cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Su1578 EUS Guided Drainage of Pancreatic Pseudocyst and Walled off Liquefied Pancreatic Necrosis- Fully Covered Self-Expanding Metal Stent (Fcems) vs. Double Pigtail Plastic Stent for Cyst Gastrostomy

dedicated metal stent for PC. Herein, we’ll describe the results of EUS-guided pancreatic pseudocysts drainages (EUS-PCDs) with metallic stents (MS) in our hospital. Patients and Methods: EUS-PCDs with MS were performed in 28 cases at Tokyo medical university hospital, between January 2011 and November 2012. It included in those, like complicated pseudocysts, e.g. walled-off pancreatic necrosis.The mean of age was 53.7 14.4 years, the ratio of male to female was 24 : 4. The median diameter of cystic lesion was 108.2 37.0mm. The pancreatic pseudocyst was laocated in head (4), body (12) and tail (12). In all cases, needle puncture was performed via the stomach. The kinds of types of MS were normal biliary type (NB) in 1 case, dumbbell type (Yo-Yo stent) (D) in 20 cases and flared type (F) in 7 cases. If needed, endoscopic necrosectomy was added to perform. Result: The technical success rate of EUS-PCD with MS was 100% (28/28). Endoscopic necrosectomy following stent placement was performed in 16 cases. The clinical response rate of EUS-PCD with MS including combination with endoscopic necrosectomy was 100% (28/28). The complications were found 10.7% (3/28), and there is no fatal complication. The median procedure time was 33 minutes. The median stent removal time of MS was 40.4 days. The details of the complications were bleeding in 1, peritonitis in 1, displacement in 1. Conclusion: EUS-PCD with MS is effective procedure. In addition, MS appears to be safe and useful device for the management of complicated pseudocysts, e.g. walled-off pancreatic necrosis.
Sequencing of random Euplotes crassus macronuclear genes supports a high frequency of +1 translational frameshifting.

Programmed translational frameshifts have been identified in genes from a broad range of organisms, but typically only a very few genes in a given organism require a frameshift for expression. In contrast, a recent analysis of gene sequences available in GenBank from ciliates in the genus Euplotes indicated that >5% required one or more +1 translational frameshifts to produce their predicted protein products. However, this sample of genes was nonrandom, biased, and derived from multiple Euplotes species. To test whether there truly is an abundance of frameshift genes in Euplotes, and to more accurately assess their frequency, we sequenced a random sample of 25 cloned genes/macronuclear DNA molecules from Euplotes crassus. Three new candidate +1 frameshift genes were identified in the sample that encode a membrane occupation and recognition nexus (MORN) repeat protein, a C2H2-type zinc finger protein, and a Ser/Thr protein kinase. Reverse transcription-PCR analyses indicate that all three genes are expressed in vegetatively proliferating cells and that the mRNAs retain the requirement of a frameshift. Although the sample of sequenced genes is relatively small, the results indicate that the frequency of genes requiring frameshifts in E. crassus is between 3.7% and 31.7% (at a 95% confidence interval). The current and past data also indicate that frameshift sites are found predominantly in genes that likely encode nonabundant proteins in the cell.
Identifying expression fingerprints using linguistic information

This thesis presents a technology to complement taxation-based policy proposals aimed at addressing the digital copyright problem. The approach presented facilitates identification of intellectual property using expression fingerprints. Copyright law protects expression of content. Recognizing literary works for copyright protection requires identification of the expression of their content. The expression fingerprints described in this thesis use a novel set of linguistic features that capture both the content presented in documents and the manner of expression used in conveying this content. These fingerprints consist of both syntactic and semantic elements of language. Examples of the syntactic elements of expression include structures of embedding and embedded verb phrases. The semantic elements of expression consist of high-level, broad semantic categories. Syntactic and semantic elements of expression enable generation of models that correctly identify books and their paraphrases 82% of the time, providing a significant (approximately 18%) improvement over models that use tfidf-weighted keywords. The performance of models built with these features is also better than models created with standard features used in stylometry (e.g., function words), which yield an accuracy of 62%. In the non-digital world, copyright holders collect revenues by controlling distribution of their works. Current approaches to the digital copyright problem attempt to provide copyright holders with the same kind of control over distribution by employing Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems. However, DRM systems also enable copyright holders to control and limit fair use, to inhibit others' speech, and to collect private information about individual users of digital works. Digital tracking technologies enable alternate solutions to the digital copyright problem; some of these solutions can protect creative incentives of copyright holders in the absence of control over distribution of works. Expression fingerprints facilitate digital tracking even when literary works are DRM- and watermark-free, and even when they are paraphrased. As such, they enable metering popularity of works and make practicable solutions that encourage large-scale dissemination and unrestricted use of digital works and that protect the revenues of copyright holders, for example through taxation-based revenue collection and distribution systems, without imposing limits on distribution. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Boilerplate Shock: Sovereign Debt Contracts as Incubators of Systemic Risk

