cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Segmental arterial mapping during pediatric robot-assisted laparoscopic heminephrectomy: A descriptive series.

Summary Introduction The incidence of innocent moiety injury during heminephrectomy is estimated to be 4–5%. This complication can have long-term consequences for the child. Selective arterial mapping (SAM) with indocyanine green (ICG)-aided near infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging using the Firefly™ system on the da Vinci ® surgical robotic console has proven to be valuable in robotic partial nephrectomy for adult renal tumors. However, there is nothing in the literature for using this technique in pediatric robot-assisted laparoscopic heminephrectomy (RALHN). Objective To present a descriptive series of children who had SAM RALHN using ICG-aided NIRF imaging. To determine the feasibility of using ICG-aided NIRF SAM during RALHN, and to study if real-time delineation of the selective arterial anatomy of the upper and lower moieties would be helpful or change the immediate outcomes of the surgery. Study design A descriptive series of six children who received RALHN at the present institution. Results Selective arterial mapping was performed safely without toxicity or vascular complications; it did not extend the operative time and did not change the complexity of the operation. As shown in the summary table below, SAM added value by increasing safety of the operation. The individual operation cost increase of using SAM was only related to the single-use vial of ICG. Discussion Inadvertent injury to the innocent moiety in pediatric heminephrectomy is seldom noted intraoperatively, and many times only becomes evident postoperatively when there is acute ischemia or a chronic reduction in renal function. Although there is no replacement for good surgical technique and judgment, SAM during RALHN is a useful real-time way of alerting the surgeon to unexpected anatomy, and possible unintended or occult injury to the innocent moiety that could have devastating short-term and long-term consequences to the child, despite immediate recovery from surgery. Conclusions This report achieved its aim of reporting the feasibility of SAM on a small descriptive series of children who had RALHN. Summary Table . Selective arterial mapping during pediatric robot-assisted laparoscopic heminephrectomy: case summary. Case# Diagnosis Three selective arterial mapping outcomes Confirmed dissection Guided alternative dissection Helped avoid complication 1 Duplex ectopic ureter ✓ 2 Duplex renal dysplasia + hypertension ✓ ✓ 3 Duplex ureterocele ✓ 4 Duplex ureterocele ✓ 5 Duplex ectopic ureter ✓ 6 Duplex ectopic ureter ✓
Development and preliminary evaluation of an integrated field scale model for perennial bioenergy grass ecosystems in lowland areas

Computer models are useful tools for evaluating environmental and economic sustainability of proposed dedicated cellulosic grass ecosystems for biofuel production. This study developed an integrated, field scale, and process-based ecosystem model (DRAINMOD-GRASS) for simulating hydrological processes, soil carbon and nitrogen cycling, and plant growth in cropping systems for producing bioenergy grasses in lowland areas. We tested the model using measurements from three replicated switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) plots located in eastern North Carolina, USA. Results showed that the model accurately predicted 5-year (2009-2013) biomass yield. Predicted daily water table depth closely matched field measurements with Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient of 0.86. The model also accurately predicted temporal dynamics of daily soil moisture and temperature with Nash-Sutcliffe coefficients of 0.7 and 0.9, respectively. Predicted seasonal changes in net N mineralization and nitrification rates were comparable to field measurements in 2011 and 2012. Developed an integrated field scale model for perennial bioenergy grass ecosystem.DRAINMOD-GRASS was tested in a switchgrass field with 5-year measurements.The model performed well in predicting grass yield, hydrology, and N cycling.DRAINMOD-GRASS can be useful tool for bioenergy grass ecosystem in lowland areas.
Development and psychometric evaluation of a condom use self-efficacy measure in Spanish and English.

Background: Condom self-efficacy is an important construct for HIV/STI prevention and intervention. A psychometrically sound measure of the self-efficacy for using condoms that has been designed for Hispanic women to respond in Spanish or English is needed.Objectives: The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate a brief self-report measure of condom use self-efficacy.Methods: We developed a 15-item measure of condom use self-efficacy based on expert knowledge of measurement and HIV/STI prevention with Hispanic women using a translation-back translation approach. Participants were 320 Hispanic women from the Southeastern US.Results: Internal consistency of the full measure was 92. A short form of the instrument with a subset of five items also had acceptable internal consistency, alpha = .80, and was significantly correlated with the full scale, rs = .93, p < .001. A single latent factor explained 9–48% of the variation in these items. Evidence of construct validity of the short form was provided by ...
Prognosis of ‘Lengthy’ Febrile Convulsions

The outcome of children with status epilepticus (afebrile seizure >30 min) or lengthy febrile convulsions (>30 min) is reported by a British population based cohort study group that followed 16004 neonatal survivors born in one week in 1970 and assessed them after 5 and 10 years.
Autosomal Dominant Juvenile Amyotrophic LS

