cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of food supplementation on the physiological ecology of female Western diamond-backed rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox)

Food availability is an important factor in the life histories of organisms because it is often limiting and thus can affect growth, mass change, reproduction, and behaviors such as thermoregulation, locomotion, and mating. Experimental studies in natural settings allow researchers to examine the effects of food on these parameters while animals are free to behave naturally. The wide variation among organisms in energy demands and among environmental food resources suggest that responses to changes in food availability may vary among organisms. Since most supplemental feeding field experiments have been conducted on species with high energy demands, we conducted a supplemental feeding study on free-ranging, female Western diamond-backed rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox), a species with low energy demands and infrequent reproductive investment. Snakes were offered thawed rodents 1-4 times per week. Over two active seasons, we collected data on surface activity, home range size, growth, mass change, and reproduction of supplementally fed and control snakes. Fed and control snakes did not differ in surface activity levels (proportion of time encountered above versus below ground) or home range size. Fed snakes grew and gained mass faster, and had a dramatically higher occurrence of reproduction than control snakes. Also, fed snakes were in better body condition following reproduction than snakes that were not fed. However, litter characteristics such as offspring number and size were not increased by feeding, suggesting that these characteristics may be fixed. These data experimentally demonstrate that food availability can directly impact some life history traits (i.e., growth and reproduction for C. atrox), but not others (i.e., surface activity and home range size for C. atrox). The relationship between food availability and life history traits is affected in a complex way by ecological traits and physiological constraints, and thus interspecific variation in this relationship is likely to be high.
Refractory Diborides of Zirconium and Hafnium

This paper reviews the crystal chemistry, synthesis, densification, microstructure, mechanical properties, and oxidation behavior of zirconium diboride (ZrB2) and hafnium diboride (HfB2) ceramics. The refractory diborides exhibit partial or complete solid solution with other transition metal diborides, which allows compositional tailoring of properties such as thermal expansion coefficient and hardness. Carbothermal reduction is the typical synthesis route, but reactive processes, solution methods, and pre-ceramic polymers can also be used. Typically, diborides are densified by hot pressing, but recently solid state and liquid phase sintering routes have been developed. Fine-grained ZrB2 and HfB2 have strengths of a few hundred MPa, which can increase to over 1 GPa with the addition of SiC. Pure diborides exhibit parabolic oxidation kinetics at temperatures below 1100°C, but B2O3 volatility leads to rapid, linear oxidation kinetics above that temperature. The addition of silica scale formers such as SiC or MoSi2 improves the oxidation behavior above 1100°C. Based on their unique combination of properties, ZrB2 and HfB2 ceramics are candidates for use in the extreme environments associated with hypersonic flight, atmospheric re-entry, and rocket propulsion.
Metabolic effects of oral fructose in the liver of fasted rats

Twenty-four-hour-fasted rats were given glucose (4 g/kg) by gavage. Glucose absorption and portal and peripheral plasma glucose, lactate, and insulin concentrations, as well as liver glucose, UDPglucose, glucose-6-P, lactate, ATP, and inorganic phosphate (Pi), and % glycogen synthase I and % phosphorylase a were measured at 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, and 120 min after the glucose was given. Liver and muscle glycogen also were measured. Ninety-one percent of the glucose load had disappeared from the gut in 2 h. Despite increased plasma glucose and insulin levels the liver continued to produce glucose. Lactate produced in the periphery was the major substrate for gluconeogenesis, and lactate utilization could account for the hepatic glycogen synthesized. Glucose ingestion did not affect lactate production by the splanchnic bed. In the liver glucose-6-P was transiently increased; UDP glucose decreased after glucose administration. ATP and Pi were unchanged. Glycogen synthase was activated by 20 min without a significant change in phosphorylase a. Hepatic glycogen increased linearly after 20 min. Total glucose storage as glycogen was similar in liver (20%) and muscle (19%). We could account for 41% of the glucose absorbed as glycogen, unmetabolized glucose, or glucose metabolites. Most of the remainder probably was oxidized.
Academic literacy: The importance and impact of writing across the curriculum – a case study

The paper provides case studies of how four faculty members who teach in undergraduate and graduate programs at the Indiana University School of Informatics promote academic literacy throughout the curriculum. The paper describes the writing assignments in several courses, the objectives of these assignments in enhancing the writing skills of students, the pedagogical approaches used by the faculty members and a discussion of the results. Suggestions for assessing student writing will also be provided.
A learning model that develops students' active learning and reflective practices

As the ABET criteria indicate, undergraduate engineering education is undergoing a radical change to learner-centered pedagogy characterized by student teamwork and integrative curricula. However, this shift will require that faculty understand more about not only how diverse learners construct their knowledge, but also how learners find meaning, develop awareness of how they think and learn, develop intellectual curiosity that is broad-based, and practice their capacity for self-assessment and reflection. In other words, how can faculty help students learn for life? A learning model of three interdependent and mutually reinforcing components is presented that is based on current learning theory, practice and research. Evidence of how these components impact student learning is cited, along with suggestions for faculty development.
Response of restraint stress-selected lines of Japanese quail to heat stress and Escherichia coli challenge

