops. While the mechanisms for plant growth promotion are controversial, the one irrefutable fact is these microorganisms rely heavily on plant-borne carbon as their main energy source in support of their biological functions. Unfortunately, the tools and technology enabling researchers to trace carbon exchange between plants and the microorganisms associating with them has been limiting. Here, we demonstrate that radioactive 11CO2 administered to intact maize leaves with translocation of 11C-photosynthates to roots can provide a ‘traceable’ source of carbon whose assimilation by microbial organisms can be quantified with enormous sensitivity. Fluorescence root imaging of RAM10, a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporting strain of H. seropedicae, was used to identify regions of high microbial colonization. Microbes were mechanically removed from these regions via sonication in saline solution and extracts were subjected to fluorescence measurement and gamma counting to correlate carbon-11 atoms with numbers of colony forming units. The method has potential to translate to other microorganisms provided they possess an optical reporting trait.
Continuing Medical Student Education During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic: Development of a Virtual Radiation Oncology Clerkship

Purpose: Our institution cancelled all in-person clerkships owing to the corona virus disease 2019 pandemic. In response, we designed a virtual radiation oncology medical student clerkship. Methods and Materials: We convened an advisory panel to design a virtual clerkship curriculum. We implemented clerkship activities using a cloud-based learning management system, video web conferencing systems, and a telemedicine portal. Students completed assessments pre- and postclerkship to provide data to improve future versions of the clerkship. Results: The virtual clerkship spans 2 weeks and is graded pass or fail. Students attend interactive didactic sessions during the first week and participate in virtual clinic and give talks to the department during the second week. Didactic sessions include lectures, case-based discussions, treatment planning seminars, and material adapted from the Radiation Oncology Education Collaborative Study Group curriculum. Students also attend virtual departmental quality assurance rounds, cancer center seminars, and multidisciplinary tumor boards. The enrollment cap was met during the first virtual clerkship period (April 27 through May 8, 2020), with a total of 12 students enrolling. Conclusions: Our virtual clerkship can increase student exposure and engagement in radiation oncology. Data on clerkship outcomes are forthcoming.
Fast Learning Cognitive Radios in Underlay Dynamic Spectrum Access: Integration of Transfer Learning into Deep Reinforcement Learning

Cognitive radio (CR) as a leading technology in realizing dynamic spectrum access (DSA) offers a large efficiency and flexibility in the use of radio spectrum. The cognition feature embedded in CR dictates the need to learn from the effects of past actions on the environment to take more intelligent decisions in the future until finding the best policy to perform at a given environment condition. However, finding the best policy usually leads to long learning times. This paper studies how to accelerate the learning process in underlay CR when the nodes are equipped with a cognitive engine implementing a deep reinforcement learning algorithm for distributed resource allocation. Operating under underlay DSA, the CRs will adapt transmission parameters to maximize the average quality of experience (QoE) while satisfying both the underlay DSA interference constraint and the end-to-end transmitted traffic delay requirement. The study shows that the number of iterations for the algorithm to converge is reduced, without a sacrifice in average QoE, by transferring to a new node joining the network the knowledge learnt by the CRs already operating in the network. This paper further identifies the best practices to transfer knowledge between CRs so as to reduce communication overhead.
Laser schlieren study of the thermal decomposition of 2-ethylhexyl-nitrate

Abstract The decomposition kinetics of 2-ethylhexyl nitrate behind incident shock waves in a diaphragmless shock tube facility were studied with a laser schlieren densitometry diagnostic at temperatures from 670 to 940 K and pressures of 35, 59, and 118 Torr. Measured density gradients informed improvements to the decomposition mechanism of 2-ethylhexyl nitrate. In particular, the analysis revealed important 3-heptyl radical chemistry. The measured and predicted rate constants are near the high-pressure limit.
Changing tectonic settings through time: Indiscriminate use of geochemical discriminant diagrams

Abstract No one method should be used to identify ancient tectonic settings, and this is especially true for rocks older than 2.5 Ga, when Earth was changing from stagnant lid to plate tectonics. The most useful application of geochemical discriminant diagrams should be to constrain mantle source compositions, mantle heterogeneity, the effects of degree of melting, mixing of melts, and crustal contamination. It is only the convergence of evidence from greenstones that includes rock association, stratigraphic variation, sediment types and provenances, information from syntectonic granitoids, and geochemistry of all rock types that we can make progress in understanding evolving tectonic settings on planet Earth.
The Metamorphosis of COVID-19: State, Society, Law, Analytics

