cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein Binds Cholesterol and Modulates Mitochondrial Membrane Sterol Domain Dynamics

Abstract The steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) mediates the rate-limiting step of steroidogenesis, delivery of cholesterol to the inner mitochondrial membrane. However, the mechanism whereby cholesterol translocation is accomplished has not been resolved. Recombinant StAR proteins lacking the first N-terminal 62 amino acids comprising the mitochondrial-targeting sequence were used to determine if StAR binds cholesterol and alters mitochondrial membrane cholesterol domains to enhance sterol transfer. First, a fluorescent NBD-cholesterol binding assay revealed 2 sterol binding sites (K d values near 32 nm), whereas the inactive A218V N-62 StAR mutant had only a single binding site with 8-fold lower affinity. Second, NBD-cholesterol spectral shifts and fluorescence resonance energy transfer from StAR Trp residues to NBD-cholesterol showed (i) close molecular interaction between these molecules (R 2/3 = 33 A) and (ii) sensitized NBD-cholesterol emission from only one of the two sterol binding sites. Third, circular dichroism showed that cholesterol binding induced a change in StAR secondary structure. Fourth, a fluorescent sterol transfer assay that did not require separation of donor and acceptor mitochondrial membranes demonstrated that StAR enhanced mitochondrial sterol transfer as much as 100-fold and induced/increased the formation of rapidly transferable cholesterol domains in isolated mitochondrial membranes. StAR was 67-fold more effective in transferring cholesterol from mitochondria of steroidogenic MA-10 cells than from human fibroblast mitochondria. In contrast, sterol carrier protein-2 (SCP-2) was only 2.2-fold more effective in mediating sterol transfer from steroidogenic cell mitochondria. Taken together these data showed that StAR is a cholesterol-binding protein, preferentially enhances sterol transfer from steroidogenic cell mitochondria, and interacts with mitochondrial membranes to alter their sterol domain structure and dynamics.
Load profiling for efficient route selection in multi-class networks

High-speed networks, such as ATM networks, are expected to support real-time Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees required by many applications such as those that involve voice and video communication. To support such services, routing algorithms that allow for the reservation of the needed bandwidth over a Virtual Circuit (VC) have been proposed. Commonly, these algorithms assign VCs to routes using the least-loaded concept, and thus result in balancing the load over the set of all candidate routes. In this paper, we show that for such reservation-based VC routing algorithms-which allow for the exclusive use of a preset fraction of a resource's bandwidth for an extended period of time-load balancing is not desirable as it results in resource fragmentation, which adversely affects the likelihood of accepting new VC requests. We present an on-line VC routing scheme that is based on the concept of "load profiling", which allows a distribution of "available" bandwidth across a set of candidate routes to match the characteristics of incoming VC QoS requests. We show the effectiveness of our load-profiling approach when compared to traditional load-balancing and load-packing VC routing schemes.
Participatory Criteria Selection: Finding Conflictive Positions in Environmental Postassessment of Land Management and Restoration Actions

Stakeholder participation in environmental assessment of past land management and restoration actions in drylands is important to improve knowledge and management of these ecosystems. Participatory identification and prioritization of monitoring and assessment criteria, while increasingly incorporated into assessment, is still perceived as challenging due to conflicting values and perspectives among stakeholders. As this research demonstrates, a two-step participatory (n = 33) process consisting of a semistructured interview followed by the revised Simos procedure for the identification and prioritization of criteria to assess five actions in the San Simon watershed (Arizona), proved useful to (1) identify and prioritize criteria and (2) expose the source of individual priorities. This flexible but structured process provides a first pass at identifying participant assessment criteria and reducing conflict associated with differing values and perspectives of those with a direct stake in both past and futu...
Motivational Interviewing for Substance Use: Mapping Out the Next Generation of Research.

