cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Poetic Inspiration and the Renewal of Life: Le Songe de Vaux

In musing upon the nature of time and space in literature and the fine arts in periods of the Baroque and Classicism, we note mankind’s drive to explore, our natural limitations notwithstanding. What is the essence of the explorer’s motives? Was it to further the Kingdom of the French monarch, as Foucquet insists? Or was it to give wings to poetic inspiration in all the arts, as La Fontaine, the poet, counters? Virtual space in the plastic arts creates the illusion of depth. Mountains as celebrated in allegories by poets and artists in seventeenth-century France became a focus of meditation and contemplation on the sources of inspiration, when seen from a remote distance. These poets did not believe in the divinity of nature or in a mystic experience of nature.
Stoichiometric implications of a biphasic life cycle

Animals mediate flows of elements and energy in ecosystems through processes such as nutrient sequestration in body tissues, and mineralization through excretion. For taxa with biphasic life cycles, the dramatic shifts in anatomy and physiology that occur during ontogeny are expected to be accompanied by changes in body and excreta stoichiometry, but remain little-explored, especially in vertebrates. Here we tested stoichiometric hypotheses related to the bodies and excreta of the wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) across life stages and during larval development. Per-capita rates of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) excretion varied widely during larval ontogeny, followed unimodal patterns, and peaked midway through development (Taylor-Kollros stages XV and XII, respectively). Larval mass did not increase steadily during development but peaked at stage XVII and declined until the termination of the experiment at stage XXII. Mass-specific N and P excretion rates of the larvae decreased exponentially during development. When coupled with population-biomass estimates, population-level excretion rates were greatest at stages VIII-X. Percent carbon (C), N, and C:N of body tissue showed weak trends across major life stages; body P and C:P, however, increased sixfold during development from egg to adult. Our results demonstrate that intraspecific ontogenic changes in nutrient contents of excretion and body tissues can be significant, and that N and P are not always excreted proportionally throughout life cycles. These results highlight the dynamic roles that species play in ecosystems, and how the morphological and physiological changes that accompany ontogeny can influence ecosystem-level processes.
The Economic Rationale for Lender Liability

We develop a model that provides an economic rationale for breach-of-contract liability for financial institutions: profit seeking alone is often an insufficient incentive to exploit all economically beneficial lending opportunities. We show that liability for reneging on commitments to lend acts as as a low cost incentive for banks to screen borrowers and induces greater investment efficiency and entrepreneurial activity. Our results extend the literature on law and finance and show the need for protection of borrowers from abuses by creditors.
Dopaminergic Modulation of Medial Prefrontal Cortex Deactivation in Parkinson Depression

Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with emotional abnormalities. Dopaminergic medications ameliorate Parkinsonian motor symptoms, but less is known regarding the impact of dopaminergic agents on affective processing, particularly in depressed PD (dPD) patients. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of dopaminergic pharmacotherapy on brain activation to emotional stimuli in depressed versus nondepressed Parkinson disease (ndPD) patients. Participants included 18 ndPD patients (11 men, 7 women) and 10 dPD patients (7 men, 3 women). Patients viewed photographs of emotional faces during functional MRI. Scans were performed while the patient was taking anti-Parkinson medication and the day after medication had been temporarily discontinued. Results indicate that dopaminergic medications have opposite effects in the prefrontal cortex depending upon depression status. DPD patients show greater deactivation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) on dopaminergic medications than off, while ndPD patients show greater deactivation in this region off drugs. The VMPFC is in the default-mode network (DMN). DMN activity is negatively correlated with activity in brain systems used for external visual attention. Thus dopaminergic medications may promote increased attention to external visual stimuli among dPD patients but impede normal suppression of DMN activity during external stimulation among ndPD patients.
Observation of long-range tertiary interactions during ligand binding by the TPP riboswitch aptamer

The thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) riboswitch is a cis-regulatory element in mRNA that modifies gene expression in response to TPP concentration. Its specificity is dependent upon conformational changes that take place within its aptamer domain. Here, the role of tertiary interactions in ligand binding was studied at the single-molecule level by combined force spectroscopy and Forster resonance energy transfer (smFRET), using an optical trap equipped for simultaneous smFRET. The 'Force-FRET' approach directly probes secondary and tertiary structural changes during folding, including events associated with binding. Concurrent transitions observed in smFRET signals and RNA extension revealed differences in helix-arm orientation between two previously-identified ligand-binding states that had been undetectable by spectroscopy alone. Our results show that the weaker binding state is able to bind to TPP, but is unable to form a tertiary docking interaction that completes the binding process. Long-range tertiary interactions stabilize global riboswitch structure and confer increased ligand specificity.
Using spatio-temporal models of population growth and movement to monitor overlap between human impacts and fish populations

