cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dopamine‐β‐Hydroxylase Activity is Necessary for Hypothalamo‐Pituitary‐Adrenal (HPA) Responses to Ether, and Stress‐Induced Facilitation of Subsequent HPA Responses to Acute Ether Emerges as HPA Responses are Inhibited by Increasing Corticosterone (B)

To determine a role of norepinephrine (NE) in stress-induced HPA function, young male rats were treated with diethyldithiocarbamide (DDC) which inhibits dopamine-beta-hydroxylase, the enzyme that synthesizes NE from dopamine (DA). DDC injected 5 h prior to ether stress stimulated ACTH and corticosterone (B) during this time, and there was no further HPA response to ether. To control for elevated B feedback in DDC effects on HPA responses to ether, rats were adrenalectomized (Adx) and replaced with no (0% B), moderate (40% B) and high (80% B) levels of steroid 5 d prior to DDC or saline with ether stress 5 h later; Sham-Adx rats were included. In Adx rats increasing B inhibited thymus weight, median eminence CRF content, pituitary and plasma ACTH. In saline-treated rats, ether 5 h later caused increased CRF content and plasma ACTH in Sham-Adx and Adx, 0% B, increased ACTH in Adx, 40% B, and no response in Adx, 80% B. B treatment did not alter catecholamine content, and DDC treatment reduced NE content in the paraventricular nuclei by 50-60% in all groups. 5 h after DDC, pituitary ACTH was decreased in all rats with B and plasma ACTH was increased in sham-Adx and Adx, 40% B; thus DDC caused significant, prolonged stress which should facilitate subsequent HPA responses to acute stress. There was no HPA response to ether in Sham-Adx, Adx, 0% or 40% B groups, but there was a marked ACTH response to ether in the Adx, 80% B group treated with DDC. We conclude that: 1) the HPA response to ether stress is probably mediated by catecholamines; 2) DDC does not stimulate responses in the HPA axis in the absence of B; and, 3) facilitation of HPA responses to acute stress depends on increased steady-state B signals. Facilitated responses are probably not mediated by catecholamines. The consequence of facilitation is that under conditions of chronic stress and elevated B concentrations, as in depression or anorexia nervosa in man, or adjuvent-induced arthritis in rats, the HPA axis is continually responsive to new stimuli.
Soft Lithographic Approaches to Nanofabrication

This chapter reviews soft lithographic approaches to nanofabrication: that is, the generation and replication of patterns using a polymeric stamp bearing relief features. Soft lithographic methods are playing roles in science and technology where conventional methods of fabrication – for example, those developed for semiconductor manufacturing – are not applicable. This chapter begins by reviewing recent developments in preparing topographic masters and materials for stamps, and then describes methods of using these masters to make patterns by soft lithography. The chapter is organized into four sections, according to classes of methods: (1) printing, in which the stamp transfers an ‘ink’ to a substrate; (2) molding, in which a stamp templates the formation of thermally or ultraviolet (UV)-curable polymeric replicas; (3) phase-shifting edge lithography, using a conformable, transparent phase mask bearing relief features, whose edges form patterns in a film of photoresist upon exposure; and (4) nanoskiving (thin sectioning with an ultramicrotome), in which a topographically patterned epoxy structure supporting a metallic or polymeric film is embedded and sectioned to produce a pattern of nanostructures whose linewidths correspond to the thicknesses of the thin films. This chapter emphasizes materials and structures that are amenable to soft lithography, and the applications enabled by them.
Mobilization Forum: Response to Mcadam, Tarrow, and Tilly. Contentious Maps of Contentious Politics

This essay responds to McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly's synthesis of the field of contentious politics (Mobilization I: 17-34). My intention is to stimulate a dialogue between two competing approaches—the rationalist's collective action research program (CARP), which I favor (Lichbach 1994; 1995; 1996) and the structuralist's synthetic political opportunity theory (SPOT), which McAdam, Tarrow and Tilly advocate. After outlining the basic presuppositions of SPOT and CARP, I criticize the possibility of a grand synthesis in the field of conflict studies or contentious politics by demonstrating the specific tensions of a CARP-SPOT consortium and the general problems of any synthesis. I conclude that we should take McAdam, Tarrow, and Tilly's call for contention in the field of contentious politics more seriously than their call for cumulation in a single crowning achievement, SPOT: We need creative confrontations, which should include well-defined and historically specific combinations, rather than a grand theore...
Evidence for kairomonal influence on selection of host-ambushing sites by adult Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae).

