cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fault tolerant design of combinational and sequential logic based on a parity check code

We describe a method for designing fault tolerant circuits based on an extension of a concurrent error detection (CED) technique. The proposed extension combines parity check codes and duplication in order to not only perform error detection but also provide diagnosis and correction capabilities. Informed selection among the outputs of the original synthesized circuit and the outputs of a constrained-sharing resynthesized duplicate with parity check codes renders a low-cost fault tolerant design. Experimental results confirm the efficacy of the proposed method as a general solution for designing fault tolerant circuits.
Nature of Crossing Vessels in Patients With Radiographically Normal Ureteropelvic Junctions: Prevalence and Anatomic Characteristics

Objective To evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of crossing vessels in asymptomatic patients with a radiographically normal ureteropelvic junction. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed the computed tomography angiography images of 601 patients who were evaluated for possible living organ donation at the University of Minnesota from 2005 to 2008. One patient had asymptomatic hydronephrosis and was excluded from the analysis. The prevalence and characteristics of crossing vessels at the ureteropelvic junction were determined, including vessel location, origin, size, distance from the ureteropelvic junction, and vessel type (artery or vein). Results The prevalence of crossing vessels at the radiographically normal ureteropelvic junction was 22.7%. A total of 163 crossing vessels were present in 136 patients; 60.1% were left-sided and 39.9% were right-sided. Arteries accounted for 81.0% of the crossing vessels and veins for 19.0%. Accessory lower pole renal vessels originating from the great vessels constituted 59.5% of the crossing vessels. The location of the crossing vessel relative to the ureteropelvic junction varied and included anterior (25.8%), anterolateral (36.8%), medial (14.6%), anteromedial (2.5%), lateral (12.9%), and posterior (7.4%). The mean diameter and mean distance of the crossing vessel from the ureteropelvic junction was 3.3 mm and 1.8 mm, respectively. Conclusion The prevalence of crossing vessels in asymptomatic, healthy patients with a radiographically normal ureteropelvic junction was 22.7%, lower than that seen in association with ureteropelvic junction obstruction. The location of the crossing vessels varied about the ureteropelvic junction, and no location was consistently free of traversing vessels.
Fault recovery based on checkpointing for hard real-time embedded systems

Safety-critical embedded systems often operate in harsh environmental conditions that necessitate fault-tolerant computing techniques. Many safety-critical systems also execute real-time applications. The correctness of these systems depends not only on the logical result of computation, but also on the time at which the results are produced. The missing of task deadlines can therefore be viewed as a temporal fault. In this paper, we examine fault-recovery based on checkpointing for real-time systems. We present schedulability tests for check-pointing in real-time systems. These feasibility-of-scheduling tests provide the criteria under which checkpointing can provide fault tolerance and real-time guarantees for hard real-time embedded systems under two different fault arrival models.
Crossing Boundaries: A Variety of Perspectives on Preschool Stories

Emergent curriculum is present in many early childhood classrooms but sharing the deep thoughts, reflections and actions of young children engaged in emergent curriculum is often hindered by the use of traditional report cards. Through the use of year-long preschool stories, teachers write about these young children using the children’s thought processes and experiences as the central data source. This practice illustrates trust of the child and the child’s daily actions as critical in understanding the child. The purpose of this paper is to re-visit previously written preschool stories from multiple perspectives including the child featured in the story, the family of the child, the creator of the preschool stories, and a co-teacher within the community. This reexamination offers another way to consider the preschool stories, opening the work to revision and rethinking.
Noninvasive Imaging of Myocyte Apoptosis Following Application of a Stem Cell–Engineered Delivery Platform to Acutely Infarcted Myocardium

The cardioprotective effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) include reducing myocyte apoptosis, and this effect can be enhanced by preconditioning and encapsulation in a fibrin scaffold. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that apoptosis imaging can detect the cardioprotective effects of a conditioned MSC patch grafted in a rat model of acute myocardial infarction. Methods: Cell culture experiments simulating engraftment of fibrin patches onto beating rat ventricular myocytes exposed to hypoxia showed an effect of conditioned cells to reduce apoptosis. Twenty-three nude rats underwent successful left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion and were divided into 3 groups: transforming growth factor β1–conditioned human MSC-laden patches (CP), infarct alone without patch (no patch [NP]), and patch alone (patch only [PO]). Twenty-four hours after myocardial infarction, all rats were injected with 99mTc-hydrazinonicotinamide (99mTc-HYNIC) annexin V and 201Tl and underwent dual-isotope SPECT/CT imaging. Six rats were sacrificed for histology and counting. The remaining rats (n = 17; 1 rat was eliminated) were injected and imaged on day 7; of those, 3 rats were sacrificed for histology and counting, and the remaining 13 rats survived to day 21, when they were sacrificed for histology. Numbers of rats imaged on day 7 in the 3 groups were 7 in the CP group, 5 in the NP, and 5 in the PO. Perfused myocardium, infarct size, and 99mTc-HYNIC annexin V uptake were quantified from the scans from days 1 and 7. 99mTc-HYNIC annexin V uptake was correlated with quantitative caspase staining, and infarct size as percentage fibrosis was quantified at day 21. Results:99mTc-HYNIC annexin V uptake as percentage injected dose (×10−4) decreased between days 1 and 7 by 1.04 ± 0.28 in the CP group, 0.44 ± 0.17 in the NP group, and 0.34 ± 0.27 in the PO group (P = 0.003 for NP vs. CP, P = 0.005 for PO vs. CP, and P = 0.5 for NP vs. CP). The changes in defect size as percentage myocardium between days 1 and 7 were −8.83 ± 4.40 in the CP group, +1.00 ± 2.24 in the NP group, and −0.50 ± 4.20 in the PO group (P = 0.003 for NP vs. CP, P = 0.005 for PO vs. CP, and P = 0.50 for NP vs. PO). 99mTc-HYNIC annexin V uptake as percentage left ventricle by scanning correlated with caspase staining (r = 0.931, P = 0.002). Conclusion: Transforming growth factor β1–conditioned human MSC-laden patches reduce myocyte apoptosis in the setting of acute infarction, and this effect can be detected by in vivo imaging with 99mTc-HYNIC annexin V.
Association of Transient Myocardial Ischemia With Adverse In-Hospital Outcomes for Angina Patients Treated in a Telemetry Unit or a Coronary Care Unit

