cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantifying K-12 and college student learning outcomes of STEM guitar building

There is a national initiative to incorporate integrated science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in K-16 classrooms. This study quantified student learning outcomes related project-based STEM guitar building curriculum implemented in institutions serving students grades 6–8, 9–12, and at the college level. Faculty participants were provided with tools and training needed to implement STEM guitar building curriculum. The curriculum included students building guitars as well as completing pre- and post-assessments that tested their knowledge of 12 modular learning activity skills, such as electronics, scale length, and guitar geometry. These skills align with the Common Core math standards and the Next Generation Science Standards. The data collected include pre- and post-assessment from 769 students in 15 states. Analysis of the pre- and post-assessment scores using the Wilcoxon signed ranks test demonstrated a significant increase in scores for each of the 12 MLAs; each post-assessment score was statistically significantly higher than the corresponding pre-assessment score at the p < .05 level. Overall, the STEM guitar building curriculum resulted in improvements in pre- and post-assessment scores measuring STEM related concepts for this group of 769 students.
Operations Business Math—Process Analysis Level Two—Problems

This problem set focuses on process-analysis calculations, including throughput, capacity, cycle time, and utilization. See also UVA-OM-1059 and UVA-OM-1060. Excerpt UVA-OM-1061 OPERATIONS BUSINESS MATH Process Analysis Level Three—Problems 1. Rebecca was an artist who made limited-edition sets of etched dry-point prints. She first created each printing plate in the set by using a sharp instrument to scratch an artistic image onto the plate's hard surface. It took an average of one hour to prepare the design on the surface of each printing plate. She made a set of seven differently designed plates for the limited edition prints. Next, she was ready to use her dry-inking press to produce the prints. She inked one of the printing plates, which took one minute, and then ran it through her dry-printing press. The press printed a reverse image on a piece of paper. She needed to re-ink the plate between each print. Rebecca printed 27 limited-edition paper prints from each inked plate. It required five minutes to run the dry-ink press to create one print from an inked plate. A batch size was the entire series of all limited-edition prints made from each of the plates. What was Rebecca's total time to prepare the plates in the series, and run all of the prints through the printing press (in minutes)? 2. Rebecca was an artist who made limited-edition sets of etched dry-point prints. She first created each printing plate in the set by using a sharp instrument to scratch an artistic image onto the plate's hard surface. With each printing plate, it took an average of one hour to prepare the design on the surface. She made a set of five differently designed plates for the limited-edition prints. Next, she was ready to use her dry-inking press to produce the prints. She inked one of the printing plates, which took one minute, and then ran it through her dry-printing press. The press printed a reverse image on a piece of paper. She needed to re-ink the plate between each print. Rebecca printed 41 limited-edition paper prints from each inked plate. It required five minutes to run the dry-ink press to create one print from an inked plate. A batch consisted of the entire series of limited-edition prints made from the set of plates. How many completed batches could she produce in five nine-hour days? . . .
Redistributive policies in decentralised systems: The effect of decentralisation on subnational social spending

This article uses cross-national data to examine the effects of fiscal and political decentralisation on subnational governments’ social expenditures. It revisits the benefit competition hypothesis put forward by fiscal federalism research, which posits that subnational governments in decentralised countries match welfare benefit reductions by their peers to keep taxes low and avoid an in-migration of welfare dependents. As a consequence, subnational social expenditures are assumed to plateau at similar and low levels. Using a new cross-national dataset on social expenditures in 334 subnational units across 14 countries and 21 years, the author explores whether benefit competition causes subnational governments to converge on similar levels of social spending. The analysis reveals that as countries decentralise, subnational social spending levels begin to diverge rather than converge, with some subnational governments reducing their social expenditures and others increasing them. Furthermore, decentralisation is not likely to be associated with lowest common denominator social policies, but with more variability in social expenditure. The article also examines the effects of other macro-level institutions and demonstrates that policy coordination influences the relationship between decentralisation and subnational social spending levels.
Una entrevista con José Plácido Ruiz Campillo sobre la gramática operativa y cognitiva y su estado en la enseñanza del español como lengua extranjera

L’autor va entrevistar al professor Jose Placido Ruiz Campillo del Department of Latin American and Iberian Cultures de Columbia University a Nova York a l’estiu del 2017, sobre la gramatica operativa i cognitiva i el seu estat en l’ensenyament de l’espanyol com a llengua estrangera.
Paradigmatic tools for communication scholar–activists: toward a pragmatic and relational epistemology

ABSTRACTScholars of communication who are committed to activism and social justice often do not fit fully into the paradigms of postpositive, interpretive, or critical traditions. Alternately, pragmatism and relational epistemology serve as excellent paradigmatic frameworks. Pragmatism, a tradition of philosophy that focuses on the connection between ideas and action, and relational epistemology, an approach to knowing that highlights the relationships between knowers, both offer valuable tools for scholar–activists. By engaging in communication scholarship oriented toward action and situated in relationships, scholar–activists can strive to draw on broad stakeholder experiences to contribute to interdependent human flourishing.
1 Microinjection of CPE-Binding Protein Polyadenylated mRNA Increases Developmental Competence of Bovine Oocytes In Vitro

