cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fluorescent antibody tests for syphilis using cerebrospinal fluid: clinical correlation in 150 cases.

The charts of 150 patients were reviewed to determine the correlation between clinical findings and results of serologic tests for syphilis in serum and cerebrospinal fluid specimens of the patients. Patients were divided into three groups. (1) Those diagnosed as syphilitic. Serum Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) and fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorbed (FTA-ABS) tests of the 49 patients of this group were reactive in 78% and 98%, respectively. The cerebrospinal fluid VDRL, FTA, FTA-ABS tests were reactive in 12%, 61%, and 22%. The clinical diagnosis of neurosyphilis had been made for 18 of these patients, with 22%, 89%, and 22% having reactive VDRL, FTA, and FTA-ABS results, respectively. (2) Those with undiagnosed syphilis and reactive serum FTA-ABS results. Cerebrospinal fluid VDRL, FTA, and FTA-ABS tests of the 34 patients in this group were reactive for 0%, 62%, and 9%, respectively. (3) Those with no clinical evidence of syphilis and nonreactive serum FTA-ABS tests. Cerebrospinal fluids of three of the 67 patients in this group had reactive FTA tests and an additional three had weakly reactive FTA results. The results obtained in this study have demonstrated the value of FTA and FTA-ABS tests of the cerebrospinal fluid for the diagnosis of neurosyphilis in the large number of cases in which the TPI test offers extremely low sensitivity. Until more information is available, it appears desirable to recommend the FTA procedure as a screening test, and use the VDRL and FTA-ABS tests simultaneously to examine all cerebrospinal fluids reactive with the FTA test. Tests of the serum and pertinent clinical findings should remain a prerequisite for interpretation of laboratory findings in the cerebrospinal fluid.
Gamma time-dependency in Blaxter's compartmental model.

A new two-compartment model for the passage of particles through the gastro-intestinal tract of ruminants is proposed. In this model, a gamma distribution of lifetimes is introduced in the first compartment; thereby, passage from that compartment becomes time-dependent. This modification is strongly suggested by the physical alteration which certain substances, e.g. hay particles, undergo in the digestive process. The proposed model is applied to experimental data.
The Case for Androgens in Menopausal Women: When and How?

A 55-year-old healthy married woman complains of reduced sexual desire and arousal for the past 10 years. She denies any dyspareunia. She underwent a hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy at the age of 45 for symptomatic uterine fibroids. After the surgery, she started experiencing hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and decreased sexual desire. She was prescribed with a transdermal estradiol patch which relieved her hot flashes and vaginal dryness but did not improve her sexual symptoms. Her total and free testosterone levels are low at 12 ng/dl and 1.5 pg/ml, respectively. She had a normal mammogram within the last year. She asks whether testosterone replacement is an option to treat her sexual symptoms. How should this patient be assessed and treated?
The Movement for Black Lives vs. the Black Church

Several times over the past three years, the Black Church and the Movement for Black Lives have clashed, revealing a peculiar incongruence. Movement for Black Lives activists, advocates, and agitators are not only pushing to hold police officers and officials in the criminal justice system accountable for deaths of Black victims; they have been pushing the Black Church and Black clergy as well. Why have activists, advocates, and aggrieved agitators in the Movement for Black Lives protested against prominent figures in the Black Church so vociferously and boldly? Hasn’t the Black Church been a stalwart presence in the Black Freedom Movement historically? Should such disruptive behavior be condoned? Is it behavior that Jesus himself would condone?
'Omics' and endocrine-disrupting chemicals — new paths forward

The emerging field of omics has the potential to advance and strengthen research into endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). In this Opinion article, Andrea Baccarelli and colleagues discuss the potential of using omics technologies — both established and developing — to characterize present and past EDC exposures and predict risk of developing EDC-related diseases. The emerging field of omics — large-scale data-rich biological measurements of the genome — provides new opportunities to advance and strengthen research into endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Although some EDCs have been associated with adverse health effects in humans, our understanding of their impact remains incomplete. Progress in the field has been primarily limited by our inability to adequately estimate and characterize exposure and identify sensitive and measurable outcomes during windows of vulnerability. Evolving omics technologies in genomics, epigenomics and mitochondriomics have the potential to generate data that enhance exposure assessment to include the exposome — the totality of the lifetime exposure burden — and provide biology-based estimates of individual risks. Applying omics technologies to expand our knowledge of individual risk and susceptibility will augment biological data in the prediction of variability and response to disease, thereby further advancing EDC research. Together, refined exposure characterization and enhanced disease-risk prediction will help to bridge crucial gaps in EDC research and create opportunities to move the field towards a new vision — precision public health.
FDA Approval Summary: Sonidegib-Response.

