cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bioavailability and inter-conversion of sulforaphane and erucin in human subjects consuming broccoli sprouts or broccoli supplement in a cross-over study design

Broccoli consumption may reduce the risk of various cancers and many broccoli supplements are now available. The bioavailability and excretion of the mercapturic acid pathway metabolites isothiocyanates after human consumption of broccoli supplements has not been tested. Two important isothiocyanates from broccoli are sulforaphane and erucin. We employed a cross-over study design in which 12 subjects consumed 40 g of fresh broccoli sprouts followed by a 1 month washout period and then the same 12 subjects consumed 6 pills of a broccoli supplement. As negative controls for isothiocyanate consumption four additional subjects consumed alfalfa sprouts during the first phase and placebo pills during the second. Blood and urine samples were collected for 48h during each phase and analyzed for sulforaphane and erucin metabolites using LC-MS/MS. The bioavailability of sulforaphane and erucin is dramatically lower when subjects consume broccoli supplements compared to fresh broccoli sprouts. The peaks in plasma concentrations and urinary excretion were also delayed when subjects consumed the broccoli supplement. GSTP1 polymorphisms did not affect the metabolism or excretion of sulforaphane or erucin. Sulforaphane and erucin are able to interconvert in vivo and this interconversion is consistent within each subject but variable between subjects. This study confirms that consumption of broccoli supplements devoid of myrosinase activity does not produce equivalent plasma concentrations of the bioactive isothiocyanate metabolites compared to broccoli sprouts. This has implications for people who consume the recommended serving size (1 pill) of a broccoli supplement and believe they are getting equivalent doses of isothiocyanates.
Effect of complementary pathway blockade on efficacy of combination enzastaurin and rapamycin

Background. Rapamycin is an mTOR inhibitor with preclinical efficacy in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). However, mTOR inhibitors also increase Akt activity in SCCHN cell lines, which would promote survival and oncogenesis. Enzastaurin is an AGC kinase inhibi- tor with nanomolar inhibitory concentrations for Akt and protein kinase C (PKC). Moreover, Akt and PKC inhibitors have dem- onstrated efficacy in SCCHN. Methods. We hypothesized that the combination of rapamycin and enzastaurin would be more effective than either agent alone. Results. Rapamycin and enzastaurin generally inhibited puta- tive targets in SCCHN cell lines in culture. In mice xenografted with CAL27 cells, rapamycin and enzastaurin produced growth delay. In contrast, the combination of rapamycin and enzastaurin caused regression of CAL27 tumors with evidence of inhibition of putative targets, survival, angiogenesis and proliferation. Conclusion. These data demonstrate that the combination of rapamycin and enzastaurin disrupts critical oncogenic path- ways in SCCHN and has efficacy in preclinical models. V C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 33: 1774-1782, 2011
Organization of the double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase DAI and virus-associated VA RNAI in adenovirus-2-infected HeLa cells

We have examined the cellular distribution of the double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase DAI in adenovirus 2 (Ad2)-infected and uninfected HeLa cells. In uninfected cells DAI was found to be concentrated in the cytoplasm. In addition, DAI was localized in the nucleoli and diffusely distributed throughout the nucleoplasm. Cells treated with alpha-interferon displayed a similar pattern of distribution for DAI. When RNA polymerase I activity was inhibited by the drug actinomycin D, nucleoli segregated and DAI was found to colocalize with the dense fibrillar region of the nucleoli. During mitosis, the distribution of DAI paralleled that of rRNA. In adenovirus-infected cells the localization of DAI was similar to that in uninfected interphase cells. VA RNAI was detected in Ad2-infected cells by 10-14 hours post-infection as fine dots in the nucleoplasm. By 18-24 hours post-infection, VA RNAI appeared in bigger and more abundant dots in the nucleoplasm and the cytoplasm was intensively labeled. Transient expression of the VA RNAI gene in uninfected cells resulted in a similar localization of the RNA. Our results are consistent with a role for DAI and VA RNAI in protein synthesis and suggest that DAI may play an early role in ribosome biogenesis in the nucleolus in addition to its cytoplasmic role in translation.
Fulfillment of Work–Life Balance From the Organizational Perspective: A Case Study

Context: Researchers studying work–life balance have examined policy development and implementation to create a family-friendly work environment from an individualistic perspective rather than from...
Grahame Clark: An Intellectual Biography of an Archaeologist

Grahame Clark: An Intellectual Biography of an Archaeologist. Brian Fagan. Cambridge, MA: Westview Press, 2001. 320 pp.
Making difference: conflict over Irish identity in the New York City St. Patrick's Day parade

Abstract The controversy surrounding the New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade suggests that Irish ethnicity in the United States is still an important site of identity formation and fragmentation. In this paper I examine the New York City parades between 1990 and 2001 where a conflict has developed between the organizers of the parade, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization, who want a place in the parade but have been denied entrance. The identity politics that surround the St. Patrick’s Day parade controversy suggest that for diasporic communities, ethnic and national identities are highly contested and that boundaries—some hard and fast, others more permeable—are constructed along any number of axes. For the construction of Irish identity in New York City within-group identity is disputed across a number of these axes with the most important difference being sexual identity, particularly when it is being performed in a public space.
Protein and Lipid Oxidative Stresses During Cheese Manufacture

