cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lot uniformity and small sample sizes in hardness assurance

Recent standard radiation test procedures allow wafer-level lot acceptance testing using as few as two or four parts with no failures. Such tests guarantee a high survivability of the accepted part only when the parts within a wafer exhibit a highly uniform response to radiation and when a large fraction of the wafers pass the test. The author points out the need for validating these tests, suggests techniques for doing so, and recommends modifications to current test procedures. >
Low-oxidation-potential conducting polymers : alternating substituted para-phenylene and 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene repeat units

The effect of alkoxy substituents on the physical and electronic properties of a series of poly1,4-bis[2-(3,4-ethylenedioxy)thienyl]-2,5-dialkoxybenzenes is reported. Monomers containing methoxy, heptoxy, dodecyloxy and hexadecyloxy substituents were obtained from Negishi couplings in yields ranging from 42 to 83%. The methoxy, heptoxy and dodecyloxy monomers electropolymerized efficiently to form electroactive films, with irreversible monomer oxidation peak potentials ranging from +0.46 to +0.51 V versus Ag/Ag + . The hexadecyloxy-substituted derivative exhibited a higher oxidation potential of +0.66 V and a slower rate of film formation owing to solubility of the oligomer. Cyclic voltammetry of the polymer films revealed reversible redox processes with quite low E 1/2,p potentials ranging from −0.28 to −0.35 V. Band gaps of 1.75 eV for the methoxy-substituted polymer and 2.0 eV for the longer-chain-substituted polymers were determined from the onset of the π to π * transition observed by optoelectrochemical techniques. Oxidative chemical polymerization of the dodecyloxy and hexadecyloxy monomers with ferric chloride, followed by reduction with ammonium hydroxide, produced slightly soluble polymers.
Mechanisms of intron gain and loss in Drosophila

It is widely accepted that orthologous genes have lost or gained introns throughout evolution. However, the specific mechanisms that generate these changes have proved elusive. Introns are known to affect nearly every level of gene expression. Therefore, understanding their mechanism of evolution after their initial fixation in eukaryotes is pertinent to understanding the means by which organisms develop greater regulation and complexity. To investigate possible mechanisms of intron gain and loss, we identified 189 intron gain and 297 intron loss events among 11 Drosophila species. We then investigated these events for signatures of previously proposed mechanisms of intron gain and loss. This work constitutes the first comprehensive study into the specific mechanisms that may generate intron gains and losses in Drosophila. We report evidence of intron gain via transposon insertion; the first intron loss that may have occurred via non-homologous end joining; intron gains via the repair of a double strand break; evidence of intron sliding; and evidence that internal or 5' introns may not frequently be deleted via the self-priming of reverse transcription during mRNA-mediated intron loss. Our data also suggest that the transcription process may promote or result in intron gain. Our findings support the occurrence of intron gain via transposon insertion, repair of double strand breaks, as well as intron loss via non-homologous end joining. Furthermore, our data suggest that intron gain may be enabled by or due to transcription, and we shed further light on the exact mechanism of mRNA-mediated intron loss.
Read my lips The importance of the face in a computer-animated tutor for vocabulary learning by children with autism

A computer-animated tutor, Baldi, has been successful in teaching vocabulary and grammar to children with autism and those with hearing problems. The present study assessed to what extent the face facilitated this learning process relative to the voice alone. Baldi was implemented in a Language Wizard/Tutor, which allows easy creation and presentation of a vocabulary lesson involving the association of pictures and spoken words. The lesson plan included both the receptive identification of pictures and the production of spoken words. A within-subject design with five children with autism followed an alternating treatment in which each child continuously learned to criterion sets of words with and without the face. The rate of learning was significantly faster and the retention was better with the face. The research indicates that at least some children with autism benefit from the face in learning new language within an automated program.
Exposure of U.S. workers to environmental tobacco smoke.

The concentrations of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) to which workers are exposed have been measured, using nicotine or other tracers, in diverse workplaces. Policies restricting workplace smoking to a few designated areas have been shown to reduce concentrations of ETS, although the effectiveness of such policies varies among work sites. Policies that ban smoking in the workplace are the most effective and generally lower all nicotine concentrations to less than 1 microg/m3; by contrast, mean concentrations measured in workplaces that allow smoking generally range from 2 to 6 microg/m3 in offices, from 3 to 8 microg/m3 in restaurants, and from 1 to 6 microg/m3 in the workplaces of blue-collar workers. Mean nicotine concentrations from 1 to 3 microg/m3 have been measured in the homes of smokers. Furthermore, workplace concentrations are highly variable, and some concentrations are more than 10 times higher than the average home levels, which have been established to cause lung cancer, heart disease, and other adverse health effects. For the approximately 30% of workers exposed to ETS in the workplace but not in the home, workplace exposure is the principal source of ETS. Among those with home exposures, exposures at work may exceed those resulting from home. We conclude that a significant number of U.S. workers are exposed to hazardous levels of ETS.
Extreme Reconfiguration of Plastid Genomes in the Angiosperm Family Geraniaceae: Rearrangements, Repeats, and Codon Usage

