cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
User-identified electronic cigarette behavioral strategies and device characteristics for cigarette smoking reduction.

Abstract Background There is limited evidence on how cigarette smokers use electronic cigarettes (ECIGs) for smoking cessation and reduction. This study used concept mapping, a participatory mixed-methods research approach, to identify ECIG use behaviors and device characteristics perceived to be associated with cigarette smoking cessation or reduction. Methods Current ECIG users aged 18–64 were recruited from seven cities selected randomly from U.S. census tract regions. Participants were invited to complete concept mapping tasks: brainstorming, sorting and rating (n = 72). During brainstorming, participants generated statements in response to a focus prompt (“A SPECIFIC WAY I HAVE USED electronic cigarettes to reduce my cigarette smoking or a SPECIFIC WAY electronic cigarettes help me reduce my cigarette smoking is…”) and then sorted and rated the statements. Multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analyses were used to generate a cluster map that was interpreted by the research team. Results Eight thematic clusters were identified: Convenience, Perceived Health Effects, Ease of Use, Versatility and Variety, Advantages of ECIGs over Cigarettes, Cigarette Substitutability, Reducing Harms to Self and Others, and Social Benefits. Participants generated several statements that related to specific behavioral strategies used when using ECIGs for smoking reduction/complete switching behaviors such as making rapid transitions from smoking to ECIG use or using certain ECIG liquids or devices. Former smokers rated the Perceived Health Effects cluster and several behavioral strategy statements higher than current smokers. Conclusions These results help to identify ECIG use behaviors and characteristics perceived by ECIG users to aid in cigarette smoking cessation or reduction.
DeepDetect: A Cascaded Region-Based Densely Connected Network for Seismic Event Detection

Automatic event detection from time series signals has broad applications. Traditional detection methods detect events primarily by the use of similarity and correlation in data. Those methods can be inefficient and yield low accuracy. In recent years, machine learning techniques have revolutionized many sciences and engineering domains. In particular, the performance of object detection in a 2-D image data has significantly improved due to deep neural networks. In this paper, we develop a deep-learning-based detection method, called “DeepDetect,” to detect events from seismic signals. We find that the direct adaptation of similar ideas from 2-D object detection to our problem faces two challenges. The first challenge is that the duration of earthquake event varies significantly; the other is that the proposals generated are temporally correlated. To address these challenges, we propose a novel cascaded region-based convolutional neural network to capture earthquake events in different sizes while incorporating contextual information to enrich features for each proposal. To achieve a better generalization performance, we use densely connected blocks as the backbone of our network. Because some positive events are not correctly annotated, we further formulate the detection problem as a learning-from-noise problem. To verify the performance, we employ the seismic data generated from the Pennsylvania State University Rock and Sediment Mechanics Laboratory, and we acquire labels with the help of experts. We show that our techniques yield high accuracy. Therefore, our novel deep-learning-based detection methods can potentially be powerful tools for identifying events from the time series data in various applications.
Emerging Agency or Arrested Development? Proceed With Caution

Wright and colleagues (2018) argue that there is an ethical mandate to attend to the interests and agency of the patient who has been affected by a disorder of consciousness (DOC), specifically pro...
Adhesive Bowel Obstruction Following Urologic Surgery: Improved Outcomes with Early Intervention.

Objective To describe the long-term incidence of adhesive bowel obstruction following major urologic surgery, and the effect of early surgery on perioperative outcomes. Methods The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases for California and Florida (2006-2011) were used to identify major urologic oncologic surgery patients. Subsequent adhesive bowel obstruction admissions were identified and Kaplan-Meier time-to-event analysis was performed. Early surgery for bowel obstruction was defined as occurring on-or-before hospital-day four. The effects of early surgery on postoperative minor/moderate complications (wound infection, urinary tract infection, deep vein thrombosis, and pneumonia), major complications (myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, and sepsis), death, and postoperative length-of-stay were assessed. Results Major urologic surgery was performed on 104,400 patients, with subsequent 5-year cumulative incidence of adhesive bowel obstruction admission of 12.4% following radical cystectomy, 3.3% following kidney surgery, and 0.9% following prostatectomy. During adhesive bowel obstruction admission, 71.6% of patients were managed conservatively and 28.4% surgically. Early surgery was performed in 65.4%, with decreased rates of minor/moderate complications (18 vs. 30%, p = 0.001), major complications (10 vs. 19%, p = 0.002), and median postoperative length of stay (8 vs. 11 days, p < 0.001) compared with delayed surgery. On multivariate analysis early surgery decreased the odds of minor/ moderate complications by 43% (p = 0.01), major complications by 45% (p = 0.03), and postoperative length of stay by 3.1 days (p = 0.01). Conclusion Adhesive bowel obstruction is a significant long-term sequela of urologic surgery, for which early surgical management may be associated with improved perioperative outcomes.
Race, Ethnicity, the Political Incorporation of Black Immigrants: an Examination of Evidence from Presidential Elections Won by Barack Obama

