cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Racial Differences in Arterial Stiffness and Microcirculatory Function Between Black and White Americans

Background Compared with whites, black Americans suffer from a disproportionate burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD). We hypothesized that racial differences in the prevalence of CVD could be attributed, in part, to impaired vascular function in blacks after adjustment for differences in risk factor burden. Methods and Results We assessed vascular function in 385 black and 470 white subjects (mean age, 48±11 years; 45% male). Using digital pulse amplitude tonometry (EndoPAT) we estimated the reactive hyperemia index (RHI), a measure of microvascular endothelial function, and peripheral augmentation index (PAT-AIx). Central augmentation index (C-AIx) and pulse-wave velocity (PWV) were measured as indices of wave reflections and arterial stiffness, respectively, using applanation tonometry (Sphygmocor). Compared with whites, blacks had lower RHI (2.1±0.6 versus 2.3±0.6, P <0.001), greater arterial wave reflections assessed as both PAT-AIx (20.4±21.5 versus 17.0±22.4, P =0.01) and CAIx (20.8±12.3 versus 17.5±13.3, P =0.001), and greater arterial stiffness, measured as PWV (7.4±1.6 versus 7.1±1.6 m/s, P =0.001). After adjustment for traditional CVD risk factors, black race remained a significant predictor of lower RHI and higher PAT-AIx and CAIx (all P <0.001) in all subjects and of higher PWV in men ( P =0.01). Furthermore, these associations persisted in a subgroup analysis of “healthy” individuals free of CVD risk factors. Conclusion Black race is associated with impaired microvascular vasodilatory function, and greater large arterial wave reflections and stiffness. Because impairment in these vascular indices may be associated with worse long-term outcomes, they may represent underlying mechanisms for the increased CVD risk in blacks.
Laboratory investigation of photochemical oxidation of organic aerosol from wood fires 1: measurement and simulation of organic aerosol evolution

Abstract. Experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of photo-oxidation on organic aerosol (OA) emissions from flaming and smoldering hard- and soft-wood fires under plume-like conditions. This was done by exposing the dilute emissions from a small wood stove to UV light in a smog chamber and measuring the gas- and particle-phase pollutant concentrations with a suite of instruments including a Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometer (PTR-MS), an Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and a thermodenuder. The measurements highlight how atmospheric processing can lead to considerable evolution of the mass and volatility of biomass-burning OA. Photochemical oxidation produced substantial new OA, increasing concentrations by a factor of 1.5 to 2.8 after several hours of exposure to typical summertime hydroxyl radical (OH) concentrations. Less than 20% of this new OA could be explained using a state-of-the-art secondary organic aerosol model and the measured decay of traditional SOA precursors. The thermodenuder data indicate that the primary OA is semivolatile; at 50°C between 50 and 80% of the fresh primary OA evaporated. Aging reduced the volatility of the OA; at 50°C only 20 to 40% of aged OA evaporated. The predictions of a volatility basis-set model that explicitly tracks the partitioning and aging of low-volatility organics was compared to the chamber data. The OA production can be explained by the oxidation of low-volatility organic vapors; the model can also reproduce observed changes in OA volatility and composition. The model was used to investigate the competition between photochemical processing and dilution on OA concentrations in plumes.
Basic cycle generation [H]

The PL/I procedure BASIC_GENERATOR is an implementation of Paton's algorithm [1] for finding a set of basic (fundamental) cycles of a finite undirected graph from its vertex adjacency matrix.
INFORMAL INSTITUTIONS AND COMPARATIVE POLITICS: A RESEARCH AGENDA

Mainstream comparative research on political institutions focuses primarily on formal rules. Yet in many contexts, informal institutions, ranging from bureaucratic and legislative norms to clientelism and patrimonialism, shape even more strongly political behavior and outcomes. Scholars who fail to consider these informal rules of the game risk missing many of the most important incentives and constraints that underlie political behavior. In this article we develop a framework for studying informal institutions and integrating them into comparative institutional analysis. The framework is based on a typology of four patterns of formal-informal institutional interaction: complementary, accommodating, competing, and substitutive. We then explore two issues largely ignored in the literature on this subject: the reasons and mechanisms behind the emergence of informal institutions, and the nature of their stability and change. Finally, we consider challenges in research on informal institutions, including issues of identification, measurement, and comparison.Gretchen Helmke's book Courts Under Constraints: Judges, Generals, and Presidents in Argentina, will be published by Cambridge University Press. Steven Levitsky is the author of Transforming Labor-Based Parties in Latin America: Argentine Peronism in Comparative Perspective and is currently writing a book on competitive authoritarian regimes in the post–Cold War era. The authors thank the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame for generously sponsoring conferences on informal institutions. The authors also gratefully acknowledge comments from Jorge Dominguez, Anna Grzymala-Busse, Dennis Galvan, Goran Hyden, Jack Knight, Lisa Martin, Hillel Soifer, Benjamin Smith, Susan Stokes, Maria Victoria Murillo, and Kurt Weyland, as well as three anonymous reviewers and the editors of Perspectives on Politics.
Genome-wide cooperation by HAT Gcn5, remodeler SWI/SNF, and chaperone Ydj1 in promoter nucleosome eviction and transcriptional activation

