cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 115: Adventitial Fibroblast Depletion of AT1a Receptors Attenuates AngII-Induced Ascending and Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in Hyperlipidemic Mice

Introduction and Objectives: Infusion of angiotensin II (AngII) into mice induces aneurysm formation and accelerates atherosclerosis. These pathologies are ablated by whole body deficiency of angiotensin II type 1a (AT1a) receptors. It is currently unknown which cell type is stimulated by AngII through AT1a receptors to augment either pathology. Surprisingly, depletion of AT1a receptors in macrophages, endothelium, and smooth muscle has minimal effects. Advential fibroblasts have been implicated in vascular inflammation. The current study examined the effect of deletion of AT1a receptors in fibroblasts on AngII-induced pathologies. Methods and Results: LDL receptor -/- mice with fibroblast-specific deletion of AT1a receptors were produced by breeding hemizygous male mice expressing Cre under control of the S100A4 promoter to female AT1aR floxed mice. At 8 weeks of age, male, non-Cre littermates (N=13) and AT1a receptor x Cre-S100A4 (N=18) mice were fed a fat-enriched diet for 1 week before and during AngII infusion (1,000 ng/kg/min) for 28 days. AngII-infusion increased systolic blood pressures that were not influenced by fibroblast-specific deletion of AT1a receptors. AngII-induced expansion of the ascending aorta and abdominal aortic width were attenuated significantly in mice with fibroblast-specific AT1a receptor depletion (P=0.04 and P=0.043, respectively). In contrast, fibroblast-specific depletion of AT1a receptors had no effect on AngII-augmented atherosclerosis. Conclusion: Fibroblast-specific deficiency of AT1a receptors is the first cell type that has been identified to attenuate AngII-induced aortic aneurysms.
A Geometric Approach to the Covariants of a Cubic

where the coordinates of A, B, C, D, are zi, Z2, Z3, Z4, respectively. If a =a+bi is given and the points A, B, C, are fixed, and distinct, then the position of D is uniquely determined by (1). If three points A, B, C, and a value of a are given, then six points A' * C" are determined by (AB, CC') =a, (BC, AA') =a, (CA, BB') =a (BA, CC") =a, (AC, BB") =a, (CB, AA") =a. The triads A' B' C', A" B" C" are covariants of the triad ABC for each a, since a linear functional transformation
Prolonged administration of hydrochlorothiazide on cardiac function in beagle dogs.

ConclusionsChronic administration of hydrochlorothiazide (10 mg/kg, po for 12 months) to beagle dogs failed to produce any alterations in blood pressure and heart rate, despite a significant reduction in cardiac output, stroke volume, and stroke work. Analysis of ventricular function curves indicates a diminution in contractility of the myocardium in the treated animals. It is concluded from this investigation that the adverse effects of HCT on the myocardium in the face of increased total peripheral resistance noted in this study may warrant careful reevaluation of this agent in cardiovascular therapy.This study was supported by Public Health Service Grant GM-15587. The authors express their appreciation to Dr. John E. Baer of Merck Institute of Therapeutic Research, West Point, PA, for generously supplying hydrochlorothiazide, and to Messrs. Charles Parham and David Snyder for their valuable technical assistance.
Continuous photochemical generation of catalytically active [CpRu]+ complexes from CpRu(η6-C6H6)PF6.

Inter- and intramolecular ene–yne coupling reactions catalyzed by a species generated in situ via photolysis of CpRu(η6-C6H6)PF6—an inexpensive, readily available, and shelf-stable complex—have been demonstrated under conditions of continuous flow. Importantly, the catalyst can be recovered quantitatively at the end of the reaction. Various functional groups are tolerated by the reaction, which affords skipped diene products in high yields.
Women and Money: Unique Issues – Your Money Matters

Couples considering a future together should discuss money before they marry. Discussing money may not be the most romantic gesture, but this is an important conversation to have early in a relationship and to continue to have throughout your marriage. This 4-page fact sheet was written by Diann Douglas and Martie Gillen and published by the UF Department of Family Youth and Community Sciences, September 2013. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy046
Analysis on the risk factors of peptic ulcer in northern soldiers

[Objective]To investigate the incidence rate and the risk factors of peptic ulcer(PU) in troops,provide basic data for further research on the precaution and treatment of PU.[Methods]By using cluster sampling,the incidence rate,exposure factors and other influencing factors of PU in a northern military region were investigated with self-administered questionnaire.The single factor analysis was adopted to learn the relationship between the individual factors and incidence rate of PU.[Results]The incidence of PU related symptoms among 7 345 soldiers was 8.41%(95% CI was 7.77%-9.03%).Age,length of military service,education level,smoking,alcohol drinking,spicy food,dietary habit,family history of PU,history of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAID),major of soilders,military training fatigue,psychentonia and irascibility were significantly correlated with the incidence of PU,while there was no significant correlation between body mass index(BMI),birthplace and the incidence of PU.[Conclusion]Smoking,alcohol drinking,education level,age,spicy food,dietary habit,family history of PU,history of NSAID,major of soldiers,military training fatigue,psychentonia,length of military service and irascibility are the risk factors of PU among soldiers.
Statistical model of multivariate analysis of self-health evaluation of residents in Zhuhai City