Developmental competence is acquired during oocyte growth and maturation while oocytes undergo both nuclear and cytoplasmic changes. Completion of oocyte maturation and subsequent embryo development relies mostly on maternally synthesised and stored mRNAs at the transcriptionally quiescent phase. The temporal and spatial post-transcriptional and translational regulation of the stored mRNA in mammalian oocyte cytoplasm is essential for developmental competence of oocytes and is often controlled via cytoplasmic polyadenylation. Cytoplasmic polyadenylation element (CPE)-binding protein (CPEB) is required for polyadenylation of most mRNAs during oocyte maturation. It has been reported that in vitro-matured oocytes with high developmental competence showed an increased level of CPEB mRNA in oocyte cytoplasm. Thus, we hypothesise that the introduction of exogenous CPEB mRNA into in vitro-matured oocytes could increase their developmental capability. In this study, we first synthesised polyadenylated CPEB mRNAs by in vitro transcription. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were recovered from slaughterhouse ovaries and subjected to in vitro maturation for 21 h. After the removal of cumulus cells, matured oocytes were parthenogenetically activated (5 min in 5 mM ionomycin followed by 4 h in 2 mM DMAP with 5 mg mL−1 cycloheximide). Each activated oocyte was injected with 5 to 10 pL of poly(A)-RNA solution (400 ng μL−1; CPEB mRNA and green fluorescent protein (GFP) mRNA for the injection group or GFP mRNA for the control group) using a micromanipulator. After injection, the oocytes were cultured in SOF medium supplemented with amino acids for 8 days. No difference was observed in cleavage rate between CPEB and control group. However, the blastocyst rate was significantly higher in the CPEB group than in the control (24.9 ± 2.9% v. 15.0 ± 4.5%; P < 0.05). Cleavage and blastocyst rates were analysed by one-way ANOVA. We also compared the gene expression profile of blastocysts derived from both groups. The blastocysts were collected individually and analysed by single-embryo RT-PCR. Twenty-two genes were selected for analysis based on their roles in genomic reprogramming and embryonic development and fell into 6 functional categories: growth regulatory factors, cell cycle regulation, imprinting, apoptosis, pluripotency and DNA methyltransferase. The single-embryo RT-PCR was performed using the Flex-Six integrated fluidic chip (Fluidigm Corp., South San Francsisco, CA, USA) on the BioMark platform (Fluidigm Corp.). Relative expression values were calculated using the ΔΔCT (fold change) method and analysed by ANOVA. We found that 6 genes (H19, GRB10, DNMT1, CCNB1, CDK2, and SOX2) were up-regulated and 3 were down-regulated (DNMT2, BAX, and P53), along with the overexpression of CPEB gene (P < 0.05). Our results demonstrate that developmental competence can be improved by injecting exogenous CPEB mRNA into in vitro-matured metaphase II cattle oocytes, which reaffirms the essential role of CPEB in early embryonic development.
The belief that secondhand smoke causes serious illness among Chinese smokers: Smoking cessation and intention to quit.

Introduction Approximately 70% of Chinese adults are exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS) each week and 100 000 people die from SHS every year in China. This study evaluates associations between the belief that SHS causes serious illness and intention to quit, attempts to quit, and quitting smoking, among Chinese adult smokers. Methods A nationally representative sample of 4866 current and former adult smokers in the Global Adult Tobacco Survey was used for analysis. Multivariable weighted regression models were built to determine significant associations between smoking cessation behavior and the belief that SHS causes serious illness. Results The belief that SHS causes serious illness was associated with intention to quit (AOR 1.62, 95% CI: 1.24, 2.12) and quitting smoking (AOR 1.44, 95% CI: 1.15, 1.81). Other variables associated with smoking cessation behavior included not permitting smoking at home (intending: AOR 1.59, 95% CI: 1.10, 2.31; attempting: AOR 1.73, 95% CI: 1.25, 2.40; quitting: AOR 2.71, 95% CI: 1.90, 3.89) and the belief that smoking causes serious illness (attempting: AOR 1.63, 95% CI: 1.14, 2.33; quitting: AOR 1.66, 95% CI: 1.21, 2.28). Conclusions These results indicate that believing SHS causes serious illness may play a role in quitting smoking. In China's collectivistic culture, interventions should focus on how SHS exposure affects the health of friends and family. This message can be combined with other proven tobacco control methods such as: smoking bans in public places, warning labels on cigarette packages, high cigarette taxes, and mass media campaigns to reduce tobacco use.
Letterbox Trailing Edge Heat Transfer: Effects of Blowing Rate, Reynolds Number, and External Turbulence on Heat Transfer and Film Cooling Effectiveness

