cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analyzing T cell repertoire diversity by high-throughput sequencing

Diversity on a large scale is one of the most striking and powerful features utilized by the mammalian immune system to fight off a vast universe of pathogens. The T-cell driven immune response is characterized by a multitude of distinct receptors capable of antigen recognition with high specificity. Using high-throughput sequencing we are able to investigate the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire as the collection of its individual receptors, aiming to profile the global properties of the complementarily determining region 3 (CDR3) of the TCR in human immunity. However, analysis of the data is highly sensitive to single nucleotide polymoprhisms, read length and error rate, accuracy in mapping to a genomic reference, and our ability to translate the sequence, in silico, in the appropriate reading frame. We have developed a computational pipeline that performs error correction on overlapping paired-end long (250 nt) reads, and maps the reads unambiguously to V and J cassettes corresponding to TCR-α and -β chains. Our methods were applied to functional T cell receptors from healthy blood tissue and to several patients with low grade glioma (LGG) and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). We used Shannon entropy to measure levels of diversity in the productive T cell repertoire and observed that greater than 50% of the TCR diversity can be explained by V, J cassette usage.
Ocelot latrines: communication centers for Neotropical mammals

Olfactory communication among mammals remains poorly studied yet may be key to understanding their ecology. This is particularly true for mammalian carnivores, which rely extensively on scent marking for communication. Previous research suggests that carnivore latrines play a large role in both intra- and interspecific communication. Despite the apparent complexity of mammal use of latrines, little work has examined behavior patterns of species that visit latrines. We used motion-triggered video cameras to study use and behavior of mammals at ocelot ( Leopardus pardalis ) latrines in Costa Rica. We documented temporal patterns of use by the focal species (ocelots), diversity of mammalian species using latrines, and behaviors that occurred at these sites. Ocelots showed peaks in visitation every 60–67 days and a shorter gap between intersexual versus intrasexual visits, supporting the idea that ocelot latrines are used to communicate information about reproductive status. Fourteen terrestrial mammal species visited the latrines, and these species engaged in a variety of behaviors, including mark investigation, scent marking, and acceptance of scent marks. The complexity and frequency of behaviors by nonfocal species suggest that latrines may play as important a role in communication for these other species as they do for ocelots. La comunicacion olfativa entre mamiferos ha sido poco estudiada, sin embargo puede ser la clave para el entendimiento de su ecologia. Esto es particularmente cierto para mamiferos carnivoros quienes dependen extensivamente de el marcaje de rastros olfativos para su comunicacion. Estudios previos siguieren que las letrinas juegan un rol importante en la comunicacion intra- e inter-especifica. A pesar de la aparente complejidad del uso de letrinas por parte de mamiferos, pocos trabajos han examinado los patrones de comportamiento de las especies que las visitan. Utilizamos camaras de videos sensibles al movimiento para estudiar el uso y comportamiento de mamiferos en letrinas de ocelotes ( Leopardus pardalis ) en Costa Rica. Documentamos los patrones de uso temporal por parte de especies focales (ocelotes), la diversidad de especies de mamiferos y los comportamientos que ocurrieron en estos lugares. Los resultados indican que el uso por parte de los ocelotes muestran picos de visitas cada 60 a 67 dias y un intervalo mas corto para visitas inter-sexuales que para visitas intra-sexuales. Esto apoya la idea de que las letrinas de los ocelotes son utilizadas para comunicar estatus reproductivos. Un total de catorce mamiferos terrestres visitaron las letrinas y estas especies mostraron una variedad de comportamientos, incluyendo investigacion, marcaje y aceptacion de rastros olfativos. La complejidad y frecuencia de comportamientos por especies no focales, sugieren que las letrinas pueden jugar un rol importante en la comunicacion de otras especies como lo es para los ocelotes.
Sentiment Informed Cyberbullying Detection in Social Media

Cyberbullying is a phenomenon which negatively affects the individuals, the victims suffer from various mental issues, ranging from depression, loneliness, anxiety to low self-esteem. In parallel with the pervasive use of social media, cyberbullying is becoming more and more prevalent. Traditional mechanisms to fight against cyberbullying include the use of standards and guidelines, human moderators, and blacklists based on the profane words. However, these mechanisms fall short in social media and cannot scale well. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a principled learning framework to automatically detect cyberbullying behaviors. However, it is a challenging task due to short, noisy and unstructured content information and intentional obfuscation of the abusive words or phrases by social media users. Motivated by sociological and psychological findings on bullying behaviors and the correlation with emotions, we propose to leverage sentiment information to detect cyberbullying behaviors in social media by proposing a sentiment informed cyberbullying detection framework. Experimental results on two real-world, publicly available social media datasets show the superiority of the proposed framework. Further studies validate the effectiveness of leveraging sentiment information for cyberbullying detection.
A Avaliação no Sistema Educacional Brasileiro: Um resgate historiográfico

