cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhancing a regional vegetation map with predictive models of dominant plant species in chaparral

Abstract Data from more than 900 vegetation plots surveyed in the evergreen shrublands of southern California were used to develop predictions of the distributions of eight dominant shrub species for a 3880 km2 region. The predictions, based on classification tree (CT) models, were validated using independent field data collected during a vegetation survey conducted in the 1930s. Presence and absence were correctly predicted an average of 75% of the time for the eight species. At the same time, these models minimized false positives, so that presence was predicted in the correct proportion of the cases for most species. The areal proportion of the landscape on which the species were predicted to occur was in the same rank order, and of the same magnitude, as their frequency (proportion of plots in which they occurred) within the field data sets. Predictive maps of species presence were overlaid and combined with an existing regional vegetation map. The shrub species ‘assemblages’ that resulted from this p...
Field Use of Physiological Status Monitoring (PSM) to Identify Construction Workers' Physiologically Acceptable Bounds and Heart Rate Zones

The construction environment affects workers’ physical responses as well as individual and crew-level performance. Previous research has analyzed the relationship between worker performance and severe environments. This paper reports initial results and a process for establishing reliable, physiologically acceptable bounds and heart rate (HR) zones for construction workers. Five workers at the same building jobsite accepted to wear a Physiological Status Monitoring (PSM) system for several days while at work. HR data were collected to identify physiologically acceptable bounds and HR zones as practical threshold-based guidelines in construction. Since HR is affected by various external variables, daily video recordings and weather data were also collected and used to explain results.
The reserve albumin binding capacity as a criterion for exchange transfusion

The reserve albumin binding capacity is a more selective indicator of the risk of brain damage than the serum bilirubin concentration, particularly when the latter is in the 20 to 25 mg. per 100 ml. range.
Exploring the impact of lean management on innovation capability

Lean management and innovation are two driving forces of today's business success. However, with fundamentally different concepts, some aspects of lean management may negatively affect a company's capability to be successful with certain types of innovations. This paper develops a framework to analyze such impacts. With comparisons between the lean culture, lean design, lean supply chain management and lean human resource management with the characteristics and contributing factors of different types of innovations, five propositions are presented. Each proposition can be tested through several hypothesis tests in future work. In addition, different strategies for a company to achieve the balance and maintain lean and innovation at the same time are also discussed. Advantages, disadvantages, and suitable situations for each strategy are analyzed.
The prevalence of performance improvement as a central topic in the professional literature

The performance improvement field has evolved from the work of professionals seeking to improve performance in the workplace. Each time the field has evolved, it has done so by consistently expanding its scope and incorporating a broader performance context in line with its systems-theory roots. But just how much has performance improvement evolved into a central topic across other fields? A high-level overview of the use of performance-related terms in myriad professional journals across a wide range of fields will be presented here.
Coumarin formation in novobiocin biosynthesis: β-hydroxylation of the aminoacyl enzyme tyrosyl-S-NovH by a cytochrome P450 NovI

Abstract Background: Coumarin group antibiotics, such as novobiocin, coumermycin A 1 and clorobiocin, are potent inhibitors of DNA gyrase. These antibiotics have been isolated from various Streptomyces species and all possess a 3-amino-4-hydroxy-coumarin moiety as their structural core. Prior labeling experiments on novobiocin established that the coumarin moiety was derived from L-tyrosine, probably via a β-hydroxy-tyrosine (β-OH-Tyr) intermediate. Recently the novobiocin gene cluster from Streptomyces spheroides was cloned and sequenced and allows analysis of the biosynthesis of the coumarin at the biochemical level using overexpressed and purified proteins. Results: Two open reading frames (ORFs), NovH and NovI, from the novobiocin producer S. spheroides have been overexpressed in Escherichia coli , purified and characterized for tyrosine activation and oxygenation which are the initial steps in coumarin formation. The 65 kDa NovH has two predicted domains, an adenylation (A) and a peptidyl carrier protein (PCP), reminiscent of non-ribosomal peptide synthetases. Purified NovH catalyzes L-tyrosyl-AMP formation by its A domain, can be posttranslationally phosphopantetheinylated on the PCP domain, and accumulates the covalent L-tyrosyl- S -enzyme intermediate on the holo PCP domain. The second enzyme in the pathway, NovI, is a 45 kDa heme protein that functions as a cytochrome P450-type monooxygenase with specificity for the tyrosyl- S -NovH acyl enzyme. The product β-OH-tyrosyl- S -NovH was detected by alkaline release and high performance liquid chromatography analysis of radioactive [ 3 H]β-OH-Tyr and by mass spectrometry. Also detected was 4-OH-benzaldehyde, a retro aldol breakdown product of β-OH-Tyr. The amino acid released was (3 R ,2 S )-3-OH-Tyr by comparison with authentic standards. Conclusions: This work establishes that NovH and NovI are responsible for the formation of a β-OH-Tyr intermediate that is covalently tethered to NovH in novobiocin biosynthesis. Comparable A–PCP/P450 pairs for amino acid β-hydroxylation are found in various biosynthetic gene clusters, such as ORF19/ORF20 in the chloroeremomycin cluster for tyrosine, CumC/CumD in the coumermycin A 1 cluster for tyrosine, and NikP1/NikQ in the nikkomycin cluster for histidine. This phenomenon of covalent docking of the amino acid in a kinetically stable thioester linkage prior to chemical modification by downstream tailoring enzymes, could represent a common strategy for controlling the partitioning of the amino acid for incorporation into secondary metabolites.
Coordinate regulation of gene expression in the C. elegans excretory cell by the POU domain protein CEH-6

