cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Some effects of 5-fluoroorotic acid and 5-fluorouracii, on the soluble ribonucleic acid of rat liver

Abstract A study of the effects of 5-fluoroorotic acid and 5-fluorouracil on the soluble RNA of rat liver showed that multiple injections of 5-fluoroorotic acid decreased the pseudouridylic acid content of soluble RNA whereas similar injections of 5-fluorouracil had no apparent effect. Radioactive 5-fluoroorotic acid was incorporated into several RNA fractions of rat liver to a greater extent than was labeled 5-fluorouracil. The utilization of [2- 14 C]uracil and [6- 14 C]orotic acid for the synthesis of the pseudouridylic and uridylic acids of soluble RNA was investigated. No incorporation of [2- 14 C]uracil was observed 0.5 or 2 h after injection of the labeled compound. In contrast, injection of [6- 14 C]orotic acid resulted in extensive incorporation in vivo of the isotope into pseudouridylic and uridylic acids after 0.5 and 2 h. The specific activities of both of the uridine nucleotides were the same at each time interval. Injection of 5-fluoroorotic acid 2 h prior to injection of [6- 14 C]orotic acid resulted in a 55% decrease in the specific activity of uridylic acid and an 85% decrease in the specific activity of pseudouridylic acid.
Elevated temperature fretting fatigue of Ti-17 with surface treatments

Abstract Fretting fatigue of Ti-17/Ti-8-1-1 contacts at 316 °C is examined experimentally. Different surface treatments are analyzed, including coatings, lubrication, and levels of shot peening. The evolution of friction is examined for a range of surface treatment. Fretting fatigue life for baseline specimens are obtained for a range of load parameters to determine loads that yield fretting fatigue lives of approximately 100,000 cycles. This applied load level was maintained constant for the different combinations of surface treatments to investigate the influence of surface treatment on fretting fatigue life. The Cu–Ni–In and Al–Br coatings and MoS2 and Everlube lubricants are removed early in the fretting fatigue experiment; hence these surface treatments had little effect on fretting fatigue life. Shot peening increases fretting fatigue lives by about 60%. Block loading experiments show that minor cycles reduce fretting fatigue life.
A constitutive theory for multi-functional fiber reinforced composites

The present work considers fiber reinforced composite materials in which the fibers have more than just a stiffening function. The composite is assumed to be composed of a non-conducting matrix reinforced with electroelastic fibers that conduct both current and heat in addition to supporting an applied load. The material system is treated as equivalent homogenized material that is nonlinearly elastic and transversely isotropic with the fiber direction as the direction of transverse isotropy. General constitutive equations are developed for the stress, polarization vector, current density vector and heat flux in terms of the deformation, electric field vector and temperature gradient. From these the special constitutive equations are extracted for a non-conducting matrix with conducting reinforcing fibers.
Distant Mirrors: Eight Recent Exemplary Models

Books reviewed: Ferrel Heady, One Time Around Herbert H. Werlin, The Mysteries of Development: Studies Using Political Elasticity Theory Theodore R.Marmor, The Politics of Medicare Jerry Mitchell, The American Experiment with Government Corporations Gitta Sereny, Albert Speer: His Battle with Truth Garry Wills, A Necessary Evil: A History of American Distrust of Government David F. Lindenfeld, The Practical Imagination: The German Sciences of State in the Nineteenth Century Jos C. N. Raadschelders, Handbook of Administrative History
On WDM-ATM network architectures

The objective of the paper is to describe a hierarchical network architecture based on all-optical Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) networks extended (for longer distances) through Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks. The local subnetworks are designed as all-optical WDM networks that require tunable components and a media access protocol. These networks are designed to efficiently support multimedia traffic and ATM encapsulation is used for local transport. The WDM networks are interconnected using generalized multichannel ATM switches. The ATM switches are termed as generalized since they are designed to utilize multiple wavelengths (provided by WDM) on the input/output links. The wavelengths on each link are allocated to different virtual circuit connections, to send signaling and control information, and to enhance priority handling.
Do hormonal control systems produce evolutionary inertia

Hormonal control systems are complex in design and well integrated. Concern has been raised that these systems might act as evolutionary constraints when animals are subject to anthropogenic environmental change. Three systems are examined in vertebrates, especially birds, that are important for assessing this possibility: (i) the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis, (ii) the activational effects of sex steroids on mating effort behaviour, and (iii) sexual differentiation. Consideration of how these systems actually work that takes adequate account of the brain's role and mechanisms suggests that the first two are unlikely to be impediments to evolution. The neural and molecular networks that regulate the HPG provide both phenotypic and evolutionary flexibility, and rapid evolutionary responses to selection have been documented in several species. The neuroendocrine and molecular cascades for behaviour provide many avenues for evolutionary change without requiring a change in peripheral hormone levels. Sexual differentiation has some potential to be a source of evolutionary inertia in birds and could contribute to the lack of diversity in certain reproductive (including life history) traits. It is unclear, however, whether that lack of diversity would impede adaptation to rapid environmental change given the role of behavioural flexibility in avian reproduction.
Environmental heterogeneity and community structure of the Kobuk River, Alaska, in response to climate change

