cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bubble growth and collapse in viscoelastic liquids analyzed

Abstract Time-dependent, purely radial, incompressible, irrotational, extensional flow around a spherical bubble growing or collapsing in viscolastic liquid is analyzed by means of a new integral constitutive equation of BKZ type designed for any mixture of extensional and shear flow. It requires the history of the relative deformation Finger tensor, which is readily evaluated in the spherosymmetric flow with its straight pathlines. The continuity equation relates radial velocity simply to bubble wall speed, and the momentum equation reduces to a nonlinear integrodifferential equation for the evolution of the bubble radius. This equation is discretized by means of linear basis functions on finite elements of time and Galerkin's weighted residual method; the set of nonlinear algebraic equations is solved by Newton iteration, which converges quadratically up to a Deborah number (extension rate at bubble wall times average relaxation time) of 60. Beyond that value the convergence rate slows. Given as initial condition, a sharp change in the difference between pressure in the bubble and ambient pressure, can excite an oscillatory solution. With the constitutive equation fitted to independent measurements of stress in small amplitude sinusoidal oscillations and in steady shear, computed time courses agree with Pearson and Middleman's [1977] experiments on bubble collapse in hydroxypro-pylcellulose and polyacrylamide solutions (which provide only a limited test of the constitutive equation, however). The same growth and collapse processes are also analyzed with several commonly used differential constitutive equations. These are found to give different predictions. For a second-order fluid—generalized or not—there is an exact solution: this solution becomes oscillatory beyond a turning point in Deborah number, the location of which depends on the rheological parameters and the pressure difference imposed. Similar results are obtained with a corotational and an upper-convected Maxwell model.
The disposition of five therapeutically important antimicrobial agents in llamas.

The disposition of five therapeutic antimicrobial agents was studied in llamas (Lama glama) following intravenous bolus administration. Six llamas were each given ampicillin, tobramycin, trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole, enrofloxacin and ceftiofur at a dose of 12 mg/kg, 1 mg/kg, 3 mg/kg, 15 mg/kg, 5 mg/kg, and 2.2 mg/kg of body weight, respectively, with a wash out period of at least 3 days between treatments. Plasma concentrations of these antimicrobial agents over 12 h following i.v. bolus dosing were determined by reverse phase HPLC. Disposition of the five antimicrobial agents was described by a two compartment open model with elimination from the central compartment, and also by non-compartmental methods. From compartmental analysis, the elimination rate constant, half-life, and apparent volume of distribution in the central compartment were determined. Statistical moment theory was used to determine noncompartmental pharmacokinetic parameters of mean residence time, clearance, and volume of distribution at steady state. Based on the disposition parameters determined, and stated assumptions of likely effective minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) a dose and dosing interval for each of five antimicrobial agents were suggested as 6 mg/kg every 12 h for ampicillin; 4 mg/kg once a day or 0.75 mg/kg every 8 h for tobramycin; 3.0 mg/kg/15 mg/kg every 12 h for trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole; 5 mg/kg every 12 h for enrofloxacin; and 2.2 mg/kg every 12 h for ceftiofur sodium for llamas. Steady-state peak and trough plasma concentrations were also predicted for the drugs in this study for llamas.
Mapping of brain function after MPTP-induced neurotoxicity in a primate Parkinson's disease model

Neurophysiological studies of the brain in normal and Parkinson's disease (PD) patients have indicated intricate connections for basal ganglia-induced control of signaling into the motor cortex. To investigate if similar mechanisms are controlling function in the primate brain (Macaca fascicularis) after MPTP-induced neurotoxicity, we conducted PET studies of cerebral blood flow, oxygen and glucose metabolism, dopamine transporter, and D2 receptor function. Our observations after MPTP-induced dopamine terminal degeneration of the caudate and putamen revealed increased blood flow (15%) in the globus pallidus (GP), while blood flow was moderately decreased (15-25%) in the caudate, putamen, and thalamus and 40 % in the primary motor cortex (PMC). Oxygen extraction fraction was moderately increased (10-20%) in other brain areas but the thalamus, where no change was observable. Oxygen metabolism was increased in the GP and SMA (supplementary motor area including premotor cortex, Fig. 3) by a range of 20-40% and decreased in the putamen and caudate and in the PMC. Glucose metabolism was decreased in the caudate, putamen, thalamus, and PMC (range 35-50%) and enhanced in the GP by 15%. No change was observed in the SMA. In the parkinsonian primate, [(11)C]CFT (2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-fluorophenyltropane) dopamine transporter binding was significantly decreased in the putamen and caudate (range 60-65%). [(11)C]Raclopride binding of dopamine D(2) receptors did not show any significant changes. These experimental results obtained in primate studies of striato-thalamo-cortico circuitry show a similar trend as hypothetized in Parkinson's disease-type degeneration.
Stacked elliptical dielectric resonator antennas for wideband applications

