cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chronic ethanol and withdrawal effects on kainate receptor-mediated excitatory neurotransmission in the rat basolateral amygdala.

Withdrawal anxiety is a significant factor contributing to continued alcohol abuse in alcoholics. This anxiety is extensive, long-lasting, and develops well after the obvious physical symptoms of acute withdrawal. The neurobiological mechanisms underlying this prolonged withdrawal-induced anxiety are not well understood. The basolateral amygdala is a major emotional center in the brain and regulates the expression of anxiety. New evidence suggests that increased glutamatergic function in the basolateral amygdala may contribute to withdrawal-related anxiety following chronic ethanol exposure. Recent evidence also suggests that kainate-type ionotropic glutamate receptors are inhibited by intoxicating concentrations of acute ethanol. This acute sensitivity suggests potential contributions by these receptors to the increased glutamatergic function seen during chronic exposure. Therefore we examined the effect of chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) and withdrawal (WD) on kainate receptor (KAR) mediated synaptic transmission in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) of Sprague Dawley rats. Our study showed that CIE, but not withdrawal, increased synaptic responses mediated by KARs. Interestingly, both CIE and WD occluded KAR-mediated synaptic plasticity. Finally, we found that BLA fEPSP responses were increased during CIE and WD via a mechanism that is independent from glutamate release from presynaptic terminals. Taken together, these data suggest that KARs might also contribute to postsynaptic increases in glutamatergic synaptic transmission during CIE and that the mechanisms responsible for the expression of KAR-dependent synaptic plasticity might be engaged by chronic ethanol exposure and withdrawal.
Chest Pain and Hypoxemia from Inhalation of a Trichloroethane Aerosol Product

A 25-year-old man developed severe shortness of breath, constricting chest pressure, chest pain, cough and myalgia following acute exposure to a waterproofing aerosol that contained trichloroethane. He became febrile and developed a small area of atetectasis with significant hypoxemia. Recovery was complete within 36 hours. This experience suggests that casual use of a trichloroethane aerosol with a surface active agent can cause acute pulmonary toxicity. The mechanism of this injury is unknown.
Identification of genes and haplotypes that predict rheumatoid arthritis using random forests

Random forest (RF) analysis of genetic data does not require specification of the mode of inheritance, and provides measures of variable importance that incorporate interaction effects. In this paper we describe RF-based approaches for assessment of gene and haplotype importance, and apply these approaches to a subset of the North American Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium case-control data provided by Genetic Analysis Workshop 16. The RF analyses of 37 genes identified many of the same genes as logistic regression, but also suggested importance of certain single-nucleotide polymorphism and genes that were not ranked highly by logistic regression. A new permutation method did not reveal strong evidence of gene-gene interaction effects in these data. Although RFs are a promising approach for genetic data analysis, extensions beyond simple single-nucleotide polymorphism analyses and modifications to improve computational feasibility are needed.
RHIC beam-based sextupole polarity verification

THis article presents a beam-based method to check RHIC arc sextupole polarities using local horizontal orbit three-bumps at injection energy. We use 11 bumps in each arc, each covering two SFs (focusing sextupoles) and one SD (defocusing sextupole). If there are no wrong sextupole polarities, the tune shifts from bump to bump and the tune shift patterns from arc to arc should be similar. Wrong sextupole polarities can be easily identified from mismatched signs or amplitudes of tune shifts from bump to bump and/or from arc to arc. Tune shifts in both planes during this study were tracked with a high-resolution base-band tunemeter (BBQ) system. This method was successfully used to the sextupole polarity check in RHIC blue and yellow rings in the RHIC 2006 and 2007 runs.
Shock-wave/boundary-layer interactions with bleed through rows of holes

Computations were performed to investigate three-dimensional, shock-wave/bo undary-layer interactions on a flat plate with bleed through four staggered rows of circular holes that discharge into the same plenum. The focus of the computations was to examine how bleed through rows of holes affect bleed rate and the pressure and Mach number distributions. The effects of the following parameters on the flow were investigated: 1) with and without shock-wave impingement on the boundary layer and 2) spacings between bleed holes in the streamwise and spanwise directions. Results show that just two rows of bleed holes arranged in a staggered fashion placed upstream of the incident shock are adequate in blocking the shock-induced adverse pressure gradient from propagating further upstream. Results also show that the spacings between the centers of holes can exceed the hole diameter not just in the streamwise direction, but also in the spanwise direction, and still be able to control shock-induced flow separation. This study is based on the ensemble-averaged, "full compressible" Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations closed by the Baldwin-Lomax algebraic turbulence model. Solutions to the ensemble-averaged N-S equations were obtained by an implicit, partially split, two-factored algorithm with flux-vector splitting in the streamwise direction on a chimera overlapping grid.
Hospital-acquired device-associated infections at a deployed military hospital in Iraq.

