cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
IL-12p40 and IL-18 modulate inflammatory and immune responses to respiratory syncytial virus infection.

Respiratory syncytial virus-induced bronchiolitis has been linked to the development of allergy and atopic asthma. IL-12 and possibly IL-18 are central mediators orchestrating Th1 and/or Th2 immune responses to infection. To determine a possible role for IL-12 in regulating the immune response to acute respiratory syncytial virus infection, IL-12p40 gene-targeted (IL-12p40 −/− ) and wild-type mice were intratracheally infected with respiratory syncytial virus, and lung inflammatory and immune responses were assessed. Lung inflammation and mucus production were increased in the airways of IL-12p40 −/− mice as compared with those of wild-type mice, concurrent with increased levels of the Th2 effector cytokines IL-5 and IL-13. Respiratory syncytial virus clearance and levels of Th1 effector cytokine IFN-γ were not altered. Interestingly, IL-18, another mediator of IFN-γ production, was significantly increased in the lungs of IL-12p40 −/− mice early during the course of infection. Abrogation of IL-18-mediated signaling in IL-12p40 −/− mice further enhanced Th2 immune response and mucus production in the airways during respiratory syncytial virus infection but failed to modulate IFN-γ production or viral clearance. These findings implicate a role for IL-12 and IL-18 in modulating respiratory syncytial virus-induced airway inflammation distinct from that of viral clearance.
Simeprevir for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C

Introduction: The addition of protease inhibitors such as telaprevir and boceprevir with PEGylated interferon and ribavirin has significantly improved cure rates for genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Simeprevir (TMC435) is a second-generation protease inhibitor that is in development for the treatment of genotype 1 HCV infection. Areas covered: The authors present: i) an overview of Phases I – III clinical trials of simeprevir for HCV infection based on peer-reviewed literature and congress presentations and ii) an evaluation of the efficacy and safety of simeprevir in the treatment of HCV infection. Expert opinion: Simeprevir is a once-daily oral medication that combined with PEGylated interferon and ribavirin appears to be a potent and safe agent to treat genotype 1 HCV infection for patients who are treatment-naive and prior treatment-failures. Compared to telaprevir and boceprevir, simeprevir will likely be the protease inhibitor of choice for genotype 1 HCV infection based on ease of use,...
Spinal NK-1 receptor-expressing neurons and descending pathways support fentanyl-induced pain hypersensitivity in a rat model of postoperative pain

The clinically important opioid fentanyl, administered acutely, enhances mechanical hypersensitivity in a model of surgical pain induced by plantar incision. Activity of neurokinin-1 (NK-1) receptor-expressing ascending spinal neurons, descending pathways originating in the rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM), and spinal dynorphin are necessary for the development and maintenance of hyperalgesia during sustained morphine exposure, suggesting that these mechanisms may also be important in opioid enhancement of surgical pain. Therefore, we examined the roles of these mechanisms in sensory hypersensitivity produced by acute fentanyl administration in rats not undergoing surgical incision and in rats undergoing plantar incision. In non-operated rats, fentanyl induced analgesia followed by immediate and long-lasting sensory hypersensitivity, as previously described. Fentanyl also enhanced pain sensitivity induced by plantar incision. Ablation of NK-1-expressing spinal neurons by pre-treatment with substance P-Saporin reduced sensory hypersensitivity in fentanyl-treated rats and, to a lesser extent, in fentanyl-treated rats with a surgical incision. Microinjection of lidocaine into the RVM completely reversed fentanyl-induced sensory hypersensitivity and fentanyl enhancement of incision-induced sensory hypersensitivity. RVM lidocaine injection resulted in a slight reduction of incision-induced sensory hypersensitivity in the absence of fentanyl pre-treatment. Spinal dynorphin content increased by 30 +/- 7% and 66 +/- 17% in fentanyl- and fentanyl/incision-treated rats. Spinal administration of antiserum to dynorphin attenuated sensory hypersensitivity in fentanyl-treated rats. These data support a partial role of NK-1 receptor-containing ascending pathways and a crucial role of descending facilitatory pathways in fentanyl-induced hyperalgesia and in the enhanced hyperalgesia produced by fentanyl treatment following surgical incision.
Characterizing brain tissue by assessment of the distribution of anisotropic microstructural environments in diffusion-compartment imaging (DIAMOND).

Purpose To develop a statistical model for the tridimensional diffusion MRI signal at each voxel that describes the signal arising from each tissue compartment in each voxel. Theory and Methods In prior work, a statistical model of the apparent diffusion coefficient was shown to well-characterize the diffusivity and heterogeneity of the mono-directional diffusion MRI signal. However, this model was unable to characterize the three-dimensional anisotropic diffusion observed in the brain. We introduce a new model that extends the statistical distribution representation to be fully tridimensional, in which apparent diffusion coefficients are extended to be diffusion tensors. The set of compartments present at a voxel is modeled by a finite sum of unimodal continuous distributions of diffusion tensors. Each distribution provides measures of each compartment microstructural diffusivity and heterogeneity. Results The ability to estimate the tridimensional diffusivity and heterogeneity of multiple fascicles and of free diffusion is demonstrated. Conclusion Our novel tissue model allows for the characterization of the intra-voxel orientational heterogeneity, a prerequisite for accurate tractography while also characterizing the overall tridimensional diffusivity and heterogeneity of each tissue compartment. The model parameters can be estimated from short duration acquisitions. The diffusivity and heterogeneity microstructural parameters may provide novel indicator of the presence of disease or injury. Magn Reson Med, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Calcium carrying system in the giant muscle fibre of the barnacle species, Balanus nubilus.

