cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Management of isolated sphenoid sinus disease in children: A surgical perspective

Abstract Objective To determine the spectrum of diseases and optimal timing of surgical drainage for the opacified sphenoid sinus in children. Methods Ten year retrospective chart review of children with isolated sphenoid sinus disease. Results Fourteen patients (mean age 11 ± 2.8 years, range 6.5–15.1 years) were diagnosed with isolated sphenoid sinus disease. Five patients had acute, severe bacterial sphenoiditis, four had sphenoid mucoceles, three had suspected tumors involving the sphenoid bone, clivus or sella, and two were identified incidentally when imaging studies were obtained for unrelated reasons. Headache was the most common symptom. Cranial nerve or other intracranial complications were present in all of those referred because of infection, but in none of the other patients. Computed tomography (CT) revealed the presence of disease in all cases. Compared with CT, magnetic tomography (MRI) was more helpful in identifying the extent of disease spread in two patients with acute bacterial sphenoiditis and in three patients with suspected tumors. All improved with surgical drainage or biopsy of the suspected tumor. In two cases, children were treated conservatively with antibiotics and the primary symptoms resolved. Conclusions Isolated sphenoid sinus disease is rare in children. Those with clinically significant disease presented with progressive, severe headaches and minimal sinus symptoms. MRI studies were important to identify the source of headache and evolving complications in several of these patients.
Tailoring the composition of ultrathin, ternary alloy PtRuFe nanowires for the methanol oxidation reaction and formic acid oxidation reaction

In the search for alternatives to conventional Pt electrocatalysts, we have synthesized ultrathin, ternary PtRuFe nanowires (NW), possessing different chemical compositions in order to probe their CO tolerance as well as electrochemical activity as a function of composition for both (i) the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and (ii) the formic acid oxidation reaction (FAOR). As-prepared ‘multifunctional’ ternary NW catalysts exhibited both higher MOR and FAOR activity as compared with mono-metallic Pt NWs, binary Pt7Ru3 and Pt7Fe3 NWs, and commercial catalyst control samples. In terms of synthetic novelty, we utilized a sustainably mild, ambient wet-synthesis method never previously applied to the fabrication of crystalline, pure ternary systems in order to fabricate ultrathin, homogeneous alloy PtRuFe NWs with a range of controlled compositions. These NWs were subsequently characterized using a suite of techniques including XRD, TEM, SAED, and EDAX in order to verify not only the incorporation of Ru and Fe into the Pt lattice but also their chemical homogeneity, morphology, as well as physical structure and integrity. Lastly, these NWs were electrochemically tested in order to deduce the appropriateness of conventional explanations such as (i) the bi-functional mechanism as well as (ii) the ligand effect to account for our MOR and FAOR reaction data. Specifically, methanol oxidation appears to be predominantly influenced by the Ru content, whereas formic acid oxidation is primarily impacted by the corresponding Fe content within the ternary metal alloy catalyst itself.
A Unified Theory of Timing Budget Management

This paper presents a theoretical framework that solves optimally and in polynomial time many open problems in time budgeting. The approach unifies a large class of existing time-management paradigms. Examples include time budgeting for maximizing total weighted delay relaxation, minimizing the maximum relaxation, and min-skew time budget distribution. The authors develop a combinatorial framework through which we prove that many of the time-management problems can be transformed into a min-cost flow problem instance. The methodology is applied to intellectual-property-based datapath synthesis targeting field-programmable gate arrays. The synthesis flow maps the input operations to parameterized library modules during which different time budgeting policies have been applied. The techniques always improve the area requirement of the implemented test benches and consistently outperform a widely used competitor. The experiments verify that combining fairness and maximization objectives improves the results further as compared with pure maximum budgeting. The combined fairness and maximization objective improves the area by 25.8% and 28.7% in slice and LUT counts, respectively
Optimization of coupling between a metal nanocavity and a free-space Gaussian mode

We minimize scattering losses and maximize coupling to a given free-space mode from sub-wavelength metal aperture surrounded by periodic corrugations via optimum choice of parameters of the structure.
Med13p prevents mitochondrial fission and programmed cell death in yeast through nuclear retention of cyclin C.

The yeast cyclin C-Cdk8 kinase forms a complex with Med13p to repress the transcription of genes involved in the stress response and meiosis. In response to oxidative stress, cyclin C displays nuclear to cytoplasmic relocalization that triggers mitochondrial fission and promotes programmed cell death. In this report, we demonstrate that Med13p mediates cyclin C nuclear retention in unstressed cells. Deleting MED13 allows aberrant cytoplasmic cyclin C localization and extensive mitochondrial fragmentation. Loss of Med13p function resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction and hypersensitivity to oxidative stress–induced programmed cell death that were dependent on cyclin C. The regulatory system controlling cyclin C-Med13p interaction is complex. First, a previous study found that cyclin C phosphorylation by the stress-activated MAP kinase Slt2p is required for nuclear to cytoplasmic translocation. This study found that cyclin C-Med13p association is impaired when the Slt2p target residue is substituted with a phosphomimetic amino acid. The second step involves Med13p destruction mediated by the 26S proteasome and cyclin C-Cdk8p kinase activity. In conclusion, Med13p maintains mitochondrial structure, function, and normal oxidative stress sensitivity through cyclin C nuclear retention. Releasing cyclin C from the nucleus involves both its phosphorylation by Slt2p coupled with Med13p destruction.
A glassy lowermost outer core