Summary Protected and managed species, including harvested fishes, exhibit spatial and temporal variation in their distribution and productivity. Spatio-temporal variation can arise from differences in habitat quality, human impacts (including harvest), density-dependent changes in per capita productivity, as well as individual movement. Human impacts (e.g. direct harvest) also vary spatially and over time, and monitoring the overlap between impacts and population distribution is necessary to ensure that human impacts are sustainable and to prioritize research and management for populations that are heavily impacted. However, estimating spatio-temporal variation in human impacts and population dynamics while accounting for individual movement has remained computationally challenging for decades. We developed a spatial population growth (also known as ‘surplus production’) model that is inspired by finite element analysis, which estimates spatio-temporal population dynamics given density-dependent population regulation, individual movement and spatially explicit harvest. We demonstrate the method using data for big skate Raja binoculata in the California Current from 2003 to 2013 and demonstrate that results can be processed to estimate an upper limit on sustainable harvest (an ‘overfishing limit’). We also conduct a simulation experiment to explore the small-sample properties of parameter estimates. A simulation experiment confirms that real-world sample sizes are sufficient to estimate the sustainable harvest level within 20% of its actual value. However, sample sizes are likely insufficient to reliably estimate movement rates. The spatial population growth model estimates an overfishing limit of 740–890 metric tonnes for big skate from 2010 to 2013, compared with annual harvest <100 tonnes. This suggests that recent harvest of big skate is likely sustainable, and sensitivity analysis confirms that this conclusion is robust to different potential rates for individual movement. Synthesis and applications. We recommend that spatio-temporal population models be used across systems and taxa to monitor the spatial overlap between species distribution and human impacts. For big skate, we recommend management rules triggering additional data collection and assessment effort if harvest rates substantially increase. We also recommend future research regarding spatial management regulations for emerging fisheries.
“Poor White” Recollections and Artifact Reuse in Barbados: Considerations for Archaeologies of Poverty

Archaeologists regularly confront the material realities of economic inequality. This article contributes to a growing body of literature on the archaeology of poverty but challenges archaeologists to consider how such approaches are politically weighted and directly come to bear on how communities experience economic hardship in the present. Additionally, through a case study of a “poor white” tenantry in Barbados, this article suggests that material culture from sites associated with people of limited economic means necessitates alternative interpretive methods that combine archaeological, historical, and oral sources.
Public Management: Should It Strive to be Art, Science, or Engineering?

The study of public management ought not to attempt to imitate-as do many disciplines in the social sciences-the research paradigm of the natural sciences. But neither should public management be dismissed as merely an unscientific art. Rather, public management is, in many ways, a combination of science and art similar to engineering. Engineering shares some of the features of science; yet it is not merely the application of science. Science asks why. Engi
Living with multiple sclerosis: the experience of chronic sorrow

This qualitative nursing research study investigated the occurrence of chronic sorrow in individuals with multiple sclerosis. Using the Burke/NCRCS Chronic Sorrow Questionnaire (Individual Version), 10 participants were interviewed. Data were analyzed in collaboration with one other researcher. Of the participants, 80% evidenced the presence of chronic sorrow in their lives. Data clearly indicated that feelings of chronic sorrow occurred periodically over a protracted span of time when some event reminded participants of their chronic situation. The nursing roles of empathetic presence and caring professional helped participants the most in dealing with their feelings of chronic sorrow.
Ad Appeals in the Context of Viral Advertising

Researchers and practitioners have noted that consumers seem increasingly comfortable with online viral advertising campaigns that encourage individuals to pass along a marketing message to others by Internet or e-mail. World-renowned companies, such as Nike, Budweiser, Ford, GMC, Levi’s and De Beers have successfully used viral advertising in social media, including YouTube, Facebook and blogs (Borroff 2000; Morrissey 2008; Rechtin 2009; Solman 2008a, 2008b; Steenburgh, Avery and Dahod 2009; Thompson 2010).
Study on Damage of Immunological Cells Induced by Sub-chronic Inhalation Carbon Disulfide in Mice

Objective: To study the damage effect of inhalation carbon disulfide on immunological cells of mice.Methods: The damage of white blood cells of mice exposed to carbon disulfide by two hours static inhalation per day at different concentrations(0,400,800 and 1 600 mg/m~(3)) for five weeks was analyzed with single cell gel electrophoresis(SCGE) and flow cytometry(FCM).Results: There was a significant difference between the experiment groups and the control group(P(0.01)) in the rate of cells with tail;and there was also significant differences among the experiment groups and the control group in the percentage of head of the comet and in the length of tail(all P(0.01).) The rate of apoptosis in all groups were 13.50%,22.10%,33.60% and 0.2% respectively,with significant difference among the experiment groups and control group(P(0.01).) Conclusion: The sub-chronic carbon disulfide exposed can induce DNA damage and the apoptosis of white blood cells.
Reply: Statin dose based on limited evidence

Our paper published in the August 12th issue of the Journal presents 2 points of view [(1)][1]. The first author (S.C.S., Jr.) reviewed the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Guideline, which places priority on statin therapy on the basis of clinical outcomes
Trial Design and Efficacy Thresholds for Granting Breakthrough Therapy Designation in Oncology