Objective To understand the influence factors of self-health evaluation of residents in Zhuhai.Methods Stratified random sampling method was used to survey residents aged from 15 to 69 years old in 3 districts of Xiangzhou,Doumen and Jinwan of Zhuhai.Three common factors of social adaptability,physical status,and psychological status with 18 items of self-health evaluation were surveyed by questionnaires.The general linear model was used for multivariate statistical analysis of influencing factors of self-health evaluation.Results A total of 2 823 residents were surveyed,including 1 385 men(49.1%) and 1 438 women(50.9%).The average scores of social adaptability,physical status,psychological status,and total score of self-health evaluation were 32.5 ± 5.5,24.4 ± 4.2,12.7 ± 4.3,and 69.5 ± 10.0,higher than their theoretical average ones(24,18,12,and 54,respectively).The factor of social adaptability was related to age(F = 7.442),medical condition(F = 16.958),family income(F = 13.720),and health insurance(F = 6.982)(all P 0.01).The factor of physical status was related to sex(F = 6.960) and medical condition(F = 31.518)(all P 0.01).The factor of psychological status was related to occupation(F = 7.017) and medical condition(F = 74.950)(all P 0.01).Conclusion The influence factors of self-health evaluation of residents in Zhuhai included medical condition,family income,age,sex,and occupation.
A Parallel I/O System for High-Performance Distributed Computing

PIOUS is a parallel file system architecture for providing process groups access to permanent storage within a heterogeneous network computing environment. PIOUS supports parallel application development by providing coordinated access to parafile file objects with guaranteed consistency semantics and a dynamically-selectable fault tolerance level. For performance, PIOUS declusters files to exploit the combined file I/O and buffer cache capacities of multiple interconnected computer systems.
Race and the Regulation of Prostitution: Comparing Public Health in the U.S. and Greater Britain

Writing in 1900 on the pros and cons of legalizing prostitution, New York physician Sigmund Lustgarten declared that the laws of the United States were derived to a large extent from those of England. His praise for the principles of American law were lofty. “It breathes forth that spirit of individual rights, personal liberty and freedom, that reverence for the sanctity of the private home and life within it, that has ever been the pride of Englishmen and Americans”.1 Lustgarten’s context for this Anglo-American association was a vigorous rejection of the regulation of prostitution as a measure “foreign to the spirit” of the American people and their laws.2
Role of B800–850 Light-Harvesting Pigment-Protein Complex in the Morphogenesis of Rhodobacter sphaeroides Membranes

In response to low oxygen tension, the facultative photoheterotrophic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides elaborates an extensive intracytoplasmic membrane (ICM) system, consisting of a series of interconnected vesicles, in which the photosynthetic apparatus is localized (1, 2). In addition to the photochemical reaction center, this structure contains the B875 and B800–850 light-harvesting bacteriochlorophyll a (BChl)-protein complexes which function as core and peripheral antennae, respectively (3). While the core antenna is found in a constant molar ratio to the reaction center of ∼25:1, the amount of B800–850 varies with light intensity (4) and under low illumination, can reach levels more than three-fold greater than those of B875. The ICM is continuous with the cytoplasmic membrane (5, 6, 7), and in vivo surface labeling studies have demonstrated that the interior of the ICM is accessible from the periplasmic space (8, 9).
“Seeing Her Through a Bamboo Curtain”: Envisaging a National Literature through Chinese Folk Songs

In 1922, Chang Hui (1894–1985) published in Folk Song Weekly ten ballads with a shared motif: “seeing her through a bamboo curtain” (gezhe zhulian kanjian ta). Regarding the ballads as at once ten place-based, local folk songs and one placeless, national poetry, Chang urged attention to the exemplary influence of folk songs on the unification of languages in early twentieth-century China. Throughout the folk song campaign (c. 1918–c. 1927), however, the potential of folk songs to facilitate nationalization of Chinese language and literature remained arguably unfulfilled. This article examines the reasons for folk songs’ lack of influence on modern Chinese literary history. Through an analysis of contesting ideas and agendas regarding the literary nature of folk song, the author reveals that folk songs were rediscovered at a moment of modern Chinese history when prevalent discourses on Chinese language and literature could not fully accommodate the folk, the dialect, or the oral nature of folk song.
Thiamin Diphosphate Activation in 1-Deoxy-d-xylulose 5-Phosphate Synthase: Insights into the Mechanism and Underlying Intermolecular Interactions.

1-Deoxy-d-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase (DXS) is a thiamin diphosphate (TDP) dependent enzyme that marks the beginning of the methylerythritol 4-phosphate isoprenoid biosynthesis pathway. The mechanism of action for DXS is still poorly understood and begins with the formation of a thiazolium ylide. This TDP activation step is thought to proceed through an intramolecular deprotonation by the 4′-aminopyrimidine ring of TDP; however, this step would occur only after an initial deprotonation of its own 4′-amino group. The mechanism of the initial deprotonation has been hypothesized, by analogy to transketolases, to occur via a histidine or an active site water molecule. Results from hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) reaction path calculations reveal an ∼10 kcal/mol difference in transition state energies, favoring a water mediated mechanism over direct deprotonation by histidine. This difference was determined to be largely governed by electrostatic changes induced by conformational varia...
Complete Plastome Sequence of Ludwigia octovalvis (Onagraceae), a Globally Distributed Wetland Plant.

