cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The roles of long noncoding RNA in epigenetic regulation

The X-linked region now known as the ‘X-inactivation center’ (Xic) was once dominated by protein-coding genes but, with the rise of Eutherian mammals some 150-200 million years ago, became infiltrated by genes that produce long noncoding RNA (lncRNA). Some of the noncoding genes have been shown to play crucial roles during X-chromosome inactivation (XCI), including the targeting of chromatin modifiers to the X. The rapid establishment of lncRNA hints at a possible preference for long transcripts in some aspects of epigenetic regulation. We will consider advantages lncRNA offers in delivering allelic, cis-limited, and locus-specific control. Unlike proteins and small RNAs, long ncRNAs are tethered to the site of transcription, and can therefore tag the allele of origin and mark unique regions in a complex genome. We will discuss general roles of lncRNA, with special consideration of XCI and developmental consequences when Xist RNA is aberrantly expressed. Like small RNAs, lncRNAs may emerge as powerful regulators of the epigenome.
SPIDERS FROM THE LAC ST. JEAN REGION OF QUEBEC

A week's vacation in the delightful Lac St. Jean country netted an interesting list of spiders. No attempt was made ta make a general collection. We were primarily interested in the Linyphiidae and collected mostly by sifting moss and forest litter. At Bagotville we sifted moss on the wooded cliffs overlooking Ha-Ha Bay and in a little marecage nearby. These specimens are dated July 26, 1934.
Synthesis of the Enzymes of the Mandelate Pathway by Pseudomonas putida III. Isolation and Properties of Constitutive Mutants

Abstract Hegeman, G. D. (University of California, Berkeley). Synthesis of the enzymes of the mandelate pathway by Pseudomonas putida. III. Isolation and properties of constitutive mutants. J. Bacteriol. 91:1161–1167. 1966.—Mutants of Pseudomonas putida constitutive for the synthesis of l(+)-mandelate dehydrogenase were obtained after mandelate- or benzoylformate-limited growth in a chemostat. When grown in media noninducing for the wild type, the mutants are capable of coordinate, constitutive synthesis of the first five enzymes of the mandelate pathway. Later enzymes of the pathway that were examined are normally repressed. The constitutive mutants have two other noteworthy properties: they are superinducible by some compounds which induce the mandelate group enzymes in the wild type, or as a result of exhaustion of the carbon and energy source of the medium in which they are grown; and they exhibit a decreased specificity of induction, being inducible by a wide range of compounds devoid of inductive function for the wild type. These results, together with other evidence indicating that the five mandelate group enzymes comprise a regulatory unit, are discussed and evaluated in the context of the general problem of the regulation of complex dissimilatory pathways.
Lactobacillus crispatus Dominant Vaginal Microbiome Is Associated with Inhibitory Activity of Female Genital Tract Secretions against Escherichia coli

Objective Female genital tract secretions inhibit E. coli ex vivo and the activity may prevent colonization and provide a biomarker of a healthy microbiome. We hypothesized that high E. coli inhibitory activity would be associated with a Lactobacillus crispatus and/or jensenii dominant microbiome and differ from that of women with low inhibitory activity.
Detection of spike patterns using pattern filtering, with applications to sleep replay in birdsong

Abstract Consolidation of memories during sleep may involve neuronal replay of daytime activity patterns. A precise replay phenomenon was observed in the song system nucleus RA. We developed statistical pattern filtering to investigate replay in HVc, where spiking activity is more variable. Long spike sequences during sleep were convolved with filters constructed from exemplar auditory spike sequences. Examining peaks in the filter responses, we found many examples of HVc spike trains with temporal patterns similar to the exemplars, confirming a replay phenomenon for HVc. Statistical pattern filtering has general utility for finding spike patterns when a referent pattern is known.
Valid and reliable authentic assessment of culminating student performance in the biomedical sciences

