cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanisms of hyperinsulinemia and hyperglucagonemia after liver transplantation

These studies were undertaken to evaluate the mechanisms for changes in plasma insulin and glucagon levels observed post-liver transplantation. Two groups of pigs were studied: a control group (n = 8) underwent laparotomy and catheter placement in the carotid artery and portal and hepatic veins. Hepatic blood flow was measured by ultrasonic flow probes placed around the hepatic artery and portal vein. An experimental group (n = 8) underwent orthotopic liver transplantation and similar instrumentation. On Day 1 after surgery, an estimate of insulin and glucagon secretion and hepatic extraction was determined using arteriovenous difference techniques. Serum assays were performed for markers of hepatic and renal function. Plasma insulin levels of the transplanted pigs were higher in the carotid artery (4 +/- 1 microU/ml vs 7 +/- 1 microU/ml), but not in the hepatic vein (5 +/- 1 microU/ml vs 7 +/- 1 microU/ml) and in the portal vein (10 +/- 2 microU/ml vs 12 +/- 2 microU/ml). Arterial plasma C-peptide was significantly greater in the transplanted group (0.23 +/- 0.02 ng/ml vs 0.42 +/- 0.03 ng/ml); however, the molar ratio of C-peptide and insulin was not different between the two groups (3.6 +/- 0.9 vs 3.4 +/- 0.4). Plasma glucagon levels of the transplanted pigs were significantly elevated in the carotid artery (111 +/- 11 pg/ml vs 323 +/- 65 pg/ml), portal vein (221 +/- 27 pg/ml vs 495 +/- 69 pg/ml), and hepatic vein (142 +/- 15 pg/ml vs 395 +/- 58 pg/ml). The estimate of pancreatic secretion of insulin (115 +/- 28 microU/kg.min) vs 71 +/- 21 microU/kg.min) and glucagon (2.0 +/- 0.4 ng/kg.min vs 2.7 +/- 0.7 ng/kg.min) and the fractional hepatic extraction rate of insulin (35 +/- 8% vs 32 +/- 5%) were not different between the two groups. However, the hepatic fractional extraction rate of glucagon was significantly decreased in the transplanted group (25 +/- 5% vs 11 +/- 3%). Therefore, the hyperglucagonemia observed 24 hr following liver transplantation is partly due to reduced hepatic fractional extraction of glucagon while the hyperinsulinemia is mainly due to the nonhepatic clearance of insulin. We speculate that decreased renal function may contribute to the hyperinsulinemia, elevated C-peptide concentrations, and hyperglucagonemia.
Small-Scale and Large-Scale Routing in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

A vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) is a highly mobile wireless ad hoc network that is targeted to support vehicular safety, traffic monitoring, and other applications. Mobility models used in traditional mobile ad hoc networks cannot directly be applied to VANETs since real-world factors such as road layouts and traffic regulations are not considered. In this paper, we propose a vehicular mobility model that reflects real-world vehicle movement and study the performance of packet-routing protocols. First, we study the routing in small-scale VANETs and propose two routing schemes: (1) connection-based restricted forwarding (CBRF) and (2) connectionless geographic forwarding (CLGF). With the insights obtained, we consider routing in large-scale VANETs. Since road complexity and traffic variety may cause many potential problems that existing routing protocols cannot address, we introduce a two-phase routing protocol (TOPO) that incorporates road map information. The proposed protocol defines an overlay graph with roads of high vehicular density and access graphs that are connected to the overlay. While in the overlay, packets are forwarded along a precalculated path. As far as access routing is concerned, we employ the aforementioned CBRF and CLGF schemes and send packets to the overlay or handle packets delivered from the overlay. We argue that the TOPO can serve as a framework that integrates existing VANET routing protocols. We also consider data diversity in VANETs and design the TOPO as an intelligent transportation system (ITS)-friendly protocol. To validate our design philosophy and the routing protocol, we use different areas in the city of Orlando, FL, and generate vehicular mobility traces, following our mobility models. We feed the traces to network simulators and study the routing behavior. Simulation results demonstrate the performance and effectiveness of the proposed routing protocols for large-scale VANET scenarios.
Impact of common salts on oxidation of alcohols and chlorinated hydrocarbons

Aqueous oxidations of phenol, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, n-butanol, chloroethanol, chloropropane and chlorobutane were conducted to evaluate the impact of common salts and bases on oxidation with hydrogen peroxide. Oxidation rates increased up to greater than two orders of magnitude, depending on the electrolytes. Sodium and potassium electrolytes generally promoted oxidation at temperatures near 100°C with sodium promoting oxidation better than potassium. Ionic interactions among electrolytes change the nature of their catalytic activity. In the presence of nitric acid, calcium was the most effective of these metals for promoting oxidation. Using soluble salts is proposed for wet-air oxidation and contaminated soil treatment.
Situating In Situ: A Critical Geography of Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation in the Peruvian Andes and Beyond

