cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Seasonal bioavailability of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen from pristine and polluted freshwater wetlands

We examined the chemical composition and bioavailability of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) from two pristine and two polluted cedar bog wetlands across three seasons. Pristine and polluted wetlands differed in DOC and DON concentrations, chemical characteristics, and bioavailability. DOC and DON concentrations were higher in the polluted than in the pristine wetlands. In contrast, a higher percentage of the dissolved organic matter (DOM) was more aromatic in the pristine (54% 6 19) than in the polluted (27% 6 4) wetlands. A higher percentage of DOC was bioavailable in the pristine (22% 6 9) than the polluted (12% 6 4) wetlands. A similar percentage of DON was consumed in both the pristine (33% 6 25) and polluted (28% 6 25) wetlands. Seasonally, the bioavailability of DOC and DON varied and differed between the pristine and polluted wetlands. The availability of phosphate appeared to affect the amount of DOC incorporated into bacterial biomass, whereas inorganic nutrient availability did not affect the assimilation of DON. Bioavailable DOC primarily fueled bacterial respiration, whereas DON supported bacterial growth. Overall, our results demonstrate that anthropogenic activities and season affect the quantity and quality of wetland DOM exported to rivers and that different factors control the utilization and fate of DOC and DON within the bacterial community. Carbon and nitrogen are important components of riverine dissolved organic matter (DOM). Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is often the largest organic carbon pool in rivers (Schlesinger and Melack 1981). Likewise, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) can comprise up to 90% of the total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) concentration and export from some rivers (e.g., Seitzinger and Sanders 1997). Recent studies have shown that DOM is metabolically important in rivers and estuaries; it supplies energy (carbon) and nutrients (nitrogen) to bacteria and some algae and potentially contributes to coastal eutrophication and hypoxia (e.g., Seitzinger and Sanders 1997; Stepanauskas et al. 1999; Glibert et al. 2001; Wiegner and Seitzinger 2001). Riverine DOM is composed of organic matter from terrestrial, atmospheric, and autochthonous sources. The bioavailability of DOM from these sources differs from one another and varies seasonally (e.g., Wiegner and Seitzinger 1
Topical Review: Negative Behavioral and Cognitive Outcomes Following Traumatic Brain Injury in Early Childhood

OBJECTIVE: To summarize recent research on negative behavioral and cognitive outcomes following early childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: Topical review of the literature published since the year 2000 examining behavioral and cognitive difficulties following TBI in early childhood. RESULTS: Research findings from the reviewed studies demonstrate a variety of negative behavioral and cognitive outcomes following TBI in childhood, particularly for children Language: en
A Freshman 'Introduction to ECE Design' Course Based on the LEGO Mindstorms NXT

Faculty members from Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) have worked jointly with engineers from National Instruments to develop a new freshman course. This course, entitled 'Introduction to ECE Design,' is constructed around the LEGO Mindstorms NXT robotics kit. This course addresses the diverse objectives of providing students with a systems-level design experience at the beginning of their academic programs and introducing them to a broad range of ECE disciplines. A primary goal is to enable students to make better-informed decisions when choosing whether or not to major in electrical engineering or computer engineering.
Multipotent somatic stem cells contribute to the stem cell niche in the Drosophila testis

Adult stem cells occupy specialized microenvironments, or niches, that help regulate stem cell renewal and maintenance. The stem cell niche in the Drosophila male gonad is located at the tip of the testis where germline and somatic stem cells surround the apical hub. Voog et al. now show that somatic stem cells in the Drosophila testis contribute to both the apical hub and the somatic cyst cell lineage comprising the niche. They also show that the transcriptional repressor escargot regulates the ability of somatic cells to assume and/or maintain hub cell identity. This work highlights the dynamic relationship between stem cells and the niche and provides insight into genetic programmes that regulate niche size and function to support normal tissue homeostasis and organ regeneration throughout life. Adult stem cells reside in specialized microenvironments, or niches, that have an important role in regulating stem cell behaviour1. Therefore, tight control of niche number, size and function is necessary to ensure the proper balance between stem cells and progenitor cells available for tissue homeostasis and wound repair. The stem cell niche in the Drosophila male gonad is located at the tip of the testis where germline and somatic stem cells surround the apical hub, a cluster of approximately 10–15 somatic cells that is required for stem cell self-renewal and maintenance2,3,4. Here we show that somatic stem cells in the Drosophila testis contribute to both the apical hub and the somatic cyst cell lineage. The Drosophila orthologue of epithelial cadherin (DE-cadherin) is required for somatic stem cell maintenance and, consequently, the apical hub. Furthermore, our data indicate that the transcriptional repressor escargot regulates the ability of somatic cells to assume and/or maintain hub cell identity. These data highlight the dynamic relationship between stem cells and the niche and provide insight into genetic programmes that regulate niche size and function to support normal tissue homeostasis and organ regeneration throughout life.
On local detection of moving edges

