cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Occupancy of human EPCR by protein C induces β-arrestin-2 biased PAR1 signaling by both APC and thrombin

Activation of protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) by activated protein C (APC) and thrombin elicits paradoxical cytoprotective and cytotoxic signaling responses in vascular endothelial cells through cleavage of the receptor at Arg-46 and Arg-41 protease recognition sites, respectively. It has been reported that unlike a disruptive G-protein-mediated PAR1 signaling by thrombin, APC induces a protective β-arrestin-2 biased PAR1 signaling by unknown mechanisms. We hypothesize that the occupancy of endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) by the Gla-domain of protein C/APC is responsible for the β-arrestin-2 biased PAR1 signaling independent of the protease cleavage site. To test this hypothesis, we monitored the signaling specificity of thrombin in endothelial cells in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with or without pretreatment of cells with protein C-S195A. The PAR1-dependent recruitment of β-arrestin-2 in response to LPS by both APC and thrombin was analyzed by functional, gene silencing, and signaling assays. Results indicate that similar to APC, thrombin exerts cytoprotective effects via β-arrestin-2 biased PAR1 signaling. Similar to APC, thrombin triggered β-arrestin-2-dependent recruitment of disheveled 2 (Dvl-2) in PC-S195A pretreated cells. Further studies in HeLa cells transfected with PAR1 constructs revealed that EPCR occupancy initiates β-arrestin-2 biased PAR1 signaling independent of the protease cleavage sites. We demonstrate that EPCR occupancy recruits G-protein coupled receptor kinase 5, thereby inducing β-arrestin-2 biased PAR1 signaling by both APC and thrombin. In support of a physiological relevance for these results, intraperitoneal administration of PC-S195A conferred a cytoprotective effect for thrombin in an in vivo inflammatory model.
Vapor deposition of molybdenum oxide using bis(ethylbenzene) molybdenum and water

Three molybdenum precursors—bis(acetylacetonate) dioxomolybdenum, molybdenum isopropoxide, and bis(ethylbenzene) molybdenum—were tested for molybdenum oxide vapor deposition. Quartz crystal microbalance studies were performed to monitor growth. Molybdenum isopropoxide and bis(ethylbenzene) molybdenum achieved linear growth rates 0.01 and 0.08 A/cycle, respectively, using atomic layer deposition techniques. Negligible MoOx growth was observed on alumina powder using molybdenum isopropoxide, as determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. Bis(ethylbenzene) molybdenum achieved loadings of 0.5, 1.1, and 1.9 Mo/nm2 on alumina powder after one, two, and five cycles, respectively, using atomic layer deposition techniques. The growth window for bis(ethylbenzene) molybdenum is 135–150 °C. An alternative pulsing strategy was also developed for bis(ethylbenzene) molybdenum that results in higher growth rates in less time compared to atomic layer deposition techniques. The outlined process ...
Utility of Clinical Features for the Diagnosis of Seizures in the Intensive Care Unit.

Purpose:Seizures in the intensive care unit are often subtle, and may have little or no clinical correlate. This study attempts to determine what clinical features are most strongly associated with the presence of electrographic seizures on continuous EEG (cEEG) monitoring.Methods:A retrospective re
Case 1: Leg and Hip Pain in an 8-year-old Boy with Autism.

1. Stephanie Marchant, MD* 2. Riaz Gillani, MD† 3. Janet Serwint, MD† 1. *United States Department of State, Washington, DC 2. †Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD An 8-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder presents with progressively worsening right hip and leg pain for 1 month. His mother describes the pain as initially self-resolving, sharp, and deep, followed by recurrent bouts of pain that are worse at night. He has no history of trauma. The pain starts in the right lower back and radiates to his groin. Review of systems is positive for occasional vomiting, sweating, swelling of the right leg, and a progressively worsening limp, with eventual refusal to bear weight. His family history is remarkable for juvenile idiopathic arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. Temperature is 36.7°C, pulse is 116 beats/min, respiratory rate is 24 breaths/min, and blood pressure is 98/70 mm Hg. Physical examination reveals a well-appearing, afebrile, normotensive boy with tenderness to palpation in the right lower abdominal quadrant without guarding or rebound; there is also swelling and tenderness to palpation of the right thigh without erythema. Pain is noted with right hip flexion, straight leg raise, and external rotation. There is 4/5 strength in the right leg/hip, 2/2 patellar reflexes bilaterally, and symmetrically intact motor and sensation in the lower extremities. Gait is antalgic, and the patient walks with an arched back and a notable limp. Laboratory studies reveal a normal complete blood cell count, a normal differential count, and normal electrolyte values. The lactate dehydrogenase level is 1,081 …
Influence of Differential Calcification in the Descending Thoracic Aorta on Aortic Pulse Pressure.

