cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of tumour necrosis factor, heat, and radiation on the viability and microfilament organization in cultured endothelial cells

Normal blood vessels are leakage proof, non-adherent to blood cell elements, and participate actively in directional blood flow. These properties rely on the shape of endothelial cells and the integrity of the endothelial cell monolayer. The often observed effects of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) and hyperthermia on tumour tissue are the disruption of blood flow and an increase of vascular permeability. These agents are also known to affect the cytoskeletal organization and the cytoskeleton-dependent cellular functions. We observed that TNF (100 U/ml for 60 min) or heat (43 degrees C for 60 min) treatment causes the collapse of actin filaments in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The combined treatment of TNF and hyperthermia intensifies the change of shape and loss of actin filaments. However, these changes are reversible within 24 h. These transient changes may contribute to the dysfunction and increased leakage of the microvasculature in tumours during and after these treatments despite the fact that the viability determined by MTT assay did not show a significant interaction between TNF and hyperthermia. Radiation (5 Gy) and TNF interact to a lesser extent compared with heat and TNF on cell shape and actin filament organization in HUVEC. Heat or radiation treatment enhances the expression of ELAM-1 mRNA in HUVEC while TNF produces the strongest effect on ELAM-1 mRNA expression. Our study suggests that radiation and heat affect endothelial cells and their subsequent functions differently. Result of an interaction between heat and TNF on endothelial cells supports the common notion that the anti-tumour effect by heat plus TNF treatments may benefit due to the increased disruption of vasculature function in the tumour.
Mixin-based inheritance

The diverse inheritance mechanisms provided by Smalltalk, Beta, and CLOS are interpreted as different uses of a single underlying construct. Smalltalk and Beta differ primarily in the direction of class hierarchy growth. These inheritance mechanisms are subsumed in a new inheritance model based on composition of mixins, or abstract subclasses. This form of inheritance can also encode a CLOS multiple-inheritance hierarchy, although changes to the encoded hierarchy that would violate encapsulation are difficult. Practical application of mixin-based inheritance is illustrated in a sketch of an extension to Modula-3.
The Reception of Scientific Management by British Engineers, 1890–1914

While Britain never had a scientific management movement like that in America, historians have exaggerated the negative reaction of British engineers to the ideas of F. W. Taylor and other American proponents of business efficiency. A review of the leading British engineering journals in the early twentieth century reveals that Taylorism received a fair amount of attention, and much of it positive. By the beginning of the First World War, the majority of trade journals were echoing Taylor's demands for a new type of management. The misapprehension on behalf of historians stems from a number of factors: an overemphasis on articles published during years of labor agitation, such as 1911 and 1912; and, a failure to appreciate the different way in which scientific management was perceived in Britain. This fuller understanding of British responses to Taylor and his ideas helps to elucidate a chapter in the broader history of British economic performance and managerial methods in the twentieth century.
HAPLOWSER: a whole-genome haplotype browser for personal genome and metagenome

Summary: Haplotype assembly is becoming a very important tool in genome sequencing of human and other organisms. Although haplotypes were previously inferred from genome assemblies, there has never been a comparative haplotype browser that depicts a global picture of whole-genome alignments among haplotypes of different organisms. We introduce a whole-genome HAPLotype brOWSER (HAPLOWSER), providing evolutionary perspectives from multiple aligned haplotypes and functional annotations. Haplowser enables the comparison of haplotypes from metagenomes, and associates conserved regions or the bases at the conserved regions with functional annotations and custom tracks. The associations are quantified for further analysis and presented as pie charts. Functional annotations and custom tracks that are projected onto haplotypes are saved as multiple files in FASTA format. Haplowser provides a user-friendly interface, and can display alignments of haplotypes with functional annotations at any resolution. Availability: Haplowser, written in Java, supports multiple platforms including Windows and Linux. Haplowser is publicly available at http://embio.yonsei.ac.kr/haplowser Contact: rk.ca.iesnoy.sc@nuyhgnas; ude.csu@ielil Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at http://embio.yonsei.ac.kr/haplowser
Some group theoretic aspects of t -norms

Let A be the automorphism group of the unit interval with its usual order relation, and let ℝ+ be the embedding of the multiplicative group of positive real numbers into A given by exponentiation. Strict t-norms are in one-to-one correspondence with the right cosets of ℝ+ in A. Here, we identify the normalizer of ℝ+ in A and give explicit formulas for the corresponding set of t-norms.
Ultrahigh-Speed Imaging of Hall-Thruster Discharge Oscillations With Krypton Propellant

The discharge oscillations of a 200-W Hall thruster, with krypton propellant, was captured optically with an ultrahigh-speed camera providing information up to 500 kHz. The sequential images provide a temporal 2-D description of the plasma field, which illustrate the direct emission (i.e., visible light emitted by the plasma discharge) of the plasma increasing and decreasing within the thruster channel. These periodic fluctuations of intensity have a frequency of 31 kHz, which is 10% less than the measured breathing-mode frequency utilizing xenon propellant under the same conditions.
Identification of the Bunyamwera bunyavirus transcription termination signal.