SUMMARY New theories for the viscosity of metallic melts at core pressures and temperatures, together with observations of translational modes of oscillation of Earth’s solid inner core, suggest a rapid increase in the dynamic viscosity near the bottom of the liquid outer core. If the viscosity of the lowermost outer core (F region) is sufficiently high, it may be in a glassy state, characterized by a frequency dependent shear modulus and increased viscoselastic attenuation. In testing this hypothesis, the amplitudes of high-frequency PKiKP waves are found to be consistent with an upper bound to shear velocity in the lowermost outer core of 0.5 km s −1 at 1 Hz. The fit of a Maxwell rheology to the frequency dependent shear modulus constrained by seismic observations at both low and high-frequency favours a model of the F region as a 400-km-thick chemical boundary layer. This layer has both a higher density and higher viscosity than the bulk of the outer core, with a peak viscosity on the order of 10 9 Pa s or higher near the inner core boundary. If lateral variations in the F region are confirmed to correlate with lateral variations observed in the structure of the uppermost inner core, they may be used to map differences in the solidification process of the inner core and flow in the lowermost outer core.
Fast Algorithms for Gaussian Noise Invariant Independent Component Analysis

The performance of standard algorithms for Independent Component Analysis quickly deteriorates under the addition of Gaussian noise. This is partially due to a common first step that typically consists of whitening, i.e., applying Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and rescaling the components to have identity covariance, which is not invariant under Gaussian noise. In our paper we develop the first practical algorithm for Independent Component Analysis that is provably invariant under Gaussian noise. The two main contributions of this work are as follows: 1. We develop and implement an efficient, Gaussian noise invariant decorrelation (quasi-orthogonalization) algorithm using Hessians of the cumulant functions. 2. We propose a very simple and efficient fixed-point GI-ICA (Gradient Iteration ICA) algorithm, which is compatible with quasi-orthogonalization, as well as with the usual PCA-based whitening in the noiseless case. The algorithm is based on a special form of gradient iteration (different from gradient descent). We provide an analysis of our algorithm demonstrating fast convergence following from the basic properties of cumulants. We also present a number of experimental comparisons with the existing methods, showing superior results on noisy data and very competitive performance in the noiseless case.
Mycobacterium bovis Osteomyelitis Involving a Hip Arthroplasty After Intravesicular Bacille Calmette-Guérin for Bladder Cancer

Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG), an attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis, is one of the most effective agents in the treatment of superficial bladder cancer. BCG osteomyelitis is an infrequent complication of intravesicular BCG therapy; only five cases of BCG vertebral osteomyelitis have been reported in the literature. Similarly, the infection of an indwelling extravascular device by BCG is rare; there is only one previous report documenting infection associated with an automated implantable cardiac defibrillator. We report a case of BCG osteomyelitis involving a hip arthroplasty that occurred after intravesicular administration of BCG for bladder cancer, and we review the risk factors predisposing to such infections and their treatment.
Nitric oxide in neurodegeneration: potential benefits of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories

The cellular messenger nitric oxide (NO) has been linked to neurodegenerative disorders due to the increased expression of the enzymes that catalyze its synthesis in postmortem tissues derived from sufferers of these diseases. Nitrated proteins have also been detected in these samples, revealing that NO is biologically active in regions damaged during neurodegeneration. Modulation of NO levels has been reported not only in the neurons of the central nervous system, but also in the glial cells (microglia and astroglia) activated during the neuroinflammatory response. Neuroinflammation has been found in some neurodegenerative conditions, and inhibition of these neuroinflammatory signals has been shown to delay the progress of such disorders. Thus NO and the pathways triggering its release are emerging as an important research focus in the search for strategies to prevent, halt or cure neurodegenerative diseases.
The Study of Language in the Judicial Process

One of the distinguishing features of contemporary research on language in the judicial process is the striking diversity of scholarly disciplines which have begun to make significant contributions to this domain of inquiry. In this volume alone, we find analyses by researchers trained in anthropology, English literature, law, linguistics, political science, psychology, sociology— and various combinations thereof. To be sure, the research reports have a fundamental theme in common: a shared focus on some aspect of language that has particular significance in the world of law. Nevertheless, we may observe among the researchers intriguing differences which lend an unusual richness and stimulating breadth to the field.
Nest usurpation, supersedure and colony failure contribute to Africanization of commercially managed European honey bees in Venezuela

