cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Coding With Side Information for Rate-Constrained Consensus

Average consensus algorithms are protocols to compute the average value of all sensor measurements via near neighbors communications. They offer a natural tradeoff between the number of messages exchanged among terminals and the accuracy in the computation. Most of the models adopted for the message exchange in the literature, however, neither include explicit rate constraints nor explore the rate distortion tradeoff associated with the algorithm. The contribution of our work is in examining the impact of such constraints and in finding strategies to minimize the communication cost in terms of rate. The main motivation behind the proposed coding strategies is the observation that consensus algorithms offer the perfect example of a network communication problem where there is an increasing correlation between the data exchanged, as the algorithm iterates. Henceforth, it is possible to utilize previously exchanged data and current side information to significantly reduce the demands of quantization bit rate for a certain precision. We analyze the case of a network where the links are assumed to be reliable at a constant bit rate. We explore the conditions on the quantization noise which lead to a consensus value whose mean squared distance from the initial average is bounded. In the case of infinite-length vector coding with Gaussian states, we show that our proposed schemes achieve bounded convergence with vanishing rates as the iteration index tends to infinity.
Pharmacology of Parenteral Anticoagulants

Many hospitalized patients require parenteral anticoagulant medications for pre-vention or treatment of thrombosis. The majority of hospitalized patients haveat least one risk factor for venous thromboembolism (VTE), a severe problemthat causes mortality, morbidity, and considerable challenges for healthcare sys-tems [1]. Many common admitting diagnoses such as myocardial infarction,stroke, and VTE also require the use of parenteral anticoagulants [2]. Becausethe delicate balance of hemostasis is altered, the risk of bleeding is unavoid-ably linked to the use of anticoagulant medications [3]. Therefore, familiaritywith pharmacologic, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic properties of theseagents as well as nuances associated with their clinical application is importantfor those caring for hospitalized patients. This chapter provides an overview ofthe most commonly used parenteral anticoagulants, namely, unfractionated hep-arin (UFH), low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH), and fondaparinux. Otherparenteral anticoagulants, such as the direct thrombin inhibitors and glycoproteinIIb/IIIa inhibitors, which are used less frequently and in more specialized practicesettings, are not addressed here.
Naming Water Understanding How Nomenclature Influences Rights and Policy Choices

Water management has increasingly become a hot button issue in the United States and worldwide. Access, use, and conservation issues continually emerge as societies grow and change. A key aspect of the debate revolves around what water “is.” Naming water as a mineral, as a public good, or as a commodity fundamentally changes its nature, shifting access among citizens, governments, and private firms. This essay discusses some of the issues, problems, and opportunities that emerge from these naming choices, while providing an overview of current water management practices.
Environmental Sociology and the Explanation of Environmental Reform

This article makes the case that environmental sociology is in the midst of a significant shift of problematics, from the explanation of environmental degradation to the explanation of environmental reform. In this article, the author suggests that there are four basic mechanisms of environmental reform or improvement: environmental activism/movements, state environmental regulation, ecological modernization, and international environmental governance. He suggests further that although `green consumerism' is one of the most frequently discussed mechanisms of environmental improvement within environmental sociology and in movement discourse, green consumerist arguments generally tend to rest on one or more of the other four mechanisms of environmental reform. One of the main tasks of environmental sociology will be to assess which of these four mechanisms is the most fundamental to environmental reform. The author concludes with the hypothesis that environmental movements and activism are ultimately the mo...
Free energy calculations of the mutation of Ile96-->Ala in barnase: contributions to the difference in stability.

Free energy calculations were carried out to determine the relative unfolding free energy of the De96 wild type and Ala96 mutant barnases. The total calculated free energies suggest that substitution of Ile9f» with Ala destabilizes barnase by 3.9 kcal/mol, which is in good agreement with the independently determined experimental values of 4.0 and 3.3 kcal/mol and a previous simulation. However, a decomposition of the free energy finds the dominant contributions to this free energy arising from the noncovalent interactions between the perturbed group and distant residues of barnase in the sequence and water molecules and only a very small contribution from covalent interactions. This is in contrast to the previous simulation, using the dual topology methodology, which produced a decomposition with an -60% free energy contribution from changes in covalent interactions. The use of the single topology employed in the present calculations and the dual topology employed in the previous study are analyzed in order to understand the contrast between the present results and the results of the previous study.
Active metabolites of imipramine and desipramine in man.