Bunyamwera virus (BUNV) is the prototype of the family Bunyaviridae, which comprises segmented RNA viruses. Each of the BUNV negative-strand segments, small (S), medium (M) and large (L), serves as template for two distinct RNA-synthesis activities: (i) replication to generate antigenomes that are in turn replicated to yield further genomes; and (ii) transcription to generate a single species of mRNA. BUNV mRNAs are truncated at their 3′ ends relative to the genome template, presumably because the BUNV transcriptase terminates transcription before reaching the 5′ terminus of the genomic template. Here, identification of the transcription termination signal responsible for 3′-end truncation of BUNV S-segment mRNA was carried out. It was shown that efficient transcription termination was signalled by a 33 nt sequence within the 5′ non-translated region (NTR) of the S segment. A 6 nt region (3′-GUCGAC-5′) within this sequence was found to play a major role in termination signalling, with other nucleotides possessing individually minor, but collectively significant, signalling ability. By abrogating the signalling ability of these 33 nt, we identified a second, functionally independent termination signal located 32 nt downstream. This downstream signal was 9 nt in length and contained a pentanucleotide sequence, 3′-UGUCG-5′, that overlapped the 6 nt major signalling component of the upstream signal. The pentanucleotide sequence was also found within the 5′ NTR of the BUNV L segment and in several other members of the genus Orthobunyavirus, suggesting that the mechanism responsible for BUNV transcription termination may be common to other orthobunyaviruses.
A Modified Footplate for the Kerrison Rongeur

Use of the Kerrison rongeur for bone removal in spinal surgery is associated with dural tears and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks. We report a modification of the Kerrison rongeur footplate designed to reduce the risk of dural tears. A novel footplate was designed by incorporating the following parameters: (1) tapering the footplate to deflect soft tissue downward during positioning of the rongeur underneath the bone, and (2) making the footplate longer and wider than the cutting element to prevent soft tissue from entering into the cutting surface. Stereolithography models of the modified footplate were made and tested in a cadaver. A stainless steel modified footplate was then incorporated into an existing Kerrison rongeur as a working prototype, and tested in 20 laminectomy cases to clinically validate its design. The modified footplate prevented soft tissue from entering the cutting surface of the Kerrison rongeur in the manner intended by its design. No dural tears or CSF leaks were encountered in any instance. Potential soft tissue compression caused by an increase in footplate dimensions was not a significant issue in the rongeur size tested. This modification, however, might not be practical in rongeurs larger than 3 mm. The risk of dural tears and cerebrospinal fluid leaks in spinal surgery may be reduced by this footplate modification of the Kerrison rongeur. Soft tissue compression may limit the incorporation of this modification to rongeurs of 3 mm or smaller. The promising results warrant further tests with a wider range of sizes.
Rhabdomyolysis and Renal Failure Associated with Gemfibrozil Monotherapy

OBJECTIVETo report a case of rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure associated with gemfibrozil monotherapy of hyperlipidemia.CASE SUMMARYA 30-year-old white man with hypertension, type 1 diabetes mellitus, and hyperlipidemia was hospitalized due to myalgias, nausea, and vomiting that began after he started working as a jackhammer operator 4 days previously. His medications were lisinopril, aspirin, insulin, and gemfibrozil. Creatine kinase and creatinine, which previously had been mildly elevated and normal, respectively, were markedly elevated, consistent with rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure.DISCUSSIONAs of December 8, 2003, this is the only report of a patient with normal baseline creatinine level who developed rhabdomyolysis with acute renal failure associated with gemfibrozil monotherapy. Strenuous exertion, hypovolemia, and lisinopril use may have contributed to the severity of illness. An objective causality assessment revealed that an adverse drug reaction to gemfibrozil was possible.CONCL...
Allosteric communication in Dictyostelium myosin II

Myosin’s affinities for nucleotides and actin are reciprocal. Actin-binding substantially reduces the affinity of ATP for myosin, but the effect of actin on myosin’s ADP affinity is quite variable among myosin isoforms, serving as the principal mechanism for tuning the actomyosin system to specific physiological purposes. To understand the structural basis of this variable relationship between actin and ADP binding, we studied several constructs of the catalytic domain of Dictyostelium myosin II, varying their length (from the N-terminal origin) and cysteine content. The constructs varied considerably in their actin-activated ATPase activity and in the effect of actin on ADP affinity. Actin had no significant effect on ADP affinity for a single-cysteine catalytic domain construct, a double-cysteine construct partially restored the actin-dependence of ADP binding, and restoration of all native Cys restored it further, but full restoration of function (similar to that of skeletal muscle myosin II) was obtained only by adding all native Cys and an artificial lever arm extension. Pyrene-actin fluorescence confirmed these effects on ADP binding to actomyosin. We conclude that myosin’s Cys content and lever arm both allosterically modulate the reciprocal affinities of myosin for ADP and actin, a key determinant of the biological functions of myosin isoforms.
Modular techniques for dynamic fault tree-analysis

