cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Microstructure of Metal-GaAs Interfaces

The interfacial reactions and microstructures of metal-GaAs contacts are, in general, much more complicated and difficult to control than the corresponding metal-Si contacts. They are very sensitive to reaction temperature, ambient, metal layer thickness, and the GaAs surface cleaning procedure. Many of the ohmic and gate contacts to GaAs currently in use or under development for GaAs FET devices are comprised of more than one metal species and in some cases a doping element as well. In dealing with these complexities, information about the microstructure at the contact interface is critically needed: for the evaluation of a specific contact metallurgy, for the definition of an optimum fabrication process, and, most important of all, for generating new ideas for better contact schemes. In this paper, our TEM and STEM studies of several ohmic and gate contacts that are of technological interest will be described. Attention will be drawn to the link between the interfacial microstructures and their electrical behavior, the kinetics of interfacial reactions, and thermal stability. The current constraints on obtaining ideal, reliable and controllable metal-GaAs contacts will also be discussed.
Civilization Conflicts and Coexistence with Differences

Through analyzing meanings and implications of certain symbols, concepts, and code words that have featured in the discourse of anti-terrorism in the west, this article examines how the western media has demonized Islam and Muslims. It is argued that the demonization and generalization the western media make of Islam and Muslims only further deepens the gap between the West and the Islamic world as well as misleads peoples to understand one another. This article attacks the theory of “clash of civilizations” on its disregarding what different peoples may share in common and suggests that the ideas about harmony and cultural understanding, legacies from the ancient thinkers in the East, are invaluable, especially, when our world happens to be increasingly globalized.
Arylfluorosulfates Inactivate Intracellular Lipid Binding Protein(s) through Chemoselective SuFEx Reaction with a Binding Site Tyr Residue

Arylfluorosulfates have appeared only rarely in the literature and have not been explored as probes for covalent conjugation to proteins, possibly because they were assumed to possess high reactivity, as with other sulfur(VI) halides. However, we find that arylfluorosulfates become reactive only under certain circumstances, e.g., when fluoride displacement by a nucleophile is facilitated. Herein, we explore the reactivity of structurally simple arylfluorosulfates toward the proteome of human cells. We demonstrate that the protein reactivity of arylfluorosulfates is lower than that of the corresponding aryl sulfonyl fluorides, which are better characterized with regard to proteome reactivity. We discovered that simple hydrophobic arylfluorosulfates selectively react with a few members of the intracellular lipid binding protein (iLBP) family. A central function of iLBPs is to deliver small-molecule ligands to nuclear hormone receptors. Arylfluorosulfate probe 1 reacts with a conserved tyrosine residue in th...
Internal Field Gradients In Porous Media

The effect of internal field gradients on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spin-spin relaxation (T 2 ) needs to be evaluated for certain cases in NMR well logging. In this paper, systematic methods are developed to calculate the induced magnetic fields and gradients for three types of porous media: spheres, cylinders, and rectangular flakes. Strong internal field gradients were observed on North Burbank (N. B.) sandstones and chlorite/fluid slurries. The experimental observations are compared with calculations. For pores lined with clay flakes, field gradients are concentrated around the sharp comers of the clay flakes regardless of their orientations. The radius of curvature of an object determines the maximum value of the field gradient. Pores lined with clay flakes have the dimensional gradient scaled to the width of the clay flake, whereas for systems of cylinders or spheres the dimensional gradient is scaled to the cylinder or sphere radius. Consequently, thin chlorite clay flakes will have much stronger gradients than larger spherical siderite particles. Both N. B. sandstone and chlorite slurry are simulated as a square macropore lined with rectangular chlorite clay flakes between which are micropores whose total fraction matches that of real systems. The field gradients in the micropores ofN. B. sandstone and chlorite slurry are similar. The mean gradient value of the macropore in the chlorite slurry is much higher than in the N. B. sandstone. Both N. B. sandstone and chlorite slurry have much higher gradients than the field gradients generated by the permanent magnet of logging tools. Measurements of spin-lattice relaxation (T 1 ) and T 2 at different echo spacings (2τ) were performed on N. B. sandstones at various saturation conditions. Gradient values for the whole pore, micropore, and macropore are determined from the slope of the first several data points on the plot of 1/T 2 versus τ 2 . Gradient values from simulations using a 0.2-μm clay width were found to be close to the experimental results for the whole pore and micropore. For macropores, the simulation results match the mean value of the experiments while individual experiments have a larger variation. For chlorite/fluid slurries, the simulation results with a 0.2-μm clay width match well with the mean gradient value of the experiments.
Kant and the Power of Imagination: The failure of Kant's imagination