The work presents an improvement in the bandwidth of the dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) using a stacked elliptical DRA configuration placed above an infinite ground plane. The feed is a coaxial probe, providing proper wideband matching. The input impedance, the return loss and the radiation pattern were computed using the software package WIPL-D. Parametric studies were investigated for assessment of the antenna performance, resulting in an improved bandwidth of 61.5% (8 GHz) based on a -10 dB return loss for a 50 /spl Omega/-transmission line.
An Innovative Rapid Thermal Cycling Device for Polymerase Chain Reaction

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the most commonly used molecular biology technique to amplify nucleic acid (DNA and RNA) in vitro. This technique is highly temperature sensitive and thermal management has an important role in PCR operation in reaching the required temperature set points at each step of the process (denaturing, annealing and elongation). In this work, an innovative microfluidic PCR thermal cycling device is designed to increase the heating∕cooling thermal cycling speed while maintaining a uniform temperature distribution throughout the substrate containing the aqueous nucleic acid sample. The device design is incorporating the jet impingement and micro-channel thermal management technologies utilizing a properly arranged configuration filled with a porous medium. Porous Inserts are attractive choices in heat transfer augmentation. They provide a very large surface area for a given volume which is a key parameter in heat transfer processes. Various effective parameters that are relevant in optimizing this flexible thermal cycler are investigated such as thermal cycler configuration, thickness of inlet and exit fluid channels, fluid flow rate and velocity, the porous matrix material and properties, and utilization of thermal grease. An optimized case is established based on the effects of the cited parameters on the temperature ramp, temperature distribution and the required power for circulating the fluid in the thermal cycler. The results indicate that the heating∕cooling temperature ramp (temperature change per heating∕cooling cycling time) of the proposed device is considerably higher (150.82◻C∕s) than those in literature. In addition, the proposed PCR offers a very uniform temperature in the substrate while utilizing a low power.
Support-Less Association Rule Mining Using Tuple Count Cube

Association rule mining is one of the important tasks in data mining and knowledge discovery (KDD). The traditional task of association rule mining is to find all the rules with high support and high confidence. In some applications, we are interested in finding high confidence rules even though the support may be low. This type of problem differs from the traditional association rule mining problem; hence, it is called support-less association rule mining. Existing algorithms for association rule mining, such as the Apriori algorithm, cannot be used efficiently for support-less association rule mining since those algorithms mostly rely on identifying frequent item-sets with high support. In this paper, we propose a new model to perform support-less association rule mining, i.e., to derive high confidence rules regardless of their support level. A vertical data structure, the Peano Count Tree (P-tree), is used in our model to represent all the information we need. Based on the P-tree structure, we build a special data cube, called the Tuple Count Cube (T-cube), to derive high confidence rules. Data cube operations, such as roll-up, on T-cube, provide efficient ways to calculate the count information needed for support-less association rule mining.
The Effect of an 8-Week Tai Chi Exercise Program on Physical Functional Performance in Middle-Aged Women

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of an 8-week Tai Chi Chih exercise program on physical functional performance (PFP) among women aged 45 to 65 years. A quasi-experimenta...
Characterization and molecular localization of anion transporters in colonic epithelial cells.

This study describes the identification and characterization of anion transporters in apical membrane (APM) and basolateral membrane (BLM) of rat distal colon. Cl-HCO3, Cl-OH, Cl-butyrate, and butyrate-HCO3 exchanges and Na-HCO3 cotransporter are present in rat distal epithelial cells. Cl-HCO3 exchange (1) is present only in APM from surface, but not from crypt cells; (2) is also present in BLM; and (3) of surface cell is encoded by anion exchange (AE)-1 isoform, whereas BLM Cl-HCO3 is encoded by AE2 isoform. Cl-OH exchange is present only in APM, but not in BLM from surface and crypt cells, and is responsible for regulation of cell functions (i.e., cell pH and cell volume regulation). Butyrate-HCO3 exchange (1) is also present in apical membrane vesicles (AMV) from surface, but not from crypt cells; (2) is present in BLM; and (3) is responsible for SCFA-dependent HCO3 secretion. By contrast, Cl-butyrate exchange: (1) is present in APM from both surface and crypt cells; (2) is not present in BLM; and (3) recycles butyrate by absorbing Cl. Na-HCO3 cotransport: (1) is present only in BLM; (2) is expressed predominantly in midcrypt regions; and (3) may be linked to HCO3 secretion. A mechanism for HCO3 movement across the crypt apical membrane has not as yet been identified.
Private Interests and Public Interests: An Analysis of the Impact of Personal Finance on Congressional Voting on Agriculture Issues

The extent to which private financial interests influence roll-call voting is a question that has received little systematic attention by political scientists. This study uses financial disclosure data to examine the relationship between levels of financial interests in agricultural enterprises and congressional roll-call voting on agriculture-related issues. Two models of financial effects were tested. Direct effects were minimal, but some indirect effects were found. The complex problem of separating the effects of personal financial interests from those of the constituency was discussed, with some possibilities for future research strategies outlined.
Perception of Dichotic and Monaural Verbal Material and Cerebral Dominance For Speech

