cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Murine liver-resident group 1 innate lymphoid cells regulate optimal priming of anti-viral CD8+ T cells

The liver contains 2 transcriptionally distinct group 1 ILC subsets: CD49a+ ILC1s and CD49b+ NK cells. However, little is known about how group 1 ILCs contribute to hepatic immune responses. Therefore, we characterized murine liver-resident group 1 ILCs and found that CD49a+ ILC1s express high levels of the inhibitory receptor NKG2A and localize near DCs in perivascular spaces surrounding the portal triads. Upon hepatic viral infection, NKG2A signaling in group 1 ILCs, especially in CD49a+ ILC1s, inhibits CXCL9 expression required for robust accumulation of IFN-γ+CD49b+ NK cells. As a consequence, NKG2A-/- mice showed increased numbers of IFN-γ-producing NK cells that preferentially activate liver CD103+ DCs, leading to the sustained proliferation of adoptively transferred, virus-specific CD8+ T cells. Collectively, these data suggest that group 1 ILCs play a role in maintaining the liver as a tolerogenic site by limiting the recruitment of peripheral NK cells during the early phase of viral infection. Furthermore, our findings implicate that the inhibition of NKG2A signaling on group 1 ILCs may be a novel vaccine strategy to induce robust CD8+ T cell responses against persistent liver pathogens.
Abstract 5124: Tumor and immune cell infiltration are enhanced by irradiation of normal tissues in immunocompromised mice

Breast cancer recurrence remains high in triple-negative cases despite aggressive surgical, radiological, and chemotherapeutic intervention. Recent studies suggest that circulating tumor cell re-seeding of primary tumors may facilitate recurrence. However, the tumor microenvironment9s role in recurrence is not well understood. We hypothesize that the irradiated tumor stroma and microenvironment may influence tumor cell migration. In this study, we characterize the effects of normal tissue irradiation on tumor and immune cell migration to evaluate how tumor-stromal interactions modulate recurrence after therapy. This work represents the first step toward elucidating how stromal tissue radiation response contributes to tumor and immune cell recruitment. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) were irradiated to 20 Gy with a cesium source. Supernatant was collected after 2 or 7 d incubation to be used as a chemoattractant in a transwell assay to investigate the induction of 4T1 murine or MDA-MB-231 human mammary carcinoma cell invasion. An orthotopic breast cancer model was used to evaluate the effect of radiation on tumor cell migration to normal tissues. Nude mice were inoculated with luciferase labeled 4T1 or MDA-MB-231 cells in the mammary fat pad (MFP), and BALB/c mice with depleted CD4 and CD8+ T cells were inoculated with 4T1 MFP tumors. The contralateral normal MFP was irradiated to a dose of 20 Gy with a 250 kVp cabinet x-ray machine when tumors were palpable. Cell migration was monitored with bioluminescence imaging (BLI) 10 d after irradiation. Irradiated and control tissues were evaluated using immunohistochemistry (IHC). Tissue sections were stained with F4/80 to determine the extent of macrophage infiltration. Flow cytometry was also performed on dissociated irradiated and control tissues to characterize immune cell populations. Of particular interest were CD11b+F4/80+ macrophages and CD11b+GR1+ myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Radiation enhanced tumor cell migration to normal tissues both in vitro and in vivo. 4T1 and MDA-MB-231 cells exhibited an increase in invasion (p This study establishes that normal tissue radiation response may play a role in modulating tumor and immune cell migration after radiation. The increase in macrophage and MDSC infiltration after irradiation indicates the immune contribution in tumor cell migration. These results suggest that the tumor stroma may facilitate tumor cell invasion and tumor regrowth following radiotherapy. Citation Format: Marjan Rafat, Marta Vilalta, Todd A. Aguilera, Amato J. Giaccia, Edward E. Graves. Tumor and immune cell infiltration are enhanced by irradiation of normal tissues in immunocompromised mice. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 5124.
Planktonic food web structure at a coastal time-series site: II. Spatiotemporal variability of microbial trophic activities

Abstract The grazing activities of phagotrophic protists on various microbial assemblages play key roles in determining the amount of carbon available for higher trophic levels and for export out of the photic zone. However, comparisons of the proportion of carbon consumed from the phytoplankton (cyanobacteria+photosynthetic eukaryotes) and heterotrophic bacteria (bacteria+archaea, excluding cyanobacteria) are rare. In this study, microbial community composition, phytoplankton growth and mortality rates (total chlorophyll a, Synechococcus , Prochlorococcus, and photosynthetic picoeukaryotes), and bacterial mortality rates were measured seasonally from 2012 to 2014 in the surface waters of three environmentally distinct sites in the San Pedro Channel, off the coast of southern CA, USA. Higher nutrient concentrations at the nearshore site supported community standing stocks that were 1.3–4.5x those found offshore, yet average growth and grazing rates of the phytoplankton and bacterial assemblages were generally similar between sites and across seasons. Thus, the amount of carbon consumed by the grazer assemblage was largely dictated by prey standing stocks. Heterotrophic bacteria constituted an important source of carbon for microbial consumers, particularly at the two offshore sites where bacterial carbon consumed was roughly equivalent to the amount of phytoplankton carbon consumed. Carbon removal by grazers at the nearshore station was predominantly from the diatoms, which were the primary component of the photosynthetic community at that site. This study highlights the significant contribution of protistan-bacterial trophic interactions to planktonic food webs and provides unique community composition and turnover data to inform biogeochemical models.
Food Processing and Waste Within the Nexus Framework

