cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Morphology of Horns and Fighting Behavior in the Family Bovidae

Horns of bovids are remarkably diverse. This diversity may reflect functional differences associated with the use of horns as intraspecific weapons. I use measurements from museum specimens and behavioral data from the literature to examine the relationship between morphology of horns of males and fighting behavior in 21 species of bovids, representing 11 of the 12 bovid tribes. A high correlation between morphology of horns and fighting behavior was found. In particular, a short horn reach and undeveloped catching arch is associated with stabbing behavior; a long horn reach, with wrestling and fencing behavior; a well-developed catching arch, with wrestling behavior; and robust, recurved horns, with ramming behavior. A phylogeny of bovid tribes suggests that these features of morphology of horns and fighting behavior are rapidly evolving and frequently convergent.
Detection of blood loss in trauma patients using time-frequency analysis of photoplethysmographic signal

In this study we explored the possibility of detecting blood loss in patients with hemorrhage symptoms (N=14) from photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals collected with pulse oximeters (PO) at forehead, ear and finger sites. We used variable frequency complex demodulation (VFCDM) technique to estimate amplitude modulations in heart rate frequency range (AMHR) of PPG signals. We determined the trend of these AMHR values over time, and used it to classify each patient's recording. The obtained results were compared to the clinical classifications made by physicians at the UMass Medical Center, which were considered as references. The accuracy of our algorithm was about 79%. These are the preliminary results of an ongoing study, and we foresee that this device and technique can be applied in battlefield and combat casualty care.
Scarcity and Power in US–Mexico Transboundary Water Governance: Has the Architecture Changed since NAFTA?

AbstractThis paper examines the politics of water allocation on the US–Mexico border since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) began in 1994. While NAFTA reforms have modestly changed the water allocation regime, they have not altered the longstanding asymmetry of power relationships governing the allocation of water resources between the two countries. Two rivers are considered. On the Rio Grande, NAFTA and its associated reforms had the effect of accentuating recent allocation crises and helping to resolve them, while leaving existing power arrangements largely intact. On the Colorado River, efforts to save the Colorado River delta ecosystem after NAFTA benefitted from institutional reforms, but these efforts remain rather marginal to the longstanding structure of power governing allocation and management of Colorado River water resources, as the case of the All-American Canal dispute reveals. These cases reveal the treaty regime as one that is highly resistant to change, suggesting that cau...
Use of Decision Models in the Development of Evidence-Based Clinical Preventive Services Recommendations: Methods of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) develops evidence-based recommendations about preventive care based on comprehensive systematic reviews of the best available evidence. Decision models provide a complementary, quantitative approach to support the USPSTF as it deliberates about the evidence and develops recommendations for clinical and policy use. This article describes the rationale for using modeling, an approach to selecting topics for modeling, and how modeling may inform recommendations about clinical preventive services. Decision modeling is useful when clinical questions remain about how to target an empirically established clinical preventive service at the individual or program level or when complex determinations of magnitude of net benefit, overall or among important subpopulations, are required. Before deciding whether to use decision modeling, the USPSTF assesses whether the benefits and harms of the preventive service have been established empirically, assesses whether there are key issues about applicability or implementation that modeling could address, and then defines the decision problem and key questions to address through modeling. Decision analyses conducted for the USPSTF are expected to follow best practices for modeling. For chosen topics, the USPSTF assesses the strengths and limitations of the systematically reviewed evidence and the modeling analyses and integrates the results of each to make preventive service recommendations.
12 – Boundary lubrication phenomena in coated textile surfaces

Publisher Summary This chapter presents that a major part of friction in textiles is governed by the boundary lubrication phenomena. That includes friction during processing of fibers into yarns and fabrics, conversion of fabrics into products, and day-to-day handling of textiles by consumers. The chapter highlights an introduction to the Lateral Force Microscopy (LFM) technique, the principle by which it works, the calibration aspects of the forces measured, and the friction phenomenon assessed by it at the atomic level. The chapter discusses the friction and lubrication phenomena from a molecular perspective and relationships between lubrication performance and the lubricant's properties, such as its molecular weight, chain configuration, chemical composition, and visco-elastic properties. It describes a description of the chemical structures and properties of lubricants frequently used in textile processing. It also explains the boundary lubrication phenomena by presenting observations of self-assembled molecular structures over polymeric substrates and describing how these assemblies influence the friction behavior of the coated surfaces. It is visualized that the discoveries in the field of boundary lubrication will continue with further research and advancement in instrumentation. A fuller understanding of the behavior at molecular level is expected to enable the industry in developing new and better finishing treatments.
Role of Serotonergic Systems in Behavioral Toxicity

