cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An experimental SMI adaptive antenna array for weak interfering signals

A description is given of the modified SMI (sample matrix inversion) adaptive arrays in which the sample covariance matrix is redefined to reduce the effect of thermal noise on the weights of an adaptive array. This is accomplished by subtracting a fraction of the smallest eigenvalue of the original covariance matrix from its diagonal terms. In situations where the number of degrees of freedom of a modified SMI adaptive array is larger than the number of interfering signals incident on the array, the adaptive array provides the required interference suppression. An experimental modified SMI adaptive antenna array is described. Performance results are presented, and the experimental system is a three-element SMI adaptive antenna array and operates in a signal scenario consisting of a desired signal and an interfering signal whose source may be located at an arbitrary angular separation from the desired signal. >
Reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome after bevacizumab/FOLFIRI regimen for metastatic colon cancer.

Objective To describe a patient with reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome following the administration of bevacizumab (Avastin), a monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor. Design Case report/literature review. Setting University hospital. Patient A 52-year-old man receiving chemotherapy for stage IV rectal carcinoma. Results Clinical and radiographic evidence consistent with reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome was found following the administration of irinotecan hydrochloride, leucovorin calcium, and fluorouracil (FOLFIRI) regimen chemotherapy and bevacizumab. Conclusions Reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome following treatment with angiogenesis modulators can occur. In addition to raising clinical suspicion in appropriate patients, this report may yield clues to the pathophysiologic underpinnings of reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome.
The Role of LAT in Increased CD8+ T Cell Exhaustion in Trigeminal Ganglia of Mice Latently Infected with Herpes Simplex Virus 1

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is a classic example of latent viral infection in humans and experimental animal models. The HSV-1 latency-associated transcript (LAT) plays a major role in the HSV-1 latency reactivation cycle and thus in recurrent disease. Whether the presence of LAT leads to generation of dysfunctional T cell responses in the trigeminal ganglia (TG) of latently infected mice is not known. To address this issue, we used LAT-positive [LAT()] and LAT-deficient [LAT()] viruses to evaluate the effect of LAT on CD8 T cell exhaustion in TG of latently infected mice. The amount of latency as determined by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) of viral DNA in total TG extracts was 3-fold higher with LAT() than with LAT() virus. LAT expression and increased latency correlated with increased mRNA levels of CD8, PD-1, and Tim-3. PD-1 is both a marker for exhaustion and a primary factor leading to exhaustion, and Tim-3 can also contribute to exhaustion. These results suggested that LAT() TG contain both more CD8 T cells and more CD8 T cells expressing the exhaustion markers PD-1 and Tim-3. This was confirmed by flow cytometry analyses of expression of CD3/CD8/PD-1/Tim-3, HSV-1, CD8 T cell pentamer (specific for a peptide derived from residues 498 to 505 of glycoprotein B [gB 498‐505]), interleukin-2 (IL-2), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-). The functional significance of PD-1 and its ligands in HSV-1 latency was demonstrated by the significantly reduced amount of HSV-1 latency in PD-1- and PD-L1-deficient mice. Together, these results may suggest that both PD-1 and Tim-3 are mediators of CD8 T cell exhaustion and latency in HSV-1 infection.
Cosine modulated multitone for very high-speed digital subscriber lines

In this paper, the use of cosine modulated filter banks (CMFB) for multi-carrier modulation in the application of very high-speed digital subscriber lines (VDSL) is studied. We refer to this modulation technique as cosine modulated multitone (CMT). CMT is fundamentally the same as the discrete wavelet multitone (DWMT) except for the receiver structure. With the modified receiver structure, CMT uses only two taps per sub-carrier for equalization. This is an order of magnitude less complex than DWMT where each subcarrier requires more than 20 taps for equalization. We compare CMT with zipper discrete multitone (z-DMT) and filtered multitone (FMT), the two modulation techniques that have been included in the VDSL draft standard.
iAB-RBC-283: A proteomically derived knowledge-base of erythrocyte metabolism that can be used to simulate its physiological and patho-physiological states

The development of high-throughput technologies capable of whole cell measurements of genes, proteins, and metabolites has led to the emergence of systems biology. Integrated analysis of the resulting omic data sets has proved to be hard to achieve. Metabolic network reconstructions enable complex relationships amongst molecular components to be represented formally in a biologically relevant manner while respecting physical constraints. In silico models derived from such reconstructions can then be queried or interrogated through mathematical simulations. Proteomic profiling studies of the mature human erythrocyte have shown more proteins present related to metabolic function than previously thought; however the significance and the causal consequences of these findings have not been explored. Erythrocyte proteomic data was used to reconstruct the most expansive description of erythrocyte metabolism to date, following extensive manual curation, assessment of the literature, and functional testing. The reconstruction contains 281 enzymes representing functions from glycolysis to cofactor and amino acid metabolism. Such a comprehensive view of erythrocyte metabolism implicates the erythrocyte as a potential biomarker for different diseases as well as a 'cell-based' drug-screening tool. The analysis shows that 94 erythrocyte enzymes are implicated in morbid single nucleotide polymorphisms, representing 142 pathologies. In addition, over 230 FDA-approved and experimental pharmaceuticals have enzymatic targets in the erythrocyte. The advancement of proteomic technologies and increased generation of high-throughput proteomic data have created the need for a means to analyze these data in a coherent manner. Network reconstructions provide a systematic means to integrate and analyze proteomic data in a biologically meaning manner. Analysis of the red cell proteome has revealed an unexpected level of complexity in the functional capabilities of human erythrocyte metabolism.
Role of B Cells in Host Defense against Primary Coxiella burnetii Infection

