cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mitochondrial MKP1 Is a Target for Therapy-Resistant HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Cells

The MAPK phosphatase MKP1 (DUSP1) is overexpressed in many human cancers, including chemoresistant and radioresistant breast cancer cells, but its functional contributions in these settings are unclear. Here, we report that after cell irradiation, MKP1 translocates into mitochondria, where it prevents apoptotic induction by limiting accumulation of phosphorylated active forms of the stress kinase JNK. Increased levels of mitochondrial MKP1 after irradiation occurred in the mitochondrial inner membrane space. Notably, cell survival regulated by mitochondrial MKP1 was responsible for conferring radioresistance in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells, due to the fact that MKP1 serves as a major downstream effector in the HER2-activated RAF-MEK-ERK pathway. Clinically, we documented MKP1 expression exclusively in HER2-positive breast tumors, relative to normal adjacent tissue from the same patients. MKP1 overexpression was also detected in irradiated HER2-positive breast cancer stem-like cells (HER2(+)/CD44(+)/CD24(-/low)) isolated from a radioresistant breast cancer cell population after long-term radiation treatment. MKP1 silencing reduced clonogenic survival and enhanced radiosensitivity in these stem-like cells. Combined inhibition of MKP1 and HER2 enhanced cell killing in breast cancer. Together, our findings identify a new mechanism of resistance in breast tumors and reveal MKP1 as a novel therapeutic target for radiosensitization.
The Development of Affiliative and Agonistic Social Patterns in Differentially Reared Monkeys

Bonnet macaques that had been reared from 3 to 6 months of age in experimental environments that appeared to adversely affect their ability to separate from mother to explore a novel physical environment in dyadic assessments shortly after the rearing experience were tested during late adolescence, an average of 2.5 years later, under conditions of increasing unfamiliarity and complexity of the social milieu. 6 monkeys, the low-foraging-demand (LFD) group, were reared by mothers having constant easy access to food during the experimental rearing period. Another 6 monkeys, the variable-foraging-demand (VFD) group, were reared by mothers having a foraging task that varied between easy and difficult in 2-week blocks during the experimental rearing period. Although no treatment group differences were evident during the initial rearing period, during subsequent social challenges VFD monkeys exhibited a diminished capacity for affiliative social engagement relative to LFD monkeys and were socially subordinate to LFD monkeys.
Terminating telephony services on the internet

We propose a general purpose service architecture for realizing services which start in the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) but terminate and execute on the Internet. We discuss the needs for such services, our early research efforts in this direction which lead to prototyping certain benchmark services, and the current state of work in this area. We demonstrate the feasibility of the architecture by focusing on services which involve wireline PSTN as well as the wireless aspects (2 G, 2.5 G) of the PSTN. Our methodology is attractive since it keeps each of the domains (PSTN and Internet) unaware as to where the service is executing with respect to which domain actually requested the service. Individual entities participating in the service do not have any knowledge that external entities from another domain also contributed in the execution and fulfillment of such services. Our approach, as embodied in the service architecture, is to leverage the best of the Internet protocols (SIP, XML, HTTP) and technologies (instant messaging, presence) to provide a general framework for personalized service specification and execution.
Salvage surgery following radiation failure for laryngeal cancer in elderly patients.

Objective. To find the survival rate of patients ≥80 years old who undergo salvage surgery for squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx.Study Design. National data registry analysis.Setting. Seventeen population-based registries comprising the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database.Subjects and Methods. Overall, cancer-specific, and relative survival rates were calculated from 1418 patients, stratified into 3 age cohorts, who underwent surgery following radiation therapy for treatment of laryngeal cancer.Results. The 1-year overall survival of patients ≥80 years old (n = 57) was 76.1%. The cancer-specific survival at 1 year was 86.4%. These survival rates were significantly less than those of patients <65 years old (n = 869), who had a 1-year overall survival of 88.1% (P = .006) and cancer-specific survival of 90.5% (P = .029). Patients aged between 65 and 79 years old (n = 492) displayed 1-year overall survival of 80.7% (P = .426) and cancer-specific survival of 85....
Polymer Networks in Pigment and Cholesterol Gallstones Assessed by Equilibrium Swelling and Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract Sixty-five gallstones were assessed for content of network polymer by equilibrium swelling and infrared spectroscopy. All types of pigment gallstones exhibited swelling in aqueous buffers, indicating network polymer content, but swelling was greatest in black pigment gallstones. Gallstones composed principally of cholesterol did not swell. Swelling increased with increasing pH values from 6 to 10.5, suggesting that titratable carboxyl side chains of the pigment were intact. Swelling increased in the presence of 10 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, indicating that calcium ions provided secondary crosslinks in the network. In all types of pigment gallstones, the equilibrium swelling ratio at the maximum (pH = 10.5) was correlated inversely with the proportion of intact vinyl groups in the pigment assessed by infrared spectroscopy. This suggests that pigment vinyl groups are consumed in forming the covalent crosslinks of the polymer network. A weaker direct correlation between equilibrium swelling ratio and the percentage of unmeasured residue in the gallstones suggested that this residue may also have contributed to the swelling. The high content of cross-linked network polymer in black pigment gallstones renders their therapeutic dissolution improbable by physicochemical means.
The Japanese Banking Presence in the United States and Its Regional Distribution

