cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role of hydrogen and disulfide bonds in polyoma capsid structure.

Abstract The relationship between polyoma virus (Py) structure and function was studied. It was found that the virus was relatively stable under conditions which disrupt hydrogen and/or hydrophobic bonds, i.e., intermediate levels of concentrated urea, high pH, and heat. However, addition of the disulfide bond breaking reagents 2-mercaptoethanol or dithiothreitol (DTT), significantly potentiated the destructive effect of hydrogen bond disruption. Furthermore, it was found that the reaction with DTT was rate-limiting in the presence of urea but not at a pH of 10.5. This finding suggested that a barrier to the diffusion of DTT existed which was altered by alkaline treatment. Organic and inorganic mercurials were found not to influence viral function suggesting that free SH bonds were not structurally significant. Electron microscopy demonstrated that treatment at pH 10.5 followed by heating at 37° for 60 minutes, 56° for 30 minutes or with DTT caused the dissociation of virus particles into poorly resolved subunit material without recognizable capsomer structure. Following such extensive disaggregation, viral proteins no longer formed precipitin bands with anti-whole virus antiserum. A small plaque strain of Py was more susceptible than a large plaque strain to inactivation at pH 10.5 in the presence of DTT. These findings suggest that relatively inaccessible disulfide bridges contribute to the structural integrity of the virus particle and its immunochemically reactive antigenic determinants. Furthermore, differences between plaque size variants may be related in part to disulfide bond position or number.
Technical evaluation of the 15% of peak load PV interconnection screen

Most utilities use a standard small generator interconnection procedure (SGIP) process that includes a screen for placing potential PV interconnection requests on a fast track that do not require more detailed study. One common screening threshold is the 15% of peak load screen that fast tracks PV below a certain size. This paper performs a technical evaluation of the screen compared to a large number of simulation results for PV on 40 different feeders. Three error metrics are developed to quantify the accuracy of the screen for identifying interconnections that would cause problems or incorrectly sending a large number of allowable systems for more detailed study.
Quantum-size effects in sub 10-nm fin width InGaAs FinFETs

InGaAs FinFETs with sub-10 nm fin widths were fabricated for the first time using precision dry etching and digital etch. We find that the threshold voltage, Vt, becomes highly sensitive to the fin width, Wf, in the sub-10 nm Wf range. 2D Poisson-Schrodinger simulations suggest that this is due to quantization effects. We also show that in the quantum regime, a sidewall slope below 850 significantly reduce Vt variation at the same drawn dimensions.
Thermal Transport in MWNT Sheet: Extremely High Radiation From the Carbon Nanotube Surface

Laser flash and self-heating 3ω techniques were employed to determine the anisotropic thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of highly oriented free standing multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) sheet drawn from a sidewall of a MWNT forest that was grown by chemical-vapor deposition. The thermal conductivity and the thermal diffusivity along the alignment are 50±5 W/m·K and 45±5 mm2/s, respectively, and are mostly limited by intrinsic defects of individual nanotubes and phonon-phonon interaction within bundles which form the supporting matrix of the MWNT sheet. The long tube-tube overlapping substantially decreases the electrical and thermal interconnection resistances which are usually dominate in randomly deposited mat-like nanotube assemblies. The extremely large surface area of the MWNT sheet leads to excessive heat radiation that dose not allow to transfer the heat energy by means of phonons to distances > 2 mm.
Resolution of Graves’ disease after renal transplantation

We report a case of an adolescent boy with Down's syndrome and ESRD on hemodialysis who developed mild Graves' disease that was not amenable to radioablation, surgery, or ATDs. After 14 months of observation without resolution of Graves' disease, he successfully received a DDRT with a steroid minimization protocol. Thymoglobulin and a three-day course of steroids were used for induction and he was started on tacrolimus, MMF, and pravastatin for maintenance transplant immunosuppression. One month after transplantation, all biochemical markers and antibody profiling for Graves' disease had resolved and remain normal one yr later.
Boundary regularity and sufficient conditions for strong local minimizers

Abstract In this paper we present a new proof of the sufficiency theorem for strong local minimizers concerning C 1 -extremals at which the second variation is strictly positive. The results are presented in the quasiconvex setting, in accordance with the original statement by Grabovsky and Mengesha [31] . The strategy that we follow relies on a Decomposition Theorem that allows to split a sequence of variations into its oscillating and its concentrating parts, as well as on a sufficiency result according to which smooth extremals are spatially-local minimizers. Furthermore, we prove partial regularity up to the boundary for strong local minimizers in the non-homogeneous case and a full regularity result for Lipschitz extremals with gradient of vanishing mean oscillation. As a consequence, we also establish a sufficiency result for this class of extremals. The regularity results are established via a blow-up argument.
Comparison of the behavioral effects of β-endorphin and enkephalin analogs

