cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using Remote Sensing to Map and Monitor Water Resources in Arid and Semiarid Regions

Life on Earth depends on water. Yet water resources are severely stressed by the rapid growth of the human population and activities. In arid environments the exploration and monitoring of water resources is a prerequisite for water accessibility and rational use and management. To survey large arid areas for water, conventional land-based techniques must be complemented by using satellite and airborne remote sensors. Surface water systems can be mapped using multispectral and radar sensors; soil moisture in the unsaturated zone can be remotely sensed with microwave radiometers using indirect indicators, such as microwave emissivity; freshwater wetlands can be mapped using multispectral cameras; and freshwater springs can be detected using thermal infrared radiometers. Satellite remote sensors and satellite gravitational surveys can be used in combination with ancillary data analysis to infer groundwater behavior from surface expressions and to estimate groundwater aquifer storage. This chapter provides an overview of satellite and airborne remote sensing techniques for managing water resources and monitoring drought in arid and semiarid regions.
CS-26FIBULIN-3 REGULATES CANONICAL NFkB SIGNALING IN GLIOMA CELLS AND SURROUNDING STROMAL CELLS TO PROMOTE TUMOR INVASION.

Fibulin-3 (also known as EFEMP1) is an extracellular matrix protein secreted by glioma cells but absent from normal brain, which increases tumor invasion and resistance to apoptosis. Fibulin-3 activates the Notch pathway in glioma but its downstream mechanisms are unknown. Here we show that fibulin-3 activates canonical NFkB by TNFα- and Notch-dependent mechanisms, both in glioma and surrounding normal cells in the brain. Moreover, we demonstrate that activation of NFkB is necessary to mediate the pro-invasive effects of fibulin-3 in glioma. Addition of purified fibulin-3 to glioma cells activated the classical NFkB cascade (IKKa/b, IkBa, and p65/RelA), increasing the expression of NFkB-regulated genes (MMP9, MMP13, TnC, MLCK, VEGF). Conversely, fibulin-3 knockdown inhibited NFkB signaling, even in presence of TNFα, and reduced the expression of NFkB-downstream genes. Further mechanistic analysis demonstrated that fibulin-3 activated the TNFα convertase ADAM17 that releases soluble TNFα to activate NFkB signaling. At the same time, fibulin-3 downregulated the expression of the deubiquitinase CYLD, which is regulated by Notch and inhibits canonical NFkB signaling. Soluble fibulin-3 activated RelA/p65 not only in glioma cells but also in cultured astrocytes and brain microvascular endothelial cells. Moreover, quantitative immunohistochemistry demonstrated increased expression of phosphor-p65 in GFAP-positive cells surrounding fibulin-3-overexpressing tumors compared to control tumors. Inhibition of NFkB signaling, both pharmacologically and with p65-specific siRNAs, significantly reduced the pro-invasive effects of fibulin-3 in glioblastoma cells seeded in cultured brain slices. Taken together, our results suggest that NFkB is a novel major mechanism triggered by fibulin-3 in glioma cells and their microenvironment, and underlies the pro-invasive role of this ECM protein. Given the specific expression of fibulin-3 by glioma cells and its tight control of NFkB we hypothesize that targeting fibulin-3 may provide an avenue for tumor-specific reduction of NFkB signaling with little collateral effect in normal tissue.
Orature and Whole Vision in Seven Arrows

I was fourteen summers when we walked through afternoon rain combing every Indian shop for the perfect souvenir. Oak-woven baskets and technicolorfeathers cluttered every shelf along with ashtrays from Japan claiming Smokey Mountains werefor lovers. Then Old Woman Grey Braid seated on a crate by a Coke Machine struck her needle into soft cow leather and made me think of mocassins. Ten minutes later I was spashing around my happy hunting ground in shoes too quietfor Detroit. I got a picture of Chief Running something and walked through a snake soo and I was drawn to the crowd
Bénard convection in a rotating fluid

The steady nonlinear regime of Benard convection in a uniformly rotating fluid is treated using a two-dimensional primitive-equation numerical model with rigid boundaries. Quantitative comparisons ...
Acupuncture: The Historical Basis and Its US Practitioners

Acupuncture is a therapeutic technique that has been used in China for at least 4,500 years. Recently, it has gained rapid acceptance by the US public. During the past decade, scientific studies have been published in the Western medical literature that suggest a biological basis for the therapeutic effects of acupuncture. Published clinical studies also confirm the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of many different illnesses. This article, the first of two about acupuncture, will explore the historical basis of this medical practice and describe the various types of acupuncturists in the United States
Adam Broinowski, Cultural Responses to Occupation in Japan: The Performing Body during and after the Cold War

Cultural Responses to Occupation in Japan is ambitious in scope, seeking to provide in-depth analysis of two avant-garde theatre forms, Ankoku Butoh (dance of darkness) from the late 1950s to late ...
Viruses: Current Opinion in Structural Biology 1992, 2:293–299

