cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Search for Extraterrestrial Biochemistry on Mars and Europa

There is, from a biochemical perspective, only one type of life on Earth. To understand life as a general phenomenon it is essential to consider other types of biochemistry. In this context, fossils are not sufficient, because they do not retain information about the biochemistry of an organism. Based on current knowledge, two worlds in our solar system hold the prospect for finding a biochemical system different from the Earth; Mars and Europa. On Mars, intact organisms may be preserved in the ancient permafrost, while on Europa organisms from a possible ocean may be present near cracks in the icy surface.
Allergic Reactions in Hospitalized Patients With a Self-Reported Penicillin Allergy Who Receive a Cephalosporin or Meropenem:

Background:Cefepime and meropenem are used frequently in hospitalized patients for broad-spectrum empiric coverage, however, practitioners are often reluctant to prescribe these antibiotics for patients with a self-reported nonsevere, nontype I allergic reaction to penicillin.Methods:Retrospective review of electronic medical records of adults with a self-reported allergy to penicillin who received at least 1 dose of cefepime, ceftriaxone, cefoxitin, cephalexin, or meropenem to assess incidence and type of allergic reactions.Results:Of 175 patients included, 10 (6%) patients experienced an allergic reaction. The incidence for individual study drugs were cefepime 6% (6 of 96), meropenem 5% (3 of 56), cefoxitin 8% (1 of 13), ceftriaxone 0% (0 of 69), and cephalexin 0% (0 of 8). The majority of patients experienced a rash with or without pruritus and fever. Patients with a concomitant “sulfa” allergy (odds ratio [OR] 5.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4-21, P = .02) or ≥3 other drug allergies (OR 6.4, 95% C...
Improving diagnosis of atraumatic splenic lesions, Part III: malignant lesions

Focal atraumatic splenic lesions often pose a diagnostic challenge on cross-sectional imaging. They can be categorized based on etiology, as nonneoplastic, benign neoplastic, and malignant neoplastic (discussed in Part III) lesions, or on prevalence, as common, uncommon, and rare lesions. Familiarity with pertinent clinical parameters, etiology, pathology, prevalence, and ancillary features such as splenomegaly, concomitant hepatic involvement, and extrasplenic findings, in addition to knowledge of imaging spectra of the lesions, can improve diagnostic confidence. Consideration of these factors together can arm the radiologist with the necessary tools to render a more confident diagnosis and thus better aid management.
The Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus halodurans Aspartyl-tRNA Synthetases Retain Recognition of tRNAAsn

Synthesis of asparaginyl-tRNA (Asn-tRNAAsn) in bacteria can be formed either by directly ligating Asn to tRNAAsn using an asparaginyl-tRNA synthetase (AsnRS) or by synthesizing Asn on the tRNA. In the latter two-step indirect pathway, a non-discriminating aspartyl-tRNA synthetase (ND-AspRS) attaches Asp to tRNAAsn and the amidotransferase GatCAB transamidates the Asp to Asn on the tRNA. GatCAB can be similarly used for Gln-tRNAGln formation. Most bacteria are predicted to use only one route for Asn-tRNAAsn formation. Given that Bacillus halodurans and Bacillus subtilis encode AsnRS for Asn-tRNAAsn formation and Asn synthetases to synthesize Asn and GatCAB for Gln-tRNAGln synthesis, their AspRS enzymes were thought to be specific for tRNAAsp. However, we demonstrate that the AspRSs are non-discriminating and can be used with GatCAB to synthesize Asn. The results explain why B. subtilis with its Asn synthetase genes knocked out is still an Asn prototroph. Our phylogenetic analysis suggests that this may be common among Firmicutes and 30% of all bacteria. In addition, the phylogeny revealed that discrimination toward tRNAAsp by AspRS has evolved independently multiple times. The retention of the indirect pathway in B. subtilis and B. halodurans likely reflects the ancient link between Asn biosynthesis and its use in translation that enabled Asn to be added to the genetic code.
Family–School Relationships During Adolescence: Clarifying Goals, Broadening Conceptualizations, and Deepening Impact

Students do better academically, socially, and psychologically when families and schools work together and families are involved in their children’s education. In elementary school, the mechanisms for communication and building trust, understanding, and partnerships are clearer than in secondary schools. For middle and high schools, the larger and more diverse student body and more complex administrative structure make it harder for parents and teachers to get to know one another, understand one another, and work together. Because of the differences in school context and students’ developmental needs, the most effective means for maintaining productive family engagement varies across developmental stages. This chapter describes the developmental assets and challenges of adolescence that potentially change how parent engagement in education and family–school relationships function. Parental involvement is reconceptualized to better reflect the developmental needs of adolescents, changes in parent–adolescent relationships, and secondary school contexts. A critical analysis of the markers of success for parental engagement and family–school relationships is undertaken. Most often it is assumed that success should be gauged by improvements in academic achievement. It is argued that for adolescents a broader array of outcomes should be considered. As communication is essential to productive and effective parental engagement in education during adolescence, theories and research on communication are reviewed as they inform research and policies in this area. Finally, we consider how schools might organize their needs and expectations for family engagement in education in ways that maximizes the needs of families and the schools.
Palmitate Re-Directs Glucose Utilization in Type 2 Diabetic Hearts, Improving Function: A Metabolomic-Fluxomic Study

Hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia are two main traits of type-2 diabetes (T2DM). T2DM patients may develop a cardiomyopathy, and the excess in nutrients greatly contributes to systolic and diastolic dysfunction. The Randle cycle postulates that fatty acid (FA) utilization further impairs glucose utilization, impeding its oxidation. Yet recent evidence suggests that, when acutely infused, FAs such as palmitate (Palm) actually help in maintaining function in T2DM hearts stressed with high glucose and catecholamines. Thus, under conditions of sustained stress, lipids may be necessary to maintain function in stressed T2DM hearts. Using a novel procedure for translating metabolomics into metabolic fluxes, here we tested whether Palm is able to redirect the glucose fluxome in T2DM hearts, contributing to a better utilization/oxidation of glucose. We found that Palm, without inhibiting glycolysis, led to a 50% increase in glucose oxidation via the pentose phosphate [PP] pathway. Palm presence shifted the control of the glycolytic flux from phosphofructokinase to glucose uptake, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glycogenolysis. Palm-induced remodeling of the glucose fluxome decreased the intracellular levels of glucose by 17-fold, owing to reduced uptake at maintained utilization. Moreover, it augmented the content of reduced GSH, via higher NADPH generation through the PP pathway. Our study provides a mechanistic explanation to the in vitro observation that FAs such as Palm are necessary for the T2DM hearts to maintain function when in presence of hyperglycemia and/or increased workload, by remodeling glucose utilization leading to a higher supply of reducing equivalents to the heart. Present findings suggest that in T2DM subjects the Randle cycle may apply to some but not all pathophysiological contexts.
COMPARATIVE METHODS AT THE SPECIES LEVEL: GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN MORPHOLOGY AND GROUP SIZE IN GREY-CROWNED BABBLERS (POMATOSTOMUS TEMPORALIS).

We show that a new comparative method that sheds light on evolutionary trends among species may also illuminate trends within species. This finding comes from a phylogenetic autocorrelation analysis of morphological traits among individuals sampled from ten populations of a cooperatively breeding songbird, the Grey-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus temporalis). Highly variable mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences from both the eastern (Pomatostomus temporalis temporalis) and western (Pomatostomus temporalis rubeculus) lineages were used to define genetic distances among 120 individuals and to estimate correlations among individuals in wing length, tarsus length, and body weight via an intraspecific weighting matrix. The autoregressive model effectively removed intraspecific correlations for all three morphological variables, and the proportion of the total phenotypic variance due to genealogical relationships varied from 0.68 (weight) to 0.23 (tarsus). The analysis revealed correlations among the specific components of traits, in which none were previously detected (type-I error) and diminished correlations that appeared strong when phylogeny was ignored. Group size was the only trait for which the autoregressive model failed to remove intraspecific correlations, a result likely due to the plasticity, convergence, and clinal variation in this trait in both the eastern and western lineages. The autocorrelation analysis weakened significant negative correlations between group size and total values for wing length and body weight, but the interpretation of this result depends on the adaptive significance ascribed to the "phylogenetic component" of trait values removed by the analysis. Comparative methods employing distance matrices are one useful way of summarizing the pattern of nonhierarchical relationships among conspecific individuals ("tokogenetic" relationships, sensu Hennig).
Genome Sequence of a Novel H14N7 Subtype Influenza A Virus Isolated from a Blue-Winged Teal (Anas discors) Harvested in Texas, USA.

ABSTRACT We report here the complete genome sequence of a novel H14N7 subtype influenza A virus (IAV) isolated from a blue-winged teal (Anas discors) harvested in Texas, USA. The genomic characteristics of this IAV strain with a previously undetected subtype combination suggest recent viral evolution within the New World wild-bird IAV reservoir.
Expression of Glycosyl Hydrolases in Lignocellulosic Feedstock: An Alternative for Affordable Cellulosic Ethanol Production

