cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The hydrated proton at the water liquid/vapor interface

The hydrated proton was studied at the water liquid/vapor interface using the multistate empirical valence bond (MS-EVB) methodology, which enables the migration of the excess proton to and about the interface through the fluctuating bond topology described by the Grotthuss shuttle mechanism. It was found in our model that the hydrated excess proton displays a marked preference for water liquid/vapor interfaces. The resulting stable surface structures can be explained through an examination of the bond network formed between the water/proton moiety and solvating water. These results suggest the excess proton can effectively behave as an amphiphile, displaying both hydrophobic and hydrophilic character.
MECHANISMS GENERATING MODIFICATION OF BENTHOS FOLLOWING TIDAL FLAT INVASION BY A SPARTINA HYBRID

Many coastal habitats are being substantially altered by introduced plants. In San Francisco Bay, California, USA, a hybrid form of the eastern cordgrass Spartina alterniflora is rapidly invading open mudflats in southern and central sections of the Bay, altering habitat, reducing macrofaunal densities, and shifting species composition. The invasion has resulted in significant losses of surface-feeding amphipods, bivalves, and cirratulid polychaetes, while subsurface feeding groups such as tubificid oligochaetes and capitellid polychaetes have been unaffected. In the present paper, we document the causes and mechanisms underlying the changes observed. Through a series of in situ manipulative experiments we examined the influence of hybrid Spartina canopy on a range of physical, chemical, and biological properties. The hybrid Spartina canopy exerted a strong influence on the hydrodynamic regime, triggering a series of physical, chemical, and biological changes in the benthic system. Relative to tidal flats, water velocity was reduced in hybrid patches, promoting deposition of fine-grained, organic-rich particles. The resulting changes in the sediment environment included increased porewater sulfide concentrations and anoxia, which led to poor survivorship of surface feeders such as bivalves, amphipods, and polychaetes. These are key taxa that support higher trophic levels including migratory shorebirds that feed on tidal flats. Altered flow in the Spartina canopy further contributed to changes in barnacle recruitment and resuspension of adult benthic invertebrates. Increased crab-induced predation pressure associated with Spartina invasion also contributed to changes in benthic invertebrate communities. Our results suggest that multiple physical, chemical, biotic, and trophic impacts of the Spartina invasion have resulted in substantial changes in benthic communities that are likely to have important effects on the entire ecosystem.
The Abuse and Neglect of Single-Case Designs

Rubin and Knox argue that single-case designs are currently overemphasized in social work education and are of more limited value in practice than is commonly stated. These conclusions are based on confusions between research and practice, misunderstandings and misstatements of the relative utility of single-case and group designs for both, and neglect of the basic literature regarding single-case designs and visual analysis. In addition, the Rubin and Knox arguments appear to be based on overinterpretation of the results of a study of an ineffective intervention.
Mapping the Mixed Methods-Mixed Research Synthesis Terrain

Mixed methods–mixed research synthesis is a form of systematic review in which the findings of qualitative and quantitative studies are integrated via qualitative and/or quantitative methods. Although methodological advances have been made, efforts to differentiate research synthesis methods have been too focused on methods and not focused enough on the defining logics of research synthesis—each of which may be operationalized in different ways—or on the research findings themselves that are targeted for synthesis. The conduct of mixed methods–mixed research synthesis studies may more usefully be understood in terms of the logics of aggregation and configuration. Neither logic is preferable to the other nor tied exclusively to any one method or to any one side of the qualitative/quantitative binary.
Older smokers could be the strongest supporters for U.S. government regulation of tobacco: a focus group study.

Background Targeting of marginalized groups with aggressive tobacco marketing has been identified as exacerbating health disparities. However, interpretation of such targeting by groups varies, from surprise and outrage to regarding such marketing as evidence of social legitimacy. We sought to learn how an often-overlooked marginalized group, older adults, would respond to industry documents offering evidence of tobacco company target marketing.
Perceptions about e-cigarette safety may lead to e-smoking during pregnancy

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are nicotine-delivery devices that are increasingly used, especially by young people. Because e-cigarettes lack many of the substances found in regular tobacco, they are often perceived as a safer smoking alternative, especially in high-risk situations such as pregnancy. However, studies suggest that it is exposure to nicotine that is most detrimental to prenatal development. The authors studied perceptions of tobacco and e-cigarette health risks using a multiple-choice survey. To study the perceived safety of e-cigarettes versus tobacco cigarettes, 184 modified Global Health Youth Surveys (WHO, http://www.who.int/tobacco/surveillance/gyts/en/) were completed electronically or on paper. Age range, smoking status, and perceptions about tobacco cigarettes and e-cigarettes were studied. The results verified that younger people use e-cigarettes more than older people. Tobacco cigarettes were perceived as more harmful than e-cigarettes to health in general, including lung c...
The mechanism of action of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa‐encoded type III cytotoxin, ExoU