This study uses data from the Voter Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS) to examine the implications of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections for the political incorporation of Black immigrants. Our results show that these elections were associated with larger increases in turnout among Black immigrants compared to Asian, Hispanic, and White immigrants. In the first and third-plus generations, we find a reversal in the Black-White disparity in voting patterns between the 2004 presidential election won by George Bush and the subsequent elections won by Barack Obama. Our analysis further provides a nuanced picture of the historical overall increases in Black turnout observed during the election of Barack Obama. In other words, we show that these increases were mostly driven by higher turnout among third-plus generation, US-born Blacks and first-generation African immigrants. While increases in turnout were observed among second-generation Africans and first and second-generation immigrants from the Caribbean, our results indicate that they were not statistically significant. Overall, our findings imply that the election of America’s first Black president was associated with notable increases in political participation among Black immigrants, but that these increases varied across Black immigrant groups.
Dimensional ratios of normal mitral valve structures: a tool for determining the degree of geometric distortion in individual patients.

Background and aim of the study One objective of mitral valve repair is to restore the distorted mitral apparatus geometry to its normal dimensions specific for each patient. Because all dimensions of the normal aortic and mitral valves should be related, it was hypothesized that, in the presence of a normal aortic annulus, it would be possible to determine the dimensions of the structures needed for mitral valve repair. Methods In seven sheep, sonometric ultrasound crystals were implanted at the left and right trigones (T1, T2), lateral annulus (P1, P2), and the tips of the anterior and posterior papillary muscles (Ml, M2). The distances T1-T2, M1-M2, T1-M1, T2-M2, P1-P2, P1-M1, and P2-M2 were measured at end-systole (ES), end-diastole (ED), and maximum and minimum lengths. Using these measured distances, fractional relationships were computed, and the average fractional relationship was used to determine a 'calculated' distance. The 'measured' and 'calculated' distances were then compared using a paired t-test. Results All fractional relationships were close to 1, with ED 1.00 +/- 0.21, ES 0.99 +/- 0.19, maximum length 0.99 +/- 0.19, and minimum length 0.94 +/- 0.21. The intertrigonal distance (T1-T2) expanded by 4.19 +/- 3.81%, and the transverse diameter (P1-P2) contracted by -6.15 +/- 3.69% from ED to ES. The interpapillary muscle distance (M1-M2) contracted -22.3 +/- 6.5%. The two distances with the least amount of contraction were those of T1-M1 and T2-M2, with contractions of -3.06 +/- 2.39% and -3.27 +/- 1.37%, respectively. P1-M1 and P2-M2 expanded 5.60 +/- 2.89% and 6.84 +/- 3.60% from ED to ES. Conclusion The mitral valve dimensions and calculated fractional relationships were similar in all sheep. As shown previously, the ratio of aortic annulus diameter (easily measured echocardiographically) to the intertrigonal distance (T1-T2) is 0.79 and 0.80 in humans and sheep, respectively. This distance can be used to determine normal mitral valve geometry and, therefore, preoperatively to calculate the degree of geometric distortion present in individual patients.
Aristotelean Reflections in Richard M. Martin’s Extensionalized Pragmatics of Preference

In his pioneering work on the logic of preference, “Semantic Foundations of the Logic of Preference,” Nicholas Rescher refers to Aristotle’s Topics, Book III, as the first work in which an analysis of preference is presented. 1The recognition given to the founder of logic is tempered by the observation that though Aristotle speaks of preferability: αἱϱeτμτϱον, his (Aristotle’s) remarks are not “formal”, in that there is a concentration only upon substantive examples of what is the better or the worse to choose, and that Aristotle does not adequately distinguish “material” from “formal” considerations.
Introduction to National Security Coding System

The chapters in this section of the book explore the diverse perspectives of individuals from across the globe on the topic of national security. The focus is on responses to two items from the Personal and Institutional Rights to Aggression and Peace Survey (PAIRTAPS; Malley-Morrison et al. 2006): “National security is essential for individual and family security” and the follow-up item: “The best way to achieve security for individuals and families throughout the world is…” Participants were recruited from 2002 to 2010 through convenience sampling methods that included personal invitation and word of mouth, and took the PAIRTAPS either online or in some cases using paper and pencil. Responses were collected and coded by researchers from the Group on International Perspectives on Governmental Aggression and Peace (GIPGAP). The PAIRTAPS data collection effort reflects an interdisciplinary and international effort that has drawn on the insights and energies of scores of affiliates contributing to the data collection, coding methodology, and analysis processes led by Dr. Kathleen Malley-Morrison of Boston University.
Abstract 392: Reverse functional genomics: Identifying differentially regulated functional networks as predictive biomarkers of pivotal vulnerabilities in pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an incurable disease characterized by poor survival, a dense desmoplastic stroma, and frequent activating mutations in KRAS ( Citation Format: Johnathon L. Rose, Alessandro Carugo, Wantong Yao, Sahil Seth, Sanjana Srinivasan, Michael Peoples, Traver Hart, Timothy Heffernan, Giulio Draetta. Reverse functional genomics: Identifying differentially regulated functional networks as predictive biomarkers of pivotal vulnerabilities in pancreatic cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 392.
Challenges and Opportunities to Improve the Clinician Experience Reviewing Electronic Progress Notes.