Abstract Crystal structures of viruses and viral proteins continue to clarify problems related to assembly and cell entry. The structures of the Sindbis virus core protein and the simian virus 40 particles provide answers to long-standing questions. Analyses of single-stranded DNA viruses, prokaryotic and eukaryotic, have opened up new areas. Comparison of high-resolution information from X-ray crystallography with lower-resolution results of cryoelectron microscopy allows unexpectedly detailed conclusions in some cases.
Challenges in Biomedical Heat Transfer-Modeling Interface Phenomena

An application of heat transfer in biomechanics of continuing interest is the freezing and thawing of human tissues. These applications pose difficult problems in heat transfer analysis due to the simultaneous alteration of the sensible and latent energies in the tissues. The release of latent heat occurs nonlinearly over a range of temperatures, which produces a macroscopic mushy region in which both liquid and solid phases coexist. The heat transfer takes place on a macroscopic scale, while the concentration field occurs on the microscopic scale at the freeze interface. The interaction of the temperature and the solute concentration gradients in the local area of the phase front determine the dynamic shape and stability of the interface. The solid-liquid interface is classified by three types of structures: planar, cellular, and dendritic. Interface morphology deals with the shape and stability of the growing solid-liquid interface as a function mass diffusion and/or heat conduction. This paper presents a survey of work in these areas.
Dynamics and Spectroscopies in Four-Wave Mixing with Coherent and Incoherent Light

“Interferometric Coherent Raman Scattering” (ICRS) involving incoherent light is characterized by fringes (Rabi detuning oscillations (RDO’s)) or strongly down-converted Raman Bohr frequencies. New examples of RDO’s are shown involving both resonant and nonresonant components. Along the frequency axis the ICRS signal reveals new “zero linewidth” (ZLW) features that promise ultrahigh frequency resolved Raman spectroscopy. New examples of these features are shown. Neither RDO’s nor ZLW features are seen when using femtosecond light pulses. The latter, however, permit the resolution of stochastic line-shaping processes in real time. Thus a time resolved (25fs) CARS study of the ring breathing mode in liquid benzene has been completed. The line-shaping event is analyzed as a Kubo process. It is suggested that the spinning benzene ring may be principally responsible for the dephasing of this mode.
Global Deletion of Glutathione S-Transferase A4 Exacerbates Developmental Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis.

We established a mouse model of developmental nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) by feeding a high polyunsaturated fat liquid diet to female glutathione-S-transferase 4-4 ( Gsta4 −/− )/peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α ( Ppara −/− ) double knockout 129/SvJ mice for 12 weeks from weaning. We used it to probe the importance of lipid peroxidation in progression of NASH beyond simple steatosis. Feeding Gsta4 −/− / Ppara −/− double-knockout ( dKO ) mice liquid diets containing corn oil resulted in a percentage fat–dependent increase in steatosis and necroinflammatory injury ( P P dKO mice with wild-type (Wt) and single knockout mice revealed additive effects of Gsta4 −/− and Ppara −/− silencing on steatosis, 4-hydroxynonenal adduct formation, oxidative stress, serum alanine amino transferase, expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha, Il6, interferon mRNA, and liver pathology ( P Gsta4 −/− and dKO groups ( P dKO mice had similar levels of markers of stellate cell activation and matrix remodeling as Ppara −/− single KO mice. These data suggest that lipid peroxidation products play a role in progression of liver injury to steatohepatitis in NASH produced by high-fat feeding during development but appear less important in development of fibrosis.
Biodegradable and Biobased Plastics: An Overview

Plastic mulch film and sheets, rods, and tubing find increasing use in agriculture. Current polyethylene plastic mulch film is not biodegradable and therefore cannot be plowed back into the soil. It may undergo fragmentation, and the small fragments are blown all over and find its way into ocean and other pristine environments. This causes irreparable harm to ecosystems and the habitats. Completely soil-biodegradable plastics or compostable plastics offer an environmentally responsible end-of-life solution for plastic mulch film and plasticulture products. Claims of biodegradability should be qualified by the disposal environment (soil or compost), 90% + biodegradability as measured by the evolved CO2 from the microbial process using international standards for soil biodegradability and/or compostability. However, one has to be careful of misleading claims that are prevalent in the marketplace, particularly additive-based polyolefin plastics. Using biobased carbon in place of petro-fossil carbon in the products offers a reduced carbon footprint, empowers rural agrarian economy, and reduces dependence on fossil resources.
PHENIX Measurement of B → J/ψ in Cu+Au collisions at sNN=200 GeV and in p+p collisions at 200 GeV and 510 GeV

Abstract This study is part of the RHIC program to probe properties of the Quark-Gluon Plasma medium properties using heavy quark energy loss. Part of the control of these measurements is to understand initial production of heavy quarks and how initial conditions in nucleus collisions can alter their yields. This manuscript reports the effort made by the PHENIX collaboration to measure total B-mesons yields, by looking at the fraction of muons from non-prompt J/ ψ decays at displaced vertices in p + p and Cu+Au collisions. The total cross-sections of b-quarks in 200 GeV and 510 GeV p + p collisions follow the increasing trend from fixed target experiments to high energy results from the Tevatron and the LHC. Integrated p T and centrality B-meson yields in Cu+Au integrated over transverse momentum and centrality are consistent with no nuclear modification or some enhancement, in contrast to prompt J/ ψ which shows a strong suppression.
Endocytosis: another pathway in receptor-Gq-TASK signalling.