Since the landmark paper by William R. Miller, “Motivational Interviewing with Problem Drinkers” (1983), Motivational interviewing (MI) has been established as an efficacious clinical approach for treating a range of behavioral problems (Miller & Rollnick, 2013). Some of the largest treatment effects for MI have been observed for substance use disorders (Schumacher & Madson, 2014). In the past 30 years, interest in and use of MI have surged within substance use treatment settings as well as other contexts (e.g., health promotion) and within multiple professions (e.g., medicine, social work, psychology). Studies have demonstrated MI's effectiveness in randomized trials across a range of clinical contexts (Lundahl & Burke, 2009). More recently MI scholars have shifted attention to its theoretical underpinnings and the evolution of a causal theory about how MI works. In outlining a theory of MI, Miller and Rose (2009) hypothesized two major components: relational and technical, which subsequently have guided the research, practice and teaching of MI (Miller & Rollnick, 2013). The first component relational – is foundational to MI and includes person-centered counseling traditions, such as being empathic, nonjudgmental, autonomy-supporting and affirmingwith clients. Clinicians relate to their clients inways that build a safe, trusting, and engaging environment for clients to ponder behavioral change (Moyers, 2014). The second presumed component of MI – technical – occurs when clinicians intentionally elicit client arguments for or against change (Magill et al., 2014). The technical component ofMI involves a directional approach in which clinicians selectively attend to and purposively elicit and elaborate discussions about healthy changes. (Schumacher & Madson, 2014). The intended outcome of clinicians intentionally guiding the conversation in this way is to minimize clients' need to defend their prior decisions (called “sustain talk”) and encourage clients to discuss their own needs, wants, desires, and reasons for change (called “change talk”) (Glynn & Moyers, 2010; Miller & Rollnick, 2013). According to Miller and Rose (2009), increases in client change talk and resolution of sustain talk predict client commitment to change and ultimately underpin steps taken to achieve behavior change. Both components, relational and technical, are hypothesized as intertwined and necessary elements inMI. In addition to outlining a causal theory of MI, Miller and Rose (2009) underscored several areas for future research. Specifically, they suggested that more research was needed to: (a) better understand under what conditions MI is effective, (b) test the technical hypothesis in relation to client outcomes, and (c) identify effective and durable ways to train clinicians in MI. In this paper we provide a brief update of progress on these three key questions and describe papers included in this special issue.
A Q Region Product as a CTL Restriction Element

The function of class I genes mapping in the Q and TL regions of the MHC is unknown. Data presented in this study will show that two genes control a determinant (Qc-1) recognized by cloned cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). One gene is a class I gene and maps in the Q region. The second gene maps in the K-end of the MHC and has tentatively been mapped between A s3 and A s2 with recombinant strains. Monoclonal antibody reactive with Q region encoded class I molecules blocks CTL recognition of the Qc-1 determinant at the target cell level. An attractive interpretation of these data is that the Q region class I molecule serves as a CTL restriction element for the recognition of a K-end encoded peptide.
The Study of Chinese Politics: Toward a Third Generation of Scholarship

Research on contemporary Chinese politics can be divided into two distinct generations since its initiation in the early 1960s. The first, produced before the Cultural Revolution, was characterized by general description rather than systematic comparison or sophisticated conceptualization. The second generation, which appeared in the late 1960s and early 1970s, assigned greater attention to describing the variation of Chinese politics over space and time, identifying the informal norms and mechanisms by which Chinese politics operates, and developing general theories of the Chinese political process. In a third generation, which is just now beginning to emerge, we should see efforts to absorb the new sources of information now available about China; to sort, test, and amalgamate the competing models produced by the second generation; to integrate the analysis of Chinese politics with the rest of comparative politics; and to study Chinese politics in an interdisciplinary fashion.
Calcium entry blockers in cardiologic therapy.

The complex and differing mechanisms of action of this large group of cardiovascular drugs are not yet entirely understood, but the various effects of calcium entry blockers on conduction tissue an...
Improving Budyko curve‐based estimates of long‐term water partitioning using hydrologic signatures from GRACE

The Budyko hypothesis provides a first-order estimate of water partitioning into runoff (Q) and evapotranspiration (E). Observations, however, often show significant departures from the Budyko curve; moreover, past improvements to Budyko curve tend to lose predictive power when migrated between regions or to small scales. Here to estimate departures from the Budyko curve, we use hydrologic signatures extracted from Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) terrestrial water storage anomalies. The signatures include GRACE amplitude as a fraction of precipitation (A/P), interannual variability, and 1-month lag autocorrelation. We created a group of linear models embodying two alternate hypotheses that departures can be predicted by (a) Taylor series expansion based on the deviation of physical characteristics (seasonality, snow fraction, and vegetation index) from reference conditions and (b) surrogate indicators covarying with E, e.g., A/P. These models are fitted using a mesoscale USA data set (HUC4) and then evaluated using world data sets and USA basins 1000 km2 and, according to comparison with other global data sets, is suitable for data fusion purposes, with GRACE error as estimates of uncertainty.
Softons, Softarons and Bisoftarons in Amorphous Solids

Many amorphous solids as well as other non-crystalline substances exhibit1 an anomalously high specific heat which seems to vary linearly with temperature T at very low T. This implies a finite density of states down to energies comparable to kT, where T is the lowest temperature in these experiments. Anderson et al.2 and Phillips3 have attributed this high density of states to the existence, locally, of another configuration having about the same energy as the ground state. In other words the potential energy of the system as a function of some appropriate local atomic coordinates is assumed to exhibit a double minimum form instead of the single minimum of the crystalline solids. If the potential barrier between the two minima is not too high, tunneling from one minimum to the other is possible, and it can account for the linear specific heat. This picture has been further supported by experiments on thermal conductivity,1 ultrasonic attenuation,4 sound velocity5 and nuclear spin lattice relaxation.6,7 Note that the existence of the double minimum structure is associated with the presence of a soft (≡ easily deformable) chemical arrangement of comparable energy with an alternative local chemical bonding.
Systems of Ordinary Differential Equations

