cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Raising Plasma Fatty Acids Reduces Baroreflex Sensitivity

P176 We have shown that lipid abnormalities present in obese hypertensives could contribute to their enhanced α 1 -adrenoceptor sensitivity. In this study, we examined if changing lipids with an intralipid/heparin infusion could contribute to impaired baroreflex sensitivity (BRS). To test this hypothesis, we compared the dose of the α 1 -adrenoceptor agonist, phenylephrine, to raise MAP 20 mmHg (PD 20 ) before and after an infusion of intralipid/heparin. Also, we determined BRS by the ratio of the change in heart rate recorded in msec over the change in systolic BP in mmHg. We studied six obese hypertensive subjects with a mean age of 40.6 ± 2 and % body fat by DEXA of 30 ± 4%. Raising plasma NEFA levels lowered the PD 20 from a baseline of 1.21 to 0.8 μg/m 2 /min (p=0.05). With raising NEFAs, BRS was decreased from 6.3 ± 0.55 to 3.6 ± 0.42 msec/mmHg (p=0.02)(Δ = baseline measurements, ♦ = intralipid/heparin measurments). These data suggest that acute increases in plasma NEFAs enhance α 1 -adrenoceptor vascular reactivity and reduce BRS which may contribute to the maintenance of elevated BP in patients with obesity hypertension.
Bottom up synthesis of boron-doped graphene for stable intermediate temperature fuel cell electrodes

Abstract The high surface area and electrical conductivity of few-layered graphene would make it an ideal catalyst support and electrode in fuel cells apart from its susceptibility to oxidative corrosion. Here we report the single-step, bottom-up synthesis of oxidation-resistant boron-doped graphene and show its increased stability in the aggressive electrochemical environment of intermediate temperature solid acid fuel cells (SAFCs). Boron was shown to alter the growth mode of single walled carbon nanohorns by laser vaporization to produce high yields of thin ( 140 °C, with large fractions of multilayered B-GLFs surviving 10 °C/min ramps to 1000 °C. These B-GLFs provided a stable Pt catalyst support and electrode over 40 h operation in SAFCs with cesium dihydrogen phosphate electrolyte operating at 250 °C, as opposed to undoped GLFs or SWCNHs which were nearly completely consumed. The facile synthesis and oxidation-resistant properties of boron-doped GLF appear promising for graphene applications in oxidizing environments.
Experimental Comparison of the Clinical Measurement of Ankle Joint Dorsiflexion and Radiographic Tibiotalar Position

Abstract Clinical measurement of ankle dorsiflexion is typically used to diagnose limited ankle range of motion. Controversy and a lack of clarity continue regarding the most accurate clinical method of measuring ankle joint dorsiflexion and the effect that the foot position (supinated, neutral, pronated) has on the true tibiotalar position. We investigated the effects of supinated, neutral and pronated foot positions on the clinical dorsiflexion measurements in 50 healthy subjects and compared these results to the radiographic measurement of tibiotalar joint position with the ankle maximally dorsiflexed in each of the 3 foot positions. Interrater reliability was confirmed to be adequate among the 3 clinicians of varied skill levels. Radiographic measurements of the tibiotalar position showed very little change in each of the 3 foot positions, with a total difference of 0.35° between supination and pronation. However, we found a mean difference of 14° of dorsiflexion in the clinical measurements between the pronated and supinated foot position, with a 9.08° difference between the neutral and supinated positions. Motion of the foot between the neutral and supinated positions introduced an additional source of potential error from the measurement technique when using the neutral position as the standard, which has been recommended in the past. We recommend a supinated foot position as a more reliable foot position for measuring the clinical ankle joint range of motion and propose it as a potential standard.
Fatalism and exposure to health information from the media: examining the evidence for causal influence

Fatalistic attitudes have a negative impact on a broad variety of health behaviors and behavioral determinants of health. A growing body of research has documented an association between media exposure and fatalism; however, scholarship has not been able to ascertain the causal direction. This review synthesizes the current state of the literature. A major finding is that most studies purporting to assess the relationship between media exposure and fatalism use conflated measures of fatalism. Among those that use an appropriate measure, there is some evidence that increased exposure to media increases fatalism. Although there is a substantive theoretical rationale for such effects, more research is needed to make a definitive claim and to explain the mechanism for such effects.
Synchronous inhibitory pathways create both efficiency and diversity in the retina