The purpose of this review is to present the challenges and potential solutions regarding the food manufacturing industry and waste production within the WEF (Water, Energy, and Food) nexus framework. Prevention and recovery solutions to alleviate waste from food producing (farm), industrial/retail (processing), and consuming (consumers) are considered. Breakthroughs in food processing have focused on water reuse by treatment and decreasing waste in order to minimize water use. Solutions for farm waste recovery have been employed by feeding animals and compost. There are opportunities and risks to use waste as a resource that leads to reduced water and energy usage from farm to table. New technology could help farmers, processors, and consumers benefit from waste by means of better management. Reduced waste of food and water also leads to improved environmental conditions and sustainability, but updated best management practices are needed to minimize risk (both economic and health).
Religion and body weight: a review of quantitative studies

Increasing interest in relationships between religion and health has encouraged research about religion and body weight, which has produced mixed findings. We systematically searched 11 bibliographic databases for quantitative studies of religion and weight, locating and coding 85 studies. We conducted a systematic review, analysing descriptive characteristics of the studies as well as relevant religion-body weight associations related to study characteristics. We summarized findings for two categories of religion variables: religious affiliation and religiosity. For religious affiliation, we found evidence for significant associations with body weight in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. In particular, Seventh-Day Adventists had lower body weight than other denominations in cross-sectional analyses. For religiosity, significant associations occurred between greater religiosity and higher body weight in both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. In particular, greater religiosity was significantly associated with higher body weight in bivariate analyses but less so in multivariate analyses. A greater proportion of studies that used a representative sample, longitudinal analyses, and samples with only men reported significant associations between religiosity and weight. Evidence in seven studies suggested that health behaviours and psychosocial factors mediate religion-weight relationships. More longitudinal studies and analyses of mediators are needed to provide stronger evidence and further elucidate religion-weight relationships.
Phase and Topology

The primary objective of this chapter is to present and review the introductory concepts related to phase and topology that will serve as foundation for the development of the more complex concepts to be presented in subsequent chapters. In particular, we illustrate the concept of geometric phase in the case of two prototypical elastic systems, namely the one-dimensional harmonic oscillator and a one-dimensional binary superlattice. We demonstrate formally the relationship between the variation of the geometric phase in the spectral and wave number domains and the parallel transport of a vector field along paths on curved manifolds possessing helicoidal twists which exhibit non-conventional topology. The formal mapping of the evolution of the geometric phase on the spectral or wave number domains onto the parallel transport of a vector field on curved manifold spanning the frequency and wave number spaces will be used to help interpret topological features of elastic waves in more complex media such as two-dimensional or three-dimensional phononic crystals and acoustic metamaterials.We relate the notion of geometric phase and Green’s functions. In particular, we show for Hermitian operators that the Berry connection is proportional to the imaginary part of its Green’s function. We illustrate this notion in the case of simple elastic systems composed of mass and springs, namely the one-dimensional harmonic crystal and the one-dimensional harmonic crystal with a side branch. In the latter case, the notions of Friedel phase and transmission (reflection) phase are introduced and related to the notion of geometric phase.
A cardiac patch from aligned microvessel and cardiomyocyte patches.

Cardiac tissue engineering aims to produce replacement tissue patches in the lab to replace or treat infarcted myocardium. However, current patches lack pre-formed microvascularization and are therefore limited in thickness and force production. In the present study, we sought to assess whether a bi-layer patch composed of a layer made from human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) and a microvessel layer composed of self-assembled human blood outgrowth endothelial cells (BOECs) and pericytes (PCs) was capable of engrafting on the epicardial surface of a nude rat infarct model and becoming perfused by the host four weeks after acute implantation. The bi-layer configuration was found to increase the twitch force production, improve hiPSC-CM survival and maturation, and increase patent microvessel lumens compared to time-matched single layer controls after two weeks of in vitro culture. Upon implantation, the patch microvessels sprouted into the CM layer of the patch and inosculated with the host vasculature as evidenced by species-specific perfusion labels and erythrocyte staining. Our results demonstrate the added microvessel layer of a bi-layer patch substantially improves in vitro functionality, and the bi-layer patch is capable of engraftment with rapid microvessel inosculation on injured myocardium. The bi-layer format will allow for scaling up in size through the addition of layers to obtain thicker tissues generating greater force in the future.
Integrating travel demand modeling and flood hazard risk analysis for evacuation and sheltering

