cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Withdrawal from Lorazepam in Critically III Children

Background:Sedatives are used in critically ill children to facilitate mechanical ventilation. Although tolerance and withdrawal are associated with use of sedatives, information about withdrawal from benzodiazepines in children is limited.Objective:To document the occurrence of lorazepam withdrawal in critically ill children and identify predictors for the development of withdrawal.Methods:This prospective, investigational, open-label study enrolled pediatric patients receiving a continuous infusion of lorazepam for at least 72 hours. The lorazepam dosage was tapered in a uniform fashion over 6 days by decreasing the total daily dose by 50% every other day on 3 occasions; it was then discontinued. The occurrence of withdrawal from lorazepam was determined by pediatric intensive care unit attending physicians based on clinical judgment. Patients were assessed for withdrawal twice daily beginning 48 hours after the initiation of the lorazepam taper. Assessments were continued for 72 hours after lorazepam d...
Diaphragm displays early and progressive functional deficits in dysferlin‐deficient mice

Mouse lines with dysferlin deficiency are accepted animal models for limb girdle muscular dystrophy 2B and Miyoshi myopathy, yet slow progression of pathology prevents rapid screening of potential therapies for this disease. Our goal was to define a functional signature for skeletal muscles that lack dysferlin. Force generation and susceptibility to eccentric contractile injury measurements were performed in isolated limb muscles and the diaphragm from 10- and 36-week-old A/J and age-matched control mice. Limb muscles had normal specific force at both 10 and 36 weeks, whereas the diaphragm had significant deficits in both specific force and susceptibility to eccentric contractile injury. Membrane ruptures in the diaphragm during eccentric contractions occurred predominantly in myosin heavy chain 2A-expressing fibers. Dysferlin content did not vary significantly between wildtype muscles, suggesting that there was no correlation between disease severity and normal endogenous levels of the protein. These studies show that, unlike limb muscles, the diaphragm from the A/J mouse displays early deficits in function that may lower the age needed for evaluating potential therapies for dysferlinopathies.
Growth and nutrient concentration of two native forage legumes inoculated with Rhizobium and Mycorrhiza in Missouri, USA

The Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri has tested numerous native legumes for potential use in agroforestry and selected Illinois bundleflower (Desmanthus illinoensis (Michaux) MacMillan ex Robinson and Fern.) and panicled tick clover (Desmodium paniculatum (L.) DC.) for further testing. Our objective was to document the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) (Glomus spp.) and Rhizobium on growth and nutrient concentration of these legumes. Seeds were planted in a greenhouse and inoculated with one of two species of AM and/or one of two strains of Rhizobium. Plants were harvested after 80 d and data taken on leaf and stem dry weight, root fresh weight, stem height, nodulation, AM colonization, and N, P, K, Ca, and Mg concentration. Inoculation with Rhizobium did not affect plant growth in Illinois bundleflower, but colonization by Glomus intraradices increased all plant growth variables except stem height. Nutrient concentration was unaffected by the presence of either endophyte. In contrast, inoculation of panicled tick clover with Rhizobium str. 41Z10 increased leaf dry weight (32%) compared to the control and root fresh weight (41%) compared to str. 32Z3, and colonization by G. intraradices increased leaf dry weight (35%) and stem height (26%). Both species of AM increased P and K concentration (41% and 55%, respectively) in panicled tick clover. Our results suggest that the growth of these legumes can be improved by the use of proper AM species and/or Rhizobium strains. However, additional research to identify the best Rhizobium and AM inoculates for these plant species is important in developing strategies for their use in agroforestry.
Extension and measurement: A constructivist program from Leibniz to Grassmann

This paper traces what I see as a Leibniz-inspired constructivist program through the eyes of the 19th century philosopher-mathematicians Herbart, Riemann and Grassmann, and then uses Grassmann’s algebra of points to build up levels of extension algebraically. The connection between extension and measurement is investigated in line with this constructivist program.
RandSys: Thwarting Code Injection Attacks with System Service Interface Randomization

Code injection attacks are a top threat to today's Internet. With zero-day attacks on the rise, randomization techniques have been introduced to diversify software and operation systems of networked hosts so that attacks that succeed on one host cannot succeed on others. Two most notable system-wide randomization techniques are instruction set randomization (ISR) and address space layout randomization (ASLR). The former randomizes instruction set for each process, while the latter randomizes the memory address space layout. Both suffer from a number of attacks. In this paper, we advocate and demonstrate that by combining ISR and ASLR effectively, we can offer much more robust protection than each of them individually. However, trivial combination of both schemes is not sufficient. To this end, we make the key observation that system call instructions matter the most to attackers for code injection. Our system, RandSys, uses system call instruction randomization and the general technique of ASLR along with a number of new enhancements to thwart code injection attacks. We have built a prototype for both Linux and Windows platforms. Our experiments show that RandSys can effectively thwart a wide variety of code injection attacks with a small overhead.
More News About NUCB2/Nesfatin-1: A New Factor in the Hypothalamic Control of Glucose Homeostasis?