Visual information is conveyed from the retina to the brain by a diverse set of retinal ganglion cells. Although they have differing nonlinear properties, nearly all ganglion cell receptive fields on average compute a difference in intensity across space and time using a region known as the classical or linear surround a property that improves information transmission about natural visual scenes. The spatiotemporal visual features that create this fundamental property have not been quantitatively assigned to specific interneurons. Here we describe a generalizable causal approach using simultaneous intracellular and multielectrode recording to directly measure and manipulate the sensory feature conveyed by a neural pathway to a downstream neuron. Analyzing two inhibitory cell classes, horizontal cells and linear amacrine cells, we find that rather than transmitting different temporal features, the two inhibitory pathways act synchronously to create the salamander ganglion cell surround at different spatial scales. Using these measured visual features and theories of efficient coding, we computed a fitness landscape representing the information transmitted using different weightings of the two inhibitory pathways. This theoretical landscape revealed a ridge that maintains near-optimal information transmission while allowing for receptive field diversity. The ganglion cell population showed a striking match to this prediction, concentrating along this ridge across a wide range of positions using different weightings of amacrine or horizontal cell visual features. These results show how parallel neural pathways synthesize a sensory computation, and why this architecture achieves the potentially competing objectives of high information transmission of individual ganglion cells, and diversity among receptive fields.
A nonparametric maximum likelihood approach for survival data with observed cured subjects, left truncation and right-censoring.

We consider observational studies in pregnancy where the outcome of interest is spontaneous abortion (SAB). This at first sight is a binary ‘yes’ or ‘no’ variable, albeit there is left truncation as well as right-censoring in the data. Women who do not experience SAB by gestational week 20 are ‘cured’ from SAB by definition, that is, they are no longer at risk. Our data is different from the common cure data in the literature, where the cured subjects are always right-censored and not actually observed to be cured. We consider a commonly used cure rate model, with the likelihood function tailored specifically to our data. We develop a conditional nonparametric maximum likelihood approach. To tackle the computational challenge we adopt an EM algorithm making use of “ghost copies” of the data, and a closed form variance estimator is derived. Under suitable assumptions, we prove the consistency of the resulting estimator which involves an unbounded cumulative baseline hazard function, as well as the asymptotic normality. Simulation results are carried out to evaluate the finite sample performance. We present the analysis of the motivating SAB study to illustrate the advantages of our model addressing both occurrence and timing of SAB, as compared to existing approaches in practice.
Discrimination of herbicide-resistant kochia with hyperspectral imaging

A hyperspectral imager was used to differentiate herbicide-resistant versus herbicide-susceptible biotypes of the agronomic weed kochia, in different crops in the field at the Southern Agricultural Research Center in Huntley, Montana. Controlled greenhouse experiments showed that enough information was captured by the imager to classify plants as either a crop, herbicide-susceptible or herbicide-resistant kochia. The current analysis is developing an algorithm that will work in more uncontrolled outdoor situations. In overcast conditions, the algorithm correctly identified dicamba-resistant kochia, glyphosate-resistant kochia, and glyphosate- and dicamba-susceptible kochia with 67%, 76%, and 80% success rates, respectively.
Oxygen Sponges for Electrocatalysis: Oxygen Reduction/Evolution on Nonstoichiometric, Mixed Metal Oxides†

Electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction and evolution (ORR and OER) have become of significant importance due to their critical role in the performance of electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices, such as fuel cells, electrolyzers, and metal air batteries. While efficient ORR and OER have been reported using noble-metal based catalysts, their commercialization is cost prohibitive. In this Perspective, we discuss the potential of nonprecious metal based, mixed electronic–ionic conducting oxides (i.e., perovskites, double perovskites, and Ruddlesden–Popper (R-P) oxides) for efficient oxygen electrocatalysis at high and low temperatures. The nonstoichiometry of oxygen in these materials provides key catalytic properties that facilitate efficient ORR/OER electrocatalysis. We discuss the importance of surface structure and composition as critical parameters to understand and tune the ORR/OER activity of these oxides. We argue that techniques facilitating controlled synthesis and characterization of t...
DuaL Spaces, Norms, and Inner Products

In §1, it was observed that two matrices of the same size (m×n) could be added and multiplied by scalars to form new (m ×n) matrices. The way these operations are defined, in view of Definition 4.1, makes it clear that the family of all (m×n) matrices with entries in F forms a vector space over F. In fact, the dimension of this vector space is mn, since the mn matrices E (k, l) (each is of size (m×n)) whose (i, j) elements are given, for 1 ⩽ i ⩽ m and 1 ⩽ j ⩽ n, by $${\left[ {E\left( {k,l} \right)} \right]_{ij}} = {\delta _{ik}}{\delta _{jl}} = \left\{ {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}} {1 i = k,j = l} \\ {0 otherwise} \end{array}} \right.$$ and which are defined for 1⩽£ ⩽ m, 1⩽l ⩽n, form a basis for the vector space of all m×n matrices.
Towards a hierarchical temporal memory based self-managed dynamic trust replication mechanism in cognitive mobile ad-hoc networks

Dynamic trust models and replication approaches that adequately address the security needs of wireless cognitive ad hoc networks (MANET) have proven quite difficult to develop. The inherent decentralized nature of ad hoc networks and their collaborative services give rise to a series of vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious entities. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that risk assessment models show high levels of complexity, which suggest significant domain constraints and lack of true human-like reasoning. Recent work in the area of HTM demonstrates the ability to mimic higher level cognitive skills. This paper discusses the potential of using HTM to improve human-like reasoning in the replication of trust information in cognitive MANETs.
The Biochemistry and Mechanics of Gastropod Adhesive Gels

