cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Biological approaches for addressing the grand challenge of providing access to clean drinking water

The U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) recently published a document presenting "Grand Challenges for Engineering". This list was proposed by leading engineers and scientists from around the world at the request of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Fourteen topics were selected for these grand challenges, and at least seven can be addressed using the tools and methods of biological engineering. Here we describe how biological engineers can address the challenge of providing access to clean drinking water. This issue must be addressed in part by removing or inactivating microbial and chemical contaminants in order to properly deliver water safe for human consumption. Despite many advances in technologies this challenge is expanding due to increased pressure on fresh water supplies and to new opportunities for growth of potentially pathogenic organisms.
The impact of critical time intervention in reducing psychiatric rehospitalization after hospital discharge.

Objectives:This study examined the impact of critical time intervention (CTI) in reducing rehospitalization among formerly homeless individuals with severe and persistent mental illness after discharge from inpatient psychiatric treatment. Methods:CTI is a nine-month care coordination intervention designed to support persons with severe mental illness in the transition from institutions to community living. After discharge from inpatient psychiatric treatment, 150 previously homeless men and women were randomly assigned to receive either usual services only or CTI in addition to usual services. Study participants were assessed every six weeks for 18 months after entering the community. Results:At the end of the follow-up period, psychiatric rehospitalization was significantly lower for the group assigned to CTI compared with the usual services group (odds ratio=.11, 95% confidence interval=.01−.96). Conclusions:This study demonstrated that CTI, primarily designed to prevent recurrent homelessness, also re...
Differentially charged isoforms of apolipoprotein E from human blood are potential biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease

Introduction Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the major cause of dementia among the elderly. Finding blood-based biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis is urgently needed.
DNA sequencing: bench to bedside and beyond

Fifteen years elapsed between the discovery of the double helix (1953) and the first DNA sequencing (1968). Modern DNA sequencing began in 1977, with development of the chemical method of Maxam and Gilbert and the dideoxy method of Sanger, Nicklen and Coulson, and with the first complete DNA sequence (phage rX174), which demonstrated that sequence could give profound insights into genetic organization. Incremental improvements allowed sequencing of molecules >200kb (human cytomegalovirus) leading to an avalanche of data that demanded computational analysis and spawned the field of bioinformatics. The US Human Genome Project spurred sequencing activity. By 1992 the first ‘sequencing factory’ was established, and others soon followed. The first complete cellular genome sequences, from bacteria, appeared in 1995 and other eubacterial, archaebacterial and eukaryotic genomes were soon sequenced. Competition between the public Human Genome Project and Celera Genomics produced working drafts of the human genome sequence, published in 2001, but refinement and analysis of the human genome sequence will continue for the foreseeable future. New ‘massively parallel’ sequencing methods are greatly increasing sequencing capacity, but further innovations are needed to achieve the ‘thousand dollar genome’ that many feel is prerequisite to personalized genomic medicine. These advances will also allow new approaches to a variety of problems in biology, evolution and the environment.
Developmental exposure to a complex PAH mixture causes persistent behavioral effects in naive Fundulus heteroclitus (killifish) but not in a population of PAH-adapted killifish

Acute exposures to some individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and complex PAH mixtures are known to cause cardiac malformations and edema in the developing fish embryo. However, the heart is not the only organ impacted by developmental PAH exposure. The developing brain is also affected, resulting in lasting behavioral dysfunction. While acute exposures to some PAHs are teratogenically lethal in fish, little is known about the later life consequences of early life, lower dose subteratogenic PAH exposures. We sought to determine and characterize the long-term behavioral consequences of subteratogenic developmental PAH mixture exposure in both naive killifish and PAH-adapted killifish using sediment pore water derived from the Atlantic Wood Industries Superfund Site. Killifish offspring were embryonically treated with two low-level PAH mixture dilutions of Elizabeth River sediment extract (ERSE) (TPAH 5.04 μg/L and 50.4 μg/L) at 24h post fertilization. Following exposure, killifish were raised to larval, juvenile, and adult life stages and subjected to a series of behavioral tests including: a locomotor activity test (4 days post-hatch), a sensorimotor response tap/habituation test (3 months post hatch), and a novel tank diving and exploration test (3months post hatch). Killifish were also monitored for survival at 1, 2, and 5 months over 5-month rearing period. Developmental PAH exposure caused short-term as well as persistent behavioral impairments in naive killifish. In contrast, the PAH-adapted killifish did not show behavioral alterations following PAH exposure. PAH mixture exposure caused increased mortality in reference killifish over time; yet, the PAH-adapted killifish, while demonstrating long-term rearing mortality, had no significant changes in mortality associated with ERSE exposure. This study demonstrated that early embryonic exposure to PAH-contaminated sediment pore water caused long-term locomotor and behavioral alterations in killifish, and that locomotor alterations could be observed in early larval stages. Additionally, our study highlights the resistance to behavioral alterations caused by low-level PAH mixture exposure in the adapted killifish population. Furthermore, this is the first longitudinal behavioral study to use killifish, an environmentally important estuarine teleost fish, and this testing framework can be used for future contaminant assessment.
The Durability of Presidential and Parliament-Based Dictatorships

