cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modernizing Tradition or Restoring Antiquity as Confucian Alternatives: A View from Reading Wedding Rituals in Contemporary China

This article explores the range of stances within the revival of Confucian ritual in China today. Symbols are a touchstone for disagreement among non-state intellectuals who have constructed new Confucian wedding ceremonies. Intellectuals contest each other’s selection of historical sources, especially as indicators of the importance of the family and/or interpretations of Confucianism. Zhang Xianglong and Zhu Jieren or chestrated these rituals as a way to impart their visions of Chinese family values onto their children, whereas Lei Bo and his bride constructed their own wedding based on their Ph.D. studies and activism as new Confucians. Peking University Professor Zhang’s ritual draws upon naturalistic Daoist geomancy and openly invites the sanction of Confucian dignitaries to endorse his formulation of ancient Chinese culture. Lei Bo looks especially to 11th-century philosopher Zhang Zai in his formulation of “Heideggerian Confucianism,” which recognizes the importance of cosmology to achieve true personhood. East China Normal University Press editor Zhu Jieren subordinates aesthetics to ancient text, and only reconstructs an ancient cupping ritual because it is based on ancient texts; his elimination of non-textual elements has the overall effect of recognizing contemporary gender equality in Shanghai in ways that tend to offend other new Confucians. These contemporary intellectuals disagree regarding not only the semiotics of imminent naturalistic elements to reconstruct the historical contexts of wedding ceremonies, but also the degree to which contemporary Confucianism should be a cosmological or social construction.
Metabolic flux and fitness.

Studies of Escherichia coli under competition for lactose in chemostat cultures have been used to determine the selective effects of variation in the level of the β-galactoside permease and the β-galactosidase enzyme. The results determine the adaptive topography of these gene products relative to growth in limiting lactose and enable predictions concerning the selective effects of genetic variants found in natural populations. In the terms of metabolic control theory, the β-galactosidase enzyme at wild-type-induced levels has a small control coefficient with respect to fitness (C = 0.018), and hence genetic variants resulting in minor changes in enzyme activity have disproportionately small effects on fitness. However, the apparent control coefficient of the β-galactoside permease at wild-type-induced levels is large (C = 0.551), and hence even minor changes in activity affect fitness. Therefore, we predict that genetic polymorphisms in the lacZ gene are subject to less effective selection in natural populations than are those in the lacY gene. The β-galactoside permease is also less efficient than might be expected, and possible forces resulting in selection for an intermediate optimum level of permease activity are considered. The selective forces that maintain the lactose operon in a regulated state in natural populations are also discussed.
Writing Home An Auto-Ethnography of Space, Culture, and Belonging in Burkina Faso, West Africa

Africa as an ancestral home is a prominent theme among African Americans. Many have sojourned to Africa in the hopes of establishing a cultural or spiritual connection with the continent. This essay investigates the ways in which African Americans encounter African culture and space. Specifically, this is an auto-ethnographic essay that details the author’s diasporic identity transformation as a result of visiting the West African nation of Burkina Faso. Enabled by educational courses and through a living arrangement with a host family, the author establishes how Burkina Faso became a surrogate home.
Core Concepts: Understanding Term and Preterm Labor: Mechanisms, Course, and Attempts at Suppression

Normal labor is a complex process that ultimately results in the birth of an infant. The clinical course of labor usually follows a predictable pattern of three stages. Phasic regular uterine contractions lead to effacement and dilation of the uterine cervix in the first stage, the second stage consists of movement of the infant through the maternal pelvis and ultimately out of the mother, and the third stage is delivery of the placenta and membranes. The physiologic process occurs in four phases, beginning with uterine quiescence during pregnancy. This phase is largely characterized by a number of maternal factors that actively suppress uterine contractions. In the second phase, the uterus is activated by a number of uterotropins, and ultimately by the activation of the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the products of which result in uterine stimulation during the third phase of labor. In all of these phases, the changes in physiology and uterine activity result from a complex set of interactions including maternal, placental, and fetal factors. Drawing upon the elucidation of the process of normal labor, factors and clinical events that may result in preterm labor can be understood. By examining the mechanisms resulting in labor, therapies aimed at preventing or treating preterm labor have been developed, with some considerable success.
Relative susceptibility of Aëdes aegypti, Aëdes albopictus, Aëdes canadensis and Anopheles quadrimaculatus to Plasmodium gallinaceum.