This chapter discusses systems of ordinary differential equations. It presents a review of matrix algebra and calculus. It defines the characteristic equation and characteristic polynomial and shows how to calculate characteristic polynomial and eigenvalues of matrices through examples. Mathematica can compute both the characteristic polynomial and eigenvalues directly with the commands CharacteristicPolynomial and Eigenvalues. The chapter illustrates the homogeneous system of first-order linear differential equations. It provides solution of homogeneous linear systems with constant coefficients through some examples. It also discusses some theorems and terminology used in establishing the fundamentals of solving systems of differential equations. To apply variation of parameters, one first calculates a fundamental matrix for the associated homogeneous equation. In many cases, Laplace transforms can be used to solve a system of linear differential equations. The chapter illustrates the techniques needed to accomplish this with Mathematica through examples. It further explains nonlinear systems, linearization, and equilibrium points.
The Effects of Events

Events change the state of the world. When an event occurs, some properties of the world that are false become true, and some properties of the world that are true become false. We discuss the representation of the effects of events in the event calculus. We describe positive and negative effect axioms, commonly used effect axiom idioms, preconditions, and state constraints.
Distributed Optimal Green Power Allocation for D2D Based Cellular Networks with Long-Term QoS Constraint

We investigate the energy efficiency (EE) maximization problem under the scenario of Device-to-Device (D2D) communications underlaying cellular networks. By jointly considering time-varying channels and stochastic arrivals, we propose a distributed power allocation algorithm for both D2D user groups (DUGs) and cellular user terminals (CUTs) with long- term quality of service (QoS) provision. To effectively deal with the dynamics of D2D based cellular networks, stochastic optimization problems are formulated, so as to optimize the long-term EE of both DUGs and CUTs under the constraints of queue stability, battery capacity and average transmission rate. With weighted sum method and Lyapunov optimization approach, we can sufficiently handle the non-convexity of the original problem by deriving an equivalent one. Through optimal solutions of the problems, each DUG and CUT can manage their power resources more efficiently, which improves their long-term EE performance individually. The simulation results further validate the theoretical analyses and evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm.
CRT-200.23 Radial versus Femoral Access for Octogenarians Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Radial access has been shown to provide superior outcome in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients. However it confers several limitations including sheath size and overcoming tortuosity, which is common among elderly patients. We sought to evaluate the safety and feasibility of radial percutaneous
Intrapulmonary Carbon Dioxide Sensitive Receptors: Amphibians to Mammals

Direct neural recordings have been made from intrapulmonary CO2-sensitive receptors in all classes of tetrapods. Specific characteristics of these receptors, such as their relative sensitivity to chemical (CO2, O2, and several drugs) and mechanical stimuli, the responsiveness to static and dynamic CO2 concentrations in their microenvironment, their location in the lung, and the influence of intracellular H+ in controlling their discharge have been studied in detail in some animals.
Multi-scale 46-year remote sensing change detection of diamond mining and land cover in a conflict and post-conflict setting

Abstract The town of Tortiya was created in the rural northern region of Cote d′Ivoire in the late 1940s to house workers for a new diamond mine. Nearly three decades later, the closure of the industrial-scale diamond mine in 1975 did not diminish the importance of diamond profits to the region's economy, and resulted in the growth of artisanal and small-scale diamond mining (ASM) within the abandoned industrial-scale mining concession. In the early 2000s, the violent conflict that arose in Cote d′Ivoire highlighted the importance of ASM land use to the local economy, but also brought about international concerns that diamond profits were being used to fund the rebellion. In recent years, cashew plantations have expanded exponentially in the region, diversifying economic activity, but also creating the potential for conflict between diamond mining and agricultural land uses. As the government looks to address the future of Tortiya and this potential conflict, a detailed spatio-temporal understanding of the changes in these two land uses over time may assist in informing policymaking. Remotely sensed imagery presents an objective and detailed spatial record of land use/land cover (LULC), and change detection methods can provide quantitative insight regarding regional land cover trends. However, the vastly different scales of ASM and cashew orchards present a unique challenge to comprehensive understanding of land use change in the region. In this study, moderate-scale categories of LULC, including cashew orchards, uncultivated forest, urban space, mining/ bare, and mixed vegetation, were produced through supervised classification of Landsat multispectral imagery from 1984, 1991, 2000, 2007, and 2014. The fine-scale ASM land use was identified through manual interpretation of annually acquired high resolution satellite imagery. Corona imagery was also integrated into the study to extend the temporal duration of the remote sensing record back to the period of industrial-scale mining. These different-scale analyses were then integrated to create a record of 46 years of mining activity and land cover change in Tortiya. While similar in spatial extent, the mining/ bare class in the integrated analysis exhibits a substantially different spatial distribution than in the original classifications. This additional information regarding the locations of ASM activity in the Tortiya area is important from a policy and planning perspective. The results of this study also suggest that LULC classifications of Landsat imagery do not consistently capture areas of ASM in the Cote d′Ivoire landscape.
Pneumocystis PCR: It Is Time to Make PCR the Test of Choice.