Abstract The behavioral effects of β-endorphin, enkephalin analogs, morphine and etorphine were briefly compared. In the tail-flick test in mice and in the wet shake test in rats, β-endorphin and D-Ala 2 -D-Leu 5 -enkephalin had equal antinociceptive activity; D-Ala 2 -Met-enkephalinamide and D-Leu 5 -enkephalin were less active. The order of activity of the enkephalin analogs and opiate alkaloids for stimulating locomotor activity in mice paralleled their analgesic activities; β-endorphin, however, had only minimal stimulatory actions. Morphine sulfate, 50 μg injected into the periaqueductal gray, produced hyperactivity but this effect was not observed with etorphine or opioid peptides. By contrast, “wet dog” shakes was observed with the opioid peptides but not with either opiate alkaloid. These heterogenous behavioral responses, which were all antagonized by naloxone, indicate that multiple types of receptors mediate the effects of opiates in the central nervous system.
Finite state abstraction and formal methods for traffic flow networks

Formal methods from computer science have emerged as a powerful suite of tools that, under appropriate modifications, are applicable to a wide range of physical control systems. These methods promise automated algorithms for verification and synthesis of controllers to accomplish specifications and objectives that are not accommodated by traditional approaches. However, formal methods require a finite abstraction of the underlying physical process, and challenges in obtaining scalable abstraction techniques have impeded the applicability of these automated tools. This tutorial paper exploits structural properties in a class of networked systems motivated by traffic flow networks to overcome some of these challenges and points towards new directions of research. The first aim of this tutorial paper is to review a broad technique for synthesizing correct-by-design controllers for dynamical systems by first obtaining a finite state abstraction and then applying a game-based algorithm for synthesizing a control strategy to satisfy a linear temporal logic specification. The second objective is to review vehicular traffic flow models and to characterize a general model amenable to formal control synthesis. This general model is shown to be mixed monotone, a generalization of monotone dynamical systems. Using properties of the mixed monotone dynamics, a finite state abstraction is efficiently computed by overapproximating the set of states that are one-step reachable under the traffic flow dynamics. These results are demonstrated on a case study which leads to a discussion of open problems and avenues for future research.
Lonely Souls in Sólo Dios Sabe by Carlos Bolado: Pastoralism and Syncretic Spirituality in Times of Crisis

This chapter analyzes the Mexican-Brazilian coproduction Solo Dios sabe (Carlos Bolado, 2006). By mixing allusions to Garcilaso de la Vega’s eclogues, a pre-Raphaelite painting, and William Shakespeare’s Hamlet to create an unorthodox Catholicism, this film proposes to renovate some of the key elements underpinning traditional Mexicanness that seem to have left society without stable references as a result of the neoliberal transformation of Mexico: patriarchal masculinity, the nuclear family, and religion. Through cultural and ideological syncretism, this road film becomes the template for configuring a renewed Mexican identity.
The Urey — Bradley Force Field: Its Significance and Application

One of the most fundamental problems in normal coordinate analysis is the selection of a suitable potential field to express the interatomic forces in a molecule. Although the generalized valence force (GVF) field is widely used by many investigators, it encounters serious difficulties in complex molecules since the number of force constants exceeds the number of observed normal vibrations. In order to circumvent this difficulty, Shimanouchi introduced the Urey-Bradley force (UBF) field which consists of stretching and bending force constants, as well as repulsive force constants between nonbonded atoms. The number of force constants in the UBF field is much smaller than that in the GVF field. In addition, the UBF field has the advantages that the force constants have a clearer physical meaning than those of the GVF field, and they are transferable from molecule to molecule. The UBF field, however, does not include any interaction terms between non-neighboring stretching vibrations and between bending vibrations. In some molecules, ignorance of these terms causes difficulties in adjusting force constants to fit the observed frequencies. Recently, a number of attempts have been made to improve the UBF field, and these will be reviewed briefly.
Development of an Empirically Based Learning Performances Framework for Third‐Grade Students’ Model‐Based Explanations About Plant Processes

To develop scientific literacy, elementary students should engage in knowledge building of core concepts through scientific practice (Duschl, Schweingruber, & Schouse, 2007). A core scientific practice is engagement in scientific modeling to build conceptual understanding about discipline-specific concepts. Yet scientific modeling remains underemphasized in elementary science learning environments, and little past research has explored early learners’ engagement in domain-specific modeling practices. Here we report on a design-based study to investigate the ways in which third-grade students generate model-based explanations about two core plant growth and development processes: plant structure/function and plant life cycles. First, using design-based research, we developed and empirically tested a learning performance framework that integrates discipline-specific content with scientific practice to examine third-grade students’ engagement in epistemic features of model-based explanations about plant growth and development. Next, we used the learning performance framework as a rubric to measure third-grade students mechanism-based scientific explanations generated from the models they developed prior to and after a long-term plant curriculum enactment. Findings from the learning performance highlight that students hold conceptual resources about plant processes and use this knowledge to reason in sophisticated ways. However, our findings from the pre/postmodels suggest that when students do not have opportunities to build conceptual knowledge, they depend on anthropomorphic analogies to reason about plant processes. Study findings imply that third-grade students require more sophisticated opportunities in building knowledge about how and why plant processes occur so they can use this knowledge to scientifically reason about how and why plants grow, develop, and survive.
Digital Leadership Through Service Computing: Agility Driven by Interconnected System and Business Architectures

