cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Advantages of Normalizing Electromyography to Ballistic Rather than Isometric or Isokinetic Tasks

Isometric tasks have been a standard for electromyography (EMG) normalization stemming from anatomic and physiologic stability observed during contraction. Ballistic dynamic tasks have the benefit of eliciting maximum EMG signals for normalization, despite having the potential for greater signal variability. It is the purpose of this study to compare maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) to nonisometric tasks with increasing degrees of extrinsic variability, ie, joint range of motion, velocity, rate of contraction, etc., to determine if the ballistic tasks, which elicit larger peak EMG signals, are more reliable than the constrained MVIC. Fifteen subjects performed MVIC, isokinetic, maximum countermovement jump, and sprint tasks while EMG was collected from 9 muscles in the quadriceps, hamstrings, and lower leg. The results revealed the unconstrained ballistic tasks were more reliable compared to the constrained MVIC and isokinetic tasks for all triceps surae muscles. The EMG from sprinting was more reliable than the constrained cases for both the hamstrings and vasti. The most reliable EMG signals occurred when the body was permitted its natural, unconstrained motion. These results suggest that EMG is best normalized using ballistic tasks to provide the greatest within-subject reliability, which beneficially yield maximum EMG values.
The Impact of Collaboration, Empowerment, and Choice: An Empirical Examination of the Collaborative Course Development Method.

This research empirically tests collaborative course development (CCD)—a pedagogy presented in the 2016 Marketing Education Review Special Issue on Teaching Innovations. A team of researchers taught experimental courses using CCD methods (employing various techniques including syllabus building, “flex-tures,” free-choice assignments, and exam writing). Control sections used traditional classroom techniques (using professor-developed syllabi, lectures, forced-choice assignments, and professor-written exams). Results demonstrated that CCD classes yielded significantly higher levels of student engagement, perceived learning, satisfaction, and professor ratings. These effects were reliable between and within professors. It is interesting to note that the positive effects persisted even for students with high levels of two control variables (i.e., preference for consistency and separateness-connectedness self-schema).
Dnmt3a regulates T-cell development and suppresses T-ALL transformation

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive hematopoietic neoplasm resulting from the malignant transformation of T-cell progenitors, and comprises ~15% and 25% of pediatric and adult ALL cases, respectively. It is well-established that activating NOTCH1 mutations are the major genetic lesions driving T-ALL in most patients, but efforts to develop targeted therapies against this pathway have produced limited success in decreasing leukemic burden and come with significant clinical side effects. A finer detailed understanding of the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying T-ALL is required identify patients at increased risk for treatment failure and the development of precision medicine strategies. Generation of genetic models that more accurately reflect the normal developmental history of T-ALL are necessary to identify new avenues for treatment. The DNA methyltransferase enzyme DNMT3A is also recurrently mutated in T-ALL patients, and we show here that inactivation of Dnmt3a combined with Notch1 gain-of-function leads to an aggressive T-ALL in mouse models. Moreover, conditional inactivation of Dnmt3a in mouse hematopoietic cells leads to an accumulation of immature progenitors in the thymus, which are less apoptotic. These data demonstrate that Dnmt3a is required for normal T-cell development, and acts as a T-ALL tumor suppressor.
Standardized slow enteral feeding protocol reduces necrotizing enterocolitis in micropremies.

BACKGROUND Compared to early enteral feeds, delayed introduction and slow enteral feeding advancement to reduce necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is not well studied in micropremies (<750g birth weight). METHODS Pre-post case control study. Micropremies who followed a standardized slow enteral feeding (SSEF) protocol (September 2009 to March 2015) were compared with a similar group of historical controls (PreSSEF, January 2003 to July 2009). Enteral feeding withheld for first 10-14 days and advanced at <10 ml/kg/day in the SSEF group. RESULTS Ninety-two infants in the SSEF group were compared with 129 PreSSEF group. Birth weight and gestational age in SSEF and PreSSEF were similar. Breast milk initiation rate was higher in SSEF (87.0 vs. 72.0%, p = 0.01) compared to PreSSEF, but were similar at full enteral feeds. Compared with PreSSEF, feeding initiation day, full enteral feeding day, parenteral nutrition days, and total central line days were longer in SSEF. There was significant reduction in NEC (1.1 vs. 16.2%, p < 0.01), surgical NEC (0.0 vs. 7.8%, p < 0.01) and NEC/death (7.6 vs. 29.5%, p < 0.01), in SSEF compared to PreSSEF. SSEF, compared to PreSSEF, had more cholestasis (41.8 vs 28.8%, p = 0.04), higher peak serum alkaline phosphatase (638 vs. 534 IU/dL, p < 0.01), but similar rates of late-onset sepsis (39.1 vs 43.4%, p = 0.53). In infants who survived to discharge, SSEF had higher discharge weight, lower extra-uterine growth restriction, and similar length of stay, compared to PreSSEF. CONCLUSIONS A SSEF protocol significantly reduces the incidence of NEC and combined NEC/death in micropremies.
Test challenges in embedded STT-MRAM arrays