Race and ethnicity are important considerations during drug development, with differential effects in drug exposure, efficacy, and safety across racial groups observed for some drugs. Gyawali and Ando ([1][1]) suggest that the recommended dose of 200 mg once daily for sonidegib may not be
Geomechanical implications of dissolution of mineralized natural fractures in shale formations

Abstract Organic shale reservoirs accommodate large amounts of hydrocarbons in extremely tight rock matrix. Slick water hydraulic fracturing and proppant placement is the most spread stimulating technology for this type of reservoirs. Some shale formations contain a fair amount of easily-dissolvable carbonates, which prompts shale acidizing as a potential method to increase reservoir permeability. Carbonates in shale formations can be present as a part of rock matrix or can be localized in natural fractures — so-called mineral veins. Previous studies investigated the effects of chemical dissolution within the matrix, implying that acidizing can etch the rock, open new conduits for flow, and increase fracture permeability after closure. This study rather focuses on the reservoir-scale geomechanical implications of chemical dissolution of mineral filling in natural fractures. We use a combination of elasto-plastic analytical methods, analogous thermo-elastic numerical solutions, and experimental results to elucidate the impact of veins dissolution on in-situ stresses. Analytical, numerical, and experimental results indicate that mineral dissolution of localized carbonate fractures leads to changes of local in-situ stresses. The direction of stress relaxation strongly depends on the orientation of mineralized fractures. Dissolution of near-vertical mineralized fractures contributes the most to decreases of effective horizontal stress and reduce stress shadow effects in multistage hydraulic fracture completions. Mineral dissolution, similar to pore pressure depletion or thermal cooling/heating, can increase stress anisotropy, which can reactivate critically-oriented natural fractures. In-situ stress chemical manipulation can be used advantageously to enlarge the stimulated reservoir volume.
Omnidirectional Adaptive Bitrate Media Delivery Using MPTCP/QUIC over an SDN Architecture

Omnidirectional streaming requirements can be an impediment to delivering virtual reality (VR) quality con- tent at scale. Leveraging multihomed device network options becomes a viable approach to ease congestion. Multipath TCP (MPTCP) has the ability to utilize multiple networks simultaneously, but its performance can suffer from excessive overhead due to its use of large reordering buffers. In this paper, we propose a unique approach to removing this limitation with a software-defined networking architecture. Using Mininet with Floodlight controllers to manage available paths, we designed a framework that actively manages Quick UDP Internet Connections (QUIC) and/or MPTCP network usage based on network characteristics. Testbed experiments reveal that the start- up buffering delay is decreased by up to 60% or more when using our algorithm in networks with packet loss rates above 2%. These results are favorable even when compared against another modern multipath algorithm that attempts to remedy this issue. Our analysis shows our framework outperforms standard MPTCP in network usage efficiency by up to 50% at packet loss rates above 1%.
Delay in Adjuvant Chemotherapy and Survival Advantage in Stage III Colon Cancer

Background Adjuvant chemotherapy after resection is the standard of care for stage III colon cancer, yet many patients omit chemotherapy. We aimed to describe the impact of delayed chemotherapy on overall survival across multiple time points. Study Design The 2006 to 2014 National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) was queried for patients with single primary stage III adenocarcinoma of the colon. Patients were grouped by receipt and timing of chemotherapy from resection date: chemotherapy omitted, 24 weeks. Subgroup analyses were performed for those with comorbidities and those who had postoperative complications. Overall survival was compared using Cox proportional hazard modeling, adjusting for patient, tumor, and facility characteristics. Results In total, 72,057 patients were included; 20,807 omitted chemotherapy, 22,705 received it at 24 weeks after resection. Compared with patients who omitted chemotherapy, patients who received chemotherapy at 24 weeks (HR 0.68) had superior overall survival (p Conclusions After resection of stage III colon cancer, patients should receive adjuvant chemotherapy within 6 to 8 weeks for maximal benefit. However, chemotherapy should be offered to patients who are outside the optimal window, who have significant comorbidities, or who have had a complication more than 24 weeks from resection to improve the overall survival compared with omitting chemotherapy.
Computing Environments for Problem Solving

This chapter offers a very brief history of electronic computing and an equally brief description of some of the features of computing environments you are likely to encounter during a course based on this text. It also includes a discussion of the role of Fortran and programming in the problem-solving process.
Waves, Particles, and Crime

One sees different features from different points of view. Flying over a region provides a view of geographical and geological features not visible from the ground, while ground-level observations show details not apparent from the air. Similarly, different units of analysis applied to crime data can bring out different patterns in crime. This chapter describes how two different units of time, one measured in years, the other in weeks, can be used to extract two different types of geographical patterns. One, the “wave” analysis, traces the actions of whole groups over a long time period. In particular, it should be of use in investigating the effect of in- or out-migration of racial/ethnic groups in neighborhoods in a metropolitan area and the effect that these population shifts have on crime. The “particle” analysis, on the other hand, focuses on the career trajectories of individuals, from an early age, as they experience noteworthy events during their lives and move (or are moved) from place to place in a city. This view of a neighborhood’s at-risk youths can be used to describe the role of residential mobility in crime.
Killing Off The Mothers

