cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Moved by the Spirit: Theological Literatures of LGBT Advocacy

ABSTRACTDebate over the question of how to effectively acknowledge and advocate for the presence of LGBT people as legitimate members of religious denominations and a population entitled to ministry has generated a substantial body of monographic literature within the field of theology. The earliest works were published during the era of the homophile movement in the 1960s prior to the Stonewall riot in 1969 that marks the beginning of the contemporary gay and lesbian civil rights movement. The subsequent decades have witnessed an expansion and diversification of this genre with the emergence of specific liturgies and ceremonies addressing significant LGBT life events, autobiographies and biographies of openly lesbian and gay clergy, and writings confronting issues of ethnicity and activism.
BRAF V600E expression in histiocytic sarcoma associated with splenic marginal zone lymphoma: a case report

Histiocytic sarcoma is a rare histiocytic neoplasm of unknown etiology that constitutes less than 1% of hematologic malignancies. A few cases of histiocytic sarcoma harboring the BRAF V600E mutation have been reported, but this finding has not been confirmed in all studies. We report the case of a 63-year-old white woman with a history of splenic marginal zone lymphoma who presented with 2 weeks of right-sided neck swelling. Positron emission tomography revealed an intensely hypermetabolic and destructive soft tissue mass in her right skull base. A bone marrow biopsy was performed, which revealed an infiltrate of malignant cells characterized as large pleomorphic cells with frequent folded/irregular nuclei, variably prominent nucleoli, fine chromatin, and abundant amounts of eosinophilic cytoplasm. The malignant cells were positive for CD163, CD68 (granular), lysozyme (granular), CD4, and CD45 (partial). Based on the biopsy findings, she was diagnosed as having histiocytic sarcoma. The malignant cells tested positive for the BRAFV600E protein using immunohistochemistry. Before treatment of her histiocytic sarcoma could be initiated, she developed disseminated intravascular coagulation and acute hypoxemic respiratory failure secondary to non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema. She decided to pursue comfort care and died in our hospital 2 weeks following admission. Our case illustrates the aggressive nature of histiocytic sarcoma, and provides rare evidence that histiocytic sarcoma associated with indolent lymphomas may harbor the BRAF V600E mutation. Further research is needed to clarify the role of targeted therapies such as vemurafenib in the treatment of patients with this disorder.
Modulation of Enzyme Activity

Control characterizes every level of biological function, often being most apparent in the prodigious ability of organisms to adapt to changes in their environment. But—while many studies have demonstrated the importance of hormones in affecting the direction and rate of simultaneously occurring reactions and thereby of providing for a response to an environmental perturbation—it is clear that the enzymes which catalyze the rate-controlling steps in a pathway exercise the most profound control over biological function. Such enzymes have been defined (Rolleston, 1972) as those whose kinetic properties respond to factors other than substrate concentration and which exert definitive control over the flux of the pathway.
Heterozygous Hemoglobin Sherwood Forest Causing Polycythemia

Hemoglobin (Hb) Sherwood Forest is a rare high-affinity hemoglobin first described in 1977, arising from an Arg to Thr substitution at codon 104 of the beta chain. This hemoglobin variant has been identified in few individuals and has been associated with a compensatory erythrocytosis in the homozygous state. Prior scarce case reports have noted that heterozygotes for this variant are phenotypically normal. Here we present a patient who was evaluated in our hematology clinic for chronic erythrocytosis and was found to be heterozygous for Hb Sherwood Forest. No other primary or secondary cause of his polycythemia was identified. This is the first described case of heterozygous Hemoglobin Sherwood Forest causing erythrocytosis.
The Circle Game: The use of the Lunar Distance and Related Measurements for Celestial and Satellite-Based Navigation and Timekeeping

The determination of a position on the Earth's surface depends critically on the mathematics and measurement of circles as functions of time, distance, and angle. The multi-century history of this ...
Co-locating and concurrent fine-tuning MapReduce applications on microservers for energy efficiency

Datacenters provide flexibility and high performance for users and cost efficiency for operators. However, the high computational demands of big data and analytics technologies such as MapReduce, a dominant programming model and framework for big data analytics, mean that even small changes in the efficiency of execution in the data center can have a large effect on user cost and operational cost. Fine-tuning configuration parameters of MapReduce applications at the application, architecture, and system levels plays a crucial role in improving the energy-efficiency of the server and reducing the operational cost. In this work, through methodical investigation of performance and power measurements, we demonstrate how the interplay among various MapReduce configurations as well as application and architecture level parameters create new opportunities to co-locate MapReduce applications at the node level. We also show how concurrently fine-tuning optimization parameters for multiple scheduled MapReduce applications improves energy-efficiency compared to fine-tuning parameters for each application separately. In this paper, we present Co-Located Application Optimization (COLAO) that co-schedules multiple MapReduce applications at the node level to enhance energy efficiency. Our results show that through co-locating MapReduce applications and fine-tuning configuration parameters concurrently, COLAO reduces the number of nodes by half to execute MapReduce applications while improving the EDP by 2.2X on average, compared to fine-tuning applications individually and run them serially for a broad range of studied workloads.
Molecular interactions between single layered MoS2 and biological molecules