Geraniaceae plastid genomes (plastomes) have experienced a remarkable number of genomic changes. The plastomes of Erodium texanum, Geranium palmatum, and Monsonia speciosa were sequenced and compared with other rosids and the previously published Pelargonium hortorum plastome. Geraniaceae plastomes were found to be highly variable in size, gene content and order, repetitive DNA, and codon usage. Several unique plastome rearrangements include the disruption of two highly conserved operons (S10 and rps2-atpA), and the inverted repeat (IR) region in M. speciosa does not contain all genes in the ribosomal RNA operon. The sequence of M. speciosa is unusually small (128,787 bp); among angiosperm plastomes sequenced to date, only those of nonphotosynthetic species and those that have lost one IR copy are smaller. In contrast, the plastome of P. hortorum is the largest, at 217,942 bp. These genomes have experienced numerous gene and intron losses and partial and complete gene duplications. Some of the losses are shared throughout the family (e.g., trnTGGU and the introns of rps16 and rpl16); however, other losses are homoplasious (e.g., trnG-UCC intron in G. palmatum and M. speciosa). IR length is also highly variable. The IR in P. hortorum was previously shown to be greatly expanded to 76 kb, and the IR is lost in E. texanum and reduced in G. palmatum (11 kb) and M. speciosa (7 kb). Geraniaceae plastomes contain a high frequency of large repeats (.100 bp) relative to other rosids. Within each plastome, repeats are often located at rearrangement end points and many repeats shared among the four Geraniaceae flank rearrangement end points. GC content is elevated in the genomes and also in coding regions relative to other rosids. Codon usage per amino acid and GC content at third position sites are significantly different for Geraniaceae protein-coding sequences relative to other rosids. Our findings suggest that relaxed selection and/or mutational biases lead to increased GC content, and this in turn altered codon usage. We propose that increases in genomic rearrangements, repetitive DNA, nucleotide substitutions, and GC content may be caused by relaxed selection resulting from improper DNA repair.
Family-centered prevention ameliorates the longitudinal association between risky family processes and epigenetic aging.

BACKGROUND: Research has suggested that 'risky' family processes have unforeseen negative consequences for health later in life. The purpose of this study was to further understanding of risky family environments and development of health vulnerabilities by (a) examining the likelihood that elevated levels of parental depressive symptoms when children are age 11 forecast accelerated epigenetic aging 9 years later at age 20; (b) determining whether participation in an efficacious family-centered prevention program focused on enhancing supportive parenting and strengthening family relationships will ameliorate this association; and (c) testing a moderation-mediation hypothesis that prevention-induced reductions in harsh parenting across adolescence will account for prevention effects in reducing accelerated epigenetic aging. METHODS: In the rural southeastern United States, parents and 11-year-old children from 399 families participated in the Strong African American Families (SAAF) program or a control condition. Parents reported their own depressive symptoms when their children were 11, and both youths and parents reported youth exposure to harsh parenting at ages 11 and 16. Blood was drawn from youths at age 20 to measure accelerated epigenetic aging using a marker derived from the DNA methylation of cells. RESULTS: Elevated parental depressive symptoms forecast accelerated epigenetic aging among youths in the control condition, but not among SAAF participants. Moderated-mediation analyses confirmed that reductions in harsh parenting accounted for SAAF's protective effects on epigenetic aging. Subsequent exploratory analyses indicated that accelerated epigenetic aging forecast emotional distress among young adults in the control condition but not among those who participated in SAAF. CONCLUSIONS: This study is unique in using a randomized prevention trial to test hypotheses about the ways risky family processes contribute to accelerated epigenetic aging. The results suggest that developmentally appropriate family-centered interventions designed to enhance parenting and strengthen families can buffer the biological residue of life in a risky family. Language: en
Phosphorylation of Threonine 794 on Tie1 by Rac1/PAK1 Reveals a Novel Angiogenesis Regulatory Pathway.

The endothelial receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) Tie1 was discovered over 20 years ago, yet its precise function and mode of action remain enigmatic. To shed light on Tie1’s role in endothelial cell biology, we investigated a potential threonine phosphorylation site within the juxtamembrane domain of Tie1. Expression of a non-phosphorylatable mutant of this site (T794A) in zebrafish (Danio rerio) significantly disrupted vascular development, resulting in fish with stunted and poorly branched intersomitic vessels. Similarly, T794A-expressing human umbilical vein endothelial cells formed significantly shorter tubes with fewer branches in three-dimensional Matrigel cultures. However, mutation of T794 did not alter Tie1 or Tie2 tyrosine phosphorylation or downstream signaling in any detectable way, suggesting that T794 phosphorylation may regulate a Tie1 function independent of its RTK properties. Although T794 is within a consensus Akt phosphorylation site, we were unable to identify a physiological activator of Akt that could induce T794 phosphorylation, suggesting that Akt is not the physiological Tie1-T794 kinase. However, the small GTPase Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1), which is required for angiogenesis and capillary morphogenesis, was found to associate with phospho-T794 but not the non-phosphorylatable T794A mutant. Pharmacological activation of Rac1 induced downstream activation of p21-activated kinase (PAK1) and T794 phosphorylation in vitro, and inhibition of PAK1 abrogated T794 phosphorylation. Our results provide the first demonstration of a signaling pathway mediated by Tie1 in endothelial cells, and they suggest that a novel feedback loop involving Rac1/PAK1 mediated phosphorylation of Tie1 on T794 is required for proper angiogenesis.
Infant body composition measurements as an assessment of nutritional status.

