cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On mechanistic reasoning in unexpected places: the case of population genetics

A strong case has been made for the role and value of mechanistic reasoning in process-oriented sciences, such as molecular biology and neuroscience. This paper shifts focus to assess the role of mechanistic reasoning in an area where it is neither obvious nor expected: population genetics. Population geneticists abstract away from the causal-mechanical details of individual organisms and, instead, use mathematics to describe population-level, statistical phenomena. This paper, first, develops a framework for the identification of mechanistic reasoning where it is not obvious: mathematical and mechanistic styles of scientific reasoning. Second, it applies this framework to demonstrate that both styles are integrated in modern investigations of evolutionary biology. Characteristic of the former, applied population genetic techniques provide statistical evidence for associations between genotype, phenotype, and fitness. Characteristic of the latter, experimental interventions provide causal-mechanical evidence for associations between the very same relationships, often in the same model organisms. The upshot is a richer perspective of how evolutionary biologists build evidence for hypotheses regarding adaptive evolution and a general framework for assessing the scope of mechanistic reasoning across the sciences.
Learning to Create Value Under Conditions of Uncertainty

Can organizations learn to create value under conditions of uncertainty? This paper seeks to provide an empirical answer to this question by drawing on two theoretical literatures that provide diff...
DAYS ALIVE AND OUTSIDE OF HOSPITAL IS GREATER AMONG PATIENTS WITH TRANSTHYRETIN CARDIAC AMYLOIDOSIS COMPARED TO LIGHT CHAIN CARDIAC AMYLOIDOSIS AFTER INITIAL HOSPITALIZATION

Cardiac amyloidosis results in a restrictive cardiomyopathy that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Days alive and outside of hospital (DAOH) is a metric that has been applied in heart failure to delineate the patient's journey but has not to date been delineated for patients
Betaine (tri­methyl­ammonio­acetate) binary compound with sodium iodide

In the title compound, catena-poly[[[bis­[2-(tri­methyl­aza­nium­yl)acetato-κO]sodium]-di-μ-aqua-[di­aqua­sodium]-di-μ-aqua] diiodide], {[Na2(C5H11NO2)2(H2O)6]I2}n, both Na+ ions have distorted octa­hedral environments (coordination number 6). The coordination polyhedra of the sodium ions are connected by common edges forming an infinite chain of ions along [100]. The chains and betaine zwitterions are assembled into infinitive layers via hydrogen bonds. These layers are connected via electrostatic attraction between iodide ions and positive tri­methyl­aza­nium groups in the crystal.
Paper mechatronics: present and future

Creative iterative development over the past several years has generated an extensive set of computational tools, learning resources, and materials in the realm of paper mechatronics - an educational craft and design approach that weaves computational and mechanical elements into established traditions of children's construction with paper. Here, we both reflect upon our past and recent work of paper mechatronics, then look to the near- to medium-term future to speculate upon both the emerging trends in technology design and expanding learning potential of this medium for children along material, spatial, and temporal dimensions. We summarize lessons learned through various children's workshops with our materials; and we use these lessons as a foundation upon which to create a wide variety of novel tools and activities in educational papercrafting. We speculate upon the frontiers of this work based on current convergences and shifts in tangible creative computational media.
Defining the Roles of Growth Factors during Early Mammalian Development

It is universally accepted that differential gene expression is central to the regulation of embryonic development. In reality, very little is known about the genes involved and how their expression is modulated. Although important regulatory genes are likely to be expressed during early development in response to environmental cues generated by the interactions of cells, even less is known about these events [see Chapter 7 (Ed.)]. Environmental cues that regulate cell behavior can take various forms, including: direct cell-cell contact, interactions with extracellular matrices, and interactions with diffusible factors. Diffusible factors can function over both short and long distances. Consequently, diffusible factors can be expected to affect the behavior of many cells and, in all probability, each factor affects the behavior of more than one cell type.
Analysis on Continuum Health Effects of Child Labour

Human right agencies across the globe in collaboration with scientists have advocated against the negative health effects of child labor. A lot of values have been given to measures to eradicate the social problem. The aim is to examine some inducing causes of ongoing global child labor.The paper also highlights the linkage between the social problem and possible health risks in underage working children. The paper focuses special attention to developing countries with the highest incidence of child labor in Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper also attempts to shed some light on culture similarities in low-income countries and examines some legislative loopholes and recommends some measures which may aid in child labor elimination efforts.
C1 Continuity via Constraints for 4th Order Problems

Publisher Summary In this chapter, π represents a domain in the plane whose boundary consists of a finite number of non-intersecting polygonal arcs. The chapter explains a method for calculating the Ritz-Galerkin approximation from S n that views S n as a subspace of a larger space with explicit basis satisfying constraints. These constraints are not redundant because the matrix determining the Ritz-Galerkin approximation is invertible. The constraint method is studied in the engineering literature and is found to be competitive with other techniques.
Pathogenesis of Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus.

