cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Function of Pd0n Clusters, Pd2+(oxo-) Ions, and PdO Clusters in the Catalytic Reduction of NO with Methane over Pd/MFI Catalysts

Abstract Pd/MFI catalysts with a Pd/Al ratio ∼1.0 were prepared by subliming PdCl 2 in a Cl 2 -rich flow onto a H/MFI zeolite. Initially, [PdCl] + ions are formed in cation exchange positions; after hydrolysis they are converted to oxo-ions, possibly [Pd-O-Pd] 2+ . Virtually no protons are formed in this step; all positive charge is localized on Pd entities. In contrast, neutral PdO particles, mainly located at the external surface, predominate in calcined Pd/MFI that is prepared by ion exchange from aqueous solution. The reduction of NO with methane to N 2 over the Pd/MFI catalysts does not require intermediate oxidation to NO 2 ; on the contrary, O 2 lowers the reaction rate. PdO particles catalyze the nonselective oxidation of methane to CO 2 . Under steady-state conditions a dynamic equilibrium appears to exist between various forms of Pd, including clusters of metallic palladium. These are the sites where methane is dissociatively chemisorbed. By consequence, the catalytic activity of prereduced catalysts for NO reduction is initially much higher than that of preoxidized or steady-state catalysts. To detect the presence of a finite amount of metallic Pd under steady-state conditions, H/D exchange between CH 4 and D 2 was used as a catalytic probe. Formation of CH 3 D has been identified with an oxygen-rich NO/O 2 /CH 4 /D 2 feed of even O 2 /D 2 =20.
Area of a Triangle and the Product of Its Side Lengths

The recent English translation of Polya and Szego [4] contains the following problem (17.1 on p. 161, Vol. II). Let ABC be a triangle with side lengths $$\overline {BC} = a,\quad \overline {CA} = b,\quad \overline {AB} = c$$ and area S. Then $$S \le \left( {\sqrt 3 /4} \right){\left( {abc} \right)^{2/3}}$$ (1) , with equality if and only if ABC is equilateral. The solution offered treats the problem as one of maximizing a suitable function of two variables, equating partial derivatives to zero.
Expression of hepatic lipid droplets is decreased in the nitrofen model of congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Prenatal mortality in newborn infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) has been attributed to increased amounts of liver hernia ion through the diaphragmatic defect. Antenatal studies in human and rodent fetus with CDH further demonstrated a contribution of the developing liver in the pathogenesis of CDH. The abnormal hepatic growth in experimental animal models, therefore, indicates a disruption of normal liver development in CDH. However, the underlying structural, histological and functional changes in the liver of animals with CDH remain unclear. We design this study to test the hypothesis that the morphological and cellular liver development is altered in the nitrogen-induced CDH model. Pregnant rats were exposed to either olive oil or nitrofen on day 9 of gestation (D9). Livers and chest were harvested on D21 and divided into two groups: control (n = 8), nitrofen with CDH (CDH, n = 8). Haematoxylin–eosin (Straub et al. Histopathology 68:617–631, 2013) staining was performed to evaluate underlying morphological changes. Apoptosis was checked by using TUNEL staining and apoptotic cell number was counted on 16–16 slides in 25 fields by two independent viewers. Hepatic lipid droplet expressions were evaluated by hepatic adipose differentiation-related protein (ARDP) expression. Compared to controls markedly increased hypertrophy was seen in CDH group. Significantly increased apoptotic cell numbers were detected in CDH group compared to controls (5.1 ± 1.5 vs 2.1 ± 0.6) (p < 0.05). The relative mRNA expression levels of ARDP were significantly reduced in CDH group compared to controls. Immunohistochemistry showed markedly decreased hepatic ADRP immunoreactivity in CDH fetuses compared to controls. Our findings provide strong evidence of hepatic hypertrophy and increased cell apoptosis in the liver of nitrofen-induced CDH. These morphological changes may affect liver lipid droplet expression function.
Sensitivity bias in the mass-radius distribution from transit timing variations and radial velocity measurements

Motivated by recent discussions, both in private and in the literature, we use a Monte Carlo simulation of planetary systems to investigate sources of bias in determining the mass-radius distribution of exoplanets for the two primary techniques used to measure planetary masses---Radial Velocities (RVs) and Transit Timing Variations (TTVs). We assert that mass measurements derived from these two methods are comparably reliable---as the physics underlying their respective signals is well understood. Nevertheless, their sensitivity to planet mass varies with the properties of the planets themselves. We find that for a given planet size, the RV method tends to find planets with higher mass while the sensitivity of TTVs is more uniform. This ``sensitivity bias'' implies that a complete census of TTV systems is likely to yield a more robust estimate of the mass-radius distribution provided there are not important physical differences between planets near and far from mean-motion resonance. We discuss differences in the sensitivity of the two methods with orbital period and system architecture, which may compound the discrepancies between them (e.g., short period planets detectable by RVs may be more dense due to atmospheric loss). We advocate for continued mass measurements using both approaches as a means both to measure the masses of more planets and to identify potential differences in planet structure that may result from their dynamical and environmental histories.
Successful and Unsuccessful Tactics in Decision Making