Background High-quality clinical notes are essential to effective clinical communication. However, electronic clinical notes are often long, difficult to review, and contain information that is potentially extraneous or out of date. Additionally, many clinicians write electronic clinical notes using customized templates, resulting in notes with significant variability in structure. There is a need to understand better how clinicians review electronic notes and how note structure variability may impact clinicians' note-reviewing experiences. Objective This article aims to understand how physicians review electronic clinical notes and what impact section order has on note-reviewing patterns. Materials and Methods We conducted an experiment utilizing an electronic health record (EHR) system prototype containing four anonymized patient cases, each composed of nine progress notes that were presented with note sections organized in different orders to different subjects (i.e., Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan, Assessment, Plan, Subjective, and Objective, Subjective, Assessment, Objective, and Plan, and Mixed). Participants, who were mid-level residents and fellows, reviewed the cases and provided a brief summary after reviewing each case. Time-related data were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Surveys were administered and interviews regarding experiences reviewing notes were collected and analyzed qualitatively. Results Qualitatively, participants reported challenges related to reviewing electronic clinical notes. Experimentally, time spent reviewing notes varied based on the note section organization. Consistency in note section organization improved performance (e.g., less scrolling and searching) compared with Mixed section organization when reviewing progress notes. Discussion Clinicians face significant challenges reviewing electronic clinical notes. Our findings support minimizing extraneous information in notes, removing information that can be found in other parts of the EHR, and standardizing the display and order of note sections to improve clinicians' note review experience. Conclusion Our findings support the need to improve EHR note design and presentation to support optimal note review patterns for clinicians.
Abstract LB-043: MRTF|Profilin is an important signaling axis for metastatic outgrowth of triple negative breast cancer cells

Treatment of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is particularly difficult due to lack of molecular targets. The vast majority of breast cancer patient mortality is a result of emergence of disseminated cancer cells from a so-called dormancy-like state allowing subsequent aggressive growth at the metastatic sites. Actin assembly and important regulators of actin assembly play a key role in promoting the dormancy to proliferation switch of extravasated breast cancer cells. MRTF (myocardin-related transcription factor - an important family of transcription cofactors for SRF)/SRF transcriptional axis plays a major role in transcriptional regulation of many major molecular components of actin cytoskeletal system. We hypothesize that MRTF plays a critical role in post-extravasation survival and outgrowth of TNBC cells. To test this hypothesis, we first performed matrigel-on-top assay (3D culture experiments which successfully predicts the post-extravasation pulmonary metastatic outgrowth competency of breast cancer cells) and found that loss-of-function (LOF) of MRTF, either by knockdown or small molecule inhibitor CCG-1423 (and its analog CCG-203971), significantly retards the outgrowth of isolated TNBC cells. In this model, LOF of MRTF also dramatically suppresses the progression of established outgrowth (an in vitro mimic of micro-to-macrometastasis progression) of TNBC cells. Translating these findings in vivo, in intracardiac-injection model of experimental metastasis, administration of MRTF inhibitor reduces the metastatic burden of TNBC cells in immunocompetent mice. These experimental data are consistent with clinical findings demonstrating significantly shorter progression-free survival with MRTF upregulation in breast cancer patients. To obtain further insight into the mechanism behind MRTF’s regulation of metastatic outgrowth, we performed RNAseq from TNBC grown in 3D culture treated with CCG and identified a number of differentially expressed genes related to cell proliferation/survival and invasion. In addition to these findings, we also found that LOF of MRTF causes a dramatic reduction of intracellular content of actin-binding protein Profilin-1 (Pfn1), an important regulator of actin cytoskeletal dynamics. Using a tetracycline-inducible Pfn1 knockdown system, we further demonstrated that acute Pfn1 depletion alone is sufficient to cause a major reduction of metastatic colonization of TNBC cells in vivo. Collectively, these findings suggest that MRTF-Pfn1 is an important signaling axis for metastatic outgrowth of TNBC cells. Citation Format: David M. Gau, Souvik Chakraborty, David Boone, Alan Wells, Partha Roy. MRTF|Profilin is an important signaling axis for metastatic outgrowth of triple negative breast cancer cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-043.
Media Review: Sleepwalking, criminal behavior, and reliable scientific evidence: a guide for expert witnesses by Mark R. Pressman, PhD

Citation:Ibarra M, Marsella JL. Sleepwalking, criminal behavior, and reliable scientific evidence: a guide for expert witnesses. J Clin Sleep Med. 2020;16(4):661.
Vaccine efficacy against primary and metastatic cancer with in vitro-generated CD103+ conventional dendritic cells