This paper investigates seed politics through the case study of a native potato repatriation and related livelihood projects at the Parque de la Papa (Parque) in the Peruvian Andes. This in situ oriented agrobiodiversity initiative launches a compelling critique—framed in distinctly spatial terms—of standard ex situ conservation paradigms and policies. Specifically, it works to decentralize seed conservation and to re-situate agrobiodiversity within in situ sites and situations. This spatial reconfiguration has political and epistemological implications: it recontextualizes agricultural expertise and the fruits thereof in the farms and daily lives of Andean communities; it grounds political interventions, which recently led to Peru's decade-long moratorium on transgenics; and it offers a decolonizing vision of genetic resource value. Through a variety of practices and discourses the Parque is articulating and actualizing a critical geography of agrobiodiversity and its conservation.
Microbial Metabolism. Part 12.:Isolation, Characterization and Bioactivity Evaluation of Eighteen Microbial Metabolites of 4′-Hydroxyflavanone

Fermentation of 4′-hydroxyflavanone (1) with fungal cultures, Beauveria bassiana (ATCC 13144 and ATCC 7159) yielded 6,3′,4′-trihydroxyflavanone (2), 3′,4′-dihydroxyflavanone 6-O-β-D-4-methoxyglucopyranoside (3), 4′-hydroxyflavanone 3′-sulfate (4), 6,4′-dihydroxyflavanone 3′-sulfate (5) and 4′-hydroxyflavanone 6-O-β-D-4-methoxyglucopyranoside (7). B. bassiana (ATCC 13144) and B. bassiana (ATCC 7159) in addition, gave one more metabolite each, namely, flavanone 4′-O-β-D-4-methoxyglucopyranoside (6) and 6,4′-dihydroxyflavanone (8) respectively. Cunninghamella echinulata (ATCC 9244) transformed 1 to 6,4′-dihydroxyflavanone (8), flavanone-4′-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (9), 3′-hydroxyflavanone 4′-sulfate (10), 3′,4′-dihydroxyflavanone (11) and 4′-hydroxyflavanone-3′-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (12). Mucor ramannianus (ATCC 9628) metabolized 1 to 2,4-trans-4′-hydroxyflavan-4-ol (13), 2,4-cis-4′-hydroxyflavan-4-ol (14), 2,4-trans-3′,4′-dihydroxyflavan-4-ol (15), 2,4-cis-3′,4′-dihydroxyflavan-4-ol (16), 2,4-trans-3′-hydroxy-4′-methoxyflavan-4-ol (17), flavanone 4′-O-α-D-6-deoxyallopyranoside (18) and 2,4-cis-4-hydroxyflavanone 4′-O-α-D-6-deoxyallopyranoside (19). Metabolites 13 and 14 were also produced by Ramichloridium anceps (ATCC 15672). The former was also produced by C. echinulata. Structures of the metabolic products were elucidated by means of spectroscopic data. None of the metabolites tested showed antibacterial, antifungal and antiprotozoal activities against selected organisms.
THE ASSOCIATION OF YEASTS WITH CERTAIN BARK BEETLES

(1956). The Association of Yeasts with Certain Bark Beetles. Mycologia: Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 41-55.
Ion Implantation and RTA in III-V Materials

We review the applications of ion implantation in several III-V materials, and rapid thermal annealing techniques to activate the implant and remove the crystalline damage. Ion implantation has become the preferred technique when selective area doping is necessary. It has been used successfully to fabricate n, n + , p, p + , and semi-insulating regions in III-V binary, ternary, and quaternary compounds, and multilayer structures. Ion implantation has also been used to produce layer mixing in multilayer structures, and superlattice disordering. The annealing step necessary to activate the implant and remove the crystalline damage is complicated by several factors such as incongruent evaporation of the group V element, layer mixing, and dopant redistribution. Rapid thermal annealing techniques, which typically employ anneal times between 1 second and 100 seconds, are generally more suitable than conventional furnace annealing. The short annealing times result in much less dopant redistribution, and reduced layer mixing in multilayer structures. Even for short annealing times, it is necessary to employ a protection scheme to suppress the loss of the group V element. Several such methods are discussed, including dielectric encapsulation, proximity techniques, and controlled ambient techniques.
Analysis of the Influence of Plateau and Alpine Environment of Communication Equipment

Communication for all aspects of society has produced an increasingly prominent impact with continuable accelerate development of the construction of communication networks on the plateau and cold areas in recent years. However, the plateau and cold areas have the special geographical conditions which lead climate variability, have a negative impact on the stabilization of communication equipment, and have a higher requirement on the communications equipment maintenance and guarantee. Based on the characteristics of the local environment of plateau and cold areas, we introduce the impact of extreme weather conditions on the communication vehicles, equipment, maintenance and support.
An ontological model of the practice transformation process

