cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Free associations to conceptually structured word triads

A set of word triads are presented that, as stimulus materials for free association, permit the assessment of the relative salience of two varieties of feature enhancement. There are 10 triads of each of four types that differ with respect to how the words of each triad are related. In the first type, the three words share inherent features that determine their membership in a common natural category, words of a second type are from different categories but share a sensory characteristic, the third type share both membership in a natural category and a sensory feature, and the fourth type are unrelated. The distributions of responses to these triad types are presented for a college sample as a baseline for a population of high linguistic ability. Changes in such distributions from 1st to 5th grade are then explored, and differences are shown in the associations produced by 10th- and 11th-grade high school students of high, medium, and low reading levels.
Calmodulin‐dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity is altered by 20 μT magnetostatic fields

Absorbance measurements at 660 nm of calmodulin (CaM) dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity under cell free conditions indicate that 30-min exposures to weak magnetostatic field intensities alters this activity, compared to zero magnetic field exposures. This effect depends nonlinearly on the concentration of free calcium, with maximum magnetic interaction apparently occurring at an optimal Ca(2+) concentration corresponding to 50% activation (EC(50)). If one regards Ca(2+)/CaM activation as a switching process, then increasing the magnetic field at Ca(2+) levels in excess of optimal acts to bias this switch towards lower calcium concentrations. A magnetic dependence has been previously reported by others in an homologous system, CaM dependent myosin light chain phosphorylation, implying that there may be an underlying magnetic interaction that involves the initial Ca(2+)/CaM binding process common to both enzymatic pathways. The level of magnetostatic intensity at which this effect is observed ( approximately 20 microT) implies that CaM activation may be functionally sensitive to the geomagnetic field.
Centrifugal, biochemical, and electron microscopic analysis of cytoplasmic particulates in liver homogenates.

A combined centrifugal, biochemical, and electron microscopic study of the cytoplasmic particulates present in 0.88 M sucrose homogenates of rat liver has been carried out. Size distribution analyses of particles containing pentose nucleic acid (PNA) and exhibiting several types of enzymatic activity revealed three major size groups within the range of particle radius between 10 and 500 mµ. A different array of biochemical properties was associated with each size group. The largest particles, with an average radius (assuming spherical shape) in the region of 220 to 260 mµ, contained all of the succinic dehydrogenase activity of the cytoplasmic extract, 29 per cent of the diphosphopyridine nucleotide (DPN)-cytochrome c reductase activity, and minor amounts of PNA and acid phosphatase activity. Cytologically, this group of particles was identified with the mitochondria. All of the uricase activity, 58 per cent of the acid phosphatase activity, and 26 per cent of the PNA was apparently associated with a second size group of particles (average radius 120 mµ) which were tentatively identified by electron microscopy with vesicular structures derived from the ergastoplasm of the intact cell. The third particle group demonstrated by centrifugation exhibited a major size distribution peak at 25 mµ and a second smaller peak at 55 mµ. Over 50 per cent of the total cytoplasmic PNA and DPN-cytochrome c reductase activity was associated with particles in this size group. Electron microscopy revealed a morphologically heterogeneous population of particles within this size range.
The Political Economy of Tribal Citizenship in the US: Lessons for Canadian First Nations?

aboriginal policy studies is an online, peer-reviewed and multidisciplinary journal that publishes original, scholarly, and policy-relevant research on issues relevant to Metis, nonstatus Indians and urban Aboriginal people in Canada. For more information, please contact us at apsjournal@ualberta.ca or visit our website at www.ualberta.ca/nativestudies/ aps/ or http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/aps/. This article can be found at:
BEYOND TOCQUEVILLE: A PLEA TO STOP “TAKING RELIGION SERIOUSLY”

We have all heard the admonition to “take religion seriously.” It is a perplexing command, since AHA statistics indicate that graduate students have been flocking to religious topics for years. Library shelves groan under the weight of recent works that take religion seriously. What, then, might it mean to take religion more seriously, as it has been such a booming academic field for decades now? As Elizabeth Pritchard has pointed out, the imperative is not a methodological recommendation at all, but an ethical–political one. To take religion “seriously” is to grant it its rightful place as an independent variable amidst others, without reducing it to the old categories of politics or class or gender. It is implicitly frivolous to see religion as a superstructural manifestation of a deeper social or economic reality, as have many functionalist theories from Marx onwards. These accounts are routinely pilloried as condescending towards the past, and as failing to take historical actors at their word when they claim to act for religious reasons. There is much to this; nonetheless, the currently reigning assumption of religious autonomy, like that of other cultural artifacts, has been perilously undertheorized. In this joint review, I would like to show how this understanding of religion impedes historical understanding. It might be the case that, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde, religion is too important to take seriously.
Clinical issues in the assessment of adolescent alcohol and other drug use

