cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
With and Without an Empire

Conventional wisdom has it that, in the eighteenth century, California’s mission Indians labored without recompense to support the Spanish military and other costs of imperial administration. This article challenges this conventional wisdom, arguing that it was not until the Spanish empire unraveled in the nineteenth century that Indians labored at missions with little compensation. Spain stopped subsidizing California in 1810, at which point the systematic non-payment of Christian Indians for goods supplied to the California military was implemented as an emergency measure. In 1825, independent Mexico finally sent a new governor to California, but military payroll was never reinstated in its entirety. Not surprisingly, most accounts of military confrontation between California Indians and combined mission/military forces date from the 1810 to 1824 period. By investigating an underutilized source—account books of exports and imports for four missions—the article explores two issues: first, the processes of cooptation inside missions up to 1809, and secondly, the way that Spain’s cessation of financing in 1810 affected the relationship with Indians.
40 GASTROINTESTINAL SYMPTOMS AND SEIZURES IN AUTISTIC REGRESSION.

Purpose Developmental regression as a distinct subgroup within the autistic spectrum has yet to be completely understood. Prior studies have suggested an increase in gastrointestinal symptoms and seizures with regression, whereas others have not. The purpose of this study is to examine the presence of associated medical problems such as gastrointestinal complaints and clinical seizures in a population-based sample of children with autism and regression (REG), children with autism without regression (NREG), and typically developing children in the general population (GP). Methods Children between the ages of 2 and 5 years were recruited through a larger population study, the CHARGE study. The diagnosis of autism or autistic spectrum disorder was confirmed with scores from the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), yielding 210 subjects. Of those, 87 (41%) had regression as defined by loss of either language or social skills as measured by the ADI-R. The NREG group consisted of 123 children whose parents gave no history of language or social skills loss. One hundred seventeen children recruited from the same catchment area constituted the GP control group. GI symptoms and seizure history were obtained through clinical interview and ADI-R responses. Results Constipation was described in 16% of NREG, 11% of REG, and 3% of GP. History of seizure was present in 10% of NREG, 6% of REG, and 1% of GP. After adjusting for age and sex, there were significant differences in the frequency of reported constipation between both autism groups and GP. No significant differences were found in the frequency of abdominal pain, gaseousness, or diarrhea. History of seizures was significantly higher in NREG compared to GP. Conclusion Children with autism, regardless of pattern of onset, were more likely to report constipation, but no other gastrointestinal symptoms, compared with the control group. Only children with autism without regression were more likely than controls to have a history of seizures.
An enhanced image coding algorithm based on human visual system

An image coding algorithm based on human visual system is proposed.SPIHT algorithm is analyzed and improved in this paper.Unlike SPIHT,human visual system is taken into account sufficiently in the compression algorithm.According to the different sensitivity of human visual system on edge,smooth region and texture of the image,we give different perceptual weights to the corresponding wavelet coefficient.The experiment results show the image compression scheme can improve the recovery image quality and peak signal-to-noise ratio(PSNR).
Fertilization and developmental initiation of oocytes by injection of spermatozoa and pre-spermatozoal cells.

Abstract The essence of fertilization is the union and mingling of male and female genomes. Therefore it is not surprising that microsurgical deposition of a single spermatozoon in an oocyte (ICSI) results in the development of normal offspring. Poorly motile or structurally aberrant spermatozoa, which are unable to fertilize under ordinary conditions, are not necessarily genomically abnormal. This is the reason why normal offspring are obtained after ICSI using such spermatozoa. At present, ICSI is most successful in humans and mice, but there is no reason to believe that ICSI does not work in other animal species as well. Injection of round spermatids into oocytes (ROSI) works routinely in the mouse, but it is controversial in humans. While some investigators have claimed successes, many others have reported complete failure. There must be several reasons for this, including the difficulty of distinguishing true spermatids from other small cells. Insufficient oocyte activation following ROSI and the functional immaturity of the centrosome could also be responsible for this. In mice, it is possible to obtain normal offspring by injection of primary or secondary spermatocytes into oocytes. The nucleus of a spermatocyte undergoes meiotic division(s) within the oocyte's cytoplasm before a haploid sperm pronucleus unites with an oocyte's haploid pronucleus. However, only a few of the produced zygotes have developed into fertile offspring. There are many hurdles to clear before ROSI and spermatocyte injection becomes efficient and medically safe methods for assisted fertilization.
Pulmonary vascular morphology in shunted and nonshunted patients with tetralogy of Fallot.

