cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Early Proximal Junctional Failure in Patients with Preoperative Sagittal Imbalance

Abstract Background context Proximal junctional failure (PJF) is a recognized complication of spinal deformity surgery. Acute PJF (APJF) has recently been demonstrated to be 5.6% in the adult spinal deformity (ASD) population. The incidence and rate of return to the operating room for APJF have not been specifically investigated in individuals with sagittal imbalance. Purpose The purpose of this study was to report the incidence of APJF in patients with preoperative sagittal imbalance and the rate of return to the operating room for APJF. Study design/setting This study is based on a retrospective review of prospectively collected database of ASD patients. Patient sample One hundred seventy-three consecutive patients were included with preoperative sagittal imbalance according to one of the following common parameters: sagittal vertical axis (SVA) greater than 50 mm, global sagittal alignment greater than 45°, or pelvic incidence minus lumbar lordosis greater than 10°. Outcome measures Outcome measure was presence and/or absence of APJF defined as fracture at the upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) or UIV+1, failure of UIV fixation, 15° or more proximal junctional kyphosis, or need for extension of instrumentation within 6 months of surgery. Methods We performed radiographic measurements on X-rays at preoperative, immediate postoperative, and 6-month follow-up visits. The APJF rate was reported for the entire patient population with preoperative sagittal imbalance. Acute PJF incidence was calculated postoperatively for each of the accepted sagittal balance parameters and/or formulas. Patients with persistent postoperative sagittal imbalance were compared with the sagittally balanced group. We also assessed for threshold values. Results Acute PJF was observed in 60 of 173 patients (35%) and was least common in fusions with the UIV in the upper thoracic (UT) spine (p=.035). Of those who developed APJF, 21.7% required surgery. Proximal junctional kyphosis 15° or more was the most common form of APJF in fusions to the UT spine but least likely to need revision (p=.014). The most common mode of failure in lower thoracic (LT) or lumbar (L) fusions was UIV fracture. Postoperative SVA less than 50 mm was a significant risk factor for APJF (p=.009). Conclusions Acute PJF is more common in patients with preoperative sagittal imbalance (35%) than the general adult deformity patient population, and 37% of those with APJF require revision. It is least common when the UIV is in the UT spine, compared with the LT or L spine. Sagittal balance correction to an SVA 50 mm or less was a significant risk factor in patients with preoperative sagittal imbalance.
Scattering by linearly vibrating objects

The scattering problem for a plane wave incident upon a perfectly conducting linearly oscillating object is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical analysis, accurate to order v/c where v and c axe the velocities of object and light, respectively, shows that the target oscillation changes the scattered far field of a motionless target only in phase. The oscillation is assumed to be periodic, and this period is shown to be impressed on the scattered field. Spectral analysis of the modulation shows that the power distribution varies with the shape of the motion, wavelength of the incident field, and the magnitude of the projections of the oscillation in the direction of incidence and receiver. Power spectra have been calculated for square, triangular, and sinusoidal target motion and, in general, the power content in the higher harmonics is found to increase with cartier frequency and magnitude of oscillation. For backscattering from an object moving sinusoidally along the direction of incidence, the power in the first harmonic is shown to exceed that at the carrier frequency when d > 0.23\lambda where d is the magnitude of the oscillation. These calculations are shown to agree with experimental measurements of the phase modulation of the field scattered from a vibrating disk at the X -band. Experimental results were obtained with continuous wave backscatter equipment at 10 GHz that utilized separate tunnel antennas for transmitting and receiving. The receiving section of this equipment was modified to separately display phase modulation and amplitude modulation characteristics of the backscattered signal in both time and frequency, as well as characteristics of the overall modulation envelope. Phase modulations introduced by target oscillations as small as \pm 0.001 in were readily detected, as were amplitude modulations of a few percent.
Taxonomy of Acaulospora gerdemannii and Glomus leptotichum , synanamorphs of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus in Glomales

Comparison of type specimens of A. gerdemannii and A. appendicula revealed the spores to be identical in organization and subcellular structure, indicating they are conspecific. The Glomus morph of A. appendicula was not assigned a name in the protologue, but 11 living cultures started from or producing spores of A. gerdemannii also generated Glomus -like spores of identical morphology to those in type specimens of Glomus leptotichum . These spores were indistinguishable from those in type specimens of G. fecundisporum , indicating they are conspecific. Both species were described in the same paper, so the name G. leptotichum is given priority because type specimens are in better condition and specimens from a reference culture have been identified by an author of both prologues. Absence of a teleomorph and confirmation of dimorphism from single and multiple-spore inoculations of host plants in culture provide the basis for designating A. gerdemannii and G. leptotichum as synanamorphs of one vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus.
Anthropology 1964: Retrospect and Prospect*

