cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Protective effects of edaravone on hypoxic-ischemic brain in newborn rats

Objective: To investigate the protective effects of edaravone on hypoxic-ischemic brain in newborn rats. Methods: The hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) models were prepared on 7-day-old newborn SD rats. 122 rats were randomly divided into hypoxic-ischemic, high-dose edaravone-treated, low-dose edaravone-treated and sham groups. Edaravone or NS was injected intraperitoneally immediately after hypoxic-ischemia (HI) treatment for 5 days. The contents of MDA and SOD in the brain were assessed 24 h, 48 h, 72 h after HIBD. The hippocampal changes were observed by microscope. The influence of edaravone on apoptosis of neurons in the cortex 72 h after HIBD was assessed by means of TUNEL. The learning and memory functions were evaluated 35 d after HI using Morris water maze test. Results: The contents of MDA and SOD 24 h, 48 h or 72 h after HI treatment were statistically significantly different between the high-dose group and the HI group (P﹤0.01) ,but were not significant between the low-dose group and the HI group (P﹥0.05). TUNEL staining showed that many apoptotic neurons were observed in the cortex of the left brain tissue 72 h after HIBD. Compared with the HI group(317.67 ± 24.27),the number of the apoptotic neurons of the cortex in the high-dose group(206.83 ± 21.94 ) was reduced significantly(P﹤0.01); the number in the low-dose group (301.30 ± 17.61) was decreased, while the difference showed no significance(P﹥0.05). Conclusion: High-dose intraperitoneally injected edaravone has significant protective effect on HIBD in newborn rats.
“COMPREHENSIVE CARE MODEL” FOR DIABETES WITHIN A PRIMARY CARE CLINIC: PRE-VISIT PLANNING, AT-VISIT EFFICIENCY, AND INTER-VISIT CARE

Background UPP-GIM, a large urban academic primary-care practice and a patient-centered medical home, treats approximately 1800 diabetics. Despite multiple interventions, the number of patients with A1C=9% remained at 14%, and dilated retina exam (DRE) rate was only 64%. Objectives 1. Create a comprehensive team-based model that engages patients throughout their continuum of care, focusing on patients with A1C=9%. 2. Incrementally improve glycemic control, diabetes outcomes and DRE rate. Methods In January 2014, a multi-disciplinary diabetes team was created to redesign care. A comprehensive care model was established and implemented in phases. All clinic staff and physicians participated. It included engaging patients with a pre-visit phone call, improving at-visit efficiency to maximize addressing all patient needs, including downloading and printing glucose meter reports and adding tele-ophthalmology, and intensifying inter-visit care with algorithm-based medication titration. (see figure) Processes and outcomes were tracked over 18 months. Control charts were used to evaluate processes and outcome measures as phases were implemented and quarterly reports for outcomes. Results Mean A1C in the cohort of patients starting with A1C=9% (n=246) improved from 10.8 (±1.7) to 9.5 (±1.9). Appointment show rate improved from 68% to 73%.Encounters with diabetic educators rose from 20% to 54%. Meter download compliance reached almost 90% and DRE rates improved from 64% to 76%. Conclusions Engaging uncontrolled diabetic patients before, during, and after visits with a team-based approach and novel day-of-visit efficiencies improved glycemic control and eye exam rates. Continued monitoring is needed to ensure the durability of these gains.
Space use of a dominant Arctic vertebrate: Effects of prey, sea ice, and land on Pacific walrus resource selection

Abstract Sea ice dominates marine ecosystems in the Arctic, and recent reductions in sea ice may alter food webs throughout the region. Sea ice loss may also stress Pacific walruses ( Odobenus rosmarus divergens ), which feed on benthic macroinvertebrates in the Bering and Chukchi seas. However, no studies have examined the effects of sea ice on foraging Pacific walrus space use patterns. We tested a series of hypotheses that examined walrus foraging resource selection as a function of proximity to resting substrates and prey biomass. We quantified walrus prey biomass with 17 benthic invertebrate families, which included bivalves, polychaetes, amphipods, tunicates, and sipunculids. We included covariates for distance to sea ice and distance to land, and systematically developed a series of candidate models to examine interactions among benthic prey biomass and resting substrates. We ranked candidate models with Bayesian Information Criterion and made inferences on walrus resource selection based on the top-ranked model. Based on the top model, biomass of the bivalve family Tellinidae, distance to ice, distance to land, and the interaction of distances to ice and land all positively influenced walrus foraging resource selection. Standardized model coefficients indicated that distance to ice explained the most variation in walrus foraging resource selection followed by Tellinidae biomass. Distance to land and the interaction of distances to ice and land accounted for similar levels of variation. Tellinidae biomass likely represented an index of overall bivalve biomass, indicating walruses focused foraging in areas with elevated levels of bivalve and tellinid biomass. Our results also emphasize the importance of sea ice to walruses. Projected sea ice loss will increase the duration of the open water season in the Chukchi Sea, altering the spatial distribution of resting sites relative to current foraging areas and possibly affecting the spatial structure of benthic communities.
Combined sub-band and frequency domain adaptive algorithm for active control

This paper proposes a combined sub-band decomposition and frequency domain LMS algorithm for active vibration control systems. The algorithm improves the overall performance by employing the sub-band decomposition to trade-off the vibration mitigation performance among the various sub-bands and by using the frequency domain method to alleviate any constructive interference. The proposed combined algorithm is then applied to the mechanical vibration reduction of a planar surface. Experiments show that the proposed algorithm provides the flexibility to trade-off the performance of the feedback active vibration control system and that the vibration can be mitigated for certain applications.
A latent structural equation model of protective behaviors and pressure ulcer outcomes among people living with spinal cord injury.

