cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Learning styles and barriers to learning perceived by adult students on campus

Conceptualization Figure 4: Kolb's Model of Experiential Learning (Claxton & Murrell, 1987, p. 26) The continuum for taking in information requires skills in concrete experience (CE) and abstract conceptualization (AC), while the continuum for transforming the experience requires skills in reflective observation (RO) and abstract experimentation (AE). As students experience new situations, the learning process requires them to involve varying abilities from the two dialectically opposed dimensions. They must
Revolution with a “Human” Face: A Corpus Approach to the Semantics of Czech Lidskost

This contribution uses corpus tools to examine the meaning of a Czech word, the abstract noun lidskost, and some of its related forms. Lidskost is usually translated as “humanity,” “humanness,” or “humaneness,” but it has cultural and political import in the Czech(oslovak) context that these English terms lack. It is, for example, associated with the work of the seventeenth-century Czech pedagogue and philosopher Jan Amos Comenius as well as with the humanistic ethos of T. G. Masaryk, the president of the first Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938), and also with the 1968 Prague Spring movement and the Velvet Revolution that followed two decades later. I first present a semantic-discourse portrait of the word within its larger semantic field, and then investigate English translation equivalents. With this baseline established, I then analyze, in its original Czech as well as in English translation, a lidskost-oriented text from the 1980s written by Vaclav Havel, which provides a map of lidskost as simultaneously a personal and sociopolitical principle, one that can adequately serve as a rallying cry for revolutionary moments in Czech(oslovak) history, if not also beyond.
Providing HIV Comprehensive Care to Latino/as Who Inject Drugs: Philadelphia, 2013–2018

Latino/as who inject drugs have the lowest level of retention in HIV care and the lowest HIV viral suppression rates in the United States. We set up an intervention to provide comprehensive, integrated HIV primary care services to Spanish-speaking and bilingual HIV-positive people who inject drugs of Puerto Rican ancestry in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2016, the rate of HIV viral suppression in our intervention (83%) far exceeded the rate for all individuals diagnosed with HIV in Philadelphia (51%).
Allosteric modulation of sigma receptors by BH3 mimetics ABT-737, ABT-263 (Navitoclax) and ABT-199 (Venetoclax).

Abstract ABT-737, ABT-263 (Navitoclax) and ABT-199 (Venetoclax) are under intensive preclinical and clinical investigation as treatments for hematologic and other malignancies. These small molecules mimic pro-death B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) Homology 3 (BH3) domain-only proteins. They also bear a structural resemblance to certain sigma (σ) receptor ligands. Moreover, the Bcl-2 and σ receptor protein families are both located primarily at the endoplasmic reticulum, mediate cell death and survival through protein–protein interactions, and physically associate. Accordingly, we examined the ability of the ABT series of BH3 mimetics to interact with σ receptors using radioligand-binding techniques. Negative allosteric modulation of [3H](+)-pentazocine, an agonist, binding to σ1 receptors in guinea pig brain membranes was observed for ABT-737, ABT-263 and ABT-199. Findings included reduction of specific binding to distinct plateaus in concentration-dependent fashion, significant slowing of radioligand dissociation kinetics, and decreases in radioligand affinity with no or modest changes in maximal receptor densities. Using a ternary complex model, dissociation constants (KX) for modulator binding to the σ1 receptor ranged from 1 to 2.5 μM, while negative cooperativity factors (α), representing the changes in affinity of ligand and modulator when bound as a ternary complex with the receptor, ranged from 0.15 to 0.42. These observations were extended and reinforced by studies using intact small cell (NCI-H69) and non-small cell (NCI-H23) lung cancer cells, and by using an antagonist σ1 receptor radioligand, E-N-1-(3′-[125I]iodoallyl)-N′-4-(3″,4″-dimethoxyphenethyl)piperazine, in mouse brain membranes. By contrast, exploratory studies indicate marked enhancement of the σ2 receptor binding of [3H]1,3-di-(o-tolyl)guanidine/(+)-pentazocine in NCI-H23 cells and guinea pig brain membranes. These findings raise intriguing questions regarding mechanism and potential functional outcomes.
Evolutionary and ecological insights from herbicide-resistant weeds: what have we learned about plant adaptation, and what is left to uncover?

The evolution of herbicide resistance in crop weeds presents one of the greatest challenges to agriculture and the production of food. Herbicide resistance has been studied for more than 60 yr, in the large part by researchers seeking to design effective weed control programs. As an outcome of this work, various unique questions in plant adaptation have been addressed. Here, I collate recent research on the herbicide-resistant problem in light of key questions and themes in evolution and ecology. I highlight discoveries made on herbicide-resistant weeds in three broad areas - the genetic basis of adaptation, evolutionary constraints, experimental evolution - and similarly discuss questions left to be answered. I then develop how one would use herbicide-resistance evolution as a model for studying eco-evolutionary dynamics within a community context. My overall goals are to highlight important findings in the weed science literature that are relevant to themes in plant adaptation and to stimulate the use of herbicide-resistant plants as models for addressing key questions within ecology and evolution.
Bone Biomarker Response to Walking under Different Thermal Conditions in Older Adults.

