cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Expanded Medicaid dental coverage under the Affordable Care Act: an analysis of Minnesota emergency department visits

Objectives Hospital emergency departments (EDs) function as the safety net for patients with non-traumatic dental conditions (NTDCs). With the implementation of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) many adults became eligible for dental benefits. We examined the impact of “early” Medicaid expansion in Minnesota on ED visits for NTDCs from 2008 (prereform) to 2014 (postreform). Methods Data from the State Emergency Department Databases for Minnesota were analyzed for 2 years: 2008 and 2014. All individuals who presented to the ED with a dental problem were identified based on the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification with a primary diagnosis of 520.0-529.9. Demographic variables including patient age, gender, and primary payer were examined. Results Between 2008 and 2014 there was a 18.8 percent increase in the number of all non-dental ED visits and a 9.7 percent decrease in the number of NTDC visits. In that time period, young adults 18-26 years old showed a significant decrease (19.3 percent, P < 0.001) in the number of NTDC visits. Conclusions The Minnesota experience suggests that the increase in Medicaid dental benefits through the ACA has significantly decreased NTDC visits, especially among young adults who were eligible for a dependent coverage policy that extends parents' health insurance to age 26. To our knowledge, no previous study has reported on the impact of early Medicaid expansion on the rate of ED use for NTDCs.
Review of the Touring Production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (directed by Jonathan Munby for Shakespeare’s Globe) at the Rose Theater, Lincoln Center Festival 2016 NYC, 21 July 2016 and Chicago Shakespeare Theater on the Navy Pier, 9 August 2016

The performance dynamics at Shakespeare’s Globe, shaped in part by the theatre’s architecture and defined greatly by the agreement that transpires between actors and audiences, along with Shakespea...
Abstract 215: Evaluation of Intracranial Pressure and Cerebral Perfusion Pressure in the Clot Lysis: Evaluating Accelerated Resolution of Intraventricular Hemorrhage Trial (CLEAR III)

Background: Elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) and inadequate cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) are mechanisms causing poor outcomes in spontaneous intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). We character...
Why Do Cumulene Ketones Kink

We employ ab initio and density functional methods to investigate the equilibrium structure and vibrational frequencies of extended cumulene monoketones [CH2═(C═)mO] and diketones [O═(C═)mO], in order to elucidate the electronic origin of the curious “kinked’” spine geometries that are common in such species. The dominant role of symmetry-breaking nO(π)-σ*CC interactions between the p-type lone pair of the terminal oxygen and adjacent unfilled CC antibonding orbital is demonstrated by NBO second-order delocalization energies, Fock matrix deletions, and natural resonance theory (NRT) descriptors, showing the general connection between cumulene kinking and CC bond-breaking reactions that split off CO. Our results provide simple rationalizations for (i) pronounced even/odd alternation patterns in the magnitude or direction of kinking, (ii) the nonexistence of O = C═C═O, (iii) the clear preference for trans-like over cis-like kinks, and (iv) the extreme sensitivity of kinking with respect to weak perturbation...
Construction of the Jacobian matrix for fluorescence diffuse optical tomography using a perturbation Monte Carlo method

Image formation in fluorescence diffuse optical tomography is critically dependent on construction of the Jacobian matrix. For clinical and preclinical applications, because of the highly heterogeneous characteristics of the medium, Monte Carlo methods are frequently adopted to construct the Jacobian. Conventional adjoint Monte Carlo method typically compute the Jacobian by multiplying the photon density fields radiated from the source at the excitation wavelength and from the detector at the emission wavelength. Nonetheless, this approach assumes that the source and the detector in Green's function are reciprocal, which is invalid in general. This assumption is particularly questionable in small animal imaging, where the mean free path length of photons is typically only one order of magnitude smaller than the representative dimension of the medium. We propose a new method that does not rely on the reciprocity of the source and the detector by tracing photon propagation entirely from the source to the detector. This method relies on the perturbation Monte Carlo theory to account for the differences in optical properties of the medium at the excitation and the emission wavelengths. Compared to the adjoint methods, the proposed method is more valid in reflecting the physical process of photon transport in diffusive media and is more efficient in constructing the Jacobian matrix for densely sampled configurations.
Abstract 20263: Improving Symptom Recognition and Symptom Interpretation in Women Who Have Experienced an Acute Coronary Syndrome Event: Results of a Feasibility Study Testing a Nurse-Delivered Educational and Skill Building Intervention

