cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Determinants of half-site spacing preferences that distinguish AP-1 and ATF/CREB bZIP domains

The AP-1 and ATF/CREB families of eukaryotic transcription factors are dimeric DNA-binding proteins that contain the bZIP structural motif. The AP-1 and ATF/CREB proteins are structurally related and recognize identical half-sites (TGAC), but they differ in their requirements for half-site spacing. AP-1 proteins such as yeast GCN4 preferentially bind to sequences with overlapping half-sites, whereas ATF/CREB proteins bind exclusively to sequences with adjacent half-sites. Here we investigate the distinctions between AP-1 and ATF/CREB proteins by determining the DNA-binding properties of mutant and hybrid proteins. First, analysis of GCN4-ATF1 hybrid proteins indicates that a short surface spanning the basic and fork regions of the bZIP domain is the major determinant of half-site spacing. Replacement of two GCN4 residues on this surface (Ala244 and Leu247) by their ATF1 counterparts largely converts GCN4 into a protein with ATF/CREB specificity. Secondly, analysis of a Fos derivative containing the GCN4 leucine zipper indicates that Fos represents a novel intermediate between AP-1 and ATF/CREB proteins. Thirdly, we examine the effects of mutations in the invariant arginine residue of GCN4 (Arg243) that contacts the central base pair(s) of the target sites. While most mutations abolish DNA binding, substitution of a histidine residue results in a GCN4 derivative with ATF/CREB binding specificity. These results suggest that the AP-1 and ATF/CREB proteins differ in positioning a short surface that includes the invariant arginine and that AP-1 proteins may represent a subclass (and perhaps evolutionary offshoot) of ATF/CREB proteins that can tolerate overlapping half-sites.
Detection of courtesy amount block on bank checks

A multi-staged technique for locating the courtesy amount block on bank checks is presented. In the case of a check processing system, many of the proposed methods are not acceptable, due to the the presence of many fonts and text sizes, as well as the short length of many text strings. Particular methods chosen to implement a courtesy amount block locator (CABL) are described. First, the connected components in the image are identified. Next, strings are constructed on the basis of proximity and horizontal alignment of characters. Finally, a set of rules and heuristics are applied to these strings to choose the correct one. The chosen string is only reported if it passes a verification test, which includes an attempt to recognize the currency sign.
Inhibition of Progesterone Secretion from Granulosa Cells by Estradiol and Androgens in the Domestic Hen

We previously reported no difference in progesterone (P4) secretion from the granulosa layer of the largest follicle (F1) of the domestic hen regardless of the maturity of the F1 follicle. However, coincubation of the granulosa and thecal layers resulted in inhibition of P4 secretion from the less mature F1, but not from the more mature F1. The goal of this study was to determine if estradiol (E2) and androgens secreted by the thecal layer suppress P4 production by the granulosa cells. We removed the granulosa layer from less mature Fi follicles and dispersed granulosa cells (1 × 106) were incubated (3 h) in triplicate with one of these treatments: control, E2, testosterone (T), androstenedione (A), and dihydrotestosterone (DHT; at concentrations of 1 × 10-7, 1 x 10-6, and 1 x 10-6 M), LH (100 ng) as well as LH plus E2, T, A, and DHT at the same concentrations. P4 secretion was measured in the medium and cells, and the experiment was replicated seven times. We found a dose-related suppression of basal and...
On the causes of the shrinking of Lake Chad

Over the last 40 years, Lake Chad, once the sixth largest lake in the world, has decreased by more than 90% in area. In this study, we use a hydrological model coupled with a lake/wetland algorithm to simulate the effects of lake bathymetry, human water use, and decadal climate variability on the lake's level, surface area, and water storage. In addition to the effects of persistent droughts and increasing irrigation withdrawals on the shrinking, we find that the lake's unique bathymetry—which allows its division into two smaller lakes—has made it more vulnerable to water loss. Unfortunately the lake's split is favored by the 1952–2006 climatology. Failure of the lake to remerge with renewed rainfall in the 1990s following the drought years of the 1970s and 1980s is a consequence of irrigation withdrawals. Under current climate and water use, a full recovery of the lake is unlikely without an inter-basin water transfer. Breaching the barrier separating the north and south lakes would reduce the amount of supplemental water needed for recovery.
The bacteriophage λQ anti‐terminator protein regulates late gene expression as a stable component of the transcription elongation complex