Cross-sectional. To develop a latent structural model to demonstrate the relationship between factor structures of protective health behaviors and pressure ulcer (PrU) outcomes among participants with spinal cord injury (SCI). Data were collected at a large specialty hospital and analyzed at a medical university in the Southeastern USA. A total of 1871 participants with traumatic SCI of at least 1 year duration were included. A latent PrU variable was measured by four observable PrU-related outcomes. Latent variable structural equation modeling was performed to assess the relationship between latent protective behavior (fitness and productive activities) and latent PrU outcome. Several exogenous variables were included: sex, age, race, marital status, injury severity and years since injury. The protective behavior dimension had a significant direct effect on the latent PrU (direct effect=−0.275, P<0.01). All direct relationships between protective behavior dimension and healthy behaviors were also significant (rfit=0.899 and rproductive activity=0.568). Relationships between the latent PrU and fitness (indirect effect=−0.247) and productive activities (indirect effect=−0.156) were mediated through the protective behavior dimension. Participants who were African American, had higher injury levels, and had longer time since SCI were more likely to have worse PrU outcomes. The overall findings of this study suggest the need to enhance healthy behaviors to prevent adverse PrU outcomes, especially among people who are African American, have longer time since SCI and have higher level of SCI.
A framework for outlier description using constraint programming

Outlier detection has been studied extensively and employed in diverse applications in the past decades. In this paper we formulate a related yet understudied problem which we call outlier description. This problem often arises in practice when we have a small number of data instances that had been identified to be outliers and we wish to explain why they are outliers. We propose a framework based on constraint programming to find an optimal subset of features that most differentiates the outliers and normal instances. We further demonstrate the framework offers great flexibility in incorporating diverse scenarios arising in practice such as multiple explanations and human in the loop extensions. We empirically evaluate our proposed framework on real datasets, including medical imaging and text corpus, and demonstrate how the results are useful and interpretable in these domains.
Dyslipidemia in patients with chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). This association is multifactorial, but CKD is often associated with dyslipidemia, which likely contributes. Patients with CKD have dyslipidemia even at early stages of renal dysfunction and dyslipidemia tends to progress with deterioration of kidney function. The dyslipidemia in CKD is largely due to increased triglyceride levels, decreased HDL-C and varying levels of LDL-C. Current management of CKD may also affect lipid levels. Robust clinical trials demonstrate that statins are safe and efficacious in both lipid lowering and prevention of CVD events in pre-end stage CKD and post-transplant. However, there is no evidence of improved CVD outcomes with statin use in dialysis patients. This review will focus on mechanisms underlying dyslipidemia in CKD and clinical trial evidence for lipid lowering therapy in patients with CKD.
Do positive spontaneous thoughts function as incentive salience

The present work explores the theoretical relationship between positive spontaneous thoughts and incentive salience-a psychological property thought to energize wanting and approach motivation by rendering cues that are associated with enjoyment more likely to stand out to the individual when subsequently encountered in the environment (Berridge, 2007). We reasoned that positive spontaneous thoughts may at least be concomitants of incentive salience, and as such, they might likewise mediate the effect of liking on wanting. In Study 1, 103 adults recruited via Amazon's Mechanical Turk reported on key aspects of 10 everyday activities. As predicted, positive spontaneous thoughts mediated the relationship between liking an activity in the past and wanting to engage in it in the future. In Study 2, 99 undergraduate students viewed amusing and humorless cartoons and completed a thought-listing task, providing experimental evidence for the causal effect of liking on positive spontaneous thoughts. In Study 3, we tested whether positive spontaneous thoughts play an active role in energizing wanting rather than merely co-occurring with (inferred) incentive salience. In that experiment involving 80 undergraduates, participants who were led to believe that their spontaneous thoughts about a target activity were especially positive planned to devote more time to that activity over the coming week than participants who received no such information about their spontaneous thoughts. Collectively, these findings suggest that positive spontaneous thoughts may play an important role in shaping approach motivation. Broader implications and future directions in the study of positive spontaneous thoughts are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
MicroTalk: Using Argumentation to Improve Crowdsourcing Accuracy.

