cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Highly Conserved Signal Controls Degradation of 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) Reductase in Eukaryotes

Sterol synthesis by the mevalonate pathway is modulated, in part, through feedback-regulated degradation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGR). In both mammals and yeast, a non-sterol isoprenoid signal positively regulates the rate of HMGR degradation. To define more precisely the molecule that serves as the source of this signal, we have conducted both pharmacological and genetic manipulations of the mevalonate pathway in yeast. We now demonstrate that farnesyl diphosphate (FPP) is the source of the positive signal for Hmg2p degradation in yeast. This FPP-derived signal does not act by altering the endoplasmic reticulum degradation machinery in general. Rather, the FPP-derived signal specifically modulates Hmg2p stability. In mammalian cells, an FPP-derived molecule also serves as a positive signal for HMGR degradation. Thus, both yeast and mammalian cells employ the same strategy for regulation of HMGR degradation, perhaps by conserved molecular processes.
Comment to “Spatial correlation of soil moisture in small catchments and its relationship to dominant spatial hydrological processes, Journal of Hydrology 286: 113 134”

The recent paper by Western et al. (2004) is another in a series of papers by the Melbourne Group that explore the spatial patterns of soil moisture in small catchments and their perceived relationship to defined dominant spatial hydrological processes. These papers have influenced the field greatly and forced new examination of spatial patterns in catchment hydrology and how they can be used to better define process understanding. While we appreciate these important and influential works, and this latest paper in particular that presents results from a number of catchments in Australia and New Zealand, we worry about the implicit message in this and their other published papers on this topic: that indices of mapped soil moisture in the upper decimeters of the soil profile represent causally, topographically driven lateral subsurface flow. We argue that the finding that discharge varies in a strongly nonlinear way with soil moisture is a non-sequitur. In this comment we argue that soil moisture can be a passive signal between that of rainfall input and the subsurface stormflow output that drives streamflow response. In other words, while soil moisture may co-vary
pHLIP peptide targets nanogold particles to tumors

Progress in nanomedicine depends on the development of nanomaterials and targeted delivery methods. In this work, we describe a method for the preferential targeting of gold nanoparticles to a tumor in a mouse model. The method is based on the use of the pH Low Insertion Peptide (pHLIP), which targets various imaging agents to acidic tumors. We compare tumor targeting by nonfunctionalized nanogold particles with nanogold–pHLIP conjugates, where nanogold is covalently attached to the N terminus of pHLIP. Our most important finding is that both intratumoral and i.v. administration demonstrated a significant enhancement of tumor uptake of gold nanoparticles conjugated with pHLIP. Statistically significant reduction of gold accumulation was observed in acidic tumors and kidney when pH-insensitive K-pHLIP was used as a vehicle, suggesting an important role of pH in the pHLIP-mediated targeting of gold nanoparticles. The pHLIP technology can substantially improve the delivery of gold nanoparticles to tumors by providing specificity of targeting, enhancing local concentration in tumors, and distributing nanoparticles throughout the entire tumor mass where they remain for an extended period (several days), which is beneficial for radiation oncology and imaging.
Conscious awareness, memory and the hippocampus

Declarative memory, the conscious recollection of past experiences, is known to involve the hippocampus. Now a study of amnesic patients shows that hippocampus-dependent learning can occur in the absence of conscious awareness.
The state of the Colorado River ecosystem in Grand Canyon: Lessons from 10 years of adaptive ecosystem management

Abstract The year 2005 marked the 10th anniversary of the completion of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Operation of Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River, USA. A decade of research and monitoring provides an important milestone to evaluate the effects of dam operations on resources of concern and determine whether or not the desired outcomes are being achieved, or if they are even compatible with one another or not. A comprehensive effort was undertaken to assess the scientific state of knowledge of resources of concern, as identified in the EIS. The result was the first systematic attempt by scientists to conduct an assessment of the changing state of Colorado River ecosystem resources in Grand Canyon over a decadal timeframe. In the EIS, 30 resource attributes are listed along with predictions for how those resources would respond under the Secretary of the Interior's 1996 Record of Decision, an operating prescription based on the preferred alternative of Modified Low‐Fluctuating ...
Effect of bovine respiratory disease and overall pathogenic disease incidence on carcass traits