Managers use a variety of tactics to establish directions, identify options, and implement plans during a strategic decision making (SDM) process. Some of these tactics were found to be far more successful than others. Failure stemmed from imposing ideas, adopting ideas after a limited search, and using position power to implement plans. Managers were more likely to succeed when objectives were set and the need for action made clear at the outset, when an unrestricted search for options was carried out, and when participation was used to involve people in shaping the decision. These findings hold for both public and private organizations, different types of decisions, degrees of urgency, and similar situational factors. Suggestions to improve SDM practice are offered in the form of steps to take and steps to avoid.
β-Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide acts at prejunctional adenosine A1 receptors to suppress inhibitory musculomotor neurotransmission in guinea pig colon and human jejunum.

Intracellular microelectrodes were used to record neurogenic inhibitory junction potentials in the intestinal circular muscle coat. Electrical field stimulation was used to stimulate intramural neu...
Uptake and excretion of radioactive rose bengal dye in normal dogs.

SummaryIn normal adult mongrel dogs, radioactive rose bengal dye is rapidly removed from the blood stream with radioactivity reduced 50% in 5 to 10 minutes following intravenous injection of the dye. The liver takes up the dye rapidly, starting within 4 minutes, and excretes it quickly, as evidenced by appearance of dye in the bile 6 minutes after administration. Approximately 20% of the tagged dye passed through the bile in one hour. Urinary excretion is almost negligible, with approximately 0.1% of total dye present in the urine in 60 minutes. Renal, splenic, and pancreatic tissue levels of radioactivity are insignificant and probably represent amount of dye in the blood stream. Radioactivity over the duodenum is evident within the first hour and probably represents amount of dye excreted into the bile.
Optimizing Eco-Efficiency Across the Procurement Portfolio.

Manufacturing organizations’ environmental impacts are often attributable to processes in the firm’s upstream supply chain. Environmentally preferable procurement (EPP) and the establishment of environmental purchasing criteria can potentially reduce these indirect impacts. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) can help identify the purchasing criteria that are most effective in reducing environmental impacts. However, the high costs of LCA and the problems associated with the comparability of results have limited efforts to integrate procurement performance with quantitative organizational environmental performance targets. Moreover, environmental purchasing criteria, when implemented, are often established on a product-by-product basis without consideration of other products in the procurement portfolio. We develop an approach that utilizes streamlined LCA methods, together with linear programming, to determine optimal portfolios of product impact-reduction opportunities under budget constraints. The approach is ...
Care of visual impairment in children and adolescents

Visual impairment refers to a loss of visual acuity or one or more functions of the eye and visual system. It is not necessarily a disability or a handicap for the individual. The majority of visually impaired children are multihandicapped. Diagnostic and treatment centers have been introduced in an attempt to resolve present difficulties in providing health care to the multihandicapped. Pseudoretardation can occur in blind children if adequate opportunities are not provided for learning. Early diagnosis of visual impairment is important for obvious medical reasons. Early referral of blind children and their families to agencies for help is crucial. Almost invariably, mothers are the first to suspect that something is wrong with their infants' eyes. An ophthalmological examination, rather than simple reassurance, is needed. How an ophthalmologist leads parents through the period after diagnosis and the following next few weeks will affect the child's life much more than is generally realized. There is a need for a multidisciplinary team approach to evaluation and treatment of blind children. Cerebral palsy and profound visual impairment are a bad combination. Visual impairment alone does not predispose to a specific learning disability. Partially sighted students can be helped in various ways to function in their class.
Health and Wellness Programs in a Patient Library: Program Development and Brief Assessment

The Community Health Education Center (CHEC) is a consumer health library conveniently located on the ground floor of Virginia Commonwealth University Health (VCUH), a large academic medical center...
Finding Value in Environmental, Social, and Governance ETFs

This chapter explores whether investing with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues in mind has turned into a compelling investment premise for fund managers. They have traditionally chosen from a variety of investing styles to establish the specific parameters of their portfolios. These styles range from company size, value, and growth for stock funds to maturities and credit qualities for fixed-income funds. But lately, concerns brought forward by increased awareness of ESG issues have gradually pervaded all traditional categories of style investing. By increasingly influencing overall decision-making regardless of style, these issues have turned into a compelling investment premise for these managers.
Histamine and Tyramine Content of Meat Products

A survey was conducted to determine the histamine and tyramine contents of a variety of meat products. Histamine was found in all products at concentrations only slightly greater than one would expect from normal physiological amounts found in muscle. Semi-dry sausage products contained an average histamine concentration of 3.59 μg/g compared to an average of 2.87 μg/g in dry sausages. Country-cured hams averaged 1.69 μg histamine/g. Emulsion type products contained slightly less histamine than the fermented sausages. Braunschweiger, an exception, contained 3.6 μg histamine/g but would be expected to contain more histamine than other emulsion-type products because of its liver content. Data indicate that histamine is not formed to an appreciable extent in these meat products under normal processing conditions. Detectable amounts of tyramine were found in 71% of the sausages and in 39% of semi-dry sausages. Tyramine was not detected in country-cured ham. Average tyramine concentrations were 244 and 85.8 μg...
Stretchable living materials and devices with hydrogel–elastomer hybrids hosting programmed cells

