cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differential Expression of MicroRNAs in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma and Their Role in Racial Disparity.

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to play important roles in the diagnosis and prognosis of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), and they are useful in developing targeted therapies. However, there have been no studies on the existence of racial differences in miRNAs expression that could explain differential overall survival of PTC patients. Expression analysis of miRNAs in major racial groups would be important for optimizing personalized treatment strategies. In the current study, we assessed the differential expression of 8 miRNAs between normal and tumor tissues, and also assessed racial differences between African American (AA) and Caucasian American (CA). Methods: First, the miRNA expression profiling was performed using formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue sections of tumor containing over 70% tumor cells. Normal and tumor sections of thyroid tissues were studied from AA and CA patients. The miRNA microarray profiling was done using miRBase version 18 (LC Sciences, Houston, TX, USA). Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to validate expression of 8 selected miRNAs. Results: Ingenuity pathway analysis showed involvement of target genes, such as Ras and NF-κB. Deregulated miRNAs such as miR-221 and miR-31 were found to be statistically significant between the two races. Using qRTPCR, we found that miR-21, miR-146b, miR-221, miR-222, miR-31, and miR-3613 were up-regulated while miR- 138 and miR-98 were down-regulated in tumors compared to normal tissues. Conclusion: Though sample size was small, we found several deregulated miRNAs having racial differences. The differential expression of miRNAs suggest that these miRNAs and their target genes could be useful to gain further mechanistic insight of PTC and their clinical implications, including miRNA replacement therapy or their knockdown strategies.
Confidentiality in health records: evidence of current performance from a population survey in South Australia.

Objective To determine attitudes towards doctors and hospitals as data custodians, and patients' experiences of unauthorised information releases from health services. Design Analysis of data from a cross-sectional, descriptive household survey (October-November 1999). Setting South Australian community. Participants 3,013 randomly selected residents over 15 years of age. Main outcome measures Level of confidence in doctors and hospitals as data custodians, and patient-reported experience of unauthorised information releases by health services. Results 288 survey participants (9.6%) were not confident that healthcare providers keep and use information responsibly, 108 (3.6%) reported that healthcare providers had released information without their consent (although at least 48 of these disclosures were legally defensible), and 57 (1.9%) reported harm arising from unauthorised disclosures by health services. Projecting these findings to the South Australian population, over 2,000 people experienced harm arising from unauthorised information release in 1999. However, in the same period, there were fewer than 20 formal complaints to major agencies (eg, Ombudsman, Medical Board). Conclusions Healthcare providers have lost the confidence of a minority of patients. For some, this mistrust is based on experience of unauthorised information release. Some disclosures are mandated by legislation. These findings provide baseline performance measures for benchmarking trends in patient confidence and prevalence of unauthorised release of patient information.
Utility and Associated Risk of Pulmonary Embolism Computed Tomography Scans in the Michigan Lupus Cohort.

Objective Systemic lupus erythematosus patients are frequently evaluated for chest pain and may have multiple pulmonary embolism (PE) computed tomography (CT) scans. This study was undertaken to determine the incidence of pulmonary embolism in the University of Michigan Lupus Cohort patients who have undergone PE CT scans and to estimate the associated increased risk of breast and lung cancer from radiation exposure. Methods We reviewed records of patients in the University of Michigan Lupus Cohort (n = 854) and determined the number and outcome of PE CT scans. Radimetrics software was used to perform individualized calculations of radiation dose to the lung and breast of each patient. We used this dose information, the patient's age at the time of scan, and risks according to the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation, report VII, to estimate the increased incidence risks of breast and lung cancer. Results A total of 182 of 856 patients (21%) underwent 357 PE CT scans. The overall rate of positivity was 7.5%. For patients undergoing their first through third scans, the rate of positivity for PE was 8.8%, whereas patients undergoing their fourth through tenth scans had 1.6% positivity. The highest increase in incidence risk was 0.87% for breast and 0.62% for lung. Conclusion Patients with multiple previous PE CT scans had lower likelihood of a positive result on subsequent scans and higher risks of malignancy. The magnitude of risk should not discourage performance of PE CT when clinically indicated.
Recurrent Dupuytren Contracture Treated with Fasciectomy and Skin Grafting

Recurrent Dupuytren contracture can be aggressive and prone to further recurrence even with surgical treatment. Recurrence risk is increased further by the presence of Dupuytren diathesis. Surgical fasciectomy allows for subtotal or total excision of the pathological Dupuytren cords and resultant contracture correction in recurrent contracture. Extra care must be taken in revision fasciectomy cases to carefully identify and protect the neurovascular bundles as their anatomy will be distorted by both Dupuytren tissue and scarring from prior surgery. Tension on the neurovascular bundles of the digit may compromise the neurovascular status of the digit in cases of severe contracture and full correction may not be possible. When closure of surgical wounds with Z-plasties alone is not possible, full-thickness skin grafting from the hypothenar eminence provides glabrous, non-hair bearing, durable donor skin that is a good texture match for the volar surfaces of the digits. Though further study on skin grafting following fasciectomy for Dupuytren contracture is needed, skin grafting may provide advantages in decreasing disease recurrence through allowing for resection of skin overlying Dupuytren tissue, which may be involved in the disease process, providing a “firebreak” between proximal and distal disease in a digit, and decreasing tension at the wound site.
Abstract 3491: Rational combination of targeted agents and BH3 mimetics to improve cancer treatment