The amounts of protein-bound carbonyls (PC), malondialdehyde, (MDA) and the tocopherolquinone/tocopherol ratio (TQ) were used as markers to evaluate the oxidative damage during manufacture. Their concentrations were determined in 11 Italian cheese varieties produced with different curd heat treatments. A positive correlation between heat intensity and oxidative damage was found (p Le traitement thermique ameliore la securite alimentaire, les proprietes organoleptiques et la conservation des aliments. Cependant, il affecte la digestibilite des proteines (reaction de Maillard) et active l'oxydation des lipides. Dans cette etude, les teneurs en carbonyls lies a des proteines, en malondialdehydes et le ratio tocopherolquinone / tocopherol sont utilises comme marqueurs pour evaluer les dommages causes pendant la fabrication de fromage. Leurs concentrations sont determinees dans 11 varietes de fromages italiens produits sous des traitements thermiques du caille differents.
Effect of sulfide on nitrate reduction in mixed methanogenic cultures

The effect of sulfide on nitrate reduction and methanogenesis was investigated in two mixed, mesophilic (358C)methanogenic cultures: sulfide-free and sulfide-accli- mated (67 mg S/L total sulfide). A mixture of dextrin/ peptone served as the carbon/electron donor source for the two stock cultures, as well as in all assays reported here. The sulfide-free enriched culture was amended with both nitrate (75-350 mg N/L) and sulfide (10-100 mg S/L). Denitrification was the predominant pathway at all sulfide levels tested and methanogenesis did not recover in any of the sulfide- and nitrate-amended cultures, except in the 10 mg S/L culture. Accumulation of denitrification inter- mediates such as NO and N2O took place, which irreversibly inhibited the methanogens and resulted in the complete cessation of methane production. In contrast, conversion of nitrate to nitrite and then to ammonia via dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia (DNRA) prevented the accumulation of denitrification intermediates and led to the recovery of methanogenesis in the nitrate-amended, sulfide-acclimated, mixed methanogenic culture. The effect of the COD/N value on nitrate reduction was assessed with the sulfide-acclimated, methanogenic culture at COD/N values of 10, 20, and 60. As the COD/N value increased, the fraction of nitrate reduced through DNRA also increased. The results of this study have significant implica- tions relative to the combined anaerobic treatment of car- bon-, nitrogen-, and/or sulfur-bearing wastes. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2007;97: 1448-1459.
Fabrication and in vitro deployment of a laser-activated shape memory polymer vascular stent.

Background: Vascular stents are small tubular scaffolds used in the treatment of arterial stenosis (narrowing of the vessel). Most vascular stents are metallic and are deployed either by balloon expansion or by self-expansion. A shape memory polymer (SMP) stent may enhance flexibility, compliance, and drug elution compared to its current metallic counterparts. The purpose of this study was to describe the fabrication of a laser-activated SMP stent and demonstrate photothermal expansion of the stent in an in vitro artery model. Methods: A novel SMP stent was fabricated from thermoplastic polyurethane. A solid SMP tube formed by dip coating a stainless steel pin was laser-etched to create the mesh pattern of the finished stent. The stent was crimped over a fiber-optic cylindrical light diffuser coupled to an infrared diode laser. Photothermal actuation of the stent was performed in a water-filled mock artery. Results: At a physiological flow rate, the stent did not fully expand at the maximum laser power (8.6 W) due to convective cooling. However, under zero flow, simulating the technique of endovascular flow occlusion, complete laser actuation was achieved in the mock artery at a laser power of ~8 W. Conclusion: We have shown the design and fabrication of an SMP stent and a means of light delivery for photothermal actuation. Though further studies are required to optimize the device and assess thermal tissue damage, photothermal actuation of the SMP stent was demonstrated.
The design of a self-maintained memory module for real-time systems

Garbage collection provides a platform that improves system adaptability, productivity and robustness. Manual management of heap storage is notoriously error prone, inflexible and most systems still contains memory leaks. Most new programming languages incorporate garbage collection such as Java and C#. Non-deterministic time and memory fragmentation of garbage collection have thwarted its application to real-time systems. One of the garbage collection techniques, called copying collector, has helped to improve the garbage collection efficiency in fast-allocating memory objects and reducing fragmentation by compacting the heap. However, the compaction time is still nondeterministic and typically the time is long. This paper proposed a self-maintained memory module that the heap compaction can be done in constant time (O(1)).
Stress compensation in hafnia/silica optical coatings by inclusion of alumina layers