Spin Transfer Torque Magnetic Random Access Memory (STT-MRAM) is an emerging memory technology which exhibits non-volatility, high density and nanosecond read and write times. These attributes of STT-MRAM make it suitable for last level embedded caches. However, the defects and corresponding fault models of STT-MRAM are not as extensively explored as in SRAM and therefore, there is a growing need for defect and fault analysis. Moreover, stochastic retention failure of STTM-RAM imposes a large burden in testing time. Conventional test schemes for retention of STT-MRAM need to be optimized for testing a large-size embedded STT-MRAM array. This work presents a review of the different defect and fault mechanisms as well as a BIST architecture and circuit to reduce testing time in characterization and manufacturing tests for retention. We address the effect of resistive and capacitive defects and identify retention test setup for measuring worst case retention.
Is Iron Overload a Risk Factor for Mycobacterium Tuberculosis and a Potential Target of Therapy

Mycobacterium TB infection remains a significant global health problem The increase in resistant forms of TB to once effective antibiotics has called for improved understanding of the organism s metabolism and host response to help develop new therapeutic strategies Clinical observations have identified patients with iron overload were at higher risk for mycobacterium tuberculosis and may have a greater risk of mortality Understanding mechanisms of iron homeostasis have led to important experiments addressing the pathogenicity of mycobacterial species Conditions that favor high iron concentrations serve to promote mycobacterial growth and render a survival advantage for the pathogen Iron trafficking in the host is a complex process but serves as an important feature in the host immune response In vitro studies demonstrate molecules interfere with the function of pathogenic siderophores and inhibit the growth of mycobacterium tuberculosis Thus exciting therapeutic opportunities exist in the potential targeting of siderophores In addition determining patient specific hepcidin activity may be useful in ascertaining risk for mycobacterial infection in endemic regions
Análisis Crítico sobre la Formación en Ingeniería Biomédica

Professional training in Biomedical Engineering, has a strategic importance for the current relevance of technology in human health –like never before in history-, the quality of diagnostic, clinical procedures and therapy activities are determined by the availability and quality of biomedical equipment in all its forms, because that it is imperative to have relevant professional, so it is necessary to create adequate curricula, uniformity of didactic contents and ultimately to teach engineers with all the skills for optimal performance. On the paper, training options are discussed, in particular the debate about the choice of postgraduate or graduate, and the relationship between theory and practice.
Distributed Network Environment for Virtual Vehicle Systems Simulation

Abstract Emerging technologies in modeling and simulation of dynamic systems provide transportation industry with the challenging opportunity to migrate parts of the design and development process of new vehicles to the virtual environments. This paper presents the application of a full vehicle simulation in a distributed real-time simulation configuration. The purpose of the system is to provide for an easy-to use full-vehicle simulation platform that allows human-in-the-Ioop interactive driving with force and motion feedback, and for hardware-in-the-Ioop prototype evaluation through simulation. The contribution that is highlighted in this paper is the networking configuration for distributed simulation. The user front-end in Matlab/Simulink provides a familiar interface where the designer/ engineer is able to pull up any dynamic signal from the vehicle simulation, and is able to replace any subsystem from a remote unit as well.
TERRA RNA Antagonizes ATRX and Protects Telomeres

Through an integration of genomic and proteomic approaches to advance understanding of long noncoding RNAs, we investigate the function of the telomeric transcript, TERRA. By identifying thousands of TERRA target sites in the mouse genome, we demonstrate that TERRA can bind both in cis to telomeres and in trans to genic targets. We then define a large network of interacting proteins, including epigenetic factors, telomeric proteins, and the RNA helicase, ATRX. TERRA and ATRX share hundreds of target genes and are functionally antagonistic at these loci: whereas TERRA activates, ATRX represses gene expression. At telomeres, TERRA competes with telomeric DNA for ATRX binding, suppresses ATRX localization, and ensures telomeric stability. Depleting TERRA increases telomerase activity and induces telomeric pathologies, including formation of telomere-induced DNA damage foci and loss or duplication of telomeric sequences. We conclude that TERRA functions as an epigenomic modulator in trans and as an essential regulator of telomeres in cis.
Aqueous Redox Reaction of SDS-Encased Carbon Nanotubes with Mercuric Ions for Optical Sensing

The redox reaction and the pseudo first-order reaction kinetics of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) dispersed in solution of a surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) have been studied with Hg2+ ions. The reaction is monitored by using the unique near-infrared optical absorption properties of SWNTs. Various factors including SDS and SWNT concentrations, different pH levels, and buffer constituents have been systematically examined. It is found that the reactivity is sensitive to the concentrations of SDS and SWNTs, with an optimum at 1 wt % SDS and 0.1 mg/mL SWNTs. The reaction is pH sensitive as well, and the reactivity is higher at lower pHs. The suppressed SWNT spectral intensity by the redox reaction can be recovered by adjusting pH, enabling the reusability of SWNTs. SWNTs show high selectivity and sensitivity on Hg2+ over eleven other metal ions. The determined detection limit is 0.6 nM, lower than 10 nM, the maximum contaminant level for mercuric ions in drinking water. This work may provide ...
Accreditation Readiness in US Multidisciplinary Rectal Cancer Care: A Survey of OSTRICH Member Institutions.

