cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
What’s New in Surgical Oncology

D O a c n m d c m p u s i u n s a a he goal of this edition of “What’s New in Surgery” is to eview progress in the treatment of breast disease in 004, with a particular emphasis on findings of imporance to surgeons. Studies of major importance and hose that demonstrated particular innovation are highighted. Any errors of omission among the 11,000 breast rticles published in 2004 were unintentional.
Default timed concurrent constraint programming

We extend the model of [SJG94b] to express strong time-outs (and pre-emption): if an event A does not happen through time t, cause event B to happen at time t. Such constructs arise naturally in practice (e.g. in modeling transistors) and are supported in languages such as ESTEREL (through instantaneous watchdogs) and LUSTRE (through the “current” operator).The fundamental conceptual difficulty posed by these operators is that they are non-monotonic. We provide a simple compositional semantics to the non-monotonic version of concurrent constraint programming (CCP) obtained by changing the underlying logic from intuitionist logic to Reiter's default logic. This allows us to use the same construction (uniform extension through time) to develop Default Timed CCP (Default tcc) as we had used to develop Timed CCP (tcc) from CCP. Indeed the smooth embedding of CCP processes into Default cc processes lifts to a smooth embedding of tcc processes into Default tcc processes. Interesting tcc properties such as determinacy, multiform time, a uniform pre-emption construct (“clock”), full-abstraction, and compositional compilation into automata are preserved.Default tcc thus provides a simple and natural (denotational) model capable of representing the full range of pre-emption constructs supported in ESTEREL, LUSTRE and other synchronous programming languages.
Evaluation of left atrial lesions after initial and repeat atrial fibrillation ablation: lessons learned from delayed-enhancement MRI in repeat ablation procedures.

Background— We evaluated scar lesions after initial and repeat catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) and correlated these regions to low-voltage tissue on repeat electroanatomic mapping. We also identified gaps in lesion sets that could be targeted and closed during repeat procedures. Methods and Results— One hundred forty-four patients underwent AF ablation and received a delayed-enhancement MRI at 3 months after ablation. The number of pulmonary veins (PV) with circumferential lesions were assessed and correlated with procedural outcome. Eighteen patients with AF recurrence underwent repeat ablation. MRI scar regions were compared with electroanatomic maps during the repeat procedure. Regions of incomplete scar around the PVs were then identified and targeted during repeat ablation to ensure complete circumferential lesions. After the initial procedure, complete circumferential scarring of all 4 PV antrum (PVA) was achieved in only 7% of patients, with the majority of patients (69%) having <2 completely scarred PVA. After the first procedure, the number of PVs with complete circumferential scarring and total left atrial wall (LA) scar burden was associated with better clinical outcome. Patients with successful AF termination had higher average total left atrial wall scar of 16.4%±9.8 ( P =0.004) and percent PVA scar of 66.2±25.4 ( P =0.01) compared with patients with AF recurrence who had an average total LA wall scar 11.3%±8.1 and PVA percent scar 50.0±24.7. In patients who underwent repeat ablation, the PVA scar percentage was 56.1%±21.4 after the first procedure compared with 77.2%±19.5 after the second procedure. The average total LA scar after the first ablation was 11.0%±4.1, whereas the average total LA scar after second ablation was 21.2%±7.4. All patients had an increased number of completely scarred pulmonary vein antra after the second procedure. MRI scar after the first procedure and low-voltage regions on electroanatomic mapping obtained during repeat ablation demonstrated a positive quantitative correlation of R 2=0.57. Conclusions— Complete circumferential PV scarring difficult to achieve but is associated with better clinical outcome. Delayed-enhancement MRI can accurately define scar lesions after AF ablation and can be used to target breaks in lesion sets during repeat ablation.
Economic Action Does Not Take Place in a Vacuum: Understanding Cisco's Acquisition and Development Strategy*

The literature and common belief holds that the acquisition of high- technology firms in rapidly evolving markets normally results in failure. Cisco, however, has successfully grown through the conscious and deliberate use of acquisitions to become the dominant global networking equipment provider. The crux of our argument is that Cisco's success cannot be fully explained by economic and financial variables, or by acquisition target selection, alone. Managing social and organizational processes has been central to Cisco's success. Cisco's success is attributed to an active involvement by both the firm and its employees in its ecosystem. We explain the operation of Cisco's multiplex intelligence gathering function, and characterize it as a "high surface area strategy". This is followed by highlighting how Cisco's due diligence process treats human resource issues as central to calculating the true value of the acquisition. Whereas, most firms consider the process as complete when the decision to acquire ha...
Compartmentalization of bicarbonate-sensitive adenylyl cyclase in distinct signaling microdomains

SPECIFIC AIMSIntracellular targets of the ubiquitous second messenger cAMP are located at great distances from the most widely studied source of cAMP, the G-protein-responsive transmembrane adenylyl cyclases (tmACs). We examined whether the “soluble” adenylyl cyclase (sAC), an alternative source of cAMP in mammalian cells lacking transmembrane spanning domains, was localized near the intracellular targets of cAMP.PRINCIPAL FINDINGS1. sAC is localized to the nucleusTo determine the subcellular distribution of sAC, we generated three affinity-purified polyclonal antisera to distinct, nonoverlapping portions of sAC protein (αN-term, αMiddle, and αC-term) and a panel of monoclonal antibodies to the amino-terminal catalytic domains. The αN-term polyclonal antisera and the panel of monoclonal antibodies recognized full-length sAC protein (187 kDa) (sACfl) and a 50 kDa truncated isoform (sACt) generated by an alternatively spliced transcript, whereas αMiddle and αC-term antibodies recognized only the full-length...
Sinus irrigations before and after surgery-Visualization through computational fluid dynamics simulations.