Breakthrough therapy designation (BTD) is a new approach created by the US Congress and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as part of the FDA Innovation and Safety Act of 2012 to expedite the drug development process for serious illness, including cancer. By law, to qualify for BTD, a new molecular entity must demonstrate substantial clinical improvement over existing therapies. Although the administrative requirements for granting BTD have been made available by the FDA, the actual trial designs, end points, and quantitative therapeutic thresholds involved in the granting process have not been made public. This literature review evaluates nine oncology new molecular entities granted BTD involved in 10 accelerated approvals and summarizes the key factors in clinical trial design leading to successful BTD applications. This information can be used by oncology research teams to set goals for BTD when developing clinical trial designs and thresholds in expedited drug development programs.
A 57-Year-Old Man With Insidious Dyspnea and Nonpleuritic Chest and Back Pain

A 57-year-old man with a history of DVT and pulmonary embolism, transient ischemic attacks, prior 60 pack-year smoking history, and oxygen-dependent COPD presented with insidiously worsening dyspnea associated with new pleuritic chest and back pain.
Reward-centricity and attenuated aversions: An adolescent phenotype emerging from studies in laboratory animals.

Abstract Adolescence is an evolutionarily conserved developmental period, with neural circuits and behaviors contributing to the detection, procurement, and receipt of rewards bearing similarity across species. Studies with laboratory animals suggest that adolescence is typified by a “reward-centric” phenotype—an increased sensitivity to rewards relative to adults. In contrast, adolescent rodents are reportedly less sensitive to the aversive properties of many drugs and naturally aversive stimuli. Alterations within the mesocorticolimbic dopamine and endocannabinoid systems likely contribute to an adolescent reward-sensitive, yet aversion-resistant, phenotype. Although early hypotheses postulated that developmental changes in dopaminergic circuitry would result in a “reward deficiency” syndrome, evidence now suggests the opposite: that adolescents are uniquely poised to seek out hedonic stimuli, experience greater “pleasure” from rewards, and consume rewarding stimuli in excess. Future studies that more clearly define the role of specific brain regions and neurotransmitter systems in the expression of behaviors toward reward- and aversive-related cues and stimuli are necessary to more fully understand an adolescent-proclivity for and vulnerability to rewards and drugs of potential abuse.
Highly Cross-Linked Epoxy Nanofiltration Membranes for the Separation of Organic Chemicals and Fish Oil Ethyl Esters.

Membrane separations are highly desired for the chemical industry because they are inexpensive, avoid the use of heat, can be applied to the purification of a wide range of chemicals, and can be scaled to industrial levels. Separating chemicals with molecular weights between 100 and 300 g mol–1 remains a significant challenge in the field of organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) due to their similar sizes and rotational flexibility. In this work, we report the fabrication of poly(epoxy) membranes that show excellent selectivity of over 100:1 for chemicals in this range. The membranes are easily tuned to obtain different flux and selectivity by using interchangeable amine and epoxide monomers. These membranes were used to separate the important nutritional omega-3 fatty acid ethyl esters eicosapentaenoic ethyl ester (EPA-EE) and docosahexaenoic acid ethyl ester (DHA-EE) from each other, despite a small difference in molecular weight (26 g mol–1). This is the first example of a separation of EPA-EE and DHA-E...
Fission channel analysis for /sup 232/Th(n,f)

Angular distributions of fission fragments produced in the /sup 232/Th(n,f) reaction have been measured in 40-keV intervals. A simplified reaction model was adopted, and a channel analysis done for 0.72 less than or equal to E/sub n/ (MeV) less than or equal to 4.5. An anomaly at E/sub n/ = 2.98 MeV suggests that K remains a good quantum number some 2 MeV above fission threshold. The percentage contribution to the cross section of K = 3/2 states for incident neutron energies between 1.1 and 1.3 MeV is larger than previously thought. 7 refs.
The Lateral Pass

(1936). The Lateral Pass. The Journal of Health and Physical Education: Vol. 7, No. 7, pp. 424-458.
Computer-Assisted Sperm Analysis of Head Morphometry and Kinematic Parameters in Warmblood Stallions Spermatozoa