Unfed adult blacklegged ticks Ixodes scapularis Say, were tested under laboratory conditions for behavioral responses to substances rubbed from external glands on legs of white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann). In replicated trials, significantly more female ticks became stationary on portions of vertical glass tubing rubbed with the tarsal gland substances of both bucks and does than on nontreated tubing. This behavior, apparently an arrestant response, was infrequent among males. White-tailed deer urinate upon their tarsal glands, and doe urine also produced an arrestant response among female ticks. Metatarsal gland secretions of bucks elicited no arrestant response in either male or female I. scapularis , but doe metatarsal gland secretions elicited low-level positive responses from both sexes. A low-level arrestant response also was exhibited by females to secretions from the interdigital glands of bucks. In a second bioassay, three times as many females came to rest on the terminal ends of vertical glass rods whose bases were treated with secretions from buck interdigital glands than on rods with nontreated bases. This suggests that interdigital gland secretion influences blacklegged tick climbing behavior. Substances produced by or associated with the leg glands of O. virginianus may therefore serve as kairomones for host-seeking adult I. scapularis; interdigital gland secretions on soil or leaf litter may signal active deer trails, and tarsal gland substances may denote portions of vegetation contacted previously by white-tailed deer. In nature, use of these chemical cues by host-seeking adult I. scapularis may increase the probability of acquiring a suitable host.
The colloidal carbon flocculation test in spinal fluid for the diagnosis of neurosyphilis

Abstract 1.1. In 55 cases with clinical neurosyphilis the total incidence of positive Wassermann and Kahn reactions was identical with that of positive carbon reactions. 2.2. Of 14 untreated cases of neurosyphilis, with one exception, the carbon reaction matched the positivity of the Wassermann and Kahn reactions. 3.3. Of 15 inadequately treated cases of neurosyphilis the Wassermann or Kahn tests were positive eight times, and the carbon test was positive eight times. 4.4. Of 26 adequately treated cases of neurosyphilis the Wassermann or Kahn tests were positive eight times, while the carbon test was positive nine times. 5.5. Of 416 cases without neurosyphilis a false positive Wassermann or Kahn reaction was encountered four times, while a false positive carbon reaction was encountered eight times. 6.6. There is reason to infer that some of the "falsely" positive carbon reactions were positive. 7.7. The integrity of the carbon test is not altered by (a) blood in the spinal fluid (up to 18,500 red cells per c.mm.), (b) standing in a refrigerator for five weeks, and (c) thymolyzing the fluid. 8.8. Contamination of the spinal fluid by actively growing bacteria produces falsely positive carbon reactions. 9.9. The carbon test is positive only when there is complete precipitation of the colloidal carbon leaving an absolutely clear supernatant fluid devoid of any carbon particles. Any other reaction is to be considered negative.
Online multispectral fluorescence lifetime values estimation and overlay onto tissue white-light video frames

Fluorescence lifetime imaging has been shown to be a robust technique for biochemical and functional characterization of tissues and to present great potential for intraoperative tissue diagnosis and guidance of surgical procedures. We report a technique for real-time mapping of fluorescence parameters (i.e. lifetime values) onto the location from where the fluorescence measurements were taken. This is achieved by merging a 450 nm aiming beam generated by a diode laser with the excitation light in a single delivery/collection fiber and by continuously imaging the region of interest with a color CMOS camera. The interrogated locations are then extracted from the acquired frames via color-based segmentation of the aiming beam. Assuming a Gaussian profile of the imaged aiming beam, the segmentation results are fitted to ellipses that are dynamically scaled at the full width of three automatically estimated thresholds (50%, 75%, 90%) of the Gaussian distribution's maximum value. This enables the dynamic augmentation of the white-light video frames with the corresponding fluorescence decay parameters. A fluorescence phantom and fresh tissue samples were used to evaluate this method with motorized and hand-held scanning measurements. At 640x512 pixels resolution the area of interest augmented with fluorescence decay parameters can be imaged at an average 34 frames per second. The developed method has the potential to become a valuable tool for real-time display of optical spectroscopy data during continuous scanning applications that subsequently can be used for tissue characterization and diagnosis.
A simplified theory model for bulk movement of ship-like beams subjected to spherical shockwaves

As a main energy release from underwater explosion,blast can cause local distortion of warship structure,whereas,how the hull will act against shockwave deserves an advanced research. The hull was simplified as a rigid,perfectly plastic uniform beam floating on water. The formula of the wall pressure on the wet surface of the beam was attained and modified according to test data where the fluid-structure interaction was considered. In order to study dynamic response of ship-like beams subjected to underwater explosion located closely under the mid-span of the beam,a hypothesis was put forward that the spherical shockwave spreading on the hull was composed of a series of moving,instantaneous,local plane shockwaves,and the response of the beam subjected to spherical shockwave was equivalent to integral responses due to all the plane shock waves. Based on this simplification,a theoretical method was proposed to describe how the beam acted against underwater explosion at any standoff. Finally,the two models of ship-like beams were used in the tests to verify the proposed method. Results show that the test data basically agree with those of theoretical analysis. During the duration of shockwave loading on the beam,the mid-span of the beam takes a back-and-forth movement. Shockwaves play a smaller role in making beam’s bulk movement than that in causing local distortion.
Dietary hormonal modification of growth, intestinal ATPase, and glucose transport in tilapia