This article presents a survey of 328 member health care centers by a consortium focused on improving quality in rectal cancer surgery.
Optimized Distributed Systems Achieve Significant Performance Improvement on Sorted Merging of Massive VCF Files

Background Sorted merging of genomic data is a common data operation necessary in many sequencing-based studies. It involves sorting and merging genomic data from different subjects by their genomic locations. In particular, merging a large number of variant call format (VCF) files is frequently required in large-scale whole-genome sequencing or whole-exome sequencing projects. Traditional single-machine based methods become increasingly inefficient when processing large numbers of files due to the excessive computation time and Input/Output bottleneck. Distributed systems and more recent cloud-based systems offer an attractive solution. However, carefully designed and optimized workflow patterns and execution plans (schemas) are required to take full advantage of the increased computing power while overcoming bottlenecks to achieve high performance. Findings In this study, we custom-design optimized schemas for three Apache big data platforms, Hadoop (MapReduce), HBase, and Spark, to perform sorted merging of a large number of VCF files. These schemas all adopt the divide-and-conquer strategy to split the merging job into sequential phases/stages consisting of subtasks that are conquered in an ordered, parallel, and bottleneck-free way. In two illustrating examples, we test the performance of our schemas on merging multiple VCF files into either a single TPED or a single VCF file, which are benchmarked with the traditional single/parallel multiway-merge methods, message passing interface (MPI)-based high-performance computing (HPC) implementation, and the popular VCFTools. Conclusions Our experiments suggest all three schemas either deliver a significant improvement in efficiency or render much better strong and weak scalabilities over traditional methods. Our findings provide generalized scalable schemas for performing sorted merging on genetics and genomics data using these Apache distributed systems.
Association of Gout With Uveitis in Older Individuals.

This cohort study uses Medicare claims data to assess the association of gout with risk of a new diagnosis of uveitis in older individuals.
Induction, Strings, and Languages

One of the most powerful ways of proving properties of numbers, data structures, or programs is proof by induction. And one of the most powerful ways of defining programs or data structures is by an inductive definition, also referred to as a recursive definition. Section 2.1 provides a firm basis for these principles by introducing proof by induction for the set N of natural numbers and then looking at the recursive definition of numerical functions. Words are strings of letters and numbers are strings of digits, and in Section 2.2 we look at the set of strings over an arbitrary set, stressing how induction over the length of strings may be used for both proofs and definitions. We also introduce the algebraic notion of “semiring” which plays an important role in our study of graphs in Section 6.2.
A History of Modern Aesthetics

Volume 1: 1. Prologue Part I. Aesthetics in Britain, 1725-1800: 2. Hutcheson to Hume 3. Hogarth, Burke, and Gerard 4. From Kames to Alison and Stewart Part II. French Aesthetics in Mid-Century: 5. Andre to Rousseau Part III. German Aesthetics between Wolff and Kant: 6. The first generation of Wolffian aesthetics 7. German aesthetics at mid-century 8. Coming closer to Kant Part IV. Kant and After: 9. Kant 10. After Kant. Volume 2: Part I. German Aesthetics in the First Half of the Nineteenth-Century: 1. Early Romanticism and idealism 2. In the shadow of Schelling 3. The high tide of idealism 4. In the wake of Hegel Part II. (Mostly) British Aesthetics in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century: 5. Ruskin 6. Aestheticism 7. Bosanquet and Tolstoy Part III. German Aesthetics in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century: 8. In the shadow of Schopenhauer 9. Neo-Kantian aesthetics 10. Psychological aesthetics: play and empathy. Volume 3: Part I. German Aesthetics in the Twentieth Century: 1. German aesthetics between the wars: Lukacs and Heidegger 2. German aesthetics after World War II Part II. Aesthetics in Britain until World War II: 3. Bloomsbury, Croce, and Bullough 4. First responses to Croce 5. Collingwood Part III. American Aesthetics in the First Half of the Twentieth Century: 6. Santayana 7. The American reception of expression theory I: Parker to Greene 8. Dewey 9. The American reception of expression theory II: Cassirer and Langer 10. After Dewey and Cassirer Part IV. Wittgenstein and After: Anglo-American Aesthetics in the Second Part of the Twentieth Century: 11. Wittgenstein 12. The first wave 13. The second wave.
THE ROLE OF REACTIVE-CENTER LOOP MOBILITY IN THE SERPIN INHIBITORY MECHANISM