Clinicians working with adolescents are routinely faced with the issue that alcohol and other drug (AOD) involvement may be part of the clinical picture either as a primary problem or a contributing factor to other problems or disorders. Fortunately, assessment research in this area has produced several behaviorally oriented and psychometrically sound tools from which to choose for problem identification, referral and treatment of youth suspected of AOD abuse. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of several issues related to the clinical utility of such assessment tools.
A one-year study of the diurnal cycle of meteorology, clouds and radiation in the West African Sahel region

The diurnal cycles of meteorological and radiation variables are analysed during the wet and dry seasons over the Sahel region of West Africa during 2006 using surface data collected by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) programme's Mobile Facility, satellite radiation measurements from the Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) instrument aboard Meteosat 8, and reanalysis products from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The meteorological analysis builds upon past studies of the diurnal cycle in the region by incorporating diurnal cycles of lower tropospheric wind profiles, thermodynamic profiles, integrated water vapour and liquid water measurements, and cloud radar measurements of frequency and location. These meteorological measurements are complemented by 3 h measurements of the diurnal cycles of the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) and surface short-wave (SW) and long-wave (LW) radiative fluxes and cloud radiative effects (CREs), and the atmospheric radiative flux divergence (RFD) and atmospheric CREs. Cirrus cloudiness during the dry season is shown to peak in coverage in the afternoon, while convective clouds during the wet season are shown to peak near dawn and have an afternoon minimum related to the rise of the lifting condensation level into the Saharan Air Layer. The LW and SW RFDs and CREs exhibit diurnal cycles during both seasons, but there is a relatively small difference in the LW cycles during the two seasons (10 − 30 W m−2 depending on the variable and time of day). Small differences in the TOA CREs during the two seasons are overwhelmed by large differences in the surface SW CREs, which exceed 100 W m−2. A significant surface SW CRE during the wet season combined with a negligible TOA SW CRE produces a diurnal cycle in the atmospheric CRE that is modulated primarily by the SW surface CRE, peaks at midday at ∼150 W m−2, and varies widely from day to day.
Pope, interrupted. A qualitative study on memes, hashtags, and speech chains

ABSTRACT : This article investigates the reaction, on Twitter, to Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation announcement. Specifically, this is a qualitative study in linguistic anthropology of how memes and hashtags circulated on Twitter between the day of the announcement of said resignation and the Pope’s last day in office, and identifies the speech chains created by them. The analysis of the corpus showed that Twitter users' deployment of hashtags serves two purposes: on the one hand, it creates a topic/comment structure that is later reproduced, modified or abandoned by other users. On the other hand, hashtags function as performative acts that create online ad hoc communities. In addition, this article also claims that English and Romance-language users created and circulated image and text-based memes differently, thus establishing two language-based speech chains. In sum, this article contributes to discussions on informational flux on online platforms by demonstrating that said flux does have constraints, and that those constraints are related to language-based communities of practice. KEYWORDS : T witter. S peech chains. H ashtags. M emes. RESUMO : O presente trabalho investiga a reacao, no Twitter, ao anuncio da renuncia do Papa Benedito XVI. Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo, em antropologia linguistica, de como memes e hashtags circularam no Twitter entre o anuncio da renuncia e o ultimo dia de trabalho do Papa, com o objetivo de identificar as cadeias de fala criadas por estes memes e hashtags . A analise do corpus mostrou que emprego de hashtags pelos usuarios do Twitter serve a dois propositos: por um lado, cria-se uma estrutura topico-comentario que e, depois, reproduzida, modificada ou abandonada por outros usuarios. Por outro lado, as hashtags funcionam como enunciados performativos que criam comunidades online. Ademais, o presente artigo tambem afirma que usuarios de lingua inglesa e de linguas românicas criaram e circularam memes baseados em imagens e textos de maneiras distintas, estabelecendo, consequentemente, duas cadeias de fala baseadas nas suas respectivas linguas. Em resumo, este artigo contribui para as discussoes sobre o fluxo informacional em plataformas online, ao demonstrar que ha restricoes a esse fluxo e que tais restricoes estao relacionadas as linguas das diferentes comunidades de pratica. PALAVRAS-CHAVE : T witter. C adeias de fala. H ashtags. M emes .
Traumatic pericardial rupture without cardiac injury

Pericardial rupture is a rare injury following blunt chest trauma. It is frequently fatal because of serious complications such as cardiac herniation and/or contusion. We report a case of traumatic pericardial rupture without cardiac injury, which was incidentally identified intraoperatively. A 63-year-old woman was transported to the hospital after sustaining blunt chest trauma from a motor vehicle accident. Radiographic workup demonstrated multiple fractures, pulmonary contusion, and hemopneumothorax. A chest tube was inserted, and persistent bleeding was observed. An exploratory thoracotomy was performed, and active pulmonary bleeding was controlled. Further exploration revealed major pericardial rupture without cardiac herniation or intrapericardial injury, which was repaired by a bovine pericardial patch. Her postoperative course was uneventful. It is usually difficult to make a diagnosis of pericardial rupture, and a misdiagnosis often leads to a fatal consequence. Therefore, an immediate surgical exploration is warranted if clinical and radiographic findings suggest the condition.
Work in progress - adaptive expertise: beyond apply academic knowledge

