cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Progression of non-alcoholic steatosis to steatohepatitis and fibrosis parallels cumulative accumulation of danger signals that promote inflammation and liver tumors in a high fat–cholesterol–sugar diet model in mice

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming a pandemic. While multiple ‘hits’ have been reported to contribute to NAFLD progression to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis and liver cancer, understanding the natural history of the specific molecular signals leading to hepatocyte damage, inflammation and fibrosis, is hampered by the lack of suitable animal models that reproduce disease progression in humans. The purpose of this study was first, to develop a mouse model that closely mimics progressive NAFLD covering the spectrum of immune, metabolic and histopathologic abnormalities present in human disease; and second, to characterize the temporal relationship between sterile/exogenous danger signals, inflammation, inflammasome activation and NAFLD progression. Male C57Bl/6 mice were fed a high fat diet with high cholesterol and a high sugar supplement (HF–HC–HSD) for 8, 27, and 49 weeks and the extent of steatosis, liver inflammation, fibrosis and tumor development were evaluated at each time point. The HF–HC–HSD resulted in liver steatosis at 8 weeks, progressing to steatohepatitis and early fibrosis at 27 weeks, and steatohepatitis, fibrosis, and tumor development at 49 weeks compared to chow diet. Steatohepatitis was characterized by increased levels of MCP-1, TNFα, IL-1β and increased liver NASH histological score. We found increased serum levels of sterile danger signals, uric acid and HMGB1, as early as 8 weeks, while endotoxin and ATP levels increased only after 49 weeks. Increased levels of these sterile and microbial danger signals paralleled upregulation and activation of the multiprotein complex inflammasome. At 27, 49 weeks of HF–HC–HSD, activation of M1 macrophages and loss of M2 macrophages as well as liver fibrosis were present. Finally, similar to human NASH, liver tumors occurred in 41% of mice in the absence of cirrhosis and livers expressed increased p53 and detectable AFP. HF–HC–HSD over 49 weeks induces the full spectrum of liver pathophysiologic changes that characterizes the progression of NAFLD in humans. NAFLD progression to NASH, fibrosis and liver tumor follows progressive accumulation of sterile and microbial danger signals, inflammasome activation, altered M1/M2 cell ratios that likely contribute to NASH progression and hepatic tumor formation.
Role of M protein in adherence of group A streptococci.

The role of the M protein in adherence of group A streptococci to human epithelial cells was directly tested by using an isogenic pair of M+ and M- strains. There was no difference between these strains in the number of streptococcal units that adhered to buccal or tonsillar epithelial cells, indicating the following: (i) that adhesins that are not dependent upon M protein expression are present on the surface of group A streptococci and (ii) that the M protein is not the primary streptococcal adherence ligand. However, the M+ strain adhered to tonsillar epithelial cells as aggregates. This aggregation was dependent on the presence of the M protein, since the isogenic M- strain did not clump. The coaggregation of streptococci suggests that the M protein plays an important role in promoting the formation of microcolonies after initial attachment. Binding to fibronectin, a potential epithelial cell receptor for group A streptococci, was also the same for the isogenic M+ and M- strains as well as for an isogenic strain with a regulatory mutation that decreases the expression of M protein. In summary, the M protein is not the primary streptococcal adhesin, nor is it required to orient the streptococcal adhesin and/or fibronectin receptor. Images
Massive intracardiac thromboembolism following spinal surgery.

A 71-year-old female with scoliosis and multiple laminectomies underwent C3-5 laminectomy with root decompression for bilateral lower extremity pain and weakness. Four days after discharge, while recovering at a skilled nursing facility, she developed vague chest pain and presented to her orthopaedic surgeon's office who referred her immediately to the emergency department (ED) for suspected pulmonary embolism. Upon presentation to the ED, she transiently required respiratory support with face mask …
Conservation, community, and culture? New organizational challenges of community forest concessions in the Maya Biosphere Reserve of Guatemala

Abstract Community-based forestry has received much recent attention as an effort to protect threatened Southern forests by linking conservation with sustainable livelihoods. Many researchers have emphasized the importance of effective organization for successful community-based forestry. While significant attention has been paid to community-level organizational design for collective action, less attention has been given to the role secondary-level grassroots associations play in supporting forest governance. The case of the Association of Forest Communities of Peten (ACOFOP) in Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve is discussed, using a framework drawn from research on multipurpose agrarian federations. As it confronts ongoing problems of representation, equity and legitimacy, ACOFOP now encourages associated community forest concessions to diversify beyond commercial timber into collectively organized non-timber forest activities. Diversification, however, brings new governance issues with new participants, objectives and organizational logics that challenge ACOFOP to change while maintaining characteristics that support successful advocacy of its members' interests. ACOFOP and its members actively experiment with several organizational alternatives, each with diverse implications for the balancing of political and economic roles. To better understand and support community forestry initiatives, their associations and similar agrarian organizations should be viewed in dynamic rather than static terms, and the central role local participants play in adapting their own organizations recognized.
Subtle issues in model specification and estimation of marginal structural models.

