cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The estimation of cardiac output from blood pressure and pulse wave velocity measurements on subjects with cardiovascular disease: I. Cardiovascular disease other than aortic regurgitation

Abstract In a previous report from this laboratory, 1 it was shown that the stroke volume of the heart may be calculated for normal subjects by means of empirical equations, utilizing data obtained from optical records of arterial pressure, pulse wave velocity, and shape of the pulse, together with assumed volumes for the larger arteries. Estimates of cardiac output which corresponded closely with those obtained by the acetylene method were obtained on subjects of varying size and age and in the presence of physiologic variations in the cardiovascular system induced by meals, 2 hot and cold baths, 3 and change of position. 4 The present report is concerned with the estimation of cardiac output by this method on subjects with disease of the cardiovascular system other than aortic insufficiency. There is an obvious need for a method by which the cardiac output may be ascertained with safety and accuracy on very ill patients. Gasometric methods are often not usable in such cases.
The bias smith tube: Simultaneous optimization of bias voltage and load impedance in power amplifier design

Multiple factors must be considered in power-amplifier design for wireless communications and radar, including bias voltage, input power, and load impedance. The Bias Smith Tube is presented as a three-dimensional extension of the Smith Chart with bias voltage as the vertical axis. It allows simultaneous visualization of nonlinear output characteristic behaviors over transistor bias voltage and load reflection coefficient. Simulated and measured three-dimensional surfaces of constant power-added efficiency (PAE), adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR), and delivered power are shown in the Bias Smith Tube, and a design approach is illustrated that finds the combination of load impedance and bias voltage providing maximum PAE under ACPR and/or delivered power constraints.
Future outlook and psychopathology among psychiatric patients.

The Future Outlook Inventory, Rotter I-E Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Whitaker Index of Schizophrenic Thinking, and MMPI were administered to 109 hospitalized ps...
Prevalence of proteinuria and the development of chronic kidney disease in HIV-infected patients

Aims: HIV-related renal diseases are increasingly prevalent and are associated with proteinuria and rapid progression to end-stage renal failure. Early treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and ACE inhibition may prevent the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD), but studies evaluating the epidemiology of proteinuria and early CKD in HIV-infected patients are lacking. Methods: All consecutive patients at Wishard Memorial Hospital (Indiana University) whose initial HIV documentation occurred from 1990 to 1998, were retrospectively studied using a computerized medical record system. Clinical data were abstracted from time of first HIV documentation through 12/31/2000. The proportions of patients who developed CKD (doubling of serum creatinine from an initial level < 1.5 mg/dl) and who had proteinuria (≥ 1+ protein on the first urine dipstick after HIV documentation) were calculated. Case mix and laboratory variables at the time of HIV documentation were compared between those who did and did not develop CKD and between those who had and did not have initial proteinuria. Results: Of 487 subjects with initially normal renal function, 10 (2% (95% Cl, 1 - 4%)) developed CKD. In univariable analysis, black race, a diagnosis of diabetes or hypertension and proteinuria were all significantly associated with the development of CKD; 89 (29% (95% CI, 24 - 35%)) of 289 evaluable subjects had ≥ 1+ proteinuria on urine analysis. Multivariable regression revealed only older age (OR 1.08 per year increase; 95% CI, 1.03 - 1.14) to be associated with proteinuria. Conclusions: A small, but potentially clinically meaningful proportion of HIV-infected patients develop CKD, and there appears to be a high prevalence of proteinuria on the first urine analysis obtained after HIV documentation.
Ground Truthed Performance of Single and Dual‐Polarized Radar Rain Rates at Large Ranges

Radar accuracy in estimating qualitative precipitation estimation at distances larger than 120 km degrades rapidly because of increased volume coverage and beam height. The performance of the recently upgraded dual‐polarized technology to the NEXRAD network and its capabilities are in need of further examination, as improved rainfall estimates at large distances would allow for significant hydrological modelling improvements. Parameter based methods were applied to radars from St. Louis (KLSX) and Kansas City (KEAX), Missouri, USA, to test the precision and accuracy of both dual‐ and single‐polarized parameter estimations of precipitation at large distances. Hourly aggregated precipitation data from terrestrial‐based tipping buckets provided ground‐truthed reference data. For all KLSX data tested, an R(Z,ZDR) algorithm provided the smallest absolute error (3.7 mm h⁻¹) and root‐mean‐square‐error (45%) values. For most KEAX data, R(ZDR,KDP) and R(KDP) algorithms performed best, with RMSE values of 37%. With approximately 100 h of precipitation data between April and October of 2014, nearly 800 and 400 mm of precipitation were estimated by radar precipitation algorithms but was not observed by terrestrial‐based precipitation gauges for KLSX and KEAX, respectively. Additionally, nearly 30 and 190 mm of measured precipitation observed by gauges were not detected by the radar rainfall estimates from KLSX and KEAX, respectively. Results improve understanding of radar based precipitation estimates from long ranges thereby advancing applications for hydrometeorological modelling and flood forecasting. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reprogrammable CRISPR/Cas9-based system for inducing site-specific DNA methylation