The effect of growth stimulatory and inhibitory dietary applications of hormones [3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3) and 17 alpha-methyltestosterone (MT)] on Na+-K+-adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) activity and glucose transport by upper and lower intestinal brush-border membrane vesicles of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) were characterized. Both enzyme activity and glucose transport were greater in growth-stimulatory treatments and lower in growth-inhibitory treatments than in the control. Growth on stimulatory hormone treatments increased apparent glucose influx kinetics (one-half maximum glucose influx, maximum glucose influx, and apparent diffusion coefficient) in both intestinal segments, whereas inhibitory treatments reduced these parameters in upper intestine but had no effect on these parameters in lower intestine. All hormone treatments increased the stoichiometry of Na-glucose cotransport from 1:1 in the control to 2:1 under test conditions. It is suggested that observed patterns of altered growth are due, in part, to hormonally modified intestinal nutrient transport and Na+-K+-ATPase activities.
Regional response to large-scale emergency events

A widespread emergency event in the United States triggers the activation of a regional emergency operations center that manages a coordinated response to the disaster. Historically, the time-critical decisions made by emergency managers in the face of incomplete information and inadequate historical emergency event data have been guided primarily by their experience. The learning curve for emergency managers, especially novice managers, is steep, and is exacerbated by the complexity and scope of emergency events. This paper proposes a methodology designed to provide emergency managers with locality-specific information and resource allocation recommendations for large-scale event response, creating the foundation for a decision support system that draws on emergency event data. This work is the first to use locally-specific data for an emergency management decision support system. Two major allocation scenarios that influence the number of resources allocated to an event are considered and solutions are suggested to address them. Although the methodology is developed for a mid-sized region, it is generalizable to any region.
Memories of Colonial Modernity: Dogeaters

(1998). Memories of Colonial Modernity: Dogeaters. Amerasia Journal: Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 161-164.
Family Life Coaching: Where Do You Belong?

The field of family life coaching is new, is growing, as is the literature on coaching families. Family life coaches today tend to be found primarily in the areas of relationship, parenting, and specials needs coaching, however, there is a much more broad arena for family life coaching. This chapter showcases how coaching is found in many areas of family life, family and consumer sciences, and the fields of social science, health, and education. Coaches are finding niches in a variety of family life content areas, including health and nutrition, which is a high growing field closely related to family life. Additionally, this chapter showcases research that has been conducted on effective approaches to coaching across the family life spectrum. This chapter provides a short overview of current or recent research studies in the following coaching areas: Youth: ADHD & Academic success Relationship Sexuality Parenting Divorce Special Needs Older Adults Health Nutrition
On the Implications of the Conference Discussions

I have been pleased and even surprised by the amount I have learned from this conference, and hope that this is also true of others. I have come away with a number of new ideas, and it has led me to change some of my previous views. That, to me, is as much as one can ever hope for from such an enterprise. A conference is not an activity which carries out research. It is an occasion which produces the agenda for further research. This is, indeed, what Lord Kaldor suggested in the letter in which he first described the objectives of the proposed conference, and I think it is precisely what it has been able to achieve. Of course, we did not arrive at nor did we intend to produce a set of firm and definitive conclusions. Rather, we sought merely to explore certain areas. Accordingly, let me try to list a few general interim conclusions which must themselves be considered as hypotheses that constitute items on the agenda for further research. By this I mean genuine research, undertaken with an open mind, whose outcome is not known in advance.
Neural Networks in the Lung

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of the pulmonary effects of a specific class of prophlogistic neurotransmitters known as the tachykinins and discusses two homeostatic neurotransmitters—vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and nitric oxide (NO). The chapter discusses the roles of these transmitters in inflammatory obstructive airway disorders in detail. Each class of neurotransmitter is considered separately in the chapter. The chapter focuses on the neural functions that are most closely related to pulmonary inflammation. In this broad category, the nerves that are most commonly considered “inflammatory” in nature are those which respond to stimuli by the release of specific peptide neurotransmitters. Although this class of nerves is not anatomically distinct, the nerve fibers involved are considered peptidergic and the neurotransmitters are termed neuropeptides. Within this class, there are various pulmonary neuropeptides that have both homeostatic and inflammatory roles. The complex neural network of the lung has both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory activities. These activities are not simply related to the specific neurotransmitter in question.
White Coats for Black Lives: Young Voices Within Medicine

