cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantification of Staphylococcal-Collagen Binding Interactions in Whole Blood by Use of a Confocal Microscopy Shear-Adhesion Assay

In bloodborne staphylococcal infections, bacteria and platelets often combine, forming thrombi on the subendothelium, where collagen is exposed. In this process, the collagen serves as a potential binding surface for Staphylococcus aureus. However, the extent and importance of S. aureus-collagen binding interactions in the development of infected thrombi is uncertain. We quantified S. aureus adhesion to collagen in a whole-blood suspension under defined physiologically relevant fluid shear conditions. S. aureus-collagen binding interactions, mediated by both the S. aureus collagen adhesin (CNA) and protein A-von Willebrand factor (vWf), were evaluated using mutant strains and antibody-blocking techniques. The position of adherent bacteria (at the collagen surface or above the surface in the platelet aggregate) was measured using confocal laser microscopy. Results demonstrated significant CNA-collagen interactions and protein A-vWf-collagen binding interactions under physiological shear conditions. We conclude that collagen binding interactions are important in the development of infected thrombi.
Electromagnetic scattering and radiation by surfaces of arbitrary shape in layered media. II. Implementation and results for contiguous half-spaces

For pt.I see ibid., vol.38, no.3, p.335-44 (1990). In pt.I, three mixed-potential electric field integral equations (MPIEs) for conducting surfaces of arbitrary shape residing in plane-stratified dielectric media with an arbitrary number of layers were formulated. One of the MPIEs (formulation C) was found to be particularly well suited for the application of the method of moments (MM). In pt.II, formulation C is specialized to the important case of a scatterer or antenna of arbitrary shape residing in contiguous half-spaces. This MPIE is solved by the MM employing a triangle-patch model of the surface of the object. Sample numerical results for several cases of interest are presented. >
Experiments on the Seasonal Variation of the General Circulation in a Statistical-Dynamical Model

Abstract A study of the seasonal change of a climaticc state of the atmosphere is made through the investigation of a response of a statistical-dynamical model to insolation having seasonal variation. Numerical experiments are performed for the two hypothetical cases: the land-covered earth (LCE) and the ocean-covered earth (OCE). The two cases differ in the thermal and aerodynamical conditions at the surface, and a hydrologic cycle is incorporated only in the model for OCE. Numerical integrations are carried out until the same climatic state as one year before reappears. Then, annual marches of the zonal mean field, the eddy statistics, and the energetics are analyzed. Baroclinicity at the middle latitudes is noticeable, in summertime, only for the OCE. Strong upper level easterly flow evolved at low latitudes for the LCE. The mean meridional circulation at low latitudes for both LCE and OCE is characterized by one big Hadley cell extending from the summer into the winter hemisphere. In the OCE, the wate...
Food Scholarship and Food Writing

The food publishing world has been reeling from the demise of Gourmet magazine, slashed budgets for newspapers' food sections, and a pervasive fear that only cookbooks by Rachael Ray, TV personalities or celebrity chefs will ever be published. The world of academic food publishing has witnessed no such decline, and is flourishing as never before, with new series from university presses, expanding sessions in disciplinary conferences and, of course, journals like the one you are now reading. Has academic food writing filled a gap abandoned by the “dumbing down” or the popular media? Have scholars merely sold out to the popular food frenzy and thereby lost some scholarly rigor? Or has writing in a clear and accessible style been responsible for the wider appeal of recent food research? On the other hand, serious food writing also flourishes in the trade press, despite the dire predictions. Does this signal the narrowing of distinctions between academic and popular food writing? If so, is this a good thing? ...
Immunotherapy for Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma

The cutaneous T-cell lymphomas have been shown to be associated with dysregulation of effector T-cell activity, making them an attractive target for immune activating therapies. Interferons and extracorporeal photopheresis-based therapeutic approaches have been shown to induce clinical responses of significant duration in selected patients. Similarly, activity has been demonstrated with cytokine-based therapies, including interleukin-2, interleukin-12, and the toll-like receptor agonists. Retinoids and histone deacetylase inhibitors, widely used therapies in early stage CTCL, have been shown to modulate immune effector mechanisms. For most patients with CTCL, the goals of therapy are to exploit immunotherapeutic approaches for as long as possible and to keep immune function intact.
Conditions Affecting Language Learning and Maintenance Among Hispanics in the United States

What sort of research is necessary in order to understand the conditions that affect the learning and maintenance of Spanish by Hispanics in the United States? Over a period of two years (1980–1981), a number of teachers, employers, bilingual education program directors, researchers, community service workers, civil rights attorneys and State Department of Education officials in California were informally interviewed by the author about a number of language concerns. Included in these interviews was information about the continuous learning and maintenance of the Spanish language by California Hispanics. This paper reports the results of these informal interviews, a process which turned out to be much like a planning study. There was, of course, both agreement and disagreement on questions discussed, but three general areas of focus were apparent: conceptual variables (about what language learning and maintenance actually means), social variables (the family, socioeconomic status, sex, age, region, politi...
A cross-study analysis of prenatal exposures to environmental contaminants and the epigenome: support for stress-responsive transcription factor occupancy as a mediator of gene-specific CpG methylation patterning.