The Kobuk River runs west along the southern Brooks Range from Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska, USA, to the Chukchi Sea. It is highly vulnerable to changes in climate due to its sub-Arctic location, unique geography, and permafrost foundation. Combined with its pristine condition, these qualities make the Kobuk an ideal system upon which to build a conceptual model for predicting ecosystem effects of climate change. We constructed a conceptual ecosystem model for the Kobuk River synthesizing surveyed baseline hydrologic, geomorphic and biotic conditions with literature on Arctic rivers. While the mainstem Kobuk has limited biological productivity, it provides spawning habitat and connectivity for large resident and migratory fish that rely upon off-channel habitat for food resources. System function is dependent largely on intermittent pulse flows that connect riverine habitats, allowing periods of late summer high productivity in off-channel habitat. Spring break-up and hill slope processes are critically important for maintaining habitat complexity and inter-connectivity. Climate change models predict the region will experience a disproportionate increase in average winter air temperature relative to summer temperatures, in the number of ice-free days, and in annual rainfall. Our conceptual model predicts that changes to fish and invertebrate populations on the Kobuk River will result not from physiological responses to increased temperatures, but rather to shifts in two main physical drivers: 1) spring break-up intensity, resulting in changes to scour rate and sediment deposition; and 2) discontinuous permafrost melt, resulting in widespread heterogeneous zones of active layer thickening and thermokarsting. The interaction of these two drivers offers four potential scenarios of geomorphic change in the system and four dramatically different biological outcomes. This model should help managers and scientists evaluate the magnitude and direction of ecosystem changes as they occur within the Kobuk system and potentially other sub-Arctic river systems.
Speed clustering of integrated circuits

Experimental data on 0.18 /spl mu/ test chips shows strong evidence of clustering of speeds of neighboring dies on a wafer. This clustering phenomenon is utilized to develop techniques for predicting the speed of a part from the speeds of three or more of its neighbors. On-chip processor monitors are used to further improve the prediction accuracy of these techniques. Experimental data demonstrates both the effectiveness of these prediction schemes and the possibility of applying of them to reduce the cost of speed binning.
A quantitative rotational model for studying serotonergic function in the rat

Unilateral injection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (4 mug/4 mul) into the medial forebrain bundle of rats produced serotonin depletions of 65% and 70% in the ipsilateral corpus striatum and ipsilateral forebrain, respectively. These animals showed a dose-dependent increase in contralateral turning (rotational behavior) when pretreated with a peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor and then injected with L-5-hydroxytryptophan in doses ranging from 5 to 100 mg/kg i.p. Injections of p-chloroamphetamine, which releases endogenous stores of serotonin, produced ipsilateral turning which could be blocked by prior serotonin depletion. Systemic administration of the catecholamine drugs L-DOPA, apomorphine and D-amphetamine never elicited consistent turning in either direction in these animals. These data indicate that the turning response of rats with unilateral destruction of brain serotonin nerve terminals provides a sensitive tool for quantifiably studying changes in serotonergic function.
Cross-infection between cats and cows: Origin and control of Streptococcus canis mastitis in a dairy herd

Group G streptococci in animals usually belong to the species Streptococcus canis and are most commonly found in dogs and cats. Occasionally, Strep. canis is detected in milk from dairy cows. An outbreak of Strep. canis mastitis in a dairy herd is described. Based on results from bacterial culture and ribotyping, a cat with chronic sinusitis was the most likely source of the outbreak. Subsequent cow-to-cow transmission of Strep. canis was facilitated by poor udder health management, including use of a common udder cloth and failure to use postmilking teat disinfection. Infected cows had macroscopically normal udders and milk, but significantly higher somatic cell counts than Strep. canis-negative herd mates. The outbreak was controlled through antibiotic treatment of lactating cows, early dry-off with dry cow therapy, culling of infected animals, and implementation of standard mastitis prevention measures. Cure was significantly more likely in dry-treated cows (87.5%) and cows treated during lactation (67%) than in untreated cows (9%). Whereas mastitis due to group G streptococci or Strep. canis in dairy cows is usually limited to sporadic cases of environmental (canine or feline) origin, this case study shows that crossing of the host species barrier by Strep. canis may result in an outbreak of mastitis if management conditions are conducive to contagious transmission. In such a situation, measures that are successful in control of Strep. agalactiae can also be used to control Strep. canis mastitis.
Background Emission of Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence during Oxidation of Tri-n-propylamine from the Dimeric 1Δg State of O2