Many scholars have examined the durability of parliamentary versus presidential regimes in democracies, but the process by which authoritarian leaders are (nominally) elected is generally assumed to be irrelevant. However, even if the electoral outcome is not in doubt, the executive selection process may affect outcomes such as regime durability. I argue that, when opposition parties are allowed to participate in the executive selection process, a Parliament-based election system increases authoritarian regime durability by creating incentives for ruling party elites to work cooperatively for mutual gain. In this article, I identify dictatorships by executive selection system and find that regimes with a multiparty Parliament-based system are more durable than those with a multiparty Presidential system or an Unelected (or single party) system if the party, relative to the ruler and the military, is an important power center.
Binuclear Iron(I) Complex Containing Bridging Phenanthrene‐4,5‐dithiolate Ligand: Preparation, Spectroscopy, Crystal Structure, and Electrochemistry

A diiron hexacarbonyl complex containing bridging phenanthrene-4,5-dithiolate ligand is prepared by oxidative addition of Phenanthro[4,5-cde][1,2]dithiin to Fe2(CO)9. The complex is investigated as a model for the active site of the [Fe–Fe] hydrogenase enzyme. The compound, [(μ-PNT)Fe2(CO)6]; (PNT = phenanthrene-4,5-dithiolate), was characterized by spectroscopic methods (IR, UV/Vis and NMR) and X-ray crystallography. The IR and proton NMR spectra of [(μ-PNT)Fe2(CO)6] (4) are in agreement with a PNT ligand attached to a Fe2(CO)6 core. The infrared spectrum of 4 recorded in dichloromethane contains three peaks at 2001, 2040, and 2075 cm–1 corresponding to the stretching frequency of terminal metal carbonyls. X-ray crystallographic study unequivocally confirms the structure of the complex having a butterfly shape with an Fe–Fe bond length of 2.5365 A close to that of the enzyme (2.6 A). Electrochemical properties of [(μ-PNT)Fe2(CO)6] have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry. The cyclic voltammogram of [(μ-PNT)Fe2(CO)6] recorded in acetonitrile contains one quasi-irreversible reduction (E1/2 = –0.84 V vs. Ag/AgCl, Ipc/Ipa = 0.6, ΔEp = 131 V at 0.1 V·s–1) and one irreversible oxidation (Epa = 0.86 V vs. Ag/AgCl). The redox of [(μ-PNT)Fe2(CO)6] at E1/2 = –0.84 V can be assigned to the one-electron transfer processes; [FeI–FeI] [FeI–Fe0] and [FeI–Fe0] [FeI–FeI].
Gulf Stream Transport Variability at Periods of Decades

Abstract Variability of sea level on the offshore side of the Gulf Stream has been estimated with a wind-forced numerical model. The difference in sea level between the model and coastal tide gauges therefore provides an estimate of variability of the Gulf Stream. These results can be compared with direct measurements of transport; the agreement is surprisingly good. Transport estimates are then made for sections offshore of four major tide stations along the U.S. East Coast. When data since World War II are used, the spectrum of sea level at the coast appears to peak at periods of ∼150–250 mo. The difference signal (ocean minus coast), however, which the authors interpret as transport variability, has a weakly red spectrum. Power decreases at somewhat less than f−1 at periods just less than ∼500 months but decreases strongly at periods less than ∼150 months. The low-frequency variability arises primarily from the influx of open ocean Rossby waves. The large variance at low frequencies suggests that measu...
Integers as Products

In this and the following four chapters I study the representation of integers by products of integers of a prescribed type. Besides being of interest in its own right, this study will motivate many interesting questions in the theory of additive arithmetic functions.
What is Rationality

The aim of my paper âWhat does It Mean to be a Rational Decision Makerâ was to suggest that the lens of rational choice theory, powerful though it is, is too limited to tell us what it means to be rational. Frederick, Stanovich, and Zeelenberg have written three thoughtful commentaries on my paper. Stanovich and Zeelenberg provide perceptive extensions of my arguments. Frederick is critical. In this reply I try to make clear that I am not suggesting that rational choice theory is wrong, but that it is incomplete. Frederick successfully defends the theory against an accusation that I was not making, but in my view fails to address the limitations of rational choice theory that I was focused on.
Daughters of Childhood Parental Divorce and Their Relationships with Their Fathers in Adulthood

Abstract In-depth qualitative interviews regarding daughters' relationships with their fathers in adulthood were conducted with 13 women who had experienced parental divorce prior to adolescence and who subsequently maintained residence primarily with their mothers until adulthood. Qualitative analysis revealed four typologies of the father-adult daughter relationship: Father-Daughter, Friends, Ambivalence, and Anger. Defining characteristics of these typologies include: daughters' perceived support from fathers, control of the relationship, closeness of the relationship. The identification of these four typologies provide a model for understanding the diverse influence of parental divorce on the father-daughter relationship.
A time-resolved X-ray diffraction study of Cs exchange into hexagonal H-birnessite