Excretory renal organs are critical in animals for osmoregulation and the elimination of waste. Renal organs across a range of species exhibit cellular and molecular similarities. For example, class III POU-homeodomain transcription factors are expressed in the renal organs of many invertebrates and vertebrates. However, the functional role for these factors is not well characterized. To better understand the role of class III POU-homeodomain proteins in animal excretory systems, we have characterized a set of genes expressed in the Caenorhabditis elegans excretory cell, and determined their regulation by the POU-III transcription factor CEH-6. Our molecular and biochemical studies show that CEH-6 regulates a subset of genes expressed in the excretory cell. Additionally, we find that the CEH-6-dependent genes share two molecular features: they contain at least one octamer regulatory element and they encode for transport and channel proteins. This work suggests that a role for POU-III factors in renal organs is to coordinate the expression of a set of functionally related genes.
Phylogenetic estimates of speciation and extinction rates for testing ecological and evolutionary hypotheses

Phylogenies are used to estimate rates of speciation and extinction, reconstruct historical diversification scenarios, and link these to ecological and evolutionary factors, such as climate or organismal traits. Recent models can now estimate the effects of binary, multistate, continuous, and biogeographic characters on diversification rates. Others test for diversity dependence (DD) in speciation and extinction, which has become recognized as an important process in numerous clades. A third class incorporates flexible time-dependent functions, enabling reconstruction of major periods of both expanding and contracting diversity. Although there are some potential problems (particularly for estimating extinction), these methods hold promise for answering many classic questions in ecology and evolution, such as the origin of adaptive radiations, and the latitudinal gradient in species richness.
Tubulointerstitial Nephritis and Other Renal Involvement by IgG4-Related Disease

“IgG4-related kidney disease (IgG4-RKD)” is a collective term used to describe the different types of renal involvement seen in IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD). IgG4-RD is a recently described systemic immune-mediated disease that can involve nearly any organ system. The best-recognized form of IgG4-RKD is IgG4-related tubulointerstitial nephritis (IgG4-TIN), which may present as renal failure, renal mass lesions, or both. Radiographically, renal lesions are commonly bilateral and multiple, predominantly involving renal cortex, and can mimic a neoplasm. On tissue sections, IgG4-TIN is characterized by a plasma cell-rich interstitial inflammatory cell infiltrate, often with numerous eosinophils, and typically accompanied by “storiform” fibrosis; these features are strikingly similar to the fibroinflammatory lesions seen in other organs affected by IgG4-RD. In the majority of cases of IgG4-TIN, tubular basement membrane immune complex deposits, a useful feature to help distinguish IgG4-TIN from other forms of tubulointerstitial nephritis, can be seen by immunofluorescence or electron microscopy studies. The histopathologic, immunophenotypic, ultrastructural, and radiographic features of IgG4-related tubulointerstitial nephritis are reviewed here. Glomerular disease can also be associated with IgG4-RD, most commonly membranous glomerulonephritis, which may occur with or without concurrent IgG4-TIN.
Underground Harmonies: Music and Politics In the Subways of New York

Underground Harmonies: Music and Politics In the Subways of New York. SUSIE J. TANENBAUM. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1995. xvi + 270 pp., photographs, notes, bibliography, index.
Restraint Stress Delays Reentrainment in Male and Female Diurnal and Nocturnal Rodents

Atemporary loss of normal circadian entrainment, such as that associated with shift work and transmeridian travel, can result in an array of detrimental symptoms, making rapid reentrainment of rhythmicity essential. While there is a wealth of literature examining the effects of stress on the entrained circadian system, less is known about the influence of stress on circadian function following a phase shift of the light: dark (LD) cycle. The authors find that recovery of locomotor activity synchronization is altered by restraint stress in the diurnal rodent Octodon degus (degu) and the nocturnal rat. In the first experiment, degus were subjected to a 6-h phase advance of the LD cycle. Sixty minutes after the new lights-on, animals underwent 60 min of restraint stress. The number of days it took each animal to reentrain its activity rhythms to the new LD cycle was recorded and compared to the number of days it took the animal to reentrain under control conditions. When subjected to restraint stress, degus ...
Morphological convergence of pharyngeal jaw structure in durophagous perciform fish

