cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Response of Conifer-Encroached Shrublands in the Great Basin to Prescribed Fire and Mechanical Treatments

In response to the recent expansion of pi ˜ non and juniper woodlands into sagebrush-steppe communities in the northern Great Basin region, numerous conifer-removal projects have been implemented, primarily to release understory vegetation at sites having a wide range of environmental conditions. Responses to these treatments have varied from successful restoration of native plant communities to complete conversion to nonnative invasive species. To evaluate the general response of understory vegetation to tree canopy removal in conifer-encroached shrublands, we set up a region-wide study that measured treatmentinduced changes in understory cover and density. Eleven study sites located across four states in the Great Basin were established as statistical replicate blocks, each containing fire, mechanical, and control treatments. Different cover groups were measured prior to and during the first 3 yr following treatment. There was a general pattern of response across the wide range of site conditions. There was an immediate increase in bare ground and decrease in tall perennial grasses following the fire treatment, but both recovered by the second or third growing season after treatment. Tall perennial grass cover increased in the mechanical treatment in the second and third year, and in the fire treatment cover was higher than the control by year 3. Nonnative grass and forb cover did not increase in the fire and mechanical treatments in the first year but increased in the second and third years. Perennial forb cover increased in both the fire and mechanical treatments. The recovery of herbaceous cover groups was from increased growth of residual vegetation, not density. Sagebrush declined in the fire treatment, but seedling density increased in both treatments. Biological soil crust declined in the fire treatment, with no indications of recovery. Differences in plant response that occurred between mechanical and fire treatments should be considered when selecting management options.
Photoconductivity of biased graphene

Scientists report that the photovoltaic effect and a photo-induced bolometric effect, rather than thermoelectric effects, dominate the photoresponse during a classic photoconductivity experiment in biased graphene. The findings shed light on the hot-electron-driven photoresponse in graphene and its energy loss pathway via phonons.
Pre-processing of ultraviolet resonance Raman spectra

The application of UV excitation sources coupled with resonance Raman have the potential to offer information unavailable with the current inventory of commonly used structural techniques including X-ray, NMR and IR analysis. However, for ultraviolet resonance Raman (UVRR) spectroscopy to become a mainstream method for the determination of protein secondary structure content and monitoring protein dynamics, the application of multivariate data analysis methodologies must be made routine. Typically, the application of higher order data analysis methods requires robust pre-processing methods in order to standardize the data arrays. The application of such methods can be problematic in UVRR datasets due to spectral shifts arising from day-to-day fluctuations in the instrument response. Additionally, the non-linear increases in spectral resolution in wavenumbers (increasing spectral data points for the same spectral region) that results from increasing excitation wavelengths can make the alignment of multi-excitation datasets problematic. Last, a uniform and standardized methodology for the subtraction of the water band has also been a systematic issue for multivariate data analysis as the water band overlaps the amide I mode. Here we present a two-pronged preprocessing approach using correlation optimized warping (COW) to alleviate spectra-to-spectra and day-to-day alignment errors coupled with a method whereby the relative intensity of the water band is determined through a least-squares determination of the signal intensity between 1750 and 1900 cm−1 to make complex multi-excitation datasets more homogeneous and usable with multivariate analysis methods.
Temporal Difference Methods for General Projected Equations

We consider projected equations for approximate solution of high-dimensional fixed point problems within low-dimensional subspaces. We introduce an analytical framework based on an equivalence with variational inequalities, and algorithms that may be implemented with low-dimensional simulation. These algorithms originated in approximate dynamic programming (DP), where they are collectively known as temporal difference (TD) methods. Even when specialized to DP, our methods include extensions/new versions of TD methods, which offer special implementation advantages and reduced overhead over the standard LSTD and LSPE methods, and can deal with near singularity in the associated matrix inversion. We develop deterministic iterative methods and their simulation-based versions, and we discuss a sharp qualitative distinction between them: the performance of the former is greatly affected by direction and feature scaling, yet the latter have the same asymptotic convergence rate regardless of scaling, because of their common simulation-induced performance bottleneck.
Survey of wound-induced ethylene production by excised root segments

Ethylene production was measured from excised 10-mm apical and subapical root segments from 50 cultivars in 19 species of 7 families. Monocotyledonous species tended to have much lower rates of ethylene production than dicotyledonous species. Ethylene production was generally higher in apical root segments than in subapical segments within 1 h of wounding. However, cultivars of Cucumis melo, C. sativus, Helianthus annuus, Hibiscus esculentus, and Zea mays had higher rates of ethylene production from subapical segments. In apical root segments, Phaseolus aureus cv. Berken had the highest ethylene production rate (76.7 etal g(-1) h(-1)), while Zea mays cv. Silver Queen had the lowest rate (0.6 etal g(-1) h(-1)). In subapical root segments, Cucumis sativus cv. Armenian had the highest rate (55.7 etal g(-1) h(-1)), while Zea mays cv. Silver Queen again had the lowest rate (0.6 etal g(-1) h(-1)). The many different responses in magnitude and kinetics of wound-induced ethylene production among the species, cultivars and tissues should provide interesting and useful systems with which to study wound responses and induced ethylene production.
Mercantilism and Modern Growth