Inicialmente tratar-se-a do objeto de estudo deste artigo – avaliacao externa no sistema educacional brasileiro, sua importância, seus fundamentos, sua aplicabilidade, o que nao impede que se trate de forma introdutoria, na verdade um resumo historiografico, do percurso da educacao brasileira, com enfase nas inumeras reformas ao longo dos anos que se seguem desde a sua introducao no territorio brasileiro, a cargo dos padres jesuitas – portanto um inicio de cunho confessional – alcancando as duras medidas empreendidas pelo Primeiro Ministro portugues Marques de Pombal, que culminaram com a expulsao daqueles sacerdotes dos dominios da Coroa portuguesa, seguindo-se um breve periodo da estada da familia real no Brasil, observando-se as medidas engendradas por el-rei de Portugal D. Joao VI, de caracteristicas ate certo ponto descentralizadoras, adentrando no periodo imperial, em cujas acoes dos imperadores reflete-se o pouco caso com a educacao voltada para os suditos pobres do imperio, e finalmente desembocando na Republica, visualizando um pouco de cada uma de suas fases: Republica Velha, onde a educacao sempre esteve relegada a segundo plano, e a politica era o principal assunto nas rodas sociais; Republica ditatorial e populista de Vargas, com pouca descentralizacao e maior atencao ao ensino tecnico-profissionalizante; Republica do regime ditatorial militar, promovendo a racionalizacao da educacao, principalmente universitaria, para impedir a coesao para a subversao; e por fim uma introducao superficial na fase de redemocratizacao, do pais, a partir de 1985, alcancando todos os ex-presidentes, com um levantamento rapido sobre suas reformas no sistema educacional brasileiro.
Reconstitution and Substrate Specificity of the Radical S-Adenosyl-methionine Thiazole C-Methyltransferase in Thiomuracin Biosynthesis

Thiomuracin is a thiopeptide antibiotic with potent activity toward Gram-positive drug-resistant bacteria. Thiomuracin is biosynthesized from a precursor peptide, TbtA, by a complex array of posttranslational modifications. One of several intriguing transformations is the C-methylation of thiazole, occurring at an unactivated sp2 carbon. Herein, we report the in vitro reconstitution of TbtI, the responsible radical S-adenosyl-methionine (rSAM) C-methyltransferase, which catalyzes the formation of 5-methylthiazole at a single site. Our studies demonstrate that a linear hexazole-bearing intermediate of TbtA is a substrate for TbtI whereas macrocyclized thiomuracin GZ is not. In determining the minimal substrate for TbtI, we found that the enzyme is functional when most of the leader peptide has been removed. The in vitro reconstitution of TbtI, a class C rSAM methyltransferase, further adds to the chemical versatility of rSAM enzymes, and informs on the complexity of thiomuracin biosynthesis.
Clinical Characteristics of Adult Dogs More Than 5 Years of Age at Presentation for Patent Ductus Arteriosus

Background The median age at presentation for dogs with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is <6 months of age, and closure is associated with a decrease in heart size and increased survival time, which are not well described in older dogs. Objectives To describe the clinical characteristics of dogs with PDA ≥5 years of age at the time of presentation to a veterinary referral hospital. Animals 35 client-owned dogs. Methods Retrospective case series. Results PDA was diagnosed at a median age of 7.4 years (range, 5.1–12.3 years). Females represented 23/35 (65.7%) of the patients. Concurrent heart disease included degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD; 13), arrhythmias (11), pulmonary hypertension (7), and other congenital defects (2). Cardiomegaly was documented in the majority of dogs consisting of left ventricular enlargement (91%) and left atrial enlargement (86%). Median vertebral heart size in 24 dogs was 12.9 (range, 10.7–18.2). The PDA shunt direction was left-to-right in 33 and bidirectional in 2 dogs. Closure was performed in 26 dogs, including 4 with pulmonary hypertension. In 10 dogs receiving furosemide pre-operatively for management of heart failure, furosemide was discontinued (8) or the dosage decreased (2) at the time of discharge. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Adult dogs can present with a left-to-right shunting PDA that results in cardiomegaly and clinical signs that can improve or resolve with PDA closure. This improvement is also apparent in dogs with PDA complicated by DMVD. Pulmonary hypertension that does not result in complete right-to-left shunting should not be considered a contraindication to closure.
Mechanics of the Scapula in Shoulder Function and Dysfunction

Through the sternoclavicular (SC) and acromioclavicular (AC) joints, scapular position and motion play a critical role in overall shoulder function and dysfunction. The predominant SC joint motion during arm elevation is posterior long-axis rotation. Simultaneously, the SC joint retracts and undergoes a small amount of elevation. Synchronous to these SC joint motions, during arm elevation, the AC joint undergoes upward rotation and posterior tilt. In addition, the AC joint allows the scapula to remain stable on the curved thoracic surface by internally rotating during arm elevation. These SC and AC joint motions couple to produce overall scapular upward rotation, posterior tilt, and internal or external rotation motions on the thorax as the arm is elevated. From these normal motion patterns, a wide variety of position and motion abnormalities have been identified. These SC, AC, and scapular motion abnormalities have also been associated with a broad range of shoulder pathologies. Research studies are further beginning to assess the mechanical impact of scapular motion deviations.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Teaching an Interdisciplinary Course on “A Cultural and Evolutionary History of Sexuality” But Were Afraid to Ask