When discovered, the American Indian tribes represented three distinct ethnical periods, and more completely than they were elsewhere then represented upon the earth. Materials for ethnology, philology and archeology were offered in unparalleled abundance; but as these sciences scarcely existed until the present century, and are but feebly prosecuted among us at the present time, the workmen have been unequal to the work. Moreover, while fossil remains buried in the earth will keep for the future student, the remains of Indian arts, languages and institutions will not. They are perishing daily, and have been perishing for upwards of three centuries. The ethnic life of the Indian tribes is declining under the influence of American civilization, their arts and languages are disappearing, and their institutions are
Renal complications in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis: the Mayo Clinic experience

While the renal complications of plasma cell dyscrasia have been well-described, most information in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis is derived from case reports. This is a retrospective analysis of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis who underwent kidney biopsy for renal insufficiency and/or nephrotic syndrome. Between January 1995 and June 2014, 49 of 4,024 (1.2%) patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (n=44) or monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis (n=5) had a renal biopsy: 34 (69%) for renal insufficiency and 15 (31%) for nephrotic syndrome. The most common findings on biopsy were: membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (n=10, 20%), chronic lymphocytic leukemia interstitial infiltration as primary etiology (n=6, 12%), thrombotic microangiopathy (n=6, 12%), and minimal change disease (n=5, 10%). All five membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis patients treated with rituximab, cyclophosphamide and prednisone-based regimens had recovery of renal function compared to 0/3 patients treated with rituximab with or without steroids. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia infiltration as the primary cause of renal abnormalities was typically observed in relapsed/refractory patients (4/6). Thrombotic microangiopathy primarily occurred as a treatment-related toxicity of pentostatin (4/6 cases), and resolved with drug discontinuation. All cases of minimal change disease resolved with immunosuppressive agents only. Renal biopsy plays an important role in the management of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis who develop renal failure and/or nephrotic syndrome.
Antigenic Characterization of H3 Subtypes of Avian Influenza A Viruses from North America

SUMMARY. Besides humans, H3 subtypes of influenza A viruses (IAVs) can infect various animal hosts, including avian, swine, equine, canine, and sea mammal species. These H3 viruses are both antigenically and genetically diverse. Here, we characterized the antigenic diversity of contemporary H3 avian IAVs recovered from migratory birds in North America. Hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays were performed on 37 H3 isolates of avian IAVs recovered from 2007 to 2011 using generated reference chicken sera. These isolates were recovered from samples taken in the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific waterfowl migration flyways. Antisera to all the tested H3 isolates cross-reacted with each other and, to a lesser extent, with those to H3 canine and H3 equine IAVs. Antigenic cartography showed that the largest antigenic distance among the 37 avian IAVs is about four units, and each unit corresponds to a 2 log 2 difference in the HI titer. However, none of the tested H3 IAVs cross-reacted with ferr...
Purification, structural characterization, and myotropic activity of endothelin from trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss.

Endothelin (ET) from a nontetrapod species has never been characterized, either structurally or biologically. A single molecular form of trout ET with 21-amino-acid residues was isolated in pure fo...
Diagnosis of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Role of Endoscopy

Endoscopy is relatively insensitive for making the diagnosis of gastro esophageal reflux disease. However, the presence of erosive esophagitis and/or BE is highly suggestive of GERD. The presence of normal mucosa at endoscopy does not rule out the diagnosis of GERD. At present, the role of biopsies in these situations is unsettled and more data are needed. Newer endoscopic techniques such as chromoendoscopy, magnification and high resolution may demonstrate minimal changes in the distal squamous mucosa such as punctate erythema, pinpoint vessels etc. not seen by standard endoscopy. Some of these changes may respond to therapy with proton pump inhibitor. Endoscopy remains the best test to rule out complications of GERD and allows histological confirmation of esophageal pathology such as intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia and adenocarcinoma. Identifying the patient group with severe erosive esophagitis, BE and peptic strictures may help focus aggressive management that may potentially prevent future complications in these patient groups. Finally, endoscopy may be useful to rule out other diseases in the upper gastrointestinal tract.
National Agricultural Labor Policy Considerations

T HE above quotation sounds as up to date as last week. It is from the Report of the Commission on Country Life, published in 1911.1 The complaint has been chronic throughout our agricultural history. At some times and in some places, the complaint had a basis in fact; more often it has not had. Perhaps there will be greater complaint in the months ahead. Growing uneasiness has characterized the farm labor picture for several years. This feeling gradually has increased as the immediate postwar years faded behind us and yet there continued to be a supposed farm labor scarcity-if the policy of labor importation can be taken as evidence. Serious wartime farm labor shortages (in a general severe labor shortage situation) were solved almost exclusively by a domestic program of labor recruitment and relocation assistance. In contrast, during the 1950's, as unemployment was rising and as agricultural economists talked more and more about redundant labor on America's farms and in rural areas, the most important single measure ever to deal with this subject authorized heavy use of foreign labor. Public Law 78, enacted in 1951, was speedily implemented, and importation of foreign workers was multiplied many times. For the years 1955 through 1959, the number of foreign workers was approximately five times greater than during the peak war-year of 1944 (Table 1). At this point, we can quote again from the 1911 Report of the Commission on Country Life: "There is a growing tendency to rely on foreigners for the farm labor supply.... It is the general testimony that the native American labor is less efficient and less reliable than much of the foreign labor."2
HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing in Futian District of Shenzhen,2012