The pulmonary vascular morphology of 20 patients with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), aged 2 months to 29 years, was studied by lung biopsy. In eight patients, systemic-to-pulmonary anastomosis had been performed prior to the lung biopsy and repair. The findings were compared to control data obtained by biopsy (n = 8) or necropsy (n = 23). On comparison to control subjects, patients with TOF displayed increased wall thickness of the intra-acinar arteries, extensive extension of smooth muscle to the alveolar wall (AW) and alveolar duct (AD) arteries, and increased diameter of the AW vessels. Intimal proliferation and fibrosis was observed in two patients. Large right-to-left shunt (Qp/QS ≤ 0.75) was associated with an increased number of arteries, whereas left-to-right shunt (Qp/QS ≥ 1) was associated with a decreased number of vessels. The severity of the pulmonary vascular changes were similar in the shunted (n = 8) and nonshunted (n = 12) groups and in the ipsilateral and contralateral lungs of four shunted patients having bilateral biopsy. We conclude that some pulmonary morphologic features characteristic of pulmonary vascular obstructive disease are present in all patients with TOF surviving operation. An appropriate shunt causes no additional detrimental effect on the pulmonary vasculature. Thus, although early repair may be desirable for a variety of reasons, it is not preferable over a staged repair with respect to the pulmonary vasculature.
Paradoxical pituitary hormone responses in a case of primary hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's thyroiditis

A 24-year-old woman is described with irregular menstruation, anovulation, and infertility due to primary hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Her baseline gonadotropins and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were increased. Microsomal and thyroglobulin antibodies were present. Stimulation of pituitary hormone release with thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) resulted in appropriate responses of TSH and prolactin (PRL) as well as a substantial rise in the level of luteinizing hormone (LH). Luteinizing hormone releasing factor (LRF) markedly inhibited LH release. Bromoergocryptine led to inhibition of TSH and PRL. These results suggest that specific and nonspecific responses of pituitary glycoproteins to provocative stimuli reflect a profound disturbance of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in this case of hypothyroidism.
Thermal management and reliability of power electronics and electric machines

• Low-cost, high-performance thermal management technologies are helping meet aggressive power density, specific power, cost, and reliability targets for power electronics and electric machines. • NREL is working closely with numerous industry and research partners to help influence development of components that meet aggressive performance and cost targets ○ Through development and characterization of cooling technologies ○ Thermal characterization and improvements of passive stack materials and interfaces. • Thermomechanical reliability and lifetime estimation models are important enablers for industry in cost- and time-effective design.
Men That Suck

American vampire culture has grown to new heights of popularity with a dominating presence in film, television, and books. Scholar Nina Auerbach (1995) noted that every generation creates its own vampires, meaning that each re-invention of the undead reflects the dominant fears of its creators and consumers. An analysis of vampire men and their interactions with women, past and present, offers an ideal site for examining cultural tensions.
A prospective multi-center ovarian cancer screening study in women at increased risk

5510 Background: No proven ovarian cancer (OC) screening strategy exists for women who are at increased risk for the disease. A risk of ovarian cancer algorithm (ROCA) using serial CA125 values has previously shown greater positive predictive value (PPV) and sensitivity than a single CA125 in screening women at general population risk. We hypothesized that using ROCA would yield a reasonable PPV for ovarian cancer screening in a cohort at increased risk. Methods: Between 7/2001 and 9/2006, 25 sites (14 Cancer Genetics Network, 3 ovarian SPOREs, 1 EDRN, 7 others) prospectively enrolled patients. Inclusion criteria included: among self, 1° or 2° relatives in same lineage either (i) BRCA1/2 mutation, or (ii) two of OC or early onset (age = 50) breast cancer (BC), or (iii) Ashkenazi ethnicity and 1 of OC or BC. A previous diagnosis of OC excluded subjects. Subjects underwent CA125 every 3 months and the risk of having ovarian cancer based on the CA125 profile was recalculated after each test. ROCA referred su...
413. Effect of Adenoviral Death Protein on NIS-Based Iodine Therapy and Imaging for Pancreatic Cancer