The authors propose a detection framework with multiple velocity channels for moving edges based on a generalization of J. Canny's edge detector (1986). Finite state machines (FSMs) are set up at discrete lattice points in the image plane and operate based on the outputs of all velocity channels. The outputs of the FSMs denote whether there are edges at their corresponding positions, and their states record the edge velocities. In the temporal dimension, statistics are attached to the edges to aid in removing phantom edges. >
The Nature and Causes for the Delayed Atmospheric Response to El Niño

Abstract Remarkable among the atmospheric phenomena associated with El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is the lag in the zonal mean tropical thermal anomalies relative to equatorial east Pacific sea surface temperatures (SSTs). For the period 1950–99, the maximum correlation between observed zonal mean tropical 200-mb heights and a Nino-3.4 (5°N–5°S, 120°–170°W) SST index occurs when the atmosphere lags by 1–3 months, consistent with numerous previous studies. Results from atmospheric general circulation model (GCM) simulations forced by the monthly SST variations of the last half-century confirm and establish the robustness of this observed lag. An additional feature of the delay in atmospheric response that involves an apparent memory or lingering of the tropical thermal anomalies several seasons beyond the Nino-3.4 SST index peak is documented in this study. It is characterized by a strong asymmetry in the strength of the zonal mean tropical 200-mb height response relative to that peak, being threefol...
Relationships between gap makers and gap fillers in an Arkansas floodplain forest

Abstract Question: In floodplain forests, does frequent flooding allow for self-replacement of shade-intolerant tree species or do small canopy gap openings lead to replacement by shade-tolerant tree species? Location: Cache River, Arkansas, US; 55 m a.s.l. Methods: The species, diameter-at-breast height, and elevation of primary gap-maker trees were determined for new gaps from 1995–1998. The size and species of gap-filler trees were identified and placed into three classes: definitive, edge, or interior. Transition probabilities were determined. Results: The dominant shade-intolerant species Quercus texana is being replaced primarily by the more shade-tolerant A. rubrum var. drummondii, Fraxinus spp. and Ulmus americana. Only 20 of 2767 gap fillers were Q. texana. Replacement probabilities are not constant across elevations, however, as the least shade-tolerant of the three most common species of definitive gap fillers, Fraxinus spp., occurred at lower elevations than A. rubrum var. drummondii, and U. a...
Rapid discrimination of the phenotypic variants of von Willebrand disease

Approximately 20% to 25% of patients with von Willebrand disease (VWD) have a qualitative defect of the von Willebrand factor (VWF) protein activities. Variant VWD typically is classified as type 1C, 2A, 2B, 2M, or 2N depending on the VWF activity defect. Traditionally, diagnosis has relied on multiple clinical laboratory assays to assign VWD phenotype. We developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure the various activities of VWF on a single plate and evaluated 160 patient samples enrolled in the Zimmerman Program for the Molecular and Clinical Biology of von Willebrand Disease with type 2 VWD. Using linear discriminate analysis (LDA), this assay was able to identify type 1C, 2A, 2B, 2M, or 2N VWD with an overall accuracy of 92.5% in the patient study cohort. LDA jackknife analysis, a statistical resampling technique, identified variant VWD with an overall accuracy of 88.1%, which predicts the assay's performance in the general population. In addition, this assay demonstrated correlation with traditional clinical laboratory VWF assays. The VWF multiplex activity assay may be useful as a same-day screening assay when considering the diagnosis of variant VWD in an individual patient.
Synchronicity Awareness Intervention: An Open Trial:

BackgroundAwareness of synchronicity may be an opening to more general spiritual awareness. Empirical research analyzing the process of increased synchronicity awareness and investigating shifts in...
Vitamin D3 intake modulates diaphragm but not peripheral muscle force in young mice

Recent data support an important role for vitamin D in respiratory health. We tested the hypothesis that dietary vitamin D3 (VD3) intake modulates diaphragm (DIA) strength. Four-week-old female A/J mice (n = 10/group) were randomized to receive diets containing 100 IU VD3/kg (low), 1,000 IU VD3/kg (reference), or 10,000 IU VD3/kg (pharmacologic). After 6 wk of dietary intervention, plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25D3) levels, DIA and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) in vitro contractile properties, and fiber cross-sectional area (CSA) were measured. Myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition and Akt/Foxo3A growth signaling were studied in the DIA and tibialis anterior. Mice fed the low, reference, and pharmacologic diets had average 25D3 levels of 7, 21, and 59 ng/ml, respectively. Maximal DIA force, twitch force, and fiber CSA were reduced 26%, 28%, and 10% (P < 0.01), respectively, in mice receiving the low-VD3 diet compared with the reference and pharmacologic diets. EDL force parameters were unaltered by diet. Effects of VD3 intake on DIA force were not observed in mice that began dietary intervention at 12 wk of age. VD3 intake did not alter the MHC composition of the DIA, indicating that decreases in force and CSA in young mice were not due to a switch in fiber type. Paradoxically, low VD3 intake was associated with activation of anabolic signaling in muscle (hyperphosphorylation of Akt and Foxo3A and decreased expression of autophagy marker LC3). These studies identify a potential role of dietary VD3 in regulating DIA development and insulin sensitivity.
Utilization of Irradiated Sperm from Successive Matings by the Mold Mite (Acari: Acaridae)

