cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of a parasitic mode on the performance of a serpentine waveguide mode converter

A cylindrical waveguide with an axis having a weak harmonic variation about a straight line in a plane can be used to convert selectively the TEpq mode to the TEp+1,r mode. The performance of this waveguide converter in the presence of a parasitic mode is examined and certain aspects of the optimization of this distributed mode converter are discussed.
Cell-based therapy for myocardial ischemia and infarction: pathophysiological mechanisms.

Cell-based cardiac repair has emerged as an attractive approach to preventing or reversing heart failure resulting from myocyte dysfunction—e.g., due to infarction—and to enhancing the development of collaterals in patients with symptoms of myocardial ischemia. These two problems involve both overlapping and differing mechanisms, and these differences must be considered in cellbased therapies. In terms of myocardial dysfunction due to infarction, only committed cardiomyocytes have been shown to form new myocardium that is electrically coupled with the host heart. Despite this, multiple cell populations appear to improve function of the infarcted heart, including many that are clearly nonmyogenic. In terms of myocardial ischemia, although cell-based strategies improve ischemia in animal models, clinical trials to date have not shown robustly beneficial results. We review the evidence for potential mechanisms underlying the benefits of cell transplantation in the heart and discuss the clinical contexts in which they may be relevant.
Evolutionary Rates and Gene Dispensability Associate with Replication Timing in the Archaeon Sulfolobus islandicus

In bacterial chromosomes, the position of a gene relative to the single origin of replication generally reflects its replication timing, how often it is expressed, and consequently, its rate of evolution. However, because some archaeal genomes contain multiple origins of replication, bias in gene dosage caused by delayed replication should be minimized and hence the substitution rate of genes should associate less with chromosome position. To test this hypothesis, six archaeal genomes from the genus Sulfolobus containing three origins of replication were selected, conserved orthologs were identified, and the evolutionary rates (dN and dS) of these orthologs were quantified. Ortholog families were grouped by their consensus position and designated by their proximity to one of the three origins (O1, O2, O3). Conserved orthologs were concentrated near the origins and most variation in genome content occurred distant from the origins. Linear regressions of both synonymous and nonsynonymous substitution rates on distance from replication origins were significantly positive, the rates being greatest in the region furthest from any of the origins and slowest among genes near the origins. Genes near O1 also evolved faster than those near O2 and O3, which suggest that this origin may fire later in the cell cycle. Increased evolutionary rates and gene dispensability are strongly associated with reduced gene expression caused in part by reduced gene dosage during the cell cycle. Therefore, in this genus of Archaea as well as in many Bacteria, evolutionary rates and variation in genome content associate with replication timing.
Women's work and symptoms during midlife: Korean immigrant women.

SUMMARY Purpose. To describe how Korean immigrant women tend to describe their work experiences within their daily lives and how they relate their work to the symptoms experienced during midlife. Design. Cross-sectional study using methodological triangulation. Using a convenience sampling method, 119 Korean immigrant women were recruited for the quantitative phase, and 21 among the 119 women were recruited for the qualitative phase. Data were collected using both questionnaires and in-depth interviews. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and thematic analysis. Findings and Discussions. The symptoms that the women experienced during midlife were influenced by their work experience, which was complicated by their cultural heritage, gender issues embedded in their daily lives, and immigration transition. Implications. Complexities and diversities in women's work need to be incorporated in menopausal studies.
Oscillatory Behavior of Respiratory Gas Exchange in Resting Man

This study deals with the dynamics of respiratory gas carbon dioxide concentration are three, ten, twenty, and thirty to forty-five minutes and two hours; in oxygen concentration, three, ten, twenty, and thirty minutes and one and four hours; and in respiratory quotient, one, five, ten, and fifteen minutes and two to four hours. exchange in resting man. Spectral analyses are performed on time series representing four-hour continuous records of ventilation, carbon dioxide release, oxygen takeup, end tidal carbon dioxide concentration, end tidal oxygen concentration, and respiratory quotient. Results imply that the temporal behavior of each of these six variables can be characterized by a superposition of a finite set of self-sustained almost periodic oscillations with periods in the range from one minute to four hours and time dependent stochastic variation. In ventilation, carbon dioxide release, and oxygen takeup, individual components have amplitudes of between five and ten percent of mean values and nominal periods of one, four, ten, and twenty minutes and one and two to four hours. Components in oxygen concentration, carbon dioxide concentration, and respiratory quotient have amplitudes of between two and four percent of mean values.
The Relationship between Recruiting and Team Performance in Division 1A College Football

There is much hype and excitement each year surrounding each school's recruiting classes in Division 1A football. Much of this excitement is based on an underlying assumption that a top-10 recruiti...
HIV single staging algorithm: integration and maximization of resources by reducing time between HIV diagnosis and treatment.