Crowd workers are human and thus sometimes make mistakes. In order to ensure the highest quality output, requesters often issue redundant jobs with gold test questions and sophisticated aggregation mechanisms based on expectation maximization (EM). While these methods yield accurate results in many cases, they fail on extremely difficult problems with local minima, such as situations where the majority of workers get the answer wrong. Indeed, this has caused some researchers to conclude that on some tasks crowdsourcing can never achieve high accuracies, no matter how many workers are involved. This paper presents a new quality-control workflow, called MicroTalk, that requires some workers to Justify their reasoning and asks others to Reconsider their decisions after reading counter-arguments from workers with opposing views. Experiments on a challenging NLP annotation task with workers from Amazon Mechanical Turk show that (1) argumentation improves the accuracy of individual workers by 20%, (2) restricting consideration to workers with complex explanations improves accuracy even more, and (3) our complete MicroTalk aggregation workflow produces much higher accuracy than simpler voting approaches for a range of budgets.
Corrigendum to: Molecular phylogenetics and taxonomic reanalysis of the family Mithracidae MacLeay (Decapoda : Brachyura : Majoidea)

Mithracid crabs comprise a primarily subtidal reef- and rubble-dwelling group inhabiting both tropical and subtropical seas. Despite their relative ubiquity in many hard-substrate environments, there has been little consensus about their phylogenetic relationships or whether their group rank should be that of subfamily or family. We have used a combined molecular dataset of two nuclear (18S, H3) and three mitochondrial (12S, 16S, COI) genes to build a preliminary molecular phylogeny of Majoidea in order to examine the membership of Mithracidae. We then built a second molecular phylogeny based on three mitochondrial genes to assess the internal composition of the family, and conducted comparative morphological examinations of genera and species that resolved in unexpected positions on the phylogram. Four genera are designated under new or resurrected names on the basis of molecular and morphological characters, while memberships of several other existing genera are modified. Following review of molecular and morphological characters, the genera Coelocerus, Cyclocoeloma, Cyphocarcinus, Leptopisa, Micippa, Picrocerodes, Stenocionops and Tiarinia are provisionally excluded from Mithracidae s.s., while Hemus and Pitho are included in it. A key to genera of Mithracidae is provided.
Sensitivity of alternative measures of functioning and wellbeing for adults with sickle cell disease: comparison of PROMIS® to ASCQ-Me℠

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) causes profound suffering and decrements in daily functioning. Demand is growing for valid and reliable measures to systematically document these effects, particularly in adults. The Adult Sickle Cell Quality of Life Measurement System, ASCQ-Me℠, was developed for this purpose. ASCQ-Me℠ is one of four measurement systems housed within the Person–Centered Assessment Resource (PCAR), funded by the National Institutes of Health, to support clinical research. To help users select the best of these measures for adults with SCD, we evaluated and compared two PCAR systems: one designed to be “universally applicable” (the Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System, PROMIS®) and one designed specifically for SCD (ASCQ-Me℠). Respondents to PROMIS and ASCQ-Me questions were 490 adults with SCD from seven geographically-disbursed clinics within the US. Data were collected for six ASCQ-Me measures (Emotional Impact, Sleep Impact, Social Impact, Stiffness Impact, Pain Impact, SCD Pain Episode Frequency and Severity) and ten PROMIS measures (Pain Impact, Pain Behavior, Physical Functioning, Anxiety, Depression, Fatigue, Satisfaction with Discretionary Social Activities, Satisfaction with Social Roles, Sleep Disturbance, and Sleep-Related Impairment). Statistical analyses, including analysis of variance and multiple linear regression, were conducted to determine the sensitivity of measures to SCD severity. SCD severity was assessed via a checklist of associated treatments and conditions. For those with the most severe SCD, PROMIS scores showed worse health compared to the general population for nine of ten health domains: the magnitude of the difference ranged 0.5 to 1.1 standard deviation units. The PROMIS domains most severely affected were Physical Functioning and Pain (Impact and Behavior). Significant differences by tertile of the SCD-MHC were shown for most PROMIS short forms and all ASCQ-Me short and fixed forms. In most models, ASCQ-Me measures explained statistically significant unique variance in SCD-MHC scores complementary to that explained by corresponding PROMIS measures. Study results supported the validity of both PROMIS and ASCQ-Me measures for use in adults with SCD. Compared to comparable PROMIS scores, most ASCQ-Me scores were better predictors of SCD disease severity, as measured by a medical history checklist. The clinical implications of these results require further investigation.
Studies of the mechanism of growth promotion of lymphoma cells by 2-mercaptoethanol in vitro.