An emerging theme in the study of motherhood in Zola's Rougon-Macquart series is one of male attempts to appropriate the invariably menacing female reproductive function. While Naomi Schor's theory, expounded in her seminal work, Zola's Crowds, pursues the notion of woman's death as part of the "founding myth" in Zola's novels, this study takes up questions of metaphorical and physical death in motherhood in order to determine not simply how Zola connects them but also if death is another way to seize the mother's source of power. Do the symbolic or physical deaths of characters such as Marthe Mouret, Helene Grandjean and Louise Chanteau occur in response to an underlying anxiety about motherhood? Do they betray male uneasiness about being dominated by sexual needs? Or do they simply illustrate the fatality of Zola's deliberately flawed genetics?
Other Diagnostic Procedures

Following the history and clinical examination there are a number of tests that may be ordered. These are listed in Table 19.1. The importance of the CSF examination is detailed in Chapter 16. Pertinent radiographic tests (especially CT scanning and angiography) are discussed in Chapters 17 and 18.
Esterase-sensitive cyclic prodrugs of peptides : Evaluation of a phenylpropionic acid promoiety in a model hexapeptide

Purpose. To evaluate a cyclic phenylpropionic acid prodrug of a model hexapeptide (H-Trp-Ala-Gly-Gly-Asp-Ala-OH) as a novel approach to enhance the membrane permeation of a peptide and stabilize it to metabolism.
Eosinophilic gastroenteritis: a simple reaction to food allergens?

A 23-year-old man with eosinophilic gastroenteritis was studied over a 2½-year period to determine the possible etiologic role of specific foods in his illness. Because of the extremely patchy nature of the gastrointestinal lesion a total of 303 gastrointestinal suction biopsies were obtained so that our experiments could be adequately evaluated. Before treatment, while eating a normal diet, he experienced nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain postprandially. Peripheral eosinophilia, steatorrhea, hypoalbuminemia, and enteric blood loss were also demonstrated. Subsequently, protein-losing enteropathy was documented. Patchy infiltration of eosinophilic leukocytes was evident in the lamina propria and submucosa of the stomach and proximal small bowel. The degree of infiltration varied unpredictably from biopsy to biopsy even when the same general area was sampled at the same time. Similarly, villous architecture varied from normal to complete loss of villi; variable abnormalities of the surface epithelium were also evident. These villous and epithelial abnormalities had not been described previously in eosinophilic gastroenteritis. Although skin tests were positive to a number of foods, the results of these tests correlated poorly with symptomatology. On a diet free of animal protein, dramatic clinical improvement occurred initially, although peripheral eosinophilia persisted and symptoms eventually recurred despite continuation of the elimination diet. Marked clinical improvement followed corticosteroid therapy on two occasions. The severity and distribution of the intestinal morphologic abnormalities did not clearly relate to the patient’s clinical status. Oral challenges with soybean and steak, which had produced symptoms by history, also produced symptoms; however, blind review of intestinal biopsies taken during these challenges showed no significant changes either in villous architecture or in the degree of intestinal infiltration with eosinophilic leukocytes. Perfusion of a segment of small intestine with pureed steak and repeated steak ingestion failed to produce significant histological changes in the proximal small bowel. We conclude that eosinophilic gastroenteritis is not a simple reversible allergic reaction to specific foods. Rather we believe it to be a self-perpetuating process which may be symptomatically aggravated by different foods. Thus elimination diets have no long term role in the treatment of this disease and many patients may require prolonged treatment with corticosteroids to remain well. Institution of more rational therapy must await discovery of the cause of eosinophilic gastroenteritis.
Geosemiotics←→Social Geography: Preschool Places and School(ed) Spaces:

The purpose of the present article is to attend to the theoretical and methodological implications of expanding a view of geosemiotic to include a social geography lens. A Geosemiotics←→social geog...
Functional and Traditional Nonalcoholic Beverages in Turkey