Hafnium dioxide films deposited using electron-beam evaporation tend to exhibit high tensile stresses, particularly when deposited on low-thermal-expansion substrates for use in a low-relative-humidity environment. Hafnia has been shown to be a critical material, however, for use in high-peak-power laser coatings, providing exceptional deposition control and laser-damage resistance. To correct for tensile thin-film stresses in hafnia/silica multilayer coatings, alumina compensation layers were incorporated in the multilayer design. Determination of the stresses resulting from alumina layers in different coating designs has led to the realization of the influence of water diffusion and the diffusion-barrier properties of alumina that must be considered. The inclusion of alumina layers in a hafnia/silica multilayer provides the ability to produce low-compressive-stress, high-laser-damage-threshold coatings.
Systems analysis for modular vs. multi-beam HIF drivers☆

Previous modeling for HIF drivers concentrated on designs in which 100 or more beams are grouped in an array and accelerated through a common set of induction cores. The total beam energy required by the target is achieved by the combination of final ion energy, current per beam and number of beams. Economic scaling favors a large number of small (∼1 cm diameter) beams. An alternative architecture has now been investigated, which we refer to as a modular driver. In this case, the driver is subdivided into many (>10) independent accelerators with one or many beams each. A key objective of the modular driver approach is to be able to demonstrate all aspects of the driver (source-to-target) by building a single, lower-cost module compared to a full-scale, multi-beam driver. We consider and compare several design options for the modular driver including single-beam designs with solenoid instead of quadrupole magnets in order to transport the required current per module in a single beam, solenoid/quad combinations, and multi-beam, all-quad designs. The drivers are designed to meet the requirements of the hybrid target, which can accommodate a larger spot size than the distributed radiator target that was used for the Robust Point Design. We compare the multi-beam and modular driver configuration for a variety of assumptions and identify key technology advances needed for the modular design.
Reflection of electromagnetic waves from a periodically rough multilayered surface

The analysis of Cavalcante et al.[ J. Opt. Soc. Am. B4, 1372 ( 1987)], which treats the reflectivity and polariton coupling problem of p-polarized radiation incident on a thin metallic film with a grating underlayer, is extended by considering the placement of a thin dielectric film on top of the metallic film. In general, the numerical results from the Rayleigh–Fano equations for extremely thin dielectric overlayers of the order of 100 A are comparable with those found by Cavalcante et al., except that the field enhancement peaks and reflectivity dips are shifted slightly toward higher angles of incidence. It is observed that the two-mode polariton interaction is nearly quenched to a single mode as the thickness of the metal thin-film grating is increased and that the reflectivity dips and field enhancement peaks are decreased uniformly as the thickness of the dielectric overlayer is increased. An increased peak behavior for the reflectivity and field enhancement interactions is also found as the metal film corrugation strength or the dielectric constant of the overlayer is increased; however, a limiting behavior is observed for further increases in the dielectric constant.
Consumer Culture Theory (Cct): Twenty Years of Research

This article provides a synthesizing overview of the past 20 yr. of consumer research addressing the sociocultural, experiential, symbolic, and ideological aspects of consumption. Our aim is to provide a viable disciplinary brand for this research tradition that we call consumer culture theory (CCT). We propose that CCT has fulfilled recurrent calls for developing a distinctive body of theoretical knowledge about consumption and marketplace behaviors. In developing this argument, we redress three enduring misconceptions about the nature and analytic orientation of CCT. We then assess how CCT has contributed to consumer research by illuminating the cultural dimensions of the consumption cycle and by developing novel theorizations concerning four thematic domains of research interest.
MRx as a performative and theatrical stage

AbstractThis article provides one component of a new interdisciplinary, humanities-based framework for MRx design and criticism along with Engberg and Bolter's article, “MRx and the Aesthetics of Locative Writing and JafariNaimi's article, “MRx as a Participatory Platform. As defined in the introductory article for this series, MRx experiences are conceptualised as site-specific; hybrid; and aesthetic, performative and/or social. This article develops a performance studies and theatre history perspective on MRx. By outlining historical examples relevant to contemporary MRx practice, a set of best practices are derived. These strategies are conceptualised as central questions, which are then applied in the analysis of four examples of recent MRx works, along with suggestions for how these strategies may be used during the design process.
Biochemistry of Vibrio cholerae Virulence II. Skin Permeability Factor/Cholera Enterotoxin Production in a Chemically Defined Medium

A chemically defined medium capable of eliciting high titers of skin permeability factor (PF)/enterotoxin from three different strains of Vibrio cholerae has been developed. Toxin/antigen elaboration in synthetic and in complex media was monitored by a specific passive hemagglutination-inhibition test. A distinct temporal difference in the pattern of toxin/antigen elaboration was noted when the two types of media were compared. In complex media, PF activity and corresponding antigen release were coincident, whereas in the defined medium a biphasic pattern resulting in elaboration of nontoxic antigen during the second phase was seen. Possible reasons for the latter observation are discussed, and several experiments illustrating the unique utility of the defined medium are presented.
Design agency: prototyping multi-agent system simulation for design search and exploration