ABSTRACT Here, we present the first plastome of Ludwigia octovalvis (Onagraceae, Myrtales) as well as the first plastome in the subfamily Ludwigioideae. This genome is notable for its contracted inverted repeat regions and an expanded small single-copy region compared to other species in the orders Myrtales and Geraniales.
A Preliminary Exploration of the Application of Self-Compassion Within the Context of Sport Injury.

In a prospective study of collegiate athletes (N = 117), the application of self-compassion within the context of sport injury was explored. Previous literature indicated that self-compassion enhances adaptive coping and well-being and reduces anxiety in stress-provoking situations. This research suggested that it could potentially reduce the stress response and subsequent injury risk. Findings indicated that self-compassion may buffer the experience of somatic anxiety (rs = −.436, p < .01) and worry (rs = −.351, p < .01), and reduce the engagement of avoidance-focused coping strategies (rs = −.362, p < .01). There were no significant findings related to self-compassion and injury reduction. A challenge with this research is distinguishing the impact of resistance to self-compassion from the potential benefits that it may have on coping and appraisal of stress in sport. This research was a preliminary exploration of self-compassion within the context of responses to stress and subsequent injury risk. Resu...
Blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) contrast MRI and breast cancer chemotherapy response

10514 Background: Tumor microcirculation and oxygenation play critical roles in tumor growth and response to cytotoxic treatment. Assessing these parameters in vivo may provide a useful tool for ev...
Effects of low levels of ultraviolet radiation on antioxidant mechanisms of Japanese Medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Extreme weather events like drought are expected to increase with climate change, which will increase exposure of freshwater fish to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Compared to fully grown adult fish, fish in early life stages are more susceptible to UV radiation due to the lack of well-developed pigmentation. Even though several studies have described affectation of fish health after exposure to UV radiation, most of the studies have used intensities that are only found on the surface of the earth crust or at shallow depths in water bodies, and little is known about impacts of weaker UV radiation, which can be found in deep water. This study showed effects on the antioxidant system of Japanese Medaka after 7 days of exposure to very low intensities of UV radiation, levels that can be found at deep locations in lakes and rivers. Exposure to UV radiation (UVA: 360.1 ± 18.4 μW cm-2 for a dose of 21.6 ± 1.2 mJ cm-2 min-1, and UVB: 6.3 ± 0.5 μW cm-2 for a dose of 0.38 ± 0.03 mJ cm-2 min-1) caused a reduction in the catalase activity (over 50%) and enhanced oxidative damage to lipids. Results of this study showed that environmentally relevant, low levels of UV radiation affect mechanisms by which fish deal with enhanced production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative damage. The results raise concerns about early life stages of fish under scenarios of increased exposure to solar light, such as in tropic regions or during summer in temperate regions.
The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America by Al-Jen Poo and Ariane Conrad: New York, NY: The New Press, 2015, 229 pages, $25.95 (paperback)

A growing number of older adults seek care opportunities that are personalized, reliable, and affordable as they live longer than ever and they want to stay in their own home as long as possible. A...
Petroleum system modeling of the East Coast Basin, Hawke Bay, New Zealand

This study evaluates the petroleum prospectivity of the East Coast Basin, an element of the Hikurangi convergent margin of New Zealand. The basin tectonic environment changed from a dormant convergent margin to convergent margin around the early Miocene, likely causing a decrease in the basin thermal regime. Two end-member paleoheat flow scenarios were used to evaluate thermal maturation of two key source rocks, the Waipawa Black Shale and Whangai Formation, based on calibration to six wells across the basin using vitrinite–inertinite reflectance and fluorescence analysis, as well as Rock-Eval Tmax (the temperature at which the maximum rate of hydrocarbon generation occurs during pyrolysis analysis), thermal alteration index, apatite fission track analysis, and present-day temperatures. This study finds that paleobasal heat flow ranged between 40 and 55 mW/m−2 and decreased to 30 mW/m−2 between 15 and 5 Ma, as bracketed by the two end-member heat flow scenarios. The heat flow scenarios were applied to a palinspastically reconstructed basin and petroleum system model across Hawke Bay. We find that the two distinct heat flow scenarios cause a 3–6.5 m.y. difference in the relative timing of hydrocarbon generation across the basin. Structural events in the basin associated with convergent margin tectonics act as the main control on the timing of generation. Modeling results show transformation of kerogen to hydrocarbons began between early and late Miocene for both source rocks depending on the structural regime in the basin. The structural control on source rock maturation highlights the need for robust palinspastic reconstructions in addition to paleothermometric data to evaluate the petroleum prospectivity of convergent margin basins.
Randomized phase IIB evaluation of weekly paclitaxel versus weekly paclitaxel with oncolytic reovirus (Reolysin®) in recurrent ovarian, tubal, or peritoneal cancer: An NRG Oncology/Gynecologic Oncology Group study.