Background: In the clinic is often observed that melanoma cancer patients first respond to targeted therapeutic agents like dabrafenib showing tumor burden shrinkage, but subsequently relapse with tumors that are more aggressive, no longer responsive to therapy and showing acquired metastatic capacity. Most chemotherapeutic agents kill via the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis, but unfortunately tumors frequently are able to survive, often adapting their antiapoptotic strategy. We used a variant of the functional predictive test dynamic BH3 profiling (DBP) to determine the tumor9s antiapoptotic defense adaptation over time, and rationally identify combination of therapies to restore programmed cell death. Hypothesis: By using different BH3 peptides in DBP we can determine the adaptive tumor9s antiapoptotic defense and adjust therapy to improve cancer cell death. Results: In BRAF mutant melanoma, cKIT mutant GIST and HER2 overexpressing breast cancer cell lines, we performed DBP over time using different BH3 peptides: BIM, BAD, PUMA, MS1 and NOXA. We observed that when they are treated with specific targeted agents against their oncogenic drivers, there is an increase in MCL-1 dependence over time. This observation points to a possible tumor defense mechanism conferring resistance against anticancer drugs. Based on these observations, we exploited these altered dependencies by pretreating the cancer cells with these targeted agents and combining them with novel BH3 mimetics targeting MCL-1 to synergistically enhance cell death. Exploiting DBP9s capacity to measure changes in priming without the requirement for prolonged ex vivo culture, we assessed if this antiapoptotic evolution was also present in primary melanoma samples. Using FACS-based DBP to select for specific tumor populations, we tested the possible use of BH3 mimetics in combination with targeted agents to improve cancer treatment in the clinic. Conclusions: Our preliminary results reveal the use of dynamic BH3 profiling to be used not only as a powerful real-time tool to predict chemotherapy response but also to evaluate the rational combination of targeted agents with BH3 mimetics in vitro and in the clinic. [R.H. and A.L. contributed equally to this work.] Citation Format: Joan Montero, Dorota E. Sadowicz, Jeremy Ryan, Charles H. Yoon, Rizwan Haq, Anthony Letai. Rational combination of targeted agents and BH3 mimetics to improve cancer treatment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3491.
“Great Shows, Thanks to You”: From Participatory Culture to “Quality TV” in Amazon’s Pilot Season:

Launched in 2013, Amazon Studios’s Pilot Season reportedly offers an alternative to the conventional Hollywood development cycle by soliciting viewer feedback through short surveys and star reviews to determine which projects are developed into original series. However, while Amazon Studios publicly assures us that viewers “Call the Shots,” the company has swiftly navigated away from such participatory discourse. Through a discursive analysis of promotional materials, executive and talent interviews, and responses from trade presses and critics, this article unpacks how Amazon Studios diminished the import of viewer feedback at the first sign of significant attention from the critical community and subsequently shifted to promotional discourses centered on markers of “Quality TV.” This case ultimately demonstrates that, as discursive strategies, participatory culture and Quality TV serve distinctive functions for the industry, with the former often relegated to attention-seeking gimmick and the latter fun...
Intelligent Design Psychology and Evolutionary Psychology on Consciousness: Turning Water into Wine:

From the titles of some recent evolutionary psychology publications on the mind, one could get the impression that the mystery of consciousness has been solved, but serious questions and doubts persist. Many scientists have deep reservations about Darwinian theory. Some of these scientists promote the Intelligent Design movement, which has received recent attention from scholars in biology, biochemistry, mathematics, philosophy, and theology. Intelligent Design theory both challenges the naturalistic evolutionary account of life and proposes an alternative scientific research program. Its aim is to investigate the natural world for evidence of divine causes and to detect the patterns or fingerprints of an intelligent designer. The implications of this theory for the field of psychology are examined, and a new field, a Christian version of Intelligent Design Psychology (IDPC) is proposed. The article then briefly compares the psychological implications of IDPC with its chief rival, a naturalistic version o...
A New Model of College Choice for Distance Learners

The expansion and diversification of postsecondary education in the United States has led to greater options for students and prospective students for pursuing a college degree. With the roll out a...
Tuck and Guess’ Foundational Question

We placed this chapter at the beginning of the book to emphasize the importance of the question, “whose land are we talking about?” Indeed, the very question of ownership is one Tuck and Guess remind us is open to challenge. Beginning with this chapter, we are signaling to readers that the spaces that we are writing about in the book are Indigenous spaces that have been violently overlaid with colonizing practices, actions, images, etc.
Downstream Effects of Separation Assurance on Encounters Between Unmanned and Manned Aircraft

This paper documents a crucial piece of the ongoing effort to develop minimum operational performance standards for unmanned aircraft detect-and-avoid systems: the estimation of the rate of encount...
Identifying Risks and Opportunities in Outpatient Surgical Patient Safety: A Qualitative Analysis of Veterans Health Administration Staff Perceptions.