Chaperones, nucleosome remodeling complexes, and histone acetyltransferases have been implicated in nucleosome disassembly at promoters of particular yeast genes, but whether these cofactors function ubiquitously, as well as the impact of nucleosome eviction on transcription genome-wide, is poorly understood. We used chromatin immunoprecipitation of histone H3 and RNA polymerase II (Pol II) in mutants lacking single or multiple cofactors to address these issues for about 200 genes belonging to the Gcn4 transcriptome, of which about 70 exhibit marked reductions in H3 promoter occupancy on induction by amino acid starvation. Examining four target genes in a panel of mutants indicated that SWI/SNF, Gcn5, the Hsp70 cochaperone Ydj1, and chromatin-associated factor Yta7 are required downstream from Gcn4 binding, whereas Asf1/Rtt109, Nap1, RSC, and H2AZ are dispensable for robust H3 eviction in otherwise wild-type cells. Using ChIP-seq to interrogate all 70 exemplar genes in single, double, and triple mutants implicated Gcn5, Snf2, and Ydj1 in H3 eviction at most, but not all, Gcn4 target promoters, with Gcn5 generally playing the greatest role and Ydj1 the least. Remarkably, these three cofactors cooperate similarly in H3 eviction at virtually all yeast promoters. Defective H3 eviction in cofactor mutants was coupled with reduced Pol II occupancies for the Gcn4 transcriptome and the most highly expressed uninduced genes, but the relative Pol II levels at most genes were unaffected or even elevated. These findings indicate that nucleosome eviction is crucial for robust transcription of highly expressed genes but that other steps in gene activation are more rate-limiting for most other yeast genes.
Efficient spatial models for predicting the occurrence of subarctic estuarine‐associated fishes: implications for management

In many of the nearshore areas where development is most likely to occur, essential fish habitat data are incomplete and there is little information on species occurrence that can be used to inform management decisions. This research investigated the use of multivariate remotely sensed geomorphic and landscape data to develop accurate predictive models of subarctic, estuarine-associated fishes. The random forest algorithm was used to predict the occurrence of 26 fish species captured in 49 estuaries in Southeast Alaska. Model prediction accuracy ranged from 100 to 42% for species presence and 87 to 15% for species absence. Model goodness of fit and accuracy were assessed by comparing the number of species occurrences predicted by the model against the observed presences and absences of species in an independent data set. Sixty percent of the models were able to predict species presence with an accuracy of 70% or better. The models were used to predict species occurrence for 521 unsampled Southeast Alaskan estuaries to provide a regional map of predicted species distributions.
Effects of Diabetes on Salivary Gland Protein Expression of Tetrahydrobiopterin and Nitric Oxide Synthesis and Function

Background: Xerostomia is defined as dry mouth resulting from a change in the amount or composition of saliva and is often a major oral health complication associated with diabetes mellitus (DM). Studies have shown that xerostomia is more common in females at the onset of DM. Evidence suggests that nitric oxide (NO) plays a critical role in healthy salivary gland function. However, the specific mechanisms by which NO regulates salivary gland function at the onset of DM have yet to be determined. This study has two aims: 1) to determine whether protein expression or dimerization of NO synthase enzymes (neuronal [nNOS] and endothelial [eNOS]) are altered in the onset of diabetic xerostomia; and 2) to determine whether the changes in nNOS/eNOS protein expression or dimerization are correlated with changes in NO cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) biosynthetic enzymes (guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase-1 and dihydrofolate reductase).Methods: Functional and Western blot studies were performed in streptozoto...
Scattering of Quasiparticles in He 3 - He 4 Mixtures

Considering the elementary excitation spectrum of ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$-${\mathrm{He}}^{4}$ mixtures to be of the form proposed by Landau and Pomeranchuk, we calculate the scattering cross section for roton and ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ quasiparticle collisions, taking final-state interactions into account. Our theory demonstrates the importance of final-state interactions in renormalizing the roton energy and lifetime. Previous theories based on the Born approximation are shown to give unreliable results for the change of the energy and lifetime for rotons in dilute ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$-${\mathrm{He}}^{4}$ mixtures owing to roton-${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ scattering. We obtain upper bounds on the changes in the energy and lifetime of a roton as a function of the roton-${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ coupling strength, using a simplified model for the coupling. These bounds give an insignificant change of the roton energy with the ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ concentration and thus explain recent neutron-scattering and Raman data on the mixtures. Effects of level repulsion between rotons and the ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ quasiparticle-hole continuum are calculated, and estimated to be small on the basis of recent Raman data. However, decay of a roton into a ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ quasiparticle-hole pair may give rise to an interesting concentration dependence of the roton linewidth. Further experimental studies of the mixtures are suggested, which may check the detailed predictions of the theory and provide insight into the momentum dependence of the coupling parameters. The present analysis represents an essential link between microscopic theories of the quasiparticle coupling and related experiments on dilute ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$-${\mathrm{He}}^{4}$ mixtures.
Probing the buried Pb/Si(111) interface with SPA LEED and STM on Si(111)-Pbα√3×√3