The background electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) emission observed only upon electrochemical oxidation of tri-n-propylamine (TPrAH) on a platinum electrode is a limiting factor in ECL analytical techniques and is poorly understood. We studied this reaction in aerated acetonitrile (MeCN) solution with TPrAH oxidized at a constant potential at the Pt surface and observed ECL spectra with an emission band at 630 nm, which is characteristic of the emission of the dimeric 1Δg state of O2. No ECL emission was observed when the same solution was deaerated. This background ECL emission is attributed to the reaction between dissolved oxygen and two different products of TPrAH oxidation: the TPrAH• radical that reduces O2 to the superoxide ion and the TPrAH•+ radical cation that oxidizes this species to singlet O2.
Temporal effects of ethanol consumption on energy homeostasis, hepatic steatosis and insulin sensitivity in mice

Background Alcoholic liver disease progresses from steatosis to inflammation, fibrosis and cirrhosis. Although alcoholic liver disease has been associated with insulin resistance, it is unclear whether insulin resistance coincides with the development of steatosis.
Estimating Vote Choice A New Look at the Generic Congressional Ballot

Voters typically pay little attention to the campaign for the House of Representatives in their district. This has complicated efforts to tap public opinion about these races because seemingly modest changes in the order or wording of questions can produce dramatically different responses (Box-Steffensmeier, Jacobson, and Grant 2000; Gow and Eubank 1984; Mann 1978; Mann and Wolfinger 1980; Wright 1993). 1 Incumbency causes particular problems. It has been shown that placing too much emphasis on candidate names can bias estimates of vote choice in favor of in cumbents because these incumbents are so much better known than their challengers. Voters recognize the incumbent’s name and seize on it, ignoring th e partisan considerations that play a larger role in the voting booth (Box- Steffensmeier, Jacobson, and Grant 2000). This evidence is compelling, but it a pplies to only a fraction of congressional election surveys. Most surveys can not include candidate names at all because adding the names requires identifying a respondent’s congressional district before the interview. Instead, surveys that sample more than one district typically use a variant of the “generic congressi onal ballot.” As the name would suggest, the generic ballot ignores the speci fics of each race by referring only to party labels. Gallup asks the question this wa y: “If the elections for Congress were being held today, which party’s candidate would you vote for in your congressional district—the Democratic Party’s candidate or the Republican Party’s candidate?” (Gallup Poll 2000). 2
Physician Satisfaction Under Managed Care

Abstract: Data from a survey of young physicians have been analyzed to study the relationship between practicing medicine under managed care and the levels of perceived professional autonomy, practice satisfaction, and career satisfaction. Although practicing under managed care is associated with lower levels of perceived autonomy in patient selection and time allocation, it is associated with higher levels of perceived autonomy in use of hospital care, tests, and procedures. Specialists associated with managed care perceive more autonomy than generalists. Analyses of physicians' satisfaction with their practices and careers show that practicing under managed care is not uniformly associated with lower levels of satisfaction. Overall, managed care does not seem to have had the deleterious impact on medical practice that was forecast for it.
Fast Prediction for Large-Scale Kernel Machines

Kernel machines such as kernel SVM and kernel ridge regression usually construct high quality models; however, their use in real-world applications remains limited due to the high prediction cost. In this paper, we present two novel insights for improving the prediction efficiency of kernel machines. First, we show that by adding "pseudo landmark points" to the classical Nystrom kernel approximation in an elegant way, we can significantly reduce the prediction error without much additional prediction cost. Second, we provide a new theoretical analysis on bounding the error of the solution computed by using Nystrom kernel approximation method, and show that the error is related to the weighted kmeans objective function where the weights are given by the model computed from the original kernel. This theoretical insight suggests a new landmark point selection technique for the situation where we have knowledge of the original model. Based on these two insights, we provide a divide-and-conquer framework for improving the prediction speed. First, we divide the whole problem into smaller local subproblems to reduce the problem size. In the second phase, we develop a kernel approximation based fast prediction approach within each subproblem. We apply our algorithm to real world large-scale classification and regression datasets, and show that the proposed algorithm is consistently and significantly better than other competitors. For example, on the Covertype classification problem, in terms of prediction time, our algorithm achieves more than 10000 times speedup over the full kernel SVM, and a two-fold speedup over the state-of-the-art LDKL approach, while obtaining much higher prediction accuracy than LDKL (95.2% vs. 89.53%).
Interpretation of Sintering Kinetics Data

This paper concerns itself with the kinetics of sintering of single phase powders under the influence of surface tension forces exclusively. Although it is easy to visualize the motivating force for sintering, namely the elimination of excess surface energy, it is much less simple to understand the phenomena that produce this decrease. Many investigators have proposed different methods of studying sintering, and the literature is full of many varied opinions about the mechanisms and processes by which the observed phenomena occur (1). An attempt will be made to delineate some of the problems in interpreting sintering kinetics data.
Appraising archivists: documentation and the need for accountability in the appraisal process

Appraisal is one of the first steps in archival processing and arguably the most crucial. Embedded in this process are two concepts fundamental to archives: power of the archivist over the collection and trust, by the public, in the archivist to make decisions regarding the historical record. Justification for decisions regarding appraisal, however, are lacking and archivists have yet to make any headway in establishing a means of accountability. Through the implementation of a formalized appraisal report, archivists can thoroughly document the appraisal process while simultaneously justifying their decisions to the greater archival communities and the public at large. This study focuses on the state of archival appraisal, chronicling the works of Sir Hilary Jenkinson and T.R Schellenberg and their impact on appraisal theory, as well as current and past appraisal methods. With such variety and the impossibility of a universal approach to appraisal, archivists must earn the public's trust by accepting and acknowledging their own biases in the course of appraising collections. Documentation encourages archivists to consider the weight of their work in appraisal and their impact on future users in shaping the memories of society.
A Note on the Premiums and Discounts Embedded in VIX Futures Prices.