Nations close themselves voluntarily to varying degrees. Restrictions on the flow of ideas are difficult to understand, since open countries have higher relative incomes. This article provides an explanation based on the existence of two channels of public finance—traditional and mercantilistic. The latter refers to monopoly creation to provide a stream of government revenue. Strong, profitable monopolies require that the nation be closed to new ideas about technology and organization. The government sets the degree of restriction to balance current mercantilistic revenue with future revenue from traditional sources. The model is supported with numerical simulations and historical illustrations.
The Benefits of Advanced Traveler Information Systems

In this paper, the authors provide a summary of three travel behavior studies that focused on the benefits of advanced traveler information systems (ATIS) in the San Francisco Bay Area. The results reflected the travelers' perspectives and showed that perceived benefits varied depending on the types of information received. It was found that the TravInfo traveler advisory telephone system had great impact on travel behavior than did radio traffic information
Stress Formation in Boron Nitride Films Prepared by Ion Beam Assisted Deposition

The stress formation during N/Ar ion assisted deposition of boron nitride films on Si(001) substrates was measured in-situ by a very sensitive capacity technique in dependence on the ion energy, temperature during deposition and the ion to atom arrival rate. The stress evolution in dependence on the layer thickness is characterized by a high tensile stress in the initial stage of the film growth, followed by a transition from the tensile to the compressive stress state, a strong increase of the compressive stress with the film thickness. A simultaneous UV-light irradiation during the deposition process leads to a reduction of the compressive stress.
A Meta-Implementation for Systems Network Architecture

IBM's Systems Network Architecture (SNA) is formally defined by a meta-implementation program written in the Format and Protocol Language (FAPL). This paper describes the structure of the SNA meta-implementation and the development of FAPL. The most interesting aspect of the meta-implementation is that the architecture specification of SNA is itself machine executable. This property leads to a number of applications in software technology, such as automated protocol validation and direct Implementation from the formal specification.
Physiology of Turkey Embryos During Pipping and Hatching. III. Thyroid Function

Abstract Metabolic rates, as measured by oxygen consumption and air cell temperatures, increased significantly (P
Comorbidity/Overlapping Between ADHD and PTSD in Relation to IQ Among Children of Traumatized/Non-Traumatized Parents

Objective: This study explores the comorbidity between symptoms of ADHD and PTSD in relation to IQ among refugee children of traumatized parents (TP) and non-traumatized parents (NTP). Method: The study compares 80 refugee children, 40 with TP with 40 with NTP. ADHD and PTSD are assessed using DICA. Children’s cognitive functions are measured by WISC. Teacher ratings of YCI and SDQ are performed. Results: Overlapping between ADHD and PTSD symptoms are represented among children with TP. Cognitive functions, related to ADHD and PTSD, reveal associations between low IQ (<84) and having both ADHD and PTSD among children with TP. Conclusions: Concerns are raised about how ADHD and PTSD symptoms in a child are to be interpreted. Some overlapping exists between the two syndromes, but further studies should determine whether true comorbidity exists between ADHD and PTSD symptoms to better understand how to correctly diagnose and treat refugee children with TP. (J. of Att. Dis. 2009; 13(2) 188-196)
A multipole based treecode using spherical harmonics for potentials of the form r -λ

In this paper we describe an efficient algorithm for computing the potentials of the form r$^{\rm -{\it \lambda}}$ where λ ≥ 1. This treecode algorithm uses spherical harmonics to compute multipole coefficients that are used to evaluate these potentials. The key idea in this algorithm is the use of Gegenbauer polynomials to represent r$^{\rm -{\it \lambda}}$ in a manner analogous to the use of Legendre polynomials for the expansion of the Coulomb potential r−1. We exploit the relationship between Gegenbauer and Legendre polynomials to come up with a natural generalization of the multipole expansion theorem used in the classical fast multipole algorithm [2]. This theorem is used with a hierarchical scheme to compute the potentials. The resulting algorithm has known error bounds and can be easily implemented with modification to the existing fast multipole algorithm. The complexity of the algorithm is O(p3N log N) and has several advantages over the existing Cartesian coordinates based expansion schemes.
Endocannabinoids inhibit transmission at granule cell to Purkinje cell synapses by modulating three types of presynaptic calcium channels.

