cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
In Vitro Chromatin Assembly: Strategies and Quality Control

Chromatin accessibility is modulated by structural transitions that provide timely access to the genetic and epigenetic information during many essential nuclear processes. These transitions are orchestrated by regulatory proteins that coordinate intricate structural modifications and signaling pathways. In vitro reconstituted chromatin samples from defined components are instrumental in defining the mechanistic details of such processes. The bottleneck to appropriate in vitro analysis is the production of high quality, and quality-controlled, chromatin substrates. In this chapter, we describe methods for in vitro chromatin reconstitution and quality control. We highlight the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches and emphasize quality control steps that ensure reconstitution of a bona fide homogenous chromatin preparation. This is essential for optimal reproducibility and reliability of ensuing experiments using chromatin substrates.
Rapid Precedent-Aware Pedestrian and Car Classification on Constrained IoT Platforms

Demand for computer vision analytics in the embedded world has increased rapidly as the Internet of Things (IoT) expands into cities, workplaces, and homes. Common computationally intensive video and scene analysis tasks, such as pedestrian detection, counting, and tracking, are often relegated to acceleration hardware, or embedded GPUs. This paper showcases decision-making heuristics designed to improve the performance of these analytics. Working within the constraints of low power IoT infrastructure typically utilized in urban, traffic-heavy environments, our Precedent-Aware Classification (PAC) framework provides efficient pedestrian and vehicle detection in the absence of dedicated acceleration hardware. Our implementation takes advantage of frequently traveled routes in order to reduce the amount of required computation, which helps meet the tight timing requirements of embedded platforms where traditional computation models tend to fail. Testing and performance analysis of PAC was done using an ARM Cortex-A9 embedded processor, residing within the Xilinx Zynq 7000 FPGA. In normally populated traffic situations, PAC produced an average 3.23x speed-up and an average 16% improvement in pedestrian detection accuracy over using traditional classifiers alone.
Crystal structure of di-μ-chlorido-bis­[chlorido­bis­(1,2-dimethyl-5-nitro-1H-imidazole-κN3)copper(II)] acetonitrile disolvate

1,2-Dimethyl-5-nitro­imidazole (dimetridazole, dimet) is a compound that belongs to a class of nitro­imidazole drugs that are effective at inhibiting the activity of certain parasites and bacteria. However, there are few reports that describe structures of compounds that feature metals complexed by dimet. Therefore, we report here that dimet reacts with CuCl2·H2O to yield a chloride-bridged copper(II) dimer, [Cu2Cl4(C5H7N3O2)4] or [Cu(μ-Cl)Cl(dimet)2]2. In this mol­ecule, the CuII ions are coordinated in an approximately trigonal–bipyramidal manner, and the mol­ecule lies across an inversion center. The dihedral angle between the imidazole rings in the asymmetric unit is 4.28 (7)°. Compared to metronidazole, dimetridazole lacks the hy­droxy­ethyl group, and thus cannot form inter­molecular O⋯H hydrogen-bonding inter­actions. Instead, [Cu(μ-Cl)Cl(dimet)2]2 exhibits weak inter­molecular inter­actions between the hydrogen atoms of C—H groups and (i) oxygen in the nitro groups, and (ii) the terminal and bridging chloride ligands. The unit cell contains four disordered aceto­nitrile mol­ecules. These were modeled as providing a diffuse contribution to the overall scattering by SQUEEZE [Spek (2015). Acta Cryst. C71, 9–18], which identified two voids, each with a volume of 163 A3 and a count of 46 electrons, indicative of a total of four aceto­nitrile mol­ecules. These aceto­nitrile mol­ecules are included in the chemical formula to give the expected calculated density and F(000).
Sponge epizoism in the Caribbean and the discovery of new Plakortis and Haliclona species, and polymorphism of Xestospongia deweerdtae (Porifera).

The new discovery by Vicente et al. (2014) of specialized epizoic symbioses between sponges of the genera Plakortis and Xestospongia revealed the obligate interaction of two new Plakortis spp. associating with Xestospongia deweerdtae and a new Xestospongia sp. In this study we formally describe the two new Plakortis spp. as Plakortis deweerdtaephila sp. nov. (previously reported as Plakortis sp. 1), Plakortis symbiotica sp. nov. (previously reported as Plakortis sp. 2) and describe the new Xestospongia sp. epibiont as Haliclona ( Halichoclona ) plakophila sp. nov. Plakortis deweerdtaephila associates only with X. deweerdtae , and has very small to large straight diods (24.2–233.7 μm long) and triods (26.4–102.6 μm long) that form large ectosomal circular meshes (114–329 μm diameter). P. symbiotica associates with both X. deweerdtae and H. plakophila, has larger curved diods (71.9–141.8 μm long) and triods (20.4–70.6 μm long) that form smaller ectosomal circular meshes (43–121 μm diameter) than P. deweerdtaephila . Phylogenetic analysis of cox1 and cob gene fragments revealed a strongly supported clade that grouped both Plakortis spp. nov. distantly from any other known Plakortis spp. H. plakophila is described as a thin encrusting veneer of tissue with occasional papillae, so far only found associated with P. symbiotica in La Parguera, Puerto Rico. Phylogenetic analysis of 18S rRNA and cox1 gene fragments place it distantly from any known clade of Haplosclerida. We found a new associated morphotype of X. deweerdtae from Bocas del Toro Panama, which completely overgrew P. deweerdtaephila . In addition, free-living morphotypes from Panama produce larger S-shaped and round bracket shaped strongyles never before observed for this species, leading us to redescribe X. deweerdtae . All X. deweerdtae morphotypes shared >99% sequence homology of cox1 , 18S rRNA and 28S rRNA genes with the holotype of X. deweerdtae . This study highlights the highly variable morphological characters of X. deweerdtae influenced by lifestyle and environmental factors. This is also the first time that an obligate symbiosis with a heterospecific sponge is used as a key taxonomic character.
Hierarchical Control of Large Scale Linear Systems with an Application to Robotics

