cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Acidosis inhibits osteoblastic and stimulates osteoclastic activity in vitro

Metabolic acidosis induces net calcium flux (JCa) from cultured neonatal mouse calvariae through physicochemical and cell-mediated mechanisms. To determine the role of osteoblasts in acid-induced JCa, collagen synthesis and alkaline phosphatase activity were assessed in calvariae incubated in reduced pH and bicarbonate medium, a model of metabolic acidosis (Met), and compared with controls (Ctl). Collagen synthesis fell from 30.5 +/- 1.1 in Ctl to 25.1 +/- 0.4% with Met, and alkaline phosphatase decreased from 403 +/- 25 in Ctl to 298 +/- 21 nmol Pi.min-1.mg protein-1 with Met. During acidosis JCa was correlated inversely with percent collagen synthesis (r = -0.743, n = 11, P = 0.009) and with alkaline phosphatase activity (r = -0.453, n = 22, P = 0.034). To determine the role of osteoclasts in acid-induced JCa, osteoclastic beta-glucuronidase activity was determined in Ctl and Met in the absence or presence of the osteoclastic inhibitor calcitonin (CT, 3 x 10(-9) M). Met increased beta-glucuronidase (5.9 +/- 0.2) compared with Ctl (4.6 +/- 0.3 micrograms phenolphthalein released.bone-1.h-1), whereas CT inhibited beta-glucuronidase in both Ctl and Met (3.1 +/- 0.2 and 3.5 +/- 0.3, respectively). During acidosis JCa was correlated directly with beta-glucuronidase activity (r = 0.683, n = 42, P less than 0.001). Thus the cell-mediated component of JCa during acidosis in vitro appears to result from a combination of inhibited osteoblastic and stimulated osteoclastic activity.
Finding Safe, Simple Alternatives to Over-the-Counter Instruments and Markets. A Positive Response to the OTC Market Risky Disequilibrium and Post-Crisis Poor Regulatory Remedies.

Over-the-counter (OTC) traders cannot pursue the two fundamental objectives of portfolio management, the identification of portfolio market risk and return and its diversification. The result of this major market shortcoming is a complex, systemically risky market disequilibrium. The tradable instruments that would address this problem – making financial markets simpler, safer, and transparent – are missing. They would permit dealers to manage OTC portfolios by conventional means, instead of the complicated, subjective valuation and systemically risky hedging methods available now. The introduction summarizes the current market disequilibrium. The second section summarizes adjustments that permit price discovery and diversification of risks by opening asset and derivative trading and market pricing in OTC markets. The third section describes FFDs, zero-market-value instruments that complete OTC derivatives markets. The fourth section describes new OTC asset trading mechanisms. The final section concludes.
Crystal structure of tris-(3-methyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)methane.

The title mol­ecule, C13H16N6, crystallizes from hexane as a mol­ecular crystal with no strong inter­molecular inter­actions (the shortest C—H⋯N contact is longer than 3.38 A). A relatively short intra­molecular contact (3.09 A) has a C—H⋯N angle of 118° which is quite small to be still considered a hydrogen bond. The three pyrazole rings form a propeller-like motif, with one methylpyrazole unit almost perpendicular to the mean plane of the three rings [82.20 (6)°]. The other two methylpyrazole units, with nitrogen donor atoms oriented in opposite directions, are oriented at 67.26 (6) and 72.53 (6)° to the mean plane.
Distributed leader selection

In this paper, we address the problem of distributed leader selection in a network of agents. We assume that each agent's state is defined by a scalar that evolves according to a linear dynamics involving the states of its neighbors and its own state. We propose a distributed algorithm, assuming a time-invariant communication graph, to determine: (i) those agents that should behave as leaders (i.e., agents whose state serves as a reference (or input) to the remaining agents - the followers); and (ii) a communication protocol to ensure some control-theoretical specifications and/or performance guarantees. Finally, an illustrative example using the main results of the paper is provided.
Eminent domain destroys a community: leveling East Arlington to make way for the Pentagon

This study examines the eminent domain action in 1942 where the federal government took 411 acres of land, including an African American neighborhood, to construct the Pentagon building in Arlington County, Virginia. The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution acknowledges the right of the federal government to exercise eminent domain where needed for the common good, but requires that property owners be given just compensation. This study explores the issue of compensation: what the residents lost when they were forced to move, how that loss was compensated, and whether the compensation was “just.” The study data include interviews with former residents of the neighborhood, oral histories, land records, census data, photographs, and newspaper articles. The study concludes that the federal government compensated the residents for land and buildings, but was unable to compensate for a lost community. For many residents, that community is mourned even 72 years later.
Motivating secure coding practices in a freshman-level programming course