• BACKGROUND Little is known about the frequency or consequences of transient myocardial ischemia in patients admitted to a telemetry unit for treatment of angina. • OBJECTIVES To compare the rate of transient myocardial ischemia in a group of patients with angina treated in a telemetry unit with the rate in a similar group treated in a coronary care unit and to determine if transient myocardial ischemia is associated with adverse in-hospital outcomes. • METHODS Continuous 12-lead electrocardiography was used to monitor changes in the ST segment in 186 patients in the coronary care unit (1994-1996) and 186 patients in the telemetry unit (1997-2000). Transient myocardial ischemia was defined as a change from baseline of 100 µV or more in the ST segment in 1 or more leads lasting 60 seconds or longer. • RESULTS The rate of transient myocardial ischemia was 15% for patients in the telemetry unit and 19% for patients in the coronary care unit. Regardless of hospital unit, patients with transient myocardial ischemia were more likely than those without this complication to experience death or acute myocardial infarction after hospital admission. Most patients did not experience signs or symptoms during transient myocardial ischemia: 71% of patients in the telemetry unit versus 58% of patients in the coronary care unit (P = .28). • CONCLUSIONS Transient myocardial ischemia is common among patients with angina treated in a telemetry unit. ST-segment monitoring may be useful for detecting patients with ischemia who may benefit from more aggressive therapies aimed at abolishing ongoing ischemia. (American Journal of Critical Care. 2002;11:318-325)
The Continued Need For Independent Research On Prescription Drugs

Research on prescription drugs has been stimulated both by the cost pressures facing public and private purchasers and by the policy debates over Medicare and Medicaid drug benefits. Some research has focused on cost-effectiveness questions, particularly comparisons of competing drugs, but the need for both evidence-based reviews and new comparative trials is acute. Another pressing need is for more policy research to supplement recent studies looking at topics such as access to drug coverage, the effectiveness of cost containment measures, and drug pricing. Policymakers find such research valuable as they design benefits for Medicare and Medicaid.
Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride SPECT in Very Morbidly Obese Patients Routinely Provides High-Diagnostic-Quality Myocardial Perfusion Imaging

TO THE EDITOR: Our group was quite surprised to review the findings published in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine by Fiechter et al. ([1][1]), who reported poor diagnostic quality for a cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) camera with pinhole collimation (Alcyone; GE Healthcare) in very morbidly obese
Probability of error in MMSE multiuser detection

The performance analysis of the minimum-mean-square-error (MMSE) linear multiuser detector is considered in an environment of nonorthogonal signaling and additive white Gaussian noise. In particular, the behavior of the multiple-access interference (MAI) at the output of the MMSE detector is examined under various asymptotic conditions, including: large signal-to-noise ratio; large near-far ratios; and large numbers of users. These results suggest that the MAI-plus-noise contending with the demodulation of a desired user is approximately Gaussian in many cases of interest. For the particular case of two users, it is shown that the maximum divergence between the output MAI-plus-noise and a Gaussian distribution having the same mean and variance is quite small in most cases of interest. It is further proved in this two-user case that the probability of error of the MMSE detector is better than that of the decorrelating linear detector for all values of normalized crosscorrelations not greater than 1/2 /spl radic/(2+/spl radic/3)/spl cong/0.9659.
Dynamics inherent in helix 27 from Escherichia coli 16S ribosomal RNA.