ABSTRACT Despite Coxiella burnetii being an obligate intracellular bacterial pathogen, our recent study demonstrated that B cells play a critical role in vaccine-induced immunity to C. burnetii infection by producing protective antibodies. However, the role of B cells in host defense against primary C. burnetii infection remains unclear. In this study, we investigated whether B cells play an important role in host defense against primary C. burnetii infection. The results showed that peritoneal B cells were able to phagocytose virulent C. burnetii bacteria and form Coxiella-containing vacuoles (CCVs) and that C. burnetii can infect and replicate in peritoneal B1a subset B cells in vitro , demonstrating a potential role for peritoneal B cells in host defense against C. burnetii infection in vivo . In addition, the results showing that B1a cells secreted a high level of interleukin-10 (IL-10) in response to C. burnetii infection in vitro suggest that B1a cells may play an important role in inhibiting the C. burnetii infection-induced inflammatory response. The observation that adoptive transfer of peritoneal B cells did not significantly affect the severity of C. burnetii infection-induced diseases in both severe combined immunity-deficient (SCID) and μMT mice indicates that peritoneal B cells alone may not be able to control C. burnetii infection. In contrast, our finding that C. burnetii infection induced more-severe splenomegaly and a higher bacterial burden in the spleens of B1a cell-deficient Bruton9s tyrosine kinase x-linked immunity-deficient (BTK xid ) mice than in their wild-type counterparts further suggests that B1a cells play an important role in host defense against primary C. burnetii infection.
Central venous thrombosis in children with intestinal failure on long-term parenteral nutrition

Abstract Purpose Central venous thrombosis (CVT) is a serious complication of long-term central venous access for parenteral nutrition (PN) in children with intestinal failure (IF). We reviewed thse incidence of CVT and possible risk factors. Methods Children with IF on home PN (2010–2014) with central venous imaging were reviewed. Patient demographics, catheter characteristics and related complications, and markers of liver function were compared between children with and without CVT. Serum thrombophilia markers were reviewed for patients with CVT. Results Thirty children with central venous imaging were included. Seventeen patients had thrombosis of ≥1 central vein, and twelve had ≥2 thrombosed central veins. Patients with and without CVT had similar demographics and catheter characteristics. Patients with CVT had a significantly lower albumin level (2.76±0.38g/dL vs. 3.12±0.41g/dL, p=0.0223). The most common markers of thrombophilia in children with CVT were antithrombin, protein C and S deficiencies, and elevated factor VIII. There was a statistically significant correlation between a combined protein C and S deficiency and having >1 CVT. Conclusions Children with IF on long-term PN are at high risk for CVT potentially owing to low levels of natural anticoagulant proteins and elevated factor FVIII activity, likely a reflection of liver insufficiency and chronic inflammation.
The invasive annual cheatgrass releases more nitrogen than crested wheatgrass through root exudation and senescence

Plant-soil feedbacks are an important aspect of invasive species success. One type of feedback is alteration of soil nutrient cycling. Cheatgrass invasion in the western USA is associated with increases in plant-available nitrogen (N), but the mechanism for this has not been elucidated. We labeled cheatgrass and crested wheatgrass, a common perennial grass in western rangelands, with (15)N-urea to determine if differences in root exudates and turnover could be a mechanism for increases in soil N. Mesocosms containing plants were either kept moist, or dried out during the final 10 days to determine the role of senescence in root N release. Soil N transformation rates were determined using (15)N pool dilution. After 75 days of growth, cheatgrass accumulated 30 % more total soil N and organic carbon than crested wheatgrass. Cheatgrass roots released twice as much N as crested wheatgrass roots (0.11 vs. 0.05 mg N kg(-1) soil day(-1)) in both soil moisture treatments. This occurred despite lower root abundance (7.0 vs. 17.3 g dry root kg(-1) soil) and N concentration (6.0 vs. 7.6 g N kg(-1) root) in cheatgrass vs. crested wheatgrass. We propose that increases in soil N pool sizes and transformation rates under cheatgrass are caused by higher rates of root exudation or release of organic matter containing relatively large amounts of labile N. Our results provide the first evidence for the underlying mechanism by which the invasive annual cheatgrass increases N availability and establishes positive plant-soil feedbacks that promote its success in western rangelands.
A Hippo and Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor Autocrine Pathway in Cholangiocarcinoma