This article illustrates the volatile nature of the premiums and discounts embedded in the prices of VIX (Chicago Board Options Exchange Market Volatility Index) futures contracts. The fact that the underlying VIX index cannot be traded leads VIX futures to be priced more on expectations of market participants than on a typical cost-of-carry relationship. As they near expiration, VIX futures, in the aggregate, tend to trade at an increased premium, when trading in contango, and at an increased discount, when trading in backwardation. In addition, the premium in these contracts tends to peak as the VIX index nears a low, and the discount in the contracts tends to bottom as the index nears a high.
Being Right Versus Saying it Right

This article is a cautionary tale of how to effectively communicate with a client when drafting documents.
Aspirating Malignant Ovarian Cysts

Early-stage ovarian malignancies are more likely to have a better prognosis than their advanced counterparts. Yet, needle aspiration is not recommended for primary malignant ovarian neoplasms for fear of disseminating tumor cells. If a malignant cyst is inadvertently aspirated, it is hoped that the cyst is at an early stage. Only when many early cancers are detected will the debate be resolved regarding efficacy, safety, and risk-to-benefit ratio of ovarian cyst aspiration.
Personality Structure and Nazi Fiction

of the social process, and on the other has contributed to the strength of the essentially totalitarian, Paretian type of theory of the elite. Although Sumner's moral relativism in its broad aspects was hardly an original contribution, his massive accumulation of data bolstering his assertion that "the mores can make anything right," and his analysis of the in-group and the out-group, are specific contributions in this realm which bear his stamp. Sociology and anthropology, as has been suggested, have found no more adequate term than "folkway" to describe that class of data which essentially constitutes the subject-matter of the science of culture. Students of social institutions are indebted to him for his statement of the conceptstructure theory of social organization, and for his emphasis upon the "strain toward consistency" in the mores. Nor, finally, can one study his system without appreciating the importance of his essentially Marxian interpretation of history. If 1945 were to hand down a verdict on William Graham Sumner, it might fairly say that his mistaken dogmas may in large part be discounted, for they were but borrowings from a political and economic philosophy to which he added little, either in ideas or in power to survive. On the other hand, a significant number of his sociological contributions are original, have already given an impetus anid a broadened view to the science of society beyond the realization of his beneficiaries, and have raised questions which have yet to be fully answered.
Bruised tissue. I. Biochemical changes resulting from blunt injury.

SummaryIn experimentally inflicted bruises of cattle, the greatest swelling and fluid volume occurred within 2 days. The maximum biochemical changes in bruised tissue were found on or about the fourth or fifth day: These included a drop in N.P.N. to one-fourth of the control level and a 2-fold increase in the “easily split iron” concentration. Moreover, the 10-fold elevation in red pigment was due to extra-stromal hemoglobin. Bilirubin formation in bruised tissue has been demonstrated conclusively and the probable metabolic derivation of this pigment is discussed. Although healing was evident grossly in 7 days, the biochemical values did not return completely to the control levels until the ninth day.
Maximizing Lumen Gain With Directional Atherectomy.

Purpose: To describe the use of a low-pressure balloon inflation (LPBI) technique to delineate intraluminal plaque and guide directional atherectomy in order to maximize lumen gain and achieve proc...
Determination of Aluminum in Food by ICP-OES

[Objective]To establish the method for determination of aluminum by ICP-OES. [Methods]The samples were digested in high-pressure closed-vessel,then the solutions were analyzed by ICP-OES to determine aluminum. [Results]The calibration curve showed good linearity in the range of 0~20 mg/L with correlation of 0.999 9,the detection limit was 0.015 mg/L,the precision ranged from 2.0% to 4.1%,and the recoveries were between 96.5～98.3%. [Conclusion]The method shows wide linear range,little interference,good precision and accuracy,and is suitable for determination of aluminum in food.
Exercise during pregnancy. Guidelines and controversies.

PreviewShould a woman continue aerobic exercise or weight lifting when she is pregnant? What effect does such exercise have on fetal development? Are labor and delivery easier or harder for the woman who exercises regularly? Dr Leaf examines conflicting opinions on these issues and reports on current recommendations for exercise during pregnancy.
Development of an in-vitro method for simulation of oxygen transport in the microcirculation.