There is increasing pressure, both from institutions central to the national scientific mission and from regional and national accrediting agencies, on natural sciences faculty to move beyond course examinations as measures of student performance and to instead develop and use reliable and valid authentic assessment measures for both individual courses and for degree-granting programs. We report here on a capstone course developed by two natural sciences departments, Biological Sciences and Chemistry/Biochemistry, which engages students in an important culminating experience, requiring synthesis of skills and knowledge developed throughout the program while providing the departments with important assessment information for use in program improvement. The student work products produced in the course, a written grant proposal, and an oral summary of the proposal, provide a rich source of data regarding student performance on an authentic assessment task. The validity and reliability of the instruments and the resulting student performance data were demonstrated by collaborative review by content experts and a variety of statistical measures of interrater reliability, including percentage agreement, intraclass correlations, and generalizability coefficients. The high interrater reliability reported when the assessment instruments were used for the first time by a group of external evaluators suggests that the assessment process and instruments reported here will be easily adopted by other natural science faculty.
Nitrogen GATA factors participate in transcriptional regulation of vacuolar protease genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The expression of most nitrogen catabolic genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is regulated at the level of transcription in response to the quality of nitrogen source available. This regulation is accomplished through four GATA-family transcription factors: two positively acting factors capable of transcriptional activation (Gln3p and Gat1p) and two negatively acting factors capable of down-regulating Gln3p- and/or Gat1p-dependent transcription (Dal80p and Deh1p). Current understanding of nitrogen-responsive transcriptional regulation is the result of extensive analysis of genes required for the catabolism of small molecules, e.g., amino acids, allantoin, or ammonia. However, cells contain another, equally important source of nitrogen, intracellular protein, which undergoes rapid turnover during special circumstances such as entry into stationary phase, and during sporulation. Here we show that the expression of some (CPS1, PEP4, PRB1, and LAP4) but not all (PRC1) vacuolar protease genes is nitrogen catabolite repression sensitive and is regulated by the GATA-family proteins Gln3p, Gat1p, and Dal80p. These observations extend the global participation of GATA-family transcription factors to include not only well-studied genes associated with the catabolism of small nitrogenous compounds but also genes whose products are responsible for the turnover of intracellular macromolecules. They also point to the usefulness of considering control of the nitrogen-responsive GATA factors when studying the regulation of the protein turnover machinery.
Psychosocial Concerns and Strengths of Women with HIV Infection: An Empirical Study:

The authors examine the psychosocial concerns, needs, and strengths of 67 adult women living with HIV in the Philadelphia area. Personal interviews revealed that the majority of women in the study ...
Phase approximation via Remez algorithm

We consider an important aspect of rational modeling: phase approximation. An algorithm is developed to achieving optimal Chebyshev error where Remez algorithm is proved to be effective. Its applications to the design of recursive digital filters with linear phase are investigated. >
Etherification of dimethylbutenes in excess methanol

Oxygenated compounds such as ethers produced by the reaction of alcohols and alkenes have good potential for use as performance and environmental enhancing additives for transportation fuels. In this study, the production of the C7 ether, 2,3-dimethyl-2-methoxybutane (DM2MB), was investigated in a batch reactor from 323–343 K at high methanol concentrations. A macroporous cation exchange resin, Amberlyst 15, was employed as catalyst for the etherification of 2,3-dimethyl-1-butene (DM1B) and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene (DM2B) with methanol. Kinetic rate constants were correlated by fitting the experimental data to kinetic equations based on a pseudo-homogeneous model. Experimental results were obtained for the effects of temperature on simultaneous etherification and isomerization of DM1B and DM2B and differences in the reactivities of the two alkenes were noted. Kinetic and equilibrium parameters obtained from the Arrhenius and Van't Hoff equations agreed well with values obtained from similar studies in the literature.
A different trolley problem: the limits of environmental justice and the promise of complex moral assessments for transportation infrastructure

Transportation infrastructure tremendously affects the quality of life for urban residents, influences public and mental health, and shapes social relations. Historically, the topic is rich with social and political controversy and the resultant transit systems in the United States cause problems for minority residents and issues for the public. Environmental justice frameworks provide a means to identify and address harms that affect marginalized groups, but environmental justice has limits that cannot account for the mainstream population. To account for this condition, I employ a complex moral assessment measure that provides a way to talk about harms that affect the public.
I/O in Parallel and Distributed Systems: An Introduction

We sketch the reasons for the I/O bottleneck in parallel and distributed systems, pointing out that it can be viewed as a special case of a general bottleneck that arises at all levels of the memory hierarchy. We argue that because of its severity, the I/O bottleneck deserves systematic attention at all levels of system design. We then present a survey of the issues raised by the I/O bottleneck in five key areas of parallel and distributed systems: applications, algorithms, compilers, operating systems and architecture. Finally, we address some of the trends we observe emerging in new paradigms of parallel and distributed computing: the convergence of networking and I/O, I/O for massively distributed “global information systems” such as the World Wide Web, and I/O for mobile computing and wireless communications. These considerations suggest exciting new research directions in I/O for parallel and distributed systems in the years to come.
Metabolic Management during Critical Illness: Glycemic Control in the ICU

Hyperglycemia is a commonly encountered metabolic derangement in the ICU. Important cellular pathways, such as those related to oxidant stress, immunity, and cellular homeostasis, can become deranged with prolonged and uncontrolled hyperglycemia. There is additionally a complex interplay between nutritional status, ambient glucose concentrations, and protein catabolism. While the nuances of glucose management in the ICU have been debated, results from landmark studies support the notion that for most critically ill patients moderate glycemic control is appropriate, as reflected by recent guidelines. Beyond the target population and optimal glucose range, additional factors such as hypoglycemia and glucose variability are important metrics to follow. In this regard, new technologies such as continuous glucose sensors may help alleviate the risks associated with such glucose fluctuations in the ICU. In this review, we will explore the impact of hyperglycemia upon critical cellular pathways and how nutrition provided in the ICU affects blood glucose. Additionally, important clinical trials to date will be summarized. A practical and comprehensive approach to glucose management in the ICU will be outlined, touching upon important issues such as glucose variability, target population, and hypoglycemia.
A General Equilibrium Theory of Contracts in Community Supported Agriculture