SUMMARYThe fates of 58 colonies in 4 apiaries managed commercially for honey production in northwest Venezuela were determined during 15 months. All colonies had been previously requeened with marked European queens. Heritage of new queens (European daughter replacements versus Africanized usurpers) was traced by mitochondrial DNA and morphological characteristics of worker progeny. Three usurpations (5% of colony fates, at a rate of 4.7% of colonies per year) occurred. These colonies showed congruent African-derived mitochondrial DNA and Africanized morphology. Supersedures accounted for much of the introgression of African genes into the test apiaries. Twenty-eight colonies (48%) superseded their queens once, three (5%) had two supersedures and one (2%) had three supersedures.All original and supersedure queens had European mtDNA. The worker progeny of original queens had European morphology, but the progeny of supersedure queens showed mixed morphology, with mostly intermediate and European morphology ...
Restriction of HIV-1-based lentiviral vectors in adult primary marrow-derived and peripheral mobilized human CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells occurs prior to viral DNA integration

Gene therapy is currently being attempted using a number of delivery vehicles including lentiviral-based vectors. The delivery and insertion of a gene using lentiviral-based vectors involves multiple discrete steps, including reverse transcription of viral RNA into DNA, nuclear entry, integration of viral DNA into the host genome and expression of integrated genes. Transduction of murine stem cells by the murine leukemia viruses is inefficient because the expression of the integrated DNA is profoundly blocked. Transduction of human stem cells by lentivirus vectors is also inefficient, but the cause and specific part of the retroviral lifecycle where this block occurs is unknown. Here we demonstrate that the dominant point of restriction of an HIV-1-based lentiviral vector in adult human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) from bone marrow and also those obtained following peripheral mobilization is prior to viral DNA integration. We specifically show that restriction of HSPCs to an HIV-1-based lentiviral vector is prior to formation of nuclear DNA forms. Murine restriction of MLV and human cellular restriction of HIV-1 are fundamentally different. While murine restriction of MLV occurs post integration, human restriction of HIV-1 occurs before integration.
Vortex dynamics and new lift enhancement mechanism of wing–body interaction in insect forward flight

The effects of wing–body interaction (WBI) on aerodynamic performance and vortex dynamics have been numerically investigated in the forward flight of cicadas. Flapping wing kinematics was reconstructed based on the output of a high-speed camera system. Following the reconstruction of cicada flight, three models, wing–body (WB), body-only (BD) and wings-only (WN), were then developed and evaluated using an immersed-boundary-method-based incompressible Navier–Stokes equations solver. Results have shown that due to WBIs, the WB model had a 18.7 % increase in total lift production compared with the lift generated in both the BD and WN models, and about 65 % of this enhancement was attributed to the body. This resulted from a dramatic improvement of body lift production from 2 % to 11.6 % of the total lift produced by the wing–body system. Further analysis of the associated near-field and far-field vortex structures has shown that this lift enhancement was attributed to the formation of two distinct vortices shed from the thorax and the posterior of the insect, respectively, and their interactions with the flapping wings. Simulations are also used to examine the new lift enhancement mechanism over a range of minimum wing–body distances, reduced frequencies and body inclination angles. This work provides a new physical insight into the understanding of the body-involved lift-enhancement mechanism in insect forward flight.
Experiencing Religious Rituals: A Schutzian Analysis of Navajo Ceremonies*

The sociology of religion has, by and large, treated religious experiences as personal, having in themselves little social relevance. To this line of thought, experiences become social only when they are so defined by beliefs and/or institutions. This article outlines a sociology of religious experience that erodes the experience-is-private/belief-is-social dichotomy. It is based on the work of Alfred Schutz, who argues, in brief, that there are several kinds of sociality, of which sharing ideas and sharing institutions are only two. Sharing ideas and institutions do indeed distance one from experience, as the standard paradigm suggests. But in certain "life-worlds" experiences themselves may be social, not private. There, social actors share "inner time": a vivid present in which they "tune-in" to one another. The world of musical performance, to use Schutz's example, involves a polythetic sharing of consciousness that unites composers, musicians, and audiences across the generations. Religious experience, I argue, parallels making music: it is, in its nature, a social act. The second half of this paper applies this perspective to traditional Navajo religion. It shows how Navajo "chants" reorient their participants' inner time to create the experience of the harmony between self, society, and world that lies at the core of Navajo philosophy.
Concussion Care Practices and Utilization of Evidence-Based Guidelines in the Evaluation and Management of Concussion: A Survey of New England Emergency Departments.