To measure the uptake of radioactive Cs in soils that are rich in Mn oxides, we applied time-resolved synchrotron X-ray diffraction (TR-XRD), inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and analytical scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine the kinetics and mechanisms of aqueous Cs substitution in the phyllomanganate hexagonal H-birnessite at pH values ranging from 3 to 10. We observed that the rate of Cs cation exchange into hexagonal H-birnessite exhibited only a weak dependence on pH, but the total amount of Cs loading in the interlayer region increased dramatically above pH 6.5. The increase in Cs content at higher pH may be attributed to the increasingly negative charge on the Mn-O octahedral sheets and perhaps to a structural change toward triclinic symmetry with high pH. Dissolution at low pH may have inhibited Cs sequestration. Our work supports delamination-reassembly as a mechanism of cation exchange.
The geomagnetic storm time response of GPS total electron content in the North American sector

Over the last two decades, maps of GPS total electron content (TEC) have improved our understanding of the large perturbations in ionospheric electron density which occur during geomagnetic storms. However, previous regional and global studies of ionospheric storms have performed only a limited separation of storm time, local time, longitudinal, and seasonal effects. Using 13 years of GPS TEC data, we present a complete statistical characterization of the ionospheric response to geomagnetic storms for midlatitudes in the North American sector where dense ground receiver coverage is available. The rapid onset of a positive phase is observed across much of the dayside and evening ionosphere followed by a longer-lasting negative phase across all latitudes and local times. Our results show clear seasonal variations in the storm time TEC, such that summer events tend to be dominated by the negative storm response while winter events exhibit a stronger initial positive phase with minimal negative storm effects. We find no discernable difference between spring and fall equinox events with both being equivalent to the average storm time response across all seasons. We also identify a prominent magnetic declination effect such that stronger dayside positive storm effects are observed in regions of negative declination (i.e., eastern North America). On the nightside, asymmetries in the TEC response are observed near the auroral oval and midlatitude trough which may be attributed to thermospheric zonal winds pushing plasma upward/downward along field lines of opposite declination.
Safety During Redevelopment Works: A Case Study

Sites contaminated to less than critical levels can still present hazards, to construction workers in particular, during the installation of infrastructure and other below ground works. The threat from toxic or asphyxiant gases or vapours in deep excavations can be a significant problem. Where the risks from these hazards are unacceptably high, it is necessary to introduce safety procedures that protect worker health and keep risks to a low level. Safe working procedures and safety equipment are best matched, as far as reasonable, with normal engineering practice.
A controlled statistical study to assess measurement variability as a function of test object position and configuration for automated surveillance in a multicenter longitudinal COPD study (SPIROMICS)

Purpose: A test object (phantom) is an important tool to evaluate comparability and stability of CTscanners used in multicenter and longitudinal studies. However, there are many sources of error that can interfere with the test object-derived quantitative measurements. Here the authors investigated three major possible sources of operator error in the use of a test object employed to assess pulmonary density-related as well as airway-related metrics. Methods: Two kinds of experiments were carried out to assess measurement variability caused by imperfect scanning status. The first one consisted of three experiments. A COPDGene test object was scanned using a dual source multidetector computed tomographic scanner (Siemens Somatom Flash) with the Subpopulations and Intermediate Outcome Measures in COPD Study (SPIROMICS) inspiration protocol (120 kV, 110 mAs, pitch = 1, slice thickness = 0.75 mm, slice spacing = 0.5 mm) to evaluate the effects of tilt angle, water bottle offset, and air bubble size. After analysis of these results, a guideline was reached in order to achieve more reliable results for this test object. Next the authors applied the above findings to 2272 test object scans collected over 4 years as part of the SPIROMICS study. The authors compared changes of the data consistency before and after excluding the scans that failed to pass the guideline. Results: This study established the following limits for the test object: tilt index ≤0.3, water bottle offset limits of [−6.6 mm, 7.4 mm], and no air bubble within the water bottle, where tilt index is a measure incorporating two tilt angles around x- and y-axis. With 95% confidence, the density measurement variation for all five interested materials in the test object (acrylic, water,lung, inside air, and outside air) resulting from all three error sources can be limited to ±0.9 HU (summed in quadrature), when all the requirements are satisfied. The authors applied these criteria to 2272 SPIROMICS scans and demonstrated a significant reduction in measurement variation associated with the test object. Conclusions: Three operator errors were identified which significantly affected the usability of the acquired scan images of the test object used for monitoring scanner stability in a multicenter study. The authors’ results demonstrated that at the time of test object scan receipt at a radiology core laboratory, quality control procedures should include an assessment of tilt index, water bottle offset, and air bubble size within the water bottle. Application of this methodology to 2272 SPIROMICS scans indicated that their findings were not limited to the scanner make and model used for the initial test but was generalizable to both Siemens and GE scanners which comprise the scanner types used within the SPIROMICS study.
Controlling the accuracy of double higher order surface integral equation modeling by relative tolerance for matrix compression