Objective To analyze the status of HIV voluntary counseling and testing(VCT) in Futian district of Shenzhen in 2012 and to provide evidences for adjusting VCT strategies.Methods Data of VCT and lab testing results were collected and analyzed with statistical method.Results There were totally 4,534 individuals received counseling and testing,with a male-to-female ratio of 1.6:l.The majority were young adults of 15-44 years old(79.4%).The constituent portion were respectively: heterosexual contact with non-commercial and floating partners,24.2%;commercial heterosexual services,16.7%;male homosexual contacts,3.8%;operation history,3.0% and drug addicts,0.1%.Altogether 67(1.5%) HIV-positive cases were detected,among which male homosexual contact took a high proportion of 34.3%.Conclusion Male VCTs are more than the females in Futian district in 2012.The proportion of male homosexual contactors take a considerable portion of the positive cases,suggesting strengthened education measures should timely be taken towards the vulnerable population.
Patient package inserts. II. Toward a rational patient package insert

Analysis of the response to a questionnaire on various aspects of drug information showed several significant trends. The importance of the physician as an information source varied directly with age and inversely with educational level of patients. The doctor's importance as a source of information was also greater for those who visited physicians' offices or clinics more and if they were on long-term treatment. Younger persons, those with higher levels of education, and those who were not in regular contact with a physician placed greater importance on non-physician sources. Persons consulting physicians regularly desired less information and knew less about drugs than those who did not regularly see a physician. These findings suggest that the educational role of the physician could be improved and should be directed particularly at the low-income, older patient. In the design of the package insert, particular attention should be given to self-prescribed medications where no other information sources will be operating.
Excessive Energy for Food Distribution Associated with Food Seizures 1,2.

Energy expended to distribute food shipments during a 2-year period to, and within, the United States before their seizure was documented for four distribution modes: ship, truck, train and air. The food shipments were described according to their wholesale value, energy usage per distribution mode, nutrient content, energy/nutrient ratios and violation code(s) of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Results were used to illustrate how this type of study could be used as an administrative tool to develop strategies for avoiding excessive energy consumption during food distribution. Recommendations were made for collecting further data to facilitate reductions in the amount of energy used to distribute human food. Finally, rather ethical questions were raised about the problem of purchasing protein foods from less-developed countries; using energy to distribute them to the United States when they are subsequently declared unfit for human consumption.
Utilizing Shulman's Table of Learning to Understand Learning in Professional Health Science Programs.

Understanding student learning in health science professional programs is both timely and relevant and is the focus of this article. The Table of Learning by Lee Shulman (2002) provided a tool for an interdisciplinary reflection surrounding student learning in clinical laboratory science and occupational therapy. Utilizing the taxonomy pieces, we were able to construct a visual representation of how students learn in these two programs. It is our hope that other health care programs may view this model as a template in their interdisciplinary Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) conversations.
Tracing the path towards totality

In Sun Moon Earth: the History of Solar Eclipses from Omens of Doom to Einstein and Exoplanets, author and astronomer Tyler Nordgren charts the evolving history of the solar eclipse.
Multidecadal Scale Detection Time for Potentially Increasing Atlantic Storm Surges in a Warming Climate

Storm surges are key drivers of coastal flooding, which generate considerable risks. Strategies to manage these risks can hinge on the ability to (i) project the return periods of extreme storm surges and (ii) detect potential changes in their statistical properties. There are several lines of evidence linking rising global average temperatures and increasingly frequent extreme storm surges. This conclusion is, however, subject to considerable structural uncertainty. This leads to two main questions: What are projections under various plausible statistical models? How long would it take to distinguish among these plausible statistical models? We address these questions by analyzing observed and simulated storm surge data. We find that: (1) there is a positive correlation between global mean temperature rise and increasing frequencies of extreme storm surges; (2) there is considerable uncertainty underlying the strength of this relationship; and (3) if the frequency of storm surges is increasing, this increase can be detected within a multi-decadal time scale (≈ 20 years from now).
Treatment of submassive and massive pulmonary embolism: a clinical practice survey from the second annual meeting of the Pulmonary Embolism Response Team Consortium.