Publisher Summary Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus belongs to the family of picornaviridae. Picornaviruses are small ( “pico”), phylogenetically related RNA viruses. Based on different biochemical and biophysical characteristics picornaviruses are subdivided into four groups: enteroaphthovirus (foot-and-mouth disease virus), cardiovirus [encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), Mengo virus], and rhinovirus (human rhinovirus). Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus was originally classified among the picornaviridae as an enterovirus because of its biological similarities with poliovirus. Further comparison of the complete genome of TMEV BeAn 8386 strain identifies remarkable similarities at the level of nucleotides and predicted amino acids between BeAn and the cardioviruses EMCV and Mengo virus. Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus is a single-stranded nonenveloped RNA virus. The viral RNA is of positive sense, having the same polarity as mRNA. Viral mRNA lacks the cap structure found at the 5’ end of almost all eukaryotic mRNAs.
Atomic-resolution studies of complex oxide materials using in-situ scanning transmission electron microscopy

Layered cobaltate materials have been the focus of many recent studies due to the wide variety of electrical, magnetic, and structural properties they exhibit. These phenomena have been commonly associated with the presence of mixed Co-valence, spin transitions and the presence of tilted octahedral CoO2 layers.[1] In this presentation, we will use aberration-corrected Z-contrast imaging and EELS in combination with insitu heating/cooling experiments to study the spin-state transition in perovskite oxide LaCoO3 and the effects of charge transfer in misfit-layered Ca3Co4O9.
Mechanisms of Antisense Transport across the Blood–Brain Barrier

Treatment of diseases of the central nervous system with antisense holds great promise. However, rapid degradation in the circulation and the presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) limit the ability of unmodified antisense to cross the BBB. As a result, several strategies are being investigated for modifying antisense (e.g., attachment to biotin, antibodies, peptides, or glycosylated polycations) to improve its ability to cross the BBB. In addition, some types of unmodified antisense analogues are resistant to enzymatic degradation, and two of these types can cross the BBB. A peptide nucleic acid antisense molecule directed at a neurotensin receptor and a phosphorothioate antisense molecule directed at the amyloid β protein cross the BBB in amounts sufficient to affect brain function. A saturable mechanism termed the oligonucleotide transport system–1 (OTS–1) is responsible for the passage of the phosphorothioate antisense across the BBB. Modified and unmodified antisense molecules that interact with and cross the BBB should be useful tools in investigating how the brain works and in treating diseases of the central nervous system.
In vivo imaging of lung metastatic melanoma in a murine model: Signal amplification using bispecific antibody and Tc-99m labeled polymers

1410 Objectives: In vivo imaging of small metastatic melanoma lung lesions with two-step, Bispecific antibody (BiSpAb) and Tc-99m labeled DTPA-succinyl-Polylysine 15Kd (Tc-PL)was tested in a murine model. Methods: C57 B1/6 mice (n=9) were injected iv with 300,000 B16F10 melanoma cells. 14 days later, 10 μg of BiSpAb (nucleosome specific pan cancer antibody 2C5, covalently linked to anti-DTPA antibody 6C31H3 by thioether linkage) were injected iv. The next day 11 MBq Tc-PL were injected iv and in vivo imaging initiated at 15 min, 2 and/or 24 hours. In vivo and ex vivo target(T) to background(B) activity ratios were obtained by computer planimetry. Results: In 5 mice, with sub-optimal Tc-PL labeling, blood activity cleared in 2 hours. Tumor uptake was seen in 1 mouse with BiSpAb/Tc-PL. No lung lesions were seen at necropsy in the other 2. No in vivo or ex vivo lesions were seen in 2 control mice. In 2 BiSpAb/Tc-PL (1 died from over-anesthesia) or 2 Tc-PL injected mice, in vivo and ex vivo tumor activities were seen in the former and not in the latter. Mean in vivo T/B ratio for BiSpAb/PL (14.1+/-2.4 [+/-SD]) was significantly greater than that of PL alone (3.7+/-1.9, P Conclusions: Signal amplification by Tc-PL and BiSpAb targeting enabled visualization of very small metastatic melanoma lung lesions by in vivo gamma imaging.
Hepatoblastoma—The Evolution of Biology, Surgery, and Transplantation

The most common primary malignant liver tumor of childhood, hepatoblastoma has increased in incidence over the last 30 years, but little is still known about its pathogenesis. Discoveries in molecular biology provide clues but have yet to define targeted therapies. Disease-free survival varies according to stage, but is greater than 90% in favorable risk populations, in part due to improvements in chemotherapeutic regimens, surgical resection, and earlier referral to liver transplant centers. This article aims to highlight the principles of disease that guide current treatment algorithms. Surgical treatment, especially orthotopic liver transplantation, will also be emphasized in the context of the current Children’s Oncology Group international study of pediatric liver cancer (AHEP-1531).
Fronto-striatal activity predicts anhedonia and positive empathy subtypes.