Measurement of oxygen transport rates in the microcirculation has been the subject of numerous in vivo investigations and considerable progress has been made. However, there are experimental difficulties in exact determination of several important parameters including the capillary wall boundary conditions and the capillary dimensions. These difficulties have constituted the incentive for our continuing development of an in vitro system in which the capillary dimensions are determined precisely by light and electron microscopy; the flow rate is carefully regulated; the inlet concentration of red cells or hemoglobin is controlled independently; the fractional saturation of hemoglobin is measured spectrophotometrically; and the boundary conditions in the silicone rubber capillary bed can be computed by established mathematical techniques. Accurate measurement of these variables should prove to be useful in testing and validating the several mathematical models which have been used in simulation of microcirculatory oxygen transport. A preliminary report on the project has described the basic features of the method (Boland, et al, 1984).
Animal Models of Helicobacter (Ferrets)

Publisher Summary Helicobacter pylori is an important human pathogen that causes active, chronic gastritis, and peptic ulcer disease and has been associated with gastric adenocarcinoma and lymphoma. Treatment of H. pylori typically consists of antibiotics, mucosal protectants, and antisecretory agents in various combinations. In 1985, a gastric spiral organism was isolated from a gastric ulcer of a ferret and subsequently identified as Helicobacter rnustelae. Since then, H . mustelae infection of ferrets has been extensively studied as a model of H. pylori in people. The ferret model was originally described and proposed by Fox and has been used to explore such diverse areas of inquiry as Helicobacter pathogenesis, epizootiology, carcinogenesis, and antimicrobial therapy. Ferrets of all ages may be used and animals aged from 3–4 days to 8 years have been used in the characterization of H . mustelae infection. Ferrets may be housed in various primary enclosures and may be pair-housed with animals of the same sex. Food, but not water, is withheld overnight from ferrets. Ten minutes after atropine premedication, animals are anesthetized by using ketamine and xylazine. Anesthesia may be prolonged by giving incremental dosages of ketamine at one-half of the induction dose and xylazine may be dosed similarly, if necessary. Various dosage regimens have been used for administration of H . mustelae to ferrets and all of them require an anesthetized animal. After harvest of bacteria and suspension in brain-heart infusion broth with 30% glycerol, approximate concentration of H . mustelae is adjusted by using optical density.
Cyberbullying in Schools: Chapter 157 Updates the Law on Suspension for Online Conduct

On May 2, 2012, a Palm Desert High School student climbed to the roof of his school and threatened suicide. As school and law enforcement officials negotiated with the teen, some of his classmates took photos of the ordeal to share online. Others complained that the suicidal boy was delaying their lunch period, posting remarks like “just jump already . . . im [sic] hungry” on popular social networking websites like Twitter and Facebook. Commentators say the problem of online bullying, or “cyberbullying,” is becoming an epidemic. Media outlets across the nation have increasingly reported on the connections between teen suicide and the creation of false profiles and “burn pages,” which are webpages “dedicated to the person being
Why and How—An Explanation for the Reader

There are at least a dozen books on the market on the physics of sound and music. Most of them tend to be encyclopedic and mathematical: they provide an assortment of often unexplained factual information, and the exposition is interlaced with formulas. They are useful as reference books for certain facts, and also to the scientifically trained who know some physics and can handle algebra.
Fatal and non-fatal animal-related injuries and illnesses to workers, United States, 2011-2014.

Background Study provides update of national estimates for work-related fatal injuries and non-fatal injuries and illnesses by animals in US. Methods Between 2011 and 2014, injuries and illnesses were retrieved from US Department of Labor and were translated to economic losses using National Safety Council estimates. Results Total of 222 fatalities (36% by cattle and other bovines) and 71 460 non-fatal injuries and illnesses (38% by insects, arachnids, mites) were identified from animal sources. For non-fatal injuries and illnesses from primary animal sources, annual incidence rates were 1.5-1.6/10 000 full-time workers and annual median days lost from work were 3-4 days. Work-related costs were $222M for fatalities and $2.8B for non-fatal injuries and illnesses that resulted in at least 1 day lost from work. Conclusions Study provides evidence of specific animals contributing to more severe injuries and potential for more severe injuries when there is more than one source of injury.
Direct-Acting Antivirals in Kidney Transplant Patients: Successful Hepatitis C Treatment and Short-Term Reduction in Urinary Protein/Creatinine Ratios.

