cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Aminopeptidase activity associated with alpha1-conarachin (peanut protein)

Abstract Aminopeptidases were investigated in protein extracts of dormant and germinated peanut cotyledons by electrophoretic immunochemical techniques. Considerable activity was observed in protein zones that migrated toward the anode after simple electrophoresis. Of the immunogenic proteins in dormant seed, aminopeptidase activity was associated only with the immunocomplex of α 1 -conarachin, a globular protein in peanuts. The specific aminopeptidase activity of total extracts was marginally higher than that of purified α-conarachin. Specific iso-enzyme(s) adsorption on the antigen-antibody complex of α 1 -conarachin might be attributed in part, to these phenomena. Reactions of protein extracts from germinated cotyledons with immune sera made against protein in germinated tissues—roots and cotyledons—showed the identical associative interaction. Some of the determinant groups on α 1 -conarachin in the germ and cotyledon were apparently maintained during early phases of germination.
Finite automata for languages of combinatorial interest: An order theoretical point of view

Abstract Various families of permutations of {1, 2, …, n} present combinatorial interest. Among them are involutions and permutations with certain pattern restrictions. We regard such a family F of permutations as a language, and regard the minimum finite automaton M(F) which accepts F as a partially ordered set. This approach has provided a tool in proving enumeration results concerning certain classes of restricted permutations. We describe such instances and discuss order-theoretical questions concerning M(F).
Molecular-Level Processing of Conjugated Polymers. 3. Layer-by-Layer Manipulation of Polyaniline via Electrostatic Interactions

Multilayer thin films comprised of sequentially adsorbed layers of partially doped polyaniline and a polyanion, sulfonated polystyrene, were fabricated via the use of a simple layer-by-layer molecular-level processing scheme. Using this simple multilayer polymer adsorption process, uniform thin films of polyaniline in the 40−600 A thickness range were readily fabricated onto a variety of different substrates. Doping of these films with strong acids such as HCl and methane sulfonic acid results in electrically conductive thin films with conductivities comparable to those obtained with spin cast films (0.5−1.0 S/cm). The adsorption process used to fabricate the films was found to be driven primarily by the electrostatic attractions developed between the partially doped chains of polyaniline (polycation) and the negatively charged chains of the polyanion.
Hemodynamically significant atrial septal defect after atrial fibrillation ablation: A hole to remember

Case Report A 67-year-old woman was referred for cryoablation after flecainide therapy for symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) was unsuccessful. A transesophageal echocardiogram performed immediately before the ablation was unremarkable. Double-transseptal puncture with a Brockenbrough needle through 8F SL0 and SL2 sheaths was performed. A Lasso catheter was advanced through the SL2 sheath into the left atrium and used to map all 4 pulmonary veins. The SL0 sheath was exchanged for a 15F FlexCath (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN), and a 28-mm Arctic Front Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter (Medtronic) was used to isolate all pulmonary veins. A hockey stick maneuver was required to engage the right inferior pulmonary vein. The next day, color flow interrogation with a transthoracic echocardiogram demonstrated a small interatrial defect and left-to-right shunt (Figure 1). Over the next 3 months, the patient continued to have episodes of PAF, and she was eventually brought back for radiofrequency ablation (RFA). An echocardiogram performed before the procedure demonstrated mild right ventricular (RV) dilation, ventricular septum diastolic flattening, and a stable shunt. During the RFA, the interatrial septum was crossed through the iatrogenic atrial septal defect (iASD) with two 8.5F sheaths, and all the electrically reconnected veins were isolated successfully. Within days after the procedure, the patient began experiencing increasing dyspnea on exertion and fatigue. Workup with transthoracic echocardiogram and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (Figure 2) showed moderate right atrial and RV dilation, an RV systolic pressure of 40 mm Hg, and a large atrial septal defect with a rim up to 1.1 cm (Figure 3). There was a significant left-to-right interatrial
Human Primordial Germ Cell Formation Is Diminished by Exposure to Environmental Toxicants Acting through the AHR Signaling Pathway

Historically, effects of environmental toxicants on human development have been deduced via epidemiological studies because direct experimental analysis has not been possible. However, in recent years, the derivation of human pluripotent stem cells has provided a potential experimental system to directly probe human development. Here, we used human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to study the effect of environmental toxicants on human germ cell development, with a focus on differentiation of the founding population of primordial germ cells (PGCs), which will go on to form the oocytes of the adult. We demonstrate that human PGC numbers are specifically reduced by exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a group of toxicants common in air pollutants released from gasoline combustion or tobacco smoke. Further, we demonstrate that the adverse effects of PAH exposure are mediated through the aromatic hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) and BAX pathway. This study demonstrates the utility of hESCs as a model system for direct examination of the molecular and genetic pathways of environmental toxicants on human germ cell development.
Diagnostic imaging in paraneoplastic autoimmune multiorgan syndrome: retrospective single site study and literature review of 225 patients.