Two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), tungsten diselenide (WSe2), and black phosphorous are being developed for sensing applications with excellent selectivity and high sensitivity. In such applications, 2D materials extensively interact with various analytes including biological molecules. Understanding the interfacial molecular interactions of 2D materials with various targets becomes increasingly important for the progression of better-performing 2D-material based sensors. In this research, molecular interactions between several de novo designed alpha-helical peptides and monolayer MoS2 have been studied. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to validate experimental data. The results suggest that, in contrast to peptide–graphene interactions, peptide aromatic residues do not interact strongly with the MoS2 surface. It is also found that charged amino acids are important for ensuring a standing-up pose for peptides interacting with MoS2. By performing site-specific mutations on the peptide, we could mediate the peptide–MoS2 interactions to control the peptide orientation on MoS2.
Deep and High-Resolution Three-Dimensional Tracking of Single Particles using Nonlinear and Multiplexed Illumination - Tsunami

Molecular trafficking within engineered three-dimensional multicellular models is critical to the understanding of the development and treatment of various diseases including cancer. However, current tracking methods are either confined to two dimensions or limited to an interrogation depth of 15 µm. Here we present a new 3D tracking method capable of quantifying rapid molecular transport dynamics in highly scattering environments at depths up to 200 µm. The system has a response time of 1 ms with a temporal resolution down to 50 μs in high signal-to-noise conditions, and a spatial localization precision as good as 35 nm. Built upon spatiotemporally multiplexed two-photon excitation, this approach requires only one detector for 3D particle tracking and allows for two-photon, multi-color imaging. 3D tracking of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) complexes at a depth of 100 µm in tumor spheroids is demonstrated. Our 3D tracking microscope is built upon spatiotemporally multiplexed two-photon excitation and uses time-gated analysis via a photon counting histogram to discern the molecular 3D position. Feedback control then steers the excitation to lock-on to the single molecule as it travels at a high speed. The molecular trajectories are reconstructed from the recorded actuator positions from the feedback control loop operating at 1-5 ms. Dynamics down to 50 µs can be inferred from analysis of the photon counting histogram. In our method, the first PMT channel is used for particle tracking while the second and the third PMT channels can be used for two-photon scanning microscopy, colocalization analysis, and energy transfer studies. We have coined this technique TSUNAMI (Tracking Single particles Using Nonlinear And Multiplexed Illumination).E. Perillo et al., “Deep and high-resolution three-dimensional tracking of single particles using nonlinear and multiplexed illumination,” Nature Communications, 2015.
Unusual chromosome movements in sciarid flies.

Sciarid flies are Diptera (two-winged flies) of the suborder Nematocera; the family Sciaridae are commonly known as fungus gnats, since they eat mushrooms and other fungi. Morphological characteristics of Sciara species useful for taxonomic purposes were first tabulated by Johannsen (1909, 1912). More recently, the family of Sciara has been renamed Bradysia (Steffan 1966), but since almost none of the researchers who work with this family have switched over to the new name, I will use the original name of Sciara in this review.
Formation of nucleosomes on positively supercoiled DNA

A transcribing RNA polymerase is thought to generate positive supercoils in front of the advancing transcription complex and negative supercoils behind. We have examined the possibility that positive supercoils might destabilize nucleosomes, facilitating transcription. We show that histone octamers bind to positively supercoiled DNA, and that after the complex is relaxed, 'classical' nucleosomes are present. We tested the possibility that nucleosomes on positively supercoiled DNA are in an altered (presumably more open) conformation, but revert to the classical structure only on release of this stress. However, circular dichroic spectra, and chemical cross-linking and modification of core histones, all suggest that the complexes initially formed on positively supercoiled DNA are classical nucleosomes. Although such structures are stable, their formation requires the plasmid to become more positively supercoiled, resulting in greater superhelical stress. In contrast, formation of nucleosomes on negatively supercoiled DNA relieves superhelical stress. In an exchange experiment in which equilibrium is achieved, nucleosomes transfer from positively to negatively supercoiled DNA, as predicted from the super-coiling free energies of the reactions. This suggests a mechanism for transcription of a gene assembled into chromatin, in which octamers are sequentially transferred from the region in front of the polymerase to the region behind.
Application of Genetic Algorithm to Two-jet Control System On NACA 0012 Airfoil