The Japanese presence in U.S. banking markets is of particular significance. Japanese represent slightly over one-half of the total foreign banking presence in the U.S., concentrated in two states (California and New York). The growth of Japanese direct investment in the U.S. and the yen/dollar exchange rate appear to be the two most important economic factors influencing this rising Japanese banking presence. Japanese legislation liberalizing the flow of investment in and out of Japan, beginning in 1980, is a very important factor. Also, the International Banking Act of 1978 may be important in explaining the recent growth of Japanese bank branches in California.
Semiotes: a semantics for sharing

Motivation: Reliable, automated communication of biological information requires methods to declare the information’s semantics. In this paper I describe an approach to semantic declaration intended to permit independent, distributed databases, algorithms, and servers to exchange and process requests for information and computations without requiring coordination or agreement among them on universe of discourse, data model, schema, or implementation. Results: This approach uses Glossa, a formal language defining the semantics of biological ideas, information, and algorithms, to executably define the semantics of complex ideas and computations by constructs of semiotes, terms which axiomatically define very simple notions. A database or algorithm wishing to exchange information or computations maintains a set of mappings between its particular notions and semiotes, and a parser to translate between its indigenous ideas and implementation and the semiotes. Requests from other databases or algorithms are issued as semiotic messages, locally interpreted and processed, and the results returned as semiotes to the requesting entity. Thus, semiotes serve as a shared, abstract layer of definitions which can be computably combined by each database or algorithm according to its own needs and ideas. By combining the explicit declaration of semantics with the computation of the semantics of complex ideas, Glossa and its semiotes permit independent computational entities to lightly federate their capabilities as desired while maintaining their unique perspectives on both scientific and technical questions. Availability: http:// www.ibc.wustl.edu/ agora/ semiotes/ and files therein.
Changes in Aortic Wall Structure, Composition, and Stiffness With Continuous-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Devices A Pilot Study

Background—The effects of nonpulsatile flow on the aorta are unknown. Our aim was to examine the structure of the aorta from patients with continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) and directly measure aortic wall composition and stiffness. Methods and Results—Age-matched aortic wall samples were collected from consecutive patients with heart failure (HF) at the time of transplantation and compared with nonfailing donor hearts. An unbiased stereological approach was used to quantify aortic morphometry and composition, and biomechanical testing was performed to determine the stress–strain relationship of the vessel. Data were obtained from 4 patients without a left ventricular assist device (HF group: mean age, 58.3±8.0 years), 7 patients with a continuous-flow LVAD (HF+LVAD group: mean, 57.7±5.6 years), and 3 nonfailing donors (mean, 53.3±12.9 years). Compared with HF, the aortic walls from HF+LVAD had an increase in wall thickness, collagen, and smooth muscle content accompanied by a reduct...
Male human papillomavirus infection post-kidney transplant: an overlooked disease

While immunosuppressive regimens improve the overall survival of renal transplant recipients, they also contribute to the long-term complications of post-transplant malignancies. Chronic immune suppression in renal transplant recipients (RTR) increases the risk of viral-associated cancers. In male RTR, human papillomavirus (HPV) is implicated in the development of penile, anal, oropharyngeal, and non-melanoma skin carcinomas. Despite the significance of this virus in RTR, there is an overall deficiency in the understanding of the natural history of HPV infection in male RTR. In the next 20 years, it is believed that cancers will be the leading cause of death in kidney transplant recipients. HPV-associated carcinomas are of particular interest since they are sexually transmitted and in theory may be preventable diseases. This commentary highlights some of the progress made in understanding how HPV is transmitted amongst couples in the general population. It also summarizes the current knowledge of HPV infection in male RTR and describes the deficiencies in published medical literature.
The ethnobiology of the Haitian zombi.