The original interpretation of a series of genetic studies suggested that the highly conserved Escherichia coli 16S ribosomal RNA helix 27 (H27) adopts two alternative secondary structure motifs, the 885 and 888 conformations, during each cycle of amino acid incorporation. Recent crystallographic and genetic evidence has called this hypothesis into question. To ask whether a slippery sequence such as that of H27 may harbor inherent conformational dynamics, we have designed a series of model RNAs based on E. coli H27 for in Vitro physicochemical studies. One-dimensional 1 H NMR spectroscopy demonstrates that both the 885 and 888 conformations are occupied to approximately the same extent (f888 ) 0.427 ( 0.04) in the native H27 sequence at low pH (6.4) and low ionic strength (50 mM NaCl). UV irradiation assays conducted under conditions analogous to those used for assays of ribosomal function (pH 7.5 and 20 mM MgCl2) suggest that nucleotides 892 and 905, which are too far apart in the known 885 crystal structures, can approach each other closely enough to form an efficient cross-link. The use of a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-labeled RNA together with a partially complementary DNA oligonucleotide that induces a shift to the 888 conformation shows that H27 interchanges between the 885 and 888 conformations on the millisecond time scale, with an equilibrium constant of 0.33 ( 0.12. FRET assays also show that tetracycline interferes with the induced shift to the 888 conformation, a finding that is consistent with crystallographic localization of tetracycline bound to the 885 conformation of H27 in the 30S ribosomal subunit. Taken together, our data demonstrate the innate tendency of an isolated H27 to exist in a dynamic equilibrium between the 885 and 888 conformations. This begs the question of how these inherent structural dynamics are suppressed within the context of the ribosome.
Parallel knowledge processing on SNAP

The semantic network array processor (SNAP) is a specialized, highly parallel architecture for knowledge representation and reasoning. The instruction set has been carefully designed to reflect the requirements of semantic network processing. SNAP is a marker propagation architecture, where the passing of markers between cells plays a fundamental role. The movement of markers between cells is controlled by a set of propagation rules. Various reasoning mechanisms were implemented using these propagation rules. A simulator was developed, and knowledge processing examples, such as inheritance, recognition, and classification, were tested. By comparing the simulation results with the same examples run on the Connection Machine, it was found that SNAP outperforms the Connection Machine over a broad range of knowledge processing examples by a factor of 1000 or more. >
Selective Neuronal Cell Death after Transient Forebrain Ischemia in the Mongolian Gerbil

An important feature of ischemic brain damage is the exceptional vulnerability of specific cell types. In the Mongolian gerbil, silver impregnation revealed that four brain regions are exceptionally vulnerable to 5 min of complete forebrain ischemia: (1) hippocampal areas CA1, CA2–CA3a and CA4; (2) the dorsolateral striatum; (3) the somatosensory neocortex; and (4) the dorsomedial portion of the lateral septal nucleus. The ischemic lesion evolved with time in all four regions, but at different rates. The development of argyrophilia was delayed for the longest time in hippocampal area CAlb (maximal in 3 d) and for the shortest time in hippocampal area CA4 and the striatum (maximal in 24 h or less). The mechanism for delayed neuronal death in area CAlb has been suggested to involve the activation of excitatory afferent pathways. Indeed an ipsilateral entorhinal cortical lesion partially protected CA1b pyramidal cells from ischemic cell death. However, the entorhinal cortical lesion had no protective effect in other hippocampal regions. This result suggests either that synaptic excitation is crucial for only the most delayed form of ischemic cell death or that the medial temporo-ammonic tract, and not the perforant path, is involved in the damage to area CAlb.
Are Aquinas and Whitehead Metaphorical and Analogical All the Way Down

The paper argues from the perspective of a significant strand of interpretation of Aquinas and from insights in cognitive linguistics that a fruitful dialogue between Whitehead and Thomism needs to take into account that metaphysics and talk about God are metaphorical and analogical all the way down. Cognitive linguistics provides an explanatory scheme for explaining how Aquinas’s tectonic use of analogy shifts the ground of our conventional fields of meanings to create space to conceptualize what otherwise would be beyond grasp and to make inferences possible that otherwise would be unthinkable. The essay concludes with a question, admittedly from a particular trajectory of Thomism and cognitive linguistics, about whether Whitehead’s conception of God adequately accounts for the radically metaphorical “imaginative leap” entailed in the Christian conception of God.
Predictors of survival in parotid small cell carcinoma: A study of 344 cases

Objectives/Hypothesis We sought to better characterize patient, tumor, and long-term survival characteristics of parotid small cell carcinoma (SmCC) with the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Study Design Retrospective database review. Methods We reviewed the NCDB (1998–2012) for all cases of parotid SmCC. Relevant demographic, tumor, and survival variables were extracted and analyzed. Cox multivariate regression was performed to identify prognosticators. Results Out of 30,813 parotid gland cancers in the NCDB, we found 344 cases of parotid SmCC (1.11%). Age at diagnosis ranged from 23 to 91 years (mean = 73 years). Most patients (73.0%) were male. Most tumors were 2 to 4 cm in size (51.4%). Regional metastases were common (50.8% cN+ and 65.1% pN+) and distant metastasis (7.3%) was uncommon. Occult nodes were found in 14.4% of cases. Overall survival at 5 and 10 years was 37% and 20%, respectively. Although numerous variables were found to significantly impact survival on univariate regression analysis, age (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.08, P 4 cm (HR: 3.44, 95% CI: 1.63-7.27) and distant metastasis (HR: 2.06, 95% CI: 1.02-4.14, P = .043) remained significant prognosticators in our multivariate model. Nodal disease was not a significant risk factor after adjustment (P = .055). Conclusions SmCC is a rare parotid malignancy with a poor prognosis. Regional metastases were common, whereas distant metastases were uncommon. Elective neck treatment should be considered due to the incidence of occult nodal disease. Level of Evidence 4 Laryngoscope, 2015
Centrosomal protein CP110 controls maturation of mother centriole during cilia biogenesis