Background The utility of diagnostic imaging in paraneoplastic autoimmune multiorgan syndrome (PAMS) is unknown. Methods We examined the role of diagnostic imaging in patients with PAMS evaluated at our tertiary referral center (at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA) and in the English literature between January 1, 1996, and August 31, 2012. Results We included 17 patients from our institution and 208 patients from the literature review. Of these 225 patients, 113 (50.2%) were not known to have a malignancy diagnosis at the time of PAMS diagnosis. Of the 123 patients from our institution and from the literature reported to undergo imaging studies, conventional computed tomography (CT) was the predominant imaging modality (n = 110; 89.4%); 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT was also used, albeit infrequently (n = 12; 9.8%). When CT was included in imaging to identify or confirm the presence of a malignancy, imaging was successful in all patients who ultimately were diagnosed with an associated malignancy. At our institution, a relatively high percentage (n = 7; 41%) of patients had 18F-FDG PET/CT, which not only identified all tumors found on CT but also facilitated staging of lymphoma and guided biopsy procedures. Conclusion Diagnostic imaging is frequently utilized in PAMS with unknown malignancy. Both conventional CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT are likely to detect the typical underlying neoplasms. Relative to conventional CT, 18F-FDG PET/CT may provide additional useful information regarding prognosis for the likely underlying malignancies, although there is a paucity of reports describing the use of this modality for this purpose.
A dynamic programming algorithm for binning microbial community profiles

Motivation: A number of community profiling approaches have been widely used to study the microbial community composition and its variations in environmental ecology. Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA) is one such technique. ARISA has been used to study microbial communities using 16S--23S rRNA intergenic spacer length heterogeneity at different times and places. Owing to errors in sampling, random mutations in PCR amplification, and probably mostly variations in readings from the equipment used to analyze fragment sizes, the data read directly from the fragment analyzer should not be used for down stream statistical analysis. No optimal data preprocessing methods are available. A commonly used approach is to bin the reading lengths of the 16S--23S intergenic spacer. We have developed a dynamic programming algorithm based binning method for ARISA data analysis which minimizes the overall differences between replicates from the same sampling location and time. Results: In a test example from an ocean time series sampling program, data preprocessing identified several outliers which upon re-examination were found to be because of systematic errors. Clustering analysis of the ARISA from different times based on the dynamic programming algorithm binned data revealed important features of the biodiversity of the microbial communities. Availability: The algorithm is implemented in a software package and it is available upon request from the corresponding author. Contact: fsun@usc.edu
Sex-Ratio Evolution in Nuclear-Cytoplasmic Gynodioecy When Restoration Is a Threshold Trait

Gynodioecious plant species, which have populations consisting of female and hermaphrodite individuals, usually have complex sex determination involving cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) alleles interacting with nuclear restorers of fertility. In response to recent evidence, we present a model of sex-ratio evolution in which restoration of male fertility is a threshold trait. We find that females are maintained at low frequencies for all biologically relevant parameter values. Furthermore, this model predicts periodically high female frequencies (>50%) under conditions of lower female seed fecundity advantages (compensation, x = 5%) and pleiotropic fitness effects associated with restorers of fertility (costs of restoration, y = 20%) than in other models. This model explains the maintenance of females in species that have previously experienced invasions of CMS alleles and the evolution of multiple restorers. Sensitivity of the model to small changes in cost and compensation values and to initial conditions may explain why populations of the same species vary widely for sex ratio.
A new look at the Dynamic Similarity Hypothesis: the importance of swing phase

The Dynamic Similarity Hypothesis (DSH) suggests that when animals of different size walk at similar Froude numbers (equal ratios of inertial and gravitational forces) they will use similar size-corrected gaits. This application of similarity theory to animal biomechanics has contributed to fundamental insights in the mechanics and evolution of a diverse set of locomotor systems. However, despite its popularity, many mammals fail to walk with dynamically similar stride lengths, a key element of gait that determines spontaneous speed and energy costs. Here, we show that the applicability of the DSH is dependent on the inertial forces examined. In general, the inertial forces are thought to be the centripetal force of the inverted pendulum model of stance phase, determined by the length of the limb. If instead we model inertial forces as the centripetal force of the limb acting as a suspended pendulum during swing phase (determined by limb center of mass position), the DSH for stride length variation is fully supported. Thus, the DSH shows that inter-specific differences in spatial kinematics are tied to the evolution of limb mass distribution patterns. Selection may act on morphology to produce a given stride length, or alternatively, stride length may be a “spandrel” of selection acting on limb mass distribution.
The Federal Reserve and the 2007–2009 Financial Crisis: Treating a Virus with Antibiotics? Evidence from the Commercial Paper Market