Abstract Traditional food is defined as a food having specific property, which differentiate it evidently from other similar foods in the way of the utilization of conventional ingredients or traditional composition or traditional type of manufacturing and/or processing method. Traditional foods are important elements of cultural heritage. They support the development and sustainability of countryside and lead to significant product differentiation potential for food manufacturers. Since ancient times, different fermented and unfermented traditional beverages including tea, coffee, ayran, kefir, shalgam juice, boza, salep, lemonade, gilaburu juice, etc. have been consumed. Raw materials such as myriad fresh fruits, plant seed, dried barks, flowers, roots, cereals, dairy products, and water have been used for preparation of those traditional beverages. Moreover, sherbets are known as popular traditional beverage, made from a mixture of a variety of fruits (tamarind, date, pomegranate, cranberry, red grape, rosehip, locust bean, etc.), spices (black cumin, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove, etc.), and flowers (rose leaves, carnation, etc.), and further sweetened with the addition of honey or sugar. Traditional beverages have been drunk for quenching thirst or providing delight, and some are consumed for cultural and religious ritual, as well as for also used as a curing agent in medicine due to its health benefits. The main ingredients of those traditional beverage are well known to be rich sources of antioxidant components that may provide protection against oxidative damage, and thereby reducing risk of several degenerative diseases, lowering total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, improving intestinal flora, and having antimicrobial activity. Therefore, those traditional beverages could certainly be considered as a promising functional drink which could regain their popularity among health-conscious consumers. Recent researches are supporting their nutraceutical and therapeutic effects as well. This chapter highlights composition of Turkish traditional beverages and their preparation methods. Moreover, recent research findings on their functional properties are discussed.
Overall gestational weight gain mediates the relationship between maternal and child obesity

Approximately 17% of children in the U.S. are obese. Children that are overweight or obese are also more likely to be obese as adults and suffer from various chronic diseases and premature death. Maternal obesity can affect the weight status of her offspring through intrauterine mechanisms like excessive gestational weight gain (GWG). Current literature shows a positive association between maternal weight status and GWG on child obesity, yet the direct and indirect effects have not been decomposed or quantified. The purpose of this study was to estimate the effect of maternal obesity on child obesity, mediated by GWG, which is a modifiable risk factor. The study participants were a birth cohort of offspring from women who received prenatal care in the Duke/Durham Regional health care system in Durham, NC between 2005 and 2009. Anthropomorphic data was collected via electronic medical records (EMRs) during each voluntary visit to a health care facility. The exposure of interest was maternal obesity, measured by pre-pregnancy body mass index, the mediator was GWG, dichotomized into excessive and not excessive based on maternal prenatal BMI, and the outcome was child obesity at age 4, measured as BMI z-scores from the last recorded height and weight. A counterfactual theory-based product method analysis estimated the mediated effects of GWG, adjusted for maternal race, socioeconomic status, and smoking status. Of the 766 children, 25% were overweight or obese, and among all mothers, 25 and 31% were overweight and obese, respectively. Maternal BMI was associated with an overall increase of 0.04 in offspring z-score. The proportion of the effect of maternal obesity on child age 4 obesity mediated by GWG was 8.1%. GWG, in part, mediated the relationship between maternal BMI and childhood adiposity. Even when the mediator is fixed, children are at an increased risk of a higher BMI if the mother is obese. These findings highlight an important public health education opportunity to stress the impact of a pre-pregnancy weight and excessive GWG on the risk of child obesity for all mothers.
Towards Validation of a Model of API Learning

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and code libraries have become highly integrated into the programming process. They allow programmers to reuse large segments of functionalities. However, as free and often open-source commodities, the support for programmers to learn how to use these valuable resources is not always complete. Researchers have repeatedly found that API learning is a highly problematic process with many barriers. However, much of the work on the difficulties using and learning APIs has relied on retrospective descriptions of the process or questions programmers post on forums. Furthermore, these explorations of difficulties in learning APIs have not taken into account theories about learning or information foraging. In this works-in-progress poster, we present an early evaluation of a model that describes API learning using both information foraging and cognitive load theory.
Fungi are more dispersal-limited than bacteria among flowers

Dispersal, particularly variation in dispersal ability among taxa, affects community assembly in individual communities and biodiversity maintenance within metacommunities. Although fungi and bacteria frequently coexist, their relative dispersal abilities are poorly understood. Here, we compare the incidence and abundance of culturable flower-inhabiting bacteria and fungi among individual flowers. Using collections that span two coflowering communities across two years, we assess viable bacterial and fungal incidence and abundance within individual flower samples, and examine patterns across plant species that differ in flower traits. Our results demonstrate that bacteria can be detected in more flowers and in greater numerical abundance than fungi, particularly in flowers with more exposed corollas. For fungi, however, flowers with long corollas were equally likely as exposed flowers to contain cells, and hosted higher numbers of fungal cells, primarily yeasts. Across all flowers, bacteria and fungal incidence was positively related, but within flowers containing microbes, bacterial and fungal incidence was negatively related, suggesting shared dispersal routes but competition among microbes within flowers. The difference in dispersal abilities of bacteria and fungi identified here may have broad relevance for community assembly of microbes and plant-pollinator interactions.
Silencing the genome with linker histones.