1. Single barnacle muscle fibres from Balanus nubilus were internally perfused with an isotonic solution containing 180 m M-tetraethylammonium acetate and the effects of Ca concentration in the external solution on the voltage-clamp currents, especially the initial inward current, were examined. 2. Muscle fibre in external solution containing no added Ca (concentration of Ca < 10−5 M) gave a current—voltage curve that showed a small inward current followed by a small outward current. An identical curve was obtained when the chloride in the external solution was replaced by acetate. 3. The peak inward current increased with increase in Ca concentration in the external solution; but the increase in peak current for equal increments of Ca concentration was reduced and attained saturation conforming to an adsorption regime which can be described by the Langmuir equation. 4. A double reciprocal plot of peak inward current due to Ca as a function of Ca concentration gave values of 20.7 m M and 200% (the current due to 20 m M-Ca normalized to 100%) for the dissociation constant and the maximum current respectively. These values were found to depend on the concentration of Mg used in the external solutions. 5. The peak inward Ca currents measured at two Ca concentrations as a function of pH were unaffected in the pH range 6.5-8.8; however when the pH was reduced below 6.5, the currents were depressed.
Anomalous Photocurrent Generation in Transistor Structures

It has been previously reported that, at relatively modest dose-rates (~109 rad/sec), certain transistor types exhibit an anomalous primary photocurrent response which results in serious departures from the commonly assumed linear dose-rate dependence. This paper presents additional experimental evidence concerning the anomalous photocurrent problem and develops a model which explains the observed data in terms of carrier generation and transport processes within the device. The analysis and supporting experimental evidence shows that the observed phenomenon is the result of base-emitter junction breakdown. This breakdown is induced by transverse photocurrent flow in the active base region and causes the device to assume a common emitter configuration wherein the primary photocurrent is amplified by the device gain.
Intrinsic mitochondrial dysfunction in ATM-deficient lymphoblastoid cells

One of the characteristic features of cells from patients with ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) is that they are in a state of continuous oxidative stress and exhibit constitutive activation of pathways that normally respond to oxidative damage. In this report, we investigated whether the oxidative stress phenotype of A-T cells might be a reflection of an intrinsic mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitotracker Red staining showed that the structural organization of mitochondria in A-T cells was abnormal compared to wild-type. Moreover, A-T cells harbored a much larger population of mitochondria with decreased membrane potential (DeltaPsi) than control cells. In addition, the basal expression levels of several nuclear DNA-encoded oxidative damage responsive genes whose proteins are targeted to the mitochondria--polymerase gamma, mitochondrial topoisomerase I, peroxiredoxin 3 and manganese superoxide dismutase--are elevated in A-T cells. Consistent with these results, we found that overall mitochondrial respiratory activity was diminished in A-T compared to wild-type cells. Treating A-T cells with the antioxidant, alpha lipoic acid (ALA), restored mitochondrial respiration rates to levels approaching those of wild-type. When wild-type cells were transfected with ATM-targeted siRNA, we observed a small but significant reduction in the respiration rates of mitochondria. Moreover, mitochondria in A-T cells induced to stably express full-length ATM, exhibited respiration rates approaching those of wild-type cells. Taken together, our results provide evidence for an intrinsic mitochondrial dysfunction in A-T cells, and implicate a requirement for ATM in the regulation of mitochondrial function.
Devaluation, Fiscal Deficits, and the Real Exchange Rate

This article examines the use of fiscal policies to sustain the effects of a nominal devaluation on the real exchange rate. It is shown that the magnitude of the change in the real exchange rate depends not only on the size of the devaluation and the degree of fiscal adjustment but also on the means by which the fiscal deficit is reduced. The change in the nominal exchange rate necessary to maintain the depreciation of the real exchange rate will depend on whether the fiscal deficit is eliminated by increasing taxes or by reducing government expenditures on traded and nontraded goods. The required depreciation of the domestic currency will be larger if the fiscal deficit is reduced by increasing taxes than it will be if the deficit is cut by lowering government expenditures. Further, the depreciation would be smaller if the cuts in expenditure fell on traded rather than nontraded goods. This result implies that the authorities must ensure consistency between exchange rate action and policies to reduce fiscal imbalances in order to achieve a desired level of the real exchange rate necessary to attain balance of payments equilibrium. The real exchange rate represents a key relative price in the economy and policies to change it are often the centerpiece of adjustment programs designed to improve international competitiveness and shift resources toward the production of tradable goods. Consequently, it is critical for policymakers to have some idea of the magnitude and time path of the likely response of the real exchange rate to nominal exchange rate action. It is a well-accepted proposition, however, that a nominal devaluation will only have a transitory effect on the real exchange rate. In the long run domestic wages and prices will rise by the full amount of the devaluation and the real exchange rate will return to its original level. To alter the real exchange rate on a permanent basis, therefore, devaluation has to be supplemented by policies that restrain the increase in domestic factor costs that results from a devaluation. Generally speaking, the effects of a devaluation on the real exchange rate can
Known Clinical Epigenetic Disorders with an Obesity Phenotype: Prader–Willi Syndrome and the GNAS Locus

Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) was the first example in humans of genomic imprinting, an epigenetic phenomenon mediated through modifications of DNA and histones by methylation without altering the DNA sequence. Epigenetics is heritable but reversible depending on the parent of origin. PWS is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by hypotonia, feeding difficulties, hypogonadism, growth failure, learning/behavioral problems, and hyperphagia in early childhood leading to morbid obesity if uncontrolled. PWS is considered the most common known cause of life-threatening obesity and estimated to occur in 1 in 10,000–20,000 individuals. A de novo paternal deletion of the chromosome 15q11–q13 region is the cause in 70% of PWS subjects, maternal disomy 15 accounts for about 25%, and the remaining cases are due to an imprinting defect (microdeletions or epimutations) of the imprinting center or from chromosome 15 translocations. Predisposition of adipogenesis and obesity is present before birth and controlled by epigenetics in PWS and other obesity-related disorders. Specific information about clinical epigenetic disorders with obesity will be discussed, including PWS, along with epigenetic defects involving the complex GNAS gene locus on chromosome 20 causing Albright hereditary osteodystrophy (pseudohypoparathyroidism – PHP and pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism – PPHP) in which obesity is a major manifestation, and McCune–Albright syndrome.
Variation in partner benefits in a shrimp—sea anemone symbiosis

Symbiotic interactions, where two species occur in close physical proximity for the majority of the participants' lifespans, may constrain the fitness of one or both of the participants. Host choice could result in lineage divergence in symbionts if fitness benefits vary across the interaction with hosts. Symbiotic interactions are common in the marine environment, particularly in the most diverse marine ecosystems: coral reefs. However, the variation in symbiotic interactions that may drive diversification is poorly understood in marine systems. We measured the fecundity of the symbiotic shrimp Periclimenes yucatanicus on two anemone hosts on coral reefs in Panama, and found that while fecundity varies among host species, this variation is explained largely by host size, not species. This suggests that shrimp on larger hosts may have higher fitness regardless of host species, which in turn could drive selection for host choice, a proposed driver of diversification in this group.
CD40 Generation 2.5 Antisense Oligonucleotide Treatment Attenuates Doxorubicin-induced Nephropathy and Kidney Inflammation

Preclinical and clinical data suggest CD40 activation contributes to renal inflammation and injury. We sought to test whether upregulation of CD40 in the kidney is a causative factor of renal pathology and if reduction of renal CD40 expression, using antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) targeting CD40, would be beneficial in mouse models of glomerular injury and unilateral ureter obstruction. Administration of a Generation 2.5 CD40 ASO reduced CD40 mRNA and protein levels 75–90% in the kidney. CD40 ASO treatment mitigated functional, transcriptional, and pathological endpoints of doxorubicin-induced nephropathy. Experiments using an activating CD40 antibody revealed CD40 is primed in kidneys following doxorubicin injury or unilateral ureter obstruction and CD40 ASO treatment blunted CD40-dependent renal inflammation. Suborgan fractionation and imaging studies demonstrated CD40 in glomeruli before and after doxorubicin administration that becomes highly enriched within interstitial and glomerular foci following CD40 activation. Such foci were also sites of ASO distribution and activity and may be predominately comprised from myeloid cells as bone marrow CD40 deficiency sharply attenuated CD40 antibody responses. These studies suggest an important role of interstitial renal and/or glomerular CD40 to augment kidney injury and inflammation and demonstrate that ASO treatment could be an effective therapy in such disorders.
Work of Paul Bernays and Kurt Gödel

Publisher Summary Hilbert's program was proposed to save mathematics from the crisis caused by contradictions in set theory. The program consists of two parts: formalization of mathematics and consistency-proof of a formal theory. Formalization of mathematics makes a mathematical theory a formal system by enumerating all primitive symbols in the theory. Then describe what kind of combination of symbols is a meaningful statement in the theory. Such kind of combination of symbols is called a “formula.” A proof formalized is a concrete figure of symbols and is called a “proof-figure.” Consistency-proof of a formal theory is to provide a foundation for mathematics for proving its consistency. This chapter also discusses arithmetization of metamathematics to explain how one finds an arithmetical statement expressing the consistency of the system. It represents the primitive symbols by natural numbers. Then, formulas and proofs are represented by sequences of natural numbers.
Fuzzy Attitude Control of a Magnetically Actuated CubeSat