Locomotion of lizards has clear morphological determinants and is important for developing activities such as feeding, social interaction and predator avoidance. Thus, morphological variation is believed to have fitness consequences through affecting locomotor performance. This paper firstly evaluates the dependence of burst speed on morphology, and secondly examines the movement patterns of free-ranging undisturbed wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) engaged in several kinds of activity. Body size was the most important correlate of burst speed as performed at the optimal temperature for running in the laboratory. After removing size effects from performance and morphological traits, the length of some particular limb segments had positive influence on burst speed, but these effects were weak, each trait explaining less than 16% of variance in burst speed. Free-ranging P. muralisexhibited intermittent locomotion, with movement sequences interrupted by frequent short pauses. Field movement patterns greatly differed depending upon the kind of activity and were in most aspects independent of the size and sex of the animal. P. muralisinvolved in thermoregulation performed short and low-speed displacements; exploratory activities were characterized by frequent, slow and short movements. On the contrary, lizards involved in intraspecific pursuits and predator escape developed comparatively high speeds, although only exceptionally did they attain the size-specific burst speed predicted from the laboratory trials. Speed of escape increased with distance to the refuge and the animals are able to assess predation risks to modulate approach distance, speed and pauses, so maximum exertion is seldom required. The evolution of locomotor capacities exceeding routine needs is discussed in the context of the principle of ‘excessive construction’.
Electric field calculations of wet insulating surfaces

Presence of water droplets over the insulator surface enhances the electric field intensity and leads to electrical breakdown. This is important for outdoor insulation because the combination of moisture and contamination causes flashover at operating voltage; hence affects reliability of power delivery. Electric field has been calculated on insulating surfaces for different patterns of wetting. Simulations have been conducted by varying the number of water droplets, their relative positions and contact angle on the insulator surface in the sheath region. They are simulated using a 3D Electric Field Analysis computer package (Coulomb). One important outcome of this work, is that location of the water droplets with respect to electrodes and other droplets are crucial in determining the maximum E-Field intensity and hence the flash over voltage.
Managing The Re-Employment Of Military Veterans Through The Transition Assistance Program (TAP)

With the drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and a $1.05 trillion dollar cut in the Department of Defense budget over the next ten years, tens of thousands of veterans are flooding the job market at a time when millions of civilians cannot find employment. To fight this high number of unemployed veterans Congress passed the Veterans Employment Bill of President Obama’s Jobs Bill in November 2011. This paper discusses the government sponsored military veteran Transition Assistance Program’s (TAP) effectiveness in reducing the veteran unemployment rate and presents the results of a survey of 350 Army personnel’s perceptions of the utility of the services offered through the TAP.
Regulation of the corpus luteum during the menstrual cycle and early pregnancy.

Regulation of the corpus luteum during the menstrual cycle and early pregnancy is reviewed. Data relevant to influential factors such as gonadotropic hormones from the pituitary the products of conception the uterus and the local influence of steroid hormones are discussed. Data described suggest that the human corpus luteum may not need continued support by gonadotropic hormone however these data were difficult to interpret because no human pituitary gonadotropins were available for studies and because endogeneous gonadotropin levels were not determined prior to and during treatment. A summary of the data suggests that luteinzing hormone (and/or human chorionic gonadotropin in pregnancy) is the prinicipal luteotropic factor in women. Mechanisms of action are discussed.
Conduction Heat Transfer

Thermodynamics, along with thermal hydraulic analysis, deals with the transfer of heat to and from a working fluid and the performance of work by that fluid. Since the transfer of heat to a working fluid is central to thermodynamics, a short excursion into the technology of heat transfer is useful to tie thermodynamics to real world devices. Heat transfer processes are never ideal and a study of the technology of heat transfer will develop an understanding of the trade-offs in the design of the devices that actually accomplish the heat transfer. Heat transfer technology provides the basis on which heat exchangers are designed to accomplish the actual transfer of thermal energy.
Pump-probe microscopy: spatially resolved carrier dynamics in ZnO rods and the influence of optical cavity resonator modes.

Femtosecond pump–probe microscopy is used to investigate the charge recombination dynamics at different points within a single needle-shaped ZnO rod. Recombination in the tips of the rod occurs through an excitonic or electron–hole plasma state, taking place on a picosecond time scale. Photoexcitation in the larger diameter sections of the interior exhibit dramatically slower recombination that occurs primarily through defects sites, i.e., trap mediated recombination. Transient absorption imaging shows that the spatial variation in the dynamics is also influenced by the cavity resonances supported within the hexagonal cross section of the rod. Finite element simulations suggest that these optical resonator modes produce qualitatively different intensity patterns in the two different locations. Near the end of the rod, the intensity pattern has significant standing-wave character, which leads to the creation of photoexcited carriers in the core of the structure. The larger diameter regions, on the other ha...
Overwintering of Trichogramma nubilale in Delaware