Background To date, there have been no published studies describing rates of device-associated infections over extended periods at deployed military hospitals. We describe the rates of utilization and device-associated infections at the Air Force Theater Hospital (AFTH) in Iraq. Methods This is a retrospective review of infection control (IC) records at the AFTH intensive care unit (ICU) from November 2006 through December 2007. Monthly device utilization and infection rates (per 1000 device days) were analyzed for trend and compared with pooled means for US trauma ICUs. Results Central line utilization rates were constant (mean, 64%) with central line- associated bloodstream infection (CLAB) rates of 0 to 7.7 (US rate 4.6) except from September to December 2007, when the rate ranged from 7.4 to 29.3. An IC program reduced ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) rates to a baseline of 9.7 to 11.6. However, VAP rates rose to 13.3 to 56.3 in the 4-month period of January through April 2007 and 14.3 to 28.2 during September through December 2007. Neither CLAB nor VAP rates correlated with ICU admissions. The urinary catheter-associated urinary tract infection rate was 0 to 6.7 (US rate 5.5). Overall, Staphylococcus aureus was the predominant organism during May through October 2007 and Acinetobacter in November and December 2007. Conclusions Substantial variability exists in the rates of CLAB and VAP in the AFTH. Potential explanations are staff turnover and prolonged stays among non-US personnel who may serve as a reservoir for ongoing infections. Identification of barriers to IC may help inform the process of creating and implementing effective IC strategies in deployed military hospitals.
John Lydus’ political message and the Byzantine idea of imperial rule

On Powers, an antiquarian treatise with a political agenda by John Lydus, an erudite and imperial official in the late fifth and early sixth century, has been interpreted as either a panegyric to the emperor or as a work that was critical not only of Justinian's rule but of monarchy in general. By reexamining it within the broader context of Byzantine political philosophy, this article proposes to see On Powers as a display of a traditional meritorious approach to the emperor, who was judged by measuring his personal and political qualities against the ideal image of the ruler.
Relation between Tropical Easterly Waves, Convection, and Tropical Cyclogenesis: A Lagrangian Perspective

AbstractIn this study, a wave-following Lagrangian framework was used to examine the evolution of tropical easterly wave structure, circulation, and convection in the days leading up to and including tropical cyclogenesis in the Atlantic and east Pacific basins. After easterly waves were separated into northerly, southerly, trough, and ridge phases using the National Centers for Environmental Prediction–National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis 700-hPa meridional wind, waves that developed a tropical cyclone [developing waves (DWs)] and waves that never developed a cyclone [nondeveloping waves (NDWs)] were identified. Day zero (D0) was defined as the day on which a tropical depression was identified for DWs or the day the waves achieved maximum 850-hPa vorticity for NDWs. Both waves types were then traced from five days prior to D0 (D − 5) through one day after D0. Results suggest that as genesis is approached for DWs, the coverage by convection and cold cloudiness (e.g., fractional coverage by ...
High throughput RNAi assay optimization using adherent cell cytometry

Background: siRNA technology is a promising tool for gene therapy of vascular disease. Due to the multitude of reagents and cell types, RNAi experiment optimization can be time-consuming. In this study adherent cell cytometry was used to rapidly optimize siRNA transfection in human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (AoSMC). Methods: AoSMC were seeded at a density of 3000-8000 cells/well of a 96well plate. 24 hours later AoSMC were transfected with either non-targeting unlabeled siRNA (50 nM), or non-targeting labeled siRNA, siGLO Red (5 or 50 nM) using no transfection reagent, HiPerfect or Lipofectamine RNAiMax. For counting cells, Hoechst nuclei stain or Cell Tracker green were used. For data analysis an adherent cell cytometer, Celigo ® was used. Data was normalized to the transfection reagent alone group and expressed as red pixel count/cell. Results: After 24 hours, none of the transfection conditions led to cell loss. Red fluorescence counts were normalized to the AoSMC count. RNAiMax was more potent compared to HiPerfect or no transfection reagent at 5 nM siGLO Red (4.12 +/-1.04 vs. 0.70 +/-0.26 vs. 0.15 +/-0.13 red pixel/cell) and 50 nM siGLO Red (6.49 +/-1.81 vs. 2.52 +/-0.67 vs. 0.34 +/-0.19). Fluorescence expression results supported gene knockdown achieved by using MARCKS targeting siRNA in AoSMCs. Conclusion: This study underscores that RNAi delivery depends heavily on the choice of delivery method. Adherent cell cytometry can be used as a high throughput-screening tool for the optimization of RNAi assays. This technology can accelerate in vitro cell assays and thus save costs.
Tabasosphaera pustulosa nov. gen., nov. sp., a microproblematicum (foraminifer?) from the Upper Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian) reef limestone of Nayban Formation (NE Iran)

A microproblematicum with calcaerous test, Tabasosphaera pustulosa nov. gen., nov. sp., a hollow spherical microfossil with pustule-like elements on the outer surface, is described from Upper Triassic (Norian-Rhaetian) reef limestones exposed near the town of Ali-Abad, south of Tabas (northeast Iran). Tabasosphaera is an endobiotic organism living within the cavities of other organisms, such as brachiopods, worm tubes, or in sponge spongocoels. The systematic position of Tabasosphaera, its interspecific association and the fossil assemblage of which it makes part is discussed. Most probably Tabasosphaera represents a foraminifer belonging to the group Lagenina.
Flexible brain network reconfiguration supporting inhibitory control