Abstract Objective To assess whether the addition of oncolytic reovirus (Reolysin®) to weekly paclitaxel prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) in the treatment of women with recurrent or persistent ovarian, tubal or primary peritoneal cancer. Patients and methods Patients with recurrent or persistent epithelial ovarian, tubal, or peritoneal carcinoma, measurable or detectable disease, and three or fewer prior regimens were randomly assigned to paclitaxel (80mg/m 2 intravenously days 1, 8, and 15 every 4weeks) or the combination of paclitaxel (80mg/m 2 intravenously days 1, 8, and 15) plus reovirus 3×10 10 TCID 50 /day intravenously on days 1–5, both every 4weeks until disease progression or toxicity. The primary end point was PFS. The study was designed with 80% power for a one-sided alternative at a 10% level of significance to detect a reduction in the hazard by 37.5%. Results The study accrued 108 patients, 100 of whom were evaluable for toxicity. Median PFS was 4.3months for paclitaxel and 4.4months for paclitaxel plus reovirus (hazard ratio, 1.11; 90% two-sided CI, 0.78 to 1.59; one-sided P=0.687). The proportion responding (overall response rate) to paclitaxel was 20% among 45 patients with measurable disease receiving paclitaxel alone, and 17.4% among the 46 patients treated with the combination. The asymptotic relative probability of responding was 0.87 (90% CI, 0.42 to 1.79). Severe adverse events were more common in the combination regimen than in paclitaxel arm for severe neutropenia (grade≥4, 12% versus 0%), and severe respiratory adverse events (grade≥3, 25% versus 2%). No deaths were considered treatment related. Conclusion The addition of reovirus to weekly paclitaxel in the treatment of women with recurrent or persistent ovarian, tubal or peritoneal cancer did not sufficiently reduce the hazard of progression or death to warrant further investigation.
Microstructure Development of Fe 2 O 3 in HCL Vapor

During sintering, particles and pores change size and shape to decrease the interfacial energy of the system. The pores shrink and the grains or particles grow. Since surface energy is the driving force for both processes, their comparative rates determine the densification rate and microstructure evolution. Since the goal of sintering is to obtain a desired microstructure, it is critical to understand the relationship between the two processes.
Retrospective Analysis of Geriatric Patients Undergoing Hip Fracture Surgery: Delaying Surgery Is Associated With Increased Morbidity, Mortality, and Length of Stay.

Introduction:Hip fractures are common in elderly patients. However, this population frequently presents with significant medical comorbidities requiring extensive medical optimization.Methods:This ...
Provable Time-Memory Trade-Offs: Symmetric Cryptography Against Memory-Bounded Adversaries

We initiate the study of symmetric encryption in a regime where the memory of the adversary is bounded. For a block cipher with n-bit blocks, we present modes of operation for encryption and authentication that guarantee security beyond \(2^n\) encrypted/authenticated messages, as long as (1) the adversary’s memory is restricted to be less than \(2^n\) bits, and (2) the key of the block cipher is long enough to mitigate memory-less key-search attacks. This is the first proposal of a setting which allows to bypass the \(2^n\) barrier under a reasonable assumption on the adversarial resources.
A Multiagent System for Simple Overcurrent Protection of Microgrids With Distributed Generation

The fault current level is different in grid connected and islanded microgrid fault cases for the same relay. Also, the complex architecture of the contemporary microgrid resulting from dynamically connecting and disconnecting of distributed generators (DGs) are representing serious problems to protect the system. This paper presents a co-simulation platform for microgrid based on multiagent system utilizing a supercapacitor bank to enhance the resiliency of the protection scheme. The simulation software, embedded microcontrollers, and a real communication architecture are collective to perform the protection scheme platform. The DDS middleware is used to link between the hardware and software environments. This method does not need to change the relay settings at different configurations of the microgrid. The proposed solution does not incur additional costs to the system studied as the supercapacitor is already used to feed a pulsed load. The paper also proposes a coordination process between the relays with helping of the supercapacitor. Primary and back up protection were studied according to IEEE Std C37.112 to isolate the fault properly. This paper details the fault current that supplied by any DG to any point inside the network. The results showed that the co-simulation infrastructure introduces a high dependability design, analysis, and testing environment for cyber and physical data flow in the system.
Discovering Latent Psychological Structures from Self-Report Assessments of Hospital Workers

Hospitals are high-stress environments where workers face a high risk of occupational burnout due to a mix of imbalanced schedules, understaffing, and emotional stress. In this paper, we propose a computational framework to infer the latent psychological makeup and traits of hospital workers. We apply machine learning models to psychometric data obtained from a suite of psychological survey instruments, collected as a part of TILES, a ten-week research study carried out in a large Los Angeles hospital. The study population represents over 200 hospital employees, including nurses and those in administrative positions. A computational framework that combines clustering and non-negative matrix factorization was used to extract the latent interplay between psychological constructs along dimensions of health, affect, personality, cognitive ability, and job performance. We illustrate how the proposed framework can help reveal the latent psychological structures related to occupational burnout.
Thermodynamic Hydricity across Solvents: Subtle Electronic Effects and Striking Ligation Effects in Iridium Hydrides

