cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanisms causing loss of muscle in acute uremia

The mortality of acute renal failure (ARF) remains high because most illnesses associated with ARF also cause loss of muscle mass. The mechanisms causing loss of muscle mass are inhibition of protein synthesis and/or acceleration of protein degradation. Identifying which of these abnormalities is present requires understanding the principles of amino acid and protein turnover. There is evidence that ARF by itself impairs protein synthesis and stimulates protein degradation. The mechanisms causing these defects include abnormal metabolic responses to hormones and stimulation of the ATP--ubiquitin--proteasome-dependent pathway. Understanding these mechanisms could lead to rational therapies.
Parameter Derivation of Type-2 Discrete-Time Phase-Locked Loops Containing Feedback Delays

Modern implementations of discrete-time phase-locked loops (DT-PLLs) often contain delayed feedback. The delays are usually a side effect to pipelining, filtering, or other inner-loop mechanisms. Each delay increases the order of the system by introducing an additional pole to the closed-loop transfer function and, in many cases, makes the traditional type-2 loop equations obsolete. This brief describes how the second-order notions of damping and natural frequency can be applied to type-2 DT-PLLs in the presence of any number of delays. It provides equations for loop parameters that will provide a desired transient behavior based on damping and natural frequency, along with a test to ensure the accuracy of the results. The novelty of this brief is that loop parameters can be found in closed form and ensured to be accurate, without the need for human interaction, simulations, or numerical root-finding algorithms.
Assessing the accuracy of physical models used in protein-folding simulations: quantitative evidence from long molecular dynamics simulations.

Advances in computer hardware, software and algorithms have now made it possible to run atomistically detailed, physics-based molecular dynamics simulations of sufficient length to observe multiple instances of protein folding and unfolding within a single equilibrium trajectory. Although such studies have already begun to provide new insights into the process of protein folding, realizing the full potential of this approach will depend not only on simulation speed, but on the accuracy of the physical models (‘force fields’) on which such simulations are based. While experimental data are not available for comparison with all of the salient characteristics observable in long protein-folding simulations, we examine here the extent to which current force fields reproduce (and fail to reproduce) certain relevant properties for which such comparisons are possible.
Supply and threshold voltage scaling for low power CMOS

This paper investigates the effect of lowering the supply and threshold voltages on the energy efficiency of CMOS circuits. Using a first-order model of the energy and delay of a CMOS circuit, we show that lowering the supply and threshold voltage is generally advantageous, especially when the transistors are velocity saturated and the nodes have a high activity factor, In fact, for modern submicron technologies, this simple analysis suggests optimal energy efficiency at supply voltages under 0.5 V. Other process and circuit parameters have almost no effect on this optimal operating point. If there is some uncertainty in the value of the threshold or supply voltage, however, the power advantage of this very low voltage operation diminishes. Therefore, unless active feedback is used to control the uncertainty, in the future the supply and threshold voltage will not decrease drastically, but rather will continue to scale down to maintain constant electric fields.
Incompatible quartets, triplets, and characters

We study a long standing conjecture on the necessary and sufficient conditions for the compatibility of multi-state characters: There exists a function f(r) such that, for any set C of r-state characters, C is compatible if and only if every subset of f(r) characters of C is compatible. We show that for every r≥2, there exists an incompatible set C of Ω(r2)r-state characters such that every proper subset of C is compatible. This improves the previous lower bound of f(r)≥r given by Meacham (1983), and f(4)≥5 given by Habib and To (2011). For the case when r=3, Lam, Gusfield and Sridhar (2011) recently showed that f(3)=3. We give an independent proof of this result and completely characterize the sets of pairwise compatible 3-state characters by a single forbidden intersection pattern. Our lower bound on f(r) is proven via a result on quartet compatibility that may be of independent interest: For every n≥4, there exists an incompatible set Q of Ω(n2) quartets over n labels such that every proper subset of Q is compatible. We show that such a set of quartets can have size at most 3 when n=5, and at most O(n3) for arbitrary n. We contrast our results on quartets with the case of rooted triplets: For every n≥3, if R is an incompatible set of more than n−1 triplets over n labels, then some proper subset of R is incompatible. We show this bound is tight by exhibiting, for every n≥3, a set of n−1 triplets over n taxa such that R is incompatible, but every proper subset of R is compatible.
Using Performance Modeling to Design Large-Scale Systems

A methodology for accurately modeling large applications explores the performance of ultrascale systems at different stages in their life cycle, from early design through production use.
Variables Associated With Obesity Among African-American Women in Omaha