A biological mechanism by which exposure to environmental contaminants results in gene-specific CpG methylation patterning is currently unknown. We hypothesize that gene-specific CpG methylation is related to environmentally perturbed transcription factor occupancy. To test this hypothesis, a database of 396 genes with altered CpG methylation either in cord blood leukocytes or placental tissue was compiled from 14 studies representing assessments of six environmental contaminants. Subsequently, an in silico approach was used to identify transcription factor binding sites enriched among the genes with altered CpG methylation in relationship to the suite of environmental contaminants. For each study, the sequences of the promoter regions (representing −1000 to +500 bp from the transcription start site) of all genes with altered CpG methylation were analyzed for enrichment of transcription factor binding sites. Binding sites for a total of 56 unique transcription factors were identified to be enriched within the promoter regions of the genes. Binding sites for the Kidney-Enriched Krupple-like Factor 15, a known responder to endogenous stress, were enriched ( P < 0.001–0.041) among the genes with altered CpG methylation associated for five of the six environmental contaminants. These data support the transcription factor occupancy theory as a potential mechanism underlying environmentally-induced gene-specific CpG methylation.
Prenatal Treatment of Biochemical Disorders

HERAPY of metabolic disorders has only recently been attempted in utero, but the future will see considerable progress in this exciting new area. Improvements in postnatal treatment coupled with earlier prenatal diagnosis methods, such as chorionic villus sampling, will lead to wider possibilities for fetal treatment. Ultimately, it may prove possible to prevent certain fetal diseases with methods similar to those used for postnatal diseases. The model of Rh isoimmunization indicates what can be attained by bold and innovative science applied to a human fetal disorder.’ Some years ago, many thousands of children died antenatally or shortly after birth, with prenatally acquired hemolytic disease. Some infants who survived suffered mental retardation, deafness, or severe motor disability. After fundamental research led to an understanding of the disease mechanisms, it was possible to develop postnatal treatment by exchange transfusion, then intrauterine diagnosis and assessment of disease severity, intrauterine therapy by fetal transfusions, and finally, prevention by passive maternal immunization . Rh disease is only the first of many metabolic and genetic derangements that will eventually be successfully treated in utero. Progress will require funding for fundamental and fetal research, and courage and sensitivity by patients and investigators who participate in clinical studies affecting the human fetus.
X-Band Choke Ring Horn Telecom Antenna for Interference Mitigation on NASA’s SWOT Mission

A low-gain antenna (LGA) is designed for high cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) and low backward radiation within the 8.025–8.4-GHz frequency band to mitigate cross-polarization and multipath interference given the spacecraft layout constraints. The X-band choke ring horn was optimized, fabricated, and measured. The antenna gain remains higher than 2.5 dBi for angles between 0° and 60° off-boresight. The XPD is higher than 15 dB from 0° to 40° and higher than 20 dB from 40° to 60° off-boresight. The calculated and measured data are in excellent agreement.
Insecticidal Control of Regulated Populations of Black Cutworm on Corn

To assay potential cutworm insecticides, laboratory-reared 4th-instar black cutworms, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel), were used at the rate of 1 larva per plant within aluminum barriers, 4 inches high, placed around 5 corn plants in field plots. Granular insecticides were applied as a 7-inch band over the row after seeding, and sprays were used as postemergence treatments. The cutworms were placed within barriers on all plots the day sprays were applied. Two weeks later, surviving plants were cut at ground level and weighed to provide comparative data on productivity per original plant. Diazinon at 2 lb per acre as granules at planting or 1.6-2.3 lb per acre as a postemergence spray gave as good protection to corn plants as the standard Aldrex® (10% aldrin + 10% parathion) treatment. Carbaryl at approximating 2 lb per acre as a spray was equally good, but such a dosage was unsatisfactory when applied in the form of granules at planting. Granules of Furadan® (2,3-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-7-benzofuranyl methylcarbamate) at 1 lb or a combination of 0.75 lb of CL-47470 (cyclic propylene (diethoxy-phosphinyl) dithioimidocarbonate) and 0.75 lb of phorate per acre provided protection comparable with the standard.
Prescription-transfer coupons.