Active hydroxy metabolites of imipramine (IMI) and desipramine (DMI) have been quantified in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients at steady-state. In plasma of prepubescent boys and adults the concentration of unconjugated 2-hydroxyimipramine is only 15% to 25% that of IMI; 2-hydroxydesipramine (OH-DMI) concentration, however, is usually 50% that of DMI and in some cases OH-DMI is the predominant compound. In CSF from adult patients the ratio of concentrations OH-DMI / DMI is higher than in plasma. Judging from the CSF / plasma ratio 12% of DMI exists in the free form at steady state, whereas 16% of OH-DMI is free (P < 0.02). There is no evidence for saturation of hydroxylation within the therapeutic dose and concentration ranges investigated. On the basis of a steady-state OH-DMI/DMI ratio of <1/30 in plasma 5% of the population studied could be classified as deficient DMI hydroxylators. This is the same as the incidence of deficient debrisoquine hydroxylators reported in other populations. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1982) 31, 393–401; doi:10.1038/clpt.1982.50
But Doctor Salanti, Bumblebees Really Do Fly

[He] has not read my book with that measure of "good will" which anauthor is entitled to expect of a reader. Until he can do so, he will notsee what I mean or know whether I am right. He evidently has a passionwhich leads him to pick on me, but I am left wondering what thispassion is.John Maynard Keynes
Computational Modeling of the Molecular Complex Formed by DIPAIN II and T-2 Toxin

A fluorescence enhancement in the visible range under UV excitation has been observed in 2-(diphenylacetyl)-1,3-indanedione-l-(p-(dimethylamino)benzaldazine) (DIPAIN) II and its derivatives when associating with trichothecene mycotoxins on the solid support. Chromatographic study has shown that it is the molecular complex formed by weak association between DIPAIN II and 12,13-epoxytrichothec-9-ene-3,4,8,15-tetraol 4,15-diacetate 8-(3-methylbutanoate) (T-2) toxin that is directly related to the enhanced fluorescence activity. Previously, a model was proposed by other group to predict a mechanism of the interaction between the molecules in the complex. In this model, five functional groups and regions of DIPAIN II were identified as possible interaction sites with the toxin compounds. More than one area could interact with the compound at the same time. Inspired by these ideas, three mixture conformations of DIPAIN II and T-2 toxin are generated and studied in this paper. The initial geometric structures of two molecules were constructed according to the published papers, and optimization was performed using the Hartree-Fock and the density functional theories followed by calculations of the excited-state energy. The optimization results indicate that there is no chemical bonding between DIPAIN II and T-2 toxin. Nonbonded interactions between T-2 toxin and DIPAIN II could be responsible for the fluorescence enhancement. This conclusion is in agreement with the prediction of the model. The excitation energies are consistent with the experiment results.
The skin and vitamin D

The skin is the major source of vitamin D for the body. It contains ample stores of its precursor 7-dehydrocholesterol that under the influence of ultraviolet radiation (spectrum 280–320) opens the B ring leading to pre vitamin D3 that isomerizes to vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 is formed in similar fashion from the plant sterol ergosterol. Vitamin D when converted to its active metabolites is an important regulator not only of bone mineral homeostasis, but of a wide range of non classical actions including that of differentiation and proliferation of numerous cell types, hormone secretion, and immune function. Moreover, the keratinocytes of the skin are unique in being not only the primary source of vitamin D for the body, but in possessing the enzymatic machinery to metabolize vitamin D to active metabolites (in particular 1,25(OH)2D) and the vitamin D receptor (VDR) that enables the keratinocytes to respond to the 1,25(OH)2D they produce. Numerous functions of the skin are regulated by vitamin D and/or its receptor. These include inhibition of proliferation, stimulation of differentiation including formation of the permeability barrier, promotion of innate immunity, regulation of the hair follicle cycle, and suppression of tumor formation. Regulation of these actions is exerted by a number of different coregulators including the coactivators DRIP and SRC, a less well known inhibitor, hairless (Hr), and β-catenin. Different coregulators appear to be involved in different VDR regulated functions. This review will examine the various functions of vitamin D and its receptor in the skin, and to the extent known explore the mechanisms by which these functions are regulated.
Prognosis and Prevention of Renal Failure Induced by Toxins

Deleterious functional effects caused by nephrotoxins can result when such noxious agents induce renal failure de novo, either acutely or chronically, or when preexisting impairment of renal function is aggravated by toxin exposure. Severe acute renal failure can usually be recognized easily. Moreover, the association with acute toxin exposure is often apparent, although its role may not be appreciated in patients with coexistent problems such as septicemia and shock. Chronic nephrotoxicity and toxicity superimposed on chronic renal impairment are frequently more difficult to diagnose.
Spatial Social Network Analysis of Resource Access in Rural South Africa

Communities in the rural developing world often sit at the margin of market, migration, and technology exchanges. They are arguably becoming more interconnected and networked than ever before. This article seeks to expand on an understanding of natural resource access in the rural developing world by combining social network analysis (SNA) data and geographic position data obtained via Global Positioning System (GPS) and participatory mapping in rural South Africa. This work therefore utilizes a sociospatial framework in understanding natural resource use and access in a community-level analysis. Notably, in our study we find very little association among natural resource use, access, and social position with even the most tolerant measure but enough association so as not to dismiss the relationship completely. We believe that our results can inform investigations of both resource access and social network position and conclude that a subsequent possibilist approach to human–environmental interactions wou...
Towards Self-Aware Materials

We propose a self-aware material in the form-factor of a fabric. This material contains dense sensor nodes on a flexible and stretchable substrate. It is self-configurable and can be manipulated as a traditional craft material, by cutting and joining. The complete shape of this self-sensing material can be tracked by sensing its deformation and stretch. We hope to enable artists and designers to easily make sophisticated sensor networks. This work is a continuation of the SensorTape project, which is a sensor network in the form-factor of a tape.
Multifunctional cationic lipid-based nanoparticles facilitate endosomal escape and reduction-triggered cytosolic siRNA release.

