cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A reassessment of Cuora cyclornata Blanck, McCord and Le, 2006 (Testudines, Geoemydidae) and a plea for taxonomic stability

We analyze the phylogenetic variation present in the Cuora trifasciata species complex using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data. We use this information to evaluate the recent description of Cuora cyclornata Blanck, McCord, and Le (2006), and reinterpret this proposed species in light of likely mitochondrial introgression. Our results indicate that the pattern of variation within the Cuora trifasciata species complex is better explained by mitochondrial introgression coupled with hybridization and/or clinal variation, than it is by the presence of a previously unrecognized species. We also use our phylogeny as a framework for discussion of additional proposed changes to generic level taxonomy in this critically imperiled clade. Our results highlight the importance of appropriate data sampling in taxonomic revisions and suggest that Cuora cyclornata be treated as a junior synonym of Cuora trifasciata.
Need to Consider Full Societal Impact of Hepatitis B Virus-Positive Donors

Keywords: ethics and public policy; clinical research / practice; organ procurement and allocation; organ transplantation in general; infection and infectious agents; viral: hepatitis B; liver disease: infectious; donors and donation: donor-derived infections; organ allocation
A Multimethod Attitude Study About Women's Roles and Issues:

We examined the relationships among college students' attitudes about women's roles and issues measured directly using the Attitudes toward Women Scale (AWS), and indirectly using a free response measure, thought listing. The two types of measures were significantly related for both sexes, but more strongly related for men than for women. Women were more liberal than men in their responses to the AWS and to all thought listing stimuli except the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Interrelationships among responses for different thought listing stimuli were moderate to nonexistent, suggesting that students' attitudes vary greatly depending on the issue or role examined.
Water Conservation Policy Analysis: An Interregional, Multi-Output, Primal-Dual Optimization Approach

An interregional, multi-output, normalized restricted-equilibrium model of field-crop agriculture is estimated within the context of a multistage, programming-based, system estimation procedure. Implicit, total economic-cost functions endogenize behavioral, opportunity adjustment costs of fixed and allocatable land and water resources. Crop-specific, Marshallian water-demand elasticities are estimated for restricted and unrestricted groundwater substitution environments, and decomposed by water source. Elasticities are inelastic, but water-price policy reform can be an effective water-conservation policy tool when groundwater use is unrestricted. When groundwater use is restricted, effective conservation policy requires more dramatic water-price policy reform.
Two-dimensional eccentric elliptic annular cloak

The properties of two-dimensional electromagnetic cloaks which are devoid of rotational symmetry have been investigated by considering an eccentric elliptic annular cloak. The validity of the design was confirmed by full-wave simulations of plane wave scattering by a PEC cylinder with and without the cloak. The design example presented in this paper represents an important generalization of conventional concentric annular cloak designs toward the design of arbitrarily shaped and unsymmetrical electromagnetic cloaks.
Intraspecific stable isotope variability in the planktic foraminiferaGlobigerinoides sacculifer: Results from laboratory experiments

Abstract Laboratory experiments conducted on the multichambered planktic foraminiferaGlobigerinoides sacculifer are used to determine the effect of symbiont photosynthesis on shell carbon and oxygen isotopic composition. Stable isotope analyses of individual chambers secreted under controlled temperature and light levels show that chamberδ13C values increase with increasing light levels. The effect of ontogeny on chamberδ13C is minimal in the size range 350 to 850 μm. Shell size:δ13C covariance in the fossil record is most probably due to the effect of symbiont photosynthesis on both size and δ13C as photosynthetic rate varies with ambient light levels. Chamberδ18O values are not affected by ontogeny but decrease with increasing light levels, presumably due to symbiont activity. Calculations of equilibriumδ18O values for these experiments indicate that the chambers are enriched in18O relative to what would be expected by kinetic fractionation models. We hypothesize that the secretion of a gametogenic calcite layer on the surface of the shell under ambient conditions at the end of the life cycle may be the cause for this enrichment. The reported18O enrichment observed in fossil core topG. sacculifer relative to living specimens in the overlying water column might be explained by the addition of this isotopically-enriched layer.
Self-training in unsedated transnasal EGD by endoscopists competent in standard peroral EGD: prospective assessment of the learning curve.