There is a paucity of robust clinical trial data to guide the treatment of acute pulmonary embolism (PE) thus the clinical guidelines rely heavily on expert opinion. Pulmonary Embolism Response Teams (PERT) have been developed to streamline the care of patients with acute PE. We conducted a survey among 100 experts in the field of PE during the second annual meeting of the PERT Consortium. Respondents were queried with respect to their demographic information, clinical practice questions and clinical vignettes. Clinical practice questions were focused questions about the risk stratification and treatment of patients with acute submassive PE, anticoagulation strategies for patients receiving thrombolysis and the use of inferior vena cava filters. Clinical vignettes were designed to assess participants’ preferred choice of treatment for a variety of commonly encountered clinical scenarios. Among physicians affiliated with a PERT, there is overall agreement with regards to the criteria used for risk classification of patients with PE and its application to patients in the provided clinical vignettes. In contrast, there is substantial variability in the treatment strategies of patients presenting with commonly encountered clinical scenarios. The results of this survey highlight the need for more clinical trial data along with accepted algorithms for treatment of acute PE. In the absence of this, PERTs can facilitate multidisciplinary discussions in order to standardize treatment and provide evidence-based therapies to patients with acute PE.
The Other Side of Autonomous Weapons: Using Artificial Intelligence to Enhance IHL Compliance

The role of autonomy and artificial intelligence (AI) in armed conflict has sparked heated debate. The resulting controversy has obscured the benefits of autonomy and AI for compliance with international humanitarian law (IHL). Compliance with IHL often hinges on situational awareness: information about a possible target’s behavior, nearby protected persons and objects, and conditions that might compromise the planner’s own perception or judgment. This paper argues that AI can assist in developing situational awareness technology (SAT) that will make target selection and collateral damage estimation more accurate, thereby reducing harm to civilians. SAT complements familiar precautionary measures such as taking additional time and consulting with more senior officers. These familiar precautions are subject to three limiting factors: contingency, imperfect information, and confirmation bias. Contingency entails an unpredictable turn of events, such as the last-minute entrance of civilians into a targeting frame. Imperfect information involves relevant data that is inaccessible to the planner of an attack. For example, an attack in an urban area may damage civilian objects that are necessary for health and safety, such as sewer lines. Finally, confirmation bias entails the hardening of preconceived theories and narratives. SAT’s ability to rapidly assess shifting variables and discern patterns in complex data can address perennial problems with targeting such as the contingent appearance of civilians at a target site or the risk of undue damage to civilian infrastructure. Moreover, SAT can help diagnose flaws in human targeting processes caused by confirmation bias. This Article breaks down SAT into three roles. Gatekeeper SAT ensures that operators have the information they need. Cancellation SAT can respond to contingent events, such as the unexpected presence of civilians. The most advanced system, behavioral SAT, can identify flaws in the targeting process and remedy confirmation bias. In each of these contexts, SAT can help fulfill IHL’s mandate of “constant care” in the avoidance of harm to civilian persons and objects.
Infant Nasal Bubble Continuous Positive Airway Pressure in Resource-Limited Settings

Respiratory disease, including pneumonia, is the leading cause of mortality in the developing world for children under 5 years of age [1]. Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) guidelines address pneumonia by focusing on clinical diagnosis, empirical antibiotic treatment, and oxygen therapy for children who are either hypoxemic or demonstrate clinical signs of respiratory distress [2]. Neither IMCI guidelines nor the World Health Organization’s Hospital Care for Children discusses advanced ventilatory strategies [3]. Thus, evidence supporting the use of noninvasive or invasive ventilation in resource-constrained settings is limited.
On Isotopic Tailoring for Fusion Reactor Radioactivity Reduction

Identified are the natural isotopes of five possible structural materials or alloying constituents (Mo, Ni, Cr, Fe, V) which theoretically produce the lowest level of induced radioactivity, biological hazard potential (BHP), and afterheat in a fusion reactor. Activity is examined at shutdown and at very long times after blanket disposal (1000 years). The analyses have been carried out using blankets designed for the WITAMIR-I D-T and the SATYR D-D fueled tandem mirror reactors.
Ac Inductive Measurement: Its Application to the Studies of High Tc Superconductivity

Alternating current (ac) inductive method is a time-derivative or differential technique in which a modulated magnetic field is impressed on the sample through a primary coil and the response is then measured with a secondary (pickup) coil. If loss elements exist in the sample, the induced voltage (Vs) will involve a phase shift with respect to that (Vr) measured without the sample. This phase-shifted signal can be decomposed into two components: one in phase with Vr and the other in quadrature to it.1,2 It has been widely used in superconductivity measurements3–43 and, most controversial of all, in the determination of the so-called irreversibility lines for the high Tc superconductors37–43 first observed using dc magnetization measurements.44 Because of the extremely complex vortex dynamics and possible material imperfections in most high-temperature superconductors, the ac approach remains controversial in many aspects of data interpretation.
Equilogical spaces