Display Omitted No methodological basis exists for practice to transform into a patient-centered medical home.We standardize the practice transformation process.We use ontology concepts to create standardization.We use Protege to implement the ontology. Patient-centered medical home is defined as an approach for providing comprehensive primary care that facilitates partnerships between individual patients and their personal providers. The current state of the practice transformation process is ad hoc and no methodological basis exists for transforming a practice into a patient-centered medical home. Practices and hospitals somehow accomplish the transformation and send the transformation information to a certification agency, such as the National Committee for Quality Assurance, completely ignoring the development and maintenance of the processes that keep the medical home concept alive. Many recent studies point out that such a transformation is hard as it requires an ambitious whole-practice reengineering and redesign. As a result, the practices suffer change fatigue in getting the transformation done. In this paper, we focus on the complexities of the practice transformation process and present a robust ontological model for practice transformation. The objective of the model is to create an understanding of the practice transformation process in terms of key process areas and their activities. We describe how our ontology captures the knowledge of the practice transformation process, elicited from domain experts, and also discuss how, in the future, that knowledge could be diffused across stakeholders in a healthcare organization. Our research is the first effort in practice transformation process modeling. To build an ontological model for practice transformation, we adopt the Methontology approach. Based on the literature, we first identify the key process areas essential for a practice transformation process to achieve certification status. Next, we develop the practice transformation ontology by creating key activities and precedence relationships among the key process areas using process maturity concepts. At each step, we employ a panel of domain experts to verify the intermediate representations of the ontology. Finally, we implement a prototype of the practice transformation ontology using Protege.
Humanistic Values in Traditional Healing Practices of Curanderismo

Traditional healing practices continue to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of cultural groups across the globe. Curanderismo is a traditional healing practice that meets such needs among Mexican and Mexican American communities. This article briefly demonstrates the shared fundamentals between curanderismo in its contemporary form and humanistic thought.
Helping Adults with Muscular Dystrophy: Rehabilitation Counseling Implications

It is estimated about 200,000 Americans have been diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy (MD), a neuromuscular disease characterized by gradual degeneration and atrophy of the muscle cells and fibers (Siegel, 1999). Functional limitations associated with MD include cognitive, social, physical/vocational, and emotional functioning. Rehabilitation counselors are advised to use a holistic approach to serving clients with MD. Compassion is key to building a meaningful professional relationship between the client and the rehabilitation counselor. However, rehabilitation counselors should neither communicate an overly pessimistic outlook nor raise false hope.
High speed quantum wire photodetectors

Recent advances in both epitaxial growth and processing techniques have led to the fabrication and characterization of semiconductor quantum wires.1–3 The inherent density of states function in an ideal quantum wire has been shown4 to result in an infinite absorption peak at each quantum transition edge. Using the effective mass approximation, the idealized interband absorption in a 100- × 100-A GaAs quantum wire is shown in Fig. 1, in which the absorption spectrum in bulk GaAs is also shown for comparison.
The Officers: Backbone of the Army

This chapter examines the biographies of the officers of the three divisions selected for our study. The junior officers were the backbone of the German army, and served as the connecting link between the high command of the Wehrmacht and the political leadership of the Reich on the one hand, and the rank-and-file on the other. They transmitted the orders of the generals to the troops and at the same time acted as their educators and instructors in both military and ideological matters; they also reported to their superiors on the conduct, reliability and morale of the soldiers. It is therefore of crucial importance to enhance our knowledge regarding this relatively unknown stratum of the military hierarchy.
From Theory to Practice: Measuring end-of-life communication quality using multiple goals theory.

Abstract Objectives To describe how multiple goals theory can be used as a reliable and valid measure (i.e., coding scheme) of the quality of conversations about end-of-life issues. Methods We analyzed conversations from 17 conversations in which 68 participants (mean age = 51 years) played a game that prompted discussion in response to open-ended questions about end-of-life issues. Conversations (mean duration = 91 min) were audio-recorded and transcribed. Communication quality was assessed by three coders who assigned numeric scores rating how well individuals accomplished task, relational, and identity goals in the conversation. Results The coding measure, which results in a quantifiable outcome, yielded strong reliability (intra-class correlation range = 0.73–0.89 and Cronbach’s alpha range = 0.69–0.89 for each of the coded domains) and validity (using multilevel nonlinear modeling, we detected significant variability in scores between games for each of the coded domains, all p-values Conclusions Our coding scheme provides a theory-based measure of end-of-life conversation quality that is superior to other methods of measuring communication quality. Practice implications Our description of the coding method enables researches to adapt and apply this measure to communication interventions in other clinical contexts.
Planting of neonicotinoid-treated maize poses risks for honey bees and other non-target organisms over a wide area without consistent crop yield benefit

Summary Neonicotinoid insecticides are routinely used as seed treatments on most grain and oilseed crops in the USA, yet the extent and likelihood of spread of insecticide residues during planting has not previously been quantified. Honey bees, Apis mellifera, are highly mobile and highly sensitive to neonicotinoid residues, presenting an opportunity to estimate non-target exposures to neonicotinoids in mobile insects. We measured neonicotinoid dust drift during maize sowing and used sites of maize fields, apiary locations and honey bee foraging radii to estimate likelihood of forager exposure. We performed a concurrent multi-year field assessment of the pest management benefits of neonicotinoid-treated maize. Our results indicate that over 94% of honey bee foragers throughout the state of Indiana are at risk of exposure to varying levels of neonicotinoid insecticides, including lethal levels, during sowing of maize. We documented no benefit of the insecticidal seed treatments for crop yield during the study. Synthesis and applications. We demonstrate movement of neonicotinoid residues well beyond planted fields occurs during maize sowing in Indiana. Based on locations of maize fields and apiaries in the state, the likelihood of neonicotinoid exposure for foraging honey bees is high. Other non-target organisms are also likely to encounter neonicotinoid residues; we conservatively estimate that deposition of neonicotinoid residues on non-target lands and waterways will occur on over 42% of the state of Indiana during the period of maize sowing. However, we also demonstrate that the risk to pollinators and other non-target organisms may be rapidly and dramatically reduced without yield penalties, by aligning use rates of neonicotinoid insecticides with pest incidence.
Medicare Claims Data Resources: A Primer for Policy-Focused Radiology Health Services Researchers.