Digitization to support services is an evolving phenomenon in a service-driven economy. While initiation and infusion of digitization in services may be relatively easy, the appropriation of value from such digitization is difficult. The digitization of services, represented as service objects, has to be modular and configurable to support business agility in order to assess viability and create value. While modularization of service objects is well established in existing literature, its ability to support business agility is not explored in the literature. In this study, we propose a concept of digital leadership that links service objects, represented in a service system architecture designed to support digital services, with various components of a business architecture for business agility in a changing business and technology landscape. We provide a definition of service objects to represent digital services, its associated characteristics, and how these service objects contribute to business agility. The concept is applied to a patient room digitization case operationalized under the theme of a service robot.
New Topical Antifungals

Until recently, topical treatments for onychomycosis employed lacquer formulations (e.g., ciclopirox). These are organic solutions of film-forming polymers. Upon application to the surface of the nail, the solvent evaporates, leaving a water-resistant polymer film on the nail plate. This occlusive film acts as a drug reservoir that facilitates the release and penetration of the drug into and through the nail. One must then remove the film either mechanically or with organic solvents and apply fresh lacquer to replenish the drug reservoir [1, 2].
Inductively coupled plasmas at low driving frequencies

We discuss the peculiarities of inductively coupled plasma (ICP) at low driving frequencies. The ratio of electric to magnetic field, decreases with decreasing frequency according to Faraday's law—higher magnetic fields are required to induce the same electric field at lower frequencies. We point out that the ratio of can be non-uniform in space depending on primary coil configuration and the presence of ferromagnetic materials. In this paper, we consider examples of low-frequency ICPs with negligibly small magnetic fields in plasma. The disparity of time scales for ion transport and the electron energy relaxation results in nonlinear plasma dynamics at low frequencies. Numerical simulations demonstrate that at low frequencies, the presence of plasma has very little effect on spatial distributions of the electric and magnetic fields, which are determined solely by the coil geometry and by the presence of ferromagnetic cores. Simulations of plasma dynamics in ICP over a wide range of driving frequencies and gas pressures illustrate high-frequency, quasi-static and dynamic regimes of discharge operation and explain some trends observed in experiments.
Preliminary evidence of attenuated blood pressure reactivity to acute stress in adults following a recent marital separation.

Objective: This study explores cardiovascular reactivity during an acute-stress task in a sample of recently separated adults.Design: In a cross-sectional design, we examined the association between adults’ subjective separation-related distress and changes in heart rate and blood pressure across the acute-stress laboratory paradigm in a sample of 133 (n = 49 men) recently separated adults.Main outcome measures: Heart rate (HR) and Blood pressure (BP) were recorded across a resting baseline period, a math stressor task, and a recovery period.Results: Multilevel analyses revealed that adults who reported greater separation-related distress exhibited higher initial BP and a slower linear increase in BP across the study period. In addition, adults reporting greater separation-related distress evidenced significantly slower declines in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) following the acute-stress task. HR reactivity was not moderated by separation-related distress.Conclusions: In recently separated adults, prelim...
“To Hell with Them All!”: Perceived Discrimination, Interracial Contact, and Racial Attitudes

Can experiencing interracial hostility perpetuate interracial hostility? This article considers this possibility by examining the link between interpersonal discrimination and racial attitudes. Fur...
Spherical Waves and Point Sources

Many signals have wavefronts that are not planar. The simplest to analyze are the waves generated by a vibrating spherical surface. Although a vibrating sphere is not frequently encountered in practice, the ability to generate solutions for a variety of situations makes that configuration extremely useful, both for verifying numerical techniques and for exploring fundamental issues.
Does the Medium Matter