Untreated females of the mold mite, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank), were crossed with both irradiated and untreated males, and effects of the order of pairings on the fecundity, egg viability, productivity of females, and sex ratio of progeny were studied. Untreated females crossed with males irradiated with a 60-, 80-, or 100-krad dose laid only a few eggs during the first days of the oviposition period and stopped producing eggs thereafter. Untreated females paired with irradiated males for 5 days and then paired with untreated males were as fecund as controls paired only with untreated males. The eggs laid by these females were viable. In the opposite pairing combination, females laid more eggs during the period from day 1 to day 10 than in the second 10-day period. These eggs were apparently fertilized by the untreated males, since their percent viability was very high. Results of this study suggest that the sterile-male release method is not feasible for the control of the mold mite.
Notes on Dendrogaster, Gymnoglossum, Protoglossum and Species of Hymenogaster

(1966). Notes on Dendrogaster, Gymnoglossum, Protoglossum and Species of Hymenogaster. Mycologia: Vol. 58, No. 1, pp. 100-124.
A Critical Review of Crowd-Scale Online Deliberation Technologies

This paper provides a short critical review of crowd-scale online deliberation support technology. It distinguishes five main types, including time-centric, topic-centric, question-centric, debate-centric, and argument-centric, and outlines their strengths and weaknesses in terms of the comprehensiveness and quality of the content, as well as in terms of the ability to manage and harvest such deliberations.
Section E6.1-6.4 of the ACMG technical standards and guidelines: chromosome studies of neoplastic blood and bone marrow-acquired chromosomal abnormalities

Section E6.1–6.4 of the ACMG technical standards and guidelines: chromosome studies of neoplastic blood and bone marrow–acquired chromosomal abnormalities
Role of phospholipids in the hepatic microsomal drug-metabolizing system.

Cytochrome P-450, the terminal oxidase that functions in the oxidation of many drugs and other foreign compounds, is thought to depend in large degree for its physical and biochemical properties on its association with microsomal phospholipids. Drugs have been classified into two groups, depending upon whether they form a type I or a type II difference spectrum when they combine with cytochrome P-450. The type I binding site is thought to be located in an undetermined hydrophobic region of cytochrome P-450 protein or in lipids of the microsomal membrane, whereas the type II binding site is thought to be associated with the CO-binding site of the hemoprotein. Phospholipase C (EC 3.1.4.3), which specifically hydrolyzes phosphatidylcholines and phosphatidylethanolamines to corresponding phosphoryl products, was used in the current studies in an attempt to evaluate the role of phospholipids in the microsomal drug-metabolizing system. Untreated and phospholipase C-treated microsomes from the livers of rats were used to study the oxidation and binding of two type I drugs, ethylmorphine and hexobarbital, and the type II compound, aniline. Treatment of microsomes with phospholipase C destroyed the type I binding site, but microsomes lost only about 40% of their ability to oxidize ethylmorphine and hexobarbital. The loss of aniline oxidation was only about 15%, and the binding of aniline to hemoprotein was increased significantly. Phospholipase C treatment caused about a 20% conversion of cytochrome P-450 to cytochrome P-420, which remained with the microsomes. These studies provide further evidence that the type I and type II binding sites differ and that the type I binding site is associated with membrane phospholipids. The studies also show that type I binding is not required for the oxidation of type I compounds by microsomal enzymes.
NekNominate: social norms, social media, and binge drinking

ABSTRACTThis study examines the social-media-based binge drinking game NekNominate and how this phenomenon is related to social norms. NekNominate is a game wherein players are nominated to film themselves “neking” or chugging copious amounts of alcohol or drinking alcohol in a novel or humorous manner. The player then nominates other players via social media who then have a specific timeframe in which they must complete their challenge or face ridicule. Health communication research on drinking behaviors has often looked at the role of social norms in determining these behaviors. News stories (n = 44) of NekNominate and tweets (n = 851) culled using the hashtag #NekNominate during three different time periods are analyzed to identify the normative forces at play in this recent phenomenon.
Unilateral tubal twin pregnancy; report of a case possibly involving dizygotic twins.