This work presents prototypes of multi-agent system simulation for design search and exploration. We describe an experimental approach in part based on a previously established multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) framework. Here the work further explores the potential impact of MDO in conjunction with multi-agent systems on the early stages of design. Specifically, this paper addresses the potential of introducing agent based computing techniques into the multidisciplinary architectural design optimization and search workflow to tackle geometrically complex design problems and to facilitate early stage design exploration. To address these interests a series of prototyped workflows were studied inclusive of environmental performance and structural performance metrics and benchmarks. This paper presents a novel methodology for using simulation data in conjunction with multi-agent systems as a way for re-informing form and enhancing performance in a generative design environment. The methodology is based on the use of swarm algorithms and their integration with data generated by simulation software. The interaction between these two domains, the simulation data and swarm algorithms, generates the final outputs as a modified geometry that is then evaluated by comparison for enhanced design performance.
Radiomics based targeted radiotherapy planning (Rad-TRaP): a computational framework for prostate cancer treatment planning with MRI

Radiomics or computer – extracted texture features have been shown to achieve superior performance than multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) signal intensities alone in targeting prostate cancer (PCa) lesions. Radiomics along with deformable co-registration tools can be used to develop a framework to generate targeted focal radiotherapy treatment plans. The Rad-TRaP framework comprises three distinct modules. Firstly, a module for radiomics based detection of PCa lesions on mpMRI via a feature enabled machine learning classifier. The second module comprises a multi-modal deformable co-registration scheme to map tissue, organ, and delineated target volumes from MRI onto CT. Finally, the third module involves generation of a radiomics based dose plan on MRI for brachytherapy and on CT for EBRT using the target delineations transferred from the MRI to the CT. Rad-TRaP framework was evaluated using a retrospective cohort of 23 patient studies from two different institutions. 11 patients from the first institution were used to train a radiomics classifier, which was used to detect tumor regions in 12 patients from the second institution. The ground truth cancer delineations for training the machine learning classifier were made by an experienced radiation oncologist using mpMRI, knowledge of biopsy location and radiology reports. The detected tumor regions were used to generate treatment plans for brachytherapy using mpMRI, and tumor regions mapped from MRI to CT to generate corresponding treatment plans for EBRT. For each of EBRT and brachytherapy, 3 dose plans were generated - whole gland homogeneous ( $\mathbb {P}^{\text {WH}}$ ) which is the current clinical standard, radiomics based focal ( $\mathbb {P}^{\text {RF}}$ ), and whole gland with a radiomics based focal boost ( $\mathbb {P}^{\text {WF}}$ ). Comparison of $\mathbb {P}^{\text {RF}}$ against conventional $\mathbb {P}^{\text {WH}}$ revealed that targeted focal brachytherapy would result in a marked reduction in dosage to the OARs while ensuring that the prescribed dose is delivered to the lesions. $\mathbb {P}^{\text {WF}}$ resulted in only a marginal increase in dosage to the OARs compared to $\mathbb {P}^{\text {WH}}$ . A similar trend was observed in case of EBRT with $\mathbb {P}^{\text {RF}}$ and $\mathbb {P}^{\text {WF}}$ compared to $\mathbb {P}^{\text {WH}}$ . A radiotherapy planning framework to generate targeted focal treatment plans has been presented. The focal treatment plans generated using the framework showed reduction in dosage to the organs at risk and a boosted dose delivered to the cancerous lesions.
What Is Social About the Human Brain

The first neuroscientist to focus exclusively on the social nature of the brain was Leslie Brothers. Her observation is worth repeating: “while our individual brains are singular and self-contained, the processes on which they depend for functioning are social ones.” We have seen that there is no fully working human brain without the presences of other brains.
Enhancing treatment planning workflow in radiation oncology.

84Background: The treatment planning process is the most impactful and complex aspect of radiation oncology care. In order to provide short turn around times from patient CT simulation to treatment plan QA, requires a level of strain and haste for multiple members of the treatment team. We evaluated 18 months of data to determine the percentage of Quality Assurance (QA) approvals of nonemergent complex plans (including 3D/IMRT/Arc/SBRT/SRS) that are not completed by 8:00a the day prior to a patient's first treatment appointment, and found that this occcurred on time 62% of the time. We utilized the ASCO Quality Training Process (QTP) process to brainstorm methods to enhance workflow, and create an action plan that would allow for small Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles to reach our ideal state of > 90% On Time Treatment Plan Delivery. Methods: We utilized LEAN tools from the ASCO QTP progam (June 2016 cycle). We created an Ishikawa diagram to determine the areas of greatest potential. We subsequently developed a h...
Danon disease for the cardiologist: case report and review of the literature