Endurance exercise can cause a decrease in serum ionized calcium (iCa) and increases in parathyroid hormone (PTH) and c-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), which may be due to Ca loss in sweat. Purpose This study aimed to determine whether exercise in a warm environment exaggerates the decrease in iCa and increases in PTH and CTX compared with a cool environment in older adults. Methods Twelve women and men 61-78 yr old performed two identical 60-min treadmill bouts at ~75% of maximal heart rate under warm and cool conditions. Serum iCa, PTH, and CTX were measured every 15 min starting 15 min before and continuing for 60 min after exercise. Sweat Ca loss was estimated from sweat volume and sweat Ca concentration. Results Sweat volume was low and variable; there were no differences in sweat volume or Ca concentration between conditions. iCa decreased after 15 min of exercise, and the change was similar in both conditions. Increases in PTH (warm: 16.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 6.2, 26.5 pg·mL; cool: 17.3, 95% CI = 8.1, 26.4 pg·mL) and CTX (warm: 0.08, 95% CI = 0.05, 0.11 ng·mL; cool: 0.08, 95% CI = 0.01, 0.16 ng·mL) from before to immediately after exercise were statistically significant and similar between conditions. Adjusting for plasma volume shifts did not change the results. Conclusion The increases in PTH and CTX, despite the low sweat volume, suggest that dermal Ca loss is not a major factor in the decrease in iCa and increases in PTH and CTX observed during exercise in older adults.
Foreign object ingestion and esophageal food impaction: An update and review on endoscopic management

Foreign body ingestion encompasses both foreign object ingestion (FOI) and esophageal food impaction (EFI) and represents a common and clinically significant scenario among patients of all ages. The immediate risk to the patient ranges from negligible to life-threatening, depending on the ingested substance, its location, patient fitness, and time to appropriate therapy. This article reviews the FOI and EFI literature and highlights important considerations and implications for pediatric and adult patients as well as their providers. Where published literature is insufficient to provide evidence-based guidance, expert opinion is included to supplement the content of this comprehensive review.
Surgery for Acute Bariatric Complications

Bariatric surgery is a rapidly growing field with over 200,000 surgeries performed in the United States. While not a part of the training curricula, it is paramount that general surgeons be familiar with the potential acute complications related to bariatric surgery. Patients may present with complications related to their weight loss surgery at a different facility from where they had their primary procedure, it will fall upon that center’s on-call surgeon to manage the potentially life threatening event. This chapter aims to highlight adverse events linked to weight loss surgery and present a systematic approach in their management.
Strain-assisted magnetization reversal in Co/Ni multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Multifunctional materials composed of ultrathin magnetic films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy combined with ferroelectric substrates represent a new approach toward low power, fast, high density spintronics. Here we demonstrate Co/Ni multilayered films with tunable saturation magnetization and perpendicular anisotropy grown directly on ferroelectric PZT [Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3] substrate plates. Electric fields up to ±2 MV/m expand the PZT by 0.1% and generate at least 0.02% in-plane compression in the Co/Ni multilayered film. Modifying the strain with a voltage can reduce the coercive field by over 30%. We also demonstrate that alternating in-plane tensile and compressive strains (less than 0.01%) can be used to propagate magnetic domain walls. This ability to manipulate high anisotropy magnetic thin films could prove useful for lowering the switching energy for magnetic elements in future voltage-controlled spintronic devices.
Comparing Calculation Methods for Damper Bars in Synchronous Electric Machines

This paper reviews popular methods for estimating damper currents in field-would salient rotor synchronous machines. Most research dealing with electric machine analysis tend to simplify multi-damper bar designs with two orthogonal dampers (commonly called D and Q). This paper uses an internally developed FEA (Finite Element Analysis) software to independently analyze the current in each damper bar using 3 popular methods.
Hydrodynamic regulation of lymphatic vessel transport function and the impact of aging

Abstract The chapter provides a broad overview of the literature related to the major hydrodynamic mechanisms that regulate lymphatic vessel contractility and lymph flow. The topics include concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic lymph pumps and flow, influences of intralymphatic pressure, and various patterns of lymph flow on phasic and tonic contractions of lymphatic vessels (including wall shear stress-dependent regulatory mechanisms). This chapter will also provide information on the novel regulatory role of histamine as an endothelium-derived relaxing factor in mesenteric lymphatic vessels. Lastly, the chapter summarizes available literature data on aging-associated changes of these mechanisms.
Deconstructing American Exceptionalism

This chapter contends that American exceptionalism is, and always has been, a characteristic with both positive and negative traits. The idea that exceptionalism can be negative and/or positive is not completely new, but the assertion that exceptionalism’s positive and negative elements is evident in the very concept and nature of American exceptionalism is, in fact, noteworthy. Instead of focusing on examples of negative exceptionalism, this chapter examines exceptionalism’s inherent negative and positive elements. To demonstrate these tensions’ rootedness in the very idea of American exceptionalism, I deconstruct the concept by interrogating the progenitor of American exceptionalism, Tocqueville’s texts, ultimately revealing the tensions between positive and negative exceptional qualities as present in U.S. exceptionalism from its initial creation.
The Outcome of Redo Heart Transplant Patients

