cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Widespread insecticide resistance in Aedes aegypti L. from New Mexico, U.S.A.

Background Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are vectors of a variety of emerging viral pathogens, including yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, and Zika virus. This species has established endemic populations in all cities across southern New Mexico sampled to date. Presently, control of Aedes-borne viruses relies on deployment of insecticides to suppress mosquito populations, but the evolution of insecticide resistance threatens the success of vector control programs. While insecticide resistance is quite common in Ae. aegypti field populations across much of the U.S., the resistance status of this species in populations from New Mexico has not previously been assessed. Results First, we collected information on pesticide use in cities in southern New Mexico and found that the most commonly used active ingredients were pyrethroids. The use of insecticides with the same mode-of-action over multiple years is likely to promote the evolution of resistance. To determine if there was evidence of resistance in some cities in southern New Mexico, we collected Ae. aegypti from the same cities and established laboratory strains to assess resistance to pyrethroid insecticides and, for a subset of populations, to organophosphate insecticides. F2 or F4 generation mosquitoes were assessed for insecticide resistance using bottle test bioassays. The majority of the populations from New Mexico that we analyzed were resistant to the pyrethroids permethrin and deltamethrin. A notable exception to this trend were mosquitoes from Alamogordo, a city that did not report using pyrethroid insecticides for vector control. We screened individuals from each population for known knock down resistance (kdr) mutations via PCR and found a strong association between the presences of the F1534C kdr mutation in the para gene of Ae. aegypti (homologue to F1534C in Musca domestica L.) and pyrethroid resistance. Conclusion High-level pyrethroid resistance is common in Ae. aegypti from New Mexico and geographic variation in such resistance is likely associated with variation in usage of pyrethroids for vector control. Resistance monitoring and management is recommended in light of the potential for arbovirus outbreaks in this state. Also, alternative approaches to mosquito control that do not involve insecticides should be explored.
Is It Time for Gout Flare Treatment to Move into the 21st Century

Advances in science have offered opportunities to develop targeted therapies for multiple disease states. Physicians and patients are becoming accustomed, and even expect, to use targeted therapies, avoiding any “shotgun approaches.” The discovery of biologics has revolutionized the treatment of rheumatological diseases. The benefits have greatly outweighed the risks with biologic therapy, and have subsequently reduced tender and swollen joints, improved quality of life, decreased morbidity, and slowed disease progression in this population as a whole1. But despite our greater understanding of the physiology of the inflammatory process of gout, our approach to treatment has remained antiquated. The approved US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) therapies for gout flares include indomethacin, naproxen, sulindac, corticosteroids, and colchicine2,3,4,5. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) have been used to treat gout flares since the 1960s, corticosteroids since the 1950s, and documented use of colchicine goes back to 17632,6. The efficacy of all these medications for the treatment of gout flares is well documented, but not all patients respond adequately; and in a population that is likely to have 1 or more comorbid conditions, these FDA-approved medications can carry significant risks and adverse effects7. In this issue of The Journal , Desmarais and Chu evaluate the efficacy and safety of anakinra, a biologic therapy that targets interleukin (IL)-1 receptors, thereby blocking IL-1 activity, a major driver of inflammation in an acute gout flare8. The authors used retrospective data spanning almost 9 years from the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Hospital and the Veteran’s Administration Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS) to identify hospitalized patients who carried a diagnosis of gout or calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) deposition, who flared, and who had received at least one 100-mg dose of anakinra … Address correspondence to Dr. R.T. Keenan, Duke University School of Medicine, 200 Trent Drive, DUMC 3544, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA. E-mail: Robert.keenan{at}duke.edu
In Vitro Culture of Camellia Sinensis

Camellia sinensis (tea) has played an important role in the development of world trade and politics. However, compared to other woody crops such as coffee and citrus, little in vitro technology has been applied to tea. Research reported to date showed slow callus growth from tea expiants and contamination problems which reduce the number of usable aseptic cultures. The objective of this study was to establish an appropriate expiant and in vitro culture protocol for tea.
Carbon fiber reinforced structural lithium-ion battery composite: Multifunctional power integration for CubeSats

Abstract Here we demonstrate a multifunctional battery platform where lithium-ion battery active materials are combined with carbon fiber weave materials to form energy storage composites using traditional layup methods. This design utilizes epoxy resin as a packaging medium for the battery and the carbon fibers as both a conductive current collector and structurally reinforcing layer. These composites exhibit energy density surpassing 35 Wh/kg relative to combined active and inactive composite materials, stable full-cell cycling, and mechanical properties including tensile strength of 213 MPa and Young’s modulus of ~1.8 MPa/(Δl/l). Structural battery panels developed from this approach are demonstrated as an integrated power delivery platform for a 1U CubeSat frame to augment or replace interior external battery packs. Overall, this approach shows a new path for battery integration into systems where the inactive materials for energy storage are the active composite structural materials.
Context-invariant neural dynamics underlying the encoding of Bayesian uncertainty, but not confidence

