cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
pH-Mediated Microbial and Metabolic Interactions in Fecal Enrichment Cultures.

ABSTRACT pH and fermentable substrates impose selective pressures on gut microbial communities and their metabolisms. We evaluated the relative contributions of pH, alkalinity, and substrate on microbial community structure, metabolism, and functional interactions using triplicate batch cultures started from fecal slurry and incubated with an initial pH of 6.0, 6.5, or 6.9 and 10 mM glucose, fructose, or cellobiose as the carbon substrate. We analyzed 16S rRNA gene sequences and fermentation products. Microbial diversity was driven by both pH and substrate type. Due to insufficient alkalinity, a drop in pH from 6.0 to ~4.5 clustered pH 6.0 cultures together and distant from pH 6.5 and 6.9 cultures, which experienced only small pH drops. Cellobiose yielded more acidity than alkalinity due to the amount of fermentable carbon, which moved cellobiose pH 6.5 cultures away from other pH 6.5 cultures. The impact of pH on microbial community structure was reflected by fermentative metabolism. Lactate accumulation occurred in pH 6.0 cultures, whereas propionate and acetate accumulations were observed in pH 6.5 and 6.9 cultures and independently from the type of substrate provided. Finally, pH had an impact on the interactions between lactate-producing and -consuming communities. Lactate-producing Streptococcus dominated pH 6.0 cultures, and acetate- and propionate-producing Veillonella, Bacteroides, and Escherichia dominated the cultures started at pH 6.5 and 6.9. Acid inhibition on lactate-consuming species led to lactate accumulation. Our results provide insights into pH-derived changes in fermenting microbiota and metabolisms in the human gut. IMPORTANCE The human gut is a dynamic environment in which microorganisms consistently interact with the host via their metabolic products. Some of the most important microbial metabolic products are fermentation products such as short-chain fatty acids. Production of these fermentation products and the prevalence of fermenting microbiota depend on pH, alkalinity, and available dietary sugars, but details about their metabolic interactions are unknown. Here, we show that, for in vitro conditions, pH was the strongest driver of microbial community structure and function and microbial and metabolic interactions among pH-sensitive fermentative species. The balance between bicarbonate alkalinity and formation of fatty acids by fermentation determined the pH, which controlled microbial community structure. Our results underscore the influence of pH balance on microbial function in diverse microbial ecosystems such as the human gut.
Abstract WP262: White Matter Stroke and Alzheimer’s Pathology Synergize to Worsen Outcomes in the First Clinically Relevant Mouse Model of Mixed Vascular and Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia

Introduction: Microvascular stroke and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) account for the majority of dementia diagnoses with 50% of patients having mixed dementia with features of both microvascular stroke ...
Performance Analysis of Multi-Hop Heterodyne FSO Systems over Malaga Turbulent Channels with Pointing Error Using Mixture Gamma Distribution

This work investigates the end-to-end performance of a free space optical amplify-and-forward relaying system using heterodyne detection over Malaga turbulence channels at the presence of pointing error. In order to overcome the analytical difficulties of the proposed composite channel model, we employed the mixture Gamma (MG) distribution. The proposed model shows a high accurate and tractable approximation just by adjusting some parameters. More specifically, we derived new closed-form expression for average bit error rate employing rectangular quadrature amplitude modulation in term of MG distribution and generalized power series of the Meijer's G- function. The closed-form has been validated numerically and asymptotically at high signal to noise ratio.
Narrating Precariousness in Cuba Beyond Havana and the ICAIC: The Case of Televisión Serrana’s Ariagna Fajardo and ¿A dónde vamos?

Since the triumph of the Revolution, Cuban film has held an official role in constructing, reflecting, and criticizing the national project through the established state filmmaking institute: the ICAIC. Despite the assumed monopoly of the Havana-based ICAIC and the reduced vision of revolutionary Cuba, the film landscape has proven much more complex within and beyond the state. In order to explore those who have worked to negotiate a space in Cuba’s centralized film landscape, this chapter analyzes a rural documentary producer, Television Serrana, and one filmmaker in particular, Ariagna Fajardo. Far from the institutional hub of Havana, hovering between a local and national partnership, Television Serrana makes visible life from the Sierra Maestra while also serving as an educational platform to transfer the filmmaking process to the local community. Having grown up in the Television Serrana’s community educational program, and now as one its most awarded directors, Fajardo captures this mission in her film ?A donde vamos?, which explores the precarious farming realities that have caused many of her young peers to abandon rural life to live in an illegal limbo in urban centers. Her film has resulted in national attention to the issue of fair prices and food distribution for rural farmers. Beyond the content of the film however, Fajardo’s many works face a similar challenge in terms of distribution and exhibition as the ageing legal state-film mechanisms do not reflect the changing audiovisual landscape of contemporary Cuban film.
Racionalidade e Realismo: O que Está em Jogo?