Obesity is a health disparity related to environmental, social, and physical health issues, including ethnicity, education, and gender. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among obesity, age, education, and socioeconomic status and the relationship between obesity and depression among African-American women living in Omaha, Nebraska. A convenience sample of 378 African-American women completed the African-American Female Health Survey, which included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale. Body mass index (BMI) was used to measure obesity. Results indicated that 87% of the women were overweight; mean BMI was 32.78 with high cardiovascular disease risks. There was a statistically significant and positive relationship between depression and BMI (r = .201, p < .01). Occupational therapists may provide primary, secondary, and tertiary intervention through culturally relevant and meaningful health education programs
Ascorbic acid deficiency and cytochrome P-450 in adult rat hepatocytes in primary monolayer culture

Abstract Adult rat hepatocytes in primary monolayer culture exhibit selective alteration of microsomal constituents and functions during the first hours of incubation ex vivo , including a striking decrease in the concentration of cytochrome P -450. The present studies document that these alterations are due in part to deficiency of l -ascorbate in the cultured cells. The deficiency appears to develop both by loss of the vitamin from the cells during their preparation and by a diminished synthetic capacity for ascorbate. Supplementation of the culture medium with l -ascorbate, at a concentration sufficient to restore intracellular levels of vitamin C to normal, results in maintenance of significantly increased concentrations of cytochromes P -450 and b 5 . The activity of NADPH cytochrome c reductase similarly is ascorbate-dependent, suggesting that the vitamin plays a role in the formation and/or stabilization of membrane protein or lipid. Microsomal heme metabolism appeared to be unaffected by the presence or absence of ascorbate.
Current diagnosis, management and morbidity in paediatric inflammatory bowel disease

UNLABELLED In the 1970s several reports highlighted the long delay in diagnosis often experienced by children with Crohn's disease. In recent years this disorder has attracted much publicity, and many believe that the incidence has increased substantially. The aim of this investigation was to determine whether heightened awareness had shortened the interval to diagnosis, improved clinical management and reduced morbidity. A retrospective study was therefore carried out on 112 children with inflammatory bowel disease (64 Crohn's disease, 41 ulcerative colitis, 7 indeterminate colitis) referred to a paediatric gastroenterology department in the UK between 1994 and 1998. In Crohn's disease the median interval to diagnosis was 47 wk (maximum 7 y). In those without diarrhoea this was longer (66 vs 28 wk; p = 0.005). In ulcerative colitis the median interval was 20 wk (maximum 3 y). Even in severe colitis the median interval was 5.5 wk (range 3-9 wk) and 4 required urgent colectomy soon after referral. Many with unrecognized Crohn's disease had undergone inappropriate treatments, such as growth hormone or psychiatric therapy. Nineteen (17%) had undergone endoscopic investigations in adult units prior to referral. Malnutrition was equally common in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (11%). Short stature was present in 19% with Crohn's disease, and 5% with ulcerative colitis, and was severe in 8% with Crohn's disease. There was a significant correlation between symptom duration and the degree of growth impairment present (r(s) = -0.4; p = 0.004). CONCLUSION This study suggests that late diagnosis and inappropriate investigation and management are still significant problems.
PILOT-SCALE BASE HYDROLYSIS PROCESSING OF HMX-BASED PLASTIC-BONDED EXPLOSIVES

Los Alamos National Laboratory has demonstrated that many energetic materials can be rendered non-energetic via reaction with sodium hydroxide or ammonia. This process is known as base hydrolysis. A pilot scale reactor has been developed to process up to 20 kg of plastic bonded explosive in a single batch operation. In this report, we discuss the design and operation of the pilot scale reactor for the processing of PBX 9404, a standard Department of Energy plastic bonded explosive containing HMX and nitrocellulose. Products from base hydrolysis, although non-energetic, still require additional processing before release to the environment. Decomposition products, destruction efficiencies, and rates of reaction for base hydrolysis will be presented. Hydrothermal processing, previously known as supercritical water oxidation, has been proposed for converting organic products from hydrolysis to carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and nitrous oxide. Base hydrolysis in combination with hydrothermal processing may yield a viable alternative to open burning/open detonation for destruction of many energetic materials.
An electrogenic Na+- HCO 3 − cotransporter (NBC) with a novel COOH-terminus, cloned from rat brain

We screened rat brain cDNA libraries and used 5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends to clone two electrogenic Na+- HCO 3 − cotransporter (NBC) isoforms from rat brain (rb1NBC and rb2NBC). At the amin...
The unique molecular signatures of nodular and superficial spreading melanoma

9047 Background: Primary nodular melanoma (NM) patients have a relatively poor prognosis compared to superficial spreading melanoma (SSM) patients. The disparity is generally attributed solely to N...
A Tour through the Zoo of Neurology: Animal Eponyms and the Refinement of Clinical Acumen (P05.263)