At many central synapses, endocannabinoids released by postsynaptic cells inhibit neurotransmitter release by activating presynaptic cannabinoid receptors. The mechanisms underlying this important means of synaptic regulation are not fully understood. It has been shown at several synapses that endocannabinoids inhibit neurotransmitter release by reducing calcium influx into presynaptic terminals. One hypothesis maintains that endocannabinoids indirectly reduce calcium influx by modulating potassium channels and narrowing the presynaptic action potential. An alternative hypothesis is that endocannabinoids directly and selectively inhibit N-type calcium channels in presynaptic terminals. Here we test these hypotheses at the granule cell to Purkinje cell synapse in cerebellar brain slices. By monitoring optically the presynaptic calcium influx (Cainflux) and measuring the EPSC amplitudes, we found that cannabinoid-mediated inhibition arises solely from reduced presynaptic Cainflux. Next we found that cannabinoid receptor activation does not affect the time course of presynaptic calcium entry, indicating that the reduced Cainflux reflects inhibition of presynaptic calcium channels. Finally, we assessed the classes of presynaptic calcium channels inhibited by cannabinoid receptor activation via peptide calcium channel antagonists. Previous studies established that N-type, P/Q-type, and R-type calcium channels are all present in granule cell presynaptic boutons. We found that cannabinoid activation reduced Cainflux through N-type, P/Q-type, and R-type calcium channels to 29, 60, and 55% of control, respectively. Thus, rather than narrowing the presynaptic action potential or exclusively modulating N-type calcium channels, CB1 receptor activation inhibits synaptic transmission by modulating all classes of calcium channels present in the presynaptic terminal of the granule cell to Purkinje cell synapse.
The ferret as a model organism to study influenza A virus infection

Influenza is a human pathogen that continues to pose a public health threat. The use of small mammalian models has become indispensable for understanding the virulence of influenza viruses. Among numerous species used in the laboratory setting, only the ferret model is equally well suited for studying both the pathogenicity and transmissibility of human and avian influenza viruses. Here, we compare the advantages and limitations of the mouse, ferret and guinea pig models for research with influenza A viruses, emphasizing the multifarious uses of the ferret in the assessment of influenza viruses with pandemic potential. Research performed in the ferret model has provided information, support and guidance for the public health response to influenza viruses in humans. We highlight the recent and emerging uses of this species in influenza virus research that are advancing our understanding of virus-host interactions.
Reports of repetitive penile-genital penetration often have no definitive evidence of penetration.

OBJECTIVES: The goals were to evaluate the association of definitive hymenal findings with the number of reported episodes of penile-genital penetration, pain, bleeding, dysuria, and time since assault for girls presenting for nonacute, sexual assault examinations. METHODS: Charts of all girls 5 to 17 of age who provided a history of nonacute, penile-genital, penetrative abuse were reviewed. Interviews and examinations occurred over a 4-year period at a children9s advocacy center. Characteristics of the histories provided by the subjects were examined for associations with definitive findings of penetrative trauma. RESULTS: Five hundred six patients were included in the study. Of the 56 children with definitive examination results, 52 had no history of consensual penile-vaginal intercourse and all were ≥10 years of age. Analysis was unable to detect an association between the number of reported penile-genital penetrative events and definitive genital findings. Eighty-seven percent of victims who provided a history of >10 penetrative events had no definitive evidence of penetration. A history of bleeding with abuse was more than twice as likely for subjects with definitive findings. Children 10 penetrative events, although none had definitive findings on examination. CONCLUSIONS: Most victims who reported repetitive penile-genital contact that involved some degree of perceived penetration had no definitive evidence of penetration on examination of the hymen. Similar results were seen for victims of repetitive assaults involving perceived penetration over long periods of time, as well as victims with a history of consensual sex.
Informing Consumers about Themselves

Consumers make mistakes. Imperfect information and imperfect rationality lead to misperception of benefits and costs associated with a product. As a result consumers might fail to maximize their preferences in product choice or product use. A proposed taxonomy of consumer mistakes draws attention to a less-studied category of mistakes: use-pattern mistakes - mistakes about how the consumer will use the product. Use-pattern mistakes are prevalent. Sellers respond strategically to use-pattern mistakes by redesigning their products, contracts and pricing schemes. These strategic, design responses often exacerbate the welfare-costs associated with consumer mistakes. From a policy perspective, focusing on disclosure regulation, the importance of use-pattern mistakes requires more, and better, use-pattern disclosure. In particular, sellers should be required to provide individualized use-pattern information.
The Role of the PGE2–Aromatase Pathway in Obesity-Associated Breast Inflammation

Subbaramaiah and colleagues present the first evidence indicating that a cyclooxygenase-2-prostaglandin E(2)-aromatase pathway promotes obesity-associated inflammation in women's breast tissues. Their findings shed new light on obesity-associated inflammation in general and provide a rationale for developing effective chemopreventive and therapeutic strategies targeting this pathway for obese women with breast inflammation and patients with hormone-dependent breast cancer.
Collecting and Pooling Assessment and Outcome Data in Couple and Family Therapy Training Clinics: Reasons to Do It, Common Problems, and Some Suggestions for Avoiding Them.