TASKs (TASK-1: K2P3.1 and TASK-3: K2P9.1) are expressed in many tissues, but are particularly highly expressed in cerebellar granule neurons, brainstem motor neurons, carotid body chemoreceptor cells and cells of the adrenal gland in the rat. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Catheter Ablation of Idiopathic Left Posterior Fascicular Ventricular Tachycardia: Predicting the Site of Origin via Mapping and Electrocardiography.

Background We report the 12-lead ECG morphology of left posterior fascicular ventricular tachycardia (LPF-VT) and the relationship between His-ventricular (HV) interval and site of origin in LPF-VT. Methods and Results We studied 41 patients who underwent successful catheter ablation of LPF-VT with HV interval >0 ms (n=8; proximal-LPF group), HV interval 0 to −15 ms (n=15; middle-LPF group), and HV interval Conclusion The HV interval and 12-lead ECG morphology of LPF-VT may help predict the successful site of origin and prove useful in guiding an effective ablation strategy.
Whole genome resequencing identifies the CPQ gene as a determinant of ascites syndrome in broilers.

Background Ascites syndrome is the most severe manifestation of pulmonary hypertension in fast-growing broilers. The disease can be attributed to increased body weights of birds, where the higher metabolic load is not matched by sufficient oxygen supply to the cells and tissues. Although there are environmental components, the disease exhibits moderate to high heritability. The current study uses high throughput whole genome resequencing (WGR) to identify genes and chromosomal regions associated with ascites. Results The WGR data identified the CPQ gene on chromosome 2. The association was confirmed by genotyping a large collection of DNAs from phenotyped birds from three distinct broiler lines using SNPs in intron 6 and exon 8 of the CPQ gene. By combining the genotype data for these two SNP loci, we identified three different alleles segregating in the three broiler lines. Particular genotypes could be associated with resistance to ascites. We further determined that particular genotypes most associated with resistance overexpress CPQ mRNA in three tissues which might explain the role of these alleles in contributing to resistance. Conclusions Our findings indicate CPQ is an important determinant of pulmonary hypertension syndrome leading to ascites in broilers. We identified particular SNPs that can be used for marker-assisted selection of broilers for resistance to the disease. Our findings validate WGR as a highly efficient approach to map determinants contributing to complex phenotypic or disease-related traits. The CPQ gene has been associated with pulmonary hypertension in genome-wide association studies in humans. Therefore, ascites investigations in broilers are likely to provide insights into some forms of hypertension in humans.
A longitudinal analysis of resource mobilisation among forced and voluntary return migrants in Mexico

The rise in U.S. deportations has resulted in a growing number of studies focused on the reintegration experiences of these migrants in their home communities. Based on interviews with deportees shortly after their arrival home, these studies paint a picture of economic gloom, finding that deportees are too frequently stigmatized by governments and employers and consequently unemployed or working on the margins of their home economies. In contrast, our longitudinal and comparative study, which draws on the findings of 93 deported and voluntary migrants in Leon, Mexico, finds convergence in the labor market trajectories and social mobility outcomes of deportees and non-deportees, which reduces initial labor market disparities over time. We found that deportation can stymie migrants' initial labor market re-entry, often relegating former migrants to undesirable jobs in the informal labor market, while they re-familiarize themselves with their local labor markets and identify promising opportunities. Yet, in the long run, successful reintegration depends primarily on the acquisition and mobilization of human and financial capital across the migratory circuit.
New layered ternary niobium tellurides: synthesis, structure, and properties of niobium metal telluride, NbMTe2 (M = iron, cobalt)

The layered ternary niobium tellurides NbMTe 2 (M=Fe, Co) have been synthesized by high-temperature solid-state reactions. The structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods, and both were found to be orthorhombic. NbFeTe 2 crystallizes in the space group Pmna (No.53) with Z=4, a=7.922 (1) A, b=7.239 (1) A, c=6.243 (1) A, V=357.98 (9) A 3 , and R=4.11%, R w =5.18%
Local creative culture and corporate innovation

Abstract The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of local creative culture on corporate innovation. This paper uses a novel measure of creative culture, namely, proportion of local creative class, and empirically examines the role of local creative culture in corporate innovation for a large sample of US firms in a regression analysis setting. The empirical findings show that firms located in areas with strong local creative culture have more innovation outputs, as measured by the number of patents and patent citations. The findings remain robust after controlling endogeneity via the instrumental variable approach and other econometric techniques. This paper introduces the role of local creative culture in generating innovation for firms. The empirical results are also stronger for local firms, and this finding highlights the local component of corporate innovation as an important determinant of corporate innovation.
Bytecode Corruption Attacks Are Real—And How to Defend Against Them