Abstract As societal stakeholders call for increased evidence-based health policy, considerable attention has focused on Medicare, the country's largest payer. Concurrently, medical imaging has come under considerable scrutiny as a contributor to rising health care expenditures. Accordingly, many recent studies have focused on multiple factors related to the utilization of imaging among Medicare beneficiaries. This article summarizes several national Medicare fee-for-service data sources relevant to supporting ongoing investigations. Aggregated 100% data sets include the Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary Master Files and the Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data: Physician and Other Supplier Public Use File. The former focuses on services, specialties, and sites of service; the latter focuses on providers. Both permit high-level national assessments of imaging utilization and spending. Individual 5% random-sample claims-level data sources include the Carrier Standard Analytical File Limited Data Set and the Research Identifiable File, which contain greater beneficiary-level information. Both facilitate more robust patient- and encounter-level analyses and some assessment of downstream outcomes but involve greater costs and require greater privacy oversight. More recently, Medicare data are being merged with registry data (eg, Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare Linked Database files), creating opportunities for even more robust analyses given richer clinical information. Understanding these data sets and trade-offs in their use will aid policy-focused imaging health services researchers in most effectively conducting their investigations.
Perceptions about fleeing religious persecution and entrance to the US

ABSTRACTUsing four vignettes to study attitudes toward religious persecution, a woman or man aged 22 or 68 came to the US with no supporting documentation. A General Linear Model analysed the 12 it...
Histone modifications and active gene expression are associated with enhanced CRISPR activity in de-silenced chromatin

Recently we demonstrated that closed chromatin composed of Polycomb proteins and histone 3 lysine 27 trimethylation impedes CRISPR-mediated genome editing by blocking the accessibility of chromosomal DNA to spCas9/sgRNA. Editing efficiencies were higher in cells where the same reporter locus had not been repressed, thus we presume that silenced chromatin can be modified to generate a Cas9-accessible state. To test this idea, we exposed the locus to antagonists of Polycomb silencing: Gal4-p65, a targeted transcriptional activator, and UNC1999, a chemical inhibitor of the histone H3K27 methyltransferase EZH2. For both we observed loss of histone trimethylation. Only Gal4-p65 treatment increased target gene expression. Initial Gal4-p65 overexpression impedes Cas9 activity, while a 9-day recovery period leads to enhanced Cas9 efficiency up to 1000 bp from the Gal4 binding site. No enhancement was observed with UNC1999. These results demonstrate the strong influence of transcription-driven chromatin remodeling on CRISPR editing at closed chromatin.
Social science data and the APA: The Lockhart brief as a case in point.

The wisdom of the American Psychological Association's submitting amicus briefs to affect social or legal policy is questioned by an analysis of the brief claimed to be a strong example of the effective use of social science data in the public policy arena; namely, the APA brief (Bersoff & Ogden, 1987) inLockhart v. McCree (1986). The data relied upon in the brief do not appear to support the assertions based upon them, and other data are adduced to develop the critique. It is concluded that it is mischievous for the Association to address itself to the courts by generalizing a data base well beyond its useful limits: The adversarial and scientific methods of establishing truth are in several respects antithetical.
Two Functions Generalization of Horvath’s Minimax Theorem

Recently, by following the method of Joo [4] , Horvath [3] gave a general result in the theory of minimax theorem, which require neither Hahn-Banach theorem nor Brouwer’s fixed point theorem. Horvath’s minimax theorem has been generalized to non-compact case by Kim in [5]. The main purpose of this note is to give a two functions version of Horvath’s minimax theorem and consequently, we obtain a genelization of Sion-von Neumann’s minimax theorem [7]. Also, by using the main result and the idea of Ha in [2], Lin-Quan in [6] and Kim in [5], we give a two functions, non-compact version of our main result.
Science, Common Sense & Judicial Power in U.S. Courts

Courts routinely resolve factual disputes as an adjunct to settling legal controversies, and such fact-finding frequently involves scientific and technical evidence. It is important to ask what int...
Burst Image Deblurring Using Permutation Invariant Convolutional Neural Networks