The problem of magnetic attitude control of a CubeSat is analyzed. Three controller types are examined: a Constant-Gain Simple PD controller, a Linear Constant-Gain Optimal PD controller (i.e. an LQR), and a Fuzzy Gain-Scheduled PD controller. Each subsequent controller type utilizes a more-complex design algorithm. The Simple PD controller is tuned by hand iteration, the LQR is tuned using rule-of-thumb algorithms, and the Fuzzy Gain-Scheduled PD controller is designed using a Genetic Algorithm operating on two Fuzzy Inference Systems. Though the basic structures of these three controllers are identical, the differing design processes lead to different controller performance. The use of a Genetic-Fuzzy System is of particular interest, because this demonstrates the use of an intelligent algorithm to automate the controller design process. The techniques presented herein are directly applicable to any magnetically actuated satellite that can be modeled as a rigid body, although the mass distribution, geometry, and orbit of the satellite will determine controller-specific constants.
Phenology of horn fly populations (Diptera: Muscidae) in Iowa, USA.

Age-grading techniques were applied to natural horn fly populations, Haematobia irritans irritans , collected from beef cattle in central Iowa, USA, in 1979 and 1980. Fly population densities were estimated 3 or 4 times weekly by counting the flies on 1 side of each of 15 cattle in 1979 and 7 cattle in 1980. Flies were sampled with sweep nets and subsequently sexed and age-graded. Nine gonotrophic age groups were recognized and used to study seasonal demographic changes in adult horn fly populations. A stable age distribution was observed among the flies on a semi-isolated herd of 25 cattle, but when the cattle were moved near a much larger number of insecticide-treated, horn fly-free animals, a catastrophic decline in population occurred and age structure and density fluctuated thereafter. Recruitment of teneral adults occurred through October, although population density declined. Horn fly adults were not detected after November. Sampling bovine dung showed horn fly yields that correlated with adult densities. Adult male survival rates were ca. 95% of the female survival rate. Estimates were obtained of horn fly recruitment and emigration rates.
Interactions of Angiotensin II and Atrial Natriuretic Peptide in the Brain: Fish to Rodent

The brain peptides atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and angiotensin II (AngII) have antagonistic actions centrally that have evolved to play an important role in maintaining the homeostasis of fluid volume and electrolytes. This paper discusses the possible evolution of these functions as viewed through studies on fish and rats. In the euryhaline teleost fish, the major form of ANP is CNP. CNP is important for the adaptation of fish in sea water to water with lower salinity (50% SW). The concentration of CNP in the hypothalamus (HTS-CNP) of toadfish is significantly increased when the fish moves from SW to 50% SW. Interestingly, the plasma CNP concentrations of these fish go in the opposite direction to the brain CNP. Plasma CNP is reduced 24 hrs and 10 days after the fish has been in 50% SW. We postulate that the increased hypothalamic CNP is correlated with an increase in hypothalamic dopamine turnover. Dopamine is the main inhibitory factor for the release of prolactin. In sea-water-adapted fish, prolactin plasma levels are low. In 50% SW, the levels are increased. Extracts of fish-brain CNP caused an increase in urinary sodium and volume, indicating the natriuretic action of CNP. In contrast to CNP, hypothalamic AngII was decreased during adaptation to 50% SW. Thus, CNP and AngII in the brain have opposite actions in fish which aid in their survival in adapting to different salinities. This implies that the hormones evolved as sodium/osmoregulatory peptides, not volume-regulatory peptides. In moving from an aquatic to a terrestrial environment, ANP further evolved in mammals as a volume-regulating hormone while retaining its sodium-regulating properties. In the brain the antagonism between the peptides is apparent in many actions, but when volume is changed both peptides are increased. This is in contrast to plasma ANP and plasma AngII, which have opposite actions during hemorrhage. Plasma AngII is increased and plasma AnP is decreased after blood volume loss. Brain ANP counteracts the thirst-inducing and volume-restoring roles of brain AngII in mammals. By these actions, the brain peptides play significant roles in maintaining volume and electrolyte homeostasis.
INJURIES TO THE EYELIDS AND THEIR REPAIR.

Correction of defects and deformities of the eyelids is a difficult and exacting procedure. These deformities vary from relatively small marginal defects to total loss of the eyelid. Deformities between these extremes may involve only the skin, possibly the skin and ciliary margin, or varying degrees of subtotal full-thickness loss. The eyelid's unique structure allows considerable latitude in mobilizing the tissues. Almost any type of incision or flap may be made. Tarsorrhaphy is necessary in all skin-grafting procedures.Complications in eyelid surgery relate chiefly to the eyeball. The eyelids usually heal well, but postoperative care is most important.
Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of famotidine in children with upper gastrointesinal bleeding