In this chapter, the authors reflect on their development of a team-taught interdisciplinary course on “A Cultural and Evolutionary History of Sexuality.” Their respective areas of expertise are history of sexuality (Hellwarth) and evolutionary biology and animal behavior (Mumme). The authors encountered numerous challenges in teaching a course of this nature, including integrating multidisciplinary materials within the classroom, and helping students “make meaning” of interdisciplinary investigation. They also address institutional challenges, provide course materials (syllabus, examinations, and writing assignments), and reflect on some possible “best practices” in teaching such a course.
Association of Clinical, Dermoscopic, and Histopathologic Findings With Gene Expression in Patients With Balloon Cell Melanoma.

Importance Balloon cell melanoma is a rare subtype of melanoma that is underrecognized clinically and is challenging to diagnose on histologic studies. Objective To further characterize the clinical, dermoscopic, and histopathologic features of balloon cell melanomas and their correlation to gene expression. Design, Setting, and Participants Case series of 2 patients with balloon cell melanoma whose medical records were retrieved from the database of Thomas Jefferson University Dermatopathology Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Both cases had been referred to the institution’s dermatopathology laboratory and provided complete data on clinical, dermoscopic, and histopathologic findings and gene-expression profiles. Main Outcomes and Measures Dermoscopic findings, histopathologic findings, and results of gene expression tests. Results In the 2 patients included, translucent hypopigmented areas on gross examination and a translucent white-gray veil and dull yellow globules on dermoscopic examination correlated with the balloon cell melanocytic region demonstrated on histologic studies with hematoxylin-eosin stain. Specifically, dull yellow globules corresponded to the balloon cell melanocytic nests. Both lesions presented with a second, morphologically distinct population of melanocytes, common in balloon cell melanocytic neoplasms. In both cases, a prominent junctional component that consisted of cells demonstrating ample clear-to-granular cytoplasm and a central nucleus were present. Cytologic atypia was minimal to lacking in both cases, and architectural disorder served as a better clue to the diagnosis. Findings of a gene expression profiling test corroborated the diagnosis in both cases. Conclusions and Relevance Balloon cell melanomas may present with characteristic clinical and dermoscopic findings, and a gene expression profiling test may provide additional useful diagnostic information in cases that are difficult to interpret.
Beyond Commissurotomy: Clues to Consciousness

When the inevitable topic of nature of consciousness is approached in the light of modern brain research, the experienced student has come to brace himself for the mellifluous intonations of someone’s personal experience and ideas on the matter, as opposed to data. Yet we all listen dutifully, because ultimately the business of the serious neuroscientist is to figure out the mechanisms of brain and mind.
Inward Solidification of a Superheated Liquid in a Cooled Horizontal Tube

Inward solidification has been studied experimentally and analytically under conditions where the liquid phase is above the fusion temperature (i.e., superheated). The liquid was housed in a horizontal circular tube in which the surface was maintained at a uniform, time-invariant temperature during test runs. Three phase change materials (n-heptadecane,n-octadecane, and water) were used in the tests. Both analysis and experiments have established that for inward solidification, natural convection in a superheated liquid is not important in controlling the solidliquid interface motion for Stefan numbers less than unity. The interface velocity is determined primarily by the thermal resistance across the solid layer. Good agreement has been obtained between experimentally measured and analytically predicted solid-liquid interface positions when the density differences between the phases were accounted for.
Effects of parallelism on blackboard system scheduling

This paper investigates the effects of parallelism on blackboard system scheduling. A parallel blackboard system is described that allows multiple knowledge source instantiations to execute in parallel using a shared-memory blackboard approach. New classes of control knowledge are defined that use information about the relationships between system goals to schedule tasks -- this control knowledge is implemented in the DVMT application on a Sequent multiprocessor using BBl-style control heuristics. The usefulness of the heuristics is examined by comparing the effectiveness of problem-solving with and without the heuristics (as a group and individually). Problem solving with the new control knowledge results in increased processor utilization and decreased total execution time.
Non-Cardiac Chest Pain of Non-Esophageal Origin

Chest pain is a common clinical problem that can be caused by a broad spectrum of diseases other than coronary artery disease or acid reflux. The diagnosis of non cardiac, non esophageal chest pain can be challenging. The chronic occurrence of chest pain interferes with the daily life routine, mood and productivity of those affected by this condition and therefore implies an enormous socio-economic burden in the community. This chapter offers an overview of some of the most relevant conditions that need to be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with chest pain, once that a cardiac and/or an esophageal origin of the symptom has been properly excluded.
Refugee Migration Histories in a Meatpacking Town: Blurring the Line Between Primary and Secondary Migration

