cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Are the fossil data really at odds with the molecular data? Morphological evidence for cetartiodactyla phylogeny reexamined.

The phylogenetic position of Cetacea within the mammalian tree has long been a subject of debate. The traditional paleontological view is that an extinct order of mammals, the Mesonychia, is the sister taxon to Cetacea (e.g., Van Valen, 1966; Prothero et al., 1988). This view has recently been supported by morphological studies that examined both fossil and extant material (Geisler and Luo, 1998; O’Leary and Geisler, 1999). The molecular evidence, by contrast, supports a phylogenetic hypothesis in which Cetacea is nested deeply within the Artiodactyla, implying that Artiodactyla is paraphyletic with respect to Cetacea (Sarich, 1985; Milinkovitch et al., 1993; Gatesy et al., 1999, and references therein). Furthermore, several molecular studies have suggested that hippopotamids are the sister taxon to Cetacea (e.g., Irwin and Arnason, 1994; Gatesy et al., 1996; Gatesy, 1997, 1998; Montgelard et al., 1997; Nikaido et al., 1999). Although the “return to water” aspect of this phylogenetic hypothesis has a certain intuitive appeal, it has met with resistance from those who work primarily with morphology (e.g., Geisler and Luo, 1998; O’Leary andGeisler, 1999; O’Leary, 1999). Despite the resurgent interest in the problem, no consensus reconciling the different signals has yet been reached. Obviously, a serious limitation of molecular data is that this information cannot be gathered from the fossil remains of extinct taxa. In contrast, fossils can play an important role in recovering phylogeny inmorphological studies, often providing information about character states of stem lineages that POPPER, K. 1992. Realism and the aim of science. Routledge, London. SIDDALL, M. E., AND M. F. WHITING . 1999. Long branch abstractions. Cladistics 15:9–24.
Mutation of the Splice Acceptor Sites at the 5’End of Exon 2 of H-2Kd and H-2Dd Results in the Expression of Altered Class I Antigens Expressed on the Membrane of L Cells

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antiens are highly polymorphic proteins expressed on the surface of most murine cells. These glycoproteins have a molecular weight of 37–45,000 daltons and are noncovalently associated with the nonpolymorphic β2-microglobulin light chain. The classical transplantation antigens H-2K, -D, and -L serve as restriction elements for viral and tumor antigens and thereby allow the specific recognition of target cells by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL).
Exploring the Contribution of Collective Motions to the Dynamics of Forced-Unfolding in Tubulin

Decomposition of the intrinsic dynamics of proteins into collective motions among distant regions of the protein structure provides a physically appealing approach that couples the dynamics of the system with its functional role. The cellular functions of microtubules (an essential component of the cytoskeleton in all eukaryotic cells) depend on their dynamic instability, which is altered by various factors among which applied forces are central. To shed light on the coupling between forces and the dynamic instability of microtubules, we focus on the investigation of the response of the microtubule subunits (tubulin) to applied forces. We address this point by adapting an approach designed to survey correlations for the equilibrium dynamics of proteins to the case of correlations for proteins forced-dynamics. The resulting collective motions in tubulin have a number of functional implications, such as the identification of long-range couplings with a role in blocking the dynamic instability of microtubules. A fundamental implication of our study for the life of a cell is that, to increase the likelihood of unraveling of large cytoskeletal filaments under physiological forces, molecular motors must use a combination of pulling and torsion rather than just pulling.
A Comparison of a Single Receiver and a Multi-Receiver Techniques to Mitigate Partial Band Interference

Many acoustic channels suffer from interference which is neither narrowband nor impulsive. This relatively long duration partial band interference can be particularly detrimental to system performance. We survey recent work in interference mitigation as background motivation to develop a spatial diversity receiver for use in underwater networks and compare this novel multi-receiver interference mitigation strategy with a recently developed single receiver interference mitigation algorithm using experimental data collected from the underwater acoustic network at the Atlantic Underwater Test and Evaluation Center. The network consists of multiple distributed cabled hydrophones that receive data transmitted over a time-varying multipath channel in the presence of partial band interference produced by interfering active sonar signals. In operational networks, many "dropped" messages are lost due to partial band interference which corrupts different portions of the received signal depending on the relative position of the interferers, information source and receivers due to the slow speed of propagation.
Wallace, Darwin and Ternate 1858

Recent debates on the mailing date of Alfred Russel Wallace's ‘Ternate essay’ to Charles Darwin in the spring of 1858 have ignored certain details that, once taken into account, alter the matter considerably. Here, a closer look is taken at the critical question of whether Wallace's manuscript-accompanying letter represented a reply to the Darwin letter that arrived in Ternate on 9 March; it is concluded that it very probably did not.
Discussion on the Mechanism of Electromigration from the Perspective of Electromagnetism