Introduction: The role of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) clearance in long-term kidney graft survival is unknown. In this study, we examined short-term trends of urinary protein/creatinine (P/C) ratios in a cohort of HCV-infected kidney transplant recipients with stable graft function and treated with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 19 kidney transplant patients with chronic HCV infection treated with DAAs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham 1917 Viral Hepatitis Clinic between January 2013 and June 2016. Markers of glomerular damage were assessed using average protein/creatinine (P/C) ratios measured pre- and post-treatment. We also described treatment efficacy using sustained virologic response at 12 weeks post-HCV treatment (SVR12). Results: The median age of the 19 patients included was 59 years (Q1=58, Q3=64) at completion of treatment. Of these patients, 68% were African American, 32% were White and 63% were male. The median time between kidney transplant and initiation of DAA therapy was 2.25 years (Q1=0.79, Q3=3.79). Post-treatment P/C ratios (median=0.127, Q1=0.090, Q3=0.220) were significantly lower (p=0.01) than pre-treatment ratios (median=0.168, Q1=0.118, Q3=0.385). P/C ratios decreased in 14 of 19 patients (74%) with median change of -0.072 (median percent change= -40%). Post-treatment eGFRs (median=58.9, Q1=48.9, Q3=72.3) were not significantly different (p=0.82) than the pre-treatment values (median=57.0, Q1=48.8, Q3=67.8). Conclusions: In this preliminary study, there was a statistically significant decrease in P/C ratios associated with HCV clearance, suggesting a potential role for DAAs in improving kidney graft survival. Larger cohort studies will be needed to assess the clinical and long-term benefits of DAAs in this special population of HCV infected patients.
Indications and contraindications to robotic-assisted hysterectomy

Hysterectomy is one of the most common surgical procedures performed during a woman’s lifetime. In 1998, there were approximately 540,000 hysterectomies performed in the U.S. This decreased to 430,000 by 2010, due to introduction of more conservative approaches to management of uterine fibroids and abnormal uterine bleeding, the most common indications to hysterectomy. While the overall number of hysterectomies performed in the U.S. and Europe has declined substantially over the past decade, the use of minimally invasive techniques (MIS), including laparoscopic and robot-assisted approaches, has increased. Level I studies have shown the benefit of minimally invasive surgery compared with laparotomy, including improved perioperative outcomes, shorter hospital stays, improved quality of life and faster return to daily functions. With regards to minimally invasive hysterectomy techniques, the first elective hysterectomy utilizing a vaginal approach was performed in Germany in 1801. Almost 200 years later, the first total laparoscopic hysterectomy was performed in 1988, which was followed in 1999 with the first published case of robot-assisted gynecologic surgery. After several iterations were developed by different U.S. companies, in 2005, the da Vinci Surgical System® (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA), was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in gynecologic surgery.
MyD88-dependent inflammasome activation and autophagy inhibition contributes to Ehrlichia-induced liver injury and toxic shock

Severe hepatic inflammation is a common cause of acute liver injury following systemic infection with Ehrlichia, obligate Gram-negative intracellular bacteria that lack lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We have previously shown that type I IFN (IFN-I) and inflammasome activation are key host-pathogenic mediators that promote excessive inflammation and liver damage following fatal Ehrlichia infection. However, the underlying signals and mechanisms that regulate protective immunity and immunopathology during Ehrlichia infection are not well understood. To address this issue, we compared susceptibility to lethal Ixodes ovatus Ehrlichia (IOE) infection between wild type (WT) and MyD88-deficient (MyD88-/-) mice. We show here that MyD88-/- mice exhibited decreased inflammasome activation, attenuated liver injury, and were more resistant to lethal infection than WT mice, despite suppressed protective immunity and increased bacterial burden in the liver. MyD88-dependent inflammasome activation was also dependent on activation of the metabolic checkpoint kinase mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), inhibition of autophagic flux, and defective mitophagy in macrophages. Blocking mTORC1 signaling in infected WT mice and primary macrophages enhanced bacterial replication and attenuated inflammasome activation, suggesting autophagy promotes bacterial replication while inhibiting inflammasome activation. Finally, our data suggest TLR9 and IFN-I are upstream signaling mechanisms triggering MyD88-mediated mTORC1 and inflammasome activation in macrophages following Ehrlichia infection. This study reveals that Ehrlichia-induced liver injury and toxic shock are mediated by MyD88-dependent inflammasome activation and autophagy inhibition.
Spatial and Temporal Variability in Growth of Giant Gartersnakes: Plasticity, Precipitation, and Prey

Abstract The growth rate of reptiles is plastic and often varies among individuals, populations, and years in response to environmental conditions. For an imperiled species, the growth rate of individual animals is an important component of demographic models, and changes in individual growth rates might precede changes in abundance. We analyzed a long-term dataset on the growth of Giant Gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) to characterize spatial and temporal variability and evaluate potential environmental predictors of growth. We collected data on the growth in snout–vent length (SVL) of Giant Gartersnakes over 22 yr (1995–2016) from eight sites distributed throughout the Sacramento Valley of California, USA. The von Bertalanffy growth curves indicated male Giant Gartersnakes grew faster toward shorter, asymptotic SVL than did females. Nearly equal variability in growth was attributable to differences among years and among sites. From 2003–2016 we collected data on precipitation, temperature, and the abunda...
Magnetic Defects in Transitional Metal Di-Chalcogenide Semiconducting Layers

In this work, we report on the electron spin resonance (ESR) studies performed on few-layered nanocrystalline (NCs) MoS2, WS2, and TiS2 prepared using hydrothermal and vapor transport methods. From the temperature dependent ESR spectra collected from MoS2 NCs, we have identified adsorbed oxygen species, sulphur vacancies, thio- and oxo-Mo5+ related paramagnetic defect centers. WS2 NCs have exhibited W+3 and oxo-W+5 paramagnetic defect spin species. TiS2 NCs showed defects such as Fe3+ (unwanted), oxygen and sulfur vacancies. This work demonstrates the usage of spin-sensitive spectroscopy such as ESR in unravelling the defects which contain unpaired electron spin centers in layered NCs two-dimensional materials.
Trends in Severe Pediatric Emergency Conditions in a National Cohort, 2008 to 2014.