Japanese quail selected for divergent corticosterone response to restraint stress were evaluated for their susceptibility to heat stress and challenge with Escherichia coli. These quail lines are designated as high stress (HS), low stress (LS), and the random-bred control (CS) lines. Heat stress (35°C, 8 h/d) began at 24 d until the end of the study at 39 d. Birds were challenged with an aerosol spray containing 2 × 10(9) cfu of E. coli at 25 and 32 d. At 38 d, the surviving birds were necropsied and the intestinal tract was screened for both Salmonella and Campylobacter. Body weights of the CS birds were higher than both HS and LS at 17, 25, and 32 d. At 32 d, there was no difference in mortality between males and females and the CS line had higher mortality compared with the LS line with the HS line being intermediate. At 38 d, females of the CS line that were both heat stressed and challenged had a mortality incidence of 25%, which was significantly higher than male birds of the same line and treatment (5.3%). There was an increased incidence in Salmonella enterica serotype Agona isolation after heat stress, with the LS birds having less isolation than the HS birds. Mean corticosterone levels of male birds were not significantly affected by line, heat stress, or E. coli challenge; however, the LS line subjected to heat stress had one-third the level of the HS line, a difference identical to that seen in the original selection for response to restraint stress.
Effects of m-Tyrosine on Feeding and Survival of Formosan Subterranean Termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Amino acids are important to all animal life. Termites rely mainly on microorganisms to retrieve these nitrogen sources from their food. One naturally occurring amino acid, m-tyrosine, has been reported to be toxic to bacteria and weeds. Its direct effects on termite survival are unknown however. Both no-choice and choice bioassays using five different doses of m-tyrosine were conducted to determine the feeding response and survival of Formosan subterranean termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), in the laboratory. In no-choice tests, although all doses of m-tyrosine tested reduced filter paper consumption, only the highest dose tested (0.05 M) had significantly lower consumption compared with the control. This dose also caused significantly high termite mortality. In a five-choice bioassay, all doses of m-tyrosine tested reduced filter paper consumption significantly compared with the control. No mortality was observed in the choice tests, and very little feeding of filter paper treated with m-tyrosine occurred. From these experiments, we conclude that m-tyrosine is toxic to Formosan subterranean termites and acts as a feeding deterrent, and therefore, may be a promising wood preservative.
Public affairs enters the US President's subcabinet: creating the first assistant secretary for public affairs (1944 –1953) and subsequent developments

A majority of US cabinet departments now have an assistant secretary for public affairs. As a subcabinet office, such appointments are presidential nominations and require Senate confirmation. Given Congress's general hostility to public affairs in the US executive branch, how did such a position first come into being, thereby creating the precedent and a template for other departments? This historical inquiry identifies the US State Department as the first with an assistant secretary for public affairs. However, the office only gradually emerged as a staff position, with Congress never having an opportunity to vote on the principle of creating such a subcabinet office. Once established, other cabinet departments gradually followed suit, to the point that such positions are now routine in Washington, DC. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Molecular analysis of plant sugar and amino acid transporters

Although plants are photoautotrophic organisms, they are composed of many heterotrophic tissue systems that must import sugars and amino acids in a process known as assimilate partitioning. While the general features of assimilate partitioning were well described by the early 1980s, little was known about the various transport proteins involved in this essential activity associated with multicellular growth. In the past seven years, however, significant progress has been made in describing the transport properties and molecular genetics of these critical transport systems. Initially, these porters were well characterized using purified membrane vesicles and imposed proton electrochemical potential differences. This approach allowed for a detailed analysis of their transport kinetics, bioenergetics, and substrate specificity. Subsequently, several transporters were cloned using differential hybridization and functional complementation of yeast transport mutants. At first, isolation of transporter genes seemed to simplify our understanding by filling in gaps associated with transporter function. However, it has become increasingly clear that assimilate partitioning has many levels of complexity yet to be penetrated. This is best illustrated by the large number of carriers cloned. For example, at least 12 genes encoding putative sugar transporters in the Major Facilitator Superfamily have been identified in plants. Moreover, recent work in this laboratory has demonstrated that a sugar beet member of this superfamily is targeted to the tonoplast membrane, thus implicating that porter in intracellular sugar partitioning. Similar complexity is emerging in the number of plant amino acid transporters identified. Therefore, a detailed analysis of AAP1/NAT2 as a prototypical example of one class of amino acid carriers has been initiated. The topology of this porter is being mapped, and site-directed and random mutagenesis are being used to identify functionally important amino acid residues and protein domains. The major challenges facing this field are to determine the unique contributions made by these many transport systems, to understand their structure and function relationships and, ultimately, to identify the mechanisms which regulate activity and integrate assimilate distribution in the plant as a multicellular organism.
Constitutive activation of Jak2 contributes to proliferation and resistance to apoptosis in NPM/ALK-transformed cells