Abstract The development and implementation of large scale nonlinear programming algorithms for decentralized optimal control of linear dynamic systems with prescribed initial and final states is described. A multilevel structure for open and closed loop control has been based on the Interaction Prediction Principle. The approach utilizes a hierarchical decomposition into an infimal level consisting of low order optimization problems which are analytically solvable, and a supremal level in which the interaction and coordination functions are updated by a successive approximation. Development of this algorithm was motivated by a new approach to the real time control of a six-jointed robotic manipulator using distributed processing. In contrast to work by previous investigators, the approach presented in this research is based on a horizontal decomposition of the manipulator dynamics and the assignment of an individual processor to each joint. Each processor views its actuator as a second order linear system with parameters to be identified. Issues of implementation using an array of Texas Instruments TMS 9900 microprocessors are discussed.
Chapter 16 – Pantothenic Acid

Pantothenic acid functions as the essential precursor of coenzyme A (CoA) and acyl carrier protein (ACP). It is widely distributed in foods, particularly meats, although cooking, canning, and freezing can cause significant degradation. As pantothenic acid occurs in food primarily as CoA and ACP, hydrolytic digestion of these protein complexes must occur to release the free vitamin for absorption. As a water-soluble vitamin, pantothenic acid is absorbed by active transport and facilitated diffusion. CoA and ACP function metabolically as carriers of acyl groups and activators of carbonyl groups in a large number of vital metabolic transformations, including the tricarboxylic acid cycle and the metabolism of fatty acids. Acyl CoAs serve as essential cofactors for at least 100 enzymes involved in intermediary metabolism, ACP is a component of the multienzyme complex fatty acid synthetase. Deficiency in humans is rare and only occurs in severely malnourished individuals or with the use of an antagonist. Neurologic symptoms have been reported in pantothenic acid nutritional deficiency.
INQUIRE Tool: Early Insight Discovery for Qualitative Research

This demo presents an instance of Inquire, a tool designed to support qualitative researchers in the early stages of research. The tool enables the search over millions of users' records to extract early insights to aid in the formulation of research strategies. The tool presents the work described in the Inquire paper by Paredes, et. al. [12] in this demo we show how queries become a part of the inductive process, enabling researchers to try multiple ideas while gaining intuition and discovering less-obvious insights. We leverage LiveJournal (LJ) as a rich source of public posts, and Google News (GN) embeddings which link formal language (e.g. "reminiscence triggers") with colloquial expressions (e.g. "music brings back memories"). Using our tool, we elicit the interplay between tool and user to enhance qualitative and social research opportunities.
E Pluribus Unum: Mohawk Indian Students’ Views Regarding the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance

AbstractThis study examined 191 high school students’ willingness to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, their reasons for participating or not participating in saying the Pledge, and their thoughts about the Pledge during this daily school ritual. The study was conducted in a rural town next to the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation. The majority of the students chose not to recite the Pledge, and Mohawk students were less likely to recite the Pledge than their classmates.
Preclinical pharmacologic evaluations of R406/R788, a multi-kinase inhibitor which exhibits unique, differential in vitro anticancer activity as well as in vivo antitumor efficacy following oral adminstration.