The primary purpose of the present investigation was to determine whether asymmetry between sides occurs in the recognition of verbal material under conditions of dichotic or monaural presentation of words. In the first experimental procedure, different filtered PB words (one to each ear) were presented simultaneously to 24 young adults with normal hearing, and the subject responded to both stimuli. In a second condition, the same filtered words were delivered simultaneously to each ear but the subject attended to only the word in one or the other ear. During the final presentation, the filtered words were delivered monaurally. Pair digits, as reported by Kimura (1961 a, 1961 b) were also presented simultaneously to each ear and the subject was instructed to respond to all the digits.The results of both the simultaneous presentation of digits and filtered lists demonstrated that significantly more words were recognized from the right ear, contralateral to the dominant hemisphere for speech in this group, ...
A nonparametric test to detect quantitative trait loci where the phenotypic distribution differs by genotypes.

Searching for genetic variants involved in gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in large scale data raises multiple methodological issues. Many existing methods have focused on the problem of dimensionality, trying to explore the largest number of combinations between risk factors while considering simple interaction models. Despite evidence demonstrating the efficacy of these methods in simulated data, their application in real data has been unsuccessful so far. The classical test of a linear marginal genetic effect has been widely used for agnostic genome-wide association studies, with the underlying idea that most variants involved in interactions might display marginal effect on the phenotypic mean. While this approach may allow for the identification of genetic variants involved in interactions in many scenarios, the linear marginal effects of some causal alleles on the phenotypic mean might not be always detectable at genome-wide significance level. We introduce in this study a general association test for quantitative trait loci that compare the distributions of phenotypic values by genotypic classes as opposed to most standard tests that compare phenotypic means by genotypic classes. Using simulation we show that in presence of an interaction, this approach can be more powerful than the standard test of the linear marginal exposures. We demonstrate the potential utility of our method on real data by analyzing mammographic density genome-wide data from the Nurses’ Health Study.
EU Enlargement and Anticorruption: Lessons Learned from Romania

Abstract Since early 2000, the European Union (EU) recognized the importance of curbing corruption and began to require that candidate countries adopt and implement anticorruption strategies prior to accession. Given Romania’s long struggle with corruption, it was required to adopt more anticorruption strategies than any other candidate to date. The present paper will elaborate upon the degree to which the EU was able to influence domestic political will, identify and discuss lessons learned from Romania that may aid the EU in future enlargements, and evaluate whether the ‘carrot’ approach was more effective than the ‘stick’ approach in propagating domestic political will.
Scatter factor modulates the metastatic phenotype of the EMT6 mouse mammary tumor

EMT6 is a transplantable mouse mammary tumor cell line that has been utilized widely as a model system to study the effects of various treatments on local tumor growth and pulmonary metastasis. In this study, we examined the cellular mechanisms by which scatter factor (SF), a fibroblast-derived cytokine that stimulates epithelial cell motility, may contribute to tumor-cell dissemination, using the EMT6 model system. In vitro, SF stimulated EMT6 cell motility, invasiveness and cell-surface expression of urokinase (an enzyme required for cell migration through tissue). SF differentially stimulated EMT6 cell adhesion to and migration onto surfaces coated with collagen I and laminin. EMT6 cells treated in vitro with SF and injected i.v. into isogeneic BALB/c-Rw mice showed a small but significant increase (1.7-fold) in lung colony formation as compared with control cells. For EMT6 cells in vitro, SF had no effect on DNA synthesis, cell proliferation, cell size distribution, or in vitro colony-forming ability. Thus, the increase in lung colonization may be due to enhanced ability of SF-treated cells to adhere to subendothelial basement membrane or to invade through tissue. Studies of the tissue distribution of SF in BALB/c-Rw mice demonstrated high levels of active factor in the lung. Thus, the presence of endogenous pulmonary SF may have reduced the degree to which SF treatment stimulated EMT6 lung colonization. Significant SF activity was also found in extracts of EMT6 tumors. Cultured EMT6 cells did not produce SF, but did produce high titers of a soluble low-molecular-weight protein activity that is capable of stimulating SF production in human fibroblasts 3- to 5-fold. EMT6 tumor extracts contained high titers of a similar SF-inducing activity. These observations suggest that SF may contribute to the invasive and metastatic phenotype of EMT6 cells via a paracrine mechanism in which tumor cells induce the production of SF in stromal fibroblasts.
Zoomable user interface for in-depth reading

The Instant Bookplex system includes a zoomable user interface (ZUI) for navigating through a spatial representation of a document collection. This ZUI supports extended reading in the collection using semantic zooming, graphical presentation of metadata, animated transitions, and an integrated reading tool. It helps users find and re-find documents, choose good documents to read next, and navigate between documents.
Dendrite Self-Avoidance Is Controlled by Dscam