The clinical and electrodiagnostic findings in 49 affected family members and neuropathological findings from two autopsies of a Maryland kindred with autosomal dominant juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are reported from Johns Hopkins University and Hospital, Baltimore, MD.
Part II: Quantitative Evaluation of Choices Used in Setting Noncancer Chronic Human Health Reference Values Across Organizations

Environmental and public health organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), develop human health reference values (HHRV) that set "safe" levels of exposure to noncarcinogens. Here, we systematically analyze chronic HHRVs from four organizations: USEPA, Health Canada, RIVM (the Netherlands), and the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. This study is an extension of our earlier work and both closely examines the choices made in setting HHRVs and presents a quantitative method for identifying the primary factors influencing HHRV agreement or disagreement.(1) We evaluated 171 organizational comparisons, developing a quantitative method for identifying the factors to which HHRV agreement (that is, when both organizations considering the same data set the identical HHRV values) is most sensitive. To conduct this analysis, a Bayesian belief network was built using expert judgment, including the specific science policy choices analysis made in the context of setting an HHRV. Based on a sensitivity of findings analysis, HHRV agreement is most sensitive to the point of departure value, followed by the total uncertainty factor (UF), critical study, critical effect, animal model, and point of departure approach. This analysis also considered the specific impacts of individual UFs, with the database UF and the subchronic-to-chronic UF being identified as primary factors impacting the total UF differences observed across organizations. The sensitivity of findings analysis results were strengthened and confirmed by frequency analyses evaluating which choices most often disagreed when the HHRV and the total UF disagreed.
Hypovitaminosis D in patients scheduled to undergo orthopaedic surgery: a single-center analysis.

Background: Vitamin D is essential for optimal bone health and muscle function. An alarmingly high rate of vitamin-D deficiency in the general population has been reported recently. The purpose of the present study was to characterize the extent of low serum levels of vitamin D among orthopaedic surgery patients. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of 723 patients who were scheduled for orthopaedic surgery between January 2007 and March 2008. Preoperative serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels were measured. The prevalence of normal (≥32 ng/mL), insufficient (<32 ng/mL), and deficient (<20 ng/mL) vitamin-D levels was determined. Logistic regression was used to assess risk factors for insufficient (<32 ng/mL) 25(OH)D levels. Results: Overall, 43% of all patients had insufficient serum vitamin-D levels, and, of these, 40% had deficient levels. Among the orthopaedic services, the highest rates of low serum vitamin-D levels were seen in the trauma and sports services, in which the rates of abnormal (insufficient and deficient) vitamin-D levels were 66% and 52%, respectively. The lowest rate of abnormal vitamin-D levels was seen in the metabolic bone disease service. Patients between the ages of fifty-one and seventy years were 35% less likely to have low vitamin-D levels than patients between the ages of eighteen and fifty years (p = 0.018). The prevalence of low vitamin-D levels was significantly higher in men (p = 0.006). Individuals with darker skin tones (blacks and Hispanics) were 5.5 times more likely to have low vitamin-D levels when compared with those with lighter skin tones (whites and Asians) (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The prevalence of low serum levels of vitamin D among patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery is very common. Given the importance of vitamin D in musculoskeletal health, such low levels may negatively impact patient outcomes.
Shocks to Lenders' Monitoring Incentives and Firms' Financial Reporting Choices

We examine the effect of shocks arising from unrelated loan defaults in a lender's portfolio (i.e., lender-side defaults) on borrowers' financial reporting decisions. Using a broad sample of syndicated loans, we find that lender-side defaults are associated with higher levels of timely loss recognition from non-defaulting borrowers, consistent with these defaults motivating lenders to re-evaluate their pre-existing monitoring standards and demand more information regarding downside risk from non-defaulting borrowers. Increases in timely loss recognition following lender-side defaults are associated with reductions in covenant slack, increases in covenant violations, and higher levels of future loans from the same lender, consistent with lenders and firms sharing the benefits associated with changes in disclosure. In additional analyses, we demonstrate that the effect of lender-side defaults on borrowers' timely loss recognition is more pronounced when renegotiation costs are high, ex ante contractual conservatism mechanisms are lacking, borrowers' fundamentals are weaker, and borrowers have fewer outside lending options. Overall, our findings shed light on how lenders adjust their monitoring efforts and influence firms' financial reporting decisions over the course of a lending relationship.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis PhoY Proteins Promote Persister Formation by Mediating Pst/SenX3-RegX3 Phosphate Sensing.