Eukaryotic genomes at their core consist of a nucleoprotein complex termed chromatin. The subunit of chromatin is the nucleosome, which is formed from 146 bp of DNA wrapped around an octamer of core histone proteins (H2A, H2B, H3, and H4). An array of nucleosomes connected by intervening linker DNA segments represents the chromatin fiber in its simplest form. In reality, the chromatin fiber that encompasses a given region of the genome is associated with a distinctive set of proteins that specify the functionality of that chromatin region. For example, the euchromatin of an active gene will be bound to transcription factors, chromatin remodelers, and chromatin-modifying enzymes. On the other hand, a gene that is transcriptionally silenced by constitutive heterochromatin will be assembled with nucleosomes marked by histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) and bound to HP1 and other proteins. While the connection between constitutive heterochromatin and transcriptional silencing is well established, how silencing is achieved is not well understood. In PNAS, Healton et al. (1) show that linker histone H1 is enriched in the constitutive heterochromatin that silences repetitive elements in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs), and that acute depletion of H1 leads to substantial derepression of repetitive element gene expression. Surprisingly, H1 exerts its effects through two fundamentally different mechanisms, one involving H1–protein interactions and the other involving modulation of the higher-order structure of heterochromatin domains (Fig. 1). These results raise new questions regarding how linker histones function in chromatin. Fig. 1. Schematic structure of linker histone H1 drawn to approximate scale. The work of Healton et al. (1) describes two different mechanisms used by H1 to silence heterochromatin, protein–protein interactions, and global chromatin compaction. Linker histones are the most abundant chromatin-associated proteins in most eukaryotic genomes, with an average of 0.5 to 1.3 H1 per nucleosome depending on cell type … [↵][1]1Email: Jeffrey.C.Hansen{at}ColoState.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
A Theoretical Analysis of a Resonator-Assisted Silicon Photonic Interleaver

We presented new physical insights into designing resonator-assisted photonic inter-leavers. The robust flat-top transmission spectra of the devices can be achieved and interpreted through rigorous mathematical models based on quasi Fourier series.
Lifestyle, Behavioral, and Dietary Risk Factors in Relation to Mammographic Breast Density in Women at High Risk for Breast Cancer

Background: Women at high risk for breast cancer due to genetics or risk factor profiles are counseled to adopt lifestyle, behavioral, and dietary changes to help reduce their risk. These recommendations are based on studies of women at average risk, so their effectiveness in high-risk women is unclear. Methods: We evaluated the impact of physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and intake of folate and carotenoids on mammographic breast density—a proxy for breast cancer risk—among 387 high-risk women. Exposures were self-reported on questionnaires. Breast dense area, nondense area, and percent dense area were measured from screening mammograms with Library for Breast Radiodensity Assessment software. Cross-sectional associations were estimated with multivariable quantile regression models. Results: After adjusting for age, adiposity, reproductive history, and use of postmenopausal hormones, no breast density measure was associated with physical activity level, smoking status, alcohol consumption, or estimated intake of folate, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin, and beta-cryptoxanthin. Lycopene intake was associated with lower dense area when comparing the highest and lowest intake categories (adjusted difference in median = −14 cm2, 95% confidence interval: −29 to 1.3 cm2). This association may be explained by incomplete adjustment for adiposity. Conclusions: Recommended lifestyle, behavioral, and dietary changes to mitigate personal risk of breast cancer do not substantially impact mammographic breast density measures. Impact: Alternative strategies, such as increased uptake of chemoprevention, may better serve risk reduction efforts in women at high risk for breast cancer.
Novel modeling approach for fiber breakage during molding of long fiber-reinforced thermoplastics

Long fiber-reinforced thermoplastics (LFTs) are an attractive design option for many engineering applications due to their excellent mechanical properties and processability. When processing these materials, the length of the fibers inevitably decreases, which ultimately affects the mechanical performance of the finished part. Since none of the existing modeling techniques can accurately predict fiber damage of LFTs during injection molding, a new phenomenological approach for modeling fiber attrition is presented. First, multiple controlled studies employing a Couette rheometer are performed to determine correlations between processing conditions, material properties, and fiber length reduction. The results show shear stress and fiber concentration impact fiber damage. Based on these findings, a phenomenological model to predict breaking rate and unbreakable length of a fiber under giving conditions is developed. The model is based on the beam theory with distributed hydrodynamic stresses acting on a fiber. Fiber–fiber interactions are accounted for and correlated with the fiber volume fraction via a fitting parameter. The model tracks both the number-average and weight-average fiber length during processing, which can in turn be used to extract the fiber length distribution.
A case of annular atrophic lichen planus in a child and review of the literature

