cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
BBB-Permeable, Neuroprotective, and Neurotrophic Polysaccharide, Midi-GAGR.

An enormous amount of efforts have been poured to find an effective therapeutic agent for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Among those, neurotrophic peptides that regenerate neuronal structures and increase neuron survival show a promise in slowing neurodegeneration. However, the short plasma half-life and poor blood-brain-barrier (BBB)-permeability of neurotrophic peptides limit their in vivo efficacy. Thus, an alternative neurotrophic agent that has longer plasma half-life and better BBB-permeability has been sought for. Based on the recent findings of neuroprotective polysaccharides, we searched for a BBB-permeable neuroprotective polysaccharide among natural polysaccharides that are approved for human use. Then, we discovered midi-GAGR, a BBB-permeable, long plasma half-life, strong neuroprotective and neurotrophic polysaccharide. Midi-GAGR is a 4.7kD cleavage product of low acyl gellan gum that is approved by FDA for human use. Midi-GAGR protected rodent cortical neurons not only from the pathological concentrations of co-/post-treated free reactive radicals and Aβ42 peptide but also from activated microglial cells. Moreover, midi-GAGR showed a good neurotrophic effect; it enhanced neurite outgrowth and increased phosphorylated cAMP-responsive element binding protein (pCREB) in the nuclei of primary cortical neurons. Furthermore, intra-nasally administered midi-GAGR penetrated the BBB and exerted its neurotrophic effect inside the brain for 24 h after one-time administration. Midi-GAGR appears to activate fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) and its downstream neurotrophic signaling pathway for neuroprotection and CREB activation. Additionally, 14-day intranasal administration of midi-GAGR not only increased neuronal activity markers but also decreased hyperphosphorylated tau, a precursor of neurofibrillary tangle, in the brains of the AD mouse model, 3xTg-AD. Taken together, midi-GAGR with good BBB-permeability, long plasma half-life, and strong neuroprotective and neurotrophic effects has a great therapeutic potential for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, especially AD.
Revealing the Intrinsic Li Mobility in the Li2MnO3 Lithium-Excess Material

One of the most promising avenues for future high energy Li-ion batteries originate from the family of Li-rich layered cathodes. However, while exhibiting excellent initial capacity, these materials also suffer from voltage fade, high impedance, and poor rate capability, particularly in the Mn-rich, high Li excess concentration regime. Though it is clear that the Li2MnO3 component contributes to the high capacity as well as the chemical and structural degradation of the material, the inherent ionic conductivity of the material has not been clarified. In this work, we investigate the delithiation mechanism, involving coherent Li migration from two layers by first-principles density functional theory. Surprisingly, and contrary to expectations from available experimental results, we find that the pristine material exhibits excellent Li mobility enabling facile Li extraction from both the transition metal layer and Li-layer. Generally, the Li-extractions are highly accelerated by di- and trivacancy clusters,...
Abstract 17811: Inhibition of Mitochondrial Fission and Cardioprotection: Does Activation of Necroptosis Play a Confounding Role?

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that ischemia-reperfusion-induced translocation of dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) to mitochondria, and subsequent fragmentation (i.e., fission) of mitochondria, contributes to myocyte death. However, recent data from our group revealed a complex temporal relationship between fission and cell fate: pretreatment with Mdivi-1 (specific DRP1 inhibitor) attenuated both apoptotic and total cell death, while ‘delayed’ treatment (at reoxygenation) attenuated apoptosis but exacerbated necrosis. There are reports that caspase inhibition can up-regulate an alternative, kinase-mediated form of cell death termed ‘necroptosis’. Accordingly, we propose that the paradox seen with ‘delayed’ Mdivi-1 treatment may be explained by Mdivi-1-triggered caspase inhibition and resultant activation of necroptosis. Methods: Cultured HL-1 cells underwent 2 hrs of hypoxia + reoxygenation (R) or a matched normoxic period. In Protocol 1, cells received: i) Mdivi-1 (50 μM) at 1 hr before hypoxia; ii) Mdivi-1 (50 μM) at R; or iii) vehicle. In Protocol 2, Necrostatin-1 (inhibitor of RIP1, a key kinase involved in necroptosis: 50 μM) + Mdivi-1 were co-administered at R, while, in Protocol 3, Necrostatin-1 alone was given at R. Endpoints included expression of cleaved caspase 3 (harbinger of apoptosis), and cell viability (by trypan blue staining). Results: We confirmed that Mdivi-1attenuated caspase 3 cleavage irrespective of the timing of treatment (Fig A: left), but decreased (rather than increased) cell viability when given at R (Fig A: right). Necrostatin-1 partially rescued the exacerbated cell death seen with ‘delayed’ Mdivi-1 treatment (Fig B), but had no effect when given alone (Fig C). Conclusion: These data: i) suggest that Mdivi-1, given at reoxygenation, exacerbates myocyte death by up-regulation of necroptosis; and ii) underscore the complex temporal interplay between inhibition of mitochondrial fission and myocyte viability.
Power System Nonlinear State Estimation Using Distributed Semidefinite Programming