BACKGROUND The testing strategy for Pneumocystis at the Cleveland Clinic changed from toluidine blue staining to polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We studied the differences in positivity rates for these assays and compared each with the detection of Pneumocystis in companion specimens by cytology and surgical pathology. METHODS We reviewed the results of all Pneumocystis test orders 1 year before and 1 year after the implementation of a Pneumocystis-specific PCR. We also reviewed the corresponding cytology and surgical pathology results, if performed. Finally, we reviewed the medical records of patients with rare Pneumocystis detected by PCR in an effort to differentiate colonization vs true disease. RESULTS Toluidine blue staining and surgical pathology had similar sensitivities and negative predictive values, both of which were superior to cytology. There was a >4-fold increase in the annual detection of Pneumocystis by PCR compared with toluidine blue staining (toluidine blue staining: 11/1583 [0.69%] vs PCR: 44/1457 [3.0%]; chi-square P < .001). PCR detected 1 more case than surgical pathology and was far more sensitive than cytology. Chart review demonstrated that the vast majority of patients with rare Pneumocystis detected were immunosuppressed, had radiologic findings supportive of this infection, had no other pathogens detected, and were treated for pneumocystosis by the clinical team. CONCLUSION PCR was the most sensitive method for the detection of Pneumocystis and should be considered the diagnostic test of choice. Correlation with clinical and radiologic findings affords discrimination of early true disease from the far rarer instances of colonization.
Cone and seed traits of two Juniperus species influence roles of frugivores and scatter-hoarding rodents as seed dispersal agents

Abstract Seed dispersal in Juniperus is generally attributed to frugivores that consume the berry-like female cones. Some juniper cones are fleshy and resinous such as those of western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis), while others are dry and leathery such as those of Utah juniper (J. osteosperma). Rodents have been recorded harvesting Juniperus seeds and cones but are mostly considered seed predators. Our study sought to determine if rodents play a role in dispersal of western and Utah juniper seeds. We documented rodent harvest of cones and seeds of the locally-occurring juniper species and the alternate (non-local) juniper species in removal experiments at a western juniper site in northeastern California and a Utah juniper site in western Nevada. Characteristics of western and Utah juniper cones appeared to influence removal, as cones from the local juniper species were preferred at both sites. Conversely, removal of local and non-local seeds was similar. Pinon mice (Peromyscus truei) were responsible for most removal of cones and seeds at both sites. We used radioactively labeled seeds to follow seed fate and found many of these seeds in scattered caches (western juniper: 415 seeds in 82 caches, 63.0% of seeds found; Utah juniper: 458 seeds in 127 caches, 39.5% of seeds found) most of which were attributed to pinon mice. We found little evidence of frugivores dispersing Utah juniper seeds, thus scatter-hoarding rodents appear to be the main dispersal agents. Western juniper cones were eaten by frugivores, and scatter-hoarding is a complimentary or secondary form of seed dispersal. Our results support the notion that Utah juniper has adapted to xeric environments by conserving water through the loss of fleshy fruits that attract frugivores and instead relies on scatter-hoarding rodents as effective dispersal agents.
Pragmatic scepticism in implementing the Women, Peace and Security agenda

Conditions for women in the Global South have increasingly become acknowledged as critical components of global security. However, the development and implementation of policies to address these co...
High-Coverage Point-to-Point Transit: Study of Path-Based Vehicle Routing Through Multiple Hubs

This study focuses on the optimization and simulation modeling associated with the design of alternative transportation, the high-coverage point-to-point transit (HCPPT), which involves a sufficient number of deployed small vehicles with advanced-information supply schemes. This paper identifies the inefficiency of the existing heuristic rules for vehicle routing and proposes a new optimization approach for an HCPPT solution. A path-based model for routing through multiple hubs as opposed to a single pair of hubs is formulated to improve HCPPT operational schemes. This study also develops a simulation framework for the application of the proposed algorithm. To illustrate the system and computational performances of the proposed model, simulations are conducted with different sets of scenarios and model parameters. The path-based model shows reasonable performance over the various demand patterns in level of service and ride time index. It is also shown that, with the use of constraint-driven schemes and model parameters, the scale of the problem is reduced. The computational times are shown to be quite small, and demonstrate the viability in real-time operations.
Personalized Keyword Search on Large RDF Graphs based on Pattern Graph Similarity