Purpose Multiple studies have shown pulse pressure (PP) to be a strong predictor of aortic calcification. However, no studies are available that correlate PP with aortic calcification at the segmental level. Methods We identified 37 patients with aortic PP measured during cardiac catheterization. Their noncontrast chest computed tomography scans were evaluated for the presence of calcium in different segments (ascending aorta, arch of aorta [arch], descending aorta) and quantified. Patients with calcification (Calcified Group A) were compared against patients without calcification (Noncalcified Group B) in terms of PP, calcification and compliance. Results The mean of the total calcium score was higher in the descending aorta than the arch or ascending aorta (691 vs 571 vs 131, respectively, P<0.0001). PP had the strongest correlation with calcification in the descending aorta (r=0.47, P=0.004). Calcified Group A had a much higher PP than Noncalcified Group B, with the greatest difference in the descending aorta (20 mmHg, P<0.0001), lesser in the ascending aorta (10 mmHg, P=0.12) and the least in the arch (5 mmHg, P=0.38). Calcified Group A patients also had much lower compliance than Noncalcified Group B patients, with the greatest difference among groups seen in the descending aorta (0.7 mL/mmHg, P=0.002), followed by the ascending aorta, then arch. Conclusions These are the first data to evaluate the relative impact of aortic segments in PP. Finding the greatest amount of calcification along with greatest change in PP and compliance in the descending aorta makes a case that the descending aorta plays a major role in PP as compared to other segments of the thoracic aorta.
Analysis of errors introduced by geographic coordinate systems on weather numeric prediction modeling

Abstract. Most atmospheric models, including the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, use a spherical geographic coordinate system to internally represent input data and perform computations. However, most geographic information system (GIS) input data used by the models are based on a spheroid datum because it better represents the actual geometry of the earth. WRF and other atmospheric models use these GIS input layers as if they were in a spherical coordinate system without accounting for the difference in datum. When GIS layers are not properly reprojected, latitudinal errors of up to 21 km in the midlatitudes are introduced. Recent studies have suggested that for very high-resolution applications, the difference in datum in the GIS input data (e.g., terrain land use, orography) should be taken into account. However, the magnitude of errors introduced by the difference in coordinate systems remains unclear. This research quantifies the effect of using a spherical vs. a spheroid datum for the input GIS layers used by WRF to study greenhouse gas transport and dispersion in northeast Pennsylvania.
How the initiation and resolution of repair sequences act as a device for the co-construction of membership and identity

This conversation analytic paper investigates how speakers self-position or are other-positioned as members of a certain social group (e.g., competent speakers of a language) through other-initiated repair. Findings illustrate the complexity of linguistic membership categories by demonstrating that they continually shift depending on local interactional goals and documenting how shifts are accomplished. The different levels and types of linguistic and cultural knowledge that are invoked in instances of repair on specific lexical items demonstrate the complexity of linguistic membership categorization, and this indicates a need to problematize the use of a priori and overly-vague labels like ‘non-native speaker’. Findings contribute to our understanding of the functions of other-initiated repair and the mechanisms of co-constructing membership (categorization) and thus social identity in interaction. They also raise questions about the relationship between amounts and types of knowledge and further our understanding of the construction of expert/novice categories via knowledge displays and negotiation.
Effects of Mycorrhizal Fungi, Biostimulants and Water Absorbing Polymers on the Growth and Survival of Four Landscape Plant Species

Abstract The addition of commercial mycorrhizal, transplant gel and/or biostimulant products to the root balls or backfill soil of Japanese holly, (Ilex crenata Thunb. ‘Green Luster’); arborvitae, (Thuja occidentalis L. ‘Emerald Green’); Japanese spirea, (Spiraea japonica L.f. ‘Shibori’); Bradford Callery pear, (Pyrus calleryana Decne. ‘Cleveland Select’ and ‘Redspire’) at the time of planting did not lead to significant improvement of plant growth or transplant survival compared to untreated plants receiving routine mulching with pine bark mulch alone.
MAIT Cells: A Link between Gut Integrity and Type 1 Diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a multifactorial autoimmune disease whose etiology involves complex interactions between the immune system and the intestinal microbiota. Recent studies by Rouxel et al. (2017) suggest that innate-like mucosal-associated invariant T cells (MAIT cells) may link gut integrity, the microbiota, and T1D.
Cycle day, estrogen level, and lead follicle size: analysis of 27,790 in vitro fertilization cycles to determine optimal start criteria for gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist.

Objective To determine the optimal criteria at which to start GnRH antagonists during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Design Retrospective clinical cohort. Setting IVF clinics. Patient(s) Women undergoing fresh autologous IVF using GnRH antagonist for ovulation suppression during COH. Intervention(s) Measurement of lead follicle size, E2 level, and cycle day of stimulation on day of antagonist initiation. Main Outcome Measure(s) Clinical pregnancy rate (PR). Result(s) The highest clinical PR was achieved when the antagonist was started when a lead follicle reached 14–15.9 mm in size (mean clinical PR 21.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] 19.3, 23.6) on cycle day 6 (mean clinical PR 22.2; 95% CI 17, 28.4), or when the E2 level was between 500 and 599 pg/mL (mean clinical PR 25.4; 95% CI 19.5, 32.4). Starting antagonists when the E2 level was 1,100 pg/mL reduced the odds of clinical pregnancy by 40% (odds ratio 0.60, 95% CI 0.5, 0.7). Conclusion(s) Cycle day, E2 level, and follicle size at time of antagonist start are all independent predictors of a clinical pregnancy after IVF. Initiating antagonists when the E2 level is extremely low ( 1,100 pg/mL) significantly reduces the odds of pregnancy.
The University of Oklahoma Severe Storms Intercept Project—1979