ObjectivesLittle is known about patient safety risks in outpatient surgery. Inpatient surgical adverse events (AEs) risk factors include patient- (e.g., advanced age), process- (e.g., inadequate preoperative assessment), or structure-related characteristics (e.g., low surgical volume); however, thes
Trans-envelope multidrug efflux pumps of Gram-negative bacteria and their synergism with the outer membrane barrier

Antibiotic resistance is a serious threat to public health. Significant efforts are currently directed toward containment of the spread of resistance, finding new therapeutic options concerning resistant human and animal pathogens, and addressing the gaps in the fundamental understanding of mechanisms of resistance. Experimental data and kinetic modeling revealed a major factor in resistance, the synergy between active efflux and the low permeability barrier of the outer membrane, which dramatically reduces the intracellular accumulation of many antibiotics. The structural and mechanistic particularities of trans-envelope efflux pumps amplify the effectiveness of cell envelopes as permeability barriers. An important feature of this synergism is that efflux pumps and the outer membrane barriers are mechanistically independent and select antibiotics based on different physicochemical properties. The synergism amplifies even weak polyspecificity of multidrug efflux pumps and creates a major hurdle in the discovery and development of new therapeutics against Gram-negative pathogens.
The Effect of Financial Deficit and Target Leverage on Capital Structure and Debt Characteristics: Evidence from First-Time Debt Issuers

I investigate the motives for issuance and the debt choices of 427 firms which issue long-term debt for the first time in their history between 1971 and 1999. Their first debt issues are very large relative to firm size and represent a permanent shift in firm financing policy. The amount issued is strongly related to deficits in internally generated funds needed to finance investments and only weakly related to deviations from target leverage structure. In the three (or five) years following the initial issuance, the firms remain significantly underlevered, and their deviations from target leverage are only weakly related to subsequent issues of debt and equity. However, firms finance their external deficits with large amounts of external equity as well - while internal cash flows provide 80% of the their funds and subsequent debt issues track deficits more closely than equity issues, equity issues fund approximately 40% of the initial and subsequent deficits. Financial deficits also affect strongly the likelihood of issuance of debt and equity together. I also examine the source and maturity of new debt. Consistent with Diamond's (1991) life-cycle hypothesis, initial debt issues have relatively short maturity and are overwhelmingly not rated, with the number of rated issues increasing afterwards. Firms with large financial needs are more likely to issue rated debt and longer maturity debt, controlling for other determinants of those choices. Overall, financial deficits appear to be an important determinant of the decision to issue debt and of the choice of its characteristics.
Simulation of Nonlinear Contaminant Transport in Groundwater by a Higher Order Godunov-Mixed Finite Element Method

We consider the numerical simulation of contaminant transport in groundwater where the mathematical model includes a nonlinear adsorption term. The method we describe combines a higher order Godunov scheme for advection with a mixed finite element method for diffusion. The method is formulated in one space dimension, and numerical results for equilibrium and nonequilibrium adsorption are presented.
Acute Ischemic Stroke: Therapy and Guidelines

The focus of this chapter is ischemic stroke necessitating intensive care unit (ICU) level of care, including discussions of pathophysiology and stroke subtypes, relative outcomes, and potential treatment modalities. Consideration is given to current therapies and guidelines in the management of all types of ischemic stroke including intravenous and intra-arterial thrombolysis, blood pressure management, and supportive care.
PHYSIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF PHOSPHOFRUCTOKINASE ISOZYMES

ABSTRACT. Considerable metabolic diversity in terms of regulation is observed in carbohydrate metabolism among various tissues of a given animal. Previous work has pinpointed the enzyme phosphofructokinase as the principal regulatory site in glycolysis. This enzyme is subjected to regulatory control by a great variety of metabolites and the regulatory diversity among various tissues can be achieved by differences in effector concentrations in the tissues or by the presence of tissue specific isozymes with differing sensitivities to the metabolic effectors. It is proposed that both mechanisms are operating.
Air in the Brain: An Unexpected Complication of a Misplaced Peripheral Intravenous Line (P04.073)