Pseudomonas aeruginosa delivers the toxin ExoU to eukaryotic cells via a type III secretion system. Intoxication with ExoU is associated with lung injury, bacterial dissemination and sepsis in animal model and human infections. To search for ExoU targets in a genetically tractable system, we used controlled expression of the toxin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. ExoU was cytotoxic for yeast and caused a vacuolar fragmentation phenotype. Inhibitors of human calcium-independent (iPLA(2)) and cytosolic phospholipase A(2) (cPLA(2)) lipase activity reduce the cytotoxicity of ExoU. The catalytic domains of patatin, iPLA(2) and cPLA(2) align or are similar to ExoU sequences. Site-specific mutagenesis of predicted catalytic residues (ExoUS142A or ExoUD344A) eliminated toxicity. ExoU expression in yeast resulted in an accumulation of free palmitic acid, changes in the phospholipid profiles and reduction of radiolabeled neutral lipids. ExoUS142A and ExoUD344A expressed in yeast failed to release palmitic acid. Recombinant ExoU demonstrated lipase activity in vitro, but only in the presence of a yeast extract. From these data we conclude that ExoU is a lipase that requires activation or modification by eukaryotic factors.
Adaptive versus non‐adaptive phenotypic plasticity and the potential for contemporary adaptation in new environments

Summary 1The role of phenotypic plasticity in evolution has historically been a contentious issue because of debate over whether plasticity shields genotypes from selection or generates novel opportunities for selection to act. Because plasticity encompasses diverse adaptive and non-adaptive responses to environmental variation, no single conceptual framework adequately predicts the diverse roles of plasticity in evolutionary change. 2Different types of phenotypic plasticity can uniquely contribute to adaptive evolution when populations are faced with new or altered environments. Adaptive plasticity should promote establishment and persistence in a new environment, but depending on how close the plastic response is to the new favoured phenotypic optimum dictates whether directional selection will cause adaptive divergence between populations. Further, non-adaptive plasticity in response to stressful environments can result in a mean phenotypic response being further away from the favoured optimum or alternatively increase the variance around the mean due to the expression of cryptic genetic variation. The expression of cryptic genetic variation can facilitate adaptive evolution if by chance it results in a fitter phenotype. 3We conclude that adaptive plasticity that places populations close enough to a new phenotypic optimum for directional selection to act is the only plasticity that predictably enhances fitness and is most likely to facilitate adaptive evolution on ecological time-scales in new environments. However, this type of plasticity is likely to be the product of past selection on variation that may have been initially non-adaptive. 4We end with suggestions on how future empirical studies can be designed to better test the importance of different kinds of plasticity to adaptive evolution.
Goussia girellae N. Sp. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriorina) in the Opaleye, Girella nigricans

Goussia girellae n. sp. is described from the opaleye fish, Girella nigricans. Merogonic stages were observed in the apices of intestinal epithelial cells, in the lamina propria, and in extra-intestinal sites including liver, gills, and spleen. Gamonts were observed in the intestinal epithelial cells. Only unsporulated oocysts were detected in the intestine, and sporulation occurred when feces containing oocysts were incubated for 48 h in seawater at 21 degrees C. Oocysts are elongated (24.8 x 14.7 micron) with a wall about 200 nm thick and have no residuum, micropyle, or polar granule. Sporocysts are ellipsoid (8.5 x 4.5 micron), have a thin two-layered wall approximately 30 nm thick, and consist of two valves joined by a suture. Although moribund opaleye were also infected with Gyrodactylus sp., Cryptobia sp., Cardicola sp., and epitheliocystis organisms (chlamydia), all fish were heavily infected with G. girellae and morbidity was thus attributed to the coccidium.
A model for the acute electrosensitivity of cartilaginous fishes

A theory is put forth to account for the acute sensitivity of marine elasmobranches (cartilaginous fishes) to exogenous electric fields. First, morphological adaptations cause a significant fraction of the voltage drop in the vicinity of the fish to occur across the epithelium of a specialized receptor organ, the ampulla of Lorenzini; that is, the stimulus is focused. Second, this stimulus modulates the repetitive discharge of the primary afferent fibers which innervate the ampulla. Third, these fibers converge centrally to integrate the outputs of many ampullae and markedly increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the process. Simple quantitative estimates are given for each of these steps, and it is shown that the predicted limits of electroreception are close to those actually observed. >
Adapting a message-driven parallel application to GPU-accelerated clusters

