cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stakeholders' qualitative perspectives of effective telepractice pedagogy in speech-language pathology.

Background Academic programmes in speech–language pathology are increasingly providing telehealth/telepractice clinical education to students. Despite this growth, there is little information describing effective ways to teach it. Aims The current exploratory study analyzed the perceptions of speech–language pathology/therapy (SLP/SLT) faculty, student and SLP/SLT clinicians to ascertain effective pedagogical approaches for telepractice service delivery, rank the relative importance of telepractice skills and knowledge competencies, and define any pedagogical challenges to teaching them. Methods & Procedures Qualitative data were collected from two sources: three open-ended questions within an online survey (SLP/SLT faculty n = 31, graduate students n = 16, telehealth (‘telepractice’) clinicians n = 16); and follow-up telephone interviews (n = 22). Data were analyzed with a grounded theory approach followed by a summative rank-order analysis of themes. Outcomes & Results All three groups agreed the most effective telepractice instructional approach was telepractice demonstrations (such as students role playing or watching a supervisor). Professional development approaches such as workshops or training manuals were less effective and didactic approaches such as lecture-only were ineffective. Skills and knowledge competencies students needed before entering the workforce were, in order of implied importance: telepractice clinical skills, telepractice technology skills, legal knowledge pertinent to telepractice and knowledge of telepractice literature. The most important telepractice clinical skills students needed to acquire were appropriate selection of telepractice materials and engaging the client over the internet. Many participants said teaching and learning telepractice was more challenging than in-person service delivery because of the difficulties in selecting appropriate telepractice clinical materials, managing technology problems and engaging with clients over the internet. Conclusions & Implications Despite substantial limitations to this investigation, findings imply that telepractice instruction, like other methods of SLP/SLT clinical education, may be most effective when students engage in critical thinking and problem-solving issues through intense practice. Because the skills and competencies associated with telepractice appear to vary in their perceived value, academic programmes may wish to consider prioritizing how they are taught, giving students additional instruction in the selection of telepractice clinical materials and development of online interpersonal communication skills. For some clinical educators, the challenges associated with telepractice may necessitate additional educator training.
Pressure ulcer prevention using soft, non-grasp manipulation in a forcebed

This paper presents a concept for a Forcebed that can manipulate a soft, articulated object, the human body while controlling the force applied to its surface. It is intended to automate tasks required to prevent pressure ulcers, or bed sores, in persons that have low-mobility or are otherwise at risk for developing them. The bed's hardware is composed of two main systems, a combination of rigid and soft structures for performing manipulation, and a suite of sensors that provide feedback for determining the configuration of the patient and the bed, as well as the magnitude of the forces acting at the skin-surface interface. The sensor suite also makes Forcebed a medical instrument for investigating the conditions that promote pressure ulcer formation. A model-based controller will be developed, which uses feedback from the sensor grid to manipulate the patient. This paper discusses the current state of the system development regarding the hardware design and the sensor suite.
Functionalized cardiovascular stents: Cardiovascular stents incorporated with stem cells

The chapter starts with an introduction on stem cell therapy and its role in the treatment of cardiac diseases including atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction and then follows a discussion on the adventitial biology for coronary artery disease and the significance of macrophage and macrophage-autophagy dysfunction in atherosclerotic plaque. The role stem/progenitor cells play in atherosclerosis and the current treatment for atherosclerosis, including immunotherapy for plaque stabilization, induction of autophagy to treat atherosclerosis, and nanoparticles targeting to atherosclerosis, are both considered. Further on is the chapter review on preparation and surface modification of nanofiber for stem cell stability and viability in nanofiber as well as application of nanofibers for cardiovascular tissue engineering. The process on how cardiovascular stents are functionalized with the use of nanoparticles and incorporation of stem cells into nanofiber stents for treatment of atherosclerosis is finally discussed. The stem cell approach may accomplish the task in treating atherosclerosis by reducing immune rejection and facilitating rapid differentiation in targeting lineage.
Expressive Writing in Psychological Science.

The 1997 Psychological Science paper “Writing About Emotional Experiences as a Therapeutic Process” summarized the results of several expressive writing studies. Since the publication of the first expressive writing study in 1986, a number of discoveries had emerged that had both theoretical and clinical implications. The scientific and personal backstories of the research are discussed. Finally, several possible reasons are advanced to explain why this particular paper has been cited as much as it has.
Host cell perforation by listeriolysin O (LLO) activates a Ca2+-dependent cPKC/Rac1/Arp2/3 signaling pathway that promotes Listeria monocytogenes internalization independently of membrane resealing

Pathogen-induced host plasma membrane damage is a recently recognized mechanism used by pathogens to promote their entry into host cells. We identified key transducers activated upon host cell perf...
Children as Laborers

Anthropologists take pains to distinguish the work children do in the context of rural, premodern communities where work is the means through which they learn to become a fully competent adult member of society and doing poorly paid hard labor in unsafe jobs with no future. The chapter details the cultural and economic forces that have fostered the spread of child labor in the past and present. Anthropology’s unique contribution to this discussion arises from an understanding of children’s place in a traditional gerontocracy and the fact that, from infancy, children incur a debt to those older for the care received when they were helpless dependents. So when families are resource poor, everyone, including the youngest, must work for all to survive.
Case 72: No Methylene Blue in the Urine: What Would You Do?

