cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Responses of cerebral arterioles during chronic ethanol exposure

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of ethanol exposure on responses of cerebral arterioles in vivo. Rats were fed liquid diets with or without ethanol for 2-3 mo. Using intravital microscopy, we measured diameter of cerebral arterioles in non-ethanol- and ethanol-fed rats in response to acetylcholine, histamine, ADP, the thromboxane analogue (U-46619), and nitroglycerin. In non-ethanol-fed rats, acetylcholine, histamine, and ADP produced dose-related dilatation of cerebral arterioles. In ethanol-fed rats, however, acetylcholine produced vasoconstriction, and vasodilatation in response to histamine and ADP was impaired. Dilatation of cerebral arterioles in response to nitroglycerin and vasoconstriction in response to the thromboxane analogue (U-46619) were similar in non-ethanol-fed and ethanol-fed rats. Thus these findings suggest that chronic ethanol exposure impairs responses of cerebral arterioles to agonists, which produce dilatation via the release of an endothelium-derived relaxing factor. We speculate that impaired vasodilatation coupled with preservation of vasoconstriction in ethanol-fed rats may have important implications for the pathogenesis of stroke during chronic alcohol ingestion.
Nonlocal Symmetries and Ghosts

The local theory of symmetries of differential equations has been well-established since the days of Sophus Lie. Generalized, or higher order symmetries can be traced back to the original paper of Noether, [32], but were not exploited until the discovery that they play a critical role in integrable (soliton) partial differential equations, cf. [30, 33, 35].
Fostering Critical Reflection: Moving From a Service to a Social Justice Paradigm

This chapter explores how community engagement creates opportunities to facilitate meaningful discussions about issues including: the nature and sources of power; who benefits and who is silenced by service and leadership efforts; which community actions result in change rather than charity; and how to developmentally sequence reflective practice.
Laboratory Evaluation of Water Swellable Rubber as an Blocking Agent

Two kinds of Water Swellable Rubber were used as blocking agent.Two kinds of rubber's swellable rate in the fresh water and 1%NaCl were tested.Core blockage and weight loss were tested in laboratory.The laboratory findings indicate that water swellable rubber in the fresh water comes to 650%,weight loss less than 2%,and has superior sealing characteristics.
Impact of peripheral vascular disease on short- and long-term outcomes in patients undergoing non-emergent percutaneous coronary intervention in the drug-eluting stent era.

OBJECTIVES This study sought to compare short- and long-term (4-year) outcomes in patients with and without peripheral vascular disease (PVD) following non-emergent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in current clinical practice. BACKGROUND Patients with PVD undergoing coronary revascularization have high rates of adverse short-term outcomes. However, the long-term clinical outcomes of patients with PVD undergoing PCI in the contemporary drug-eluting stent (DES) era have not been well characterized. METHODS The 2004/2005 Cornell Angioplasty Registry database was used to evaluate the in-hospital and long-term clinical outcomes in patients undergoing non-emergent (urgent or elective) PCI. A total of 2455 study patients were examined. We excluded patients presenting with an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (MI) ≤ 24 hours, hemodynamic instability/shock, thrombolytic therapy ≤ 7 days, or renal insufficiency (creatinine ≥ 4 mg/dL). Mean clinical follow-up was 4.4 ± 1.1 years. RESULTS Of the 2455 patients, a total of 173 (7%) had PVD and 2282 (93%) had no reported history of PVD. DESs were used in 87% of the PCIs. The incidence of in-hospital death (1.8% vs 0.1%; P=.006) was greater in the PVD group, whereas postprocedural MI (6.4% vs 6.8%; P=.810) and major adverse cardiovascular event rates including death, stroke, emergent coronary artery bypass graft/PCI, and MI (8.7% vs 7.0%; P=.360) were similar in the PVD versus no PVD groups. Long-term Kaplan-Meier survival (89.2% vs 76.2%; P<.001) was significantly higher in patients without PVD versus with PVD, respectively. After adjustment with a multivariate Cox regression analysis, long-term all-cause survival was similar in patients with versus without PVD (hazard ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.69-1.93; P=.581). CONCLUSIONS In contemporary PCI utilizing DESs, glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors, and clopidogrel, PVD is associated with a higher in-hospital and 4-year all-cause mortality. In our study, this difference in long-term survival was mainly driven by a higher rate of comorbidities in the PVD population that underwent PCI.
TH-EF-BRB-03: Significant Cord and Esophagus Dose Reduction by 4π Non-Coplanar Spine Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy and Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Purpose: To demonstrate significant organ-at-risk (OAR) sparing achievable with 4π non-coplanar radiotherapy on spine SBRT and SRS patients. Methods: Twenty-five stereotactic spine cases previously treated with VMAT (n = 23) or IMRT (n = 2) were included in this study. A computer-aided-design model of a Linac with a 3D-scanned human surface was utilized to determine the feasible beam space throughout the 4π steradian and beam specific source-to-target-distances (STD) required for collision avoidance. 4π radiotherapy plans integrating beam orientation and fluence map optimization were then created using a column-generation algorithm. Twenty optimal beams were selected for each case. To evaluate the tradeoff between dosimetric benefit and treatment complexity, 4π plans including only isocentrically deliverable beams were also created. Beam angles of all standard and isocentric 4π plans were imported into Eclipse to recalculate the dose using the same calculation engine as the clinical plans for unbiased comparison. OAR and PTV dose statistics for the clinical, standard-4π, and isocentric-4π plans were compared. Results: Comparing standard-4π to clinical plans, particularly significant average percent reduction in the [mean, maximum] dose of the cord and esophagus of [41%, 21.7%], and [38.7%, 36.4%] was observed, along with global decrease in all other OAR dose statistics. The average cord volume receiving more than 50% prescription dose was substantially decreased by 76%. In addition, improved PTV coverage was demonstrated with a maximum dose reduction of 0.93% and 1.66% increase in homogeneity index (D95/D5). All isocentric-4π plans achieved dosimetric performance equivalent to that of the standard-4π plans with higher delivery complexity. Conclusion: 4π radiotherapy significantly improves stereotactic spine treatment dosimetry. With the substantial OAR dose sparing, PTV dose escalation is considerably safer. Isocentric-4π is sufficient to achieve the dosimetric gain. The successful implementation of 4π using an FDA approved planning system paves the way for a prospective clinical trial. Varian Medical Systems, NIH R43CA183390 and R01CA188300, NSF graduate research fellowship DGE-1144087
Evaluierung der Ergebnisse