Summary For many years students of Haitian society have suggested that there is an ethnopharmacological basis for the notorious zombies, the living dead of peasant folklore. The recent surfacing of three zombies, one of whom may represent the first potentially verifiable case, has focused scientific attention on the reported zombi drug. The formula of the poison was obtained at four widely separated localities in Haiti. The consistent ingredients include one or more species of puffer fish (Diodon hystrix, Diodon holacunthus or Sphoereides testudineus) which contain tetrodotoxins, potent neurotoxins fully capable of ph~~colo~c~y ~duc~g the zombi state. The ingredients, preparation and method of application are presented. The symptomology of tetrodotoxication as described in the biomedical literature is compared with the constellations of symptoms recorded from the zombies in Haiti. The cosmological rationale of zombies within the context of Voudou theology is described. Prelude laboratory tests are summarized.
Expected current distributions for CMOS circuits

The analysis of CMOS VLSI circuit switching current has become an increasingly important and difficult task from both a VLSI design and simulation software perspective. This paper presents a new static switching current estimation algorithm based on the idea of "Expected Current Distributions" (ECDs). Unlike previous "expected waveform" approaches, ECDs model not only the expected value of switching current waveforms over all time, but also the variances and covariances of all waveform segments as well. This extra information allows a switching current waveform to be modeled by a random process with both first and second order ensemble statistics. This specification provides the power spectral density of the switching current and allows the use of traditional frequency domain noise analysis to simulate the behavior of the switching current in the electrical supply network. An ECD simulation procedure is described and results are presented for the ISCAS85 combinational benchmark circuits. Estimated quantities include total average and RMS VDD current, the autocorrelation function of the total VDD current waveform, and per-gate average and RMS VDD currents. The results show speedups of up to 100 x and good agreement with respect to figures obtained using dynamic logic simulation and statistical mean estimation.
A monte carlo em algorithm for generalized linear mixed models with flexible random effects distribution

A popular way to model correlated binary, count, or other data arising in clinical trials and epidemiological studies of cancer and other diseases is by using generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs), which acknowledge correlation through incorporation of random effects. A standard model assumption is that the random effects follow a parametric family such as the normal distribution. However, this may be unrealistic or too restrictive to represent the data, raising concern over the validity of inferences both on fixed and random effects if it is violated. Here we use the seminonparametric (SNP) approach (Davidian and Gallant 1992, 1993) to model the random effects, which relaxes the normality assumption and just requires that the distribution of random effects belong to a class of “smooth” densities given by Gallant and Nychka (1987). This representation allows the density of random effects to be very flexible, including densities that are skewed, multi-modal, fat- or thin-tailed relative to the normal, and the normal as a special case. We also provide a reparameterization of this representation to avoid numerical instability in estimating the polynomial coefficients. Because an efficient algorithm to sample from a SNP density is available, we propose a Monte Carlo expectation maximization (MCEM) algorithm using a rejection sampling scheme (Booth and Hobert, 1999) to estimate the fixed parameters of the linear predictor, variance components and the SNP density. A strategy of choosing the degree of flexibility required for the SNP density is also proposed. We illustrate the methods by application to two data sets from the Framingham and Six Cities Studies, and present simulations demonstrating performance of the approach.
A Phylogenetic Investigation of Botrychium s. s. (Ophioglossaceae): Evidence from Three Plastid DNA Sequence Datasets

Abstract Phylogenetic relationships among 23 species of Botrychium s. s. were investigated using sequence data from three plastid DNA regions: rbcL, trnLUAA -trnFGAA intergenic spacer, and rpL16 intron. Individual and combined maximum parsimony and a combined maximum likelihood analysis showed strong support for the monophyly of Botrychium s. s., and all analyses identified three main, well-supported clades. However, within those three clades all analyses did not produce identical tree topologies. The Lanceolatum clade contained the diploid B. lanceolatum and seven polyploids, the Lunaria clade contained the diploids B. lunaria and B. crenulatum, and the Simplex-Campestre clade contained 13 species distributed across five subclades. Relationships among the five subclades were not resolved in either of the combined analyses. The Simplex subclade contained four diploids (B. simplex, B. montanum, B. mormo, and B. pumicola), the Pallidum subclade contained the diploid B. pallidum and the tetraploid B. gallico...
Consumer Bargaining Power as a Key Determinant of Market Entry in Latin American Big Emerging Markets

Firms enter foreign markets through a variety of structural arrangements such as exporting, contracting, joint ventures, or wholly owned subsidiary to implement their product market strategies. Depending upon the choice of an arrangement, the firm is limited in effectively dealing with its target customers. A number of theories such as Hymer's, Internationalization, Eclectic, Transaction Cost, and Bargaining Power theory have been proposed over time to explain the entry mode choice behavior of firms. Grounded in the discipline of economics, they primarily deal with international trade amalgamated with institutional economics. Hence, one comes across such constructs as monopolistic advantage, degree of market imperfection, host market commitment, perception of market uncertainty etc. However, none of these theories have incorporated host country consumer bargaining power as a key determinant of firm's entry mode choice behavior thereby ignoring the most important constituent of the product market strategy. The recent publications on Big Emerging Markets (BEMs) reveal that consumers in these countries exercise tremendous bargaining power vis-a-vis MNCs. With their rising incomes, these consumers are thirsty for variety and good quality of life, highly sensitive to price-product performance, and do not want be regarded as markets for exploitation of sunset technologies. They want products that are appropriate for their usage conditions and on their terms. Therefore, it is essential to include Consumer Bargaining Power as a key construct in the explanation of firm's foreign market entry behavior. In this study, we analyze the BEM phenomenon in Latin America and propose a comprehensive new theoretical framework incorporating the consumer bargaining power as a central construct. This will help in not only advancing our understanding of entry mode choice behavior of the firm but also bring in a missing piece of the puzzle.
Genotyping by mass spectrometry.