The ability to inhibit distracting stimuli from interfering with goal-directed behavior is crucial for success in most spheres of life. Despite an abundance of studies examining regional brain activation, knowledge of the brain networks involved in inhibitory control remains quite limited. To address this critical gap, we applied graph theory tools to functional magnetic resonance imaging data collected while a large sample of adults (n = 101) performed a color-word Stroop task. Higher demand for inhibitory control was associated with restructuring of the global network into a configuration that was more optimized for specialized processing (functional segregation), more efficient at communicating the output of such processing across the network (functional integration), and more resilient to potential interruption (resilience). In addition, there were regional changes with right inferior frontal sulcus and right anterior insula occupying more central positions as network hubs, and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex becoming more tightly coupled with its regional subnetwork. Given the crucial role of inhibitory control in goal-directed behavior, present findings identifying functional network organization supporting inhibitory control have the potential to provide additional insights into how inhibitory control may break down in a wide variety of individuals with neurological or psychiatric difficulties.
The Health Benefits of Writing about Life Goals

In a variation on Pennebaker’s writing paradigm, a sample of 81 undergraduates wrote about one of four topics for 20 minutes each day for 4 consecutive days. Participants were randomly assigned to write about their most traumatic life event, their best possible future self, both of these topics, or a nonemotional control topic. Mood was measured before and after writing and health center data for illness were obtained with participant consent. Three weeks later, measures of subjective well-being were obtained. Writing about life goals was significantly less upsetting than writing about trauma and was associated with a significant increase in subjective well-being. Five months after writing, a significant interaction emerged such that writing about trauma, one’s best possible self, or both were associated with decreased illness compared with controls. Results indicate that writing about self-regulatory topics can be associated with the same health benefits as writing about trauma.
Differential Effects of Tacrolimus versus Sirolimus on the Proliferation, Activation and Differentiation of Human B Cells.

The direct effect of immunosuppressive drugs calcineurin inhibitor (Tacrolimus, TAC) and mTOR inhibitor (Sirolimus, SRL) on B cell activation, differentiation and proliferation is not well documented. Purified human B cells from healthy volunteers were stimulated through the B Cell Receptor with Anti-IgM + anti-CD40 + IL21 in the absence / presence of TAC or SRL. A variety of parameters of B cell activity including activation, differentiation, cytokine productions and proliferation were monitored by flow cytometry. SRL at clinically relevant concentrations (6 ng/ml) profoundly inhibited CD19+ B cell proliferation compared to controls whereas TAC at similar concentrations had a minimal effect. CD27+ memory B cells were affected more by SRL than naive CD27- B cells. SRL effectively blocked B cell differentiation into plasma cells (CD19+CD138+ and Blimp1+/Pax5low cells) even at low dose (2 ng/ml), and totally eliminated them at 6 ng/ml. SRL decreased absolute B cell counts, but the residual responding cells acquired an activated phenotype (CD25+/CD69+) and increased the expression of HLA-DR. SRL-treated stimulated B cells on a per cell basis were able to enhance the proliferation of allogeneic CD4+CD25− T cells and induce a shift toward the Th1 phenotype. Thus, SRL and TAC have different effects on B lymphocytes. These data may provide insights into the clinical use of these two agents in recipients of solid organ transplants.
Tracing Trajectories of Practice: Repurposing in One Student’s Developing Disciplinary Writing Processes:

An extensive body of scholarship has documented the way disciplinary texts and activities are produced and mediated through their relationship to a wide array of extradisciplinary discourses. This ...
An Empirical Assessment of the Contract Based Exception to the Employment-At-Will Rule

While extensive, the existing literature on the employment-at-will doctrine and its various exceptions has been remarkably uniform. By relying on a discussion of selected court opinions on specific aspects of the doctrine, scholars have focused primarily on normative issues such as what the courts should do when deciding job security disputes, or what plaintiffs/employees and defendants/employers should argue when litigating employment disputes. Our approach and focus are different. Instead of relying on a discussion of selected cases, we rely on a more comprehensive sample of cases. Instead of focusing on normative issues, our goal is to provide a more complete picture of the state of the at-will doctrine as reflected in those cases. Our data should be of interest to legal scholars interested in understanding the characteristics and outcomes of litigated employment-at-will cases. Our data should also be relevant to the current debate among management scholars regarding conflicts that might arise due to aggressive recruitment practices which highlight long term employment opportunities and the realities associated with at-will employment.
In Praise of Passivity

Political actors, including voters, activists, and leaders, are often ignorant of basic facts relevant to policy choices. Even experts have little understanding of the working of society and little ability to predict future outcomes. Only the most simple and uncontroversial political claims can be counted on. This is partly because political knowledge is very difficult to attain, and partly because individuals are not sufficiently motivated to attain it. As a result, the best advice for political actors is very often to simply stop trying to solve social problems, since interventions not based on precise understanding are likely to do more harm than good.
Ceftriaxone as effective therapy in refractory Lyme disease.