Zum Abschlus stellen wir die Hauptergebnisse nochmals im Uberblick dar. Da wir bereits am Ende jedes Kapitels eine ausfuhrliche Zusammenfassung gegeben haben, wollen wir dies hier hauptsachlich mit der Absicht der Bewertung und Einordnung tun. Schlieslich diskutieren wir die Ubertragbarkeit auf andere Datenmodelle und geben einen Ausblick auf weiterfuhrende Arbeiten.
Sub-meter vehicle navigation using efficient pre-mapped visual landmarks

This paper presents a vehicle navigation system that is capable of achieving sub-meter GPS-denied navigation accuracy in large-scale urban environments, using pre-mapped visual landmarks. Our navigation system tightly couples IMU data with local feature track measurements, and fuses each observation of a pre-mapped visual landmark as a single global measurement. This approach propagates precise 3D global pose estimates for longer periods. Our mapping pipeline leverages a dual-layer architecture to construct high-quality pre-mapped visual landmarks in real time. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach provides sub-meter GPS-denied navigation solutions in large-scale urban scenarios.
El lastre de la morbilidad materna severa en la Obstetricia contemporánea

Maternal health is deteriorating across the world due to multiple factors including increasing rates of obesity, chronic medical conditions such as chronic hypertension, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, as well as advanced maternal age by the time of conception. These factors summed to the increasing cesarean delivery rate, lack of standardization of clinical practices, and inappropriate care during obstetrical urgencies are all major contributors to the rising rates of major obstetrical complications and maternal death. In recent years, national and international health care organizations have proposed new definitions of major maternal morbidity. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines “near maternal miss” (NMM) as the series of events leading from good health to a life-threatening complication associated with organ dysfunction or failure. Conversely, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in United States classify “severe maternal morbidity” (SMM) if a pregnancy is complicated by one or more of twenty five ICD-9 clinical complications/procedures associated with a high maternal mortality risk. Although, each organization uses a different approach, existing data indicate that diagnostic criteria used for the CDC or the WHO accurately predicts pregnancies complicated with a “true” life-threatening maternal complication. These definitions are essential to better understand the burden of the disease. Each hospital providing maternal health care should adopt the definition that better fits its own health care system and is urged to incorporate initiatives that can reduce preventable major maternal complications. A fundamental step to address this issue is the establishment of a standardized review or audit process conducted by a multidisciplinary team that assesses systematically cases of severe maternal morbidity and mortality, evaluates deficiencies of health care at the provider, institution, and system levels, and adopts programs to improve quality of care. Maternal warning systems, composed by a set of abnormal physiological parameters that alert the provider about the deterioration of the patient’s condition and prompt immediate bedside assessment, have shown to be effective in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality. Of importance, it has been recently demonstrated that linking these warning systems to standardized evidence-based clinical guidelines that address the most common obstetrical clinical pathways provides further benefits to the patient’s care and improves outcomes. Despite the advances in the early detection and management of major maternal morbidity, there is a concise need of further research to standardize definitions at regional, national and international levels, validate the effectiveness of early warning systems in different clinical settings, improve long-term outcomes, and incorporate other preventive measures initiated even prior to conception to further decline the rates of serious maternal complications and death.
The effectiveness of fear appeals in ‘green’ advertising: An analysis of creative, consumer, and source variables*