Important progress in disease genetics has been made during the last decade in identifying genes and mutations responsible for the heritable basis of numerous rare Mendelian disorders. The tools devised that have made this progress possible are now being refined, modified, extended and adapted to address the major challenge of the next decade: identification of the sequence variation that determines susceptibility to common, genetically complex disorders. Since these diseases are common they contribute much more to the burden of disease that afflicts contemporary human societies than do rare Mendelian disorders. This prevalence suggests that the alleles responsible for susceptibility may also be prevalent. Such alleles are possibly variant alleles that have been selectively neutral through most of the approximately 150,000 year history of modern humans and have been globally dispersed with human colonization of the planet. Susceptibility alleles do not independently confer disease: they require specific environments to manifest deleterious effects. Such environmental factors may have been absent prior to the emergence of industrialized societies. This paradigm explains why these diseases and their susceptibility alleles have become geographically widespread (1,2). A competing hypothesis is that common genetic diseases result from recent mutations that have not yet been subject to the effects of purifying selection (3).
Comparative assessment of methods for the fusion transcripts detection from RNA-Seq data.

RNA-Seq made possible the global identification of fusion transcripts, i.e. “chimeric RNAs”. Even though various software packages have been developed to serve this purpose, they behave differently in different datasets provided by different developers. It is important for both users and developers to have an unbiased assessment of the performance of existing fusion detection tools. Toward this goal, we compared the performance of 12 well-known fusion detection software packages. We evaluated the sensitivity, false discovery rate, computing time and memory usage of these tools in four different datasets (positive, negative, mixed and test). We conclude that some tools are better than others in terms of sensitivity, positive prediction value, time consumption and memory usage. We also observed small overlaps of the fusions detected by different tools in the real dataset (test dataset). This could be due to false discoveries by various tools, but could also be due to the reason that none of the tools are inclusive. We have found that the performance of the tools depends on the quality, read length and number of reads of the RNA-Seq data. We recommend that users choose the proper tools for their purpose based on the properties of their RNA-Seq data.
U.S. GAAP versus IFRS: Analyst Forecast Errors for Foreign Private Issuers

Beginning in fiscal 2007, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allowed foreign companies traded on U.S. stock exchanges to report under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP). This study investigates if analyst forecast accuracy is affected by the reporting standards used. If U.S. GAAP and IFRS are equivalent sets of high-quality standards, as purported by the IASB and SEC, then there should not be any difference in forecast accuracy. If, on the other hand, analyst forecast accuracy differs based on the accounting standards used, the U.S. GAAP and IFRS may not be comparable.With a sample of 366 firm-years from 2007 to 2010, we find that there are no significant differences in forecast errors for companies reporting under IFRS versus U.S. GAAP. This result indicates that the information provided by both sets of standards is sufficient for sophisticated users. This is especially important because foreign companies traded on U.S. exchanges will be electing between these two alternative reporting methods into the foreseeable future. In addition, there is some discussion that the SEC may allow U.S. companies to report under either method, so this study informs that debate. Our results indicate that the predictive models employed by analysts are equally effective when based on financial results reported under U.S. GAAP or IFRS.
Competing Discourses and Meaning Making in Talk about Romantic Partners’ Cell-Phone Contact with Non-Present Others

Focus groups were conducted with 51 college students to examine how participants engaged in meaning making about the presence and use of cell phones with non-present others while in the context of dating and spending time with romantic partners. Grounded in relational dialectics theory, qualitative analysis revealed two sets of competing discourses at play in college students’ talk about cell phones: discourses of community and romance and discourses of control and freedom. The interplay of these competing discourses illuminated participants’ struggles with being available to others while trying to provide attention to their dating partners. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Proof Without Words: Sums of Odd and Even Squares

(2015). Proof Without Words: Sums of Odd and Even Squares. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 88, No. 4, pp. 278-279.
Pharmacoarteriography in the evaluation of impotence.