Growth is both a determinant and an index of the unique nutritional needs of childhood. Although growth can be defined simply as an accumulation of nutrient stores, it actually consists of an integration of cellular differentiation, hyperplasia, and hypertrophy, which results in structural and functional maturation of tissues. Rapid growth in the human occurs during the fetal, nursling, and pubertal stages of development. Childhood, a prolonged period of relatively slower growth, separates the nursling and pubertal stages.
Structure of the Mesozoic Marietta-Tryon graben, South Carolina and adjacent North Carolina

The Marietta-Tyron graben is a system of 21 brittle faults, cataclastic zones, and lineaments in the Piedmont of South Carolina and adjacent North Carolina, developed as part of a broad zone of crustal deformation during Mesozoic continental rifting. Sinistral normal-oblique movements dominate the N50°-70°E fault system; dextral normal-oblique movements, possibly younger, also occur along three ENE-trending faults. Recurrent, incongruous movements are suggested by scatter in regional slickenline data; nonetheless, the mean vector orientations for slickenlines from each fault zone are remarkably consistent, produced by a strong strike-slip component of oblique slip. A complex Mesozoic brittle history superimposed on Paleozoic folding, metamorphism, magmatism, and jointing is recorded also in the multiple shearing and quartz veinfilling textures of fault-related, siliceous cataclastic rocks.
Information effects

Computation is a physical process which, like all other physical processes, is fundamentally reversible. From the notion of type isomorphisms, we derive a typed, universal, and reversible computational model in which information is treated as a linear resource that can neither be duplicated nor erased. We use this model as a semantic foundation for computation and show that the "gap" between conventional irreversible computation and logically reversible computation can be captured by a type-and-effect system. Our type-and-effect system is structured as an arrow metalanguage that exposes creation and erasure of information as explicit effect operations. Irreversible computations arise from interactions with an implicit information environment, thus making them a derived notion, much like open systems in Physics. We sketch several applications which can benefit from an explicit treatment of information effects, such as quantitative information-flow security and differential privacy.
3-D analysis of Jet-A combustion with a kinetic mechanism for pollutant species

A three-dimensional (3-D) experimental configuration of lean, pre-mixed, pre-vaporized (LPP) Jet-A combustion is analyzed with a 16species, 23-step kinetic mechanism in a computational-fluid-dynamics (CFD) code. The calculated concentrations of the major pollutant species, namely NO and CO, and CO2, are compared to the experimental data. Both measured and calculated results are compared along the axis of the straight, rectangular duct downstream of the flame-holder. The test cases include an 18-hole flame-holder with 80% blockage, and three equivalence ratios, 0=0.45, 0.60, and 0.74. The results show that, for all three equivalence ratios, the computed pollutant concentrations agree well with the experimental values. The results suggest that the kinetic mechanism is capable of reasonably accurate calculation in 3-D space of the production of NO and other pollutant species in Jet-A combustion.
Effects of ethacrynic acid upon membrane ATPase of dog kidney in vivo and in vitro.

SummaryNa-K-Mg-dependent ATPase preparations isolated from dog kidneys undergoing ipsilateral saluretic response to ethacrynic acid contained quite reproducible levels of drug-derived radoactivity (ca. 5 × 10-10 moles/mg of protein), and were significantly inhibited relative to contralateral kidneys removed immediately prior to dosage. Inhibition was specifically of the Na-K-dependent fraction of total ATPase, and was essentially irreversible by soluble thiol, and upon dilution and prolonged incubation. With respect to the final assay system, I50 in microsomes labeled in vivo was 7.6 × 10-8M; respective values following introduction of drug at various stages of isolation ranged from 50- to 4500-fold higher, emphasizing the ability of the intact organ to concentrate drug disproportionately at ATPase receptor(s).
Pressure-controlled treadmill training in chronic stroke: a case study with AlterG.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Body-weight-supported treadmill training has been shown to be an effective intervention to improve walking characteristics for individuals who have experienced a stroke. A pressure-controlled treadmill utilizes a sealed chamber in which air pressure can be altered in a controlled manner to counteract the effects of gravity. The focus of this case study was to assess the immediate and short-term impact of a pressure-controlled treadmill to improve gait parameters, reduce fall risk, improve participation, and reduce the self-perceived negative impact of stroke in an individual with chronic stroke. CASE DESCRIPTION The subject was an 81-year-old man (14.5 months poststroke). He had slow walking speed, poor endurance, and multiple gait deviations. INTERVENTION The subject trained 4 times per week for 4 weeks (40 minutes per session) on a pressure-controlled treadmill (AlterG M320) to counter the influence of gravity on the lower extremities. OUTCOMES Following training, self-selected gait speed increased from 0.50 m/s to 0.96 m/s, as measured by the 10-meter walk test. Stride length increased from 0.58 m to 0.95 m after training and to 1.00 m at 1-month follow-up. Peak hip flexion increased from 3.7° to 24.6° after training and to 19.4° at 1-month follow-up. Peak knee flexion increased from 19.4° to 34.3° after training and to 42.7° at 1-month follow-up. Measures of endurance, fall risk, and percentage of perceived recovery also were found to improve posttraining. DISCUSSION Training with a pressure-controlled treadmill may be a viable alternative to traditional body-weight-supported treadmill training for persons poststroke. Additional studies with larger sample sizes are needed to elucidate the role of pressure-controlled treadmill training in this population. Video abstract available for more insights from the authors (see Supplemental Digital Content 1, http://links.lww.com/JNPT/A97).
Asterolecanium notatum (Homoptera: Coccoidea: Asterolecaniidae) : New Species of Pit Scale on Bamboo from the Philippine Islands