The objective this study was to evaluate the effects of incidence of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and overall incidence of pathogenic diseases (IPD) on carcass traits. Two independent populations were used. The first population included crossbred steers (GPE7; n = 642) derived from sires of 7 Bos taurus breeds: Angus, Charolais, Gelbvieh, Hereford, Limousin, Red Angus, and Simmental. The second population included crossbred steers (GPE8; n = 621) derived from tropically adapted Bos taurus breeds and Bos indicus-influenced breeds: Beefmaster, Brangus, Bonsmara, and Romosinuano, as well as Hereford and Angus. Treatment records for BRD, infectious keratoconjunctivitis, and infectious pododermatitis were available for these populations. Incidence of BRD was treated as an independent effect. Incidences of the 3 microbial pathogenic diseases were pooled into a single trait to represent overall pathogenic disease incidence. Traits evaluated were HCW; KPH; LM area; marbling score; fat thickness; dressing percentage; yield grade; retail, fat, and bone yields; and meat tenderness. Both BRD and IPD were associated with differences in yield grade in GPE7 and GPE8 steers. Animals treated for BRD had decreased yield grades (P = 0.003 and P = 0.02, in GPE7 and GPE8, respectively) compared with untreated animals. Animals treated for IPD had decreased yield grades (P = 0.0006 and P = 0.004, in GPE7 and GPE8, respectively) compared with untreated animals. Incidence of BRD and IPD were associated with a reduction in fat thickness in GPE7 and GPE8 steers. Animals treated for BRD had reduced adjusted fat measurements (P = 0.0007 and P = 0.01, in GPE7 and GPE8) compared with untreated animals. Animals treated for IPD also had reduced adjusted fat measurements (P = 0.0003 and P = 0.002, in GPE7 and GPE8) compared with untreated animals. Animals treated for BRD (P < 0.007) or IPD (P < 0.02) in the GPE7 population also had decreased estimated KPH measurements compared with unaffected animals. Animals affected with BRD in GPE8 had greater (P < 0.05) shear force measurements than unaffected animals. Animals affected with IPD in GPE8 had greater HCW (P < 0.03) and fat yield (P < 0.01) measurements but lesser bone yield (P < 0.03) and retail product yield (P < 0.01) measurements than unaffected animals. The relationship between disease and carcass traits should be given consideration by future studies that aim to develop selection strategies based on specific traits.
No difference in biochemical failure rates with or without pelvic lymph node dissection during radical prostatectomy in low-risk patients

Abstract Objectives. To detect the short-term differences in biochemical relapse-free rates between patients with and without pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND). Recently, a trend has begun to omit PLND in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy considered at low risk of pelvic lymph node metastases. Methods. The records of 1152 consecutive radical prostatectomy cases were reviewed. A total of 575 patients with favorable tumor characteristics (prostate-specific antigen [PSA] 10 ng/mL or less, Gleason score 6 or less, and clinical Stage T1 or T2) who were not receiving adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy were divided into two groups according to whether PLND was performed (PLND group, n = 372) or omitted (no PLND group, n = 203). Proportional hazards were used to analyze the effect of age, race, family history, stage, biopsy Gleason score, initial PSA, PLND, and pathologic findings on the likelihood of biochemical failure. Biochemical failure-free survival for each group was estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis. The mean follow-up was 38 months (range 1 to 141). Results. The actuarial 4-year biochemical relapse-free rate for the PLND versus no PLND groups was 91% and 97%, respectively ( P = 0.16). On multivariate analysis, PLND was not an independent predictor of outcome ( P = 0.24). Conclusions. The results of our study indicate that the omission of PLND in patients with favorable tumor characteristics does not adversely affect biochemical relapse rates.
The Importance of Pharmacokinetic Principles in Characterizing Carcinogenic Thresholds for Naturally Occurring and Synthetic Chemicals

Many chemicals, both man-made and naturally occuring, can elicit a carcinogenic response either as a mutagenic response in vitro or as a frank tumor in vivo. In both instances emphasis has been placed historically on the dose which elicits the response. When the carcinogenic response is related to the pharmacokinetics of the carcinogen taking into account the dose, the frequency of dosing, andthe relative half lives of the carcinogen, its reactive metabolites and any modified macromolecules, a narrow plateau level of modified macro-molecules is found in specific responsive tissues or species of animals. This plateau threshold concept for carcinogen as defined by the pharmacokinetics, has been evaluated for both chloroform and aflatoxin. The carcinogenic risk associated with plateaus can be evaluated experimentally, and perhaps can be evaluated today with the available data at hand.
A QUANTITATIVE DESCRIPTION OF CORTISONE-INDUCED ALTERATIONS IN THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF RAT LIVER PARENCHYMAL CELLS

A stereological comparison of the hepatic parenchymal cells from 125-g male rats given a daily injection for 6 days of either 5 mg of cortisone acetate or saline (controls) was carried out with both light and electron microscopy. Cortisone treatment results in an increase in average parenchymal cell cytoplasmic volume from 5100 to 5800 µ3 and a decrease in average nuclear diameter from 7.1 to 6.5 µ. The volume of the average mitochondrion is increased fourfold in midzonal and peripheral regions of hepatic lobules, and there is a decrease in the number of mitochondria per cell such that the total mitochondrial volume per cell remains approximately unchanged. The numbers of peroxisomes are reduced, while the numbers of lysosomes and lipid droplets are increased in all parts of the lobules. The average volume of glycogen is doubled in all cells. The areas of membranes of the smooth- and rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum are decreased to one-half and two-thirds of their control values, respectively. The effects of cortisone on these various structural elements is discussed with respect to steroid-related alterations in biochemical processes.
Query Routing: Finding Ways in the Maze of the DeepWeb