It is noted that current approaches used to assess the dependability of complex systems such as Space Station Freedom and the Air Traffic Control System are incapable of handling the size and complexity of these highly integrated designs. A novel technique for modeling such systems which is built upon current techniques in Markov theory and combinatorial analysis is described. It enables the development of a hierarchical representation of system behavior which is more flexible than either technique alone. A solution strategy which is based on an object-oriented approach to model representation and evaluation is discussed. The technique is virtually transparent to the user since the fault tree models can be built graphically and the objects defined automatically. The tree modularization procedure allows the two model types, Markov and combinatoric, to coexist and does not require that the entire fault tree be translated to a Markov chain for evaluation. This effectively reduces the size of the Markov chain required and enables solutions with less truncation, making analysis of longer mission times possible. Using the fault-tolerant parallel processor as an example, a model is built and solved for a specific mission scenario and the solution approach is illustrated in detail. >
A fixed time-step approach for multibody dynamics with contact and friction

We present a fixed time-step algorithm for the simulation of multi-rigid-body dynamics with joints, contact, collision, and friction. The method solves a linear complementarity problem (LCP) at each step. We show that the algorithm can be obtained as the stiff limit of fixed time-step schemes applied to regularized contact models. We do not perform collision detection. Instead, a noninterpenetration constraint is replaced by its linearization, which, together with a judicious choice of the active constraints, guarantees geometrical constraint stabilization without the need to perform a reduction of the time step to detect new collision or stick-slip transition events. Partially elastic collisions are accommodated by a suitable modification of the free term of the LCP.
Earthworm secondary production and N flux in agroecosystems: a comparison of two approaches.

Production was estimated for Aporrectodea spp. and Lumbricus spp. populations in corn agroecosystems with a 5-year history of manure or inorganic fertilizer applications during 1994-1995 and 1995-1996. Earthworm biomass and production were greater in manure than inorganic fertilizer plots, although biomass and production declined by about 50% between 1994-1995 and 1995-1996 due to unfavorable climatic conditions. Production was highest during the spring and autumn when soil temperatures were between 4 and 22°C. Production was higher in Lumbricus spp. than Aporrectodea spp. populations due to greater Lumbricus spp. biomass. Aporrectodea spp. production was 3.47-16.14 g ash-free dry weight (AFDW) m-2 year-1, while Lumbricus spp. production was 6.09-18.11 g AFDW m-2 year-1, depending on the fertilizer treatment and the method used to estimate production. However, production estimates from the instantaneous growth rate method were within 27% of the values calculated using the size-frequency method. Nitrogen flux through earthworms was used to estimate efficiency quotients. Net production efficiency (P/A) ranged from 0.64 to 0.76, assimilation efficiency (A/C) ranged from 0.1 to 0.3, and gross production efficiency (P/C) ranged from 0.06 to 0.22. Annual N flux through earthworm populations was higher in manure than inorganic fertilizer plots, and ranged from 2.95 to 5.47 g N m-2 year-1 in 1994-1995 and 1.76 to 2.92 g N m-2 year-1 in 1995-1996. The N flux through earthworms represented an amount equivalent to 16-30% of crop N uptake during 1994-1995 and 11-18% of crop N uptake during 1995-1996. We concluded that the effects of earthworms on N cycling in corn agroecosystems were substantial, and that N flux through earthworms was influenced significantly by fertilizer amendments.
Lifetime Reproductive Effort

Abstract: In a 1966 American Naturalist article, G. C. Williams initiated the study of reproductive effort (RE) with the prediction that longer‐lived organisms ought to expend less in reproduction per unit of time. We can multiply RE, often measured in fractions of adult body mass committed to reproduction per unit time, by the average adult life span to get lifetime reproductive effort (LRE). Williams’s hypothesis (across species, RE decreases as life span increases) can then be refined to read “LRE will be approximately constant for similar organisms.” Here we show that LRE is a key component of fitness in nongrowing populations, and thus its value is central to understanding life‐history evolution. We then develop metabolic life‐history theory to predict that LRE ought to be approximately 1.4 across organisms despite extreme differences in production and growth rates. We estimate LRE for mammals and lizards that differ in growth and production by five‐ to tenfold. The distributions are approximately no...
Motor control accuracy: A consequential probe of individual differences in emotion regulation

