cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Simulation Models for Predicting Durability of Insect-resistant Germ Plasm: A Deterministic Diploid, Two-locus Model

A simulation model was developed to predict how long it would take a pest to adapt to two antibiotic, host-plant resistance factors if they were deployed sequentially, as a cultivar mixture, or combined in a single pyramided resistant cultivar. Results indicated that no single deployment strategy was most durable in all pest/cropping system combinations. When relative fitness of the insect pest on plants with both resistance factors was linearly related to the number of adaptive alleles that the insect possessed, sequential release of two cultivars with different single resistance factors or mixed planting of these two cultivars was expected to provide weaker but more durable resistance than pure plantings of a cultivar into which both resistance factors had been pyramided. If totally susceptible plants are grown adjacent to the pyramided cultivar in a ratio that causes the mean fitness of insects with no adaptive alleles to be equivalent to their mean fitness in the sequential-release plan, the durability of all three strategies is similar. If alleles for adaptation are recessive and epistasis is strong enough to make the two resistance factors largely redundant in plants possessing both factors, pyramided deployment of resistance factors is often expected to be much more durable than a sequential or mixed release. Durability of the pyramided cultivar is enhanced by adding some totally susceptible plants to the system. Structural linkage of the two insect loci would reduce durability of such a pyramided cultivar, but it would usually be more durable than sequential or mixed releases.
3-Hydroxyphthaloyl β-Lactoglobulin. IV. Antiviral Activity in the Mouse Model of Genital Herpesvirus Infection

The spread of sexually transmitted infections caused by herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) has continued unabated despite educational efforts generated in response to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. Given the absence of effective vaccines, this indicates the need to develop prophylactic measures such as topical antiviral agents. Chemical modification of bovine beta-lactoglobulin (beta-LG), the major protein of whey, by hydroxyphthalic anhydride (3HP) led to the generation of a potent HIV-1 inhibitor designated 3HP-beta-LG. This agent was shown to also have antiviral activity against HSV-2 and HSV-1 in vitro. Recent studies indicate that 3HP-beta-LG binds to HSV-1 virions, which, at least in part, involves the viral glycoprotein gE. Here we show that 3HP-beta-LG inhibits HSV-2 infection in the mouse model of genital HSV-2 infection. Simultaneous exposure to HSV-2 and 3HP-beta-LG caused a significant decrease in the proportion of infected animals (27% virus shedding, 5% lesion development and 0% fatality for 3HP-beta-LG as compared to 80% shedding, 60% lesion development and 53% fatality in mice treated with PBS). The proportion of animals with HSV-2 infection after treatment with beta-LG was similar to that in the PBS-treated group. Pretreatment with 3HP-beta-LG formulated in a gel, which prolongs the presence of the agent in the vagina, also significantly reduced the proportion of HSV-2-infected mice (5% virus shedding, 5% lesion development and 0% fatality for 3HP-beta-LG as compared to 70% shedding, 60% lesion development and 40% fatality in vehicle-treated mice). These differences were significant (P < or = 0.0005, 0.002 and 0.008 for shedding, lesion development and fatality, respectively). Virus titres in the minority of mice that developed infection were similar to those in untreated mice. HSV-2 infection was not inhibited by treatment of an ongoing infection, indicating that 3HP-beta-LG interferes with the initial infection. These data suggest that 3HP-beta-LG may be an efficacious agent for preventing vaginal transmission of genital herpesvirus infections.
Methods to Create Visual Tension in Paintings

To create visual tension in paintings,the artist needs to create the elemental component of tension—— shapes of visual tension.The combination of these shapes under the law of unity of opposites will produce visual tensions in multi dimensions.
Role of amino acids and enhancement cardioplegia in routine myocardial protection. Experimental results.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the addition of amino acids to blood cardioplegic solution and the value of terminal cardioplegia enhancement techniques in routine myocardial protection. Forty-five open-chest adult dogs were instrumented with sonomicrometry crystals to measure left ventricular long axis, midequatorial short axis, and wall thickness. The aorta was clamped for 120 minutes of cardiopulmonary bypass. Animals were randomly separated into four myocardial protection groups: (1) blood cardioplegic solution with amino acids and no terminal cardioplegia (n = 12); (2) blood cardioplegic solution with amino acids and warm amino acid terminal cardioplegia (n = 11); (3) blood cardioplegic solution with amino acids and cold amino acid terminal cardioplegia (n = 12); and (4) blood cardioplegic solution plus cold terminal cardioplegia (no amino acids, n = 10). Data for preload recruitable stroke work were obtained by inflow occlusion before bypass (baseline) and at 30 and 60 minutes after reperfusion and analyzed for changes in x-intercept and slope. A significant rightward shift in x-intercept did not occur in any group. When cardiac function was expressed as a percentage of baseline preload recruitable stroke work slope, improved functional recovery was seen at both 30 and 60 minutes in groups 2 (88.6 % and 91.8%), 3 (85.8% and 86.9%), and 4 (88.6% and 92.6%) compared with group 1 (77.3% and 79.2%, p
An Instructional Design Model for Information Science