Rates of incorporation of thymidine and uridine, but not leucine, decrease markedly in L1210(V) cells within 1 hour of incubation in DULBECCO’s medium containing 10% serum. 2-Mercaptoethanol (2-ME) after a latent period of more than 5 hours causes an increase in nucleotide incorporation. Bovine serum albumin can substitute for serum in the medium, but a higher concentration of 2-ME is required for growth. After charcoal treatment of the albumin less 2-ME is required. These experiments suggest that inhibition of the tumor cells is caused by a serum factor whose effect is antagonized by the thiol.
Propriedades químicas de Latossolo Vermelho em função da aplicação de gessagem e calagem

A utilizacao de corretivo (calcario) e aditivo (gesso) e a pratica adotada para o suprimento da Ca+2 e Mg+2 e a disponibilidade de nutrientes. Em experimento desenvolvido em casa de vegetacao estudouse o efeito da aplicacao de doses de corretivo e aditivo (0%, 50%, 100%, 200% e 400% da dose de calcario e gesso), durante quatro periodos de coleta (30, 60, 90 e 120 dias apos aplicacao), em Latossolo Vermelho distrofico do Estado do Tocantins. O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da correcao da acidez (calcario) e de aditivo de solo (gesso) por meio das caracteristicas quimicas, em solo coletado (0- 20 cm) na regiao de transicao Cerrado/Floresta Amazonica. Nas amostras coletadas foram analisadas as propriedades quimicas do solo (valor V, valor T, relacao Ca:Mg, pH, Al+3 e H+) aos 30, 60, 90 e 120 dias apos a aplicacao do calcario e do gesso. As analises periodicas do solo indicaram que a gessagem e a calagem influenciaram as caracteristicas quimicas do solo (valor V, valor T, relacao Ca:Mg, Al+3 e H+). A resposta do calcario esta diretamente ligada ao tempo apos a aplicacao no solo.
A two-dimensional perturbation technique to model ion-implanted GaAs MESFET for millimeter-wave systems

A perturbation technique is presented to analytically model various electrical characteristics of ion-implanted MESFETs. It involves on the determination of the potential distribution in the irregularly—bounded depletion region under the gate by solving the two-dimensional Poisson's equation.
Sowing the seeds of skepticism: Russian state news and anti-GMO sentiment

Biotech news coverage in English-language Russian media fits the profile of the Russian information warfare strategy described in recent military reports. This raises the question of whether Russia views the dissemination of anti-GMO information as just one of many divisive issues it can exploit as part of its information war, or if GMOs serve more expansive disruptive purposes. Distinctive patterns in Russian news provide evidence of a coordinated information campaign that could turn public opinion against genetic engineering. The recent branding of Russian agriculture as the ecologically clean alternative to genetically engineered foods is suggestive of an economic motive behind the information campaign against western biotechnologies.
Early stage aggregation of a coarse-grained model of polyglutamine

In this paper, we study the early stages of aggregation of a model of polyglutamine (polyQ) for different repeat lengths (number of glutamine amino acid groups in the chain). In particular, we use the Large-scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator to study a generic coarse-grained model proposed by Bereau and Deserno. We focus on the primary nucleation mechanism involved and find that our results for the initial self-assembly process are consistent with the two-dimensional classical nucleation theory of Kashchiev and Auer. More specifically, we find that with decreasing supersaturation, the oligomer fibril (protofibril) transforms from a one-dimensional β sheet to two-, three-, and higher layer β sheets as the critical nucleus size increases. We also show that the results are consistent with several predictions of their theory, including the dependence of the critical nucleus size on the supersaturation. Our results for the time dependence of the mass aggregation are in reasonable agreement with an approximate analytical solution of the filament theory by Knowles and collaborators that corresponds to an additional secondary nucleation arising from filament fragmentation. Finally, we study the dependence of the critical nucleus size on the repeat length of polyQ. We find that for the larger length polyglutamine chain that we study, the critical nucleus is a monomer, in agreement with experiment and in contrast to the case for the smaller chain, for which the smallest critical nucleus size is four.
The de Rham isomorphism for Drinfeld modules over Tate algebras

Abstract Introduced by Angles, Pellarin, and Tavares Ribeiro, Drinfeld modules over Tate algebras are closely connected to Anderson log-algebraicity identities, Pellarin L-series, and Taelman class modules. In the present paper we define the de Rham map for Drinfeld modules over Tate algebras, and we prove that it is an isomorphism under natural hypotheses. As part of this investigation we determine further criteria for the uniformizability and rigid analytic triviality of Drinfeld modules over Tate algebras.
Re-formation of the Epidermal—Dermal Junction during Wound Healing

The relationship between keratinocytes and the extracellular matrix upon which they rest is complex and only beginning to be understood. Keratinocytes are capable of synthesizing many of the extracellular matrix molecules that are most closely related to their cell surface, such as the bullous pemphigoid antigen (Woodley and Regnier, 1979; Stanley et al., 1980; Woodley et al., 1980a, 1982) laminin (Stanley et al., 1982c), the epidermolysis bullosa acquisita antigen (Woodley et al., 1985b), and fibronectin (O’Keefe et al., 1984; Kubo et al.., 1984). Thus, it is clear that keratinocytes directly influence their extracellular matrix composition. Furthermore, it is becoming apparent that cellular behavior can be modified by contact with a given extracellular matrix molecule. For example, mammary epithelial cells have a decreased requirement for epidermal growth factor when cultured on type IV (basement membrane) collagen as compared with type I (interstitial) collagen (Salomon et al., 1981). The influence on cellular behavior by contact with matrix molecules is often referred to as cell-matrix interactions. The cell-matrix interactions that apply to the ker-atinocyte may be viewed as a self-contained system, since the keratinocytes synthesize and extracellularly deposit their own matrix components, which in turn directly affects the behavior of cells in contact with the cell plasma membrane.
Correctness of Voluntary LOINC Mapping for Laboratory Tests in Three Large Institutions