Graphics processing units (GPUs) have become an attractive option for accelerating scientific computations as a result of advances in the performance and flexibility of GPU hardware, and due to the availability of GPU software development tools targeting general purpose and scientific computation. However, effective use of GPUs in clusters presents a number of application development and system integration challenges. We describe strategies for the decomposition and scheduling of computation among CPU cores and GPUs, and techniques for overlapping communication and CPU computation with GPU kernel execution. We report the adaptation of these techniques to NAMD, a widely-used parallel molecular dynamics simulation package, and present performance results for a 64-core 64-GPU cluster.
Application of morphological filters in ultrasonic flaw detection

Morphological filters were used to detect flaws in ultrasonic signals contained by grain scattering noise (i.e., speckles). In particular, the deterministic and stochastic properties of morphological filters were studied in the context of utilizing different structuring elements. The structuring elements were characterized by their shape, width, and height. The information content of ultrasonic signals was used to design a suitable structuring element to enhance the flaw-to-clutter ratio. The processed experimental results show that morphological filters can detect flaw echoes while the suppressing microstructure noise. >
Placental abruption and fetal intraventricular hemorrhage after airbag deployment: A case report

BACKGROUND: There has been very limited documentation of the adverse maternal and/or fetal consequences of airbag deployment in association with motor vehicle accidents. CASE: A 20-year-old woman, gravida 1, para 0, at 31+ 4 weeks' gestation, was involved in a motor vehicle accident. The car had been hit from the passenger side at an estimated speed of 45 miles per hour. The vehicle was noted to have rolled over, along with deployment of the driver's side and passenger's airbags. Via star low transverse cesarean, the patient was delivered of a very pale-appearing, 1,890g infant with Apgars of 1 and 7 at 1 and 5 minutes of life, respectively. There was an approximate 50% abruption noted on placental evaluation, as well as a 2 x 3-cm area ofecchymosis at the uterinefundus. The neonate's immediate postdelivery hematocrit was 17%. A cranial ultrasound was notable for a grade III germinal matrix hemorrhage with progressive hydrocephalus. Serial ultrasounds showed interval increases in the amount of clots within the lateral ventricles. CONCLUSION: Airbag deployment can be associated with placental abruption and fetal intracranial hemorrhage. Language: en
Central opioid receptors mediate glucoprivic inhibition of pituitary LH secretion

The present studies investigated the significance of glucoprivic metabolic signals, particularly those of central origin, to the regulation of pituitary luteinizing hormone (LH). Groups of gonadectomized (GDX) adult male rats were treated with 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), an inhibitor of glycolysis, by either intravenous (50, 100, or 200 mg/kg) or intracerebroventricular (5, 20, or 100 microg/rat) administration. Systemic drug treatment caused a significant decrease in mean plasma LH levels compared with saline-treated controls. Intracerebroventricular administration of 2-DG was also efficacious in suppressing circulating LH; animals treated with either of the two highest doses of the drug exhibited a significant reduction in plasma LH. In vitro studies examined direct effects of 2-DG on pituitary gonadotrope secretory activity. Exposure of anterior pituitary tissue to 2-DG during short-term perfusion had no significant impact upon either basal or gonadotropin-releasing hormone-stimulated LH release. Finally, groups of GDX rats were pretreated by intracerebroventricular administration of either the nonselective opioid receptor antagonist, naltrexone, or the selective mu-opioid receptor antagonist, beta-funaltrexamine (beta-FNA), before intravenous injection of 2-DG. Both receptor antagonists were observed to attenuate the suppressive effects of 2-DG on circulating LH in these animals. In summary, treatment of GDX rats with the glucose antimetabolite, 2-DG, decreased plasma LH, suggesting that metabolic signaling of cellular glucose oxidation is of physiological importance to the regulation of pituitary hormone secretion. Findings that plasma LH was diminished in animals treated intracerebroventricularly with 2-DG implicate central glucoprivic receptors in neuroendocrine mechanisms governing the reproductive endocrine axis. Attenuation of 2-DG-induced decreases in circulating LH by opioid receptor antagonists suggests that these receptors, particularly the mu-subtype, mediate central effects of glucoprivation on circulating LH.
Free energy contributions and structural characterization of stacking disordered ices