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the many animal-inspired eponyms in neurology and their clinical implications. BACKGROUND: Neurology is a field known for "eponymophilia". While eponyms inspired by scientists9 names have been a controversial subject, animal-related metaphoric descriptions continue to flourish in neurologic practice. These colorful eponyms may be a result of an apophenic illusory phenomenon called pareidolia and are a useful method of recognizing clinical and radiologic patterns that aid in the diagnostic process. DESIGN/METHODS: We performed a literature review and discuss animal-inspired metaphoric descriptions of clinical and neuroradiologic findings. RESULTS: We discuss the many zoologically-based eponyms relating to hand postures, gait disorders, physiognomy, vocalizations, movement disorders, pathological findings, and neuroradiologic findings (brain, spinal cord, and vertebra) as well as the etiologic implications of each sign. CONCLUSIONS: The ability to recognize a resemblance between clinical phenomena and animal-like attributes may be related to pareidolia. This apophenic phenomenon may strengthen a cardinal diagnostic skill in neurologic practice: pattern recognition. Animal-inspired metaphorical descriptions should not be viewed as cabalistic or pejorative, but instead as colorful, interesting, and useful aides-memoire that enliven and improve the practice of neurology. Disclosure: Dr. Beh has received research support from Biogen Idec. Dr. Frohman has received personal compensation for activities with Biogen Idec, Teva Neurosciences, Acorda, Astellas, Abbott, and Novartis.
Mothers and Doctors' Orders: Unmasking the Doctor's Role in Maternal-Fetal Conflicts

This article reframes the contemporary legal and ethical debates generated by pregnant women who resist medical advice. Presently known as "maternal-fetal conflicts," these dilemmas arise in contexts ranging from religious refusals of blood transfusions to cocaine addiction. The vast literature discussing these conflicts focuses entirely on the competing rights of mothers and fetuses, and overwhelmingly concludes that the mother's rights prevail. Entirely absent from this analysis is one of the primary parties to these conflicts - the doctor. As a result, the doctor's role in generating these conflicts is eclipsed, and one scarcely notices that these scenarios all are linked by the fact that each instance of "maternal-fetal conflict" represents a dramatic violation of the legal and ethical norms that govern doctor-patient relationships. After resituating these conflicts to accurately reflect doctors' roles, this article uses principles of fiduciary law to evaluate the legality of their actions. Finally, this article articulates a set of legal strategies designed to prevent, or at least to remedy, the harms caused when doctors attempt to impose their will upon their pregnant patients. By proposing an alternative paradigm for the analysis of "maternal-fetal conflicts," this article casts new light on the regulation of pregnancy and motherhood. More importantly, it offers a pragmatic resolution to the medical, ethical and legal dilemmas that, over the course of the past two decades, have increasingly perplexed judges, lawyers, and scholars.
Novel peri-vascular drug delivery for the treatment of neointimal hyperplasia associated with Ptfe dialysis graft failure.

Intimal hyperplasia (IH), that leads to hemodialysis access dysfunction, is a major problem affecting patients undergoing renal dialysis. This work aimed at developing a novel approach that entails peri-vascular delivery of cytotoxic agents such as paclitaxel for the inhibition of IH. We formulated a polymeric delivery system for use as a peri-vascular wrap around the graft-vein junction. The formulation was rigorously optimized with respect to its mechanical strength and in vitro drug release kinetics. The optimized formulation used ethylene-vinyl acetate polymer and PEG4000 as the channeling agent (15%) with paclitaxel loading of 5%. This formulation exhibited a biphasic release profile (initial burst followed by sustained release for > 28 days), which is coincident with the time course of intimal thickening. The formulation was then tested for paclitaxel cytotoxicity against a panel of cells that are known to be involved in IH such as smooth muscle and endothelial cells MTT cell viability assay. The formulation retained paclitaxel cytotoxicity against all cell types investigated. Pharmacodynamic assessment entailed a comparative evaluation of IH employing a validated pig model (Yorkshire pigs). Dialysis grafts were implanted between the femoral artery and vein. One side received drug-loaded perivascular wrap, while the contra-lateral side received drug-free wraps (controls) for 23-37 days. Histomorphometric analysis of sections from control versus drug-treated tissues indicated complete inhibition of IH on the treatment side, while the control side exhibited ~ 56 % neointimal blockage. Pharmacokinetic studies indicated that paclitaxel was not detectable in plasma samples (limit of quantitation, 50 nM). Taken together, our studies propose an exciting novel drug delivery approach for the treatment of vascular stenosis. They provide strong scientific bases for further pre-clinical and clinical evaluation for prevention of dialysis grafts failure and other vascular abnormalities where IH is the underlying pathology.
Case study: Development of the Find Friend Application

This chapter focuses on the development and deployment of a mobile friend finder application. Location-based applications are one of the most anticipated new segments of the mobile industry. These new applications are enabled by global positioning system-equipped phones and range from Emergency 911 applications to buddy finders to games and to location-based advertising. These services are designed to give consumers instant access to personalized, local content. In this case, local content is local to the consumer's immediate location. Some of these applications may couple location-based services (LBS) with notification services, automatically alerting users when they are close to a preselected destination. LBS proponents believe that these services may create new markets and new revenue opportunities for device manufacturers, wireless providers, and application developers. LBS applications typically use information from several content databases: the road network (digital maps), business and landmark information that are often referred to as Yellow Pages, or Point of interest (POI) information, and Dynamic data such as traffic and weather reports.
Reframing interactive digital narrative: toward an inclusive open-ended iterative process for research and practice