Abstract Beliefs about action-outcomes contingencies are often updated in opaque environments where feedbacks might be inaccessible and agents might need to rely on other information for evidence accumulation. It remains unclear, however, whether and how the neural dynamics subserving confidence and uncertainty during belief updating might be context-dependent. Here, we applied a Bayesian model to estimate uncertainty and confidence in healthy humans (n=28) using two multi-option fMRI tasks, one with and one without feedbacks. We found that across both tasks, uncertainty was computed in the anterior insular, anterior cingulate, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, whereas confidence was encoded in anterior hippocampus, amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex. However, dynamic causal modelling (DCM) revealed a critical divergence between how effective connectivity in these networks was modulated by the available information. Specifically, there was directional influence from the anterior insula to other regions during uncertainty encoding, independent of outcome availability. Conversely, the network computing confidence was driven either by the anterior hippocampus when outcomes were not available, or by the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala when feedbacks were immediately accessible. These findings indicate that confidence encoding might largely rely on evidence accumulation and therefore dynamically changes as a function of the available sensory information (i.e. symbolic sequences monitored by the hippocampus, and monetary feedbacks computed by amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex). In contrast, uncertainty could be triggered by any information that disputes existing beliefs (i.e. processed in the insula), independent of its content. Significance Statement Our choices are guided by our beliefs about action-outcome contingencies. In environments where only one action leads to a desired outcome, high estimated action-outcome probabilities result in confidence, whereas low probabilities distributed across multiple choices result in uncertainty. These estimations are continuously updated, sometimes based on feedbacks provided by the environment, but sometimes this update takes place in opaque environments where feedbacks are not readily available. Here, we show that uncertainty computations are driven by the anterior insula, independent of feedback availability. Conversely, confidence encoding dynamically adapts to the information available, as we found it was driven either by the anterior hippocampus, when feedback was absent, or by the medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala, otherwise.
Human Factors Capstone Research at the United States Air Force Academy

Prior studies have shown research projects completed as part of undergraduate curricula are not only becoming more commonplace, but they also provide substantial benefit to student learning. Given ...
Sepsis and Septic Shock in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Background: The greatest burden of sepsis- and septic shock-related morbidity and mortality is in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Accurate tracking of incidence and outcomes of patients in LMICs with sepsis has been limited by changing definitions, lack of diagnosis coding and health records, and deficits in personnel. Improving sepsis care in LMICs requires studying outcomes prospectively so that setting appropriate definitions, scoring systems, and treatment guidelines can be created. Our goal is to review the burden of sepsis and septic shock in LMICs, the evolution and applicability of definitions to LMICs, and management. Methods: The literature was searched through PubMed using a Boolean approach and the following terms: sepsis, septic shock, low- and middle-income countries. Articles were read by the authors and relevant information was abstracted and included with citations to create a narrative review. Results: The estimated worldwide incidence of sepsis admissions is 31.5 million cases per year leading to 5.3 million deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged LMICs to establish sepsis prevalence and outcomes. Most authors and societies involved in creating sepsis and septic shock definitions have been from high-income countries (HICs). Applicability of sepsis definitions in LMICs is uncertain. Quick-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA) and universal vital assessment (UVA) are useful screening and triage tools in LMICs because they can be done at the bedside. The key tenets of management of sepsis and septic shock in LMICs include early fluid resuscitation and antibiotic therapy coupled with source control when there is a surgical process. Surgical causes of sepsis should be identified rapidly. Scaling up surgical capacity in LMICs is an important step to improve source control of sepsis. Conclusion: Management guidelines specific to LMICs for sepsis and septic shock need to be refined further and studied prospectively. Improving access to surgery will improve outcomes of surgical cases of sepsis.
Holding Out for a Hero(ine)

Based on the ekphrasis of Goya’s The Witches’ Sabbath (1797–1798), which occupies the central pages of Tiempo de silencio, this chapter explores how Luis Martin-Santos’ creative work can be read as a questioning of the harms of patriarchy not just for women but for men as well, at a time and place where it was not even conceived as a ruling system of life. Based on the theories of Gerda Lerner in The Creation of Patriarchy this chapter explores how the myth of Orestes and its constitutional base of Western Civilization is present in Tiempo de silencio, and how Tiempo de destruccion presents destruction as a need for new creation. It also reflects on the importance of myth in expanding and consolidating a social system.
Mechanism and kinetics of copper complexes binding to the influenza A M2 channel