High resolution spot profile analysis low energy electron diffraction (SPA-LEED) and variable temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) have been used to observe the growth of Pb on the Pb/Si(111)-α√3×√3 phase, which is driven by quantum size effects (QSE). A change in the rotation of the Pb grown islands with respect to the Si substrate has been observed with increasing coverage θ. At lower coverage, separated two-step islands are grown and are aligned with the [110] axis of the substrate. With increasing coverage above 1.5 ML, of the islands coalesce and form a bilayer, with additional islands grown on top. The preferred Pb island orientation changes to 5.6° with respect to the [110] direction. These changes at the metal/semiconductor buried interface are obtained both with SPA LEED and STM as changes to the period of the Moire pattern. The method of analysis of the corrugation period and rotation angle of the Moire pattern measured with diffraction and STM can be applied to obtain the structure of buried metal/substrate interfaces in other epitaxial systems.
Gifted Identification and the Role of Gifted Education: A Commentary on "Evaluating the Gifted Program of an Urban School District Using a Modified Regression Discontinuity Design".

The article by Davis, Engberg, Epple, Sieg, and Zimmer (2010) represents one of the recent research efforts from economists in evaluating the impact of gifted programs. It can serve as a worked exa...
Psychometric Properties of a Social Skills Assessment using a Virtual Environment

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is a marked and persistent fear of social and/or performance situations in which embarrassment or scrutiny from others may occur. One form of behavioral assessment is a Role Play Task (RPT). However, RPTs often are not feasible in clinical settings due to the common obstacles in implementation. Thus, the current study examines the feasibility, acceptability and psychometric properties of a virtual environment based social skills assessment compared to the traditional RPT. Forty-six children, ages 7 to 14, participated in two assessment conditions: RPT and a virtual environment behavioral assessment (VE BAT). Participants reported self-ratings of anxiety and acceptability, while blinded observers rated social skills and overall social anxiety. An ANCOVA, covarying for age, revealed (a) no significant task difference for voice volume, speech latency, number of words spoken, effectiveness, and SAM ratings; (b) that the VE BAT was more feasible to implement in terms of personnel time and costs and; (c) more overall anxiety during the RPT task than during the VE BAT task. In addition, the VE BAT demonstrated moderate concurrent validity when correlating the self-report ratings of anxiety with the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C). The current study addresses many of the impediments to conducting RPTs in a clinical setting and, overall, supports the utilization of VE BATS as a viable alternative for the behavioral assessment of social skills in children. Further implications address the potential for the armamentarium for social skills training with children with SAD.
“Feeding the Revolution”: the Black Panther Party, Hunger, and Community Survival

This article situates concerns of hunger and food access at the center of Black Panther Party efforts to organize poor black communities in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Beginning with free breakfast programs for schoolchildren, Panther community food initiatives, the most celebrated of the Party’s “survival programs,” worked to neutralize the power of hunger to inhibit the physical development, educational advancement, and political engagement of the urban poor. In conceptualizing and executing these projects, the Panthers forged unlikely alliances while sparking persistent police and FBI repression. Programs and campaigns such as these acknowledged and resisted the function of hunger in maintaining structures of white privilege and black oppression, politicizing hunger and malnutrition by framing them as intended outcomes of institutional racism.
Female gonadal hormone effects on microglial activation and functional outcomes in a mouse model of moderate traumatic brain injury.

Female gonadal hormone effects on microglial activation and functional outcomes in a mouse model of moderate traumatic brain injury
Social Structure, Redistribution, and Democratic Transitions

The theoretical argument suggests that when the conditions for ethnic politics are met, some rich – those in the winning group – benefit from government distribution, and some poor – those in the losing group – are excluded from government redistribution. By contrast, when the conditions for class politics are met, all of the nonrich receive distributive benefits, while the rich all receive none. Thus, the extent to which electoral politics encourage government actions that reduce inequality should depend on the conditions that encourage ethnic and class politics, and thus on inequality, ethnic polarization, and their interaction. Chapter 8 noted that the interaction between inequality and ethnic polarization could manifest itself in different ways that are consistent with the theoretical model. In the analysis of ethnic voting, which included a quite broad range of countries, I found that when ethnic diversity was low, there was a strong effect of inequality on ethnification of party systems. As ethnic diversity increased, the estimated effect of inequality on voting decreased. This is consistent with the idea that when it is possible to form a relatively small electoral majority based on ethnic groups, inequality has little effect on voting outcomes because there are incentives for ethnic politics at almost any level of inequality. As societies become more homogeneous, inequality should become more salient, with greater inequality tipping politics in the direction of ethnic rather than class coalitions. Thus, the effect of inequality on ethnic voting should be positive, but it should decline as the ethnic diversity of society increases, disappearing when society is sufficiently diverse that it's difficult for class politics to prevail at any level of inequality. If patterns of redistribution reflect these voting patterns, then we should see the same type of interaction between inequality and ethnic diversity. When ethnic polarization is relatively low, inequality should have a relatively strong negative relationship with redistribution, with more inequality leading to less redistribution. As ethnic diversity increases, the relationship between inequality and redistribution should weaken.
Optimal Length of Play for a Binomial Game

In a game where A plays against B, how many trials should A choose to play to maximize his chance of success?
A Biomechanical Analysis of 2 Constructs for Metacarpal Spiral Fracture Fixation in a Cadaver Model: 2 Large Screws Versus 3 Small Screws.