Effective instructional design models facilitate active, multi-functional, inspirational, situated approaches to intentional learning. Instructional design is an iterative process of planning performance goals, selecting strategies, choosing media, and conducting evaluation. Proper instructional design is fundamentally student centered, responsive, generative, complex, innovative, authentic, a collaborative process, practical, and inspirational. Good instructional design promotes activities that are creative, systematic, systemic, and cybernetic. Models help us conceptualize representations of reality. A model is a simple representation of more complex forms, processes, and functions of physical phenomena or ideas. Models of necessity simplify reality because often it is too complex to portray and because much of that complexity is unique to specific situations. Although instructional design is a social construction, complexity as a fundamental principle tends to be underestimated, over-simplified, and otherwise insufficiently addressed in many instructional design models. Information is part of the data-information-knowledge continuum with the aim of creating, replacing, improving, or understanding information systems. Information science professionals study and apply the effective use of knowledge within organizations as well as the interaction between people, organizations, and information systems. Information science provides ways to analyze, collect, organize, store, and retrieve data. Therefore, an appropriate instructional design model can facilitate the transition of data to information, and, subsequently, the construction of knowledge. A basic instructional design model for information science is introduced in this paper.
Variation of Lung Density Corrections in a Typical Patient Population

The correction factors to allow for the excess transmission through the lung were worked out for 25 patients who underwent radiation treatment of lesions in thorax. The geometrical arrangements of the beams used for the treatments were reconstructed on the CT scans to identify the amount of lung that intervened. The lung transmission correction factors were worked out for four possible photon energies Cobalt-60, 6 MV, 10 MV, and 20 MV. Isocentric treatment was considered throughout and the isocenter was regarded as the point of dose prescription as is done in normal practice. Correction factors were based on published experimental data for situations that had the isocenter inside the lung. Ratio of TAR (or TMR) method and Batho's power law of TAR (or TMR) method were used if the isocenter was behind the lung. It was observed that the average increase in the total dose after lung corrections were 11.5 +/- 6%, 8.5 +/- 5%, 5.5 +/- 3%, and 4.0 +/- 2% at the energies of Cobalt-60, 6 MV, 10 MV, and 20 MV, respectively. This proves the importance of carrying out the lung transmission corrections to achieve a greater consistency in the doses delivered between groups of patients treated with different photon energies.
The mTOR Inhibitor Rapamycin Demonstrates Activity Against AML in Combination with Imatinib Mesylate and with 5-Azacytidine.

Abstract The serine/threonine kinase mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) integrates pathways involved in cell cycle regulation and apoptosis and has been shown to be aberrantly activated in AML. mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) serine threonine kinase is involved in cell cycle regulation and apoptosis. mTOR inhibitors are a class of signal transduction inhibitors, originally developed as immunosuppressive agents, with antineoplastic activity in solid tumor models. Acute myelogenous leukemia blasts and stem cells have been reported previously to be inhibited by rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor. As a single agent, rapamycin has minimal activity, however, suggesting that for meaningful clinical efficacy, it would require combination with other agents. We have therefore begun to examine its effects in combination with other signal transduction inhibitors and demethylating agents. Rapamycin by itself had minimal inhibitory effect on AML cell lines or primary AML samples. However, in combination with the c-kit inhibitor, imatinib mesylate, 2.5–25 uM, rapamycin demonstrated synergistic inhibition of AML cell lines such as MV411 as measured in a standard MTT assay (combination index 0.32 to 0.576 as determined with the Calcusyn program), indicating strong synergism. In this cell line, rapamycin by itself demonstrated no significant inhibitory activity. Synergism with imatinib mesylate was also noted in the U937 and HL60 cell lines but not in the KG1a cell line. The combination of rapamycin and imatinib inhibited AKT phosphorylation to a greater extent than either agent alone in both the MV411 and U937 cell lines, but the combination did not effectively inhibit ERK phosphorylation. Inhibition of phosphorylation of p70S6 kinase by the combination of 20 uM imatinib mesylate and 80uM rapamycin did not occur to a greater extent than that seen with rapamycin alone, although phosphorylation of 4EBP1 was inhibited to a greater extent when both agents were added concurrently. When AML cell lines were exposed to 5-azacytidine alone, 1 to 16 uM, the IC50 was 4–8uM. 5-azacytidine increased apoptosis above control whereas rapamycin by itself had minimal effect on apoptosis as assessed in an Annexin V flow cytometric assay. In the U937 cell line, the combination index for the U937 cell line was 0.465 (10 uM 5-azacytidine and 100 nM rapamycin), indicating synergism. For MV411, the combination index was 0.736, for KG1a, 0.118, and for HL60, no synergism was noted. Exposure to the combination of 5-azacytidine and rapamycin resulted in greater suppression of AKT and 4EBP1 phosphorylation than did either agent singly. These data suggest that simultaneous targeting of more than one signaling pathway may improve inhibition of leukemic cell growth. Furthermore, combining signal transduction inhibitors with hypomethylating agents may also result in effective suppression of AML proliferation.
"Rapid Learning" Techniques for Discrete Event Systems: Some Recent Results and Applications to Traffic Smoothing 1

