cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mice deficient in poly(C)-binding protein 4 are susceptible to spontaneous tumors through increased expression of ZFP871 that targets p53 for degradation

Poly(C)-binding protein 4 (PCBP4), also called MCG10 and a target of p53, plays a role in the cell cycle and is implicated in lung tumor suppression. Here, we found that PCBP4-deficient mice are prone to lung adenocarcinoma, lymphoma, and kidney tumor and that PCBP4-deficient mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) exhibit enhanced cell proliferation but decreased cellular senescence. We also found that p53 expression is markedly reduced in PCBP4-deficient MEFs and mouse tissues, suggesting that PCBP4 in turn regulates p53 expression. To determine how PCBP4 regulates p53 expression, PCBP4 targets were identified by RNA immunoprecipitation followed by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). We found that the transcript encoding ZFP871 (zinc finger protein 871; also called ZNF709 in humans) interacts with and is regulated by PCBP4 via mRNA stability. Additionally, we found that ZFP871 physically interacts with p53 and MDM2 proteins. Consistently, ectopic expression of ZFP871 decreases-whereas knockdown of ZFP871 increases-p53 protein stability through a proteasome-dependent degradation pathway. Moreover, loss of ZFP871 reverses the reduction of p53 expression by lack of PCBP4, and thus increased expression of ZFP871 is responsible for decreased expression of p53 in the PCBP4-deficient MEFs and mouse tissues. Interestingly, we found that, like PCBP4, ZFP871 is also regulated by DNA damage and p53. Finally, we showed that knockdown of ZFP871 markedly enhances p53 expression, leading to growth suppression and apoptosis in a p53-dependent manner. Thus, the p53-PCBP4-ZFP871 axis represents a novel feedback loop in the p53 pathway. Together, we hypothesize that PCBP4 is a potential tissue-specific tumor suppressor and that ZFP871 is part of MDM2 and possibly other ubiquitin E3 ligases that target p53 for degradation.
New Record of the Tick Ixodes affinis in the United States

The type specimen of Ixodes affinis Neumann, 1899, was collected in Costa Rica, from an ocelot, Felis pardalis . Other records are from Brazil, Guatemala, Panama, Southern Mexico, and the United States (Cooley and Kohls 1945).
Middle Powers under Regional Hegemony: To Challenge or Acquiesce in Hegemonic Enforcement

This paper presents a model of the international behavior of a middle power located in a regional hegemony. Integration of structural realist and game-theoretic paradigms is used to derive hypotheses about the expected behavior of a middle power in a dispute involving the regional hegemon and another middle or small power in the region. Among the attractions of such an approach are that 1) actor preferences are derived parsimoniously, and 2) structural realist hypotheses are formulated in a rigorous and testable fashion. Four hypotheses are developed, each corresponding to different versions of the regional hegemony game. The explanatory power of the model is illustrated by two Latin American cases, chosen because the international relations literature has emphasized the constraints on middle and small powers' ability to disagree with the United States. The cases examine Brazilian and Mexican behavior when the U.S. attempted to pressure a right-wing government (Argentina during World War II) and a left-wing government (Cuba in the 1960s). Shifts in Brazilian and Mexican foreign policy closely correspond with the predictions of the model.
Disturbances Generated by Random and Periodic Surface Roughness: Experiments and Models

Experiments and simulations that consider how three-dimensional surface roughness affects laminar-to-turbulent transition have a history of mixed success. Two-dimensional roughness has been well understood as a generator of Tollmien‐Schlichting waves. Three-dimensional roughness has been less well understood but is now the subject of increased attention associated with the development of transient growth theory. Experiments that address the receptivity and growth of transient disturbances generated by roughness arrays and models of these processes are reviewed here. Additionally, an extension to random, distributed roughness that takes advantage of manufactured surfaces is described and implemented. The approach lends itself to rigorous comparisons between experimental and simulation data and theoretical models.
Epidemiological investigation of Clonorchiasis sinensis in Dalian area

Objective To investigate the prevalence of Clonorchiasis sinensis in three northern cities of Dalian aera.Methods Six species of freshwater fish were collected and tested by squash method and animal inoculation,at the same time the local inhabitants were investigated by questionnaire,stool detection and medical examination.Results All six kinds of fish in Pulandian and Wafangdian were found to be infected with metacercaria,the infection rate was 71.5%,and the highest infection rate was Abbottina rivularis among six kinds of fish.Those people who get accustomed to eating raw fish were not found to be infected with liver flukes,but eggs of Clonorchis sinensis were found in cholecysts of two investigated dog.Conclusion There is natural foci of Clonorchiasis sinensis in Dalian aera.
Evaluation of the characteristics of electrocardiogram in neonate with myocardial lesion