We show how the accuracy of the double higher order surface integral equation modeling in conjunction with a direct hierarchically semiseparable structures solver can be efficiently controlled by using the relative tolerance for the matrix compression.
Epidemiological Analysis of Rabies From 1996 to 2006 and its Preventive Measures in Hunan Province

Objective To summarize and analyze human rabies epidemic during the period of 1996～2006 in Hunan Province.To explore the possible factors causing the increase of the epidemics and to provide evidences for the preventive and control measures making.Methods The data of rabies epidemics from 1996 to 2006 in Hunan Province were collected and analyzed.Results The morbidity of rabies increased from 0.03 per 100,000 in 1996 to 0.70 per 100,000 in 2006.Most of the cases occurred in villages.The increasing numbers of dogs,low dog inoculation rate,poor management on the quality of rabies vaccine,inappropriate treatment of the animal bite wounds,and lacking good cooperation between different health department might be the major factors for the increasing rabies incidence and mortality.Conclusion The epidemic situation is rather severe in Hunan Province,therefore we must work out a series of intergrated prevention and control measures for futher reducing the incidence of human rabies in Hunan Province.
Introduction of Jiangsu Power Grid Real-time Digital Simulation System

The present situation of both foreign and domestic power system digital simulation technologies is simply introduced in this paper.Then,based on advanced digital power system simulator(ADPSS) developed by Jiangsu Electric Power Research Institute Co.Ltd.and Electric Power Research Institute of China,the structure and function of this system are presented in detail.Associated field accident analysis and test research based on the system are also expounded.The powerful function,the simulation ability for large size and strong expansibility of this system enable it to carry out real-time hybrid simulation of electromagnetic transient and electromechanical transient.
Determination of L-Se-methylselenocysteine Content by Chiral Chromatography

L-Se-methylselenocysteine is a new selenium-containing food supplement; however, no studies regarding the safety of D-Se-methylselenocysteine have been reported. Current methods for the determination of L-Se-methylselenocysteine content mainly focus on the measurement of total Se-methylselenocysteine content and cannot differentiate it from the content of L-Se-methylselenocysteine. High-pressure liquid chromatography(HPLC) was used in this study to estimate L-Se-methylselenocysteine content using chiral separation, and a standard curve was established. Reliable chromatographic separation was achieved on an EC250/4 NUCLEOSIL Chiral-1 column(4 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm) when the mobile phase was 0.4 mmol/L Cu SO4·5H2O, column temperature was 35 ℃, flow rate was 1.0 m L/min, sample size was 20 μL, and detection wavelength was 240 nm. Under these conditions, the calibration curves established showed good linearity across the concentration range of 0.541~1.352 mg/ml, with a correlation coefficient of 0.9999 and an average recovery of 97.73%. The method is simple, accurate, and can be used to monitor the quality of L-Se-methylselenocysteine and its related products.
Polyps of the colon.

Polyps of the colon are found in roughly 5% to 10% of all asymptomatic persons examined, and about 1% of all children. They can cause rectal bleeding in patients of any age. Size, location, multiplicity, and the possibility of premalignancy are factors influencing management.
Cytogenetic features of juvenile chronic myelogenous leukemia

Abstract Consistent chromosomal abnormalities have been described in several leukemic disorders, but relatively little is known about the cytogenetic features of juvenile chronic myelogenous leukemia (JCML). We report the serial cytogenetic findings over a 2-yr period for a patient with JCML. A large subtelocentric marker chromosome was noted in all metaphases throughout the course of his disease and provided evidence for a clonal etiology of JCML in this patient. Banding analysis identified this marker as a chromosome 8, to which most of the long arm of a chromosome 2 had been translocated. An abnormal chromosome 1 was also noted. The probable stem cell karyotype was 46,XY,t(2;8)(q21 ;q24), del(1)(p33→pter), dup(1)(p21→p32). Two subclones evolved from the stem line population at different times during the course of the disease. We reviewed the cytogenetic findings for 16 other patients with JCML at this institution and for 68 patients reported elsewhere. Over 80% of these patients had normal karyotypes as determined by conventional techniques, and no consistent cytogenetic abnormalities were noted among those with an abnormal karyotype. JCML may be a heterogeneous disorder, with some patients clearly showing evidence of malignant clonal proliferation. A few of the patients with normal karyotypes may have transient or sustained failure of bone marrow maturation.
R&D ALLIANCE FORMATION AMONG VC-BACKED ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURES

In this paper, we extend information economics to the literature on R&D alliance partner selection by showing the different ways in which venture capitalists (VCs) shape entrepreneurial ventures’ partner selection decisions for R&D collaborations. Specifically, we advance the argument that affiliations with VCs can play a dual role in reducing the risk of adverse selection for R&D collaborations by conveying signals and mediating information about prospective partners. We also suggest that these benefits VC affiliations provide are contingent upon technological resource endowments of entrepreneurial ventures. In particular, we argue that the positive effects of affiliations with VCs will be more pronounced when firms have dissimilar technological resource endowments and therefore face greater challenges in understanding and evaluating each other’s resources. Furthermore, we argue that the signaling and information intermediation roles of VCs complement each other in reducing the risk of adverse selection.
Pain as semiosomatic force: The disarticulation and rearticulation of subjectivity

Scarry’s (The Body in Pain: the Making and Unmaking of the World, Oxford, New York, 1985) broke crucial ground in examining the antagonisms between pain, embodiment and language, and the isolating effects of pain as experience. This paper submits Scarry’s claim that extreme pain destroys language, evades mediation, and isolates the subject to critical scrutiny, arguing instead that pain is a semiosomatic force, a form of feeling generated by imperative information about embodiment (real or imaginary) that works to disarticulate and move the subject and the social environment. Pain is not predominantly antagonistic to language; rather, pain insists on signifying, with language being only one of its performative media. What pain resists is representation, not the informational force exerted through language and other semiotic forms. Rather than unmaking language, pain disarticulates and rearticulates subjectivity, refashioning interrelations between the body, subjectivity, others, and culture in ongoing processes of largely aversive impingement, embroiling subjectivity with the imperative directives of embodied vulnerability.
Patterns of care and survival outcomes in the treatment of esophageal melanoma.

Because of the rarity of esophageal melanoma, the optimal management of this disease is limited. The pooled dataset in the National Cancer Database (NCDB) was used to identify the prognostic factors and treatment outcomes. Patients who were diagnosed with esophageal melanoma between 2004 and 2011 were identified. Patients were stratified as either localized (T1-4N0M0), regional (T1-4N+M0), or metastatic (M1). The primary endpoint of this study was overall survival (OS) which was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox regression, which was performed to identify potential factors influencing survival. A total of 56 patients were identified with median follow-up of 10.2 months. Twenty-seven (48.2%) patients had localized disease, 10 patients (17.9%) had regional disease, and 19 patients (33.9%) were metastatic at diagnosis. For those with localized disease, the 3 year OS was 50.5% for the 14 patients treated with esophagectomy, and 0.0% for the seven treated with definitive radiation therapy. For regional disease, the 3 year OS was 11.1% for the nine patients treated with esophagectomy. The 3 year OS for those with metastatic disease at diagnosis was 0.0%. On multivariate analysis, treatment with esophagectomy was not associated with a reduced risk of death (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.31-2.25, P = 0.73), while regional disease (HR 3.78, 95% CI 1.40-10.19, P = 0.009) and metastatic disease (HR 7.54, 95% CI 2.89-19.62, P < 0.001) were associated with decreased survival. Esophageal melanoma is an extremely rare and aggressive disease with very poor outcomes. Esophagectomy may result in reasonable survival for localized disease.
Toward aircraft recognition with convolutional neural networks

We summarize the history and state of the art in Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), which constitute a significant advancement in pattern recognition. As a demonstration of capability, we address the problem of automatic aircraft identification during refueling approach. In this paper we describe the history of CNN development and provide a high level overview of the state of the art and a summary of leading CNN libraries with CUDA support. Finally, we demonstrate an application of CNN technology to autonomous aerial refueling and identify areas of follow-on research.
Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based Modeling of Cardiac Storage Disorders

The aim of this study is to review the published human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte (hiPSC-CM) models of cardiac storage disorders and to evaluate the limitations and future applications of this technology. Several cardiac storage disorders (CSDs) have been modeled using patient-specific hiPSC-CMs, including Anderson-Fabry disease, Danon disease, and Pompe disease. These models have shown that patient-specific hiPSC-CMs faithfully recapitulate key phenotypic features of CSDs and respond predictably to pharmacologic manipulation. hiPSC-CMs generated from patients with CSDs are representative models of the patient disease state and can be used as an in vitro system for the study of human cardiomyocytes. While these models suffer from several limitations, they are likely to play an important role in future mechanistic studies of cardiac storage disorders and the development of targeted therapeutics for these diseases.
IMPACT Lessons: Strategically Embedding Media and Information Literacy Through Teacher Development in Higher Education

Embedding media and information literacy (MIL) meaningfully and thoughtfully into curricula is a powerful way to create richer learning experiences for students. Building on the relationship between MIL and learning, this chapter describes how librarians at Purdue University leverage opportunities afforded by the IMPACT (Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation) teacher development program. Through IMPACT, librarians work to empower higher education teachers to strategically embed MIL in foundational courses. The chapter discusses the shifting role of librarians, adopting the strategies of an information consultant working with teachers to develop shared goals across disciplinary boundaries. IMPACT librarians adopt an informed learning approach to MIL that focuses on how information is used to address a teacher’s goals for student learning. An instructional design process provides specific targets for conversations about how students can use information more creatively and reflectively to learn. The chapter concludes with two reflections from librarians working with teachers in IMPACT that demonstrate the use of these strategies to successfully embed MIL into a communication and a technology course.
Simultaneous in situ hybridization and TUNEL to identify cells undergoing apoptosis.