State estimation (SE) is an important task allowing power networks to monitor accurately the underlying system state, which is useful for security-constrained dispatch and power system control. For nonlinear AC power systems, SE amounts to minimizing a weighted least-squares cost that is inherently nonconvex, thus giving rise to many local optima. As a result, estimators used extensively in practice rely on iterative optimization methods, which are destined to return only locally optimal solutions, or even fail to converge. A semidefinite programming (SDP) formulation for SE has been advocated, which relies on the convex semidefinite relaxation (SDR) of the original problem and thereby renders it efficiently solvable. Theoretical analysis under simplified conditions is provided to shed light on the near-optimal performance of the SDR-based SE solution at polynomial complexity. The new approach is further pursued toward complementing traditional nonlinear measurements with linear synchrophasor measurements and reducing computational complexity through distributed implementations. Numerical tests on the standard IEEE 30- and 118-bus systems corroborate that the SE algorithms outperform existing alternatives, and approach near-optimal performance.
Endocrine Stimulating Effects of Yohimbine-HCl

SummaryDaily subcutaneous injections of 20 mg of yohimbine-HCl per kg of body weight for 26 to 33 days caused pseudopregnancy, increased ovarian and adrenal weights, and produced lobulo-alveolar development in female rats. The corpora lutea formed during this treatment were active as shown by their ability to produce decidual reactions in traumatized uteri. Induction of pseudopregnancy by single injections of 20 mg of yohimbine-HCl per kg of body weight was successful when given on the day of estrus. Daily injections of yohimbine had no effect on mammary development in male rats.
Origin and taxonomy of broccoli

This popular vegetable may have been known to the Greeks, 2,500 years ago. Present-day varieties have been developed principally from forms that have arisen in Italy in the past 2,000 years. The name, meaning “bucktooth”, was probably a Latin colloquial term applied to any projecting shoots of members of the cabbage family.
A CULTURAL STUDY OF PIPTOPORUS SOLONIENSIS (APHYLLOPHORALES, POLYPORACEAE)

Piptoporus soloniensis causes a butt rot of oaks in the United States. The basidiocarps superficially resemble those of Laetiporus sulphureus, although cultures of the two species are readily distinguishable. Cultural characters of P. soloniensis are given and compared to those of L. sulphureus.
Nulliparous Women in the Second Stage of Labor: Changes in Delivery Outcomes Between Two Cohorts From 2000 and 2011

OBJECTIVE:To evaluate changes over the past decade in the mode of delivery and second-stage duration in nulliparous women.METHODS:We conducted a retrospective cohort study at a single institution of nulliparous women reaching complete cervical dilation with singleton gestations 36 weeks or greater f
Facilitation of Anesthetic Administration during Simulated Surgeries with a Drug Display

Monitors that show intravenous (IV) drug concentrations currently do not exist. However, using real-time displays of intravenous anesthetic concentrations and effects could significantly enhance intraoperative clinical decision-making. Pharmacokinetic models are available to estimate past, present and future drug concentrations in the brain, and pharmacodynamic models are available to predict the drug's associated physiological effects. An interdisciplinary research team developed a new graphic display incorporating these models to show the predicted concentrations and effects of anesthetic drugs in real-time. To evaluate the effectiveness of the display on the management of anesthesia, 15 anesthesiologists participated in a computer-based simulation study. Anesthesiologists maintained drug concentrations closer to an optimal target level when they used the prototype anesthesia drug display. Participants also reported lower levels of workload with the display and rated the display as a useful addition to ...
Analysis of the Factors Influencing the Perinatal Healthcare Quality in the Migrating Population in Changxing County and the Countermeasures

Objective To understand the current status of perinatal healthcare quality for the migrating population in Changing County and provide a basis for implementation of efficient countermeasures.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted in 26838 pregnant women,whose clinical data were statistically analyzed such as the size of the local and migrating populations,and the perinatal mortality among them.Results Significant differences were found in the systemic healthcare rates and delivery outcomes of the pregnant women between the local residential and the migrating population.The migrating perinatal healthcare quality was significantly improved.Conclusion By establishing the migrating population perinatal healthcare service network and the supervision and management system,lowering the charges for examinations and delivery,banning unauthorized private delivery,strengthening the healthcare education,the systemic management rates,high-risk screening rate,and hospital delivery rate of the pregnant women among the migrating population have been significantly improved,and the perinatal maternal and neonatal mortality significantly has been reduced.
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF GENITAL HERPES INFECTIONS