Secure application development is becoming even more critical as the impact of insecure code becomes deeper and more pervasive in our personal and professional lives. The approach described in this paper seeks to motivate computer science students to write secure code almost from the very beginning by focusing on concrete examples of common software vulnerabilities in the second freshman-level programming course. Sample exercises and assignments are given as examples that can be reused in similar courses. While long-term data collection is still ongoing, initial results are promising enough that the method is presented here in detail to support university faculty interested in incorporating lessons and real-world examples in secure app development in their programming courses at any level.
Untersuchungen bei hohen Temperaturen und hohen Drücken, 4. Mitt.: Thermische Zersetzung von KClO3, HgO und HgS bei hohen Temperaturen und hohen Drücken

Die thermische Zersetzung von KClO3, HgO und HgS bei hohen Drucken wurde experimentell untersucht. Die Zersetzungstemperaturen steigen mit steigendem Druck. So fanden wir z. B.:T- gegenP-Kurven von KClO3 und HgO haben anfanglich Steigungen von 5,17 bzw. 16,49 °C/kb. Diese Anstiege andern sich bei hoheren Drucken auf 2,11 °C/kb bzw. 1,67 °C/kb. Der Anstieg derT-gegenP-Kurve von HgS betragt 2,675 °C/kb.
Possible d -wave superconductivity in borocarbides: Upper critical field of YNi 2 B 2 C and LuNi 2 B 2 C

The upper critical field of a three-dimensional version of $d$-wave superconductors in a variety of field configurations is analyzed theoretically within the weak-coupling model. The present theory describes the main features of upper critical fields observed recently in ${\mathrm{YNi}}_{2}{\mathrm{B}}_{2}\mathrm{C}$ and ${\mathrm{LuNi}}_{2}{\mathrm{B}}_{2}\mathrm{C}.$ This strongly suggests that the underlying superconductivity in borocarbides should be of $d$ wave type.
Iridium, Rhodium, and Ruthenium Catalysts for the “Aldehyde–Water Shift” Reaction

A series of half-sandwich complexes of iridium, rhodium, and ruthenium are shown to be active catalysts for the conversion of aldehydes and water to carboxylic acids. Depending on the catalyst, H2 is either released (the “aldehyde–water shift”) or transferred to a second equivalent of aldehyde (aldehyde disproportionation). Mechanistic studies suggest hydride transfer to be the selectivity-determining step along the reaction pathway. Using [(p-cymene)Ru(bpy)OH2][OTf]2 as precatalyst, we demonstrate a novel example of a highly selective aldehyde–water shift in the absence of a hydrogen acceptor or base.
Mechanical Testing of Free-Standing Thin Films

An overview is given of methods for testing thin-film tensile specimens of either MEMS materials or surface coatings. MEMS specimens are deposited in a final shape and need only to be released for testing, while specimens of coating materials must be extracted. Very brief descriptions of the specimen designs, force application approaches, and strain measurements are given along with a limited number of references. Representative stress-strain curves for polysilicon, silicon nitride, silicon carbide, electroplated nickel and diffusion aluminide bond coating are presented. Results at high temperatures are presented for the latter two materials.
Social Workers: Continuing to Address the Social Determinants of Health

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Social work in a medical clinic: the nature and course of referrals to the social worker," by J. D. Stoeckle, R. Sittler, and G. E. Davidson in a June 2016 issue.
Simple Implementation Method of Preemptive and Real-time Multitask Processing for Single-chip Microcomputer

The paper proposed a design method of simple real-time multitask dispatching program using software expanding interruption technology,introduced implementation of one dispatching program and four system's dispatchings namely triggering call of software interruption,call in of hardware interruption,call out of hardware interruption and call trap,and gave corresponding program diagrams.The method has advantages such as short core programs,high efficiency and simple to use,which is suitable for application of single-chip microcomputer.
Modularizing global variable in climate simulation software: position paper

In large-scale simulation codes, such as climate models, variables represent a large number of characteristics of earth surface and atmosphere for a single multi-dimensional cell and are distributed over a multitude of cores in the supercomputers where these simulations run. The hundreds of variables allow different parts of simulation representing specific sub-models, for example the photosynthesis, to interact with other sub-models of the simulation.The scientists of each domain write the simulation code for the sub-model representing their sub-domain. To integrate their code into the entire simulation, they need to deal with hundreds of unfamiliar variables of which only a small subset is relevant to their work. Designing such variables in a modular fashion, so that the scientists could interact only with the variables relevant to their sub-model is likely to increase the productivity of the scientists and to increase accuracy of the simulation codes.A natural way to group the variables into modules is by using a language feature that group them together, such as, struct construct in C language or a class in C++ language. Each scientist would then need to familiarize themselves with only a small subset of modules that contain variables used in their simulations. For example, Community Earth System Model (CESM) code v1.06 has 51 such modules (structures) that contain 1479 variables. The methods proposed below can be used to assess the modularity of the existing set of structures and to generate alternative modularizations that improve upon it.In a nutshell, the approach minimizes the number of variables exposed to other domains by the modules used in each domain.
The pathophysiology of primary hyperparathyroidism.