Lichen planus (LP) is an inflammatory disease affecting both adults and children that may present with numerous rare morphologies. LP and its many subtypes can prove difficult to treat and often leave patients with dyspigmentation. Additionally, pruritus associated with LP can be distressing to patients. The aim of this report is to highlight an uncommon subtype, annular atrophic lichen planus, which uniquely presented in a child, to emphasize the importance of early disease recognition and finally, to demonstrate successful treatment with topical monotherapy with clobetasol propionate ointment.
Intersections of Conservation, Cattle, and Culture in Ecuador's Páramo Grasslands

Paramo is a biodiverse, high-elevation humid grassland ecosystem mainly found in the northern Andes. Since Spanish colonization, paramo lands in Ecuador have been used locally for grazing cattle that roam freely, known as ganado bravo. At present, much of the ecosystem in Ecuador's northern Andes is managed collectively by indigenous communities that gained property rights to expropriated hacienda lands during historic agrarian reform measures. Scholars and conservation practitioners now recognize paramo lands as important for regional hydrological systems that are vital to sustaining the water needs of montane communities and urban areas. As such, several initiatives focusing on paramo conservation have begun offering incentives to local communities to remove ganado bravo. In a case study situated on the slopes of the Cayambe volcano in Ecuador, I examine the local contextual factors, aside from conservation agreements, that have affected the community dynamics of maintaining cattle in the paramo. Many communities have reduced the number of cattle in the paramo but are reluctant to pursue their complete removal. This article highlights the importance of recognizing how local cultural practices intersect with conservation initiatives and outlines the implications of removing ganado bravo for the sustainable management of paramo grasslands.
Mifepristone Increases Life Span of Virgin Female Drosophila on Regular and High-fat Diet Without Reducing Food Intake.

Background: The synthetic steroid mifepristone is reported to have anti-obesity and anti-diabetic effects in mammals on normal and high-fat diets (HFD). We previously reported that mifepristone blocks the negative effect on life span caused by mating in female Drosophila melanogaster. Methods: Here we asked if mifepristone could protect virgin females from the life span-shortening effect of HFD. Mifepristone was assayed for effects on life span in virgin females, in repeated assays, on regular media and on media supplemented with coconut oil (HFD). The excrement quantification (EX-Q) assay was used to measure food intake of the flies after 12 days mifepristone treatment. In addition, experiments were conducted to compare the effects of mifepristone in virgin and mated females, and to identify candidate mifepristone targets and mechanisms. Results: Mifepristone increased life span of virgin females on regular media, as well as on media supplemented with either 2.5 or 5% coconut oil. Food intake was not reduced in any assay, and was significantly increased by mifepristone in half of the assays. To ask if mifepristone might rescue virgin females from all life span-shortening stresses, the oxidative stressor paraquat was tested, and mifepristone produced little to no rescue. Analysis of extant metabolomics and transcriptomics data suggested similarities between effects of mifepristone in virgin and mated females, including reduced tryptophan breakdown and similarities to dietary restriction. Bioinformatics analysis identified candidate mifepristone targets, including transcription factors Paired and Extra-extra. In addition to shortening life span, mating also causes midgut hypertrophy and activation of the lipid metabolism regulatory factor SREBP. Mifepristone blocked the increase in midgut size caused by mating, but did not detectably affect midgut size in virgins. Finally, mating increased activity of a SREBP reporter in abdominal tissues, as expected, but reporter activity was not detectably reduced by mifepristone in either mated or virgin females. Conclusion: Mifepristone increases life span of virgin females on regular and HFD without reducing food intake. Metabolomics and transcriptomics analyses suggest some similar effects of mifepristone between virgin and mated females, however reduced midgut size was observed only in mated females. The results are discussed regarding possible mifepristone mechanisms and targets.
Clonal hematopoiesis driven by DNMT3A and TET2 mutations: role in monocyte and macrophage biology and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Purpose of review Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), defined by the presence of somatic mutations in hematopoietic cells, is associated with advanced age and increased mortality due to cardiovascular disease. Gene mutations in DNMT3A and TET2 are the most frequently identified variants among patients with CHIP and provide selective advantage that spurs clonal expansion and myeloid skewing. Although DNMT3A and TET2 appear to have opposing enzymatic influence on DNA methylation, mounting data has characterized convergent inflammatory pathways, providing insights to how CHIP may mediate atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Recent findings We review a multitude of studies that characterize aberrant inflammatory signaling as result of DNMT3A and TET2 deficiency in monocytes and macrophages, immune cells with prominent roles in atherosclerosis. Although specific DNA methylation signatures associated with these known epigenetic regulators have been identified, many studies have also characterized diverse modulatory functions of DNTM3A and TET2 that urge cell and context-specific experimental studies to further define how DNMT3A and TET2 may nonenzymatically activate inflammatory pathways with clinically meaningful consequences. Summary CHIP, common in elderly individuals, provides an opportunity understand and potentially modify age-related chronic inflammatory ASCVD risk.
Nearest neighbor discriminant analysis for language recognition

