cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The daily rhythm of milk synthesis is dependent on the timing of feed intake in dairy cows.

Regulation of the daily rhythm of milk synthesis is important to production animals and breastfeeding, but is difficult to observe in nursing animals. The rate of food intake varies over the day and is expected to create a daily rhythm of nutrient absorption. The objective of this study was to determine if the timing of food intake entrains a daily pattern of milk synthesis. Seventeen Holstein cows were used in a crossover design. Treatments were ad libitum feeding of a total mixed ration once daily (1× fed) or fed in four equal meals every 6 h (4× fed). Cows were milked every 6 h the last 7 days of each period. There was a treatment by time of day interaction for milk and milk component yield and concentration. Milk fat and protein concentration and yield exhibited a daily rhythm and the amplitude of the rhythm was reduced in 4× fed. In addition, milk fat percent was higher in 4× fed than 1× fed at three of the four milking intervals (0.22–0.45% higher) and 4× fed increased daily milk fat yield. Treatment by time of day interactions were detected for plasma glucose, insulin, and blood urea nitrogen. These variables also fit a cosine function with a 24 h period and the amplitudes of plasma glucose, insulin, and blood urea nitrogen rhythms were decreased by 4× feeding. In conclusion, there is a circadian pattern of milk synthesis in the dairy cow that is responsive to the timing of food intake.
How to Select, Calculate, and Interpret Effect Sizes

The objective of this article is to offer guidelines regarding the selection, calculation, and interpretation of effect sizes (ESs). To accomplish this goal, ESs are first defined and their important contribution to research is emphasized. Then different types of ESs commonly used in group and correlational studies are discussed. Several useful resources are provided for distinguishing among different types of effects and what modifications might be required in their calculation depending on a study's purpose and methods. This article should assist producers and consumers of research in understanding the role, importance, and meaning of ESs in research reports.
Antioxidant therapy reverses impaired graft healing in hypercholesterolemic rabbits

Objective Limited endothelial cell (EC) coverage and anastomotic intimal hyperplasia contribute to thrombosis and failure of prosthetic grafts. Lipid accumulation and lipid oxidation are associated with decreased EC migration and intimal hyperplasia. The goal of this study was to assess the ability of antioxidants to improve graft healing in hypercholesterolemic animals. Methods Rabbits were placed in one of four groups: chow plus N-acetylcysteine (NAC), chow plus probucol, chow with 1% cholesterol plus NAC, or chow with 1% cholesterol plus probucol. After 2 weeks, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene grafts (12 cm long × 4-mm internal diameter) were implanted in the abdominal aorta. Grafts were removed after 6 weeks and analyzed for cholesterol content, EC coverage, anastomotic intimal thickness, and the cellular composition of the neointima. Plasma samples were obtained to assess systemic oxidative stress. The data were compared with previously reported data from animals fed diets of chow and chow with 1% cholesterol. Results Prosthetic grafts from rabbits fed chow with 1% cholesterol had significantly greater anastomotic intimal thickening and lower EC coverage than grafts from rabbits fed a regular chow diet. In hypercholesterolemic rabbits, antioxidant therapy decreased global oxidative stress as evidenced by a 40% decrease in plasma thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. In rabbits fed the chow with 1% cholesterol diet, NAC decreased intimal hyperplasia at the proximal anastomosis by 29% and significantly increased graft EC coverage from 46% to 71% ( P = .03). Following a similar pattern, probucol decreased intimal hyperplasia by 43% and increased graft EC coverage to 53% in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. Conclusions Global oxidative stress and anastomotic intimal hyperplasia are increased, and endothelialization of prosthetic grafts is significantly reduced in rabbits fed a high-cholesterol diet. Antioxidant treatment improves EC coverage and decreases intimal hyperplasia. Reducing oxidative stress may promote healing of prosthetic grafts.
Comfort and experience with online learning: trends over nine years and associations with knowledge.

Some evidence suggests that attitude toward computer-based instruction is an important determinant of success in online learning. We sought to determine how comfort using computers and perceptions of prior online learning experiences have changed over the past decade, and how these associate with learning outcomes. Each year from 2003–2011 we conducted a prospective trial of online learning. As part of each year’s study, we asked medicine residents about their comfort using computers and if their previous experiences with online learning were favorable. We assessed knowledge using a multiple-choice test. We used regression to analyze associations and changes over time. 371 internal medicine and family medicine residents participated. Neither comfort with computers nor perceptions of prior online learning experiences showed a significant change across years (p > 0.61), with mean comfort rating 3.96 (maximum 5 = very comfortable) and mean experience rating 4.42 (maximum 6 = strongly agree [favorable]). Comfort showed no significant association with knowledge scores (p = 0.39) but perceptions of prior experiences did, with a 1.56% rise in knowledge score for a 1-point rise in experience score (p = 0.02). Correlations among comfort, perceptions of prior experiences, and number of prior experiences were all small and not statistically significant. Comfort with computers and perceptions of prior experience with online learning remained stable over nine years. Prior good experiences (but not comfort with computers) demonstrated a modest association with knowledge outcomes, suggesting that prior course satisfaction may influence subsequent learning.
Jim Crow Moves North: The Battle Over Northern School Desegregation, 1865–1954 by Davison M. Douglas