Ethanol produced from lignocellulosic feedstock is a promising alternative to fossil fuels and corn-sourced ethanol. However, it creates unique challenges in terms of requirements for breakdown to fermentable sugars, including the need for pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of structural carbohydrates. Hydrolases from microorganisms are currently utilized for biomass hydrolysis in the production of lignocellulosic ethanol; however, expressing these hydrolases in lignocellulosic feedstock is a favorable alternative, due to the large availability of biomass and the potential for the feedstock to play a dual role as both biomass substrate and enzyme provider. This review summarizes recent achievements in hydrolytic enzyme expression in a variety of model plants and potential feedstocks, including strategies to improve enzyme yield and to prevent deleterious effects on plants hosts. We propose possible scenarios for utilizing enzyme-expressing transgenic feedstock and illustrate the potential benefits of using these crops for ethanol production. Furthermore, challenges are highlighted and potential solutions proposed to move the field forward to cost-comparable lignocellulosic ethanol.
Chapter 37 – Infections

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the epidemiological evidence implicating infectious pathogens as triggers and will discuss the mechanisms of interaction between the host–pathogen response and preexisting airway pathology that result in an exacerbation. Asthma is a multifaceted syndrome involving atopy, bronchial hyperreactivity, and IgE and non-IgE-mediated acute and chronic immune responses. The asthmatic airway is characterized by an infiltrate of eosinophils and of T-lymphocytes expressing the type 2 cytokines IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13. Trigger factors associated with acute exacerbations of asthma include exposure to environmental allergens, especially animals, molds, pollens and mites, cold, exercise, and drugs. The frequency of exacerbations is a major factor in the quality of life of patients with COPD. The typical clinical features of an exacerbation include increased dyspnea, wheezing, cough, sputum production, and worsened gas exchange. Although noninfectious causes of exacerbations such as allergy, air pollution, or inhaled irritants including cigarette smoke may be important, acute airway infections are the major precipitants. The infection and consequent host inflammatory response result in increased airway obstruction. The success of vaccination to prevent respiratory virus infections has been limited by significant variation within the major virus types causing disease. Currently much of the treatment of infective exacerbations of asthma and COPD is symptomatic, consisting of increased bronchodilators, either short-acting β 2—agonists in inhaled or intravenous form or anticholinergics or theophyllines, or supportive in the form of oxygen and in severe cases noninvasive or invasive ventilatory measures.
A National Study of Differences between Distance and Non-distance Community College Students in Time to First Associate Degree Attainment, Transfer, and Dropout

Abstract Previous research indicates that online learning at the community college level results in higher rates of withdrawal, failure, and dropout compared to classroom-based education (Xu & Smith Jaggars, 2011; Smith-Jaggars & Xu, 2010). The primary goal of the current study was to examine national data (US Dept. of Ed. Beginning Postsecondary Student Survey, 2004-09) on three outcomes for community college students with and without online education experiences. The outcomes were attainment of first associate degree, transfer, and dropout. In contrast to previous research, compared to exclusively classroom-based students, results suggest significantly more students who had engaged in online education had attained an associate degree at the end of the observation period. There were no significant differences in transfer or dropout. These results are interpreted with regard to their implications for policy and practice.
Targeting Phospholipid Metabolism in Cancer.

All cancers tested so far display abnormal choline and ethanolamine phospholipid metabolism, which has been detected with numerous magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) approaches in cells, animal models of cancer, as well as the tumors of cancer patients. Since the discovery of this metabolic hallmark of cancer, many studies have been performed to elucidate the molecular origins of deregulated choline metabolism, to identify targets for cancer treatment, and to develop MRS approaches that detect choline and ethanolamine compounds for clinical use in diagnosis and treatment monitoring. Several enzymes in choline, and recently also ethanolamine, phospholipid metabolism have been identified, and their evaluation has shown that they are involved in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Several already established enzymes as well as a number of emerging enzymes in phospholipid metabolism can be used as treatment targets for anticancer therapy, either alone or in combination with other chemotherapeutic approaches. This review summarizes the current knowledge of established and relatively novel targets in phospholipid metabolism of cancer, covering choline kinase α (ChKα), phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase D1 (PLD1), phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PtdCho-PLC), sphingomyelinases (SMAs), choline transporters, glycerophosphodiesterases, phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT), and ethanolamine kinase (ETKN). These enzymes are discussed in terms of their roles in oncogenic transformation, tumor progression, and crucial cancer cell properties such as fast proliferation, migration, and invasion. Their potential as treatment targets are evaluated based on the current literature.
E1A06: A phase III trial comparing melphalan, prednisone, and thalidomide (MPT) versus melphalan, prednisone, and lenalidomide (MPR) in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM).