Advances in sequencing technology allow researchers to map genome-wide changes in DNA methylation in development and disease. However, there is a lack of experimental tools to site-specifically manipulate DNA methylation to discern the functional consequences. We developed a CRISPR/Cas9 DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A) fusion to induce DNA methylation at specific loci in the genome. We induced DNA methylation at up to 50% of alleles for targeted CpG dinucleotides. DNA methylation levels peaked within 50 bp of the short guide RNA (sgRNA) binding site and between pairs of sgRNAs. We used our approach to target methylation across the entire CpG island at the CDKN2A promoter, three CpG dinucleotides at the ARF promoter, and the CpG island within the Cdkn1a promoter to decrease expression of the target gene. These tools permit mechanistic studies of DNA methylation and its role in guiding molecular processes that determine cellular fate.
Diagnosis and Disposal of Vibration Fault Caused by Oil Entering Steam Turbine Rotor Center Bore

The vibration of a turbo-generator exceeded the standard when it was loaded. After vibration test,it was diagnosed that the vibration was caused by oil entering steam turbine rotor center bore. After checking and removal of the remaining oil in the center bore, the turbine generator vibration fault was eliminated.
Advances of paleostructure restoration methods for petroliferous basin

The paleostructure restoration for petroliferous basin has a close relationship with the hydrocarbon generation and accumulation,and the existed methods of paleostructure restoration have certain limitations and restrict the exploration and development of oil and gas.This paper analyzed the methods of the paleostructure restoration including pagoda chart,isopach map,balanced section,paleostructure restoration through seismic attributes,paleostructure restoration in three dimensional space and the reconstruction of the same deformable body,and pointed out the application conditions and problems of each method in practice.The recovery of eroded amount,de-fault and de-fold,de-compaction and correction of ancient water depth are inevitable key technologies.Whether we can use the technologies reasonably influences the accuracy of the paleostructure restoration.It also put forward the development trends of paleostructure restoration method,which provides instructions for the paleostructure restoration.
Does Franchising Alleviate Restaurants’ Vulnerability to Economic Conditions?:

Although the implications of adopting a franchising strategy in the restaurant industry have been examined in previous literature, the role of franchising has mostly been viewed as a means of growt...
Adaptive online energy saving for heterogeneous sensor networks

Sensor nodes usually work under dynamic changing, hard-to-predict environments and have limited lifetime. We use a novel adaptive online energy saving (AOES) algorithm to save total energy consumption for heterogeneous sensor networks. Due to the uncertainties in execution time of some tasks and multiple working mode of each node, this paper models each varied execution time as a probabilistic random variable to save energy by selecting the best mode assignment for each node, which is called Mode Assignment with Probability (MAP) problem. We propose an optimal sub-algorithm MAP_Opt to minimize the total energy consumption while satisfying the timing constraint with a guaranteed confidence probability. The experimental results show that our approach achieves significant energy saving than previous work.
Sex and Gender Differences in Body Composition, Lipid Metabolism, and Glucose Regulation

Women have more body fat and less muscle mass than men. Women also have less visceral fat and more subcutaneous fat, particularly in the abdominal and gluteal-femoral regions, than men. These sex-specific differences in body composition are associated with sex-based differences in energy substrate-utilization patterns; that is, females store more lipids and have higher whole-body insulin sensitivity than males, while men tend to oxidize more lipids than females. These patterns are influenced by the unique actions of sex hormones and adipokines in each sex as well as by nutritional status and physical fitness in both sexes. This chapter focuses on sex-specific differences in body fat deposition, lipid metabolism, and glucose homeostasis and their regulation by sex hormones and adipokines, with an emphasis on studies in humans as well as relevant preclinical animal models. Readers will gain a better understanding of how these factors influence sex-specific differences in metabolic disease susceptibility.
Marital Violence: Issues in Conception, Assessment and Intervention

