cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hazard Mitigation, Economic Development and Resilience: A Comparative Analysis of Flood Control Policy and Practice in Germany, The Netherlands, and Great Britain

Certain parts of Europe have a long history of coastal and riverine flood disasters with major losses of human lives. Structural mitigation practices have reduced direct loss of human life from flood incidents, though not eliminating that particular effect entirely. But over-development in floodplains, population growth patterns in hazard-vulnerable areas and potential consequences of climate change make flood disasters a continued threat. Hazard losses from floods continue to grow and create significant adverse effects on overall economic development. In this chapter we trace developments in flood mitigation (i.e. structural engineering solutions such as barriers and drainage approaches) and flood risk management (i.e. an emphasis on both effective water management practices and sustainable development practices) by considering three European countries with significant coastal and interior vulnerability to the flood hazard: The Netherlands, Great Britain, and Germany. In doing so we consider how flood mitigation and flood risk management is related to hazard loss and economic development. The chapter provides an overview of the degree to which the incentives associated with, and the socio-political effects of economic development imperatives affect hazard mitigation policy choices and their implications for community resilience. Variations in the physical characteristics of the flood hazard across the three countries permit us to consider how underlying management demands posed by the hazard affects policy and practice across individual national settings as well as the European Union in general.
Accelerated large scale optimization by concomitant hashing

Traditional locality-sensitive hashing (LSH) techniques aim to tackle the curse of explosive data scale by guaranteeing that similar samples are projected onto proximal hash buckets. Despite the success of LSH on numerous vision tasks like image retrieval and object matching, however, its potential in large-scale optimization is only realized recently. In this paper we further advance this nascent area. We first identify two common operations known as the computational bottleneck of numerous optimization algorithms in a large-scale setting, i.e., min/max inner product. We propose a hashing scheme for accelerating min/max inner product, which exploits properties of order statistics of statistically correlated random vectors. Compared with other schemes, our algorithm exhibits improved recall at a lower computational cost. The effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method are corroborated by theoretic analysis and several important applications. Especially, we use the proposed hashing scheme to perform approximate l1 regularized least squares with dictionaries with millions of elements, a scale which is beyond the capability of currently known exact solvers. Nonetheless, it is highlighted that the focus of this paper is not on a new hashing scheme for approximate nearest neighbor problem. It exploits a new application for the hashing techniques and proposes a general framework for accelerating a large variety of optimization procedures in computer vision.
Intentionally Public, Intentionally Private: Gender Non-Binary Youth on Tumblr and the Queering of Community Literacy Research

In this essay, I uncover the ways in which the non-binary gender community challenges what we know about privacy and reciprocity within community engaged work. Using my experience as a program coordinator for an LGBTQ youth center, I illustrate the myriad of privacy needs of non-binary gender teens and young adults who expect to be simultaneously both public and private in their online writing on Tumblr. I argue that for the non-binary gender community on Tumblr, direct contact from the researcher not only may invade their intimate space but also cause physical or emotional harm as many non-binary Tumblr users are underage and participating on Tumblr in secret. Instead, I demonstrate how the study of non-binary gender literacy practices can be done without engaging with or quoting directly from publicly published content, instead favoring an emergent thematic methodology. Additionally, I make a case for a queer methodology which instead seeks to recruit participants in the real world and be invited into their digital community once trust and reciprocity is established should interviews be important for further study.
PHM-Focused Healthcare Delivery

Teaching strategies and techniques target population health management (PHM) approaches used in an integrated primary care (IPC) setting. A PHM approach facilitates the identification of patient population needs, development of programs and services, population engagement using effective interventions, and evaluation of patient population health improvements. Population health management programs assist with meeting the three goals of the Triple Aim: (1) improving the patient experience with healthcare, (2) improving the health of the overall population, and (3) reducing the per capita cost of healthcare. This chapter primarily focuses on PHM and related teaching strategies and resources used to equip practitioners to address the second dimension of the Triple Aim, identify stakeholders, and employ efficient, cost-effective methods to improve population health outcomes.
Treatment of peristomal hemorrhage: A review of outcomes and comparison of two minimally invasive techniques.

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to review and compare outcomes between percutaneous sclerotherapy and transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) treatments in patients with peristomal variceal bleeding. Materials and methods Ten patients who underwent sclerotherapy (n = 3 patients), TIPS placement (n = 5 patients) or both (n= 2 patients) for peristomal variceal bleeding were retrospectively reviewed. There were 6 women and 4 men, with a mean age of 62.6 years (range: 44–84 years). Data pertaining to the technical aspects of the procedure, demographics, and information regarding the underlying cause of ostomy and portal hypertension were collected. Treatment was considered a primary success if no further hemorrhage occurred. Results No differences in primary success were found between TIPS cohort (100%) and sclerotherapy cohort (40%) (P = 0.4). Sclerotherapy patients had a poorer nutritional status (mean albumin serum level of 2.04 g/dL in the sclerotherapy group and 2.95 g/dL in theTIPS group; P = 0.04) and worse liver function (mean total bilirubin serum level of 4.9 mg/dL in the sclerotherapy group and 1.6 mg/dL in the TIPS group; P = 0.07). Conclusion While further investigation is needed, TIPS may be more effective than sclerotherapy in treating peristomal variceal bleeding. However, sclerotherapy may serve as an effective bridging mechanism in critically ill patients.
Orientation in Pill Bugs: An Interdisciplinary Activity to Engage Students in Concepts of Biology, Physics & Circular Statistics