Les auteurs continuent de suivre les patients afin de voir l'efficacite a long terme de ce medicament
Dynamics of EIT-enhanced refractive-Kerr nonlinearity: Prospect for quantum-nonlinear-optics

For CW-EIT and pulsed signal fields, we predict and measure the rise-times of the EIT-Kerr-optical nonlinearity are proportional to the product of the optical-pumping rate and medium optical-thickness. A slow-light signal field overcomes some rise-time limitations.
Unification of [FeFe]-hydrogenases into three structural and functional groups

Abstract Background [FeFe]-hydrogenases (Hyd) are structurally diverse enzymes that catalyze the reversible oxidation of hydrogen (H2). Recent biochemical data demonstrate new functional roles for these enzymes, including those that function in electron bifurcation where an exergonic reaction is coupled with an endergonic reaction to drive the reversible oxidation/production of H2. Methods To identify the structural determinants that underpin differences in enzyme functionality, a total of 714 homologous sequences of the catalytic subunit, HydA, were compiled. Bioinformatics approaches informed by biochemical data were then used to characterize differences in inferred quaternary structure, HydA active site protein environment, accessory iron-sulfur clusters in HydA, and regulatory proteins encoded in HydA gene neighborhoods. Results HydA homologs were clustered into one of three classification groups, Group 1 (G1), Group 2 (G2), and Group 3 (G3). G1 enzymes were predicted to be monomeric while those in G2 and G3 were predicted to be multimeric and include HydB, HydC (G2/G3) and HydD (G3) subunits. Variation in the HydA active site and accessory iron-sulfur clusters did not vary by group type. Group-specific regulatory genes were identified in the gene neighborhoods of both G2 and G3 Hyd. Analyses of purified G2 and G3 enzymes by mass spectrometry strongly suggest that they are post-translationally modified by phosphorylation. Conclusions These results suggest that bifurcation capability is dictated primarily by the presence of both HydB and HydC in Hyd complexes, rather than by variation in HydA. General significance This classification scheme provides a framework for future biochemical and mutagenesis studies to elucidate the functional role of Hyd enzymes.
Finding Expandable Induced Cardiovascular Progenitor Cells

Expandable Cardiovascular Progenitor Cells Reprogrammed From Fibroblasts Zhang et al Cell Stem Cell . 2016;18:368–381. Lineage Reprogramming of Fibroblasts Into Proliferative Induced Cardiac Progenitor Cells by Defined Factors Lalit et al Cell Stem Cell . 2016;18:354–367. Cardiovascular progenitor cells (CPCs) are a promising cell source for cardiac regenerative therapy because of their ability for self-renewal and differentiation into various cardiovascular cell types beneficial for myocardial repair: cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells. Previous evaluations of exogenously derived CPCs have focused mainly on their capacity for trilineage differentiation rather than self-renewal because of the lack of an effective protocol to maintain and expand CPCs long-term in culture. In a recent issue of Cell Stem Cell , 2 groups of investigators independently reported their success in isolating, maintaining, and expanding mouse CPCs in culture for >18 to 20 passages (1010- to 1015-fold expansion), with faithful preservation of progenitor phenotype and ability for trilineage-restricted differentiation in both cell culture and mouse models of myocardial infarction (MI). This commentary will discuss the unique findings of these 2 studies, highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each CPC derivation/expansion technique, and propose additional steps necessary to accelerate their clinical translation. The past 2 decades have witnessed some of the most dramatic developments in the field of cardiac regeneration. Central to numerous controversies is the debate on whether certain stem cell types can differentiate into functional cardiomyocytes at a clinically relevant efficiency after implantation for repair of MI. Bone marrow–derived hematopoietic stem cells1,2 and c-kit+ resident cardiac stem cells3 are 2 notable cell types at the center of contention. Although many adult stem cells can still confer modest therapeutic benefits via paracrine effects, the search for a bona fide progenitor cell type that can generate a significant …
CHAPTER II – Conditional Expectations and Probabilities

This chapter is devoted to a detailed study of conditional expectations in regard to both the structural and functional properties. The work includes characterizations of conditional expectations as a class of contractive projections, as well as averaging operators on the Lp-spaces. Then the conditional probabilities are studied as function space valued measures. The questions of regularity and a comparison of the present point of view with Renyi's new axiomatic approach are included. Among applications of the work, an integral representation of Reynolds operators and several complements may be noted.
Application to a New AMG Method

This chapter presents a new AMG method for nonsymmetric problems involving heuristics inspired directly by the convergence theory of the previous chapter. While less rigorous than previous chapters, it proves by example that the abstract theory of previous chapters can be used to inform, quite directly, the development of practical methods. The presented heuristics include a novel coarsening strategy and interpolation targeting the “approximation properties” of the convergence theory that generalizes the “energy-minimizing” weights used in symmetric methods. Numerical results are presented, showing how well the developed method works, and also demonstrating how well the bounds of the theory work on a real example.
Using Mindfulness for the Treatment of Insomnia