We review the concept of time-dependent confounding by using the example in paper “Comparative effectiveness of individual angiotensin receptor blockers on risk of mortality in patients with chronic heart failure” by Desai et al. and illustrate how to adjust for it by using inverse probability of treatment weighting through a simulated example. We discuss a few subtle issues that arise in specification of the model for treatment required to fit marginal structural models (MSMs) and in specification of the structural model for the outcome. We discuss the differences between the effects estimated in MSMs and intention-to-treat effects estimated in randomized trials, followed by an outline of some limitations of MSMs. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reverse Engineering Antibiotic Sensitivity in a Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolate

Antibiotic resistance is a pervasive and growing clinical problem. We describe an evaluation of a reverse engineering approach for identifying cellular mechanisms and genes that could be manipulated to increase antibiotic sensitivity in a resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolate. We began by chemically mutating a broadly resistant isolate of P. aeruginosa and screening for mutants with increased sensitivity to the aminoglycoside amikacin, followed by performing whole-genome transcriptional profiling of the mutant and wild-type strains to characterize the global changes occurring as a result of the mutations. We then performed a series of assays to characterize the mechanisms involved in the increased sensitivity of the mutant strains. We report four primary results: (i) mutations that increase sensitivity occur at a high frequency (10(-2)) relative to the frequency of those that increase resistance (10(-5) to 10(-10)) and occur at a frequency 10(4) higher than the frequency of a single point mutation; (ii) transcriptional profiles were altered in sensitive mutants, resulting in overall expression patterns more similar to those of the sensitive laboratory strain PAO1 than those of the parental resistant strain; (iii) genes found from transcriptional profiling had the more dramatic changes in expression-encoded functions related to cellular membrane permeability and aminoglycoside modification, both of which are known aminoglycoside resistance mechanisms; and finally, (iv) even though we did not identify the specific sites of mutation, several different follow-up MIC assays suggested that the mutations responsible for increased sensitivity differed between sensitive mutants.
Survival and reproduction of Laricobius nigrinus Fender (Coleoptera: Derodontidae), a predator of hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Homoptera: Adelgidae) in field cages

Abstract Laricobius nigrinus Fender (Coleoptera: Derodontidae) is being evaluated as a biological control agent for the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae Annand (Homoptera: Adelgidae). Predator exclusion studies on survival, reproduction, and impact on HWA populations were investigated over two years in Virginia, US. In year 1, branches were selected to receive one of three treatments: caged hemlock branches with predators; caged hemlock branches without predators; and uncaged hemlock branches. L. nigrinus adults survived from February to April, producing up to 41 progeny per female. Adelgid densities on branches exposed to L. nigrinus exhibited a significantly higher rate of decline than those on branches not exposed to predators. Additionally, the final density of sistens and progrediens was significantly lower on caged branches containing L. nigrinus than on caged and uncaged branches without predators. In year 2, L. nigrinus survival and predation was evaluated over two 10-week sample periods: (November–January and February–April). L. nigrinus survived throughout the 6-month test period, with 89% surviving through January and 55% through April. Between February and April, 38 progeny were produced per beetle. The decrease in adelgids, measured in both numbers of adelgids and percent reduction per branch, was significantly higher ( p L. nigrinus than on those without predators.
Dispersion of monophasic action potential durations and activation times during atrial pacing, ventricular pacing, and ventricular premature stimulation in canine ventricles

We studied dispersion of repolarisation and the components of dispersion during atrial pacing (AP), ventricular pacing (VP), and programmed ventricular premature stimulation (VPS) using six simultaneously recorded monophasic action potentials (MAP's) from ventricular surface in nine open-chest dogs. Varitions in MAP duration (MAPD) caused no changes in the configuration of strength-interval curves. During AP, maximum dispersion (MD) between any two of six sites averaged 32± 10 ms, consisting of 27 ± 10 ms MAPD and 4±9 ms activation time (AT) differences; during VP, MD averaged 77± 16 ms, consisting of 7± 15 ms MAPD and 70± 13 ms AT differences. Maximum dispersion in the earliest ventricular premature complexes (VPC) averaged 97 ± 16 ms: the difference between this value and the MD during VP was due to an increase in MAPD difference without significant change in AT difference. Dispersion during VPS exceeded dispersion during AP by 5 to 70 ms at 61 of 68 pairs of adjacent sites separated by 1.5 to 2.0 cm; the greatest increases were due to added contributions of MAPD and AT differences. Greatest dispersion between any two of six sites during VPS occurred in the early VPC, ie, at coupling intervals (CI) ≤30 ms following effective refractory period (ERP), but at the adjacent sites the timing of greatest dispersion during VPS varied, occurring at about one half of the sites at CI within 40 to 220 ms following ERP. Our results show that the MD during AP is due predominantly to MAPD difference, during VP predominantly to AT difference, and that prematurity increases the contribution of MAPD differences to dispersion from an average of 9% during VP to an average of 25%. No spontaneous repetitive activity occurred during VPS on the surface of the left ventricle using 2 ms stimuli of strength up to 40 mA.
Industrial Paternalism: Discourse and Practice in Nineteenth-Century French Mining and Metallurgy

