cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Myosin-dependent remodeling of adherens junctions protects junctions from Snail-dependent disassembly.

Although Snail is essential for disassembly of adherens junctions during epithelial–mesenchymal transitions (EMTs), loss of adherens junctions in Drosophila melanogaster gastrula is delayed until mesoderm is internalized, despite the early expression of Snail in that primordium. By combining live imaging and quantitative image analysis, we track the behavior of E-cadherin–rich junction clusters, demonstrating that in the early stages of gastrulation most subapical clusters in mesoderm not only persist, but move apically and enhance in density and total intensity. All three phenomena depend on myosin II and are temporally correlated with the pulses of actomyosin accumulation that drive initial cell shape changes during gastrulation. When contractile myosin is absent, the normal Snail expression in mesoderm, or ectopic Snail expression in ectoderm, is sufficient to drive early disassembly of junctions. In both cases, junctional disassembly can be blocked by simultaneous induction of myosin contractility. Our findings provide in vivo evidence for mechanosensitivity of cell–cell junctions and imply that myosin-mediated tension can prevent Snail-driven EMT.
The Changing Landscape of Tax Audits and Investigations

How could a terrorist attack affect tax audits and investigations? For the most part, there is no direct connection between terrorism and taxes. However, there is a connection between taxes and financial transactions, and a similar connection between financial transactions and terrorism. Terrorism, by its very nature, is based on surprise and unpredictability. In the aftermath of September 11, governmental investigators have learned that, aside from monitoring the movements and communications of suspected terrorists, one of the most effective ways to track and anticipate terrorist activity is to monitor financial transactions for signs of unusual or suspicious flows of money. In this article, the author looks at how the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks have increased the level of attention to financial transactions, thereby leading government agents to find tax evasion schemes.
Suicide risk among male substance users in residential treatment: Evaluation of the depression–distress amplification model

Abstract Suicide is a leading cause of death and is significantly elevated among those with substance use disorders (SUDs). However, specific mechanisms of suicide in this population have been relatively understudied. The depression–distress amplification model posits that one pathway to increased suicide risk is through the intensification of depressive symptoms by anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns. However, this model has not been tested in populations with SUDs. The current study tested the depression–distress amplification model of suicide risk and examined the relation of anxiety sensitivity to suicide risk in a sample of men in residential SUD treatment. Consistent with prior work, anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns were significantly associated with suicide risk. Moreover, and consistent with the depression–distress amplification model, anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns related to elevated suicide risk among those with a current major depressive episode specifically, above and beyond insomnia (another risk factor for suicide) and relevant covariates. The results of this study corroborate the relevance of anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns and the depression–distress amplification model to suicide risk in an at-risk clinical sample of SUD patients. Findings suggest the importance of assessing anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns and targeting this vulnerability through brief interventions to reduce suicide risk.
Assimilation's Bumpy Road

“Assimilation,” a protean concept with an American pedigree and a checkered past, is back in vogue. But in academic and colloquial usage, in social science, public policy and popular culture, the idea and the ideal of “assimilation” have had a bumpy history. Over time the term has conflated various normative prescriptions (“e pluribus unum,” “melting pot”) and empirical descriptions (cultural adaptations, economic mobility, social acceptance by a dominant group) to make sense of the incorporation of “ethnic” difference in American life. After more than a century of use and misuse the term itself remains confusing and contentious. For a “canonical” concept, there remains surprising ambiguity as to its meaning, measurement and applicability. This essay, prepared for a Festschrift in honor of Herbert J. Gans, explores the history of the idea in American society and social science as a master frame and the teleology of Progress underlying it; considers cultural, social, legal, economic and identificational indices of intergenerational change among contemporary ethnic groups based on an array of census and survey data; and raises questions about the limitations and paradoxes of the concept itself in the study of ethnicity and inequality in American life. Despite the grand narratives of modernization which undergird the concept of assimilation, neither race nor religion nor ethnicity has vanished in American life. Linguistic “Anglicization” and other forms of acculturation do proceed rapidly, especially among immigrant children and the second generation. But alongside undeniable upward social mobility from the first to the second generation for most groups, especially the children of the poorest and least educated - though the gains appear to peak in the second generation and decline or plateau thereafter - there is compelling evidence of widening “ethclass” and legal inequalities, of new conflicts and political mobilizations around ethnic and racial issues, and of downward mobility and marginalization for vulnerable segments of these populations. An undocumented status has become a caste-like master status blocking access to the opportunity structure and paths to social mobility for millions of immigrants. A fraught concept like “assimilation,” weighted by the normative baggage of its past, seems ill-suited to grasp these complex dynamics and to focus critical attention on enduring structural inequalities and persistent ethnic and pan-ethnic formations in this “permanently unfinished” society.
Dose-dependent fate of GFP-expressing Escherichia coli in the alimentary canal of adult house flies.