Ha decadas que assistimos, nas universidades americanas que se dedicam a investigacao, a debates sobre a natureza do ensino superior. Controversias arrebatadas sobre o plano de estudos, sobre as exigencias academicas e mesmo sobre os objectivos do proprio ensino superior nao sao coisas novas. Mas os debates agora em curso sao em certos aspectos invulgares. Ao contrario dos reformadores academicos do passado, muitos dos que actualmente poem em causa a tradicao academica tem fins politicos explicitamente de esquerda e procuram atingir objectivos explicitos. Alem disso, e o que e mais interessante, poem em causa muitas vezes nao ape- nas o conteudo do plano de estudos, mas as proprias concepcoes de racio- nalidade, verdade, objectividade e realidade que foram dadas como garanti- das no ensino superior, tal como tem sido dadas como garantidas em geral na nossa civilizacao. Nao desejaria exagerar este aspecto. Aqueles que poem em causa a tradicao apresentam varios pontos de vista e argumentos diferentes. Nao estao de modo algum unidos. Mas houve uma mudanca nas discussoes sobre os objectivos da educacao no sentido em que os ideais que previamente quase toda a gente partilhava nas disputas — ideais de verdade, racionalidade e objectividade, por exemplo — sao agora rejeitados, ate mesmo como ideais, por muitos dos que colocam as coisas em causa. Isto e uma novidade. Em algumas das disciplinas das humanidades e das ciencias sociais, e mesmo em algumas escolas profissionais, desenvolvem-se agora duas subculturas universitarias mais ou menos distintas, poderia quase dizer-se duas universidades diferentes. A distincao entre as duas subculturas atra- vessa fronteiras disciplinares e nao esta claramente marcada. Mas existe. Uma das subculturas e a da universidade tradicional, dedicada a descoberta, alargamento e disseminacao do conhecimento, tal como este e tradicional- mente concebido. A outra exprime um conjunto muito mais diversificado de atitudes e projectos; mas, unicamente para ter uma denominacao, irei des-
Radionuclide Ventriculography to Evaluate Myocardial Function

Over the past decade, radionuclide ventriculography has developed from being solely an investigational tool to one of wide spread use in the clinical assessment of myocardial function. Visualization of the cardiac chambers and qualitative and quantitative assessment of ventricular function provide the clinician with important diagnostic and prognostic information. In addition, radionuclide ventriculography is non-invasive, can be applied during stress including exercise, or during pharmacologic intervention, and provides a means of following patients serially.
Pharmacotherapy of Pain in Older Adults: Opioid and Adjuvant

Opioids are naturally occurring, semisynthetic, and synthetic drugs whose effects are mediated through opioid receptors, altering the perception and emotional response to painful stimuli [1, 2]. There are three major classes of opioid receptors: µ (mu), κ (kappa), and δ (delta), with subtypes within each receptor class [3]. Opioid receptors are found in the periaqueductal grey matter and throughout the spinal cord, as well as nonneural sites such as joint synovium and intestinal mucosa [1,2].
Consequences of Malalignment

All living organisms are limited to a finite life span, and humans are no exception. As with any mechanical system, the cumulative debilitating effects of time, wear, and gravity result in an almost imperceptible gradual degradation in performance. All our tissues are susceptible to these effects, although some are more resistant than others. Skin and bone are perhaps the most resilient tissues, and both have an amazing capacity for healing and regeneration that is the foundation of much of modern reconstructive surgery. Although articular cartilage is subjected to some of the highest mechanical demands, its capacity for repair and regeneration is unfortunately extremely limited and it is often among the first tissues to manifest the effects of aging. Remarkably, this relatively fragile tissue is responsible for transmitting loads exceeding several times our body weight for an estimated billion cycles during the course of an average lifetime. It is not surprising that any disturbance of the normal anatomic and biomechanical relationships can result in an acceleration of this gradual degradation characteristic of aging.
Queer reproductive justice

In the past half-century, there have been some notable shifts in English language feminist and queer scholarship and activism about procreation, marriage and family. In particular, there has been a striking increase in emphasis on genetic and biological family creation in queer and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender kinship practices, in contradistinction to earlier emphases on escape from the norms and demands of heteronormative patriarchy. During the gay liberation movement, older concepts of 'families we choose' were not defined by (nor meant necessarily to include) the creation of children as kin. The contemporary shift transpires amidst racial, national and economic disparities around the ability of people to 'couple' or to access reproductive technology. In line with early feminist and queer studies, this commentary calls for a broadening of the view of reproduction, and for more direct engagement between the primarily critical discourse on reproductive justice and the frequently celebratory discourse on queer families.
Trends in DMT and other tryptamine use among young adults in the United States.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The popularity of tryptamines such as N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) appears to be increasing in the United States (US), but epidemiologic literature on prevalence of use is scant. This paper aims to determine trends in prevalence and correlates of past-year tryptamine use among a nationally representative sample of young adults in the US. METHODS Participants in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health survey were queried about past-year use of tryptamines-specifically DMT, α-methyltryptamine (AMT), and 5-MeO-DIPT ("Foxy"). Data were examined from young adults (ages 18-25), years 2007-2014 (N = 144,787). Linear trends in prevalence of past-year tryptamine use were examined in the full sample and stratified by specific demographic and drug use characteristics. RESULTS Tryptamine use is rare, but increased from .2% in 2007/08 to .7% in 2013/14, a 273% relative increase (p < .001). While prevalence increased among all demographic groups, prevalence was substantially higher among individuals who use other drugs. In particular, between 2007/08 and 2013/14, prevalence of tryptamine use increased among past-year ecstasy users (from 2.1% to 10.0%) and LSD users (from 7.0% to 15.5%) (ps < .01). Prevalence of tryptamine use tended to be higher among lifetime and past-year users of psychedelic drugs compared to users of non-psychedelic drugs. CONCLUSION While tryptamine use is not prevalent in the general young adult population, prevalence is increasing. Users of various other drugs-particularly drugs with psychedelic effects-report higher prevalence of tryptamine use. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE Users of other drugs can be targeted when disseminating information about tryptamines to ensure user safety. (Am J Addict 2018;27:578-585).
Medical and industrial applications of nuclear reaction physics