Background Type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) possess efficient antigen presentation and cross-presentation activity, as well as potent T cell priming ability. Tissue-resident cDC1s (CD103+ cDC1s in mice, CD141+ cDC1s in humans) are linked with improved tumor control, yet the efficacy of immunotherapy using this population is understudied. Methods We generated murine CD103+ cDC1s in vitro and examined their expression of cDC1-related factors, antigen cross-presentation activity, and accumulation in tumor-draining lymph nodes (TdLNs). The antitumor efficacy of the in vitro-generated CD103+ cDC1s was studied in murine melanoma and osteosarcoma models. We evaluated tumor responses on vaccination with CD103+ cDC1s, compared these to vaccination with monocyte-derived DCs (MoDCs), tested CD103+ cDC1 vaccination with checkpoint blockade, and examined the antimetastatic activity of CD103+ cDC1s. Results In vitro-generated CD103+ cDC1s produced cDC1-associated factors such as interleukin-12p70 and CXCL10, and demonstrated antigen cross-presentation activity on stimulation with the toll-like receptor 3 agonist polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C). In vitro-generated CD103+ cDC1s also migrated to TdLNs following poly I:C treatment and intratumoral delivery. Vaccination with poly I:C-activated and tumor antigen-loaded CD103+ cDC1s enhanced tumor infiltration of tumor antigen-specific and interferon-γ+ CD8+ T cells, and suppressed melanoma and osteosarcoma growth. CD103+ cDC1s showed superior antitumor efficacy compared with MoDC vaccination, and led to complete regression of 100% of osteosarcoma tumors in combination with CTLA-4 antibody-mediated checkpoint blockade. In vitro-generated CD103+ cDC1s effectively protected mice from pulmonary melanoma and osteosarcoma metastases. Conclusions Our data indicate an in vitro-generated CD103+ cDC1 vaccine elicits systemic and long-lasting tumor-specific T cell-mediated cytotoxicity, which restrains primary and metastatic tumor growth. The CD103+ cDC1 vaccine was superior to MoDCs and enhanced response to immune checkpoint blockade. These results indicate the potential for new immunotherapies based on use of cDC1s alone or in combination with checkpoint blockade.
The Particularistic President: Executive Branch Politics and Political Inequality

As the holders of the only office elected by the entire nation, presidents have long claimed to be sole stewards of the interests of all Americans. Scholars have largely agreed, positing the president as an important counterbalance to the parochial impulses of members of Congress. This supposed fact is often invoked in arguments for concentrating greater power in the executive branch. Douglas L. Kriner and Andrew Reeves challenge this notion and, through an examination of a diverse range of policies from disaster declarations, to base closings, to the allocation of federal spending, show that presidents, like members of Congress, are particularistic. Presidents routinely pursue policies that allocate federal resources in a way that disproportionately benefits their more narrow partisan and electoral constituencies. Though presidents publicly don the mantle of a national representative, in reality they are particularistic politicians who prioritize the needs of certain constituents over others.
Postganglionic sympathetic neurons, but not locus coeruleus optostimulation, activates neuromuscular transmission in the adult mouse in vivo

Recent work demonstrated that sympathetic neurons innervate the skeletal muscle near the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), and muscle sympathectomy and sympathomimetic agents strongly influence motoneuron synaptic vesicle release ex vivo. Moreover, reports attest that the pontine nucleus locus coeruleus (LC) projects to preganglionic sympathetic neurons and regulates human mobility and skeletal muscle physiology. Thus, we hypothesized that peripheral and central sympathetic neurons projecting directly or indirectly to the skeletal muscle regulate NMJ transmission. The aim of this study was to define the specific neuronal groups in the peripheral and central nervous systems that account for such regulation in adult mice in vivo by using optogenetics and NMJ transmission recordings in 3-5-month-old, male and female ChR2(H134R/EYFP)/TH-Cre mice. After detecting ChR2(H134R)/EYFP fluorescence in the paravertebral ganglia and LC neurons, we tested whether optostimulating the plantar nerve near the lumbricalis muscle or LC neurons effectively modulates motor nerve terminal synaptic vesicle release in living mice. Nerve optostimulation increased motor synaptic vesicle release in vitro and in vivo, while the presynaptic adrenoceptor blockers propranolol (β1/β2) and atenolol (β1) prevented this outcome. The effect is primarily presynaptic since miniature end-plate potential (MEPP) kinetics remained statistically unmodified after stimulation. In contrast, optostimulation of LC neurons did not regulate NMJ transmission. In summary, we conclude that postganglionic sympathetic neurons, but not LC neurons, increased NMJ transmission by acting on presynaptic β1-adrenergic receptors in vivo.
Planning for Youth Emotional Health in Unruly Environments: Bringing a Trauma Informed Community Building Lens to Therapeutic Planning