In a well-known account of the role of transcendental imagination in Kant's philosophy, Martin Heidegger practically accused Kant of intellectual cowardice. Heidegger argued that Kant's refusal in the second edition of the Critique of Pure Reason to grant that the imagination was a fundamental faculty was a result of Kant's having originally identified the transcendental imagination with the “common root” of sensibility and understanding, and of his subsequently being unwilling to grant such basic status to a faculty whose obscure nature frightened him: “He saw the unknown,” Heidegger says, and “he had to draw back.” In what has become a classic critique of Heidegger's Kant interpretation, Dieter Henrich's “Die Einheit der Subjektivitat” (“On the Unity of Subjectivity”) takes up his challenge to the integrity of the Kantian enterprise and defends Kant on the grounds that his refusal to explore the common root of both sensibility and understanding really has nothing to do with Kant's attitude toward the imagination, but rather represents his adoption of the view, already promulgated against Christian Wolff by Christian August Crusius, that subjectivity cannot be traced to a single basic faculty or principle. Far from suggesting the need to identify any common root of human subjectivity, Henrich argues, Kant denies outright the possibility of ever knowing such a basic power and is agnostic about the existence of such a power even apart from the conditions of human knowledge.
Latinos1 in Rural America and U.S. Agriculture: From Pioneers to New Arrivals

For at least four centuries, Mexican communities of labor have been part of rural America, bringing affordable food to the American table and prosperity to generations of American farmers. From California's "factories in the fields" and the Heartland's meatpacking plants, to the backs of restaurants' kitchens, Latino workers can be found at every critical linkage in this country's agro-food chain. Our salad plates and fruit bowls, shrimp cocktails and barbeques, hamburgers and the pickles and French fries that commonly accompany them, our pecan tarts and apple pies, and even our frozen dinners would virtually disappear from our dinner table should Latino workers suddenly exit U.S. agriculture and food processing labor markets. Their departure would also precipitate the exodus of thousands of family members and associates working in large retail chains, construction, oil rigs, carpet mills, casinos, sky resorts, and many other service and manufacturing sectors that today have become dependent on Latino imm...
Mitochondria provide a 'complex' solution to a bacterial problem.

Adaptations in the mitochondrial electron-transport chain mediate antibacterial responses in macrophages.
Fish Oil Fatty Acids for Aging Disorders

Healthy aging is crucial for achieving a prolonged, disease-free life span in humans. In recent years, the shift in n-6: n-3 fatty acid ratio to as high as 20:1 from an ideal ratio of about 4:1 has been found to be a major cause of chronic inflammation and associated rise in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, as well as autoimmune disorders in aging population. This chapter describes the role of n-3 fatty acids in conferring protection against cardiovascular disorders and age-related bone disorders such as osteoporosis. Fish oil fatty acids are believed to protect against inflammatory disorders and cardiovascular events through complex mechanisms including regulation of transcription factors involved in inflammation such as prostaglandins, leukotrienes, protectins, and resolvins by docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentanoic acid (EPA). Recent studies strongly suggest that DHA has a more potent and beneficial effects than EPA. Further, age-related bone loss in the elderly and in postmenopausal women is a global health concern. n-3 fatty acids are found to participate in bone remodeling through modulation of factors in the bone microenvironment. Rise in inflammation owing to increased inflammatory cytokine levels during aging contributes to the imbalance of cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-6 which are linked to the activation of osteoclasts and the loss of osteoblasts. The n-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA protect against age-related bone loss in animal models and in humans as evidenced by their positive effects on bone mineral density, bone turnover markers, as well as inflammatory markers. Further, an attempt has been made to describe the role of fish oil fatty acids in pain resolution and the importance of considering pain resolution parameters in randomized control trials.
The Rowhammer Attack Injection Methodology

This paper presents a systematic methodology to identify and validate security attacks that exploit user influenceable hardware faults (i.e., rowhammer errors). We break down rowhammer attack procedures into nine generalized steps where some steps are designed to increase the attack success probabilities. Our framework can perform those nine operations (e.g., pressuring system memory and spraying landing pages) as well as inject rowhammer errors which are basically modeled as ≥3-bit errors. When one of the injected errors is activated, such can cause control or data flow divergences which can then be caught by a prepared landing page and thus lead to a successful attack. Our experiments conducted against a guest operating system of a typical cloud hypervisor identified multiple reproducible targets for privilege escalation, shell injection, memory and disk corruption, and advanced denial-of-service attacks. Because the presented rowhammer attack injection (RAI) methodology uses error injection and thus statistical sampling, RAI can quantitatively evaluate the modeled rowhammer attack success probabilities of any given target software states.
Hispanic mothers' beliefs regarding HPV vaccine series completion in their adolescent daughters