Background Training programs in unsedated transnasal (UT) EGD are scarce. Objective To prospectively assess the learning curve for unsupervised UT-EGD. Setting Endoscopy service, without experience in UT-EGD. Subjects Consecutive patients referred for diagnostic EGD. Intervention UT-EGD was attempted in 140 study patients by 2 endoscopists who trained by themselves in UT-EGD (skilled endoscopist [n = 70]; a trainee having recently achieved competency in conventional EGD [n = 70]) and in 10 controls (endoscopist skilled in UT-EGD) by using a 4.9-mm-diameter videoendoscope. Main Outcome Measurements Technical success, sedation administered, patient tolerance acceptance, procedure duration for each decade of 10 consecutive patients investigated by the same endoscopist; intention-to-treat analysis. Results Both self-trained endoscopists fulfilled predefined criteria of competency in UT-EGD since the first attempts. They completed examinations of adequate quality with exclusive transnasal scope insertion (n = 139 [99.3%]), no sedation (n = 138 [98.6%]), and patient accepting repeat procedure (n = 135 [96.4%]) in proportions not significantly different from controls for all decades. Compared with a median procedure duration of 5.5 minutes (interquartile range [IQR] 5.0-8.5 minutes) in controls, procedures were significantly longer for all trainee's decades (eg, first decade 20.0 minutes [IQR 15.0-29.0 minutes], P Limitations Generalizability to other small-caliber endoscopes. Conclusions Endoscopists competent in conventional EGD may obtain excellent results with UT-EGD (except for procedure duration) beginning with their first attempts, even without supervision or structured training.
Effect of Storage Temperature, Time, and Method of Slicing on Microbial Population and White Film Development in Vacuum Packaged, Dry-Cured Ham Slices

Aged ham slices, bone-in or boneless, were vacuum-packaged and stored at 2°C or 24°C for 8 wks. White film was more abundant on bone-in slices. Color was not affected by treatment. Aroma remained normal at 2°C for all slices but abnormal aromas developed in some 24°C packages by 2 wk and in all packages by 8 wk. Aerobic and staphylococci counts on bone-in and boneless slices at 24°C were high at 2 wk and remained high, while lactobacilli counts were highest at 2 wk, decreased to initial levels by 4 wk and increased again to 8 wk. Yeast and mold counts at both temperatures decreased with storage but at a faster rate in bone-in hams.
Mass and charge assignment for electrospray ions by crown ether adduction

The introduction of 18-crown-6 into the liquid sheath during the electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) of peptides leads to the formation of crown ether/peptide complexes. The nominal mass spacing of the peaks from these complexes allows an unambiguous determination of the charge state of the ions and thus of their actual mass. The 264 Da mass shift is much larger than what is achieved by either Na+ or Cu2+ adduction, and is thus potentially more useful for the determination of charge states, especially for multiply charged high-molecular-weight species. The addition of an uncharged crown ether does not appear to interfere with the ESI process. Because the crown ether is added to the liquid sheath and not to the original solution, the method should be particularly amenable to chromatographic or electrophoretic techniques because it is essentially a post-column noncovalent derivatization procedure. Finally, because the complex formation constants are relatively large, the peptide/crown ether complex yields high intensity ions, normally the base peak in the spectrum when analyzing pure peptide samples. Finally, as the crown ether is neutral and noncovalently complexed, a constant-neutral-loss scan of their collision-induced dissociation spectra yields a simplified spectrum that is free of chemical noise.
Estimation and visualization of regional and global pulmonary perfusion with 3D magnetic resonance angiography.

The purposes of this work were to estimate regional and global pulmonary perfusion and display pulmonary vasculature in 10 postoperative lung transplant patients using breath-hold, contrast-enhanced (0.2 mmol/kg, Gd DTPA-BMA, Omniscan, Nycomed, Inc., Princeton, NJ), three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) with specially designed double-variable-angle uniform signal excitation (VUSE) radio frequency (RF) pulses. Double-VUSE scans imaged both lungs simultaneously during contrast agent injection and provided both qualitative and quantitative information about pulmonary perfusion. Double-VUSE pulses clearly displayed healthy and diseased vessels. There was a strong correlation between contrast-enhanced double-VUSE MRA flow estimates and those measured from nuclear scans for global or whole lung (R2 = 0.95; P = 0.000002) and upper, central, and lower thirds of the lung (R2 = 0.89, 0.92, and 0.86, respectively; P < 0.001 for each region). In conclusion, 3D MRA using VUSE pulses in combination with a contrast agent is a valuable tool for the assessment of pulmonary perfusion that simultaneously acquires data for both the qualitative display of pulmonary vessels and the quantification of regional and global differential pulmonary blood flow. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2001;14:734–740. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Toward Development of a Face Recognition System for Watchlist Surveillance

The interest in face recognition is moving toward real-world applications and uncontrolled sensing environments. An important application of interest is automated surveillance, where the objective is to recognize and track people who are on a watchlist. For this open world application, a large number of cameras that are increasingly being installed at many locations in shopping malls, metro systems, airports, etc., will be utilized. While a very large number of people will approach or pass by these surveillance cameras, only a small set of individuals must be recognized. That is, the system must reject every subject unless the subject happens to be on the watchlist. While humans routinely reject previously unseen faces as strangers, rejection of previously unseen faces has remained a difficult aspect of automated face recognition. In this paper, we propose an approach motivated by human perceptual ability of face recognition which can handle previously unseen faces. Our approach is based on identifying the decision region(s) in the face space which belong to the target person(s). This is done by generating two large sets of borderline images, projecting just inside and outside of the decision region. For each person on the watchlist, a dedicated classifier is trained. Results of extensive experiments support the effectiveness of our approach. In addition to extensive experiments using our algorithm and prerecorded images, we have conducted considerable live system experiments with people in realistic environments.
Lukang: Commerce and Community in a Chinese City

