cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Cooperative Behavior in Multiple Kinesins Motor Protein Transport by Varying Structural and Chemical Properties

Intracellular transport is a fundamental biological process during which cellular materials are driven by enzymatic molecules called motor proteins. Recent optical trapping experiments and theoretical analysis have uncovered many features of cargo transport by multiple kinesin motor protein molecules under applied loads. These studies suggest that kinesins cooperate negatively under typical transport conditions, although some productive cooperation could be achieved under higher applied loads. However, the microscopic origins of this complex behavior are still not well understood. Using a discrete-state stochastic approach we analyze factors that affect the cooperativity among kinesin motors during cargo transport. Kinesin cooperation is shown to be largely unaffected by the structural and mechanical parameters of a multiple motor complex connected to a cargo, but much more sensitive to biochemical parameters affecting motor–filament affinities. While such behavior suggests the net negative cooperative responses of kinesins will persist across a relatively wide range of cargo types, it is also shown that the rates with which cargo velocities relax in time upon force perturbations are influenced by structural factors that affect the free energies of and load distributions within a multiple kinesin complex. The implications of these later results on transport phenomena where loads change temporally, as in the case of bidirectional transport, are discussed.
Generalized orienteering problem with resource dependent rewards

We introduce a generalized orienteering problem (OP) where, as usual, a vehicle is routed from a prescribed start node, through a directed network, to a prescribed destination node, collecting rewards at each node visited, to maximize the total reward along the path. In our generalization, transit on arcs in the network and reward collection at nodes both consume a variable amount of the same limited resource. We exploit this resource trade-off through a specialized branch-and-bound algorithm that relies on partial path relaxation problems that often yield tight bounds and lead to substantial pruning in the enumeration tree. We present the smuggler search problem (SSP) as an important real-world application of our generalized OP. Numerical results show that our algorithm applied to the SSP outperforms standard mixed-integer nonlinear programming solvers for moderate to large problem instances. We demonstrate model enhancements that allow practitioners to represent realistic search planning scenarios by accounting for multiple heterogeneous searchers and complex smuggler motion. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2013
Inappropriate Prescribing for the Elderly: Beers Criteria-Based Review:

OBJECTIVE:To review currently available literature applying the Beers criteria for inappropriate medication use in the elderly to prescribing practices in various settings.DATA SOURCE:Key words including inappropriate, Beers, medication, prescribing, elderly, geriatric, and criteria were used to search MEDLINE records from January 1992 to June 1999.DATA EXTRACTION:Eight relevant studies were found that applied the Beers criteria in various healthcare settings.DATA SYNTHESIS:Each study was examined for methodologic issues, criteria used, prevalence, nature and extent of inappropriate medication use, and factors associated with their use. Despite the methodologic differences, the review revealed some consistent patterns across healthcare settings. This review has shown that: (1) most of the researchers modified the Beers criteria to examine inappropriate medication use in the elderly; (2) studies using patient-based prevalence showed that between nearly one in four (23.5%) and one in seven (14.0%) elderly p...
Correlates of coping with perceived discriminatory experiences among African American adolescents.

This study examined the relation of background and race-related factors to the use of approach and avoidance strategies to cope with perceived discriminatory experiences among a sample of African American adolescents of relative affluence (n=71). Results showed that gender, family structure, socioeconomic status (SES), perceived control over discriminatory experiences, discrimination distress, and racism-related socialization were significant correlates of coping with perceived discriminatory experiences. Results concerning gender, perceived control, and stress arousal were consistent with findings from the general adolescent stress and coping literature. Results concerning family structure, SES, and socialization suggest that certain factors may be very important for the positive adjustment of African American adolescents in the face of race-related adversity.
Heparin-binding mechanism of the IGF2/IGF-binding protein 2 complex

IGF1 and IGF2 are potent stimulators of diverse cellular activities such as differentiation and mitosis. Six IGF-binding proteins (IGFBP1-IGFBP6) are primary regulators of IGF half-life and receptor availability. Generally, the binding of IGFBPs inhibits IGF receptor activation. However, it has been shown that IGFBP2 in complex with IGF2 (IGF2/IGFBP2) stimulates osteoblast function in vitro and increases skeletal mass in vivo. IGF2 binding to IGFBP2 greatly increases the affinity for 2- or 3-carbon O-sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), e.g. heparin and heparan sulfate, which is hypothesized to preferentially and specifically target the IGF2/IGFBP2 complex to the bone matrix. In order to obtain a more detailed understanding of the interactions between the IGF2/IGFBP2 complex and GAGs, we investigated heparin-binding properties of IGFBP2 and the IGF2/IGFBP2 complex in a quantitative manner. For this study, we mutated key positively charged residues within the two heparin-binding domains (HBDs) in IGFBP2 and in one potential HBD in IGF2. Using heparin affinity chromatography, we demonstrate that the two IGFBP2 HBDs contribute differentially to GAG binding in free IGFBP2 and the IGF2/IGFBP2 protein complex. Moreover, we identify a significant contribution from the HBD in IGF2 to the increased IGF2/IGFBP2 heparin affinity. Using molecular modeling, we present a novel model for the IGF2/IGFBP2 interaction with heparin where all three proposed HBDs constitute a positively charged and surface-exposed area that would serve to promote the increased heparin affinity of the complex compared with free intact IGFBP2.
Inflammasome-IL-1β Signaling Mediates Ethanol Inhibition of Hippocampal Neurogenesis