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in conjunction with a searching algorithm like a genetic algorithm (GA) potentially offers an efficient and robust optimization method and is a promising solution for current flow control designs. However, the traditional binary GAs and its operators need to be transformed or re-defined to meet the requirements of real world engineering problems. Three critical challenges are the length of binary substring encoding for high-precision, many parameter problems, the limited fine-grain searching ability of the basic GA approach, and the danger of finding local, not global, optima. Generally speaking, the methods dealing with the second challenge and those dealing with the third challenge will counter each other at some level. For example, dealing with the second challenge will require maintaining higher diversity among genomes during at least part of the GA evolution, but this is likely to slow down the convergence rate. Therefore, a key goal of this project is to improve the robustness of the search without significantly compromising the rate of convergence.
What Should Oversight of Clinical Decision Support Systems Look Like

A learning health system provides opportunities to leverage data generated in the course of standard clinical care to improve clinical practice. One such opportunity includes a clinical decision support structure that would allow clinicians to query electronic health records (EHRs) such that responses from the EHRs could inform treatment recommendations. We argue that though using a clinical decision support system does not necessarily constitute a research activity subject to the Common Rule, it requires more ethical and regulatory oversight than activities of clinical practice are generally subjected to. In particular, we argue that the development and use of clinical decision support systems should be governed by a framework that (1) articulates appropriate conditions for their use, (2) includes processes for monitoring data quality and developing and validating algorithms, and (3) sufficiently protects patients' data.
Probabilistic seismic performance assessment of seismically isolated buildings designed by the procedures of ASCE/SEI 7 and other enhanced criteria

Abstract Recent studies have shown that seismically isolated buildings designed by the minimum criteria of ASCE/SEI 7 may have unacceptable probabilities of collapse in the MCER. Acceptable probabilities of collapse in the MCER are achieved when the isolation system displacement capacity and the strength of the superstructure are increased. The same studies have shown that conventional buildings designed by the minimum criteria of ASCE/SEI 7 have acceptable probabilities of collapse in the MCER, and that the collapse probabilities may be much lower than those of minimally designed seismically isolated buildings and may even be lower than those of seismically isolated buildings designed by enhanced collapse performance criteria. This paper investigates what isolated buildings offer in terms of performance criteria other than collapse performance. Based on a probabilistic approach, mean annual frequencies of exceedance of story drift, residual story drift and floor acceleration are computed for a number of isolated and non-isolated buildings that meet the minimum criteria of ASCE/SEI 7 and other enhanced criteria. Based on the mean annual frequencies, probabilities of exceeding response limits that relate to damage are computed for a lifetime of 50 years. It is shown that seismically isolated buildings designed by the minimum or enhanced criteria generally have lower probabilities to develop damage or to be in need of demolishing in 50 years of lifetime than any minimally designed non-isolated building.
Pathogens manipulate the preference of vectors, slowing disease spread in a multi-host system.

The spread of vector-borne pathogens depends on a complex set of interactions among pathogen, vector, and host. In single-host systems, pathogens can induce changes in vector preferences for infected vs. healthy hosts. Yet it is unclear if pathogens also induce changes in vector preference among host species, and how changes in vector behaviour alter the ecological dynamics of disease spread. Here, we couple multi-host preference experiments with a novel model of vector preference general to both single and multi-host communities. We show that viruliferous aphids exhibit strong preferences for healthy and long-lived hosts. Coupling experimental results with modelling to account for preference leads to a strong decrease in overall pathogen spread through multi-host communities due to non-random sorting of viruliferous vectors between preferred and non-preferred host species. Our results demonstrate the importance of the interplay between vector behaviour and host diversity as a key mechanism in the spread of vectored-diseases.
Coupling of 2-Substituted 1-Fluorovinylstannanes with Organic Halides Catalyzed by Palladium(0)/Copper(I) Iodide. A Mild and Stereospecific Method to Monofluoroolefins.

The palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of (E)- or (Z)-1-fluorovinylstannanes with aryl iodides and vinyl iodides provide good yields of stereoisomerically pure substituted fluoroolefins with retention of the double bond geometry. The reaction takes place with copper(I) iodide present as a cocatalyst at ambient temperature or in refluxing tetrahydrofuran and is tolerant of a variety of functional groups. Highly functionalized and stereoisomerically pure monofluorovinyl ketones also were obtained under mild conditions by the coupling of 1-fluorovinylstannanes with acid chlorides. 1H-{19F} NOE NMR experiments unequivocally established the stereochemistry of the coupling products E-14 and Z-14.
Entanglement distillation of boundary states of large N SU(N)1, Chern-Simons theory and Riemann surfaces

A tree tensor network is proposed for the entanglement distillation of large N SU(N)1 Chern-Simons theory and Riemann surfaces, adopting a proposal of Bao, et al. This is illustrated for the entanglement entropy S(A) of a bipartite many-body system A, where here S(A) = log N.
The problem of Donald Trump and the Static Spectrum Fallacy

Donald Trump’s transformation of Republican Party ideology has helped reveal major problems in the political science discipline’s conceptualization and measurement of ideology. Most scholarship is ...
Association Between Marital Status and Racial Disparities in Esophageal Cancer Care.