Abstract In this paper, the risks of flooding hazards to the transportation system in urban Honolulu are assessed using a regional travel demand model (TDM). The approach serves to support understanding of evacuation and sheltering needs. Coastal and inland flooding hazard scenarios were modeled with four different hazard conditions. The inundation defined by the Maximum Envelope of High Water (MEOW) based on a hurricane that struck Hawaii and a tsunami run-up generated by historical earthquake events combined with a one-meter rise in sea level provided the worst possible coastal flooding scenario. A 500-year return period riverine flooding scenario was also included. The critical flooding hazard was transformed into a uniform 100 by 100 meter GIS based grid system. The Oahu Metropolitan Planning Organization (OMPO) TransCAD model for 2035 provided the origin and destination trips for eleven trip types including motorized and non-motorized travel modes. The OMPO model includes personal travel, travel to the airport, commercial vehicle travel and visitor travel sub-models. Origin and destination trip matrices for Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ) and highway and transit assignment details were extracted from the model. The O-D trips and road segment traffic details were transformed to the spatial grid system and overlaid on the flooding hazard layer. The spatial categorization of the flooding along with the trip and travel data from the TDM provided a robust method to quantify and visualize risks to travelers and the transportation system. The analysis shows that flooding hazard scenarios have serious risks in Honolulu. First, a large portion of the study area is susceptible to flooding, threatening the population, economy, and infrastructure. Second, in addition to areas susceptible to flooding, a larger percentage of origins, destinations, trips and vehicle miles of travel (VMT) are affected because of the need to travel through the at-risk areas. Third, commercial, transit and non-motorized trips are disproportionately affected compared to auto travel. This paper demonstrates how hazard data and risk models can be integrated with travel demand models for purposes of evacuation planning and sheltering as well as emergency planning and hazard mitigation and adaptation of the transportation system to climate change.
Muerte y autenticidad. Reflexiones sobre Heidegger, Rilke y Blanchot

En este ensayo se considera la relacion entre muerte y autenticidad, una preocupacion presente en la filosofia desde el discurso de Socrates sobre su propia sentencia de muerte. La muerte no es competencia de la ontologia ni de la fenomenologia, pero si del pensamiento existencialista, en el que ha sido central. En la filosofia de Heidegger, la nocion de ser-para-la-muerte define la singularidad de la existencia, y la muerte informa dramaticamente tanto la poetica de Rilke como la teoria literaria de Blanchot. Este ensayo muestra como la relacion entre muerte y autenticidad en dichas obras constituye el horizonte entre lo imaginable y lo inimaginable, y representa tambien un modo de pensar los limites del pensamiento y el lenguaje.
Software-Based Postoperative Communication With Patients Undergoing Spine Surgery:

Study Design:Observational study.Objectives:Perioperative patient anxiety is a major concern in orthopedic surgery. Mobile messaging applications have been used in a number of healthcare settings. ...
Gastrointestinal and General Abdominal Symptoms

Gastrointestinal manifestations of metabolic disorders may occur as part of a systemic disorder of intermediary metabolism in which other symptoms predominate or as the major or exclusive symptoms. Vomiting occurs frequently and is typical of the organic acidurias, the hyperammonemic syndromes, and fatty acid oxidation defects. Pain is not uncommon in metabolic disorders but this category is usually not considered until several episodes of abdominal pain have occurred without an obvious explanation. It is often intense and may lead to surgical exploration. In the porphyrias and familial fever syndromes, pain is a central clinical feature. Pancreatitis occurs with many organic acidurias, lipid and fatty acid disorders, and defects of oxidative phosphorylation. Diarrhea and failure to thrive, often together with malabsorption, are very common and can be due to disorders of digestive enzymes, especially disaccharidases, defects of carrier proteins, congenital disorders of glycosylation, and also mitochondrial dysfunction. Finally, ascites occurs in many lysosomal disorders.
Segmentation and Recognition of Tabla Strokes.

A system that segments and labels tabla strokes from real performances is described. Performance is evaluated on a large database taken from three performers under different recording conditions, containing a total of 16,834 strokes. The current work extends previous work by Gillet and Richard (2003) on categorizing tabla strokes, by using a larger, more diverse database that includes their data as a benchmark, and by testing neural networks and treebased classification methods. First, the time-domain signal was segmented using complex-domain thresholding that looked for sudden changes in amplitude and phase discontinuities. At the optimal point on the ROC curve, false positives were less than 1% and false negatives were less than 2%. Then, classification was performed using a multivariate Gaussian model (mv gauss) as well as non-parametric techniques such as probabilistic neural networks (pnn), feed-forward neural networks (ffnn), and tree-based classifiers. Two evaluation protocols were used. The first used 10-fold cross validation. The recognition rate averaged over several experiments that contained 10-15 classes was 92% for the mv gauss, 94% for the ffnn and pnn, and 84% for the tree based classifier. To test generalization, a more difficult independent evaluation was undertaken in which no test strokes came from the same recording as the training strokes. The average recognition rate over a wide variety of test conditions was 76% for the mv gauss, 83% for the ffnn, 76% for the pnn, and 66% for the tree classifier.
Human and Social Aspects