Purpose Redo heart transplantation remains the only treatment for cardiac graft failure. Past research has shown that redo heart transplantation appears to have acceptable outcomes in selected patients. However, it has been shown that redo heart transplant patients have a higher tendency towards developing circulating antibodies post- redo transplant and could be at risk for worse outcome. We sought to assess the outcome of redo heart-transplant patients at our large single center. Methods Between 2010 and 2018 we assessed 871 patients undergoing heart transplantation. We divided these patients into those who underwent their first transplant (T1: n=837) and those who underwent their second or third transplant (T2/3: n=34). Endpoints included 1 and 5 year survival, freedom from the development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) (as defined by stenosis ≥30% by angiography), non-fatal major adverse cardiac events (NF-MACE: myocardial infarction, new congestive heart failure, percutaneous coronary intervention, implantable cardioverter defibrillator/pacemaker implant, stroke), any treated rejection (ATR), acute cellular rejection (ACR), antibody-mediated rejection (AMR). Results There was no difference between the two groups in terms of 1 or 5 -Year survival, freedom from CAV, NF-MACE or any rejection. However, there was a numerical trend towards worse 1-Year Freedom from NF-MACE in the redo transplant group. Conclusion Redo heart transplantation in our single-center appears to have acceptable outcomes compared to those undergoing their first transplant. Further study with larger numbers is warranted.
Sepsis in Immunocompromised Patients Without Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Sepsis remains among the most common complications from infectious diseases worldwide. The morbidity and mortality rates associated with sepsis range from 20% to 50%. The advances in care for patients with an immunocompromised status have been remarkable over the last 2 decades, but sepsis continues to be a major cause of death in this population Immunocompromised patients who are recipients of a solid organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplant are living longer with a better quality of life. However, some of these patients need lifelong treatment with immunosuppressive medications to maintain their transplant status. A consequence of the need for this permanent immunosuppression is the high risk of opportunistic, community, and hospital-acquired infections, all of which can lead to sepsis. In addition, the detection of serious infections may be more challenging owing to patients' lower ability to mount the clinical symptoms that usually accompany sepsis. This article provides an update on the current knowledge of sepsis in immunocompromised patients without human immunodeficiency virus. It reviews the most pertinent causes of sepsis in this population, and addresses the specific diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in neutropenia and solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Endonuclease II of Escherichia coli II. ENZYME PROPERTIES AND STUDIES ON THE DEGRADATION OF ALKYLATED AND NATIVE DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID

Abstract Studies on the degradation of DNA, alkylated with methylmethanesulfonate, by endonuclease II of Escherichia coli are presented. With a DNA gel assay, some of the kinetics of degradation have been examined. With extensively alkylated DNA, only a limited number of double-strand breaks were made. Activity was maximum over a pH range from 8.0 to 9.0. No absolute requirement for added divalent metals was observed. The rate of the reaction was stimulated by added Mg2+ or Mn2+, but was not inhibited by 8-hydroxyquinoline or several other chelating agents. An exception was ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Sulfhydryl reagents and high ionic strength inhibited the enzyme while transfer RNA and caffeine did not. An approximate sedimentation coefficient was 3.6. With lightly alkylated DNA, the enzyme made predominantly single-stranded breaks, and the ratio of single-to double-strand breaks was approximately 3.7:1. It is concluded that the enzyme can hydrolyze a phosphodiester bond near an alkylated base in a native DNA molecule which has no single-strand breaks in this region. With more extensively alkylated DNA, viscosity experiments, which measure double-strand breaks, give an n value of approximately 1. The activity of endonuclease II of E. coli on several species of native nonalkylated DNA has also been studied. The enzyme makes a limited number of single-strand breaks, with T4 DNA, approximately 3 to 4 per single-strand. Several factors which affect the reaction of the purified enzyme with alkylated DNA also affect the reaction with nonalkylated DNA. These are no absolute metal requirement, normal enzyme activity with 8-hydroxyquinoline but enzyme inhibition by EDTA, and no inhibition by tRNA. There was no induction of an enzyme with properties of endonuclease II after infection with T4. Enzyme activity was present in a series of mutants deficient in the ultraviolet repair process, in recombination, in DNA synthesis at elevated temperatures, and in host cell restriction as well as in a strain sensitive to methylmethanesulfonate.
FOXP3 mRNA Profile Prognostic of Acute T Cell-mediated Rejection and Human Kidney Allograft Survival.

