cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Degenerative central nervous system disease.

Many general pediatricians feel that the assessment of an infant or child who has a developmental delay and possible neurologic impairment is one of their most difficult challenges. Frequently the parents or relatives, during the course of a well-child visit, first voice concerns about the failure to attain or master one or more expected developmental milestones. Other times the pediatrician is the first to note a problem with development in one or more areas. One of the most important tasks for the pediatrician is to be able to identify the subset of patients who may have a progressive rather than a static neurologic process and to refer them promptly for further evaluation of a possible neurodegenerative disorder. In the past, the diagnosis of a childhood neurodegenerative disease was associated with a sense of hopelessness; frequently, the need for a definitive diagnosis was questioned. Breakthroughs in our understanding of the genetic and biochemical basis of many of these disorders, together with advances in enzyme replacement and gene therapy, have made antenatal diagnosis, treatments, and even cures a reality. The numerous types of central nervous system (CNS) degenerative diseases encountered in children go beyond the scope of a few pages and are covered well in the standard texts (see the excellent chapter by Johnson and Rapin in Rudolph9s Pediatrics, 19th ed, 1991).
Molecular simulations of nitrogen-doped hierarchical carbon adsorbents for post-combustion CO2 capture

A present challenge in the mitigation of anthropogenic CO2 emissions involves the design of less energy- and water-intensive capture technologies. Sorbent-based capture represents a promising solution, as these materials have negligible water requirements and do not incur the heavy energy penalties associated with solvent regeneration. However, to be considered competitive with traditional technologies (i.e., MEA capture), these sorbents must exhibit a high CO2 loading capacity and high CO2/N2 selectivity. It has been reported that ultramicroporous character and surface nitrogen functionality are of great importance to the enhancement of CO2 capacity and CO2/N2 selectivity. However, the role of pore size in combination with surface functionality in the enhancement of these properties remains unclear. To investigate these effects, grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations were carried out on pure and N-functionalized 3-layer graphitic slit-pore models and compared to experimental results for two high performing materials reported elsewhere. We show that the quaternary, pyridinic, and especially the oxidized pyridinic group lend to enhanced performance, with the latter providing exceptional CO2 loading (4.31 mmol g−1) and CO2/N2 selectivity (138.3:1). Increasing surface nitrogen content resulted in enhanced loading and excellent CO2/N2 selectivity (45.8:1–55.9:1), provided that the sorbent has significant ultramicroporous character. Additionally, we elucidate a threshold pore width, under which N-functionalization becomes increasingly influential on performance parameters, and show how this threshold changes with application (PC vs. NGCC capture). Finally, we propose that an alternative functionality – the nitroso group – may be responsible for the enhanced performance of some recent materials reported in the literature.
Severity of Pedestrian Crashes at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings

The objective of this research was to quantify the impacts of various factors on three different severity levels of pedestrian injuries sustained in crashes reported at highway-rail grade crossings. This research utilized the 2007-2010 crash and crossing inventory data. The three crash severity levels of pedestrians’ injuries were: no injury, injury, and fatality.Data analysis showed that pedestrian fatalities were associated with higher train speeds and with female pedestrians. Highway-rail grade crossings with a greater number of crossing lanes and those equipped with standard flashing light signals were associated with a lower likelihood of pedestrian fatalities.
First Light: exploring the Spectra of High-Redshift Galaxies in the Renaissance Simulations

We present synthetic observations for the first generations of galaxies in the Universe and make predictions for future deep field observations for redshifts greater than 6. Due to the strong impact of nebular emission lines and the relatively compact scale of HII regions, high resolution cosmological simulations and a robust suite of analysis tools are required to properly simulate spectra. We created a software pipeline consisting of FSPS, Hyperion, Cloudy and our own tools to generate synthetic IR observations from a fully three-dimensional arrangement of gas, dust, and stars. Our prescription allows us to include emission lines for a complete chemical network and tackle the effect of dust extinction and scattering in the various lines of sight. We provide spectra, 2-D binned photon imagery for both HST and JWST IR filters, luminosity relationships, and emission line strengths for a large sample of high redshift galaxies in the Renaissance Simulations. Our resulting synthetic spectra show high variability between galactic halos with a strong dependence on stellar mass, metallicity, gas mass fraction, and formation history. Halos with the lowest stellar mass have the greatest variability in [OIII]/H$\beta$, [OIII] and CIII] while halos with higher masses are seen to show consistency in their spectra and [OIII] equivalent widths (EW) between 1A and 10A. Viewing angle accounted for three-fold difference in flux due to the presence of ionized gas channels in a halo. Furthermore, JWST color plots show a discernible relationship between redshift, color, and mean stellar age.
Massive implicit feedback: Organizing Search logs into topic maps for collaborative surfing