The article by Johnson et al. (2015) is an excellent example of many of the advantages and challenges of collecting data in clinics associated with Couple and Family Therapy training programs. In the hopes of encouraging more use of clinic datasets for research, we suggest some ways to improve the feasibility, quality, and value of routinely collecting such data.
Rehabilitation of notch damaged steel beams using a carbon fiber reinforced hybrid polymeric-matrix composite

Abstract The retrofit of notch damaged steel beams is investigated via the experimental testing of nine wide-flange steel beam specimens and finite element simulation. Three notch configurations representing various damage levels were identified, and the beam specimens were retrofitted using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates and a recently developed Carbon-fiber Hybrid-polymeric Matrix Composite (CHMC) that has been termed CarbonFlex, and that exhibits superior energy dissipation and ductility properties. The peak-load deflections of the CarbonFlex-retrofitted beams were calculated to be between 67.8% and 73.1% higher than their CFRP-retrofitted counterparts. The results are attributed to the substantially higher damage tolerance of CarbonFlex than conventional carbon-fiber reinforced polymer. Finite element models were developed to investigate the damage mechanism and loading carrying capacities of the beams, and the strain/ stress distributions near the notch tips. The numerical results match closely with the experimentally determined load–deflection curves and the strain fields obtained by the digital imaging correlations (DIC) technique. Both experimental and numerical results clearly indicate the effectiveness of CarbonFlex, as a candidate retrofitting material, for damaged steel structures. Lastly, the micro-mechanisms by which CarbonFlex could sufficiently sustain a significant amount of the peak strength at large deformations are discussed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nano-indentation studies.
An Historical Overview and Comparison of Women and African‐Americans in the Accounting Profession: 1960s–1990s

Although a reasonable body of research exists with respect to women and some for African‐American accountants, no study has provided a comparison of both groups' experiences across similar periods. The purpose of this paper is to provide an historical overview and comparison of these two groups of accountants for the period 1960–1999 in an attempt to illuminate the reasons for their accomplishments and lack of accomplishments in the public accounting profession. A review of the 1960s indicates that although discrimination against women was evident, white females fared slightly better than African‐Americans, who were virtually nonexistent in the U.S. public accounting profession (Hammond 1997). During the 1970s both groups were excluded from any meaningful participation and were discriminated against when employed in public accounting. An explanation for this phenomenon was provided in 1976, as a result of the Metcalf hearings, when the Big 8 accounting firms admitted that they had not sought out women and...
Manufacturing Crime: Process, Pretext, and Criminal Justice

What do Bill Clinton, Roger Clemens, Martha Stewart and Lil’ Kim have in common? How about adding Marion Jones, Barry Bonds, Kwame Kilpatrick, Frank Quattrone, Donald Siegelman, and Lewis Libby? The list of notable names could go on, each sharing a particular characteristic. All have been accused of a “process crime”—an offense not against a particular person or property, but against the machinery of justice itself.Process crimes have a long and storied history in the American criminal justice system. Familiar variations of such offenses include perjury, obstruction of justice, and contempt; more recent iterations materialize as violations of court orders or failures to appear. Yet despite the laundry list of politicians, business icons, and sports and entertainment celebrities that have lately found themselves ensnarled in charges related to process crimes, legal scholarship on the topic remains scarce. Moreover, the extant discussion centers entirely on process crimes in federal courts and typically focuses on issues related to prosecutions undertaken for pretextual reasons, like that of Al Capone.This Article is the first to take a comprehensive look at process crime prosecutions. This survey reveals two critical insights. First, it uncovers a vibrant yet essentially undocumented practice of process charging in state courts. Second, it identifies a new motivation underlying process crime prosecutions. Specifically, this Article argues that process prosecutions are brought not only to remedy core violations of rights or to target otherwise elusive defendants with pretextual charges, but also to punish defendants for nothing more than their obstinate or anti-authoritarian behaviors. This Article closes by probing the normative desirability of process charging in light of these observations, and sounds a note of caution to encourage closer monitoring of such offenses on both a categorical and individual level.
Smurf1 Inhibits Osteoblast Differentiation, Bone Formation, and Glucose Homeostasis through Serine 148