Scholars generally assess the usefulness of standard-form securities contracts from the perspective of the firms that use them. But these firm-centric accounts overlook the cumulative impact of standardization on markets. Where the market in question is critical to the financial system, this oversight can be quite consequential.This Article examines the coordinated use of two standard contract terms in European sovereign bonds, a market viewed by many as the greatest source of global economic instability in the five years following the 2007-2009 financial crisis. By common account, these terms — which require that the bonds be paid in euro and that any dispute be resolved under a stipulated source of law, often foreign — are beneficial or at least benign. They are more rigid than is currently appreciated, however, and are in standard use in many correlated contracts that govern eurozone sovereign debt. Among other things, the collective character of these terms means that a single, unexpected default might touch off cascade effects — a “run” — on other eurozone sovereign bonds and perhaps financial markets more broadly.The latent potential of networks of standard contracts to transmit systemic risk has fundamental repercussions not only for the multitrillion-dollar sovereign lending market, but for the design of securities contracts and the project of systemic risk mitigation more generally. Currently, the law lacks even a vocabulary to describe this phenomenon, let alone a mechanism to manage it. This Article proposes a new rule to address the challenge of what might be called “boilerplate shock” in the eurozone and argues for expanding the study of contract externalities to include their impact on financial markets.
Novel electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection solution in GaAs pHEMT technology

This paper develops an effective electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection solution for GaAs-based integrated circuits based on a novel multi-gate pHEMT. With approximately the same layout area, the proposed ESD protection clamp can carry an ESD current three times higher than the conventional single-gate pHEMT clamp under the human body model (HBM) stress. Moreover, the new ESD clamp shows promising results when characterized under the charged device model (CDM) stress. The parasitic capacitance of the new ESD clamp is also measured to assess its suitability for high-frequency ESD applications.
A semianalytic model for photo‐induced isotopic fractionation in simple molecules

We have developed a semianalytic model for computing the photo-induced isotopic fractionation in simple molecules of interest to the atmospheric science community. The method is based on the Born-Oppenheimer approximation and the Reflection Principle. It has the main advantage of using commonly available input data, namely, the photolysis cross sections for the standard isotopologue/isotopomer and the ground state isotope-specific spectroscopic constants. The isotopic fractionation arises principally from the spectral shift induced by the small difference in zero point energy between isotopologues/isotopomers and the contraction of the wave function due to heavier isotope substitution. The latter effect dominates photolytic fractionation away from the cross section maxima. Our new approach is demonstrated with applications to the diatomic molecules HCl and HI, and the triatomic molecules N_2O and O_3. Agreement between the model and measurements is excellent. New modeling results for the fractionation of ^(15)N^(15)N^(16)O in the stratosphere using the Caltech/JPL two-dimensional model are presented.
Epidemiology of Bone Mass in Premenopausal Women

The belief that optimal bone mass counters considerable bone loss during the perimenopausal period has led to much research to depict premenopausal bone mass and to identify factors which optimize it. Research consistently shows that genetics play a strong role in peak bone mineral density. In fact familiality explains 10% to more than 50% of premenopausal bone mass. Studies of bone density levels in ovariectomized and amenorrheic women indicate that estrogen is needed to maintain premenopausal bone mass. The link between reproduction and estrogens role is not yet clear however. Strenuous exercise in amenorrheic women is related to bone loss. On the other hand moderate physical exercise in women with normal menstruation patterns optimizes premenopausal bone density within each womans genetic potential. A possible intervention to reduce bone loss is through the diet especially calcium intake. Yet the levels of nutrients and the timing of dietary intervention are not clear. Current recommended levels of nutrients have not been disproved however. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine what happens to premenopausal bone mass levels during the perimenopausal period. These studies would be especially useful if they could identify characteristics of women who lose bone rapidly and of those who lose it slowly. Future research needs to identify the time for and length of maximum mineralization of bone. Knowing this would help prevention programs increase their effectiveness. Future research also needs to determine what factors are related to differences in premenopausal bone density. Research activities that determine the contribution of nutrition exercise and reproductive events (pregnancy nulliparity parity lactation) must continue. They should also examine possible interactions between these factors. They must consider sample size and selection of controls.
Desiring to Try: Reply to Adams

My argument involved a case in which 'Brett promises to pay Belton fifty dollars' for trying to solve a certain mate-in-two chess problem within five minutes. To preempt 'the objection that Belton will want to solve the problem, because only his discovering the solution can guarantee that Brett will deem him to have tried/ I supposed that 'Belton is convinced that Brett is psychic (or omniscient) and can tell whether he has tried, independently of Belton's succeeding' (252).2 1 observed that if and when Belton does try to solve the puzzle, there is a sense in which 'mating the king which is solving the puzzle (provided that it is accomplished in two moves) is a goal in Belton's thinking about chess moves.' But, I argued, the suppositions that Belton wants to try to solve the puzzle (or wants to try to figure out how to mate the king in two moves) and that he acts on that want do not entail that this goal is desired (or wanted; I
Abstract 383: Hypertensive and Renal Injury Responses to Angiotensin II and High Salt Intake in Mice Lacking the Gene for Interleukin-10

