cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Increasing Tenderness of Beef Round and Sirloin Muscles Through Prerigor Skeletal Separations

Crossbred steers (n = 30) were used to explore and compare tenderness improvements in beef round and sirloin muscles resulting from various methods of prerigor skeletal separations. Animals were slaughtered according to industry procedures, and at 60 min postmortem one of six treatments was applied to each side: A) control, B) saw pelvis at the sirloin-round junction, C) separate the pelvic-femur joint, D) saw femur at mid-point, E) combination of B and C, and F) combination of B and D. After 48 h, the following muscles were excised from each side: semimembranosus, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and adductor from the round; vastus lateralis and rectus femoris from the knuckle; and gluteus medius, biceps femoris and psoas major from the sirloin. Following a 10-d aging period, samples were removed from each muscle to determine the effect of treatment on sarcomere length and Warner-Bratzler shear force. Most skeletal separation treatments resulted in longer sarcomeres than controls for semimembranosus, adductor, semitendinosus, and gluteus medius muscles. All skeletal separation treatments yielded shorter sarcomeres for the psoas major as compared with controls. Warner-Bratzler shear force differed among treatments for rectus femoris, semitendinosus, and psoas major. For rectus femoris, treatments C, D, E, and F resulted in lower (P < 0.05) shear values than for controls. Treatments B, D, and F increased shear force of the semitendinosus relative to controls (P < 0.05) within muscle. Treatment F resulted in higher shear force values for the PM than controls (P < 0.05). Correlations between sarcomere length and shear force were found to be low and quite variable among muscles. In general, treatments increased sarcomere length of several muscles from the sirloin/round region, but had mixed effects on shear force values.
ASPECTS OF MEASURING BACTERIAL ACTIVITIES IN THE DEEP OCEAN

Studies in deep sea biology commonly deal with depths well below the light-affected surface waters and the nutrient and temperature discontinuities of the thermocline. If the 1000 meter depth horizon is arbitrarily taken as the start of the deep sea, it still constitutes 75% of the ocean by volume and 88% by area. Of these figures, 0.1% and 0.2% respectively correspond to the deep sea trenches from 6000 meters to the greatest depth of approximately 11,000 meters. Although dependent on primary input of energy, carbon, and nutrients from surface water and land run-off, the deep sea contributes considerably by its sheer volume to the global biochemical cycles of elements. Much of this activity must be attributed to microorganisms, but their low and discontinuous rates of metabolism make direct measurements more difficult in the pelagic and deep ocean than in other parts of the biosphere.
Vision-Based UAV Navigation in Orchards*

Abstract: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are becoming increasingly common in agricultural applications. Currently, they are primarily used to fly over fields in open space. Navigation inside orchard-like environments remains challenging. We study the problem of orchard navigation with cameras on an aerial vehicle. We study both the controller and the vision component. For the vision component, we provide two methods for detecting orchard rows with frontal facing cameras. In the monocular case, we present a pipeline to extract the geometry of tree rows when there is a well defined path structure. In the binocular case, we present a depth-based navigation algorithm to extract the rows. For the controller component, we design a controller that uses both frontal and downward facing cameras and provides reliable performance even on the presence of strong wind disturbances.
Abstract 210: Thioredoxin-2 Inhibits Mitochondrial Ros Generation And Ask1 Activity To Maintain Cardiac Function

Background: Increasing evidence indicates that mitochondrial-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cellular apoptosis contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiac dysfunction. Mitochondrial thioredoxin (Trx2) is a key protein regulating cellular redox and survival, However, but its role in normal cardiac growth has not been determined. Methods and Results: We have generated cardiac-specific Trx2 knockout mice (Trx2-cKO) to determine the physiological importance of the Trx2 system in the heart. Trx2-cKO mice developed a spontaneous dilated cardiomyopathy at 1 month of age with increased heart size, fibrosis, reduced ventricular wall thickness, and progressive contractile dysfunction, resulting in death due to heart failure by 4 months of age. Cardiac changes in Trx2-cKO mice were accompanied by disruption of mitochondrial integrity and function, as evident by alterations in mitochondrial number, ultrastructure, membrane potential and ATP production. Increases in ASK1 signaling and ROS production preceded mitochondrial damage, cellular apoptosis and contractile dysfunction in both Trx2-cKO hearts and isolated cardiomyocytes. Moreover, deletion of ASK1 attenuates ROS production, mitochondrial dysfunction and cellular apoptosis in Trx2-deficient cardiomyocytes. These data indicate that ASK1 is a major target of Trx2 and that activation of ASK1 is causally associated with mitochondrial dysfunction, ROS production and cellular apoptosis. We also detected reduced Trx2 expression and increased ASK1 activity in human hearts from patients with cardiomyopathy, suggesting that this mechanism is clinically important. Conclusion: Our data support an essential role for mitochondrial Trx2 in preserving cardiac function by suppressing mitochondrial ROS production and ASK1-dependent apoptosis. These results suggest that pharmacological inhibition of ASK1 may provide a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure.
Variable Ocean Structure