Living systems, such as bacteria, yeasts, and mammalian cells, can be genetically programmed with synthetic circuits that execute sensing, computing, memory, and response functions. Integrating these functional living components into materials and devices will provide powerful tools for scientific research and enable new technological applications. However, it has been a grand challenge to maintain the viability, functionality, and safety of living components in freestanding materials and devices, which frequently undergo deformations during applications. Here, we report the design of a set of living materials and devices based on stretchable, robust, and biocompatible hydrogel–elastomer hybrids that host various types of genetically engineered bacterial cells. The hydrogel provides sustainable supplies of water and nutrients, and the elastomer is air-permeable, maintaining long-term viability and functionality of the encapsulated cells. Communication between different bacterial strains and with the environment is achieved via diffusion of molecules in the hydrogel. The high stretchability and robustness of the hydrogel–elastomer hybrids prevent leakage of cells from the living materials and devices, even under large deformations. We show functions and applications of stretchable living sensors that are responsive to multiple chemicals in a variety of form factors, including skin patches and gloves-based sensors. We further develop a quantitative model that couples transportation of signaling molecules and cellular response to aid the design of future living materials and devices.
Nicotinamide and WLDS Act Together to Prevent Neurodegeneration in Glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a complex neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive visual dysfunction leading to vision loss. Retinal ganglion cells are the primary affected neuronal population, with a critical insult damaging their axons in the optic nerve head. This insult is typically secondary to harmfully high levels of intraocular pressure. We have previously determined that early mitochondrial abnormalities within retinal ganglion cells lead to neuronal dysfunction, with age-related declines in NAD (NAD+ and NADH) rendering retinal ganglion cell mitochondria vulnerable to intraocular pressure-dependent stresses. The Wallerian degeneration slow allele, WldS, decreases the vulnerability of retinal ganglion cells in eyes with elevated intraocular pressure, but the exact mechanism(s) of protection from glaucoma are not determined. Here we demonstrate that WldS increases retinal NAD levels. Coupled with nicotinamide administration (an NAD precursor), it robustly protects from glaucomatous neurodegeneration in a mouse model of glaucoma (94% of eyes having no glaucoma, more than WldS or nicotinamide alone). Importantly, nicotinamide and WldS protect somal, synaptic, and axonal compartments, prevent loss of anterograde axoplasmic transport, and protect from visual dysfunction as assessed by pattern electroretinogram. Boosting NAD production generally benefits major compartments of retinal ganglion cells, and may be of value in other complex, age-related, axonopathies where multiple neuronal compartments are ultimately affected.
Localized and Automated Chemical and Oxygen Delivery System for Microfluidic Brain Slice Devices

To better study in vitro models of the brain, a localized delivery system is necessary due to the region specific functionality of the brain. The proposed system allows drugs and oxygen of controllable concentrations to be delivered. The delivery system is integrated into a polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic brain slice device and uses valves controlled by the LabVIEW programming language. Delivery is controlled by adjusting the opening/closing frequencies of the valves. Fluorescein isothiocyanate, a fluorescent dye, was used to characterize the delivery with and without brain tissue (~300 μm). A linear relationship was found correlating the valve frequencies and the intensity showing how easily controlled concentrations can be delivered. A delivery system to automatically mix and deliver oxygen concentrations between 0% and 21% was developed. Accurate and precise outputs were obtained. Combined, these two delivery systems will allow controllable drug and oxygen concentrations to be tested at defined regions of the brain.
Ecologically Valid Assessment of Prospective Memory for Task Planning and Execution by Adults With Acquired Brain Injury

Purpose Individuals with acquired brain injury (ABI) often struggle due to inadequate planning and execution skills for completing nonroutine tasks. This study's purpose was to pilot ecologically v...
Theory of Linear and Nonlinear Gain in a Gyroamplifier Using a Confocal Waveguide

The linear and nonlinear theory of a gyroamplifier using a confocal waveguide is presented. A quasi-optical approach to describing the modes of a confocal waveguide is derived. Both the equations of motion and the mode excitation equation are derived in detail. The confocal waveguide circuit has the advantage of reducing mode competition, but the lack of azimuthal symmetry presents challenges in calculating the gain. In the linear regime, the gain calculated using the exact form factor for the confocal waveguide agrees with an azimuthally averaged form factor. A beamlet code, including velocity spread effects, has been written to calculate the linear and nonlinear (saturated) gain. It has been successfully benchmarked against the MAGY code for azimuthally symmetric cases. For the confocal waveguide, the beamlet code shows that the saturated gain is reduced when compared with results obtained using an azimuthally averaged form factor. The beamlet code derived here extends the capabilities of nonlinear gyroamplifier theory to configurations that lack azimuthal symmetry.
New Method Of Coherent Frequency Channelization