Abstract: Progress in diagnosis and therapy of impotence is handicapped by the absence of a validated and objective method for evaluating the vascular system; a gold-standard for vasculogenic impotence is needed.Prior experience has indicated that conventional arteriography in unanesthetized patients is unreliable in evaluation of the penile arterial supply. We have improved our arterlographic methods by the routine application of selective pudendal injections, vasodilation pharmacoangiography with nitroglycerin and papaverine, and direct magnification. Experience in 37 impotent patients demonstrates marked improvement in the quality of visualization of distal vessels, and the frequent presence of functional vasoconstriction of medium and small arteries that can be distinguished from organic disease only with vasodilators.We believe these angiographic methods will improve the criteria against which other diagnostic and therapeutic methods can be objectively assessed.
The new order reconfigured, 1500–1710

The Europe into which the eastern Baltic littoral was drawn from the thirteenth century on was itself undergoing major changes. The grand struggle between secular rulers and the papacy over ultimate allegiance was resolving itself in favor of the monarchies, and by the fifteenth century, the monarchs had begun to realize the importance of dynasty and effective internal administration. As old feudal ties between lords and vassals and sub-vassals were eroding, lords could no longer expect loyalty from their subordinates on the basis of a personal bond alone. Military servitors to whom lands had been granted were refashioning themselves into land-based aristocracies, discovering at the same time the benefits of heritability of their holdings and the advantages of binding “their” peasants to the soil. Cities were becoming an increasingly powerful and independent political force, while long-distance trade and commerce established new forms of personal wealth. The western church still remained in charge, at least nominally, of the salvation of souls, but, as an institution deeply involved in secular affairs, its activities were being questioned by reformers such as John Wycliff and John Hus who were greatly dismayed about ecclesiastical corruption and the spectacle of a very wealthy church. A conciliar movement (Constance, 1414–1417; Basle, 1431–1449) sought to pacify the reformers, but their disquiet continued. Wealth was being redefined to include more than land, but the impulse to control territory remained strong at both the personal and state levels.
Spider silk: Dynamic mechanics

The discovery of a hypersonic bandgap in spider silk could drive the design of bio-inspired and biocompatible dynamic materials.
Development And Standardization Of A Clinical Evaluation Of Standing Function In Children: The Functional Standing Test

A tool to quantify standing function and measure the effectiveness of different standing aids was developed and normed on children. The assessment was based upon the ability to manipulate the environment with the upper extremities while in the upright posture. The Jebsen Test of Hand Function was adapted for the standing position and extended to include vertical reaching. A subset of the Jebsen tasks representative of activities typically performed while standing was modified for the evaluation. Eighteen tasks requiring fine coordination, pushing, pulling, reaching horizontally, vertically, and diagonally were graded according to difficulty. Time and completion of each task and total elapsed standing time were recorded. Data from 69 able-bodied individuals between the ages of 12 and 17 were analyzed statistically and normal standards were established. Application of the test in standing was found to be significantly different than published norms for sitting. Two adolescents with complete spinal cord injuries were also tested while using either Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation or long-leg braces to stand. One volunteer was able to perform all tasks in the same time frame as his able-bodied counterparts. Both subjects demonstrated improvement in standing function with FNS, but overall results were mixed. The assessment is being repeated on other children to compare standing ability with various assistive devices.
Negative Regulation of Type 2 Immunity

Type 2 immunity encompasses the mechanisms through which the immune system responds to helminths and an array of environmental substances such as allergens. In the developing world, billions of individuals are chronically infected with endemic parasitic helminths. In comparison, in the industrialized world, millions of individuals suffer from dysregulated type 2 immunity, referred to clinically as atopic diseases including asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis. Thus, type 2 immunity must be carefully regulated to mount protective host responses yet avoid inappropriate activation and immunopathology. In this review, we describe the key players and connections at play in type 2 responses and focus on the emerging mechanisms involved in the negative regulation of type 2 immunity.
Minerals & Metals Through International Cooperation

A survey of the role of the United Nations Special Fund in the field of mining and metallurgy.
Structure of Ca2+ Release Channel at 14 Å Resolution

The 14 A resolution structure of the 2.3 MDa Ca2+ release channel (also known as RyR1) was determined by electron cryomicroscopy and single particle reconstruction. This structure was produced using collected data used for our previous published structures at 22–30 A resolution, but now taking advantage of recent algorithmic improvements in the EMAN software suite. This improved map clearly exhibits more structural detail and allows better defined docking of computationally predicted structural domain folds. Using sequence-based fold recognition, the N-terminal region of RyR1, residues 216–572, was predicted to have significant structural similarity with the IP3-binding core region of the type 1 IP3R. This putative structure was computationally localized to the clamp-shaped region of RyR1, which has been implicated to have a regulatory role in the channel activity.
Cardiac Ion Channel Regulation in Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome: Relevance to Long QT Syndrome and Atrial Fibrillation