Abstract Copper(II) is known to bind in the influenza virus His37 cluster in the homotetrameric M2 proton channel and block the proton current needed for uncoating. Copper complexes based on iminodiacetate also block the M2 proton channel and show reduced cytotoxicity and zebrafish-embryo toxicity. In voltage-clamp oocyte studies using the ubiquitous amantadine-insensitive M2 S31N variant, the current block showed fast and slow phases in contrast to the single phase found for amantadine block of WT M2. Here we evaluate the mechanism of block by copper adamantyl iminodiacitate (Cu(AMT-IDA)) and copper cyclooctyl iminodiacitate (Cu(CO-IDA)) complexes and address whether the complexes can covalently bind to one or more of the His37 imidazoles. The current traces were fitted to parametrized master equations. The energetics of binding and the rate constants suggest that the first step is copper-complex binding within the channel and the slow step in the current block is the covalent bond formation between copper complex and histidine. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) indicates that a single imidazole binds strongly to the copper complexes. Structural optimization using density functional theory (DFT) reveals that the complexes fit inside the channel and project the Cu(II) towards the His37 cluster allowing one imidazole to form a covalent bond with the Cu(II). Electrophysiology and DFT studies also show that the complexes block the G34E amantadine-resistant mutant in spite of some crowding in the binding site by the glutamates.
Revisited Live Load for Simple-Span Bridges

Abstract Twenty-five years ago, a bridge live-load model was developed along with the calibration of the AASHTO LRFD Specifications. The statistical parameters of truck loads were based on the Onta...
Increased Serum Expression of Inflammatory Cytokines may Serve as Potential Diagnostic Biomarker for Bilirubin Encephalopathy.

OBJECTIVES: The present study was designed to explore the roles of inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and Tumor growth factor-β (TGF-β) in the diagnosis and treatment of neonate bilirubin encephalopathy (BE). METHODS: A total of 128 BE neonates and 128 normal neonates were included. The serum samples of the BE children and controls were collected, and the levels of IL-1β and TGF-β were examined. Moreover, the correlation between the level of bilirubin and serum expression of IL-1β or TGF-β in BE patients was analyzed. Finally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to determine the diagnostic value of the cytokines. RESULTS: IL-1β and TGF-β levels were higher in the serum of BE patients than those in non-BE patients, and the expression of either IL-1β or TGF-β showed a strong positive correlation with the serum expression of bilirubin in BE patients. Moreover, the results of ROC analysis showed that either IL-1β or TGF-β could distinguish BE patients from healthy controls. CONCLUSION: IL-1β and TGF-β levels were upregulated in BE and might function as potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets for BE patients.
Route Choice-based Socio-Technical Macroscopic Traffic Model.

Human route choice is undeniably one of the key contributing factors towards traffic dynamics. However, most existing macroscopic traffic models are typically concerned with driving behavior and do not incorporate human route choice behavior models in their formulation. In this paper, we propose a socio-technical macroscopic traffic model that characterizes the traffic states using human route choice attributes. Essentially, such model provides a framework for capturing the Cyber-Physical-Social coupling in smart transportation systems. To derive this model, we first use Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT) to model the human passengers' route choice under bounded rationality. These choices are assumed to be influenced by traffic alerts and other incomplete traffic information. Next, we assume that the vehicles are operating under a non-cooperative cruise control scenario. Accordingly, human route choice segregates the traffic into multiple classes where each class corresponds to a specific route between an origin-destination pair. Thereafter, we derive a Mean Field Game (MFG) limit of this non-cooperative game to obtain a macroscopic model which embeds the human route choice attribute. Finally, we analyze the mathematical characteristics of the proposed model and present simulation studies to illustrate the model behavior.
An Immersive Computer-Mediated Caregiver-Child Interaction System for Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects 1 in 54 children in the United States. A core social communication skill negatively impacted by ASD is joint attention (JA), which influences the development of language, cognitive, and social skills from infancy onward. Although several technology-based JA studies have shown potential, they primarily focus on response to joint attention (RJA). The other important component of JA, the initiation of joint attention (IJA), has received less attention from a technology-based intervention perspective. In this work, we present an immersive Computer-mediated Caregiver-Child Interaction (C3I) system to help children with ASD practice IJA skills. C3I is a novel computerized intervention system that integrates a caregiver in the teaching loop, thereby preserving the advantages of both human and computer-administered intervention. A feasibility study with 6 dyads (caregiver-child with ASD) was conducted. A near significant increase with medium effect size on IJA performance was observed. Meanwhile, physiology-based stress analysis showed that C3I did not increase stress of the caregivers over the course of the study. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first autonomous system designed for teaching IJA skills to children with ASD incorporating caregivers within the loop to enhance the potential for generalization in real-world.
Integrating Health at Every Size principles into adolescent care

Purpose of review Weight trends continue to increase in adolescents, but current weight-focused interventions have not demonstrated any lasting impact on overall health. Among adolescents, experiencing weight bias increases risks of harmful weight-related behaviors and decreases engagement in health-promoting behaviors, thus leading to worsened health outcomes. The Health at Every Size (HAES) approach may be an avenue to promote health holistically among adolescents without eliciting harmful weight-related behavior and improving provider-patient rapport. The purpose of this review is to summarize the literature on integrating HAES principles into healthcare and to generate recommendations for healthcare providers. Recent findings Research among adults shows that HAES-informed care can improve some physical health measures and generates improvements in behavioral and psychological outcomes, as well as promotion of social justice and equity. HAES-informed recommendations for adolescent care de-emphasize weight loss and focus on removing barriers to engaging in health-promoting behaviors at the point of assessment, in the diagnosis and management of medical complications, and in treatment. Summary HAES principles can be an invaluable tool for providers who aim to improve overall health whilst avoiding a focus on weight among their clients.
Patronage or policy? The politics of property rights formalization in Kenya