Objectives/Hypothesis Topical sinus irrigations play a critical role in the management of sinonasal disease, and the improvement in irrigant penetration into the sinuses postoperatively greatly contributes to the success of endoscopic sinus surgery. Prior investigations on postoperative sinus irrigations have been mostly limited to cadaver studies, which are labor intensive and do not capture the full dynamics of the flows. A pilot study was conducted to investigate the impact of surgery on sinus irrigation through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Study Design Retrospective computational study. Methods Pre- and postoperative computed tomography (CT) scans were obtained on a patient who underwent standard endoscopic surgeries for all sinuses, including a Draf III frontal sinusotomy. CT-based pre- and postoperative CFD models then simulated irrigations of 120 mL saline per nostril at 12 mL/s (typical of Sinugator) and 60 mL/s (SinusRinse Bottle), in two head positions: face parallel and at a 45° angle to the ground. Results Overall, surgery most significantly improved frontal sinus irrigation, but surprisingly resulted in less maxillary and ethmoid sinuses penetration. This may due to the partial removal of the septum during the Draf III, causing most fluid to exit prematurely across the resected septum. Higher flow rate slightly improved ethmoid sinus irrigation, but resulted in less preoperative contralateral maxillary sinus penetration. Conclusions CFD modeling of sinonasal irrigations is a novel technique for evaluating irrigant penetration of individual sinus cavities. It may prove useful in determining the optimal degree of surgery or the ideal irrigation strategy to allow for maximal and targeted sinus irrigant penetration. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope, 126:E90–E96, 2016
Wheat Stem Sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton, Impact on Wheat Primary Metabolism: An Ecophysiological Approach

The impact of wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), on the photosynthetic capacity and primary metabolism of wheat, Triticum aestivum L., was evaluated in three different environments: environmental growth chamber, greenhouse, and field. C. cinctus elicited different photosynthetic responses in different environments. Wheat gas exchange parameters, such as photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO2, and transpiration in the growth chamber environment were negatively affected by C. cinctus feeding. Conversely, the same gas exchange responses were not observed under greenhouse and field conditions. This study shows the important role of environmental variables, such as ambient CO2 concentrations and light intensity, on plant responses to herbivores.
Effects of Aspirin on Nitric Oxide Formation and De Novo Protein Synthesis by RINm5F Cells and Rat Islets

Aspirin and aspirin-like drugs are the most commonly indicated agents for the treatment of inflammation. Mechanisms of action for these drugs, however, are not clearly understood. In this study, we examined the effects of aspirin on production of nitric oxide (NO), a proinflammatory mediator, and show that aspirin inhibits NO production by transformed pancreatic beta cells (RINm5F) and rat islets in a concentration-dependent manner with an IC50 value of approximately 3 mM. Therapeutic concentrations of aspirin (1-5 mM) that block NO production affected neither nuclear factor-kappaB activation nor inducible NO synthase (iNOS) mRNA transcription but potently inhibited iNOS protein expression by both RINm5F cells and rat islets. The effects of aspirin on islet function were examined by measuring glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in the presence of various concentrations of aspirin. Aspirin (1-5 mM) did not affect insulin secretion at basal or glucose-stimulated conditions, whereas higher concentrations of aspirin (10-20 mM) significantly increased basal insulin secretion. Aspirin at high concentrations of 10 and 20 mM inhibited de novo protein synthesis as demonstrated by inhibition of [35S]methionine incorporation into total islet protein and by inhibition of rabbit reticulocyte expression by Brome mosaic virus mRNA, suggesting that inhibition of iNOS expression at these high concentrations of aspirin may be due to the impairment of the translational machinery. These findings indicate that inhibition of iNOS expression and NO production may explain, in part, the beneficial effects of aspirin as an anti-inflammatory agent at therapeutic concentrations, whereas inhibition of de novo protein synthesis may possibly explain clinical and side effects of aspirin in the inflamed tissues and organs such as stomach and kidney that may accumulate high concentrations of aspirin.
Methods of Defining and Observing Behaviors

In functional analysis, the ability to track the occurrence of a target behavior is essential to being able to identify what factors maintain that behavior. This is so fundamental that to overlook the crucial step of defining and observing behaviors in designing an intervention or research study is to open the door to a large number of reliability and validity issues in our research and integrity and generalization problems in our treatments. Therefore, taking the time a priori to carefully consider the behaviors to be targeted and how best to measure these behaviors over time is the first step to sound intervention and research.
Objects in Mirror are Closer Than They Appear