Crystallization of ice from deeply supercooled water and amorphous ices – a process of fundamental importance in the atmosphere, interstellar space, and cryobiology – results in stacking disordered ices with a wide range of metastabilities with respect to hexagonal ice. The structural origin of this high variability, however, has not yet been elucidated. Here we use molecular dynamics simulations with the mW water model to characterize the structure of ice freshly grown from supercooled water at temperatures from 210 to 270 K, the thermodynamics of stacking faults, line defects, and interfaces, and to elucidate the interplay between kinetics and thermodynamics in determining the structure of ice. In agreement with experiments, the ice grown in the simulations is stacking disordered with a random distribution of cubic and hexagonal layers, and a cubicity that decreases with growth temperature. The former implies that the cubicity of ice is determined by processes at the ice/liquid interface, without memory of the structure of buried ice layers. The latter indicates that the probability of building a cubic layer at the interface decreases upon approaching the melting point of ice, which we attribute to a more efficient structural equilibration of ice at the liquid interface as the driving force for growth wanes. The free energy cost for creating a pair of cubic layers in ice is 8.0 J mol−1 in experiments, and 9.7 ± 1.9 J mol−1 for the mW water model. This not only validates the simulations, but also indicates that dispersion in cubicity is not sufficient to explain the large energetic variability of stacking disordered ices. We compute the free energy cost of stacking disorder, line defects, and interfaces in ice and conclude that a characterization of the density of these defects is required to predict the degree of metastability and vapor pressure of atmospheric ices.
Spatially Distributed Model of Interacting Surface and Groundwater Storages

NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) developed their Large Basin Runoff Model (LBRM) as a serial and parallel cascade of linear reservoirs representing moisture storages within a watershed. Each reservoir represents a moisture storage: surface, upper soil zone, lower soil zone, and groundwater zone. GLERL adapted the LBRM from its lumped-parameter definition for an entire watershed to a two dimensional representation of the flow cells comprising the watershed. This involved changes to the model structure to apply it to the micro scale as well as organization of watershed cells and an implementation of spatial flow routing. GLERL modified the LBRM continuity equations to allow upstream inflow when the model is applied to a single cell within a watershed and found the modifications in terms of corrector equations to be applied to the original solution. They began by considering flows between adjacent cells’ surface storages while keeping the upper soil zone, lower soil zone, and groundwater zones in each cell independent. Thus each cell’s upper soil zone, lower soil zone, and groundwater zone connected only to that cell’s surface zone and not to any other cell, but the surface zones connected between adjacent cells. GLERL further modified the model to allow subsurface routing between cells of surface runoff (from the upper soil zone), interflow (from the lower soil zone), and groundwater flows (from the groundwater zone). Now surface and subsurface flows interact both with each other and with adjacent-cell surface and subsurface storages. This involved adding additional flows out of the various subsurface storages in a watershed cell and additional flows (from upstream watershed cells’ subsurface storages) into the storages. The continuity equations are again modified in terms of corrector equations applied to the original solution and are derived handily. GLERL then organized LBRM applications to constituent watershed cells into a flow network by identifying the network flow cascade and automatically arranging the cell computations accordingly. They identified required characteristics of any flow network map and designed system checks to guarantee them. They devised a scheme for ordering computations and routing surface flows throughout the watershed.
Interactive Q-learning for Quantiles.

ABSTRACTA dynamic treatment regime is a sequence of decision rules, each of which recommends treatment based on features of patient medical history such as past treatments and outcomes. Existing methods for estimating optimal dynamic treatment regimes from data optimize the mean of a response variable. However, the mean may not always be the most appropriate summary of performance. We derive estimators of decision rules for optimizing probabilities and quantiles computed with respect to the response distribution for two-stage, binary treatment settings. This enables estimation of dynamic treatment regimes that optimize the cumulative distribution function of the response at a prespecified point or a prespecified quantile of the response distribution such as the median. The proposed methods perform favorably in simulation experiments. We illustrate our approach with data from a sequentially randomized trial where the primary outcome is remission of depression symptoms. Supplementary materials for this arti...
A generalized membrane defect in heritable myotonia: studies of erythrocytes in an animal model and patients.

SummaryStudies were conducted on erythrocytes from myotonic goats, an animal model of heritable myotonia, and from patients with myotonic muscular dystrophy. When compared to those of normal goats, erythrocyte membranes from myotonic goats had (i) increased levels of calcium; (ii) an increased sialic acid content, and (iii) an altered protein composition with reduction of a 140,000 molecular weight protein. Erythrocytes from myotonic goats were also less susceptible to hemolysis than those from normal. Membranes of erythrocytes from patients with myotonic dystrophy had an increased content of sialic acid as compared to controls. The differences in calcium and sialic acid are consistent with previously reported abnormalities in the sarcoplasmic reticulum from the myotonic goat, and these findings support the concept of a generalized membrane defect in myotonia.This work was supported by grants from the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The authors acknowledge the excellent technical assistance of Patty Soule...
Investigation on a case of suspectable food poisoning with the citrobacter freundii contamination