The adult house fly Musca domestica (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae) can disseminate bacteria from microbe-rich substrates to areas in which humans and domesticated animals reside. Because bacterial abundance fluctuates widely across substrates, flies encounter and ingest varying amounts of bacteria. This study investigated the dose-dependent survival of bacteria in house flies. Flies were fed four different 'doses' of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing Escherichia coli (GFP E. coli) (very low, low, medium, high) and survival was determined at 1, 4, 10 and 22 h post-ingestion by culture and epifluorescent microscopy. Over 22 h, the decline in GFP E. coli was significant in all treatments (P < 0.04) except the very low dose treatment (P = 0.235). Change in survival (ΔS) did not differ between flies fed low and very low doses of bacteria across all time-points, although ΔS in both treatments differed from that in flies fed high and medium doses of bacteria at several time-points. At 4, 10 and 22 h, GFP E. coli ΔS significantly differed between medium and high dose-fed flies. A threshold dose, above which bacteria are detected and destroyed by house flies, may exist and is likely to be immune-mediated. Understanding dose-dependent bacterial survival in flies can help in predicting bacteria transmission potential.
Time-Sliced Thawed Gaussian Propagation Method for Simulations of Quantum Dynamics.

A rigorous method for simulations of quantum dynamics is introduced on the basis of concatenation of semiclassical thawed Gaussian propagation steps. The time-evolving state is represented as a linear superposition of closely overlapping Gaussians that evolve in time according to their characteristic equations of motion, integrated by fourth-order Runge–Kutta or velocity Verlet. The expansion coefficients of the initial superposition are updated after each semiclassical propagation period by implementing the Husimi Transform analytically in the basis of closely overlapping Gaussians. An advantage of the resulting time-sliced thawed Gaussian (TSTG) method is that it allows for full-quantum dynamics propagation without any kind of multidimensional integral calculation, or inversion of overlap matrices. The accuracy of the TSTG method is demonstrated as applied to simulations of quantum tunneling, showing quantitative agreement with benchmark calculations based on the split-operator Fourier transform method.
German cockroach (Orthoptera: Blatellidae) mortality on various surfaces following application of diazinon.

Adult male Blattella germanica (L.) were caged on various treated surfaces and mortality after a 48-h exposure was compared to the diazinon detected by chemical analysis of the treated surfaces over a 4-week period. Mortality was 100% for 0.5 and 1.0% (AI) concentrations on painted and plywood surfaces for the entire study. Diazinon on treated glass declined to near the limit of detection, with no mortality at 4 weeks for both concentrations. Diazinon residues decreased by 35% on plasterboard at 4 weeks. However, mortality was reduced to 11%at 4 weeks on plasterboard treated at the 0.5% rate and 44% at the 1.0% rate. Decreased cockroach mortality on plasterboard may have been due to absorption or binding of diazinon to the paper covering on the treated surface.
Noise Optimized Silicon Radiometers

This paper describes a new, experimentally verified, noise analysis and the design considerations of the dynamic characteristics of silicon radiometers. Transimpedance gain, loop gain, and voltage gain were optimized versus frequency for photodiode current meters measuring ac and dc optical radiation. Silicon radiometers with improved dynamic characteristics were built and tested. The frequency-dependent photocurrent gains were measured. The noise floor was optimized in an ac measurement mode using photodiodes of different shunt resistance and operational amplifiers with low 1/f voltage and current noise. In the dark (without any signal), the noise floor of the optimized silicon radiometers was dominated by the Johnson noise of the source resistance. The Johnson noise was decreased and equalized to the amplified 1/f input noise at a 9 Hz chopping frequency and 30 s integration time constant, resulting in an equivalent root-mean-square (rms) photocurrent noise of 8 × 10(-17) A. The lowest noise floor of 5 × 10(-17) A, equal to a noise equivalent power (NEP) of 1.4 × 10(-16) W at the 730 nm peak responsivity, was obtained at a 100 s integration time constant. The radiometers, optimized for ac measurements, were tested in a dc measurement mode as well. Performances in ac and dc measurement modes were compared. In the ac mode, a ten times shorter (40 s) overall measurement time was needed than in the dc mode (400 s) to obtain the same 10(-16) A noise floor.
Study on the characteristics of KatB gene of legionella pneumophila in Fujian Province

ObjectiveTo study KatB gene of legionella pneumophila(LP) isolated from cooling tower and condensed water collected from public places in Fujian for LP disease control and prevention.MethodThe kinds of KatB gene of 84 LP strains from 2008 to 2010 were detected by polymerase chain reaction method.ResultsThe KatB gene(size 2.7 kb) were amplified in 25 strains from 78 LP strains isolated from cooling tower water,the positive rate 32.1%(25/78).The percentages of different serotypes were: LP1 76.0%(19/25),LP6 20.0%(5/25) and LP5 4.0%(1/25).The positive result did not find from condensed water.ConclusionThe positive rate of KatB gene of LP isolated from cooling tower water is at higher level,and the percentage of LP1 serotypes is highest.
Acute health care utilization and outcomes for outpatient-treated urinary tract infections in children

