cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Innovations to Make Our Journal Better and More Child- and Family-Centered.

* Abbreviations: AAP — : American Academy of Pediatrics CME — : continuing medical education As pediatricians and editorial board members, we recognize the importance of partnering with families, and our journal is always looking for ways to promote such partnerships. Previously, this has been done through a wide range of articles, such as research articles, guidelines, and commentaries, in which researchers assessed how to develop partnerships to promote patient- and family-centered care. However, because the voices of patients and families are central to what we do, we decided this past year to go a step further by introducing a new section to Pediatrics entitled “Family Partnerships.” Articles for this section are coauthored by patients or family members and their health care professionals to illustrate the value in working together to address important and complex issues. Given the increasing volume of manuscripts we are receiving for this new section, we wondered if there was even more we could do to engage families. Because family participation is central to the conduct of research and improving care, we have begun to invite relevant members of the public, most of whom are not scientists, to help review articles for the patient-centered sections of our journal, such as our Family Partnerships articles. These public-member reviewers are given guidelines to review articles from their perspective to assess (1) how relevant or important the manuscript is, (2) whether the outcomes being studied are important, (3) what elements should be included or expanded on, and (4) whether suggestions within the manuscript are feasible. To initiate this … Address correspondence to Lewis R. First, MD, MS, Editor-in-Chief, Pediatrics Editorial Office, Department of Pediatrics, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, 89 Beaumont Ave, Given Courtyard S250, Burlington, VT 05405. E-mail: lewis.first{at}med.uvm.edu
Emergent Patterns of Creativity and Innovation in Early Technologies

Abstract Creativity and innovation are conventionally viewed as consequences of individual mental processes and actions. Certain time and places are also remarkable for the pace of culture change and variety of cultural accomplishments, whereas others appear quite static. From this second macroscopic perspective, creativity can be seen as an emergent property of large numbers of interactions among individuals. Palaeoanthropologists are in a much better position to study emergent forms of innovation than individual creativity. This chapter reviews recent research concerning the effects of demographic factors and network structures on diversity and rates of change in behaviour. These studies demonstrate that the sizes, stability and interconnectedness of past human populations could directly influence the development, spread and persistence of novel forms of behaviour. Demographic conditions and social strategies are thus likely to have influenced rates of culture change and the scale of diversity over the course of human evolution. From this perspective, creativity and innovation can be seen as having multiple origins, both causally and temporally.
Self-Organization of Spatial Representations and Arm Trajectory Controllers by Vector Associative Maps Energized by Cyclic Random Generators

This chapter describes some recent results about biological models of unsupervised, realtime, error-based learning. In particular, we describe a new model called a Vector Associative Map, or VAM, and illustrate it with examples drawn from the learning of multidimensional associative maps and adaptive sensory-motor control.
Learn or Exploit in Adversary Induced Markov Decision Processes

Our overarching goal is to model agent policies which are common in day to day life and are exploitable. A natural form of such an agent policy is a memory-bounded one where the agent only remembers a finite number of past samples of data to decide on its current action.
Brush stroke synthesis with a generative adversarial network driven by physically based simulation

We introduce a novel approach that uses a generative adversarial network (GAN) to synthesize realistic oil painting brush strokes, where the network is trained with data generated by a high-fidelity simulator. Among approaches to digitally synthesizing natural media painting strokes, physically based simulation produces by far the most realistic visual results and allows the most intuitive control of stroke variations. However, accurate physics simulations are known to be computationally expensive and often cannot meet the performance requirements of painting applications.In our work, we propose to replace the expensive fluid simulation with a neural network. The network takes the existing canvas and a new stroke trajectory as input and produces the height and color of the new stroke as output. We train the network with a dataset generated with a high quality offline simulator. The network is able to produce visual quality comparable to the offline simulator with better performance than the existing real-time oil painting simulator. Finally, we implement a real-time painting system using the trained network.
A Circularly-Polarized Horn Antenna with Tunable Handedness Using Chiral Metamaterial Loading

This paper presents a rectangular WR-187 waveguide horn antenna that utilizes chiral metamaterial loading in the mouth of the horn to achieve circular polarization. The handedness of the polarization is shown to be tunable within the operative frequency band through simple reorientation of the unit cells.
Serotonin Transporter Deficiency is Associated with Dysbiosis and Changes in Metabolic Function of the Mouse Intestinal Microbiome.