Abstract Objectives The t(2;5) translocation results in a 80-kDa oncogenic fusion protein consisting of NPM and the kinase domain of the tyrosine kinase ALK and is present in over half the cases of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). NPM/ALK exerts its transforming potential via activation of multiple signaling pathways promoting growth factor independence and protection from apoptosis. Jak/Stat signaling is aberrantly activated in several human hematopoietic malignancies. We investigated the role of Jak2 in the context of NPM/ALK-mediated oncogenesis. Materials and Methods Constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation of Jak2 was analyzed by Jak2 immunoprecipitation and subsequent anti-phosphotyrosine Western blotting. NPM/ALK-transformed cells were treated with the Jak2 inhibitor AG490 or transfected with wild-type or dominant-negative Jak2 expression constructs to measure 3 [H]-thymidine incorporation. Apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometric analysis of annexin V–stained cells. The effect of Jak2 on Stat5-dependent transcriptional activity was measured by β-casein promoter-dependent luciferase expression. Results Jak2 was found to be constitutively tyrosine phosphorylated in ALCL cells and in NPM/ALK-transformed hematopoietic cells. Also, NPM/ALK was present in immunoprecipitates of Jak2. Inhibition of Jak2 led to a reduction of NPM/ALK-mediated proliferation and induced apoptosis. Stat5-dependent transcriptional activity was inhibited by transfection of NPM/ALK-transformed cells with a dominant-negative Jak2 expression construct or treatment with AG490. Conclusion Constitutive activation of Jak2 constitutes a pro-proliferative, anti-apoptotic signaling pathway in NPM/ALK-transformed hematopoietic cells.
An Analysis of Cochlear Implant Distortion from a User's Perspective

We describe our first-hand experience with a cochlear implant (CI), being both a recent recipient and a hearing researcher. We note the promising loudness, but very unpleasant distortion, which makes understanding speech difficult in many environments, including in noise, on the phone or through the radio. We also discuss the extreme unpleasantness of music, which makes recognizing familiar melodies very difficult. We investigate the causes of the above problems through mathematical analysis and computer simulations of sound mixtures, and find that surprisingly, the culprit appears to be non-biological in origin, but primarily due to the envelope-based signal processing algorithms currently used. This distortion is generated before the signal even enters the cochlea. Hence, the long-held belief that inter-electrode interference or current spreading is the cause, appears incorrect. We explain that envelope processing may have been originally instituted based on an inaccurate understanding of the role of place coding vs. temporal coding, or alternatively, because of an incorrect analogy to radio modulation theory. On the basis of our analysis, we suggest immediate concrete steps, some possibly in firmware alone, that may lead to a much improved experience.
Role of the Cerebellar Flocculus Region in the Coordination of Eye and Head Movements During Gaze Pursuit

The contribution of the flocculus region of the cerebellum to horizontal gaze pursuit was studied in squirrel monkeys. When the head was free to move, the monkeys pursued targets with a combination...
Enhanced Sequential Optimization and Reliability Assessment Method for Changing Design Variance

The Sequential Optimization and Reliability Assessment (SORA) method is a single loop method containing a sequence of cycles of decoupled deterministic optimization and reliability assessment for improving the efficiency of probabilistic optimization. However, the original SORA method as well as some other existing single loop methods is not efficient for solving problems with changing variance. In this paper, to enhance the SORA method, three formulations are proposed by taking the effect of changing variance into account. These formulations are distinguished by the different strategies of Inverse Most Probable Point (IMPP) approximation. Mathematical examples and a pressure vessel design problem are used to test and compare the effectiveness of the proposed formulations. The “Direct Linear Estimation Formulation” is shown to be the most effective and efficient approach for dealing with problems with changing variance. The gained insight can be extended and utilized to other optimization strategies that require MPP or IMPP estimations.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Reseach and practice for the construction of the vertical compound public heath teaching base

Vertical compound public health teaching base is a platform integrated with medical colleges, public health agencies, community health service centers and community health service stations. Through multilateral sharing resources, it achieves new community health personnel training mode and community public health service system development.The base broke through the original single student internship structure and made the ‘Five in One’ running mode, including new public health practice teaching, primary appropriate technologies in public health, promoting the development of community family physician system, improving the research of community preventive medicine and primary personnel training of public health. For the area of public health service system, it will promote and deepen the strong leading and radiation effect.
The Impact of Age on Cognition