The most important development since the Tokyo meeting is a growing appreciation of mesoscale variability in the oceans; the “DC” (or zero frequency) circulation accounts for only 1% of the geostrophic kinetic energy; nearly all of the kinetic energy is contained in scale lengths of a few hundred kilometers and scale times of a few months.
Phase equilibria and crystal chemistry in the ternary system BaO-TiO2-Nb2O5. II: New barium polytitanates with <5 mole% Nb2O5

Abstract Four new compounds were found in the BaO-TiO 2 -Nb 2 O 5 system, each containing 2 O 5 . Ba 6 Ti 14 Nb 2 O 39 is an 8-layer orthorhombic phase, Cmc2 1 Cmc2 1 .a = 17.138(.011), b = 9.868(.011), c = 18.759(.010)A˚. The other three phases have similara andb parameters (a mon ≈ b orth ≈ 9.9A˚, b mon ≈ a orth ≈ 17A˚). Ba 14 Ti 40 Nb 2 O 99 is a 20-layer orthorhombic phase, Cmc *, withc ≈ 46.86A˚. Ba 10 Ti 28 Nb 2 O 72 is a 7-layer monoclinic phase, C2m, c ≈ 16.72A˚, β ≈ 101.2°. Ba 18 Ti 54 Nb 2 O 132 is a 13-layer monoclinic phase, C2m, c ≈ 30.65A˚, β ≈ 96°. The compositions were derived by analogy to the layers in Ba 4 Ti 13 O 30 and Ba 6 Ti 17 O 40 and are consistent with limited phase equilibria data.
Advanced optimization strategies for integrated dynamic process operations

Abstract Modern approaches for dynamic optimization trace their inception to Pontryagin's Maximum Principle 60 years ago. Since then the application of large-scale nonlinear programming strategies has been extended to deal with challenging real-world process optimization problems. This study discusses and demonstrates the effectiveness of dynamic optimization on three case studies on real-world chemical processes. In the first case, we consider the optimal design of runaway reactors, where simulation models may lead to unbounded profiles for many choices of design and operating conditions. As a result, optimization based on repeated simulations typically fails, and a simultaneous, equation-based approach must be applied. Second, we consider optimal operating policies for grade transitions in polymer processes. Modeled as an optimal control problem, we demonstrate how incorporation of product specification bands leads to multi-stage formulations that greatly improve process performance and significantly reduce off-grade product. Third, we consider an optimization strategy for the integration of scheduling and dynamic process operation for general continuous/batch processes. The method introduces a discrete time formulation for simultaneous optimization of scheduling and operating decisions. Finally, we provide a concise summary of directions and challenges for future extension of these optimization formulations and solution strategies.
Demographic Diversity and Goal Setting

Previous studies on demographic diversity have yielded inconsistent results with respect to several individual and organizational outcomes. We propose that job characteristics will be beneficial to...
Using fragment based drug discovery to target epigenetic regulators in cancer

Cancer is associated with epigenetic changes such as abnormal DNA methylation and histone tail modifications and these changes result in tumor suppressor gene silencing oncogene overexpression and genome instability phenomena that are closely linked to cancer development The epigenetic marks on DNA and histones are reversible and therefore it is possible to restore normal patterns through chemically targeting epigenetic regulators that generate maintain recognize and remove these marks In recent years fragment based drug discovery FBDD has been used to target both the protein protein interactions PPI as well as the enzymatic functions of epigenetic factors Low molecular weight fragments MW lt efficiently sample chemical space and can bind to discreet binding pockets on target proteins such as those found on PPI interface In this review we describe the biophysical biochemical and in silico methods used for FBDD We also discuss the examples of using FBDD to target epigenetic readers such as bromodomain containing proteins and epigenetic enzymes such as arginine methyltransferases PRMT lysine demethylase KDM and Sirtuin SIRT FBDD provides an economical alternative to traditional high throughput screening The effective FBDD endeavors depend heavily on gaining structural information of ligand protein interactions early on and the close collaboration between biophysicists chemists and biologists in all stages of the drug discovery process Using FBDD protein protein interactions in non enzymatic epigenetic factors can potentially be chemically modulated Furthermore FBDD enables the identification of new binding pockets that can improve compound specificity against various epigenetic enzymes
Down on your luck: cardiomyopathy precipitated by a bar fight

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is characterized by transient loss of systolic function in the absence of coronary artery disease. It is significantly more common in post-menopausal women and is typically brought on by intense emotional stress. Pathophysiology is not completely elucidated, but it appears to be related, in part, to excess catecholamine; this results in coronary artery vasospasm, ischemia and eventual ventricular dysfunction. Patient presentation can vary widely, but typically presents similar to acute coronary syndrome. Management involves acute stabilization and monitoring, as well as guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure. We report a very unique case of a healthy male patient presenting with nonanginal symptoms of racing heart, who was found to have cardiomyopathy following a physical encounter. This case serves to bring into awareness that intense physical encounters may be sufficient to induce cardiomyopathy without presenting angina.
The impact of NOx emissions from lightning on the production of aviation-induced ozone