The careless, perhaps even cynical manipulation of foundational words and past deeds in these three contemporary opinions contrasts starkly with the power of words and the great weight of the past articulated in Native American cultures. That tradition emphasizes "the rich complexity of meanings" in traditional American Indian narratives. Karl Kroeber and other authors in his compilation convincingly make the case that "lilt is our scholarship, not Indian literature, which is 'primitive' or undeveloped."
Analytically Deriving Efficient Surfaces in Portfolio Selection

We consider the practical issue - how an investor incorporates multidimensional risks from factor models directly into portfolio selection, and formulate the issue by multiple objective portfolio selection. Then we analytically derive efficient surfaces in multiple objective portfolio selection and demonstrate the properties and financial implications, as an extension of Merton's analytically deriving efficient frontier. Merton's 2-mutual-fund theorem and parabolic structure of efficient frontier are extended into 3-mutual-fund theorem and paraboloidic structure, respectively. The efficient portfolios of traditional portfolio selection are still efficient in the new setting. Furthermore, market portfolio is efficient if all investors hold efficient portfolios. We also show the results hold for general k-objective portfolio selection model. Traditional portfolio selection can be taken as the projection onto mean-variance space from multiple criteria portfolio selection. In the process of projecting an efficient surface, we show the boundary of the projection is exactly Merton's efficient frontier. Interestingly, market portfolio probably loses its efficiency in the projection. The empirical evidence that market indices are deep below efficient frontier can be explained by multiple objective portfolio selection and the projection. As an advantage of multiple objective portfolio selection, the tradeoffs between expected return and multidimensional risks can be clearly and precisely described by the curvature of an efficient surface. A new avenue to incorporate explicitly multidimensional risks into portfolio selection and monitor directly the tradeoffs can be opened. Moreover, this paper can help an investor visualize portfolio selection in 3 dimensional space and even higher dimensional spaces. Meanwhile, we acknowledge that the linear modelling of portfolio liquidity and other risks is overly simplistic, because the risks can be highly nonlinear and time-varying. Our intention is to enrich traditional portfolio selection and delineate efficient surfaces.
Attitudes of High School Students toward their Classmates with Severe Disabilities: a Pilot Study

Calls to expand inclusive education for students with severe disabilities are pervasive throughout recent policy and research initiatives. The perspectives of peers without disabilities on such inclusion are an important vantage point to understand, particularly at the high school level. In this pilot study, we examined the attitudes of 44 high school peers who were enrolled in general education classes with students with severe disabilities. Overall, these peers reported fairly high levels of exposure and contact with students with severe disabilities. Moreover, they largely endorsed positive attitudes towards adolescents with severe disabilities and inclusion. However, significant gender differences were found, with females demonstrating more positive attitudes than males. We discuss implications for research and practice focused on enhancing positive attitudes toward and relationships among students with and without severe disabilities at the high school level.
Study and Emulation of 10G-EPON Access Network

Background/Objectives: Significant amount of research and development has been made in the field of core network and it operates in hundreds Gigabits per second (Gbps) speed currently. But on seeing the growth in bandwidth demand in the access network which is exploding day by day, the only promising solution is to upgrade the access network. So it is essential to have an efficient access network that can operate at high functional speeds to support differentiated services. Methods: This paper proposes a novel TD_Optimum for improve the network performance and compares it with a DBA_GATE algorithm. The algorithm is employed by emulating an access network with the use of two 10G transceivers for 10G-EPON. The algorithm is tested for Triple Play services that include emulated voice, video and data packets. Findings: The algorithm is found to maintain a better tradeoff between throughput and delay as well as QOS, than the existing DBA_GATE algorithm. Application/Improvement: The 10G-EPON is a great boom in the optical technology and provides a great support to Video on Demand, High Definition TV (HDTV), Online gaming, Telemedicine, Video Conferencing. The ardent task of this research is to implement in this algorithm using 40Gbps supported NIC cards (next generation optical networks) and measure the variation of throughput and the average delay with an efficient network monitoring tool. The purpose is to provide huge bandwidth for packet transfer without dropping of voice, video and data packets. The emulation of this scenario in future can be switch over to Labview or Opnet software for further improvements.
Normal Values of Lithogenic and Inhibitory Substances in the Urine of Healthy Children

Up to the present time, there have been no sufficiently-reliable data on normal urinary excretion parameters in children in order to establish standards for urolithiasis risk. The present study examines 24-h urine samples in 473 healthy children (320 boys and 153 girls) in order to address this.
Childhood Sleep Disorders

Almost every child experiences a sleep problem at some time while growing up. In many cases the problem is not serious or long-lasting; an occasional poor night of sleep resulting from stress, excitement, or external disturbances is normal and to be expected. In other cases, sleep problems may have significant effects on the child’s normal functioning and general well-being. Furthermore, these problems may have an impact on others as well, notably parents and siblings of the affected child.
Interobserver Reliability of the Respiratory Physical Examination in Premature Infants: A Multicenter Study.