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis phosphate-specific transport (Pst) system controls gene expression in response to phosphate availability by inhibiting the activation of the SenX3-RegX3 two-component system under phosphate-rich conditions, but the mechanism of communication between these systems is unknown. In Escherichia coli, inhibition of the two-component system PhoR-PhoB under phosphate-rich conditions requires both the Pst system and PhoU, a putative adaptor protein. E. coli PhoU is also involved in the formation of persisters, a subpopulation of phenotypically antibiotic-tolerant bacteria. M. tuberculosis encodes two PhoU orthologs, PhoY1 and PhoY2. We generated phoY single- and double-deletion mutants and examined the expression of RegX3-regulated genes by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR). Gene expression was increased only in the ΔphoY1 ΔphoY2 double mutant and could be restored to the wild-type level by complementation with either phoY1 or phoY2 or by deletion of regX3 These data suggest that the PhoY proteins function redundantly to inhibit SenX3-RegX3 activation. We analyzed the frequencies of antibiotic-tolerant persister variants in the phoY mutants using several antibiotic combinations. Persister frequency was decreased at least 40-fold in the ΔphoY1 ΔphoY2 mutant compared to the frequency in the wild type, and this phenotype was RegX3 dependent. A ΔpstA1 mutant lacking a Pst system transmembrane component exhibited a similar RegX3-dependent decrease in persister frequency. In aerosol-infected mice, the ΔphoY1 ΔphoY2 and ΔpstA1 mutants were more susceptible to treatment with rifampin but not isoniazid. Our data demonstrate that disrupting phosphate sensing mediated by the PhoY proteins and the Pst system enhances the susceptibility of M. tuberculosis to antibiotics both in vitro and during infection.IMPORTANCE Persister variants, subpopulations of bacteria that are phenotypically antibiotic tolerant, contribute to the lengthy treatment times required to cure Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, but the molecular mechanisms governing their formation and maintenance are poorly characterized. Here, we demonstrate that a phosphate-sensing signal transduction system, comprising the Pst phosphate transporter, the two-component system SenX3-RegX3, and functionally redundant PhoY proteins that mediate signaling between Pst and SenX3-RegX3, influences persister formation. Activation of RegX3 by deletion of the phoY genes or a Pst system component resulted in decreased persister formation in vitro Activated RegX3 also limited persister formation during growth under phosphate-limiting conditions. Importantly, increased susceptibility to the front-line drug rifampin was also observed in a mouse infection model. Thus, the M. tuberculosis phosphate-sensing signal transduction system contributes to antibiotic tolerance and is a potential target for the development of novel therapeutics that may shorten the duration of tuberculosis treatment.
Abstract 383: 17 beta-Estradiol Enhances Mitochondrial Function of Cerebral Arteries From Ovariectomized Female Rats

Previous studies have provided indirect evidence that circulating sex hormones alter the function of the cerebral circulation perhaps via effects on mitochondrial dynamics. However, effects of estrogen on mitochondrial respiration have never been directly examined. We have previously observed a difference in the mitochondrial function of cerebral arteries from male and female rats but the exact mechanisms are not clear. We tested the hypothesis that mitochondrial respiration in isolated cerebral arteries from ovariectomized (OVX) Sprague Dawley rats treated with a 21 d release, 0.5 mg of 17 β-estradiol pellet (OVX+E) was enhanced compared with arteries from placebo treated OVX rats. The Seahorse Bioscience XFe24 system was used to measure mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate (pM/min/μg protein) in cerebral arteries. Western blot was used to investigate the arterial expression of proteins. Radioimmunoassay was used to measure serum estradiol level. Treatment with 17 β-estradiol resulted in a higher serum estradiol level (146.9±18.16 pg/ml) and uterus weight (0.15±0.0058 g) in the OVX+E compared with the OVX (14.7±1.2 pg/ml, 0.07±0.003, respectively; p Our findings provide direct evidence for sex-specific differences in mitochondrial function on freshly isolated cerebral arteries. Thus, estradiol replacement enhances the efficacy of the oxidative phosphorylation resulting in an increased mitochondrial respiration which is not due to increased mitochondrial protein expression but may be due to enhanced NO.
Association Between Targeted HER-2 Therapy and Breast Reconstruction Outcomes: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis

Background Current treatment for HER-2+ breast cancer includes chemotherapy and targeted HER-2 therapy with trastuzumab and/or pertuzumab. Evidence is lacking on the safety of breast reconstructive operations in these patients. We hypothesized that targeted HER-2 therapy was not associated with post-mastectomy reconstructive outcomes. Study Design Women receiving chemotherapy and post-mastectomy reconstruction at Duke University Medical Center from 2006 to 2016 were retrospectively identified. Patients receiving targeted HER-2 therapy with trastuzumab and/or pertuzumab within 6 weeks before breast reconstruction were propensity score-matched 1:1 to patients who did not receive targeted HER-2 therapy, based on the following factors: age, obesity, diabetes, tobacco use, receipt of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, chemotherapy regimen, and radiation therapy. Primary study outcomes included the occurrence of hematoma, seroma, infection, wound breakdown, mastectomy skin flap necrosis, and postoperative flap thrombosis. Results A total of 481 women were identified, resulting in 107 propensity score-matched pairs. Administration of combined trastuzumab and pertuzumab therapy before breast reconstruction was independently associated with increased risk of postoperative wound breakdown requiring operative intervention for closure, compared with patients not undergoing targeted HER-2 therapy (odds ratio 65.29; 95% CI 1.63 to 2,611.50; p = 0.03). In addition, larger tumor size (2 to 5 cm) was significantly associated with a reduced risk of postoperative wound breakdown, compared with smaller tumors ( Conclusions Our study suggests that trastuzumab therapy in conjunction with breast reconstructive operation is not associated with reconstructive complications, and breast reconstruction does not need to be delayed due to the administration of trastuzumab. Future studies are needed to evaluate the impact of pertuzumab on surgical outcomes.
Radical Critique’s Challenge to Art Education