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) has garnered much attention in recent years as a promising avenue for cancer gene therapy due to its ability to silence disease-related genes. Effective gene silencing is contingent upon the delivery of siRNA into the cytosol of target cells and requires the implementation of delivery systems possessing multiple functionalities to overcome delivery barriers. The present work explores the multifunctional properties and biological activity of a recently developed cationic lipid carrier, (1-aminoethyl)iminobis[N-(oleicylcysteinyl-1-amino-ethyl)propionamide]) (ECO). The physicochemical properties and biological activity of ECO/siRNA nanoparticles were assessed over a range of N/P ratios to optimize the formulation. Potent and sustained luciferase silencing in a U87 glioblastoma cell line was observed, even in the presence of serum proteins. ECO/siRNA nanoparticles exhibited pH-dependent membrane disruption at pH levels corresponding to various stages of the intracellular traffick...
Feeding Dynamics of the Black Cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), in Cotton

Feeding activity of fourth- to sixth-instar Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel) on 1- to 7-node cotton was studied in the greenhouse. Number of plants cut per larva was greatest for fourth and fifth instars infesting 7-node cotton (4.6–5.8 plants) and decreased progressively with plant age to 1.6 for sixth instars infesting 5-node cotton. All instars tested could initiate attack on 1-node cotton, but only sixth instars successfully attacked 5-node cotton. Seven-node plants generally were not susceptible to attack even from sixth instars. Duration of cutting activity for each category of infestation in degree-days above 10.4°C was less than half of that expected from developmental rates at constant temperatures.
Assessing Assessment: Evaluating Outcomes and Reliabilities of Grammar, Math, and Writing Skill Measures in an Introductory Journalism Course.

This article introduces an objective grammar and math assessment and evaluates the assessment’s outcome and reliability when fielded among eighty-one students in media writing courses. In addition,...
Analysis on Characteristics of Phase-Selectable Circuit Breaker for Switching Capacitor Banks in UHV Power Transmission Project

During the switching on/off of capacitor banks in substations it is necessary for circuit breakers(CB) to turn-off or to switching in the capacitive current, so the CB has to be operated under harsh condition to ensure the reliability of equipments, the switching on/off capacitor banks in Anji substation belonging to 1 000 kV UHVAC power transmission project from Huainan to Shanghai is implemented by phase-selectable CB. Based on the connection mode of the project and the operational characteristics of the CB a phase-selecting control strategy for circuit breakers to switch on/off capacitor banks is proposed, operational characteristics of CB during switching on/off capacitor banks under various operating conditions of UHVAC power transmission project are simulated and the on-site tests on the phase-selecting function of phase-selectable CB for switching on/off capacitor banks are performed, besides, the making phase angle of CB and the time to disconnect the arc by CB are calculated and analyzed and corresponding measured waveforms are obtained from the test as well. test results show that the operation of phase-selectable CB is normal and the requirements of practical operation can be satisfied. The electrical life of CB for switching of/off capacitor banks can be prolonged by adopting phase-selecting control technology.
Efficactive analysis of leukotriene receptor antagonist treatment for children's allergic purpura

Objective To observe the efficacy of treatment of leukotriene receptor antagonist montelukast to children allergic purpura.Methods 100 cases of allergic purpura children randomly divided into two groups,the conventional group treated as the conventional treatments,the treatment group based on conventional treatment combined with montelukast,observe its clinical curative effect.Results The treatment group's cure rate was 56%,obviously higher than the conventional group's(34%)(P0.05).The treatment groups total effectiveness(96%) was higher than conventional group(86%)(P0.05).Conclusion in the treatment of allergic purpura process,can be based on routine treatment combined with leukotriene receptor antagonist treatment,which are expected to reduce the dosage of prednisone,reduce the recurrence of schonlein-henoch purpura.
Intraoperative Optical Imaging of Epileptiform and Functional Activity

Although intraoperative optical imaging is still a research tool, optical imaging has the potential to establish itself as an intraoperative tool in the future, and may be able to be used for studies into language dominance, memory, and higher cognitive functions.
The Constitution of Linguistic Intelligence

