cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
National survey of adult transplant hepatologists on the pediatric-to-adult care transition after liver transplantation

Adult transplant hepatologists face challenges in providing care to young adults who received liver transplants during childhood. Because prior studies have focused mainly on pediatric providers, understanding these issues from the perspective of the adult hepatologist may provide novel insights and identify key barriers to care in this population. We conducted a national survey of adult transplant hepatologists to assess factors that may affect the transition of recipients from pediatric care to adult care. More than half of transplant hepatologists from all United Network for Organ Sharing regions (236/408 or 57.8%) completed the survey, and they reported that only 46.1% of patients arrived at their first adult clinic with both adequate knowledge of their condition and a parent/guardian. Moreover, 32.4% reported having no transition strategy, and only 15.5% reported having a formal transition program. The respondents reported that the greatest barriers to optimal care were patients' poor adherence and their limited knowledge and management of their condition. Those who reported participating in a formal transition program were less likely to report an inability of patients to discuss the impact of their condition on their overall daily life, fitness, and sexuality as a barrier to transition (odds ratio = 0.40, 95% confidence interval = 0.16-1.00). Our survey suggests that a formalized transition process is uncommon in adult transplant hepatology clinics and that improving patient knowledge, understanding specific components of effective transition programs, and incorporating input from adult providers in designing such programs may improve this process. Liver Transpl 21:213-223, 2015. © 2014 AASLD.
Faster than the eye can see: blue cones respond to rapid flicker

Flickering lights that are detected by the blue cones of the human visual system fuse to yield a steady sensation at much lower rates of flicker than do lights that are detected by the red or green cones. Yet, although blue-cone-detected lights flickering at 30-40 Hz appear to be steady, they are still able to interact with red- or green-cone-detected flickering lights to produce clearly detectable beats in the form of an amplitude modulation of the red- or green-cone flicker. Thus the blue cones produce a viable high-frequency flicker signal, as do the red and green cones, but one that is normally lost before it reaches sensation. The temporal-frequency response for the blue-cone beat interaction is similar in shape to the temporal-frequency response for directly detected red- or green-cone flicker. When measured through the same pathway (which we identify as the luminance pathway, since it is able to transmit high-frequency flicker), the response of the blue cones seems to be as fast as that of the other cones.
Selected Pharmacological Studies of Succinic Semialdehyde

Succinic semialdehyde was found to exhibit, in the rat, significant blood-pressure-lowering properties, a negative inotropic and chronotropic effect, and smooth muscle relaxant properties. No anticonvulsant activity was observed in either chemoshock or minimal and maximal electroshock procedures. Succinic semialdehyde was found to be devoid of any CNS activity in the doses employed.
Geomicrobial Processes and Biodiversity in the Deep Terrestrial Subsurface

The concept of a deep microbial biosphere has advanced over the past several decades from a hypothesis viewed with considerable skepticism to being widely accepted. Phylogenetically diverse prokaryotes have been cultured from or detected via characterization of directly-extracted nucleic acids from a wide range of deep terrestrial environments. Recent advances have linked the metabolic potential of these microorganisms, determined directly or inferred from phylogeny, to biogeochemical reactions determined via geochemical measurements and modeling. Buried organic matter or kerogen is an important source of energy for sustaining anaerobic heterotrophic microbial communities in deep sediments and sedimentary rock although rates of respiration are among the slowest rates measured on the planet. In contrast, Subsurface Lithoautotrophic Microbial Ecosystems based on H 2 as the primary energy source appear to dominate in many crystalline rock environments. These photosynthesis-independent ecosystems remain an en...
Museum Monsters and Victorious Viruses: Improving Public Understanding of Emerging Biomedical Research

Although microbes directly impact everyone's health, most people have limited knowledge about them. In this article, we describe a museum and media public education campaign aimed at helping diverse audiences better understand emerging knowledge about microbes and infectious disease. Funded primarily by the Science Education Partnership (SEPA) program of the National Institutes of Health, this campaign involved crosscutting programs designed to extend impacts throughout a broad public audience.
A general approach for the development of unsplit-field time-domain implementations of perfectly matched layers for FDTD grid truncation

It is shown that the anisotropic perfectly matched medium, proposed recently for the construction of reflectionless absorbing boundaries for differential equation-based electromagnetic simulations in unbounded domains, can be made equivalent to the Chew-Weedon perfectly matched medium developed from a modified Maxwell's system with coordinate stretching. Consequently, despite the apparently nonphysical coordinate stretching, Chew-Weedon's formulation, with an appropriate definition of the involved electric and magnetic fields, is merely an alternative mathematical form of Maxwell's system in an anisotropic medium. Finally, a more convenient time-domain implementation of the perfectly matched layer without splitting of the field components is derived.
α-Defensin Accuracy to Diagnose Periprosthetic Joint Infection—Best Available Test?