Abstract Background Early HIV diagnosis, linkage and engagement into care are vital to improved personal health outcomes. The initiation of antiretroviral therapy, with retention in care and drug adherence leads to viral load suppression, a significant decrease in HIV transmission rates and ultimately a reduction in HIV incidence rates. In the U.S only 51% of those diagnosed with HIV infection are retained in care and 28% have a suppressed viral load. Reducing the time and number of visits from HIV diagnosis to entry into care, has the potential to engage and treat an increased number of infected individuals. Objective (1) Evaluate the feasibility of conducting HIV-1 supplemental testing concurrently with baseline clinical management testing; (2) to evaluate whether all tests could be completed and reported prior to the traditional posttest counseling appointment; (3) to monitor the return activity for posttest and medical provider appointments. Methods Baseline CD4 and HIV-1 viral load tests were performed concurrently with an HIV-1/2 antibody immunoassay (IA) and HIV-1 Western blot (WB) on 105 individuals with preliminary positive rapid test results. Participating study-sites were located in high-risk, high-morbidity locations: a county jail, a county mobile unit and a county hospital emergency department. Based on the individual's self-reporting statement of “No” to a previous HIV diagnosis and the POC preliminary positive rapid test result, blood specimens were processed via the Single Staging Algorithm. Study site data and medical record review established time intervals between the rapid test and subsequent visits. Results Of the 105 individuals with HIV-1 preliminary positive rapid test results, 102 were confirmed positive with HIV-1 WB (plus 3rd generation IA repeatedly reactive) and one was confirmed by an HIV-1 WB indeterminate (gp160), HIV-1 Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) reactive (an algorithm-defined early infection). The concordance between POC preliminary positive rapid tests and the confirmatory test of the single staging algorithm was 98%. Ninety-six (91%) HIV-1 baseline viral load test results and 82 (78%) CD4/CD8 absolute counts were performed and made available to the provider prior to posttest counseling. The average number of visits for posttest counseling at 14 days was 44.7% (range 37.9–56.5%) with an additional 31.1% (range 22.7–37.9%) returning within 30 days. The average number of clients that returned for the medical provider appointment was 55.4%. Conclusion A high percentage of HIV-1 clinical management baseline results (78–91%) and 100% confirmatory diagnostic results were completed and reported prior to the traditional posttest counseling appointment. Additional data and analysis is needed to determine the impact of the Single Staging Algorithm on medical provider appointments if the posttest appointment is more than 30 days after the preliminary HIV diagnosis.
Novel Methods for Predicting Photometric Redshifts from Broadband Photometry Using Virtual Sensors

We calculate photometric redshifts from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Main Galaxy Sample, the Galaxy Evolution Explorer All Sky Survey, and the Two Micron All Sky Survey using two new training-set methods. We utilize the broadband photometry from the three surveys alongside Sloan Digital Sky Survey measures of photometric quality and galaxy morphology. Our first training-set method draws from the theory of ensemble learning while the second employs Gaussian process regression, both of which allow for the estimation of redshift along with a measure of uncertainty in the estimation. The Gaussian process models the data very effectively with small training samples of approximately 1000 points or less. These two methods are compared to a well-known artificial neural network training-set method and to simple linear and quadratic regression. We also demonstrate the need to provide confidence bands on the error estimation made by both classes of models. Our results indicate that variations due to the optimization procedure used for almost all neural networks, combined with the variations due to the data sample, can produce models with variations in accuracy that span an order of magnitude. A key contribution of this paper is to quantify the variability in the quality of results as a function of model and training sample. We show how simply choosing the ‘‘best’’ model given a data set and model class can produce misleading results.
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 long-term non-progressors: the viral, genetic and immunological basis for disease non-progression.

A small subset of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected, therapy-naive individuals – referred to as long-term non-progressors (LTNPs) – maintain a favourable course of infection, often being asymptomatic for many years with high CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell counts (>500 cells μl−1) and low plasma HIV-RNA levels (<10 000 copies ml−1). Research in the field has undergone considerable development in recent years and LTNPs offer a piece of the puzzle in understanding the ways that persons can naturally control HIV-1 infection. Their method of control is based on viral, genetic and immunological components. With respect to virological features, genomic sequencing has shown that some LTNPs are infected with attenuated strains of HIV-1 and harbour mutant nef, vpr, vif or rev genes that contain single nuclear polymorphisms, or less frequently, large deletions, in conserved domains. Studies have also shown that some LTNPs have unique genetic advantages, including heterozygosity for the CCR5-Δ32 polymorphism, and have been found with excitatory mutations that upregulate the production of the chemokines that competitively inhibit HIV-1 binding to CCR5 or CXCR4. Lastly, immunological factors are crucial for providing LTNPs with a natural form of control, the most important being robust HIV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses that correlate with lower viral loads. Many LTNPs carry the HLA class I B57 allele that enhances presentation of antigenic peptides on the surface of infected CD4+ cells to cytotoxic CD8+ T cells. For these reasons, LTNPs serve as an ideal model for HIV-1 vaccine development due to their natural control of HIV-1 infection.
Behavior of solubilized collagen as a bioimplant