This paper discusses current issues in the literature on marital violence. Issues in three areas are discussed from a research and clinical perspective: conceptions of marital abuse, assessment of marital aggression and issues in treatment. Although there are specific cognitive-behavioural treatments reported in the literature, a position of caution is advocated here. Before intervening there are issues that the therapist should consider carefully. (1) Assessment must first answer whether conjoint marital therapy is appropriate at all. (2) Therapists must define their own position and estimate availability of supporting resources (e.g., legal, medical) when working with abuse. (3) Although all couples should be screened routinely for the nature and frequency of their aggressive patterns, neither the sensitivity nor specificity of currently available screens is yet established. Examples of current approaches to assessing spouse abuse are presented.
Tunable allosteric library of caspase-3 identifies coupling between conserved water molecules and conformational selection

The native ensemble of caspases is described globally by a complex energy landscape where the binding of substrate selects for the active conformation, whereas targeting an allosteric site in the dimer interface selects an inactive conformation that contains disordered active-site loops. Mutations and posttranslational modifications stabilize high-energy inactive conformations, with mostly formed, but distorted, active sites. To examine the interconversion of active and inactive states in the ensemble, we used detection of related solvent positions to analyze 4,995 waters in 15 high-resolution (<2.0 A) structures of wild-type caspase-3, resulting in 450 clusters with the most highly conserved set containing 145 water molecules. The data show that regions of the protein that contact the conserved waters also correspond to sites of posttranslational modifications, suggesting that the conserved waters are an integral part of allosteric mechanisms. To test this hypothesis, we created a library of 19 caspase-3 variants through saturation mutagenesis in a single position of the allosteric site of the dimer interface, and we show that the enzyme activity varies by more than four orders of magnitude. Altogether, our database consists of 37 high-resolution structures of caspase-3 variants, and we demonstrate that the decrease in activity correlates with a loss of conserved water molecules. The data show that the activity of caspase-3 can be fine-tuned through globally desolvating the active conformation within the native ensemble, providing a mechanism for cells to repartition the ensemble and thus fine-tune activity through conformational selection.
Optical tracer size differences allow quantitation of active pumping rate versus Stokes–Einstein diffusion in lymphatic transport

Lymphatic uptake of interstitially administered agents occurs by passive convective–diffusive inflow driven by interstitial concentration and pressure, while the downstream lymphatic transport is facilitated by active propulsive contractions of lymphatic vessel walls. Near-infrared fluorescence imaging in mice was used to measure these central components of lymphatic transport for the first time, using two different-sized molecules––methylene blue (MB) and fluorescence-labeled antibody immunoglobulin G (IgG)-IRDye 680RD. This work confirms the hypothesis that lymphatic passive inflow and active propulsion rates can be separated based upon the relative differences in Stokes–Einstein diffusion coefficient. This coefficient specifically affects the passive-diffusive uptake when the interstitial volume and pressure are constant. Parameters such as mean time-to-peak signal, overall fluorescence signal intensities, and number of active peristaltic pulses, were estimated from temporal imaging data. While the mean time to attain peak signal representative of diffusion-dominated flow in the lymph vessels was 0.6±0.2 min for MB and 8±6 min for IgG, showing a size dependence, the active propulsion rates were 3.4±0.8 pulses/min and 3.3±0.5 pulses/min, respectively, appearing size independent. The propulsion rates for both dyes decreased with clearance from the interstitial injection-site, indicating intrinsic control of the smooth muscles in response to interstitial pressure. This approach to size-comparative agent flow imaging of lymphatic function can enable noninvasive characterization of diseases related to uptake and flow in lymph networks.
Hmong Drinking Practices in the United States

A small literature has begun to document those changes in drinking practices that occur in association with acculturation. One subtopic within this general field has been the appearance of problematic drinking and alcoholism among people who did not previously use alcohol and then were conquered by and/or integrated with a group who did use alcohol and had problems with it. These studies have primarily involved American Indian groups in North America (e.g., Carpenter, 1959; Kunitz & Levy, 1974; MacAndrew & Edgerton, 1969; Stull, 1972; Westermeyer, 1972). A second category of studies has originated in societies that used alcohol or some other intoxicant in traditional times; but massive influence by a colonial or conquering power led to the replacement of traditional drinking by new forms. These reports have mostly come from Oceania (e.g., Gluckman, 1974; Hocking, 1970; Ogan, 1966). In a third category, Heath (1971) and the Honigmanns (1945) among others have studied drinking practices of ethnic groups in contact with each other, along with the new social functions served by these drinking practices when the two groups get together. For example, intergroup drinking can serve to reduce interracial and interclass tensions while facilitating intergroup communication (Heath, 1971; Honigmann & Honigmann, 1945). And fourth, Karayannis and Kelepouris (1967) have examined the changes of drinking practices over time in association with economic and social change.
Abstract 40: Protein Kinase C Regulation of 12-Lipoxygenase-Mediated Human Platelet Activation