The parathyroid glands play a key role in maintaining near constancy of the extracellular calcium concentration ( Ca o 2+) through their capacity to sense even minute changes in the level of blood calcium from its normal level. The G protein-coupled, Ca o 2+-sensing receptor (CaSR) is the mechanism through which the parathyroid chief cells senses changes in Ca o 2+. In primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT), Ca 2+ o is reset upward from its normal level. This defect likely arises from increases in both the mass of pathological parathyroid tissue as well as the set point for Ca 2+ o -regulated parathyroid hormone (PTH) release. The former likely arises from somatic mutations that enhance parathyroid cellular proliferation, although our understanding of the mechanism(s) underlying the latter is incomplete. However, substantial insights have been achieved through the study of inherited disorders caused by mutations in CaSR gene. In familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (FHH), heterozygous inactivating mutations in the CaSR gene produce mild, generally asymptomatic hypercalcemia, whereas in neonatal severe hyperparathyroidism (NSHPT), homozygous inactivating mutations cause severe hypercalcemia and hyperparathyroidism. Thus, the body's calciostat is reset upward in FHH and NSHPT because of resistance of CaSR-expressing cells, including the parathyroid cells, to Ca 2+ o . In FHH, there is a reduced complement of normal CaSRs (e.g., haploinsufficiency) that likely provides an explanation for the Ca 2+ o -resistance in this condition, whereas in NSHPT, there are no normally functioning CaSRs, thereby engendering more severe Ca 2+ o resistance. Although somatic mutations in the CaSR gene could provide an explanation for the Ca2 + o -resistance in PHPT, no such mutations have been found. Instead, in PHPT, the resistance of pathological parathyroid glands to Ca2 + o results, at least in part, from a reduced expression of otherwise apparently structurally normal CaSRs. Thus, PTH-dependent hypercalcemia can occur in the setting of either inherited, generalized resistance to Ca 2+ o (i.e., FHH and NSHPT) or acquired tissue selective resistance of pathological parathyroid glands to Ca 2+ o (e.g., PHPT).
Robust coupling in space of sparse codes for multi-view recognition

Classical dictionary learning algorithms that rely on a single source of information have been successfully used for classification tasks. Additionally, the exploitation of multiple sources has shown to be advantageous in challenging real-world situations. We propose a new framework to exploit robust modality fusion in classification in order to achieve better classification performance than single source methods. Multimodal learning is able to leverage any correlations between sensor modalities found in the data. We propose a new bilevel optimization, referred to as (MCJWDL). We perform supervised dictionary learning while forcing a coupling between the resulting sparse codes from different sources of information. Extensive experiments demonstrate that MCJWDL outperforms state-of-the-art sparse representation and dictionary learning approaches for the multi-view object and multi-view action recognition.
A Plethora of Definitions

As previously discussed, there are numerous definitions of what a learning object is. An additional problem is that many of the definitions are very broad and sometimes all encompassing. The LTSC defines them as “any entity, digital or non-digital, which can be used, re-used or referenced during technology supported learning”. Another definition is from McGee and Katz that views learning objects as “any digital resource that is designed to support learning, and may be re-used in different learning contexts (traditional or informal) for different purposes. We do not exclude technical data objects or information objects but rather see a division between these and those designed specifically to support learning” (McGee and Katz 2005, p. 1405).
Sulfur Chemistry of Cinder Pool, YNP: Implications for a Chemical Origin of Life ☆

Abstract One chemical origin of life theory posits the abiotic formation of alkyl thiols as an initial step to forming biomolecules and eventually simple chemoautotrophic cells. Alkyl thiols have not previously been identified in terrestrial hot springs as unequivocally abiogenic, but they have been synthesized in the laboratory under hydrothermal conditions in the presence of a catalyst. We found methanethiol as well as other sulfur gases in Cinder Pool, Yellowstone National Park in gas samples collected using the bubble strip method. Laboratory microcosm experiments were performed using synthetic Cinder Pool water in serum bottles containing different iron-sulfur minerals, including cinders collected from the pool itself, as catalytic surfaces for the CH 3 SH generating reaction. The bottles were charged with H 2 , and CO 2 , with CS 2 added to some and incubated from 60 to 100°C. In bottles without introduced CS 2 , only the cinder material produced detectable CH 3 SH. While CH3SH is central to the autotroph-first theory and has been synthesized in the laboratory 1 , it has not previously been observed to form abiotically in natural systems. We have identified abiogenic CH 3 SH in a terrestrial hydrothermal feature using natural catalytic surfaces consistent with the Autotroph-First origin theory.
Structural Analysis Reveals the Deleterious Effects of Telomerase Mutations in Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes

Naturally occurring mutations in the ribonucleoprotein reverse transcriptase, telomerase, are associated with the bone marrow failure syndromes dyskeratosis congenita, aplastic anemia, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. However, the mechanism by which these mutations impact telomerase function remains unknown. Here we present the structure of the human telomerase C-terminal extension (or thumb domain) determined by the method of single-wavelength anomalous diffraction to 2.31 A resolution. We also used direct telomerase activity and nucleic acid binding assays to explain how naturally occurring mutations within this portion of telomerase contribute to human disease. The single mutations localize within three highly conserved regions of the telomerase thumb domain referred to as motifs E-I (thumb loop and helix), E-II, and E-III (the FVYL pocket, comprising the hydrophobic residues Phe-1012, Val-1025, Tyr-1089, and Leu-1092). Biochemical data show that the mutations associated with dyskeratosis congenita, aplastic anemia, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis disrupt the binding between the protein subunit reverse transcriptase of the telomerase and its nucleic acid substrates leading to loss of telomerase activity and processivity. Collectively our data show that although these mutations do not alter the overall stability or expression of telomerase reverse transcriptase, these rare genetic disorders are associated with an impaired telomerase holoenzyme that is unable to correctly assemble with its nucleic acid substrates, leading to incomplete telomere extension and telomere attrition, which are hallmarks of these diseases.
Oxidation of Polyunsaturated Phospholipid Decreases the Cholesterol Content at which Cholesterol Bilayer Domains Start to form in Phospholipid-Cholesterol Membranes

Saturation-recovery electron paramagnetic resonance and differential scanning calorimetry were used to determine the cholesterol content at which pure cholesterol bilayer domains (CBDs) and cholesterol crystals begin to form in 1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonoylphosphochatidyline (PAPC) membranes. To preserve compositional homogeneity of the membrane suspension at a high cholesterol content, multilamellar liposome suspensions were prepared using the rapid solvent exchange method. The cholesterol content in membranes was changed from 0 mol% to 66 mol%.
Enhancing Visibility of Distance Learners To Promote Community

Communities comprised of students enrolled in distance education differ from residential students not only in the separation of distance and time and the invisibility of peers, but also because the majority of the members are adult learners. My research is dedicated to promoting online students' sense of community and collective community efficacy by enhancing the visibility of students' relevant information and connections with one another in the online educational setting. Following a user-centered design approach, I am probing the stakeholders' needs and building prototypes grounded in iterative evaluations from the field and lab studies. I aim to deepen the understanding for distance learners' community building with interactive visualizations.
Barrington's nucleus: Neuroanatomic landscape of the mouse “pontine micturition center”

Barrington's nucleus (Bar) is thought to contain neurons that trigger voiding and thereby function as the "pontine micturition center." Lacking detailed information on this region in mice, we examined gene and protein markers to characterize Bar and the neurons surrounding it. Like rats and cats, mice have an ovoid core of medium-sized Bar neurons located medial to the locus coeruleus (LC). Bar neurons express a GFP reporter for Vglut2, develop from a Math1/Atoh1 lineage, and exhibit immunoreactivity for NeuN. Many neurons in and around this core cluster express a reporter for corticotrophin-releasing hormone (BarCRH ). Axons from BarCRH neurons project to the lumbosacral spinal cord and ramify extensively in two regions: the dorsal gray commissural and intermediolateral nuclei. BarCRH neurons have unexpectedly long dendrites, which may receive synaptic input from the cerebral cortex and other brain regions beyond the core afferents identified previously. Finally, at least five populations of neurons surround Bar: rostral-dorsomedial cholinergic neurons in the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus; lateral noradrenergic neurons in the LC; medial GABAergic neurons in the pontine central gray; ventromedial, small GABAergic neurons that express FoxP2; and dorsolateral glutamatergic neurons that express FoxP2 in the pLC and form a wedge dividing Bar from the dorsal LC. We discuss the implications of this new information for interpreting existing data and future experiments targeting BarCRH neurons and their synaptic afferents to study micturition and other pelvic functions.
Analysis of dependently truncated data in Cox framework

Disclaimer:The findings and conclusions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Abstract: Truncation is a known feature of bone marrow transplant (BMT) registry data, for which the survival time of a leukemia patient is left truncated by the waiting time to transplant. It was recently noted that a longer waiting time was linked to poorer survival. A straightforward solution is a Cox model on the survival time with the waiting time as both truncation variable and covariate. The Cox model should also include other recognized risk factors as covariates. In this paper we focus on estimating the distribution function of waiting time and the probability of selection under the aforementioned Cox model.
Journey of 2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro-5-methyl-1-β-D-arabinofuranosyluracil (FMAU): from Antiviral Drug to PET Imaging Agent.