Serotonin transporter (SERT) plays a critical role in regulating extracellular availability of serotonin (5-HT) in the gut and brain. Mice with deletion of SERT develop metabolic syndrome as they age. Changes in the gut microbiota are being increasingly implicated in Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes. To investigate the relationship between the gut microbiome and SERT, this study assessed the fecal and cecal microbiome profile of 11 to 12 week-old SERT+/+ and SERT−/− mice. Microbial DNA was isolated, processed for metagenomics shotgun sequencing, and taxonomic and functional profiles were assessed. 34 differentially abundant bacterial species were identified between SERT+/+ and SERT−/−. SERT−/− mice displayed higher abundances of Bacilli species including genera Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Enterococcus, and Listeria. Furthermore, SERT−/− mice exhibited significantly lower abundances of Bifidobacterium species and Akkermansia muciniphilia. Bacterial community structure was altered in SERT−/− mice. Differential abundance of bacteria was correlated with changes in host gene expression. Bifidobacterium and Bacilli species exhibited significant associations with host genes involved in lipid metabolism pathways. Our results show that SERT deletion is associated with dysbiosis similar to that observed in obesity. This study contributes to the understanding as to how changes in gut microbiota are associated with metabolic phenotype seen in SERT deficiency.
Plant recognition via leaf shape and margin features

Botanists and foresters empirically determine plant categories mainly via visual features of leaves, e.g. leaf shape, leaf margin, leaf arrangement and leaf venation. The leaf shape and leaf margin can be captured easily with cheap devices. As a result, automatic plant recognition is generally based on leaf shape or margin features. In this paper, a set of features that depict leaf shape and margin are proposed to improve the performance of plant recognition. The proposed margin features utilize the area ratio to quantify the convexity/concavity of each contour point at different scales and such margin features are effective in capturing the global information and contour details. The area ratio is the ration of the disk to the inside of the contour. The proposed shape features use a combination of morphological features to characterize the global shape of the leaf, which has merits in preserving the geometric properties of leaf shape. Additionally, a series of multi-grained fusion methods that combine the margin feature and global shape feature are proposed as a better representation of a leaf. To validate the effectiveness and generalization, we evaluate our methods on two public datasets: Swedish Leaf dataset and ICL Leaf dataset. The experimental results show the superiority of our methods over state-of-the-art shape methods.
Frailty and Biomarkers of Frailty Predict Outcome in Veterans After Open and Endovascular Revascularization.

Abstract Background Frailty predicts poor outcome after vascular surgery. We determined the predictive utility of the modified frailty index (mFI) after first-time revascularization and identified biomarkers of frailty predictive of outcome in veterans with peripheral arterial disease. Methods A retrospective study was performed of first-time revascularizations (open surgery [OS] and endovascular surgery [ES]) in male veterans (2003-2016). Preoperative mFI scores were calculated, and serum and nonserum biomarkers of frailty were recorded. The primary endpoint was 2-y incidence of reintervention, amputation, and mortality. Secondary endpoints included 30-day morbidity and readmissions. Results Four hundred and thirty one patients (OS, n = 188; ES, n = 243), mean age of 66 ± 9 y, and 16 mo of median follow-up were studied. Mean mFI was 0.39 ± 0.16 for OS and 0.38 ± 0.15 for ES (P = 0.43). 30-day complications (adjusted odds ratio, 4.89; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.67-14.33) and readmissions (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 3.32; 95% CI: 1.16-9.55) were increased in the OS versus ES group when stratified by mFI. Survival analysis showed a correlation between risk of amputation, death, and composite outcome with increasing mFI (P Conclusions Frailty predicts short- and long-term outcomes after first-time revascularization in veterans. Hypoalbuminemia and anemia are associated with higher mFI and independently predict poor outcome, suggesting albumin and hemoglobin are viable biomarkers of frailty in veterans.
MÁS ALLÁ DEL RELOJ COMO MODELO DEL SER VIVO: LA DISTINCIÓN MÁQUINA NATURAL Y MÁQUINA ARTIFICIAL EN LEIBNIZ

Durante el siglo XVII, el reloj parece el modelo mas adecuado para pensar los seres vivos. El filosofo aleman G. W. Leibniz (1646-1716) es parte de la tradicion mecanicista que concibe los seres vivos a partir del modelo del reloj o de los automatas, pero establece una distincion esencial entre maquinas naturales y artificiales, que muestra los limites de este modelo. Las primeras son maquinas infinitamente complejas, maquinas dentro de maquinas ad infinitum, las segundas no, alcanzan un limite de complejidad. Esta distincion obliga a ir mas alla del reloj como modelo de los seres vivos, pues este modelo resulta insuficiente para comprender la dinamica propia de los seres vivos, en al menos dos aspectos: a) deja sin explicar el origen de la estructura o forma del ser vivo; b) no establece un principio interno de actividad que fundamente la unidad dinamica y estructural del ser vivo. Con su nocion de organismo o maquina natural, Leibniz intenta resolver estas insuficiencias del modelo puramente mecanico: a) en su propuesta el ser vivo no se constituye de manera mecanica o serial, sino de una vez, por un acto de creacion; b) la conservacion del ser vivo en el tiempo solo es comprensible a partir de un principio de actividad intrinseca que dota de unidad, actividad y estructura al viviente.
Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) in a swine model of hemorrhagic shock and blunt thoracic injury

While resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) is contraindicated in patients with aortic injuries, this technique may benefit poly-trauma patients with less extreme thoracic injuries. The purpose of this study was to characterize the effects of thoracic injury on hemodynamics during REBOA and the changes in pulmonary contusion over time in a swine model. Twelve swine were anesthetized, instrumented, and randomized to receive either a thoracic injury with 5 impacts to the chest or no injury. All animals underwent controlled hemorrhage of 25% blood volume followed by 45 min of Zone 1 REBOA. Animals were then resuscitated with shed blood, observed during a critical care period, and euthanized after 6 h of total experimental time. There were no differences between the groups at baseline. The only difference after 6 h was a lower hemoglobin in the thoracic trauma group (8.4 ± 0.8 versus 9.4 ± 0.6 g/dL, P = 0.04). The average proximal mean arterial pressures were significantly lower in the thoracic trauma group during aortic occlusion [103 (98–108) versus 117 (115–124) mmHg, P = 0.04]. There were no differences between the pulmonary contusion before REBOA and at the end of the experiment in size (402 ± 263 versus 356 ± 291 mL, P = 0.782) or density (− 406 ± 127 versus − 299 ± 175 HFU, P = 0.256). Thoracic trauma blunted the proximal arterial pressure augmentation during REBOA but had minimal impacts on resuscitative outcomes. This initial study indicates that REBOA does not seem to exacerbate pulmonary contusion in swine, but blunt thoracic injuries may attenuate the expected rises in proximal blood pressure during REBOA.
A Myocardial T1-Mapping Framework with Recurrent and U-Net Convolutional Neural Networks

Noise and aliasing artifacts arise in various accelerated cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging applications. In accelerated myocardial T1-mapping, the traditional three-parameter based nonlinear regression may not provide accurate estimates due to sensitivity to noise. A deep neural network-based framework is proposed to address this issue. The DeepT1 framework consists of recurrent and U-net convolution networks to produce a single output map from the noisy and incomplete measurements. The results show that DeepT1 provides noise-robust estimates compared to the traditional pixel-wise three parameter fitting.
Physical and chemical characteristics of blue and Engelmann spruce relative to spruce beetle host selection and colonization

Bark beetles are keystone species that can alter the structure and function of forested ecosystems, yet the mechanisms underlying host selection and successful colonization remain poorly understood for most species. Comparison of closely related tree species that vary in their susceptibility to bark beetles could provide insights into such mechanisms. Here, we compare physical and chemical characteristics of blue (Picea pungens Engelm.) and Engelmann (Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.) spruce, species rarely (blue) and frequently (Engelmann) selected and colonized by the spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis Kirby) in the western U.S. At three sites (Utah, U.S.) where these species co-occur, 15 trees of each species were selected and traits important for bark beetle survival and population dynamics were measured and compared (bark and phloem thickness, resin flow, phloem and volatile chemistry, beetle landing and colonization success). There were significant differences in bark and phloem thickness and resin flow between species. Bark was thicker and phloem was thinner in blue spruce than Engelmann spruce whereas resin flow was highly variable but greater in blue spruce. Concentrations of within-phloem terpenes in blue spruce were more than double those for Engelmann spruce. Engelmann spruce foliage emitted greater concentrations of volatiles than blue spruce. Spruce beetles landed at higher rates on baited Engelmann spruce than baited blue spruce, and Engelmann spruce was more likely to be colonized. Collectively, these results suggest that blue spruce is a less suitable host for spruce beetle than Engelmann spruce due to a combination of factors including: thicker bark, thinner phloem, higher resin flow, lower concentrations of volatile terpenes, and higher concentrations of constitutive terpenes in phloem tissue, several which are known to be toxic to spruce beetles.
Associative Phase Separation of Aqueous π-Conjugated Polyelectrolytes Couples Photophysical and Mechanical Properties

The associative phase separation of water-soluble polyelectrolytes is important across many different fields including food science, biomedicine, materials science, and prebiotic organization. Spec...
A global timing mechanism regulates cell-type specific wiring programs

The assembly of neural circuits is dependent upon precise spatiotemporal expression of cell recognition molecules. Factors controlling cell-type specificity have been identified, but how timing is determined remains unknown. Here we describe the induction of a cascade of transcription factors by a steroid hormone (Ecdysone) in all fly visual system neurons spanning target recognition and synaptogenesis. We demonstrate through single cell sequencing that the Ecdysone pathway regulates the expression of a common set of targets required for synaptic maturation and cell-type specific targets enriched for cell surface proteins regulating wiring specificity. Transcription factors in the cascade regulate the expression of the same wiring genes in complex ways, including activation in one cell-type and repression in another. We show that disruption of the Ecdysone-pathway generates specific defects in dendritic and axonal processes and synaptic connectivity, with the order of transcription factor expression correlating with sequential steps in wiring. We also identify shared targets of a cell-type specific transcription factor and the Ecdysone pathway which regulate specificity. We propose neurons integrate a global temporal transcriptional module with cell-type specific transcription factors to generate different cell-type specific patterns of cell recognition molecules regulating wiring.
Origins of the European Economy: Communications and Commerce AD 300–900