This paper discusses a new approach to coherently channelizing input rf signals that is similar to Bragg cell techniques but has the potential for operation at substantially higher bandwidths. The rf information from the environment is modulated on a laser beam. The modulated laser beam is then demultiplexed according to frequency by passing the beam through a dispersive device. The various channels are then each incident on the respective element of a detector array. Splitting a reference beam off from the main beam provides a local oscillator for heterodyne detection at the detector array. The optically encoded rf information is thereby translated back down to baseband or a common if band.
Bayesian Networks with Structural Restrictions: Parallelization, Performance, and Efficient Cross-Validation

Bayesian Network algorithms are widely applied in the fields of bioinformatics, document classification, big data, and marketing informatics. In this paper, several Bayesian Network algorithms are evaluated, including Naive Bayes, Tree Augmented Naive Bayes, k-BAN, and k-BAN with Order Swapping. The algorithms are implemented using Scala and compared with the bnlearn library in R and Weka. Several datasets with varying numbers of attributes and instances are used to test the accuracy and efficiency of the implementations of the algorithms provided by the three packages. When handling huge datasets, issues involving accuracy, efficiency, and serial vs. parallel execution become more critical and should be addressed. We implemented several parallel algorithms as well as an efficient way to perform cross-validations, resulting in significant speedups.
Development of an Index of Engagement in HIV Care: An Adapted Internet-Based Delphi Process.

Background: Improving engagement in medical care among persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is critical to optimizing clinical outcomes and reducing onward transmission of HIV. However, a clear conceptualization of what it means to be engaged in HIV care is lacking, and thus efforts to measure and enhance engagement in care are limited. Objective: This paper describes the use of a modified online Delphi process of consensus building to solicit input from a range of HIV and non-HIV researchers and providers, and to integrate that input with focus group data conducted with HIV-infected patients. The overarching goal was to generate items for a patient-centered measure of engagement in HIV care for use in future research and clinical practice. Methods: We recruited 66 expert panelists from around the United States. Starting with six open-ended questions, we used four rounds of online Delphi data collection in tandem with 12 in-person focus groups with patients and cognitive interviews with 25 patients. Results: We recruited 66 expert panelists from around the United States and 64 (97%) were retained for four rounds of data collection. Starting with six open-ended questions, we used four rounds of online Delphi data collection in tandem with 12 in-person focus groups with patients and cognitive interviews with 25 patients. The process resulted in an expansion to 120 topics that were subsequently reduced to 13 candidate items for the planned assessment measure. Conclusions: The process was an efficient method of soliciting input from geographically separated and busy experts across a range of disciplines and professional roles with the aim of arriving at a coherent definition of engagement in HIV care and a manageable set of survey items to assess it. Next steps are to validate the utility of the new measure in predicting retention in care, adherence to treatment, and clinical outcomes among patients living with HIV. [JMIR Res Protoc 2017;6(12):e224]
Optimal multi-robot path planning for pesticide spraying in agricultural fields

In this paper, we formulate the problem of spraying pesticides in agricultural fields using robots with constraints on the capacity of pesticides that can be carried and the objective of minimizing the distance travelled. We allow different levels of infection in different regions and assume that the amount of infection and the corresponding amount of pesticide to be sprayed is known a priori. However, since, there is a bound on the amount of pesticide that can be carried, the robots may need to visit a refilling station. The problem can be reduced to a multiple traveling salesmen problem with certain constraints on their travel as guided by the pesticide carrying capacity of the robots. We first perform a graph transformation, that removes these constraints and instead reduces to a “generalized” multiple traveling salesmen problem, where the salesmen are not required to visit each city, but only one city in each group of cities. Finally, we reduce the problem to a mixed integer linear programming problem. We provide simulation results as well as experimental results to demonstrate the feasibility of our approach.
Constraining the thickness of polar ice deposits on Mercury using the Mercury Laser Altimeter and small craters in permanently shadowed regions