A common attribute related to expertise is the speed and efficiency experts display as they apply what they know to solve novel problems in their domain. Much of our assessment methods focus on this ability to process information quickly and identify solutions to common problems as a display of competency in a particular skill and/or depth of domain knowledge. However, as we review certain examples of expertise we begin to see that this fluency only provides one dimension of the kinds of expertise students should display after graduation, in some cases students may only be able to displaying "routine" expertise for specific problems. We want our learners to have flexible knowledge that allows them to invent ways to solve familiar problems and innovative skills to identify new problems. We suggest that the more desirable definition of expertise relates to students "adaptiveness" to identifying and solving novel problem. This display of "adaptive expertise" ultimately leads to students depth of knowledge and habits of mind that lead to success in their career and enable them to be innovators in their field. This paper explores the characteristics of adaptive expertise and its implication for instruction and assessment in undergraduate engineering education.
Effects of Commitment and Psychological Centrality on Fathering

Propositions from identity theory suggest that interactional and affective commitment to a role identity affects the psychological centrality of that role identity. In turn, the centrality of one's role identity translates into role performance (Stryker & Serpe, 1994). This conceptual model was tested with a sample of 186 fathers in first marriages with at least one child 18 years or younger. The results showed that fathers who perceived their wives as evaluating them positively as fathers were more likely to report higher levels of involvement in child-related activities and place greater importance on the father role identity. This prominence, in turn, was associated with higher levels of involvement.
Simplified synthesis and relaxometry of magnetoferritin for magnetic resonance imaging.

Magnetoferritin nanoparticles have been developed as high-relaxivity, functional contrast agents for MRI. Several previous techniques have relied on unloading native ferritin and re-incorporation of iron into the core, often resulting in a polydisperse sample. Here, a simplified technique is developed using commercially available horse spleen apoferritin to create monodisperse magnetoferritin. Iron oxide atoms were incorporated into the protein core via a step-wise Fe(II)Chloride addition to the protein solution under low O2 conditions; subsequent filtration steps allow for separation of completely filled and superparamagnetic magnetoferritin from the partially filled ferritin. This method yields a monodisperse and homogenous solution of spherical particles with magnetic properties that can be used for molecular magnetic resonance imaging. With a transverse per-iron and per-particle relaxivity of 78 mM−1 sec−1 and 404,045 mM−1 sec−1, respectively, it is possible to detect ∼10 nM nanoparticle concentrations in vivo. Magn Reson Med, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Role of Imidacloprid in Integrated Pest Management of California Citrus

Portions of three commercial citrus orchards were treated for 1 yr with foliar imidacloprid or for 2 yr with a systemic formulation in a replicated plot design to determine the impact of this neonicotinoid on the San Joaquin Valley California citrus integrated pest management (IPM) program. Foliar-applied imidacloprid had little effect on California red scale, Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell); cottony cushion scale, Icerya purchasi Maskell; or citrus red mite, Panonychus citri (McGregor), populations. Short-term suppression of the parasitoids Aphytis melinus DeBach and Comperiella bifasciata Howard; vedalia, Rodolia cardinalis (Mulsant); and the predacious mite Euseius tularensis (Congdon) were observed. Suppression of natural enemies allowed scales and mites to maintain higher populations in the treated areas compared with the nontreated areas. Thus, foliar imidacloprid did not exhibit control of these citrus pest species, and it disrupted biological control. Systemically applied imidacloprid suppressed California red scale and citricola scale populations 2–3 mo after treatment. Suppression of parasitoids of the California red scale also was observed. Thus, treatments of systemic imidacloprid applied in areawide management programs for invasive pests would provide a benefit of California red scale and citricola scale suppression. However, this treatment provided only single-season control of citricola scale, it was somewhat disruptive of biological control, and it did not suppress densities of either scale as low as a treatment of the organophosphate chlorpyrifos for citricola scale or the insect growth regulator pyriproxyfen for California red scale. Insecticides with longer periods of efficacy and greater IPM compatibility than imidacloprid should be used for a sustainable IPM approach in California citrus.
Trophic Effects of Striatal Proteins on Central Dopaminergic Neurons in Culture

The dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra (mesencephalic region A9) appear to be influenced by trophic interactions with the tissue they innervate, the striatum. Large lesions in the striatum or the nigrostriatal tract lead to a decrease in tyrosine hydroxylase activity in the substantia nigra, mesencephalic region A9 (Reis et al. 1978). Large lesions in the striatum of newborn rats result in a substantial reduction in the number of dopaminergic neurons in the A9 region (Jaeger et al. 1983). In fact the only A9 dopaminergic neurons surviving after removal of the striatum on one side of the brain may be those which project to contralateral striatum. Jeager et al., point out that the loss of dopaminergic neurons is most likely due to loss of a trophic influence from the striatum rather than a consequence of damage to the dopaminergic axons, since transplanted dopaminergic neurons can survive despite even more extensive damage to their processes. Consistent with this trophic interaction hypothesis, co-culture of the mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons with cells from the striatum enhances both dopamine uptake and the number of neurons with detectable dopamine levels (Prochiantz et al. 1979, Hoffman et al. 1983) and the axonal plexus characteristic of the terminal region in the striatum (Hemmendinger et. al. 1981).
The Research and Development Manager's Dilemma: Fact or Fiction