Davison Douglas's Jim Crow Moves North belongs to an emerging trend in historical scholarship on racial segregation between the end of the Civil War and the arrival of the Civil Rights Movement tha...
Standards, Intellectual Property Rights, and Strategic Patenting: Evidence from the IETF *

How does the development of formal standards for information and communication technologies shape the behavior of firms that may need the technologies to develop new products and services? We argue that standardization lowers the search costs of identifying important intellectual property rights (IPR) for standards users and reduces uncertainty related to licensing terms. These changes can clarify the risks of IPR infringement for standards-related technologies and thus decrease strategic patenting by standards users. Using data from the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to study the behavior of firms who use but do not contribute to standards, we find that an increase in the number of IETF standards in a technological area is associated with a decline in strategic patenting in the area. The effects become larger in environments where patent rights have been strengthened or when standards-contributing firms hold a larger proportion of related patents.
Pathways to Decarbonization of Energy

History of industrial civilization is history of the progression of primary fuel substitution: wood → coal → oil → gas. This evolutionary trend of reducing carbon intensity of primary energy is referred to as decarbonization. During these historical transitions, human society moved to more convenient, efficient, and clean energy sources that enabled new technological advances in industry, transportation, and other areas. However, during the last couple of decades, this positive decarbonizing trend dramatically slowed down and practically ceased. In this chapter, the current trends in carbon intensity of global economy and prospective decarbonization options are analyzed using Kaya Identity (KI) modeling tool. The KI analysis indicates that the cessation of decarbonization of global economy can be largely attributed to a reversal of the evolutionary fuel substitution trend and “detour” to coal by populous rapidly developing countries. Dramatic reductions in both energy and carbon intensities of world economy would be necessary to stop and reverse this worrisome trend. Among proposed carbon mitigation policies, improvements in energy efficiency promise the largest near-term dividends and are central to achieving atmospheric CO2 stabilization goals.
Software maintainability measurement: a task complexity perspective

Software maintainability is one of the most crucial quality attributes of a software product. Software engineering researchers and practitioners have devoted considerable effort to developing “good design” methods, rules and principles to improve software maintainability. But before we can validate the effectiveness of these methods, we first need an approach to measure software maintainability. The existing maintainability measures usually have limited scope and accuracy since they either isolate the software from its environment and focus only on the technical properties of the software, or measure a confounding effect of various factors involved in the maintenance process. Furthermore, these measures are often defined and collected on a coarse-grained level and provide no insight into what makes software difficult to change. This research addresses the problems associated with software maintainability measurement by adapting the concepts of task complexity from the human behavior domain to the software engineering domain. This dissertation involves developing and validating a measurement model for measuring the maintainability of software, to provide a better understanding of the difficulty in modifying software and the effect of software design methods on software maintainability. A measurement protocol and a tool have been developed to support the application of the measurement method.
Three-Year Follow-up of Changes in Aerobic Fitness during Puberty: The Muscatine Study

Abstract To assess the tracking of aerobic fitness during puberty and its relationship to changes in body composition and indexes of growth, the authors of this study measured body fat, echocardiographic left ventricular mass (LVM), fat-free mass (FFM), height, physical activity, resting blood pressure, sexual maturation, and maximal aerobic fitness (VO2peak) in 123 children (ages 7–12 years). Measures were repeated 3 years later. Tracking was assessed by Spearman rank correlation coefficients between baseline and follow-up data. Predictors of changing aerobic fitness were examined using stepwise regression. Significant tracking of aerobic fitness was observed with correlations ranging from .70–.75. Increased FFM and increased LVM explained 51% of the variability in improved aerobic fitness (ml·min−1) in boys. Increased FFM and increased height explained 26% of the variability in improved aerobic fitness (ml·min−1) in girls. During puberty, children who gain the greatest amount of lean tissue (including c...
Rate of Penetration and Residual Toxicokinetics of Carbaryl on Southern Pine Betle and Spruce Beetle (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

Carbaryl-naphthyl-1- 14 C (1-naphthyl methylcarbamate) was topically applied in acetone to the prothorax of adult southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, and spruce beetle, D. rufipennis (Kirby). The rate of penetration of carbaryl into both species is best described by an open, two-compartment model. The residual toxicokinetics model was established to compare the biphasic rate of penetration of carbaryl,vithin these beetles. The estimated exoskeleton residual half-life of the slow phase (phase II) for the southern pine beetle was 90 h or 13 times that of the spruce beetle (7 h). At 8 h, the accumulation of radioactivity- internally for the spruce beetle was almost double the amount for the southern pine beetle. The amount of methanolic unextractable compounds was similar for both beetle species ; unextractable compounds increased as incubation times increased. LD 50 levels for carbaryl indicated that the spruce beetle was more susceptible to carbaryl than the southern pine beetle. This information and results of the toxicity tests suggest that decreased exoskeletal penetration may be one of the major mechanisms of southern pine beetle tolerance to carbaryl.
Bone Microenvironment Tissue Surrogates Engineered for Reporting of Metastasized Breast Cancer Osteolytic Activity