In the continuous arms race between attackers and defenders, various attack vectors against script engines have been exploited and subsequently secured. This paper explores a new attack vector that has not received much academic scrutiny: bytecode and its lookup tables. Based on our study of the internals of modern bytecode interpreters, we present four distinct strategies to achieve arbitrary code execution in an interpreter. To protect interpreters from our attack we propose two separate defense strategies: bytecode pointer checksums and non-writable enforcement. To demonstrate the feasibility of our approach, we instantiate our attacks and proposed defense strategies for Python and Lua interpreters. Our evaluation shows that the proposed defenses effectively mitigate bytecode injection attacks with low overheads of less than 16% on average.
Approaches in the Diagnosis of Soft Rot Diseases of the Potato

Bacterial soft rot of potato is mainly caused by the soft rotting erwinias, but pectolytic strains of Clostridium, Bacillus, Flavobacterium and fluorescent pseudomonads may also be involved. In advanced decays mixtures of the above bacteria may be present and complicate diagnostic procedures.
Substance Abuse in the Affective Disorders

Common sense suggests that there might be a relationship between affective disorder and substance abuse. That drugs might be sought and abused by individuals who are experiencing unhappiness or dysphoria is consistent with popular notions about drug-taking behavior. There is, in fact, a great deal of evidence for a rather strong association between alcoholism and affective disorder, though by no means as simple or as well understood as the popular commonsense notion would suggest. On the other hand, there is very little evidence of any particular association between other drugs and affective disorder. This may in part be due to lack of study or to the relative newness of other drugs of abuse, but the discrepancy is striking and is in itself an interesting finding. In any event, there is good reason to consider alcohol and other drugs of abuse separately with respect to their relationship to affective disorder.
In Memoriam: Remembrances from the Legacy of Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr.

On February 9, 2011, Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr. went home to be with the Lord. The Norfolk, Virginia native, a child of educators, attended the University of Virginia, graduating in 1977. In 1980, he graduated from Harvard Law School, going on to become a partner at the Richmond, Virginia office of McGuire, Woods, Battle & Booth. He was subsequently appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia in 1989 by Governor Gerald L. Baliles, eventually appointed chief justice, and served in that capacity until January 31, 2011. This Essay is offered in his memory and to the glory of God.
Regulation of Yeast Alcohol Dehydrogenase Isozymes

The two major alcohol dehydrogenases of yeast are coded by separate nuclear genes, and show 95% amino acid homology. Nonetheless, the “constitutive” ADH, ADH-I, preferentially catalyzes the reaction acetaldehyde → ethanol, and the inducible ADH, ADH-II, preferentially catalyzes the reverse reaction. Linked and non-linked mutants rendering ADH-II constitutive have been isolated by Michael Ciriacy. An understanding of the regulation of these isozymes would greatly enhance our ability to control and understand the process of fermentation, and to isolate further regulatory mutants.
The NASA HDF-EOS Web GIS Software Suite

The NASA Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) is generating a huge volume of remote sensing data to support Earth system science and applications research through its Earth Observing System (EOS) program. Most of the data are stored in HDF-EOS, the standard format for NASA’s EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS). EOS data are widely used not only for global change research but also for local and regional applications.
Investigating inequities in hospital care among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals using social media

Abstract Rationale Persons who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) face health inequities due to unwarranted discrimination against their sexual orientation or identity. An important contributor to LGBT health disparities is the inequitable or substandard care that LGBT individuals receive from hospitals. Objective To investigate inequities in hospital care among LGBT patients using the popular social media platform Twitter. Method This study examined a dataset of Twitter communications (tweets) collected from February 2015 to May 2017. The tweets mentioned Twitter handles for hospitals (i.e., usernames for hospitals) and LGBT related terms. The topics discussed were explored to develop an LGBT position index referring to whether the hospital appears supportive or not supportive of LGBT rights. Results for each hospital were then compared to the Healthcare Equality Index (HEI), an established index to evaluate equity of hospital care towards LGBT patients. Results In total, 1856 tweets mentioned LGBT terms representing 653 unique hospitals. Of these hospitals, 189 (28.9%) were identified as HEI leaders. Hospitals in the Northeast showed significantly greater support towards LGBT issues compared to hospitals in the Midwest. Hospitals deemed as HEI leaders had higher LGBT position scores compared to non-HEI leaders (p = 0.042), when controlling for hospital size and location. Conclusions This exploratory study describes a novel approach to monitoring LGBT hospital care. While these initial findings should be interpreted cautiously, they can potentially inform practices to improve equity of care and efforts to address health disparities among gender minority groups.
Rationale and design for eHealth Familias Unidas Primary Care: A drug use, sexual risk behavior, and STI preventive intervention for hispanic youth in pediatric primary care clinics.