Objective To study the characteristics of electrocardiogram (ECG) in neonate with myocardial lesion. Methods ECG were performed on 46 cases of neonates who were clinically diagnosed as myocardial lesion and on 32 cases of surgical neonates without myocardial lesion. The characteristics of ST-T segment were compared in two groups. Results The ST-T segment changes are found in neonate with myocardial lesion with total positive rate of 93% (43/46). T wave inversion in Ⅰ and AVL-lends were prominent (47.83%,43/46). Followed by ST segment depression in V_1 and V_3-lends 19.57% (9/46) and prolonged ST segment in Ⅰ and AVL-lends 10.87% (5/46). In sever cases ST segment elevation 10.87%(5/46) and abnormal Q-wave may be found (6.52%,3/46). Conclusion Abnormal changes of ST-T segment of ECG were frequently found in neonates with myocardial lesion. ECG maybe is a high sensitive and specificity in evaluating myocardial lesion in neonates.
Searches for invisible decay modes of the Higgs boson with the CMS detector

Abstract A search for Higgs boson invisible decay modes has been carried out in events where the Higgs boson is produced in association with a Z boson as well as through vector boson fusion. In the associated production search, electron, muon and b-quark pair decay modes of the Z boson are considered. The analyses are based on pp collision data collected with the CMS detector at the LHC collider at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, corresponding to integrated luminosities of 5 fb −1 and 20 fb −1 , respectively. No evidence of a signal has been found and upper limits on the invisible branching fraction are obtained and interpreted in a Higgs portal model of dark matter interactions.
Playing up and playing down cultural identity: Introducing cultural influence and cultural variability.

OBJECTIVES Cultural variability (CV) is introduced as an overlooked dimension of cultural identity development pertaining to emphasizing and de-emphasizing the influence of a single cultural identity (i.e., cultural influence [CI]) on daily interactions and behaviors. The Cultural IDentity Influence Measure (CIDIM) is introduced as a novel measure of CI and CV, and hypothesis-driven validation is conducted in two samples along with exploration of associations between CV and well-being. METHOD A multicultural sample of 242 emerging adults participated in a daily diary study (Mage = 19.95 years, SDage = 1.40) by completing up to eight daily online surveys containing the CIDIM, criterion measures (ethnic identity, other group orientation, ethnic identity salience and daily variability in salience, social desirability), and measures of personal and interpersonal well-being. A second validation sample (n = 245) completed a 1-time survey with the CIDIM and a subset of criterion measures. RESULTS Results using both samples show evidence of CI and CV and demonstrate the validity, reliability, and domain-sensitivity of the CIDIM. Further, CV made unique and positive contributions to predicting interaction quality after accounting for ethnic salience and variability in ethnic salience. An analytic approach utilizing standard deviations produced near-identical results to multilevel modeling and is recommended for parsimony. CONCLUSIONS Ethnic minority and majority individuals make daily adjustments to play up and play down the influence of cultural identity on their social interactions and behaviors, and these adjustments predict interpersonal well-being. Cultural influence and cultural variability contribute to our emerging understanding of cultural identity as dynamic and agentic. (PsycINFO Database Record
Making New Materials from Viral Capsids

The protein capsids of viruses represent a fascinating class of regular geometric objects formed through efficient self-assembly processes. By capitalizing on the ability of these multivalent structures to arrange large numbers of synthetic functional groups, viral capsids have now found use in three major areas of materials science: (1) as templates for the growth and/or positioning of inorganic nanoparticles; (2) as carriers for use in biomedical imaging and drug delivery; and (3) as scaffolds for photoactive and chemically catalytic groups. This chapter surveys the recent progress in these fields and examines the various chemical techniques that have been used to add new chemical functionality to these structures.
Exosomes as biomimetic tools for stem cell differentiation: Applications in dental pulp tissue regeneration

Achieving and maintaining safe and reliable lineage specific differentiation of stem cells is important for clinical translation of tissue engineering strategies. In an effort to circumvent the multitude of problems arising from the usage of growth factors and growth factor delivery systems, we have explored the use of exosomes as biomimetic tools to induce stem cell differentiation. Working on the hypothesis that cell-type specific exosomes can trigger lineage-specific differentiation of stem cells, we have evaluated the potential of exosomes derived from dental pulp cells cultured on under growth and odontogenic differentiation conditions to induce odontogenic differentiation of naive human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and human bone marrow derived stromal cells (HMSCs) in vitro and in vivo. Results indicate that the exosomes can bind to matrix proteins such as type I collagen and fibronectin enabling them to be tethered to biomaterials. The exosomes are endocytosed by both DPSCs and HMSCs in a dose-dependent and saturable manner via the caveolar endocytic mechanism and trigger the P38 mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. In addition, the exosomes also trigger the increased expression of genes required for odontogenic differentiation. When tested in vivo in a tooth root slice model with DPSCs, the exosomes triggered regeneration of dental pulp-like tissue. However, our results indicate that exosomes isolated under odontogenic conditions are better inducers of stem cell differentiation and tissue regeneration. Overall, our results highlight the potential exosomes as biomimetic tools to induce lineage specific differentiation of stem cells. Our results also show the importance of considering the source and state of exosome donor cells before a choice is made for therapeutic applications.
FE simulation of honeycomb core sandwich panels for the body

Lightweight honeycomb sandwich structures have been increasingly employed in the automotive industry: from parcel-shelf to load-floor applications. There can be an infinite variety of possible solutions adopted for these parts depending on the choice of the core geometries and of the materials. In the design phase an efficient prediction tool is needed — Rieter has developed a mathematical model based on a multi-scale asymptotic technique.
Disorder brings order to fracture theory

The useful life of components as diverse as the metal interconnects in silicon chips to the parts of a jumbo jet is limited by flaws in the materials they are made from. But an understanding of the interplay between random flaws (the usual way flaws occur) and failure is elusive. Large-scale numerical simulations on very simplified models are only just beginning to produce some deeper understanding of the problem.
Positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging of adrenocorticotropic hormone-producing small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix.