OBJECTIVE: This report reviews a case of cerebral air embolism as a result of a misplaced peripheral IV and reviews the management of this complication. BACKGROUND: With the advent of safer technologies, VADs are becoming increasingly common treatments for patients with heart failure. Patients with VADs have altered vascular physiology and are at risk of neurological diseases not commonly seen otherwise. DESIGN/METHODS: We present a patient seen in our hospital. The clinical history, laboratory, and imaging studies are reviewed. RESULTS: A 35 year old man with dilated cardiomyopathy requiring VAD was admitted for worsened heart failure. For fluid and medication administration, a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) was placed. Two days later, he developed sudden onset left field cut, neglect and left hemiplegia with an NIHSS of 16. Stat non-contrast head CT showed infarct of the right parietal lobe and intravascular air in the right middle cerebral artery. Contrast was administered through his PICC line however, only his right craniocervical circulation was visualized. Further imaging demonstrated that the PICC line had been mistakenly placed in an artery instead of vein and tunneled to the right innominate artery. It was determined that the PICC line had been misplaced due to the absence of arterial pulsations as a result of his VAD, and that it was the likely source of his cerebral arterial air embolism. He was placed on 100% oxygen, and his symptoms improved within an hour and by day three had made an almost complete recovery. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a cerebral air embolism and stroke as the result of an arterially placed PICC line. Due to their altered vascular physiology, patients with VADs are at risk for this rare disorder, and this report highlights the importance of vigilance for unanticipated complications in these patients. Disclosure: Dr. Sheth has nothing to disclose. Dr. Paul has nothing to disclose. Dr. Durrant has nothing to disclose.
Chapter 2 – Overview

A block diagram approach provides a way of organizing the functions of various physical processes and signal and imaging processing of a diagnostic ultrasound imaging system. This chapter introduces the overall block central diagram structure that links and introduces upcoming chapters, each of which explains the principles of blocks in more detail. Time and frequency −i Fourier transforms are used to describe changes along the signal chain and space, and (wave number) spatial frequency +i Fourier transforms are employed to diffraction and scattering effects. Examples are provided in MATLAB programs.
Abstract 2021: The CXCL12/CXCR4 axis drives epithelial-mesenchymal transition in renal cell carcinoma

Introduction. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the one of the most common cancers diagnosed in adult men with more than 40000 new cases annually. Recurrence or metastasis of the disease occurs in more than 30% of patients and death from disease occurs in most of these patients due to limited therapeutic options. Clearly, a better understanding of factors contributing to RCC metastasis might improve therapeutic development and patient outcomes. One of the steps required for tumor cell progression from localized disease to metastatic disease is the acquisition of invasive abilities through epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT promotes loss of epithelial markers by downregulation of E-cadherin, gain of mesenchymal markers like Vimentin, and N-cadherin, and cytoskeletal rearrangement that enables cells to leave the primary site and intravasate into the blood or lymphatic systems and thereby colonize distant sites. Metastasis and colonization are highly directed mechanisms in which cancer cells migrate toward specific preferred organs that express specific protein receptors. One of these receptors is CXCR4, which is upregulated in advanced cancer including RCC and is correlated with poor survival. In this study we explored the hypothesis that CXCR4/CXCL12 signaling promotes migratory ability by inducing EMT in vitro in the RCC cell lines Caki-2 and 786-0. Methods. To pursue these studies we utilized in vitro mammalian cell culture, cell proliferation (WST) assays, cell migration (scratch) assays, and protein analysis methods including immunoblot and immunofluorescence. Results. These studies showed that RCC cell lines express CXCR4 that is activated by CXCL12 to induce cellular proliferation and promote a wound healing migratory response dependent on EMT cytoskeletal rearrangement by Rho GTPases. Moreover, CXCR4/CXCL12 induces down-regulation of E-cadherin, up-regulation of vimentin, N-cadherin and the upregulation of EMT transcription factors SLUG/SNAIL, consistent with EMT signaling activation. Lastly, CXCR4/CXCL12 activation promotes phosphorylation of AKT and ERK, suggesting that these signaling pathways are coupled to CXCR4/CXCL12-mediated RCC progression. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that CXCR4/CXCL12 activation in RCC has a pivotal role in EMT induction by the acquisition of a migratory and invasive phenotype. Understanding the underlying signaling pathways employed by the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis may shed new light on the migration/ invasion mechanisms that allow RCC cells to spread to distant organs and assist with the design and testing of new therapeutic strategies to treat advanced metastatic RCC. Citation Format: Alisa Zhilin-Roth, Jill A. Macoska. The CXCL12/CXCR4 axis drives epithelial-mesenchymal transition in renal cell carcinoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2021.
Malting of Fusarium Head Blight-Infected Rye (Secale cereale): Growth of Fusarium graminearum, Trichothecene Production, and the Impact on Malt Quality