The article addresses creative approaches to solving scientific and technological dilemmas. The article focuses on the relationship between a research and development (R&D) manager and his employee...
A Program of Research Basic to State Income Tax Legislation as It Affects Agriculture

All state income tax legislation affects agriculture. Such legislation provides for the public collection and the public expenditure of a fund from a levy on incomes. Agriculture, therefore, must be affected either by the collection or by the expenditure of this fund. The amount involved may be large or small; the effects entailed may be direct or roundabout; but the farmer pays or receives, or both. It follows that since any contribution to the provisions of a state income tax law would affect agriculture, all possible contributions are relevant for discussion here. Nevertheless, certain aspects of income tax legislation, though not limited in their effects to agriculture, are of marked significance to that industry. It is proposed to indicate these aspects as subjects for a program of research.
Hepatic oleate regulates liver stress response partially through PGC-1α during high-carbohydrate feeding

Background & Aims High-carbohydrate diets contribute to the development of liver stress and fatty liver disease. While saturated fatty acids are known to induce liver stress, the role of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), synthesized by the stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) family of enzymes, in regulation of liver function during lipogenic dietary conditions remains largely unknown. The major products of SCD-catalyzed reactions are oleate (18:1n-9) and palmitoleate (16:1n-7). Methods We generated mouse models with restricted exogenous MUFA supply and reduced endogenous MUFA synthesis, in which SCD1 global knockout (GKO) or liver-specific knockout (LKO) mice were fed a lipogenic high-sucrose very low-fat (HSVLF) or high-carbohydrate (HC) diet. In a gain-of-function context, we introduced liver-specific expression of either human SCD5 , which synthesizes 18:1n-9, or mouse Scd3 , which synthesizes 16:1n-7, into SCD1 GKO mice and fed the HSVLF diet. Results Lipogenic high-carbohydrate diets induced hepatic endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and inflammation in SCD1 GKO and LKO mice. Dietary supplementation with 18:1n-9, but not 18:0, prevented the HSVLF diet-induced hepatic ER stress and inflammation in SCD1 LKO mice, while hepatic SCD5 , but not Scd3 , expression reduced the ER stress and inflammation in GKO mice. Additional experiments revealed liver-specific deletion of the transcriptional coactivator PGC-1α reduced hepatic inflammatory and ER stress response gene expression in SCD1 LKO mice. Conclusions Our results demonstrate an indispensable role of hepatic oleate in protection against lipogenic diet-induced hepatic injury, and PGC-1α potentiates the ER stress response under conditions of restricted dietary oleate coupled to reduced capacity of endogenous hepatic oleate synthesis. Lay summary Susceptibility to metabolic dysfunction is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. In this study we show that modulation of two genes regulates the liver response, including ER stress and inflammation, to a high-carbohydrate low-fat diet. We reveal that hepatic availability of oleate, a monounsaturated fatty acid, is important for maintenance of liver health.
“Free at Last”: Kennedy, King, and the Meaning of Liberty in the Disability Rights Movement

There is a direct link connecting President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., to the causes of liberty, consent, choice, the least restrictive environment, and genuine community presence for peo...
AN ELUSIVE QUEST TO EXPLAIN THE WORSENING “PULMONARY HYPERTENSION” IN A CASE OF KNOWN STABLE RESTRICTIVE VENTRICULAR SEPTAL DEFECT

Gerbode ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a rare communication between the left ventricle and right atrium. It is generally congenital in origin but on rare occasions is an acquired defect. Gerbode defect can either arise from a direct communication between LV and RA with an atrio-ventricular
Christianity in Contemporary China: An Update

the early 1980s. The Chinese people are caught in the space between collapsed traditions and discredited Communist ideology on the one hana, and the pursuit of wealth and the Western lifestyle on the other. They are struggling in an exciting, yet highly competitive, free market economy, but are disillusioned with repressive politics and bewildered by conflicting values. This raises the level of social anxieties and drives many to seek solace within these confusions and ambiguities. Some people are returning to Chinese traditional religions, and others are seeking salvation in Christianity. The reasons for this popular con version to Christianity are extremely complex. Explanations for the resurgence of religious fervor vary, such as the crisis of faith (xintjang weiji) that resulted from the collapse of Maoism as a compelling ideology and the human inclination for meaning that manifests itself as a desire for salvation in times of uncertainty. But it remains unclear why people choose specifically to subscribe to Christianity, and why Chinese converts in urban and rural areas actively proselytize and plant churches. This article explores the growth of Christianity and its integration into the fabric of Chinese society during the Reform Era (1978 present), focusing on two parallel phenomena. The first is the transfor mation of Christianity from a heavily persecuted and marginalized religion in Maoist China into a fast-growing indigenous religious movement. Both Catholics and Protestants did not merely survive religious persecution throughout the turbulent period of Mao's rule
The structure of the acinar cell and its relationship to the nerve terminals in the lateral nasal gland of the rat.