Abstract Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines can facilitate proper evaluation and management of concussions in the emergency department (ED), often the initial and primary point of contact for concussion care. There is no universally adopted set of guidelines for concussion management, and extant evidence suggests that there may be variability in concussion care practices and limited application of clinical practice guidelines in the ED. This study surveyed EDs throughout New England to examine current practices of concussion care and utilization of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in the evaluation and management of concussions. In 2013, a 32-item online survey was e-mailed to 149/168 EDs throughout New England (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine). Respondents included senior administrators asked to report on their EDs use of clinical practice guidelines, neuroimaging decision-making, and discharge instructions for concussion management. Of the 72/7...
Notch2 is a crucial regulator of self-renewal and tumorigenicity in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

The Notch pathway plays an important role in both stem cell biology and cancer. Notch2 was reported to be upregulated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues. However, the biological function of Notch2 in human HCC cells has not yet been documented. The aim of this study was to investigate its possible function on the progression of human HCC cells. The expression of Notch2 was detected in four human HCC cell lines by western blotting. Next, Notch2 was knocked down by small interference RNA (siRNA) in human HCC cells. The role of Notch2 in human HCC cells was investigated by cell proliferation assay, colony formation assay, chemoresistance and xenograft formation assay. In the present study, western blotting revealed that the expression of Notch2 was upregulated in human HCC cell lines. Genetic depletion of Notch2 in HCC cells not only resulted in significantly inhibited proliferation, cell cycle progression and colony formation ability but also increased its sensitivity to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) compared with controls. In addition, upregulation of Notch2 was discovered in CD90 positive HCC cells, CD90 is a marker of hepatic stem cells. Most importantly, knockdown of Notch2 in HCC cells impaired the tumor formation in vivo. Taken together, our findings indicate that Notch2 may confer stemness properties in HCC; downregulation of Notch2 inhibited the proliferation and tumor formation of HCC cells and increase their sensitivity to 5-FU, suggesting Notch2 as a potential therapeutic target for HCC.
Tuning Conductance in π-σ-π Single-Molecule Wires.

While the single-molecule conductance properties of π-conjugated and σ-conjugated systems have been well-studied, little is known regarding the conductance properties of mixed σ–π backbone wires and the factors that control their transport properties. Here we utilize a scanning tunneling microscope-based break-junction technique to study a series of molecular wires with π–σ–π backbone structures, where the π-moiety is an electrode-binding thioanisole ring and the σ-moiety is a triatomic α–β–α chain composed of C, Si, or Ge atoms. We find that the sequence and composition of group 14 atoms in the α–β–α chain dictates whether electronic communication between the aryl rings is enhanced or suppressed. Placing heavy atoms at the α-position decreases conductance, whereas placing them at the β-position increases conductance: for example, the C–Ge–C sequence is over 20 times more conductive than the Ge–C–Ge sequence. Density functional theory calculations reveal that these conductance trends arise from periodic t...
Diabetic wound healing in a MMP9-/- mouse model.

Reduced mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) from the bone marrow (BM) and impaired EPC recruitment into the wound represent a fundamental deficiency in the chronic ulcers. However, mechanistic understanding of the role of BM-derived EPCs in cutaneous wound neovascularization and healing remains incomplete, which impedes development of EPC-based wound healing therapies. The objective of this study was to determine the role of EPCs in wound neovascularization and healing both under normal conditions and using single deficiency (EPC) or double-deficiency (EPC + diabetes) models of wound healing. MMP9 knockout (MMP9 KO) mouse model was utilized, where impaired EPC mobilization can be rescued by stem cell factor (SCF). The hypotheses were: (1) MMP9 KO mice exhibit impaired wound neovascularization and healing, which are further exacerbated with diabetes; (2) these impairments can be rescued by SCF administration. Full-thickness excisional wounds with silicone splints to minimize contraction were created on MMP9 KO mice with/without streptozotocin-induced diabetes in the presence or absence of tail-vein injected SCF. Wound morphology, vascularization, inflammation, and EPC mobilization and recruitment were quantified at day 7 postwounding. Results demonstrate no difference in wound closure and granulation tissue area between any groups. MMP9 deficiency significantly impairs wound neovascularization, increases inflammation, decreases collagen deposition, and decreases peripheral blood EPC (pb-EPC) counts when compared with wild-type (WT). Diabetes further increases inflammation, but does not cause further impairment in vascularization, as compared with MMP9 KO group. SCF improves neovascularization and increases EPCs to WT levels (both nondiabetic and diabetic MMP9 KO groups), while exacerbating inflammation in all groups. SCF rescues EPC-deficiency and impaired wound neovascularization in both diabetic and nondiabetic MMP9 KO mice. Overall, the results demonstrate that BM-derived EPCs play a significant role during wound neovascularization and that the SCF-based therapy with controlled inflammation could be a viable approach to enhance healing in chronic diabetic wounds.
Epigenetics, Stress, and Their Potential Impact on Brain Network Function

Abstract What “causal” relationships might link epigenetics, stress, and human brain function? Understanding these interrelationships can significantly enhance how we view the role of life events in shaping how the brain “works.” Behavior reflects the brain in “action,” and a mechanistic understanding of these relationships may also illuminate why so many neuropsychiatric illnesses are characterized by disordered stress-responses and behavior. This chapter explores these questions. We briefly review the origins of the epigenetics revolution in biology. We then discuss findings linking hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function and cortical metrics drawn from neuroimaging. We then briefly summarize known epigenetic mediation of molecular brain function at the level of the synapse. Finally we provide an overview of current and forward-looking approaches toward understanding macroscopic brain network function. This preliminary synthesis is intended to motivate integrative future approaches grounded in previous experimental and theoretical work in neurobiology, psychosocial studies, and neuroimaging.
Pharmacologic and Nutritional Substances to Enhance Performance or Produce Weight Loss