There is substantial movement of US refugee populations originating from Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world across all parts of the country, beyond large metropolitan areas and traditional immigration hubs. Counter to expectations that refugees would remain in a given resettlement location for a period of integration and support, many non-resettlement communities have attracted newcomer refugees. The dynamics of early movement of refugees blurs the line between initial resettlement and secondary migration. To study the timing and motivations for refugee secondary migration, we conducted structured quantitative interviews with 92 refugees in Greeley, Colorado. Like many other small agricultural cities across the USA (Marston et al. International Journal of Migration and Residential Mobility, 1(3), 253–268, 2016; Broadway Rural Sociology, 72(4), 560–582, 2007), Greeley has experienced an influx of refugees due to a shift in the meatpacking labor market from immigrant to refugee labor. This study adds to prior research documenting refugee secondary migration (e.g., Marks 2014; Hume and Hardwick Geographical Review, 95(2), 189–209, 2005; Weine et al. Family Process, 50(1), 27–46, 2011) with a larger study sample focused on gathering uniform accounts of refugee migration histories. Our data show that many refugees arrived in Greeley very soon after initial resettlement. Employment and social networks were a draw for most interviewees to move to Greeley; however, many who came for work had not yet found employment or were unemployed after leaving jobs at the meatpacking plant. These and other findings suggest the importance of research on refugee mobility. In an ever-globalizing world, the blurred line between primary and secondary migration necessitates preparation among American communities to maximize refugee integration.
A scanning strategy optimized for signal-to-noise ratio for the Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory (GeoCarb) instrument

Abstract. The Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory (GeoCarb) will make measurements of greenhouse gases over the contiguous North and South American landmasses at daily temporal resolution. The extreme flexibility of observing from geostationary orbit induces an optimization problem, as operators must choose what to observe and when. The proposed scanning strategy for the GeoCarb mission tracks the sun's path from east to west and covers the entire area of interest in five coherent regions in the order of tropical South America east, tropical South America west, temperate South America, tropical North America, and temperate North America. We express this problem in terms of a geometric set cover problem, and use an incremental optimization (IO) algorithm to create a scanning strategy that minimizes expected error as a function of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The IO algorithm used in this studied is a modified greedy algorithm that selects, incrementally at 5 min intervals, the scanning areas with the highest predicted SNR with respect to air mass factor (AF) and solar zenith angle (SZA) while also considering operational constraints to minimize overlapping scans and observations over water. As a proof of concept, two experiments are performed applying the IO algorithm offline to create an SNR-optimized strategy and compare it to the proposed strategy. The first experiment considers all landmasses with equal importance and the second experiment illustrates a temporary campaign mode that gives major urban areas greater importance weighting. Using a simple instrument model, we found that there is a significant performance increase with respect to overall predicted error when comparing the algorithm-selected scanning strategies to the proposed scanning strategy.
S-Palmitoylation of the sodium channel Nav1.6 regulates its activity and neuronal excitability

S-Palmitoylation is a reversible post-translational lipid modification that dynamically regulates protein functions. Voltage-gated sodium channels are subjected to S-palmitoylation and exhibit altered functions in different S-palmitoylation states. Our aim was to investigate whether and how S-palmitoylation regulates Nav1.6 channel function and to identify S-palmitoylation sites that can potentially be pharmacologically targeted. Acyl-biotin exchange assay showed that Nav1.6 is modified by S-palmitoylation in the mouse brain and in a Nav1.6 stable HEK 293 cell line. Using whole-cell voltage clamp, we discovered that enhancing S-palmitoylation with palmitic acid increases Nav1.6 current, whereas blocking S-palmitoylation with 2-bromopalmitate reduces Nav1.6 current and shifts the steady-state inactivation in the hyperpolarizing direction. Three S-palmitoylation sites (Cys1169, Cys1170, and Cys1978) were identified. These sites differentially modulate distinct Nav1.6 properties. Interestingly, Cys1978 is exclusive to Nav1.6 among all Nav isoforms and is evolutionally conserved in Nav1.6 among most species. Cys1978 S-palmitoylation regulates current amplitude uniquely in Nav1.6. Furthermore, we showed that eliminating S-palmitoylation at specific sites alters Nav1.6-mediated excitability in dorsal root ganglion neurons. Therefore, our study reveals S-palmitoylation as a potential isoform-specific mechanism to modulate Nav activity and neuronal excitability in physiological and diseased conditions.
Autoantibody and autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review