Breast cancer metastasis to bone continues to be a major clinical problem, and patient-to-patient variability in rates of disease progression and metastasis complicate treatment even further. This may be due to differences in the cancer cells, the osteoclasts, or the pre-metastatic niche, but all of these contribute to proteolytic remodeling necessary for osteolytic lesion establishment, primarily through secretion of cathepsin K, the most powerful human collagenase. There is debate about the relative contributions of breast cancer cells and osteoclasts and synergism between the two in altering the biochemical and biomechanical properties of the colonized bone, as these are difficult to parse with animal models. To quantify the relative contributions of breast cancer cells and osteoclasts in bone resorption, we have been developing engineered bone microenvironment tissue surrogates by adapting a poly(ester urethane) urea system embedded with microbone particles. Here, we report their use with MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and RAW264.7 derived osteoclasts, to provide temporal, multiscale reporters of bone resorption that can be measured non-destructively: 1) collagen degradation measured by C-terminal collagen fragment release, 2) mineral dissolution by measuring calcium released with the calcium arsenazo assay, and also show their beneficial effects in upregulating cathepsin K expression compared to tissue culture polystyrene controls. These more natural derived bone surrogates may be useful tools in mimicking bone metastatic niche and determining differences between proteolytic activity of different patients’ tumor and bone resident cells in a controlled manner.
The future of homografts.

The cryopreserved aortic valve is at least as satisfactory for aortic valve replacement as any known device. The future lies in fine-tuning the preservation process and sterilization. Concerning the use of allograft aortic valves as conduits, the allograft valved ascending aorta is the best conduit for the connection of right ventricle (or left ventricle) to pulmonary arteries. Availability, tailoring to size, and addition or need for composite parts remain to be developed. The allograft aorta and aortic valve may have great usefulness for replacing the aortic valve and ascending aorta in cases of aneurysms, infections, and congenitally narrowed left ventricular outflow tract; their use in these cases is yet to be increased. The future of allograft saphenous vein will involve in-vitro studies on cryopreservation toxicity, antibiotic toxicity, biochemical function of endothelial cells, and endothelial viability. Considerable in-vitro testing is necessary in both animal and human preparations. Also considered is the future of allograft small-caliber arteries--i.e., will they behave in a similar fashion to the intact internal mammary artery?--and the heart and peripheral vascular systems--i.e., are there any more spare parts?
Abstract 44: Lipid Screening In Children And Adolescents In Community Practice 2007-2010

Background: A 2011 guideline on cardiovascular risk reduction in children recommended universal screening for dyslipidemia in children at age 9-11 and again at age 17-21. Objectives: To ascertain frequency of lipid testing before the guideline was issued in children and adolescents, in predefined age, gender, BMI and race strata. Methods: Study subjects included 294,369 individuals age 3-19 years enrolled at HealthPartners (Minnesota), Kaiser Permanente Colorado or Kaiser Permanente Northern California in 2007-2010 and with at least one measurement of blood pressure and a height measurement within 90 days. We excluded children with medical conditions (other than obesity) or medications that could have prompted lipid testing. Subjects’ electronic medical records were examined for date and results of the first recorded measurement of total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol (HDL-C). We report descriptive statistics on the proportion of children who received lipid testing and abnormal test results by age, gender, BMI and race/ethnicity group. Results: The study population was 49.9% female, 12.3% Black, 21.0% Hispanic, 11.4% Asian; 15.3% were overweight (BMI percentile 85- 95). Across the 3 sites during the period of observation, 9.7% of youth had at least one lipid screen; rates varied by BMI (5.8% of normal weight, 10.8% of overweight and 27.3% of obese youth). The proportion tested increased steadily with age, ranging from 1.0% of 3-5 year olds, to 8.7% of 9-11 years olds, and to 25.2% of 17-19 year olds. There was relatively little variation in testing by sex and race/ethnicity after adjusting for age and BMI. Among those tested, total cholesterol was elevated ( > 200 mg/dL) in 8.7%, HDL-Cl was low ( 145 mg/d/L) in 12.0%. The proportion with elevated levels of non-HDL-C was 6.9% in normal weight, 11.5% in overweight and 16.9% of obese children, and was 14.4% in 9-11 year olds and 12.4% in 17-19 year olds. Conclusion: Before the 2011 guideline, lipid testing was uncommon in 9-11 year old children, but was performed in one quarter of 17-19 year old adolescents. The high proportion of youth with abnormally low HDL-C likely reflects targeted testing of overweight and obese individuals. The proportion of youth with elevated non-HDL-C is closer to that observed in population-based surveillance studies during the same time period. These data serve as a benchmark for assessing change in practice patterns as the new guideline is implemented for pediatric lipid screening and management. They suggest that health care systems will need to assess their capacity to deliver lifestyle interventions in the substantial proportion of youth for whom such services are recommended.
Nuances of distal hypospadias.