8511 Background: Melphalan, prednisone and thalidomide (MPT) is an accepted regimen in newly diagnosed MM. Early studies suggested that lenalidomide (R) might be substituted for thalidomide (T) wit...
Mobilizing Undergraduate Students to Develop Practical Bioinformatics Databases and Analysis Tools for Biologists

Despite the rapid advances in bioinformatics in recent decades, the development of computational software suitable for practical use still lags significantly behind the growing demand from biologists. Often this is due not to the technical challenges of software development, but rather to a serious shortage of developers available to write the software. Although the number of bioinformatics graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and full-time staff has been increasing, this has not been enough to control the software shortage due to the complicated realities of these jobs. For instance, in the interest of career development, these individuals may feel the need to work on theoretically-minded research or large-scale projects rather than developing applied or smaller-scale utilities to solve some of the problems that biologists face day-to-day. As a result, development of practical bioinformatics software remains inadequate, and biologists are left frustrated that they lack the necessary computational tools to complete their work. This situation must be improved in order to meet the demand for practical bioinformatics software.
Roughness and Hydrophilicity as Osteogenic Biomimetic Surface Properties.

Successful dental and orthopedic implant outcomes are determined by the degree of osseointegration. Over the last 60 years, endosseous implants have evolved to stimulate osteogenesis without the need for exogenous biologics such as bone morphogenetic proteins. An understanding of the interaction between cells and the physical characteristics of their environments has led to development of bioactive implants. Implant surfaces that mimic the inherent chemistry, topography, and wettability of native bone have shown to provide cells in the osteoblast lineage with the structural cues to promote tissue regeneration and net new bone formation. Studies show that attachment, proliferation, differentiation, and local factor production are sensitive to these implant surface characteristics. This review focuses on how surface properties, including chemistry, topography, and hydrophilicity, modulate protein adsorption, cell behavior, biological reactions, and signaling pathways in peri-implant bone tissue, allowing the development of true biomimetics that promote osseointegration by providing an environment suitable for osteogenesis.
Emerging investigators series: comparing the inherent reactivity of often-overlooked aqueous chlorinating and brominating agents toward salicylic acid

Chlorinated and brominated forms of salicylic acid (SA) have recently been identified as a new class of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in drinking water. Herein, we report the inherent reactivity of several aqueous halogenating agents toward hydrogen salicylate, the predominant species of salicylic acid under environmental conditions. Using synthetic waters, halogenation rates associated with the formation of 3-chloro, 5-chloro, 3-bromo, and 5-bromosalicylate were measured as a function of pH, [Cl−], [Br−], free chlorine dose, and the initial concentration of SA. Halogenating-agent specific second-order rate constants were determined and decrease in the order: BrCl > BrOCl > Br2 > Br2O > Cl2 > Cl2O > HOBr > HOCl. Chloride is capable of enhancing rates of bromination and chlorination, ostensibly by promoting the formation of BrCl and Cl2, both of which are several orders of magnitude more inherently reactive than HOBr and HOCl, respectively. Kinetic data also support the participation of salicyloyl hypochlorite as a chlorination intermediate capable of influencing chlorination rates at pH >8. Experiments in which buffer concentrations were varied indicate that phosphate buffers can enhance rates of SA bromination but not chlorination; carbonate and borate buffers did not appreciably influence rates of bromination or chlorination. Under conditions representative of chlorinated drinking water, rates of SA bromination will generally exceed rates of SA chlorination. The results discussed herein demonstrate the importance of considering halogenating agents beyond HOBr and HOCl when developing kinetic models to describe and predict halogenation rates and selectivity in waters containing free chlorine.
Assessment of chicken breast meat quality after freeze/thaw abuse using magnetic resonance imaging techniques.

Background: Freezing/thawing meat can result in quality losses as a result of the formation, melting and reformation of ice. These changes in water state can result in alterations in texture, water holding and other key quality attributes. It was hypothesized that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could quantify changes in mobility and localization of water as a function of freezing/thawing, which could be correlated with quality measurements.; Results: Drip loss increased significantly for unbrined samples by over 100% after each freeze/thaw cycle (1.5% to 3.3% to 5.3% drip loss). Brine uptake decreased 50% after 2 cycles (from 53% to 28% mass uptake). Drip loss for brined samples increased after 2 cycles; other attributes were not significantly affected. MRI showed brined samples had less change in both proton density and T2 distributions. High-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging showed greater change in T2 distributions.; Conclusion: As freeze/thaw damage increased, meat quality was reduced in both brined and unbrined chicken breasts, with more prominent changes in unbrined meat. These decreases in quality correlated with changes, albeit small, in water mobility and localization as measured by MRI. High-field NMR micro-imaging showed more dramatic changes in T2 distributions in unbrined samples. These MRI techniques are shown to be useful in the assessment of meat quality after freeze/thaw abuse. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.; © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.
Patterns and Perceptions of Self-Management for Osteoarthritis Pain in African American Older Adults.