Objective To measure the inter-rater reliability of 7 visual and 3 auscultatory respiratory physical examination findings at 36-40 weeks' postmenstrual age in infants born less than 29 weeks' gestation. Physicians also estimated the probability that each infant would remain hospitalized for 3 months after the examination or be readmitted for a respiratory illness during that time. Study design Prospective, multicenter, inter-rater reliability study using standardized audio-video recordings of respiratory physical examinations. Results We recorded the respiratory physical examination of 30 infants at 2 centers and invited 32 physicians from 9 centers to review the examinations. The intraclass correlation values for physician agreement ranged from 0.73 (95% CI 0.57-0.85) for subcostal retractions to 0.22 (95% CI 0.11-0.41) for expiratory abdominal muscle use. Eight (27%) infants remained hospitalized or were readmitted within 3 months after the examination. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for prediction of this outcome was 0.82 (95% CI 0.78-0.86). Physician predictive accuracy was greater for infants receiving supplemental oxygen (0.90, 95% CI 0.86-0.95) compared with those breathing in room air (0.71, 95% CI 0.66-0.75). Conclusions Physicians often do not agree on respiratory physical examination findings in premature infants. Physician prediction of short-term respiratory morbidity was more accurate for infants receiving supplemental oxygen compared with those breathing in room air.
Case Study #7: Nursery Rhymes by Mother Goose and Others

From childhood, everyone has heard a range of nursery rhymes, many attributed to “Mother Goose.” Those verses part of the fabric of our culture are also pointed lessons in organization and leadership.
Proximity Biotinylation as a Method for Mapping Proteins Associated with mtDNA in Living Cells

A recurring challenge in cell biology is to define the molecular components of macromolecular complexes of interest. The predominant method, immunoprecipitation, recovers only strong interaction partners that survive cell lysis and repeated detergent washes. We explored peroxidase-catalyzed proximity biotinylation, APEX, as an alternative, focusing on the mitochondrial nucleoid, the dynamic macromolecular complex that houses the mitochondrial genome. Via 1-min live-cell biotinylation followed by quantitative, ratiometric mass spectrometry, we enriched 37 nucleoid proteins, seven of which had never previously been associated with the nucleoid. The specificity of our dataset was very high, and we validated three hits by follow-up studies. For one novel nucleoid-associated protein, FASTKD1, we discovered a role in downregulation of mitochondrial complex I via specific repression of ND3 mRNA. Our study demonstrates that APEX is a powerful tool for mapping macromolecular complexes in living cells, and can identify proteins and pathways that have been missed by traditional approaches.
TOXICITY OF FENVALERATE TO FIVE UNFED SPECIES OF TABANIDS AND ENGORGED TABANUS FUSCICOSTATUS HINE (DIPTERA: TABANIDAE)

The toxicity of topically applied fenvalerate for five Tabanus species was determined on a per fly and per weight basis. The LD50's ranged from 0.0086 to 0.0816 μg/fly for Tabanus fuscicostatus and T. americanus, respectively. The LD50's in μg/g fly weight ranged from 0.156 for T. americanus to 0.404 for T. pallidescens. Blood-engorged T. fuscicostatus were less susceptible to topical application of fenvalerate than unfed individuals.
Kodaira-Nakano Vanishing Theorems

Throughout this chapter, we let X be an n-dimensional compact Kahler manifold, and we let V be a holomorphic vector bundle on X. We shall henceforth let V also denote the locally free sheaf O Y(V) of germs of holomorphic sections of the vector bundle V.
Use of Coal Fly Ash or Glass Pozzolan Addition as a Mitigation Tool for Alkali-Silica Reactivity in Cement Mortars Amended with Recycled Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator Bottom Ash

Municipal solid waste incinerator bottom ash was evaluated for its alkali aggregate reactivity in cement mortars. Subsequently, two wastes were evaluated as supplementary cementitious materials for their efficacy in mitigating expansive alkali-silica reactions in cement mortars amended with bottom ash. Three bottom ashes were incorporated into mortar bars as 15, 30 and 50% replacements of non-reactive sand. Control MSWI amended mortars were compared to those containing coal fly ash and glass pozzolan (synthetic glass). Dimensional expansion of the mortars was measured over 14 days to quantify the extent to which the recycled coal fly ash and glass pozzolan mitigated the alkali reactivity of the ash-amended mortar specimens. Average expansions of the ash-amended mortars ranged from 0.10 to 0.40%, suggesting that ash components reacted expansively in an alkaline environment. Microscopic analysis was used to complement the data and confirm the presence of silica-rich gel within glass fragments of the ash, as well as cracking of the aggregates. Supplementary cementitious materials (class F coal fly ash, glass pozzolan) mitigated expansion of the mortars by 90% on average, likely through consumption of the alkalis in the paste pore water.
Body Scans as Base Geometry for 3D Modeling and Printing