Although there is a large amount of information on the susceptibility of mosquitoes to infection with various malaria parasites, much of it is only semi-quantitative. Some workers, however, have fed mosquitoes of two species on the same infected animal at the same time and compared the infections resulting in the mosquitoes. For example, Trembley1 found that Aedes aegypti was less susceptible to Plasmodium gallinaceum than Aedes atropalpus. This procedure eliminates an important variable, the degree of infectiousness of the blood, which was found to change rapidly by Lumsden and Bertram2 and Cantrell
CNS Complications of Mycoplasma Pneumoniae

Three cases of acute central nervous system disease occurring subsequent to infection with M pneumoniae are reported from University College, Institute of Child Health, and Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, UK.
Germination and Growth Inhibition of Surface Lipids from Nicotiana Species and Identification of Sucrose Esters

Germination and growth inhibiting activities of surface lipids from 54 Nicotiana species were investigated. Almost half of the extracts were found to have such activities. Among them the surface lipids of N. glutinosa, N. bigelovii, N. sylvestris, N. repanda, N. stocktonii, and N. nesophila were rather strong. Guided by a bioassay using the inhibitory effects on tobacco seed germination and growth, two types of sucrose esters were isolated and identified from the surface lipids of N. glutinosa. The ester positions of each compounds were identified by 13C-NMR using deuterium exchange of HO ←→ OD. The structures were (2, 3, 4-tri-O-acyl)-α-D-glucopyranosyl)-(3-O-acetyl)-β-D-fructofuranqside (M1) and (2, 3, 4-tri-O-acyl)-α-D-glucopyranosyl-β-D-fructofuranoside (M2). The main fatty acids of M1 and M2 were acetic (only in M1), propionic, 2-methylbutyric, 4-methylpentanoic, 4-methylhexanoic, 5-methylhexanoic, and octanoic acids. These sucrose esters obtained from N. glutinosa inhibited not only tobacco seed germination and growth but also other plants' growth.
Modulation of Dopamine D2 Receptor Signaling by Actin-Binding Protein (ABP-280)

Proteins that bind to G protein-coupled receptors have recently been identified as regulators of receptor anchoring and signaling. In this study, actin-binding protein 280 (ABP-280), a widely expressed cytoskeleton-associated protein that plays an important role in regulating cell morphology and motility, was found to associate with the third cytoplasmic loop of dopamine D(2) receptors. The specificity of this interaction was originally identified in a yeast two-hybrid screen and confirmed by protein binding. The functional significance of the D(2) receptor-ABP-280 association was evaluated in human melanoma cells lacking ABP-280. D(2) receptor agonists were less potent in inhibiting forskolin-stimulated cAMP production in these cells. Maximal inhibitory responses of D(2) receptor activation were also reduced. Further yeast two-hybrid experiments showed that ABP-280 association is critically dependent on the carboxyl domain of the D(2) receptor third cytoplasmic loop, where there is a potential serine phosphorylation site (S358). Serine 358 was replaced with aspartic acid to mimic the effects of receptor phosphorylation. This mutant (D(2)S358D) displayed compromised binding to ABP-280 and coupling to adenylate cyclase. PKC activation also generated D(2) receptor signaling attenuation, but only in ABP-containing cells, suggesting a PKC regulatory role in D(2)-ABP association. A mechanism for these results may be derived from a role of ABP-280 in the clustering of D(2) receptors, as determined by immunocytochemical analysis in ABP-deficient and replete cells. Our results suggest a new molecular mechanism of modulating D(2) receptor signaling by cytoskeletal protein interaction.
School Climate of Educational Institutions: Design and Validation of a Diagnostic Scale

School climate is recognized as a relevant factor for the improvement of educative processes, favoring the administrative processes and optimum school performance. The present article is the result of a quantitative research model which had the objective of psychometrically designing and validating a scale to diagnose the organizational climate of educational institutions. This study had the participation of 549 teachers and directors from 42 primary and secondary educational establishments of Chile. Diverse procedures were applied for the validation of content and psychometric validation in the various stages of the investigation, obtaining an instrument composed by seven factors and made up of conceptually and statistically consistent items. The complete scale and its sub-scales show adequate reliability, and likewise an appropriate validity, constituting it an instrument of wide use for supporting the process of education administration, and to promote coexistence climates of appreciation and respect among the educational participants. The complete scale and its subscales permits the understanding that the organizational climate of the educational center is not reduced to the teacher-student relationship, but rather contemplates the dynamic relationships between diverse players, establishing the importance of the joint action between teachers, directives, students, and parents, as well as revealing the importance of some structural organization variables which influence the daily perception of school climate.
Urinary Tract Bacterial Infections: Office Diagnosis and Management

The incidence, clinical features, diagnostic methods, bacteriology, and management of urinary tract infection in neonates and children are presented.
Renal response to captopril in conscious dogs pretreated with indomethacin

This study was designed to determine whether the prostaglandins mediate the renal effects of captopril in the conscious sodium-replete dog. In a group of control animals (n = 9), effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) increased from 185 +/- 15 to 230 +/- 12 ml/min and plasma renin activity (PRA) increased from 0.64 +/- 0.15 to 12.9 +/- 1.1 ng ANG I . ml-1 . h-1 after captopril (10 mg/kg bolus plus 10 micrograms . kg-1 . min-1 i.v.) administration. Glomerular filtration rate (GRF) and sodium excretion (UnaV) were also increased significantly following captopril treatment, whereas urine volume (V), potassium excretion (UkV), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR) remained unchanged throughout the experiment. When the same dose of captopril was given to indomethacin-pretreated dogs (5 mg/kg bolus plus 2 micrograms . kg-1 . min-1 i.v.), ERPF increased from 170 +/- 8 to 265 +/- 18 ml/min and PRA increased from 1.2 +/- 0.4 to 14.6 +/- 3.0 ng ANG I . ml-1 . h-1 after the captopril, while UnaV, UkV, and V remained unchanged. These data demonstrate that the prostaglandins do not mediate the ability of captopril to increase PRA or effective renal plasma flow in this experimental model.
Effect of Surgeon Volume on Complications, Length of Stay, and Costs Following Anterior Cervical Fusion.