The two main explanations for the crisis in the commercial paper (CP) market are credit concerns and liquidity issues. The CP market is not homogeneous in terms of credit quality, maturities and types of issues. We find that lower credit-quality CP suffered more during the crisis. Additionally, we find little evidence that Federal Reserve (Fed) liquidity facilities reduced the impact of the crisis, but that when the Fed became a lender in the CP market, the crisis pressures were dramatically reduced. We conclude that the crisis in the money markets is related more to increases in credit risk. Liquidity is a secondary issue.
Epidemiology of asthma and allergic rhinitis in a total community, Tecumseh, Michigan: III. Second survey of the community

Abstract The prevalence and cumulative prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis are described in a total community, Tecumseh, Michigan. Criteria are defined for probable and suspect diagnostic categories of both diseases based on the symptoms reported by the respondents and the diagnosis made by the examining physicians. Methodological differences in ascertainment and diagnosis in this study compared with a previous study have contributed to the higher cumulative prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis here reported. Studies based solely on self reports would identify a different "diseased" population than the more comprehensive observations employed. The distributions of asthma and allergic rhinitis are presented in relation to age and sex, education, occupation, income, and area of residence.
Centrosome Reduction During Gametogenesis and Its Significance

Animal spermatids and primary oocytes initially have typical centrosomes comprising pairs of centrioles and pericentriolar fibrous centrosomal proteins. These somatic cell-like centrosomes are partially or completely degenerated during gametogenesis. Centrosome reduction during spermiogenesis comprises attenuation of microtubule nucleation function, loss of pericentriolar material, and centriole degeneration. Centrosome reduction during oogenesis is due to complete degeneration of centrioles, which leads to dispersal of the pericentriolar centrosomal proteins, loss of replicating capacity of the spindle poles, and switching to acentrosomal mode of spindle organization. Oocyte centrosome reduction plays an important role in preventing parthenogenetic embryogenesis and balancing centrosome number in the embryonic cells.
Racial Paradox in a Law and Society Odyssey

I read with significant anticipation Professor Richard Lempert’s 2009 Presidential Address. For a number of reasonsFpersonal and professionalFportions of the speech had great appeal to me. As a scholar of color who locates his intellectual home within the law and society community, I was heartened that a multifaceted consideration of race was the focus of the outgoing president’s address. Moreover, as a legal scholar who has discussed the use of narrative methodology as a site of synergy between Critical Race Theory (CRT) and sociolegal theory (Barnes 2006), I was even more pleased that Professor Lempert’s personal stories figured prominently within the address. Finally, I must confess a deep affection for the author, both of his empirical work on affirmative action (Lempert et al. 2000) and the personal kindness he extended to me while he was the president of the Law & Society Association (LSA). 1 Even with significant appreciation and anticipation in place, however, my reactions to the address were somewhat ambivalent. My first response to the piece was to question if there still is any value in this particular form of discourse for anyone other than those who already support race-conscious methods for achieving racial equality. In the general sense, the election of President Barack Obama has coincided with a rise in the belief that our society is now ‘‘post-race’’Fthat race is no longer salient, that discrimination is practiced by only an aberrant few, and hence, racial considerations in law and society are no longer needed (see Barnes et al. 2010; Cho 2009). At the level of the specific, many understand that
Contact replacement for NMR resonance assignment

Motivation: Complementing its traditional role in structural studies of proteins, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is playing an increasingly important role in functional studies. NMR dynamics experiments characterize motions involved in target recognition, ligand binding, etc., while NMR chemical shift perturbation experiments identify and localize protein–protein and protein–ligand interactions. The key bottleneck in these studies is to determine the backbone resonance assignment, which allows spectral peaks to be mapped to specific atoms. This article develops a novel approach to address that bottleneck, exploiting an available X-ray structure or homology model to assign the entire backbone from a set of relatively fast and cheap NMR experiments. Results: We formulate contact replacement for resonance assignment as the problem of computing correspondences between a contact graph representing the structure and an NMR graph representing the data; the NMR graph is a significantly corrupted, ambiguous version of the contact graph. We first show that by combining connectivity and amino acid type information, and exploiting the random structure of the noise, one can provably determine unique correspondences in polynomial time with high probability, even in the presence of significant noise (a constant number of noisy edges per vertex). We then detail an efficient randomized algorithm and show that, over a variety of experimental and synthetic datasets, it is robust to typical levels of structural variation (1–2 AA), noise (250–600%) and missings (10–40%). Our algorithm achieves very good overall assignment accuracy, above 80% in α-helices, 70% in β-sheets and 60% in loop regions. Availability: Our contact replacement algorithm is implemented in platform-independent Python code. The software can be freely obtained for academic use by request from the authors. Contact:gopal@cs.purdue.edu; cbk@cs.dartmouth.edu
Colorimetric calibration for scanners and media

Colorimetric calibration techniques were studied for scanners that do not adhere to colorimetric requirements (the Luther condition) from the aspects of accuracy and signal noise. A newly developed calibration technique was compared with conventional polynomial regression models and was found to be more accurate. Computer simulations were performed to find the relationship between scanner responsivities and resultant chroma noise. The scanner matching the Luther condition exhibits larger chroma noise than a scanner having three separated responsivities due to the overlap among responsivities of each channel.
What procedures should internists do