Publisher Summary This chapter examines the role of serotonergic or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) systems in behavioral toxicity. The anatomy of the serotonergic system of the mammalian brain is described as a dual and highly redundant axonal system. One component, the fine varicose axon system, arises from the dorsal raphe nucleus. The second component, beaded or basket axon system, arises from the median raphe nucleus and both systems project to the forebrain. These two systems probably coexist in several forebrain regions but in differing ratios. The 5-HT neurons discharge tonically in an almost clocklike fashion with an intrinsic frequency of one to five spikes per second. The basic activity of 5-HT neurons is, in general, altered by a state of arousal with activities being high during waking and high activity periods and low or inactive during low activity or sleep periods. This chapter discusses in detail the basic anatomy, electrophysiology, and neurochemistry of the serotonergic system. It also examines the behavioral effects of selected chemicals or drugs that affect the system. A special emphasis is placed on the acute and chronic effects of serotonergic-like agents and the neurochemical bases of any resultant behavioral toxicity.
A new Type Size code for universal one-to-one compression of parametric sources

We consider universal source coding of an exponential family of i.i.d. distributions for short blocklengths. We present a variation of the previously introduced Type Size code, in which type classes are characterized based on the neighborhoods of the minimal sufficient statistics. We show that, there is no loss in dispersion compared to the non-universal setup. We identify the third-order coding rate of this variation of the Type Size code for compression of such parametric sources.
Simplicity and Aseity

expressions can only refer to properties. Indeed, I suspect it’s the naturalness of this assumption that has always made the property interpretation so tempting. As far as I can tell, however, there is nothing to prevent us from rejecting this assumption, despite its naturalness, and simply stipulating, as my interpretation does, that expressions of the form ‘a’s F-ness’ are technical terms whose referents are the truthmakers for the corresponding predications (in this case, ‘a is F’). Of course, it might be objected that this stipulation is arbitrary. But such an objection would seem to have little force. A truthmaker theorist will, presumably, need some way of referring to truthmakers for particular predications and TA gives us just what is needed. To refer to the truthmaker for ‘a is F’, qua truthmaker, it tells us, simply construct the corresponding sentential nominalization, ‘a’s F-ness’. Again, it might objected that in adopting such a stipulation we are departing from common sense, or at least the common practice of a large number of philosophers. As we’ve seen, many traditional philosophers have reserved expressions of the form ‘a’s Fness’ for properties, and hence for things that can be exemplified. And the same could be said of many contemporary philosophers. But even granting this, it’s not clear that the objection has much force. As we have seen, the stipulation in question allows—indeed, is designed to allow—that expressions of the form ‘a’s F-ness’ still refer to properties in many cases (e.g., Socrates’s justice). Indeed, insofar as philosophers have traditionally taken these sorts of cases as paradigmatic, it should come as no surprise that they would think all such expressions refer to properties. In any case, we shouldn’t balk at some 29 Again, once we’ve ruled out the possibility of their referring to states of affairs. Cf. n. 11 above.
Inefficiencies in Dynamic Contracting in the Mutual Fund Industry

This paper analyzes a previously ignored agency relationship in the asset management industry, namely the relationship between mutual funds and the investment advisory firms that manage the assets of these funds. I construct a new data set that tracks the contractual agreements between U.S. mutual funds and their advisors between 1993-2002. This data set allows me to find cross-sectional and time-series determinants of advisory contracts, as well as study the impact of contract renegotiation on subsequent fund performance and net inflows. I first document that contract renegotiation and advisor changes are very rare events - only 10% of the funds undergo such a change. I also find that advisory contracts take into account differences in portfolio risk, ease of monitoring, economies of scale, restrictions on investors' actions as well as differences between the bargaining power of the funds and of their advisors. The sensitivity of the fee to past performance is not the same for all funds: for bottom and mid-performers it is negative and significant, and for top performers it is positive and significant. Separations between funds and advisors are more frequent for bottom funds compared to the rest, and for funds operating in higher uncertainly environments. I find that decreases in advisory rate have a positive and significant impact on subsequent performance, as well as on net inflows. Separating from an adviser has a significant and positive effect on the subsequent ranking of middle performers, a negative effect on top performers and no effect at all on the bottom performing funds. These results are puzzling: mutual funds are not actively renegotiating advisory contracts, even though there are clear benefits to such changes.
Foodomics Database: A New Tool for Precision Medicine and the -omic Toolbox

BackgroundFoodomics is an emerging –omic approach to obtain food molecular profiles. Release 28 of the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (SR28) contains data for up to 150 food...
Older Hispanic Women and Breast Cancer Screening: Do Cultural Factors Matter?