Abstract We present a unified framework based on the fundamental sample path constructabilitY problem for Discrete Event Systems (DES): for a finite discrete parameter set Θ = {θ1,…., θm}. given a sample path under θ1, the problem is to simultaneously construct sample paths under all remaining parameter values. We review and compare two approaches for the solution of this problem. the Standard Clock (SC) approach and Augmented System Analysls (ASA). Next, we present a new area of potential use of the ASA approach: smoothing arbitrary, highly bursty, and possibly nonstationary traffic processes which are encountered in many applications (e.g., high-speed networks). We show how ASA can be used to (a) derive some basic structural properties of a simple smoothing scheme known as the "Leaky Bucket" mechanism under very general conditions. and (b) control a parameter of the scheme on line.
THE ROLE ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP PLAYS IN STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION

Purpose: The journal aims at assessing the role organizational leadership plays in strategy implementation. Methodology: The study population was made up of management and support staff of Kenyan commercial banks. The study used questionnaire as a study tool to get pertinent data from respondents. The study focused on 250 top, middle and lower level employees from Kenyan commercial banks. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used to analyze data. The descriptive statistics methods used include mean and standard deviation while the inferential statistics utilized in the study include Pearson correlation, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and coefficients. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 and Microsoft Excel programs were the statistical programs that were used for analysis. Results: Of all the factors of organizational leadership, highly statistical significant were leadership commitment and coordination. A correlation analysis to determine the relationship between leadership commitment and coordination demonstrated that leadership commitment influences coordination in the organization. Recommendations: From the study, it is concluded that, commitment, communication, coordination and monitoring were the factors of organizational leadership that had a great influence on strategy implementation and recommends management of organizations to demonstrate leadership qualities in the strategy implementation process.
Innovating Pharmacy Curriculum through Backward Design

This paper is a description of a curriculum development process used by a pharmacy school to redesign its Doctor of Pharmacy program to meet the changing demands of the profession and to comply with new accreditation standards. The goal of the redesigned curriculum was to produce “practice-ready” graduates who were able to enter the profession with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in an increasingly team-based, complex, diverse, and evolving field. The school deviated from stand-alone courses with a discipline specific focus to a series of integrated learning experiences. The Backward Design framework was utilized to organize the curriculum revision efforts. The school began by outlining a vision of the profession of pharmacy for the coming decade. Based on that vision, the school determined 10 broad domains in which an entry-level pharmacist should be competent. Each domain was broken down into ability-based outcomes and further into competencies. The competencies were prioritized, mapped, and spiraled across the learning experiences within the curriculum combining the skills and knowledge from multiple areas of pharmacy education, content areas, and practice settings.
Resilience metrics and measurement methods for transportation infrastructure: the state of the art

Transportation infrastructure plays an important role in supporting the national economy and social well-being. Extreme events have caused terrible physical damages to the transportation infrastruc...
Survival trends after inferior vena cava and aortic injuries in the United States.

Abstract Objective Recent studies have demonstrated an increase in trauma mortality relative to mortality from cancer and heart diseases in the United States. Major vascular injuries such as to the inferior vena cava (IVC) and aortic injuries remain responsible for a significant proportion of early trauma deaths in modern trauma care. The purpose of this study was to explore patterns in epidemiology and mortality after IVC and aortic injuries in the United States. Methods A 13-year analysis of the National Trauma Databank (2002-2014) was performed to extract all patients who sustained IVC, abdominal aortic, or thoracic aortic injuries. Demographics, clinical data, and outcomes were extracted. Patients were analyzed according to injury mechanism. Results A total of 25,428 patients were included in this analysis. Overall, the mean age was 39.8 ± 19.1 years, 70.3% were male, and 14.1% sustained a penetrating trauma. Although the incidence of all three injuries remained constant throughout the study period, for blunt trauma, mortality decreased over the study period (from 48.8% in 2002 to 28.7% in 2014; P Conclusions The present study demonstrates an overall decrease in mortality after blunt aortic injuries in the United States. This decrease was accompanied by an increase in the use of endovascular procedures. After penetrating trauma, however, despite contemporary advances in trauma care, mortality has increased over the study period, in particular after abdominal aortic injury. No increase in endovascular use in penetrating trauma was demonstrated.
Bans and Restrictions on Religious Broadcasting: A Review of the Arguments and Counter-Arguments