Having a pharmacy home—using one pharmacy for all prescriptions—has been a safety net for patients who see multiple physicians. When patients bring prescriptions to their pharmacy home, medications are screened for interactions with other medications that may have been prescribed by other
Preventing and Responding to Dissent: The Observational Challenges of Explaining Strategic Repression

Although scholarly consensus suggests that dissent causes repression, the behaviors are endogenous: governments and dissidents act in expectation of each other’s behavior. Empirical studies have not accounted well for this endogeneity. We argue that preventive aspects of repression meaningfully affect the relationship between observed dissent and repression. When governments use preventive repression, the best response to dissent that does occur is unclear; observed dissent does not meaningfully predict responsive repression. By contrast, governments that do not engage in ex ante repression will be more likely to do it ex post. We follow U.S. voting scholarship and propose a new instrument to model the endogeneity: rainfall. We couple rainfall data in African provinces and U.S. states with data on dissent and repression and find that dissent fails to have a significant effect on responsive repression in states that engage in preventive repression.
Age differences in one-trial passive avoidance learning

Rats ranging in age from 20 days to 120 days were tested in a spontaneous one-trial passive avoidance situation. It was predicted that younger animals would perform more poorly due to an immature hippocampus. Although the results were not conclusive, younger rats did appear to ?e deficient in inhibiting an established response.
Vegetation Phenology in the Tibetan Plateau Using MODIS Data from 2000 to 2010

The Tibetan Plateau is sensitive to global climate change due to its special geographical position and unique ecological environment.In order to research the climate impacts on vegetation phenology,this paper first extracted the vegetation phenology indices using MODIS-derived normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI)data from 2000 to 2010,and then analyzed the vegetation phenology changes and their correlations with temperature and precipitation.Our study indicates that the start of growing season began in the late April,and most regions focused on May to June.The end of the growing season occurred in mid-September,and most regions focused on October.Overall,the start of growing season was relatively late in the west than in the east.The start of growing season became earlier with higher temperature in winter(from December~February),and the winter temperature had a greater influence on start of growing season than that in spring.The increasing of summer temperature leads to the advanced recession of vegetation that caused earlier end of growing season.The increased temperature and precipitation in autumn contributed to the delayed end of growing season.
Analysis and Control Strategy of High Frequency under Different Generation Integration

In China,wind power resources are mainly distributed in Northwest,Northeast and Zhangbei regions,mainly in the centralized power transmission mode,but the high frequency problem may appear if the power transmission channels are interrupted. This paper analyzes high-frequency problems of isolated regional power networks with large-scale wind and PV power integration and studies the main factors influencing the system frequency characteristics in theory,then proposes high-frequency control strategy. Based on the case study,it simulates and analyzes the impacts of the wind integration proportion,the excess power of isolated power network,thermal power unit boot mode and load increase on the frequency characteristics of isolated power network. The high-frequency control strategy is put forward considering dominant factors,and the proposed strategy is validated.
Citrus Fruit Values in “Handbook No. 8,”Revised. Facts Behind the Figures

In the newly revised edition of “Agriculture Handbook No. 8,” the citrus fruit group has been expanded to include values for 51 orange and grapefruit items in fresh and processed forms and for 22 other items, including lemons, limes, tangerines, tangelos, and kumquats. In this paper, the problems in determining the values used in the new edition are assessed and discussed.
Pieces of Bystander Action

Variables that inhibit or facilitate bystander action are needed as the building blocks of our logic models and learning objectives for prevention curricula and tools. This chapter summarizes key empirical work about who takes action and under what circumstances. The who, what, where, when, and why of bystander actions are explored. The review draws from work on bystanders more broadly, as well as specific instances of bystander action to prevent violence. Strengths and limitations of this research for prevention practices and gaps in our understanding of bystander actions are described to set a context for the revised model of bystander action described later in the book.
A Review of: “Bell, Michael Mayerfield. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology 2nd Edition.”

Every teacher of Sociology of the Environment is faced with two tasks: teaching students about the social, economic, and political factors behind environmental problems, and helping students unlear...
A two Dimensional Numerical Model for Mixing in Natural Rivers

Numerous numerical models have been developed for convection-diffusion processes in river channels based on either finite difference or finite element methods. Any two-dimensional dispersion model requires a hydrodynamic model to provide a description of the velocity field. For the case of mixing in natural rivers, two-dimensional potential flow solutions are often used. Potential flow solutions are not able to provide an adequate description of the velocity field in rivers where the effect of transverse depth variations is important. Numerical simulations of the flow field in a river, taking into account the depth variations, is very cumbersome if not impractical. Recently, Yotsukura and Sayre (1976) have shown that by employing the concept of stream-tube and orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system, a simple form of convection-diffusion equation can be obtained for steady state two-dimensional mixing in meandering rivers. This formulation was extended to the case of transient mixing by Shen (1978). This type of formulation eliminates the presence of the transverse velocity term in the convection-diffusion equation and maps the irregular physical domain into a rectangular strip in the new coordinate system thereby simplifying the problem for numerical simulation. This model also has the advantage of avoiding the difficulties in simulating the flow field numerically by using simple simulation formulas for transverse flow distributions.
Numerical solutions of fractional differential equations by using fractional Taylor basis