Purpose Surgeons confronted with a long spiral metacarpal fracture may choose to fix it solely with lagged screws. A biomechanical analysis of a metacarpal spiral fracture model was performed to determine whether 3 1.5-mm screws or 2 2.0-mm screws provided more stability during bending and torsional loading. Methods Second and third metacarpals were harvested from 12 matched pairs of fresh-frozen cadaveric hands and spiral fractures were created. One specimen from each matched pair was fixed with 2 2.0-mm lagged screws whereas the other was fixed with 3 1.5-mm lagged screws. Nine pairs underwent combined cyclic cantilever bending and axial compressive loading followed by loading to failure. Nine additional pairs were subjected to cyclic external rotation while under a constant axial compressive load and were subsequently externally rotated to failure under a constant axial compressive load. Paired t tests were used to compare cyclic creep, stiffness, displacement, rotation, and peak load levels. Results Average failure torque for all specimens was 7.2 ± 1.7 Nm. In cyclic torsional testing, the group with 2 screws exhibited significantly less rotational creep than the one with 3 screws. A single specimen in the group with 2 screws failed before cyclic bending tests were completed. No other significant differences were found between test groups during torsional or bending tests. Conclusions Both constructs were biomechanically similar except that the construct with 2 screws displayed significantly less loosening during torsional cyclic loading, although the difference was small and may not be clinically meaningful. Clinical relevance Because we found no obvious biomechanical advantage to using 3 1.5-mm lagged screws to fix long spiral metacarpal fractures, the time efficiency and decreased implant costs of using 2-2.0 mm lagged screws may be preferred.
Considerations in sagittal evaluation of the scoliotic spine

To predict the sagittal spinal parameters as measured in a 3D model of the spine using the 2D radiographic measurements. Bi-planar low-dose stereoradiography images of 73 right thoracic AIS patients were processed to generate 3D models of the spine and pelvis. T1–T12 kyphosis, L1–S1 lordosis, and pelvic rotation were calculated using these 3D models. With the same X-rays, T1–T12 kyphosis, L1–S1 lordosis, thoracic and lumbar frontal curves, and pelvic rotation (calculated from the frontal and sagittal distances between the femoral heads) were manually measured on the X-rays by two independent observers. 3D sagittal parameters were predicted from only 2D sagittal parameters (simple regression) and from 2D sagittal parameters, 2D frontal parameters, and pelvic rotation (multiple regression). The simple and multiple regression models were compared for efficiency and accuracy of prediction. Comparing single and multiple regression models, multiple regression improved the prediction of the 3D sagittal parameters for kyphosis (R2 = 0.78–0.86) and lordosis (R2 = 0.88–0.92) measurements when compared to simple regression. The impact of pelvic rotation was significant when 2D kyphosis was higher than 40° and thoracic curve was less than 60° or 2D kyphosis was less than 40° and thoracic curve was higher than 60°, p < 0.05. Lordosis of 60° and higher were more prone to measurement error when pelvic rotation was present, p < 0.05. Both pelvic rotation and frontal deformity affect the accuracy of the 2D sagittal measurements of the scoliotic spine. We suggest the importance of the 3D considerations in sagittal evaluation of AIS.
Disruption of Hox9,10,11 function results in cellular level lineage infidelity in the kidney

Hox genes are important regulators of development. The 39 mammalian Hox genes have considerable functional overlap, greatly confounding their study. In this report, we generated mice with multiple combinations of paralogous and flanking Abd-B Hox gene mutations to investigate functional redundancies in kidney development. The resulting mice developed a number of kidney abnormalities, including hypoplasia, agenesis, and severe cysts, with distinct Hox functions observed in early metanephric kidney formation and nephron progenitor maintenance. Most surprising, however, was that extensive removal of Hox shared function in these kidneys resulted in cellular level lineage infidelity. Strikingly, mutant nephron tubules consisted of intermixed cells with proximal tubule, loop of Henle, and collecting duct identities, with some single cells expressing markers associated with more than one nephron segment. These results indicate that Hox genes are required for proper lineage selection/maintenance and full repression of genes involved in cell fate restriction in the developing kidney.
MODULES OVER PIDs THAT ARE INJECTIVE OVER THEIR ENDOMORPHISM RINGS