Summary Introduction The majority of urinary tract infections (UTIs) in children are treated in the ambulatory setting. The goal of this study is to describe the course of outpatient UTI management, including health services utilization, antibiotic switching (change from empirically prescribed antibiotic to another antibiotic), and antibiotic side effects. Methods Using a large claims database, Truven Health MarketScan Research Database, we analyzed all children younger than 18 years old who had an antibiotic prescribed for an outpatient UTI from 2002 to 2010. We evaluated health services utilization and antibiotic switching in the 21-day period after UTI diagnosis. We compared side effects with rates in patients receiving narrow versus broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment. Chi-square analysis was used for descriptive statistics. Results We identified 242,819 outpatient, antibiotic-treated, UTI episodes. During the 21-day period after presentation, 26% required more than one visit for UTI management and Conclusions Most outpatient UTIs in children do not require more than one healthcare visit, hospital admission, or change in empiric antibiotic therapy. This study supports the fact that pediatric UTIs can be effectively treated in the ambulatory setting. Download : Download high-res image (162KB) Download : Download full-size image Figure . UTI outcomes in the 21 days after diagnosis by antibiotic type.
The wild, wild Web: resources for counseling patients with prostate cancer in the information age

The increasing public awareness of prostate cancer coincides with a growing desire for patients to be better informed about their disease and treatment options. As technology advances, access to information about prostate cancer also expands. Publications, videos, interactive CD-ROMs, support groups, and the Internet are redefining how patients and their physicians interact to make decisions. As an example of the impact of technology on the practice of medicine, it is estimated that there are more than 70,000 health care-related Web sites. Although on the surface access to this information appears to be a benefit, it can often lead to more confusion and anxiety because much of the information can be conflicting. This is more likely to occur in a disease such as prostate cancer where there is no consensus of opinion concerning the management of localized disease. This article reviews the expanding array of technologies and resources, including the Internet, available to patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer. With this vast amount of information readily available to the patient, the role of the physician in the interpretation of the data as it relates to the individual patient remains an essential part of health care in the information age.
On superposed motions in elastic-plastic media

Based on the general theory of elastic-plastic media developed byGreen andNaghdi, a linearized theory of small deformation superposed on large deformations is obtained. The theory is used to discuss the twisting of a circular bar previously subjected to large extensions, and the propagation of infinitesimal plane waves through a plastically deformed material.
Retention of a functional corpus luteum and peripheral concentrations of 13,14-dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F2alpha following metestrus administration of Syncro-Mate-B.

This study was conducted to examine the effects of metestrus administration of SyncroMate-B (SMB) on PGF2alpha secretion and corpus luteum (CL) development. In a study replicated over 2 yr, cows were observed for spontaneous estrus in yr 1, and cows received an injection of 25 mg of PGF2alpha and were observed for subsequent estrus in yr 2. At standing estrus (estrus = d 1), cows were randomly allotted to receive either the standard SMB regimen (n = 40) on d 3 of the estrous cycle or no treatment (n = 8). Fifty percent (n = 20) of SMB-treated cows were administered PGF2alpha on d 10 of the estrous cycle 48 h prior to implant removal. Twice-daily blood samples were collected in the morning (AM) and evening (PM) from d 2 AM through d 14 AM of the treated estrous cycle and subsequently analyzed for progesterone (P4) and PGF2alpha metabolite (PGFM). Prior to statistical analysis, SMB- and SMB/PGF2alpha-treated cows were sorted according to P4 concentration at d 10 of the treated estrous cycle to either a CL functional group (P4 > or = 1 ng/mL; n = 20) or a CL nonfunctional group (P4 1 ng/mL for cows in SMB-F and control groups. Mean serum PGFM concentrations tended (P = .06) to increase in cows with nonfunctional CL compared with control cows on d 8 AM and were greater (P < .05) in cows with functional CL on d 8 PM through d 9 PM. These results indicate that retention of a functional rather than a nonfunctional CL following metestrus administration of SMB is dependent on a premature release of uterine PGF2alpha.
Behavioral effects of mercury and methylmercury.