AbstractThis study focused on the effectiveness of fear appeal messages used to arouse a threat in green advertising. An experiment recruited 175 participants to test the influence of the advertising appeal (fear vs. non-fear appeal), source (for-profit vs. non-profit organizations), and involvement with the environment on attitude toward the ad (Aad), attitude toward the product (Ap) and purchase intention (PI). Results revealed that a fear appeal in a green ad negatively affected Aad and Ap and that participants who were highly involved with the environment were more likely to have positive attitudes toward the green ad and advertised green product as well as a stronger intent to purchase it. The source type in the green ad did not affect ad effectiveness and involvement with the environment did not moderate the effects of either appeal or source.
Engineering oxidative stress defense pathways to build a robust lipid production platform in Yarrowia lipolytica.

Microbially derived lipids have recently attracted renewed interests due to their broad applications in production of green diesels, cosmetic additives, and oleochemicals. Metabolic engineering efforts have targeted a large portfolio of biosynthetic pathways to efficiently convert sugar to lipids in oleaginous yeast. In the engineered overproducing strains, endogenous cell metabolism typically generates harmful electrophilic molecules that compromise cell fitness and productivity. Lipids, particularly unsaturated fatty acids, are highly susceptible to oxygen radical attack and the resulting oxidative species are detrimental to cell metabolism and limit lipid productivity. In this study, we investigated cellular oxidative stress defense pathways in Yarrowia lipolytica to further improve the lipid titer, yield, and productivity. Specifically, we determined that coupling glutathione disulfide reductase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase along with aldehyde dehydrogenase are efficient solutions to combat reactive oxygen and aldehyde stress in Y. lipolytica. With the reported engineering strategies, we were able to synchronize cell growth and lipid production, improve cell fitness and morphology, and achieved industrially-relevant level of lipid titer (72.7 g/L), oil content (81.4%) and productivity (0.97 g/L/h) in controlled bench-top bioreactors. The strategies reported here represent viable steps in the development of sustainable biorefinery platforms that potentially upgrade low value carbons to high value oleochemicals and biofuels. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 1521-1530. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Lymph Node Dissection for Small Renal Masses.

Because the majority of small renal masses (SRMs; <4 cm) demonstrate low metastatic potential and can be effectively treated with radical or partial nephrectomy, the role of lymph node dissection (LND) at the time of surgery is unclear. A randomized trial demonstrated no survival benefit of LND in clinically localized renal cell carcinoma. Thus, LND is not recommended routinely for SRMs. For patients with high-risk features or radiographic evidence of lymphadenopathy, however, LND may improve local staging and potentially provide a survival benefit. If performed, a LND template should be based on the known lymphatic drainage of the kidneys.
Abstract 17388: Applicability of a Western Model of Hypertension in a Yup'ik Eskimo Population

Hypertension (HT) is a powerful contributor to cardiovascular disease. Importantly, HT is becoming increasingly common in non-western and rural contexts. While much literature has clarified the role of- and risk factors for HT in urban, western contexts little is known about the relevance of these results to other populations. This abstract explores the applicability of a western model of HT to a sample of Yup9ik Eskimo people. As part of the Center for Alaskan Native Health Research study we interviewed Yup9ik individuals residing in 7 rural villages located in Southwestern Alaska. Covariates of interest were age, sex, education, body composition, physical activity, tobacco use, household composition, and ethnic identification. We assessed the association between vascular risk factors and the odds of having either normal (systolic 120 to 129 mmHg) or borderline to hypertensive (systolic ≥ 130 mmHg) as compared to optimal (systolic
Die Einbettung der Komponenten des Smart Markets

Das vorliegende Kapitel beschaftigt sich mit der Einbettung der Komponenten des Smart Markets. Hierzu werden nach der Einfuhrung in die energiewirtschaftlichen Hintergrunde und regulatorischen Erfordernisse zunachst die Sichtweisen verschiedener Branchen auf Komponenten eines Smart Markets bzw. auch eines Smart Grids dargestellt sowie Moglichkeiten diskutiert, die Komponenten des Smart Markets voneinander scharfer abzugrenzen und ihnen eine dogmatische Struktur zu geben. Dies erfordert offensichtlich die Bildung einer zusatzlichen Perspektive fur Telekommunikations- und Informationstechnologien, da diese Komponenten ubergreifend „den Smart Market zusammenhalten“. Der dritte und vierte Teil beschreibt abschliesend detailliert die einzelnen Komponenten und beleuchtet sowohl die involvierten Akteure als auch die Bedeutung der jeweiligen Komponente fur die Energiewende.
Parallel Adaptive Boundary Layer Meshing for CFD Analysis