Background Developed as an antiviral drug in the 1960s and 1970s, the thymidine analogue 2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro-5-methyl-1-β-D-arabinofuranosyluracil (FMAU) was translated to clinical application for treatment of herpes simplex virus infection. In phase I clinical trial of FMAU; however, patients experienced neurotoxicity at the pharmacological dose, and FMAU was withdrawn from the trial. More recently, FMAU has been developed as a tracer for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in early detection of cancer through its binding to human thymidine kinase, which is upregulated in cancer cells. FMAU radiolabeled with 11C or 18F has been examined for PET imaging of tumor cell proliferation and DNA synthesis. Although many reports have been partially published on FMAU, systematic reviews outlining the historic development and imaging probe are lacking. This review is focused on the identification of kinases, the chemistry of FAMU and its application in cancer diagnosis and therapy assessment. Objective The aim of this study was to review the historic development of FMAU, from its synthetic development and antiviral activity studies to its radiolabeling and evaluate it as a PET imaging probe for the early detection of cancer and assessment of treatment response, including published reports on the clinical utility of 18F-FMAU. Conclusion While FMAU was not successful as an antiviral agent, 18F-FMAU is a suitable radiotracer for early detection of cancer and assessment of response to therapy by PET. The process of clinical grade 18F-FMAU production requires further improvement. 18F-FMAU has high potential for clinical application, but further extensive studies are needed to establish this tracer in the diagnosis of various cancers and assessment of their response to therapy.
Neural Knowledge Tracing

Knowledge tracing aims to quantify how well students master the knowledge (tags) being tutored by analyzing their learning activities (e.g., coursework interaction data). It plays an important role in intelligent tutoring systems. In this paper, we cast knowledge tracing as a performance-prediction problem, which predicts the performances of students on exercises labeled by multiple knowledge tags, and propose to tackle this problem using Deep Learning techniques. We applied several Recurrent Neural Network architectures to model complex representations of student knowledge and predict future performances of students. Our experimental results demonstrate that the neural network architecture based on stacked Long Short Term Memory and residual connections give superior predictions on the future performances of learners. To model how a student answered a question that contains multiple knowledge tags, we explored three different variants to map knowledge states to prediction.
Parental Perceptions of Child Development Among Low-Income Mexican American Families

Parents' perceptions of child development are influenced by complex interactions among cultural, social, and economic factors. Insights into how parents from culturally diverse societies perceive the development of their children might explain why different cultural groups foster or value the development of different skills in their children. In this study, we explored the perceptions of child development among low income Mexican American parents. A series of ethnographic interviews were conducted with eight Mexican American families who had preschool children. Qualitative data analyses yielded three main themes that were important to these parents: family attitudes and values, changes, and adaptations. For these parents, the development of social attributes in children, that will enable them to function within their own cultural group, was as important as the development of cognitive or motor skills. Service providers, such as school and mental health personnel, should take into account cultural differences in parents' perceptions of the importance of various developmental milestones for their children when suggesting interventions typically used by parents in the dominant culture.
Design Elements of Listeria Environmental Monitoring Programs in Food Processing Facilities: A Scoping Review of Research and Guidance Materials

Occurrence of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), the causative agent of listeriosis, in food processing facilities presents considerable challenges to food producers and food safety authorities. Design of an effective, risk-based environmental monitoring (EM) program is essential for finding and eliminating Lm from the processing environment to prevent product contamination. A scoping review was conducted to collate and synthesize available research and guidance materials on Listeria EM in food processing facilities. An exhaustive search was performed to identify all available research, industry and regulatory documents, and search results were screened for relevance based on eligibility criteria. After screening, 198 references were subjected to an in-depth review and categorized according to objectives for conducting Listeria sampling in food processing facilities and food sector. Mapping of the literature revealed research and guidance gaps by food sector, as fresh produce was the focus in only 10 references, compared to 72 on meat, 52 on fish and seafood, and 50 on dairy. Review of reported practices and guidance highlighted key design elements of EM, including the number, location, timing and frequency of sampling, as well as methods of detection and confirmation, and record-keeping. While utilization of molecular subtyping methods is a trend that will continue to advance understanding of Listeria contamination risks, improved study design and reporting standards by researchers will be essential to assist the food industry optimize their EM design and decision-making. The comprehensive collection of documents identified and synthesized in this review aids continued efforts to minimize the risk of Lm contaminated foods.
The Development of Social Justice Allies During College: A Phenomenological Investigation

The purpose of this study was to examine how undergraduate students who became social justice allies during college understood their development. Six traditionally-aged, heterosexual, White students, 3 women and 3 men, who first acted as allies while in college were interviewed using an open-ended interview protocol. Critical factors included precollege egalitarian values, gaining information about social justice issues, engagement in meaningmaking processes, developing confidence, and the presentation of opportunities to act as social justice allies.
The dorsolateral striatum regulates habits by way of performance vigor when actions are initiated

Despite clear evidence linking basal ganglia control to habits, it remains unclear through what mechanisms this control occurs. Here, we demonstrate that a key function of the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) is to regulate the vigor of a learned behavior at the moment of initiation in a habit-promoting manner. Shifts in vigor by phasic DLS perturbations coincide closely with how outcome-insensitive (i.e., habitual) the behaviors are in both response-based and cue-based task situations. Surprisingly, the control over habit strength by way of changes in vigor occurs without consistent changes in accuracy, suggesting that mechanisms controlling habit and vigor are dissociable from performance governed task rules. Finally, we show that increased DLS activity improves vigor preferentially when learned outcome values are stable, while reduced DLS activity dampens vigor preferentially when outcome values change. These data indicate that improving action vigor could be a principle route by which the basal ganglia facilitate habits.
Rapping about Mechanotransduction.