This project was initiated with the goal of investigating the malt quality of winter rye cultivars and hybrids grown in the United States in 2014 and 2015, but high levels of deoxynivalenol (DON) were subsequently found in many of the malt samples. DON levels in 75% of the investigated rye samples (n = 117) were actually below 1.0 mg/kg, as quantified by a gas chromatography combined with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). However, 83% of the samples had DON in excess of 1.0 mg/kg following malting, and the average DON level in malted rye was 10.6 mg/kg. In addition, relatively high levels of 3-acetate DON (3-ADON), 15-acetate DON (15-ADON), nivalenol (NIV), and DON-3-glucoside (D3G) were observed in some rye malts. Our results show that rye grain DON is likely a poor predicator of type B trichothecenes in malt in practice, because high levels of malt DON, 15-ADONm and D3G were produced, even when the rye samples with DON levels below 0.50 mg/kg were processed. Fusarium Tri5 DNA content in rye was highly associated with malt DON levels (r = 0.83) in a small subset of samples (n = 55). The impact of Fusarium infection on malt quality was demonstrated by the significant correlations between malt DON levels and wort viscosity, β-glucan content, wort color, wort p-coumaric acid content, and total phenolic content. Additional correlations of rye Fusarium Tri5 DNA contents with malt diastatic power (DP), wort free amino nitrogen (FAN) content, and arabinoxylan content were observed.
The total synthesis of (−)-indolactam I

Abstract The first total synthesis of (−)-indolactam I (1) is reported. An efficient synthetic route was established to furnish the natural product in 8 steps. This strategy employed a copper-catalyzed amino acid arylation, peptide coupling, and Lewis acid-mediated macrocyclization to yield 1 from readily available building blocks. In addition, the cell growth inhibition activity of the natural product was examined through assays with the K562 leukemia cell line.
Longitudinal analysis of communication repair skills across three neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Background This study is a longitudinal follow-up to prior work examining the important pragmatic skill of communication repair (i.e., the ability to respond effectively to a request for clarification of an unclear message) across three neurodevelopmental disabilities in which language skills are impaired: fragile X syndrome with and without autism spectrum disorder (FXS-ASD; FXS-O), idiopathic ASD (ASD-O), Down syndrome (DS) and controls with typical development (TD). Prior work examining communication repair skills at younger ages indicated impairments in boys with FXS-ASD and ASD-O, with females performing comparably with each other across groups. Aims To characterize communication repair skills in young individuals with FXS-ASD, FXS-O, ASD-O, DS and TD, across groups and over development. A secondary aim included documenting sex differences in FXS (with and without ASD) and DS. Methods & procedures Sixty young individuals with FXS-ASD (49 males, 11 females), 38 with FXS-O (13 males, 25 females), 38 with ASD-O (males only), 42 with DS (21 males, 21 females) and 41 with TD (21 males, 20 females) participated in the study, with a subsample reported on here who were retested at a second time point 2.7 years later on average. Participants completed a structured, picture-based task designed to assess the ability to repair breakdowns in communication. Participants' responses were compared across groups and sexes at the second time point, and interpreted with respect to previously published (Time 1) findings. Outcomes & results Key findings included that, with age, male groups (including those with FXS-ASD and ASD-O, who showed difficulty at Time 1) performed more comparably, decreasing their use of inappropriate responses, in spite of relatively little change observed in general cognitive or structural language abilities in the clinical groups. However, girls with FXS and DS became more non-responsive with age, and differences between boys and girls with FXS-ASD emerged over time as well. Conclusions & implications Findings suggest that impairments in a critical pragmatic skill-the ability to repair communication breakdown-show significant change with age across three neurodevelopmental disabilities, with important sex-specific patterns. These developments were often observed in spite of a relative plateau in cognitive and language growth, suggesting that repair skills may be more malleable and therefore an excellent target for intervention. Findings not only inform the nature of pragmatic impairment across groups but also can importantly inform clinical practice, suggesting that clinicians should monitor pragmatic skills such as repairs throughout development and also consider the role of sex in clinical efforts.
Psychosocial Adjustments Among Adolescents With Craniofacial Conditions and the Influence of Social Factors: A Multi-Informant Study.

Background:Previous studies have investigated psychosocial adjustments among adolescents with cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P), but our understanding of other craniofacial conditions remains limited....
Increasing accuracy of rock‐climbing techniques in novice athletes using expert modeling and video feedback

Several studies have examined the efficacy of behavior analytic coaching strategies in sports to increase performance fluency. Rock climbing is a multifaceted sport requiring mastery of several complex behavior chains in order to successfully navigate climbing surfaces. To date, most investigations have focused on the physiological aspects of rock climbing, as opposed to training specific rock-climbing movements. In this replication and extension, researchers used a multiple baseline design across skills to examine an expert video modeling plus video and verbal feedback training package on foundational rock-climbing skills of novice adult climbers. Results demonstrated that all participants showed an increase in accurate performance for all three skills that were targeted in the intervention.
Parameters of CO2 bands near 3.6 microns

The intensities, widths, and positions of lines of three CO2 bands near 2750 cm−1 have been determined. The results are in general agreement with other measured and estimated values.
Refining the timing of recombination rate plasticity in response to temperature in Drosophila pseudoobscura