PURPOSE:This study was designed to examine the impact of marital status on racial disparities in esophageal cancer care.PATIENTS AND METHODS:We performed a secondary analysis of data collected from...
A Latent Class Analysis of Perceived Neighborhood Conditions Associated with Mental Disorders Among Children in the United States

The current study examined the association between perceived neighborhood conditions and common childhood mental disorders in a nationally representative sample of children in the U.S. The data were derived from the 2017 National Survey of Children’s Health, including American children aged 6–17 years (N = 15,438). Latent class analysis was used to identify subtypes of perceived neighborhood conditions regarding neighborhood physical environment, social capital, and violence. Three classes were identified: Ideal Neighborhood (55.99%); Insufficient Assets (27.38%), and Broken and Unsafe Neighborhood (16.63%). The effects of latent classes on psychiatric outcomes (i.e. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, anxiety, conduct problem, and any of these four disorders) were examined. Class membership was differentially associated with the mental disorders after adjustment for demographic variables, food insufficiency, and guardian’s mental health. The Broken and Unsafe Neighborhood class was associated with greater odds of all childhood psychiatric disorders than the Ideal Neighborhood and Insufficient Assets class. Insufficient Assets class was associated with greater odds of all childhood psychiatric disorders than the Ideal Neighborhood class. The findings suggest that neighborhood-level interventions to decrease children’s mental health burdens are critically needed.
Impact of Anode-side Defect Generation on Inter-Level TDDB Degradation in Cu/Low-k Damascene Structures

We investigated the inter-level time-dependent dielectric breakdown (VTDDB) degradation mechanisms in Cu/low-k damascene structures. Considering the dependence of VTDDB reliability and ILD film properties on the post etching treatment (PET) condition, it was found that defect generation near the anode-side interface impacts the VTDDB lifetime and that the absolute value of the lifetime could be improved by reducing the number of Si-H bonds near the anode side. On the other hand, the electric field acceleration factor is independent of the anode-side defects, which is discussed based on the "Impact Damage model." Furthermore, we demonstrated experimentally the relationship between the intra-level TDDB (LTDDB) and the VTDDB failure mechanisms.
Management of Pancreatic Cystic Lesions: Making Sense of All the Guidelines

Pancreatic cystic lesions are now being identified in increasing frequency, providing an opportunity for early detection of advanced neoplasia. Multiple guidelines have been developed to help risk-stratify pancreatic cystic lesions. However, differences between guidelines provide a source of confusion for most practitioners. In this review, we attempt to highlight the similarities and differences between the guidelines, specifically evaluating their target populations and variations in surveillance/management strategies for pancreatic cystic lesions. The most commonly used guidelines provide varying strategies for the management and surveillance of pancreatic cystic lesions. By providing a consolidated and updated review of the literature, we find no one guideline performs better than the others. Despite existing guidelines, the most optimal risk stratification strategy for pancreatic cystic lesions remains unclear. However, advances in enhanced imaging modalities, cyst fluid analysis, and other biomarkers may offer effective options in the future.
Derivation of a Risk Assessment Tool for Prediction of Long-Term Pain Intensity Reduction After Physical Therapy.

Rationale Risk assessment tools can improve clinical decision-making for individuals with musculoskeletal pain, but do not currently exist for predicting reduction of pain intensity as an outcome from physical therapy. Aims and Objective The objective of this study was to develop a tool that predicts failure to achieve a 50% pain intensity reduction by 1) determining the appropriate statistical model to inform the tool and 2) select the model that considers the tradeoff between clinical feasibility and statistical accuracy. Methods This was a retrospective, secondary data analysis of the Optimal Screening for Prediction of Referral and Outcome (OSPRO) cohort. Two hundred and seventy-nine individuals seeking physical therapy for neck, shoulder, back, or knee pain who completed 12-month follow-up were included. Two modeling approaches were taken: a longitudinal model included demographics, presence of previous episodes of pain, and regions of pain in addition to baseline and change in OSPRO Yellow Flag scores to 12 months; two comparison models included the same predictors but assessed only baseline and early change (4 weeks) scores. The primary outcome was failure to achieve a 50% reduction in pain intensity score at 12 months. We compared the area under the curve (AUC) to assess the performance of each candidate model and to determine which to inform the Personalized Pain Prediction (P3) risk assessment tool. Results The baseline only and early change models demonstrated lower accuracy (AUC=0.68 and 0.71, respectively) than the longitudinal model (0.79) but were within an acceptable predictive range. Therefore, both baseline and early change models were used to inform the P3 risk assessment tool. Conclusion The P3 tool provides physical therapists with a data-driven approach to identify patients who may be at risk for not achieving improvements in pain intensity following physical therapy.
Dynamic updating of post-earthquake damage and functional restoration forecasts of water distribution systems using Bayesian inferencing:

A framework for dynamically updating post-earthquake functional recovery forecasts is presented to reduce the epistemic uncertainty in the predictive model. A Bayesian Network (BN) model is used to...
IMPACT OF CLIMATIC CHANGE ON AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION IN KANSAS: A FOUR-CROP ANALYSIS

Most scenarios of greenhouse-gas climatic change predict a warmer drier Great Plains environment. The goal of this research was to determine the resulting change in soil moisture and to relate this...
A triple mutant, K319N/H322Q/E325Q, of the lactose permease cotransports H+ with thiodigalactoside.