Rates of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series completion among adolescent Hispanic females in Texas in 2014 (∼39%) lag behind the Healthy People 2020 goal (80%). This qualitative study identifies Hispanic mothers' salient behavioral, normative and control beliefs regarding having their adolescent daughters complete the vaccine series. Thirty-two mothers of girls (aged 11-17) that had received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine, completed in-depth interviews. Six girls had received one dose of the HPV vaccine, 10 girls had received two doses, and 16 girls had received all three doses. The questions elicited salient: (i) experiential and instrumental attitudes (behavioral beliefs); (ii) supporters and non-supporters (normative beliefs) and (iii) facilitators and barriers (control beliefs). Directed content analysis was employed to select the most salient beliefs. Mothers: (i) expressed salient positive feelings (e.g. good, secure, happy and satisfied); (ii) believed that completing the series resulted in positive effects (e.g. protection, prevention); (iii) believed that the main supporters were themselves, their daughter's father and doctor with some of their friends not supporting series completion and (iv) believed that vaccine affordability, information, transportation, ease of scheduling and keeping vaccination appointments and taking their daughter's immunization card to appointments were facilitators. This study represents the first step in building theory-based framework of vaccine series completion for this population. The beliefs identified provide guidance for health care providers and intervention developers.
Plasma copper and zinc concentration in individuals with autism correlate with selected symptom severity.

Aim: To assess plasma zinc and copper concentration in individuals with autism and correlate these levels with symptom severity. Subjects and methods: Plasma from 102 autistic individuals, and 18 neurotypical controls, were tested for plasma zinc and copper using inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Copper and zinc levels and Cu/Zn were analyzed for possible correlation with severity of 19 symptoms. Results: Autistic individuals had elevated plasma levels of copper and Cu/Zn and lower, but not significantly lower, plasma Zn compared to neurotypical controls. There was a correlation between Cu/Zn and expressive language, receptive language, focus attention, hyperactivity, fine motor skills, gross motor skills and Tip Toeing. There was a negative correlation between plasma zinc concentration and hyperactivity, and fine motor skills severity. Discussion: These results suggest an association between plasma Cu/Zn and severity of symptoms associated with autism.
Adaptive Evolution Leads to Cross-Species Incompatibility in the piRNA Transposon Silencing Machinery

Reproductive isolation defines species divergence and is linked to adaptive evolution of hybrid incompatibility genes. Hybrids between Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans are sterile, and phenocopy mutations in the PIWI interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway, which silences transposons and shows pervasive adaptive evolution, and Drosophila rhino and deadlock encode rapidly evolving components of a complex that binds to piRNA clusters. We show that Rhino and Deadlock interact and co-localize in simulans and melanogaster, but simulans Rhino does not bind melanogaster Deadlock, due to substitutions in the rapidly evolving Shadow domain. Significantly, a chimera expressing the simulans Shadow domain in a melanogaster Rhino backbone fails to support piRNA production, disrupts binding to piRNA clusters, and leads to ectopic localization to bulk heterochromatin. Fusing melanogaster Deadlock to simulans Rhino, by contrast, restores localization to clusters. Deadlock binding thus directs Rhino to piRNA clusters, and Rhino-Deadlock co-evolution has produced cross-species incompatibilities, which may contribute to reproductive isolation.
Role of Autophagy in Zika Virus Infection and Pathogenesis

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved cellular pathway that culminates in lysosomal degradation of selected substrates. Autophagy can serve dual roles in virus infection with either pro- or antiviral functions depending on the virus and the stage of the viral replication cycle. Recent studies have suggested a role for autophagy in Zika virus (ZIKV) replication by demonstrating the accumulation of autophagic vesicles following ZIKV infection in both in vitro and in vivo models. In human fetal neural stem cells, ZIKV inhibits Akt-mTOR signaling to induce autophagy, increase virus replication and impede neurogenesis. However, autophagy also has the potential to limit ZIKV replication, with separate studies demonstrating antiviral roles for autophagy at the maternal-placental-fetal interface, and more specifically, at the endoplasmic reticulum where virus replication is established in an infected cell. Interestingly, ZIKV (and related flaviviruses) has evolved specific mechanisms to overcome autophagy at the ER, thus demonstrating important roles for these autophagic pathways in virus replication and host response. This review summarizes the known roles of autophagy in ZIKV replication and how they might influence virus tissue tropism and disease.
Polycystic ovary syndrome: A review for dermatologists: Part II. Treatment

Dermatologists are in a key position to treat the manifestations of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The management of PCOS should be tailored to each woman's specific goals, reproductive interests, and particular constellation of symptoms. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach is recommended. In part II of this continuing medical education article, we present the available safety and efficacy data regarding treatments for women with acne, hirsutism, and androgenetic alopecia. Therapies discussed include lifestyle modification, topical therapies, combined oral contraceptives, antiandrogen agents, and insulin-sensitizing drugs. Treatment recommendations are made based on the current available evidence.
Epigenetic Regulation of Normal Hematopoietic Development