Objective To define the causes of a case of food poisoning,and determine the pathogenic factor,to provide direction and basis for the health administration departments of food hygiene management policy. Methods Based on the field investigation of epidemiology,used questionnaire to collect relevant information,gather biological samples and surplus food and food processing facilities of the samples to send to the laboratory for testing corresponding pathogens,then did the assessment according to the associated national standards. Results According to epidemiological data,the clinical manifestations and laboratory test results,this event was in accord with epidemiological characteristics of food poisoning,and determined the incident of suspectable food poisoning caused by citrobacter freundii contamination,the causes was citrobacter freundii contamination during processing and storage process of sauce trotters. As improper food storage caused bacteria to multiply,and without heating again before eating led to the poisoning incident. Conclusion Sanitation in processing room and the workers lack of food hygiene knowledge and awareness about food safety are the keys of prevention and control work in food safety accident,it suggests health administrative departments further improve the management system,ensure the people′s food security.
Educational Technology: What is its Role in the Education of Student Technologists?

Today’s educator exists in a world experiencing exponential growth in the availability of high tech educational media and there is no end in sight. The effects of this phenomenon will influence the way teachers teach and learners learn, possibly to a degree rivaling the impact of Gutenberg’s press. Educators are obligated by the moral responsibility of their position to critically evaluate this growing technology, determine what if any advantages the new technology possesses, and then select from among the available alternatives the methodology that will most consistently meet their educational objectives. It is questionable whether adequate information exists to make an informed decision. Therefore, educators are encouraged to ask difficult questions, analyze the responses and be wary that nearly all new technologies have unanticipated outcomes.
Response to comments by Emma et al.

to the editor: We appreciate the interest and discussion by Drs. Emma, Caruso, and Polosa related to our manuscript ([1][1]). We very much agree with the authors that definition and selection criteria of participants are important aspects to consider to avoid bias, which is why we carefully
Acrocallosal Syndrome (Schinzel Syndrome)

The acrocallosal syndrome, first described by Schinzel and characterized by dysmorphic features, macrocephaly, Polydactyly, mental retardation, and agenesis of the corpus callosum, is reported in two unrelated boys with consanguineous parents from the Centre de Genetique Medicale, Service de Pediatrie Generale and Radiologie, Hopital d'Enfants de la Timone, Marseille, France.
The Intertemporal Capital Asset Pricing Model: Hedging Investment Risk Across Time

The previous \ter traced the nuances of the low-volatility anomaly across behavioral space. Specifically, it explored whether examining beta on either side of mean returns or separately evaluating its relative volatility and correlation components might offer insight into why low-volatility stocks offer higher returns. An even fuller explanation of the mechanics of the low-volatility anomaly lies in the work of John Campbell. That explanation, in turn, traces its origins to Robert Merton’s intertemporal CAPM.1
Speed Sensor-less Direct Power Control of a Matrix Converter Fed Induction Generator for Variable Speed Wind Turbines

In this paper, the conventional direct torque control (DTC) scheme for induction motor drives is extended to directly control the active power (DPC) delivered to the grid by a wind turbine driven squirrel cage induction generator (SCIG). The SCIG is interfaced to the grid through an AC-AC matrix converter. A constant switching frequency based direct power control scheme with flux and power controllers is proposed. A closed loop Luenberger observer and an adaptive speed estimator are used to estimate the torque, stator flux magnitude and phase, and rotor speed of the induction generator. The simplified carrier based modulation method is used to synthesize the pulse width modulated output voltages from the matrix converter and to control the power factor of the currents on the grid side. Simulation results are presented to support the theoretical discussion.
Shear and pressure under the first ray in neuropathic diabetic patients: Implications for support of the longitudinal arch

Objective To assess dynamic arch support in diabetic patients at risk for Charcot neuroarthopathy whose arch index has not yet shown overt signs of foot collapse. Methods Two indirect measures of toe flexor activation (ratios: peak hallux pressure to peak metatarsal pressure – Ph/Pm; peak posterior hallux shear to peak posterior metatarsal shear – Sh/Sm) were obtained with a custom built system for measuring shear and pressure on the plantar surface of the foot during gait. In addition, the tendency of the longitudinal arch to flatten was measured by quantifying the difference in shear between the 1st metatarsal head and the heel (Sflatten) during the first half of the stance phase. Four stance phases from the same foot for 29 participants (16 control and 13 neuropathic diabetic) were assessed. Results The peak load ratio under the hallux (Ph/Pm) was significantly higher in the control group (2.10±1.08 versus 1.13±0.74, p=0.033). Similarly, Sh/Sm was significantly higher in the control group (1.87±0.88 versus 0.88±0.45, p=0.004). The difference in anterior shear under the first metatarsal head and posterior shear under the lateral heel (Sflatten) was significantly higher in the diabetic group (p<0.01). Together these findings demonstrate reduced plantar flexor activity in the musculature responsible for maintaining the longitudinal arch. Conclusions With no significant difference in arch index between the two groups, but significant differences in Ph/Pm, Sh/Sm and Sflatten the collective results suggest there are changes in muscle activity that precede arch collapse.
T-closed sets