4889 R406 (NSC 742317) and prodrug R788 (NSC 745942) have been reported to be a potent multi-kinase inhibitor in several cell-based assay systems and to impact a number of signaling pathways (e.g., J. Pharm. Exp. Ther. 319 : 998-1008, 2006 and Clinical Immunology 124: 244-257, 2007). In the current study, R406 has been found to exhibit multi-log differential in vitro activity in the NCI DTP 60 cell line cancer screen. In two separate experiments, GI-50 levels ranged from 0.051 to >100 uM and 0.0069 to >100 uM. Greatest sensitivity was exhibited by specific renal and non-small cell lung cancer cell lines for which GI-50 levels ranged from 0.0069 - 0.54 uM. In subsequent experiments, we performed a series of in vitro and in vivo pharmacologic evaluations of R406 and R788 to determine whether these agents confer anticancer activity in selected cell lines exposed to drug concentration x time parameters associated with effective, well-tolerated in vivo dosages of R788. In vitro concentration x time assays of R406 were performed on a group of three renal cancer cell lines (A498, CaKi-1 and RXF-393) and four lung cancer cell lines (HOP-62, HOP-92, NCI-H226, and NCI-H522). While GI-50 activity can be achieved with in these cell lines, anticancer activity was more effective with longer exposures (> 48 hrs) to lower R406 concentrations: GI-50 activity was achieved with In fact, total growth inhibition was achieved in the most sensitive cell lines (RXF-393 and NCI-H226) with 0.10 - 0.23 uM x 48 hr . In vivo efficacy testing of R788 (R406 prodrug) was performed using an intrarenal RXF-393 human tumor xenograft model. Five days after tumor cell injections, host mice were randomized into four groups and then received daily oral dosages of R788 via animal feed for a total of 16 days. The two highest dosages produced significant reductions in tumor burden in the absence of apparent toxicity. Plasma samples were collected on day 12 of treatment from 3 mice in each group and analyzed for the presence of the active agent, R406. Analysis revealed that oral R788 is readily absorbed and efficiently converted to R406. In vivo R788 treatments of 0, 75, 300 and 450 mg/kg/day resulted in dose-dependent plasma concentrations of R406: 0, 0.14 - 0.47; 0.46 - 1.33; and 1.57 - 2.56 uM, respectively. R406 concentrations associated with the highest two in vivo treatment regimens not only exceed the in vitro concentration x time indices required for total growth inhibition in sensitive renal and lung cancer cell lines (RXF-393, HOP-92 and NCI-H226), but also are similar to - or exceed - levels associated with GI-50 activity measured following 48-hour R406 exposures for several other cell lines tested in the NCI DTP 60 cell line screen. In vivo efficacy testing of R788 in A498 and other human tumor xenograft models is currently in progress.
Engaging Young Minority Fathers in Research: Basic Needs, Psychological Needs, Culture, and Therapeutic Alliance.

The authors discuss the need to provide services for minority teenage fathers. They mention the importance of cultural and social awareness, the use of engagement through the use of peer models, and the attention paid to basic needs,
N-(7-Cyano-6-(4-fluoro-3-(2-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)acetamido)phenoxy)benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)cyclopropanecarboxamide (TAK632) Promotes Inhibition of BRAF through the Induction of Inhibited Dimers

BRAFV600E is the most common activating mutation in melanoma and patients treated with BRAFV600E inhibitors all develop resistance within one year. A significant resistance pathway is paradoxical activation (transactivation) involving BRAF dimers, whereby an inhibitor bound protein subunit allosterically activates the other subunit. We recently reported on dimeric BRAFV600E -selective vemurafenib inhibitors that stabilize an inactive αC-out/αC-out homodimeric conformation with improved inhibitor potency and selectivity in vitro. We set out to extend this strategy to target RAF homo- and heterodimers with the pan-RAF inhibitor TAK632 in dimeric configuration. Surprisingly, we find that monomeric TAK632 induces an active αC-in/αC-in BRAF dimer conformation, while dimeric TAK inhibitors cannot promote BRAF dimers and have significantly compromised potency in vitro. These studies uncover the intimate connection between BRAF dimerization and TAK632 mode of inhibition and highlight the importance of understandi...
Ion Channel Kinetics: A Fractal Time Sequence of Conformational States

Ions such as sodium, potassium, and chloride can move freely through water but cannot cross the hydrophobic lipids that form the cell membrane. However, these ions can interact with proteins in the cell membrane that transport them across the cell membrane. Three types of proteins are involved in ion transport: 1) Pumps, such as the sodium-potassium ATPase, bind tightly to a few ions at a time and use energy from ATP to move these ions against their electrochemical gradient. 2) Carriers, such as the sodium-potassium-chloride cotransporter, bind tightly to a few ions at a time and help them move down their electrochemical gradient. 3) Channels, such as the sodium channel, bind weakly to many ions at a time and allow them to move down their electrochemical gradient.
Background Preparation for the CBPR Process

Upon completion of Chapter 2: Background Preparation for the CBPR Process, the student will be able to:
Apolipoprotein E Epsilon 4 Genotype, Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, and the Development of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

The annual incidence of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) is 3.8 million in the USA with 10–15% experiencing persistent morbidity beyond one year. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease characterized by accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau, can occur with repetitive MTBI. Risk factors for CTE are challenging to identify because injury mechanisms of MTBI are heterogeneous, clinical manifestations and management vary, and CTE is a postmortem diagnosis, making prospective studies difficult. There is growing interest in the genetic influence on head trauma and development of CTE. Apolipoprotein epsilon 4 (APOE-e4) associates with many neurologic diseases, and consensus on the e4 allele as a risk factor is lacking. This review investigates the influence of APOE-e4 on MTBI and CTE. A comprehensive PubMed literature search (1966 to 12 June 2018) identified 24 unique reports on the topic (19 MTBI studies: 8 athletic, 5 military, 6 population-based; 5 CTE studies: 4 athletic and military, 1 leucotomy group). APOE-e4 genotype is found to associate with outcomes in 4/8 athletic reports, 3/5 military reports, and 5/6 population-based reports following MTBI. Evidence on the association between APOE-e4 and CTE from case series is equivocal. Refining modalities to aid CTE diagnosis in larger samples is needed in MTBI.
Sclerotherapy needle injections can expand the subserosal and muscularis propria layers and cause a stable mucosal lift in ESD/EMR patients.