Planning in the context of emotion is an important but underemphasized aspect of planning practice. Planning literature has traditionally viewed issues of trauma through the lens of therapeutic planning. Two strands of scholarship emerging from the field of public health can enhance our understanding of planning for the emotional health of youth. Trauma Informed Community Building (TICB) focuses on community building strategies that counteract contemporary trauma found in challenging environments. Scholarship documenting the impact of youth trauma, referred to as Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE’s) emphasizes the need to support emotional health for youth. The paper presents a case study of the I Am My Brother’s Keeper (I Am MBK) program, implemented in Columbus, OH, as a model of trauma informed youth community development. I Am MBK illustrates the importance of supporting the emotional health of youth as a form of planning for emotion. Findings from the I Am MBK case illustrate how trauma informed practice can strengthen our existing concept of therapeutic planning, by supporting the emotional health of youth through empowerment, radical acceptance, creation of safe spaces, advocacy, relationship building, mind/body practices and experiential learning. The I Am MBK case improved the emotional health of youth but could not counteract other systemic or structural policy challenges in the community. The case demonstrates the importance of aligning planning for emotional health with reforming systems and structures in alignment with Schweitzer’s three obligations of restorative healing.
Sick and tell: A field experiment analyzing the effects of an illness-related employment gap on the callback rate

Abstract Using a randomized audit study design, we find that the job callback rate for applicants with a long, illness-related employment gap caused by cancer is lower than that of the newly unemployed but significantly higher than those whose employment gap is unexplained. Our results suggest that a credible explanation of an employment gap can substantially reduce its scarring effect and that workers with a previous illness do not face a uniquely large rehiring penalty. While previous research shows that jobless spells reduce employment prospects, our results and model provide new insight into the signalling process underlying those findings.
Market Microstructure Changes Around Accelerated Share Repurchase Announcements

We investigate the impact on trading characteristics of firms when they announce share repurchases using a relatively new buyback method - Accelerated Share Repurchases (ASRs). We find that trading costs decrease and market quality improves following an ASR announcement. The improvement in liquidity is not accompanied by significant changes in information asymmetry or price volatility. Multivariate tests show that the change in volatility and the presence of price constraints in the ASR agreement are significant in explaining the changes in spreads, but the reasons given by firms for conducting the ASRs are not. Thus, in the case of ASRs, the announced involvement of an investment bank buying shares on behalf of the firm improves liquidity without significantly affect the level of information asymmetry.
Electrophysiological evidence of synergistic auxin transport by interacting Arabidopsis ABCB4 and PIN2 proteins

Abstract To understand why both ATP-binding cassette B (ABCB) and PIN-FORMED (PIN) proteins are required for polar auxin transport through tissues, even though only the latter is polarly localized, we biophysically studied their transport characteristics separately and together by whole-cell patch clamping. ABCB4 and PIN2 from Arabidopsis thaliana expressed in human embryonic kidney cells displayed electrogenic activity when CsCl-based electrolytes were used. Current-voltage (I-V) analysis of the activities and modeling the effects of adding the auxin anion (IAA−) as a potential substrate with the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation, demonstrated that ABCB4 and PIN2 were 9-fold and 10-fold more selective for IAA− than Cl−, respectively. Thus, these proteins directly transport IAA−, which was not unequivocally established by previous auxin retention assays. Co-expression of ABCB4 and PIN2 produced an especially significant result. Co-expression synergistically doubled the selectivity for IAA−. An area of two-fold higher selectivity for IAA− that this result indicates will occur in cells with asymmetric PIN2 and symmetric ABCB4 matches what early models found to be necessary to create observed levels of polar auxin transport through tissues. Thus, the requirement for two different proteins appears to be explained by a synergistic effect on selectivity. More substrate details and important pharmacological results are reported.
Endogenous generation of nitro-fatty acid hybrids having dual nitrate ester (RONO2) and nitroalkene (RNO2) substituents

Organic nitrate esters, long-recognized therapies for cardiovascular disorders, have not been detected biologically. We characterize in rat stomach unsaturated fatty acid nitration reactions that proceed by generation of nitro-nitrate intermediates (NO2-ONO2-FA) via oxygen and nitrite dependent reactions. NO2-ONO2-lipids represent ∼70% of all nitrated lipids in the stomach and they decay in vitro at neutral or basic pH by the loss of the nitrate ester group (-ONO2) from the carbon backbone upon deprotonation of the α-carbon (pKa ∼7), yielding nitrate, nitrite, nitrosative species, and an electrophilic fatty acid nitroalkene product (NO2-FA). Of note, NO2-FA are anti-inflammatory and tissue-protective signaling mediators, which are undergoing Phase II trials for the treatment of kidney and pulmonary diseases. The decay of NO2-ONO2-FA occurs during intestinal transit and absorption, leading to the formation of NO2-FA that were subsequently detected in circulating plasma triglycerides. These observations provide new insight into unsaturated fatty acid nitration mechanisms, identify nitro-nitrate ester-containing lipids as intermediates in the formation of both secondary nitrogen oxides and electrophilic fatty acid nitroalkenes, and expand the scope of endogenous products stemming from metabolic reactions of nitrogen oxides.
Prevalence, geographic distribution, and impact on lifespan of a dilated cardiomyopathy-associated RNA-binding motif protein 20 variant in genotyped dogs