Insights into the influence of solvent on hydride transfer emerge from a study of iridium complexes with the formula [Cp*Ir(bpy-X)H]+ (bpy-X = 4,4′-X2-2,2′-bipyridine, X = H, Me, tBu, OMe, CO2Me, a...
Genome-Wide Analysis of Microdeletions and Identification of NF1 Inactivation in Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

Abstract 165 Genomic aberrations are of dominant importance to the biology and clinical outcome of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). To further our understanding of such aberrations in AML, we analyzed DNA from highly purified AML blasts and paired buccal cells from 95 patients for subchromosomal copy number changes and allele identities using ultra-high-density Affymetrix SNP 6.0 array-based genomic profiling. A total of 358 somatically acquired copy number changes were detected in 95 AML genomes. We detected 16 losses and 22 gains of entire chromosomes, 285 subchromosomal losses and 35 subchromosomal gains. No recurrent high-level amplifications or recurrent homozygous deletions were identified. Eight of the 34 AML cases (24%) with normal karyotype each had one lesion detected through 6.0 array profiling, all but one of which was less than 4Mb in length. Focusing on microdeletions as potential indicators of the locations of novel tumor suppressor genes or genes with importance to AML biology, we identified 60 deletions that were less than 1 Mb in length and 158 deletions of less than 5 Mb, the vast majority of which were undetectable by conventional cytogenetics. Through fine mapping of microdeletions on 17q, we identified Neurofibromin 1 ( NF1 ) null states due to mutations or absent expression in ∼7% of AML. NF1 mutations were present in the hematopoetic stem cell compartment (CD34+/CD38- cell population) and siRNA-mediated NF1 suppression using recombinant lentiviruses significantly increased colony formation of primary AML blasts in methylcellulose. Further, AML blasts without functional NF1 displayed sensitivity to rapamycin-induced apoptosis, thus identifying a dependence on mTOR signaling for survival. As an additional validation of using microdeletions to guide pathogenetic gene discovery, we identified deletions involving RUNX1 , IRF8 , C ore Binding Factor Beta ( CBFB ) and Casitas B-cell lymphoma B ( CBLB) , genes known to be altered in AML. IRF8 expression was found to be absent in ∼30% of all AML but sequencing of all coding exons of IRF8 of 48 AML cases did not disclose somatically acquired mutations. In summary, this comprehensive description of subchromosomal copy number changes and microdeletions in adult AML substantially adds to our knowledge of the pathological anatomy of the AML genome and should inform future searches for novel genes with importance to AML biology. Disclosures: Malek: Cephalon: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Affymetrix: Research Funding. Erba: Lilly: Research Funding; Antisoma: Research Funding; Wyeth: Research Funding; Cephalon: Honoraria, Research Funding; MGI Pharma: Honoraria; Pharmion: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Genzyme: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Gemin-X: Research Funding; Kanisa: Research Funding.
Needle Embolization: Suspecting Needle Migration in Intravenous Drug Abusers.

Abstract Background Thirteen million people inject drugs globally, making intravenous drug abuse a substantial concern worldwide. While intravenous drug users occasionally report the breaking of a needle into the skin or subcutaneous tissue, central needle migration remains a rare but potentially devastating complication. Case Report A 27-year-old man with a history of intravenous drug abuse presented to the emergency department with the sudden onset of left-sided neck pain, chills, and subjective fever with a history of needle breaking in his left neck 3 weeks earlier while using heroin. A computed tomography scan of his chest revealed a needle lodged in the right ventricle with associated mediastinitis and mass effect on the left brachiocephalic vein, and a left internal jugular thrombus. Broad-spectrum antibiotics were initiated. This patient was managed nonsurgically for several reasons and was discharged on hospital day 12 with oral antibiotics. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Intravenous drug abusers commonly use cervical veins when their peripheral vasculature has become sclerosed. This puts intravenous drug users at increased risk for intravascular embolization. Due to varied symptomology—chest pain, dyspnea, fever, or asymptomatic—and timelines—days, weeks, or months—after reported needle fragmentation, this remains a complex and likely underdiagnosed condition. Case reports describe serious complications of intracardiac needle embolization, such as cardiac perforation, constrictive pericarditis, septic endocarditis, dysrhythmias, granulomas, venous thrombosis, empyema, acute or delayed spontaneous pneumothorax, osteomyelitis, and valvular damage. In this complicated patient population, clinicians should consider needle retention and relocation in patients who report needle breaking or in those who present with chest pain, dyspnea, or fever among other complaints.
Keeping infrastructure reliable under climate uncertainty

Characterizing infrastructure vulnerability to climate change is essential given the long asset lives, criticality of services delivered and high costs of upgrading and maintaining these systems. Reconciling uncertainty from past infrastructure design decisions with future uncertainty of climate change will help prioritize limited resources to high risk assets.
Design of Hydrolytically Degradable Polyethylene Glycol Crosslinkers for Facile Control of Hydrogel Degradation