A mucosal lift is needed for ESD and EMR. Most lifts are made via sclerotherapy needle injection. The firm push needed to penetrate the mucosa often leaves the needle tip in the deep wall. The needle is next withdrawn and fluid injected until a sharp lift (due to submucosal expansion) begins to form; the needle is then held steady and the injection finished. The initial injection may result in a subtle deep lift that resolves quickly. It was the authors’ belief that only submucosal expansion could lead to a stable mucosal lift. A colonic ESD case in which a polyp was inadvertently resected via needle knife in an expanded subserosal plane led to a questioning of this position. This study’s purpose was to determine if stable deep wall mucosal lifts can be generated via bowel wall injection. Transmucosal and intramural injections into bovine large bowel were carried out. Stable lifts and lift cross sections were made and examined grossly and histologically to determine the location of the lift fluid. Clinical ESD videos were also reviewed. Over 200 intact and cross-sectioned lifts were assessed. Gross inspection revealed two types of lifts (superficial and deep), whereas cross sections and histologic analyses revealed examples of stable expansion of the submucosal, muscularis propria, and subserosal layers post injection. Clinical “deep” lifts were also found. Superficial lifts are more focal and taller, whereas deep wall lifts are broader and less prominent. Stable deep wall mucosal lifts occur and are likely due to the deep starting point of the needle post insertion. If ESD/EMR are attempted with a deep lift, the chances of failure or perforation are high. Lifts must be carefully scrutinized before starting ESD/EMR. Other means of lift establishment should be evaluated and considered.
The Role of Mental Health and Substance Use in Homeless Adults' Tobacco Use and Cessation Attempts.

AbstractObjective: Although tobacco use is prevalent among adults experiencing homelessness, research deficits exist regarding the mental health, substance use, and demographic correlates of tobacc...
Long term outcomes in patients with chronic right ventricular pacing upgraded to cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Introduction In patients with chronic systolic heart failure and frequent right ventricular pacing (RVP), upgrade to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has become common practice despite a lack of randomized clinical trials. We aimed to evaluate long term outcomes in patients upgraded to CRT from chronic RVP compared with de novo CRT implants. Methods and results We reviewed medical charts on consecutive patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 35% and a QRSd ≥ 120 ms undergoing CRT. Survival free of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) and a heart transplant was compared amongst patients on the basis of pre-CRT QRS morphology. Improvement in LVEF was also compared across groups. A total of 1260 patients met inclusion criteria of whom 233 were upgraded from chronic RVP. Over a mean follow up 6.5 ± 4.0 years there were 821 endpoints (27 LVAD, 30 heart transplants, and 764 deaths). In a multivariate Cox regression model, upgraded patients had worse outcomes (HR 1.3(1.1-1.7) P = .007) compared with those with native LBBB and similar outcomes to patients with non-LBBB(HR 0.96(0.76-1.21) P = .7). The survival curve for chronic RVP parallels native LBBB for approximately 2.5 years before dropping sharply. Patients with chronic RVP derive similar improvements in LVEF compared with those with LBBB and superior improvements compared with those with non-LBBB. Conclusions Despite achieving similar levels of LVEF improvement, patients with systolic heart failure with chronic RVP undergoing upgrade to CRT have inferior long term outcomes compared with patients with native LBBB. Long term outcomes with CRT in patients with chronic RVP, RBBB, and IVCD are similar.
Visualizing Morphogenesis through Instability Formation in 4-D Printing

Heterogeneous growth in a myriad of biological systems can lead to the formation of distinct morphologies during the maturation processes of different species. We demonstrate that the distinct circumferential buckling observed in pumpkins can be reproduced by a core-shell barrel structure using four-dimensional (4D) printing, taking advantage of digital light processing (DLP)-based three-dimensional (3D) printing and stimulus-responsive hydrogels. The mechanical mismatch between the stiff core and compliant shell results in buckling instability on the surface. The initiation and development of the buckling are governed by the ratio of core/shell radius, the ratio of core/shell swelling ratios, and the mismatch between the core and shell in stiffness. Furthermore, the rigid core not only acts as a source of circumferential confinement but also sets a boundary at the poles of the entire structure. The heterogeneous structures with controllable buckling geometrically and structurally behave much like plants' fruits. This replicates the biological morphologic change and elucidates the general mechanism and dynamics of the complex instability formation of heterogeneous 3D objects.
Area Under the Expiratory Flow-Volume Curve (AEX): Assessing Bronchodilator Responsiveness.