This chapter describes the modules over PIDs that are injective over their endomorphism rings. An abelian group is called algebraically compact if it is pure injective as a Z -module. This is one of the few tractable classes of abelian groups. The chapter presents a complete structure theory. It is found that an injective module over any ring E is algebraically compact as an abelian group. The additive group of any pure—injective E —module is algebraically compact. The question of deciding as to which (algebraically compact) groups can be additive groups of injective modules remains open, but those abelian groups G that are injective when viewed as modules over their endomorphism rings E ( G ) are characterized. It is assumed that R is a principal ideal domain and K its quotient field. It is observed that if p ∈ R is a prime, the completion of R in the p -adic topology is denoted by R , its quotient field is denoted by K , and the rank-one divisible torsion R p -module, K p /R p , is denoted by R p∞ .
Anti-3-[F18] FACBC uptake pattern in the prostate affects positive predictive value and is associated with the presence of brachytherapy seeds

346 Objectives Anti-3-[F18] FACBC is a synthetic amino acid PET radiotracer with utility in the detection of recurrent prostate cancer (Radiology 2011;259:852). Yet, there is relatively higher false positivity in evaluation of disease in the prostate compared with extraprostatic locations. Our aim was to determine if FACBC positive predictive value (PPV) in the prostate is affected by such factors as the pattern of tracer uptake and/or the presence of brachytherapy seeds. Methods 83 patients with suspected recurrent cancer after non-radical prostatectomy initial therapy (42 brachytherapy; 41 non-brachytherapy) who were interpreted as positive for prostate recurrence after FACBC PET/CT were included. Patients were divided into heterogeneous or focal/multifocal distribution patterns based on 17 min post FACBC injection images, and whole prostate SUVmax was recorded. Truth was determined by histology and clinical consensus. PPVs% were calculated. Results Pattern of distribution was 43/83 heterogeneous, 40/83 focal/multifocal. Higher SUVmax was associated with focal/multifocal distribution. Mean SUVmax±SD was 6.0±2.1 for focal/multifocal and 4.2±1.2 for heterogeneous (P Conclusions FACBC heterogeneous tracer distribution pattern exhibits lower SUVmax, lower PPV, and also is associated with the presence of brachytherapy seeds. We are currently studying if modified interpretative criteria in these groups will improve diagnostic performance. Research Support Research sponsored by the NIH (1 R01 CA 129356-01) and the Georgia Cancer Coalition.
MTA1 drives malignant progression and bone metastasis in prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer often metastasizes to the bone, leading to morbidity and mortality. While metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1) is highly overexpressed in metastatic tumors and bone metastatic lesions, its exact role in the development of metastasis is unknown. Here, we report the role of MTA1 in prostate cancer progression and bone metastasis in vitro and in vivo. We found that MTA1 silencing diminished formation of bone metastases and impaired tumor growth in intracardiac and subcutaneous prostate cancer xenografts, respectively. This was attributed to reduced colony formation, invasion, and migration capabilities of MTA1 knockdown cells. Mechanistic studies revealed that MTA1 silencing led to a significant decrease in the expression of cathepsin B (CTSB), a cysteine protease critical for bone metastasis, with an expected increase in the levels of E-cadherin in both cells and xenograft tumors. Moreover, meta-analysis of clinical samples indicated a positive correlation between MTA1 and CTSB. Together, these results demonstrate the critical role of MTA1 as an upstream regulator of CTSB-mediated events associated with cell invasiveness and raise the possibility that targeting MTA1/CTSB signaling in the tumor may prevent the development of bone metastasis in prostate cancer.
iCFN: an efficient exact algorithm for multistate protein design.

Motivation Multistate protein design addresses real-world challenges, such as multi-specificity design and backbone flexibility, by considering both positive and negative protein states with an ensemble of substates for each. It also presents an enormous challenge to exact algorithms that guarantee the optimal solutions and enable a direct test of mechanistic hypotheses behind models. However, efficient exact algorithms are lacking for multistate protein design. Results We have developed an efficient exact algorithm called interconnected cost function networks (iCFN) for multistate protein design. Its generic formulation allows for a wide array of applications such as stability, affinity and specificity designs while addressing concerns such as global flexibility of protein backbones. iCFN treats each substate design as a weighted constraint satisfaction problem (WCSP) modeled through a CFN; and it solves the coupled WCSPs using novel bounds and a depth-first branch-and-bound search over a tree structure of sequences, substates, and conformations. When iCFN is applied to specificity design of a T-cell receptor, a problem of unprecedented size to exact methods, it drastically reduces search space and running time to make the problem tractable. Moreover, iCFN generates experimentally-agreeing receptor designs with improved accuracy compared with state-of-the-art methods, highlights the importance of modeling backbone flexibility in protein design, and reveals molecular mechanisms underlying binding specificity. Availability and implementation https://shen-lab.github.io/software/iCFN. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Glucose Drives Growth Factor-Independent Esophageal Cancer Proliferation via Phosphohistidine-Focal Adhesion Kinase Signaling.