The mechanism of electromigration is discussed from the perspective of electromagnetism, rather than from the traditional view of momentum exchange owing to collisions between electrons and diffusing ions. It is suggested that, from the perspective of conservation of momentum, the momentum transferred to the diffusing ions is related to the Maxwell stress, and the effective charge is proportional to the density of the net charge within the volume element. It is also suggested that, from Poynting’s theorem, the energy associated with electromigration is related to the work done by the electric field, and the conversion of the nonelectrostatic energy from the electric power source into the chemical energy of the diffusion system. From both perspectives, the effective driving force can be shown to have a square dependence on the current density. Therefore, it is suggested that the effective charge number is linearly related to the current density.
Early pro-inflammatory cytokine elevations in the DBA/2J mouse model of glaucoma.

Background Neuroinflammation—astrogliosis, microglial activation, and changes in cytokine signaling—is a prominent feature of neurodegenerative disorders. Glaucoma is a group of chronic neurodegenerative conditions that make up the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Neuroinflammation has been postulated to play a significant role in the pathogenesis and progression of glaucomatous neurodegeneration. Though much is known regarding inflammation in the eye in glaucoma, little is known about cytokine activity outside of the retina where pathologies develop early.
Metadata Implementation for Building Cross- Institutional Repositories: Lessons Learned from the Liberal Arts Scholarly Repository (LASR)

Institutional repositories are an exciting innovation in scholarly communication. Liberal arts institutions have a specific mission and a unique opportunity to create a repository collection that reflects this tradition. However, the challenges of cost, staffing, infrastructure, standardized metadata, and content recruitment that are part and parcel of developing institutional repositories may be daunting to individual liberal arts institutions. The idea that multiple, like-minded institutions could join forces to share their efforts, unique challenges, and maximize their efficiencies grew into the Liberal Arts Scholarly Repository (LASR). In order for the group to form, we first agreed upon a mission, collections policies, and technical specifications including metadata best practices to ensure the interoperability and facilitate searching of the repository. This article outlines the history of the project and the process of collaborating on metadata standards.
Adrenomedullin improves cardiac function and prevents renal damage in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Adrenomedullin (AM) is a potent vasodilating peptide and is involved in cardiovascular and renal disease. In the present study, we investigated the role of AM in cardiac and renal function in strep...
Analysis of microwave rewarming of cryopreserved tissues

All practical cryopreservation protocols require biological tissues to survive two perilous processes: cooling down to cryogenic storage temperature and the subsequent rewarming. In many aspects the threats to cell viability are greater during the rewarming phase. In this paper, we present a new method, which can handle arbitrary structure shapes, for the combined electromagnetic and heat transfer simulation of the microwave rewarming process. In this method, the EM solver is based on the numerical solution of coupled integral equations. It models the cavity wall by a set of small triangles, and represents the dielectric tissue by a set of small tetrahedrons. This model provides the flexibility to simulate realistic cavities and tissue shapes. Since our ultimate interest is in the thermal effect, accurate knowledge of the temperature distribution is crucial to achieve basic understanding, the control, and optimization of the heating processes, This requires the solution of the energy equations within the processed materials. In this paper the control volume method developed by Patankar is used to model heat transfer in biological samples. The inhomogeneous nature of the tissue's electric and physical properties has been considered in the combined analysis.
Antinomianism and Legalism in Canon Law

The topic of this paper is “Antinomianism and Legalism in Canon Law.” The paper consists of four main parts. First, I describe what I mean by antinomian and legalistic approaches to canon law. Second, I discuss the sexual abuse crisis as a contemporary manifestation of antinomianism and legalism. Third, I explore the ownership of Church property as another contemporary manifestation of these approaches to canon law. Finally, I offer some generalizations about the impact of antinomianism and legalism on the life of the Catholic Church. This was the first of two talks given at the Conference for Civil and Canon Lawyers in La Crosse, WI, in August 2010.
A New Look at the Fifteen Puzzle

(1967). A New Look at the Fifteen Puzzle. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 40, No. 4, pp. 171-174.
Up From Slavery: Afro-Brazilian Activism in São Paulo, 1888–1938

Throughout the centuries of slavery in the Americas and the Caribbean, Africans and their descendants struggled against a social system that sought to reduce them to chattel. They found that their struggle was to continue, albeit in different forms, long after abolition. In Brazil, emancipation in 1888 was followed the next year by the demise of imperial government and the installation of the First Republic. This created a new political and legal framework for Afro-Brazilians to negotiate positions in society. Racial relations in former slave societies are not the simple result of imposed identities and social spaces by a dominant group upon an oppressed group. They evolve from a dialectical power struggle in which blacks as well as whites affect the outcome.
Sequence Matters: Modulating Electronic and Optical Properties of Conjugated Oligomers via Tailored Sequence