We present a novel laboratory activity to introduce students to experimental approaches often used by biologists to study orientation in animals. We first provide an overview of the current understanding of magnetoreception – the ability of some organisms to sense magnetic fields. We then outline an exercise that uses common pill bugs (Armadillidium vulgare) to examine whether a pulsed magnetic field affects their directional preference. The first part of the experiment includes the construction and visual testing of a pulse magnetizer built using low-cost and easily obtainable materials. Afterward, students examine the orientation of pill bugs both before and after being subjected to a magnetic pulse. Finally, students analyze their results with circular statistics using the open-source R coding platform, providing them experience in coding languages and statistical analysis. The interdisciplinary and biophysical nature of this experiment engages students in concepts of electromagnetic induction, magnetism, animal behavior, and statistics.
The Association between Mandated Preseason Heat Acclimatization Guidelines and Exertional Heat Illness during Preseason High School American Football Practices.

Background: The risk of heat-related illness and death may continue to increase in many locations as a consequence of climate change, but information on the effectiveness of policies to protect populations from the adverse effects of excessive heat is limited. In 2009, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Inter-Association Task Force (NATA-IATF) released guidelines to reduce exertional heat illness (EHI) among U.S. high school athletes participating in preseason sports activities, including preseason practice sessions for American football. A subset of state high school athletic associations have implemented state-mandated guidelines consistent with the 2009 NATA-IATF recommendations, but their effectiveness for reducing preseason EHI is unknown. Objectives: This study examines the association between the enactment of state high school athletic association–mandated NATA-IATF guidelines and the rate of EHI among high school students during preseason American football practice sessions. Methods: We performed a quasi-experimental interrupted time-series study of EHI during high school American football practices in the 2005/2006–2016/2017 school years. We estimated state-level EHI rates using High School Reporting Information Online injury and athlete-exposure data, and used generalized estimating equations Poisson regression models to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing state-years with and without mandated NATA-IATF guidelines. State-level covariates included state-year–specific average August temperatures, yearly deviations from each state’s August average temperature across the study period, and school year. Results: Data were available for 455 state-years from 48 states, including 32 state-years (7.0%) from 8 states when mandated guidelines consistent with the NATA-IATF recommendations were implemented. During an estimated 2,697,089 athlete-exposures, 190 EHIs were reported. Estimated preseason EHI rates were lower during state-years with versus without mandated guidelines (adjusted IRR=0.45IRR=0.45, 95% CI: 0.23, 0.87). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that high school athletes would benefit from enactment of the 2009 NATA-IATF guidelines. Similar analyses of the effectiveness of other public health policies to reduce adverse health effects from ambient heat are warranted.
Featured Article: Behavior Interventions Addressing Obesity in Rural Settings: The E-FLIP for Kids Trial.

OBJECTIVE To assess the effectiveness of behavioral parent-only (PO) and family-based (FB) interventions on child weight, dietary intake, glycated hemoglobin, and quality of life in rural settings. METHODS This study was a three-armed, randomized controlled trial. Participants were children (age 8-12 years) with overweight or obesity and their parents. A FB (n = 88), a PO (n = 78) and a health education condition (HEC) (n = 83) each included 20 group contacts over 1 year. Assessment and treatment contacts occurred at Cooperative Extension Service offices. The main outcome was change in child body mass index z-score (BMIz) from baseline to year 2. RESULTS Parents in all conditions reported high treatment satisfaction (mean of 3.5 or higher on a 4-point scale). A linear mixed model analysis of change in child BMIz from baseline to year 1 and year 2 found that there were no significant group by time differences in child BMIz (year 2 change in BMIz for FB = -0.03 [-0.1, 0.04], PO = -0.01 [-0.08, 0.06], and HEC = -0.09 [-0.15, -0.02]). While mean attendance across conditions was satisfactory during months 1-4 (69%), it dropped during the maintenance phase (42%). High attendance for the PO intervention was related to greater changes in child BMIz (p < .02). Numerous barriers to participation were reported. CONCLUSION Many barriers exist that inhibit regular attendance at in-person contacts for many families. Innovative delivery strategies are needed that balance treatment intensity with feasibility and acceptability to families and providers to facilitate broad dissemination in underserved rural settings.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01820338.
Frontloading Academic Vocabulary for English Learners With Disabilities in an Integrated Classroom Setting