The ownership of broadcast stations by religious groups, the establishment of broadcast stations exclusively devoted to religious content and the inclusion of content of a religious nature within the programming of regular commercial, public or community stations are all practices that are common throughout the world. However, several countries have implemented bans or restrictions on the dissemination of religious content through broadcasting or the ownership of broadcast stations by religious groups. The present article aims to assess whether such bans and restrictions are compatible with the rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression as recognized under international human rights law. For these purposes, the most common arguments in favour and against restrictions on religious broadcasting are explained and weighed against each other.
Role of the Blood–Brain Barrier in Communication between the Central Nervous System and the Peripheral Tissues

Abstract The blood–brain barrier (BBB) permits the exchange of many peptides and regulatory proteins between the central nervous system (CNS) and the blood. This exchange occurs by saturable and nonsaturable processes and can result in communication between the peripheral tissues and the CNS. Such communication is important for several physiological processes, such as body weight control and neuroimmunology, and offers strategies for the development of therapeutics, such as treatment of stroke. Actions mediated through the CNS receptors of many peptides and regulatory proteins are opposite to actions mediated through peripheral receptors. This suggests that transport across the BBB of such peptides and regulatory proteins may be part of a counterregulatory loop. Several diseases states, including diabetes, stroke, cardiac arrest, and alcohol dependence, selectively alter transport systems, such as those for insulin, pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide, tumor necrosis factor–α, and Met–enkephalin. Alterations in the transport systems for leptin, Met–enkephalin, and amyloid β protein have been suggested to cause obesity, alcohol withdrawal seizures, and Alzheimer's disease. These and other aspects of BBB interactions with peptides and regulatory proteins are reviewed.
Konstruktionen der Geschlechtsidentität – Widersprüche aktueller Sozialisationsprozesse

Der Gedankengang des Beitrags ist Folgender: Zunachst gebe ich in vier Aspekten einen Umriss zur geschlechtsbezogenen Sozialisation. Danach werde ich aus vier Forschungsfeldern der internationalen Forschung aktuelle Widerspruche in der Sozialisation der Geschlechter herausarbeiten. Dabei kann ich auch aus eigenen ganz neuen empirischen Studien zu Familienbiographien und Geschlechterrollen berichten (Macha und Witzke 2008; Macha 2009). Die vier exemplarischen Forschungsfelder sind:
Geobiology reveals how human kidney stones dissolve in vivo

More than 10% of the global human population is now afflicted with kidney stones, which are commonly associated with other significant health problems including diabetes, hypertension and obesity. Nearly 70% of these stones are primarily composed of calcium oxalate, a mineral previously assumed to be effectively insoluble within the kidney. This has limited currently available treatment options to painful passage and/or invasive surgical procedures. We analyze kidney stone thin sections with a combination of optical techniques, which include bright field, polarization, confocal and super-resolution nanometer-scale auto-fluorescence microscopy. Here we demonstrate using interdisciplinary geology and biology (geobiology) approaches that calcium oxalate stones undergo multiple events of dissolution as they crystallize and grow within the kidney. These observations open a fundamentally new paradigm for clinical approaches that include in vivo stone dissolution and identify high-frequency layering of organic matter and minerals as a template for biomineralization in natural and engineered settings.
Anaerobic Bacteria: Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and Resistance Patterns

Our ability to measure the effects of antimicrobial resistance on infections by anaerobic bacterial pathogens is more difficult than with their aerobic counterparts. Among the problems are inadequate identification of the pathogen genus or species, renaming and reclassifying of anaerobic pathogens, lack of consensus regarding susceptibility testing methods, and disagreements concerning breakpoints and interpretive categories. Consequently, few objective conclusions can be drawn about changes in the prevalence of resistance over time. Recent application of molecular identification methods is shifting clinical laboratory identification of samples from general categories (e.g., Gram-positive anaerobic cocci) to pathogen genera and species, and problems with breakpoint interpretations are being recognized. Susceptibility data are summarized for major antimicrobials with the four groups of anaerobic pathogens (anaerobic cocci, Gram-positive non-spore-forming bacilli, Gram-positive spore-forming bacilli, and Gram-negative bacilli) to serve as a knowledge base. A brief introduction to susceptibility testing is provided for readers unfamiliar with this topic.
Impact of price elasticity on the healthfulness of food choices by gender

Objective:To extend findings from experimental price elasticity studies by examining these effects in a field setting and identifying gender differences in purchasing behaviour in response to varia...
Impulsive Motion in a Cylindrical Fluid-Filled Tube Terminated by a Converging Section