ABSTRACTHigh morbidity and mortality cancer rates among older minority adults underscores the importance of identifying and addressing health disparities related to age and cultural factors that may influence participation in cancer screening and early detection of disease. Disparities for Hispanic women exist in part due to behavior, including lower participation in cancer screenings. Using data from the 2008 wave of the Health and Retirement Study, this study investigated the relationships among cultural factors, time orientation, and uncertainty avoidance among Hispanic women. Results indicate that time orientation and uncertainty avoidance predicted older Hispanic women’s participation in breast cancer screening services.
Shoulder Arthroplasty for Humeral Head Avascular Necrosis Is Associated With Increased Postoperative Complications.

Background Humeral head avascular necrosis (AVN) of differing etiologies may lead to shoulder arthroplasty due to subchondral bone collapse and deformity of the articular surface. There have been no large studies evaluating the complications for these patients after they undergo total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA).
Benchmarking the North American Atmospheric Fluidized Bed Industry

Benchmarking the North American Atmospheric Fluidized Bed Industry (abstract) Atmospheric fluidized bed combustion (AFBC) boilers are a mature, well established, and valuable technology. Their fuel flexibility, combustion efficiency, and relatively low emission levels have seen them attract new interest in recent times. In order to ensure plant sustainability it is important for AFBC plant operators to maintain a high level of operational performance and plant efficiency. Benchmarking is a tool that can aid the attainment of superior performance and efficiency levels. It has widespread use throughout many industries and allows managers to gauge how their company performs relative to similar firms and identify areas that are in need of improvement. Sponsored by Council of Industrial Boiler Owners (CIBO), this paper presents a set of North American AFBC industry benchmarks for the year of 2009. Focusing on both circulating and bubbling bed boilers, the benchmarks are intended to enhance the industry’s overall efficiency and sustainability.
The three-cross theorem and the six-cross theorem of Pálfy and Szabó

In 1995, Palfy and Szabo stated the theorem that a projective space satisfies the six-cross theorem if and only if it is Desarguesian. A mistake in their proof is corrected. Moreover, for projective planes, the three-cross theorem of Palfy and Szabo is identified as the Reidemeister condition.
Composite Bijel-Templated Hydrogels for Cell Delivery

Numerous processing techniques aim to impart interconnected, porous structures within regenerative medicine materials to support cell delivery and direct tissue growth. Many of these techniques lack predictable control of scaffold architecture, and rapid prototyping methods are often limited by time-consuming, layer-by-layer fabrication of microfeatures. Bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gels (bijels) offer a robust, self-assembly based platform for synthesizing a new class of morphologically unique cell delivery biomaterials. Bijels form via kinetic arrest of temperature-driven spinodal decomposition in partially miscible binary liquid systems. These nonequilibrium soft materials comprise cocontinuous, fully interpenetrating, nonconstricting liquid domains separated by a nanoparticle monolayer. Through the selective introduction of biocompatible precursors, hydrogel scaffolds displaying the morphological characteristics of the parent bijel can be formed. We report using bijel templating to gener...
Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Prediabetes in Patients Infected With HIV

Background. The use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has resulted in a dramatic decrease in morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected patients. Components of HAART (e.g., protease inhibitors and nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors), as well as HIV infection itself, can have significant effects on developing new-onset diabetes. The goals of this study were to determine the prevalence of prediabetes and to assess risk factors associated with prediabetes in a cohort of HIV-infected patients. Methods. This is a retrospective, cross-sectional study of 249 HIV-infected patients in an outpatient multidisciplinary HIV clinic in a university hospital. Patients with prediabetes were identified and compared with patients without prediabetes. The association between the prevalence of prediabetes and risk factors was analyzed. Results. Among 249 HIV-infected patients, the mean age was 46.3 years, and 54% were male. Prevalence of prediabetes was approximately 30%, and BMI ≥30 kg/m2 was found to be a significant risk factor for developing prediabetes. Conclusion. A high prevalence of prediabetes was observed in this cohort of HIV-infected patients. Interventions targeting HIV-infected patients with increased risk of prediabetes, especially individuals with a high BMI, is needed.
Delivery Systems for Introduction of Natural Antimicrobials into Foods

Antimicrobials are to a large extent less active in complex food matrices compared to their activity in model microbiological systems. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), i.e. the minimum concentration required to inhibit microbial growth for a specific time period, generally increases when the antimicrobial is tested in a select food system. The increases in MIC depend on the nature of the antimicrobial, composition and structure of the food system. Several factors governing this limitation should be carefully considered when designing and selecting a suitable delivery system for antimicrobials. A delivery system is able to protect food antimicrobials from interfering food components and improves delivery of the food antimicrobials to the site where they can be active. Attributes of efficient delivery systems or carriers include Generally regarded as safe (GRAS) status, biocompatible with no side-effects, inexpensive and stability during processing and storage. Furthermore, delivery system should be able to (1) preserve the functionality of the embedded compounds until the time of delivery, and (2) deliver the preserved form effectively at the target site with predictable release profiles. Delivery systems can be made up of naturally occurring polymers and polysaccharides, synthetic polymer or nanomaterials to tailor encapsulation and delivery of antimicrobials (Janaswamy et al., Carbohydr Polym 94:209–215, 2013; Janaswamy and Youngren, Food Funct 3:503–507, 2012; McClements et al., Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 49:577–606, 2009). These delivery systems present exciting opportunity for food technologists to enhance bioavailability, stability, sustained activity and shelf-life of food through encapsulation and controlled release.
1712b Overview of diesel engine exhaust issues