Defects in cilia-centrosomal genes cause pleiotropic clinical phenotypes, collectively called ciliopathies. Cilia biogenesis is initiated by interaction of positive and negative regulators. The centriolar coiled coil protein CP110 caps the distal end of mother centriole and is shown to act as a suppressor to control the timing of ciliogenesis. Here we demonstrate that CP110 promotes cilia formation in vivo unlike the findings in cultured cells. Cp110 − / − mice die shortly after birth because of organogenesis defects as in ciliopathies. Shh signaling is impaired in null embryos, and primary cilia are reduced in multiple tissues. We show that CP110 is required for anchoring of basal bodies to membrane during cilia formation. CP110 loss resulted in abnormal distribution of core components of sub-distal appendages (SDA) and of recycling endosomes, which may be associated with premature extension of axonemal microtubules. Our data implicate CP110 in SDA assembly and ciliary vesicle docking, two requisite early steps in cilia formation. We suggest that CP110 has unique context-dependent functions acting as both a suppressor and a promoter of ciliogenesis.
Effects of plenum size on bleeding a supersonic boundary layer

Computations were performed to investigate supersonic-boundary-layer/bleed interactions on a flat plate in which the bleed is through four staggered rows of circular holes of diameter D that discharge into a plenum. Two different sized plenums (big: 10D deep, small: D deep) and two different plenum back pressures (leading to unchoked and choked bleed) were examined. Preliminary results showed the plenum size to have significant effects on how jets from bleed holes interact inside the plenum which in turn affects the effective pressure ratio across bleed holes, the nature of the flow in the bleed holes, and the bleed rate. When the plenum is small and the flow through the bleed holes are choked, shock waves created by the bleedjets/plenum-wall interactions produce a favorable pressure gradient from the "closed" end of the plenum to its "open" end or outlet. This pressure gradient tends to reduce the effective pressure ratio across bleed holes which lowers bleed flow. However, there are two mechanisms which increase bleed flow in holes near the closed end suction created by the general outward flow towards the open end and "viscous" pumping. This study is based on the ensemble-averaged conservation equations of mass, momentum (full compressible Navier-Stokes), and energy closed by a low Reynolds number k-eo model of turbulence. Solutions were generated by using a cell-centered finite-volume method based on a diagonalized alternating-direction implicit * Graduate Student.. * Graduate Student. Now at Pratt and Whitney, Florida.. Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University. Senior Member AIAA. & Research Engineer. Member AIAA. Copyright © 1997 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. No copyright is asserted in the United States under Title 17, U.S. Code. The U.S. Government has a royalty-free license to exercise all rights under the copyright claimed herein for government purposes. All other rights are reserved by the copyright owner. scheme with multigrid on a patched/overlapped structured multi-block grid. All inviscid terms were approximated by the third-order flux-difference splitting of Roe with slope limiter of Chakravarthy and Osher. All diffusion terms were approximated conservatively by differencing derivatives at cell faces.
The Farthest Reaches of a-Si,Ge:H,F Parameter Space… Where no One Has Gone Before

We report the deposition parameters for optimized a-Si,Ge:H,F alloys in the range of optical (Taue) gap of 1.22eV to 1.65eV. These deposition parameters were optimized using the photosensitivity and initial defect density as figures of merit. We observe two distinct regimes of film growth rate, dependent on the choice of source gases. Growth from fluoride source gases results in a growth rate of less than 0.6 As-1. Growth from a mixture of fluorides and silane gives a range of growth rates from 2 As-l to 5.5As1. Alloys in both regimes display the low defect densities and the high photosensitivities required for devices.
Effects of Cortisone, Hydrocortisone and AGTH on Mammary Growth and Pituitary Prolactin Content of Rats.

Summary1. Physiological saline (0.85%) or 2 mg doses of ACTH, cortisone or hydrocortisone were injected daily for 10 days into 42 intact, mature female rats. All 3 hormones elicited branching of ducts, lobule-alveolar development and secretory activity in mammary glands. This was most marked for cortisone and least for ACTH at the dose levels employed. 2. Cortisone increased pituitary prolactin content by about 23%, hydrocortisone by about 41% and ACTH by about 71%. 3. It is concluded that these hormones can initiate mammary development and secretion in the intact rat, but that further work is needed to establish their normal role in these processes.
Relative role of milk agent and tissue sensitivity in estrogen-induced mammary growth.