This chapter takes up the notion of critique in relation to creativity. I delve into the state of criticism in art education at this time playing out in the coercion and contortion of criticality into critical thinking skills for practical solutions. Employing such mechanisms as pragmatic blindness, art education aims to maintain present versions of the field safe from reinvention. Global education reform has come to embrace creative and critical thinking skills toward innovation—the two skillsets need one another in order for innovation to thrive. Yet, both creativity and criticality are morphing into altered forms that actually limit the possible. Radical critique is proposed as a counter to the pragmatization of criticality, art education, and society at large.
Disorders of Lipid Metabolism

Lipid physiology is a complex process involving lipid production and metabolism through exogenous, endogenous, and reverse cholesterol transport pathways. Malfunctions in these processes can result in lipid abnormalities that lead to early cardiovascular disease, premature cardiovascular death, and pancreatitis. The causes of these lipid abnormalities can be acquired, most commonly due to obesity, or genetic, as is the case in familial hypercholesterolemia. This chapter discusses normal lipid physiology, general screening guidelines, as well as the diagnosis, presentation, and management of disorders of HDL, LDL, and triglyceride metabolism.
Evaluating a complex health promotion intervention: case application of three systems methods

Persistent challenges to public health and well-being are being addressed though complex interventions. Complex interventions are intentional processes designed to shift and realign the form and fu...
N-formylmethionine: the N terminus of Clostridium pasteurianum rubredoxin

Abstract The N terminal amino acid of C. pasteurianum rubredoxin has been determined to be N-formylmethionine.
QOL Research in Relation to Specific Life Domains

This chapter covers QOL research that is life domain specific. The life domains that are covered are consumer, leisure, community, work, family, economic, health, spiritual, and housing. Within each life domain, the focus is on understanding QOL within the confines of that domain. For example, we focus on consumer well being within the consumer life domain. We define the construct based on available conceptualizations. We cite evidence for the effect of consumer well being on overall QOL. We provide the reader with an understanding of the various moderators and mediators of the consumer well-being effect on overall QOL. We go further by describing the factors that influence consumer well being. Then we describe ideas for designing products, services, and programs to enhance consumer well being. We use the same logic in tackling leisure well being, community quality of life, quality of work life, family quality of life, economic well being, health-related quality of life, among others.
Short and Long Run Scale and other Cost Economies

In addition to utilization fluctuations, long run scale economies (diseconomies) provide another technological reason cost efficiency might increase (decrease) independently of technical change. Such economies derive from the potential for larger scale production to proceed at lower unit costs. This could possibly be due to some type of long-run “fixity” such as spreading entrepreneurial skill, managerial labor, or massive indivisible “chunks” of (more efficient than small-scale) capital across a larger productive base. Such technological characteristics are commonly represented by a U-shaped long run average cost (LAC) curve.
Visualization in Science and Technology

Starting in the 1970s, historians and ethnographers of scientific practice began to treat images, inscriptions, and the technologies for producing them as centrally important aspects of science, rather than as secondary products of theoretical and experimental work. Visualization in science includes arrays of practices with instruments and tools that enable researchers to make phenomena visible and publicly available. Visualization is not limited to vision, nor is it limited to sensory perception, as it includes drawing, graphic recording, and other means of inscription on paper, and more recently projection on to screens. In many cases, phenomena of interest to researchers are rendered into visible and palpable form only through such instrumental intervention and mediation. Different complexes of practice and instrumentation are associated with distinctive standards of objectivity modes of objectification. Images and models not only depict preexisting objects; but they sometimes have a proactive role in articulating configurations that only later are realized by imaging technology. Studies of visualization in science emphasize the links between different forms of data representation, and the labor process that develop and maintain the integrity of those links.
The Virtue of Dentistry as a Learned Profession.