Heat transfer and film cooling distributions have been acquired for a vane trailing edge with letterbox partitions. Additionally pressure drop data have been experimentally determined across a pin fin array and a trailing edge slot with letterbox partitions. The pressure drop across the array and letterbox trailing edge arrangement was measurably higher than for the gill slot geometry. Experimental data for the partitions and the inner suction surface region downstream from the slot have been acquired over a four-to-one range in vane exit condition Reynolds number (500,000, 1,000,000, and 2,000,000), with low (0.7%), grid (8.5%), and aerocombustor (13.5%) turbulence conditions. At these conditions, both heat transfer and adiabatic film cooling distributions have been documented over a range of blowing ratios (0.47≤M≤1.9). Heat transfer distributions on the inner suction surface downstream from the slot ejection were found to be dependent on both ejection flow rate and external conditions. Heat transfer on the partition side surfaces correlated with both exit Reynolds number and blowing ratio. Heat transfer on partition top surfaces largely correlated with exit Reynolds number but blowing ratio had a small effect at higher values. Generally, adiabatic film cooling levels on the inner suction surface are high but decrease near the trailing edge and provide some protection for the trailing edge. Adiabatic effectiveness levels on the partitions correlate with blowing ratio. On the partition sides adiabatic effectiveness is highest at low blowing ratios and decreases with increasing flow rate. On the partition tops adiabatic effectiveness increases with increasing blowing ratio but never exceeds the level on the sides. The present paper, together with a companion paper that documents letterbox trailing edge aerodynamics, is intended to provide engineers with the heat transfer and aerodynamic loss information needed to develop and compare competing trailing edge designs.
Exercise and sleep-disordered breathing: an association independent of body habitus.

Study Objectives: The degree to which physical exercise habits are related to sleep-disordered breathing is not known. We sought to investigate the association between a single-item exercise question and laboratory-assessed sleep-disordered breathing. Design: A population-based cross-sectional epidemiologic study of adults measured the association between exercise and sleep-disordered breathing. Hours of weekly planned exercise were assessed by questionnaire. Sleep-disordered breathing was assessed by 18-channel in-laboratory polysomnography and characterized by the apnea-hypopnea index. Setting: Polysomnography was conducted at the University of Wisconsin General Clinical Research Center sleep laboratory. Patients and Participants: Participants included 1104 men and women, aged 30 to 60 years, enrolled in the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study. Measurements and Results: Associations were modeled using linear and logistic regression, adjusting for body mass index, skinfold measurements, age, sex, and other covariates. Adjusted mean (95% confidence interval) apnea-hypopnea index was 5.3 (4.4, 6.2) events per hour for participants who exercised 0 hours per week; 3.9 (2.8, 5.0) events per hour for those with 1 to 2 hours of exercise; 3.2 (2.2, 4.2) events per hour for those with 3 to 6 hours of exercise; and 2.8 (1.0, 4.6) for those with > 7 hours of exercise (P trend 15 events per hour) significantly decreased with increasing level of exercise. Conclusion: Independent of measures of body habitus, lack of exercise was associated with increased severity of sleep-disordered breathing. Citation: Peppard PE; Young T. Exercise and sleep-disordered breathing: an association independent of body habitus.
Shallow Shotgun Sequencing as a Strategy for Finding Coding Exons

Narrowing candidate genomic segments down to a size compatible with contig assembly by shotgun sequencing is a limiting step in the identification of mammalian genes by positional cloning. A 6 to 8 fold redundancy of sequencing (coverage) is usually required and, most often, does not alleviate the need for directed approaches for closing the remaining gaps. Once a complete sequence is obtained, computer analyzes are used to locate candidate exons, usually spanning less than 10% of the genomic sequence. Here, I propose an alternative strategy in which the need for contig assembly - and the high coverage it imposes - is removed. This strategy takes advantage of the fact that: i) mammalian coding exons are on average much smaller than individual sequencing runs, and ii) computer methods to identify coding regions only depend on local sequence information. In this context of “exon hunting” (opposed to genomic sequencing per se), I show that a 2 to 3 fold sequencing coverage is indeed sufficient to locate most candidate exons within genomic fragments, the size of which is now limited only by the available sequencing power. This strategy can be fully automated as it involves a single experimental technique and real-time computer analyzes of the data.
A New Diaphragmless Shock Tube Facility for Interface Instability and Mach Reflection Studies

A new shock tube facility has been constructed in order to help clarify: (i) the exact nature of Mach reflections in density stratified media and (ii) the growth rate of the interfacial instability under forcing by a shock wave. The shock tube is diaphragmless and has two fast-action valves at each end of the driven section, one to create a well defined interface between two dissimilar gases and the other to produce a shock propagating into the interface. Actuation of the two valves is pneumatically synchronized. The shock tube operates in the Mach number range of 1.01 to 5 with an exceptionally high degree of reproducibility and rapid turn-around time. The design, construction and performance studies of the shock tube are presented.
Fungal infections in AIDS. Cryptococcosis.