Abstract Up to Dec. 31, 1957, only 81 well-authenticated cases of unilateral tubal twin pregnancy had been reported. A further case is reported in which the adjacent ovary contained two distinct corpora lutea, suggesting the possibility of a tubal dizygotic twin pregnancy.
Electroreduction of CO2 on polycrystalline copper: Effect of temperature on product selectivity

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the effect of temperature on product selectivity for the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) on polycrystalline copper (Cu). We show that the temperature of an electrolyte solution can influence several reaction parameters in the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR), including pH (both local and bulk), concentration of dissolved CO2 ([CO2]), solution resistance, the rate of diffusion of reactants to the electrode surface, and adsorbed intermediates. The working potential was −1.60 V vs. Ag/AgCl to allow direct comparison with literature values. Under optimal reaction conditions at 2 °C, the faradaic efficiency (FE) for converting CO2 to methane (CH4) on a Cu electrocatalyst increases to ca. 50% while ethylene (C2H4) decreases to ca. 10%. Above room temperature, the production of hydrogen gas (H2) dominates the electrochemical reaction, reaching >50% FE. The major products (i.e., >5% FE) observed at all temperatures studied were H2, CH4, C2H4, carbon monoxide, and formate, with product selectivity driven by changes in [CO2] rather than changes in pH. Our initial goal was to confirm pH dependence of CO2RR on Cu at different temperatures. Importantly, we discovered that pH varies minimally over the temperature range studied (2 °C to 42 °C), in contrast to changes in [CO2] and corresponding changes in product selectivity.
Association of Unplanned Reintubation with Higher Mortality in Old, Frail Patients: A National Surgical Quality-Improvement Program Analysis.

Background Unplanned postoperative reintubation increases the risk of mortality, but associated factors are unclear. Objective To elucidate factors associated with increased mortality risk in patients with unplanned postoperative reintubation. Design Retrospective study. Patients older than 40 years who underwent unplanned reintubation from 2005 to 2010 were identified using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Multiple regression models were used to examine the impact on mortality of factors that included the modified frailty index (mFI) we developed, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, age decile, and days to reintubation. Main outcome measure Mortality. Results A total of 17,051 postoperative reintubations in adults were analyzed. Overall mortality was 29.4% (n = 5009). On postoperative day 1, 4434 patients were reintubated and 878 (19.8%) died. On postoperative day 7 and beyond, 6329 patients were reintubated and 2215 (35.0%) died. Increasing mFI resulted in increasing incidence of mortality (mFl of 0 = 20.5% mortality vs mFl of 0.37-0.45 = 41.7% mortality). As ASA score increased from 1 to 5, reintubation was associated with a mortality of 12.1% to 41.6%, respectively. Similarly, increasing age decile was associated with increasing incidence of mortality (40-49 years, 17.9% vs 80-89 years, 42.1%). After adjustment for confounding factors, mFI, ASA score, age decile, and increasing number of days to reintubation were independently and significantly associated with increased mortality in the study population. Conclusion Among patients who underwent unplanned reintubation, older and more frail patients had an increased risk of mortality.
Fault-Tolerant Control of Multi-Unit Process Systems Using Communication Networks 1

Abstract This work proposes a methodology for the design of fault-tolerant control systems for chemical plants with distributed interconnected processing units. Bringing together tools from Lyapunov-based non linear control and hybrid systems theory, the approach is based on a hierarchical architecture that integrates lower-level feedback control of the individual units with upper-level logic-based supervisory control over communication networks. The local control systems consist each of a family of control configurations connected, via a local communication network, to a local supervisor that orchestrates switching between them on the basis of the stability regions in the event of failures. The local supervisors communicate, through a plant-wide communication network, with a plant supervisor responsible for monitoring the different units and coordinating their responses in a way that minimizes the propagation of failure effects. The communication logic is designed to ensure efficient transmission of information between the units while respecting the inherent limitations in network resources. The proposed approach provides explicit guidelines for managing the various interplays between the tasks of feedback control, switching and communication. The efficacy of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a chemical process example.
Citizen Partisanship, Local Government, and Environmental Policy Implementation:

Local governments play a large, if understudied, role in the implementation of environmental policy in the United States. The major environmental statutes outline explicit responsibilities for the ...
What's next in the U.S.-Canada softwood lumber dispute? An economic analysis of restrictive trade policy measures

Abstract A new chapter of an everlasting softwood lumber trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada begins with an imposition of the countervailing duty (CVD) and anti-dumping (AD) tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber supply to the U.S. By using a 20-region global softwood lumber trade model, we examine the regional welfare impacts of CVD and AD tariffs on U.S. imports of Canadian softwood lumber in both countries. We also evaluate the welfare implications of alternative restrictive trade policies relevant to the softwood lumber trade dispute. Simulation results from a mixed complementary problem model calibrated using positive mathematical programming reveal that a 26.75% CVD and AD tariff curtails Canadian lumber shipments to the U.S. by 4.9 million cubic meters (m 3 ), reduces Canada's market share in the U.S. by nearly 5%, and encourages the U.S. domestic lumber industry to produce an additional 2.6 million m 3 . The government tax revenue and the U.S. producers' gain clearly outweigh the loss incurred by U.S. consumers. However, Canadian producers have an economic incentive to voluntarily reduce their share of the U.S. market by voluntarily restricting exports and capturing quota rents. Additionally, the foreign exchange rate has the ability to alter the effects of protectionist policies.
Application of the Q-DFT Fully Correlated Approximation to the Hydrogen Molecule