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of famotidine in children with upper gastrointesinal bleeding.METHODS 18 children with upper gastrointesinal bleeding received(0.9) mg·kg~(-1)infusion dose of famotidine.Plasma concentrations were determined with HPLC.Pharmacokinetics parameters were calculated with DAS pharmacokinetic program.24 h intragastric pH monitoring was performed.RESULTS The elimination half-life(t_(1/2)) was((1.7)±(0.7)) hours,the apparent volume of distribution(V_(d)) was((2.0)±(1.0))L·kg~(-1)and the plasma clearance(CL) was((0.5)±(0.3))L·h~(-1)·kg~(-1).The duration of intragastric pH 4 were about 6 h.CONCLUSION The infusion dose of famotidine((0.9) mg·kg~(-1)) can inhibit the gastric acid secretion remarkably,but there is a hysteresis between the inhibition effect of famodidine and the plasma concentrations,and there have individual differences in pharmacokinetics parameters of these children.
Impact of HPV vaccination on anogenital warts and respiratory papillomatosis

Human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection in the US and worldwide, can cause cancers, anogenital warts (AGW), and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) in men, women, and children. Global incidence of AGW ranges from 160-289 cases per 100,000 person-years and peaks in young men and women in the third decade of life. RRP has an estimated incidence of 3 per 1 million person-years in children. Pre-licensure trial efficacy, modeling and time-trend ecological studies have shown a significant short-term impact of 4vHPV vaccine. In girls aged 15-19 years, a previously published meta-analysis indicated that genital warts decreased significantly by 31%; stratified analysis revealed more substantial reductions in populations with high (≥50 %) vs. low (<50 % ) vaccination coverage (61% vs. 14%). Longer-term monitoring will reveal whether this impact continues under 9vHPV programs, and whether current declines in AGW are mirrored by declines in RRP.
Examining Teachers' Use of iPads: Comfort Level, Perception, and Use

AbstractWhile there is evidence of the growing popularity of iPads and other tablets in K–12 education, little is understood about how teachers use these devices in their instruction. This study examines 342 teachers' comfort level with and perception toward iPad use and any changes that occurred over the implementation year. Using a mixed-methods design, this study found significant differences in comfort level by years of teaching and school levels. Female teachers, teachers with 20 years or less of teaching experience, and elementary school teachers were more positive about their perception toward iPad use than the other groups. High school teachers' perception was the lowest overall. Analyses of teacher interviews revealed affordances, challenges, and diverse ways of how teachers used iPads in their instruction. Implications for practice and research are discussed.
Cold Plasma Reticulation of Shape Memory Embolic Tissue Scaffolds.

Polyurethane shape memory polymer (SMP) foams are proposed for use as thrombogenic scaffolds to improve the treatment of vascular defects, such as cerebral aneurysms. However, gas blown SMP foams inherently have membranes between pores, which can limit their performance as embolic tissue scaffolds. Reticulation, or the removal of membranes between adjacent foam pores, is advantageous for improving device performance by increasing blood permeability and cellular infiltration. This work characterizes the effects of cold gas plasma reticulation processes on bulk polyurethane SMP films and foams. Plasma-induced changes on material properties are characterized using scanning electron microscopy, uniaxial tensile testing, goniometry, and free strain recovery experiments. Device specific performance is characterized in terms of permeability, platelet attachment, and cell–material interactions. Overall, plasma reticulated SMP scaffolds show promise as embolic tissue scaffolds due to increased bulk permeability, retained thrombogenicity, and favorable cell–material interactions.
Secondary science students’ beliefs about class discussions: a case study comparing and contrasting academic tracks

ABSTRACTThe dialogue that occurs in science classrooms has been the subject of research for many decades. Most studies have focused on the actual discourse that occurs and the role of the teacher in guiding the discourse. This case study explored the neglected perspective of secondary science students and their beliefs about their role in class discussions. The study participants (N = 45) were students in one of the three differentially tracked chemistry classes taught by the same teacher. Findings about the differences that exist among students from different academic tracks are reported. While it seems that epistemological beliefs focusing on content are common for the students in this study, the students' social framing in the different tracks is important to consider when teachers attempt to transition to more dialogic forms of discourse. Some key findings of this study are (a) students’ beliefs that science is a body of facts to be learned influenced the factors they deemed important for whole-class ...
Link Prediction in Dynamic Networks UsingźGraphlet

Predicting the link state of a network at a future time given a collection of link states at earlier time is an important task with many real-life applications. In existing literature this task is known as link prediction in dynamic networks. Solving this task is more difficult than its counterpart in static networks because an effective feature representation of node-pair instances for the case of dynamic network is hard to obtain. In this work we solve this problem by designing a novel graphlet transition based feature representation of the node-pair instances of a dynamic network. We propose a method GraTFEL which uses unsupervised feature learning methodologies on graphlet transition based features to give a low-dimensional feature representation of the node-pair instances. GraTFEL models the feature learning task as an optimal coding task where the objective is to minimize the reconstruction error, and it solves this optimization task by using a gradient descent method. We validate the effectiveness of the learned feature representations by utilizing it for link prediction in real-life dynamic networks. Specifically, we show that GraTFEL, which use the extracted feature representation of graphlet transition events, outperforms existing methods that use well-known link prediction features. The data and software related to this paper are available at https://github.com/DMGroup-IUPUI/GraTFEL-Source.
Isolation and Structure of Three Neuropeptides from the Corpora Cardiaca of the American Cockroach