Introduction: The type of symptoms a woman experiences during an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) event influences symptom recognition and interpretation. Women who experience intense, abrupt, “typical” symptoms are more likely to correctly attribute symptoms to a cardiac etiology and seek care in a timely manner. However women with less intense, intermittent, evolving symptoms have greater difficulty recognizing and interpreting symptoms and thus delay seeking medical attention. Purpose: A single group pre- post- test design was used to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a nurse-delivered intervention designed to improve symptom recognition and interpretation in women with recurrent ACS symptoms. Method: Women who had been hospitalized for an ACS event received a personalized education and skill building intervention that was conceptually framed by the investigator’s prior research. Three in-person sessions were followed by 2 phone sessions for reinforcement. Outcomes and acceptability were evaluated at a close out visit approximately 2 months after the index event. Results: All but one woman who was approached about the study agreed to participate. Nine of the 10 women enrolled completed all study sessions and data collection within an average of 55 days. Mean knowledge scores increased by 7.4% as measured by the ACS Response Index . Attitudes towards symptom recognition and help-seeking increased by 2.4 while beliefs towards expectations and actions increased by 3.2. In addition, the women were highly pleased with the intervention with satisfaction scores averaging 1.39 on a 4 point Likert Scale with “1” as “strongly agree” and “4” as “strongly disagree”. All nine women who completed the study stated they would recommend other women join the study. Conclusion: The intervention was feasible and acceptable to the women in the study. Results support further testing and refinement of the intervention in a longitudinal randomized control to determine efficacy and sustainability of the intervention.
Use and impact of herpes zoster prophylaxis in myeloma patients treated with proteasome inhibitors

Among infections myeloma patients acquire, herpes zoster (shingles), due to reactivation of varicella zoster virus, is common [1,2]. Increased susceptibility to zoster has been linked to proteasome...
Abstract 790: Hedgehog Signaling Represents a Novel Therapeutic Target for Coronary Neo-Angiogenesis and Is Essential for Embryonic Coronary Development and Maintenance of the Coronary Vasculature in the Adult

Myocardial infarction and ischemic heart disease are the leading causes of death in the industrial world. Therapies employed for treating these diseases are aimed at promoting increased blood flow to cardiac tissue. In addition to current surgical and interventional approaches, pharmacological induction of new coronary growth has recently been explored, however, clinical trials with known pro-angiogenic factors have been disappointing. To identify novel therapeutic targets we have examined signaling pathways that govern the formation of the coronary vascular system during embryonic development. Using a combination of genetically engineered mice and an organ culture system we identified a novel signaling pathway mediated by Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) and Hedgehog (HH) signaling that is essential for the development of the coronary vasculature. We show that FGF signals promote coronary growth indirectly by signaling to the cardiomyoblast through redundant function of FGF receptors 1 and 2. Myocardial FGF signaling triggers a wave of HH activation that is essential for Vegf-A, Vegf-B, Vegf-C and Ang2 expression. We further demonstrate that activation of HH signaling is sufficient to promote coronary vessel growth and to rescue coronary defects due to loss of FGF signaling. Moreover, disruption of HH signaling results in failure of coronary artery and vein development and loss of pro-angiogenic factor expression. These studies implicate HH signaling as a master regulator of coronary vascular development and as a potential therapeutic target for coronary neo-angiogenesis. Consistent with this, activation of HH signaling in the adult heart leads to coordinated growth of multiple coronary vessel types and protects from myocardial ischemia. Moreover, we demonstrate that HH signaling is essential for the maintenance of the coronary vasculature under physiologic conditions and is critical for the response to cardiac ischemia.
Glucocorticoids inhibit notch target gene expression in osteoblasts.

Glucocorticoids in excess suppress osteoblast function and cause osteoporosis. We demonstrated that cortisol induces the expression of selected Notch receptors in osteoblasts, revealing a potential mechanism for the skeletal effects of glucocorticoids. However, it remains to be determined whether increased expression of Notch receptors results into enhanced signaling. Following activation of Notch, its intracellular domain (NICD) binds to the DNA-associated protein recombination signal binding protein for immunoglobulin kappa-J region (RBPJ) and induces the expression of target genes such as Hey1, Hey2, and HeyL. To determine whether glucocorticoids modulate Notch signaling in the skeleton, 1 month old wild-type mice were administered prednisolone or placebo and sacrificed after 72 h, and gene expression was analyzed in femoral bone. Prednisolone induced Tsc22d3, a glucocorticoid target gene, and suppressed Hey1 and HeyL expression, which is indicative of inhibited Notch receptor activity or direct Hey downregulation. To determine the mechanisms of Hey suppression, wild-type osteoblast-enriched cells were seeded on the Notch cognate ligand Delta-like (DLL)1 or transfected with constructs expressing the NOTCH1 NICD fragment and exposed to either cortisol or vehicle. Cortisol opposed the induction of mRNA and heterogeneous nuclear RNA for Hey1, Hey2, and HeyL by DLL1, but had no effect on mRNA stability, indicating that glucocorticoids inhibit Hey expression by transcriptional mechanisms. Transactivation studies and electrophoretic mobility shift assays revealed that cortisol did not oppose RBPJ-mediated transcription or RBPJ/DNA interactions, respectively. In conclusion, glucocorticoids suppress expression of Hey1, Hey2, and HeyL in osteoblasts by RBPJ-independent transcriptional mechanisms.
Improved quasi-static twin-fiber transverse compression of several high-performance fibers:

The method of determining the quasi-static transverse compressive response of several high-performance polymer fibers was improved upon from a previous twin-fiber transverse compression setup in order to detect small initial high compliance signals while maintaining consistent diametral compression. Two fibers were laid parallel between two polished tool steel platens, and the fibers were subsequently compressed using a piezo-electric actuator at quasi-static rates. The new experimental setup ensures that the compression cycle begins when extremely small load signals are detected so that initial elastic transverse moduli may be more accurately measured. Nominal stress–strain curves were obtained for several types of high-performance fibers. The results show good agreement with previously obtained measurements. S-glass fibers exhibited a vastly different mechanical response compared to the polymer fibers.
What Happens to Children Whose Parents Commit Suicide

Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death among 25- to 49-year-olds in the United States, and each year roughly 30,000 children are victims of parental suicide in the United States (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005).1 We report a case of a young child who lost both of his parents to suicide.
Mechanotransduction and the Myogenic Response in Diabetes

Tissues of the body possess intrinsic control mechanisms for regulating hemodynamics at the local level. These mechanisms largely occur independently of innervation and circulating factors and allow blood flow to be matched to local metabolic requirements. In the case of the myogenic response, or pressure-induced vasoconstriction, this mechanism is dependent on the cells of the vessel wall detecting and responding to a mechanical stimulus. This mechanical event then must be conveyed across the smooth muscle cell membrane to the contractile proteins to affect an appropriate contractile response. Diabetes and related metabolic disorders that lead to hyperglycemia may interfere with this process by either alterations to the vessel wall (for example, remodeling events, increased stiffness, decreased distensibility) or impairment of signal transduction mechanisms (including ion channel function, Ca2+ handling and contractile protein interactions). This chapter reviews the cellular mechanisms underlying myogenic contraction and how these may be altered in hyperglycemic states.
Goodness-of-Fit Tests for Pareto Distribution

The Pareto distribution can serve to model several types of datasets, especially those arising in the insurance industry. In this chapter, we present methods to test the hypothesis that the underlying data come from a Pareto distribution. The tests presented for both the type I and type II Pareto distributions are based on the regression test of Brain and Shapiro (1983) for the exponential distribution. Power comparisons of the tests are carried out via simulations.
QPS TRANSPORT PHYSICS FLEXIBILITY USING VARIABLE COIL CURRENTS

An important goal for a stellarator design is to incorporate enough flexibility to experimentally test a range of physics issues. The proposed Quasi-Poloidal Stellarator device achieves this by allowing independently variable currents in the modular, vertical field, and toroidal coil sets. Numerical optimizations and modeling show that this can allow significant tests of neoclassical cross-field transport rates, reduced poloidal flow damping (relative to the tokamak), and magnetic island width control. This flexibility is achieved in a unique, very low aspect ratio (R 0 / = 2.7) two-field period (racetrack-shaped) configuration that generates rotational transform from a combination of internal plasma currents and external shaping.
Excavation of a Vietnam-era aircraft crash site: use of cross-cultural understanding and dual forensic recovery methods.

The excavation of a 23 year-old aircraft crash site in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the transformational processes preceding its excavation in 1995-1996 are detailed. The history of the site involved an initial catastrophic event, with subsequent reclamation and disturbances. Ultimately, a recovery effort by a joint U.S. team from the Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii (CILHI). Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA) and a Socialist Republic of Vietnam contingent yielded numerous human remains, personal effects, and life-support items from the crash site. This case study should be of interest to the increasing number of forensic anthropologists who carry out work in international contexts. The application of forensic anthropology in human rights abuse cases, for example in Rwanda, Argentina, and Bosnia, provide examples of such cross-cultural endeavors. Cultural factors act in the development of a site and should not be overlooked as significant taphonomic agents. The approach that an indigenous person takes to a crash site or mass grave may be quite different from our own approach, involving Western science. Holland, Anderson, and Mann (I) describe the postmortem alternation of exhumed and/or curated bone caused by indigenous South-east Asian peoples; the examples provided by these authors demonstrate how culture affects the treatment of what we would call "evidence." The international nature of an incident can add complicating "filters" to the reconstruction of events, since reclamation responses by indigenous people vary according to their interpretations of the scene. An investigating forensic anthropologist needs to understand the emic viewpoint (the insider's view), as cultural anthropologists do, when attempting to recover and reconstruct such an incident. In response to the cultural (and natural) taphonomic agents at work on such a site, the use of dual forensic recovery methods--simultaneously treating the investigation scene like an aircraft crash and a clandestine burial site--is advised. Employing a flexible set of methods will allow for maximal recovery of evidence.
SCREENING CONIFERS FOR RESISTANCE TO Gremmeniella abietina

Seed from 125 seed sources were grown as greenhouse container stock. Seedlings were inoculated with either the North American or European strain of G. abietina. Inoculum was supplied as infected branches on a screen placed over trees. Inoculation techniques resulted in infection levels up to 100%. Results have produced susceptibility ratings for most conifers grown in North America. Variation in resistance by seed sources was found in Scots pine.
Hegel and Peirce