We now turn our attention from atoms to the simplest molecule containing an electron-pair bond viz. the Hydrogen molecule (H2). In this chapter, we study the properties of this molecule from the perspective of Q-DFT, i.e. from the view point of the representation of all different electron correlations present in terms of the corresponding quantal sources, and of the resulting fields, potential energies and total energy components.We apply [1] the Q-DFT Fully Correlated Approximation to map the Hydrogen molecule in its ground state to an equivalent-density noninteracting fermion model S system “molecule” that is also in its ground state with configuration.(σ g 1s)2. We thereby consider correlations due to the Pauli principle, Coulomb repulsion, and Correlation-Kinetic effects. The application of this Q-DFT approximation to H2 can be performed in a manner similar to that described in Chap. 15 for the mapping of the Helium atom. As such, for our approximate ground state wave function ψapprox(X), we employ the accurate correlated wave function of Kolos and Roothaan [2]. Also, as the spins of the two model fermions are opposite, the single-particle molecular orbitals of the S system are known exactly in terms of the density, and therefore do not have to be determined in a numerically self-consistent manner. Hence, all the properties of the Q-DFT description of the H2 molecule determined are essentially exact. As this description of the H2 molecule differs in many ways from the conventional description [3], a considerable degree of new physics is gleaned. However, beyond the new understandings achieved, another attribute of these calculations is the knowledge that the structure of the corresponding Q-DFT properties for other diatomic molecules in their ground states will be qualitatively the same. Furthermore, these “exact” properties can be used as the basis for comparison and testing of other Q-DFT approximation methods prior to their application to more complex molecules.
Sexual Orientation Discrimination and Tobacco Use Disparities in the United States.

Introduction Differences in tobacco/nicotine use by sexual orientation are well documented. Development of interventions requires attention to the etiology of these differences. This study examined associations among sexual orientation discrimination, cigarette smoking, any tobacco/nicotine use, and DSM-5 tobacco use disorder (TUD) in the United States. Methods We used data from the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions based on in-person interviews with a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized US adults. Approximately 8.3% of the target population was estimated to have same-sex sexual attraction, 3.1% had at least one same-sex sexual partner in the past-year, and 2.8% self-identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Results Sexual attraction, sexual behavior, and sexual identity were significantly associated with cigarette smoking, any tobacco/nicotine use, and DSM-5 TUD. Risk of all tobacco/nicotine outcomes was most pronounced for bisexual adults across all three sexual orientation dimensions. Approximately half of sexual minorities who identified as lesbian or gay and one-fourth of those who identified as bisexual reported past-year sexual orientation discrimination. Sexual minorities who experienced high levels of past-year sexual orientation discrimination had significantly greater probability of past-year cigarette smoking, any tobacco/nicotine use, and TUD relative to sexual minorities who experienced lower levels of sexual orientation discrimination or no discrimination. Conclusions Sexual minorities, especially bisexual adults, are at heightened risk of cigarette smoking, any tobacco/nicotine use, and DSM-5 TUD across all three major sexual orientation dimensions. Tobacco prevention and cessation efforts should target bisexual adults and consider the role that sexual orientation discrimination plays in cigarette smoking and treatment of TUD. Implications Differences in tobacco/nicotine use by sexual orientation are well documented, but little is known about differences across all three sexual orientation dimensions (attraction, behavior, and identity) or the origins of these differences. This study is the first to show that differences in tobacco/nicotine use across the three sexual orientation dimensions for respondents who were exclusively heterosexually-oriented were minimal, but varied more substantially among sexual minority women and men across the three sexual orientation dimensions. Sexual minorities who experienced high levels of past-year sexual orientation discrimination had significantly greater probability of cigarette smoking, any tobacco/nicotine use and DSM-5 tobacco use disorder.
Gender Recognition as a Human Right

Governments around the world issue identity documents (IDs) that list people’s gender. These IDs include birth certificates, passports, national identification cards, and driver’s licenses, among others. People are expected to present IDs in everyday life for a wide range of purposes, such as opening a bank account, renting a car, boarding an airplane, and voting. Longstanding human rights principles support the proposition that, if IDs contain gender markers, individuals have the right to obtain markers that match their gender identity. For example, a transgender woman should have the right to identify herself as female on her IDs. A transgender man should have the right to identify himself as male. Individuals should also be given the right to indicate if they identify outside the male/female binary. This book chapter proceeds in three parts. First, I map out the ways in which the right to choose one’s own gender markers — which I will refer to as the right to gender recognition — derives from other well-established human rights. The right to gender recognition is not explicitly mentioned in any international human rights treaty, but this chapter contends that existing treaty provisions nonetheless cover the right to gender recognition. Second, I examine and ultimately reject potential justifications for overriding the right to gender recognition. Third, I assess the extent to which legal institutions have come to acknowledge and protect the right to gender recognition.
The Role of Inflammation and Fibrosis in Cystic Kidney Disease