The application of 3DP technology in fashion is still being investigated in academia. This research examines the integration of 3D body scanning and 3DP. When developing accessories, body adornment, and clothing embellishments, the use of a body scan as base geometry allows the designer to edit and model directly onto the body resulting in an accurate fit straight from the printer. Using a digital body scan also permits the designer to envision the finished look without having to create multiple prototypes and conduct multiple fittings.
HIV Stigmatization Among Healthcare Providers: Review of the Evidence and Implications for HIV Care

HIV-related stigmatization is associated with a number of adverse consequences among HIV-positive individuals. Given the direct role healthcare providers play in promoting and maintaining the overall health of HIV-positive individuals, it is important to understand the extent to which stigmatization among healthcare providers exists and the potential effects that such negative attitudes and behavior may have on the well-being of HIV-positive patients. This chapter provides a review of the literature on stigmatization among healthcare providers, with a focus on studies that report information on stigmatizing healthcare experiences from the patient’s perspective. We describe the potential effects of stigmatization on the well-being of HIV-positive patients, offer a methodological critique of the existing literature, and provide directions for future research and training interventions. Overall, findings confirm that HIV-positive patients experience stigmatization within healthcare settings in the form of negative demeanor from providers, as well as more overt examples, including patient avoidance, lowered quality of care, and treatment refusal. Review findings also confirm that provider stigmatization remains a concern for HIV-positive patients and may exert negative effects on medical care. In reviewing the literature, we suggest directions for research that informs the development of interventions to assist healthcare providers and HIV-positive patients in creating more positive treatment experiences and health outcomes.
Self-organizing Dynamical Systems

Human behavior, broadly conceived, unfolds in time. Human behavior is emergent: behavioral patterns arise from the way individual parts or processes are coordinated together. The patterns that emerge are more than, and different from, a mere superposition of the component parts. Nonlinearity rules: small changes can sometimes produce large effects and large changes no effect at all. Context matters. Interactions, nonlinearity, emergence and context, though omnipresent in the social and behavioral sciences, have proven remarkably resistant to understanding. New light may be shed on these problems by merging the theoretical concepts and methods of self-organization (the formation of pattern and pattern change in complex systems embedded in their environment) and the mathematical tools of (nonlinear) dynamical systems (equations of motion that specify the rules by which behavioral patterns—on any chosen level of description—stabilize and change. Self-organizing dynamics promises both a language for, and a strategy toward, understanding human behavior, both individual and group. A key problem is to identify the essential dynamical variables characterizing patterns so that the pattern dynamics, the rules governing behavior, may be found and their predictions pursued. Here, after a brief history, the main concepts and methods of self-organizing dynamical systems are introduced followed by a few elementary examples to illustrate the power and potential of the approach.
Cardiac resynchronization therapy and outcomes in patients with left ventricular assist devices: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The impact of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on clinical outcome in patients with a continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is currently not well understood. We conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis with an intention to summarize all published clinical evidence. We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE databases through March 2018 for studies that compared the outcomes in patients with LVAD and CRT. Pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using a random-effects model, inverse variance method. The between-study heterogeneity was assessed using the Q statistic and I2. A total of seven studies that included 1157 (575 CRT; 582 non-CRT) patients were identified. Our meta-analysis did not demonstrate a significant difference in the risk of mortality (pooled OR = 1.21, 95% CI 0.90–1.63, P = 0.21), ventricular arrhythmia incidence (pooled OR = 1.36, 95% CI 0.99–1.86, P = 0.06), hospitalization (pooled OR = 1.36, 95% CI 0.59–3.14, P = 0.48), or implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapies (pooled OR = 1.08, 95% CI 0.51–2.30, P = 0.84) among the CRT group compared with the non-CRT group. There was high heterogeneity with an I2 of 75% for ICD therapies. Among LVAD patients, CRT combined did not significantly affect mortality, re-hospitalization, ventricular arrhythmia incidence, and ICD therapies.
MaizeGDB 2018: the maize multi-genome genetics and genomics database

Since its 2015 update, MaizeGDB, the Maize Genetics and Genomics database, has expanded to support the sequenced genomes of many maize inbred lines in addition to the B73 reference genome assembly. Curation and development efforts have targeted high quality datasets and tools to support maize trait analysis, germplasm analysis, genetic studies, and breeding. MaizeGDB hosts a wide range of data including recent support of new data types including genome metadata, RNA-seq, proteomics, synteny, and large-scale diversity. To improve access and visualization of data types several new tools have been implemented to: access large-scale maize diversity data (SNPversity), download and compare gene expression data (qTeller), visualize pedigree data (Pedigree Viewer), link genes with phenotype images (MaizeDIG), and enable flexible user-specified queries to the MaizeGDB database (MaizeMine). MaizeGDB also continues to be the community hub for maize research, coordinating activities and providing technical support to the maize research community. Here we report the changes MaizeGDB has made within the last three years to keep pace with recent software and research advances, as well as the pan-genomic landscape that cheaper and better sequencing technologies have made possible. MaizeGDB is accessible online at https://www.maizegdb.org.
LITIDA: a cost-effective non-parametric imputation approach to estimate LiDAR-detected tree diameters over a large heterogeneous area