Almost from the start of global awareness of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a general sense that it would be a transforming event. For some those transformations would be temporary, for others far more profound and long lasting. This essay examines the idea of transformation. And the emergence of its trajectories at the start of the pandemic. Focusing on the first half of 2020, the essay considers this idea of metamorphosis in four critical aspects of global and collective societal organization. That idea of metamorphosis is not based on the notion that COVID-19 has transformed the societal order into something else—rather the thesis of this essay is that COVID-19 has stripped away pre-pandemic pretensions and has made it possible for societal order to transform into itself—its more accurate representation of itself. Section 2 first considers COVID-19 as the virus of societal acceleration. That is of the way that COVID-19 accelerates trajectories already present and latent in collective bodies (and as well in the bodies of individuals within their own family collectives). Section 3 then considers the transformation of origin stories. The transformation of the story of the origins of COVID-19 align with the transformations of the relations between China and the US and between China and the international community. And these are not without consequence. Origins point to culpability, and the culpable might be held accountable. Section 4 then examines the moral transformation accelerated by pandemic. The focus here is on sacrifice—the sacrifice of the aged by the healthy, the sacrifice of the poor by those with greater means, and the sacrifice of women’s autonomy. Section 5 then considers the transformation of law. The science of law has been overcome by that of the science of data, of psychology, and of prediction. And with that transformation, an even greater transformation of the autonomy of the individual before the state. Where individuals were once assumed to be autonomous actors capable of adhering and culpable for lapses in conforming behavior to commands, now they are understood as the aggregation of the sum of their actions, actions which can be predicted and nudged through rewards and punishment. Entities, in turn, build policy by incarnating the aggregated mass of human behaviors within a community. Law is transformed into simulation even as the individual is transfigured as the incarnation of the sum of the data she generates. The essay ends with a brief consideration in Section 6, Metamorphoses, of the consequences of these transformations. It suggests the contours of the character of societal organizations that COVID-19 has revealed.
Aspects of campus climate and mental health threats: The role of hypervigilance.

This study sought to examine if hypervigilance is one mechanism through which aspects of less supportive campus climates are associated with mental health symptoms for college students. Participant...
Ground motions in urban Los Angeles from the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence

We study ground-motion response in urban Los Angeles during the two largest events (M7.1 and M6.4) of the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence using recordings from multiple regional seismic network...
HOW TIM PROTEINS DIFFERENTIALLY EXPLOIT MEMBRANE FEATURES TO ATTAIN ROBUST TARGET SENSITIVITY

Abstract Immune surveillance cells such as T cells and phagocytes utilize integral plasma membrane receptors to recognize surface signatures on triggered and activated cells such as those in apoptosis. One such family of plasma membrane sensors, the transmembrane immunoglobulin and mucin domain (Tim) proteins, specifically recognize phosphatidylserine (PS) but elicit distinct immunological responses. The molecular basis for the recognition of lipid signals on target cell surfaces is not well understood. Previous results suggest that basic side chains present at the membrane interface on the Tim proteins might facilitate association with additional anionic lipids including but not necessarily limited to PS. We, therefore, performed a comparative quantitative analysis of the binding of the murine Tim1, Tim3, and Tim4, to synthetic anionic phospholipid membranes under physiologically relevant conditions. X-ray reflectivity and vesicle binding studies were used to compare the water-soluble domain of Tim3 with results previously obtained for Tim1 and Tim4. Although a calcium link was essential for all three proteins, the three homologs differed in how they balance the hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions driving membrane association. The proteins also varied in their sensing of phospholipid chain unsaturation and showed different degrees of cooperativity in their dependence on bilayer PS concentration. Surprisingly, trace amounts of anionic phosphatidic acid greatly strengthened the bilayer association of Tim3 and Tim4, but not Tim1. A novel mathematical model provided values for the binding parameters and illuminated the complex interplay among ligands. In conclusion, our results provide a quantitative description of the contrasting selectivity used by three Tim proteins in the recognition of phospholipids presented on target cell surfaces. This paradigm is generally applicable to the analysis of the binding of peripheral proteins to target membranes through the heterotropic cooperative interactions of multiple ligands.
Noise estimation in 2D MRI using DWT coefficients and optimized neural network

Abstract Robust estimation of noise strength in Magnetic Resonance Images (MRIs) is a task of great importance due to its extensive applications in image post-processing techniques. Many noise estimation algorithms have been proposed in the past to retrieve noise characteristics of the magnitude image. These algorithms rely on either the spatial or transform domain information of the image. In this research article, we propose a noise estimation algorithm that utilizes a hybrid Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and edge information suppression based algorithm to estimate the strength of noise in magnitude MR images. The wavelet coefficients corresponding to spatial domain edges are eliminated using a down-sampled complement of the Sobel edge map. The distribution of average noise energy in spatial and transform domain which follows Parseval’s theorem is utilized for calculating the initial noise estimate. Further, the robustness of the proposed algorithm is enhanced using Feedforward Neural Network. The proposed algorithm is observed to be computationally fast and accurate. Results on synthetic and clinical T1- and T2-w brain MRIs following Gaussian or Rician distribution show better performance than the existing benchmark algorithms over a wide range of input noise.
Production and Composition of Group B Streptococcal Membrane Vesicles Vary Across Diverse Lineages