The authors reflect on the White Coats for Black Lives (WC4BL) national working group in America which is comprised of medical students who are interested in social justice, and it mentions medical abuses involving Black Americans. Social advocacy in the U.S. is addressed, along with the anguish and mistrust that are associated with America's medical culture. The enrollment of Medicaid and uninsured patients in the U.S. is examined, along with the history of racism in medicine.
Post-Transplantation High Dose Cyclophosphamide As Gvhd Prophylaxis in 9/10 HLA-Matched Unrelated Donors Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Abstract Background: Post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy) is an effective strategy to prevent GVHD after haploidentical or HLA-matched related or unrelated donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Our study aim was to determine its efficacy in HLA-mismatched unrelated donor (MMUD) HSCT. Methods: We included 113 consecutive adult patients with high risk hematological malignancies who underwent one-antigen MMUD (9/10-matched) bone marrow (BM) or peripheral blood (PB) HSCT after myeloablative or reduced-intensity conditioning at our institution from 2009-2013. Outcomes were compared between (a) conventional GVHD group (n=71) that received in-vivo T-cell depletion with ATG, tacrolimus and methotrexate and (b) PTCy group (n=41) that received PTCy (50 mg/kg/day IV on days 3 and 4) with tacrolimus and MMF. After exclusion of 29 patients with isolated HLA-DQ mismatches, a separate analysis was performed in 84 patients with 7/8 HLA-MUD HSCT; 38 patients received PTCy while 46 patients received conventional prophylaxis. Results: Patients in the conventional group were marginally older (median 54 years; range 19-74) than those in the PTCy group (median 50 years; range 20-64). PB was used more frequently as a graft source in the conventional group (38% vs 17%, p=0.02). PTCy group included more patients with HLA class-I mismatches (87.8%) compared to conventional group (56.9%). There were no other differences between the groups. Incidence of grade II-IV (37% vs 36%, p=0.8) or grade III-IV (17% vs 12%, p=0.5) acute GVHD at day 100 post-transplant was not different between the groups. [Figure 1] Incidence of grade II-IV acute GVHD at day 30 was significantly lower after PTCy compared with conventional prophylaxis (0% vs 15%, p In patients with HLA class-I mismatch, PTCy was associated with significantly reduced risk of grade II-IV, but not grade III-IV, acute GVHD at day 30 (p=0.01). However, there were no differences in acute grade II-IV GVHD (HR 1.1, 95% C.I. 0.5-2.5, p=0.7) or acute grade III-IV GVHD (HR 1.5, 95% C.I. 0.4-5.4, p=0.5) by day 100 between the groups. Comparing patients with 7/8-HLA-MUD HSCT, no patient in PTCy group developed acute GVHD at day 30 compared with 8 patients in conventional group (p=0.005). There were no differences in incidence of grade II-IV (HR 1, 95% C.I. 0.5-2.1, p=0.9) or grade III-IV (HR 1.1, 95% C.I. 0.3-3.3, p=0.9) acute GVHD at day 100, chronic GVHD at 6 months (HR 0.8, 95% C.I. 0.2-2.9, p=0.7), 1-year (HR 0.8, 95% C.I. 0.3-2.2, p=0.6) or 2-years (HR 0.7, 95% C.I. 0.2-1.9, p=0.5) between the groups. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that PTCy, tacrolimus and MMF for GVHD prophylaxis is safe and produced similar results as conventional prophylaxis in patients with one antigen HLA-MMUD HSCT. Download : Download high-res image (156KB) Download : Download full-size image Disclosures Alousi: Therakos, Inc: Research Funding.
A disturbance innovation hypothesis: perspectives from human and physical geography

As attention to resilience grows, debates in geography have focused on the relationship between resilience and vulnerability. This discussion raises further questions that geographers may be well positioned to address: what can be done in contexts where vulnerability is desirable, or where resilience is undesirable and where innovation may be called for? Many undesirable systems are resilient, yet strategies to break resilience down and promote innovation are not often discussed. Building on perspectives from human and physical geography, we present a new hypothesis about the relationship between disturbance and innovation. This disturbance innovation hypothesis states that low and high levels of disturbance are associated with the highest levels of innovation while intermediate levels of disturbance are associated with the lowest levels of innovation. By integrating broad perspectives from geography and its related fields, we hope to spur discussion surrounding unwanted resilience, barriers to reform, and strategies for transformation.
Work Load Scheduling For Multi Core Systems With Under-Provisioned Power Delivery

An energy efficient power delivery method for multi-core systems with under-provisioned on-chip voltage regulators has been proposed in literature. The power delivery network is reconfigurable at run-time to meet the varying current demands of the cores exceeding the maximum output current rating of the voltage regulators. In this paper, a real-timeworkload scheduling heuristic is developed that assigns the tasks to the cores such that the total load current consumption of the cores is always less than the total current capability of the under-provisioned on-chip voltage regulators. In addition, the energy-efficient scheduling of the tasks on to the cores ensures that the reconfiguration of the power delivery network is minimized. The heuristic includes DVFS management based on the unique constraints of the under provisioned voltage regulators. The work load scheduler is evaluated on homogeneous and heterogeneous multi-core platforms based on the Exynos 5410 big.LITTLE architecture. The proposed workload scheduler along with the run time voltage regulator clustering algorithm proposed in the literature provides a robust cross-layer power management technique for under-provisioned on-chip power delivery.
Comparative growth rates of cultured marine dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium and the effects of temperature and light