Abstract Due to the non-linear nature of ozone production in the troposphere, ozone production as a function of aviation nitrogen oxide (NOx = NO + NO2) emissions varies based on the background NOx levels. Of the several different sources of background NOx in the atmosphere, NOx from lightning (LNOx) contributes a substantial amount of NOx to the upper troposphere and has an effect on the ozone production efficiency, even though the LNOx source still has significant uncertainty. In this study, CAM5, the atmospheric component of the Community Earth System Model (CESM), was used to study the effect of uncertainties in NOx emissions from lightning on the production of aviation-induced ozone. Three sensitivity studies were analyzed with varying LNOx values of 3.7, 5, and 7.4 TgN/yr, representing the best current range estimates for LNOx. Results show a decrease in the aviation-induced ozone production rate and radiative forcing (RF) as LNOx increases. This is tied to the decreased ozone production under NOx saturated conditions. The ozone production per unit of NOx emission from lightning ranges from 2.38 TgO3/TgN for the case with 3.7 TgN from lightning to 0.97 TgO3/TgN for the case with 7.4 TgN from lightning. Similarly, the O3 RF decreases from 43.9 mW/m2 for the 3.7 TgN/yr case to 34.3 mW/m2 for 7.4 TgN/yr case. Understanding the current sensitivity of aviation-induced ozone production to the LNOx strength is important for reducing the uncertainty in ozone production from aviation NOx emissions.
Asymmetry of Membrane Functions in Transporting Cells

The necessity for all cells to regulate solute transfer across their limiting membranes arises from the requirements for maintaining internal composition, for extracting nutrients from the surrounding medium, and for excreting metabolic end products. In addition, as cells become organized into structures of greater complexity, they must assume progressively more specialized functions. The function to be considered here is that of transport across epithelial cell layers.
Relative importance of lizards and mammals as hosts for ixodid ticks in northern California.

Lizards and mammals were trapped and examined for ticks from August 1992 to June 1993 in two habitat types, chaparral and woodland-grass, in northern California. Five tick species were collected from mammals (Dermacentor occidentalis, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, Ixodes pacificus, I. spinipalpis, I. woodi), but only I. pacificus was found on lizards. Dermacentor occidentalis, I. pacificus, and I. woodi occurred in both habitats, whereas H. leporispalustris and I. spinipalpis were found only on animals trapped in chaparral. The tick species most commonly encountered on mammals was D. occidentalis in chaparral and I. pacificus in woodland-grass. Peak infestation of mammals occurred in spring for I. pacificus immatures and H. leporispalustris, summer for D. occidentalis immatures, fall through spring for I. woodi immatures, and fall through winter for I. spinipalpis. The primary aim of the study was to quantify the relative importance of the western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), which is reservoir-incompetent for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.), and mammalian B.burgdorferi s.l.-reservoirs as hosts for the immature stages of I. pacificus in spring. The estimated relative utilization by I. pacificus of the western fence lizard versus mammals was 88% for larvae and 99% for nymphs in chaparral in May. When tick infestation data were corrected for a two-fold lower efficiency of field examinations for rodents than for lizards, the western fence lizard still accounted for 78% of larval and 98% of nymphal feedings. In woodland-grass, 46% of 100 I. pacificus larvae and 100% of 52 nymphs recovered from mammals or western fence lizards during May-June were collected from the lizards. However, this may represent an underestimate of the importance of the western fence lizard as a larval host in this habitat because inclement weather during the late May sampling period doubtless resulted in significantly decreased lizard activity. In conclusion, the western fence lizard was more heavily utilized by I. pacificus immatures, especially nymphs, than were rodents.
Bayesian Multiple QTL Mapping

So far we have learned the least-squares method, the weighted least squares method, and the maximum likelihood method for QTL mapping. These methods share a common problem in handlingmultiple QTL, that is, the problem ofmulticollinearity. Therefore, a model can include only a few QTL. Recently, Bayesian method has been developed for mapping multiple QTL (Satagopan et al. 1996; Heath 1997; Sillanpaa and Arjas 1998; Sillanpaa and Arjas 1999; Xu 2003; Yi 2004; Wang et al. 2005b; Yi and Shriner 2008).
Threat and the Tribal Self

We see much of the world of politics today as TRIBAL, but this is truer and a part of our genetic makeup than we actually realize. We are not genetically built for living alone. Our tendency to form strong social groups is one of the most fundamental adaptive aspects of human survival. Those humans whose genes disposed them to solitude would have never survived in the harsh environmental landscape with animals many times fiercer and stronger than humans, in times of scarcity of food sources, or the threat of other warring tribes. Evolutionary pressures led to adaptions toward being cooperative, following group norms, being loyal, and being open to sharing resources. At the same time, they signal our fear of outsiders and strong in-group versus out-group aspects of our human nature which cause us to respond with aggression and violence.
Outcomes of biliary stents in advanced pancreatic cancer in the era of improved systemic therapy.