Although the neonatal and fetal pathogen Group B Streptococcus (GBS) asymptomatically colonizes the vaginal tract of ~30% of pregnant women, only a fraction of their offspring develops invasive disease. We and others have postulated that these dimorphic clinical phenotypes are driven by strain variability; however, the bacterial factors that promote these divergent clinical phenotypes remain unclear. It was previously shown that GBS produces membrane vesicles (MVs) that contain active virulence factors capable of inducing adverse pregnancy outcomes. Because the relationship between strain variation and vesicle composition or production is unknown, we sought to quantify MV production and examine the protein composition, using label-free proteomics on MVs produced by diverse clinical GBS strains representing three phylogenetically distinct lineages. We found that MV production varied across strains, with certain strains displaying nearly two-fold increases in production relative to others. Hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis of the proteomes revealed that MV composition is lineage-dependent but independent of clinical phenotype. Multiple proteins that contribute to virulence or immunomodulation, including hyaluronidase, C5a peptidase, and sialidases, were differentially abundant in MVs, and were partially responsible for this divergence. Together, these data indicate that production and composition of GBS MVs vary in a strain-dependent manner, suggesting that MVs have lineage-specific functions relating to virulence. Such differences may contribute to variation in clinical phenotypes observed among individuals infected with GBS strains representing distinct lineages.
Incidence of prosthecate bacteria in a polluted stream.

Abstract Water samples were collected aseptically several times throughout the year at nine stations on the Red Cedar River, a stream flowing through farmland and receiving effluent from several municipalities in central Michigan. Total prosthecate bacteria were enumerated by both direct and viable counting techniques. By direct techniques, these bacteria accounted for 0.62 to 1.1% of the total microflora during the study. The predominant type of appendaged bacteria was the caulobacters (Caulobacter, Asticcacaulis, and the fusiform caulobacter), which accounted for 64 to 93% of the total prosthecate forms. The others of importance were prosthecomicrobia (< 1 to 24%), including Prosthecomicrobium and Prosthecochloris; hyphomicrobia (< 1 to 15%), including Hyphomicrobium and Rhodomicrobium; and Ancalomicrobium (< 1 to 6%). The viable counts of heterotrophs also indicated that the caulobacters were the most numerous prosthecate bacteria in the stream. They ranged from fewer than 1 per ml to a maximum of almost 4,000 per ml. During the coldest period, when the total viable counts decreased to about 104 per ml compared to their summer high of over 107 per ml, the caulobacters actually increased in numbers. In December (temperature 0 to 1 C), they comprised from 0.09 to 1.0% of the viable microbial count, and in March (6.0 to 8.0 C) they accounted for 0.14 to 2.8%. The other heterotrophic prosthecate bacteria were generally found at numbers less than 1 per ml, with the exception of the December study when Hyphomicrobium was present in numbers as high as 2,400 per ml. There was no consistent correlation between the frequency of prosthecate bacteria and total coliforms in the stream during the investigation.
Multi‐component Plant Viruses

Many plant viruses divide their coding capacity into multiple genomic segments, hence are referred to as multi-component viruses. These include viruses with either RNA or DNA genomes, in either single-stranded (ss) or double-stranded (ds) conformations. Furthermore, those with ssRNA genomes may encode viral proteins on the genome strand ([+] sense RNA viruses), the complementary strand ([−] sense RNA viruses) of the genomic RNA or both (ambisense RNA viruses). Multi-component, (+) sense RNA viruses could comprise up to five genome segments, whereas (−) sense RNA viruses can have up to eight. Strikingly, most of characterised dsRNA viruses have 10–12 genome segments packaged in the same virus particles. Finally, the genomes of multi-component DNA plant viruses are almost always single-stranded, circular, and each of the segments (up to eight) is packaged in separate particles. Possible evolutionary relationships between multi-component viruses and their monopartite relatives are discussed. Key Concepts Plant virus genomes can be non-segmented (monopartite) or segmented (multi-partite). Multi-partite plant viruses can be found in almost all major plant virus families, with different genome materials (RNA or DNA) and configurations (single-stranded or double-stranded), and varying virion shapes. Plant viruses with most genome segments are plant-infecting reoviruses, containing 10–12 double-stranded RNA segments package together in the same non-enveloped, multi-layer capsids. Nanoviruses are small viruses with up to eight single-stranded, circular DNA genomes separately packaged in isometric particles. Keywords: plant virus; multi-component; genome segment; coding strategy; virion structure