The E3 ubiquitin ligase Smurf1 targets the master regulator of osteoblast differentiation, Runx2, for degradation, yet the function of Smurf1, if any, during osteoblast differentiation in vivo is ill defined. Here, we show that Smurf1 prevents osteoblast differentiation by decreasing Runx2 accumulation in osteoblasts. Remarkably, mice harboring a substitution mutation at serine 148 (S148) in Smurf1 that prevents its phosphorylation by AMPK (Smurf1(ki/ki)) display a premature osteoblast differentiation phenotype that is equally severe as that of Smurf1(-/-) mice, as well as a high bone mass, and are also hyperinsulinemic and hypoglycemic. Consistent with the fact that Smurf1 targets the insulin receptor for degradation, there is, in Smurf1(ki/ki) mice, an increase in insulin signaling in osteoblasts that triggers a rise in the circulating levels of osteocalcin, a hormone that favors insulin secretion. These results identify Smurf1 as a determinant of osteoblast differentiation during the development of bone formation and glucose homeostasis post-natally and demonstrate the necessity of S148 for these functions.
Sports Talk: Oral History and Its Uses, Problems, and Possibilities for Sport History

Sport history has been a late bloomer among subfields of United States history, developing over the past two decades alongside and as part of the new social and cultural history. As they have staked out a place within the academy, sport historians have taken pains to separate their work from earlier "popular" histories of sport written by journalists or other nonacademic historians. Popular sport histories, which continue to be more numerous and widely read than academic studies, have featured empirical, chronological presentation of sporting "facts," such as game scores and win-loss records or, alternately, have evoked their subject in romantic, reverential, and celebratory tones. Confronting the attitude that sports are not the stuff of serious history, professional historians of sport have tried to distinguish themselves from amateurs by emphasizing their more analytical and structural approach: they looked to sport to understand urban politics and geography, class origins and mobility, racial conflict, modernism, and cultural symbolism.' Compared with nonacademic works that featured the voices of athletes to personalize the past and to "tell it like it was," early works of academic sport historians rarely made use of oral evidence.2 In the past decade, however, a greater attention to the interwar and postwar periods and to questions of identity and experience has produced a spate of works of sport history that are informed by oral history. In what follows, I will look at the uses that both academic and nonacademic sport historians have made of oral history, its influence on our scholarly understanding of sport, and
Investigation on virus-carrying rate of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in passenger train

Objective To investigate into virus-carrying rate of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in the passenger train. Methods In the passenger train by the high disease region of the epidemic hemorrhagic fever,mice were caught with the trap.Mice were carried to the station of health anti-epidemic in Anhui province and were examined into the antigen and antibody of the epidemic hemorrhagic fever virus.Results Twenty-six Rattus norvogicus and twelve Mus musculus carried virus antigens,antigen-positive rate was 8.33%.Rattus norvogicus was not examined virus antigens and antibody.Conclusion That four passenger train moved by the main big city of Anhui,Jiangsu,Shanghai,because mice on the passenger train carried the epidemic hemorrhagic fever virus,the epidemic hemorrhagic fever was spread to the city by the railroad for long-range.It was an important epidemiological sense that controlling rats on the passenger train to proliferation of the epidemic hemorrhagic fever region.
Emotional induction: communication via the countertransference.

In recent years many authors from a wide variety of theoretical viewpoints, have commented upon the potential for the therapist's countertransference to reflect the emotional life of the patient. However, there has been relatively little said about the mechanism by which this occurs. What has been written revolves around the concept of projective identification, but the process by which the patient's intrapsychic fantasy becomes actualized in the therapist's emotions has not been detailed. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the mechanism of this “emotional induction” and to examine its implications for therapeutic technique.
Carcinoembryonic Antigen and Beta-Human Chorionic Gonadotropin as Serum Markers for Advanced Urothelial Malignancies

AbstractSerum levels of carcinoembryonic antigen and β-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin were measured in 92 patients with advanced urothelial malignancies referred to us for chemotherapy. Elevations of carcinoembryonic antigen and/or β-human chorionic gonadotropin occurred in 60 of the 92 patients (65 per cent). Minimal elevations (less than 50 per cent above the normal range) occurred in 25 patients (27 per cent), while 35 (38 per cent) had significant elevations (more than 50 per cent above the normal range). Of the latter patients carcinoembryonic antigen alone was elevated in 16 (17 per cent), β-human chorionic gonadotropin alone in 13 (14 per cent) and both in 6 (6 per cent). Among the 24 patients with initially elevated levels whose markers were re-evaluated during therapy the marker levels correlated with disease course in all 15 whose elevations were more than 50 per cent and in 4 of 9 with minimal elevations. In patients with adenocarcinoma of the bladder the carcinoembryonic antigen level...
Zen and Nietzsche

Nietzsche says: ‘God is a sacred lie (eine heilige Luge).’1 He is not saying that ‘God is a lie’ as many atheists and anti-religionists do. Rather, he affirms that God is ‘the sacred’. In that respect, Nietzsche is in agreement with religionists who believe in God. But, Nietzsche does not stop there. He in effect says: ‘God is sacred. And yet, God is a lie precisely in being sacred.’ Nietzsche’s statement should be understood in this fashion.
Women's Health Lotería: a new cervical cancer education tool for Hispanic females.