Although sequence must necessarily affect the photophysical properties of oligomers and copolymers prepared from donor and acceptor monomers, little is known about this effect, as nearly all the donor/acceptor materials have an alternating structure. A series of sequenced p-phenylene–vinylene (PV) oligomers was synthesized and investigated both experimentally and computationally. Using Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons (HWE) chemistry, a series of dimers, trimers, tetramers, pentamers, and hexamers were prepared from two building block monomers, a relatively electron-poor unsubstituted p-phenylene–vinylene (A) and an electron-rich dialkoxy-substituted p-phenylene–vinylene (B). UV–vis absorption/emission spectra and cyclic voltammetry demonstrated that the optoelectronic properties of these oligomers depended significantly on sequence. Calculations predicting the HOMO–LUMO gap of the sequenced oligomers correlated well with the experimental properties for the 2- to 4-mers, and the consensus model developed was used ...
Hydrogen Embrittlement of FeAl and Fe3Al

This paper deals with the role of charging conditions and strain rate on the embrittlement of several Fe.Al and Fe 3 Al alloys. Fracture paths are transgranular or mixed mode in both air and after precharging of the iron aluminides, unlike the intergranular cracking typical of Ll 2 superlattices exposed to hydrogen. The fractographic observations are consistent with a decohesion mechanism. The role of long range order in transport of hydrogen will be discussed.
An improvement selection methodology for key performance indicators

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are critical measures for determining the health of a manufacturing plant in relationship to the plant’s goals. In today’s competitive environment, manufacturers cannot be careless about their business; in fact, they must ensure that their KPIs are effective and use them to make improvements when necessary. This paper describes a method for suggesting improvements to a manufacturer’s KPIs, based on the results achieved from a workshop to score the KPI on a number of predefined criteria. The approach uses a prospect theory approach to weight the scoring. Different problem formulations were derived that allow for both recommendations for improvements and the recommendations for disinvestments to over-performing KPIs. The authors applied the developed approach to two workshop outputs, each from independent manufacturers, and the results highlighted the significant difference between the two manufacturers in terms of improvement priorities and KPI assessment. The optimal improvement suggestions were compared to those found through a fast heuristic. It was determined that given the underlying assumptions of the approach that the heuristic solutions were just as adequate as the optimal ones.
P06.09 Lactobacillus crispatus inhibits growth of gardnerella vaginalis and neisseria gonorrhoeae on a porcine vaginal mucosa model

Introduction The vaginal microbiota affects susceptibility to bacterial vaginosis (BV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). BV is characterised by depletion of Lactobacillus spp., an overgrowth of anaerobes (usually dominated by Gardnerella vaginalis) and a pH > 4.5. BV is associated with an increased risk of acquiring STIs such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea. An ex vivo porcine vaginal mucosal model (PVM) was developed to explore the mechanistic role of Lactobacillus in affecting vaginal colonisation by G. vaginalis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Methods Explants (5 mm) of freshly collected PVM were placed in transwells over various media, including Lactobacillus culture supernatant, inoculated with bacteria and incubated under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Colonised explants were processed for CFU enumeration and presence of biofilm (via confocal microscopy) at indicated times. Lactic acid produced by a clinical isolate of L. crispatus growing on PVM was also quantified. Results All isolates tested could colonise and grow on PVM. G. vaginalis and N. gonorrhoeae form biofilms on PVM. L. crispatus produces lactic acid on PVM and inhibits the growth of N. gonorrhoeae and G. vaginalis in a pH-dependent manner. Finally, L. crispatus produces a secreted factor that kills N. gonorrhoeae on PVM at an otherwise permissible pH. Conclusion These data demonstrate that PVM is a useful model for studying the interactions of commensal vaginal microbes with pathogens on the vaginal mucosa. The data confirm a role for lactic acid in inhibiting growth of G. vaginalis and N. gonorrhoeae. The discovery of an L. crispatus secreted factor that kills N. gonorrhoeae is intriguing and future work will identify this compound and explore its mechanism of action. Disclosure of interest statement Funding provided by the Office of the Vice President for Research, University of Minnesota and NIH grant U19AI084044. No pharmaceutical grants were received in the development of this study.
West Nile fever