SUMMARY The MAGPI procedure should be the procedure of choice and is applicable for most boys with coronal/subcoronal hypospadias. The excellent results of the MAGPI are reliable and reproducible. However, careful evaluation of meatal configurations is essential, as is assessing for the existence of fibrous chordee. Should subcoronal meatal variation or possible chordee exist, the creation of a vascularized meatal-based flap provides excellent flexibility as well as many options to the surgeon.
The Road to Chicago

Writing on the eve of the convention, Senator David Hill of New York compared the conflict between gold and silver to the struggle over slavery just before the Civil War. “Extreme counsel” and the blunders of Democratic leaders in 1860 had produced “disaster, secession, and a bloody war,” and, as a result, the party had been kept “out of power for twenty-four years. Wise action could have prevented [that] disaster … coolness, courage, and diplomacy can now avert” catastrophe in Chicago. The senator then said that only compromise could now save the party. The “compromise” he described, however, was one in which the gold men would carry everything before them, including an endorsement of the gold standard in the national party platform. Like most easterners who believed there was a chance – admittedly slim, but a chance nonetheless – that a rupture could be avoided, the senator placed his hopes in confidential negotiations with the more experienced and mature leaders of the silver forces. With respect to the rank and file silver men, the gold advocates had more or less given up. As Hill put it, there is “much wild talk about the corridors of the hotels that Eastern votes are not desired” for the Democratic ticket in November, but “discreet” silver leaders were discouraging “such unwise and silly utterances.” Although the gold faction and their leaders fought on, the hard-money cause was, in fact, already hopeless.
Analysis of Amino Acids at the Active Site of Chloroplast Coupling Factor One: a Spin-echo nmr Study

The identification of the amino acids on coupling factor one (CF1) which participate in binding substrate during the synthesis of ATP has been limited thus far to studies employing the use of reagents that covalently modify specific amino acids on the enzyme (Vallejos, 1981). In cases where this technique has been successful, the reagent will cause an irreversible loss of enzymatic activity which is prevented by the presence of high concentrations of substrates during the modification. These experiments suggest that a carboxyl group, a lysine, an arginine and a tyrosine are in the proximity of the active site of CF1.
Relief of Lumbar Symptoms After Cervical Decompression in Patients with Tandem Spinal Stenosis Presenting with Primarily Lumbar Pain.

Objective Tandem cervical and lumbar spinal stenosis (TSS) is classically described as intermittent claudication, gait disturbance, and clinical findings of mixed myelopathy and polyradiculopathy. Rarely, patients can present with TSS manifesting in isolated lumbar pain. Several reports have demonstrated improved lumbar back pain and radiculopathy after decompressive cervical spine procedures. We present six patients with dramatic resolution of lumbar spine related symptoms after decompression of the cervical spinal cord despite presenting solely with lower back complaints. Methods Clinical records of the senior author (F.A.S.) gathered from April 2006 to March 2013 were retrospectively reviewed identifying six patients presenting solely with lumbar symptoms and diagnosed with TSS based on history and physical examination. Results Six patients with a mean age of 55 (range 39 to 60) presented with solely lower back symptoms and clinical findings suspicious for TSS. Mean follow-up time for all patients was 12 months (range three to 27 months, median 11.5 months). Three patients underwent a cervical procedure as the principal operation, while the remainder had the lumbar spine decompressed initially. All patients that underwent a cervical procedure initially experienced a dramatic decrease or complete resolution of their preoperative lower back pain and radiculopathy (mean preoperative VAS of 6.7 vs. 3.7 postoperative). The remainder of patients with persistent lumbar symptoms resolved after a subsequent cervical operation. Conclusion Patients presenting with lumbar symptoms out of proportion to imaging require further investigation. We highlight the resolution of lumbar symptoms after a cervical procedure in a select group of patients presenting with lone lower back complaints. In patients presenting with symptoms disproportionate to lumbar imaging, treatment of cervical pathology may provide robust long-term relief of the initial lumbar-related presentation.
Larval Development Varies Across Pond Age and Larval Density in Cope's Gray Treefrogs, Hyla chrysoscelis

Abstract Ovipositing amphibians select breeding sites that determine their offspring's larval habitat. Preference–performance theory predicts that adults will select habitat patches that match the expected performance of their offspring in those patches. Many amphibians breed in temporary ponds immediately after they fill, and one species, Hyla chrysoscelis (Cope's Gray Treefrogs), selects between breeding sites based on patch age differences of as little as 7 d. Prior work established that H. chrysoscelis have better larval performance in more recently filled ponds, but not in ponds less than 15 d after filling or among ponds that differed in age by less than 65 d. Our objective was to determine experimentally whether larval H. chrysoscelis performance varies across short time scales after filling (3- and 23-d-old ponds) and across two larval densities (15 and 30 larvae per mesocosm). Higher larval densities reduced metamorph mass and body condition, but did not otherwise affect larval performance. There...
Cardiac sarcoidosis masquerading as syncope with right ventricular septal mass