This chapter discusses the effects of pharmacologic and nutritional supplements to enhance performance by altering biochemical processes or to produce weight loss by increasing energy expenditure. The examples discussed are adaptogenic herbs, amino acids, anabolic steroids, caffeine, ephedrine, erythropoietin, levothyroxine, metrileptin, sibutramine, and vitamins and minerals. Many performance-enhancing drugs have been banned in sport because they constitute an unfair advantage for users over nonusers or because long-term use damages the body (or both), but the list of substances and methods of administration changes rapidly and regulatory agencies must deal with a moving target. Treatment of the subject here is necessarily brief; this complex topic warrants a book of its own.
Preanesthetic Assessment of the Oncology Patient

Summary The perioperative management of patients with cancer is challenging for anesthesiologists for many reasons. Proposed procedures range from radical, potentially curative operations that tend to be lengthy and involve large amounts of blood loss to relatively innocuous palliative interventions in cachectic patients who have multiple organ failure. Surgical plans are frequently altered in midstream. Patients may suffer from a variety of physiologic dysfunctions, either obvious or occult, only some of which can be detected preoperatively. Many patients have been exposed to noxious antitumor therapy that resulted in damage to tissue uninvolved by tumor. Patients are often multisymptomatic and as a result are exposed to a variety of medications that may interact with their anesthetic regimen. Finally, ethical issues of life support and resuscitation need to be addressed with the surgeon, patient, and family members before proposed surgery.
No, U.S. Taxpayers Won't Pay Apple's $14.5 Billion Irish Tax Bill

The White House Press Secretary and many other commentators have stated or implied that Apple will be able to deduct its $14.5 billion Irish tax payments from amounts Apple owes the United States government.This short article posted on the Forbes website explains in non-technical terms why any such suggestion is misleading at best.
Quantitative extracellular matrix proteomics to study mammary and liver tissue microenvironments

Normal epithelium exists within a dynamic extracellular matrix (ECM) that is tuned to regulate tissue specific epithelial cell function. As such, ECM contributes to tissue homeostasis, differentiation, and disease, including cancer. Though it is now recognized that the functional unit of normal and transformed epithelium is the epithelial cell and its adjacent ECM, we lack a basic understanding of tissue-specific ECM composition and abundance, as well as how physiologic changes in ECM impact cancer risk and outcomes. While traditional proteomic techniques have advanced to robustly identify ECM proteins within tissues, methods to determine absolute abundance have lagged. Here, with a focus on tissues relevant to breast cancer, we utilize mass spectrometry methods optimized for absolute quantitative ECM analysis. Employing an extensive protein extraction and digestion method, combined with stable isotope labeled Quantitative conCATamer (QconCAT) peptides that serve as internal standards for absolute quantification of protein, we quantify 98 ECM, ECM-associated, and cellular proteins in a single analytical run. In rodent models, we applied this approach to the primary site of breast cancer, the normal mammary gland, as well as a common and particularly deadly site of breast cancer metastasis, the liver. We find that mammary gland and liver have distinct ECM abundance and relative composition. Further, we show mammary gland ECM abundance and relative compositions differ across the reproductive cycle, with the most dramatic changes occurring during the pro-tumorigenic window of weaning-induced involution. Combined, this work suggests ECM candidates for investigation of breast cancer progression and metastasis, particularly in postpartum breast cancers that are characterized by high metastatic rates. Finally, we suggest that with use of absolute quantitative ECM proteomics to characterize tissues of interest, it will be possible to reconstruct more relevant in vitro models to investigate tumor-ECM dynamics at higher resolution.
Cnoidal waves in microresonators

Cnoidal waves are the periodic analogs of solitons. Like solitons, they can be generated in microresonators and correspond to frequency combs. We describe their properties and potential uses.
Biogeography and physiological adaptations of the brine fly genus Ephydra (Diptera: Ephydridae) in saline waters of the Great Basin

Four species of the genus Ephydra are commonly found in saline waters within the hydrologic Great Basin: E. hians, E. gracilis, E. packardi , and E. auripes . Though none of these brine flies is endemic (distributions also occur outside the Great Basin), they all inhabit distinctive habitat types and form the characteristic benthic insect fauna of inland saline-water habitats. The affinities of each species for different salinity levels and chemical compositions, and ephemeral to perennial habitats, appear to form the basis for Biogeographic distribution patterns. Within any habitat, changing salinity conditions over time may impose physiological or ecological constraints and further alter patterns of population productivity and the relative abundance of co-inhabiting species. Based on the physiology of salt tolerance known for these species, high salinity conditions favor E. hians in alkaline water and E. gracilis in chloride water. At lower salinities, based on limited habitat data, E. auripes and E. packardi are often more common, again showing respective preferences for alkaline and chloride chemical conditions. Specialized adaptations for alkaline carbonate waters are found in the larval Malpighian tubule lime gland of the alkali fly E. hians , while high salt tolerance in E. gracilis appears to be conferred by high hemolymph osmolality. Adaptation to ephemeral and low salinity conditions may be accomplished by swift adult colonizing ability and rapid larval development rates. It is hypothesized that adaptive specialization in both physiology and life history and varied geochemistry of saline water habitats across the Great Basin produce the Biogeographic pattern of distributions for species in this genus. This perspective on the genus Ephydra , and possibly other biota of mineral-rich Great Basin waters, suggests that interconnections among pluvial lakes may be less relevant to aquatic biogeography than chemical profiles developing in remnant lakes and ponds with the progression of arid post-pluvial climatic conditions.
High frequency characterization of leaky waves for liquid delay line sensors

Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) liquid sensors are being aggressively pursued, especially for biological point of care small systems. Shear Horizontal SAW (SHSAW) or leaky SAW (LSAW) are optimum in that they have reasonable loss in liquid, with most of the wave particle motion is in the horizontal plane. There has been previous work on SH- and L-SAW, but the physical parameters are often only reported at low frequencies. As the operational frequency is increased to >500 MHz, the wave trapping and losses are different than reported at low frequencies, and are a function of the propagation path overlays. Experimental results at higher frequencies for use in liquid sensor applications of these SAW modes using free, metallized, and grating paths will be presented.
DNA Methylation Profiling of Human Prefrontal Cortex Neurons in Heroin Users Shows Significant Difference between Genomic Contexts of Hyper- and Hypomethylation and a Younger Epigenetic Age.

We employed Illumina 450 K Infinium microarrays to profile DNA methylation (DNAm) in neuronal nuclei separated by fluorescence-activated sorting from the postmortem orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) of heroin users who died from heroin overdose (N = 37), suicide completers (N = 22) with no evidence of heroin use and from control subjects who did not abuse illicit drugs and died of non-suicide causes (N = 28). We identified 1298 differentially methylated CpG sites (DMSs) between heroin users and controls, and 454 DMSs between suicide completers and controls (p < 0.001). DMSs and corresponding genes (DMGs) in heroin users showed significant differences in the preferential context of hyper and hypo DM. HyperDMSs were enriched in gene bodies and exons but depleted in promoters, whereas hypoDMSs were enriched in promoters and enhancers. In addition, hyperDMGs showed preference for genes expressed specifically by glutamatergic as opposed to GABAergic neurons and enrichment for axonogenesis- and synaptic-related gene ontology categories, whereas hypoDMGs were enriched for transcription factor activity- and gene expression regulation-related terms. Finally, we found that the DNAm-based “epigenetic age” of neurons from heroin users was younger than that in controls. Suicide-related results were more difficult to interpret. Collectively, these findings suggest that the observed DNAm differences could represent functionally significant marks of heroin-associated plasticity in the OFC.
A Reverse Communication Interface for “Matrix-free” Preconditioned Iterative Solvers

This paper describes an interface for a set of “matrix-free” preconditioned iterative routines for solving a sparse linear system Ax = b. These routines are matrix-free in the sense that only dense linear algebra operations are performed internally. By using reverse communication, all sparse linear algebra operations, i. e., those that depend on the matrix A or preconditioners for A, are computed outside these routines. Thus, these routines can be used regardless of the representation of A since only the action of A on a given vector is needed.
What is the Scope of the Problem and its Impact on Health and Social Systems

Throughout the world, alcohol and drug problems are costly to societies and the health and social functioning of their citizens. In the early 1980’s, the World Health Assembly identified problems related to alcohol consumption as “among the world’s major public health concerns” (Jernigan, Monteiro, Room & Saxena, 2000). Since then, alcohol and drug use has increased in both developed and developing countries. As an introduction for the chapters which follow, this chapter provides a brief overview of the scope and cost of alcohol and drug problems in various parts of the world, discusses the limited capacity of specialty alcohol and drug agencies to treat them, and presents a case study which illustrates the impact of alcohol and drug problems on community agencies. A very sensible approach, emphasized throughout this book, is to implement prevention and treatment interventions within health and social agencies where individuals with these problems are naturally found, rather than focusing scarce resources in specialty settings that see far fewer individuals. Primary health care and criminal justice agencies deserve particular attention in this regard.
Femtosecond-Laser-Induced Periodic Self-Organized Nanostructures

Femtosecond (fs) laser pulses, with pulse energy below single-shot damage threshold, are shown to produce deep-subwavelength periodic nanostructures over many laser shots during laser ablation or material deposition. Both morphological and structural characteristics of these nanostructures, strongly correlated to the properties of light including polarization, wavelength, power, and accumulated photon dosage, are shown. This universal phenomenon is interpreted under the theoretical framework of light-induced instability and self-organization. Strong light–matter interaction at fs time and nanometer length scales is shown responsible for the incubation effect and plasmon resonance that are critical to the spontaneous formation of these periodic nanostructures. Potential applications in emerging areas are discussed and the potential of a unified theory for this phenomenon is highlighted.
Formation and occurrence of organic matter-hosted porosity in shales