West Nile virus was first detected in North America in 1999 and has spread throughout the United States and Canada and into Mexico and the Caribbean. The cases of encephalitis in New York were diagnosed as Saint Louis encephalitis which was endemic in the North America. However, dead crows and dead flamingo were found around the same time in New York. American birds seldom die by Saint Louis encephalitis virus infection. According to viral isolation and sequencing of the genome, the causative agent of unknown encephalitis was West Nile virus which was a member of Flaviviridae which cause fever, meningitis and encephalitis. West Nile virus is still active in North America in summer season, 1999 -2005. CDC enlightens people how to protect themselves and their community from West Nile virus. There are some reports that West Nile viral infections were occurred by blood transfusion, biologic products from blood and organ transfusion.
The Influence of Neighborhood Aesthetics, Safety, and Social Cohesion on Perceived Stress in Disadvantaged Communities

Limited research has explored how specific elements of physical and social environments influence mental health indicators such as perceived stress, or whether such associations are moderated by gender. This study examined the relationship between selected neighborhood characteristics and perceived stress levels within a primarily low-income, older, African-American population in a mid-sized city in the Southeastern U.S. Residents (n = 394; mean age=55.3 years, 70.9% female, 89.3% African American) from eight historically disadvantaged neighborhoods completed surveys measuring perceptions of neighborhood safety, social cohesion, aesthetics, and stress. Multivariate linear regression models examined the association between each of the three neighborhood characteristics and perceived stress. Greater perceived safety, improved neighborhood aesthetics, and social cohesion were significantly associated with lower perceived stress. These associations were not moderated by gender. These findings suggest that improving social attributes of neighborhoods may have positive impacts on stress and related benefits for population health. Future research should examine how neighborhood characteristics influence stress over time.
Wind and Current Forcing Combine to Drive Strong Upwelling in the Agulhas Current

AbstractStrong upwelling events inshore of the Agulhas Current close to 33.5°S are investigated. These events are important to the exchange of shelf and slope waters, potentially enhancing primary productivity and advecting larvae offshore. Using hydrographic observations, this study shows that a wind-driven upwelling event and a current-driven upwelling event can each advect central waters more than 130 m upward, resulting in a maximum 9°C cooling at 50-m depth over the continental shelf and surface cooling greater than 4°C. The authors use satellite data to assess the frequency and forcing mechanisms of similar cold events from January 2003 through December 2011, defining cold events as days when the sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly is significantly correlated with a local current or wind forcing. The authors identify 47 events with an average length of 2.2 days and SST anomaly of −1.6°C, corresponding to an average 13 days of surface cold events along the Agulhas Current front per year. This study...
Prevalence and characteristics of prediabetes in workers in industry

Aim To examine the prevalence of work stress and prediabetes in computer technology company employees; to analyse the relationships among stress, work stress, and prediabetes; and to explore the potential mediating effects sleep on the relationship between work stress and prediabetes. Design A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used. A convenience sample included employees from a large computer technology company in central Texas. Methods Data collection during March-October 2015 included: retrospective electronic medical record review and online surveys. Electronic medical record review data included: height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, high-density lipids, triglycerides, and fasting glucose. Online surveys collected demographic, global stress, diet, exercise, coping, sleep and work stress data from participants. Spearman rho calculations analyzed associations between demographic, socio-cultural factors, health behaviours, work stress, and prediabetes variables. Logistic regression analyses identified probability variables. A structural equation model examined mediating variables. Results Prediabetes prevalence was lower and prevalence of work stress was higher in the participant sample than in the USA population. Findings suggested that low job imbalance increases the probability for prediabetes. Job imbalance was inversely related to prediabetes. Three variables increased the probability prediabetes: alcohol, job imbalance, and sleep. Sleep potentially modified the relationship between job imbalance and prediabetes. Participants were college-educated males working in white-collar, technical jobs. Participants had high rates of work stress. Job imbalance was inversely related to prediabetes, which challenges previous empirical data. Future research should continue to explore the relationship between work stress and prediabetes in this population. Conclusions This study explored the relationship between work stress and prediabetes in a white-collar worker population in technical industry. Findings suggested that workers in industry have a unique type of stress. Nurses who learn to recognize the non-traditional risk factors for prediabetes can improve screening for prediabetes by including work stress and poor sleep questions.
Costs of promoting cancer screening: Evidence from CDC's Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP)

The Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP) provided funding to 29 grantees to increase colorectal cancer screening. We describe the screening promotion costs of CRCCP grantees to evaluate the extent to which the program model resulted in the use of funding to support interventions recommended by the Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide). We analyzed expenditures for screening promotion for the first three years of the CRCCP to assess cost per promotion strategy, and estimated the cost per person screened at the state level based on various projected increases in screening rates. All grantees engaged in small media activities and more than 90% used either client reminders, provider assessment and feedback, or patient navigation. Based on all expenditures, projected cost per eligible person screened for a 1%, 5%, and 10% increase in state-level screening proportions are $172, $34, and $17, respectively. CRCCP grantees expended the majority of their funding on Community Guide recommended screening promotion strategies but about a third was spent on other interventions. Based on this finding, future CRC programs should be provided with targeted education and information on evidence-based strategies, rather than broad based recommendations, to ensure that program funds are expended mainly on evidence-based interventions.
TOWARD IDENTIFYING PERSONALIZED PROGNOSIS IN HYPERTENSION: VARIATION IN EARLY RESPONSES IN THE ANTIHYPERTENSIVE AND LIPID-LOWERING TREATMENT TO PREVENT HEART ATTACK TRIAL (ALLHAT)