An essay on Hegel and Peirce might compare their philosophies without raising the question of influence; or it might inquire what influence, if any, Hegel exerted on Peirce, without carrying comparison beyond the points of discernible influence; or it might assess Peirce’s accuracy, fairness and penetration as an interpreter and critic of Hegel; or it might simply assemble some of the biographical information that one would wish to have in hand before attempting any of those more philosophical tasks. That is, it might report what Peirce had to say of Hegel from time to time in the course of his own philosophical development — what Hegelian enterprises he thought of himself as resuming and continuing, what elements or features of Hegel’s philosophy he esteemed or disesteemed as he understood them, and what elements or features of his own philosophy he viewed as roughly equivalent to or corrective of them. It is an essay of this last and most modest kind that I offer here, because that is as far as I have got.
Isolated Dorsal Thoracic Neuroenteric Cyst with Spinal Cord Compression: Case Reports in Pediatrics.

Background Neuroenteric cysts are rare developmental anomalies of the central nervous system that account for approximately 0.7%–1.3% of all spinal cord lesions. The majority of spinal neuroenteric cysts are located ventral to the spinal cord. Dorsally located neuroenteric cysts are rare and are almost always associated with other spinal anomalies. Isolated dorsal spinal neuroenteric cysts, without other associated spinal anomalies, are extremely rare. These lesions can be mistaken for the more commonly encountered spinal cysts (e.g., arachnoid cysts, ependymal cysts, cystic teratomas). Case Description We present the first pediatric case of a 9-month-old boy with an isolated dorsal thoracic neuroenteric cyst and cord compression that underwent surgical resection. The patient tolerated the procedure well and remained neurologically stable after surgery. Pathology was consistent with a neuroenteric cyst. Complete resection was not achieved at the time of surgery. In retrospect, knowing the lesion is a neuroenteric cyst, a more aggressive approach aiming for a complete surgical resection should have been undertaken. To our knowledge, only 2 adult cases of isolated dorsal spinal neuroenteric cysts have been reported in the literature. Conclusions Neuroenteric cysts can occur dorsal to the spinal cord without any associated spinal anomalies. The gold standard treatment for neuroenteric cysts is surgical resection, and the goal of surgery is complete resection.
Increased sensitivity with automated validation of XL-MS cleavable peptide crosslinks.

Motivation Peptides crosslinked with cleavable chemical crosslinkers are identified with mass spectrometry by independent database search of spectra associated with the two linked peptides. A major challenge is to combine together the evidence of the two peptides into an overall assessment of the two-peptide crosslink. Results Here, we describe software that models crosslink specific information to automatically validate XL-MS cleavable peptide crosslinks. Using a dataset of crosslinked protein mixtures, we demonstrate that it computes accurate and highly discriminating probabilities, enabling as many as 75% more identifications than was previously possible using only search scores and a predictable false discovery rate. Availability and implementation XLinkProphet software is freely available on the web at http://brucelab.gs.washington.edu. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A study on the effects of the aggregate size on erosion by runoff and splash under simulated rainfall conditions.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different sized aggregates on runoff, sediment by runoff, and by splash with simulated rainfall. A soil sample which is known and well aggregated, was taken from the Agriculture Faculty’s Research Field of Ege University, and passed through different sieves (25-20 mm, 20-16 mm, 16-10 mm, 10-5 mm, 5-2 mm, 2-1 mm, and 1-0.2 mm) to establish 7 grouping. The sieved soil samples were placed in the erosion trays (30x30 cm), and simulated rainfall (65 mm h-1) was applied to the trays for 1 hour. According to the results of the simulated rainfall experiments, the aggregate sizes were found very effective on runoff (p= 0.0001; r= -0.420**), sediment by runoff (p= 0.0001; r= -0.980**), water resistance aggregate stability (p = 0.0001; r= 0.840**), mean weight diameter (p= 0.041; r= 0.550*), and aggregate index (p= 0.0001; r= 0.867**), significantly. No correlation was found between the aggregate sizes and sediment by splash linearly but polynomial relationships were found between the aggregate sizes and sediment by splash in the study.
Introduction to the Special Issue: Strange Bedfellows: Queer Negotiations with Homophobia in the Arts, Politics, and Religion