Insulin resistance and declining insulin production define a spectrum of metabolic diseases afflicting a growing portion of the population (1). Current estimates suggest that 26 million Americans have diabetes, with the incidence of type 2 diabetes involving insulin resistance and β-cell decompensation far exceeding that of type 1 diabetes. Treatment of type 2 diabetes involves secretagogues that increase insulin secretion and insulin sensitizers to improve insulin receptor (INSR) action (and likely include other effects on glucose production) (1). These drugs exhibit a short duration of efficacy in many patients and often require a multidrug approach as the disease progresses and insulin injections when other treatment options fail. A clear need exists for continued research aimed at developing more effective strategies for maintaining glycemic control. In this issue, Yang et al. (2) report that intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion of nesfastin-1 improves glucose homeostasis in diet-induced obese rats by inhibiting hepatic glucose production. Improved insulin action is one mechanism for the reduction in hepatic glucose production. Increased phosphorylation of the INSR and insulin receptor substrate-1 was observed in lean and obese rats following ICV administration of nesfatin-1. Tyrosine phosphorylationof multiple residues in the insulin receptor substrate-1 coding sequence is an important early event following INSR activation. This leads to an intracellular signaling cascade that facilitates changes in energy metabolism by regulating gene transcription and enzymatic activity (3). The changes in phosphorylation of AKT, AMP-dependent protein kinase, mammalian target of rapamycin, and mammalian target of rapamycin complex 2 that were also observed were consistent with improved actions of these important downstream effectors in the INSR signaling cascade. Activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, the rate-limiting enzyme in gluconeogenesis, was also reduced in livers of lean and diet-induced obese rats administered nesfatin-1 ICV. Finally, a …
Neuroprotection in a rabbit model of intraventricular haemorrhage by cyclooxygenase-2, prostanoid receptor-1 or tumour necrosis factor-alpha inhibition

Intraventricular haemorrhage is a major complication of prematurity that results in neurological dysfunctions, including cerebral palsy and cognitive deficits. No therapeutic options are currently available to limit the catastrophic brain damage initiated by the development of intraventricular haemorrhage. As intraventricular haemorrhage leads to an inflammatory response, we asked whether cyclooxygenase-2, its derivative prostaglandin E2, prostanoid receptors and pro-inflammatory cytokines were elevated in intraventricular haemorrhage; whether their suppression would confer neuroprotection; and determined how cyclooxygenase-2 and cytokines were mechanistically-linked. To this end, we used our rabbit model of intraventricular haemorrhage where premature pups, delivered by Caesarian section, were treated with intraperitoneal glycerol at 2 h of age to induce haemorrhage. Intraventricular haemorrhage was diagnosed by head ultrasound at 6 h of age. The pups with intraventricular haemorrhage were treated with inhibitors of cyclooxygenase-2, prostanoid receptor-1 or tumour necrosis factor-α; and cell-infiltration, cell-death and gliosis were compared between treated-pups and vehicle-treated controls during the first 3 days of life. Neurobehavioural performance, myelination and gliosis were assessed in pups treated with cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor compared to controls at Day 14. We found that both protein and messenger RNA expression of cyclooxygenase-2, prostaglandin E2, prostanoid receptor-1, tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β were consistently higher in the forebrain of pups with intraventricular haemorrhage relative to pups without intraventricular haemorrhage. However, cyclooxygenase-1 and prostanoid receptor 2–4 levels were comparable in pups with and without intraventricular haemorrhage. Cyclooxygenase-2, prostanoid receptor-1 or tumour necrosis factor-α inhibition reduced inflammatory cell infiltration, apoptosis, neuronal degeneration and gliosis around the ventricles of pups with intraventricular haemorrhage. Importantly, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition alleviated neurological impairment, improved myelination and reduced gliosis at 2 weeks of age. Cyclooxygenase-2 or prostanoid receptor-1 inhibition reduced tumour necrosis factor-α level, but not interleukin-1β. Conversely, tumour necrosis factor-α antagonism did not affect cyclooxygenase-2 expression. Hence, prostanoid receptor-1 and tumour necrosis factor-α are downstream to cyclooxygenase-2 in the inflammatory cascade induced by intraventricular haemorrhage, and cyclooxygenase-2-inhibition or suppression of downstream molecules—prostanoid receptor-1 or tumour necrosis factor-α—might be a viable neuroprotective strategy for minimizing brain damage in premature infants with intraventricular haemorrhage.
Bank acquisitions and ownership structure: Theory and evidence

Abstract In this paper we both theoretically and empirically consider the joint nature of two ownermanager conflict resolution mechanisms: insider shareholdings, α, and shareholder concentration, γ. We find evidence of a significant entrenchment effect for high α, low γ firms. Moreover, bidder returns are found to be positive for high α, high γ firms only. We utilize a switching of regression regimes model to solve for critical values of α and γ that subdivide the universe of acquiring firms into separate and distinct ownership structure regimes, i.e., that define ‘high’ vs. ‘low’ levels of α or γ.
Effects of the Zanzibar school-based deworming program on iron status of children.