The Q protein of bacteriophage lambda (lambdaQ) is a transcription anti-terminator required for the expression of the phage's late genes under the control of promoter P(R'). To effect terminator read-through, lambdaQ must gain access to RNA polymerase (RNAP) via a promoter-restricted pathway. In particular, lambdaQ modifies RNAP by binding a specific DNA site embedded in P(R') and interacting with RNAP in the context of a specific paused early elongation complex. The resultant lambdaQ-modified transcription elongation complex is competent to read through downstream termination signals. Here we use a chromatin-immunoprecipitation assay to test the hypothesis that lambdaQ functions as a stable component of the transcription elongation complex. Our results indicate that, in vivo, the lambdaQ-modified transcription elongation complex contains Q as a stably associated subunit. Furthermore, we find that in the physiologically relevant context of an induced lambda lysogen, Q remains stably associated with RNAP as it transcribes at least 22 kb of the phage late operon. Thus, our findings suggest that the promoter-specific pathway leading to lambdaQ-mediated terminator read-through results in the formation of a highly stable lambdaQ-containing transcription elongation complex capable of traversing the entire late operon.
A Novel Distal Enhancer Mediates Cytokine Induction of Mouse Rankl Gene Expression

Chronic inflammatory states are associated with increased bone loss. This increase is often linked to an elevation in receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL), a TNFα-like factor essential to osteoclast formation. In this study, we document the ability of IL-6 in combination with IL-6 soluble receptor (IL-6/IL-6sR) and oncostatin M to induce Rankl expression in stromal cells via signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3). We used chromatin immunoprecipitation-tiled DNA microarray analysis to determine sites of action of STAT3 at the Rankl locus and to assess the consequences of binding on histone H4 acetylation and RNA polymerase II recruitment. Both IL-6/IL-6 soluble receptor and oncostatin M stimulated STAT3 binding upstream of the Rankl transcriptional start site. Although previously identified enhancers bound STAT3, a more distal enhancer termed mRLD6 was a particular focus of STAT3 binding. When fused to a heterologous promoter, this enhancer was highly active, containing two functionally active STAT response elements. Importantly, small interfering RNA knockdown of Stat3 mRNA and protein, but not that of Stat1 or Stat5a, was effective in limiting Rankl mRNA up-regulation. Interestingly, although RNA polymerase II and histone H4 acetylation marked many of the enhancers under basal conditions, the levels of both were strongly increased after cytokine treatment, particularly at mRLD6. Finally, mRLD6 was also a target for forskolin-induced cellular response element-binding protein (CREB) recruitment, which potentiated cytokine activity. Our studies provide new insight into mechanisms by which glycoprotein 130 activating cytokines induce RANKL expression.
Energy Efficient Design

To effectively optimize the energy efficiency of a processor system, it is critical to first understand the computational demands placed upon it and the usage model of the processor. This information is then coupled with simple CMOS circuit models suitable for deep sub-micron process technologies to define metrics that can be used to derive energy-efficient design principles.
Las batallas de Chachayllo: la lucha por el agua de riego en el Valle del Colca (Arequipa, Perú)

Las batallas por el control del agua de riego entre dos pueblos del valle del Colea, Yanque y Coporaque, ilustran la importancia de la irrigacion para la agricultura en los valles andinos del vertiente occidental, donde la temporada de lluvias es corta e irregular. Tambien ilustran la rivalidad que surge como consecuencia del recorte de una cuenca o subcuenca entre dos o mas unidades administrativas. Esta ponencia esta basada en documentos coloniales y republicanos que permiten seguir la trayectoria del fraccionamiento de poblacion y territorio. La autora propone la hipotesis que en la epoca prehispanica y en las primeras decadas de la colonia, las autoridades autoctonas controlaban el riego a nivel cuenca y subcuenca. Las instituciones coloniales (encomiendas y pueblos), y republicanas (distritos y comunidades indigenas o campesinas) crearon las divisiones sociales y territoriales· que son motivo de conflictos dificiles de resolver. The battles that have occurred between two villages of the Colea Valley, Yanque and Coporaque, for the control of water sources, reflect the importance of irrigation in this semiarid environment typical of the westem Andean escarpment. They also reflect the problems caused by the division of population and catchment basins into two or more administrative units as of the colonial period. This paper traces the history of population and territorial fragmentation as they transpire from colonial and republican documents pertaining to the Province of Collaguas, now called Caylloma. The author argues that in the prehispanic and early colonial period, native authorities controlled population and irrigation sources over extensive territories; and that colonial institutions such as villages, and republican administrative units such as distritos and indigenous or peasant comunidades (a legal construct associating groups of peasants) tend to create opposition and conflict over territorial boundaries and access to irrigation water.
Why Does Task-Specific Structure Improve Auditors' Risk Judgment Consensus?