The emergence of language and thought is an achievement of intelligence, instituted by a plurality of individuals. They similarly experience a common world while having already developed their imagination and sensorimotor skills so as to form and express to one another signs and names, which they can recognize and freely associate thanks to their verbal memory. If these individuals did not confront the same world with a sufficiently analogous experience of and response to it, they could not understand their expressions to have any shared connotation and meaning.1 If they lacked sufficient semiotic imagination and sensorimotor skills, they could not produce and communicate any verbal terms. If they lacked verbal memory, they would be unable to reidentify and connect any signs and names. Although these requirements consist in individual psychological endowments, the move from name production and memorization to language takes place through psychological activities that individuals can engage in only in interaction with others who perform them as well.2 These interrelated activities are at once constitutive of thought and linguistic communication, as well as of the basis of normative community.3
The Direct Current Transformer

Among numerous problems of cryogenic engineering there is the one of electrical conduction from an external room temperature source into a low temperature environment. For currents over a few amperes the problem is one of providing electrical conductors of suitable current carrying capacity without introducing excessive thermal conduction. In working at temperatures of liquid helium, the thermal losses quickly result in substantial boil-off, To conduct currents of several hundred amperes would appear totally impractical.
Family and Contextual Predictors of Depressive Symptoms in Inner-City African American Youth

Family and contextual predictors of depression in inner-city, African American youth have rarely been examined. In this study we explore the contribution of current and historical life events, family conflict, perceived social support from mother, maternal depression, and maternal explanatory style to the depressive symptoms of inner-city African American school-age (M = 10.7 years) children. Home interviews were conducted with 89 mother and child dyads living in moderate- to high-violent areas of a southeastern city. Regression analyses revealed that the children in this sample with higher levels of depressive symptoms had higher levels of child-reported everyday stress, were more likely to have been abused at some point in their past, came from homes with mothers who were less well educated, and had mothers who reported higher levels of depression, a past history of domestic abuse, as well as a less pessimistic explanatory style. Implications for interventions with inner-city African American families are discussed.
Fast evaluation of local elastic constants and its application to nanosized structures

We derive a method to determine the effective local elasticity tensor by combining the local stress, local strain, and global strain in conjunction with a linear least-squares solver. This method reduces to the standard stress-strain fluctuation method for the estimation of global moduli if the local stress and the local strain are substituted by global counterparts. The quality of the developed method is verified by the analysis of an fcc Lennard-Jones single crystal. By using this method, surface elastic behaviors of three nanoplates are investigated. Simulation results prove that both softening and stiffening effects could be detected, depending on the surface orientations and loading directions. This approach could be especially valuable for complicated morphologies where the physical properties of the local material are challenging or impractical to obtain.
Psychological Facet Development: Emoting Experiences

This chapter focuses on the context, range, duration, and intensity of focalizing characters’ emoting experiences. Emoting structures in selection and development chapters construe 36 distinctive categories of emotion ranging from ANGER, ANXIETY, DISPLEASURE, AND EXCITEMENT TO GRATITUDE, HATE, HOPE, HUMILIATION, AND PLEASURE. Emoting profiles for each focalizing character are presented, and one character’s remarkably complex and wide-ranging emoting experiences are examined at length. Augmented, reconfigured, and emergent emoting-patterns in selected novels are examined in detail.
Technology and the patient-physician relationship: a defining historic moment.

A physician gives a historical perspective of the relationship between technology and the physician-patient relationship by examining the invention of the stethoscope in the early 19th century. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Metrology of DNA arrays by super-resolution microscopy

Summary form only given, as follows. To counter the rising costs and challenges of semiconductor device scaling, new bottom-up patterning techniques are sought to supplement or replace current top-down lithography techniques. DNA-based techniques such as origami, tiles, and bricks have demonstrated precise control of the size and shape of self-assembled nanostructures, and recent advances in structural DNA nanotechnology have demonstrated the potential for sub-10 nm lithographic patterning with DNA. Beyond the capability for nanoscale patterning, metrology of patterned structures is a crucial capability that poses increasing challenges as the scale of structures decreases. Common high resolution imaging techniques used for DNA nanostructures, such as AFM and TEM, cannot accommodate high throughput characterization. Super-resolution microscopy is being actively developed for biological and DNA-based imaging and is compatible with inline optical metrology techniques for high volume manufacturing. Here, we report a two-step super-resolution methodology for characterizing the periodic structure and quality of 2D DNA origami arrays as proof-of-principle of the ability to incorporate optical defect metrology with DNA-based patterning. Through the integration of DNA-PAINT docking sites with sticky-end hybridization strands6, we demonstrate state-dependent docking sites (defect labels) that deactivate when bound in an array, enabling the acquisition of information on the state of each tile arm in parallel with spatial information. In combination with docking sites near the center of individual structures, ‘crystal-PAINT’ enables step-wise7 characterization of the crystalline structure of arrays and single defect metrology. Using this method, we successfully super-resolved cross-shaped DNA origami tile arrays8 assembled by sticky-end hybridization, identified grain boundaries between individual arrays, and utilized statistical methods to quantify the dimensions and size distribution of tile arrays. With further development in imaging processing, this technique will provide high throughput characterization of self-assembled DNA nanostructures for large-scale origami arrays.
Bridging Cognitive Science and Real Classrooms: A Video Methodology for Experimental Research