Abstract Introduction The study objectives were to determine the prevalence and geographic distribution of a dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)-associated RNA-binding motif protein 20 (RBM20) variant in canine DNA samples submitted for testing and to evaluate the influence of the genotype on cardiac phenotype and lifespan. Animals Samples from 2136 dogs including 1834 Standard Schnauzers (SSNZ), 266 Giant Schnauzers (GSNZ), and 36 dogs of other breeds. Methods The University of Missouri Canine Genetics Laboratory's sample-accession spreadsheet and Orthopedic Foundation for Animals' database were retrospectively reviewed for samples submitted for RBM20 genotyping from November, 2013, through May, 2018. Data analyzed included breed, date of birth, RBM20 genotype (homozygous wild-type, heterozygous variant [HET], or homozygous variant [HOM]), geographic origin of submission, pedigree, cardiac phenotype, and date of death or current age if alive. Results and Discussion The RBM20 variant was only detected in SSNZ and GSNZ. A total of 389 SSNZ were variant-positive (prevalence = 21.2%), with 361 HET (19.7%) and 28 HOM (1.5%). Of the HOM SSNZ, DCM was confirmed in 26 of 28 (92.9%), with the remainder lost to follow-up. The median lifespan of HOM SSNZ (3.06 years) was significantly shorter than that for HET (15.11 years) and wild-type (15.18 years) SSNZ. Twenty-six GSNZ were variant-positive (prevalence = 9.8%), with 23 HET (8.6%) and three HOM (1.1%). Nine GSNZ belonged to one family, including the three HOM GSNZ that all had DCM. Conclusions The HOM genotype is associated with DCM and premature death in SSNZ and GSNZ.
CENP-N promotes the compaction of centromeric chromatin

Abstract The histone variant CENP-A is the epigenetic determinant for the centromere, where it is interspersed with canonical H3 to form a specialized chromatin structure that nucleates the kinetochore. The arrangement of nucleosomes at the centromere into higher order structure is unknown. Here we demonstrate that the CENP-A interacting protein CENP-N promotes the stacking of CENP-A containing mono-nucleosomes and nucleosomal arrays through a previously undefined interaction between the α6 helix of CENP-N with the DNA of a neighboring nucleosome. We describe the cryoEM structures and biophysical characterization of such CENP-N mediated nucleosome stacks and nucleosomal arrays and demonstrate that this interaction is responsible for the formation of densely packed chromatin at the centromere in the cell. Our results provide first evidence that CENP-A, together with CENP-N, promotes specific chromatin higher order structure at the centromere. One-Sentence Summary The centromere-associated protein CENP-N promotes centromere-specific nucleosome stacking and higher order structures in vitro and in the cell.
X-ray imaging meets deep learning

Deep learning, the mainstream of artificial intelligence (AI), has made progresses in computer vision, exacting information of multi-scale features from images. Since 2016, deep learning methods are being actively developed for tomography, reconstructing images of internal structures from their integrative features such as line integrals. There are both excitements and challenges in the Wild West of AI at large, and AI-based imaging in particular, involving accuracy, robustness, generalizability, interpretability, among others. Based on the author’s plenary speech at SPIE Optics + Photonics, August 2, 2021, here we provide a background where x-ray imaging meets deep learning, describe representative results on low-dose CT, sparse-data CT, and deep radiomics, and discuss opportunities to combine datadriven and model-based methods for x-ray CT, other imaging modalities, and their combinations so that imaging service can be significantly improved for precision medicine.
Clouds as chaos machines

In the present essay, I explore the status of clouds in the lyric and epic poetry of early modern Portuguese poet, Luis Vaz de Camoes (1524?–1580). Through a close reading of the elegy “O poeta Sim...
A Neural Network for Depth Determination of Separations Between a Rubber Matrix and Reinforcing Steel Belts

Neural networks have proven to provide a powerful technique to determine the crack size and orientation from ultrasonic backscattering data [1,2]. In this paper, we discuss a neural network for depth determination of separations between a rubber matrix and reinforcing steel belts. The reinforced rubber matrix is taken as a layered structure. The time-domain signals reflected from the layered structure containing separations at various depths have been simulated, and the simulated signals have been used as training data for the neural network. To evaluate a number of depth ranges, the neural network is comprised of several sub-networks, each of which covers a depth range of 0.61 mm with depth increments of 0.2 mm. A classifier that employs a cross-correlation algorithm is used to preprocess an input signal and to send the signal to the desired sub-network. The neural network has been tested on both simulated and measured signals.
MNC structure, complexity, and performance: Insights from NK methodology

Abstract We introduce NK-simulation models to international business research and more specifically show how this methodology provides insights into the effects of MNC structure and internal complexity on performance. The interdependence of decisions made in different MNC-units is theorized as an underlying mechanism by which structure and complexity affect performance. The performance of three organizational structures, regional, matrix, and network, discussed in the IB literature is compared at the various levels of complexity. The results of our simulations show that the relationship between internal complexity and firm performance is an inverted U for all three organizational structures. Furthermore, at high levels of complexity the network structure has the best performance, followed by the matrix, with the regional last. However, at low levels of complexity the rank order of structure performance is reversed. In addition to these conclusions, this paper contributes to the international business research by demonstrating how the methodology's power can help scholars answer fundamental questions regarding other IB phenomena.
Evidence for a role of the reticulospinal system in recovery of skilled reaching after cortical stroke: initial results from a model of ischemic cortical injury