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) contracts allow consumers to buy claims on a farm's future production. In turn, the consumer provides working capital to the farm during the growing season. CSA contracts also provide risk management for farmers with limited access to Federal crop insurance by transferring part of the farm's risk to the consumer. We derive a theory of CSA contract pricing for the two most prevalent types of CSA contracts: yield contracts, in which consumers receive a percentage of the farm's production, and weight contracts, in which consumers receive fixed quantities. We develop a two‐period model in which expected utility maximizing producers and consumers engage in CSA contracting in the first period based on anticipation of yields and spot prices in the second period. Using the model, we generate several testable hypotheses to be explored in future research. Additionally, we present an overview of the data necessary to test the propositions and potential challenges that might arise in related empirical work.
Moriates C, Arora V, Shah N, eds. Understanding Value-Based Healthcare.

C Moriates, V Arora, N Shah, eds. Understanding Value-Based Healthcare . New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, 2015, 416 pp, $49.50. The health care system is under increasing pressure to provide value. Although quality is the most important part of this equation, greater attention is being placed on the cost component of the equation. Within pathology, most hospitals have begun utilization management programs that are designed to reduce waste and increase value. Pathologists and laboratorians, however, need to become more knowledgeable and proactive to help the health care system provide greater value in health care. Understanding Value-Based Healthcare was written for physicians and other health care providers. It is not about high-level policy or economics. Rather, it is about actions that those on the front lines of health care can take to improve value. Although the book is written for a wide audience, it covers many topics that are relevant to pathologists. The book contains 16 chapters that are divided into three sections. The first section, “Introduction to Value in Healthcare,” has six chapters that provide background material. The first chapter describes how health care has become increasingly complex, inefficient, and expensive. As a result, approximately one-third of health care dollars are wasted. Compared with other countries, the US system fails to deliver value. This chapter is …
Influence of Conidial Color on Inactivation of Several Entomogenous Fungi (Hyphomycetes) by Simulated Sunlight

Entomogenous fungi with pigmented conidia varying from black to white (Aspergillus niger van Tiegh , black; mutant A. niger cinnamomeus , tan; Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorok, dark green; Nomuraea rileyi (Farlow) Samson, blue–green; mutant N. rileyi , yellow; and Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill, white) were exposed to simulated sunlight (SUV) for 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, and 32 h. The black conidia of A. niger were significantly more stable (14.8 ± 2.7 h) to SUV than the lighter pigmented conidia of all the other isolates. The half-life of the other isolates ranged from 1.1 ± 0.2 h (yellow conidia of N. rileyi ) to 2.0 ± 0.6 h (tan–colored conidia of A. niger cinnamomeus ). Also, dry conidia of N. rileyi were more stable to SUV (half-life of 2.4 ± 0.4 h) than wetted conidia (half-life of 1.6 ± 0.2 h). Because black-pigmented conidia were more tolerant to SUV, it may be possible to incorporate, by selection or genetic engineering, this phenotypic character into potential mycopesticides.
Evolution of an Avionics System for a High-Altitude UAV

The UAV Research Group at the University of Kentucky is developing a test-bed UAV platform for Mars airplane technology, dubbed BIG BLUE. A major focus of the BIG BLUE effort has been the development of a low-cost and light-weight avionics, control, and communication system to manage the aircraft and relay data between the UAV and the ground stations during long-range high-altitude missions. BIG BLUE I, launched in May 2003, achieved the first successful deployment of inflatable/rigidizable wings at altitude. BIG BLUE II, launched in May 2004, had a flight-ready fuselage and control system. BIG BLUE 3 employed a new wing design and an enhanced avionics suite. This paper discusses the history of the BIG BLUE avionics, control, and communication systems, as well as the continuing design changes for future phases of the project.
303 Pre-Transplant Antibodies to Self-Antigens and the Subsequent Development of Donor-Specific HLA Antibodies after Lung Transplantation

Pre-Transplant Antibodies to Self-Antigens and the Subsequent Development of Donor-Specific HLA Antibodies after Lung Transplantation R. Hachem, V. Tiriveedhi, A. Patterson, E. Trulock, T. Mohanakumar. Pulmonary & Critical Care, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; Pathology & Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.
Servo Crankshaft Measuring System Based on Shadow Casting

A new automatic and precise system for measuring the geometric size of crankshaft in internal combustion engine based on shadow casting is proposed.Firstly,the principle and scheme of the system,including telecentric optical system and 4-axis servo mechanical system,are introduced.Then the measuring process and the key algorithms of crankshaft image processing are presented.Further we propose a calibration method for imaging system,and design a solution for the difficulty in calibration process.Finally,a crankshaft measuring prototype was developed to verify the shadow casting measuring method and achieve its engineering applications.The results show that this system can measure the groove size and the diameter of crankshaft rapidly,automatically and precisely.
Antiproliferative activities of interferons against human bladder carcinoma cell lines in vitro.

