cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Combinatorial Loss-of-Function Mutants in the Arabidopsis Ethylene Receptors Reveals That the ers1 etr1 Double Mutant Has Severe Developmental Defects That Are EIN2 Dependent

Ethylene responses in Arabidopsis are controlled by the ETR receptor family. The receptors function as negative regulators of downstream signal transduction components and fall into two distinct subfamilies based on sequence similarity. To clarify the levels of functional redundancy between receptor isoforms, combinatorial mutant lines were generated that included the newly isolated ers1-2 allele. Based on the etiolated seedling growth response, all mutant combinations tested exhibited some constitutive ethylene responsiveness but also remained responsive to exogenous ethylene, indicating that all five receptor isoforms can contribute to signaling and no one receptor subtype is essential. On the other hand, light-grown seedlings and adult ers1 etr1 double mutants exhibited severe phenotypes such as miniature rosette size, delayed flowering, and sterility, revealing a distinct role for subfamily I receptors in light-grown plants. Introduction of an ein2 loss-of-function mutation into the ers1 etr1 double mutant line resulted in plants that phenocopy ein2 single mutants, indicating that all phenotypes observed in the ers1 etr1 double mutant are EIN2 dependent.
Evaluation of bisubstrate secondary utilization kinetics by biofilms.

A bisubstrate system having Ss1 > Smin 1 was tested with phenol and acetate as model compounds in completely mixed biofilm reactors. Two series of experiments compared the kinetics of phenol removal as a single substrate and as part of a bisubstrate system having a fixed total feed COD. Experimental results showed that, although the rate of utilization of either substrate was almost the same in a bisubstrate system as in a single substrate system, the utilization rate of either compound always was slightly greater in a bisubstrate system than in a single-substrate system. This slight enhanced removal of an individual compound in a bisubstrate system was attributed to the extra biomass accumulated from the utilization of the other substrate. As the fraction of the feed COD contributed by an individual compound decreased in a bisubstrate system, the effluent concentration of that compound decreased and its fractional removal efficiency increased. The bisubstrate secondary-utilization model successfully described the experimental results and explained the differences that occurred as phenol became a smaller fraction of the fixed total feed COD.
Citation Analysis for Collection Development: A Comparative Study of Eight Humanities Fields

This study analyzes 9,131 citations from the 2002 volumes of journals in eight humanities fields: art, classics, history, linguistics, literature, music, philosophy, and religion. This study found that citation patterns varied widely among humanities disciplines. Due to these differences, it is important for librarians with humanities collection development responsibilities to consider each field separately when making collection development decisions. The authors investigated the language of sources cited in each field. Foreign language citations continue to be dominated by French and German. This study also confirms that, in most humanities disciplines, monographs remain the dominant format of cited sources, although some fields cited monographs less frequently than expected.
Vance Tartar: a unique biologist.

. Vance Tartar (1911-1991) has made major discoveries concerning morphogenesis, patterning, and nucleocytoplasmic relations in the giant ciliate Stentor coeruleus, mostly by means of hand-grafting using glass microneedles. This article provides a chronological account of the major events of Vance Tartar's life, a brief description of some of his major scientific achievements, and a discussion of his distinctive personality and multifaceted interests. It concludes with a consideration of how his unique style of life and work contributed to his equally unique seientific contributions.
High-Density Microarray-Mediated Gene Expression Profiling of Escherichia coli

A nearly complete collection of 4,290 Escherichia coli open reading frames was amplified and arrayed in high density on glass slides. To exploit this reagent, conditions for RNA isolation from E. coli cells, cDNA production with attendant fluorescent dye incorporation, DNA-DNA hybridization, and hybrid quantitation have been established. A brief isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) treatment elevated lacZ, lacY, and lacA transcript content about 30-fold; in contrast, most other transcript titers remained unchanged. Distinct RNA expression patterns between E. coli cultures in the exponential and transitional phases of growth were catalogued, as were differences associated with culturing in minimal and rich media. The relative abundance of each transcript was estimated by using hybridization of a genomic DNA-derived, fluorescently labeled probe as a correction factor. This inventory provided a quantitative view of the steady-state level of each mRNA species. Genes the expression of which was detected by this method were enumerated, and results were compared with the current understanding of E. coli physiology.
Introducing Computing Now

One of Computing Now's editorial board members talks about this IEEE Computer Society initiative and all that it has to offer members and nonmembers alike.
Use of archival photographs to rediscover the locality of the Holyrood elasmosaur (Ellsworth County, Kansas)