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to test the accuracy of a single synovial fluid biomarker, α-defensin, in diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection in revision total hip and revision total knee arthroplasty. Methods A total of 102 patients comprising 116 revision total hip arthroplasty and revision total knee arthroplasty procedures performed between May 2013 and March 2014 were prospectively evaluated. Cases were categorized as infected or notinfected using Musculoskeletal Infection Society criteria. Synovial fluid was obtained and tested for α-defensin using a commercially available kit (Synovasure [CD Diagnostics, Baltimore, Maryland]). Results For first-stage and single-stage revisions, the α-defensin test had a sensitivity of 100% (95% confidence interval [CI], 86%-100%) and a specificity of 98% (95% CI, 90%-100%) with a positive predictive value of 96% (95% CI, 80%-99%) and negative predictive value of 100% (95% CI, 93%-100%). Conclusion A positive α-defensin test result was significantly more sensitive and specific for predicting infection than current diagnostic testing and should be considered when managing periprosthetic joint infection. Level of Evidence: Level III, Study of Diagnostic Test.
Integrated Performance of an Autonomous Optical Navigation System for Space Exploration

y-bys that occur when the Sun is between the Earth and the planet. Autonomous navigation may also help reduce the tracking demands on ground based infrastructure. Optical navigation techniques are proposed as a solution to the problem of navigating independent of ground based tracking or state updates. In this paper, a new autonomous optical navigation system designed specically for spacecraft operating in a planetary system is presented. The paper briey highlights the image processing algorithm used to extract navigation measurements from a raw image. The primary measurements obtained from this process are a line-of-sight to the planet’s centroid, an estimate of the planet’s apparent diameter, and angular measurements between the planet horizon and reference stars. This paper, however, focuses more on ltering
A clinical microchip for evaluation of single immune cells reveals high functional heterogeneity in phenotypically similar T cells

Cellular immunity has an inherent high level of functional heterogeneity. Capturing the full spectrum of these functions requires analysis of large numbers of effector molecules from single cells. We report a microfluidic platform designed for highly multiplexed (more than ten proteins), reliable, sample-efficient (~1 × 10^4 cells) and quantitative measurements of secreted proteins from single cells. We validated the platform by assessment of multiple inflammatory cytokines from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated human macrophages and comparison to standard immunotechnologies. We applied the platform toward the ex vivo quantification of T cell polyfunctional diversity via the simultaneous measurement of a dozen effector molecules secreted from tumor antigen–specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that were actively responding to tumor and compared against a cohort of healthy donor controls. We observed profound, yet focused, functional heterogeneity in active tumor antigen–specific CTLs, with the major functional phenotypes quantitatively identified. The platform represents a new and informative tool for immune monitoring and clinical assessment.
Institutional change and economic development: concepts, theory and political economy

This article complements Ha-Joon Chang's critique, entitled ‘Institutions and Economic Development: Theory, Policy and History’, of the ‘dominant discourse’ on institutions and economic development which takes the view that getting the institutions right (by strengthening private property rights and market freedoms) is a prerequisite for development. It does so by commenting on the concepts of economic development and institutions, discussing the theory of how institutional change affects development, and examining the possibility and desirability of such institutional change as a prerequisite of development.
Treatment of Electric Short-Circuit in Electrochemical-Thermal Coupled Battery Simulations

Lithium-ion batteries have been widely used in electric vehicles (EVs). Their performance, life and safety are of great engineering importance. Using simulation tools, electric performance and thermal behavior of a battery can be computed to provide useful information in battery design. Internal short-circuit is one of the important failure modes in battery’s safety study. Internal short treatment is added to the framework of the multi-scale multi-dimensional (MSMD) battery modeling methodology. The method is demonstrated in the present paper by simulating a single lithium-ion battery cell.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
A randomized trial examining preoperative sedative medication and postoperative sleep in children

Abstract Study Objective Midazolam has been found to have beneficial effects on anxiety in children in the preoperative setting. Prior studies have examined various postoperative behaviors of children, but little research has examined the effects of preoperative use of midazolam with postoperative sleep. The purpose of this investigation was to compare postoperative sleep in children as a function of preoperative sedative medication use. Design This study was a 2-group randomized controlled trial. Setting Participants were recruited from Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital. Patients Participants included a convenience sample of 70 children between the ages of 3 to 12 years undergoing ambulatory tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy. Interventions Children were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: a control group who received preoperative acetaminophen only (n = 32) and an experimental group who received both acetaminophen and midazolam preoperatively (n = 38). Measurements Parents completed measures of postoperative behavioral recovery and a subset of children wore actigraphs to examine objective sleep data. Main Results Children who received midazolam experienced similar sleep changes compared to children in the control group. The actigraph data revealed that children who received midazolam were awake significantly less during the night compared to the control group ( P = .01). Conclusion Children who received midazolam before surgery had similar postoperative sleep changes compared to children who did not receive midazolam. Further understanding of the postoperative behavioral effects of midazolam on children will help guide healthcare providers in their practice.
Testicular Perfusion Imaging