A new species of pit scale, Asterolecanium notatum , from the Philippine Islands is described and illustrated. Notes on the affinities of the species are presented.
[Epidemiology of travel-associated influenza A (H1N1) 2009 infection in Beijing].

2009年5月16日北京确诊第一例输入性甲型H1N1流感病例.经评估,从第一例甲型H1N1流感病例报告至9月底报告病例数接近北京市实际病例数,本研究采用此时期的甲型H1N1流感数据进行流行病学特点分析,并对此时期所采取的防控措施效果进行初步评价。
Metabolite Overproduction through Engineering and Optimization of Microbiome Composition Dynamics

Although many advances have been made in genome sequencing for analyzing the composition of microbiomes, very few studies have attempted to learn and model their dynamics. Furthermore, no studies have attempted to exploit the dynamics of compositional changes of a microbiome for overproducing a metabolite of interest. This task proves to be computationally difficult at best and intractable at worst. The challenge is due to the complex, interdependent, and large number of highly non-linear interactions among members of a microbiome, as well as environmental factors, e.g. substrate. Here, we present a computationally tractable strategy using machine learning methods and stochastic optimization to characterize and potentially engineer a microbiome. In this work, an artificial neural network (ANN) is utilized to learn how six different lignocellulose food sources affect the temporal composition of the hindgut microbiome of Reticulitermes flavipes, the eastern subterranean termite. The learned dynamics from the ANN are optimized using either a genetic algorithm or artificial immune system approach. Specifically, the optimization objective is the maximization of the Rhodospirillales, an acetate producing order of bacteria, which will intrinsically maximize acetate production from the microbiome. The genetic algorithm and artificial immune system are compared for robustness and speed.
Contemporary Marian apparitions and devotional cultures

Marian apparitions and devotions since the early 19th century have been unique enough to consider them on their own terms. In what devotees have dubbed the “Marian Age,” apparitions tend toward conservative politics and messages; a context of struggle; ambiguous attitudes toward modernity, globalization, and technology; and apocalyptic worldviews. Many of these modern apparitions are interconnected, becoming validated through their overlaps, continuities, and congruencies alongside—and often outside—traditional channels of Roman Catholic Church leadership. Apparitions and the devotional cultures associated with them raise for scholars important questions, including the problem of how they should be categorized and studied.
The future of orthopedic manual therapy: what are we missing?

Over the last decade, there has been an increased focus on and expansion in orthopedic manual physical therapy (OMPT) clinical practice and research. Along with this focus have come numerous resear...
Ultrasonic Imaging Using Monolithic Mosaic Transducer Utilizing Trapped Energy Modes

A transducer array utilizing trapped energy modes can be fabricated simply by plating a large number of separate electrodes on a single piezoelectric plate of uniform thickness. Several two dimensional arrays operating in the frequency range 2–5 MHz have been fabricated using PZT-7A. Experimental results showing the three dimensional radiation pattern of these transducers will be presented. The radiation pattern was determined from a computer aided reconstruction of data obtained from an acousto-optic diffraction measurement. The transducer elements are found to act independently over a higher bandwidth if electronic matching is employed. Preliminary results of ultrasonic imaging using a two dimensional mosaic transducer will also be presented.
A Tutorial on Electron Sources

A compact introduction to the history and the canonical equations of electron emission is given for thermal emission (Richardson), field emission (Fowler–Nordheim), photoemission (Fowler–DuBridge), and secondary emission (Baroody), as well as the space-charge-limited flow (Child–Langmuir law). A general equation is derived and related to the canonical equations. Processes that affect emission, such as coatings, shielding, excitation and transport, space charge, emittance, and material properties, are considered. Requirements imposed by beam evolution are discussed.
Coopting Cops with Maps: The Rhetorical Power of Cartography in Modern Policing

In the 1990s, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) famously implemented a new strategy for reducing crime. Along with a “broken windows” orientation, police leadership used new management pri...
A Mesocosm Double Feature: Insights into the Chemical Makeup of Marine Ice Nucleating Particles

AbstractThe abundance of atmospheric ice nucleating particles (INPs) is a source of uncertainty for numerical representation of ice-phase transitions in mixed-phase clouds. While sea spray aerosol ...
Hemochromatosis (HFE) Gene Variants Are Associated with Increased Mitochondrial DNA Levels During HIV-1 Infection and Antiretroviral Therapy.