In recent years paternalism has become one of the most discussed concepts in social history. While historians of women invoke paternalism and patriarchy to help explain relations of male domination, Marxist historians have found paternalism useful in expanding their analyses of class consciousness. Eugene Genovese organized his interpretation of slavery in the American south around paternalism. For E. P. Thompson, the breakdown of the ideology and practice of rural paternalism underlay the development of “class struggle without class” in eighteenth-century England. Despite Genovese's warning that paternalism is an inappropriate concept for understanding industrial society, several recent studies have identified paternalism as an important factor in the history of industrial labor during the nineteenth century. Daniel Walkowitz and Tamara Haraven have analyzed paternalism in the textile industries of upstate New York and southern New Hampshire. Lawrence Schofer and David Crew have studied paternalism in nineteenth-century German heavy industry, and Patrick Joyce has recently argued for its centrality in the restructuring of class relations in the late Victorian textile industry.
Experiential Acceptance and Psychological Well-Being in Korean-Born Adoptees:

Previous research on Korean-born adoptees suggests that exploring one’s ethnic identity may increase one’s psychological well-being. Existing research also suggests that some adoptees may not engag...
THERMAL AND ENERGETIC CONSTRAINTS ON ECTOTHERM ABUNDANCE : A GLOBAL TEST USING LIZARDS

Population densities of birds and mammals have been shown to decrease with body mass at approximately the same rate as metabolic rates increase, indicating that energetic needs constrain endotherm population densities. In ectotherms, the exponential increase of metabolic rate with body temperature suggests that environmental temperature may additionally constrain population densities. Here we test simple bioenergetic models for an ecologically important group of ectothermic vertebrates by examining 483 lizard populations. We find that lizard population densities decrease as a power law of body mass with a slope approximately inverse to the slope of the relationship between metabolic rates and body mass. Energy availability should limit population densities. As predicted, environmental productivity has a positive effect on lizard density, strengthening the relationship between lizard density and body mass. In contrast, the effect of environmental temperature is at most weak due to behavioral thermoregulation, thermal evolution, or the temperature dependence of ectotherm performance. Our results provide initial insights into how energy needs and availability differentially constrain ectotherm and endotherm density across broad spatial scales.
Thinking about Human Abilities

When one looks for a studied moment at the myriad of abilities that humans display, it’s as if one were to look into the heavens on a clear night and become stirred by the ceaseless drift of the clouds of the Milky Way. On such a night one might be dimly aware that there is order and system in the celestial white. But where among the drifting haze might one draw dimensions to represent this order? At first there is no answer to this question, only befuddlement. The same is true for human abilities. They appear as free-floating swarms emerging from spaces of unknown many dimensions. Is there genuine order in this throng, or can one at least impose an order that will not do great injustice to the complexity and still enable one to organize thinking and talking about it? That is the major question of this chapter.
Teaching Technology to Technologists

CONTEXT The field of radiologic technology is in a transition period between the traditional film-based model and the digital-based model. OBJECTIVE To determine the extent to which educational programs accredited by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) are providing digital imaging-specific education. METHODS A survey regarding digital imaging instruction was administered electronically to program directors of 289 JRCERT-accredited educational programs in the United States. RESULTS One hundred forty-four responses were received, for a response rate of 50%. The survey revealed that the majority of educational programs (73.6%) have added, modified or are already covering digital imaging topics, while other programs (21.5%) were in the planning stages of preparing coursework.
PSLRA and Litigation Backed Investor Speculation

Following sharp drops in securities prices, newer investors may allege they purchased their shares based on fraudulent information from management in order to recover their losses in court, albeit at the expense of current and long-term shareholders. Inherently, following the release of information, the stock is worth more to new investors who have the option to sue, than it is for existing shareholders who do not; with the option value dependent on the uncertainty surrounding the information's accuracy. We examine how changes to this option, through the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA) in 1995, affected investors' incentive to speculate and drive up prices. While previous studies have documented a positive reaction to the proposed legislation, we found that the reaction was significantly negative for firms with higher market to book ratios, even when scaled by each firms' average market to book. Furthermore, we find that the reaction of firms in the highest valuation quartile was significantly more negative than the returns in the other quartiles, even after controlling for other factors previously found to be significant factors in explaining the markets' response to the changes.
High-performance aromatic polyimide fibres. Part V Compressive properties of BPDA-DMB fibre