Two studies (total N = 147) sought to model emotion-regulation processes in cognitive-motoric terms. Hostile or nonhostile thoughts were primed and, immediately following, individuals held a joystick as accurately as possible on a presented visual target. Study 1 revealed that the activation of hostile thoughts impaired motor control at low levels of agreeableness but facilitated motor control at high levels of agreeableness, consistent with emotion-regulation views of this trait. Study 2 did not assess the trait of agreeableness but rather sought to determine whether better motor control following activated hostile thoughts would predict lesser reactivity to stressors in an experience-sampling protocol. It did, and relevant results are reported for daily anger, negative affect, and positive affect. In addition, and consistent with the agreeableness findings of Study 1, better motor control that follows hostile thoughts predicted greater empathy on high-stress days. Motor control probes of the present type thus appear consequential in understanding emotion-regulation processes and successes in emotion regulation.
Polyprotic Acid—Base Equilibria: Relations and Diagrams

In this chapter we show the general forms of multistep equilibria and their similarity for polyprotic acid—base and for polyligand metal ion—ligand equilibria. We consider only mononuclear cases, meaning that one central species accepts protons or ligands, as the case may be. Rarer polynuclear examples are H2F2 and Ag2I+.
Numerical Study of the Influence of Environmental Conditions on Lake-Effect Snowstorms over Lake Michigan

Abstract Numerical simulations are used to examine the influence of environmental parameters on the morphology of lake effect snowstorms over Lake Michigan. A series of model sensitivity studies are performed using the Colorado State University mesoscale model to examine the effects of lake–land temperature difference, surface roughness, atmospheric boundary layer stability, humidity, and wind speed and direction on the morphology of simulated storms. Four morphological types of lake effect snowstorms have been identified: (i) Broad area coverage, which may become organized into wind parallel bands or cellular convection; (ii) shoreline bands with a line of convection roughly parallel to the lee shore and a well developed land breeze on the lee shore; (iii) midlake band with low-level convergence centered over the lake; and (iv) mesoscale vortices with a well-developed cyclonic flow pattern in the boundary layer. The model is able to reproduce all four morphological types. Simulations varying environmenta...
Role of Prolactin in Developmental Differentiation of Hypothalamic Dopaminergic Neurons

Among the myriad biological actions of prolactin (PRL) that have been described across vertebrate classes (see [1] and other chapters in this volume) is a stimulatory effect in the brain that is part of the principle of endocrine feedback. In neuroendocrine terminology, “short-loop” feedback refers to the effects of anterior pituitary hormones on the hypophysiotropic neurons in the hypothalamus that regulate pituitary secretion. Because the majority of hypophysiotropic hormones are stimulatory (“releasing”), short-loop feedback is classically negative. However, in the case of neurons that produce inhibitory factors, pituitary feedback is positive.
Scheduling Blocking Flow Shops Using Meta-RaPS

Abstract A single machine that includes loading/unloading areas for each job processed, loading and unloading could be performed while the machine is running causing minimized jobs completion time with lowest machine idle time. This design requires special kind of scheduling technique to ensure the accomplishment of those objectives if jobs’ processing, loading and unloading times are varying. The machine is modelled as a flow shop with blocking constraint. This research focuses on finding a solution to schedule this special case of flow shop of more than two machines with objective of minimizing jobs maximum completion time (makespan). The proposed solution in this research includes using a newly developed meta-heuristic known as Meta-heuristic for Randomized Priority Search (Meta-RaPS). Meta-RaPS construction phase is applied with the use of NEH flow shop scheduling algorithm and would provide very good schedules. The suggested technique is evaluated in comparison to top performing current meta-heuristics and construction heuristics on the famous benchmark flow shop data set of Taillard20. The results would suggest that applying Meta-RaPS for this flow shop problem is a great choice for constructing solutions and would provide high quality solutions with opportunity of more improvement in further research.
Reply: Alzheimer Disease: Approaches to Early Diagnosis and High-Accuracy Imaging.

REPLY: Dr. Machulla suggests modifications of tracer imaging approaches to the clinical investigation of Aβ-amyloid deposition in dementia. He suggests the potential value of two embellishments on the current clinical practice guidelines for brain amyloid imaging: imaging of skeletal muscle in
Boundaries of Tortious Interference with a Contract

This paper examines the issues around the legal doctrines of “Tortious Interference with an Existing Contract” and “Tortious Interference with a Pending Contract”. Particular emphasis is placed on the dissent in the famous case of Lumley v. Gye, where the dissent has been neglected by scholars. The dissent presents the issues around this doctrine that plague the law to this day and help explain the complexities around these doctrines. The paper also examines the position of Texas law around these two doctrines as defined by the Texas State Supreme Court.
Drug use as a way of life.