SUMMARY Dendrites distinguish between sister branches and those of other cells. Self-recognition can often lead to repulsion, a process termed ‘‘self-avoidance.’’ Here we demonstrate that dendrite self-avoidance in Drosophila da sensory neurons requires cell-recognition molecules encoded by the Dscam locus. By alternative splicing, Dscam encodes a vast number of cell-surface proteins of the immunoglobulin superfamily. We demonstrate that interactions between identical Dscam isoforms on the cell surface underlie self-recognition, while the cytoplasmic tail converts this recognition to dendrite repulsion. Sister dendrites expressing the same isoforms engage in homophilic repulsion. By contrast, Dscam diversity ensures that inappropriate repulsive interactions between dendrites sharing the same receptive field do not occur. The selectivity of Dscam-mediated cell interactions is likely to be widely important in the developing fly nervous system, where processes of cells must distinguish between self and nonself during the construction of neural circuits.
Context-based exercises in logic: to park or not to park, ’tis the question

In this article, ambiguous street and park signs are analysed and deciphered using symbolic logic. These examples showcase the ways in which instructors of undergraduate mathematics courses can blend their students’ everyday exposure to logical reasoning with classroom experiences.
A QRS detection algorithm for discriminating artifacts in ECG records

A simple and efficient algorithm has been developed to detect QRS complexes at high speed (approximately 32 times real-time speed) from the single-channel digitized ECG (electrocardiogram) data records. This algorithm discriminate QRS complexes against various artifacts, including those due to tape-recorder amplifier saturation. Attenuation of noise (60-Hz power-line frequency) is obtained in a systematic way by a suitable differentiation procedure. This algorithm successfully discriminates muscle artifacts from the distortion due to amplifier saturation. The QRS detection program has less than 5.2% misses and less than 3.9% false detects under extreme conditions. These errors are reduced to a negligible value in relatively artifact-free records. >
Cytokine signature profiles in acquired aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes

Although aplastic anemia and myelodysplasia have been extensively investigated, little is known about their circulating cytokine patterns. We compared plasma soluble cytokines in 33 aplastic anemia, 57 myelodysplasia patients, and 48 healthy controls. High levels of thrombopoietin and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, with low levels of CD40 ligand, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 5, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 5, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 11, epidermal growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, and chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 11 were a signature profile for aplastic anemia. High levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 3, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, and hepatocyte growth factor were a cytokine signature for myelodysplasia. Despite similar clinical presentations, distinct cytokine profiles were observed between aplastic anemia and hypocellular myelodysplasia. Future studies focusing on cytokines that better discriminate these two entities such as thrombopoietin and chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 3 may be useful tools in clinical practice.
The Never-Changing and the Ever-Changing: the Evolution of Western Pueblo Ritual

The evolution of Western Pueblo ritual has long been a focus of ethnographic and archaeological research in the American Southwest. Most of these studies emphasize the continuities between the late prehistoric period and the early historic era and highlight the role of katsina ritual in promoting social harmony or controlling weather and fertility. We suggest that a more complete understanding of ritual change during this time span requires a closer examination of the highly dynamic social landscape of the the thirteenth through eighteenth centuries. In particular, we suggest that the increasing evidence for raiding, conflict, and social opposition must be incorporated into new models of social and ritual change.
Motion, time, and tense: on the grammaticalization of come and go to future markers in Bantu

Many Bantu languages have grammaticized one or both types of motion verb - COME and GO - as future markers. However, they may differ in the semantics of future temporal reference, in some cases referring to a "near" future, in others to a "remote" future. This paper explores how the underlying image-schemas of such verbs in several languages - Bamileke-Dschang, Bamun, and Lamnso' (Grass fields Bantu), Duala, Chimwera, Chindali, Kihunde, and Zulu (Narrow Bantu) - contribute to how the verbs become grammaticized in relation to the dual construals of linguistic time: ego-moving vs. moving-event.
The importance of teaching neuroscience to psychiatric residents in the context of psychological formulations.

Drs. Torous, Stern, Padmanabhan, Keshavan and Perez are to be congratulated for defining and describing a psychiatric resident training program to encourage neuroscience learning. As these authors eloquently describe, specific knowledge of brain function is beginning to clarify our understanding of some, if not many, psychiatric disorders. The authors are careful to point out that our expanding neuroscience information base has not yet yielded reliable and always reproducible clinical treatment results, but the emerging data are encouraging. As the authors indicate, we now understand specific functions of many brain anatomical sites, their inter-site circuitry, their genetic origin, as well as the microcircuitry that is necessary for the extraordinary communication between neuronal pathways throughout the brain. The authors then provide a clinical example of neuroscience teaching using a clinical example: the neurological basis of symptoms of a depressed patient and the application of this information to suggest new and more specific therapeutic approaches. I was particularly taken by the analogy of impaired brain circuitry with an urban traffic jam that may have many causes: dysfunctional traffic signals (circuit nodes), street and highway construction (pathways), impaired road materials (neurotransmitters), and planning (genes). Together, dysfunction in these areas can bring traffic to a standstill, somewhat like some psychiatric disorders. Other traffic problems may contribute to broken restraints and traffic guidelines leading to wild and disorganized driving and potential mayhem. But here is where the analogy may become simplistic and potentially misleading, as is, I believe, the forecast of neuroscience based treatment that will finally bring about development of more effective psychiatric treatments. Automobile traffic may be halted by many different
A Human Judgement Corpus and a Metric for Arabic MT Evaluation