Mechanical cues can regulate cell proliferation and differentiation through the Hippo-YAP signaling network. Reporting in Nature, Meng et al. (2018) show that the Ras-related GTPase RAP2 connects extracellular matrix stiffness to Hippo pathway regulation, adding to our understanding of how mechanical cues are converted into changes in YAP activity.
640. Randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating Clinical Impact of RAPid IDentification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing for Gram-Negative Bacteremia (RAPIDS-GN)

Background Rapid blood culture diagnostics increase cost and have unclear benefit for patients with Gram-negative bacilli (GNB) bloodstream infections (BSIs). We conducted a multicenter, prospective randomized controlled trial (RAPIDS-GN), comparing outcomes of patients with GNB BSI who had blood culture testing with standard of care (SOC) culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) vs. rapid organism identification (ID) and phenotypic AST using the Accelerate Pheno System (AXDX).
Zn2+ entry through the mitochondrial calcium uniporter is a critical contributor to mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegeneration.

Abstract Excitotoxic Ca2+ accumulation contributes to ischemic neurodegeneration, and Ca2+ can enter the mitochondria through the mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) to promote mitochondrial dysfunction. Yet, Ca2+-targeted therapies have met limited success. A growing body of evidence has highlighted the underappreciated importance of Zn2+, which also accumulates in neurons after ischemia and can induce mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death. While studies have indicated that Zn2+ can also enter the mitochondria through the MCU, the specificity of the pore's role in Zn2+-triggered injury is still debated. Present studies use recently available MCU knockout mice to examine how the deletion of this channel impacts deleterious effects of cytosolic Zn2+ loading. In cultured cortical neurons from MCU knockout mice, we find significantly reduced mitochondrial Zn2+ accumulation. Correspondingly, these neurons were protected from both acute and delayed Zn2+-triggered mitochondrial dysfunction, including mitochondrial reactive oxygen species generation, depolarization, swelling and inhibition of respiration. Furthermore, when toxic extramitochondrial effects of Ca2+ entry were moderated, both cultured neurons (exposed to Zn2+) and CA1 neurons of hippocampal slices (subjected to prolonged oxygen glucose deprivation to model ischemia) from MCU knockout mice displayed decreased neurodegeneration. Finally, to examine the therapeutic applicability of these findings, we added an MCU blocker after toxic Zn2+ exposure in wildtype neurons (to induce post-insult MCU blockade). This significantly attenuated the delayed evolution of both mitochondrial dysfunction and neurotoxicity. These data—combining both genetic and pharmacologic tools—support the hypothesis that Zn2+ entry through the MCU is a critical contributor to ischemic neurodegeneration that could be targeted for neuroprotection.
Platelet-rich plasma lysate displays antibiofilm properties and restores antimicrobial activity against synovial fluid biofilms in vitro.

Infectious arthritis is difficult to treat in both human and veterinary clinical practice. Recent literature reports Staphylococcus aureus as well as other gram-positive and gram-negative isolates forming free-floating biofilms in both human and equine synovial fluid that are tolerant to traditional antimicrobial therapy. Using an in vitro equine model, we investigated the ability of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) formulations to combat synovial fluid biofilm aggregates. Synovial fluid was infected, and biofilm aggregates allowed to form over a 2-hour period. PRP was collected and processed into different formulations by platelet concentration, leukocyte presence, and activation or lysis. Infected synovial fluid was treated with different PRP formulations with or without aminoglycoside cotreatment. Bacterial load (colony-forming unit/mL) was determined by serial dilutions and plate counting at 8 hours posttreatment. All PRP formulations displayed antimicrobial properties; however, formulations containing higher concentrations of platelets without leukocytes had increased antimicrobial activity. Lysis of PRP and pooling of the PRP lysate (PRP-L) from multiple horses as compared to individual horses further increased antimicrobial activity. This activity was lost with the removal of the plasma component or inhibition of the proteolytic activity within the plasma. Fractionation of pooled PRP-L identified the bioactive components to be cationic and low-molecular weight (<10 kDa). Overall, PRP-L exhibited synergism with amikacin against aminoglycoside tolerant biofilm aggregates with greater activity against gram-positive bacteria. In conclusion, the use of PRP-L has the potential to augment current antimicrobial treatment regimens which could lead to a decrease in morbidity and mortality associated with infectious arthritis.
Quantifying the Relationship Between Higher Photovoltaic Module Efficiency and the Adoption of Distributed Solar

The purpose of this study is understanding the relationship between module efficiency, system costs, and the economic and adoption potential of distributed rooftop solar. We use the dGen model to project the economic potential and adoption of high-efficiency photovoltaic (PV) modules across a range of efficiencies and cost scenarios in the continental United States. Our results reveal that high-efficiency modules can modestly increase the projected adoption of distributed solar, but system capital costs may play a larger role in changing the amount of projected adoption.
Self-reported sleep disturbance in Crohn's disease is not confirmed by objective sleep measures.