Purpose of review The goal of this review is to provide an update on the use of mindfulness meditation for the treatment of insomnia, including conceptual models and empirical evidence from randomized controlled trials.
Influence of oxygen on the Pseudomonas aeruginosa hydrogen cyanide synthase

Partially purified HCN Synthase (HCS) required exogenous electron acceptors for activity. Phenazine methosulfate (PMS) provided the greatest activity, whereas oxygen allowed only a limited response. TheP. aeruginosa secondary metabolite pyocyanin supported HCS-mediated cyanide production. HCN production by whole cells operated maximally at low oxygen levels, whereas moderate oxygen levels limited HCS activity. Respiration and cyanogenesis by whole cells were equally sensitive to azide; HCS was completely resistant.
Simplified beta-glycosylation of peptides

Abstract A simple and effective activating system for S-phenyl thioglycosides, namely N-iodosuccinimide and catalytic copper(I) triflate, promotes beta-O-glycosylation at the serine and threonine hydroxyls of “mono-,” di-, and tripeptides. The same activator combination promotes carboxamide beta-N-glycosylation of asparagine-containing mono-, di, and tri-peptides, as well as a nucleoside carboxamide and a sulfonamide. An important feature of the copper(I) triflate method is that undesired amide O-glycosylation is largely circumvented. For both sets of biologically important acceptor sites (HO– and –CONH2), a beta-GlcNAc-equivalent donor is demonstrated to provide the linkages efficiently. Streamlined deprotection sequences have been developed based on global hydrogenolysis that lead smoothly to the parent glycopeptides. The core glycopeptide region for biological protein N-glycosylation, represented by N4-(β-N-acetyl-D-2-glucosaminyl)-Asp-Gly-Thr-OH, has been prepared in solution, purified, and characterized as the fully deprotected (mono)glycosylated tripeptide.
Does the Kidney Biopsy Portend the Future of Nephrology

The histology of the kidney provides valuable information regarding pathologic processes, the chronicity and reversibility of damage, and the opportunity for therapeutic intervention. The kidney biopsy has been an important tool in nephrology practice for more than 50 years. Danish physicians
Characterization of Individual Aerosol Particles

Abstract The wide diversity of atmospheric aerosol chemical composition and physicochemical properties necessitates single-particle analysis to fully understand the chemical evolution of particles and their effects on the environment, clouds and climate, and health. This chapter presents recent advances and the state of the science in techniques for individual particle analysis, focusing on online single-particle mass spectrometry, experiments on levitated isolated particles using an electrodynamic balance or aerosol optical tweezers, and the use of electron, X-ray, and Raman spectromicroscopies for detailed analysis and chemical mapping of particles collected on substrates. Particle characterization techniques emphasized include multistep laser desorption/ionization, cavity-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy.
Brand "W" and the Marketing of an American President: Or, Logos as Logos

The title of this essay plays off Frederic Jameson’s book title, Postmodernism or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. His general notion of the ‘logic of late capitalism’ guides an analysis of the celebrity rise of George W. Bush into a full-fledged brand known as ‘W’ or ‘Dubya’. Following what I call the Logos of logos, the semiotic and symbolic messages contained within a variety of Brand W campaign merchandise are analyzed and discussed as a ‘meaning system’ that targets emotional, rather than rational, political reaction. Blurring the lines between politician and celebrity, the symbolic imagery of Brand W products creates an aura around George W. Bush by exploiting techniques adopted from marketing and advertising, which tends to reduce highly complex socio-political issues down to facile emotive appeals. Thus, political discourse itself becomes reduced to a war of image rather than ideas, resulting in a democratic process that is increasingly dysfunctional and strategically divisive.
Chapter 5 The Role Of Expertise In Solving Arithmetic And Algebra Word Problems By Analogy

Summary This chapter considers the contribution of algebraic expertise to the solution of arithmetic and algebra story problems by analogy. Analogical transfer involves retrieving an appropriate example problem, constructing a mapping between elements in the example and test problems, and adapting the solution procedure from the example problem to fit the requirements of the test problem. Level of expertise is shown to influence the successful outcome of all three of these component processes of analogical transfer. In contrast, level of expertise does not affect the likelihood of schema induction, a type of learning that often results from successful transfer: Over a wide range of expertise, students at all levels of proficiency are equally likely to induce a more abstract knowledge structure encompassing the example and test problems as a result of successfully transferring the example solution procedure to the test problem. In the final sections of the chapter, I consider (a) the relation between these expertise effects from the adult literature on analogical problem solving and results from the developmental literature on analogical transfer in children and (b) implications of the experimental results for mathematics education.
Policing the Fluff: The Social Construction of Scientistic Selves in Otherkin Facebook Groups