The purposes of this pilot study were to create a model of focal cortical ischemia in Macaca fascicularis and to explore contributions of the reticulospinal system in recovery of reaching. Endothelin-1 was used to create a focal lesion in the shoulder/elbow representation of left primary motor cortex (M1) of two adult female macaques. Repetitive microstimulation was used to map upper limb motor outputs from right and left cortical motor areas and from the pontomedullary reticular formation (PMRF). In subject 1 with a small lesion and spontaneous recovery, reaching was mildly impaired. Changes were evident in the shoulder/elbow representations of both the lesioned and contralesional M1, and there appeared to be fewer than expected upper limb responses from the left (ipsilesional) PMRF. In subject 2 with a substantial lesion, reaching was severely impaired immediately after the lesion. After 12 weeks of intensive rehabilitative training, reach performance recovered to near-baseline levels, but movement times remained about 50% slower. Surprisingly, the shoulder/elbow representation in the lesioned M1 remained completely absent after recovery, and there was a little change in the contralesional M1. There was a definite difference in motor output patterns for left versus right PMRF for this subject, with an increase in right arm responses from right PMRF and a paucity of left arm responses from left PMRF. The results are consistent with increased reliance on PMRF motor outputs for recovery of voluntary upper limb motor control after significant cortical ischemic injury.
Arithmetic discriminants and morphisms of curves

This paper deals with upper bounds on arithmetic discriminants of algebraic points on curves over number fields. It is shown, via a result of Zhang, that the arithmetic discriminants of algebraic points that are not pullbacks of rational points on the projective line are smaller than the arithmetic discriminants of families of linearly equivalent algebraic points. It is also shown that bounds on the arithmetic discriminant yield information about how the fields of definition k(P) and k(f(P)) differ when P is an algebraic point on a curve C and f : C --C' is a nonconstant morphism of curves. In particular, it is demonstrated that k(P) 74 k(f(P)), with at most finitely many exceptions, whenever the degrees of P and f are sufficiently small, relative to the difference between the genera g(C) and g(C'). The paper concludes with a detailed analysis of the arithmetic discriminants of quadratic points on bi-elliptic curves of genus 2. Let C be a curve defined over a number field k, and let X be a regular model for C over the ring of integers R of k. In [V 3], Vojta proves that, for any c > 0, all points P E C(k) of bounded degree satisfy the inequality (0.0.1) hK(P) < da(P) + EhA(P) + 0(1), where A is any ample divisor on C, hA and hK are Weil heights associated with A and the canonical divisor K, respectively, and da(P) is the arithmetic discriminant of P. The arithmetic discriminant depends on the choice of a regular model X; it is defined as (Hp.(Wx/B+HP)) [k(P) : k] where Hp is the arithmetic curve on X corresponding to P and Wx/B is the sheaf of relative differentials of X over B = Spec R. The difference between arithmetic discriminants derived from different regular models is always bounded. Hence, (0.0.1) is not affected by one's choice of a regular model. The arithmetic discriminant is related to d(P), the normalized field discriminant of the field of definition of P, which is defined as d(P) '_ log IN|Dk(p)/k [k(P): ] One may obtain da(P) by adding to d(P) terms corresponding to singularities of Hp at finite places and v-adic distances between the conjugates of P at infinite places v (see [V 2, Section 3]). The precise nature of the relationship between Received by the editors November 30, 1999 and, in revised form, February 25, 2000. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 11G30, 11J25. ()2001 American Mathematical Society
Central Limit Theorems for Nonlinear Hierarchical Sequences of Random Variables

Let a random variable x0 and a function f:[a, b]k→[a, b] be given. A hierarchical sequence {xn:n=0, 1, 2,...} of random variables is defined inductively by the relation xn=f(xn−1, 1, xn−1, 2..., xn−1, k), where {xn−1, i:i=1, 2,..., k} is a family of independent random variables with the same distribution as xn−1. We prove a central limit theorem for this hierarchical sequence of random variables when a function f satisfies a certain averaging condition. As a corollary under a natural assumption we prove a central limit theorem for a suitably normalized sequence of conductivities of a random resistor network on a hierarchical lattice.
Power efficient wireless sensor networks with distributed transmission-induced space spreading

Distributed multitransmission is proposed for power-efficient and fault-tolerant multihop wireless sensor networks where a signal can be received and transmitted by multiple sensors. Multitransmission with scrambling has advantages of both space-spreading and diversity. Efficient and robust blind equalization algorithms are developed. Network power efficiency can be greatly enhanced. Fault-tolerance is studied under constraints of limited system resources.
Integration of design, manufacturing and testing

Traditionally, the majority of testing methodologies have been based on the application of ever more powerful testers-designed acid fabricated to test ever faster and more complex ICs. Such a product-driven and tester-focused testing paradigm has been on one hand technically successful but on the other hand has fueled a dramatic increase in testing costs. Hence, the question: "is it possible to increase testers' performance maintaining at the same time testing costs on an acceptable level?" seems to be a key in predicting the future of IC testing.
Ligands which effect human protein C activation by thrombin.