Purpose/objectives An innovative public education tool, called Women's Health Loteria (WHL), was created to promote cervical cancer awareness among Hispanic females. The tool covers the risk factors for cervical cancer, the American Cancer Society (ACS) cervical cancer screening guidelines, and the invasive cervical cancer incidence rate in the Hispanic population. Data sources Professional journals and books; ACS and National Cancer Institute literature. Data synthesis Scientific evidence strongly suggests that cervical cancer mortality descreases with regular Pap test screening for sexually active women or those who have reached age 18. Many Hispanic women, however, do not know about the importance of Pap testing. WHL was developed to meet this learning need. Conclusions After attending the educational program, 87% of the respondents achieved the learning objectives. Implications for nursing practice This educational program can be used to educate Hispanic women about cervical cancer. The content and principles also can be applied to other groups of women.
Ancestry trumps experience: Transgenerational but not early life stress affects the adult physiological stress response

Exposure to stressors can affect an organism's physiology and behavior as well as that of its descendants (e.g. through maternal effects, epigenetics, and/or selection). We examined the relative influence of early life vs. transgenerational stress exposure on adult stress physiology in a species that has populations with and without ancestral exposure to an invasive predator. We raised offspring of eastern fence lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) from sites historically invaded (high stress) or uninvaded (low stress) by predatory fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) and determined how this different transgenerational exposure to stress interacted with the effects of early life stress exposure to influence the physiological stress response in adulthood. Offspring from these high- and low-stress populations were exposed weekly to either sub-lethal attack by fire ants (an ecologically relevant stressor), topical treatment with a physiologically-appropriate dose of the stress-relevant hormone, corticosterone (CORT), or a control treatment from 2 to 43weeks of age. Several months after treatments ended, we quantified plasma CORT concentrations at baseline and following restraint, exposure to fire ants, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) injection. Exposure to fire ants or CORT during early life did not affect lizard stress physiology in adulthood. However, offspring of lizards from populations that had experienced multiple generations of fire ant-invasion exhibited more robust adult CORT responses to restraint and ACTH-injection compared to offspring from uninvaded populations. Together, these results indicate that transgenerational stress history may be at least as important, if not more important, than early life stress in affecting adult physiological stress responses.
Race/Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, Residential Segregation, and Spatial Variation in Noise Exposure in the Contiguous United States.

Background: Prior research has reported disparities in environmental exposures in the United States, but, to our knowledge, no nationwide studies have assessed inequality in noise pollution. Object...
Many rare genetic variants have unrecognized large-effect disruptions to exon recognition

Any individual9s genome contains ~4-5 million genetic variants that differ from reference, and understanding how these variants give rise to trait diversity and disease susceptibility is a central goal of human genetics. A vast majority (96-99%) of an individual9s variants are common, though at a population level the overwhelming majority of variants are rare. Because of their scarcity in an individual9s genome, rare variants that play important roles in complex traits are likely to have large functional effects. Mutations that cause an exon to be skipped can have severe functional consequences on gene function, and many known disease-causing mutations reduce or eliminate exon recognition. Here we explore the extent to which rare genetic variation in humans results in near complete loss of exon recognition. We developed a Multiplexed Functional Assay of Splicing using Sort-seq (MFASS) that allows us to measure exon inclusion in thousands of human exons and surrounding intronic sequence simultaneously. We assayed 27,733 extant variants in the Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC within or adjacent to 2,339 human exons, and found that 3.8% (1,050) of the variants, almost all of which were extremely rare, led to large-effect defects in exon recognition. Importantly, we find that 83% of these splice-disrupting variants (SDVs) are located outside of canonical splice sites, are distributed evenly across distinct exonic and intronic regions, and are difficult to predict a priori. Our results indicate that loss of exon recognition is an important and underappreciated means by which rare variants exert large functional effects, and that MFASS enables their empirical assessment for splicing defects at scale.
Evaluation of preoperative C-reactive protein: Albumin ratio in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

690Background: Multiple inflammatory markers have been evaluated in predicting preoperative risk in patient’s undergoing curative nephrectomy for Clear cell renal cell carcinoma. We propose that ra...
Family Socialization and Academic Achievement

Academic achievement in American children is of great concern. Efforts to increase academic achievement typically focus on " school reform. " School days are lengthened, standards are tightened , qualifications for teachers are increased. But in this article, it is argued that even though school and teacher efforts are extremely important, conditions outside of schools hold the key to increasing academic achievement substantially. Family socialization practices in American and Asian families are reviewed, and children's early cognitive and social behaviors are linked to later school behavior, including academic achievement. Several recommendations for action are made.
Computing Smooth Feedback Plans Over Cylindrical Algebraic Decompositions