Endogenous interleukin-10 (IL-10) exerts immune down-regulating action on the generation of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). The present study examined the hypothesis that IL-10 plays a protective role in hypertension and renal injury induced by angiotensin II (AngII) and high salt (HS) diet by minimizing TNF-α production. Systemic blood pressure (BP; monitored by implanted radio-telemetry), TNF-α level in plasma and in the kidney (by ELISA) as well as renal injury (glomerulosclerosis, GS by PAS staining and renal interstitial fibrosis, RIF by Trichrome staining) responses to chronic infusion of AngII (400 ng/min; osmotic minipump) for 2 wks were evaluated in wild-type (WT; n=11) and IL-10 gene knockout mice (KO; n=11) which were fed either normal (NS; 0.03% NaCl, n=5) or HS (4% NaCl; n=6) diets. On the last day of the experiment, a 24 hr urine collection was made using metabolic cages prior to sacrificing the mice for the collection of plasma and renal tissue samples. The mean baseline BP in KO was lower (104±3 vs 116±4 mmHg) than that in WT. Increase in BP in AngII+HS treated KO was lower (Δ 20±5 vs Δ 39±2 mmHg) than that in WT but similar in AngII+NS treated KO and WT (Δ 40±3 vs Δ 47±7 mmHg). In AngII+HS treated WT, TNF-α was higher in plasma (69±6 vs 34±4 pg/mL) and in renal tissue (208±15 vs 95±11 pg/mg protein) compared to values in WT treated with AngII+NS. In AngII+HS treated KO, TNF-α was lower in plasma (20±3 vs 180±44 pg/mL) and in renal tissue (205±23 vs 277±23 vs pg/mg protein) compared to values in KO treated with AngII+NS. The urinary nitrate/nitrite excretion rate was higher in AngII+NS (0.56±0.25 vs 0.08±0.01 mM/24 hr) and AngII+HS (1.23±0.12 vs 0.18±0.02 mM/24 hr) treated KO compared to the correspondingly treated WT. The eNOS protein expression was higher in KO treated with AngII+NS (~2 folds) or AngII+HS (~3 folds) compared to those in treated WT. GS (24.6±1.3 vs 13.8±2.1 %) and RIF (10.6±1.1 vs 7.8±0.5 %) changes were greater in AngII+NS treated KO than those in treated WT. However, the changes were minimal in HS treated groups. In conclusion, these data demonstrate that there exists an interaction of IL-10 and eNOS activity in the regulation of TNF-α in the kidney that provides a protective role by minimizing hypertension and renal injury induced by Ang II and HS intake.
Implicit Bias in Employment Discrimination Litigation

Judges exercise enormous discretion in civil litigation, and nowhere more than in employment discrimination litigation, where the trial court’s “common sense” view of what is or is not “plausible” has significant impact on the likelihood that a case will survive summary judgment. As a general matter, doctrinal developments in the past two decades have quite consistently made it more difficult for plaintiffs to assert their claims of discrimination. In addition, many of these doctrines have increased the role of judicial judgment – and the possibility of the court’s implicit bias – in the life cycle of an employment discrimination case. This chapter begins by examining the persistence of gender and racial disparity in the workplace despite the fact that laws prohibiting discrimination have been on the books for decades. Social science offers an explanation in the form of studies that describe the role implicit bias plays in those continuing inequities just as the legal system seems especially resistant to integrating their insights. The chapter goes on to explore the ways that doctrinal developments for assessing evidence in employment discrimination cases – the procedural mechanisms that guide the cases through the system – are a one-way ratchet that makes it harder and harder to prove that discrimination occurred and that enables the judge to enact his or her biases.
Response of Bemisia argentifolii (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) to water and nutrient stressed cotton

Water stress usually increases plant susceptibility to the whitefly Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring, whereas nutrient stress generally reduces the level of whitefly infestation. This study examined the effect of water and phosphorus stress on plant physiological traits to help explain the response of B. argentifolii to host plant conditions. Host preference was determined by examining oviposition rates on water- and phosphorus-stressed cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in the greenhouse, and by studying the effect of irrigation frequency on oviposition and B. argentifolii developmental rate in the field. In the greenhouse, oviposition was reduced 9% ( P = 0.09) by water stress but was not affected by phosphorus deficiency. In the field, oviposition was 6 times greater in the biweekly compared with weekly irrigated plots. In no choice experiments, however, oviposition was unaffected by irrigation frequency, with the exception of lower leaves in the canopy which had been previously damaged by B. argentifolii , where oviposition was reduced 63% in the biweekly plots where damage was the greatest. Irrigation frequency had no effect on developmental rate from egg to adult. In the greenhouse, oviposition was affected most by leaf position on the plant, and was >2 times as great on tile youngest compared with the oldest leaf on a 4-leaf seedling. Multiple regression analysis suggested that oviposition was not independently affected by transpiration rate or leaf temperature. Leaf water potential, sucrose concentration, and amino acid concentration made the greatest contribution to B. argentifolii host selection, with oviposition being greatest on leaves with low water potential and low bulk leaf sucrose and amino acid concentrations.
The Euler Characteristic in Combinatorial Geometry