Mammalian blood cell production ultimately originates from a pool of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells (PHSC) which are capable of undergoing self-renewal or commitment to a variety of lineage-committed hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) which undergo progressive terminal differentiation, resulting in the production of mature blood cells. Allogeneic cord blood (CB) cells are an important alternative source of marrow-repopulating cells (MRC) which can serve as a stem cell graft for patients with hematological malignancies and blood-related genetic disorders. CB grafts frequently contain less HSC than bone marrow or mobilized peripheral blood grafts which leads to a higher incidence of graft failure and a more prolonged time for hematological reconstitution to occur. The fixed number of HSC within a single CB unit has limited the use of this alternative source of stem cells in adults. Numerous investigators have tried to increase the CB stem cell dose by culturing CB CD34+ cells ex vivo under a variety of conditions in order to shorten the time to engraftment and to make these grafts accessible to adult recipients. We have reported that the expansion of CB CD34+ cells in the presence of cytokines alone alters HSC function leading to the loss of functional HSC after prolonged culture and that the ex vivo sequential addition of chromatin-modifying agents (CMA) to specific cytokine combinations can affect HSC fate decisions resulting in increased numbers of CB MRC. In addition there is presently a need for blood products with rare antigen profiles or for use in alloimmunized individuals. We have attempted to generate such products ex vivo using histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACI). These data indicate that the HDACI-treated CD34+ cell product was capable of producing human erythroid cells which persisted for least 3 weeks in a xenogeneic transfusion model providing the rationale for further exploring the utility of such ex vivo-generated EPCs as a red cell transfusion product in man. These studies provide insight into the potential utility of CMA as a means of altering the HSC/HPC fate decisions for graft engineering.
Can Countries Buy Their Way Out of Insurgencies? Evidence from Iraq

The academic community has yet to settle on the manner and mechanisms by which economics-based counterinsurgency initiatives affect violence levels. This piece considers the effect of local-business revitalization initiatives on insurgent violence by analyzing Iraqi First, an initiative implemented by the U.S. military in Iraq through which billions of dollars were committed to local commodity and service purchases.Results generated with a two-stage least squares model provide evidence that spending on locally sourced goods and services through Iraqi First was responsible for reducing attacks on Coalition targets during the study period. The results remain robust even as significant violations to the exclusion restriction are imposed.
Use of the MHC for mate choice in wild house mice (Mus domesticus)

The mechanisms maintaining natural diversity at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are not well understood. To increase knowledge of one potential mechanism, I examined the use of MHC genes for mate choice by wild house mice in a controlled laboratory setting. Three rearing groups of wild test mice were produced: non‐fostered control mice, mice fostered into families of an inbred laboratory mouse strain, and mice fostered into families of a second, MHC‐congenic mouse strain. Mature test mice were given a choice of two opposite‐sex stimulus mice from the two MHC‐congenic strains used for fostering, and were scored for several measures of preference. The results were non‐significant in general, but females of two rearing groups spent significantly more time with mice of one MHC‐type, and in most rearing groups, mice tended to spend more time with this same MHC‐type. Other results showed that male test mice ejaculated indiscriminantly and that female wild mice mated to ejaculation more often in longer length trials, but showed no significant preferences. In this study, fostering seemed to have little or no effect on MHC‐based mate preferences of wild house mice, and wild mice did not appear to be using the MHC to avoid inbreeding. However, some wild female mice used the MHC to choose potential mates.
Environmental engagement among Latinos: an exploratory study of environmentalists in the greater Chicago area

Despite evidence that culturally heterogeneous groups are more effective in generating creative solutions to complex problems, environmental organizations in the USA remain predominantly White. In particular, Latinos—the largest and fastest growing minority group in the USA—remain underrepresented in the environmental sector despite expressing higher levels of environmental concern than other racial and ethnic groups. We sought to understand motivators and barriers to Latinos’ environmental engagement through semi-structured interviews with Latinos participating in environmental projects and organizations in the greater Chicago area. We describe four key themes that emerged from the interview data: meanings of terminology, experiences as Latinos in the environmental movement, barriers to Latino participation, and opportunities to increase Latino involvement. Experiences and perspectives reported by interviewees suggest that social-psychological and structural barriers contribute most substantially to Latino underrepresentation in the environmental sector. In light of these barriers, we discuss outreach strategies—including reframing environmental messaging around core terms and dismantling structural barriers to participation—that environmental organizations may wish to consider in their efforts to promote diversity and inclusion.
Orexin/hypocretin and dysregulated eating: Promotion of foraging behavior.