BACKGROUND T cell-mediated rejection (TCMR) is the most frequent type of acute rejection and is associated with kidney allograft failure. Almost 40% of TCMR episodes are nonresponsive to therapy, and molecular mechanisms for the nonresponsiveness are unknown. Our single-center study identified that urinary cell FOXP3 mRNA abundance predicts TCMR reversibility and allograft survival. METHODS We developed PCR assays and measured absolute copy numbers of transcripts for FOXP3, CD25, CD3E, perforin, and 18S rRNA in 3559 urines from 480 kidney allograft recipients prospectively enrolled in the multicenter Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation-04. In this replication study, we investigated the association between mRNA profile and TCMR diagnosis, TCMR reversibility, and allograft survival. RESULTS 18S rRNA normalized levels of mRNA for FOXP3 (P = 0.01, Kruskal-Wallis test), CD25 (P = 0.01), CD3E (P < 0.0001), and perforin (P < 0.0001) were diagnostic of TCMR, but only FOXP3 mRNA level predicted TCMR reversibility (ROC AUC = 0.764; 95% confidence interval, 0.611-0.917; P = 0.008). Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed that urinary cell FOXP3 mRNA level predicted reversal, independent of clinical variables. A composite model of clinical variables and FOXP3 mRNA (AUC = 0.889; 95% CI, 0.781-0.997; P < 0.001) outperformed FOXP3 mRNA or clinical variables in predicting TCMR reversibility (P = 0.01, likelihood ratio test). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analyses showed that FOXP3 mRNA level predicts kidney allograft survival (P = 0.047) but not after controlling for TCMR reversal (P = 0.477). CONCLUSIONS Urinary cell level of FOXP3 mRNA is diagnostic of TCMR, predicts TCMR reversibility, and is prognostic of kidney allograft survival via a mechanism involving TCMR reversal.
Customizing calories: How rejecting (vs. selecting) ingredients leads to lower calorie estimation and unhealthier food choices

Abstract Customization of food products has increased substantially in recent years while the desire for healthiness and an emphasis on understanding and providing calorie information continues to dynamically change the landscape of restaurant retail. The authors report four studies demonstrating that different customization routes (i.e., rejecting alternatives from a full product offering versus adding alternatives to a basic product offering) lead to systematic, but predictable, differences in consumers’ estimations of calories. In particular, this research finds that a rejection (vs. selection) customization process leads consumers to persistently estimate lower calories in the final product, which then improves evaluations of the retailer and leads to unhealthier food choices. These findings occur when consumers estimate calories of the exact same final product using the different paths to customization as well as when they create their own customized final product, while accounting for differences in the quantity and type of ingredients selected, suggesting a very general difference in estimations. This research has important implications for consumers who want to manage their weight and for firms that need to manage consumers’ health perceptions.
Digging the Structural Hole: Brokering’s Impact on Network Structure

Whereas the traditional view of brokerage implies solidified social ties activated by brokers, an alternative view acknowledges the potential for brokers to alter network structure. However, even r...
Recent Advances in the Management of Metastatic Prostate Cancer.

Management of metastatic prostate cancer has undergone a revolution over the past decade with the introduction of several novel agents and repurposing of others. Several clinical trials reported im...
Hop2 interacts with the transcription factor CEBPα and suppresses adipocyte differentiation.

CCAAT enhancer binding protein (CEBP) transcription factors (TFs) are known to promote adipocyte differentiation; however, suppressors of CEBP TFs have not been reported thus far. Here, we find that homologous chromosome pairing protein 2 (Hop2) functions as an inhibitor for the TF CEBPα. We found that Hop2 mRNA is highly and specifically expressed in adipose tissue, and that ectopic Hop2 expression suppresses reporter activity induced by CEBP as revealed by DNA transfection. Recombinant and ectopically expressed Hop2 was shown to interact with CEBPα in pull-down and coimmunoprecipitation assays, and interaction between endogenous Hop2 and CEBPα was observed in the nuclei of 3T3 preadipocytes and adipocytes by immunofluorescence and coimmunoprecipitation of nuclear extracts. In addition, Hop2 stable overexpression in 3T3 preadipocytes inhibited adipocyte differentiation and adipocyte marker gene expression. These in vitro data suggest that Hop2 inhibits adipogenesis by suppressing CEBP-mediated transactivation. Consistent with a negative role for Hop2 in adipogenesis, ablation of Hop2 (Hop2−/−) in mice led to increased body weight, adipose volume, adipocyte size, and adipogenic marker gene expression. Adipogenic differentiation of isolated adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells showed a greater number of lipid droplet–containing colonies formed in Hop2−/− adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell cultures than in wt controls, which is associated with the increased expression of adipogenic marker genes. Finally, chromatin immunoprecipitation revealed a higher binding activity of endogenous CEBPα to peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ, a master adipogenic TF, and a known CEBPα target gene. Therefore, our study identifies for the first time that Hop2 is an intrinsic suppressor of CEBPα and thus adipogenesis in adipocytes.
Virtuous Violence: Hurting and Killing to Create, Sustain, End, and Honor Social Relationships