This paper presents a source selection system based on attribute co-occurrence framework for ranking and selecting Deep Web sources that provide information relevant to users requirement. Given the huge number of heterogeneous Deep Web data sources, the end users may not know the sources that can satisfy their information needs. Selecting and ranking sources in relevance to the user requirements is challenging. Our system finds appropriate sources for such users by allowing them to input just an imprecise initial query. As a key insight, we observe that the semantics and relationships between deep Web sources are self-revealing through their query interfaces, and in essence, through the co-occurrences between attributes. Based on this insight, we design a co-occurrence based attribute graph for capturing the relevances of attributes, and using them in ranking of sources in the order of relevance to users requirement. Further, we present an iterative algorithm that realizes our model. Our preliminary evaluation on real-world sources demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach.
Effect of sugar on male Anopheles gambiae mating performance, as modified by temperature, space, and body size

Anopheles gambiae plant-sugar feeding was thought to be rare and physiologically optional. Unlike adult females, males have no alternative source of energy and soon die with only water, yet they might be competent to inseminate all females within their brief lifespan. This study was designed to detect sugar's effect, if any, on male performance. Males with and without 20% sucrose were evaluated at two body sizes and two temperatures, 23° and 27°C. Survival was recorded twice daily, and sexual behaviour was recorded each night after adult emergence. Insemination at a 2:1 male:female ratio was examined in three cage sizes, including walk-in mesocosms. Without sugar, males of both sizes lived longer at 23° than 27°C, and large males lived longer at each temperature. Survival of large males at low temperature averaged 3.7 days, small males at high temperature, 1.9 days. With sugar, males in all four treatments suffered minimal mortality. With sugar, in small cages, large males at 27°C matured most rapidly. A few erected fibrillae and inseminated females on night 1. On night 2, maximal proportions erected fibrillae and swarmed, and over one-third of females became inseminated. Small sugar-fed males at 23°C matured most slowly but had achieved nearly maximal levels of swarming by night 3. By night 5, small males had inseminated more than half the females, and large males had inseminated nearly all of them. Without sugar, large males progressed similarly during the first two nights. On night 3, however, the proportion erecting fibrillae and swarming declined precipitously at 27°C, and to a lesser degree at 23°C. Cumulative insemination never reached high levels. Small males never achieved high levels of fibrillar erection or swarming and inseminated few females, even at 23°C. In larger cages and under more semi-natural conditions, regardless of body size, without sugar male insemination capacity was virtually nonexistent. Under some conditions, a limited number of sugar-deprived males can survive long enough to inseminate females. However, in nature males that cannot obtain sugar at frequent intervals will not be competitive with those that can, suggesting that male performance is closely tied to plant communities.
An R package implementation of multifactor dimensionality reduction

A breadth of high-dimensional data is now available with unprecedented numbers of genetic markers and data-mining approaches to variable selection are increasingly being utilized to uncover associations, including potential gene-gene and gene-environment interactions. One of the most commonly used data-mining methods for case-control data is Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction (MDR), which has displayed success in both simulations and real data applications. Additional software applications in alternative programming languages can improve the availability and usefulness of the method for a broader range of users. We introduce a package for the R statistical language to implement the Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction (MDR) method for nonparametric variable selection of interactions. This package is designed to provide an alternative implementation for R users, with great flexibility and utility for both data analysis and research. The 'MDR' package is freely available online at http://www.r-project.org/ . We also provide data examples to illustrate the use and functionality of the package. MDR is a frequently-used data-mining method to identify potential gene-gene interactions, and alternative implementations will further increase this usage. We introduce a flexible software package for R users.
Seasonal variations in production and development of leather leaf fern leaves1

Summary Production and development of leatherleaf fern leaves were studied using containerised plants growing in a shade house. Leaf development was partitioned into seven arbitrary development stages; the time needed for leaves to progress through each developmental stage was used to measure days required to reach maturity. Measurements were made twice each week throughout 1997. Means and variances with in emergence rates of new leaves and time needed for new leaves to pass through six leaf development stages were calculated for 26 14-day periods throughout the year and compared with degree days, solar radiation, soil temperature, and daylight hours accumulated during the periods. Leaf production rates ranged from 0.15–0.73 leaves day−1 plant−1. The average time from emergence to maturity was 22.6 days. Both leaf production and development rates varied greatly with the seasons, and were strongly associated with the weather variables measured, but significant cyclic rate fluctuations unrelated to weather were also detected. Leaf emergence rates were more strongly related to average soil temperature, whereas leaf development rates to maturity were more strongly related to solar radiation and degree days.
A Body of Knowledge for Usable Security and Privacy Education (Abstract Only)

The importance of usability in security and privacy technologies is now widely accepted. A vibrant and growing research community in usable security and privacy has contributed a wide range of results in the past 15 years. Despite this, the vast majority of computing students are being exposed to very little of this discipline. In this presentation, we describe our ongoing efforts to enable broader education in this area. We are leading the construction of a body of knowledge for usable security and privacy education, to serve as an organizing framework for the discipline. We are also creating online learning modules for several key topics, as resources for faculty and students. We seek feedback on these resources as well as faculty participants who are interested in utilizing and evaluating the learning modules.
Raman spectra of high temperature superconductors