Abstract Regulation of hippocampal neurogenesis is poorly understood, but appears to contribute to mood and cognition. Ethanol and neuroinflammation are known to reduce neurogenesis. We have found that ethanol induces neuroinflammation supporting the hypothesis that ethanol induction of neuroinflammation contributes to ethanol inhibition of neurogenesis. To identify the key proinflammatory molecule that may be responsible for ethanol-impaired neurogenesis we used an ex vivo model of organotypic hippocampal-entorhinal cortex (HEC) brain slice cultures. Here, we demonstrated a key role of proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β signaling in mediating ethanol inhibition of neurogenesis. Ethanol inhibition of neurogenesis was reversed by neutralizing antibody to IL-1β or blockade of the IL-1β receptor with antagonist IL-1RIa. Ethanol-impaired neurogenesis is associated with strong induction of IL-1β and inflammasome proteins NALP1 and NALP3 in both neurons and astrocytes. Blockade of IL-1β synthesis with inflammasome inhibitors Parthenolide and Bay11708 significantly reversed ethanol inhibited neurogenesis. Furthermore, we also found that IL-1β and inflammasome proteins NALP1 and NALP3 are increased in hippocampal neurons and astrocytes in postmortem alcoholic human brain. Together, these novel findings demonstrate that targeting inflammasome-IL-1β signaling can normalize ethanol-impaired hippocampal neurogenesis, which may have therapeutic implications for treatment of cognitive impairment associated with hippocampal dysfunction in alcoholics.
Optical Imaging Modalities for Biomedical Applications

Optical photographic imaging is a well known imaging method that has been successfully translated into biomedical applications such as microscopy and endoscopy. Although several advanced medical imaging modalities are used today to acquire anatomical, physiological, metabolic, and functional information from the human body, optical imaging modalities including optical coherence tomography, confocal microscopy, multiphoton microscopy, multispectral endoscopy, and diffuse reflectance imaging have recently emerged with significant potential for non-invasive, portable, and cost-effective imaging for biomedical applications spanning tissue, cellular, and molecular levels. This paper reviews methods for modeling the propagation of light photons in a biological medium, as well as optical imaging from organ to cellular levels using visible and near-infrared wavelengths for biomedical and clinical applications.
A non-stationary model for functional mapping of complex traits

Summary: Understanding the genetic control of growth is fundamental to agricultural, evolutionary and biomedical genetic research. In this article, we present a statistical model for mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL) that are responsible for genetic differences in growth trajectories during ontogenetic development. This model is derived within the maximum likelihood context, implemented with the expectation--maximization algorithm. We incorporate mathematical aspects of growth processes to model the mean vector and structured antedependence models to approximate time-dependent covariance matrices for longitudinal traits. Our model has been employed to map QTL that affect body mass growth trajectories in both male and female mice of an F2 population derived from the Large and Small mouse strains. The results from this model are compared with those from the autoregressive-based functional mapping approach. Based on results from computer simulation studies, we suggest that these two models are alternative to one another and should be used simultaneously for the same dataset. Contact: rwu@mail.ifas.ufl.edu
International society for burn injuries survey: infection and infectious complications in worldwide burn units.

Infection with drug resistant pathogens remains a significant problem in the treatment of burn patients on a worldwide basis. The development of progressively drug resistant microbes has limited the available treatment options in burn patients with serious infections. Further, there are increasing reports of infections due to previously rare organisms, which often present as highly resistant to currently available antimicrobial agents. The number of surviving critically injured burn patients has increased due to advances in critical care, early operative intervention, improved wound care and antibiotics both systemically and topically. Such patients have a long hospital length of stay and are at increased risk of major infectious complications from multi-drug resistant organisms. In an attempt to better understand this problem from a global perspective the International Society for Burn Injuries through its Research Committee is conducting a worldwide survey of its membership and member burn units. The attached survey should allow a more precise assessment of the problem, trends in types of infections and organisms responsible. Additionally, information about newer treatment
Syncytial-type cell plates: a novel kind of cell plate involved in endosperm cellularization of Arabidopsis.