Ectopic ACTH-dependent Cushing syndrome-inducing small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix, undiagnosed by computed tomography and whole-body octreotide scintigraphy, was identified using F-18 FDG PET/CT imaging. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Perceptions of Attractiveness and Parental Dependency Mediate the Relationship Between Actual Parental Dependency and Human Caregiving Intentions for Non-mammalian Infants

Konrad Lorenz (Zietschrift fur Tierpsychologie, 5, 234–409, 1943) proposed that pedomorphic characteristics (Kindchenschema) in infants and parental caregiving responses to these characteristics co-evolved in species with parental care. Previous research on Kindchenschema has generally utilized human infants and computer-generated or manipulated images of human infants as stimuli. A recent study provided the first evidence that humans perceived non-mammalian infants requiring parental care as more attractive and more dependent on parents and expressed greater caregiving intentions for them compared to non-mammalian infants not requiring parental care (Kruger, Ethology, 121, 1–6, 2015; Kruger and Miller, Human Ethology Bulletin, 31, 15–24, 2016). The current study is the first to demonstrate that ratings of attractiveness and dependency mediated both the relationship of species parental dependency with caregiving intentions and the relationship between class (avian vs. reptilian) and caregiving intentions. Individual differences in perceptions of attractiveness and dependency also predicted caregiving intentions. Thus, we provide a new form of empirical evidence consistent with Lorenz’ (Zietschrift fur Tierpsychologie, 5, 234–409, 1943) proposal for the convergent co-evolution of Kindchenschema and caregiving reactions.
Parseval Space-Frequency Localized Frames on Sub-Riemannian Compact Homogeneous Manifolds

The objective of this chapter is to describe a construction of Parseval bandlimited and localized frames on sub-Riemannian compact homogeneous manifolds.
Understanding Black Family Functioning: A Holistic Perspective

This article contends that, in order to enhance knowledge of the functioning of African American families, a holistic perspective must be incorporated by analysts and researchers. This holistic app...
Cabozantinib for the treatment of patients with metastatic variant histology renal cell carcinoma (vhRCC): A retrospective study.

478Background: Cabozantinib (C) prolongs overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) that progressed on first-line VEGFR-TKI. No standard of care systemic therapy exists for the management of patients with metastatic vhRCC. Methods: This is a retrospective, IRB approved study of patients with vhRCC who received C at MD Anderson Cancer Center from January 2014 till June 2016. Information collected from the medical records included the baseline characteristics, toxicity, dose reductions, and OS. A blinded radiologist assessed the radiographic response using RECIST v1.1. Descriptive statistics, the Kaplan Meier method and the log rank test were applied using Microsoft Excel and GraphPad Prism version 6 software. Results: Median PFS was 8.1 months (mos) (95% CI: 5.8-17.8), and median OS was 22.7 mos (95% CI:11-NR), median follow up 13.3 months (95% CI: 9.6-17) . There were no significant differences detected between patients wit...
Approximating the Riemann Zeta and Related Functions

In this chapter we study the well-known function G, as well as some other functions that have the same zeros as the Riemann zeta function ζ(z) in the critical strip. To this end, we first derive a Fourier series expansion of G. Next, we use asymptotic methods to derive another function which also has the same zeros in the critical strip as ζ(z), but which lacks the extreme oscillatory behavior and extreme amplitude values that ζ(z) possesses, and which is therefore more suitable for computational purposes.
Low-loss and energy efficient modulation in silicon photonic waveguides by adiabatic elimination scheme

High-speed Silicon Photonics calls for solutions providing a small footprint, high density, and minimum crosstalk, as exemplified by the recent development of integrated optical modulators. Yet, the performances of such modulators are hindered by intrinsic material losses, which results in low energy efficiency. Using the concept of Adiabatic Elimination, here, we introduce a scheme allowing for the low-loss modulation in densely packed waveguides. Our system is composed of two waveguides, whose coupling is mediated by an intermediate third waveguide. The signal is carried by the two outer modes, while the active control of their coupling is achieved via the intermediate dark mode. The modulation is performed by the manipulation of the central-waveguide mode index, leaving the signal-carrying waveguides unaffected by the loss. We discuss how Adiabatic Elimination provides a solution for mitigating signal losses and designing relatively compact, broadband, and energy-efficient integrated optical modulators.
Bridging User Research and Interface Design Through Information-Driven Conceptual Modeling:

The significance of user research in usability analysis, and the role it plays in a properly-executed design process, is a well-studied aspect of human-computer interaction. Yet user research does ...
Germline Genome Protection on an Evolutionary Treadmill.