We propose a neural approach for fusing an arbitrary-length burst of photographs suffering from severe camera shake and noise into a sharp and noise-free image. Our novel convolutional architecture has a simultaneous view of all frames in the burst, and by construction treats them in an order-independent manner. This enables it to effectively detect and leverage subtle cues scattered across different frames, while ensuring that each frame gets a full and equal consideration regardless of its position in the sequence. We train the network with richly varied synthetic data consisting of camera shake, realistic noise, and other common imaging defects. The method demonstrates consistent state of the art burst image restoration performance for highly degraded sequences of real-world images, and extracts accurate detail that is not discernible from any of the individual frames in isolation.
Quark-gluon droplets engineered

Quark–gluon plasma has been recreated in heavy-ion collisions, providing a glimpse of the very early Universe. The PHENIX Collaboration offers new insights into the possible creation of this state in smaller collision systems.
Influence of particulate geometry on permeability of porous materials

Abstract The durability of porous materials – especially when exposed to deleterious environs – depend on their permeability. This paper takes a closer look at the governing equations of fluid flow in porous media, and examines the role of particulate geometry on liquid water permeability of porous materials. A three dimensional (3D) microstructural model is used to generate 3D microstructures of the materials. Microstructures featuring particulates with single or binary combination of geometries (i.e., spherical, cubical/cuboidal, cylindrical, and irregular), and a wide range of porosities and particulate numbers, are evaluated to elucidate their influence on permeability. A numerical model based on the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is used to calculate permeability of porous materials using their 3D microstructures as inputs. Results obtained from the LBM simulations show that permeability is significantly affected by geometry of the particulates – especially when the porosity is low and/or the number of particulates in the microstructure is small (e.g.,
Making the Numbers

Much recent work in strategy and popular discussion suggests that an excessive focus on "managing the numbers" --delivering quarterly earnings at the expense of longer term investments--makes it difficult for firms to make the investments necessary to build competitive advantage. "Short termism" has been blamed for everything from the decline of the US automobile industry to the low penetration of techniques such as TQM and continuous improvement. Yet a vigorous tradition in the accounting literature establishes that firms routinely sacrifice long-term investment to manage earnings and are rewarded for doing so. This paper presents a model that can reconcile these apparently contradictory perspectives. We show that if the source of long-term advantage is modeled as a stock of capability that accumulates gradually over time, a firm's proclivity to manage short-term earnings at the expense of long-term investment can have very different consequences depending on whether the firm's capability is close to a critical "tipping threshold". When the firm operates above this threshold, managing earnings smoothes revenue with few long-term consequences. Below it, managing earnings can tip the firm into a vicious cycle of accelerating decline. Our results have important implications for understanding managerial incentives and the internal processes that lead to sustained advantage.
Relationship between social determinants of health and systolic blood pressure in United States immigrants.

This study examined the relationship between immigrant specific social determinants of health (SDoH) and blood pressure control. Data on 181 adult immigrants from the Midwestern United States was analyzed. SDoH variables were categorized based on antecedents, predisposing, enabling, and need factors. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) was the primary outcome. Pearson's correlations for the association between SBP and SDoH variables were assessed. Then three different regression approaches were used to assess the relationship of SDoH variables with SBP: sequential model, stepwise regression with backward selection, and all possible subsets regression. About 66% were female and mean age was 45.4 years. Age (r ​= ​0.34, p ​< ​0.001), disability (r ​= ​0.20, p ​= ​0.0001), comorbidities (r ​= ​0.30, p ​< ​0.001), and chronic pain (r ​= ​0.12, p ​= ​0.02) were positively correlated with SBP, and number of hours worked per week (r ​= ​-0.11, p ​= ​0.028) was negatively correlated with SBP. The final sequential model found life-course socioeconomic status (SES) (β ​= ​1.40, p ​= ​0.039), age (β ​= ​0.39, p ​< ​0.001), and male sex (β ​= ​13.62, p ​< ​0.001) to be positively associated with SBP. Stepwise regression found that life-course SES (β ​= ​1.70, p ​= ​0.026), age (β ​= ​0.36, p ​< ​0.001), male sex (β ​= ​13.38, p ​< ​0.001), and homelessness as a child (β ​= ​13.14, p ​= ​0.034) were positively associated SBP. All possible subsets regression found that age (β ​= ​0.44, p ​< ​0.001), male sex (β ​= ​14.50, p ​< ​0.001), and homelessness as a child (β ​= ​14.08, p ​= ​0.027) were positively associated with SBP. This is the first study to use a theory-based model that incorporates social determinants of health and immigrant specific factors to examine the relationship between SDoH and blood pressure control and identifies potential targets for interventions to control BP in immigrants.
Safety and effectiveness of hormonal contraception for women who use opioids: A systematic review.