Abstract Pepsin-solubilized allogeneic and xenogeneic collagen has been shown in the experiments reported here to persist as a stable graft which is vascularized and colonized by host tissue cells and thus may be regarded as having formed a matrix for viable connective tissue.
Effects of interactions of antibacterial drugs with each other and with 6-mercaptopurine on in vitro growth of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis

Objectives: Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) has been targeted for treatment with clarithromycin and rifamycin derivatives in numerous cases of Crohn’s disease (CD). 6-Mercaptopurine and its pro-drug azathioprine are widely used as immunomodulators in the treatment of CD and have recently been shown to have anti-MAP activity in vitro. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the in vitro effects on MAP of (i) 6-mercaptopurine when combined with each of eight conventional antibacterial agents with in vitro anti-MAP activity and (ii) antibacterial combinations consisting of two drugs (clarithromycin combined with amikacin, rifampicin, ciprofloxacin or ethambutol) and three drugs (clarithromycin, rifabutin and clofazimine). Methods: The drug interaction effects on nine human isolates of MAP were determined by the chequerboard method adapted for the BACTEC TM MGIT TM 960 culture system and by calculation of the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) for drug combinations. Results: Synergism (FICI� 0.5) was observed between 6-mercaptopurine and azithromycin (seven isolates), clarithromycin, rifampicin, rifabutin (four isolates each) and ethambutol (two isolates). 6-Mercaptopurine was not antagonistic with any of the antibacterial agents tested. Among the combinations of two and three antibacterials tested, the clarithromycin/rifampicin combination was synergistic against four isolates, while all other combinations showed no interaction. Conclusions: This in vitro study suggests that 6-mercaptopurine may be synergistic with macrolides and rifamycin derivatives against MAP. The activity of clarithromycin against MAP seems to be enhanced by rifampicin.
Effects of melatonin implants in pony mares. 2. Long-term effects.

Abstract The effects of melatonin implant treatment over a 4 wk period at the summer solstice on the transition into and out of the following anovulatory season were evaluated in ovary-intact and ovariectomized mares. Melatonin implants tended to delay the timing of the final ovulation of the breeding season (P=0.0797) in the ovary-intact mares. Although the decline in LH secretion associated with the end of the breeding season was parallel between treatments and ovarian statuses, the rate of LH secretion, as expressed by its mathematical accumulation,was lower in ovariectomized, melatonin-treated mares than in ovariectomized, control mares suggesting that melatonin administration advanced the offset of the breeding season in ovariectomized mares (P=0.0001). The first ovulation of the subsequent breeding season was significantly delayed in the melatonin-treated mares as compared with that of control mares (P=0.0031). During reproductive recrudescence, the time of the onset of the increase in LH secretion was similar among all 4 groups but the patterns of LH secretion were different for each treatment and ovarian status combination (P=0.0112). Mares with melatonin implants had a slower rate of increase in LH secretion than control mares (P=0.0001), and ovariectomized mares had a faster rate of LH increase than intact mares (P=0.0001). These results suggest that melatonin implants during the summer solstice can alter the annual reproductive rhythm in mares and support the concept that endocrine patterns of reproductive recrudescence are not entirely independent of the ovary.
Measuring readmissions after surgery: do different methods tell the same story?

Abstract Background Readmission is widely used as a quality metric to assess hospital performance. However, different methods to calculate readmissions may produce various results, leading to differences in classification with respect to hospital performance. This study compared 2 commonly used approaches to measure surgical readmissions: the 30-day all-cause hospital-wide readmissions (HWRs) and the potentially preventable readmissions (PPRs). Methods We examined the correlation between hospitals' risk-adjusted HWR and PPR rates and whether there was agreement in categorizing hospital performance between these measures among 111 hospitals with inpatient surgical programs in the Veterans Health Administration. Results We found that hospitals' HWR and PPR rates were highly correlated ( r = .85, P Conclusions Despite differences in methodologies, the HWR and the PPR measures provided relatively consistent perceptions of hospitals' performance on surgical readmissions.
Some current problems and new dimensions of polymeric biomaterials for blood-contacting applications.