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, globus pallidus, and nucleus accumbens are important components of the reward circuit in the brain; and prior research suggests individuals with damage to these regions feel less pleasure (i.e., are anhedonic). However, little is known about how these brain regions relate to vicarious pleasure. Pilot fMRI data were collected from 20 participants (Mage = 22, SD = 7.0, 63% female) during a validated empathy induction paradigm that utilized video clips extracted from the television show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” to elicit empathic happiness (i.e. vicarious happiness) when targets display positive affect, and either empathic cheerfulness (i.e. the tendency to want to cheer someone up) or empathic concern (i.e. vicarious sadness) when targets display negative affect. Participants also completed the novel “Happy Faces” task—a behavioral measure of anhedonia—while fMRI was collected. fMRI data during task completion were used to predict trait empathy measured via self-report outside of the scanner, and accuracy on the “Happy Faces” task. Results indicate that globus pallidus activity during empathic concern-eliciting video clips significantly predicted self-reported trait empathic cheerfulness (R2 = 26%, p = 0.045). Furthermore, greater dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activity during the Happy Faces task predicted accurate performance on the task (R2 = 34%, p < .05); and greater nucleus accumbens shell activity during the Happy Faces task predicted greater trait empathic happiness (R2 = 38%, p < .05). These results suggest that fronto-striatal circuitry contributes to our experience of anhedonia, empathic happiness, and empathic cheerfulness.
Considerations for using the 4 mm Plate Geometry in the Dynamic Shear Rheometer for Low Temperature Evaluation of Asphalt Binders

The low-temperature properties of asphalt binder have attracted attention in recent years thanks to an increase in the use of reclaimed asphalt pavements (RAP). Traditional methods to evaluate the ...
The Effects of Linguistic and Demographic Features of Chinese International Students on Placement Test Levels in Higher Education: Logistic Regression

Higher education institutions in the United States provide placement essay tests to ensure international students’ readiness for college courses. The high-stakes nature of placement tests makes educators and researchers seek significant components of differentiating levels of placement tests. This study investigated the prediction of two levels (i.e., low vs. intermediate) of 411 placement test essays written by Chinese international students and examined the influence of linguistic and demographic features on placement test levels through logistic regression. The results show that the type-token ratio (TTR), tokens, college type, and graduate status were significant indicators to differentiate students’ placement test essays. However, several demographic features were not statistically significant. The results may shed light on improving writing skills of Chinese international students who scored intermediate or low in the placement tests.
Thermal Conductivities of Copper and Copper Alloys

We will give first a description of the apparatus, giving in general its features, advantages and disadvantages. Then we will list the commercial coppers which were measured, giving the chemical composition, manufacturing techniques, common usages, and types found on the usual stock shelf. We will finally give several graphs of the thermal conductivity of the tested materials, stress the differences, and make suggestions for the best utilization of the different types of coppers and their alloys.
The formation of α-Al2O3 from θ-Al2O3: The relevance of a “critical size” and: Diffusional nucleation or “synchro-shear”?

The coarsening of θ-Al2O3 crystals to a 'critical size' is often interpreted as the first step in the shear nucleation of α-Al2O3. The existence of this so-called critical size has also been used to explain the observation that α-Al2O3 “nuclei” are generally twice as large as the crystals in the θ-Al2O3 matrix. This paper discusses the important issues in the nucleation of α-Al2O3 from θ-Al2O3. A few key experiments are also presented to clarify the nucleation process. It is concluded that a critical θ-Al2O3 crystal size is not a prerequisite for α-Al2O3 nucleation, but is primarily a result of the incubation time required to produce α-Al2O3 nuclei by diffusional nucleation. It is proposed that the large observed α-Al2O3 crystal size also does not result from a shear nucleation event in a 'critical size' θ-Al2O3 crystal, but is due to the intrinsically low α-Al2O3 nucleation density, together with rapid growth of α-Al2O3 after nucleation.w
An Investigation of Grid-enabled Tree Indexes for Spatial Query Processing

Two-dimensional tree-based spatial indexes (e.g., the quad tree or the k-d tree) are commonly used for indexing spatial data. However, both types of indexes have limitations. Although two-dimensional trees can handle skewed data, index traversal and tree maintenance can be expensive. In contrast, a spatial grid has low update overhead, but is not suitable for skewed data. In this paper, we investigate the augmentation of a grid into tree-based indexing for spatial query processing. We introduce the Grid-Enabled Tree index (the GE-Tree, for short); a hybrid spatial index that augments a grid into two-dimensional tree indexes. In particular, we investigate the use of a grid at the leaf level of a quadtree to facilitate tree navigation and maintenance. At the expense of the extra storage, the GE-Tree achieves constant-time tree search, insert, update, and leaf node neighbor finding operations, in contrast to the log time in conventional two-dimensional trees, e.g., O(log S) in S ×S space as in the case of the quadtree. Also, we illustrate how the range and k-nearest-neighbor operations can be facilitated using grid-enabled trees. Experimental results using real spatial data highlight the tradeoffs of when using grid-enabled trees pay off in contrast to regular space-partitioning trees for range and k-NN operation. Also, the GE-Tree outperforms conventional tree or grid-only indexes by up to two times for leaf node access operations, e.g., as in point-location search, neighbor-finding search operations, and the k-nearest neighbor search.
Relative activity comparison of aminocyclopyrachlor to pyridine carboxylic acid herbicides