In this chapter, the three major foci of modern times; needs, networks, and innovations are addressed. Whereas needs are primal, networks and innovations and their novelties are much more recent. Computer science offers flexibility to permit the modern machines to address and handle the complexity of human, social and generic needs. We also propose computer systems that actively pursue the universality of an(y) object, concept, or a notion, contemplate the social benefit derived by similar objects, notions, or concepts, and solicit quality and alter the key attributes of an(y) object, concept, or notion to enhance elegance. More than just being artificially intelligent, these new machines seek and offer global and wise solutions to any scientific, social, moral, or even ethical problems. The solutions offered by these machines tend to become generic, accurate, and universal. Based on current processor designs and computer architectures, their implementation tends to be elegant and robust.
Neurosociology and Theory of Mind (ToM)

Theory of mind (ToM) is the term used by cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists to describe a person’s ability to understand another person’s mental states. It is importantly involved in empathy and any behavior that takes into consideration the likely reaction of others. In this chapter, I describe the standard test used to gauge a child’s ToM, the false belief test. I trace the typical development of ToM in young children and discuss theories of this development. I discuss the association of ToM with language learning, brain bases of ToM, and the lack of development of ToM in autistic children. Last, I discuss the relevance of the development of ToM in children for sociological work on the emergence of the self, as well as other sociological perspectives.
Coded Caching in Wireless Device-to-Device Networks Using a Hypercube Approach

We consider a novel hypercube approach to design wireless device- to-device (D2D) caching networks with single-hop transmissions. Previous work has demonstrated that caching is an effective method to significantly increase per-user throughput. However, the state-of- the-art schemes are generally impractical because content files must be partitioned into an exponential number of packets with respect to the number of users. This paper addresses this issue by proposing a novel cache placement and coded multicasting scheme based on a hypercube approach. In particular, each lattice point on the hypercube represents a specific set of packets and each packet is from a distinct file. Each user caches all the lattice points of a "hyperplane" on this hypercube and the intersections of orthogonal "hyperplanes" lead to multicast codewords. We demonstrate that the hypercube approach achieves a rate that is almost identical to that of the state-of-the-art schemes, especially for a large number of users. More importantly, the required number of file partitions is exponentially less compared to the state-of-the-art schemes. Moreover, we also investigate the use of spatial reuse, which further increases the per-user throughput and reduces the required number of file partitions.
Chemical deglycosylation can induce methylation, succinimide formation, and isomerization.

Interpretation of deglycosylation studies relies heavily on the absence of modifications to the polypeptide chain. We have found that by using a common chemical deglycosylation technique, one can effect at least three changes in a peptide's structure: methylation, isomerization, and ring formation. It was determined that the conditions of chemical deglycosylation introduce a + 14 Da shift in the masses of our model peptides, RKDVY, RKEVY, and horseradish peroxidase. This shift is localized to acidic functional groups and is interpreted as methylation of the free carboxylates in our models. An additional shift in mass of − 18 Da is found in the model peptide RKDVY consistent with the loss of water associated with succinimide ring formation in this peptide. Chemical treatment induced isomerization of aspartyl residues to isoaspartyl residues in another model peptide, tetragastrin. These results indicate that one should use caution when interpreting the results of chemical deglycosylation experiments.
Chapter Four Reflections on Faith and Science

The modern age has placed primary importance upon the material world and its mastery, while the ages of Greek Antiquity and Ancient Christianity placed great emphasis upon the spiritual realm. Accordingly, the lexicon of Patristic Christianity for characterizing the relation between faith and knowledge is far richer than our own. Drawing upon the writings of St Maximus the Confessor and St Isaac of Syria, the article distinguishes five types of relation between faith and knowledge, and uses this typology to situate modern science and its relation to Christian faith. It concludes that scientific knowledge as it is understood in Western modernity is limited by its “methodological atheism,” and a “dianoetic” or explanatory account of science must be completed by a “noetic” or contemplative account, proceeding from the exercise of humility and ascetic purification.
3D spinal and rib cage predictors of brace effectiveness in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis

Scoliotic braces are the standard of curve for management of moderate spinal deformities in pediatric patients. The effectiveness of this treatment method has been shown; however, the spinal and rib cage parameters, in the three anatomical planes, that are associated with bracing outcome in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) are not fully identified. A total number of 45 right thoracic AIS patients who had received a thoraco-lumbo-scaral brace for the first time were included retrospectively. For each patient, radiographic images at three visits, pre-brace, in-brace, and at least 1 year after the first brace fit were included. Age, sex, Risser sign, and curve type at pre-brace, and thoracic and lumbar frontal and sagittal Cobb angles, thoracic and lumbar apical rotations, sagittal and frontal balances at pre-brace and in-brace were determined. Two sagittal curve types (hypothoracolumbar and normal/hyperthoracolumbar kyphosis), two rib cage types based on the costovertebral joints (drooping and horizontal), and two axial shapes of the spine (S shaped and V shaped) were used to stratify the patients. Feature selection and linear regression with regularization determined the parameters and the interaction terms that predicted the brace effectiveness significantly. Smaller in-brace thoracic Cobb and larger in-brace lordosis predicted brace effectiveness, p < 0.05. Impact of the out of brace lordosis on the brace success increased as the in brace kyphosis angle decreased, p = 0.046. A larger out of brace lordosis in hypothoracolumbar sagittal profile type patients improved the outcomes, p = 0.031. A smaller out of brace thoracic rotation improved the bracing outcomes in patients with horizontal ribs, p = 0.040. Both 3D patient specific parameters (lordosis, thoracic rotation, shape of the rib cage, and sagittal profile) and brace design (which allows larger in brace lordosis, better in brace Cobb correction) are important predictors of the brace effectiveness in AIS.
Catamenial dermatoses associated with autoimmune, inflammatory, and systemic diseases: A systematic review,.