Abstract Radar-bright deposits at the poles of Mercury are located in permanently shadowed regions, which provide thermally stable environments for hosting and retaining water ice on the surface or in the near subsurface for geologic timescales. While the areal distribution of these radar-bright deposits is well characterized, their thickness, and thus their total mass and volume, remain poorly constrained. Here we derive thickness estimates for selected water-ice deposits using small, simple craters visible within the permanently shadowed, radar-bright deposits. We examine two endmember scenarios: in Case I, these craters predate the emplacement of the ice, and in Case II, these craters postdate the emplacement of the ice. In Case I, we find the difference between estimated depths of the original unfilled craters and the measured depths of the craters to find the estimated infill of material. The average estimated infilled material for 9 craters assumed to be overlain with water ice is ∼ 41 − 14 + 30 m, where 1−σ standard error of the mean is reported as uncertainty. Reported uncertainties are for statistical errors only. Additional systematic uncertainty may stem from georeferencing the images and topographic datasets, from the radial accuracy of the altimeter measurements, or from assumptions in our models including (1) ice is flat in the bowl-shaped crater and (2) there is negligible ice at the crater rims. In Case II, we derive crater excavation depths to investigate the thickness of the ice layer that may have been penetrated by the impact. While the absence of excavated regolith associated with the small craters observed suggests that impacts generally do not penetrate through the ice deposit, the spatial resolution and complex illumination geometry of images may limit the observations. Therefore, it is not possible to conclude whether the small craters in this study penetrate through the ice deposit, and thus Case II does not provide a constraint on the ice thickness. For Mercury's polar deposits, we argue that Case I of the small craters predating the emplacement of the ice deposits is more likely, given other geologic evidence that suggests that these ice deposits are relatively young. Using the ice thickness estimates from Case I to calculate the total amount of water ice currently contained in Mercury's polar deposits results in a value of ∼10 14 –10 15 kg. This is equivalent to ∼100–1000 km 3 ice in volume. This volume of water ice is consistent with delivery via micrometeorite bombardment, Jupiter-family comets, or potentially a single impactor.
Conceptual Understanding of Foundational Mathematical Topics: What Might They Look Like?

This chapter offers a perspective on what conceptual understanding means when we focus on a particular mathematical topic or concept and what differentiates conceptual understanding from fragile understanding. The chapter answers these questions through illustrating what in-depth understanding of mathematical topics Newton focuses on in her research might look like. Newton describes two major criteria and a framework that outlines central characteristics exemplified in mathematical conceptual understanding and illustrates how these characteristics manifest themselves in specific topics she has conducted research on. This chapter is foundational in terms of setting a benchmark against the kinds of understanding that teachers are exposed to which can be characterized as fragmented, incoherent, and superficial.
Chapter 7 – Marine Colloids and Trace Metals

This chapter presents a discussion on marine colloids and trace metals. The chapter focuses on the major fraction of organic carbon on the Earth's surface that exists as dissolved substances in seawater. These materials for the most part constitute the waste products of a dynamic cycling between carbon fixation and consumption in the oceans. They include reactive substances categorized broadly as proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids as well as biologically resistant heteropolycondensations (humic matter) and degradation products of these primary constituents. Overall, these dissolved substances harbor a myriad of charged sites that can bind trace elements. Because metal availability to microorganisms is in most cases proportional to the free ion concentrations of the metal, organic complexity decreases the immediate availability of nutrient metals. If retained in surface waters, these organic complexes serve to buffer metal ion activities at levels far below the total dissolved metal concentrations and also slow the export of essential metals from the photic zone. Therefore, the cycling and availability of metals to microorganisms is intricately involved with the marine carbon cycle.
The Psychological Well-Being of Women in the Middle Years

This chapter addresses three questions with respect to the psychological well-being of women in the middle years. What is psychological well-being? How do midlife women vary in level of well-being? What are women’s sources of psychological well-being? In other words, what is it, who has it, and how did they get it? Because answers to the last two questions depend upon how well-being is defined, the conceptualization and measurement of well-being are discussed first; findings are then presented that bear on variations and sources.
Molecular aspects of multivalent engagement between Syk and FcϵRIγ

Syk/Zap70 family kinases are essential for signaling via multichain immune-recognition receptors such as the tetrameric (αβγ2) FcϵRI. The simplest model assumes that Syk activation occurs through cis binding of its tandem SH2 domains to dual phosphotyrosines within immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs of individual γ chains. In this model, Syk activity is modulated by phosphorylation occurring between adjacent Syk molecules docked on γ homodimers and by Lyn molecules bound to FcϵRIβ However, the mechanistic details of Syk docking on γ homodimers are not fully resolved, particularly the possibility of trans binding orientations and the impact of Y130 autophosphorylation within Syk interdomain A. Analytical modeling shows that multivalent interactions lead to increased WT Syk cis-oriented binding by three orders of magnitude. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations show increased inter-SH2 flexibility in a Y130E phosphomimetic form of Syk, associated with reduced overall helicity of interdomain A. Hybrid MD/worm-like chain polymer models show that the Y130E substitution reduces cis binding of Syk. We report computational models and estimates of relative binding for all possible cis and trans 2:2 Syk:FcϵRIγ complexes. Calcium imaging experiments confirm model predictions that cis binding of WT Syk is strongly preferred for efficient signaling, while trans conformations trigger weak but measurable responses.
Crystal plasticity modeling the deformation in nanodomained heterogenous structures