Several different types of gastropods produce tough adhesive gels. These gels consist of more than 95 % water, yet they are far stiffer and tougher than the mucus used for other activities. This chapter reviews the structure and properties of adhesive gels from limpets, marsh periwinkles, terrestrial snails, and terrestrial slugs. While some of these gels contain large, entangled, carbohydrate-rich polymers such as those found in the mucus that is secreted for locomotion and lubrication, what sets the adhesive gels apart is the additional presence of substantial quantities of gel-stiffening proteins. Adhesive gels have been studied in depth in the slug Arion subfuscus. In this glue, the gel-stiffening proteins bind iron, and metals such as iron and calcium stiffen the gel. Metals bind directly to polymers in the glue and can cross-link them through coordinate covalent bonds. Additionally, key proteins in the glue are rich in carbonyls, presumably due to metal-catalyzed oxidation. These carbonyls appear to serve as sites for reversible cross-links between proteins. Furthermore, the action of the proteins does not merely stiffen the gel; it creates a second network that interpenetrates the tangled carbohydrate network creating a double network. In a double network gel, the two networks act together to achieve toughness values that are orders of magnitude greater than what they can achieve separately.
Beyond Tools: Visual Support for the Entire Process of GIScience

Publisher Summary This chapter presents an overview of the science process, illustrates examples of the way current approaches to visualization support certain research activities, and suggests a framework by which additional aspects of: (1) science activity, (2) reasoning mode (inference), (3) outcomes, and (4) pre-requisite data and knowledge can be used to better define the role or roles that different visualization tools can play. To bring visualization tools to the fore, it is important to understand clearly the roles that they play within the entire process of scientific investigation including the various tasks that a researcher might undertake and the different kinds of reasoning that the researcher wish visualization to support or enable. The research challenges that are associated with the use and integration of geovisualization tools from a more semantic, process-oriented approach are also summarized. As geovisualization develops, a broader vision is required by which relevant tools and techniques might be orchestrated into something greater than the sum of their parts. This vision is likely to include perspectives from other disciplines and may continue to incorporate techniques and knowledge from cognate fields with expertise in visualization.
Governing urban gardens for resilient cities: Examining the ‘Garden City Initiative’ in Taipei:

With rising concerns for food security and climate adaptation, urban gardening and urban agriculture have emerged as a rising agenda for urban resilience around the world. In East Asia, a variety o...
The Pine Ridge Development Study: Formal Approach

In order to get a fair idea of cognitive development within a population, one may proceed in at least two ways. The first, which we may call the quantitative approach, demands that we see many subjects so that precise numerical results may be obtained. With this the case, it is under usual circumstances necessary to examine only a limited area of study, for to seek a broad base of experimentation would be an enormous task. The obvious sacrifice made in this approach is that it is often difficult and sometimes impossible to gain a real understanding of a generalized pattern of thought when a strictly quantitative approach is used, for we have examined only a limited area.
Vortex Nucleation and the Levitation of Charged Helium II Drops

Intrinsic nucleation of quantized vortices in Helium II can be studied by means of rotating freely suspended superfluid drops at angular velocities above some critical value. The motivation for doing so is described, as well as recent progress in the electrostatic levitation of Helium II drops charged with positive ions. To date, stable levitation has been achieved for drops of order 100–150 micrometers in diameter, with a surface charge density about a factor of ten smaller than Rayleigh limit, and a diameter a similar factor less than the maximum allowed in normal gravity. We discuss the possibility of rotating these drops via the surface charge density and discuss the advantages of a microgravity environment, including the attainment of significantly larger suspended drops. Recent efforts to find optical seed particles for angular velocity measurements are discussed.
Automated monitoring of mouse feeding and body weight for continuous health assessment.

Routine health assessment of laboratory rodents can be improved using automated home cage monitoring. Continuous, non-stressful, objective assessment of rodents unaware that they are being watched,...
Effects of Indoor Thermal Environment on Human Food Intake, Productivity, and Comfort: Pilot, Randomized, Crossover Trial.