Cell wall formation in the syncytial endosperm of Arabidopsis was studied by using high-pressure-frozen/freeze-substituted developing seeds and immunocytochemical techniques. The endosperm cellularization process begins at the late globular embryo stage with the synchronous organization of small clusters of oppositely oriented microtubules (∼10 microtubules in each set) into phragmoplast-like structures termed mini-phragmoplasts between both sister and nonsister nuclei. These mini-phragmoplasts produce a novel kind of cell plate, the syncytial-type cell plate, from Golgi-derived vesicles ∼63 nm in diameter, which fuse by way of hourglass-shaped intermediates into wide (∼45 nm in diameter) tubules. These wide tubules quickly become coated and surrounded by a ribosome-excluding matrix; as they grow, they branch and fuse with each other to form wide tubular networks. The mini-phragmoplasts formed between a given pair of nuclei produce aligned tubular networks that grow centrifugally until they merge into a coherent wide tubular network with the mini-phragmoplasts positioned along the network margins. The individual wide tubular networks expand laterally until they meet and eventually fuse with each other at the sites of the future cell corners. Transformation of the wide tubular networks into noncoated, thin (∼27 nm in diameter) tubular networks begins at multiple sites and coincides with the appearance of clathrin-coated budding structures. After fusion with the syncytial cell wall, the thin tubular networks are converted into fenestrated sheets and cell walls. Immunolabeling experiments show that the cell plates and cell walls of the endosperm differ from those of the embryo and maternal tissue in two features: their xyloglucans lack terminal fucose residues on the side chain, and callose persists in the cell walls after the cell plates fuse with the parental plasma membrane. The lack of terminal fucose residues on xyloglucans suggests that these cell wall matrix molecules serve both structural and storage functions.
Automated annotation of functional imaging experiments via multi-label classification

Identifying the experimental methods in human neuroimaging papers is important for grouping meaningfully similar experiments for meta-analyses. Currently, this can only be done by human readers. We present the performance of common machine learning (text mining) methods applied to the problem of automatically classifying or labeling this literature. Labeling terms are from the Cognitive Paradigm Ontology (CogPO), the text corpora are abstracts of published functional neuroimaging papers, and the methods use the performance of a human expert as training data. We aim to replicate the expert's annotation of multiple labels per abstract identifying the experimental stimuli, cognitive paradigms, response types, and other relevant dimensions of the experiments. We use several standard machine learning methods: naive Bayes (NB), k-nearest neighbor, and support vector machines (specifically SMO or sequential minimal optimization). Exact match performance ranged from only 15% in the worst cases to 78% in the best cases. NB methods combined with binary relevance transformations performed strongly and were robust to overfitting. This collection of results demonstrates what can be achieved with off-the-shelf software components and little to no pre-processing of raw text.
Lyme Meningoradiculitis and Myositis after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

We describe a patient with a history of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation complicated by chronic graft-versus-host disease who developed painful meningoradiculitis and myositis due to Lyme borreliosis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such an infection occurring after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the United States.
Comparative evaluation of disk diffusion with microdilution assay in susceptibility testing of caspofungin against Aspergillus and Fusarium isolates.

We compared the disk diffusion and broth microdilution methods for susceptibility testing of caspofungin against Aspergillus (n = 78) and Fusarium (n = 22) isolates. Microdilution testing followed the NCCLS M-38P guidelines but was performed in antibiotic medium 3 supplemented to 2% glucose (AM3). Disk diffusion assays were performed on AM3 agar plates with a 2-μg caspofungin disk. By both methods, caspofungin showed favorable activity against Aspergillus isolates and no activity against Fusarium isolates. In the disk-based format, intrazonal growth that was not influenced by the drug concentration gradient was consistently observed for all of the Aspergillus isolates tested.
UNAVOIDABLE MINORS FOR CONNECTED 2-POLYMATROIDS

Abstract It is well known that, for any integer n greater than one, there is a number r such that every 2-connected simple graph with at least r edges has a minor isomorphic to an n-edge cycle or K 2 , n . This result was extended to matroids by Lovasz, Schrijver, and Seymour who proved that every sufficiently large connected matroid has an n-element circuit or an n-element cocircuit as a minor. In this paper, we generalize these theorems by providing an analogous result for connected 2-polymatroids. Significant progress on the corresponding problem for k-polymatroids is also described.
Respiratory Costs of Mycorrhizal Associations

Mycorrhizal fungi form symbiotic and often mutually beneficial relationships with the roots of most terrestrial plants. In this chapter we review current literature concerned with plant respiratory requirements for supporting this important plant-fungal association, and its effect on the overall plant carbon economy. Controlled studies indicate that mycorrhizal respiratory costs are considerable, consuming between 2 to 17% of the photosynthate fixed daily, varying depending on the host and fungal species involved, the stage of colonization, and the environmental conditions. Respiratory energy is required by the mycobiont for construction of new intraradical and extraradical fungal tissue (including reproductive structures), for maintenance and repair of existing fungal tissue, and for cellular processes in the fungal tissue associated with the absorption, translocation and transfer of nutrients from the soil to the host. Additional respiration is also required by the host plant for stimulated root cellular processes, and potentially for increased production of root biomass. Field studies of these important processes will eventually lead us to better understand how significant mycorrhizal fungi are to the total carbon budgets of natural and managed plant communities.
Tracing tears and triple axels: Media representations of Japan’s women figure skaters