Tissue samples were fixed by several methods, stained with lead citrate and uranyl acetate, and evaluated with the electron microscope. The secretory cell cytoplasm of lateral nasal gland contained an extensive Golgi apparatus, well developed rough endoplasmic reticulum, and numerous mitochondria. The granules were associated with rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi zone, mitochondria, or with other granules with which they coalesced. The junctions between the acinar cells were zonulae occludentes, zonulae adhaerentes, and maculae adhaerentes in that order from the lumen to the cellular base. The macular complexes included, in addition to transverse fibers, intracellular filaments that extended parallel to the cellular wall. These latter fibers were observed in the cellular interior, after they had separated from the peripheral zone. Numerous preterminal nerve fibers were present in the interacinar spaces. They passed from there through the basement membrane to come in contact first with the base of the cell, and then with the intercellular space. The nerve terminals within an acinus, surrounded by a unit membrane, contained mitochondria and small agranular vesicles. In spite of a close relationship between a nerve terminal and the secretory cell, a synaptic ending was not identified in the lateral nasal gland.
Dysfunction of cGMP-mediated pulmonary vasorelaxation in endotoxin-induced acute lung injury.

Fullerton, David A., Robert C. McIntyre, Jr., Angela R. Hahn, Jeanette Agrafojo, Kaoru Koike, Xianzhong Meng, Anirban Banerjee, and Alden H. Harken. Dysfunction of cGMP-mediated pulmonary vasorelaxation in endotoxin-induced acute lung injury. Am. J. Physiol. 268 (Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. 12) : L1029-L1035, 1995.-Endothelial-dependent and -independent cGMP-mediated mechanisms of pulmonary vasorelaxation were studied in endotoxin-induced acute lung injury in the rat. Concentration-response curves were generated (10 -9 to 10 -6 M) for acetylcholine (ACh), A23187, and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and for 8-bromoguanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (8-BrcGMP) (10 -9 to 10 -4 M) in isolated pulmonary arterial rings preconstricted with phenylephrine 6 h after endotoxin treatment (20 mg/kg ip). Endotoxin treatment produced significantly increased lung neutrophil accumulation (myeloperoxidase assay, 28 ± 6 units/g lung tissue vs. 1.8 ± 1 in controls) and lung leakage (lung/blood 125 I-labeled albumin ratio, 0.06 ± 0.01 vs. 0.028 ± 0.01 in controls) as well as histological evidence of pulmonary vascular endothelial damage. The concentration-response curves demonstrated that pulmonary vasorelaxation by mechanisms that require generation of cGMP by either endothelial-dependent (both receptor-dependent, ACh, and receptor-independent, A23187) or endothelial-independent (SNP) pathways were significantly impaired after endotoxin treatment. Relaxation by stimulation with the cGMP analogue 8-BrcGMP was not different from control. Pulmonary vascular smooth muscle is able to relax in response to cGMP after endotoxin treatment, but relaxation by endothelial-dependent and -independent pathways that require generation of cGMP is significantly impaired.
Etiological characteristics of influenza in downtown areas of Beijing in 2013

Objective To find out the etiological characteristics of influenza in downtown areas of Beijing to provide scientific supports for influenza prevention in this area. Methods Throat swabs were collected from influenza-like illness( ILI)cases who live in downtown areas of Beijing. The strains were isolated by Madin-Darby Canine Kidney( MDCK) cell directly. The typesof influenza virus were confirmed by hemagglutinationinhibition( HI) test. Results A total number of 1968 samples were collected in 2013,with 162 strains identified as influenza virus( 8. 2%). Among these strains,96 strains were A( H1N1)subtype( 59. 3%),60 strains were A( H3N2) subtype( 37. 0%),6 strains were B /Y subtype( 3. 7%). Conclusion One epidemic peaks( January to February) were observed in downtown areas of Beijing in 2013,and the epidemic were predominated by typeA( H1N1) subtypeand A( H3N2) subtype. Research showed that the influenza infection was not independent of age and gender.
CEDAW: Compliance and Contestation in Latin America

Integrating legal history and social science method of analysis is helpful for understanding women’s human rights in comparative context. This study examines the roles of Latin American states in the development of CEDAW, the international treaty on women’s rights. By then reviewing reports on Peruvian and Chilean compliance with CEDAW, the study begins to assess whether the international women’s convention has relevance for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and practitioners who seek to promote women’s rights. At the state level, women’s human rights are neither imposed by the CEDAW Committee nor are rights simply constructed locally within the confines of isolated states. In-depth analysis of Peru’s and Chile’s recent compliance efforts suggests policymakers and activists have used CEDAW as a tool to push for more equitable legal, institutional, and social reforms.
New developments in anti-sickling agents: can drugs directly prevent the polymerization of sickle haemoglobin in vivo?