Testicular imaging is a simple and noninvasive procedure used to study the vascular perfusion of the testicles. It is a reliable method for diagnosis of testicular torsion and inflammatory processes such as epididymitis. Using a wide-field-ofview scintillation camera with a parallel hole collimator, a dynamic flow study and static images are obtained following a bolus injection of r 9mTc] sodium pertechnetate.
A Comparative Study of The Satisfaction of Domestic United States Managers and Overseas United States Managers

This study focuses upon the perceived need satisfactions of United States business executives working in Europe and United States business executives working in the continental U.S. Comparisons of ...
Taming Fields and Waves with Extreme Metamaterials

Metamaterials with extreme parameter values can manipulate electromagnetic fields and waves at various length scales, providing a platform for metatronic circuits, optical wires, plasmonic cloaking, enhanced emission at extended regions, and supercoupling in narrow channels
Recruitment of underserved, high‐risk participants to a head and neck cancer screening program

Objectives/Hypothesis Early detection is essential in head and neck cancer treatment as prognosis varies greatly with stage at diagnosis. Underserved populations often present with advanced disease, and individuals with tobacco and heavy alcohol use demonstrate a higher head and neck cancer incidence. This study aims to evaluate whether various promotional methods differentially recruited behavioral risk factor positive and/or underserved populations to our screening event. Study Design Prospective cross-sectional study. Methods A hospital-based, medical student-run, free head and neck cancer screening event for 187 participants was held in April 2015. Medical campus-based, community-based, and media-based promotions were implemented to recruit participants. Event participants filled out questionnaires to determine how they were recruited, their risk-factor history, and their socioeconomic status. Prevalence of the higher-risk population across the various promotional methods was analyzed. Results Community-based promotions were significantly associated with the recruitment of participants in the underserved subgroups, namely uninsured (P = .019), unemployed (P = .006), and those with an annual household income <$20,000 (P < .001). Although not statistically significant, participants with behavioral risk factors reported a higher percentage of recruitment by media-based promotions. Campus-based promotions led to the highest absolute number, but not percentage, of higher-risk participants. Conclusions Community-based promotions most efficiently recruit underserved guests to participate in a hospital-based head and neck cancer screening event as compared to media and campus-based promotions. Institutions interested in recruiting higher proportions of underserved guests to these screening events should consider focusing attention and allocation of resources to community-based promotions. Level of Evidence 4 Laryngoscope, 2016
A Video Study of Australian Domestic Food-Handling Practices

Poor food-handling and hygiene practices in domestic kitchens are thought to be the cause of a significant amount of foodborne illness. Food-handling practices were studied by video observation in 40 home kitchens in Melbourne, Australia. Participant households included those of single people, couples, and families from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. The kitchens were continuously video monitored for 1 or 2 weeks during 1997 and 1998. Infrequent hand washing; poor hand-washing technique; lack of hand washing prior to food preparation; inadequate cleaning of kitchen surfaces; involvement of pets in the kitchen; touching of the face, mouth, nose, and/or hair during food preparation; and lack of separate hand and dish towels were the most common unhygienic practices observed. Prior to video surveillance, participant households answered a food-safety questionnaire that related to preparation and handling of food. These answers were contrasted with the actual practices observed in each household. There was a significant variance between stated (answers provided in response to the questionnaire) and observed (via video monitoring) food-handling and hygiene practices. The results of this study raise concerns about consumer food-handling and hygiene practices in Australian domestic kitchens. A continuous and increased effort in the education of the public in the area of hygienic food preparation is indicated.
A Photovoltaic System Payback Calculator

The Roof Asset Management Program (RAMP) is a DOE NNSA initiative to manage roof repairs and replacement at NNSA facilities. In some cases, installation of a photovoltaic system on new roofs may be possible and desired for financial reasons and to meet federal renewable energy goals. One method to quantify the financial benefits of PV systems is the payback period, or the length of time required for a PV system to generate energy value equivalent to the system's cost. Sandia Laboratories created a simple spreadsheet-based solar energy valuation tool for use by RAMP personnel to quickly evaluate the estimated payback period of prospective or installed photovoltaic systems.
Abstract 2271: Peptidylarginine deiminase 2 as a novel therapeutic target for breast cancer