SummaryThe mammary glands of ovari—ectomized mice of strains Z, D2 and A possessing the milk agent were more susceptible to estrogenic stimulation than the breasts of mice of the same strains raised for many generations without the milk agent. However, strain differences in the mammary response to the estrogen continued to exist also in the absence of the milk agent. These variations are considered to be due to strain differences in the susceptibility of the target tissue to hormonal stimulation.
Critical Business Trends: Views from a Business School's Advisory Board

Abstract Rapid and significant changes continue to occur in today's environments. These changes are affecting educational institutions as well as for-profit companies. To remain successful, schools at all levels must be able to identify key environmental trends. Understanding these trends and their effects allows schools to develop and then offer highly relevant curricula. This article describes a process used by one business school's advisory board to identify critical environmental trends. Through the results of this process, the school's faculty have the information needed to design an effective and relevant business curriculum. Although useful, the process completed by the advisory board is not without limitations. Accordingly, both strengths and deficiencies of the process used by the advisory board are described.
The bonding of nanowire assemblies using adhesive and solder

In the past decade, several strategies have been proposed to direct the assembly of nanocomponents from the bottom up to fabricate two- and three-dimensional integrated structures. In these strategies, either the surface or the bulk of a nanocomponent is functionalized to facilitate positive and negative interactions based on molecular, electrostatic, magnetic, or capillary forces, to enable the components to interact with one another in a fluidic medium and form thermodynamically stable structures. However, in many cases, the assembled structures are not well bonded. This paper summarizes results on directing the assembly of metallic rod-shaped (30–200 nm diameter) components with one another and with substrates to form structures that can be bonded by adhesive or solder. The methodology can be adapted with other self-assembling strategies to form mechanically stable, and in certain instances electrically conductive, assemblies composed of nanoscale componenents.
A review of the applications of data mining and machine learning for the prediction of biomedical properties of nanoparticles

Review research using data mining and machine learning in nanomedicine.Examine progress and challenges in nanoinformatics. This article presents a comprehensive review of applications of data mining and machine learning for the prediction of biomedical properties of nanoparticles of medical interest. The papers reviewed here present the results of research using these techniques to predict the biological fate and properties of a variety of nanoparticles relevant to their biomedical applications. These include the influence of particle physicochemical properties on cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, molecular loading, and molecular release in addition to manufacturing properties like nanoparticle size, and polydispersity. Overall, the results are encouraging and suggest that as more systematic data from nanoparticles becomes available, machine learning and data mining would become a powerful aid in the design of nanoparticles for biomedical applications. There is however the challenge of great heterogeneity in nanoparticles, which will make these discoveries more challenging than for traditional small molecule drug design.
Design and Optoelectronic Property of Novel Steric Polyfluorene

Novel steric oligofluorene based polymers were synthesized by a simple condensation.These polymers were investigated by DSC,TGA,CV and photoluminescence test.It shows that these polymers possess high Tg(164 ℃ or 234 ℃),good thermal stability,excellent stability for n-doping and p-doping process,and higher PL efficiency.The striking property of polymers was that their PL spectra showed remarkable stability having very little change after annealing in a vacuum oven at 100 ℃ for 24 h.This is owing to the steric structure which helps to maintain the stability of the amorphous state of polymers in solid films and can completely suppress the aggregation during the operation.
Characterization of Nora Virus Structural Proteins via Western Blot Analysis

Nora virus is a single stranded RNA picorna-like virus with four open reading frames (ORFs). The coding potentials of the ORFs are not fully characterized, but ORF3 and ORF4 are believed to encode the capsid proteins (VP3, VP4a, VP4b, and VP4c) comprising the virion. To determine the polypeptide composition of Nora virus virions, polypeptides from purified virus were compared to polypeptides detected in Nora virus infected Drosophila melanogaster. Nora virus was purified from infected flies and used to challenge mice for the production of antisera. ORF3, ORF4a, ORF4b, and ORF4c were individually cloned and expressed in E. coli; resultant recombinant proteins purified and were used to make monospecific antisera. Antisera were evaluated via Western blot against whole virus particles and Nora virus infected fly lysates. Viral purification yielded two particle types with densities of ~1.31 g/mL (empty particles) and ~1.33 g/mL (complete virions). Comparison of purified virus polypeptide composition to Nora virus infected D. melanogaster lysate showed the number of proteins in infected cell lysates is less than purified virus. Our results suggest the virion is composed of 6 polypeptides, VP3, VP4a, two forms of VP4b, and two forms of VP4c. This polypeptide composition is similar to other small RNA insect viruses.
Subalpine conifers in different geographical locations host highly similar foliar bacterial endophyte communities