Anticipating the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, this article uses the triple axel jump, one of the most challenging moves in women’s figure skating, as a heuristic device to track representations of Japanese skaters Ito Midori and Asada Mao in the New York Times and Asahi Shimbun. Ito and Asada are two of only six women to have landed triple axels at international figure skating competitions. Employing affect and feminist theories, I argue that constructions of the skaters’ bodies are not just gendered and heteronormative, but also sexed, raced, and affective. Using discourse analysis, I trace how media representations of Ito and Asada redraw global color lines and national boundaries in sport and negotiate different femininities, underscoring excessive feelings and physical appearance. Contributing to feminist sport studies and transnational feminist cultural studies, this comparative analysis offers new perspectives on women’s sports in Japan and athleticism’s relation to race, femininities, and national identity.
A Design Optimization Strategy for Micro Air Vehicles

This paper presents progress on the development of a computational framework for synthesizing and optimizing the design of micro air vehicles with flapping wings. It is anticipated that aeroelastic tailoring can be used to improve the performance of mechanical flapping-wing micro air vehicles relative to designs with rigid structure. Due to the physics associated with micro air vehicles, the design framework must be able to capture nonlinear physical behavior with high fidelity, while at the same time maintaining the computational efficiency required for effective design space exploration. In the present paper, the authors present three newly developed components of the framework: a spectral element method for computing the system dynamics, an adjoint method for calculating sensitivities of the system with respect to changing structural design variables and an optimization component built upon existing gradient-based methods. These new components are integrated with existing components and the entire framework is used to compute flapping cycles for both rigid and flexible micro air vehicle models and to demonstrate consistency between the direct and adjoint forms for sensitivity computation.
An Integrated Prognostic and Diagnostic Model for Airframes

A novel integrated prognosis and diagnosis model for airframe structural health management (SHM) is developed to support the United States Army’s Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) project. In the project, the damage of the structure requires detection and diagnosis in real-time. Since the damage that grows over time is unobservable and unknown, the damage size should be estimated by a probability distribution. While the work presented in this paper describes the development and verification of the prognostic and diagnostic model, the developed model can be further used on a helicopter. The status of the structure is measured by a low-fidelity binary indicator (hit/miss) in real time. The uncertainty of the diagnostic system is quantified by the probability of detection (POD) of the damage. The uncertainty of the initial crack size is assigned to a probability distribution that can be determined by the manufacturer’s tolerance or worstcase scenarios. The distribution of the estimated damage is updated as the crack propagates over time using a physical model (for example, Paris’s law for fatigue crack propagation) and a temporal Bayesian approach. The model was verified using data from a fatigue test of a titanium alloy. The results demonstrated that this approach efficiently provides accurate diagnostic and prognostic estimations of the final crack size and its uncertainty bounds.
Asymmetry in Protest Control? Comparing Protest Policing Patterns in Montreal, Toronto, And Vancouver, 1998-2004

Scholars have argued that since the 1960s, protest policing in Western democracies has moved toward emphasizing cooperative relationships with challenging groups. This evolution is referred to as the negotiated management model of protest control. Much of the literature that informs this perspective is based on either analyses of a limited subset of demonstrations or from national-level observation. Few studies have examined whether negotiated management practices hold at city levels. This research examines city-level protest policing using 1,152 demonstrations occurring between 1998 and 2004 in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, Canada. Bayesian logistic regression models are estimated using arrests as the response variable. The main findings suggest that only protestor premobilization and the police use of force are uniformly related to arrests; that there is considerable variation across cities; and that the larger pattern of results is not consistent with negotiated management practices.
Medication therapy management and adherence among US renal transplant recipients

Background Medication therapy management (MTM) services among patient populations with a range of disease states have improved adherence rates. However, no published studies have examined the impact of Medicare Part D MTM eligibility on renal transplant recipients’ (RTRs) immunosuppressant therapy (IST) adherence. This study’s purpose was therefore, to determine the effects of Medicare Part D MTM on IST adherence among adult RTRs at 12 months posttransplant.
Effects of an intervention on infant growth and development: evidence for different mechanisms at work.