In a previous study, we characterized a lactose permease mutant (K319N/E325Q) that can transport H+ ions with sugar. This result was surprising because other studies had suggested that Glu-325 plays an essential role in H+ binding. To determine if the lactose permease contains one or more auxiliary H+ binding sites, we began with the K319N/E325Q strain, which catalyzes a sugar-dependent H+ leak, and isolated third site suppressor mutations that blocked the H+ leak. Three types of suppressors were obtained: H322Y, H322R, and M299I. These mutations blocked the H+ leak and elevated the apparent K m value for lactose. The M299I and H322Y suppressors could still transport H+ with β-d-thiodigalactoside (TDG), but the H322R strain appeared uncoupled for H+/sugar cotransport. Four mutant strains containing a nonionizable substitution at codon 322 (H322Q) were analyzed. None of these were able to catalyze uphill accumulation of lactose, however, all showed some level of substrate-induced proton accumulation. The level seemed to vary based on the substrate being analyzed (lactose or TDG). Most interestingly, a triple mutant, K319N/H322Q/E325Q, catalyzed robust H+ transport with TDG. These novel results suggest an alternative mechanism of lactose permease cation binding and transport, possibly involving hydronium ion (H3O+).
Evaluation of Expectations under Information Processing Capacity Constraint and Portfolio Choice

This paper studies the problem of optimal decision-making under uncertainty by an agent whose information processing abilities, required in particular for evaluation of expectations, are limited. Our approach is based on the apparatus of information theory and utilizes the techniques of the economic theory of rational inattention; however, the latter are used in a novel way — instead of restraining the external perception of agents, we are concerned with constraints on agents internal cognition. The resulting concept of expectations constrained by information processing capacity nests rational expectations as a special case. Preliminary results of its application to the problem of optimal portfolio choice are quite encouraging. For example, we obtained an intriguing new insight into the 'equity premium puzzle': there should be a 'perceived' high premium on risky assets due to the very fact that outside observers ('econometricians') devote less information processing capacity to evaluating expected returns on risky assets than inside actors ('market participants') do.
Mississippi Social Workers' Attitudes Toward Poverty and the Poor.

The study reported here was a March 1995 investigation of the attitudes of 186 Mississippi social workers toward poverty and the poor. The survey instrument gathered demographic data from respondents and asked them to characterize their agreement/disagreement with 37 statements about poverty and the poor. Demographic data are discussed and scores are analyzed on four variables: type of practice, education, licensure, and political orientation. Implications for social work education are discussed.
Non-viral vector as vaccine carrier.

Abstract Over the last several years, advances in gene‐based delivery technology arising from the field of gene therapy have helped revitalize the field of vaccine development. Genetic vaccination encoding antigen from bacteria, virus, and cancer has shown promise in protective humoral and cellular immunity; however, the potential disadvantages of naked DNA vaccine have reduced the value of the approach. To optimize antigen delivery efficiency as well as vaccine efficacy, the non‐viral vector as vaccine carrier, for example, the cationic liposome, has shown particular benefits to circumvent the obstacles that both peptide/protein‐ and gene‐based vaccines have encountered. Liposome‐mediated vaccine delivery provides greater efficacy and safer vaccine formulation for the development of vaccine for human use. The success of the liposome‐based vaccine has been demonstrated in clinical trials and further human trials are also in progress.
A Steerable, Untethered, 250 × 60 µm MEMS Mobile Micro-Robot

We present a steerable, electrostatic, untethered, MEMS micro-robot, with dimensions of 60 µm by 250 µm by 10 µm. This micro-robot is 1 to 2 orders of magnitude smaller in size than previous micro-robotic systems. The device consists of a curved, cantilevered steering arm, mounted on an untethered scratch drive actuator. These two components are fabricated monolithically from the same sheet of conductive polysilicon, and receive a common power and control signal through a capacitive coupling with an underlying electrical grid. All locations on the grid receive the same power and control signal, so that the devices can be operated without knowledge of their position on the substrate and without constraining rails or tethers. Control and power delivery waveforms are broadcast to the device through the capacitive power coupling, and are decoded by the electromechanical response of the device body. Individual control of the component actuators provides two distinct motion gaits (forward motion and turning), which together allow full coverage of a planar workspace (the robot is globally controllable). These MEMS micro-robots demonstrate turning error of less than 3.7 °/mm during forward motion, turn with radii as small as 176 µm, and achieve speeds of over 200 µm/sec, with an average step size of 12 nm. They have been shown to operate open-loop for distances exceeding 35 cm without failure, and can be controlled through teleoperation to navigate complex paths.
Leptin, adiponectin, and heart rate variability among police officers.