Field studies conducted during the winters of 1972–73, 1973–74 and 1975–76 show that Trichogramma nubilale Ertle and Davis is capable of overwintering in eggs of its preferred host, the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner), in Delaware. A period of conditioning, and development to a critical life stage (i.e., pupa), appears necessary for this parasite to successfully overwinter. Adult emergence in the spring occurs from late-March to late-April.
Reliability Design of Electrical Control System of Coal Mine Tunneller

The paper briefly introduced composition of electrical control system of coal mine tunneller,analyzed some design factors which affect reliability of electrical control system of tunneller such as technique security,software reliability,electromagnetic compatibility and environment adaptability,and proposed concrete reliability design schemes of electrical control system,which can provide some technique support for more reliable and safer application of electrical control system of coal mine tunneller.
Effects of Applying Bacterial Manure on Enzymes of Copper Contaminated Soil with Planting Corn

With pot experiment,this paper studied the effects on 4 kinds of enzymes(urease, catalase, sucrase, phosphatase) of different varieties of corn(Jin dan56, Changyu16, Dazheng2) in copper contaminated soil in different dosage of bacterial manure conditions(0,50,100,200 g).The results showed that for Dazheng 2 and Changyu 16, the dosage of 100 g bacterial manure in copper contaminated soil had apparent activation effect on catalase, urease, invertase and phosphatase;for Jindan 56, the dosage of 200 g bacterial manure in copper contaminated soil had apparent activation effect on catalase, urease, invertase and phosphatase;the effect of four kinds of enzyme in the copper contaminated soil, Dazheng 2(Cu + J- 100) Jin dan 56(Cu + J- 200) Changyu16(Cu + J-100). The comprehensive consideration was that for Dazheng 2 corn, the amount of 100 g bacterial manure had the most obvious effect on catalase, urease, invertase and phosphatase activation, and the sizes of the four kinds of enzyme were 0.225 0,72.727 6, 0.858 0,3.755 7 mg·g-1respectively.
Morphoproteomic Study on Cytology Specimen on Renal and Extra-Renal Rhabdoid Tumor: One Monster, Two Faces

Malignant rhabdoid tumors (MRT) are rare, aggressive, high-grade malignant tumors diagnosed mainly in infants and children; they arise in the kidneys, soft tissues, and central nervous system. MRTs at all sites are recognized as the same entity due to their similar morphology, aggressive behavior, and a common genetic abnormality, an inactivating mutation of the INI-1/hSNF5 gene. Despite multimodal therapy, outcome in rhabdoid tumors remains poor with only 31% …
Analysis of Common Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: Genome Wide Association Study Approach and Pooled DNA Strategy.

Objective. The objective of this study was to use a genome-wide association (GWAS) approach and pooled DNA strategy to search for new genomic loci associated with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Design. The study cohort consisted of 230 patients with established diagnosis of CRPS. The control group consisted of 230 age- and gender-matched subjects without chronic pain. We tested the association of common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), genotyped using a high-density microarray platform, with CRPS phenotype. This was followed by individual genotyping of the most significant SNPs identified in the microarray genomic scan, in both original discovery (N = 115) and independent verification (N = 115) groups of patients with CRPS, as well as in the appropriate matched control subjects. Results. The results of our study provide no support for the initial hypothesis of the existence of an association between any investigated genomic targets (including GWAS for all genomic loci available on the microarray, and focused scan of the HLA locus on chromosome 6) and CRPS phenotype. Conclusions. Despite the fact that we interrogated about 83% of all of common SNPs in the human genome, we did not find evidence that any of the investigated common SNPs may be associated with CRPS phenotype.
Soft power: the origins and political progress of a concept

Power is the ability to affect others to get the outcomes one prefers, and that can be accomplished by coercion, payment, or attraction and persuasion. Soft power is the ability to obtain preferred outcomes by attraction rather than coercion or payment. This anecdotal comment recounts the origins of the concept as an analytical tool, and its gradual development as an instrumental concept used in political discourse in Europe, China and the United States. This article is published as part of a collection on soft power.
Patient reported symptom severity in cancer survivors.

143Background: At Stanford Health Care, patient-reported symptom severity is routinely assessed during cancer survivorship visits. Aim: Our objective is to identify the proportion of moderate to severe symptoms reported during first visit by patient group (breast cancer, lymphoma, allogeneic BMT recipients). Methods: Our cohort were unique patients evaluated in a cancer survivorship clinic between 9/1/15 and 8/31/16. Cohort patient report of presence and severity of 23 symptoms using a six-point Likert scale on a paper-based written instrument were collected and analyzed (0 = absent, 1-2 = mild, 3-4 = moderate, 5 = severe). Symptoms include fatigue, pain, constipation, diarrhea, uncontrolled loss of urine, limb swelling, shortness of breath, oral problems, trouble swallowing, muscle weakness, unusual sweating, ability to exercise, numbness in limbs, depression, fear, changes in sleep, body image, skin/hair, appetite, weight, sexual health, cognition and/or balance. Results: 337 unique patients (median age...
App behavioral analysis using system calls