Intoxication by elemental mercury or by methylmercury is revealed primarily by changes in behavior and by neurological signs. Disorders of movement and posture have been most widely reported, both in animal experiments and in cases of human exposure. Specific sensory symptoms are also prominent in human methylmercury poisoning. Recent data indicate similar symptoms in monkeys during long-term exposure to methylmercury. Similar sensory impairment has not been described in experiments with sub-primates. Variations in the profile of behavioral and neurological effects are discussed in terms of differences in species and differences between acute and long-term exposure. The latter condition poses the most difficult questions for human health, yet has been less frequently studied. Procedures are suggested that may help to resolve these problems. In particular, tests of learned behavior hold great promise toward identifying specific symptoms and toward understanding how mercury compounds affect behavior.— Evans, H. L., V. G. Laties and B. Weiss. Behavioral effects of mercury and methylmercury. Federation Proc. 34: 1858-1867, 1975.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Improves Treatment Outcomes for Prescription Opioid Users in Primary Care Buprenorphine Treatment

To determine whether treatment outcomes differed for prescription opioid and heroin use disorder patients, we conducted a secondary analysis of a 24-week (N=140) randomized trial of physician management (PM) or PM plus cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in primary care buprenorphine/naloxone treatment. Self-reported opioid use and urine toxicology analyses were obtained weekly. We examined baseline demographic differences between primary prescription opioid use patients (n=49) and primary heroin use patients (n=91) and evaluated whether treatment response differed by assigned condition. Compared to primary heroin use patients, primary prescription opioid use patients had marginally fewer years of opioid use, were less likely to have had a previous drug treatment or detoxification, and were less likely to report injection drug use. Although opioid abstinence only, and treatment retention did not differ by opioid use group, opioid category moderated the effect of CBT on urine samples negative for all drugs. Primary prescription opioid use patients assigned to PM-CBT had more than twice the mean number of weeks of abstinence for all drugs (7.6) than those assigned to PM only (3.6; p=.02), while primary heroin use patients did not differ by treatment. Findings suggest that examination of other factors that may predict response to behavioral interventions is warranted.
An empirical model for perovskite tetragonality

Abstract Tetragonal distortions in perovskites are useful for advanced devices, as they can induce functional properties like capacitance, piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity, and ferroelectricity. These distortions are commonly due to either second-order Jahn-Teller effects or antiferrodistortive instabilities. Accurate empirical composition-structure models can significantly reduce the time and cost involved with developing new functional ceramics; however, until now no such model has existed for tetragonal perovskites, the structures of which are further complicated by extrinsic point defects often used to tune electrical properties. In this work, LeBail refinements of X-ray diffraction patterns obtained from [(PbyBa1−y)(1−3x)La(2x)]TiO3 (P4mm, No. 99) were conducted to measure lattice constants and reveal tetragonality trends. These trends were combined with a model for unit-cell volume in order to derive a general empirical model, based solely on published ionic radii data, for tetragonal lattice constants of perovskites in P4mm and P4/mmm.
Silk based bioinks for soft tissue reconstruction using 3-dimensional (3D) printing with in vitro and in vivo assessments.

In the field of soft tissue reconstruction, custom implants could address the need for materials that can fill complex geometries. Our aim was to develop a material system with optimal rheology for material extrusion, that can be processed in physiological and non-toxic conditions and provide structural support for soft tissue reconstruction. To meet this need we developed silk based bioinks using gelatin as a bulking agent and glycerol as a non-toxic additive to induce physical crosslinking. We developed these inks optimizing printing efficacy and resolution for patient-specific geometries that can be used for soft tissue reconstruction. We demonstrated in vitro that the material was stable under physiological conditions and could be tuned to match soft tissue mechanical properties. We demonstrated in vivo that the material was biocompatible and could be tuned to maintain shape and volume up to three months while promoting cellular infiltration and tissue integration.
Personality types in Budgerigars, Melopsittacus undulatus

The current study further characterized personality types in Budgerigars, an avian model that only recently demonstrated individual consistencies in behavior (Callicrate et al., 2011). Several methodological techniques, commonly used in previous examinations of other animal models, were employed. Specifically, Phase I assessed the relationship between Budgerigar personality types and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) activity, while Phase II sought to examine the persistence of individual behavioral tendencies across varying testing contexts. In comparison to other species, our findings failed to illustrate a clear relationship between Budgerigar personality types and concentrations of corticosterone. However, results provided significant evidence for the consistency of personalities across multiple contexts. In sum, our investigation further defined the expression of personality in the Budgerigar and substantiated the claim for individual tendencies in this species.
Scalar invariants of hypersurfaces in conformal manifolds

In this paper, we introduce the approach to use Fefferman and Grahams ambient spacetimes to calculate local scalar invariants for hypersurfaces in conformal manifolds. We are looking for scalar invariants for hypersurfaces that resemble the Willmore curvature for surfaces in Euclidean 3-space.
Lower face asymmetry as a marker for developmental instability.