In more than two decades of research and practical experiments in interactive digital narrative (IDN), much insight about the relationship of narrative and digital media has been gained and many successful experiments have been undertaken, as a survey of the field illustrates. However, current approaches also limit the scope of experimentation and constrain theory in interactive narrative forms original to digital media. After reviewing the “interactivisation” of legacy theory (neo-Aristotelian poetics for interactive drama, poststructuralism for hyperfiction, 20th century narratology for interactive fiction and as a general theory for IDN), the thesis introduces a theoretical framework that changes the focus from the product-centered view of legacy media towards system and the process of instantiation. The terms protostory describing the overall space of potential narratives in an IDN system, narrative design for the concrete assemblage of elements and narrative vectors as substructures that enable authorial control are introduced to supersede legacy terms like story and plot. On the practical side, the thesis identifies limitations of existing approaches (e.g. legacy metaphors like the timeline, and authoring tools that support only particular traditions) To overcome these limitations a software toolset built on the principles of robustness, modularity, and extensibility is introduced and some early results are evaluated. Finally, the thesis proposes an inclusive, open-ended iterative process as a structure for future IDN research in which practical implementations and research coexist in a tightly coupled mutual relationship that allows changes on one side to be integrated on the other.
Unsteady Compressible Flow on a NACA 0021 Airfoil

,This paper details a modification to Ohio State’s 6” × 22” Transonic Wind Tunnel to enable modulation of the freestream Mach number and application of this oscillatory flow on a NACA 0021 airfoil. The test section Mach number in this blowdown facility is set dynamically by varying the choke area in a harmonic fashion. Flow properties such as wave propagation speed were evaluated using 1-D theory and experiments in order to understand the fundamental mechanisms of the Mach number oscillation process. The current configuration of the facility can produce a Mach number oscillating between 0.44 and 0.65 for a Reynolds number range of 17 – 43 million per meter at sufficiently low oscillation frequencies. The control frequency can be varied up to 25Hz, though the wind tunnel emulates a low-pass filter with a -3dB cutoff frequency of approximately 8Hz. Unsteady measurements in this oscillating freestream flow were then made on a NACA 0021 airfoil. Unsteady surface pressure measurements were made using a fast-acting Pressure-Sensitive Paint with a single-shot lifetime-based technique. Oscillatory standing shocks and variations in surface pressure coefficients due to compressibility effects are observed on the airfoil.
Lipopolysaccharide decreases ambient temperature preference in Mongolian gerbils, Meriones unguiculatus.

Summary.-Animals infected with a pathogen often increase their body temperature, a reaction which can limit the reproduction of the pathogen and stimulate the immune system. Excessive body temperature increases, however, can decrease survival. The Mongolian gerbil responds to the endotoxin, lip~~olysaccharide LPS, with increased body temperature. Relative to saline-injected animals, gerbils made hyperthermic with LPS choose an environmental temperature 6.7OC lower. Apparently the gerbil is attempting to hit its body temperature increases by selecting a lower ambient temperature Animals may alter their thermal preferences when fever is induced. Akins, Thiessen, and Cocke (unpublished) found that mice will choose significantly higher ambient temperatures when the pyrogen lip~pol~saccharide (LPS) makes the animal ill. In this paper we examined the generality of this reaction by testing the gerbil's thermal preference when made ill with LPS. Twenty male Mongolian gerbils, approximately 100 to 120 days of age, were randomly divided into four groups of five. Individuals from Group 1 (n = 5) received 200 pg LPS dissolved in .05-ml isotonic sterile saline (S) and
Acquisition of mine water inrush rules based on Rough Set Theory

Taking a subset of water inrush samples as example, some water inrush rules corresponding to the subset have been acquired, through such procedures as data pretreatment of initial decision-making information table, attribute reduction, value reduction and rules generation. 'Ihese rules preferably cover the water inrush information included potentially in the subset,and have equivalent effectiveness for classifying and making decision compared with the subset itself.
A survey on the Laribacter hongkongsis contamination from fresh water fishes in Shenzhen