The pyridine carboxylic acid (PCA) herbicide family can exhibit differential activity within and among plant species, despite molecular resemblances. Aminocyclopyrachlor (AMCP), a pyrimidine carboxylic acid, is a recently discovered compound with similar use patterns to those of the PCA family; however, relative activity among PCAs and AMCP is not well understood. Therefore, the objective of this study was to quantify relative activity among aminopyralid, picloram, clopyralid, triclopyr, and AMCP in canola, squash, and okra using dose-response whole-plant bioassays. Clopyralid was less active than all other herbicides in all species and did not fit dose-response models. Aminopyralid and picloram performed similarly in squash (ED50 = 21.1 and 23.3 g ae ha–1, respectively). Aminopyralid was 3.8 times and 1.7 times more active than picloram in canola (ED50 = 60.3 and 227.7 g ha–1, respectively) and okra (ED50 = 10.3 and 17.3 g ha–1, respectively). Triclopyr (ED50 = 37.3 g ha–1) was more active than AMCP (ED50 = 112.9 g ha–1) and picloram in canola. Aminocyclopyrachlor (ED50 = 6.6 g ha–1) and triclopyr (ED50 = 7.8 g ha–1) were more active in squash than aminopyralid and picloram. In okra, AMCP (ED50 = 14.6 g ha–1) and aminopyralid (ED50 = 10.3 g ha–1) performed similarly but were more active than triclopyr (ED50 = 88.2 g ha–1). Herbicidal activity among AMCP and PCAs was vastly different despite molecular similarities that could be due to variable target-site sensitivity among species.Nomenclature: aminocyclopyrachlor; aminopyralid; clopyralid; picloram; triclopyr; canola, Brassica napus L.; squash, Cucurbita pepo L.; okra, Abelmoschus esculentus L.
Social Facilitation and Social Loafing: Opposite Sides of the Same Coin

Abstract In this chapter, we discuss social facilitation theory and research and highlight its interrelationships with social loafing. Work on social facilitation and social loafing proceeded along independent lines until the 1980s, when research (Harkins, 1987; Jackson & Williams, 1985; Sanna, 1992) suggested that loafing and facilitation are actually complementary effects. In both cases, evaluation is central. In social facilitation, working together enhances evaluation potential; in social loafing, working together reduces it. After presenting this unified model, we review research that examines the roles played by the three potential sources of evaluation that are present in these paradigms: the experimenter, coactors, and the self. Finally, we note that we are no closer now to identifying the process(es) that mediate(s) these evaluation effects than the investigators were when they began this work over 100 years ago. We present an account, mere effort ( Harkins, 2006 ), identified through a molecular task analysis that may explain performance effects in these domains.
Trajectory evolution and changes in the structure of movement amplitude time series.

Abstract With increases in the index of difficulty [ID = log2(2A/W)], the time-series structure of movement amplitude values shift from pink to white noise. The appearance of pink noise at low-ID levels may be attributed to the dominance of feedforward control processes, while the appearance of white noise at high-ID levels may be attributed to increased reliance on visuomotor feedback processes needed to guide movement into the target region. Such within-movement corrections may disrupt the pink-noise time-series correlations that exist in the absence of feedback processing. In our prior work, movement amplitude was defined as the distance moved from movement start until its end. In contrast, in the current study we examined the time-series structure of movement amplitude values at each of 10 different percentages of time into the movement trajectory—ranging between 10 and 100% of the movement time (%MT)—at a low (2 bits) and a high (5 bits) ID level. We hypothesized that at both ID levels a pink-noise time-series structure would be seen during the early portions of the movement trajectory when feedforward control should dominate, but during later portions of the trajectory, increased whitening of time-series structure would emerge only under ID 5 as there would be an increased need to engage visuomotor feedback processes. Under ID 2, the same level of pink noise should be maintained across all %MT levels as movement should be under the same level of feedforward control throughout the trajectory. The only unpredicted result occurred at ID 2 where the pink-noise level increased with increases in %MT. We hypothesize that such strengthening of pink noise as a function of %MT reflects the engagement of early trajectory corrections superimposed on the initial feedforward signal, but, once such initial adjustments were made, feedforward processes increasingly took over as the trajectory neared its goal.
Chapter 11 – Hearing conservation

Publisher Summary This chapter introduces a hearing conservation program; the basic objective of this program is to prevent occupationally induced hearing loss. A wide variety of different strategies for reducing the level of noise or the duration of a worker's exposure to injurious levels is available, including engineering control strategies, managerial practices, and the use of personal protective equipment. An ambient monitoring plan is designed that is conducted by personnel who are thoroughly knowledgeable regarding both regulatory requirements, and the technical, and scientific methods, and instrumentation associated with the measurement of sound. Employees must have access to the results of monitoring data, it should be assumed that they have the right to question and evaluate not only those data, but also the overall design of the monitoring program. The company must provide audiometric testing to affected employees at no cost to those employees.
Predicting the distribution of a rare chipmunk (Neotamias quadrivittatus oscuraensis): comparing MaxEnt and occupancy models.