Apoptotic cells in tissue sections can be localized by in situ labelling of partly degraded DNA. In a heterogeneous population of cells, however, the specific identity of cell types undergoing apoptosis often cannot be reliably achieved at the light microscope level because of the marked alterations in cellular morphology that characterize apoptosis. In order to clearly specify cell types undergoing apoptosis, in situ end labelling has been coupled to immunohistochemistry. This method is limited by the availability of antibodies that bind to cell-specific protein markers in tissue sections. In contrast, we describe a method that combines in situ end labelling with in situ hybridization, a technique that specifies cell types based on mRNA expression. Taking advantage of the specific expression of surfactant protein C mRNA in type II alveolar epithelial cells, we demonstrate that this technique has the ability to localize alveolar type II cells undergoing apoptosis in vivo after the intratracheal instillation of an antibody that activates the cell surface Fas protein. The wide availability of cell-specific gene markers suggests that this method can be adapted to define cell types that undergo apoptosis during various physiological and pathological states in vivo.
Use of slurry fluorogypsum (FG) with controlled pH-adjustment in FG-based blends

Abstract This study investigates the mechanical and durability properties of blends made of fluorogypsum (FG) with the pH adjusted by using controlled amounts of circulating fluidized bed combustion ash (CFBCA) and denoted as C-FG, class C fly ash (FA), and type II Portland cement (PC). A series of pH tests was conducted on samples of C-FG to develop an analytical relationship between acidity and CFBCA content, which can be used to determine the optimal amount of CFBCA needed to obtain a specified pH value. Two compositions of C-FG-based blends were investigated in detail to identify the effects of CFBCA content on compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, Poisson’s ratio, relative volumetric expansion, unit weight, and setting times. The obtained properties were compared with those of FG-based blends having the same composition and made using FG with the pH adjusted by using uncontrolled amounts of CFBCA (U-FG). Results suggest that the amount of CFBCA can have significant effects on the properties of C-FG-based blends, depending on the composition. In addition, C-FG-based blends generally achieve a higher compressive strength and initial stiffness than the corresponding U-FG-based blends.
Coronary Button Pseudoaneurysms After Aortic Root Replacement in a Child With Loeys-Deitz Syndrome

Loeys-Deitz syndrome (LDS) is a connective tissue disorder characterized by aggressive aortopathy with a proclivity for aortic aneurysmal rupture and dissection. Prophylactic surgical intervention is often indicated to ameliorate risk of aneurysm rupture. Aortic root replacement involves excision of the coronary arteries from the aortic root with a button of surrounding aortic tissue and subsequent anastomosis of these buttons to the synthetic aortic graft. We report the case of a 16-year-old girl with LDS who developed pseudoaneurysms at the sites of previous coronary button implantation.
Animal/Human Concordance

Abstract In the context of hazard identification and risk assessment, surrogate species are used to determine whether chemicals pose an undue risk to produce adverse neurodevelopmental effects in humans under conditions that are relevant to anticipated circumstances of exposure. In this context, it is important to understand the reliability of the model used to predict or understand human health effects and the suitability and limitations of the model for each stage of investigation. Toward this goal, it is useful to compare the effects of chemicals that are known to produce neurodevelopmental disorders in humans with those observed in animals and to evaluate conditions that have occurred in humans with those in animals, using the tools that are presently available. It is also important to continue evaluating and developing alternative models and approaches that may provide even greater clarity with respect to human relevance, while using fewer animals.
Successful and Unsuccessful Blind Placement of Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta (REBOA) Catheters Through Damaged Arteries: A Report of Three Cases

Background: Patients who receive REBOA for temporization of exsanguinating hemorrhage may have occult injuries sustained to the iliac arteries or aorta which may pose increased risks in performing REBOA. There is a paucity of literature describing the successful blind placement of wires and/or catheters for REBOA through damaged vasculature. Methods: Patients admitted between February 2013 and July 2017 at a tertiary center who had a successful or unsuccessful blind placement of a REBOA catheter or wire through a damaged iliac artery or aorta were included. Results: Three patients were identified. Two patients had successful placement of the REBOA catheter; one sustained injury to the external iliac artery, and the other sustained injury to the abdominal aorta. Confirmation of catheter placement was obtained before balloon inflation; and the damaged vessels were identified upon immediate operative intervention. One patient had unsuccessful placement of the REBOA catheter during cardiac arrest despite accurate access of the common femoral artery (CFA). Conclusions: Emergent, blind placement of wires and catheters past arterial injuries is possible. Physical exam and/or tactile feedback should alert the surgeon to the possibility of arterial injury and imaging confirmation should precede balloon inflation if at all possible to minimize risk of further vascular injury.
Holistic Approach to Partial Covalent Interactions in Protein Structure Prediction and Design with Rosetta.