Preservation of genome integrity is a conserved, essential function, yet genome defense machinery evolves rapidly. In this issue of Developmental Cell, Parhad et al. (2017) harness an evolution-guided approach to define the genetic determinants of genome defense and to reveal the molecular and cellular mechanisms shaped by adaptive evolution.
Questions, Discussions, and Notes

(1933). Questions, Discussions, and Notes. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 40, No. 9, pp. 547-548.
Surgical intervention for skin cancer in organ transplant recipients.

An important complication of solid organ transplantation and chemical immunosuppression is the potential for the development of multiple skin cancers, especially squamous cell carcinomas [1]. The magnitude and severity of these malignancies are troublesome. They are often multiple, are associated with verrucal lesions, are more likely to occur at a younger age, and have a higher recurrence rate than in those who do not receive transplants, are capable of rapid growth, have an aggressive histological growth pattern [2, 3], and are prone to metastasis on the trunk and extremities as well as the head and neck. More than half of patients receiving organ transplants develop tumors. In most transplant recipients, these tumors occur de novo and are associated with a history of sun exposure, the types of immunosuppressant medications, the degree of immunosuppression, and sometimes the human papillomavirus or human herpesvirus 8 [4]. Usually, in patients with skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma occurs more frequently than squamous cell carcinoma, but in transplant recipients, this frequency is reversed. Compared with generally observed occurrence rates, squamous cell carcinomas are increased between 65- and 250 fold, basal cell carcinomas 10 fold, malignant melanoma 3- to 5 fold, and Kaposi’s sarcoma 84 fold. The severity of Merkel cell carcinoma is increased, as is that of atypical fibroxanthoma. Cancers typically begin 7 to 8 years after the patient receives the transplant, but this interval is shorter, 3 years or less, in heart transplant recipients. The number of malignancies and the percentage of patients involved increase with the duration of immunosuppression. For example, in Australia, 7% of patients had skin cancer after 1 year and 70% after 20 years [5]. The trend is the same in the Netherlands but to a lesser degree; 0.2% had skin cancer after 1 year and 40% after 20 years. The surgical approach to skin cancers in transplant recipients is detailed below. In general, treatment is based on high-risk factors such as rapid growth, potential for or presence of metastasis, and the number of occurrences of the same type of cancer present at the time of the initial dermatological examination. Standard surgical treatments include electrodesiccation and curettage, excision with or without
Personality, situation, and creativity.

Because creativity has to do with the production of new ideas, one might think that its study rightly falls within the domain of cognitive psychology. Of course, creativity involves cognition, but it involves a type of cognition that seems only to occur within a matrix of associated motivational, attitudinal, and personalogical traits. Thus, to understand creativity, the person as a whole must be considered. Because of this, theories about the creative process have traditionally been personality theories rather than purely cognitive theories. In 1949, Guilford (1950) pointed out that we did not know enough about creativity. We can never know too much about the creative personality, but we certainly know more than I could hope to cover in this chapter. For more information, the reader may consult the reviews of the literature by Dellas and Gaier (1970), Wallach (1970), Stein (1974), Taylor and Getzels (1975), and Barron and Harrington (1981).
DeltaFrame-BP: An Algorithm Using Frame Difference for Deep Convolutional Neural Networks Training and Inference on Video Data

Inspired by the success of deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with back-propagation (BP) training on large-scale image recognition tasks, recent research efforts concentrated on expending deep CNNs toward more challenging automatized video analysis, such as video classification, object tracking, action recognition and optical flow detection. Video comprises a sequence of images (frames) captured over time in which image data is a function of space and time. Extracting three-dimensional spatial-temporal features from multiple frames becomes a key ingredient for capturing and incorporating appearance and dynamic representations using deep CNNs. Hence, training deep CNNs on video involves significant computational resources and energy consumption due to extended number of frames across the time line of video length. We propose DeltaFrame-BP, a deep learning algorithm, which significantly reduces computational cost and energy consumption without accuracy degradation by streaming frame differences for deep CNNs training and inference. The inherent similarity between video frames due to high fps (frames per second) in video recording helps achieving high-sparsity and low-dynamic range data streaming using frame differences in comparison with raw video frames. According to our simulation, nearly 25 percent energy reduction was achieved in training using the proposed accuracy-lossless DeltaFrame-BP algorithm in comparison with the standard Back-propagation algorithm.
Association and Clinical Outcomes of Marijuana in Patients with Intracerebral Hemorrhage.