Some HIV-associated complications involve mitochondrial dysfunction and may be less common in individuals with iron-loading HFE (hemochromatosis gene) variants. We evaluated HFE 845A and 187G alleles in relation to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 85 individuals with HIV infection on uninterrupted antiretroviral therapy (ART) for 15 or more consecutive weeks. Carriers of HFE gene variants (N = 24) had significantly higher mtDNA levels than noncarriers (N = 61), after adjusting for age, race, sex, and type of ART [adjusted β-coefficient 297, p-value < .001 for at least one HFE variant], but mtDNA declined among all individuals on study during 48 weeks on ART. Increased cellular mtDNA content may represent a compensatory response to mitochondrial stress that is influenced by iron-loading HFE variants.
Positive T-fraction expansions for a family of special functions

Positive T-fractions are studied for analytic functions of the form $$F(n,w): = \int_0^w {\frac{{du}}{{1 + u^n }},n = 1,2,3, \ldots .}$$ It is shown that such functions can be expressed as Stieltjes transforms and that the related moments can be computed by means of recurrence relations. The positive T-fraction coefficients are then computed using quotient-difference relations and the moments. Special attention is given to the approximation and computation in the complex plane of the two functions $$F(1,w) = Log(1 + w) and F(2,w) = Arctan(w)$$ by approximants f m (w) of the corresponding positive T-fraction. The rational functions f m (w) are two-point Pade approximants, and numerical experiments are given using various choices for the two points of interpolation. Contour maps of the number of significant digits S D(f m (w)) in the approximations f m (w) are used to describe the convergence behavior of the continued fraction at different parts of C and for different choices of interpolation points.
Knowledge Organization: Bibliography as Synergic Catalyst

Knowledge organization is the field of inquiry wherein is studied the nature and order of knowledge that underlies all applications in information. Navigating natural orders, and creating and imposing useful orders, are the province of the domain of knowledge organization. Bibliographic control is an application of knowledge organization in which professionals “control” the arrangement of certain artifacts and their intellectual content for retrieval. Resource description, subject headings and classification are the tools of bibliography exercised especially by information institutions under the rubric of bibliographic control. Not only is a bibliographic record a form of synergic control, the professional culture that maintains the languages and techniques are themselves synergic. Bias is potentially everywhere, yet professional ethics require our institutions to resist it at any cost. An open question remains about what institutions are to do to bridge the gap between bibliographic control and imposing social bias. Another open question is whether more than one ontology (classification) could be applied simultaneously in a virtual catalog. Visualization of knowledge organization systems and components can provide useful navigational maps. From library and museum catalogs to medical and supermarket classifications, knowledge organization systems drive social behavior in every part of human endeavor. And for that reason, the effects of social epistemology can be both beneficial and deleterious. The synergy lies in the concept of cultural warrant.
The pyrochlore Ho2Ti2O7: Synthesis, crystal growth, and stoichiometry

Abstract We have investigated the effect of synthesis and growth conditions on the magnetic, structural, and compositional properties of the pyrochlore oxide holmium titanate and demonstrate a method for growing high quality stoichiometric single crystals. A series of polycrystalline samples with various contents of Ti (−0.08 ≤ x ≤ 0.08, and nominal compositions of Ho2Ti2+xO7) were synthesized at different temperatures, and characterized using powder X-ray diffraction. The results show that synthesizing powders at a higher temperature of 1500 °C yields single phase compounds. Ti deficient powders showed an increase of lattice constant due to stuffing (Ho into Ti positions), while Ti rich powders showed a decrease in lattice constant due to anti-stuffing (Ti into Ho positions). A post-reaction annealing in O2 was found to be necessary to accomplish the anti-stuffing process. Use of the conventional floating zone (FZ) technique introduced Ti deficiency, stuffing, and oxygen vacancies in the grown crystal. Growth of high structural quality and stoichiometric single crystals of Ho2Ti2O7 by the traveling solvent floating zone (TSFZ) method is reported. AC susceptibility measurements revealed that the stoichiometric crystal shows a higher spin ice freezing temperature, indicating that crystal quality and stoichiometry play a key role on low temperature spin ice properties of this compound.
Narrowcasting collective memory online: ‘liking’ Stalin in Russian social media:

The Internet has transformed history and collective memory. Narratives of the past are produced and perceived faster and by larger communities. In other words, the Internet facilitates the most per...
Computer-assisted analysis of immunohistological parameters in oral giant cell granulomas.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between active osteoclasts, as defined by positive nuclear NFATc1 signals, and the clinical behaviors of oral giant cell granulomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS NFATc1 immunohistochemical and TRAP-Cbfa1 double immunofluorescence stainings were performed on 9 cases of peripheral giant cell granulomas (PGCGs), 9 cases of central giant cell granulomas (CGCGs) with a recurrent history, and 10 cases of CGCGs without a recurrent history. The results were photographed and quantified by ImageJ. Nine osteoclast- and osteoblast-related parameters were analyzed with conventional statistics and with Rapidminer, an open data analysis platform for computer predictive modeling. RESULTS Peripheral giant cell granulomas had a significantly lower percentage of active osteoclasts than CGCGs. The recurrent CGCG subgroup had the highest active osteoclast density in comparison with non-recurrent CGCG subgroup and PCCGs. CONCLUSIONS The study strongly indicates that the status of osteoclasts, as defined by the subcellular NFATc1 signal, has an association with the clinical behavior of oral giant cell granulomas. NFATc1 staining may be useful as a biomarker to predict recurrence of CGCGs. The study also illustrates the potential application of data science tools in studying pathology to facilitate the discovery of disease-associated biomarkers.
Persistent skewing of the T-cell profile in adolescents adopted internationally from institutional care

Abstract The developing immune system is an adaptive system, primed by antigens, responsive to infectious pathogens, and can be affected by other aspects of the early rearing environment, including deviations from the normal provision of parental care. We investigated whether early rearing in an institutional setting, even when followed by years living in supportive and well-resourced families, would be associated with a persistent shift in T cell profiles. Immunophenotyping was used to enumerate CD4+ CD57+ and CD8+ CD57+ subsets, with gating strategies employed to differentiate naive, central-memory, effector-memory, and terminally differentiated EM cells expressing CD45RA (TEMRA). Blood samples were collected from 96 adolescents, and PBMC isolated via Ficol gradient, followed by an optimized immunophenotypic characterization. CMV antibody titers were determined via ELISA. Adopted adolescents had lower CD4/CD8 ratios than did the control adolescents. Early rearing had a significant effect on the T cells, especially the CD8+ CD57+ CM, EM, and TEMRA cells and the CD4+ CD57+ EM cells. Adolescents who had spent their infancy in institutions before adoption were more likely to be seropositive for CMV, with higher antibody titers. CMV antibody titers were significantly correlated with the percentages of all CD8+ CD57+ cell subsets. In the statistical modeling, CMV antibody titer also completely mediated the relationship between institutional exposure and the ratio of CD4-to-CD8 cells, as well as the percentages of CD4+ CD57+ and CD8+ CD57+ subsets. These findings demonstrate that persistent immune differences are still evident even years after adoption by supportive American families. The shift in the T cells was associated with being a latent carrier of CMV and may reflect the role of specific T cell subsets in Herpes virus containment. In older adults, sustained CMV antigen persistence and immunoregulatory containment ultimately contributes to an accumulation of differentiated T cells with a decreased proliferative capacity and to immune senescence.
Integration of Podiatric Medicine Within the Fracture Liaison Services Model

Underlying bone metabolic disorders are often neglected when managing acute fractures. The term fracture liaison services (FLS) refers to models of care with the designated responsibility of comprehensive fracture management, including the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis. Although there is evidence of the effectiveness of FLS in reducing health-care costs and improving patient outcomes, podiatric practitioners are notably absent from described FLS models. The integration of podiatric practitioners into FLS programs may lead to improved patient care and further reduce associated health-care costs.
“I had (my dreams) on hold, I had to . . .”: Mexican Descent Youth Discuss Factors That Lead to Leaving High School:

Despite Latinx students having the second highest rates of dropouts compared with other racial/ethnic groups, few studies qualitatively examine how Latinx youth view the academic and family context...
Chapter 15 – Mollusks

Publisher Summary Mollusks are abundant and diverse in marine environments, including some groups such as squid and octopi that are strictly marine. The gastropods comprise almost three-fourths of the roughly 110,000 described species, occurring in the seas, freshwater, and on land. The gastropods and bivalves of river ecosystems are diverse, ecologically important, and perhaps the most seriously imperiled of all animal groups in North America. Their life cycles are interesting and complex; some are colorful, and some, especially bivalves, are economically important for harvest and as nuisances. All freshwater mollusks are limited to waters containing sufficient calcium. Very soft water, defined as having a calcium concentration below 3 mg/L, excludes roughly 95% of all species, and even moderately hard water (< 25 mg/L) excludes roughly half of the freshwater mollusk and fauna. The presence or absence of suitable substrate also can be a factor governing species distribution. Last but not least, predators, including those that crush the snail and those that invade it, likely play a contributing role in snail abundance and distribution.
Interfacial electronic charge transfer and density of states in short period Cu/Cr multilayers