Background: Prior randomized trials of hypertension have rarely examined patient heterogeneity in response to treatments and the implications for outcomes. Methods: We applied growth mixture modeling to identify distinct SBP trajectory classes within the first 6 months of ALLHAT. We assessed the
Reconfigurable behavior of CdTe quantum dots at terahertz frequencies employing UV excitation

We report the synthesis and characterization of cadmium-telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QDs) and their performance at Terahertz frequencies employing THz time-domain spectroscopy (THZ-TDS). The data was analyzed using a combination of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and effective medium theory to obtain the optical characteristics of the aforementioned CdTe QDs. Additionally, we performed similar measurements while exposing the QDs to a UV excitation with a wavelength of 302 nm and observed a noticeable variation in both the real and imaginary components in the index of refraction that could prove crucial in the demonstration of reconfigurable devices operating in the THz regime.
Heterogeneity in development of aspects of working memory predicts longitudinal attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptom change.

The role of cognitive mechanisms in the clinical course of neurodevelopmental disorders is poorly understood. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is emblematic in that numerous alterations in cognitive development are apparent, yet how they relate to changes in symptom expression with age is unclear. To resolve the role of cognitive mechanisms in ADHD, a developmental perspective that takes into account expected within-group heterogeneity is needed. METHOD The current study uses an accelerated longitudinal design and latent trajectory growth mixture models in a sample of children ages 7-13 years carefully characterized as with (n = 437) and without (n = 297) ADHD to (a) identify heterogeneous developmental trajectories for response inhibition, visual spatial working memory maintenance, and delayed reward discounting and (b) to assess the relationships between these cognitive trajectories and ADHD symptom change. RESULTS Best-fitting models indicated multiple trajectory classes in both the ADHD and typically developing samples, as well as distinct relationships between each cognitive process and ADHD symptom change. Developmental change in response inhibition and delayed reward discounting were unrelated to ADHD symptom change, while individual differences in the rate of visual spatial working memory maintenance improvement predicted symptom remission in ADHD. CONCLUSION Characterizing heterogeneity in cognitive development will be crucial for clarifying mechanisms of symptom persistence and recovery. Results here suggest working memory maintenance may be uniquely related to ADHD symptom improvement. (PsycINFO Database Record
Transformation Methods from Square to Non-Square Geometries

The first step to extend spectral methods to approximate the solutions of PDEs in complex geometries is to derive methods for quadrilateral domains with curved sides. Chapter 6 introduces the most commonly used approach, which creates a mapping from the square to the domain on which the solution is desired. The chapter then shows how to transform the equations when a mapping is used. The end of the chapter shows how to approximate and compute the geometric quantities needed to approximate the solutions of PDEs in quadrilateral domains.
Linking crop- and soil-based approaches to evaluate system nitrogen-use efficiency and tradeoffs

Abstract Increasing nitrogen (N)-use efficiency (NUE) is key to improving crop production while mitigating ecologically-damaging environmental N losses. Traditional approaches to assess NUE are principally focused on evaluating crop responses to N inputs, often consider only what happens during the growing season, and ignore other means to improve system efficiency, such as by tightening the cycling of soil N (e.g. with N scavenging cover crops). As the goals of improving production and environmental quality converge, new metrics that can simultaneously capture multiple aspects of system performance are needed. To fill this gap, we developed a theoretical framework that links both crop- and soil-based approaches to derive a system N-use efficiency (sNUE) index. This easily interpretable metric succinctly characterizes N cycling and facilitates comparison of systems that differ in biophysical controls on N dynamics. We demonstrated the application of this new approach and compared it to traditional NUE metrics using data generated with a process-based model (APSIM), trained and tested with experimental datasets (Iowa, USA). Modeling of maize-soybean rotations indicated that despite their high crop NUE, only 45% of N losses could be attributed to the inefficient use of N inputs, whereas the rest originated from the release of native soil N into the environment, due to the asynchrony between soil mineralization and crop uptake. Additionally, sNUE produced estimates of system efficiency that were more stable across weather years and less correlated to other metrics across distinct crop sequences and N fertilizer input levels. We also showed how sNUE allows for the examination of tradeoffs between N cycling and production performance, and thus has the potential to aid in the design of systems that better balance production and environmental outcomes.
Promoter analysis of RPE65, the gene encoding a 61-kDa retinal pigment epithelium-specific protein