Sleep disturbance and fatigue are commonly reported among patients with Crohn’s disease (CD). In this prospective study, we aimed to define sleep quality in CD patients at various disease activity states and compare to healthy controls using objective and subjective measures. A prospective observational cohort study of CD patients seen at a tertiary academic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) clinic was compared to healthy volunteers. CD activity was assessed using the Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI). Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and objectively over 1-week using actigraphy (motion-based) and morning urinary melatonin metabolite. 121 subjects (CD patients N = 61; controls N = 60) completed the study. 34 had active CD (HBI > 4). Sleep disturbance was more frequently reported by CD subjects than controls (PSQI: 57% vs. 35%, p = 0.02) and in patients with active CD versus in remission state (PSQI 75.8% vs. 33.3%, p < 0.01; ESS: 45.5% vs. 19%, p = 0.03). Sleep parameters as measured by actigraphy and urine melatonin metabolite did not vary by group. Crohn’s patients report significantly more disturbed sleep than controls. However, poor sleep was not confirmed by objective measures of sleep quality. Excessive daytime sleepiness in CD patients may be driven by factors beyond objectively measured poor sleep.
Early-life heterologous rhinovirus infections induce an exaggerated asthma-like phenotype.

Background Early-life wheezing-associated respiratory tract infection by rhinovirus (RV) is a risk factor for asthma development. Infants are infected with many different RV strains per year. Objective We previously showed that RV infection of 6-day-old BALB/c mice induces a mucous metaplasia phenotype that is dependent on type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s). We hypothesized that early-life RV infection alters the response to subsequent heterologous infection, inducing an exaggerated asthma-like phenotype. Methods Wild-type BALB/c mice and Rorafl/flIl7rcre mice lacking ILC2s were treated as follows: (1) sham on day 6 of life plus sham on day 13 of life, (2) RV-A1B on day 6 plus sham on day 13, (3) sham on day 6 plus RV-A2 on day 13, and (4) RV-A1B on day 6 plus RV-A2 on day 13. Results Mice infected with RV-A1B at day 6 and sham at day 13 showed an increased number of bronchoalveolar lavage eosinophils and increased expression of IL-13 mRNA but not expression of IFN-γ mRNA (which is indicative of a type 2 immune response), whereas mice infected with sham on day 6 and RV-A2 on day 13 of life demonstrated increased IFN-γ expression (which is a mature antiviral response). In contrast, mice infected with RV-A1B on day 6 before RV-A2 infection on day 13 showed increased expression of IL-13, IL-5, Gob5, Muc5b, and Muc5ac mRNA; increased numbers of eosinophils and IL-13–producing ILC2s; and exaggerated mucus metaplasia and airway hyperresponsiveness. Compared with Rorafl/fl mice, Rorafl/flIl7rcre mice showed complete suppression of bronchoalveolar lavage eosinophils and mucous metaplasia. Conclusion Early-life RV infection alters the response to subsequent heterologous infection, inducing an intensified asthma-like phenotype that is dependent on ILC2s.
Australia Case: Revealing Creativity and 4-C Responses

This chapter describes creativity and accountability in Australia, probes how they align or conflict with accountability-based conceptions of creativity, and explains how education stakeholders at a culturally diverse public university in Sydney conceive creativity and accountability. Framing the creative intervention was the pedagogic research question, Can diverse college students and educators in Australia discover creativity when encouraged under educational constraint? University stakeholders were non-Indigenous and Indigenous students, lecturers, and leaders in the social sciences (humanities and education). Rooted in the Four C Model of Creativity, two undergraduate humanities classes engaged in brainstorming and creative activity. Responses from individuals were also gathered onsite in one-to-one conversations. Regarding creativity and the 4-Cs, primary themes originating across all informational sources and enriched by salient literature were (1) political and legal expression of Australian Indigenous causes; (2) environmental manifestations of protest, action, and pride; and (3) breakthroughs in technology, medicine, culture, and media. Crossover was evident among the three themes, with Indigenous issues favored by lecturers and leaders and environmental change by students. Perspectives elicited on educational creativity and accountability magnify the importance of culture in contemporary Australia. A description of concepts relevant to the literature provides a framework for this account.
The Impact of Acculturation on the Leadership Style of Afghan American Registered Nurses Working in the United States’ Healthcare System