Partial covalent interactions (PCIs) in proteins, which include hydrogen bonds, salt bridges, cation−π, and π–π interactions, contribute to thermodynamic stability and facilitate interactions with other biomolecules. Several score functions have been developed within the Rosetta protein modeling framework that identify and evaluate these PCIs through analyzing the geometry between participating atoms. However, we hypothesize that PCIs can be unified through a simplified electron orbital representation. To test this hypothesis, we have introduced orbital based chemical descriptors for PCIs into Rosetta, called the PCI score function. Optimal geometries for the PCIs are derived from a statistical analysis of high-quality protein structures obtained from the Protein Data Bank (PDB), and the relative orientation of electron deficient hydrogen atoms and electron-rich lone pair or π orbitals are evaluated. We demonstrate that nativelike geometries of hydrogen bonds, salt bridges, cation−π, and π–π interactions ...
Hypertension and Aortic Stenosis: A Review.

Background Aortic stenosis is a common form of valvular heart disease which often coexists with hypertension. These diseases represent two distinct forms of left ventricular systolic overload and in combination may be associated with disadvantageous left ventricular remodeling, increased mortality and heart failure. The treatment of hypertension in aortic stenosis remains a challenging problem with limited data to guide clinical practice. Methods We performed a comprehensive online literature review to find relevant published literature on the topic of hypertension and aortic stenosis. Results In the present manuscript, we review the pathophysiology of aortic stenosis in combination with hypertension and the effects on the left ventricle. We also provide general recommendations for medical therapy for treatment of hypertension in aortic stenosis and review the available data on specific antihypertensive agents in this context. Conclusions Aortic stenosis and hypertension commonly coexist and significantly impact the diagnosis and classification of aortic stenosis severity and symptoms. Treatment of hypertension among patients with severe aortic stenosis can be challenging. Among specific antihypertensive agents studied in this context, ACE-inhibitors are the most well studied.
The Mindfulness Manifold: Exploring How Self-Preoccupation, Self-Compassion, and Self-Transcendence Translate Mindfulness Into Positive Psychological Outcomes

In a correlational study (n = 670) using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis as well as path analysis, evidence for a mindfulness manifold reaching from self-awareness all the way to psychological outcomes was uncovered. Factor analysis of a large number of mindfulness and mindfulness-related scales yielded five interrelated, interpretable factors, subsumed under three aspects of mindfulness derived from a common-denominator model (Vigo & Silbersweig’s S-ART model): (a) self-awareness, with the two factors of reflective awareness and controlled sense-of-self in the moment; (b) self-regulation, with the two factors of self-preoccupation and self-compassion; and (c) self-transcendence. In a mediational structural-equation model testing the hypothesis of a flow of influence from self-awareness over self-regulation to self-transcendence, self-awareness was indeed found to influence self-regulation; self-regulation mediated part of the effects of self-awareness on self-transcendence. In turn, self-preoccupation, self-compassion, and self-transcendence, as well as controlled sense-of-self in the moment, alleviated negative emotional states (stress, depression, and anxiety) and had a positive influence on psychological well-being. The results elucidate that self-regulation and self-transcendence are (some of) the mechanisms through which the effects of self-awareness are translated into beneficial psychological outcomes.
Gefahren, Störungen und Schäden der Transfusion mit konserviertem Blut

Die Bedeutung, die das konservierte Blut als Behandlungsmittel einnimmt, hangt neben dem therapeutischen Nutzen und organisatorisch-technischer Vorteile auch von den Gefahren, die mit der Transfusion von konserviertem Blut verbunden sind, ab. Es ist wichtig, diese Gefahren richtig zu beurteilen. Die genaue richtige Beurteilung bezweckt die scharfe Abtrennung der Gefahren und Storungen, die gewissermasen fur das konservierte Blut spezifisch sind, von denen, die bei jeder Transfusion vorkommen konnen. Nur unter Mitberucksichtigung der Gefahren gelingt es, sich uber die Verwendungsmoglichkeiten des konservierten Blutes ein moglichst genaues Bild zu verschaffen. Das setzt voraus, das wir zunachst die Gefahren der Frischbluttransfusion genau kennen, um damit die bisher bekannten Storungen und Schaden nach der Transfusion von konserviertem Blut vergleichen und davon abgrenzen zu konnen. Ferner ist es wichtig, das jeder Zwischenfall, der nach der Transfusion von konserviertem Blut auftritt, nach diesem Gesichtspunkt hin untersucht wird.
The Contradictions of Legal Professionalism