It is well known that one can build models of full higher-order dependent-type theory (also called the calculus of constructions) using partial equivalence relations (PERs) and assemblies over a partial combinatory algebra. But the idea of categories of PERs and ERs (total equivalence relations) can be applied to other structures as well. In particular, we can easily define the category of ERs and equivalence-preserving continuous mappings over the standard category Top0 of topological T0-spaces; we call these spaces (a topological space together with an ER) equilogical spaces and the resulting category Equ. We show that this category--in contradistinction to Top0--is a cartesian closed category. The direct proof outlined here uses the equivalence of the category Equ to the category PEqu of PERs over algebraic lattices (a full subcategory of Top0 that is well known to be cartesian closed from domain theory). In another paper with Carboni and Rosolini (cited herein), a more abstract categorical generalization shows why many such categories are cartesian closed. The category Equ obviously contains Top0 as a full subcategory, and it naturally contains many other well known subcategories. In particular, we show why, as a consequence of work of Ershov, Berger, and others, the Kleene-Kreisel hierarchy of countable functionals of finite types can be naturally constructed in Equ from the natural numbers object N by repeated use in Equ of exponentiation and binary products. We also develop for Equ notions of modest sets (a category equivalent to Equ) and assemblies to explain why a model of dependent type theory is obtained. We make some comparisons of this model to other, known models.
The Molecular Basis of pH-Modulated HIV gp120 Binding Revealed.

Decades of research has yet to provide a vaccine for HIV, the virus which causes AIDS. Recent theoretical research has turned attention to mucosa pH levels over systemic pH levels. Previous researc...
Paul Rudolph and the Psychology of Space:: The Tuskegee and Emory University Chapels

The chapels at Tuskegee University and Emory University are among the most inventive—and least known—works of the American modernist architect Paul Rudolph (1918–97). In Paul Rudolph and the Psychology of Space: The Tuskegee and Emory University Chapels, Karla Cavarra Britton and Daniel Ledford analyze these buildings as significant exemplars of the postwar American university chapel, finding them subject to three seminal influences in Rudolph9s life: his childhood experience of Southern Methodism, his encounters with the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, and his admiration for Le Corbusier9s religious works. The chapels evoke powerful aesthetic and emotive experiences in their audiences, reflecting Rudolph9s ambition that architecture should be grounded in a “psychology of space.” The Tuskegee Chapel, designed at the apex of Rudolph9s career (1960–69), engages the university9s African American musical and educational legacy. The Cannon Chapel at Emory, meanwhile, built late in Rudolph9s professional life (1975–81) as a multiuse space for the university9s school of theology, exhibits a contrasting pattern of complexity and intransigence.
Magnetic Resonance Measures of Calf Muscle Physiology in PAD

In addition to magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) for assessment of arterial lumen and stenosis location and extent as well as atherosclerosis plaque imaging, MR imaging (MRI) of calf muscle physiology has developed as a research tool in peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Techniques have been developed to measure calf muscle perfusion, oxygenation, and energetics using a variety of approaches. We will review all of these techniques in the present chapter.
Abstract WP144: Ultrasound Criteria for Assessment of Vertebral Artery Origins

Introduction: We sought to validate ultrasound as a reliable means of assessing vessel stenosis of vertebral artery origins. Methods: We reviewed 1135 patient charts with ultrasound of the posterio...
Evaluating the Patient with Suspected Myositis

Myositis is a systemic autoimmune disease frequently affecting the muscle, skin, joints, lungs, and vascular, gastrointestinal, and cardiac organ systems. The evaluation of a patient with a suspected diagnosis of myositis begins with a comprehensive history and physical examination of all organ systems as well as the consideration of other possible diagnoses. Demographics as well as the onset, distribution, pattern, and progression of muscle symptoms can provide important diagnostic clues. Laboratory, imaging, and electromyography studies will narrow the differential diagnosis, but in most cases, a muscle biopsy is necessary to confirm the diagnosis. The need for a muscle biopsy may be unnecessary in classic presentations of the anti-synthetase syndrome and in patients with clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis, where skin biopsy may be required. Polymyositis (PM) is often misdiagnosed or overdiagnosed as many other muscular disorders including inclusion body myositis, muscular dystrophies, and metabolic myopathies can mimic PM. In this chapter, we discuss the art and science of making a diagnosis of myositis from the history to a confirmatory muscle biopsy, as well as important pitfalls in evaluating myositis.
INCIDENCE AND OUTCOMES OF BRADYARRHYTHMIA REQUIRING PACEMAKER AFTER CARDIAC TRANSPLANTATION: UPDATED UNOS ANALYSIS 2010 TO 2018

Bradyarrhythmia requiring pacemaker (BP) after cardiac transplantation are common. Few previous studies have investigated the clinical predictors of BP. We sought to utilize the United Network for Organ Sharing data to provide an update on risk predictors and outcomes of post-transplant
Catabolic degradation of endothelial VEGFA via autophagy