In this paper, a new numerical method for solving fractional differential equations U+0028 FDEs U+0029 is presented. The method is based upon the fractional Taylor basis approximations. The operational matrix of the fractional integration for the fractional Taylor basis is introduced. This matrix is then utilized to reduce the solution of the fractional differential equations to a system of algebraic equations. Illustrative examples are included to demonstrate the validity and applicability of this technique.
Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography

Abstract Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a widely available and flexible imaging technique that is capable of visualizing and quantifying changes in cerebral blood flow and neurotransmitter systems. SPECT, in addition to newer SPECT-CT, scanners are an important tool in the differential diagnosis of both neurological and psychiatric diseases, and may have sufficient sensitivity to detect neuronal changes before the onset of clinical symptoms. SPECT imaging can also be performed in a longitudinal manner to assess the efficacy and mode of action of therapeutic interventions such as psychotropic drugs and surgery. This article summarizes recent applications of SPECT imaging with particular reference to the development of new radiopharmaceuticals and the increasing role SPECT plays in the understanding, diagnosis and management of neuropsychiatric diseases.
Elementary students’ effortful control and academic achievement: The mediating role of teacher–student relationship quality

This study evaluated the association between effortful control in kindergarten and academic achievement one year later (N = 301), and whether teacher-student closeness and conflict in kindergarten mediated the association. Parents, teachers, and observers reported on children's effortful control, and teachers reported on their perceived levels of closeness and conflict with students. Students completed the passage comprehension and applied problems subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson tests of achievement, as well as a behavioral measure of effortful control. Analytical models predicting academic achievement were estimated using a structural equation model framework. Effortful control positively predicted academic achievement even when controlling for prior achievement and other covariates. Mediation hypotheses were tested in a separate model; effortful control positively predicted teacher-student closeness and strongly, negatively predicted teacher-student conflict. Teacher-student closeness and effortful control, but not teacher-student conflict, had small, positive associations with academic achievement. Effortful control also indirectly predicted higher academic achievement through its positive effect on teacher-student closeness and via its positive relation to early academic achievement. The findings suggest that teacher-student closeness is one mechanism by which effortful control is associated with academic achievement. Effortful control was also a consistent predictor of academic achievement, beyond prior achievement levels and controlling for teacher-student closeness and conflict, with implications for intervention programs on fostering regulation and achievement concurrently.
Comparison of Brain Activation during Motor Imagery and Motor Movement Using fNIRS

Motor-activity-related mental tasks are widely adopted for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) as they are a natural extension of movement intention, requiring no training to evoke brain activity. The ideal BCI aims to eliminate neuromuscular movement, making motor imagery tasks, or imagined actions with no muscle movement, good candidates. This study explores cortical activation differences between motor imagery and motor execution for both upper and lower limbs using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Four simple finger- or toe-tapping tasks (left hand, right hand, left foot, and right foot) were performed with both motor imagery and motor execution and compared to resting state. Significant activation was found during all four motor imagery tasks, indicating that they can be detected via fNIRS. Motor execution produced higher activation levels, a faster response, and a different spatial distribution compared to motor imagery, which should be taken into account when designing an imagery-based BCI. When comparing left versus right, upper limb tasks are the most clearly distinguishable, particularly during motor execution. Left and right lower limb activation patterns were found to be highly similar during both imagery and execution, indicating that higher resolution imaging, advanced signal processing, or improved subject training may be required to reliably distinguish them.
Rheological properties of asphalt binders modified with styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), ground tire rubber (GTR), or polyphosphoric acid (PPA)

Abstract In this study, the rheological properties of modified binders have been investigated. For this purpose, varying amounts of styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), ground tire rubber (GTR) or polyphosphoric acid (PPA) modifiers were added to a neat binder. The dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) was used to grade the original, RTFO-aged and PAV-aged binders based on the conventional performance grading (PG) and the multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR) systems. The bending beam rheometer (BBR) was used to study the low-temperature properties of the asphalt binders. All of the modifiers were found to improve the high temperature properties of the neat asphalt. With regard to the intermediate temperatures, SBS and PPA did not significantly affect the performance of the binder. However, GTR significantly decreased the stiffness of the binder. In addition, these modifiers were not found to have significant effects on the low temperature continuous grade of the binders. The MSCR protocol was successfully used to grade all the binders; however, the “percent difference” criterion of the MSCR protocol seems to be not applicable with regard to some binders and conditions.
Effects of storage temperature on airway exosome integrity for diagnostic and functional analyses.