Introduction: Platelet activation is important in the regulation of hemostasis and thrombosis. Uncontrolled activation of platelets may lead to arterial thrombosis which is a major cause of myocardial infarction and stroke. Following activation, metabolism of arachidonic acid (AA) by 12-lipoxygenase (12-LOX) may play a significant role in regulating the degree and stability of platelet activation as inhibition of 12-LOX significantly attenuates platelet aggregation in response to various agonists. Protein kinase C (PKC) activation is also known to be an important regulator of platelet activity. Objectives: Using a newly developed selective inhibitor for 12-LOX and a pan-PKC inhibitor, we investigated the role of PKC in 12-LOX-mediated regulation of agonist signaling in the platelet. Methods: To determine the role of PKC within the 12-LOX pathway, a number of biochemical endpoints were measured in human platelets including platelet aggregation, calcium mobilization, integrin activation, and phosphorylation of PKC substrates. Results: Inhibition of 12-LOX or PKC resulted in inhibition of dense granule secretion and attenuation of both aggregation and αIIbβ 3 activation. However, activation of PKC downstream of 12-LOX inhibition rescued agonist-induced aggregation and integrin activation. Additionally, direct PKC activation rescued deficits in phosphorylation of pleckstrin and other PKC substrates mediated by inhibition of 12-LOX. Finally, inhibition of 12-LOX had no effect on PKC-mediated aggregation indicating that 12-LOX is upstream of PKC. Conclusions: These studies support an essential role for PKC downstream of 12-LOX activation in human platelets and suggest 12-LOX as a possible target for anti-platelet therapy.
Integrating Mobile Computers into Informal Science Education

This chapter summarizes research findings from the informal learning and educational technology fields that can guide the integration of mobile computers into informal science education (ISE). Design guidelines to support learners to develop robust science-related understandings enhanced by mobile computing are included for programs, exhibitions, and research held in zoos/aquaria, museums, science centers, nature centers, and parks. The empirically-derived findings are organized around four design recommendations applicable to ISE practice and research: (1) Facilitate heads-up technology use that supports social interactions within informal spaces; (2) Augment the visitors’ experiences with games, scientific narratives, and disciplinary-relevant aspects; (3) Incorporate activities that move the visit away from a passive consumption of facts towards the active generation and use of new knowledge; and (4) Revisit the learning experiences afterwards with the inclusion of bridges to home or community, use of social media, and connections to the same or other ISE sites.
On the origin of high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates

Here we review the results of a comprehensive study of high-temperature superconductivity in cuprates that took over ten years to complete. It required development of the technique, for synthesis as well as for measurements of the key physical properties of the superconducting and the normal states, in order to establish their precise dependence on doping, temperature, and external fields. We use atomic-layer-by-layer molecular beam epitaxy to synthesize atomically perfect thin films and multilayers of high-Tc cuprates. We use the mutual inductance technique refined to measure the absolute value of penetration depth 𝜆 to accuracy better than 1%. We have synthesized and studied over 2,000 cuprate films. The large statistics reveals clear trends and intrinsic properties; this is essential when dealing with complex materials such as cuprates. The findings bring in some great surprises, challenge the commonly held beliefs, rule out many models, and point to an unexpected answer to the question why is Tc so high in cuprates.
Short- and Long-Term Impacts of Neighborhood Built Environment on Self-Rated Health of Older Adults

Background and objectives Proximity to health care, healthy foods, and recreation is linked to improved health in older adults while deterioration of the built environment is a risk factor for poor health. Yet, it remains unclear whether individuals prone to good health self-select into favorable built environments and how long-term exposure to deteriorated environments impacts health. This study uses a longitudinal framework to address these questions. Research design and methods The study analyzes 3,240 Americans aged 45 or older from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics with good self-reported health at baseline, and follows them from 1999 to 2013. At each biennial survey wave, individual data are combined with data on services in the neighborhood of residence (defined as the zip code) from the Economic Census. The analysis overcomes the problem of residential self-selection by employing marginal structural models and inverse probability of treatment weights. Results Logistic regression estimates indicate that long-term exposure to neighborhood built environments that lack health-supportive services (e.g., physicians, pharmacies, grocery stores, senior centers, and recreational facilities) and are commercially declined (i.e., have a high density of liquor stores, pawn shops, and fast food outlets) increases the risk of fair/poor self-rated health compared to more average neighborhoods. Short-term exposure to the same environments as compared to average neighborhoods has no bearing on self-rated health after adjusting for self-selection. Discussion and implications Results highlight the importance of expanding individuals' access to health-supportive services prior to their reaching old age, and expanding access for people unlikely to attain residence in service-dense neighborhoods.
‘Perswade us out of our selves’: Margaret Cavendish’s regulation of rhetoric