SUMMARY Much has been learned in the last decade about the epidemiology of genital herpes infections, including new information about seroprevalence and the risk of transmission of genital herpes to sex partners and at delivery, Unfortunately, the type-specific serologic assays now routinely used in these studies are not widely available, and commercially available assays that claim to be type-specific are not. Thus, most clinicians still do not have access to reliable type-specific assays. In cross-sectional seroprevalence studies, detection of HSV-2 antibody is positively associated with increasing age, lower levels of income or education, increased numbers of sexual partners, black or Hispanic race, female gender, male homosexual activity, and HIV infection. In addition, studies cited in this review have clarified the clinical spectrum of genital herpes infection in persons who have transmitted genital herpes to a sex partner, have shed virus asymptomatically, or are found to have HSV-2 antibody. Ten percent to 40% of these individuals are aware that they have genital herpes, whereas the remaining 60% to 90% are not. Among the latter, at least half have a history of recurrent genital lesions typical of genital herpes or can be taught to recognize typical, symptomatic episodes within 6 months if examined promptly after the onset of any unexplained genital symptoms. The remainder, about a third of the total, have no history of genital herpes and remain asymptomatic despite a careful history and follow-up examinations; in women in this group, asymptomatic shedding of HSV can be identified. Atypical lesions appear to play an important but as yet incompletely defined role. Most persons who transmit genital herpes to a sex partner or at delivery do not have a history of lesions at the time of transmission of HSV infection, suggesting that asymptomatic shedding or atypical, unrecognized lesions are responsible for most cases of transmission. In heterosexual couples, the risk of acquisition of HSV-2 infection from a sex partner with genital herpes is lowest in men (less than 5%), higher in HSV-1 seropositive women (less than 10%), and highest (about 30%) in women without antibody to HSV-1 or HSV-2. The risk of transmission to infants exposed to asymptomatic shedding at delivery is low (about 3%) in women with or without a history of genital herpes if HSV antibody of the same type is present in cord blood. In contrast, the risk of transmission is 10 times higher (about 33%) in infants exposed to asymptomatic shedding if the mother has serologic evidence of primary or nonprimary first-episode genital herpes. Finally, HSV-2 infection may increase the risk of acquisition of HIV infection.
Paths to GI Research in the Wild West: Tales From Wyoming.

Jason Gigley Gigley at the University of Wyoming. They write about their GI research at a somewhat geographically-isolated institution without a medical school, and provide advice on topics including funding and institutional resources. Pam Tuma, the May Paths and Places columnist, who is also at an institution without a medical school (although located within a research-intense corridor on the East Coast), provided advice on managing time, teaching, and undergraduates, while Dr Ward and colleagues highlight funding and institutional resources. Both columns emphasize the importance of collaborations and networking, although from different perspectives. We hope these two features are helpful to scientists at non-research–intensive schools who, nonetheless, aim to pursue vigorous GI research programs.
Suggested Procedures for Utilizing MUFT Resonance Parameters to Include Doppler Broadening

(1968). Suggested Procedures for Utilizing MUFT Resonance Parameters to Include Doppler Broadening. Nuclear Science and Engineering: Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 346-349.
Sweetwater, Mountain Springs, and Great Lakes: A Hydro-Geography of Beer Brands

The geography of beer and breweries, like many industries, has historically been linked to natural resources and the location of critical inputs, notably rivers. While beer and other perishable foodstuffs were historically produced for local consumer markets, new technologies, distribution networks, and multi-national corporations have changed the market considerably and the result has been the dominance of a few large macro breweries serving global consumer demands. Yet, the emergence of new niche markets and the success of micro-brews has resulted in an explosion of regional and local craft production facilities and a renewed emphasis on local water-streams, springs, and lakes. In this paper, we examine the iconography and observed “hydro-geography” of selected local, regional, and even national products to understand the intersection between place and industry, and the geopsychology of competitive marketing strategies and stratagems.
Memristor-Based Discrete Fourier Transform for Improving Performance and Energy Efficiency

Memristor has emerged as one of the most promising candidates for the fundamental device in the beyond-CMOS era. With their unique advantage on implementing low-power high-speed matrix multiplication, memristors have shown great and vast potentiality in many specific applications. This paper, for the first time, investigates the hardware design of DFT using memristors. Two implementations of DFT using memristors have been presented for effectively trading-off between hardware complexity and computing speed. Simulation results show that as compared to the conventional CMOS-based design, the proposed memristor-based design enables significant reduction in computation latency and improvement in power efficiency with very low inaccuracy. Simulation results show that the proposed memristor-based implementation could reach up to 10X improvement in speed and 109.8X reduction in power efficiency compared to CMOS-based design.
Sex and Drugs and Starting School: Differences in Precollege Alcohol-Related Sexual Risk Taking by Gender and Recent Blackout Activity.