In this issue, Wigton and Alguire ask whether practicing internists perform the bedside procedures they were trained to do. The answer is, they are not: On average, internists perform 50% fewer pro...
Integrating Theories of Psychological Needs‐as‐Requirements and Psychological Needs‐as‐Motives: A Two Process Model

Two conceptions of psychological needs predominate within contemporary motivational science. Motive disposition theory conceives of needs as behavioral motives which direct behavior (needs-as-motives), while self-determination theory conceives of needs as universally required experiences for optimal functioning (needs-as-requirements). Until recently, these perspectives on psychological needs have proceeded without much intersection, despite the fact that they address the same fundamental concept. Here we summarize the Two Process Model of Psychological Needs, which attempts to bridge these two conceptions. We argue that psychological needs are best defined as tendencies to seek out certain basic types of psychosocial experiences, to a somewhat varying extent across individuals, and to feel good and thrive when those basic experiences are obtained, to the same extent across individuals. We suggest that this definition allows a reconciliation of needs-as-motives and needs-as-requirements perspectives and a more consilient science of human motivation. Empirical support for the TPM is also summarized.
Ion and Fast Neutral Model for Nitrogen at Very High E/N

A model has been developed to explain the measured pressure dependences of emission excited in very low current, uniform electric field discharges in N2at very high E/N. Earlier observations by Jelenkovic and Phelps (1987) of the spatial and E/N dependence of emission from dc discharges for these conditions were interpreted as suggesting that most of the radiation from the triplet states of N2results from excitation by fast ions or neutrals, while the emission from N2+resulted from simultaneous excitation and ionization of the N2by electrons.
Comment on “Invalidation of the Intracavity Opto-galvanic Method for Radiocarbon Detection” by Cantwell G Carson, Martin Stute, Yinghuang Ji, Roseline Polle, Arthur Reboul, and Klaus S Lackner

Carson et al. (2016) have measured the optogalvanic response of an intracavity cell discharge containing carbon dioxide enriched in radiocarbon in a 14CO2 laser, and compared same to an unenriched sample. The measurement was carried out by modulating the laser wavelength while slowly tuning through the laser gain profile. The results of the measurements are claimed to “invalidate the optogalvanic method for radiocarbon detection.” A broadband linear absorption model is presented in support of this hypothesis. In fact, the experimental design was such as to minimize any possibility for 14C detection, and the model presented is not relevant to their experiment. Crucial control measurements were not carried out and the model used did not differentiate between broadband absorption spectroscopy and intracavity optogalvanic spectroscopy (ICOGS) with a narrow-band single-mode CO2 laser.
Thyroid hormone stimulates the renal Na/H exchanger NHE3 by transcriptional activation

Thyroid hormone stimulates renal proximal tubule NaCl and NaHCO3 absorption in part by activating the apical membrane Na/H exchanger NHE3. We used a renal epithelial cell line, the opossum kidney (...
Electric double layer of anisotropic dielectric colloids under electric fields

Anisotropic colloidal particles constitute an important class of building blocks for self-assembly directed by electrical fields. The aggregation of these building blocks is driven by induced dipole moments, which arise from an interplay between dielectric effects and the electric double layer. For particles that are anisotropic in shape, charge distribution, and dielectric properties, calculation of the electric double layer requires coupling of the ionic dynamics to a Poisson solver. We apply recently proposed methods to solve this problem for experimentally employed colloids in static and time-dependent electric fields. This allows us to predict the effects of field strength and frequency on the colloidal properties.
Effects of chitosan on nutrient digestibility, methane emissions, and in vitro fermentation in beef cattle.

Chitosan was evaluated as a feed additive to mitigate in vivo CH4 emissions in beef cattle. Twenty-four crossbred heifers (BW = 318 ± 35 kg) were used in a randomized block design replicated in 2 periods. The design included a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of treatments, which included diet (high concentrate [HC] or low concentrate [LC]) and 0.0, 0.5, or 1.0% of chitosan inclusion (DM basis). Diets were offered ad libitum and individual intake was recorded. An in vitro experiment to analyze chitosan’s effect on fermentation parameters and gas production kinetics was performed. A diet effect (P 0.10) by chitosan in HC substrate; however, when incubated with the LC substrate, CH4 production increased quadratically (P < 0.01) as chitosan inclusion increased. A digestibility marker × diet interaction occurred (P < 0.05) for DM, OM, CP, NDF, and ADF digestibility. Diet × chitosan interactions (P < 0.05) occurred for DM, OM, NDF, and ADF digestibility when Cr2O3 was used. When TiO2 was used, diet × chitosan interactions (P < 0.05) were observed for NDF and ADF. However, using indigestible NDF as an internal marker, DM and OM digestibility were improved (P < 0.05) by 21 and 19%, respectively, when chitosan was included in LC diets. In conclusion, feeding up to 1% of chitosan (DM basis) to heifers consuming a LC diet increased apparent total tract digestibility of nutrients. Enteric CH4 emissions were not affected by chitosan feeding, regardless of type of diet, and heifers consuming a 36% concentrate diet produced 2.6 times more methane per day than those consuming an 85% concentrate diet.
Automated Concept Generation Based on Function-Form Synthesis