Peptidylarginine deiminases (PADIs) enzymes are calcium-dependent enzymes that post-translationally convert positively charged protein arginine residues to a neutrally charged citrulline in a process known as citrullination or deimination. This loss of charge can alter the tertiary structure of proteins and affect protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions. We, and others, have found that PADI-mediated histone tail citrullination alters chromatin structure and regulates gene expression. For example, we found that PADI2 interacts with estrogen receptor (ERα) and that PADI2-mediated citrullination of histone H3 arginine 26 residues at ERα binding sites regulates target gene expression. In addition, we also found that PADI2 is often co-expressed with HER2 in both breast cancer cell lines and in tumor tissue. Our molecular studies suggest that PADI2 activates HER2 expression via histone citrullination at the HER2 gene locus and that HER2 signaling appears to induce PADI2 expression, thus potentially forming an oncogenic positive feedback loop with HER2. These findings suggest an important role for PADI2 in breast cancer progression. This prediction is supported by our finding that PADI2 expression is upregulated in cancer cells and that depletion of PADI2 from breast cancer cells results in reduced tumorigenicity. In addition, we found that transgenic overexpression of PADI2 promotes carcinogenesis and that the PADI inhibitor, Cl-Amidine, slows tumor growth in mouse models of breast cancer. Furthermore, we found that Cl-Amidine also maintains basement membrane integrity in xenograft tumors, preventing initiation of metastasis. Together, these findings suggest that PADI2 represents a novel therapeutic target and biomarker for early stage breast cancer. Citation Format: Sachi Horibata, John L. McElwee, David Sadegh, Katherine Rogers, Dalton McLean, Scott A. Coonrod. Peptidylarginine deiminase 2 as a novel therapeutic target for breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 2271. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2271
2.1 – Cell Structure

This chapter provides a tour or overview of the main structural features of cells. It starts by recognizing the tasks that each cell must accomplish: catalysis, transport, signal transduction, surface recognition, movement, proliferation, and control. It then discusses cell membranes and their function in transport of nutrients into the cell and wastes out of the cell, and its role in signal transduction and surface recognition. It describes the cytosol and its approximate electrolyte composition. It then describes the cytoskeleton, composed of microtubules, actin filaments, intermediate filaments, and myosin filaments. Microtubule-associated transport is described. This chapter describes the nuclear membrane and its pore complexes, and then goes on to describe the ribosomes and endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus, where proteins are made and modified posttranslationally. The mitochondrion is then described. Lysosomes, peroxisomes, and proteasomes are also described. Lastly, the specialized regions of the cell membrane that attach to other cells are described.
A “Worm with a Hook”: Lyndon Johnson’s Decision to Escalate US Involvement in the Vietnam War, November 1963–July 1965

Between November 1963 and July 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson transformed John F. Kennedy’s program of limited US assistance to non-communist South Vietnam into an open-ended commitment to defend that country against communist North Vietnam and its Viet Cong allies. By the time the United States withdrew its armed forces from South Vietnam, in 1973, over 57,000 US military personnel were killed. Two years later, South Vietnam fell to the communists.
Discipline and the Future of Art Education

Although sometimes framed as competing orientations to art education, society, the learner, and subject-matter drawn from art disciplines are necessary components of the field. The early 19th-centu...
Recursion in Grammar and Performance

The deeper, more recursive structures posited by linguists reflect important insights into similarities among linguistic constituents and operations, which would seem to be lost in computational models that posit simpler, flatter structures. We show how this apparent conflict can be resolved with a substantive theory of how linguistic computations are implemented. We begin with a review of standard notions of recursive depth and some basic ideas about how computations can be implemented. We then articulate a consensus position about linguistic structure, which disentangles what is computed from how it is computed. This leads to a unifying perspective on what it is to represent and manipulate structure, within some large classes of parsing models that compute exactly the consensus structures in such a way that the depth of the linguistic analysis does not correspond to processing depth. From this unifying perspective, we argue that adequate performance models must, unsurprisingly, be more superficial than adequate linguistic models, and that the two perspectives are reconciled by a substantial theory of how linguistic computations are implemented. In a sense that will be made precise, the recursive depth of a structural analysis does not correspond in any simple way to depth of the calculation of that structure in linguistic performance.
Modified 3D time-of-flight camera for object separation in organic farming

An important step for the classification of plants in organic farming is the separation of the objects. In our approach a 3D camera will be used for this task. One problem is that most of the available 3D sensors are not suitable due to their bad resolution, low-speed and high costs. The Kinect II is an affordable alternative but designed for another workspace. In this paper it is shown why a 3D sensor is required for the separation of objects in organic farming and how the modification of a Kinect II 3D camera increases the range resolution to solve the given problem.
Author reply: ‘Response to: Pleural abnormalities in the Framingham Heart Study: prevalence and CT image features’ by Araki et al