With IRB approval, we obtained de-identified laboratory test data from 3 large institutions (ARUP, Intermountain, and Regenstrief). In this study we evaluated correctness of mapping local laboratory result codes to Logical Observation Identifier Names and Codes (LOINC®). We received 9,027 laboratory tests mapped to 3,669 unique LOINC codes. A one tenth sample (884 tests) was manually reviewed for correctness of the mappings. After review, there were 4 tests mapped to totally unrelated LOINC codes and there were 36 tests containing at least one error in mapping to the 6 axes of LOINC. The errors of LOINC mapping could be categorized into 4 systematic errors: 1) human errors, 2) mapping to different granularity, 3) lack of knowledge of the meaning of laboratory tests and 4) lack of knowledge of LOINC naming rules. Finally, we discuss how these systematic mapping errors might be avoided in the future.
Effects of a diagrammatic display of coordinate concept definitions on concept classification performance

This study investigated the effect of an innovative method for presenting coordinate definitions on learning defined concepts. A text that arranged definitions and examples of seven coordinate concepts in a tree-like diagram was contrasted with a text that arranged these same definitions and examples in a standard textbook format. In addition, this study examined a method of creating concept examples that required different levels of discrimination and generalization, called a rational set generator. Forty-six junior and senior high school physics students participated. Results confirmed the predicted interaction between text method and reading ability, with the lower ability students benefiting more from the diagram method than their counterparts exposed to the textbook format.
Screen-printed Military Textiles for Wearable Energy Storage:

Textile-based supercapacitors incorporated into military uniforms enable the autonomy of wearable, physiological sensors that can be safer and more comfortable for the Warfighter. Previously, resea...
Two-Dimensional Frontier-Based Viewpoint Generation for Exploring and Mapping Underwater Environments

To autonomously explore complex underwater environments, it is convenient to develop motion planning strategies that do not depend on prior information. In this publication, we present a robotic exploration algorithm for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that is able to guide the robot so that it explores an unknown 2-dimensional (2D) environment. The algorithm is built upon view planning (VP) and frontier-based (FB) strategies. Traditional robotic exploration algorithms seek full coverage of the scene with data from only one sensor. If data coverage is required for multiple sensors, multiple exploration missions are required. Our approach has been designed to sense the environment achieving full coverage with data from two sensors in a single exploration mission: occupancy data from the profiling sonar, from which the shape of the environment is perceived, and optical data from the camera, to capture the details of the environment. This saves time and mission costs. The algorithm has been designed to be computationally efficient, so that it can run online in the AUV’s onboard computer. In our approach, the environment is represented using a labeled quadtree occupancy map which, at the same time, is used to generate the viewpoints that guide the exploration. We have tested the algorithm in different environments through numerous experiments, which include sea operations using the Sparus II AUV and its sensor suite.
Distributed Multi-Stream Beamforming in Multi-Relay Interference Networks with Multi-Antenna Nodes

In this paper, multi-stream transmission in interference networks aided by multiple amplify-and-forward (AF) relays in the presence of direct links is studied. The objective is to minimize the sum power of transmitters and relays by distributed transmit beamforming optimization under the stream signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio (SINR) target constraints. We utilize alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) algorithm for distributed implementation. The optimization problem is a well-known non-convex NP-hard quadratically constrained quadratic program (QCQP), which, after semi-definite relaxation (SDR), can be optimally solved via ADMM. The convergence rate, computational complexity, and message exchange load of the proposed algorithm are shown to outperform the existing distributed algorithm.
Second Malignant Neoplasms

Abstract With increased survival from primary cancer, attention needs to be paid to risk for adverse long-term health outcomes. One the most significant outcomes to understand is the risk for subsequent malignancies, which occur in a meaningful minority of persons. The etiology is often multifactorial and includes known hereditary conditions, unrecognized genetic predisposition, primary cancer, therapeutic exposures, age, and lifestyle practices. Guidelines for screening are available for only a minority of cases, and health care providers and patients should be aware of such guidelines. In the absence of guidelines, knowledge of risk factors and appropriate screening and monitoring should be practiced. Further research is needed to identify persons at highest risk so more useful preventive strategies can be developed.
An OTA-Less Second-Order VCO-Based CT $\Delta\Sigma$ Modulator Using an Inherent Passive Integrator and Capacitive Feedback

Voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO)-based continuous-time $\Delta \Sigma $ modulators (CTDSMs) are deemed attractive for deep-scaled process. However, to realize high-order noise shaping, existing works still employ operational transconductance amplifiers (OTAs), which limits the benefits brought by the VCO. This article presents an OTA-less second-order VCO-based CTDSM featuring a hybrid passive-VCO architecture. It exploits the gain-efficient and scaling-friendly nature of the VCO integrator, enabling the use of a fully passive loop filter to increase the order with minimum power. The proposed architecture is realized in a low-cost, low-noise cascaded-integrator feedback structure that makes use of the parasitic effect of the VCO as an inherent passive stage. Fabricated in 40-nm CMOS, the prototype occupies 0.028 mm2 of active area and consumes 590 $\mu \text{W}$ when sampling at 330 MHz. The CTDSM achieved peak Walden figure of merits of 22 fJ/step with 68.7-dB signal to noise and distortion ratio (SNDR) over 6-MHz bandwidth.
Confronting Statistical Uncertainty in Rural America: Toward More Certain Data-Driven Policymaking Using American Community Survey (ACS) Data

Aging and lacking infrastructure are major impediments to economic development in rural America. To address these issues, civic leaders often look to state and federal infrastructure grant/loan funding, where eligibility is often based on income requirements established by the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). The problem, especially for rural communities, is that ACS data contain a high degree of statistical uncertainty (i.e., margin of error) that is often disregarded for determining program eligibility. For rural communities with unreliable income estimates, the most common work-around involves hiring a consultant to conduct an income census or survey to formally challenge the US Census Bureau’s ACS estimate. Many rural communities, however, elect not to formally challenge unreliable ACS estimates either because they are unaware that reimbursement for conducting an income survey is an allowable expense under some grant/loan programs or they are dissuaded by the necessary time and resources. First, I summarize whether federal infrastructure grant/loan programs incorporate MOE values when determining community eligibility. Second, I examine the degree to which ACS estimates are statistically reliable for communities across rural America. Finally, using an example from Oregon, I recommend guidelines for how states can assist rural communities with statistically unreliable ACS estimates. These findings can help rural communities secure infrastructure funding that advances economic development and quality of life, and potentially support reliable data-driven policy and decision-making more broadly.
Consistency of Teacher Ratings of Pupil Personality Traits in a Classroom Setting.

The guidance counselor frequently seeks information from the classroom teacher about the general behavior of a child in the classroom. In this study, elementary school teachers were asked to rate t...
Direct Fluorescent Visualization of HSC Competitive Repopulation in Transparent Adult Zebrafish

Abstract Transplanted hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) home to the marrow space, engraft and self-renew. The process of engraftment is difficult to study in most vertebrates because it is impossible to visualize the engraftment directly. Here we have developed competitive transplantation of fluorescent donor marrow samples into a completely transparent adult zebrafish called casper. This allows the direct visualization of engraftment and the process of HSC competition. Transplantation of zebrafish whole kidney marrow (WKM) cells, containing HSCs, progenitors and mature blood cells, can rescue lethally irradiated recipient fish and repopulate all the blood lineages. We used different GFP-/DsRed-labeled transgenic fish as donors in WKM transplantation, such as the myeloid specific Tg(mpo:GFP), or the ubiquitous expression of Tg(β-actin:GFP), and Red GloFish® to study the kinetics of engraftment. Engraftment can be visualized with a simple fluorescent microscope, and was evident in the recipient kidney as early as 2 weeks post transplant (wpt). By 4 wpt, mature hematopoietic cells differentiated from donor HSCs or progenitors can be observed in the recipient circulation as well as in epidermis as tissue residential macrophages. At 8 wpt, donor-derived lymphoid cells also repopulate the recipient immune system. The fluorescence intensity of engrafted cells was quantified by image analysis software and positively correlated with the engraftment efficiency quantified by FACS. Using Red GloFish® as competitor donor and Tg(β-actin:GFP) as test donor, we were able to see the competition between the two donors both by fluorescence intensity analysis and FACS analysis. To test the sensitivity of this competitive transplant system to the alteration of the ratios between the two colors, we increased the ratio of the test vs. competitor donor from 1:3 to 1:2 to 1:1. At 4wpt, in the 1:3 ratio group, only 14% of the recipients had stronger GFP intensity than the red (n=7), while the rest had weaker or equivalent GFP intensity than the red; however, this percentage increased to 43% and 50% in the 1:2 (n=7) and 1:1(n=8) groups respectively. Therefore, the relative engraftment ratio can be fast detected in vivo by direct fluorescent visualization with the transparent zebrafish recipients. Next, we treated the test donor cells with 16,16-methyl prostaglandin E2 (dmPGE2) or DMSO for 2 hours in vitro at room temperature before transplant. The engraftment efficiency of the dmPGE2 group dramatically increased by at least 2 folds compared with the DMSO group. The colors of competitor and test donors were switched, and the increase of engraftment efficiency by dmPGE2 treatment of the test donor was still evident. In conclusion, direct visualization of competitive marrow repopulation greatly facilitates the developmental, physiological or pathological study of HSCs and progenitors and should provide a new platform for the assay of specific genes or chemicals that could alter homing, engraftment or self-renewal.
Efficacy and production benefits following use of eprinomectin extended-release injection in pastured dairy heifers