Abstract Objective An epidemiological relationship between intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and marijuana use is not known. Data about the impact of marijuana on ICH patient's outcomes remain scarce. Methods The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was investigated from 2004 to 2011 to identify cohorts with marijuana (N = 2,496,165) and nonmarijuana (N = 116,163,454) usage. Patients with a primary diagnosis of ICH were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Edition, Clinical Modification codes. Univariable analysis was used to compare demographics and risk factors for ICH, and to study patient outcomes in ICH patients with or without marijuana use. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to study marijuana as independent predictor of ICH and to assess its effect on patient outcomes. Results The prevalence of ICH was greater in the marijuana cohort (relative risk: 1.11, confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-1.16). However, marijuana use (odds ratio [OR]: 1.063; CI: .963-1.173) was not an independent predictor of ICH after adjusting for other illicit drug use and ICH risk factors. For in-hospital outcomes, marijuana users had fewer adverse discharge dispositions (OR .78; CI: .72-.86), reduced length of hospitalization (OR .54; CI: .48-.61), and lower hospitalization cost (OR .72; CI: .64-.81) but higher in-hospital mortality (OR 1.26; CI: 1.12-1.41). Conclusions Marijuana users are more likely to be admitted with ICH, however, marijuana is not an independent risk factor for ICH. Although marijuana has paradoxical effect on ICH related outcomes, higher mortality rates in marijuana users offset any potential protective effect among ICH patients.
Hookah-Related Posts to Twitter From 2017 to 2018: Thematic Analysis.

Background: Hookah (or tobacco waterpipe) use has recently become prevalent in the United States. The contexts and experiences associated with hookah use are unclear, yet such information is abundant via publicly available hookah users’ social media postings. Objective: In this study, we utilized Twitter data to characterize Twitter users’ recent experiences with hookah. Methods: Twitter posts containing the term “hookah” were obtained from April 1, 2017 to 29 March, 2018. Text classifiers were used to identify clusters of topics that tended to co-occur in posts (n=176,706). Results: The most prevalent topic cluster was Person Tagging (use of @username to tag another Twitter account in a post) at 21.58% (38,137/176,706) followed by Promotional or Social Events (eg, mentions of ladies’ nights, parties, etc) at 20.20% (35,701/176,706) and Appeal or Abuse Liability (eg, craving, enjoying hookah) at 18.12% (32,013/176,706). Additional topics included Hookah Use Behavior (eg, mentions of taking a “hit” of hookah) at 11.67% (20,603/176,706), Polysubstance Use (eg, hookah use along with other substances) at 10.95% (19,353/176,706), Buying or Selling (eg, buy, order, purchase, sell) at 9.37% (16,552/176,706), and Flavors (eg, mint, cinnamon, watermelon) at 1.66% (2927/176,706). The topic Dislike of Hookah (eg, hate, quit, dislike) was rare at 0.59% (1043/176,706). Conclusions: Social events, appeal or abuse liability, flavors, and polysubstance use were the common contexts and experiences associated with Twitter discussions about hookah in 2017-2018. Considered in concert with traditional data sources about hookah, these results suggest that social events, appeal or abuse liability, flavors, and polysubstance use warrant consideration as targets in future surveillance, policy making, and interventions addressing hookah.
Adherence and Outcomes with Urate-Lowering Therapy: A Site-Randomized Trial.

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to test a pharmacist-led intervention to improve gout treatment adherence and outcomes. Methods We conducted a site-randomized trial (n=1463 patients) comparing a 1-year, pharmacist-led intervention to usual care in patients with gout initiating allopurinol. The intervention was delivered primarily through automated telephone technology. Co-primary outcomes were the proportion of patients adherent (proportion of days covered ≥0.8) and achieving a serum urate Results Patients who underwent intervention were more likely than patients of usual care to be adherent (50% vs 37%; odds ratio [OR] 1.68; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.30, 2.17) and reach serum urate goal (30% vs 15%; OR 2.37; 95% CI 1.83, 3.05). In the second year (1 year after the intervention ended), differences were attenuated, remaining significant for urate goal but not for adherence. The intervention was associated with a 6%-16% lower gout flare rate during year 2, but the differences did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions A pharmacist-led intervention incorporating automated telephone technology improved adherence and serum urate goal in patients with gout initiating allopurinol. Although this light-touch, low-tech intervention was efficacious, additional efforts are needed to enhance patient engagement in gout management and ultimately to improve outcomes.
New Anatomical Information on the Late Cretaceous Bony Fish, Micropycnodon kansasensis (Actinopterygii: Pycnodontiformes), from the Niobrara Chalk of Western Kansas, U.S.A.

Micropycnodon kansasensis (Hibbard and Graffham 1941) is an extinct bony fish that lived in the Western Interior Seaway of North America during the Late Cretaceous. In this paper, we describe previously unreported anatomical features of the fossil fish based on a partial skeleton from the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk in Gove County, Kansas, U.S.A. The specimen consists of the anterior four-fifths of the fish, including a nearly complete skull with incisiform premaxillary and dentary teeth as well as a vomerine tooth plate and paired prearticular tooth plates. The body possessed imbricate squamation with platy bony scales posterior to the head that decreased in size from dorsal to ventral. Additionally, the lateral sides of the fish were covered with blunt tubercle-type denticles to sharp hook-shaped conical denticles. Furthermore, at least the posteroventral rim of the body was equipped with a series of laterally compressed, sagittally-arranged, triangular denticles. The collection of denticles and platy scales likely served as forms of protection against predators. Radiographic imaging of the specimen suggests that the vertebral column may consist of fused vertebrae. The fossil fish had a deep body with an estimated standard length of approximately 23 cm, indicating a slightly larger specimen than the holotype, and a slightly smaller specimen than the paratype.
Growth of Dehalococcoides spp. and increased abundance of reductive dehalogenase genes in anaerobic PCB-contaminated sediment microcosms