Nanodomained heterogenous structures characterized by randomly dispersed nanograins (NGs) embedded in the coarser grains (CGs) have demonstrated an exciting potential to break the strength–ductility trade-off, providing high strength without the loss of ductility. Here, using a combination of discrete crystal plasticity finite element (discrete-CPFE) model and dislocation density-based CPFE model, we study the effects of grain size, volume fraction of nanograins on the strength and deformation in nanodomained materials. Our analysis shows that the overall flow stresses of nanodomained samples are equal or higher than the strengths predicted by rule of mixtures. Smaller NGs or higher volume fraction of NGs can make the nanodomained samples stronger, as they can be more effective to promote the dislocation accumulations inside the CGs and eventually raise the critical resolved shear stress for each slip system during the plastic flow. Areas surrounding NGs stored higher dislocation densities and less plastic strain, due to the restricted dislocation motion. Furthermore, NGs grain embedded in the CGs can effectively reduce the anisotropy of strength in the nanodomained samples.
CCDC186 controls dense-core vesicle cargo sorting by exit

The regulated release of peptide hormones depends on their packaging into dense-core vesicles (DCVs). Two models have been proposed for DCV cargo sorting. The sorting by entry model proposes that DCV cargos selectively enter nascent DCVs at the trans-Golgi network (TGN). The sorting by exit model proposes that sorting occurs by the post-TGN removal of non-DCV cargos and retention of mature DCV cargos. Here we show that the coiled-coil protein CCDC186 controls sorting by exit. Ccdc186 KO insulinoma cells secrete less insulin, fail to retain insulin and carboxypeptidase E in mature DCVs at the cell periphery, and fail to remove carboxypeptidase D from immature DCVs. A mutation affecting the endosome-associated recycling protein (EARP) complex causes similar defects in DCV cargo retention and removal. CCDC186 and EARP may act together to control the post-Golgi retention of cargos in mature DCVs.
4-Oxoproline as a Site-Specific Infrared Probe: Application To Assess Proline Isomerization and Dimer Formation

Due to its unique structure, proline plays important structural and functional roles in proteins. However, this special amino acid lacks an adequate vibrational mode that can be exploited to probe ...
On the structure of poly(etheretherketone) (PEEK)

Annealed, hot pressed, and melt-quenched PEEK specimens have been analyzed by wide-angle X-ray diffraction. The analysis suggests, in part, that structural studies based on the reported similarity between the structure of PEEK and that reported for poly(p-phenylene oxide) are valid and may be extended to a structure more in keeping with the chemical structure of the material.
Enhanced recovery after surgery in head and neck surgery: Reduced opioid use and length of stay

OBJECTIVES Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols were first developed in colorectal surgery and sought to standardize patient care. There have been several studies in the head and neck surgical literature looking at outcomes after ERAS protocol, but no studies focusing on narcotic use and length of stay. This study aimed to evaluate narcotic usage and length of stay, in addition to several other outcomes, following the implementation of an ERAS protocol. METHODS A head and neck-specific ERAS protocol was implemented at this tertiary care center beginning July 2017. A retrospective cohort study was performed comparing this cohort to that of a retrospective control group. Outcomes included mean morphine equivalent dose, mean pain score, and percentage of patients prescribed narcotics on discharge. Secondary outcomes included ICU and total length of stay. RESULTS The mean morphine equivalent dose (MED) administered within 72 hours postoperatively was significantly lower in the ERAS group (17.5 ± 46.0 mg vs. 82.7 ± 116.1 mg, P < .001). Average postoperative pain scores in the first 72 hours were lower in the ERAS group (2.6 ± 1.8 vs. 3.6 ± 1.9; P < .001). The average length of stay was shorter for ERAS patients (7.8 ± 4.8 vs. 9.7 ± 4.7 days, P = .008); however, there was no significant difference in ICU length of stay. CONCLUSION Following implementation of an ERAS protocol, patients undergoing head and neck surgery had decreased narcotic use in the immediate postoperative period and at discharge, while also demonstrating improved postoperative analgesia. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Level 3 Laryngoscope, 130:1227-1232, 2020.
Environmentally Optimal, Nutritionally Sound, Protein and Energy Conserving Plant Based Alternatives to U.S. Meat

Because meat is more resource intensive than vegetal protein sources, replacing it with efficient plant alternatives is potentially desirable, provided these alternatives prove nutritionally sound. We show that protein conserving plant alternatives to meat that rigorously satisfy key nutritional constraints while minimizing cropland, nitrogen fertilizer (Nr) and water use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions exist, and could improve public health. We develop a new methodology for identifying nutritional constraints whose satisfaction by plant eaters is challenging, disproportionately shaping the optimal diets, singling out energy, mass, monounsaturated fatty acids, vitamins B3,12 and D, choline, zinc, and selenium. By replacing meat with the devised plant alternatives-dominated by soy, green pepper, squash, buckwheat, and asparagus-Americans can collectively eliminate pastureland use while saving 35-50% of their diet related needs for cropland, Nr, and GHG emission, but increase their diet related irrigation needs by 15%. While widely replacing meat with plants is logistically and culturally challenging, few competing options offer comparable multidimensional resource use reduction.
Would We Have Chemistry without Marvelous Metals

The American Chemical Society’s 2019 National Chemical Week theme is Marvelous Metals, a fitting choice in the UNESCO 2019 International Year of the Periodic Table. This editorial discusses how metals exemplify much of what we think about when we consider chemistry. Metals were the first elements to be recognized as something distinct and fundamental, providing us with a link to the world of nature through the building blocks, the elements, that chemists recognize as the most important forms of matter. Metals were also at the heart of the emergence of chemistry as a science, illustrated by reports from Lavoisier and Faraday.
ZPD Teaching Strategies for Deep Reinforcement Learning from Demonstrations.