The University of Oklahoma (OU) Severe Storms Intercept Project—1979 was conducted in conjunction with the spring field program of the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), Norman, Okla., and the Severe Environmental Storms and Mesoscale Experiment (SESAME ‘79). The purposes of the project were to provide NSSL with ground-based visual observations, in the field, of thunderstorms that were observed simultaneously by Doppler radar; to document and photograph severe-storm phenomena and related damage; and to obtain high-quality movies of tornadic debris clouds. A ground-based intercept crew consisting of four members operated from 1 April 1979 to 15 June 1979. The itineraries of the chase crews were usually determined jointly by the NSSL forecaster and the OU crew on the basis of conventional data from the service “A” and “C” teletypewriters, the National Facsimile Circuit (NAFAX), interpretation of satellite photographs, and data from both a conventional and a Doppler radar. Although the total number of...
Quantifying Intermembrane Distances with Serial Image Dilations

A recently-described extracellular nanodomain, termed the perinexus, has been implicated in ephaptic coupling, which is an alternative mechanism for electrical conduction between cardiomyocytes. The current method for quantifying this space by manual segmentation is slow and has low spatial resolution.We developed an algorithm that uses serial image dilations of a binary outline to count the number of pixels between two opposing 2 dimensional edges.This algorithm requires fewer man hours and has a higher spatial resolution than the manual method while preserving the reproducibility of the manual process.In fact, experienced and novice investigators were able to recapitulate the results of a previous study with this new algorithm.The algorithm is limited by the human input needed to manually outline the perinexus and computational power mainly encumbered by a pre-existing pathfinding algorithm.However, the algorithm's high-throughput capabilities, high spatial resolution and reproducibility make it a versatile and robust measurement tool for use across a variety of applications requiring the measurement of the distance between any 2-dimensional (2D) edges.
Prediction of Insulin Resistance with Anthropometric and Clinical Laboratory Measures in Nondiabetic Teenagers.

Abstract Background: Adolescent obesity is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease in part due to its relationship to type 2 diabetes. Therefore, screening for type 2 diabetes is recomm...
Colloidal stability dictates drop breakup under electric fields

Electric fields can deform drops of fluid from their equilibrium shape, and induce breakup at sufficiently large field strengths. In this work, the electric field induced breakup of a squalane drop containing a colloidal suspension of carbon black particles with polyisobutylene succinimide (OLOA 11000) surfactant is studied. The drop is suspended in silicone oil. The breakup mode of a drop containing carbon black depends strongly on the suspension stability. It is observed that a drop of a stable suspension of carbon black has the same breakup mode as a drop with surfactant alone, i.e., without added carbon black. At lower electric fields, these drops break by the formation of lobes at the two ends of the drop; and at higher fields the homogeneous lobes break in a non-axisymmetric manner. However, a drop of an unstable suspension shows a drastically different breakup mode, and undergoes breakup much faster compared to a drop with surfactant alone. These drops elongate and form asymmetric lobes that develop into fingers and eventually disintegrate in an inhomogeneous, three-dimensional fashion. As a basis for comparison, the breakup of a pure squalane drop, and a squalane drop with equivalent surfactant concentrations but no carbon black particles is examined. Axisymmetric boundary integral computations are used to elucidate the mechanism of breakup. Our work demonstrates the impact of colloidal stability on the breakup of drops under an electric field. Colloidal stability on the time scale of drop deformation leads to rich and unexplored breakup phenomena.
Evaluation of the etiology of persistent iritis after cataract surgery

The purpose of this study was to evaluate patients with persistent iritis after cataract surgery to determine its incidence and risk factors. Adjusting the management of patients at risk could allow for a more predictable post-operative course and outcome. A retrospective chart review was performed of patients who had post-operative iritis longer than 1 month after cataract surgery during a 2-year period at Storm Eye Institute at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, South Carolina. Patient demographics and various pre-operative, intra-operative, and post-operative factors were analyzed for trends. Thirty-nine patients (49 eyes) met the inclusion criteria, and this group was compared to a control cohort of 40 patients (66 eyes) who did not have persistent iritis after cataract surgery. The overall incidence of post-operative iritis was 1.75%. In all patients with post-operative iritis lasting greater than 1 month, African American race and pupil expansion device use were statistically significant factors. After excluding patients with a history of ocular inflammation or known inflammatory or autoimmune diagnosis (1.20% incidence), there were still a significantly higher proportion of African Americans compared to the control group. When patients with post-operative iritis of less than 6 months in duration were additionally excluded, the incidence was 0.32%, and history of diabetes was statistically significant in addition to race. Risk factors for persistent iritis after cataract surgery include being diabetic, of African American racial background, and pupil expansion device use. These patients can be better informed of the higher risk of prolonged inflammation in their post-operative course, and peri-operative management can be tailored accordingly.
Empirical Mappings of the Frequency Response of an Electron Ratchet to the Characteristics of the Polymer Transport Layer