In having the distinct honor of being the first speaker at this extraordinary event, I am grateful to be in the company of these exceptional individuals brought together to honor Rick Valachovic. I was charged to reflect on how dental education can flourish as a learned profession. I frequently use
Abstract 530: Decreased NSF S-Nitrosylation in the Aorta and an Age-Dependent Endothelial Activation in Mice with Fabry Disease

Fabry disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by loss of activity of the enzyme, α-galactosidase A (GLA). The loss of GLA function leads to an age-dependent accumulation of globotr...
Optimum Planning for Inductively Charged On-demand Automated Electric Shuttles at Greenville, South Carolina

Wireless charging technology presents perfect fits for autonomous electric vehicles for realizing a fully automated system (vehicle and charger). This paper presents a planning optimization analysis for a pilot project of in-route wireless charging infrastructure serving fixed-route on-demand shared automated electric shuttles (SAESs) at Greenville, South Carolina, USA. A single-objective non-linear integer planning optimization problem is formulated. A comprehensive cost function representing the inductively charged SAESs is developed, considering road construction, power electronics and materials, traction battery, and installation costs. The optimization problem is solved to determine the best combination of the system key design parameters (number and allocations of wireless chargers, charging power level, track length and on-board battery capacity) that show the most cost-effective solution and allow the SAESs realizing charge sustaining operation. The planning platform incorporates representative simulated traffic data (drive cycles and routes) for four SAESs at Greenville project using the Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO) tool. These data are fed to a vehicle powertrain model and a wireless charger power model to predict the battery power, energy and state-of-charge (SOC) profiles, which are provided to the search algorithm to assess the design objectives under specific constraints. The results indicated that implementing wireless charging at a few designated stops for fixed-route SAESs with proper design allows the vehicles realizing charge sustaining operation, infinite range and zero recharge downtime, with a significant reduction in the on-board battery (36%) and road coverage (69%), at minimum cost.
Among Low-Income Adults Enrolled In Medicaid, Churning Decreased After The Affordable Care Act

Coverage disruptions and coverage loss occur frequently among Medicaid enrollees and are associated with delayed health care access and reduced medication adherence. Little is known about the effec...
Thermochemical studies of reactions of Re+ with SO2 using guided ion beam experiments and theory

The kinetic energy dependent reactions of Re+ with SO2 were studied with guided ion beam tandem mass spectrometry. ReO+, ReO2+, and OReS+ species were observed as products, all in endothermic reactions. Modeling of the kinetic energy dependent cross sections yields 0 K bond dissociation energies (BDEs, in eV) of 4.78 ± 0.06 (Re+-O), 5.75 ± 0.02 (Re+-O2), and 4.35 ± 0.14 (Re+-SO). The latter two values can be combined with other information to derive the additional values 6.05 ± 0.05 (ORe+-O) and 4.89 ± 0.19 (ORe+-S). BDEs of ReO+ and ReO2+ agree with literature values whereas the values for OReS+ are the first measurements. The former result is obtained even though formation of ground state ReO+ is spin-forbidden. Quantum mechanical calculations at the B3LYP level of theory with a def2-TZVPPD basis set yield results that agree reasonably well with experimental values. Additional calculations at the BP86 and CCSD(T) levels of theory using def2-QZVPPD and aug-cc-pVxZ (x = T, Q, and 5) basis sets were performed to compare thermochemistry with experiment to determine that ReO2+ rather than the isobaric ReS+ is formed. Product ground states are 3Δ3(ReO+), 3B1(OReO+), 5Π-1(ReS+), and 3A''(OReS+) after including empirical spin-orbit corrections, which means that formation of ground state products is spin-forbidden for all three product channels. The potential energy surfaces for the ReSO2+ system were also explored at the B3LYP/def2-TZVPPD level and exhibited no barriers in excess of the endothermicities for all products. BDEs for rhenium oxide and sulfide diatomics and triatomics are compared and discussed. The present result for formation of ReO+ is compared to that for formation of ReO+ in the reactions of Re+ + O2 and CO, where the former system exhibited interesting dual cross section features. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that the distinction of in-plane and out-of-plane CS symmetry in the triatomic systems might be the explanation for the two endothermic features observed in the Re+ + O2 reaction.
Teamwork in a pandemic: insights from management research

Background Amidst the unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19, it is both critical and increasingly difficult for healthcare professionals to engage in the teamwork that will underlie an effective response to the pandemic. The simultaneous need for and challenge to teamwork, though, is not unique to healthcare. Results Drawing on management and organisational research conducted in healthcare as well as other industries, this article offers an overview of key, and robust, findings that highlight both what teamwork looks like and how to achieve it. I focus on two aspects of teamwork (the coordination of expertise and communication), and I review how leaders can jumpstart them by leveraging mechanisms including framing the work, using communication structures and engaging in leader inclusiveness.
Whole Genome Tree of Life: Deep Burst of Organism Diversity