This report documents attempts to mimic the rate enhancement effect of thrombomodulin on human alpha-thrombin-catalyzed activation of human protein C in the absence of exogenous calcium. Specifically the following tryptamine analogs at 1 mM concentration were shown to enhance the protein C activation rate relative to a control with no added effector at pH 8.3 (50 mM Tris-HCl, 0.1 M NaCl, 37 degrees C): serotonin, 1.2; tryptamine, 2.9; 5-fluorotryptamine, 4.4; 6-fluorotryptamine, 7.2. At much higher levels, e.g. 10 mM, all of the above effectors, as well as indole, showed a moderate inhibition of human protein C activation. ATP, a platelet release product, showed a sigmoidal inhibition pattern similar to that found previously for thrombin amidase, clotting, and esterase activity (Conery, B.G., and Berliner, L.J. (1983) Biochemistry 22, 369-375). Overall, the enhancement factors for human alpha-thrombin activation of protein C with the tryptamine analogs described above were remarkable when considering the effect of a simple ligand versus the natural activator, thrombomodulin.
Self-Generation and Memory

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the limiting conditions of self-generation and the theoretical accounts that these limitations have shaped. Extant theoretical accounts of generation imply an encoding trade-off, in which generation enhances item-specific processing at a cost to the encoding of inter item relations, order memory, and contextual associations. The chapter examines the effects of self-generation on memory as exemplified by the generation manipulation and the related perceptual interference manipulation. It begins by introducing the traditional view that self-generative encoding is advantageous. Although the chapter emphasizes null and negative effects of generation because of their theoretical import, it should not neglect to mention the substantial evidence in favor of this traditional view. Indeed, the positive effects of generation and perceptual interference on tests of item memory (such as recognition) are pervasive, typically large and nearly uniform across studies. In this regard, generative encoding certainly enhances memory. In sum, the trade-off accounts are a useful corrective to the traditional belief that self-generative encoding necessarily or generally enhances memory. These accounts have provided theoretical reasons for observed limitations of the generation effect and pointed in the direction of new limitations.
Fibroblast Growth Factor-9 Activates c-Kit Progenitor Cells and Enhances Angiogenesis in the Infarcted Diabetic Heart

We hypothesized that fibroblast growth factor-9 (FGF-9) would enhance angiogenesis via activating c-kit positive stem cells in the infarcted nondiabetic and diabetic heart. In brief, animals were divided into three groups: Sham, MI, and MI+FGF-9. Two weeks following MI or sham surgery, our data suggest that treatment with FGF-9 significantly diminished vascular apoptosis compared to the MI group in both C57BL/6 and db/db mice (p < 0.05). Additionally, the number of c-kit(+ve)/SM α-actin(+ve) cells and c-kit(+ve)/CD31(+ve) cells were greatly enhanced in the MI+FGF-9 groups relative to the MI suggesting FGF-9 enhances c-Kit cell activation and their differentiation into vascular smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells, respectively (p < 0.05). Histology shows that the total number of vessels were quantified for all groups and our data suggest that the FGF-9 treated groups had significantly more vessels than their MI counterparts (p < 0.05). Finally, echocardiographic data suggests a significant improvement in left ventricular output, as indicated by fractional shortening and ejection fraction in both nondiabetic and diabetic animals treated with FGF-9 (p < 0.05). Overall, our data suggests FGF-9 has the potential to attenuate vascular cell apoptosis, activate c-Kit progenitor cells, and enhance angiogenesis and neovascularization in C57BL/6 and db/db mice leading to improved cardiac function.
Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis Analysis and Sequence-Based Typing of Legionella pneumophila Serogroup 1 Isolates from Japan

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is considered to be one of the most discriminative epidemiological methods for subtyping Legionella pneumophila strains and for elucidating the sources of infection. On the other hand, sequence-based typing (SBT), which was recently developed, is also a powerful epidemiological method. All L. pneumophila serogroup 1 isolates used in a study were independently obtained from a wide variety of Japanese locations. The primers used for SBT and the reaction mixture and conditions were the same as those used by Gaia et al. Putative novel variants found in this study were submitted to the curators of the European Working Group for Legionella Infections SBT database for verification and assignment of new allelic numbers according to the curators’ instructions. Both PFGE and SBT indicated that the spa-bath isolates from Japan were highly diverse. The water used in public spa baths in Japanese resorts is mostly obtained from hot springs. The first clinical isolate in Japan was not assigned to the cooling tower SB-type. Only four SB types were common between Europe and Japan. Although PFGE is the most widely used technique and is generally accepted to be highly effective in discriminating genomic differences, it may have certain drawbacks with regard to interlaboratory reproducibility. SBT appears to be less effective at discriminating between strains than PFGE. The authors have to consider the advantages and limitations of both methods and apply the most suitable method according to the requirements.