We evaluated the effects of the Zanzibar school-based deworming program on the iron status of primary school children. Parasitologic and nutritional assessments were carried out at baseline, 6 mo, and 12 mo in 4 nonprogram schools (n = 1002), 4 schools in which students received twice-yearly deworming (n = 952), and 4 schools in which students received thrice-yearly deworming (n = 970) with 500 mg generic mebendazole. Schools were randomly selected for evaluation and allocated to program groups. Relative to no treatment, thrice-yearly deworming caused significant decreases in protoporphyrin concentrations and both deworming regimens caused marginally significant increases in serum ferritin concentrations. The average annual changes in protoporphyrin concentrations were -5.9 and -23.5 micromol/mol heme in the control and thrice-yearly deworming groups, respectively (P 2000 hookworm eggs/g feces at baseline. We estimate that this deworming program prevented 1260 cases of moderate-to-severe anemia and 276 cases of severe anemia in a population of 30,000 schoolchildren in 1 y. Where hookworm is heavily endemic, deworming programs can improve iron status and prevent moderate and severe anemia, but deworming may be needed at least twice yearly.
Working together to solve disparities: Latina/o parents' contributions to the adaptation of a preventive intervention for childhood conduct problems

Left untreated, conduct problems can have significant and long-lasting negative effects on children's development. Despite the existence of many effective interventions, U.S. Latina/o children are less likely to access or receive evidence-based services. Seeking to build the foundation to address these service disparities, the current study used a Community-Based Participatory Research approach to examine U.S. Latina/o parents' perceptions of the need for interventions to prevent childhood disruptive behaviors in their community in general, and of an existing evidence-based intervention-parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT)-in particular. Results suggest that parents recognize a need for prevention resources in their community and value most of the core features of PCIT. Nevertheless, important directions for potential adaptation and expansion of PCIT into a prevention approach were identified. Results point to several goals for future study with the potential to ameliorate the unmet mental health needs experienced by U.S. Latina/o families with young children at risk for developing conduct problems.
The impacts of aquacultured oysters, Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791) on water column nitrogen and sedimentation: results of a mesocosm study

To determine effects of aquacultured oysters Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791) on the overlying water column, a mesocosm study was performed at the Marine Ecosystem Research Laboratory (MERL) from June to October, 2000. The MERL facility is located adjacent to Narragansett Bay and consists of fourteen 13,000-l mesocosm tanks designed to simulate the Bay environmental conditions. Two hundred oysters (c35 mm valve height; nominally filtering about 55 l/day/individual) were placed into three mesocosms, and three mesocosms were maintained without oysters as controls. Experiments were run with varying rates of water exchange in the tanks ranging from 0% to 100% per day (13,000 l/day). Parameters that were measured and compared between the two treatments included chlorophyll-a, particulate organic and inorganic matter, sedimentation, nitrate, ammonia, selected phytoplankton species and oyster growth rates. Oysters affected phytoplankton species composition and increased rates of sedimentation. Large diatoms were net sampled, and Nitzchia striata was predominant in mesocosms with oysters, while Skeletonema costatum dominated the control tanks. Ammonia excretion rates were determined for C. virginica using the salicylate–hypochlorite method. Ammonia excretion can be described by the allometric equation E=50.65w 0.699 when E is the ammonia excretion rate in Ag/h, and w is the soft tissue dry weight in grams. Based on rates of ammonia excretion by oysters and observed steady states of ammonia and other forms of inorganic nitrogen in mesocosm tanks, it can be hypothesized
Effect of Linoleic Acid Reserves on Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency of the Chick