This article reviews the cognitive changes that occur with normal aging, the structural and functional correlates of these cognitive changes, and the prevalence and cognitive effects of age-associated diseases. Understanding these age-related changes in cognition is important given our growing elderly population and the importance of cognition in maintaining functional independence and effective communication with others. The most important changes in cognition with normal aging are declines in performance on cognitive tasks that require one to quickly process or transform information to make a decision, including measures of speed of processing, working memory, and executive cognitive function. Cumulative knowledge and experiential skills are well maintained into advanced age. Structural and function changes in the brain correlate with these age-related cognitive changes, including alterations in neuronal structure without neuronal death, loss of synapses, and dysfunction of neuronal networks. Age-related diseases accelerate the rate of neuronal dysfunction, neuronal loss, and cognitive decline, with many persons developing cognitive impairments severe enough to impair their everyday functional abilities. There is emerging evidence that healthy lifestyles may decrease the rate of cognitive decline seen with aging and help delay the onset of cognitive symptoms in the setting of age-associated diseases.
False memories with age: neural and cognitive underpinnings

As we age we become increasingly susceptible to memory distortions and inaccuracies. Over the past decade numerous neuroimaging studies have attempted to illuminate the neural underpinnings of aging and false memory. Here we review these studies, and link their findings with those concerning the cognitive properties of age-related changes in memory accuracy. Collectively this evidence points towards a prominent role for age-related declines in medial temporal and prefrontal brain areas, and corresponding impairments in associative binding and strategic monitoring. A resulting cascade of cognitive changes contributes to the heightened vulnerability to false memories with age, including reduced recollective ability, a reliance on gist information and familiarity-based monitoring mechanisms, as well as a reduced ability to inhibit irrelevant information and erroneous binding of features between memory traces. We consider both theoretical and applied implications of research on aging and false memories, as well as questions remaining to be addressed in future research.
Durability of the Li1+xTi2–xAlx(PO4)3 Solid Electrolyte in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

Adoption of cells with a solid-state electrolyte is a promising solution for eliminating the polysulfide shuttle problem in Li–S batteries. Among the various known lithium-ion conducting solid electrolytes, the sodium superionic conductor (NASICON)-type Li1+xTi2–xAlx(PO4)3 offers the advantage of good stability under ambient conditions and in contact with air. Accordingly, we present here a comprehensive assessment of the durability of Li1+xTi2–xAlx(PO4)3 in contact with polysulfide solution and in Li–S cells. Because of its high reduction potential (2.5 V vs Li/Li+), Li1+xTi2–xAlx(PO4)3 gets lithiated in contact with lithium polysulfide solution and Li2CO3 is formed on the particle surface, blocking the interfacial lithium-ion transport between the liquid and solid-state electrolytes. After the lithium insertion into the NASICON framework, the crystal expands in an anisotropic way, weakening the crystal bonds, causing fissures and resultant cracks in the ceramic, corroding the grain boundaries by polysul...
Optimal inventory policy for a dynamic stochastic inventory problem with order revision

A buyer wishes to satisfy independent demands for a product by ordering the product from a supplier. The buyer places an order one period before delivery and the supplier allows the buyer to revise the size of order before delivery. The buyer seeks an ordering and order-revision policy with minimum expected cost over a finite time horizon. The structure of the buyer’s optimal ordering and order-revision policy is developed under the assumptions about the ordering costs, the storage and shortage costs, and the revision that the supplier allows and the charges the supplier imposes.
Feature Grouping Using Weighted l1 Norm for High-Dimensional Data

Building effective predictive models from high-dimensional data is an important problem in several domains such as in bioinformatics, healthcare analytics and general regression analysis. Extracting feature groups automatically from such data with several correlated features is necessary, in order to use regularizers such as the group lasso which can exploit this deciphered grouping structure to build effective prediction models. Elastic net, fused-lasso and Octagonal Shrinkage Clustering Algorithm for Regression (oscar) are some of the popular feature grouping methods proposed in the literature which recover both sparsity and feature groups from the data. However, their predictive ability is affected adversely when the regression coefficients of adjacent feature groups are similar, but not exactly equal. This happens as these methods merge such adjacent feature groups erroneously, which is also called the misfusion problem. In order to solve this problem, in this paper, we propose a weighted l1 norm-based approach which is effective at recovering feature groups, despite the proximity of the coefficients of adjacent feature groups, building extremely accurate predictive models. This convex optimization problem is solved using the fast iterative soft-thresholding algorithm (FISTA). We depict how our approach is more effective at resolving the misfusion problem on synthetic datasets compared to existing feature grouping methods such as the elastic net, fused-lasso and oscar. We also evaluate the goodness of the model on real-world breast cancer gene expression and the 20-Newsgroups datasets.
Infectious Disease Associations in Advanced Stage, Indolent Lymphoma (Follicular, FL and Non-Follicular, nFL): Developing a Lymphoma Prevention Strategy.