Commerce, communications and the origins of the European economy Part I. The End of the World: 1. The end of the ancient world 2. Late Roman industry: case studies in decline 3. Land and river communications in late antiquity 4. Sea change in late antiquity The end of the ancient economy: a provisional balance sheet Part II. People on the Move 5. A few western faces 6. Two hundred more envoys and pilgrims: group portrait 7. Byzantine faces 8. Easterners heading west: group portrait 9. Traders, slaves, and exiles People on the move Part III. Things that Travelled: 10. Hagiographical horizons: collecting exotic relics in early medieval France 11. 'Virtual' coins and communications 12. 'Real money': Arab and Byzantine coins around Carolingian Europe Things on the move Part IV. The Patterns of Change: 13. The experience of travel 14. Secular rhythms: communications over time 15. Seasonal rhythms 16. Time under way 17. 'Spaces of sea': Europe's western Mediterranean communications 18. Venetian breakthrough: Europe's central Mediterranean communications 19. New overland routes The patterns of change Part V. Commerce: 20. Early medieval trading worlds 21. Where are the merchants?: Italy 22. Merchants and markets of Frankland 23. Connections 24. Where are the wares?: eastern imports to Europe 25. European exports to Africa and Asia At the origins of the European economy Appendices Bibliography.
Beyond Biomechanics: Bone Strength Properties of Obese Adults

In the anthropological literature, obesity has primarily been associated with changes in the weight bearing bones of the lower limb and spine, attributed to local biomechanical responses. Yet, a na...
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and Underfunding Risks of Private Sector Single-Employer Defined Benefit Plans

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ("PBGC") insures single-employer pensions of over 34 million private sector workers covering nearly 30,000 employer-sponsored defined benefit ("DB") pension plans. Established in 1974 by the Employee Retirement Incomes Security Act ("ERISA") as a self-financing government corporation, the PBGC's primary responsibility is to insure, under statutory limits, the pension benefits of participants in qualified DB plans. In recent years, an increase in underfunded plan terminations has impacted both the number of plan participants receiving benefit payments and PBGC's funding liabilities. At the end of fiscal 2007, the PBGC reported a $14.1 billion deficit. Deficits are projected to continue according to 10-year forecasting models as a result of financial market volatility, increased funding shortfalls, and a projected surge in plan terminations as companies eliminate defined benefits.
Exercise physiology of normal development, sex differences, and aging.

The scientific study of human development has evolved from studies of children to studies of the full lifespan. Many physiological changes occur throughout the lifespan and unique changes occur during normal development compared to healthy aging. An enlarging body of data supports the idea that there exist critical periods of development during which physiological perturbations to the internal milieu (e.g., disease or physical activity) can alter the overall programming of developmental processes. Although different physiological functions decline with age with widely varying rates, the aging changes accumulated throughout the physiological systems reduce the capacity to cope with the stress and maintain homeostasis. The understanding of this process of development and aging is complicated by important physiologic sex differences with regard to nearly all physiological systems. Regular physical activity can favorably modulate this developmental and aging process and can have important health benefits. However, a physically inactive lifestyle can markedly impair normal development and lead to numerous diseases. Life-long physical activity is essential for preserving or delaying the onset of functional disability and chronic cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
An Analysis of Bidding Activity in Online Auctions

Online auctions are rapidly becoming one of the significant forms of electronic commerce to buy and sell goods and services. This form of electronic commerce has unique workflows that do not exist in other forms of e-commerce infrastructures. Bidding activity is one of the most important transactions in online auction sites and trends within bidding activity can be used to design business-oriented metrics and resource management techniques specific to online auction sites. This paper provides an analysis of bidding activity of online auction sites including i) popularity of bidders, sellers, and winners, ii) bidding activity within different auction price ranges, and iii) arrival rate of new bidders and bidding activity within groups of auctions with the same unique number of bidders.
Entropy and volume as measures of orbit complexity

Topological entropy and volume growth of smooth disks are considered as measures of the orbit complexity of a smooth dynamical system. In many cases, topological entropy can be estimated via volume growth. This gives methods of estimating dynamical invariants of transient and attracting sets and may apply to time series.
Primary Tumor Tissue Lysates Are Enriched in Heat Shock Proteins and Induce the Maturation of Human Dendritic Cells