Strange Bedfellows came into focus in the fall of 1999, at about the time of the beginning of the U.S. presidential primary campaigns. In their primary debates, Democratic Party presidential hopefuls Al Gore and Bill Bradley made it clear that same-sex issues needed to be addressed as part of their party’s platform. How did candidates feel about same-sex marriage, domestic partnership, and anti-discrimination and hate-crimes legislation? With the Vermont “gay marriage” initiative serving as an actual contemporary case in point, these issues received a great deal of mainstream media coverage, and I began to wonder about the cultural implications of this kind of attention. What was one to make of the status quo’s cultural embrace of some lesbian and gay groups? Did these newly publicly attended-to bonds hold out the promise of sexual and gender liberation as a right guaranteed by the state, or were these bonds an attempt to police and constrain queer activity? In effect, was this media attention to be read as an invitation for queers to assimilate, and if so, did this invitation augur a politics of inclusion or division, visibility or effacement? I also began to wonder about the effects of this seemingly “open” climate on cultural domains other than politics, such as literature, art, and religion. How responsive could or would regulating systems in these areas be to queer presences? How, in turn, would institutionalized homophobia represent itself: would it announce itself as the vanguard of cultural norms and propriety; perhaps it would appear in drag? Further, was this particular cultural moment to be read in historical isolation? Were there other occasions in the past when queers had received comparable overtures or had met with a comparable rhetoric of tolerance? In this
HIV portends a poor prognosis in myelodysplastic syndromes.

AbstractEven though HIV is associated with worse prognosis in many malignancies, the clinical course of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in HIV + patients has not been well studied. Determining the c...
Utilization pattern and service settings of palliative care for patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND Although the benefits of palliative care for patients with cancer has been well established, the current utilization pattern remains largely unknown. The authors investigated the temporal trends and service settings of palliative care among Medicare beneficiaries with newly diagnosed, metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS In total, 69,414 patients with NSCLC were identified between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2013 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare-linked database. Temporal trends in palliative care use and the temporal shift in palliative care service settings were assessed using the Cochran-Armitage test. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify predictors for the receipt of palliative care, controlling for patients' sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. RESULTS Fifteen percent (10,359) of patients with NSCLC received palliative care within 1 year of a diagnosis of metastatic NSCLC. The proportion of beneficiaries receiving palliative care increased from 3.6% in 2001 to 31.9% in 2013 (P for trend <.001). Multivariable analyses demonstrated that receipt of palliative care varied significantly by sex, race, and region. Most patients (53.5%) had their first receipt of palliative care in a hospital. Less than one-third of patients (27.6%) received palliative care in an outpatient setting or received palliative care in more than 1 service setting (26.3%) in 2013. CONCLUSIONS The number of patients with metastatic NSCLC receiving palliative care has increased substantially. Although the hospital-based program is still the main form of palliative care delivery, more patients in recent years have received palliative care services in multiple locations.
Percentage of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes after chemoradiation therapy for locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a biomarker for pathological response rates and cancer-specific survival?

Both the innate and adaptive immune systems play a central role in the surveillance and control of neoplasia. A source of much recent attention, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are a population of T-cells, which have a greater degree of immunological reactivity against neoplastic cells, as compared with circulating (non-tumor infiltrating) lymphocytes. Given the key role that they play, TILs have been explored as prognostic biomarkers for a number of solid organ malignancies, including breast cancer (1), head and neck cancers (2), melanoma (3), colorectal cancer (4), non-small cell lung cancer (5), malignant pleural mesothelioma (6), and esophageal cancer (7).
β-Caryophyllene, a dietary terpenoid, inhibits nicotine taking and nicotine seeking in rodents.

Background and purpose β-Caryophyllene (BCP) is a plant-derived terpenoid used as a food additive for many decades. Recent studies indicate that BCP is a cannabinoid CB2 receptor agonist with medical benefits for a number of human diseases. However, little is known about its therapeutic potential for drug abuse and addiction. Experiment approach We used pharmacological, transgenic, and optogenetic approaches to systematically evaluate the effects of BCP on nicotine-taking and nicotine-seeking behaviour in animal models of drug self-administration, electrical, and optical brain-stimulation reward. Key results Systemic administration of BCP dose-dependently inhibited nicotine self-administration and motivation for nicotine seeking in rats and mice. The reduction in nicotine self-administration was blocked by AM630, a selective CB2 receptor antagonist, but not by AM251, a selective CB1 receptor antagonist, suggesting involvement of a CB2 receptor mechanism. Genetic deletion of CB2 receptors in mice blocked the reduction in nicotine self-administration produced only by low doses, but not by high doses, of BCP, suggesting involvement of both CB2 and non-CB2 receptor mechanisms. Furthermore, in the intracranial self-stimulation paradigm, BCP attenuated electrical brain-stimulation reward and nicotine-enhanced brain-stimulation reward in rats. Lastly, BCP also attenuated brain-stimulation reward maintained by optogenetic stimulation of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area in DAT-cre mice, suggesting the involvement of a dopamine-dependent mechanism in BCP's action. Conclusions and implications The present findings suggest that BCP has significant anti-nicotine effects via both CB2 and non-CB2 receptor mechanisms and, therefore, deserves further study as a potential new pharmacotherapy for cigarette smoking cessation.
Growth of Green Microalgae Strain in Torus Photobioreactor