In this paper, we construct smooth feedback plans over cylindrical algebraic decompositions. Given a cylindrical algebraic decomposition on R, a goal state xg , and a connectivity graph of cells reachable from the goal cell, we construct a vector field that is smooth everywhere except on a set of measure zero and the integral curves of which are smooth (i.e., C∞) and arrive at a neighborhood of the goal state in finite time. We call a vector field with these properties a smooth feedback plan. The smoothness of the integral curves guarantees that they can be followed by a system with finite acceleration inputs: ẍ = u. We accomplish this by defining vector fields for each cylindrical cell and face and smoothly interpolating between them. Schwartz and Sharir showed that cylindrical algebraic decompositions can be used to solve the generalized piano movers’ problem, in which multiple (possibly linked) robots described as semi-algebraic sets must travel from their initial to goal configurations without intersecting each other or a set of semi-algebraic obstacles. Since we build a vector field over the decomposition, this implies that we can obtain smooth feedback plans for the generalized piano movers’ problem.
Nocturnal Hyperkinetic Spells in Dentatorubral Pallidoluysian Atrophy (P1.079)

Objective: To identify non-epileptic nocturnal paroxysmal spells in a rare sporadic case of DRPLA in North America. Background: Dentatorubral Pallidoluysian Atrophy (DRPLA) is a heterogeneous syndrome characterized by chorea, epilepsy, ataxia and progressive dementia. DRPLA is more common in Japan with only four families genetically confirmed in North America. Design/Methods: We review a case of DRPLA from Detroit, Michigan. Results: A 36 year-old African-American woman presents with generalized tonic-clonic seizures and mild progressive cognitive decline since age 27. At 29 years, she complained of brief nocturnal episodes of arousal, ballistic-like movements of all extremities sometimes accompanied by loud screaming. Nocturnal episodes failed to respond to levetiracetam, clonazepam, valproic acid, clobazam and escitalopram. Family history was negative for neurodegenerative disorders except for Alzheimer’s Disease in paternal grandfather. Examination revealed a score of 18 on MoCA test, dysarthria, choreoathetoid movements and ataxia in all four extremities with wide based gait. Hyperreflexia was seen diffusely. Admission to the EMU captured typical events without any EEG correlate. Semiology was non-stereotypic due to some variability. Interictal EEG showed rare generalized epileptiform discharges with no clinical correlate. MRI brain revealed generalized cerebral and cerebellar volume loss. Autoimmune, paraneoplastic and genetic workup was negative except for DRPLA showing a 64 and 10 repeat expansion of the ATN1 gene. Her night time episodes later responded to tetrabenzine, amantadine and risperidone and diagnosed as not epileptic. She was continued on levetiracetam, which controlled her bilateral tonic-clonic seizures. Conclusions: DRPLA is a rare neurodegenerative disorder that occurs sporadically in North America. Patients manifest several paroxysmal events including epileptic myoclonus, bilateral tonic-clonic seizures, and choreoathetosis. We present a new type of paroxysmal event in these patients identified as non-epileptic nocturnal dyskinesia due to failure to response to AEDs and responding to dopamine and serotonin modulation. Disclosure: Dr. Nandanwar has nothing to disclose. Dr. George has nothing to disclose. Dr. Basha has nothing to disclose.
Why? Learn: What we may Really be Teaching Students:

Are we teaching our students how to grub for grades or how to learn in deep and lasting ways? The author offers a disturbing glimpse at a superficial approach to learning our institutions may be fo...
Effectiveness of activated persulfate in removal of foodborne pathogens from romaine lettuce

Abstract Activated persulfate could be an alternative sanitizer for fresh produce decontamination. This study is the first in reporting the potential of activated persulfate in reducing Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes from romaine lettuce surface. Ferrous sulfate and sodium hydroxide were used as the activators. Both activation methods achieved up to 3.5 log CFU/g reductions of E. coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes on romaine lettuce in 5min. Higher persulfate level and longer treatment time lead to higher pathogen reductions. The wash water after each treatment was also collected and analyzed. E. coli O157:H7 survived in the wash water for both activation methods except when persulfate concentration reached 70 mmol/L. L. monocytogenes survived under all treatment conditions except for alkaline activation with persulfate concentration at 700 mmol/L. This might be due to the higher resistance of L. monocytogenes against activated persulfate treatment. Furthermore, both activation methods showed decreased efficacy in pathogen removal at refrigerated temperature. However, they achieved equal or higher reduction efficacies than electrolyzed oxidizing water (100 mg/L), bleach (100 mg/L), and peroxyacetic acid (78 mg/L) at both 20 and 4 °C. In addition, under current test conditions no significant color deterioration was found on activated persulfate treated lettuce.
Bifunctional Homoallylic Carbamates from Chiral Silane Addition to in situ Generated N‐Acyl Iminium Ions.