Herein, we have identified cross-talk between the Hippo and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) oncogenic signaling pathways in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Yes-associated protein (YAP) nuclear localization and up-regulation of canonical target genes was observed in CCA cell lines and a patient-derived xenograft (PDX). Expression of FGFR1, -2, and -4 was identified in human CCA cell lines, driven, in part, by YAP coactivation of TBX5. In turn, FGFR signaling in a cell line with minimal basal YAP expression induced its cellular protein expression and nuclear localization. Treatment of YAP-positive CCA cell lines with BGJ398, a pan-FGFR inhibitor, resulted in a decrease in YAP activation. FGFR activation of YAP appears to be driven largely by FGF5 activation of FGFR2, as siRNA silencing of this ligand or receptor, respectively, inhibited YAP nuclear localization. BGJ398 treatment of YAP-expressing cells induced cell death due to Mcl-1 depletion. In a YAP-associated mouse model of CCA, expression of FGFR 1, 2, and 4 was also significantly increased. Accordingly, BGJ398 treatment was tumor-suppressive in this model and in a YAP-positive PDX model. These preclinical data suggest not only that the YAP and Hippo signaling pathways culminate in an Mcl-1-regulated tumor survival pathway but also that nuclear YAP expression may be a biomarker to employ in FGFR-directed therapy.
CCK independently activates intracellular trypsinogen and NF-κB in rat pancreatic acinar cells

In the cholecystokinin (CCK) hyperstimulation model of acute pancreatitis, two early intracellular events, activation of trypsinogen and activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), are thought to be i...
9/11, the Great Game, and the Vision Thing: The Need for (and Elements of) a More Comprehensive Bush Doctrine

Developments in the Middle East and Southwest Asia after the events of September 11, 2001, suggest that the historical geopolitical imperatives driving United States policy in the region since World War II continue to be salient. The context in which the United States is now operating, however, is fundamentally different from the zero-sum rivalry between great powers that characterized the Cold War. In the postCold War/post-9/ 11 world, the "great game" of imperial rivalry has been transformed.' On one hand, regional powers (states capable of projecting themselves regionally) that possess or seek to possess weapons of mass destruction have become the most serious threat both to stability and to vital U.S. interests in the region.2 Among international, or great, powers, on the other hand, the threat of nuclear war has receded; common threats such as regional wars and international terrorism are facilitating a recognition of common interests; old rivals have become allies of a sort; and the great game is morphing into a clash of values and principles that cuts across traditional borders and cultures, posing serious problems but also providing opportunities for enlightened leadership. The new great game is not a conflict between civilizations, as some would have it; rather, it is a conflict within states, within cultures, and within an increasingly global community over the values and ideas that underpin modernization and the norms and direction of modern civilization-a conflict being played out on a global playing
The Genus Zygorhynchus

The genus Zygorhynchus Vuillemin, which has had 17 species and varieties described in it, has been studied. It is concluded that there are six species and one variety, including one new species, Z....
Ammonia level at admission predicts in-hospital mortality for patients with alcoholic hepatitis

OBJECTIVE Alcoholic hepatitis (AH), a unique clinical syndrome among patients with chronic and active alcohol use, is associated with high short-term mortality. An elevated ammonia level is associated with mortality in patients with acute liver failure; however, its impact in AH has not been well-studied. METHODS A retrospective study was performed on patients admitted to a tertiary-care hospital with the discharge diagnosis of AH. Patients meeting criteria for AH were included in the final data analysis. Multivariate logistic regression models were built to examine the impact of serum ammonia in predicting in-hospital mortality (IHM) and 30-day mortality (TDM). Subgroup analysis was also performed, which was limited to patients who had hepatic encephalopathy. RESULTS Of the 105 AH patients included, 26 (25%) died during the initial hospitalization. Among the 79 patients who survived initial hospitalization, 30 (39%) died within 30 days. Information about ammonia levels at admission was available for 82 patients. Of these, 25 patients had IHM and significantly higher ammonia level (97 vs. 69 μmol/L, P < 0.01). Among the 57 who survived hospitalization, ammonia levels were not significantly different (71 vs. 67 μmol/L, P = 0.69) in patients with and without TDM. The addition of ammonia to the multivariate regression models including age, sex, cirrhosis, treatment and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score improved the C statistics for IHM from 0.708 to 0.801 and for TDM from 0.756 to 0.766, respectively. These results were identical, even when limited to patients with hepatic encephalopathy. CONCLUSION AH patients with elevated ammonia levels at admission have higher IHM; however, they do not seem to play a significant role in 30-day mortality for patients who survived hospitalization.
Accelerating physical level sub-component power simulation by online power partitioning