The advent of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology has enabled accurate height measurements of individual trees; however, deriving tree diameters at breast height (DBH) from heights has proven challenging. Three issues exist: (1) reference errors caused by false data entries, incorrect measurements in the field, or the spatial mismatch of a LiDAR-detected tree to a field-measured tree, (2) general DBH underestimations for ‘fully matured (FM)’ trees with a saturating DBH–height relationship and (3) heterogeneity over expansive and diverse forested landscapes with corresponding variability in the DBH–height relationship. We addressed these three issues by developing the algorithm called LiDAR Individual Tree Imputed Diameter Algorithm (LITIDA). In LITIDA, the predictors include LiDAR-estimated tree height and plot-level climate, species composition, site index and competition stress. These predictors can be obtained without precise locations of measured trees; therefore, matching LiDAR-detected trees to field-measured trees is not necessary. For each individual LiDAR-detected tree, LITIDA is designed to select candidates from field-measured trees and adopt a weighted mean DBH to reduce the influence of outliers. Furthermore, larger DBHs are assigned to FM trees; therefore, DBH underestimation for FM trees can be mitigated. LITIDA is a non-parametric algorithm considering the biotic and abiotic variations that contribute to the complex DBH–height relationship; therefore, LITIDA can be applied over large and complex landscapes. The effectiveness of LITIDA was demonstrated on the Tahoe National Forest where 15 329 trees from 27 species over a 3526 km² area were measured in 544 plots. The DBH of more than 77 million trees were estimated. The 10-fold cross-validation resulted in root-mean-square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and bias of 9.785 cm, 7.3 cm and −1.121 cm, with the relative error being 21.5 per cent, 16.1 per cent and −2.5 per cent, respectively. However, the actual accuracy for this demonstrative study was most likely higher because of reference data errors found in 30 of the 39 outliers in the reference tree database. We conclude that LITIDA is a cost-effective non-parametric imputation approach that can estimate LiDAR-detected tree diameters effectively over a large heterogeneous area.
Interventions to Improve Linkage to HIV Care in the Era of "Treat All" in Sub-Saharan Africa: a Systematic Review

In 2015, antiretroviral therapy (ART) was recommended for all people living with HIV (PLHIV) regardless of CD4 count (“Treat All”). To better understand how to improve linkage to care under these new guidelines, we conducted a systematic review of studies evaluating linkage interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa under Treat All. We identified 14 eligible articles and qualitatively analyzed the effectiveness of the interventions. Increases in linkage were reported by supply-side and counseling interventions. Mobile testing and economic incentives did not increase linkage. Given the lag time between adoption and implementation, only two of the studies were conducted in a Treat All setting. None of the interventions specifically focused on re-linking PLHIV who had disengaged from care. Future studies must design interventions that target not only newly diagnosed or treatment naive PLHIV, but should explicitly focus on PLHIV who have disengaged from care.
Strawberry Consumption Associated with Reduced Alzheimer's Dementia Risk (FS05-06-19)

Objectives Strawberries have been identified to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that improve neuronal function and cognition, mostly in animal studies. It is not known whether consumption of strawberries is associated with risk of Alzheimer's dementia (AD). The objective of this study is to investigate the relation between strawberry intake and Incident Alzheimer's dementia.
Effects of Internal–External Congruence-Based CSR Positioning: An Attribution Theory Approach

Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) appears to be mutually beneficial for companies and consumers, the modern marketplace has left both parties in vulnerable positions. Consumers are increasingly subjected to incongruent CSR messages such as greenwashing, while companies are trapped in a strategic positioning dilemma with regard to how to most effectively and ethically approach CSR communication. This has led some companies to instead adopt a strategically silent approach, such as greenhushing. To capture this CSR positioning dilemma and test the positioning effects on consumers’ attributions, this study applies attribution theory to conceptualize four distinct CSR positions (uniform, discreet, washing, and apathetic) which reflect varying combinations of congruence or incongruence between a company’s external CSR communication and its actual internal CSR actions. Using an online experiment, the effects of the CSR positions on consumer attributions for intrinsic and extrinsic CSR motivations and purchase intentions were tested across three CSR domains: environmental; labor; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) inclusion. Overall, the findings attest to the significant effect of internal–external congruence-based CSR positioning on how consumers respond to CSR communication. Importantly, the results indicate that discreet positioning is perceived similarly to uniform positioning, while misleading and unethical tactics such as CSR-washing are sure to backfire. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Desymmetrization of disubstituted aromatic crown ethers via intramolecular Cannizzaro reactions

We report a high-yielding metal templated Cannizzaro reaction for converting symmetrical aromatic crown ether dialdehydes of various types [dibenzo and bis(meta-phenylene)] and sizes (20–32 atom rings) to acid–alcohol functionalized crown ethers in 70–98% yields.
What causes the word gap? Financial concerns may systematically suppress child-directed speech