Objective To explore and describe older African Americans' patterns and perceptions of managing chronic osteoarthritis pain. Methods A convergent parallel mixed-methods design incorporating cross-sectional surveys and individual, semistructured interviews. Setting One hundred ten African Americans (≥50 years of age) with clinical osteoarthritis (OA) or provider-diagnosed OA from communities in northern Louisiana were enrolled. Results Although frequency varied depending on the severity of pain, older African Americans actively used an average of seven to eight self-management strategies over the course of a month to control pain. The average number of self-management strategies between high and low education and literacy groups was not statistically different, but higher-educated adults used approximately one additional strategy than those with high school or less. To achieve pain relief, African Americans relied on 10 self-management strategies that were inexpensive, easy to use and access, and generally perceived as helpful: over-the-counter (OTC) topicals, thermal modalities, land-based exercise, spiritual activities, OTC and prescribed analgesics, orthotic and assistive devices, joint injections, rest, and massage and vitamins. Conclusions This is one of the first studies to quantitatively and qualitatively investigate the self-management of chronic OA pain in an older African American population that happened to be a predominantly higher-educated and health-literate sample. Findings indicate that Southern-dwelling African Americans are highly engaged in a range of different self-management strategies, many of which are self-initiated. Although still an important component of chronic pain self-management, spirituality was used by less than half of African Americans, but use of oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opioids was relatively high.
Highly Multiplexed, Quantitative Tissue Imaging at Cellular Resolution

There is a contemporary push to map tissues and their disease states quantitatively at single-cell and spatial resolution, but standard assays to do so, such as immunohistochemistry, have been historically lowly multiplexed (2–4 measurements). This push has driven the development of several new multiplexed techniques for quantitative tissue imaging, which we review here. Standard multiplexed imaging is primarily limited by fluorophore spectral overlap. Innovations increasing multiplexing capacity include iterative cycles of staining/bleaching/imaging, imaging mass spectrometry with metal-conjugated antibodies, leveraging fluorophore combinatorics, and coupling to sequencing-based methods. Recent progress has increased image-based multiplexing roughly 10-fold and, in some cases of nucleic acid analytes, to genome scale. This has given unprecedented biological and disease knowledge, but there is still substantial work to achieve genome scale across all types of analytes, as well as spatial scales greater than ~millimeters. Concomitantly, challenges in data storage, retrieval, and analysis will need to be solved moving forward.
Prefix-based Bounded-error Estimation with Intermittent Observations

While observers with asymptotic convergence guarantees can be used to design output feedback controllers when considering control tasks like stability, if state constraints relevant to safety exist, it is crucial to bound the estimation error at all times. In this paper, we propose an optimization-based design technique for bounded-error state estimators for affine systems that provide estimation guarantees in the presence of intermittent measurements. We treat the affine system as a switched system where the measurement equation switches between two modes based on whether a measurement exists or is missing, and model potential intermittent measurement patterns with a finite language that constrains the feasible mode sequences. By utilizing Q-parametrization, we show that an optimal estimator can be constructed that simultaneously provides an estimate of the continuous-state and implicitly estimates the specific missing data pattern (i.e., mode sequence), within the given language, according to the prefix observed so far. We illustrate with numerical examples that this approach significantly improves the achievable estimation bounds compared to earlier work.
Sequestration of Radionuclides in Metal–Organic Frameworks from Density Functional Theory Calculations

The high porosity, modularity, and synthetic diversity of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) make them attractive candidate materials for selective sensing, separation, and sequestration of the radionuclides present in the nuclear wastes. We use density functional theory (DFT) calculations to determine the favorability of ion exchange at the metal node of Tc, U, Th, Am, and Cm in Zr-, U-, and Th-based MOF clusters. A range of DFT methods, including several exchange-correlation functionals, the DFT+U technique, relativistic effects, and magnetic effects, are employed to establish robustness in the results. We also explore various reference states of ions including the vacuum, continuum water medium, and explicit water molecules surrounding ions. Substitution of Tc, Am, Cm, and Th is found to be energetically favorable in all the MOFs using ions surrounded by explicit water molecules as a reference.
Learning Context-Sensitive Strategies in Space Fortress

Research in deep reinforcement learning (RL) has coalesced around improving performance on benchmarks like the Arcade Learning Environment. However, these benchmarks do not emphasize two important characteristics that are often present in real-world domains: requirement of changing strategy conditioned on latent contexts, and temporal sensitivity. As a result, research in RL has not given these challenges their due, resulting in algorithms which do not understand critical changes in context, and have little notion of real world time. This paper introduces the game of Space Fortress as a RL benchmark which specifically targets these characteristics. We show that existing state-of-the-art RL algorithms are unable to learn to play the Space Fortress game, and then confirm that this poor performance is due to the RL algorithms’ context insensitivity. We also identify independent axes along which to vary context and temporal sensitivity, allowing Space Fortress to be used as a testbed for understanding both characteristics in combination and also in isolation. We release Space Fortress as an open-source Gym environment.
The association between cocaine use detected on drug screening and rhabdomyolysis