Abstract Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 1.7 % of US pediatric population, with a growing prevalence world-wide. Autoimmunity is one of potential pathogenic factors for ASD, which is attracting much attention and undergoing extensive investigations. For more than a decade, many groups have been studying the association between autoantibodies and ASD. Although several narrative reviews have been published on autoantibodies and ASD, no systematic review or meta-analysis has been performed. In this study, we conducted the first systematic review and evaluated available evidence for the association between ASD and major autoantibodies to identifiable antigens, together with a broader discussion of autoantibodies with no identifiable antigens. The goal is to examine studies of pediatric subjects specifically and overall, we found that children with ASD expressed trends of higher levels of antibodies reactive to folate receptor α autoantibody, anti-myelin basic protein antibodies, anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein antibodies, anti-ribosomal P protein antibodies, anti-endothelial cell antibodies, and anti-nuclear antibody, compared to healthy controls. However, the quality of evidence is low across the board because most studies were small and many did not include comparison controls. In addition, we were not able to perform a meta-analysis due to large between-study heterogeneity or lack of quantitative measures in most studies. Finally, we discussed future directions for the development of diagnostic guidelines and therapeutic targets for possible autoimmune-mediated ASD subtypes.
Gender and Work in Global Value Chains: Capturing the Gains?

Stephanie Barrientos’ new book is the impressive result of a career in research and advocacy on the ways in which women’s lives are affected by structural changes in local and global economies. Gen...
Application of a Scavenger Receptor A1-Targeted Polymeric Prodrug Platform for Lymphatic Drug Delivery in HIV

We have developed a macromolecular prodrug platform based on poly(l-lysine succinylated) (PLS) that targets scavenger receptor A1 (SR-A1), a receptor expressed by myeloid and endothelial cells. We demonstrate the selective uptake of PLS by murine macrophage, RAW 264.7 cells, which was eliminated upon cotreatment with the SR-A inhibitor polyinosinic acid (poly I). Further, we observed no uptake of PLS in an SR-A1-deficient RAW 264.7 cell line, even after 24 h incubation. In mice, PLS distributed to lymphatic organs following i.v. injection, as observed by ex vivo fluorescent imaging, and accumulated in lymph nodes following both i.v. and i.d. administrations, based on immunohistochemical analysis with high-resolution microscopy. As a proof-of-concept, the HIV antiviral emtricitabine (FTC) was conjugated to the polymer's succinyl groups via ester bonds, with a drug loading of 14.2% (wt/wt). The prodrug (PLS-FTC) demonstrated controlled release properties in vitro with a release half-life of 15 h in human plasma and 29 h in esterase-inhibited plasma, indicating that drug release occurs through both enzymatic and nonenzymatic mechanisms. Upon incubation of PLS-FTC with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), the released drug was converted to the active metabolite FTC triphosphate. In a pharmacokinetic study in rats, the prodrug achieved ∼7-19-fold higher concentrations in lymphatic tissues compared to those in FTC control, supporting lymphatic-targeted drug delivery. We believe that the SR-A1-targeted macromolecular PLS prodrug platform has extraordinary potential for the treatment of infectious diseases.
Guided-Wave-Driven Photonic Integrated Metasurface Holograms

Widely adopted holographic projection technique of light field requires high level of integration and versatility in various areas. We demonstrated integrated optical holographic devices with wavelength-multiplexing based on a photonic integrated metasurface.
Can parents do it all? Changes in parent involvement from 1997 to 2009 among Head Start families

Abstract The present investigation considered the extent to which parental involvement in the home and school changed among low-income families with preschoolers between 1997 and 2009. Data were drawn from five waves of the Family and Child Experiences Survey, which included a total sample of 12,248 3- and 4-year-old first time Head Start attendees. Results from covariate adjusted regression models revealed that, across this 12-year period, parents of Head Start children increased their involvement in the home, especially in terms of cognitively stimulating activities. However, parents also reported significantly less engagement in the Head Start program over this period. These changes in parental involvement across time were comparable for different groups of children and families. Taken together, study findings highlight the changing nature of parental involvement among Head Start families during a critical period that witnessed heightened investment in children and families.
Losers, Winners and Biased Trades

When faced with sequential information, consumers tend to fall prey to one of two well-known heuristics: the hot (or cold) hand and the gambler's fallacy. The authors relate these two traditionally separate heuristics to differences in accepting (buy) versus rejecting (sell) decisions. They identify trend length as a contextual moderating variable and show an asymmetry between buying and selling frames. When applied to a stock market context, a consistent finding is that consumers prefer to buy past winners and sell past losers even when neither should be preferred. This behavior violates the normative rule of buy low and sell high.
European Communities--Measures Concerning Meat and Meat Products

Response to the World Trade Organization dispute International Decisions: European Communities--Measures Concerning Meat and Meat Products.
Option measures and stock characteristics