SUMMARY Cryptococcus neoformans, Histoplasma capsulatum, and Coccidioides immitis are the three fungi that regularly cause disseminated, life-threatening
Approaches to Teaching Mathematics Through Modeling

This chapter focuses on framing teaching practices that stem from a models and modeling perspective. Drawing on this perspective, we articulate how modeling is grounded in the dual notions that mathematics is learned through modeling and that the iterative process of designing products and processes is an approach to modeling that can be especially productive for students’ learning. We provide empirical evidence from 2 case studies, one from middle grades mathematics and one from post‐secondary engineering that illustrate how six principles of mathematical modeling activities are necessary for good modeling tasks and four effective teaching practices for this approach to modeling.
Ionic Modulation of Bacterial Virulence and Its Role in Surgical Infection

Abstract Background: Bacterial virulence is a dynamic property of pathogens that is expressed in a context-dependent manner. For a bacterial pathogen, the expression of virulence is a tradeoff, as ...
The entropic force generated by intrinsically disordered segments tunes protein function

Protein structures are dynamic and can explore a large conformational landscape1,2. Only some of these structural substates are important for protein function (such as ligand binding, catalysis and regulation)3–5. How evolution shapes the structural ensemble to optimize a specific function is poorly understood3,4. One of the constraints on the evolution of proteins is the stability of the folded ‘native’ state. Despite this, 44% of the human proteome contains intrinsically disordered peptide segments greater than 30 residues in length6, the majority of which have no known function7–9. Here we show that the entropic force produced by an intrinsically disordered carboxy terminus (ID-tail) shifts the conformational ensemble of human UDP-α-d-glucose-6-dehydrogenase (UGDH) towards a substate with a high affinity for an allosteric inhibitor. The function of the ID-tail does not depend on its sequence or chemical composition. Instead, the affinity enhancement can be accurately predicted based on the length of the intrinsically disordered segment, and is consistent with the entropic force generated by an unstructured peptide attached to the protein surface10–13. Our data show that the unfolded state of the ID-tail rectifies the dynamics and structure of UGDH to favour inhibitor binding. Because this entropic rectifier does not have any sequence or structural constraints, it is an easily acquired adaptation. This model implies that evolution selects for disordered segments to tune the energy landscape of proteins, which may explain the persistence of intrinsic disorder in the proteome. The carboxy terminus of human UDP-α-d-glucose-6-dehydrogenase is structurally disordered, but has sequence-independent effects on the conformation of the enzyme and binding of an allosteric inhibitor, suggesting a reason for the persistence of intrinsically disordered peptide segments in the proteome.
What are the criteria for response to cachexia treatment

The treatment of cancer cachexia remains an unmet medical need. One of the barriers to the development and approval of effective interventions has been the lack of agreement on the proper endpoints for study. The international consensus definition of cancer cachexia focuses on 3 major components of the syndrome. This includes altered body composition characterized specifically by loss of skeletal muscle mass. The muscle loss in turn is a result of negative protein and energy balance secondary to reduced food intake and abnormal metabolism. The result of muscle loss is progressive functional impairment. The assessment of interventions for cancer cachexia should include measures of all 3 components of cancer cachexia. For patients with cancer cachexia, body composition measurements of lean body mass (LBM) and fat mass may be best determined by CT imaging. Nutritional endpoints and measures of metabolism can be quite complex. However, change in appetite and body weight remain extremely useful measures of clinical benefit. The most controversial area relates to assessment of physical function. While stair climb power, 6-minute walk, hand grip strength and other measures have been used in clinical trials, none of them have shown consistent benefit that correlates with change in LBM. While we have much to learn about the inter-relationship between muscle mass and muscle function, improvement in physical function may be best measured by patient reported outcomes. Ongoing and future clinical trials in cancer cachexia should assess all 3 domains, which will improve our understanding of this syndrome and ultimately lead to better treatment options for our patients.
Implementation of a Continuing Professional Development Course in a Longitudinal Didactic Curriculum for Pharmacy Students

Objective. To implement a continuous professional development (CPD) program in the didactic curriculum of a three-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program, and evaluate associated outcomes. Methods. The initial CPD program was implemented in the didactic curriculum of the PharmD program in 2014-2015. Barriers were identified and strategies adopted to overcome the barriers. A revised CPD curriculum was implemented in the 2015-2016 academic year. Student and faculty evaluations of the course were conducted, and students’ perceived capabilities in the various skills related to professional development were measured. Results. The student ratings of the course were acceptable (ranging from 3.3 to 4.2 on a 5-point Likert scale). First-year students rated the course higher than second-year students did. The majority of faculty members found the CPD curriculum valuable for students. Students perceived that their skills in oral, written and interprofessional communication, leadership, and time management had significantly improved after completing the course. Conclusion. Implementation of a CPD process during the didactic curriculum for PharmD students is feasible and beneficial to students’ professional development. This CPD model provided students with an opportunity to develop self-directed lifelong learning skills and prepared them to transition to practice-based learning in their final year of the program.
PD06-04 IMPACT OF FELLOWSHIP TRAINING ON HOSPITAL DISCHARGE DATA FOR WOMEN UNDERGOING URINARY INCONTINENCE PROCEDURESα