This paper describes a parallel procedure for anisotropic mesh adaptation with boundary layers for use in scalable CFD simulations. The parallel mesh adaptation algorithm operates with local mesh modification operations developed for both unstructured and boundary layer parts of the mesh. The adaptive approach maintains layered elements near the viscous walls and accounts for the mesh modification operations that are carried out in parallel on a distributed mesh. In the process mesh relationships and approximations with respect to curved complex 3D geometries of interest are properly maintained. The parallel mesh adaptation procedures are applied to two problems: a heat transfer manifold and a scramjet engine.
Structuralism About Scientific Representation

I have two central aims in this paper, both relatively modest. The first is to present some ways of thinking about structuralism about scientific representation COMP: Please set ‘Chapter 7’ before the title and make the digit 7 be prefixed in all section heads in this chapter.. After distinguishing two distinct structuralist theses about representation – “vehicle structuralism” and “content structuralism” – from one another and from various other structuralist theses about the sciences (Section 7.2), I will separate three different non-formal concepts of structure (Section 7.3.1), discuss their relationship to the familiar formal concepts (Section 7.3.2), and consider two different ways of explicating vehicle structuralism (Section 7.4). I will then go on (and this is the second aim) to present a line of argument for the conclusion that structural realists of a certain familiar sort should reject both vehicle structuralism and content structuralism, and, relatedly, the semantic view of theory structure (Sections 7.5 and 7.6). Appallingly, this conclusion may not be at odds with the commitments of any particular philosopher or group of philosophers, but I think it will be useful to spell out the connections explicitly nonetheless.
Conformational Polymorphism in DNA

Biological systems are characterized by the abundant participation of macromolecules in carrying out most of their activities. These activities are varied and include information transfer in which nucleic acids play a specialized role. The proteins form organized structures including the catalytically active molecules that are responsible for channelling the metabolic activity of the cell.
2017 Conference on Community Writing Keynote Address: Place and Relationships in Community Writing

Ellen Cushman's 2017 CCW Keynote Address facilitates consideration of the kinds of discourse in our classrooms and communities that help to support the everyday work of border crossing and place-based learning to build community writing relationships.
Negotiating narrative domains: Izapa'S place in the discourse on early hieroglyphic writing

This paper aims to situate the Late Formative urban center of Izapa, Chiapas, Mexico into the greater discussion of early Mesoamerican writing systems. The elites of Izapa produced elaborate carved stone monuments in an era that bore witness to the fluorescence of three great hieroglyphic programs—the Zapotec, the Epi-Olmec, and the Maya—and, yet, only a handful of glyphs appear in Izapa's monumental corpus. In a discussion that includes Izapan iconoglyphs, possible nominal phrases, and the calendrical inscriptions on Izapa Stela 27, Stela 9, and Miscellaneous Monument 60, this study juxtaposes Izapan visual culture with representational systems to the east and west, and ultimately explores the narrative domains of greatest salience to Izapa's elite: image and cyclical time.
Time-aware Subgroup Matrix Decomposition: Imputing Missing Data Using Forecasting Events

Deep neural network models, especially Long Short Term Memory (LSTM), have shown great success in analyzing Electronic Health Records (EHRs) due to their ability to capture temporal dependencies in time series data. When applying the deep learning models to EHRs, we are generally confronted with two major challenges: high rate of missingness and time irregularity. Motivated by the original PACIFIER framework which utilized matrix decomposition for data imputation, we applied and further extended it by including three components: forecasting future events, a time-aware mechanism, and a subgroup basis approach. We evaluated the proposed framework with real-world EHRs which consists of 52,919 visits and 4,224,567 events on a task of early prediction of septic shock. We compared our work against multiple baselines including the original PACIFIER using both LSTM and Time-aware LSTM (T-LSTM). Experimental results showed that our proposed framework significantly outperformed all competitive baseline approaches. More importantly, the extracted interpretative latent patterns from subgroups could shed some lights for clinicians to discover the progression of septic shock patients.
Hepatitis C Screening: Barriers to Linkage to Care

Background and Aims: Hepatitis C (HCV) is a medical and public health concern. Once infected individuals are identified, management includes not only education but also the use of antiviral therapy. Although screening for HCV is readily available, barriers exist which prevent assessment and treatment in individuals potentially infected with HCV.
Environmental Policy Instrument Choice and International Trade

We develop a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model to understand how environmental policy instrument choice affects trade. We extend the existing literature by employing an open economy model to evaluate three environmental policy instruments: cap-and-trade, pollution taxes, and an emissions intensity standard in the face of two types of exogenous shocks. We calibrate the model to Canadian data and simulate productivity and import price shocks. We evaluate the evolution of key macroeconomic variables, including the trade balance in response to the shocks under each policy instrument. Our findings for the evolution of output and emissions under a productivity shock are consistent with previous closed economy models. Our open economy framework allows us to find that a cap-and-trade policy dampens the international trade effects of the business cycle relative to an emissions tax or intensity standard. Under an import shock, pollution taxes and intensity targets are as effective as cap-and-trade policies in reducing variance in consumption and employment. The cap-and-trade policy limits the intensity of the import competition shock suggesting that particular policy instrument might serve as a barrier to trade.
Online Outsourcing and the Future of Work