Cardiac sarcoid remains a challenging diagnostic entity. Electrical abnormalities in sarcoid myocarditis range from heart blocks to lethal ventricular tachycardias. Sarcoid granulomas have predilection for left ventricular side and basal septum in cardiac involvement. We present a case of sarcoid myocarditis presenting as mass involving the entire right ventricular side of the interventricular septum.
Cognitive and Neuropsychiatric Features in Parkinson's and Lewy Body Dementias

Cognitive impairment and neuropsychiatric symptoms affect a substantial number of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). These non-motor changes can occur at all stages of disease, often years before motor symptoms manifest in some patients while occurring much later in the disease process for others. Lewy bodies are the hallmark of PD, yet not all patients with PD follow the same course or present in the same way clinically, either from a motor or non-motor standpoint. This has implications on assessment, intervention, and planning for the future. This review will focus on the cognitive and neuropsychiatric features of Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), with emphasis on neuropsychological findings. Differentiation between these dementia syndromes and other atypical parkinsonian syndromes will be mentioned only briefly, as the latter are covered in detail elsewhere in this issue. Neuropathologic, laboratory and radiographic findings will be presented, and recommendations for neurobehavioral assessment and treatment will be provided.
Behavioral Phenotyping in Developmental Neurotoxicology—Simple Approaches Using Unconditioned Behaviors in Rodents

Abstract Behavior is the final output of the nervous system, and alterations in behavior reflect changes in the underlying structure and function of the brain. Behavioral testing is a critical component of developmental neurotoxicity assessment. The primary aim of this chapter is to describe simple test approaches used in behavioral assessment within developmental neurotoxicology. We focus here on rodents, particularly rats and mice, which are the most commonly used animals in behavioral teratology. Current practice typically involves the examination of toxicant-exposed and control offspring for physical growth, attainment of physical developmental landmarks, sensory function, motor development, activity, and learning. Together, these measures encompass a broad range of basic processes, most of which can either be studied using rapid and simple manual techniques or have been adapted for automated assessment.
Molecular Methods in Oncology: Genomic Analysis

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and chromosomal microarrays represent major technological advances—elegant combinations of biochemistry and microfluidics and laser optics—used in brute force approaches that rely on advanced computing to assemble and align the data from thousands or millions of individual reactions. NGS solutions comprise a spectrum of methods to obtain DNA sequence data in a massively parallel and automated fashion, which are faster and more efficient than the linear sequencing approach of three decades ago. Microarrays allow the simultaneous interrogation of numerous probes or targets, using sequence complementarity testing to identify similarities or differences in the genome. NGS and array-based comparative genomic hybridization provide insights into the whole spectrum of DNA aberrations, from single base substitutions to large-scale chromosomal deletions, which in turn help physicians diagnose and treat human disease.
A threshold of clinically significant reduced PTEN expression in melanoma.

e21063Background: Current AJCC staging criteria provide limited prognostic value for stage III melanoma patients, who have a 50% chance of recurrence. Complete loss of PTEN expression is known to b...
Evaluating nanomedicine with microfluidics

Nanomedicines are engineered nanoscale structures that have an extensive range of application in the diagnosis and therapy of many diseases. Despite the rapid progress in and tremendous potential of nanomedicines, their clinical translational process is still slow, owing to the difficulty in understanding, evaluating, and predicting their behavior in complex living organisms. Microfluidic techniques offer a promising way to resolve these challenges. Carefully designed microfluidic chips enable in vivo microenvironment simulation and high-throughput analysis, thus providing robust platforms for nanomedicine evaluation. Here, we summarize the recent developments and achievements in microfluidic methods for nanomedicine evaluation, categorized into four sections based on their target systems: single cell, multicellular system, organ, and organism levels. Finally, we provide our perspectives on the challenges and future directions of microfluidics-based nanomedicine evaluation.
DRL Based Intelligent Joint Manipulator and Viewing Camera Control for Reaching Tasks and Environments with Obstacles and Occluders

This work studies joint camera and robotic manipulator control for reaching tasks in complex environments with obstacles and occluders. We obviate the conventional challenges involved in complex perception, planning, and control modules and careful calibration for sensing and actuation and seek a solution leveraging deep reinforcement learning (DRL). Our method using DRL and deep Q-learning learns a policy for robot actuation and perception control, mapping directly raw image pixels inputs into camera motion and manipulator joint control actions outputs. We show results comparing different training approaches, and demonstrating competency for increasingly complex situations and degrees of freedom. These preliminary experiments suggest the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed approach.
Organizational Design of Franchising Chains and Differentiation: A Theoretical Explanation