The notion of practice-based teacher education has recently been offered to mitigate the long-standing tension between theory and practice in teacher education. In practice-based teacher education, preservice teachers study a core set of teaching practices by examining decompositions of practice and learn these practices through varied and multiple opportunities to approximate teaching. This chapter explores one way in which preservice teachers might engage in approximating practice through homework assignments. In particular, this chapter reports on a study comparing representations of practice produced in two media—via scripting classroom dialogue or representing them as storyboards. Over a one-semester secondary mathematics methods course, 13 preservice teachers created 412 representations of practice—182 in a text medium and 230 in a storyboard medium—to approximate five different mathematics teaching practices. This chapter discusses the results of the comparison between the content of these different representations and implications for mathematics teacher education. In particular, the storyboards included significantly more attention to the students in a classroom and to the mathematical representations as compared to the text medium. Yet, it was in the text medium where preservice teachers appeared to consider more alternative teaching moves. We also discuss the ways in which teacher education might maximize attention to these aspects by utilizing these features (student involvement and mathematical representations) in the prompts used to situate the work of storyboarding a response.
Clinical and Molecular Characteristics and Burden of Kidney Cancer Among Hispanics and Native Americans: Steps Toward Precision Medicine.

Abstract Cancer disparities in Native Americans (NAs) and Hispanic Americans (HAs) vary significantly in terms of cancer incidence and mortality rates across geographic regions. This review reports that kidney and renal pelvis cancers are unevenly affecting HAs and NAs compared to European Americans of non-Hispanic origin, and that currently there is significant need for improved data and reporting to be able to advance toward genomic-based precision medicine for the assessment of such cancers in these medically underserved populations. More specifically, in states along the US-Mexico border, HAs and NAs have higher kidney cancer incidence rates as well as a higher prevalence of kidney cancer risk factors, including obesity and chronic kidney disease. They are also more likely to receive suboptimal care compared to European Americans. Furthermore, they are underrepresented in epidemiologic, clinical, and molecular genomic studies of kidney cancer. Therefore, we maintain that progress in precision medicine for kidney cancer care requires an understanding of various factors among HAs and NAs, including the real kidney cancer burden, variations in clinical care, issues related to access to care, and specific clinical and molecular characteristics.
Outpatient Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Respiratory Infections During Influenza Seasons.

Importance Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are the syndrome for which antibiotics are most commonly prescribed; viruses for which antibiotics are ineffective cause most ARIs. Objectives To characterize antibiotic prescribing among outpatients with ARI during influenza season and to identify targets for reducing inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for common ARI diagnoses, including among outpatients with laboratory-confirmed influenza. Design, Setting, and Participants Cohort study enrolling outpatients aged 6 months or older with ARI evaluated at outpatient clinics associated with 5 US Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Network sites during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 influenza seasons. All patients received influenza testing by real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction for research purposes only. Antibiotic prescriptions, medical history, andInternational Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revisiondiagnosis codes were collected from medical and pharmacy records, as were group A streptococcal (GAS) testing results in a patient subset. Exposure Visit for ARI, defined by a new cough of 7 days’ duration or less. Main Outcomes and Measures Antibiotic prescription within 7 days of enrollment. Appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing was based on diagnosis codes, clinical information, and influenza and GAS testing results. Results Of 14 987 patients with ARI (mean [SD] age, 32 [24] years; 8638 [58%] women; 11 892 [80%] white), 6136 (41%) were prescribed an antibiotic. Among these 6136 patients, 2522 (41%) had diagnoses for which antibiotics are not indicated; 2106 (84%) of these patients were diagnosed as having a viral upper respiratory tract infection or bronchitis (acute or not otherwise specified). Among the 3306 patients (22%) not diagnosed as having pneumonia and who had laboratory-confirmed influenza, 945 (29%) were prescribed an antibiotic, accounting for 17% of all antibiotic prescriptions among patients with nonpneumonia ARI. Among 1248 patients with pharyngitis, 1137 (91%) had GAS testing; 440 of the 1248 patients (35%) were prescribed antibiotics, among whom 168 (38%) had negative results on GAS testing. Of 1200 patients with sinusitis and no other indication for antibiotic treatment who received an antibiotic, 454 (38%) had symptoms for 3 days or less prior to the outpatient visit, suggesting acute viral sinusitis not requiring antibiotics. Conclusions and Relevance Antibiotic overuse remains widespread in the treatment of outpatient ARIs, including among patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza, although study sites may not be representative of other outpatient settings. Identified targets for improved outpatient antibiotic stewardship include eliminating antibiotic treatment of viral upper respiratory tract infections and bronchitis and improving adherence to prescribing guidelines for pharyngitis and sinusitis. Increased access to sensitive and timely virus diagnostic tests, particularly for influenza, may reduce unnecessary antibiotic use for these syndromes.
The neuro-ophthalmic history

Abstract As in any field of medicine, the neuro-ophthalmic history guides the physician's examination and differential diagnosis. From the beginning of the history taking, the physician should attempt to categorize the patient's problem. This chapter reviews the various elements of the neuro-ophthalmic history in the context of neuro-ophthalmic disorders.
HIV testing in the era of treatment scale up.