Abstract Objective To systematically review the literature around the safety and effectiveness of hormonal contraception for women who use opioids. Our specific research questions are: 1) Among women who use opioids, do those who use hormonal contraception have increased adverse health events compared with those who do not use hormonal contraception? 2) Are there drug interactions between hormonal contraception and opioids that cause decreased effectiveness or increased toxicity from either drug? Methods We searched Medline, Embase, PsychInfo, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov through August 2018. We considered randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, and case–control studies, as well as pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies. We planned to use standard frameworks to assess risk of bias of included studies. Results The search identified 1852 articles. The full text of 66 articles was reviewed, and none met inclusion criteria. Conclusions Because we found no direct evidence on the safety and effectiveness of hormonal contraception for women who use opioids, we considered theoretical concerns. While women with OUD have a high prevalence of co-morbidities, such as viral hepatitis, generally women with medical conditions can safely use most contraceptive methods. When considering the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of hormonal contraception and opioids, there is little theoretical concern for interactions. Therefore, future research efforts could focus on improving access to the full range of contraceptive methods for women who use opioids, reducing unnecessary barriers to initiating and using contraception, while ensuring voluntary choice related to contraceptive use.
DFT Fea3-O/O-O Vibrational Frequency Calculations over Catalytic Reaction Cycle States in the Dinuclear Center of Cytochrome c Oxidase.

Density functional vibrational frequency calculations have been performed on eight geometry optimized cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) dinuclear center (DNC) reaction cycle intermediates and on the oxymyoglobin (oxyMb) active site. The calculated Fe-O and O-O stretching modes and their frequency shifts along the reaction cycle have been compared with the available resonance Raman (rR) measurements. The calculations support the proposal that in state A[Fea33+-O2-•···CuB+] of CcO, O2 binds with Fea32+ in a similar bent end-on geometry to that in oxyMb. The calculations show that the observed 20 cm-1 shift of the Fea3-O stretching mode from the PR to F state is caused by the protonation of the OH- ligand on CuB2+ (PR[Fea34+═O2-···HO--CuB2+] → F[Fea34+═O2-···H2O-CuB2+]), and that the H2O ligand is still on the CuB2+ site in the rR identified F[Fea34+═O2-···H2O-CuB2+] state. Further, the observed rR band at 356 cm-1 between states PR and F is likely an O-Fea3-porphyrin bending mode. The observed 450 cm-1 low Fea3-O frequency mode for the OH active oxidized state has been reproduced by our calculations on a nearly symmetrically bridged Fea33+-OH-CuB2+ structure with a relatively long Fea3-O distance near 2 A. Based on Badger's rule, the calculated Fea3-O distances correlate well with the calculated νFe-O-2/3 (νFe-O is the Fea3-O stretching frequency) with correlation coefficient R = 0.973.
Linear Principal Component Analysis

Principal component analysis is a classical multivariate technique dating back to publications by Pearson (1901) and Hotelling (1933). Pearson focused on the aspect of approximation: Given a p-variate random vector (or a “system of points in space,” in Pearson’s terminology), find an optimal approximation in a linear subspace of lower dimension. More specifically, Pearson studied the problem of fitting a line to multivariate data so as to minimize the sum of squared deviations of the points from the line, deviation being measured orthogonally to the line. We will discuss Pearson’s approach in Section 8.3; however, it will be treated in a somewhat more abstract way by studying approximations of multivariate random vectors using the criterion of mean-squared error.
Cell Death Pathways in Lymphoid Malignancies.

This review highlights the importance of the Bcl-2 family members in lymphoma cell survival and discusses the approaches to modulate their function, directly or indirectly, to advance lymphoma therapeutics. The balance of cell death versus survival is ultimately leveraged at the mitochondria. Mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) is the critical event that governs the release of pro-apoptotic molecules from the intermembrane mitochondrial space. MOMP is achieved through the coordinated actions of pro- and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member proteins. Recognition of functional alterations among the Bcl-2 family member proteins led to identification of tractable targets to combat hematologic malignancies. A new class of drugs, termed BH3 mimetics, was introduced in the clinic. Venetoclax, a Bcl-2 inhibitor, received regulatory approvals in therapy of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. Alternative pro-survival Bcl-2 family proteins, in particular Mcl-1, have been successfully targeted in preclinical studies using novel-specific BH3 mimetics. Finally, anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members may be targeted indirectly, via interference with the pro-survival signaling pathways, e.g., phosphoinotiside-3 kinase, B-cell receptor signaling, and NF-κB.
Toward Distributed Computing Environments with Serverless Solutions in Edge Systems

Computation offloading through stateless applications is gaining momentum thanks to the emergence of serverless frameworks with inherent scalability properties. However, adoption of a serverless framework in an edge computing system requires careful consideration to keep its advantages unscathed. In the cloud, micro-services are scaled automatically according to demands, but in edge computing this would incur a significantly higher cost than in a data center and cannot be as fluid. This is especially relevant in scenarios where edge nodes are spread across large areas and have relatively small computation capabilities. In this article we propose to overcome this issue by adapting the allocation of demands to the currently allocated micro-services at short timescales, with two alternative mechanisms designed for different target scenarios, both aimed at enabling distributed computing environments. The proposed solution can be integrated within the ETSI MEC standard, which specifies a reference architecture and open service interfaces. Our contribution is validated in a proof-of-concept scenario with a prototype implementation released as open source.
Planting and Propagation of Snapdragons in Florida