Lukang: Commerce and Community in. Chinese City. Donald R. DeGlopper. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995. 295 pp.
The Sun Gives Without Receiving: An Old Story

Even though as a child I used to watch my mother in the 1940s sewing up, with the skill of a jeweller, gifts of food parcels to send from sunny Australia to her mother, who stayed behind in war-tor Vienna, parcels that always contained, as I remember, several pounds of butter, and even though I marvelled at how thickly she spread her toast, let alone at her cheerfully acknowledging such unhealthy excess, it was not until I settled down in a hot sugar plantation town in western Colombia in 1970, a town without drinking water or adequate sewage, that it was borne upon me what butter could mean as a privileged sign of affluence, golden and creamy, suspended between solid and liquid, dependent on refrigeration no less than on good milk cows, a dairy industry, a nice temperate climate, "alpine" comes to mind, indeed "alpina" was the brand name of Colombian butter, fresh cuttable bread to be buttered . . . indeed, a whole other world, an inconceivably different clean and creamy european world transplanted and superimposed, if only for a gratifying instant by the mere thought, let alone taste and incorporation, of butter. And having made his contract with the devil, he earns much more money but can only spend it on luxuries; on butter, sunglasses, a fancy shirt, liquor . .. If you buy or rent a farm, the trees stop bearing. If you buy a pig to fatten up, it gets thin and dies. Secar, was the word they used. To dry, to dry up like a green tree drying out through lack of water, drying to a crisp in the relentless sun. And the same word applied to livestock, the pig getting thinner and thinner, wasting away to skin and bone. Secar. To dry up. Too much sun. Why can only luxuries be bought and consumed with the devil pact? Butter, sunglasses, a fancy shirt, liquor ... a strange list, I thought, being thrown by the butter, a new sign precariously signalling to me both the difference of my new, third world, existence, and the way in which that existence connected
Evidence-based practice, part II: effecting change.

This is the second installment of a two-part issue of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America focusing on evidence-based practices in child and adolescent mental health. The first issue provided a comprehensive update of the status of research findings for a range of treatment and service modalities, including psychotherapies, psychopharmacologies, home, school, and community interventions, and strategies for engaging families in mental health services. In addition, it drew attention to the constraints within the evidence base, especially with respect to understanding mechanisms of change. This second issue extends discussion about evidence-based practices for children by focusing on the challenges involved in implementing, disseminating, and sustaining these interventions in children’s service delivery systems. These issues together constitute the 5-year anniversary of the 1999 release of the Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health. That report represented an important turning point for children’s mental health services by documenting the extensive evidence about the effectiveness of a range of mental health interventions for persons suffering from mental illness. This second issue deepens the discussion by turning attention to the issues of context that out of necessity affect the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs). Context includes the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of multiple Child Adolesc Psychiatric Clin N Am
Sensorineural hearing loss in congenital diaphragmatic hernia survivors is associated with postnatal management and not defect size

Abstract Background/Purpose We determined the incidence of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL; >20dB at any frequency) in a contemporary cohort of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) survivors at a single tertiary care center and identified potential risk factors for SNHL. Methods From 2000 through 2011, clinical and audiologic data were collected on 122 surgically-repaired Bochdalek CDH patients. CDH defect size, duration of ventilation, and cumulative aminoglycoside treatment were used for multivariate logistic regression. Results Incidence of SNHL was 7.4% (9/122). We identified one significant independent predictor of SNHL: cumulative length of aminoglycoside treatment ( P Conclusions Over the last decade, the incidence of SNHL in our CDH patients is low compared to previous reports in the literature (7.4%) and is not associated with CDH defect size or the need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Prolonged duration of aminoglycoside treatment increases the risk of SNHL independent of defect size and duration of ventilation.
Synthesis of vinylpyrroles, vinylfurans and vinylindoles via a Brønsted acid catalyzed highly regio- and stereoselective cis-hydroarylation of ynamides

Abstract A highly regio- and stereoselective Bronsted acid-catalyzed coupling of ynamides and aromatic heterocycles, such as pyrroles, furans, and indoles is described. This process is the equivalent of hydroarylation of ynamides, and leads to the efficient syntheses of an array of vinylheterocycles. Diels–Alder reaction between the vinylindoles and DMAD afforded carbazole derivatives in good yields.
NONPOLYNOMIALITY, PREPOTENTIALS AND SUPERSPACE GEOMETRY

Abstract After an introductory discussion of auxiliary fields in supersymmetric theories, we discuss the off-shell structure of N ⩽ 4 supergravity; presenting superspace prepotentials and gauge groups. Evidence is shown that suggests nonlinearity must play an essential role for N 4 off-shell supergravity theories.
The internationalization of new high-potential U.S. ventures: antecedents and outcomes

This study examined the antecedents and outcomes of the internationalization of 61 new high-potential ventures in the U.S. The results indicate that internationalization is directly related to the ...
Regulation of endothelin synthesis in hepatic endothelial cells.