Research has demonstrated a link between alcohol use and multiple forms of risky sexual behavior, particularly among college-age individuals. Studies have also linked heavy alcohol use to other problems, such as impaired consciousness resulting from an alcohol-induced blackout, which may impact sexual decision making. However, research has rarely examined sexual risk taking (SRT) in relation to blackouts, nor has it examined this construct during the precollege transition (i.e., the interval of time between high school graduation and college matriculation). This study examined the intersection between alcohol-involved SRT, blackouts, and gender in a sample of precollege individuals with prior alcohol use (N = 229; 54% male, 63% White). Results indicated that, despite drinking less per occasion, women reporting recent blackouts were at increased risk for experiencing unwanted, unsafe, and regretted sexual behaviors compared to men with recent blackouts and their peers with no recent blackouts. Women with r...
Don't Give Up on the Self Too Quickly

Bracken, Rose, and Church (2016) call for less self- versus other research. They say that self-ratings versus non-self-ratings research (often referred to as self–other agreement research, or SOA) is not particularly helpful and that self-ratings’ primary purpose is to serve as a “reflection point for individuals receiving feedback” (Bracken, Rose, & Church, p. 785). It is true that SOA research has played a dominant role with 360° feedback for many years (for a review, see Fleenor, Smither, Atwater, Braddy, & Sturm, 2010), but the value we can draw from the self through 360° feedback remains terrain largely unexplored.
Biology, Genetic Aspects, and Oxidative Stress Response of Streptomyces and Strategies for Bioremediation of Toxic Metals

To survive in a metal-contaminated environment, Streptomyces has developed strong regulatory pathways to defend against oxidative stress and detoxify the metal-generated reactive oxygen species combined with intercellular metal-binding and metal-detoxifying mechanisms. The available genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics data of Streptomyces spp. has further supported the potentiality of this microbe for the purpose of toxic metal bioremediation. Here the genetic role of Streptomyces spp. for oxidative stress and metal-specific regulatory systems is reviewed. And how this knowledge can be used to develop a strategy for the metal bioremediation process is discussed.
Early-Life Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Metabolic Health Disparities.

ABSTRACTObjectiveA quarter of the world's population have metabolic syndrome (MetS). MetS prevalence is stratified by socioeconomic status (SES), such that low SES is associated with higher MetS risk. The present study examined the relative roles of early-life SES and current SES in explaining MetS
International Student Access in North America

This session will discuss the insufficient diversity among international students in the U.S. and Canada. Specifically, international students from low GDP countries (i.e. sub-Saharan Africa) and low socio-economic status backgrounds are underrepresented. Scholarship has yet to analyze the influence of international student diversity on the benefits associated with diversity.
Abstract 18: The Role of Matrix Metalloproteinase 12 in Vascular Stiffness, Inflammation and Hypertension

Vascular wall remodeling and inflammation contribute to hypertension. These processes decrease arterial elasticity due to a loss of elastin and deposition of collagen. Metalloproteinase-12 (MMP12) is an elastase produced by macrophages and vascular cells. Cleavage of elastin by MMP12 could increase vascular stiffness and lead to release of pro-inflammatory elastin fragments. We sought to determine if MMP12 contributes to hypertension and vascular stiffness in response to angiotensin II and to understand mechanisms responsible for its expression. To determine if mechanical stretch activates MMP12 we subjected cultured murine endothelial cells to 0%, 5% (normotensive) or 10% (hypertensive) uniaxial stretch for 48 hours. Real-time RT-PCR showed that 10% stretch increases MMP12 mRNA by 4 fold compared to 0% or 5% stretch. Western blots and casein zymography indicated that 10% stretch significantly increases MMP12 protein expression and activity, respectively. Western blots also revealed an increase in elastin fragments in the media of cells exposed to 10% stretch compared to those exposed to 5% stretch. To understand the role of MMP12 in hypertension, we infused angiotensin II in wild-type and MMP12 -/- mice. In keeping with the studies of cultured endothelial cells, angiotensin II markedly increased vascular MMP12 mRNA (10-fold) and protein levels. The hypertension caused by angiotensin II was markedly blunted in MMP12 -/- mice (122 ± 3 vs. 173 ± 5, p -/- compared to WT mice. We also examined distensibility of aortic segments in vitro, and quantified this as the percent change in diameter over a pressure change from 75 to 125 mmHg. Angiotensin II markedly decreased this distensibility index from 24 ± 3 to 9 ± 2%, but only to 16 ± 3% in MMP12 -/- mice (p
Dolus: Cyber Defense using Pretense against DDoS Attacks in Cloud Platforms

Cloud-hosted services are being increasingly used in online businesses in e.g., retail, healthcare, manufacturing, entertainment due to benefits such as scalability and reliability. These benefits are fueled by innovations in orchestration of cloud platforms that make them totally programmable as Software Defined everything Infrastructures (SDxI). At the same time, sophisticated targeted attacks such as Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) are growing on an unprecedented scale threatening the availability of online businesses. In this paper, we present a novel defense system called Dolus to mitigate the impact of DDoS attacks launched against high-value services hosted in SDxI-based cloud platforms. Our Dolus system is able to initiate a 'pretense' in a scalable and collaborative manner to deter the attacker based on threat intelligence obtained from attack feature analysis in a two-stage ensemble learning scheme. Using foundations from pretense theory in child play, Dolus takes advantage of elastic capacity provisioning via 'quarantine virtual machines' and SDxI policy co-ordination across multiple network domains to deceive the attacker by creating a false sense of success. From the time gained through pretense initiation, Dolus enables cloud service providers to decide on a variety of policies to mitigate the attack impact, without disrupting the cloud services experience for legitimate users. We evaluate the efficacy of Dolus using a GENI Cloud testbed and demonstrate its real-time capabilities to: (a) detect DDoS attacks and redirect attack traffic to quarantine resources to engage the attacker under pretense, and (b) coordinate SDxI policies to possibly block DDoS attacks closer to the attack source(s).
POLITICAL HAIR: Occupational Licensing and the Regulation of Race and Gender Identity