The hallmark of sickle cell disease is the polymerization of sickle haemoglobin due to a point mutation in the β-globin gene (HBB). Under low oxygen saturation, sickle haemoglobin assumes the tense (T-state) deoxygenated conformation that can form polymers, leading to rigid erythrocytes with impaired blood vessel transit, compounded or initiated by adhesion of erythrocytes to endothelium, neutrophils and platelets. This process results in vessel occlusion and ischaemia, with consequent acute pain, chronic organ damage, morbidity and mortality. Pharmacological agents that stabilize the higher oxygen affinity relaxed state (R-state) and/or destabilize the lower oxygen affinity T-state of haemoglobin have the potential to delay the sickling of circulating red cells by slowing polymerization kinetics. Relevant classes of agents include aromatic aldehydes, thiol derivatives, isothiocyanates and acyl salicylates derivatives. The aromatic aldehyde, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) increases oxygen affinity of sickle haemoglobin and reduces hypoxia-induced sickling in vitro and protects sickle cell mice from effects of hypoxia. It has completed pre-clinical testing and has entered clinical trials as treatment for sickle cell disease. A related molecule, GBT440, has shown R-state stabilization and increased oxygen affinity in preclinical testing. Allosteric modifiers of haemoglobin as direct anti-sickling agents target the fundamental pathophysiological mechanism of sickle cell disease.
The Infra-aortic Area

The portion of the mediastinum to be considered in this chapter lies below the aortic arch and behind the left side of the anterior mediastinum. The anatomy of the thoracic aorta has been discussed in detail in chapter 6. The proximal portion of the main pulmonary artery is situated anterior to the root of the aorta (see Fig. 6.2). As the pulmonary artery ascends, it comes to lie to the left of the ascending aorta; at this point the two great vessels are in the same coronal plane (see Fig. 6.3). This plane marks the anterior boundary of the infra-aortic area; the posterior margin of the anterior mediastinum is the pericardium covering the great vessels and the heart [27, 154].
Use of Platelet Function Testing Before Pipeline Embolization Device Placement: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Background and Purpose—Thromboembolic complications constitute a significant source of morbidity after neurointerventional procedures. Flow diversion using the pipeline embolization device for the ...
S150 Periictal lateralizing signs in childhood seizures

Lateralizing the seizure onset zone might be crucial in epilepsy diagnostics, especially during presurgical evaluation. There are well-known lateralizing signs in adult patients with epilepsy, however childhood lateralizing signs are less precisely assessed and analyzed. Our lecture will show and video-illustrate all known lateralizing signs in childhood including ipsi-vs. contra-lateral and dominant vs. subdominant signs.
Cartesian Auto Body

I.“The body and the engine are one,” declaresDnezivich, the Senior SpecialistIn Total Loss. “They’re indivisible,A single unit.” Naturally, he prevailsThough nature plays no part in his discourse.I haven’t heard so much philosophyIn years; it promptly silences appealsTo values dutifully applied in practice:Required maintenance performed, as scheduled,
Nonpareil 3: Fast Estimation of Metagenomic Coverage and Sequence Diversity.

Estimations of microbial community diversity based on metagenomic data sets are affected, often to an unknown degree, by biases derived from insufficient coverage and reference database-dependent estimations of diversity. For instance, the completeness of reference databases cannot be generally estimated since it depends on the extant diversity sampled to date, which, with the exception of a few habitats such as the human gut, remains severely undersampled. Further, estimation of the degree of coverage of a microbial community by a metagenomic data set is prohibitively time-consuming for large data sets, and coverage values may not be directly comparable between data sets obtained with different sequencing technologies. Here, we extend Nonpareil, a database-independent tool for the estimation of coverage in metagenomic data sets, to a high-performance computing implementation that scales up to hundreds of cores and includes, in addition, a k-mer-based estimation as sensitive as the original alignment-based version but about three hundred times as fast. Further, we propose a metric of sequence diversity (Nd ) derived directly from Nonpareil curves that correlates well with alpha diversity assessed by traditional metrics. We use this metric in different experiments demonstrating the correlation with the Shannon index estimated on 16S rRNA gene profiles and show that Nd additionally reveals seasonal patterns in marine samples that are not captured by the Shannon index and more precise rankings of the magnitude of diversity of microbial communities in different habitats. Therefore, the new version of Nonpareil, called Nonpareil 3, advances the toolbox for metagenomic analyses of microbiomes. IMPORTANCE Estimation of the coverage provided by a metagenomic data set, i.e., what fraction of the microbial community was sampled by DNA sequencing, represents an essential first step of every culture-independent genomic study that aims to robustly assess the sequence diversity present in a sample. However, estimation of coverage remains elusive because of several technical limitations associated with high computational requirements and limiting statistical approaches to quantify diversity. Here we described Nonpareil 3, a new bioinformatics algorithm that circumvents several of these limitations and thus can facilitate culture-independent studies in clinical or environmental settings, independent of the sequencing platform employed. In addition, we present a new metric of sequence diversity based on rarefied coverage and demonstrate its use in communities from diverse ecosystems.
Multiscale Vehicular Expected Crashes Estimation with the Unnormalized Haar Wavelet Transform and Poisson’s Unbiased Risk Estimate