Proponents argue that structured audit methods increase auditor consensus. But little evidence exists exploring specifically why structured methods might increase consensus. We conduct a qualitative analysis of the inherent risk assessment methodologies of two firms: one using a structured inherent risk assessment method (SIRAM) and the other using an unstructured inherent risk assessment method (UIRAM). We test the hypotheses suggested by our qualitative data in a quasi-experiment with 22 auditors from a SIRAM and 28 auditors from a UIRAM firm. Participants made inherent risk judgments using a standardized response scale similar to that used by the participating SIRAM firm. The results provide some support for our contention that agreement on linguistic risk labels and effort expended in making risk judgments mediate the relationship between auditors' training and experience and risk judgment consensus. Specifically, we find some evidence that higher cue weight agreement among SIRAM firm auditors compared with UIRAM firm auditors results from higher agreement on linguistic response scale labels and lower effort expended in expressing risk judgments. We also find evidence indicating that higher consistency among SIRAM auditors partially results from the differences in effort expended by auditors in acquiring cues.
Poor Bogo

Inside the wonderful world of a young girl's imagination, Bogo has the best time in ones life. Constantly laughing, playing and eating candy, life couldn't get any sweeter. It is only until this beautiful world is confronted by a boring and cruel reality that all the joy quickly fades away. Copyright held by creator.
Multiphase isenthalpic flash integrated with stability analysis

Abstract Isobaric, isenthalpic (PH) flash is challenging for multiphase non-isothermal flow simulation using an equation of state (EOS). This is because the number of equilibrium phases is unknown in temperature and composition space, and because the system of equations in PH flash becomes nearly degenerate for narrow-boiling fluids. The term “narrow-boiling” is used in the literature to refer to enthalpy that is sensitive to temperature. The primary objective of this research is to develop the multiphase PH-flash algorithm integrated with stability analysis that resolves the two technical challenges mentioned above. The secondary objective is to present a new analysis of narrow-boiling behavior by coupling energy and phase behavior equations through the temperature dependency of K values. The thermodynamic model used is the Peng-Robinson EOS with the van der Waals mixing rules. PH flash in this research is formulated by use of the tangent-plane-distance function, in which phase-split computation is integrated with phase-stability analysis. The formulated PH flash is solved by the direct-substitution algorithm with an arbitrary number of sampling compositions (NS), at which phase stability is measured during the iteration. The number of equilibrium phases is not required to be fixed in the new algorithm. Results in case studies show that the new algorithm can robustly handle phase appearance/disappearance with narrow-boiling behavior, including the case of one degree of freedom. The algorithm becomes more robust with increasing NS because the possibility of finding all stationary points of the tangent-plane-distance function increases. However, the number of iterations required tends to increase with increasing NS because the algorithm with more sampling compositions may take more iterations for merging and adding some of the sampling compositions. The general condition presented for narrow-boiling behavior is that the interplay between energy balance and phase behavior is significant. Two subsets of the condition are derived by analyzing the convex function whose gradient vectors consist of the Rachford-Rice equations; (i) the overall composition is near an edge of composition space, and (ii) the solution conditions (temperature, pressure, and overall composition) are near a critical point, including a critical endpoint. A special case of the first specific condition is the fluids with one degree of freedom. These conditions for narrow-boiling behavior are demonstrated in case studies.
The transport of radioactive debris and ozone from the stratosphere to the ground

An attempt is made to correlate radioactive fallout at the surface with ozone concentrations. This is done by comparing concentrations of strontium-90 observed in the stratosphere with mean ozone concentrations characteristic for the same altitude regions. Corrections are made for the relative contribution of90Sr to the total radiactivity as a function of time. Our estimates indicate that, with the fallout observed during 1963 and 1964, the mean background level of stratospheric ozone at the earth's surface should have stayed below 20 percent of the federally established one-hour maximum tolerance. On occasion, stratospheric air intrusions will produce O3 concentrations at the earth's surface approaching or exceeding the federal standard value.
Transfer across Computer Command Menus

Two experiments are reported which examine the effects of menu organization and command naming on performance across computer command menus. Results indicate that different menu organizations are best for different selection tasks when switching between applications. Surprisingly, different sources for command names have no effect on selection times.When users know the exact names of the commands that they are searching for, an alphabetic organization produces faster search times in early trials. However, when users know only the definitions of the commands that they are searching for, a conceptual organization leads to faster search times in early trials. Knowledge of this conceptual organization transfers to a new application and speeds selection time in the second application. Also, similar names for identical commands transfers to the second application and improves performance there. However, keeping identical commands in the same position across applications has no effect on performance.
Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms to resistance to chalkbrood in Apis mellifera

SummaryChalkbrood is a honey bee brood disease that often affects colonies that are already under stress. Control of the disease can be as simple as ensuring adequate ventilation and food sources or using clean beekeeping equipment. When the infection goes unchecked, however, the overall health and productivity of the colony is greatly decreased. Some strains of honey bees seem to be more troubled by the disease than others. Efforts to control rampant infections have not been widely accepted or successful. Identifying a genetic basis for resistance in the affected larvae would be useful for breeding for improved resistance in bee populations. We here show a statistically significant association between larval chalkbrood resistance and a genomic locus. Selective breeding for larval resistance can probably work in concert with breeding for desirable characteristics such that chalkbrood can become a negligible disease among managed colonies.
Chemical Sensor based on Thin Film Optical Planar Waveguide