In this study, we assess our novel Oncolytic Adenovirus (OAd) expressing a dual function therapeutic and imaging transgene, the sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) as a promising alternative for pancreatic cancer treatment. We hypothesized that NIS expression in pancreatic cancer will induce uptake of radioiodine and allow noninvasive SPECT/CT imaging with 123I. We designed our OAd-NIS to overcome the low efficacy of previous vectors. These viruses have a modified Ad5/Ad3 fiber-knob shown to improve the poor transduction of pancreatic cancer cells. Viral replication is controlled under the Cox2 promoter allowing specific delivery of viral genes, and most of adenoviral E3 genes are deleted and replaced with NIS and Adenovirus Death Protein (ADP) genes. We have previously demonstrated significantly improved ability of ADP-overexpressing OAds to enhance viral release and cytolytic activity. Although improved oncolysis enhances viral release and improve the therapeutic effect in solid tumors, it can potentially reduce radioiodide tracer uptake. To test this possibility we designed and compared identical vectors with ADP (OAd-NIS-ADP) and without ADP (OAd-NIS-noADP) in vitro and in vivo. We first compared virus killing ability in pancreatic cancer cell lines. The ADP+ vector was significantly more cytolytic that no-ADP counterpart and showed improved viral replication and spread. Cox2-controlled OAd did not produce cell death in Cox2-negative control, confirming selectivity. We next assessed OAds ability to induce NIS protein expression and radioiodine uptake. NIS-OAds efficiently produce glycosylated NIS multimers as early as 2-days post infection. Infection with no-ADP vectors resulted in a significantly greater radioiodine uptake (125I) compared to ADP+ viruses. Importantly, ex vivo uptake test in human patient tissues confirmed the high level of NIS in pancreatic adenocarcinoma samples, and revealed no 125I uptake in normal pancreas. We further assessed the ability of our vectors to visualize human pancreatic cancer xenografts in a mouse model by monitoring 99mTcO4− accumulation with SPECT-CT. The OAd-NIS-noADP showed an earlier and more sustained radioisotope uptake when compared to ADP+ supporting its use as a more sensitive diagnostic tool for pancreatic cancer. Of contrary, the ADP+ vector significantly outperformed OAd-NIS-noADP in tumor shrinkage. These results suggest that while OAd-NIS-noADP produces a greater radiotracer uptake and can be used as a diagnostic tool, its ADP+ counterpart results in a better therapeutic effect when applied as a monotherapy. It is now essential to estimate the therapeutic ability of both vectors upon combination with I-131 (ongoing study). Further investigation will include the imaging and therapeutic studies in patient-derived xenografts. Ultimately, the goal of our research is to design a multimodal therapy with radiation and oncolytic virus for diagnosis and therapy of cancers.
The practice of smiling: facial expression and repertory performance in Professor Palmai’s “school for smiles”

ABSTRACTThis essay analyzes a historical hoax – the case of Professor Jeno Palmai and his “School for Smiles” – for evidence of shifting trends in popular thinking about facial expressions and embodied performance during the first decades of the twentieth century. By examining this previously unstudied event, I highlight the prominence of a pedagogical American trope – “learning to smile” – and provide a sketch of the folk-philosophy of the 1930s that reveals a preoccupation with facial performance. In so doing, I discuss the opportunities offered to performance historians by the study of historical hoaxes, as well as offer initial thoughts on the concept of an “affective prosthesis,” an aggregative, multimodal model of mimetic communication.
Regulation of Manduca sexta hemolymph proteinase 8 by serpin-1 isoforms

Some insect immune responses, including prophenoloxidase activation and Toll pathway initiation, are mediated by serine proteinase cascades and regulated by serpins. Hemolymph proteinase 8 (HP8), a...
Abstract 615: Healthy Eating And Living Spiritually (HEALS): An Efficacious model for Hypertension Control in American African churches

Background: African Americans (AAs) living in the “Stroke Belt” region are at elevated risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) including stroke. Our long-term goal is to eliminate this ethnic/regio...
Realism, inferential semantics, and the truth norm

Characteristic of neo-pragmatism is a commitment to deflationism about semantic properties, and inferentialism about conceptual content. It is usually thought that deflationism undermines the distinction between realistic discourses and others, and that the neo-pragmatists, unlike the classical pragmatists, cannot recognize that truth is a norm of belief and inquiry. I argue, however, that (1) the distinction between realistic discourses and others can be maintained even in the face of a commitment to deflationism, and (2) that deflationists can recognize that truth is a norm of belief and inquiry. If deflationism is true, realistic discourses, it turns out, are those that are inferentially integrated with a large body of other commitments, whereas those that call for an anti-realist treatment are inferentially isolated. Now, Grimm has persuasively argued that inquiry aims at achieving understanding, and that to understand something is, roughly, to grasp a large body of inferential connections in which it features. So, if he is right, realistic discourses are those in which the aim of inquiry can be achieved. This fact, together with an inferential theory of conceptual content, will, I argue, allow neo-pragmatists to recognize truth as a norm of belief and inquiry, despite their commitment to deflationism.
Increasing water temperatures exacerbate the potential for density dependence in juvenile steelhead

We studied the potential effects of predicted climate change on the energetic demands of juvenile steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and their consequences for local population size and structure in I...
In-vivo monitoring of infectious diseases in living animals using bioluminescence imaging

Traditional methods of localizing and quantifying the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in living experimental animal models of infections have mostly relied on sacrificing the animals, dissociating the tissue and counting the number of colony forming units. However, the discovery of several varieties of the light producing enzyme, luciferase, and the genetic engineering of bacteria, fungi, parasites and mice to make them emit light, either after administration of the luciferase substrate, or in the case of the bacterial lux operon without any exogenous substrate, has provided a new alternative. Dedicated bioluminescence imaging (BLI) cameras can record the light emitted from living animals in real time allowing non-invasive, longitudinal monitoring of the anatomical location and growth of infectious microorganisms as measured by strength of the BLI signal. BLI technology has been used to follow bacterial infections in traumatic skin wounds and burns, osteomyelitis, infections in intestines, Mycobacterial infections, otitis media, lung infections, biofilm and endodontic infections and meningitis. Fungi that have been engineered to be bioluminescent have been used to study infections caused by yeasts (Candida) and by filamentous fungi. Parasitic infections caused by malaria, Leishmania, trypanosomes and toxoplasma have all been monitored by BLI. Viruses such as vaccinia, herpes simplex, hepatitis B and C and influenza, have been studied using BLI. This rapidly growing technology is expected to continue to provide much useful information, while drastically reducing the numbers of animals needed in experimental studies.
T1 Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy for Correction of Fixed Cervical Kyphotic Deformity – Surgical Technique and Review of the Literature