Many dinoflagellate microalgae of the genus Symbiodinium form successful symbioses with a large group of metazoans and selected protists. Yet knowledge of growth kinetics of these endosymbionts and their ecological and evolutionary implications is limited. We used a Bayesian biphasic generalized logistic model to estimate key parameters of the growth of five strains of cultured Symbiodinium, S. microadriaticum (cp-type A194; strain 04-503), S. microadriaticum (cp-type A194; strain CassKB8), S. minutum (cp-type B184; strain Mf 1.05b.01.SCI.01), S. psygmophilum (cp-type B224; strain Mf 11.05b.01) and S. trenchii (cp-type D206; strain Mf 2.2b), grown in four different combinations of temperature and light. Growth kinetics varied among Symbiodinium strains and across treatments. Biphasic growth was especially evident for S. minutum and S. psygmophilum across all treatments. Monophasic growth was more common when final asymptotic densities were relatively low (~ 200 million cells ml-1). All species tended to grow faster and / or reached a higher asymptote at 26°C than at 18°C. The fastest growth was exhibited by S. minutum, with an approximate four-fold increase in estimated cell density after 60 days. The strongest effect of light was seen in S. trenchii, in which increasing light levels resulted in a decrease in initial growth rate, and an increase in asymptotic density, time when growth rate was at its maximum, final growth rate, and maximum growth rate. Results suggest that Symbiodinium species have different photokinetic and thermal optima, which may affect their growth-related nutritional physiology and allow them to modify their response to environmental changes.
Proton Pump Inhibitor Initiation and Withdrawal affects Gut Microbiota and Readmission Risk in Cirrhosis.

Cirrhosis is associated with gut microbial dysbiosis, high readmissions and proton pump inhibitor (PPI) overuse, which could be inter-linked. Our aim was to determine the effect of PPI use, initiation and withdrawl on gut microbiota and readmissions in cirrhosis. Four cohorts were enrolled. Readmissions study: Cirrhotic inpatients were followed throughout the hospitalization and 30/90-days post-discharge. PPI initiation, withdrawal/continuation patterns were analyzed between those with/without readmissions. Cross-sectional microbiota study: Cirrhotic outpatients and controls underwent stool microbiota analysis. Beneficial autochthonous and oral-origin taxa analysis vis-a-vis PPI use was performed. Longitudinal studies: Two cohorts of decompensated cirrhotic outpatients were enrolled. Patients on chronic unindicated PPI use were withdrawn for 14 days. Patients not on PPI were started on omeprazole for 14 days. Microbial analysis for oral-origin taxa was performed pre/post-intervention. Readmissions study: 343 inpatients (151 on admission PPI) were enrolled. 21 were withdrawn and 45 were initiated on PPI resulting in a PPI use increase of 21%. PPIs were associated with higher 30 (p = 0.002) and 90-day readmissions (p = 0.008) independent of comorbidities, medications, MELD and age. Cross-sectional microbiota: 137 cirrhotics (59 on PPI) and 45 controls (17 on PPI) were included. PPI users regardless of cirrhosis had higher oral-origin microbiota while cirrhotics on PPI had lower autochthonous taxa compared to the rest. Longitudinal studies: Fifteen decompensated cirrhotics tolerated omeprazole initiation with an increase in oral-origin microbial taxa compared to baseline. PPIs were withdrawn from an additional 15 outpatients, which resulted in a significant reduction of oral-origin taxa compared to baseline. PPIs modulate readmission risk and microbiota composition in cirrhosis, which responds to withdrawal. The systematic withdrawal and judicious use of PPIs is needed from a clinical and microbiological perspective in decompensated cirrhosis.
Horses and Barn Doors: Evolution of Corporate Guidelines for Internet Usage

Intel's Internet usage policy evolved from paractically non-existant to explicitly defined - all in reaction to changing conditions and security threats. This paper covers the evolution of Intel Internet access policy, a continual struggle to close the barn doors before the horses get out. Throughout the paper, we outline key lessons we have learned during the policy-making process. It discusses Intel's first taste of the Internet, Intel's policy-making process, the open access policy of that period, and the resulting security challenges. It then covers the imposition of a stricter policy and implementing a firewall to enforce that policy. The paper proceeds to describe today's problesm, the majority of which center around Intel peole accessing the Internet. In response to this problem and growing numbers of people wanting to use the Internet, Intel has drawn up explicit corporate guidelines on Internet use. These guidelines are then compared to various Acceptable Use Policies and Netiquette guides. The paper concludes with some additional tasks Intel is planning in order to keep the barn doors closed.
Beyond One-Dimensional Transport

The basic properties of finite-difference methods were explored in Chap. 3 by applying each scheme to simple prototype problems involving advection and diffusion in one spatial dimension. The equations governing wavelike geophysical flows include additional complexities. In particular, the flow may depend on several unknown functions that are related by a system of partial differential equations, the unknowns may be functions of more than two independent variables, and the equations may be nonlinear. In this chapter we will examine some of the additional considerations that arise in the design and analysis of finite-difference schemes for the approximation of these more general problems.
Numerical Aspects for Approximating Governing Equations Using Data

Abstract We present effective numerical algorithms for approximating unknown governing differential equations from measurement data. We employ a set of standard basis functions, e.g., polynomials, to approximate the governing equation with high accuracy. Upon recasting the problem into a function approximation problem, we discuss several important aspects for accurate approximation. Most notably, we discuss the importance of using a large number of short bursts of trajectory data, rather than using data from a single long trajectory. Several options for the numerical algorithms to perform accurate approximation are then presented, along with an error estimate of the final equation approximation. We then present an extensive set of numerical examples of both linear and nonlinear systems to demonstrate the properties and effectiveness of our equation approximation algorithms.
Legitimate visitors and nectar robbers of Aquilegia formosa have different effects on nectar bacterial communities