We present a human judgments datasetand an adapted metric for evaluation ofArabic machine translation. Our mediumscaledataset is the first of its kind for Arabicwith high annotation quality. We usethe dataset to adapt the BLEU score forArabic. Our score (AL-BLEU) providespartial credits for stem and morphologicalmatchings of hypothesis and referencewords. We evaluate BLEU, METEOR andAL-BLEU on our human judgments corpusand show that AL-BLEU has the highestcorrelation with human judgments. Weare releasing the dataset and software tothe research community.
Crystal growth and roughening of solid D{sub 2}

Near the triple point, growth shapes of vapor deposited hexagonal close packed D{sub 2} crystals reveal two crystal orientations contain facets which persist up to the melt. This observation is in contrast with previous experiments on rare gas solids and H{sub 2} where the highest T{sub r} measured is 0.8 T{sub tp}.
Toward understanding family-related characteristics of young adults with sickle-cell disease or sickle-cell trait in the USA.

Aims and objectives To describe the family-related characteristics of young adults with sickle-cell disease or sickle-cell trait prior to taking part in a randomised controlled trial on sickle-cell reproductive health education. Background There is a critical need for educational programmes that target the reproductive needs of young adults with sickle-cell disease or trait. However, little is known about the family-related characteristics (i.e., demographic attributes and reproductive health behaviours) in which these young adults live. Design A descriptive cross-sectional analysis. Method At study enrolment, 234 young adults (mean age = 25·9 years, 65% female) completed the SCKnowIQ questionnaire. Descriptive statistics depict the demographic attributes and reproductive health behaviours of young adults with sickle-cell disease (n = 138) or trait (n = 96). For group comparisons, independent t tests or Fisher's tests were used, as appropriate. Results Young adults with sickle-cell trait had significantly higher education, income and health insurance than those with sickle-cell disease. Both groups believed that sickle-cell disease was a severe condition. A majority of young adults with sickle-cell disease (65%) had no children compared to 42% of those with sickle-cell trait. Most young adults (85% sickle-cell disease, 82% sickle-cell trait) were not planning a pregnancy in the next six months, and many used condoms, withdrawal or oral contraceptives. Conclusions Socioeconomic disparities exist between young adults with sickle-cell disease and sickle-cell trait. Future research that advances education about how and when to communicate appropriate genetic risk information to partners and children especially for young adults with sickle-cell trait would be beneficial. Relevance to clinical practice Awareness of the similarities and differences in the family-related characteristics among young adults with sickle-cell disease or trait can allow for more tailored reproductive education.
Health-related quality of life in parents of pediatric brain tumor survivors at the end of tumor-directed therapy

ABSTRACTObjective: This study examines theoretical covariates of health-related quality of life (HRQL) in parents of pediatric brain tumor survivors (PBTS) following completion of tumor-directed therapy. Methods: Fifty PBTS (ages 6–16) completed measures of neurocognitive functioning and their parents completed measures of family, survivor, and parent functioning. Results: Caregiving demand, caregiver competence, and coping/supportive factors were associated with parental physical and psychosocial HRQL, when controlling for significant background and child characteristics. Conclusion: Study findings can inform interventions to strengthen caregiver competence and family functioning following the completion of treatment, which may improve both parent and survivor outcomes.
Functional and transport analyses of CLCN5 genetic changes identified in Dent disease patients.