Background: The antigen-drive association of gastric MALT lymphoma with H. pylori is well recognized. Successful antibiotic therapy can result in lymphoma remission, and with it, lymphoma prevention. We have sought to prospectively identify possible associated infections in patients with non-bulky, advanced stage indolent lymphoma as the first step to such a lymphoma treatment/prevention strategy. These patients are often candidates for “watch and wait” and it is during this period that a window of opportunity may exist to identify and treat related infections. Methods: Patients with a new diagnosis of indolent lymphoma (FL and nFL), stages II (intra-abdominal), III and IV fulfilling GELF criteria for observation were eligible. Studies performed: Stool H. pylori, Hepatitis C and Borrelia serologies, Borrelia and Chlamydia fixed tissue PCR, peripheral blood mononuclear cell PCR for Chlamydia, and a hydrogen breath test for small bowel bacterial overgrowth. Results: 55 patients have been enrolled with IRB informed consent: 32 females, 23 males; median age, 54 years (21–77); 30 FL, 25 nFL; stage II (4 pt), III (22), and IV (29). All met GELF criteria for observation. Infections tested include: H. pylori (13 positive: 6 FL, 7 nFL); Hepatitis C (3+; 1 FL, 2 nFL); and small bowel bacterial overgrowth (10+; 4 FL, 6 nFL). Borrelia serologies and tissue PCR were negative in all 13 pts tested. Chlamydia psittaci tissue PCR positive in 1 FL (12 negative). Thus, 20 of 54 (37%) patients have had at least one positive study; and, to date we have observed lymphoma responses after successful antibiotic therapy alone in 6 of 20: H. pylori (1 FL with CRu for 20+ months; 1 nFL with transient near CR); Hepatitis C (1 FL with PR but HCV persistent; 2 nFL (1 CR for 24+ mos; 1 stable, currently on HCV therapy); SBBO (1 FL in PR for 28+ mos). Of interest, the patients with associated infections but without lymphoma response to antibiotics, appear to have required institution of lymphoma treatment sooner than those without initial associated infections (Treatment free survival 48% vs. 87.5%, p=0.08; 33 months median f/u from diagnosis), possibly suggesting a different biology. Conclusion: Infections are common in advanced stage indolent lymphoma (37% in our series). Anecdotal lymphoma responses have been seen and 2 have been durable CRs (10%) ongoing for 20+ mos following infection eradication alone. The identification and treatment of associated infections may be a first step toward developing a lymphoma prevention strategy.
Rate-based thermal, power, and co-location aware resource management for heterogeneous data centers

Abstract Today’s data centers contain large numbers of compute nodes that require substantial power, and therefore require a large amount of cooling resources to operate at a reliable temperature. The high power consumption of the computing and cooling systems produces extraordinary electricity costs, requiring some data center operators to be constrained by a specified electricity budget. In addition, the processors within these systems contain a large number of cores with shared resources (e.g., last-level cache), heavily affecting the performance of tasks that are co-located on cores and contend for these resources. This problem is only exacerbated as processors move to the many-core realm. These issues lead to interesting performance-power tradeoffs; by considering resource management in a holistic fashion, the performance of the computing system can be maximized while satisfying power and temperature constraints. In this work, the performance of the system is quantified as the total reward earned from completing tasks by their individual deadlines. By designing three resource allocation techniques, we perform a rigorous analysis on thermal, power, and co-location aware resource management using two different facility configurations, three different workload environments, and a sensitivity analysis of the power and thermal constraints.
Analysis of unbalanced magnetic pull of permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance motor based on uneven axial temperature distribution of magnets

This paper discusses the effect of uneven axial magnet temperature of permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance motor (PMa-SynRM) on unbalanced magnetic pull (UMP). The loss generated in stator and rotor contribute to temperature rise in the motor. Commonly, radial direction thermal analysis has been done while assuming constant temperature in axial direction of a machine. However, the uneven temperature distribution of magnet in axial direction can substantially generate uneven magnetization. This uneven magnetization can cause an unbalanced magnetic pull in the motor. For analysis of axial direction uneven magnetization, 3-D model of a 3Kw, 1800 rpm, 5 phase PMa-SynRM has been developed. From finite element analysis (FEA), loss data of 3-D model has been calculated. This information have been used as inputs for the thermal analysis in axial direction. By applying thermal model of PMa-SynRM in thermal analysis, uneven magnet temperature distribution has been clearly observed and analyzed. This temperature distribution of magnet has been manually fed back to the 3-D FEA model to assess the performance. Comparison of radial force between constant and uneven temperature of magnets in axial direction showed noticeable difference which can cause UMP. Experimental results of axial temperature also showed good matching with simulation results.
Evaluating the Benefit of Elevated Acoustic Output in Harmonic Motion Estimation in Ultrasonic Shear Wave Elasticity Imaging.