You are called as a senior anesthesiologist to a room where an ongoing robotic prostatectomy is in progress.
III-Nitride-Based Short-Wavelength Ultraviolet Light Sources

Group III-nitride semiconductor-based ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes with emission wavelengths less than 400 nm have been developed using the AlInGaN material system. Tremendous progress in material growth, device fabrication, and packaging enabled demonstration of deep-UV light-emitting devices with emission from 320 to 210 nm with varying efficiencies. High aluminum alloy compositions are needed for the shorter-wavelength devices and the properties of these materials border between conventional semiconductors and insulators, adding a degree of complexity to developing efficient light-emitting devices. This chapter provides a review of III-nitride-based UV light-emitting devices, including technical developments that allow for emission in the UV spectrum, and an overview of their applications in optoelectronic systems.
Electrical stimulation increases hypertrophy and metabolic flux in tissue-engineered human skeletal muscle

Abstract In vitro models of contractile human skeletal muscle hold promise for use in disease modeling and drug development, but exhibit immature properties compared to native adult muscle. To address this limitation, 3D tissue-engineered human muscles (myobundles) were electrically stimulated using intermittent stimulation regimes at 1 Hz and 10 Hz. Dystrophin in myotubes exhibited mature membrane localization suggesting a relatively advanced starting developmental maturation. One-week stimulation significantly increased myobundle size, sarcomeric protein abundance, calcium transient amplitude (∼2-fold), and tetanic force (∼3-fold) resulting in the highest specific force generation (19.3mN/mm2) reported for engineered human muscles to date. Compared to 1 Hz electrical stimulation, the 10 Hz stimulation protocol resulted in greater myotube hypertrophy and upregulated mTORC1 and ERK1/2 activity. Electrically stimulated myobundles also showed a decrease in fatigue resistance compared to control myobundles without changes in glycolytic or mitochondrial protein levels. Greater glucose consumption and decreased abundance of acetylcarnitine in stimulated myobundles indicated increased glycolytic and fatty acid metabolic flux. Moreover, electrical stimulation of myobundles resulted in a metabolic shift towards longer-chain fatty acid oxidation as evident from increased abundances of medium- and long-chain acylcarnitines. Taken together, our study provides an advanced in vitro model of human skeletal muscle with improved structure, function, maturation, and metabolic flux.
The Evolution of Black Neighborhoods Since Kerner

This article studies the evolution of African American neighborhoods since the publication of the groundbreaking Kerner Commission report in 1968. We first examine how black and riot-affected neighborhoods evolved in four representative cities—Detroit, Newark, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.—during this period. Among black neighborhoods in these cities, we find that black neighborhoods not directly affected by riots fare better but trend similar to those that were. Notably, a number of disparities the commission identified as policy priorities—such as relatively lower income, higher poverty, and higher unemployment—persist despite declines in racist attitudes, extreme segregation, and an increased suburbanization of blacks. Fifty years after its publication, these findings suggest that the concerns of the Kerner Commission report remain relevant.
Colossal electric permittivity discovered in polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based carbon fiber, with comparison of PAN-based and pitch-based carbon fibers

Abstract The electric permittivity is a fundamental material property concerning the dielectric behavior. Colossal permittivity (relative permittivity exceeding 10,000) is attractive for capacitors, sensors, actuators and mechanical energy harvesters. It was discovered in this work in continuous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based carbon fiber (Teijin's Tenax HTS45) along the fiber axis. This is the first report of colossal permittivity in carbon materials. The relative permittivity (12230 ± 990, 2 kHz) is much higher than that of mesophase-pitch-based carbon fiber (Cytec's Thornel P-25, 4384 ± 257, 2 kHz). The two fibers exhibit similar resistivity (1.52 × 10−3 and 1.24 × 10−3 Ω.cm for the PAN-based and pitch-based fibers, respectively). For both fibers, the permittivity is high, due to the physical continuity and mobile charge carriers. The higher permittivity of the PAN-based fiber compared to the pitch-based fiber is attributed to the higher degree of graphitization (as indicated by the lower interplanar spacing) of the PAN-based fiber. However, the smaller crystallite sizes and larger azimuthal spread of the carbon layers around the fiber axis cause the PAN-based fiber to be not higher in conductivity than the pitch-based fiber, in spite of the higher degree of graphitization. The smaller crystallite sizes and larger azimuthal spread are detrimental more to the conductivity than the polarization.
Cannabinoids and the Brain: A Balanced Perspective on Our Current State of Knowledge

With an increasing number of states legalizing recreational cannabis and emerging trends in federal legalization (e.g., Canada), there has never been a more urgent need for a review of the current ...
System-Level Design and Hardware/Software Co-design

This chapter concentrates on hardware and software co-design. It covers different models that have been used to characterize embedded applications and target architectures. It discusses a wide range of algorithms for co-synthesis and compare the models and assumptions used by these algorithms.
Identification of a gene signature that distinguishes estrogen-receptor positive from estrogen-receptor negative breast cancers may have potential value in predicting hormone therapy response.