Upon exposure to lysates or supernatants of necrotic transformed cell lines, human dendritic cells (DCs) undergo maturation. In contrast, DCs exposed to apoptotic transformed cell lines or necrotic lysates of primary cells remain immature. Analysis of supernatants of necrotic transformed cell lines showed them to be enriched in the heat shock proteins (hsp)70 and gp96, in contrast to supernatants of primary cells. Likewise, cells from a variety of primary human tumors contained considerably higher levels of hsp than their normal autologous tissue counterparts. Of the majority of human tumors enriched in hsps (hsp70 and/or gp96), their corresponding lysates matured DCs. The maturation effect of tumor cell lysates was abrogated by treatment with boiling, proteinase K, and geldanamycin, an inhibitor of hsps, suggesting that hsps rather than endotoxin or DNA were the responsible factors. Supporting this idea, highly purified, endotoxin-depleted hsp70, induced DC maturation similar to that seen with standard maturation stimuli LPS and monocyte conditioned medium. These results suggest that the maturation activity inherent within tumor cells and lines is mediated at least in part by hsps. The release of hsps in vivo as a result of cell injury should promote immunity through the maturation of resident DCs.
Study of UHF RFID signal propagation through complex media

This paper shows how the propagation effects encountered in commercial RFID systems can all explained and predicted from fundamental electromagnetic propagation principles. The paper also shows that consideration of reflections and product dimensions are important for liquid and dielectric materials as well since much of the power loss occurs at the interface between air and the medium. The quantitative approach outlined in this paper can have an important impact on understanding the behavior of UHF RFID systems and optimizing performance
CLOSURE TO "RETROFIT OF REINFORCED CONCRETE COLUMNS USING PARTIALLY STIFFENED STEEL JACKETS" BY YAN XIAO AND HUI WU

In this closure, original authors, Xiao and Wu reply to a discussion of their research (2003) in which they introduced an improved steel jacketing method to retrofit reinforced concrete columns with a square or rectangular section for enhanced strength and improved ductility. In the commentary, Hussain and Driver highlighted several assumptions made in the original research that cast doubt on the appropriateness of the procedures outlined by Xiao and Wu. In the view of the discussers, in the development of the procedure for proportioning the jacket stiffeners, several simplifying assumptions were made in the paper with little accompanying discussion. Xiao and Wu respond by commenting on three issues: equivalent confinement pressure, assumptions used in the proposed approach, and the economics of retrofit measures. Xiao and Wu also note that the proposed retrofit method is for the enhancement of shear and improvement of transverse confinement, thus, the welded steel jacket may not necessarily be continuous along the height of the column (allowing flexibility for installation of the jacket).
Fundamental challenges in mobile computing

Abstract : This paper is an answer to the question: 'What is unique and conceptually different about mobile computing?' The paper begins by describing a set of constraints intrinsic to mobile computing, and examining the impact of these constraints on the design of distributed systems. Next, it summarizes the key results of the Coda and Odyssey systems. Finally, it describes the research opportunities in five important topics relevant to mobile computing: caching metrics, semantic callbacks and validators, resource revocation, analysis of adaptation, and global estimation from local observations.
Assessing Intended Employee Behavior in Exit Interviews

ABSTRACT To assess the effects that feelings toward particular aspects of work life and status (management vs. nonmanagement) might have on the intended willingness to discuss issues during exit interviews, we asked managerial and nonmanagerial workers to evaluate their feelings toward particular aspects of work life as well as their willingness to discuss these issues during an exit interview. Results showed that status alone did not affect willingness to discuss issues but that feelings toward a topic and status had an interactive effect on willingness to discuss an issue.
“Why There?” Islamophobia, Environmental Conflict, and Justice at Ground Zero

Conflicts over environmental spaces that are sites of trauma or have been designated as sacred involve questions about who has a legitimate stake in determining the use of the site, and where the hallowedness attached to that space ends. We examine these questions in a study of the 2009–2010 controversy about the Park51 [sic] Islamic Community Center, sometimes called the “Ground Zero Mosque,” to examine how issues of distributive, procedural, and inclusionary justice play out in a conflict over valuable land close to Ground Zero. This conflict, though in a specifically fraught locale, speaks to resistance to mosque construction in the USA and Europe. Using newspaper articles on the public debate as data (N = 65), and performing a thematic analysis, we identified four key themes: (1) views of Islam, (2) conflict, (3) American identity and ideals, and (4) proximity and place. Utilizing Chi square analyses to examine the effect of propinquity on support for Park51, we found that people living within New York City were more likely to support Park51 than those outside of the city. Our conclusion discusses constructs that link values, space, and social relations—hallowed ground, place attachment, social distance—and discuss their relationship to justice. We argue that while several kinds of justice are relevant, at its heart, this conflict concerns inclusionary questions about who can speak, who belongs, and who should be excluded.
Measurement-based entanglement and quantum information processing with remote ions

We implement a probabilistic entangling gate between two remote trapped ytterbium ions and measure an average gate fidelity of 89%. The entangled state of the ions violates a Bell inequality.
Fascioloides magna: development in selected nonruminant mammalian hosts.