Flashing electron ratchets oscillate a periodic asymmetric potential to rectify nondirectional forces and thereby produce directional transport of electrons with zero source-drain bias. The relationship between the oscillation frequency of the potential and the ratchet (short-circuit) current reflects microscopic mechanisms of charge transport within the device. This paper describes experimental mappings of the “optimal frequency(ies)” of the ratchet fpeak—the oscillation frequencies that produce the largest ratchet current—to the carrier concentration, nh, and to the linear field effect transistor mobility, μh, for a poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) transport layer. Measurements on multiple devices, multiple P3HT films per device, and a range of annealing and photoexcitation conditions yield the empirical relationships fpeak ∝ nh and fpeak ∝ μh2/3. Finite-element simulations suggest the sublinear relationship between mobility and peak frequency arises due to a combination of damped and inertial mot...
A Path Forward for Smart Cities and IoT Devices

Global urbanization projections suggest that a great majority of human beings will be living in urban areas by the middle of this century. This trend imposes significant strains on urban infrastructure systems and adds additional challenges to achieving environmental, social and economic sustainability goals set by many city governments. Smart city products and services, backed by IoT systems, have been proposed as effective solutions to increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve services. However, as with any technology, IoT solutions for smart cities bring about great opportunities and, at the same time, threats to, among others, governance, security, privacy and community autonomy. As we accumulate experience with these smart city deployments, we must ask ourselves: What would we later regret not regulating now? What good opportunities might certain types of regulation hold back and how can this be mitigated? We offer our perspective on these questions and argue in favor of human-centered IoT systems that are owned, operated and managed much in the same way that other public urban infrastructure systems (e.g., wastewater) are.
Towards Understanding of Cracking during Drying of Thick Aqueous-Processed LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 Cathodes

Replacing N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) with water for processing of lithium-ion battery (LIB) electrodes has both cost and environmental benefits, which include reduced drying time, lower dryer cap...
­­­­­Comparison of T1-Post and FLAIR-Post MRI for identification of traumatic meningeal enhancement in traumatic brain injury patients

Traumatic meningeal enhancement (TME) is a novel biomarker observed on post-contrast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) in patients who undergo contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after suspected traumatic brain injury (TBI). TME may be seen on acute MRI despite the absence of other trauma-related intracranial findings. In this study we compare conspicuity of TME on FLAIR post-contrast and T1 weighted imaging (T1WI) post-contrast, and investigate if TME is best detected by FLAIR post-contrast or T1WI post-contrast sequences. Subjects selected for analysis enrolled in the parent study (NCT01132937) in 2016 and underwent contrast-enhanced MRI within 48 hours of suspected TBI. Two blinded readers reviewed pairs of pre- and post-contrast T1WI and FLAIR images for presence or absence of TME. Discordant pairs between the two blinded readers were reviewed by a third reader. Cohen's kappa coefficient was used to calculate agreement. Twenty-five subjects (15 males, 10 females; median age 48 (Q1:35-Q3:62; IQR: 27)) were included. The blinded readers had high agreement for presence of TME on FLAIR (Kappa of 0.90), but had no agreement for presence of TME on T1WI (Kappa of -0.24). The FLAIR and T1WI scans were compared among all three readers and 62% of the cases positive on FLAIR could be seen on T1WI. However, 38% of the cases who were read positive on FLAIR for TME were read negative for TME on T1WI. Conspicuity of TME is higher on post-contrast FLAIR MRI than on post-contrast T1WI. TME as seen on post-contrast FLAIR MRI can aid in the identification of patients with TBI.
Stimulators of medical students' interest in geriatric medicine-A Systematic Review.

Objectives This study is a systematic review on stimulators of interest in pursuing a geriatric career among medical students in different countries. The review also assessed whether there were differences or similarities based on geographic regions or income categorisations. Methods A 20-year (1998-2018) review of quality primary research articles was conducted (n = 10). For analysis, studies were categorised into low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and high-income countries, based on World Health Organization and World Bank's income grouping for the 2019 fiscal year. Results The frequently mentioned stimulators of interest in geriatrics were as follows: cultivating positive attitudes towards older people, participation in geriatric-related interventions and positive experiences during a geriatric training. Lack of published peer-reviewed articles from the LMICs limited the researchers' ability to compare the two income groups. Conclusion Suggestions to improve future systematic reviews that consider global factors, global participation or any aspect of global inclusion are discussed.
Clinical Determinants Differentiating the Severity of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Cancer Patients: Hospital Care or Home Recovery