Endothelin (ET) stimulates vasoconstriction and glucose production and mediator synthesis in the liver. Only hepatic endothelial cells express ET-1 mRNA, and during endotoxemia in the intact rat, a...
Use of Hemostatic Agents in Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: A Critical Analysis Review

Total hip and knee arthroplasty are associated with major perioperative bleeding that often necessitates blood transfusion1. As the demand for these successful procedures continues to grow2, the need for limited resources such as allogeneic blood products may increase accordingly. Furthermore, complications associated with the use of allogeneic blood products, including nosocomial infections3-5, transfusion-related lung injury, and circulatory overload6,7, have prompted efforts toward alternative methods of blood conservation. Controlling intraoperative and postoperative bleeding with use of hemostatic agents is one way of avoiding the need for blood transfusion. Several hemostatic agents are available to surgeons, yet not all technologies and products have been evaluated in the context of total hip and knee arthroplasty, and strong evidence regarding the efficacy of some of these agents is still lacking. The choice to use a hemostatic agent likely will depend on the available clinical evidence regarding its efficacy, safety, cost, and ease of administration. The present report briefly …
Atomic mobility in a polymer glass after shear and thermal cycles.

Molecular dynamics simulations and energy landscape analyses are carried out to study the atomic mobility of a polymer glass during the physical aging process that follows shear and thermal cycles....
P-012 Rates of complications of embolising intracranial aneurysms over time: Do we continue to improve with experience?

Introduction In this study our aim was to assess the change in complication rates for endovascular coil embolization of intracranial aneurysms over the course of our interventional neuroradiologists9 careers. Methods Data was collected on all intracranial aneurysm embolization procedures performed were retrieved from a retrospectively maintained database. All intraoperative complications were gathered. They were categorized into: 1. major complications (consisting of haemorrhagic and thromboembolic events) and 2. Non-major and technical complications (such as stent and coil migration and coil breakage). Time was divided into 3 months increments (quarters) from the date an attending started work as an interventional neuroradiology Attending. The data was visualised as percentage of complications over time (Figure 1). Results The complication rate for major complication at 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 years was: 5.0%, 6.8%, 7.0%, 6.0% and 5.25% respectively. All complications (Major, non-major and technical) at 1, 3, 5, 10 and 15 years were 9.2%, 9.4%, 9.3%, 8.4% and 7.0% respectively. Complications rates were higher in the first 30 months of an interventionalist attending9s career and decreased thereafter. Conclusion There was a gradual drop in complication rates with experience long after an attending has completed fellowship training. This complication rate seems to level off after about 6 years of training, which was longer than the authors expected. Disclosures M. Crimmins: None. A. Banihashemi: None. P. Gobin: None.
Damage to Vegetable and Forage Seedlings by the Pale Legume Bug (Hemiptera: Miridae)

Feeding damage by Lygus elisus Van Duzee to seedlings of onions, radishes, turnips, rape, clovers, alfalfa, lentils, peas, beans, dill, and carrots ranged from slight damage with full recovery to relatively heavy damage and seedling mortality. Crucifer and umbellifer seedlings were damaged heavily, whereas damage to legume seedlings was light or quickly outgrown.
Spin-rotation interaction and magnetic shielding in Σ 1 molecules

The theory of the spin-rotation interaction is discussed and its relation to the paramagnetic part of the magnetic shielding tensor derived with consistent treatment of the electric field in the molecule. The latter point yields agreement between theory and experiment for the first time in the case of isotopes of the hydrogen molecule. The paramagnetic part of the shielding constant for ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ ($J=1$) is found to be -5.66(6) \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}6}$ in the gauge where the vector potential is zero at the nucleus.
A Case Of Non-Inheritance Of Fluctuating Variations Among Bacteria

The subject of variation among the bacteria is of obvious importance to those who are concerned with the study of these organisms in their relations to everyday life. The pathologist and the sanitarian and the soil bacteriologist are vitally concerned with the question as to how far the types with which they work are constant and invariable, and to what extent they may modify and interchange their characters. The problem has a much wider significance, however. The bacteria exhibit protoplasm in one of its simplest forms. The absence of amphimixis and the extent to which these organisms are exposed to the direct influence of the environment make it possible to study in them some of the fundamental problems of heredity and variation in their simplest terms. The rapidity with which bacteria multiply and the ease with which they are cultivated make it reasonable to prophesy that the study of bacterial variations will some day throw important light on such central problems of general biology as the origin of species. There are two or three fundamental types of variations among the bacteria which ought to be distinguished as clearly as possible. In the first place many of the observed differences in bacterial cultures are not variations at all but temporary modifications of behavior due to the direct effect of existing conditions of cultivation. Pigment production at 200 but not at 370 is a gross and obvious example; but many properties described as characteristic are really of the same sort. The shape and structure of colonies on gelatin are, for example, largely the result of the density of the medium and the moisture of the atmosphere. Of true protoplasmic variations, which lead to characteristic differences in behavior under identical conditions, there must be again two distinct types. The first sort are due to causes operating within the cells, variations which arise between the offspring of one original bacterium when growing under approximately the same con-
Neurotechnologies, the State, and the Role of Epistemic Constraints