Abstract An extensive existing literature demonstrates that various option measures (e.g., option-to-stock trading volume ratio) exhibit return predictability in the cross section of stocks. Exploring the fundamental nature and robustness of these findings, we investigate whether this previously identified return predictability of option measures is highly associated with the characteristics or attributes of the underlying stock. We find that the return predictability of option measures is heavily impacted by a subset of stocks whose characteristics also predict future returns, thus providing evidence that stock characteristics are one of the main channels through which option measures capture informed trading.
Vocabulary Interventions for Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance: A Literature Review and a Call to Action

Students identified with emotional disturbance (ED) increasingly find themselves in inclusive classroom environments where a well-developed vocabulary is essential to success and where instruction is based on college and career readiness standards. The purpose of this comprehensive literature review was to identify and review the available intervention research targeting the vocabulary knowledge of students with ED. Results indicated only five such studies have ever been conducted and the quality of this research is variable. Two strategies—morphology and concept mapping—are suggested for teachers serving students with ED and five recommendations for future research are included in this review. Practitioners are also urged to embed behavioral supports (e.g., self-monitoring, praise, corrective feedback) in their academic interventions to maximize students’ educational outcomes.
Intersubjectivity through dyadic states of consciousness

Abstract This chapter uses material from the psychoanalytic treatment of a child on the autistic spectrum to explain the concept of intersubjectivity as a process through which humans create meaning using a complex exchange of multiple psychic and somatic meanings. Humans are constantly making meaning in psychotherapy and in other more commonplace human interactions. Instead of the conventional view that meaning-making is a mental, or psychological, function, we propose meaning-making to be an exchange of “polysemic bundles” of meanings from all systems—both mental and physical—from each individual. We offer support for this conceptualization of intersubjectivity as central to human development by putting forward an open dynamic systems model of development through meaning-making. We explicate this view by presenting the scientific paradigm of the Face-to-Face Still-Face, which demonstrates the intersubjective process between infant and parent. Central to the argument of polysemic bundles are the features of nonverbal cues and implicit rhythms of bodily position and movement in the meaning-making process. We illustrate these features with a clinical case of a child on the autistic spectrum. In the case of ASD children, the challenges and rewards in establishing an intersubjective state highlight critical features of the concept of intersubjectivity.
Synchronous video computer-mediated communication in English language teaching

Abstract In this series, we explore technology-related themes and topics. The series aims to discuss and demystify what may be new areas for some readers and to consider their relevance for English language teachers.
Un Modelo Para Pronosticar Estados Financieros De Pequeñas Empresas Y Desempeño De Las Empresas (a Model for Forecasting Small Business Financial Statements and Firm Performance)

Spanish abstract: El pronostico de los estados financieros y la realizacion de un analisis financiero comprensivo constituye un desafio considerable para los emprendedores o pequenas empresas. Los estudiantes de diversos cursos de emprendimiento, finanzas y contabilidad tambien enfrentan este reto. Este articulo presenta una plantilla de hoja de calculo que ayuda a los emprendedores y estudiantes con esta tarea. La plantilla crea estados financieros proforma, un presupuesto de capital, calculos de valor de empresa y analisis de ratios. La plantilla aborda consideraciones especificas de las empresas emergentes (startups). La plantilla proporciona flexibilidad que permite adaptaciones a diversos emprendedores y para cumplir con los objetivos de aprendizaje de los cursos en diferentes niveles. English abstract: Forecasting financial statements and preparing financial analysis involves complex and challenging work. Entrepreneurs along with students in entrepreneurship, finance and accounting courses face an, often intimidating, task. This paper provides a spreadsheet-based template to assist users with these efforts. The template assists users with forecasted financial statements, creating a capital budget, calculating firm value and completing ratio analysis. The template provides specific tools to incorporate considerations related to start-up firms. The template’s flexibility allows adaptions to any firm and to meet learning objectives for numerous courses.
Defining ‚exdurance’

On stage theory, ordinary continuants are instantaneous stages which persist by exduring—by bearing temporal counterpart relations to other such stages. Exduring objects lack temporal extension and there is a sense in which they are wholly present at multiple instants. How then is exdurance different from endurance? I offer a definition of ‚exdurance’ that clearly sets it apart from other modes of persistence.
Financial Innovation and Russian Government Debt Before 1918

In this paper I describe debt instruments issued by the Russian Imperial Government. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian government was the largest borrower in the world. Russian government bonds were traded in all major financial centers, including London, Paris, Amsterdam, and New York. Russia was integrated into the world financial system. In 1913 foreign investors held 49.7% of Russian government debt. Innovative financial instruments were developed to attract foreign and domestic investors.
Graphing and Measuring COVID-19’s First Wave Impact on the Bolivian Economy: Facing the Unknown.