This article argues that African American hair is a political matter by examining the little-known role of state occupational licensing of African American hair care. By focusing on recent legal challenges and legislative battles over state regulation of hair-care provision for African Americans, the article traces state authorities' responses to struggles over market share between licensed, and often native-born, African American beauticians, and typically unlicensed, and often recent African immigrant, hair braiders. Hair braiders challenged state regulatory oversight by invoking racial deference claims, in which they argued that braiding was a “cultural practice” that should be exempt from state regulation. A statistical analysis of state regulatory decision making revealed that states varied widely in addressing the issue of African American hair care. While racial deference claims, in the form of legal cases, put pressure on states to exempt hair braiders from regulatory oversight, by and large, most states did not choose this path. For states that did choose to address the demands for market protection or market relief, the choices were mostly in the direction of enacting new regulations or actively incorporating hair braiders under existing regulations. Despite the invocation of racial deference claims, African American hair care was not freed from state oversight—state regulators became more flexible in their oversight of Black hair care rooted in their concerns over public safety as well as the demands from a variety of interest groups. The analysis reveals that when race/gender and state regulation intersect, traditional economic theories of occupational licensing are not sufficient; an intersectional approach can better explain policy outcomes.
Control of Transmembrane Helix Dynamics by Interfacial Tryptophan Residues.

Abstract Transmembrane protein domains often contain interfacial aromatic residues, which may play a role in the insertion and stability of membrane helices. Residues such as Trp or Tyr, therefore, are often found situated at the lipid-water interface. We have examined the extent to which the precise radial locations of interfacial Trp residues may influence peptide helix orientation and dynamics. To address these questions, we have modified the GW5,19ALP23 (acetyl-GGALW5(LA)6LW19LAGA-[ethanol]amide) model peptide framework to relocate the Trp residues. Peptide orientation and dynamics were analyzed by means of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to monitor specific 2H- and 15N-labeled residues. GW5,19ALP23 adopts a defined, tilted orientation within lipid bilayer membranes with minimal evidence of motional averaging of NMR observables, such as 2H quadrupolar or 15N-1H dipolar splittings. Here, we examine how peptide dynamics are impacted by relocating the interfacial Trp (W) residues on both ends and opposing faces of the helix, for example by a 100° rotation on the helical wheel for positions 4 and 20. In contrast to GW5,19ALP23, the modified GW4,20ALP23 helix experiences more extensive motional averaging of the NMR observables in several lipid bilayers of different thickness. Individual and combined Gaussian analyses of the 2H and 15N NMR signals confirm that the extent of dynamic averaging, particularly rotational “slippage” about the helix axis, is strongly coupled to the radial distribution of the interfacial Trp residues as well as the bilayer thickness. Additional 2H labels on alanines A3 and A21 reveal partial fraying of the helix ends. Even within the context of partial unwinding, the locations of particular Trp residues around the helix axis are prominent factors for determining transmembrane helix orientation and dynamics within the lipid membrane environment.
Biochemical Effects of Alkaloids

Ultimately, gross effects of alkaloids and other foreign molecules on the behavior of organisms must have their explanations in terms of specific molecular interactions and chemical reactions. In the course of its development, pharmacology has come from observations of total behavior to observations of gross physiological processes, observations on isolated organs and tissues, and elegant and detailed observations at the cellular level. In a few cases it has started to approach observations at the molecular level. Essential aspects of pharmacology have doubtlessly been overlooked in this chapter, and it should probably be regarded as a smattering of things that have been of interest to one biochemist rather than a balanced review. Where references to literature are not given, the reader is referred to the general sources [51,95,140,165,202,210,270]. Although most of the information in this chapter is from the pharmacological literature—i.e., dealing with animals—there are a few interesting reports dealing with biochemical effects of alkaloids on plants and bacteria. These are introduced at appropriate places rather than having a section to themselves.
Effects of Antioxidant Supplementation and Repetitive Loading on Biomarkers of Oxidative Stress in Aged and Young Adult Rats

Antioxidant supplementation has been suggested as an intervention against the deleterious effects of increased oxidative stress (OS) associated with aging. The purpose of this study was to determin...
Shifting the Basic Pattern Block into a New Framework to Fit the Demands of Post Double Mastectomy Women: Part 2

There are more and more post double mastectomy women who chose to live flat, without having reconstruction surgery or using prostheses. Although the desire for appealing clothing for post mastectomy women is present, currently there is limited ready-to-wear clothing for this special group. The purpose of this study was to develop two new basic bodice blocks based on post double mastectomy clothing preferences for women who have undergone double mastectomy surgery without reconstruction. This study is the block creation, part 2, of a study that surveyed clothing preferences (part 1) of women who have undergone a double mastectomy and chose not to have reconstruction, called "living flat". The basic bodice block pattern with bust and waist darts was utilized as the starting point. The block was revised to create two new bodice blocks to accommodate a flat chest, one with no darts and one with only a small waist dart.
How Much Does Merit Aid Actually Matter? Revisiting Merit Aid and College Enrollment When Some Students “Come Anyway”