Rhabdomyolysis is associated with patients presenting to the emergency department who test positive for cocaine on rapid drug screening, including those neither agitated nor restrained. The aim was...
The economics of orbital debris generation, accumulation, mitigation, and remediation

Abstract We explore how economic forces contribute to the generation and accumulation of orbital debris. The current structure of economic incentives for using orbital space may result in an economic Kessler Syndrome, in which orbital space becomes economically unprofitable for commercial exploration. We use simulations of an economic model to compare the effectiveness of various policy choices in slowing the accumulation rate and reducing levels of orbital debris. These findings provide useful guidance for policymakers.
Employing social media as a marketing strategy in college sport: an examination of perceived effectiveness in accomplishing organizational objectives

With the ever evolving capabilities of integrating new media into an organization’s strategic mix, organizations, including those in sport, have found a need to employ social media as a marketing strategy. However, there continues to be concerns regarding the adoption of social media and its subsequent effectiveness and implementation. Thus, this study’s purpose was to explore the usage and perceived effectiveness of social media within intercollegiate athletics departments. Responses from 158 NCAA Division I marketing professionals were analyzed to assess social media usage and perceived effectiveness. Results suggest that most athletics departments employ social media to raise awareness and support marketing objectives, but few use it for fundraising and volunteer recruitment. Findings may assist intercollegiate athletics departments by providing evidence-based rationale to support the use of social media as an effective marketing strategy.
Comprehensive review of surgical microscopes: technology development and medical applications.

Significance: Surgical microscopes provide adjustable magnification, bright illumination, and clear visualization of the surgical field and have been increasingly used in operating rooms. State-of-the-art surgical microscopes are integrated with various imaging modalities, such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), fluorescence imaging, and augmented reality (AR) for image-guided surgery. Aim: This comprehensive review is based on the literature of over 500 papers that cover the technology development and applications of surgical microscopy over the past century. The aim of this review is threefold: (i) providing a comprehensive technical overview of surgical microscopes, (ii) providing critical references for microscope selection and system development, and (iii) providing an overview of various medical applications. Approach: More than 500 references were collected and reviewed. A timeline of important milestones during the evolution of surgical microscope is provided in this study. An in-depth technical overview of the optical system, mechanical system, illumination, visualization, and integration with advanced imaging modalities is provided. Various medical applications of surgical microscopes in neurosurgery and spine surgery, ophthalmic surgery, ear-nose-throat (ENT) surgery, endodontics, and plastic and reconstructive surgery are described. Results: Surgical microscopy has been significantly advanced in the technical aspects of high-end optics, bright and shadow-free illumination, stable and flexible mechanical design, and versatile visualization. New imaging modalities, such as hyperspectral imaging, OCT, fluorescence imaging, photoacoustic microscopy, and laser speckle contrast imaging, are being integrated with surgical microscopes. Advanced visualization and AR are being added to surgical microscopes as new features that are changing clinical practices in the operating room. Conclusions: The combination of new imaging technologies and surgical microscopy will enable surgeons to perform challenging procedures and improve surgical outcomes. With advanced visualization and improved ergonomics, the surgical microscope has become a powerful tool in neurosurgery, spinal, ENT, ophthalmic, plastic and reconstructive surgeries.
ECOSTRESS estimates gross primary production with fine spatial resolution for different times of day from the International Space Station

Abstract Accurate estimation of gross primary production (GPP), the amount of carbon absorbed by plants via photosynthesis, is of great importance for understanding ecosystem functions, carbon cycling, and climate-carbon feedbacks. Remote sensing has been widely used to quantify GPP at regional to global scales. However, polar-orbiting satellites (e.g., Landsat, Sentinel, Terra, Aqua, Suomi NPP, JPSS, OCO-2) lack the capability to examine the diurnal cycles of GPP because they observe the Earth's surface at the same time of day. The Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS), launched in June 2018, observes the land surface temperature (LST) at different times of day with high spatial resolution (70 m × 70 m) from the International Space Station (ISS). Here, we made use of ECOSTRESS data to predict instantaneous GPP with high spatial resolution for different times of day using a data-driven approach based on machine learning. The predictive GPP model used instantaneous ECOSTRESS LST observations along with the daily enhanced vegetation index (EVI) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), land cover type from the National Land Cover Database (NCLD), and instantaneous meteorological data from the ERA5 reanalysis dataset. Our model estimated instantaneous GPP across 56 flux tower sites fairly well (R2 = 0.88, Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE) = 2.42 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1). The instantaneous GPP estimates driven by ECOSTRESS LST captured the diurnal variations of tower GPP for different biomes. We then produced multiple high resolution ECOSTRESS GPP maps for the central and northern California. We found distinct changes in GPP at different times of day (e.g., higher in late morning, peak around noon, approaching zero at dusk), and clear differences in productivity across landscapes (e.g., savannas, croplands, grasslands, and forests) for different times of day. ECOSTRESS GPP also captured the seasonal variations in the diurnal cycling of photosynthesis. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using ECOSTRESS data for producing instantaneous GPP (i.e., GPP for the acquisition time of the ECOSTRESS data) for different times of day. The ECOSTRESS GPP can shed light on how plant photosynthesis and water use vary over the course of the diurnal cycle and inform agricultural management and future improvement of terrestrial biosphere/land surface models.
HyP-ABC: A Novel Automated Hyper-Parameter Tuning Algorithm Using Evolutionary Optimization.