Objectives Fluctuating asymmetries in the craniofacial skeleton have been shown to be predictive for mortality from degenerative diseases. We investigate whether lower face asymmetries are a potential marker for the developmental origins of health and disease. Methods The lower face of a representative sample of 6654 12- to 17-year old United States (US) adolescents (1966-1970, National Health Examination Survey III) was classified as asymmetric when the mandibular teeth occluded prognathically (forward) or retrognathically (backward) on one side of the face only. It was investigated whether these lower face asymmetries were directional (preferentially to the left or the right) or fluctuating (random left-right distribution) in the US population. Results Lower face asymmetries affected 1 in 4 of the US adolescents. Unilateral retrognathic dental occlusions were fluctuating asymmetries, had a US prevalence of 17.0% (95% confidence interval: 15.5-18.4) and were associated with race/ethnicity (P < .0001), not with handedness (P < .7607). Unilateral prognathic dental occlusions were directional asymmetries (P < .0001), had a US prevalence of 7.6% (95% confidence interval: 6.4-8.7) and were associated with large household size (P < .001) and handedness (P < .0223). Lower face asymmetries were not associated with distinct heritable traits such as color blindness. Conclusions The findings suggest that lower face asymmetries are a marker for environmental stress and cerebral lateralization during early development.
Loyalty and Liberty: The Ambiguous Patriotism of Jack Tar in the American Revolution

What motivated Jack Tar in the American Revolution? An examination of American sailors both on ships and as prisoners of war demonstrates that the seamen who served aboard American vessels during the revolution fit neither a romanticized notion of class consciousness nor the ideal of a patriot minute man gone to sea to defend a new nation.1 While a sailor could express ideas about liberty and nationalism that matched George Washington and Ben Franklin in zeal and commitment, a mixxture of concerns and loyalties often interceded. For many sailors the issue was seldom simply a question of loyalty and liberty. Some men shifted their position to suit the situation; others ex pressed a variety of motives almost simultaneously. Sailors could have stronger attachments to shipmates or to a hometown, than to ideas or to a country. They might also have mercenary motives. Most just struggled to survive in a tumultuous age of revolution and change. Jack Tar, it turns out, had his own agenda, which might hold steadfast amid the most turbulent gale, or alter course following the slightest shift of a breeze.2 In tracing the sailor s path in these varying winds we will find that seamen do not quite fit the mold cast by Jesse Lemisch in his path breaking essays on the "inarticulate" Jack Tar in the American Revolution. Lemisch argued that the sailor had a concern for "liberty and right" that led to a "complex aware ness that certain values larger than himself exist and that he is the victim not only of cruelty and hardship but also, in the light of those values, of injus tice."3 Instead, we will discover that sailors had much in common with their land based brethren described by the new military historians. These scholars have de-emphasized the role of ideology in the day to day experience of the men who filled the ranks of the military during the Revolutionary War. A few soldiers served in the army convinced of the justice of the cause. But as the war dragged on, poverty, an enlistment bonus, and the opportunity to take booty from the enemy, played a greater role in filling the manpower needs of the Continental Line. On the battlefield loyalty to ones comrades in arms, and to ones officers, as well as the threat of punishment, convinced men to stand and fight.4 This essay comes to similar conclusions about common seamen, while striving to understand the peculiar circumstances of the sailors' experiences. In a time of revolution and upheaval, during a conflict in which loyalty meant different things to different people, and when the definition of a new nation was just coming into focus, it should come as no surprise that a heterogeneous body of seafarers might decide to support either side depending on the cir
Kappa opioid receptors regulate hippocampal synaptic homeostasis and epileptogenesis.

SummaryObjective Homeostatic synaptic plasticity (HSP) serves as a gain control mechanism at central nervous system (CNS) synapses, including those between the dentate gyrus (DG) and CA3. Improper circuit control of DG-CA3 synapses is hypothesized to underlie epileptogenesis. Here, we sought to (1) identify compounds that preferentially modulate DG-CA3 synapses in primary neuronal culture and (2) determine if these compounds would delay or prevent epileptogenesis in vivo. Methods We previously developed and validated an in vitro assay to visualize the behavior of DG-CA3 synapses and predict functional changes. We used this “synapse-on-chip” assay (quantification of synapse size, number, and type using immunocytochemical markers) to dissect the mechanisms of HSP at DG-CA3 synapses. Using chemogenetic constructs and pharmacological agents we determined the signaling cascades necessary for gain control at DG-CA3 synapses. Finally, we tested the implicated cascades (using kappa opioid receptor (OR) agonists and antagonists) in two models of epileptogenesis: electrical amygdala kindling in the mouse and chemical (pentylenetetrazole) kindling in the rat. Results In vitro, synapses between DG mossy fibers (MFs) and CA3 neurons are the primary homeostatic responders during sustained periods of activity change. Kappa OR signaling is both necessary and sufficient for the homeostatic elaboration of DG-CA3 synapses, induced by presynaptic DG activity levels. Blocking kappa OR signaling in vivo attenuates the development of seizures in both mouse and rat models of epilepsy. Significance This study elucidates mechanisms by which synapses between DG granule cells and CA3 pyramidal neurons undergo activity-dependent homeostatic compensation, via OR signaling in vitro. Modulation of kappa OR signaling in vivo alters seizure progression, suggesting that breakdown of homeostatic closed-loop control at DG-CA3 synapses contributes to seizures, and that targeting endogenous homeostatic mechanisms at DG-CA3 synapses may prove useful in combating epileptogenesis.
High-speed type-II InGaAs/GaAsSb multiple quantum-well integrated waveguide photodiodes at 2 μm wavelength