The syringe in a subcutaneous auto-injector may be subjected to internal pressure transients due to the normal operation of the injection mechanism. These transients are similar to transients in fluid-filled pipelines observed during water hammer events. In this paper, the effect of an air gap in the syringe and a converging section is studied experimentally and numerically in a model system which consists of a fluid-filled metal tube that is impulsively loaded with a projectile to simulate the action of the auto-injector mechanism operation. The air between the buffer and the water results in a complex interaction between the projectile and the buffer. Also, there are tension waves inside the tube due to the presence of a free surface and the motion of the buffer, and this causes distributed cavitation which, in turn, gives rise to steepening of the pressure waves. The converging section can amplify the pressure waves if the wave front is sharp, and it can enhance the collapse of bubbles. Pressures as high as 50 MPa have been measured at the apex of the cone with impact velocities of 5.5 m/s.
A framework for transparent quantification of urban landscape gradients

The urban gradient concept has been applied widely to test biological responses to urbanization. However, a general understanding of the effects of urbanization has remained elusive, largely due to inconsistencies in the definition of ‘urban’. Moreover, ambiguities about how to measure urban gradients exist, despite well-established best practices in landscape ecology of landscape gradient definition. To describe current practices of urban gradient definition and characterize how existing approaches compare to established best practices. In particular, we seek to evaluate the extent to which a single decision framework exists across gradient definitions. We reviewed 250 urban ecology focused research articles that invoke the urban gradient concept. For each, we recorded metrics related to the methodological process of urban landscape quantification. Our review revealed striking methodological consistency aligning with the best practices of gradient definition: (1) the selection of features representative of the urban landscape, (2) identifying associated data to characterize features, and (3) selection of an appropriate spatial scale. Apparent inconsistencies in urban gradient definition, thus, reflect ecological context of the study (i.e. species, location). This decision framework can be synthesized into a standardized landscape gradient framework that promotes candid reporting and justification for, decisions made regarding landscape features, data selection and processing, and spatial scale. As the global human population grows, it is imperative to understand ecological processes in urban regions to create socially and ecologically sustainable cities. Practicing the transparent decision framework described herein will help to standardize methods, and improve consistency in urban ecology research, and better understand the process underlying ecological patterns in human dominated landscapes.
Effects of student-generated drawing and imagination on science text reading in a computer-based learning environment

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of student-generated drawing and imagination on learning recall, learning transfer, and cognitive load, and also students’ attitudes towards the learning strategies when learning a computer-based science text, compared to learning with provided pictures. The study used three groups: drawing group, imagining group, and picture group (control). A total of 82 undergraduate students from a southeast university in the United States participated in this study. Results indicated there were no significant differences in the learning recall and transfer of the three groups overall; however, students’ prior knowledge and spatial ability were positively and significantly correlated with their learning recall and transfer. When spatial ability was high, students in the drawing group had significantly higher learning recall than students in the imagining group; and students in the imagining group had significantly higher learning transfer than students in the picture group. The drawing group had significantly higher cognitive load than the picture group. Students perceived drawing, imagining, and reading with pictures for learning as useful and there were no significant differences in their perceived usefulness among the three groups, but students were more intended to learn with provided pictures than to generate drawings. Discussions and implications are provided.
MicroRNA gene regulation in mantle cell lymphoma

4522 Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) represents only 5-10% of all non-Hodgkins lymphomas, making it an uncommon but difficult form of lymphoma to treat. It has the worst prognosis among the B cell lymphomas with median survival of three years. The genetic hallmark of MCL is a t(11;14) q32 translocation which results in ectopic and dysregulated expression of cyclin D1. Recent comparative genomic hybridization studies have identied Syk as another gene important in the pathogenesis of MCL. Previous studies have Suggested that post transcriptional regulation of Cyclin D1 and Syk may be important the pathogenesis of in MCL. MicroRNAs are a new class of abundant small RNAs that play important regulatory roles at the post transcriptional level by binding to the 3’ untranslated region (UTR) of mRNAs blocking either their translation or initiating their degradation. There have been numerous reports of misregulation of microRNAs and their targets in human cancers. We hypothesized that altered microRNA regulation of cyclin D and/or Syk may be present in MCL. Based on bioinformatics, we identified 8 microRNAs and putative docking sites in either Cyclin D1 and Syk and then examined their integrity in MCL cell lines, We identified a mutation in the 3’UTR of Syk at docking site of 1 microRNA and a SNP in another microRNA. Using a GFP Reporter construct with the mutated Syk 3’UTR we demonstrated that this mutation resulted in altered miRNA function. This data suggests that microRNA regulation of important genes in MCL may be compromised and play a role in the development and progression of this disease.
X-Ray Scattering from Two-Dimensional Liquids Modulated by a Periodic Host: Theory, Simulation and Experiment

A fluid layer on a surface, such as Helium on graphite, or intercalated between the planes of a crystal, such as Rubidium in graphite, provide examples, upon solidification, of incommensurate solids. Despite extensive theoretical and experimental work [1], the structure of these solid phases is still controversial. This is due to the difficulty of extracting the structure from the available experimental evidence [2], the difficulty of doing an accurate theory in the regimes of interest, and the lack of knowledge of essential physical parameters, in particular, the substrate fluid potential and the interaction potential between the atoms or ions of the fluid. The latter quantity is not actually used in most theoretical predictions [3], which use instead effective parameters which would be difficult to relate to the physical parameters even if known, making possible a wide range of theoretical predictions. We present here theoretical, numerical and experimental results for Rb intercalated in graphite in the fluid phase and show that it is possible to extract from the x-ray scattering data the substrate-intercalant potential. We expect to be able to extract as well the intercalate-intercalate interaction potential, making possible molecular dynamics simulations that should reveal the structure of the solid phase as well as permit an interpretation of neutron scattering data on the dynamics of the intercalate. The essential features of the x-ray scattering patterns are exhibited and explained theoretically.
The Gluten-Free Diet: Use in Digestive Disease Management.