Abstract Scholarship on African and other developing societies often argues that governments allocate private goods as political patronage, but recent work has called this assumption into question. In this study, I argue that clientelism is a political strategy that emerges only under certain conditions. In a least likely case of land allocation in Kenya, where the literature assumes clientelism to predominate, I ask under what conditions do states distribute resources to fulfil programmatic policy needs versus clientelistic goals? To answer this question, I use a historical process tracing approach that triangulates descriptive data from an original dataset on land allocation programs in Kenya from 1953 until 2017 with archival research and semi-structured interviews. I find that the choice between policy and patronage depends on two domestic conditions: a) the interaction between national political competition and regime type and b) the state’s ability to control resources vis-a-vis local competitors. In an authoritarian regime, competition is conducive to clientelism, but in a democratic regime, competition may well produce programmatic policy, while local actors’ challenges to centralized resource allocation reduce a government’s ability to use clientelism and favor programmatic allocation as ruling elites struggle to control resource allocation for their own political ends. I conclude that the allocation of rights to land in Kenya demonstrates that politics in developing countries occurs in a hybrid neopatrimonial system rather than a purely patronage-based one, in which changes in politics can alter how a government distributes resources. This has ramifications for how scholars and practitioners must rethink questions of property rights, corruption, political linkages and development in many countries where we assume that private goods are allocated on a clientelistic logic.
Online Card Games

Consider the following one player game. A deck containing $m$ copies of $n$ different card types is shuffled uniformly at random. Each round the player tries to guess the next card in the deck, and then the card is revealed and discarded. It was shown by Diaconis, Graham, He, and Spiro that if $m$ is fixed, then the maximum expected number of correct guesses that the player can achieve is asymptotic to $H_m \log n$, where $H_m$ is the $m$th harmonic number. In this paper we consider an adversarial version of this game where a second player shuffles the deck according to some (possibly non-uniform) distribution. We prove that a certain greedy strategy for the shuffler is the unique optimal strategy in this game, and that the guesser can achieve at most $\log n$ expected correct guesses asymptotically for fixed $m$ against this greedy strategy.
ERK1/2-mediated activation of DRP1 regulates mitochondrial dynamics and apoptosis in chondrocytes.

Summary Objective To determine the Dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) regulation of mitochondrial fission in chondrocytes under pathological conditions, an area which is underexplored in osteoarthritis pathogenesis. Design DRP1 protein expression was determined by IHC or IF staining of cartilage sections. IL-1β-induced DRP1 mRNA expression in chondrocytes was quantified by qPCR and protein expression by immunoblotting. Mitochondrial fragmentation in chondrocytes was visualized by MitoTracker staining or IF staining of mitochondrial marker proteins or by transient expression of mitoDsRed. Mitochondrial ROS levels were determined by MitoSOX staining. Apoptosis was determined by LDH release assay, Caspase 3/7 activity assay, propidium iodide, and TUNEL staining and IF staining of cleaved caspase 3. Cytochrome c release was determined by confocal microscopy. Surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) was used to induce OA in mice. Results Expression of DRP1 and mitochondrial damage was high in human OA cartilage and in the joints of mice subjected to DMM surgery which also showed increased chondrocytes apoptosis. IL-1β-induced mitochondrial network fragmentation and chondrocyte apoptosis via modulation of DRP1 expression and activity and induce apoptosis via Bax-mediated release of Cytochrome c. Pharmacological inhibition of DRP1 activity by Mdivi-1 blocked IL-1β-induced mitochondrial damage and apoptosis in chondrocytes. Additionally, IL-1β-induced activation of ERK1/2 is crucial for DRP1 activation and induction of mitochondrial network fragmentation in chondrocytes as these were blocked by inhibiting ERK1/2 activation. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that ERK1/2 is a critical player in DRP1-mediated induction of mitochondrial fission and apoptosis in IL-1β-stimulated chondrocytes.
Reprogramming of H3K9bhb at regulatory elements is a key feature of fasting in the small intestine.