he ways in which global responses to HIV/AIDS have differed from responses to other infectious diseases have been extensively discussed in the literature.1,2 Bayer proposed the term "AIDS exceptionalism" to refer to the compromises reached early on in the epidemic between civil liberty proponents and the public health establishment, affecting policy and practice concerning surveillance, HIV testing, and contact investigation and tracing. The international response to HIV/AIDS was initially largely driven by experience and discussion in the United States the first and most heavily affected country in the industrialized world. The language of human rights was introduced into HIV/AIDS discourse somewhat later, when the World Health Organization's Special Programme on AIDS (later the Global Programme on AIDS) was being developed. AIDS exceptionalism and an emphasis on certain human rights aspects of HIV/AIDS became the international norm.
Nebraska timber industry, 2014

This resource update provides an overview of timber product output (TPO) and use in Nebraska based on questionnaires designed to determine the size and composition of the State's primary wood-using industry, its use of roundwood, and its generation and disposition of wood residues. This study was a cooperative effort between the Nebraska Forest Service (NFS) and the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program at the Northern Research Station (NRS) of the USDA Forest Service. The NFS surveyed all known primary wood-using mills and FIA processed and analyzed the survey responses. Mill responses from earlier TPO studies, or other ancillary data, were used for any mills that did not respond to the 2014 TPO survey. This update presents results from the 2014 survey with comparisons to the 2009 survey. Supplemental data tables with additional information can be found at https://doi.org/10.2737/FS-RU-173.
For Sale or Sailors? Towards a Galley Ware Functional Designation Methodology

Publications of materials recovered from ancient shipwreck sites in the Mediterranean increase every decade with each subsequent excavation, adding a wealth of data to the study of ancient Mediterranean societies. To date, however, there have been few detailed discussions of how recovered ceramics are designated as cargo or galley ware. As the field of maritime archaeology continues to grow, the time is ripe to advance methodologies to define and categorize galley ware ceramics, which can thereby aid studies of ancient seafarers and their relationships to the wider societies to which they belonged. This paper presents a methodological framework to aid in the identification of galley wares recovered from ancient Mediterranean shipwrecks and applies the methodology in two case studies. The larger goal of the study is to initiate within the field discussions of functional attribution in order to move beyond intuition and towards an applicable methodological framework.
Natural color pigments: oxidative stability and degradation kinetics during storage in thermally pasteurized vegetable purees

Background Package oxygen transmission rate (OTR) can affect the stability of natural color pigments such as anthocyanins, betalains and chlorophylls in foods during storage. In the present study, we investigated the oxygen sensitivity of selected pigments in thermally pasteurized vegetable purees held at a refrigeration temperature. We modulated the oxygen ingress in packaging using multilayer films with OTRs of 1, 30 and 81 cm3 m-2 day-1 . Red cabbage, beetroot and pea purees were vacuum packed, pasteurized to achieve a cumulative lethality of P 90 ° C 10 ° C = 12.8-13.4 min and stored at 7 °C for 80 days. Results Anthocyanins were relatively stable ( 0.05) in sensitivity to film OTRs. However, continuous degradation of chlorophylls was observed for all film types, with total chlorophyll losses ranging from 33% to 35%. Overall color differences (ΔE) at the end of storage for cabbage, beet and pea puree were between 0.50-1.70, 1.00-4.55 and 7.41-8.08, respectively. Betalains and chlorophylls degradation followed first-order and fractional conversion kinetics, whereas ΔE followed zero-order and fractional conversion kinetics during storage. Conclusion All three pigments behaved differently to oxygen ingress during storage. Low to medium barrier films are suitable for products containing red cabbage anthocyanins. High barrier films are must for betalains, whereas medium to high barrier films are suitable for chlorophyll-containing products. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.
Special relativity experiments explained from the perspective of the rotating frame

In this paper, we present an explanation of several fundamental tests of special relativity from the perspective of the frame co-moving with a rotating observer. The solution is of great interest f...
Saliency based Self-Sensing Enhanced Operating Condition Monitoring Using High-Frequency Injection Under Intentional Magnetic Saturation

In this paper, a simple technique to monitor the saturation effect on dq-incremental inductance is proposed. The high frequency injection (HFI) based technique can detect enhanced or diminished self-sensing ability under intentional magnetic saturation. Inductive saliency based self-sensing depend on the difference between d-axis and q-axis incremental inductance of the machine where the dq-axes inductive saliency is operating point dependent property. Prior researches showed the machine non-linear characteristic consideration under magnetic saturation is one of the key factors for successful self-sensing control. Incremental dq-inductance variations under flux-weakening and flux-intensifying operation are estimated. A system level self-sensing ability can be achieved since the incremental dq-inductance are estimated in the exactly the same HFI based self-sensing environment, i.e., the inverter, the current sensor resolution, the demodulation technique for differential carrier current, and the injected carrier frequency and amplitude.
Evaluation of cement paste containing recycled stainless steel powder for sustainable additive manufacturing