e15233 Background: In advanced pancreatic cancer (PC) patients (pts), different types of biliary stents are used to address biliary obstruction. Since 2010, a new standard of care for good performa...
Personalized incentives for promoting sustainable travel behaviors

Abstract We develop a personalized system to modify individual travel behaviors by offering personalized incentives. Individual preferences are learned to provide personalized incentives so that the promoted alternative is likely accepted. Using knowledge from control theories and state estimation, we model travelers’ choice-making behaviors with the random utility theory and responses from the individuals are mined by a particle filter for learning individual preferences to promote sustainable behaviors. The discrete nature of travel behavior naturally leads to limited observability. We overcome this problem by designing a measurement function from which additional information can be solicited. Additionally, the inherent trade-offs between factors that affect travel choices result in an infinite set of solutions. We thus propose two solutions: (1) the divide and conquer strategy in which a multi-dimensional conditional probability function is proposed; and (2) use of domain knowledge to restrict that preference values fall in certain ranges and are consistent with certain distributions. The performance of preference learning with these two solutions applied is shown via simulation tests and an online experiment involving human participants. For departure time choices, we show an average acceptance ratio of 0.68 for all participants when being promoted with alternatives with personalized incentives. We also show that changes in individual departure time choices will lead to 48% reduction in total travel time on a simple transportation network.
Left Out: Notes on Absence, Nothingness and the Black Prisoner Theorist

Despite his incarceration in 1961 on a one-year-to-life sentence, George Jackson was a prolific Marxist theorist, with two books published. His autobiographical epistolary text Soledad Brother, published the year before his death in 1971, contains letters to family, friends, and supporters that are at once deeply personal and broadly theoretical. These letters consider and analyze the ways that he finds himself (re)captured and thus caught in the machinery of the US- American carceral apparatus. Jackson’s theory of revolutionary politics, linked to American and global struggles against imperialism, was of particular interest to Gilles Deleuze, whose conceptualization of the Line of Flight is furnished by a crucial quotation of Jackson’s: “I may run, but all the time that I am, I’ll be looking for a stick” (328). This quotation from Soledad Brother, with minor variations, winds through Deleuze’s collaborative oeuvre, from Anti-Oedipus with Felix Guattari to Dialogues II with Claire Parnet, and forms a key aspect of the notion of the line of flight, which has been further mobilized by recent scholars. Despite the importance of this quotation, it goes uncited throughout all of Deleuze’s work, in all editions, in multiple languages, in both print and digital mediums. There is no included bibliographic information and no editor’s note or translator’s note as to why this is the case. The reference is simply absent, with its most glaring absence in the bibliography of Anti-Oedipus. Using this absence as a point of departure this paper will consider Jackson, and by extension Black/Prisoner beings, as disavowed theoreticians, whose contributions cannot be considered. Further, I argue that this ‘leaving out’ is a critical aspect of both prisoner status and its linkage to Blackness, reflected in the ways that Jackson is bound to both (non)positions. In hope of maintaining the integrity of the absence in Anti-Oedipus, this paper will further interrogate the meaning of such an absence, and the parasitic relation of something to nothing and the uncitability of Black prisoner as theorist.
Weakly immunogenic CRISPR therapies.

Orthologues of CRISPR-associated proteins and of viral vectors evade immune recognition in mice, enabling repeated gene therapy.
Chapter 43 – Androgens: Receptor Expression and Steroid Action in Bone

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on androgens, which have important beneficial effects on skeletal development and on the maintenance of bone mass in both men and women. They influence growth plate maturation and closure and help to determine longitudinal bone growth during development. They also participate in the dichotomous regulation of bone mass that leads to a sexually dimorphic skeleton, modulate peak bone mass acquisition, and inhibit bone loss. In castrate animals, replacement with nonaromatizable androgens such as dihydrotestosterone yields beneficial effects that are clearly distinct from those observed with estrogen replacement. In intact females, blockade of the androgen receptor with the specific androgen receptor antagonist hydroxyflutamide results in osteopenia. The androgen receptor is a member of the class I receptor superfamily. These steroid receptors are ligand-inducible transcription factors with a highly conserved modular design consisting of transactivation, DNA binding, and ligand-binding domains. As lipids, androgenic steroids can diffuse freely through the plasma membrane to bind the androgen receptor. Once bound by ligand, the androgen receptor is activated and released from this protein complex, allowing the formation of homodimers (or potentially heterodimers) that bind to DNA at palindromic androgen response elements (AREs) in androgen responsive gene promoters. DNA binding of the activated androgen receptor organizes a cascade of events in the nucleus, leading to transcription and translation of a specific network of genes that is responsible for the cellular response to the steroid. The effects of androgens are particularly dramatic during growth in boys, but almost certainly play an important role during this period in girls as well.
Adherence to fair trade policies a step in the right direction

The Academy is truly a ground-up, grass-roots organization! Our resolution process is but one example. ![Figure][1] Dr. Berkelhamer Each year, the Academy's leadership gathers at our Annual Leadership Forum (ALF) and considers resolutions that have been brought forward by individual
Random search for learning the linear quadratic regulator.