In this work, the growth of a green microalgae strain in a referenced torus photobioreactor equipped with a data acquisition system was studied. The monitoring of the microalgal growth was carried out by the measurement of optical density, cell concentration and pH measurement. The culture was carried out under fixed operating conditions, as temperature, gaz flowrate and light intensity. The obtained specific growth rate during exponential phase of cultivation was 0.167 d-1. After a continuous photoperiod of two weeks, the biomass was valorized through its lipids content (an average value of 20%). The obtained results reveal the presence of a wide variety of fatty acids that are essential for conversion into biodiesel. Also, a better understanding of the behavior of the studied microalgae during its culture in torus photobioreactor was provided.
MECHANISM OF ANTIHYPERTENSIVE EFFECT OF PROPRANOLOL

Treatment of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with 1-propranolol (P) caused reduction in adrenal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and systolic blood pressure (B.P.) and antagonized reserpine induction of adrenal TH. Plasma dopamine B-hydroxylase (DBH) levels fell prior to the fall in B.P. Decreased sympathetic nerve activity and reduced synthesis of NE would diminish vascular tone and lead to a fall in B. P. This may explain the anti-hypertensive effect of P.
Testing a Model of Speaking up in Nursing.

Background Speaking up is using one's voice to alert those in authority of concerns. Failure to speak up leads to moral distress; speaking up leads to moral courage. Objective The purpose of this study was to explore the influences of organizational culture, personal culture, and workforce generation on speaking-up behaviors among RNs. Methods We distributed a cross-sectional electronic survey to several thousand RNs, resulting in 303 usable surveys. Results Organizational culture was a strong predictor of speaking-up behaviors; speaking up partially mediated the relationship between organizational culture and moral distress but was not a mediator between organizational culture and moral courage. Workforce generation did not explain speaking up. Conclusions The role of organizational culture supports efforts toward healthy work environments. Because not speaking up is related to moral distress, efforts must be escalated to empower nurses to use their voices.
A network of grassroots reserves protects tropical river fish diversity

Intensive fisheries have reduced fish biodiversity and abundance in aquatic ecosystems worldwide1-3. 'No-take' marine reserves have become a cornerstone of marine ecosystem-based fisheries management4-6, and their benefits for adjacent fisheries are maximized when reserve design fosters synergies among nearby reserves7,8. The applicability of this marine reserve network paradigm to riverine biodiversity and inland fisheries remains largely untested. Here we show that reserves created by 23 separate communities in Thailand's Salween basin have markedly increased fish richness, density, and biomass relative to adjacent areas. Moreover, key correlates of the success of protected areas in marine ecosystems-particularly reserve size and enforcement-predict differences in ecological benefits among riverine reserves. Occupying a central position in the network confers additional gains, underscoring the importance of connectivity within dendritic river systems. The emergence of network-based benefits is remarkable given that these reserves are young (less than 25 years old) and arose without formal coordination. Freshwater ecosystems are under-represented among the world's protected areas9, and our findings suggest that networks of small, community-based reserves offer a generalizable model for protecting biodiversity and augmenting fisheries as the world's rivers face unprecedented pressures10,11.
Body composition measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis is a viable alternative to magnetic resonance imaging in children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

OBJECTIVE To determine the relationship between bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) obtained measures of body composition in children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). METHODS Youth with obesity and NAFLD who had BIA and abdominal MRI testing were included. BIA measured skeletal muscle mass (SMM), appendicular lean mass (ALM), trunk muscle mass (TMM), and percent body fat. MRI measured total psoas muscle surface area (tPMSA) and fat compartments. Univariate analysis described the relationship between BIA- and MRI-derived measurements. Multivariable regression analyses built a model with body composition measured via MRI. RESULTS 115 patients (82 (71%) male, 38 (33%) Hispanic, median age14 years) were included. There was a strong correlation between tPMSA and SMM, ALM, and TMM (correlation coefficients [CCs]: 0.701, 0.689, 0.708, respectively; all P < .001). Higher SMM, ALM, and TMM were associated with higher tPMSA. This association remained after controlling for age, sex, ethnicity, type 2 diabetes mellitus status, and body mass index z-score. Total fat mass by BIA and MRI-determined total, subcutaneous, and intraperitoneal fat area correlated significantly (CCs: 0.813, 0.808, 0.515, respectively; all P < .001). In univariate regression, higher total fat mass by BIA was associated with increased total fat area and increased fat in each of the four regions measured by MRI. After controlling for confounders, the association between total fat mass by BIA and total fat area by MRI persisted. CONCLUSIONS BIA measures of muscle and fat mass correlate strongly with MRI measures of tPMSA and fat areas in children with obesity and NAFLD.
A recurrent neural network framework with an adaptive training strategy for long-time predictive modeling of nonlinear dynamical systems

Abstract Long-time prediction of future states has been challenging in data-driven modeling of nonlinear dynamical systems as the prediction error accumulates over the prediction horizon. One of the potential reasons is the lack of robustness for the data-driven model. In this study we present a recurrent neural network (RNN) framework with an adaptive training strategy to model nonlinear dynamical systems from data for long-time prediction of future states. Specifically, we exploit the recurrence of network to improve the model robustness by explicitly incorporating the multi-step prediction with error accumulation into model training. Furthermore, we introduce an adaptive training strategy, where the prediction horizon gradually increases from a small value to facilitate the RNN training. We demonstrate the proposed approach on a family of Duffing oscillators, including autonomous and non-autonomous systems with various attractors, and discuss its advantages and limitations.
Innate immune detection of lipid oxidation as a threat assessment strategy