Extracellular matrix-evoked angiostasis and autophagy within the tumor microenvironment represent two critical, but unconnected, functions of the small leucine-rich proteoglycan, decorin. Acting as a partial agonist of vascular endothelial growth factor 2 (VEGFR2), soluble decorin signals via the energy sensing protein, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), in the autophagic degradation of intracellular vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA). Here, we discovered that soluble decorin evokes intracellular catabolism of endothelial VEGFA that is mechanistically independent of mTOR, but requires an autophagic regulator, paternally expressed gene 3 (PEG3). We found that administration of autophagic inhibitors such as chloroquine or bafilomycin A1, or depletion of autophagy-related 5 (ATG5), results in accumulation of intracellular VEGFA, indicating that VEGFA is a basal autophagic substrate. Mechanistically, decorin increased the VEGFA clearance rate by augmenting autophagic flux, a process that required RAB24 member RAS oncogene family (RAB24), a small GTPase that facilitates the disposal of autophagic compartments. We validated these findings by demonstrating the physiological relevance of this process in vivo. Mice starved for 48 h exhibited a sharp decrease in overall cardiac and aortic VEGFA that could be blocked by systemic chloroquine treatment. Thus, our findings reveal a unified mechanism for the metabolic control of endothelial VEGFA for autophagic clearance in response to decorin and canonical pro-autophagic stimuli. We posit that the VEGFR2/AMPK/PEG3 axis integrates the anti-angiogenic and pro-autophagic bioactivities of decorin as the molecular basis for tumorigenic suppression. These results support future therapeutic use of decorin as a next-generation protein therapy to combat cancer.
Provenance in Sensor Data Management: A cohesive, independent solution for bringing provenance to scientific research

In today’s information-driven workplaces, data is constantly being moved around and undergoing transformation. The typical business-as-usual approach is to use e-mail attachments, shared network locations, databases, and more recently, the cloud. More often than not, there are multiple versions of the data sitting in different locations, and users of this data are confounded by the lack of metadata describing its provenance or in other words, its lineage. The ProvDMS project at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) described in this article aims to solve this issue in the context of sensor data.
Perceptions of care coordination in cancer patient-family caregiver dyads.

To examine cancer patients and their family caregivers’ perspectives of care coordination (CC) using a dyadic research design. In this pilot cross-sectional study, 54 patient-family caregiver dyads completed a validated care coordination instrument (CCI) and its parallel family caregiver instrument (CCICG) from June to September 2019. The sample available for analysis included data from 32 dyads, which included patients receiving active therapy for any cancer type and their primary family caregivers aged 18 years or older. Mixed regression models were used to examine dyadic differences. The overall family caregiver scores demonstrated a bimodal pattern; thus, we conducted analyses using aggregate data as well as by highCG and lowCG subgroups. Among dyads in the lowCG subgroup, family caregivers reported significantly lower scores than patients on the total CCI and the three CC domains: Communication, Navigation, and Operational. Caregiver gender, the absence of a patient navigator, and practice setting (hospital-based ambulatory) significantly predicted dyadic differences in the lowCG subgroup. In item-level analyses, family caregivers in the lowCG subgroup reported lower scores than patients on the items related to patient-physician communication. A subgroup of family caregivers reported poorer perception of CC than patients, suggesting that those family caregivers and providers may benefit from intervention. Further understanding of patient-family caregiver dyads’ perspectives of CC can inform development of strategies to integrate family caregivers into the cancer care team, develop effective CC interventions for family caregivers, and contribute to improved quality and value of cancer care.
Hollywood imagines urban Africa, and it’s as bad as you think

Since 1918, the Hollywood film industry has represented Africa on film, portraying the continent and its peoples through long-standing stereotypes. This paper specifically focuses on film represent...
De novo protein design by deep network hallucination.

There has been considerable recent progress in protein structure prediction using deep neural networks to predict inter-residue distances from amino acid sequences1–3. Here we investigate whether the information captured by such networks is sufficiently rich to generate new folded proteins with sequences unrelated to those of the naturally occurring proteins used in training the models. We generate random amino acid sequences, and input them into the trRosetta structure prediction network to predict starting residue–residue distance maps, which, as expected, are quite featureless. We then carry out Monte Carlo sampling in amino acid sequence space, optimizing the contrast (Kullback–Leibler divergence) between the inter-residue distance distributions predicted by the network and background distributions averaged over all proteins. Optimization from different random starting points resulted in novel proteins spanning a wide range of sequences and predicted structures. We obtained synthetic genes encoding 129 of the network-‘hallucinated’ sequences, and expressed and purified the proteins in Escherichia coli; 27 of the proteins yielded monodisperse species with circular dichroism spectra consistent with the hallucinated structures. We determined the three-dimensional structures of three of the hallucinated proteins, two by X-ray crystallography and one by NMR, and these closely matched the hallucinated models. Thus, deep networks trained to predict native protein structures from their sequences can be inverted to design new proteins, and such networks and methods should contribute alongside traditional physics-based models to the de novo design of proteins with new functions. The trRosetta neural network was used to iteratively optimise model proteins from random 100-amino-acid sequences, resulting in ‘hallucinated’ proteins, which when expressed in bacteria closely resembled the model structures.
Studying Technology Adoption Behaviors with Linear or Non-Linear PLS: Does it Make a Difference?