Abstract The antiproliferative effect of interferons against 5 human bladder carcinoma cell lines, RT112, T24, RT4, 647V and HT1197, was determined in vitro. Each of these human bladder carcinoma cell lines except 647V was sensitive to human interferons in liquid media. The antiproliferative effect of interferons was observed only upon continuous exposure, not after 1 hour. Partially purified, naturally produced interferon beta was more inhibitory of cell growth than naturally produced interferon alpha. Interferon alpha 54, 76, 61, 6L and 1 purified to homogeneity were as effective as naturally produced, partially pure interferon alpha. Although interferon beta, produced by recombinant DNA technology and purified to homogeneity, was not equivalent in effectiveness to naturally produced interferon beta, its antiproliferative activity was greater than interferon α 54 for 3 of 4 cell lines tested. Antimitotic effects may underlie, at least in part, the potential therapeutic activity of interferons for bladder carcinoma.
Dimorphism of Cancermagister hemocyanin subunits

Abstract Hemocyanin from Cancer magister is composed of two different subunits with molecular weights of 76,000 and 84,000 as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. These two subunits may play a functional role in the binding of oxygen by hemocyanin.
To not settle for small losses: evidence for an ecological aspiration level of zero in dynamic decision-making

This work aimed to investigate how one's aspiration level is set in decision-making involving losses and how people respond when all alternatives appear to be below the aspiration level. We hypothesized that the zero point would serve as an ecological aspiration level where losses cause participants to focus on improvements in payoffs. In two experiments, we investigated these issues by combining behavioral studies and computational modeling. Participants chose from two alternatives on each trial. A decreasing option consistently gave a larger immediate payoff, although it caused future payoffs for both options to decrease. Selecting an increasing option caused payoffs for both options to increase on future trials. We manipulated the incentive structure such that in the losses condition the smallest payoff for the decreasing option was a loss, whereas in the gains condition the smallest payoff for the decreasing option was a gain, while the differences in outcomes for the two options were kept equivalent across conditions. Participants selected the increasing option more often in the losses condition than in the gains condition, regardless of whether the increasing option was objectively optimal (Experiment 1) or suboptimal (Experiment 2). Further, computational modeling results revealed that participants in the losses condition exhibited heightened weight to the frequency of positive versus negative prediction errors, suggesting that they were more attentive to improvements and reductions in outcomes than to expected values. This supports our assertion that losses induce aspiration for larger payoffs. We discuss our results in the context of recent theories of how losses shape behavior.
αvβ6 Integrin Promotes Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer through JNK1-Mediated Activation of Androgen Receptor.

Androgen receptor signaling fuels prostate cancer and is a major therapeutic target. However, mechanisms of resistance to therapeutic androgen ablation are not well understood. Here, using a prostate cancer mouse model, Ptenpc−/−, carrying a prostate epithelial-specific Pten deletion, we show that the αvβ6 integrin is required for tumor growth in vivo of castrated as well as of noncastrated mice. We describe a novel signaling pathway that couples the αvβ6 integrin cell surface receptor to androgen receptor via activation of JNK1 and causes increased nuclear localization and activity of androgen receptor. This downstream kinase activation by αvβ6 is specific for JNK1, with no involvement of p38 or ERK kinase. In addition, differential phosphorylation of Akt is not observed under these conditions, nor is cell morphology affected by αvβ6 expression. This pathway, which is specific for αvβ6, because it is not regulated by a different αv-containing integrin, αvβ3, promotes upregulation of survivin, which in turn supports anchorage-independent growth of αvβ6-expressing cells. Consistently, both αvβ6 and survivin are significantly increased in prostatic adenocarcinoma, but are not detected in normal prostatic epithelium. Neither XIAP nor Bcl-2 is affected by αvβ6 expression. In conclusion, we show that αvβ6 expression is required for prostate cancer progression, including castrate-resistant prostate cancer; mechanistically, by promoting activation of JNK1, the αvβ6 integrin causes androgen receptor–increased activity in the absence of androgen and consequent upregulation of survivin. These preclinical results pave the way for further clinical development of αvβ6 antagonists for prostate cancer therapy. Cancer Res; 76(17); 5163–74. ©2016 AACR.
High gain photodetectors formed by nano/micromachining and nanofabrication