We appreciate the comments by Franzblau et al 1 on our recent article ‘Pleural abnormalities in the Framingham Heart Study: prevalence and CT image features’.2 Our study described CT image findings of pleural abnormalities including pleural plaques and pleural thickening in the Framingham Heart Study. The prevalence of pleural abnormalities in the cohort was 1.5%, which could be an important index of asbestos exposure in the general population. We used strict criteria for diagnosing pleural abnormalities. CT images were evaluated by several radiologists …
Allelic variants of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor differentially influence UVB-mediated skin inflammatory responses in SKH1 mice

The mouse strain SKH1 is widely used in skin research due to its hairless phenotype and intact immune system. Due to the complex nature of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) function in the skin, the development of additional in vivo models is necessary to study its role in cutaneous homeostasis and pathology. Variants of the Ah allele, exist among different mouse strains. The Ahb-1 and Ahd alleles express high and low affinity ligand binding forms of the AHR, respectively. The outbred SKH1 mice express the Ahb-2 and/or Ahd alleles. SKH1 mice were crossed with C57BL/6J mice, which harbor the Ahb-1 allele, to create useful models for studying endogenous AHR function. SKH1 mice were bred to be homozygous for either the Ahb-1 or Ahd allele to establish strains for use in comparative studies of the effects of differential ligand-mediated activation through gene expression changes upon UVB exposure. Ahb-1 or Ahd allelic status was confirmed by DNA sequence analysis. We tested the hypothesis that SKH1-Ahb-1 mice would display enhanced inflammatory signaling upon UVB exposure compared to SKH1-Ahd mice. Differential basal AHR activation between the strains was determined by assessing Cyp1a1 expression levels in the small intestine, liver, and skin of the SKH1-Ahb-1 mice compared to SKH1-Ahd mice. To determine whether SKH1-Ahb-1 mice are more prone to a pro-inflammatory phenotype in response to UVB, gene expression of inflammatory mediators was analyzed. SKH1-Ahb-1 mice expressed enhanced gene expression of the chemotactic factors Cxcl5, Cxcl1, and Ccl20, as well as the inflammatory signaling factors S100a9 and Ptgs2, compared to SKH1-Ahd mice in skin. These data supports a role for AHR activation and enhanced inflammatory signaling in skin.
A roe-type numerical solver for the two-phase two-fluid six-equation model with realistic equation of state

Abstract In the nuclear industry, a method based on a staggered grid is used in two-phase flow system codes such as RELAP, TRAC, and CATHARE. Solving the two-phase two-fluid model with this method is complicated. The objective of this article is to develop a new solver, which is mathematically consistent and algebraically simpler than existing codes. The extension of existing shock-capturing upwind schemes for single-phase flows is our way. A numerical solver with a Roe-type numerical flux is formulated based on a very well-structured Jacobian matrix. We formulate the Jacobian matrix with arbitrary equation of state and simplify the Jacobian matrix to a simple and structured form with the help of a few auxiliary variables, e.g. isentropic speed of sound. Because the Jacobian matrix is very structured, the characteristic polynomial of the Jacobian matrix is simple and suitable for analytical analysis. Results from the characteristic analysis of the two-phase system are consistent with well-known facts, such as the ill-posedness of the basic two-phase two-fluid model which assumes all pressure terms are equal. An explicit numerical solver, with a Roe-type numerical flux, is constructed based on the characteristic analysis. A critical feature of the method is that the formulation does not depend on the form of equation of state and the method is applicable to realistic two-phase problems. We demonstrate solver performance based on three two-phase benchmark problems: two-phase shock-tube problem, faucet flow problem, and Christensen boiling pipe problem. The solutions are in excellent agreement with analytical solutions and numerical solutions from a system code. The new solver provides essential framework for developing a more accurate and robust solver for realistic reactor safety analysis. However, improvements on the new solver is necessary for achieving a high-order accuracy and increasing the robustness.
Cyanobacterial influence on diatom community lifeform dynamics in shallow subtropical lakes of Florida USA