Obesity and its associated metabolic dysregulation leading to metabolic syndrome is an epidemic that poses a significant public health problem. More than one-third of the world population is overweight or obese leading to enhanced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and mortality. Obesity predisposes to atrial fibrillation, ventricular, and supraventricular arrhythmias; conditions that are underlain by dysfunction in electrical activity of the heart. To date, current therapeutic options for cardiomyopathy of obesity are limited, suggesting that there is considerable room for development of therapeutic interventions with novel mechanisms of action that will help normalize rhythm in obese patients. Emerging candidates for modulation by obesity are cardiac ion channels and Ca handling proteins. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of the impact of obesity on these channels/Ca handling proteins remain incompletely understood. Obesity is marked by accumulation of adipose tissue associated with a variety of adverse adaptations including dyslipidemia (or abnormal levels of serum free fatty acids), increased secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, fibrosis, hyperglycemia, and insulin resistance, that will cause electrical remodeling and thus predispose to arrhythmias. Further, adipose tissue is also associated with the accumulation of subcutaneous and visceral fat, which are marked by distinct signaling mechanisms. Thus, there may also be functional differences in the outcome of regional distribution of fat deposits on ion channel/Ca handling proteins expression. Evaluating alterations in their functional expression in obesity will lead to progress in the knowledge about the mechanisms responsible for obesity-related arrhythmias. These advances are likely to reveal new targets for pharmacological modulation. The objective of this article is to review cardiac ion channel/Ca handling proteins remodeling that predispose to arrhythmias. Understanding how obesity and related mechanisms lead to cardiac electrical remodeling is likely to have a significant medical and economic impact.
The Young Jesuit

Charles J. McCarthy was a Jesuit in an age when the Society of Jesus flourished in America. He was a missionary in Asia, interned during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, and was imprisoned in Communist China during the 1950s. He was born on December 15, 1911, in Modesto, California, and encountered the zealous promotion of foreign missions at school, church, and at home. He was educated in Catholic schools that nurtured vocations, entering the Jesuit order in 1929. He was ordained in 1939. McCarthy established himself as a gifted young author of elegant and persuasive prose, which would later fuel his work as a Jesuit journalist. He was sent on a mission to Shanghai in 1941, first undertaking language study in Beijing between 1941 and 1943.
Layer-by-Layer Epitaxial Growth of Defect-Engineered Strontium Cobaltites

Control over structure and composition of (ABO3) perovskite oxides offers exciting opportunities since these materials possess unique, tunable properties. Perovskite oxides with cobalt B-site cations are particularly promising, as the range of the cation’s stable oxidation states leads to many possible structural frameworks. Here, we report growth of strontium cobalt oxide thin films by molecular beam epitaxy, and conditions necessary to stabilize different defect concentration phases. In situ X-ray scattering is used to monitor structural evolution during growth, while in situ X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy is used to probe oxidation state and measure changes to oxygen vacancy concentration as a function of film thickness. Experimental results are compared to kinetically limited thermodynamic predictions, in particular, solute trapping, with semiquantitative agreement. Agreement between observations of dependence of cobaltite phase on oxidation activity and deposition rate, and predictions indic...
Effect of length and location of edentulous area on the accuracy of prosthetic treatment plan incorporation into cone-beam computed tomography scans.

Background Effects of length and location of the edentulous area on the accuracy of prosthetic treatment plan incorporation into cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans has not been investigated. Purpose To evaluate the effect of length and location of the edentulous area on the accuracy of prosthetic treatment plan incorporation into CBCT scans using different methods. Material and methods Direct digital scans of a completely dentate master model with removable radiopaque teeth were made using an intraoral scanner, and digital scans of stone duplicates of the master model were made using a laboratory scanner. Specific teeth were removed to simulate different clinical situations and their CBCT scans were made. Surface scans were registered onto the CBCT scans. Radiographic templates for each clinical situation were also fabricated and used during CBCT scans of the master models. Using metrology software, three-dimensional (3D) deviation was measured on standard tesselation language (STL) files created from the CBCT scans against an STL file of the master model created from a CBCT scan. Statistical analysis was done using the MIXED procedure in a statistical software and Tukey HSD test (α =.05). Results The interaction between location and method was significant (P = .009). Location had no significant effect on registration methods (P > .05), but on the radiographic templates (P = .011). Length of the edentulous area did not have any significant effect (P > .05). Conclusions Accuracy of digital image registration methods was similar and higher than that of radiographic templates in all clinical situations. Tooth-bound radiographic templates were significantly more accurate than the free-end templates. The results of this study suggest using image registration instead of radiographic templates when planning dental implants, particularly in free-end situations.
FTS Opacity Measurements of the South Pole Submillimeter Sky

A sub-millimeter Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) was used at the South Pole to acquire wide frequency span (300 GHz v 2 THz) measurements of the atmospheric opacity, T (V). Comparisons were made with other ongoing measurements to allow inference of typical wintertime observing statistics.
Coke deactivation of hydrotreating catalysts: A variable site model