The point 1. Why are people violent? 2. Violence is morally motivated to regulate social relationships 3. Defense, punishment, and vengeance 4. The right and obligation of parents, police, kings, and gods to violently enforce their authority 5. Contests of violence: fighting for respect and solidarity 6. Honor and shame 7. War 8. Violence to obey, honor, and connect with the gods 9. On relational morality: what are its boundaries, what guides it, and how is it computed? 10. The prevailing wisdom 11. Intimate partner violence 12. Rape 13. Making them one with us: initiation, clitoridectomy, infibulation, circumcision, and castration 14. Torture 15. Homicide: he had it coming 16. Ethnic violence and genocide 17. Self-harm and suicide 18. Violent bereavement 19. Non-bodily violence: robbery 20. The specific form of violence for constituting each relational model 21. Why do people use violence to constitute their social relationships, rather than using some other medium? 22. Metarelational models that inhibit or provide alternatives to violence 23. How do we end violence? 24. Evolutionary, philosophical, legal, psychological, and research implications The denouement.
Making it Personal: Diversity and Deliberation in Climate Adaptation Planning

The vulnerabilities and health burdens of climate change fall disproportionately upon lower income communities and communities of color. Yet the very groups who are most affected by climate change impacts are least likely to be involved in climate adaptation discussions. These communities face critical barriers to involvement including historical disenfranchisement, as well as a sense that climate change is distant and not personally relevant. Boundary organizations are increasingly playing an important role in bringing science to bear on policy decision-making with respect to climate change adaptation, an issue fraught with political and ideological tensions. Our project aimed to engage underrepresented communities in climate change adaptation decision-making using a neighborhood consensus conference model developed and tested in several diverse districts of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Our partnership, a “linked chain” of boundary organizations, devised a neighborhood consensus conference model to present best-available climate data as tangible, place-based scenarios. In so doing, we made climate change “personal” for those who remain outside of climate change planning discourses and opened an opportunity for them to assess their community’s vulnerabilities and communicate their priorities for public investment. Our neighborhood-based model built trust and social capital with local residents and allowed us to bring new voices into conversations around climate change adaptation concerns and priorities. We believe this work will have a long term impact on local climate adaptation planning decisions.
Trustworthy Paper Documents

In the first part of this paper, we propose a watermarking method for text documents that is less vulnerable to attacks than previous methods. In the second part, we propose a method for protecting the actual content of the document. In a section of independent interest, we discuss the interplay between error-correcting codes and steganography.
A novel method for monitoring tumor proliferation in vivo using fluorescent dye DiD.

Monitoring single cell proliferation in vivo is difficult, but optimizing this technique is essential in order to expand our knowledge of the regulation of tumor proliferation. In this study, we used a lipophilic fluorescent dye, DiD, that rapidly and stably integrates into the phospholipid cell membrane. We cultured DiD-stained prostate cancer cell lines for 10 days and isolated cells by flow cytometry based on expression levels of DiD. We found that a decrease in DiD intensity was correlated to the reduction of EdU, where the DiD-high population proliferated more slowly than the DiD-low population and the DiD-low population exhibited a higher mitotic index. We also found that DiD was detected after 3 weeks of implantation in an in vivo setting. Importantly, DiD dye did not have any effect on normal cell growth, whereas a gold standard fluorescent dye for measuring cell proliferation, CFSE, slowed cell proliferation. Although further study is indicated, DiD can be useful for identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying tumor proliferation in vivo. © 2014 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry
Selective Culture Medium to Survey the Incidence of Haemophilus Species

A culture medium for the selective isolation of Haemophilus species is described. Bacitracin and nutritional supplements were incorporated in a rich basal agar medium to which rabbit blood was added to distinguish hemolytic species. Colony counts of seven typed strains of H. influenzae on this medium were within practical limits of counts on other media tested for clinical use. The bacitracin medium was as reliable as hemoglobin-agar for detecting H. influenzae and more sensitive for detecting other Haemophilus species in a clinical survey with the advantage of selectivity.
Indicators of Walking Speed in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Relative Influence of Articular, Psychosocial, and Body Composition Characteristics

Objective To explore the contributions from and interactions between articular swelling and damage, psychosocial factors, and body composition characteristics on walking speed in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods RA patients underwent the timed 400-meter long-corridor walk. Demographics, self-reported levels of depressive symptoms and fatigue, RA characteristics, and body composition (using whole-body dual X-ray absorptiometry, and abdominal and thigh computed tomography) were assessed and their associations with walking speed explored. Results A total of 132 RA patients had data for the 400-meter walk, among whom 107 (81%) completed the full 400 meters. Significant multivariable indicators of slower walking speed were older age, higher depression scores, higher reported pain and fatigue, higher swollen and replaced joint counts, higher cumulative prednisone exposure, nontreatment with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, and worse body composition. These features accounted for 60% of the modeled variability in walking speed. Among specific articular features, slower walking speed was primarily correlated with large/medium lower-extremity joint involvement. However, these articular features accounted for only 21% of the explainable variability in walking speed. Having any relevant articular characteristic was associated with a 20% lower walking speed among those with worse body composition (P < 0.001), compared with only a 6% lower speed among those with better body composition (P = 0.010 for interaction). Conclusion Psychosocial factors and body composition are potentially reversible contributors to walking speed in RA. Relative to articular disease activity and damage, nonarticular indicators were collectively more potent indicators of an individual's mobility limitations.
An evaluation of independent component analyses with an application to resting-state fMRI.