Abstract In 1931, an oilfield geologist working in Ellsworth County discovered large bones eroding from a limestone exposure along a creek bank about two miles west of the town of Holyrood, Kansas. He notified George F. Sternberg of the remains and later that year, Sternberg and his assistant, Myrl V. Walker, collected the remains of a large, headless elasmosaur from the “Lincoln Marble (Benton).” The specimen (UNSM 50136) was sold to the University of Nebraska State Museum in 1935, where it was prepared from the remaining matrix. One of the front paddles has been on display in the UNSM since that time. Sternberg was also an accomplished photographer and took several black and white photographs of the locality. The photos were used by Harold Ehler, the grandson of the person who had leased the land at the time of the discovery, and the author to confirm the locality and stratigraphic occurrence of this relatively unknown but important specimen.
Pituitary ontogeny of the snell dwarf mouse reveals Pit-1-independent and Pit-1-dependent origins of the thyrotrope

The anterior pituitary provides a model to study the molecular mechanisms responsible for emergence of distinct cell types within an organ. Dwarf mice (Snell) that express a mutant form of the tissue-specific POU-domain transcription factor Pit-1 fail to generate three cell types, including the thyrotrope (S. Li, E. B. Crenshaw, E. J. Rawson, D. S. Simmons, L. Swanson and M. G. Rosenfeld (1990), Nature 347, 528–533). Analyses of wild-type and Pit-1-defective mice, presented here, have revealed that thyrotropes unexpectedly arise from two independent cell populations. The first population is Pit-1-independent and appears on e12 in the rostral tip of the developing gland, but phenotypically disappears by the day of birth. The second is Pit-1-dependent and arises subsequently in the caudomedial portion of the developing gland (e15.5), following the initial expression of Pit-1 in this region. The failure of caudomedial thyrotrope cells to appear in the Snell dwarf, and the observation that Pit-1 can bind to and transactivate the TSH beta promoter, apparently enhanced by its phosphorylation, suggests that Pit-1 is directly required for the appearance of this distinct population that serves as the precursors of the mature thyrotrope cell type. These data suggest that different molecular mechanisms, based on the actions of distinct transcription factors, can serve to independently generate a specific cell phenotype during mammalian organogenesis.
Effects of a Universal Positive Classroom Behavior Program on Student Learning.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a universal program to promote positive classroom behavior on students’ approaches to learning and early academic skills. Second grade classrooms (N = 39) were randomly assigned to treatment and business-as-usual control conditions. Teachers in intervention classrooms implemented the Social Skills Improvement System Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS-CIP) over a 12-week period. Participating students’ (N = 494) engagement, motivation, and academic skills were assessed before and after treatment implementation. Results indicated that students with lower levels of engagement and motivation at pretest experienced significant improvement in these areas after exposure to the SSIS-CIP. Although no significant differences were observed in reading, students receiving supplemental instructional services demonstrated greater gains in mathematics than did their peers in the control condition.
Improved Laboratory Diagnosis of Septicemia

Optimal timing of blood cultures and proper skin disinfection are two ways to facilitate the diagnosis.
Where do we come from....

dresses, it is traditional for outgoing presidents of our organizations to speak to their memberships as a kind of final rite. Generally, the theme is one in which the "wisdom" accumulated during the preceding year is shared with at least those in attendance, if not with the expanded professional constituency. Perhaps our wisest, Dr. Maxwell Finland, attempted to establish a negative tradition by not giving a speech at all! I am certain that my concern over what to say, and how to say it, has been no greater than that of my predecessors. Interestingly, when I have sought advice from colleagues on odd occasions, the responses went something like this: "Give them a straightforward, scientific address." "Make it a political statement." "The meeting format has been changed drastically, so why not eliminate it altogether?" The latter had not occurred to me, but it certainly could not be faulted for attractiveness. As a matter of fact, I had just about decided to take this course except that I found myself being gnawed at by a question which has been put to me repeatedly this past year. Generally, this has been during visits to infectious disease units when more than one fellow would ask me,
Reaction of Methylcyclopentadienyl Manganese Tricarbonyl on Silicon Oxide Surfaces: Implications for Thin Film Atomic Layer Depositions

The thermal chemistry of methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MeCpMn(CO)3) on silicon oxide surfaces was characterized by a combination of analytical techniques, including gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC–MS), temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), infrared absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The compound was found to be fairly stable, but to be able to dissociatively chemisorb on the surface via the loss of one or more carbonyl ligands followed by the oxidative addition of a surface silanol group. Further activation leads to the loss of the aromatic ligand, at temperatures above approximately 575 K. This takes place primarily via the addition of a hydrogen atom to the MeCp ligand to form methylcyclopentadiene, which is released to the gas phase, but a small competing channel starts at slightly lower temperatures that yields fulvene, and/or possibly benzene, after molecular rearrangement. The clean nature of the chemistry seen here for the methylcyclopen...
A genomic comparison of 13 symbiotic Vibrio fischeri isolates from the perspective of their host source and colonization behavior.