This issue of AJOB Neuroscience includes two target articles and accompanying commentaries that discuss a variety of worrisome issues at the intersection of neurotechnology and the state (or govern...
Robust Control of a Uncertain Generalized Systems Based on the LMI

The problem of robust control for complex systems that combine generalized system,bilinear system and uncertain system with time-delay were studied.Using the theory of Lyapunov stabilization,the sufficient condition of stabilization for SBS with time-delay and uncertainty,where uncertainties are norm- bounded and are varied with the time,is given based on the method of linear matrix inequality and using the way of enlargement in the set domain together.Moreover,the designed state feedback controller can make the closed- loop system stable.The related theory for robust control of SBS with uncertain time- delay lying between nonlinear and linear is solved based on LMI.The designed state feedback controller is more simple and more effective,which makes the closed- loop system to reach a steady state more quickly.The effectiveness and rationality of the theory are verified by the numerical example.Thus,the theory provide a certain theoretical basis for engineering control question.
Other Voting Issues

In addition to the single profile consequences, there are fascinating voting properties which require several profiles. A natural illustration is the Dean’s Council controversy (in the fable) caused by combining the profiles for two subcommittees. Multiprofile issues are important because they help us understand what can happen if a voter votes strategically, or if he doesn’t vote, or whether there are problems should new voters arrive, or when groups combine to form coalitions, or if voters change preferences, or … In Sect. 5.1, problems such as the Dean’s council are explained. In Sect. 5.2, attention turns to how “more can be less.” In Sect. 5.3, the emphasis is on strategic voting. While all of these conclusions depend upon the geometry of profile sets, whenever possible, the simpler geometry of the representation triangle or cube is exploited. Then, to conclude, Sects. 5.4, 5.5 address the intriguing problems of the “list” methods and apportionment of Congressional seats.
Anti-tubercular peptides: A quest of future therapeutic weapon to combat tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a symbolic menace to mankind, infecting almost one third of the world's populace and causing over a million mortalities annually. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the key pathogen of TB that invades and replicates inside the host's macrophage. With the emerging dilemma of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively-drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), the exigency for developing new TB drugs is an obligation now for worldwide researchers. Among the propitious antimycobacterial agents examined in last few decades, anti-tubercular peptides have been substantiated to be persuasive with multiple advantages such as low immunogenicity, selective affinity to bacterial negatively charged cell envelopes and most importantly divergent mechanisms of action. In this review, we epitomized the current advances in the anti-tubercular peptides, focusing the sources and highlighting the mycobactericidal mechanisms of promising peptides. The review investigates the current anti-tubercular peptides exploited not only from human immune cells, human non-immune cells, bacteria and fungi but also from venoms, cyanobacteria, bacteriophages and several other unplumbed sources. The anti-tubercular peptides of those origins are also known to have unique second non-membrane targets within Mtb. The present context also describes the several cases that manifested the severe side effects of extant anti-TB drugs. The downfall, failure to reach clinical trial phases, inept to MDR- or XDR-TB and severe complications of the currently available anti-tubercular drugs accentuate the imperative necessity to develop efficacious drugs from adequate anti-tubercular peptides. Keeping in view of the emerging trends of drug resistant Mtb globally and unexampled mycobactericidal characteristics of peptides, the anti-tubercular peptides of varied origins can be used as a potential weapon to eradicate TB in future by developing new therapeutic drugs.
Is it is or is it Ain't: The Impact of Selective Perception on the Image Making of Traditional African Dance:

In recent years, scholars in various disciplines have begun to examine the literature in their respective areas in an effort to purge the historical record of a pervasive ethnocentric bias directed toward cultures that do not fit within the established Eurocentric paradigm. Within various disciplines, scholars have attempted to illuminate the manner in which this ethnocentric bias has contributed to the hegemony of European-based cultures-primarily Western-and minimalized the contributions and influences of other groups in American history. Many scholars, initiating their research with racism as a primary cause of ethnocentric bias, have focused on the end result, the actions that minimize and peripheralize these groups, rather than the process by which ethnocentric biases continue to persist. Few studies have attempted to look beyond the values and attitudes associated with racism in the socialization process to address the process by which images of peripheralized groups are recycled from period to period. The pervasiveness of ethnocentrism in the creative fabric of American scholarship has also influenced developed and developing areas of concentration within the field of dance. Influenced by changing educational philosophies and critical theories of recent times-namely, the Afrocentric, multicultural, and feminist movements-dance scholars have also redressed the pervasiveness of ethnocentric biases in their related areas.
Pharmacologic Conversion during Dofetilide Treatment for Persistent Atrial Fibrillation.