A new polyimide has been synthesized from 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and 2,2′-dimethyl-4,4′-diaminobiphenyl (DMB). A high-strength, high-modulus, high-temperature fibre has been developed from this polyimide via a dry-jet wet spinning method. The tensile strength of BPDA-DMB fibres is 3.3 GPa and the tensile modulus is around 130 GPa. The compressive strength of the fibres has been investigated through a tensile recoil test (TRT), while the fibre morphology after compression has been studied via polarized light microscopy (PLM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). From the TRT measurements, we have observed that the compressive strength of this fibre is 665 (±5) MPa, which is higher than those of other aromatic polymer fibres. The effect of fibre diameter on the compressive strength of BPDA-DMB fibres is not substantial. The critical compressive strain for this fibre at which the kink bands start appearing under the observation of PLM is at 0.51–0.54%. Subglass relaxation processes have been observed and the measure of an apparent relaxation strength may serve as one of the factors which significantly affect the compressive strength of the fibres. Tensile tests of pre-compressed fibres reveal a continuous loss in tensile strength (up to 30%) with increasing the compressive strain (up to 2.6%). PLM and SEM observations show that during the compression BPDA-DMB fibres form regularly-spaced kink bands at ±60 ° (±2 °) with respect to the fibre axis. The kink band density initially increases with the compressive strain, and reaches a maximum at around 1.1%. Further increase of the compressive strain decreases this density due to the merge of the neighbouring bands. The size of kink bands also correspondingly increases within this compressive strain region. The morphological observation via SEM implies the existence of a skin-core structure and microfibrillar texture which are common features in polymer fibres.
Evaluating N2O5 heterogeneous hydrolysis parameterizations for CalNex 2010

Nighttime chemistry in the troposphere is closely tied to the dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5) budget, but high uncertainties remain regarding the model representation of the heterogeneous hydrolysis of N2O5 on aerosol particles. In this study we used the community model WRF-Chem to simulate a 3-day period during the California Nexus (CalNex) Campaign in 2010. We extended WRF-Chem to include the heterogeneous hydrolysis of N2O5 and contrasted the impact of different published parameterizations of N2O5 heterogeneous hydrolysis on the spatial distribution of uptake coefficients and the resulting N2O5 concentrations. For all the cases, modeled N2O5 uptake coefficients showed strong spatial variability, with higher values in the nocturnal boundary layer compared to the residual layer, especially in environments with high relative humidities, such as over the ocean and along the coast. The best agreement of modeled and observed uptake coefficients was obtained using the parameterization by Davis et al. (2008) combined with the treatment of organic coating by Riemer et al. (2009). For this case the temporal evolution of lower boundary layer N2O5 mixing ratios was reproduced well, and the predictions of surface mixing ratios of ozone and NOx were improved. However, the model still overpredicted the uptake coefficients in the residual layer and consequently underpredicted N2O5 concentrations in the residual layer. This study also highlights that environments with low relative humidities pose a challenge for aerosol thermodynamic models in calculating aerosol water uptake, and this impacts N2O5 heterogeneous hydrolysis parameterizations.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Postoperative Bacterial Sepsis

Early diagnosis and treatment of bacterial sepsis is essential if septicemia is to be successfully overcome. Too often, treatment is delayed for want of overt signs of sepsis, while more subtle early changes have gone unrecognized. A pragmatic approach to diagnosis and treatment of bacterial sepsis following operative procedures is described. The emphasis is on infection by gram-negative organisms.
Electrophoretic Methods for Screening for Antibiotics in Animal Feeds

A new system for screening antibiotics in animal feeds involves washing antibiotic-containing animal feeds with a series of organic solvents to eliminate interferences and partially separate the antibiotics. Antibiotics are then determined by using paper electrophoresis and thin-layer bioautography. This approach enables the separation and qualitative identification of 17 antibiotics currently used in animal feeds and provides the ability to detect low-level cross-contamination.
The Political Economy of Hope and Fear: Capitalism and the Black Condition in America

(2002). The Political Economy of Hope and Fear: Capitalism and the Black Condition in America. Journal of Economic Issues: Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 833-836.
Japan’s Fiscal Challenge: The Political Economy of Reform