Abstract Experiments were conducted to study the influence of EFA-deficiency on growth and development of male and female chicks and to determine the influence of linoleic acid reserves and age on susceptibility to essential fatty acid deficiency. When the birds were fed the basal essential fatty acid deficient diet, the females grew faster than the cockerels. After 7 months there was very little difference in the weight of the females on the experimental diets (basal 2,588 grams vs. basal + 5% corn oil 2,679 grams), but there was considerable difference between the males (basal 2,497 grams vs. basal + 5% corn oil 3,814 grams). In experiment 2 there were 5 dietary treatments: the basal, the basal supplemented with 5% corn oil or the corn-soy diet were fed for 12 weeks. The other two treatments were such that the corn-soy diet was fed for the first 4 weeks followed by the basal or basal + 5% corn oil for the next 8 weeks. Experiment 3 had 5 dietary treatments. Two treatments consisted of feeding the basal diet or the corn-soy diet for 8 weeks. In the other 3 treatments the corn-soy diet was fed for the first week, first 2 weeks, or first 4 weeks, followed by the basal diet. The weight of the birds fed the corn-soy 0 to 4 weeks, basal 4 to 12 weeks diet was not significantly different from the birds fed the corn-soy 0 to 12 weeks diet and the triene-to-tetraene ratio of 0.30 in the testes of the birds fed the corn-soy 0 to 4 weeks, basal 4 to 12 weeks diet both indicated that these animals were not EFA deficient. The same ratio of these fatty acids in liver lipid from birds fed the corn-soy 0 to 4 weeks, basal 4 to 12 weeks diet was 0.79, only slightly above the 0.4 ratio which indicates normal EFA status in rats. The growth rate and triene-to-tetraene ratio of liver tissue in experiment 3 also indicated that birds fed EFA-deficient diet after 4 weeks of age were not EFA deficient and would grow normally for 8 to 12 weeks. The birds fed the corn-soy diet less than 4 weeks and then fed the basal diet were EFA deficient when 12 weeks of age. Thus the increase in growth rate and the decrease in the triene-to-tetraene ratio are proportional to the number of days the chicks are fed a fat-supplemented diet before being fed a fat-deficient diet.
Coffee and subarachnoid haemorrhage

The link between coffee and subarachnoid haemorrhage is unresolved You may be making enemies, especially in Seattle, if you conclude from the study of Isaksen et al that coffee is a risk factor for subarachnoid haemorrhage (this issue, pp 185-7).1 Love of java necessitates a critical evaluation. Are we dealing with coincidence, confounding, or causation? In a case-control study, these investigators drew subjects from a population based health survey of inhabitants in the municipality of Tromso, Norway. At variable times before the bleeding (maximum 186 months) participants had been evaluated. The investigators found that cigarette smoking and high systolic blood pressure increased risk, as …
A smooth and differentiable bulk-solvent model for macromolecular diffraction.

Inclusion of low-resolution data in macromolecular crystallo­graphy requires a model for the bulk solvent. Previous methods have used a binary mask to accomplish this, which has proven to be very effective, but the mask is discontinuous at the solute–solvent boundary (i.e. the mask value jumps from zero to one) and is not differentiable with respect to atomic parameters. Here, two algorithms are introduced for com­puting bulk-solvent models using either a polynomial switch or a smoothly thresholded product of Gaussians, and both models are shown to be efficient and differentiable with respect to atomic coordinates. These alternative bulk-solvent models offer algorithmic improvements, while showing similar agreement of the model with the observed amplitudes relative to the binary model as monitored using R, Rfree and differences between experimental and model phases. As with the standard solvent models, the alternative models improve the agreement primarily with lower resolution (>6 A) data versus no bulk solvent. The models are easily implemented into crystallographic software packages and can be used as a general method for bulk-solvent correction in macromolecular crystallography.
Factors Influencing Entering Teacher Candidates’ Preferences for Instructional Activities: A glimpse into their orientations towards teaching

The present study was designed to identify and characterize the major factors that influence entering science teacher candidates’ preferences for different types of instructional activities, and to analyze what these factors suggest about teacher candidates’ orientations towards science teaching. The study involved prospective teachers enrolled in the introductory science teaching course in an undergraduate science teacher preparation program. Our analysis was based on data collected using a teaching and learning beliefs questionnaire, together with structured interviews. Our results indicate that entering science teacher candidates have strong preferences for a few activity types. The most influential factors driving entering science teacher candidates’ selections were the potential of the instructional activities to motivate students, be relevant to students’ personal lives, result in transfer of skills to non‐science situations, actively involve students in goal‐directed learning, and implement curricu...
An optical packet switch based on WDM technologies

Dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) technology offers tremendous transmission capacity in optical fiber communications. However, switching and routing capacity lags behind the transmission capacity, since most of today's packet switches and routers are implemented using slower electronic components. Optical packet switches are one of the potential candidates to improve switching capacity to be comparable with optical transmission capacity. In this paper, we present an optically transparent asynchronous transfer mode (OPATM) switch that consists of a photonic front-end processor and a WDM switching fabric. A WDM loop memory is deployed as a multiported shared memory in the switching fabric. The photonic front-end processor performs the cell delineation, VPI/VCI overwriting, and cell synchronization functions in the optical domain under the control of electronic signals. The WDM switching fabric stores and forwards cells from each input port to one or more specific output ports determined by the electronic route controller. We have demonstrated with experiments the functions and capabilities of the front-end processor and the switching fabric at the header-processing rate of 2.5 Gb/s. Other than ATM, the switching architecture can be easily modified to apply to other types of fixed-length payload formats with different bit rates. Using this kind of photonic switch to route information, an optical network has the advantages of bit rate, wavelength, and signal-format transparencies. Within the transparency distance, the network is capable of handling a widely heterogeneous mix of traffic, including even analog signals.
Sensitivity of model‐simulated summertime precipitation over the Mississippi River Basin to the spatial distribution of initial soil moisture