Abstract Porosity within organic matter (OM) is considered to be the main site for gas storage (via fluid phase saturation of the pores and sorption on the pore walls) and thus its presence or absence is very critical for in-place gas assessment for organic-rich rocks. Numerous workers have suggested that OM-hosted porosity increases with thermal maturity mainly related to the process of bituminized organic matter cracking to gas. Comprehensive reviews of published literature enable us to conclude that organic porosity dominantly develops within bituminized organic matter (i.e., that portion that is petrographically identified, mainly based on its morphology, as solid bitumen (Mastalerz et al., 2018)) and primary (i.e, structured or amorphous) organic matter (kerogen) is mostly deficient in porosity. We show that in the same shale sample, structured kerogen shows no porosity whereas solid bitumen contains abundant porosity. It has been previously reported that sample preparation for SEM by ion milling may alter the organic matter. In this study, some adverse effects of ion milling have been observed by comparing SEM-visible pores of the same sample prepared by mechanical grind polish (MGP) and ion milling (IM) methods. Since solid bitumen is more labile, and probably more prone to chemical/physical alterations, we recommend that SEM observations of ion milled samples to be conducted with more attentiveness. We show that 1) MGP is a suitable sample preparation method for SEM observations, 2) the overwhelming majority of SEM-visible organic matter-hosted pores develop within solid bitumen and not in structured organic matter (kerogen), and 3) we reaffirm that shale mineral content is a key factor in preservation or destruction of solid bitumen-hosted porosity. Finally, we propose a conceptual model for the formation, preservation and destruction of OM-hosted porosity for shales. Accordingly, we suggest that, all other factors being equal, a quartz-rich brittle shale will preserve more SEM-visible solid bitumen-hosted (meso and micro) porosity compared to that of a clay-rich ductile shale. Therefore, gas storage capacity of a quartz-rich shale will be relatively high compared to that of a clay-rich shale.
Occupational Therapy Practitioners' Perceptions About Older Adults With Developmental Disabilities in Traditional Health Care Settings.

Importance: Health care providers’ knowledge of and comfort working with adults with developmental disabilities (DD) affect the quality of care this growing population receives. Previous research on this topic has not included occupational therapy practitioners. Objective: To determine occupational therapy practitioners’ views about working with older adults with DD in traditional health care settings. Design: Quantitative survey over 4 mo. Participants: A random sample of 310 practitioners from the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Gerontology and Physical Disabilities Special Interest Sections working in traditional health care settings. Outcomes and Measures: A researcher-developed survey to assess occupational therapy practitioners’ comfort, knowledge, challenge, and supports and barriers in regard to working with older adults with DD. Results: In the 310 included surveys (31% response rate), most occupational therapy practitioners reported feeling comfortable (76.1%–80.0%) and knowledgeable (66.5%–68.4%) working with older adults with DD. Approximately 93% reported that work with older adults with DD was at least somewhat challenging. Key perceived barriers included clients’ cognitive needs, lack of caregiver collaboration, and challenging behavior. Conclusion and Relevance: Most occupational therapy practitioners in traditional health care settings found working with older adults with DD challenging, and many did not feel sufficiently knowledgeable to meet the needs of this population. Similar to other health professionals, occupational therapy practitioners may benefit from additional resources to provide services to this population. What This Article Adds: Older adults with DD receive occupational therapy services in hospitals, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, and other medical settings. Because clients such as these are not common in these settings, occupational therapy practitioners who work there would like more tools to help provide good care.
Natamycin and Voriconazole Exhibit Synergistic Interactions with Nonantifungal Ophthalmic Agents against Fusarium Species Ocular Isolates

The in vitro activities of two antifungal drugs in combination with four nonantifungal ophthalmic agents were evaluated using a broth microdilution method and a collection of eight Fusarium ocular isolates that exhibited resistance to both natamycin (MICs, 14 to 32 μg/ml) and voriconazole (MICs, 4 to >128 μg/ml). Synergistic and indifferent interactions were observed for natamycin and 5-fluorouracil and natamycin with timolol dependent on the Fusarium isolate tested. Isolate-dependent synergistic and indifferent interactions were also observed for natamycin with EDTA and natamycin with dorzolamide. Synergistic or indifferent interactions were observed for voriconazole with timolol and voriconazole with 5-fluorouracil depending on Fusarium isolate. Taken together, these data suggest that commonly used ophthalmic agents enhance the in vitro activity of antifungal drugs against drug-recalcitrant ocular fungal pathogens.
Exploring the dark genome: implications for precision medicine