We describe novel sensor of ammonia based on a planar optical waveguide made of thin film of polymer polyimide doped with indicator dye bromocresol purple. The film of dyedoped polyimide demonstrated reversible increase of absorption with a peak near 600 nm in response to presence of ammonia in ambient air. Coupling of input and output optic fibers with the waveguide was done by means of coupling prisms or coupling grooves. The latter configuration has the advantage of low cost, less sensitivity to temperature variation, and the possibility of coupling from both sides of the waveguide. Special experimental setup was built to test the sensor. It included test gas chamber with sealed optic fiber feedthroughs, gas filling line, laser source, photodetector, and signal processing hardware and software. The sensitivity of the sensor was evaluated to be close to 100 ppm of ammonia in air and the time response was about 8 seconds. Further increase of sensitivity can be achieved by adding more dye dopant to the polymer, increase of the length of the waveguide, and suppression of the noise. Overexposure of the sensor to more than 5000 ppm of ammonia led to the saturation of the sensitive film and, as a result, significant decrease of its sensitivity and increase of the response time. The sensor can be used as low cost component of a distributed optical network of chemical sensors for monitoring presence of hazardous air pollutants in the exhaust of aircraft/spacecraft propulsion systems.
Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCD)

Anxiety is known to be a commonly, co-occurring phenomenon with autism. Also, in daily practice, these symptoms often are confused with core symptoms of autism. Accurately determining OCD and anxiety from autism has important implications for treatment. This chapter reviews current methods and procedures available to help make these distinctions.
Progress and pitfalls in small-cell lung cancer.

mall-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a distinct clinicopathologic entity that is characterized by neuroendocrine differentiation, early metastatic spread, and initial responsiveness to cytotoxic therapy.
Robust metropolis-hastings algorithm for safe reversible Markov chain synthesis

This paper presents a new method to synthesize safe reversible Markov chains via classical Metropolis-Hastings (M-H) algorithm. Classical M-H algorithm does not impose safety constraints on the probability vector for the resulting Markov chain. This paper provides a convex synthesis method that incorporates the safety constraints via proper choice of the proposal matrix for the M-H algorithm. The resulting proposal matrix is a stochastic matrix that ensures safety for a nominal stationary distribution. Then it is shown that the M-H algorithm with this proposal matrix, robust M-H algorithm, also ensures safety for a well-characterized convex set of stationary distributions, which also includes the nominal stationary distribution. We also present a convex synthesis method for the proposal matrix to maximize the size of this resulting set of feasible stationary distributions for the robust M-H algorithm. Simulation results are also provided to demonstrate that there is no tradeoff between the speed of convergence and the robustness.
Automatic speech recognition using lp-dctc/dcs analysis followed by morphological filtering

Front-end feature extraction techniques have long been a critical component in Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR). Nonlinear filtering techniques are becoming increasingly important in this application, and are often better than linear filters at removing noise without distorting speech features. However, design and analysis of nonlinear filters are more difficult than for linear filters. Mathematical morphology, which creates filters based on shape and size characteristics, is a design structure for nonlinear filters. These filters are limited to minimum and maximum operations that introduce a deterministic bias into filtered signals. This work develops filtering structures based on a mathematical morphology that utilizes the bias while emphasizing spectral peaks. The combination of peak emphasis via LP analysis with morphological filtering results in more noise robust speech recognition rates. To help understand the behavior of these pre-processing techniques the deterministic and statistical properties of the morphological filters are compared to the properties of feature extraction techniques that do not employ such algorithms. The robust behavior of these algorithms for automatic speech recognition in the presence of rapidly fluctuating speech signals with additive and convolutional noise is illustrated. Examples of these nonlinear feature extraction techniques are given using the Aurora 2.0 and Aurora 3.0 databases. Features are computed using LP analysis alone to emphasize peaks, morphological filtering alone, or a combination of the two approaches. Although absolute best results are normally obtained using a combination of the two methods, morphological filtering alone is nearly as effective and much more computationally efficient.
From personal goals disclosed to personality judgments composed: Trait perceptions made on the basis of idiographic goals

Abstract Traits and goals represent discrete units of personality. Here, we examined the consensus, validity, and cues of trait judgments made on the basis of targets’ goals. Targets ( N = 409) generated lists of personal goals and rated their traits. Observers were provided with targets’ (a) lists of goals, (b) first goals, or (c) fifth goals, and then reported trait judgments of targets. Perceptions of targets, which were formed on the basis of the emotional content of goals, were largely consistent among observers. Furthermore, observer reports made on the basis of participants’ lists of goals converged with self-reports of all traits whereas reports made on the basis of single goals converged with self-reports of certain (e.g., extraversion), but not all, traits.
Active Control over the Interplay between the Dark and Hidden Sides of Plasmonics Using Metallodielectric Au–Ge2Sb2Te5 Unit Cells