Many state-of-the-art i-vector based voice biometric systems use linear discriminant analysis (LDA) as a post-processing stage to increase the computational efficiency in the back-end via dimensionality reduction, as well as annihilate the undesired (noisy) directions in the total variability subspace. The traditional approach for computing the LDA transform uses parametric representations for both intra- and inter-class scatter matrices that are based on the Gaussian distribution assumption. However, it is known that the actual distribution of i-vectors may not necessarily be Gaussian, and in particular, in the presence of noise and channel distortions. In addition, the rank of the LDA projection (i.e., the maximum number of available discriminant bases) is limited to the number of classes minus 1. Accordingly, language recognition tasks on noisy data that involve only a few language classes receive limited or no benefit from the LDA post-processing. Motivated by this observation, we present an alternative non-parametric discriminant analysis (NDA) technique that measures both the within- and between-language variation on a local basis using the nearest neighbor rule. The effectiveness of the NDA method is evaluated in the context of noisy language recognition tasks using speech material from the DARPA Robust Automatic Transcription of Speech (RATS) program. Experimental results indicate that NDA is more effective than the traditional parametric LDA for language recognition under noisy and channel degraded conditions.
Distributed, loosely-synchronized systemC/TLM simulations of many-processor platforms

Today’s virtual prototypes model complex manycore platforms. In application domains such as network processing, they may comprise hundreds of processors, which makes simulation speed the key issue due to the single-threaded execution semantics of SystemC. We propose CoMix, the Concurrent Model Interface, for the distributed simulation of large-scale SystemC models. CoMix provides robust communication between peers, enables their loose synchronization, and manages the overall life cycle. It is an overlay technology neither requiring modified simulators nor depending on a hosts' communication infrastructure. The CoMix library is small (2k Lines of Code) and easily deployable. We quantify its overhead on synthetic benchmarks and observe reasonable speedups for synthetic benchmarks and a large real-world example, e.g., 3.3X and 4X for a 4-peer simulation.
Transport Properties of ABX Type Thermoelectric Alloys

Thermoelectric alloys, which can generate electricity from waste heat were gathering attention recently. ABX type ternary alloy in which A and B were transition metals and X was group IVA non-metal elements was studied mainly because of its distinct thermoelectric performance at elevated temperatures. Calculation of transport properties which included Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity of ABX type thermoelectric alloys were carried out. The properties of n-type TiNiSn thermoelectric alloys were discussed in detail which included the effect of dopant Nb and Sb, and the second phase formation. The derived empirical equations of transport property were tabulated. The predicted peak value of dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) and primary phases were evaluated. The maximum value of ZT was estimated using Arrhenius relationships for TiNiSn alloys.
Rapid release of bound glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase by growth factors. Correlation with increased enzymatic activity.

Epidermal growth factor (EGF), a mitogen for renal proximal tubule cells, activated the hexose monophosphate (HMP) shunt in renal proximal tubule cells (Stanton, R. C., and Seifter, J. L. (1988) Am. J. Physiol. 254, C267-C271). We therefore evaluated the effect of EGF on the HMP shunt enzymes glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD, the rate-limiting enzyme) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase. Rat renal cortical cells (RCC) were incubated with either EGF or platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and then assayed for G6PD and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase activities. EGF and PDGF increased G6PD activity by 25 and 27% respectively. Although phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), ionomycin, PMA + ionomycin, and 8-bromo-cyclic AMP had no significant effect on the activity, a 5-min preincubation with PMA potentiated the activation of G6PD by PDGF. Growth factor activation of G6PD was also seen in a fibroblast and epithelial cell line. None of the agents affected 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase activity in the RCC or in the cell lines. Further exploration into a possible mechanism for G6PD activation revealed that growth factors caused release of G6PD from a structural element within the cell. Streptolysin O permeabilization of RCC did not cause significant release of G6PD. However, within 1 min of addition of EGF or PDGF to permeabilized cells, G6PD was released into the cell supernatant. The nonhydrolyzable analog of GTP, guanosine 5‘-O-(thiotriphosphate), caused a similar release of G6PD. Preincubation with pertussis toxin or guanyl-5‘-yl thiophosphate inhibited the PDGF but not the EGF effect. Although the data do not establish a definitive proof linking G6PD release and G6PD activation, these results suggest that they are related. Thus, growth factor stimulation of the HMP shunt likely occurs by a novel mechanism associated with release of bound G6PD.
ESTABLISHING LINKAGES BETWEEN ECONOMIC THEORY AND ENTERPRISE BUDGETING FOR TEACHING AND EXTENSION PROGRAMS