ABSTRACTDanon disease is a rare, X-linked dominant genetic disorder that is caused by defects in the lysosome-associated membrane protein 2 (LAMP2) gene. It manifests predominantly in young males with a classic triad of cardiomyopathy, skeletal myopathy, and intellectual disability. Death from cardiac disease is the ultimate cause of demise in many patients if left untreated. Given the rarity of the condition, the natural history is poorly understood. Here, we present a case report on a 14-year-old Hispanic boy with Danon disease, highlighting major clinical events and diagnostic study findings over a six-year period from age of symptom onset to age of death. He had significant hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (ventricular septal thickness 65 mm) and experienced various arrhythmias during his clinical course including Wolf-Parkinson-White syndrome, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, and pre-excited atrial fibrillation with a fasciculoventricular anomalous accessory pathway. He had sudden cardiac death from...
Infant of the Diabetic Mother

Despite marked declines in neonatal mortality, infants of diabetic mothers still experience significant morbidity. This article reviews current data regarding congenital malformations, disorders of fetal growth, pulmonary development, and diagnosis and treatment of hypoglycemia, hypocalcemia, and hypomagnesemia. It also addresses short-term and long-term complications for this unique group of high-risk infants.
Belief space stochastic control under unknown dynamics

We present a sampling-based stochastic optimal control (SOC) framework for systems with unknown dynamics based on the path integral formulation and probabilistic inference. This work is motivated by three major limitations of related SOC methods: first, full knowledge of the dynamics model is usually required. Second, model uncertainty is neglected. Third, convergence of the iterative scheme is quite slow. In order to cope with these issues, our method performs sampling in belief space using approximate inference in probabilistic models. When performing probability-weighted averaging, each sample is weighted by its predictive uncertainty. In addition, our method leverages covariance matrix adaptation to achieve faster convergence. We demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method using a simulated cart-pole swing up task.
Bronchial Thermoplasty for Severe Asthma

Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is a new therapeutic modality for the ­treatment of severe asthmatics refractory to optimal medical therapy. Individuals with uncontrolled symptoms despite treatment with high dose inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting bronchilator therapy are eligible for this procedure. BT uses radiofrequency energy to reduce the excess airway smooth muscles that can occur in asthma. Since airway smooth muscle is implicated in hyperreactivity and bronchoconstriction, BT can be adjunctive to anti-inflammatory therapy. Thermal treatment is delivered distal to mainstem bronchi to visible airways between 3 and 10 mm in diameter, excluding the right middle lobe. Treatments occur in three separate sessions with careful monitoring before and after the procedure, as the most frequent complication is exacerbation of asthma symptoms. Clinical trials have demonstrated an acceptable safety profile while improving asthma quality of life scores, symptoms, and health care utilization, resulting in FDA approval of this procedure in 2010. More recent evidence demonstrates persistence of beneficial effects up to 2 years after the procedure. Proper patient selection, optimization of confounding conditions, and ongoing asthma management are key factors in improving outcomes and minimizing adverse respiratory events. As experience with the procedure increases, better characterization of asthmatics that may benefit from this procedure will become available.
Neurochemical Studies of Genetic Differences in Alcohol Action

In this chapter we review genetic differences in neurochemical parameters and their possible relationship to ethanol action. In each section, we attempt to review most of the published studies that link neurochemical measures with genetic differences in ethanol sensitivity. At the end of each section we condense the mass of literature into what we feel are the most important contributions from each genetic approach. These conclusions are our personal, and admittedly biased, view of the neurochemistry of alcohol action. Two other detailed reviews of neurochemical actions of alcohol have recently appeared (Hunt, 1985; Deitrich et al., 1989b).
Climate Change, Extinction Risks, and Reproduction of Terrestrial Vertebrates

This review includes a broad, but superficial, summary of our understanding about current and future climate changes, the predictions about how these changes will likely affect the risks of extinction of organisms, and how current climate changes are already affecting reproduction in terrestrial vertebrates. Many organisms have become extinct in the last century, but habitat destruction, disease and man-made factors other than climate change have been implicated as the causal factor in almost all of these. Reproduction is certain to be negatively impacted in all vertebrate groups for a variety of reasons, such as direct thermal and hydric effects on mortality of embryos, mismatches between optimal availability of food supplies, frequently determined by temperature, and reproductive capacities, sometimes determined by rigid factors such as photoperiod, and disappearance of appropriate foraging opportunities, such as melting sea ice. The numbers of studies documenting correlations between climate changes and biological phenomena are rapidly increasing, but more direct information about the consequences of these changes for species survival and ecosystem health is needed than is currently available.
Abiogenesis: The Emergence of Life from Non-living Matter