Gluten is a commonly ingested polymeric protein found in wheat, barley, and rye that has gained recent notoriety because of its relationship to disease and health. Avoidance of gluten is appropriate in patients with a diagnosed gluten–related disorder and may have treatment implications in other diseases of the digestive tract. This review highlights current knowledge of gluten related disorders and the use of a gluten-free diet in gastrointestinal disease management. Gluten-free diets should be used in patients with a diagnosed gluten–related disorder including celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and wheat-sensitive eosinophilic esophagitis. Use of this diet in management of other digestive conditions including gastroesophageal reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease is controversial and not currently supported by the literature. This review provides a framework for classifying gluten-related disorders in terms of pathogenesis, understanding the literature that supports dietary avoidance in modulation of gastrointestinal disease, and identifies limitations of dietary restriction in patients.
Two distinct upper aerodigestive tract choristomas in a single patient: A rare clinical entity

Abstract Choristoma is defined as the presence of histologically normal tissue located in an abnormal location [1]. Aerodigestive tract choristomas are a rare congenital anomaly and often occur in isolation. Although considered to be a benign mass, the size and location of the choristoma can cause functional or cosmetic morbidities. We present the case of a newborn female found to have two distinct choristomas, one in the oral cavity and one in the oropharynx, after a full-term uncomplicated pregnancy. The occurrence of two distinct upper aerodigestive tract choristomas in the same patient has not been reported in the literature.
Uniform nonparametric inference for time series using Stata

In this article, we introduce a command, tssreg, that conducts nonparametric series estimation and uniform inference for time-series data, including the case with independent data as a special case...
A Rare Kidney Disease To Cure Them All? Towards Mechanism-Based Therapies for Proteinopathies.

Autosomal dominant tubulointerstitial kidney diseases (ADTKDs) are a group of rare genetic diseases that lead to kidney failure. Mutations in the MUC1 gene cause ADTKD-MUC1 (MUC1 kidney disease, MKD), a disorder with no available therapies. Recent studies have identified the molecular and cellular mechanisms that drive MKD disease pathogenesis. Armed with patient-derived cell lines and pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived kidney organoids, it was found that MKD is a toxic proteinopathy caused by the intracellular accumulation of misfolded MUC1 protein in the early secretory pathway. We discuss the advantages of studying rare monogenic kidney diseases, describe effective patient-derived model systems, and highlight recent mechanistic insights into protein quality control that have implications for additional proteinopathies beyond rare kidney diseases.
Stationary Bandits, State Capacity, and the Malthusian Transition: The Lasting Impact of the Taiping Rebellion

The Taiping Rebellion (1851-1864) in China was the deadliest civil war in history. This paper provides evidence that this cataclysmic event significantly shaped the Malthusian transition and long-term development that followed, especially in areas where the experiences that stemmed from the rebellion led to better property rights, stronger local fiscal capacity, and rule by leaders with longer-term governance horizons. More than one and a half centuries after the rebellion?s end, population increases from pre-war levels remain 38 to 67 percent lower in areas that were affected by the rebellion than in those that were unaffected. Moreover, areas that were affected by the rebellion have, on average, greater fiscal capacity and modern economic sectors to the present day. Two channels for the effects of the rebellion are stationary banditry (manifested by varying property rights and the rebellion area's proximity to the Taiping capital), and the wartime strengthening of fiscal capacity. The analysis shows evidence of complementarity between wartime state capacity and local institutions, and of the long-term benefits of fiscal decentralization in a large country. Furthermore, initial human capital is strongly associated with long-term development.
Electrochemical DNA Biosensor That Detects Early Celiac Disease Autoantibodies

Although it is estimated that more than one million Americans have celiac disease (CD), it remains challenging to diagnose. CD, an autoimmune and inflammatory response following the ingestion of gluten-containing foods, has symptoms overlapping with other diseases and requires invasive diagnostics. The gold standard for CD diagnosis involves serologic blood tests followed by invasive confirmatory biopsies. Here, we propose a less invasive method using an electrochemical DNA (E-DNA) biosensor for CD-specific autoantibodies (AABs) circulating in blood. In our approach, CD-specific AABs bind a synthetic neoepitope, causing a conformational change in the biosensor, as well as a change in the environment of an attached redox reporter, producing a measurable current reduction. We assessed the biosensor’s ability to detect CD-specific patient-derived AABs in physiological buffer as well as buffer supplemented with bovine serum. Our biosensor was able to detect AABs in a dose-dependent manner; increased signal change correlated with increased AAB concentration with an apparent dissociation constant of 0.09 ± 0.03 units/mL of AABs. Furthermore, we found our biosensor to be target-specific, with minimal off-target binding of multiple unrelated biomarkers. Future efforts aimed at increasing sensitivity in complex media may build upon the biosensor design presented here to further improve CD AAB detection and CD diagnostic tools.
Techniques in bacterial strain typing: past, present, and future.