Previous research examining frontloading academic vocabulary establishes it as an effective instructional activity for students who are English learners. This article extends and builds from those ...
Abstract 4384: Role of EIF4G1 in non-small cell lung cancer pathogenesis and targeted therapy

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for about 85-90% of lung cancer cases, which represents the number one killer among cancers in US. The majority of lung cancer patients doesn9t respond well to conventional chemo-/radio-therapeutic regimens and have a dismal 5-year survival rate of ~15%. The recent introduction of targeted therapy and immunotherapy gives new hopes to NSCLC patients, but their outcome/prognosis is far from satisfactory. The translation initiation EIF4F complex has been shown to play important roles in cancer progression. As an important component of the EIF4F complex, EIF4G1 serves as a scaffold and interacts with several other initiation factors such as EIF4E and EIF4A, and help to initiate cap-dependent translation in mammalian cells. EIF4G1 is overexpressed in a variety of cancers, but its functional role, clinical relevance and potential role as a therapeutic target in NSCLC remain largely unknown. Our recent data demonstrate that EIF4G1 expression level is much higher in NSCLC primary tumors than in paired adjacent normal tissues as well as in NSCLC cell lines than in the normal bronchial epithelial cells. Directly targeting EIF4G1 by RNAi or selective small-molecule inhibitors significantly reduce NSCLC cell proliferation, anchorage-independent growth in vitro as well as tumor progression in vivo. Our recent protein array and proteomics analyses indicate that EIF4G1: 1) has a complex interactome network in NSCLC cells; 2) appears to control the expression of a unique subset of the cellular proteome when compared to normal cells, which are closely related to NSCLC cells survival. Taken together, our data support that EIF4G1 plays a critical role in NSCLC survival, oncogenesis and tumor progression, and may serve as a novel and promising therapeutic target for improving NSCLC treatment. Citation Format: Zhiqiang Qin, Lu Dai, Luis Del Valle. Role of EIF4G1 in non-small cell lung cancer pathogenesis and targeted therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4384.
Older Adults’ Perceptions of Video Game Training in the Intervention Comparative Effectiveness for Adult Cognitive Training (ICE-ACT) Clinical Trial: An Exploratory Analysis

Video game-based interventions have been increasingly explored as a means to prevent or reverse age-related declines in attention, executive control, memory, and processing speed. Further, the gamification of interventions aimed at improving mental and physical health, and encouraging healthy behaviors, holds promise with respect to promoting intervention engagement and adherence. Successful implementation of game-based and gamified interventions depends on the ability to design games that older adults are willing and able to play, which ultimately depends on understanding the game preferences of older adults, and the challenges and barriers to video gameplay. To explore these issues, this paper presents data collected from U.S. participants as part of the Intervention Comparative Effectiveness for Adult Cognitive Training (ICE-ACT) clinical trial. This trial aimed to understand the impact of various interventions on cognition and everyday task performance. Three intervention arms involved video game play: BrainHQ training (gamified cognitive training), Rise of Nations training (commercial complex real-time strategy game), and a control group that played Sudoku, crossword, and word search computer programs. After each game session, participants rated their game experience and provided comments in a game diary. This paper presents analyses of these diary data. The largest differences observed were between attitudes toward the control games and Rise of Nations. Control games were strongly preferred and were perceived as more motivating compared to Rise of Nations, and there was a trend for Rise of Nations to be perceived as more frustrating than BrainHQ. The observed preference for puzzle games, and an aversion for the violent and complex content of Rise Nations, is consistent with previous survey and focus group data of older adults’ game preferences. Results have implications for designing game-based and gamified interventions for older adults that will encourage enjoyment, engagement, and adherence.
Modeling Low Frequency Magnetic Field Shielding using the Locally Corrected Nyström Method

The problem of magnetic field penetration into a conductive enclosure due to a low frequency loop transmitter is considered using simulations and experiment. The problem is relevant for electromagnetic shielding, through bunker communications, through conductor imaging, and several related problems. The primary difficulty lies in the multiple spatial scales due to the large wavelengths in the exterior and interior air regions in contrast to the short wavelengths in the highly conductive shell region. Although analytical solutions are possible for spherical shields and other specific geometries, determining the penetration through realistic conductive shields requires a numerical approach. Typical finite element methods can be employed to the shielding problem, however, appropriately meshing the enclosure and the air regions can be difficult when the skin-depth and wavelength in the shell are much smaller than the dimensions of the enclosure. To alleviate the multi-scale and near-field nature of the problem, a high-order locally corrected Nystrom scheme is utilized to solve a surface integral equation based on an Augmented Muller formulation. The Nystrom-SIE method is ideally suited for shield modeling due to the low surface area to volume ratio of the shield and the exponential convergence properties of the code. To validate the theoretical predictions from the model an experiment using two loop antennas inside and outside a 1.2 m aluminum cube of 3 mm thickness is conducted. It is shown that the experimental results agree with numerical predictions.
Using Epidemiology and Pediatric Direction to Inform Air Medical Quality Improvement.