Summary We examine differences between independent component analyses (ICAs) arising from different assumptions, measures of dependence, and starting points of the algorithms. ICA is a popular method with diverse applications including artifact removal in electrophysiology data, feature extraction in microarray data, and identifying brain networks in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). ICA can be viewed as a generalization of principal component analysis (PCA) that takes into account higher-order cross-correlations. Whereas the PCA solution is unique, there are many ICA methods–whose solutions may differ. Infomax, FastICA, and JADE are commonly applied to fMRI studies, with FastICA being arguably the most popular. Hastie and Tibshirani (2003) demonstrated that ProDenICA outperformed FastICA in simulations with two components. We introduce the application of ProDenICA to simulations with more components and to fMRI data. ProDenICA was more accurate in simulations, and we identified differences between biologically meaningful ICs from ProDenICA versus other methods in the fMRI analysis. ICA methods require nonconvex optimization, yet current practices do not recognize the importance of, nor adequately address sensitivity to, initial values. We found that local optima led to dramatically different estimates in both simulations and group ICA of fMRI, and we provide evidence that the global optimum from ProDenICA is the best estimate. We applied a modification of the Hungarian (Kuhn-Munkres) algorithm to match ICs from multiple estimates, thereby gaining novel insights into how brain networks vary in their sensitivity to initial values and ICA method.
Biological suppression of potato ring rot by fluorescent pseudomonads.

Three strains of fluorescent pseudomonads (IS-1, IS-2, and IS-3) isolated from potato underground stems with roots showed in vitro antibiosis against 30 strains of the ring rot bacterium Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus. On the basis of morphological and biochemical tests and fatty acid analysis, IS-1 and IS-2 were identified as Pseudomonas aureofaciens and IS-3 was identified as P. fluorescens biovar III. IS-1 was the most inhibitory to C. michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus strains in vitro, followed by IS-3 and IS-2. Suppression of ring rot by these antagonists was demonstrated in greenhouse trials with stem-cultured potato (cv. Russet Burbank) seedlings. Although each antagonist significantly reduced C. michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus populations, only IS-1 reduced infection by C. michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus. In a second experiment, treatment with IS-1 (10(9) CFU/ml) significantly reduced ring rot infection by 23.4 to 26.7% after 5 to 8 weeks. The average C. michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus population was also significantly reduced by 50 to 52%. Application of different combinations of antagonist strains was not more effective than single-strain treatment. Images
Patterns in Numerical Data: Practical Approximations to Kolmogorov Complexity

Intuitively, patterns of numerical sequences are often interpreted as formulas. However, we observed earlier that such an intuition is too naive. Notions analogous to Kolmogorov complexity theory are introduced. Based on these new formulations, a formula is a pattern only if its pattern complexity is simpler than the complexity of data.
From milliseconds to lifetimes: tracking the dynamic behavior of transcription factors in gene networks

Modeling dynamic gene regulatory networks (GRNs) is a new frontier in systems biology. It has special implications for plants, whose survival requires rapid deployment of GRNs in response to environmental changes. However, capturing and dissecting transient interactions of transcription factors (TFs) and their targets in GRNs remains a considerable experimental challenge. Here we review recent progress in understanding GRNs as a function of time and discuss the relevance of these findings in plants to studies in other eukaryotes. We cover progress in profiling and modeling time-course transcriptome changes across plant species and the insights they have provided into the regulatory mechanisms underlying these temporal transcriptional responses, with a focus on the dynamic behavior of TFs. Lastly, we review state-of-the-art techniques to monitor the single-molecule dynamics of TFs in vivo. Together, these advances have helped develop new models for dynamic transcriptional control with relevance across eukaryotes.
A Proposal for Increasing Student Safety through Suicide Prevention in Schools

A considerable amount of literature points to the criticality of implementing prevention and intervention strategies to address suicide in the context of schools. The authors address these elements along with a case study to increase student safety in schools.
Studies on Nodal Integral Methods for the Convection-Diffusion Equation

The computational efficiencies of two nodal integral methods for the numerical solution of linear convection-diffusion equations are studied. Although the first, which leads to a second-order spatial truncation error, has been reported earlier, it is reviewed in order to lead logically to the development here of the second, which has a third-order error. This third-order nodal integral method is developed by introducing an upwind approximation for the linear terms in the 'pseudo-sources' that appear in the transverse-averaged equations introduced in the formulation of nodal integral methods. This upwind approximation obviates the need to develop and solve additional equations for the transverse-averaged first moments of the unknown, as would have to be done in a more straightforwardly developed higher-order nodal integral method. The computational efficiencies of the second-order nodal method and the third-order nodal method - of which there are two versions: one, a full third-order method and the other, which uses simpler second-order equations near the boundaries - are compared with those of both a very traditional method and a recently developed state-of-the-art method. Based on the comparisons reported here for a challenging recirculating flow benchmark problem it appears that, among the five methods studied, the second-order nodal integral methodmore » has the highest computational efficiency (the lowest CPU computing times for the same accuracy requirements) in the practical 1% error regime.« less
Postoperative ileus: strategies for reduction