Hydrogels, whose degradability can be controlled while also preserving cell viability or biomolecule stability, are in demand. Degradable polyethylene glycol crosslinkers are hydrolytically designed for use in hydrogels. Degradation is controlled by crosslinker chemical structure, such as introducing local hydrophobicity, steric hindrance, or electron-withdrawing moieties near a degradable ester moiety. Hydrogels made using these crosslinkers have gelation times from 1 to 22 min, storage moduli from 3 to 10 kPa, mesh sizes from 10 to 13 nm, and degradation times from 18 h to 16 d. However, when reaction conditions are modified to achieve similar gelation time, hydrogels have similar initial properties but preserve the wide range of degradation times. All crosslinkers support high cell viability upon hydrogel encapsulation or exposure to leachables and degradation products. This innovation in controlling degradation can help realize the hydrogels' potential for drug delivery or as matrices for cell encapsulation and transplantation.
A Thermodynamically Consistent Formulation for Dynamic Response of Thermoviscoelastic Plate/Shell Based on Classical Continuum Mechanics (CCM)

This paper presents a thermodynamically consistent and kinematic assumption free formulation for dynamics of thermoviscoelastic plates/shells based on the conservation and balance laws of classical...
Geriatric Medical Syndromes

In this chapter, we review some common geriatric medical syndrome including falls, pain, frailty, urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and constipation.
Social determinants do not affect access to specialized epilepsy care in veterans.

Abstract Introduction It is well established that sociodemographic and neighborhood determinants impact access to healthcare. Veterans with epilepsy (VWE) face unique challenges that may limit access to specialized epilepsy care, though institutional initiatives have aimed to minimize disparities. We assessed the extent to which surrogate markers of access to quality care in VWE were impacted by sociodemographic and neighborhood determinants. Methods The sample included 180 VWE. Surrogate markers included time between initial diagnosis and admission to epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) (time to referral, TTR), and the number of CT, MRI, and EEGs conducted prior to initial EMU evaluation. Sociodemographic and neighborhood determinants included age, sex, race, education, neighborhood advantage, rural status, distance from home to the nearest VAMC, and number of service connection (SC) conditions. Significant correlations across variables of interest were entered into a linear regression. Group differences between social factors were assessed for early and late TTR groups (based on 1st and 4th quartiles). Results The mean TTR was 12 years (SD ± 13.18). Longer TTR was correlated to older age (p Conclusion Access to epilepsy care among VWE was largely unimpacted by social determinants, with the exception of older age leading to longer TTR. The TTR in VWE was considerably shorter than has been reported in the literature for civilian patients. The Veterans Health Administration model of care may harbor certain advantages in epilepsy treatment.
Designing High-Performance MPI Libraries with On-the-fly Compression for Modern GPU Clusters *

While the memory bandwidth of accelerators such as GPU has significantly improved over the last decade, the commodity networks such as Ethernet and InfiniBand are lagging in terms of raw throughput creating. Although there are significant research efforts on improving the large message data transfers for GPU-resident data, the inter-node communication remains the major performance bottleneck due to the data explosion created by the emerging High-Performance Computing (HPC) applications. On the other hand, the recent developments in GPU-based compression algorithms exemplify the potential of using high-performance message compression techniques to reduce the volume of data transferred thereby reducing the load on an already overloaded inter-node communication fabric. The existing GPU-based compression schemes are not designed for “on-the-fly” execution and lead to severe performance degradation when integrated into the communication libraries. In this paper, we take up this challenge and redesign the MVAPICH2 MPI library to enable high-performance, on-the-fly message compression for modern, dense GPU clusters. We also enhance existing implementations of lossless and lossy compression algorithms, MPC and ZFP, to provide high-performance, on-the-fly message compression and decompression. We demonstrate that our proposed designs can offer significant benefits at the microbenchmark and application-levels. The proposed design is able to provide up to 19% and 37% improvement in the GPU computing flops of AWP-ODC with the enhanced MPCOPT and ZFP-OPT schemes, respectively. Moreover, we gain up to 1.56x improvement in Dask throughput. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that leverages the GPU-based compression techniques to significantly improve the GPU communication performance for various MPI primitives, MPI-based data science, and HPC applications.
OXYBUOY: CONSTRUCTING A REAL-TIME INEXPENSIVE HYPOXIA MONITORING PLATFORM

We present a low-cost sensor buoy designed for unattended dissolved oxygen measurement in aquatic environment. We describe the buoy’s architectural design and three experiments that we carried out to demonstrate its viability: a laboratory test in a water tank with controlled oxygen level, a lake deployment and an extensive electric power consumption test. Our experiments indicate the viability of such an approach to dissolved oxygen monitoring and promise further advances in hypoxia studies.
Membrane estrogen receptor-α levels in MCF-7 breast cancer cells predict cAMP and proliferation responses