Newly hatched Euprymna scolopes squid obtain their specific light-organ symbionts from an array of Vibrio (Allivibrio) fischeri strains present in their environment. Two genetically distinct populations of this squid species have been identified, one in Kaneohe Bay (KB), and another in Maunaloa Bay (MB), Oahu. We asked whether symbionts isolated from squid in each of these populations outcompete isolates from the other population in mixed-infection experiments. No relationship was found between a strain’s host source (KB or MB) and its ability to competitively colonize KB or MB juveniles in a mixed inoculum. Instead, two colonization behaviors were identified among the 11 KB and MB strains tested: a ‘dominant’ outcome, in which one strain outcompetes the other for colonization, and a ‘sharing’ outcome, in which two strains co-colonize the squid. A genome-level comparison of these and other V. fischeri strains suggested that the core genomic structure of this species is both syntenous and highly conserved over time and geographical distance. We also identified ~250 Kb of sequence, encoding 194 dispersed orfs, that was specific to those strains that expressed the dominant colonization behavior. Taken together, the results indicate a link between the genome content of V. fischeri strains and their colonization behavior when initiating a light-organ symbiosis.
Determinants Of Cost Of Care For Persons With Severe Hemophilia

Background The ability of a person with hemophilia to adhere to treatment recommendations aimed at preventing and controlling bleeding likely impacts clinical outcomes and resource utilization. Annual cost of replacement factor for persons with severe hemophilia on prophylaxis is estimated to be as high as $300,000 per year (Johnson KA and Zhou ZY. ASH Annual Meeting Educational Program . 2011; 413-418). Hemophilia care is optimized when delivered by a highly specialized hemophilia treatment center (HTC) (Soucie et al. Blood. 2000; 96: 437-442). Consolidation of care for persons with hemophilia from a large geographic region within an HTC results in demographic heterogeneity that may impact an individual's ability to adhere to treatment recommendations. Little is known regarding the impact of socio-demographic factors on treatment outcomes for persons with hemophilia. The purpose of this study was to identify disease-related, treatment-related and demographic variables that have a significant impact on morbidity and resource utilization. Methods We identified 69 persons with severe hemophilia treated at our HTC between June 2009 and June 2012. We collected data for the variables listed below in [table 1][1]. To assess morbidity and resource utilization, we collected data for total factor use, total outpatient cost, total inpatient cost, frequency of inpatient and outpatient encounters and length of stay when hospitalized. Risk factors were identified using linear regression. A subset analysis was performed to evaluate the impact of prophylaxis on patients without inhibitors. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA (version 12.0 College Station, TX). Statistical significance was defined as P < 0.05. Results Age and inhibitor status were the only variables to significantly impact cost in both inpatient and outpatient settings ([Table 1][1]). The statistically significant beneficial impact of prophylaxis was confirmed by subgroup analysis of patients without inhibitors with respect to number of hospitalizations and length of stay, but not total cost. View this table: Table 1 Total Cost Conclusions Identifying and addressing potential barriers to care will likely reduce morbidity and cost for persons with hemophilia. Caregiver status and age are demographic variables that may contribute to poor medical adherence resulting in increased morbidity and cost of care for persons with severe hemophilia. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare. [1]: #T1
Development and Application of a New-type Low Harmonic Frequency Converter

A new-type frequency converter has been developed to solve the problem of high harmonic content in input current of general AC-DC-AC voltage-type LV frequency converter.For its rectifying part,controllable sine pulse width modulation(SPWM) rectifier is adopted,and input current is made approximate to sine wave upon control by controllable rectifier bridge;single-chip computer microcontroller and insulated gate bipolar transistor(IGBT) drive circuit are adopted for hardware;as to its software,current and voltage feedback control scheme is used to feed the motor braking energy back to power grid.Practical application shows that the new-type frequency converter is featured by small harmonic current,large power factor and remarkable energy-saving effect.
On learning how players learn: estimation of learning dynamics in the routing game