[1] Using a numerical model, the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS), we simulate July precipitation over parts of the Mississippi River Basin and surroundings for each of three years, 1995–1997, with six different initial soil moisture patterns: three (control, dry, and wet) with a realistic (observationally based) spatial distribution, and three (control, dry, and wet) with a horizontally homogeneous distribution. Our goal is to determine the impact on future simulated precipitation of changing the initial soil moisture spatial distribution. The spatially homogeneous initial soil moisture pattern represents, in effect, a ‘‘wet west/dry east’’ anomaly imposed on the realistic soil moisture pattern (that reflects the west-to-east climatological gradient). The impact of this anomaly, i.e., increasing soil moisture in the western half and decreasing it in the eastern half of the simulation domain, is most pronounced for the dry experiments and weakens nonlinearly with increasing domain-average initial soil moisture. In the dry regime, the impact is to enhance the total monthly precipitation in both the west and east. We examine the various terms in the atmospheric moisture budget to interpret these results. The changes in precipitation in the runs with a homogeneous compared to realistic initial soil moisture spatial pattern are consistent with enhanced evaporation in the western half of the model domain accompanied by enhanced west-to-east horizontal moisture transport that helps restore the initially depleted soil moisture in the east. In this manner, the zonal moisture flux acts toward re-establishing the initial climatological soil moisture pattern of the region, thus acting as a negative feedback mechanism. In addition, the soil moisture anomaly generally produces diminished meridional moisture transport into the simulation domain from the south through a decrease in the low-level meridional wind speed. This decrease in meridional flux acts in the same direction as the zonal flux change in the west, and in the opposite direction to the zonal flux change in the east. Since this change is most pronounced in the west, it therefore also contributes to the overall negative feedback of the atmospheric dynamics on the initial soil moisture. The persistence timescale of the impact of this particular soil moisture anomaly pattern on precipitation is on the order of 3 months in the dry regime. Sensitivity of the results to a change in convection scheme is also explored. INDEX TERMS: 1854 Hydrology: Precipitation (3354); 1866 Hydrology: Soil moisture; 3322 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Land/atmosphere interactions; 3354 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Precipitation (1854); KEYWORDS: land/atmosphere, precipitation, soil moisture
Thermodynamic and molecular determinants of sterol solubilities in bile salt micelles

We examined, by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance of cholesterol and 12 non-cholesterol sterols and related this property to their equilibrium micellar solubilities in sodium taurocholate and sodium glycodeoxycholate solutions. Sterols investigated exhibited structural variations in the polar function (3 alpha-OH, 3 beta-OH, 3 beta-SH), nuclear double bonds (none, delta 5, or delta 7), side chain length (C27, C28, C29) and side chain double bonds (none, delta 22, or delta 24). In general, a sterol's hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance became progressively more hydrophobic (as exemplified by increasing HPLC retention values, k') with additions of side chain methyl (C28) and ethyl (C29) groups and with 3 beta-SH substitution of the 3-OH polar function. Side chain delta 22 and especially delta 24 double bonds rendered the sterols appreciably more hydrophilic, whereas a single nuclear double bond had little influence. Sterol solubilities (24 degrees C, 0.15 M Na+) were uniformly greater in 50 mM solutions of sodium glycodeoxycholate (range 0.15 to 2.5 mM) than in equimolar solutions of the more hydrophilic bile salt, sodium taurocholate (range 0.07 to 0.67 mM). For each bile salt system, a strong inverse correlation existed between micellar solubilities of sterols and their HPLC k' values, indicating that more hydrophilic sterols had greater micellar solubilities than the more hydrophobic ones. Based upon the aqueous monomeric solubilities of cholesterol (C27) and beta-sitosterol (C29) at 24 degrees C, we derived free energy changes associated with micellar binding and found that solubilization of both sterols was more energetically favored in glycodeoxycholate solutions. Although cholesterol exhibited a higher binding affinity than beta-sitosterol in glycodeoxycholate micelles, solubilization of beta-sitosterol in taurocholate micelles was more energetically favored than cholesterol by -0.6 kcal/mol. Based upon these results we offer a thermodynamic explanation for the greater micellar solubilities of more hydrophilic sterols and suggest that the high affinity, but low capacity, of a typical phytosterol for binding to trihydroxy bile salt micelles may provide a physical-chemical basis for its inhibition of intestinal cholesterol absorption.
Modeled hydraulic redistribution in tree–grass, CAM–grass, and tree–CAM associations: the implications of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM)