Dent disease type 1, an X‐linked inherited kidney disease is caused by mutations in electrogenic Cl−/H+ exchanger, ClC‐5. We functionally studied the most frequent mutation (S244L) and two mutations recently identified in RKSC patients, Q629X and R345W. We also studied T657S, which has a high minor‐allele frequency (0.23%) in the African‐American population, was published previously as pathogenic to cause Dent disease. The transport properties of CLC‐5 were electrophysiologically characterized. WT and ClC‐5 mutant currents were inhibited by pH 5.5, but not affected by an alkaline extracellular solution (pH 8.5). The T657S and R345W mutations showed the same anion selectivity sequence as WT ClC‐5 (SCN −>NO3−≈Cl−>Br−>I−). However, the S244L and Q629X mutations abolished this anion conductance sequence. Cell surface CLC‐5 expression was quantified using extracellular HA‐tagged CLC‐5 and a chemiluminescent immunoassay. Cellular localization of eGFP‐tagged CLC‐5 proteins was also examined in HEK293 cells with organelle‐specific fluorescent probes. Functional defects of R345W and Q629X mutations were caused by the trafficking of the protein to the plasma membrane since proteins were mostly retained in the endoplasmic reticulum, and mutations showed positive correlations between surface expression and transport function. In contrast, although the S244L transport function was significantly lower than WT, cell surface, early endosome, and endoplasmic reticulum expression was equal to that of WT CLC‐5. Function and trafficking of T657S was equivalent to the WT CLC‐5 suggesting this is a benign variant rather than pathogenic. These studies demonstrate the useful information that can be gained by detailed functional studies of mutations predicted to be pathogenic.
Consideration from US ENDANGERED SPECIED ACT(1973) to China's WILD ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LAW(1988)

Endangered species are valuable heritage of human. therefore many countries establish the law to protect and manage endangered species following 1973 CITES. The purpose of this article is to learn some experiences from US and to perfect our legislation on endangered species by comparing China's WILD ANIMAL PROTECTIVE LAW(1988) with US ENDANGERED SPECIED ACT(1973).
Distal perfusion studies: transport stimulation by native tubule fluid

It is well established that potassium secretion into the distal tubule increases with the rate of flow. In a previous study [G. Malnic, R. W. Berliner, and G. Giebisch. Am. J. Physiol. 256 (Renal F...
Psychophysical detection testing with Bayesian active learning

Psychophysical detection tests are ubiquitous in the study of human sensation and the diagnosis and treatment of virtually all sensory impairments. In many of these settings, the goal is to recover, from a series of binary observations from a human subject, the latent function that describes the discriminability of a sensory stimulus over some relevant domain. The auditory detection test, for example, seeks to understand a subject's likelihood of hearing sounds as a function of frequency and amplitude. Conventional methods for performing these tests involve testing stimuli on a pre-determined grid. This approach not only samples at very uninformative locations, but also fails to learn critical features of a subject's latent discriminability function. Here we advance active learning with Gaussian processes to the setting of psychophysical testing. We develop a model that incorporates strong prior knowledge about the class of stimuli, we derive a sensible method for choosing sample points, and we demonstrate how to evaluate this model efficiently. Finally, we develop a novel likelihood that enables testing of multiple stimuli simultaneously. We evaluate our method in both simulated and real auditory detection tests, demonstrating the merit of our approach.
Correlation and Unmediated Communication in Repeated Games with Imperfect Monitoring

This paper studies n-player undiscounted repeated games with imperfect monitoring. We prove that all uniform communication equilibrium payoffs of a repeated game can be obtained as Nash equilibrium payoffs of the game extended by unmediated cheap talk. We also show that all uniform communication equilibrium payoffs of a repeated game can be reached as Nash equilibrium payoffs of the game extended by a pre-play correlation device and a cheap-talk procedure that only involves public messages; furthermore, in the case of imperfect public and deterministic signals, no cheap talk is conducted on the equilibrium-path.
Upper Bound of Abutment Scour in Laboratory and Field Data

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, conducted a field investigation of abutment scour in South Carolina and used those data to develop envelope curves that define the upper bound of abutment scour. To expand on this previous work, an additional cooperative investigation was initiated to combine the South Carolina data with abutment scour data from other sources and evaluate upper bound patterns with this larger data set. To facilitate this analysis, 446 laboratory and 331 field measurements of abutment scour were compiled into a digital database. This extensive database was used to evaluate the South Carolina abutment scour envelope curves and to develop additional envelope curves that reflected the upper bound of abutment scour depth for the laboratory and field data. The envelope curves provide simple but useful supplementary tools for assessing the potential maximum abutment scour depth in the field setting.
Building Family Relationships from a Distance: Supporting Connections with Babies and Toddlers Using Video and Video Chat

Today, a deployed father can still interact and even play with his infant at home. In fact, families report using video chat services like Skype or FaceTime to help their children develop and maintain relationships with remote grandparents and with parents who are separated from them by work), divorce, immigration, or military deployment). This chapter highlights studies that have incorporated media in order to facilitate remote family relationships between babies and their relatives. First, the chapter describes video interventions like the Just Beginning Program and United Through Reading, programs that use videos to support relationships between babies and their incarcerated or deployed parents. Then it explores the challenges and opportunities of video chat in supporting the developmental needs of babies and toddlers during remote communication. The implications of video technology to support remote family relationships with babies are discussed.
Quantitative Proteomics for Clinical Translation