Species distribution models (SDMs) use presence records to determine the relationship between species occurrence and various environmental variables to create predictive maps describing the species' distribution. The Oscura Mountains Colorado chipmunk (Neotamias quadrivittatus oscuraensis) occurs in central New Mexico and is of conservation concern due to its relict distribution and threats to habitat. We previously created an occupancy model for this taxon, but were concerned that the model may not have adequately captured the ecological factors influencing the chipmunk's distribution because of the data hungry nature of occupancy modeling. MaxEnt is another SDM method that is particularly effective at testing large numbers of variables and handling small sample sizes. Our goal was to create a MaxEnt model for the Oscura Mountains Colorado chipmunk and to compare it with our previous occupancy model for this taxon, either to strengthen our original assessment of the relevant ecological factors or identify additional factors that were not captured by our occupancy model. We created MaxEnt models using occurrence records from baited camera traps and opportunistic surveys. We adjusted model complexity using a novel method for tuning both the regularization multiplier and feature class parameters while also performing variable selection. We compared the distribution maps and variables selected by MaxEnt to the results of our occupancy model for this taxon. The MaxEnt and occupancy models selected similar environmental variables and the overall spatial pattern of occurrence was similar for each model. Likelihood of occurrence was positively related to elevation, pinon woodland vegetation type, and topographic variables associated with escarpments. The overall similarities between the MaxEnt and occupancy models increased our confidence of the ecological factors influencing the distribution of the chipmunk. We conclude that MaxEnt offers advantages for predicting the distribution of rare species, which can help inform conservation actions.
Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy study of high-palladium dental alloys. Part II: behavior at active and passive potentials.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) analyses were performed on three high-palladium alloys and a gold–palladium alloy at active and passive potentials in five electrolytes that simulated body fluid and oral environmental conditions. All four alloys were previously found to have excellent corrosion resistance in these in vitro environments. Before performing the EIS analyses, alloy specimens were subjected to a clinically relevant heat treatment that simulated the firing cycles for a dental porcelain. It was found that the EIS spectra varied with test potential and electrolyte. Diffusional effects, related to the dealloying and subsequent surface enrichment in palladium of the high-palladium alloys, along with species adsorption and passivation, were revealed at both active and passive potentials, although these effects were more evident at the passive potentials.
Turn up the heat!: using heat maps to visualize suspicious code to help students successfully complete programming problems faster

Automated grading systems provide feedback to students in a variety of ways, but they typically focus on identifying incorrect program behaviors. Such systems provide notices of test case failures or runtime errors, but without debugging skills, students often become frustrated when they don't know where to start addressing these defects. Borrowing from work in software engineering research related to automated defect location, we leverage previous research describes using statistical fault localization (SFL) techniques to identify the probable locations of defects in student coding assignments. The goal is to use these SFL techniques to provide a scaffold for students, to direct their debugging efforts without giving too much guidance, and thus minimizing the learning associated with investigating the defects. After determining the “suspiciousness” for each line of code involved in the defect, we create a “heat map” visualization overlay onto their source code of the “suspiciousness” scores to visually guide a student's attention to parts of their code that are most likely to contain problems. This paper describes the results of an analysis comparing two semesters of CS 1114: Introduction to Software Design (CS1) students, one which had access to the heat map feedback (Fall 2017: n~170), and one that did not (Fall 2015: n~270). The results show that when the heat maps were available, students found it easier to make improvements on their code from submission to submission, as well as spending less time overall achieving the maximum score on the instructor testing assessments. In fact, while we were optimistic in the impact of the heat map feedback, the results we observed were unexpectedly strong. To address this concern, we conducted an additional study, using student submissions from our Spring 2019 CS 1 students (n~230). The results of the second analysis confirmed the results of the first.
“Yes, and … ” continuing the scholarly conversation about pandemic pedagogy

Deanna: “Ok, we’ve got 3 years and 12 issues ahead of us. The sky's the limit … let's go BIG! What wicked problems do we want to tackle?” Kyle: “well, there's the obvious—the election … DACA … hate...
Enhancing Teacher Self-Efficacy in Multicultural Classrooms and School Climate: The Role of Professional Development in Multicultural Education in the United States and South Korea:

The modern classroom is becoming increasingly diverse, with many countries seeking to develop teacher self-efficacy in multicultural classrooms (TSMC) to effectively teach diverse students by offer...
Concept of a Random Variable