In the last years numerous insect neuropeptides have been isolated and sequenced (Holman et al., 1988; Nachman et al., 1986a,b). Here the recent isolation of three new neuropeptides from the corpora cardiaca of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana, is briefly summarized. These peptides are corazonin, a novel cardioacceleratory peptide, and two peptides related to the leucosulfakinins (Veenstra, 1989a,b).
Mission analysis for CubeSats with micropropulsion

The orbital maneuver capabilities of several CubeSat propulsion systems are analyzed using trajectory simulations. Properties of several types of developmental micropropulsion systems are reviewed, and ΔV capabilities are compared. Mission simulations are used to analyze the relationship between thrust arc length and orbit change capability in a low-thrust spiral trajectory. Constraints on power, fuel mass, and mission duration, as well as system-level constraints, are considered. Feasible CubeSat architectures and mission designs are developed for three electric propulsion systems. The most effective combinations of thruster operational modes and trajectory control strategies are discussed.
“It’s like this Myth of the Supernegro”: resisting narratives of damage and struggle in the neoliberal educational policy context

AbstractAs pathologizing, racialized, and patriarchal rhetoric undergirds neoliberal education reform, deficit narratives characterize the education of Black youth. Such narratives present deep challenges for educational policy and community-based educational spaces. This article explores the ways in which community-based educators resist narratives of damage and struggle in their own personal and professional narratives in order to prevent the cycle of deficit-oriented discourse that follow Black youth through myriad educational spaces. By situating the narratives of community-based educators within a broader policy context shaped by race, class, and gender, this article illustrates the challenges that arise for community-based educators that seek to frame Black youth beyond deficit narratives and who avoid framing themselves as heroes and saviors of Black youth.
Agreement of Ocular Symptom Reporting Between Patient-Reported Outcomes and Medical Records.

Importance Accurate documentation of patient symptoms in the electronic medical record (EMR) is important for high-quality patient care. Objective To explore inconsistencies between patient self-report on an Eye Symptom Questionnaire (ESQ) and documentation in the EMR. Design, Setting, and Participants This investigation was an observational study in comprehensive ophthalmology and cornea clinics at an academic institution among a convenience sample of 192 consecutive eligible patients, of whom 30 declined participation. Patients were recruited at the Kellogg Eye Center from October 1, 2015, to January 31, 2016. Patients were eligible to be included in the study if they were 18 years or older. Main Outcomes and Measures Concordance of symptoms reported on an ESQ with data recorded in the EMR. Agreement of symptom report was analyzed using κ statistics and McNemar tests. Disagreement was defined as a negative symptom report or no mention of a symptom in the EMR for patients who reported moderate to severe symptoms on the ESQ. Logistic regression was used to investigate if patient factors, physician characteristics, or diagnoses were associated with the probability of disagreement for symptoms of blurry vision, pain or discomfort, and redness. Results A total of 162 patients (324 eyes) were included. The mean (SD) age of participants was 56.6 (19.4) years, 62.3% (101 of 162) were female, and 84.9% (135 of 159) were white. At the participant level, 33.8% (54 of 160) had discordant reporting of blurry vision between the ESQ and EMR. Likewise, documentation was discordant for reporting glare (48.1% [78 of 162]), pain or discomfort (26.5% [43 of 162]), and redness (24.7% [40 of 162]), with poor to fair agreement (κ range, −0.02 to 0.42). Discordance of symptom reporting was more frequently characterized by positive reporting on the ESQ and lack of documentation in the EMR (Holm-adjusted McNemarP Conclusions and Relevance Symptom reporting was inconsistent between patient self-report on an ESQ and documentation in the EMR, with symptoms more frequently recorded on a questionnaire. These results suggest that documentation of symptoms based on EMR data may not provide a comprehensive resource for clinical practice or “big data” research.
Supply chain vulnerability assessment: A network based visualization and clustering analysis approach

Abstract Supply chains are large, complex, and often unpredictable. Purchasing and supply managers and supply chain risk managers need methods and tools to enable them to quickly understand how unexpected disruptions in the supply chain start and grow and to what extent will they negatively impact the flow of goods and services. This paper introduces a methodological approach that can be used by both researchers and managers to quickly visualize a supply chain, map out the propagation path of disruptive events from the supply side to the end customer and understand potential weaknesses in the supply chain design; taking into account the structure, connectivity, and dependence within the supply chain. The approach incorporates a Petri net and Triangularization Clustering Algorithm to offer insights into a supply chain network's vulnerabilities and can be used to efficiently assess supply chain disruption mitigation strategies, especially in complex and difficulty to analyze supply chain systems.
“Nobody really wants to be called bossy or domineering”:Feminist critique of media “industry speak”