Abstract A subset A of a continuum X is called T -closed set if T ( A ) = A , where T denotes the Jones T - function. We give a characterization of T -closed sets and then we show a counterexample to a hypothesis by David P. Bellamy, Leobardo Fernandez and Sergio Macias about T -closed sets if T is idempotent on X.
Experimental evidence for dynamic friction on rock fractures from frequency-dependent nonlinear hysteresis and harmonic generation

Frictional properties affect the propagation of high amplitude seismic waves across rock fractures and faults. Laboratory evidence suggests that these properties can be measured in active seismic surveys, potentially offering a route to characterizing friction in situ. We present experimental results from a sub-resonance torsional modulus and attenuation apparatus that utilizes micron scale sinusoidal oscillations to probe the nonlinear stress-strain relation at a range of strain amplitudes and rates. Nonlinear effects are further quantified using harmonic distortion; however, time-series data best illuminates underlying physical processes. The low frequency stress-strain hysteretic loops show stiffening at the sinusoid's static ends, but stiffening is reduced above a threshold frequency. This shape is determined by harmonic generation in the strain; the stress signal has no harmonics, confirming that the fractured sample is the source of the nonlinearity. These qualitative observations suggest the presence of rate dependent friction and are consistent between fractures in three different rock types. We propose that static friction at the low strain-rate part of the cycle, when given sufficient ‘healing’ time at low oscillation frequencies, causes this stiffening cusp shape in the hysteresis loop. While rate-and-state friction is commonly used to represent dynamic friction, it cannot capture static friction or negative slip velocities. So we implement another dynamic friction model, based on the work of Dahl, which describes this process and produces similar results. Since the two models have a similar form, parameterizations of field data could constraint fault model inputs, such as specific locations velocity strengthening or weakening properties.
Acute heat stress activated inflammatory signaling in porcine oxidative skeletal muscle

Despite well-studied clinical manifestations, intracellular mechanisms of prolonged hyperthermic injury remain unclear, especially in skeletal muscle. Given muscle's large potential to impact systemic inflammation and metabolism, the response of muscle cells to heat-mediated injury warrants further investigation. We have previously reported increased activation of NF-κB signaling and increased NF-κB and AP-1-driven transcripts in oxidative skeletal muscle following 12 h of heat stress. The purpose of this investigation was to examine early heat stress-induced inflammatory signaling in skeletal muscle. We hypothesized that heat stress would increase NF-κB and AP-1 signaling in oxidative skeletal muscle. To address this hypothesis, 32 gilts were randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups (n = 8/group): control (0 h: 21°C) or exposed to heat stress conditions (37°C) for 2 h (n = 8), 4 h (n = 8), or 6 h (n = 8). Immediately following environmental exposure pigs were euthanized and the red portion of the semitendinosus muscle (STR) was harvested. We found evidence of NF-κB pathway activation as indicated by increased protein abundance of NF-κB activator IKK-α following 4 h and increased total NF-κB protein abundance following 6 h of heat stress. Heat stress also stimulated AP-1 signaling as AP-1 protein abundance was increased in nuclear fractions following 4 h of heat stress. Interleukin-6 protein abundance and activation of the JAK/STAT pathway were decreased in heat stressed muscle. These data indicate that heat stress activated inflammatory signaling in the porcine STR muscle via the AP-1 pathway and early activation of the NF-κB pathway.
Air Contamination in the Hospital Environment

In this chapter, we summarize the data related to air contamination of various hospital pathogens outside the operating room. However, at this time, it is unclear if air plays an active role in horizontal transmission of organisms or becomes contaminated only transiently. Additionally, findings might change from one hospital to another depending on room layout, temperature, humidity, and air exchanges.
Interleukin-1 Signaling is Required for HNSCC Tumor Response to Cetuximab

Despite the incorporation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor cetuximab into the clinical management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), limited to no long-term changes in overall survival are observed in HNSCC patients even though EGFR is expressed at high levels in these tumors. Therefore, the identification of novel therapeutic approaches to enhance the clinical efficacy of cetuximab could lead to improved long-term survival for HNSCC patients. Our previous work indicated that cetuximab triggers the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines directly from HNSCC tumor cells, which was mediated by interleukin-1 (IL-1) signaling. The IL-1 pathway plays a central role in immune response by regulating the expression of various inflammatory genes in immune cells. IL-1 signaling is also involved in antitumor immunity specifically via natural killer (NK)-cell mediated antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), which is believed to be the major mechanism of action of cetuximab. Therefore we propose that IL-1 signaling is required for HNSCC tumor response to cetuximab. We found that blockade of IL-1 signaling using an IL-1-receptor antagonist (IL-1RA, anakinra) suppressed the anti-tumor efficacy of cetuximab, while IL-1 alpha (IL-1α) overexpression enhanced HNSCC tumor response to cetuximab in SQ20B xenograft mouse models. Blockade of IL-1 signaling also suppressed cetuximab-induced NK-cell-mediated ADCC by a mechanism involving decreased inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity. These results support the idea that IL-1 signaling is necessary for HNSCC tumor response to cetuximab and that iNOS activity may be an important mediator in the mechanism of action of IL-1 signaling.
Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Disorders