The year 2011 was an annus horribilis for Japan. The Tohoku earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent nuclear crisis were of course by far the worst of events of a bad year, but there was plenty of bad economic and political news to go around. Not only did the economic and human dislocations of the tsunami reverberate much longer than most had initially envisioned, Japan also shed its fifth prime minister in as many years, underwent a loss of confidence in the nuclear power plants that provided 30 percent of the nation’s electricity, saw an acceleration of fiscal deterioration and an apparent outsourcing of manufacturing, witnessed continuing legislative gridlock and confusion over rebuilding and restructuring, began a potentially wrenching debate over the character of Japanese economic policy in the form of the proposal to enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and ended the year with the nation’s first annual trade deficit in over 30 years. While there were bright spots, including the dignity and resilience of the Japanese people in the face of what was arguably one of the most devastating natural disaster in recorded history, as well as the effective coordinated response by corporations to the massive reduction in electrical power and the effective response of the US-Japan alliance to the Tohoku disaster, these successes paled in comparison with the losses suffered by the Japanese people.
Subjective sleep measures for adolescents: a systematic review.

Background Sleep disturbances in adolescents have received significant attention because of their high prevalence and the negative health outcomes. Relative to objective measures, subjective sleep instruments have been the most practical tools used to identify sleep problems and assess responses to interventions in research and clinical settings. This systematic review aims to examine the psychometric properties of subjective measures that are used to assess sleep quality and disturbances among adolescents, identify the strength and limitation of each measurement and inform recommendations for practice. Methods PubMed, Embase and PsycInfo were searched from 2000 through May 2016. The reference lists of important articles were included if they met the inclusion criteria. The available measures were evaluated and classified as positive, intermediate or poor according to the quality criteria for health status questionnaires. Results Thirteen self-reported or parent-reported sleep measures met the inclusion criteria. Of the measurements reviewed, six were generic instruments assessing overall sleep quality and disturbances; five were dimension-specific instruments measuring daytime sleepiness, sleep insufficiency and sleep hygiene; and two were condition-specific instruments for insomnia. None of the subjective sleep measures for adolescents has a psychometric profile with all essential measurement properties. Specifically, the generic sleep measurements capture multiple dimensions but face issues of participant burden and compatibility. Among the domain-specific tools, the Cleveland Adolescent Sleepiness Questionnaire and the Chronic Sleep Reduction Questionnaire have achieved good psychometric merits but need further evaluation for responsiveness. Likewise, essential measurement properties of condition-specific tools for insomnia have yet to be established. Conclusions Because of the limited evidence, no definite recommendations can be made at this point. However, each available measurement has its own uniqueness and strength despite the limitations. Future research on measurement development and evaluation for adolescent sleep is needed to ensure the relevance and suitability to different stages of adolescence and social contexts.
Inducing Visuomotor Adaptation Using Virtual Reality Gaming with a Virtual Shift as a Treatment for Unilateral Spatial Neglect

Unilateral spatial neglect after stroke is characterized by reduced responses to stimuli on the contralesional side, causing significant impairments in self-care and safety. Conventional visuomotor adaptation (VMA) with prisms that cause a lateral shift of the visual scene can decrease neglect symptoms but is not engaging according to patients. Performing VMA within a virtual reality (VR) environment may be more engaging but has never been tested. To determine if VMA can be elicited in a VR environment, healthy subjects (n=7) underwent VMA that was elicited by either wearing prisms that caused an optical shift, or by application of a virtual shift of the hand cursor within the VR environment. A low cost VR system was developed by coupling the Kinect v2 gaming sensor to online games via the Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST) software. The adaptation phase of training consisted of a reaching task in online games or in a custom target pointing program. Following the adaptation phase the optical or virtual shift was removed and participants were assessed during the initial portion of the de-adaptation phase for the presence of an after-effect on their reaching movements, with lateral reaching errors indicating the successful induction of VMA. Results show that practicing reaching in a VR environment with a virtual shift lead to a horizontal after-effect similar to conventional prism adaptation. The results demonstrate that VMA can be elicited in a VR environment and suggest that VR gaming therapy could be used to improve recovery from unilateral spatial neglect.
Tin-Free Direct C–H Arylation Polymerization for High Photovoltaic Efficiency Conjugated Copolymers

A new and highly regioselective direct C–H arylation polymerization (DARP) methodology enables the reproducible and sustainable synthesis of high-performance π-conjugated photovoltaic copolymers. Unlike traditional Stille polycondensation methods for producing photovoltaic copolymers, this DARP protocol eliminates the need for environmentally harmful, toxic organotin compounds. This DARP protocol employs low loadings of commercially available catalyst components, Pd2(dba)3·CHCl3 (0.5 mol%) and P(2-MeOPh)3 (2 mol%), sterically tuned carboxylic acid additives, and an environmentally friendly solvent, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran. Using this DARP protocol, several representative copolymers are synthesized in excellent yields and high molecular masses. The DARP-derived copolymers are benchmarked versus Stille-derived counterparts by close comparison of optical, NMR spectroscopic, and electrochemical properties, all of which indicate great chemical similarity and no significant detectable structural defects in the ...
Two-Photon Imaging Reveals Capillary Occlusions are Responsible for Reduced Brain Blood Flow and Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Models