17β-estradiol (E2) can rapidly induce cAMP production, but the conditions under which these cAMP levels are best measured and the signaling pathways responsible for the consequent proliferative effects on breast cancer cells are not fully understood. To help resolve these issues, we compared cAMP mechanistic responses in MCF-7 cell lines selected for low (mERlow) and high (mERhigh) expression of the membrane form of estrogen receptor (mER)-α, and thus addressed the receptor subform involved in cAMP signaling. MCF-7 cells were immunopanned and subsequently separated by fluorescence activated cell sorting into mERhigh (mER-α-enriched) and mERlow (mER-α-depleted) populations. Unique (compared with previously reported) incubation conditions at 4°C were found to be optimal for demonstrating E2-induced cAMP production. Time-dependent and dose-dependent effects of E2 on cAMP production were determined for both cell subpopulations. The effects of forskolin, 8-CPT cAMP, protein kinase A inhibitor (H-89), and adenylyl cyclase inhibitor (SQ 22,536) on E2-induced cell proliferation were assessed using the crystal violet assay. We demonstrated a rapid and transient cAMP increase after 1 pmol/l E2 stimulation in mERhigh cells; at 4°C these responses were much more reliable and robust than at 37°C (the condition most often used). The loss of cAMP at 37°C was not due to export. 3-Isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX; 1 mmol/l) only partially preserved cAMP, suggesting that multiple phosphodiesterases modulate its level. The accumulated cAMP was consistently much higher in mERhigh cells than in mERlow cells, implicating mER-α levels in the process. ICI172,780 blocked the E2-induced response and 17α-estradiol did not elicit the response, also suggesting activity through an estrogen receptor. E2 dose-dependent cAMP production, although biphasic in both cell types, was responsive to 50-fold higher E2 concentrations in mERhigh cells. Proliferation of mERlow cells was stimulated over the whole range of E2concentrations, whereas the number of mERhigh cells was greatly decreased at concentrations above 1 nmol/l, suggesting that estrogen over-stimulation can lead to cell death, as has previously been reported, and that mER-α participates. E2-mediated activation of adenylyl cyclase and downstream participation of protein kinase A were shown to be involved in these responses. Rapid mER-α-mediated nongenomic signaling cascades generate cAMP and downstream signaling events, which contribute to the regulation of breast cancer cell number.
Bacterial chitinase: nature and perspectives for sustainable bioproduction

Concurrent advances in a number of fields have fostered the development of bioprocesses for biochemical production. Ideally, future bioprocesses will meet the demands of commercial chemical markets in an economical fashion while being sustainable through the use of renewable starting materials. A number of different renewable and abundant biopolymers (e.g., cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, and chitin) are potential starting material for sustainable bioprocesses, but a broad challenge remains on how to efficiently depolymerize these biopolymers to generate monomeric sugars that can be metabolized by industrial microorganisms or other useful building block chemicals. Indeed, a variety of specialty chemicals may be able to be generated from these various monomers. This review focuses on the biopolymer chitin and discusses research and knowledge relevant to chitin degradation and potential chemical products that can be made from chitin degradation products.
Approaching and Avoiding the Work of the Middle Years: Affairs in Committed Lesbian Relationships

This article examines the experiences of a partner in a committed lesbian relationship who develops a serious outside attraction as the couple considers a permanent relational commitment. A number of specific and simultaneous challenges contribute to the construction of a sexual triangle at this particular juncture in the relationship, including intrapsychic, systemic, and oppression-related influences. The affected partner employs the outside attraction as a vehicle for both approaching and avoiding the underlying relational issues. The author suggests that, while complicated, this crisis can occur within healthy individuals and partnerships and that psychotherapy can successfully support many couples through such a period. While outside attractions are certainly not unique to lesbians, clinicans must recognize that lesbian couples face an unusual combination of stressors and, therefore, must incorporate this understanding into selected approaches to treatment.
Platelet aggregation studies in coronary artery disease: Past 4. Effect of aspirin

We evaluated platelet aggregation in vitro in blood samples drawn simultaneously from aorta and coronary sinus. Platelet aggregation was significantly lower in the coronary venous blood than in the aortic blood in patients with coronary artery disease. Lower platelet counts were also observed in coronary venous blood. No such differences were seen in subjects with normal coronary arteries. Oral administration of aspirin eliminated the differences in platelet aggregation and counts across the myocardial vascular bed. These observations suggest that platelet sequestration in the myocardial vasculature may be related to the presence of disease in the coronary arteries.
Human liver tyrosylsulfotransferase

The sulfation of tyrosine is a common posttranslational modification of peptides and may regulate the biological activity of a peptide. The biological activity of cholecystokinin is dependent on sulfation at the tyrosyl residue. Study of the enzyme(s) responsible for this activation step should provide the basis for future studies of the posttranslational control of peptide biological activity. The experiments reported here were designed to determine the subcellular distribution and biochemical properties of tyrosyl-sulfotransferase activity in normal human liver tissue. tert-Butoxycarbonylcholecystokinin octapeptide (desulfated) served as the sulfate-acceptor substrate. Subcellular distribution studies showed that tyrosyl-sulfotransferase activity was localized to the membrane-bound fraction. Tyrosylsulfotransferase was characterized by a pH optimum of 5.8, and activity was increased in the presence of sodium chloride and manganese chloride. The addition of detergents inhibited this enzyme activity. Using the optimized assay conditions, tyrosylsulfotransferase was measured in 20 individual human liver samples. Twenty-fold interindividual variation was found--variation that may be related to individual differences in the degree of posttranslational sulfation of proteins. The level of tyrosylsulfotransferase activity did not correlate with the levels of activity of two soluble sulfotransferases, thermostable and thermolabile phenol sulfotransferase. These results provide the basis for future studies to determine the role of sulfation of peptides in humans and whether individual variations in tyrosylsulfotransferase activities correlate with individual differences in the degree of sulfate conjugation of peptides.
Sustainability and social work