Postoperative Ileus (POI) is a frequent, frustrating occurrence for patients and surgeons after abdominal surgery. Despite significant research investigating how to reduce this multi-factorial phenomenon, a single strategy has not been shown to reduce POI's significant effects on length of stay (LOS) and hospital costs. Perhaps the most significant cause of POI is the use of narcotics for analgesia. Strategies that target inflammation and pain reduction such as NSAID use, epidural analgesia, and laparoscopic techniques will reduce POI but are accompanied by a simultaneous reduction in opioid use. Pharmacologic means of stimulating gut motility have not shown a positive effect, and the routine use of nasogastric tubes only increases morbidity. Recent multi-site phase III trials with alvimopan, a peripherally acting mu-antagonist, have shown significant reductions in POI and LOS by 12 and 16 hours, respectively, by blunting the effects of narcotics on gut motility while sparing centrally mediated analgesia. Use of alvimopan, along with a multi-modal postoperative treatment plan involving early ambulation, feeding, and avoiding nasogastric tubes, will likely be the crux of POI treatment and prevention.
The Developmental Anatomy of the Root System in Yam Bean, Pachyrhizus erosus Urban

L'anatomie du developpement du systeme racinaire du dolique bulbeux est decrit en comparaison avec celui de la patate douce. L'observation des coupes, apres coloration, en microscopie optique a permis l'etude des processus anatomiques survenant pendant l'initiation et la formation du tubercule. La production d'un cambium anormal semble etre a l'origine de la formation d'un parenchyme de stockage
Whither Physical Organic Chemistry? Wither? Or Wider?

© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. This article presents a personal view of the field of physical organic chemistry (broadly construed), its history, its current status, and what it may become in the future.
Pectinesterase Activity, Pectin Methylation, and Texture Changes During Storage of Blanched Cucumber Slices

Pectin methylation in blanched cucumber slices after 6 months’storage in acid brine (pH 3.7) ranged from 9% (no blanch) to 48% (99°C, 3 min blanch). An 81°C blanch caused complete pectinesterase inactivation, but 15 - 20% reactivation occurred during storage. After a 99°C blanch, only slight reactivation was observed. Pectinesterase was not inactivated at 66°C or less, but up to 85% of the activity was lost during storage. Firmness changes were complex. A clear relationship between pectin methylation and firmness changes was not observed. A 66 or 81°C blanch resulted in best firmness retention. Calcium ion was very effective in prevention of firmness loss regardless of the extent of pectin methylation.
Design and Development of Stable, Water-Soluble, Human Toll-like Receptor 2 Specific Monoacyl Lipopeptides as Candidate Vaccine Adjuvants

Antigens in modern subunit vaccines are largely soluble and poorly immunogenic proteins inducing relatively short-lived immune responses. Appropriate adjuvants initiate early innate immune responses, amplifying subsequent adaptive immune responses. Agonists of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) are devoid of significant proinflammatory activity in ex vivo human blood models and yet are potently adjuvantic, suggesting that this chemotype may be a safe and effective adjuvant. Our earlier work on the monoacyl lipopeptide class of TLR2 agonists led to the design of a highly potent lead but with negligible aqueous solubility, necessitating the reintroduction of aqueous solubility. We explored several strategies of introducing ionizable groups on the lipopeptide, as well as the systematic evaluation of chemically stable bioisosteres of the ester-linked palmitoyl group. These studies have led to a fully optimized, chemically stable, and highly water-soluble human TLR2-specific agonist, which was found to have an excell...
Transporter associated with antigen-processing-1 (TAP1) alleles in Gorilla gorilla: diversification of the locus postspeciation.

Abstract The transporter associated with antigenprocessing (TAP) proteins are required for the transport of cytosolic peptides into the endoplasmic reticulum for assembly with class I major histocompatibility molecules. In the rat, allelic variants of the TAP genes impart specificity to the process of peptide transport. However, differential transport has yet to be demonstrated with the human molecules. TAP genes from humans and rodents have been studied thus far; analysis of another species more closely related to humans is necessary for a clearer understanding of the evolution of TAP genes. Three TAP1 alleles from four gorilla cell lines were characterized in this study. There is limited genetic distance at the locus, either within the gorilla (0.2%) or between the two hominoid species (0.8%). Nucleotide substitution analysis demonstrates that TAP1 and TAP2 are evolving at comparable rates under similar selection pressures. This pattern is in marked contrast to that observed for MHC class I genes of hominoids or rodents. Although there is limited evidence for trans-species evolution of the gorilla locus, the bulk of the diversification occurred after speciation as evidenced by a lack of shared amino acid polymorphism with human homologues. An evolutionary scheme predicts that the ancestral hominoid TAP1 molecule most closely resembled the human TAP1 ∗ 02011.
On the eigenvalues of specially low-rank perturbed matrices

Abstract We study the eigenvalues of a matrix A perturbed by a few special low-rank matrices. The perturbation is constructed from certain basis vectors of an invariant subspace of A , such as eigenvectors, Jordan vectors, or Schur vectors. We show that most of the eigenvalues of the low-rank perturbed matrix stayed unchanged from the eigenvalues of A ; the perturbation can only change the eigenvalues of A that are related to the invariant subspace. Existing results mostly studied using eigenvectors with full column rank for perturbations, we generalize the results to more general settings. Applications of our results to a few interesting problems including the Google’s second eigenvalue problem are presented.
Preference for alcohol evoked by tetrahydropapaveroline (THP) chronically infused in the cerebral ventricle of the rat.