Abstract An organism Tree of Life (organism ToL) is a conceptual and metaphorical tree to capture a simplified narrative of the evolutionary course and kinship among the extant organisms of today. Such tree cannot be experimentally validated, but may be reconstructed based on characteristics associated with the organisms. Since the whole genome sequence of an organism is, at present, the most comprehensive descriptor of the organism, a genome Tol can be an empirically derivable surrogate for the organism ToL. However, a genome ToL has been impossible to construct because of the practical reasons that experimentally determining the whole genome sequences of a large number of diverse organisms was technically impossible. Thus, for several decades gene ToLs based on selected genes have been commonly used as a surrogate for the organisms ToL. This situation changed dramatically during the last several decades due to rapid advances in DNA sequencing technology. Here we present a genome ToL, which shows that (a) whole genome information can be compared without sequence alignment, (b) all extant organisms can be classified into six large groups and (c) all the founders of the groups have emerged in a Deep Burst at the very beginning period of the emergence of the Life on Earth. Significance Statement Tree of Life is a conceptual and metaphorical tree to capture a simplified narrative of the evolutionary course and kinship among all living organisms of today. Since the whole genome sequence information of an organism is, at present, the most comprehensive description of the organism, we reconstructed a Genome Tree of Life using the whole genome information of over 4000 different living organisms on Earth. It shows that (a) whole genome information can be compared without sequence alignment, (b) all extant organisms can be classified into six large groups and (c) all the founders of the groups have emerged in a “Deep Burst” at the very beginning period of the emergence of the Life on Earth.
Encouraging an excitable brain state: mechanisms of brain repair in stroke

Stroke induces a plastic state in the brain. This period of enhanced plasticity leads to the sprouting of new axons, the formation of new synapses and the remapping of sensory-motor functions, and is associated with motor recovery. This is a remarkable process in the adult brain, which is normally constrained in its levels of neuronal plasticity and connectional change. Recent evidence indicates that these changes are driven by molecular systems that underlie learning and memory, such as changes in cellular excitability during memory formation. This Review examines circuit changes after stroke, the shared mechanisms between memory formation and brain repair, the changes in neuronal excitability that underlie stroke recovery, and the molecular and pharmacological interventions that follow from these findings to promote motor recovery in animal models. From these findings, a framework emerges for understanding recovery after stroke, central to which is the concept of neuronal allocation to damaged circuits. The translation of the concepts discussed here to recovery in humans is underway in clinical trials for stroke recovery drugs. Stroke initially causes cell injury and death. After these acute events, there is a period of increased plasticity in the brain. Joy and Carmichael review changes in neuronal excitability systems during this period that lead to neural circuit reformation after stroke and how they may be targeted to promote functional recovery.
Understanding How Fuel Treatments Interact With Climate and Biophysical Setting to Affect Fire, Water, and Forest Health: A Process-Based Modeling Approach

Fuel treatments are a key forest management practice used to reduce fire severity, increase water yield, and mitigate drought vulnerability. Climate change exacerbates the need for fuel treatments, with larger and more frequent wildfires, increasing water demand, and more severe drought. The effects of fuel treatments though can be inconsistent and uncertain and can be altered by a variety of factors including the type of treatment, the biophysical features of the landscape, and climate. Variation in fuel treatment effects can occur even within forest stands and small watershed management units. Quantifying the likely magnitude of variation in treatment effects and identifying the dominant controls on those effects is needed to support fuel treatment planning directed at achieving specific fire, water, and forest health goals. This research aims to quantify and better understand how local differences in treatment, landscape features, and climate alter those fuel treatment effects. We address these questions using modeling methods, specifically the Regional Hydro-Ecological Simulation System (RHESSys). We ran 13500 scenarios covering a broad range of fuel treatment, biophysical, and climate conditions, for the Southern Sierra Nevada of California. We find nontrivial variation in fuel treatment effects across fuel treatment type, biophysical, and climate parameters on stand carbon, net primary productivity, evapotranspiration, and fire-related canopy structure variables. Estimates range substantially, from increases (1% – 48%) to decreases (-13% – 175%) compared to untreated scenarios. The relative importance of parameters varies by response variable, however, fuel treatment method & intensity, plant accessible water storage capacity, and vegetation type all consistently demonstrate a large influence across all response variables. These parameters interact to produce non-linear effects. Results show that projections of fuel treatment effects based on singular mean parameter values (such as mean plant available water capacity), provide a limited picture of potential responses. Our findings emphasize the need for a more complete perspective when assessing expected fuel treatment outcomes, both their effects, and the interacting biophysical and climatic parameters that alter those effects. This research also serves as a demonstration of methodology to assess the likely variation in potential effects of fuel treatments for a given planning unit.
Factors Associated With Mental Health Service Use Among Black, Latinx, and Asian Older Adults in Community-Based Organizations.

Objective:Older adults of color face systemic obstacles in seeking mental health care. Unaddressed late-life mental health issues can challenge independent living and increase disability and mortal...
The Research and Writing Template

While every business school discipline (accounting, business law, communication, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, management, marketing, organizational behavior, and strategy) each possess scholarly trends and momentary fashion, scholarly research and writing has developed over the years in a manner that lends itself to some useful generalizations. Particularly for young scholars who are new to the challenges of research methods, a clear picture of at least one acceptable approach to the articulation of a research problem seems useful. We have drafted this introductory reading with a view toward providing just that, some initial thoughts to prod the thinking about the research and writing process. We seek to provide a quick read of thirty minutes or less to set the stage for all the hard work, dismissed ideas, and blind alleys that inevitably confront the PhD student about to embark on a journey that will hopefully lead, just a few years later, to a relatively quick (maybe a year or two less than the norm) completion of a thoughtful, cogent, and important dissertation having “real world” scholarly impact.
Enzymic synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid: XXII. Replication of a circular single-stranded DNA template by DNA polymerase of Escherichia coli☆☆☆