4255 Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status are important factors in assessing breast cancer prognosis and treatment. Tumors which are ER positive (ER+) may initially respond to Tamoxifen anti-estrogen therapy, but often become hormone-independent. Although Tamoxifen significantly reduces tumor recurrence in certain patients with ER+ breast cancer, over time, approximately 40% of ER+ breast cancers will fail to respond or eventually develop resistance to Tamoxifen, leading to disease progression. Therefore, identification of a gene expression which could predict the response to Tamoxifen treatment would have important clinical application. Additionally, identification of genes involved in Tamoxifen resistance could provide important insights into biologic mechanisms of the non-responsiveness or aquired resistance. Using a cross-species microarray analytic approach, our lab has identified a signature of approximately 300 genes, highly predictive of the ER status of a human breast tumor. Futhermore, a subset of this signature was identified, which separated ER+ breast cancer patients into Tamoxifen responsive and Tamoxifen non-responsive groups. The expression of a set of developmentally regulated transcription factors within this signature are highly correlated with Tamoxifen treatment response or failure. A set of hoemebox genes are highly associated with ER+ status in human tumors. The roles of these genes in determining Tamoxifen response are being functionally tested in vitro by using siRNA and overexpression methods in Tamoxifen sensitive and resistant cell lines. The identification of this gene signature has potentially important implications for identifying ER+ breast cancer patients who may require additional forms of therapies since they will likely fail traditional anti-hormone treatment. Inhibition of specific genes in such tumors may be an important way to sensitize these tumors to hormone therapy.
Public Health and School Health Education: Aligning Forces for Change:

The interdependent relationship between health and education has long been documented by leading health and education scholars. Children who are not physically, mentally, socially, or emotionally healthy will not be ready to learn and thus hampered to achieve their full potential as productive members of society. Despite this evidence, the United States has yet to bridge the divide between the health and education systems. This perspective introduces three manuscripts in this Special School Health Education Collection on the future of school health education in the United States, and provides a context for the challenges and recommendations each article outlines to improve the quantity and quality of school health education for preK-12 youth. Although some of the challenges and recommendations are not novel, what is exciting is the opportunity to move the agenda forward given the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model and the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. Aligning the forces of public health and school health educators is essential to make school health education a societal imperative.
Thrust and Power Output of the Bacterial Flagellar Motor: A Micromagnetic Tweezers Approach

One of the most common swimming strategies employed by microorganisms is based on the use of rotating helical filaments, called flagella, that are powered by molecular motors. Determining the physical properties of this propulsive system is crucial to understanding the behavior of these organisms. Furthermore, the ability to dynamically monitor the activity of the flagellar motor is a valuable indicator of the overall energetics of the cell. In this work, inherently magnetic bacteria confined in micromagnetic CoFe traps are used to directly and noninvasively determine the flagellar thrust force and swimming speed of motile cells. The technique permits determination of the ratio of propulsive force/swimming speed (the hydrodynamic resistance) and the power output of the flagellar motor for individual cells over extended time periods. Cells subjected to ultraviolet radiation are observed to experience exponential decays in power output as a function of exposure time. By noninvasively measuring thrust, velocity, and power output over time at a single-cell level, this technique can serve as the foundation for fundamental studies of bacterial hydrodynamics and also provides a novel, to our knowledge, tether-free probe of single-cell energetics over time.
Long-Term Progress and Behavior Complexification in Competitive Co-Evolution

The possibility to use competitive evolutionary algorithms to generate long-term progress is normally prevented by the convergence on limit cycle dynamics in which the evolving agents keep progressing against their current competitors by periodically rediscovering solutions adopted previously over and over again. This leads to local but not to global progress, i.e. progress against all possible competitors. We propose a new competitive algorithm that produces long-term global progress by identifying and by filtering out opportunistic variations, i.e. variations leading to progress against current competitors and retrogression against other competitors. The efficacy of the method is validated on the co-evolution of predator and prey robots, a classic problem that has been used in other related researches. The accumulation of global progress over many generations leads to effective solutions that involve the production of rather articulated behaviors. The complexity of the behavior displayed by the evolving robots increases across generations although progresses in performance are not always accompanied by behavior complexification.
Periodic Remodeling in a Neural Circuit Governs Timing of Female Sexual Behavior