Current search engines heavily emphasize on direct querying which tends to work well only for simple information needs such as navigational queries. However, direct querying may not support complex information needs such as exploratory search well [4, 11] since users’ interactions are mainly limited to submitting a query, viewing results, and reformulating queries [1]. As a complementary way of information seeking with querying, browsing can be very useful for exploratory search or information foraging [5]. Unfortunately, with the current search engines, browsing is mostly limited to following hyperlinks or navigating through structures consisting of a fixed set of categories or other metadata available [4, 2]. We have been developing a new collaborative surfing system to enable users to go beyond hyperlinks to browse flexibly for ad hoc information needs. Our main idea is to view search logs as information footprints left by users in navigating in the information space and organize these footprints into a multi-resolution topic map. The map makes it possible for users to navigate flexibly in the information space by following the footprints left by other users. As new users use the map for navigation, they leave more footprints, which can then be used to enrich and refine the map dynamically and continuously for the benefit of future users. Thus, by turning search logs into a topic map, we can establish a sustainable infrastructure to facilitate users to surf the information space in a collaborative manner. Preliminary experiment results show that the topic map is effective in helping users to satisfy exploratory information needs [8]. In the following, we describe our system in more detail and discuss its potential impact on understanding users for improving information seeking.
Organ motion in pediatric high-risk neuroblastoma patients using four-dimensional computed tomography.

Purpose/objective(s) High-risk neuroblastoma (HR-NBL) requires multimodality treatment, including external beam radiation of the primary tumor site following resection. Radiotherapy planning must take into account motion of the target and adjacent normal anatomy, both of which are poorly understood in the pediatric population, and which may differ significantly from those in adults. Methods/materials We examined 4DCT scans of 15 consecutive pediatric patients treated for HR-NBL, most with tumors in the abdominal cavity. The diaphragm and organs at risk were contoured at full inhale, full exhale, and on free-breathing scans. Maximum displacement of organs between full inhale and full exhale was measured in the anterior, posterior, superior, inferior, left, and right directions, as was displacement of centroids in the A/P, S/I, and L/R axes. Contours on free-breathing scans were compared to those on 4D scans. Results Maximum displacement was along the S/I axis, with the superior aspects of organs moving more than the inferior, implying organ compression with respiration. Liver and spleen exhibited the largest motion, which correlated strongly with the S/I motion of the diaphragm. The maximum organ motion observed in the abdomen and thorax were 4.5 mm and 7.4 mm, respectively, while maximum diaphragm displacement was 5.7 mm. Overall findings mirrored observations in adults, but with smaller magnitudes, as expected. No consistent margins could be added to the free-breathing scans to encompass the motion determined using 4DCT. Conclusions Organ motion within the pediatric abdomen and pelvis is similar to that observed in adults, but with smaller magnitude. Precise margins to accommodate motion are patient-specific, underscoring the need for 4DCT scanning when possible.
Enumeration and Identification of Staphylococcus aureus in Chicken Salads

We will practice enumerating Staphylococcus aureus in chicken salads by inoculating, dilution technique, and spread plating onto selective medium. The presumptive colonies will be identified using Gram staining, catalase test, coagulase test, and latex agglutination test.
Neonatal Eating Outcome Assessment: tool development and inter-rater reliability.

Aim To define the process of tool development and revision for the Neonatal Eating Outcome (NEO) Assessment and to report preliminary inter-rater reliability. Methods Tool development consisted of a review of the literature and observations of feeding performance among 178 preterm infants born ≤32 weeks gestation. 11 neonatal therapy feeding experts provided structured feedback to establish content validity and define the scoring matrix. The tool was then used to evaluate feeding in 50 preterm infants born ≤32 weeks of gestation and 50 full-term infants. Multiple revisions occurred at each stage of development. Finally, six neonatal occupational therapists participated in reliability testing by independently scoring five videos of oral feeding of preterm infants using version 4 of the tool. Results The intraclass correlation for the 'prefeeding' score was 0.71 (0.37-0.96), and the intraclass correlation for the 'total' score was 0.83 (0.56-0.98). Conclusion The 'total' score had good to excellent reliability. Fleiss' Kappa scores for all 18 scorable items ranged from slight agreement to moderate agreement. Items with the lowest Kappa scores were revised, and additional feedback from therapists engaged in reliability testing was incorporated, resulting in final version 5.
CRISPR‐Cas Expands Dynamic Range of Gene Expression From T7RNAP Promoters