Fixed cervical or cervicothoracic kyphosis is a rare yet severely debilitating condition. When indicated, lower cervical or upper thoracic osteotomies may be used to address these deformities. This article describes the authors’ preferred surgical technique for T1 osteotomy. Using this technique, surgical correction of approximately 30° at the osteotomy site can be achieved. Significant improvement in patient-reported outcome measures and quality of life have been reported following this procedure. Despite its potential benefits, this is a technically challenging procedure and has a high rate of postoperative complications—up to 56.5%—and patients should be counseled as to the risks of this procedure and potential complications before surgery.
Operational Experience from LCLS-II Cryomodule Testing

This paper describes the initial operational experience gained from testing Linac Coherent Light Source II (LCLS-II) cryomodules at Fermilab's Cryomodule Test Facility (CMTF). Strategies for a controlled slow cooldown to 100 K and a fast cooldown past the niobium superconducting transition temperature of 9.2 K will be described. The test stand for the cryomodules at CMTF is sloped to match gradient in the LCLS-II tunnel at Stanford Linear Accelerator (SLAC) laboratory, which adds an additional challenge to stable liquid level control. Control valve regulation, Superconducting Radio-Frequency (SRF) power compensation, and other methods of stabilizing liquid level and pressure in the cryomodule 2.0 K SRF cavity circuit will be discussed. Several different pumping configurations using cold compressors and warm vacuum pumps have been used on the cryomodule 2.0 K return line and the associated results will be described.
Practical Approaches to Billing, Reporting, and Staffing Issues in the Vascular Laboratory:

The following recommendations are intended to offer a practical approach to the understanding of non-technical issues arising in a vascular laboratory. While as sonographers we would all probably p...
Structure of exotic light nuclei: Z = 2, 3, 4

I examine the history and current state of knowledge of the structure of so-called “exotic” light nuclei with Z=2-4, from 7He to 16Be . I review the available experimental information and the models that have been applied to these nuclei. I pay particular attention to the interplay among energies, widths (or strengths), and microscopic structure. Throughout the presentation, I focus on a unified description of these nuclei. I point out contradictions within the data, and I suggest experiments that are still needed.
The Effects of High Mainstream Turbulence and Turbine Vane Film Cooling on the Dispersion of a Simulated Hot Streak

This paper presents the combined effects of high turbulence and film cooling on the dispersion of a simulated hot streak as it passes over a scaled-up nozzle guide vane. Experimental data demonstrates a considerable decay in the strength of a hot streak due to turbulence effects alone. Film cooling further reduces the peak temperature values resulting in a reduction of the peak temperature in the hot streak on the order of 75% relative to the upstream peak temperature in the hot streak. Comparisons are made between high turbulence (Tu = 20%) and moderate turbulence (Tu = 3.5%) as well as between different blowing conditions for the suction side, showerhead, and pressure side film cooling holes on a simulated nozzle guide vane.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Exogenous application of methyl jasmonate alters Pinus resinosa seedling response to simulated frost

Physical stresses, such as exposure to cold, can affect plant recruitment, survival, and demography. The ability of plants to tolerate physical stress, however, may depend upon the co-occurrence of other stresses. For example, although plants undergo physiological changes to increase defense against herbivores, it is unknown whether chemical signaling associated with herbivory can alter plant tolerance to cold. We tested the hypothesis that both tissue removal and chemical induction (via exogenous application of 1 mM methyl jasmonate [MeJA]) would alter cold tolerance of Pinus resinosa seedlings. Application of MeJA resulted in 18% less foliar tissue damage than control plants (estimated via foliar electrolyte leakage) following a simulated frost. Leaf tissue removal similarly limited the extent of cold damage on P. resinosa seedlings. Seedlings not treated with MeJA grew slower than seedlings treated with MeJA following exposure to the simulated frost. Our work indicates that secondary responses via MeJA...
A quick look at NVivo

By Margaret Phillips, Purdue University Libraries and Jing Lu, Purdue Polytechnic Institute, Purdue UniversityNVivo (QSR International, n.d.a) is a software developed by QSR International for quali...
Mesh generation by conformal and quasiconformal mappings

It is pointed out that many recent advances in the finite-difference solution of elliptic equations have been limited to regions whose boundary contours coincide with coordinate lines of the Cartesian coordinate system. The reason for this is related to the fact that in the case of an arbitrary curvilinear coordinate system the original equation becomes much more complex. However, there is no added complexity if an orthogonal coordinate system is generated from a conformal mapping. In the present investigation, a finite difference method developed for the construction of conformal mappings has been generalized to construct quasi-conformal mappings. It is expected that the use of more sophisticated numerical algorithms could lead to improvements in both speed and accuracy. Quasi-conformal mappings have applications not only in the solution of elliptic equations but also in other areas such as orthogonal mesh generation on surfaces and the solution of certain fluid flow problems.
Effects of instructions on an individual's verbal behavior.