Behaviors are inextricably linked to internal state. We have identified a neural mechanism that links female sexual behavior with the estrus, the ovulatory phase of the estrous cycle. We find that progesterone-receptor (PR)-expressing neurons in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) are active and required during this behavior. Activating these neurons, however, does not elicit sexual behavior in non-estrus females. We show that projections of PR+ VMH neurons to the anteroventral periventricular (AVPV) nucleus change across the 5-day mouse estrous cycle, with ∼3-fold more termini and functional connections during estrus. This cyclic increase in connectivity is found in adult females, but not males, and regulated by estrogen signaling in PR+ VMH neurons. We further show that these connections are essential for sexual behavior in receptive females. Thus, estrogen-regulated structural plasticity of behaviorally salient connections in the adult female brain links sexual behavior to the estrus phase of the estrous cycle.
GD-OES study of the influence of second phase particles on the deuterium depth distribution in dispersion-strengthened tungsten

Abstract Dispersion-strengthened tungsten materials represent a new class of W-based materials to be investigated for use as plasma-facing component in nuclear fusion reactors. However, the retention and permeation characteristics of these materials under low energy deuterium (D) irradiation need to be elucidated before the efficacy of these materials can be judged. Due to possible deep penetration of D in W, depth profile techniques such as glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GD-OES) are needed to probe D concentrations many microns beneath the material surface. In this study, the D retention behavior of W materials containing 1–10 wt% TaC, TiC, or ZrC are investigated with GD-OES. After exposure to a 5 × 1018cm−2 D ion fluence at 100 °C, D was observed beyond the D implantation depth the surface in many specimens, and the D depth profile was found to depend on the type and concentration of the added second phase. Combined with in-situ X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) studies, the effects of impurity oxygen atoms on the D retention is considered, as an increasing oxygen content correlates with decreased D retention. The influence of grain size, second phase particles, and oxygen content on the retained D depth and concentration in these complex W-based materials is discussed.
6.04 – Carbohydrate Vaccines

Most tumors express on their cell surface certain uncommon glycans, termed tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs). TACAs are important molecular markers for the clinical diagnosis and prognosis of cancer and invaluable molecular targets in the development of therapeutic cancer vaccines or cancer immunotherapies. For the latter purpose, however, due to the problem of poor immunogenicity and/or immunotolerance, most TACAs fail to induce T cell-mediated immunity critical for cancer immunotherapy. To overcome this problem, much recent effort has been focusing on the design and construction of various TACA-based glycoconjugates as potential cancer vaccines. This chapter reviews the current state of the art in this area, particularly the strategies developed to prepare TACAs and their peptide/protein conjugates and the strategies utilized to augment the immunogenicity of TACAs and TACA conjugates, which include covalently coupling TACAs to appropriate carrier proteins to form semisynthetic glycoconjugate vaccines, coupling TACAs to a T cell peptide epitope and/or an immunostimulant to form multicomponent fully synthetic glycoconjugate vaccines, and creating new immunotherapies on the basis of chemically modified TACAs and unnatural carbohydrate epitopes expressed on cancer cells resulting from cell glycoengineering.
Tracheostomy in Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Approximately half of all pediatric tracheostomies are performed in infants younger than 1 year. Most tracheostomies in patients in the NICU are performed in cases of chronic respiratory failure requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation or upper airway obstruction. With improvements in ventilation and management of long-term intubation, indications for tracheostomy and perioperative management in this population continue to evolve. Evidence-based protocols to guide routine postoperative care, prevent and manage tracheostomy emergencies including accidental decannulation and tube obstruction, and attempt elective decannulation are sparse. Clinician awareness of safe tracheostomy practices and larger, prospective studies in infants are needed to improve clinical care of this vulnerable population.
Advances in epidermolysis bullosa

Epidermolysis bullosa is a rare monogenic dermatosis.The progress in molecular biology has contributed to the revision and perfection of classification of epidermolysis bullosa in 2008.According to the anatomic level of blisters and splits observed under an electron microscope,epidermolysis bullosa are redivided into four types as follows:epidermolysis bullosa simplex,junctional epidermolysis bullosa,dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa,and Kindler syndrome,and each of these types include various subtypes.Now no effective treatment is available for epidermolysis bullosa.Genetic diagnosis and prenatal diagnosis are expected to reduce the incidence rate of epidermolysis bullosa and improve health-related quality of life. Key words: Epidermolysis bullosa; Prenatal diagnosis; Molecular biology
Delayed COVID Respiratory Failure: What every front line healthcare worker needs to know.