This work hypothesizes that enhancing next generation products’ distinctiveness through function-form synthesis results in feasible design concepts for designers. A data mining driven methodology that searches for novel function and form candidates suitable to include in next generation product design is introduced in this work. The methodology employs a topic modeling algorithm to search for functional relationships between the current product design and designs from related/unrelated domains. Combining the current product design and candidate products’ form and function, which is acquired from related/unrelated domains, generates next generation design concepts. These resulting design concepts are not only distinct from their parent designs but are also likely to be implemented in the real world by containing novel functions and form features. A hybrid marine model, which is differentiated from both the current design and candidate products in related/unrelated domains, is introduced in the case study in order to demonstrate the proposed methodology’s potential to develop concepts for novel product domains. By comparing the form and function similarity values between generated design concepts, an existing hybrid marine model (Wing In Ground effect ship: WIG), and source products, this research verifies the feasibility of these design concepts.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Semiconductor-Doped Polymers. Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties.

Semiconductor clusters with sizes of a few to hundreds of A, covering the entire range from molecular to bulk, have been prepared within polymer films. For PbS, the band-gap shifts to higher energy as the cluster size decreases and eventually converges to the transition energy of the first excited state of PbS molecule. The observed dependence of band-gap on cluster size can be explained by a tightbinding model that takes into account the effects of band nonparabolicity. These semiconductor-doped polymers represent a new class of nonlinear optical materials. Here we present the nonlinear optical properties of polymer films doped with 50 A CdS and discuss the possible mechanisms.
Using carrier level performance data to predict network outages, trending, & fiber health

We can demonstrate how large pools of performance data are used to prevent customer affecting events and verify initial as-built amplifier designs will last through to end-of-life. The primary focus is to eliminate the slow moving train wreck, but a side benefit is a second source of data to predict network hot spots and growth trends.
The Spirit of Contradiction in the Buddhist Doctrine of Not-Self*

In his comprehensive and authoritative study of the doctrine of “notself ” (Pāli anattā; Sanskrit anātman) in Theravāda Buddhism, Selfless Persons (1982), Steven Collins identifies two distinct functions of this doctrine. He correlates these functions, moreover, to a sociological distinction between the religious specialist and the ordinary Buddhist. Thus, in the context of the practice of the analytical “insight” meditation practiced by members of the former group, the anattā doctrine refers to “the classification of any experience or concept into a known, nonvalued, impersonal category.” Such classification or redescription of experience serves as an effective technique for cultivating an attitude of disinterest toward the object thus classified, thus negating the desire that, according to the Buddha’s Second Noble Truth, is the root cause of suffering. For the vast majority of Buddhists, however, who do not practice such meditation, the doctrine’s main function was to provide “an intransigent symbolic opposition to Brahmanical thought.” Because Collins associates this latter, oppositional dimension of the anattā doctrine with those Buddhists lacking in specialized knowledge of the doctrine or a commitment to the corresponding regimens of meditative practice, one might be tempted to infer that this political-ideological function of anattā appears only in default of the former, as a kind of
Fibroepithelioma of Pinkus Revisited

Background Fibroepithelioma of Pinkus (FeP) is considered a variant of basal cell carcinoma (BCC); however, in the past 20 years, some researchers have argued for its classification as a trichoblastoma. Recently, use of a new immunostaining marker and further dermoscopic characterization of FeP have advanced the debate about its proper classification.
Alcohol and Developing Neuronal Circuits

Ethanol consumption during pregnancy is a major public health problem that causes persistent neurobehavioral deficits that significantly affect quality of life. In this review, we summarize the impact of developmental ethanol exposure on the central nervous system. We then discuss the developmental effects of ethanol on the hippocampus, a brain region involved in learning and memory, focusing on alterations in adult neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity. We also review studies on cerebellar synaptic transmission and plasticity. Finally, we address the impact of ethanol on reward pathways, with emphasis on potential mechanisms that could explain the higher incidence of alcohol and drug abuse in patients with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Potential interventions that could be useful in ameliorating the neurobehavioral effects of ethanol are discussed.
Christodemocracy Is the Alternative Normative Framework Assumed by America’s Christian Right

This first chapter introduces the concept of Christodemocracy and defines that term in reference to other works of political theory. It specifies the parameters of the book’s assertions and defines the object of analysis. It places Christodemocracy along the continuum of democratic typologies and explains the utility of naming yet another.
Significant Life Changes and Changing Lives: Discovering Lived Lives of International Mobile Professionals