The mutagenicity of organic solvent extracts of diesel exhaust extracts was first noted over 60 years ago. Epidemiology and toxicology studies have resulted in classification of diesel exhaust by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a known carcinogen and by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) as likely to cause cancer; however, there is continued debate and quantitative risk has not been established by USEPA or environmental regulatory bodies in other countries. The major changes in diesel exhaust emissions make New Technology Diesel Exhaust (NTDE) distinct from the historic epidemiologic studies and recent animal bioassays question the relevance of studies of traditional diesel exhaust for risk assessment of NTDE.
Abstract 12311: Increased Repolarization Lability Predicts Sudden Cardiac Death in Asymptomatic Adults

Introduction . The overwhelming majority of sudden cardiac deaths (SCDs) occur in asymptomatic adults. Improved strategies are needed to identify those at high risk. Increased repolarization lability characterizes a substrate of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia. We hypothesized that increased repolarization lability will be an independent predictor of SCD in asymptomatic adults. Method. We analyzed baseline resting digital 12-lead ECGs of 15574 participants of the prospective community-dwelling Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) cohort. After exclusion of poor quality ECGs and individuals not in sinus rhythm at baseline, 15300 ECGs were analyzed. The inverse Dower transformation was applied to construct orthogonal XYZ leads and vectorcardiograms. The spatial TT’ angle, reflecting repolarization lability, was calculated by custom Matlab software as the angle between two consecutive T vectors using the definition of the inner product. Results. During a median follow-up of 17 years, 243 cases of SCD and 174 cases of non-sudden cardiac death occurred. Mean spatial TT’ angle was larger in persons with SCD (6.6±5.4 vs. 5.2±3.8 deg, P=0.0003). In univariate Cox regression, the hazard for persons with the highest quartile of mean TT’ angle was about 2 times that of those with the three lower quartiles of mean TT’ angle (hazard ratio (HR): 1.80; 95% CI 1.39-2.34; P Conclusion. Increased repolarization lability as measured by the mean spatial TT’ angle on the routine resting 12 lead ECG is an independent predictor of SCD in community-dwelling cohort of asymptomatic adults.
Characterization of the α-Bungarotoxin Binding Protein from PC12 Cells

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) from electric fish electric organ and mammalian skeletal muscle have become the best characterized neurotransmitter receptors in the realm of neurobiology. They are composed of four kinds of polypeptide chains, designated α, β, γ, and, δ Mrs 50K, 54K, 56K, and 58K, respectively, for the unglycosylated chains, but 40K, 50K, 60K, and 65K by sodium dodecyl sulfate Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) (for review see Changeux, et al, 1984). These subunits appear to surround a central ligand-gated ion channel like barrel staves (Stroud and Finer-Moore, 1985). Each of the four subunits share extensive sequence homology, suggesting that they were duplicated from a single primordial gene (Raftery, et al, 1980, Noda, et al, 1983). The α-chain contains a high affinity binding site for elapid α-neurotoxins like α-bungarotoxin (BGT) and for other cholinergic ligands, and has an unusual conformationally strained and thus easily reducible disulfide bond between adjacent cysteine residues at positions 192–193 (Kao, et al, 1984). This disulfide bond is in close proximity to the ligand binding site and after reduction is labelled by the affinity-directed reagents bromoacetyl-[3H]choline [3H]BAC and 4-(N-maleimido)-[3H]benzyltrimethylammonium iodide ([3H]MBTA). Each receptor monomer contains two α-chains (and thus two high affinity ligand binding sites) and one each of the other three subunits.
Amidst Multiple Theories of Learning in Mathematics Education.