Abstract Background Sex hormones are important in female sexual physiology, growth, and homeostasis. Through skin receptors, sex hormones contribute to the dermatologic pathology known as catamenial dermatoses. Objective This study aims to summarize the literature on catamenial dermatoses and menses-induced exacerbations of chronic dermatoses. Methods This systematic review used the PRISMA method. PubMed was searched using the terms “menses” and “skin” in July 2018, and an assessment was conducted of the relevant literature on skin diseases related to non-pathologic menstruation, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome. Pathology associated with androgenetic acne was excluded from the study. Results A total of 102 studies with 1269 female patients were included. The most commonly reported primary catamenial dermatoses were autoimmune progesterone dermatitis and autoimmune estrogen dermatitis. The most commonly reported chronic skin disorders exacerbated by menses were psoriasis, Behcet’s disease, and eczematous dermatoses. Conclusion Physicians should be aware of the nature of catamenial dermatoses and their presentation with normal sexual physiology. Patients with chronic dermatoses should be appropriately counseled on menstruation-related exacerbations. Further research needs to be conducted to determine the interplay between immune regulation and sex hormones in catamenial dermatoses and to elucidate effective therapies.
Pseudo-Wellens syndrome, acute pancreatitis, and an anomalous coronary artery: a case report

Chest pain associated with transient electrocardiogram changes mimicking an acute myocardial infarction have been described in acute pancreatitis. These ischemic electrocardiogram changes can present a diagnostic dilemma, especially when patients present with concurrent angina pectoris and epigastric pain warranting noninvasive or invasive imaging studies. A 45-year-old African-American man with a history of alcohol use disorder presented to the emergency department of our institution with 36 hours of concurrent epigastric pain and left-sided chest pain radiating to his left arm and associated with nausea and dyspnea. On physical examination, he was afebrile; his blood pressure was elevated; and he had epigastric tenderness. His laboratory test results were significant for hypokalemia, normal troponin, and elevated serum lipase and amylase levels. Serial electrocardiograms for persistent chest pain showed ST-segment elevations with dynamic T-wave changes in the right precordial electrocardiogram leads, consistent with Wellens syndrome. He was immediately taken to the cardiac catheterization laboratory, where selective coronary angiography showed normal coronary arteries with an anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the opposite sinus. Given his elevated lipase and amylase levels, the patient was treated for acute alcohol-induced pancreatitis with intravenous fluids and pain control. His chest pain and ischemic electrocardiogram changes resolved within 24 hours of admission, and coronary computed tomography angiography showed an interarterial course of the right coronary artery without high-risk features. Clinicians may consider deferring immediate cardiac catheterization and attribute electrocardiogram changes to acute pancreatitis in patients presenting with angina pectoris and acute pancreatitis if confirmed by normal cardiac enzymes and elevated levels of lipase and amylase. However, when clinical signs and electrocardiogram findings are highly suggestive of myocardial ischemia/injury, immediate noninvasive coronary computed tomography angiography may be the best approach to make an early diagnosis.
Invasive rat establishment and changes in small mammal populations on Caribbean Islands following two hurricanes

Abstract Invasive mammals, particularly black rats (Rattus rattus), house mice (Mus musculus), and mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) are established on many tropical islands and threaten natural resources such as native birds, sea turtles, lizards, invertebrates, and plants. St. Croix (U.S. Virgin Islands, Caribbean) has a diversity of natural resources being protected from invasive mammals by U.S. conservation agencies. Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge and Buck Island Reef National Monument receive among the highest density of nesting sea turtles in the region, including annual nesting populations of 50–250 leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea), 25–80 hawksbills (Eretmochelys imbricata), and 100–250 green turtles (Chelonia mydas). Buck Island Reef National Monument and Green Cay National Wildlife Refuge are small islands near St. Croix Island that have endangered St. Croix ground lizards (Ameiva polops) established. Rodents and mongoose threaten each of these natural resources. The goal of our study was to determine the types of small mammals (i.e., mongoose, rats, and/or house mice) that are established in each of the three hotspot locations mentioned, and to determine how two severe hurricanes (Irma and Maria) affected the small mammal populations. We used traps and tracking tunnels, which are baited ink cards placed in tunnels so that animal foot prints can be identified, to determine presence and relative abundances of small mammal species. We found that: 1) black rats invaded and established, possibly by rafting and/or swimming, Green Cay following the hurricanes, 2) house mice, rats, and mongoose were present before and after the hurricanes at Sandy Point (mice had not been documented prior to our sampling), and house mouse abundance significantly increased (>2.5 times pre-hurricane levels) 9-months after the hurricanes, and 3) the house mouse population more than doubled 15-months after the hurricanes on Buck Island. Land and resource managers benefit from knowing the composition and relative abundances of the small mammal communities, and the presence of house mice will make predator-free management efforts challenging. Surveillance using tracking tunnels enables rapid confirmation of new invasive species in isolated habitats and following large storms, as demonstrated by our finding that black rats established on Green Cay following the 2017 hurricanes.
Serious infections in Sjögren's syndrome patients: a national U.S. study.