Harmonic imaging techniques have been applied in ultrasonic elasticity imaging to obtain higher-quality tissue motion tracking data. However, harmonic tracking can be signal-to-noise ratio and penetration depth limited during clinical imaging, resulting in decreased yield of successful shear wave speed measurements. A logical approach is to increase the source pressure, but the in situ pressures used in diagnostic ultrasound have been subject to a de facto upper limit based on the Food and Drug Administration guideline for the mechanical index (MI <1.9). A recent American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine report concluded that an in situ MI up to 4.0 could be warranted without concern for increased risk of cavitation in non-fetal tissues without gas bodies if there were a concurrent clinical benefit. This work evaluates the impact of using an elevated MI in harmonic motion tracking for hepatic shear wave elasticity imaging. The studies indicate that high-MI harmonic tracking increased shear wave speed estimation yield by 27% at a focal depth of 5 cm, with larger yield increase in more difficult-to-image patients. High-MI tracking improved harmonic tracking data quality by increasing the signal-to-noise ratio and decreasing jitter in the tissue motion data. We conclude that there is clinical benefit to use of elevated acoustic output in shear wave tracking, particularly in difficult-to-image patients.
Simplified protocol for FDG-PET in patients with suspected cholecystitis: Technical aspects

2514 Objectives Ultrasound and HIDA studies have become the tests of choice in the evaluation of patients (pts) with abdominal pain and suspected cholecystitis. FDG-PET has demonstrated high sensitivity in dection of infection/inflammation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of FDG-PET in the evaluation of abdominal pain and suspected cholecystitis and to develop a protocol which delivers minimum radiation and can be performed rapidly with minimum pt discomfort. Methods Pts are restricted from carbohydrates for 3hrs prior to injection of FDG. This includes no dextrose drip (1/2 Normal Saline is requested). This includes no dextrose drip with antibiotic or heparin. A low dose PET-CT was performed using a 5mCi dose of FDG and a 20-30 MAS (low-dose) CT scan begun 45-60 minutes post injection. Depending on the PET-CT used, a 2-4 bed position scan was performed from the top of the liver to the upper pelvis (includes gallbladder and appendix). Bed position time was 2-5 minutes depending on PET-CT system used. 19 pts with suspected cholecystitis were studied along with 40 control subjects. All studies were read by at least one nuclear medicine physician. A positive study was defined as detection of activity in the gallbladder wall. Results Using this low-dose protocol, scan time range from 4-20 minutes depending on choice of PET-CT system. Total body radiation was 0.75-1 rads. 10 pts tested positive for cholecystitis. 9 out of 10 underwent cholecystectomy with pathologic confirmation of cholecystitis. Of 9 pts with negative PET-CT, 6 were managed conservatively, and 3 had cholecystectomy performed. Of the 3, 2 were negative for cholecystitis and 1 had a 1mm focus of inflammation (CT, HIDA and ultrasound were negative). Conclusions A simplified low-dose PET-CT protocol is highly sensitive and specific in the evaluation of suspected cholecystitis. Rapid scan times give minimal pt discomfort and total body radiation is less than 1rad
Polymeric Ion Pumps: Using an Oscillating Stimulus To Drive Solute Transport in Reactive Membranes

The development of membranes that separate molecules on the basis of chemical factors, rather than physical factors, is one promising approach to meeting the demand for membranes that are more selective. In this study, the design of multifunctional, pH-responsive membranes that selectively pump a target solute is detailed. The membranes consist of two functional components: a gate layer made from an amine-functionalized copolymer and a reactive matrix lined by iminodiacetic acid groups that bind divalent cations reversibly. These two chemistries exhibit concurrent changes in the cation binding affinity and gate permeability in response to the pH value of the surrounding solution such that when the membranes are exposed to an oscillating pH, the combination drives a facilitated transport mechanism that pumps ions. In mixed solute systems, calcium permeated through the membrane four times faster than sucrose in the presence of an oscillating pH even though the solutes possess similar hydrodynamic sizes and ...
Body-shape diversity in Triassic–Early Cretaceous neopterygian fishes: sustained holostean disparity and predominantly gradual increases in teleost phenotypic variety