An understanding of the interactions of neutrons and protons below a few hundred MeV with nuclei is important for a number of applications. In this paper, two new applications are discussed: radiation transport calculations of energy deposition in fast neutron and proton cancer radiotherapy to optimize the dose given to a tumor; and intermediate-energy proton accelerators which are currently being designed for a range of applications including the destruction of long-lived radioactive nuclear waste. We describe nuclear theory calculations of direct, preequilibrium, and compound nucleus reaction mechanisms important for the modeling of these systems.
Computational modeling of neuromuscular response to swing-phase robotic knee extension assistance in cerebral palsy.

Abstract Predicting subject-specific responses to exoskeleton assistance may aid in maximizing functional gait outcomes, such as achieving full knee-extension at foot contact in individuals with crouch gait from cerebral palsy (CP). The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of volitional and non-volitional muscle activity in subject-specific responses to knee extension assistance during walking with an exoskeleton. We developed a simulation framework to predict responses to exoskeleton torque by applying a stretch-reflex spasticity model with muscle excitations computed during unassisted walking. The framework was validated with data collected from six individuals with CP. Framework-predicted knee angle at terminal swing was within 4 ± 4° (mean ± sd) of the knee angle measured experimentally without the addition of spasticity. Kinematic responses in two-thirds of the participants could be accurately modeled using only underlying muscle activity and the applied exoskeleton torque; incorporating hamstring spasticity was necessary to recreate the measured kinematics to within 1 ± 1° in the remaining participants. We observed strong positive linear relationships between knee extension and exoskeleton assistance, and strong negative quadratic relationships between knee extension and spasticity. We utilized our framework to identify optimal torque profiles necessary to achieve full knee-extension at foot contact. An angular impulse of 0.061 ± 0.025 Nm·s·kg−1·deg−1 with 0.013 ± 0.002 Nm·kg−1·deg−1 of peak torque and 4.1 ± 1.9 W·kg−1·deg−1 peak mechanical power was required to achieve full knee extension (values normalized by knee excursion). This framework may aid the prescription of exoskeleton control strategies in pathologies with muscle spasticity. https://simtk.org/projects/knee-exo-pred/ .
Paradigm Shifts in States’ Assessment Accessibility Policies: Addressing Challenges in Implementation:

Providing accessibility features and accommodations to students with disabilities has been recognized as an important way to improve access to instruction and to assessments. This recognition was i...
Agricultural intensification was associated with crop diversification in India (1947-2014)

Declines in agricultural biodiversity associated with modern farming practices may negatively affect the sustainability of agro-ecosystems, but formal knowledge of historical variation in spatio-temporal variation of agro-biodiversity is limited. We used time series of national (1947-2014) and district-level (1956-2008) crop distribution data for India to show that despite strong agricultural intensification after 1960, the average crop species diversity at the district level was stable, but increased at the country-level. While there was a decline in diversity in the major rice and wheat producing regions of northwestern India, associated with intensification of the production of these crops, diversity in western and southern India increased due to expansion of oilseeds and horticultural crops that replaced millet and sorghum. These opposite, but related, trends in crop-level diversity at the sub-national level partially canceled each other out at national level, but there nevertheless was a noticeable increase in overall crop diversity in India during this time period. Our results illustrate how patterns of change in crop diversity need to be considered at different levels of aggregation, and how a decrease in diversity associated with intensification and specialization in one area, may be associated with increased diversity elsewhere, and that support for intensive agriculture with relatively low crop diversity in some regions may be associated with an increase in crop diversity in other regions and at a higher level of aggregation.
Link Prediction Based Minimum Cost and Balanced Partition of Large Online Social Networks