Summary β-hydroxybutyrate (β-OHB) is an essential metabolic energy source during fasting and functions as a chromatin regulator by lysine β-hydroxybutyrylation (Kbhb) modification of the core histones H3 and H4. We report that Kbhb on histone H3 (H3K9bhb) is enriched at proximal promoters of critical gene subsets associated with lipolytic and ketogenic metabolic pathways in small intestine (SI) crypts during fasting. Similar Kbhb enrichment is observed in Lgr5+ stem cell-enriched epithelial spheroids treated with β-OHB in vitro. Combinatorial chromatin state analysis reveals that H3K9bhb is associated with active chromatin states and that fasting enriches for an H3K9bhb-H3K27ac signature at active metabolic gene promoters and distal enhancer elements. Intestinal knockout of Hmgcs2 results in marked loss of H3K9bhb-associated loci, suggesting that local production of β-OHB is responsible for chromatin reprogramming within the SI crypt. We conclude that modulation of H3K9bhb in SI crypts is a key gene regulatory event in response to fasting.
Biochemical Bases for the Antimetabolite Action of l-Serine Hydroxamate

The amino acid analogue l-serine hydroxamate, which is bacteriostatic for Escherichia coli, has been shown to inhibit protein synthesis. The antimetabolite is a competitive inhibitor of seryl-transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) synthetase with a K(i) value of 30 mum. Mutants resistant to l-serine hydroxamate have been selected, and three were shown to have seryl-tRNA synthetases with increased K(i) values. One mutant contains a 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase which is insensitive to inhibition by l-serine.
Partial kindling and behavioral pathologies.

Publisher Summary This chapter summarizes several lines of research that contribute to an understanding of the effects on brain and affective behavior of kindling and partial kindling in rats and cats. Kindling and partial kindling enhance defensive sensitivity to species recognizable threats in both rodents and felines. These changes in defensiveness persist between seizures (interictally). From a clinical perspective, studying enhanced defensiveness may model aspects of human anxiety disorder. The state of anxiety may reflect hyper excitation of fear pathways. Therefore, studying the impact of seizures on neural systems involved in fearful (defensive) behavior is of relevance to the human disorder. These studies also point to N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) of efferent transmission from the amygdala as a possible physiological mechanism underlying change in affect. The evidence suggests that different and dynamic neural processes contribute to an initiation, and to maintenance, of changes in affect produced by seizures. Predating evidence of LTP phenomena, but perhaps anticipating it, Morrell's discovery and explorations of the mirror focus set the conceptual groundwork for many of the findings reviewed in this chapter.
Comparing curves using additive models

Advances in technology make available thousands of measurements in industrial processes that enable reconstruction of the entire profile of the operation over time and space. The complicated forms of many of these signatures do not fit parametric models..
The metabolism of histone fractions. II. Conservation and turnover of histone fractions in mammalian cells.

Abstract During exponential growth of Chinese hamster cells in suspension culture, histone f1 was observed to turn over with a half-life of 74 hr, while histones f2a1, f2a2, f2b, and f3 did not turn over but were conserved for three cell generations. However, when synchronized cultures were blocked at the G 1 S boundary by inhibiting DNA synthesis with thymidine, histones f2a1, f2a2, f2b, and f3 were observed to turn over with halflives of 60, 58, 55, and 68 hr, respectively. This turnover indicated that prelabeled histones were being replaced by newly synthesized, nonlabeled histones under these conditions. Therefore, histone synthesis was not completely inhibited when net DNA synthesis was inhibited by thymidine. The turnover of histone f1 during thymidine block was more complex than the turnover of the other four histones. Early in thymidine block, when stable RNA synthesis was still occurring, f1 turned over with a half-life of 31 hr, but later in thymidine block, when stable RNA synthesis had stopped, the half-life was reduced to 47 hr (a rate somewhat similar to the turnover of the other histones during thymidine block). It appears that the turnover of f1 during exponential growth continued after thymidine block was applied and was added to the f1 turnover observed in late thymidine block, resulting in the rapid f1 turnover observed early in block. This rapid f1 turnover continued during block only as long as stable RNA synthesis continued, suggesting that the f1 turnover during exponential growth and part of the f1 turnover during early block may be functionally involved in some aspect of stable RNA synthesis requiring removal of f1 from the chromatin.
Modeling Production for General Equilibrium Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to present econometric models of producer behavior suitable for incorporation into a general equilibrium model. Implementation of these models requires a time series of inter-industry transactions tables. Second, implementation requires methods for estimation of parameters in systems of nonlinear simultaneous equations. Finally, the economic theory of producer behavior implies equality and inequality restrictions on the parameters that must be incorporated into the estimation. We discuss an empirical application to modeling producer behavior in thirty-six industrial sectors of the U.S. economy.
A selection principle in deformation quantization

Deformation quantization produces families of mathematically equivalentquantization procedures from which one must select the physically mean-ingful ones. As a selection principle we propose that the procedure mustallow enough ‘observable’ energy distributions, i.e., ones for which nopure quantum state will appear with negative probability and must fur-ther have the property that for these the uncertainty in the probabilitydistribution of the quantum states must not exceed that of the originaldistribution. For the simple harmonic oscillator we show that this allowsonly the classic Groenewold-Moyal (skew-symmetric) form.
Elder Care Catastrophe: Rituals of Abuse in Nursing Homes & What You Can Do About It, by Jason S. Ulsperger & J. David Knottnerus