Abstract Family-based behavioral interventions are efficacious and effective in preventing drug use and sexual risk behaviors; unfortunately, they have not been evaluated and disseminated in pediatric primary care practice, where they can have a significant impact. There is an increased focus on integrating parenting interventions into primary care to reduce health disparities among ethnic minorities such as Hispanics. Although Hispanic youth demonstrate higher levels of drug use and sexual risk behaviors than their non-Hispanic counterparts, few parenting interventions are available for Hispanic youth, and none have been delivered specifically to Hispanic adolescents in primary care. Therefore, this manuscript describes the rationale and design of an Internet-based, family-centered, Hispanic-specific, evidence-based prevention intervention, eHealth Familias Unidas Primary Care. Hispanic adolescents (n = 456) and their care givers will be recruited from pediatric primary care clinics in South Florida and randomized to: eHealth Familias Unidas Primary Care or prevention as usual. The intervention will be delivered by trained interns, clinic volunteers, social workers, mental health counselors, students, and nurses. Outcomes will be measured at baseline and 6, 12, 24, and 36 months post-baseline. This study will determine whether the intervention, compared to prevention as usual, is effective in reducing drug use, unprotected sex, and STI incidence in Hispanic youth through the improvement of family functioning. Additionally, we will determine the cost effectiveness of delivering eHealth Familias Unidas within primary care settings. The effectiveness of eHealth Familias Unidas Primary Care will further inform the need to integrate effective behavioral health interventions into primary care settings.
Finding the needle in the haystack: iterative sampling and modeling for rare taxa

Much like finding a needle in a haystack, the effort required to detect a rare and endangered species increases inversely with limited taxa distribution. The infrequency of detections combined with limited fiscal resources often leaves scientists with knowledge gaps about the ecological niche and habitat requirements necessary for conserving rare species. The Arsapnia arapahoe snowfly (A. arapahoe), was thought to be a rare and cryptic aquatic invertebrate for which only 13 individuals from two locations were known to exist in Colorado. In response to potential listing by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as a threatened species, we sought to implement an improved sampling protocol and tested an iterative predictive modeling approach. Species distribution models successively employed annual presence data collected from 2015 to 2017 and detections improved. Although now understood to be a hybrid taxa, the model predicted the locations of seven additional localities while concurrently narrowing the search area and expanding the known geographic range of A. arapahoe. Given our results, we recommend an iterative species distribution modeling and sampling strategy to refine search areas and improve detection rates for rare and endangered species.
Modeling and control of building-integrated microgrids for optimal energy management – A review

Abstract This paper reviews the system components, modeling, and control of microgrids for future smart buildings in current literature. Microgrids are increasingly widely studied due to their reliability in the event of grid failure or emergency, their incorporation of renewable energy sources, and the potential they represent for overall cost reduction for the consumer. Greater accuracy in microgrid modeling enables the design of more advanced control methods, resulting in better objective optimization. This paper begins with an overview of microgrids and their components, their importance to both utility providers and building owners, and typical problems that they may be used to solve, as well as modeling challenges that microgrid researchers may face. An overview of microgrid control and optimization is given in terms of objectives, constraints, and optimization methods. Microgrid modeling is a complex task due to the number, variety, and complexity of microgrid components, which can include building loads, distributed energy resources, and energy storage systems. Various component modeling methods including physics-based and data-driven models are reviewed, to include battery degradation models. Furthermore, this paper provides a review of various data-driven forecasting methods for the microgrid controls. Different types of control methods including rule-based and model predictive control are reviewed, including latest occupancy-based model predictive control for buildings. Lastly, a discussion of current challenges that may be faced by researchers is presented, as well as future directions.
Aggressive granular cell tumor of the neurohypophysis with optic tract edema and invasion into third ventricle.

Background Granular cell tumors (GCTs) of the neurohypophysis are parasellar tumors arising from pituicytes in the neurohypophysis and are generally considered benign slow-growing tumors. We present a case of sellar GCT with aggressive features. Case Description A 70-year-old female presented with progressive vision impairment found to have bitemporal visual field defects. Subsequent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a 2.9 cm × 2.5 cm × 2.5 cm parasellar mass with extension into the third ventricle and causing optic tract edema (OTE). Right frontotemporal orbital craniotomy was performed and the tumor was partially removed to decompress optic nerves. Pathology identified the tumor as granular tumor of the sellar region. The patient's vision improved minimally after the surgery. Follow-up MRI after 3 months and 11 months showed stable left OTE. Conclusion GCTs were thought to be benign tumors with slow growth, but they could potentially possess aggressive features and invade into surrounding structures as described in this case. OTE can be a rare MRI finding of GCTs. Only one case of GCT-related OTE has been reported in literature to our best knowledge.
Despite the Best Intentions: How Racial Inequality Thrives in Good Schools