Comprising Holostei and Teleostei, the ∼ 32,000 species of neopterygian fishes are anatomically disparate and represent the dominant group of aquatic vertebrates today. However, the pattern by which teleosts rose to represent almost all of this diversity, while their holostean sister-group dwindled to eight extant species and two broad morphologies, is poorly constrained. A geometric morphometric approach was taken to generate a morphospace from more than 400 fossil taxa, representing almost all articulated neopterygian taxa known from the first 150 million years—roughly 60%—of their history (Triassic-Early Cretaceous). Patterns of morphospace occupancy and disparity are examined to: (1) assess evidence for a phenotypically “dominant” holostean phase; (2) evaluate whether expansions in teleost phenotypic variety are predominantly abrupt or gradual, including assessment of whether early apomorphy-defined teleosts are as morphologically conservative as typically assumed; and (3) compare diversification in crown and stem teleosts. The systematic affinities of dapediiforms and pycnodontiforms, two extinct neopterygian clades of uncertain phylogenetic placement, significantly impact patterns ofmorphological diversification. For instance, alternative placements dictate whether or not holosteans possessed statistically higher disparity than teleosts in the Late Triassic and Jurassic. Despite this ambiguity, all scenarios agree that holosteans do not exhibit a decline in disparity during the Early Triassic–Early Cretaceous interval, but insteadmaintain their Toarcian–Callovian variety until the end of the Early Cretaceouswithout substantial further expansions.After a conservative Induan–Carnian phase, teleosts colonize (and persistently occupy) novel regions of morphospace in a predominantly gradual manner until the Hauterivian, after which expansions are rare. Furthermore, apomorphy-defined teleosts possess greater phenotypic variety than typically assumed. Comparison of crown and stem teleost partial disparity indicates that, despite a statistically significant increase in crown teleost disparity between the Late Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous, stem teleosts remained important long-term contributors to overall teleost disparity during this time.
The clinical spectrum of heterozygous protein C deficiency in a large New England kindred.

A family with a high incidence of venous thromboembolism was investigated. We performed medical evaluations on 184 of the 411 surviving members of the pedigree, which allowed assignment of individuals into positive, equivocal, or negative categories with respect to their clinical histories of thrombosis. Subjects with antigenic levels of protein C less than 66% of a normal plasma pool were classified as having protein C deficiency. Positive thrombotic histories were found in 13 of the 46 family members determined to be protein-C deficient and in only five of their 138 biochemically unaffected relatives. Statistical analysis of the association between thromboembolic disease and protein-C deficiency was strongly positive chi 2 = 24.95, P less than .0001 with n = 184), indicating that heterozygous protein-C deficiency is an important independent risk factor for the development of thrombotic manifestations in this pedigree. However, the absence of thromboembolic manifestations in many of the protein-C deficient family members to date indicates that other, as yet undefined, factors must play an important role in the clinical expression of this disorder.
The Relativity of Code, Energy, and Mass: The Molecular Mechanism of Autonomy and Self-Organization in Biological System

Biomolecules are the principal building blocks from which a cell is constructed. A large number of functional biomolecules, exciting in the cells, are in the form of polymeric macromolecules composed of sequences of various monomeric subunits. Still, biomolecules have remarkable properties that make the chemistry of living systems special compared to other non-living chemical elements in nature. A special property of biomolecules is related to the information storage and transduction via the electrochemical interactions among their atoms.
Targeting USP7 Identifies a Metastasis-Competent State within Bone Marrow-Resident Melanoma CTCs

Systemic metastasis is the major cause of death from melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer. Although most melanoma patients exhibit a substantial gap between onset of primary and metastatic tumors, signaling mechanisms implicated in the period of metastatic latency remain unclear. We hypothesized that melanoma circulating tumor cells (CTCs) home to and reside in the bone marrow (BM) during the asymptomatic phase of disease progression. Using a strategy to deplete normal cell lineages (Lin-neg), we isolated CTC-enriched cell populations from blood of metastatic melanoma patients, verified by the presence of putative CTCs characterized by melanoma-specific biomarkers and upregulated gene transcripts involved in cell survival and pro-development functions. Implantation of Lin-neg population in NSG mice (CTC-derived xenografts, i.e. CDXs), and subsequent transcriptomic analysis of ex vivo bone marrow-resident tumor cells (BMRTC) vs. CTC identified protein ubiquitination as a significant regulatory pathway of BMRTC signaling. Selective inhibition of USP7, a key deubiquinating enzyme, arrested BMRTC in BM locales and decreased systemic micro-metastasis. This study provides first time evidence that the asymptomatic progression of metastatic melanoma can be recapitulated in vivo using patient-isolated CTC. Furthermore, these results suggest that USP7 inhibitors warrant further investigation as a strategy to prevent progression to overt clinical metastasis.
Optimized protocol for detection of native, full-length HIV-1 envelope on the surface of transfected cells.