Abstract Introduction Pediatric air transport research is limited, especially scene transport. Study purpose was to review transport epidemiology, outcomes, and documentation to inform development of a pediatric flight quality improvement (QI) program and outreach. Methods Study design was ongoing review and analysis of flight, ED, EMS and hospital records over 2 years from children ≤ 18 years transported by a regional flight program. Mission type included trauma, medical, scene and interfacility. Records were reviewed monthly by a pediatric medical director (PMD) with ongoing QI and educational initiatives. Peer review was added in year two. Demographic and outcome variables included weight, times, procedures, pain scales, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), medications, disposition, etc. Two QI focus areas were studied using QI Macros®: weight and pain documentation. Results Children accounted for 8% of total flights (165/2076). Transport was 58% scene; 42% interfacility. Median dispatch to arrival time was 21 minutes. Saturday accounted for 24% of flights. Mean scene GCS was 12; 39 (24%) patients were intubated. Scene weight in kilograms improved 18% and pain documentation improved from 49% to 79% during the study. Conclusion Addition of PMD, peer and outcome review processes provided opportunities for improving pediatric transport QI initiatives and targeted outreach education.
Modulation of the Pol II CTD Phosphorylation Code by Rac1 and Cdc42 Small GTPases in Cultured Human Cancer Cells and Its Implication for Developing a Synthetic-Lethal Cancer Therapy

Rho GTPases, including Rho, Cdc42, Rac and ROP subfamilies, are key signaling molecules in RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcriptional control. Our prior work has shown that plant ROP and yeast Cdc42 GTPases similarly modulate Ser2 and Ser5 phosphorylation status of the C-terminal domain (CTD) of the Pol II largest subunit by regulating CTD phosphatase degradation. Here, we present genetic and pharmacological evidence showing that Cdc42 and Rac1 GTPase signaling modulates a similar CTD Ser2 and Ser5 phosphorylation code in cultured human cancer cells. While siRNA knockdown of Cdc42 and Rac1, respectively, in HeLa cells increased the level of CTD Ser phosphatases RPAP2 and FCP1, they both decreased the level of CTD kinases CDK7 and CDK13. In addition, the protein degradation inhibitor MG132 reversed the effect of THZ1, a CDK7 inhibitor which could decrease the cell number and amount of CDK7 and CDK13, accompanied by a reduction in the level of CTD Ser2 and Ser5 phosphorylation and DOCK4 and DOCK9 (the activators for Rac1 and Cdc42, respectively). Conversely, treatments of Torin1 or serum deprivation, both of which promote protein degradation, could enhance the effect of THZ1, indicating the involvement of protein degradation in controlling CDK7 and CDK13. Our results support an evolutionarily conserved signaling shortcut model linking Rho GTPases to Pol II transcription across three kingdoms, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia, and could lead to the development of a potential synthetic-lethal strategy in controlling cancer cell proliferation or death.
Requirement for Anti-Apoptotic MCL-1 during Early Erythropoiesis

Mature erythrocytes are under tight homeostatic control with the need for constant replacement from progenitors to replace damaged or obsolete red blood cells (RBCs). This process is regulated largely by erythropoietin (Epo) which promotes the survival of erythroid progenitors and facilitates their differentiation and proliferation. Ablation of Bcl2l1 (which encodes BCL-xL) results in embryonic lethality with a lack of mature erythrocytes but does not perturb erythroid progenitors. Similarly, conditional Bcl2l1-deletion results in severe anemia with the death of late erythroid progenitors and induction of extramedullary erythropoiesis. While BCL-xL is critical to the survival of mature erythrocytes, it is still unclear whether other anti-apoptotic molecules mediate survival during earlier stages of erythropoiesis. Here, we demonstrate that erythroid-specific Mcl1-deletion results in embryonic lethality due to severe anemia caused by a lack of mature RBCs. Mcl1-deleted embryos exhibit stunted growth, ischemic necrosis, and decreased RBCs in the blood. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the dependence on MCL-1 is only during early erythropoiesis, whereas during later stages the cells become MCL-1-independent and upregulate the expression of BCL-xL. Functionally, MCL-1 relies upon its ability to prevent apoptosis to promote erythroid development since co-deletion of the pro-apoptotic effectors Bax and Bak can overcome the requirement for MCL-1 expression. Furthermore, ectopic expression of human BCL2 in erythroid progenitors can compensate for Mcl1 deletion, indicating redundancy between these two anti-apoptotic family members. These data clearly demonstrate a requirement for MCL-1 in promoting survival of early erythroid progenitors.
Through the Perilous Fight: A Case Analysis of Professional Wrestling During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The rapidly escalating COVID-19 pandemic has forced the sport industry into unchartered territory Beginning on March 11, 2020, when the National Basketball Association suspended its season, the American sports landscape has consequently encountered an unprecedented number of temporary suspensions, postponements, and cancellations Although most major leagues and their pertaining sports have halted to a sudden stop, professional wrestling has surprisingly continued on, including World Wrestling Entertainment's WrestleMania 36, which was held without fans in attendance The maintenance of professional wrestling during the COVID-19 crisis has presented a unique situation, in which fans and companies involved in the sport have rallied on social media platforms behind the sport's relative normality in a time of global uncertainty Leveraging publicly trackable Twitter data, we analyzed public sentiments toward two of the largest companies (e g , World Wrestling Entertainment and All Elite Wrestling) in the professional wrestling industry and related trends during the widespread onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The results represent exploratory insights surrounding the continuation of professional wrestling during the COVID-19 pandemic
Reflection of Fast Magnetosonic Waves near a Magnetic Reconnection Region.