Biomaterials properly include materials both of synthetic and natural origins which are in contact with living tissue, blood, and other biologic fluids and are used for prosthetic, diagnostic, therapeutic, and storage applications without adversely affecting the biologic components and the living organism [5, 6, 8–10]. “Anti-thrombogenic” behavior and lack of acute toxicologic response are not necessarily indicative of blood compatibility or long-term tolerability in the physiologic environment [11, 13]. Nevertheless, toxicologic screening of candidate biomaterials is absolutely required in conjunction with other biologic test procedures, including determinations of immunologic response and elimination of possible cause of carcinoma. The latter is especially important in the case of long-term implants. “Thromboresistance” is frequently but erroneously equated with “blood compatibility” merely on the basis that no visible clots are present on the test specimens. However, in many cases clots may either appear in various organs as the result of contact between blood and the foreign materials or cause detrimental biochemical and physiologic manifestations when devices are in prolonged use.
Nanophotonics for information systems

Optical technology plays an increasingly important role in numerous applications areas, including communications, information processing, and data storage. However, as optical technology develops, it is evident that there is a growing need to develop reliable photonic integration technologies. This will include the development of passive as well as active optical components that can be integrated into functional optical circuits and systems, including filters, switching fabrics that can be controlled either electrically or optically, optical sources, detectors, amplifiers, etc. We explore the unique capabilities and advantages of nanotechnology in developing next generation integrated photonic chips. Our long-range goal is to develop a range of photonic nanostructures including artificially birefringent and resonant devices, photonic crystals, and photonic crystals with defects to tailor spectral filters, and nanostructures for spatial field localization to enhance optical nonlinearities, to facilitate on-chip system integration through compatible materials and fabrication processes. The design of artificial nanostructured materials, PCs and integrated photonic systems is one of the most challenging tasks as it not only involves the accurate solution of electromagnetic optics equations, but also the need to incorporate the material and quantum physics equations. Near-field interactions in artificial nanostructured materials provide a variety of functionalities useful for optical systems integration. Recently, the inclusion of surface plasmon photonics in this area has opened up a host of new possibilities Finally and most importantly, nanophotonics may enable easier integration with other nanotechnologies: electronics, magnetics, mechanics, chemistry, and biology. We will address some of these areas in this paper.
Is sildenafil failure in men after radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) due to arterial disease? Penile duplex Doppler findings in 174 men after RRP

Sildenafil is frequently the first-line treatment for post-radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) erectile dysfunction (ED) with maximum treatment satisfaction rates of 43%–80%. The etiology of erectile dysfunction after RRP has been attributed to psychogenic, vascular, veno- occlusive or nerve injury causes. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the penile duplex Doppler arterial parameters in men with ED after RRP who failed sildenafil. The purpose was to assess whether sildenafil failure after RRP is associated with underlying corporal arterial disease. A total of 174 consecutive men presenting with sildenafil refractory ED after nerve-sparing RRP underwent color duplex penile Doppler evaluation with vasoactive injection. Mean age was 59.6 y and mean time from surgery was 11.6 months. Some 81% (141/174) of the men had no pre-operative ED (PED). Significant differences in penile duplex Doppler parameters for arterial disease were seen between men with and without PED. In men without PED, 19% (27/141) manifested arterial insufficiency. However, in men with PED, 50% (16/33) demonstrated arterial disease. Nerve sparing status did not affect the presence of arterial disease. Sildenafil refractory erectile dysfunction after RRP in men without PED is not predominantly associated with penile Doppler parameters consistent with arterial insufficiency.
Shopping in the Political Arena: Strategic State and Local Venue Selection by Advocates

This article explores how advocacy organizations strategically select one or more venues for lobbying in a government system that provides multiple access points to state and local lawmakers. Advoc...
Consideration about current non-clinical safety evaluation of Chinese materia medica and naturally occurring drug from FDA’ s botanical drug registration case

In this paper,regulatory toxicology perspectives on the development of botanical drug products and botanical drug registration case in the United States,and the problems met in current nonclinical safety evaluation of Chinese materia medica(CMM) and naturally occurring drug(NOD) in China are analyzed.How to improve non-clinical safety evaluation of CMM and NOD by using the experience of FDA’s botanical drug registration case for reference is discussed.
Genetic Analysis and Molecular Mapping of Green-revertible Albino Leaf in Rice Seedling Stage

Yunfeng 66B with green-revertible albino leaf marker in seedling stage was crossed and backcrossed to Hongyou 6,and 10HN03,a near-isogenic line of Hongyou 6 with green-revertible albino leaf in seedling stage,was developed.The F2population of 10HN03 / Hongyou 6 was established for the genetic analysis and gene mapping of green-revertible albino leaf marker.The genetic analysis showed that the green-revertible albino leaf was controlled by a pair of recessive genes according to 1 ∶ 3 of the segregation ratio of green-revertible albino plants to normal plants in the F2population.The gene mapping by way of SSR markers on the F2population showed that the gene of green-revertible albino leaf was located at the interval between RM530 and RM112 on Chromosome 2,and it was tentatively designated as alg-2-1( t).
Social acceptability of phytoremediation: The role of risk and values.

A former gas production site that was converted to a public park was chosen as the research location for the present study. Some of the contaminants at the site have been remediated; however, much ...
Early history of the Pavlovian Society. Twentyfive plus twentyfive. (W. Horsley Gantt).