The concept of a random variable and its importance in modeling the outcomes of experiments are presented. While providing traditional coverage of discrete and continuous random variables, densities, distribution functions, and conditional densities, readers are also introduced to mixed random variables as well as mixture densities to reflect the current trends in modeling of data from experiments. The examples of transformation of variables presented offer a peek into the various engineering applications. Unlike other books, data analytic techniques are presented again with the offering of receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) and performance measures such as the area under the ROC curve (AUC), positive predictive values, etc., thereby relating the subject matter to the topics covered in Chap. 2. Chapter summary provided offers detailed descriptions of densities and their properties. Multiple examples of transformation of variables are also presented. Examples and exercises include traditional analytical ones alongside data-based ones requiring computational approaches.
Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) Thwarts the Beneficial Effects of Calorie Restriction and Metformin

Calorie restriction (CR), dietary modification, and exercise is the recommended therapy to reverse obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In the liver, calorie restriction shifts hepatic metabolism from lipid storage to lipid utilization pathways, such as AMP-activated kinase (AMPK). Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), a fluorosurfactant previously used in stain repellents and anti-stick materials, can increase hepatic lipids in mice following relatively low dose exposures. To test the hypothesis that PFOS administration interferes with CR adult male C57BL/6N mice were fed ad libitum or a 25% reduced calorie diet concomitant with either vehicle (water) or 100 μg PFOS/kg/day via oral gavage for 6 weeks. CR alone improved hepatic lipids and glucose tolerance. PFOS did not significantly alter CR-induced weight loss, white adipose tissue mass, or liver weight over 6 weeks. However, PFOS increased hepatic triglyceride accumulation, in both mice fed ad libitum and subjected to CR. This was associated with decreased phosphorylated AMPK expression in liver. Glucagon (100 nM) treatment induced glucose production in hepatocytes, which was further upregulated with PFOS (2.5 μM) co-treatment. Next, to explore whether the observed changes were related to AMPK signaling, HepG2 cells were treated with metformin or AICAR alone or in combination with PFOS (25 μM). PFOS interfered with glucose lowering effects of Metformin, and AICAR treatment partially impaired PFOS-induced increase in glucose production. In 3T3-L1 adipocytes, metformin was less effective with PFOS co-treatment. Overall, PFOS administration disrupted hepatic lipid and glucose homeostasis and interfered with beneficial glucose lowering effects of calorie restriction and Metformin.
A study of ultrasound-guided perineural injection of the caudal cervical spinal nerve roots in equine cadavers.

Abstract Objectives To develop an ultrasound-guided cervical perineural injection technique for horses and to evaluate and compare the distribution of contrast agent among perineural, intra-articular and periarticular injections. Study design Prospective, experimental cadaveric study. Animals A total of 14 equine cadaveric necks. Methods Bilateral ultrasound-guided perineural injection technique for the caudal cervical spinal nerve roots (CSNRs 5–7) was developed. Paramagnetic or iodinated contrast was injected and the distribution of contrast was evaluated using magnetic resonance (MR) or computed tomography (CT) imaging, respectively. The presence of contrast in the CSNR region was determined by an observer unaware of the technique used for each injection performed. The ability of the perineural injection technique to distribute contrast agent to the CSNR region was compared with intra-articular and periarticular injection techniques. Results Perineural injection delivered contrast agent to the CSNR region 100% of the time and was significantly different when compared with intra-articular injection (p = 0.008). There was no difference in ability to deliver contrast agent to the CSNR region between the perineural and periarticular injection techniques or between the intra-articular and periarticular injection techniques. Conclusion and clinical relevance The ultrasound-guided perineural injection technique developed in this study accurately delivered contrast agent to the CSNR region in equine cadavers. This technique could potentially be used for the diagnosis and treatment of cervical pain in horses, particularly in cases where intra-articular cervical articular process joint injections have not been beneficial. Further studies are necessary to assess the effectiveness of the ultrasound-guided perineural injection technique in live horses.
The Heterogeneity Metabolism of Renal Cell Carcinomas

According to data from the American Cancer Society, cancer is one of the deadliest health problems globally. Annually, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) causes more than 100,000 deaths worldwide [1-4], posing an urgent need to develop effective treatments to increase patient survival outcomes. New therapies are expected to address a major factor contributing to cancer's resistance to standard therapies: oncogenic heterogeneity. Gene expression can vary tremendously among different types of cancers, different patients of the same tumor type, and even within individual tumors; various metabolic phenotypes can emerge, making singletherapy approaches insufficient. Novel strategies targeting the diverse metabolism of cancers aim to overcome this obstacle. Though some have yielded positive results, it remains a challenge to uncover all of the distinct metabolic profiles of RCC. In the quest to overcome this obstacle, the metabolic oriented research focusing on these cancers has offered freshly new perspectives, which are expected to contribute heavily to the development of new treatments.
Advancing human disease research with fish evolutionary mutant models

Model organism research is essential to understand disease mechanisms. However, laboratory-induced genetic models can lack genetic variation and often fail to mimic the spectrum of disease severity. Evolutionary mutant models (EMMs) are species with evolved phenotypes that mimic human disease. EMMs complement traditional laboratory models by providing unique avenues to study gene-by-environment interactions, modular mutations in noncoding regions, and their evolved compensations. EMMs have improved our understanding of complex diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and aging, and illuminated mechanisms in many organs. Rapid advancements of sequencing and genome-editing technologies have catapulted the utility of EMMs, particularly in fish. Fish are the most diverse group of vertebrates, exhibiting a kaleidoscope of specialized phenotypes, many that would be pathogenic in humans but are adaptive in the species' specialized habitat. Importantly, evolved compensations can suggest avenues for novel disease therapies. This review summarizes current research using fish EMMs to advance our understanding of human disease.
Ptychopy: GPU framework for ptychographic data analysis