The routing game models congestion in transportation networks, communication networks, and other cyber physical systems in which agents compete for shared resources. We consider an online learning model of player dynamics: at each iteration, every player chooses a route (or a probability distribution over routes, which corresponds to a flow allocation over the physical network), then the joint decision of all players determines the costs of each path, which are then revealed to the players. We pose the following estimation problem: given a sequence of player decisions and the corresponding costs, we would like to estimate the learning model parameters. We consider in particular entropic mirror descent dynamics, reduce the problem to estimating the learning rates of each player. We demonstrate this method using data collected from a routing game experiment, played by human participants: We develop a web application to implement the routing game. When players log in, they are assigned an origin and destination on the graph. They can choose, at each iteration, a distribution over their available routes, and each player seeks to minimize her own cost. We collect a data set using this interface, then apply the proposed method to estimate the learning model parameters. We observe in particular that after an exploration phase, the joint decision of the players remains within a small distance of the Nash equilibrium. We also use the estimated model parameters to predict the flow distribution over routes, and compare these predictions to the actual distribution. Finally, we discuss some of the qualitative implications of the experiments, and give directions for future research.
Creditation and Qualification

We shall now begin to track down the elements of our appraisals. A sufficient number of examples has been introduced so that we can proceed immediately to the analytical task and then confirm the analysis by a further survey of the concepts themselves. The types of concepts are more varied than might be suspected since in one classification there are concepts expressed by substantive terms (fool, rascal, strumpet, snob), by attributives (innumerable examples, mostly adjectives) and processives (verbs); in another, numerous materially distinct classes, intellectual, behavioral, sex-related, economic, communitive, and others; in another, fust order and higher order appraisals; in still another, commendations as compared to characterizations. If we can clarify the nature of what enters into characterizations that makes them characterizations, our understanding of these classes will be much easier.
Problem Gambling in a Federal Prison Population: Results from the South Oaks Gambling Screen

Three hundred and sixty three medium security federal prison inmates were interviewed with the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS) with 5.2% of the sample achieving SOGS scores greater than 4 and another 7.4% attaining scores of 3 or 4, traditional markers of pathological gambling and problem gambling, respectively. Attempts were made to evaluate the relative accuracy of the continuum and dichotomy models of problem gambling by contrasting three groups of subjects (SOGS 4) on a series of gambling-related measures and comparing the relative ability of the SOGS and a dichotomized version of the SOGS to account for residual variance in these same gambling-related measures. Results were consistent with the view that problem gambling embodies features of both a continuum and dichotomy. Nearly half the subjects had desisted from problem gambling on their own, although self-remitters displayed less severe and extensive patterns of problem gambling than non-remitting subjects.
Scaling-up process characterization

Most of the literature on statistical process monitoring (SPM) concerns a single process or a few of them. Yet, in a modern manufacturing plant there may be thousands of process measurements worth monitoring. When scaling up, supporting software should provide three important capabilities. First, it should sort by appropriate summary measures to allow the engineer to easily identify processes of most concern. Second, it should show process health of all processes in one graph. Third, it should meet the challenges of big data for test multiplicity, robustness, and computational speed.This article describes the summaries and graphs that can be especially useful when monitoring thousands of process measures that are to be analyzed retrospectively. This article's goal is to propose these for routine reports on processes and invite discussion as to whether these features belong in the mainstream.
The political economy of agriculture in Kisii, Kenya: social reproduction and household response to development policy.

Kenya has been the focus of one of the most intense academic and policy debates an African political economy. The intensity derives from Kenya's role as a model of successful capitalist development, to be emulated by its fellow African nations. Kenyan rural development, in particular, has received extensive attention; it is depicted as a model of successful capitalist development involving and maintaining, rather than shunting aside and displacing, the African peasantry. Furthermore, the entire process has occurred with active state And international encouragement, alloying the prospect of repetition elsewhere. In addition to its status as a model of development policy, Kenya is considered a key case study in the theoretical debate over the development of capitalism within the African peasantry. Despite the growing and rich literature on the country, the theoretical and policy debates praising and criticizing the 'Kenyan model' continue unabated. This thesis examines the Kenyan model, focusing on the social transformation it has wrought within the Kenyan peasantry. Central to this transformation is the question of the degree and Likely outcome of any socio-economic differentiation occurring. Regardless of whether or not there was significant differentiation in pre-colonial and pre-capitalist rural Kenya, market integration has undoubtedly differentia/17 affected the peasantry. A key question is the extent to which this has produced politically and economically significant differentiation in modern Kenya, and what the process of differentiation appears to be. A focus an process is essential to understand the likely trajectory of the transformation that has occurred. in turn allowing some projection of the future possibilities of the model as a whole. By emphasizing the importance of differentiation, I do not intend to imply that equality is the sole, or even the most important, development goal. Growth, meeting 'basic human needs,' and economic diversification, among others, are also important. Socio-economic differentiation is crucial, however, because it affects future development potential. Peasant response to policy depends at least in part an their control of mobilizabIe resources; differentiation alters the pattern of such control. Response to a given policy may well be enhanced or circumscribed by past differentiation, regardless of how well the policy is designed and implemented. In this sense, peasant differentiation must be a central focus. Unlike differentiation among a landless working class, peasant differentiation affects productive capacity directly, so should be important even to analysts who place little value on socio-economic equality itself.
Fabrication of package embedded spiral inductors with two magnetic layers for flexible SIP point of load converters in Internet of Everything devices