The subject for this experiment was a 9 year old boy with specific learning disabilities. Using experimental analysis of behavior techniques, his verbal responses to pictures were directly affected and controlled by oral instructions. This study involved four experimental conditions and daily as well as pre- and posttest data were obtained. The potential effects of the teacher's instructions to children are discussed.
Introduction: Presidios of the North American Spanish Borderlands

Presidios were an important part of the Spanish colonial system. In general, they were fortified settlements with an assigned military contingent. Presidios exhibited a wide range of variation as they adapted to local needs, materials, and populations. Historical and archaeological information from eight presidios in the North American Spanish Borderlands from San Francisco to St. Augustine are summarized. They provide much new information about presidios as a distinctive type of settlement and on the development of Hispanic frontier culture. This publication marks the beginning of bringing North American borderland presidios into the mainstream of historical archaeology. The presidio was an important frontier settlement of the Spanish frontier, and their residents were the frontline of acculturation. Cultural and biological hybrids developed at presidios and became the foundation for a significant part of modern-day culture in the southern half of the United States.
Headache and Sinonasal Disease

Headache and rhinosinusitis are two of the most common conditions seen in clinical practice. Although headache is common in patients with sinus disease, recurrent disabling headache is usually due to migraine or a related disorder. Migraine frequently presents with symptoms such as frontal pressure, congestion, or facial pain which can mimic sinus pathology. Cluster headache and other trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias can cause significant autonomic symptoms, such as tearing, congestion, and rhinorrhea. Cluster headache is more common in tobacco users and in some cases can result from sinus pathology. Stimulation of the sphenopalatine ganglion is an emerging treatment for cluster headache. Contact point headache should be considered in patients with focal headaches and a contact point on the lateral nasal wall. Spinal fluid leak due to nasal disease may produce a low-pressure headache syndrome. Trigeminal neuralgia and other facial pains may be attributed to sinus disease, but proven nasal/sinus causes are unusual. Although most cases of frontal, maxillary, and ethmoid sinusitis are fairly easy to diagnose and not often confused with headache, sphenoid sinusitis is more commonly overlooked as a source of head pain and can present with progressive or thunderclap headache.
The Effect of Hydration on the Structure and Transport Properties of Confined Carbon Dioxide and Methane in Calcite Nanopores

The effect of hydration on the structure and transport properties of confined carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in 2 nm slit-shaped calcite nanopore was studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The effect of no confined water, one layer of confined water composed of 150 water molecules, 500 water molecules, and 1,296 water molecules that correspond to the density of bulk water of 1 g/cm3 on the structural arrangement and diffusivity of confined CO2 and CH4 were investigated. Higher number of water molecules in confinement influenced the anisotropic distribution of the confined gases by displacing the adsorbed gas molecules away from the pore surface toward the pore center. The diffusivities of CO2 and CH4 were influenced by the density of confined water and were found to vary anisotropically in the calcite nanopores. In the absence of confined water, the enhanced affinity of CO2 for the calcite interface is influenced by van der Waals and electrostatic interactions. In the case of CH4, van der Waals energetic interactions contribute to the affinity to the calcite interface. In the presence of interfacial water with a density similar to that of bulk water, the van der Waals contributions arising from gas interactions with the calcite interface are much smaller compared to the van der Waals contributions arising from interactions with the water. In case of CO2, the van der Waals and electrostatic interactions arising from interactions with water contribute to CO2 solvation. However, the van der Waals interactions are the primary contributors to CH4 solvation in confined water.
Photo-thermochemical decomposition of carbon-dioxide in a direct solar receiver-reactor