Today, there are more and more professionals who will be transitioning into new lives and new realities. Some studies indicate that engaging in multiple transitions is disorienting and can negatively affect a person’s sense of well-being. There is already an extensive body of literature focusing on expatriates working overseas who fail to thrive. This current study attempts to discover if and how multiple transitions may contribute to improving an individuals’ probability to thrive. The individuals report experiencing vitality and progression as well as truly enjoying each opportunity and challenge offered by engaging in multiple transitions. In this study, we seek to better understand what elements contribute to transforming disorienting transitions into springboards to engineer activities towards an engaging and thriving existence. The present work contributes to the growing positive organizational behavior literature. Major themes that emerged from this study include: dialectical cycling of agentic behavior with positive response towards uncertainty; a deeper understanding of oneself which fosters both stronger relationships as well as the transformational power of experiencing multiple transitions that propels one to continue to seek challenge and growth; each of which contribute to performance at the firm level as well as personal gratification for the individual.
Effects of Bedding on Pig Performance

Introduction More pigs are being produced in bedded systems such as hoop barns due to the increase in demand for niche pork. Most of the current swine nutrition information has been generated in confinement settings without bedding. As omnivores, pigs ingest some bedding. There are questions about the effects of the ingested bedding on growth and feed utilization by the modern market pig. More knowledge in this area will allow for more accurate feed formulation in bedded systems.
Caspase-2 and tau-a toxic partnership?

Misfolded and hyperphosphorylated forms of the microtubule-associated protein tau are thought to be responsible for some degree of neurodegeneration. The demonstration of a novel toxic cleavage of tau by caspase-2 opens up new therapeutic avenues.
Similarities and Discrepancies between Controlled Cationic and Radical Polymerizations

Comparison of conventional and controlled/“living” carbocationic and radical systems indicate many differences but also some similarities. Conventional cationic and radical polymerizations are typically carried out under dramatically different conditions, use very different monomers, solvents and reaction conditions. However, recently developed controlled/“living” carbocationic and radical polymerizations employ the same mechanistic principle based on dynamic equilibration between dormant covalent species and growing species. In contrast to anionic polymerization of styrene and dienes, which provides polymers with predetermined molecular weights, low polydispersities and controlled end-functionalities, conventional carbocationic and radical polymerizations have been very difficult to control at a similar level. Thus, in carbocationic and radical polymerizations, the concentration of growing species (carbocations or free radicals) must be very low, otherwise cationic polymerization would proceed too rapidly and/or radicals would recombine too quickly. This is accomplished by using slow initiation. In both cationic and radical polymerization the control of molecular weights, polydispersities and functionalities is satisfactory only for relatively short chains. To prepare these polymers while maintaining a low concentration of active species, it is necessary to establish a dynamic equilibrium between growing species and dormant species. Some approaches toward the controlled/“living” carbocationic and radical polymerizations are based on the concept of reversible activation of alkyl halides as dormant species. They are similar in some aspects but also different since they include heterolytic vs. homolytic cleavage, different concentrations of counteranions and counterradicals and different rules for the stabilization of growing species.
Let the right one in: ethnic boundaries in a Colombian immigrant youth program

AbstractAlthough research on minority youth has established the value of coethnic spaces for safe ethnic identity exploration, research has seldom examined how youth in these spaces draw ethnic boundaries or offered appropriate frameworks addressing boundary-setting. This study uses Berry’s acculturation framework to explore ethnic boundary-setting within a Colombian immigrant youth dance program in the US. Seven members participated in a multi-year qualitative study that triangulated surveys, interviews, and responses to a hypothetical multicultural dilemma that ‘positioned’ Colombian participants as part of an in-group on the basis of their ethnicity. Specifically, it explores the strategies they employed to deal with the dilemma and the role context played in those strategies. With findings that reveal how youth incorporate the arguments found in mainstream immigration debates to justify integration, segregation, and exclusion of non-Colombians, this study argues that to understand strategies employed,...
Martian magnetic storms

The response of Mars to the major space weather events called interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) is of interest for both general planetary solar wind interaction studies and related speculations on their evolutionary consequences—especially with respect to atmosphere escape. Various particle and field signatures of ICMEs have been observed on Phobos-2, Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Express (MEX), and now Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN). Of these, MAVEN's combined instrumentation and orbit geometry is particularly well suited to characterize both the event drivers and their consequences. However, MAVEN has detected only moderate disturbances at Mars due in large part to the general weakness of the present solar cycle. Nevertheless, the strongest event observed by MAVEN in March 2015 provides an example illustrating how further insights can be gained from available models. Here we first look more closely at what previously run BATS-R-US MHD simulations of the combined MAVEN observations tell us about the March 2015 event consequences. We then use analogous models to infer those same responses, including magnetic field topology changes and ionospheric consequences, to a hypothetical extreme ICME at Mars based on STEREO A measurements in July 2012. The results suggest how greatly enhanced, yet realistic, solar wind pressure, magnetic field, and convection electric field combine to produce strong magnetospheric coupling with important consequences for upper atmosphere and ionosphere energization.
Reproductive Factors and Incidence of Heart Failure Hospitalization in the Women’s Health Initiative