Amanda Lewis and John Diamond boldly argue that racial discrimination explains most, if not all, of the racial gaps in educational outcomes in integrated schools. The authors interviewed students, ...
Statistical evidence on distinct impacts of short- and long-time fluctuations of Indian Ocean surface wind fields on Indian summer monsoon rainfall during 1991–2014

This observational study mainly examines the impacts of short- and long-time fluctuations of surface wind fields over the Arabian Sea (AS), the Bay of Bengal (BoB), and the southern Indian Ocean (SIO) on Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall (ISMR), with special reference to strong and weak Indian summer monsoons (ISM). Two datasets over 1991–2014 are used: (1) the daily gridded rainfall produced by India Meteorological Department (IMD), and (2) the Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform (CCMP) wind product version 2.0 created by Remote Sensing Systems. Monthly mean surface wind speed, convergence, and curl in the AS, BoB, and SIO are overall not significantly different between strong and weak ISMRs except for wind speed in the AS in September. However, the probability density function (PDF) distribution of daily values over the AS, BoB, and SIO during strong ISMRs is different from during weak ISMs, suggesting that sub-monthly surface wind characteristics could be useful in diagnosing rainfall characteristics. Except for rainfall in the northeast part of India, Indian regional rainfalls are closely linked with surface wind speeds over the AS, and wind convergence and curl over the BoB on short timescales of up to 1 week. The daily area-averaged wind convergence over the BoB is better correlated with regional rainfall during strong ISMs than during weak ISMRs. Multiple linear regression analysis shows that the fluctuations of monthly wind fields in the AS and BoB can affect monthly rainfall in some regions but are not related to a significant change in rainfall over the whole India. It is the short-time fluctuations of wind speed over the AS as well as wind convergence and curl over the BoB rather than their long (monthly) timescale fluctuations that are related to the strength of ISMR. Surface winds over the SIO on weather timescales have little influence on ISMR.
Lectin genes and a transposable element in soybean

Biotechnology can contribute to solving agricultural problems by providing the means to probe the organization and function of plant genomes. One major question is why certain genes are expressed only in particular plant tissues and at specific times during development. This knowledge is essential for creating improved varieties by genetic engineering. Some current research aimed at using gene transfer to study the developmental regulation of plant genes is discussed. Our specific approach to this goal is to examine the expression of a developmentally regulated soybean gene which produces seed lectin only during embryo formation. Before genes of agronomic significance can be manipulated by genetic engineering, they must be identified and isolated. Knowledge of the genes and biochemical pathways that control most plant traits of agronomic importance is very limited. In this regard, the use of transposons to isolate or tag genes whose protein products are unknown holds promise. While a large amount of work exists on transposable elements in Zea mays, little is known in soybean. We describe an element, Tgml, that interrupts the soybean lectin gene and blocks its expression. Tgml has a familial relationship to the En/Spm transposable element of maize. Attempts to correlate the soybean element to other mutable traits or mutations in soybean are described.
Inhalable resveratrol-cyclodextrin complex loaded biodegradable nanoparticles for enhanced efficacy against non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract Resveratrol (RES), a natural polyphenol in fruits, has shown promising anti-cancer properties. Due to its relative low toxicity which limits the adverse effects observed for conventional chemotherapeutics, RES has been proposed as an alternative. However, the therapeutic applications of RES have been limited due to low water solubility, as well as chemical and physical instability. This study investigated enhancing the anti-cancer activity of RES against non-small-cell-lung-cancer (NSCLC) by complexing with sulfobutylether-β-cyclodextrin (CD-RES) and loading onto polymeric nanoparticles (NPs). The physicochemical properties of the CD-RES NPs were then characterized. The CD-RES inclusion complex increased the water solubility of RES by ~66-fold. CD-RES NPs demonstrated very good aerosolization potential with a mass median aerodynamic diameter of 2.20 μm. Cell-based studies demonstrated improved therapeutic efficacy of CD-RES NPs compared to RES. This included enhanced cellular uptake, cytotoxicity, and apoptosis, while retaining antioxidant activity. The 3D spheroid study indicated an intensified anti-cancer effect of CD-RES NPs. Altogether, these findings marked CD-RES NPs as a potential inhalable delivery system of RES for the treatment NSCLC.
Chemical Control of Quorum Sensing in E. coli: Identification of Small Molecule Modulators of SdiA and Mechanistic Characterization of a Covalent Inhibitor.

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is the causative agent of severe diarrheal disease in humans. Cattle are the natural reservoir of EHEC, and approximately 75% of EHEC infections in humans ...
Growth Rate of Ovarian Serous Cystadenomas and Cystadenofibromas.