System calls provide an interface to the services made available by an operating system. As a result, any functionality provided by a software application eventually reduces to a set of fixed system calls. Since system calls have been used in literature, to analyze program behavior we made an assumption that analyzing the patterns in calls made by a mobile application would provide us insight into its behavior. In this paper, we present our preliminary study conducted with 534 mobile applications and the system calls made by them. Due to a rising trend of mobile applications providing multiple functionalities, our study concluded, mapping system calls to functional behavior of a mobile application was not straightforward. We use Weka tool with manually annotated application behavior classes and system call features in our experiments, to show that using such features achieves mediocre F1-measure at best. Thus leading to the conclusion that system calls were not sufficient features for mobile application behavior classification.
Balancing Authority Cooperation Concepts to Reduce Variable Generation Integration Costs in the Western Interconnection: Consolidating Balancing Authorities and Sharing Balancing Reserves

The study described in this chapter demonstrates the benefits of BA consolidation with the help of a detailed WECC system model and advanced methodology, which is also described in this chapter. The study aims to determine the potential savings in production cost and reduction in balancing reserve requirements in the WECC system. The study has found that effective use of the diversity in load and variable generation over a wide area can indeed help to achieve significant savings. The implementation cost for the consolidation was beyond the scope of this study. The analysis was performed for two different scenarios of VG penetration: 11% (8% wind and 3% solar) and 33% (24% wind and 9% solar) of WECC projected energy demand in 2020.
The Effects of Conjugated Linoleic Acid and Berberine Supplementation on Markers of Allopurinol Activated Oxidative Stress in Broiler Chickens

Selection for rapid growth in poultry can be linked to an exaggerated state of oxidative stress (reactive oxidative species). Reactive oxidative species are kept in balance by endogenous and exogenous antioxidants. Two compounds, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and berberine a purified compound from plant root extract have been suggested to ameliorate oxidative stress. A six-week study examined the effect of CLA and berberine supplementation on markers of oxidative-stress in poultry. Day old broiler chickens (n=60) were equally divided into six groups; a control, a CLA group where half of the regular oil used in a standard was substituted for a CLA oil mixture, a berberine group consisting of berberine supplementation, an allopurinol group, a CLA and allopurinol with the same dose as the CLA and allopurinol groups and a berberine and allopurinol group. The allopurinol was added to induce an oxidative stress state. Body weight, plasma uric acid, plasma glucose, and relative gene expression of six endogenous liver antioxidants were measured during the course of the study. The addition of allopurinol to the diet induced an oxidative stress state as measured by a significant reduction in plasma uric acid. There were no significant changes in BW and blood glucose concentrations. There was a 10-fold increase in the relative mRNA expression of superoxide dismutase 2 and 3 as well as glutathione peroxidase 1 and 3 in CLA+ALLO and BRB+ALLO treatment groups. Notably, CLA increased the expression of uncoupling protein 19-fold compared to control, while the addition of allopurinol blocked these changes. In contrast, there was a slight increase in the uncoupling protein in the BRB+ALLO treatment. Despite the increase in mRNA expression of the antioxidants genes, these results suggest that at the dosages administered, CLA and berberine were not effective in reversing the oxidative stress induced by allopurinol.
Family Systems and Couples Approaches

The quote by the late, great comedian, George Burns, alludes to the individual vs. family dialectic that exists both in families and in the field of psychotherapy. Every one experiences a tension between their need for autonomy and their need for intimacy: to differentiate an identity separate from one’s family, but still remain connected with them. With a few exceptions, e.g., Adler’s child guidance clinics and the family focus of social workers, psychotherapy has focused on the individual during its first 50 years. The family was of interest only as experienced and internalized by the individual. Sullivan began the shift from a monadic to a dyadic focus when he conceptualized psychopathology as a process occurring between two people and ushered in the interpersonal school of psychotherapy. Problems with others develop from maladaptive caregiver and child interactions instead of being located in the “identified patient.” Family theorists took the next step in the 1950s with a triadic focus. Instead of a monadic focus on problems within the person or a dyadic focus on what happens between client and therapist, they worked with at least three people in the room: therapist, child, parents, and perhaps other children or family.
Digital Phase Demodulation in Heterodyne Interferometry

The emergence of tunable diode lasers from the communications industry creates a need in diagnostic heterodyne sensors for flexible FM demodulation techniques. By using tunable lasers, it becomes efficient to generate Heterodyne Beat Frequencies (HBF) that can be tuned to over 10 GHz with frequency stabilities to within 100 kHz. These diode lasers are small in size, rugged, reliable, and relatively cheap. These characteristics make diode lasers the ideal light sources for sensors to be integrated into industrial processes, smart structures, and on-line quality control or NDE.
Role of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins in Valvulogenesis