The structure of the ever increasing large RDF repositories is too complex to allow non-expert users extract useful information from them. Keyword search is an interesting alternative but in the context of RDF graph data, where query answers are RDF graph fragments, itfaces two major problems: the query quality answer problem and the result computation algorithm scalability problem. In this paper we focus on empowering keyword search on RDF data by exploiting personalized information. We proposean original approach which exploits the structural summary of the RDF graph to generate pattern graphs for the input keyword query. Pattern graphs are structured conjunctive queries and are seen as possible interpretations of the unstructured keyword query. Personalized information is represented as collections of profile graphs, a concept similar to pattern graphs. The ran king of the results is achieved by measuring graph similarity between the user profile graph and the generated pattern graphs. Novel similarity metrics have been introduced which consider intrinsic and extrinsic similarity and take into account both structural and semantic characteristics of the pattern and profile graphs. Effectiveness and efficiency experimental results show that our approach can tackle the two major problems that hinder the widespread use of keyword search on RDF data.
Sex, Inequality, and Ethnography: Response to Erich Goode

Erich Goode (2002) has written about an ethnography he conducted and casual sex he engaged in among very fat female members of the National Association for the Advancement of Fat Acceptance (NAAFA). It is, according to him, “the story of a spectacularly failed research project.” He admits that his account of events that took place in the 1980s causes him “to wince and squirm in discomfort and embarrassment. I did that? I gasp. I said that? I ask. This is not me, I object.” Yet, he also says that, even now, “I find it difficult to conceptualize a strategy that would have enabled me to avoid the problems I blundered into.” He recounts in detail how he interviewed, observed, casually slept with (leaving out some details here), and generally treated poorly his research subjects. Yet his analysis of this group and their particular vulnerabilities, as well as his own desires and behavior within this context, is baffling in its superficiality. In what follows, I make two basic points. First, in asking whether Goode was wrong to sleep with his informants from an ethical perspective, I contend that, while sex between researchers and informants may not be categorically unacceptable, social researchers should not be sexual predators. I consider sexual predation to include at least two behaviors in which Goode admits engaging: targeting vulnerable populations and being less than fully forthcoming about his intentions. The evidence of vulnerability of those with whom Goode had sex is drawn from Goode’s own work as well as my own observation of NAAFA activities and interviews with NAAFA members. Goode himself provides evidence that he misled many women about his amorous intentions, which is the sole basis for my conclusions on that score. Second, in asking whether Goode’s sexual encounters with NAAFA members yielded or had the potential of producing any sociological insights, I contend that Goode provides little evidence to substantiate his claim that his sexual relations
Human Action, Ideal Types, and the Market Process: Alfred Schutz and the Austrian Economists

Schutz and the Austrian Economists emphasized meaning and intentionality for understanding social and market processes. This is clearest in their conception of the logic of action and choice, and the mental process by which social and market agents formulate interpersonal expectations for purposes of successful mutual orientation.
Autopsy findings in a human immunodeficiency virus-infected population over 2 decades: Influences of gender, ethnicity, risk factors, and time

Objectives To examine autopsy pathology in an urban population infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and to determine if age at death and disease frequencies are associated with gender, HIV risk factors, ethnicity, and therapeutic era. Design and methods Retrospective analysis of autopsy data from 394 HIV-infected adults. The population was divided into 3 therapeutic eras for analysis: group A, 1979-1986; group B, 1987-1995; and group C, 1996-2000. Results Women died at significantly younger ages than men (mean +/- SEM age, 38.9 +/- 1.0 years vs 42.5 +/- 0.64 years), even after adjustment for risk factors, ethnicity, and therapeutic era. This age discrepancy occurred despite a lower prevalence of arteriosclerosis, cachexia, and hepatitis B in women and no significant differences in the frequencies of other infectious diseases. Whites had a longer survival than patients of other ethnicities (mean age at death, 44.7 +/- 1.2 years for whites, 39.9 +/- 0.80 years for blacks, and 41.3 +/- 0.87 years for Hispanic individuals). Renal, cardiac, and splenic pathologies, Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare (MAI) infection, and cachexia were more common in blacks than in whites and/or Hispanic individuals, and cytomegalovirus and systemic lymphoma were more common in whites and Hispanic individuals than in blacks. Diseases associated with intravenous drug use were hepatitis C, cirrhosis, and tuberculosis; those with all sexual risk factors, cytomegalovirus infection, herpes simplex virus infection, and Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia; and those with homosexual risk, Kaposi sarcoma and MAI infection. The prevalence of many disease entities changed over time: compared with the other groups, group C had lower prevalences of many viral and fungal illnesses, MAI infection, systemic lymphoma, cachexia, and Kaposi sarcoma and higher prevalences of hepatitis, cirrhosis, arteriosclerosis, staphylococcal and streptococcal infections, and traumatic lesions. When the data were adjusted for changing demographic and risk composition, the only significant changes in disease frequency for period C were decreased prevalences of PCP and Kaposi sarcoma and increased prevalences of cirrhosis and arteriosclerosis. Conclusions Significant gender- and ethnicity-related differences in age of death occurred in this HIV-infected population, and these differences were not explained by the frequencies of diseases. The lower prevalences of PCP and Kaposi sarcoma in group C are likely a reflection of the impact of potent therapies on causes of mortality. The higher prevalences of cirrhosis and arteriosclerosis suggest that entities not targeted by antiretroviral reconstitution of immunity will play an increasingly important role in HIV-related mortality in the future.
A distributed hierarchical management framework for heterogeneous WANs (poster)