Purpose To identify the functional promoter region and cis-acting elements that regulate the expression of RPE65, the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE)-specific gene responsible for certain forms of autosomal recessive childhood-onset severe retinal dystrophy. Methods A human genomic DNA clone containing the 5'-flanking region of RPE65 was isolated and, 4.0 kb proximal to the transcription start site, was sequenced and analyzed for the presence of transcription factor-binding sites. Promoter activity was assayed by transient transfection of luciferase reporter constructs containing nested deletions of the upstream sequence in the human RPE cell lines ARPE19 and D407, as well as in the SK-Mel-28 and HeLa cell lines. Specific DNA protein-binding sites present in the 340 bp upstream of the transcription start site were identified by DNase I footprint analysis. Results Sequence analysis places the polymorphic marker, D1S2803, within the RPE65 upstream region and identifies a number of sequences homologous to the gene encoding the cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein. Functional analysis indicates that basal promoter activity is conferred by the sequence from -83 to +39 and is approximately equivalent in all cell lines tested, with no other control elements detected in 3.6 kb of the upstream sequence. At least eight protected regions are identified in DNase I footprint assays, including sequences corresponding to the predicted TATA box, AP-4, and nuclear factor-1 DNA protein-binding sites. Conclusions These findings localize the basal promoter activity of RPE65, identify potential cis-acting elements that act as positive regulators of gene expression, and suggest that additional regulatory elements are likely to be involved in restricting gene expression to the retinal pigment epithelium. Identification of promoter elements and genetic markers in the upstream sequence will enable the screening of patients with retinal degeneration for possible mutations that affect RPE65 expression.
Liability, Malpractice, and Maintaining the Standard of Care

Health-care professionals who enter into a treatment relationship are held liable for maintaining the standard of care in providing that treatment. If a health-care provider is derelict in his or her duty in such a way that leads directly to damages in the patient, the professional may be found guilty of medical malpractice. Important potential areas of malpractice risk are: misdiagnosis; negligent use of somatic treatments; sexual misconduct and boundary violations; negligence in supervision; abandonment; liability to third parties; fraud; defamation; breach of privacy; and negligent failure to protect patients from harming self or others. Digital technology complicates liability issues by raising questions regarding when online communication constitutes a treatment relationship, for example when responding to unsolicited emails. Studies suggest that health-care professionals are inadvertently entering treatment relationships online. Technology easily permits e-prescribing and involvement of third parties. Standards are emerging around these issues.
Pistis, fides, and propositional belief

In my contribution to the symposium on Teresa Morgan's Roman Faith and Christian Faith, I set the stage for three questions. First, in the Graeco-Roman view, when you put/maintain faith in someone, is the cognitive aspect of your faith compatible with scepticism about the relevant propositions? Second, did some of the New Testament authors think that one could put/maintain faith in God while being sceptical about the relevant propositions? Third, in her private writings, Saint Teresa of Calcutta described herself as living by faith and yet not believing; even so, by all appearances, she was an exemplar of faith in God. Would people during the period of your study tend to see her as an exemplar of faith in God?
Psychopharmacological effects and pituitary-adrenal activity.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the effects of some important psychopharmacological agents on the regulation of ACTH secretion. Most drugs that affect emotional behavior and mood produce marked and often persistent effects on the secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) as well as alterations in other pituitary functions. Psychopharmacological agents such as reserpine, chlorpromazine, monoamine oxidase inhibitors, and amphetamine have profound effects on ACTH secretion. Whether current knowledge of the mechanism of action of these drugs permits the interpretation of their neuro-endocrine effects in detail in terms of monoamine changes is doubtful. It is, however, reasonably consistent with observations to propose that, in the rat, psychopharmacological agents may initiate marked and persistent changes in the rate of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) release by acting upon neural mechanisms in the brain that control this process. Those drugs that produce cholinergic effects or block central adrenergic activity increase the rate of CRF secretion. Those drugs that augment adrenergic activity or block central cholinergic processes reduce the rate of CRF secretion. Changes in pituitary and adrenal activity are secondary to these neuro-endocrine control mechanisms.
CDMA Cellular Systems