Recently available methods in highly anisotropic nano/micromachining and nanofabrication (N/MEMS) enable the fabrication of high gain photodetector structures in both vacuum and semiconductor optoelectronics. We show results on nanomachined microchannels formed in semiconductors which enable robust long life photomultiplier-like tubes scaling in diameters from less than 1 mm to 30 cm in diameter, in various shapes (like strips or hexagons) with very compact dimensions along the axis, well less than 1 cm in thickness. The gain lifetime exceeds 1 C per square cm, and the gains can exceed 9,000 per nanomachined channel. The photolithographically precise channels enable precision imaging. Because the base matrix is a purified semiconductor, very low self-radioactivity counts result, unlike Pb-glass MCP. Additionally, because of the absence of lead, as in lead-glass MCP, common vacuum photocathodes can be deposited directly on the throats of the microchannels. We also show deposition on the throats of the the microchannels B- doped diamond with a SE yield exceeding 100, for photon counting. We also discuss results on a photodetector using a method akin to field emission into silicon, giving an APD-like gain using the geometric shape of the electrodes rather than doping profiles to achieve a controllable high field avalanche- gain region, with a considerably lower noise than compensated doped APD, also as a result of a high field volume, the major noise source, reduced by about 1000 times compared to equivalent APD. This gain has been tested in single pixel formats using AFM tips as the basis for the detector, and exceeded 5,000 in Geiger mode. These high gain pixel-sized detectors can be formed into imaging chips or silicon-PMT-like gained pixel array devices. We discuss applications in a wide variety of scientific instrumentation.
A neuromorphic circuit mimicking biological short-term memory

Research shows that the way we remember things for a few seconds is a different mechanism from the way we remember things for a longer time. Short-term memory is based on persistently firing neurons, whereas storing information for a longer time is based on strengthening the synapses or even forming new neural connections. Information about location and appearance of an object is segregated and processed by separate neurons. Furthermore neurons can continue firing using different mechanisms. Here, we have designed a biomimetic neuromorphic circuit that mimics short-term memory by firing neurons, using biological mechanisms to remember location and shape of an object. Our neuromorphic circuit has a hybrid architecture. Neurons are designed with CMOS 45nm technology and synapses are designed with carbon nanotubes (CNT).
The Rise of Directed Verdict: Jury Power in Civil Cases Before the Federal Rules of 1938

Jury practice in the state and federal courts evolved dramatically in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Around the time of the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791, important legal thinkers praised the civil jury as a bulwark against judicial tyranny. By the advent of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 1938, many commentators regarded the civil jury as an antiquated nuisance. Diminishment of the jury and open exercise of judicial power, encouraged in the Federal Rules by procedures such as summary judgment, would not have been possible without earlier changes in jury practice. Two major changes were the rise of directed verdict procedure and the related judgment notwithstanding the verdict. These mechanisms allowed a judge to give a binding instruction to a jury, or to enter a judgment contrary to the jury’s decision.This Study reveals that railroads revolutionized the law of jury control. Changes in directed verdict were part of a larger program of jury reform beginning in the mid-nineteenth century in England, the states, and the federal government. Because of growing numbers of complicated personal injury suits against railroads, and because of perceived jury bias in those cases, many judges sought to control juries more efficiently. Directed verdicts began to replace new trials. Opposition arose, but the overall trend was toward greater judicial control of juries. The striking changes in jury practice described in this Article suggest difficulties in maintaining a consistent jury trial right by constitutional requirement.
WOLFF-PARKINSON-WHITE PATTERN AND SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH: A RETROSPECTIVE COHORT COMMUNITY STUDY FROM OLMSTED COUNTY, MINNESOTA

Background: When Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) pattern occurs with atrial fibrillation (AF) it can lead to ventricular fibrillation and death, which is a potentially preventable event. Clinical guidelines suggest that asymptomatic individuals should not be treated with catheter ablation, based on data
Examples of Macros

Computer programming is best studied by practicing it, and writing macros is computer programming. The examples presented here have been carefully selected. They are simple to understand; each illustrates an important point, a useful technique, or a common pitfall in macro writing; and most either are useful in practice or can easily be modified to make them useful. They are not arranged in any special order. They range from the simple (such as the slanted lines) to the complex (verbatim listing), and from the useful (dropshadow) to the esoteric (the grid macros).
Assessing the value of an optional radiation oncology clinical rotation during the core clerkships in medical school.

e19507 Background: Few medical students are given proper clinical training in oncology, much less radiation oncology. We evaluate the value of adding a radiation oncology clinical rotation to the m...
Spirituality in young adults with end-stage cancer: a review of the literature and a call for research

Existing research finds that spiritual wellness may enhance quality of life in those with end-stage cancer. Unfortunately, much of the literature is focused on the spirituality of those in middle and older adulthood, leaving questions about the spirituality of young adults facing life-threatening illness. This article reviews the current landscape of spirituality in young adults with cancer. In addition, this paper serves as a call for research to consider the development of spirituality in this unique population. The literature shows that young adults with cancer are less likely to use mental health services compared to other age groups with cancer. Research tends to be restricted to early young adulthood with a focus on spiritual or religious practices and less about the meaning of spirituality in the context of their illness. A review of the development of spirituality in healthy young adults helps to build the framework to ask questions about what may be occurring for those with life-threatening illness.
Reflective Practice in the Ballet Class: Bringing Progressive Pedagogy to the Classical Tradition