Abstract At its discovery, orexin/hypocretin (OX) was hypothesized to promote food intake. Subsequently, with the identification of the participation of OX in numerous other phenomena, including arousal and drug seeking, this neuropeptide was proposed to be involved in highly motivated behaviors. The present review develops the hypothesis that the primary evolutionary function of OX is to promote foraging behavior, seeking for food under conditions of limited availability. Thus, it will first describe published literature on OX and homeostatic food intake, which shows that OX neurons are activated by conditions of food deprivation and in turn stimulate food intake. Next, it will present literature on excessive and binge-like food intake, which demonstrates that OX stimulates both intake and willingness to work for palatable food. Importantly, studies show that binge-like eating can be inhibited by OX antagonists at doses far lower than those required to suppress homeostatic intake (3 mg/kg vs. 30 mg/kg), suggesting that an OX-based pharmacotherapy, at the right dose, could specifically control dysregulated eating. Finally, the review will discuss the role of OX in foraging behavior, citing literature which shows that OX neurons, which are activated during the anticipation of food reward, can promote a number of phenomena involved in successful foraging, including food-anticipatory locomotor behavior, olfactory sensitivity, visual attention, spatial memory, and mastication. Thus, OX may promote homeostatic eating, as well as binge eating of palatable food, due to its ability to stimulate and coordinate the activities involved in foraging behavior.
The KDM5A/RBP2 histone demethylase represses NOTCH signaling to sustain neuroendocrine differentiation and promote small cell lung cancer tumorigenesis.

More than 90% of small cell lung cancers (SCLCs) harbor loss-of-function mutations in the tumor suppressor gene RB1 The canonical function of the RB1 gene product, pRB, is to repress the E2F transcription factor family, but pRB also functions to regulate cellular differentiation in part through its binding to the histone demethylase KDM5A (also known as RBP2 or JARID1A). We show that KDM5A promotes SCLC proliferation and SCLC's neuroendocrine differentiation phenotype in part by sustaining expression of the neuroendocrine transcription factor ASCL1. Mechanistically, we found that KDM5A sustains ASCL1 levels and neuroendocrine differentiation by repressing NOTCH2 and NOTCH target genes. To test the role of KDM5A in SCLC tumorigenesis in vivo, we developed a CRISPR/Cas9-based mouse model of SCLC by delivering an adenovirus (or an adeno-associated virus [AAV]) that expresses Cre recombinase and sgRNAs targeting Rb1, Tp53, and Rbl2 into the lungs of Lox-Stop-Lox Cas9 mice. Coinclusion of a KDM5A sgRNA decreased SCLC tumorigenesis and metastasis, and the SCLCs that formed despite the absence of KDM5A had higher NOTCH activity compared to KDM5A +/+ SCLCs. This work establishes a role for KDM5A in SCLC tumorigenesis and suggests that KDM5 inhibitors should be explored as treatments for SCLC.
Sister Ursula de Jesús’ Equal Economy of Salvation

The article examines the diary of Peruvian sister Ursula de Jesus, the first known spiritual journal produced by a black woman in colonial Spanish America. The account, written in first person and consisting of fifty-seven folios, mainly describes sister Ursula’s visions and her life inside the Lima convent where she came to be highly revered as a mystic during the seventeenth century. The recognition that this black woman gained was particularly high considering that she lived at a time when most people in the Ibero-transatlantic world associated Afro descendants with the Devil. This fact along with the richness of sister Ursula’s spiritual diary has resulted in some merited scholarly attention identifying her work as part of the emergence of a discourse on black religious exemplarity in Lima in the sixteen hundreds. The examination adds to this scholarship by presenting how sister Ursula carefully crafted her vida as a discursive space to argue for a more equal access to the economy of salvation and more solidarity between black catholic women such as herself. The theoretical tools that help guide the analysis are the concepts of economy of salvation, the link between an individual’s mystical experience and their dialectical relation to society, and the mediation in textual agency found in spiritual diaries.
Diagnosis and treatment of split cord malformations in children

We retrospectively analyzed clinical and imaging data of 26 children with split cord malformations (SCMs). Based on Pang's classification, 14 SCMs were defined as type Ⅰ and 12 as type Ⅱ.Neural function was markedly improved in 20 patients postoperatively. Three of 4 children who did not undergo surgical treatment had neural function deteriorated. Two children lost follow-up. We suggest that Pang's Classification of SCMs may be useful in describing pathological changes and guiding surgical procedure; imaging examine (including MRI, CT and X-ray) would play a significant role in confirmed SCMs diagnosis; and surgical operation should focus on eliminate and prevent spinal cord damnification. Key words: Neural tube defects; Child
Tick-borne disease as a barrier to efficient land use.

Tick-borne diseases world-wide are responsible for the deaths of millions of cattle each year, and chronic anaemia in millions more. Their distribution often coincides with that of trypanosomiases ...
Perspectives on Health Policy From People With Disabilities

People with disabilities are marginalized and face barriers to participation in society, including political participation and representation. While data indicate that people with disabilities have...
Cytokinin isopentenyladenine and its glucoside isopentenyladenine‐9G delay leaf senescence through activation of cytokinin‐associated genes