Many emerging applications involve control of systems with unknown dynamics. As a result, model-free random search techniques that directly search over the space of parameters have become popular. These algorithms often exhibit a competitive sample complexity compared to state-of- the-art techniques. However, due to the nonconvex nature of the underlying optimization problems, the convergence behavior and statistical properties of these approaches are poorly understood. In this paper, we examine the standard linear quadratic regulator problem for continuous-time systems with unknown state-space parameters. We establish theoretical bounds on the sample complexity and prove the linear convergence rate of the random search method.
Review of Shaw (2019): Gesture in multiparty interaction

This article reviews Gesture in multiparty interaction by Emily Shaw 978-1-944838-43-0978-1-944838-44-7USD 80.00 / € 75.00
Molecular-scale origins of wettability at petroleum-brine-carbonate interfaces.

Wettability control of carbonates is a central concept for enhanced petroleum recovery, but a mechanistic understanding of the associated molecular-scale chemical processes remains unclear. We directly probe the interface of calcium carbonate (calcite) with natural petroleum oil, synthetic petroleum analogues, and aqueous brines to understand the molecular scale behavior at this interface. The calcite–petroleum interface structure is similar whether or not calcite was previously exposed to an aqueous brine, and is characterized by an adsorbed interfacial layer, significant structural changes within the calcite surface, and increased surface roughness. No evidence for an often-assumed thin-brine wetting layer at the calcite–petroleum interface is observed. These features differ from those observed at the calcite–brine interface, and for parallel measurements using model synthetic petroleum mixtures (consisting of representative components, including dodecane, toluene, and asphaltene). Changes to the interface after petroleum displacement by aqueous brines are also discussed.
Coral-Pie: A Geo-Distributed Edge-compute Solution for Space-Time Vehicle Tracking

We present a distributed system architecture which is scalable by design for cross-camera vehicle tracking at video ingestion time dubbed Coral-Pie. To meet the latency bounds for timely processing of every frame at each camera, we associate dedicated low-cost computational resource for each camera, which consists of two Raspberry Pi 3B+'s and one Coral Accelerator (EdgeTpu). The end-to-end system generates and stores the tracks in a graph database for easy querying. We use the Cloud-Edge-Device continuum to appropriately place the components of the distributed system architecture. Using the timing profiles of the sub-tasks involved in the continuous processing that needs to happen on every frame in each camera, we map the elements of the processing onto the computational resource associated with each camera. Performance evaluation of the proof-of-concept system is conducted using live streams from five campus cameras. The evaluation includes microbenchmarks as well as application level studies. The controlled experiments using live cameras are augmented with a simulation-based study to show the self-healing property of the system and the system scalability.
DAVE: Dynamic Adaptive Video Encoding for Real-time Video Streaming Applications

Real-time video streaming applications have become tremendously popular in recent years, such as remote control and video conferencing applications. A key characteristic that differentiates these applications from traditional live streaming applications is that these applications have a very low-latency requirement for interactivity. The stricter low-latency requirement brings many challenges: the video has to be encoded in a real-time manner; the substantial resources on the server or cloud cannot be utilized for encoding; and the adaptation strategies in live streaming applications are not adequate for real-time video streaming, such as adaptive bitrate selection (ABR). In addition, the video perceptual quality of current real-time video streaming systems is usually sacrificed to meet the very low-latency requirement.To address these challenges, in this paper, a new real-time video streaming protocol, DAVE (Dynamic Adaptive Video Encoding for real-time video streaming applications), is proposed. In the proposed real-time video streaming system, captured video frames are encoded with different configurations. Since the video encoding configuration determines the video data size, quality, and encoding time, we first conduct an experimental study on the impact of each configuration parameter. Based on our experimental findings, we then propose a super resolution based video encoding configuration selection algorithm which does not use a fixed strategy to determine the encoding configurations as in existing real-time video streaming systems but uses a reinforcement learning based model to learn the optimal video encoding configuration that includes the configuration of both regular video encoding parameters and the up-scale of super resolution models. As a result, DAVE can optimize the performance of real-time video streaming systems based on user Quality of Experience (QoE) metrics. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that incorporates super resolution and reinforcement learning in the protocol design for real-time video streaming systems. Extensive evaluations show that DAVE can substantially improve the video perceptual quality by 15% and can also reduce the end-to-end latency by 20%, as compared with existing systems1.
Abdominal Pain in the Elderly Patient: Point-of-care Ultrasound Diagnosis of Small Bowel Obstruction.