Interstitial inflammation and fibrosis are among the most notable hallmarks of cystic kidney diseases. These biological processes represent key components of a complex multidirectional relationship that, together with abnormal injury and tissue repair, as well as renal tubular and vascular epithelial function, defines the pathobiology of renal cystic disease progression. This chapter provides a summary of key findings relevant to the role of inflammation and fibrosis in this complex relationship. It reviews major polycystic kidney disease (PKD)-associated inflammatory pathways, immune cell types and modulators of immune function, and their potential roles in the development of PKD therapeutics and identification of predictive biomarkers.
2012 Health Confidence Survey: Americans Remain Confident About Health Care, Concerned About Costs, Following Supreme Court Decision

The June 2012 decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that found the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) to be constitutional (as a tax) opens a new chapter of uncertainty in terms of the future of health reform. Calls for repealing, and in some cases replacing, PPACA have continued, and it seems that the issue will not be resolved until at least the November 2012 election. Even after the election, Congress may be able to prevent certain parts of the law from being implemented by refusing to fund them. This paper examines public opinion with respect to health care reform and other aspects of health care both before and after the Supreme Court decision, using data from the 2012 EBRI/MGA Health Confidence Survey (HCS), as well as from previous waves of the survey. The HCS examines a broad spectrum of health care issues, including Americans’ satisfaction with health care today, their confidence in the future of the health care system and the Medicare program, and their attitudes toward health care reform. Confidence about various aspects of today’s health care system has remained fairly level before and after the passage of the PPACA, and has not apparently been impacted by the June 2012 Supreme Court decision. Asked to rate the health care system, Americans offer a diverse perspective: 28 percent consider it to be “good,” 28 percent say “fair,” and 26 percent rate it “poor,” while 12 percent rate it very good and 5 percent say it is “excellent.” However, the 2012 Health Confidence Survey finds that the percentage of Americans rating the health care system as poor doubled between 1998 and 2004 (rising from 15 percent to 30 percent). In contrast with the ratings for the health care system overall, Americans’ rating of their own health plans continues to be generally favorable -- more than half of those with health insurance are extremely or very satisfied with their current plans, and a third are somewhat satisfied. Dissatisfaction with the health system appears to be focused primarily on cost. Among those experiencing cost increases in their plans in the past year, 31 percent state they have decreased their contributions to retirement plans, and more than half have decreased their contributions to other savings as a result.The PDF for the above title, published in the September 2012 issue of EBRI Notes, also contains the fulltext of another September 2012 EBRI Notes article abstracted on SSRN: “Increasing Default Deferral Rates in Automatic Enrollment 401(k) Plans: The Impact on Retirement Savings Success in Plans With Automatic Escalation.”
Mathematical Modeling of Electronically Conductive Polypyrrole

A mathematical model for predicting cyclic voltammograms on a rotating disk electrode (RDE) with polypyrrole is presented. The model is used to predict the spatial and time dependence of concentration, overpotential, and stored charge profiles within the system, and to clarify the electrochemical reaction mechanisms and transport phenomena within the polypyrrole film. The model includes both faradaic and capacitive charge components into total current expression. Also, a mathematical model for the lithium/lithium perchlorate - propylene carbonate/polypyrrole (Li/LiC1O4-PC/PPy) secondary battery cell is expanded from the RDE model. This allows for a better understanding of the dynamic behavior and provides guidance toward design of new secondary batteries utilizing electronically conductive polypyrrole cathodes. The model includes the capabilities of handling charge and discharge behavior. The model is used to study the effects of various design parameters on the performance of the cell.
Abstract CT006: Intraperitoneal radioimmunotherapy for desmoplastic small round cell tumor: Results of a phase I study (NCT01099644)