Accounting techniques of farm enterprise budgeting are rarely linked to the axioms of static production theory and to capital theory. This paper illustrates how certain linkages may be established. Particular attention is given to handling problems of scale economies, optimal output levels, replacement of durable inputs, inflation, and technological change. Estimates in an illustrative budget are linked to specific points on average cost curves. Budgeting for representative farm situations is compared to budgeting for specific situations.
A general spline representation for nonparametric and semiparametric density estimates using diffeomorphisms

A theorem of McCann shows that for any two absolutely continuous probability measures on R^d there exists a monotone transformation sending one probability measure to the other. A consequence of this theorem, relevant to statistics, is that density estimation can be recast in terms of transformations. In particular, one can fix any absolutely continuous probability measure, call it P, and then reparameterize the whole class of absolutely continuous probability measures as monotone transformations from P. In this paper we utilize this reparameterization of densities, as monotone transformations from some P, to construct semiparametric and nonparametric density estimates. We focus our attention on classes of transformations, developed in the image processing and computational anatomy literature, which are smooth, invertible and which have attractive computational properties. The techniques developed for this class of transformations allow us to show that a penalized maximum likelihood estimate (PMLE) of a smooth transformation from P exists and has a finite dimensional characterization, similar to those results found in the spline literature. These results are derived utilizing an Euler-Lagrange characterization of the PMLE which also establishes a surprising connection to a generalization of Stein's lemma for characterizing the normal distribution.
Modeling and multiway analysis of chatroom tensors

This work identifies the limitations of n-way data analysis techniques in multidimensional stream data, such as Internet chatroom communications data, and establishes a link between data collection and performance of these techniques. Its contributions are twofold. First, it extends data analysis to multiple dimensions by constructing n-way data arrays known as high order tensors. Chatroom tensors are generated by a simulator which collects and models actual communication data. The accuracy of the model is determined by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov goodness-of-fit test which compares the simulation data with the observed (real) data. Second, a detailed computational comparison is performed to test several data analysis techniques including svd [1], and multiway techniques including Tucker1, Tucker3 [2], and Parafac [3].
DNA damage-inducible loci in Salmonella typhimurium

lac operon fusions to DNA damage-inducible (din) loci were generated in Salmonella typhimurium LT2. Many of these din fusions were efficiently repressed by cloned Escherichia coli LexA, while others were not; all required RecA for induction. Several din fusions exhibited strong inducibility and will be useful in developing an SOS induction assay in S. typhimurium to detect genotoxins.
AMG 837: A Novel GPR40/FFA1 Agonist that Enhances Insulin Secretion and Lowers Glucose Levels in Rodents

Agonists of GPR40 (FFA1) have been proposed as a means to treat type 2 diabetes. Through lead optimization of a high throughput screening hit, we have identified a novel GPR40 agonist called AMG 837. The objective of these studies was to understand the preclinical pharmacological properties of AMG 837. The activity of AMG 837 on GPR40 was characterized through GTPγS binding, inositol phosphate accumulation and Ca2+ flux assays. Activity of AMG 837 on insulin release was assessed on isolated primary mouse islets. To determine the anti-diabetic activity of AMG 837 in vivo, we tested AMG 837 using a glucose tolerance test in normal Sprague-Dawley rats and obese Zucker fatty rats. AMG 837 was a potent partial agonist in the calcium flux assay on the GPR40 receptor and potentiated glucose stimulated insulin secretion in vitro and in vivo. Acute administration of AMG 837 lowered glucose excursions and increased glucose stimulated insulin secretion during glucose tolerance tests in both normal and Zucker fatty rats. The improvement in glucose excursions persisted following daily dosing of AMG 837 for 21-days in Zucker fatty rats. Preclinical studies demonstrated that AMG 837 was a potent GPR40 partial agonist which lowered post-prandial glucose levels. These studies support the potential utility of AMG 837 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Groups

purpose: In this report, the authors describe Man to Man prostate cancer support group characteristics and functioning to identify ways to strengthen the program as it expands nationally and internationally. description of study: A mail survey of 38 groups in Florida collected data on group meeting practices, facilitator background, training, and perceived needs, and on participant characteristics and satisfaction with the group. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses of survey data were performed. results: Typical groups included both survivors and significant others, met on a monthly basis, and followed a format that combined educational content with sharing of personal experiences. Facilitators and participants alike were typically retired white men in their 60s and 70s from well-educated professional backgrounds, who joined the groups after undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. High levels of satisfaction with the program's organization and functioning were reported. Perceived needs were in the areas of increasing access to support services, achieving a more diverse membership, and better outreach to newly diagnosed patients. clinical implications: Healthcare professionals can play a key role in informing newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients about the availability of support groups in their communities. Earlier referral to support groups would enhance patients' access to shared experiences and resources for guidance in treatment decisions. Greater attention to psychosocial issues in Man to Man support groups might better meet the emotional needs of patients and families.