Social networking has been one of the fastest growing information technologies as evidenced by the popularity of online social network (OSN) sites. These highly active OSNs generate an enormous volume of data as well as work load every day. A cost-effective solution is horizontal scaling where an OSN is partitioned and deployed on a set of low-cost servers. The goal of the paper is to achieve an optimal partitioning by minimizing the overall cost (sum of the inter-server write traffic cost and moving cost) while maintaining a load balance across servers. Given the NP-hardness of the problem, we introduce a deep learning based model for incremental online learning and dynamic link prediction. We then propose a Dynamic Link Prediction based online algorithm named FLOAT that incorporates the predicted future link information into the online user assignment. Relying upon future and current link based node relocation/swap gain estimations (Adjusted Server Change Benefit (ASCB) and Adjusted Server Exchange Benefit (ASXB), FLOAT strategically assigns user nodes across servers. The simulation results confirm that a projected benefit based on the knowledge of future links help reduce the overall cost significantly compared with existing algorithms, at the same time, maintaining a low inter-server write traffic cost.
P313 The role of temporal discounting in a conditional cash transfer intervention to improve engagement in HIV-care

Background Understanding the mechanisms underlying health behaviors is crucial to optimize interventions to improve HIV-related outcomes. Temporal discounting (TD), the tendency to discount the value of future rewards relative to rewards received closer to the present, may lead to risky health behaviors. Conditional cash transfer (CCT) interventions were developed in part to mitigate these effects. Despite this, few studies assess the direct role of TD on the effect of CCT interventions on HIV treatment and prevention. Methods Using data from a randomized controlled trial among 433 HIV-infected pregnant women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we assessed three outcomes:1) retention to HIV care, 2) uptake of services for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT), and 3) viral suppression at 6 weeks postpartum. We used a delay discounting task to measure TD at baseline. We hypothesized that if CCT works by mitigating the harmful effects of TD, we would observe a positive interactive effect on the additive scale between high TD and CCT. We specified linear binomial regression models to calculate the individual and joint effects of CCT and TD, and we calculated the interaction contrast (IC) to illustrate possible interaction between these effects. Results The effect of CCT on uptake of PMTCT services was greater among women exhibiting high TD. The IC suggested a positive interactive effect between TD and the CCT intervention on uptake of PMTCT services (IC: 0.17; 95% CI: -0.15, 0.48). We observed no evidence of additive interaction between TD and the CCT intervention on retention or viral suppression. Conclusion This CCT intervention may help mitigate the harmful effects of TD on uptake of PMTCT services, though this mechanism did not appear to play a role for retention or viral suppression. Alternative approaches could be developed to address the effects of TD on HIV-related outcomes. Disclosure No significant relationships.
P440 Assessment of potential pre-exposure prophylaxis (prep) compliance in intravenous drug users accessing outreach services

Background Internationally, approximately one out of every ten new HIV infections has previously been attributed to intravenous drug use (IVDU). PrEP compliance among people with intravenous drug use (PWID) may decrease new HIV infection. This study assessed perceptions of PrEP, risk for contracting HIV, and potential compliance with PrEP among PWID. Methods Clients accessing IVDU mobile outreach van services, aged ≥18 years, completed anonymous self-report questionnaires about “Beliefs about Medicines” and “Perceived Risk of HIV” via iPad following informed consent. Results Socio-demographics N=100, aged 18–63 years (50% Conclusions PWID perceived high-risk for HIV. High levels of co-morbidities, substance use, limited HIV protective behavior and homelessness existed. Positive attitudes toward and interest in medication use for disease prevention and concerns regarding long-term medication or forgetting medications. PrEP adherence among PWID presents clinical challenges. Addressing risks, co-morbidities and inconsistent use of PrEP may optimize adherence. Disclosure No significant relationships.
A new lease on life for an HIV-neutralizing antibody class and vaccine target

Neutralizing antibodies (nAbs), in the time of COVID-19, have received much attention in the lay press owing to their association with vaccine protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The attention is well-deserved and the association of nAbs with protection is true for many viruses (1). For HIV, we eagerly await the results of the antibody-mediated protection trial investigating the ability of the HIV broadly neutralizing antibody (bnAb) VRC01 to prevent infection in humans (https://ampstudy.org/). Meanwhile, passively administered and vaccine-induced nAbs have been shown to provide protection against mucosal viral challenge in nonhuman primates (NHPs) (2). A recent analysis of a large number of NHP protection studies showed a good correlation between serum neutralization titer and protection (3). However, one set of bnAbs, those directed to the membrane proximal external region (MPER) of the HIV envelope spike, appeared to be outliers and offered greater protection at lower serum neutralizing titers. This phenomenon was first described for MPER bnAbs 2F5 and 4E10 (4) and was also tentatively noted for MPER bnAb 10E8 (5) and has been referred to colloquially as MPER bnAbs “punching above their weight.” A very interesting related observation with regard to the phenomenon had earlier been made by Perez et al., who showed that neutralization was greatly enhanced in target cells (TZM-bl cells) engineered to express Fc receptors, particularly FcRI and to a lesser extent FcRIIb, on their surface as compared to wild-type target cells (6). The enhancement was shown to be dependent on the Fc region of the bnAbs. This result was consistent with some observations made even earlier by Holl et al. (7⇓–9), who noted that the MPER bnAbs 2F5 and 4E10 showed … [↵][1]1Email: burton{at}scripps.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Persistent disparities in smoking among rural Appalachians: evidence from the Mountain Air Project.