We present a systematic study for a metallodielectric nanoplasmonic unit cell to support both Fano and toroidal resonances in the near-infrared region. Using full electromagnetic computations, we show that a combination of phase-changing and metallic materials allows for designing a unit cell with different spectral responses at different phases of the phase-changing material (here Ge2Sb2Te5 or simply GST). This phenomenon of switching between toroidal response and Fano resonant mode is confirmed using both finite-element and finite-difference time-domain methods. Having active control over the interplay between narrow and tunable Fano and toroidal modes at different wavelengths with fast transition would allow for developing efficient and practical photonic devices for communication and imaging applications.
Intensity of geomagnetic field in the Precambrian and evolution of the Earth’s deep interior

Reliable data on the paleointensity of the geomagnetic field can become an important source of information both about the mechanisms of generation of the field at present and in the past, and about the internal structure of the Earth, especially the structure and evolution of its core. Unfortunately, the reliability of these data remains a serious problem of paleomagnetic research because of the limitations of experimental methods, and the complexity and diversity of rocks and their magnetic carriers. This is true even for relatively “young” Phanerozoic rocks, but investigation of Precambrian rocks is associated with many additional difficulties. As a consequence, our current knowledge of paleointensity, especially in the Precambrian period, is still very limited. The data limitations do not preclude attempts to use the currently available paleointensity results to analyze the evolution and characteristics of the Earth’s internal structure, such as the age of the Earth’s solid inner core or thermal conductivity in the liquid core. However, such attempts require considerable caution in handling data. In particular, it has now been reliably established that some results on the Precambrian paleointensity overestimate the true paleofield strength. When the paleointensity overestimates are excluded from consideration, the range of the field strength changes in the Precambrian does not exceed the range of its variation in the Phanerozoic. This result calls into question recent assertions that the Earth’s inner core formed in the Mesoproterozoic, about 1.3 billion years ago, triggering a statistically significant increase in the long-term average field strength. Instead, our analysis has shown that the quantity and quality of the currently available data on the Precambrian paleointensity are insufficient to estimate the age of the solid inner core and, therefore, cannot be useful for solving the problem of the thermal conductivity of the Earth’s core. The data are consistent with very young or very “old” inner core ages and, correspondingly, with high or low values of core thermal conductivity.
The Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) Method

This chapter is an overview of the numerical method used to model the devices presented in this work.
Accounting for Nonadherence.

Article, see p 2128 Medication nonadherence is a common and depressingly refractory problem. For cardiac medications, long-term adherence to statins, ACE inhibitors, and β-blockers hovers around 50% to 60%, regardless of insurance status, clinical indication, and setting. Even in the period immediately after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), a time during which one might expect patients to be particularly attuned to the importance of taking medications as prescribed, adherence is surprisingly low. In a study of Canadian adults ≥65 years of age who were discharged after hospitalization for AMI, only 80% of cardiovascular medications were filled in the first 120 days, with antiplatelet medications (excluding aspirin) filled by only 55% of the cohort.1 In an observational study of patients after percutaneous coronary intervention, ≈1 out of 3 people did not take their medications as prescribed, with many failing to take antiplatelet medications at least twice a week.2 Unfortunately, adherence data are typically invisible to frontline clinicians and health system leaders because we lack the integrated tracking systems needed to surveille for nonadherence and support quality improvement projects intended to address this important domain of care. Moreover, although evidence exists to support multidimensional approaches to improve adherence, few mechanisms are in place that would make healthcare systems accountable for the adherence of patients under their care. In this issue of Circulation , Mathews et al3 once again bring nonadherence into focus by examining adherence to cardiovascular medications in the first 90 days after hospital …
Role of the Human Laboratory in the Development of Medications for Alcohol and Drug Dependence

The current review illustrates the extent to which human laboratory methods of abuse liability assessment have been useful in the development of medications for alcohol and drug dependence. The three medications for the treatment of alcohol dependence (disulfiram, naltrexone, and acamprosate) were approved by the Food and Drug Administration without such studies, but increasingly, human laboratory studies are improving our understanding of the mechanism and selectivity of their effects. In contrast, many putative treatments for cocaine dependence, and to a lesser extent methamphetamine dependence, have been screened by human laboratory studies—though no effective treatments have yet been developed. Conclusions suggest that methods to screen the safety and possible efficacy of putative treatments in the human laboratory are validated, but that the efficacy of outpatient treatment also involves compliance factors which have not been adequately modeled in human laboratory studies.
Ferroelectric Aluminum-Doped Hafnium Oxide for Memory Applications

Ferroelectric complex perovskites, such as lead zirconate titanate (PZT), strontium bismuth tantalate (SBT), and lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (PMN-PT) have been widely used in ferroelectric devices. However, these traditional ferroelectric materials have a limitation in thickness scaling and are incompatible with CMOS processes. In the last few years, doped metal oxides, including hafnium oxide (Hf0 2 ) and zirconium oxide (ZrO 2 ), were found to have ferroelectric phase [1]–[2]. Ferroelectric HfO 2 has the advantages of a high coercive field, excellent scalability (down to 2.5nm), and good compatibility with CMOS processing [3]–[7]. In this paper, we systematically investigate Al-doped HfO 2 with various electrodes, Al compositions and annealing temperatures. We found that Ti/Pd is a promising candidate as top electrode material for ferroelectric HfO 2 .
Growing research in global surgery with an eye towards equity