Fragilarioid diatom taxa are often deemed ubiquitous in shallow lake systems. Their presence has been described as contributing to statistical noise in paleolimnological studies of cold-temperate lakes. In shallow, warm-temperate lakes of Florida, long-term transitions from assemblages dominated by Aulacoseira spp. to fragilarioid taxa, particularly Pseudostaurosira brevistriata, Staurosira construens var. venter, and Staurosirella pinnata, often occur. Distinctly higher limnetic nutrient optima are demonstrated by these fragilarioid taxa than by planktonic Aulacoseira spp. Community successions occur during eutrophication, and progressive replacement of Aulacoseira spp. and other planktonic taxa by fragilarioid taxa is concurrent with and apparently related to the onset of cyanobacterial dominance. We examine successions from Aulacoseira-dominated to fragilarioid-dominated assemblages in sediment cores from subtropical Florida lakes that have undergone eutrophication. Diatom profiles are compared with sedimented pigments, nitrogen stable isotopes of organic matter, and with silica accumulation rates. These study lakes have little if any macrophyte presence. Their light-extinction depths are extremely shallow, yet diatom communities are dominated by bottom-dwelling rather than planktonic taxa. Frequent wind-generated mixing, sometimes to lake bottoms, is sufficient to sustain the light needs of benthic and tychoplanktonic taxa. We conclude that assemblage changes generally are not caused by reduced water depths, silica limitation, nor increased incipient stratification, but that cyanobacteria are responsible for reducing planktonic Aulacoseira in favor of fragilarioid taxa. Cyanobacteria blooms persist over a wide seasonal range because of warm climate and high limnetic nutrient concentrations in Florida lakes. Cyanobacteria progressively displace and outcompete Aulacoseira and other planktonic taxa as eutrophication proceeds. Reduced light availability, changes in mineral/nutrient availability, and other aspects of competitive exclusion, such as cyanobacterial allelotoxins, might contribute to observed changes. Climate warming is not likely to account for Aulacoseira reduction as in colder regions because it is less pronounced in this subtropical district. Lakes with low nutrient levels and less cyanobacteria still sustain large Aulacoseira populations, and decreases in limnetic nutrients sometimes lead to the return of planktonic Aulacoseira. Rather than simply representing statistical noise for paleolimnological reconstructions, shifts to certain fragilarioid taxa indicate when subtropical Florida lakes progressed to hypereutrophic conditions that were marked by cyanobacterial proliferation.
Toward a Masturbation Ethic

An appropriate Christian masturbation ethic will be informed by a distinctive moral vision, historical viewpoints, psychological research, and contemporary issues. The Christian scriptures do not p...
Male genital trauma.

We have attempted to discuss genital trauma in relatively broad terms. In most cases, patients present with relatively minimal trauma. However, because of the complexity of the structures involved, minimal trauma can lead to significant disability later on. The process of erection requires correct functioning of the arterial, neurologic, and venous systems coupled with intact erectile bodies. The penis is composed of structures that are compliant and distensible to the limits of their compliance. These structures therefore tumesce in equal proportion to each other, allowing for straight erection. Relatively minimal trauma can upset this balance of elasticity, leading to disabling chordee. Likewise, relatively minimal injuries to the vascular erectile structures can lead to significantly disabling spongiofibrosis. The urethra is a conduit of paramount importance. Whereas the development of stricture is generally related to the nature of the trauma, the extent of stricture and of attendant complications is clearly a function of the immediate management. Overzealous debridement can greatly complicate subsequent reconstruction. A delicate balance between aggressive initial management and maximal preservation of viable structures must be achieved.
My Body of Work: Promotional Labor and the Bundling of Complementary Work:

What if certain types of work allow workers to earn higher incomes when bundled together? Using qualitative interview data on the careers of sex workers in California, the author argues that worker...
Perceiving and Remembering Affordances for Others Are Continuous Processes.

Abstract. In information-based approaches, affordances are perceived by detecting information that specifies an animal–environment fit, not by combining perceptions of constituent lower-order prope...
Abstract 81: Tenecteplase is Non-Inferior to Alteplase for Acute Ischemic Stroke: Formal Meta-Analysis of 5 Completed Randomized Trials

Background: Tenecteplase (TNK), a newer lytic easier to administer than alteplase (ALT), was recognized in the 2018 US AHA/ASA Guideline Update as an alternative to ALT in patients with acute ische...
Exposure to Aroma Reference Standards Alters Participants’ Descriptions of Commercial Red and White Wines

Summary Goals: This study examines how exposure to aromatic reference standards affects the way people describe wines. We compared three groups of participants with varying prior exposure to wine: experienced wine tasters, wine consumers, and sensory descriptive analysis panelists. Additionally, we assessed whether different participant groups preferred specific terms (i.e., “rose”) or more general categories (i.e., “floral”) to describe wines. Finally, we sought to validate that a list of recipes established by a previous panel accurately represented the terms for which they were developed. Key Findings: Participants with the most experience with the reference standards performed best on a blind identification of reference standards. The total number of terms used to describe wines significantly increased after exposure to reference standards for all participants, indicating that these standards affect participants’ sensory descriptions of wines. Use of terms from the list of reference standards significantly increased after exposure for all participants. Based on perception maps, experienced wine tasters tended to agree on wine descriptions and could better differentiate between specific wines than wine consumers. Impact and Significance: The ability to identify specific aromas in wines is essential to the careers of sommeliers, winemakers, wine journalists, and wine salesforce to ensure that consumers receive an accurate description of their wines either verbally or as written on the label. While consumers expect that such descriptions accurately represent the wine, this language is not standardized, so the same term may be used for different aromatic characteristics in different wines. Our study shows that mere exposure to reference standards, without training, still helps people describe their perceptions. Moreover, training improved people’s ability to name olfactory standards. Prolonged training using reference standards may enable wine industry professionals to improve accuracy and develop a common vocabulary to use when communicating about wines.
Using quality signaling to enhance survey response rates