Millions of children in low-income and middle-income countries falter in linear growth and neurobehavioral development early in life. This faltering may be caused by risk factors that are associated with both growth and development, such as insufficient dietary intake and infection in infancy. Alternatively, these risk factors may be indicative of an environment that constrains both linear growth and development through different mechanisms. In a cluster-randomized trial in Burkina Faso, we previously found that provision of lipid-based nutrient supplements plus malaria and diarrhoea treatment from age 9 to 18 months resulted in positive effects of ~0.3 standard deviation on length-for-age z-score (LAZ) and of ~0.3 standard deviation on motor, language and personal–social development scores at age 18 months. In this paper, we examined whether the effect of the intervention on developmental scores was mediated by the effect on LAZ, or, alternatively, whether the intervention had independent effects on growth and development. For motor, language, and personal–social z-scores, the effect of the intervention decreased from 0.32 to 0.21, from 0.33 to 0.27 and from 0.35 to 0.29, respectively, when controlling for change in LAZ from 9 to 18 months. All effects remained significant. These results indicate that the intervention had independent positive effects on linear growth and development, suggesting that these effects occurred through different mechanisms. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Analysis on antibody levels against severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome bunyavirus among healthy population in Hubei province

Objective:To evaluate the antibodies levels against severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome bunyavirus among healthy population in Hubei province and provide scientific evidence for prevention and control in our province.Methods: Nine hundred and fifty-seven healthy human serum samples were collected to detect the IgG antibody against SFTSV by ELISA.Results: The IgG antibody positive rate was 6.37%,warning the wide circulation and invisible infection of SFTSV in our province.There was no significant difference in the antibody levels of population among different areas(χ2=11.59,P0.01).Conclusion: The Hubei province is the main popular area of SFTSV infection,so it is very necessary to strengthen the idea of prevention and the rapid ability of diagnosis.
Alcohol-related problems: Recognition and intervention

Early identification of alcohol-related problems is important because these problems are prevalent, pose serious health risks to patients and their families, and are amenable to intervention. Physicians may be able to help patients change their drinking behaviors. The most effective tool for screening is a thorough history of the patient's drinking behavior, designed to identify patterns of alcohol-related difficulties with physical and mental health, family life, legal authorities and employment. Alcohol drinkers can be categorized as at-risk, problem or alcohol dependent, according to a protocol developed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The severity of the alcohol problem and the patient's readiness to change should determine the intervention selected by the family physician.
Interacting Regions in the A1 and A2 Subunits of Factor VIIIa Identified by Zero-Length Cross-Linking

Factor VIIIa is a heterotrimer of A1, A2, and A3-C1-C2 subunits, the activity of which is labile due to a weak affinity interaction of the A2 subunit with the A1/A3-C1-C2 dimer. We have used the zero-length cross-linking reagent, 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC), to localize regions of interaction within the A1 and A2 subunits. Reaction of factor VIIIa with EDC resulted in the formation of a cross-linked product of approximately 90 kD consisting of the A1 and A2 subunits as judged by Western blotting. Alkaline resistance of this product indicated an amide rather than ester linkage. Factor VIIIa activity decreased as the concentration of cross-linked product increased, suggesting that flexibility in the inter-subunit interaction may be required for proper cofactor function. This product was not formed in the contiguous A1-A2 domains of factor VIII, suggesting that, upon cofactor activation, a conformational change occurs that leads to the formation of a new interdomainal salt bridge(s). Reaction of the EDC-treated factor VIIIa with activated protein C (APC), which cleaves the A1 subunit at Arg336 and bisects the A2 subunit at Arg562, resulted in the formation of an approximately 30 kD product that contains the C-terminus region of A1 covalently linked to the N-terminal half of the A2. The approximately 90 kD cross-linked product was generated after reaction of A2 subunit with A1/A3-C1-C2 dimer but not with A1336/A3-C1-C2, a form of the dimer produced by APC cleavage and lacking the C-terminal acidic region of A1. A synthetic peptide corresponding to this acidic region (Met337-Arg372) was found to covalently cross-link to the isolated A2 subunit in 1:1 stoichiometry, suggesting that this region is both necessary and sufficient for the interaction of the A1 and A2 subunits. Sequence analysis of this product suggested that Glu344 in the A1 peptide may contribute to the cross-linkage. These results indicate that activation of factor VIII results in formation of a new ionic linkage(s) localized to the acidic C-terminal region of A1 and the N-terminal half of A2.
Primary renal lymphoma.

AbstractLymphomatous involvement of the kidneys is a common manifestation of systemic nonHodgkin’s lymphoma but associated renal dysfunction is uncommon. In contrast, lymphoma originating within the kidneys is a rare event. We report a case of primary renal lymphoma presenting with renal insufficiency and hypertension in a 10-year-old boy.
Damping Identification Using Perturbation Techniques and Higher-Order Spectra

Perturbation techniques and spectral moments are combined tocharacterize and quantify the damping and nonlinear parameters of thefirst mode of a three-beam two-mass frame. The frame is excitedharmonically near twice its lowest natural frequency. The response ismodeled with a second-order nonlinear equation with quadratic and cubicterms and linear and quadratic damping terms. The method of multiplescales is used to obtain a second-order approximate solution for thismodel. Bispectral analysis is used to quantify the level of couplingbetween modes and measure their phase difference. The amplitudes andphase difference between the excitation and response mode with differentfrequencies are substituted into the approximate solution to determinethe damping and nonlinear parameters.
Regulation of Cardiac Remodeling by Cardiac Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase Isoforms