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective cohort. OBJECTIVE To identify the association between surgeon volume and inpatient complications, length of stay, and costs associated with ACF. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Increased surgeon volume may be associated with improved outcomes after surgical procedures. However, there is a lack of information on the effect of surgeon volume on short-term outcomes after anterior cervical fusion (ACF). METHODS A retrospective cohort study of ACF patients was performed using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2003 to 2009. Surgeon volume was divided into three categories, volume <25th percentile, 25th to 74th percentile, and ≥75th percentile of surgeon volume. Multivariate regression was used to compare the rates of adverse events, hospital length of stay, and total hospital costs between surgeon volume categories. RESULTS A total of 419,212 ACF patients were identified. The 25th percentile for volume was 5 cases per year, and the 75th percentile for volume was 67 cases per year. Volume <25th percentile was associated with increased rates of any adverse event (odd ratio, OR 3.8, P < 0.001), and multiple individual complications including death (OR 2.5, P=0.014), myocardial infarction (OR4.4, P < 0.001), sepsis (OR 4.1, P < 0.001), and surgical site infection (OR 4.0, P < 0.001). Notably, volume ≥75th percentile was associated with decreased rates of any adverse event (OR 0.7, P < 0.001) and death (OR 0.6, P = 0.028). On multivariate analysis, length of stay was significantly increased by 2.3 days (P < 0.001) for surgeons <25th percentile of volume and was decreased by 0.3 days for surgeons with volume ≥75th percentile. Hospital costs were $4569 more for surgeons with <25th percentile of volume and $1213 less for surgeons with ≥75th percentile volume. CONCLUSION In this nationally representative sample, surgeons with volume <25th percentile had significantly increased complications, length of stay, and costs. Conversely, surgeons with ≥75th percentile volume experienced decreased complications, length of stay, and costs. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4.
Physics of Strongly Coupled Rotation-Translation Systems

We review some of the interesting physical properties of simple molecular solids which arise from a strong coupling between the rotational and translational degrees of freedom of the constituent atoms or molecules.
From compliance to commitment: Centralization and public service motivation in different administrative regimes

Purpose – Building on institutional theories, the purpose of this paper is to test the relationship of organizational centralization and public service motivation (PSM), and to explore country’s centralization effect on it. Design/methodology/approach – The quantitative analysis of 390 responses from 42 social care and labor market public service providers operating in two countries with opposite administrative regimes – decentralized Poland and centralized Belarus. Findings – The Polish sample confirms previous observations. Organizational centralization correlates with PSM, while PMS dimensions do not act in concert. In contrast to others, self-sacrifice is positively associated with increased centralization. A country’s context has a strong mediating effect. The Belarusian sample revealed no relationship between organizational centralization and PSM. Because the main difference with Poland lies in the politico-administrative organization of the public sector, the findings suggest further examination of...
Evaluation, use, and refinement of knowledge representations through acquisition modeling

ABSTRACTGenerative approaches to language have long recognized the natural link between theories of knowledge representation and theories of knowledge acquisition. The basic idea is that the knowledge representations provided by Universal Grammar enable children to acquire language as reliably as they do because these representations highlight the relevant aspects of the available linguistic data. So, one reasonable evaluation of any theory of representation is how useful it is for acquisition. This means that when we have multiple theories for how knowledge is represented, we can try to evaluate these theoretical options by seeing how children might use them during acquisition. Computational models of the acquisition process are an effective tool for determining this, since they allow us to incorporate the assumptions of a representation into a cognitively plausible learning scenario and see what happens. We can then identify which representations work for acquisition and what those representations need ...
Sex Differences in Inappropriate ICD Device Therapies: MADIT-II and MADIT-CRT.