Elder abuse and neglect is an issue that is too often ignored in the United States. As baby boomers enter their golden years, it has been calculated that nearly 25% of the population that is over t...
Robust Optimal Stopping under Volatility Uncertainty

We analyze a robust optimal stopping problem in a financial market with volatility uncertainty. This is a zero-sum controller-stopper game in which the stopper is trying to maximize its pay-off against an adverse player which tries to minimize this payoff by choosing the probability measure from a set Pt of measures who are not necessarily equivalent. In particular, we analyze the upper Snell envelope Z of the reward process Y and by comparing it with the Snell envelope of Y under each individual probability P, we show that Z is an Et 4 = inf P∈Pt EP[·]−supermartingale,
Characterization of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and organisms of the Mycobacterium avium complex by restriction polymorphism of the rRNA gene region.

Abstract Nineteen Mycobacterium paratuberculosis strains, including strains of bovine, caprine, ovine, cervid, subhuman primate, and human origins, were compared with organisms of the M. avium complex by restriction fragment length polymorphism with a 5S rRNA gene probe as the reference DNA. Mycobacterial DNA was extracted, digested with several restriction enzymes, subjected to electrophoresis and Southern blotting, and then hybridized with a 5S rRNA gene probe from Escherichia coli. Hybridizing bands were visualized by autoradiography, and the sizes of the resulting rRNA fragments in kilobases were determined. Base substitutions were calculated on the basis of the number of shared fragments between species and strains. It was determined that M. paratuberculosis and the M. avium complex possess a single copy of the rRNA genes within their genomes and that the M. avium complex and M. paratuberculosis are a group of closely related organisms, likely with a common ancestral link. In proximity to the 5S rRNA gene exists a region or regions which display polymorphisms that are capable of species and subspecies differentiation. M. paratuberculosis strains isolated from humans, subhuman primates, and animals were found to be genetically identical to each other. M. paratuberculosis strains lacked the genetic heterogeneity (restriction fragment length polymorphisms) characteristic of most species, suggesting that this organism has unidirectional genetic selection. It is therefore assumed to be biologically isolated, occupying a unique and specific biological niche. This homogeneity was present in all strains, including those of animal and primate (subhuman and human) origin and strains isolated from different parts of the world.
A Simple and Convenient Method of Multiple Linear Regression to Calculate Iodine Molecular Constants.

A new procedure using a student-friendly least-squares multiple linear-regression technique utilizing a function within Microsoft Excel is described that enables students to calculate molecular constants from the vibronic spectrum of iodine. This method is advantageous pedagogically as it calculates molecular constants for ground and excited I2 states simultaneously, directly from equations of energy for vibronic transitions. In addition, this method calculates the standard errors of the molecular constants and allows students to comment on the accuracy of the data.
The Chemistry of Size and Order on a Nanometer Scale

Materials with desirable properties may be created through control of crystal size and shape and assembly of such crystals into more complex arrangements. In his Perspective, Heath discusses recent work reported in this issue by Murray et al . ([p. 1335][1]) in which nanocrystals of cadmium selenide were formed into ordered assemblies of quantum dots. Such results represent a first step toward self-assembly of device structures. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.270.5240.1335
Development of a triboluminescence-based sensor system for concrete structures

The triboluminescence phenomenon has been proposed as a sensor system for detecting and monitoring damage in aerospace and civil infrastructure systems (CIS). While significant work is being done i...
Energy criterion for potential well escapes in a bistable magnetic pendulum

This paper examines the dynamic behavior of a bistable experiment comprised a pendulum and two magnets. Investigations focus on determining when the oscillations about one equilibrium will overcome an adjacent potential barrier and escape to a neighboring attractor. Studies identify the parameters of the experimental system before investigating the generalization of an escape criterion. A specific outcome is the generalization of an energy-based criterion that can be used to predict escapes for forced and/or parametrically excited systems.
Deletion of stably integrated DNA is suppressed by cadmium and zinc

Abstract The bacterial xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (GPT) gene was fused to a metal-responsive promoter and transfected into a murine cell line. Clonal transformants harboring metal-responsive or nonresponsive GPT genes (using a thymidine kinase promoter) were then studied for the loss of transfected gene function either during periods of constitutive expression or during periods of induced activity. Nontoxic levels of cadmium and zinc markedly reduced the frequency of mutagenesis in all transfected lines irrespective of transcriptional status. A survey of 17 GPT-clones derived from two original transfectants showed partial or complete excisions of the transfected gene in every case. These studies show that quantities of cadmium and zinc that induce metallothioneins also suppress the incidence of deletions in murine cells.
A Large Deviations Analysis of Scheduling in Wireless Networks