Past studies have largely focused on hydraulic redistribution (HR) in trees, shrubs, and grasses, and recognized its role in interspecies interactions. HR in plants that conduct crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), however, remains poorly investigated, as does the effect of HR on transpiration in different vegetation associations (i.e., tree-grass, CAM-grass, and tree-CAM associations). We have developed a mechanistic model to investigate the net direction and magnitude of HR at the patch scale for tree-grass, CAM-grass, and tree-CAM associations at the growing season to yearly timescale. The modeling results show that deep-rooted CAM plants in CAM-grass associations could perform hydraulic lift at a higher rate than trees in tree-grass associations in a relatively wet environment, as explained by a significant increase in grass transpiration rate in the shallow soil layer, balancing a lower transpiration rate by CAM plants. By comparison, trees in tree-CAM associations may perform hydraulic descent at a higher rate than those in tree-grass associations in a dry environment. Model simulations also show that hydraulic lift increases the transpiration of shallow-rooted plants, while hydraulic descent increases that of deep-rooted plants. CAM plants transpire during the night and thus perform HR during the day. Based on these model simulations, we suggest that the ability of CAM plants to perform HR at a higher rate may have different effects on the surrounding plant community than those of plants with C3 or C4 photosynthetic pathways (i.e., diurnal transpiration).
On the Grounds of (X)-Grounded Cognition

Publisher Summary This chapter lays down a challenge to the field of embodied and grounded cognition. Should the field see fit to pick it up, there is good reason to believe that the results will be very positive. To do that, we must move beyond the too simple task of finding evidence against abstract, amodal, and cognitivist theories of cognition and focus on detailing and supporting specific accounts of the functional inheritances that abstract higher order cognition has received from the substrates on which it is built. This will mean being a bit more critical of each other's work—though hopefully not less friendly toward one another.
Alcohol Lowers Your (Intestinal) Inhibitions

Alcohol causes microbiota dysbiosis and breaches intestinal integrity, resulting in liver inflammation and ultimately cirrhosis. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Wang et al. (2016) demonstrate that ethanol suppresses the intestinal anti-microbial response. This enables gut bacteria to trespass to the liver and thus exacerbates the disease progression.
Asymptotically Optimal Motion Planning for Tasks Using Learned Virtual Landmarks

Utilizing appropriate landmarks in the environment is often critical to planning a robot’s motion for a given task. We propose a method to automatically learn task-relevant landmarks, and incorporate the method into an asymptotically optimal motion planner that is informed by a set of human-guided demonstrations. Our method learns from kinesthetic demonstrations a task model that is parameterized by the poses of virtual landmarks. The approach models a task using multivariate Gaussian distributions in a feature space that includes the robot’s configurations and the relative positions of landmarks in the environment. The method automatically learns virtual landmarks that are based on linear combinations or projections of sensed landmarks whose pose is identified using the robot’s kinematic model and vision sensors. To compute motion plans for the task in new environments, we parameterize the learned task model using the virtual landmark poses and compute paths that maximally adhere to the learned task model while avoiding obstacles. We experimentally evaluate our approach on two manipulation tasks using the Baxter robot in an environment with obstacles.
Phase Separation in InGaN/GaN Multiple Quantum Wells

Evidence is presented for phase separation in In0.27Ga0.73N/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQW’s). After annealing for 4 min at a temperature of 1100 °C, the absorption threshold at 2.95 eV is replaced by a broad peak at 2.65 eV. This peak is attributed to the formation of Inrich InGaN phases in the active region. X-ray diffraction measurements show a shift in the diffraction peaks toward GaN, consistent with the formation of an In-poor phase.
Linear free energy relationship of the energy of the CTTS transition of Halide ions with the solvatochromic parameter α

A linear free energy relationship was found betweenvmax, the energy of the absorption maximum of chloride, bromide, or iodide ion in various solvents, and the α solvatochromic parameter which is a measure of the hydrogen bond donor ability of the solvent. The relationships are: for chloride,vmax=6.99α+50.16 kK; for bromide,vmax=5.52α+45.20 kK; for iodide,vmax=5.02α+40.33 kK. The correlation ofvmax for iodide ion with α gave a larger correlation coefficient and smaller standard deviation than a correlation with the ET(30) parameter of Dimroth. From the values ofvmax for iodide ion and the solvated electron in liquid ammonia at 25°C, these correlations indicate a preliminary value of 0.00 for the α parameter of liquid ammonia. This had not been reported before and is lower than expected from a general knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of liquid ammonia but is consistent with a more detailed consideration and recent gas phase measurements of hydrogen bond donor strength.
Reduced-Nicotine Cigarettes — A Promising Regulatory Pathway

Since the 1970s, some tobacco experts have recommended regulations that reduce or eliminate nicotine from combustible-tobacco products. Now legislation and preliminary research may pave the way for such a move, aimed at reducing addiction and tobacco-related deaths.
INFLUENCE OF PH, IONIC STRENGTH AND HUMAN GAMMA GLOBULIN CONCENTRATION ON STABILITY OF POLYSTYRENE LATEX PARTICLE SUSPENSIONS.