We present a high-speed InP-based photodiode with multiple InGaAs/GaAsSb type-II quantum wells for 2 μm detection. The fabricated photodiode exhibits dark current as low as 100nA at −2V, with an external responsivity of 0.27 A/W, and 3 dB bandwidth of 3.5 GHz at 2 μm.
Comparative structure-function studies within a strongly dimorphic plant, Melocactus intortus (Cactaceae)

Melocactus intortus is a species of strongly dimorphic plants whose different parts show strong correlations between structure and function. Each individual has one unbranched monopodial shoot; during the first several years of life, this grows as a photosynthetic juvenile with a transparent epidermis, numerous stomata and a system of cortical bundles that permeate the chlorophyllous outer cortex. Cortical bundles undergo secondary growth. The xylem of the stele contains wide vessel elements, vascular tracheids and fibres, resulting in a wood that is probably relatively strong and efficient at water conduction. After several years, the plant undergoes a transition to being adult and all further shoot elongation growth results in a region of body with different anatomy and which is capable of flowering, the cephalium. The epidermis is thin, lacks stomata and is soon converted to a cork cambium. The cortex is nonphotosynthetic and cortical bundles do not have secondary growth. The wood of the adult portion contains only narrow vessels and parenchyma. The juvenile and adult portions of each shoot have distinct functions as well as distinct requirements for gas exchange; water and nutrient transport; and mechanical strength. When interpreting the selective value of the various anatomical features, it is critically important to consider the specific role and requirements of the particular portion of the plant in which they occur.
Antimicrobials: Broad-spectrum antivirals

Nanoparticle mimics of heparan sulfate proteoglycans offer a new strategy for the inhibition of a range of viral infections.
Elevations in neutrophils with obstructive sleep apnea: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

Abstract Background Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) associates with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Immune abnormalities and surges in sympathetic activity accompany OSA and CVD. We hypothesized that OSA associates with leukocytosis partially by abnormalities in autonomic nervous system (ANS) function that would suggest a pathway linking OSA and CVD. Methods Participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), a prospective cohort of individuals initially without overt CVD, underwent polysomnography and assays for white blood cells (WBC) and subsets. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV), indirect measurements of ANS, were obtained from overnight electrocardiography. A formal statistical mediation analysis tested the indirect effect that mean HR and HRV measures contribute to associations between OSA and leukocytosis. Results The analytical sample consisted of 1298 participants (54% female), ages 54–93 years, 14% with severe OSA (apnea-hypopnea-index, AHI ≥ 30). Severe OSA associated with a higher prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and increased levels of WBC total and subsets. Neutrophil count associated with severe OSA after adjusting for confounders (p = 0.017). Mean HR positively associated with OSA indices and neutrophils. A mediation analysis revealed an “indirect” effect of mean HR that explained an estimated 11% of the association between AHI and neutrophils. Overnight hypoxia also associated with neutrophil count (p = 0.009), and mean HR explained 14% of the association between neutrophils and hypoxia. Conclusions In the MESA cohort, OSA measures associate with elevated neutrophil counts and increases in overnight mean HR. These data link innate immune dysregulation with OSA and provide a potential pathophysiologic pathway between CVD and OSA.
Does Obesity Influence the Risk of Clostridium difficile Infection Among Patients with Ulcerative Colitis

Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) are at an increased risk of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) compared with the general population. Recent data suggest that obesity also increases the risk of CDI. To examine whether obesity influences the risk of CDI among patients with UC. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of UC patients seen in gastroenterology clinic between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2015. Records were reviewed for patients with the diagnosis of UC prior to 2014, and the first diagnosis of CDI between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2015. Using body mass index (BMI), patients were classified into underweight (BMI < 18.5), normal weight (18.5 ≤ BMI < 25), overweight (25 ≤ BMI < 30), and obese (BMI ≥ 30). Age-adjusted and multivariate logistic regression was performed including gender, tobacco use, UC disease duration, medication exposure, and vitamin D deficiency. Of the 636 patients with UC, 114 (18%) were obese, 232 (36%) overweight, 274 (43%) normal weight, and 16 (2.5%) underweight. Nineteen patients (3.0%) developed CDI during the study period. CDI risk was not associated with BMI (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.79–1.02). Compared to normal weight patients, risk of CDI was not influenced by being obese (multivariate OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.15–2.58), overweight (multivariate OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.08–1.30), or underweight (multivariate OR 2.98, 95% CI 0.45–19.83). CDI was associated with ever use of TNF therapy (multivariate OR 6.09, 95% CI 2.07–17.93) but not vedolizumab (multivariate OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.08–7.36). Obesity does not appear to be associated with the risk of C. difficile infection among patients with UC.
Integrating Genomics Into Management of Fibrotic Interstitial Lung Disease