The decrease in activation energy with increasing coke content of a hydrotreating catalyst was modeled by a normal (Gaussian) variable-site activation energy function. Catalyst deactivation was correlated by site-selective deactivation for anthracene coke and site-preference deactivation for bitumen coke.
Impact of left ventricular ejection fraction and elevated filling pressures on mortality in mechanically ventilated patients in severe sepsis or septic shock

Myocardial dysfunction in septic shock is common and the presentation is broad. There are conflicting data regarding the prognostic implications of low left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction and elevated E/e' ratio on mortality in this patient population. We sought to assess the impact of LV dysfunction and elevated E/e' ratio on 30-day mortality in mechanically ventilated patients with severe sepsis or septic shock.
CMP Development for Ru Liner Structures beyond 14nm

For better gap fill in beyond 56nm pitch Cu interconnect structures, Ru liner is one of the most promising solutions with better coverage and wettability. In this paper several new challenges in Ru CMP specific to ≤ 48nm pitch structures (also called 10nm technology) are presented. New CMP solutions were developed by optimizing the slurry, consumables, and process sequence to address the observed challenges such as Ru bending and Cu recess. The optimized solutions to address these challenges were further tested on integrated wafers and improvements in resistance and yield were demonstrated through electrical tests.
Increased choriocapillaris vessel density in amblyopic children: a case-control study.

Purpose To investigate the choriocapillaris in children with amblyopia, using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A). Methods Patients with amblyopia and age-matched controls were prospectively imaged using OCT-A. On OCT-A, the choriocapillaris measures 30 μm starting 31 μm posterior to the retinal pigment epithelium. The section of choriocapillaris under superficial retinal vessels was excluded from analysis to avoid shadowing or projection artifacts. The main outcome measure was choriocapillaris vessel density. Secondary outcome measures were foveal macular thickness and parafoveal macular thickness. Results A total of 20 eyes of 16 patients with amblyopia and 25 eyes of 25 controls were included. Mean age of amblyopic subjects was 7.6 ± 3.6 years; of controls, 9.3 ± 2.2 years ( P = 0.10). Mean refractive error of subjects was 4.3 ± 6.2 D; of controls, 0.0 ± 1.6 D ( P = 0.004). Mean choriocapillaris vessel density was 74.8 ± 5.8 in the amblyopic group and 71.1 ± 3.6 in the control group, which was significant even after adjusting for age and refractive error ( P = 0.012). There was no difference between groups in foveal macular thickness or parafoveal macular thickness; however, outer parafoveal macular thickness (the inner boundary of the inner nuclear layer to the retinal pigment epithelium outer boundary) was significantly greater in amblyopic eyes than in control eyes, even after adjusting for age and refractive error (203 ± 11 μm and 189 ± 12 μm, resp. [ P = 0.014]). Conclusions In our study cohort, amblyopic eyes were found to have increased choriocapillaris vessel density as well as a greater outer parafoveal macular thickness, which may be due to alterations in outer retinal maturation.
Grappling With Complex Food Systems to Reduce Obesity: A US Public Health Challenge

Despite 2 decades of effort by the public health community to combat obesity, obesity rates in the United States continue to rise. This lack of progress raises fundamental questions about the adequacy of our current approaches. Although the causes of population-wide obesity are multifactorial, attention to food systems as potential drivers of obesity has been prominent. However, the relationships between broader food systems and obesity are not always well understood. Our efforts to address obesity can be advanced and improved by the use of systems approaches that consider outcomes of the interconnected global food system, including undernutrition, climate change, the environmental sustainability of agriculture, and other social and economic concerns. By implementing innovative local and state programs, taking new approaches to overcome political obstacles to effect policy, and reconceptualizing research needs, we can improve obesity prevention efforts that target the food systems, maximize positive outcomes, and minimize adverse consequences. We recommend strengthening innovative local policies and programs, particularly those that involve community members in identifying problems and potential solutions and that embrace a broad set of goals beyond making eating patterns healthier. We also recommend undertaking interdisciplinary research projects that go beyond testing targeted interventions in specific populations and aim to build an understanding of the broader social, political, and economic context.
Progress in quantitative inorganic analysis: 1959

Abstract This review covers recent work and advances in the determination of relatively small amounts of inorganic substances and is based upon the information collected by the abstractors of the Microchemical Journal on topics relating to microchemical investigations. For convenience, the topics will be classified into four categories: (a) gravimetric micromethods, (b) titrimetric micromethods, (c) instrumental methods, and (d) miscellaneous applications.
Comparison of Microscope Slide-Mounting Media for Preparation of Fungus Gnats (Diptera: Mycetophilidae)

Nine microscope slide-mounting media were compared to determine which types were best, worst, and of intermediate value for the preparation of fungus gnats for microscope examination. The best were Euparal, Carolina Canada balsam, and fingernail polish. The worst were Eukitt and PVA. Those of intermediate value were Benz synthetic Canada balsam, Rublev Canada balsam, and Kleermount. One slide was made using Hoyer's slide-mounting medium.
NarrativeTime: Dense High-Speed Temporal Annotation on a Timeline.