In the old high temperature superconductors, such as Nb3Sn, Raman measurements have shown that some phonons are strongly renormalized by electrons and that in addition one can observe scattering from gap excitations, as characterized by a peak at a frequency of 2Δ/h, where Δ is the gap parameter. We present and compare the results of Raman scattering from phonons and superconducting gap excitations in the high Tc compounds YBa2Cu307−δ.s and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+Δ. In the normal state, both materials exhibit strong electronic interband scattering which manifests itself as a broad background continuum baying both A1g and B1g symmetry components. At low temperature there occurs a redistribution of this electronic scattering with the formation of a broad pronounced peak. This may indicate the formation of a superconducting gap in these compounds. The two symmetries exhibit a distinctly different redistribution, however, implying strong anisotropy. At temperatures well below Tc, both compounds exhibit residual low energy scattering, a feature suggestive of the coexistence of normal electrons and superconducting quasiparticles.
The Macrocytic Anemias

Megaloblastic anemias result from processes that disrupt DNA synthesis. The condition is usually acquired, with medications, cobalamin, or folate deficiency being common precipitating factors. Many patients with cobalamin or folate deficiency will present with hematologic abnormalities, such as anemia or pancytopenia, along with macroovalocytes and hypersegmented neutrophils on the peripheral blood smear. Neuropsychiatric disturbances, such as peripheral neuropathy or depression, are also common with cobalamin or folate deficiency and may occur in the absence of significant hematologic manifestations. As these neuropsychiatric conditions are reversible if treated promptly by cobalamin or folate replenishment, a high degree of suspicion must be maintained when evaluating patients with unexplained neuropsychiatric abnormalities. Usually, the measurement of serum cobalamin or folate levels will be sufficient to make the diagnosis; the pitfalls of these and other tests are discussed. Inherited enzyme deficiencies are rare causes of megaloblastic anemia that should be considered after the more common acquired conditions are ruled out.
"The Benevolent Leviathan": Political Consciousness among Urban Workers under State Corporatism

From the onset of industrial capitalism in Latin America, urban workers have been dependent on the state. This is particularly true in Brazil, where urban workers are still in a situation of extreme dependence on the state. Thus, the Brazilian setting provides an ideal opportunity for the study of the consciousness of dependent workers as well as an important point of referencefor comparative study of working-class consciousness. This paper outlines the general characteristics of the situation of state-dependent workers in Latin America, with special attention to the Brazilian worker, in order to show how their dependence is reflected in their consciousness. The evidence for our interpretation is based on the attitudes of 617 urban workers who are part of a larger probability sample of the popula
Initial Outcomes of a Lung Cancer Screening Program in an Integrated Community Health System

Abstract Purpose Lung cancer screening with low-dose CT (LDCT) demonstrated reduced mortality in the National Lung Screening Trial, yet there is debate as to whether the reported efficacy can translate into comparable effectiveness with community-based screening. The authors' purpose is to report the baseline patient characteristics and malignancy rate in the first 18 months after implementing a lung cancer screening program in an integrated community health system. Methods Patients were screened at 1 of 10 participating community-based centers within a 22-hospital system from 2013 to 2015. LDCT examinations were interpreted by 1 of 20 radiologists using structured reporting and an internally developed tracking system. Manual chart review was performed to ascertain the malignancy detection rate. Results A total of 357 patients were screened with LDCT. Of these, 80 patients were ineligible and 3 declined enrollment. The remaining 274 patients satisfied accepted screening criteria and were enrolled in the program. Malignancy was detected in a total of 11 enrollees (4.0%), 8 with lung cancer and 3 with extrapulmonary primary malignancies. Three patients (1.1%) were diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer and received definitive therapy. Conclusions Early-stage lung cancer was detected with LDCT screening in an integrated community health system at a rate similar to other trials.
Isolation and in vitro differentiation of human erythroid precursor cells.

There is decreased beta-globin production in beta-thalassemic reticulocytes and nucleated erythroid cells. In this study, we have examined whether unbalanced globin synthesis is expressed at all stages of human erythroid cell maturation. In order to determine the pattern of globin synthesis in early erythroid cells during erythroid cell maturation, an in vitro culture system using human bone marrow erythroid precursor cells has been developed. Early erythroid precursor cells (proerythroblasts and basophilic erythroblasts) have been isolated from nonthalassemic and thalassemic human bone marrows by lysing more mature erythroid cells, using complement and a rabbit antiserum prepared against normal human red cells. In the presence of erythropoietin, differentiation and proliferation of erythroid cells in demonstrable in liquid suspension culture for 24–48 hr, as determined by morphological criteria and by an increase in globin synthesis. The ratio of alpha- to beta-globin chain synthesis in nonthalassemic cells in approximately 1 at all stages of erythroid cell differentiation during culture. In cells from four patients with homozygous beta- thalassemia there is decreased beta-globin synthesis compared to alpha- globin synthesis, both in early erythroid precursor cells and during their maturation in culture. These findings indicate that unbalanced globin chain synthesis is expressed at all stages of red cell maturation in homozygous beta-thalassemia.
Cognitive Reserve and Postoperative Delirium in Older Adults