Nanometer period metallic multilayers are ideal structures to investigate electronic phenomena at interfaces between metal films since interfacial atoms comprise a large atomic fraction of the samples. The multilayers studied were fabricated by magnetron sputtering and consist of bilayers from 1.9 mn to 3.3 mn. X-ray diffraction, cross-section TEM and plan-view TEM show the Cu layers to have a BCC structure Cu in contrast to its equilibrium FCC structure. The electronic structure of the Cu and the Cr layers in several samples of thin Cu/Cr multilayers were studied using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Total electron yield was measured and used to study the white lines at the Cu L{sub 2} and L{sub 3} absorption edges. The white lines at the Cu absorption edges are strongly related to the unoccupied d-orbitals and are used to calculate the amount of charge transfer between the Cr and Cu atoms in interfaces. Analysis of the Cu white lines show a charge transfer of 0.026 electrons/interfacial Cu atom to the interfacial Cr atoms. In the Cu XAS spectra we also observe a van Hove singularity between the L{sub 2} and L{sub 3} absorption edges as expected from the structural analysis. The absorption spectra are compared to partial density of states obtained from a full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital calculation. The calculations confirm the presence of charge transfer and indicate that it is localized to the first two interfacial layers in both Cu and Cr.
Short-term CDK4/6 Inhibition Radiosensitizes Estrogen Receptor–Positive Breast Cancers

Purpose: Cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors have improved progression free survival for metastatic, estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancers, but their role in the non-metastatic setting remains unclear. We sought to understand the effects of CDK4/6 inhibition (CDK4/6i) and radiation (RT) in multiple preclinical breast cancer models. Methods: Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses were used to identify significantly altered pathways after CDK4/6i. Clonogenic assays were used to quantify the RT enhancement ratio (rER). DNA damage was quantified using γH2AX staining and the neutral comet assay. DNA repair was assessed using RAD51 foci formation and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) reporter assays. Orthotopic xenografts were used to assess the efficacy of combination therapy. Results: Palbociclib significantly radiosensitized multiple ER+ cell lines at low nanomolar, sub IC50 concentrations (rER: 1.21 - 1.52) and led to a decrease in the surviving fraction of cells at 2 Gy (p 0.05). Immortalized breast epithelial cells and cells with acquired resistance to CDK4/6i did not demonstrate radiosensitization (rER: 0.94 - 1.11) or changes in RAD51 foci. In xenograft models, concurrent palbociclib and RT led to a significant decrease in tumor growth. Conclusions: These studies provide preclinical rationale to test CDK4/6i + RT in women with locally-advanced ER+ breast cancer at high risk for locoregional recurrence.
E Pluribus Unum Ex Machina: Learning from Many Collider Events at Once

There have been a number of recent proposals to enhance the performance of machine learning strategies for collider physics by combining many distinct events into a single ensemble feature. To evaluate the efficacy of these proposals, we study the connection between single-event classifiers and multi-event classifiers under the assumption that collider events are independent and identically distributed (IID). We show how one can build optimal multi-event classifiers from single-event classifiers, and we also show how to construct multi-event classifiers such that they produce optimal single-event classifiers. This is illustrated for a Gaussian example as well as for classification tasks relevant for searches and measurements at the Large Hadron Collider. We extend our discussion to regression tasks by showing how they can be phrased in terms of parametrized classifiers. Empirically, we find that training a single-event (per-instance) classifier is more effective than training a multi-event (per-ensemble) classifier, as least for the cases we studied, and we relate this fact to properties of the loss function gradient in the two cases. While we did not identify a clear benefit from using multi-event classifiers in the collider context, we speculate on the potential value of these methods in cases involving only approximate independence, as relevant for jet substructure studies.
Queer and Present Danger: Understanding the Disparate Impacts of Disasters on LGBTQ+ Communities

LGBTQ+ communities comprise 16 million individuals in the United States, yet this population is often rendered invisible within disaster policies. Bias in federal disaster response programs, lack of recognition of LGBTQ+ families, and the prevalence of faith-based organizations in disaster relief services together heighten the risks that LGBTQ+ individuals face. This review article describes the ways in which this combines with the contextual vulnerability of LGBTQ+ communities, whereby existing inequalities and marginalization are exacerbated during disasters and in their aftermath. As a result, the immediate trauma of a disaster, such as physical injury or loss of loved ones or possessions, is compounded in multiple ways for LGBTQ+ individuals, making them less likely to benefit from disaster relief services. To address these inequalities, we conclude our review with a set of policy recommendations to inform prevention, mitigation, and recovery planning, as well as reduce the impacts of disasters affecting LGBTQ+ individuals. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Characterization of R-Loop-Interacting Proteins in Embryonic Stem Cells Reveals Roles in rRNA Processing and Gene Expression.