ABSTRACTWe describe a new approach to the use of video-based technology for conducting controlled experiments in classroom contexts. Specifically, we describe a process for editing video recordings of live classroom lessons to create multiple versions, such that only one aspect of the lesson is systematically varied. Other aspects of the instruction are all held constant, including audio, curricular content, student participation, and other notoriously hard-to-control details of the interactional context that impact learning (e.g., gestures, affect). These edited lesson versions can be randomly assigned to students by condition within classrooms to meet a high standard for random assignment. This technology provides opportunities for deriving causal data on the efficacy of teaching practices through stimuli approximating a typical everyday classroom context.
New Thoughts about an Old Eikonal Problem

Two different methods of approach, currently under investigation, are suggested for calculating the eikonal function corresponding to quark-quark scattering at very high energies and small momentum transfers. These methods illustrate the realistic, dynamical complexities inherent in QCD scattering problems.
Coronado’s Querechos and Teyas in the Archaeological Record of the Texas Panhandle

The chronicles of the Coronado expedition of 1541 record the presence of two groups inhabiting the Llano Estacado region of the southern High Plains. These groups, referred to as Querechos and Teya...
Asymmetric PI3K Activity in Lymphocytes Organized by a PI3K-Mediated Polarity Pathway

Unequal transmission of nutritive signaling during cell division establishes fate disparity between sibling lymphocytes, but how asymmetric signaling becomes organized is not understood. We show that receptor-associated class I phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling activity, indexed by phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PIP3) staining, is spatially restricted to the microtubule-organizing center and subsequently to one pole of the mitotic spindle in activated T and B lymphocytes. Asymmetric PI3K activity co-localizes with polarization of antigen receptor components implicated in class I PI3K signaling and with facultative glucose transporters whose trafficking is PI3K dependent and whose abundance marks cells destined for differentiation. Perturbation of class I PI3K activity disrupts asymmetry of upstream antigen receptors and downstream glucose transporter traffic. The roles of PI3K signaling in nutrient utilization, proliferation, and gene expression may have converged with the conserved role of PI3K signaling in cellular symmetry breaking to form a logic for regenerative lymphocyte divisions.
Tuberculous peritonitis in children: Two case reports highlighting the important role of imaging

Tuberculous peritonitis is an uncommon extrapulmonary form of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, frequently presenting with nonspecific and insidious symptoms. Diagnosis is therefore difficult, unsuspected, and often delayed, especially in the pediatric patient without an obvious history of exposure to the pathogen. This report presents a 9-year-old Hispanic girl and a 3-year-old African American boy presenting with nonspecific and insidious symptoms, such as abdominal pain, distention, and fever in whom computed tomography findings of peritoneal thickening and enhancement, high density ascites, lymphadenopathy, and bowel wall thickening acted as key components in establishing a final diagnosis of the condition. Computed tomography is an important clinical adjuvant in making this difficult diagnosis.
On Tests of Independence under Bivariate Exponential Models

In this paper some general results are given for the asymptotic relative efficiency of Kendall’s τ and Spearman’s ρ under tests for independence. Discussion then turns to the bivariate exponential distribution (BVE) of Marshall and Olkin (1967) and the absolutely continuous bivariate exponential distribution (ACBVE) of Block and Basu (1974). Power calculations are carried out for several statistics, and asymptotic relative efficiencies are calculated.
Endovascular Treatment of Tandem Internal Carotid and Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusions

Objective Extracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) angioplasty and intracranial thrombectomy may be a safe and efficacious therapeutic option for recanalization of a subset of arterial occlusions termed tandem occlusions of Internal carotid artery and Middle cerebral artery (TIM). Background Approximately 25% of patients with middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion will have a concomitant ICA occlusion and 50% of patients with an ICA occlusion will have a proximal MCA occlusion. Cervical ICA occlusion with MCA embolic occlusion is associated with a low rate of recanalization and poor outcome after intravenous thrombolysis. We report our experience on acute ischemic stroke patients with TIM occlusion treated with extracranial ICA angioplasty/stenting and intracranial thrombectomy and/or standard intravenous thrombolysis. Design/methods A retrospective analysis of 7 patients from our stroke database was done. 6 patients of the 7 patients were treated with extracranial ICA angioplasty and intracranial thrombectomy and/or intravenous thrombolysis. We examined early neurological improvement (defined by a reduction of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) > 8 points). We also evaluated the rate of successful recanalization based on thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI) score of 2b or 3. Results All but one of the 6 treated patients achieved a TICI score of 2b or 3 signifying successful recanalization. In addition, treated patients had an early reduction of their NIHSS by greater than 8 points. The 1 patient who did not to achieve TICI 2b or 3 also failed to show early neurological improvement. Four of the treated patients had a follow up NIHSS at 90 days of 1 or less and mRS at 90 days of 0. Conclusions In cases of tandem occlusions of ICA and MCA, multimodal therapy consistent of intravenous thrombolysis and/or extracranial ICA stenting and intracranial thrombectomy to achieve recanalization may be a safe and efficacious therapeutic option for recanalization. Further prospective studies are warranted.
Amino acid sequence conservation of the algesic fragment of myelin basic protein is required for its interaction with CDK5 and function in pain.