The pandemic of COVID-19 has presented several diagnostic challenges in both recognition of acute disease and also the temporal presentation of disease convalescence with return to normal activity. We present a case of delayed clinical progression of COVID-19 associated respiratory failure on day 25 after initial symptom onset and, notably, after initial full resolution of symptoms and negative RT-PCR nasopharyngeal testing. The patient's delayed presentation of exertional dyspnea and the utilization of specific characteristics of chest radiography in confirmation with laboratory cytokine measurement allowed for clinical re-categorization of the patient's status to active COVID-19 clinical disease and changed acute management. COVID-19 positive patients should be advised to continue to monitor for respiratory deterioration for a greatly extended period of time, even if RT-PCR testing is negative and initial clinical symptoms have resolved. Frontline healthcare workers, including first responders and primary care providers, also need to be aware to monitor for and recognize this delayed presentation.
Lactate Transporters Mediate Glia-Neuron Metabolic Crosstalk in Homeostasis and Disease

Research over the last couple of decades has provided novel insights into lactate neurobiology and the implications of lactate transport-driven neuroenergetics in health and diseases of peripheral nerve and the brain. The expression pattern of lactate transporters in glia and neurons has now been described, though notable controversies and discrepancies remain. Importantly, down- and up-regulation experiments are underway to better understand the function of these transporters in different systems. Lactate transporters in peripheral nerves are important for maintenance of axon and myelin integrity, motor end-plate integrity, the development of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), and the functional recovery following nerve injuries. Similarly, brain energy metabolism and functions ranging from development to synaptic plasticity to axonal integrity are also dependent on lactate transport primarily between glia and neurons. This review is focused on critically analysing the expression pattern and the functions of lactate transporters in peripheral nerves and the brain and highlighting their role in glia-neuron metabolic crosstalk in physiological and pathological conditions.
Essentially unemployed: potential implications of the COVID-19 crisis and fiscal response on income inequality

I analyze the impact of the CARES Act unemployment subsidy on US income and inequality in the first month of the COVID-19 crisis using March-April Current Population Survey data. I then use monthly...
Intraoperative Fluid Management Implies Insignificant Influence to Surgical Outcomes in Head and Neck Microvascular Reconstruction Cases.

Background Deliberate fluid administration has been used to maintain a hyperdynamic systemic circulation in free tissue transfer operations. The effects of intraoperative volume loading on postoperative complications have been controversial. The authors hypothesized that increasing intraoperative fluid administration was associated with increased postoperative surgical complications. Methods Free flap operations for head and neck reconstruction between 2004 and 2014 were reviewed. A generalized estimating equation model was used to estimate the effect of intraoperative fluid administration on surgical outcomes. The optimized thresholds of anesthetic time were tested by the Youden index for flap compromise and major complications. Results A total of 2983 consecutive cases were included in the study. The incidences of flap compromise and total loss were 1.5 and 3.3 percent, respectively. Intraoperative fluid administration was not associated with surgical complications (p = 0.195). However, a 1-hour increase in anesthesia time was associated with a 19 percent increased risk of flap compromise (adjusted OR, 1.19; 95 percent CI, 1.10 to 1.29; p Conclusion Prolonged anesthetic time, but not fluid administration, was associated with adverse surgical outcomes. Clinical question/level of evidence Therapeutic, III.
System-level routing of mixed-signal ASICs in WREN

Techniques for global and detailed routing of the macrocell-style analog core of a mixed-signal ASIC are discussed. A comparatively simple geometric model of the problem is combined with an aggressive simulated annealing formulation that selects paths while accommodating numerous signal-integrity constraints. Experimental results demonstrate that it is critical to attack such constraints both globally (system-level) and locally (channel-level) to meet designer-specified performance targets. >
Optical scatter imaging of resected breast tumor structures matches the patterns of micro-computed tomography.

In patients undergoing breast-conserving surgery (BCS), the rate of re-excision procedures to remove residual tumor left behind after initial resection can be high. Projection radiography, and recently, volumetric x-ray imaging are used to assess margin adequacy, but x-ray imaging lacks contrast between healthy, abnormal benign, and malignant fibrous tissues important for surgical decision making. The purpose of this study was to compare micro-CT and optical scatter imagery of surgical breast specimens and to demonstrate enhanced contrast-to intra-tumoral morphologies and tumor boundary features revealed by optical scatter imaging. A total of 57 breast tumor slices from 57 patients were imagedex vivoby spatially co-registered micro-CT and optical scatter scanning. Optical scatter exhibited greater similarity with micro-CT in 89% (51/57) of specimens versus diffuse white light (DWL) luminance using mutual information (mean ± standard deviation of 0.48 ± 0.21 versus 0.24 ± 0.12;p < 0.001) and in 81% (46/57) of specimens using the Sorensen-Dice coefficient (0.48 ± 0.21 versus 0.33 ± 0.18;p < 0.001). The coefficient of variation (CV) quantified the feature content in each image. Optical scatter exhibited the highest CV in every specimen (optical scatter: 0.70 ± 0.17; diffuse luminance: 0.24 ± 01; micro-CT: 0.15 ± 0.03 for micro-CT;p < 0.001). Optical scatter also exhibited the highest contrast ratios across representative tumor boundaries with adjacent healthy/benign fibrous tissues (1.5-3.7 for optical scatter; 1.0-1.1 for diffuse luminance; 1.0-1.1 for micro-CT). The two main findings from this study were: first, optical scatter contrast was in general similar to the radiological view of the tissue relative to DWL imaging; and second, optical scatter revealed additional features associated with fibrous tissue structures of similar radiodensity that may be relevant to diagnosis. The value of micro-CT lies in its rapid three-dimensional scanning of specimen morphology, and combined with optical scatter imaging with sensitivity to fibrous surface tissues, may be an attractive solution for margin assessment during BCS.
Surviving la “lucha” in Ciudad Juárez. An Anthropological reflection on the Cuban community in Ciudad Juárez, México.