Objective It was hypothesized that exposure to mild temperatures above the human thermoneutral zone would decrease caloric intake in a sedentary office environment. Methods Women (n = 25) were randomized in a crossover design to perform seated office work for 7 hours in a thermoneutral condition (control, 19°C-20°C) and a condition above the thermoneutral zone (warm, 26°C-27°C). Food intake was estimated by weight and bomb calorimetry, peripheral temperature by thermal imaging, and thermal comfort and productivity by questionnaires. Mixed effects models were used to examine the effects of thermal condition on caloric intake. Results Participants ate, on average, 357 kcal less in the warm condition, adjusting for BMI and peripheral temperature (P = 0.0219). According to the survey results at midday (after 3.5 hours of exposure), 96% of the participants in the warm condition reported being comfortable (n = 24) compared with 32% in the control condition (n = 8). More participants reported being as productive or more productive than usual in the warm condition (n = 22, 88%) than in the control condition (n = 12, 48%). Conclusions This line of research is worthy of further exploration. Untightening climate control toward warmer conditions during summer to increase comfort and productivity while decreasing caloric intake may prove both effective and comfortable.
Sleeve Gastrectomy for Morbid Obesity: Technique and Outcomes

Abstract Sleeve gastrectomy has become the most popular surgical treatment for morbid obesity over the last 10 years. Comparable outcomes to gastric bypass and safety have been demonstrated in several studies and two randomized trials recently published. Here we described technical aspects of this procedure, postoperative care and outcomes.
Education Achievement in Segregated School Systems: the Effects of

Educational achievement in segregated school systems was considerably lower in the black schools than in the white schools. Economic historians have argued that the racial achievement gap reflected the discriminatory funding of the black schools. This paper assesses counterfactually the historical effects of a "separate-but-equal" policy of educational finance. Using cross-sectional data from 1930 and 1940, I estimate race-specific educational production functions. Eliminating race differences in inputs supplied by school boards explains 40-50 percent of the racial achievement gap, depending on how achievement is measured.The remainder appears to reflect the impact of family background on achievement, of which the most important effect was adult black illiteracy, a legacy of slavery and educational backwardness in the late 19th century. The paper also shows how school boards' marginal valuation of black achievement can be recovered from the production function estimates. Compared to preferences that would have led them to voluntarily practice equality,Southern school boards judged black achievement to be worth roughly half the value they placed on white achievement.
A Code-Based Distributed Gradient Descent Method

Distributed gradient descent is an optimization algorithm that is used to solve a minimization problem distributed over a network through minimizing local functions that sum up to form the overall objective function. These local functions f i contribute to local gradients adding up incrementally to form the overall gradient. Recently, the gradient coding paradigm was introduced for networks with a centralized fusion center to resolve the problem of straggler nodes. Through introducing some kind of redundancy on each node, such coding schemes are utilized to form new coded local functions g i from the original local functions f i . In this work, we consider a distributed network with a defined network topology and no fusion center. At each node, linear combinations of the local coded gradients $\nabla\overline{g}_{i}$ can be constructed to form the overall gradient. Our iterative method, referred to as Code-Based Distributed Gradient Descent (CDGD), updates each node's local estimate by applying an adequate weighing scheme. This scheme adapts the coded local gradient descent step along with local estimates from neighboring nodes. We provide the convergence analysis for CDGD and we analytically show that we enhance the convergence rate by a scaling factor over conventional incremental methods without any predefined tuning. Furthermore, we demonstrate through numerical results significant performance and enhancements for convergence rates.
Relating Structure and Dynamics in RNA Biology

Recent advances in structural biology methods have enabled a surge in the number of RNA and RNA-protein assembly structures available at atomic or near-atomic resolution. These complexes are often trapped in discrete conformational states that exist along a mechanistic pathway. Single-molecule fluorescence methods provide temporal resolution to elucidate the dynamic mechanisms of processes involving complex RNA and RNA-protein assemblies, but interpretation of such data often requires previous structural knowledge. Here we highlight how single-molecule tools can directly complement structural approaches for two processes--translation and reverse transcription-to provide a dynamic view of molecular function.
Validating Low Dose FDG PET/CT Compared to Current Standard of Care Dose PET/CT

1641 Objectives: Radiopharmaceutical tracer dosing for 18F FDG PET imaging in the US is based on two recommendations, the NCI workshop guidance which suggests using 10 to 20 mCi FDG (Shankar et al.) and the FDA packaging label for the production of 18F FDG which allows dosing above 5 mCi. Despite the significant advances to PET system technology since its initial introduction into clinical care in the late 1980s, the administered doses have remained unchanged since that time. We aimed to validate equivalency of 5 mCi, low dose FDG PET/CT compared to current standard of care FDG PET/CT dosing at our institution (13 mCi). The rationale to focus this trial on the dose reduction to 5 mCi was solely based on the fact that this is the lowest dose which is compliant with the FDA label. Materials and Methods: Low dose PET/CT imaging was completed for 114 oncology subjects, the average dose was 4.9 mCi +/- 0.4. Imaging was performed approximately 75 minutes post-injection on a next-generation digital photon counting system (Philips Vereos) using 90 seconds per bed position. A matched population of 114 patients who received standard of care dose imaging as part of an FDG oncology whole body PET/CT methodology clinical trial. The average dose for these patients was 13.0 mCi +/- 0.8. Imaging for these patients was also performed using 90 seconds/bed position. Age, body habitus, and sex were matched between the two subject populations. Target lesion SUVmax and visual image quality evaluation were the primary assessment points. Secondary assessments include qualitative and quantitative image quality, uptake in other tissues, diagnostic confidence, and presence/visibility of artifacts. Results: Assessment of image quality indicates that a dose reduction to 5 mCi FDG for whole-body oncologic PET imaging results in no loss of diagnostic capabilities, even when maintaining an acquisition time consistent with standard of care examinations. We have found that the key to preserving excellent image quality in low dose imaging is the re-optimization of reconstruction parameters to account for the reduced relative count density. Adjustment of the reconstruction parameters also enabled robust quantification, as validated in phantom data. Although SUV values in target tumor lesions are not directly comparable, initial statistical analysis shows that quantitative measurements in background tissues are robust and within normal ranges for the low dose acquisitions. Conclusion: Next-generation digital PET imaging systems will clearly lead to preferable imaging characteristics, especially in relationship to the dose, acquisition time, and voxel size interdependencies. Dose reduction efforts to achieve the radiation safety paradigm of as low as reasonable achievable (ALARA) should therefore be at the forefront of thinking about clinical PET/CT imaging. This trial has validated the ability to perform high quality, quantitatively accurate imaging at a significantly reduced dose from current standards, with no impact on biodistribution, target lesion detectability, or image quality.
The Effects of Police Effort on Victims’ Fear of Crime