The impact of acculturation on leadership style is an important topic for the global community, especially during stressful years of the Covid-19 pandemic. A quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive-correlational design using primary retrospective data was employed in this study. We used established instruments such as the Acculturation Rating Scale Questionnaire and the Leadership Style Questionnaire (LSQ) with 172 working adult respondents in the U.S. Health System as registered nurses. The results showed that Afghan male and female nurses tended to identify with the Afghan culture or the American culture, not both. Afghan male nurses’ relationship-oriented leadership was related to both Afghan and (more weakly) American acculturation (the more acculturation, the more relationship orientation).
Políticas internas de internacionalização do ensino superior: Um desafio à universidade contemporânea

The theme of the article is the internal policies of internationalization at a community university in the southern region of Brazil. The objective is to raise the debate on internal policies of internationalization of higher education. It is a qualitative research, which used data from a field diary in order to observe the situation of a community university in the southern region of Brazil, according to the stages of the process described by Stallivieri and the dilemmas found in each one. We point out the importance of planning and constant revaluation in the process of internationalization in higher education, in addition to attention to management indicators such as the development of global students attentive to interculturalism, foreign language learning, little investment and scarcity of programs and teacher training systems, cultural adaptation, incentive to network research and internationalization of the curriculum. We verified the relevance given by the institution researched for this topic, however, we indicate the best elaboration of some phases of internationalization and strong monitoring in the main themes: Teacher training; Difficulties in communication (language); Research and curriculum; Cultural adaptation.
Transcriptional and functional divergence in lateral hypothalamic glutamate neurons projecting to the lateral habenula and ventral tegmental area.

Summary The lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) regulates feeding- and reward-related behavior, but because of its molecular and anatomical heterogeneity, the functions of defined neuronal populations are largely unclear. Glutamatergic neurons within the LHA (LHAVglut2) negatively regulate feeding and appetitive behavior. However, this population comprises transcriptionally distinct and functionally diverse neurons that project to diverse brain regions, including the lateral habenula (LHb) and ventral tegmental area (VTA). To resolve the function of distinct LHAVglut2 populations, we systematically compared projections to the LHb and VTA using viral tracing, single-cell sequencing, electrophysiology, and in vivo calcium imaging. LHAVglut2 neurons projecting to the LHb or VTA are anatomically, transcriptionally, electrophysiologically, and functionally distinct. While both populations encode appetitive and aversive stimuli, LHb projecting neurons are especially sensitive to satiety state and feeding hormones. These data illuminate the functional heterogeneity of LHAVglut2 neurons, suggesting that reward and aversion are differentially processed in divergent efferent pathways.
App Problem Formulation

In this chapter, we give the reader an overview of problem formulation and its relationship to App development and how Operations Research and Computer Science strategies are helpful in constructing methodologies for their solution. See Figure below.
The Effects of Cold Work on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Intermetallic Strengthened Alumina-Forming Austenitic Stainless Steels

In order to achieve energy conversion efficiencies of >50 pct for steam turbines/boilers in power generation systems, materials are required that are both strong and corrosion-resistant at >973 K (700 °C), and economically viable. Austenitic steels strengthened with Laves phase, NiAl and Ni3Al precipitates, and alloyed with aluminum to improve oxidation resistance, are potential candidate materials for these applications. The microstructure and microchemistry of recently developed alumina-forming austenitic stainless steels have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Different thermo-mechanical treatments were performed on these steels to improve their mechanical performance. These reduced the grain size significantly to the nanoscale (~100 nm) and the room temperature yield strength to above 1000 MPa. A solutionizing anneal at 1473 K (1200 °C) was found to be effective for uniformly redistributing the Laves phase precipitates that form upon casting.
Advances in control networks and large-scale parallel distributed processing models

This volume is concerned with state-of-the-art developments in modelling control and processing in distributed networks. Contributions from researchers and practitioners in universities, private industry, and government are included. The main themes addressed include: the models and methodologies for distributed control and parallel distributed processing networks; feedback and control, distributed control and self-organization; model performance evaluation; texting of models and simulations; learning and memory; internodal communications and network flow; and information transmission and processing.
Analysis of a sugar maple tree core for monitoring environmental uranium contamination

Concentrations and isotopic ratios of metals in tree rings can be employed to resolve temporal changes in contamination, but few studies have explored the behavior of uranium (U). This study measured U abundance and isotopic compositions of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tree rings near the former Fernald Feed Materials Production Center (FFMPC), a U purification facility in Ohio. U concentrations, 235U/238U, and 234U/238U are generally consistent with known events in FFMPC history. Additionally, the outermost rings have compositions consistent with contemporary soil. These results suggest that sugar maple may be reliable for monitoring past and present environmental U contamination.