Abstract Cement is a key ingredient and the most widely used cementitious material in making concrete. Often, numerous materials are mixed with cement in the form of powders (that are mainly supplementary cementitious materials), fillers or others, to enhance the properties and applicability of concrete produced. In the last two decades, additive manufacturing has grown rapidly; however, large amounts of waste metal powder from additive manufacturing were generated at the same time. Metal powders are generally expensive, and recycling of such metal powder causes associated hazards and environmental stress. Incorporating metal powder into cementitious system may be a solution to utilize metal powders from the additive manufacturing industry and to improve the mechanical strength of cement part at the same time. In this study, a non-conventional Stainless Steel (SS) micropowder, of particle size 40–100 µm was used in cement paste mixture. SS powder is a new material to be used in the cementitious matrix that has not been reported in the literature to the best of authors’ knowledge. Properties of SS micropowder modified cement paste samples were characterized and compared to that of a control (reference) mixture. The results indicated that addition of 5% SS micropowder to cement paste (by volume of the mixture) was an optimum quantity that improved the strength and durability of the mixture whereas 2 and 8% SS addition had negative effects. Further study to explore its use at higher dosages as replacement of cement is recommended.
The Effects of Access to Green Space on Obesity: An Integrative Review

Green space can be used as a low cost intervention in the battle against childhood obesity and can play an integral role in improving health outcomes in various inner city communities. …
The Izichwe Football Club: Youth, Sport and Masculinity in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

This article reconstructs the ‘hidden’ history of Izichwe Football Club, a not-for-profit grassroots initiative that ran from 2010 to 2016 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Using oral interviews, ...
The wasting-associated metabolite succinate disrupts myogenesis and impairs skeletal muscle regeneration

Background: Muscle wasting is a debilitating co-morbidity affecting most advanced cancer patients. Alongside enhanced muscle catabolism, defects in muscle repair/regeneration contribute to cancer-associated wasting. Among the factors implicated in suppression of muscle regeneration are cytokines that interfere with myogenic signal transduction pathways. Less understood is how other cancer/wasting-associated cues, such as metabolites, contribute to muscle dysfunction. This study investigates how the metabolite succinate affects myogenesis and muscle regeneration. Methods: We leveraged an established ectopic metabolite treatment (cell permeable dimethyl-succinate) strategy to evaluate the ability of intracellular succinate elevation to 1) affect myoblast homeostasis (proliferation, apoptosis), 2) disrupt protein dynamics and induce wasting-associated atrophy, and 3) modulate in vitro myogenesis. In vivo succinate supplementation experiments (2% succinate, 1% sucrose vehicle) were used to corroborate and extend in vitro observations. Metabolic profiling and functional metabolic studies were then performed to investigate the impact of succinate elevation on mitochondria function. Results: We found that in vitro succinate supplementation elevated intracellular succinate about 2-fold, and did not have an impact on proliferation or apoptosis of C2C12 myoblasts. Elevated succinate had minor effects on protein homeostasis (~25% decrease in protein synthesis assessed by OPP staining), and no significant effect on myotube atrophy. Succinate elevation interfered with in vitro myoblast differentiation, characterized by significant decreases in late markers of myogenesis and fewer nuclei per myosin heavy chain positive structure (assessed by immunofluorescence staining). While mice orally administered succinate did not exhibit changes in overall body composition or whole muscle weights, these mice displayed smaller muscle myofiber diameters (~6% decrease in the mean of non-linear regression curves fit to the histograms of minimum feret diameter distribution), which was exacerbated when muscle regeneration was induced with barium chloride injury. Significant decreases in the mean of non-linear regression curves fit to the histograms of minimum feret diameter distributions were observed 7 days and 28 days post injury. Elevated numbers of myogenin positive cells (3-fold increase) supportive of the differentiation defects observed in vitro were observed 28 days post injury. Metabolic profiling and functional metabolic assessment of myoblasts revealed that succinate elevation caused both widespread metabolic changes and significantly lowered maximal cellular respiration (~35% decrease). Conclusions: This study broadens the repertoire of wasting-associated factors that can directly modulate muscle progenitor cell function and strengthens the hypothesis that metabolic derangements are significant contributors to impaired muscle regeneration, an important aspect of cancer-associated muscle wasting.
Review of Citizens by Degree: Higher Education Policy and the Changing Gender Dynamics of American Citizenship

In 1980 and 1981, an astounding reversal of trends occurred—and still holds today. First, more women voted in the presidential election than men, and second, more women attended college than men. S...
Exploring Empirical Research on Police Integrity

This chapter provides a systematic overview of the extant research on police integrity and explores the ways the original theory and methodology have been used and expanded. The analysis is based on an up-to-date review of the police integrity literature. The chapter compares and contrasts results from different studies, identifies common patterns across studies, and develops a classification based on the study’s goals and procedures. The chapter also discusses the results of the studies assessing the reliability and validity of the police integrity approach.
The "Key" or "Critical" Portions of an Operation: Understanding Attending Supervision and Resident Autonomy From a Legal Perspective.