Abstract The present study was conducted to determine the seminal characteristics of warmblooded stallions and to assess a relationship between motility parameters of spermatozoa and sperm head dimensions using computer-assisted sperm analysis. In total, 35 ejaculates were collected during the breeding season 2016 from 10 clinically healthy and fertile warmblooded stallions (age 3–22 years). The volume of ejaculate (mL), sperm concentration (M/mL), motility of sperm with kinematic parameters, and sperm morphometry were evaluated. The motility characteristics, sperm concentration, and morphometric parameters of sperm were determined objectively using Sperm Class Analyzer (SCA, MICROPTIC SL). The overall mean ± standard deviation values for volume of ejaculate, concentration, total motility (MOT), progressive motility, curvilinear velocity, straight-line velocity (VSL), average path velocity (VAP), straightness, linearity, amplitude of lateral head displacement, beat-cross frequency, elongation, and area were 50.29 ± 29.88 mL, 210.64 ± 90.98 × 106/mL, 88.68 ± 10.8%, 36.64 ± 15.36%, 63.23 ± 15.98 μm/s, 31.02 ± 9.39 μm/s, 47.53 ± 14.32 μm/s, 65.24 ± 5.72%, 48.8 ± 8.34%, 2.68 ± 0.41 μm, 7.29 ± 0.84 Hz, 36.2 ± 3.59%, 15.49 ± 1.54 μm2, respectively. There were significant differences among stallions in all evaluated parameters of sperm (P
SKIPing With Head Start Teachers: Influence of T-SKIP on Object-Control Skills.

ABSTRACTPurpose: Children from disadvantaged settings are at risk for delays in their object-control (OC) skills. Fundamental motor skill interventions, such as the Successful Kinesthetic Instruction for Preschoolers (SKIP) Program, are highly successful when led by motor development experts. However, few preschools employ such experts. This study examined the extent to which Head Start teachers delivering an 8-week teacher-led SKIP (T-SKIP) intervention elicited learning of OC skills for Head Start children. Method: Head Start teachers (n = 5) delivered T-SKIP for 8 weeks (450 min). Control teachers (n = 5) implemented the typical standard of practice, or well-equipped free play. All children (N = 122) were pretested and posttested on the OC Skill subscale of the Test of Gross Motor Development-2. Results: Descriptive analyses at pretest identified 81% of the children were developmentally delayed in OC skills (below the 30th percentile). A 2-level hierarchical linear model demonstrated the effectiveness ...
Single believe state generation for partially observable real-time strategy games

Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games pose a big challenge due their large branching factor and real-time nature. This challenge is even bigger if we consider partially observable RTS games due to the fog-of-war. This paper focuses on extending Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) algorithms for RTS games to consider partially observable settings. Specifically, we investigate sampling a single believe state consistent with a perfect memory of all the past observations in the current game, and using it to perform MCTS. We evaluate the performance of this approach in the μRTS game simulator, showing that the performance of this approach is only between 8%–15% lower than if we could observe the entire game state (e.g., by cheating).
Genes and Gene Families Related to Immunoglobulin Genes

The vertebrate immune response involves two major classes of effector cells: T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes. In recent years, the molecules involved in antigen recognition and cell-cell interactions of T and B lymphocytes have been defined at the molecular level. One of the remarkable results of this analysis has been the realization that many of the cell-surface molecules involved in the immune response demonstrate structural similarities at the protein and gene levels. While the surface molecules of T and B cells are functionally diverse, similarities in their structure have suggested that they may have been derived from a single evolutionary precursor.
Teleoperating robots from arbitrary viewpoints in surgical contexts

Intraoperative 3D imaging has great potential for enhancing surgical visualization. This is especially so in ophthalmic surgery where live volumetric imaging from optical coherence tomography systems recently incorporated into surgical microscopes has freed surgeons from the otherwise universal top-down viewpoint. New viewpoints, however, disorient surgeons when directions of their hand motions and viewed tool motions do not align. We propose introducing a robotic surgery system to decouple surgeons' hands from their tools and ensure that viewed tool motions align in arbitrary viewpoints. We present a framework entitled Arbitrary Viewpoint Robotic Manipulation (AVRM) which governs how hand and tool motions should interact to minimize disorientation and thereby enable operations from desirable but previously untenable viewpoints. A crossover study in which 20 subjects completed mock surgical scenarios with an AVRM testbed system demonstrated that arbitrary viewpoints do not improve task performance unless automatic hand-tool misalignment correction is provided. When provided together with arbitrary viewpoints, automatic hand-tool misalignment correction reduces task completion time by 50% on average compared to a fixed top-down viewpoint.
Challenges and Strategies for Breeding Resistance in Capsicum annuum to the Multifarious Pathogen, Phytophthora capsici

Phytophthora capsici is the most devastating pathogen for chile pepper production worldwide and current management strategies are not effective. The population structure of the pathogen is highly variable and few sources of widely applicable host resistance have been identified. Recent genomic advancements in the host and the pathogen provide important insights into the difficulties reported by epidemiological and physiological studies published over the past century. This review highlights important challenges unique to this complex pathosystem and suggests strategies for resistance breeding to help limit losses associated with P. capsici.
Formation and thermal stability of subsurface deuterium in Ni(110)