ABSTRACTIn works like The World’s Olio, Sociable Letters and Orations of a Divers Sort, Margaret Cavendish aspires to a rhetorical tradition from which she, as a woman, is excluded. However, Cavendish’s aspirations are tempered by her anxiety toward rhetoric and its masculine histories, legacies and protocols, which poses a threat to Cavendish’s insistent self-fashioning as “Margaret the First”, an autonomous figure characterized by an eccentric defiance. Particularly in her Observations Upon Experimental Philosophy to which is Added the Description of a New Blazing World, Cavendish presents fantasies of containment and regulation, in which masculine voices are corrected and silenced by an authoritative female voice. Rooted in emerging theories of political and epistemological unification, Cavendish’s gestures toward difference is tempered by a fear of political instability and a more anxious possibility that it might “perswade [her] out of [herself]”. Cavendish constructs the autonomous and safeguarded s...
Assessment of the Research on Problem Solving and Insight

This literature review explores the extent of research on problem solving and insight, as well as the roles of conscious and unconscious processes. This paper looks at the research on the structure of how insight develops and in general the problem solving process. Next, the type of problems are examined as to which type of problem solving task work best using either conscious or unconscious processes. Then, this paper covers research on probabilistic reasoning as this may be an unconscious process and the role of memory and sleep may have in problem solving and insight. To conclude, there are areas that still need further research but there is strong evidence of an integral role of unconsciousness processes in problem solving.
Inferring, Summarizing and Mining Multi-source Graph Data

Networks naturally capture a host of real-world interactions, from social interactions and email communication to brain activity. However, graphs are not always directly observed, especially in scientific domains, such as neuroscience, where monitored brain activity is often captured as time series. How can we efficiently infer networks from time series data (e.g., model the functional organization of brain activity as a network) and speed up the network construction process to scale up to millions of nodes and thousands of graphs? Further, what can be learned about the structure of the graph data? How can we automatically summarize a network 'conditionally' to its domain, i.e., summarize its most important properties by taking into account the properties of other graphs in that domain (e.g., neuroscience)? In this talk I will present our recent work on scalable algorithms for inferring, summarizing and mining large collections of graph data coming from different sources. I will also discuss applications in various domains, including connectomics and social science.
Facilitating Undergraduate Experimental Game Design: A Pilot Study with Celestial Harmony

Encouraging undergraduate students and other novices to engage with game design experimentation requires the creation of a space where they can research without fear of failure. Creating a safe space requires addressing the class format for both production and grades. We conducted a pilot study with a group in a capstone game design course, seeking to create this safe space for experimentation by framing our roles not as expert instructors but partners in learning, where we offered guidance and mentorship to the groups while retaining student autonomy in much of the game design decisions. In this paper, we identify three key strategies for making students feel more comfortable in an experimental space that is also integrated into a required course. These three strategies are: modifying the grading schema, encouraging rapid prototyping, and providing frequent feedback. Though this guide is focused on experimental game design, many of the lessons we describe could be applied to courses in other fields where experimentation or loosely-defined works are the objective.
Applications of the Fredholm Alternative to Controllability of Functional Differential Equations

In this paper we discuss some aspects of state space controllability of linear neutral functional differential equations of the form $${d \over {dt}}D(t){x_t} = L(t,{x_t}) + B(t)u(t)$$ (1.1) where \(\phi\to L(t,\phi ),\phi\to D(t)\phi \) are linear mappings from the Sobolev space \(W_2^{(1)}([ - h,0],{R^n})\) (see [2], for the explanation of this notation) into R and B(t) is an n X m matrix. The map D is the functional difference operator of Cruz and Hale [5] and \({x_t}\varepsilon W_2^{(1)}([ - h,0],{R^n})\) is defined by \({x_t}(0) = x(t + \theta ), - h \le \theta \le 0\). There has been a considerable amount of work on the controllability of systems (1.1) of retarded type (i.e., (Math) for each ∅) with special assumptions on the mapping ∅ → L(t,∅). This work is adequately reviewed in [1,3]. Little has been done so far on the corresponding questions for neutral processes, although a number of results for special neutral systems are presented in [2,3, 7,9]. In this study we will show how some ideas in [2] can be extended to give a useful means of constructing the attainable set for systems of the form (1.1) when there are no control restraints.
The Rationale for Early Intervention.

Antecedents of the current interest in early intervention are traced, with particular attention to the applicability of early intervention for exceptional children. The rationale presented draws in...
Cultural Accommodations in the Classroom: An Instructional Perspective.