Area under expiratory flow–volume curve (AEX) is a useful spirometric tool in stratifying respiratory impairment. The AEX approximations based on isovolumic flows can be used with reasonable accuracy when AEX is unavailable. We assessed here pre- to post-bronchodilator (BD) variability of AEX4 as a functional assessment tool for lung disorders. The BD response was assessed in 4330 subjects by changes in FEV1, FVC, and AEX4, which were derived from FVC, peak expiratory flow, and forced expiratory flow at 25%, 50%, and 75% FVC. Newly proposed BD response categories (negative, minimal, mild, moderate and marked) have been investigated in addition to standard criteria. Using standard BD criteria, 24% of subjects had a positive response. Using the new BD response categories, only 23% of subjects had a negative response; 45% minimal, 18% mild, 9% moderate, and 5% had a marked BD response. Mean percent change of the square root AEX4 was 0.3% and 14.3% in the standard BD-negative and BD-positive response groups, respectively. In the new BD response categories of negative, minimal, mild, moderate, and marked, mean percent change of square root AEX4 was − 8.2%, 2.9%, 9.2%, 15.0%, and 24.8%, respectively. Mean pre- to post-BD variability of AEX4 was < 6% and stratified well between newly proposed categories of BD response (negative, minimal, mild, moderate and marked). We suggest that AEX4 (AEX) could become a useful measurement for stratifying dysfunction in obstructive lung disease and invite further investigation into indications for using bronchodilator agents or disease-modifying, anti-inflammatory therapies.
Validation of a Parent Proxy Quality-of-Life Measure for Young Children With Hearing Loss.

Objectives No hearing-related quality of life (QL) questionnaire currently exists for children Methods Parents of children 2 to 6 years old with any hearing loss (HL) were recruited from multiple sites. To evaluate the new measure's construct validity, participants completed a 70-item preschool HEAR-QL and validated questionnaires measuring hearing and communication functioning (Parents' Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children), generic pediatric QL (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Parent Report, PedsQL), family functioning (PedsQL Family Impact Module), and parent well-being (Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Adult Global Report). Participants completed the preschool HEAR-QL 2 weeks later to measure test-retest reliability. Exploratory principal components analysis was used to reduce the number of items and determine the underlying HEAR-QL factor structure. Analysis of variance examined HEAR-QL differences by HL. Results Among 205 parents, 144 had children with bilateral HL, 50 had children with unilateral HL, 10 had children with normal hearing (NH), and one child's hearing status was unspecified. The 70-item questionnaire was reduced to 23 items with five underlying factors: Behavior and Attention, Hearing Environments, New Social Situations, Social Interactions, and Communication. Cronbach's alpha for each factor ranged from 0.80 to 0.91. Test-retest reliability was 0.93. Moderate-to-strong correlations (r > .300) were observed between each Preschool HEAR-QL factor and previously validated measures. Hearing Environments scores differed significantly between children with NH and any HL. Conclusion Preschool HEAR-QL correlations with other measures supported its construct validity. Discriminant validity testing requires a larger sample of children with NH. Level of evidence NA Laryngoscope, 2020.
Taking Aural Skills Beyond Sight Singing and Dictation

In this article, I address the issue of stratification between high- and low-performing students in aural skills classes, proposing that this situation may be in part a result of the rigidity of standard curricula. If we go beyond our focus on sight singing and dictation, our low-performing students may be able to demonstrate other strengths, and all students will learn to apply their skills to a greater variety of situations. I propose two methods of diversification: focusing on the diverse skills that underly these dominant tasks, and embracing a wider view of tasks and skills relevant to the aural experience of music. Finally, I suggest methods of assessing and integrating these more diverse skills into our curricula.
Duration Selectivity in Right Parietal Cortex Reflects the Subjective Experience of Time.

The perception of duration in the subsecond range has been hypothesized to be mediated by the population response of duration-sensitive units, each tuned to a preferred duration. One line of support for this hypothesis comes from neuroimaging studies showing that cortical regions, such as in parietal cortex exhibit duration tuning. It remains unclear if this representation is based on the physical duration of the sensory input or the subjective duration, a question that is important given that our perception of the passage of time is often not veridical, but rather, biased by various contextual factors. Here we used fMRI to examine the neural correlates of subjective time perception in human participants. To manipulate perceived duration while holding physical duration constant, we employed an adaptation method, in which, prior to judging the duration of a test stimulus, the participants were exposed to a train of adapting stimuli of a fixed duration. Behaviorally, this procedure produced a pronounced negative aftereffect: A short adaptor biased participants to judge stimuli as longer and a long adaptor biased participants to judge stimuli as shorter. Duration tuning modulation, manifest as an attenuated BOLD response to stimuli similar in duration to the adaptor, was only observed in the right supramarginal gyrus (SMG) of the parietal lobe and middle occipital gyrus, bilaterally. Across individuals, the magnitude of the behavioral aftereffect was positively correlated with the magnitude of duration tuning modulation in SMG. These results indicate that duration-tuned neural populations in right SMG reflect the subjective experience of time. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The subjective sense of time is a fundamental dimension of sensory experience. To investigate the neural basis of subjective time, we conducted an fMRI study, using an adaptation procedure that allowed us to manipulate perceived duration while holding physical duration constant. Regions within the occipital cortex and right parietal lobe showed duration tuning that was modulated when the test stimuli were similar in duration to the adaptor. Moreover, the magnitude of the distortion in perceived duration was correlated with the degree of duration tuning modulation in the parietal region. These results provide strong physiological evidence that the population coding of time in the right parietal cortex reflects our subjective experience of time.
Factors associated with the counts of selected oral microorganisms in nursing home residents.