In many studies the research is characterized by elements that make the analysis suited for partial least squares (PLS) path modeling techniques; nascent theories or measures, the model being tested incorporates formative constructs, smaller sample sizes, non-parametric data, and comparatively complex models. There are several PLS beta-test software programs available. This study used a model and sample suited for PLS path modeling and using two available programs, SmartPLS, and WarpPLS, compared the results. Differences were found in the results between the linear program (SmartPLS) and the non-linear program (WarpPLS). These findings have implications for the choice of software and ultimately the results obtained in testing this model.
“In My Mind, We Are All Humans”: Notes on the Public Management of Black-White Interracial Romantic Relationships

SUMMARY Using the results of 19 in-depth qualitative interviews and our own observations, we suggest that one interpersonal skill involved in maintaining successful interracial Black-white romantic relationships can be the management of public harassment. Specifically, this refers to the management of evaluative, hostile, and discriminatory actions and reactions that couples receive from strangers in public places. Our informants (10 women, 9 men), all living in the Midwest, suggested that, at the very least, a continuing interracial relationship must learn to deal with many forms of public harassment. Another theme from the reports of our informants concerned the variety of ways that public harassment was dealt with. Our informants (1) reported that harassment behavior fell into the three main categories, (2) detailed the management strategies and attitudes they used to deal with harassment, and (3) indicated how important such public harassment was for the partner choice of interracial couples and, symb...
Model Checking: From Hardware to Software

While model checking has in.uenced industrial practice in sequential circuit veri- .cation for some time now, the use of model checking for program veri.cation has proved elusive until recently. One of the main reasons is that boolean .nite-state abstractions are readily available for circuits, but not for programs. A central problem in software model checking, therefore, is to .nd an abstraction of the input program which is su.ciently .ne to prove or disprove the desired property, and yet su.ciently coarse to allow the exhaustive exploration of the abstract state space by a model checker. For this purpose, it is often useful to abstract the values of program variables by recording, instead, at each program location the truth values of critical predicates. A key insight is that the critical predicates can be discovered automatically using counterexample-guided abstraction re.nement, which starts with a coarse abstraction of the program and iteratively re.nes the abstraction until either a bug is found or the property is proved. Furthermore, if the abstraction is re.ned lazily, then a critical predicate is evaluated only at those program locations where its value is relevant.
Effects of Fasting and Chronic Alcohol Consumption on the First-Pass Metabolism of Ethanol

The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate what fraction of alcohol ingested in amounts during usual "social drinking" does not enter the systemic circulation. To that effect, on consecutive days, either peroral or intravenous ethanol was administered in both fed and fasted states to 7 nonalcoholic and 18 alcoholic subjects. In nonalcoholics consuming 0.15 g/kg body wt ethanol, the magnitude of first-pass metabolism of ethanol was 3.94 +/- 0.15 mmol/L X h, calculated as the difference of the areas under the curve obtained after oral and intravenous alcohol administration. The first-pass metabolism accounted for 73% of the latter. When the administered dose was increased to 0.3 g/kg body wt ethanol, the corresponding values were 6.46 +/- 0.50 mmol/L X h and 44%. Fasting decreased this effect. When alcoholics consumed 0.15 g/kg body wt ethanol, the corresponding values were 0.92 +/- 0.65 mmol/L X h and 23%. When these alcoholics were fasted, the first-pass metabolism again decreased and it was significantly lower than in the nonalcoholics tested under the same conditions. We conclude that in humans a significant fraction of ingested alcohol undergoes first-pass metabolism but that this effect is reduced in alcoholics and by fasting. The magnitude of this process determines the bioavailability of alcohol and thus modulates its potential toxicity.
Energy Efficiency of Thermal-Aware Job Scheduling Algorithms under Various Cooling Models

One proposed technique to reduce energy consumption of data centers is thermal-aware job scheduling, i.e. job scheduling that relies on predictive thermal models to select among possible job schedules to minimize its energy needs. This paper investigates, using a more realistic linear cooling model, the energy savings of previously proposed thermal-aware job scheduling algorithms, which assume a less realistic model of constant cooling. The results show that the energy savings achieved are greater than the savings previously predicted. The contributions of this paper include: i) linear cooling models should be used in analysis and algorithm design, and ii) although the job scheduler must control the cooling equipment to realize most of the thermal-aware job schedule’s savings, some savings can be still achieved without that control.
The synthesis and characterization of germanium dichloride and dimethyl aluminium chloride derivatives of the 2,2-dipyridylamine ligand