The changing demographic profile of the nation has led many schools to consider how to provide effective instruction in a way that is responsive to childrens' cultural needs. Providing culturally appropriate or culturally responsive instruction is commonly mentioned as a viable alternative. This article examines the issue of culturally responsive instruction in the classroom and considers both the promise as well as potential pitfalls of this approach. First, background on the issue of cultural accommodations is provided, and then an introduction to the issue of culture is discussed, including problematic ways that this notion has been treated with respect to teaching and learning. Next, a brief overview of research in this area is highlighted, and issues with the research base are pointed out. Finally, implications for practice and research are discussed, including suggestions for how work in this area might be advanced.
Control within a virtual environment is correlated to functional outcomes when using a physical prosthesis.

Advances such as targeted muscle reinnervation and pattern recognition control may provide improved control of upper limb myoelectric prostheses, but evaluating user function remains challenging. Virtual environments are cost-effective and immersive tools that are increasingly used to provide practice and evaluate prosthesis control, but the relationship between virtual and physical outcomes—i.e., whether practice in a virtual environment translates to improved physical performance—is not understood. Nine people with transhumeral amputations who previously had targeted muscle reinnervation surgery were fitted with a myoelectric prosthesis comprising a commercially available elbow, wrist, terminal device, and pattern recognition control system. Virtual and physical outcome measures were obtained before and after a 6-week home trial of the prosthesis. After the home trial, subjects showed statistically significant improvements (p < 0.05) in offline classification error, the virtual Target Achievement Control test, and the physical Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure and Box and Blocks Test. A trend toward improvement was also observed in the physical Clothespin Relocation task and Jebsen-Taylor test; however, these changes were not statistically significant. The median completion time in the virtual test correlated strongly and significantly with the Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure (p = 0.05, R = − 0.86), Box and Blocks Test (p = 0.007, R = − 0.82), Jebsen-Taylor Test (p = 0.003, R = 0.87), and the Assessment of Capacity for Myoelectric Control (p = 0.005,R = − 0.85). The classification error performance only had a significant correlation with the Clothespin Relocation Test (p = 0.018, R = .76). In-home practice with a pattern recognition-controlled prosthesis improves functional control, as measured by both virtual and physical outcome measures. However, virtual measures need to be validated and standardized to ensure reliability in a clinical or research setting. This is a registered clinical trial: NCT03097978 .
Bilateral gangrene of fingers in a patient on empagliflozin: First case report

Background Sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors use has been associated with toe amputations and non-healing ulcers and gangrene mostly of lower extremities. There are no case reports about association of Empagliflozin with finger ulcers or gangrene. This is the first case report of Empagliflozin (Jardiance) an SGLT2 inhibitor causing gangrene of fingers and second case in literature about any SGLT2 inhibitor causing gangrene of upper extremity. Case summary A 76-year-old man with type 2 diabetes mellitus sustained minimal trauma to both middle fingers, which started healing. He was started on empagliflozin a week later for management of type 2 diabetes mellitus and started developing gangrene to both middle finger tips along with neuropathic pain which worsened over the course of next four months. Investigations were negative for vascular insufficiency, infection and vasculitis and imaging of hand was normal. Discontinuation of empagliflozin slowed progression of gangrene and caused symptomatic improvement with reduction in neuropathic pain. Conclusion This case report suggests possible association of empagliflozin and finger gangrene and recommends that more research and awareness among clinicians is needed in this area.
Unseen Suffering: Slow Violence and the Phenomenological Structure of Social Problems

Social scientists have severed social problems from the study of framing work in social movements. This article proposes to rejoin problems and framing work via attention to the phenomenological structure of social problems. By describing basic 1) temporal, 2) spatial, and 3) experiential features of social problems, we facilitate comparisons of different kinds of movements across distinct historical periods and regions. The approach is demonstrated via the example of “slow violence” (Nixon 2011)—suffering that develops gradually across time and extends across space as well as disproportionately afflicts disempowered people. A comparison of two very different historical cases—environmental justice advocacy in the wake of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal, India and consumer activism in early twentieth-century America—illustrates how slow violence presents parallel issues with respect to representing the problem and identifying the culprits. On this basis, the argument demonstrates parallels among disparate social movements by including the analysis of the phenomenological structure of social problems into comparative studies of framing work in movements. As such, this article presents analytical possibilities for incorporating experiences of social problems into the study of framing work and social movements.
Structure and function of perforin.