Abstract Chromatin-associated RNAs have diverse roles in the nucleus. However, their mechanisms of action are poorly understood, in part because of the inability to identify proteins that specifically associate with chromatin-bound RNAs. Here, we address this problem for a subset of chromatin-associated RNAs that form R-loops—RNA–DNA hybrid structures that include a displaced strand of ssDNA. R-loops generally form cotranscriptionally and have important roles in regulation of gene expression, immunoglobulin class switching, and other processes. However, unresolved R-loops can lead to DNA damage and chromosome instability. To identify factors that may bind and regulate R-loop accumulation or mediate R-loop–dependent functions, we used a comparative immunoprecipitation/MS approach, with and without RNA–protein crosslinking, to identify a stringent set of R-loop–binding proteins in mouse embryonic stem cells. We identified 364 R-loop–interacting proteins, which were highly enriched for proteins with predicted RNA-binding functions. We characterized several R-loop–interacting proteins of the DEAD-box family of RNA helicases and found that these proteins localize to the nucleolus and, to a lesser degree, the nucleus. Consistent with their localization patterns, we found that these helicases are required for rRNA processing and regulation of gene expression. Surprisingly, depletion of these helicases resulted in misregulation of highly overlapping sets of protein-coding genes, including many genes that function in differentiation and development. We conclude that R-loop–interacting DEAD-box helicases have nonredundant roles that are critical for maintaining the normal embryonic stem cell transcriptome.
How Well Can We Predict Wildlife Corridors? Tests of Alternative Modeling Approaches in Migratory Elk and Dispersing Wolverines

Landscape connectivity has become a key focus of conservation biology as natural habitat is increasingly fragmented by human land use. Several landscape modeling approaches are now relied upon to identify likely dispersal and migration corridors and guide conservation planning. However, the predictive accuracy of these methods has seen limited testing against empirical movement data, which limits confidence in their utility and confuses selection of appropriate methods for a given application. To address these issues, we used GPS collar data from migrating elk and dispersing wolverines to evaluate the ability of common modeling approaches (cost-distance/least-cost path models and circuit theory models) to predict observed movement routes. While both methods made generally similar predictions, cost-distance models consistently outperformed circuit theory models, and predictive success was much higher for elk than for wolverine movements. Furthermore, the form and complexity of underlying landscape resistance maps influenced model performance and revealed unforeseen differences between models. These findings illustrate that corridor model performance depends greatly on focal species and landscape characteristics as well as selection of appropriate methods for the application at hand.
Central nervous system grafts of nerve growth factor-rich tissue as an alternative source of trophic support for axotomized cholinergic neurons.

Publisher Summary Nerve growth factor (NGF) promotes survival of sympathetic and some neural crest-derived sensory neurons of the peripheral nervous system. This chapter explores the possibility that transplantation of this NGF-rich tissue into the lateral ventricle of the rat may provide a constant source of NGF to axotomized septa1 neurons. The chapter focuses on the grafting of tissue, which synthesizes a trophic factor known to influence the survival of a population of cholinergic neurons in the host brain. The results demonstrate that intraventricular grafts of male mouse submaxillary gland, a rich source of NGF, can increase the survival and regeneration of axotomized medial septum and vertical limb of the diagonal band nuclei (MS/VDB) neurons in the basal forebrain of the rat. The chapter indicates that transplants of male mouse submaxillary gland can (1) survive for extended periods in the host rat CNS, (2) influence the survival and regeneration of axotomized cholinergic cells in the MS/VDB, and (3) possibly influence the expression of behaviors associated with normal cholinergic function. However, further behavioral studies are necessary to determine whether these animals are using extra maze cues or some other non-spatial strategy to locate the platform.
The effects of herbicides on the ultrastructure of plant cells.

To single technique has provided an exact means for ascertaining now herbicides modify or inhibit plant growth and development. Electron microscopic studies also have limitations: for example, the amount of tissue that can be examined even in one’s lifetime is exceedingly small. Electron microscopic studies are essentially limited to changes induced by the herbicides in structural components of the cell. The structure of the tissue observed represents only that which is preserved at the time of fixation and an adequate sampling of the normal range of variation in the tissue is difficult. Also, some fixatives (potassium permanganate) destroy organelles such as ribosomes. Although ultrastructural examination may not ultimately provide an exact diagnostic tool, such studies correlated with biochemical investigations provide insight into possible mechanisms of herbicidal action that the latter alone could not provide. Thus, it is the purpose of this review to compare and evaluate the reported effects of various herbicides on plant ultrastructure with particular emphasis on those aspects which differ significantly from normal senescence. Further, an attempt will be made to establish correlations, wherever possible, between herbicidal-induced alterations in ultrastructure with known changes in physiology and growth. The danger that such correlations may be between secondary effects which can mask the primary treatment effects is recognized.
Wild Sardinia: Ethnographic Provocations. Research Report and Reply to Critics

The author of Wild Sardinia: Indigeneity and the Global Dreamtime s of Environmentalism (University of Washington Press 2010) offers a summary of research and reply to critics. The work is contextualized in the context of contempora ry debates in anthropology and environmental studies.\ The article discusses misun derstandings that might arise from reading across languages and disciplinary traditions, in or der to broaden the scope of meaningful debate.