The scope of network management is expanding in multiple dimensions. Local area networks (LANs) have more nodes than ever before, enterprise networks span national boundaries, wide area networks (WANs) cover the globe, and administrators want to manage their LANs all the way down to a PC’s network interface and application software. In order to centrally manage these networks, the network manager faces the complexity of heterogeneous management tools and the difficulty of managing vast amount of data generated by network elements.
Stage of maturation, crop load, and shoot density affect the fruit quality of cold-hardy grape cultivars

Wine grape production in the Upper Midwest and other cold-climate regions is increasing due to the release of cold-hardy grape cultivars that are interspecific hybrids. Grape production practices for Vitis vinifera L. cultivars in regions with long growing seasons, such as California, are standardized more than in other regions due to the extensive amount of research on cultivars of V. vinifera. In spite of that, few researchers document changes in grape composition as fruits mature, and those that do primarily only report soluble solids, pH, and titratable acidity. Two experiments were designed to examine the changes in soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, acid profile, and sugar profile that occur during the maturation of fruits of commercially important cold-hardy grape cultivars. Fruits from Edelweiss, Frontenac, La Crescent, Marquette, and St. Croix were harvested from vines at the typical commercial harvest time, and one to two weeks before and after. Glucose:fructose ratio ranged from 0.95 to 1.24 and generally decreased with stage of maturation. Malic acid ranged from 5.3 to 15.2 g/L and decreased with stage of maturation. Tartaric:malic acid ratio was smaller than is reported for other interspecific hybrids, and was never larger than 0.55 for Edelweiss and La Crescent. Cold-hardy grape cultivars have unique fruit chemistry as compared to cultivars of V. vinifera, V. labruscana Bailey, and French hybrids. Harvesting fruits later in maturation can be effective in reducing malic acid in cold-hardy grape cultivars, however they still have large amounts of malic acid and a small tartaric:malic acid ratios. Soluble solids content is commonly used as an indicator of fruit maturity to determine when grapes should be harvested. However when soluble solids did not change with stage of maturation, there were
Metagenome Assembly and Contig Assignment

The recent development of metagenomic assembly has revolutionized metagenomic data analysis, thanks to the improvement of sequencing techniques, more powerful computational infrastructure and the development of novel algorithms and methods. Using longer assembled contigs rather than raw reads improves the process of metagenomic binning and annotation significantly, ultimately resulting in a deeper understanding of the microbial dynamics of the metagenomic samples being analyzed. In this chapter, we demonstrate a typical metagenomic analysis pipeline including raw read quality evaluation and trimming, assembly and contig binning. Alternative tools that can be used for each step are also discussed.
The Use of Rhetoric and Emotional Appeals in Fitness Ads: An Abstract

Many consumers suffer from obesity and other health-related issues caused by overeating and lack of exercise. These conditions trigger different emotions. Some consumers experience guilt, anger, fear, and sadness, while others experience positive emotions, such as joy, hope, and pride. Consumer researchers and marketers are, therefore, interested in examining which types of ad characteristics will encourage consumer behavioral intentions and actual behavior that lead to more healthful lifestyles. This study contributes to the literature in several ways. First, it integrates two important research areas, appraisal tendency framework and advertising rhetoric. Second, it includes both positive and negative emotional appeals (viz., pride and shame), thereby connecting existing coping models to emotional antecedents (Duhacheck and Oakley 2007). Third, by using a controlled ad exposure situation instead of hypothetical or recalled events, this study extends findings in appraisal theory.
Dialectic search

We introduce Hegel and Fichte's dialectic as a search meta-heuristic for constraint satisfaction and optimization. Dialectic is an appealing mental concept for local search as it tightly integrates and yet clearly marks off of one another the two most important aspects of local search algorithms, search space exploration and exploitation. We believe that this makes dialectic search easy to use for general computer scientists and non-experts in optimization. We illustrate dialectic search, its simplicity and great efficiency on four problems from three different problem domains: constraint satisfaction, continuous optimization, and combinatorial optimization.
Two-Chip Wireless H 2 S Gas Sensor System Requiring Zero Additional Electronic Components

We describe a wireless hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) gas sensor system comprised of two integrated circuits: a chemically-sensitive field effect transistor (CS-FET) sensor and a single-chip micro-mote (SCµM). The sensor IC is a bulk transistor functionalized to respond to H 2 S. The SCµM IC uses an ARM Cortex M0 to digitize sensor voltage via an ADC and transmit data through a 2.4GHz FSK transmitter based on an ultra-small, crystal-free, free-running ring oscillator. The IC pair has combined volume 2 S gas and wirelessly transmit results at 2.4GHz.
The Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act of 2016: Cancer, Industry Pressure, and A Proactive Approach