Objectives We analyzed growth rates of benign ovarian serous cystadenomas and cystadenofibromas to understand what percentage would show a volume doubling time (DT) of less than 3 years, between 3 and 5 years, or greater than 5 years. Methods We retrospectively reviewed pathology records (January 1, 2014, to June 30, 2019) to find all surgically excised ovarian serous cystadenomas and cystadenofibromas. Imaging records were then reviewed to identify those that had been confidently identified with ultrasound imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, or computed tomography at least twice before surgical removal, with at least a 60-day interval between studies. Three orthogonal measurements were recorded on the first and last imaging studies on which the mass was detected, with volume calculations by the prolate formula (product of 3 measurements multiplied by 0.52). The volume DT was calculated and grouped into 1 of 5 categories: (1) DT of less than 1 year; (2) DT of 1 to 3 years; (3) DT of 3 to 5 years; (4) DT of 5 to 10 years; and (5) no growth (any mass with a DT >10 years or showing a decrease in volume). Results A total of 102 of 536 cystadenomas and 44 of 227 cystadenofibromas met inclusion criteria. Of the 146 tumors, 40 (27.4%) had a DT of less than 1 year; 38 (26.0%) had a DT of 1 to 3 years; 22 (15.1%) had a DT of 3 to 5 years; 10 (6.8%) had a DT of 5 to 10 years; and 36 (24.7%) showed no growth. Conclusions A total of 53.4% of ovarian serous cystadenomas/cystadenofibromas have a DT of less than 3 years; 15.1% have a DT between 3 and 5 years; and 31.5% have a DT of greater than 5 years or show no growth.
NinimHMDA: Neural integration of neighborhood information on a multiplex heterogeneous network for multiple types of human Microbe-Disease association.

Motivation Many computational methods have been recently proposed to identify differentially abundant microbes related to a single disease; however, few studies have focused on large-scale microbe-disease association prediction using existing experimentally verified associations. This area has critical meanings. For example, it can help to rank and select potential candidate microbes for different diseases at-scale for downstream lab validation experiments and it utilizes existing evidence instead of the microbiome abundance data which usually costs money and time to generate. Results We construct a multiplex heterogeneous network (MHEN) using human microbe-disease association database, Disbiome, and other prior biological databases, and define the large-scale human microbe-disease association prediction as link prediction problems on MHEN. We develop an end-to-end graph convolutional neural network-based mining model NinimHMDA which can not only integrate different prior biological knowledge but also predict different types of microbe-disease associations (e.g. a microbe may be reduced or elevated under the impact of a disease) using one-time model training. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first method that targets on predicting different association types between microbes and diseases. Results from large-scale cross validation and case studies show that our model is highly competitive compared to other commonly used approaches. Availability The codes are available at Github https://github.com/yuanjing-ma/NinimHMDA. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
States' Performance in Reducing Uninsurance Among Black, Hispanic, and Low-Income Americans Following Implementation of the Affordable Care Act

Purpose: To assess state-level variation in changes in uninsurance among Black, Hispanic, and low-income Americans after implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Methods: We analyzed data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from 2012 to 2016, excluding 2014. For Black, Hispanic, and low-income (<$35,000/year) adults 18-64 years of age, we estimated multivariable regression adjusted pre- (2012-2013) to post-ACA (2015-2016) percentage point changes in uninsurance for each U.S. state. We compared absolute and relative changes and the proportion remaining uninsured post-ACA across states. We also examined whether state-level variation in coverage gains was associated with changes in forgoing needed care due to cost. Results: The range in the percentage point reduction in uninsurance varied substantially across states: 19-fold for Black (0.9-17.4), 18-fold for Hispanic (1.2-21.5), and 23-fold for low-income (1.0-27.8) adults. State-level variation in changes in uninsurance relative to baseline uninsurance rates also varied substantially. In some states, more than one quarter of Black, one half of Hispanic, and approaching one half of low-income adults remained uninsured after full implementation of the ACA. Compared with states in the lowest quintile of change in coverage, states in the highest quintile experienced greater improvements in ability to see a physician. Conclusions: Performance on reducing uninsurance for Black, Hispanic, and low-income Americans under the ACA varied substantially among U.S. states with some making substantial progress and others making little. Post-ACA uninsurance rates remained high for these populations in many states.
The relationship between COVID-related parenting stress, nonresponsive feeding behaviors, and parent mental health

COVID-19 has disrupted the lives of families across the United States and all over the world. Stress is known to have a negative impact on parent–child feeding interactions; hence, the purpose of this study is to examine how COVID-related parenting stress, which was measured using a newly developed scale, is related to parent mental health, nonresponsive feeding, and children’s self-regulation of eating. 119 parents of children ages 2–7 years old filled out questions about COVID-related parenting stress, mental health, nonresponsive feeding behaviors, and children’s self-regulation of eating. A series of multiple regressions were run to predict parent anxiety and psychological distress from COVID-related parenting stress. COVID-related parenting stress was found to be a significant predictor of both parent anxiety and psychological distress. When COVID-related parenting stress was further broken down into COVID-Related Job/Financial Security Stress and COVID-Related Family Safety/Stability Stress, COVID-Related Job/Financial Security Stress predicted psychological distress while COVID-Related Family Safety/Stability Stress predicted parent anxiety. Moderation analyses were also run to test the difference across the parents of children under 5 years of age and those of children who were 5 years of age and older regarding the association of COVID-related parenting stress and either parent anxiety or psychological distress. There was no significant difference across age. Lastly, COVID-related parenting stress and nonresponsive feeding practices were simultaneously entered into a multiple regression to predict children’s self-regulation of eating, and COVID-related parenting stress and parent distrust in appetite were both found to decrease children’s ability to self-regulate energy intake. Based on findings from this study, researchers interested in improving children’s self-regulation of eating and long-term health outcomes should continue to target the reduction of nonresponsive parent feeding behaviors, but they should also aim to look beyond specific parent feeding behaviors by attempting to help parents manage stressors in their lives.
THE FUNCTION OF METHYLATED BASES IN DNA OF Escherichia coli