Currently, there are more theories of learning in use in mathematics education research than ever before (Lerman & Tsatsaroni, 2004). Although this is a positive sign for the field, it also has brought with it a set of challenges. In this article, I identify some of these challenges and consider how mathematics education researchers might think about, and work with, the multiple theories available. I present alternatives to views of the competition or supersession of theories and indicate the kinds of discussions that will support effective theory use in mathematics education research. I describe the potential for mathematics education researchers to make informed, justified choices of a theory or theories to address particular research agendas.
Gill Chloride Cells Activation by Plasma Osmolarity

The fish gill is the most important organ for salt excretion and absorption in sea water fish, besides the all important respiratory function (Smith 1930). The interest in the specific cellular epithelium performing secretion started in the early 1930’s when this function of the gill was tested in eels by perfusing a salt solution through the circulation and measuring the salt concentration in a closed circuit bath where the fish were placed (Keys, 1931). The results showed that salts, as measured by the increase in total chlorides, were excreted from the plasma to the bath in which the eels were placed. A special cell or cellular epithelium was assumed to exist because of the lack of structural elements, such as organelles, mitochondria, and an elaborate endoplasmic reticulum in the respiratory cells.
Language features for software evolution and aspect-oriented interfaces: an exploratory study

A variety of language features to modularize cross-cutting concerns have recently been discussed, e.g., open modules, annotation-based pointcuts, explicit join points, and quantified-typed events. All of these ideas are essentially a form of aspect-oriented interface between object-oriented and cross-cutting modules, but the representation of this interface differs. Previous works have studied maintenance benefits of AO programs compared to OO programs, by usually looking at a single AO interface. Other works have looked at several AO interfaces, but only on relatively small systems or systems with only one type of aspectual behavior. Thus, there is a need for a study that examines large, realistic systems for several AO interfaces to determine what problems arise and in which interface(s). The main contribution of this work is a rigorous empirical study that evaluates the effectiveness of these proposals for 4 different AO interfaces by applying them to 35 different releases of a software product line called MobileMedia and 50 different releases of a Web application called Health Watcher. In total, over 400k lines of code were studied across all releases. Our comparative analysis using quantitative metrics proposed by Chidamber and Kemerer shows the strengths and weaknesses of these AO interface proposals. Our change impact analysis shows the design stability provided by each of these recent proposals for AO interfaces.
14.21 – Cell Adhesion Molecules in Renal Injury

Patterns of molecular structure, regulation, and distribution of adhesion molecules are discussed in this chapter. Special attention is given to integrin receptors and their ligands, including cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid peptide and its various actions. The role of leukocyte integrins and other adhesion molecules in their trafficking and contribution to renal disease is discussed.
David Oliver: Why aren’t more doctors NHS chief executives?

Last month, Susan Gilby joined a small band of doctor CEOs in the NHS acute sector when she was confirmed as chief executive of the Countess of Chester Hospital.1 Other names on this small list include Jackie Bene at Bolton,2 Marcel Levi at University College,3 David Rosser in Birmingham,4 and Tim Orchard at Imperial College.5 Their CVs make interesting case studies. Even executive medical directors rarely make the jump to CEO. We see more doctor CEOs outside the hospital sector, but it’s still a small minority. NHS Providers found that only a third of NHS CEOs had clinical qualifications, 63% of whom trained as nurses, but only 19% as medical doctors and 15% as pharmacists or allied health professionals.6 Just before Gilby’s appointment was announced I attended a lecture where Amanda Goodall, of City University of London, discussed the rationale for more clinically led organisations.7 She and …
Current evidence on dual mobility in patients at high-risk for dislocation

Abstract Instability after total hip arthroplasty continues to be a leading problem for failure and revision procedures in an otherwise highly successful surgery. There have been many implant related innovations to aid in reducing the risk for instability, one of which is the dual mobility construct. Dual mobility designs have been used in Europe for many years with good results and after the US FDA approved this device in 2009, its use in North America has increased. Multiple series have shown success with this implant in reducing the rate of dislocation after THA in both routine primary, complex primary and revision settings. Impingement, wear, intraprosthetic dislocation and heavy metal ion release remain a concern.
Mn2FeWO6: A New Ni3TeO6‐Type Polar and Magnetic Oxide.

Polycrystalline black Mn2FeWO6 is synthesized from a stoichiometric mixture of MnO, Fe2O3, and WO3 (multi-anvil press, 8 GPa, 1673 K, 1 h) and characterized by powder XRD, TEM, XANES, second harmonic generation, magnetic, dielectric and polarization measurements, and DFT calculations.
Low Dose DHT Impairs Glucose Metabolism Via Increased Hepatic Gluconeogenic Output and Decreased Adipose Tissue Glucose Uptake

BackgroundPolycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), the leading cause of female infertility, is characterized by hyperandrogenism, oligo-or ammenorhea, and polycystic ovaries, and is associated with type...
Hydrogen Production During Ethylene Glycol Photoreactions Over Ag-Pd/TiO2 at Different Partial Pressures of Oxygen