Franchising is ‘a key tool in the entrepreneur’s tool box’. This paper advances strategy-structure fit in entrepreneurship research by exploring the role played by the different forms of franchisin...
Three new species of Tricholoma from Costa Rica

Three new species of Tricholoma are described from Costa Rican montane forests with additional collections cited from the United States. The new species are Tricholoma felschii sp. nov., Tricholoma costaricense sp. nov . and Tricholoma atratum sp. nov . A discussion of Tricholoma luteomaculosum is also included. These taxa share morphological features of strong farinaceous odor and taste, pseudoparenchymatous pileal subcutis, and rugulose pileus at some stage of development. In addition, cheilocystidia occur in two of the taxa but not the third. Phylogenies are presented based on ITS sequences.
18-year prostate cancer-specific mortality after prostatectomy, brachytherapy, external beam radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, or monitoring for localized prostate cancer.

300Background: The optimal treatment of localized prostate cancer (PCa) remains controversial. We compared long-term survival among men who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP), brachytherapy (BT),...
Memory biases in alcohol use disorder: enhanced memory for contexts associated with alcohol prospectively predicts alcohol use outcomes

Memory for prior drinking experiences may powerfully drive later alcohol use in familiar drinking contexts, yet we know little about what patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) remember of alcohol-related episodes. Although animal and theoretical models of addiction emphasize the importance of different memory systems for understanding maladaptive use, clinical research parsing what AUD patients remember from alcohol-related episodes is lacking. The current study applied a novel memory task in which moderate drinkers (N = 30) and treatment-seeking individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD: N = 29) encoded associations between photographs of objects (alcoholic beverages and neutral items) and photographs of neutral scenes. At least 24 h later, two types of memory were assessed: item memory (object recognition) and associative memory (cued recognition of scenes associated with objects). To assess which memories predicted drinking, real-world behavior was assessed in patients with AUD at baseline and for 4 weeks following memory tests. Despite demographic differences, the results showed broadly impaired item memory in AUD compared with moderate drinkers (p < 0.001), but enhanced associative memory for scenes paired with alcohol (p = 0.015). These associative memory biases were especially pronounced for stimuli rated as more affectively salient. Furthermore, stronger but less detailed memory for alcohol-related associations (i.e., choosing the correct scene but the incorrect photograph) significantly predicted heavier baseline (p = 0.002) and higher subsequent (p = 0.01) drinking in patients with AUD. These findings reveal a novel alcohol-related memory bias in AUD, and uncover the importance of associative memory for understanding real-world heavy alcohol use.
Continuous Néel-to-Bloch transition in strips whose thickness increases : Statics and dynamics

For strips of width 2w and height h, with both exchange and the dipole-dipole interaction, we find that Neel and Bloch domain walls are locally stable. As h is increased to hc, Neel walls evolve continuously to Bloch walls by a second-order transition. It is mediated by a critical mode with , corresponding to motion of the domain wall center. A uniform out-of-plane rf-field couples strongly to this critical mode only in the Neel phase. Local, but not global stability relative to a crosstie phase was established.
Vigilance in/as Feminist Research

This chapter considers vigilance in the context of feminist research methodology. I explore three particular ways in which feminist vigilance manifests in feminist methods: first, as a dynamic ethics of care; second, as an embodied methodological practice; and third, as a strategy for managing dialectical tensions while engaging with participants. I use my feminist photovoice study of long-term cancer survivors’ everyday experiences of health and embodiment to illustrate possibilities for mobilizing vigilance to enrich methodological practices and enhance ethical participant engagement.
A Crash Course in Good and Bad Controls

Many students, especially in econometrics, express frustration with the way a problem known as “bad control” is evaded, if not mishandled, in the traditional literature. The problem arises when the addition of a variable to a regression equation produces an unintended discrepancy between the regression coefficient and the effect that the coefficient is expected to represent. Avoiding such discrepancies presents a challenge not only to practitioners of econometrics, but to all analysts in the data intensive sciences. This note describes graphical tools for understanding, visualizing, and resolving the problem through a series of illustrative examples. We have found that the examples presented here can serve as a powerful instructional device to supplement formal discussions of the problem. By making this “crash course” accessible to instructors and practitioners, we hope to avail these tools to a broader community of scientists concerned with the causal interpretation of regression models.
Defect Detection in PV Arrays Using Image Processing

Renewable energy continues to be an important part of the energy field. New wind, photovoltaic (PV) and hydro plants continue to be installed. Many PV farms have been in operation for years and are exhibiting defects and less efficient operation due to age as well as being constantly exposed to weather conditions, such as rain, ice, cold, heat and hail. In this research image processing operations are applied to PV panels to determine defects or damaged areas/panels. The proposed method can be utilized in real-time to determine the damaged areas and count the number of damaged panels.
Maternal methionine supplementation during gestation alters alternative splicing and DNA methylation in bovine skeletal muscle