Abstract Background Reproductive factors reflective of endogenous sex hormone exposure might have an effect on cardiac remodeling and the development of heart failure (HF). Objectives This study examined the association between key reproductive factors and the incidence of HF. Methods Women from a cohort of the Women's Health Initiative were systematically evaluated for the incidence of HF hospitalization from study enrollment through 2014. Reproductive factors (number of live births, age at first pregnancy, and total reproductive duration [time from menarche to menopause]) were self-reported at study baseline in 1993 to 1998. We employed Cox proportional hazards regression analysis in age- and multivariable-adjusted models. Results Among 28,516 women, with an average age of 62.7 ± 7.1 years at baseline, 1,494 (5.2%) had an adjudicated incident HF hospitalization during an average follow-up of 13.1 years. After adjusting for covariates, total reproductive duration in years was inversely associated with incident HF: hazard ratios (HRs) of 0.99 per year (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.98 to 0.99 per year) and 0.95 per 5 years (95% CI: 0.91 to 0.99 per 5 years). Conversely, early age at first pregnancy and nulliparity were significantly associated with incident HF in age-adjusted models, but not after multivariable adjustment. Notably, nulliparity was associated with incident HF with preserved ejection fraction in the fully adjusted model (HR: 2.75; 95% CI: 1.16 to 6.52). Conclusions In post-menopausal women, shorter total reproductive duration was associated with higher risk of incident HF, and nulliparity was associated with higher risk for incident HF with preserved ejection fraction. Whether exposure to endogenous sex hormones underlies this relationship should be investigated in future studies.
Molecular Genetics of Nucleotide Excision Repair in Eukaryotes

The cyclobutyl pyrimidine dimer (CPD) and the pyrimidine (6–4) pyrimidinone dimer make up approximately 75 and 25 percent, respectively, of UV-B induced DNA damage products. In the absence of photoreactivating light pyrimidine dimers are eliminated from the genome by a nucleotide excision repair pathway. Excision repair enzymes recognize a variety of DNA damage products, nicking the damaged strand and removing the damaged oligonucleotide. Because UV-B-induced DNA damage products act as inhibitors of both RNA and DNA synthesis, one would expect that resistance to the growth-inhibitory effects of UV-B might be determined by the rate of repair of UV-induced lesions. Experimental results, however, have not demonstrated a simple positive correlation between the rate of repair of CPDs and the overall level of UV-resistance of various mammalian cell lines. Recent developments suggest that: a) the 6–4 product, rather than the CPD, may be the critical cytotoxic UV-induced DNA damage product, and b) that rapid removal of 6–4s and CPDs from actively transcribed DNA strands, rather than from the genome overall, is required for UV-resistance. The repair of 6–4s also seems to be required for UV-B resistance in plants. We have found that dark repair of 6–4s in the higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana is rapid and efficient, while dark repair of CPDs in the genome overall is negligible. We have also found that the growth of a mutant of Arabidopsis which is deficient in 6–4 repair is inhibited by very low levels of UV-B.
AUTOIMMUNE RETINOPATHY IN A PATIENT WITH A MISSENSE MUTATION IN PITPNM3.

Purpose To describe a patient with a PITPNM3 missense mutation who developed late-onset autoimmune retinopathy. Methods Case report. Results An 85-year-old man presented with decreased vision, nyctalopia, and photoaversion after an uncomplicated cataract surgery. Multimodal retinal imaging revealed a scalloped pattern of atrophy and a ring of hyperautofluorescence in the perifoveal area on fundus autofluorescence. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography demonstrated loss of the ellipsoid band, along with outer retinal atrophy, sparing the fovea in both eyes. Full field electroretinogram revealed extinguished rod response and severely attenuated cone response. Antiretinal antibodies to 20-kDa and 125-kDa proteins were detected. Whole-exome sequencing revealed a heterozygous variant, c.2579T>C, p.(Ile860Thr) in PITPNM3, predicted to be severely damaging and deleterious to the protein structure and function. Over the course of 3 months, the patient experienced a rapid progression. Neoplastic workup was negative and he was started on immunosuppressive therapy for a presumed diagnosis of nonparaneoplastic autoimmune retinopathy. Conclusion To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of autoimmune retinopathy in a patient with PITPNM3 mutation. PITPNM3 has been previously shown to affect regulatory T cell function.
Bonding and bridging: Leveraging immigrant and refugee community assets to support healthy eating

Studies of acculturation show that immigrants/refugees who fully adapt to US diets have worse health outcomes than those who remain socially isolated; however, social isolation limits access to res...
Comparison of the tolerability of bupropion, fluoxetine, imipramine, nefazodone, paroxetine, sertraline, and venlafaxine.