Learning from demonstrations is a popular tool for accelerating and reducing the exploration requirements of reinforcement learning. When providing expert demonstrations to human students, we know that the demonstrations must fall within a particular range of difficulties called the "Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)". If they are too easy the student learns nothing, but if they are too difficult the student is unable to follow along. This raises the question: Given a set of potential demonstrators, which among them is best suited for teaching any particular learner? Prior work, such as the popular Deep Q-learning from Demonstrations (DQfD) algorithm has generally focused on single demonstrators. In this work we consider the problem of choosing among multiple demonstrators of varying skill levels. Our results align with intuition from human learners: it is not always the best policy to draw demonstrations from the best performing demonstrator (in terms of reward). We show that careful selection of teaching strategies can result in sample efficiency gains in the learner's environment across nine Atari games
Primer, proposal, and paradigm: A review essay of Mendelovici’s The Phenomenal Basis of Intentionality

In case you haven’t received the news, the phenomenal intentionality research program is under way. It was both recognized and catalyzed as such by Uriah Kriegel in his introduction to the (2013) e...
La Persistencia del Neoplatonismo Italiano en la España de la Contrarreforma: El discurso de Marcela en 'Don Quijote' y los' Diálogos de amor' de León Hebreo

espanolEl presente articulo resalta los rasgos de neoplatonismo italiano presentes en el discurso de la pastora Marcela contenido en la primera parte de Don Quijote de La Mancha. El genero pastoril ofrecia un camuflaje seguro para aquellas ideas procedentes de Italia que fueron en gran medida proscritas debido a los impetus de la Contrarreforma que caracterizaron al periodo posterior a la muerte de Felipe II. El discurso de Marcela resulta por tanto una referencia solapada a los indelebles vinculos intelectuales entre los escritores espanoles y los neoplatonicos del Renacimiento Italiano, mas concretamente a Leon Hebreo y sus Dialogos de amor. EnglishThis article highlights the traces of Neo-Platonism contained in the discourse recited by the shepherdess Marcela at the first part of Don Quijote de la Mancha. After the death of King Philip II and within the context of the Counter-Reformation, the pastoral genre offered a safe camouflage for the philosophical ideas arrived in Spain from Italy. Therefore, Marcela’s discourse offers disguised references to the intellectual links which connected Spanish writers with Neo-Platonic thinkers of the Italian Renaissance, more specifically, with Leone Ebreo’s Dialogues of Love.
Mental Health and Dysphonia: Which Comes First, and Does That Change Care Utilization?

OBJECTIVES Voice patients with voice disorders have a high prevalence of distress and mental health (MH) comorbidities, but it is unknown to what extent distress precedes or follows voice disorder diagnoses. Objectives were to compare 1) proportions of voice patients with MH diagnoses who received MH diagnoses first versus voice-related diagnoses first, 2) voice-related diagnoses and care utilization, and 3) time to specialty evaluation in each group. METHODS Patients with voice and MH diagnoses were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth and Tenth Revisions codes in a large health system data repository from January 2005 through July 2017. Sociodemographics, comorbidities, MH- and voice-related diagnoses, and voice-related care utilization were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariable regression modeling. RESULTS Among the 11,419 patients with both voice and MH diagnoses, 63% (n = 7,251) received MH diagnoses prior to voice diagnoses, compared with 37% with a voice diagnosis first (P < 0.0001). The latter group received more specific voice-related diagnoses (e.g., laryngeal cancer [odds ratio (OR) 4.27], benign laryngeal neoplasm [OR 1.60]), and were more likely to ever see an otolaryngologist than those receiving MH diagnoses first (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION Most patients with voice and MH diagnoses received a MH diagnosis first. Patients who receive MH diagnoses first appeared to have different voice-related healthcare compared to those who received voice diagnoses first. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE NA Laryngoscope, 130:1243-1248, 2020.
904 HEMOGLOBIN A1C AND |[ldquo]|TIGHT|[rdquo]| BLOOD GLUCOSE CONTROL IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED JUVENILE DIABETICS

The recent demonstration that glycosylated hemoglobin measurements correlate with integrated blood glucose levels over the preceding 1 to 2 months and the mounting experimental evidence that maintenance of normal blood glucose levels may reduce diabetic complications, suggests that early vigorous treatment of newly diagnosed juvenile diabetics, monitored by Hb A1C measurements, may be important in the long-range managements of these children. Fifteen youngsters, ages 3 to 18, were studied at the time of diagnosis of insulin-dependent diabetes and sequentially at 1 to 2 months intervals. Initial concentrations of Hb A1C were 8.6±1.2% of total hemoglobin (normal, non-diabetic children 2.2-4.8%), indicating the presence of hyperglycemia for a significant period of time prior to diagnosis. Within 4 to 6 weeks after diagnosis and placement of the children on a therapeutic regimen designed to promote normoglycemia, Hb A1C values declined to 5.4±0.9% and were maintained at these levels in 12 of the 15 patients for periods ranging up to one year. No significant hypoglycemic reactions occurred in any of the children on the “tight control” protocol which included high protein meals plus 3 snacks per day, daily afternoon exercise and a combination of intermediate and short acting insulin given once or twice per day. The results indicate that it is possible to maintain insulin dependent diabetic children in a relatively euglycemic state that can be monitored sequentially by Hb A1C determinations.
Animal Models of Coagulopathy