ABSTRACTBackground: Extracellular vesicles contain biological molecules specified by cell-type of origin and modified by microenvironmental changes. To conduct reproducible studies on exosome content and function, storage conditions need to have minimal impact on airway exosome integrity.Aim: We compared surface properties and protein content of airway exosomes that had been freshly isolated vs. those that had been treated with cold storage or freezing.Methods: Mouse bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) exosomes purified by differential ultracentrifugation were analysed immediately or stored at +4°C or −80°C. Exosomal structure was assessed by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and charge density (zeta potential, ζ). Exosomal protein content, including leaking/dissociating proteins, were identified by label-free LC-MS/MS.Results: Freshly isolated BALF exosomes exhibited a mean diameter of 95 nm and characteristic morphology. Storage had significant impact on BALF exosome...
Probability Distributions in the Glass Failure Prediction Model

Glass, a brittle material, fractures under tensile stress acting over a time duration. Lateral loads, such as wind, acting on a simply supported rectangular glass lite, put one surface of the lite primarily into tension. ASTM E 1300 defines load resistance of glass as the uniform lateral loading acting over a duration of 3 seconds that is associated with a probability of breakage of 8 lites per 1000 at the first occurrence of the loading. To determine load resistance, the underlying window glass failure prediction model facilitates determination of a probability distribution of 3 second equivalent failure loads, P3. The glass failure prediction model is based on a Weibull distribution, and most people believe the distribution of P3 is, in fact, a Weibull distribution. However, the authors contend that this is not the case. This paper provides an explanation of the glass failure prediction model, its basis, and a discussion of the method for determining surface flaw parameters with an example. The authors demonstrate the distribution of the equivalent failure loads does not follow a Weibull distribution, and they will elucidate the relationship between the distribution of P3 and the Weibull distribution.
Colorectal polyps in the elderly: what should be done?

Colorectal cancer is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among Western nations, and is more common in the elderly than in younger individuals. With the general acceptance of the adenoma-carcinoma sequence, the current consideration is that colorectal cancer is preventable if all adenomas are removed before they have the chance to progress to cancer. To that end, physicians should now advocate screening for colorectal cancer and through this effort a large number of patients with adenomatous polyps will be discovered. It is important to understand the strategy in dealing with this growing population of patients with adenomas. After an initial polypectomy, patients with adenomas should be entered into a surveillance program to detect and remove recurrent adenomas. Recommended surveillance intervals are shorter for patients with a family history of colorectal cancer, those with multiple adenomas (>2), large adenomas (≥1cm), or those whose adenomas have high-grade dysplasia, villous architecture, or that are cancerous. Effective chemoprevention would be a potential method of lengthening colonoscopic surveillance intervals. Unfortunately, no treatment has been found to be effective enough to alter our current surveillance practice. The only recommendation that can be made at this time for those patients with a history of colonic adenomas is to add 3 g/day of calcium carbonate to their diet, though its effect on adenoma recurrence is modest.
Digital Storytelling Pedagogies, Processes and Performances: Two Case Studies

This chapter explores the ways that faculty from Brigham Young University and the University of Texas at Austin are inviting students to infuse digital technologies into theatre processes, pedagogies, and performances. It describes the ways that faculty and students can creatively and critically engage with new media forms in drama/theatre settings. It also explores the shifting nature of drama pedagogy and performance as those new media forms influence it. The pedagogical and performance practice described is grounded in a belief that the act of sharing and receiving stories is a critical form of pedagogy through which participants can actively develop new understandings of self, other and society together as they create, share and receive. The chapter identifies methodological approaches teachers and facilitators might use to engage students at the intersections between theatre, performance and digital media forms. It also outlines ways that theatre educators and their students can explore, play with, re-combine and produce digital stories for creative and educational purposes within performance environments.
Biomarkers in Pediatric Acute Kidney Injury

Serum creatinine and urine output are imprecise and unreliable measures of structural acute kidney injury (AKI). Novel non-invasive structural AKI biomarkers improve diagnostic and therapeutic patient care by allowing earlier detection of tissue injury at a time when inciting factors can still be modified and response to interventions trended in real-time. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is the most well-established AKI biomarker, validated in pediatric populations, and is already being employed effectively in the clinical setting using widely available standardized clinical platforms. AKI risk, severity stratification, and prognosis are dose-dependent and can be trended in real-time using categories based on urine or plasma NGAL levels: low risk 300 ng/mL.
Organizing and Analyzing the Activity Data in NHANES