Meiotic recombination rates vary in response to environmental factors like temperature. Variation in recombination generates an additional source for genetic variation while errors in this pathway can lead to cancer and chromosome number anomalies. Estimating duration and sensitivity of a meiotic response to environmental perturbation requires an understanding of molecular events and well-designed experimental approaches. An earlier study suggested that the peak (most sensitive) timing of plasticity in Drosophila melanogaster occurred during the pre-meiotic interphase where DNA replication takes place in S-phase. Recently, heat stress has been shown to lead to plasticity in recombination rates in D. pseudoobscura. Here, a combination of molecular genotyping and a series of mutant screens were used to determine peak plasticity timing in this species. Mutant flies were reared in either control or stress temperatures in a traditional cross design. Using mixed model analysis, the odds of crossover formation was 1.53X higher during days 7-9 (p
On the relationship of AP, RS and CEP in congruence modular varieties

A condition is found on a congruence modular variety, guaranteeing that the implication AP & RS⇒CEP holds. The condition is in terms of the commutator on congruence lattices. In particular, the implication holds for any congruence distributive variety whose free algebra on four generators is finite.
Addressing Suicide in the Veteran Population: Engaging a Public Health Approach

Suicide is a national public health issue in America, and it disproportionately affects those who are serving or who have served in the United States military. The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has made suicide prevention its number one clinical priority. VA is committed to prevent suicide among the entire population of those who have served our country in the military, regardless of whether they make use of any VA services or benefits. Suicide can be prevented through the application of a public health strategy embracing partners at all levels. Following a national strategy, VA has embarked on an effort involving the application of a public health strategy combining both clinically-based and community-focused interventions. This paper describes several examples of these efforts and the pathway forward.
A four kilopixel 150 GHz KID imager paired with a 1.5 m crossed Dragone telescope

I will describe our development of a four kilopixel photometric imaging camera paired with a 1.5 meter crossed Dragone telescope. The focal plane is composed of aluminum kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) fabricated on crystalline silicon tiles. The tiles contain 960 KIDs and are approximately 100 mm x 100 mm in size. KID pairs, each sensitive to an orthogonal linear polarization, are coupled to a waveguide/feedhorn machined from aluminum. A single block, with 480 waveguides/feedhorns arranged in a hexagonal close-pack configuration, is paired with each detector tile. Initial tests with prototype KID tiles show the expected noise and optical performance. Full-scale tiles have now been fabricated with >90% yield, and are currently being characterized. The imager is intended for terrestrial applications, and an initial demonstration with the telescope is planned for early 2020. With relatively minor changes to the KID design, it could also be optimized for astronomical applications.
When Journalists See Themselves as Villains: The Power of Negative Discourse:

This article examines the way journalists talk about themselves and negotiate authority with sources, audiences, and media policy in a postconflict, developmental authoritarian state. Grounded in c...
Application of Submillimeter Wave Techniques to Isotope Separation

With the extension of available laser wavelengths into regions of the spectrum previously unattainable, especially in the infrared [1], laser induced photochemistry is becoming a valuable approach for both analysis and synthesis of compounds. In the field of isotope separation [2], used for uranium enrichment, the advantage of laser photochemistry over earlier methods is especially marked, and results in order-of-magnitude cost savings over the next most cost effective method.
Fever and Seizure in an 11-month old Girl.

1. Avani Ganta, MBBS* 2. Adin Nelson, MD* 3. Carol Singer-Granick, MD* 4. Aditi Khokhar, MBBS* 1. *Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ An 11-month-old Black girl, born at term, with no significant medical history presents to the emergency department (ED) after becoming unresponsive at home. She had 2 days of nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, and tactile fever. She had an episode of upward eye rolling and stiffening of the upper extremities, followed by unresponsiveness at home. The whole episode lasted for approximately 2 minutes. Her parents started cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her and called emergency medical services (EMS). On EMS arrival, the patient was responsive but weak. In the ED she is febrile to 103°F (39.4°C), tachycardic with a heart rate of 161 beats/min, alert, and active. Her blood pressure is initially high at 116/76 mm Hg, but it normalizes to 91/67 mm Hg on admission. Her physical examination findings are normal except for nasal discharge. Auscultation yields normal S1 and S2 heart sounds with no murmurs, and lung fields are clear. Abdominal examination findings are normal, with no distention or organomegaly. Neurologic examination findings are normal for her age: the patient is smiling and playful. Her pupils are equal and reactive bilaterally. No facial asymmetry is noted. She has good strength in all extremities, is sitting without support, and can pull to stand. She has symmetrical normal reflexes and a negative Chvostek sign, and no fasciculations or spasms are noted. She had no frontal bossing, widening of wrist joints, or long bone deformities. Laboratory studies are obtained, including complete blood cell count, complete metabolic panel, urinalysis, blood culture, and urine culture (Table). Initial laboratory evaluation shows a hemoglobin level of 12.9 g/dL (129 g/L); hematocrit value, 38.2%; white blood cell count, …
Restriction enzyme optimization for RADseq with camel spiders (Arachnida: Solifugae)

Phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary patterns within the arachnid order Solifugae are poorly understood and largely unresolved due to conserved morphology and scarce genomic resources. In this study, we evaluated the role of restriction endonuclease (RE) selection in double-digest restriction-site-associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) as a methodology for exploring the evolutionary history of solifuges and their responses to changing desert landscapes and climate. We optimized this method by using computer simulations to explore the effect of different enzyme combinations on the process in silico. Genome data are not yet available for Solifugae, so we performed the simulations using available spider, scorpion, tick, mite and xiphosuran genomes. Guided by the simulations, we then pioneered ddRADseq in Solifugae by generating data for four samples representing two families and three genera. Our results highlight the utility of simulated data and give us confidence that ddRADseq will be ideal for studying the evolution of solifuges.
Effect of stereochemistry on nanoscale assembly of ABA triblock copolymers with crystallizable blocks

Abstract We report on the nanoscale assembly of poly(lactic acid)-b-poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(lactic acid) (PLA-PEO-PLA) triblock copolymers in water, focusing on the effect of stereochemistry, where the PLA blocks are statistical copolymers of l -lactide and d -lactide with l/d ratios of 100/0, 95/5, 90/10, 85/15, 75/25, and 50/50. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) shows a nearly constant d-spacing as concentration varies in triblock systems with l/d ratios of 90/10 and 95/5, which we attribute to inhomogeneity in the structure of these gels, supported by previous USANS and confocal microscopy studies. The SANS data fit well to a core-shell ellipsoid form factor model with a hard-sphere structure factor. Polymeric micelles with l/d ratios from 75/25 to 85/15 displayed very high aggregation numbers, consistent with a strong interaction between PLA chains and the enhanced storage modulus observed in rheological studies of these systems. While the 90/10 and 95/5 samples showed lower aggregation numbers, their SANS profiles shows close spacing between micelles, which may promote a high fraction of intermicellar bridging chains, also consistent with a higher storage modulus. Overall, these results provide insight into the micellar assembly behavior of block copolymers with a crystallizable block, and indicate that tuning stereochemistry of PLA-based block copolymers is an effective means of modifying micellar properties for specific applications.
Severe hypercalcaemia from ectopic intact parathyroid hormone secretion treated with continuous renal replacement therapy in a patient with two malignancies.

We present a 61-year-old Caucasian woman with endometroid carcinoma as well as a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma who developed severe hypercalcaemia in the setting of an elevated intact parathyroid hormone. The patient was hospitalised twice for her condition. During her first hospitalisation, she was diagnosed with an endometroid carcinoma and hypercalcaemia. With medical management, she had a normal calcium level on discharge. She presented 3 weeks later with hypercalcaemia and encephalopathy. This time her hypercalcaemia was refractory to medical management, and required continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) to normalise her serum calcium. Lung biopsy revealed a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, suspicious for pancreatic primary. Due to her poor prognosis, rapid elevation of calcium with each attempt to discontinue CRRT, and the poor options for treatment of her cancers, she elected to pursue hospice care.
Reprogramming NK Cells and Macrophages via Combined Antibody and Cytokine Therapy Primes Tumors for Elimination by Checkpoint Blockade

Treatments aiming to augment immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in cancer often focus on T cell immunity, but innate immune cells may have important roles to play. Here we demonstrate a single-dose combination treatment (termed AIP) employing a pan-tumor-targeting antibody surrogate, half-life-extended interleukin-2 (IL-2), and anti-PD-1, which primes tumors to respond to subsequent ICB and promotes rejection of large established tumors in mice. NK cells and macrophages activated by AIP treatment underwent transcriptional reprogramming, rapidly killed cancer cells, governed the recruitment of cross-presenting dendritic cells (DCs) and other leukocytes, and induced normalization of the tumor vasculature, facilitating further immune infiltration. Thus, innate cell-activating therapies can initiate critical steps leading to a self-sustaining cycle of T cell priming driven by ICB.
Learning from gesture: How early does it happen?

Iconic gesture is a rich source of information for conveying ideas to learners. However, in order to learn from iconic gesture, a learner must be able to interpret its iconic form—a nontrivial task for young children. Our study explores how young children interpret iconic gesture and whether they can use it to infer a previously unknown action. In Study 1, 2- and 3-year-old children were shown iconic gestures that illustrated how to operate a novel toy to achieve a target action. Children in both age groups successfully figured out the target action more often after seeing an iconic gesture demonstration than after seeing no demonstration. However, the 2-year-olds (but not the 3-year-olds) figured out fewer target actions after seeing an iconic gesture demonstration than after seeing a demonstration of an incomplete-action and, in this sense, were not yet experts at interpreting gesture. Nevertheless, both age groups seemed to understand that gesture could convey information that can be used to guide their own actions, and that gesture is thus not movement for its own sake. That is, the children in both groups produced the action displayed in gesture on the object itself, rather than producing the action in the air (in other words, they rarely imitated the experimenter’s gesture as it was performed). Study 2 compared 2-year-olds’ performance following iconic vs. point gesture demonstrations. Iconic gestures led children to discover more target actions than point gestures, suggesting that iconic gesture does more than just focus a learner’s attention, it conveys substantive information about how to solve the problem, information that is accessible to children as young as 2. The ability to learn from iconic gesture is thus in place by toddlerhood and, although still fragile, allows children to process gesture, not as meaningless movement, but as an intentional communicative representation.
The Little q-Jacobi Functions of Complex Order