Objective To investigate the situation of Laribacter hongkongsis contamination in fresh water fishes in Shenzhen.Methods 329 fresh water fish samples were collected from two food markets and one supermarket of Shenzhen between the period of February and March 2011.Laribacter hongkongsis from the intestinal contents in the middle and bottom part of fish intestine was isolated using the modified Mac-Lonkey Agar.Samples showing positive results by biochemical methods were further identified by PCR.Results Seven strains of Laribacter hongkongsis were detected from the 329 samples.The overall positive rate was 2.13%.The positive rate was 7.50% in Clarias fuscus,2.50% in bullhead,and 1.22% in Ctenopharyngodon idellus.Seven strains of Laribacter hongkongsis were positively identified by traditional method and real-time PCR assay.Conclusion To ensure the food safety,health authority should strengthen the monitoring of Laribacter hongkongsis contamination.
Investigation On AIDS Knowledge Situation Among Different Populations In Guzhen County

Objective To understand AIDS knowledge awareness among migrant workers,students and permanent residents in Guzhen county,and provide evidence for AIDS health education.Methods 500 people were randomly selected from 3 kinds of people,and were investigated using AIDS related knowledge questionnaires.Results The average awareness rate of AIDS related knowledge of 3 kinds of people was 70.8%.The rate of correct answers that AIDS could be transmitted by blood transfusion was the highest,it was 91.2%.The rate of correct answers whether mosquitoes carry AIDS was the lowest rate,only 44.2%.People with different culture levels had different understanding.The awareness rate was the lowest in illiteracy(38.9%).People aged from 30 to 39 had a higher rate(76.9%),and people aged below 20 or above 50 had a lower rate(48.5% and 50.0% respectively).The most popular way to obtain AIDS knowledge was through TV(accounted for 99.8%),the next was through doctors and window advertisements.Conclusion 3 kinds of popnlations in Guzhen had poor awareness rates of AIDS related knowledge.Propaganda of knowledge about AIDS control and prevention should be vigorously promoted,to prevent AIDS spread among the general population.
Targeting 'War-Sustaining' Objects in Non-International Armed Conflict

President Obama has embraced what many in the international law community long-regarded as off limits: targeting war-sustaining capabilities, such as the economic infrastructure used to generate revenue for an enemy’s armed forces. Although the weight of scholarly opinion has for years maintained that such objects are not legitimate military targets, the existing literature on this topic is highly deficient. Academic discussion has yet to grapple with some of the strongest and clearest evidence in support of the U.S. view on the legality of such targeting decisions. Indeed, intellectual resources may be better spent not on the question whether such objects are legitimate military targets under the law of armed conflict, but on second-order questions such as how to apply proportionality analysis and how to identify limiting principles to guard against unintentional slippery slopes. In this article, the author discusses the legal pedigree for the Obama Administration’s war-sustaining targeting. The article then turns to identifying some of the most significant second-order questions and how the United States and the international community might begin to address them in ongoing and future armed conflicts.
Impact of pulmonary rehabilitation on hospitalizations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among members of an integrated health care system.

Purpose The evidence regarding the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) on health care resource use remains limited. This retrospective study evaluated the effects of PR on the primary outcome of all-cause hospitalizations and secondary outcomes of other health care use, exercise capacity, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and body weight in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a large integrated health care system. Methods The PR cohort included 558 patients with a COPD diagnosis, age ≥ 40 years, who were treated with a bronchodilator or steroid inhaler, participated in 1 of 13 PR programs between January 1, 2008, and August 1, 2013, and were continuously enrolled in the health plan ≥ 12 months prior to and after PR. Two non-PR control cohorts were assembled for comparison. Data were extracted from electronic health records. The 6-minute walk test and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire results were available for a subset. Results The proportion of patients who were hospitalized 12 months post-PR was lower compared with the 12 months prior (37% vs 45%, P = .001) while emergency department use was not different (52% vs 54%). Patients who declined PR for logistical reasons had a 40% higher risk of hospitalization than PR participants (relative risk = 1.40, 95% CI: 0.96-2.06, P = .08). There were significant improvements in the 6-minute walk test distance (+43 m) and the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire total score (-9.6 points) but minimal changes in weight. Conclusions Our finding that participation in PR is associated with reductions in hospitalizations corroborates previous studies. A notable strength of this study is the capture of complete utilization data.
Mas and Neuroprotection in Stroke

In this chapter, we explore the beneficial actions in stroke elicited by the activation of the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2/angiotensin-(1-7)/receptor Mas axis of the renin–angiotensin system. The neuroprotective efficacy in stroke of targeted manipulation of this axis is becoming well-established, thanks to findings from an increasing number of studies, which use a variety of stroke models and activating compounds. As part of a discussion of the effects of angiotensin-(1-7) in the brain and other tissues, we also describe several possible mechanisms by which the receptor Mas exerts its neuroprotective effects. Finally, we identify important steps to the clinical translation of these promising findings from the bench to the bedside.
Case 1: Constipation, Irritability, and Poor Feeding in 2-month-old Boy