Background / Objectives: Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT), a rare sarcoma of adolescents and young adults, has a long-term survival of Design / Methods: We conducted a phase I study of radioiodinated 8H9 to evaluate toxicity, pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and efficacy. Cohorts of 3-6 patients were treated with escalated doses of IP 131I-8H9. A prior dose of 2mCi 124I-8H9 IP was used to acquire PET images and biodistribution data. Toxicity was monitored clinically and biochemically. Pharmacokinetics was studied using serial blood draws. Results: Forty-one DSRCT patients were treated at doses of 30-90mCi/m2. Maximum tolerated dose was not reached; there were no dose-limiting toxicities. Major adverse events (n=1 each) were transient: grade 3 transaminitis, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia. Blood and peritoneal half-times were 32.5h and 14.6h respectively. Mean projected absorbed doses to blood, kidney, liver, lung and spleen were 0.7,1.72,1.92,0.64 and 1.03 rad/mCi 131I-8H9 respectively (n=12 patients analyzed). Dehalogenation was insignificant: >80% blood 131I remained protein-bound 66h post-RIT. Recommended phase II dose was 80mCi/m2. External beam intensity-modulated whole-abdominopelvic radiotherapy (WAP-IMRT) to 3000cGy was administered after protocol therapy to 25 patients without unexpected adverse events. Median progression-free survival (PFS) from RIT for first remission patients (n=21) undergoing gross total resection followed by RIT and whole-abdominal radiotherapy was 17.9±1.7 months. Of these, 19 and 13 patients are PF and overall survivors respectively at a median of 13 months post-RIT. In contrast patients with gross residual disease pre-RIT or those receiving RIT in ≥2nd remission (n=20) had median PFS of 8.1±3.5 months (p Conclusions:124I-8H9-directed radioimmuno-PET successfully determined biodistribution, whole-body and organ exposure. 131I-8H9 IP RIT had a satisfactory safety profile and appears to have activity against micro-metastatic DSRCT. A phase II trial combining IP RIT and WAP-IMRT will commence shortly. Citation Format: Shakeel Modak, Jorge Carrasquillo, Michael LaQuaglia, Zanzonico Pat, Todd Heaton, Nai-Kong Cheung, Neeta Pandit-Taskar. Intraperitoneal radioimmunotherapy for desmoplastic small round cell tumor: Results of a phase I study (NCT01099644) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr CT006.
Does service quality really matter at Green restaurants for Millennial consumers? The moderating effects of gender between loyalty and satisfaction

The objective of this study was to examine how Millennials perceive service quality in restaurants with Green practices and the moderating effects of gender. This study addressed the questions whet...
A naturalistic study of racial disparities in diagnoses at an outpatient behavioral health clinic

Objective:The authors examined electronic medical record (EMR) outpatient data to determine whether African Americans with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were more likely than non-Latino...
Rituals and preoccupations associated with bulimia nervosa in adolescents: Does motivation to change matter?

This study evaluated the effects of two treatments for adolescent bulimia nervosa (BN), family-based treatment (FBT-BN), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-A), on both attitudinal and behavioural outcomes at end-of-treatment. These associations were examined specifically relative to motivation for change in obsessive-compulsive (OC) features of eating disorder (ED) symptoms. Adolescents (N = 110) were randomly assigned to FBT-BN or CBT-A and completed assessments of eating pathology and OC-ED behaviour. Across both treatments, greater motivation for change in OC-ED behaviour was associated with improved attitudinal features of ED at end-of-treatment. Motivation for change did not demonstrate a direct or interaction effect on BN behavioural outcomes. Results suggest that adolescents with BN who are more motivated to change OC-ED behaviours at the start of treatment, FBT-BN or CBT-A, are more likely to demonstrate improvements in cognitions, but not behaviours associated with EDs, at treatment conclusion.
Information Capacity of BSC and BEC Permutation Channels

In this paper, we describe and study the permutation channel model, which constitutes a discrete memoryless channel (DMC) followed by a random permutation block that reorders the output codeword of the DMC. This model naturally emerges in the context of communication networks, and coding theoretic aspects of such channels have been widely studied. In contrast to the bulk of this literature, we analyze the information theoretic aspects of the model by defining an appropriate notion of permutation channel capacity. We consider two special cases of the permutation channel model: the binary symmetric channel (BSC) and the binary erasure channel (BEC). We establish the permutation channel capacity of the BSC, and prove bounds on the permutation channel capacity of the BEC. Somewhat surprisingly, our results illustrate that permutation channel capacities are generally agnostic to the parameters that define the DMCs. Furthermore, our achievability proof yields a conceptually simple, computationally efficient, and capacity achieving coding scheme for the BSC permutation channel.
Wildlife Refuges Support High Bee Diversity on the Southern Great Plains.

The native prairie of the southern Great Plains has been especially modified by two related forces: conversion of native prairie to agricultural forms of land use and removal of black-tailed prairie dogs (Rodentia: Sciuridae, Cynomys ludovicianus (Ord, 1815)) that act as ecosystem engineers via their burrowing and grazing activities. It is unknown how these changes have affected the native bee community. We surveyed the bee communities in relatively intact native prairie at two National Wildlife Refuges in Texas, quantifying bee community structure as a function of the presence/absence of grazing by prairie dogs. Over a 5-mo sampling period in spring-summer 2013, we found high overall bee diversity (180 species, mostly solitary ground-nesters), with differences detected in diversity between Muleshoe and Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuges as well as on and off prairie dog colonies. Although the same three species dominated the bee community at both refuges, most species were represented by relatively few individuals, leading to overall differences in diversity (richness, evenness, and effective number of species) by refuge. Bee diversity differed between sites on and off prairie dog colonies, but in trends that differed by refuge and by index, suggesting that location was more important than prairie dog presence.These results represent a reference fauna against which other regional bee communities in other land-cover types can be compared, but the high spatial heterogeneity we found indicates that detecting effects of landscape change on native bees will be challenging.
Design of Compact and Efficient Silicon Photonic Micro Antennas With Perfectly Vertical Emission