Pines in the subalpine environment at Niwot Ridge, CO, have been found to host communities of acetic acid bacteria (AAB) within their needles. The significance and ubiquity of this pattern is not known, but recent evidence of nitrogen (N)-fixing activity in Pinus flexilis (limber pine) foliage calls for a better understanding of the processes that regulate endophytic communities in forest tree canopies. Here, to test if AAB dominate the foliar bacterial microbiota in other subalpine locations, we compared the 16S rRNA community in needles from P. flexilis and P. contorta (lodgepole pine) growing in the Eastern Sierra Nevada, CA, and Niwot Ridge, CO. AAB made up the majority of the bacterial community in both species at both sites. Multiple distinct AAB taxa, resolved at the single nucleotide level, were shared across host species and sites, with dominant OTUs identical or highly similar to database sequences from cold environments, including high altitude air sampled in Colorado, and the endosphere of Arctic plants. Our results suggest strong selection for community composition, potentially amplified by the long lifespan of individual Pinus needles, along with low dispersal constraints on canopy bacteria.
Very Preterm Birth, Cerebellar Development and Neuropsychological Outcome in Adolescence

Cerebellar volumes were measured on structural MRI at adolescence and adulthood in 65 preterm individuals (born before 33 weeks’ gestation), and a term-born comparison group, in a study at King’s College, Great Ormond Street Hospital, and University College, London; and Seoul National University College of Medicine, Korea.
Roots of Coaching Psychology

This chapter provides an overview of the roots, theories, and practices of coaching psychology including the history of coaching and the differences of coaching psychology and the coaching industry. Combining the theory and rich scientific background of psychology and bringing that together with the industry of coaching is great way to grow the fields of coaching and coaching psychology. While there has been resistance from both fields in the past, today there is a convening of the fields of psychology and the practice of coaching (Grant A, Int Coach Psychol Rev 7(2):146–165, 2012; Grant A, Putting the psychology into coaching, and the coaching into psychology: Lessons from the road (less traveled). Presented at the 5th international congress of coaching psychology, San Diego, CA, 2015). This chapter provides an overview of the literature of coaching psychology efficacy, application, and future directions of the field of coaching.
The Need for Cognition: Key Concepts, Assessment, and Role in Educational Outcomes

Need for cognition is a psychological construct that refers to an individual’s desire for, and enjoyment of, intellectually engaging activities. As such, a substantial amount of research has shed light on how need for cognition is associated with numerous positive outcomes, such as learning and academic success, and also how it is associated to theoretically related constructs found in the literature (e.g., intellectual engagement, epistemic curiosity). The current chapter begins by providing an overview of the historical background and development of need for cognition. The subsequent section provides a review of the empirical work in psychology and education that has since illuminated the differences, similarities, and relationships between this construct and others that share a similar theoretical orientation. We then describe the different methods that need for cognition is assessed and briefly discuss their various psychometric properties. Finally, the chapter closes with a discussion of how need for cognition has been shown to be related to desirable learning and educational outcomes and how this trait may be cultivated in order to promote these beneficial and positive effects. In addition, some insights for future research are provided.
Obamacare Confronts a Fiscal Crisis: Why the Affordable Care Act Doesn’t Add Up

This article was written shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and reflects my view of the situation at that time. As it turned out, Obamacar...
A role for leptin-regulated neurocircuitry in subordination stress☆

The visible burrow system produces a distinct combination of psychological and metabolic stress on, primarily, subordinate individuals that results in pronounced physiologic and behavioral dysfunction. However, the mechanisms underlying the consequences of chronic subordination stress are largely unknown. The simplest mechanistic explanation is that adaptations within brain systems with overlapping functions of both psychological and metabolic control provide immediate benefits that result in lasting susceptibility to diseases, disorders, and increased mortality rates in subordinates. Circuits regulated by leptin adapt to fluctuating levels of energy storage, such that the loss of leptin action within leptin-regulated neurocircuitry results in dysfunction in physiologic and behavioral systems implicated in the consequences of chronic social subordination. Thus, leptin-regulated neurocircuitry may provide a window into understanding the consequences of social subordination stress. This review examines the neural systems of leptin physiology implicated in social subordination stress: energy balance, motivation, HPA axis, and glycemic control.
Opposition to Violence: A Jewish Perspective

Among the ways in which Jews have characteristically differed from other people, none has been so persistent nor today, so acute, as attitudinal and behavioral expressions of violence. This anti-violent predisposition derives from a history and culture in which Jews were frequently the object of violence and rarely the initiators. Jewish law and custom developed a strong antipathy to the use of violence, a cultural norm which has persevered even as their objective socio-economic-political world changed. Attitudes of Jews today about violence closely parallel the traditional norms, much more than on most issues.
Diffraction effects for interferometric measurements due to imaging aberrations

Aspheric surfaces are often measured using interferometers with null correctors. The null corrector creates a wavefront that matches the surface under test, but also introduces imaging aberrations, such as mapping distortion and field curvature. These imaging aberrations cause high frequency features in the surface under test to be filtered out and create artifacts at edges. We provide a concise methodology for analyzing these effects using field curvatures, and showing how they couple with diffraction as represented by the Talbot effect and Fresnel edge diffraction.
Overview of pancreatic cancer, 1989.