Conflicting attitudes of society and medicine have militated against the understanding, control and treatment of drug abuse. Educational action is needed rapidly, rather than moral and legal dialogue. Educational efforts must be directed especially at parents of schoolchildren. We must use the most current scientific data to achieve the ultimate goal—behavioral and attitudinal change.
Development of Copper Deficiency in Rats Fed Fructose or Starch: Weekly Measurements of Copper Indices in Blood

Copper deficiency was induced in weanling rats fed diets whose sole source of car- bohydrates was starch or fructose for 7 weeks. Conventional parameters of copper status. plasma copper concentrations. ceruloplasmin activit), and erythroc>Te superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were longitudinally monitored weekly to follow the development of the deficiency and to correlate these indices with the degree of severity of the deficiency. Although 30% of the rats fed a copper- deficient fructose diet died and no deaths occurred in rats fed the copper-deficient starch diet, plasma copper, ceruloplasmin, and SOD activities were reduced to a similar extent in all rats fed copper-deficient diets regardless of the type of dietary carbohydrate. Thus. none of the indices used accurately reflected the greater degree of deficiency or mortality in rats fed the fructose diet deficient in copper. The results of the present study underscore the need for more sensitive tests or alternative parameters to assess copper status in lii.ing animals. c 1986 Society for Experimental Biolog) and Medicine.
Electron Spin Resonance and Optical Spectra of V 2 + in NaCl

The ESR and optical spectra of ${\mathrm{V}}^{2+}$ in NaCl show that there are two species of ${\mathrm{V}}^{2+}$, one of which is situated in a tetragonal and another in an orthorhombic site. Optically, three weak bands corresponding to transitions between Stark levels and one strong electron-transfer band were detected which yield the crystal field strength $\ensuremath{\Delta}=8190$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ and the Racah parameter $B=559$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. Two long-wavelength bands show some structure which is probably due to splitting by low-symmetry fields. The $g$ shift and zero-field splitting of the center in the tetragonal site suggest that the $d$ orbitals are considerably distorted by covalency.
Understanding the Length of State Supreme Court Opinions

The writing of a majority opinion is the most important task for judges and justices on collegial courts because they must be able to explain and justify the court’s decision in a way that will be understood by other legal and political actors. For state supreme court justices, we argue that the opinion-writing process is driven by the information the opinion author has as well as internal institutional constraints. In this article, we examine the length of opinions produced by state supreme courts to determine whether there are differences in the opinion-writing process between elected and appointed courts. Using an original dataset comprising all education cases decided by state supreme courts from 1995 to 2005, we find, consistent with our expectations, that elected justices appear to be more concerned with audiences external to the court in writing opinions, whereas appointed justices are more likely to respond to internal constraints and conditions.
Asymptotic perfect secrecy in distributed detection against a global eavesdropper

This paper examines the secrecy in distributed detection under threat of a global eavesdropper (Eve) which has access to all sensors decisions. To measure secrecy, we compare the detection performance at the fusion center (FC) and at Eve in terms of their respective Kullback-Leibler Divergence (KLD). When the channels between sensors and the FC are noiseless and the channels between sensors and Eve are noisy, we show that the KLD ratio between the FC and Eve can be made arbitrarily large, provided the log-likelihood ratio at local sensors is unbounded. As a result, a perfect secrecy can be achieved asymptotically by making the KLD at Eve arbitrarily small with almost 0 detectability while keeping the KLD at the FC arbitrary large, for an almost error-free detection. This result reveals an intriguing relationship between networks size and networks secrecy.
Origin and Fate of Cytoplasmic Gap Junctional Vesicles in Rabbit Granulosa Cells

ABSTRACT Vesicles within the cytoplasm of the rabbit granulosa cell, in both thin section and freeze-fracture preparations, appear to consist of typical gap junctional membrane. In most cases these vesicles, like gap junctions at the cell surface, are composed of two membranes, but in rare cases may consist in part of single membrane, identified as gap junctional because of the presence of typical 8·5 nm P face particles and E face pits. Both thin section and freeze-fracture studies support the view that these vesicles may be produced by the endocytosis of junctional membrane from the cell surface as one cell invaginates into its neighbor at the junction. The presence of apparent acid phosphatase activity within the matrix of these gap junctional vesicles suggests that they may represent a stage in the specific degradation of gap junctional membrane.
Experimental evaluation of Gore-Tex membrane oxygenator.

Experimental studies have been conducted with the Gore-Tex membrane oxygenator in mongrel dogs. On the basis of our results, we believe the oxygenator is ready for a clinical trial in adults on partial per fusion.
Trans-Rich Structures in Early Stage Crystallization of Polyethylene

The kinetic pathway by which molten polymers transform into multi-length-scale, semicrystalline structures upon cooling is critical to their processing, properties, and ultimate performance. However, for the case of polyethylene (PE), critical questions remain concerning early stage kinetics of isothermal crystallization. Here we utilize Raman spectroscopy, in conjunction with turbidity and depolarization measurements, to probe crystallization kinetics in PE because of its unique ability to simultaneously measure intrachain consecutive trans conformations (locally straight) and interchain orthorhombic crystallinity. We analyze the spectra within the context of a three-state model to extract the mass fraction of conformations that are locally straight but not part of the orthorhombic crystal, which we term noncrystalline consecutive trans (NCCT). We first validate this methodology on the n-alkane C21H44 where the NCCT mass fraction is expected to be large and then apply it to the early stage crystallizatio...
Applications of the Core to Oligopoly