The serpins are a gene family that encompasses a wide variety of protein products, including many of the proteinase inhibitors in plasma1. However, in spite of their name, not all serpins are proteinase inhibitors. They include steroid binding globulins, the prohormone angiotensinogen, the egg white protein ovalbumin, and barley protein Z, a major constituent of beer. The serpins are thought to share a common tertiary structure2 and to have evolved from a common ancestor3. Proteins with recognizable sequence homology have been identified in vertebrates, plants, insects and viruses but not, thus far, in prokaryotes 1,4,5. Current models of serpin structure are based largely on seminal X-ray crystallographic studies of one member of the family, α- 1 -antitrypsin (α1AT), also called α-1-proteinase inhibitor1. The structure of a modified form of α1AT, cleaved in its reactive center, was solved by Loebermann and coworkers in 19846. An interesting feature of this structure was that the two residues normally comprising the reactive center (Met-Ser), were found on opposite ends of the molecule, separated by almost 70 A (Figure 1). Loebermann and coworkers proposed that a relaxation of a strained configuration takes place upon cleavage of the reactive center peptide bond, rather than a major rearrangement of the inhibitor structure. In this model, the native reactive center is part of an exposed loop, also called the strained loop6–8. Upon cleavage, this loop moves or “snaps back”, becoming one of the central strands in a major β -sheet structure (β-sheet A). This transformation is accompanied by a large increase in thermal stability9–12.
Aortic stiffness, central pulse pressure and cognitive function following acute resistance exercise

While resistance exercise (RE) is known to be beneficial for overall health, one bout of RE acutely increases aortic stiffness and pulse pressure (PP). Increases in aortic stiffness and PP in a setting of aging has been shown to detrimentally impact cognitive function. This study examined whether increased aortic stiffness and PP from an acute bout of RE is associated with cognitive function. Thirty-five participants (21 ± 2 years) underwent cognitive testing before and after either an acute bout of RE or a non-exercise time-control condition. Cognitive function was assessed as reaction time and accuracy during memory recognition, attention (Flanker) and working memory (N-back) tasks. Aortic stiffness and PP were measured via pulse wave velocity (PWV) and pulse wave analysis, respectively, using a brachial oscillometric device. There were significant increases in aortic PWV and aortic PP following RE (p 0.05). There was no change in accuracy metrics (% hits) across conditions for any cognitive task (p > 0.05). There was a condition-by-time interaction for reaction time for the memory task (p 0.05). Functional increases in aortic stiffness and pulse pressure following acute RE occur in the absence of detrimental changes in cognitive function in young, healthy adults.
Big Data ≠ Big Wisdom: Mismanaging Twenty-First-Century Problems with Nineteenth-Century Thinking

This chapter discusses the phenomenon of Big Data. It does it from the unique vantage point of Inquiry Systems. Inquiry Systems are fundamentally different philosophical systems that not only have very different definitions of knowledge and truth, but very different ways of producing and arriving at them. The Inquiry Systems that are appropriate for simple problems—bounded, well-structured exercises—are grossly inappropriate for complex, messy systems. This is especially true of wicked messes and hence crises. An important outcome is that Fake News is the result of Fake Inquiry—hence, the importance of understanding Inquiry Systems. To reiterate, step-by-step, the book both introduces and builds up the intellectual concepts and the emotional fortitude that are necessary in first recognizing and then treating the enormous crises that constitute wicked messes.
Public Policy Evaluation when Taxes Matter: The Importance of Second Best

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the importance of second-best in public policy evaluation. Many traditional analyses of the welfare effects of government policy changes are first-best in the sense that they assume that the policy changes are implemented in an economy that is otherwise free of distortions. This assumption may lead to the neglect of quantitatively important effects in countries like Sweden, where existing taxes drive significant wedges between gross and net prices. The chapter highlights the second-best effects that arise because labor is taxed and presents an analytic expression for the welfare effects of a government policy change in a formal general equilibrium model with initial tax distortions. The chapter identifies the second-best effect and examines the determinants of the effect. The formal analysis is then used as a starting point for a discussion of a number of policy issues, in which second-best effects are potentially a major part of the overall welfare impact of a policy change.
Lie algebras and cohomology of congruence subgroups for SLn(R)

Abstract Let R be a commutative ring that is free of rank k as an abelian group, p a prime, and S L n ( R ) the special linear group. We show that the Lie algebra associated to the filtration of S L n ( R ) by p -congruence subgroups is isomorphic to the tensor product s l n ( R ⊗ Z Z / p ) ⊗ F p t F p [ t ] , the Lie algebra of polynomials with zero constant term and coefficients n × n traceless matrices with entries polynomials in k variables over F p . We also use the underlying group structure to obtain several homological results. For example, we compute the first homology group of the level p -congruence subgroup for n ≥ 3 . We show that the cohomology groups of the level p r -congruence subgroup are not finitely generated for n = 2 and R = Z [ t ] . Finally, we show that for n = 2 and R = Z [ i ] (the Gaussian integers) the second cohomology group of the level p r -congruence subgroup has dimension at least two as an F p -vector space.
Perceived stress and mental health: The mediating roles of social support and resilience among black women exposed to sexual violence.