The push toward global connectivity and the worldwide expansion of the internet, combined with the ongoing decline in the cost of technology, will change global labor markets and the nature of employment. Future technology will coordinate the assignment, distribution, and measurement of tasks to a billion-person network across multiple countries and dozens of skill vectors. The fixed salary, full-time employee will be replaced with a virtual network of online contractors who receive and deliver their work through computer-mediated auctions, assignments, and other economic mechanisms. I document these trends, explain the underlying economics, investigate the current labor laws and benefits for independent contractors, and suggest policy proposals that can prepare for the transformation.
Generation gaps in US public opinion on renewable energy and climate change

The topics of climate change and renewable energy are often linked in policy discussions and scientific analysis, but public opinion on these topics exhibits both overlap and divergence. Although renewable energy has potentially broader acceptance than anthropogenic climate change, it can also face differently-based opposition. Analyses of US and regional surveys, including time series of repeated surveys in New Hampshire (2010–2018) and northeast Oregon (2011–2018), explore the social bases and trends of public views on both issues. Political divisions are prominent, although somewhat greater regarding climate change due to substantive differences and more partisan opposition. Regarding climate change and to a lesser extent renewable energy, political divisions tends to widen with education. There also are robust age and temporal effects: younger adults more often prioritize renewable energy development, and agree with scientists on the reality of anthropogenic climate change (ACC). Across all age groups and both regional series, support for renewable energy and recognition of ACC have been gradually rising. Contrary to widespread speculation, these trends have not visibly responded to events such as the US hurricanes of 2012, 2017 or 2018. Together with age-cohort replacement and the potential for changes in age-group voting participation, however, the gradual trends suggest that public pressure for action on these issues could grow.
Constitutionalism and Political Culture in Imperial Russia (Late 19th – Early 20th Century)

This article analyzes the possibility of development of liberal constitutionalism in the Russian Empire during the post-reform period in the late 19 th – early 20 th century within the context of European history, of which Russia was an integral component. It argues that the Russian autocracy had the potential to transform itself into a constitutional monarchy during the period that followed the Great Reforms of the 1860s (1861–1881) and, second, during the Revolution of 1905–1906 and in its aftermath. This promising evolutionary process was cut short by World War I and rejected by the Soviet period of Russian history that followed. Obstacles to constitutional government were mostly objective in character, but perhaps the most significant problem was the fragmentation and insufficient development of Russian political culture, or better said, cultures that failed to produce the consensus required for effective creation and functioning of a constitutional regime. This failure was further exacerbated by an evolutionary radicalization of revolutions in modern European history that culminated in October 1917. The author concludes that the events of the late 1980s and the Revolution of 1991 changed the character of the Russian historical landscape and provided the potential for renewed development of a pluralistic political system and a strong civil society that is its precondition.
Relationship between Intrinsically Photosensitive Ganglion Cell Function and Circadian Regulation in Diabetic Retinopathy.

Background: Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) control non-visual light responses (e.g. pupillary light reflex and circadian entrainment). Patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) show reduced ipRGC function, as inferred by abnormalities in the post illumination pupil response (PIPR). We explored whether ipRGC function in DR is associated with circadian outputs and sleep/wake behavior. Methods: Forty-five participants (15 without diabetes, 15 with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and no DR, 15 with T2D and DR) participated. ipRGC function was inferred from the PIPR (pupil size following stimulus offset). Circadian outputs were melatonin amplitude (overnight urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s)) and timing (dim light melatonin onset (DLMO)), and evening salivary cortisol levels. Sleep/wake patterns were measured with wrist actigraphy and insomnia symptoms were assessed subjectively. Results: Patients with T2D and DR had smaller PIPR and lower urinary aMT6s than other groups (p < 0.001). In adjusted regression models, smaller PIPR was associated with lower urinary aMT6s (β = 4.552, p = 0.005). Patients with DR were more likely to have no detectable DLMO (p = 0.049), higher evening salivary cortisol, greater insomnia symptoms and greater sleep variability compared to other groups. Sleep duration, efficiency and rest-activity rhythms were similar. Conclusion: Reduced ipRGC function in DR is associated with circadian dysregulation and sleep disturbances, although a causal relationship cannot be established in this cross-sectional study. Prospective mechanistic and intervention studies examining circadian and sleep health in these patients are warranted.
Analysis of Termite Microbiome and Biodegradation of Various Phenolic Compounds by a Bacterium Isolated from the Termite gut in Louisiana, USA