Despite scalable computing resource facilities and industry's ability to accurately model individual components with simulations, fine-grained physical level power simulation for today's typical digital design is found to be too expensive, especially, when parametric variations need to be accounted for modern processes. This paper presents a new linear solver based on-line modeling method that exploit existing slow but accurate simulators to obtain highly accurate sub-circuit power estimates while using significantly less processing and memory resources. Comparative simulation runs for a number of benchmark circuits using industry standard SPICE simulators and our simulator suggest that our technique can accelerate existing simulation speed up to 100x with less memory without sacrificing power estimate accuracy.
The Symposium: A Retrospect

The author considers himself privileged to have been asked to make the closing remarks at the First International Symposium on the Biological Aspects of Electrochemistry. It is fitting that he first express the sincere appreciation of all of the symposium participants to Professor Milazzo and the Organizing Committee, representing both CITCE and the Istituto Superiore di Sanita, for the very splendid program, both scientific and social, which was arranged, as well as to the Istituto and its Director for having served as host. The Symposium provided a well nigh ideal configuration for the exchange of ideas, leading to the erosion of prejudice and the development of constructive approaches involving the objective of the Symposium: the present, as well as the potential, utility of electrochemical approaches in the investigation of biological phenomena.
An optimal deterministic control policy of servers in front and back rooms with a variable number of switching points and switching costs

In this paper we consider a retail service facility with cross-trained workers who can perform operations in both the front room and back room. Workers are brought from the back room to the front room and vice versa depending on the number of customers in the system. A loss of productivity occurs when a worker returns to the back room. Two problems are studied. In the first problem, given the number of workers available, we determine an optimal deterministic switching policy so that the expected number of customers in queue is minimized subject to a constraint ensuring that there is a sufficient workforce to fulfill the functions in the back room. In the second problem, the number of workers needed is minimized subject to an additional constraint requiring that the expected number of customers waiting in queue is bounded above by a given threshold value. Exact solution procedures are developed and illustrative numerical examples are presented.
DFT Study of Antimony(V) Oxyanion Adsorption on α-Al2O3(11̅02)

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations using periodic slab models are carried out to study the reactivity of aqueous Sb(OH)6– on model α-Al2O3(1102) surfaces. The strength of inner-sphere (specific) adsorption between Sb(OH)6– and surface models is ranked using DFT adsorption energies, Eads. Trends in Eads in terms of surface structure, adsorbing functional group identity, and oxyanion coordination to the surface are determined and analyzed in terms of geometry and electronic structure. The results show that not all Sb–Osurf interactions involve the same type of Sb and O orbital interactions, which explains why trends in Eads cannot be rationalized by universal Sb–O bond length–bond strength relationships. The DFT results show a preference for Sb(V) bidentate and tridentate geometries in which Sb bonds through the corners of AlO6 groups in the surface. Less favorable adsorption involving edge sites is associated with adsorption-induced surface relaxations of oxygen groups from deeper layers of the ...
Deodorization of Garlic Breath by Foods, and the Role of Polyphenol Oxidase and Phenolic Compounds

Garlic causes a strong garlic breath that may persist for almost a day. Therefore, it is important to study deodorization techniques for garlic breath. The volatiles responsible for garlic breath include diallyl disulfide, allyl mercaptan, allyl methyl disulfide, and allyl methyl sulfide. After eating garlic, water (control), raw, juiced or heated apple, raw or heated lettuce, raw or juiced mint leaves, or green tea were consumed immediately. The levels of the garlic volatiles on the breath were analyzed from 1 to 60 min by selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS). Garlic was also blended with water (control), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), rosemarinic acid, quercetin or catechin, and the volatiles in the headspace analyzed from 3 to 40 min by SIFT-MS. Raw apple, raw lettuce, and mint leaves significantly decreased all of the garlic breath volatiles in vivo. The proposed mechanism is enzymatic deodorization where volatiles react with phenolic compounds. Apple juice and mint juice also had a deodorizing effect on most of the garlic volatiles but were generally not as effective as the raw food, probably because the juice had enzymatic activity but the phenolic compounds had already polymerized. Both heated apple and heated lettuce produced a significant reduction of diallyl disulfide and allyl mercaptan. The presence of phenolic compounds that react with the volatile compounds even in the absence of enzymes is the most likely mechanism. Green tea had no deodorizing effect on the garlic volatile compounds. Rosmarinic acid, catechin, quercetin, and PPO significantly decreased all garlic breath volatiles in vitro. Rosmarinic acid was the most effective at deodorization.
Genome-Wide Scleral Micro- and Messenger-RNA Regulation During Myopia Development in the Mouse