This article examines talks given by 12 female media professionals at a Southern US university’s center on women in communication between 2013 and 2015 to identify the influence of hegemonic masculinity in industry speak about women and professionalism in the fields of journalism, advertising, and public relations. This paper applies a feminist critique of discussions about “work–life balance,” “leaning in,” “emotion,” and language about the role of technology and innovation in women’s careers, to argue that inherent in these discussions about media professionalism are traits that perpetuate binary notions of feminine–masculine traits of the workplace. As a whole, these messages fail to account for notions of intersectionality and perpetuate inequality and masculine power for future professionals.
Are pancreatic IPMN volumes measured on MRI images more reproducible than diameters? An assessment in a large single-institution cohort

To assess reproducibility of volume and diameter measurement of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) on MRI images. Three readers measured the diameters and volumes of 164 IPMNs on axial T2-weighted images and coronal thin-slice navigator heavily T2-weighted images using manual and semiautomatic techniques. Interobserver reproducibility and variability were assessed. Interobserver intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for the largest diameter measured using manual and semiautomatic techniques were 0.979 and 0.909 in the axial plane, and 0.969 and 0.961 in the coronal plane, respectively. Interobserver ICCs for the volume measurements were 0.973 and 0.970 in axial and coronal planes, respectively. The highest intraobserver reproducibility was noted for coronal manual measurements (ICC 0.981) followed by axial manual measurements (ICC 0.969). For the diameter measurements, Bland-Altman analysis revealed the lowest interobserver variability for manual axial measurements with an average range of 95% limits of agreement (LOA) of 0.68 cm. Axial and coronal volume measurements showed similar 95% LOA ranges (8.9 cm3 and 9.4 cm3, respectively). Volume and diameter measurements on axial and coronal images show good interobserver and intraobserver reproducibility. The single largest diameter measured manually on axial images showed the highest reproducibility and lowest variability. The 95% LOA may help define reproducible size changes in these lesions using measurements from different readers. • MRI measurements by different radiologists can be used for IPMN follow-up. • Both diameter and volume measurements demonstrate excellent interobserver and intraobserver reproducibility. • Manual axial measurements show the highest interobserver reproducibility in determining size. • Axial and coronal volume measurements show similar limits of agreement. • Manual axial measurements show the lowest variability in agreement range.
Navigating (Un)familiar Technological Territory: Sequences of Learning in Innovation Projects

Organizations engage in various activities designed to foster effective learning. Three forms of learning with important implications for the innovation process are experiential (whereby firms gain...
Where's Dad? The Importance of Integrating Fatherhood and Parenting Programming into Substance Use Treatment for Men

Large numbers of men enter substance use disorder treatment each year, yet very little attention is paid to the fatherhood and parenting status of these men. Substance use treatment programs rarely incorporate a parenting component into their treatment planning, despite increased success of women's treatment programs that focus on gender and motherhood. This paper provides: 1) a review of the literature on the fathering of substance using men, what has been learned from substance use disorder treatment for mothers, and the implications for children and families; 2) pilot quantitative and qualitative outcomes on implementation of a fatherhood focused intervention for men in a residential substance use treatment program; and 3) recommendations for the application of these findings for fathers in substance use disorder treatment and the implications of program modifications and increased focus on fathers for child welfare.
Loss of miR-17~92 results in dysregulation of Cftr in nephron progenitors

We have previously demonstrated that loss of miR-17~92 in nephron progenitors in a mouse model results in renal hypodysplasia and chronic kidney disease. Clinically, decreased congenital nephron en...
Multiple SCN5A variant enhancers modulate its cardiac gene expression and the QT interval

The rationale for genome-wide association study (GWAS) results is sequence variation in cis-regulatory elements (CREs) modulating a target gene's expression as the major cause of trait variation. To understand the complete molecular landscape of one of these GWAS loci, we performed in vitro reporter screens in cardiomyocyte cell lines for CREs overlapping nearly all common variants associated with any of five independent QT interval (QTi)-associated GWAS hits at the SCN5A-SCN10A locus. We identified 13 causal CRE variants using allelic reporter activity, cardiomyocyte nuclear extract-based binding assays, overlap with human cardiac tissue DNaseI hypersensitive regions, and predicted impact of sequence variants on DNaseI sensitivity. Our analyses identified at least one high-confidence causal CRE variant for each of the five sentinel hits that could collectively predict SCN5A cardiac gene expression and QTi association. Although all 13 variants could explain SCN5A gene expression, the highest statistical significance was obtained with seven variants (inclusive of the five above). Thus, multiple, causal, mutually associated CRE variants can underlie GWAS signals.
Intelligently-automated facilities expansion with the HEPCloud decision engine

The next generation of High Energy Physics experiments are expected to generate exabytes of data---two orders of magnitude greater than the current generation. In order to reliably meet peak demands, facilities must either plan to provision enough resources to cover the forecasted need, or find ways to elastically expand their computational capabilities. Commercial cloud and allocation-based High Performance Computing (HPC) resources both have explicit and implicit costs that must be considered when deciding when to provision these resources, and to choose an appropriate scale. In order to support such provisioning in a manner consistent with organizational business rules and budget constraints, we have developed a modular intelligent decision support system (IDSS) to aid in the automatic provisioning of resources---spanning multiple cloud providers, multiple HPC centers, and grid computing federations.
Comment. Support Vector Machines with Applications.