Adult smoking prevalence in Central Appalachia is the highest in the United States, yet few epidemiologic studies describe the smoking behaviors of this population. Using a community-based approach, the Mountain Air Project (MAP) recruited the largest adult cohort from Central Appalachia, allowing us to examine prevalence and patterns of smoking behavior. A cross-sectional epidemiologic study of 972 participants aged 21 years and older was undertaken 2015–2017, with a response rate of 82%. Prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals for current smoking (compared to nonsmokers) were computed for the entire cohort then stratified by multiple characteristics, including respiratory health. Adjusted prevalence ratios for current smoking versus not smoking were also computed. MAP participants reported current smoking prevalence (33%) more than double the national adult smoking prevalence. Current smoking among participants with a reported diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema was 51.5 and 53.3%, respectively. Compared to participants age 65 years and older, those age 45 years or younger reported double the prevalence of smoking (PR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.51–2.74). Adjusted analyses identified younger age, lower education, unmet financial need, and depression to be significantly associated with current smoking. Despite declining rates of smoking across the United States, smoking remains a persistent challenge in Central Appalachia, which continues to face marked disparities in education funding and tobacco control policies that have benefitted much of the rest of the nation. Compared with national data, our cohort demonstrated higher rates of smoking among younger populations and reported a greater intensity of cigarette use.
Diet and trophic ecology of introduced salmonines at two south shore ports of Lake Superior, 2019

Abstract Introduced salmonines (Oncorhynchus spp. and Salmo spp.) are important components of recreational fisheries in the Great Lakes. These fishes were stocked heavily following the fishery collapse of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) due to sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) predation and commercial overharvest. While salmonine introductions occurred in all five of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior is less productive than the lower Great Lakes restricting most introduced salmonines to a small percentage of available habitat. This suggests the potential for high resource overlap between salmonines, yet little information has been published related to the trophic ecology of introduced salmonines in Lake Superior. Furthermore, hybrid splake (S. namaycush × S. fontinalis) are also stocked by various state agencies while little information on their trophic ecology exists. To address uncertainties associated with introduced salmonines, we assessed the diet composition and isotopic niche overlap of fish collected from two south shore ports of Lake Superior. Introduced salmonines consumed similar prey items including rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), coregonines, and three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in varying amounts, with a notable percentage of diet comprising terrestrial invertebrates. These results are further supported by stable isotope analysis which indicated high isotopic niche overlap among introduced salmonines suggesting a mixed diet attributed to benthic, pelagic, and terrestrial sources. Our characterization of the salmonine community provides important information that will inform fisheries research and management in Lake Superior.
Opioid users show worse baseline knee osteoarthritis and faster progression of degenerative changes: a retrospective case-control study based on data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI).

Opioids are frequently prescribed for pain control in knee osteoarthritis patients, despite recommendations by current guidelines. Previous studies have investigated the chondrotoxicity of different opioid subtypes. However, the impact opioids may have on progression of osteoarthritis in vivo remains unknown. The aim of this study was thus to describe the associations between opioid use and knee structural changes and clinical outcomes, over 4 years. Participants with baseline opioid use (n=181) and who continued use for ≥1 year between baseline and 4-year follow-up (n=79) were included from the Osteoarthritis Initiative cohort and frequency matched with non-users (controls) (1:2). Whole-Organ Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scores (WORMS) were obtained, including a total summation score (WORMS total, range 0–96) and subscores for cartilage (0–36), menisci (0–24), and bone marrow abnormalities and subchondral cyst-like lesions (0–18, respectively). Knee Injury Osteoarthritis Outcomes score (KOOS) symptoms, quality of life (QOL), and pain were also obtained at baseline and follow-up (range 0–100; lower scores indicate worse outcomes). Using linear regression models, associations between baseline and longitudinal findings were investigated. As pain may modify observations, a sensitivity analysis was performed for longitudinal findings. All analyses were adjusted for sex, BMI, age, race, and Kellgren-Lawrence grade. Opioid users had greater structural degeneration at baseline (WORMS total: Coef. [95% CI], P; 7.1 [5.5, 8.8], <0.001) and a greater increase over 4 years (4.7 [2.9, 6.5], <0.001), compared to controls. Cartilage and meniscus scores increased greater in opioid users, compared to controls (P≤0.001), and findings withstood the adjustment for baseline pain (P≤0.002). All baseline KOOS scores were lower in opioid users compared to controls (P<0.001). QOL loss was greater, when adjusted for baseline KOOS pain (QOL −6.9 [−11.6, −2.1], 0.005). Opioid users had worse baseline knee structural degeneration and faster progression. Opioid use was also associated with worse symptoms, pain, and QOL. Furthermore, QOL loss was greater in opioid users compared to controls, when adjusted for baseline KOOS pain, indicating that opioids may not be suited to prevent subjective disease progression in KOA patients.
Parenting stress, self-efficacy and COVID-19 health risks as predictors of general stress among nurses.