Objectives To study the incidence, time-trends and outcomes of serious infections in Sjogren's syndrome (SS). Methods We examined the epidemiology, time-trends and outcomes of five serious infections (opportunistic infections (OI), skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI), urinary tract infection (UTI), pneumonia, and sepsis/bacteremia) in hospitalised patients with SS, using the 1998-2016 U.S. National Inpatient Sample. Multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analyses analysed the association of patient, comorbidity and hospital characteristics with healthcare utilisation (hospital charges, length of hospital stay, discharge to non-home setting), and in-hospital mortality. Results We found 49,897,331 hospitalisations with serious infections in general population and 69,239 in patients with SS. Compared to serious infections hospitalisations in people without SS, SS patients were older, and more likely to be female, white or have Deyo-Charlson index score ≥2. Serious infections during the study period 1998-2016 were: OI, 3%; SSTI, 19%; UTI, 6%; pneumonia, 37%; and sepsis, 34%. Serious infection rates/100,000 NIS hospitalisations increased from 1998-2000 to 2015-2016: OI, 0.16 to 0.46; SSTI, 0.55 to 2.90; UTI, 0.25 to 1.96; pneumonia, 2.78 to 5.43; sepsis, 0.63 to 10.71. In multivariable-adjusted analyses, older age, Deyo-Charlson index score ≥2 and medium or large hospital bed size were associated with higher healthcare utilisation and in-hospital mortality. Medicare insurance, Northeast region, non-rural hospital were associated with higher healthcare utilisation outcomes only. Conclusions We quantified the increasing disease burden of serious infections in people with SS, and described its epidemiology. Association of factors with serious infection hospitalisation outcomes identifies potential targets for future interventions.
A 50 kdyne contusion spinal cord injury with or without the drug SS‐31 was not associated with major changes in muscle mass or gene expression 14 d after injury in young male mice

Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to rapid muscle atrophy due to paralysis/paresis and subsequent disuse. SS-31 is a mitochondrial-targeting peptide that has shown efficacy in protecting skeletal muscle mass and function in non-SCI models of muscle wasting. We aimed to determine if SS-31 could prevent muscle loss after SCI. Male C57BL/6 mice aged 9 weeks underwent sham surgery or 50 kdyne contusion SCI and were administered daily injections of vehicle or 5 mg/kg SS-31 for 14 d. Both SCI groups had sustained losses in body mass compared to Sham animals and ~10% reductions in gastrocnemius, plantaris and tibialis anterior muscle mass after SCI with no clear effect of SS-31. Measurements of protein synthesis in the soleus and plantaris were similar among all groups. mRNA expression of atrophy-associated proinflammatory cytokines was also similar among all groups. There was elevation in MYH7 mRNA and a statistical reduction in MYH2 mRNA expression in the SCI+SS-31 animals compared to Sham animals. There was an SCI-induced reduction in mRNA expression of the E3 ligase FBXO32 (MAFbx), but no effect of SS-31. In summary, a 50 kdyne contusion SCI was able to reduce body mass but was not associated with substantial muscle atrophy or alterations in gene expression profiles associated with muscle health and function 14 d post-injury. SS-31 was not associated with protection against SCI-related changes in body or muscle mass, protein synthesis or gene expression in hindlimb muscles.
Electrooxidation of short- and long-chain perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) under different process conditions

Abstract The electrochemical degradation of perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) and perfluorosulfonic acids (PFSAs) is examined using a Ti/RuO2 electrode. The effect of process parameters, such as type of electrolyte, electrode gap, current density, and initial PFAS concentration, is studied. The Ti/RuO2 anode shows better electrocatalytic performance with PFOS as compared to PFOA in the multi-compound system. However, the behavior differs in a single-compound system where higher PFOA degradation was observed. Intermediate products of PFOA and PFOS degradation is also reported indicating the formation of shorter chain compounds. The study reports on the degradation of short-chain PFASs (C
Trolls or Great Inventors: Case Studies of Patent Assertion Entities