(1963). The Euler Characteristic in Combinatorial Geometry. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 70, No. 2, pp. 119-127.
Laser Processing, Characterization, and Modeling of Epitaxial Si/TiN/Si (100) Heterostructures

We have successfully deposited multilayer Si/TiN/Si(100) epitaxial heterostructures at a substrate temperature of 600°C in a chamber maintained at a vacuum of ~10-7 torr using pulsed laser (KrF: λ = 248 nm, τ = 25 ns) deposition. This silicon-on-conductor device configuration has potential applications in three-dimensional integrated circuits and radiation hard devices.The two interfaces were quite sharp without any indication of interfacial reaction between them. The epitaxial relationship was found to be Si ‖ TiN ‖ Si. In the plane, four unit cells of TiN matched with three unit cells of silicon with less than 4.0% misfit. This domain matching epitaxy provides the mechanism of epitaxial growth in systems with large lattice mismatch. Energetics and growth characteristics of such domain matching epitaxy in the high lattice mismatch Si/TiN/Si(100) system and possible device implications are discussed.
Calibration of digital optical phase conjugation setups based on orthonormal rectangular polynomials

Digital optical phase conjugation (DOPC) has proven to be a promising technique in deep tissue fluorescence imaging. Nonetheless, DOPC optical setups require precise alignment of all optical components to accurately read the wavefront of scattered light in a turbid medium and playback the conjugated beam toward the sample. Minor misalignments and possible imperfections in the arrangement or the structure of the optical components significantly reduce the performance of the method. In this paper, a calibration procedure based on orthogonal rectangular polynomials is introduced to compensate major imperfections including the optical aberration in the wavefront of the reference beam and the substrate curvature of the spatial light modulator without adding extra optical components to the original setup. The proposed algorithm also provides a systematic calibration procedure for mechanical fine tuning of DOPC systems. It is shown experimentally that the proposed calibration process improves the peak-to-background ratio when focusing light after passing through a highly scattering medium.
Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the Adolescent Motivation to Cook Questionnaire: A Self-Determination Theory instrument.

Increasing adolescents' motivation and competence to cook may improve diet quality and reduce the risk for obesity and chronic diseases. The objective of this study was to develop an instrument to measure adolescents' intrinsic motivation to prepare healthy foods and the four psychological needs that facilitate motivation identified by the Self Determination Theory (SDT). Five hundred ninety-three high school students (62.7% female) were recruited to complete the survey. Participants indicated to what extent they agreed or disagreed with 25 statements pertaining to intrinsic motivation and perceived competence to cook, and their perceived autonomy support, autonomy, and relatedness to teachers and classmates. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and internal consistency reliability. EFA returned a five-factor structure explaining 65.3% of the variance; and CFA revealed that the best model fit was a five-factor structure (χ2 = 524.97 (265); Comparative Fit Index = 0.93; RMSEA = 0.056; and SRMR = 0.04). The sub-scales showed good internal consistency (Intrinsic Motivation: α = 0.94; Perceived Competence: α = 0.92; Autonomy Support: α = 0.94; Relatedness: α = 0.90; and Autonomy: α = 0.85). These results support the application of the Adolescent Motivation to Cook Questionnaire to measure adolescents' motivation and perceived competence to cook, autonomy support by their instructor, autonomy in the classroom, and relatedness to peers. Further studies are needed to investigate whether this instrument can measure change in cooking intervention programs.
Antenatal betamethasone therapy potentiates nitric oxide-mediated relaxation of preterm ovine coronary arteries

The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that betamethasone may potentiate nitric oxide-mediated relaxation of coronary arteries of preterm lambs. Isolated coronary arteries were obtained from lambs delivered at 128 days gestation. The lambs were treated intramuscularly with a single dose of betamethasone or saline 48 h before delivery and were killed after 3 h of ventilation after delivery. Vessel rings were suspended in organ chambers filled with modified Krebs-Ringer solution (95% O2-5% CO2, 37 degrees C), and their isometric tension was recorded. The endothelium-dependent relaxation induced by bradykinin and calcium ionophore A23187 was greater in arteries from antenatal betamethasone-treated lambs than in arteries from control lambs. The relaxation was abolished by N omega-nitro-L-arginine. Nitric oxide induced a greater relaxation in vessels from antenatal betamethasone-treated lambs and in vessels preincubated with betamethasone than in vessels from controls. Coronary arteries from control and antenatal betamethasone-treated lambs relaxed similarly to 8-bromoguanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate. Nitric oxide induced a greater increase in guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate content in coronary arteries from antenatal betamethasone-treated lambs than in arteries from control lambs. Our data suggest that antenatal betamethasone therapy potentiates nitric oxide-mediated relaxation in coronary arteries from preterm lambs, probably by affecting the activity of soluble guanylate cyclase of vascular smooth muscle cells.
Hiking alone: understanding fear, negotiation strategies and leisure experience.