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding molecules that play pivotal roles in cell signaling through regulation of gene expression, specifically, by pairing with complementary messenger RNA (mRNA) sequences to either suppress translation or degrade mRNA.1–3 It is now recognized that they play crucial roles in normal physiological and pathologic processes, both in nonocular and in ocular tissues.4,5 Previous studies that focused on the human ocular sclera implicated miRNAs in normal ocular growth (axial elongation), with samples from very young, rapidly growing eyes, showing differential expression compared to those from adult (assumed) stable eyes. Some of the differentially expressed miRNAs could be linked to extracellular matrix remodeling pathways, making them potential targets for preventing or slowing the progression of myopia, which is largely a product of active scleral extracellular remodeling and thinning.6 As the first step in exploring the potential of miRNAs as therapeutic targets for myopia control, this study sought to understand their role in the scleral changes underlying myopia. We hypothesized that myopia development, when ocular axial elongation (“growth”) is exaggerated, is directly linked to differential regulation of scleral miRNAs. This study used a mouse model of myopia, which has distinct advantages over other animal models of myopia in that the mouse possesses a well-characterized genome and a short gestational period with large litter sizes.7 In the context of myopia, visual FD has been shown to induce myopic shifts in refractive error by a number of different research laboratories.7–15 The mouse also has a fibrous sclera, like other mammals and primates.16,17 In this study, myopia was induced in young mice with short-term FD, and after the expected refractive error and ocular dimensional changes were confirmed, genome-wide expression profiling of mi- and mRNAs of scleral tissue was undertaken using microarray analyses, and gene ontology/bioinformatic analyses coupled with validation experiments, using quantitative PCR. Briefly, this study revealed differentially expressed mi- and mRNAs linked to myopia, implicating miRNAs and specific signaling pathways in scleral extracellular matrix remodeling and eye growth regulation.
On the Range of a Vector Measure

Let C be a countable subset of co that lies in the range of a (c 0)**-valued measure, then C lies in the range of a co-valued measure. We extend this result to C(K), where K is a compact Hausdorff space, i.e., we let C be a countable subset of C(K) that lies in the range of a C(K)**-valued measure, then C lies in the range of a C(K)-valued measure. We will also see that in any separable Banach space the result still holds
Brief of International Law Scholars as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners, Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC

This amicus brief was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of international law scholars in Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC. Relying on its earlier decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., the Second Circuit held that claims under the Alien Tort Statute could never be brought against corporations. The amicus brief argues that the Second Circuit’s decision in Kiobel fundamentally misunderstood how international law works. Customary international law establishes human rights norms that prohibit certain conduct. Some of these norms apply to all actors, and some apply only to certain actors. Customary international law, however, does not provide the means of enforcing those norms. The enforcement of human rights norms is instead left to states, which may act collectively through treaties or separately by providing for liability under their domestic laws. The Second Circuit’s misunderstanding of international law led it to make two significant errors. First, the Second Circuit framed the question as whether there is a general “norm of corporate liability under customary international law.” That question makes no sense, because customary international law leaves the question whether to impose liability to the decision of states. The proper question under customary international law is instead the one the Supreme Court framed in Sosa: “whether international law extends the scope of liability for a violation of a given norm to the perpetrator being sued.” Second, the Second Circuit confused limits on particular mechanisms for enforcing customary international law norms with limits on the substantive applicability of the norms themselves. International criminal tribunals generally have been given jurisdiction only over natural persons because many nations have concerns about imposing criminal liability on corporations. In concluding suppression conventions, like the Genocide Convention and the Torture Convention, nations have similarly limited their obligations to prosecute or extradite to natural persons. But these limitations on particular enforcement mechanisms are not limitations on the underlying norms themselves. This is confirmed by the widespread practice of states providing both criminal and civil liability for human rights violations, including corporate violations, in their domestic laws.
Chronic Kidney Disease and BP Goals

Elevated blood pressure contributes to the progression of chronic kidney disease once impaired kidney function is established. In addition, elevated blood pressure contributes to target organ damage such as coronary heart disease, stroke, and death and management of hypertension improves these outcomes. In the last decade, guidelines have varied in their recommendations for target blood pressures in patients with chronic kidney disease. Targeting a specific blood pressure goal in chronic kidney disease is challenging because of the common presence of comorbidities such as diabetes, and a spectrum of albuminuria which is associated with further loss of kidney function as well as the aforementioned target organ damage. Currently there is no consensus on the ideal BP goal in CKD but most of the current BP guidelines committees currently recommend a BP goal of <140/90 mmHg for most CKD patients and some guidelines recommend a lower BP goal of <130/80 mmHg in CKD patients with proteinuria. In this chapter, we will review the rationale underlying the more recent recommendations for specific blood pressure targets in chronic kidney disease, and incorporate some thoughts about what the future holds in light of the publication of the landmark Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial which enrolled a substantial number of nondiabetic chronic kidney disease patients. We suggest that a systolic BP range of 120–130 mmHg is appropriate for most patients with CKD until the guidelines are formally revised.
Transcriptional and Functional Plasticity Induced by Chronic Insulin Exposure in a Mast Cell-Like Basophilic Leukemia Cell Model.