The NHANES study contains objectively measured physical activity data collected using hip-worn accelerometers from multiple cohorts. However, using the accelerometry data has proven daunting because: 1) currently, there are no agreed upon standard protocols for data storage and analysis; 2) data exhibit heterogeneous patterns of missingness due to varying degrees of adherence to wear-time protocols; 3) sampling weights need to be carefully adjusted and accounted for in individual analyses; 4) there is a lack of reproducible software that transforms the data from its published format into analytic form; and 5) the high dimensional nature of accelerometry data complicates analyses. Here, we provide a framework for processing, storing, and analyzing the NHANES accelerometry data for the 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 surveys. We also provide an NHANES data package in R, to help disseminate high quality, processed activity data combined with mortality and demographic information. Thus, we provide the tools to transition from "available data online" to "easily accessible and usable data", which substantially reduces the large upfront costs of initiating studies of association between physical activity and human health outcomes using NHANES. We apply these tools in an analysis showing that accelerometry features have the potential to predict 5-year all cause mortality better than known risk factors such as age, cigarette smoking, and various comorbidities.
A Case of Burning Throat Pain

Abstract Background Throat pain is a common complaint in the emergency department. The related diagnoses are varied, from simple gastroesophageal reflux disease to catastrophic aortic dissection. This case highlights the importance of pertinent patient history and frequent reassessments in order to recognize the latter. Case Report A 58-year-old woman was found to have a type A aortic dissection after initially presenting to the emergency department with a chief complaint of “burning” throat pain. Throughout the patient's evaluation in the emergency department, her symptoms evolved from the complaint of mild throat pain and water brash to development of chest pain and sudden right lower extremity cramping. Her history of hypertension, smoking, and a previous cerebral aneurysm prompted further intervention, including aggressive blood pressure control and emergent imaging. A computed tomography scan with angiography revealed the diagnosis of a type A aortic dissection. Why Should an Emergency Physician be Aware of This? We highlight the importance of recognizing that patient presentation may change throughout the course of the emergency department stay, and that our case represents an atypical presentation of serious disease.
Comments on “Relativistic symmetries in Yukawa-type interactions with Coulomb-like tensor”

Abstract The 2013 paper by Ikhdair, Hamzavi, and Falaye introduces a new potential energy form in an unsatisfactory manner. The presentation of this form is corrected here.
Structure–Function Correlation: Engineering High Quantum Yields in Down-Shifting Nanophosphors

Lanthanides are routinely incorporated into quantum dots to act as down-shifting and up-converting phosphors in display and lighting applications due to their high photoluminescence quantum yields ...
Wnt signaling in cancer: therapeutic targeting of Wnt signaling beyond β-catenin and the destruction complex.

Wnt/β-catenin signaling is implicated in many physiological processes, including development, tissue homeostasis, and tissue regeneration. In human cancers, Wnt/β-catenin signaling is highly activated, which has led to the development of various Wnt signaling inhibitors for cancer therapies. Nonetheless, the blockade of Wnt signaling causes side effects such as impairment of tissue homeostasis and regeneration. Recently, several studies have identified cancer-specific Wnt signaling regulators. In this review, we discuss the Wnt inhibitors currently being used in clinical trials and suggest how additional cancer-specific regulators could be utilized to treat Wnt signaling-associated cancer. More effective treatments for cancer could be developed by targeting signaling pathway regulators that are expressed solely in cancer cells. Disruption to a major signaling pathway known as Wnt, which is involved in processes including cell proliferation, tissue homeostasis and tissue regeneration, is now recognized as a significant contributor to the development of certain cancers. Jae-Il Park and Youn-Sang Jung at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA, reviewed recent research into Wnt signaling in cancer and possible therapies. Scientists have developed Wnt inhibitors for cancer treatment, but these have detrimental side effects including skeletal degeneration and abdominal pain. New studies suggest there are Wnt signaling regulators that are specifically expressed in cancer cells, which may prove to be more effective drug targets than blocking Wnt signaling as a whole.
Chapter 28 – Pesticides

Publisher Summary This chapter defines pesticides as any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest. The use of pesticides to control perceived pests has transformed our environment. Habitats previously uninhabitable due to vector-borne diseases are now habitable, crops are grown in large monocultures with minimal contamination by weeds and/or destruction by insects and household pests can be easily eliminated. Both food and fiber are affected by pests throughout all aspects of production, transport, and storage. Pesticide use is validated by its many contributions to society; yet by their very nature, pesticides can also have deleterious effects. Insecticides and rodenticides are among the pesticides most likely to produce acute toxicity in humans and wildlife. Although many of the newer insecticide chemistries are more selective to insects and less persistent than older insecticides, they are still hazardous when used inappropriately.
Impact of donor preprocurement cardiac arrest on clinical outcomes in pediatric deceased donor liver transplantation.