Purpose/aim To analyze potential factors associated with levels of selected oral pathogens, as well as total aerobic bacterial species, among nursing home residents. Materials and methods Nursing home residents were divided into three groups (G1 included people with teeth but no dentures, G2 included people with teeth and dentures, and G3 included people with no teeth and with dentures). All participants had microbiological samples collected from their oral cavity and dentures. Counts of total aerobic bacterial species, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Actinomyces viscosus, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, and Candida albicans were compared among groups using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. A multivariate analysis was also performed to control other available covariates. Results Bivariate analysis revealed significant differences among the groups, and multivariate analysis showed that sex, the presence of natural teeth, denture wearing, oral hygiene indices, and systemic health conditions were associated with bacterial and Candida albicans log counts. Conclusions Presence of natural teeth and denture wearing, as well as oral hygiene, sex and systemic health conditions were associated with bacterial and Candida albicans log counts among nursing home residents.
Aluminum Induced Alteration in Hepatic Glucuronyl Transferase Activity

Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and intravenous solutions used in the United States, England and New Zealand have been found to be inadvertently contaminated with aluminum (Al). Among the solution constituents currently identified as contaminated with Al are casein hydrolysates used as the protein/amino acid source, calcium and phosphate salts, heparin and albumin. In addition, a number of investigators have reported Al contamination of products given to young infants including a variety of intravenous fluids, infant formulas, vaccines and toxoids. Aluminum contamination is of concern because it has been associated with encephalopathy, bone disease, kidney damage and cholestatic liver disease.
Evaluating NoSQL Systems for Decision Support: An Experimental Approach

We design and implement an experimental analysis comparing two relational systems (PostgreSQL and MariaDB) and two document-based NoSQL systems (MongoDB and CouchBase). We compare their performance on a single server, Decision Support (DSS) scenario. We argue that DSS is becoming an important case study for NoSQL. We experiment with several database designs and several query translations in order to investigate the effect of physical design and query optimization in document-based stores. Our results show that design is very important for MongoDB’s performance, and that query optimization over documents is much less sophisticated on document-based stores than in relational data bases and needs to improve. Our results also offer some ideas to guide further development in this area.
Remote Power Side-Channel Attacks on BNN Accelerators in FPGAs

Multi-tenant FPGAs have recently been proposed, where multiple independent users simultaneously share a remote FPGA. Despite its benefits for cost and utilization, multi-tenancy opens up the possibility of malicious users extracting sensitive information from co-located victim users. To demonstrate the dangers, this paper presents a remote, power-based side-channel attack on a binarized neural network (BNN) accelerator. This work shows how to remotely obtain voltage estimates as the BNN circuit executes, and how the information can be used to recover the inputs to the BNN. The attack is demonstrated with a BNN used to recognize handwriting images from the MNIST dataset. With the use of precise time-to-digital converters (TDCs) for remote voltage estimation, the MNIST inputs can be successfully recovered with a maximum normalized cross-correlation of 75% between the input image and the recovered image.
General Considerations Concerning the Origin of Life on Earth

This chapter discusses certain preliminary issues that pertain to research into the origin of life, basic constraints on the reactions that might have been involved, and possible stages in the evolution of living systems from nonliving ones. This chapter answers the questions as to what is life? Did life originate on the Earth or was it transported from elsewhere? Can one extrapolate from familiar living systems to the first living systems? And conditions on the prebiotic Earth favored the origin of life? The section “Getting the Chemistry of Life Underway” explains that both thermodynamic and kinetic factors were important in determining which reactions would be favored; that most energy for driving chemical reactions originates from the Sun; that energy was also obtainable from chemical sources; that observations on extraterrestrial chemistry provide clues about the chemistry of the prebiotic Earth; that starting materials for synthesis were available in the atmosphere and the lithosphere; that most favorable conditions were a sensitive function of location; that concentration mechanisms were essential for key reactants; and that chemical stability is most important for compounds that are not rapidly utilized. This chapter discusses evolutionary aspects of the origin of life, which explains that kinetic factors were probably decisive in the evolution of chemical reactions leading to the living state; that first living systems must have been the product of a multistep process; that instructional polymers carry the information for their own synthesis and the means to undergo further evolution; and that one is making headway in understanding the chemical evolution that preceded the origin of nucleic acids.
The Law and Order Theme in Political and Popular Culture

"Law and Order" became a political rallying cry in the 1960s, as conservative candidates like Barry Goldwater, George Wallace, and Richard Nixon criticized courts for putting the constitutional rights of criminals ahead of the need for effective police work and public safety. As the nation’s president after his victory in the 1968 presidential race, Nixon continued to emphasize the law and order theme. Meanwhile, a series of Westerns and cop movies, such as John Wayne’s "True Grit" and Clint Eastwood’s "Dirty Harry," began to echo Nixon’s claims about criminals, courts, and law. Concerns about crime and the impotency of the legal system soon produced a set of remarkably popular movies about vigilante justice, including "Walking Tall" and "Death Wish". Even when law and order faded as a national political issue, Hollywood continued to dwell on the idea that courts are too lax, turning the idea that criminals routinely escape justice because of legal technicalities into one of television’s and movies’ most familiar cliches. Crime rates have been plummeting for two decades now, and a series of re-makes of significant films from the Nixon era suggests that law and order’s grip on popular entertainment and the public imagination may finally be breaking.
Fetal surgery for myelomeningocele: progress and perspectives