Merit aid is an increasingly important component of college scholarships, but policymakers are concerned that merit aid is often given to students who would enroll anyway. As a baseline we use a regression discontinuity (RD) framework to test an institution-level merit aid program at a public research university and find that the merit aid program successfully increases the likelihood of enrollment. We then add to the RD a structure that accounts for the probability that specific students would enroll (or not enroll) with certainty. This richer model, which allows us to identify students who are less certain about enrolling, indicates the merit aid is much more effective in convincing such students to enroll.
Inflammasomes, Autophagy, and Cell Death: The Trinity of Innate Host Defense against Intracellular Bacteria

Inflammasome activation is an innate host defense mechanism initiated upon sensing pathogens or danger in the cytosol. Both autophagy and cell death are cell autonomous processes important in development, as well as in host defense against intracellular bacteria. Inflammasome, autophagy, and cell death pathways can be activated by pathogens, pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), cell stress, and host-derived damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Phagocytosis and toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling induce reactive oxygen species (ROS), type I IFN, NFκB activation of proinflammatory cytokines, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade. ROS and IFNγ are also prominent inducers of autophagy. Pathogens, PAMPs, and DAMPs activate TLRs and intracellular inflammasomes, inducing apoptotic and inflammatory caspases in a context-dependent manner to promote various forms of cell death to eliminate pathogens. Common downstream signaling molecules of inflammasomes, autophagy, and cell death pathways interact to initiate appropriate measures against pathogens and determine host survival as well as pathological consequences of infection. The integration of inflammasome activation, autophagy, and cell death is central to pathogen clearance. Various pathogens produce virulence factors to control inflammasomes, subvert autophagy, and modulate host cell death in order to evade host defense. This review highlights the interaction of inflammasomes, autophagy, and host cell death pathways in counteracting Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis. Contrasting evasion strategies used by B. pseudomallei, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Legionella pneumophila to avoid and dampen these innate immune responses will be discussed.
Improving the Adoption of Advance Directives in Primary Care Practices.

Background: Oklahoma9s Advance Directive completion rate is less than 10%. We compared the implementation performance of 2 advance directive forms to determine which form could be more successfully disseminated. Methods: The implementation of the Oklahoma Advance Directive (OKAD) and the Five Wishes form were compared in an 8-month pair-matched cluster randomized study in 6 primary care practices. The outcomes measured during the 22-week implementation included form offering rate, acceptance/completion rate by patients, and documentation in the chart. Twenty semistructured interviews with patients and clinicians were conducted to assess intervention experience. Results: A total of 2748 patient encounters were evaluated. OKAD was offered in 33% of eligible patient visits (493/1494) and accepted 54% of the time (266/493). Five Wishes was offered in 36% of eligible patient visits (450/1254) and accepted 82% of the time (369/450). Unadjusted analyses found no significant difference in offering of advance directive forms between groups. However, the odds of accepting Five Wishes were 3.89 times that of OKAD (95% CI, 2.88 to 5.24; P Conclusions: Results suggest that Five Wishes was more readable, understandable, appealing, and usable. It seemed to capture patient preferences for end-of-life care more effectively and it more readily facilitated patient-clinician conversations.
Engaging through technology: the role of administrative culture and mandates

Although information communication technologies (ICTs) offer new possibilities for civic engagement, governments have had limited success enacting ICTs to promote participation. We investigate how ...
Motivations and barriers to electric bike use in the U.S.: views from online forum participants

Electric bikes (ebikes) are an emerging technology that can partially mitigate many of the challenges facing the United States, such as improving mobility for the elderly and disabled, by mitigatin...
Important Differences in Cardiovascular Care

There are a number of important differences in the care of African Americans that can substantially impact clinical outcomes including specific medication choices, disease control, and alternative clinical approaches. Applying these research-verified clinical management regimes can assuredly clear a more efficient path to clinical success and positively benefit outcomes. For example, hypertension therapy should be initiated with a thiazide-type diuretic or a calcium channel blocker which have been proven to have better blood pressure reduction, and are better at preventing cardiovascular events. ACE inhibitors are less effective at reducing blood pressure and should not be used as monotherapy unless the patient has diabetes with proteinuria. African Americans have more favorable lipid profiles but with disproportionately higher cardiovascular disease. Because of this, clinicians should have a lower threshold for cardiovascular prophylaxis. African Americans have a decreased risk for atrial fibrillation and because of the increased risk for stroke, this is referred to as a “racial paradox.” Other cardiovascular recommendations beneficial to African Americans are reviewed.
Infant carrying as a tool to promote secure attachments in young mothers: Comparing intervention and control infants during the still-face paradigm