The reaction of ethylene glycol has been studied over Ag - Pd/TiO2 (anatase) under photo-irradiation while monitoring the reaction products (in the gas and liquid phases) as a function of time and at different partial pressures of molecular oxygen. The catalyst contained metal particles with a mean size of about 1 nm, most likely in the form of alloy (TEM, STEM, and XPS). The complex reaction network involves hydrogen abstraction, C-C bond dissociation, de-carbonylation and water gas shift ultimately yielding hydrogen and CO2. The two main competing reactions were found to be, photo reforming and photo-oxidation. Based on our previous study, Ag presence improves the reaction rate for hydrogen production, most likely via decreasing the adsorption energy of CO when compared to pure Pd. At high ethylene glycol concentrations, the rate of hydrogen produced decreased by a factor of two while changing O2 partial pressure from 0.001 to 0.2 atm. The rate was however very sensitive to oxygen partial pressures at low ethylene glycol concentrations, decreasing by about 50 times with increasing oxygen pressures to 1 atm. The order of reaction with respect to O2 changed from near zero at high oxygen partial pressure to ½ at low partial pressure (in 0.008-0.2 atm. range). Liquid phase analysis indicated that the main reaction product was formaldehyde, where its concentration was found to be higher than that of H2 and CO2. The mass balance approaced near unity only upon the incorporation of formaldehyde and after a prolonged reaction time. This suggests that the photo-reforming reaction was not complete even at prolonged time, most likely due to kinetic limitations.
Gene manipulation to test links between genome, brain and behavior in developing songbirds: a test case

ABSTRACT Songbird research has made many seminal contributions to the fields of ethology, endocrinology, physiology, ecology, evolution and neurobiology. Genome manipulation is thus a promising new methodological strategy to enhance the existing strengths of the songbird system to advance and expand fundamental knowledge of how genetic sequences and regulation of genomic function support complex natural learned behaviors. In zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) in particular, a rich set of questions about the complex process of developmental song learning in juvenile males has been defined. This Review uses one area of zebra finch song learning to demonstrate how genome editing can advance causal investigations into known genome–brain–behavior relationships. Given the number and diversity of songbird species, comparative work leveraging genome manipulation would expand the influence of these birds in additional fields of ecology and evolution for song learning and other behaviors.
Online National Health Agency Mask Guidance for the Public in Light of COVID-19: Content Analysis.

Background: The rapid global spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has compelled national governments to issue guidance on the use of face masks for members of the general public. To date, no work has assessed how this guidance differs across governments. Objective: This study seeks to contribute to a rational and consistent global response to infectious disease by determining how guidelines differ across nations and regions. Methods: A content analysis of health agency mask guidelines on agency websites was performed in late March 2020 among 25 countries and regions with large numbers of COVID-19 cases. Countries and regions were assigned across the coding team by language proficiency, with Google Translate used as needed. When available, both the original and English language version of guidance were reviewed. Results: All examined countries and regions had some form of guidance online, although detail and clarity differed. Although 9 countries and regions recommended surgical, medical, or unspecified masks in public and poorly ventilated places, 16 recommended against people wearing masks in public. There were 2 countries that explicitly recommended against fabric masks. In addition, 12 failed to outline the minimum basic World Health Organization guidance for masks. Conclusions: Online guidelines for face mask use to prevent COVID-19 in the general public are currently inconsistent across nations and regions, and have been changing often. Efforts to create greater standardization and clarity should be explored in light of the status of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.
Life-Span Lessons: The Importance of Age-Related Knowledge for Aging Into Any Career:

Demand to meet the needs of a rapidly aging population is high. Students outside of gerontology programs, however, remain resistant to enrolling in aging coursework, which are often electives within or outside their degree programs. A life-span development course, however, is likely to be a requirement in many disciplines. In a multigenerational workforce spanning five generations and with intergenerational conflict making media headlines, students must understand how to navigate age-diverse climates. We advocate that a course in life-span development can serve as both a recruitment tool for driving interest in aging-related careers and an access point for preparing students to enter a sometimes contentious, multigenerational workforce. We illustrate how knowledge of developmental influences across the lifespan may lead to a better understanding of individual similarities and differences in developmental experiences, fostering intergenerational cohesion throughout one's career.
Autonomous Irrigation Management in Decision Agriculture

In this chapter, the important application of autonomous irrigation management in the field decision agriculture is discussed. The different types of sensor-guided irrigation systems are presented that includes center pivot systems and drip irrigation systems. Their sensing and actuator components are with detailed focus on real-time decision-making and integration to the cloud. This chapter also presents irrigation control systems which takes, as an input, soil moisture and temperature from IOUT and weather data from Internet and communicate with center pivot based irrigation systems. Moreover, the system architecture is explored where development of the nodes including sensing and actuators is presented. Finally, the chapter concludes with comprehensive discussion of adaptive control systems, software, and visualization system design.
Toxin Handlers: Who They Are and What They Do