BACKGROUND Dofetilide is a pure IKr blocker and is one of the few drugs specifically studied and approved in the United States for the management of persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Dofetilide has been noted to have a high rate of pharmacologic conversion during initial dosing in prior smaller studies. The intent of the study was to examine the safety of an inpatient loading strategy, and the incidence and patterns of pharmacologic conversion by dofetilide during the treatment of persistent AF in a large consecutive cohort. METHODS AND RESULTS This is a retrospective analysis of 308 consecutive patients with persistent AF electively admitted for inpatient dofetilide loading. The initiation dose of dofetilide was determined by the creatinine clearance. Overall, 88% (n = 271) successfully completed initiation of dofetilide and were discharged in sinus rhythm. The most common reason for failure to complete initiation of dofetilide loading was QTc prolongation in 24 patients (7.8%), and torsade de pointes occurred in three patients (1%). Pharmacologic conversion was observed in 56% (n = 151) after a median of two doses. The rate of pharmacologic conversion based on the final dose was 75%, 9%, and 0% for 500 mcg, 250 mcg, and 125 mcg, respectively (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Dofetilide is a well-tolerated antiarrhythmic drug with a low incidence of proarrhythmia and an especially high rate of pharmacologic conversion in patients with persistent AF.
Sensitivity and specificity of urinalysis samples in critically ill patients.

BACKGROUND: Pre-emptive screening of urine for patients admitted to an intensive care unit can result in the misinterpretation of data and over- or under-treatment of urinary tract infection. METHODS: Data were studied from 169 consecutive patients admitted to the neurologic or burn intensive care unit at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida. All patients had a urinary catheter in place at the time of admission. Urinalysis and urine culture were sent for analysis. Data included leukocyte esterase, urine nitrate, urine protein, pyuria or urine white blood cell count, and culture. RESULTS: Leukocyte esterase and pyuria were the most sensitive indicators of a positive urine culture at 87.5% (95% CI: 71.3–100%) and 73.3% (95% CI: 51.0–95.7%), respectively; urine nitrate was specific at 100%. More than half of the patients (56.3%) with positive cultures did not initially receive antibiotics. CONCLUSION: The combination of leukocyte esterase and urine nitrate provides the best indicator for the initiation of antibiotic coverage for urinary tract infection prior to culture availability.
Political Elites in the Middle East and North Africa

The Middle East and North Africa, consisting of most of the Arab League members plus Iran, Israel, and Turkey, are regions of the traditional Muslim homeland that lie closest to Europe and where post-colonial elites were particularly conditioned by the dialectics of emancipation. The more protracted the struggle, the greater the opportunities to forge populations into new nations led by Western educated elites. Conversely, where nationalist agitation was confined to the cities, the military would replace traditional elites after independence in more inclusive political orders. By the 1970s, however, assertions of religious identity would challenge all of the post-colonial regimes, and those with the strongest civil societies, such as Tunisia, stood better chances than the others of weathering the storm of identity politics.
XRF-based Chemostratigraphy Between and Across Two Disconformities in the Ordovician Trenton Group and Utica Shale of Central New York, U.S.A.

Abstract Thick mudstone successions contain a wealth of elemental proxy information than can be readily accessed by hand-held X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy. Mudstones of the Upper Ordovician Trenton Group and Utica Shale record drowning of a carbonate-shelf in a peripheral foreland basin during the Taconic Orogeny. Two discrete episodes of shelf erosion, the Thruway and Honey Hill disconformities, followed by deepening occurred during this period. XRF-based bulk-rock elemental data, coupled with detailed lithologic descriptions and XRD analysis, highlight previously unidentified changes in the composition of siliciclastic detritus across these disconformities. This likely relates to variation in the relative contribution of sediment derived from the cratonic interior, eroded carbonate-shelf, and rising orogenic wedge, as well as possible exhumation of the Adirondack Massif. The data also indicate that mudstones of the lower Indian Castle Shale, the interval of the Utica Shale deposited between the Thruway and Honey Hill disconformities, are more carbonate-rich than the underlying mudstones of the Trenton Group. This is surprising given the large volume of limestone in the Trenton Group, and attests to the considerable amount of intrabasinal carbonate winnowed from the shelf during formation of the Thruway Disconformity. Drowning, following erosion along the Honey Hill Disconformity, diminished this sediment source and led to a significant reduction in the amount of carbonate mudstone present in the upper Indian Castle Shale. The concentrations of redox-sensitive trace elements normalized to Al increase sharply across the Thruway Disconformity, suggesting increased bottom-water anoxia and organic-matter preservation in a deepening basin. Increases in the S and Fe concentrations above the Honey Hill Disconformity suggest a shift to even more strongly reducing conditions. Results of this study are consistent with previous interpretations, indicating that higher-resolution XRF-based elemental concentration data may reveal more cryptic changes in sediment provenance and bottom-water redox conditions in the Taconic foreland basin, and in other thick mudstone successions.
Current Concepts of Immunosuppression and Side Effects