Objectives Police officers have a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Reduced heart rate variability (HRV) is known to increase CVD risk. Leptin and adiponectin may be related to CVD health. Therefore, our objective was to investigate the relationship between these variables and HRV. Methods Leptin and adiponectin levels were measured in 388 officers from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress study. HRV was assessed according to methods published by the Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing Electrophysiology for measurement and analysis of HRV. Mean values of high-frequency (HF) and low-frequency (LF) HRV were compared across tertiles of leptin and adiponectin using analysis of variance and analysis of covariance; trends were assessed using linear regression models. Results Leptin, but not adiponectin, was significantly and inversely associated with HRV. Body mass index (BMI) and percent body fat significantly modified the association between leptin and LF (but not HF) HRV. Among officers with BMI < 25 kg/m2, leptin was not significantly associated with HRV. However, among officers with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, leptin was inversely associated with HRV, after adjustment for age, gender, and race/ethnicity; HF HRV, P = 0.019 and LF HRV, P < 0.0001. Similarly, among officers with percent body fat ≥ 25.5%, leptin and LF HRV showed significant, inverse associations (adjusted P = 0.001). Conclusions Leptin levels were inversely associated with LF HRV, especially among officers with increased adiposity. Increased leptin levels may be associated with CVD-related health problems. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 27:184–191, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Human Role in Environmental History

Human Impact on Ancient Environments. Charles L. Redman. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1999. 255 pp. $45. ISBN 0-8165-1962-5. Paper, $22.95. ISBN 0-8165-1963-3. Redman uses a range of case studies (primarily from archeology) to address key themes and issues in the human dimensions of environmental history. His broad coverage will interest anyone who is concerned about the ecological problems that confront us today.
Abstract 144: Post-myocardial Infarction Therapeutics Using Cardiovascular Progenitor Cells (PC) Derived from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC)

Objective: We sought to assess the cardiac protective effects after MI of (1) PC differentiated directly into cardiomyocytes (CM) and endothelial cells (EC) to the site of injury, or (2) paracrine factors released from PC. Methods: These concepts were evaluated by using iPSC-derived PC genetically modified to express the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (TK) under the control of cardiomyocyte (NCX1) or endothelial cell (VE-cadherin) specific promoters. PC expressing the TK permitted ablation at the first week or the third week by iv ganciclovir (GCV). If GCV applied at the first week, but not at the third week, altered cardiac function, we would conclude that myocardial contractile recovery depends on CM and EC-derived from iPSC. If the beneficial effects on cardiac function persisted after GCV was given at the third week, we would surmise that the PC effect was via by a paracrine action. MI created by ligation of LAD, the cell patch with PC was applied to the scarred myocardium. Rats were treated with GCV at 1 or 3 weeks to ablate implanted PC. Echocardiography, vessel density, and histological analysis were used to obtain endpoints for this study. Result: In vivo : The levels of IGF-1α and VEGF released from ischemic tissues were significant higher in the cell patch group. Heart function, infarction size, and vessel density were significantly improved after cell patch treatment. However, this beneficial effect on cardiac function was completely abolished in the group given GCV at week 1, but only partially abolished in the group given GCV at week 3 compared to the untreated cell patch group. Conclusions: Taken together, these data support our conclusion that iPSC-derived cardiovascular lineages (CM and EC) contribute directly to an improved cardiac performance and attenuated remodeling, and that paracrine factors also play a supporting role in the restoration of heart function after MI.
Immunohistochemical profile of myogenin and MyoD1 does not support skeletal muscle lineage in alveolar soft part sarcoma.

Abstract Background.—The histogenesis of alveolar soft part sarcoma remains elusive. Myogenic origin is favored, although conflicting data on immunohistochemical demonstration of muscle-associated markers exist. Myogenin and MyoD1, transcription factors of the myogenic determination family, have crucial roles in commitment and differentiation of mesenchymal progenitor cells to myogenic lineage and in maintenance of skeletal muscle phenotype. Their immunohistochemical detection is specific in characterization of rhabdomyosarcoma. Methods.—Antibodies for myogenin, MyoD1, desmin, and muscle-specific actin were employed on a large series of cases (n = 19) of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded alveolar soft part sarcoma. Results.—Minimal scattered nuclear staining was seen with myogenin. All cases had pronounced, nonspecific granular cytoplasmic immunostaining with MyoD1; nuclei were negative. All tumors were negative for desmin and muscle-specific actin. Ultrastructural study in 10 cases failed to reveal featu...
Beginning to communicate after cochlear implantation: oral language development in a young child.