In this study, we sought to assess whether increased police effort subsequent to an individual’s criminal victimization has a significant effect on violent crime victims’ fear of crime. Extant literature shows somewhat incongruent findings with regard to whether and in what way general police actions and effort (police presence in a community, increased interactions with members of a community) have an effect on fear in communities. To date, there has been a gap in the literature concerning fear of crime of crime victims, and specific to our study, fear of crime related to police actions and efforts after victimization. The current study fills the gap by determining whether there is, indeed, a relationship between police effort and violent crime victims’ fear. Results show a positive relationship between police effort subsequent to victimization and violent crime victims’ fear. Discussion of the results and limitations of the study are included.
System Effects Test Example for Atmospheric Radiation Environment

Galactic cosmic rays and solar rays produce particle cascades in the atmosphere, where resulting particles (mainly high energy neutrons) can interact with components to cause Single Event Effects (SEE). The effects from atmospheric radiation can cause various fault conditions, including corrupted data, processor halts and interrupts, operational errors, and component latch-ups requiring a power cycle. As technology trends continue to achieve higher densities and lower voltages, semiconductor devices are becoming more susceptible to atmospheric radiation effects. Testing to measure the susceptibility of a component or equipment to atmospheric radiation environments requires the utilization of highly advanced laboratory facilities. Testing can be performed at the component level to measure the device-level susceptibility, or the test can be performed to measure impacts at the equipment level. This paper provides an example of a test intended to measure equipment level effects while irradiating a single component. The purpose of the experiment was to validate the mitigations and protections designed into the equipment.
Objective measurement of sleep, heart rate, heart rate variability, and physical activity in suicidality: A systematic review.

Abstract Background Emerging literature suggests that the arousal and regulatory systems as measured by sleep-wakefulness, heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) may be powerful objective warning signs of suicidality. However, there is no systematic literature review examining the association between objective measurements of these variables with suicide and suicidal behavior. Methods A web-based, systematic literature search using PubMed and EMBASE was conducted for articles that measured sleep-wakefulness and HR/HRV quantitatively in association with suicide. Search results were limited to human subjects and articles published in peer-reviewed journals in English. There were no restrictions for age, sex, settings and durations of measurements, types of mental illnesses, or comorbidity. Results Twenty-three studies were included in the current systematic review. Across the studies, consistent patterns of disturbed sleep-wakefulness such as greater sleep onset latency and lower sleep efficiency were related to suicide. In addition, higher HR and lower variance of R-R intervals was an indicator of risk of suicide. Limitations Studies that used different equipment for sleep studies (i.e., polysomnography, electroencephalogram, actigraphy) were combined, and potential differences in their findings due to the different equipment were not considered. Conclusions Findings provide initial evidence for consistent patterns of sleep-wakefulness and HR/HRV possibly associated with suicidality; however, more studies are needed in order to identify the precise objective variables (e.g., sleep onset latency, high-frequency HRV), as well as time-varying patterns in these variables, that are related to acute suicide risk.
The Spirit of a Thought in a Fictional World: Summoning Ghosts to the Stage

Works of art are inherently spectral in that they are fictional representations of life and reality,particularly theatre, which brings a nonexistent world to life by creating layers of performancebetween audience and actors, and even the characters of the play. Through a close reading ofboth the text and performance of Henrik Ibsen’s tragedy Ghosts, this paper explores the relationship between theatre and hauntings, unpacking the layers of spectrality of stage props andthe employment of silence onstage.
A simple theory for describing the transition between tensile and shear mechanisms in mode I, II, III and mixed-mode fracture