ABSTRACTThis research seeks to broaden the dialogue on progressive ballet pedagogy through an examination of reflective practices in the ballet class. Ballet’s traditional model of instruction has long required students to quietly comply with the pedagogue’s directives, and it has thus become notorious for promoting student passivity. Despite strong recent efforts, particularly in academe, to advance student agency in ballet, the field struggles to transcend its authoritarian pedagogic history. I propose here that open-ended reflective practices can allow ballet pedagogues to bring a progressive approach to preprofessional training paradigms—to empower students as they prepare to enter the ballet profession. To reconcile ballet’s formal traditions with reflective practice’s progressive underpinnings, I draw from literature in ballet and educational philosophy. Using Max Van Manen’s (1991) and Donald Schon’s (1983, 1987) frameworks for reflection, I describe elements of my reflective approach to teaching u...
African American Men With Low-Risk Prostate Cancer Are Candidates for Active Surveillance: The Will-Rogers Effect?:

It is controversial whether African American men(AAM) with low-risk prostate cancer (PC) should be placed on active surveillance (AS). Recent literature indicates AAM diagnosed with low-risk disease have increased pathologic upgrading and disease progression. We evaluated the surgical pathology of AAM and Caucasians who underwent prostatectomy to assess the suitability of AAM for AS. We retrospectively reviewed 1,034 consecutive men who underwent open prostatectomy between 2004 and 2015; 345 Caucasians and 58 AAM met the American Urological Association criteria for low-risk PC. We excluded from analysis two men whose prostatectomies were aborted. Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Wilcoxon rank sum test were used for statistical analysis. AAM with low-risk PC have a lower rate of surgical upgrading and similar rates of adverse pathology compared with Caucasians. 29.8% of AAM (17/57) diagnosed with low-risk disease but 44.5% of Caucasians (153/344) had disease upgrading at prostatectomy ( p < .04), although AAM overall were less likely to be clinically diagnosed with low-risk cancer (33.1 vs. 41.7%, p < .05). AAM with low-risk pathology were younger (median 55 vs. 59 years, p < .001) and had smaller prostates (32 vs. 35 g, p < .04). AAM with preoperative low-risk disease have lower rates of surgical upgrading and similar adverse pathology compared with Caucasians. There may be a Will-Rogers effect as AAM with aggressive disease appear more likely to be stratified into intermediate- and high-risk groups, leaving those AAM diagnosed with low-risk disease fully eligible for AS. Our results support that AS for AAM should remain a viable option.
Endobronchial thermoplasty for asthma

Asthma is an incurable chronic disease affecting approximately 24 million people in the United States. The hallmark features of asthma are reversible airflow obstruction, airway hyperresponsiveness, airway inflammation, bronchoconstriction, and excessive mucus secretion. Clinical symptoms include episodic or persistent breathlessness, wheezing, cough, or chest tightness/pressure. Forty-five percent of asthmatics continue to have yearly exacerbations and the disease is responsible for approximately 3,600 annual deaths. Pharmacologic advancements have continued to grow as the individual phenotypes of asthma are better delineated but there continues to be small population of asthmatics that are less responsive to pharmacologic therapy. Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is an innovative procedure targeted primarily at decreasing airway smooth muscle (ASM) which is considered by some to be a vestigial organ. Decreasing the ASM bulk decreases hyperresponsiveness and bronchoconstriction leading to decreased exacerbations, decreased cost on the healthcare system, and improvement in patient quality of life.
What Pessimism about Moral Deference Means for Disagreement

Many writers have recently argued that there is something distinctively problematic about sustaining moral beliefs on the basis of others’ moral views. Call this claim pessimism about moral deference. Pessimism about moral deference, if true, seems to provide an attractive way to argue for a bold conclusion about moral disagreement: moral disagreement generally does not require belief revision. Call this claim steadfastness about moral disagreement. Perhaps the most prominent recent discussion of the connection between moral deference and moral disagreement, due to Alison Hills, uses pessimism about the former to argue for steadfastness about the latter. This paper reveals that this line of thinking, and others like it, are unsuccessful. There is no way to argue from a compelling version of pessimism about moral deference to the conclusion of steadfastness about moral disagreement. The most plausible versions of pessimism about moral deference have only very limited implications for moral disagreement.
The Effect of Fall Prevention Methods for Construction Scaffolds in Accident Prevention

Every year in Japan, approximately 300 workers are killed due to work-related accidents at construction sites. Approximately 40% of the accidents are caused by falls from heights. Therefore, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has introduced and strictly enforced countermeasures with various safety guidelines to prevent fall-related accidents. In this study, the features of two typical guidelines are introduced including an evaluation of the human factor and the effects on the prevention of fall-related accidents. Based on the results of the evaluation, it was found that fatal accidents at construction sites were reduced following the “Guidelines for the Methods to Erect Scaffolds First.” However, another guideline, the “Guidelines for the Methods to Erect Handrails First for the Scaffolds Erection” did not significantly reduce accidents because of a low usage rate.
Tensor Representations of GL(V)