Abstract Metacercariae of Fascioloides magna were inoculated per os into selected nonruminant animals to evaluate them as laboratory hosts for this trematode. Immature F. magna were recovered from 36 of 52 guinea pigs, 6 of 15 mice, 2 of 3 rabbits, and 16 of 25 domestic swine. The parasite was not recovered from two beavers (Castor canadensis), two ferrets (Mustela putorius), one red fox (Vulpes fulva), one Shetland pony (Equus caballus) and two Rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Mortality in guinea pigs inoculated with 10 metacercariae each, occurred 56 to 116 (mean of 80) days after inoculation. Trematodes were in the liver up to 69 days after inoculation and usually free in the peritoneal cavity after 69 days after inoculation. Swine 2 weeks of age when inoculated were more susceptible to infection (5.6% trematode recovery rate) than were those inoculated at 4 weeks of age (1.9% trematode recovery rate) or 10 weeks of age (0.4% trematode recovery rate), indicating an age resistance to infection.
Yield of skeletal survey by age in children referred to abuse specialists.

Objective To determine rates of skeletal survey completion and injury identification as a function of age among children who underwent subspecialty evaluation for concerns of physical abuse. Study design This was a retrospective secondary analysis of an observational study of 2609 children Results Among 2609 subjects, 2036 (78%) had skeletal survey and 458 (18%) had at least one new fracture identified. For all age groups up to 36 months, skeletal survey was obtained in >50% of subjects, but rates decreased to less than 35% for subjects >36 months. New fracture identification rates for skeletal survey were similar between children 24-36 months of age (10.3%, 95% CI 7.2-14.2) and children 12-24 months of age (12.0%, 95% CI 9.2-15.3) Conclusions Skeletal surveys identify new fractures in an important fraction of children referred for subspecialty consultation with concerns of physical abuse. These data support guidelines that consider skeletal survey mandatory for all such children
Thermolytic Transformation of Tris(alkoxy)siloxychromium(IV) Single-Source Molecular Precursors to Catalytic Chromia−Silica Materials

Reactions of 1 and 2 equiv of HOSi(OtBu)3 with Cr(OtBu)4 afforded the first Cr(IV) alkoxysiloxy complexes (tBuO)3CrOSi(OtBu)3 (1) and (tBuO)2Cr[OSi(OtBu)3]2 (2), respectively. Both 1 and 2 contain pseudotetrahedral d2 chromium centers and crystallize in the monoclinic space group P21/n with four molecules in the unit cell. The high-yielding, convenient synthesis of 1 makes this complex a useful single-source molecular precursor, via the thermolytic molecular precursor method, to Cr/Si/O materials. The thermal transformations of 1 and 2 to chromia−silica materials occurred at low temperatures (≤180 °C), to give isobutene as the major carbon-containing product. The material generated from the solid-state conversion of 1 (CrOSiss) contained both micro- and mesoporosity with an unexpectedly high surface area of 315 m2/g that was slightly reduced to 275 m2/g after calcination at 500 °C in O2. The xerogel obtained by the thermolysis of an n-octane solution of 1 (CrOSixg) had a surface area of 315 m2/g that was ...
Descartes on Time and Duration

Descartes' account of the material world relies heavily on time. Most importantly, time is a component of speed, which figures in his fundamental conservation principle and laws. However, in his most systematic discussion of the concept, time is treated as some-how reducible both to thought and to motion. Such reductionistic views, while common among Descartes' late scholastic contemporaries, are very ill-suited to Cartesian physics. I show that, in spite of the apparent identifications with thought and motion, Cartesian time retains—in the form of what I will call 'successive duration'—precisely the intrinsic structure necessary to serve as an independent parameter of quantitative physics. As is often the case with Descartes, he gives the impression of embracing traditional doctrines while in fact radically transforming the underlying concepts to serve his scientific agenda. His theory of time, though formulated in Aristotelian terms, anticipates Newton in important respects.
An efficient mannose selection protocol for tomato that has no adverse effect on the ploidy level of transgenic plants

A protocol for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation with mannose selection was developed for cotyledon petiole, hypocotyl and leaf explants of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L. Mill). More than 400 transgenic plants from three tomato varieties were selected with 1% mannose in combination with 0.1–0.5% glucose. Average transformation frequencies ranged from 2.0 to 15.5% depending on the construct, genotype and type of tissue used for transformation. The highest transformation rate was obtained for hypocotyl explants from tomato variety SG048. The ploidy levels of 264 independent transgenic events and 233 non-transgenic plants regenerated from tissue culture were assessed by flow cytometry. The incidence of polyploids within the total population of transgenic plants varied from 10 to 78% and was not significantly different from the non-transgenic population. The greatest variation in the proportion of polyploids was observed in plants derived from different explant types, both in transgenic and non-transgenic regenerants, across three studied genotypes. Transgenic and non-transgenic plants regenerated from leaves included the highest number of normal diploid plants (82–100%), followed by cotyledon petiole-derived plants (63–78%). Transgenic plants produced from hypocotyls contained 22–58% diploids depending on the genotype used in transformation. Results described in this study demonstrate that, although transformation frequencies for leaf tissue are still lower under current protocols, the high percentage of diploids obtained make leaf tissue an attractive transformation target.
Adhesion promotes transcellular leukotriene biosynthesis during neutrophil-glomerular endothelial cell interactions: inhibition by antibodies against CD18 and L-selectin.