INTRODUCTION Approximately 10-20% of ICD recipients receive inappropriate device therapies. The purpose of this study was to compare the frequency of inappropriate therapies (IT) between men and women enrolled in MADIT II and MADIT-CRT, and assess for potential adverse outcomes. METHODS The electrograms for each ICD or CRT-D therapy, defined as either ATP or shock, were reviewed by adjudication committees for both studies. ICD therapy was considered inappropriate if it was delivered for reasons other than VT/VF. The rhythm triggering IT was categorized as atrial fibrillation/flutter, SVT, or inappropriate sensing when possible. RESULTS One thousand nine hundred and fifty-four men and 556 women received ICD or CRT-D devices. The risk of IT was significantly lower in women than men (9.2% vs. 13.5%, P = 0.006). The most common cause of IT in men was atrial fibrillation (38%) and SVT in women (43%). Inappropriate shock was not associated with increased mortality in either women (HR 0.82 [95% CI 0.11-6.08]; P = NS) or men (HR 1.37 [95% CI 0.75-2.48]; P = NS) by multivariate analysis. Conversely, appropriate shock therapy strongly correlated with increased risk of death during subsequent post-shock follow-up in women (HR 5.99 [95% CI 2.75-13.02]; P < 0.0001) and men (HR 2.61 [95% CI 1.82-3.74]; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Women experience significantly less IT than men, partially explained by the increased frequency of atrial fibrillation in men. IT was not associated with increased mortality in either sex. Appropriate shock therapy was a strong predictor of death in both, with women showing a 2-fold higher risk than men during post-shock long-term follow-up.
Electronic nature of zwitterionic alkali metal methanides, silanides and germanides – a combined experimental and computational approach

Zwitterionic group 14 complexes of the alkali metals of formula [C(SiMe2OCH2CH2OMe)3M], (M-1), [Si(SiMe2OCH2CH2OMe)3M], (M-2), [Ge(SiMe2OCH2CH2OMe)3M], (M-3), where M = Li, Na or K, have been prepared, structurally characterized and their electronic nature was investigated by computational methods. Zwitterions M-2 and M-3 were synthesized via reactions of [Si(SiMe2OCH2CH2OMe)4] (2) and [Ge(SiMe2OCH2CH2OMe)4] (3) with MOBut (M = Li, Na or K), resp., in almost quantitative yields, while M-1 were prepared from deprotonation of [HC(SiMe2OCH2CH2OMe)3] (1) with LiBut, NaCH2Ph and KCH2Ph, resp. X-ray crystallographic studies and DFT calculations in the gas-phase, including calculations of the NPA charges confirm the zwitterionic nature of these compounds, with the alkali metal cations being rigidly locked and charge separated from the anion by the internal OCH2CH2OMe donor groups. Natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis and the second order perturbation theory analysis of the NBOs reveal significant hyperconjugative interactions in M-1–M-3, primarily between the lone pair and the antibonding Si–O orbitals, the extent of which decreases in the order M-1 > M-2 > M-3. The experimental basicities and the calculated gas-phase basicities of M-1–M-3 reveal the zwitterionic alkali metal methanides M-1 to be significantly stronger bases than the analogous silanides M-2 and germanium M-3.
Triarchic Model Personality Traits and Their Impact on Mock Juror Perceptions of a White-Collar Criminal Defendant

ABSTRACTThe triarchic model of psychopathy proposes that this personality disorder is composed of 3 relatively distinct constructs: meanness, disinhibition, and boldness. Although the first 2 components are widely accepted, boldness has generated considerable theoretical debate concerning its relevance—largely due to its association with various ostensibly adaptive characteristics and socially desirable behaviors (e.g., self-reported heroism). But is being bold actually perceived by others as an intrinsically adaptive, socially desirable personality trait? We investigated this question using a novel approach—a jury simulation study that manipulated the level of triarchic traits exhibited by a white-collar criminal. More specifically, 330 community members read a vignette in which the defendant's degree of boldness and disinhibition was manipulated and then provided sentence recommendations and other evaluative ratings. As hypothesized, manipulating boldness and disinhibition resulted in more negative view...
Parenteral Soybean Oil Induces Hepatosteatosis Despite Addition of Fish Oil in a Mouse Model of Intestinal Failure–Associated Liver Disease

Background Replacement of parenteral soybean oil (SO) with fish oil (FO) is an effective therapy for intestinal failure-associated liver disease (IFALD) in children. However, practitioners remain concerned about the risk of essential fatty acid deficiency (EFAD) and sometimes treat IFALD with a combination of 50% SO and 50% FO emulsions. The purpose of this study was to determine if mixing 50% SO and 50% FO emulsions would prevent hepatosteatosis in a murine model of parenteral nutrition (PN)-induced hepatosteatosis. Methods C57BL/6 mice were randomized to receive oral PN with parenteral saline, FO, SO, or a mixture of 50% FO and 50% SO for 19 days. Fatty acid analysis, histologic evaluation, Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network (NSCRN) scores, and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for key lipogenic genes were performed. Results The PN + saline group was the only group with EFAD, with a serum and hepatic triene/tetraene ratio of 0.53. NSCRN scores were highest in the PN + SO group (5.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.9-6.1), followed by the PN + FO/SO (4.5; 95% CI, 3.5-5.5) group, with the lowest score in the PN + FO (2.0; 95% CI, 1.1-2.9) group. Acetyl CoA carboxylase α and acetyl CoA carboxylase β expression was lower in the PN + FO group than in the PN + FO/SO or PN + SO groups. Conclusions Our data demonstrate that a mixed fat emulsion of 50% SO and 50% FO is inferior to 100% FO in reducing hepatosteatosis in this model. These data suggest that use of parenteral SO with parenteral FO, in a 1:1 ratio, may still contribute to liver injury, although it is less hepatotoxic than pure SO.
A naturalistic longitudinal study of the order of service provision with respect to cocaine use and outcomes in an urban homeless sample