A growing body of research has found that linking products to charitable causes enhances sellers’ reputations. This paper tests with a field experiment whether the use of the option of giving to ch...
Noninvasive Sleep Scoring in Mice using Electric Field Sensors

Abstract Background Rodent sleep scoring in principally reliant on electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyogram (EMG), but this approach is invasive, can be expensive, and requires expertise and specialized equipment. Affordable, simple to use, and noninvasive ways to accurately quantify rodent sleep are needed. New method We developed and validated a new method for sleep-wake staging in mice using cost-effective, noninvasive electric field (EF) sensors that detect respiration and other movements. We validated recordings from EF sensors attached to the exterior of specialty chambers used to continuously capture sleep with EEG/EMG, then compared this to EF sensors attached to vivarium home-cages. Results EF sensors quantified 3-state sleep architecture (wake, rapid eye movement – REM – sleep, and non-REM sleep) with high agreement (>93%) and comparable inter- and intra-scorer error as expert EEG/EMG scoring. Novices given an instruction document with examples were able to score sleep comparable to expert scorers (>91% agreement). Additionally, EF sensors were able to quantify 3-state sleep scoring in traditional mouse home cages. Comparison with existing method Most noninvasive sleep assessment technology requires animal contact, altered cage environments, and/or can only discern 2 states of arousal (wake or asleep). The EF sensors are able to discriminate REM from non-REM sleep accurately and from outside the animal’s home cage. Conclusions EF sensors provide a simple and reliable method to accurately score 3-state sleep architecture; (i) from outside the typical home cage, (ii) where noninvasive approaches are preferred, or (iii) which EEG/EMG is not possible. Graphical Abstract
The Navigli Project: A Digital Uncovering of Milan’s Aquatic Geographies

The Navigli Project is a virtual exhibit that illustrates the cultural history of the waterways of Milan, Italy. Inaugurated in 2016 in the context of an experimental Humanities Lab, this digital m...
Rebar detection and localization for bridge deck inspection and evaluation using deep residual networks

Abstract Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) of civil infrastructure has been an active area of research for the past few decades. Due to rising costs, safety issues and error of human inspection methods, automated methods for bridge inspection and maintenance are being proposed. The purpose of this research is to develop an automated rebar detection and localization system utilizing supervised (Deep Residual Networks) and unsupervised (K- means clustering) techniques. Data has been collected from nine bridges using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) sensors. The performance of the proposed rebar detection and localization system has been evaluated on a wide-range of performance metrics, which emphasize the superior performance of the proposed technique over existing methods. The results reveal positive correlation between number of layers of networks, training time and other performance metrics. The overall performance of the proposed system is also dataset-dependent with factors such as noise artefacts, reflections and visual quality of rebar profiles.
What is quality assurance

The quality of data must be known and established before it can be used logically in any application. Data quality may be judged on the basis of its quantitative accuracy and on the confidence that can be placed in the qualitative identification of the parameters measured. This requires the production of data in a quality assurance program that permits the assignment of its statistically supported limits of uncertainty. The essential features of such a program, consisting of quality control and quality assessment techniques, are discussed in the paper. 14 references, 1 table.
No-Sum IPsec Lite: Simplified and lightweight Internet security protocol for IoT devices

IPsec is widely used for internet security because it offers confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity also protects from replay attacks. IP Security depends on numerous frameworks, organization propels, and cryptographic techniques. IPsec is a heavyweight complex security protocol suite. Because of complex architecture and implementation processes, security implementers prefer TLS. Because of complex implementation, it is impractical to manage over the IoT devices. We propose a simplified and lite version of internet security protocol implemented with only ESP. For encryption, we use AES, RAS-RLP public key cryptography.
HIV-1 Tat and cocaine impact astrocytic energy reservoir influence on miRNA epigenetic regulation

Astrocytes are the primary regulator of energy metabolism in the central nervous system (CNS), and impairment of astrocyte's energy resource may trigger neurodegeneration. HIV infections and cocaine use are known to alter epigenetic modification, including miRNAs, which can target gene expression post-transcriptionally. However, miRNA-mediated astrocyte energy metabolism has not been delineated in HIV infection and cocaine abuse. Using next-generation sequencing (NGS), we identified a total of 1900 miRNAs, 64 were upregulated and 68 miRNAs were downregulated in the astrocytes by HIV-1 Tat with cocaine exposure. Moreover, miR-4727-3p, miR-5189-5p, miR-5090, and miR-6810-5p expressions were significantly impacted, and their gene targets were identified as VAMP2, NFIB, PPM1H, MEIS1, and PSD93 through the bioinformatic approach. In addition, the astrocytes treated with the nootropic drug piracetam protects these miRNAs. These findings provide evidence that the miRNAs in the astrocytes may be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for HIV and cocaine abuse-induced neurodegeneration.
The evolution of the antimicrobial peptide database over 18 years: Milestones and new features.