Neurotrauma frequently results in neuropathic pain. Our earlier studies revealed that peripheral neurotrauma-induced fragmentation of the myelin basic protein (MBP), a major component of the myelin sheath formed by Schwann cells, initiates a pain response from light touch stimuli (mechanical allodynia) in rodents. Here, we identified the cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5), as an intracellular interactor of MBP in Schwann cells. The algesic peptide fragment of MBP directly associated with CDK5. When complexed with its p25 coactivator, CDK5 phosphorylated the conserved MBP sequence. The expressed MBP fragment colocalized with CDK5 in Schwann cell protrusions. Roscovitine, an ATP-competitive CDK5 inhibitor, disrupted localization of the expressed MBP peptide. Mutations in the evolutionary conserved MBP algesic sequence resulted in the interference with intracellular trafficking of the MBP fragment and kinase activity of CDK5 and diminished pain-like behavior in rodents. Our findings show that MBP fragment amino acid sequence conservation determines its interactions, trafficking, and pronociceptive activity. Because CDK5 activity controls both neurogenesis and nociception, the algesic MBP fragment may be involved in the regulation of the CDK5 functionality in pain signaling and postinjury neurogenesis in vertebrates. Database The novel RNA-seq datasets were deposited in the GEO database under the accession number GSE107020.
Measurement of Diphosphine σ-Donor and π-Acceptor Properties in d0 Titanium Complexes Using Ligand K-Edge XAS and TDDFT.

Diphosphines are highly versatile ancillary ligands in coordination chemistry and catalysis because their structures and donor–acceptor properties can vary widely depending on the substituents atta...
From soft power to sports diplomacy: a theoretical and conceptual discussion

The term soft power refers to the ability to shape preferences of others and getting them to do what you want through attraction without the use of payments or of military force. The three main resources of soft power are culture, political values and foreign policy. Cultural diplomacy refers to the way culture is used for public diplomacy and soft power purposes. Countries, cities, and communities have been using sports for public diplomacy and branding purposes to achieve social, political, and financial goals, and improve the image of the country. The international exposure, the focus on culture, and peaceful values in sports make it a useful tool for countries to use soft power to achieve international goals and improve their public diplomacy. The purpose of this article is to discuss the theoretical and conceptual connections between sports, soft power, and public diplomacy especially in the context of trying to improve countries’ images to achieve foreign policy goals.
Nano - Precision Systems for Overlay in Advanced Lithography Processes

Improvement in lithographic overlay has been a key enabler of Moore’s law. Overlay control has improved from above 300 nm (3σ) in early lithographic systems, to close to 2 nm (3σ) in state-of-the-art photolithography systems as well as in the emerging area of nanoimprint lithography systems. In this article, we survey the innovations which led to these incredibly precise overlay capabilities in modern patterning systems.
Critique [of Racial Intelligence Testing and the Mexican People]

Educational institutions are representative microcosms of the society. If the society segregates, exploits, and excludes racial groups, then it can be expected that educational institutions will follow suit. The intelligence testing of the 1920s and 1930s was an academic response to eugenics theories and to contemporary political-economic policies related to immigration, miscegenation, and segregation. As Gonzalez concludes, the creation of intelligence tests and their application were not only an apologia but also a means to maintain the status quo in the society.
Vanishing calcified thoracic disc herniation.

A 66-year-old man with a history of two L4–L5 minimally invasive tubular approaches for microdiscectomy and an L5–S1 anterior lumbar interbody fusion returned to the clinic after 1 year for thoracic and left flank pain. The pain began a few weeks before presentation. Pain was described as
How U.S. And Chinese children talk about personal, moral and conventional choices

Abstract There is agreement among children across cultures that matters of personal preference can be freely chosen, while moral actions are obligatory. Children’s beliefs about actions that violate norms and conventions are more culturally variable. This study explores children’s reasoning about personal (toy preference), moral (sharing vs stealing), and conventional (artifact use) choices among five- to seven-year-olds (N = 62; M = 6.39, SD = 0.75) in the U.S. and China by asking them to tell stories to accompany pictures showing a character prior to making decision and two possible post-decision outcomes for each domain. We found cultural similarities in children’s stories about personal and moral issues: children in both cultures emphasized desires (“wanting” and “liking”) when talking about toy preferences and combined an emphasis on evaluations and desires when talking about sharing or stealing. We found cultural differences in children’s storytelling about artifact conventions: U.S. children’s stories about this conventional choice contained more mental state language, while Chinese children’s stories contained more evaluative language. We compared children’s stories to simple forced-choice judgments of possibility and permissibility, and discussed how together they paint a richer picture of emerging cultural differences in choice construal.
Does Size Matter? An Analysis of the Effect of Lumbar Disc Herniation Size on the Success of Nonoperative Treatment:

Study Design:Retrospective study.Objective:In this study, we examined whether the size of a lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is predictive of the need for surgical intervention within 2 years after obt...
In vivo confocal high-resolution imaging of bladder lesions in conjunction with cystoscopy (Conference Presentation)

Bladder cancer is the 6th most common cancer in the United States.[1] While cystoscopy is routinely performed for patients under surveillance, there is a critical need to improve its ability to accurately characterize bladder lesions with high specificity. Previously we developed a real-time and low-cost (<$5,000) confocal high-resolution microendoscope (confocal HRME) and demonstrated that it can resolve subcellular and clinically relevant features in highly scattering tissue samples.[2] In this study, we evaluate the utility of the confocal HRME in conjunction with conventional cystoscopy to characterize bladder precancer and cancer lesions at different scales. Patients scheduled for cystoscopy at Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in Houston, Texas were first examined with a standard cystoscope, followed by intravesical instillation of proflavine (0.01% w/v in sterile PBS) for fluorescence imaging. In vivo HRME images of normal and suspicious lesions were then acquired and compared to histopathology as the gold standard. Our preliminary results showed that confocal HRME images of normal bladder epithelium was characterized by an intact lining of umbrella cells. As disease progressed in urothelial carcinoma, the regular layered structure became disrupted, accompanied with nuclear crowding and enlargement of urothelial cells. We also compared the imaging performance of the confocal HRME with the non-confocal mode, and confocal images revealed improved imaging contrast of nuclear morphology, especially in lesions with crowded nuclei. In summary, the confocal HRME, when combined with widefield cystoscopy, can resolve disease associated features at the subcellular level and has the potential to improve early detection of bladder cancer. References: 1. SEER/NIC. Seer Stats Fact Sheets: Bladder Cancer. Retrieved July 22, 2019 from https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/urinb.html. 2. Y. Tang, A. Kortum, I. Vohra, M. Othman, S. Dhingra, N. Mansour, J. Carns, S. Anandasabapathy, and R. Richards-Kortum, "Improving nuclear morphometry imaging with real-time and low-cost line-scanning confocal microendoscope," Opt. Lett. 44, 654 (2019).
RNA genome conservation and secondary structure in SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-related viruses

As the COVID-19 outbreak spreads, there is a growing need for a compilation of conserved RNA genome regions in the SARS-CoV-2 virus along with their structural propensities to guide development of antivirals and diagnostics. Using sequence alignments spanning a range of betacoronaviruses, we rank genomic regions by RNA sequence conservation, identifying 79 regions of length at least 15 nucleotides as exactly conserved over SARS-related complete genome sequences available near the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. We then confirm the conservation of the majority of these genome regions across 739 SARS-CoV-2 sequences reported to date from the current COVID-19 outbreak, and we present a curated list of 30 'SARS-related-conserved' regions. We find that known RNA structured elements curated as Rfam families and in prior literature are enriched in these conserved genome regions, and we predict additional conserved, stable secondary structures across the viral genome. We provide 106 'SARS-CoV-2-conserved-structured' regions as potential targets for antivirals that bind to structured RNA. We further provide detailed secondary structure models for the 5´ UTR, frame-shifting element, and 3´ UTR. Last, we predict regions of the SARS-CoV-2 viral genome have low propensity for RNA secondary structure and are conserved within SARS-CoV-2 strains. These 59 'SARS-CoV-2-conserved-unstructured' genomic regions may be most easily targeted in primer-based diagnostic and oligonucleotide-based therapeutic strategies.
Ritonavir and Lopinavir Suppress RCE1 and CAAX Rab Proteins Sensitizing the Liver to Organelle Stress and Injury

Organelle stress and Liver injuries often occur in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients under anti-HIV therapies, yet few molecular off-targets of anti-HIV drugs have been identified in the liver. Here, we found through total RNA sequencing that the transcription of a host protease Ras converting CAAX endopeptidase 1 (RCE1) was altered in HepG2 cells treated with anti-HIV protease inhibitors, ritonavir and lopinavir. Levels of RCE1 protein were inhibited in HepG2 and primary mouse hepatocytes and in the liver of mice treated with the anti-HIV drugs, which were accompanied with inhibition of two potential substrates of RCE1, small GTP binding protein Rab13 and Rab18, which are with a common CAAX motif and known to regulate the ER-Golgi traffic or lipogenesis. Neither Rce1 transcription nor RCE1 protein level was inhibited by Brefeldin A, which is known to interfere with the ER-Golgi traffic causing Golgi stress. Knocking down Rce1 with RNA interference increased ritonavir and lopinavir-induced cell death as well as expression of Golgi stress response markers, TFE3, HSP47 and GCP60, in both primary mouse hepatocytes and mouse liver, and deteriorated alcohol-induced alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and fatty liver injury in mice. In addition, overexpressing Rab13 or Rab18 in primary human hepatocytes reduced partially the anti-HIV drugs and alcohol-induced Golgi fragmentation, Golgi stress response, and cell death injury. Conclusion: We identified a mechanism linking a host protease and its substrates, small guanosine triphosphate-binding proteins, to the anti-HIV drug-induced Golgi dysfunction, organelle stress response, and fatty liver injury.
Exposure to dim light at night prior to conception attenuates offspring innate immune responses