Using in vivo nonlinear microscopy, we found 2% of brain capillaries were occluded by an adhered leukocyte in Alzheimer’s disease mice. Blocking this adhesion eliminated these stalls, improved brain blood flow by 30%, and restored spatial memory.
Assessment of working posture and work-related musculoskeletal disorders in Dok Kaew broom weaving workers

Background: Working posture is one important factor of the ergonomics. If workers perform an awkward working posture such as long-term excessive bending from neutral position of a part of the body or repeating their working motion in high frequency in each working session, they may have work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Objectives: To assess working posture and work-related musculoskeletal disorders in Dok Kaew broom making workers, Dong Suwan Sub-district, Dok Khamtai District, Phayao Province. Materials and methods: Eleven volunteers were recorded their working motion in steps of making and embroidering a broomstick by two video digital cameras. Working postures were evaluated by rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) represented as the level of final score 1-4 while work-related musculoskeletal disorders were reported by the Standard Nordic Questionnaires. Results: It was found that working postures of all volunteers were awkward postures represented by the final scores level 2-4. In the analysis of working posture, volunteers with the final score level 4 must change their working postures immediately because they raised their shoulders 20°-45°, flexed elbows 60°-100°, flexed trunk and neck more than 20°. In addition, results of work-related musculoskeletal disorders in both seven days and one year ago showed that most volunteers had disorders at wrist/hand (35.72%), elbows (28.57%), shoulder (21.43%), neck (7.14%), and low back (7.14%). Conclusion: The working postures of Dok Kaew broom weaving workers were found within awkward postures. These might be a cause of work-related musculoskeletal disorders especially found in upper limbs, neck, and low back. Thus, to completely evaluate the ergonomic factors and work-related musculoskeletal disorders, other factors of ergonomics and physical assessments should be assessed and followed-up.
Location-Assisted Coding for FSO Communication

Recent years have witnessed an explosive growth in the number of wireless devices. This development has fueled much research in wireless access technologies to efficiently use radio frequency spectrum. On the other hand, recent advances in free space optical (FSO) technologies promise a complementary approach to increase wireless capacity. In this paper, we describe WiFO, a hybrid WiFi and FSO high-speed wireless local area network of femtocells that can provide high bit rates while maintaining seamless mobility. Importantly, we introduce a novel location-assisted coding (LAC) technique, based on which, the number of novel rate allocation algorithms is proposed to increase throughput and reduce interference for multiple users in a dense array of overlapped femtocells. Both theoretical analysis and numerical results show orders of magnitude increase in throughput using LAC over existing schemes for various random topologies.
Development of a wing-beat-modulation scanning lidar system for insect studies

The spatial distributions of flying insects are not well understood since most sampling methods - Malaise traps, sticky traps, vacuum traps, light traps - are not suited to documenting movements or changing distributions of various insects on short time scales. These methods also capture and kill the insects. To noninvasively monitor the spatial distributions of flying insects, we developed and implemented a scanning lidar system that measured wing-beat-modulated scattered laser light. The oscillating signal from wing-beat returns allowed for reliable separation of lidar returns for insects and stationary objects. Transmitting and receiving optics were mounted to a telescope that was attached to a scanning mount. As it scanned, the lidar collected and analyzed the light scattered from insect wings of various species. Mount position and pulse time-of-flight determined spatial location and spectral analysis of the backscattered light provided clues to insect identity. During one day of a four-day field campaign at Grand Teton National Park in June of 2016, 76 very likely insects and 662 somewhat likely insects were detected, with a maximum range to the insect of 87.6 m for very likely insects
Pharmacology of Sleep and PTSD: Prazosin - An Alpha-1 Adrenoreceptor Antagonist Approach to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Pharmacotherapy

Increased brain noradrenergic activity contributes to the pathophysiology of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a substantial proportion of patients. Prazosin is an inexpensive, clinically available and brain active drug that reduces brain noradrenergic activity by antagonizing the effects of norepinephrine at the postsynaptic alpha-1 adrenoreceptor. This chapter reviews the neurobiologic rationale and clinical trial evidence supporting efficacy of prazosin for PTSD trauma nightmares, distressed awakenings and day time hyperarousal symptoms; and provides suggestions for biomarker and clinical presentation characteristics that help identify those PTSD patients most likely to benefit from prazosin treatment. It also reviews prazosin as a potential treatment for disorders commonly comorbid with military PTSD including alcohol use disorder and post-concussion headache. Finally, suggestions are provided concerning optimizing prazosin treatment and management of the occasional adverse drug effects.
Masked hypertension and kidney function decline: the Jackson Heart Study.