Abstract The voluntary preference for ethyl alcohol in Sprague-Dawlet rats was determined over 12 days with water as the alternative fluid. The alcohol solutions offered to the animals were increased systematically in concentrations from 3 to 30%, according to a three-bottle, two-choice technique. Tetrahydropapaveroline (THP), a tetrahydroisoquinoline derivative, was infused repeatedly into the lateral cerebral ventricle of each rat through a guide tube implanted chronically. The metabolite was dissolved in a CSF vehicle, and infused in a volume of 1.0 μl every 15 min or 4.0 μl every 30 min around the clock, for the entire 12-day period of alcohol-water self-selection. Within 3 to 6 days of the start of infusion, extraordinary amounts of alcohol were consumed which ranged as high as 8 to 17 g per kg per day. Both the racemic mixture of THP and the S-(-)-THP isomer exerted this alcohol-inducing effect, when they were infused chronically in a range of doses from 100 picograms/μl to 1.0 mu;g/μl. Control intraventricular infusions of CSF according to the same regimen had no effect on alcohol preference. The excessive intake of alcohol during the intraventricular infusions of THP persisted long after the cessation of the infusion regimen, i.e., during retests carried out at one, six and nine months' intervals. Further, when THP-treated rats were offered a simultaneous choice of a palatable solution of saccharin together with alcohol, they continued to drink large volumes of alcohol. The 24 hr patterns of fluid intake, as registered continuously by a drinkometer, revealed that alcohol drinking was typically massed within two to four bouts during the night-time interval. During this period, the blood alcohol level reached concentrations as high as 0.2%. Withdrawal-like symptoms including wet-dog shakes, elevated tail, whisker twitching and occasional convulsive episodes, were also observed in the THP-infused rats. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that an alkaloid metabolite, which may be formed in both the brain and periphery, is involved in the mechanism underlying the pathological and sustained drinking which is characteristic of the disease state of alcoholism.
A spatio-temporal comparison of semantic and episodic cued recall and recognition using event-related brain potentials

The event-related brain potential (ERP) was used to spatially and temporally map the brain areas active as a function of type of recall (semantic vs. episodic) and episodic retrieval mode (recall vs. recognition) while difficulty of episodic recall was manipulated. ERPs were recorded from 32 scalp sites in 12 subjects, along with behavioral accuracy and recall speed. The results revealed that different but overlapping patterns of ERP activity were elicited during semantic and episodic recall. Recall of both types of information was characterized by ERP activity over left inferior frontal, central, bilateral temporal and posterior inferior brain areas. Compared to semantic recall, episodic recall elicited more activity over the frontal poles and right frontal scalp. Different but overlapping patterns of ERP activity were also found as a function of episodic retrieval mode. While episodic recall and recognition showed similar activity over the frontal poles and central scalp, there was no left inferior frontal activity elicited during recognition and no large, topographically widespread, late positive component (LPC) elicited when the same words were recalled. Manipulation of episodic recall difficulty and analysis of trials when recall failed indicated that these task (i.e., episodic vs. semantic) and retrieval mode (recall vs. recognition) differences in ERP activity were not likely to be due to differences in task difficulty. The results are discussed in terms of processes that the ERP activity may reflect and their similarity to results of PET studies of semantic and episodic retrieval.
Stream and floodplain restoration in a riparian ecosystem disturbed by placer mining

Abstract Techniques for the hydrologic restoration of placer-mined streams and floodplains were developed in Denali National Park and Preserve Alaska, USA. The hydrologic study focused on a design of stream and floodplain geometry using hydraulic capacity and shear stress equations. Slope and sinuosity values were based on regional relationships. Design requirements include a channel capacity for a 1.5-year (bankfull) discharge and a floodplain capacity for a 1.5- to 100-year discharge. Concern for potential damage to the project from annual flooding before natural revegetation occurs led to development of alder (Alnus crispa) brush bars to dissipate floodwater energy and encourage sediment deposition. The brush bars, constructed of alder bundles tied together and anchored laterally adjacent to the channel, were installed on the floodplain in several configurations to test their effectiveness. A moderate flood near the end of the two-year construction phase of the project provided data on channel design, stability, floodplain erosion, and brush bar effectiveness. The brush bars provided substantial protection, but unconsolidated bank material and a lack of bed armour for a new channel segment led to some bank erosion, slope changes and an increase in sinuosity in several reaches of the study area.