Abstract The synergistic combination of the spectral and intensity features of solar energy can potentially lead to chemical synthesis processes under milder temperature conditions than those in solar thermochemical processes. A direct solar receiver-reactor is built and used for the catalytic photo-thermochemical processing of carbon dioxide. The reactor is designed to be representative of field application solar reactors by depicting fluid flow, heat transfer, mass transport, and radiation transport effects, often suppressed in reactors aimed to fundamental chemical kinetics studies. Two different types of catalytic monoliths, tubular quartz and zirconia foam, are tested with coatings of 1 and 2 wt% Cu-doped TiO2. The zirconia foam monolith is optically thick and has more than four times higher coating mass compared to the tubular quartz monolith; nevertheless, the latter, while being optically thin, leads to four times higher CO production, with the 1 wt% coated monolith producing the highest CO yield. Moreover, the experimental results show that the CO production rate increases almost exponentially with increasing incident solar radiation flux. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, describing fluid flow, radiation transport, and heterogeneous photo- and thermo-chemistry, is used to analyze the CO2 decomposition process in the 1 wt% tubular quartz reactor. The modeling results provide assessment of the photochemical and thermochemical effects, and suggest the synergistic enhancement due to the photolytic mechanism on the thermochemical process. Solar photo-thermochemical processing of CO2 using an optically and catalytically tuned catalytic monolith can lead to higher decomposition yields than photochemical processes, potentially comparable to those of solar thermochemical approaches while operating at lower temperatures.
Individual Experiences and Utilization of Supportive Resources in Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer

Background: Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer are often impacted by distress due to disease and treatment. Despite these concerns, prior research has found that AYAs do not utilize su...
PERSISTENCE OF MYELOID PROGENITOR CELLS EXPRESSING BCR-ABL MRNA AFTER ALLOGENEIC BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION FOR CHRONIC MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA

Previous studies have shown that tumor-specific bcr-abl mRNA can often be detected by polymerase chain reaction. (PCR) for months to years after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML). Nevertheless, the presence of bcr-abl mRNA by itself does not invariably predict for clinical relapse post-BMT. This has led to the hypothesis that bcr-abl mRNA might be expressed in cells that have lost either proliferative or myeloid differentiation potential. To directly characterize the cells detected by PCR in patients with CML after allogeneic BMT, we first identified five individuals in whom PCR-positive cells could be detected at multiple times post-BMT. Bone marrow samples from these individuals were cultured in vitro and single erythroid, granulocytic, and macrophage colonies, each containing 50 to 100 cells, were examined for the presence of bcr-abl mRNA by PCR. PCR-positive myeloid colonies could be detected in four of five individuals in marrow samples obtained 5 to 56 months post-BMT. Overall, 7 of 135 progenitor cell colonies (5.2%) were found to be PCR-positive. The expression of bcr-abl mRNA appeared to be equally distributed among committed erythroid, macrophage, and granulocyte progenitors. These patients have now been followed-up for an additional 20 to 33 months from the time of progenitor cell PCR analysis but only one of these individuals has been found to have cytogenetic evidence of recurrent Ph+ cells. These results show that long-term persistence of PCR-detectable bcr-abl mRNA after allogeneic BMT can be caused by the persistence of CML-derived clonogenic myeloid precursors that have survived the BMT preparative regimen. These cells continue to have both proliferative and myeloid differentiation capacity in vitro. Nevertheless, these PCR-positive cells do not appear to either expand or differentiate in vivo for prolonged periods, suggesting the presence of mechanisms for suppression of residual clonogenic leukemia cells in vivo.
The epigenomic impact of methylation in metabolic dysfunction and cancer

Abstract The term “epigenetics” refers to heritable changes in gene expression and cellular phenotype that do not involve changes to the genetic code. Epigenetic changes include DNA methylation, histone modifications and nucleosome positioning that alter chromatin structure. Epigenetic marks can be influenced by environmental cues, changes in nutrient availability and the emergence of mutations in metabolic enzymes or oncogenes that alter metabolism and can act as a metabolic switch to alter DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling and consequently, changes in gene expression. In this chapter we will focus on four questions: (1) What is DNA methylation and its role in regulating gene expression; (2) Which enzymes, substrates and cofactors are important for DNA methylation and how are these influenced by metabolism, (3) How does the loss or gain of DNA methylation impact metabolism; (4) How do mutations in tumor suppressors alter DNA methylation and regulate metabolism.
Interdisciplinary differences in needlestick injuries among healthcare professionals in training: Improving situational awareness to prevent high-risk injuries.

Background Needlestick injuries among healthcare professionals continue to be an occupational hazard, frequently and incorrectly regarded as low-risk, and exacerbated by underreporting. We aimed to investigate rates of needlestick injury, reasons for underreporting, and how explicit announcements that patients are "high-risk" (i.e., human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis, or intravenous drug abuse history) might affect the actions of those at risk of sustaining an injury. Methods A cross-sectional survey was administered to medical students (MS), nursing students (NS), and residents. Results 30/224 (13%) of MS, 6/65 (9%) of NS, and 67/126 (53%) of residents experienced needlestick injuries. 37% of MS, 33% of NS, and 46% of residents attributed "lack of concentration" as cause of injury. Residents had the lowest percentage of underreporting (33%), with rates of 40% and 83% among MS and NS, respectively. Top reasons for non-reporting included the injury being perceived as "trivial" (22%) and patient being "low-risk" (18%). A majority stated pre-operative "high-risk" announcements should be required (91%), and would promote "culture of safety" (82%), reporting of injuries (85%), and increased concentration during procedures (70%). Conclusions We recommend routine announcements during pre-operative time-out and nursing/resident hand-offs that state a patient is "high-risk" if applicable. We hypothesize such policy will promote a "culture of safety," situational awareness, and incident reporting.
Formalizing traffic rules for uncontrolled intersections