Three-component aminocrotylation reaction of the novel silanes (I) and (XIII) leads to homoallylic carbamates bearing an unsaturated ester or allylic carbonate in good syn-selectivity.
JUVENILE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Twenty-eight cases of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis have been observed over a period of 14 years. The results prove that a high proportion of these patients recover completely and that the older pessimistic prognosis is not justified. The etiologic factors, the clinical characteristics, the differential diagnosis, and treatment of the disease have been discussed. We have attempted to correlate our findings with the reports of several other observers to make possible a more comprehensive review of this important disease of children.
Racism's effect on depressive symptoms: Examining perseverative cognition and Black Lives Matter activism as moderators

Additional research is needed on the link between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms over time as well as the risk and resilience moderators that influence this link. One understudied factor that may exacerbate this link is perseverative cognition-chronic activation of stress-related cognitive representations. However, race-specific activism, like Black Lives Matter (BLM) activism, may attenuate this association. Given this, the current study investigated autoregressive and cross-lagged associations between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms across two time points over 6 months. We also tested if perseverative cognition and two domains of Black Lives Matter activism-support and behavior-moderated the cross-lagged associations between racial discrimination and depressive symptoms. Using data from 232 African Americans, findings revealed a significant cross-lagged effect of Time 1 racial discrimination on Time 2 depressive symptoms (but no cross-lagged effect of T1 depressive symptoms on T2 racial discrimination). This cross-lagged effect was moderated by both perseverative cognition and support for BLM activism such that the association between Time 1 racial discrimination was only associated with Time 2 depressive symptoms at lower levels of perseverative cognition and lower levels of BLM support. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Juvenile Homicide Offenders Look Back 35 Years Later: Reasons They Were Involved in Murder

Murders committed by juveniles have been a serious concern in the United States for more than 50 years. Decisions by the United States Supreme Court during the 21st century have reduced the likelihood that juvenile homicide offenders will be sentenced to life without parole (LWOP). As a result of these decisions, hundreds of prisoners who were sentenced as juveniles for murder to LWOP under mandatory sentencing statutes or its equivalent are now eligible for the reconsideration of their sentences. In light of these changes in sentencing policies and practices, follow-up research on juveniles convicted of murder is essential. This research is part of a 35-year follow-up study of 59 boys who were convicted of murder and sentenced to adult prisons in a southeastern state, and initially interviewed in the early 1980s. Twenty of these men agreed to participate in clinical interviews during which they reflected upon the reasons (i.e., motives, circumstances) for which they got involved in criminal behavior as juveniles. These reasons, which broadly tap tenets of psychological and sociological theories, were analyzed in terms of predominance. Thereafter, the attention focuses on looking at the relationship of these 20 reasons to recidivism among the 18 juvenile homicide offenders (JHOs) who have been released from prison. JHOs who lived in neighborhoods where crime was routine and who engaged in crime because the opportunity presented itself were approximately 20 and 22.50 times more likely to be arrested post release and returned to prison, respectfully. The implications of these findings, the limitations of the study, and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Protocol for Single-Nucleus Transcriptomics of Diploid and Tetraploid Cardiomyocytes in Murine Hearts.

Summary Murine cardiomyocytes undergo proliferation, multinucleation, and polyploidization during the first 3 weeks of postnatal life, resulting in a mixture of diploid and tetraploid cardiomyocytes in the heart. Understanding the molecular differences between diploid and tetraploid cardiomyocytes from these processes has been limited due to lack of unique markers and their heterogenous origins. Here, we apply single-nucleus RNA-sequencing to fluorescence-activated cell sorting-selected diploid and tetraploid cardiomyocytes to characterize their heterogeneity and molecular distinctions. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Cui et al. (2020)
Sensor Location Optimization of Wireless Wearable fNIRS System for Cognitive Workload Monitoring Using a Data-Driven Approach for Improved Wearability

Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a hemodynamic modality in human cognitive workload assessment receiving popularity due to its easier implementation, non-invasiveness, low cost and other benefits from the signal-processing point of view. Wearable wireless fNIRS systems used in research have promisingly shown that fNIRS could be used in cognitive workload assessment in out-of-the-lab scenarios, such as in operators' cognitive workload monitoring. In such a scenario, the wearability of the system is a significant factor affecting user comfort. In this respect, the wearability of the system can be improved if it is possible to minimize an fNIRS system without much compromise of the cognitive workload detection accuracy. In this study, cognitive workload-related hemodynamic changes were acquired using an fNIRS system covering the whole forehead, which is the region of interest in most cognitive workload-monitoring studies. A machine learning approach was applied to explore how the mean accuracy of the cognitive workload classification accuracy varied across various sensing locations on the forehead such as the Left, Mid, Right, Left-Mid, Right-Mid and Whole forehead. The statistical significance analysis result showed that the Mid location could result in significant cognitive workload classification accuracy compared to Whole forehead sensing, with a statistically insignificant difference in the mean accuracy. Thus, the wearable fNIRS system can be improved in terms of wearability by optimizing the sensor location, considering the sensing of the Mid location on the forehead for cognitive workload monitoring.