The Otherkin are a group of people who identify as other-than-human. Primarily gathering in online spaces, they discuss and debate the origins and parameters of this identification and try to make sense of their extraordinary experiences. This article traces how the Otherkin deploy scientific facts and theories during this process, arriving at Otherkin science , a carefully curated compilation of abstract physics, psychology, metaphysics, and ancient belief that renders other-than-human identification thinkable in a contemporary Western paradigm. Drawing on five years of ethnographic engagement with the Otherkin, this article examines this social knowledge construction through the processes of “questioning” and “grilling” on Otherkin Facebook groups. In continuously negotiating their own identities through scientific reasoning, they create what I am calling scientistic selves —frameworks of identification created by lay scientists whose adherence to specific scientific facts and theories is fundamental to their continued existence.
The role of the NADH-dependent nitrite reductase, Nir, from Escherichia coli in fermentative ammonification.

Nitrate and nitrite reduction are of paramount importance for nitrogen assimilation and anaerobic metabolism, and understanding the specific roles of each participating reductase is necessary to describe the biochemical balance that dictates cellular responses to their environments. The soluble, cytoplasmic siroheme NADH-nitrite reductase (Nir) in Escherichia coli is necessary for nitrate/nitrite assimilation but has also been reported to either “detoxify” nitrite, or to carry out fermentative ammonification in support of anaerobic catabolism. Theoretically, nitrite detoxification would be important for anaerobic growth on nitrate, during which excess nitrite would be reduced to ammonium. Fermentative ammonification by Nir would be important for maximization of non-respiratory ATP production during anaerobic growth in the presence of nitrite. Experiments reported here were designed to test the potential role of Nir in fermentative ammonification directly by growing E. coli along with mutant strains lacking Nir or the respiratory nitrite reductase (Nrf) under anaerobic conditions in defined media while monitoring nitrogen utilization and fermentation metabolites. To focus on the role of Nir in fermentative ammonification, pH control was used in most experiments to eliminate nitrite toxicity due to nitric acid formation. Our results demonstrate that Nir confers a significant benefit during fermentative growth that reflects fermentative ammonification rather than detoxification. We conclude that fermentative ammonification by Nir allows for the energetically favorable fermentation of glucose to formate and acetate. These results and conclusions are discussed in light of the roles of Nir in other bacteria and in plants.
Tonic ATP-mediated growth suppression in peripheral nerve glia requires arrestin-PP2 and is evaded in NF1

Normal Schwann cells (SCs) are quiescent in adult nerves, when ATP is released from the nerve in an activity dependent manner. We find that suppressing nerve activity in adult nerves causes SC to enter the cell cycle. In vitro, ATP activates the SC G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) P2Y2. Downstream of P2Y2, β-arrestin-mediated signaling results in PP2-mediated de-phosphorylation of AKT, and PP2 activity is required for SC growth suppression. NF1 deficient SC show reduced growth suppression by ATP, and are resistant to the effects of β-arrestin-mediated signaling, including PP2-mediated de-phosphorylation of AKT. In patients with the disorder Neurofibromatosis type 1, NF1 mutant SCs proliferate and form SC tumors called neurofibromas. Elevating ATP levels in vivo reduced neurofibroma cell proliferation. Thus, the low proliferation characteristic of differentiated adult peripheral nerve may require ongoing, nerve activity-dependent, ATP. Additionally, we identify a mechanism through which NF1 SCs may evade growth suppression in nerve tumors.
Did EU regional spending affect the Brexit referendum

This paper explores whether European Union (EU) regional spending influenced how local areas voted in the UK’s 2016 EU referendum. While much focus has been on identity and demographic factors in e...
A case study on the application of an expert-driven read-across approach in support of quantitative risk assessment of p,p’-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane

Abstract Deriving human health risk estimates for environmental chemicals has traditionally relied on in vivo toxicity databases to characterize potential adverse health effects and associated dose-response relationships. In the absence of in vivo toxicity information, new approach methods (NAMs) such as read-across have the potential to fill the required data gaps. This case study applied an expert-driven read-across approach to identify and evaluate analogues to fill non-cancer oral toxicity data gaps for p,p’-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (p,p’-DDD), an organochlorine contaminant known to occur at contaminated sites in the U.S. The source analogue p,p’-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its no-observed-adverse-effect level of 0.05 mg/kg-day were proposed for the derivation of screening-level health reference values for the target chemical, p,p’-DDD. Among the primary similarity contexts (structure, toxicokinetics, and toxicodynamics), toxicokinetic considerations were instrumental in separating p,p’-DDT as the best source analogue from other potential candidates (p,p’-DDE and methoxychlor). In vitro high-throughput screening (HTS) assays from ToxCast were used to evaluate similarity in bioactivity profiles and make inferences toward plausible mechanisms of toxicity to build confidence in the read-across approach. This work demonstrated the value of NAMs such as read-across and in vitro HTS in human health risk assessment of environmental contaminants with the potential to inform regulatory decision-making.
Objects and New Materialisms: A Journey across Making and Living with Objects.