Fibrotic interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) have a high mortality rate with an unpredictable disease course and clinical features that frequently overlap. Recent data indicate important roles for genomics in the mechanisms underlying susceptibility and progression of pulmonary fibrosis. The impact of these genomic markers on pharmacotherapy and their contribution to outcomes is increasingly recognized. Interstitial lung abnormalities, frequently considered representative of early ILD, have been consistently associated with the MUC5B promoter polymorphism, a common gene variant. Other rare gene variant mutations, including TERT, TERC, SFTPC, and DKC1, may be present in patients with familial interstitial pneumonia and are frequently associated with a usual interstitial pneumonia pattern of fibrosis. The minor allele of the MUC5B rs35705950 genotype is prevalent in several sporadic forms of ILD, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Gene mutations that characterize familial pulmonary fibrosis may be present in patients with connective tissue disease-related ILD, such as rheumatoid arthritis-ILD. Additionally, shorter telomere lengths and mutations in telomere biology-related genes have been demonstrated in both familial and sporadic ILD, with significant implications for disease progression, lung function, and survival. An improved understanding of the impact of genetic and genomic risk factors on disease progression would better guide personalized therapeutic choices in persons with fibrotic ILD.
In vivo quantitative mapping of mitochondrial cardiac membrane potential: First in human

99 Background: Myocardial mitochondrial dysfunction plays a key role in many pathologic processes such as cellular apoptosis, heart failure, and ventricular arrhythmia. In normal conditions, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) is maintained within narrow limits. Alterations in ΔΨm are a fundamental biomarker of mitochondrial and cellular dysfunction. Our group recently validated a method for in vivo assessment of cardiac ΔΨm in a porcine model (Alpert, 2018) using the fluorine-18 labeled compound 18F-triphenylphosphonium (18F-TPP+). Analysis shows that the tissue-to-plasma ratio at equilibrium, VT, is sensitive to two independent variables; the tissue fraction of the ECS (fECS) and tissue membrane potential (ΔΨT), a proxy of ΔΨm. We report the first in vivo assessment of the ΔΨT in human subjects. Methods: Seven healthy subjects were imaged using 18F-TPP+ on a Siemens Biograph PET/MR scanner. The imaging protocol consisted of a bolus injection of 300 MBq followed by a 120 min infusion of 0.6 MBq/min. A 60 min dynamic PET acquisition was started 1 hour after bolus injection. The fECS was simultaneously measured using MR T1-mapping images acquired at baseline and 15 minutes after gadolinium injection with correction for the subject’s hematocrit level. Serial venous blood samples were obtained to calculate the plasma tracer concentration. The myocardial volume of distribution, VT, was obtained by dividing the myocardial tracer concentration by the plasma concentration at secular equilibrium. ΔΨT was calculated from the VT and fECS measurements using a model based on the Nernst equation (Alpert, 2018). Results: One subject was excluded because tracer concentration equilibrium was not achieved. In the remaining subjects, secular equilibrium in plasma and myocardium was reached after approximately 90 min. Average fECS was 29.7±3.2% (range 26.1 to 33.9%). Average ventricular VT was 63.7±11.3 (range 52.3 to 85.3), yielding an average ΔΨT of -157±4 mV (range -151 to -163 mV). The parametric images were of high quality, supporting the measurement of ΔΨT to the voxel level. Conclusions: We demonstrated for the first time the feasibility of noninvasive, in vivo, quantitative assessment of cardiac ΔΨT in humans. Quantitative values of ΔΨT are in good agreement with bench top measurements in isolated mitochondria, cells and Langendorff perfused rat hearts (see Alpert et al, 2018). Currently, there are no methods for direct in vivo assessment of mitochondrial function. In vivo quantification of the mitochondrial function could provide new diagnostic and prognostic information for several cardiac diseases as well as allowing therapy monitoring. Further investigations are required to assess these potential roles. Research Support: P41EB022544 R01HL137230 T32EB013180 Acknowledgments: We thank Marina T. Macdonald-Soccorso and Julia-Ann Scotton for their essential contribution to this project.
Thoughts about the other: A first-person inquiry:

The following is a report of a first-person inquiry related to an international experience where the author was aware of feelings of alienation that he brought with him into the experience. Grounde...
Acute Symptomatic Seizures in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19: Is There an Association?