Valvulogenesis is a complex process involving the formation and morphogenesis of the atrioventricular and semilunar valves. The early embryonic heart is a single myocardial tube lined with endocardial cells. During the looping process, simultaneous valve formation initiates by deposition of hyaluronan-rich gelatinous matrix, called cardiac jelly, forming swellings, which project into the lumen. At the onset of Hamburger and Hamilton (HH14-, E9.0 in mouse), a process called EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition) takes place in which the lining of endocardial cell swellings differentiated from an EMT phenotype. This process is associated with downregulation of cell-cell contacts, such as E-cadherin and PECAM1, the acquisition of cell-matrix adhesions, and cytoskeleton rearrangement [1]. The invasiveness of the mesenchymal phenotype is critical, as these cells dive into the hyaluronan-rich cardiac jelly, degrade the underlying matrix, and deposit newly synthesized collagen I, II, III, versican, and other proteoglycans [2]. These newly populated mesenchymal swellings, called “cushions”, form in pairs that oppose each other during the cardiac cycle to act as primitive valves by maintaining unidirectional blood flow [3]. One pair of cushions develops in the atrioventricular (AV) canal, and two (proximal and distal) develop in the outflow tract (OFT). Underlying this valve formation process, bone-morphogenetic proteins (BMP) have been established as critical cytokines. Using both in-vitro and in-vivo models, dysfunction of this pathway has been associated with a number of congenital valve defects, and their role will now be discussed.
Public Scholarship: Serving to Learn

A set of fundamental axioms occupy center stage at the medley of local and national service learning institutes, workshops and summits that continue, after nearly two decades of germination, to grow in attendance and frequency. Those attending recognize that the cultivation of civic engagement within an environment that nurtures basic research, land grant outreach, disciplinary teaching and learning, and general education is fundamental to the higher education mission. Service learning is an effective incubator for civic engagement. Service learning based scholarship contributes significantly to each of the academy’s teaching, research, and service missions, and can facilitate their integration (Astin, Sax, & Avalos, 1999; Cohen, 1994).
Multistage Reliability-Based Design Optimization and Application to Aircraft Conceptual Design

A new proposal for formulating reliability-based design optimization problems, named the multistage reliability-based design optimization approach, is presented. The classical reliability-based des...
Multi-unit supply-monotone auctions with bayesian valuations

We design multi-unit auctions for budget-constrained bidders in the Bayesian setting. Our auctions are supply-monotone, which allows the auction to be run online without knowing the number of items in advance, and achieve asymptotic revenue optimality. We also give an efficient algorithm for implementing our auction by using a succinct and efficiently implementable characterization of supply-monotonicity in the Bayesian setting.
The Distributional Impacts of Energy Taxes

AbstractTaxes have long been advocated by economists for efficient pollution control, particularly in the energy sector. However, these taxes may enjoy less political support than standards-based r...
Data Engagement: A Critical Materialist Framework for Making Data in Qualitative Research:

The language of “data collection” is perpetuated by disciplinary practices, as well as a pedagogical motivation to make data collection practices teachable to new generations of qualitative researc...
2nd Pan American Congress of Physiological Sciences, Havana, Cuba, May 27-31, 2019

Physiology education was well represented at the 2nd Pan American Congress of Physiological Sciences in Havana, Cuba, with two symposia, a workshop, and a poster session.
A Fine-Grained Approach for Anomaly Detection in File System Accesses With Enhanced Temporal User Profiles

Protecting sensitive data from theft, exfiltration, and other kinds of abuses by malicious insiders is a challenging problem. While access control mechanisms cannot always prevent the insiders from misusing sensitive data (since, in most of the cases, authorized users within organizations are granted access permissions), malicious outsiders also pose severe threats due to different security vulnerabilities in the systems, e.g., phishing attacks, memory corruptions, etc., which enable them to steal the credentials of the authorized users who have access to the data. To protect sensitive data from such attackers, anomaly detection techniques are often combined with other existing security measures, e.g., access control and encryption. An anomaly detection technique for identifying anomalies in file system accesses is based on the key idea that there should be significant differences between the file access behaviors of a benign user and an attacker. In this article, we propose an approach to create fine-grained profiles of the users’ regular file access activities while extensively analyzing the timestamp information of the file accesses. According to our observation, even if a user’s access to a file seems benign, only a fine-grained analysis of the access (such as the size of access, the timestamp of access) can determine the original intention of the user. We exploit the users’ file access information at the block level to model their regular file access behaviors (user profiles) which are then securely stored and used for identifying anomalous file system accesses in the detection phase. We are also able to automatically profile new files and new users added to the system dynamically. Finally, our performance evaluations demonstrate that our proposed approach has an accuracy of 98.7 percent in detecting anomalies while incurring an overhead of only 2 percent.
Spironolactone in pulmonary arterial hypertension: results of a cross-over study.

The renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system is implicated in the pathophysiology of pulmonary arterial hypertension. We undertook this study to determine the effects of spironolactone, a mineralocorti...
Participant responses to a water treatment intervention in rural Guatemala

Each year, 1.1 billion people suffer from disease, dehydration, and malnutrition fueled by waterborne pathogens. Although point-of-use water filters are a viable solution, effectiveness requires co...
A meta-analysis of signaling principle in multimedia learning environments

Signals (or cues) are added to multimedia learning materials to guide learners’ attention to critical elements of the materials. Yet, research on signaling has produced mixed findings on learning outcomes. On the one hand, some studies have reported positive effects of signaling on the performance of learning outcomes (e.g., Jamet in Hum Behav 32:47–53, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.11.013 , 2014). On the other hand, some studies have found that signaling did not improve performance on learning-related outcomes (e.g., Mayer and DaPra in J Exp Psychol 18(3):239–252, https://doi.org/10.1037/a002861670 , 2012). The present meta-analysis seeks to (a) resolve the mixed findings in signaling research, (b) examine the effects on signaling on learning outcomes, and (c) identify potential moderating variables. Following an exhaustive search for studies meeting specified design criteria, 44 independent effect sizes were extracted from 29 experimental studies involving 2726 participants. Studies were coded on features, such as participants (e.g., grade level), presentation (e.g., pacing), and methodology (e.g., quality of the study). Results indicated that signaling is associated with increased learning outcomes (d = .38, p < .01), with effect sizes varying from small to large. This overall effect was moderated by study, participant, presentation, and methodological features. For example, beneficial effects on learning outcomes were found when studies were high in quality, reported the reliability of outcomes, use pretest, and control for differences in prior knowledge. The findings have significant implications for educators and instructional designers as well as for multimedia researchers.
Markov modeling of run length and velocity for molecular motors

Molecular motors are nanometer scale proteins involved in various intracellular processes such as cargo transport, muscle contraction and cell division. The steps in the chemo-mechanical cycle that...
Resurrection of Chronically Occluded Prosthetic Bypass Grafts in a Single Stage with Suction Thrombectomy and Intervention.

Background Peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) continues to be a vexing problem despite the advent of endovascular techniques augmenting traditional open repair. At our institution, we have found there is a growing number of patients with PAOD who are vein-challenged and have undergone prosthetic bypass previously for infrainguinal arterial reconstruction. When occluded, these grafts have been abandoned for a new bypass strategy or amputation. We present a novel technique of reestablishing flow through chronically occluded prosthetic bypass grafts. Methods A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database compiled at 2 institutions between 2016 and 2019 was performed. Six patients had previous prosthetic bypass grafts with 4 patients having femoral to popliteal grafts, 1 patient with a femoral to femoral graft, and 1 with a femoral to posterior tibial bypass graft. All patients had an attempted single-stage intervention to clear chronically occluded grafts. Results A total of 6 patients were included in the study. Indications for intervention were chronic, critical limb ischemia with tissue loss (3), severe claudication (2), and acute on chronic limb ischemia (1). Average time from bypass to suction thrombectomy was 29 months (6–60 months). Mean patency duration is 13 months (1–28 months). Adjunctive procedures include overnight lysis to improve outflow in 1 patient (16.6%), drug-coated balloon angioplasty (83.3%), or stents (83.3%). There were no embolic complications during these procedures. All (2) wounds healed and all are maintained on full-dose anticoagulation and/or antiplatelet therapy. Conclusions Often, the timing of bypass graft occlusion is unknown, and the risk of embolism with lysis for chronically occluded bypass grafts is concerning with traditional peripheral intervention techniques. We report a new and unique minimally invasive approach to resurrect chronically occluded prosthetic bypass grafts often successful in just one stage. This tool offers an alternative technique for limb salvage in complex patients and as use increases, requires further interrogation.
Digital Health in Electrophysiology and the COVID-19 Global Pandemic.

The tools of digital health are facilitating a much-needed paradigm shift to a more patient-centric health care delivery system, yet our health care infrastructure is firmly rooted in a 20th-century model that was not designed to receive medical data from outside the traditional medical environment. COVID-19 has accelerated this adoption and illustrated the challenges that lie ahead as we make this shift. The diverse ecosystem of digital health tools share 1 feature in common: they generate data that must be processed, triaged, acted upon, and incorporated into the longitudinal electronic health record. Critical abnormal findings must be identified and acted upon rapidly, while semi-urgent and noncritical data and trends may be reviewed within a less urgent timeline. Clinically irrelevant findings, which presently comprise a significant percentage of the alerts, ideally would be removed to optimize the high-cost, high-value resource (ie, the clinicians' attention and time). We need to transform our established health care infrastructure, technologies, and workflows to be able to safely, effectively, and efficiently manage the vast quantities of data that these tools will generate. This must include new technologies from industry as well as expert consensus documents from medical specialty societies, including the Heart Rhythm Society. Ultimately, research will be fundamental to inform effective development and implementation of these tools.
Malaria vaccine trial shows the potentiating power of incremental progress

The complexity of malaria has precluded many “slam dunk” attempts at a vaccine. In this issue, Minassian et al. 1 present efficacy trial results that demonstrate progress for a much-anticipated malaria vaccine candidate and pave the way to future iterations by validating a comprehensive vaccine development framework.
Survey-based Evaluation of Resident and Attending Financial Literacy.