There has been much debate about the economic harms caused by patent infringement lawsuits filed by patent holders who do not make or sell products covered by their own patents — entities pejoratively referred to as “patent trolls.” This debate has thus far been largely theoretical or based on broad industry-wide data. The purpose of this Article is to present a focused empirical report that has previously been lacking — detailed information regarding the inventors themselves, the patent assertion entities (PAEs) that represent them, and the stories behind their patents. The research for this Article centers on two instructive case studies: (1) MercExchange, L.L.C., the prominent PAE whose seminal patent infringement action against eBay continued to the Supreme Court in eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., 547 U.S. 388 (2006); and (2) Capital Security Systems, Inc., a lesser-known PAE that has sued some of the largest banks in the world on its patented electronic check processing technology. This Article explores the stories behind the inventors, the patented inventions, and the entities asserting the patents in order to develop a more complete contextualized picture of PAEs and their economic impact. Based on this more complete picture, the Article then assesses whether these patent holders warrant the “patent troll” moniker, lurking under the bridge of innovation waiting to harass and extort innovators attempting to pass, or whether they instead resemble the great American vision of a Horatio Alger novel protagonist, laboring to build that bridge of innovation brick-by-brick and eventually reaping a reward for their hard effort. The Article concludes that, while additional studies are needed, the two PAEs studied herein fall squarely into the latter honest laborer category.
Prenatal and childhood exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and child executive function and behavioral problems.

Abstract Early life exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may adversely impact neurodevelopment, but epidemiological findings are inconsistent. In the Project Viva pre-birth cohort, we examined associations of prenatal and childhood PFAS plasma concentrations with parent and teacher assessments of children's behavior problems [Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)] and executive function abilities [Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF)] at age 6–10 years (sample sizes 485–933). PFAS concentrations in pregnant Project Viva mothers (in 1999–2002) and children at ages 6–10 (in 2007–10) were similar to concentrations at similar time points in women and children in the nationally representative U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We observed no consistent associations of prenatal PFAS concentrations with behavior or executive function. Childhood concentrations of perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorononanoate (PFNA) and perfluorodecanoate (PFDA) were associated with higher parent-rated SDQ Total Difficulties scores (mean = 6.7, standard deviation (SD) = 4.9), suggesting greater behavioral problems (top (Q4) versus bottom (Q1) quartile PFOA: 1.5, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.3, 2.7; PFOS: 1.4, 95% CI: 0.3, 2.5; PFHxS: 1.2, 95% CI: 0.1, 2.3; PFNA: 1.2, 95% CI: 0.1, 2.2; PFDA: 1.1, 95% CI: 0.0, 1.1); teacher-rated SDQ scores did not show associations. Higher childhood PFOS was associated with higher (indicating more problems) parent-rated BRIEF General Executive Composite (GEC) scores (standardized to mean = 50, SD = 10) (Q4 vs. Q1: 2.4, 95% CI: 0.2, 4.6), while teacher BRIEF GEC scores indicated more problems among children with higher PFHxS (Q4 vs. Q1: 3.5, 95% CI: −0.8, 6.3). There were no consistent patterns of sexual dimorphism in associations. In a cohort of U.S. children, we observed cross-sectional associations of childhood PFAS concentrations with greater behavioral and executive function problems, but no consistent associations with prenatal PFAS.
A single-institution retrospective study of causes of prolonged prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time in the outpatient setting.

INTRODUCTION: An algorithmic approach, termed the prolonged clot time profile (PROCT), consisting of initial screening with prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), reflexive mixing studies if indicated, and follow-up assays depending on initial testing results, offers an efficient approach to delineate the etiology of a prolonged PT/aPTT. Herein, we present the outcomes of the PROCT in the outpatient setting. METHODS: In this retrospective study, we reviewed medical records of consecutive outpatients who had prolonged PT and/or aPTT noted in the routine coagulation laboratory and who had PROCT ordered in our institutional Special Coagulation Laboratory between 2010 and 2017. RESULTS: One hundred and six patients, median age 55 years (IQR 30-67), met our study criteria. Twenty-nine patients had normal PT/aPTT, while 77 had persistent abnormalities and underwent reflexive testing. A prolonged PT, aPTT, or PT and aPTT was noted in 27 (35%), 27 (35%), and 23 (30%) respectively. Forty-nine (64%) had an acquired condition, 17 (22%) had a congenital condition, 7 (9%) had unclear etiology, and 4 (5%) were the result of laboratory artifact. The most common known cause of an isolated prolonged PT in our study was vitamin K deficiency in 8 (10%), the most common cause of an isolated prolonged aPTT was lupus anticoagulant in 4 (5%), and the most common cause of prolonged PT and aPTT was liver disease in 11 (14%). CONCLUSION: Prolonged PT/aPTT have a wide range of causes, including artifactual prolongation or abnormalities in secondary hemostasis due to both inherited and acquired conditions.
Malaria: clinical and epidemiological aspects.