BACKGROUND Global surgery research is often generated through collaborative partnerships between researchers from both low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and high-income countries (HICs). Inequitable engagement of LMIC collaborators can limit the impact of the research. METHODS This article describes evidence of inequities in the conduct of global surgery research and outlines reasons why the inequities in this research field may be more acute than in other global health research disciplines. The paper goes on to describe activities for building a collaborative research portfolio in rural Rwanda. RESULTS Inequities in global surgery research collaborations can be attributed to: a limited number and experience of researchers working in this field; time constraints on both HIC and LMIC global surgery researchers; and surgical journal policies. Approaches to build a robust, collaborative research portfolio in Rwanda include leading research trainings focused on global surgery projects, embedding surgical fellows in Rwanda to provide bidirectional research training and outlining all research products, ensuring that all who are engaged have opportunities to grow in capacities, including leading research, and that collaborators share opportunities equitably. Of the 22 published or planned papers, half are led by Rwandan researchers, and the research now has independent research funding. CONCLUSION It is unacceptable to gather data from an LMIC without meaningful engagement in all aspects of the research and sharing opportunities with local collaborators. The strategies outlined here can help research teams build global surgery research portfolios that optimize the potential for equitable engagement.
Heat Treatment Effect on Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Polymers

PMMA, PC, and PEEK are thermoplastic polymers that possess favorable properties for biomedical applications. These polymers have been used in fields of maxillo-facial, orthopedic, intraocular surgery, and bio-implant, due to their excellent mechanical properties, osteoinductive potential, and antimicrobial capabilities. In this study, the effect of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of 3D printed polymers was characterized. By modifying printing temperature and post heat treatment process, the mechanical properties were specifically tailored for different applications, correlating with the properties of the implants that are commonly made using molding processes.
Selective feeding by larval dytiscids (Coleoptera:Dytiscidae) and effects of fish predation on upper littoral zone macroinvertebrate communities of arctic lakes

Upper littoral zones of 13 lakes with fish and 10 lakes without fish were sampled to compare macroinvertebrate communities. Lakes with fish had lower macroinvertebrate species richness, diversity, and smaller-sized individuals than lakes without fish. Larger invertebrates, including most large invertebrate predators, such as dytiscids, corixids, odonates, Gammarus, and Chaoborus, were generally not found in lakes with fish. To determine the feeding behavior of a conspicuous invertebrate predator found in fishless lakes, the predaceous diving beetle (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae), we used microcosm feeding experiments and a molecular technique for gut content analysis. Dytiscids were sit-and-wait predators in the laboratory, feeding on large, mobile species and avoiding smaller, benthic species. Gut content analyses of field-caught dytiscids, as assessed by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, were not entirely consistent with laboratory selectivity studies, but the field results did confirm that dytiscids fed on large mobile species. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that small prey might also have been ingested. We conclude that fish impact macroinvertebrate diversity in the upper littoral zones of these arctic lakes by excluding large invertebrates and decreasing species richness, diversity, and size-distribution of individuals. Dytiscids in fishless lakes feed on large species as well, but clearly do not eliminate them from lakes as do fish.
Periacetabular Osteotomy for the Treatment of Skeletally Mature Acetabular Dysplasia

Acetabular dysplasia is a common cause of persistent hip pain and limited function in young mature patients. Literature has shown that these patients with acetabular dysplasia are an increased risk for early progression to osteoarthritis. Periacetabular osteotomy, with the appropriate indications, can significantly improve both pain and function, as well as help to prevent the development of early osteoarthritis. Throughout this review we will discuss the indications, surgical technique, and outcomes of periacetabular osteotomy for the treatment of acetabular dysplasia in mature patients.
The Nemofication of Nature: Animals, Artificiality, and Affect at Disney World

When Disney opened The Living Seas pavilion at Epcot in 1986, Disney tourists were transported to “Seabase Alpha,” an imaginary ocean research facility of the future that emphasized ecology and environmentalism instead of relying on the nostalgia and fantasy common to the Magic Kingdom. In 2001, faced with dwindling crowds, Disney began to transform the pavilion to focus on the characters from the Pixar film Finding Nemo, with the attraction renamed The Seas with Nemo and Friends. In this chapter, Jennifer A. Kokai draws attention to the diminishment of live non-human creatures in favor of more easily controlled and anthropomorphized animals, which she terms “Nemofication.” Many theme parks, like Disney, lean into this anthropomorphization with the idea that it will inspire guests to care more about the natural world, but at the same time, the framing choices built into the attractions ironically provide ecologically unsustainable choices, poor information, and shallow thinking as examples for visitors.
Comparison of pore structure in alkali activated fly ash geopolymer and ordinary concrete due to alkali-silica reaction using micro-computed tomography