Objective The objective of this study was to determine the incidence and recent trends in serious pediatric emergency conditions. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample from 2008 through 2014, and included patients with age below 18 years with a serious condition, defined as each diagnosis group in the diagnosis grouping system with a severity classification system score of 5. We calculated national incidences for each serious condition using annualized weighted condition counts divided by annual United States census child population counts. We determined the highest-incidence serious conditions over the study period and calculated percentage changes between 2008 and 2014 for each serious condition using a Poisson model. Results The 2008 incidence of serious conditions across the national child population was 1721 visits per million person-years (95% confidence interval, 1485-1957). This incidence increased to 2020 visits per million person-years (95% confidence interval, 1661-2379) in 2014. The most common serious conditions were serious respiratory diseases, septicemia, and serious neurologic diseases. Anaphylaxis was the condition with the largest change, increasing by 147%, from 101 to 249 visits per million person-years. Conclusions The most common serious condition in children presenting to United States emergency departments is serious respiratory disease. Anaphylaxis is the fastest increasing serious condition. Additional research attention to these diagnoses is warranted.
The Mixed Outcomes of Taking Ownership for Implicit Racial Biases

One potential strategy for prejudice reduction is encouraging people to acknowledge, and take ownership for, their implicit biases. Across two studies, we explore how taking ownership for implicit racial bias affects the subsequent expression of overt bias. Participants first completed an implicit measure of their attitudes toward Black people. Then we either led participants to think of their implicit bias as their own or as stemming from external factors. Results revealed that taking ownership for high implicit racial bias had diverging effects on subsequent warmth toward Black people (Study 1) and donations to a Black nonprofit (Study 2) based on people's internal motivations to respond without prejudice (Internal Motivation Scale [IMS]). Critically, among those low in IMS, owning high implicit bias backfired, leading to greater overt prejudice and smaller donations. We conclude that taking ownership of implicit bias has mixed outcomes-at times amplifying the expression of explicit prejudice.
Alternatives to Abstinence

The question of whether alcoholics can successfully engage in non-problem drinking has been a subject of heated debate, with arguments more often based on personal beliefs than on scientific evidence. Published reports of successful drinking outcomes by alcoholics have been continually derogated; in addition, the publication of such research has been labeled as irresponsible, perhaps unethical, and serving no useful purpose. Are these reactions reasonable and prudent? Such a determination can be made only by examining the existing evidence.
Constructs of Teaching Writing in Research about Literacy Teacher Education.

This review of empirical research focused on the preparation of writing teachers synthesizes findings from 82 articles published between 2000 and early 2018. The new understandings generated throug...
Criminalization and Second-Generation Hmong American Boys

(2018). Criminalization and Second-Generation Hmong American Boys. Amerasia Journal: Vol. 44, No. 2, pp. 113-126.
Modeling Severe Traffic Accidents With Spatial And Temporal Features

We present an approach to estimate the severity of traffic related accidents in aggregated (area-level) and disaggregated (point level) data. Exploring spatial features, we measure complexity of road networks using several area level variables. Also using temporal and other situational features from open data for New York City, we use Gradient Boosting models for inference and measuring feature importance along with Gaussian Processes to model spatial dependencies in the data. The results show significant importance of complexity in aggregated model as well as as other features in prediction which may be helpful in framing policies and targeting interventions for preventing severe traffic related accidents and injuries.
Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease

Canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC) refers to a syndrome of diseases that can be caused by several different bacterial and viral pathogens. These pathogens are often highly contagious, and coinfections are common. Clinical signs are frequently mild and self-limiting; however, some individual cases progress to severe disease. Clinical diagnosis of CIRDC is often based on history of exposure and physical examination findings; however, determining the etiologic agent requires application of specific diagnostic tests, and results can be difficult to interpret because of widespread subclinical infections.
Effects of PET System Performance Characteristics on Image Quality for Neuro-PET