For precision medicine to be successful, the identification and measurement of proteins that are reflective of a personal health status is key both for the development and use of circulating biomarkers and to define mechanistic pathways involved in drug responses. Prior to clinical translation, it is essential to accurately and reproducibly detect protein concentrations, their isoforms or polymorphism expression, and the many potential cotranslational and posttranslational modifications on 100–10,000 individuals. Over the last 20 years, the proteomic field has matured with respect to its approaches, methods, and instrumentation to allow for increased number of measurements per analysis. Through the use of the current, state-of-art, high precision, and accuracy mass spectrometry technology, quantitative proteomics is becoming a quantitative method able to address the needs of precision medicine.
Birmingham Hip Resurfacing in Patients 55 Years or Younger: Risk Factors for Poor Midterm Outcomes

Abstract Background Birmingham hip resurfacing (BHR) is the only Food and Drug Administration–approved hip resurfacing system available in the United States and is used as an alternative to conventional total hip arthroplasty in younger patients. The purpose of this study is to report on the midterm outcomes of BHR in patients 55 years and younger, and specifically to examine the risk factors for aseptic failure, all-cause revision, and complications in this patient population. Methods Four hundred forty-two consecutive patients with 5-year follow-up were retrospectively reviewed. Multivariate analyses were conducted to control for potential confounding factors identified by univariate analyses. Results Mean follow-up was 71.68 ± 10.24 months. Among the potential risk factors, only female gender and smaller head sizes had a significant univariate relationship with aseptic revision, all-cause revision, and all-cause complications. When both risk factors were included in a multivariable logistic regression model, analyses showed both variables were closely related, with female gender a better predictor of adverse outcomes than head size (ie, small head size can be thought of as a proxy for female gender). The 5-year implant survival is 95.1% females compared to 99.0% in males. Conclusion Hip resurfacing with BHR has excellent survival rates in young patients with degenerative hip disease. Although this study suggests that females with small templated head sizes may not be suitable candidates for BHR, further studies are needed to better understand the underlying differences in gender.
Line probe assay for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex: An experience from Central India

Background & objectives: Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex may sometimes not be detected in sputum samples of suspected multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients by line probe assay (LPA) even though they are smear positive for acid-fast bacilli (AFB). This retrospective analysis was attempted to understand and document our experience with LPA for detection of M. tuberculosis complex and diagnosis of MDR-TB under programmatic conditions. Methods: One thousand two hundred and ninety four sputum samples of MDR-TB suspects that were smear positive for AFB, and received from February to November 2013, were tested by LPA for the presence of M. tuberculosis complex and resistance to isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin as per the diagnostic mandate of an accredited reference laboratory. As per the mandate, those samples that were negative for M. tuberculosis complex were cultured, and the growth again tested by LPA. A retrospective analysis of the results was carried out. Results: M. tuberculosis complex could be detected in 1217 (94.04%) but not in 77 (5.9%) of smear-positive sputum samples. Of the 1217 positive samples, 232 (19.1%) were MDR, 130 (10.6%) were rifampicin monoresistant and 101 (8.3%) were INH monoresistant. Seven hundred and fifty four (61.9%) strains were found to be pansensitive. Overall, 5.1 per cent of the sputum samples were negative for M. tuberculosis complex by LPA and culture. In at least 10 (0.77%) sputum samples smear positive for AFB, M. tuberculosis complex could not be identified by LPA though M. tuberculosis was present, as evidenced by culture positivity. Interpretation & conclusions: LPA is a robust technique for diagnosis of drug-resistant TB that has provided the basis for rapid and effective control of drug-resistant TB in India. While the reasons for concomitantly negative LPA and culture results of smear-positive sputum samples from MDR-TB suspects may be many, the possible presence of non-tubercular mycobacteria in these samples and the likelihood of inappropriate therapy in these patients cannot be ruled out. Addition of culture to the diagnostic algorithm may enhance the diagnostic yield.
The effect of age and demographics on rib shape.

Elderly populations have a higher risk of rib fractures and other associated thoracic injuries than younger adults, and the changes in body morphology that occur with age are a potential cause of this increased risk. Rib centroidal path geometry for 20 627 ribs was extracted from computed tomography (CT) scans of 1042 live adult subjects, then fitted to a six-parameter mathematical model that accurately characterizes rib size and shape, and a three-parameter model of rib orientation within the body. Multivariable regression characterized the independent effect of age, height, weight, and sex on the rib shape and orientation across the adult population, and statistically significant effects were seen from all demographic factors (P < 0.0001). This study reports a novel aging effect whereby both the rib end-to-end separation and rib aspect ratio are seen to increase with age, producing elongated and flatter overall rib shapes in elderly populations, with age alone explaining up to 20% of population variability in the aspect ratio of mid-level ribs. Age was not strongly associated with overall rib arc length, indicating that age effects were related to shape change rather than overall bone length. The rib shape effect was found to be more strongly and directly associated with age than previously documented age-related changes in rib angulation. Other demographic results showed height and sex being most strongly associated with rib size, and weight most strongly associated with rib pump-handle angle. Results from the study provide a statistical model for building rib shapes typical of any given demographic by age, height, weight, and sex, and can be used to help build population-specific computational models of the thoracic rib cage. Furthermore, results also quantify normal population ranges for rib shape parameters which can be used to improve the assessment and treatment of rib skeletal deformity and disease.
Pore Pressure and Stress Distributions Around a Hydraulic Fracture in Heterogeneous Rock