Oligopoly refers to a market in which a “few” producers sell a homogeneous product to “many” buyers. However, this terminology is misleading because some aspects of oligopoly appear even when there are two sellers and one buyer. The theory of the core is well suited for analyzing those situations treated in oligopoly theory not only for its new results but also because it forces a rigorous examination of several often neglected aspects of oligopoly. For example, with core theory it is necessary to prove in every case whether or not there will be group rationality (Pareto optimality) and whether or not there will be price discrimination. The absence of price discrimination is often taken for granted, but it should not be, because a seller may maximize his return by charging every buyer the highest price he would be willing to pay rather than go without the good altogether. Why does this not always happen?
Gene Expression and Profiling

Transcriptomics analysis has been widely applied to explore the unknown genes or factors in various biological processes, traits, diseases, and drug treatment. By screening entire RNAs, this technique implicates novel genes and pathways related to a particular condition. Two major types of transcriptomic profiling methods are microarray and RNA sequencing. The two approaches generates and preprocess their respective raw data quite differently, but further analysis is nearly identical. In this chapter, we briefly describe the principles of both methods and compare the differences between them. Since RNA quality is a key practical factor in transcriptomic study, we also introduce isolation and quality control methods and popular software packages for each step in the data analysis process. Finally, we provide an example of a clinical project which used transcriptomics approach to study a disease etiology.
A Framework for Compressive-Sensing of 3D Point Clouds

In this paper we propose a framework for analyzing 3D point cloud data compression using compressive-sensing. This framework uses real 3D point clouds and investigates different error sources that may affect performance of the system. Experimental results show that excluding edge points from error calculation gives us better criteria to decide the best compression ratio in the system.
Central Sensitization Inventory as a Predictor of Worse Quality of Life Measures and Increased Length of Stay Following Spinal Fusion.

Background Central sensitization is abnormal and intense enhancement of pain mechanism by the central nervous system. Patients with central sensitization may be at higher risk of poor outcomes after spinal fusion. The Central Sensitivity Inventory (CSI) was developed to identify and quantify key symptoms related to central sensitization. Methods In 664 patients who underwent thoracic and/or lumbar fusion, we evaluated retrospectively pretreatment CSI as a predictor of postoperative quality of life measures, length of stay, and discharge status. Results Preoperative Pain Disability Questionnaire scores, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scores, and EuroQol-5 Dimensions index scores were significantly worse in patients with preoperative CSI ≥40 compared with patients with preoperative CSI Conclusions Preoperative CSI was associated with worse quality of life outcomes and increased length of stay after spinal fusions. CSI may be an additional measure in evaluating patients preoperatively to better predict successful spinal fusion outcomes.
Depressive symptoms as a predictor of social difficulties in a gang-impacted context

Abstract Although social problems are often seen as a consequence of depression, symptoms of depression may precede negative experiences in the peer group. We focused on the relations between depressive tendencies and subsequent negative social experiences (i.e., unpopularity and peer disliking) in a sample of early adolescents living in urban neighborhoods with extreme levels of gang violence. We followed 285 middle school students (48% girls; average age at initial data collection = 11.51 years old) for a one-year period, with two annual assessments of psychosocial functioning. Self-reported depressive symptoms in 7th grade significantly predicted increases in peer nominated unpopularity in 8th grade. Conversely, depressive symptoms were not associated with increases in being disliked by peers. These results suggest that, in this gang-impacted context, depressive behaviors can influence position in the peer group hierarchy but may not be perceived aversely by peers.
Weight Loss Surgery in Adolescents

Childhood obesity continues to be a national health problem, with growing numbers of adolescents (8.7%) affected by severe obesity and its associated cardiometabolic risks. Since current nonsurgical methods for treating these adolescents have only modest effects, weight loss surgery (WLS) is an alternative treatment. An overview of the literature was conducted describing the selection, management, and outcomes of adolescents undergoing WLS. Adolescent guidelines require physical and emotional maturity as well as serious comorbidities associated with body mass index cutoffs higher than those used for adults. Medium-term to long-term outcomes are similar to those of adults undergoing WLS. Such outcomes depend on management by a multidisciplinary team with expertise in caring for adolescents who are still developing psychosocially and who are relatively more dependent on family supports for continued care. Future exploration is needed to elucidate optimal surgical indications for adolescents, improved adherence to postoperative care, and the impact of WLS on life expectancy. Resulting evidence can better inform the direction for healthcare delivery and policy directed toward this at-risk population.
Star Teams: Types, Antecedents, and Consequences