Abstract Background Black women disproportionately suffer from violence and its subsequent mental health outcomes. Increasing levels of perceived stress are associated with greater symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Social support and resilience can potentially mediate the negative consequences of perceived stress on women's mental health. This study assesses the association between perceived stress and mental health outcomes among Black women. In addition, this study examines social support and resilience as mediators of association between perceived stress and mental health. Methods Black women residing in Baltimore, MD (n = 310) were recruited from STD clinics into a retrospective cohort study (2013–2018) on sexual assault and HIV risk. Social support and resilience served as coping variables and were assessed as mediators in the associations between perceived stress and mental health. Analyses were stratified by exposure to sexual violence in adulthood. Results Almost half of our sample (46%) experienced severe depression and about one-third (27%) experienced severe PTSD. Resilience partially mediated the association between perceived stress and severe depressive symptoms among exposed women. Social support partially mediated the association between perceived stress and severe PTSD symptoms among exposed women. Limitations Since this is a cross-sectional analysis, we are unable to determine the temporal relationship between outcome and exposure variables. The CES-D-10 and NSESSS are scales that measure the severity of depressive and PTSD symptoms, respectively, and are not clinical diagnoses. Conclusion There is a critical need to develop interventions focused on reducing the burden of stress on mental health.
Insulinoma‐associated protein 1 (INSM1) is a robust marker for identifying and grading pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

Background Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET) is a diagnostic challenge with limited samples in not only identification but grading. Prior studies have shown insulinoma-associated protein 1 (INSM1) to be a robust marker in identifying PNETs from other solid pancreatic tumors on resection specimens. In this study, we investigated the utility of INSM1 not only for identifying PNETs but also for grading in cell blocks (CBs) and surgical resections (SRs). Methods A search for PNET cases between 2000 and 2019 identified 55 samples (26 CBs and 29 SRs) that were further separated into high (2 CBs, 3 SRs), intermediate (4 CBs, 7 SRs), and low (20 CBs, 19 SRs) grades based on their final pathology report and Ki-67 level. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for INSM1 (C-8, Santa Cruz Biotechnology [1:100]) was performed and quantified using an H score of 0 to 300. Non-PNET solid pancreatic tumors were compared and included acinar cell carcinoma, solid pseudopapillary neoplasm, and ductal adenocarcinoma. Results All 55 cases of PNET demonstrated nuclear INSM1 staining. The average H scores for INSM1 staining of PNET were 254 and 252 in CB and SR, respectively. The H scores decreased with increasing tumor grade, with low-grade (G1), intermediate-grade (G2), and high-grade (G3) tumors showing average INSM1 H scores of 229 and 253, 266 and 253, and 30 and 33 in both CB and SR, respectively. Conclusion IHC with INSM1 plays a role in identifying and potentially grading PNETs.
Who Should Do Data Ethics

Who decides what good data science looks like? And who gets to decide what "data ethics" means? The answer is all of us. Good data science should incorporate the perspectives of people who create and work with data, people who study the interactions between science and society, and people whose lives are affected by data science.
The Epidemiology and Outcomes of Mental Disorders in Critically Ill Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Population-Based Study

Background: Hospitalized patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) often require critical care, and SLE is the most common autoimmune disease in the intensive care unit (ICU). Mental disorders are highly prevalent among patients with SLE and are associated with increased morbidity and premature death in this population. However, the association of mental disorders with ICU utilization among patients with SLE and their prognostic impact among those admitted to ICU is unknown. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study, using the Texas Inpatient Public Use Data File to identify SLE hospitalizations aged ? 18 years during 2009 - 2014. Mental disorders were defined by the taxonomy of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project’s Clinical Classification Software Category 5. The patterns of ICU admission among SLE hospitalizations with and without mental disorders were examined. Multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to examine the association of mental disorders and short-term mortality (defined as hospital death or discharge to hospice) among ICU admissions. Results: Among 94,338 SLE hospitalizations 35,793 (37.9%) had mental disorders. There was no difference in the rates of ICU admission among SLE hospitalizations with and without mental disorders (37% vs. 37.2%, respectively; P = 0.5999), and similar rates of mental disorders were found among SLE hospitalizations with and without ICU admission (37.8% vs. 38%, respectively; P = 0.5408). The volume of SLE ICU admissions with and without mental disorders rose between 2009 and 2014 by 60.3% vs. 7.9%, respectively. When compared to those without mental disorders, SLE ICU admissions with mental disorders were older (age ? 65 years, 23.6% vs. 21.4%, respectively) and had higher burden of comorbid conditions. Unadjusted short-term mortality among SLE ICU admissions with and without mental disorders was 4.8% and 5.8%, respectively and mental disorders were associated with lower short-term mortality on adjusted analyses (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 0.826; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.734 - 0.930). Conclusions: There was no difference in the frequency of mental disorders among hospitalized patients with SLE with and without ICU admission. However, the growth in the volume of ICU admissions with SLE over time involved predominantly patients with mental disorders. Among ICU admissions, mental disorders were associated with lower short-term mortality. J Clin Med Res. 2020;12(8):508-516 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jocmr4269
Metabolic profiling reveals nutrient preferences during carbon utilization in Bacillus species