Materials, making, and objects are important parts of an ecology of meaningful learning and teaching in art that must accompany the development of concept and social impact. New materialist theory ...
Practitioners Teaching Data Science in Industry and Academia: Expectations, Workflows, and Challenges

Data science has been growing in prominence across both academia and industry, but there is still little formal consensus about how to teach it. Many people who currently teach data science are practitioners such as computational researchers in academia or data scientists in industry. To understand how these practitioner-instructors pass their knowledge onto novices and how that contrasts with teaching more traditional forms of programming, we interviewed 20 data scientists who teach in settings ranging from small-group workshops to large online courses. We found that: 1) they must empathize with a diverse array of student backgrounds and expectations, 2) they teach technical workflows that integrate authentic practices surrounding code, data, and communication, 3) they face challenges involving authenticity versus abstraction in software setup, finding and curating pedagogically-relevant datasets, and acclimating students to live with uncertainty in data analysis. These findings can point the way toward better tools for data science education and help bring data literacy to more people around the world.
Extending Student Labs with SMT Circuit Implementation

Computer Science and Computer Engineering classes related to digital circuits, embedded systems, Human Computer Interaction (HCI), and a wide variety of "maker" subjects, would often like to include physical computing projects. Extending these physical computing ideas to physical realization of circuits is the next logical step, and has traditionally happened with low-cost non-soldered prototyping such as breadboards. However, many modern circuit components are now available only in tiny surface-mount technology (SMT) packages. Using these components essentially requires that students are able to design printed circuit boards (PCBs) specifically for their module. In this paper we describe an experience report of how we enhanced a student lab in a cost-effective way to enable students to develop, assemble, and solder custom PCBs that contain SMT components. This allows modern circuit components to be used, offers an enriched hands-on experience, and enables an expansion of the scope and complexity of student projects.
Abstract 5259: Fatty acid oxidation represents a metabolic vulnerability in glioblastoma in nutrient-deprived conditions

Glioblastoma represents an aggressive, primary brain tumor with limited treatment options. We performed an integrative, cross-platform analysis coupling global metabolomics and gene expression profiling in >100 patient-derived gliomas to begin to understand the diverse metabolic programs driving the aggressive phenotype of this malignancy. Alterations in fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) emerged as a key metabolic node differentiating glioblastoma from low-grade astrocytoma, as demonstrated by an accumulation of acylcarnitines. Metabolic heterogeneity was observed within glioblastoma that could further define tumors as FAO ‘high’ and ‘low’. Integrative analyses identified these metabolic subtypes to be enriched with mesenchymal (MES) and proneural (PN) glioblastoma subtypes, respectively. These findings were metabolomically and functionally recapitulated in molecular subtype-specific preclinical models. Analysis of gene expression profiles from these lines uncovered an orchestrated transcriptional program designed to promote fatty acid uptake, activation, and mitochondrial oxidation. Studies designed to determine the biologic consequence of enhanced FAO in glioblastoma only identified a role in glucose-deprived conditions, where it served as a vital, alternate source for ATP synthesis. Based on these findings, we tested the hypothesis that dual targeting of glycolysis and FAO would elicit energetic stress-mediated cell death in glioblastoma. Accordingly, the glycolysis inhibitor 2DG and the FAO inhibitor etomoxir only demonstrated anti-proliferative activity in MES glioblastoma cell lines when used as single agents in vitro, while the combination resulted in robust, necroptosis-mediated cell death. Synergistic anti-tumor activity was observed following combined glycolysis and FAO inhibition when extended in vivo in an orthotopic model. Collectively, our findings suggest FAO provides metabolic plasticity in MES glioblastoma, allowing these cells to adapt to nutrient-deprived microenvironments. Combinatorial strategies designed to inhibit glycolysis and FAO represents an attractive therapeutic approach in glioblastoma. Citation Format: Shiva Kant, Antony Dayalan, Pravin Kesarwani, Prakash Chinnaiyan. Fatty acid oxidation represents a metabolic vulnerability in glioblastoma in nutrient-deprived conditions [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5259.
Novel findings of hidden relationships in offshore tax-sheltered firms: a semantically enriched decision support system

Since the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released the Offshore Panama Papers Leaks Database (LeaksDB), researchers were able to access a graph database (GraphDB). This research article demonstrates that exploiting a challenging graph database like the Panama Papers can be performed using the Semantic Web capability (Ontotext Platform). In using these capabilities it also reports several interesting findings from GraphDB, such as the following: (1) there are more than 4000 companies registered in Cayman Islands but owned by Taiwanese people (or companies); (2) almost 50% of these offshore companies are claimed to be owned by people (or companies) in America, followed by Asia with 36%, then by Europe with 13%; (3) by far, the most connected Offshore agency is listed under the anonymous name “THE BEARER”; (4) “Mossack Fonseca” law firm played an intermediary role in 12 countries (Switzerland, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, United Kingdom, Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, Israel, Peru, Singapore, and Thailand); (5)“Morgan Stanley” played some intermediary role in Asian countries (Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong); and finally, (6) countries such as China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan have an immense number of related offshores entities owned by individual persons; whereas, countries such British Virgin Islands, Jersey, or Panama have an enormous amount of offshores entities owned by companies.
Modulation of structure and dynamics of water under alternating electric field and the role of hydrogen bonding