Aims Designing therapeutics against the HIV envelope glycoprotein (Env) is only as accurate as the structure of the Env they are targeting. Conserving the structure of the Env trimer is crucial for proper experimental assessment of antibody binding and neutralization. However, Env is notably difficult to express by transfection of a recombinant Env plasmid. To increase surface expression, researchers commonly utilize c-tail mutants of the gp41 transmembrane glycoprotein of HIV-1, but mutations and deletions in this region can impact the overall conformation and stability of the Env trimer. Multiple studies have shown that while tail mutants have higher Env surface expression, they are easier to neutralize and have altered trimer conformations compared with wild-type Env found in vivo on infected cells. To assess and characterize native cell surface Env structures, we sought a protocol that could reliably detect wild-type Env surface expression by flow cytometry. Methods and results By avoiding fetal bovine serum-based buffers, significantly increasing the amounts of transfected plasmid and Env-specific antibody and by selecting a bright, biotin + streptavidin-PE detection system, we were able to increase the surface expression of transfected Env protein. Conclusion This protocol will allow for more precise assessment of antibody binding, epitope exposure, and Env structure, all of which will contribute to designing more effective vaccines and immunotherapeutics.
Modern-Day Slavery in the U.S.: Human Trafficking and Counselor Awareness

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery, yet it largely goes unnoticed by U.S.-based counselors. Although often overlooked, an increasing number of governmental entities document escalation in cases of human trafficking in the U.S. Counselors are in a unique position to address survivors of human trafficking needs due to their distinctive skill set. However, a general unawareness of human trafficking in the U.S. limits counselors with this population. This article focuses on increasing U.S.-based counselors’ awareness of human trafficking, forms of trafficking, prevalence in the U.S., assessment, and treatment for survivors. A case scenario and implications section conclude the article.
Primary Diffuse Leptomeningeal Melanomatosis: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Background Primary diffuse leptomeningeal melanomatosis (PDLM) is an extremely rare pathologic condition that can mimic several other neurologic disease states. Methods We report a rare case of PDLM without evidence of a primary focus. In addition, we performed a comprehensive review of the literature to describe all previously reported cases of PDLM. Results In the reported case, making the diagnosis of PDLM was difficult. A brain and frontal dural biopsy was nondiagnostic. Computed tomography of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis did not show any distinct solitary mass. After a positron emission tomography scan was performed that showed lumbar sacral enhancement, lumbar dorsal rootlet biopsy was initiated, which was diagnostic of PDLM. Our literature review found 32 previously reported cases of PDLM. Sixteen cases (48.5%) had a distinct focus or mass discovered on imaging workup. The reported case was the seventeenth reported case of PDLM without a distinct focus or mass found on imaging workup. Conclusions PDLM is an extremely rare disease, and diagnosis is difficult because of nonspecific clinical, radiographic, and laboratory findings. In approximately half of cases, no distinct mass is shown on imaging workup, which may further complicate diagnosis. PDLM should be on the differential diagnosis for cases of diffuse dural enhancement. Neurosurgical intervention is often limited to ventriculoperitoneal shunting for increased intracranial pressure and dural and cranial biopsy to obtain diagnosis. If the initial biopsy is nondiagnostic, hypermetabolic activity as seen on positron emission tomography may be helpful to find an alternative biopsy site.
Association between Cumulative Pre-Transplant Amiodarone Dose and Post-Transplant Outcomes after Heart Transplantation

Purpose Primary graft failure (PGF) is a growing concern following heart transplantation (HT) and is associated with early post-transplant mortality. Recent reports associate PGF with amiodarone therapy. This study aimed to investigate the effects of cumulative pre-HT amiodarone dosing on post-HT outcomes. Methods Adult HT recipients from 1/1/2008 to 6/1/2018 who received amiodarone within 90 days prior to HT were retrospectively evaluated. Amiodarone dose was used as a continuous variable. We assessed the association of amiodarone dosing with the following outcomes: survival, ventilator days, length of stay, and the incidence of significant bradycardia requiring beta-agonist use or permanent pacemaker implantation. Results 296 patients were transplanted and 108 patients received amiodarone as above and were included in this analysis. The overall 1-year survival was 78.2%. Pre-HT amiodarone dose was associated with an increased incidence of 1-year mortality (P=0.048), more days on the ventilator (P=0.002), significant bradycardia (P=0.003), and longer index HT hospital length of stay (P=0.002). Conclusion Higher doses of amiodarone prior to HT are associated with worse outcomes, including higher mortality, length of stay, days on the ventilator, and significant bradycardia. Efforts should be made to minimize cumulative amiodarone dose in the three months preceding HT, particularly in patients with non-life-threatening indications such as supraventricular arrhythmias.
The Principle of Energetic Consistency in Data Assimilation

The preceding chapters have illustrated two essential features of data assimilation. First, to extract all the information available in the observations requires all the sources of uncertainty – in the initial conditions, the dynamics, and the observations – to be identified and accounted for properly in the data assimilation process. This task is complicated by the fact that the non-linear dynamical system actually being observed is typically an infinite-dimensional (continuum) system, whereas at one’s disposal is only a finite-dimensional (discrete) numerical model of the continuum system dynamics. Second, to formulate a computationally viable data assimilation algorithm requires some probabilistic assumptions and computational approximations to be made. Those made in four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) and ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) methods have been discussed in Chapters Variational Assimilation (Talagrand) and Ensemble Kalman Filter: Status and Potential (Kalnay), respectively.