Background: Cancer patients may carry a worse prognosis with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Most of the previous studies described the outcomes of hospitalized cancer patients. We aimed to study the clinical factors differentiating patients requiring hospital care vs. home recovery, and the trajectory of their anti-cancer treatment. Methods: This study was conducted in a community cancer center in New York City. Eligible patients were those who had cancer history and were diagnosed of SARS-CoV-2 infection between March 1 and May 30, 2020, with confirmatory SARs-CoV-2 virus test or antibody test. Four groups were constructed: (A) hospitalized and survived, (B) hospitalized requiring intubation and/or deceased, (C) non-hospitalized, asymptomatic, with suspicious CT image findings, close exposure, or positive antibody test, and (D) non-hospitalized and symptomatic. Results: One hundred and six patients were included in the analysis. Thirty-five patients (33.0%) required hospitalization and 13 (12.3%) died. Thirty (28.3%) patients were asymptomatic and 41 (38.7%) were symptomatic and recovered at home. Comparing to patients who recovered at home, hospitalized patients were composed of older patients (median age 71 vs. 63 years old, p = 0.000299), more who received negative impact treatment (62.9 vs. 32.4%, p = 0.0036) that mostly represented myelosuppressive chemotherapy (45.7 vs. 23.9%, p = 0.0275), and more patients with poorer baseline performance status (PS ≥ 2 25.7 vs. 2.8%, p = 0.0007). Hypoxemia (35% in group A vs. 73.3% in group B, p = 0.0271) at presentation was significant to predict mortality in hospitalized patients. The median cumulative hospital stay for discharged patients was 16 days (range 5-60). The median duration of persistent positivity of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was 28 days (range 10-86). About 52.9% of patients who survived hospitalization and required anti-cancer treatment reinitiated therapy. Ninety-two percent of the asymptomatic patients and 51.7% of the symptomatic patients who recovered at home continued treatment on schedule and almost all reinitiated treatment after recovery. Conclusions: Cancer patients may have a more severe status of SARS-CoV-2 infection after receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy. Avoidance should be considered in older patients with poor performance status. More than two thirds of patients exhibit minimal to moderate symptoms, and many of them can continue or restart their anti-cancer treatment upon recovery.
The triumph of doubt: Dark money and the science of deception: by David Michaels, New York, Oxford University Press, 2020, 344 pp., $27.95 (hardcover), ISBN: 9780190922665

It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it. Upton Sinclair—Michaels, 2020, pp. 258Public administration scholars have interrogated et...
Influences on tidal channel and aquaculture shrimp pond water chemical composition in Southwest Bangladesh

Detailed geochemical studies of both major and minor elements in Bangladesh surface waters are sparse, particularly in shrimp aquaculture pond environments. Therefore, water samples from shrimp aquaculture ponds and tidal channels were collected in high precipitation (July) and low precipitation (May) months from 2018–2019 in Southwest Bangladesh and analyzed for complete water chemistry. Selenium (Se) and arsenic (As) were elevated above WHO guidelines in 50% and ~ 87% of samples, respectively, but do not show any recognizable spatial patterns. Shrimp pond and tidal channel water compositions in the dry season (May) are similar, illustrating their connectivity and minimal endogenous effects within shrimp ponds. Tidal channels are less saline in July than shrimp ponds still irrigated by tidal channels, suggesting that either farmers limit irrigation to continue farming saltwater shrimp, or the irrigation flux is low and leads to a lag in aquaculture-tidal channel compositional homogenization. δ18O and δ2H isotopic compositions from samples in May of 2019 reveal tidal channel samples are closer to the local meteoric water line (LMWL) than shrimp pond samples, because of less evaporation. However, evaporation in May shrimp ponds has a minimal effect on water composition, likely because of regular drainage/exchange of pond waters. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is positively correlated with both δ18O and δ2H in shrimp ponds, suggesting that as evaporation increases, DOC becomes enriched. Multiple linear regression reveals that As and Se can be moderately predicted (adjusted R2 values between 0.4 and 0.7, p < 0.01) in surface waters of our study with only 3–4 independent predictor variables (e.g., Ni, V and DOC for Se prediction; Cu, V, Ni and P for As prediction). Thus, this general approach should be followed in other regions throughout the world when measurements for certain hazardous trace elements such as Se and As may be lacking in several samples from a dataset.
Tropical Forest Regeneration

Following large-scale human or natural disturbances, the regeneration of tropical forests follows a progression of stages through which forest assemblages gradually become enriched with species and increase in structural and functional complexity. Successional pathways and rates of change vary widely according to the nature of prior land use, the proximity of old-growth forest, and the availability of seed-dispersing fauna. Regenerating forests rapidly accumulate nutrients and carbon in vegetation, litter, and soil, but the recovery of species composition may take centuries. Regeneration of tropical forests provides essential resources and ecosystem services that support millions of forest-dependent people.
Hematopoietic Development of Human Embryonic Stem Cells in Culture

The successful isolation and characterization of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) provides a powerful tool to study the cellular and genetic mechanisms that mediate cell-fate decisions toward distinct developmental lineages. hESC-derived cells may also be suitable for novel cellular therapies. Significant progress in hematopoietic development of hESCs has demonstrated production of many types of blood cells from hESCs including myeloid, erythroid and lymphoid lineage cells, and possibly hematopoietic stem cells. Current established approaches to generate specific hematopoietic lineages are based on the initial pre-differentiation of hESCs into a heterogeneous mixture of cell populations. In this chapter, we describe two methods that have been successfully used in our laboratory: (1) co-culture with stromal cells derived from hematopoietic microenvironments and (2) x embryoid body (EB) formation. Subsequent to this early differentiation step, distinct progenitor cell populations can be derived, sorted, and utilized for further lineage-specific developmental studies.
Membrane Environment Modulates the pKa Values of Transmembrane Helices