Functional circadian timekeeping is necessary for homeostatic control of the immune system and appropriate immune responsiveness. Disruption of natural light-dark cycles, through light at night (LAN), impairs innate and adaptive immune responses in nocturnal rodents. These altered immune responses are associated with disrupted endogenous gene transcriptional and endocrine cycles. However, few studies have addressed the multigenerational consequences of systemic circadian rhythm disruption. We hypothesized that parental exposure to dim LAN (dLAN) would alter innate immune and sickness responses to an endotoxin challenge in adult offspring gestated and reared in dark nights. Adult male and female Siberian hamsters were exposed to either dark nights (DARK) or dLAN (~5 lux) for 8 weeks, then paired, mated, and thereafter housed under dark nights. Maternal exposure to dLAN prior to conception impaired febrile responses and increased splenic il-1 production in response to LPS in male offspring. Paternal pre-conception dLAN dampened offspring tnf-α expression in the hypothalamus, reduced serum bactericidal capacity, and dark phase locomotor activity. These changes occurred despite offspring being conceived, gestated, and reared under standard dark night conditions. Overall, these data suggest that dLAN has intergenerational effects on innate immunity and sickness responses.
Digital Inclusion as a Core Component of Social Inclusion

There is a large body of research that has examined digital inequities, inequalities, and divides—i.e., those countries, communities, and individuals digitally left behind or disadvantaged. Whereas we know quite a lot about what is lacking and for whom, there is less focus on what works to alleviate these inequalities and divides in a variety of cultural contexts. This thematic issue brings together scholarship on digital inclusion initiatives and research from over 20 countries and in the context of numerous aspects, including different types of initiatives as well as different types of target audiences for these initiatives. Each article provides unique insights into what does and does not work in various communities, making recommendations on what could be done to improve the examined initiatives. We hope that the breadth and depth of articles presented here will be useful not just for academic audiences seeking to broaden their understanding of digital inclusion and ‘what can be done’ rather than focusing on ‘what is amiss,’ but also for policymakers and digital inclusion initiatives who are eager to expand and advance their digital inclusion work within their communities.
Optimization for Deep Learning: An Overview

Optimization is a critical component in deep learning. We think optimization for neural networks is an interesting topic for theoretical research due to various reasons. First, its tractability despite non-convexity is an intriguing question and may greatly expand our understanding of tractable problems. Second, classical optimization theory is far from enough to explain many phenomena. Therefore, we would like to understand the challenges and opportunities from a theoretical perspective and review the existing research in this field. First, we discuss the issue of gradient explosion/vanishing and the more general issue of undesirable spectrum and then discuss practical solutions including careful initialization, normalization methods and skip connections. Second, we review generic optimization methods used in training neural networks, such as stochastic gradient descent and adaptive gradient methods, and existing theoretical results. Third, we review existing research on the global issues of neural network training, including results on global landscape, mode connectivity, lottery ticket hypothesis and neural tangent kernel.
Direct measurement of nitrite transport across erythrocyte membrane vesicles using the fluorescent probe, 6-methoxy-N-(3-sulfopropyl) quinolinium.

Nitrite was shown to quench the fluorescence of 6-methoxy-N-(3-sulfopropyl) quinolinium (SPQ) almost twofold more than chloride. SPQ loaded inside vesicles prepared from asolectin and isolated erythrocyte ghosts allowed for the direct measurement of nitrite movement across these membranes. Movement of nitrite across asolectin occurred by diffusion as HNO2 in a pH-dependent manner. By contrast, erythrocyte ghosts had very low diffusion rates for nitrous acid. Erythrocyte ghosts preloaded with 50 mM nitrite to quench SPQ fluorescence were utilized to study heteroexchange with externally added anions. SPQ fluorescence increases (becomes unquenched) with added bicarbonate and nitrate, indicating that nitrite is moving out of the preloaded vesicles. The pH optimum for this exchange was approximately 7.6 and exchange was inhibited by N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) and dihydro-4,4′-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid (DIDS). These data indicate that nitrite moves across erythrocyte plasma membranes as NO2- by a heteroexchange mechanism with other monovalent anions.