This longitudinal case study examined the emergence of a wide range of oral language skills in a deaf child whose cochlear implant was activated at 20 months. The main purposes of this study were to determine "Hannah's" rate of spoken language development during her second to fourth year of implant experience and to estimate the efficiency of her progress by comparing her performance to that of typically developing children. Mother-child interactions were also examined to determine changes in Hannah's communication competence. Normal or above-normal rates of development were observed in the following areas: (a) decreased production of nonwords, (b) increased receptive vocabulary, (c) type-token ratio, (d) regular use of word combinations, and (e) comprehension of phrases. Below-normal rates of development were observed in the following areas: (a) speech intelligibility, (b) number of word types and tokens, and (c) mean length of utterance in morphemes. Analysis of parent-child interactions showed a large ...
SUBDUCTION OBSTRUCTION AND THE CRACK-UP OF THE PACIFIC PLATE

We consider two hypotheses for the origin of a linear trough extending ∼800 km eastward from the intersection of the Louisville seamount chain with the Tonga-Kermadec trench. An extinct spreading center origin is suggested by the trough's eastward termination at a depth discontinuity that resembles a fracture zone. The morphology of the trough, however, is inconsistent with the morphology of other extinct spreading centers, and these two features do not appear to be connected to a larger paleo-plate boundary on their eastern end. We consider an alternative hypothesis in which the trough may be a recent rift in the Pacific plate. Coupling between a large subducting seamount and the overriding Australian plate may serve as a mechanism to focus stresses and nucleate a rift in the subducting Pacific plate. In this model, the seamount would act as a rigid indenter producing tangential extension in the subducting plate about the region where it is coupled to the overriding plate. Impeded subduction is suggested by a prominent seismicity gap around the subducting seamount. The graben morphology of the trough is also consistent with an extensional origin. If hotspot volcanism can produce obstructions and local weaknesses conducive to plate coupling, stress localization, and nucleation of fractures, it may provide a mechanism for subduction-induced plate reorganizations.
Particle-free bodies and point-free spaces

Abstract Few notions in mathematics and physics are as fundamental and useful as the notion of a “point”. However, in addition to the concept of a “point” being far from apparent, the concept is not suitable for describing several important problems in natural philosophy. A far more tangible and sensible idea that is immediately grasped by our mind is that of a “chunk” (a solid object) which seems ideally suited to describe precisely those problems which the notion of “point” seems to hinder. In this paper, I articulate the need for the use of topologies which are “point free” for the proper resolution of many important problems in natural philosophy.
Intraoperative Evaluation of the Spiral Nerve Cuff Electrode for a Standing Neuroprosthesis

Evaluation of the spiral nerve cuff electrode on the proximal femoral nerve for a standing neuroprosthesis was performed intraoperatively in 4 subjects. The mean stimulation threshold was 17.7 plusmn 12 nC, similar to stimulation thresholds in upper extremity nerves. The femoral nerve was found to have an oblong cross section with an average width of 9 mm and height of 1-2 mm. In all 4 subjects where data was recorded, selective activation of at least one hip flexor (rectus femoris or sartorius) was possible. For a standing neuroprosthesis, knee extension without hip flexion is desired. A more selective electrode is needed for this application.
Research experiences from operational difficulties Yuma Desalting Plant, U.S.A.

Abstract At the Bureau of Reclamation's Yuma Desalting Plant (YDP), Arizona, USA, engineers face challenges in operating the pretreatment processes, operating and storing the reverse osmosis (RO) membrane elements, and disposing of the pretreatment solid wastes. Reclamation has undertaken an extensive research program to meet these engineering challenges. This paper presents some of the research efforts and results in the four areas of RO membrane fouling, RO membrane degradation, RO element storage, and disposal of calcium carbonate sludge. The goal of these research efforts is to develop solutions to operational difficulties both at the YDP and at other desalting plants facing similar difficulties.
Nanosecond time-resolved polarization spectroscopy applied to protein folding

The dynamic response of a protein to photoinitiation of folding can reveal new information about the early stages of secondary and tertiary structure formation, information beyond that obtainable from x-ray crystallography, NMR, and other steady state methods. The combined efforts of time- resolved studies using different experimental probes have already observed several events in the early stages of protein and peptide folding. However, in terms of the 'big folding picture', our understanding of protein folding is limited. Information on the folding mechanisms for a range of peptides and proteins is important to address the commonality of folding intermediates and pathways, but it is also useful to thoroughly understand the process of folding in at least one protein. To obtain such an understanding of one protein it is useful to employ a number of spectroscopic approaches We present here the results of time-resolved absorption, CD and MCD studies of the folding reactions of reduced cytochrome c after ligand photolysis of the CO adduct. We also discuss our results and the results of other studies on cytochrome c to demonstrate the advantage of using a number of different approaches for understanding protein folding.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Comparative water balance profiles of Orchidaceae seeds for epiphytic and terrestrial taxa endemic to North America.