Author(s): Hussein, Ahmad; Arena, Alexander; Yu, Connie; Cirilli, Angela; Kurkowski, Ellen | Abstract: Case Presentation: A 67-year-old female presented to the emergency department (ED) complaining of generalized abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) demonstrated dilated bowel loops measuring up to 4.1 centimeters and localized free fluid, consistent with a small bowel obstruction (SBO). A nasogastric tube was placed without complications. The patient was admitted to the hospital and conservatively managed with an uncomplicated course. Discussion: In elderly patients with abdominal pain, POCUS is an excellent initial imaging modality to assist emergency physicians in rapid and accurate diagnosis of a variety of pathologies to expedite management. Point-of-care ultrasound can be used to rule out and evaluate for conditions encountered in emergency medicine, including acute cholecystitis, renal colic, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and intraperitoneal free fluid. As demonstrated in our case presentation, POCUS had an integral role in the early diagnosis and management of a SBO.
eHealth Literacy of 2-Year and 4-Year College Students: Implications for Health Education in a Post-Truth Era

The COVID-19 pandemic and simultaneous ?infodemic? have amplified the need for electronic health (eHealth) literacy, one?s ability to find, evaluate, and apply online health information to make health decisions. To date, only a few studies have examined eHealth literacy among U.S. college students. The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the eHealth literacy of students attending 4-year and 2-year colleges in the Pacific Northwest. A purposeful sample of 781 college students enrolled in nonhealth- and health-related programs completed an electronic version of the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS). Descriptive, bivariate, and logistical regression were used in the data analyses. Results showed that while there were no significant differences in composite scores by the demographic variables explored, differences on individual eHEALS items emerged between 2-year and 4-year college students, by the first-generation status, and by gender. First-generation students? mean scores were lower in all areas of eHealth literacy when compared with non-first-generation students. Chi-square tests revealed significant differences in first-generation students? perceived ability to know how (?2 = 5.4, p = .020) and where (?2 = 6.7, p = .010) to find health resources on the internet, as well as how to tell high-quality from low-quality health resources (?2 = 5.0, p = .025). Students who identified as male were more likely than females to agree that they are ?confident in using information from the internet to make health decisions? (p = .028). Our findings underscore the need to strengthen higher education curricula and pedagogy to improve students? eHealth literacy.
ELF3 mediates IL-1α induced differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells to inflammatory iCAFs.

Stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment regulate the immune landscape and tumor progression. Yet, the ontogeny and heterogeneity of reactive stromal cells within tumors is not well understood. Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts exhibiting an inflammatory phenotype (iCAFs) have been identified within multiple cancers, however mechanisms that lead to their recruitment and differentiation also remain undefined. Targeting these mechanisms therapeutically may be important in managing cancer progression. Here, we identify the ELF3 transcription factor as the canonical mediator of IL-1α-induced differentiation of prostate mesenchymal stem cells to an iCAF phenotype, typical of the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, IL-1α-induced iCAFs were subsequently refractive to TGF-β1 induced trans-differentiation to a myofibroblast phenotype (myCAF), another key carcinoma-associated fibroblast subtype typical of reactive stroma in cancer. Restricted trans-differentiation was associated with phosphorylation of the YAP protein, indicating that interplay between ELF3 action and activation of the Hippo pathway are critical for restricting trans-differentiation of iCAFs. Together, these data show that the IL-1α / ELF3 / YAP pathways are coordinate for regulating inflammatory carcinoma-associated fibroblast differentiation. © AlphaMed Press 2021 SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: The mechanisms determining the heterogeneity of stromal populations in the tumor microenvironment are poorly understood. The present study identifies ELF3 as an essential transcription factor in the differentiation of a key pro-inflammatory stromal cell type and identifies mesenchymal stem cells as a progenitor of inflammatory carcinoma-associated fibroblasts.
Dynamic Resting State Motor Network Connectivity of Neurotypical Children, the Groundwork for Network-Guided Therapy in Childhood Movement Disorders