Cytokinins (CKs) are well-known as a class of phytohormones capable of delaying senescence in detached leaves. However, CKs are often treated as a monolithic group of compounds even though dozens of CK species are present in plants with varied degrees of reported biological activity. One specific type of CK, isopentenyladenine base (iP), has been demonstrated as having roles in delaying leaf senescence, inhibition of root growth, and promoting shoot regeneration. However, its N-glucosides isopentenyladenine-7- and -9-glucoside (iP7G, iP9G) have remained understudied and thought of as inactive cytokinins for several decades, despite their relatively high concentrations in plants such as the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. Here we show that iP and one of its glucosides, iP9G, are capable of delaying senescence in leaves, though the glucosides having little to no activity in other bioassays. Additionally, we performed the first transcriptomic study of iP-delayed cotyledon senescence which shows that iP is capable of upregulating photosynthetic genes and downregulating catabolic genes in detached cotyledons. Transcriptomic analysis also shows iP9G has limited effects on gene expression, but that the few affected genes are CK-related and are similar to those seen from iP effects during senescence as seen for the type-A response regulator ARR6. These findings suggest that iP9G functions as an active CK during senescence.
Acute Ischemic Stroke and COVID-19: An Analysis of 27 676 Patients.

Background and Purpose: Acute ischemic stroke may occur in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but risk factors, in-hospital events, and outcomes are not well studied in large cohort...
Where to Look for Peripheral IV

Anesthesiologists are often asked to assist with peripheral IV placement in patients who are at difficult vascular access. In such situations, there are typically no visible peripheral veins, so anesthesiologists must rely on knowledge of vascular anatomy to look for potential IV sites. This chapter discusses common locations and reviews such anatomy.
3116 – GPRASP FAMILY MEMBERS AS NOVEL REGULATORS OF B-CELL DEVELOPMENT DURING NORMAL AND MALIGNANT HEMATOPOIESIS.

In our search for novel regulators of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), we recently reported Gprasp1 and Gprasp2 as negative regulators of HSCT. These genes encode proteins that are necessary for the stability, cellular trafficking and the proper degradation of CXCR4, a master regulator of hematopoiesis. Consequently, the absence of either Gprasp1 or Gprasp2 causes increased sensitivity to SDF-1 chemoattractant effect, enhancing HSCs repopulating activity after transplant. Strikingly, although Gprasp gene knockdown enhanced the repopulating activity of HSC at early time-points post-transplant, we observed that a significant number of mice transplanted with Gprasp-deficient hematopoietic progenitors developed an immature B-cell hematologic malignancy, typically at >20 weeks post-transplant. Since CXCR4 plays a crucial role in B-cell differentiation and, more specifically, in the movement of immature B-cells between the light and dark zones of the germinal center, we hypothesize that GPRASP family members are key regulators of CXCR4 during B-cell development during normal and malignant hematopoiesis. Thus, we followed mice transplanted with hematopoietic progenitors treated with control, Gprasp1 or Gprasp2-shRNAs for up to one year post-transplant. The onset of B-cell malignancy coincided with an accumulation of bone marrow common lymphoid progenitors, a complete disruption of the immunophenotype of B-cell progenitors and a loss of mature B-cells in the peripheral blood. Transformed cells invaded bone marrow, spleen, and lymph nodes in primary recipients. 100% of secondary recipients of leukemic cells developed a phenotypically identical malignancy
Operating Cash Flows and Earnings Target Revision

We examine the extent to which current operating cash flows are incorporated in future earnings targets in executive compensation. Using target and actual compensation earnings per share (EPS) disclosed in proxy statements for large U.S. public companies, we find that revision of the following year’s EPS target is unrelated to current operating cash flows. Because of the positive association of operating cash flows with future earnings incremental to current earnings, failing to incorporate operating cash flows in target revision results in more achievable earnings targets for firms with higher operating cash flows. Interestingly, we find that the positive relationship between target achievability and operating cash flows is attributable to both expectation bias related to operating cash flows and contractual considerations designed to reward CEOs who deliver greater cash flows and to limit activities that sacrifice cash flows.
Numerical Study on the Effect of Bank Vegetation on the Hydrodynamics of the American River under Flood Conditions

AbstractVegetation can have an appreciable impact on the hydrodynamics and scour potential in natural rivers, but this effect is generally unaccounted for in high-fidelity computational fluid dynam...
Type I hypersensitivity promotes Aedes aegypti blood feeding