The Bolivian monthly index of economic activity along with ARMA models are used in an attempt to graph and measure the impact of COVID-19’s pandemic on the Bolivian economy. The accumulated difference between the observed and counterfactual values, show an overall 12.6% loss of economic activity in the 10 months from February to November 2020 of the first COVID-19 wave, with a tilted W-shape short-run recovery just before the beginning of the second wave in December 2020. Breakdown into the twelve Bolivian economic sectors show wide heterogeneity in depth of impact and speeds of recovery during the same period.
Portable Compilers for OpenMP

The recent parallel language standard for shared memory multiprocessor (SMP) machines, OpenMP, promises a simple and portable interface for programmers who wish to exploit parallelism explicitly. In this paper, we present our effort to develop portable compilers for the OpenMP parallel directive language. Our compiler consists of two parts. Part one is an OpenMP parallelizer, which transforms sequential languages into OpenMP. Part two transforms programs written in OpenMP into thread-based form and links with our runtime library. Both compilers are built on the Polaris compiler infrastructure. We present performance measurements showing that our compiler yields results comparable to those of commercial OpenMP compilers. Our infrastructure is freely available with the intent to enable research projects on OpenMP-related language development and compiler techniques.
Anti-inflammatory effects of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α are mediated via TNF-R2 (p75) in tolerogenic transforming growth factor-β-treated antigen-presenting cells

Exposure of macrophages to transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta is known to alter their functional phenotype such that antigen presentation by these cells leads to tolerance rather than an inflammatory immune response. Typically, eye-derived antigen-presenting cells (APCs) exposed to TGF-beta in the local environment are known to induce a form of peripheral tolerance and protect the eye from inflammatory immune effector-mediated damage. In response to TGF-beta, APCs increase their expression of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and TNF receptor 2 (TNF-R2). Although TNF-alpha has been implicated in tolerance and the associated regulation of the inflammatory immune response, its source and the receptors involved remain unclear. In this report we determined the contribution of TNF-alpha and TNF-R2 expressed by TGF-beta-treated APCs to their anti-inflammatory tolerogenic effect. Our results indicate that APC-derived TNF-alpha is essential for the ability of APCs to regulate the immune response and their IL-12 secretion. Moreover, in the absence of TNF-R2, APCs exposed to TGF-beta failed to induce tolerance or regulatory cells known to participate in this tolerance. Also, blocking of TNF-R1 signalling enhanced the ability of the APCs to secrete increased TGF-beta in response to TGF-beta exposure. Together our results support an anti-inflammatory role of TNF-alpha in regulation of an immune response by TGF-beta-treated APCs and suggest that TNF-R2 contributes significantly to this role.
Integration host factor plays a role in IS50 and Tn5 transposition.

In Escherichia coli, the frequencies of IS50 and Tn5 transposition are greater in Dam- cells than in isogenic Dam+ cells. IS50 transposition is increased approximately 1,000-fold and Tn5 transposition frequencies are increased about 5- to 10-fold in the absence of Dam methylation. However, in cells that are deficient for both integration host factor (IHF) and Dam methylase, the transposition frequencies of IS50 and Tn5 approximate those found in wild-type cells. The absence of IHF alone has no effect on either IS50 or Tn5 transposition. These results suggest that IHF is required for the increased transposition frequencies of IS50 and Tn5 that are observed in Dam- cells. It is also shown that the level of expression of IS50-encoded proteins, P1 and P2, required for IS50 and Tn5 transposition and its regulation does not decrease in IHF- or in IHF- Dam- cells. This result suggests that the effects of IHF on IS50 and Tn5 transposition are not at the level of IS50 gene expression. Finally, IHF is demonstrated to significantly retard the electrophoretic mobility of a 289-base-pair segment of IS50 DNA that contains a putative IHF protein-binding site. The physiological role of this IHF binding site remains to be determined. Images
PTHrP and Cancer

Originally discovered as a product of cancers that produce hypercalcemia, parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) has been demonstrated to be a product of many malignant tissues, including prostate and lung cancer, where it can regulate growth and proliferation in vivo and in vitro (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8). The amino-terminus of PTHrP reacts with the PTH/PTHrP receptor (PTHrPR) and produces most of the biological effects of native PTH, including hypercalcemia (1,2). A second family of PTH-specific receptors has recently been identified (1,9, 10, 11). However, there is accumulating and compelling evidence that non-amino-terminal forms of PTHrP, also generated through processing of the native isoforms, can exert biological effects (1, 2, 3, 4). The PTHrP gene expresses three forms of the polypeptide through alternate mRNA splicing: PTHrP1-141, a truncated 1-139 form, and a human-specific 1-173 residue (11). Whereas PTHrP1-139 is quite similar to PTHrP1-141, PTHrP1-173 completely diverges from both at its own carboxy terminus (1,2,11). The PTHrP gene sequence spans more than 15 kb and is composed of three primary regions: a complex promoter region, a coding region, and a multiple 3′-noncoding region (3,11). The promoter region contains three different promoter elements, designated P1, P2, and P3. P1 and P3 are “TATA box”-like, and the P2 element is a GC-rich region (1,11).
Long-term Outcome When Major Complications Follow Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery: Recovery After Complicated Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Objective To determine whether information available 1 week after surgery correlates with long-term function in patients who suffer major complications after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Design An inception cohort study. Setting A 526-bed community teaching hospital. Patients All 67 patients who required at least 7 days of CT-ICU care following 2,751 consecutive CABG operations. Main outcomes Hospital survival, long-term survival, and functional ability at long-term follow-up. Results Forty-three patients survived hospitalization (64%), while 24 died 37±45 days (range, 7 to 190 days) after surgery. When 42 patients were surveyed 22±9 months after surgery, 21 of the survivors enjoyed excellent, independent function, 7 were moderately impaired but living at home, 6 were institutionalized with severe limitations, and 8 had died. Patients with very severe cardiac or neurologic dysfunction 1 week after surgery had an extremely poor outcome. When mechanical ventilation was required for causes other than primary failure of the respiratory system, long-term function and hospital survival were poor. Twelve of 14 patients with pulmonary complications survived hospitalization, and all 12 were alive at long-term follow-up. Conclusion More than half of patients requiring 7 days or more of ICU treatment after CABG surgery survive, and many enjoy excellent long-term function. However, those with very severe cardiac or neurologic dysfunction 1 week after surgery have little chance for independent recovery.
A computer program for reconstruction of images from a scanning gamma camera.