Abstract Inductive DC-DC converters are key elements in power delivery units for the development of Internet of Everything (IoE) architectures made of interconnected networks of smart devices, self-powered from different energy sources. The ultra-low power levels involved in IoE devices in addition to cost reduction of final products requires the development of new technologies for the miniaturization of all the active and passive components. In this paper, a low temperature, cheap and simple two-steps fabrication process of embedded planar inductors with two magnetic layers on a very thin, flexible and lightweight FR4 organic substrate is demonstrated for flexible System in package (SIP) based point of load DC-DC converters in IoE devices. The process uses standard printed wiring board (PWB) copper etching to define the square geometry of the planar inductors and trenches underneath the inductor copper traces. Very thick top and bottom magnetic layers are deposited using stencil printing of an FR4 compatible epoxy-NiZn ferrite composite magnetic material on top of the copper traces and into the trenches. At 30 MHz, the permittivity is 3.4 and 6.23 while the dielectric loss tangent is 0.014 and 0.009 for the epoxy and composite magnetic material respectively. The composite material has a permeability of 8.46, a loss tangent value of 0.1 at a frequency of 30 MHz and saturates around 0.13 Tesla. The DC resistance varies from 136 mΩ to 386 mΩ while at 30 MHz the AC resistance varies from 1.9 Ω to 10.1 Ω for an inductance value from 180 nH to 715 nH, corresponding to an inductance density between 5.69 nH/mm2 and 12.47 nH/mm2 and a quality factor between 13 and 17. Flexibility and its effect on the electrical parameters of the fabricated inductors is demonstrated through bending tests. A variation of
Can genius be taught? Emerson’s genius and the virtues of modern science

‘Genius, cannot be taught,’ Ralph Waldo Emerson reports, reiterating Socrates’s conclusion in Plato’s Meno. This article considers this claim and its significance for moral education, specifically ...
THE SOFTWARE AGE

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the increasing importance and use of software worldwide in all fields. One can see the pervasive impact of the information society and the more recent importance of software on the industrial development. This effect is similar to the transition from an agricultural to an industrial society. In its early days, farmers, plantation owners, and owners of estates and trading companies associated with the agricultural industry resisted the industrial revolution. They resisted its advent in every way possible. Those with vested interests in the agrarian society looked at industrial development simply as a companion activity to agrarian activities and as a source of competition. Education and training are going to see continued emphasis on software development, the development of both learning programs, and the databases for education and research. One exciting and growing area of software development is in the application of artificial intelligence to industrial problems. Artificial intelligence has become the darling of the industrial world. Applications of artificial intelligence, which principally means software development, are being utilized today in chemistry, medicine, engineering, education, and various areas of applied design.
Mimicking Biomineral Systems: What have we Achieved and Where do we go from Here?

Biomimetic synthesis of inorganic crystals and composites has evolved dramatically since its inception. Advances in our understanding of matrix organization, templated nucleation, pathways of mineral formation via disordered precursor phases, mesocrystal formation, and the control of crystal shape have been paralleled by synthetic approaches to exploiting these discoveries. Resolution of current controversies concerning the early stages of nucleation and the mechanisms underlying both particle mediated crystal growth and matrix-directed nucleation will set the stage for further advances in the technology of biomimetic synthesis.
Legal Aspects of Autonomous Driving

Autonomous driving and autonomous vehicles are among the most intensively researched and publicly followed automotive technologies. This technology could dramatically improve safety, efficiency, and mobility by taking the driver out of the loop and relying on vehicles to navigate themselves through traffic.As automobiles are becoming more self-reliant in making mission-critical driving decisions, public policies, tort law, and technical standards need to be revisited to prepare courts and the public for the new realities of traffic with autonomous vehicles. This short paper assesses the current situation, gives an outlook of the technical evolution, and proposes first steps in the legal realm.
What we have Learned about Early Childhood and the Development of Delinquency

There has been growing interest in identifying very young children at risk for early and persistent trajectories of antisocial behavior. This interest has been motivated by several studies on early- versus late-starting antisocial youth (Moffitt, 1993; Patterson, Capaldi, & Bank, 1991). Several researchers have documented that compared to late starters, who begin delinquent activity in mid- to late-adolescence, early starters show a more persistent and chronic trajectory of antisocial behavior extending from middle childhood to adulthood.
Model Form Error of Alternate Modeling Strategies: Shell Type Wind Turbine Blades