We use Ismail's argument and an elementary combinatorial identity to prove the q-binomial theorem, the symmetry of the Rogers-Fine function, Ramanujan's 1ψ1 sum, and Heine's q-Gauss sum and give many other proofs of these results. We prove a special case of Heine's 2ϕ1 transformation and write Ramanujan's 1ψ1 sum as the nonterminating q-Chu-Vandermonde sum. We show that the q-SaalschUtz and q-Chu-Vandermonde sums are equivalent to the evaluations of certain moments and to the orthogonality of the little q-Jacobi polynomials; hence the q-Chu-Vandermonde sum implies the q-Saalschutz sum. We extend the little q-Jacobi polynomials naturally to the little q-Jacobi functions of complex order. We show that the nonterminating q-Saalschutz and q-Chu-Vandermonde sums are equivalent to the evaluations of certain moments and, using the Liouville-Ismail argument, to two orthogonality relations. We show that the nonterminating q-Chu-Vandermonde sum implies the nonterminating q-Saalschutz sum.
Policy and Behavioral Interventions for STDs

Policy making in public health is a multidisciplinary activity that has a major impact on how public health problems are addressed. While most assume that relevant science should form the basic foundation for development of public health policy, the way that connection is bridged and how the science is interpreted are frequently influenced by the political arena within which they exist. STD prevention and reproductive health are not immune to this reality. This chapter will first describe and define the core functions of public health, which provide a critical context for policy making. The basis and specific domains of policy making and how they relate to preventing STDs will be explored, using case study examples to highlight specific points. The interface of science and policy making and the political arena within which they function will also be woven into the discussion.
Stepwise Refinement of Complex Object Constraints in Design Views for Concurrent Engineering

Designing functionally correct behavior is an important issue in defining views of complex objects for such applications as concurrent engineering, in which complex objects are used to model engineering designs. To guarantee correctness of the behavior for derived classes when extracting a consistent set of objects and associations to form a functionally correct view, an understanding of the relationship between the base complex object and the view is essential.
Scalable Euclidean Embedding for Big Data

Euclidean embedding algorithms transform data defined in an arbitrary metric space to the Euclidean space, which is critical to many visualization techniques. At big-data scale, these algorithms need to be scalable to massive data-parallel infrastructures. Designing such scalable algorithms and understanding the factors affecting the algorithms are important research problems for visually analyzing big data. We propose a framework that extends the existing Euclidean embedding algorithms to scalable ones. Specifically, it decomposes an existing algorithm into naturally parallel components and non-parallelizable components. Then, data parallel implementations such as MapReduce and data reduction techniques are applied to the two categories of components, respectively. We show that this can be possibly done for a collection of embedding algorithms. Extensive experiments are conducted to understand the important factors in these scalable algorithms: scalability, time cost, and the effect of data reduction to result quality. The result on sample algorithms: Fast Map-MR and LMDS-MR shows that with the proposed approach the derived algorithms can preserve result quality well, while achieving desirable scalability.
Structured anaphora to quantifier domains: a unified account of quantificational and modal subordination

The paper proposes an account of the contrast (noticed in [9]) between the interpretations of the following two discourses: Harvey courts a girl at every convention. {She is very pretty. vs. She always comes to the banquet with him.}. The initial sentence is ambiguous between two quantifier scopings, but the first discourse as a whole allows only for the wide-scope indefinite reading, while the second allows for both. This cross-sentential interaction between quantifier scope and anaphora is captured by means of a new dynamic system couched in classical type logic, which extends Compositional DRT ([16]) with plural information states (modeled, following [24], as sets of variable assignments). Given the underlying type logic, compositionality at sub-clausal level follows automatically and standard techniques from Montague semantics become available. The paper also shows that modal subordination (A wolf might come in. It would eat Harvey first) can be analyzed in a parallel way, i.e. the system captures the anaphoric and quantificational parallels between the individual and modal domains argued for in [23]. In the process, we see that modal/individual-level quantifiers enter anaphoric connections as a matter of course, usually functioning simultaneously as both indefinites and pronouns.
Single Pion Electroproduction in the Δ(1232) Resonance from CLAS Data at Jefferson Lab

In this contribution, several physics topics relevant to the Δ(1232) resonance are discussed and some preliminary experimental results with CLAS for single pion electroproduction in the Δ(1232) resonance region are presented.