This study examines the solo hiking experience, in particular the fears that solo hikers experience, the strategies they employ to negotiate these fears, and how the leisure experience is influence...
Raman spectroscopy for less invasive and online medical applications

Applications of optical spectroscopy techniques, such as Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Raman, and fluorescence, in biology and medicine have been actively pursued in recent times. Since optical spectroscopic techniques are very sensitive to biochemical composition of the sample under study, they are being pursued as non invasive analytical methodologies. Early transformation from healthy to diseased states is attributed to biochemical changes within tissue. Efficacy and potential applications of optical spectroscopic techniques in disease diagnosis has been well demonstrated. Another attractive feature of optical spectroscopic methods is that data are amenable to multivariate statistical tools. Various statistical techniques have been successfully deployed to exploit subtle differences in Raman spectra for diagnostic purpose. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and its derivatives like Linear Discriminate Analysis (LDA) and logistic regression are some of the widely used methods. Among optical spectroscopic methods Raman spectroscopy can provide detailed information about chemical composition of the tissue under study and since progression of a disease is accompanied by chemical changes, it can provide the physician with valuable diagnostic and prognostic information. Most important attribute of Raman spectroscopy is its in vivo applications, since light can be delivered and collected rapidly via optical fibres which can be incorporated into catheters, endoscopes, cannulas and needles. In the present talk we discuss role of Raman spectroscopy in diagnosing cancers. We will emphasize on less invasive and non invasive diagnostic applications.
Vesicoureteral Reflux Index: Predicting Primary Vesicoureteral Reflux Resolution in Children Diagnosed after Age 24 Months

Purpose: The Vesicoureteral Reflux Index is a validated tool that reliably predicts spontaneous resolution of reflux or at least 2 grades of improvement for patients diagnosed before age 24 months. We evaluated the Vesicoureteral Reflux Index in children older than 2 years.Materials and Methods: Patients younger than 18 years who were diagnosed with primary vesicoureteral reflux after age 24 months and had undergone 2 or more voiding cystourethrograms were identified. Disease severity was scored using the Vesicoureteral Reflux Index, a 6-point scale based on gender, reflux grade, ureteral abnormalities and reflux timing. Proportional subdistribution hazard models for competing risks identified variables associated with resolution/improvement at different time points.Results: A total of 21 males and 250 females met inclusion criteria. Mean ± SD age was 4.0 ± 2.1 years and patients had a median vesicoureteral reflux grade of 2. The Vesicoureteral Reflux Index score improved by 1 point in 1 patient (100%), 2...
Glycoconjugated Site-Selective DNA-Methylating Agent Targeting Glucose Transporters on Glioma Cells

DNA-alkylating drugs continue to remain an important weapon in the arsenal against cancers. However, they typically suffer from several shortcomings because of the indiscriminate DNA damage that they cause and their inability to specifically target cancer cells. We have developed a strategy for overcoming the deficiencies in current DNA-alkylating chemotherapy drugs by designing a site-specific DNA-methylating agent that can target cancer cells because of its selective uptake via glucose transporters, which are overexpressed in most cancers. The design features of the molecule, its synthesis, its reactivity with DNA, and its toxicity in human glioblastoma cells are reported here. In this molecule, a glucosamine unit, which can facilitate uptake via glucose transporters, is conjugated to one end of a bispyrrole triamide unit, which is known to bind to the minor groove of DNA at A/T-rich regions. A methyl sulfonate moiety is tethered to the other end of the bispyrrole unit to serve as a DNA-methylating agen...
Life-Cycle Benefits of Recycled Material in Highway Construction

The use of recycled materials in highway construction can achieve significant benefits affecting the triple bottom line (environment, prosperity, and society). Although state departments of transportation have been at the forefront of introducing recycled materials, they have been unable to clearly convey the benefits in a quantitative and transparent manner using easily understood metrics. Information on sustainability assessment characteristics—that is, energy and water consumption—is lacking. To determine the benefits of using recycled materials for six member state departments of transportation in a pooled fund, the Recycled Materials Resource Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison was tasked with a project that would quantify the environmental and economic life-cycle benefits associated with the incorporation of recycled materials and industrial by-products in highway construction. An analysis of the environmental benefits (i.e., carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption, and water consumpt...
Food, Identity, and Environmental Education

While food is an exceedingly rich area for environmental education, I caution environmental educators and researchers from moving too quickly into messaging about what people should eat, given the many complexities around food and identity. Eating, as an inherently identity-laden practice, is fraught with complicated meanings, dilemmas, and predicaments. Far too often in environmental discourse, we focus on the eating choices of individuals, but fail to acknowledge the extent to which eating is influenced by larger social and cultural contexts. This paper will explore some tensions between eating as an identity practice and eating as a sustainable practice through an exploration of a phenomenological autobiographic account and through literature on food, identity, race, and class.
The Legacy of David B. Barrett