Myelomeningocele (MMC), one of the most common congenital malformations, can result in severe lifelong disabilities, including paraplegia, hydrocephalus, Chiari II malformation, bowel and bladder dysfunction, skeletal deformations, and neurocognitive impairment. Experimental studies provide compelling evidence that the neurological deficits associated with MMC are not simply caused by incomplete neurulation but rather by the prolonged exposure of the vulnerable neural elements to the intrauterine environment. MMC is the first non-lethal anomaly considered for fetal surgical intervention, necessitating a careful analysis of risks and benefits. Retrospective and prospective randomized studies suggest that fetal surgery of MMC before 26 weeks of gestation may preserve neuromotor function, reverse hindbrain herniation, and reduce the need for ventriculoperitoneal shunting. However, these studies also demonstrate that fetal surgery is associated with significant maternal and fetal risks. Consequently, additional research is necessary to further elucidate the pathophysiology of MMC, to define the ideal timing and technique of fetal closure, and to evaluate the long-term implications of prenatal intervention.
Molecular Beam Spectroscopy with Argon and Dye Lasers

The advent of single frequency tuneable lasers, e.g. dye lasers, will clearly open up the field of high resolution absorption spectroscopy in the visible region of the spectrum. However a tuneable narrow spectral width laser is not the only prerequisite for high resolution spectroscopy. Since doppler broadening is typically several hundred megahertz in the visible region, techniques for reducing doppler as well as collisional broadening must be employed. The method of saturated absorption (1–9) is a good and convenient way of eliminating doppler broadeninq. Another method is to use molecular beam techniques (10) which can eliminate both doppler and collisional broadening as well as collisional shift.
Evolutionary History and Population Genetics of Human Malaria Parasites

The central theme of this chapter is the molecular evolution of species of the genus Plasmodium—the experimental methods, conclusions, and confounding elements peculiar to Plasmodium. While one section of the chapter is a brief summary of studies on the evolutionary history of Plasmodium and related organisms, another is a summary of the molecular population genetics of contemporary world populations of the two most virulent human malaria parasites. In addition to humans, Plasmodium parasites infect a range of vertebrate hosts, including birds, lizards, rodents, and nonhuman primates. Malaria has also been found in African rodents, and many of the Plasmodium species have been adapted to laboratory mice and rats and used as models for human malarias. Plasmodium ovale and P. malariae cause the rarest and least virulent forms of malaria. Population studies of P. falciparum and P. vivax, however, have already yielded unexpected results, paradoxical conclusions, and questions calling for additional research. Genome-level research has made it possible to explore malaria evolution in greater depth and rigor to help complete the picture. These changes have come through malaria parasite genome projects (for P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. yoelii, and P. reichenowi) and their associated databases, access to automated DNA sequencers in most modern laboratories, an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the unusual molecular biology and evolution of the parasites, and improvements in methods of statistical inference from DNA sequence differences within and among populations.
Intrinsic chromatic switching of luminescence in Yb/sup 3+/, Er/sup 3+/:CsCdBr/sub 3/

Summary form only given. Previously, we have reported intrinsic instabilities of the luminescent intensity from a variety of Yb-containing compounds. In heavy metal halides, this phenomenon has been explained as a manifestation of driven local field effects in dense radiation systems. While earlier observations revealed abrupt changes in luminescent intensity under quasi-static conditions, no abrupt changes in the wavelength of the emitted light were found. Here, we report the first observations of intrinsic chromatic instabilities that accompany bistability of the luminescent intensity in a multi-ion system. For our experiments, randomly-oriented samples of crystals of Er,Yb:CsCdBr/sub 3/ were cooled by direct contact with flowing helium vapor to the range 4-40 K, and subjected to weakly-focused radiation from a Ti:sapphire laser tuned to the vicinity of Yb absorption features at 943 nm with a 2-plate birefringent filter. No detectable upconversion emission was generated with pump light tuned to 943 nm in crystals lacking the Yb sensitizer. However, the co-doped sample produced intense upconversion when excited at this wavelength, indicating that visible upconversion takes place through cooperative sensitization of Er luminescence by Yb in this host crystal.
Rethinking Auxin Biosynthesis and Metabolism

Charles Darwin cited the 1871 Ph.D. thesis of Theophil Ciesielski when he postulated in 1880 that a "transmitted influence" present in the tip of plant shoots was responsible for gravitropism. Both Darwin and Ciesielski had realized that the influence was affecting growth differentially. This influence was given the name auxin more than 50 years later and subsequently any compound that promoted growth in specific bioassays was defined as an auxin. The chemical structure of the primary plant auxin, IAA (Fig. 1), has been known since the 1930s to be a 3-substituted indole like Trp. Since that time, the prevailing theory has been that IAA is derived from Trp. However, due to lack of convincing evidence, the biosynthetic pathway for IAA in plants is still undefined. Within the last 10 years, development of precise quantitative methods, good model systems for in vivo analysis, and mutants altered in IAA metabolism have resulted in substantial progress in our understanding of IAA biosynthesis. This review focuses on the new and more complex picture of IAA biosynthesis that has emerged as a result of recent experiments.
Effects of acute and chronic hyperglycemia on the neurochemical profiles in the rat brain with streptozotocin-induced diabetes detected using in vivo ¹H MR spectroscopy at 9.4 T.