The antimicrobial peptide database (APD) has served the antimicrobial peptide field for 18 years. Because it is widely used in research and education, this article documents database milestones and key events that have transformed it into the current form. A comparison is made for the APD peptide statistics between 2010 and 2020, validating the major database findings to date. We also describe new additions ranging from peptide entries to search functions. Of note, the APD also contains antimicrobial peptides from host microbiota, which are important in shaping immune systems and could be linked to a variety of human diseases. Finally, the database has been re-programmed to the web branding and latest security compliance of the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The reprogrammed APD can be accessed at https://aps.unmc.edu.
Concepts and Issues in Public Health Culture, Psychology, and the Ecological Approach

An ecological approach focuses on both population-level and individual-level determinants of health and interventions. It considers issues that are community-based and not just individually focused. It highlights people's interactions with their physical and sociocultural environments. This article discusses the purposes, shortcomings, and extensions of the ecological approach to public health to be more inclusive of interpersonal characteristics, education, and ultimately upstream solutions to correcting health inequities among disenfranchised communities. Briefs are discussed regarding the concepts of health psychology, victim blaming, geography, culture, and cooperate responsibility - and the impact of those concepts on the adoption and adherence of pro-active health campaigns.
EGFR Overexpressed in Colonic Neoplasia Can be Detected on Wide-Field Endoscopic Imaging

Objectives Colorectal cancer initially lies dormant as dysplasia, a premalignant state that provides an opportunity for early cancer detection. Dysplasia can be flat in morphology, focal in size, and patchy in distribution, and thus it appears "invisible" on conventional wide-field endoscopy. Aims We aim to develop and validate a peptide that is specific for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a cell surface target that is overexpressed in colonic adenomas and is readily accessible for imaging. Methods We expressed and purified the extracellular domain of EGFR for use with phage display to identify a peptide QRHKPRE that binds to domain 2 of this target. A near-infrared fluorescence endoscope was used to perform in vivo imaging to validate specific peptide binding to spontaneous colonic adenomas in a mouse model with topical administration. We also validated specific peptide binding to human colonic adenomas on immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. Results After labeling with Cy5.5, we validated specific peptide binding to EGFR on knockdown and competition studies. Peptide binding to cells occurred within 2.46 min and had an affinity of 50 nm. No downstream signaling was observed. We measured a target-to-background ratio of 4.0±1.7 and 2.7±0.7, for polyps and flat lesions, respectively. On immunofluorescence of human colonic specimens, greater intensity from peptide binding to dysplasia than normal was found with a 19.4-fold difference. Conclusions We have selected and validated a peptide that can be used as a specific contrast agent to identify colonic adenomas that overexpress EGFR in vivo on fluorescence endoscopy.
A Garden of Pathos

a man with cancer of the larynx mows the lawn for five bucks. The clothespoles are still there, double T's, now that the line is gone, and the sparrows' sleep, and dancer linens. I can't remember the words I invented then, but a chain of them goes on now like my teen-age body years ago in the face-to-face mirrors of a dressing room: trouble, Tod, and tough luck . . . time itself is not so awful. I try to remember this. I try to remember childhood has its own tragedies. The plywood tea house scattered in the mud after a late summer
Subcellular localization of calcium deposits during zebrafish (Danio rerio) oogenesis

Calcium plays prominent roles in regulating a broad range of physiological events in reproduction. The aim of this study was to describe the subcellular distribution of calcium deposits during stages of oogenesis in zebrafish using a combined oxalate-pyroantimonate technique. The oocyte development of zebrafish was categorized into four stages: primary growth, cortical-alveolus, vitellogenic, and maturation, based on morphological criteria. Calcium deposits in the primary growth stage were detected in the cytoplasm, mitochondria, nucleus, and follicular cells. At the cortical-alveolus stage, calcium particles were transported from follicular cells and deposited in the cortical alveoli. In the vitellogenic stage, some cortical alveoli were compacted and transformed from flocculent electron-lucent to electron-dense objects with the progression of the stage. Calcium deposits were transformed from larger to smaller particles, coinciding with compaction of cortical alveoli. In the maturation stage, calcium deposits in all oocyte compartments decreased, with the exception of those in mitochondria. The proportion of area covered by calcium deposits in the mitochondria and cortical alveoli of oocytes at different stages of development was significantly different (p<0.05). The extent of calcium deposits in the cortical alveoli of mature oocytes was substantially lower than in earlier stages. Basic information about calcium distribution during zebrafish oogenesis may contribute to better understanding of its role in oogenesis.