One of the challenges in designing autonomous vehicles (AV’s) is driving around humans (i.e. drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, etc.) In particular, the AV’s and the humans must have a common set of traffic rules to follow. In this paper, we present a new approach to formalize and implement traffic rules. We use California’s DMV driver handbook as a working example. Our approach provides a straightforward mapping from the rules in the handbook to its formal model, and from the model to its implementation. To demonstrate the efficiency of this approach, we formally model the traffic rules in the logic programming paradigm of Answer Set Programming (ASP) using a programming language called Clingo. We then integrate these rules into CARLA, a virtual test bed environment for autonomous vehicles. We simulate the behavior of autonomous vehicles at four way and three way uncontrolled intersections by correct reasoning of right-of-way rules for autonomous vehicles in real time. As a result, the behaviors of autonomous vehicles under our controller are more realistic compared to CARLA’s default FIFO controller. This also improves the throughput of the traffic through the intersection.
An online updating method for time-varying preference learning

Abstract The rapid proliferation of smart, personal technologies has given birth to smart Transportation Demand Management (TDM) systems that can give personalized incentives to users. This personalization capacity builds on accurate modeling of user behaviors; however, in practice, a user’s behavior data is often limited, and his preferences in the discrete choice-making process may change or evolve. In this paper, we propose a new online-updating model that can accurately and efficiently estimate an individual’s preferences from his discrete choices. Our model is built on the concept of canonical structure, where a set of canonical models are identified as the common preference patterns shared by the whole population, and a membership vector is also identified for each individual to capture the degrees of the resemblance of his preferences to those common preference patterns. To allow preference to vary in the choice-making process, a time-varying model can be integrated with the canonical structure. In the current study, we use a simple cubic polynomial model with a single variant and show the detailed formulation of the integrated model. An online-updating strategy is also proposed, such that it is possible to update the parameters partially in practice. The proposed model is suitable for modeling a heterogeneous population with insufficient data from each individual. Both simulation studies and a real-world application are taken in the current study. The results show that comparing with other frequently used models, the model we proposed has the highest accuracy in preference learning and behavior prediction.
Dynamic network organization of the self: implications for affective experience

People form a variety of beliefs about themselves that often carry positive or negative valence (e.g. being confident versus awkward). We suggest that, like other complex systems, the self can be modeled as a network composed of nodes (self-beliefs) and connections between them. We describe how self-network organization may vary between individuals and within individuals over time, and highlight the implications of this variation for affective experience. We further articulate how the self-network emerges from dynamic interactions between large-scale brain networks including the default mode network, valuation network, and frontoparietal control network. Finally, we discuss how a network perspective on the self may provide new insights into the mechanisms that underlie cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based approaches to affective disorders.
Midbrain microglia exhibit early proliferative and inflammatory responses during aging that are modulated by CX3CR1 and microglial ablation and repopulation

ABSTRACT Microglia maintain tissue health and can critically influence synaptic connectivity and function. During aging, microglia produce inflammatory factors, show reduced tissue surveillance, altered interactions with synapses, and prolonged responses to insults. In addition, risk genes for neurodegenerative disease are highly expressed by microglia. These findings argue that microglial function is likely to critically shape vulnerability or resilience of neurons during aging. We recently discovered that microglia in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of young adult mice differ markedly from their counterparts in other brain regions. Whether this regional variation in microglia persists, diminishes, or increases during aging has not been determined. Here, we analyze microglia in several nuclei of the basal ganglia throughout the lifespan in mice and find that VTA microglia exhibit increased proliferation and production of inflammatory factors months prior to microglia in other basal ganglia nuclei. Comparable early proliferative responses were observed in the substantia nigra pars compacta where disease-vulnerable dopamine neurons reside. These proliferative and inflammatory responses of VTA microglia began as early at 13 months of age in mice and were not accompanied by substantial neuronal loss or changes in local astrocyte number. Finally, these region-specific responses of microglia to aging were enhanced by knockout of the fractalkine receptor (CX3CR1) and reduced by microglial ablation and repopulation, identifying two signaling axes by which region-specific responses of microglia to aging can be modulated. Collectively, these findings indicate that VTA and SNc microglia continue to differ from their counterparts in other basal ganglia nuclei during aging. Moreover, the early phenotypic changes in these cells result in “pockets” of inflammation near dopamine neurons beginning in middle age, which may be linked to enhanced vulnerability of these neurons to functional decline and degenerative disease.
Social inclusion through mixed-income development: Design and practice in the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative

Social Inclusion is an emerging term, used to encompass ideas of equity, social, economic and civic participation, and the proactive protection of human rights. In the United States, one potential ...
A Systematic Investigation on end-to-end Deep Recognition of Grocery Products in the Wild

Automatic recognition of products on grocery shelf images is a new and attractive topic in computer vision and machine learning since, it can be exploited in different application areas. This paper introduces a complete end-to-end pipeline, without preliminary radiometric and spatial transformations usually involved while dealing with the considered issue, and it provides a systematic investigation of recent machine learning models based on convolutional neural networks for addressing the product recognition task by exploiting the proposed pipeline on a recent challenging grocery product dataset. The investigated models were never been used in this context: they derive from the successful and more generic object recognition task and have been properly tuned to address this specific issue. Besides, also ensembles of nets built by most advanced theoretical fundaments have been taken into account. Gathered classification results were very encouraging since the recognition accuracy has been improved up to 15% with respect to the leading approaches in the state of art on the same dataset. A discussion about the pros and cons of the investigated solutions are discussed by paving the path towards new research lines.
Telling the Monolinguals from the Bilinguals: Unrealistic Code Choices in Direct Quotations within Scottish Gaelic Narratives

Among the Gaelic-English bilinguals of East Sutherland, Scotland, code choice is made above all according to interlocutor. When the chosen code is Gaelic, the community norm for rendering direct quotations within a narrative is to produce them in Gaelic, regardless of which language was used originally and regardless of whether the quoted person was actually capable of speaking Gaelic. Examples are given to illustrate this quotational norm, but factors that can override it are identified and exemplified as well: a quoted monolingual's deeply ingrained identification with the landed gentry, the presence of profanity in the original English, or a particularly strong negative or positive resonance in the English original that a narrator wishes to reproduce. English remarks rendered as direct quotations in Gaelic narratives may show evidence of an unrealistic code choice in slight grammatical deviation or in the presence of more phrasal code switches than average, but in the more usual case local narrative practices make it impossible to distinguish monolinguals from bilinguals on the basis of their quoted remarks.
Ion-Coupled Transport of Organic Solutes across Biological Membranes

The decade between 1957 and 1967 was a remarkable period in the evolution of our understanding of the relations between membrane transport and energy transduction by biological systems.
Microbiota-derived GABA exacerbates Clostridium difficult-associated intestinal inflammation and suppresses development of protective immunity (MPF1P.768)

Background: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a major cause of nosocomial antibiotic-associated diarrhea and colitis. Previously we performed metagenomic and metabolomic analysis on stool samples collected from patients with and without CDI, and found a significant correlation between disease recurrence and intestinal lumen levels of the neurotransmitter GABA. Study objectives: To determine the role of GABA in CDI pathogenesis and the effects on host immune defenses. Methods & Results: C57BL/6 mice were treated with an antibiotic mixture +/- GABA in their drinking water and infected orally with C. difficile. Intestinal tissue was collected and examined for histopathology and gene expression. Administration of GABA exacerbated CDI- induced mucosal inflammation and damage, whereas inhibition of GABA with picrotoxin reduced disease severity. In addition, mice given daily doses of probiotic bacteria that secrete GABA had greater disease severity compared to controls. In vitro, GABA modulated epithelial cell cytokine responses to C. difficile toxins, LPS and flagellin. In vivo, GABA altered the cellular response to infection, and promoted the recruitment of CD11b+Gr1+ cells to the site of infection. The early immune changes were associated with decreased protective antibody production at week 2 post-infection. Conclusion: Microbial-derived GABA promotes CDI disease pathogenesis by modulating innate immune responses which leads to suppression of protective immunity.
Rupture Arteriovenous Malformation Presenting as Thalamic Hypertensive Hemorrhage (I2-3B)

Importance: Deep arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) comprised of 31[percnt] of all AVMs. Additionally only 3[percnt] of AVMs are diagnosed after the age of 60. We present a case of a 63-year-old man who presented with an extensive thalamic hemorrhage initially thought to be secondary to malignant hypertension. Observations: Our patient presented with acute onset left sided weakness, blurred vision and headache. Non-contrasted CT brain showed a 2.7 x 2.0 cm right thalamic hematoma with extensive intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH). CT angiogram (CTA) head was showed a right thalamic blush. Angiogram confirmed a Spetzler Martin grade 3 right thalamic AVM Conclusions and Relevance: It is rare for cerebral AVMs to be a diagnosis in patients over the age of 60 years. The etiology of his hemorrhage was initially thought to be secondary to uncontrolled hypertension given its location. The AVM could have been missed if a CTA had not been obtained. There is no sufficient literature evidence to suggest ways to differentiate intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) secondary to a structural cause (such as AVM) vs. uncontrolled hypertension. This case emphasizes the utility of vascular imaging in patients who present with ICH. Disclosure: Dr. Billakota has nothing to disclose. Dr. El-Husseini has nothing to disclose. Dr. Nimjee has nothing to disclose.