Cardiac remodeling occurs after cardiac pressure/volume overload or myocardial injury during the development of heart failure and is a determinant of heart failure. Preventing or reversing remodeling is a goal of heart failure therapy. Human cardiomyocyte Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase has multiple α isoforms (1-3). The expression of the α subunit of the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase is often altered in hypertrophic and failing hearts. The mechanisms are unclear. There are limited data from human cardiomyocytes. Abundant evidences from rodents show that Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase regulates cardiac contractility, cell signaling, hypertrophy and fibrosis. The α1 isoform of the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase is the ubiquitous isoform and possesses both pumping and signaling functions. The α2 isoform of the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase regulates intracellular Ca(2+) signaling, contractility and pathological hypertrophy. The α3 isoform of the Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase may also be a target for cardiac hypertrophy. Restoration of cardiac Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase expression may be an effective approach for prevention of cardiac remodeling. In this article, we will overview: (1) the distribution and function of isoform specific Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase in the cardiomyocytes. (2) the role of cardiac Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase in the regulation of cell signaling, contractility, cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in vitro and in vivo. Selective targeting of cardiac Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase isoform may offer a new target for the prevention of cardiac remodeling.
Electrical Mechanisms Controlling Locomotion in the Ciliated Protozoa

The direction of swimming (forward or backward) in the ciliated protozoa depends on the orientation of the polarized cycle of ciliary movement. This orientation is coupled to membrane potential by membrane-limited movements of Ca2+ into the cell cortex and cilia. Stimuli which depolarize the cell cause the conductance of the membrane to Ca2+ to rise. As a consequence Ca2+, driven by its electrochemical gradient, shows a net influx and accumulates in the cilia and cell cortex. The increasing Ca2+ concentration activates the mechanism for ciliary reversal. As depolarization subsides and Ca2+ diffuses away from the cortex and/or is actively transported out of the cell, the cilia resume their forward-swimming orientation.
Experimental Measurements of the C 12 + C 12 Nuclear Reactions at Low Energies

The nuclear reactions $^{12}\mathrm{C}(^{12}\mathrm{C}, \ensuremath{\alpha})^{20}\mathrm{Ne}$ and $^{12}\mathrm{C}(^{12}\mathrm{C}, p)^{23}\mathrm{Na}$ have been observed from 5-MeV down to 2.45-MeV center-of-mass energy. Angular distributions and energy distributions of the protons and $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ particles were analyzed to obtain the total cross sections and other nuclear information. The Coulomb and angular momentum barrier penetrability was factored out to elucidate the intermediate resonance structure in the nuclear factor $\stackrel{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}{S}$. The observed rise in the nuclear factor at the lowest energies may be interpreted as "absorption under the barrier" as proposed by Michaud and Vogt. The importance of these reactions for the carbon burning era of nucleosynthesis and energy generation in the later evolution of stars is mentioned and reaction rates are estimated for various burning temperatures.
Optimal Sleep Scheduling for a Wireless Sensor Network Node

We consider the problem of conserving energy in a single node in a wireless sensor network by turning off the node's radio for periods of a fixed time length. While packets may continue to arrive at the node's buffer during the sleep periods, the node cannot transmit them until it wakes up. The objective is to design sleep control laws that minimize the expected value of a cost function representing both energy consumption costs and holding costs for backlogged packets. We consider a discrete time system with a Bernoulli arrival process. In this setting, we characterize optimal control laws under the finite horizon expected cost and infinite horizon expected average cost criteria.
A Particle Reflector Accounts for the Electrical Energy Saving

As a ceiling fan consumes 75 Watts and is used day and night, it is not possible to ignore the power consumption of the fan. With a particle reflector, air flow in a room can be seen even after the fan in the room is turned off. A discrete way of turning the fan ON after every other 30 minutes saves the power supply of 75 Watts for 30 minutes periodically. Thus the particle reflector technology helps in reducing the power consumption of the fan.
State Legalization of Marijuana and Our American System of Federalism: A Historio-Constitutional Primer

Federal law, pursuant to the Controlled Substances Act, maintains a strict criminal prohibition on marijuana use of any kind. In states that have legalized marijuana, and in states proposing to do so, a fundamental conflict arises between federal powers and state sovereignty. This conflict implicates some of the most vital aspects of the structural constitution: the Commerce Power, the Necessary and Proper Clause, the anti-commandeering doctrine, and Supremacy Clause preemption.In recent years a healthy scholarship has emerged to wrestle with the subject, providing insightful commentary and argument, but missing in the literature is an unabbreviated account of the major features of federalism that frame the legalization controversy. Also missing is a historical background situating the CSA's marijuana prohibition within the American political-legal tradition.This article provides the reader with an extensive constitutional and historical foundation for understanding what is now recognized as "the most pressing and complex federalism issue of our time."
A sequential detection approach to indoor positioning using RSS-based fingerprinting