In the U.S. there is a need for the Wind Energy sector to reduce maintenance costs and increase the continuous availability of wind turbines to compete with other forms of energy. In this respect, reliable modeling and simulation techniques play an indispensible role in allowing a better understanding of wind turbine blade vibrations. The purpose of this paper is to quantify the degrading effects of simplifications to the material cross section of a finite element (FE) model of a Suzlon S88-2.1 MW wind turbine blade. First, a code verification study with ANSYS Shell281 elements is performed to verify the element type selection. Next, a three-dimensional model of the blade is developed using NuMAD, pre-processing software and analyzed in ANSYS, FE modeling software. A solution verification study is performed to identify the mesh size that will yield converged solutions with manageable demands on computational resources. Five constitutive models are developed by incrementally simplifying the cross section of the blade. The most sophisticated model is idealized as the baseline to create synthetic experimental data, utilizing orthotropic materials and a composite cross section, in comparison to the least involved model which has an isotropic, smeared cross section. This manuscript explores the extent to which errors are increased as the model is simplified in order to reduce the number of input calibration parameters and computation time. Considering the baseline, the model form errors associated with the four models of lesser sophistication are estimated. The estimates of model form error conveniently quantify the effects of simplifications to the entire domain of a FE model wind turbine blade. Model form error will help to identify the tradeoffs between varying levels of sophistication in the physics, and will thus aid in future attempts to develop dependable FE models of shell type wind turbine blades.
Message in a Bottle: Extending Communication Coverage Via Boat-to-Boat WiFi Communication

Maritime tasks have been costly and challenging due to the geographical, spatial, and dynamic nature of the area of operations. With the high deployment cost and unreliability of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASV) have been recently deployed to perform various maritime tasks. In this paper, we propose communication methods to reduce maritime task data retrieval. We define an optimization problem that leverages Device-2-Device (D2D) WiFi communication to retrieve data beyond the radio range of the central data-collection entity. We empirically analyze WiFi performance on-water given single-hop and multi-hop D2D communication. We quantitatively compare two data retrieval methods: \em end-to-end ad-hoc and \em hop-by-hop opportunistic. Our results highlight that while the inexpensive hop-by-hop opportunistic helps cover larger areas, end-to-end ad-hoc performs up-to 60× faster delivery.
Growth-regulated proteins and neuronal plasticity. A commentary.

Growth-regulated proteins (GRPs) of the neuron are synthesized during outgrowth and regeneration at an increased rate and enriched in nerve growth cones. Therefore, they can be used to some degree as markers of neurite growth. However, these proteins are not unique to the growing neuron, and their properties are not known sufficiently to assign them a functional and/or causal role in the mechanisms of outgrowth. During synaptogenesis, GRPs decrease in abundance, and growth cone functions of motility and organelle assembly are being replaced by junctional contact and transmitter release. However, there is a stage during which growth cone and synaptic properties overlap to some degree. We propose that it is this overlap and its continuation that allow for synaptic plasticity in developing and adult nervous systems. We also propose a hypothesis involving (a) trophic factor(s) that might explain the regulation of synaptic sizes and collateral sprouting. Some GRPs, especially GAP43/B50/pp46/F1, are more prominent in adult brain regions of high plasticity, and they undergo change, such as phosphorylation, during long-term potentiation (LTP). Without precise functional knowledge of GRPs, it is impossible to use changes in such proteins to explain the plasticity mechanism. However, changes in these “growth markers” are likely to be an indication of sprouting activity, which would explain well the various phenomena associated with plasticity and learning in the adult. Thus, plasticity and memory may be viewed as a continuation of the developmental process into adulthood.
The Secret Stories of Sodium How Infants, Athletes, Psychotics, And Otherwise Healthy People Die from Sodium Imbalance