Abstract Pathogenic bacteria take host nutrients to support their growth, division, survival, and pathogenesis. The genus Bacillus includes species with diverse natural histories, including free-living nonpathogenic heterotrophs such as B. subtilis and host-dependent pathogens such as B. anthracis (the etiological agent of the disease anthrax) and B. cereus, a cause of food poisoning. Although highly similar genotypically, the ecological niches of these three species are mutually exclusive, which raises the untested hypothesis that their metabolism has speciated along a nutritional tract. Here, we employed a quantitative measurement of the number of reducing equivalents as a function of growth on hundreds of different sources of carbon to gauge the “culinary preferences” of three distinct Bacillus species, and related Staphylococcus aureus. We show that each species had widely varying metabolic ability to utilize diverse sources of carbon that correlated to their ecological niches. In addition, carbohydrates are shown to be the preferred sources of carbon when grown under ideal in vitro conditions. Rather unexpectedly, these metabolic utilizations did not correspond one-to-one with an increase in biomass, which brings to question what cellular activity should be considered productive when it comes to virulence. Finally, we applied this system to the growth and survival of B. anthracis in a blood-based environment and find that amino acids become the preferred source of energy while demonstrating the possibility of applying this approach to identifying xenobiotics or host compounds that can promote or interfere with bacterial metabolism during infection. Author summary Successful organisms must make nutritional adaptations to thrive in their environment. Bacterial pathogens are no exception, having evolved for survival inside their hosts. The host combats these pathogens by depriving them of potential biochemical resources, termed nutritional immunity. This places pathogens under pressure to utilize their resources efficiently and strategically, and their metabolism must in turn be tailored for this situation. In this study, we examined the carbon metabolism of three human pathogens of varying virulence (Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, and Staphylococcus aureus) and one nonpathogenic Bacillus (Bacillus subtilis) via a phenotype microarray that senses reducing equivalents produced during metabolism. Our analysis shows the existence of distinct preferences by these pathogens towards only a select few carbohydrates and implies reliance on specific metabolic pathways. These metabolic signatures obtained could be distinguished from one bacterial species to another, and we conclude that nutrient preferences offer a new perspective into investigating how pathogens can thrive during infection despite host-induced starvation.
Improving Horticultural Crops via CRISPR/Cas9: Current Successes and Prospects

Horticultural crops include a diverse array of crops comprising fruits, vegetables, nuts, flowers, aromatic and medicinal plants. They provide nutritional, medicinal, and aesthetic benefits to mankind. However, these crops undergo many biotic (e.g., diseases, pests) and abiotic stresses (e.g., drought, salinity). Conventional breeding strategies to improve traits in crops involve the use of a series of backcrossing and selection for introgression of a beneficial trait into elite germplasm, which is time and resource consuming. Recent new plant breeding tools such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) /CRISPR-associated protein-9 (Cas9) technique have the potential to be rapid, cost-effective, and precise tools for crop improvement. In this review article, we explore the CRISPR/Cas9 technology, its history, classification, general applications, specific uses in horticultural crops, challenges, existing resources, associated regulatory aspects, and the way forward.
Relationships between Diet, Alcohol Preference, and Heart Disease and Type 2 Diabetes among Americans

Although excessive alcohol consumption is a recognized cause of morbidity and mortality, many studies have linked moderate alcohol consumption to improved cardiovascular health and a lower risk of Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). Self-reported alcohol and diet data used to generate these results suffer from measurement error due to recall bias. We estimate the effects of diet, alcohol, and lifestyle choices on the prevalence and incidence of cardiovascular disease and T2D among U.S. adults using a nationally representative cohort of households with scanner data representing their food-at-home, alcohol, and tobacco purchases from 2007-2010, and self-reported health surveys for the same study participants from 2010-2012. Multivariate regression models were used to identify significant associations among purchase data and lifestyle/demographic factors with disease prevalence in 2010, and with incidence of new disease from 2011-2012. After controlling for important confounders, respondents who purchased moderate levels of wine were 25% less likely than non-drinkers to report heart disease in 2010. However, no alcohol-related expenditure variables significantly affected the likelihood of reporting incident heart disease from 2011-2012. In contrast, many types of alcohol-related purchases were associated with a lower prevalence of T2D, and respondents who purchased the greatest volumes of wine or beer—but not liquor—were less likely to report being diagnosed with T2D in 2011-2012 than non-drinkers.
Sonographic Diagnosis of Bilateral Tubal Pregnancies

Bilateral tubal pregnancy (BTP) is a very rare form of ectopic twin gestation. Many times, they occur after the use of assisted reproductive therapy. Most cases of BTP are diagnosed during laparosc...
History of Diversity in Europe II: Chevalier de Saint-Georges

PowerPoint Webinar for middle and high school students and teachers discussing the history of diversity in eighteenth-century Europe, drawing attention to one of the leading composers of the era, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
Optimal well-being in the aftermath of anxiety disorders: A 10-year longitudinal investigation.