Fracture of solids containing a crack is interpreted using basic material data such as the fracture stress in tension, {sigma}{sub C}, and the fracture stress in shear, {tau}{sub C}, both being determined from simple laboratory tests. Mode I, II, III, and mixed-mode I/II cases are analyzed individually to confirm the proposed theory. It is shown that the transition of fracture mechanism from tensile to shear, as observed for ductile materials but not observed for brittle materials in many fracture tests, can be properly explained and predicted by incorporating a material strength ratio defined as {tau}{sub C}/{sigma}{sub C}.
PROTEASE ACTIVITY PROFILING VIA PROGRAMMABLE PHAGE DISPLAY OF COMPREHENSIVE PROTEOME-SCALE PEPTIDE LIBRARIES

Summary Endopeptidases catalyze the internal cleavage of proteins, playing pivotal roles in protein turnover, substrate maturation, and the activation of signaling cascades. A broad range of biological functions in health and disease are controlled by proteases, yet assays to characterize their activities at a proteomic scale do not exist. To address this unmet need, we developed Sensing EndoPeptidase Activity via Release and recapture using flAnking Tag Epitopes (SEPARATE), which uses a monovalent phage display of the human proteome at a 90-aa peptide resolution. We demonstrate that SEPARATE is compatible with several human proteases from distinct catalytic classes, including caspase-1, ADAM17, and thrombin. Both well-characterized and newly identified substrates of these enzymes were detected in the assay. SEPARATE was used to discover a non-canonical caspase-1 substrate, the E3 ubiquitin ligase HUWE1, a key mediator of apoptotic cell death. SEPARATE enables efficient, unbiased assessment of endopeptidase activity by using a phage-displayed proteome. A record of this paper's Transparent Peer Review process is included in the Supplemental Information.
Creating and Testing the Reliability of a Family Maltreatment Severity Classification System.

Child maltreatment and intimate partner abuse determinations often include judgments (e.g., severity) that go beyond whether or not the allegations are founded. Severity ratings inform multiple sta...
Contextual Therapy for Couples who are Primary Caregivers for a Parent(s) with Alzheimer’s Disease

The number of individuals experiencing Alzheimer’s disease is increasing as the population ages. The majority of individuals experiencing Alzheimer’s disease receive care from a family member, most often a spouse or adult child. Adult child caregivers have unique needs and life situations that put them at increased risk for caregiver burden and burnout. While both individual therapy and family therapy have been used with family caregivers, little scholarship has explored the role of couples therapy in improving caregiver outcomes. This article explores contributing factors to adult child caregiver burden and applies contextual therapy to treat these problems in couples therapy. We use a clinical vignette to illustrate the application of fairness, balance, loyalty conflicts, and constructive/destructive entitlement to caregiving. In all, we identify common dynamics in couples wherein one or both partners are primary caregivers for parents with Alzheimer’s disease and provide clinical suggestions on how to assess and treat these challenges in couples therapy.
Connectomic features underlying diverse synaptic connection strengths and subcellular computation

Connectomes generated from electron microscopy images of neural tissue unveil the complex morphology of every neuron and the locations of every synapse interconnecting them. These wiring diagrams may also enable inference of synaptic and neuronal biophysics, such as the functional weights of synaptic connections, but this requires integration with physiological data to properly parameterize. Working with a stereotyped olfactory network in the Drosophila brain, we make direct comparisons of the anatomy and physiology of diverse neurons and synapses with subcellular and subthreshold resolution. We find that synapse density and location jointly predict the amplitude of the somatic postsynaptic potential evoked by a single presynaptic spike. Biophysical models fit to data predict that electrical compartmentalization allows axon and dendrite arbors to balance independent and interacting computations. These findings begin to fill the gap between connectivity maps and activity maps, which should enable new hypotheses about how network structure constrains network function.
SU-C-BRD-05: Non-Invasive in Vivo Biodosimetry in Radiotherapy Patients Using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Spectroscopy

Purpose: Medical intervention following a major, unplanned radiation event can elevate the human whole body exposure LD50 from 3 to 7 Gy. On a large scale, intervention cannot be achieved effectively without accurate and efficient triage. Current methods of retrospective biodosimetry are restricted in capability and applicability; published human data is limited. We aim to further develop, validate, and optimize an automated field-deployable in vivo electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) instrument that can fill this need. Methods: Ionizing radiation creates highly-stable, carbonate-based free radicals within tooth enamel. Using a process similar to nuclear magnetic resonance, EPR directly measures the presence of radiation-induced free radicals. We performed baseline EPR measurements on one of the upper central incisors of total body irradiation (TBI) and head and neck (H&N) radiotherapy patients before their first treatment. Additional measurements were performed between subsequent fractions to examine the EPR response with increasing radiation dose. Independent dosimetry measurements were performed with optically-stimulated luminescent dosimeters (OSLDs) and diodes to more accurately establish the relationship between EPR signal and delivered radiation dose. Results: 36 EPR measurements were performed over the course of four months on two TBI and four H & N radiotherapy patients. We observe a linear increase inmore » EPR signal with increasing dose across the entirety of the tested range. A linear least squares-weighted fit of delivered dose versus measured signal amplitude yields an adjusted R-square of 0.966. The standard error of inverse prediction (SEIP) is 1.77 Gy. For doses up to 7 Gy, the range most relevant to triage, we calculate an SEIP of 1.29 Gy. Conclusion: EPR spectroscopy provides a promising method of retrospective, non-invasive, in vivo biodosimetry. Our preliminary data show an excellent correlation between predicted signal amplitude and delivered dose. With further development, a robust means of predicting delivered radiation dose from EPR measurements is expected. This project was funded by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services subcontracted through the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and by the Dartmouth Physically-Based Biodosimetry Center for Medical Countermeasures Against Radiation (Dart-Dose CMCR) Pilot Program.« less
The Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases

Patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases most often are recognized because of their increased susceptibility to infection (chronic or recurrent infections without other explanation, infection with an organism of low virulence, or infection of unusual severity). The type of pathogen and the location of the infection may give valuable insight into the nature of the immunologic defect. Individuals with complement deficiencies most often present with bacteremia, septic arthritis, and meningitis, caused by encapsulated bacteria. Phagocytic disorders are characterized by bacterial and fungal infections of the skin and abscesses in the reticuloendothelial system (lymph nodes, spleen, and liver). Autoimmune and inflammatory diseases are more commonly seen in particular primary immunodeficiency diseases, most notably common variable immunodeficiency, selective immunoglobulin A (IgA) deficiency, chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, and deficiencies of early components of the classical complement pathway (C1 to C4). Although immune system dysfunction can be suspected by the clinician after careful review of the history and physical exam, specific diagnoses are rarely evident without the use of the laboratory. However, the types of infections and other symptoms should help to focus the laboratory workup on specific compartments of the immune system. Finally, whenever primary immunodeficiency is suspected, consideration must also be given to secondary causes of immunodeficiency, including human immunodeficiency virus infection, therapy with anti-inflammatory medications (e.g., corticosteroids), and other underlying illnesses (e.g., lymphoreticular neoplasms and viral infections, such as infectious mononucleosis).
Chapter 104 – Phosphine

Publisher Summary Phosphine is a toxicant gas with strong reducing properties capable of chemical and biologic oxidant effects. This chapter describes its usage, toxicology, metabolism, and treatment. It is an odorless and colorless gas with a molecular weight of 34.00 and density of 1.17 at 25 °C. Toxicity to humans occurs either due to ingestion of aluminum phosphide or inhalation of phosphine (PH3), liberated from fumigated grains. In humans, case studies involving suicide and suicide attempts by ingestion of pellets of aluminum phosphide are instructive. After ingestion of aluminum phosphide, phosphine gas is released in the stomach and is rapidly absorbed throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Concentrations below 7 ppm showed no lethality. In mice (both sexes) the median lethal dose after two weeks' exposure is 9 mg/m3. Concentrations below this level were not lethal. As indicated before, there are only minor differences in the mortality data from earlier to more recent studies regarding duration time-dose threshold for acute lethality. Much of the work regarding phosphine as a metabolic poison centers on the concept that reactivity of phosphine as a nucleophile, and/or the electrophilic character of the intermediates arising from oxidation, could lead to derivatization of critical biomolecules. There is no current medical standard of treatment for acute phosphine intoxication. However, water-based gastric lavage may enhance the reactivity of ingested aluminum phosphide tablets.
A family of mammalian Na + -dependent L -ascorbic acid transporters

Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) is essential for many enzymatic reactions, in which it serves to maintain prosthetic metal ions in their reduced forms (for example, Fe2+, Cu+), and for scavenging free radicals in order to protect tissues from oxidative damage. The facilitative sugar transporters of the GLUT type can transport the oxidized form of the vitamin, dehydroascorbic acid, but these transporters are unlikely to allow significant physiological amounts of vitamin C to be taken up in the presence of normal glucose concentrations, because the vitamin is present in plasma essentially only in its reduced form. Here we describe the isolation of two L-ascorbic acid transporters, SVCT1 and SVCT2, from rat complementary DNA libraries, as the first step in investigating the importance of L-ascorbic acid transport in regulating the supply and metabolism of vitamin C. We find that SVCT1 and SVCT2 each mediate concentrative, high-affinity L-ascorbic acid transport that is stereospecific and is driven by the Na+ electrochemical gradient. Despite their close sequence homology and similar functions, the two isoforms of the transporter are discretely distributed: SVCT1 is mainly confined to epithelial systems (intestine, kidney, liver), whereas SVCT2 serves a host of metabolically active cells and specialized tissues in the brain, eye and other organs.
Medical Education and the Hidden Curriculum