This paper reviews the first 25 years of the Pavlovian Society and quotes correspondence (1955–1978) from Gantt, the central Founder, concerning his ideas about the aims, organization, and functions of the Society. The author provides his knowledge of unofficial actions and his own view of some of these.
Brain and Optic Lobes

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses different segments of brain and optical lobe. Brain includes neuropils of the subesophageal ganglion, which is composed of the fused ganglia from three postoral segmental neuromeres. These are located ventrally with respect to the digestive tract, as are ganglia of the thorax and abdomen. In most hemimetabolous insects, and in many aleopterans, the subesophageal ganglion is connected by paired circumesophageal commissures to the supraesophageal ganglion. In many crown taxa, the subesophageal and supraesophageal ganglia are fused, as is the case in honey bees or the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, which is the taxon used to summarize the major divisions of the brain. A consequence of fusion is that tracts of axons that would otherwise form the circumesophageal commissures are embedded within a contiguous neuropil. Further, the optic lobes of palaeopteran and neopteran insects consist of three retinotopic neuropils. These are the lamina, medulla, and lobula complex. In certain orders of insects, the lobula complex is divided into two separate neuropils: a lenticular lobula that is mainly composed of columnar neurons and a tectum-like lobula plate that is hallmarked by wide-field tangential neurons. However, in insects with an undivided lobula, deeper layers comprise tangential neurons that probably have the same functions as tangential neurons in the lobula plate.
Model of Industry Evolution under Innovations

How does an industry grow? What are the economic forces behind this evolution? These questions are important today in the framework of modern industrial growth, where advances in technology and innovations through R&D investments are playing very active roles. We develop here a model of industry evolution which incorporates the innovations flow and determines its growth pattern. This dynamic model characterizes the highly competitive process of adjustment in the market place, which is reflected in both output quantities and prices. Innovations add stochasticity to the competitive adjustment process.
Multiethnic Opposition Coalitions in African Elections

If the opposition can present a single candidate … then we will have a good chance of winning because you cannot cheat a whole nation for long. Edem Kodjo, opposition presidential candidate in Togo, 2003 The argument developed through the previous chapters attributes opposition behavior in Africa’s multiparty elections to the state control of capital. My general claim is that the liberalization of finance enables opposition politicians to pursue a pecuniary coalition-building strategy by using the resources of business to secure cross-ethnic endorsements. I have provided both qualitative and quantitative evidence at each link of the causal chain to explain the conditions under which incumbents relinquish their control over the financial sector; business chooses to defect from the incumbent regime in support of the opposition; and opposition politicians successfully bargain across ethnic cleavages to form electoral alliances. In this chapter, I now seek to establish whether the outcomes traced through the cases of Cameroon and Kenya are consistent with the electoral strategies pursued by opposition politicians across the region. I test my argument with a sample of all African countries that held executive elections between 1990 and 2005. The indicators that were examined in previous chapters to assess the politicization of finance – the total number of commercial banks (Chapter 4), the availability of credit to the private sector (Chapter 5), and the tenure of the chamber of commerce president (Chapter 6) – are used here as explanatory variables. Through this empirical analysis, I show that the state control of capital significantly affects the likelihood of multiethnic opposition coalitions being formed for executive elections. The ability of entrepreneurs to diversify their campaign contributions under conditions of financial liberalization appears to account for much of the variation in opposition coalition building across countries and within countries across time. Indeed, the empirical results show that the variables linked to the openness of the financial system are more consistent predictors of opposition behavior in Africa’s multiparty systems than either electoral rules or ethnic cleavages.
Postoperative Radiotherapy in Locally Invasive Malignancies of the Thymus: Patterns of Care and Survival

Abstract Introduction Our purpose was to determine the overall survival (OS) benefit of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) in patients with advanced thymic malignancies and the associated predictors of PORT receipt. Methods We queried the National Cancer Data Base for all stage II to III thymic malignancies. Trends in PORT use over time were analyzed using least squares linear regression. Factors predictive of PORT and OS were identified by using multivariate logistic and Cox regression analysis, respectively. Results We identified 1156 patients between 2004 and 2012 who met the inclusion criteria. The utilization of PORT was found to increase over the study period by 41% (37% to 52% [ p = 0.01]). On multivariate analysis, the factors found to be the most predictive of receipt of PORT were positive surgical margins (adjusted OR = 1.98 [ p p = 0.01]). The 5-year OS was superior for patients receiving PORT compared with for those who did not (83% versus 79%, p = 0.03). Receipt of PORT was associated with a trend toward decreased risk for death on multivariate analysis (hazard ratio = 0.75 [ p = 0.09]). In addition, a positive macroscopic margin was the most important predictor of survival (hazard ratio = 3.48 [ p Conclusions The use of PORT in patients with advanced thymic malignancies is increasing over time and is determined by both clinical and demographic factors. Receipt of PORT was associated with improved OS. The OS benefit with PORT was dependent on the WHO histologic type.
A Personalized Approach to Managing Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