The eastern subterranean termite (EST) Reticulitermes flavipes is an insect pest in the USA. Like all wood-feeding termites (WFT), EST relies on a complex system of microbes to meet its nutritional requirements. The microbiome of WFT is stable, but the relative abundance of bacteria changes depending on diet. The purpose of this study was to explore the microbial diversity within EST collected in Thibodaux and St. Francisville, LA and detect differences based on diet and location to determine if the microbiome has a strict structure. It was found that taxa did not differ much between nearby colonies, but relative abundance is impacted by the wood in the diet. Half of bacteria from the gut of termites on nuttall oak were Bacteroidales, of which 22.7% were members of the family Porphyromonadaceae. 44% of bacteria from termites on red maple were Spirochaetes. All Spirochaetes were members of the genus Treponema. Elusimicrobia, a phylum found exclusively within termites and wood-feeding cockroaches was not abundant in either St. Francisville colony. Taxa differed more between termite colonies from different locations, but the mircobiome of St. Francisville colonies appeared to begin diverging at the family level. Overall, the microbiome was typical of termites, harboring cellulolytic protozoa, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, acetogenic Spirochaetes, and methanogenic archaeans. This has implications in microbial ecology because the organisms are changing, but the function, digestion of lignocellulose, is not. A bacterium was isolated and identified from termite gut as Acinetobacter tandoii from our previous studies degraded various phenolics, including phenol, nitrophenol, dinitrophenol, trinitrophenol, and toluene.
Fast deployment of COVID-19 disinfectant from common ethanol of gas stations in Brazil.

Abstract Objectives Coronavirus COVID-19 is spreading very fast in Brazil, requiring innovative strategies for the fast deployment of disinfectants. Panic in population triggered by COVID-19 has caused a shortage of alcohol-based hand sanitizers and disinfectants in many cities of Brazil. Despite the governmental reaction against the outbreak, a risk of shortage of disinfectants still exists. The objective of this research is to investigate an alternative method for the fast deployment of alcohol-based disinfectants to protect the population against COVID-19. Methods and results This research highlights the feasibility of disinfectant production from common ethanol available in Brazilian gas stations, as a last resort. A four-by-one (4:1) ratio of common alcohol diluted in water meets the minimum requirements set by health agencies for the alcoholic concentration of disinfectants. Risks factors on alcohol dilution process are associated with corresponding measures of risk mitigation for public health and safety. Conclusions and perspectives This research proposes a process for the production and deployment of ethanol-based disinfectant from gas stations. However, the implementation is not timely possible for the COVID-19 pandemic due to complexities in the productive process. For the post-COVID-19 period, the authors give three perspectives: (a) future investigation of human dermal toxicity of common ethanol, (b) establishment of a program for the ethanol decontamination, and (c) countries such as the US, Sweden, Thailand, and Colombia to rethink their energy policy for the adoption of biofuel E100 (ethanol and water) instead of E85 (blend of ethanol, gasoline, and water), as part of their biodefense strategy.
In Virtual Presentations, Top Geriatrics Research Addresses Key Concern for Older Adults—Medication Management

Adjusting for risk factors, such as blood pressure and medical history, researchers found that participants using medications that increased angiotensin-II activity had a 44% lower dementia rate (without a higher mortality rate) compared to those taking medications that decreased such activity According to study findings, more intensive hypertension treatment for 100 persons prevents one stroke in 2 years Because rates of harms from more intensive hypertension treatment range from 1% to 7%, the results suggest that more intensive hypertension treatment is most beneficial for older adults with a life expectancy 2 years (Ho, 2020) According to researchers, this study shows that FAME e-consults are not only well-accepted but also useful in safely reducing falls risks associated with certain medications (Smith, 2020)
Frequency and Analysis of Unplanned Extubation in Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients.

Objectives: To determine if patients with coronavirus disease 2019 had a greater number of unplanned extubations resulting in reintubations than in patients without coronavirus disease 2019. Design: Retrospective cohort study comparing the frequency of unplanned extubations resulting in reintubations in a group of coronavirus disease 2019 patients to a historical (noncoronavirus disease 2019) control group. Setting: This study was conducted at Henry Ford Hospital, an academic medical center in Detroit, MI. The historical noncoronavirus disease 2019 patients were treated in the 68 bed medical ICU. The coronavirus disease 2019 patients were treated in the coronavirus disease ICU, which included the 68 medical ICU beds, 18 neuro-ICU beds, 32 surgical ICU beds, and 40 cardiovascular ICU beds, as the medical ICU was expanded to these units at the peak of the pandemic in Detroit, MI. Patients: The coronavirus disease 2019 cohort included patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 who were intubated for respiratory failure from March 12, 2020, to April 13, 2020. The historic control (noncoronavirus disease 2019) group consisted of patients who were admitted to the medical ICU in the year spanning from November 1, 2018 to October 31, 2019, with a need for mechanical ventilation that was not related to surgery or a neurologic reason. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: To identify how many patients in each cohort had unplanned extubations, an electronic medical records query for patients with two intubations within 30 days was performed, in addition to a review of our institutional quality and safety database of reported self-extubations. Medical charts were manually reviewed by board-certified anesthesiologists to confirm each event was an unplanned extubation followed by a reintubation within 24 hours. There was a significantly greater incidence of unplanned extubations resulting in reintubation events in the coronavirus disease 2019 cohort than in the noncoronavirus disease 2019 cohort (coronavirus disease 2019 cohort: 167 total admissions with 22 events-13.2%; noncoronavirus disease 2019 cohort: 326 total admissions with 14 events-4.3%; p < 0.001). When the rate of unplanned extubations was expressed per 100 intubated days, there was not a significant difference between the groups (0.88 and 0.57, respectively; p = 0.269). Conclusions: Coronavirus disease 2019 patients have a higher incidence of unplanned extubation that requires reintubation than noncoronavirus disease 2019 patients. Further study is necessary to evaluate the variables that contribute to this higher incidence and clinical strategies that can reduce it.
Moderate increases in channel discharge are positively related to ecosystem respiration in forested Ozark streams