The DNA of E.coli K-12 contains 6-methyladenine (6-meA) and 5-methylcytosine (5-meC). Approximately two percent of all adenines are methylated and one percent of all cytosines (1,2,3). These methylated bases are formed by DNA methylases which transfer methyl groups from S-adenosyl-L-methionine to specific base sequences in newly synthesized daughter strand DNA (4,5). Three distinct DNA methylases have been detected in E.coli K-12. The hsd DNA adenine methylase, the dam DNA adenine methylase and the dcm DNA cytosine methylase. The hsd DNA adenine methylase is involved in classical restriction and modification and produces very few methylated adenines in DNA. For further information regarding this enzyme, the reader is referred to recent reviews (6,7).
Radiation Effects in SYNROC-D

SYNROC-D is a ceramic material proposed as a waste form for defense high-level nuclear waste. During the first million years of storage, it would be subjected to ∼8 × 1024 alpha decay/m3 of SYNROC-...
Dancing Again: History, Memory, and Activism at Wounded Knee

This study examines the role history and memory played in the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee by Oglala protestors. The research demonstrates that a historical and memorial understanding of Lakota culture and relationship with the United States played a critical role in the identity protestors consciously sought to create for themselves. In particular, the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 and the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890 were key events legitimizing the struggle of Oglala protestors seeking an improvement in their living conditions. Furthermore, Oglala protestors cultivated the resurrection of a Lakota culture long suppressed within the Pine Ridge Reservation, with memories of Lakota tradition providing the crux of this revived culture. Although unsuccessful in its immediate efforts, the Wounded Knee occupation demonstrates the power associated with historic interpretation and memorial remembrance, particularly when applied towards the creation of a collective identity rooted in the past and directed towards the future.
The evolution of multi-component visual signals in darters (genus Etheostoma)

As complex traits evolve, each component of the trait may be under different selection pressures and could respond independently to distinct evolutionary forces. We used comparative methods to examine patterns of evolution in multiple compo- nents of a complex courtship signal in darters, specifically addressing the question of how nuptial coloration evolves across dif- ferent areas of the body. Using spectral reflectance, we defined 4 broad color classes present on the body and fins of 17 species of freshwater fishes (genus Etheostoma) and quantified differences in hue within each color class. Ancestral state reconstruction suggests that most color traits were expressed in the most recent common ancestor of sampled species and that differences among species are mostly due to losses in coloration. The evolutionary lability of coloration varied across body regions; we found sig- nificant phylogenetic signal for orange color on the body but not for most colors on fins. Finally, patterns of color evolution and hue of the colors were correlated among the two dorsal fins and between the anterior dorsal and anal fins, but not between any of the fins and the body. The observed patterns support the hypothesis that different components of complex signals may be subject to distinct evolutionary pressures, and suggests that the combination of behavioral displays and morphology in communication may have a strong influence on patterns of signal evolution (Current Zoology 57 (2): 125-139, 2011).
Clustering time-varying gene expression profiles using scale-space signals

The functional state of an organism is determined largely by the pattern of expression of its genes. The analysis of gene expression data from gene chips has primarily revolved around clustering and classification of the data using machine learning techniques based on the intensity of expression alone with the time-varying pattern mostly ignored. In this paper, we present a pattern recognition-based approach to capturing similarity by finding salient changes in the time-varying expression patterns of genes. Such changes can give clues about important events, such as gene regulation by cell-cycle phases, or even signal the onset of a disease. Specifically, we observe that dissimilarity between time series is revealed by the sharp twists and bends produced in a higher-dimensional curve formed from the constituent signals. Scale-space analysis is used to detect the sharp twists and turns and their relative strength with respect to the component signals is estimated to form a shape similarity measure between time profiles. A clustering algorithm is presented to cluster gene profiles using the scale-space distance as a similarity metric. Multidimensional curves formed from time series within clusters are used as cluster prototypes or indexes to the gene expression database, and are used to retrieve the functionally similar genes to a query gene profile. Extensive comparison of clustering using scale-space distance in comparison to traditional Euclidean distance is presented on the yeast genome database.