The management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) requires a personalized approach to treat what is a heterogeneous group of patients with inherently variable disease courses. In its current state, personalized care of the IBD patient involves identifying patients at high risk for rapid progression to complications, selecting the most appropriate therapy for a given patient, using therapeutic drug monitoring, and achieving the individualized goal that is most appropriate for that patient. The growing body of research in this area allows clinicians to better predict outcomes for individual patients. Some paradigms, especially within the realm of therapeutic drug monitoring, have begun to change as therapy is targeted to individual patient results and goals. Future personalized medical decisions may allow specific therapeutic plans to draw on serologic, genetic, and microbial data for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis patients.
Xanthohumol Modulates Calcium Signaling in Rat Ventricular Myocytes: Possible Antiarrhythmic Properties

Cardiac arrhythmia is a major cause of mortality in cardiovascular pathologies. A host of drugs targeted to sarcolemmal Na+, Ca2+, and K+ channels has had limited success clinically. Recently, Ca2+ signaling has been target of pharmacotherapy based on finding that leaky ryanodine receptors elevate local Ca2+ concentrations causing membrane depolarizations that trigger arrhythmias. In this study, we report that xanthohumol, an antioxidant extracted from hops showing therapeutic effects in other pathologies, suppresses aberrant ryanodine receptor Ca2+ release. The effects of xanthohumol (5-1000 nM) on Ca2+ signaling pathways were probed in isolated rat ventricular myocytes incubated with Fluo-4 AM using the perforated patch-clamp technique. We found that 5-50 nM xanthohumol reduced the frequency of spontaneously occurring Ca2+ sparks (>threefold) and Ca2+ waves in control myocytes and in cells subjected to Ca2+ overload caused by the following: 1) exposure to low K+ solutions, 2) periods of high frequency electrical stimulation, 3) exposures to isoproterenol, or 4) caffeine. At room temperatures, 50-100 nM xanthohumol reduced the rate of relaxation of electrically- or caffeine-triggered Ca2+transients, without suppressing ICa, but this effect was small and reversed by isoproterenol at physiologic temperatures. Xanthohumol also suppressed the Ca2+ content of the SR and its rate of recirculation. The stabilizing effects of xanthohumol on the frequency of spontaneously triggered Ca2+ sparks and waves combined with its antioxidant properties, and lack of significant effects on Na+ and Ca2+ channels, may provide this compound with clinically desirable antiarrhythmic properties.
Greening U.S. Legacy Cities—Urban Agriculture as a Strategy for Reclaiming Vacant Land

Repurposing vacant land for food production is expanding as a response to urban blight, food insecurity, and food deserts. As municipalities integrate urban agriculture in their sustainability plan...
Surface Feeling, or What Ephemerality Does to Reading in Hazlitt, Hogarth, and Keats

ABSTRACTThis essay takes up ephemeral timescales in Romantic aesthetics in order to question how reading practices engage with the spatial figure of a “surface.” My point of departure is William Hazlitt, but the essay draws an arc from Hazlitt’s interest in William Hogarth (looking, in the process, at his The Analysis of Beauty) to the marked influence of Hazlitt’s aesthetic principles of ephemerality and wit on the writing of John Keats. The essay concludes by reading between Keats’s digressively ephemeral epistolary style, and several of the Odes in which ephemerality serves the poet as a figure of both threat and promise. I argue that the meeting of Hazlitt, Hogarth, and Keats enables us to think about reading practices as different ways of feeling surfaces.
The Sugar Learning Platform: Affordances for Computational Thinking

After ten years of deployment of the Sugar Learning Platform, we reflect on the specific tools and affordances deployed to engage learners in computational thinking with the overarching goal of fluency. These tools including multiple media-rich programming environments and also mechanism for debugging, collaboration, expression, and reflection. We motivate our selection of tools by reviewing the pioneering work of Seymour Papert, Marvin Minsky, and Cynthia Solomon, who first brought multimedia computing to elementary schools in the late 1960s with the goal of engaging children in the mastery of many of the heuristics and algorithms we associate with computational thinking. Multiple examples of how these tools have been used by teachers and students are discussed. We further describe the role that Free/Libre Software plays in providing scaffolding for deep and personal expression through programming and for surfacing personal responsibility, a sense of community, and unbounded expectations of Sugar users turned Sugar developers.
Feasibility study for remote assessment of cognitive function in multiple sclerosis