1. Nidhi A. Shah, MD* 2. Henry C. Lee, MD* 1. *Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA. A 2-month-old boy, who had been born at term, presents to the emergency department with irritability and poor feeding. The infant had been healthy with no temperature instability until approximately 2 weeks ago, when he became fussier than usual. Yesterday he refused to breastfeed and had a decreased number of wet diapers. His last stool was 5 days ago. His parents report that the infant is drooling more and appeared to choke on his secretions today. The pregnancy was unremarkable and was completed with a normal vaginal delivery. The infant is exclusively breastfed, with good weight gain and normal development. Family members were ill with a stomach virus 10 days ago, but the infant appeared unaffected. His only medications are probiotics, chamomile, and an herbal supplement. Recent travel includes camping along the coastline. The infant has not received any vaccines. Vital signs are as follows: temperature of 36.7°C (98.1°F), heart rate of 166 beats per minute, respiratory rate of 75 breaths per minute, blood pressure of 85/43 mm Hg, and oxygen saturation of 95%. …
Spatio-temporal variation in parasite communities maintains diversity at the major histocompatibility complex class IIβ in the endangered Rio Grande Silvery Minnow

Climate change will strongly impact aquatic ecosystems particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Fish-parasite interactions will also be affected by predicted altered flow and temperature regimes, and other environmental stressors. Hence, identifying environmental and genetic factors associated with maintaining diversity at immune genes is critical for understanding species’ adaptive capacity. Here we combine genetic (MHC Class IIβ and microsatellites), parasitological and ecological data to explore the relationship between these factors in the remnant wild Rio Grande silvery minnow (Hybognathus amarus) population, an endangered species found in the southwestern United States. Infections with multiple parasites on the gills were observed and there was spatio-temporal variation in parasite communities and patterns of infection among individuals. Despite its highly endangered status and chronically low genetic effective size, Rio Grande silvery minnow had high allelic diversity at MHC Class IIβ with more alleles recognised at the presumptive DAB1 locus compared to the DAB3 locus. We identified significant associations between specific parasites and MHC alleles against a backdrop of generalist parasite prevalence. We also found that individuals with higher individual neutral heterozygosity and higher amino acid divergence between MHC alleles, had lower parasite abundance and diversity. Taken together, these results suggest a role for fluctuating selection imposed by spatio-temporal variation in pathogen communities and divergent allele advantage in maintenance of high MHC polymorphism. Understanding the complex interaction of habitat, pathogens and immunity in protected species will require integrated experimental, genetic and field studies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Smoking Adversely Affects Survival in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients.

Abstract Abstract 979 Poster Board I-1 Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death. Smokers are approximately 1.5 times more likely to develop acute myeloid leukemia (AML) than non-smokers, but little is known about the relationship between cigarette smoking and AML outcome. We studied the effect of smoking on outcome in 282 newly diagnosed AML patients treated with high-dose cytarabine and idarubicin-containing regimens at Roswell Park Cancer Institute between 9/92 and 12/08. There were 161 males and 121 females (median age 56 years, range 18-85 years). The median follow up was 12.9 (range, Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Integrated systemwide model-based event detection algorithm.

AbstractSecurity issues have become increasingly important within drinking water distribution systems, leading to the development of event detection algorithms (EDAs) to provide timely detection of...
A Critical Assessment of Approaches to Improving the Efficiency of Cancer Clinical Trials

There are many reasons for focusing attention on the efficiency of clinical trials. First, improving the efficiency of clinical trials may expedite the finding of improved treatments. Developing an effective treatment may be a multistep process involving failures and partial successes along the way. Improving the efficiency of each component clinical trial expedites the entire process. The proliferation of new treatments derived from an improved understanding of tumor biology provides an additional inducement to improve the efficiency by which we screen and evaluate treatments. There are also often strong ethical motivations for conducting each clinical trial as efficiently as possible. If one treatment is more effective than the other, then certainly one wishes to expose as few patients as possible to the inferior treatment. If the treatments are of equivalent antitumor efficacy but the new experimental therapy is more toxic, as is often the case, then one would like to discard the new treatment as soon as possible. In addition to the opportunity cost and the ethical cost, there is also a monetary cost providing an incentive to improving efficiency.
The Ideological Boundary Condition on Great Society Employment Policy