In this chapter we bring together the representation theories of the groups GL(n,C) and б k via their mutually commuting actions on ⊗ k C n . We already exploited this connection in Chapter 5 to obtain the first fundamental theorem of invariant theory for GL(n, C). In this chapter we obtain the full isotypic decomposition of ⊗ k C n under the action of GL(n,C)× б k . This decomposition gives the Schur–Weyl duality pairing between the irreducible representations of GL(n,C) and those of б k . From this pairing we obtain the celebrated Frobenius character formula for the irreducible representations of б k . We then reexamine Schur–Weyl duality and GL(k,C)–GL(n,C) duality from Chapters 4 and 5 in the framework of dual pairs of reductive groups. Using the notion of seesaw pairs of subgroups, we obtain reciprocity laws for tensor products and induced representations. In particular, we show that every irreducible б k -module can be realized as the weight space for the character x ↦ det(x) in an irreducible GL(k,C) representation. Explicit models (the Weyl modules) for all the irreducible representations of GL(n,C) are obtained using Young symmetrizers. These elements of the group algebra of C[б k ] act as projection operators onto GL(n,C)-irreducible invariant subspaces. The chapter concludes with the Littlewood–Richardson rule for calculating the multiplicities in tensor products.
Using a livelihoods framework to analyze farmer identity and decision making during the Central American coffee leaf rust outbreak: implications for addressing climate change and crop diversification

This qualitative study of one Guatemalan coffee cooperative examined the decision making process of smallholder farmers as they struggled to preserve their livelihoods during an outbreak of coffee ...
Winds from accretion disks driven by the radiation and magnetocentrifugal force

We study the 2-D, time-dependent hydrodynamics of radiation-driven winds from luminous accretion disks threaded by a strong, large-scale, ordered magnetic field. The radiation force is due to spectral lines and is calculated using a generalized multidimensional formulation of the Sobolev approximation. The effects of the magnetic field are approximated by adding a force that emulates a magnetocentrifugal force. Our approach allows us to calculate disk winds when the magnetic field controls the flow geometry, forces the flow to corotate with the disk, or both. In particular, we calculate models where the lines of the poloidal component of the field are straight and inclined to the disk at a fixed angle. Our numerical calculations show that flows which corotate with the disk have a larger mass loss rate than their counterparts which conserve specific angular momentum. The difference in the mass loss rate between these two types of winds can be several orders of magnitude for low disk luminosities but vanishes for high disk luminosities. Winds which corotate with the disk have much higher velocities than angular momentum conserving winds. Fixing the wind geometry stabilizes winds which are unsteady when the geometry is derived self-consistently. The inclination angle between the poloidal velocity and the normal to the disk midplane is important. Non-zero inclination angles allow the magnetocentrifugal force to increase the mass loss rate for low luminosities, and increase the wind velocity for all luminosities. Our calculations also show that the radiation force can launch winds from magnetized disks. The line force can be essential in producing MHD winds from disks where the thermal energy is too low to launch winds or where the field lines make an angle of < 30^o with respect to the normal to the disk.
Variational Monte Carlo calculations of H-3 and He-4 with a relativistic Hamiltonian

The two-nucleon phase shifts and deuteron properties are fitted using relativistic, (${\mathit{m}}^{2}$+${\mathit{p}}^{2}$${)}^{1/2}$, kinetic-energy operators to obtain realistic models of v${\mathrm{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}}_{\mathit{i}\mathit{j}}$, the two-nucleon interaction in the frame in which the total momentum ${\mathbf{P}}_{\mathit{i}\mathit{j}}$ of the interacting pair is zero. The relativistic Hamiltonian ${\mathit{H}}_{\mathit{R}}$ contains the relativistic kinetic energy, v${\mathrm{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}}_{\mathit{i}\mathit{j}}$, and \ensuremath{\delta}${\mathit{v}}_{\mathit{i}\mathit{j}}$(${\mathbf{P}}_{\mathit{i}\mathit{j}}$) which describes the dependence of the interaction on the total momentum of the pair. The \ensuremath{\delta}${\mathit{v}}_{\mathit{i}\mathit{j}}$(${\mathbf{P}}_{\mathit{i}\mathit{j}}$) are obtained from the v${\mathrm{\ifmmode \tilde{}\else \~{}\fi{}}}_{\mathit{i}\mathit{j}}$ using relativistic mechanics. The ground states of $^{3}\mathrm{H}$ and $^{4}\mathrm{He}$ are calculated using the ${\mathit{H}}_{\mathit{R}}$ with the variational Monte Carlo method, and the results are compared with those obtained using the nonrelativistic ${\mathit{H}}_{\mathrm{NR}}$. Results of calculations including the three-nucleon interaction are also reported. The relativistic effects reduce the binding energies of $^{3}\mathrm{H}$ and $^{4}\mathrm{He}$ by \ensuremath{\sim}0.34 and 2.02 MeV, and they do not change the momentum distribution of the nucleons in these nuclei significantly.
Surgical excision of BioZorb device eroding through the nipple-areolar complex one year postoperatively: A case report.