The evaluation of alternative splicing, including differential isoform expression and differential exon usage, can provide some insights on the transcriptional changes that occur in response to environmental perturbations. Maternal nutrition is considered a major intrauterine regulator of fetal developmental programming. The objective of this study was to assess potential changes in splicing events in the longissimus dorsi muscle of beef calves gestated under control or methionine-rich diets. RNA sequencing and whole-genome bisulfite sequencing were used to evaluate muscle transcriptome and methylome, respectively. Alternative splicing patterns were significantly altered by maternal methionine supplementation. Most of the altered genes were directly implicated in muscle development, muscle physiology, ATP activities, RNA splicing and DNA methylation, among other functions. Interestingly, there was a significant association between DNA methylation and differential exon usage. Indeed, among the set of genes that showed differential exon usage, significant differences in methylation level were detected between significant and non-significant exons, and between contiguous and non-contiguous introns to significant exons. Overall, our findings provide evidence that a prenatal diet rich in methyl donors can significantly alter the offspring transcriptome, including changes in isoform expression and exon usage, and some of these changes are mediated by changes in DNA methylation.
Recovery of a Subtropical Dry Forest After Abandonment of Different Land Uses

We studied the ecological characteristics of 45-50-yr-old subtropical dry forest stands in Puerto Rico that were growing on sites that had been deforested and used intensively for up to 128 yr. The study took place in the Guinica Commonwealth Forest. Our objective was to assess the long-term effects of previous land use on this forest-i.e., its species composition, structure, and functioning. Previous land-use types included houses, farmlands, and charcoal pits. Stands with these land uses were compared with a nearby mature forest stand. The speed and path of forest recovery after deforestation and land-use abandonment depended on the conditions of the land. Study areas where land uses had removed the forest canopy and altered soil conditions (houses and farmlands) required a longer time to recover and had a different species composition than study areas where land uses retained a forest canopy (charcoal pits). Different forest attributes recovered at different rates. Crown area index, stem density, and litterfall rate recovered faster than stemwood and root, biomass, tree height, and basal area. Where previous land uses removed the canopy, Leucaena leucocephala, a naturalized alien pioneer species, dominated the regrowth. Native species dominated abandoned charcoal pits and mature forest. The change in species composition, including the invasion of alien species, appears to be the most significant long-term effect of human use and modification of the landscape.
Presynaptic inhibition by adenosine A1 receptors on guinea pig small intestinal myenteric neurons

Abstract Background: Adenosine acts at A 1 receptors to inhibit the release of most neurotransmitters. This study tested the hypothesis that both exogenous adenosine (ADO) and tonic release of endogenous ADO act at presynaptic A 1 receptors to suppress excitatory post-synaptic potentials (EPSPs) and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) in myenteric neurons. Methods: Intracellular microelectrodes were used to study actions of ADO, the agonists 2-chloro- N 6 -cyclopentyl ADO, its 1-deaza derivative, 5′- N -ethylcarboxamido ADO, and CGS 21680 or the antagonists 8-cyclopentyl-1, 3-dimethylxanthine, its 1,3-dipropyl analog, and 1,3-dipropyl-8- p -sulfophenylxanthine on synaptic behavior in myenteric neurons. Results: Each of the agonists suppressed slow EPSPs in all 35 AH/type 2, 8 of 10 S/type 1, and 7 of 7 nonspiking neurons. ADO also decreased neuronal excitability (n = 63) in AH/type 2 neurons. Agonists suppressed fast nicotinic EPSPs in all 20 S/type 1, 10 nonspiking, and 3 AH/type 2 neurons without having any effect on postsynaptic responses to nicotinic agonists. CCPA was more potent than CGS 21680 in suppressing EPSPs. In 30% of neurons, the only action of antagonists was to block the effect of A 1 or A 2 agonists on EPSPs. Agonists did not inhibit IPSPs, but unmasked robust slow IPSPs by preventing slow EPSPs. Antagonists acted alone to enhance EPSPs in 70% of neurons. Conclusions: (1) ADO acts at presynaptic A 1 sites to suppress EPSPs in all neurons, (2) IPSPs are revealed by ADO, and (3) ongoing release of endogenous ADO inhibits synaptic transmission.
Vibrations of Thin Elastic Plates Subject to Random Driving Forces

A stationary Gaussian random load is simulated digitally and employed as the forcing function in the equations of motion of a damped, elastic square plate whose resistance to deformation is due to bending and stretching. The power-residue method for generating pseudo-random numbers is employed in a technique presented for constructing the random forcing function. The nonlinear equation of motion and the compatibility equation are solved in finite-difference form for the case of a forcing function representing a time-random concentrated load applied at the center of a plate. From the numerical solution, statistical measures of the response at the center of the plate are obtained. The analysis holds for finite amplitude oscillations of the plate.
Carnap's voluntarism