Machine learning techniques lend themselves as promising decision-making and analytic tools in a wide range of applications. Different ML algorithms have various hyper-parameters. In order to tailor an ML model towards a specific application, a large number of hyper-parameters should be tuned. Tuning the hyper-parameters directly affects the performance (accuracy and run-time). However, for large-scale search spaces, efficiently exploring the ample number of combinations of hyper-parameters is computationally challenging. Existing automated hyper-parameter tuning techniques suffer from high time complexity. In this paper, we propose HyP-ABC, an automatic innovative hybrid hyper-parameter optimization algorithm using the modified artificial bee colony approach, to measure the classification accuracy of three ML algorithms, namely random forest, extreme gradient boosting, and support vector machine. Compared to the state-of-the-art techniques, HyP-ABC is more efficient and has a limited number of parameters to be tuned, making it worthwhile for real-world hyper-parameter optimization problems. We further compare our proposed HyP-ABC algorithm with state-of-the-art techniques. In order to ensure the robustness of the proposed method, the algorithm takes a wide range of feasible hyper-parameter values, and is tested using a real-world educational dataset.
We Post It, U Reddit: Exploring the Potential of Reddit for Health Interventions Targeting College Populations.

Reddit is an anonymous social media platform that allows users to create, modify, share, and discuss content. While this platform is widely used by mainstream audiences, little research exists on how Redditors respond to health information when it appears in general, non-health specific forums called subreddits. Guided by media system dependency theory, the purpose of this study was to anonymously intervene on college subreddits to explore how Redditors interacted with messages about smoke-free policy compliance. Two messages were posted two weeks apart on ten college subreddits, yielding 370 comments (per thread range = 66-0) and 552 Karma points (per thread range = 123-0). A content analytic approach was employed, identifying eight content themes, and classifying message tone. The most popular themes were general smoking [n = 85], animosity toward smoke-free policies/compliance [n = 68], and smoke-free policy/compliance support [n = 65]). Most comments expressed a neutral tone [n = 196]. Data suggest that Redditors are willing to interact with health content on their college subreddits to varying degrees, especially if this content conforms to norms of the subreddit and/or platform. Implications from the findings suggest important considerations for use of Reddit as a future site for health interventions.
Persistent Coliform Mastitis

The debate over treating clinical mastitis with an antibiotic has hinged around the isolation of environmental pathogens. Although intramammary antibiotics may be successful in eliminating gra~-positive organisms, beta-lactam antibiotics have little efficacy on gram-negative organisms. Research also reports1 that many of the gram-negative coliforms are self-eliminating, and are generally cleared by the time clinical mastitis is detected when antibiotics are administered. However, others have reported2 that coliforms can persist without treatment and can contribute to increased somatic cell count in a herd. This study looked at the persistence of gram-negative coliforms in quarters that have been identified by culture at the signs of clinical mastitis.
Higher-Order Awareness of What?

According to the Higher-Order Thought (HOT) theory of consciousness, conscious states are just those states that are the object of a suitable higher-order thought to the effect that one is in that state. These higher-order thoughts perform this role by providing subjects with a particular type of awareness. However, HOT theorists have tended to offer two alternative formulations of this awareness when stating the basic claims of HOT theory. According to what I call the state formulation of HOT theory, HOTs provide subjects with an awareness of mental states, and a mental state is conscious only if the subject is aware of that state. According to what I call the oneself formulation of HOT theory, HOTs provide subjects with an awareness of themselves as being in a mental state, and a mental state is conscious only if the subject is aware of themselves as being in that state. In this paper I explore the dialectical significance and legitimacy of HOT theorists’ current practice of employing both formulations. I argue that there is some reason for HOT theorists to adopt the oneself formulation, rather than the state formulation. However, this appears to weaken HOT theory considerably, by abandoning the idea that when our mental states are conscious, we are aware of those states themselves. Against this objection I argue that adopting the oneself formulation does not require abandoning the basic idea lying behind the state formulation and that this is consistent with the reasons for favouring the oneself formulation.
Zollinger–Ellison Syndrome: Diagnosis and Management