In summer 2016, Congress passed amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) more than forty years after it first passed the law, and the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act (“LSCA”) became law on June 22, 2016. The new law, the first major U.S. environmental law in decades, was widely lauded by the American Chemistry Council and other industry groups, but somewhat less warmly received by consumer and public advocacy groups. This article will make the case that while the LSCA had the potential to move us toward a more health protective stance in our federal, chemical regulatory regime, stringent enforcement of the law in a health protective manner does not seem likely in the current political climate. Indeed, the EPA’s July 2017 implementation rules for review of existing chemicals and “Framework” documents for new chemicals vitiate many of the Act’s intended protections. The article urges that regulating consumer chemicals and products to protect human health and the environment is an issue readily deserving of our attention, and this new law, embodied in the LSCA and accompanying regulation, does not adequately advance the cause. I briefly review the literature that suggests that environmental causes account for many serious illnesses, including cancers, then explore existing and proposed mechanisms in our federal legal framework to regulate toxic substances to protect human health. I next provide an overview of the deficiencies in the “old” TSCA that the LSCA amendments sought to correct, and then outline the basic provisions of the LSCA and critique its initial implementation and what I perceive to be accompanying deficiencies. Finally, I envision a way forward with what I call a “proactive” stance to the regulation of toxic substances. Such a regulatory stance would couple existing law with greater information transparency, and market forces to encourage industry and regulators to better protect human health and the environment.
Volcanoes Erupt Stressed Quartz Crystals

Author(s): Befus, KS; Manga, M; Stan, C; Tamura, N | Abstract: Volcanic eruptions are energetic events driven by the imbalance of magmatic forces. The magnitudes of these forces remain poorly constrained because they operate in regions that are inaccessible, either underground or dangerous to approach. New techniques are needed to quantify the processes that drive eruptions and to probe magma storage conditions. Here we present X-ray microdiffraction measurements of volcanic stress imparted as lattice distortions to the crystal cargo of magma from Yellowstone and Long Valley eruptions. Elevated residual stresses between 100 and 300 MPa are preserved in erupted quartz. Multiple volcanic forces could be culpable for the deformation so we analyzed crystals from pyroclastic falls, pyroclastic density currents, and effusive lavas. Stresses are preserved in all quartz but cannot be attributed to differences in eruption style. Instead, lattice deformation likely preserves an in situ measurement of the deviatoric stresses required for the brittle failure of viscous, crystal-bearing glass during ascent.
Adaptive and active materials: Selected papers from the ASME 2009 Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS 09) (Oxnard, CA, USA, 21–23 September 2009)

The second annual meeting of the AMSE/AIAA Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures, and Intelligent Systems Conference (SMASIS) took place at the beautiful Mandalay Bay resort on the coast of southern California with a focus on the theme of 'Future horizons for multifunctional materials and systems'. This was reflected in keynote talks by Professor James Hubbard of UMD, 'The future of aerospace'; Professor Gregory Carman of UCLA, 'The future of active materials in medical devices'; and Dr Michael Tryson of Danfoss PolyPower A/S, 'Dielectric ElectroActive Polymers (DEAP)—viable members of the smart material family'. The SMASIS conference was divided into six symposia each of which include basic research, applied technological design and development, and industrial and governmental integrated system and application demonstrations. The six symposia were: SYMP 1 Multifunctional Materials SYMP 2 Active Materials, Mechanics and Behavior SYMP 3 Enabling Technologies and Integrated System Design SYMP 4 Structural Health Monitoring/NDE SYMP 5 Nonlinear Dynamics and Passive/Adaptive Controls SYMP 6 Bio-inspired Smart Materials and Structures Authors of papers in the materials areas (symposia 1, 2, and 6) were invited to write a full journal article on their presentation topic for publication in this special issue of Smart Materials and Structures. This set of papers demonstrates the exceptional quality and originality of the conference presentations. We are appreciative of their efforts to produce this collection of highly relevant articles on smart materials.
Slumber in a cell: honeycomb used by honey bees for food, brood, heating... and sleeping