Aims Little is known about outcomes of drug abuse related to attainment of stable housing. This study examined outcomes of cocaine use and service provision in an urban homeless sample. Methods Two-year longitudinal study of systematically selected homeless individuals (N = 255) in St. Louis, Missouri from 1999 to 2001. The sample was interviewed three times annually using a structured diagnostic interview. Urine drug testing was conducted at every interview, and service utilisation data were obtained from the structured interviews and the agency-provided service use data. Results Cocaine use disorder and cocaine use proved to be distinct concepts because they predicted different outcomes across time. Cocaine use predicted subsequent poor housing outcomes, but stable housing had no apparent effect on subsequent use of cocaine. Service use predicted neither subsequent reduced cocaine use nor attainment of stable housing. Services used were appropriate to type of mental health need, but cocaine use may have reduced successful utilisation of appropriate psychiatric services. Conclusion These findings reinforce the concept that homelessness represents a complex phenomenon and consequently, service systems need to address multiple problems. Service approaches are needed that simultaneously address the complex needs of homeless individuals.
A systematic review of studies of DNA methylation in the context of a weight loss intervention.

Aim: Obesity results from the interaction of genetic and environmental factors, which may involve epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation (DNAm). Materials & methods: We have followed the PRISMA protocol to select studies that analyzed DNAm at baseline and end point of a weight loss intervention using either candidate-locus or genome-wide approaches. Results: Six genes displayed weight loss associated DNAm across four out of nine genome-wide studies. Weight loss is associated with significant but small changes in DNAm across the genome, and weight loss outcome is associated with individual differences in baseline DNAm at several genomic locations. Conclusion: The identified weight loss associated DNAm markers, especially those showing reproducibility across different studies, warrant validation by further studies with robust design and adequate power.
New energy sources for catheter ablation

Catheter-based techniques have been used successfully in the treatment of many patients with various cardiac rhythm problems, including A-V nodal reentrant tachycardia, accessory pathways, and other atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. These techniques have had limited success in the treatment of disorders such as ventricular tachycardia in the setting of prior myocardial infarction. New techniques are needed to create the larger lesions required for treatment of such conditions. In addition, conditions such as atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter require new catheter-based techniques for linear ablation. As a result, a wide range of energy sources have been investigated and developed.
Knowledge-Based Biomedical Word Sense Disambiguation with Neural Concept Embeddings

Biomedical word sense disambiguation (WSD) is an important intermediate task in many natural language processing applications such as named entity recognition, syntactic parsing, and relation extraction. In this paper, we employ knowledge-based approaches that also exploit recent advances in neural word/concept embeddings to improve over the state-of-the-art in biomedical WSD using the MSH WSD dataset as the test set. Our methods involve weak supervision - we do not use any hand-labeled examples for WSD to build our prediction models; however, we employ an existing well known named entity recognition and concept mapping program, MetaMap, to obtain our concept vectors. Over the MSH WSD dataset, our linear time (in terms of numbers of senses and words in the test instance) method achieves an accuracy of 92.24% which is an absolute 3% improvement over the best known results obtained via unsupervised or knowledge-based means. A more expensive approach that we developed relies on a nearest neighbor framework and achieves an accuracy of 94.34%, essentially cutting the error rate in half. Employing dense vector representations learned from unlabeled free text has been shown to benefit many language processing tasks recently and our efforts show that biomedical WSD is no exception to this trend. For a complex and rapidly evolving domain such as biomedicine, building labeled datasets for larger sets of ambiguous terms may be impractical. Here, we show that weak supervision that leverages recent advances in representation learning can rival supervised approaches in biomedical WSD. However, external knowledge bases (here sense inventories) play a key role in the improvements achieved.
Best Practices in Athletic Donor Relations: The NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision

The purpose of this investigation was to identify best practices in intercollegiate athletic donor relations for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Neither philanthropy research nor athletic fund-raising research presents a contemporary model of donor relations best practices. Additionally, athletic development tactics are given little attention in evidence-based literature. To investigate this topic, three rounds of the Delphi method were completed by 17 intercollegiate athletic development directors in the FBS. Forty-two best practices for donor acquisition and 38 best practices for donor retention and upgrade emerged. Implications for intercollegiate athletic development campaigns are addressed. Subscribe to JASM
Analysis and design of CMOS resettable C-elements

This paper reviews existing reset schemes for the Muller C-element, one of the main primitives in asynchronous paradigms. Using a mathematical-based method and with the help of pass-transistor logic, an efficient implementation is developed that yields better performance. Simulations with a standard IBM 130-nm CMOS process, confirm that the proposed design achieves substantial improvement over existing implementations with respect to throughput, energy, and area.
Temperature-related sex allocation shifts in a recovering keystone species, Pinus palustris