Major neurodegenerative disorders affecting older adults include Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Huntington’s disease. AD is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for 50–60% of all cases. Many AD patients experience unintentional weight loss that has negative prognostic implications, being associated with greater disease severity, a faster clinical progression rate, and increased mortality. Given that there are no curative therapies for neurodegenerative disorders, nutritional management may offer an opportunity to prevent or delay the onset of these devastating conditions. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that dietary interventions may have benefits for preventing and/or reducing the incidence of these disorders but rigorous, well-powered intervention trials are needed before clinical recommendations can be evidence-based.
Redesigning assessment and accountability: An introduction

This special issue advances the discussion of redesigning assessment and accountability that began in the August 2014 Education Policy Analysis Archives article, “Accountability for college and career readiness: Developing a new paradigm” by Linda Darling-Hammond, Gene Wilhoit and Linda Pittenger. This issue focuses on the potential for multiple measures approaches to accountability and performance assessment to support more meaningful learning as part of a redesigned system of support and accountability. We bring together two reviews of state policy with commentaries that describe district, network, state, and university efforts to integrate multiple measures and performance assessment in systems of accountability. This issue helps to illustrate how educators at all levels of the system—schools, districts, networks, and state education agencies—are taking action to reimagine a more supportive and equitable educational system.
Reconnecting Ethics and Theology

By exploring two recent theological ethicists, we see that ethics and theology became separated for several factors, including the Reformation's skepticism to Canon law, and the Enlightenment's desire for an ethics that were not bound by supposed religious convention. However, ethics always remain connected to underlying ideologies. Theology can help inform ethics by being rigorous, methodological, and remaining open to critique.
Porous Rock-Fluid Systems at Elevated Temperatures and Pressures

The effects of elevated temperatures and pressures on the physical properties of porous rock-fluid systems are received and analyzed. It is well known that the physical properties of rock vary considerably depending on the magnitude and history of the stresses, pore fluid pressures, and temperatures to which the rocks are subjected as well as the type and amount of fluid saturation. The review shows that the available data are limited and sometimes contradictory. Although general trends have been established, these need to be quantified for use in subsurface performance calculations. It has been concluded that three major problems need to be solved before appropriate values for the subsurface environment may be assigned. The first of these is how to simulate subsurface stress and temperature conditions in laboratory measurements. The second is the need to correlate the physical properties required in reservoir-performance analysis and log interpretation with some simpler properties of the rock-fluid system. All desired properties used in the correlation should be measured concurrently on the same test specimen and under identical test conditions. The third need is to develop models that will make it possible to predict physical properties and behavior of rocks from easily determined characteristics of themore » rock-fluid system. Examples of successful modeling of the thermal properties and behavior of rocks are presented.« less
Uncovering hidden structure through parallel problem decomposition

A key strategy for speeding up computation is to run in parallel on multiple cores. However, on hard combinatorial problems, exploiting parallelism has been surprisingly challenging. It appears that traditional divide-and-conquer strategies do not work well, due to the intricate non-local nature of the interactions between the problem variables. In this paper, we introduce a novel way in which parallelism can be used to exploit hidden structure of hard combinatorial problems. We demonstrate the success of this approach on minimal set basis problem, which has a wide range of applications in machine learning and system security, etc. We also show the effectiveness on a related application problem from materials discovery. In our approach, a large number of smaller sub-problems are identified and solved concurrently. We then aggregate the information from those solutions, and use this to initialize the search of a global, complete solver. We show that this strategy leads to a significant speed-up over a sequential approach. The strategy also greatly outperforms state-of-the-art incomplete solvers in terms of solution quality. Our work opens up a novel angle for using parallelism to solve hard combinatorial problems.
Digital Modulation and Power Spectrum