Abstract A unique feature of plasma-enhanced catalysis compared to thermal catalysis is the presence of reactive hydrogen radicals and ions in the gas phase above the catalyst surface. The uptake and subsequent thermal desorption of deuterium on a Ni(110) surface have been measured using incident gaseous D2 molecules, D atoms, and D2+ ions. Molecular D2 exposures on Ni(110) at 90 K form adsorbed D adatoms at the surface, but do not populate subsurface deuterium binding states under UHV conditions. In contrast, such subsurface states on Ni(110) are readily populated at 90 K by incident D atoms and D2+ ions. Subsurface D atoms recombine to desorb as D2 gas in temperature programmed desorption (TPD) measurements to create new characteristic subsurface-derived D2 thermal desorption peaks near 175 K for incident D atoms and 190–260 K, depending on the energy of the incident D2+ ions used, along with a new peak at 435 K for incident ions. While there are small differences for adsorbed D adatoms on Ni(110) and Ni(111) surfaces regarding their thermal stability and subsequent D2 TPD curves, the thermal stability and D2 TPD peaks from subsurface D atoms are nearly the same for these two substrates. This information will be helpful for a fuller understanding of the role of subsurface hydrogen and its reactivity in hydrogenation for plasma-enhanced catalysis over Ni-based catalysts.
The Autonomous Vehicle and Its Temptations

Self-driving vehicles must contend with many possibilities, including the behavior of bad actors
Phase Resetting of Respiratory Rhythm Studied in a Model of a Limit-Cycle Oscillator: Influence of Stochastic Processes

An oscillatory process can be perturbed by a stimulus that briefly alters rhythmic activity. When the oscillator recovers its previous rhythm, its phase may be reset relative to the control rhythm. The amount of phase resetting depends upon the strength of the stimulus and the time in the oscillatory cycle at which it is given. A systematic description of resetting of an oscillator therefore requires expression of the resetting as functions of timing of the stimulus in the cycle and its strength. In previous experimental work in cats,1,2 we studied resetting of respiratory rhythm as a function of stimulus strength and its timing within the cycle. This function, when plotted in three dimensions, depicted a helicoid surface whose axis represented the phase singularity of a limit-cycle oscillator.
Pediatric Epilepsy: Age-Specific Responses to Antiepileptic Drugs

Antiepileptic drugs have been valuable therapeutic tools, but may have adverse effects. Their effects, whether therapeutic or adverse, may vary among subjects and can be age-specific. In this article, we focus on the GABAA signaling cascades and review the known age-related changes in its effects. The finding of sex-specific patterns in the ontogeny of GABAA signaling has enabled us to reveal factors, such as seizures and stress that modulate the biological age of the system. To cure epilepsy without side effects, it is important to implement therapies appropriate for the developmental stage of the targeted systems.
The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS): Overview of Design and Methodology

Data System. The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) is an ongoing state-based surveillance system of maternal behaviors, attitudes, and experiences before, during, and shortly after pregnancy. PRAMS is conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Reproductive Health in collaboration with state health departments.Data Collection/Processing. Birth certificate records are used in each participating jurisdiction to select a sample representative of all women who delivered a live-born infant. PRAMS is a mixed-mode mail and telephone survey. Annual state sample sizes range from approximately 1000 to 3000 women. States stratify their sample by characteristics of public health interest such as maternal age, race/ethnicity, geographic area of residence, and infant birth weight.Data Analysis/Dissemination. States meeting established response rate thresholds are included in multistate analytic data sets available to researchers through a proposal submission process. In a...
Examining the Impact of Contextual Ambiguity on Search Advertising Keyword Performance: A Topic Model Approach

In this paper, we explore how the contextual ambiguity of a search can affect a keyword’s performance. The context of consumer search is often unobserved and the prediction of it can be nontrivial. Consumer search contexts may vary even when consumers are searching for the same keyword. Due to the ambiguity of a keyword, a large portion of the ads displayed may fall outside a particular consumer’s interest, potentially leading to low click-through rates on search engines. In our study, we propose an automatic way of examining keyword contextual ambiguity based on probabilistic topic models from machine learning and computational linguistics. We quantify the effect of contextual ambiguity on keyword click-through performance using a hierarchical Bayesian model that allows for topic-specific effect and nonlinear position effect. We validate our study using a novel dataset from a major search engine that contains information on consumer click activities for 12,790 distinct keywords across multiple product categories from over 4.6 million impressions. We find that consumer click behaviors vary significant across keywords, and keyword category and the contextual ambiguity of the keywords significantly affect such variation. Specifically, higher contextual ambiguity can lead to a higher click-through rate (CTR) on top-positioned ads, but the CTR tends to decay faster with position. Therefore, the overall effect of contextual ambiguity on CTR varies across positions. Our study has the potential to help advertisers design keyword portfolios and bidding strategy by extracting contextual ambiguity and other semantic characteristics of keywords based on large-scale analytics from unstructured data. It can also help search engines improve the quality of displayed ads in response to a consumer search query.
HIV Knowledge and Risk Behaviors Among Older Church-Affiliated Blacks:

There is an emerging population of older adults living with HIV, and among them, Black older adults experience the greatest burden of the disease. This is a growing public health concern, as older adults are disproportionately diagnosed at a later stage of the disease, while reporting similar risk factors as younger adults. It has also been shown that the Black Church is well positioned to offer health screenings. Thus, this study aimed to assess HIV knowledge, beliefs, and risk behaviors of older church-affiliated Black adults. Data were collected from a sample of Black adults (N = 543) from four predominately Black churches in Kansas City, MO. Participants were surveyed on measures assessing demographic characteristics, HIV knowledge and attitudes, and HIV testing and risk behaviors. Results indicated that compared to younger Black adults, Black older adults were less knowledgeable about the transmission of HIV and were less willing to be tested for HIV in church settings. However, there was no significant difference on the perceived seriousness of HIV in the community. Results further showed that Black older adults were less likely to use condoms/barriers during the past 6 months and over their lifetime. We discuss the implications of results for HIV intervention programs.
Binding of Sparse Distributed Representations in Hierarchical Temporal Memory

Hierarchical Temporal Memory is a brain inspired theory of intelligence, which emulates the homogeneous structure and connectivity of the pyramidal neurons in the mammalian neocortex. Similar to the neocortex, Hierarchical Temporal Memory processes spatiotemporal information to produce an internal representation of objects in the world. A fundamental component in Hierarchical Temporal Memory is the spatial pooler, which is responsible for processing feedforward sensory inputs into sparse distributed representations. In this work, we apply an explicit binary binding vector operation from vector symbolic architectures to HTM's sparse distributed representations through local inhibition. We demonstrate that the binding operation can be used as the basis for a content addressable memory, which has the potential for storage and retrieval of sparse distributed representations. Furthermore, the bound vectors and their semantic relationships are visualized through dimensionality reduction techniques and a uniqueness matrix.
Silencing Trisomy 21 With XIST in Neural Stem Cells Promotes Neuronal Differentiation

The ability of XIST to dosage compensate a trisomic autosome presents unique experimental opportunities and potentially transformative therapeutic prospects. However, it is currently thought that XIST requires the natural context surrounding pluripotency to initiate chromosome silencing. Here, we demonstrate that XIST RNA induced in differentiated neural cells can trigger chromosome-wide silencing of chromosome 21 in Down syndrome patient-derived cells. Use of this tightly controlled system revealed a deficiency in differentiation of trisomic neural stem cells to neurons, correctible by inducing XIST at different stages of neurogenesis. Single-cell transcriptomics and other analyses strongly implicate elevated Notch signaling due to trisomy 21, thereby promoting neural stem cell cycling that delays terminal differentiation. These findings have significance for illuminating the epigenetic plasticity of cells during development, the understanding of how human trisomy 21 effects Down syndrome neurobiology, and the translational potential of XIST, a unique non-coding RNA.
Retrospective evaluation of outpatient canine parvovirus treatment in a shelter-based low-cost urban clinic

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate survival and associated risk factors when utilizing an outpatient treatment protocol for treatment of canine parvovirus (CPV) performed in a shelter‐based low‐cost urban clinic. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. ANIMALS: Ninety‐five CPV positive dogs presented between June 1 and July 31, 2016. Owners elected for outpatient care when inpatient care was not financially feasible and the dog was considered medically stable for outpatient care. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of the 95 CPV positive dogs, 79 (83%) survived treatment. Logistic regression indicated that an increasing number of days with clinical signs prior to treatment and an increase in percent body weight during treatment were significantly associated with survival (odds ratio [OR], 3.15, P = 0.020; and OR, 1.29, P = 0.027, respectively). Hypothermia upon presentation (T < 37℃) was negatively associated with survival (OR, 0.002; P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The survival rate of this clinic suggests that an outpatient program may be a potential alternative treatment to inpatient care. Longer duration of clinical signs prior to treatment and an increase in percent body weight during treatment appear to be associated with increased survival outcomes, while hypothermia on presentation appears to be associated with decreased survival outcomes.
Deflection driven evolution of asteroid impact risk under large uncertainties

Abstract The threat of asteroid impacts on the Earth can be mitigated through deflection missions. The deflection capability has previously been omitted in asteroid impact risk analysis work that quantifies impact damage on the Earth. Here we investigate the effect of pre-designed deflection missions on the risk profile of the fictitious impact scenario 2019 PDC. The impact risk analysis is based on a statistical approach. We sample orbital and physical property distributions that provide a complete representation of possible impact scenarios. Three pre-designed kinetic impactor deflection missions are considered in separate simulations. The deflection mission imposes a deflection Δ V on the asteroid and the impulse enhancement factor β is calculated as part of the analysis. The post-deflection impact risk is compared to the undeflected risk situation. Variations in physical and orbital properties make the outcome of deflection missions uncertain. It can therefore be inadequate to label deflection mission outcomes in binary terms of success and failure. Instead, defining a satisfactory risk reduction goal and scaling the deflection mission capability to deliver this risk reduction is more accurate. In addition, the results highlight dilemmas that decision-makers would face in an asteroid threat scenario. By implementing a deflection mission, the potential impact point of the asteroid is moved, threatening new populations and potentially increasing damage in case of an impact.
Abstract 6317: 3D multicellular coculture platform enables rapid engineering of tumor-homing bacteria