Abstract Alkali-Silica reaction (ASR) is a deleterious chemical reaction in concrete and manifests itself through pore structure changes. Alkali activated fly ash geopolymer concrete is a new type of green concrete that forms binder through alkali activated materials without using Portland cement. However, due to the alkali solution used, alkali activated fly ash geopolymer concrete is naturally susceptible to ASR. In this paper, ASR effect is traced through pore distribution and its change with time through micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT). Through Micro-CT images, it is found that ASR in fly ash geopolymer concrete is less severe than its ordinary Portland cement concrete counterpart, since the pore distribution in fly ash geopolymer concrete is more uniform and does not change with time, while increasing sizes of pores are found in the ordinary Portland cement concrete.
Safety and histologic outcomes of endoscopic submucosal dissection with a novel articulating knife for esophageal neoplasia

Background and Aims Treatment of large esophageal neoplasia is gradually evolving from piecemeal to en bloc resections. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is known to achieve more complete resections than piecemeal EMR for large lesions, yet it remains underused in the West because of technical and safety concerns with traditional electrosurgical knives. We aimed to evaluate a novel endoscopic articulating knife used with ESD (ESD-AR) to determine its safety and efficacy for large esophageal neoplasms in comparison with EMR. Methods We retrospectively studied clinically indicated cases of ESD-AR and EMR for esophageal lesions that were 15 mm or greater. All EMR cases had at least 3 simultaneous EMRs to adequately compare resection area. Rates of perforation, GI bleeding, technical performance, and pre- and postendoscopic resection diagnoses were evaluated. Results Seventy-two ESD-AR and 72 widespread EMR cases were evaluated for Barrett’s esophagus (56%), adenocarcinoma (36%), squamous nodularity (2%), and squamous cell carcinoma (6%). There were no statistical differences in age, sex, Barrett’s esophagus length, and lesion or resection size between the 2 groups. No perforations occurred. Two adverse events were recorded with ESD-AR and none with EMR (3% vs 0%, P = .50); these were associated with anticoagulation use (P = .04) and greater resection area (P = .02). There were more upgraded diagnoses post-ESD versus EMR (27% vs 12%, P = .05). Conclusions ESD-AR by an experienced endoscopist has a comparable safety profile with widespread EMR for large esophageal neoplasia and may have advantages for diagnostic staging.
Supervised Dimensionality Reduction and Visualization using Centroid-encoder.

Visualizing high-dimensional data is an essential task in Data Science and Machine Learning. The Centroid-Encoder (CE) method is similar to the autoencoder but incorporates label information to keep objects of a class close together in the reduced visualization space. CE exploits nonlinearity and labels to encode high variance in low dimensions while capturing the global structure of the data. We present a detailed analysis of the method using a wide variety of data sets and compare it with other supervised dimension reduction techniques, including NCA, nonlinear NCA, t-distributed NCA, t-distributed MCML, supervised UMAP, supervised PCA, Colored Maximum Variance Unfolding, supervised Isomap, Parametric Embedding, supervised Neighbor Retrieval Visualizer, and Multiple Relational Embedding. We empirically show that centroid-encoder outperforms most of these techniques. We also show that when the data variance is spread across multiple modalities, centroid-encoder extracts a significant amount of information from the data in low dimensional space. This key feature establishes its value to use it as a tool for data visualization.
Adsorption energy as a metric for wettability at the nanoscale.

Wettability is the affinity of a liquid for a solid surface. For energetic reasons, macroscopic drops of liquid form nearly spherical caps. The degree of wettability is then captured by the contact angle where the liquid-vapor interface meets the solid-liquid interface. As droplet volumes shrink to the scale of attoliters, however, surface interactions become significant, and droplets assume distorted shapes. In this regime, the contact angle becomes ambiguous, and a scalable metric for quantifying wettability is needed, especially given the emergence of technologies exploiting liquid-solid interactions at the nanoscale. Here we combine nanoscale experiments with molecular-level simulation to study the breakdown of spherical droplet shapes at small length scales. We demonstrate how measured droplet topographies increasingly reveal non-spherical features as volumes shrink. Ultimately, the nanoscale droplets flatten out to form layer-like molecular assemblies at the solid surface. For the lack of an identifiable contact angle at small scales, we introduce a droplet’s adsorption energy density as a new metric for a liquid’s affinity for a surface. We discover that extrapolating the macroscopic idealization of a drop to the nanoscale, though it does not geometrically resemble a realistic droplet, can nonetheless recover its adsorption energy if line tension is included.
Quantum-Correlated Photon-Pair Generation via Cascaded Nonlinearity in a Thin-Film Lithium-Niobate Waveguide

We generate quantum-correlated photon-pairs using traveling-wave cascaded nonlinear interactions in a single periodically-poled thin-film lithium-niobate-on-insulator waveguide with >10 coincidence-to-accidental ratio.
Effects of the UNOS Allocation Policy Change on Impella Use as Bridge in Heart Transplant