Snapdragons are a common plant in Florida landscapes and are one of the top ten fresh-cut flowers in the nation. This 5-page publication, written by Heqiang Huo and Jianjun Chen, explores the planting and propagation of snapdragons in Florida landscapes. Published by the UF/IFAS Department of Environmental Horticulture, January 2018. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep549
An Experimental Study of a Curved Composite Panel with a Cutout

This paper is an attempt to compare a set of experimental measurements on a panel with a symmetrically positioned cutout to values determined through a nonlinear finite element program. The comparison shows the sensitivity of the panel to a varying boundary condition produced by the restraints associated with the experimental structure. The finite element program used is STAGS C-1.
Chapter 4 – Civil Forensics

Publisher Summary The legal system assumes an important role in the adjudication of noncriminal matters impacting the lives of persons with mental illness. In addition, non-adjudicatory remedies affecting parties injured by offenders, or those emotionally suffering because of the pain may have caused the public, represent alternative societal responses to the problem of crime and violence. Psychologists assist the court system or other administrative boards in determining the way to realize specific outcomes in this forensic area. This chapter provides an introduction to the right to refuse (medical) treatment. The concept of personal liberty is the most important of all human rights in contemporary American society. For individuals in need of psychiatric attention, the right to refuse treatment becomes relevant within the context of the Least Restrictive Alternative (LRA) doctrine. The LRA doctrine holds that individuals to be placed in the least restrictive setting when their condition necessitates state intervention. In situations involving persons considered to be dangerous to self or others, and are, thus, candidates for involuntary commitment, the restrictiveness of the setting must be a consideration.
Responsiveness, minimal detectable change, and minimal clinically important difference of the sitting balance scale and function in sitting test in people with stroke

Background: Limited studies have examined the responsiveness of the Sitting Balance Scale (SBS) and Function in Sitting Test (FIST). No studies have investigated the psychometric properties of thes...
Applying to be Doctors of Tomorrow: A Qualitative Study Exploring Motivations Towards Applying to a Medical Pipeline Program.

Purpose To identify the motivations of adolescent students applying into medical pipeline programs that are focused on populations underrepresented in medicine. Methods The Doctors of Tomorrow (DoT) program is a medical pipeline program between the University of Michigan Medical School and Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan, USA. As a component of the application process, ninth-grade students complete multiple free response essays that allow students to articulate their reasons for applying and their goals for participation in the program. Between 2013 and 2019, 323 ninth-grade students applied to DoT and 216 were accepted. The authors qualitatively analyzed all applications using theoretical coding methods to identify common themes discussed by students regarding their motivations for applying. The authors used Dedoose 8.3.17 (Los Angeles, CA) for qualitative analysis. Results Four main themes emerged after coding and thematic analysis: (1) Career Aspiration, (2) Exposure to the Medical Field, (3) Breadth of Mentorship, and (4) Longitudinal Professional Development. ‘Health Disparities in Minority Communities,’ a code used when students commented on issues of race, social determinants of health, and health disparities as motivators, was not identified as frequently as the other codes, despite it being a main topic within the pipeline program. Conclusions Applicants to medical school pipeline programs articulate similar intrinsic motivations that can be used to inform what drives students to apply. Pipeline programs should consider these intrinsic motivations, while also creating structured activities from which students can learn and gain tangible benefits when designing curricula. While ninth-grade students acknowledge health disparities in minority communities, their current level of personal experience may not lead them to identify these disparities as significant motivators, and pipeline leaders should be aware of this when designing lesson plans concerning these topics.
ELeFHAnt: A supervised machine learning approach for label harmonization and annotation of single cell RNA-seq data

Abstract Annotation of single cells has become an important step in the single cell analysis framework. With advances in sequencing technology thousands to millions of cells can be processed to understand the intricacies of the biological system in question. Annotation through manual curation of markers based on a priori knowledge is cumbersome given this exponential growth. There are currently ~200 computational tools available to help researchers automatically annotate single cells using supervised/unsupervised machine learning, cell type markers, or tissue-based markers from bulk RNA-seq. But with the expansion of publicly available data there is also a need for a tool which can help integrate multiple references into a unified atlas and understand how annotations between datasets compare. Here we present ELeFHAnt: Ensemble learning for harmonization and annotation of single cells. ELeFHAnt is an easy-to-use R package that employs support vector machine and random forest algorithms together to perform three main functions: 1) CelltypeAnnotation 2) LabelHarmonization 3) DeduceRelationship. CelltypeAnnotation is a function to annotate cells in a query Seurat object using a reference Seurat object with annotated cell types. LabelHarmonization can be utilized to integrate multiple cell atlases (references) into a unified cellular atlas with harmonized cell types. Finally, DeduceRelationship is a function that compares cell types between two scRNA-seq datasets. ELeFHAnt can be accessed from GitHub at https://github.com/praneet1988/ELeFHAnt.
Properties and cellular localization of chitin synthetase in Phycomyces blakesleeanus.