Infants of adolescent mothers have a greater risk of developing insecure attachment types and attachment disorders into adulthood. Previous research suggests that skin-to-skin contact predicts secure attachment; however, it is largely unknown whether infant carrying or "babywearing" has similar benefits. We hypothesized that adolescent mothers (Mage=19.1 years, SD = 2.0; 40.6 % Hispanic; 40 %< = 11th grade) who were randomly assigned to an infant carrying condition at 2-4 weeks' post-partum (n = 16; 1 h daily for 3 months), compared to a control group (n = 17; reading), would be more likely to have securely attached infants at 7 months (M = 29.0 weeks, SD = 3.4). We coded infant gaze orientation, fretfulness, affect, self-soothing behaviors, and vocalizations in the reunion phase of the Still-Face Paradigm, and used an algorithm derived from the infant Global Rating Scales to determine attachment type. Infants in the intervention condition were more likely to have secure attachments and less likely to have disorganized attachments compared to the control condition. Hours spent babywearing was positively correlated with secure attachment, rpb = .40, and negatively correlated with disorganized attachment, rpb =-0.36. There were no statistically significant differences between the conditions or babywearing hours for avoidant or resistant attachment types. The results suggest that infant carrying may be an effective tool at promoting secure attachments, particularly for mothers and infants at greater risk for attachment insecurity.
Debt Analyst Coverage of Private Firms

This study examines how the information provided to equity market participants shapes the information role of debt analysts in public debt markets. The corporate bond market is comprised of companies with publicly-traded equity (“public firms”) and privately-held equity (“private firms”). I exploit this distinction between private and public companies to measure variation in the amount of information produced for public equity holders. I find that debt analysts are less likely to cover private firms. Conditional on coverage, however, the frequency, length, and forward-looking content in debt analyst reports is similar across public and private firms. Further, the lack of equity market information signals increases debt analysts’ reliance on mandatory SEC filings and amplifies the bond market reaction to debt reports for private firms. Collectively, my findings shed light on the interactions between information intermediaries and other economic agents in capital markets, and how these interactions affect the corporate information environment.
Rare deleterious variants of NOTCH1, GATA4, SMAD6, and ROBO4 are enriched in BAV with early onset complications but not in BAV with heritable thoracic aortic disease

BACKGROUND Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common cardiovascular malformation in adults, with a prevalence of 0.5%-2%. The prevalence of BAV in cohorts who were ascertained due to thoracic aortic aneurysms or acute aortic dissections (TAD) is as high as 20%. However, the contribution of causal BAV genes to TAD is not known. Therefore, we evaluated rare deleterious variants of GATA4, NOTCH1, SMAD6, or ROBO4 in patients with BAV who presented with TAD. METHODS Our cohort consisted of 487 probands with Heritable Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms or Dissections (HTAD, 12% BAV, 29% female) and 63 probands with Early onset complications of Bicuspid Aortic Valve disease (EBAV, 63% TAD, 34% female). After whole exome sequencing, we functionally annotated GATA4, NOTCH1, SMAD6, and ROBO4 variants and compared the prevalence of rare variants in these genes to controls without HTAD. RESULTS We identified 11 rare deleterious variants of GATA4, SMAD6, or ROBO4 in 12 (18%) EBAV cases. The burden of rare SMAD6 and GATA4 variants was significantly enriched in EBAV but not in HTAD cases, even among HTAD cases with BAV (p < .003). CONCLUSION Rare variants of NOTCH1, ROBO4, SMAD6, or GATA4 do not significantly contribute to BAV in cohorts with HTAD. We conclude that BAV patients who present with HTAD are a genetically distinct subgroup with implications for genetic testing and prognosis.
Effects of Alcohol, Condom Request Style, and State Anger on Men’s Condom Use Resistance

Objective:The purpose of this study was to examine the distal predictors (alcohol expectancies, adversarial heterosexual beliefs) and proximal predictors (alcohol intoxication, partner’s condom use...
Moving from Pedagogy to Andragogy in Biomedical Engineering Design: Strategies for Lab-at-Home and Distance Learning

Engineering design courses are particularly challenging to deliver in online or distance modalities because of the hands-on, collaborative nature of the design process and the need for physical resources and work spaces. In this work, we describe how we rapidly transformed two design courses in the middle two years of the biomedical engineering (BME) program to an online format during the 2019 coronavirus pandemic. In addition to time and safety constraints, we identified access to design spaces with biochemistry, computing, electronic, computing, and manufacturing tools, and team-based learning as major challenges to distance learning in BME design courses. To this end, we mapped and translated various course and design activities to an online environment using a combination of customized at-home laboratory kits and distributed team structures. Drawing upon our pilot experience as well as principles from online and adult learning theories, we offer an overview of strategies to retain hands-on and team-based activities and rapidly implement BME design courses in online or distance modalities.
When Courts Do Politics: Public Interest Law and Litigation in East Africa

J. Oloka-Onyango’s When Courts Do Politics is an impressive contribution to the scholarly literature on the intersection of politics and the law. Oloka-Onyango explores the ways in which politics e...
A randomized trial of safety and pharmacodynamic interactions between a selective glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, PT150, and ethanol in healthy volunteers.