The first successful human solid organ transplant was a renal transplant between two identical twin siblings, on 23 Dec 1954 [103]. Given the monozygosity, essentially no immunosuppression was used. The recipient never had a rejection episode but died 8 years later from recurrent glomerulonephritis. The introduction of immunosuppression with prednisone, azathioprine, and occasionally antilymphocyte globulin (ALG) in the 1960s allowed successful nonidentical living donor and deceased donor transplants. Through the 1970s and early 1980s, 1-year survival rates and acute rejection rates were around 60%. In the mid-1980s, cyclosporine was introduced and rejection rates decreased to 40–50% and 1-year survival rates increased to 75–85%. In the last 2 decades with the introduction of newer immunosuppressive induction agents such as basiliximab, daclizumab, and thymoglobulin and maintenance agents including tacrolimus, mycophenolate, and sirolimus, transplant patients are able to achieve 1 year graft survival rates in excess of 90% and acute rejection rates of 5–20%. Over the last several years, the focus of even newer immunosuppressive drugs regimens has included immunosuppression targeting the co-stimulatory pathways and avoiding toxicities associated with steroids and the calcineurin inhibitors cyclosporine and tacrolimus.
Abstract 4063: Target immunosuppressive myeloid cells to enhance cancer immunotherapy

A significant fraction of advanced prostate cancer (PCa) patients treated with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) experience relapse with relentless progression to lethal metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) using antibodies against cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA4) or programmed cell death 1/ programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD1/PD-L1) generates durable therapeutic responses in a significant subset of patients across a variety of cancer types. However, mCRPC showed overwhelming de novo resistance to ICB, motivating a search for targeted therapies that overcome this resistance. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are known to play important roles in tumor immune evasion. Circulating MDSC abundance correlates with PSA levels and metastasis in PCa patients. Mouse models of PCa show that MDSCs (CD11b+ Gr1+) promote tumor initiation and progression. These observations prompted us to hypothesize that robust immunotherapy responses in mCRPC may be elicited by the combined actions of ICB agents together with targeted agents that neutralize MDSCs yet preserve T cell function. Here we developed a novel chimeric mouse model of mCRPC to efficiently test combination therapies in an autochthonous setting. Combination of anti-CTLA4 and anti-PD1 engendered only modest efficacy. Targeted therapy against mCRPC-infiltrating MDSCs, using multikinase inhibitors such as cabozantinib and dactolisib, also showed minimal anti-tumor activities. Strikingly, primary and metastatic CRPC showed robust synergistic responses when ICB was combined with MDSC-targeted therapy. Mechanistically, combination therapy efficacy stemmed from the upregulation of IL-1ra and suppression of MDSC-promoting cytokines secreted by PCa cells. These observations illuminate a clinical path hypothesis for combining ICB with MDSC-targeted therapies in the treatment of mCRPC. More recently, through mass spectrometry we uncovered a new mechanism by which MDSCs employ potent reactive nitrogen species (RNS) to inactivate key molecules in the T cell activation signaling pathway. Agents that neutralize RNS generate significant anti-tumor effect when combined with ICB in prostate cancer. Citation Format: Xin Lu. Target immunosuppressive myeloid cells to enhance cancer immunotherapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4063.
Abstract 1436: Beta-caryophyllene regulates lipid biosynthesis in breast cancer cells

The search for therapeutic anti-cancer drugs has spanned both synthetic and natural products approaches, and notable success has been achieved from unique chemistries produced by plants. Early studies in E.coli showed that cyclic hydrocarbons, including terpenes, interact directly with biological membranes. Accumulation of hydrocarbons results in membrane swelling and increased membrane fluidity, both signs of cell stress. At biological temperatures, membrane fluidity is controlled by the saturation state of the acyl chains of fatty acids (primarily in phospholipids) and cholesterol content. Changes in either of these parameters leads to membrane remodeling which can affect membrane function. Terpenes are, themselves, precursors to complex sterols across all kingdoms of life. Beta-caryophylene (BCP), a bicyclic sesquiterpene, induces cell death across a variety of cancer cell types, although the mechanism(s) by which this occurs is not completely known. Our data show that BCP induces membrane permeability in breast cancer lines representing both ER-positive and triple negative phenotypes (TNBC), as measured by lactate dehydrogenase release from cells. We sought to understand this phenomenon by looking at changes in the transcriptome of treated cells compared to controls. We chose to examine cells exposed to hypoxia, rationalizing that this condition, in vivo, creates an aggressive phenotype, is associated with TNBC and drug-resistant (recurrent) breast cancers, and is an independent prognosticator for poor patient outcome. We isolated high quality RNA (RIN>9) at the University of Florida. The Genomics Core at the University of Louisville prepared libraries and performed the sequencing run (Illumina NextSeq 500). This generated over 144 million 75bp reads that aligned to the human genome (96.3% alignment rate), or approximately 24 million reads per sample. As a first approach in data analysis, we selected differential expression based on the FDR adjusted p-values (q-values) Citation Format: Mam Y. Mboge, Adam P. Bullock, Riley O9Dennell, John V. Matthias, Julie A. Davila, Christopher J. Frost, Susan C. Frost. Beta-caryophyllene regulates lipid biosynthesis in breast cancer cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1436.
Parkinson's Disease-linked LRRK2-G2019S mutation alters synaptic plasticity and promotes resilience to chronic social stress in young adulthood