Aim The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of parenting stress, self-efficacy and COVID-19 health risks on general stress among nurses in the Midwest, United States, during the pandemic. Background As frontline workers amidst the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nurses have been subject to stressors at home and at work. Method This quantitative, cross-sectional study included 896 nurses with at least one child below 18 years of age. Using purposive sampling, participants answered an online survey composed of demographic questions, perception of COVID-19 health risks, measures of self-efficacy, general stress and parenting stress. Bivariate correlation and multiple regression were conducted. Data were collected from July 13 to August 13, 2020. Results The four predictors, along with eight demographic covariates, accounted for 40% of the variance in general stress. Parenting stress and COVID-19 health risks were positively related to general stress, while self-efficacy was negatively associated with general stress. Conclusions Results highlight the negative influence of parenting stress on nurses' general stress and the importance of self-efficacy in reducing stress. Findings suggest that support services for nurses should focus not only on work-related stressors but also consider parenting stressors, work-home imbalances and self-efficacy.
Influences of Physical Environmental Cues on People With Dementia: A Scoping Review.

Physical environmental cues can provide important support to people with dementia (PwD). Compared to interventions involving construction, some cues can be achieved more easily, with less expense, ...
Covariance based point cloud descriptors for object detection and recognition

We introduce a covariance-based feature descriptor for object classification.The descriptor is compact (low dimensionality) and computationally fast.Adding new descriptor features amounts to the addition of a new row and column.There is no need to tune parameters such as bin size or number.The descriptor is naturally discriminative and subtracts out common data features. Processing 3D point cloud data is of primary interest in many areas of computer vision, including object grasping, robot navigation, and object recognition. The introduction of affordable RGB-D sensors has created a great interest in the computer vision community towards developing efficient algorithms for point cloud processing. Previously, capturing a point cloud required expensive specialized sensors such as lasers or dedicated range imaging devices; now, range data is readily available from low-cost sensors that provide easily extractable point clouds from a depth map. From here, an interesting challenge is to find different objects in the point cloud. Various descriptors have been introduced to match features in a point cloud. Cheap sensors are not necessarily designed to produce precise measurements, which means that the data is not as accurate as a point cloud provided from a laser or a dedicated range finder. Although some feature descriptors have been shown to be successful in recognizing objects from point clouds, there still exists opportunities for improvement. The aim of this paper is to introduce techniques from other fields, such as image processing, into 3D point cloud processing in order to improve rendering, classification, and recognition. Covariances have proven to be a success not only in image processing, but in other domains as well. This work develops the application of covariances in conjunction with 3D point cloud data.
Expression and screening in yeast of genes mutagenized in vitro.

Publisher Summary This chapter describes two methods that allow the expression of mutant alleles in yeast. One method produces mutations that reside in the chromosome and the other produces mutations that reside on plasmids. Yeast plasmids are grouped into several classes based on their mode of replication. All commonly used yeast plasmids are shuttle vectors; they can be propagated in both yeast and Escherichia coli. Yeast integrating plasmids (YIp) contain a yeast gene that can be used as a selectable marker for yeast transformation. These plasmids can be introduced into virtually any genetically marked yeast strain. Chromosomal alleles of several yeast genes exhibit low reversion frequencies, allowing the wild-type copies of these genes to be used as selectable markers on plasmids. The procedure for generating chromosomal mutations depends on the properties of YIp plasmids, which do not contain sequences that allow autonomous replication in yeast and can only be propagated following integration into the yeast chromosome. They integrate by the recombination between yeast sequences carried on the plasmid and the homologous sequences present in the yeast genome.
Ghosts: Liberal Education and Negotiated Authority

_Bl ~I'd spent the afternoon helping intermittently with dinner preparations and listening to my sister-in-law Lee's story of her son's difficulties with his college writing teacher, problems worsened, she said, by his dislike for English. Hearing the account, I was almost relieved at being able to point out honestly that the instructor's behavior sounded at best unprofessional and at worst unethical. Now Dan, her husband, pushed me to address the larger issue rather than escaping into the specifics of his son's case.
Upgrading a Municipal Activated Sludge Plant for High-Rate Biological Nutrient Removal

A full-scale activated sludge plant was modified for high-rate BNR operation at minimal cost. Three different processes (A/0 + , A2/0 + and UCT) were studied at BSRTs varying from 4 to 14 days and HRTs of 2 to 6 hours. Onset of BPR was almost immediate without addition of special seed. Good phosphorus removal was obtained with all three processes except for periods of extremely high influent flows or high nitrate recycle to the anaerobic zone. However, because of high process phosphorus loadings resulting from high influent concentrations and sludge processing recycles, effluent TP concentrations were typically in excess of 2 mg/L. Nitrogen removal was excellent when nitrification could be maintained and nitrate recycle was sufficiently high. All processes yielded excellent nitrogen removals during warm weather, but complete nitrification could not be maintained during winter conditions. Implementation of a statewide phosphate detergent ban resulted in a 40 per cent decrease in the influent wastewater concentrations. Following the ban, the UCT process was shown to be capable of consistently meeting the Virginia nutrient discharge standards of 10 mg/L TN and 2 mg/L TP during the growing season.
The WINLAB Network Centric Cognitive Radio Hardware Platform - WiNC2R