The Orchidaceae have dust-like seeds that use wind currents for long-distance dispersal. Lacking endosperm, orchid embryos consume free-living, mycorrhizal fungi as a carbon source (mycotrophy) after settling on a substrate. Few studies have investigated orchid seed morphology as it relates to ecology, but conceivably variations in seed size and testa characteristics could be linked to water loss rates aimed at maximizing germination in a particular habitat. Seeds of 2 epiphytic, 1 aquatic, and 7 terrestrial orchids native to North America were compared with respect to water balance profiles: Cleistes bifaria, Encyclia tampensis, Epidendrum nocturnum, Habenaria repens, Isotria medeoloides, Liparis elata, L. hawaiensis, Platanthera holochila, P. integrilabia, and P. leucophaea. Water content, water loss rate, activation energy, and equilibrium humidity were assessed for each species. Seeds of epiphytic orchids were smaller, lighter, more porous, and had higher water loss rates compared to terrestrials. No active mechanism for water absorption exists in seeds of either group. Water loss appears to be a species-specific phenomenon that may be linked to the ecological niches these species occupy.
Electrooculographic indices of changes in simulated flying performance

Recent investigations have revealed statistically reliable relationships between signal detection by human subjects performing vigilance tasks and changes in the electrophysiologically recorded waveform of the eyeblink. Thus, this relatively simple and easy-to-obtain measure may have potential use as a predictor of impaired performance. This report describes a study in which eyeblink data were recorded on analog tape while subjects (instrument-rated pilots) “flew” a computer-generated flight plan in a General Aviation Trainer (GAT-1). Eyeblink data were reduced and scored with an adaptation of software from the Washington University Behavioral Research Laboratory. Subjects’ “flying” performance was evaluated with the Pilot Performance Evaluating System (PPES) implemented on a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), PDP-11/34 computer. The PPES samples each of four primary flight instruments once per second. It scores performance by generating a combined error score for each maneuver it assigns on the flight-plan display in the cockpit. The PPES/GAT-1 linkup has proved to be a valuable research tool with which to realistically evaluate stress effects and physiological correlates of flying performance in a laboratory setting. This study examined the relationships between eyeblink and flying performance scores collected during a pilot-fatigue study. Analysis of the data supports the use of computers cored eye movement measures as predictors of flying performance decrements.
Secondary Organic Aerosol Coating Formation and Evaporation: Chamber Studies Using Black Carbon Seed Aerosol and the Single-Particle Soot Photometer

We report a protocol for using black carbon (BC) aerosol as the seed for secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation in an environmental chamber. We employ a single-particle soot photometer (SP2) to probe single-particle SOA coating growth dynamics and find that SOA growth on nonspherical BC aerosol is diffusion-limited. Aerosol composition measurements with an Aerodyne high resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) confirm that the presence of BC seed does not alter the composition of SOA as compared to self-nucleated SOA or condensed SOA on ammonium sulfate seed. We employ a 3-wavelength photoacoustic soot spectrometer (PASS-3) to measure optical properties of the systems studied, including fullerene soot as the surrogate BC seed, nucleated naphthalene SOA from high-NO_x photooxidation, and nucleated α-pinene SOA from low-NO_x photooxidation. A core-and-shell Mie scattering model of the light absorption enhancement is in good agreement with measured enhancements for both the low- and high-NO_x α-pinene photooxidation systems, reinforcing the assumption of a core-shell morphology for coated BC particles. A discrepancy between measured and modeled absorption enhancement factors in the naphthalene photooxidation system is attributed to the wavelength-dependence of refractive index of the naphthalene SOA. The coating of high-NO_x α-pinene SOA decreases after reaching a peak thickness during irradiation, reflecting a volatility change in the aerosol, as confirmed by the relative magnitudes of f_(43) and f_(44) in the AMS spectra. The protocol described here provides a framework by which future studies of SOA optical properties and single-particle growth dynamics may be explored in environmental chambers.
Membrane lipids and aging

Abstract The concept that age-related changes in lipids of brain membranes can “damage” membranes through the loss of communicative coupling of bilayer halves of biomembranes is critiqued and expanded to include the possibility that changes in the asymmetrically distributed gangliosides, in ethanolamine plasmalogens, and in cholesterol may also contribute to such damage. The possibility for attenuation or reversal of lipid changes by dietary manipulations or treatment with liposomes composed of phosphatidylserine is also briefly introduced.
PREMIÈRE JOURNÉE: THÉOPHILE DE VIAU AND THE DAWN OF BURLESQUE NARRATIVE

La reconnaissance du caractere principalement burlesque de l'oeuvre de Theophile de Viau malheureusement rebaptisee Fragments d'une histoire comique par Georges de Scudery permet de reconsiderer ce texte comme un tout, inaugurant une nouvelle technique narrative
Femoral artery ligation increases the responses of thin fiber muscle afferents to contraction

Previous evidence has shown that ligating the femoral artery for 72 h resulted in an exaggerated exercise pressor reflex. To provide electrophysiological evidence for this finding, we examined in d...