A study was conducted in grazing dairy heifers to assess anthelmintic efficacy and production responses in dairy heifers treated with a single injection of eprinomectin in an extended-release formulation over a 123 day-period. The study was conducted on a pasture-based dairy in the Southeastern United States (North Carolina) over the summer months. Sixty crossbred dairy heifers were weighed and randomly allocated into 2 groups. One group (n = 30) was given 5% eprinomectin subcutaneously in the cervical region while the other group (n = 30) was given an equivalent volume of saline. Calves were weighed every 30 days throughout the trial for calculation of average daily gain and differences in overall weight gain. In addition, fecal samples were collected at days 0, 30, 60, 90 and 123 for worm egg count and coproculture. Both groups of cattle had similar worm egg concentrations at the start of the study. However, the control group had increasing concentrations of fecal worm eggs throughout the summer months while the heifers that received eprinomectin had minimal fecal worm eggs. The primary parasite species identified in this study were Haemonchus placei, Cooperia species and Ostertagia. The heifers that received eprinomectin gained 105 + 2.8 kg during the 123-day study period, representing an average daily gain of 0.85 kg/day compared to 78.3 + 4.1 kg (0.64 kg/day) for the control group. This represented a 33 % increase in average daily gain associated with deworming. The results of this study indicate that a single dose of extended-release eprinomectin was sufficient to control parasites through a 123-day summer grazing season and that administration of the anthelmintic had a significant impact on weight gain.
The expanded footprint of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico deep-sea benthos

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout off the coast of Louisiana caused the largest marine oil spill on record. Samples were collected 2–3 months after the Macondo well was capped to assess damage to macrofauna and meiofauna communities. An earlier analysis of 58 stations demonstrated severe and moderate damage to an area of 148 km2. An additional 58 archived stations have been analyzed to enhance the resolution of that assessment and determine if impacts occurred further afield. Impacts included high levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the sediment, low diversity, low evenness, and low taxonomic richness of the infauna communities. High nematode to copepod ratios corroborated the severe disturbance of meiofauna communities. Additionally, barium levels near the wellhead were very high because of drilling activities prior to the accident. A principal component analysis (PCA) was used to summarize oil spill impacts at stations near the Macondo well, and the benthic footprint of the DWH oil spill was estimated using Empirical Bayesian Kriging (EBK) interpolation. An area of approximately 263 km2 around the wellhead was affected, which is 78% higher than the original estimate. Particularly severe damages to benthic communities were found in an area of 58 km2, which is 142% higher than the original estimate. The addition of the new stations extended the area of the benthic footprint map to about twice as large as originally thought and improved the resolution of the spatial interpolation. In the future, increasing the spatial extent of sampling should be a top priority for designing assessment studies.
High-Resolution In Vivo Molecular Imaging

A fundamental limitation in all visible-light molecular-imaging systems has been the strong scattering of light in biological tissues, which has limited molecular imaging to superficially thin tissue slices, exposed surfaces, or diffuse, blurry images of whole animals. This year, our group outlined a process for using thin sheets of ionizing radiation to induce optical Cherenkov light excitation in thick scattering media, converting the thick-tissue imaging problem into a linear inversion that provides high-resolution localization of molecular signals from inside the animal.
Tobacco use disparities and disability among US college students.

To describe the prevalence of tobacco use among a nationally representative sample of college students with disabilities. Participants: Analyses were conducted on a sample of 6189 college students....
The Face of Need: Facial Emotion Expression on Charity Advertisements

Advertisements for charities often display photographs of the people they help to evoke the kind of sympathy that engenders giving. This article examines how the expression of emotion on a victim’s face affects both sympathy and giving. Building on theories of emotional contagion and sympathy, the authors propose that (1) people “catch” the emotions displayed on a victim’s face and (2) they are particularly sympathetic and likely to donate when they see sad expressions versus happy or neutral expressions. Consistent with emotional contagion, participants felt sadder when viewing a sad-faced victim, and their own sadness mediated the effect of emotion expression on sympathy. Contagion effects are automatic and noninferential, but they are diminished by deliberative thought. The authors discuss the implications of using subtle emotional expressions on charitable and other marketing appeals.
RoboMath: Designing a Learning Companion Robot to Support Children’s Numerical Skills

Children’s early numerical knowledge establishes a foundation for later development of mathematics achievement and playing linear number board games is effective in improving basic numerical abilities. Besides the visuo-spatial cues provided by traditional number board games, learning companion robots can integrate multi-sensory information and offer social cues that can support children’s learning experiences. We explored how young children experience sensory feedback (audio and visual) and social expressions from a robot when playing a linear number board game, “RoboMath.” We present the interaction design of the game and our investigation of children’s (n = 19, aged 4) and parents’ experiences under three conditions: (1) visual-only, (2) audio-visual, and (3) audio-visual-social robot interaction. We report our qualitative analysis, including the themes observed from interviews with families on their perceptions of the game and the interaction with the robot, their child’s experiences, and their design recommendations.
Versatile mRNA-Nanoparticle Platform for Treatment of Glioblastoma.