Abstract Background : Although preliminary research has explored the possibility of optimal well-being after depression, it is unclear how rates compare to anxiety. Using Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Panic Disorder (PD) as exemplars of anxiety, we tested the rates of optimal well-being one decade after being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Based on reward deficits in depression, we pre-registered our primary hypothesis that optimal well-being would be more prevalent after anxiety than depression as well as tested two exploratory hypotheses. Method : We used data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, which contains a nationally representative sample across two waves, 10 years apart. To reach optimal well-being, participants needed to have no symptoms of GAD, PD, or major depressive disorder (MDD) at the 10 year follow-up and exceed cut-offs across nine dimensions of well-being. Results : The results failed to support our primary hypothesis. Follow-up optimal well-being rates were highest for adults previously diagnosed with MDD (8.7%), then PD (6.1%), and finally GAD (0%). Exploratory analyses revealed optimal well-being was approximately twice as prevalent in people without anxiety or depression at baseline and provided partial support for baseline well-being predicting optimal well-being after anxiety. Results were largely replicated across different classifications of optimal well-being. Limitations : Findings are limited by the somewhat unique measurement of anxiety in the MIDUS sample as well as the relatively high rate of missing data. Conclusions : We discuss possible explanations for less prevalent optimal well-being after anxiety vs. depression and the long-term positivity deficits from GAD.
Do Regulations Matter? Wealth Redistribution and the Cost of Equity

Asset pricing models predict that country-specific output shocks can be diversified away by risk sharing through trade or by portfolio diversification. However, the corporate governance literature has argued that country-specific regulations affect the cost of equity. This paper asks two important questions: why are regulations different from other country-specific factors, and why cannot investors fully diversify these risks even in integrated markets? Under mild assumptions, regulations affect the redistribution of wealth between minority and controlling shareholders. Unlike other country-specific factors, such redistribution does not directly affect aggregate consumption, and hence cannot be shared through trade. Redistribution increases the systematic risk of minority shareholders, especially in countries with weaker regulations, larger size and higher growth volatility. I provide empirical evidence that country-specific regulations explain systematic risk and the cost of equity. The economic impact is also significant; securities laws that improve disclosure requirements can decrease the cost of equity by up to 3%.
The new world: hematopoietic stem cell transplant during a pandemic.

Purpose of review Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) impacted every facet of hematopoietic cell transplantation. This article reviews the adjustments to recipient and donor care that occurred in response to this unprecedented event. Recent findings Transplant centers modified algorithms, patient flow, education, and how we provided care. Our donor center partners reworked how donors were evaluated and products delivered to the transplant center. Our professional societies provided guidelines for patient and donor care and rapidly modified these based upon the never-ending stream of new data learned about SARS-CoV-2. Our research organizations provided rapid analyses to ensure the care modifications necessitated did not have a profound negative impact on our patients or donors. Summary The efforts of transplant providers and donor centers worldwide allowed patients to receive the transplant needed with assurances that they were receiving the best care available despite the worldwide challenge.
Past and Present of Nuclear Matter

The subject of nuclear matter is interesting for many fields of physics ranging from condensed matter to lattice QCD. Knowing its properties is important for our understanding of neutron stars, supernovae and cosmology.
Large-scale human promoter mapping using CpG islands.

Vertebrate genomic DNA is generally CpG depleted(1,2), possibly because methylation of cytosines at 80% of CpG dinucleotides results in their frequent mutation to thymine. and thus CpG to TpG dinucleotides(3). There are, however, genomic regions of high G+C content (CpG islands), where the occurrence of CpGs is significantly higher, close to the expected frequency, whereas the methylation concentration is significantly lower than the overall genome(4). CpG islands(5) are longer than 200 bp and have over 50% of G+C content and CpG frequency, at least 0.6 of that statistically expected. Approximately 50% of mammalian gene promoters are associated with one or more CpG islands(6). Although biologists often intuitively use CpG islands for 5' gene identification(7,8). this has not been rigorously quantified(9). We have determined the features that discriminate the promoter-associated and non-associated CpG islands. This led to an effective algorithm for large-scale promoter mapping (with 2kb resolution) with a concentration of false-positive predictions of promoters much lower than previously obtained. Using this algorithm, we correctly discriminated approximately 85% of the CpG islands within an interval (-500 to +1500) around a transcriptional start site (TSS) from those that lie further away from TSSs. We also correctly mapped approximately 93% of the promoters containing CpG islands.
Longest Induced Cycles on Cayley Graphs