Pancreatic cancer remains a leading cause of death from cancer. Its incidence is rising throughout the world, not solely because of improved diagnostic techniques. Diagnosis is followed relatively rapidly by the demise of the patient, and reasons for this rapid course have been sought. Both patient and physician delay play roles in this course. In addition, spread of the lesion outside the confines of the pancreas is usually present at the time of diagnosis.
Recycled wastewater from anaerobic digestion of lipid extracted algae as a source of nutrients

Abstract Nutrient supply, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, is one of the key obstacles limiting industrialization of algal biofuel. To help enhance nutrient utilization efficiency, our research focused on recycling of nutrients from lipid extracted algae biomass by the method of anaerobic digestion. Two methods of lipid extraction were performed, nutrients were released during anaerobic digestion of the lipid extracted biomass, the recycled nutrients were collected for algae cultivation, and the cycle was repeated: cultivation-extraction-digestion-cultivation. The results show that anaerobic digestion released nitrogen and phosphorus, and methane as a gaseous by-product. The algae grew well on the recycled nutrients. Ammonia is the limiting macro element, and extra trace elements enhanced algae production as well. Ash free dry weight, lipid content and lipid components were monitored and did not vary when the cycle was repeated. This system for recycling nutrients with supplementary nutrients holds potential for producing biofuel from algae.
Timing and Outcomes of Tracheostomy Performed by Pulmonary and/or Critical Care Physicians:

Background:Although pulmonary and/or critical care (P/CC) physicians perform percutaneous tracheostomy in mechanically ventilated patients, the trends, timing, and outcomes of this procedure have n...
Risk factors for length of stay and charge per day differ between older and younger hospitalized patients with AML.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is associated with frequent hospitalizations. We evaluated factors associated with length of stay (LOS) and charge per day (CPD) for admissions in older (≥60 years) and younger patients (<60 years). We identified patients with ICD-9-CM codes for AML or myeloid sarcoma in the 2012 HCUP-NIS. In separate models based on age, we examined patient (sex, race, income, insurance payer, chronic conditions, chemotherapy administration, death) and hospital (type, geography) characteristics. Multivariable negative binomial regression estimated factor effects on LOS and CPD using rate ratios, with HCUP-NIS weights. In 43,820 discharges, LOS was longer in patients <60 than ≥60 (6.8 vs. 5.4 days). For patients <60, longer LOS was seen with more chronic conditions (RR = 1.10), Black race (RR = 1.16), chemotherapy (RR = 2.27), and geography; shorter LOS was associated with older age (RR = 0.93), Medicare (RR = 0.83), and hospital type. For patients ≥60, longer LOS associated with chronic conditions (RR = 1.07) and Asian race (RR = 1.33). Shorter LOS associated with older age (RR = 0.86), higher income (RR = 0.93), and hospital type. For patients <60, higher CPD associated with chronic conditions (RR = 1.05), death (RR = 1.93), and geography; lower CPD associated with increasing age (RR = 0.96), Medicaid (RR = 0.93), and rural hospitals (RR = 0.65). For patients ≥60, higher CPD associated with Medicare (RR = 1.05), more chronic conditions (RR = 1.02), younger age (RR = 1.1), west geography (RR = 1.37), death (RR = 1.45), and Hispanic race (RR = 1.15). We identify predictors for increased healthcare utilization in hospitalized patients with AML, which differ within age groups. Future efforts are needed to link utilization outcomes with clinical treatments and response.
Fructose utilization for nucleic acid synthesis in the fetal pig.

Eight fetal pigs, in utero, were injected ip with 20 microCi/fetus [U14C]-fructose between d 55 and 65 pregnancy. The isotope was allowed to equilibrate between blood and tissues within injected fetuses for a period of 240 min. Fetal pigs were then sacrificed and nucleic acids were extracted from cold tissue homogenates of skeletal muscle and liver. Nuclide disintegrations per minute recovered in extracted DNA and RNA were used to calculate incorporation of labeled C from fructose. The recovery of labeled C per mmol of nucleic acids from skeletal muscle was greater (P less than .05) than that from liver. Relative incorporation of labeled C into skeletal muscle RNA (395.9 pmol/mmol) was greater (P less than .05) than for DNA (189.5 pmol/mmol). The same trend was observed for liver RNA (78.0 pmol/mmol) and DNA (55.6 pmol/mmol), but differences were nonsignificant. These data suggest that at least part of the high concentration of endogenous fructose measured in fetal pigs in utero is involved in synthesis of nucleic acids, thereby providing substrate for anabolic functions necessary for fetal growth and development.
Caring for the health of the community means caring for the health of the environment.

Efforts have been made in the last decade to mitigate the harmful impact of the health care industry on the environment. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Categorization of Program Regions for Agile Compilation using Machine Learning and Hardware Support.

A compiler processes the code written in a high level language and produces machine executable code. The compiler writers often face the challenge of keeping the compilation times reasonable. That is because aggressive optimization passes which potentially will give rise to high performance are often expensive in terms of running time and memory footprint. Consequently the compiler designers arrive at a compromise where they either simplify the optimization algorithm which may decrease the performance of the produced code, or they will restrict the optimization to the subset of the overall input program in which case large parts of the input application will go un-optimized. The problem we address in this paper is that of keeping the compilation times reasonable, and at the same time optimizing the input program to the fullest extent possible. Consequently, the performance of the produced code will match the performance when all the aggressive optimization passes are applied over the entire input program.
A place for therapy: Clients reflect on their experiences in psychotherapists’ offices:

Previous research suggests that the physical environment of the psychotherapy office is important for treatment engagement, client feelings and behavior, and clinician support. However, there is li...
Activation of the CARD8 Inflammasome Requires a Disordered Region.