The natural flow regime is considered the "master variable" in lotic systems, controlling structure and function at organismal, population, community, and ecosystem levels. We sought to estimate forested headwater stream metabolism across two dominant flow regimes (Runoff and Groundwater) in northern Arkansas and evaluate potential differences in, and drivers of, gross primary production, ecosystem respiration, and net ecosystem metabolism. Flow regimes differed in intermittency, substrate heterogeneity, hyporheic connectivity, and dominant water source (subsurface runoff vs. groundwater), which we expected to result in differences in primary production and respiration. Average daily gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) estimated from field data collected from May 2015-June 2016 tended to be greater in Groundwater streams. Respiration was positively related to discharge (R2= 0.98 p< 0.0001) and net metabolism became more heterotrophic with increasing average annual discharge across sites (R2= 0.94, p= 0.0008). Characterizing ecosystem-level responses to differences in flow can reveal mechanisms governing stream metabolism and, in turn, provide information regarding trophic state and energy inputs as efforts continue to determine global trends in aquatic carbon sources and fates.
Magnetic resonance force microscopy

Recent initial experiments in magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM) have detected the magnetic force exerted by electrons and nuclei in microscopic samples. The experiments generate a force signal by modulating the sample magnetization with standard magnetic resonance techniques. Sample sizes of a few nanograms generate readily detected force signals of order ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}14}$ to ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}16}$ Newtons. This article describes the present status of MRFM technology, with particular attention to the feasibility of detecting single-electron magnetic moments, and the possible applications of MRFM in biological imaging.
Inverse Reinforcement Learning for Strategy Identification.

In adversarial environments, one side could gain an advantage by identifying the opponent's strategy. For example, in combat games, if an opponents strategy is identified as overly aggressive, one could lay a trap that exploits the opponent's aggressive nature. However, an opponent's strategy is not always apparent and may need to be estimated from observations of their actions. This paper proposes to use inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) to identify strategies in adversarial environments. Specifically, the contributions of this work are 1) the demonstration of this concept on gaming combat data generated from three pre-defined strategies and 2) the framework for using IRL to achieve strategy identification. The numerical experiments demonstrate that the recovered rewards can be identified using a variety of techniques. In this paper, the recovered reward are visually displayed, clustered using unsupervised learning, and classified using a supervised learner.
Treatment with Thiazides in Infants with Central Diabetes Insipidus

Desmopressin, given orally, intranasally, or subcutaneously, is the conventional treatment for central diabetes insipidus. However, when used in infants, the risk of wide fluctuations in sodium levels and water toxicity increases. Thiazides, a class of diuretics, are the standard of care for treating nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. These have also shown efficacy in the management of central diabetes insipidus, particularly in infants. The following case illustrates the successful use of thiazides in treating an infant with central diabetes insipidus secondary to panhypopituitarism due to holoprosencephaly.
Measurement and Assessment in Late-Life Depression

This chapter addresses the measurement and assessment of depression among older adults, with a view toward its importance in developing optimal depression prevention strategies. Overview is provided regarding commonly used dimensional and categorical measures of depression. Specific examples of depressive symptom scales as well as structured and semi-structured diagnostic interviews are described in detail. Special attention is placed on relative advantages and limitations of each measure or assessment method. Evidence for the reliability and validity of instruments for the measurement of depressive symptoms specifically among older adults is discussed in detail and illustrated in accompanying tables.
A Dynamic Role for the Stylar Matrix in Pollen Tube Extension

Publisher Summary Sexual reproduction in flowering plants occurs by the processes of pollination and fertilization. Pollination involves the transfer of the pollen grain (the male gametophyte) to the stigma, its adhesion, hydration, and production of a pollen tube. The pollen tube extends through the gynecium (stigma, style, and ovary), carrying the sperm cells that are delivered ultimately to the embryo sac (the female gametophyte) within the ovule. The extension of the pollen tube follows a defined secretory path within the gynecium called the “transmitting tract” or “stylar matrix.” Pollen tube extension is typically restricted to this specialized extracellular matrix (ECM). The stylar ECM that supports pollen tube growth is produced on the surface of the cells along which the pollen tube travels. The secretions produced by transmitting tract cells are frequently described as mucilage or as a fluid composed of various ingredients. In general, these include sugars, amino acids, peptides, phenolic compounds, fatty acids, lipids, and glycolipids.
Molecular Engineering of Side Chain Liquid Crystalline Polymers