Background Hypertension diagnosed by blood pressure (BP) measured in the clinic is associated with rapid kidney function decline (RKFD) and incident chronic kidney disease (CKD). The extent to which hypertension defined using out-of-clinic BP measurements is associated with these outcomes is unclear. Methods We evaluated the association of any masked hypertension (daytime SBP/DBP ≥ 135/85 mmHg, night-time SBP/DBP ≥ 120/70 mmHg or 24-h SBP/DBP ≥ 130/80 mmHg) with RKFD and incident CKD among 676 African-Americans in the Jackson Heart Study with clinic-measured SBP/DBP less than 140/90 mmHg who completed ambulatory BP monitoring in 2000-2004. RKFD was defined as a decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at least 30% and incident CKD was defined as development of eGFR less than 60 ml/min per 1.73 m with an at least 25% decline in eGFR between 2000-2004 and 2009-2013. Results The mean age of participants was 57.6 years, 28.8% were men and 52.7% had any masked hypertension. After a median follow-up of 8 years, 13.8 and 8.6% of participants had RKFD and incident CKD, respectively. In unadjusted analyses, masked hypertension was associated with an increased odds for incident CKD [odds ratio (OR) 2.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22, 3.97]. This association remained statistically significant after adjustment for demographic characteristics, baseline eGFR and albumin-to-creatinine ratio (OR 1.95, 95% CI 1.04, 3.67) but was eliminated after propensity score adjustment (OR 1.62, 95% CI 0.87, 3.00). There was no association between masked hypertension and RKFD. Conclusion Masked hypertension may be associated with the development of CKD in African-Americans.
Immersive visualization and interactive analysis of ground penetrating radar data

Ground Penetrating Radar is a geophysical technique for obtaining information about sub-surface earth materials. Geologists use the data collected to obtain a view of terrain underground. This data is typically viewed using a desktop interface where the user usually interacts using a keyboard and mouse. Visualizing the data in a slice by slice 2D format can be difficult to interpret. Instead, we created a program for an immersive visualization environment that uses tracked input devices. This is done using real-time, stereoscopic, perspective-corrected, slice-based volume rendering. To aid with the visualization the user can modify the display of the volume using integrated tools, such as transfer functions, lighting, and color maps. Users are also given data analysis tools to take application-specific measurements such as dip, strike, other angles, and distances in 3D. Compared to typical desktop interface interactions, the 6-degree of freedom user interface provided by the immersive visualization environment makes it notably easier to perform the application-specific measurements.
Enhancements to Deep Turbulent Entrainment

Abstract At first glance, one-dimensional mixed layer dynamics do not appear to predict sufficiently deep mixing to explain the formation of the large volumes of deep water observed in the polar and Mediterranean seas. However, two processes have been neglected in the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budget that led to larger vertical turbulent velocities that may enable deep penetrative convection, possibly contributing to the formation of dedeper waters. The energetics of deep convection are examined for two asymptotic regimes: (i) free convection with pressure augmentation of buoyancy flux, and (ii) forced convection with vertical mixing assisted by planetary rotational conversion of wind-generated horizontal TKE into vertical TKE. In the case of free convection, the buoyant production of vertical turbulence may be increased considerably by the increase in the thermal expansion coefficient (α) with pressure. An entrainment model including this nonlinearity in the equation of state predicts greater vertical mixing and penetrative convection into the pycnocline than does a model with the linear equation of state used traditionally for mixed layer predictions. The increase in thermal expansion coefficient with pressure is temperature-dependent and is more significant for cold polar water convection than it is for Mediterranean Sea convection. The significance of pressure enhancement of the buoyancy flux may be expressed in terms of the ratio of depth of mixing (h) to a depth scale H α = that depends mostly on mixed layer temperature. If h/H α ~ 1 or larger, the TKE budget will be dominated by pressure-enhanced free convection. For the Mediterranean Sea, h/H α = 0.3 when convection penetrates to the bottom. However, for the coldest polar seas h/H α = 8 for penetrative convection to the bottom, and h/H α is significant for mixing deeper than about a hundred meters. In the case of forced convection, maximum entrainment rate may be achieved when the wind stress is toward the west. Then the northward component of planetary rotation may transfer horizontal wind-generated turbulence to vertical turbulence. This enhances vertical flux rates in general and entrainment deepening by the mixed layer in particular. Such augmented wind mixing may cause sufficiently deep mixing to “turn on” the pressure-enhancement of buoyancy flux, with substantially increased vertical convection.
The relative importance of calcium influx and efflux via Na-Ca exchange in cultured myocardial cells.