This chapter considers capacity and performance of CDMA cellular systems. The chapter begins with a discussion of the power control mechanism in the CDMA reverse and forward links. Then the reverse and forward link capacity of CDMA cellular systems are treated, and the impact of imperfect power control demonstrated. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to hierarchical CDMA cellular architectures consisting of macrocells and underlaid macrocells, where both hierarchical layers use the entire system bandwidth. On the reverse link, this is accomplished by using macrodiversity maximal ratio combining where the signals received at multiple base stations (BSs) are coherently combined. On the forward link, only one BS is assumed to transmit to a given mobile station (MS) at any given time. The forward link transmit power is determined according to a neighboring cell pilot power scheme, where the forward transmit power to each MS is determined according to link conditions between the MS and surrounding BSs. It is shown that some improvement can be gained by using selective transmit diversity at the BSs on the forward link, i.e., to exploit forward channel macrodiversity.
A lower bound for the K\"ahler-Einstein distance from the Diederich-Forn{\ae}ss index

In this note we establish a lower bound for the distance induced by the Kahler-Einstein metric on pseudoconvex domains with positive hyperconvexity index (e.g. positive Diederich-Fornaess index). A key step is proving an analog of the Hopf lemma for Riemannian manifolds with Ricci curvature bounded from below.
Comparison of Six-Month Outcomes in Patients Bridged to Heart Transplantation with an Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump before and after the UNOS Allocation System Change

Purpose We report the trends in utilization and outcomes of intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) as a bridge to heart transplantation (HT) in the six-month period immediately before and after the implementation of the revised United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) allocation system in October 2018. Methods The UNOS database was queried for HT candidates who required temporary mechanical circulatory support with IABP who were transplanted within a 6-month time window before (N=125) and after (N=193) the UNOS allocation change. Demographics, comorbidities, hemodynamics, and post-HT mortality were compared using standard statistical methods. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis (adjusted for age, sex, diabetes, ethnicity, ischemic time, dialysis, life support and HLA mismatch) was also performed for survival analysis. Results Mean age between the before and after groups, respectively, was similar (54.8 ± 12.0 vs. 54.2 ± 13.2 years, p=0.7). No significant differences were identified in recipient demographics, comorbidities, renal function or invasive hemodynamics at time of transplantation. There were no statistically significant differences in donor age or donor organ ischemic time. Total waitlist time was lower in the post-policy change group (median [inter-quartile range], 10.0 [5.0, 26.0] vs. 31.0 [11.0, 87.0] days; p Conclusion The number of HT candidates on IABP at the time of HT has increased following implementation of the new UNOS allocation system with a concurrent reduction in candidate waitlist time, but no difference in post-HT mortality.
Sea Cucumber Intestinal Regeneration Reveals Deterministic Assembly of the Gut Microbiome.

ABSTRACT The gut microbiome has far-reaching effects on host organism health, so understanding the processes that underlie microbial community assembly in the developing gut is a current research priority. Here, a holothurian (also known as sea cucumber; phylum Echinodermata) host is explored as a promising model system for studying the assembly of the gut microbiome. Holothurians have a unique capacity for evisceration (expulsion of the internal organs), followed by rapid regeneration of the gut, decoupling host ontogeny from gut tissue development and permitting experimental manipulation of the gut microbiome in mature host individuals. Here, evisceration was induced in the sea cucumber Sclerodactyla briareus, and regenerating stomach and intestine microbiomes were characterized before and on days 0, 13, 17, and 20 after evisceration using Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Regenerating stomach and intestine tissues had microbial communities significantly different from those of mature tissues, with much higher alpha diversity and evenness of taxa in regenerating tissues. Despite immersion in a diverse pool of sediment and seawater microbes in flowthrough seawater aquaria, regenerating gut microbiomes differed at each stage of regeneration and displayed a highly similar community structure among replicates, providing evidence for deterministic host selection of a specific microbial consortium. Moreover, regenerating gut tissues acquired a microbiome that likely conferred energetic and immune advantages to the sea cucumber host, including microbes that can fix carbon and degrade invading pathogens. IMPORTANCE The gut microbiome is pertinent to many aspects of animal health, and there is a great need for natural but tractable experimental systems to examine the processes shaping gut microbiome assembly. Here, the holothurian (sea cucumber) Sclerodactyla briareus was explored as an experimental system to study microbial colonization in the gut, as S. briareus individuals have the ability to completely eviscerate and rapidly regenerate their digestive organs. After induced evisceration, microbial community assembly was characterized over 20 days in regenerating animals. This study demonstrated that colonization of the sea cucumber gut was deterministic; despite immersion in a diverse consortium of environmental microbes, a specific subset of microbes proliferated in the gut, including taxa that likely conferred energetic and immune advantages to the host. Sea cucumbers have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of gut microbiome assembly, as rapid and repeatable gut tissue regeneration provides a promising and tractable experimental system.
Tuning a magnetic field to generate spinning ferrofluid droplets with controllable speed via nonlinear periodic interfacial waves