In this work, we apply the recently developed constant pH molecular dynamics technique to study protonation equilibria of titratable side chains in the context of simple transmembrane (TM) helices ...
Cache-Oblivious Persistence

Partial persistence is a general transformation that takes a data structure and allows queries to be executed on any past state of the structure. The cache-oblivious model is the leading model of a modern multi-level memory hierarchy. We present the first general transformation for making cache-oblivious model data structures partially persistent.
Phosphate tether-mediated ring-closing metathesis for the generation of medium to large, P-stereogenic bicyclo[n.3.1]phosphates

A phosphate tether-mediated ring-closing metathesis study towards the synthesis of P-stereogenic bicyclo[6.3.1]-, bicyclo[7.3.1]-, and bicyclo[8.3.1]phosphates is reported. This study demonstrates expanded utility of phosphate tether-mediated desymmetrization of C2-symmetric, 1,3-anti-diol dienes in generating complex medium to large, P-stereogenic bicyclo[n.3.1]phosphates..
On sets of integers with restrictions on their products

A product-injective labeling of a graph G is an injection ? : V ( G ) ? Z such that ? ( u ) ? ( v ) ? ? ( x ) ? ( y ) for any distinct edges u v , x y ? E ( G ) . Let P ( G ) be the smallest N ? 1 such that there exists a product-injective labeling ? : V ( G ) ? N . Let P ( n , d ) be the maximum possible value of P ( G ) over n -vertex graphs G of maximum degree at most d . In this paper, we determine the asymptotic value of P ( n , d ) for all but a small range of values of d relative to n . Specifically, we show that there exist constants a , b 0 such that P ( n , d ) ~ n if d ? n ( log n ) - a and P ( n , d ) ~ n log n if d ? n ( log n ) b .
Charge based intra-cartilage delivery of single dose dexamethasone using Avidin nano-carriers suppresses cytokine-induced catabolism long term

Summary Objective Avidin exhibits ideal characteristics for targeted intra-cartilage drug delivery: its small size and optimal positive charge enable rapid penetration through full-thickness cartilage and electrostatic binding interactions that give long half-lives in vivo . Here we conjugated Avidin with dexamethasone (DEX) and tested the hypothesis that single-dose Avidin-delivered DEX can ameliorate catabolic effects in cytokine-challenged cartilage relevant to post-traumatic OA. Methods Avidin was covalently conjugated with DEX using fast (ester) and slow, pH-sensitive release (hydrazone) linkers. DEX release kinetics from these conjugates was characterized using 3 H-DEX-Avidin (scintillation counting). Cartilage explants treated with IL-1α were cultured with or without Avidin-DEX conjugates and compared to soluble DEX. Sulfated-glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) loss and biosynthesis rates were measured using DMMB assay and 35 S-incorporation, respectively. Chondrocyte viability was measured using fluorescence staining. Results Ester linker released DEX from Avidin significantly faster than hydrazone under physiological buffer conditions. Single dose Avidin-DEX suppressed cytokine-induced sGAG loss over 3-weeks, rescued IL-1α-induced cell death, and restored sGAG synthesis levels without causing cytotoxicity. The two Avidin-DEX conjugates in 1:1 combination (fast:slow) had the most prominent bioactivity compared to single dose soluble-DEX, which had a shorter-lived effect and thus needed continuous replenishment throughout the culture period to ameliorate catabolic effects. Conclusion Intra-cartilage drug delivery remains inadequate as drugs rapidly clear from the joint, requiring multiple injections or sustained release of high doses in synovial fluid. A single dose of Avidin-conjugated drug enables rapid uptake and sustained delivery inside cartilage at low intratissue doses, and potentially can minimize unwanted drug exposure to other joint tissues.
From Proximity to Utility: A Voronoi Partition of Pareto Optima

We present an extension of Voronoi diagrams where when considering which site a client is going to use, in addition to the site distances, other site attributes are also considered (for example, prices or weights). A cell in this diagram is then the locus of all clients that consider the same set of sites to be relevant. In particular, the precise site a client might use from this candidate set depends on parameters that might change between usages, and the candidate set lists all of the relevant sites. The resulting diagram is significantly more expressive than Voronoi diagrams, but naturally has the drawback that its complexity, even in the plane, might be quite high. Nevertheless, we show that if the attributes of the sites are drawn from the same distribution (note that the locations are fixed), then the expected complexity of the candidate diagram is near linear. To this end, we derive several new technical results, which are of independent interest. In particular, we provide a high-probability, asymptotically optimal bound on the number of Pareto optima points in a point set uniformly sampled from the d-dimensional hypercube. To do so we revisit the classical backward analysis technique, both simplifying and improving relevant results in order to achieve the high-probability bounds.
Product Differentiation, Multi-product Firms and Estimating the Impact of Trade Liberalization on Productivity