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:Urinary incontinence is a prevalent condition that is becoming recognized in more women regardless of the presence of traditional risk factors. Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery (FPMRS) is a subspecialty of urologists and gynecologists with expertise in the management of pelvic floor disorders, including refractory incontinence. We hypothesized that patients hospitalized after incontinence procedures would have different characteristics based on the level of training of their surgeon. FPMRS surgeons may treat more complex patients in metropolitan areas, and this may be associated with higher costs and length of hospitalization.METHODS:New York State Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) inpatient de-identified datasets were queried for women who underwent genitourinary incontinence procedures from 2009 to 2016. Descriptive statistics using chi-square tests were performed to compare FPMRS-trained surgeons to non-FPMRS surgeons. Age, race, leng...
Platelet hyperreactivity: a new twist in old mice.

In this issue of Blood,Davizon-Castillo et al established a causative link between platelet hyperreactivity in old mice and increased systemic levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), which functions via megakaryocyte metabolic reprogramming that leads to platelet mitochondrial dysfunction.1
A window of opportunity trial of preoperative nivolumab with or without tadalafil in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN): Safety, clinical, and correlative outcomes

Abstract Background Tadalafil is a phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor was found to decrease MDSC, Treg, arginase and iNOS expression with an increase in cytotoxic effector T cells. In order to improve on the clinical efficacy of PD-1 blockade platform, we designed a window of opportunity trial to test the immunological and therapeutic effects of nivolumab and tadalafil combination. Methods We conducted an investigator-initiated, two-arm multi-institutional window of opportunity randomized trial in patients with SCCHN of any stage, who were candidates for complete surgical resection (NCT03238365). Subjects in the two cohorts received nivolumab 240 mg intravenously on day 1 and 15 followed by surgery on day 28. Subjects in the combination cohort received tadalafil 10 mg p.o. once daily for 4 weeks. Patients were stratified to HPV status. Imaging, blood and tumor were obtained pretreatment and post treatment and used for immunological correlatives. The primary endpoint was correlative analysis of immune cell polarization. We present results with complete study accrual. Results Of 47 randomized patients, 21 had HPV + tumors. 45/47 patients completed the treatment regimen. Grade 3 serious adverse event (SAEs) occurred in 18% of pts. No related AE’s resulted in delay of surgery. Preliminary evaluation of pathologic treatment effect (TE) was assessed on post treatment specimens showing that 25% of pts demonstrated no treatment effect (TE), 25% had 1-20% TE, 41% had 21-99%TE and 9% had CR. Patients receiving tadalafil amplified intratumoral transcript levels consistent with enhanced myeloid infiltration and T cell activation. This was associated with changes in cytokine levels in patients sera consistent with altered myeloid phenotypes. Conclusions Nivolumab +/- tadalafil demonstrated a range of treatment responses with 50% of pts having a pathologic TE > 21% in 4 weeks. In the context of PD-1 blockade, tadalafil enhanced T lymphocyte and myeloid cell infiltration. The mechanisms underlying this shift warrant further investigation. Clinical trial identification NCT03238365. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding Bristol-Myers Squibb. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Causes for Excess: Elizabeth Bishop’s Eighty-Eight Exclamations

Bishop begins her collected poems by calmly distancing her voice from “excitement/as when emotion too far exceeds its cause”; ever since, nearly every review singles out her reticence and her careful measuring of emotion to cause. Yet no list of her most distinctive lines would be complete without her startling exclamations, lines that condense epiphanies and voltas, finally admitted wishes and self-injunctions. And any transcription of her varied orchestration would need to account for screams, cries, and dizzied whoops. Bishop’s inimitable voice depends on the occasional excess that, paradoxically, arrives only in precisely controlled circumstances. Bishop’s excess in eighty-eight exclamation marks reveals her attraction to personae and secondary voices, and her fascination with the expressive potential of animals and children. Ending on her exceptional “Sonnet,” I clarify how that vocal practice changed over her career.
Phase of Firing Coding of Learning Variables across Prefrontal Cortex, Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Striatum during Feature Learning

Abstract The prefrontal cortex and striatum form a recurrent network whose spiking activity encodes multiple types of learning-relevant information. This spike-encoded information is evident in average firing rates, but finer temporal coding might allow multiplexing and enhanced readout across the connected the network. We tested this hypothesis in the fronto-striatal network of nonhuman primates during reversal learning of feature values. We found that neurons encoding current choice outcomes, outcome prediction errors, and outcome history in their firing rates also carried significant information in their phase-of-firing at a 10-25 Hz beta frequency at which they synchronized across lateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and striatum. The phase-of-firing code exceeded information that could be obtained from firing rates alone, was strong for inter-areal connections, and multiplexed information at three different phases of the beta cycle that were offset from the preferred spiking phase of neurons. Taken together, these findings document the multiplexing of three different types of information in the phase-of-firing at an interareally shared beta oscillation frequency during goal-directed behavior. Highlights Lateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and striatum show phase-of-firing encoding for outcome, outcome history and reward prediction errors. Neurons with phase-of-firing code synchronize long-range at 10-25 Hz. Spike phases encoding reward prediction errors deviate from preferred synchronization phases. Anterior cingulate cortex neurons show strongest long-range effects.
InAlN/GaN metal–insulator–semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistor with plasma enhanced atomic layer-deposited ZrO2 as gate dielectric