Magnetic reconnection in the solar corona is thought to be unstable with the formation of multiple interacting plasmoids, and previous studies have shown that plasmoid dynamics can trigger MHD waves of different modes propagating outward from the reconnection site. However, variations in plasma parameters and magnetic field strength in the vicinity of a coronal reconnection site may lead to wave reflection and mode conversion. In this paper we investigate the reflection and refraction of fast magnetoacoustic waves near a reconnection site. Under a justified assumption of an analytically specified Alfven speed profile, we derive and solve analytically the full wave equation governing the propagation of fast-mode waves in a non-uniform background plasma without recourse to the small wavelength approximation. We show that the waves undergo reflection near the reconnection current sheet due to the Alfven speed gradient and that the reflection efficiency depends on the plasma-β parameter, as well as on the wave frequency. In particular, we find that waves are reflected more efficiently near reconnection sites in a low-β plasma, which is typical under solar coronal conditions. Also, the reflection is larger for lower-frequency waves while high-frequency waves propagate outward from the reconnection region almost without the reflection. We discuss the implications of efficient wave reflection near magnetic reconnection sites in strongly magnetized coronal plasma for particle acceleration, and also the effect this might have on first ionization potential (FIP) fractionation by the ponderomotive force of these waves in the chromosphere.
Erratum to: The Lorentzian inversion formula and the spectrum of the 3d O(2) CFT

In the original paper some text was wrongly added to the title of section 5.1 during the typesetting.
Water Aroused the Girls’ Hearts: Gendering Water and Soil Conservation in 1950s China

This article contributes to recent efforts to demonstrate the significance of gender in shaping human-environment interactions through an in-depth study of a model collective in the water and soil conservation campaigns that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) launched during the early 1950s. Dengjiabao village in Gansu province’s Wushan county earned nationwide recognition in these state-led efforts to check erosion, prevent downstream sedimentation, and boost agricultural production in Northwest China’s Loess Plateau. The state-sponsored publications that praised Dengjiabao’s achievements in the first decade of the PRC presented conservation in distinctly gendered terms. Propaganda materials asserted that improvements in environmental conditions and standards of living achieved through conservation efforts would reconfigure gender relations by enabling unmarried men in poor, resource-starved villages like Dengjiabao to find wives. But during the actual campaigns, as oral history interviews and local archives make evident, rural women had to balance the heavy physical labor of transforming the landscape with household work responsibilities. Water and soil conservation depended on the female workforce throughout the 1950s, and mass mobilization for large-scale conservation efforts during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1961) imbued women’s labor with even greater importance. The highly-militarized conservation campaigns of the Great Leap, and the famine to which they contributed, subjected rural women to burdens that directly affected their domestic lives, damaged their reproductive health, and had enduring corporeal effects.
TSC2-extracellular matrix crosstalk controls pulmonary vascular proliferation and pulmonary hypertension

Abstract Increased proliferation and survival of resident cells in small pulmonary arteries (PA) are important drivers of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Tuberous sclerosis complex 2 (TSC2) is a negative regulator of mTOR complex 1 and cell growth. Here we show that TSC2 is deficient in small remodeled PA/PA vascular smooth muscle cells (PAVSMC) from human PAH and experimental PH lungs. TSC2 deficiency was reproduced in vitro by maintaining PAVSMC on pathologically stiff substrates and was required for stiffness-induced proliferation, accumulation of transcriptional co-activators YAP/TAZ and up-regulation of mTOR. Depletion of TSC2 reproduced PH features in vitro in human PAVSMC and in vivo in SM22-Tsc2+/− mice. TSC2 loss in PAVSMC was supported by YAP and led to the up-regulation of YAP/TAZ and mTOR via modulating the extracellular matrix (ECM) composition. ECM, produced by TSC2-deficient PAVSMC, promoted growth of non-diseased PA adventitial fibroblasts and PAVSMC, which, in turn, was prevented by α5β1 integrin receptor antagonist ATN161. In vitro, molecular and pharmacological (SRT2104) restoration of TSC2 down-regulated YAP/TAZ, mTOR, and ECM production, inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in human PAH PAVSMC. In vivo, orally administrated SRT2104 restored TSC2, resolved pulmonary vascular remodeling, PH, and improved right heart in two rodent models of PH. Thus, PAVSMC TSC2 is a critical integrator of ECM composition and stiffness with pro-proliferative signaling and PH, and the restoration of functional TSC2 could be an attractive therapeutic option to treat PH. One Sentence Summary TSC2 acts as mechanosensor and mechanotransducer, integrating ECM composition and stiffness with pro-proliferative signaling in pulmonary vasculature; its deficiency in PA vascular smooth muscle cells results in ECM remodeling, hyper-proliferation and pulmonary hypertension, which could be reversed by pharmacological restoration of functional TSC2.
Functional Effects of Cardiomyocyte Injury in COVID-19.