Mosquitoes play a major role in human disease by serving as vectors of pathogenic microorganisms. Mosquitoes inject saliva into host skin during the probing process. Mosquito saliva contains a number of proteins that facilitate blood feeding by preventing hemostasis. Mosquito saliva also contains potent allergens that induce type I hypersensitivity reactions in some individuals. Type I hypersensitivity reactions in skin involve IgE-mediated degranulation of mast cells, which leads to vasodilation and an itch sensation. We hypothesized that hypersensitivity to mosquito saliva influences blood feeding. To test this hypothesis, we recruited human subjects who consented to Aedes aegypti bites. We measured their first sensation of itch, the strength of their itch sensation, the number of times mosquitoes attempted to feed, the number of times mosquitoes probed their skin, feeding time, engorgement status, and wheal diameter. Here we show that hypersensitive subjects had a stronger itch sensation, and that the time to first itch sensation was inversely correlated with wheal diameter; however, mosquitoes tended to probe less and engorge more on these subjects. Follow-up experiments testing the impact of oral antihistamine treatment on mosquito feeding parameters failed to reveal a statistically significant result. Histamine also failed to promote blood feeding on an artificial membrane feeder. This study suggests that mosquito saliva-induced type I hypersensitivity promotes blood feeding but that this may be independent from histamine or histamine signaling.
Decision fatigue among clinical nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aims and objectives The purpose of this study was to report the psychometric properties, including validity and reliability, of the decision fatigue scale (DFS). Background Decision fatigue may impair nurses' ability to make sound clinical decisions and negatively impact patient care. Given the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychological well-being and the workplace environment, decision fatigue may be even more apparent among clinical nurses. Valid assessment of this condition among clinical nurses may inform supportive interventions to mitigate the negative sequelae associated with states of decision fatigue. Design This study was a secondary analysis of a parent study using a cross-sectional descriptive design. Methods A convenience sample of 160 staff nurses was recruited online from across the United States. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and subjective measures of decision fatigue, nursing practice environment scale and traumatic stress. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA), correlation coefficients and internal consistency reliability coefficients were computed to examine the DFS's validity and reliability within this sample. Results The EFA yielded a single factor, 9-item version of the DFS. The DFS scores were strongly correlated with traumatic stress and moderately correlated with the nursing practice environment, and the scale displayed appropriate internal consistency. Conclusions This is the first known study to provide evidence of the DFS's validity and reliability in a sample of registered nurses working during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study provide evidence of a reliable and valid assessment instrument for decision fatigue that can be used to measure the burden of decision-making among registered nurses. Relevance to clinical practice Given the relationship between traumatic stress and the nursing work environment, decision fatigue may be a modifiable target for interventions that can enhance the quality of decision-making among clinical nurses.
Finite State Machine Policies Modulating Trajectory Generator

Deep reinforcement learning (deep RL) has emerged as an effective tool for developing controllers for legged robots. However, a simple neural network representation is known for its poor extrapolation ability, making the learned behavior vulnerable to unseen perturbations or challenging terrains. Therefore, researchers have investigated a novel architecture, Policies Modulating Trajectory Generators (PMTG), which combines trajectory generators (TG) and feedback control signals to achieve more robust behaviors. In this work, we propose to extend the PMTG framework with a finite state machine PMTG by replacing simple TGs with asynchronous finite state machines (Async FSMs). This invention offers an explicit notion of contact events to the policy to negotiate unexpected perturbations. We demonstrated that the proposed architecture could achieve more robust behaviors in various scenarios, such as challenging terrains or external perturbations, on both simulated and real robots. The supplemental video can be found at: this http URL.
Autoantibodies are present in the bronchoalveolar lavage but not circulation in patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease

Background Fibrotic interstitial lung disease (fILD) has previously been associated with the presence of autoantibody. While studies have focused on systemic autoimmunity, the role of local autoantibodies in the airways remains unknown. We therefore extensively characterised the airway and peripheral autoantibody profiles in patients with fILD and assessed association with disease severity and outcome. Methods Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was collected from a cohort of fILD patients and total BAL antibody concentrations were quantified. An autoantigen microarray was used to measure IgG and IgA autoantibodies against 122 autoantigens in BAL from 40 idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), 20 chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (CHP), 20 connective tissue disease-associated ILD (CTD-ILD) patients and 20 controls. Results A subset of patients with fILD but not healthy controls had a local autoimmune signature in their BAL that was not present systemically, regardless of disease. The proportion of patients with IPF with a local autoantibody signature was comparable to that of CTD-ILD, which has a known autoimmune pathology, identifying a potentially novel subset of patients. The presence of an airway autoimmune signature was not associated with reduced survival probability or changes in lung function in the cohort as a whole. Patients with IPF had increased BAL total IgA and IgG1 while subjects with CHP had increased BAL IgA, IgG1 and IgG4. In patients with CHP, increased BAL total IgA was associated with reduced survival probability. Conclusion Airway autoantibodies that aren9t present systemically identify a group of patients with fILD and the mechanisms by which these autoantibodies contribute to disease requires further investigation.
Compact but disordered states of RNA.

Large ribozymes collapse to compact structures that are non-native and partially disordered when folding is induced by magnesium ions. This suggests that the early steps in the folding of these RNAs are non-specific.
Reflection Coefficient Beyond All Orders for Singular Problems

This paper generalizes the Pokrovskii-Khalatnikov method to calculate the actual behavior of the reflection coefficient for singular problems, which vanishes to all orders in the small parameter e. Two different classes of reflection coefficient problems are considered.
Vanadate-mediated photolysis of dynein heavy chains.