Author(s): Zemenick, AT; Rosenheim, JA; Vannette, RL | Abstract: Metacommunity structure is strongly influenced by dispersal between habitat patches. Dispersal mode (e.g., active or passively via vector, wind, or water) is recognized to influence metacommunity dynamics, but it is not well understood how within-mode heterogeneity impacts dispersal and community assembly, particularly for microbial communities. Microbes often rely on flower visitors for dispersal among short-lived floral nectar habitats, but it is unclear whether flower visitor guilds (e.g., legitimate visitors vs. larcenists) differentially influence nectar microbial diversity and community structure. We surveyed the community of legitimate nectar foragers and nectar robbers, which damage flowers to obtain floral rewards, of Aquilegia formosa. Then, we evaluated how manipulating access by legitimate nectar foragers, primary nectar robbers, and/or secondary nectar robbers influenced the diversity, species composition, and beta diversity of nectar bacteria within individual flowers. A taxonomically diverse insect community visited A.nformosa, and visitors differentially influenced nectar bacterial community structure at within-flower (local) and among-flower (regional) scales. When legitimate nectar foragers were allowed to access A.nformosa, we observed an increase in bacterial diversity and changes in bacterial species composition such that common nectar bacteria had higher relative abundances. In contrast, effects of natural and simulated robbing had little effect on bacterial alpha diversity, but simulated robbing decreased the relative abundance of common nectar bacteria, and natural nectar robbing events reduced beta diversity of nectar bacteria. This work highlights the importance of visitor identity on microbial diversity and species composition in flowers, and, more broadly, suggests that vectors can differentially influence metacommunity structure.
Pathophysiology of Neuropathic Pain

Cerebral responses to pain are complex and dynamic in nature and in the case of chronic pain, especially neuropathic pain, changes involved are more profound and they are characterized by the involvement of entire pain-related peripheral and central nervous system. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies identified a number of cerebral, cortical, and subcortical structures that are activated during pain stimuli. Many of those structures are also active in patient with neuropathic pain. While no specific functional magnetic resonance imaging studies were done with patients with diabetic neuropathy, result of the studies with various neuropathic pain disorders that share fundamental characteristics with painful diabetic neuropathy and are through earlier observations expected to apply to patients with painful diabetic neuropathy. Translational pain research is a new field with a few obstacles. Pain research has to rise and they include lack of clinical and pain translational research standards, lack of clear communication among basic scientists and among clinicians as well as between scientists and clinicians, and lack of standard in measurement tools that cross from bench to bedside and vice versa. However there are strong efforts to advance communication and to develop methods relevant to translational neuropathic pain research.
RNA-RNA Interactomes of ProQ and Hfq Reveal Overlapping and Competing Roles

Base pairing RNAs modulate gene expression in all studied organisms. In many bacteria, the base pairing between most small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) and their targets is mediated by the Hfq RNA chaperone. However, recent studies have shown FinO-domain proteins also bind sRNAs. To examine the global contribution of the FinO-domain ProQ protein in Escherichia coli, we carried out RIL-seq to identify RNA pairs bound to this protein. The RNA-RNA interactome for ProQ contains hundreds of pairs. Intriguingly, a significant fraction of the ProQ-bound RNA pairs are also found associated with Hfq, indicating overlapping, complementary, or competing roles for the two proteins. Characterization of one novel RNA pair bound by both chaperones revealed that while Hfq is required for RNA sponge-mediated downregulation of the sRNA, ProQ can inhibit this regulation. Overall, our results uncover increased complexity in RNA regulatory networks involving RNA chaperone proteins, RNases, sRNAs, and mRNAs.
Non-Relapse Mortality Exceeds Relapse Mortality Six Years After Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation for Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

Abstract Abstract 3325 Poster Board III-213 For patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who failed to achieve complete remission (CR) or who relapsed after obtaining CR with initial treatment, salvage therapy has historically resulted in poor long-term survival. The PARMA trial identified high dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) as a superior treatment modality compared to standard chemotherapy. As originally reported in 1995, the 5-year event-free-survival (EFS) was 46% in patients undergoing ASCT, compared to 12% in patients receiving chemotherapy alone. Subsequent to the widespread adoption of ASCT, it has been noted that patients who have undergone autologous transplantation for relapsed or refractory DLBCL may be at increased risk of mortality well beyond 5 year point which has generally been an accepted surrogate for long-term survival. To assess long-term outcomes of these patients, we retrospectively analyzed data from 309 consecutive patients who received ASCT for DLBCL at the Cleveland Clinic from January 1994 through December 2006. Inclusion criteria were age ≥ 18 years, diagnosis of DLCBL, and history of a single autologous stem cell transplant. The median age of these patients was 51 years (range 19-72) and 61.2% were male. The median time from diagnosis of DLBCL to transplant was 14.7 months (range 2.1-372.3). 99.0% of patients received peripheral blood stem cells and 98.4% received a preparative regimen with busulfan/cyclophosphamide/VP16. As shown in the accompanying figure, non-relapse mortality (NRM) becomes the major cause of death approximately 6 years after ASCT. The most common causes of NRM during the study period were pulmonary toxicity (31%), infection (17%), cardiac toxicity (15%) and secondary malignancy (15%). In multivariate analysis, the strongest predictor of relapse mortality was disease status at transplant: patients who were in second complete or partial remission had a higher risk of relapse mortality than those in first complete or partial remission (hazard ratio [HR] 3.70, P Download : Download high-res image (130KB) Download : Download full-size image In conclusion, we describe the longest reported follow-up of a large cohort of DLBCL patients uniformly-treated with ASCT. We have found that although relapse is initially the more likely cause of death, after six years, NRM exceeds relapse mortality. As more patients with DLBCL survive ASCT, these findings emphasize the need for active surveillance for causes of morbidity and mortality other than relapsed lymphoma. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
New criteria demonstrate successful outcomes following temporomandibular joint (TMJ) arthroscopy