The most striking aspect of lymphocyte-mediated cytolysis is the formation of membrane lesions on target membranes as first described by Dourmashkin et al. (1980). In these early studies, a mixed population of effector cells was used, leaving open the question as to whether the observed membrane lesions were in fact assembled by cytotoxic lymphocytes. Subsequent studies by Podack and Dennert using clonal populations of cytotoxic effector lymphocytes demonstrated that the membrane lesions in fact arose from precursor molecules contained in cloned natural Killer (NK) and T cells (Dennert and Podack 1983; Podack and Dennert 1983) that were transferred to and assembled on target membranes. Similar analyses were carried out by Henkart et al. (1985) using a cytolytic rat tumor cell line of large granular morphology. These results led to the concept that some aspects of lymphocyte-mediated cytolysis are quite similar to the mechanism of complement-mediated cytolysis (for review, see Podack 1986; Podack and Tschopp 1984). Because the effector molecule of cytotoxic lymphocytes seemed to perforate the target membrane, it was designated “perforin 1” or “P1” (Dennert and Podack 1983). The assembly of P1 into transmembrane tubules resembles the formation of complement membrane lesions by polymerization of C9 (Tschopp et al. 1982; Podack and Tschopp 1982b). The membrane lesions formed by effector lymphocytes were therefore designated “poly perforin” or “poly P1.”
What Futures Studies Is, and Is Not

Futures Studies is generally misunderstood from two perspectives. On the one hand, there are those who believe it is, or pretends to be, a predictive science which, if properly applied, strives to foretell with reasonable accuracy what THE future WILL BE.
Highlighting the Ongoing Roads Infrastructure Challenges: Car Ownership Rates in Iraq

Vehicles that use highway facilities have increased rapidly last decades mainly due to increasing of population and also due to industrials development for vehicles. In Iraq, it has been noticed that the car ownership has been increased since the year of 2003. This paper uses real data taken from the Central Statistical Organization of Iraq (CSO) to focus on car ownership in Iraq as a whole as well as focusing on each province separately. The finding of this paper highlighted the ongoing traffic problems due to sharp increase in the number of vehicles and the unusual traffic growth rate. The expected number of vehicles during the next 10 years is estimated and expected to increase from 4.5 million on 2013 to be as minimum as 11 million private cars. This will create a new challenge for Iraq roads infrastructure which must be enhanced significantly so as to cover such increase in traffic. The results suggest that the average car ownership per 1000 people is increased from 58 to 124 from 2003 to 2013. The average car ownership per households has also increased from 0.39 to 0.83 vehicles per households. Significant differences in car ownership rates are found among Kurdistan, middle and south regions in Iraq. The annual traffic growth rate during the last 10 years of 11.5% is found which is much higher than the population growth rate of 3.14%.
APPENDIX 1N Agarose Gel Electrophoresis

This appendix presents a protocol for separating and purifying DNA fragments between 0.5 and 25 kb. A support protocol describes the use of midigels and minigels.
Blacks/African Americans are 5 Times More Likely to Develop COVID-19: Spatial Modeling of New York City ZIP Code-level Testing Results

Introduction The population and spatial characteristics of COVID-19 infections are poorly understood, but there is increasing evidence that in addition to individual clinical factors, demographic, socioeconomic and racial characteristics play an important role. Methods We analyzed positive COVID-19 testing results counts within New York City ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTA) with Bayesian hierarchical Poisson spatial models using integrated nested Laplace approximations. Results Spatial clustering accounted for approximately 32% of the variation in the data, with hot spots in all five boroughs. Spatial risk did not correspond precisely to population-based rates of positive tests. The strongest univariate association with positive testing rates was the proportion of residents in a ZIP Code Tabulation Area with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). For every one unit increase in a scaled standardized measure of COPD in a community, there was an approximate 8-fold increase in the risk of a positive COVID-19 test in a ZCTA (Incidence Density Ratio = 8.2, 95% Credible Interval 3.7, 18.3). The next strongest association was with the proportion of Black and African American residents, for which there was a nearly five-fold increase in the risk of a positive COVID-19 test. (IDR = 4.8, 95% Cr I 2.4, 9.7). Increases in the proportion of residents older than 65, housing density and the proportion of residents with heart disease were each associated with an approximate doubling of risk. In a multivariable model including estimates for age, COPD, heart disease, housing density and Black/African American race, the only variables that remained associated with positive COVID-19 testing with a probability greater than chance were the proportion of Black/African American residents and proportion of older persons. Conclusions The population and spatial patterns of COVID-19 infections differ by race, age, physical environment and health status. Areas with large proportions of Black/African American residents are at markedly higher risk that is not fully explained by characteristics of the environment and pre-existing conditions in the population.
Human glutathione S-transferases