Despite the ubiquity of teams within organizations, research on stars has primarily focused on individual level processes and outcomes. We first point out the importance of considering team and con...
Emergent Endovascular Treatment of Penetrating Trauma: Solid Organ and Extremity

Penetrating injuries can result in acute or subacute arterial injuries of the solid organs or extremities. Although most penetrating injuries are managed conservatively, some patients require endovascular or surgical treatment. Often, the best method for management is controversial and the level of urgency for clinical decision-making is high. Once the decision has been made to intervene, the operator must also determine the best embolization material and technique to use. Not unfrequently, these decisions are made during the course of the procedure. There are numerous embolization agents, each of which serves a very specific purpose, depending on the clinical scenario. Within this article, we will review endovascular treatment indications, contraindications, and endovascular techniques for the treatment of penetrating trauma of the solid organs or extremities.
Effects of Educational and Metropolitan Context on U.S. Black Intermarriage

Both individual and structural level analyses have been conducted on black intermarriage extensively, but how well have they been measured? This chapter examines the effects of education and metropolitan contexts of black intermarriage in the United States. Evidence from 2008–2014 IPUMS-ACS data suggest that education and the distance in education level between spouses predict greater odds of intermarriage for both black men and women. Logistic regression and HLM modeling were used to analyze the relationship between education, metropolitan context, and predating the odds of intermarriage for both black men and women. When context is considered, there is a stark contrast among gender lines in the prediction of intermarriage. Findings indicate that both education and context are important for predicting the likelihood of intermarriage for black men. The picture is not so clear for black wives.
Peer Review to Peer Learning in Radiology: Where Have We Been, What Have We Learned and Where Are We Headed?

To review and contrast varying methods of peer assessment driven practice quality improvement programs in radiology with an emphasis on peer review and peer learning. Review of the literature revealed that the current consensus is that a shift away from the original peer review system toward a peer learning process has the most beneficial effects for organizations seeking to maximally improve performance. This requires altering perceptions towards the peer review process itself, and significant time, effort, and resources. The transition to a peer learning process is a necessity to advance the field of radiology into an era of delivering near faultless quality health care.
Self-Deception, Adaptive Preferences, and Autonomy

In Neville Shute’s (2010) novel On the Beach, set in Australia after World War III, one of the main characters, Commander Towers, buys his children gifts and imagines them getting older-even though he is American and knows that all human and animal life in the northern hemisphere is almost certainly extinct. As presented in the novel Towers’ actions were clearly the result of self-deception. This is not surprising, for many people deceive themselves in the face of death or serious illness; the phenomenon of patients who have been informed of their terminal illness failing to account for this in their plans is well known to healthcare professionals.
Multimodal meeting tracker

Face-to-face meetings usually encompass several modalities including speech, gesture, handwriting, and person identification. Recognition and integration of each of these modalities is important to create an accurate record of a meeting. However, each of these modalities presents recognition difficulties. Speech recognition must be speaker and domain independent, have low word error rates, and be close to real time to be useful. Gesture and handwriting recognition must be writer independent and support a wide variety of writing styles. Person identification has difficulty with segmentation in a crowded room. Furthermore, in order to produce the record automatically, we have to solve the assignment problem (who is saying what), which involves people identification and speech recognition. We follow a multimodal approach for people identification to increase the robustness (with the modules: color appearance id, face id and speaker id). This paper will examine a meeting room system under development at Carnegie Mellon University that enables us to track, capture and integrate the important aspects of a meeting from people identification to meeting transcription. Once a multimedia meeting record is created, it can be archived for later retrieval. This paper will review our meeting browser that we have developed which facilitates tracking and reviewing meetings.
Phosphorylation of Extracellular Bone Matrix Proteins and Its Contribution to Bone Fragility

Phosphorylation of bone matrix proteins is of fundamental importance to all vertebrates including humans. However, it is currently unknown whether increase or decline of total protein phosphorylation levels, particularly in hypophosphatemia-related osteoporosis, osteomalacia, and rickets, contribute to bone fracture. To address this gap, we combined biochemical measurements with mechanical evaluation of bone to discern fracture characteristics associated with age-related development of skeletal fragility in relation to total phosphorylation levels of bone matrix proteins and one of the key representatives of bone matrix phosphoproteins, osteopontin (OPN). Here for the first time, we report that as people age the total phosphorylation level declines by approximately 20% for bone matrix proteins and approximately 30% for OPN in the ninth decade of human life. Moreover, our results suggest that the decline of total protein phosphorylation of extracellular matrix (ECM) contributes to bone fragility, but less pronouncedly than glycation. We theorize that the separation of two sources of OPN negative charges, acidic backbone amino acids and phosphorylation, would be nature's means of assuring that OPN functions in both energy dissipation and biomineralization. We propose that total phosphorylation decline could be an important contributor to the development of osteoporosis, increased fracture risk and skeletal fragility. Targeting the enzymes kinase FamC20 and bone alkaline phosphatase involved in the regulation of matrix proteins' phosphorylation could be a means for the development of suitable therapeutic treatments. © 2018 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Dynamic Stability of Thick, Orthotropic, Circular Cylindrical Shells