Background: The possible effects of climate change on sex allocation of a species have recently emerged as a topic of interest, relative to population sustainability via natural regeneration. Also,...
The Differential Effects of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Hepatitis C Virus on Bone Microarchitecture and Fracture Risk

Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV)-coinfected individuals have a significantly greater osteoporotic fracture risk than HIV-monoinfected persons, despite the fact that HIV/HCV coinfection has not been associated with lower bone mineral density (BMD) than HIV or HCV alone. To evaluate if changes in bone microarchitecture, measured by trabecular bone score (TBS), could explain these differences, we performed a prospective, cross-sectional cohort study of virologically suppressed HIV-infected subjects, untreated HCV-infected subjects, HIV/HCV-coinfected subjects, and uninfected controls. Methods We enrolled 532 male subjects: 57 HIV/HCV coinfected, 174 HIV infected, 123 HCV infected, and 178 controls. We conducted analysis of covariance comparing BMD and TBS between groups, controlling for age, race, body mass index, and smoking. We used linear regression to evaluate predictors of BMD and TBS and evaluated the effects of severity of HCV infection and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate use. Results Despite both infections being associated with decreased BMD, only HCV, but not HIV, was associated with lower TBS score. Also, HIV/HCV-coinfected subjects had lower TBS scores than HIV-monoinfected, HCV-monoinfected, and uninfected subjects. Neither the use of TDF or HCV viremia nor the severity of HCV liver disease was associated with lower TBS. Conclusions HCV infection is associated with microarchitectural changes at the lumbar spine as assessed by the low TBS score, suggesting that microstructural abnormalities underlie some of the higher fracture risk in HCV infection. TBS might improve fracture risk prediction in HCV infection.
The Axiomatic Method in Modern Mathematics

English translation of Moritz Pasch,“Die axiomatische Methode in der neueren Mathematik,” Annalen der Philosophie und philosophischen Kritik 5 (1926), pp. 241–274. Pasch explores the relation of immediate consequence. In a direct, unabbreviated proof , each step is an immediate consequence of prior steps. Though it is not decidable whether an arbitrary conclusion follows from arbitrary premises, it is decidable whether the conclusion immediately follows. Two sentences express the same statement if and only if each is an immediate consequence of the other. Two sentences contradict one another if and only if the denial of one follows immediately from the other. Whether one sentence is an immediate consequence of another depends entirely on the structural elements (rather than the content words) occurring in those sentences. Anyone who understands those structural elements will be able to determine whether one sentence follows immediately from the other.
The Ethics and Politics of Legislative Drafting

This article questions the traditional concept of drafters as “scribes” who faithfully convert the legislative policy decisions of public officials into bills. It maintains that the relationship between drafter and text is quite different from the technical, value-neutral enterprise so often portrayed. The article contends that legislative drafting is inherently political, that it inescapably demands policy choices by drafters, and that no legislative drafter can fully escape the ethical and political implications of the enterprise. Numerous examples drawn from legislative practice demonstrate how the subjectivity of drafters influences the shape and substance of legislation.Part II of the article reviews ethical and professional guidelines governing the drafting process. Part III urges drafters to recognize that they play a more active role in drafting than that of stereotypical scribe. By acknowledging the numerous advocacy opportunities inherent in the drafting process, drafters can apply their more informed understanding to minimize inappropriate personal or political influences on the process.
From Theory to Evaluation to Instruction: Toward an Ideal Cultural Competency Course in Applied Psychology

Despite numerous definitional, conceptual, and empirical problems, the construct of cultural competence will not be going away anytime soon in applied psychology training. The content of cultural competence courses for training future psychologists is shaped from a combination of instructor preferences, student expectations/preferences, college/university/departmental needs, program accreditation guidelines/expectations, student course evaluations, and aspirational client outcomes. The chapter outlines an ideal course in cultural competence that allows for discipline-specific training, yet transcends specific disciplines by offering seven broad principles that are an outgrowth of insights gleaned from previous chapters in this text.
Seed dynamics of the liana Euonymus fortunei (Celastraceae) and implications for invasibility1

Lianas are known as both disturbance creators and beneficiaries, and through their high competitiveness for resources, they possess the potential to significantly affect forest ecosystems. Euonymus fortunei (Turcz.) Hand.-Mazz. (wintercreeper) is an evergreen liana that is steadily invading forests in eastern North America, disrupting native plant communities and altering ecosystem functions. Establishment in novel environments may be limited by dormancy-breaking and germination requirements, parameters for which little is known for many invasive species, but especially for wintercreeper. We examined the mechanisms of seed dormancy by conducting a “move-along” experiment using fresh (FR) and maternally persisting (MP) seeds. Additionally, we sought to characterize the nature of seed dispersal by birds by deploying seed traps within an invaded forest in central Kentucky. We report that wintercreeper seeds display conditional, nondeep physiological dormancy. Although germination occurs at a high percentage and rate after cold stratification, a cold period is only facultative to break dormancy. Although FR seeds had greater viability (98.6%) vs. MP seeds (85.7%), the latter experienced earlier germination (an average of 41 days, across all treatments). We observed the presence of polyembryos in 24.4% of germinating wintercreeper seeds. Our findings indicate that bird-mediated seed dispersal occurs throughout the winter from seeds that persist aboveground on maternal lianas. Taken altogether, these results suggest that wintercreeper is capable of long distance, animal-assisted dispersal as well as recruitment in areas with mild or nonexistent winters. These data contribute to the growing body of wintercreeper-invasion literature, bringing further attention to an emerging invader and aiding land managers in prioritizing management strategies in the prevention and eradication of this species.
Comparison of endoscopic ultrasound tissue acquisition methods for genomic analysis of pancreatic cancer