Engineering tumor-homing bacteria to locally deliver therapeutics is an emerging approach for next-generation living therapy for cancer. However, the lack of physiologically-relevant in vitro testing environments to rapidly and quantitatively characterize complex multicellular interactions of bacteria and cancer cells is a major bottleneck for clinical translation. We recently developed a 3D multicellular coculture platform that grow various bacteria within the necrotic core of multicellular spheroids, recapitulating selective bacterial growth in solid tumor in vivo. Tumor spheroids were generated from CT26 colorectal cell lines in a round-bottom low-adhesion 96 well plate. Bacteria were inoculated into the media containing tumor spheroids and gentamicin, a poorly diffusible antimicrobial agent, were added to confine bacterial growth to spheroid cores. Time-lapse microscopy was utilized to track growth dynamics and spatial profiles. To validate efficacy, mice with hind flank tumors were treated with engineered bacteria and measured for the therapeutic effect on tumor size. The multicellular coculture platform allowed for parallel and continuous culture of bacteria in tumor spheroids. Notably, bacteria stably grew within the spheroid necrotic cores, representing tumor colonization in animals and patients. Leveraging the high throughput nature of the platform, we screened a library of ten cytotoxic molecules delivered by clinically relevant tumor-homing S. typhimurium. We validated similarities in efficacies using a syngeneic mouse model and identified novel therapeutic candidates that reduced tumor growth significantly. Additionally, we utilized the tumor spheroid to construct bacterial biosensors. As tumor microenvironment such as oxygen, pH, and metabolite gradients are recapitulated in the 3D spheroid setting, we tested hypoxia, acid and lactate sensors and confirmed their activity in tumor environment. Constructing an AND-gate logic circuit for bacterial growth using synthetic biology tools, we rapidly tested the bacterial containment capability to the spheroid cores. This strain demonstrated a 100-fold reduction in off-target colonization compared to the wildtype strain in an animal model. Rapid and quantitative characterization of dynamical bacteria-cancer cell interactions can predict therapeutic performance more accurately. We hope this scalable approach serves to accelerate future clinical development of bacterial applications for cancer therapy. Citation Format: Tetsuhiro Harimoto, Zakary Singer, Oscar Velazquez, Joanna Zhang, Samuel Castro, Taylor Hinchliffe, William Mather, Tal Danino. 3D multicellular coculture platform enables rapid engineering of tumor-homing bacteria [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 6317.
Gene therapy for obesity

A sedentary life-style and an environment of caloric abundance have contributed to the recent rise in the incidence of obesity. Treating such a complex disease requires an understanding of its underlying molecular mechanisms that has only recently become possible with the sequencing of the human genome and the mapping of hundreds of genes associated with increased risk of obesity. With few safe and efficacious weight-maintenance drugs available on the market, gene therapy offers an alternative long-term treatment modality. Still in its infancy, gene therapy for obesity is poised for significant progress, due in large part to a wide variety of available gene targets and the development of novel systems to control gene expression. Coincidently, novel vectors are being developed based on adeno-associated virus providing efficient and sustained expression of a transgene in metabolically important tissues. These advances are driving the development of gene therapy as a viable therapeutic option in treating obesity and its associated disorders.
An End-to-End Toolkit for Social Network Analysis

Today’s online social networks produce a significant amount of data containing rich information. A major challenge is to analyze and make sense of the data, so that useful information can be retrieved efficiently. In many application scenarios, this requires analyzing both the network topology and the textual information contained in the network. However, existing network analysis tools usually focus on one of these aspects, instead of providing end-to-end solutions for this particular research scenario. In this paper, we present NetNet, a social network analysis tool that is specifically designed to simplify the workflow of analyzing social networks. In NetNet, we model social networks as interconnected user nodes with text nodes associated with them, and leverage network analysis and text mining algorithms to perform both tasks seamlessly. We evaluate the performance of NetNet using social network data, and the experimental results show that our design is practically efficient and scalable.
A Large-Scale Sequencing-Based Survey of Plasmids in Listeria monocytogenes Reveals Global Dissemination of Plasmids.