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contaminate 19% of US Superfund sites and represent a serious risk to human and environmental health. One promising strategy to remediate PCB-contaminated sediments utilizes organohalide-respiring bacteria (OHRB) that dechlorinate PCBs. However, functional genes that act as biomarkers for PCB dechlorination processes (i.e., reductive dehalogenase genes) are poorly understood. Here, we developed anaerobic sediment microcosms that harbor an OHRB community dominated by the genus Dehalococcoides. During the 430-day microcosm incubation, Dehalococcoides 16S rRNA sequences increased two orders of magnitude to 107 copies/g of sediment, and at the same time, PCB118 decreased by as much as 70%. In addition, the OHRB community dechlorinated a range of penta- and tetra-chlorinated PCB congeners including PCBs 66, 70 + 74 + 76, 95, 90 + 101, and PCB110 without exogenous electron donor. We quantified candidate reductive dehalogenase (RDase) genes over a 430-day incubation period and found rd14, a reductive dehalogenase that belongs to Dehalococcoides mccartyi strain CG5, was enriched to 107 copies/g of sediment. At the same time, pcbA5 was enriched to only 105 copies/g of sediment. A survey for additional RDase genes revealed sequences similar to strain CG5’s rd4 and rd8. In addition to demonstrating the PCB dechlorination potential of native microbial communities in contaminated freshwater sediments, our results suggest candidate functional genes with previously unexplored potential could serve as biomarkers of PCB dechlorination processes.
Fourier Light-Field Microscopy: An Integral Model and Experimental Verification

We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally Fourier light-field microscopy, a new imaging scheme for volumetric bioimaging. The experimental results agree well with the theoretical model.
SPRoute: A Scalable Parallel Negotiation-based Global Router

The complexity of global routing increases rapidly as chip designs grow larger. In many global routers, maze routing is the most time-consuming stage. One way to reduce its runtime is parallelization. Existing parallel maze routers work either by identifying and routing independent nets or by partitioning the chip area into non-overlapping regions. In this paper, we describe a scalable parallel global router called SPRoute that initially exploits net-level parallelism, automatically lowers the parallelism when livelock is identified, and finally switches to fine-grain parallelism to guarantee convergence. We evaluate SPRoute on a 28-core machine on the ISPD 2008 global routing contest benchmark suite. It achieves an average speedup of 11.5 with a wirelength penalty of 0.6% on overflow-free benchmarks, and an average speedup of 4.5 with a total overflow penalty of 7% on hard-to-route benchmarks over sequential SPRoute. Compared to FastRoute 4.1, SPRoute achieves an average speedup of 11.0 and 3.1 on overflow-free benchmarks and hard-to-route benchmarks, respectively.
Patterns of transaminase elevation in rhabdomyolysis versus acetaminophen toxicity.

Abstract Background Transaminase elevations can occur from liver injury or in the setting of rhabdomyolysis. The goal of this study is to evaluate indices that could differentiate acetaminophen toxicity from muscle injury in the setting of transaminase elevations. Methods A retrospective chart review of consecutive cases reported to our regional poison center. Patients with transaminase (AST and ALT) elevation were grouped as those with acetaminophen exposure (AT) and those with elevated creatine phosphokinase (CPK) without evidence of acetaminophen exposure (RHB). Results Of the 345 patients included in the study, elevated AST/ALT levels were attributed to rhabdomyolysis in 168 patients and attributed to acetaminophen toxicity in 177 patients. The median AST: ALT values also differed between groups, with patients in the RHB group had higher median ratios (p Conclusions Elevated transaminases due to liver injury from acetaminophen ingestion had a different pattern than elevated transaminases due to rhabdomyolysis. Lower AST:ALT ratios were found in acetaminophen cases, however, the specificity using a ratio threshold of ≤1 would be 83%.
Adapting to Adaptive Learning

Unfamiliarity with adaptive courseware and its uses may be a barrier to implementation. This article provides insights from a qualitative case study that was conducted to illuminate experiences and...
Size and History Combine in Allometry Relation of Technology Systems

Complex systems often exhibit amazingly regular behavior through allometry relations (ARs) between their functional attributes and their size. An empirical allometry relation (EAR) between two prop...
Haploinsufficiency as a disease mechanism in GNB1-associated neurodevelopmental disorder

BACKGROUND GNB1 encodes a subunit of a heterotrimeric G-protein complex that transduces intracellular signaling cascades. Disruptions to the gene have previously been shown to be embryonic lethal in knockout mice and to cause complex neurodevelopmental disorders in humans. To date, the majority of variants associated with disease in humans have been missense variants in exons 5-7. METHODS Genetic sequencing was performed on two patients presenting with complex neurological phenotypes including intellectual disability, hypotonia, and in one patient seizures. Reported variants were assessed using RNA sequencing and functional BRET/BiFC assays. RESULTS A splice variant reported in patient 1 was confirmed to cause usage of a cryptic splice site leading to a truncated protein product. Patient 2 was reported to have a truncating variant. BRET and BiFC assays of both patient variants confirmed both were deficient in inducing GPCR-induced G protein activation due to lack of dimer formation with the Gγ subunit. CONCLUSION Here, we report two patients with functionally confirmed loss of function variants in GNB1 and neurodevelopmental phenotypes including intellectual disability, hypotonia, and seizures in one patient. These results suggest haploinsufficiency of GNB1 is a mechanism for neurodevelopmental disorders in humans.
Flame enhancement of ethylene/methane mixtures by ozone addition