Background: Normative childhood motor network resting-state fMRI effective connectivity is undefined, yet necessary for translatable dynamic resting-state network informed treatments in pediatric movement disorders. Method: Cross-spectral dynamic causal modelling of resting-state fMRI was investigated in 19 neurotypically developing 5-7-year-old children. Fully connected six-node motor network models were created for each hemisphere including primary motor cortex, striatum, subthalamic nucleus, globus pallidus internus, thalamus, and contralateral cerebellum. Parametric Empirical Bayes with exhaustive Bayesian model reduction and Bayesian modeling averaging were used to create a group model for each hemisphere; Purdue Pegboard Test (PPBT) scores for relevant hand motor behavior were also entered as a covariate at the group level to determine the brain-behavior relationship. Results: Overall, the resting-state functional MRI effective connectivity of motor cortico-basal ganglia-cerebellar networks was similar across hemispheres, with greater connectivity in the left hemisphere. The motor network effective connectivity relationships between the nodes were consistent and robust across subjects. Additionally, the PPBT score for each hand was positively correlated with the thalamus to contralateral cerebellum connection. Discussion: The normative effective connectivity from resting-state functional MRI in children largely reflect the direction of inter-nodal signal predicted by other prior modalities and was consistent and robust across subjects, with differences from these prior task-dependent modalities that likely reflect the motor rest-action state during acquisition. Effective connectivity of the motor network was correlated with motor behavior, indicating effective connectivity brain-behavior relationship has physiological meaning in the normally developing. Thus, it may be helpful for future studies in children with movement disorders, wherein comparison to normative effective connectivity will be critical for network-targeted intervention.
Body, Spirit and Ego in Husserl’s Ideas II

Husserl’s analysis of the relationship between the various dimensions which comprise the unity of the person differs radically from traditional discussions of this topic. Of all of his works, Ideas II reveals most clearly the uniqueness of his approach.1 This paper will first summarize Husserl’s study in this text of the interplay between animate body, spirit, and ego, and then reflect upon the implications of his refusal to consider the unity of these strata from within a global ontological perspective.
Depressed resilience of bluefin tuna in the western atlantic and age truncation

Following intense overfishing in the 1970s, the western stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) experienced a long period of depressed abundance, which has been attributed to failure of the population to periodically produce large numbers of juveniles, the western stock mixing with the more highly exploited eastern stock (fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea), and regime shift in the population's ecosystem resulting in lower replacement rates. To evaluate the presence of relatively strong years of juvenile production, we analyzed age structure from a recent sample of otoliths (ear stones) collected from the western stock (2011-2013, North Carolina, U.S.A., winter fishery). Mixing levels for the recent sample were analyzed using otolith stable isotopes to test whether age structure might be biased through immigration of eastern stock bluefin tuna. Age structure from historical samples collected from United States and Canadian fisheries (1975-1981) was compared with more recent samples (1996-2007) to examine whether demographic changes had occurred to the western stock that might have disrupted juvenile production. Relatively high juvenile production occurred in 2003, 2005, and 2006. Otolith stable isotope analysis showed that these recruitments were mostly of western stock origin. However, these high recruitments were >2-fold less than historical recruitment. We found substantial age truncation in the sampled fisheries. Half the historical sample was >20 years old (mean age = 20.1 [SD 3.7]; skewness = -0.3), whereas 20 years old (mean age = 13.4 [SD 3.8]; skewness = 1.3). Loss of age structure is consistent with changes in fishing selectivity and trends in the stock assessment used for management. We propose that fishing, as a forcing variable, brought about a threshold shift in the western stock toward lower biomass and production, a shift that emulates the regime shift hypothesis. An abbreviated reproductive life span compromised resilience by reducing the period over which adults spawn and thereby curtailing the stock's ability to sample year-to-year variability in conditions that favor offspring survival (i.e., storage effect). Because recruitment dynamics by the western stock exhibit threshold dynamics, returning it to a higher production state will entail greater reductions in exploitation rates.
Gender Differences in Family Stories: Moderating Influence of Parent Gender Role and Child Gender

One hundred and twenty families and their 4-year-old children participated in a study on family stories. The participants were primarily White (91%), with the remainder Black (4%), Hispanic (2%), and Asian (2%). The parents were primarily middle class and upper class, with approximately 5% identifying themselves as from a lower socioeconomic background. Parents were asked to tell their son or daughter stories about when the parent was growing up. All parents completed measures of child behavior and a subset of parents completed the Bem Sex Role inventory. Stories were coded for the strength of affiliation, achievement, and autonomy themes. No gender differences were found for parents or child in the strength of affiliation themes. Fathers told stories with stronger autonomy themes than did mothers, and sons were more likely to hear stories with themes of autonomy than were daughters. An interaction was found between gender type of parent and gender of child for strength of achievement theme. Traditional gender-typed parents told stories with stronger achievement themes to their sons, and nontraditional gender-typed parents told stories with stronger achievement themes to their daughters. Exploratory analyses were conducted examining the relations among story theme, parent gender type, and child behavior. Higher levels of externalizing behaviors were found in boys whose fathers endorsed strong masculine attitudes, but told stories with weak achievement themes. Higher levels of internalizing behaviors were found in girls whose mothers told stories with strong affiliation themes, but endorsed weak feminine attitudes. Family stories are proposed to be one aspect of socialization that includes an interaction between child and parent characteristics.
Motion artifact reduction in 4D helical CT: graph-based structure alignment