In this letter, we present the electrical properties of the InAlN/GaN metal-insulator-semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistor (MISHEMT) with plasma enhanced atomic layer-deposited ZrO2 as the gate dielectric. The InAlN/GaN MISHEMT with an on/off current (Ion/Ioff) ratio of 1.46×109 as well as a subthreshold swing (SS) of 85 mV/dec was achieved. The interface trap density (Dit) decreased from 1.16 × 1012 eV-1cm-2 (at EC-ET = 0.26 eV) to 4.68 × 1011 eV-1cm-2 (at EC-ET = 0.40 eV), indicating a good interface property. This study suggests a feasible way for the application of ZrO2/InAlN/GaN MISHEMTs
Group 1 Clinical Features and Treatment

Abstract Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive vasculopathy of the pulmonary arteries that ultimately leads to right heart failure and death. Symptoms are non-specific and diagnosis requires a high index of suspicion, often leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment. Broadly classified as World Health Organization (WHO) Group I disease, PAH encompasses a diverse array of etiologies, all felt to have similar pathophysiology and responses to therapy. Over the past 20 years, PAH treatment has evolved significantly and now centers around multi-pathway targeted combination therapy regimens that have improved outcomes and survival.
How Professionals Collaborate to Support Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities in Child Care

As it is common for infants and toddlers with disabilities to receive their early intervention (EI) services in child care programs, this mixed method study examined the experiences of child care and EI providers (e.g., occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists) in collaborating to support infants and toddlers with disabilities in child care settings. Through an online survey and in-person focus groups across a large state, findings indicated that although professionals may interact with each other during EI visits at child care, meaningful collaboration such as including child care providers in Individualized Family Service Plans and embedding intervention strategies into daily routines was minimal. Participants noted many barriers including liability concerns; information sharing; funding and time for collaboration; and minimal training and understanding of child care and EI programming. Participants provided suggestions to support future collaboration including building relationships through shared training, substitute staffing to attend meetings, and clear program and state policies.
Amixicile depletes the ex vivo periodontal microbiome of anaerobic bacteria.

Abstract Objectives Although periodontal diseases result from overgrowth of anaerobic bacteria, the effect of a specific knockdown of anaerobes on the disease outcome has yet to be examined. We have reported that amixicile, a non-toxic, readily bioavailable, and novel antimicrobial, specifically targets selected oral anaerobes through inhibition of the activity of pyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PFOR), a major enzyme mediating oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate. Methods Here, we generated an ex vivo microbiome derived from gingival pockets of human subjects with chronic periodontal disease and evaluated the efficacy of amixicile in generating a specific knockdown of anaerobic bacteria present in the microbiome. Results Our bioinformatics analysis identified PFOR-like coding capacity in over 100 genomes available from the HOMD database. Many of those bacteria were present in our ex vivo microbiome. Significantly, the anaerobic pathogens relying on PFOR for energy generation were specifically reduced in abundance following treatment with amixicile while non-PFOR bacteria were spared. Specifically, Prevotella, Veillonella, Slackia, Porphyromonas, Treponema, Megasphera, and Atobium were reduced in abundance. Such treatment resulted in the conversion of a microbiome resembling a microbiome derived from sites with periodontal disease to one resembling a microbiome present at healthy sites. We also compared the inhibitory spectrum of amixicile to that of metronidazole and showed that the antibiotics have a similar inhibitory spectrum. Conclusions This work further demonstrates that amixicile has the potential to reverse and prevent the outgrowth of anaerobic pathogens observed in subjects with periodontal disease.
Critical Pedagogies of Neoliberalism

In this chapter, Sheila L. Macrine revisits and evolves her original concept of Pedagogies of Neoliberalism (2016) with a new iteration called Critical Pedagogies of Neoliberalism. This new model helps to develop a critical framework to identify and to disrupt neoliberalism’s hidden, and not so hidden, hegemonic social and political practices and policies by adding educational components and advancing a critical and activist response. The creation of Critical Pedagogies of Neoliberalism can help to identify these threats by naming some of neoliberalism’s most effective weapons.
Authigenic Ferrimagnetic Iron Sulfide Preservation Due to Nonsteady State Diagenesis: A Perspective From Perseverance Drift, Northwestern Weddell Sea