Missiologists today speak routinely of the shift of Christianity to the Global South, but it was David B. Barrett who first described this trend. Many of the religious statistics cited by sociologi...
6 – Shell Formation

I. Summary and Perspective The formation of shell can be described in terms of two major phases: (1) cellular processes of ion transport, protein synthesis, and secretion and (2) a series of physicochemical processes in which crystals of CaCO3 are nucleated, oriented, and grow in intimate association with a secreted organic matrix. In providing the mineral of shell, Ca2+ and HCO3− are first transported across epithelia at the body surface and the mantle epithelium facing the inner shell surface. Movement of these ions is incompletely understood but almost certainly involves active transport of Ca2+. The physicochemical phase takes place in fluid between the outer mantle epithelium and the inner shell surface and on this shell surface. For crystals to be deposited, the following conditions are required (1) concentrations of Ca2+ and CO32- exceeding the solubility product, (2) conditions favoring crystal nucleation, and (3) the elimination of H+ resulting from CaCO3 formation. Following crystal nucleation oriented crystal growth leads to a shell constructed of a variety of crystal patterns. In the process protein secreted by the mantle surrounds the individual crystals and becomes the cement which binds them together as a shell. Our understanding of the processes of the crystal depositional phase of shell formation is fragmentary. However, we can expect that through analyses of the fluid at the site of crystallization and study of effects of organic fractions of the fluid and shell on crystallization, the conditions governing the initiation and control of crystal growth will be further defined. Substances that initiate crystallization have been proposed but have not been tested. Preliminary studies indicate that the compounds at the crystallization site include inhibitors of CaCO3 deposition. A major aspect of shell construction of great interest yet to receive experimental study is the relation of particular segments of the mantle epithelium to the structure and orientation of strikingly different types of crystal patterns. A promising approach to these crystallographic problems appears to be the application of in vitro methods of physical biochemistry to crystal development and orientation in association with fractions of the organic phase of shell. Studies indicating involvement of the nervous system and hormonal and neurosecretory changes associated with shell formation will almost certainly be expanded and contribute to the understanding of mechanisms of mineralization and their control.
Signaling Pathways That Protect the Heart Against Apoptosis Induced by Ischemia and Reperfusion

Ischemia and reperfusion injury commonly occurs in ischemic heart disease, resulting in apoptotic or necrotic cell death. Apoptotic cell death is highly regulated. Two mechanisms of apoptosis involve the extrinsic death receptor pathway and the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway. Both pathways lead to the activation of effector caspases, resulting in cell death. The mitochondrial pathway plays a key role in initiating apoptosis after ischemia and reperfusion. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase C (PKC), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathways protect the heart against ischemia and reperfusion injury. They inhibit mitochondrial cytochrome c release into the cytosol by regulating the Bcl-2 family proteins and activating the mitoKATP channel, thereby blocking the process of apoptosis.
Prior exposure of pancreatic tumors to [sorafenib + vorinostat] enhances the efficacy of an anti-PD-1 antibody.

Checkpoint immunotherapy antibodies have not shown efficacy in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Pre-clinical studies and subsequently an on-going phase I trial have demonstrated the safety and efficacy o...
DARE: Dynamic Adaptive Mobile Augmented Reality with Edge Computing

Mobile augmented reality (MAR) is a killer application of mobile edge computing because of its high computation demand and stringent latency requirement. Since edge networks and computing resources are highly dynamic, handling such dynamics is essential for providing high-quality MAR services. In this paper, we design a new network protocol named DARE (dynamic adaptive AR over the edge) that enables mobile users to dynamically change their AR configurations according to wireless channel conditions and computation workloads in edge servers. The dynamic configuration adaptations reduce the service latency of MAR users and maximize the quality of augmentation (QoA) under varying network conditions and computation workloads. Considering the video frame size and computation model, i.e., object detection algorithms, as two key parameters in adapting the AR configuration, we develop analytical models to characterize the impact of these parameters on QoA and the service latency. Then, we design optimization mechanisms on both the edge server and AR devices to guide the AR configuration adaptation and server computation resource allocation. The performance of the DARE protocol is validated through a small-scale testbed implementation.
Consequential life cycle assessment of automotive material substitution: Replacing steel with aluminum in production of north American vehicles