Reducing leaky gene expression is critical for improving protein yield of recombinant bacteria and stability of engineered cellular circuits in synthetic biology. Leaky gene expression occurs when a genetic promoter is not fully repressed, leading to unintended protein synthesis in the absence of stimuli. Existing work have devised specific molecular strategies for reducing leaky gene expression of each promoter. In contrast, we describe a repurposed, modular CRISPRi system that attenuates leaky gene expression using a series of single-guide RNAs targeting the PT7/LacO1 promoter. Furthermore, we demonstrate the efficacy of CRISPRi to significantly increase the dynamic range of T7 RNA Polymerase (T7RNAP) promoters. In addition, we demonstrate that the CRISPRi system can be applied to enhance growth of bacteria that suffer from leaky expression of a toxic protein. Our work establishes a new application of CRISPRi in genomic engineering to improve the control of recombinant gene expression. The approach is potentially generalizable to other gene expression system by changing the single-guide RNAs.
Chapter 8 – Nanocomposites prepared by sol-gel methods: Synthesis and characterization

Publisher Summary Sol-gel methods are commonly used to prepare nanocomposite materials because these conversions occur readily with a wide variety of precursors and can be conducted at or near room temperature. A wide variety of host matrices can be formed under very mild conditions with relatively inexpensive reagents using sol-gel chemistry. Conversion of a sol to a gel using hydrolysis and intermolecular condensation reactions occurs, under proper conditions, even for complex reactant mixtures affording convenient syntheses of host matrices having complex compositions. Formation of the nanoparticulate phase is achieved most commonly through reduction processes for elemental particles or precipitation reactions for chemical substances. A variety of methods are available to initiate particle formation. Synthetic control of nanoparticle size has been, and remains, a challenge in sol-gel processing. Although control of host matrix pore size gives some degree of control of nanoparticle size, convenient routes to monodisperse nanocomposites are still needed. Given the dependence of average nanoparticle size and particle size distribution on the time and temperature of thermal treatment, less energy intensive synthetic strategies are needed to achieve highly monodisperse nanocomposites.
Vaccines for the Paramyxoviruses and Pneumoviruses: Successes, Candidates, and Hurdles

Human parainfluenza viruses (family Paramyxoviridae), human metapneumovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (family Pneumoviridae) infect most infants and children within the first few years of life and are the etiologic agents for many serious acute respiratory illnesses. These virus infections are also associated with long-term diseases that impact quality of life, including asthma. Despite over a half-century of vaccine research, development, and clinical trials, no vaccine has been licensed to date for the paramyxoviruses or pneumoviruses for the youngest infants. In this study, we describe the recent reclassification of paramyxoviruses and pneumoviruses into distinct families by the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses. We also discuss some past unsuccessful vaccine trials and some currently preferred vaccine strategies. Finally, we discuss hurdles that must be overcome to support successful respiratory virus vaccine development for the youngest children.
Radioimmunotherapy of lymphoma

The development of radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) was a significant advance in the use of these molecules for the treatment of human neoplasms. Unlabeled murine MoAbs had proven to have modest activity against human neoplasms due to (1) the relatively poor interactions between the antibody Fc receptors and human effector cells, and (2) the lack of uniform antigen expression within tumors [1,2]. The combination of toxic radioisotopes with a specific targeted MoAb delivery system provided a novel way to overcome these obstacles. A variety of clinically significant responses have now been witnessed. In this chapter we will discuss the therapeutic trials conducted previously to illustrate the features of radiolabeled immunoconjugates, mention new obstacles to successful incorporation of radiolabeled MoAbs into standard oncologic therapy, and suggest future directions that may lead to enhanced effectiveness of radioimmunoconjugates.
Listening to orgasm: hearing pleasure sounds in the normative noise

This essay queries the limits and possibilities of hearing women’s sexual pleasure amidst the noise of the orgasmic imperative. I underpin this query with the assumption that listening (a complex f...
Grxcr1 Promotes Hair Bundle Development by Destabilizing the Physical Interaction between Harmonin and Sans Usher Syndrome Proteins.

Morphogenesis and mechanoelectrical transduction of the hair cell mechanoreceptor depend on the correct assembly of Usher syndrome (USH) proteins into highly organized macromolecular complexes. Defects in these proteins lead to deafness and vestibular areflexia in USH patients. Mutations in a non-USH protein, glutaredoxin domain-containing cysteine-rich 1 (GRXCR1), cause non-syndromic sensorineural deafness. To understand the deglutathionylating enzyme function of GRXCR1 in deafness, we generated two grxcr1 zebrafish mutant alleles. We found that hair bundles are thinner in homozygous grxcr1 mutants, similar to the USH1 mutants ush1c (Harmonin) and ush1ga (Sans). In vitro assays showed that glutathionylation promotes the interaction between Ush1c and Ush1ga and that Grxcr1 regulates mechanoreceptor development by preventing physical interaction between these proteins without affecting the assembly of another USH1 protein complex, the Ush1c-Cadherin23-Myosin7aa tripartite complex. By elucidating the molecular mechanism through which Grxcr1 functions, we also identify a mechanism that dynamically regulates the formation of Usher protein complexes.
Second-language Acquisition in High School Physical Education Archery Class