We document magnetic mineral diagenesis with high resolution magnetic susceptibility, hysteresis, isothermal remanent magnetization, and other rock magnetic measurements through a shallow sulfate-m...
Fish net and line fibers in the Indus Civilization (c.3200–1300 BCE): Exploring the possible materials that Indus fisherfolk may have used as part of their fishing strategies

Abstract Indus Civilization economic strategies have traditionally been reconstructed from a land-based focus. However, marine, estuarine and river fishing was, and remains, an important aspect of South Asian food procurement and foodways. While great strides have been taken in understanding the types of fish exploited and the methods used to catch these fish, the initial stages in creating a fishing strategy, the choice of materials used to create fishing technologies, remain abstracted due to preservation problems. Through careful analogy with modern plant remains this paper explores the types of fiber that may have been exploited by Indus fisherfolk. Comparisons between the range of plants exploited by Indus peoples and the functionality of these taxa suggest that there was a diversity of materials available. Bast fibers would likely have been most suited to net production, and numerous taxa can be seen in the Indus archaeobotanical and athracological assemblages. Combined with textiles, fiber impressions, artefactual and motif evidence, both within and contemporary to the Indus Civilization it can be suggested that Indus fisherfolks were familiar with bast fiber creation technologies, net and line making.
Efficient Option Replication in the Presence of Transactions Costs

In the presence of transaction costs, a risk-return trade-off exists between the quality and the cost of a replicating strategy. In that context, I show how to expand the set of all possible time-based strategies through the introduction of a multi-scale class of strategies, which consist in rebalancing different fractions of an option portfolio at different time frequencies. The method, based on time-scale diversification, is to dynamic replication what investment in diversified portfoliosis to static portfolio selection: in a dynamic context, one may enjoy the benefits of diversification by using different time scales in trading the same asset.
Percolation thresholds on high-dimensional D_{n} and E_{8}-related lattices.

The site and bond percolation problems are conventionally studied on (hyper)cubic lattices, which afford straightforward numerical treatments. The recent implementation of efficient simulation algorithms for high-dimensional systems now also facilitates the study of ${D}_{n}$ root lattices in $n$ dimensions as well as ${E}_{8}$-related lattices. Here, we consider the percolation problem on ${D}_{n}$ for $n=3$ to 13 and on ${E}_{8}$ relatives for $n=6$ to 9. Precise estimates for both site and bond percolation thresholds obtained from invasion percolation simulations are compared with dimensional series expansion based on lattice animal enumeration for ${D}_{n}$ lattices. As expected, the bond percolation threshold rapidly approaches the Bethe lattice limit as $n$ increases for these high-connectivity lattices. Corrections, however, exhibit clear yet unexplained trends. Interestingly, the finite-size scaling exponent for invasion percolation is found to be lattice and percolation-type specific.
Controlled aggregation enhances immunomodulatory potential of mesenchymal stromal cell aggregates

Human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are promising candidates for cell therapy due to their ease of isolation and expansion and their ability to secrete antiapoptotic, pro-angiogenic, and immunomodulatory factors. Three-dimensional (3D) aggregation "self-activates" MSCs to augment their pro-angiogenic and immunomodulatory potential, but the microenvironmental features and culture parameters that promote optimal MSC immunomodulatory function in 3D aggregates are poorly understood. Here, we generated MSC aggregates via three distinct methods and compared them with regard to their (a) aggregate structure and (b) immunomodulatory phenotype under resting conditions and in response to inflammatory stimulus. Methods associated with fast aggregation kinetics formed aggregates with higher cell packing density and reduced extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis compared to those with slow aggregation kinetics. While all three methods of 3D aggregation enhanced MSC expression of immunomodulatory factors compared to two-dimensional culture, different aggregation methods modulated cells' temporal expression of these factors. A Design of Experiments approach, in which aggregate size and aggregation kinetics were systematically covaried, identified a significant effect of both parameters on MSCs' ability to regulate immune cells. Compared to small aggregates formed with fast kinetics, large aggregates with slow assembly kinetics were more effective at T-cell suppression and macrophage polarization toward anti-inflammatory phenotypes. Thus, culture parameters including aggregation method, kinetics, and aggregate size influence both the structural properties of aggregates and their paracrine immunomodulatory function. These findings underscore the utility of engineering strategies to control properties of 3D MSC aggregates, which may identify new avenues for optimizing the immunomodulatory function of MSC-based cell therapies.
The Percentage of Trees Bearing Cones as a Predictor for Annual Longleaf Pine Cone Production