In this correspondence, we consider a cellular network consisting of a base station and N receivers. The channel states of the receivers are assumed to be identical and independent of each other. The goal is to compare the throughput of two different scheduling policies (a queue-length-based (QLB) policy and a greedy policy) given an upper bound on the queue overflow probability or the delay violation probability. We consider a multistate channel model, where each channel is assumed to be in one of L states. Given an upper bound on the queue overflow probability or an upper bound on the delay violation probability, we show that the total network throughput of the (QLB) policy is no less than the throughput of the greedy policy for all N. We also obtain a lower bound on the throughput of the (QLB) policy. For sufficiently large N, the lower bound is shown to be tight, strictly increasing with N, and strictly larger than the throughput of the greedy policy. Further, for a simple multistate channel model-ON-OFF channel, we prove that the lower bound is tight for all N
Unusual Intramural Gastric Metastasis of Recurrent Epithelial Ovarian Carcinoma

Epithelial ovarian carcinoma regularly metastasizes to peritoneal surfaces throughout the abdomen and pelvis. Gastrointestinal involvement is usually limited to seromuscular involvement of the small and large bowel and its mesentery. Gastrointestinal invasion is most often superficial, mesentery is shortened, and intestinal lumens are narrowed. Transmural invasion is less common, as is gastrointestinal hemorrhage. We present a case of life-threatening intralumenal gastric hemorrhage from an intramural gastric metastasis of epithelial ovarian carcinoma effectively palliated with a gastric resection. Intralumenal gastric metastasis represents an unusual trophism of recurrent epithelial ovarian carcinoma. Surgical intervention for life-threatening hemorrhage, while not curative, may provide effective palliation in the otherwise fully functional patient and thereby reducing the need for medical attention and the anxiety assigned to recurrent gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Palliative maneuvers for gastric metastasis may require a multidisciplinary approach.
Type I collagen synergistically enhances PDGF-induced smooth muscle cell proliferation through pp60src-dependent crosstalk between the α2β1 integrin and PDGFβ receptor

Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are exposed to both platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and type I collagen (CNI) at the time of arterial injury. In these studies we explore the individual and combined effects of these agonists on human saphenous vein SMC proliferation. PDGF-BB produced a 5.5-fold increase in SMC DNA synthesis whereas CNI stimulated DNA synthesis to a much lesser extent (1.6-fold increase). Alternatively, we observed an 8.3-fold increase in DNA synthesis when SMCs were co-incubated with CNI and PDGF-BB. Furthermore, stimulation of SMCs with PDGF-BB produced a significant increase in ERK-2 activity whereas CNI alone had no effect. Co-incubation of SMCs with PDGF-BB and CNI resulted in ERK-2 activity that was markedly greater than that produced by PDGF-BB alone. In a similar fashion, PDGF-BB induced phosphorylation of the PDGF receptor beta (PDGFRbeta) and CNI did not, whereas concurrent agonist stimulation produced a synergistic increase in receptor activity. Blocking antibodies to the alpha2 and beta1 subunits eliminated this synergistic interaction, implicating the alpha2beta1 integrin as the mediator of this effect. Immunoprecipitation of the alpha2beta1 integrin in unstimulated SMCs followed by immunoblotting for the PDGFRbeta as well as Src family members, pp60(src), Fyn, Lyn, and Yes demonstrated coassociation of alpha2beta1 and the PDGFRbeta as well as pp60(src). Incubation of cells with CNI and/or PDGF-BB did not change the degree of association. Finally, inhibition of Src activity with SU6656 eliminated the synergistic effect of CNI on PDGF-induced PDGFRbeta phosphorylation suggesting an important role for pp60(src) in the observed receptor crosstalk. Together, these data demonstrate that CNI synergistically enhances PDGF-induced SMC proliferation through Src-dependent crosstalk between the alpha2beta1 integrin and the PDGFRbeta.
Effect of Optical Phonon Scattering on the Performance of GaN Transistors

A model based on optical phonon scattering is developed to explain peculiarities in the current drive, transconductance, and high-speed behavior of short-gate-length GaN transistors. The model is able to resolve these peculiarities and provides a simple way to explain transistor behavior in any semiconductor material system in which electron-optical-phonon scattering is strong.
Military Strategy and the Outbreak of International Conflict Quantitative Empirical Tests, 1903-1992

Military strategy is an area of growing interest in the study of international conflict. It is linked to the outbreak, duration, and outcome of wars. This article presents the first quantitative empirical tests of the proposition that military strategy affects the outbreak of international conflict. The focus is on maneuver-oriented military strategies, such as the German blitzkrieg in World War II, which are hypothesized to be particularly conflict prone. Tests were conducted on the initiation and escalation of militarized interstate disputes for a sample of states from 1903 to 1992. The results indicate that states with maneuver strategies were significantly more likely to initiate disputes in general, although not disputes that escalate to the use of force. However, dispute participants with maneuver strategies were significantly more likely to escalate a dispute to war if the adversary employed a military strategy that emphasized attrition.
A tunable, SiGe X-band image reject mixer