J. Neurochem. (2012) 121, 407–417. Abstract Chronic hyperglycemia could lead to cerebral metabolic alterations and CNS injury. However, findings of metabolic alterations in poorly managed diabetes in humans and animal models are rather inconsistent. We have characterized the cerebral metabolic consequences of untreated hyperglycemia from the onset to the chronic stage in a streptozotocin-induced rat model of diabetes. In vivo1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to measure over 20 neurochemicals longitudinally. Upon the onset of hyperglycemia (acute state), increases in brain glucose levels were accompanied by increases in osmolytes and ketone bodies, all of which remained consistently high through the chronic state of over 10 weeks of hyperglycemia. Only after over 4 weeks of hyperglycemia, the levels of other neurochemicals including N-acetylaspartate and glutathione were significantly reduced and these alterations persisted into the chronic stage. However, glucose transport was not altered in chronic hyperglycemia of over 10 weeks. When glucose levels were acutely restored to euglycemia, some neurochemical changes were irreversible, indicating the impact of prolonged uncontrolled hyperglycemia on the CNS. Furthermore, progressive changes in neurochemical levels from control to acute and chronic conditions demonstrated the utility of 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy as a non-invasive tool in monitoring the disease progression in diabetes.
Na(+)-independent transport (uniport) of amino acids and glucose in mammalian cells.

Recent advances have made possible the isolation of the genes and their cDNAs encoding Na(+)-independent amino acid transporters. Two classes of amino acid 'uniporters' have been isolated. One class contains the mCAT (murine cationic amino acid transporter) gene family that encodes proteins predicted to span the membrane 12-14 times and exhibits structural properties similar to the GLUT (glucose transporter) family and to other well-known transporters. The other class consists of two known genes, rBAT (related to B system amino acid transporters) and 4F2hc, that share amino acid sequence similarity with alpha-amylases and alpha-glucosidases. They are type II glycoproteins predicted to span the membrane only once, yet they mediate the Na(+)-independent transport of cationic and zwitterionic amino acids in Xenopus oocytes. Mutations in the human rBAT gene have been identified by Palacin and his co-workers in several families suffering from a heritable form of cystinuria. This important finding clearly establishes a key role for rBAT in cystine transport. The two classes of amino acid transporters are compared with the well-studied GLUT family of Na(+)-independent glucose transporters.
Collisional Activation of Small Peptides

Classical trajectory simulations are performed to study the efficiency of energy transfer in the collisional activation of polyglycine and polyalanine peptide ions with β-sheet and α-helix structures. Energy-transfer efficiencies for collisions with Ar are determined versus impact parameter, peptide size and structure, mass of the collider, the collision energy, and the form of the intermolecular potential between the peptide and argon. High-level ab initio calculations, for Ar interacting with small molecules representing the peptides' functional groups, are performed to determine an accurate Ar + peptide intermolecular potential. Energy transfer may be efficient and in some cases as high as 80%. There is a low collision energy regime in which the percent energy transfer increases as the peptide size increases. However, at higher energies, an apparent impulsive energy-transfer regime is reached where the peptide size has a negligible effect on the energy-transfer efficiency. For a certain peptide size, s...
Temporal patterns of cohesiveness in virtual groups

Group cohesiveness is a vital social dynamic that is difficult to achieve in virtual teams, but leadership can help groups move past these challenges. We used the Language Style Matching metric to measure group cohesiveness over the course of interaction while groups with either assigned or emerging leaders worked via online chat to complete a collaborative task. We find that overall, successful groups are more cohesive than unsuccessful groups at all times. For groups with assigned leaders, we find this same pattern of cohesiveness. For groups with emerging leaders we find that successful groups and unsuccessful groups are similar in group cohesiveness during the first two-thirds of interaction, but during the final third successful groups are more cohesive than unsuccessful groups.
Is group marriage viable

Abstract “Group marriage”, as used in this paper, refers to a family structure in which three or more adult members (including at least one male and female) live together on a communal basis and share labor, goods, services, money, and the bearing and raising of children, and have sexual access to each other. Larry L. Constantine and Joan M. Constantine, who have done considerable research on group marriage, estimate that the number of such marriages in the United States probably does not exceed one thousand. In this paper the question is raised and on the basis of personal interviews examined whether or not group marriage is a viable alternative to the existing family structure. The author weighs the problems that he observed against the valuable experiences claimed and comes to the conclusion that apparently the former are too great at the present time for the people involved to overcome.