This paper presents the design goals and architecture of WiNC2R - the WINLAB Network Centric Cognitive radio hardware platform. The platform has been designed for flexible processing at both the radio physical layer and MAC/network layers with sustained bit-rates of ~10 Mbps and higher. The hardware prototype supports multi band operation with fast spectrum scanning, the ability to dynamically switch between a number of OFDM and DSSS modems and multiple MAC protocols. The radio modems, MAC, and network-layer protocols are implemented in a flexible manner using general-purpose processing engines and a set of dynamically configurable hardware accelerators. An FPGA based platform implementation currently in progress is described in terms of key hardware components including the software-defined modem, the flexible MAC engine and network-level processor. Preliminary prototyping results are reported, and a roadmap for further evolution of the WiNC2R board is provided.
Human Phosphoglycerate Kinase I. CRYSTALLIZATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NORMAL ENZYME

Abstract Human phosphoglycerate kinase (ATP:3-phospho-d-glycerate 1-phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.2.3) was purified from red blood cells. The stepwise procedures are elimination of hemoglobin from the hemolysate by treatment with ethanol-chloroform, precipitation of the enzyme by ethanol, treatment with carboxymethyl-Sephadex, gel filtration on Sephadex G-75, treatment with diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex, and column chromatography with carboxymethyl-Sephadex. A crystalline preparation was obtained with an over-all yield of about 60%. The sedimentation patterns on analytical ultracentrifugation and the interference pattern of sedimentation equilibrium indicated a homogeneous preparation. The sedimentation constant (s20,w) was 3.35 S at a protein concentration of 0.6%. The molecular weight was estimated as 49,600 by the sedimentation equilibrium method. The enzyme could not be dissociated into smaller subunits by treatment with 5 m guanidine hydrochloride containing 2-mercaptoethanol, with maleic anhydride, or with sodium dodecylsulfate. The enzyme has N-acetylserine as NH2terminal and isoleucine as COOH-terminal. The specific activity of the crystalline preparation was 650 to 700 units per mg at pH 7.5 and at 25°. The enzyme required Mg2+ or Mn2+ for activity.
Inflammasome Activation of Dermal Fibroblasts by an Endogenous Peptide Activate Tissue Resident Immune Cells

Activation of innate immunity is an important strategy for host defense as it is an early response to a pathogen derived danger signal. Recently, we discovered a lipopeptide 1-peptidyl-2,3-diacylglyceride that acts like a danger signaling molecule to induce an innate immune response. The peptide moiety alone (acALY-18) activates the inflammasome inducing the secretion of IL-1β, and subsequently IL6, IL8, MIP1α, and MCP1 in fibroblasts and keratinocytes. Subcutaneous administration of acALY-18 protected mice from a lethal dose of S. typhimurium (survival: 80% treated vs 0% untreated, P
Simulation's Potential Role in Advanced Aircraft Certification

It is the opinion of the FAA that future developments in air transportation will introduce significantly greater complexity into the aircraft and the operating system than now exists. Past experience with simulation techniques indicate they contain the potential of contributing significantly to the safe and rapid introduction of these new technologies. It is the intent of the FAA to explore this potential in detail to ensure that maximum values can be gained thru its exploitation.
Uniform and Lipschitz homotopy classes of maps

If X is a compact connected polyhedron, we associate with each uniform homotopy class of uniformly continuous mappings from the real line R into X an element of H 1 (X, U/U 0 ), where U is the space of uniformly continuous functions from R to R and U 0 is the subspace of bounded uniformly continuous functions. This map from uniform homotopy classes of functions to H 1 (X, U/U 0 ) is surjective. If X is the n-dimensional torus, it is bijective, while if X is a compact orientable surface of genus > 1, it is not injective. In higher dimensions we have to consider smooth Lipschitz homotopy classes of smooth Lipschitz maps from suitable Riemannian manifolds P to compact smooth manifolds X. With each such Lipschitz homotopy class we associate an element of H n (X, B + /B + 0 ), where n is the dimension of P, B is the space of bounded continuous functions from the positive real axis to R, and B + 0 is the set of all f ∈ B + such that lim t→ ∞ f(t) = 0.
Human Satellite Cell Transplantation and Regeneration from Diverse Skeletal Muscles