Sustainability has been described as a synergistic outcome of a combination of ecologic sustainability, intergenerational equity and human development. Of the three components, human development and intergenerational equity are areas where social workers have done both practical and theoretical work for decades out of philosophical and professionals concerns for social inequality and poverty. Both social inequality and poverty are seen as the underlying causes of ecological degradation and poor intergenerational equity. In this paper we argue that social work as a discipline is conceptually rich to provide the design for sustainable thinking and action.
Characterization of High-Copy-Number Retrotransposons From the Large Genomes of the Louisiana Iris Species and Their Use as Molecular Markers

The Louisiana iris species Iris brevicaulis and I. fulva are morphologically and karyotypically distinct yet frequently hybridize in nature. A group of high-copy-number TY3/ gypsy -like retrotransposons was characterized from these species and used to develop molecular markers that take advantage of the abundance and distribution of these elements in the large iris genome. The copy number of these IRRE elements (for ir is r etro e lement), is ∼1 × 10 5 , accounting for ∼6–10% of the ∼10,000-Mb haploid Louisiana iris genome. IRRE elements are transcriptionally active in I. brevicaulis and I. fulva and their F 1 and backcross hybrids. The LTRs of the elements are more variable than the coding domains and can be used to define several distinct IRRE subfamilies. Transposon display or S-SAP markers specific to two of these subfamilies have been developed and are highly polymorphic among wild-collected individuals of each species. As IRRE elements are present in each of 11 iris species tested, the marker system has the potential to provide valuable comparative data on the dynamics of retrotransposition in large plant genomes.
Density functional description of Coulomb blockade: Adiabatic versus dynamic exchange correlation

Above the Kondo temperature, the Kohn-Sham zero-bias conductance of an Anderson junction has been shown to completely miss the Coulomb blockade. Within a standard model for the spectral function, we deduce a parametrization for both the on-site exchange-correlation potential and the bias drop as a function of the site occupation that applies for all correlation strengths. We use our results to sow doubt about the common interpretation of such corrections as arising from dynamical exchange-correlation contributions.
Salivary cystatin SA-III, a potential precursor of the acquired enamel pellicle, is phosphorylated at both its amino- and carboxyl-terminal regions.

Abstract Cystatin SA-III was purified from human submandibular/sublingual glandular secretions by adsorption to hydroxyapatite, gel filtration chromatography, and reversed-phase HPLC. The amino acid sequence of its amino-terminus was deduced by sequential Edman degradation and found to be identical to the first 10 residues of cystatin HSP-12. The purified protein was digested with endoproteinase Asp-N and the digestion products were subjected to fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopy. m z values corresponding to 12 peptides were aligned to the sequence of cystatin S preceded by the eight-residue ammo-terminal peptide detected in HSP-12. This process resulted in the assignment of peptides corresponding with 118 out of the 121 amino acid residues predicted from the nucleotide sequence for cystatin SA-III. In order to align several peptides, it was necessary to substitute four residues of phosphoserine for four residues of serine. Fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry and additional Edman degradation procedures localized the phosphate moieties to Ser-3, Ser-99, Ser-112, and Ser-116. This is the first report of the structure of cystatin SA-III deduced by amino acid sequencing techniques and indicates the sites of phosphoserine within the molecule. Based on these assignments, cystatin SA-III is unique among salivary proteins in that it possesses phosphate groups at its amino-terminus as well as its carboxyl-terminus.
Microstructure and oxidation behavior of Nb–Mo–Si–B alloys

Abstract The microstructure and oxidation behavior of sintered Nb–Mo–Si–B alloys were investigated for the phase assemblies T 1 (Mo 5 Si 3 B x )–MoSi 2 –MoB, T 1 –T 2 (Mo 5 SiB 2 )–Mo 3 Si, and Mo–T 2 –Mo 3 Si in the Mo–Si–B system. In the Nb–Si–B system, T 2 (Nb 5 (Si,B) 3 ) and D8 8 (Nb 5 Si 3 B x ) were investigated, while in the quaternary Nb–Mo–Si–B system, T 1 –T 2 –D8 8 was investigated. Alloys were oxidized at 1000 °C in flowing air. For Mo–Si–B compositions, the alloys showed excellent oxidation stability and initial mass loss of the alloy varied according to its Mo content. Minor quantities of MoO 2 were observed in the Mo–Si–B scales. The oxidation rates of Nb–Si–B and Nb–Mo–Si–B alloys were much larger than that of Mo–Si–B alloys. Their overall mass gains were significantly dependent on the initial heating atmosphere. In the Nb–Si–B system, T 2 and D8 8 alloys were more resistant to oxidation when heated to the test temperature in high purity argon. The quaternary Nb–Mo–Si–B alloy containing less D8 8 phase showed lower mass gains than that containing more D8 8 phase. Scales of the order of 10–50 μm thick were observed on Mo–Si–B alloys while much thicker scales, of the order of 200–600 μm, were observed on Nb–Si–B and Nb–Mo–Si–B alloys. Initial heating in argon resulted in denser scales and reduced the oxidation rate of Nb–Mo–Si–B alloys.