In this paper we study the length of the longest induced cycle in the unitary Cayley graph $X_n = Cay(\mathbb Z_n; U_n)$, where $U_n$ is the group of units in $\mathbb Z_n$. Using residues modulo the primes dividing $n$, we introduce a representation of the vertices that reduces the problem to a purely combinatorial question of comparing strings of symbols. This representation allows us to prove that the multiplicity of each prime dividing $n$, and even the value of each prime (if sufficiently large) has no effect on the length of the longest induced cycle in $X_n$. We also see that if $n$ has $r$ distinct prime divisors, $X_n$ always contains an induced cycle of length $2^r+2$, improving the $r \ln r$ bound of Berrezbeitia and Giudici. Moreover, we extend our results for $X_n$ to conjunctions of complete $k_i$-partite graphs, where $k_i$ need not be finite, and also to unitary Cayley graphs on any quotient of a Dedekind domain.
Harmonic Convergence Estimation Through Strain Energy Superconvergence

Grid convergence in finite element analysis, despite a wide variety of tools available to date, remains an elusive and challenging task. Due to the complex and time consuming process of remeshing and solving the finite element model (FEM), convergence studies can be part of the most arduous portion of the modeling process and can even be impossible with FEMs unassociated with CAD. Existing a posteriori methods, such as relative error in the energy norm, provide a near arbitrary indication of the model convergence for eigenfrequencies. This paper proposes a new approach to evaluate the harmonic convergence of an existing model without conducting a convergence study. Strain energy superconvergence takes advantage of superconvergence points within a FEM and accurately recovers the strain energy within the model using polyharmonic splines, thus providing a more accurate estimate of the system’s eigenfrequencies without modification of the FEM. Accurate eigenfrequencies are critical for designing for airfoil resonance avoidance and mistuned rotor response prediction. Traditional error estimation strategies fail to capture harmonic convergence as effectively as SES, potentially leading to a less accurate airfoil resonance and rotor mistuning prediction.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Book Review: Elizabeth Wicks' Human Rights and Healthcare

The Author reviews the book "Human Rights and Healthcare," by Elizabeth Wicks, published by Hart Publishing, 2007. Although the book focuses mainly on rights within the United Kingdom, those familiar with healthcare and bioethics issues within the United States or elsewhere will find it an extremely useful comparative resource.
Utilizing Peptide SPOT Arrays to Identify Protein Interactions

SPOT arrays consist of synthesized peptides 12- to 18-amino acids long, with overlapping sequences that cover the entire sequence of a protein, covalently linked to a solid support. This unit describes how to construct peptide SPOT arrays, biotinylate recombinant proteins, and conduct overlay assays to identify binding interactions. In addition, directions describing how to analyze results to determine single amino acid binding contributions are included. The two techniques in this unit describe how to scan protein sequences to find binding motifs and how to conduct site-directed mutagenesis studies.
THE TREATMENT OF TETANUS

Results of treatment of 73 consecutive cases of tetanus admitted to a pediatric service during 1948-1962 are presented. A reduction in mortality for all ages from 52% during 1948-1955 to 24% during 1956-1962 was achieved. Excluding newborn infants, a reduction in mortality from 44% to 9% was achieved. A survival rate of 64% was attained in tetanus of the newborn during 1956-1962. The treatment program used is outlined. A review of causes of death in fatal cases and of significant complications in survivors suggests that even further lowering of tetanus mortality is possible through improvement in this approach to treatment, with continuing emphasis upon a total patient care regimen by an interested and devoted team rather than upon any individual aspect of treatment.
Improving EDP in wireless NoC-enabled multicore chips via DVFS pruning

The millimeter-wave small-world wireless NoC (mSWNoC) is shown to be capable of improving the overall latency and energy dissipation characteristics compared to the conventional wireline mesh-based counterpart. The mSWNoC helps in improving the energy dissipation even further in presence of dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS). On-chip voltage regulators are required to tune the voltage depending on the workload. Though it is possible to have multiple voltage levels by designing suitable on-chip regulators, certain voltage levels are underutilized for specific applications. Hence, unnecessary voltage levels should be pruned, reducing the design complexity of the on-chip voltage regulators. In certain circumstances, the pruned DVFS method improves the energy-delay product (EDP) compared to the fine-grained DVFS while still remaining within an acceptable performance boundary.
A Brief Survey of Covering Radius

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a fundamental geometric parameter of a code called the covering radius. It is defined as the smallest integer p such that the spheres of radius p (in the Hamming metric) centered at the codewords cover the containing space. The binary codes C that are nonempty subsets of Z n 2 . are described. The covering radius is a measure of the quality of the code, in that a code with covering radius at least as big as the minimum distance can be improved. The covering radius is the maximum weight of errors correctable by the code and is the maximum distortion encountered in the use of the code for data-compression. And some interesting nonlinear codes, such as the kerdock code, are the unions of linear codes with cosets of maximum weight. Any element of least weight in a coset of a linear code is called a coset leader. The weight of a coset is defined to be the weight of its leader. The minimum distance from each element of a coset to a nearest codeword is the weight of that coset. Thus, the covering radius of a linear code is the weight of the coset of greatest weight.