The authors are to be commended for jumping in to describe support vector machines (SVMs), not an easy thing to do since the the literature for SVMs has grown at least exponentially in the last few years. A Google search for "support vector machines" gave "about 1,180,000" hits as of this writing. The authors have nevertheless made a nice selection of important points to emphasize. As noted, SVMs were proposed for classification in the early 1990s by arguments like those behind Figure 1 in their paper. The use of SVMs grew rapidly among computer scientists, as it was found that they worked very well in all kinds of prac tical applications. The theoretical underpinnings that went with the original proposals were different than those in the classical statistical literature, for example, those related to Bayes risk, and so had less impact in the statistical literature. The convergence of SVMs and regularization methods (or, rather the convergence of the "SVM community" and the "regularization com munity") was a major impetus in the study of the (clas sical) statistical properties of the SVM. One point at which this convergence took place was at an Amer ican Mathematical Society meeting at Mt. Holyoke in 1996. The speaker was describing the SVM with the so-called kernel trick when an anonymous person at the back of the room remarked that the SVM with the ker nel trick was the solution to an optimization problem in a reproducing kernel Hubert space (RKHS). Once it was clear to statisticians that the SVM can be obtained as the result of an optimization/regularization problem in a RKHS, tools known to statisticians in this context were rapidly employed to show how the SVM could be modified to take into account nonrepresentative sam ple sizes, unequal misclassification costs and more than two classes, and to show in each case that it directly tar gets the Bayes risk under very general circumstances (see also [5, 8]). Thus, a "classical" explanation of why they work so well was provided.
Perfluoroalkyl chemicals in neurological health and disease: Human concerns and animal models

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are man-made organic pollutants that are found ubiquitously in the environment and may impact human health. Here, we review the published literature concerning PFAA impacts on neurobiological, neuroendocrine, and neurobehavioral outcomes. We find that there are many mechanisms through which PFAAs may enter the brain and interact with biochemical endpoints to impact neurological function. These results are supported by epidemiological evidence in humans and experimental evidence in animals that demonstrate numerous and varied PFAA impacts on the nervous system. However, the methods commonly used in animal models of PFAA exposure result in durations of exposure and serum PFAA concentrations in blood that may not appropriately mimic human absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. If animal models lack validity, confidence in mechanistic inferences regarding PFAA exposure and brain function is reduced, limiting these studies' utility. Finally, we end by suggesting some potential impacts of PFAA exposure in human neurological health and disease states whose associations may not readily present themselves in the epidemiological literature.
Change Management: How to Effectively Lead a Cultural or Organizational Change

There are many recipes for successful leadership…one size does not fit all. There are dominant, colorful individuals who are spiritual leaders of their organizations. Alternatively, there are quiet and thoughtful leaders that delegate responsibility and create energy behind the scenes. And of course the leadership spectrum includes everything in between. Regardless of style, one of the most daunting but ever present challenges for any leader is changing the status quo. This chapter focuses on change management and will discuss strategies to effectively initiate a movement that can result in a major change in a culture or an organization.
Conformal SnOx heterojunction coatings for stabilized photoelectrochemical water oxidation using arrays of silicon microcones

The efficiency of photoelectrodes towards fuel-forming reactions is strongly affected by surface-based charge recombination, charge-transfer losses, and parasitic light absorption by electrocatalysts. We report a protective tin oxide (SnOx) layer formed by atomic-layer deposition that limits surface recombination at n-Si/SnOx heterojunctions and produces ∼620 mV of photovoltage on planar n-Si photoanodes. The SnOx layer can be deposited conformally on high aspect-ratio three-dimensional structures such as Si microcone arrays. Atomic-level control of the SnOx thickness enabled highly conductive contacts to electrolytes, allowing the direct electrodeposition of NiFeOOH, CoOx, and IrOx electrocatalysts for photoelectrochemical water oxidation with minimal parasitic absorption losses. SnOx-coated n-Si microcone arrays coupled to electrodeposited catalysts exhibited photocurrent densities of ∼42 mA cm−2 and a photovoltage of ∼490 mV under 100 mW cm−2 of simulated solar illumination. The SnOx layer can be integrated with amorphous TiO2 to form a protective SnOx/TiO2 bilayer that exhibits the beneficial properties of both materials. Photoanodes coated with SnOx/TiO2 exhibited a similar photovoltage to that of SnOx-coated photoanodes, and showed >480 h of stable photocurrent for planar photoelectrodes and >140 h of stable photocurrent for n-Si microcone arrays under continuous simulated solar illumination in alkaline electrolytes.
“This is the place I need to stay”: church communities in the lives of Ethiopian immigrant women in Washington, DC

This article shares the findings from a qualitative study researching the lived experiences of Ethiopian immigrant women in the Washington, DC area. It examines the women’s immigration experiences ...