This chapter provides a broad overview of aspects of hidden curriculum (HC) theory and their implications for medical education. We begin by differentiating between the three primary types of curricula (formal, informal, and hidden) and examine their relative impact on the socialization processes of medical trainees. We then link the rise of a HC literature within medical education to prior work in sociology and education scholarship and spotlight how this more invisible curriculum reflects and perpetuates power relations and hierarchies within health care. We conclude by considering potential implications of HC theory for contemporary initiatives such as interprofessional education, and discuss resilient features of the HC as well as strategies and mechanisms that may assuage its impact on the culture of medical education and medical students’ attitudes and behaviors. Keywords: education; medical sociology; Robert Merton; Talcott Parsons; sociological and social theory
Dynamic planar point location with optimal query time

We present a new dynamic technique for locating a point in a convex planar subdivision whose n vertices lie on a fixed set of N horizontal lines. The supported update operations are insertion/deletion of vertices and edges, and (horizontal) translation of vertices. Our method achieves query time O(log n + log N), space O(N + n log N), and insertion/deletion time O(log n log N). Hence, for N=O (n), the query time is O(log n), which is optimal. The proposed technique, based on the trapezoid method, provides an efficient solution to many significant applications where the most frequent operation is the point location query, while updates are more rarely executed.
The treatment of iron-deficiency anemia--palatable but ineffective iron medication.

Experience with a new oral iron-carbohydrate complex (Jefron) in the treatment of iron-deficiency anemia shows that the therapeutic results are inferior to those obtainable with ferrous sulfate. Many children showed no response after months of treatment with this drug and when subsequently placed on ferrous sulfate therapy showed a rapid rise in hemoglobin to normal levels. Preliminary studies suggest that poor gastrointestinal absorption may be a factor in the inadequate therapeutic effects.
Iron Determination in Meat Using Ferrozine Assay

Chromogens are chemicals that react with compounds of interest and form colored products that can be quantified using spectroscopy. Several chromogens that selectively react with minerals are available. In this lab, ferrozine is used to measure ferrous iron in an ashed food sample. The relationship between the absorbance of the chromogen-mineral complex is described by Beer’s Law; in this procedure, a standard curve is generated with a stock iron solution to quantify the mineral in beef samples.
La evolución de la monarquía musulmana en El Príncipe constante

Abstract: Don Fernando, the main character of El principe constante , has received most of the attention of the specialists in the works of Calderon, but many critics had also analyzed the extraordinary transformation of the King of Fez, but with significant differences of points of views and conclusions. The Muslim monarch treats the captive prince with exquisite courtesy as long as he thinks that the prince can be exchanged for the city of Ceuta. But at the end he behaves like a tyrant as soon as he realized that don Fernando refuses the exchange. This article uses the Prospect Theory of Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky to analyze the transformation of the Muslim monarch with the purpose of finding a critical approach that could explain a rather paradoxical or at least incoherent behavior. Resumen: Don Fernando, el protagonista de El principe constante , ha recibido la mayor parte de la atencion por parte de los estudiosos de la obra de Calderon, pero muchos criticos tambien han analizado la extraordinaria transformacion del rey de Fez, aunque con una marcada diferencia de opiniones y conclusiones. El monarca musulman atiende al principe cautivo con suma cortesia mientras que cree que lo puede cambiar por la ciudad de Ceuta, pero se convierte en un tirano absoluto una vez que don Fernando rechaza el truque que ha arreglado su hermano Enrique. El presente trabajo emplea la teoria de la perspectiva de Daniel Kahneman y Amos Tversky para analizar la transformacion del monarca musulman, con el proposito de encontrar un acercamiento critico que explique un comportamiento aparentemente paradojico o hasta incoherente.
Model-Driven Software Verification

In the classic approach to logic model checking, software verification requires a manually constructed artifact (the model) to be written in the language that is accepted by the model checker. The construction of such a model typically requires good knowledge of both the application being verified and of the capabilities of the model checker that is used for the verification. Inadequate knowledge of the model checker can limit the scope of verification that can be performed; inadequate knowledge of the application can undermine the validity of the verification experiment itself.
The Amistad Case

The improbable voyage of the schooner Amistad and the court proceedings and diplomatic maneuverings that resulted from that voyage form one of the most significant stories of the nineteenth century. When Steven Spielberg chose the Amistad case as the subject of his 1997 feature film, he finally brought it the attention the case had long deserved, but never received. The Amistad case energized the fledgling abolitionist movement and intensified conflict over slavery, prompted a former President to go before the Supreme Court and condemn the policies of a present Administration, soured diplomatic relations between the United States and Spain for a generation, and created a wave of interest in sending Christian missionaries to Africa.
Randomized controlled trial of a Wellness Action Plan to promote healthy diet and activity in pediatric primary care.

Introduction Diet and activity counseling is recommended during all well child visits to promote optimal health and prevent childhood obesity. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a novel Wellness Action Plan aimed at: 1) improving parent recall of diet and activity plans made during routine well child visits 2) increasing adherence with plans, and 3) enhancing parents' identification of their child's weight category.