Background Cognitive impairment is common in multiple sclerosis (MS), and affects employment and quality of life. Large studies are needed to identify risk factors for cognitive decline. Currently, a MS-validated remote assessment for cognitive function does not exist. Studies to determine feasibility of large remote cognitive function investigations in MS have not been published. Objective To determine whether MS patients would participate in remote cognitive studies. We utilized the Modified Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-M), a previously validated phone assessment for cognitive function in healthy elderly populations to detect mild cognitive impairment. We identified factors that influenced participation rates. We investigated the relationship between MS risk factors and TICS-M score in cases, and score differences between cases and control individuals. Methods The TICS-M was administered to MS cases and controls. Linear and logistic regression models were utilized. Results 11.5% of eligible study participants did not participate in cognitive testing. MS cases, females and individuals with lower educational status were more likely to refuse (p<0.001). Cases who did complete testing did not differ in terms of perceived cognitive deficit compared to cases that did participate. More severe disease, smoking, and being male were associated with a lower TICS-M score among cases (p<0.001). The TICS-M score was significantly lower in cases compared to controls (p=0.007). Conclusions Our results demonstrate convincingly that a remotely administered cognitive assessment is quite feasible for conducting large epidemiologic studies in MS, and lay the much needed foundation for future work that will utilize MS-validated cognitive measures.
Southeastern European Bronze Age

The Southeastern European region encompassed by this tradition is mountainous. Only about half of the available land is arable; much of the rest is rocky. The area is geologically active, with frequent earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions, as on Thera (modern Santorini). Catastrophic geological events transformed the landscape, both locally and regionally, during parts of the Southeastern European Bronze Age, and their impact on the people living in affected areas was certainly dramatic. For example, the eruption of Thera, the exact date of which is still open to debate (probably sometime in the late 17th or early 16th century b.c.), is often used to mark and explain regional culture change, especially on Crete, where the disaster is thought to have contributed to the collapse of the Minoan palatial civilization. It has also been suggested that certain regions suffered problems with soil erosion, especially during the E.B.A., as more land was brought into agricultural use, and that such problems may have put pressure on developing socioeconomic systems, particularly on the mainland.
Ethical Issues in the Food Supply Chain

The objective of this chapter is to provide an overview of the most prominent ethical issues in the food industry. Persistent criticism regarding some of the food industry’s practices has led to governmental regulation and the creation of alternatives such as the organic food market.
Timing of hCG administration does not affect pregnancy rates in couples undergoing intrauterine insemination using clomiphene citrate.

Background Therapeutic intrauterine insemination (IUI) combined with clomiphene citrate ovarian stimulation is widely used to improve pregnancy rates for a variety of disorders. The goal of this study was to elucidate whether hCG administration at 24 or 36 hours after clomiphene citrate stimulation impacts pregnancy rates. Methods The study was conducted as a retrospective chart review of 182 clomiphene citrate/IUI cycles in 90 women at the Center for Reproductive Health at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Comparisons were made between IUls performed at 24 hours versus 36 hours after hCG. Clinical variables included age of the female partner, semen concentration and motility, and infertility diagnosis. Outcomes were pregnancy rates and live birth rates. Data analysis was performed using Chi square for proportions and Student's t-test for continuous variables. Results The pregnancy rate was 7% in the 24-hour group and 15.9% in the 36-hour group (P=0.057). However, the live birth rate was 4.0% in the 24-hour group and 8.5% in the 36-hour group (P=0.2). Conclusions There is no significant difference in pregnancy rates in couples utilizing clomiphene citrate and undergoing IUI, whether hCG is administered at 24 hours or 36 hours prior to the procedure.
Power Consumption Evaluation for Cooperative Localization Services

Current mobile applications oftentimes require power-consuming localization services. In this paper, we outline the co-localization approach, where nodes share their location with peers, enabling a reduction in the costs of localization when a precise location fix is desired. While several works in this domain compare the accuracy of localization techniques in cooperative scenarios, we focus our evaluation on the power consumption and accuracy that can be achieved. We present a first model and evaluation using statistics and traces derived from two human mobility models. We find that for 15 min intervals of location requests, a cooperative localization approach can reduce the costs associated with localization if half of the nodal peer encounters are with location-sharing nodes and GPS is usable about half the time.
Bacterial interspecies interactions modulate pH-mediated antibiotic tolerance in a model gut microbiota

Abstract Despite decades of investigation into how antibiotics affect isolated bacteria, it remains highly challenging to predict consequences for communities in complex environments such as the human intestine. Interspecies interactions can impact antibiotic activity through alterations to the extracellular environment that change bacterial physiology. By measuring key metabolites and environmental pH, we determined that metabolic cross-feeding among members of the fruit fly gut microbiota drives changes in antibiotic sensitivity in vitro. Co-culturing of Lactobacillus plantarum with Acetobacter species induced tolerance to rifampin. Mechanistically, we found that acetobacters counter the acidification driven by L. plantarum production of lactate, and that pH shifts during stationary phase were sufficient to drive rifampin tolerance in L. plantarum monocultures. The key Lactobacillus physiological parameter related to tolerance was a reduction in lag time exiting stationary phase, opposite to a previously identified mode of tolerance to ampicillin in E. coli. Lactobacillus tolerance to erythromycin also depended on growth status and pH, suggesting that our findings generalize to other antibiotics. Finally, tolerance of L. plantarum to rifampin varied spatially across the fruit fly gut. This mechanistic understanding of the coupling among interspecies interactions, environmental pH, and antibiotic tolerance enables future predictions of growth and the effects of antibiotics in more complex communities and within hosts.
Predicting Risk for Incident Heart Failure With Omega-3 Fatty Acids: From MESA.