Background & Aims Most targeted therapies against cancer are designed to block growth factor–stimulated oncogenic growth. However, response rates are low, and resistance to therapy is high. One mechanism might relate to the ability of tumor cells to induce growth factor–independent proliferation (GFIP). This project aims to understand how (1) cancer cells preferentially derive a major growth advantage by using critical metabolic products of glucose, such as phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP), to drive proliferation and (2) esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cells, but not esophageal adenocarcinoma cells, can induce GFIP by using glycolysis to activate phosphohistidine (poHis)-mediated signaling through focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Methods The hypothesis to be tested is that ESCC GFIP induced by glucose is facilitated by PEP-mediated histidine phosphorylation (poHis) of FAK, leading to the possibility that ESCC progression can be targeted by blocking poHis signaling. Biochemical, molecular biological, and in vivo experiments including bromodeoxyuridine/5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine labeling, radioisotope tracing, CRISPR gene editing, and analysis of signaling gene sets in human cancer tissues and xenograft models were performed to define the mechanisms underlying ESCC GFIP. Results Glucose promotes growth factor–independent DNA replication and accumulation of PEP in ESCC cells. PEP is the direct phospho-donor to poHis58-FAK within a known “HG” motif for histidine phosphorylation. Glucose-induced poHis58 promotes growth factor–independent FAK-mediated proliferation. Furthermore, glucose activates phosphatidylinositol-3′-kinase/AKT via poHis58-FAK signaling. Non-phosphorylatable His58A-FAK reduces xenograft growth. Conclusions Glucose induces ESCC, but not esophageal adenocarcinoma GFIP via PEP-His58-FAK-AKT signaling. ESCC progression is controlled by actionable growth factor–independent, glucose-induced pathways that regulate proliferation through novel histidine phosphorylation of FAK.
Commercial Viability Evaluation of the Suborbital Space Tourism Industry

Abstract This article provides an evaluation of the commercial viability of the suborbital tourism market while considering the large uncertainties in the current demand predictions. Since it is un...
Nail Changes in Sézary Syndrome: A Single-Center Study and Review of the Literature.

Background:The onychodystrophies associated with Sezary syndrome (SzS) have rarely been described in the literature. We performed a retrospective analysis of SzS patients at a single institution an...
Resveratrol (3, 5, 4'-Trihydroxy-trans-Stilbene) Attenuates a Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis by Altering the miR-124/Sphingosine Kinase 1 Axis in Encephalitogenic T Cells in the Brain.

Resveratrol (3,5,4′-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) (RES) is a naturally-derived phytoestrogen found in the skins of red grapes and berries and has potential as a novel and effective therapeutic agent. In the current study, we investigated the role of microRNA (miRNA) in RES-mediated attenuation of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of multiple sclerosis. Administration of RES effectively decreased disease severity, including inflammation and central nervous system immune cell infiltration. miRNA microarray analysis revealed an altered miRNA profile in encephalitogenic CD4+ T cells from EAE mice exposed to RES treatment. Additionally, bioinformatics and in silico pathway analysis suggested the involvement of RES-induced miRNA in pathways and processes that regulated cellular proliferation. Additional studies confirmed that RES affected cell cycle progression and apoptosis in activated T cells, specifically in the brain. RES treatment significantly upregulated miR-124 during EAE, while suppressing associated target gene, sphingosine kinase 1 (SK1), and this too was specific to mononuclear cells in the brains of treated mice, as peripheral immune cells remained unaltered upon RES treatment. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that RES treatment leads to amelioration of EAE development through mechanism(s) potentially involving suppression of neuroinflammation via alteration of the miR-124/SK1 axis, thereby halting cell-cycle progression and promoting apoptosis in activated encephalitogenic T cells.
Idiopathic and Heritable Pulmonary Hypertension in Children: New Insights into Causes, Evaluation, and Treatment

Over the past decade, major progress has occurred in the care of children and adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Recent insights into molecular mechanisms implicated in the developm...
A Framework to Assess the Effectiveness of IMF Technical Assistance in National Accounts

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of technical assistance provided by AFRITAC West (AFW) in the area of national accounts using the Fund's Technical Assistance Information Management System (TAIMS). The challenge has been to report on "ultimate outcomes" (i.e., the production and dissemination of national accounts statistics along best international practices) rather than on "inputs" (i.e., the number of national accounts missions fielded by AFW), as it has been the case to date. The paper concludes that the "ultimate outcome" of producing and disseminating robust national accounts is work in progress, with AFW's technical assistance efforts mainly focusing on source data assessments and methodological issues underpinning the compilation of national accounts. The pending challenge is to further support a more timely production and dissemination of national accounts data, as recommended in the Data ROSCs and by the IMF mission teams to AFW member countries.
Suboptimal uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in survivors of childhood and adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer.