Purpose Outcomes of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) surgery, including TMJ arthroscopy, use both subjective and objective criteria based on changes in pain and maximum interincisal opening (MIO). TMJ arthroscopy has reported success rates of 80% to 90%.1,2 Studies have demonstrated an increase in MIO may not be accompanied by reduction in pain, and conversely, reduction in pain may result without an increase in MIO. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of a MIO-pain change measurement/index that provides equal weight to objective changes in MIO and subjective changes in pain would more accurately reflect the results of surgery. Methods The study included 102 patients with internal derangement and severe inflammatory/degenerative TMJ disease (Wilkes II–V) that failed nonsurgical management and underwent arthroscopy. All patients underwent advanced operative arthroscopy, including removal of adhesions, debridement and biopsy of pathologic tissues, disk mobilization, and injection of steroid medication into inflamed synovium under direct vision. Surgical outcomes (successful vs unsuccessful) were based on a MIO-pain change measurement/index that provided equal weight to objective changes in MIO and subjective changes in pain (visual analogue scale [VAS]). Preoperative pain and MIO changes were compared to postoperative pain and MIO changes, and comparisons between the more successful and the least successful TMJ arthroscopic results were performed (t test). To determine if there were any significant predictive differences in the successful and unsuccessful groups, the following variables were compared: gender, age, arthroscopic findings, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, and MIO-pain changes. Results The mean postoperative follow-up period was 7.9 months. Comparison of the groups with respect to the combined MIO-pain change index demonstrated significant differences between the successful group (SG) (1.2338 + 0.5588) and the unsuccessful group (UG) (0.15010 + 0.3418) (P Conclusion This study demonstrated similar successful outcomes following TMJ arthroscopy as previous reports. There were no major predictive differences between the SG and the UG, although the mean age of the SG was older than the UG. This study demonstrated that the outcomes of arthroscopy must consider the importance of establishing an accurate diagnosis (atypical intra-articular pathology and systemic disease), which can alter the course of treatment. Importantly, using an outcome measurement with equal influences of pain and MIO changes, may provide a more accurate depiction of the effects of surgery.
Research with youth of color in low-income communities: Strategies for recruiting and retaining participants.

Abstract Background Youth of color from low-income urban communities are crucial participants in research, as their involvement can shape effective, culturally responsive interventions and policy to promote youth health and well-being. These young people, however, are an often-neglected research population, due in part to perceived challenges associated with their inclusion as well as marginalized communities’ justifiable mistrust of research. Objectives Based on our experience conducting a school-based randomized intervention trial in Baltimore, Maryland, we present strategies for conducting research with low-income, urban youth of color. We discuss strategies in three domains: university-community partnership development, participant recruitment, and participant retention. Methods We reviewed partnership building and recruitment strategies employed by our team across four years of trial implementation and evaluated success of participant retention at our final survey timepoint. Results Partnership building was facilitated by selection of a study design that maximized benefits for all participants, promotion of capacity building at partner institutions, and attention to research staff hiring and training practices. Effective study recruitment strategies included personal contact with parents and close cooperation between school personnel and study staff. Providing incentives and collecting multiple types of participant contact information contributed to increased retention rates. On average, those who participated in the final survey timepoint were less likely to be male and Latinx and exhibited more favorable baseline mental health than those who did not, suggesting differential attrition based on youth characteristics. Conclusions Lessons learned from this school-based trial can be applied more broadly to research with low-income urban youth of color. Researchers should strive to maximize scientific rigor, minimize harm to vulnerable adolescents and their communities, promote positive research experiences for young people, and provide concrete benefits to those who participate.
Postoperative Low-Dose Tranexamic Acid After Major Spine Surgery: A Matched Cohort Analysis