Publisher Summary Vanadate-mediated photolysis is very useful in efforts to locate specific sites within DHCs and V1 cleavage also has been used as a diagnostic tool to identify presumptive cytoplasmic dyneins. Dynein heavy chains (DHCs) may be cleaved at two discrete sites, termed V1 and V2, by UV irradiation in the presence of vanadate. Although both reactions involve vanadate as the chromophore, the solution requirements for the two are quite different. In the first, cleavage occurs in the presence of ATP (or ADP) and low to submicromolar levels of vanadate. At these concentrations, vanadate remains monomeric and acts as a phosphate analog in an enzyme-ADP-vanadate complex. This reaction is supported by a variety of cations including Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , and Zn 2+ , but is inhibited by transition metals such as Mn 2+ , Fe 2+ , and Co 2+ . Interestingly, the requirement for nucleotide is not absolute, as in several cases V1 photocleavage has been obtained in the absence of ATP. V1 cleavage is thought to occur within the active site of the enzyme, at or near the region that coordinates to the γ phosphate of the nucleotide. Several lines of evidence support this hypothesis. Photocleavage at the V2 site requires the presence of higher concentrations of vanadate (>∼100 μM) and the absence of nucleotide. This chapter describes the basic techniques for obtaining photocleavage of dyneins at the V1 and V2 sites. These simple methods may be applied both to the purified enzyme and in situ .
A new Envoronment for Multiple Spacecraft Power subsystem Mission Operations

Flight operations at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are now performed by teams of specialists, each team dedicated to a particular spacecraft. Certain members of each team are responsible for monitoring the performance of their respective spacecraft subsystems. Ground operations are manual, labor-intensive, and tedious. The challenge of the new decade is to operate a large number of spacecraft simultaneously, while sharing limited human and computer resources without compromising overall reliability. The Engineering Analysis Subsystem Environment (EASE) is being developed to enable fewer controllers to monitor and control power and other spacecraft engineering subsystems. An early version of the EASE prototype has been installed in the JPL Space Flight Operations Facility for on-line testing. This paper discusses the underlying concept, development, testing of the EASE prototype, and how it will aid in the ground operations of spacecraft power subsystems.
A powerful critique of recent colonial historiographyTheophilus Shepstone and the Forging of Natal, Jeff Guy : book review

The majority of Guy's work has been a deeply rooted and fine grained history of African peoples in both Natal and Zululand, focusing specifically on power and production both before and during the colonial occupation of these regions. His close and careful readings of sources have primarily centred on the social and political economy of African peoples within and between these spaces, most notably in The Destruction of the Zulu Kingdom (1979), The Maphumulo Uprising (2005), and Remembering the Rebellion (2006). Conversely, Guy's work has significantly avoided centring on settler and colonial society in Natal.
Incoherent magnetization reversal in nanowires

Abstract The hysteresis of very thin Fe, Co, and Ni nanowires is investigated by model calculations. The considered wires are electrodeposited into self-assembled porous anodic alumina and characterized by wire diameters down to less than 10 nm. The diameter of the wires is smaller than the coherence diameter and therefore favors coherent rotation as compared to curling, but due to imperfections the reversal mode is localized. The localization length is calculated as a function of the wire inhomogenity, and it is shown that the localization reduces both the coercivity and the thermal activation volume (Barkhausen volume). The present calculation provides a semiquantitative explanation of the wires’ experimental behavior.
Some First Steps Toward Responsible Use of Cognitive-Enhancing Drugs by the Healthy

In December 2008 Barbara Sahakian, John Harris, Ronald C. Kessler, Michael Gazzaniga, Philip Campbell, Martha J. Farah, and I published a commentary in Nature entitled “Towards Responsible Use of C...
Size-dependent magnetic properties in Nd–(Fe, Mn)–B nanoparticles

The size dependence of the magnetic properties and in particular the Curie temperature, the spin reorientation temperature, and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy have been investigated in Nd2Fe11Mn3B nanoflakes (thickness below 200 nm) and nanoparticles (5–13 nm) synthesized by high-energy ball milling. Magnetization and susceptibility measurements showed for the first time in rare-earth intermetallic compounds a much higher Curie temperature in nanoparticles as compared to bulk, which can be explained by finite-size scaling. The particles and flakes also showed lower coercivities and spin reorientation temperatures which can be attributed to their lower magnetocrystalline anisotropy. In the 4.8 nm particles, the magnetocrystalline anisotropy is estimated to be nearly half of the bulk value.
Moderators of the Impact of Self-Reference on Persuasion

This article examines two related issues: how variation in the level of self-reference in which people engage affects their persuasion and what factors may moderate self-reference effects. Respondents viewed ads that varied on two dimensions intended to influence the use of self-reference, namely, the wording of the ad copy and the perspective from which the ad photo was shot. Results indicated that an initial (moderate) increase in self-referencing enhanced persuasion, while a further (extreme) increase undermined persuasion. These effects emerged, however, only when subjects were highly motivated to attend to the ad. When ad recipients' motivation was low, self-referencing had no effect.