To estimate the population-based incidence of HPV vaccination after childhood cancer. Pediatric and young adult cancer survivors identified in the institutional Comprehensive Cancer Center registry were linked to the North Carolina Immunization Registry (NCIR). Initiation and completion of any HPV vaccine was evaluated in survivors born between 1984 and 2002 with an NCIR record by December 2014. Descriptive statistics and Kaplan-Meier estimates of cumulative incidence were stratified by sex and age at eligibility for vaccine. Cox proportional hazards were conducted and stratified by sex. Among 879 (n = 428 female; n = 451 male) study-eligible cancer survivors without prior HPV vaccination (n = 501 < 18 years, n = 378 ≥ 18 years at the time of eligibility), the cumulative incidence of HPV vaccine initiation following cancer therapy was 48.1% among females at 8.2 years and 29.2% among males at 5.0 years after vaccine eligibility among those < 18 years, and 6.2% among females at 8.1 years and 2.0% among males at 4.2 years after vaccine eligibility among those ≥ 18 years. Among those who initiated vaccination, 53% of females and 43% of males completed a 3-dose series. Younger age at cancer diagnosis (≤ 10 and 11–14 years vs. ≥ 15 years) and shorter interval from diagnosis to vaccine eligibility were more likely to initiate vaccination in models adjusted for age at eligibility, race/ethnicity, cancer type, relapse, and transplant. Despite the benefit of a cancer prevention strategy, cancer survivors are sub-optimally vaccinated against HPV. Immunization registries can help oncologists and primary care providers identify gaps in vaccination and target HPV vaccine delivery in survivors.
Promoting Cumulation in models of the human mind

Lee et al. (2019) address a critical issue in cognitive science—defining scientific practices that will promote rigor and confidence in our science by ensuring that our mechanisms, models, and theories are adequately described and validated to facilitate replication and to foster trust. They provide a number of concrete suggestions to advance our science along that path. The recommendations emphasize preregistration of models and predictions combined with more comprehensive model evaluation, including published descriptions of exploratory analyses, alternative mechanisms, and model assumptions. These are excellent recommendations, and general adoption of such practices will benefit model assessment and validation methodologies in cognitive science research while improving trust in published reports of computational and mathematical accounts of cognitive phenomena. However, it is unclear that these strategies alone will resolve many other important challenges faced in developing quantitative theories of human cognition and behavior. For example, addressing the crisis of confidence will not, by itself, move the science toward the broader goal of developing more comprehensive and cumulative theories of the nature of the human mind. Cognitive modeling is a critical methodology for achieving that goal. However, to realize the potential will require changes not only to how we evaluate our models, but also to how we measure progress and scientific contribution.
A Climatology of the Extratropical Flow Response to Recurving Atlantic Tropical Cyclones

AbstractPrevious case studies have noted a significant extratropical flow response to recurving Atlantic tropical cyclones (TCs), which is often linked to extreme weather events downstream. This st...
Alcohol Use Disorder Among Adults Recovered From Substance Use Disorders.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Alcohol use is often overlooked and underestimated among patients recovered from substance dependence. The prevalence and correlates of alcohol use disorder (AUD) among adults recovered from substance use disorders (SUDs) are estimated in this study. METHODS A nationally representative cross-sectional analysis of the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions Wave-III was used in this study. Survey respondents, aged 18 or older, who recovered from SUDs, based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) criteria (n = 2061 unweighted), were included. A total of three comparison groups were identified using DSM-5 criteria (1) current AUD, (2) former AUD, and (3) never had AUD. The prevalence of these groups was estimated; medical and psychiatric comorbidities and health-related quality of life were compared; and factors associated with having a current AUD when compared with those with former AUD and those who never had AUD were examined, controlling for other covariates. RESULTS About 5.7% of US adults, nationally representative of 14.2 million, have been reported to have recovered from past SUDs. Of these, 28.9% met criteria for current AUD and 48.4% had former AUD. When compared with those who never had AUD, factors associated with having a current AUD included the following: living in urban areas (P = .019), having a bipolar 1 disorder (P < .001), and a history of lifetime incarceration (P = .004). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION Nearly one-third of adults recovered from SUDs had current AUD, and several behavioral factors were associated with having a current AUD when compared with those who never had AUD. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE Our study highlights the substantial risk of AUD in adults who have successfully recovered from SUDs. (Am J Addict 2020;00:00-00).
Severe Gastrointestinal Involvement in Pediatric Stevens-Johnson Syndrome: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis form a rare but severe disease spectrum characterized by widespread epidermal detachment. Gastrointestinal manifestations of the disease, however, are rarely described in the pediatric literature and have a high mortality among adults. There are limited data on the treatment of these cases, with conflicting evidence regarding the benefit of steroids, IVIG, or other immunosuppressive agents. We review previous instances of gastrointestinal involvement in children and report the case of a previously healthy 13-year-old who presented with the typical ocular and skin findings of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, subsequently developed severe life-threatening diarrhea, and was found to have severe esophagitis, duodenitis, and colitis on endoscopic evaluation. Treatment was initiated with an immediate, short course of steroids along with early introduction of an enteral diet via nasogastric tube, and resulted in full gastrointestinal recovery. This case highlights successful medical treatment of the first reported pediatric case of SJS/TEN with both upper and lower gastrointestinal tract involvement.
Reflections of (Dis)location: What is “Intercultural Communication” in Transnational Higher Education English-Medium Instruction?:

Debates around the impact of English-medium instruction (EMI) as part of transnational higher education (TNHE) typically focus on macro-level impacts on host country languages, cultures, and econom...
Two-Track Mind: Formulaic and Novel Language Support a Dual-Process Model