Background and aim Tumor genotyping may allow for improved prognostication and targeted therapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We aimed to compare endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) with fine needle aspiration (FNA) to fine needle biopsy (FNB) for obtaining sufficient tissue for genomic analysis and theranostic potential. Methods A retrospective cohort study of patients that underwent EUS-FNA or EUS-FNB with either positive or suspicious cytology for PDAC between March 2016 and December 2017. Demographic, procedural, and cytology data were recorded. Genetic alterations were recorded, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were calculated. Results The study included 167 patients: 145 patients had FNA and 22 patients underwent FNB. Overall, 117 samples (70.1%) were sufficient for targeted next-generation sequencing. FNB resulted in a higher proportion of patients with sufficient samples compared with FNA (90.9% vs 66.9%; P = 0.02). In multivariable modeling, only FNB (odds ratio 4.95, 95% confidence interval 1.11-22.05, P = 0.04) was associated with sufficient sampling for genomic testing. FNB was more likely to obtain sufficient tissue from tumors ≤ 3 cm (100% vs 68.4%, P = 0.017) and tumors located in the head/neck of the pancreas (100% vs 63.1%, P = 0.03) compared with FNA. The most commonly identified alterations were in KRAS (88%), TP53 (68%), and SMAD4 (16%). Conclusions Endoscopic ultrasonography can reliably obtain sufficient tissue from PDAC for targeted genomic sequencing for prognostication and theranostics. FNB should be considered when tumor genotyping is requested, especially for tumors ≤ 3 cm or tumors located in the head/neck of the pancreas.
Starting a Transoral Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery Program

To describe the necessary steps to facilitate safe implementation of a transoral thyroid and parathyroid surgery program. Transoral vestibular approaches to the central neck have been demonstrated to be safe and feasible, while avoiding the morbidity of a cutaneous scar. As operative volume expands from a select few high-volume centers, a framework for implementation has been recommended to allow the evidence-based outcomes to translate into clinical practice for new adopters of these techniques. These include securing institutional support, choosing the appropriate candidate (both patient and surgeon), appropriate case observation and instruction (live and cadaver), and adequate first-case preparation and knowledge of the learning curve(s) for the techniques. The recommendations in this article provide a foundation from which a transoral thyroid and parathyroid program may be successfully built. An intricate understanding of conventional transcervical central neck surgery and institutional support are absolute prerequisites to safe and successful implementation of these transoral vestibular techniques.
Associations of Lipid-related SNPs with Circulating Phylloquinone Are Proportional with Triglycerides (P15-008-19)

Phylloquinone is transported on triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. Preliminary evidence from a genome-wide association meta-analysis suggests that genetic variants that influence triglycerides (TGs), such as rs964184 at the APOA1/C3/A4/A5 gene cluster, also influence circulating phylloquinone. To further evaluate this overlap, we examined the linear relationship between a weighted TG genetic risk score (wTG-GRS) with circulating phylloquinone. We constructed a wTG-GRS comprised of 20 SNPs that were previously associated with TGs in a genome-wide association meta-analysis for blood lipids (n > 188,000 individuals of European ancestry). The assigned weights corresponded to the effect-sizes (β) reported for each SNP's association with TGs. With meta-analytic summary statistic data from a separate genome-wide association meta-analysis of circulating phylloquinone (n = 2138 individuals of European ancestry), a statistical technique was used to approximate the linear association of the wTG-GRS with circulating phylloquinone. A p-value of 0.05 for the estimate was considered statistically significant. First, the estimate was calculated without adjustment for TGs using Model 1 summary statistics, then calculated with adjustment for TGs using Model 2 summary statistics. The estimate for the linear association of the wTG-GRS with circulating phylloquinone was significant without and with adjustment for TGs (Model 1: β = 0.052, P = < 0.0001, Model 2: β = 0.027, P = 0.0001, respectively). The goodness-of-fit of the model was improved from Model 1 (p-het = 0.022) to Model 2 (p-het = 0.054). The associations of TG-related SNPs with circulating phylloquinone were proportional to their associations with TGs. This provides further evidence of the shared genetic links between TGs and phylloquinone and suggests genetic studies of vitamin K should consider TGs. Study supported by the USDA Agricultural Research Service under Cooperative Agreement No. 58-1950-7-707 and NHLBI T32HL069772.
Loss of appetite in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is associated with weight loss and decreased calorie consumption independent of dysphagia