Four dimensional CT (4D CT) provides a way to reduce positional uncertainties caused by respiratory motion. Due to the inconsistencies of patient's breathing, images from different respiratory periods may be misaligned, thus the acquired 3D data may not accurately represent the anatomy. In this paper, we propose a method based on graph algorithms to reduce the magnitude of artifacts present in helical 4D CT images. The method strives to reduce the magnitude of artifacts directly from the reconstructed images. The experiments on simulated data showed that the proposed method reduced the landmarks distance errors from 2.7 mm to 1.5 mm, outperforming the registration methods by about 42%. For clinical 4D CT image data, the image quality was evaluated by the three medical experts and both of who identified much fewer artifacts from the resulting images by our method than from those by the commercial 4D CT software.
Dynamic programming in influence diagrams with decision circuits

Decision circuits perform efficient evaluation of influence diagrams, building on the advances in arithmetic circuits for belief network inference [Darwiche, 2003; Bhattacharjya and Shachter, 2007]. We show how even more compact decision circuits can be constructed for dynamic programming in influence diagrams with separable value functions and conditionally independent subproblems. Once a decision circuit has been constructed based on the diagram's "global" graphical structure, it can be compiled to exploit "local" structure for efficient evaluation and sensitivity analysis.
Design robustness assessment-a technical overview

Design robustness assessment (DRA) is a technique for quantifying the design robustness of electronics-based products through empirical testing. The DRA technique was developed and refined within IBM, and has been applied during the development phase of most IBM Personal System/2 products, including systems, options and peripherals. DRA has proven to be an effective technique for finding latent design problems and pinpointing areas that would benefit from application of robust design techniques. This paper provides a brief explanation of the DRA test process and explores the relationship between DRA results and design robustness. >
Social Policy Commitment in South America: the Effect of Organized Labor on Social Spending from 1980 to 2010

This paper studies the effect of organized labor on social policy commitment in Latin America. Contrary to the idea that unions are not expected to be major promoters of social state development due to being weakened by dictatorship and structural adjustment, I argue for the incorporation of this variable in statistical analysis of social spending. Through pooled time-series regressions of 10 South American countries from 1980 to 2010, this paper finds that union strength has a statistically significant and positive effect on social spending. This analysis also confirms that democracy and the concentration of power in the executive all have a significant effect with regard to predicting changes in the levels of social spending.
2-[3-(Methyl-diphenyl-silyl)prop-yl]isoindoline-1,3-dione.

In the title compound, C24H23NO2Si, the dihedral angle between the planes of the phenyl rings attached to the Si atom is 80.78 (10)°. In the crystal, the mol­ecules form sheets lying perpendicular to [101] via C—H⋯O inter­actions. These sheets are stacked and linked in a three-dimensional framework by additional C—H⋯O inter­actions in the [10\overline{1}] direction.
Excess photo-carriers and cumulative Auger effects in GaAs–Ge quantum wells for high efficiency p–i (qw)–n solar cells

Abstract We report on carrier photo-excitation in GaAs–Ge quantum wells in the intrinsic region of p–i–n solar cells. In the process of the analysis, we solve for diffused photo-carriers in the quantum wells. We propose a wide gap/narrow gap/∼ 1 eV-gap via quantum well/narrow gap solar cell design. Our device model overcomes mobility problems (as is the case of III–N–V currently studied designs) and capitalizes on thermal escape of excess photo-excited carriers from quantum wells. We include the only significant effect of recombination losses via Auger Cooling on photo-excited carriers in intrinsic quantum wells, as found in the middle region of p–i–n solar cells, along with interface losses. We derive an explicit account of photo-carriers in quantum wells as a strong function of device parameters, Auger cumulative effect via a coefficient cn as follows: δ n = n ph + n o , with n ph ∼ c n − 1 / 3 .
Risk factors for Central Line-associated Bloodstream Infections: A Focus on Comorbid Conditions

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) risk adjustment methods for central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) only adjust for type of intensive care unit (ICU). This cohort study explored risk factors for CLABSI using 2 comorbidity classification schemes, the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and the Chronic Disease Score (CDS). Our study supports the need for additional research into risk factors for CLABSI, including electronically available comorbid conditions.
Narrow QRS complex tachycardia with a high-frequency potential recorded near the His bundle: what is the mechanism?

44-year-old man was referred for diagnostic electrophysilogic study and possible radiofrequency ablation because f recurrent palpitations and ECG-documented narrow comlex tachycardia. Beta-blocker therapy provided partial but ot complete symptomatic relief. Resting ECG and echoardiography were normal. At electrophysiologic study, aseline atrio-His and His-ventricular intervals measured 57 s and 49 ms, respectively. Dual AV node physiology was ot observed. Retrograde atrial activation was concentric earliest activation at the His-bundle region), with retrorade block occurring at a pacing cycle length of 320 ms. rogrammed atrial extrastimulation repeatedly induced the atient’s clinical tachycardia, which had a septal VA interal of 129 ms and an identical atrial activation pattern as uring retrograde VA conduction (Figure 1). Tachycardia erminated spontaneously on multiple occasions (Figure 2). hat is the mechanism of tachycardia and its mode of ermination?