Summary Eicosanoid formation by transcellular routes can amplify the levels and types of lipid mediators within a local milieu. To evaluate the role of adhesion in this process, we assessed the influence of mAb against adhesion molecules on LTC 4 generation by PMN-endothelial cell interaction. Transcellular LTC 4 generation was initiated by addition of fMLP to coincubations of GM-CSFprimed PMN and TNF-activated endothelial cells cultured from kidney glomeruli. Both PMN-endothelial cell adhesion and transcellular LTC 4 generation were inhibited by mAb against leukocyte L-selectin and CD18. These results indicate that cytokine-treated PMN and endothelial cells generate LTC 4 via transcellular routes by receptor-triggered mechanisms. They suggest that adhesion promotes transcellular eicosanoid biosynthesis and that adhesion molecules may also be targets for blockade of transcellular biosynthesis of lipid mediators.
Evolution of Glutamate Dehydrogenase Regulation of Insulin Homeostasis Is an Example of Molecular Exaptation

Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) is found in all organisms and catalyzes the oxidative deamination of glutamate to 2-oxoglutarate. While this enzyme does not exhibit allosteric regulation in plants, bacteria, or fungi, its activity is tightly controlled by a number of compounds in mammals. We have previously shown that this regulation plays an important role in insulin homeostasis in humans and evolved concomitantly with a 48-residue “antenna” structure. As shown here, the antenna and some of the allosteric regulation first appears in the Ciliates. This primitive regulation is mediated by fatty acids and likely reflects the gradual movement of fatty acid oxidation from the peroxisomes to the mitochondria as the Ciliates evolved away from plants, fungi, and other protists. Mutagenesis studies where the antenna is deleted support this contention by demonstrating that the antenna is essential for fatty acid regulation. When the antenna from the Ciliates is spliced onto human GDH, it was found to fully communica...
Trust and Rule

Over most of history, participants in trust networks such as clandestine religious sects and kinship groups have shielded them from rulers' intervention, rightly fearing dispossession or exploitation. Yet no substantial regime can survive without drawing on resources held by trust networks. In particular, democratic regimes cannot operate without substantial integration of trust networks into public politics. Rulers' application of various combinations among coercion, capital, and commitment in the course of bargaining with subordinate populations produces a variety of regimes. Contemporary democracies face a threat of de-democratization if major segments of the population withdraw their trust networks from public politics.
Prevalence of Psychotic Symptoms in a Community-Based Parkinson Disease Sample

Objectives To determine the prevalence of psychotic phenomena, including minor symptoms, in a Parkinson disease (PD) sample and compare the clinical correlates associated with the various psychotic phenomena. To evaluate the extent to which cases met National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS)/National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)–proposed criteria for PD-associated psychosis. Methods A total of 250 patients with idiopathic PD and Mini Mental State Exam scores greater than 23 from three community-based movement disorder clinics underwent comprehensive research diagnostic evaluations by a geriatric psychiatrist as part of a study on mood disorders in PD. Psychotic symptoms were categorized using a checklist, which included a breakdown of hallucinations, delusions, and minor symptoms. Clinical characteristics of groups with minor and other psychotic symptoms were compared. The NINDS/NIMH criteria for PD-psychosis were retrospectively applied. Results Of the total sample, 26% of patients were found to have any current psychotic symptoms, with 47.7% of those having isolated minor symptoms, and 52.3% having hallucinations and/or delusions. Compared to those with no current psychiatric symptoms, minor symptoms were associated with more depressive symptoms and worse quality of life, and 90.8% of those with psychotic symptoms fulfilled the NINDS/NIMH proposed criteria. Conclusions Psychotic symptoms are common in PD patients, with minor psychotic phenomena present in nearly half of affected patients in a community-based sample. Psychotic symptoms, including minor phenomena, were clinically significant. The NINDS/NIMH PD-psychosis criteria captured the clinical characteristics of psychosis as it relates to PD. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine whether minor psychotic symptoms represent a precursor to hallucinations and delusions, and to further validate diagnostic criteria.
mTOR: A pathogenic signaling pathway in developmental brain malformations

The mTOR signaling network functions as a pivotal regulatory cascade during the development of the cerebral cortex. Aberrant hyperactivation of mTOR as a consequence of loss-of-function gene mutations encoding mTOR inhibitor proteins such as TSC1, TSC2, PTEN and STRADα has been recently linked to developmental cortical malformations associated with epilepsy and neurobehavioral disabilities. Investigation of mTOR signaling in these disorders provides for the first time exciting future avenues for assessment of biomarkers, patient stratification and prognostic measures as well as the opportunity for targeted therapy to regulate mTOR activity across all age groups. As we learn more about mTOR and its activity in the developing brain, many challenges will arise that must be overcome before widespread clinical therapeutics can be implemented.
Estimating hypothesis strengths