One of the most significant characteristics of unconventional petroleum bearing formations is their heterogeneity, which affects the stress distribution, hydraulic fracture propagation and also fluid flow. This study focuses on the stress and pore pressure redistributions during hydraulic stimulation in a heterogeneous poroelastic rock. Lognormal random distributions of Young’s modulus and permeability are generated to simulate the heterogeneous distributions of material properties. A 3D fully coupled poroelastic model based on the finite element method is presented utilizing a displacement–pressure formulation. In order to verify the model, numerical results are compared with analytical solutions showing excellent agreements. The effects of heterogeneities on stress and pore pressure distributions around a penny-shaped fracture in poroelastic rock are then analyzed. Results indicate that the stress and pore pressure distributions are more complex in a heterogeneous reservoir than in a homogeneous one. The spatial extent of stress reorientation during hydraulic stimulations is a function of time and is continuously changing due to the diffusion of pore pressure in the heterogeneous system. In contrast to the stress distributions in homogeneous media, irregular distributions of stresses and pore pressure are observed. Due to the change of material properties, shear stresses and nonuniform deformations are generated. The induced shear stresses in heterogeneous rock cause the initial horizontal principal stresses to rotate out of horizontal planes.
The Company You Keep: Investment Manager Clientele and Mutual Fund Performance

This study examines how the composition of an investment adviser’s client base (identified via Form ADV filings) relates to the performance of its mutual funds. Investment advisers catering to institutional clients realize statistically and economically superior risk-adjusted mutual fund performance relative to retail-oriented advisers. Subsequent tests identify the channel(s) responsible for the relationship. The evidence is consistent with both a causal, governance mechanism (i.e., Evans and Fahlenbrach 2012) as well as inefficiencies stemming from the costly search mechanism of the Gârleanu and Pedersen (2018) model for asset management. The results suggest that institutional clients can identify better performing investment managers, particularly in market segments where retail mutual fund investors face higher search costs.
Longitudinal Assessment of Left Ventricular Mass in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease.

Introduction The high burden of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is related to development of hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy. Blood pressure reduction has been shown to reduce left ventricular mass in ADPKD; however, moderators and predictors of response to lower blood pressure are unknown. Methods This was a post hoc cohort analysis of HALT PKD study A, a randomized placebo controlled trial examining the effect of low blood pressure and single versus dual renin−angiotensin blockade in early ADPKD. Participants were hypertensive ADPKD patients 15 to 49 years of age with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) > 60 ml/min per 1.73 m2 across 7 centers in the United States. Predictors included age, sex, baseline eGFR, systolic blood pressure, total kidney volume, serum potassium, and urine sodium, potassium, albumin, and aldosterone. Outcome was left ventricular mass index (LVMI) measured using 1.5-T magnetic resonance imaging at months 0, 24, 48, and 60. Results Reduction in LVMI was associated with higher baseline systolic blood pressure and larger kidney volume regardless of blood pressure control group assignment (P Conclusion Characteristics associated with higher risk of progression in ADPKD, including higher systolic blood pressure, larger kidney volume, and lower eGFR are associated with improvement in LVMI with intensive blood pressure control, whereas male sex is associated with a smaller slope of reduction in LVMI.
TSLP in Epithelial Cell and Dendritic Cell Cross Talk

Abstract Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen‐presenting cells that have the ability to sense infection and tissue stress, sample and present antigen to T lymphocytes, and instruct the initiation of different forms of immunity and tolerance. The functional versatility of DCs depends on their remarkable ability to translate collectively the information from the invading microbes, as well as their resident tissue microenvironments. Recent progress in understanding Toll‐like receptor (TLR) biology has illuminated the mechanisms by which DCs link innate and adaptive antimicrobial immune responses. However, how tissue microenvironments shape the function of DCs has remained elusive. Recent studies of TSLP (thymic stromal lymphopoietin), an epithelial cell‐derived cytokine that strongly activates DCs, provide strong evidence at a molecular level that epithelial cells/tissue microenvironments directly communicate with DCs, the professional antigen‐presenting cells of the immune system. We review recent progress on how TSLP expressed within thymus and peripheral lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues regulates DC‐mediated central tolerance, peripheral T cell homeostasis, and inflammatory Th2 responses.
Salud America! A National Research Network to Build the Field and Evidence to Prevent Latino Childhood Obesity

Foodandbeveragecompa-nies have come under scrutiny for marketing strategiesused to target youth to promote unhealthy food items.The use of popular licensed characters for product pro-motion, television advertisement, and marketing usingdigital and social media channels is a strategy used tocreate brand recognition and loyalty among youth.