Using received signal strength (RSS) fingerprints from nearby Wi-Fi access points is a common approach to indoor localization in modern applications, in part due to its relatively low hardware cost and computational complexity. We present a sequential detection approach to RSS-based positioning that employs a Bayesian metric to identify the most likely path, given a time series of RSS measurements, traveled by the indoor user. Offline RSS training data is collected, and the k-nearest neighbors (KNN) algorithm is applied to approximate position likelihoods conditioned on RSS observations. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated using data collected in an academic building at varying times of day and across several days. Results show that the sequential detection approach achieves strong performance even when only a small series of RSS measurements are available.
Transcutical three-photon fluorescence imaging of Drosophila brain at subcellular resolution with adaptive optics

We demonstrate non-invasive structural and functional imaging of neurons labeled with genetically encoded red fluorescent proteins in the living Drosophila brain at cellular and subcellular resolution using three-photon microscopy and wavefront correction.
Enhanced Decadal Warming of the Southeast Indian Ocean During the Recent Global Surface Warming Slowdown

The rapid Indian Ocean warming during the early-21th century was a major heat sink for the recent global surface warming slowdown. Analysis of observational data and ocean model experiments reveals that during 2003–2012 more than half of the increased upper Indian Ocean heat content was concentrated in the southeast Indian Ocean (SEIO), causing a warming “hot spot” of 0.8–1.2 K decade−1 near the west coast of Australia. This SEIO warming was primarily induced by the enhancements of the Pacific trade winds and Indonesian throughflow associated with the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation's (IPO) transition to its negative phase, and to a lesser degree by local atmospheric forcing within the Indian Ocean. Large-ensemble climate model simulations suggest that this warming event was likely also exacerbated by anthropogenic forcing and thus unprecedentedly strong as compared to previous IPO transition periods. Climate model projections suggest an increasing possibility of such strong decadal warming in future.
Directional selection limits ecological diversification and promotes ecological tinkering during the competition for substitutable resources

Microbial communities can evade competitive exclusion by diversifying into distinct ecological niches. This spontaneous diversification often occurs amid a backdrop of directional selection on other microbial traits, where competitive exclusion would normally apply. Yet despite their empirical relevance, little is known about how diversification and directional selection combine to determine the ecological and evolutionary dynamics within a community. To address this gap, we introduce a simple, empirically motivated model of eco-evolutionary feedback based on the competition for substitutable resources. Individuals acquire heritable mutations that alter resource uptake rates, either by shifting metabolic effort between resources or by increasing overall fitness. While these constitutively beneficial mutations are trivially favored to invade, we show that the accumulated fitness differences can dramatically influence the ecological structure and evolutionary dynamics that emerge within the community. Competition between ecological diversification and ongoing fitness evolution leads to a state of diversification-selection balance, in which the number of extant ecotypes can be pinned below the maximum capacity of the ecosystem, while the ecotype frequencies and genealogies are constantly in flux. Interestingly, we find that fitness differences generate emergent selection pressures to shift metabolic effort toward resources with lower effective competition, even in saturated ecosystems. We argue that similar dynamical features should emerge in a wide range of models with a mixture of directional and diversifying selection.
Cell Fate and Gene Expression in the Developing Neural Crest

Our laboratory has been interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern the way cells choose their developmental fates during embryonic neurogenesis. We have focused on the differentiation of a subset of neural crest derivatives: the endocrine (chromaffin) cells of the adrenal medulla, and the principal noradrenergic neurons of the sympathetic ganglia (LeDouarin, 1982). Previous studies have suggested that environmental signals, such as Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) and glucocorticoids (GC), may play an important role in the development of these two cell types (Aloe and Levi-Montalcini, 1979). In particular, apparently mature chromaffin cells are able to convert into cells phenotypically indistinguishable from sympathetic neurons, when cultured in the presence of NGF and absence of GC (Unsicker et al., 1978; Ogawa et al., 1984; Lillien and Claude, 1985; Doupe et al., 1985a,b). We now wish to account for this plasticity in terms of the developmental history of these cells. Do sympathetic neurons and chromaffin cells in fact share a common embryonic progenitor? What is the phenotype of this progenitor? How much of this progenitor’s ultimate fate is controlled by its earlier history, and how much by its immediate environment? What environmental factors control this decision, and how do they work?
Two-Way Choice Test for Social Odors in Mice

This exercise and the next both deal with scent communication in mice. We practice two techniques frequently used in the Animal Behavior laboratory: In this first experiment, we test a mammal’s response to conspecific odors in a two-way choice apparatus, also called a Y- or T-maze, an often used bioassay device. [In the following experiment (Chap. 21), we observe and quantify scent marking behavior in response to two different stimuli in an “open field.”]
The TBI-CareQOL Measurement System: Development and Preliminary Validation of Health-Related Quality of Life Measures for Caregivers of Civilians and Service Members/Veterans With Traumatic Brain Injury.