The following article presents a brief anthropological and historical reflection based on the Cuban community in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Additionally, we discuss important historical aspects that have contributed to the development of the Cuban community in the El Paso, TX – Ciudad Juarez, CH border, such as the migrant caravans that occurred between 2017-2019 and the migratory policies that have been put into effect. Furthermore, we present an ethnographic analysis on the migration experience of certain participants, placing an emphasis on created networks, and expanding on the concept of community through spatial solidarity and survival in Ciudad Juarez
BIM for Facilities Management: Potential Legal Issues and Opportunities

AbstractThere is growing awareness and use of building information modeling (BIM) for construction project delivery and operation of facilities. Evidence of successful project delivery with BIM abo...
The Iran Deal in Context: American Press Coverage of Iran from Coup to the Islamic Republic

This chapter presents the timeline of the development of both the nuclear program in Iran and the agreement known as the “Iran deal.” It provides a brief history of the press coverage of Iran beginning with the 1953 Anglo-American coup d’etat that removed Mosaddeq, a democratically elected prime minister, leading to the coverage of the Iran Deal. The political transformation of Iran from a staunch “ally” of the United States to an “enemy” allows for a study of how the changing US-Iran relations affect Iran’s coverage. It argues that while Mosaddeq was labeled a dictator, the Shah was portrayed as a “modernizer.” Additionally, the opposition to the Shah was explained exclusively in religious terms conveniently neglecting the social and political roots of the Iranian Revolution.
Decellularized peripheral nerve as an injectable delivery vehicle for neural applications.

Damage to the nervous system can result in loss of sensory and motor function, paralysis, or even death. To facilitate neural regeneration and functional recovery, researchers have employed biomaterials strategies to address both peripheral and central nervous system injuries. Injectable hydrogels that recapitulate native nerve extracellular matrix are especially promising for neural tissue engineering because they offer more flexibility for minimally invasive applications and provide a growth-permissive substrate for neural cell types. Here, we explore the development of injectable hydrogels derived from decellularized rat peripheral nerves (referred to as "injectable peripheral nerve [iPN] hydrogels"), which are processed using a newly developed sodium deoxycholate and DNase (SDD) decellularization method. We assess the gelation kinetics, mechanical properties, cell bioactivity, and drug release kinetics of the iPN hydrogels. The iPN hydrogels thermally gel when exposed to 37°C in under 20 min and have mechanical properties similar to neural tissue. The hydrogels demonstrate in vitro biocompatibility through support of Schwann cell viability and metabolic activity. Additionally, iPN hydrogels promote greater astrocyte spreading compared to collagen I hydrogels. Finally, the iPN is a promising delivery vehicle of drug-loaded microparticles for a combinatorial approach to neural injury therapies.
Fiber Reinforced Compressed Earth Blocks: Evaluating Flexural Strength Characteristics Using Short Flexural Beams

There are ongoing research efforts directed at addressing strength limitations of compressed earth blocks (CEB) that inhibit their deployment for structural applications, particularly in areas where masonry systems are regularly subjected to lateral loads from high winds. In this paper, the authors focus specifically on the extent to which polypropylene (PP) fibers can be used to enhance the flexural performance of CEB. Cementitious matrices used for CEB production exhibit low tensile and flexural strength (brittle) properties. This work investigates plain (unreinforced) and fiber-reinforced specimens (short flexural beams) with fiber mass content of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0% and ordinary Portland cement (OPC) content of 8%. The influence of the inclusion of fiber was based on tests conducted using the Standard Test Method for Flexural Performance of Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (ASTM C1609). Material properties that were quantified included first-peak strength, peak strength, equivalent flexural strength, residual strength, and flexural toughness. There was an observed improvement in the performance of the soil-fiber matrixes based on these results of these tests. It was also observed that when the fiber content exceeded 0.6% and above, specimens exhibited a deflection- hardening behavior; an indication of improvement in ductility. An equivalent flexural strength predictive model is proposed.
Update on Intravenous Immunoglobulin in Neurology: Modulating Neuro-autoimmunity, Evolving Factors on Efficacy and Dosing and Challenges on Stopping Chronic IVIg Therapy