Oxidized phospholipids that result from tissue injury operate as immunomodulatory signals that, depending on the context, lead to proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory responses. In this Perspective, we posit that cells of the innate immune system use the presence of oxidized lipids as a generic indicator of threat to the host. Similarly to how pathogen-associated molecular patterns represent general indicators of microbial encounters, oxidized lipids may be the most common molecular feature of an injured tissue. Therefore, microbial detection in the absence of oxidized lipids may indicate encounters with avirulent microorganisms. By contrast, microbial detection and detection of oxidized lipids would indicate encounters with replicating microorganisms, thereby inducing a heightened inflammatory and defensive response. Here we review recent studies supporting this idea. We focus on the biology of oxidized phosphocholines, which have emerged as context-dependent regulators of immunity. We highlight emerging functions of oxidized phosphocholines in dendritic cells and macrophages that drive unique inflammasome and migratory activities and hypermetabolic states. We describe how these lipids hyperactivate dendritic cells to stimulate antitumour CD8+ T cell immunity and discuss the potential implications of the newly described activities of oxidized phosphocholines in host defence. In this Perspective, the authors propose that innate immune detection of oxidized phospholipids, which result from tissue injury, allows the immune system to assess the degree of danger; the detection of oxidized phosphocholines in the presence of pathogen-associated molecular patterns or damage-associated molecular patterns triggers a heightened immune response.
Integer Programming \(\sum c_j\delta _j, \delta _j \in \ \{0,1\} \ \ \forall j\)

Integer Programming (IP) is one of the most useful optimization procedures because of its practical nature, however, it is also one of the most complex to solve because of the nonlinear, non-convex effects of the integer decision variables. Most of the IP problems for large scale instances are at least \(\mathscr{NP-}\) Complete for the decision problem, and many are \(\mathscr{NP-}\) Hard for the optimization part, so that getting optimal solutions is often out of the question.
Cortactin is required for lamellipodia retraction in MTLn3 Breast Cancer Cells

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 1810 Changes in the actin cytoskeleton are mediated by a variety of actin-binding proteins and are essential for many cellular processes, including migration, invasion, and adhesion. Cortactin is an F-actin binding protein and Src family kinase substrate that is enriched in lamellipodia and is required for tumor cell motility and invasion. Cortactin functions to stimulate Arp2/3-mediated actin polymerization necessary for lamellipodia formation and extension, and serves to stabilize Arp2/3-F-actin networks. In this study we have investigated the role of cortactin in lamellipodia dynamics using MTLn3 breast adenocarcinoma cells, a model system for studying lamellipodia. Lamellipodia formation in MTLn3 cells stimulated with EGF was monitored using time-lapse video microscopy. MTLn3 cells expressing control siRNA displayed normal lamellipodial dynamics, with maximal extension at about 3-4 minutes, and retraction by 10 minutes. In contrast, MTLn3 cells transfected with cortactin siRNA exhibited normal lamellipodia extension, but were dramatically impaired in their ability to retract, resulting in increased lamellipod persistence. Rescue of cortactin-silenced cells by expression of GFP-tagged human cortactin partially restored the ability of these cells to retract the lamellae. Our data suggest that cortactin serves to regulate lamellipodia retraction, an essential requirement for productive cell motility. The role of cortactin tyrosine phosphorylation on lamellipodia dynamics and the impact of cortactin on the architecture of the lamellipodia actin cytoskeleton are currently under investigation.
Psychological Resilience, Affective Mechanisms and Symptom Burden in a Tertiary‐care Sample of Patients with Fibromyalgia

Research demonstrates that patients with fibromyalgia who have higher positive and lower negative affect have lower symptom burden. Affect has been shown to be associated with resilience. This study examined the relationship between affect, resilience and fibromyalgia symptom burden in a clinical sample of patients with fibromyalgia. We hypothesized that (a) positive and negative affect would be associated with fibromyalgia symptom burden; (b) resilience would be associated with positive and negative affect; (c) resilience would be associated with fibromyalgia symptom burden; and (d) the connection between resilience and fibromyalgia symptom burden would be mediated by both positive and negative affect. A sample of 858 patients with fibromyalgia completed questionnaires. Mediation modelling revealed statistically significant direct effects of resilience on fibromyalgia symptom burden (β = −0.10, P < 0.001) and statistically significant indirect effects of resilience on fibromyalgia symptom burden through affect (β = −0.36, P < 0.001), suggesting that both resilience and affect influence fibromyalgia symptom burden. Our results suggest that improving affect through resiliency training could be studied as a modality for improving fibromyalgia symptom burden. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthesis, structure elucidation and antibacterial activity of 6-ethyl-6,9-dihydro-9-oxopyrazolo[3,4-f]quinoline-8-carboxylic acid

The preparation, structure elucidation and antibacterial activity of 6-ethyl-6,9-dihydro-9-oxopyrazolo-[3,4-f]quinoline-8-carboxylic acid are reported.
Increased spontaneous retinal ganglion cell activity in rd mice after neural retinal transplantation.