The increase in the number of both patients and healthcare practitioners who grew up using the Internet and computers (so-called "digital natives") is likely to impact the practice of precision medicine, and requires novel platforms for data integration and mining, as well as contextualized information retrieval. The "Illuminating the Druggable Genome Knowledge Management Center" (IDG KMC) quantifies data availability from a wide range of chemical, biological, and clinical resources, and has developed platforms that can be used to navigate understudied proteins (the "dark genome"), and their potential contribution to specific pathologies. Using the "Target Importance and Novelty Explorer" (TIN-X) highlights the role of LRRC10 (a dark gene) in dilated cardiomyopathy. Combining mouse and human phenotype data leads to increased strength of evidence, which is discussed for four additional dark genes: SLX4IP and its role in glucose metabolism, the role of HSF2BP in coronary artery disease, the involvement of ELFN1 in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and the role of VPS13D in mouse neural tube development and its confirmed role in childhood onset movement disorders. The workflow and tools described here are aimed at guiding further experimental research, particularly within the context of precision medicine.
Association between Severe Anemia and Outcomes of Hemodialysis Vascular Access.

Abstract Background The vast majority of patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) are anemic. The severity of anemia in these patients may influence the postoperative outcomes and the durability of vascular access. Thus, the purpose of this study is to assess the association between anemia and adverse outcomes in patients undergoing HD access placement [arteriovenous grafts (AVG) and fistula (AVF)]. Methods Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) Stages IV and V recorded in the VQI-Hemodialysis database between 2011 and 2017 were included. Patients were divided into 3 study groups based on preoperative hemoglobin levels (Hgb): normal/mild anemia (Hgb: Females > 10 g/dL, Males > 12 g/dL), Moderate anemia (Hgb: Females: 7-9.9 g/dL, Males: 9-11.9 g/dL) and severe anemia (Hgb: Females Results A total of 28,000 patients undergoing HD access surgery were identified [normal/mild (42%), moderate (49%) and severe (9%) anemia]. Postoperative bleeding (2.1% vs. 2.2% vs. 2.2%) and 30-day outcomes including swelling (0.4% vs. 0.5% vs. 0.7%) and wound infection (0.4% vs. 0.3% vs. 0.1%) were similar in mild/normal, moderate and severe anemia groups, respectively (All P>0.05). However, 30-day mortality was significantly higher in patients with severe anemia compared to normal/mild and moderate anemia (2.1% vs. 1.1% and 1.1%, P Conclusion In this large study of patients undergoing HD access placement, severe anemia was associated with 90% increased risk of 30-day mortality and 17% increased risk of loss of primary patency compared to those with normal/mild anemia. Management of severe anemia prior to surgery might be indicated to reduce operative mortality and improve the durability of HD access.
Theory of phonon dispersion in metals

Abstract A method for calculating from first principles the interaction between ions in a metal, and therefore, the phonon dispersion curves, is described. Developments in the understanding of metals which lead upto this approach are indicated and the main approach outlined. A description is given of the picture of the interaction between ions in a metal which emerges, and explicit curves representing this interaction in aluminum are displayed. The implications of the theory with respect to phonon dispersion are discussed; in particular, a possible cause of observed irregularities in the dispersion curves is indicated.
Representations of the modular group arising from Drinfeld doubles of finite abelian groups

We show that the image of the representation of the modular group SL(2, ℤ) arising from the representation category Rep(D(G)) of the Drinfeld double D(G) of a finite abelian group G of exponent n i...
Pygion: Flexible, Scalable Task-Based Parallelism with Python

Dynamic languages provide the flexibility needed to implement expressive support for task-based parallel program- ming constructs. We present Pygion, a Python interface for the Legion task-based programming system, and show that it can provide features comparable to Regent, a statically typed programming language with dedicated support for the Legion programming model. Furthermore, we show that the dynamic nature of Python permits the implementation of several key optimizations (index launches, futures, mapping) currently imple- mented in the Regent compiler. Together these features enable Pygion code that is comparable in expressiveness but more flexible than Regent, and substantially more concise, less error prone, and easier to use than C++ Legion code. Pygion is designed to interoperate with Regent and can use Regent to generate high- performance CPU and GPU kernel implementations. We show that, in combination with high-performance kernels written in Regent, Pygion is able to achieve efficient, scalable execution on up to 512 nodes of the heterogeneous supercomputer Piz Daint.
Chapter 11 – The Immunological Synapse

Publisher Summary The immunological synapse (IS) is a stable cell–cell junction between a thymus-derived lymphocyte (T cell) and an antigen-presenting cell (APC). The IS concept provides a number of insights into the T cell activation process. Firstly, it provides a stop signal that coordinates antigen recognition and T cell migration. Secondly, the essential role of the actin cytoskeleton in T cell activation is related to the role of actin in IS formation. Third, the sensitivity of T cell to agonist MHCp is related to the role of weakly interacting, but probably more abundant self MHCp in promoting IS formation. The IS provides a framework for orderly integration of the TCR and innate immune signals like CD28–CD80 interaction, and situations in which CD28 contributes to MC formation may open a door to autoimmunity. Finally, the IS may organize asymmetric cell divisions that are critical for T cell memory. The exact manner in which asymmetry is established and maintained, and the relationship of this process to the IS, is an area of great current interest.