PT150, a novel competitive glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist, has proven safe in animal models, healthy volunteers, and people with depression. Our study is the first to investigate PT150’s safety with alcohol use. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate pharmacodynamic interactions between ethanol and PT150 in healthy subjects. This single-site, Phase I pilot trial consisted of community-recruited, healthy, alcohol-experienced participants aged 21–64 years. Of 32 participants screened, 11 were enrolled and randomized, one of which withdrew before intervention. PT150 (900 mg/day) was administered orally to all participants for five days. All participants received two beverage challenges on Day 1 (before PT150 administration) and Day 5 (after PT150 administration). On challenge days, they received both alcohol (16% ethanol) and placebo (1% ethanol) beverages in random order. Primary outcomes included breath alcohol level, blood pressure, heart rate, adverse events, and electrocardiogram changes. There were no statistically significant differences in vital signs or estimated blood alcohol concentrations between PT150 non-exposed and exposed groups during the ethanol challenge. There were no clinically significant abnormal electrocardiograms or serious adverse events. These data show that administration of PT150 with concurrent alcohol use is safe and well-tolerated. This study supports a future pharmacokinetic interaction study between PT150 and alcohol. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03548714.
Deep Learning optimization in remote sensing image segmentation using dilated convolutions and ShuffleNet

Semantic segmentation of land use land cover data using deep learning networks have gained significant importance in the remote sensing domain. However, deep learning architectures are computation-intensive. In this research, we propose an Atrous Shuffle-UNet network, which is designed to be lightweight. The network comprises of modified ShuffleNet units which are arranged in a similar network structure as the UNet. Atrous convolution in the proposed network increases the receptive field of the network enabling faster convergence. We compare the proposed network to state of the art deep learning architectures such as UNet, UNet with ResNet modules and a UNet with standard ShuffleNet modules. The proposed changes in the ShuffleNet units enable the network to outperform these architectures and do so with significantly less parameters.
Endovascular Transcarotid Artery Revascularization Using the Walrus Balloon Guide Catheter: Preliminary Experience.

Background The Walrus Balloon Guided System Catheter is a new generation of balloon guide catheter (BGC) designed to bypass some technical limitations of conventional BGC devices. Their utility in cervical carotid disease treatment has not been reported. We report our preliminary experience in cervical carotid treatment using the Walrus BGC to perform a modified endovascular transcarotid artery revascularization technique. Methods Patients with cervical carotid disease undergoing endovascular treatment using the Walrus BGC at our institution were identified. The pertinent baseline demographics and procedural outcomes were collected and analyzed. Results Twelve patients were included (median age, 70; 58.3% females). All patients had an imaging-confirmed cervical carotid disease that indicated intervention: 6 with high-grade cervical arteriosclerotic carotid stenosis, 2 with intraluminal thrombi, 1 with traumatic carotid dissection, and 3 patients with cervical carotid tandem occlusion along with acute ischemic stroke secondary to large vessel occlusion that required mechanical thrombectomy. Carotid artery stenting was performed in all cases, except 2 of the 3 mechanical thrombectomy cases (angioplasty only). All patients had at least periprocedural follow-up of 30 days, with no stroke, myocardial infarction, or death encountered. Conclusions We describe a modified endovascular transcarotid artery revascularization technique. We used a standard femoral access to navigate the Walrus catheter in the common carotid artery, followed by balloon inflation for proximal flow arrest or flow reversal (when connected to the aspiration pump) to deploy the carotid stent across the stenosis, while avoiding distal external carotid artery balloon occlusion. Successful treatment was achieved in all cases, with no periprocedural complications encountered.
In vitro assays for mitochondrial fusion and division.

Publisher Summary This chapter outlines two methods that have proved instrumental in recapitulating events in vitro assay that occur during mitochondrial division and fusion and led to more mechanistic models of these processes. First, the chapter outlines the methodology behind an assay developed to recapitulate the process of mitochondrial fusion in vitro . Using this in vitro fusion assay, the chapter separates outer mitochondrial membrane fusion from inner mitochondrial membrane fusion. Second, it focuses on the methodology of a coupled, continuous GTPase assay that has allowed accurately studying the kinetic properties of the dynamin-related GTPase—Dnm1, which is the master regulator of mitochondrial division. This assay will be useful for future mechanistic studies of mitochondrial division and the study of mitochondrial fusion that requires the activity of the dynamin-related GTPase, Fzo1/Mfn1/2 and Mgm1/OPA1. The importance of understanding the fundamental mechanism of mitochondrial fusion is underscored by the fact that defects in fusion have recently been linked to the onset of neurodegenerative diseases. The mechanism of mitochondrial fusion is unique. No paradigm exists for fusion of a double-membrane system. The majority of the known core mitochondrial fusion components belong uniquely to the dynamin-related GTPase family, whose members are large GTPase that regulate membrane dynamics through self-assembly.