Objectives To examine the role of cognitive reserve in reducing delirium incidence and severity in older adults undergoing surgery. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Hospital. Participants Older adults (mean age 71.2, 65% women) undergoing elective orthopedic surgery (N = 142). Measurements Incidence (Confusion Assessment Method) and severity (Memorial Delirium Assessment Scale) of postoperative delirium were the primary outcomes. Predictors included early- (literacy) and late-life (cognitive activities) proxies for cognitive reserve. Results Forty-five participants (32%) developed delirium. Greater participation in cognitive activity was associated with lower incidence (odds ratio = 0.92 corresponding to increase of 1 activity per week, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.86–0.98, P = .006) and severity (B = −0.06, 95% CI = −0.11 to −0.01, P = .02) of delirium after adjustment for age, sex, medical illnesses, and baseline cognition. Greater literacy was not associated with lower delirium incidence or severity. Of individual leisure activities, reading books, using electronic mail, singing, and computer games were associated with lower dementia incidence and severity. Conclusion Greater late-life cognitive reserve was associated with lower delirium incidence and severity in older adults undergoing surgery. Interventions to enhance cognitive reserve by initiating or increasing participation in cognitive activities may be explored as a delirium prophylaxis strategy.
A Knowledge Based Environment for Process Planning

This paper describes the knowledge-based programming approach to integrating the design and planning phases for mechanical parts, a subtask in computer-integrated manufacturing. System inputs are external and internal profiles of a part and additional part-related information. Output is a machining sequence that converts raw material into finished parts. For each operation chosen by the system, cutting parameters and machining instructions are provided. The machining operations are selected and sequenced based on the geometric shape of the material that is enclosed between the workpiece profile and finished part profile. Selection of machines, tools, coolants and cutting parameters are based on specific domain knowledge implemented in the form of production rules. The problem solving methodology used, the results obtained, and the necessary enhancements to be made to the model are discussed.
Alzheimer-related protein APL-1 modulates lifespan through heterochronic gene regulation in Caenorhabditis elegans

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-associated disease. Mutations in the amyloid precursor protein (APP) may be causative or protective of AD. The presence of two functionally redundant APP-like genes (APLP1/2) has made it difficult to unravel the biological function of APP during aging. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans contains a single APP family member, apl-1. Here, we assessed the function of APL-1 on C. elegans' lifespan and found tissue-specific effects on lifespan by overexpression of APL-1. Overexpression of APL-1 in neurons causes lifespan reduction, whereas overexpression of APL-1 in the hypodermis causes lifespan extension by repressing the function of the heterochronic transcription factor LIN-14 to preserve youthfulness. APL-1 lifespan extension also requires signaling through the FOXO transcription factor DAF-16, heat-shock factor HSF-1, and vitamin D-like nuclear hormone receptor DAF-12. We propose that reinforcing APL-1 expression in the hypodermis preserves the regulation of heterochronic lin-14 gene network to improve maintenance of somatic tissues via DAF-16/FOXO and HSF-1 to promote healthy aging. Our work reveals a mechanistic link of how a conserved APP-related protein modulates aging.
Acetone sensing using graphene quantum capacitance varactors

Sensing of acetone using the quantum capacitance in graphene is demonstrated. The sensor was constructed by using graphene as the top electrode in a metal-oxide-graphene variable capacitor (varactor) structure. The relative capacitance change was found to vary with acetone concentration with a relative capacitance sensitivity, ΔC/C of 1.29 ± 0.04 × 10−4 % / ppmv. The sensor was also found to have 3∗ enhanced sensitivity in dry air compared to N 2 and showed excellent reversibility. The results represent the first step toward the realization of passive, wireless acetone sensors using graphene varactors.
CT-guided Transosseous Soft Tissue Biopsy: Techniques, Outcomes and Complications in 50 Cases

To describe the techniques, outcomes and complications of CT-guided transosseous biopsy of soft tissue lesions via multiple different routes. Clinical and radiologic data from all consecutive soft tissue biopsies performed via a transosseous approach between April 2009 and July 2015 were retrospectively compiled. Fifty biopsies performed in 50 patients (n = 17 males, n = 33 females) were included. Biopsies were performed using a 13-gauge biopsy needle which was advanced through the selected bone to the lesion margin followed by coaxial placement of either an 18- or 20-gauge biopsy gun. Sampling accuracy was determined from the final pathology report as diagnostic or non-diagnostic. Complications included rates of pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, hemoptysis, immediate admission, chest tube insertion, surgical consultation, 30-day readmission, fracture, osteomyelitis or tract seeding. Number of diagnostic samples per bone included: sternum (n = 17, 34%), rib (n = 7, 14%), scapula (n = 6, 12%), transverse process (n = 4, 8%), vertebral body (n = 4, 8%), spinous process (n = 1, 2%), ilium (n = 7, 14%), sacrum (n = 4, 8%). Complications included 10 pneumothoraces in 39 cases that crossed the pleura, 8 pneumomediastinum in 17 transsternal cases, one immediate surgical consultation and one 30-day readmission. Transosseous biopsy approach is a technically feasible means of obtaining core needle samples of soft tissue lesions. Case series, IV.
Kindergarten narratives on Froebelian education: transnational investigations, edited by Helen May, Kristen Nawrotzki and Larry Prochner