The 1960s was a period of political opening for employment policy, when important questions about unemployment and economic insecurity were debated and a number of ambitious policies were enacted. Yet the Great Society’s employment policy agenda was also fundamentally limited in scope; it comprised interventions that reinforced rather than altered existing labor market mechanisms. Previous work suggests that primarily institutional factors were responsible for this constraint. By contrast, I contend that in addition to institutional factors, there was an ideological boundary condition on the era’s employment policy. The Johnson administration’s policymakers conformed to aspects of the liberal tradition in America, which limited policy options as well as the efficiency and efficacy of implemented policy.
Home-based transcranial direct current stimulation plus tracking training therapy in people with stroke: an open-label feasibility study.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is an effective neuromodulation adjunct to repetitive motor training in promoting motor recovery post-stroke. Finger tracking training is motor training whereby people with stroke use the impaired index finger to trace waveform-shaped lines on a monitor. Our aims were to assess the feasibility and safety of a telerehabilitation program consisting of tDCS and finger tracking training through questionnaires on ease of use, adverse symptoms, and quantitative assessments of motor function and cognition. We believe this telerehabilitation program will be safe and feasible, and may reduce patient and clinic costs. Six participants with hemiplegia post-stroke [mean (SD) age was 61 (10) years; 3 women; mean (SD) time post-stroke was 5.5 (6.5) years] received five 20-min tDCS sessions and finger tracking training provided through telecommunication. Safety measurements included the Digit Span Forward Test for memory, a survey of symptoms, and the Box and Block test for motor function. We assessed feasibility by adherence to treatment and by a questionnaire on ease of equipment use. We reported descriptive statistics on all outcome measures. Participants completed all treatment sessions with no adverse events. Also, 83.33% of participants found the set-up easy, and all were comfortable with the devices. There was 100% adherence to the sessions and all recommended telerehabilitation. tDCS with finger tracking training delivered through telerehabilitation was safe, feasible, and has the potential to be a cost-effective home-based therapy for post-stroke motor rehabilitation. NCT02460809 (ClinicalTrials.gov).
Data-Driven Design: Beyond A/B Testing

A/B testing has become the de facto standard for optimizing design, helping designers craft more effective user experiences by leveraging data. A typical A/B test involves dividing user traffic between two experimental conditions (A and B), and looking for statistically significant differences in performance indicators (e.g., conversion rates) between them. While this technique is popular, there are other, powerful data-driven methods --- complementary to A/B testing --- that can tie design choices to desired outcomes. Mining data from existing designs can expose designers to a greater space of divergent solutions than A/B testing [1,4] ,RICO:2017. Since companies cannot predict a priori if the engineering effort for creating alternatives will be commensurate with a performance increase, they often test small changes, along gradients to local optima. With the millions of websites and mobile apps available today, it is likely that almost any UX problem a designer encounters has already been considered and solved by someone. The challenges are finding relevant existing solutions, measuring their performance, and correlating these metrics with design features. Recent systems that capture and aggregate interaction data from third-party Android apps --- with zero code integration --- open-source analytics that were previously locked away in each app, allowing designers to test and compare UI/UX patterns found in the wild: [2,3] 2017.Lightweight prototypes with tight user feedback loops, or experimentation engines, can bootstrap product design involving technologies that are actively being developed (e.g., artificial intelligence, virtual/augmented reality), where both use cases and capabilities are not well-understood [5]. These systems afford staged automation: initially, "Wizard of Oz'' techniques can scaffold needfinding, and eventually be replaced with automated solutions informed by the collected data. For example, a chatbot deployed on social media can serve as an experimentation engine for automating fashion advice [7]. At first, a pool of personal stylists can power the chatbot to collect organic conversations revealing common fashion problems, effective interaction patterns for addressing them, and design considerations for automation. Once technologies are developed to scale useful interventions [8,9], the chatbot platform provides a testbed for iteratively refining them. Generative models trained on a set of effective design examples can support predictive workflows that allow designers to rapidly prototype new, performant solutions [6]. Models such as generative adversarial networks and variational autoencoders can produce designs based on high-level constraints, or complete them given partial specifications. For example, a mobile wireframing tool backed by such a model could suggest adding "username" and "password" input fields to a screen with a centrally placed "login" button.
Rearrangements of Substituted 3-Aza-1,2,5-hexatrienes. 3. The Scope and Versatility of an Extremely Mild 3-Aza-Cope Reaction

An investigation of the [3,3]-sigmatropic reaction of substituted 3-aza-1,2,5-hexatrienes to give 4-pentenenitriles is presented. This reaction has been found to occur under a wide variety of reactions conditions (10 are reported) starting from readily available N-allylamides. In contrast to other 3-aza-Cope reactions, this process occurs at room temperature, under essentially neutral conditions, allowing for the facile preparation of substituted nitrile products in moderate to excellent yields. The scope and versatility of this reaction are demonstrated by its use on a wide variety of substrates, including nitrogen- and oxygen-substituted amides. The rearrangements of cis- and trans-4-tert-butyl-N-allylcyclohexanecarboxamides 16a and 16b are reported and were found to give a ratio of axial to equatorial (A:E) products consistent with A:E ratios found for other related sigmatropic reactions. The stereochemical requirements for this reaction appear to be similar to other [3,3]-rearrangements even though th...
Colloidal quantum dots based infrared electronic eyes for multispectral imaging