Zollinger–Ellison syndrome (ZES) is a clinical entity originally described as the triad of gastric acid hypersecretion, peptic ulcer disease, and the presence of a non-beta islet cell tumor of the pancreas. The signs and symptoms of this syndrome are caused by the release of the gastric acid-driving hormone gastrin from a tumor of the gastrointestinal tract. The diagnosis of ZES requires the documentation of an elevated fasting serum gastrin level in the setting of gastric acid hypersecretion, most easily identified by a low gastric pH. The management of ZES falls into two categories: the control of gastric acid hypersecretion and its clinical manifestations through the use of proton-pump inhibitors and the management of the tumor itself. The treatment involves a multimodal approach that is comprised of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and, more recently, the use of targeted peptide therapy depending on the tumor stage.
Progression of M-current inhibition after agonist removal

1. With the use of a fast-flow system, brief applications (40 ms) of acetylcholine on whole cell voltage-clamped dissociated bullfrog sympathetic neurons caused an inward current due to the opening of channels associated with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. In cells clamped at -39 mV, a slower inward current developed after a latency of approximately 200 ms, owing to M-current inhibition. 2. The second phase of the response was mediated by the activation of muscarinic receptors and evoked by muscarine. 3. The time elapsed from the termination of maximal agonist application (10 microM muscarine) to the initiation of recovery was 4.5 s. This value was independent of the duration of the stimulus between 0.5 and 10 s. In contrast, applications > 4 s were necessary to reach 95% of the maximal inhibition during agonist application. 4. These results have three important implications. 1) The M-current modulation time course does not reflect either the time course of muscarinic receptor activation, or the time course of second-messenger production. 2) The latency of M-current inhibition is not due to the distance between muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) and nicotinic AChR. 3) Saturating concentrations of the second messenger are produced in < 500 ms in response to maximal concentrations of agonist.
Chemical Effects in Friction

Tribochemistry designates the interaction of chemistry and friction. This interaction usually takes the form of a modification, most often an acceleration, of reaction rates. This paper deals with the tribochemical reactions of the sliding solids where the worn volume can be used to determine reaction rates and where the morphology and composition of the wear tracks can give information on the reaction products. We concentrate on tribochemistry in slow sliding to eliminate the obvious effects of high temperatures. We discuss the tribochemical reactions of various ceramics with ambient humidity for the information they provide on the chemistry: we find that the oxidation of covalent ceramics (Si3N4 and SiC) and the dissolution of its reaction products in water modifies the surface morphology and contact stresses, resulting in decreases of wear rates, and that oxide ceramics are susceptible to adsorption embrittlement which increases wear rates. The oxidative wear of steel is examined for its ability to provide insight into the mechanisms and kinetics of tribochemical reactions. In general, friction lowers the temperature at which reactions are observed by several hundred degrees.
Bidirectional p-n-p-n switches

The p-n-p-n bidirectional switches conduct current in the positive or negative direction and are, therefore, useful in ac applications. The devices that belong to this class of switches are the p-n-p-n diode switch and triac (acronym for triode, ac switch). A triac can be triggered by either the positive or negative pulses applied to the gate which acts, depending on the switching mode, as a conventional gate, a junction gate, or as a remote gate. There are four possible triggering modes of a triac. Two in the first quadrant of the I–V characteristics and two in the third quadrant of the I–V characteristics. Since each of these switching modes depends on a different physical basis, the triggering current is different for each mode. Table 11.1 summarizes the state of various emitter and base layers and junctions of a triac during the turn-on transient.
Sunflower as a Potential Trap Crop of Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Pepper Fields.

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stal), feeds on a variety of fruits and vegetables, and is an economically important invasive hemipteran pest. Trap cropping of H. halys was examined at the Pennsylvania State University Southeast Agriculture Research and Extension Center (SEAREC) in Lancaster Co., PA, from 2012 to 2013, with sunflowers used as a trap crop to protect bell pepper. H. halys were observed frequently on sunflowers planted surrounding the pepper field, and in both years of this experiment significantly more H. halys were observed in sunflowers than peppers. Both adults and nymphs were observed with equal frequency, with higher numbers of both observed in September. A 2:1 ratio of females to males was observed throughout both years. While sunflowers were attractive to H. halys, no difference in fruit damage was observed in peppers surrounded by the sunflower trap crop versus those peppers surrounded by peppers. While sunflowers present an interesting potential trap crop for H. halys, future research is needed to clarify the feasibility of this crop protection technique.
Hypergeometric Distribution: Introduction

For a finite population of subjects of two types, suppose we select a random sample without replacement. The probability distribution of the number in the sample of one of the two types is the hypergeometric distribution. This article presents the hypergeometric distribution, summarizes its properties, discusses binomial and normal approximations, and presents a multivariate generalization. Keywords: binomial distribution; contingency tables; exact tests; independence; normal distribution; sampling without replacement; Yates's continuity correction