Abstract Objectives The aim of this study was to determine if plasma eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) abundance (%EPA) is associated with reduced hazard for primary heart failure (HF) events in the MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis) trial. Background Clinical trials suggest that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω3 PUFAs) prevent sudden death in coronary heart disease and HF, but this is controversial. In mice, the authors demonstrated that the ω3 PUFA EPA prevents contractile dysfunction and fibrosis in an HF model, but whether this extends to humans is unclear. Methods In the MESA cohort, the authors tested if plasma phospholipid EPA predicts primary HF incidence, including HF with reduced ejection fraction (EF) (EF Results A total of 6,562 participants 45 to 84 years of age had EPA measured at baseline (1,794 black, 794 Chinese, 1,442 Hispanic, and 2,532 white; 52% women). Over a median follow-up period of 13.0 years, 292 HF events occurred: 128 HF with reduced EF, 110 HF with preserved EF, and 54 with unknown EF status. %EPA in HF-free participants was 0.76% (0.75% to 0.77%) but was lower in participants with HF at 0.69% (0.64% to 0.74%) (p = 0.005). Log %EPA was associated with lower HF incidence (hazard ratio: 0.73 [95% confidence interval: 0.60 to 0.91] per log-unit difference in %EPA; p = 0.001). Adjusting for age, sex, race, body mass index, smoking, diabetes mellitus, blood pressure, lipids and lipid-lowering drugs, albuminuria, and the lead fatty acid for each cluster did not change this relationship. Sensitivity analyses showed no dependence on HF type. Conclusions Higher plasma EPA was significantly associated with reduced risk for HF, with both reduced and preserved EF. (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis [MESA]; NCT00005487)
A Full Distributed Multipurpose Autonomous Flight System Using 3D Position Tracking and ROS

This document describes an approach to develop a fully distributed multipurpose autonomous flight system. With a set of hardware, software, and standard flight procedures for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), it is possible to achieve a relative low-cost plug and play fully-distributed architecture for multipurpose applications. The resulting system comprises an OptiTrack motion capture system, a Pixhawk flight controller, a Raspberry Pi companion computer, and the Robotic Operating System (ROS) for internode communication. The architecture leverages a secondary PID controller with the use of MAVROS, an open-source Python plugin for ROS, for onboard processing and interfacing with the flight controller. Featuring a procedure that receives the position vector from Optitrack System and returns the desired velocity vector for each time-step. This facilitates ease of integration for researchers. The result is a reliable, easy to use an autonomous system for multipurpose engineering research. To demonstrate its extensiveness, this paper shows experiments of a robotics navigation experiment utilizing the fundamentals of Markov Decision Processes (MDP) running at 60Hz, Wireless and with a network latency below 2ms. This paper reasons why fully distributed systems should be embraced as it maintains the reliability of the system with lower cost and easier implementation for the ground station. Combined with an intelligent choice approach for developing software architecture, it encourages and facilitates the use of autonomous systems for transdisciplinary research.
Machine learning models for the prediction of energy, forces, and stresses for Platinum

Abstract Materials properties such as defect diffusion and/or dissociation, mechanical fracture and void nucleation, under extreme temperatures and pressures, are all governed by the interactions between individual and/or groups of atoms. Computational tools have been instrumental in understanding the atomistic properties of materials at these length scales. Over the past few decades, these tools have been dominated by two levels of theory: quantum mechanics (QM) based methods and semi-empirical/classical methods. The former are time-intensive, but accurate and versatile, while the latter methods are fast but are significantly limited in veracity, versatility and transferability. Machine learning (ML) algorithms, in tandem with quantum mechanical methods such as density functional theory, have the potential to bridge the gap between these two chasms due to their (i) low cost, (ii) accuracy, (iii) transferability, and (iv) ability to be iteratively improved. In this work, we prescribe a new paradigm in which potential energy, atomic forces, and stresses are rapidly predicted by independent machine learning models, all while retaining the accuracy of quantum mechanics. This platform has been used to study thermal, vibrational, and diffusive properties of bulk Platinum, highlighting the framework’s ability to reliably predict materials properties under dynamic conditions. We then compare our ML framework to both QM, where applicable, and several Embedded Atom Method (EAM) potentials. We conclude this work by reflecting upon the current state of ML in materials science for atomistic simulations.
How Teachers Experience Collaboration

Collaboration has been found to be a powerful tool for professional development and central for creating opportunities for teachers to reflect on their practice. However, school districts continue ...