A SiGe 8–12 GHz image reject mixer with tunable performance is presented. Control voltages and currents allow the mixer performance to be “healed”, nullifying effects of process variation or environmental changes. Conversion gain greater than 10 dB and output P1dB greater than 0 dBm were obtained in measurement. An image rejection ratio (IRR) of greater than 40 dB was obtained after tuning, a 25 dB improvement over pre-tuned results. The mixer was fabricated in a 150 GHz peak f T SiGe BiCMOS process and consumes 200 mA of current operating on a 4 V rail.
Some factors which influence fatty acid accumulation in leaves

Abstract The effect of age, flowering and nitrogen deficiency on the fatty acid composition of lettuce leaves has been investigated. Nitrogen deficiency increases the ratio of saturated to unsaturated acids as well as decreasing the total amount present. Aging shows a more marked effect in the flowering shoots where the older leaves contain a higher proportion of saturated acids but lower overall totals. Squash leaf discs showed a higher incorporation of acetate-2- 14 C into linolenate in the presence of UDPG than in its absence, in both normal and nitrogen-deficient plants. UDPG- 14 C was incorporated into two unidentified lipid components in lettuce leaves. 8-Azaguanine and actinomycin- d , as expected, both inhibited acetate- 14 C incorporation into lipids in lettuce leaf.
Optimization of non-isotopic in situ hybridization: detection of the Y chromosome in paraformaldehyde-fixed, wax-embedded cat retina.

A technique was developed to detect the Y chromosome in paraformaldehyde-fixed diethylglycoldiesterate-embedded cat retina. The Y chromosome specific DNA probe was labeled with digoxigenin through polymerase chain reaction incorporation. After treatment of paraformaldehyde-fixed, diethylglycoldiesterate-embedded tissue sections with deoxyribonucleic acid decondensation and proteolytic digestion, non-fluorescent, non-isotopic in situ hybridization was performed on the retina sections. Most extensive treatment was required for the outer nuclear layer while the inner nuclear layer required more extensive treatment than the retinal pigment epithelial cells. Under optimal pretreatment conditions, the male cat retina displayed black spots which specifically localized at the periphery of the nuclei, while the female cat retina showed negative staining for the Y chromosome specific probe. The technique allows observation of the Y chromosome signal with preservation of retinal morphology and thus may be a valuable tool to discriminate donor cells in retinal pigment epithelial cell and photoreceptor cell transplants.
Medical abortion outcomes after a second dose of misoprostol for persistent gestational sac.

Abstract Background We sought to examine outcomes after a second dose of misoprostol was given at a 1-week follow-up visit after medical abortion for the presence of a persistent gestational sac (GS) on ultrasound examination. Study Design We examined outcomes in women who were enrolled in two randomized trials of medical abortion regimens. Pregnant women up to 63 days' gestation received mifepristone followed by misoprostol 800 mcg vaginally either 24 h later, 6–8 h later or within 15 min. Participants in both studies returned for an evaluation, including transvaginal ultrasonography, approximately 7 days after initiating treatment. We included women with a GS present at the follow-up visit. Subjects who had not expelled the GS received a second dose of misoprostol 800 mcg vaginally. Participants returned approximately 1 week later and were contacted by telephone 5 weeks after treatment. Results Of 1972 women who had a follow-up ultrasound examination within 11 days of treatment, a persistent GS was identified in 82 women (4.2%) of whom 68 opted to receive a second dose of misoprostol. All 68 women returned for follow-up evaluation and 42 (62%) expelled the GS. In the 26 women with an embryonic pole within the persistent sac, expulsion occurred in 5 (36%) of 14 with and 7 (54%) of 13 without gestational cardiac activity (GCA) (p=.45). Of the 14 pregnancies with GCA, only 5 (36%) had GCA at follow-up. Conclusions More than half of women with a persistent GS after medical abortion will expel the pregnancy when treated with a second dose of misoprostol. One-third of women who have a GS with cardiac activity will expel the GS with a second dose of misoprostol, making a second dose a reasonable option.
Similarity and Intrusions in Short-term Memory for Consonant-vowel Digrams

Abstract Subjects listened to lists of six consonant-vowel digrams presented at the rate of 0·8 sec./digram and copied them as they were being presented. Immediately after finishing copying the list, they attempted ordered recall of the six digrams. The digrams in each list were chosen from a population of eight digrams consisting of all digrams that can be constructed from the consonants “f” and “n,” the vowels “ā” and “ō,” and the two orders “CV” and “VC.” Intrusions tended to be similar to the presented digram, and the frequency of an intrusion was a monotonic increasing function of degree of similarity to the presented digram. The ordering of intrusion frequency for each similarity type was from greatest to least: +-+ (same consonant, different vowel, same order), + + -, - + +, - + -, + - -, - - +, - - -. The findings indicate that forgetting is not all-or-none, that digrams are coded in terms of phonemes, and that initial vs. terminal position is a distinctive feature of consonants, but not vowels, i...