The recent use of placing a BioZorb device during breast conservation surgery has been shown to improve targeting of adjuvant radiation therapy by significantly reducing target volume to the breast. However, the risks of surgical and/or infectious complications related to a BioZorb placement are largely unknown. In this case report, we describe a patient who underwent BioZorb placement after breast lumpectomy for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), who presented with repeated infections and eventual erosion of the BioZorb through her nipple-areolar complex (NAC), requiring surgical debridement and excision of her NAC and BioZorb 1 year postoperatively.
Phosphatic scales in vase-shaped microfossil assemblages from Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Tasmania, and Svalbard.

Although biomineralized skeletal elements dominate the Phanerozoic fossil record, they did not become common until ~550-520 Ma when independent acquisitions of biomineralization appeared in multiple lineages of animals and a few protists (single-celled eukaryotes). Evidence of biomineralization preceding the late Ediacaran is spotty aside from the apatitic scale microfossils of the ~811 Ma Fifteenmile Group, northwestern Canada. Here, we describe scale-shaped microfossils from four vase-shaped microfossil (VSM)-bearing units of later Tonian age: the Togari Group of Tasmania, Chuar and Pahrump groups of southwestern United States, and the Roaldtoppen Group of Svalbard. These scale-shaped microfossils consist of thin, ~13 micron-long plates typically surrounded by a 1-3 micron-thick colorless envelope; they are found singly and in heterotypic and monotypic clusters of a few to >20 specimens. Raman spectroscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy indicate these microfossils are composed of apatite and kerogen, just as is seen in the Fifteenmile Group scale microfossils. Despite compositional similarity, however, these scales are probably not homologous, representing instead, an independent acquisition of apatite mineralization. We propose that these apatite-kerogen scale-shaped microfossils are skeletal elements of a protistan cell. In particular, their consistent co-occurrence with VSMs, and similarities with scales of arcellinid testate amoebae, a group to which the VSMs are thought to belong, suggest the possibility that these microfossils may be test-forming scales of ancient arcellinid testate amoebae. The apparent apatite biomineralization in both these microfossils and the Fifteenmile scales is unexpected given its exceedingly rare use in skeletons of modern protists. This modern absence is attributed to the extravagance of using a limiting nutrient in a structural element, but multiple occurrences of apatite biomineralization in the Tonian suggest that phosphorus was not a limiting nutrient for these organisms, a suggestion consistent with the idea that dissolved seawater phosphate concentrations may have been higher at this time.
Why amyloid fibrils have a limited width

Amyloid fibrils can grow indefinitely long by adding protein chains to the tips of the fibril through {beta}-sheet hydrogen bonding; however, they do not grow laterally beyond [~]10-20 nm. This prevents amyloid fibrils from growing into two-dimensional or three-dimensional arrays. The forces that restrict lateral association of {beta}-sheets in amyloid fibrils are not immediately apparent. We hypothesize that it is the helical symmetry of amyloid fibrils that imposes the limit on fibril width by incurring an increasing separation between helically related molecules as a function of radial distance from the helical axis. The unavoidable consequence is that backbone hydrogen bonds that connect symmetrically related layers of the fibril become weaker towards the edge of the fibril, ultimately becoming too weak to remain ordered. To test our hypothesis, we examined 57 available cryo-EM amyloid fibril structures for trends in interstrand distance and {beta}-sheet hydrogen bonding as a function of radial distance from the helical axis. We find that all fibril structures display an increase in interstrand distance as a function of radius and that most fibril structures have a discernible increase in {beta}-sheet hydrogen bond distances as a function of radius. In addition, we identify a high resolution cryo-EM structure that does not follow our predicted hydrogen bonding trends and perform real space refinement with hydrogen bond distance and angle restraints to restore predicted hydrogen bond trends. This highlights the potential to use our analysis to ensure realistic hydrogen bonding in amyloid fibrils when atomic resolution cryo-EM maps are not available. Significance StatementThe number of amyloid fibril structures determined has exploded in recent years due to advances in structural biology techniques. However, we are still at the beginning stages of understanding amyloid fibril assembly. One important property that is critical to fibril formation and mechanical properties is the fibril width. Despite the diversity of fibril folds discovered, all amyloid fibrils are constrained to a width of 10-20 nm. Here, we use simple geometry and structural analysis to identify that the limited width of amyloid fibrils arises from the helical twist of {beta}-sheets in amyloid fibrils. Our findings provide important considerations for the accurate modeling of hydrogen bonds in amyloid fibrils as well as for the possible prediction and design of amyloid-based nanomaterials.