COVID-19 affects multiple organs. Clinical data from the Mount Sinai Health System shows that substantial numbers of COVID-19 patients without prior heart disease develop cardiac dysfunction. How COVID-19 patients develop cardiac disease is not known. We integrated cell biological and physiological analyses of human cardiomyocytes differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the presence of interleukins, with clinical findings related to laboratory values in COVID-19 patients, to identify plausible mechanisms of cardiac disease in COVID-19 patients. We infected hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes, from healthy human subjects, with SARS-CoV-2 in the absence and presence of IL-6 and IL-1β. Infection resulted in increased numbers of multinucleated cells. Interleukin treatment and infection resulted in disorganization of myofibrils, extracellular release of troponin-I, and reduced and erratic beating. Infection resulted in decreased expression of mRNA encoding key proteins of the cardiomyocyte contractile apparatus. Although interleukins did not increase the extent of infection, they increased the contractile dysfunction associated with viral infection of cardiomyocytes resulting in cessation of beating. Clinical data from hospitalized patients from the Mount Sinai Health System show that a significant portion of COVID-19 patients without prior history of heart disease, have elevated troponin and interleukin levels. A substantial subset of these patients showed reduced left ventricular function by echocardiography. Our laboratory observations, combined with the clinical data, indicate that direct effects on cardiomyocytes by interleukins and SARS-CoV-2 infection might underlie heart disease in COVID-19 patients. Importance SARS-CoV-2 infects multiple organs including the heart. Analyses of hospitalized patients show that a substantial number without prior indication of heart disease or comorbidities show significant injury to heart tissue assessed by increased levels of troponin in blood. We studied the cell biological and physiological effects of virus infection of healthy human iPSC cardiomyocytes in culture. Virus infection with interleukins disorganizes myofibrils, increases cell size and the numbers of multinucleated cells, suppresses the expression of proteins of the contractile apparatus. Viral infection of cardiomyocytes in culture triggers release of troponin similar to elevation in levels of COVID-19 patients with heart disease. Viral infection in the presence of interleukins slows down and desynchronizes the beating of cardiomyocytes in culture. The cell level physiological changes are similar to decreases in left ventricular ejection seen in imaging of patients' hearts. These observations suggest that direct injury to heart tissue by virus can be one underlying cause of heart disease in COVID-19.
Fortschritte in der Diagnose und Behandlung des Pemphigus

In den letzten Jahren sind beachtliche Fortschritte in der Diagnostik und Behandlung des Pemphigus gemacht worden. Die Beobachtung von Civatte — seither von vielen bestatigt — , das die Pemphigusblase ein charakteristisches histologisches Aussehen besitzt, hat es zum ersten Male moglich gemacht, objektiv zu bestimmen, ob bei einem Patienten ein Pemphigus vorliegt. Die Einfuhrung des ACTH und des Cortisons in die Behandlung des Pemphigus hat die Prognose dieser ernsten Krankheit sehr verbessert.
Value Line and I/B/E/S Earnings Forecasts in the Presence of Nonrecurring Gains and Losses: Evidence of Inconsistency

Earnings are increasingly affected by "one-time" gains and losses; consequently, knowing whether analysts forecasts include or exclude such gains and losses is important to our understanding of forecast errors. Using I/B/E/S and Value Line data, this paper presents evidence that quarterly earnings forecasts and the associated "actual" earnings numbers reported by forecast services are inconsistent in the treatment of special gains and losses. Moreover, the fact that the actual earnings number reported by forecast services includes the nonrecurring item does not insure that the related earnings forecast does likewise. The paper examines two types of nonrecurring items, restructuring losses and equity carve-out gains. We find that the "actual" earnings numbers reported by Value Line and I/B/E/S include (exclude) these nonrecurring items in 37% (63%) and 38% (62%) of the cases, respectively. While the treatment of losses in "actual" earnings numbers provides a signal about the forecast target, the treatment of gains does not. Forecasts are reliably related to losses only if the losses are included in actual earnings. And forecast revisions show only a very weak relation to losses if actual earnings excluded those losses, and a significantly stronger relation to losses that are included in earnings. Conversely, forecasts are significantly related to gains whether or not the gain is included; and, forecast revisions are unrelated (or, at best only marginally related) to nonrecurring gains, even when actual earnings numbers include the gain. The findings suggest that the existence of nonrecurring items can make problematic the calculation of an earnings forecast error that is an unbiased measure of unexpected ordinary income.
DC power flow using fuzzy linear equations