Sleep appears to play an important role in the lives of honey bees, but to understand how and why, it is essential to accurately identify sleep, and to know when and where it occurs. Viewing normally obscured honey bees in their nests would be necessary to calculate the total quantity and quality of sleep and sleep's relevance to the health and dynamics of a honey bee and its colony. Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) spend much of their time inside cells, and are visible only by the tips of their abdomens when viewed through the walls of an observation hive, or on frames pulled from a typical beehive. Prior studies have suggested that honey bees spend some of their time inside cells resting or sleeping, with ventilatory movements of the abdomen serving as a telltale sign distinguishing sleep from other behaviors. Bouts of abdominal pulses broken by extended pauses (discontinuous ventilation) in an otherwise relatively immobile bee appears to indicate sleep. Can viewing the tips of abdomens consistently and predictably indicate what is happening with the rest of a bee's body when inserted deep inside a honeycomb cell? To distinguish a sleeping bee from a bee maintaining cells, eating, or heating developing brood, we used a miniature observation hive with slices of honeycomb turned in cross-section, and filmed the exposed cells with an infrared-sensitive video camera and a thermal camera. Thermal imaging helped us identify heating bees, but simply observing ventilatory movements, as well as larger motions of the posterior tip of a bee's abdomen was sufficient to noninvasively and predictably distinguish heating and sleeping inside comb cells. Neither behavior is associated with large motions of the abdomen, but heating demands continuous (vs. discontinuous) ventilatory pulsing. Among the four behaviors observed inside cells, sleeping constituted 16.9% of observations. Accuracy of identifying sleep when restricted to viewing only the tip of an abdomen was 86.6%, and heating was 73.0%. Monitoring abdominal movements of honey bees offers anyone with a view of honeycomb the ability to more fully monitor when and where behaviors of interest are exhibited in a bustling nest.
From Empire to Nation State: Ethnic Politics in China

Many scholars perceive ethnic politics in China as an untouchable topic due to lack of data and contentious, even prohibitive, politics. This book fills a gap in the literature, offering a historical-political perspective on China's contemporary ethnic conflict. Yan Sun accumulates research via field trips, local reports, and policy debates to reveal rare knowledge and findings. Her long-time causal chain of explanation reveals the roots of China's contemporary ethnic strife in the centralizing and ethnicizing strategies of its incomplete transition to a nation state—strategies that depart sharply from its historical patterns of diverse and indirect rule. This departure created the institutional dynamics for politicized identities and ethnic mobilization, particularly in the outer regions of Tibet and Xinjiang. In the 21st century, such factors as the demise of socialist tenets and institutions that upheld interethnic solidarity, and the rise of identity politics and developmentalism, have intensified these built-in tensions.
The F-box protein AFF1 regulates ARF protein accumulation to regulate auxin response

Auxin critically regulates nearly every aspect of plant growth and development. Auxin-driven transcriptional responses are mediated through the AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR (ARF) family of transcription factors. Although ARF protein stability is regulated via the 26S proteasome, molecular mechanisms underlying ARF stability and turnover are unknown. Here, we report the identification and functional characterization of an F-box E3 ubiquitin ligase, which we have named AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR F-BOX1 (AFF1). AFF1 directly interacts with ARF19 and regulates its accumulation. Mutants defective in AFF1 display ARF19 protein hyperaccumulation, attenuated auxin responsiveness, and developmental defects. Together, our data suggest a new mechanism, namely control of ARF protein stability, in regulating auxin response.
Relational processes in heart failure care transitions: A data-driven case report.

Abstract Background Effective patient care transitions require consideration of social and clinical context, yet how these factors and relational processes in care coordination relate remains poorly described. This case report aims to describe provider networks and the clinical care and social context involved during longitudinal care transitions across settings. Case We examined the utilization and provider networks of an oldest old woman with heart failure (HF) before and after her first hospitalization for HF. She used primary care for care management and had insurance, strong caregiver support, and comprehensive discharge planning; however, after the hospitalization, Mrs. A's ambulatory provider networks were more diverse yet sparser and less strongly connected. Conclusions Turbulence in care transition can result from sources other than transitioning between settings. The data-driven case report approach using electronic health records uncovered relational processes important for care coordination and may inform patient-centered approaches to improve care for patients with HF.
Clinical Trial Considerations in Neuro-oncology

Clinical trials play a critical role in discovering new treatments, but the path to regulatory approval can be cumbersome and time consuming. Efforts to increase the efficiency and interpretability of clinical trials within the neuro-oncology community have focused on standardization of response assessment, development of consensus guidelines for clinical trial conduct, decentralization of clinical trials, removal of barriers to clinical trial accrual, and re-examination of patient eligibility criteria.
Mutarotation of sugars in solution. 1. History, basic kinetics, and composition of sugar solutions.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the reactions involved and the rates of the interconversion of the molecular species present. The changes that take place can be studied by a variety of chemical and physical measurements. The optical rotation of a freshly prepared solution of α-D-glucose changes on standing. Some mutarotation reactions encountered in the carbohydrate field are the inversion of sucrose, isomerizations in alkali, interconversions of acids and lactones, migrations of acyl groups, formation of glycosides, and isomerizations and hydrolysis of glycosylamines, phenylosazones, phenylhydrazones, and related compounds. Mutarotation is used to restrict the simple isomerizations that occur when reducing sugars are dissolved in water and other solvents and to reactions after which the unchanged sugar can be recovered.