X-ray ptychography imaging at synchrotron facilities like the Advanced Photon Source (APS) involves controlling instrument hardwares to collect a set of diffraction patterns from overlapping coherent illumination spots on extended samples, managing data storage, reconstructing ptychographic images from acquired diffraction patterns, and providing the visualization of results and feedback. In addition to the complicated workflow, ptychography instrument could produce up to several TB’s of data per second that is needed to be processed in real time. This brings up the need to develop a high performance, robust and user friendly processing software package for ptychographic data analysis. In this paper we present a software framework which provides functionality of visualization, work flow control, and data reconstruction. To accelerate the computation and large datasets process, the data reconstruction part is implemented with three algorithms, ePIE,1 DM2 and LSQML3 using CUDA-C on GPU.
Exercise attenuates juvenile irradiation-induced skeletal muscle decline by improving calcium handling and decreasing mitochondrial stress.

Proper skeletal muscle development, maintenance, and function is necessary for movement. Decline in muscle function with age and disease is directly associated with a diminished quality of life. Radiation therapy is commonly used to treat certain forms of childhood cancer based on the cytotoxic effects of radiation on cancerous tissue. However, the adverse effects elicited by radiation are not always constrained to the diseased tissue and can accelerate muscle wasting and decline, which is particularly detrimental to juvenile cancer survivors. Exercise is effective at limiting muscle decline and improving muscle function in various diseases. Thus, we hypothesized 1 mo of voluntary endurance exercise following juvenile radiation treatment will reduce muscle damage and restore functional deficits that occur following radiation. Here, we show that following juvenile radiation, 1 mo of voluntary wheel running significantly improved muscle function in mice by promoting adaptations in intracellular calcium handling, improving mitochondrial turnover and reducing oxidative stress resulting from radiation-induced mitochondrial damage. These findings help guide caregivers in their approach to childhood cancer survivor recovery and have implications for other diseases where similar mechanisms of calcium handling and mitochondrial function are disrupted.
Full-field displacement and strain rosettes by moiré interferometry

A cross-line phase-type specimen grating was interrogated by moire interferometry techniques to produce full-field fringe patterns of three displacement components:U x ,U y , andU45. ForU45, sensitivity was 1/1700 mm/fringe (1/43,000 in./fr). Closely packed fringes with much information content were obtained. Fringe patterns of strain components⎵ x ,⎵ y and⎵45 were produced by mechanical shearing (or optical differentiation) of the displacement patterns; a shearing distance of only 0.6 mm (0.025 in.) was used. The rosette method yields complete strain information from these three components of normal strain—which were derived from three direct derivatives of displacement. Consequently, the need for cross-derivatives of displacement, which are highly sensitive to accidental rigid-body rotations, is circumvented.
Introduction To Composite Materials

The combination of materials to form a new material system with enhanced material properties is a well documented historical fact. For example, the ancient Jewish workers during their tenure under the Pharaohs used chopped straws in bricks as a means of enhancing their structural integrity. The Japanese Samurai warriors were known to use laminated metals in the forging of their swords to obtain desirable material properties. Even certain artisans from the Mediterranean and Far East used a form of composite technology in molding art works which were fabricated by layering cut paper in various sizes for producing desired shapes and contours.
The Search for Environmental Rights

For nearly two decades, efforts have been made to formulate an environmental right. Among the most prominent examples are the Stockholm Declaration of 19721 and, more recently, the statement of principles for environmental protection and sustainable development of the United Nation's World Commission on Environment and Development.2 Parallel endeavors also have been made in the domestic context. Proposals have been made periodically in the United States for amendments to the federal Constitution,3 and a number of states have adopted broad-ranging environmental provisions in their constitutions.4
EGFR signaling defines Mcl-1 survival dependency in neuroblastoma