This chapter presents a historical and critical survey of phraseology, the study of formulaic language, in the context of analytic, experimental, and biological approaches. It begins with Weinreich’s (1969) early reluctance to explore the topic in a scholarly way and follows a circuitous path through linguistic, psychological, and neurological studies, culminating in current views of formulaic language as an integral component of speech performance and language competence (Fillmore, 1979; Locke & Bogin, 2006; Pawley & Syder, 1983). Linguistic and psychological studies have grappled with the question of whether idioms (as a prime example of a formulaic expression) are best described as compositional, i.e., composed of constituent parts, or unitary, i.e., processed as whole units. The preponderance of the evidence supports a dual-process model of language, whereby novel expressions and formulaic expressions differ essentially in how they are learned or acquired, stored, and processed (Kempler & Van Lancker, 1993; Kuiper, 2009; Van Lancker Sidtis, 1973, 2004, 2008; Wray & Perkins, 2000). Novel expressions are made up of lexical items assembled by grammatical rules; these communicate new information. In contrast, formulaic expressions, known in their unitary shape to the language user, are acquired and processed according to unique properties. Biological studies provide strong evidence for this distinction, as damage to different brain areas produces different effects on the two modes of language, novel (or propositional) and formulaic (Van Lancker Sidtis, Kempler, Ahn, & Yang, 2011). It is the purpose of this chapter to describe and clarify this distinction.
Gamma-phosphate-linked ATP-sepharose for the affinity purification of protein kinases. Rapid purification to homogeneity of skeletal muscle mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase.

Recently, Sowadski and colleagues [Knighton, D.R., Zheng, J., Eyck, L.F.T., Ashford, V.A., Xuong, N., Taylor, S.S. & Sowadski, J.M. (1991) Science 407, 407-420] reported the structure of a ternary complex of the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (cyclic A kinase), MgATP and a 20-residue inhibitor peptide, at a resolution of 0.27 nm. This structure has since been refined to 0.2-nm resolution and the orientation of the nucleotide and interactions of MgATP with numerous conserved residues at the active site defined [Zheng, J., Knighton, D.R., Eyck, L.F.T., Karlsson, R., Xuong, N., Taylor, S.S. & Sowadski, J.M. (1993) Biochemistry, in the press]. These studies revealed that the adenosine portion of ATP is buried deep within the catalytic cleft, with the alpha, beta and gamma phosphates protruding towards the opening of the cleft. The unique spatial positioning of MgATP within the catalytic cleft of cyclic A kinase and its interactions with conserved amino acids found in all protein kinases, led us to reconsider the use of ATP as an affinity ligand for the purification of these enzymes. In this paper, we describe a straightforward method for the synthesis of [gamma-32P]adenosine-5'-(gamma-4-aminophenyl)triphosphate for the covalent linkage of ATP to Sepharose through its gamma phosphate. In the presence of 20 microM ATP, adenosine-5'-(gamma-4-aminophenyl)triphosphate exhibited apparent Ki values of 103.6, 75.18, 176.28 and 120.00 microM against cyclic A kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase (p42mapk), mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase and p60c-src, respectively. To illustrate the effectiveness of adenosine-5'-(gamma-4-aminophenyl)triphosphate-Sepharose as an affinity column for protein kinases, we have used the resin to purify rabbit skeletal muscle mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase over 19000-fold to homogeneity.
Continuation of the Wave Function for Higher Angular Momentum States toDDimensions: I. The Generalized Schwartz Expansion

Extending the techniques of dimensional scaling to higher angular momentum states of multi-electron atoms requires the derivation, from the Schrodinger equation, of a tractable set of differential equations which admit continuation in the spatial dimensionD. This derivation centers on “factoring out,” inDdimensions, the rotational degrees of freedom from the internal degrees of freedom in the wave function. A solution to this problem, by generalizing the Schwartz expansion (Schwartz,Phys. Rev.123, 1700 (1961)) toNelectrons inDdimensions, is presented. The generalization to systems with particles of arbitrary masses is straightforward.
Interactions of chemical carcinogens and genetic variation in hepatocellular carcinoma

In the etiology of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), in addition to hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus infections, chemical carcinogens also play important roles. For example, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) epoxide reacts with guanine in DNA and can lead to genetic changes. In HCC, the tumor suppressor gene p53 codon 249 mutation is associated with AFB1 exposure and mutations in the K-ras oncogene are related to vinyl chloride exposure. Numerous genetic alterations accumulate during the process of hepatocarcinogenesis. Chemical carcinogen DNA-adduct formation is the basis for these genetic changes and also a molecular marker which reflects exposure level and biological effects. Metabolism of chemical carcinogens, including their activation and detoxification, also plays a key role in chemical hepatocarcinogenesis. Cytochrome p450 enzymes, N-acetyltransferases and glutathione S-transferases are involved in activating and detoxifying chemical carcinogens. These enzymes are polymorphic and genetic variation influences biological response to chemical carcinogens. This genetic variation has been postulated to influence the variability in risk for HCC observed both within and across populations. Ongoing studies seek to fully understand the mechanisms by which genetic variation in response to chemical carcinogens impacts on HCC risk.