This paper studies whether removing barriers to trade induces efficiency gains for producers. Like almost all empirical work which relies on a production function to recover productivity measures, I do not observe physical output at the firm level. Therefore, it is imperative to control for unobserved prices and demand shocks. I develop an empirical model that combines a demand system with a production function to generate estimates of productivity. I rely on my framework to identify the productivity effects from reduced trade protection in the Belgian textile market. This trade liberalization provides me with observed demand shifters that are used to separate out the associated price, scale, and productivity effects. Using a matched plant-product level data set and detailed quota data, I find that correcting for unobserved prices leads to substantially lower productivity gains. More specifically, abolishing all quota protections increases firm-level productivity by only 2 percent as opposed to 8 percent when relying on standard measures of productivity. My results beg for a serious reevaluation of a long list of empirical studies that document productivity responses to major industry shocks and, in particular, to opening up to trade. My findings imply the need to study the impact of changes in the operating environment on productivity together with market power and prices in one integrated framework. The suggested method and identification strategy are quite general and can be applied whenever it is important to distinguish between revenue productivity and physical productivity.
Some Inconvenient Truths about Climate Change Policy: The Distributional Impacts of Transportation Policies

Abstract Climate policy has favored costly measures that implicitly or explicitly subsidize lowcarbon fuels.We simulate four transportation sector policies: cap and trade (CAT), ethanol subsidies, a renewable fuel standard (RFS), and a lowcarbon fuel standard. Our simulations confirm that alternatives to CAT are 2.5 to 4 times more costly but are amenable to adoption due to right-skewed distributions of gains. We analyze voting on the Waxman-Markey (WM) CAT bill. Conditional on a district’s CAT gains, a district’s RFS gains are negatively correlated with the likelihood of voting for WM. Our analysis supports campaign contributions as a partial mechanism.
Multiset Rewriting and Security Protocol Analysis

The Dolev-Yao model of security protocol analysis may beformalized using a notation based on multi-set rewriting with existential quantification. This presentation describes the multiset rewriting approach to security protocol analysis, algorithmic upper and lower bounds on specific forms of protocol analysis, and some of the ways this model is useful for formalizing sublte properties of specific protocols.
Th-17 cell activation in response to high salt following acute kidney injury is associated with progressive fibrosis and attenuated by AT-1R antagonism.

Exposure of rats to elevated dietary salt following recovery from acute kidney injury (AKI) accelerates the transition to chronic kidney disease (CKD), and is dependent on lymphocyte activity. Here we tested whether high salt diet triggers lymphocyte activation in postischemic kidneys to worsen renal inflammation and fibrosis. Male Sprague–Dawley rats on a 0.4% salt diet were subjected to left unilateral ischemia–reperfusion and allowed to recover for 5 weeks. This resulted in a mild elevation of CD4 + T cells relative to sham animals. Contralateral unilateral nephrectomy and elevated dietary salt (4%) for 4 extra weeks hastened CKD and interstitial fibrosis. Activated T cells were increased in the kidney threefold after 4 weeks of elevated dietary salt exposure relative to post-AKI rats before salt feeding. The T cell subset was largely positive for IL-17, indicative of Th-17 cells. Because angiotensin II activity may influence lymphocyte activation, injured rats were given the AT 1 R antagonist, losartan, along with high salt diet. This significantly reduced the number of renal Th-17 cells to levels of sham rats, and significantly reduced the salt-induced increase in fibrosis to about half. In vitro studies in AKI–primed CD4 + T cells indicated that angiotensin II and extracellular sodium enhanced, and losartan inhibited, IL-17 expression. Thus, dietary salt modulates immune cell activity in postischemic recovering kidneys because of the activity of local RAS, suggesting the participation of these cells in CKD progression post-AKI.
The concept of “client” from a process consultation perspective: A guide for change agents

Defines the different categories of client that a consultant must deal with and the levels of intervention that must be considered in relation to client types. Examines the principles of process consultation that must be observed in any client relationship. These principles show how process consultation as a form of helping differs from other kinds of consultation. Argues that every consultant needs to be able to play the process consultation role.
The Self-avoiding Walk Spanning a Strip

We review the existence of the infinite length self-avoiding walk in the half plane and its relationship to bridges. We prove that this probability measure is also given by the limit as β→βc− of the probability measure on all finite length walks ω with the probability of ω proportional to β|ω| where |ω| is the number of steps in ω. (βc is the reciprocal of the connective constant.) The self-avoiding walk in a strip \(\{z : 0<\operatorname{Im}(z)<y\}\) is defined by considering all self-avoiding walks ω in the strip which start at the origin and end somewhere on the top boundary with probability proportional to \(\beta_{c}^{|\omega|}\). We prove that this probability measure may be obtained by conditioning the SAW in the half plane to have a bridge at height y. This observation is the basis for simulations to test conjectures on the distribution of the endpoint of the SAW in a strip and the relationship between the distribution of this strip SAW and SLE8/3.
Getting Serious About An International Criminal Court

The purpose of Part I of this article is to shed light (to the extent possible without violating post-government employment privileges) on the evolution of the U.S. Governments' position from one of cautious skepticism to qualified support for the establishment of an ICC. Part II of this article analyzes and suggests revisions to the proposed statue for an ICC recently prepared by the UN International Law Commission ("ILC").
Sectoral Allocation by Gender of Latin American Workers over the Liberalization Period of the 1990s