1. Tamara Hew-Butler, DPM, PhD, FACSM[⇑][1] 1. School of Health Science, Oakland University, Rochester MI 2. Kevin Weisz, BS 1. William Beaumont School of Medicine, Oakland University, Rochester MI 1. Address for Correspondence: Tamara Hew-Butler, DPM, PhD, FACSM, School of Health Science, 3157 HHB, Oakland University, 2200 N. Squirrel Rd, Rochester, MI 49309; hew{at}oakland.edu 1. Define the normal blood sodium concentration and the definitions of hypo- and hypernatremia. 2. Summarize how extracellular sodium and intracellular potassium drive tonicity balance 3. Describe the roles of hormones in sodium balance. 4. Explain how plasma osmolality and plasma volume are monitored within the body. INTRODUCTION Every number tells a story. As such, clinical laboratory science empowers modern medicine with a vast yet growing repertoire of analytes, which subsequently guide the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of most – if not all - medical conditions. The body's integrated response to dynamic perturbations in homeostasis creates an elusive trail of biochemical footprints, each providing clues to where pathophysiology began and how far the body has strayed off course (i.e. severity of the insult and appropriateness of the response). The ubiquitous cation, sodium, is one of the main markers of whole body homeostasis. The sodium concentration ([Na+]) within the extracellular fluid space is essential for maintaining cellular size and adequate tissue perfusion. As such, the inherent regulation of water and sodium balance is strict, precise, and fiercely protected by the body. Therefore, when blood sodium levels venture outside of the heavily guarded trails of normonatremia (normal blood [Na+]), into hyponatremia (low blood [Na+]) or hypernatremia (high blood [Na+]), each deviation foretells tales of health and disease - and in rare cases, of abuse and neglect. Water and sodium within the exterior milieu is essential to life. However, within the interior milieu, it is the balance between the two that is critical for individual human survival. We refer to this balance, between water and sodium within the internal milieu, as “fluid homeostasis.” The physiological mechanisms that govern fluid intake (thirst) and output (urine), as well as sodium intake (sodium palatability) and output (urine) have been well-described.1-3 Of historical note,… ABBREVIATIONS: [Na+] – sodium concentration, ADH - anti-diuretic hormone, AVP – arginine vasopressin, CVO - circumventricular organs, ECF – extracellular fluid, ICF – intracellular fluid, IV – intravenous, K+ - potassium, RAAS - renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system 1. Define the normal blood sodium concentration and the definitions of hypo- and hypernatremia. 2. Summarize how extracellular sodium and intracellular potassium drive tonicity balance 3. Describe the roles of hormones in sodium balance. 4. Explain how plasma osmolality and plasma volume are monitored within the body. [1]: #corresp-1
Do roads or streams explain plant invasions in forested protected areas

Giving land managers the ability to predict invasion patterns can provide planning tools for acquisition and management of protected areas. We compared the effects of roads and streams, two substantial pathways for delivery of invasive plant propagules and sources of disturbance that may facilitate invasions, on the abundance of non-native invasive plants in 27 protected areas in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States. As an extension of our road analysis, we also evaluated specific road type as a predictor of protected area invadedness. We found that road and stream predictors did not improve on a model that included only other covariates (e.g., distance to an urban area, average canopy cover, average slope, edge-to-interior ratio, percent agricultural land, and percent developed land). In this model, only percent agricultural land was marginally significant in predicting parcel invadedness. However, we found that four-wheel drive (4WD) roads did predict protected area invadedness well relative to other road types (primary, secondary, and local) and better than a covariates-only model. The role of 4WD road density in predicting protected area invadedness may be explained by their relation to recreation, the unmaintained nature of 4WD roads, or the accumulation of mud and plant materials on 4WD vehicles. Although we found overall streams and roads in general to be poor predictors of invadedness of protected areas by invasive plants, we do propose that our finding of a relationship between plant invasions and density of 4WD roads merits further investigation in the future.
Strategies nurses use when caring for patients with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury who have cognitive impairments.

Aims and objectives Adults with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) may have immediate and chronic cognitive impairments that require use of specific nursing strategies. Nurses must be knowledgeable about strategies to use to accommodate these impairments. However, available clinical guidelines and research lack information to direct nonacute nursing management of cognition, limiting guidance for nurses when developing their care plans. The purpose of this study was to investigate strategies nurses use when caring for patients with moderate-to-severe TBI who have cognitive impairments. Design Cross-sectional, exploratory study. Methods A total of 692 nurses from three hospitals answered the following open-ended question via electronic survey: "Imagine you are caring for a patient with moderate-to-severe TBI who has problems with cognition (e.g., issues with memory, attention, and executive function). Please state your typical nursing routine to care for this type of patient." Data were analysed using summative content analysis. Methods are reported using COREQ guidelines (See File S1). Results Most respondents were female (89%), middle-aged (40.3 years), staff registered nurses (77%) practicing on an inpatient unit (51%) with prior experience caring for patients with moderate-to-severe TBI (95%). Nurses described 189 strategies used in their care plan when caring for patients with TBI who have cognitive impairments, including the following: (a) cognitive techniques; (b) communication techniques; (c) patient safety techniques; (d) agitation and behaviour management techniques; and (e) education techniques. Conclusions Findings have implications for education and training of nurses, direction for future research aimed at determining the effectiveness of nursing strategies with this patient population, and for development of clinical guidelines for nonacute nursing management of patients with moderate-to-severe TBI who have cognitive impairments. Relevance to clinical practice Findings provide foundational knowledge on strategies nurses use when caring for patients with TBI who have cognitive impairments, which could be used to direct evidence-based nursing care of this patient population.
Single-shot quantitative phase gradient microscopy using a system of multifunctional metasurfaces