Using Molecular Dynamics simulations, we investigate the effect of alternating (AC) electric field on static and dynamic properties of water. The central question we address is how hydrogen bonds r...
Small Molecule Screening Identifies Rho-Associate Protein Kinase (ROCK) As a Regulator of NK Cell Cytotoxicity Against Cancer

NK cells are a subset of lymphocytes that directly recognize and lyse tumor cells without the limitation of antigen specific receptor recognition. In addition to behaving as cytotoxic effector cells, NK cells unlike T cells are not thought to elicit graft versus host disease. The combination of these characteristics makes NK cells a powerful tool for adoptive cell therapy. Despite the promise of NK cell therapy, key hurdles in achieving significant clinical efficacy include both generating sufficient numbers of highly tumoricidal NK cells and maintaining the cytotoxic activity of these cells in vivo despite the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Our lab and others have developed several feeder cell line-based expansion modules that robustly stimulate the ex vivo proliferation of NK cells. However, strategies to enhance and sustain the activity of NK cells once administered in vivo are still limited. In order to identify strategies to enhance the cytotoxic activity of NK cells, we developed a high-throughput small molecule screen (Figure 1A) that involved a calcein-based cytotoxicity assay of ex vivo expanded and treated NK cells against ovarian cancer cells (OVCAR-3). 20,000 compounds were screened and the screen was found to be highly robust (Z'>0.59). We identified 29 hits that led to at least a 25% increase in cytotoxicity as compared to DMSO control-treated NK cells. One of the most promising hits was the pan-ROCK inhibitor, Y-27632 that led to an 30% increase in NK killing of the OVCAR-3 cells. We validated that ROCK inhibition leads to enhanced NK cell cytotoxic activity using Y-27632 (Figure 1B) as well as other well-established ROCK inhibitors such as Fasudil using a flow cytometry based killing assay. Y-27632 increased NK cell cytotoxicity in a dose- and time- dependent manner. ROCK inhibition consistently led to ~10-25% increase in NK cell cytotoxic activity directed against a variety of ovarian (Figure 1C) and other solid tumor cell lines (Figure 1D). Interestingly, we found that the NK hyperactivation persists for up to 48hrs after washing off the drug that may enable ex vivo stimulation before NK cell infusion. Our preliminary results showed that ROCK inhibition activates PI3K-dependent Akt activation (Figure 1E). We hypothesize that ROCK inhibition restores Akt activation which may be critical for NK cell activating receptor pathways and our current investigations will test these hypotheses. ROCK inhibitors, such as Y-27632 and Fasudil have been utilized in both preclinical and clinical studies for a variety of diseases such as atherosclerosis, neurodegenerative disorders, and ocular diseases. However, the consequences of ROCK inhibition in NK cells has not been thoroughly investigated. Our work shows a promising novel strategy to significantly enhance NK cell therapy against cancer that has high translational potential. Download : Download high-res image (2MB) Download : Download full-size image Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Connecting cognition, cardiology, and chromosomes: Cognitive reappraisal impacts the relationship between heart rate variability and telomere length in CD8+CD28– cells

Individuals who poorly regulate emotion exhibit premature aging and worse general health. Telomere shortening, a prognostic biomarker of physical health, is related to aging, poor immunocompetence and autonomic nervous system functioning. Cognitive reappraisal is one type of emotion regulation strategy, which involves changing one's appraisal of an aversive situation to modify its emotional impact. Heart rate variability (HRV; i.e., oscillations in heart rate) relates to emotion regulatory processes, such that higher HRV typically reflects greater regulatory capacity. Previous research has identified a positive association between HRV and telomere length. Importantly, the association between HRV and telomere length may change depending on how often an individual uses cognitive reappraisal. One hundred and thirty-seven healthy participants completed measures of cognitive reappraisal frequency, HRV, and underwent blood draws to measure telomere length (computed with the relative ratio of telomere repeat copy number to single copy gene number) in the T cell effector population, CD8+CD28-. Cognitive reappraisal moderated the relationship between telomere length and HRV such that individuals with high cognitive reappraisal frequency had a significant positive association between HRV and telomere length, while individuals with average and less than average frequency did not exhibit this relationship. The results suggest that frequent usage of cognitive reappraisal enhances the already positive influence of HRV on chromosomal integrity in CD8+CD28- T lymphocytes. Although future research is needed to test these effects causally, these findings suggest that regularly using emotion regulation techniques may buffer the relationship between autonomic nervous system functioning and chromosomal integrity in immune cells.
Forecast cloudy - fair or stormy weather: Cloud computing insights and issues.

To engage theory and practice of cloud computing in business, the third annual Journal of Information Systems Conference (JISC) brought together 29 academic researchers and 14 practitioners. This c...