PPCA has historically been considered detrimental to donor quality in LT, but transplantation of grafts from this group of donors is now routine. Our study aims to evaluate the outcomes associated with use of donors with a history of PPCA in the pediatric population. This study is a single-center retrospective analysis of all pediatric LTs performed over an 18-year period. Donors and recipients were stratified by the presence and length of donor PPCA time. Preprocurement donor and post-transplant recipient laboratory values were collected to assess the degree of ischemic liver injury associated with each donor group. Cox regression analysis was used to compare survival. The records for 130 deceased pediatric LT donors and corresponding recipients were reviewed. There were 73 (56%) non-PPCA donors and 57 (44%) PPCA donors. Donors that experienced a PPCA event demonstrated a higher median, pretransplant peak alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level (P 40 minutes of ischemia had markedly lower survival at 10 years, but this finding did not reach statistical significance. Liver grafts from donors with or without PPCA demonstrated no statistically significant differences in function or survival. A history of donor PPCA alone should not be used as an exclusionary criterion in pediatric liver transplantation.
Rapid invasion by the annual grass Ventenata dubia into protected-area, low-elevation sagebrush steppe

Wiregrass (Ventenata dubia [Leers] Coss.), an annual grass from the Mediterranean region of North Africa and Eurasia that has aggressive invasion potential in many North American plant communities, has only recently been reported in low-elevation sagebrush steppe. We first encountered wiregrass in 2014 in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, a low-elevation steppe protected area in central Oregon. This discovery was incidental to formal vegetation monitoring that was initiated in the monument in 2009. We first encountered wiregrass in monitoring plots in 2016, and, from plot data, we documented rapid spread during 2017–2019. Wiregrass infestation increased within our 4674-ha monitored area from 21 ha (95% CI, 3 to 106 ha) in 2016 to 138 ha (95% CI, 31 to 265 ha) in 2018, and declined to 63 ha (95% CI, 13 to 119 ha) in 2019, representing a cumulative increase of 300% over the 4-year period. Variation in weather may explain this annual variation in wiregrass. We examined mean monthly water balance deficit during the autumn, winter, and spring preceding each survey year and found evidence of a potential correlation between winter deficit and wiregrass. The lowest winter deficit occurred in 2018 prior to the survey documenting the largest wiregrass increase. Wiregrass exhibited a broad ecological niche within our survey area, occurring across all surveyed elevations and on all but steep southern slopes. Invaded sites were in well-drained clay soils in association with other invasive annual grasses. Our observations contribute to the growing evidence that wiregrass poses a greater threat to low-elevation sagebrush ecosystems than previously recognized. It also illustrates the kinds of external stressors that are impacting sagebrush steppe protected areas and the need for continued early detection and rapid response measures, as well as long-term monitoring of invasions and response effectiveness.
Inverted Socialism: Robbing from the Poor to Give to the Rich, by the Best Politicians Money Can Buy

The economic elite, confident in light of their 2008 economic collapse and subsequent bailout that the political class will underwrite their reckless and exploitative financial behavior, vehemently oppose regulatory reform. While in light of lackluster demand from the general public, left all the more impecunious from largely financing this bailout, financial institutions did not invest the bailout money in the real economy, but mainly in the financial economy (themselves). Lucrative in that the government taxes on the general public that helped finance the bailout thereby contributed both the general public’s need for the money and the financial institutions money to satisfy that need, as they then lent the general public back what was/had been their own money at vastly inflated rates. Moreover, largely eschewing the bailing out of underwater mortgage borrowers, economic elites further profited enormously from buying up foreclosed housing at rock bottom prices!
All for one and one for all? Integration in high-performance sport

: To examine the lived experiences of the integrated model of elite sport from the perspective of parasport insiders. : Since 2002, an integrated model for competition has been implemented by Commo...
Kählerity of Shrinking Gradient Ricci Solitons Asymptotic to Kähler Cones

We prove that a shrinking gradient Ricci soliton which is asymptotic to a Kahler cone along some end is itself Kahler on some neighborhood of infinity of that end. When the shrinker is complete, it is globally Kahler.
Selling a Single Item with Negative Externalities

We consider the problem of regulating products with negative externalities to a third party that is neither the buyer nor the seller, but where both the buyer and seller can take steps to mitigate the externality. The motivating example to have in mind is the sale of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, many of which have historically been compromised for DDoS attacks that disrupted Internet-wide services such as Twitter [5, 26]. Neither the buyer (i.e., consumers) nor seller (i.e., IoT manufacturers) was known to suffer from the attack, but both have the power to expend effort to secure their devices. We consider a regulator who regulates payments (via fines if the device is compromised, or market prices directly), or the product directly via mandatory security requirements. Both regulations come at a cost-implementing security requirements increases production costs, and the existence of fines decreases consumers' values-thereby reducing the seller's profits. The focus of this paper is to understand the efficiency of various regulatory policies. That is, policy A is more efficient than policy B if A more successfully minimizes negatives externalities, while both A and B reduce seller's profits equally. We develop a simple model to capture the impact of regulatory policies on a buyer's behavior. In this model, we show that for homogeneous markets-where the buyer's ability to follow security practices is always high or always low-the optimal (externality-minimizing for a given profit constraint) regulatory policy need regulate only payments or production. In arbitrary markets, by contrast, we show that while the optimal policy may require regulating both aspects, there is always an approximately optimal policy which regulates just one.
Promoting, seeking, and reaching vaccination services: A systematic review of costs to immunization programs, beneficiaries, and caregivers.