The reactions of germanium dichloride and dimethyl aluminium chloride with 2,2-dipyridylamine (dpa) affords germanium and organo-aluminium complexes. Structural characterization reveals that the preferential coordination site of both germanium and aluminium is within the sterically protected pyridyl, (pyridyl = C5H5N = py), pocket. Py2NGeCl, compound (1), crystallizes in the triclinic space group, P-1, with cell coordinates; a=8.2956(11), b=9.9938(13), c=12.6517(17), α=92.033(2)°, β=92.834(2)°, γ=91.685(2)°. The aluminium complex, Py2NAlMe2·Al(Me)Cl, (2), crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group, Pna2(1), with cell parameters: a=13.3707(10), b=10.8706(8), c=16.1306(12). The X-ray analysis of the side products of these reactions, the lithium halide adducts are also reported.
Synthesis and mutagenic properties of direct dyes from 4,4¢-diamino-p-terphenyl and 4,4¢-diamino-p-quaterphenyl

Disazo direct dyes were synthesised using bis-diazotisation and coupling reactions involving 4,4′-diamino-p-terphenyl and 4,4′-diamino-p-quaterphenyl. The formation of the target dyes was confirmed by electrospray mass spectrometry and their mutagenicity was examined in the Salmonella microsome assay using TA98 and TA100. While most of these dyes were clearly non-mutagenic, results from the Prival modification of the standard assay showed that Congo Red and its homologue derived from 4,4′-diamino-p-terphenyl were clearly mutagenic.
Evaluation of turbulence models for unsteady flows of an oscillating airfoil

Unsteady flowfields of a two-dimensional oscillating airfoil are calculated using an implicit, finite-difference, Navier Stokes numerical scheme. Five widely used turbulence models are used with the numerical scheme to assess the accuracy and suitability of the models for simulating the retreating blade stall of helicopter rotor in forward flight. Three unsteady flow conditions corresponding to an essentially attached flow, light-stall, and deep-stall cases of an oscillating NACA 0015 wing experiment were chosen as test cases for computations. Results of unsteady airloads hysteresis curves, harmonics of unsteady pressures, and instantaneous flowfield patterns are presented. Some effects of grid density, time-step size, and numerical dissipation on the unsteady solutions relevant to the evaluation of turbulence models are examined. Comparison of unsteady airloads with experimental data show that all models tested are deficient in some sense and no single model predicts airloads consistently and in agreement with experiment for the three flow regimes. The chief findings are that the simple algebraic model based on the renormalization group theory (RNG) offers some improvement over the Baldwin Lomax model in all flow regimes with nearly same computational cost. The one-equation models provide significant improvement over the algebraic and the half-equation models but have their own limitations. The Baldwin-Barth model overpredicts separation and underpredicts reattachment. In contrast, the Spalart-Allmaras model underpredicts separation and overpredicts reattachment.
Technology is a gift that must be fed

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into issues encountered in maintaining library technologies on a limited budget and with limited personnel.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents reports on real world experiences in the deployment of an electronic resource management system (ERMS) in an effort to centralize information relevant to electronic resource subscriptions.Findings – While technological advances have streamlined workflows in the modern library, adequate staffing is still required to maintain these technologies. As such, libraries must re‐examine priorities in an age of shrinking budgets.Originality/value – This paper offers insights and real‐world experiences encountered in the deployment of an ERMS with limited human resources.
Ultrastructural investigation of clover roots during early stages of infection by the root-knot nematode,Meloidogyne incognita

Migration of root-knot larvae (Meloidogyne incognita) into the primary root tissues of red clover (Trifolium pratense, cult. “Kenland”) was accompanied by separation and subsequent compression of cells in front of and along the path of the penetrating nematode. The protoplasts of the parenchymatous cortical cells did not respond to the presence of the penetrating larvae. However, as the nematode approached the differentiating vascular tissue, the cytoplasmic density of the pericyclic and meristematic cells increased. This increased density was accompanied by an alteration in the morphological features of the nucleus. In addition to these changes, two different types of extracellular material were observed during penetration. A homogeneous substance appeared in and around the external opening of the amphid; and an electron dense material was found along the middle lamellae of the separating plant cells and between the cuticle of the nematode and the cell walls of the host.
Radiation damage test of barium fluoride scintillator

Abstract Small samples of BaF2 scintillator have been irradiated in a high-energy proton beam with doses of up to 1.3 × 107 rad. To the precision of our measurement there was no effect in the scintillation output and only a slight decrease in transmission was observed.