Abstract As one of the longest lasting species in plasma-assisted combustion, ozone has a pronounced effect on ignition and flame propagation. Many previous studies, however, have only investigated the combustion enhancement by ozone for single-component fuels. In the present study, the impact of ozone addition on multi-component fuel mixtures is examined through one-dimensional laminar flame simulations across a range of temperatures, pressures, residence times, and mixture compositions. Due to the presence of an alkene (ethylene), ozone is consumed through pre-flame ozonolysis reactions even at room temperature. The flame speed is shown to be dependent on the domain length (residence time), and a new reference flame speed is defined for ozonolysis-assisted flame propagation. It is also found that the flame speed enhancement by ozone is highly nonlinear, as a small amount of ethylene produces a disproportionate boost in the laminar flame speed. Finally, the competition between ozonolysis, ozone decomposition, and other ozone reactions in a mixture of alkenes and alkanes is examined in detail. Increases in the pressure, temperature, and equivalence ratio (for rich mixtures) favor ozonolysis reactions over other ozone reactions. The results of this study provide important insights into the timescales, length scales, and reaction pathways that govern ozone-assisted combustion of multi-component fuels in real combustors.
Nine Months of Labor: The Psychosocial Weight of a Pregnancy After a Gestational Loss:

This article reviews the literature on the experience of pregnancy for women who suffered a prior perinatal loss through miscarriage or stillbirth. Both psychological and social perspectives are co...
A Transdisciplinary Socio-Technical Systems Approach: Wireless Solutions for the Digital Divide

The digital divide limits access to education, employment, and healthcare – particularly in rural areas. Unfortunately, most wireless solutions have been developed for urban and suburban environments. However, by using transdisciplinary systems approaches, we can highlight gaps and opportunities to resolve this divide by addressing technology, policy, and community challenges. By creating a digital entity to represent the problem space, we can tailor solutions to specific scenarios.
Many ways to land upright: novel righting strategies allow spotted lanternfly nymphs to land on diverse substrates.

Unlike large animals, insects and other very small animals are so unsusceptible to impact-related injuries that they can use falling for dispersal and predator evasion. Reorienting to land upright ...
High-Precision Priority Encoder Based Integer Division Algorithm

In the past years, the demand for high-precision arithmetic has significantly increased, which raised the need for devices that can handle high-precision computations. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a hardware for high-precision division. The proposed hardware is implemented for 1024 bits, and it can be easily extended to larger bits. The hardware performs division on integer numbers represented in sign and magnitude, and produces quotient and remainder. A priority encoder is used to improve the convergence rate, and to make the dividend and divisor lengths not required as inputs. To reduce complexity, most of the components were implemented in two levels. We provide an upper limit and a closed-form expression for the convergence rate. We synthesized the hardware on a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) device. We simulated the hardware at the bit level in Matlab using Monte Carlo simulations. We also simulated the hardware in ModelSim. Compared to the existing approaches, the results show that for 64-bit division, our hardware reduces the number of LUTs and slices by 18.4% and 67.5%, respectively, and improves delay by 50.3%. As for 256-bit division, our hardware reduces the number of slices by 60.7% and improves delay by 33.25%, however, it increases the number of LUTs by 11.32%.
Buddhist Inclusivism: Attitudes Towards Religious Others

Although Christians have well-developed responses to other religions, the counterpart scholarship from Buddhists has thus far lagged behind. Breaking new ground, Buddhist Inclusivism analyzes the currently favored position towards religious others, inclusivism, in Buddhist traditions. Kristin Beise Kiblinger presents examples of inclusivism from a wide range of Buddhist contexts and periods, from Pali texts to the Dalai Lama's recent works. After constructing and defending a preferred, alternative form of Buddhist inclusivism, she evaluates the thought of particular contemporary Buddhists such as Thich Nhat Hanh and Masao Abe in light of her ideal position. This book offers a more systematic treatment of Buddhist inclusivism than has yet been provided either by scholars or by Buddhist leaders.
A role for beta-2 adrenergic receptors in the moderate aerobic exercise-modulated T regulatory cell function within a murine OVA-driven allergic asthmatic lung (HYP7P.287)