This chapter introduces the concept of organizational toxin handler. It discusses the types of individuals who typically take on these responsibilities and their organizational roles. OD and coaching practitioners will be included and referred to interchangeably whenever HR is mentioned as they are similarly affected by their organizational work. Takeaways for Practitioners An introduction to the concept of organizational toxin handler, as well as the book’s focus and structure Clarity about the role and behaviors of an organizational toxin handler An understanding about the types of organizational roles that create opportunities for toxin handling Understanding about why individuals in HR/OD/coaching roles voluntarily elect to take on the organization’s pain An overview of the types of situations that create toxic emotions at work Clarity about how toxin handlers embrace and smooth out negative workplace situations to make work better for employees An understanding about the impact of this work on the toxin handler’s well-being and on organizational effectiveness
Imbalances in circulating angiogenic factors in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia and related disorders

Preeclampsia is a devastating medical complication of pregnancy that can lead to significant maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. It is currently believed that there is abnormal placentation in as early as the first trimester in women destined to develop preeclampsia. Although the etiology of the abnormal placentation is being debated, numerous epidemiologic and experimental studies suggest that imbalances in circulating angiogenic factors released from the placenta are responsible for the maternal signs and symptoms of preeclampsia. In particular, circulating levels of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1, an antiangiogenic factor, are markedly increased in women with preeclampsia, whereas free levels of its ligand, placental, growth factor are markedly diminished. Alterations in these angiogenic factors precede the onset of clinical signs of preeclampsia and correlate with disease severity. Recently, the availability of automated assays for the measurement of angiogenic biomarkers in the plasma, serum, and urine has helped investigators worldwide to demonstrate a key role for these factors in the clinical diagnosis and prediction of preeclampsia. Numerous studies have reported that circulating angiogenic biomarkers have a very high negative predictive value to rule out clinical disease among women with suspected preeclampsia. These blood-based biomarkers have provided a valuable tool to clinicians to accelerate the time to clinical diagnosis and minimize maternal adverse outcomes in women with preeclampsia. Angiogenic biomarkers have also been useful to elucidate the pathogenesis of related disorders of abnormal placentation such as intrauterine growth restriction, intrauterine fetal death, twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, and fetal hydrops. In summary, the discovery and characterization of angiogenic proteins of placental origin have provided clinicians a noninvasive blood-based tool to monitor placental function and health and for early detection of disorders of placentation. Uncovering the mechanisms of altered angiogenic factors in preeclampsia and related disorders of placentation may provide insights into novel preventive and therapeutic options.
Examining Sex and Racial/Ethnic Differences in Co-use of Alcohol, Cannabis, and Cigarettes in a Community Sample of Adolescents.

Although adolescents often co-use alcohol, cigarettes, and cannabis, little is known about sex and racial/ethnic differences in the co-use of these substances. Therefore, this investigation examine...
Pheochromocytoma Crisis in the Emergency Department

Pheochromocytoma is a rare, often undiagnosed adrenal tumor that typically presents in early adulthood and is characterized by intermittent surges of catecholamines. While this "Great Mimic" may present with a variety of vague complaints such as headache, abdominal pain, or palpitations, it may also appear as a severely hypertensive patient with multi-organ failure and cardiopulmonary collapse known as pheochromocytoma crisis. Management of hypertensive emergency in these patients is unique, and the associated metabolic derangements, coagulopathy, thromboembolic events, and risk of adrenal capsule rupture add significant complexity, morbidity, and mortality to these cases. Emergency providers should learn when to suspect this uncommon but life-threatening diagnosis in order to properly manage these potentially critically ill patients.
Ibrutinib-associated atrial fibrillation treatment with catheter ablation.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have been widely used to treat various malignancies, dramatically improving survival. The use of these treatments has been limited by adverse effects. Ibrutinib, a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, has been associated with increased prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) in approximately 5%–16% of patients, especially those with prior history of AF,1 and often leads to treatment discontinuation in a significant proportion of patients. Management of AF in this patient population also presents a unique challenge. Current guidelines recommend rate control as the primary strategy,2,3 which can be challenging, since pharmacological management is limited by significant drug interactions with cancer therapies as well as potential side effects. Additionally, the need for anticoagulation in this strategy is challenged by increased risk of bleeding owing to inhibition of collagen-induced platelet aggregation by ibrutinib.4 Recent studies document the long-term benefits of catheter ablation in maintaining sinus rhythm in the general population. We present a case of ibrutinib-associated symptomatic AF, which was successfully treated with ablation therapy, and allowed the patient to return to ibrutinib therapy for adequate management of his cancer (Figure 1). Open in a separate window Figure 1 Timeline showing cardiovascular and hematologic disease and treatment course. AF = atrial fibrillation; CLL = chronic lymphocytic leukemia; AAD = antiarrhythmic drug; OAC = oral anticoagulant. (Figure created with BioRender.com.)
Constructing a plant genetic linkage map with DNA markers