Purpose/Objective(s) Glioblastoma (GBM) is difficult to treat due to isolation behind the blood brain barrier and a notoriously immune-suppressive tumor microenvironment. RNA vaccines have recently shown great promise as activators of immune responses against viral pathogens but their efficacy in cancer is not well understood. Here, we describe a versatile, personalized mRNA-nanoparticle (RNA-NP) platform that can be customized to produce powerful anti-tumor immune activation, reprogram the brain tumor microenvironment, and enable tracking of particle localization to predict vaccine efficacy just two days after treatment. Materials/Methods Lipid mixtures (i.e., DOTAP, cholesterol) were complexed with mRNA encoding tumor antigens and evaluated for their ability to activate anti-tumor immune responses in vitro and in vivo. Particle localization after intravenous injection was assessed to identify constructs that enabled delivery of nucleic acids to intracranial tumors. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) were then incorporated into the cores of liposomes to enable particle tracking with MRI. Results Intravenous administration of RNA-NPs composed of DOTAP and RNA induced robust activation of innate immune cells resulting in prolonged survival in murine models of subcutaneous and intracranial melanoma. Inclusion of cholesterol in the lipid backbone enabled delivery of nucleic acids across the blood brain barrier and into tumor-associated myeloid cells in intracranial GL261 and KR158b tumors. These cholesterol-bearing liposomes not only activated innate immune cells in the tumor microenvironment (i.e., increased expression of CD80 and MHCII), but also enabled further manipulation of this compartment. Use of RNA-NPs to deliver siRNA targeting PD-L1 resulted in significant reduction in PD-L1 expression among tumor associated myeloid cells, leading to 37% long term survivorship in combination with systemic checkpoint blockade in an otherwise fatal model of GL261. IONPs were also incorporated into the cores of these particles to enable non-invasive tracking of particle localization with MRI. Preliminary experiments utilizing dendritic cells treated with iron-oxide-loaded RNA-NPs ex vivo demonstrate that a single dose of this therapy produces immunologic rejection of a murine melanoma model in which a dendritic cell vaccine currently in clinical trials yields no benefit. Furthermore, quantification of particle accumulation in lymph nodes with MRI correlates strongly with survival outcome (R =, indicating that tracking particle localization may be used to reliably differentiate responders from non-responders just two days after treatment. Conclusion RNA-NPs are a versatile platform for RNA delivery to immune cells. These particles are currently under investigation in canine trials with human clinical trials of our first-generation therapy beginning this year.
Structure–activity correlations for three pyrido[2,3‐d]pyrimidine antifolates binding to human and Pneumocystis carinii dihydrofolate reductase

To further define the interactions that enhance the selectivity of binding and to directly compare the binding of the most potent analogue {N(6)-methyl-N(6)-(3,4,5-trifluorophenyl)pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4,6-triamine; compound 26} in the series of bicyclic pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine analogues of piritrexim (PTX) with native human (h), Pneumocystis carinii (pc) and Pneumocystis jirovecii (pj) dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) enzymes, the crystal structures of hDHFR complexed with N(6)-methyl-N(6)-(4-isopropylphenyl)pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4,6-triamine (compound 22), of hDHFR complexed with compound 26 and of pcDHFR complexed with N(6)-methyl-N(6)-1-naphthylpyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4,6-triamine (compound 24) are reported as ternary complexes with NADPH. This series of bicyclic pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines were designed in which there was a transposition of the 5-methyl group of PTX to the N9 position of the pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine. It was hypothesized that the N9-methyl group would preferentially interact with Ile123 of pcDHFR (and Ile123 of pjDHFR), but not with the shorter Val115 in hDHFR. Structure-activity data for this series of antifolates revealed that a trifluoro derivative (26) was the most selective against pjDHFR compared with mammalian DHFR (h/pj = 35.7). Structural data for the hDHFR-26 complex revealed that 26 binds in a different conformation from that observed in the pcDHFR-26 complex. In the hDHFR-26 complex the trifluorophenyl ring of 26 occupies a position near the cofactor-binding site, with close intermolecular contacts with Asp21, Ser59 and Ile60, whereas this ring in the pcDHFR-26 complex is positioned away from the cofactor site and near Ile65, with weaker contacts with Ile65, Phe69 and Ile123. Comparison of the intermolecular contacts between the N9-methyl group with Val115/Ile123 validates the hypothesis that the N9-methyl substituent preferentially interacts with Ile123 compared with Val115 of hDHFR, as the weaker contact with Val115 in the hDHFR structure is consistent with its weaker binding affinity compared with pcDHFR. The results for the structures of hDHFR-22 and pcDHFR-24 show that their inhibitor-binding orientation is similar to that observed in pcDHFR-26 and the pcDHFR variant (F69N) reported previously. The naphthyl moiety of 24 makes several intermolecular contacts with the active-site residues in pcDHFR that help to stabilize the binding, resulting in a more potent inhibitor.
Cutaneous moniliasis in a premature infant. Report of a case with unusual clinical manifestations.

Summary Occurrence of a lesion of cutaneous moniliasis of unusal type in a premature infant has been described. Mycologic studies confirmed the presence of C. albicans in the lesion, and prompt clinical response to nystatin topically applied substantiated the probability of C. albicans as the sole etiological agent.