OBJECTIVE This was a retrospective, cohort study investigating the efficacy and safety of continuous low-dose postoperative tranexamic acid (PTXA) on drain output and transfusion requirements following adult spinal deformity surgery. METHODS One hundred forty-seven patients undergoing posterior instrumented thoracolumbar fusion of ≥ 3 vertebral levels at a single institution who received low-dose PTXA infusion (0.5-1 mg/kg/hr) for 24 hours were compared to 292 control patients who did not receive PTXA. The cohorts were propensity matched based on age, sex, American Society of Anesthesiologist physical status classification, body mass index, number of surgical levels, revision surgery, operative duration, and total intraoperative TXA dose (n = 106 in each group). Primary outcome was 72-hour postoperative drain output. Secondary outcomes were number of allogeneic blood transfusions. RESULTS There was no significant difference in postoperative drain output in the PTXA group compared to control (660 ± 420 mL vs. 710 ± 490 mL, p = 0.46). The PTXA group received significantly more crystalloid (6,100 ± 3,100 mL vs. 4,600 ± 2,400 mL, p < 0.001) and red blood cell transfusions postoperatively (median [interquartile range]: 1 [0-2] units vs. 0 [0-1] units; incidence rate ratio [95% confidence interval], 1.6 [1.2-2.2]; p = 0.001). Rates of adverse events were comparable between groups. CONCLUSION Continuous low-dose PTXA infusion was not associated with reduced drain output after spinal deformity surgery. No difference in thromboembolic incidence was observed. A prospective dose escalation study is warranted to investigate the efficacy of higher dose PTXA.
Politics and Corporate‐Sector Environmentally Significant Actions: The Effects of Political Partisanship on U.S. Utilities Energy Efficiency Policies

This study assesses the direct, indirect, and total impacts of political partisanship on state‐level utilities' investment in energy efficiency. This subject is of utmost importance because energy efficiency improvement has become a linchpin in worldwide efforts to combat climate change and other environmental challenges. Analysis of data on 51 electric utilities nested within 31 U.S. states indicates that political partisanship influences utilities' energy efficiency policies. There is strong evidence that electric utilities in states dominated by the Republican Party are less likely to invest in energy efficiency than those in states governed by the Democratic Party. This finding suggests that political partisanship may be shaping the policy and regulatory frameworks put in place by state governments to incentivize or compel the participation of private‐sector entities' in environmental management and/or resource conservation. Este estudio evalua los impactos directos, indirectos y totales del partidismo politico en la inversion de las empresas de servicios publicos a nivel estatal en eficiencia energetica. Este tema es de suma importancia porque la mejora de la eficiencia energetica se ha convertido en un eje de los esfuerzos mundiales para combatir el cambio climatico y otros desafios ambientales. El analisis de los datos de 51 empresas electricas ubicadas en 31 estados de EE. UU. Indica que el partidismo politico influye en las politicas de eficiencia energetica de las empresas. Existe una fuerte evidencia de que las empresas electricas en los estados dominados por el Partido Republicano tienen menos probabilidades de invertir en eficiencia energetica que las de los estados gobernados por el Partido Democrata. Este hallazgo sugiere que el partidismo politico puede estar dando forma a los marcos normativos y regulatorios establecidos por los gobiernos estatales para incentivar u obligar la participacion de entidades del sector privado en la gestion ambiental y / o conservacion de recursos. 本研究评估了政治派别对州级公用事业在能源效率上的投资产生的直接、间接以及全部影响。该主题至关重要，因为能源效率的提升已成为全球为应对气候变化及其他环境挑战所作努力的最重要部分。关于31个州内51个电力事业的数据分析表明，政治派别会影响公用事业的能源效率政策。有力证据表明，相比民主党州，共和党州的电力事业更不可能在能源效率上投资。研究发现暗示，政治派别可能会影响由州政府制定的政策和监管框架，以期激励或强制私人部门实体参与环境管理和/或资源节约。
Identification of a novel GRIN2D variant in a neonate with intractable epileptic encephalopathy-a case report.

N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are ligand-gated ion channels that mediate excitatory synaptic transmission in the central nervous system. The functional NMDA receptors are heterotetramers consisting mainly of two GluN1 and two GluN2 subunits. GluN2 is encoded by the GRIN2D gene. A few case series have shown that GRIN2D variants are linked to developmental and epileptic encephalopathy. In this article, we report a novel GRIN2D variant, namely c.2021C > A (p.T674K) in a neonate with intractable epileptic encephalopathy. A 12-day-old boy who had stiffness of the lower and upper extremities since birth was transferred from a local hospital to our department. On admission, the patient presented with head tilting backwards, staring, apnea and hypertonia of limbs. Video electroencephalogram showed continuous, generalized or multi-focal spike-wave and spike-and-slow wave discharges and hypsarrhythmia. A treatment regimen composed of phenobarbital, midazolam, levetiracetam and clonazepam was administered, which however led to only partial control of the seizure. Whole-exome sequencing identified c.2021C > A (p.T674K) in GRIN2D in the patient while such a mutation was not detected in the parents. The patient was hospitalized for 1 month and died of sudden cardio-respiratory arrest 2 weeks after discharge. A novel variant of GRIN2D was identified in a neonate with epileptic encephalopathy. Epilepsy associated with this GRIN2D mutation is refractory to conventional anti-epileptic medications.