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) emerged as a global pandemic. Historically, the group of human coronaviruses can also affect the central nervous system leading to neurological symptoms; however, the causative mechanisms of the neurological manifestations of COVID-19 disease are not well known. Seizures have not been directly reported as a part of COVID-19 outside of patients with previously known brain injury or epilepsy. We report two cases of acute symptomatic seizures, in non-epileptic patients, associated with severe COVID-19 disease. Two advanced-age, non-epileptic, male patients presented to our northeast Ohio-based health system with concern for infection in Mid-March 2020. Both had a history of lung disease and during their hospitalization tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. They developed acute encephalopathy days into their hospitalization with clinical and electrographic seizures. Resolution of seizures was achieved with levetiracetam. Patients with COVID-19 disease are at an elevated risk for seizures, and the mechanism of these seizures is likely multifactorial. Clinical (motor) seizures may not be readily detected in this population due to the expansive utilization of sedatives and paralytics for respiratory optimization strategies. Many of these patients are also not electrographically monitored for seizures due to limited resources, multifactorial risk for acute encephalopathy, and the risk of cross-contamination. Previously, several neurological symptoms were seen in patients with more advanced COVID-19 disease, and these were thought to be secondary to multi-system organ failure and/or disseminated intravascular coagulopathy-related brain injury. However, these patients may also have an advanced breakdown of the blood–brain barrier precipitated by pro-inflammatory cytokine reactions. The neurotropic effect and neuroinvasiveness of SARS-Coronavirus-2 have not been directly established. Acute symptomatic seizures are possible in patients with COVID-19 disease. These seizures are likely multifactorial in origin, including cortical irritation due to blood–brain barrier breakdown, precipitated by the cytokine reaction as a part of the viral infection. Patients with clinical signs of seizures or otherwise unexplained encephalopathy may benefit from electroencephalography monitoring and/or empiric anti-epileptic therapy. Further studies are needed to elucidate the risk of seizures and benefit of monitoring in this population.
String-based methods for tonal harmony: A corpus study of Haydn's string quartets

This chapter considers how string-based methods might be adapted to address music-analytic questions related to the discovery of musical organization, with particular attention devoted to the analysis of tonal harmony. I begin by applying the taxonomy of mental organization proposed by Mandler (1979) to the concept of musical organization. Using this taxonomy as a guide, I then present evidence for three principles of tonal harmony -- recurrence, syntax, and recursion -- using a corpus of Haydn string quartets.
Chemically reacting transverse plume

A simple model of the transverse plume predicts that at a certain freestream speed, the entrainment rate is a maximum and the flame length is a minimum. This presumably corresponds to the most intense combustion in a compact wildfire. The model is in accord with laboratory experiments of a chemically reacting plume.
Sanctuary policies reduce deportations without increasing crime.

The US government maintains that local sanctuary policies prevent deportations of violent criminals and increase crime. This report tests those claims by combining Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation data and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) crime data with data on the implementation dates of sanctuary policies between 2010 and 2015. Sanctuary policies reduced deportations of people who were fingerprinted by states or counties by about one-third. Those policies also changed the composition of deportations, reducing deportations of people with no criminal convictions by half—without affecting deportations of people with violent convictions. Sanctuary policies also had no detectable effect on crime rates. These findings suggest that sanctuary policies, although effective at reducing deportations, do not threaten public safety.
A case study in language-based security: building an I/O library for Wyvern

As the impact of vulnerabilities increases in practice, it is imperative for programming languages to include security as a first-class design consideration. While a number of security-related language features have been proposed to address this need, in many cases, we do not know enough about whether it is practical and useful to build software systems in languages with these features. In this paper, we begin to investigate this question, using a case study methodology. The setting of our case study is Wyvern, a recently designed language we selected because it incorporates three advanced security-related features: capability safety for enforcing the principle of least privilege, an effect system for tracking the secure use of resources, and a language extension feature that mitigates command injection. In our case study, we built a small standard I/O library, seeking to use the new language features to create a library that is less vulnerable to misuse and can serve as a building block for more secure programs, compared to conventional I/O library designs. Our study suggests that these features are indeed practicable and useful, and thus potentially promising for inclusion in other future language designs. It also sheds light on the value and cost of these features and suggests directions for future research on security-focused language design.
Movement Disorders Virtual Fellowship Training in Times of Coronavirus Disease 2019: A Single-Center Experience.

Objective: To describe the impact a global pandemic has had on a teaching movement disorders program, as well as its subsequent transition to telemedicine. Methods: In the midst of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we transitioned our movement disorders fellowship program virtually over the course of a few days. Here we describe the parameters used for the telemedicine fellow supervised clinic visit over the course of 2 months. Fellow's input was obtained from a brief survey at the end of the experience. Faculty's experience was collected upon independent faculty discussions. We also summarize the challenges and advantages of this teaching experience and its downsides. Results: A total of 130 patients (102 follow-up and 28 new patients) were seen over 22 clinic days with any of our 3 fellows being supervised by 1 of the 6 attending physicians. The main challenges were related to technical difficulties and lack of portions of the examination such as tone, reflexes, and sensory testing. The main advantages were related to increased patient access and a decrease in scheduling barriers. The overall satisfaction with the experience of the fellows was positive (69%). Conclusions: This sample shows the feasibility (despite lack of prior experience) of virtual clinical supervision of movement disorders fellows for follow-up and new complex patient encounters. This novel method for movement disorders training has implications for training locally, nationally, and internationally. Limitations and possible future directions such as the inclusion of nonsynchronous recordings and devices for tone and balance testing are also discussed.