Parents with fewer educational and economic resources (low socioeconomic-status, SES) tend to speak less to their children, with consequences for children's later life outcomes. Despite this well-established and highly popularized link, less research addresses why the SES "word gap" exists. Moreover, while research has assessed individual-level contributors to the word gap-like differences in parenting knowledge-we know little about how structural constraints that vary according to SES might affect caregivers' speech. In two pre-registered studies, we test whether experiencing financial scarcity can suppress caregivers' speech to their children. Study 1 suggests that higher-SES caregivers who are prompted to reflect on scarcity-particularly those who reflect on financial scarcity-speak less to their 3-year-olds in a subsequent play session, relative to a control group. Study 2 suggests that mid- to higher-SES caregivers engage in fewer back-and-forth exchanges with their children at the end of the month-when they are more likely to be experiencing financial hardship-than the rest of the month. These studies provide preliminary evidence that-above and beyond caregivers' individual characteristics-structural constraints may affect how much parents speak to their children.
Abstract P106: Stable versus Changing BMI Trajectories in Relation to Cardiometabolic Risk Factor Trajectories in Adolescent Girls: The NHLBI Growth and Health Study

Introduction: Adolescence is a period of increased independence in lifestyle choices, as well as shifts in cardiometabolic risk factors. Understanding how stability or change in BMI status may be s...
Real-world risk of new-onset inflammatory bowel disease among patients with psoriasis exposed to interleukin 17 inhibitors.

Background Information on the real-world risk of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) among patients with psoriasis exposed to interleukin-17 inhibitor (IL-17i) is limited. Objective To compare IBD risk in patients with psoriasis with and without IL-17i exposure. Methods Retrospective cohort analysis of patients with psoriasis with and without IL-17i exposure identified by using electronic health records data. Primary outcomes were 6-month and 1-year IBD incidence. Results Crude 6-month IBD incidence was 0.16% (3/1821) among patients with psoriasis exposed to any IL-17i, 0.24% (3/1246) among those exposed to secukinumab alone, and 0.11% (239/213,060) among those unexposed. Crude 1-year IBD incidence was 0.27% (5/1821) among IL-17i–exposed patients with psoriasis, 0.32% (4/1246) among those exposed to secukinumab alone, and 0.19% (412/213,060) among those unexposed. In adjusted analysis, there was no significant difference in odds of developing IBD at 6 months (odds ratio, 1.42; 95% confidence interval, 0.45-4.43) and 1 year (odds ratio, 1.37; 95% confidence interval, 0.57-3.33) between exposed and unexposed patients with psoriasis. Similarly, there was no significant difference in odds of developing IBD at 6 months and 1 year between secukinumab-exposed and -unexposed patients with psoriasis. Limitations Analysis may have been limited by the low number of outcome events. Conclusion The incidence of IBD among patients with psoriasis exposed to IL-17i is low, and the risk appears similar to that for unexposed patients with psoriasis.
Co-exposure to PCB126 and PFOS increases biomarkers associated with cardiovascular disease risk and liver injury in mice.

Abstract Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)126 and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) are halogenated organic pollutants of high concern. Exposure to these chemicals is ubiquitous, and can lead to potential synergistic adverse effects in individuals exposed to both classes of chemicals. The present study was designed to identify interactions between PCB126 and PFOS that might promote acute changes in inflammatory pathways associated with cardiovascular disease and liver injury. Male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to vehicle, PCB126, PFOS, or a mixture of both pollutants. Plasma and liver samples were collected at 48 h after exposure. Changes in the expression of hepatic genes involved in oxidative stress, inflammation, and atherosclerosis were investigated. Plasma and liver samples was analyzed using untargeted lipidomic method. Hepatic mRNA levels for Nqo1, Icam1, and PAI1 were significantly increased in the mixture-exposed mice. Plasma levels of PAI1, a marker of fibrosis and thrombosis, were also significantly elevated in the mixture-exposed group. Liver injury was observed only in the mixture-exposed mice. Lipidomic analysis revealed that co-exposure to the mixture enhanced hepatic lipid accumulation and elevated oxidized phospholipids levels. In summary, this study shows that acute co-exposure to PCB126 and PFOS in mice results in liver injury and increased cardiovascular disease risk.
Lactate dehydrogenase. XI. Effects of guanidination upon the properties of the enzyme.

Abstract The H4 isozyme of bovine lactate dehydrogenase was guanidinated with O-methyl isourea and its properties were compared with those of the native enzyme. Kinetic evidence suggests that coenzyme binding is not affected by guanidination but that the rate of dissociation of substrates is diminished. Fluorimetric titrations with NADH confirm the kinetic results and show that both oxamate and oxalate are bound more firmly by the complex between guanidinated enzyme and NADH than by the native enzyme·NADH complex. The changes in binding of inhibitors appear to result from the modification of several amino groups rather than from derivatization of a single essential group. It is proposed that strong interactions between carboxylate and guanidinium ions stabilize the ternary enzyme·coenzyme·inhibitor complex. Improved methods are presented for calculation of dissociation constants of enzyme·NADH·inhibitor complexes from fluorescence titration curves.
Intracellular Chloride Regulation