In the last 25 years, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) has had a major impact in the successful treatment of previously untreatable or poorly controlled autoimmune neurological disorders. Derived from thousands of healthy donors, IVIg contains IgG1 isotypes of idiotypic antibodies that have the potential to bind pathogenic autoantibodies or cross-react with various antigenic peptides, including proteins conserved among the "common cold"-pre-pandemic coronaviruses; as a result, after IVIg infusions, some of the patients' sera may transiently become positive for various neuronal antibodies, even for anti-SARS-CoV-2, necessitating caution in separating antibodies derived from the infused IVIg or acquired humoral immunity. IVIg exerts multiple effects on the immunoregulatory network by variably affecting autoantibodies, complement activation, FcRn saturation, FcγRIIb receptors, cytokines, and inflammatory mediators. Based on randomized controlled trials, IVIg is approved for the treatment of GBS, CIDP, MMN and dermatomyositis; has been effective in, myasthenia gravis exacerbations, and stiff-person syndrome; and exhibits convincing efficacy in autoimmune epilepsy, neuromyelitis, and autoimmune encephalitis. Recent evidence suggests that polymorphisms in the genes encoding FcRn and FcγRIIB may influence the catabolism of infused IgG or its anti-inflammatory effects, impacting on individualized dosing or efficacy. For chronic maintenance therapy, IVIg and subcutaneous IgG are effective in controlled studies only in CIDP and MMN preventing relapses and axonal loss up to 48 weeks; in practice, however, IVIg is continuously used for years in all the aforementioned neurological conditions, like is a "forever necessary therapy" for maintaining stability, generating challenges on when and how to stop it. Because about 35-40% of patients on chronic therapy do not exhibit objective neurological signs of worsening after stopping IVIg but express subjective symptoms of fatigue, pains, spasms, or a feeling of generalized weakness, a conditioning effect combined with fear that discontinuing chronic therapy may destabilize a multi-year stability status is likely. The dilemmas of continuing chronic therapy, the importance of adjusting dosing and scheduling or periodically stopping IVIg to objectively assess necessity, and concerns in accurately interpreting IVIg-dependency are discussed. Finally, the merit of subcutaneous IgG, the ineffectiveness of IVIg in IgG4-neurological autoimmunities, and genetic factors affecting IVIg dosing and efficacy are addressed.
Device Requirements and Technology-Driven Architecture Optimization for Analog Neurocomputing

Neurocomputers offer a massively parallel computing paradigm by mimicking the human brain. Their efficient use in statistical information processing has been proposed to overcome critical bottlenecks with traditional computing schemes for applications such as image and speech processing, and associative memory. However, large power consumption and high circuit complexity of CMOS-based implementations have precluded adoption of such systems, and have led researchers to explore the use of emerging technologies. Although they provide intriguing properties, previously proposed neurocomputing components based on emerging technologies have not offered a complete and practical solution to efficiently construct an entire system. In this paper we explore the generalized problem of co-optimization of technology and architecture for such systems, and develop a recipe for device requirements and target capabilities. We describe two plausible case study examples, each of which could potentially enable the implementation of an efficient and fully functional analog neurocomputing system.
Is High Reynolds Number Turbulence Locally Isotropic

Preliminary results show that in high Reynolds number (R λ~ 1,000) shear flow the skewness of the derivative of the longitudinal velocity fluctuations in the direction of the mean shear become small, however, the super-skewness 〈(∂u/∂y)5〉/〈(∂u/∂y)2〉5/2 is of order 10 with no diminution with Reynolds number. We conclude that the velocity field is anisotropic even at very high Reynolds number. This fundamental aspect of the velocity field is compared with the well known anisotropy observed in passive scalars.
Characterization and Mode of Inheritance of a Paroxysmal Dyskinesia in Chinook Dogs

Background: Paroxysmal dyskinesias are episodes of abnormal, involuntary movement or muscle tone, distinguished from seizures by the character of the episode and lack of seizure activity on ictal EEG. Hypothesis: Paroxysmal dyskinesia is an inherited, autosomal recessive disorder in Chinook dogs. Animals: Families of Chinook dogs with paroxysmal dyskinesia. Methods: Pedigrees and medical histories were reviewed for 299 Chinook dogs. A family of 51 dogs was used for analysis. Episodes were classified as seizures, paroxysmal dyskinesia, or unknown, and segregation analysis was performed. Results: Paroxysmal dyskinesia was identified in 16 of 51 dogs and characterized by an inability to stand or ambulate, head tremors, and involuntary flexion of 1 or multiple limbs, without autonomic signs or loss of consciousness. Episode duration varied from minutes to an hour. Inter-ictal EEGs recorded on 2 dogs with dyskinesia were normal. Three dogs with dyskinesia also had generalized tonic-clonic seizures. One of 51 dogs had episodes of undetermined type. Phenotype was unknown for 6 of 51 dogs, and 28 dogs were unaffected. Segregation was consistent with an autosomal recessive trait. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: This movement disorder is prevalent in the Chinook breed, and consistent with a partially penetrant autosomal recessive or polygenic trait. Insufficient evidence exists for definitive localization; episodes may be of basal nuclear origin, but atypical seizures and muscle membrane disorders remain possible etiologies. The generalized seizures may be a variant phenotype of the same mutation that results in dyskinesia, or the 2 syndromes may be independent.
Las fronteras del sabor: Taste as Consciousness, Kinship, and Space in the Mexico–U.S. Borderlands