SummaryPolystyrene latex particle suspensions exhibit the properties of lyophobic colloids. Addition of small amounts of human gamma globulin serves to destabilize the LP whereas larger amounts exert a stabilizing protective action. The protective action of HGG is strongly pH dependent and is least at the protein isoelectric point. Use of uncoated latex particles for detection of rheumatoid factors may be complicated by the fact that such particles spontaneously precipitate in very dilute protein solutions.
Acceptability of Rapid Point-of-Care Hepatitis C Tests Among People Who Inject Drugs and Utilize Syringe-Exchange Programs

People who inject drugs may benefit from point-of-care hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing offered at syringe exchanges. We sought to understand whether this population would be willing to undergo rapid HCV testing. We found that there was broad support for rapid HCV testing, especially among younger people who inject drugs with high perceived risk.
Ecological Patterns of Self-Replicators

The aesthetic sense of humans has part of its origins in human evolution. Our ancestors must have evolved the abilities to feel various aesthetic values on other living creatures they shared their habitats with, sometimes with joy, sometimes with fear, sometimes with awe. The same principle might apply to the art of cellular automata (CA) too; if you see living creatures flourishing or struggling in CA, that might trigger a certain kind of aesthetic feeling that is rather different from the one you feel for purely mathematical, geometrical patterns.
The Productivity Impacts of Formal and Informal Land Rights

There is an important literature on the causal relationship flowing from the quality of institutions to economic performance. This paper studies this relationship at the micro level by looking at the productivity impacts of land rights. Whereas previous studies used proxies for soil quality and instrumental variables to control for the endogeneity of land titles, the data used here include soil quality measurements, which allow controlling for the unobserved heterogeneity between plots. Results suggest that formal rights (i.e., land titles) have no impact but informal rights (i.e., landowners’ perceptions of what they can do with their plots) have heterogeneous impacts on productivity. Alternative specifications are also estimated so as to (i) separate the reduced-form causal impacts of land rights from the mechanisms through which land rights affect productivity; and (ii) assess the limits to the internal and external validity of the empirical results.
Sanitary investigation and analysis of drinking water in rural schools of Gansu Province

Objective:To investigate the sanitary quality of drinking water and provide the basic data for future water improvement in some rural schools of Gansu Province.Methods:The drinking water samples were collected in the investigated rural schools.Results:The sanitary quality of water samples collected from different schools was very different according to the results of examining 13 physiochemical indexes and 3 microbiological indexes in the samples.The main items exceeding the relevant standards were nitrate,fluoride,arsenic,sulphate,turbidity and total hardness,especially fluoride,nitrate and arsenic distribution shows regional difference.Conclusion:The drinking water of investigated rural schools was contaminated in different degree and badly affected the teachers′ and students′ physical health,which is needed to be improved urgently.
Endocrine Effects of Oral Contraception

Numerous well-documented endocrine effects of oral contraceptives (OCs) can be subdivided into two groups: (a) those relating to the hypothalamic and pituitary-ovarian system, the breast and the genital tract of the human female and (b) those related indirectly to laboratory testing of other endocrine glands. Benefits from OC use include marked decreases in the incidence of menorrhagia, benign breast disease, dysmenorrhea, iron deficiency anemia, premenstrual tension and ovarian cyst formation--all of which will be discussed only briefly. Of much concern are two suggested adverse effects of OCs: (a) the development of amenorrhea or menstrual disturbance associated with anovulation after discontinuing OCs, thereby possibly influencing the future fertility of former OC users, and (b) the suggested relationship between hyperprolactinemia and the development of micro- and eventually macropituitary adenomas. A review of the literature, along with our own findings, is presented.
Probabilistic Model Updating of Controller Models for Groups of People in a Standing Position

The effects of occupants over the dynamic properties of a structure have been traditionally modeled showing the human body as lumped masses connected with spring and dampers. A new approach for modeling the effects of a standing person was developed 2 years ago based on control theory. The new approach starts from the assumption that the human body can input energy into the system, changing the response of the structural system. The control theory based models have shown to work for a single occupant. This work presents the modeling of groups of standing people using a controller model. The parameters of the controller are obtained using a probabilistic approach based on Bayesian model updating.
Abstract 949: Epigenetic silencing of microRNA-34a promotes cholangiocarcinoma growth by regulating Notch pathway