OBJECTIVE To obtain a legal understanding of the “key” or “critical” portions of an operation, pertaining to attending supervision, resident autonomy, and patient safety. DESIGN Snowball sampling, a subset of purposive sampling, was used to develop a population of 47 risk managers and legal counsel, who were given an online, qualitative questionnaire. Interpretive description was used to analyze qualitative data. Individual responses were coded with simultaneous categorization and assessment of underlying relationships. SETTING Online, qualitative questionnaire. PARTICIPANTS Hospital risk managers and legal counsel from across the United States. RESULTS Overall, 25 of 47 (53%) risk managers completed the survey. Qualitative responses could be organized into 3 major themes (1) variation in the definition of “key” or “critical” portions of an operation, (2) differing expectations of attending supervision and resident autonomy, and (3) the need for clear communication and trust among attendings, residents, and patients. CONCLUSIONS Among risk managers, the primary liaisons between surgeons and patients in malpractice litigation, there is widespread variation in understanding the “key” and “critical” portions of an operation and the dynamic between appropriate attending supervision and resident autonomy. Better collaboration and transparency between surgeons and legal experts are required to facilitate a shared mental model regarding attending supervision and resident autonomy.
Chapter 18 – Multipotent Adult Progenitor Cells

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells, because they can be propagated indefinitely, and differentiate into cells of all three germ layers (endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm), shown by teratoma and embryoid body (EB) formation. Following blastocyst injection, mouse ESCs contribute to all somatic and germ-line lineages. ESCs are derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of the blastocyst and are true pluripotent stem cells. Oct4 is expressed in the pre-gastrulation embryo, primordial germ cells, the ICM, and germ cells. While normal expression levels of Oct4 maintain mouse ESC self-renewal, a decrease in expression to 200% to primitive endoderm differentiation. In recent years more and more has become known about what regulates the expression of Oct4.
Structural topology optimization of tall buildings for dynamic seismic excitation using modal decomposition

Abstract Structural topology optimization has been successfully investigated to improve the designs of a variety of civil, mechanical and aerospace applications. While topology optimization for static loading is fairly well developed, methods for dynamic seismic loading remain a challenge. In this paper, dynamic topology optimization methods are reviewed and contrasted, focusing on frequency domain techniques. Inspired by earthquake engineering analysis methods, a dynamic topology optimization formulation called the sum of modal compliances (SMC) is proposed. By considering multiple eigenmodes, the structural vibration is minimized for a seismic excitation, described by a response spectrum. The formulation handles design-dependent loading, due to inertial effects, by performing a series of design-independent topology optimization problems, between which, the seismic modal load vector is updated. Applications for the lateral bracing of high-rise buildings on 2D and 3D examples demonstrate the capabilities of the procedure and conceptual understanding of optimization for seismic loading. Results demonstrate that the optimized topology is influenced by the earthquake frequency content, which is dependent on the soil and seismological effects beneath the structure.
Comparative transcriptomics of an arctic foundation species, tussock cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum), during an extreme heat event.

Tussock cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum) is a foundation species for much of the arctic moist acidic tundra, which is currently experiencing extreme effects of climate change. The Arctic is facing higher summer temperatures and extreme weather events are becoming more common. We used Illumina RNA-Seq to analyse cDNA libraries for differential expression of genes from leaves of ecologically well-characterized ecotypes of tussock cottongrass found along a latitudinal gradient in the Alaskan Arctic and transplanted into a common garden. Plant sampling was performed on a typical summer day and during an extreme heat event. We obtained a de novo assembly that contained 423,353 unigenes. There were 363 unigenes up-regulated and 1,117 down-regulated among all ecotypes examined during the extreme heat event. Of these, 26 HSP unigenes had >log2-fold up-regulation. Several TFs associated with heat stress in previous studies were identified that had >log2-fold up- or down-regulation during the extreme heat event (e.g., DREB, NAC). There was consistent variation in DEGs among ecotypes, but not specifically related to whether plants originated from taiga or tundra ecosystems. As the climate changes it is essential to determine ecotypic diversity at the genomic level, especially for widespread species that impact ecosystem function.
Clinical and epidemiological features of healthcare workers detected with coronavirus disease