This article outlines a teaching method for learning a second language while practicing archery skills that is aligned with the national standards in both content areas.
Clinical Trials Targeting Metabolism in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Metabolic derangement is a pathologic feature of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).1 Metabolic abnormalities such as aerobic glycolysis and impaired fatty acid oxidation are consistently observed across different animal models of PAH. Importantly, altered metabolism in human PAH and experimental models is not restricted to the pulmonary vasculature, raising the possibility that PAH is a systemic metabolic disease.2 For example, lipid accumulation is present in the myocardium and skeletal muscle of humans with PAH and the right ventricle exhibits increased glucose uptake compared with matched controls. As a result of these observations, targeting metabolic dysfunction has emerged as an important therapeutic approach for patients with PAH.3 This article will review key aspects of metabolism in PAH, existing metabolic data in humans, and will describe completed and ongoing clinical trials targeting metabolic dysfunction in patients with PAH.
The Genetic Basis of Flower Color Differences in Nicotiana tabacum

Nicotiana tabacum L accessions vary in flower color from light pink to magenta. The differences in flower color are attributable to differences in anthocyanin content. To determine the genetic basis of flower color differences, we generated transcriptomes and quantified transcript levels of flavonoid biosynthetic genes in four N. tabacum accessions and their diploid progenitors. High expression ratios of the flavonol synthase (FLS) gene to dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR) gene are found in light-pink flowers, suggesting that competition between the FLS and DFR enzymes for the same substrates may drive the flux of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway toward producing flavonols at the expense of anthocyanins, resulting in light-pink flowers. The high FLS:DFR expression ratio appears to be attributable to DFR activation later in development in light-pink flowers.
Stochastic single-particle based simulations of cellular signaling embedded into computational models of cellular morphology.

Cells exhibit a wide variety of different shapes. This diversity poses a challenge for computational approaches that attempt to shed light on the role cell geometry plays in regulating cell physiology and behavior. The simulation platform Simmune is capable of embedding the computational representation of signaling pathways into realistic models of cellular morphology. However, Simmune's current approach to account for the cell geometry is limited to deterministic models of reaction-diffusion processes, thus providing a coarse-grained description that ignores stochastic local fluctuations. Here we present an extension of Simmune that removes these limitations by employing an alternative computational representation of cellular geometry that is smooth and grid-free. These features make it possible to incorporate a fully stochastic, spatially resolved description of the cellular biochemistry. The alternative computational representation is compatible with Simmune's current approach for specifying molecular interactions. This means that a modeler using the approach needs to create a model of cellular biochemistry and morphology only once to be able to use it for both, deterministic and stochastic simulations.
Comparison of two arterial catheter blood sampling methods for blood gas analysis and activated partial thromboplastin time

Objective To investigate the difference of blood sampling methods from heparin maintained arterial catheter for blood gas analysis and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT).Methods Conventional and modified arterial catheter blood sampling methods were applied at the same period of time to 30 cases with arterial pressure measurement.3-5 ml blood containing heparin was disposed in conventional method.No blood was disposed for the modified method.The samples were used for blood gas analysis and APTT.The operation time of the sampling by two methods were compared.Results No significant difference was seen for the blood gas analysis and APTT from the blood samples collected by two different methods (P ＞ 0.05).The operation time of modified method was significantly shorter than that of the conventional method [(187.87 ±15.05)s vs (275.73 ±14.75)s,t =22.84;P＜0.01].Conclusions Arterial catheter blood sampling from heparin maintained blood by the modified method gives accurate clinical laboratory results,in this case,the blood gas analysis and the APTT.No blood is wasted and the operation time for the nurses is reduced.The modified method could be an alternative to the conventional blood collection method. Key words: Blood gas analysis; Arterial catheter; Blood sampling; Activated partial thromboplastin time
Mr. Potato Head fights food waste: The effect of anthropomorphism in promoting ugly food

Abstract Ugly food refers to vegetables and fruits that are oddly shaped, colored, or sized. Ugly food is typically thrown out, which represents a significant amount of food waste. This study aimed to identify effective ways to promote ugly food consumption by analyzing the relative persuasiveness of advertisements in terms of three variables: anthropomorphism (anthropomorphic vs. non-anthropomorphic), temporal framing (near future vs. distant future), and message framing (loss vs. gain). The results showed that anthropomorphism and distant future messages have a significant positive influence on consumers’ purchase intentions toward ugly food. This finding confirms that there is a significant matching effect between temporal distance and loss-/gain-framed messages on consumers’ purchase intentions toward ugly food. Additionally, this matching effect between temporal distance and loss-/gain-framed messages varies depending on the level of anthropomorphism present in the messages. The study also provides implications for effective marketing communication in the context of ugly food promotion in the foodservice industry.
Anthropogenic chemicals and their impacts on microbes living in buildings