PURPOSE To study the functional success of neural retinal transplantation by means of retinal surface ganglion cell recordings. METHODS Eight-week-old C3H/HeJ (rd/rd) retinal degeneration mice received transplants (subretinal) in one eye only of neural retinal tissue isolated from newborn normal C57/BL6J mice. Four weeks after transplantation, ganglion cell responses were recorded directly from the retinal surface over the transplant, with a differential bipolar surface electrode. Measurements were performed, both with and without light stimulation. Similar recordings were performed in nontransplant areas of the transplant-recipient eyes, and in age-matched sham-treated and untreated control eyes. After the recordings, the eyes were processed for light and transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS Histologic examination showed that in some areas, transplanted cells were organized into small sheets and differentiated into photoreceptors with outer segments in intimate contact with the host RPE. No light-driven ganglion cell responses were recordable from the transplant-recipient or control eyes. However, the spontaneous ganglion cell activity was higher in the transplant areas (mean: 10.8 +/-12.0 spikes/1.6 sec) compared with nontransplant areas of these recipient eyes (mean: 2.4 +/- 5.7spikes/1.6 sec; P < 0.001), sham-treated eyes (mean: 2.5 +/- 4.8 spikes/1.6 sec; P < 0.001), and the untreated control eyes (mean: 2.2 +/- 4.4 spikes/1.6 sec; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Subretinal transplantation of neural retinal tissue results in a local increase of spontaneous ganglion cell activity. The increased activity may be due to the release of neurochemically active substances as a result of the presence of the transplant. Although light responses were not recordable, the technique of retinal surface ganglion cell recording may be useful for assessing the functional success of transplantation.
The third national climate assessment’s coastal chapter: the making of an integrated assessment

Coastal areas are on the front lines of the impacts of climate change. The immediate impacts of temperature, precipitation and sea-level change affect rich but already threatened ecological systems and the most populated, highly developed, and economically vibrant regions of human activity on the planet. The specific vulnerabilities, impacts and adaptation options and activities vary greatly across the coastal areas of the US. The charge given to the coastal chapter team of the third US National Climate Assessment (NCA3, released in May 2014) was to discern the key vulnerabilities and most important cross-cutting concerns across the extensive coastline of the US. This paper is a reflection on what the coastal chapter team accomplished and how it was done (including author selection, staff support, technical inputs, the chapter development process, within- and cross-chapter integration, the review process, the delivery and high-impact release, the timeline of key assessment steps, and evaluation of the chapter development process). It concludes with eight lessons that might inform the activities of future collaborative author teams writing transdisciplinary, integrated assessment reports.
MIMO with limited feedback of channel state information

Signaling for optimum mutual information with limited feedback of channel state information is studied for the case when multiple transmit and receive antenna arrays are used to form multiple input multiple output channels. A simple mean square error based approach for finding near optimum signaling is suggested and its performance studied. Prior to limiting, the channel estimates are assumed perfect and delay in obtaining these estimates is ignored to focus on the effects of limited feedback.
The apparent template activity of RNA from developing wings of the cecropia silkmoth

Abstract 1. 1. RNA from wing epidermis of the cecropia silkmoth stimulated amino acid incorporation in ribosomal systems prepared from Escherichia coli . Most of the stimulatory activity was found in a small fraction of the total RNA which was rapidly labeled and extracted with phenol and sodium dodecyl sulfate at 45°. 2. 2. A comparison of the effects of cecropia RNA with those of f2 viral RNA in the E. coli ribosomal system showed differences which suggest that part, at least, of the stimulation obtained with the cecropia RNA may be due to a “non-template” mechanism. While it is still possible that template activity may be responsible for much of the stimulation, the results indicate that assay with bacterial ribosomes cannot be assumed to give a quantitative measure of animal messenger RNA. 3. 3. RNA from different stages of early wing development was assayed. There appear to be two phases of accumulation of stimulatory RNA: during the first two days of development and between days 7 and 9, with decreasing activity at days 3–5. Neither period of activity coincided with one in which total RNA was rising most rapidly but they do correlate with other biochemical and morphological changes. Following integumental injury, which enhances RNA synthesis, there is no appreciable change in the level of stimulatory RNA. The stimulatory RNA appears therefore to have developmental significance and, taken together with its other properties, this strongly suggests that it may be messenger RNA.
Vortices in thin ferromagnetic films and the skyrmion number

We point out that a peculiar annihilation of a vortex-antivortex pair observed numerically by Hertel and Schneider [Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 177202 (2006)] represents the formation and a subsequent decay of a skyrmion.