AbstractIn this paper, we present a multiscale approach to estimate the expected number of traffic crashes, (referred to here as expected crashes) from observed crash frequency data using the unnor...
Regulating Cortical Neurodynamics at Different Scales

In this paper, I review some mechanisms by which cortical neurodynamics may be regulated, at different organisational scales. We use computational methods to describe the relation between structure, dynamics and function of cortical structures, and focus here on the regulatory mechanisms at subcellular (microscopic), cellular (mesoscopic) and network (macroscopic) levels of neural systems. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the neural mechanisms responsible for changes in the neurodynamics, which include phase shifts in the cellular spiking patterns, as well as in the EEG dynamics.
Tunicamycin, an inhibitor of Bacillus peptidoglycan synthesis: A new site of inhibition

Abstract Bacillus subtilis membranes can transfer either N-acetylmuramyl-pentapeptide phosphate or N-acetylglucosaminyl phosphate from UMP directly onto undecaprenyl phosphate. Tunicamycin blocks only the latter transfer and inhibits peptidoglycan synthesis by toluenized cells of Bacillus megaterium utilizing added nucleotide sugar precursors or cell wall synthesis by intact cells of B. subtilis . Tunicamycin prevents formation of the cell wall disaccharide lipid intermediate by blocking transfer of N-acetylglucosamine onto undecaprenyl muramyl pentapeptidyl pyrophosphate.
Numerical simulations for industrial chemical research

Large-scale numerical simulations are rapidly becoming an integral part of industrial chemical research in areas such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, polymeric materials, and catalysis. The successess of this development hinges on the ability to calculate and accurately predict atomicscale properties for systems which are large enough to capture the complexity of technologically relevant compounds and materials. In addition, these simulations have to be performed within a reasonable time frame to have an impact on the industrial research activity. These three requirements, accuracy, complexity, and speed present a tremendous challenge for the theoretical formulation, the algorithmic choices, and the computational implementation. On May 24, 1991 Erich Wimmer from Cray Research reviewed the concepts, capabilities and present limitations of large-scale numerical simulation methods. He discussed highly accurate ab-initio and density functional methods, semiempirical quantum mechanical methods, and more approximative force-field approaches, which are especially useful in the study of the dynamics of proteins and DNA. He concluded with an outlook on future theoretical approaches and computational implementations.
Oral Health Needs and Experiences of Medicaid Enrollees With Serious Mental Illness.

Introduction Chronic dental diseases are among the most prevalent chronic conditions in the U.S., despite being largely preventable. Individuals with mental illness experience multiple risk factors for poor oral health and need targeted intervention. This study investigated experiences of Kansas Medicaid enrollees with serious mental illness in accessing dental services, examined their oral health risk factors, and identified oral health needs and outcomes. Methods Survey data were collected from October 2016 through February 2017 from 186 individuals in Kansas with serious mental illness enrolled in Medicaid. Data were analyzed quantitatively (descriptive and bivariate statistics) and qualitatively (for major themes). Results Despite Medicaid coverage of dental cleanings, 60.2% of respondents had not seen a dentist in the last 12 months. Reasons included out-of-pocket costs, lack of perceived need, uncertainty about coverage, difficulty accessing providers, fear of the dentist, and transportation issues. High rates of comorbid physical health conditions, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and current or former tobacco use were also observed. Conclusions Medicaid dental benefits that cover only dental cleanings and low levels of oral health knowledge create barriers to utilizing needed preventive dental care. Lack of perceived need for preventive dental services and lack of contact with dentists necessitates the development of targeted oral health promotion efforts that speak to the specific needs of this group and are disseminated in locations of frequent contact. The Medicaid population with serious mental illness would be an ideal group to target for the integration of chronic oral, physical, and mental health prevention services and control.
Microfluidic Sorting Selects Sperm for Clinical Use With Reduced DNA Damage Compared to Density Gradient Centrifugation in Split Semen Samples