Humans spend the vast majority of their time indoors where complex interactions occur among indoor anthropogenic chemicals, indoor microbiomes and human occupants. This paper summarizes previous work addressing interactions between anthropogenic chemicals associated with indoor household products and building materials, and microorganisms found within the built environment. Water availability seems to determine the extent to which microbes are impacted by anthropogenic chemicals, since desiccation remains one of the primary stressors regulating microbial viability indoors. Several lines of evidence suggest that both fungi and bacteria are capable of transforming biodegradable ingredients originating from various products used indoors when water is present. Previous research also establishes positive and significant correlations between anthropogenic chemicals that are antimicrobial and antibiotic resistance gene abundance. As researchers move towards understanding complex indoor environments as well as the role of anthropogenic chemicals in shaping microbiomes, in situ activities associated with the viable indoor microbial population merit more attention.
Punishment to Support: The Need to Align Animal Control Enforcement with the Human Social Justice Movement

Due to inherent and systemic biases, animal control policies in the US are over-enforced in low-income communities and communities of color, resulting in worse health outcomes for the pets in these communities. These outcomes are exemplified by higher confiscation, relinquishment, and euthanasia rates, lower return to owner rates, and extended lengths of stay in animal shelters. The Humane Communities framework operationalizes One Health and One Welfare concepts to comprehensively address issues of inequity at both the individual and structural levels to improve animal control policy and outcomes. Person-centered and culturally competent policies and programs that focus resources on addressing root causes of pet health and welfare issues as opposed to an emphasis on code enforcement can create more positive, scalable, and sustainable improvements in human, other animal, and environmental health and welfare outcomes. This shift from punishment-oriented approaches to support-based models of animal control aligns the animal welfare field with the modern human social justice movement.
Soil Contamination Assessments from Drilling Fluids and Produced Water Using Combined Field and Laboratory Investigations: A Case Study of Arkansas, USA.

Rotary drilling for oil and natural gas uses drilling fluid for lubrication of the bit, to seal off unstable shale layers, and floating out rock cuttings. Drilling fluid is a water–clay chemical mixture. Produced water is a water–sand chemical mixture. Land farming is a common disposal technique of drilling fluid and produced water. In the land farming process, amendments of fluid are repeatedly applied to the soil surface. Plant growth and soil chemical properties may be altered by additions of drilling fluid, because of alkalinity, salinity, trace elements, and petroleum residue contained in waste. The objective of this study was to determine the change in soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total nitrogen and carbon, and extractable nutrient levels following the land application of drilling fluid and produced water. The study was a comparison of three plots with similar soil properties and conditions. The three study plots had various levels of drilling fluid and produced water applications. The data show a major difference from field-to-field for EC, Na, and Cl levels. The EC and salt levels increased with additional applications of drilling fluid and produced water. The percent total nitrogen values and plant available P levels were very low in all fields. High EC and salt values, coupled with low N and P levels, would be detrimental to plant growth and development. To successfully vegetate this land-farm site, application of N and P fertilizer would be required. This study help to give a better understanding of practical ways to land-farm drilling fluid and produced water in a fashion that both minimizes environmental issues and is economically feasible in Arkansas. Thus, this research will provide important information for soil contamination management and contributes on understanding of the responses of soil properties to drilling fluid and produced water in the future.
A Two-Layer Real-Time Optimization Control Strategy for Integrated Battery Thermal Management and HVAC System in Connected and Automated HEVs

With the increase in the capacity and power rating of batteries in today's HEVs and EVs, the battery thermal management (BTM) system bears growing importance in vehicle safety and efficiency. A practical BTM system is commonly coupled with the passenger cabin heating-ventilation-air-conditioning (HVAC) system, which makes a major energy consumer and a challenging control object. Thanks to the connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technology, predictions of the vehicle speed profile and power trajectory can be obtained, providing the possibility for predictive control of the BTM and HVAC coupled system in order to maintain battery safety, passenger comfort, and to reduce energy consumption. However, the tradeoff among higher energy saving potential and wider control range from a long and sparse horizon, and higher accuracy from a short and dense horizon is inevitable in the conventional predictive control. In this paper, a two-layer predictive control strategy for warm/hot weather is proposed to address the aforementioned tradeoff. The upper layer controller firstly plans the optimized battery temperature trajectory according to the look-ahead speed preview and battery power profiles provided by the CAV network and the integrated BTM and HVAC system efficiency surface from off-line data. Then the lower layer model predictive controller tracks the planned trajectory and cabin temperature reference while enforcing the energy consumption optimization. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed strategy exhibits accurate battery and passenger cabin temperature reference tracking while achieving up to 10.47% HVAC energy saving comparing to a baseline control strategy with UDDS profile and typical driving conditions. Implementation of the proposed strategy on a real-time vehicle emulator based on rapid control prototyping (RCP) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) platforms demonstrates the real-world implementation capability of the proposed two-layer framework.
Identification of New Rare Variants Associated With Familial Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases by Deep Sequencing of Linked Loci.