The U.S. Forest Service has monitored longleaf pine cone production at sites throughout the southeastern US for over 60 years. Data from the multi-decadal surveys have supported our understanding of the variability of stand-level cone production as it relates to environmental and ecological processes, and more broadly, how longleaf pine operates as a masting species. Cones from longleaf pine are counted each spring using visual surveys that follow a standard protocol. Rapid mast assessments have been proposed in the literature as an alternative to traditional methods, yet these approaches have not been examined for longleaf pine. In this study, I compared average cone production (using the traditional method) to the percentage of trees baring cones (rapid assessment) to understand the relationship between these two mast measurements. I examined 29 years of data from 18 cone-monitoring sites containing 234 trees. Using simple linear models, I discovered the percentage of trees baring cones explained 58–94% of the variance in log-average cone production across all sites. One-way ANOVA analysis revealed cone crops required for successful regeneration (25+ cones per tree) occurred when the percentage of trees baring cones exceeded 90%, and the results from this study underscore the utility of a simple 90% threshold when determining a successful cone crop. While traditional cone-count methods should not be abandoned, I advocate for the use of rapid cone-crop assessments when a proxy approach is suitable.
Probiotic-guided CAR-T cells for universal solid tumor targeting

Abstract Synthetic biology enables the engineering of interactions between living medicines to overcome the specific limitations of any singular therapy. One major challenge of tumor-antigen targeting therapies like chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells is the identification of targetable antigens that are specifically and uniformly expressed on heterogenous solid tumors. In contrast, certain species of bacteria selectively colonize immune-privileged tumor cores and can be readily engineered as antigen-independent platforms for therapeutic delivery. Bridging these approaches, we develop a platform of probiotic-guided CAR-T cells (ProCARs), in which T cells are engineered to sense synthetic antigens (SA) that are produced and released by tumor-colonizing probiotic bacteria. We demonstrate increased CAR-T cell activation and tumor-cell lysis when SAs anchor to components of the extracellular matrix. Moreover, we show that ProCARs are intratumorally activated by probiotically-delivered SAs, receive further stimulation from bacterial TLR agonists, and are safe and effective in multiple xenograft models. This approach repurposes tumor-colonizing bacteria as beacons that guide the activity of engineered T cells, and in turn builds the foundation for communities of living medicines.
CyberWar Game: A Paradigm for Understanding New Challenges of Cyber War

Cyber-war is a growing form of threat to our society that involves multiple players executing simultaneously offensive and defensive operations. Given that cyber space is hyper dimensional and dynamic, human decision making must also incorporate numerous attributes and must be agile and adaptive. In this chapter, we review how computational models of human cognition can be scaled up from an individual model of a defender operating in a hostile environment, through a pair of models representing a defender and an attacker to multi-agents in a cyber-war. Following, we propose to study the decision making processes that drive the dynamics of cyber-war using a multi-agent model comprising of cognitive agents that learn to make decisions according to Instance-Based Learning Theory (IBLT). In this paradigm, the CyberWar game, assets and power are two key attributes that influence the decisions of agents. Assets represent the key resource that an agent is protecting from attacks while power represents technical prowess of an agent’s cyber security. All the agents share the same goal of maximizing their assets and they learn from experience to attack other agents and defend themselves in order to meet this goal. Importantly, they don’t learn by using predefined strategies, as many multi-agent models do, but instead they learn from experience according to the situation and actions of others, as suggested by the IBLT’s process. This chapter contributes to current research by: proposing a novel paradigm to study behavior in cyber-war, using a well-known cognitive model of decisions from experience to predict what possible human behavior would be in a simulated cyber-war, and demonstrating novel predictions regarding the effects of power and assets, two main contributors to cyber-war.
Abstract #2304: Effects of reirradiation on human glioblastoma cells previously treated with low dose fractionated radiotherapy

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 18-22, 2009; Denver, CO Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common primary brain tumor in adults and radiotherapy is an important adjuvant treatment in the management of glioblastoma. The radiosensitivities of glioblastomas vary widely with respect to clinically relevant radiation doses. Reirradiation is applied to relapsing primary malignant brain tumors. We treated human glioblastoma cells U87 and SNB19 with low dose fractionated irradiation (FIR) and established sublines. This study aims to focus on biological responses of irradiation on parental and established sublines of FIR. Cells of parental and FIR were exposed to different doses of radiation and cell survival was assessed by the colony formation assay. Induction of apoptosis was measured by cell cycle analysis and Hoechst 33258 staining. MMP-9 activity was evaluated by zymography and tumor cell invasion by in vitro Matrigel assay. We also assessed how reirradiation modulates in vitro angiogenesis. Human microvascular endothelial cells were exposed to conditioned medium from irradiated parental and FIR sublines and endothelial migration and capillary-like structure formation were studied. Reirradiation caused an increase in clonogenic cell survival. A decrease in induction of apoptosis was observed in FIR sublines compared with parental cells and this was found to be associated with an increase in survivin, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis family and downregulation in the activation of Caspase-9, Caspase-3 and PARP. Increase in MMP-9 activity and invasiveness was found in FIR sublines exposed to irradiation. Reirradiation results in increased activation of ERK and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways in FIR sublines compared with parental cells. The results suggest that glioblastoma tumor cells surviving low dose fractionated radiation therapy, afterwards exhibit enhanced angiogenic potential and increased resistance to induction of apoptosis to a new radiation exposure. Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr 2304.