BACKGROUND Loss of appetite has been reported to affect up to half of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and to be associated with weight loss. We wished to test whether loss of appetite correlates with reduced dietary intake independent of dysphagia. METHODS Appetite was measured repeatedly using the Council on Nutrition Appetite Questionnaire (CNAQ) in participants in the Electronic health Application To Measure Outcomes REmotely study. Dietary intake and weight were compared to appetite, ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised total and bulbar scores (dysphagia). RESULTS The average baseline CNAQ score was 30.4 (n = 61; SD = 3.9) with 18.0% scoring <28 points (severe loss of appetite). Lower CNAQ scores correlated with greater weight loss since diagnosis (Pearson correlation coefficient, r = -0.34; P = 0.009) and lower baseline energy intake (P = 0.007), independent of dysphagia. CONCLUSIONS Our results support an association between loss of appetite and decreased calorie intake and weight in ALS which is independent of dysphagia.
Psychometric Evaluation of the Child and Parent Versions of the Coping Questionnaire

The Coping Questionnaire (CQ)—child and parent version—is an idiographic measure of youth’s perceived ability to cope in anxiety provoking situations. Participants (N = 442; aged 7–17) met DSM-IV criteria for separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or social anxiety disorder. The internal consistency of the CQ was supported, and retest reliability and parent/child agreement were, as expected, modest. The CQ scores were significantly correlated in the expected direction with measures of anxiety symptoms and functioning, providing evidence of convergent and divergent validity. The criterion validity of the CQ also was supported: the CQ scores were significantly correlated with the clinical severity rating of the youth’s principal diagnosis on ADIS. There was a significant correlation between change in CQ scores and in anxiety severity and symptoms following treatment. Results support the CQ as a measure to assess coping efficacy in anxious youths as part of evidence-based assessment.
Use of Cross-sectional and Perspective Mapping to Spatially and Statistically Represent Inpatient Glucose Control.

Background:The use of inpatient location for the depiction of glycemic control is an alternative approach to the traditional analysis of hospital-derived glucometric data. Our aim was to develop a ...
Scenario-based seismic hazard analysis and its applications in the central United States

Abstract Communities need information about seismic hazards, ground-motion hazards, in particular, to formulate engineering designs for buildings and other structures. Developing scientifically sound ground-motion hazard assessments and associated information in the central United States is challenging, however, because of large uncertainties in the seismic sources, earthquake recurrence intervals, and local geologic conditions. Scenario-based seismic hazard analysis (SSHA) is a viable approach to provide ground-motion hazard information, including time histories and their peak values and response accelerations, for engineering design and other applications. Some perceived advantages of SSHA include (1) resultant ground motions have a clear physical meaning, (2) ground-motion time histories, which are necessary for engineering analysis, are provided, and (3) the results are easily communicated between earth scientists, engineers, and others. We describe and summarize how SSHA has been applied to develop (1) ground-motion time histories and associated parameters and maps from natural earthquakes for engineering design and safety evaluation of bridges and highway facilities and residential buildings and other structures, and (2) potential ground-motion hazards from induced earthquake in the central United States, Kentucky in particular.
Simultaneous omental infarction and acute appendicitis in a child.

SUMMARY It is crucial to realize that both omental infarction and acute appendicitis can occur simultaneously in the children as both diseases are managed differently. Omental infarction itself is rare in the pediatric group, and its association with acute appendicitis is even rarer. Both diseases usually present with right sided abdominal pain. Ultrasound is the choice of imaging modality in the investigation of abdominal pain in the children. It should not be content if omental infarction is detected, whilst the normal appendix is not seen. We reported a case of simultaneous omental infarction and acute appendicitis in a child who presented with 3 days history of right sided abdominal pain. It was diagnosed preoperatively by ultrasound. Prompt surgical intervention was proceeded and the child made uneventful recovery.
The intricate role of CXCR4 in cancer.

Chemokines mediate numerous physiological and pathological processes related primarily to cell homing and migration. The chemokine CXCL12, also known as stromal cell-derived factor-1, binds the G-protein-coupled receptor CXCR4, which, through multiple divergent pathways, leads to chemotaxis, enhanced intracellular calcium, cell adhesion, survival, proliferation, and gene transcription. CXCR4, initially discovered for its involvement in HIV entry and leukocytes trafficking, is overexpressed in more than 23 human cancers. Cancer cell CXCR4 overexpression contributes to tumor growth, invasion, angiogenesis, metastasis, relapse, and therapeutic resistance. CXCR4 antagonism has been shown to disrupt tumor–stromal interactions, sensitize cancer cells to cytotoxic drugs, and reduce tumor growth and metastatic burden. As such, CXCR4 is a target not only for therapeutic intervention but also for noninvasive monitoring of disease progression and therapeutic guidance. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the biological involvement of CXCR4 in human cancers, the current status of CXCR4-based therapeutic approaches, as well as recent advances in noninvasive imaging of CXCR4 expression.