Abstract Introduction Understanding the costs to increase vaccination demand among under-vaccinated populations, as well as costs incurred by beneficiaries and caregivers for reaching vaccination sites, is essential to improving vaccination coverage. However, there have not been systematic analyses documenting such costs for beneficiaries and caregivers seeking vaccination. Methods We searched PubMed, Scopus, and the Immunization Delivery Cost Catalogue (IDCC) in 2019 for the costs for beneficiaries and caregivers to 1) seek and know how to access vaccination (i.e., costs to immunization programs for social mobilization and interventions to increase vaccination demand), 2) take time off from work, chores, or school for vaccination (i.e., productivity costs), and 3) travel to vaccination sites. We assessed if these costs were specific to populations that faced other non-cost barriers, based on a framework for defining hard-to-reach and hard-to-vaccinate populations for vaccination. Results We found 57 studies describing information, education, and communication (IEC) costs, social mobilization costs, and the costs of interventions to increase vaccination demand, with mean costs per dose at $0.41 (standard deviation (SD) $0.83), $18.86 (SD $50.65) and $28.23 (SD $76.09) in low-, middle-, and high-income countries, respectively. Five studies described productivity losses incurred by beneficiaries and caregivers seeking vaccination ($38.33 per person; SD $14.72; n = 3). We identified six studies on travel costs incurred by beneficiaries and caregivers attending vaccination sites ($11.25 per person; SD $9.54; n = 4). Two studies reported social mobilization costs per dose specific to hard-to-reach populations, which were 2–3.5 times higher than costs for the general population. Eight studies described barriers to vaccination among hard-to-reach populations. Conclusion Social mobilization/IEC costs are well-characterized, but evidence is limited on costs incurred by beneficiaries and caregivers getting to vaccination sites. Understanding the potential incremental costs for populations facing barriers to reach vaccination sites is essential to improving vaccine program financing and planning.
What Does “Below Basic” Mean on NAEP Reading?:

The fourth-grade 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Reading assessment shows that 34% of the nation’s students perform below the NAEP Basic level. However, because there is no ...
What is Worth Knowing? Science, Knowledge, and Gendered and Indigenous Knowledge-Systems

This article asks, what is worth knowing? The concept of objectivity in contemporary philosophy of science is argued to de-value indigenous knowledge-systems and gendered approaches. Community bias is argued to confound rogue research with gendered and indigenous situatedness. This problem is resolved using the innovation of ‘ecosystem services.’ Technoscience is explained as the appropriation of science by capital interests and strong critique from Vandana Shiva in the global South is provided. Finally, because philosophers of science resist discussion of sociopolitical issues, the “very notion of philosophy of science” is argued to be in crisis caused by limited understanding of ‘knowledge’ that has been reduced to post-Enlightenment science, and by neglect of the broader human context within which the sciences work.
Engineering Cyanobacterium with Transmembrane Electron Transfer Ability for Bioelectrochemical Nitrogen Fixation

Increasing attention has been paid to bioelectrochemical nitrogen fixation (e-BNF) as a promising approach to achieve the NH3 synthesis under mild conditions. However, currently developed microbial...
Political Institutions and Party-Directed Corruption in South America: Stealing for the Team

An important question for the health and longevity of democratic governance is how institutions may be fashioned to prevent electoral victors from drawing on the resources of the state to perpetuate themselves in power. This book addresses the issue by examining how the structure of electoral institutions - the rules of democratic contestation that determine the manner in which citizens choose their representatives - affects political corruption, defined as the abuse of state power or resources for campaign finance or party-building purposes. To this end, the book develops a novel theoretical framework that examines electoral institutions as a potential vehicle for political parties to exploit the state as a source of political finance. Hypotheses derived from this framework are assessed using an unprecedented public employees' survey conducted by the author in Bolivia, Brazil and Chile.
A functional language approach in high-speed digital simulation

A functional programming approach for a multi-microprocessor architecture is presented. The language, based on Backus FP, its intermediate form and the translation process are discussed and illustrated with an example. The approach allows performance analysis to be performed at a high level as an aid in program partitioning.