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses Carnap's voluntarism. Carnap was a social democrat; his ideals were those of the enlightenment. Carnap's voluntarism was a humanistic version of Descartes' explanation of the truths of arithmetic as holding because God willed them; not just “let there be light,” but “let 1+1=2” and all the rest. Carnap substituted humanity for God in this scheme; that's one way to put it, a way Carnap wouldn't have liked much, but close to the mark. Carnap counted specification of c functions among the semantical rules for languages. Choice of a language was a framework question, a practical choice that could be wise or foolish, and lucky or unlucky, but not true or false. Carnap's earliest philosophical work, in the years just after the first world war, treated space from a Kantian perspective modified by Einstein's enunciated general theory of relativity and by his own characteristic analysis of the disputes over the nature of space as stemming from conflation of different senses of the term. Carnap's last big philosophical project finally addressed the nature of scientific method, in an attempt at rational reconstruction of our way of building scientific and everyday knowledge on experience.
Four Specific Problems with the New General Jurisdiction

General in personam jurisdiction allows a court to enter judgment against a defendant regarding a claim that did not arise in the forum. Traditionally, based upon International Shoe (1945), courts have exercised general jurisdiction over corporations based upon their "continuous and systematic" activities in the forum. In Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S.A. v. Brown (2011) and Daimler AG v. Bauman (2014), the Supreme Court has restricted general jurisdiction by making it available only where the defendant is "at home" (a notion apparently never adopted by any state court as a proxy for general jurisdiction). Goodyear and Daimler were easy cases. The lower courts' exercise of general jurisdiction in each was risible. Instead of simply reversing the efforts, the Court decided several issues it did not need to decide and upset accepted understanding of activities-based general jurisdiction. Because the Court has never explained why we have general jurisdiction, it failed to explain why the new restriction is needed or appropriate. This article focuses on four specific problems created by the new jurisprudence: (1) the Court unnecessarily prohibits general jurisdiction based upon sales into a forum, which will hamper growth of jurisdictional doctrine in Internet cases; (2) by ignoring corporate activities, the Court ignores the sorts of corporate contact that would be analogous to human domicile, which, the Court says, is the paradigm of "at home"; (3) by rendering activities-based general jurisdiction practically impossible and (4) by inexplicably jettisoning the "fairness factors" of International Shoe in general jurisdiction cases, the Court exacerbates its parsimonious view of specific jurisdiction by denying judicial access to American plaintiffs injured by foreign corporations. Though some restriction of general jurisdiction may have been appropriate, it should have been measured and well-tailored to the underlying purpose of general jurisdiction. The Court's recent effort is not.
Use of Hoechst 33342 Stain to Evaluate Live Fresh and Frozen Bull Sperm by Computer‐Assisted Analysis

The objective of this research was to investigate possible procedures for evaluating living bull sperm stained with Hoechst 33342 while in a simple medium and in commonly used complex egg yolk-glycerol-Tris (EYGT) and whole milk-glycerol (WMG) extenders. The two semen extenders provide good cryoprotection, but the latter one virtually obscures the sperm. To evaluate sperm motion characteristics when static nonsperm particles are present, a new Hamilton Thorne epifluorescent optical system (UV) with a strobe light was developed for potential use with DNA-stained sperm. This system permitted examination for the first time of sperm motion characteristics in milk. In Experiment 1 (four bull semen replicates with five dye concentrations and three incubation times), 2.5 microg/ml of Hoechst 33342 stained live and dead sperm sufficiently in a modified Tyrode's solution to measure all sperm characteristics without depressing motility, which was validated by using phase-contrast to analyze stained and unstained controls. In Experiments 2a and 2b, each using semen from four bulls with a 5 x 5 factorial arrangement, it was determined that 40 to 60 microg/ml of dye in EYGT or WMG, with UV illumination for 20 minutes, was optimal. There was no detrimental effect on sperm motility. In Experiment 3, analyses of two ejaculates, from each of eight bulls, confirmed that motion characteristics of sperm in EYGT and WMG were not depressed when the sperm were stained with Hoechst 33342. These experiments demonstrate that the dye concentrations and exposure times developed for use with the new epifluorescent optics facilitate evaluating bull sperm frozen in particle-filled whole milk and should be useful for sperm evaluation of a variety of species when nonsperm particulate matter may otherwise interfere.
Stem cell factor is a neurotrophic factor for neural crest-derived chick sensory neurons

We have found that stem cell factor (SCF) selectively enhances the survival of cultured embryonic chick dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons. Neurons grown in the presence of SCF expressed both neurofilament 150 kDa subunit and calcitonin-gene related peptide. SCF does not, however, enhance the survival of parasympathetic, placode-derived sensory or sympathetic neurons in culture. Combining SCF with brain-derived neurotrophic factor or neurotrophin-3, but not with NGF, maintains more neurons than either factor alone, suggesting that these factors have partially overlapping activities. SCF preferentially rescues small neurons from the DRG. Labeling studies with bromodeoxyuridine indicate that the neurons sustained by SCF are not differentiating from a dividing progenitor.