Background: Data early in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic suggested frontline healthcare workers (HCW) may account for 10-20% of all infections CDC estimated 600,000 infections in HCWs Symptom screening is a strategy to prevent healthcare-associated transmission This method may not identify asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic carriers Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study in asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic healthcare workers in a 1541-bed academic medical center Although recruitment began in designated COVID-19 units, we expanded to all HCWs providing care to hospitalized patients during the pandemic Data was gathered on demographics, work area in the hospital and daily questionnaires were sent listing symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 Protocol included twice weekly self-collected nasopharyngeal swab and saliva for SARS-CoV-2 N1 and N2 Those with positive PCR result, underwent telephone survey to assess symptomatology and severity of illness Results: A total 525 HCWs began the study protocol and 16 were identified as PCR positive Samples included concordant saliva and NP samples on 9 (56%), exclusively NP samples on 5 (31%) and 2 (12%) HCWs were positive by saliva PCR only Majority were female, and all were nursing staff;with 19% reported not working in a designated COVID-19 unit During the course of this active surveillance, universal masking was mandated in the institution Rhinorrhea and headache were reported by 6 (38%), 5 (31%) reported cough and 3 (19%) developed myalgia Changes in smell and taste preceded the positive PCR test in 2 (12%) One HCW reported developing a fever with acute illness All were notified about their PCR positive status by institution's occupational health department and self-isolated to monitor for symptoms Conclusion: The spectrum of disease in this HCW cohort is similar to mild disease in the community Due to high incidence of asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic HCWs, active surveillance with routine testing proves be beneficial to prevent hospital transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Universal masking significantly decreased the HCW positive rate in our study, underscoring the need for universal efforts to mitigate healthcare-associated transmission with self-monitoring, face mask use, and other infection prevention behaviors like hand hygiene
Feminine gender norms and syndemic harmful drinking, sexual violence, and sexually transmitted infections among Black women at risk for HIV.

Abstract Background This study examined the associations between feminine gender ideologies (i.e., socially constructed attitudes and beliefs of women’s appropriate behavior and roles) and the syndemic comorbidities of harmful alcohol use, sexual violence, and sexually transmitted infections (STI), which disproportionately affect Black women. Methods Black women, aged 18–44 (n = 305) were recruited from STI clinics in Baltimore, MD into a retrospective cohort study. A survey assessed feminine gender ideologies using a measure of hyperfemininity and sexual hyperfemininity (subscale of sexual domains), harmful drinking (AUDIT), lifetime STI (Y/N and count), and syndemic burden (no burden [0−1 morbidity] and syndemic burden [2−3 comorbidities]). Multivariable regression models identified correlates of harmful drinking, STI, and syndemic burden. The analytic sample included (n = 231) women with complete data. Results Nearly half of our sample reported high hyperfemininity and high sexual hyperfemininity, 23% reported harmful drinking, 39% experienced sexual violence as an adult, and 74% reported a lifetime STI. High sexual hyperfemininity (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 1.94, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.00–3.76) and sexual violence (AOR = 2.82, 95%CI: 1.43–5.58) were associated with greater odds of harmful drinking. Experiencing sexual violence in adulthood was associated with an increased count of lifetime STIs (Adjusted Incidence Rate Ratio [AIRR] = 1.33, 95%CI: 1.06–1.68). Syndemic burden affected 41% of our sample. High sexual hyperfemininity was associated with experiencing syndemic burden in unadjusted models (OR = 1.98, 95%CI: 1.16–3.37), but was not significant after controlling for confounders. Conclusions Interventions to reduce harmful drinking and STIs among Black women in the U.S. should address sexual gender ideologies and sexual violence.
Preferential associations of soil fungal taxa under mixed compositions of eastern American tree species

Soil fungi are vital to forest ecosystem functions, in part through their role mediating tree responses to environmental factors, as well as directly through effects on resource cycling. While the distribution of these key taxa may vary with a suite of abiotic and biotic factors, the relative role of host species identity on soil fungal community composition and function remains unresolved. In this study, we used a combination of amplicon sequencing and enzymatic assays to assess soil fungal composition and associated function under three tree species, Quercus rubra, Betula nigra, and Acer rubrum, planted individually and in all combinations in a greenhouse, with added fungal inoculum collected below mature field trees. Across treatments, fungal communities were dominated by the phylum Ascomycota, followed by Basidiomycota and Mortierellomycota. Nonetheless, fungal communities differed between each of the solo planted treatments, suggesting at least some taxa may associate preferentially with these tree species. Additionally, fungal community composition under mixed sapling treatments broadly differed from solo saplings. The data also suggests that there were larger enzymatic activities in the solo treatments as compared with all mixed treatments. This difference may be due to the greater relative abundance of saprobic taxa found in the solo treatments. This study provides evidence of the importance of tree identity on soil microbial communities and functional changes to forest soils.