Purpose Impella is used as a bridge for heart transplantation (HT) in unstable patients. We sought to compare baseline characteristics and 6-month post-transplant survival in patients who utilized impella as a bridge to HT in the one year before and after the UNOS allocation policy change. Methods We queried the UNOS database for all adult heart transplant recipients that were bridged to heart transplantation with an Impella device (n=90). Exclusion criteria included patients who were younger than 18 years old, lost to follow-up, or who had multi-organ transplant were excluded. Pre-policy era (n=25) and post-policy era (n=65) baseline characteristics were compared via standard statistical analysis, reported in median and IQR. Kaplan Meier survival analysis and univariate cox regression were performed. Multivariate cox proportional hazard (PH) regression analysis was adjusted for age, donor age, recipient creatinine and bilirubin at the time of heart transplantation, dialysis, and ischemic time. Results There was no difference in baseline characteristics between groups. The post policy change was associated with increased ischemic time (3.8 vs 2.8 hours, p=0.01) and increased distance from donor and recipient hospitals (248 vs 36 nautical miles, p=0.01). UNOS policy change was not a significant predictor of post-transplant mortality on either unadjusted (p >0.9) or adjusted (p>0.9) Cox PH modeling. Conclusion The distance between donor hospital to transplant center was farther, and ischemic time was longer in the post-era policy change. In spite of this, overall mortality was unchanged.
Position-dependent Codon Usage Bias in the Human Transcriptome

All life depends on the reliable translation of RNA to protein according to complex interactions between translation machinery and RNA sequence features. While ribosomal occupancy and codon frequencies vary across coding regions, well-established metrics for computing coding potential of RNA do not capture such positional dependence. Here, we investigate position-dependent codon usage bias (PDCUB), which dynamically accounts for the position of protein-coding signals embedded within coding regions. We demonstrate the existence of PDCUB in the human transcriptome, and show that it can be used to predict translation-initiating codons with greater accuracy than other models. We further show that observed PDCUB is not accounted for by other common metrics, including position-dependent GC content, consensus sequences, and the presence of signal peptides in the translation product. More importantly, PDCUB defines a spectrum of translational efficiency supported by ribosomal occupancy and tRNA adaptation index (tAI). High PDCUB scores correspond to a tAI-defined translational ramp and low ribosomal occupancy, while low PDCUB scores exhibit a translational valley and the highest ribosomal occupancy. Finally, we examine the relationship between PDCUB intensity and functional enrichment. We find that transcripts with start codons showing the highest PDCUB are enriched for functions relating to the regulation of synaptic signaling and plasticity, as well as skeletal, heart, and nervous-system development. Furthermore, transcripts with high PDCUB are depleted for functions related to immune response and detection of chemical stimulus. These findings lay important groundwork for advances in our understanding of the regulation of translation, the calculation of coding potential, and the classification of RNA transcripts.
Mutations at the Alphavirus E2/E1 inter-dimer interface have host-specific phenotypes

Alphaviruses are enveloped viruses that are transmitted by an arthropod vector to vertebrate hosts. Alphaviruses have glycoprotein spikes on their particle surface which are essential for viral entry. Each of the 80 spikes on the surface of an alphavirus particle consists of a trimer of E2-E1 heterodimers. Two types of interactions make up the spikes: (1) interactions between E2 and E1 of the same heterodimer called intra-dimer contacts, and (2) inter-dimer interactions between E2 of one heterodimer and E1 of the adjacent heterodimer (called E1). We hypothesized that the inter-dimer interactions are essential for trimerization of the E2-E1 heterodimers into a functional spike. In this work, we made a mutant virus where we replaced six inter-dimeric residues in Sindbis virus (WT SINV) with those from Chikungunya virus (CHIKV); the mutant is called CPB. CPB grew slower and to lower levels than WT SINV in mammalian cells, but not mosquito cells. When CPB virus was purified from mammalian cells, particles showed reduced amounts of glycoproteins relative to capsid protein, and defects in particle morphology compared to mosquito cells. CPB transported glycoproteins to the plasma membrane in similar amounts to WT SINV in mammalian cells. Two revertants, E2-H333N and E1-S247L, restored particle assembly to different degrees. The viruses were visualized by cryo-EM. We determined that the spikes of CPB had a different conformation than WT SINV or the revertants. We conclude that the inter-dimer mutant, CPB, has host-dependent defects in spike trimerization and/or particle budding in mammalian cells. IMPORTANCEAlphaviruses, which can cause disease when spread to humans by mosquitoes, have been classified as an emerging pathogen with a global distribution. The spikes on the surface of the alphavirus particle are absolutely required for the virus to enter a new host cell and initiate an infection. Using a structure-guided approach, we made a mutant virus that alters spike assembly in mammalian cells but not mosquito cells. This is important because it identifies a region in the spike that could be a target for antiviral drug design.