Abstract The response of Phycomyces sporangiophores to various stimuli show up as changes in the elongation rate of the cell wall, a structure largely composed of chitin fibrils. The enzyme chitin synthetase was chosen as the subject of this study for the possible role that regulation of its activity might play in the behavioral outputs. A simple assay for the chitin synthetase has been developed. Membrane preparations from the mycelia of Phycomyces were found to catalyze the synthesis of chitin from UDP-N-acetyl-d-glucosamine. Both Mg2+ and N-acetyl-d-glucosamine stimulate the enzyme activity. The pH optimum for the enzyme activity is about 6.5, and the temperature optimum is about 28°. The Km for UDP-N-acetyl-d-glucosamine is 0.6 mm. The antibiotic polyoxin D competitively inhibits the activity at levels which are comparable to those required for the inhibition of mycelial growth. In the presence of polyoxin D (0.1 mm), germinating spores of Phycomyces develop into protoplast-like structures. At concentrations up to 0.5 mm, ATP stimulates the enzyme activity and at 2 mm, cyclic 3' : 5'-AMP is slightly inhibitory. The enzyme activity was found in the Phycomyces mycelia of different ages as well as in the sporangiophores of each of the five developmental stages. Phycomyces mycelial homogenate was fractionated through a series of differential and isopynic centrifugations. Each fraction was studied for its (a) specific and total chitin synthetase activities; (b) morphology under the electron microscope; and (c) specific and total activities of the marker enzymes 5'-nucleotidase (plasma membrane), glucose 6-phosphatase (endoplasmic reticulum), succinic-2-(p-indophenyl)-3-(p-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl tetrazolium-reductase (mitochondria), catalase (peroxisomes) and acid phosphatase (lysosomes). The fraction which exhibited the highest specific activity contained essentially only membraneous structures. The distribution of the specific chitin synthetase activity coincided with that of 5'-nucleotidase activity and did not coincide with that of any of the other marker enzymes. These results suggest that the chitin synthetase is a plasma membrane-bound enzyme. Autoradiography studies showed that along the sporangiophore the growing zone (where cell elongation takes place) has higher chitin synthetase activity than the nongrowing zone.
Observations of Electrostatic Shocks and Associated Plasma Instabilities by the S3-3 Satellite

The polar orbiting S3-3 satellite provides an opportunity to study plasma phenomena occuring on auroral magnetic field lines below 8000 km because the on-board instruments measure AC and DC electric fields and thermal particle densities, energetic ions and electrons, and field-aligned currents. Field-aligned currents above the threshold for excitation of ion cyclotron waves occur in association with ion cyclotron waves, electrostatic shocks and parallel electric fields, suggesting that thermal electron drifts supply the free energy to support these processes. Comparisons with computer simulations suggest that the currents excite plasma instabilities producing parallel electric fields via anomalous resistivity. An electrostatic shock may then develop, supported by ion beams and “runaway” electrons accelerated by the parallel electric field, and by the lower energy reflected particles produced by the turbulence. Extremely narrow band ion cyclotron waves have been identified in the broadband data, associated with both currents and ion beams, either of which could produce these waves. The parallel component of the electrostatic shock electric field has been measured simultaneously with the perpendicular component. The structure of electrostatic shock electric fields is shown to vary from cases with small parallel electric fields to cases with parallel fields larger than 100 mV/m. In virtually all cases, the perpendicular field magnitude exceeds the parallel field magnitude.
Comparative Analyses of the Three-dimensional Structures and Enzymatic Properties of α, β, γ, and δ Isoforms of Ca2+-Calmodulin-dependent Protein Kinase II

Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM-kinase II) is a ubiquitous Ser/Thr-directed protein kinase that is expressed from a family of four genes (α, β, γ, and δ) in mammalian cells. We have documented the three-dimensional structures and the biophysical and enzymatic properties of the four gene products. Biophysical analyses showed that each isoform assembles into oligomeric forms and their three-dimensional structures at 21–25 A revealed that all four isoforms were dodecamers with similar but highly unusual architecture. A gear-shaped core comprising the association domain has the catalytic domains tethered on appendages, six of which extend from both ends of the core. At this level of resolution, we can discern no isoform-dependent differences in ultrastructure of the holoenzymes. Enzymatic analyses showed that the isoforms were similar in their Km for ATP and the peptide substrate syntide, but showed significant differences in their interactions with Ca2+-calmodulin as assessed by binding, substrate phosphorylation, and autophosphorylation. Interestingly, the rank order of CaM binding affinity (γ > β > δ > α) does not directly correlate with the rank order of their CaM dependence for autophosphorylation (β > γ > δ > α). Simulations utilizing this data revealed that the measured differences in CaM binding affinities play a minor role in the autophosphorylation of the enzyme, which is largely dictated by the rate of autophosphorylation for each isoform.
The role of the cytokines, interferon alpha and tumor necrosis factor in the hypertriglyceridemia and wasting of AIDs

The hypertriglyceridemia of infection is mediated by many of the cytokines that regulate the immune response, including the tumor necrosis factors, the interleukins and the interferons. In the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), hypertriglyceridemia is most likely due to increased circulating levels of interferon alpha. Both in AIDS and in animal models there is no direct association between the presence of hypertriglyceridemia and the syndrome of wasting. Rather, circulating lipoproteins may neutralize infectious organisms and therefore contribute to host defense.