Resumen Informada por teorias sobre corporeizacion, investigaciones regionales sobre el parentesco, y nociones del espacio social, este articulo presenta un modelo etnografico del sabor. Mas que el ejercicio practico de la ideologia domestica, el sabor influye la mentalidad, la sociabilidad y la espacialidad. Es una conciencia sensual centrada en gozar, aprender y compartir. Como una intervencion epistemologica, se desestabiliza al concepto de gusto como racional y fijo y se lo reubica como encarnado y personal y aun asi social y dinamico. El parentesco es el modo primario para la construccion del sabor; de este modo, las madres, hermanas, hijas, nueras, vecinas y amigas son socias en el ciclo de cuidado familiar y la busqueda del sabor. Ademas, mientras se subvierten las divisiones sociales y espaciales entre cuerpo y mente, domestico y publico, local y global, el sabor se abre el camino para repensar las nociones del espacio social y sus fronteras.
Lovaas, K. E., Elia, J. P., & Yep, G. A. (2006). GLBT STUDIES AND QUEER THEORY: NEW CONFLICTS, COLLABORATIONS, AND CONTESTED TERRAIN. New York: Harrington Park Press.

Weaving together interdisciplinary voices and approaches, this book grapples with the tensions that abound between GLBT liberation politics and the deconstructuralist commitments of queer theory. T...
Queer youth suicide and the psychopolitics of “It Gets Better”

This article investigates a mass-mediated campaign against a perceived increase in suicides among gay (or presumed-to-be-gay) youth in the USA since September 2010. “It Gets Better” (IGB) became a rallying cry for “anti-bullying” activists, politicians, celebrities and ordinary people who created YouTube videos addressed to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth who might be considering suicide. A critical discourse analysis of a sample of IGB videos reveals a neoliberal frame that places the burden of a “better” life onto the emotional lives of LGBT youth, who are instructed to endure suffering in the interest of inevitable happiness. Drawing on Foucault and Orr's work on the construction and management of mental illness, we use the concept of “psychopower” to explore how these IGB videos render queer youth suicide both a psychological disorder and a sociological crisis for which the only viable solution is “homonormative” subjectivity.
Cellular uptake of cyclotide MCoTI-I follows multiple endocytic pathways

Cyclotides are plant-derived proteins that naturally exhibit various biological activities and whose unique cyclic structure makes them remarkably stable and resistant to denaturation or degradation. These attributes, among others, make them ideally suited for use as drug development tools. This study investigated the cellular uptake of cyclotide, MCoTI-I in live HeLa cells. Using real time confocal fluorescence microscopy imaging, we show that MCoTI-I is readily internalized in live HeLa cells and that its endocytosis is temperature-dependent. Endocytosis of MCoTI-I in HeLa cells is achieved primarily through fluid-phase endocytosis, as evidenced by its significant colocalization with 10K-dextran, but also through other pathways as well, as evidenced by its colocalization with markers for cholesterol-dependent and clathrin-mediated endocytosis, cholera toxin B and EGF respectively. Uptake does not appear to occur only via macropinocytosis as inhibition of this pathway by Latrunculin B-induced disassembly of actin filaments did not affect MCoTI-I uptake and treatment with EIPA which also seemed to inhibit other pathways collectively inhibited approximately 80% of cellular uptake. As well, a significant amount of MCoTI-I accumulates in late endosomal and lysosomal compartments and MCoTI-I-containing vesicles continue to exhibit directed movements. These findings demonstrate internalization of MCoTI-I through multiple endocytic pathways that are dominant in the cell type investigated, suggesting that this cyclotide has ready access to general endosomal/lysosomal pathways but could readily be re-targeted to specific receptors through addition of targeting ligands.
DM-GRASP, a novel immunoglobulin superfamily axonal surface protein that supports neurite extension.

Abstract We have identified a 95 kd cell surface protein, DM-GRASP, that is expressed on a restricted population of axons. Its expression begins early in chick embryogenesis, and within the spinal cord it is localized to axons in the dorsal funiculus, midline floorplate cells, and motorneurons. Antibodies to DM-GRASP impair neurite extension on axons, and purified DM-GRASP supports neurite extension from chick sensory neurons. We have cloned and sequenced the cDNA corresponding to this protein and find that it is a new member of the immunoglobulin superfamily of adhesion molecules. Consequently we have named this protein DM-GRASP, since it is an immunoglobulin-like restricted axonal surface protein that is expressed in the dorsal funiculus and ventral midline of the chick spinal cord.
Getting Started with GPU Programming

This tutorial describes a step-by-step procedure for programming a Macintosh Nvidia GPU. General scientific programmers with some C knowledge can get started in parallel processing application development with relative ease.