From the Netherlands to New Zealand, Japan to Michigan, this anthology of kindergarten case studies delivers what it promises: wide-ranging accounts of the history of kindergarten education and ped...
Thermal Stability as a Determinant of AAV Serotype Identity.

Currently, there are over 150 ongoing clinical trials utilizing adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) to target various genetic diseases, including hemophilia (AAV2 and AAV8), congenital heart failure (AAV1 and AAV6), cystic fibrosis (AAV2), rheumatoid arthritis (AAV2), and Batten disease (AAVrh.10). Prior to patient administration, AAV vectors must have their serotype, concentration, purity, and stability confirmed. Here, we report the application of differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) as a good manufacturing practice (GMP) capable of determining the melting temperature (Tm) for AAV serotype identification. This is a simple, rapid, cost effective, and robust method utilizing small amounts of purified AAV capsids (∼25 μL of ∼1011 particles). AAV1-9 and AAVrh.10 exhibit specific Tms in buffer formulations commonly used in clinical trials. Notably, AAV2 and AAV3, which are the least stable, have varied Tms, whereas AAV5, the most stable, has a narrow Tm range in the different buffers, respectively. Vector stability was dictated by VP3 only, specifically, the ratio of basic/acidic amino acids, and was independent of VP1 and VP2 content or the genome packaged. Furthermore, stability of recombinant AAVs differing by a single basic or acidic amino acid residue are distinguishable. Hence, AAV DSF profiles can serve as a robust method for serotype identification of clinical vectors.
Telemedicine Applications in Pediatrics

The roots of telemedicine began in the 1920s when physicians answered questions via radio, with the first video transmission of medical information occurring a few years later. In 1952, video transmission of an x-ray occurred between two sites in Pennsylvania 24 miles apart. In 1965, surgeons in Geneva watched and asked questions of Dr. Michael DeBakey, while he performed heart surgery in Houston. In 1968, Massachusetts General Hospital established a microwave video link between its emergency department and a nurse-staffed medical station at Logan Airport. Within the last 5 years, utilization of telemedicine has increased significantly for radiology, cardiology, and orthopedic surgery services.
Edge weight variance: population genetic metrics for social network analysis

We present novel metrics for analysis of weighted social networks that focus explicitly on the distribution of edge weights at hierarchical scales from node to egonet to community and to the network as a whole. The formulae are adapted from existing measures, originally developed in the context of population genetics to analyse variance in gene frequencies at different levels of organization. Our metrics, including ‘effective degree’ (by analogy to effective number of alleles), ‘concentration’ (by analogy to the inbreeding coefficient), ‘observed’ and ‘expected edge weight diversity’ (by analogy to observed and expected gene diversity) and F statistics allow one to partition the variance in edge weights among hierarchical levels of organization within networks. They provide a quantitative method for addressing issues as diverse as disease transmission, social complexity, the spread of learned behaviours and the evolution of cooperation. We illustrate the utility of these new metrics by applying them to three empirical social networks: long-tailed manakins, Chiroxiphia linearis, monk parakeets, Myiopsitta monachus, and mountain goats, Oreamnos americanus.
An Efficient Rewriting Framework for Trace Coverage of Symmetric Systems

Verification coverage is an important metric in any hardware verification effort. Coverage models are proposed as a set of events the hardware may exhibit, intended to be possible under a test scenario. At the system level, these events each correspond to a visited state or taken transition in a transition system that represents the underlying hardware. A more sophisticated approach is to check that tests exercise specific sequences of events, corresponding to traces through the transition system. However, such trace-based coverage models are inherently expensive to consider in practice, as the number of traces is exponential in trace length. We present a novel framework that combines the approaches of conservative abstraction with rewriting to construct a concise trace-based coverage model of a class of parameterized symmetric systems. First, we leverage both symmetry and rewriting to construct abstractions that can be tailored by users’ defined rewriting. Then, under this abstraction, a coverage model for a larger system can be generated from traces for a smaller system. This coverage model is of tractable size, is tractable to generate, and can be used to identify coverage-holes in large systems. Our experiments on the cache coherence protocol implementation from the multi-billion transistors IBM POWER™ Processor demonstrate the viability and effectiveness of this approach.
Tardive dyskinesia: Out of the shadows