Abstract The substitution of aluminum for steel in vehicle body and closure components is a common strategy for reducing fuel consumption. In order to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) consequences of this decision, the system must be examined using a life cycle approach. Furthermore, attributional life cycle assessment (ALCA) does not suffice for a number of reasons, including the fact that ALCA does not model the incremental system and that allocating the benefits of recycling inhibits the modelling of system-wide consequences caused by the decision studied. This study thus uses a consequential life cycle assessment (CLCA) framework. We examine the physical and economic processes that guide the North American light-duty vehicle fleet from its initial state in 2012 to a state in 2050. Industry projections are used to model the production and use phases. The system is expanded to include the scrap and material markets. This generates new insights regarding the environmental consequences of changes in scrap generation and recycling in automotive material substitution. The method is applied to the fleet in order to forecast if and when aluminum intensification constitutes net GHG reduction under various conditions. Using baseline parameter values compiled from public and industry data; we calculate a GHG payback period of 25 years, i.e. before a net reduction in emissions relative to a no change counterfactual is achieved. A local sensitivity analysis is performed, showing that the net GHG reduction may be achieved in a period as short as 12 years, or never be achieved at all. A global sensitivity analysis is performed using Monte Carlo simulation, where 16% of trials never reach a net reduction in GHG emissions. We also estimate which parameters contribute the most to variance in the model outcomes. The material replacement coefficient, or the amount of aluminum it takes to functionally replace one kilogram of steel, is the top contributor to the variance (29.8%). Overall, the results are most sensitive to parameters governing the amount of mass that can be replaced by each kilogram of additional aluminum, the GHG intensity of additional aluminum production, and the response of the aluminum scrap and material markets to additional aluminum scrap generation. We conclude that given the current lack of understanding of key parameters and their underlying uncertainties, it is not possible to definitively state that substituting aluminum for steel results in a net reduction in GHG emissions from a fleet of vehicles.
Insights about variation in meiosis from 31,228 human sperm genomes

Abstract Meiosis, while critical for reproduction, is also highly variable and error prone: crossover rates vary among humans and individual gametes, and chromosome nondisjunction leads to aneuploidy, a leading cause of miscarriage. To study variation in meiotic outcomes within and across individuals, we developed a way to sequence many individual sperm genomes at once. We used this method to sequence the genomes of 31,228 gametes from 20 sperm donors, identifying 813,122 crossovers, 787 aneuploid chromosomes, and unexpected genomic anomalies. Different sperm donors varied four-fold in the frequency of aneuploid sperm, and aneuploid chromosomes gained in meiosis I had 36% fewer crossovers than corresponding non-aneuploid chromosomes. Diverse recombination phenotypes were surprisingly coordinated: donors with high average crossover rates also made a larger fraction of their crossovers in centromere-proximal regions and placed their crossovers closer together. These same relationships were also evident in the variation among individual gametes from the same donor: sperm with more crossovers tended to have made crossovers closer together and in centromere-proximal regions. Variation in the physical compaction of chromosomes could help explain this coordination of meiotic variation across chromosomes, gametes, and individuals.
Inhibition of the Transcriptional Activity of p53 Through Hetero-Oligomerization

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be generated by the expression of pluripotency factors and oncogenes; however, the efficiency of generating iPS cells is extremely low (less than 1 %). Activation of the p53-p21 pathway is responsible for this low efficiency and inactivation of p53 enhances the production of induced iPS cells 10–20 fold. Tetramer formation of p53 is crucial to its activity. The tetramerization domain consists of a β-strand, a tight turn, and an α-helix. Two monomers form a dimer through interaction between the antiparallel β-sheets and α-helices, and the two primary dimers associate to form a tetramer with an unusual four-helix bundle. In this study, to inhibit p53 function, p53 tetramerization domain peptides containing a protein transduction domain (PTD-p53tet) were introduced into cells. The PTD-p53tet peptide was efficiently introduced into nuclei and significantly inhibited the transcriptional activity of p53. A monomeric mutant PTD-p53tet peptide showed no inhibitory activity, indicating that the inhibition by the PTD-p53tet peptide was dependent on its ability to form tetramers. The PTD-p53tet peptide formed hetero-tetramers with wild-type p53TD peptide while the monomeric mutant peptide did not. These results suggest that the PTD-p53tet peptide inhibited transcriptional activity in cells via hetero-oligomerization with endogenous p53 protein.
Why flavored vape products may be attractive: Green apple tobacco flavor elicits reward-related behavior, upregulates nAChRs on VTA dopamine neurons, and alters midbrain dopamine and GABA neuron function

Abstract While nicotine is the primary addictive component in tobacco products, additional flavors have become a concern with the growing popularity of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). For this reason, we have begun to investigate popular tobacco and ENDS flavors. Here, we examined farnesol, a chemical flavorant used in green apple and fruit flavors in ENDS e-liquids, for its ability to produce reward-related behavior. Using male and female 3–6 month old C57BL/6 J mice and farnesol doses of 0.1, 1, and 10 mg/kg we identified a sex-dependent effect in a conditioned place preference assay: farnesol-alone produces reward-related behavior in only male mice. Despite this sex-dependent effect, 1.0 mg/kg farnesol enhances locomotor activity in both male and female mice. To understand farnesol's effect on reward-related behavior, we used whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology and confocal microscopy to investigate changes in putative dopamine and GABA neurons. For these approaches, we utilized genetically modified mice that contain fluorescent nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Our electrophysiological assays with male mice revealed that farnesol treatment increases ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neuron firing frequency and this may be due to a decrease in inhibitory tone from GABA neurons. Our microscopy assays revealed that farnesol treatment produces a significant upregulation of α6* nAChRs in male mice but not female mice. This was supported by an observed increase in α6* nAChR function in additional electrophysiology assays. These data provide evidence that popular tobacco flavorants may alter smoking-related behavior and promote the need to examine additional ENDS flavors.
On tail dependence matrices