The field of abiogenesis explores the mystery concerning how life arose on Earth from non-living matter. We must assume that this happened in accordance with the laws of physics and chemistry. How chemical evolution led to the appearance of self-replicating polynucleotides has not been determined, but significant progress has been made. Uncertainty likewise remains concerning how the enzyme-driven reactions of metabolism arose, as well as how metabolic reactions and polynucleotide-based genetic mechanisms of inheritance were encapsulated together within the membranes of the first cells. This chapter examines a broad outline of molecular biology, and how this information provides retrospective insight into life’s beginning by asking what kind of beginning is consistent with life’s current state of affairs. Information gleaned from this exercise is then integrated with information derived from a prospective exercise that asks how self-replicating polynucleotides, could have formed from simpler organic building blocks on the basis of first principles. One of the great problems of abiogenesis is captured in the question concerning whether genes or metabolism came first. Arguments have been made in favor of independent beginnings, but this provides no insight regarding how they were integrated in cells to yield the modern state of affairs. How would it all come together? A third possibility requires that the genes needed for the production of enzymes that catalyze metabolic reactions, and metabolism that provides the energy necessary for the production of enzymes, co-evolved from simpler antecedent processes that were always integrated.
Improving communication skills of children with autism through support of applied behavioral analysis treatments using multimedia computing: a survey

Naturalistic applied behavior analysis (ABA) techniques have been shown to help children with autism improve their communication skills. Recognizing that individuals who interact with children regularly are in the position to utilize treatments with profound effects, researchers have examined methodologies for training parents, teachers, and peers to implement treatments. These programs are time intensive and often unable to support trainees after training. Technologies need to be examined to determine how they can aid in the educational and support process. Academic publications and publicly available training programs were reviewed to determine the types of participants, methodologies, and training durations that have been reported for instructing interventionists. These resources illustrate a need to make programs more accessible. To address this, selected computer science research is applied to methods of evaluating ABA implementations in order to recommend how the technologies could be utilized to make training and support programs more accessible. Review results of instructional programs, both in research and available in the community, illustrate the challenges in providing training in ABA methodologies. Modern research in multimedia data processing and machine learning could be applied to reduce the human cost of training and support individuals implementing ABA techniques. Utilizing machine learning techniques to analyze video probes of naturalistic ABA treatment implementation could alleviate the human cost of evaluating fidelity, allowing for greater support for individuals interested in the treatments. These technologies could be used in the future to expand data collection to provide more perspective on the treatments.
Force of Habit: the Role of Routinized, Automatic Behaviors along the Path of Self-Regulation and Alcohol-Related Problems.

Dual-Process models of self-regulation suggest different facets of self-regulation predict adaptive (e.g., academics, exercise) and maladaptive (e.g., drinking) behaviors. Engagement in these behaviors may ultimately result in automatic habits that either promote or inhibit alcohol use and related problems. This study tested a structural equation model of relationships between self-regulation constructs, health and drinking habits and automaticity, effortful inhibition, and alcohol problems in a college student sample (N = 405). As expected, effortful control was positively associated with health habits, which were positively associated with health automaticity. Automaticity was inversely associated with effortful inhibition. Thus, effortful control was indirectly associated with less effortful inhibition, as hypothesized. Contrary to hypothesis, effortful inhibition was inversely associated with alcohol-related problems, which resulted in a positive indirect association between effortful control and alcohol problems. Reactivity was positively associated with drinking automaticity via drinking habits and positively associated with effortful inhibition and alcohol problems. Results indicate effortful control and reactivity exhibit unique associations with health and drinking habits, automaticity, and effortful inhibition. Results suggest a somewhat paradoxical process whereby effortful control achieves its ends via decreased effort to engage in adaptive behaviors. Validity of using self-report and word association measures of automaticity was supported by the observed associations with predictors and outcomes.
1) Morbidity and mortality among children with cancer admitted to the pediatric Intensive care unit with sepsis

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the current morbidity and mortality of severe sepsis and septic shock among children with cancer admitted to the pediatric intensive unit (PICU) Introduction: Severe sepsis and septic shock (SS/SS) in pediatric oncology patients is a leading cause of PICU admission, morbidity and mortality. Children with cancer admitted to the PICU with SS/SS have traditionally had very poor outcomes. However, several recent studies have shown significant improvement in mortality, with rates comparable to that of the general pediatric population. With …
Paternalism, Evangelism, and Power.

In medicine and pastoral care, there are parallel struggles with paternalism and evangelism, each exertions of power in the setting of privilege. While striving to avoid abuses of power, well-intentioned professionals may unwittingly abjure providing guidance. This can result in threats to patient care: professional abdication and patient abandonment. In The Healer’s Power, Howard Brody conceptualizes an approach to the use of power in therapeutic relationships. In this essay, we invoke Brody’s framework to consider the place of evangelism and paternalism in the fields of chaplaincy and medicine in order to promote healing amidst power differentials.
Effects of Additives on Catalytic Arene C–H Activation: Study of Rh Catalysts Supported by Bis-phosphine Pincer Ligands

Hydrogen–deuterium exchange (H/D exchange) is a method commonly used for studying catalytic activation of C–H(D) bonds by transition metal complexes. In this study, a series of additives were studi...
What are the genomic consequences for plastids in a mixotrophic orchid (Epipactis helleborine)

The chloroplast (plastid) controls carbon uptake, so its DNA sequence and function are highly conserved throughout the land plants. But, for those that have alternative carbon supplies, the plastid...
Genotype-Environment-Management Interactions in Biomass Yield and Feedstock Composition of Photoperiod-Sensitive Energy Sorghum