Abstract Objective To develop a new measurement system, the Traumatic Brain Injury Caregiver Quality of Life (TBI-CareQOL), that can evaluate both general and caregiving-specific aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in caregivers of persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design New item pools were developed and refined using literature reviews, qualitative data from focus groups, and cognitive debriefing with caregivers of civilians and service members/veterans with TBI, as well as expert review, reading level assessment, and translatability review; existing item banks and new item pools were assessed using an online data capture system. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, item response theory, and differential item functioning analyses were utilized to develop new caregiver-specific item banks. Known-groups validity was examined using a series of independent samples t tests comparing caregivers of low-functioning vs high-functioning persons with TBI for each of the new measures, as well as for 10 existing Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measures. Setting Three TBI Model Systems rehabilitation hospitals, an academic medical center, and a military medical treatment facility. Participants Caregivers (N=560) of civilians (n=344) or service members/veterans with TBI (n=216). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures The TBI-CareQOL measurement system (including 5 new measures and 10 existing PROMIS measures). Results Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, item response theory, and differential item functioning analyses supported the development of 5 new item banks for Feelings of Loss-Self, Feelings of Loss-Person with TBI, Caregiver-Specific Anxiety, Feeling Trapped, and Caregiver Strain. In support of validity, individuals who were caring for low-functioning persons with TBI had significantly worse HRQOL than caregivers that were caring for high-functioning persons with TBI for both the new caregiver-specific HRQOL measures, and for the 10 existing PROMIS measures. Conclusions The TBI-CareQOL includes both validated PROMIS measures and newly developed caregiver-specific measures. Together, these generic and specific measures provide a comprehensive assessment of HRQOL for caregivers of civilians and service members/veterans with TBI.
‘Hard hearts’ resounding now: anatomising race, resistance, and community in The Merchant in Venice (2016) and Julius Caesar (2017):

Placing two innovative, high-profile stagings of Shakespeare in dialogue, this essay emphasises the power of re-citations, both as aural echoes and as tableaux, across dramatic genres. Building on ...
L’héritage français et européen du roman italien des années 1960 : un rendez-vous manqué

Cet article etudie la place du roman etranger dans le champ litteraire italien, avec l’objectif de cerner les raisons expliquant l’interet que les romanciers associes a la Neoavanguardia portent aux travaux de leurs contemporains europeens, et en particulier francais. Dans une premiere partie, nous portons notre attention sur l’un des « evenements » litteraires des annees 1960, a savoir l’importation en Italie du Nouveau Roman. La deuxieme partie de l’etude est consacree au cas de l’ecrivain Alberto Arbasino et a l’essai Certi romanzi qu’il publie en 1964. L’approche critique d’Arbasino relativement a divers modeles litteraires se comprend a la lumiere de la situation historique de sa generation et permet d’interroger le rapport de celle-ci avec l’heritage romanesque europeen.
Rapid and Accurate Assessment of Diuretic Response: Validation of an Equation to Predict Diuretic Induced Sodium Output Using a Spot Urine Sample

Introduction Diuretic response is generally assessed using crude measures such as fluid or weight loss which are usually reported in a delayed manner (e.g. the change in weight from one day to the next). This in turn restricts clinicians’ ability to titrate diuretics. These established metrics have poor correlation with one another and they do not predict outcomes as well as cumulative sodium excretion. However, a 24h urine collection is difficult to perform even in a clinical trial, much less in routine clinical practice. It also does not address the lag time between diuretic administration and assessment of response. We previously reported proof of concept results on an equation to estimate sodium excretion based on a post-diuretic spot urine sample. Our current objective was to validate this equation in a real-world sample of patients undergoing IV diuretic therapy. Hypothesis Cumulative sodium output from a loop diuretic can be predicted using a spot urine sample. Methods The validation cohort consisted of 286 hospitalized patients receiving IV diuretics. Our equation is shown below (Figure). The validation cohort consisted of 286 hospitalized patients receiving IV diuretics. Urine collections were performed under intense supervision by a study coordinator. A spot urine was obtained at 1h, 2h post diuretic administration, and a cumulative 6h urine collection was used to determine total sodium. We used the 2h value for the equation. We defined a poor diuretic response as Results The predicted sodium equation had the best receiver operating characteristics (AUC = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.88 to 0.96, p Conclusions Our natriuretic response equation provides a faster and more accurate estimation of sodium excretion following a diuretic dose than either net fluid loss or weight change. This may aid in more rapid assessment of diuretic response and ultimately dose titration.
Book review: Ashvin Immanuel Devasundaram, India’s New Independent Cinema: The Rise of the Hybrid:

Ashvin Immanuel Devasundaram, India’s New Independent Cinema: The Rise of the Hybrid. New York, NY: Routledge, 2016, 292 pp., ISBN: 978-1-138-18462-6.