Quantitative phase imaging (QPI) of transparent samples plays an essential role in multiple biomedical applications, and miniaturizing these systems will enable their adoption into point-of-care and in vivo applications. Here, we propose a compact quantitative phase gradient microscope (QGPM) based on two dielectric metasurface layers, inspired by a classical differential interference contrast (DIC) microscope. Owing to the multifunctionality and compactness of the dielectric metasurfaces, the QPGM simultaneously captures three DIC images to generate a quantitative phase gradient image in a single shot. The volume of the metasurface optical system is on the order of 1 mm3. Imaging experiments with various phase resolution samples verify the capability to capture quantitative phase gradient data, with phase gradient sensitivity better than 92.3 mrad μm−1 and single-cell resolution. The results showcase the potential of metasurfaces for developing miniaturized QPI systems for label-free cellular imaging and point-of-care devices. Using two dielectric metasurface layers, a compact quantitative phase gradient microscope that can capture quantitative phase gradient images in a single shot is reported with phase gradient sensitivity better than 92.3 mrad μm−1 and single-cell resolution.
Transfer of class 1 integron-mediated antibiotic resistance genes from Salmonella enterica of farm fly origin to susceptible Escherichia coli and Salmonella strains

Abstract Integrons in Salmonella are critical genetic elements with antibiotic resistance genes that could be disseminated through horizontal gene transfer, imposing risks to public health. This study was undertaken to determine the structure of integrons in Salmonella isolated from flies on cattle farms and examine the transferability of the integrons through conjugation. Results showed that 2 out of 606 isolated Salmonella, 438 and 442, harbored class 1 integrons. Integron gene cassette in Salmonella 438 carried a single gene of aadA7, and Salmonella 442, drfA12-orfF-aadA2. The two integrons were transferrable through conjugation on microbiological media to a Salmonella strain isolated from fly and to E. coli C600 at efficiencies ranging from 1.47 × 10−6 to 6.29 × 10−4. However, only Salmonella 442 was able to transfer its integron to the recipient cells in/on 3 out of 8 farm samples, with conjugation efficiencies ranging from 4.26 × 10−10 to 1.36 × 10−8. Antibiotic resistance genes not carried by integrons, e.g. genes encoding resistance to tetracycline and chloramphenicol, were co-transferred with integron-mediated antibiotic resistance genes. The data suggests that some Salmonella isolated from flies of cattle source carry integrons which could disseminate antibiotic resistance genes through horizontal gene transfer in the farm environment.
Afro-Brazilian Women YouTubers’ Use of African-American Media Representations to Promote Social Justice in Brazil

This article examines how Afro-Brazilian YouTube channels Papo de Preta (Black woman’s chat) and Afros e Afins use African-American media representations and cultural references to discuss social justice issues in Brazil. They also rely on African-American entertainers and activists to articulate the particularities of marginalization in Brazil. Their use of African-American entertainers demonstrates the transnational exchange of ideas among Afro-descendants. The social justice work of these YouTubers is part of a long tradition of transnational communication among Afro-descendants to resist marginalization in the home country.
Reticular Bullous Epithelial Edema in Corneas Treated with Netarsudil: A Case Series

Purpose To describe the patient characteristics and the clinical course of an unusual reticular pattern of bullous epithelial corneal edema in a series of patients treated with netarsudil. Design Retrospective case series. Methods Case series at a single academic center where treatment with netarsudil produced a particular pattern of bullous epithelial corneal edema. Results Six episodes of reticular bullous epithelial corneal edema were identified in 5 eyes of 5 patients treated with netarsudil. A total of 4 of 5 patients had a history of corneal edema in the affected eye, and the fifth patient had risk factors for corneal edema including a history of anterior uveitis and an anterior chamber glaucoma drainage device. In 4 of 6 episodes, corneal edema was present, typically in the corneal stroma at the time of netarsudil initiation. In 5 of 6 cases, visual acuity worsened with onset of bullous epithelial edema, and in all cases, visual acuity stabilized or improved following discontinuation of netarsudil. In all cases, the reticular bullous epithelial edema improved or resolved after discontinuation of netarsudil. Conclusions The patient characteristics and natural history of a particular pattern of reticular bullous epithelial edema in a series of patients treated with netarsudil once daily is reported. Most patients had a history of corneal edema or predisposing risk factors for corneal edema. All patients demonstrated improvement in bullous epithelial edema after netarsudil discontinuation. Visual acuity improved in most patients within weeks after discontinuation of netarsudil, although 2 patients also underwent surgical interventions that might have contributed to improved visual acuity.