Abstract DNA from the bacteriophage M13, specific for male strains of Escherichia coli, was found to have a ring structure similar to that of φX174 DNA. E. coli DNA polymerase, free of endonuclease, uses this DNA as a template for a complete or even more extensive replication. The template-product complex is separable in alkali, yielding the original circular template and an open-chain product strand. The molecular weights of the template, the full replication product and the 1:1 hybrid of template and product were calculated from sedimentation coefficients to be 2 × 106, 2 × 106 and 4 × 106 daltons, respectively. Electron microscopic studies of the hybrid reveal circular, helical molecules about 2 μ in contour length; with only partial replication, circular molecules are seen which appear to have one single-stranded region linking the ends of a helical segment; with extensive replication, helical branches are seen attached to 2-μ long helical circles. Analysis of the product reveals the initiating termini of the strands as the 5′-(mono)-phosphates of each of the four deoxynucleotides. Replication of circular M13 DNA thus appears to be initiated without covalent linkage to the template, without a specific nucleotide locus on the template and with the elimination of the terminal pyrophosphoryl group of the initial deoxynucleoside triphosphate.
Prognostic value and agreement of achieving lactate clearance or central venous oxygen saturation goals during early sepsis resuscitation.

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2012; 19:252–258 © 2012 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Abstract Objectives: Lactate clearance (LC) and central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO2) have been proposed as goals of early sepsis resuscitation. The authors sought to determine the agreement and prognostic value of achieving ScvO2 or LC goals in septic shock patients undergoing emergency department (ED)-based early resuscitation. Methods: This was a preplanned analysis of a multicenter ED randomized controlled trial of early sepsis resuscitation targeting three variables: central venous pressure, mean arterial pressure, and either ScvO2 or LC. Inclusion criteria included suspected infection, two or more systemic inflammation criteria, and either systolic blood pressure of 4 mmol/L. Both ScvO2 and LC were measured simultaneously. The ScvO2 goal was defined as ≥70%. Lactate was measured at enrollment and every 2 hours until the goal was reached or up to 6 hours. LC goal was defined as a decrease of ≥10% from initial measurement. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Results: A total of 203 subjects were included, with an overall mortality of 19.7%. Achievement of the ScvO2 goal only was associated with a mortality rate of 41% (9/22), while achievement of the LC goal only was associated with a mortality rate of 8% (2/25; proportion difference = 33%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 9% to 55%). No agreement was found between goal achievement (κ = –0.02), and exact test for matched pairs demonstrated no significant difference between discordant pairs (p = 0.78). Conclusions: No agreement was found between LC and ScvO2 goal achievement in early sepsis resuscitation. Achievement of a ScvO2≥ 70% without LC ≥ 10% was more strongly associated with mortality than achievement of LC ≥ 10% with failure to achieve ScvO2≥ 70%.
Creativity and Entrepreneurship

An idea that is novel but has no potential value or usefulness would not be considered creative. By definition, individual creativity is different from organizational innovation, in that the former involves the idea generation stage, whereas the latter includes both the idea generation and implementation stages. Thus, individual creativity often provides a starting point for organizational innovation. Creativity can be seen as a continuum ranging from low levels to relatively high levels. Keywords: creativity; novelty; ideas
The hedgehog signaling network, mammary stem cells, and breast cancer: connections and controversies.

Several signal transduction networks have been implicated in the regulation of mammary epithelial stem cell self-renewal and maintenance (Kalirai and Clarke 2006; Liu et al. 2005). These signaling networks include those of the Wnt, Notch, TGFβ, EGF, FGF, IGF, and most recently, the Hedgehog (Hh) families of secreted ligands. However, we currently know very little about the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which these signaling pathways function to regulate normal epithelial stem/progenitor cells. What is clear is that the regulatory signaling networks thought to control normal stem/progenitor cell self-renewal and maintenance are, with the current sole exception of the hedgehog network, well-documented to have contributory roles in mammary cancer development and disease progression when misregulated. In this review, genetic regulation of mammary gland development by hedgehog network genes is outlined, highlighting a developing controversy as to whether activated hedgehog signaling regulates normal regenerative mammary epithelial stem cells or, indeed, whether activated hedgehog signaling functions at all in ductal development. In addition, the question of whether inappropriate hedgehog network activation influences breast cancer development is addressed, with emphasis on the prospects for using hedgehog signaling antagonists clinically for breast cancer treatment or prevention.
Desertification in an Arid Shrubland in the Southwestern United States