The field of side chain liquid crystalline polymers was recently reviewed.1 Therefore, this paper will discuss only recent progress made on their molecular engineering mainly by living polymerization reactions. Most of the present discussion will be made on side chain liquid crystalline polymers with mesogenic groups normally attached to the polymeric backbone.2 Figure 1 outlines the concept of side chain liquid crystalline polymers. It has been theoretically predicted3 that the conformation of the polymer backbone should get distorted in the liquid crystalline phase. Both small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments4–8 and X-ray scattering experiments, 9–11 have shown that the statistical randomcoil conformation of the polymer backbone is slightly distorted in the nematic phase and highly distorted in the smectic phase.
Robustness and Identification Issues in Horizon Predictive Control With Application to a Binary Distillation Column

This paper analyzes the robustness properties and modeling requirements for model-predictive control via Horizon Predictive Control (HPC). The theory of Structured Singular Values is used to determine optimal values for the correction horizon in HPC given user-provided uncertainty intervals and performance weights. Regarding system identification, control-relevant identification principles are used to provide guidelines for input signal design, prefiltered estimation, and uncertainty modeling. These results are tested experimentally using data from a methanol-isopropanol distillation column.
Pressure to Manage Ratios in Not-For-Profit Organizations: Evidence from Charity Managers

This study surveys 200 nonprofit executives to investigate the pressure they experience to manage so-called efficiency ratios. Specifically, we investigate whether managers’ perceptions of such pressure depends on the type of contributors and on manager characteristics. We measure pressure in two ways: 1) directly through responses to survey questions that ask about perceived pressure, and 2) indirectly through responses to survey questions that ask about specific actions that management would take to report favorable ratios. We assume that if managers are willing to engage in ratio management (either through financial reporting or spending choices), then there is an inherent pressure to do so. We find that pressure to report favorable ratios is mediated by donor type, especially contributors who provide restricted resources or rely on watchdog organizations (e.g. Charity Navigator). We also find that managers are more likely to perceive pressure to report favorable ratios to appeal to potential (rather than existing) donors. On the other hand, manager sophistication is negatively associated with pressure to manage ratios.
Participation, Knowledge and Beliefs: A Community perspective on Mathematics Learning

In this paper I illustrate the use of a particular situated method of interpretation in my analysis of the data from 3-year case studies of two schools. The ‘constraints and affordances’ provided by different environments are shown to be key analytical tools in understanding the ways in which students develop and make use of knowledge. Various classroom incidents are analysed, demonstrating that the particular constraints and affordances of formalised mathematics classrooms, to which students become attuned, contribute to the development of learning identities that are peculiar to the school mathematics classroom and of limited use to students in the ‘real world’. An understanding of the mathematics classroom as a particular community of practice is central to this analysis.
The success of business failure prediction models: An international survey

Abstract This paper surveys and discusses numerous studies, both published and unpublished, that have attempted to construct and test business failure models outside the United States. Failure risk models are one of the few types of financial models that have been applied pervasively on an international level. A considerable flow of literature has gone relatively unnoticed due to the fact that the reference source is not well known or the source material is not available in English. It is the purpose of this paper to document these efforts and thereby increase the discourse and knowledge about such studies and others not surveyed here. This survey complements the other company related studies found in this Special Issue.
Love ‘Em or Hate ‘Em? Changing Racial and Regional Differences in Opinions Toward Southerners, 1964–2008*

Objective We determine whether Americans have reevaluated opinions toward southerners following the transformation of the region in the decades following the civil rights movement, focusing specifically on how opinions toward southerners vary across racial and regional groups. Methods We use both descriptive and multivariate methods to evaluate opinions toward southerners using American National Election Study (ANES) data from 1964 to 2008. Results Opinions toward southerners have increased dramatically over time. People living in the South display more positive feelings toward southerners than individuals residing outside the region, although the gap is much smaller today than in previous decades. In addition, southern blacks' opinions toward southerners have improved dramatically. These trends hold even when controlling for a host of other factors. Conclusions Being a southerner is no longer a pejorative in the minds of many Americans. Blacks, in particular, have reevaluated their opinions of southerners as a group.
Unnatural Nucleosides with Unusual Base Pairing Properties

Synthetic modified nucleosides designed to pair in unusual ways with natural nucleobases have many potential applications in biology and biotechnology. This overview lays the foundation for future protocol units on synthesis and application of unnatural bases, with particular emphasis on unnatural base analogs that mimic natural bases in size, shape, and biochemical processing. Topics covered include base pairs with alternative H-bonding schemes, dimensionally expanded base pairs, hydrophobic base pairs, metal-ligated bases, degenerate bases, universal nucleosides, and triplex constituents.