The pediatric solid tumor neuroblastoma (NB) often depends on the anti-apoptotic protein, Mcl(-)1, for survival through Mcl(-)1 sequestration of pro-apoptotic Bim. High affinity Mcl(-)1 inhibitors currently do not exist such that novel methods to inhibit Mcl(-)1 clinically are in high demand. Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) regulate Mcl(-)1 in many cancers and play a role in NB survival, yet how they regulate Bcl(-)2 family interactions in NB is unknown. We found that NB cell lines derived to resist the Bcl(-)2/-xl/-w antagonist, ABT-737, acquire a dependence on Mcl(-)1 and show increased expression and activation of the RTK, EGFR. Mcl(-)1 dependent NB cell lines derived at diagnosis and from the same tumor following relapse also have increased EGFR expression compared to those dependent on Bcl(-)2. Inhibition of EGFR by shRNA or erlotinib in Mcl(-)1 dependent NBs disrupts Bim binding to Mcl(-)1 and enhances its affinity for Bcl(-)2, restoring sensitivity to ABT-737 as well as cytotoxics in vitro. Mechanistically treatment of NBs with small molecule inhibitors of EGFR (erlotinib, cetuximab) and ERK (U0126) increases Noxa expression and dephosphorylates Bim to promote Bim binding to Bcl(-)2. Thus, EGFR regulates Mcl(-)1 dependence in high-risk NB via ERK-mediated phosphorylation of Bim such that EGFR/ERK inhibition renders Mcl(-)1 dependent tumors now reliant on Bcl(-)2. Clinically, EGFR inhibitors are ineffective as single agent compounds in patients with recurrent NB, likely due to this transferred survival dependence to Bcl(-)2. Likewise, EGFR or ERK inhibitors warrant further testing in combination with Bcl(-)2 antagonists in vivo as a novel future combination to overcome therapy resistance in the clinic.
Root hairs confer a competitive advantage under low phosphorus availability

Root hairs are presumably important in the acquisition of immobile soil resources such as phosphorus. The density and length of root hairs vary substantially within and between species, and are highly regulated by soil phosphorus availability, which suggests that at high nutrient availability, root hairs may have a neutral or negative impact on fitness. We used a root-hairless mutant of the small herbaceous dicot Arabidopsis thaliana to assess the effect of root hairs on plant competition under contrasting phosphorus regimes. Wildtype plants were grown with hairless plants in a replacement series design at high (60 μm phosphate in soil solution) and low (1 μm phosphate in soil solution) phosphorus availability. At high phosphorus availability, wildtype and mutant plants were equal in growth, phosphorus acquisition, fecundity and relative crowding coefficient (RCC). At low phosphorus availability, hairless plants accumulated less biomass and phosphorus, and produced less seed when planted with wildtype plants. Wildtype plants were unaffected by the presence of hairless plants in mixed genotype plantings. Wildtype plants had RCC values greater than one while hairless plants had RCC values less than one. We conclude that root hairs increase the competitiveness of plants under low phosphorus availability but do not reduce growth or competitiveness under high phosphorus availability.
Glyphosate-Degrading Microorganisms from Industrial Activated Sludge

A plating medium was developed to isolate N-phosphonomethylglycine (glyphosate)-degrading microorganisms, with glyphosate as the sole phosphorus source. Two industrial biosystems treating glyphosate wastes contained elevated microbial counts on the medium. One purified isolate metabolized glyphosate to aminomethylphosphonic acid, mineralizing this accumulating intermediate during log growth. This microorganism has been identified as a Flavobacterium species.
Autonomous and nonautonomous Notch functions for embryonic muscle and epidermis development in Drosophila

The Notch (N) gene encodes a cell signaling protein that mediates neuronal and epidermal determination in Drosophila embryos. N also regulates several aspects of myogenic development; embryos lacking N function have too many muscle founder cells and fail to properly differentiate somatic muscle. To identify cell-autonomous requirements for Notch function during muscle development, we expressed a Notch minigene in the mesoderm, but not in the ectoderm, of amorphic N-embryos. In these embryos, muscle founder hypertrophy is rescued, indicating that Notch is autonomously required by mesoderm cells to regulate the proper number of muscle founders. However, somatic muscle differentiation is only partially normalized, suggesting that Notch is also required in the ectoderm for proper muscle development. Additionally, mesodermal expression of Notch partially rescues epidermal development in overlying neurogenic ectoderm. This is unexpected, since previous studies suggest that Notch is autonomously required by proneural ectoderm cells for epidermal development. Mesodermal expression of a truncated Notch protein lacking the extracellular domain does not rescue ventral epidermis, suggesting that the extra-cellular domain of Notch can non-autonomously rescue epidermal development across germ layers.
Niphatynes, methoxylamine pyridines from the marine sponge, niphates SP.

Abstract Niphatyne A and B, which are novel pyridine derivatives with alkyne and methoxylamine functionality, have been isolated from a sponge.
Are Typical Senior Center Group Activities Better Suited for Women than for Men

Abstract A study was conducted among persons participating in group activities at three rural Montana senior centers. Differences found in personality styles as measured by the Personal Style Inventory suggest that group activities may encourage female over male participation.
Coupling of Large-Amplitude Side Chain Motions to the Excited-State H-Atom Transfer of Perylene Quinones: Application of Theory and Experiment to Calphostin C

The excited-state intramolecular H-atom transfer reactions of hypocrellins B and A are compared with those of calphostin C. On the basis of the results of transient absorption measurements and ab initio quantum mechanical calculations, it is concluded that large-amplitude conformational changes are coupled to the H-atom transfer in calphostin C, just as they are in hypocrellins A and B. The calculations on this very large molecule with a very complex ground electronic state potential energy surface were made possible by the use of highly scalable electronic structure theory codes on large parallel computers.