We present NarrativeTime, a new timeline-based annotation scheme for temporal order of events in text, and a new densely annotated fiction corpus comparable to TimeBank-Dense. NarrativeTime is considerably faster than schemes based on event pairs such as TimeML, and it produces more temporal links between events than TimeBank-Dense, while maintaining comparable agreement on temporal links. This is achieved through new strategies for encoding vagueness in temporal relations and an annotation workflow that takes into account the annotators' chunking and commonsense reasoning strategies. NarrativeTime comes with new specialized web-based tools for annotation and adjudication.
Phosphorylation of the Gα protein Gpa2 promotes protein kinase A signaling in yeast.

Heterotrimeric G proteins are important molecular switches that facilitate transmission of a variety of signals from the outside to the inside of cells. G proteins are highly conserved, enabling study of their regulatory mechanisms in model organisms such as the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Gpa2 is a yeast Gα protein that functions in the nutrient signaling pathway. Using Phos-tag, a highly specific phosphate binding tag for separating phosphorylated proteins, we found that Gpa2 undergoes phosphorylation and that its level of phosphorylation is markedly increased upon nitrogen starvation. We also observed that phosphorylation of Gpa2 depends on glycogen synthase kinase (GSK). Disrupting GSK activity diminishes Gpa2 phosphorylation levels in vivo, and the purified GSK isoforms Mck1 and Ygk3 are capable of phosphorylating Gpa2 in vitro. Functionally, phosphorylation enhanced plasma membrane localization of Gpa2 and promoted nitrogen starvation–induced activation of protein kinase A. Together, the findings of our study reveal a mechanism by which GSK- and nutrient-dependent phosphorylation regulates subcellular localization of Gpa2 and its ability to activate downstream signaling.
In Situ Transmission Electron Microscope Liquid Cell 3D Profile Reconstruction and Analysis of Nanoscale Liquid Water Contact Line Movements.

Static nanodroplets and dynamic contact line (CL) movements were visualized by an in situ transmission electron microscope (TEM) liquid cell technique at nanometer spatial resolution. Crawling and ...
Toward situated interventions for algorithmic equity: lessons from the field

Research to date aimed at the fairness, accountability, and transparency of algorithmic systems has largely focused on topics such as identifying failures of current systems and on technical interventions intended to reduce bias in computational processes. Researchers have given less attention to methods that account for the social and political contexts of specific, situated technical systems at their points of use. Co-developing algorithmic accountability interventions in communities supports outcomes that are more likely to address problems in their situated context and re-center power with those most disparately affected by the harms of algorithmic systems. In this paper we report on our experiences using participatory and co-design methods for algorithmic accountability in a project called the Algorithmic Equity Toolkit. The main insights we gleaned from our experiences were: (i) many meaningful interventions toward equitable algorithmic systems are non-technical; (ii) community organizations derive the most value from localized materials as opposed to what is "scalable" beyond a particular policy context; (iii) framing harms around algorithmic bias suggests that more accurate data is the solution, at the risk of missing deeper questions about whether some technologies should be used at all. More broadly, we found that community-based methods are important inroads to addressing algorithmic harms in their situated contexts.
Prevalence of Spanking in US National Samples of 35-Year-Old Parents From 1993 to 2017

This survey study examines the prevalence of spanking among US parents aged 35 years with children aged 2 to 12 years from 1993 to 2017.
DPYD and UGT1A1 Pharmacogenetic Testing in Patients with Gastrointestinal Malignancies: An Overview of the Evidence and Considerations for Clinical Implementation

Gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies are among the most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide. Despite the introduction of targeted and immunotherapy agents in the treatment landscape, cytotoxic agents, such as fluoropyrimidines and irinotecan, remain as the cornerstone of chemotherapy for many of these tumors. Pharmacogenetics (PGx) is a rapidly evolving field that accounts for interpatient variability in drug metabolism to predict therapeutic response and toxicity. Given the significant incidence of severe treatment-related adverse events associated with cytotoxic agents, utilizing PGx can allow clinicians to better anticipate drug tolerability while minimizing treatment interruptions or delays. In this review, the PGx profiles of drug-gene pairs with potential impact in GI malignancy therapy - DPYD-5-fluorouracil/capecitabine and UGT1A1-irinotecan - and the available clinical evidence of their roles in reducing severe adverse events are discussed. Considerations for clinical implementation, such as optimal laboratory workflows, electronic health record integration, and stakeholder engagement, as well as provider education, are addressed. Last, exploratory PGx markers in GI malignancy treatment are described. As the PGx knowledge base rapidly evolves, pharmacists will be vital in leveraging their pharmacology knowledge and clinical skills to implement PGx testing in the clinic.