This paper presents the application of a fuzzy DC power flow for electrical networks. The proposed methodology can be used in power system planning and day-ahead energy market. The uncertain variables in the DC power flow, renewable energy-based power generation, load and network parameters, are modeled as triangulate fuzzy variables with a center as well as an upper and lower bounds. The proposed method has the advantage of using upper and lower bounds to represent uncertainty instead of using probability distribution functions which is not easy to determine for all random variable. The method is tested on the 5-bus, IEEE 14-bus and 118-bus power systems with wind generators connected to the network. The execution times of the proposed method are obtained and compared with the Monte-Carlo simulation (MCS) method.
Excitatory synapses: Is bigger better?

There is plenty of indirect evidence that the postsynaptic density (PSD)-95 protein is involved in the clustering and, perhaps, targeting of postsynaptic proteins. Direct evidence was lacking, but PSD-95 knockout mice have now arrived, and their properties support a clustering function. However, knocking out PSD-95 also disrupts synaptic plasticity, and this could mean that PSD-95 acts as a kind of scaffold protein.
Photon absorption edge in superconductors and gapped one-dimensional systems

Opening of a gap in the low-energy excitations spectrum affects the power-law singularity in the photon absorption spectrum $A(\ensuremath{\Omega})$. In the normal state, the singularity, $A(\ensuremath{\Omega})\ensuremath{\propto}{[D/(\ensuremath{\Omega}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{\text{th}})]}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$, is characterized by an interaction-dependent exponent $\ensuremath{\alpha}$. On the contrary, in the superconducting state the divergence, $A(\ensuremath{\Omega})\ensuremath{\propto}{(D/\ensuremath{\Delta})}^{\ensuremath{\alpha}}{(\ensuremath{\Omega}\ensuremath{-}{\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{\text{th}})}^{\ensuremath{-}1/2}$, is interaction independent, while threshold is shifted, ${\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{\text{th}}={\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{\text{th}}+\ensuremath{\Delta}$; the ``normal-metal'' form of $A(\ensuremath{\Omega})$ resumes at $(\ensuremath{\Omega}\ensuremath{-}{\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}_{\text{th}})\ensuremath{\gtrsim}\ensuremath{\Delta}\text{ }\text{exp}(1/\ensuremath{\alpha})$. If the core hole is magnetic, it creates in-gap states; these states transform drastically the absorption edge. In addition, processes of scattering off the magnetic core hole involving spin-flip give rise to inelastic absorption with one or several real excited pairs in the final state, yielding a structure of peaks in $A(\ensuremath{\Omega})$ at multiples of $2\ensuremath{\Delta}$ above the threshold frequency. The above conclusions apply to a broad class of systems, e.g., Mott insulators, where a gap opens at the Fermi level due to the interactions.
Are the North American deserts expanding? Some climate signals from groundwater storage conditions

The areal average underground water storage in a natural catchment is directly manifested by the low flow or baseflow features from that catchment. Accordingly, an analysis was conducted of the annual lowest flows of twelve prototype near-pristine river basins with long streamflow records and minimal confounding human activities in four deserts of North America, namely the hot Chihuahua, Sonora, and Mojave deserts and the cold Great Basin desert. Except possibly for those in the Sonora Desert, the analysis has revealed no evidence that these few remaining pristine watersheds have undergone consistent or significant negative terrestrial water storage trends over the past century in their riparian aquifers and therefore no evidence of any increase in their aridity. Thus, if groundwater conditions in these deserts have been deteriorating, this suggests that it is likely attributable to human activities rather than to climate change. The situation in the Sonora Desert is unclear, on account of remaining questions regarding human impact. The reliability of the methodology is further probed by comparing the shorter term groundwater changes in all four deserts with well-known concurrent sea surface temperature changes in the Pacific Ocean; the groundwater storage changes appear to be related, albeit weakly, to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation and to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation; in the three hot deserts, the El Nino-Southern Oscillation effect decreases with eastward distance from the Pacific Ocean, but not that of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An update on a misconduct investigation.