Drug development in psychiatry has evolved from a process dependent on chance discovery to one based on rationally targeting specific mechanisms of action believed to be important in the pathophysiology underlying psychiatric syndromes. Antidepressant pharmacotherapy is the first area to have substantially benefited from this evolution. Serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were the first class of psychiatric medications developed based on such molecular targeting. Nefazodone is a new antidepressant that combines blockade of the serotonin-2 receptor with serotonin uptake inhibition. Perhaps as a result of this dual action, nefazodone caused fewer complaints of nervousness (e.g., agitation, anxiety), insomnia, and tremors and a higher incidence of confusion, dizziness, and vision disturbance than do other advanced generation antidepressants based on several different ways of assessing the relative incidence of these adverse effects. Reports of sexual dysfunction on nefazodone and bupropion treatment were lower than on treatment with other recently released antidepressants.
Pairwise Optimality, Multilateral Optimality, and Efficiency with and without Externalities

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the minimal degree of cooperation or centralization necessary for economic efficiency. Each centralized group, ideally small, makes a decision optimal for itself, given its position vis-a-vis others. The chapter presents a general theorem for exchange economies that contains both the Rader and the Feldman equivalence theorems as special cases. It also describes applications to economic systems related to but different from trade in pure exchange economies. The power of the theory of exchange is enhanced by its equivalence with other important social systems. Efficiency is analyzed from a decentralized viewpoint in social systems with externalities. For bilateral externalities only, efficient exchange between every triple of agents suffices. For multilateral externalities, an efficient operation of the so-called public externalities, namely, those affecting two or more individuals, is required.
Nonlinear rotating viscoelastic jets during forcespinning process

In the usual forcespinning (FS) process, a fluid jet is forced through an orifice of a rotating spinneret leading to the formation of a jet with curved centreline. In this paper, we investigate the...
Radical free crosslinking of direct-write 3D printed hydrogels through a base catalyzed thiol-Michael reaction

In this work we describe a method of fabricating 3D printed hydrogels which are mechanically stabilized without the use of potentially cytotoxic radical chemistry. To achieve this, we utilized a thiol-Michael reaction catalyzed by basic (pH 8.2) phosphate buffered saline (PBS) between diacrylated Pluronic F127 and multifunctional thiol crosslinkers. We showed that the print resolution could be conserved due to stabilization of Pluronic micelles as a result of the ionic strength of the buffer. These hydrogels exhibited high stretchability (∼750%) as well as tunable mechanical properties. We demonstrated that micelle-based free-standing 3D objects can be fabricated through non-radical pathways by stabilizing the micelles in solutions with increased ionic strength.
Usability of Hand Hygiene Observation Apps

Effective hand hygiene among clinicians decreases the incidence of healthcare-associated infections and helps slow the rate of antibiotic resistance, but hand hygiene compliance (HHC) rates among c...
Identification of Candidates for Salvage Therapy: The Past, Present, and Future of Defining Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Failure

Disease progression and recurrence are common among patients on Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) therapy, and options for bladder-preserving subsequent therapy remain limited. Ongoing efforts to develop better second-line bladder-sparing therapies rely on clinical trials of patients deemed to have failed management with BCG. This article describes historical definitions of BCG failure, as well as recent efforts to better delineate and refine the clinical criteria for identifying individual patients who will not benefit from further intravesical BCG therapy. It also reviews guidance from the most recent expert consensus panels and professional association guidelines regarding which patients should not receive additional BCG therapy.
Systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and outcomes in patients with coronary disease and heart failure.

AIMS Data regarding the optimal systolic blood pressure (SBP) and heart rate (HR) for coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with hypertension and a history of heart failure (HF) are limited. Accordingly, using data from a large clinical trial, we investigated the association between SBP and heart rate and subsequent adverse outcomes in CAD patients with a history of HF, and we aimed to better understand how pre-existing HF impacts outcomes among patients with CAD. METHODS AND RESULTS Among 22 576 CAD patients enrolled in the INternational VErapamil SR-Trandolapril STudy (INVEST), 1256 were identified with a history of physician-diagnosed HF New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class 1-3 at entry. The primary outcome was the first occurrence of all-cause death, myocardial infarction (MI), or stroke. Cox proportional-hazards models adjusted for pre-specified covariates were constructed to estimate risk among the HF cohort compared with a case-matched sample from the non-HF cohort. At a mean 2.5 years' follow-up, those with prior HF had a higher risk of the primary outcome (hazard ratio (HR) 2.55, 95% confidence interval 2.30-2.83, P 140 mmHg) SBP and heart rate ≥ 85 b.p.m. were associated with increased risk for adverse outcomes, which persisted after covariate adjustment. CONCLUSIONS In patients with CAD, a physician diagnosis of HF at baseline portended a higher risk for death, MI, or stroke than in those without an HF history. Achieving SBP of 120-140 mmHg and heart rate < 85 b.p.m. was associated with a better outcome in patients with known HF and CAD.