Two-dimensional free surface flows in Hele-Shaw configurations are a fertile ground for exploring nonlinear physics. Since Saffman and Taylor's work on linear instability of fluid-fluid interfaces, significant effort has been expended to determining the physics and forcing that set the linear growth rate. However, linear stability does not always imply nonlinear stability. We demonstrate how the combination of a radial and an azimuthal external magnetic field can manipulate the interfacial shape of a linearly unstable ferrofluid droplet in a Hele-Shaw configuration. We show that weakly nonlinear theory can be used to tune the initial unstable growth. Then, nonlinearity arrests the instability and leads to a permanent deformed droplet shape. Specifically, we show that the deformed droplet can be set into motion with a predictable rotation speed, demonstrating nonlinear traveling waves on the fluid-fluid interface. The most linearly unstable wave number and the combined strength of the applied external magnetic fields determine the traveling wave shape, which can be asymmetric.
Warlords and Their Black Holes: The Plunder of Mining Regions in Afghanistan and the Central African Republic by Organized Crime

This chapter examines warlords engaged in the plundering of mines located in captured sub-state regions—the so-called “black holes” in remote regions of developing countries. Warlords exert violent and capricious de facto rule over black holes using militarized violence, along with a mixture of ethno-religious grievances, patronage payments, and charisma in order to pilfer mineral resources with impunity. Their domination of these lucrative mining enclaves has visited misery and chaos upon local populations, stripped states of needed development funds, and despoiled local ecosystems for future generations. This chapter contributes to an understanding of organized crime and the manner in which warlords should be conceptualized as such. It also furthers an understanding of how and why mining regions are subjected to warlord control. It begins with a theoretical discussion of warlords and examines why they often dominate mining regions. It then examines warlords’ strategies for capturing mining enclaves and turning them into black holes. Finally, it explores exemplars of warlords who control lucrative mining enclaves in Afghanistan and the Central African Republic (CAR).
Physics Constructs Viewed Through the Prism of Mathematics

Physics laws and principles taught to students reflect how these constructs were derived and formulated by physicists. This chapter provides an overview of major physics constructs studied in the advanced high school and undergraduate physics courses that are laws, principles, theories, and theorems. While these terms are used during physics instructions, their explicit descriptions and meanings are often overshadowed by their scientific contexts. Their relations to corresponding mathematical embodiments also often remain silent. This chapter aims to bring these correspondences forth and attempt to merge their interpretations with mathematical reasoning. The discussion does not aspire to provide a comprehensive summary; instead, it is situated in perspective to exuberate the relation between physics and mathematics as filtered through algebraic structures that students concurrently study in their mathematics courses. While laws and principles are often articulated as context-related formulas, an attempt will also be made to shed more light on their covariational entanglements.
Consumer-based activity trackers in evaluation of physical activity in myositis patients.

Objectives Inflammatory myopathies are characterized by muscle weakness that limit activities of daily living. Daily step count is an accepted metric of physical activity. Wearable technologies such as Fitbit® enable tracking of daily step counts. We assessed psychometric properties of Fitbit® and compared the accuracy of Fitbit® step counts to ActiGraph®. Methods This was a pilot, proof of concept, prospective observational study with 4 visits at 0, 1-, 3-, and 6-months in polymyositis (PM), dermatomyositis (DM), necrotizing myopathy (NM) or anti-synthetase syndrome (AS) subjects. Six core set measures [manual muscle testing, physician (MD-GDA), patient (PT-GDA), and extra-muscular disease activity, HAQ-DI and creatine kinase], 3 functional tests [six-minute walk, timed up-and-go, sit-to-stand tests] and SF-36 physical function-10 (PF10) were collected at each visit. Patients wore waist-worn Fitbit® One and ActiGraph® T3X-BT concurrently for 7 days/month for 6-months. Results Twenty-four (10 DM, 8 PM/NM, 6 AS) patients (17 females/7 males; 91% Caucasian) were enrolled. Test-retest reliability of daily steps was strong in 1-month follow-up (ICC 0.89). Daily steps and peak 1-min cadence showed moderate-strong correlations with MD-GDA, PT-GDA, HAQ-DI, SF-36 PF10 and all three functional tests. Fitbit® and ActiGraph® step counts demonstrated good agreement and strong correlation (ICC 0.96). Conclusion Fitbit® daily steps and peak 1-min cadence are reliable and valid measures of physical activity in a cohort of myositis patients. This pilot data suggests that Fitbit® has a potential for use in clinical practice and trials to monitor physical activity in myositis patients, but larger studies are needed for further validation.
Strategic Nonprofit Communication: Effects of Cross-Sector Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Alliances on Nonprofits and the Mediating Role of Social-Objectives Achievement and Consumer Brand Identification

Strategic communication scholarship has examined the effects of cross-sector corporate social responsibility (CSR) alliances on companies; however, less is known about their impact on nonprofit org...