Capsule Microfluidic sorting of unprocessed semen allows for the selection of clinically usable sperm with lower DNA fragmentation than standard processing. Objective To determine if microfluidic sorting improves the selection of sperm with lower DNA fragmentation over standard density-gradient centrifugation. Design Blinded, controlled laboratory study. Setting Academic medical center. Specimens Consecutively collected routine semen analysis samples (n=70). Intervention(s) For each sample, the unprocessed semen was tested for DNA fragmentation and split for processing by density-gradient centrifugation and sorting by a microfluidic chip. DNA fragmentation was assessed in unprocessed and processed samples by Sperm Chromatin Dispersion (SCD) test. Outcome Measure DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI) was calculated as number of cells with fragmented DNA divided by the number of cells counted per slide. Results The median DFI in unprocessed samples was 21% (IQR 14-30). In paired analyses of all samples, those processed by the microfluidic chip demonstrated significantly decreased DFI compared to those processed by density-gradient centrifugation and unprocessed samples. The median DFI for chip specimens was 0% (IQR 0–2.4) while those processed by density gradient centrifugation had a median DFI of 6% (IQR 2-11). Unprocessed samples in the highest DFI quartile (DFI range 31–40%) had median DFI of 15% (IQR 11–19%) after density-gradient centrifugation and DFI 0% (IQR 0–1.9%) after processing with the microfluidic chip (p = 0.02). Conclusion Microfluidic sorting of unprocessed semen allows for the selection of clinically usable, highly motile sperm with nearly undetectable levels of DNA fragmentation. Future studies will be expending the sample size, and validate if the use of chip can be translated into difference in pregnancy rates. Conflict of Interest Disclosures Utkan Demirci, Ph.D. is the Co-founder and Scientific Advisor for DxNow Inc., LevitasBio Inc., and Koek Biotech. Mitchell Rosen, M.D. is a member of the Clinical Advisory Board for DxNow Inc. Funding None.
Living With the Dragon: Acting Ethically in a World of Unintended Consequences

The book consists of a short introduction to the significance of unintended consequences and four chapters. The first chapter develops a typology of unintended consequences and distinguishes them from historical contingencies. The second chapter analyzes three types of causes of such consequences: worldly, practical and psychological causes. The third explores the significant problems these consequences pose for standard moral theories. The fourth and final chapter examines how we might begin both to think about and cope with unintended consequences in an ethically good way.
Electron-spin domains (communication arising): Magnetic enhancement of superconductivity

Movshovich et al. suggest that our calorimetric observation of the FFLO superconducting phase boundary1 and its angular dependence are inconsistent with their own data reporting the possible presence of an FFLO phase, and that we have incorrectly used magnetothermal measurements to identify the order of the FFLO transition. They also contest that the correlation of the magnetization steps with the calorimetrically identified FFLO superconducting phase of CeCoIn5 is coincidental. We consider each of these points in turn.
Phase I/II trial of BMS-986205 and nivolumab as first-line therapy in hepatocellular carcinoma.

TPS57Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a frequent cause of cancer-related death worldwide and incidence is rising. Sorafenib and lenvatinib are approved for first-line use in unresectab...
A Portable GPU Framework for SNP Comparisons

With recent improvements in DNA sequencing technologies, the amount of genetic data available for analysis has grown rapidly. The increasing size of datasets has created a demand for high performance implementations capable of processing and analyzing data in a timely manner. In addition, rapid growth in genetic data has also led to the development of more accurate analysis techniques used in DNA forensics and law enforcement. At the heart of some analyses is the comparison of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to detect the absence and/or presence of minor alleles, which has been shown to be similar to matrix-matrix multiplication from the domain of dense linear algebra. This similarity suggests that SNP comparison is embarrassingly parallel and may perform well on GPUs. In this paper, we present a portable GPU framework that allows us to leverage the CPU algorithm on GPUs to perform SNP comparisons. We demonstrate that with minor parameter changes to the framework, SNP comparison can be ported onto a variety of GPU platforms from both AMD and NVIDIA. In addition, we provide a model for defining the new parameters for a given GPU. Finally, we demonstrate performance portability across multiple GPU architectures where end-to-end (data transfer + computation) execution time is between 47% and 677% faster than a CPU implementation that is close to the theoretical peak of the CPU, and the kernel execution attains between 55% to 97% of the theoretical peak throughput of each specific GPU architecture.
Incorporating local habitat heterogeneity and productivity measures when modelling vertebrate richness

Declining species richness is a global concern; however, the coarse-scale metrics used at regional or landscape levels might not accurately represent the important habitat characteristics needed to estimate species richness. Currently, there exists a lack of knowledge with regard to the spatial extent necessary to correlate remotely sensed habitat metrics to species richness and animal surveys. We provide a protocol for determining the best scale to use when merging remotely sensed habitat and animal survey data as a step towards improving estimates of vertebrate species richness on broad scales. We test the relative importance of fine-resolution habitat heterogeneity and productivity metrics at multiple spatial scales as predictors of species richness for birds, frogs and mammals using a Bayesian approach and a combination of passive monitoring technologies. Model performance was different for each taxonomic group and dependent on the scale at which habitat heterogeneity and productivity were measured. Optimal scales included a 20-m radius for bats and frogs, an 80-m radius for birds and a 180-m radius for terrestrial mammals. Our results indicate that optimal scales do exist when merging remotely sensed habitat measures with ground-based surveys, but they differ between vertebrate groups. Additionally, the selection of a measurement scale is highly influential to our understanding of the relationships between species richness and habitat characteristics.
Home, Again: Refugee Return and Post-Conflict Violence in Burundi

Conflict between returning refugees and nonmigrant populations is a pervasive yet frequently overlooked security issue in post-conflict societies. Although scholars have demonstrated how out-migrat...