Among bivariate tail dependence measures, the tail dependence coefficient has emerged as the popular choice. Akin to the correlation matrix, a multivariate dependence measure is constructed using these bivariate measures, and this is referred to in the literature as the tail dependence matrix (TDM). While the problem of determining whether a given d × d matrix is a correlation matrix is of the order O(d3) in complexity, determining if a matrix is a TDM (the realization problem) is believed to be non-polynomial in complexity. Using a linear programming (LP) formulation, we show that the combinatorial structure of the constraints is related to the intractable max-cut problem in a weighted graph. This connection provides an avenue for constructing parametric classes admitting a polynomial in d algorithm for determining membership in its constraint polytope. The complexity of the general realization problem is justifiably of much theoretical interest. Since in practice one resorts to lower dimensional parametrization of the TDMs, we posit that it is rather the complexity of the realization problem restricted to parametric classes of TDMs, and algorithms for it, that are more practically relevant. In this paper, we show how the inherent symmetry and sparsity in a parametrization can be exploited to achieve a significant reduction in the LP formulation, which can lead to polynomial complexity of such realization problems - some parametrizations even resulting in the constraint polytope being independent of d. We also explore the use of a probabilistic viewpoint on TDMs to derive the constraint polytopes.
Clinicopathological characteristics and classified treatment of 218 patients with granulomatous mastitis

Objective To explore the outcome of classified treatment in granulomatous mastitis patients. Methods The clinical data of 218 patients with granulomatous mastitis who were admitted to the Guangdong Women and Children's Hospital from January 2013 to December 2015 and had complete medical records were retrospectively analyzed, including basic clinical data, imaging findings, pathological characteristics, treatment methods and outcomes. The positive rate of corynebacteria and the incidence of hyperprolactinemia among three types of granulomatous mastitis (refractory, mass and abscess type) were adalyzed by χ2 test. Results The patients were non-lactational women at the age of (33.5±3.9) years. They had the onset of mastitis (3.6±1.6) years after ablactation, and 63.8%(139/218) of them had the history of breast-feeding disorders at different degrees. Totally 97.2%(212/218)of patients had breast mass. According to the first clinical manifestation, 218 cases were divided into three types, including 41 cases of mass type, 126 cases of abscess type and 51 cases of refractory type. The specimens of pus were obtained in 96 patients, including 61 cases of abscess type and 35 cases of refractory type. The positive rate of corynebacteria showed no significant difference between abscess type and refractory type [9.8%(6/61) vs 8.6(3/35), χ2=0.025, P=0.900]. The incidence of hyperprolactinemia among the three types was significantly different (χ2 = 22.280, P<0.001). The incidence of hyperprolactinemia in refractory type was significantly higher than that in lump type or abscess type [58.8%(30/51) vs 17.1%(7/41), 58.8%(30/51) vs 27.0%(34/126), χ2=16.487, 15.944, both P<0.017]. Steroid therapy was applied in 95.9% (209/218) of granulomatous mastitis patients. The antibiotic and anti-mycobacterial drugs were used in 21.1%(46/218) of the cases, which achieved some beneficial effect. The patients were followed up for median 15.8 months (range: 6.0-32.0 months), with a recurrence rate of 11.0% (24/218). The granulomatous mastitis of lump type had the lowest recurrence rate of 2.4% (1/41). Conclusions The etiology of granulomatous mastitis is unclear. Steroid therapy is mainly used for granulomatous mastitis and the antibiotic and anti-mycobacterial drugs are effective in some cases. The patients with lump type have the highest efficacy after treatment. Key words: Granuloma; Mastitis; Diagnosis; Surgical procedures, operative; Steroid
Afro-Pessimist or Africa Rising? US Newspaper Coverage of Africa, 1994–2018

Is media coverage of Africa systematically negative or increasingly positive? Several scholars have argued that too little empirical evidence exists to address the debate between “Afro-pessimist” a...
SVM: secure vehicle motion verification with a single wireless receiver

Connected vehicles leverage wireless interfaces to broadcast their motion state information for improved traffic safety and efficiency. It is crucial for their motion claims (location and velocity) to be verified at the receivers to detect spoofing attacks. Existing approaches typically require multiple cooperative distributed verifiers, which is not applicable to vehicular networks. In this work, we propose a secure motion verification scheme based on Angle-of-Arrival and Frequency-of-Arrival that only requires a single verifier, by exploiting opportunistic signal reflection paths in the environment to create multiple virtual verifiers. We analyze the security of our scheme both theoretically and under realistic road topology. We also carry out real-world experiments with two vehicles in a campus environment, and results show that our scheme can accurately detect false motion claims in a low relative speed vehicular network.