Objective: Secretory granules (SG) and lipid bodies (LB) are the primary organelles that mediate functional responses in mast cells. SG contains histamine and matrix-active proteases, while LB are reservoirs of arachidonic acid and its metabolites, precursors for rapid synthesis of eicosanoids such as LTC4. Both of these compartments can be dynamically or ontologically regulated, with metabolic and immunological stimuli altering lipid body content and granule numbers responding to contextual signals from tissue. We previously described that chronic in vitro or in vivo hyperinsulinemia expands the LB compartment with a concomitant loss of SG capacity, suggesting that this ratio is dynamically regulated. The objective of the current study is to determine if chronic insulin exposure initiates a transcriptional program that biases model mast cells towards a lipogenic state with accompanying loss of secretory granule biogenesis. Methods: We used a basophilic leukemic cell line with mucosal mast cell-like features as a model system. We tested the hypothesis that chronic insulin exposure initiates a transcriptional program that biases these model mast cells towards a lipogenic state with accompanying loss of secretory granule biogenesis. Transcriptional arrays were used to map gene expression patterns. Biochemical, immunocytochemical and mediator release assays were used to evaluate organelle numbers and functional responses. Results: In a mucosal mast cell model, the rat basophilic leukemia line RBL2H3, mast cell granularity and SG numbers are inversely correlated with LB numbers. Chronic insulin exposure appears to modulate gene networks involved in both lipid body biogenesis and secretory granule formation. Western blot analysis confirms upregulation of protein levels for LB proteins, and decreases in proteins that are markers for SG cargo. Conclusions: The levels of insulin in the extracellular milieu may modify the phenotype of mast cell-like cells in vitro.
Early Identification of Barriers and Facilitators to Self-Management Behaviors in Pediatric Patients With Sickle Cell Disease to Minimize Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Complications

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is an elective, curative treatment option for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Transplant requires extensive self-management behaviors to be successful. The purpose of this study was to describe potential barriers and facilitators to self-management in a group of pediatric patients with SCD prior to HCT and their medical outcomes post-HCT. A multiple case study approach was used to describe 4 pairs of transplant recipients grouped by age, donor type, and donor source. Each pair included a case with minimal and increased post-HCT complications. Complications included readmissions, graft-versus-host disease, systemic infections, and survival in the first year post-HCT. Variables were retrospectively collected and content analyzed to identify barriers and facilitators within and across pairs using existing self-management frameworks. While higher risk transplants experienced more complications, 3 of the 4 cases with increased complications had a larger number of modifiable barriers identified compared with those experiencing minimal complications. At least one modifiable barrier and multiple facilitators were identified in all cases. A standardized psychosocial assessment process with an established plan to mitigate barriers and promote facilitators to self-management is essential to optimize outcomes in patients with SCD undergoing elective HCT.
Postcolonial Literature and Arabic SF

This chapter explores the relationship between postcolonial theories of literature and postcolonial literature and between postcolonial theory and Arabic literature. The initial section of this analysis focuses upon what constitutes the “postcolonial stance” in twentieth-century Arabic literature. Next, the chapter examines hybridity, ambivalence and the colonial encounter, critiques of these concepts and how each of them manifests in Arabic literature and Arabic SF. After exploring John Rieder’s conception of the colonial encounter as it applies to Anglo-American SF, and the imperialist roots of the genre, the chapter moves to one of the primary critiques of postcolonial studies: Neil Lazarus argues that it operates on too narrow a range of literature, and that this literature is nearly always in English or French. ASF is proposed as a genre through which these postcolonial concepts can be read and critiqued. The final section of the chapter is an enumeration of the primary theoretical frameworks through which SF is typically examined.
Comparison of Frequency of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular and Safety Events With Systolic Blood Pressure <120mm Hg Versus 135-139mm Hg in a Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial Primary Prevention Subgroup.

Whether the benefit of intensive blood pressure (BP) control reduces atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk without increasing risks of serious adverse events (SAEs) is unknown. We sought to assess differences in incident ASCVD and SAE with intensive BP control across the spectrum of 10-year ASCVD risk in the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT). SPRINT randomized 9,361 participants who were ≥50years old and ≥1 CVD risk factor to standard or intensive BP control (<120 or 130 to 139mm Hg). We excluded adults with clinical ASCVD or age ≥80. We included 6,875 participants. We compared hazard ratios (HR) and risk differences (RD) of incident ASCVD events or SAEs in all and across quartiles of baseline risk. Median predicted ASCVD risk was 15.9%. Intensive BP control significantly reduced ASCVD events (HR 0.75, 95% confidence interval 0.58, 0.97, p = 0.03; RD -0.94; -1.8, -0.1; p = 0.03). There was no difference in effect across quartiles of ASCVD risk. There was a non-significant increase in SAE with intensive BP control (HR 1.08, 1.00, 1.17 p = 0.06; RD 2.1, -0.1, 4.4, p = 0.03), and no difference in this effect across quartiles of risk. In SPRINT participants without baseline clinical ASCVD, the benefit of intensive BP control for primary prevention of ASCVD may extend to lower risk participants without an increase in SAE. In conclusion, lower risk adults with stage 1 hypertension meeting SPRINT eligibility may benefit from initiation of antihypertensives.
SIMPLE SYNTACTIC OPERATORS ON FULL SEMIAFLS