Did the types of jobs that men and women hold change during the recent period of economic reforms in Argentina, Brazil, and Costa Rica? Among both men and women in all three countries (except Brazilian men), workers have become more likely to hold informal wage jobs and less likely to hold formal sector jobs. The recent restructuring of Latin American economies has renewed interest in the effects of trade liberalization on labor markets and on the gender division of labor. Cunningham does not attempt to establish causality between economic reforms and the types of jobs that men and women hold. Instead, she provides a detailed description of the trends in male and female formal and informal sector participation during the economic reform period in Argentina, Brazil, and Costa Rica. Cunningham first compares the gender composition of the formal, informal wage, and self-employment sectors in a year before reforms (1988 for Argentina, 1989 for Brazil and Costa Rica) and a year after reforms (1997 for Argentina, 1995 for Brazil and Costa Rica). Although women continued to be more likely than men to work in the informal wage sector, there is no trend of masculinization or feminization of the informal sector or any other. Instead, in Argentina men have overtaken women as the most prevalent workers in the informal wage sector, while in Brazil the opposite has occurred (as men move into self-employment). In Costa Rica there have been no statistically observable changes. The author then considers the distribution across sectors within each gender group to identify whether men and women are more likely to select different sectors in the post-reform period relative to the pre-reform period. Among both men and women in all three countries (except Brazilian men), workers have become more likely to hold informal wage jobs and less likely to hold formal sector jobs. Trends in human capital accumulation explain these changes for both men and women, while changes in gender roles, primarily in homecare and marriage, do not seem to have an effect. This paper - a product of Gender Sector Unit, Latin America and the Caribbean Region - is part of a larger effort in the region to understand the role of gender in developing country labor markets. The author may be contacted at wcunningham@worldbank.org.
Vacuity Checking in the Modal Mu-Calculus

Vacuity arises when a logical formula is trivially true in a given model due, for example, to antecedent failure. Beer et al. have recently introduced a logic-independent notion of vacuity and shown that certain logics, i.e., those with polarity, admit an efficient decision procedure for vacuity detection. We show that the modal mu-calculus, a very expressive temporal logic, is a logic with polarity and hence the results of Beer et al. are applicable. We also extend the definition of vacuity to achieve a new notion of redundancy in logical formulas. Redundancy captures several forms of antecedent failure that escape traditional vacuity analysis, including vacuous actions in temporal modalities and unnecessarily strong temporal operators. Furthermore, we have implemented an efficient redundancy checker for the modal mu-calculus in the context of the XMC model checker. Our checker generates diagnostic information in the form of all maximal subformulas that are redundant and exploits the fact that XMC can cache intermediate results in memo tables between model-checking runs. We have applied our redundancy checker to a number of previously published case studies, and found instances of redundancy that have gone unnoticed till now. These findings provide compelling evidence of the importance of redundancy detection in the design process.
Clinical Trials Protocols

A system is chaotic if it is governed by a set of deterministic equations, but displays erratic, apparently random, behavior. The mathematical structure may be the iteration of linked difference equations in discrete time, or the evolution of a set of linked differential equations in continuous time. Stochastic interpretations, especially those involving time series analysis, are described. Keywords: deterministic; difference equation; differential equation; attractor; fractal; time series; pseudo-random
Electroexcitation of the Roper resonance from CLAS data

The helicity amplitudes of the electroexcitation of the Roper resonance on proton are extracted at 1.7 < Q 2 < 4.2 GeV 2 from recent high precision JLab-CLAS cross sections data and longitudinally polarized beam asymmetry for π + electroproduction on protons. The analysis is made using two approaches, dispersion relations and unitary isobar model, which give consistent results. It is found that the transverse helicity amplitude for the γ*p → P 11(1440) transition, which is large and negative at Q 2 = 0, becomes large and positive at Q 2 ≃ 2 GeV 2, and then drops slowly with Q 2. Longitudinal helicity amplitude, that was previously found from CLAS data as large and positive at Q 2 = 0.4, 0.65 GeV 2, drops with Q 2. These results rule out the presentation of P 11(1440) as a q 3 G hybrid state, and provide strong evidence in favor of this resonance as a first radial excitation of the 3q ground state.
Fundamentals of Plasma Physics

Preface 1. Basic concepts 2. The Vlasov, two-fluid, and MHD models of plasma dynamics 3. Motion of a single plasma particle 4. Elementary plasma waves 5. Streaming instabilities and the Landau problem 6. Cold plasma waves in a magnetized plasma 7. Waves in inhomogeneous plasmas and wave energy relations 8. Vlasov theory of warm electrostatic waves in a magnetized plasma 9. MHD equilibria 10. Stability of static MHD equilibria 11. Magnetic helicity interpreted and Woltjer-Taylor relaxation 12. Magnetic reconnection 13. Fokker-Planck theory of collisions 14. Wave-particle nonlinearities 15. Wave-wave nonlinearities 16. Non-neutral plasmas 17. Dusty plasmas Appendix A. Intuitive method for vector calculus identities Appendix B. Vector calculus in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates Appendix C. Frequently used physical constants and formulae Bibliography References Index.