In the article “Truth and consequences” (News Focus, 1 September 2006, p. [1222][1]), J. Couzin described findings from an investigation at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, that raised questions about three peer-reviewed papers co-authored by Elizabeth Goodwin. In the case of the paper by O
Solid-state reaction of Ru powder in molten Al x Bi 1-x

We describe a low-temperature solid-state interdiffusion technique that allows reaction between spatially separated reacting species and its application in the Al--Ru alloy system. This technique uses a liquid-metal solvent (Bi) as a medium for the transfer of Al to the surface of Ru powder where reaction occurs with the formation of nanocrystalline Al{sub {ital x}}Ru{sub 1{minus}{ital x}} product phases. X-ray diffraction measurements are used to follow the time and temperature dependence of the reaction. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy allows direct imaging of the growth and morphology of the Al{sub {ital x}}Ru{sub 1{minus}{ital x}} product phases.
Lifting line theory for transonic flow

Lifting line theory is applied to describe the flow about a lifting wing at transonic speeds. The method extends that of Van Dyke (1975), in which lifting line theory is viewed as a singular perturbation problem, to transonic flows. Inner and outer expansions as the aspect ratio approaches infinity of the transonic small disturbance equations are found. It is shown that the solutions match asymptotically. A boundary value problem is formulated which describes the first aspect ratio correction to the two dimensional cross sectional transonic flow. The theory is especially applicable to wings of similar cross-sections.
Healthcare Reconsidered: Forging Community Wellness among African Americans in the South

This article details the history of Slossfield Hospital, an African American hospital and community center founded in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1937. During its New Deal-era existence it provided African American physicians institutional support for their medical practices. Additionally, as a community center, it addressed the socioeconomics of good health. This paper uses Slossfield as a case study to explore how some African Americans included the socioeconomic in their definition of public health during the New Deal, as well as to understand how these ideas were subsumed by more mainstream ideas about public health promulgated by black and white physicians and the local and federal governments.
Effect of Concentration on the Energetics and Dynamics of Li Ion Transport in Anatase and Amorphous TiO2

We report on the energetics and dynamics of Li diffusion in bulk anatase and amorphous TiO2 using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Using MD simulations, for both anatase and amorphous TiO2, diffusion characteristics are first studied for an isolated Li ion, followed by simulations of Li concentrations ranging from 10% to 100% in order to explore the concentration effect on the diffusivity. The isolated Li diffusion mechanism, revealed from the MD simulations, occurs via zigzag hops between the octahedral sites in anatase. The corresponding barrier for this process obtained from DFT-NEB calculations is 480 meV. MD simulations also show that isolated Li ion diffusivity is much slower in the amorphous TiO2 than in anatase TiO2. DFT-NEB results for the diffusion in amorphous titania indicate that Li encounters deep energy wells within the amorphous network that are in the electronvolt range, confirming our MD observation of low Li diffusivity. A monotonic d...
MAZ drives tumor-specific expression of PPAR gamma 1 in breast cancer cells.

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma 1 (PPARγ1) is a nuclear receptor that plays a pivotal role in breast cancer and is highly over-expressed relative to normal epithelia. We have previously reported that the expression of PPARγ1 is mediated by at least six distinct promoters and expression in breast cancer is driven by a tumor-specific promoter (pA1). Deletional analysis of this promoter fragment revealed that the GC-rich, 263 bp sequence proximal to the start of exon A1, is sufficient to drive expression in breast cancer cells but not in normal, human mammary epithelial cells (HMEC). By combining the disparate technologies of microarray and computer-based transcription factor binding site analyses on this promoter sequence the myc-associated zinc finger protein (MAZ) was identified as a candidate transcription factor mediating tumor-specific expression. Western blot analysis and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays verify that MAZ is overexpressed in MCF-7 cells and is capable of binding to the 263 bp promoter fragment, respectively. Furthermore, the over-expression of MAZ in HMEC is sufficient to drive the expression of PPARγ1 and does so by recruiting the tumor-specific promoter. This results in an increase in the amount of PPARγ1 capable of binding to its DNA response element. These findings help to define the molecular mechanism driving the high expression of PPARγ1 in breast cancer and raise new questions regarding the role of MAZ in cancer progression.
Integrating invasion and disease in the risk assessment of live bird trade.

Aim International trade in plants and animals generates significant economic benefits. It also leads to substantial unintended impacts when introduced species become invasive, causing environmental disturbance or transmitting diseases that affect people, livestock, other wildlife or the environment. Policy responses are usually only implemented after these species become established and damages are already incurred. International agreements to control trade are likewise usually based on selection of species with known impacts. We aim to further develop quantitative invasive species risk assessment for bird imports and extend the tool to explicitly address disease threats. Location United States of America. Methods We use a two-step approach for rapid risk assessment based on the expected biological risks due to both the environmental and health impact of a potentially invasive wildlife species in trade. We assess establishment probability based on a model informed by historical observations and then construct a model of emerging infectious disease threat based on economic and ecological characteristics of the exporting country. Results We illustrate how our rapid assessment tool can be used to identify high-priority species for regulation based on a combination of the threat they pose for becoming established and vectoring emerging infectious diseases. Main conclusions Our approach can be executed for a species in a matter of days and is nested in an economic decision-making framework for determining whether the biological risk is justified by trade benefits.
Research Methods and Communication in the Social Sciences

Acknowledgments Preface The Foundation of the Scientific Research Method Guidelines for Conducting Scientific Research Guidelines for Preparing Research Grant Proposal Guidelines for Communicating Scientific Research Guidelines for Reviewing Manuscripts Guidelines for Library Literature Search Appendixes