Scientists are constructing genetic linkage maps composed of DNA markers for a wide range of plant species (O’Brien, 1993). Several types of DNA markers have been widely used (Fig. 1): restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) (Botstein et al. 1980), random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) (Williams et al. 1990), simple sequence repeats (SSRs or microsatellites) (Litt and Luty 1989) and amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) (Vos et al. 1995). In the future, maps built from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in combination with DNA chip technology are likely (Wang et al. 1998). All types of DNA markers detect sequence polymorphisms and monitor the segregation of a DNA sequence among progeny of a genetic cross in order to construct a linkage map. While the theory of linkage mapping is the same for DNA markers as in classical genetic mapping, special considerations must be kept in mind. This is primarily a result of the fact that potentially unlimited numbers of DNA markers can be analyzed in a single mapping population. Backcross and F2 populations are suitable for DNA-based mapping, but recombinant inbred (Burr and Burr, 1991) and doubled haploid lines (Huen et al. 1991) provide permanent mapping resources. These types of populations are also better suited for analysis of quantitative traits.
JAK3, STAT, and MAPK Signaling Pathways as Novel Molecular Targets for the Tyrphostin AG-490 Regulation of IL-2-Mediated T Cell Response

AG-490 is a member of the tyrphostin family of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. While AG-490 has been considered to be a Janus kinase (JAK)2-specific inhibitor, these conclusions were primarily drawn from acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells that lack readily detectable levels of JAK3. In the present study, evidence is provided that clearly demonstrates AG-490 potently suppresses IL-2-induced T cell proliferation, a non-JAK2-dependent signal, in a dose-dependent manner in T cell lines D10 and CTLL-2. AG-490 blocked JAK3 activation and phosphorylation of its downstream counterpart substrates, STATs. Inhibition of JAK3 by AG-490 also compromised the Shc/Ras/Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways as measured by phosphorylation of Shc and extracellular signal-related kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2). AG-490 effectively inhibited tyrosine phosphorylation and DNA binding activities of several transcription factors including STAT1, -3, -5a, and -5b and activating protein-1 (AP-1) as judged by Western blot analysis and electrophoretic mobility shift assay. These data suggest that AG-490 is a potent inhibitor of the JAK3/STAT, JAK3/AP-1, and JAK3/MAPK pathways and their cellular consequences. Taken together, these findings support the notion that AG-490 possesses previously unrecognized clinical potential as an immunotherapeutic drug due to its inhibitory effects on T cell-derived signaling pathways.
Implementation of a Linear Time Algorithm for Certain Generalized Traveling Salesman Problems

This paper discusses an implementation of a dynamic programming approach to the traveling salesman problem that runs in time linear in the number of cities. Optimality can be guaranteed when precedence constraints of a certain type are present, and many problems involving time windows fall into this class. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the procedure is that an auxiliary structure is built before any particular problem instance is known, reducing the computational effort required to solve a given problem instance to a fraction of what it would be without such a structure.
The effects of anemia on labor.

Abstract In the literature of the past 30 years there are only brief, infrequent, and contradictory statements regarding anemia as an etiological factor of dystrophic dystocia and/or prolonged labor. In the 1,019 patients studied there were 321 primigravidas and 698 multiparas. All patients with hemoglobin determinations below 11 gm. per 100 c.c. of blood were classed as anemic and those with hemoglobin above this figure were considered to have adequate hemoglobin levels. Among the primigravidas there were 244 patients with hemoglobin determinations above 11 gm. and their average time of labor was 15 hours, 11 minutes. The 77 patients with hemoglobin below 11 gm. had an average length of labor of 18 hours, 16 minutes. This represents an average increase of 20.3 per cent. In the group of multiparas there were 441 with hemoglobin determinations above 11 gm. and their average time of labor was 10 hours. The remaining 257 patients with reduced hemoglobin values had an average length of labor of 12 hours, 17 minutes, or an average increase of 22.9 per cent.
'Efficient Portfolio Management' - A Guide to Effective Investment Supervision Processes

Investment supervisors who seek a “best practices” approach to the investment process must necessarily base their approach upon the principles of modern portfolio theory, with special emphasis on strategic asset allocation and active risk budgeting. This approach should provide for the efficient deployment of active and passive instruments across both traditional and alternative asset classes. The intelligent application of these principles can meaningfully contribute to the design and execution of a sound investment program. This article provides one approach that has been successfully used by investment supervisors to manage global investment portfolio for clients.