Purpose of review The advancement of molecular techniques such as whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has revolutionized the field of bacterial strain typing, with important implications for epidemiological surveillance and outbreak investigations. This review summarizes state-of-the-art techniques in strain typing and examines barriers faced by clinical and public health laboratories in implementing these new methodologies. Recent findings WGS-based methodologies are on track to become the new 'gold standards' in bacterial strain typing, replacing traditional methods like pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multilocus sequence typing. These new techniques have an improved ability to identify genetic relationships among organisms of interest. Further, advances in long-read sequencing approaches will likely provide a highly discriminatory tool to perform pangenome analyses and characterize relevant accessory genome elements, including mobile genetic elements carrying antibiotic resistance determinants in real time. Barriers to widespread integration of these approaches include a lack of standardized workflows and technical training. Summary Genomic bacterial strain typing has facilitated a paradigm shift in clinical and molecular epidemiology. The increased resolution that these new techniques provide, along with epidemiological data, will facilitate the rapid identification of transmission routes with high confidence, leading to timely and effective deployment of infection control and public health interventions in outbreak settings.
Initial Medical Management of Acute Aortic Syndromes

Acute aortic syndromes are part of a wide spectrum of arterial and aortic diseases. This life-threatening group of disorders requires rapid diagnosis and treatment to reduce the associated high mortality and morbidity. Regardless of whether definitive surgical intervention is undertaken, the cornerstone of initial management is medical therapy to reduce cardiac ejection force, blood pressure, and heart rate to subsequently reduce the risk of aortic rupture. The initial management of a complex patient presenting with a malperfusion syndrome is guided by the complication-specific approach.
Travel-Associated Fungal Infections

Endemic mycoses have a restricted geographic distribution, being largely confined to areas of the world where the etiologic agents are found in nature. In recent years, however, increased domestic and international travel has led to a rise in the number of reported outbreaks and sporadic cases of histoplasmosis and coccidioidomycosis among individuals who normally reside in places far from the areas where these diseases are endemic. Recent outbreak reports have served to heighten the awareness of fungal infections among returning travelers by health care providers. This chapter focuses on fungal infections acquired during recent travel abroad rather than migration-related infections. All diagnostic tests for histoplasmosis require cautious interpretation, because cross-reactivity can occur with other endemic mycoses, such as blastomycosis and coccidioidomycosis, and prior infection or residence in an area of endemicity can result in the presence of low titers of antibody to Histoplasma capsulatum. The diagnosis of acute pulmonary coccidioidomycosis can be made by direct microscopic examination of lower respiratory tract specimens for Coccidioides immitis spherules or by culture of such specimens. The most common clinical features of penicilliosis include fever, marked weight loss, nonproductive cough, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, and anemia. Culture is important because other fungal infections, such as histoplasmosis and cryptococcosis, may have similar clinical manifestations in immunocompromised persons. Penicillium marneffei colonies produce a distinctive red pigment which diffuses into the agar. Amphotericin B is the drug of choice for the treatment of severe cases of P. marneffei infection.
Oligomerization of (guanosine 5'-phosphor)-2-methylimidazolide on poly(C). An RNA polymerase model.

Abstract (Guanosine 5′-phosphor)-2-methylimidazolide (2-MeImpG), unlike guanosine 5′-phosphorimidazolide (ImpG), undergoes an efficient, buffer-independent, template-directed oligomerization in the presence of poly(C) at pH values above 7.6. The reaction occurs in a Watson-Crick double helix and yields predominantly 3′-5′-linked oligomers up to the 50-mer in above 80% yield. Synthesis proceeds in the 5′ → 3′ direction and has high fidelity in the sense that nucleotides other than G are not incorporated significantly into oligomers. Under some conditions, oligomers corresponding to approximately one and two turns of the helix are obtained in higher yield than somewhat longer or somewhat shorter oligomers. In the protonated triple-helical structure formed below pH 7, the efficiency of the oligomerization is much lower. Oligomers up to about the 10-mer are obtained. The most abundant products are “capped” at the 5′ terminus with a GppG pyrophosphate group.
Die Mikrobiologie ausgewählter Umweltbereiche