Identification of human satellite cells that fulfill muscle stem cell criteria is an unmet need in regenerative medicine. This hurdle limits understanding how closely muscle stem cell properties are conserved among mice and humans and hampers translational efforts in muscle regeneration. Here, we report that PAX7 satellite cells exist at a consistent frequency of 2-4 cells/mm of fiber in muscles of the human trunk, limbs, and head. Xenotransplantation into mice of 50-70 fiber-associated, or 1,000-5,000 FACS-enriched CD56(+)/CD29(+) human satellite cells led to stable engraftment and formation of human-derived myofibers. Human cells with characteristic PAX7, CD56, and CD29 expression patterns populated the satellite cell niche beneath the basal lamina on the periphery of regenerated fibers. After additional injury, transplanted satellite cells robustly regenerated to form hundreds of human-derived fibers. Together, these findings conclusively delineate a source of bona-fide endogenous human muscle stem cells that will aid development of clinical applications.
Fulminant Hepatitis and Lymphocyte Sensitization Due to Propylthiouracil

Fulminant hepatic failure developed in a 24-year-old black woman who had been treated with propylthiouracil and propranolol for hyperthyroidism. Clinical and biochemical recovery followed discontinuation of drug therapy. Liver biopsy disclosed submassive hepatic necrosis. During the acute phase of the disease, lymphocyte transformation studies revealed sensitization of the patient's lymphocytes to propylthiouracil but not to propranolol. Sensitization remained demonstrable 2 months after cessation of the former drug. Lymphocytes obtained from a hyperthyroid patient treated with propylthiouracil without complications failed to show evidence of sensitization. These observations indicate that submassive hepatic necrosis may result from treatment with propylthiouracil and are consistent with the notion that sensitization mechanisms may be responsible for the hepatic injury induced by this drug.
Evaluation of the Effects of the Dietary Intake of Proteins and Amino Acids by DNA Microarray Technology

The DNA microarray technique has been increasingly utilized in various fields of life sciences. It allows us to analyze the expression levels of thousands of genes simultaneously. The high productivity will facilitate the evaluation of changes in amino acid metabolism and their consequences in response to dietary proteins and amino acids. We compared the expression profiles by the GeneChip system in the liver and other tissues among three groups of rats fed with a 12% casein, a 12% gluten or a protein-free diet. Feeding the gluten or the protein-free diet up- or down-regulated a few hundred genes in the liver compared to the casein diet. Although some of the genes were already known to respond to changes in the protein nutritional state, the majority was newly identified responders. This paper also discusses the possibility of a use this technology for safety evaluation of excessive intake of dietary components, especially of amino acids.
Evaluation and Surgical Management of the Overcorrected Clubfoot Deformity in the Adult Patient

Adult patients presenting with an overcorrected clubfoot often have had a posteromedial release. They present later in life and have compensated quite well despite the development of deformity. Minor trauma may lead to the onset of acute symptoms. A spectrum of deformity exists. Key features include a dorsally subluxated navicular, a dorsal bunion from overpull of the tibialis anterior tendon, valgus of the ankle or hindfoot or both, and a flattop talus. This article details the diagnostic approach to the overcorrected clubfoot patient and options for management of the various components of the deformity.
The nonretention of capable women engineering students

This study investigated aptitude, achievement, and retention patterns among 273 women and 1,953 male students who entered engineering at The University of Texas at Austin as freshmen in the fall semesters of 1974–1977. Academic and attrition records were maintained through the fall of 1978 for the sample. Multiple regression techniques were used to predict both academic achievement and retention on the basis of college entrance scores and high school rank. In addition, first-year grade-point average was included as a predictor of retention. The Mathematics Achievement Test, Level I, emerged as primary predictor of cumulative grade-point average for both men and women, and first year grade-point average the best single predictor of retention for men, but combined with entrance scores for retention prediction among women. Academic performance was more easily predicted for women than men, but retention was more easily predicted for men. Female nonretainees in engineering score higher on all variables than male nonretainees, and female retainees make similar grades to male retainees. More capable women than men are transferring to other majors within the University, especially to the natural sciences. Unlike men, women leaving engineering and the University did not do so for academic failure. This study suggests that a support system developed to counsel women in engineering might contribute positively to their retention.
Seasonal variability of the colored dissolved organic matter during the 1994 95 NE and SW Monsoons in the Arabian Sea

Abstract We performed absorption spectroscopy and fluorescence analyses on water samples collected in the Arabian Sea during the NE and SW Monsoons of 1994–1995. The strong differences in wind regimes between the Monsoons were reflected in the distribution of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM). Concentrations of fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) were highest during the SW Monsoon within 100 km of the coast of Oman. In contrast, highest values during the NE Monsoon were found in offshore regions of the Arabian Sea. During the SW Monsoon, surface CDOM and FDOM correlated inversely with temperature, suggesting that upwelled water was the source of the colored and fluorescent material. Vertical profiles showed an inverse relationship between CDOM absorption and temperature, and a decrease in spectral slope with decrease in temperature, suggesting that deeper waters contain higher molecular weight CDOM than shallow waters. Profiles also showed the presence of a highly colored and fluorescent water mass centered at 250 m corresponding to Persian Gulf Water Mass. This water may be a source of colored organic material to overlying water masses.