Recently introduced photoperiod-sensitive (PS) biomass sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) needs to be investigated for their yield potential under different cultivation environments with reasonable nitrogen (N) inputs. The objectives of this study were to (1) evaluate the biomass yield and feedstock quality of four sorghum hybrids with different levels of PS ranging from very PS (VPS) hybrids and to moderate PS (MPS) hybrids, and (2) determine the optimal N inputs (0~168 kg N ha−1) under four environments: combinations of both temperate (Urbana, IL) and subtropical (College Station, TX) regions during 2018 and 2019. Compared to TX, the PS sorghums in central IL showed higher yield potential and steady feedstock production with an extended day length and with less precipitation variability, especially for the VPS hybrids. The mean dry matter (DM) yields of VPS hybrids were 20.5 Mg DM ha−1 and 17.7 Mg DM ha−1 in IL and TX, respectively. The highest N use efficiency occurred at a low N rate of 56 kg N ha−1 by improving approximately 33 kg DM ha−1 per 1.0 kg N ha−1 input. Approximately 70% of the PS sorghum biomass can be utilized for biofuel production, consisting of 58-65% of the cell-wall components and 4-11% of the soluble sugar. This study demonstrated that the rainfed temperate area (e.g., IL) has a great potential for the sustainable cultivation of PS energy sorghum due to their observed high yield potential, stable production, and low N requirements.
The chromatin remodeler CHD8 governs hematopoietic stem/progenitor survival by regulating ATM-mediated P53 protein stability

The Chd8 gene encodes a member of the chromodomain helicase DNA-binding (CHD) family of SNF2H-like adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-dependent chromatin remodeler, the mutations of which define a subtype of autism spectrum disorders. Increasing evidence from recent studies indicates that ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling genes are involved in the control of crucial gene-expression programs in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell (HSPC) regulation. In this study, we identified CHD8 as a specific and essential regulator of normal hematopoiesis. Loss of Chd8 leads to severe anemia, pancytopenia, bone marrow failure, and engraftment failure related to a drastic depletion of HSPCs. CHD8 forms a complex with ATM and its deficiency increases chromatin accessibility and drives genomic instability in HSPCs causing an activation of ATM kinase that further stabilizes P53 protein by phosphorylation and leads to increased HSPC apoptosis. Deletion of P53 rescues the apoptotic defects of HSPCs and restores overall hematopoiesis in Chd8-/- mice. Our findings demonstrate that chromatin organization by CHD8 is uniquely necessary for the maintenance of hematopoiesis by integrating the ATM-P53-mediated survival of HSPCs.
Genes and pathways associated with pregnancy loss in dairy cattle

Pregnancy loss directly impairs reproductive performance in dairy cattle. Here, we investigated genetic factors associated with pregnancy loss following detection of a viable embryo around 42 days of gestation. The objectives of this study were to perform whole-genome scans and subsequent gene-set analyses for identifying candidate genes, functional gene-sets and gene signaling pathways implicated in pregnancy loss in US Holstein cows. Data consisted of about 58,000 pregnancy/abortion records distributed over nulliparous, primiparous, and multiparous cows. Threshold models were used to assess the binary response of pregnancy loss. Whole‐genome scans identified at least seven genomic regions on BTA2, BTA10, BTA14, BTA16, BTA21, BTA24 and BTA29 associated with pregnancy loss in heifers and lactating cows. These regions harbor several candidate genes that are directly implicated in pregnancy maintenance and fetal growth, such as CHST14, IGF1R, IGF2, PSEN2, SLC2A5 and WNT4. Moreover, the enrichment analysis revealed at least seven significantly enriched processes, containing genes associated with pregnancy loss, including calcium signaling, cell–cell attachment, cellular proliferation, fetal development, immunity, membrane permeability, and steroid metabolism. Additionally, the pathway analysis revealed a number of significant gene signaling pathways that regulate placental development and fetal growth, including Wnt, Hedgehog, Notch, MAPK, Hippo, mTOR and TGFβ pathways. Overall, our findings contribute to a better understanding of the genetic and biological basis of pregnancy loss in dairy cattle and points out novel strategies for improving pregnancy maintenance via marker‐assisted breeding.
Myocardial angiogenesis

Coronary angiogenesis and collateral growth are chronic adaptations to myocardial ischemia, which are aimed at restoring coronary blood flow and salvaging myocardium in an ischemic region. Although we have assumed that myriad numbers of growth factors are involving in this adaptation, details in the underlying mechanisms, i.e., number of angiogenic factors, angiostatic factors, their receptors/signaling cascades, interactions/crosstalk among the signaling pathways and receptors, and the time course of expression/function of a particular factor or pathway during the successful adaptation are still unclear; they are, probably, harmonized like a symphony. Although there is as of yet no consensus about the mechanisms and causal factors for these cononary adaptations to ischemia, recent evidence strongly suggests that a balance between growth factors and growth inhibitors is critical. In this review we introduce vascular endothelial growth factor, angiopoietins, and angiostatin, as factors playing pivotal roles in coronary angiogenesis and collateral growth. (Mol Cell Biochem 264: 35–44, 2004)
Genericity, Bifurcation and Symmetry