The G2019S mutation in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a prevalent cause of late-onset Parkinson9s disease, producing psychiatric and motor symptoms, including depression, that are indistinguishable from sporadic cases. Here we tested how this mutation impacts depression-related behaviors and associated synaptic responses and plasticity in mice expressing a Lrrk2-G2019S knock-in mutation. Young adult male G2019S knock-in and wild-type mice were subjected to chronic social defeat stress (CSDS), a validated depression model, and other tests of anhedonia, anxiety, and motor learning. We found that G2019S mice were highly resilient to CSDS, failing to exhibit social avoidance compared to wild-type mice, many of which exhibited prominent social avoidance and were thus susceptible to CSDS. In the absence of CSDS, no behavioral differences between genotypes were found. Whole-cell recordings of spiny projection neurons (SPNs) in the nucleus accumbens revealed that glutamatergic synapses in G2019S mice lacked functional calcium-permeable AMPARs, and following CSDS, failed to accumulate inwardly rectifying AMPAR responses characteristic of susceptible mice. Based on this abnormal AMPAR response profile, we asked whether long-term potentiation (LTP) of corticostriatal synaptic strength was affected. We found that both D1 receptor (D1R)- and D2R-SPNs in G2019S mutants were unable to express LTP, with D2R-SPNs abnormally expressing long-term depression following an LTP-induction protocol. Thus, G2019S promotes resilience to chronic social stress in young adulthood, likely reflecting synapses constrained in their ability to undergo experience-dependent plasticity. These unexpected findings may indicate early adaptive coping mechanisms imparted by the G2019S mutation. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The G2019S mutation in LRRK2 causes late-onset Parkinson9s disease (PD). LRRK2 is highly expressed in striatal neurons throughout life, but it is unclear how mutant LRRK2 affects striatal neuron function and behaviors in young adulthood. We addressed this question using Lrrk2-G2019S knock-in mice. The data show that young adult G2019S mice were unusually resilient to a depression-like syndrome resulting from chronic social stress. Further, mutant striatal synapses were incapable of forms of synaptic plasticity normally accompanying depression-like behavior and important for supporting the full range of cognitive function. These data suggest that in humans, LRRK2 mutation may affect striatal circuit function in ways that alter normal responses to stress and could be relevant for treatment strategies for non-motor PD symptoms.
Point count divisibility for algebraic sets over ${\mathbb {Z}}/p^\ell {\mathbb {Z}}$ and other finite principal rings

We determine the greatest common divisor of the cardinalities of the algebraic sets generated by collections of polynomials f 1 ,..., f t of specified degrees d 1, ...., dt in n variables over a finite principal ring R. This generalizes the theorems of Ax (t = 1, R a field), N. M. Katz (t arbitrary, R a field), and Marshall-Ramage (t = 1, R an arbitrary finite principal ring).
Optimal Coding Patterns in Spatial Spectral Compressive Spectral Imagers

This paper develops the conditions required for optimal coded apertures used in the Spatial Spectral Compressive Spectral Imager (SSCSI), so as to maximize the quality of the recovered hyperspectral scenes.
Theory of Elastic Plates and Shells

Consider the surface \(\mathop \Omega \limits^ \circ \) in three-dimensional space and, at each point on the surface, erect a segment of length h directed along the normal to the surface; the centers of the segments are on \(\mathop \Omega \limits^ \circ .\) The segments cover some three-dimensional region, \(\mathop V\limits^ \circ \) (Fig. 14.1). If h is much smaller than the minimum curvature radius of the surface \(\mathop \Omega \limits^ \circ ,\) R, and the characteristic size of the surface \(\mathop \Omega \limits^ \circ \), L
The effects of dual language exposure on executive function in Spanish-English bilingual children with different language abilities.

Abstract The current study examined the effects of dual language exposure on executive function in 5- to 11-year-old Spanish–English bilingual children with different language skills. Dual language exposure was measured via parent report and was operationalized as the proportion of time spent in an environment where both English and Spanish were present. Executive function was measured via the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task. Shifting costs, switching costs, and mixing costs were derived to index executive function performance. A significant interaction between extent of dual language exposure and language skills was observed such that children showed smaller shifting and mixing costs with increased dual language input as their language skills increased. The results suggest a graded effect of dual language exposure on executive function, where a robust language system may be required for dual language exposure to influence executive function.