Summary Several cytosolic pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) form multiprotein complexes called canonical inflammasomes in response to intracellular danger signals. Canonical inflammasomes recruit and activate caspase-1 (CASP1), which in turn cleaves and activates inflammatory cytokines and gasdermin D (GSDMD), inducing pyroptotic cell death. Inhibitors of the dipeptidyl peptidases DPP8 and DPP9 (DPP8/9) activate both the human NLRP1 and CARD8 inflammasomes. NLRP1 and CARD8 have different N-terminal regions but have similar C-terminal regions that undergo autoproteolysis to generate two non-covalently associated fragments. Here, we show that DPP8/9 inhibition activates a proteasomal degradation pathway that targets disordered and misfolded proteins for destruction. CARD8’s N terminus contains a disordered region of ∼160 amino acids that is recognized and destroyed by this degradation pathway, thereby freeing its C-terminal fragment to activate CASP1 and induce pyroptosis. Thus, CARD8 serves as an alarm to signal the activation of a degradation pathway for disordered and misfolded proteins.
Biomaterial-based Immunoengineering to Fight COVID-19 and Infectious Diseases.

Infection by SARS-CoV-2 virus often induces the dysregulation of immune responses, tissue damage, and blood clotting. Engineered biomaterials from the nano to macro scale can provide targeted drug delivery, controlled drug release, local immunomodulation, enhanced immunity, and other desirable functions to coordinate appropriate immune responses and repair tissues. Based on the understanding of COVID-19 disease progression and immune responses to SARS-CoV-2, we discuss possible immuno-therapeutic strategies and highlight biomaterial approaches from the perspectives of preventive immunization, therapeutic immunomodulation, and tissue healing and regeneration. Successful development of biomaterial platforms for immunization and immunomodulation will not only benefit COVID-19 patients, but also have broad applications for a variety of infectious diseases.
Finding a Voice for Individuals With ASD Who Are Minimally Verbal Through Comprehensive Communication Assessment

Purpose Many, but not all, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have a difficult time communicating in conventional ways to express their decisions, preferences, and ideas. Augmentative and...
Impairment of p53 function in response to 4-hydroxyequilenin in mammary epithelial cells

1206 Long-term exposure to synthetic and endogenous estrogens has been associated with the development of cancer in several tissues. One potential mechanism of estrogen carcinogenesis involves catechol formation and these catechols are further oxidized to electrophilic/redox active o-quinones, which have the potential to both initiate and promote the carcinogenic process. 4-Hydroxyequilenin (4-OHEN), a major phase I metabolite of several estrogens present in Premarin®, is considerably more cytotoxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic as compared to the catechol estrogen metabolites of endogenous estrogens. Previously, we showed that 4-OHEN autoxidized to an o-quinone and caused a variety of damage to DNA. Allowing more time between the induction of DNA damage and the entry of a damaged cell into the DNA synthetic phase of the cell cycle protects that cell from mutagenesis. Central to this response is the establishment of a G1/S checkpoint. This checkpoint is mediated by the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21-WAF1, a direct downstream target for transcriptional activation by p53. In this study, we looked at the p53 signaling pathway. Surprisingly, exposure to 4-OHEN did not induce the classical response to a DNA damaging agent in a mammary epithelial cell line. In EN-3 cells, a 4-OHEN transformed cell line derived from MCF-10A cells, a 24 h treatment with 4-OHEN did not induce a G1/S checkpoint and cells with damaged DNA accumulated in the S phase. Doses of 10 μM induced a decrease in p53 expression in the nuclear fraction and prevented the cells from accumulating p53 protein in its mature, wild type conformation, while enhancing the accumulation of p53 protein in a mutant conformation. Our results showed that derangement of p53 conformational integrity manifested as a loss of DNA binding. Stabilization of p53 in cells activates, through consensus p53 binding sites, a number of genes that have been implicated as functional targets in p53-induced cell growth repression or apoptosis. The WAP/CIP1 gene, which encodes the p21 protein, is the major mediator of p53-dependent G1/S arrest and, in agreement with our results, its expression was decreased after treatment with 4-OHEN. On the contrary, a 3 h treatment induced a G1/S checkpoint that prevented further entry of cells into the DNA synthetic phase of the cell cycle. Also, we observed an increase in p53 expression in the nuclear fraction, p53 activation and an increase in p21 expression. These results show that a short exposure to 4-OHEN induced a classical response to a DNA damaging agent with p53 activation and G1 arrest. Interestingly, it also demonstrated that a longer treatment with 4-OHEN evaded the p53-mediated cellular protective mechanism of G1 arrest and this stealth characteristic may contribute to 4-OHEN’s potent carcinogenic action.