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses regulation of intracellular chloride. Intracellular chloride (Cl–), together with bicarbonate, is the most abundant free anion in living animal cells. The importance of chloride ions (Cl–) in cell physiology has been given due recognition currently. More importantly, it is now well established that Cl– plays vital roles in cell physiology and, contrary to what is often stated, is not distributed in thermodynamic equilibrium across most cells. By virtue of being distributed out of electrochemical equilibrium, Cl– does serve as a key player in a variety of cellular functions, such as intracellular pH regulation, cell volume regulation, transepithelial salt transport, synaptic signaling (in both the depolarizing and hyperpolarizing directions), neuronal growth, migration, and targeting, membrane potential stabilization, regulation of transport systems and K+ scavenging. The chapter presents some examples to illustrate how Cl– is involved in some of these processes. The [Cl–] is determined by the interaction of various anion-transporting systems present in a cell, including conductive Cl–-channels as well as several cotransporters and exchangers. The chapter discusses passive and nonpassive Cl– distribution across the plasma membrane, active transport mechanisms for Cl–, electroneutral Na+-K+-Cl- cotransporters, electroneutral K+-CI– cotransporters, electroneutral Na+-Cl- cotransporter and cation-chloride cotransporters as targets for disease. The cotransporter proteins share a common predicted membrane topology, with 12 putative transmembrane segments flanked by long hydrophilic amino– and carboxyl–terminal cytoplasmic domains. The molecular identification of these transporters has had a significant impact on the study of their function, regulation, and pathophysiology. The [Cl–]i is determined by the interaction of various anion-transporting systems present in a cell, including conductive Cl– channels as well as several cotransporters and exchangers.
Lower bounds for phase estimation of PSK packets with random phase

We derive new Cramer-Rao bounds (CRBs) for the estimation of phase from a block of random M-PSK (M=2,4,8) symbols where the phase to be estimated is a random variable. Existing bounds for 2 and 4-PSK which model the phase as non-random are extended to obtain a new 8-PSK CRB. The new random phase bounds are compared to the new 8-PSK and existing 2,4-PSK bounds which model the phase as non-random. We see that the random phase CRBs more accurately model the behavior if the phase, as normally happens, is supposed to be constrained to the interval [-/spl pi//M,/spl pi//M].
Techniques for Efficient Execution of Fine-Grained Concurrent Programs

Concurrent object-oriented programming languages are an attractive approach for programming massively-parallel machines. However, exploiting object-level concurrency is problematic as the linkage and communication overhead can overwhelm the benefits of the fine-grained concurrency. Our approach achieves efficient execution by tuning the grain size, matching the execution grain size to that efficiently supportable by the architecture. To verify the feasibility of grain-size tuning, we study the invocation locality of a collection of object-oriented programs. The results suggest that local constraints on placement combined with code specialization can produce a significant increase in execution grain size. We describe several compile-time analyses which identify opportunities to increase grain size. These analyses identify static relationships between objects and enable transformations to reduce invocation cost. Some initial measurements are presented.
Identification of Chlamydia pneumoniae by DNA amplification of the 16S rRNA gene.

Chlamydia pneumoniae is an important cause of respiratory disease in humans, but diagnosis of C. pneumoniae is hindered by difficulties in the in vitro growth of the organism. In order to improve detection and identification, we recently developed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay which uses oligonucleotide primers specific for C. pneumoniae. The nucleic acid sequence was determined for the 16S rRNA of C. pneumoniae, and regions in which C. pneumoniae differed from both Chlamydia psittaci and Chlamydia trachomatis were identified. Oligonucleotide primers corresponding to these unique regions were then synthesized and used in a PCR for the detection of C. pneumoniae. The C. pneumoniae-specific primers permitted the identification of six isolates of C. pneumoniae, but no reaction was observed with the 15 serovars of C. trachomatis or two strains of C. psittaci. PCR should prove to be valuable in confirming the identification of C. pneumoniae and in the diagnosis of C. pneumoniae infections. Images
Tritium exchange reactions catalyzed by 2-oxo-4-hydroxyglutarate aldolase from Escherichia coli K-12

Tritiated water and tritiated substrates have been used to study exchange reactions catalyzed by Escherichia coli 2-oxo-4-hydroxyglutarate aldolase (4-hydroxy-2-oxoglutarate glyoxylate-lyase, EC 4.1.3.16, 2-oxo-4-hydroxyglutarate in equilibrium pyruvate + glyoxylate). With pyruvate, the enzyme catalyzes a rapid first-order exchange of all three methyl hydrogens in the absence of added acceptor aldehyde (i.e. glyoxylate). This reaction is not rate limiting for aldol condensation or cleavage; quite different pH-activity profiles for the exchange reaction versus aldol cleavage and also comparative effects that pH changes have on Km and V values for the two processes favor this conclusion. The exchange reaction with 2-oxobutyrate, a substrate analog, is stereoselective; one methylene hydrogen is removed at a 6-fold faster rate than the other but eventually both are exchanged. No tritium exchange occurs with glyoxylate.