We have shown moderate aerobic exercise can increase both the number and function of T regulatory (TREG) cells that suppress Th2 responses of an ovalbumin (OVA)-driven murine asthma model by an unknown mechanism. Exercise can communicate with TREG cells with the systemic release of catecholamines that bind to Beta-2-adrenergic receptors (β2-AR) and generate cAMP signals that can affect cell function. In these studies, we investigated a role for β2-AR in the exercise-mediated modulation of TREG cell function. For these studies, TREG cells (CD4+CD25+) were depleted from female BALB/cJ mice by i.v. injection of anti-CD25. Either 500,000 wt or β2-AR-/- TREG cells were adoptively transferred into the TREG-depleted BALB/cJ mice. Mice were sensitized/challenged with OVA to mimic allergic asthma pathogenesis. Mice were moderately exercised 45 min post-OVA challenge on a treadmill for 1hr 3x/wk for 4wks. Upon protocol completion, mice were examined for changes in TREG cell suppressive function and their resulting TREG cAMP levels. Our results show that exercise increases TREG function in vitro as compared with sedentary controls. However, the increase in TREG function of exercised TREG cells was abrogated in the absence of β2-ARs. We conclude that moderate aerobic exercise attenuates asthma-related airway inflammation via a mechanism that involves increased TREG cell function modulated by their expression of β2-ARs and subsequent production of cAMP.
Genomic Variation by Whole-Genome SNP Mapping Arrays Predicts Time-to-Event Outcome in Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: A Comparison of CLL and HapMap Genotypes

Genomic abnormalities, such as deletions in 11q22 or 17p13, are associated with poorer prognosis in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We hypothesized that unknown regions of copy number variation (CNV) affect clinical outcome and can be detected by array-based single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping. We compared SNP genotypes from 168 untreated patients with CLL with genotypes from 73 white HapMap controls. We identified 322 regions of recurrent CNV, 82 of which occurred significantly more often in CLL than in HapMap (CLL-specific CNV), including regions typically aberrant in CLL: deletions in 6q21, 11q22, 13q14, and 17p13 and trisomy 12. In univariate analyses, 35 of total and 11 of CLL-specific CNVs were associated with unfavorable time-to-event outcomes, including gains or losses in chromosomes 2p, 4p, 4q, 6p, 6q, 7q, 11p, 11q, and 17p. In multivariate analyses, six CNVs (ie, CLL-specific variations in 11p15.1-15.4 or 6q27) predicted time-to-treatment or overall survival independently of established markers of prognosis. Moreover, genotypic complexity (ie, the number of independent CNVs per patient) significantly predicted prognosis, with a median time-to-treatment of 64 months versus 23 months in patients with zero to one versus two or more CNVs, respectively (P = 3.3 × 10−8). In summary, a comparison of SNP genotypes from patients with CLL with HapMap controls allowed us to identify known and unknown recurrent CNVs and to determine regions and rates of CNV that predict poorer prognosis in patients with CLL.
Care versus Justice: Odera Oruka and the Quest for Global Justice

The Kenya-born philosopher Henry Odera Oruka (1944 - 1995) persistently, and consistently, made proposals for a different moral approach to addressing, and possibly solving, some of the root causes of human conflicts across the world. I will call it “taking suffering seriously” as the basis of his idea of a global-level collective justice which, for him, raised the idea of the ethics of care to the level of global justice. I propose in this paper to show that this concern can be found to be pervasive in Oruka’s works, connecting many of his well known positions as well as less known ones, and to discuss its philosophical merits. Key Words Odera Oruka, Justice, Care, African philosophy
Fluid leadership in dynamic contexts

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine an historical account of an effective leader who was able to draw from multiple styles of leadership, and choose a dominant style based upon contextual constraints and demands context, and subordinate behaviors associated with leadership styles not suited to the context. Design/methodology/approach – To identify his prominent style at each leadership episode, we critically analyzed Nehemiah’s leadership role transitions across 13 chapters of text using sociohistorical method and a quasi-repeated treatment design via qualitative comparative analysis. Findings – We found that Nehemiah adapted his behaviors such that his prominently displayed leadership style varied based on dynamic configurations of demands placed on him during his rebuilding efforts. As Nehemiah progressed through distinct stages of his mission, he differentially emphasized tactics associated with different styles of leadership in response to the contextual demands that were most salient du...
Time-Resolved Tapping-Mode Atomic Force Microscopy

Atomic force microscopy has unprecedented potential for quantitative mapping of material-specific surface properties on the nanoscale. Unfortunately, methods developed for local stiffness measurements suffer from low operational speeds and they require large forces to be applied to the surface, limiting resolution and precluding measurements on soft materials such as polymers and biological samples. On the other hand, tapping-mode AFM, which is well suited to soft materials due to its gentle interaction with the surface, cannot be used to recover information on the tip–sample interaction (and hence, on the material properties) due to limited mechanical bandwidth offered by the resonant AFM probe. In this chapter, a technique, called Time-resolved Tapping-mode Atomic Force Microscopy, designed for rapid quantitative material characterization on the nanoscale is described. The technique is based on time-resolved measurement of tip–sample interaction forces during tapping-mode AFM imaging by a specially designed micromachined AFM probe. The probe has an integrated high-bandwidth interferometric force sensor that is used to resolve tip–sample interaction forces with high sensitivity and temporal resolution. In the first part of the chapter, the theory, design, and fabrication of the probes are described in detail. Then quantitative force measurements with microsecond time resolution in tapping-mode imaging are presented. Finally, higher harmonic images based on the interaction force measurements are presented for various samples, demonstrating the range of applications of the technique.