The cycle of invasion, multiplication, and reinvasion takes place over 48 hours for P. falciparum, P. vivax, and P. ovale; 72 hours for P. malariae; and 24 hours for P. knowlesi. Although some degree of anemia resulting from hemolysis of infected red blood cells is an expected consequence of symptomatic malaria infections, the pathogenesis of severe malarial anemia, seen most commonly in P. falciparum disease, and also present withP. vivax, is multifactorial. Malaria during pregnancy also carries a risk of adverse birth outcomes such as spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, and premature birth or intrauterine growth restriction, both of which contribute to low birth weight, which is the single most important indicator of infant mortality. With the recent call for malaria elimination, more tools, including vaccines, can be anticipated in the near future. Host genetic factors that play important roles in malaria risk and epidemiology are summarized in this chapter. The new goal of using vaccines for malaria elimination places an increased emphasis on vaccines that would completely prevent infection and thus transmission by targeting the pre-erythrocytic stages of the parasite life cycle or block transmission directly by generating immunity against the sexual and mosquito stages. Most malaria vaccines are based on recombinant versions of antigenic targets from specific stages of the parasite life cycle, although DNA vaccines and viral vector expression approaches have been used with limited success to date. The most advanced malaria vaccine is based on the circum sporozoite protein that coats the surface of the infectious sporozoites.
Deterring Fourth Amendment Violations: Alternatives to the Exclusionary Rule

The fourth amendment exclusionary rule has undergone a difficult and controversial development. This article critically analyzes the various alternatives and modifications to the rule that have been advanced by courts and commentators. The article particularly emphasizes the alternative of police rulemaking as a means to control official misconduct. Among the possible modifications to the rule, is the assertion that the emerging good faith exception may be the most promising.
Cysteine-linked aromatic nitriles as UV resonance Raman probes of protein structure

Nitriles introduced into peptides and proteins can serve as useful vibrational spectroscopic probes, because the nitrile C ≡ N stretch is well isolated from backbone and sidechain vibrational bands. Aromatic nitriles offer large νC ≡ N absorption intensity in infrared spectra and resonance enhancement in Raman spectra with ultraviolet excitation. We report the ultraviolet resonance Raman spectra of cyanophenylalanine attached to cysteine, through linkage reactions that are applicable to cysteine residues in proteins. Excitation profiles are reported, and the νC ≡ N detection limit is estimated to be 5 µ m. The band position is sensitive to solvent polarity and especially to strong H-bonding. The derivatization of mastoparan X peptide at introduced cysteine residues demonstrated the effectiveness of a cyanophenylcysteine probe in reporting the lowered environmental polarity when the peptide was incorporated into liposomes. For an asymmetrical cyanophenyl derivative, 2-CBCys, the intensity ratio of asymmetric and symmetric ring modes, ν8b and ν8a, was found to respond to solvent polarity and not to H-bonding. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A Secreted Factor Inducs Cell Expansion and Formation of Metaxylem-Like Tracheary Elements in Xylogenic Suspension Cultures of Zinnia

Conditioned medium from mesophyll cell-suspension cultures of Zinnia elegans L. has striking effects on cell expansion and tracheary element differentiation when applied to cultures of freshly isolated mesophyll cells. These effects include (a) induction of early cell expansion, (b) delay in differentiation by 48 h or more, (c) reduction in the synchrony of differentiation, and (d) early formation of very large, metaxylem-like tracheary elements. Like reduced osmotic potential and buffering at pH 5.5, conditioned medium appears to have its primary effect on cell expansion. Partial characterization of the expansion-inducing factor indicates that it is heat stable, of low molecular mass, and is resistant to protease. It also binds reversibly to concanavalin A but is not adsorbed by charcoal. We suggest that the secreted factor may be an oligosaccharide involved in the coordination of cell expansion and differentiation and the regulation of the protoxylem-like to metaxylem-like transition in xylogenic suspension cultures.
Reasoning about Input-Output Modeling of Dynamical Systems

The goal of input-output modeling is to apply a test input to a system, analyze the results, and learn something useful from the causee ffiect pair. Any automated modeling tool that takes this approach must be able to reason effiectively about sensors and actuators and their interactions with the target system. Distilling qualitative information from sensor data is fairly easy, but a variety of difficult control-theoretic issues -- controllability, reachability, and utility -- arise during the planning and execution of experiments. This paper describes some representations and reasoning tactics, collectively termed qualitative bifurcation analysis, that make it possible to automate this task.
Semi-primary ${\rm QF}-3$ rings

A ring R (with identity) is semi-primary if it contains a nilpotent ideal N with R/N semi-simple with minimum condition. R is called a left QF-3 ring if it contains a faithful projective injective left ideal. If R is semi-primary and left QF -3, then there is a faithful projective injective left ideal of R which is a direct summand of every faithful left R -module [5], in agreement with the definition of QF -3 algebra given by R.M. Thrall [6]. Let Q ( M ) denote the injective envelope of a (left) R -module M . We call R left QF -3 + if Q ( R ) is projective. J.P. Jans showed that among rings with minimum condition on left ideals, the classes of QF -3 and QF -3 + rings coincide [5].
Classes of Permutation Polynomials Based on Cyclotomy and an Additive Analogue

I present a construction of permutation polynomials based on cyclotomy, an additive analogue of this construction, and a generalization of this additive analogue which appears to have no multiplicative analogue. These constructions generalize recent results of Jose Marcos.