The approvals of the first two medications, valbenazine and deutetrabenazine, to treat tardive dyskinesia have ushered in a new era in neuropsychiatric care. Tardive syndromes are defined as delayed onset, persistent movement disorders or sensory phenomena that occur in association with exposure to dopamine receptor blocking agents (DRBAs). Their underlying pathophysiology remains to be fully elucidated, but clinicians can conceptualize tardive syndromes as persistent dopamine supersensitivity states. Tardive syndromes can potentially cause distress, disfigurement, embarrassment, and dysfunction, and are often permanent. Therefore, practitioners who prescribe DRBAs should be aware of this potential, carefully assess the risk/benefit ratio when considering the use of these medications, and be sure that patients are appropriately informed. Patients on DRBAs should be monitored for the development of tardive syndromes, including through the use of regularly scheduled Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) (or similar) examinations. Clinicians prescribing DRBAs should be familiar with the diagnosis and management of tardive syndromes, and be able to institute treatment or refer patients when treatment is appropriate. Future research may focus on the potential benefit of earlier introduction of VMAT2 inhibitors to delay onset or progression of tardive syndromes. More effective treatments are still needed, as are effective, well-tolerated antipsychotics that do not cause tardive syndromes.
Diagnostic Assessment of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome

The phrase “hypoplastic left heart syndrome” (HLHS) first coined by Lev in 1952 [1] and further defined by Noonan and Nadas in 1958 [2] describes a spectrum of abnormalities in which the left ventricle and other left sided structures are poorly formed. In this anomaly, the left ventricle is of inadequate size and cannot independently provide for a sufficient cardiac output that is life sustaining. The anatomical findings include: 1) hypoplasia of the left ventricle, 2) aortic atresia or severe stenosis/hypoplasia, and 3) mitral atresia or stenosis/hypoplasia. Hypoplasia of the ascending aorta is usually associated, unless there is a ventricular septal defect, in which case the aorta may be normal in size. Some have included patients with unbalanced common atrioventricular canal defect in which the atrioventricular valve is positioned predominantly over the right ventricle resulting in limitation to the left-sided inlet and a diminutive left ventricle [3, 4, 5]. The term excludes patients with aortic atresia and large ventricular septal defect who may have a normal mitral valve and a normal size left ventricle [6]. In addition, the term excludes patients with transposition of the great arteries that share similar physiology of “single ventricle” with obstruction to systemic outflow.
Town clerks and the authorship of custumals in medieval England

This article examines the expertise and duties of clerks in medieval English towns, particularly their roles in creating custumals, or collections of written customs. Customs could regulate trade, office-holding, prostitution and even public nuisance. Many clerks were anonymous, and their contributions to custumals understudied. The careers of relatively well-known clerks, however, do provide insights into how some clerks shaped custumals into civic repositories of customary law. By analysing their oaths and known administrative practices, which involved adapting material from older custumals, this article argues that town clerks played critical roles in transmitting customary law to future generations of administrators.
The Hidden Value—Packaging for Appearance

Discussions involving appearance design are often poorly received by engineering groups because in discussing appearance we are forced to consider the aesthetic quality of a product. This does not mean engineers are not aesthetically inclined. However, they take professional pride in an analytical and unemotional approach to their work while appearance design is dictated by sensory impressions of objects and not the objects themselves. Yet, appearance and engineering have much in common, for the ability to design a meaningful appearance into a product is based on intuitive power, insight, and knowledge. These same prerequisites are necessary in all creative work, not only art, poetry, and philosophy, but science and engineering as well. The basic creativity in appearance design eliminates graphs, scales, and charts which can be consulted by designers, and from these evolve an acceptable appearance. Each design has its own unique criteria from which the final appearance is developed. Nevertheless, it is possible to present standard procedures and methods using these as guidelines to develop specific designs.
For what ends do we promote medical professionalism

Two researchers argue in favor of training physicians to better understand and practice the tenets of medical professionalism. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Perfect Competition and Market Imperfections

Competition is a fundamental concept in a market economy. We can think of competition as firm rivalry, where one firm battles to gain a strategic advantage over its competitors. For example, General Motors and Ford have been competing with one another for over a century to produce better cars at lower cost and to create more catchy marketing campaigns. We can also think of competition as a type of market structure. Both concepts are important in industrial organization. In later chapters, we analyze various forms of competitive behavior. In this chapter, we review the market structure of perfect competition.
The War Against the Vets: The World War I Bonus Army during the Great Depression

Review of Jerome Tuccille's book The War Against the Vets: The World War I Bonus Army during the Great Depression. Potomac Press, 2018. 264 pp.
Viscoelastic Response Ultrasound Detects Increased Degree of Mechanical Anisotropy with Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Pig Kidney, In Vivo