In these lectures I would like to discuss how the existence of symmetries alters the type of bifurcation behavior that one expects to observe. In the first lecture I will concentrate on the structure and dynamics of steady-state bifurcation from equilibria. It is here that the influence of symmetries on linearized equations will be discussed and some facts from elementary representation theory introduced. The second lecture will be devoted to effects of symmetry on period-doubling in maps with a short description of an application to large arrays of Josephson junctions. In the final lecture I will describe how certain standard choices of boundary conditions (particularly Neumann) can be thought of as symmetry constraints and how this fact alters notions of genericity. It accord with the style that has developed in the lectures at this workshop, the lectures are of different length.
Screen bowl centrifuge: a high-efficiency particle size separator

Over the years, screen bowl centrifuges have been widely used for dewatering fine coal in coal preparation plants in the United States and elsewhere. Its popularity is attributed to its relatively low cost, its high capacity of providing low moisture content product and its relative ease of operation and maintenance. It is generally recognized in the engineering and scientific communities that screen bowl centrifuges provide some degree of particle size separation while dewatering fine coal in a common application. However, the extent of differential partitioning of coarse and fine particles achievable by a screen bowl centrifuge has not been systematically studied in the past. The present investigation was aimed at conducting a parametric study using a statistically designed experimental program to better understand and optimize the size classification performance of a screen bowl centrifuge. A continuously operating screen bowl centrifuge having a bowl diameter of 0.5 m was used for this study at the Illinois Coal Development Park. Three key operating parameters, i.e., feed flow rate, feed solid content and pool depth, were varied to conduct a total of 17 experiments using a three-level factorial test matrix. Some of the best size separation performances achieved in this study may be described as having an imperfection value of 0.13 at an effective separation size (d 50c ) of 38 µm and an imperfection value of 0.27 at an effective separation size (d 50c ) of 2.8 µm. Due to an effective separation of ultrafine high ash materials, the ash content of the screen bowl feed was reduced from 22.3% to a minimum of 8.84% with a combustible recovery of 84.1% and an ash rejection of 71.6%. A higher combustible recovery of 92.1% was achieved at a product ash content of 12.5% with a d 50c of 2.8 µm and imperfection of 0.27.
Distributed and robust fair resource allocation applied to virus spread minimization

This paper proposes three novel nonlinear continuous-time distributed algorithms to solve a class of fair resource allocation problems that allow an interconnected group of agents to collectively minimize a global cost function subject to equality and inequality constraints. The algorithms are robust in the sense that temporary errors in communication or computation do not change their convergence to the equilibrium, and thus, agents do not require global knowledge of total resources in the network or any specific procedure for initialization. To analyze convergence of the algorithms, we use nonlinear analysis tools that exploit partial stability theory and nonsmooth Lyapunov analysis. We illustrate the applicability of the approach via the problem of minimizing virus spread over computer and human networks.
The effects of glucagon, dibutyryl cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate, and concentration of free fatty acid on hepatic lipid metabolism.

Abstract The effects on the isolated perfused rat liver of glucagon, dibutyryl 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate (dibutyryl cyclic AMP), and oleic acid were studied with particular reference to actions on hepatic metabolism of lipids. The rate of uptake of oleic acid by livers from normal fed animals was proportional to the concentration of free fatty acid in the medium and generally was not altered significantly by addition of glucagon to the medium. Glucagon stimulated the rate of ketogenesis and inhibited the output of triglyceride by the liver. The output of ketone bodies by the liver, which was a function of the concentration of oleic acid in the medium, was stimulated by glucagon at concentrations of free fatty acids less than 1.0 to 1.5 mm; at higher concentrations, rates of ketogenesis were similar whether or not glucagon was added to the perfusate. The output of triglyceride, which was dependent on the concentration of oleic acid in the perfusate, was depressed by glucagon at all concentrations of free fatty acids. The net accumulation of triglyceride in the liver was a function of the concentration of fatty acid in the medium and did not appear to be affected significantly by glucagon. The uptake of oleic acid from the medium was not affected by dibutyryl cyclic AMP, but the nucleotide stimulated production of ketone bodies and inhibited output of triglyceride. The output of glucose and urea by liver was stimulated by glucagon. The output of glucose also was increased by dibutyryl cyclic AMP; in these experiments, even though the mean output of urea when cyclic AMP was added exceeded the control, the differences were not statistically significant. It is postulated that hepatic rates of oxidation and ketogenesis from free fatty acids perfusing the liver are increased by glucagon and by cyclic AMP. Glucagon and cyclic AMP may exert their actions in part by direct stimulation of oxidative pathways and in part by inhibition of biosynthetic pathways as the formation and release of triglyceride and the very low density lipoprotein.