Aberrant expression and regulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been found in multiple cancers and their dysregulation importantly contribute to the tumorigenic processes. Among these miRNAs, miRNA-34a (miR-34a) functions as a tumor suppressor and its dysregulation has been reported in several cancers. In this study, we investigated epigenetic regulation and biological function of miR-34a in human cholangiocarcinoma cells. Our data indicate that miR-34a expression is epigenetically silenced in human cholangiocarcinoma cells (CCLP1, SG231, Hucct1 and TFK1) compared to the nonmalignant biliary epithelial cells (H69). Treatment of human cholangiocarcinoma cells with the DNA methylation inhibitor, 5’aza-2’deoxycytidine (5-Aza-CdR), or the EZH2 (enhancer of zeste 2 polycomb repressive complex 2) inhibitor, GSK126, enhanced the expression of miR-34a. In parallel, knockdown of EZH2 by shRNA also significantly decreased miR-34a expression in human cholangiocarcinoma cells. We further showed that DNA methylation and EZH2-mediated histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27Me3) repressed miR-34a gene expression, as determined by methylation-specific PCR and chromatin immunoprecipitation. The DNA methylation and EZH2-mediated H3K27Me3 independently repress miR-34a expression in cholangiocarcinoma cells since treatment of 5-Aza-CdR and GSK126 had no effect on H3K27me3 and DNMT1 levels, respectively. Functional analyses revealed that miR-34a mimic decreased cholangiocarcinoma cell proliferation, colony formation and migration, in vitro. Moreover, we identified Notch1, Notch2 and Jagged 1, which are the major receptors and ligands of the Notch pathway, as miR-34a target genes in cholangiocarcinoma cells. Accordingly, forced overexpression of miR-34a significantly decreased the expression of Notch1, Notch2 and Jagged1, as determined by Western blotting and qRT-PCR analyses. Our results provide novel evidence that miR-34a expression is epigenetically silenced by DNA methylation and EZH2 in human cholangiocarcinoma cells. Thus, epigenetic induction of miR-34a or miR-34a replacement therapy may represent a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma. Citation Format: Hyunjoo Kwon, Kyoungsub Song, Chang Han, Jinqing Zhang, Nathan Ungerleider, Lu Yao, Tong Wu. Epigenetic silencing of microRNA-34a promotes cholangiocarcinoma growth by regulating Notch pathway. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 949.
A tale of two disciplines.

Hybrid training in clinical and basic sciences can promote patient-centred discoveries in nanomedicine, says Wen Jiang.
Investigating the work–family conflict and health link: Repetitive thought as a mechanism

Research is needed to investigate mechanisms linking work–family conflict to poor health in working adults. We took a novel approach to build on extant studies by testing a potential mechanism in these associations – repetitive thought. Data came from a sample of 203 partnered working adults. There were significant direct effects of work–family conflict with lower life satisfaction, positive affect, and perceived health as well as greater fatigue. As for total effects, work–family conflict was significantly associated with all health outcomes – life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, fatigue, perceived health, and chronic health conditions – in the expected directions through repetitive thought. This study provides support that repetitive thought is one potential mechanism of how work–family conflict can take a toll on psychological and physical health. Findings are discussed in relation to improving workplace policies to improve the health of working adults managing work–family conflict.
Pertinent Roles and Experiences of All Authors

Francoise Baylis, in 1990, was awarded a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada on “Health Care Ethics Consultation.” The Health Care Ethics Consultant (Humana Press) was published in 1994 upon completion of this project. The importance of character and virtue in ethics consultation is central to this work. A few years later, Baylis was named to the Society for Health and Human Values and the Society for Bioethics Consultation Task Force on Standards for Ethics Consultation. The Final Report of the U.S. Task Force, which revisited the issues of training, accreditation and certification, was published in the summer of 1998. In this Report the importance of character and virtue is contested. Throughout her career, Baylis has worked with a number of Ethics Committees in Canada and the United States. For a few years, she was a fulltime bioethicist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She now has a full-time academic appointment in the Medical School at Dalhousie University and most of her consulting with hospitals now focuses on policy issues rather than case consultations.
Naltrexone for the treatment of comorbid tobacco and pornography addiction

Background and Objectives Co-occurring addictive disorders are common, however treatment strategies for this population have not been extensively studied. This is especially the case for behavioral addictions. Methods We present a patient (N = 1) with tobacco use disorder and problematic pornography use treated with naltrexone. Results Naltrexone treatment resulted in a decrease in pornography viewing and cigarette smoking, however had the adverse effect of anhedonia. A lower dose modestly impacted pornography viewing but not smoking. Discussions and Conclusions Relevant literature regarding co-occurring addictions as well as use of naltrexone is reviewed. Scientific Significance This report represents the first case of tobacco and pornography co-addiction in the literature and supports the assertion that treatment of one addictive disorder can benefit another in the dually addicted patient. The efficacy of naltrexone for smoking is notable as previous studies of naltrexone in smoking have been disappointing. This case suggests future treatment strategies for comorbid addictions. (Am J Addict 2017;XX:1–3)