Chronic kidney disease is associated with progressive inflammation, which is conventionally assessed by invasive biopsy. A noninvasive alternative is to interrogate the mechanical property alterations that occur with inflammation. This work evaluates the feasibility of using in vivo Viscoelastic Response (VisR) ultrasound for detecting differences in mechanical degree of anisotropy (DoA) associated with inflammation after ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in pig kidney. VisR measurements were validated by histology, Shear Wave Elasticity Imaging (SWEI), and Shearwave Dispersion Ultrasound Vibrometry (SDUV) derived DoA. In 6 pigs, data were acquired in vivo in the kidney following IRI and in the contralateral kidney, which did not undergo IRI and served as a control. VisR (relative elasticity (RE), relative viscosity (RV), and peak displacement (PD)), SWEI (shear elastic modulus $(\mu))$ , and SDUV (shear elastic $(\mu_{1})$ and viscous $(\mu_{2})$ moduli) outcomes were evaluated alone and as ratios to reflect DoA (longitudinal over transverse). VisR PD and RE, SWEI $\mu$ , and SDUV $\mu_{1}$ demonstrated significantly increased DoA (p $\mu$ in cortex). Notably, while elastic DoA increased in both medulla and cortex, the underlying causes differed (cortex: diminished transverse modulus v. medulla: elevated longitudinal modulus). VisR RV indicated decreased viscous DoA in the medulla after IRI. Spatially matched histology indicated mild inflammation in the injured, but not the control, kidneys. These results suggest that VisR noninvasively detects changes in DoA associated with inflammation induced by IRI in a pig model. VisR may be diagnostically relevant to delineating inflammation in human kidney.
Spin–Spin Coupling Between Two meta‐Benzyne Moieties In a Quinolinium Tetraradical Cation Increases Their Reactivities

The reactivity of a carbon-centered σ,σ,σ,σ-type singlet-ground-state tetraradical containing two meta-benzyne moieties was examined in the gas phase. Surprisingly, the tetraradical showed higher reactivity than its individual meta-benzyne counterparts. The reactivity of meta-benzynes is controlled by their (calculated) distortion energy ΔE2.3 , singlet-triplet spitting ΔES-T , and electron affinity (EA2.3 ) of the meta-benzyne moiety at the transition state geometry for hydrogen-atom abstraction reactions. The addition of a second meta-benzyne moiety to a meta-benzyne does not significantly change EA2.3 . However, ΔE2.3 is substantially decreased for both meta-benzyne moieties in the tetraradical, and this explains their higher reactivities. The decrease in ΔE2.3 for each meta-benzyne moiety in the tetraradical is rationalized by stabilizing spin-spin coupling between one radical site in each meta-benzyne moiety. Therefore, spin-spin coupling between the meta-benzyne moieties in this tetraradical increases its reactivity, whereas spin-spin coupling within each meta-benzyne moiety decreases its reactivity.
Plasma simulations in 2-D (r-z) geometry for the assessment of pole erosion in a magnetically shielded Hall thruster

Magnetic shielding of Hall thrusters has been shown to reduce erosion of the channel walls by at least a few orders of magnitude, thereby enabling the use of these devices in deep space missions. Wear tests of magnetically shielded thrusters, such as the H6 and HERMeS, have revealed that some sputtering occurs at the surface of the inner pole, a phenomenon not observed in unshielded thrusters. Even though the sputtering rates measured at the inner pole during ground testing are typically an order of magnitude lower than those found in the acceleration channel of unshielded thrusters, it is critical to understand how the source(s) of this erosion may change with operating conditions during flight. Hall2De is a 2-D axisymmetric code that makes use of a hydrodynamics formulation for both electrons and ions and assumes a quasi-neutral plasma. Since its computational domain is large enough to account for the discharge channel, poles, cathode, and plume regions, Hall2De can be used to investigate the physical mechanisms that produce the erosion of the poles. The simulation results are compared with experimental laser-induced fluorescence measurements of the ion velocity along the discharge channel of the H6 thruster. We find that the erosion of the poles in the magnetically shielded H6 is a result of the acceleration region moving outside of the discharge channel, which in turn is a consequence of a shift in the location of the maximum magnetic field along the channel centerline that occurs when magnetic shielding is implemented. When the acceleration region moves downstream, the plasma potential contours at the edges of the beam allow for high energy ions to be accelerated radially toward the pole surfaces.
From Heresy to Humor: The Kiev Academy Spoofs the Uniate Church

The partitions of Poland brought some three million Ukrainian and Belarusian Uniates, or Greek-rite Catholics, into the Russian empire by 1795. In 1794 Catherine II launched a massive campaign to convert her new Uniate subjects to Russian Orthodoxy, which succeeded in cutting the number of Uniates in her empire in half within two years. Ukrainian Orthodox clergymen trained at the Kiev Academy were instrumental in this conversion effort, and their arguments against the Uniate Church represented standard pro-Orthodox propaganda used by the Russian church and state to degrade the Uniates and to justify the efforts to abolish this church within the Russian empire. This paper introduces a previously unstudied source that illuminates the work of the Kiev Academy in continuing to promote a pro-Orthodox and anti-Uniate stance within the lighter medium of school theater. At the close of the eighteenth century, a professor at the Kiev Academy composed a humorous play that poked fun at the Uniates and promoted the Orthodox faith. This virtually unknown manuscript provides keen insights into the stereotyping of and prejudices against the new Uniate subjects of the Russian empire, which reinforced troubled religious relations in Russia’s western borderlands throughout the following century.