Compact and efficient optical antennas are fundamental components for many applications, including high-density fiber-chip coupling and optical phased arrays. Here we present the design of grating-based micro-antennas with perfectly vertical emission in the 300-nm silicon-on-insulator platform. We leverage a methodology combining adjoint optimization and machine learning dimensionality reduction to efficiently map the multiparameter design space of the antennas, analyse a large number of relevant performance metrics, carry out the required multi-objective optimization, and discover high performance designs. Using a one-step apodized grating we achieve a vertical upward diffraction efficiency of almost 92% with a 3.6 $\mu {}$ m-long antenna. When coupled with an ultra-high numerical aperture fiber, the antenna exhibits a coupling efficiency of more than 81% (−0.9 dB) and a 1-dB bandwidth of almost 158 nm. The reflection generated by the perfectly vertical antenna is smaller than −20 dB on a 200-nm bandwidth centered at $\lambda$ = 1550 nm.
Intellectually stimulating students’ intrinsic motivation: the mediating influence of student engagement, self-efficacy, and student academic support

In the current study, we applied self-determination theory to explore a potential explanation for how instructors’ intellectually stimulating behaviors might influence student motivation. Undergrad...
Smartphone-based optical spectroscopic platforms for biomedical applications: a review [Invited]

Rapid advancements in smartphone technology have enabled the integration of many optical detection techniques that leverage the embedded functional components and software platform of these sophisticated devices. Over the past few years, several research groups have developed high-resolution smartphone-based optical spectroscopic platforms and demonstrated their usability in different biomedical applications. Such platforms provide unprecedented opportunity to develop point-of-care diagnostics systems, especially for resource-constrained environments. In this review, we discuss the development of smartphone systems for optical spectroscopy and highlight current challenges and potential solutions to improve the scope for their future adaptability.
Pharmacological and Clinical Significance of Heme Oxygenase-1

This Special Issue collates and updates the current knowledge of the pharmacology and clinical applications concerning the enzyme heme oxygenase (HO) [...].
Some Reflections on Conservative Politics and the Limits of the Criminal Sanction

This Article, written for the Charleston School of Law’s recent symposium on Crime & Punishment, briefly addresses the significance of popular forces and conservative political thought in an American criminal justice regime that has become too broad in its scope and sometimes unnecessarily harsh in its treatment of certain offenders. Although conservatives can plausibly embrace some judicially-enforceable limits on the criminal law, a conservative view of structural constitutional considerations would still constrain the judiciary’s authority to undermine popular decision-making as to criminal law and punishment. This Article cites the Supreme Court’s disparate approach to capital and non-capital proportionality issues under the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause as an example. Those same structural considerations that would credit popular forces in constitutional adjudication, however, necessarily require popular forces to act as the chief definers of the criminal sanction and enforcers of its limits outside the realm of judicial review. If conservative politics is to lead a more sensible popular approach to crime and punishment, it cannot do so with unhelpful “soft on crime/tough on crime” rhetoric or mass appeals to popular sentiment about the criminal justice issue of the day. Rather, it must do so through a conservatism grounded in constitutional balance: an appreciation for the tension between the need for order and the claims of liberty, avoiding the vice of impotence in the face of socially harmful conduct but robustly affirming limits to ensure that the government controls itself as well as the people. Conservatives can adhere to their impulse for preserving civil order and controlling the governed through formal institutions and arrangements, yet also rely upon those same forms to limit the government’s prosecutorial and penal reach. Such an approach may require conflict between the political branches of government. But such conflict is actually a constitutional virtue, and its absence has helped to create many of the current distortions in crime policy. This Article therefore suggests a popular (i.e., non-judge-made) and constitutionalist - but not a populist - approach to creating a more limited and responsible crime and punishment regime.
Examination of Performance of Water Mist Fire Suppression Systems under Ventilation Conditions

This paper describes water mist fire suppression effectiveness under various ventilation conditions. The full-scale fire test series were conducted in an empty enclosure and in a simulated machiner...
7α‐Acetoxy‐(1Hβ, 6Hβ)‐Bicyclo[4.4.1]Undeca‐2,4,8‐Triene via Chromium‐Mediated Higher Order Cycloaddition

7α-acetoxy-(1Hβ, 6Hβ)-bicyclo[4.4.1]undeca-2,4,8-triene via chromium-mediated higher order cycloaddition intermediate: tricarbonyl(η6-cycloheptatriene)chromium(0) product: ∼98% pure, 7α-acetoxy-(1Hβ, 6Hβ)-bicyclo[4.4.1]undeca-2,4,8-triene reactant: (E)-1-acetoxy-1,3-butadiene byproduct: [6π + 2π] cycloadduct Keywords: cyclization, cycloaddition; metalation reactions, chromium; metalation reactions, chromium; photochemical reactions