Abstract The class of simple syntactic operators is defined. If a full AFL ℒ is not closed under a simple syntactic operator ⊗, then repeated applications of ⊗ to ℒ produces an infinite hierarchy of full AFLs and the closure of ℒ under ⊗ is not full principal. If ℒ1 and ℒ2 are incomparable full AFLs, then the least full AFL containing ℒ1 and ℒ2 is not closed under any simple syntactic operator. If L is any generator of a full AFL ℒ closed under any simple syntactic operator, then all of ℒ may be expressed as finite state translations of L (without applying concatenation or star). It is shown that substitution, insertion, intercalation and homomorphic replication are all simple syntactic operators.
Sociopolitical Efficacy as a Mediator of Pedagogical Experience and Sociopolitical Involvement.

Discourse on youth development has only begun to explore how Black youth experience courses intended to result in their sociopolitical development. The present study examined the link between pedag...
Mental Health Crisis Location and Police Transportation Decisions: The Impact of Crisis Intervention Team Training on Crisis Center Utilization:

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) research has shown increases in officer transports of individuals with serious mental illness to emergency departments (ED) which, while more appropriate than incarce...
Managing human resources in North America : current issues and perspectives

1. Introduction to Managing HR in North America 2. Staffing and Developing the Multinational Workforce 3. Advances in Technology-Based Training 4. New HR Challenges in the Dynamic Environment of Legal Compliance 5. The Changing Family and HRM 6. Ethics and HRM 7. Health, Safety and HRM 8. Competitive Advantage Through HRM 9. Counterproductive Leader Behavior 10. Outsourcing and HRM 11. The Costs of Employee Benefits 12. Executive Compensation: Something Old, Something New 13. HRM After 9/11 and Katrina 14. Concluding Thoughts
The effects of problem severity and recovery strategy on managers’ going concern judgments and decisions

Abstract Accounting standards now require management (as preparers of the financial statements) to assess and disclose going concern problems to stakeholders. However, important questions exist about managers’ ability and willingness to provide credible going concern assessments given their role as financial statement preparers and incentives to avoid self-reporting problems. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of problem severity and recovery strategy on managers’ going concern disclosure judgments and decisions. We conduct an experiment with 84 experienced managers involved with financial reporting and find they are most likely to recommend going concern disclosure when financial distress is high and the recovery plan focuses on debt and equity. The results also suggest that managers have higher “substantial doubt” thresholds than auditors, and their perceptions regarding the fairness of the going concern standard also influence their decisions about disclosures of going concern issues.
Ferroelectric ternary content-addressable memory for one-shot learning

Deep neural networks are efficient at learning from large sets of labelled data, but struggle to adapt to previously unseen data. In pursuit of generalized artificial intelligence, one approach is to augment neural networks with an attentional memory so that they can draw on already learnt knowledge patterns and adapt to new but similar tasks. In current implementations of such memory augmented neural networks (MANNs), the content of a network’s memory is typically transferred from the memory to the compute unit (a central processing unit or graphics processing unit) to calculate similarity or distance norms. The processing unit hardware incurs substantial energy and latency penalties associated with transferring the data from the memory and updating the data at random memory addresses. Here, we show that ternary content-addressable memories (TCAMs) can be used as attentional memories, in which the distance between a query vector and each stored entry is computed within the memory itself, thus avoiding data transfer. Our compact and energy-efficient TCAM cell is based on two ferroelectric field-effect transistors. We evaluate the performance of our ferroelectric TCAM array prototype for one- and few-shot learning applications. When compared with a MANN where cosine distance calculations are performed on a graphics processing unit, the ferroelectric TCAM approach provides a 60-fold reduction in energy and 2,700-fold reduction in latency for a single memory search operation. A compact ternary content-addressable memory cell, which is based on two ferroelectric field-effect transistors, can provide memory augmented neural networks with improved energy and latency performance compared with traditional approaches based on graphics processing units.
Outcomes of percutaneous coronary intervention in atrial fibrillation patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction: Analysis of nationwide inpatient sample database.