In the intact myocardial cell, Ca homeostasis consists of several interrelated processes: Ca influx across the sarcolemma; Ca uptake and release by intracellular organelles, notably sarcoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria; Ca binding to and release from intracellular Ca binding proteins; and transsarcolemmal Ca efflux. Since the work of Niedergerke1 it been recognized that Ca influx and efflux increase with electrical activation. Voltage clamp studies have suggested that some of the Ca influx involved in the activation of contraction occurs via the slow Ca channel.2 This Ca is believed to trigger release of Ca from intracellular Ca stored within the sarcoplasmic reticulum,3 resulting in a rise of free-Ca ion sufficient to produce contraction of the myofilaments. It is possible that Ca may enter the cell under some circumstances via the Na-Ca exchange carrier.4 However, the relative magnitudes of Ca influx into the cell via the slow Ca channel, and via Na-Ca exchange during normal excitation-contraction coupling, have not been established.
Diagnostic Applications of the Hand Test

The Hand Test, a comparatively new projective technique, probably owes its clinical utility to the following practical features: simplicity of stimulus material, brevity of administration and scoring, and amenability to straightforward validation. The test was first introduced in the form of a research monograph as a promising technique for predicting overt aggressive behavior (Bricklin, Piotrowski, & Wagner, 1962), but it soon became apparent that the instrument was suitable for general diagnostic purposes, and a Hand Test “kit” was put together, made up of the stimulus cards, manual, and scoring tablet (Wagner, 1962b).
Computations performed by shadow enhancers and enhancer duplications vary across the Drosophila embryo

Transcription of developmental genes is controlled by multiple enhancers. Frequently, more than one enhancer can activate transcription from the same promoter in the same cells. In these cases, how is regulatory information from multiple enhancers combined to determine the overall expression output of their shared promoter? To investigate this question, we quantified nascent transcription driven by a pair shadow enhancers, each individual of the pair, and their duplications in Drosophila embryos using live imaging. This set of constructs allows us to quantify the "computation" made by the pairs of enhancers: their combined output expression as a function of the expression that they drive separately. We show that the computation performed by these shadow enhancers and duplications varies across the expression pattern, implying that how their activities are combined depends on the transcriptional regulators bound to the enhancers in different parts of the embryo. Characterizing the computation made by multiple enhancers is a critical first step in developing conceptual and computational models of gene expression at the locus level, where multiple enhancers collaborate.
Non-technical health care quality and health system responsiveness in middle-income countries: a cross-sectional study in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa.

Background While there is increasing recognition that the non-technical aspects of health care quality - particularly the inter-personal dimensions of care - are important components of health system performance, evidence from population-based studies on these outcomes in low- and middle-income countries is sparse. This study assesses these non-technical aspects of care using two measures: health system responsiveness (HSR), which quantifies the degree to which the health system meets the expectations of the population, and non-technical health care quality (QoC), for which we 'filtered out' these expectations. Pooling data from six large middle-income countries, this study therefore aimed to determine how HSR and QoC vary between countries and by individuals' sociodemographic characteristics within countries. Methods We pooled individual-level data, collected between 2007 and 2010, from nationally representative household surveys of (primarily) adults aged 50 years and older in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russia, and South Africa. The outcome measure was a binary indicator for a 'bad' rating (HSR: "very bad" or "bad" on a five-point Likert scale; QoC: a worse rating of one's own visit than that of the character in an anchoring vignette) on at least one of seven dimensions for the most recent primary care visit. Results 23 749 adults who reported to have sought primary care during the preceding 12 months were includedin the analysis. The proportion of participants who gave a bad rating for their last primary care visit on at least one of seven dimensions varied from 4.3% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.8-6.7) in China to 33.1% (95% CI = 23.6-44.2) in South Africa for HSR, and from 17.0% (95% CI = 11.4-24.5) in Russia to 50.8% (95% CI = 46.0-55.6) in Ghana for QoC. There was a strong negative association between increasing household wealth and both bad HSR and QoC in India and South Africa. Conclusions Achieving universal health coverage (UHC) with good-quality health services ("effective UHC") will require efforts to improve HSR and QoC across the population in Ghana and South Africa. Additionally, a particular focus on raising HSR and QoC for the poorest population groups is needed in India and South Africa.
Automated musical transitions through rule-based synthesis using musical properties

Abstract We present a novel approach to automatically generating a smooth transition between two distinct compositions. Our system, Intelligent Transition Generator (ITG), generates a transition between two input compositions. ITG analyzes tablatures of the input compositions to extract relevant information, such as playing style, time signatures, chord similarities, and note durations to determine appropriate rules for creating the transition. The composition engine uses various algorithms to apply the rules based upon timing information. ITG typically generates 2–4 bars of random transitions that are smooth and musically harmonious. Our new method to automatically compose sections of music does not require guidance from a composer or a set of sample compositions and therefore, it provides an efficient approach, which could be used in the gaming industry for dynamic, event-based music. It also could be applied to other multimedia purposes such as generating transitions between tracks in media players.