Violation of the exhaustiveness postulate of Levine’s (1965) hypothesis model is shown to produce large errors in the estimation of the proportions of problems mediated by the various hypotheses. In two cases, when stat-subject simulations satisfied the postulates, estimates were reasonably close to actual values. One interpretation proposes that negative values of estimates are an indication that the exhaustiveness assumption is violated. An alternative computational method is described.
Reduced Serum Levels of Innate Immune Molecules in Subjects with Frequent Asthma Exacerbations

RATIONALE METHODS Reduced Serum Levels of Innate Immune Molecules in Subjects with Frequent Asthma Exacerbations ET Gardner, C Sheen, LM Stierman, B Jovanovic, JJ Shannon, CA Saltoun, LC Grammer, RP Schleimer, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Chicago, IL The research reported on this poster was supported by UO1HL72478 and the Ernest S Bazley Trust to Northwestern University & Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Characterizing fading channel under abrupt temporal variations

The statistics of the fading channel are changing due to the temporal and spatial inhomogeneity. To characterize the temporal variation of the channel, short-term statistics need to be estimated. Instead of estimating the statistics over a fixed short period, we applied the Bayesian change point detection (CPD) on the Nakagami-m channel model to capture the abrupt changes in time. The detected change points partition the channel into segments that are characterized by different parameters. We also derive the MAP estimators for the model parameters of each segment based on the hyperparameters generated by CPD. Test results on the channel measurement show the effectiveness of the CPD and the proposed estimators.
Use of the method of continuous variations with mixed ligand complexes

Abstract An examination of the use of the method of continuous variations with complexes containing two ligand species has been carried out. It is shown that the molar ratio at which the concentration of a mixed complex reaches a maximum is generally different from the molar ratio of the reactants in the complex. The equations for this difference are developed and checked against experimental data for some five mixed complexes. A method for determining the equilibrium constants in some of these systems is given. The equilibrium constants in the systems studied are very close to the values expected for a statistical distribution of the ligands over the available co-ordination sites.
Brd4 Coactivates Transcriptional Activation of NF-κB via Specific Binding to Acetylated RelA

Acetylation of the RelA subunit of NF-kappaB, especially at lysine-310, is critical for the transcriptional activation of NF-kappaB and the expression of inflammatory genes. In this study, we demonstrate that bromodomains of Brd4 bind to acetylated lysine-310. Brd4 enhances transcriptional activation of NF-kappaB and the expression of a subset of NF-kappaB-responsive inflammatory genes in an acetylated lysine-310-dependent manner. Bromodomains of Brd4 and acetylated lysine-310 of RelA are both required for the mutual interaction and coactivation function of Brd4. Finally, we demonstrate that Brd4 further recruits CDK9 to phosphorylate C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II and facilitate the transcription of NF-kappaB-dependent inflammatory genes. Our results identify Brd4 as a novel coactivator of NF-kappaB through specifically binding to acetylated lysine-310 of RelA. In addition, these studies reveal a mechanism by which acetylated RelA stimulates the transcriptional activity of NF-kappaB and the NF-kappaB-dependent inflammatory response.
HYALURONAN (HYALURONIC ACID) IN HUMAN SALIVA

Hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid) is a glycosaminoglycan that functions as a constituent of ground substance, a mediator of cell proliferation and would healing, and that plays a prominent part in tumorigenesis as well as in embryogenesis. Its presence and possible role in saliva has been subjected to little study. Unstimulated and stimulated pure parotid and mixed saliva was obtained from 10 volunteers. The protein content of the samples was assayed and the hyaluronan concentration was evaluated by means of an enzyme immunosorbent-like assay using a hyaluronan-binding peptide. Stimulated whole saliva had the highest protein content (mean 1.26 mg/ml) followed by unstimulated parotid saliva (1.15 mg/ml), stimulated parotid saliva (0.95 mg/ml) and unstimulated whole saliva (0.93 mg/ml). Absolute hyaluronan concentrations were highest in unstimulated whole saliva (mean 459.2 ng (nanograms)/ml), and lowest in stimulated parotid saliva (82.7 ng/ml). When hyaluronan concentrations are expressed as ng/mg of protein, the highest are in the unstimulated whole saliva (mean 477.5 ng/mg protein) followed by stimulated parotid saliva (229.7 ng/mg), unstimulated parotid saliva (179.6 ng/mg) and stimulated whole saliva (159.9 ng/mg). There are wide variations in the levels of hyaluronan in human saliva depending on the type of saliva and the conditions at the time of collection. Regulation of hyaluronan metabolism represents an intricate balance between production and degradation, and it is unclear whether elevated concentrations of hyaluronan in response to tissue proliferation, regeneration or repair. The hyaluronan may contribute to the healing properties of saliva, assisting in protecting the oral mucosa and adding to the lubricating properties of saliva.
Diameters in graphs

Abstract A diameter critical graph has the property that the addition of any edge decreases the diameter. All such graphs are determined for a given vertex connectivity and the edge number is given.