Introduction: Physician finances are linked to wellness and burnout. However, few physicians receive financial management education. We sought to determine the financial literacy and educational need of attending and resident physician at an academic emergency medicine (EM) residency. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional, survey study at an academic EM residency. We devised a 49-question survey with four major domains: demographics (16 questions); Likert-scale questions evaluating value placed on personal finances (3 questions); Likert-scale questions evaluating perceived financial literacy (11 questions); and a financial literacy test based on previously developed and widely used financial literacy questions (19 questions). We administered the survey to EM attendings and residents. We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and compared attending and resident test question responses. Results: A total of 44 residents and 24 attendings responded to the survey. Few (9.0% of residents, 12.5% of attendings) reported prior formal financial education. However, most respondents (70.5% of residents and 79.2% of attendings) participated in financial self-learning. On a five-point Likert scale (not at all important: very important), respondents felt that financial independence (4.7 ± 0.8) and their finances (4.7±0.8) were important for their well-being. Additionally, they valued being prepared for retirement (4.7±0.9). Regarding perceived financial literacy (very uncomfortable: very comfortable), respondents had the lowest comfort level with investing in the stock market (2.7±1.5), applying for a mortgage (2.8±1.6), and managing their retirement (3.0±1.4). Residents scored significantly lower than attendings on the financial literacy test (70.8% vs 79.6%, P<0.01), and residents scored lower on questions pertaining to investment (78.8% v 88.9%, P<0.01) and insurance and taxes (47.0% v 70.8%, P<0.01). Overall, respondents scored lower on questions about retirement (58.8%, P<0.01) and insurance and taxes (54.7%, P<0.01). Conclusion: Emergency physicians’ value of financial literacy exceeded confidence in financial literacy, and residents reported poorer confidence than attendings. We identified deficiencies in emergency physicians’ financial literacy for retirement, insurance, and taxes.
Minimal Peptidoglycan (PG) Turnover in Wild-Type and PG Hydrolase and Cell Division Mutants of Streptococcus pneumoniae D39 Growing Planktonically and in Host-Relevant Biofilms

ABSTRACT We determined whether there is turnover of the peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall of the ovococcus bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus). Pulse-chase experiments on serotype 2 strain D39 radiolabeled with N -acetylglucosamine revealed little turnover and release of PG breakdown products during growth compared to published reports of PG turnover in Bacillus subtilis. PG dynamics were visualized directly by long-pulse–chase–new-labeling experiments using two colors of fluorescent d-amino acid (FDAA) probes to microscopically detect regions of new PG synthesis. Consistent with minimal PG turnover, hemispherical regions of stable “old” PG persisted in D39 and TIGR4 (serotype 4) cells grown in rich brain heart infusion broth, in D39 cells grown in chemically defined medium containing glucose or galactose as the carbon source, and in D39 cells grown as biofilms on a layer of fixed human epithelial cells. In contrast, B. subtilis exhibited rapid sidewall PG turnover in similar FDAA-labeling experiments. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of biochemically released peptides from S. pneumoniae PG validated that FDAAs incorporated at low levels into pentamer PG peptides and did not change the overall composition of PG peptides. PG dynamics were also visualized in mutants lacking PG hydrolases that mediate PG remodeling, cell separation, or autolysis and in cells lacking the MapZ and DivIVA division regulators. In all cases, hemispheres of stable old PG were maintained. In PG hydrolase mutants exhibiting aberrant division plane placement, FDAA labeling revealed patches of inert PG at turns and bulge points. We conclude that growing S. pneumoniae cells exhibit minimal PG turnover compared to the PG turnover in rod-shaped cells. IMPORTANCE PG cell walls are unique to eubacteria, and many bacterial species turn over and recycle their PG during growth, stress, colonization, and virulence. Consequently, PG breakdown products serve as signals for bacteria to induce antibiotic resistance and as activators of innate immune responses. S. pneumoniae is a commensal bacterium that colonizes the human nasopharynx and opportunistically causes serious respiratory and invasive diseases. The results presented here demonstrate a distinct demarcation between regions of old PG and regions of new PG synthesis and minimal turnover of PG in S. pneumoniae cells growing in culture or in host-relevant biofilms. These findings suggest that S. pneumoniae minimizes the release of PG breakdown products by turnover, which may contribute to evasion of the innate immune system.
Encoding Explicit and Implicit Emergent Subshapes Based on Empirical Findings About Human Vision

It has been generally accepted that the recognition of emergent subshapes plays an important role in design derivation. Many symbolic approaches have been considered in addressing this focused problem. On the other hand, the issue is also encountered by connectionist networks, also called parallel distributed models or neural networks. Connectionist networks associated with recurrent attention have explored the problem to some degree, but these explorations are still limited. This paper explores an alternative, feasible mechanism of visual attention that can overcome the limitations of the recurrent attention paradigm. The mechanism of searchlight attention presented in this paper draws intensively on previous and recent findings in cognitive psychology, neuroscience and their computational simulations and investigations.