In the Mojave Desert of the southwestern U.S. human destruction of soil crusts and removal of vegetation have led to progressive, expanding degradation of adjacent arid shrublands. Aeolian mobilisation of dust, sand and litter triggered by anthropogenic disturbance contributes to the destruction of islands of fertility in adjacent areas by killing shrubs through burial and abrasion. This interrupts nutrient-accumulation processes and allows the loss of soil resources by abiotic transport. Thus the processes of degradation spread across the landscape driven largely by abiotic processes.
Quality and Accountability in Health Care Delivery: Audit-Study Evidence from Primary Care in India

We present unique audit-study evidence on health care quality in rural India, and find that most private providers lacked medical qualifications, but completed more checklist items than public providers and recommended correct treatments equally often. Among doctors with public and private practices, all quality metrics were higher in their private clinics. Market prices are positively correlated with checklist completion and correct treatment, but also with unnecessary treatments. However, public sector salaries are uncorrelated with quality. A simple model helps interpret our findings: Where public-sector effort is low, the benefits of higher diagnostic effort among private providers may outweigh costs of potential overtreatment.
Recent advances in prevention and treatment of hepatitis C virus infections

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the leading cause of chronic hepatitis in humans. As members of the flavivirus family, HCVs are a group of small single-stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses. Upon translation of the genome, a polyprotein precursor is synthesized and further processed by both cellular and viral proteases to generate functional viral proteins. Treatment options are currently limited to the administration of α-interferon alone or in combination with ribavirin. Unfortunately, these approaches are characterized by relatively poor efficacy and an unfavorable side-effect profile. Therefore, intensive effort is directed at the discovery of novel molecules to treat this disease. These new approaches include the development of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines, the identification of interferons with improved pharmacokinetic characteristics, and the discovery of novel drugs designed to inhibit the function of three major viral proteins: protease, helicase and polymerase. Finally, the HCV RNA genome itself, particularly the IRES element, is being actively exploited as an antiviral target using antisense molecules and catalytic ribozymes. This review summarizes the most recent findings in each of these areas. Although not intended to be comprehensive, it should serve as a first resource for those individuals who desire updated information in this rapidly changing field.
Intended Sex With Fewer Partners: An Empirical Test of the AIDS Risk Reduction Model Among Injection Drug Users1

The AIDS risk reduction model (ARRM) is a theory-based representation of psychosocial processes by which people may attempt to change their HIV risk behavior. This study tests the degree to which hypothesized relationships among ARRM factors are consistent with cross-sectional data collected from a sample of HIV-negative injection drug users in Los Angeles, California. The data pertain to users' intentions to reduce HIV transmission risk incurred through sex with multiple partners. Findings conform to ARRM hypotheses in some important respects. In particular, findings suggest that perceived self-efficacy for sexual risk reduction may be a crucial factor leading to the formation of intentions to change sex-related HIV risk behavior.
Femtosecond TRIR Studies of ClNO Photochemistry in Solution: Evidence for Photoisomerization and Geminate Recombination †

The photochemistry of nitrosyl chloride (ClNO) in the solution phase is investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultrafast time-resolved infrared (TRIR) spectroscopies. The NO-stretch fundamental transition for ClNO dissolved in cyclohexane, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, dichloromethane, and acetonitrile is measured, with the frequency and line width of this transition demonstrating a strong dependence on solvent polarity. Following the photolysis of ClNO dissolved in acetonitrile at 266 nm, the subsequent optical-density evolution across the entire width of the NO-stretch fundamental is measured. Analysis of the optical-density evolution demonstrates that geminate recombination of the primary photofragments resulting in the reformation of ground state ClNO occurs with a quantum yield of 0.54 +/- 0.06. In addition, an increase in optical density is observed at 1860 cm(-1) that is assigned to the NO-stretch fundamental transition of the photoisomer, ClON, having a formation quantum yield of 0.07 +/- 0.02. This work represents the first definitive observation of ClNO photoisomerization in solution. Finally, essentially no evidence is observed for significant vibrational excitation of the NO fragment following photodissociation, in marked contrast to the behavior observed in the gas phase. An environment-dependent dissociation scheme is proposed in which the interplay between solvent polarity and the location of the ground state potential-energy-surface minimum along the Cl-N coordinate provides for the optical preparation of different excited states thereby affecting the extent of NO vibrational excitation following photolysis.
A Multiplexed Assay to Detect Antimicrobial Peptides in Biological Fluids and Cell Secretions

Mucosal tissues represent the front line in defense against potential pathogens, and one means by which mucosa provide protection is via the secretion of antimicrobials which can interfere with potential pathogens as well as recruit and modify the responses of immune cells. Here we describe adaptation of ELISA assays to microsphere format, facilitating simultaneous quantification of antimicrobial peptides including elafin, MIP3α, HBD2, HBD3, SLPI, RANTES, SDF1, lactoferrin, LL-37, and HNP1-3. The multiplexed assay exhibits excellent reproducibility, shows linearity over a two order of magnitude concentration range for most analytes, is compatible with biological fluids such as cervicovaginal lavage fluid, and presents significant cost and sample savings relative to traditional ELISA assays.