It is important to predict and understand how scanner design characteristics will affect image quality relevant to clinical tasks when developing a new system. It is a complex task to understand the interplay among multiple system parameters such as time-of-flight (TOF) resolution, sensitivity, intrinsic spatial resolution, and depth-of-interaction (DOI) resolution. This can be achieved by Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. Here we perform MC simulation using SimSET to simulate brain-dedicated positron emission tomography (PET) scanners with varying system parameters such as DOI resolution, intrinsic spatial resolution and TOF resolution. We report preliminary results from simulating various phantoms. The results show that DOI information greatly improves image resolution particularly in the peripheral regions, reducing parallax errors even without point spread function modeling, that smaller detector elements improve image resolution, and that TOF information lowers image noise. The MC simulation analysis provides useful results for optimizing detector geometry and hardware for high resolution neuro-PET scanner design.
Disproportionality in School Discipline and Juvenile Justice Systems: The Past and Future Role of Psychological Consultation to Promote Equity

Psychological consultation has potential to promote equity with regard to disproportionality in school discipline and juvenile justice systems. A summary of applicable models and examples of psycho...
Homogenized Modeling of Anisotropic Impact Damage in Rolled AZ31B with Aligned Second-Phase Particles

Magnesium is attractive for ballistic applications due to its high specific strength, but is not widely used due to its lower ductility as compared to other traditionally used materials (e.g. aluminum, titanium, and steel). Additionally, the behavior of magnesium is highly complex and is not well understood due to its HCP crystal structure and significant anisotropy. This work builds on direct numerical simulations (DNS) of rolled AZ31B magnesium with explicitly modeled second-phase particles subject to high strain rate uniaxial tension. The second-phase particles are preferentially aligned along the rolling direction, which induces anisotropies in void nucleation rates and void coalescence as a function of loading orientation. We propose a straightforward approach to account for these damage anisotropies in an anisotropic extension of the Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) homogenized damage model. The resulting anisotropic GTN model is calibrated against the uniaxial tension stress–strain responses predicted from DNS calculations for seven different loading orientations. The calibrated anisotropic GTN model is utilized to probe orientation effects in ballistic simulations. Two ballistic cases are conducted: (i) magnesium plate impacted with a steel sphere and (ii) magnesium plate impacted with a steel plate. The results quantify the degree to which preferential alignment of second-phase particles degrades the ballistic performance along the normal direction. This degradation is significant for a spherical impactor case, but fairly insensitive under plate impact. Consequently, the spall strength of rolled AZ31B is fairly insensitive to particle alignment.
SAAFEC-SEQ: A Sequence-Based Method for Predicting the Effect of Single Point Mutations on Protein Thermodynamic Stability.

Modeling the effect of mutations on protein thermodynamics stability is useful for protein engineering and understanding molecular mechanisms of disease-causing variants. Here, we report a new development of the SAAFEC method, the SAAFEC-SEQ, which is a gradient boosting decision tree machine learning method to predict the change of the folding free energy caused by amino acid substitutions. The method does not require the 3D structure of the corresponding protein, but only its sequence and, thus, can be applied on genome-scale investigations where structural information is very sparse. SAAFEC-SEQ uses physicochemical properties, sequence features, and evolutionary information features to make the predictions. It is shown to consistently outperform all existing state-of-the-art sequence-based methods in both the Pearson correlation coefficient and root-mean-squared-error parameters as benchmarked on several independent datasets. The SAAFEC-SEQ has been implemented into a web server and is available as stand-alone code that can be downloaded and embedded into other researchers’ code.
Comparison of Povidone-Iodine and Gentamicin Soak as Scleral Buckle Infection Prophylaxis.

Objective To determine the best method of antimicrobial prophylaxis against implanted material-associated infections in the setting of scleral buckle surgery. Design Experimental study. Participants Scleral buckle elements were soaked in either gram-positive or polymicrobial broth, while control buckle elements were soaked in PBS only. Methods Solid silicone and sponge scleral buckle elements were inoculated with common pathogens of the ocular surface, and then soaked in either 1% or 5% povidone-iodine, 1 mg/mL gentamicin solution, or sterile saline for 1, 5, 10, or 15 minutes. Bacteria were then isolated from the buckle elements and cultured for 24 hours. Results In all gram-positive bacterial conditions, gentamicin solution decreased the bacterial load from 451,666.67 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL to 171,611.11 CFU/mL (p=0.0004). The fractional bacterial survival after soaking in gentamicin was higher for the silicone sponge than band (0.357 vs 0.079, p=0.038). Both 1% and 5% povidone-iodine were able to completely eradicate all gram-positive bacteria of both buckle elements. Only 5% povidone-iodine was able to completely sterilize all microbes on the buckle after soaking in a polymicrobial solution consisting of gram-positive, gram-negative bacteria, and fungi. Conclusion Povidone-iodine solution was significantly more effective at bacterial eradication compared to gentamicin solution. For all scleral buckle procedures, we recommend soaking the buckle element in 2-3% povidone-iodine solution before placement and rinsing the ocular surface with the same solution after placement.
Homegrown hate: why White nationalists and militant Islamists are waging war against the United States

The literature on White nationalists and militant Islamists gains an important new entry examining the reasons for acts of terrorism perpetrated by American citizens against the United States. Home...