The food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes is known for its capacity to cope with multiple stress conditions occurring in food and food production environments (FPEs). Plasmids can provide benefits to their host strains, and it is known that various Listeria strains contain plasmids. However, the current understanding of plasmid frequency and function in L. monocytogenes strains remains rather limited. To determine the presence of plasmids among L. monocytogenes strains and their potential contribution to stress survival, a comprehensive dataset was established based on 1,921 published genomes from strains representing 14 L. monocytogenes sequence types (STs). Our results show that an average of 54% of all L. monocytogenes strains in the dataset contained a putative plasmid. The presence of plasmids was highly variable between different STs. While some STs, such as ST1, ST2, and ST4, contained few plasmid-bearing strains ( 71% of the strains within each ST. Overall, the sizes of plasmids analyzed in this study ranged from 4 to 170 kbp with a median plasmid size of 61 kbp. We also identified two novel groups of putative Listeria plasmids based on the amino acid sequences of the plasmid replication protein, RepA. We show that highly conserved plasmids are shared among Listeria strains which have been isolated from around the world over the last few decades. To investigate the potential roles of plasmids, nine genes related to stress-response were selected for an assessment of their abundance and conservation among L. monocytogenes plasmids. The results demonstrated that these plasmid genes exhibited high sequence conservation but that their presence in plasmids was highly variable. Additionally, we identified a novel transposon, Tn7075, predicted to be involved in mercury-resistance. Here, we provide the largest plasmid survey of L. monocytogenes to date with a comprehensive examination of the distribution of plasmids among L. monocytogenes strains. Our results significantly increase our knowledge about the distribution, composition, and conservation of L. monocytogenes plasmids and suggest that plasmids are likely important for the survival of L. monocytogenes in food and FPEs.
Membrane Events and Guanylate Cyclase Activation in Mitogen­ Stimulated Lymphocytes

The lymphocyte has provided an important model for the study of the early biochemical events associated with the initiation of cellular proliferation. Resting lymphocytes (G0 or restricted G1 phase), as obtained from human peripheral blood, can be induced in large numbers to undergo clonal proliferation using a variety of mitogens. The two most commonly employed plant lectin mitogens are phytohem-agglutinin (PHA) and concanavalin A (Con A). The initiation process is characterized by rapid, saturable binding of the lectin to cellular receptors (<30 min), followed by a series of cellular events involving probably three cell types.
T Cell Proliferation, Differentiation, and Restoration in Lymphopenic Individuals

When a small number of naive T cells are adoptively transferred into syngeneic lymphopenic hosts, such as mice deficient in recombination activating gene-1 (RAG-/-) or sublethally irradiated normal mice, the transferred T cells proliferate, a phenomenon referred to as homeostasis-driven or lymphopenia-induced proliferation. Although deliberate antigen stimulation is not required, homeostatic T cell proliferation requires i) the engagement of T cell receptor (TCR) with self peptide-major histocompatibility complexes (pepMHC) and ii) the presence of lymphopenia (or “space”) (Tanchot et al.,, 1997, Ernst et al., 1999, Viret et al., 1999, Goldrath and Bevan, 1999, Bender et al., 1999). We have shown that following homeostatic proliferation naive CD8 T cells acquire the phenotype and functional properties characteristic of antigen-induced memory T cells. We have also developed an in vitro system for studying homeostatic T cell proliferation. These findings and their implications for memory T cell development and the stable maintenance of naive and memory T cell compartments are discussed.
Increased Perforation Risk with an MRI‐Conditional Pacing Lead: A Single‐Center Study

Background Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been considered contraindicated in patients with cardiac pacemakers (PPMs). Recently, Medtronic (MDT) MRI SureScan PPM (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) and leads were introduced into clinical practice in the United States of America. Objective To compare MDT CapSureFix 5086 MRI SureScan lead-associated perforation and dislodgement rates with MDT non-MRI SureScan active fixation leads. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the records of all patients implanted with MDT CapSureFix 5086 MRI SureScan leads as well as all patients implanted with MDT 4076 and 5076 leads at our institution from April 2011 to April 2014. Results Four of 72 patients implanted with MDT CapSureFix 5086 MRI SureScan leads (5.5%) had evidence of lead perforation, necessitating pericardiocentesis in three cases and lead revision in one case. Three of the four perforations were delayed perforations, presenting more than 3 weeks postimplant. Two patients implanted with MDT CapSureFix 5086 MRI SureScan leads (2.8%) had lead dislodgement. Of 420 patients implanted with MDT non-MRI SureScan leads, there were two perforations (0.47%) and four dislodgements (0.9%). There were significantly increased lead perforations associated with MDT CapSureFix 5086 MRI SureScan leads (P = 0.005) and a nonsignificant trend toward increased dislodgements (P = 0.18) when compared with MDT non-MRI SureScan leads. Conclusion In contradiction to prior studies, this retrospective study suggests an increased perforation rate with MDT CapSureFix 5086 MRI SureScan leads. Most perforations were delayed perforations, presenting more than 3 weeks postimplant. Higher volume prospective studies with longer follow-up are needed to confirm our findings.
Things that Go Wrong in Diversity Training

The experimental and potentially conflictual nature of diversity training is explained as integral to creation of effective organizational discourse and change in diversity. More effective understanding and management of these conflicts is needed. To explore how conflicts can be better understood and managed, explains patterns of US minority and majority ethnic identity developments; presents three hypothetical combinations of identity development paths across ethnic group members in multi‐cultural training; discusses potential problems, change issues and training needs.