Bakterien konnen nur dann in direkter mikroskopischer Untersuchung gezahlt werden, wenn ihre Konzentration in der untersuchten Probe wenigstens 100 Millionen (108) Keime pro ml betragt. Naturliche Gewasser enthalten jedoch selten uber 105 Keime pro ml. Man verwendet deshalb Plattenzahlverfahren: Ein abgemessenes Volumen der Wasserprobe wird stufenweise verdunnt (siehe unten). Je 1 ml jeder Verdunnung wird auf Nahragar gebracht (siehe Seite 99). Die neugebildeten Kolonien werden gezahlt. Da auf diese Art nur solche Zellen gezahlt werden, die zur Koloniebildung fahig sind, ist die Methode auch unter der Bezeichnung: “Lebendkeimzahlbestimmung” (“viable count”) bekannt.
Return to Mercury: the MESSENGER spacecraft and mission

NASA's MESSENGER mission, part of its Discovery program, is the first mission to return to the planet Mercury since the Mariner 10 flybys in 1974 and 1975. The spacecraft incorporates many innovative features, including a sunshade made of ceramic cloth for protection from the Sun, a pair of electronically steerable phased-array antennas, and specially hardened solar panels. A suite of seven miniaturized science instruments, along with the antennas, will globally characterize the planet's composition, structure, atmosphere, and charged particle environment. MESSENGER was launched on August 3, 2004, and performed its single Earth flyby on August 2, 2005. The spacecraft will make two flybys of Venus and three of Mercury prior to orbiting the planet for one Earth-year beginning in March 2011. Highlights of a busy first year of flight operations include initial testing of all spacecraft systems and instruments, execution of six trajectory control maneuvers, and instrument observations of the Earth and Moon surrounding the August flyby.
Introducing AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction

It is with great excitement and gratification that we proudly and humbly introduce this inaugural issue of the AIS THCI. As the Editors-in-Chief, our thoughts and feelings runneth over but in this first editorial statement, we will try to be concise and stick to fundamental issues. It seems obvious to assert that we aim to keep quality high; and to that end, that we want to provide a timely, fair, and developmental review process. It also seems cliche to request that you, dear reader, submit your best work here and read the work of others so the publication develops a reputation and has an impact. Although we feel strongly about these points, it will be more productive and interesting to describe what the journal is about, what it will publish, and how.
Examining Factors that Impact Mississippi Counties' Unreserved Fund Balance during Relative Resource Abundance and Relative Resource Scarcity

Although using some of the same organizational and financial factors examined by prior researchers to build and test models that explain factors influencing change in the general fund unreserved balance for smaller, rural, and less affluent counties in Mississippi, the rationale of this study is to build additional support that applying the recommended 5–15 percent savings benchmark across all jurisdictions is not a sufficient guide. Overall, Mississippi counties maintain unreserved fund balances ranging from a negative balance to over one hundred percent of their current expenditures. Counties also increase reserves during times of relative resource abundance and decrease them during relative resource scarcity. Moreover, they tend to address short-term needs and resident demands when revenues are plentiful. During relative resource scarcity, however, they are more cost-conscious and focus on maintaining rather than expanding current expenditures. This research shows that counties using the Beat system, a political form of government, are more likely to behave more frugally than counties using a Unit system, an administrative form of government.
Motion streaks provide a spatial code for motion direction

Although many neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) of primates are direction selective, they provide ambiguous information about the direction of motion of a stimulus. There is evidence that one of the ways in which the visual system resolves this ambiguity is by computing, from the responses of V1 neurons, velocity components in two or more spatial orientations and then combining these velocity components. Here I consider another potential neural mechanism for determining motion direction. When a localized image feature moves fast enough, it should become smeared in space owing to temporal integration in the visual system, creating a spatial signal-a 'motion streak'-oriented in the direction of the motion. The orientation masking and adaptation experiments reported here show that these spatial signals for motion direction exist in the human visual system for feature speeds above about 1 feature width per 100 ms. Computer simulations show that this psychophysical finding is consistent with the known response properties of V1 neurons, and that these spatial signals, when appropriately processed, are sufficient to determine motion direction in natural images.
Primates in Perspective

Primates in Perspective is the first edited volume to offer a comprehensive overview of primatology since 1987. Forty-four original essays--by fifty-nine leading researchers in the field today-- provide wide-ranging and contemporary coverage of all of the major areas of primatology. Arranged in six sections, the text begins with an introduction to primatology and a review of the natural history of the major taxonomic groups within the order Primates. It goes on to cover methodologies and research design for both field and captive settings; primate reproduction; primate ecology and conservation and their roles in the daily lives of primates; and such aspects of social behavior and intelligence as communication, learning, and cognition. The volume ends with a concluding chapter by the editors that discusses the future of primatological research. Ideal for introductory primatology courses, Primates in Perspective can also be used in upper-division behavior and conservation courses. Additionally, it is an invaluable reference tool for primate researchers.