1. Multiple forms of glutathione S-transferase (GST) isoenzymes present in human tissues are dimers of subunits belonging to three distinct gene families namely alpha, mu and pi. Only the subunits within each class hybridize to give active dimers. 2. These subunits are differentially expressed in a tissue-specific manner and the composition of glutathione S-transferases in various tissues differs significantly. 3. Minor GST subunits not belonging to these three classes are also present in some tissues. 4. An ortholog of rat GST 8-8 and mouse mGSTA4-4 is selectively expressed in some human tissues including bladder, brain, heart, liver, and pancreas. This isoenzyme designated as GST 5.8 expresses several fold higher activity towards 4-hydroxy-2,3-trans-nonenal as compared to the routinely used substrate 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene.
Macrophage aggresome-like induced structures are flexible organizing platforms for immune signaling

ABSTRACT Macrophages adopt a pro-inflammatory phenotype in response to environmental challenges in a process that often coincides with the formation of transient cytosolic p62/SQSTM1 inclusions containing ubiquitinated proteins in structures known as aggresome-like induced structures (ALIS). Although described as stress-induced inclusions that accumulate aggregated proteins, little direct evidence supports their hypothesized structural role in the context of immune stimulation. Here, we showed that these structures in primary macrophages are induced by multiple microbialbased ligands, including exposure to cytosolic double-stranded DNA. Rather than accumulating aggregated proteins, we observed that ubiquitinated proteins form a ring-shaped structure around the perimeter of these circular foci. We identified that different microbial stimuli induced the formation of ubiquitin-positive foci with distinct characteristics and we observed selective recruitment of context-dependent immune regulators. Our findings are consistent with a model where these ubiquitin-containing structures act as adaptable organizing centers for innate immune signaling. SUMMARY Charbonneau et al. demonstrate that ubiquitin- and p62-containing cytosolic ring-shaped structures induced by bacterial infections, microbial ligands and cytosolic double-stranded DNA contain context-dependent immune regulators, revealing an important insight on the cellular architecture required to coordinate signal transduction in macrophage.
Mammographically guided noninvasive breast brachytherapy: Preoperative partial breast radiotherapy markedly improves targeting accuracy and decreases irradiated volume.

Abstract Purpose Mammographically based noninvasive image-guided breast brachytherapy (NIBB) partial breast irradiation (PBI) is ideally suited for preoperative treatment. We hypothesize that delivering NIBB PBI to the preoperative tumor volume compared with the postoperative lumpectomy bed would simplify target identification and allow for a reduction in irradiated volume along each orthogonal axis. Methods and Materials Patients with invasive breast cancer treated with NIBB PBI at our institution were identified. Preoperative NIBB treatments were modeled along orthogonal craniocaudal and mediolateral axes with an applicator encompassing the gross lesion plus a 1 cm clinical target volume margin. Preoperative treatment volumes were calculated along each axis using the selected applicator surface area multiplied by the preoperative mammogram separation. The actual applicator size and breast separation from the first fraction of postoperative treatment was used to calculate the postoperative treatment volume. Paired -test was used to compare the preoperative and postoperative treatment separation, area, and volume for each patient. Results Forty-eight patients with Stage I–II breast cancer had imaging and treatment data available for review. Along the axis, the mean preoperative treatment volume was significantly less than the mean postoperative treatment volume (116 cm 3 vs. 204 cm 3, respectively; p Conclusions Based on our retrospective comparison, PBI delivered using NIBB to the preoperative tumor may reduce the volume of healthy breast tissue receiving radiation as compared with NIBB to the postoperative tumor bed.
Avenues of reef-building coral acclimatization in response to rapid environmental change.

ABSTRACT The swiftly changing climate presents a challenge to organismal fitness by creating a mismatch between the current environment and phenotypes adapted to historic conditions. Acclimatory mechanisms may be especially crucial for sessile benthic marine taxa, such as reef-building corals, where climate change factors including ocean acidification and increasing temperature elicit strong negative physiological responses such as bleaching, disease and mortality. Here, within the context of multiple stressors threatening marine organisms, I describe the wealth of metaorganism response mechanisms to rapid ocean change and the ontogenetic shifts in organism interactions with the environment that can generate plasticity. I then highlight the need to consider the interactions of rapid and evolutionary responses in an adaptive (epi)genetic continuum. Building on the definitions of these mechanisms and continuum, I also present how the interplay of the microbiome, epigenetics and parental effects creates additional avenues for rapid acclimatization. To consider under what conditions epigenetic inheritance has a more substantial role, I propose investigation into the offset of timing of gametogenesis leading to different environmental integration times between eggs and sperm and the consequences of this for gamete epigenetic compatibility. Collectively, non-genetic, yet heritable phenotypic plasticity will have significant ecological and evolutionary implications for sessile marine organism persistence under rapid climate change. As such, reef-building corals present ideal and time-sensitive models for further development of our understanding of adaptive feedback loops in a multi-player (epi)genetic continuum.