Context Genetic risk factors play a major role in the pathoetiology of autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD). So far, only common risk variants have been identified in AITD susceptibility genes. Recently, rare genetic variants have emerged as important contributors to complex diseases, and we hypothesized that rare variants play a key role in the genetic susceptibility to AITD. Objective To identify new rare variants that are associated with familial AITD. Design We performed deep sequencing of 3 previously mapped AITD-linked loci (10q, 12q, and 14q) in a dataset of 34 families in which AITD clustered (familial AITD). Results We identified 13 rare variants, located in the inositol polyphosphate multikinase (IPMK) gene, that were associated with AITD (i.e. both Graves' disease [GD] and Hashimoto's thyroiditis [HT]); two rare variants, within the dihydrolipoamide S-succinyltransferase (DLST) and zinc-finger FYVE domain-containing protein (ZFYVE1) genes, that were associated with GD only; and 3 rare variants, within the phosphoglycerate mutase 1 pseudogene 5 (PGAM1P5), LOC105369879, and methionine aminopeptidase 2 (MetAP2) genes, that were associated with HT only. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that, in addition to common variants, rare variants also contribute to the genetic susceptibility to AITD. We identified new rare variants in 6 AITD susceptibility genes that predispose to familial AITD. Of them three genes, IPMK, ZFYVE1, and MetAP2, are mechanistically involved in immune pathways and have been previously shown to be associated with autoimmunity. These genes predispose to thyroid autoimmunity and may in the future serve as potential therapeutic targets.
Integrative Review of Exercise at Altitude during Pregnancy

Many competitive and elite athletes continue to train throughout their pregnancies and many visit or live at altitude. The purpose of this integrative review is to synthesize, analyze and critique published studies regarding the safety of serious recreational or elite athletes exercising at altitude while pregnant. Seven databases were searched, and 157 documents were located, which were screened for appropriateness and reduced to seven articles that met the criteria. The studies were analyzed based on maternal and fetal outcomes. Current recommendations for exercising at altitude were based on sedentary individuals who frequently did not have the expected physiological responses based on research on pregnancy and altitude. It is unknown whether competitive and elite athletes would have similar responses to exercise at altitude. More research on exercise at altitude on individuals with a variety of fitness levels is needed.
Essay: searching for Mandela: the saint as a sinner who keeps on trying

I first visited South Africa in 2000, when I was working with the United Nations International Leadership Academy. After that, I traveled to South Africa on many other occasions. For 6 years, I sat on the board of The Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation. During that time, I had the opportunity to meet Archbishop Tutu and a number of people who were involved the anti-apartheid movement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In 2009, I was invited to be a visiting professor at the University of Fort Hare’s Centre for Leadership Ethics in Africa. Fort Hare is the oldest black University in South Africa. It is Nelson Mandela’s alma mater and home to the African National Congress (ANC) archive.
Copy number analysis and allele quantitation by Molecular Inversion Probe (MIP) on GeneChip arrays

4210 Copy number change in genomic DNA is a hallmark of cancer cells. These changes include polyploidy, deletions, amplifications. In addition there are changes leading to Loss Of Heterozygosity (LOH) without any copy number change. The identification of these changes may elucidate targets for drug treatment, shed light on the process of tumor progression, and define markers that can predict the patient prognosis and pharmaceutical response. Many chip based technology, including Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) CGH, cDNA CGH, and oligonucleotide CGH have been developed in recent years to address the issues. We here describe a new approach for copy number analysis based on the Molecular Inversion Probe (MIP) technology. Advantages of this technology include; 1.Sensitivity: Detection of single copy changes. 2.Customization: Ability to focus on the most relevant genomic segments 3.Preservation of allele information: LOH and other disturbances in the allele ratio can be detected 4.Ability to work with FFPE (formalin fixed paraffin embedded) samples: Given the small probe footprint, degraded samples can work successfully with MIP. We have designed a panel about 17,000 probes focusing on SNPs across the genome as well as in 1,200 cancer related genes. In addition to the detection of large genomic abnormalities, small aberrations in the candidate genes can be detected. Using this panel of probes we have identified copy number and allele ratio abnormalities in cell lines from normal individuals. In this presentation we will report high degree amplification and deletions in tumor samples.
Suppression of Acoustic Streaming in Tapered Pulse Tubes

In a pulse tube cryocooler, the gas in the pulse tube can be thought of as an insulating piston, transmitting pressure and velocity from the cold heat exchanger to the hot end of the pulse tube. Unfortunately, convective heat transfer can carry heat from the hot end to the cold end and reduce the net cooling power. Here, we discuss one driver of such convection: steady acoustic streaming as generated by interactions between the boundary and the oscillating pressure, velocity, and temperature.
Mutagenesis of Pseudomonas exotoxin in identification of sequences responsible for the animal toxicity.

Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE) is composed of three structural domains that are responsible for cell recognition, membrane translocation, and ADP-ribosylation. The deletion of the cell recognition domain (domain Ia) of PE results in a molecule that does not bind to target cells and has low toxicity in mice (Hwang, J., FitzGerald, D.J.P., Adhya, S., and Pastan, I. (1987) Cell 48, 129-136). To determine the specific sequences required for cell binding as well as cell and animal toxicity, a series of domain I mutants was constructed. Using a T7 promoter-based expression system and an OmpA signal sequence, large amounts of the various mutant toxins were secreted into the periplasm from which they were easily purified in milligram quantities. The data indicate that amino acids at positions 246, 247, and 249 have an important role in the toxicity of PE. Conversion of these amino acids to glutamic acid or glycine but not to lysine or deletion of amino acids 241-250 diminishes the toxicity of PE. When combined with a mutation at position 57 a molecule is created that has very low toxicity against cultured cells or in mice.
Probe Tests: A Strategy for Growing Automated Tests around Legacy Code

Legacy code lacking unit tests is difficult to refactor. Without unit tests all changes to the code are dangerous. On the other hand in its unrefactored state the code lacks the modularity necessary for adding unit tests. Therefore, use Probe Tests. Probe tests are assertions placed in code which instead of crashing the program on failure simply log their success or failure to a file. The logged success or failure can then be presented through any xUnit framework. Probe tests balance these forces: time to recover from test failure, ease of parsing log files, difficulty of testing poorly refactored code, separation of production and test code.
Abstract P043: National Trends in Hypertension Control 1999-2012 and Projected Impact on Incident Stroke by Age, Sex, and Race: The Cardiovascular Disease Policy Model

Background: Blood pressure (BP) control rates have improved over the decade, as have stroke rates. We determined the impact of secular BP trends on national stroke rates by age, sex, and specifically for US Blacks. Methods: We estimated national BP distributions from NHANES and quantified changes from ‘99-‘04 to ‘07-‘12 by age (35-64, 65-84 years), sex, and separately for Blacks. We used these as inputs to the Cardiovascular Disease Policy Model (CVDPM), a population-based computer simulation of CVD nationally. CVDPM data inputs include the Census, vital statistics, NHANES, national hospitalization data, and Framingham among others. CVDPM has been adapted to US Blacks (CVDPM-AA) using these sources as well as cohorts including ARIC and REGARDS. Both models are calibrated to reproduce event rates in the baseline year and outcomes of intervention studies. We projected changes in incident strokes attributable to changes in BP distribution and also modeled universal BP control (systolic BP Results: Among older US adults, the prevalence of systolic BP ≥140 mmHg decreased over the period (Table). Among younger adults, improvements in BP control were only observed in all US and Black women, not US or Black men. The projected benefit from prevented stroke attributable to improvements in BP control is substantial for all older adults and for younger women, and the magnitude is particularly striking for Blacks. Stroke reduction attributable to BP control is not observed in younger men. Universal BP control is projected to have a large impact on incident stroke reduction, at least twice the impact estimated from the secular trends in BP reduction from 1999-2012 in most groups. Conclusions: Recent improvements in BP control are projected to contribute to stroke prevention in all groups in the US, except men younger than 65 years. Additional hypertension control efforts will yield considerable additional benefits in stroke prevention.
Verification of delayed-reset domino circuits using ATACS

This paper discusses the application of the timing analysis tool ATACS to the high performance, self-resetting and delayed-reset domino circuits being designed at IBM's Austin Research Laboratory. The tool, which was originally developed to deal with asynchronous circuits, is well suited to the self-resetting style since internally, a block of self-resetting or delayed-reset domino logic is asynchronous. The circuits are represented using timed event/level structures. These structures correspond very directly to gate level circuits, making the translation from a transistor schematic to a TEL structure straightforward. The state-space explosion problem is mitigated using an algorithm based on partially ordered sets (POSETs). Results on a number of circuits from the recently published guTS (gigahertz unit Test Site) processor from IBM indicate that modules of significant size can be verified with ATACS using a level of abstraction that preserves the interesting timing properties of the circuit. Accurate circuit level verification allows the designer to include less margin in the design, which can lead to increased performance.
Subtle immunologic abnormalities in four boys with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.