Infrared multispectral imaging with curved focal plane array (FPA) is attracting great interest with increasing demand for sensitive, low-cost and scalable devices that can distinguish coincident spectral information and achieve wide field of view, low aberrations, and simple imaging optics at the same time. However, the widespread use of such detectors is still limited by the high cost of epitaxial semiconductors like HgCdTe, InSb, and InGaAs. In contrast, the solution-processability, mechanical flexibility and wide spectral tunability of colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) have inspired various inexpensive, high-performance optoelectronic devices covering important atmospheric windows from short-wave infrared (SWIR, 1.5 – 2.5 μm) to mid-wave infrared (MWIR 3 – 5 μm). Here, a potential route leading to infrared electronic eyes with multispectral imaging capability is demonstrated by exploring HgTe CQDs photovoltaic detectors. At room temperature, the HgTe CQDs detectors demonstrate detectivity D* up to 6 × 1010 Jones in SWIR and 6.5 × 108 Jones in MWIR. At cryogenic temperature, the MWIR D* becomes BLIP and increases to 1 × 1011 Jones. Besides high D* , the HgTe CQDs detector shows fast response with rise time below 300 ns. By stacking CQDs with different energy gaps or coupling CQDs with tunable optical filters, dual-band and multi-band infrared detection can be achieved in wide spectral ranges. Finally, infrared images are captured with flexible HgTe CQDs detectors at varying bending curvatures, showing a practical approach to sensitive infrared electronic eyes beyond the visible range.
Matriarchs, Doves, and Nymphos: Prevalent Images of Black, Indian, and White Women in Caribbean Literature

Sur les stereotypes lies a la caracterisation raciale de la femme dans la litterature masculine caraibeenne
Using Peer Code Review to Support Pedagogy in an Introductory Computer Programming Course

This full research category paper reports the result of an experiment that designed and implemented peer code review (PCR) to help introductory computer science (CS1) students understand programming concepts and improve their programming skills. Instructors at North Dakota State University have observed that students enrolled in CS1 programming course experience difficulty understanding programming concepts. We performed an empirical study that evaluated if PCR can help address the problem. We analyzed data collected from the PCR session, code development activity and end-of-study questionnaire. Our result provides insights into the most and least reported error types. Students were able to systematically improve the review output. More importantly, PCR had a significant positive impact on students’ performance when developing their own code. PCR can be an effective teaching tool that when used in CS1 programming course can improve students’ understanding of programming concepts and improve their programming skills.
Does resection improve overall survival for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma with nodal metastases

Abstract Background The potential benefit of surgical resection of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in patients with locoregionally advanced disease has not been definitively determined. Methods The National Cancer Database was queried to identify patients with clinical evidence of node-positive intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Resected patients were stratified by margin status and lymph node ratio (nodes positive to nodes harvested). Risk of death was determined using Cox regression models and Kaplan-Meier survival functions. Results A total of 1,425 patients with T(any)N1M0 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma were identified. Two hundred twelve (14.9%) underwent surgical resection. On multivariable Cox regression, R0 resection afforded a survival benefit regardless of lymph node ratio (lymph node ratio > 0.5: hazard ratio 0.466, 95% confidence interval 0.304–0.715; lymph node ratio ≤ 0.5: hazard ratio 0.444, 95% confidence interval 0.322–0.611), whereas a survival benefit was only seen in R1 patients with lymph node ratio ≤ 0.5 (hazard ratio 0.470, 95% confidence interval 0.316–0.701). On Kaplan-Meier, median survival was 11.6 months with chemotherapy, 15.7 months with R0 resection in lymph node ratio > 0.5, and 22.2 months with R0 resection in lymph node ratio ≤ 0.5 (P Discussion Margin negative resection is associated with a risk-adjusted survival benefit for patients with clinically N1 intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma regardless of the degree of regional lymph node involvement.
British Visions, African Voices: The “Imperial” and the “Colonial” in World War II

This article is focused on a magazine called Jambo, which was published by the British East Africa Command for troops in its employ between 1942 and 1945. Jambo was an agglomeration of political articles, general interest stories, propaganda, cartoons, crosswords, and more, with many of its contributions authored (or drawn) by men serving in the Allied forces. Here, I use Jambo to consider notions of the “colonial” and “imperial” during the Second World War, exploring how the realities of racial segregation in the colonies fit awkwardly with imperial service. Jambo also permits us a window into the views of some hundreds of British servicemen, who wrote extensively about the Africans with whom they served, revealing the complexities and shifts in British perceptions of African peoples during the conflict. Jambo is unique in another respect: it also provided a forum for African troops. In few other publications—and even fewer with such wide circulation—could educated (but nonelite) African peoples reach thousands of British readers. Though their published letters and articles were few compared to those written by Jambo's British authors, African writers used the venue to critique the conditions of their military service, argue about the sort of social ordering they desired in their home communities, and create an alternate narrative of the war. Like most colonial publications, Jambo had intended audiences, but also voracious, additional, alternate publics that mediated the articles which appeared in its pages. All this suggests that we might think of the colonial public sphere as both local and global, inward and outward looking, personal and communal, and situated along a continuum between colonial and imperial contexts.