Modulation is the process whereby message information is embedded into a radio frequency carrier. Such information can be transmitted in either the amplitude, frequency, or phase of the carrier, or a combination thereof. This chapter begins with the basis of mathematical representation of digitally modulated signals. This is followed by a discussion of Nyquist pulse shaping, which is essentially for spectral control. Later, the chapter considers a large number of digital modulation schemes that are commonly used in wireless communication systems, including quadrature amplitude modulation, phase shift keying techniques, orthogonal modulation and variants, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, and continuous phase modulation. The chapter concludes with a thorough treatment of the power spectrum of the various digitally modulated waveforms considered in the chapter.
The Role of Risk in Determining Liberalizing Trade

This paper seeks to extend the research done by Bates to the years 1985-’95 and ‘96-2001. Bates found that increased terms-of-trade instability leads to decreased openness. He also found that terms-oftrade instability led to a change in trade regimeii. This paper searches to see if these results have continued through 1995 in order to secure more legitimacy as a leading theory among the risk literature of today. Over that time period, the Soviet Union and the Apartheid regime broke down. These countries have experienced major political and economic reforms due to these events, which should make these countries extremely vulnerable to risk. LDCs were forced in the early 90s to open their borders without question in order to receive aide from intercontinental organizations. It may no longer be the case that risk determines openness with these various global shocks during the late 80s and early 90s, so this paper analyzes whether Bates’s empirical research on terms-of-trade instability continues through these risky times. This article is available in The Park Place Economist: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/parkplace/vol13/iss1/19
Abstract B24: Digital signatures of T cell dysfunction predict immunotherapy response

Despite success in treating several cancer types, immunotherapy only shows response in a subset of patients. Predicting immunotherapy response and understanding the resistance mechanisms are still open questions. We present a computational framework, Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE), which utilizes the vast amount of public clinical datasets to identify biomarkers of immunotherapy response. TIDE utilized the interaction test in multivariate model to identify the molecular features of tumors where high CD8 T cell infiltration does not associate with survival benefits. The top scored genes are enriched with drivers of T cell dysfunction identified by shRNA screen in mouse models, markers of T cell exhaustion in irreversible state, and reversely correlated with transcriptome profiles of cell types that drives T cell exclusion in tumors. The TIDE signatures from clinical data without immunotherapies can reliably predict the response to both anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA4 therapies in melanoma using pretreatment tumor profiles, with higher accuracy than mutation load, PDL1 expression level, and other biomarkers. Citation Format: Peng Jiang. Digital signatures of T cell dysfunction predict immunotherapy response [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy; 2017 Oct 1-4; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2018;6(9 Suppl):Abstract nr B24.
Precision Medicine and Exercise Therapy in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Precision medicine is being discussed and incorporated at all levels of health care and disease prevention, management, and treatment. Key components include new taxonomies of disease classification, the measurement and incorporation of genetics and “omics” data, biomarkers, and health care professionals who can optimize this information for a precision approach to treatment. The study and treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is making rapid advances in these areas in addition to rapid advances in new gene and cell-based therapies. New therapies will increase the variability in disease severity, furthering a need for a precision-based approach. An area of therapy that is rarely considered in this approach is how the physiology of muscle contractions will interact with these therapies and a precision approach. As muscle pathology improves, physical activity levels will increase, which will likely be very beneficial to some patients but likely not to all. Physical activity is likely to synergistically improve these therapies and can be used to enhance muscle health and quality of life after these therapies are delivered using the tools of precision medicine.
Intragenomic nuclear RNA variation in a cryptic Amanita taxon.

Amanita cf. lavendula collections in eastern North America, Mexico, and Costa Rica were found to consist of four cryptic taxa, one of which exhibited consistently unreadable nuclear rDNA ITS1-5.8S-...
Implications of Initial Recorded Rhythm on Cardioverter-Defibrillator Insertion and Subsequent All-Cause Mortality in Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survivors.

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) rhythms have been traditionally divided into shockable [ventricular tachycardia (VT)/ventricular fibrillation (VF)] and nonshockable [(asystole (ASY)/pulseless electrical activity (PEA)] rhythms. It is unclear if the specific rhythm has implications on patient management and outcomes. We evaluated 1,433 patients who were admitted with SCA from 2000 to 2012 and were discharged alive. Of those, 1,123 patients had a recorded initial SCA rhythm. Subjects included were >18 years of age, and without an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) in place at the time of the event. The likelihood of receiving an ICD for each SCA rhythm and the time to death were analyzed. Of the overall cohort of 1,123 SCA survivors (age of 62 ± 15 years; 39.2% women; 56.3% in-hospital SCA; 83% white; 67% coronary artery disease), 355 (31.6%) received an ICD, and 493 (43.9%) died over a mean follow-up of 3.8 ± 3.2 years. Patients with VF (n = 254, 43.6%) or VT (n = 83, 43.9%) were more likely to receive ICD therapy compared with those with ASY (n = 9, 5.3%) or PEA (n = 9, 4.8%; p