Abstract Four boys with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis did not express delayed responses to six common skin-test antigens. Skin allografts were rejected more slowly than normal, and contact se...
The Religious Varieties of Ethnic Presence: A Comparison between a Taiwanese Immigrant Buddhist Temple and an Evangelical Christian Church

This study deals with the seeming paradox of why an other-worldly Taiwanese immigrant Buddhist temple is more publicly engaged in American society than an inner-worldly Taiwanese immigrant Christian church. Based upon an ethnographic study of a Taiwanese immigrant Buddhist temple and an evangelical Christian church, this article shows how a combination of religious ideals, outreach strategies, and representations of racial and religious difference shape their respective types of public engagement. The temple's inner-worldly orientation of Buddhist practice leads it to public interaction through charity while the church's evangelical ideal of exclusive salvation leads it to engagement through personal evangelism. Because of the linguistic and cultural obstacles that immigrants face when evangelizing to those outside their own ethnic community, Buddhist outreach strategies of charity are more culturally transferable to the wider society than evangelical Christian strategies. Furthermore, Buddhists are construed as religious foreigners and face pressures to prove their American-ness and engage in acts of public relations that the immigrant Christians do not
K meson modification in hot hadronic matter may be detected via φ meson decays

Abstract We suggest an experimentally detectable signal for K meson modification in hot hadronic matter, produced in high energy collisions. Our estimates show that even at the most dilute stages of matter evolution, at which pion density is as low as 0.1–0.2 fm −3 , this effect increases the φ width Γ φ by the factor 2–3. High resolution measurements of the φ width and/or the branching ratio to KK/e + e - modes are sensitive to this effect.
Formation of a gated channel by a ligand-specific transport protein in the bacterial outer membrane

The ferric enterobactin receptor (FepA) is a high-affinity ligand-specific transport protein in the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. Deletion of the cell-surface ligand-binding peptides of FepA generated mutant proteins that were incapable of high-affinity uptake but that instead formed nonspecific, passive channels in the outer membrane. Unlike native FepA, these pores acted independently of the accessory protein TonB, which suggests that FepA is a gated porin and that TonB acts as its gatekeeper by facilitating the entry of ligands into the FepA channel. The sequence homology among TonB-dependent proteins suggests that all ligand-specific outer membrane receptors may function by this gated-porin mechanism.
On singular integral equations and fundamental solutions of poroelasticity

Abstract This paper presents a unified formulation of the various singular integral equations used in the boundary element methods (BEM) for the solution of linear, quasi-static, anisotropic poroelasticity. In particular, a derivation is provided that connects the "direct method" with the "indirect methods". The presentation begins with an alternative derivative of the time and space dependent reciprocal integral. The Somigliana-type integral equations for the direct BEM are first constructed. By summing integral equations representing an interior and an exterior domain problem, the Somigliana (displacement discontinuity) and Volterra (stress discontinuity) type dislocation equations for indirect BEM are obtained. An extension to the edge dislocation method is discussed. These stress and displacement discontinuity equations are then combined to construct a symmetric Galerkin integral equation system. Through such construction, many intriguing connections among Green|s functions of fluid source, dipole, dilatation, fluid body force, total body force, and displacement discontinuity are revealed. Finally, a complete compilation of fundamental solutions for the isotropic case is provided.
Raman studies of nucleic acids VI. Conformational structures of tRNAfMet, tRNAVal and tRNAPhe2☆

Abstract Laser-excited Raman spectra of tRNA fMet , tRNA Val and tRNA Phe 2 from Escherichia coli indicate that each tRNA has a similar conformation in aqueous solution. The spectra of tRNA fMet and tRNA Val show further that their specific base-paired and base-stacked secondary structures are consistent with the proposed clover-leaf models. The onset of melting in tRNA fMet and tRNA Val occurs at about 40°C. At 70°C all base pairs are broken. Above 70°C and up to 90°C, significant order is retained in the tRNA backbones and appreciable stacking of G residues persists. In the presence of a 3-fold molar excess of Mg 2+ , the onset of melting occurs at about 60°C. Comparison of Raman spectra of tRNA and rRNA reveals that the latter molecules have a more ordered ribose-phosphate backbone and contain more A but less G residues in stacked configurations at 32°C.
Dielectrically induced sensitivity enhancements in electro-optic field sensors

The sensitivity of an electro-optic (EO) field sensor depends inversely on the dielectric constant of the nonlinear crystal. In EO sensors based on lithium niobate the effective value of this dielectric constant is affected by dielectric relaxation effects and is identified with its smaller, high-frequency component. Because of this effect, the EO modulation is significantly enhanced, thus improving the field strength sensitivity.
When the body defines the self: Self-concept clarity, internalization, and body image.

Without a clearly defined sense of self, individuals might seek out external sources to provide coherence to their identity. One such external source is society's standards of attractiveness (i.e., thinness for women, muscularity for men). The present research examined the link between self-concept clarity, internalization of societal standards, and body image and dieting concerns. Study 1 (n = 322) showed that lower self-concept clarity predicted a greater degree of internalization of societal standards for women, but not for men. Internalization for women and men predicted body image and dieting concerns, which in turn predicted dieting behavior. Study 2 (n = 175) showed that factors such as conformity and body weight contingency of self-worth mediated the associations that were observed in Study 1. Women's self-concept can play a role in the development of body image problems by making them vulnerable to (or by buffering them against) the internalization of societal standards of attractiveness.