The lineaments of the contemporary American legal profession profoundly shape the functioning of the legal system and the quality of justice it produces. Legal specialists play an indispensable role in mediating the interaction between Americans and their laws. This is not true of all legal systems; rather, it is one manifestation of the highly developed functional division of labor characteristic of technologically advanced societies. In many technologically simple societies, such as those of precolonial Africa, all adult males were eligible to perform the roles of lawgiver, legal decision-maker, legal representative, and unaided litigant (Abel, 1973). Futhermore, much legal interaction was entirely unmediated by specialists. Claims were asserted and resisted through self-help, direct negotiation between the parties, or informal sanctions. In the contemporary United States, by contrast, most forms of self-help are outlawed, inequality between adversaries discourages negotiation, and informal sanctions tend to be ineffective (Abel, 1984). At the same time, most lay judges have been eliminated, lawyers dominate legislatures and administrative agencies, and it is both difficult and uncommon for a layperson to appear in court without legal representation (Ziegler & Hermann, 1972).
Revising the Delaware Appraisal Statute

Modern appraisal statutes are a mess. Although these statutes were originally designed to provide liquidity to minority shareholders after fundamental changes in corporate form, today they are supposed to function more as a check on majority shareholder opportunism. Unfortunately, they do a very poor job of achieving either goal. Delaware, with the nation's most important coporate appraisal statute, bears the burden of trying to reform this remedy to make it more useful.
Improved diagnostic clarity in shrimp allergic non-dust-mite sensitized patients.

Background Allergen specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) levels predictive of shrimp allergy have not been identified, but these may be helpful in identifying patients at risk for shrimp-induced allergic reactions. Objective This study sought to identify component resolved diagnostic tests useful for diagnosis of shrimp allergy in patients with or without house-dust mite (HDM) sensitization to the major allergen cysteine protease (Der p 1). Methods Patients with positive skin-prick test (SPT) results and/or sIgE values were recruited. Shrimp allergy was classified by oral food challenge (OFC) or by a clear history of anaphylaxis after shrimp ingestion. Patients with shrimp allergy and patients who were tolerant were further classified based on HDM sensitivity (Der p 1 > 0.35 kUA/L). Testing for sIgE to total shrimp, and shrimp and HDM components was performed. The Fisher exact test, Wilcoxon sum rank test, and receiver operating characteristics analyses were used to compare sIgE levels in patients with allergy and patients who were tolerant. Results Of 79 patients recruited, 12 patients with shrimp allergy (7 with positive OFC results and 5 with a history of anaphylaxis) and 18 patients who were shrimp tolerant were enrolled. Of the patients not HDM sensitized, sIgE levels to shrimp (10.5 kUA/L, p = 0.012) and Der p 10 (4.09 kUA/L, p = 0.035) were higher in patients with shrimp allergy. Shrimp sIgE of ≥3.55 kUA/L had 100% diagnostic sensitivity and 85.7% specificity (receiver operating characteristic 0.94 [0.81, 1.0] 95% CI) and Der p 10 sIgE levels of ≥3.98 kUA/L had a diagnostic sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 100% (receiver operating characteristic 0.86 [0.57, 1.0] 95% CI) for prediction of clinical reactivity. Conclusion HDM sensitization influences shrimp and HDM component sIgE levels and, consequently, their diagnostic accuracy in shrimp allergy. In our series, in the patients who were non-HDM sensitized, a shrimp sIgE level of >3.55 kUA/L showed 100% sensitivity and, Der p 10 sIgE of >3.98 kUA/L showed 100% specificity for the diagnosis of shrimp allergy. These levels may not be applicable to every patient and, therefore, may not obviate the need for OFC.
Implementation of a distress/supportive care screening tool in lung and head and neck cancer clinic.

e21646Background: Identifying and addressing depression, anxiety, and supportive care needs in cancer patients is an emerging standard of care. The Coleman Foundation “Patient Screening Questions f...
A gentle introduction to anisotropic banach spaces

Abstract The use of anisotropic Banach spaces has provided a wealth of new results in the study of hyperbolic dynamical systems in recent years, yet their application to specific systems is often technical and difficult to access. The purpose of this note is to provide an introduction to the use of these spaces in the study of hyperbolic maps and to highlight the important elements and how they work together. This is done via a concrete example of a family of dissipative Baker’s transformations. Along the way, we prove an original result connecting such transformations with expanding maps via a continuous family of transfer operators acting on a single Banach space.
Motion Selectivity of Neurons in Self-driving Networks

We investigated if optical flow filters were implicitly learned by a neural network trained to drive a vehicle. The network was not trained to predict optical flow across the frames, but, through a series of controlled experiments, we claim that optical flow filters are present in the network. However, this appears to be only the case for sideways flows more relevant for steering predictions. For motor throttle predictions, the network looks at the variance of the pixels over time rather than computing optical flow. In addition, the filters that are likely used for motor throttle predictions dominate primarily in the middle of the network.