The effect of transverse shear deformation on dynamic stability of simply supported, finite-length, circular cylindrical shells is investigated. The loading is cyclic axial compression and tension. The shell is orthotropic, which can be due to closely-spaced orthogonal stiffeners or due to many layers of composite material alternately oriented at angles of 0° and 90° or at + θ and −θ with respect to the shell axis. The theory used is a general shear deformable shell theory, which can be considered to be the thick-shell version of the Sanders-Koiter shell theory. Parametric studies are made to show the effects of shell geometry and different shell theories on stability boundaries.
Don't Lie but Don't Tell the Whole Truth: The Therapeutic Privilege - Is it Ever Justified?

Even though there is legal recognition of therapeutic privilege, it is not applicable on ethical grounds. In addition to disrespecting autonomy, withholding information from competent patients does not benefit them in the long run and can actually cause more harm than good. Consequently, a doctor who withholds information from a competent patient unless in the exceptional case of patient waiver violates the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence and nonmaleficence.
Assessment of sleep after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Background Individuals who have sustained a TBI often present with complaints of disturbed sleep. Identifying sleep disorders in the TBI population has not been standardized. Much of the confusion may come from the heterogeneity of the research that has been conducted on sleep problems after traumatic brain injury. This review focused attention to current research findings in order to develop an evidenced-based approach to assessment of sleep disturbances within this unique population. Objectives To review various methods used in the assessment of disorders of sleep after TBI and offer recommendations for best approaches for clinical assessment of sleep. Methods The authors describe various methods such as history, questionnaires, physical examination and objective sleep measurement, their usefulness and limitations based on the available evidence and experience for assessment of sleep in individuals who have sustained a TBI. Results An evidence-driven method for the assessment of sleep disorders following TBI is discussed. Conclusions Through skilled assessment, clinicians can assess sleep following TBI and the most applicable interventions can be chosen with the hopes of reducing additional symptom burden and optimizing functioning.
Hand-reach Task

A hand reach task (HRT) is defined as a test to assess the motor systems ability to plan, initiate, coordinate hand-eye movement, and execute dexterity. In this chapter we will review the application of HRTs as tools for assessment of humans and animal models of movement disorders.
Welfare States: Achievements and Threats

The traditionally, and wrongly, imagined vulnerabilities of the welfare state are economic. The true threats are demographic and political. The most frequently imagined threat is that the welfare state package reduces the level and growth of GDP. It does not, according to broad historical patterns and non-experimental panel econometrics. Large-budget welfare states achieve a host of social improvements without any clear loss of GDP. This Element elaborates on how this 'free lunch' is gained in practice. Other threats to the welfare state are more real, however. One is the rise of anti-immigrant backlash. If combined with heavy refugee inflows, this could destroy future public support for universalist welfare state programs, even though they seem to remain economically sound. The other is that population aging poses a serious problem for financing old age. Pension deficits threaten to crowd out more productive social spending. Only a few countries have faced this issue well.
Closed-loop functional optogenetic stimulation

Optogenetics has been used to orchestrate temporal- and tissue-specific control of neural tissues and offers a wealth of unique advantages for neuromuscular control. Here, we establish a closed-loop functional optogenetic stimulation (CL-FOS) system to control ankle joint position in murine models. Using the measurement of either joint angle or fascicle length as a feedback signal, we compare the controllability of CL-FOS to closed-loop functional electrical stimulation (CL-FES) and demonstrate significantly greater accuracy, lower rise times and lower overshoot percentages. We demonstrate orderly recruitment of motor units and reduced fatigue when performing cyclical movements with CL-FOS compared with CL-FES. We develop and investigate a 3-phase, photo-kinetic model to elucidate the underlying mechanisms for temporal variations in optogenetically activated neuromusculature during closed-loop control experiments. Methods and insights from this study lay the groundwork for the development of closed-loop optogenetic neuromuscular stimulation therapies and devices for peripheral limb control. Optogenetics is a promising alternative approach for restoration of neuromuscular function. Here the authors establish a closed-loop functional optogenetic stimulation for the control of limb joint angle in murine models, which demonstrates improved control and less fatigue than electrical stimulation systems.
A Critical Exploration of Women’s Gendered Experiences in Outdoor Leadership:

Background: Although outdoor education provides many positive learning outcomes for students, it is a field in which women continue to be underrepresented in leadership roles. Centering the voices ...
Novel tyrosine kinase inhibitors for patients with inadequate response in chronic myeloid leukemia.

Purpose of reviewThe purpose of this review is to summarize treatment expectations and response milestones, to conceptualize the approach to defining inadequate response to therapy and critically appraise current available strategies, as well to highlight novel agents under development to address un