Abstract Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is common in patients presenting with myocardial infarction (MI). Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been shown to improve cardiovascular outcomes in MI. However, outcomes of PCI in AF patients presenting with MI remains largely unknown. Methods We analyzed the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database to calculate the age adjusted mortality rate for PCI in AF patients presenting with MI between 2002 and 2011, in adults over 40 years of age. This was then compared to the mortality rate for PCI in non-AF patients with MI. Specific ICD-9-CM codes were used to identify patients and outcomes. Results Of 3,226,405 PCIs done during the study period, 472,609 (14.6%) PCIs were done on AF patients of which 137,870 PCIs were for MI. About 60% of these patients were male. Patients with AF were older (71.3 ± 10.6 years). Overall the number of PCIs shows a declining trend from 2002 to 2011, but for MI patients the number of PCIs appears stable over the years. The age adjusted in-hospital mortality following PCI in MI was significantly higher in AF group compared to the non-AF group (190.24 ± 17.21vs 109.08 ± 5.89 per 100,000; P Conclusions AF is prevalent in MI patients undergoing PCI. AF is associated with increased mortality following PCI for acute MI. AF is not a benign arrhythmia in MI patients and close attention is warranted in these patients to improve mortality.
Balaenoptera borealis (Sei whale)

Fibroblast cultures of animals captured west of Iceland provided the karyotypes. They are gifts of Dr. U. Arnason, Lund, Sweden. Identification of the Y is unequivocal, and the X has the same G-banding as most mammals. Large blocks of intense fluorescence are present in the acrocentrics and subtelocentrics of the third row. The fourteenth autosome appears to have faint satellites on the short arms.
From Challenged Statehood to Democratic Civil-Military Relations: Defence Reform in Montenegro

After gaining independence in 2006, Montenegro succeeded in establishing democratic civilian control over its armed forces in a short period of time, earning membership in NATO’s Partnership for Pe...
Measurement of selected trace elements in Olea europaea L. cv. 'Sigoise'

Abstract Background Olive-trees (Olea europaea L.) are the dominant rustic trees cultivated in the Mediterranean agricultural zones. Major and micronutrients play an indispensable role in their plant physiological functions although; the effect of trace elements on metabolic processes has not been sufficiently investigated, especially in olive-trees. Methods In the current study, we have used X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry to determine selected major and trace elements (Br, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, P, Rb and Zn) in the main olive cultivar cultivated in Algeria, cv.‘Sigoise’. Certified reference materials viz. IAEA-336 (Lichen) and NIST-1646a (Estuarine sediment) were evaluated simultaneously with the soil and plant samples for quality control of the analytical method. Results The results show that Fe and Mn concentrations were superior in leaves than fruits. However large amounts of K, Cu and Rb were accumulated in the olive-fruits. The contents of all chemical elements were above the threshold limits for possible plant nutrient deficiencies, except for P whose concentration was in borderline requirement of olive trees. High values of a translocation factor index were found for K, Cu and Rb (TFs > 4). Principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that K was highly related with olives-fruits, suggesting that the fruit was the principal organ of K storage. Furthermore, dietary element intake through consuming olives was also estimated and compared to recommended daily intakes (RDIs) and daily permissible limits (DPLs). The estimations of chemical element intakes were below the DPLs set by WHO/FAO guidelines for human nutrition. Conclusion The present work indicates that the concentrations of macro- and microelements (Cu, Fe, K, Mn and Zn) were above the threshold limits for possible plant deficiencies except for P, and this cultivar can easily accumulate high amount of K in their organs (predominance in olives). These findings will be used to achieve efficient fertilization for O. europaea orchards.
Incidence and Predictors of Subsequent Surgery following ACL Reconstruction: A 6-Year Cohort Follow-up Study:

Objectives:Subsequent surgeries after ACL reconstruction are known to negatively affect patient satisfaction and outcomes. Previous studies have identified risk factors for subsequent operations af...
Reversible Doping and Photo Patterning of Polymer Nanowires

Author(s): Bedolla-Valdez, ZI; Xiao, R; Cendra, C; Fergerson, AS; Chen, Z; Gonel, G; Salleo, A; Yu, D; Moule, AJ | Abstract: Recent development of dopant induced solubility control (DISC) patterning of polymer semiconductors has enabled direct-write optical patterning of poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) with diffraction limited resolution. Here, the optical DISC patterning technique to the most simple circuit element, a wire, is applied. Optical patterning of P3HT and P3HT doped with the molecular dopant 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (F4TCNQ) wires with dimensions of 20–70 nm thickness, 200–900 nm width, and 40nμm length is demonstrated. In addition, optical patterning of wire patterns like “L” bends and “T” junctions without changing the diameter or thickness of the wires at the junctions is demonstrated. The wires themselves show up to 0.034 Sncm-1 conductance when sequentially doped. It is also demonstrated that a P3HT nanowire can be doped, de-doped, and re-doped from solution without changing the dimension of the wire. The combined abilities to optically pattern and reversibly dope a polymer semiconductor represents a full suite of patterning steps equivalent to photolithography for inorganicnsemiconductors.