Trauma and the frequently associated trauma-induced coagulopathy continue to be major sources of morbidity and mortality in both civilian and military populations worldwide. Although previously thought to be due to either a simple dilution or consumption of coagulation factors, a modern understanding of this process is much more complex and involves the complex interplay of coagulation factors and cellular mechanisms, vascular endothelium and tissue injury, and the inflammatory cascade/immune system. Although full elucidation of these processes and the development of effective diagnostic and therapeutic tools would ideally be done in humans or human-based models, the nature of this type of research mandates the use of both small and large animal models for preclinical research, elucidation of pathways and effectors, and testing of potential interventions prior to any human trials. This, in turn, requires the development of robust and reproducible animal models of traumatic coagulopathy that mimics the human condition as closely as possible. This chapter reviews the main components of trauma-induced coagulopathy, the history and current status of major animal models, and insights into optimal approaches to designing and performing animal-based research in this area.
Graduate Student Literature Review: Understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying mastitis

ABSTRACT Mastitis is the costliest disease facing dairy producers today; consequently, it has been the subject of substantial research focus. Efforts have evolved from an initial focus on understanding the etiology of intramammary infections to the application of preventative measures, including attempts to breed cows that are resistant to infection. However, breeding for resistance to infection has proven difficult, given the complexity of the disease and the high expense associated with assembling high-quality genotypes and phenotypes. This review provides a brief background on mastitis; illustrates current understanding of the genetics influencing mastitis and the application of this knowledge; and discusses challenges and limitations in understanding these mechanisms and applying these findings to genetic improvement strategies.
Optimized Hip-Knee-Ankle Exoskeleton Assistance Reduces the Metabolic Cost of Walking With Worn Loads

Background Load carriage is common in a wide range of professions, but prolonged load carriage is associated with increased fatigue and overuse injuries. Exoskeletons could improve the quality of life of these professionals by reducing metabolic cost to combat fatigue and reducing muscle activity to prevent injuries. Current exoskeletons have reduced the metabolic cost of loaded walking by up to 22% relative to walking in the device with no assistance when assisting one or two joints. Greater metabolic reductions may be possible with optimized assistance of the entire leg. Methods We used human-in the-loop optimization to optimize hip-knee-ankle exoskeleton assistance with no additional load, a light load (15% of body weight), and a heavy load (30% of body weight) for three participants. All loads were applied through a weight vest with an attached waist belt. We measured metabolic cost, exoskeleton assistance, kinematics, and muscle activity. We performed Friedman's tests to analyze trends across worn loads and paired t-tests to determine whether changes from the unassisted conditions to the assisted conditions were significant. Results Exoskeleton assistance reduced the metabolic cost of walking relative to walking in the device without assistance for all tested conditions. Exoskeleton assistance reduced the metabolic cost of walking by 48% with no load (p = 0.05), 41% with the light load (p = 0.01), and 43% with the heavy load (p = 0.04). The smaller metabolic reduction with the light load may be due to insufficient participant training or lack of optimizer convergence. The total applied positive power was similar for all tested conditions, and the positive knee power decreased slightly as load increased. Optimized torque timing parameters were consistent across participants and load conditions while optimized magnitude parameters varied. Conclusions Whole-leg exoskeleton assistance can reduce the metabolic cost of walking while carrying a range of loads. The consistent optimized timing parameters across participants and conditions suggest that metabolic cost reductions are sensitive to torque timing. The variable torque magnitude parameters could imply that torque magnitude should be customized to the individual, or that there is a range of useful torque magnitudes. Future work should test whether applying the load to the exoskeleton rather than the person's torso results in larger benefits.
Convolutional recurrent neural network-enabled volumetric fluorescence imaging

We report a recurrent neural network (RNN)-based cross-modality image inference framework, termed Recurrent-MZ+, that explicitly incorporates two or three 2D fluorescence images, acquired at different axial planes, to rapidly reconstruct fluorescence images at arbitrary axial positions within the sample volume, matching the 3D image of the same sample acquired with a confocal scanning microscope. We demonstrated the efficacy of Recurrent-MZ+ on transgenic C. Elegans samples; using 3 wide-field fluorescence images as input, the reconstructed sample volume by Recurrent-MZ+ mitigates the deformations caused by the anisotropic point-spread-function of wide-field microscopy, and matches the ground truth confocal image stack of the sample.