Abstract A program was written to convert the output of a scanning gamma camera into a whole body computer image which can then be used to study regional and whole body radiopharmaceutical localization. The electronically masked output of the camera is collected as a dynamic study on the computer with the time per frame set according to scan speed. The program overlays these frames onto a matrix in memory to form the image. The overlayed frame is incremented 1 pixel/frame in the direction of camera motion during camera scanning. The timing of camera motion is automatically determined by the program. Although written for a specific scanning gamma camera, the ideas inherent in the algorithm will allow the reconstruction of whole body images from other scanning cameras.
Linking Human Resources to Organizational Performance and Employee Relations in Human Services Organizations: Ten HR Essentials for Managers

Abstract In the last decade, the research of thought leaders in the field of human resources has positioned the management of human resources (HR) to an elevated level in organizations. In this regard, the “value” of people as “human capital assets” has been well documented and confirmed. This theme has particular relevance for human services organizations that depend on well motivated human resources for successful, productive operations. A study of Boston-based HR professionals resulted in the identification of 10 HR essentials that human services organizations can use to structure their HR programs going forward. The author discusses the rationale for each essential and ideas for organizational implementation.
Assessing reliability and validity of the Arabic language version of the Post-traumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) symptom items

Arab immigrant women are vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of gender, higher probability of being exposed to war-related violence, traditional cultural values, and immigration stressors. A valid and reliable screen is needed to assess PTSD incidence in this population. This study evaluated the reliability and validity of an Arabic language version of the symptom items in Foa et al.'s [Foa, E.B., Cashman, L., Jaycox, L., and Perry, K. 1997. The validation of a self report measure of posttraumatic stress disorder: the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale. Psychological Assessment 9(4), 445-451]. Post-traumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) in a sample of Arab immigrant women (n=453). Reliability was supported by Cronbach's alpha values for the Arabic language version (0.93) and its subscales (0.77-0.91). Results of group comparisons supported validity: Women who had lived in a refugee camp or emigrated from Iraq - a country where exposure to war and torture is common - were exhibiting depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) score above 18), or reported moderately to severely impaired functioning had significantly higher mean PDS total and symptom subscale scores than women who had not had these experiences or were not exhibiting depressive symptoms. Scores on the PDS and its subscales were also positively correlated with the Profile of Mood States (POMS) depression and anxiety subscales and negatively correlated with the POMS vigor subscale (r=-.29 to-.39).
An efficient algorithm for the stochastic simulation of the hybridization of DNA to microarrays

Although oligonucleotide microarray technology is ubiquitous in genomic research, reproducibility and standardization of expression measurements still concern many researchers. Cross-hybridization between microarray probes and non-target ssDNA has been implicated as a primary factor in sensitivity and selectivity loss. Since hybridization is a chemical process, it may be modeled at a population-level using a combination of material balance equations and thermodynamics. However, the hybridization reaction network may be exceptionally large for commercial arrays, which often possess at least one reporter per transcript. Quantification of the kinetics and equilibrium of exceptionally large chemical systems of this type is numerically infeasible with customary approaches. In this paper, we present a robust and computationally efficient algorithm for the simulation of hybridization processes underlying microarray assays. Our method may be utilized to identify the extent to which nucleic acid targets (e.g. cDNA) will cross-hybridize with probes, and by extension, characterize probe robustnessusing the information specified by MAGE-TAB. Using this algorithm, we characterize cross-hybridization in a modified commercial microarray assay. By integrating stochastic simulation with thermodynamic prediction tools for DNA hybridization, one may robustly and rapidly characterize of the selectivity of a proposed microarray design at the probe and "system" levels. Our code is available at http://www.laurenzi.net .