cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Performance of Principals in the Accountability Syndrome

Evaluation of the principal is in great demand in this era of accountability. The author sug gests that principals take an offensive position by developing their own evaluative criteria.
Effects of Social Status on the Dispersal Behaviour of Juvenile Western Screech-Owls

Variation in timing and distance of dispersal movements of juvenile birds may result from differences in competitive ability. Dispersal by low-ranking juveniles may be initiated before dominants if the latter force subordinate siblings from natal areas. Conversely, when vacant territories are limited and are acquired on a first-come first-served basis, selection could operate on young to disperse as early as possible. In this case, dominant individuals with priority of access to resources in the natal area will mature more quickly and are expected to disperse first. If costs of dispersal increase with dispersal distance, dominant juveniles are expected to disperse shorter distances. Alternately, if there are advantages to long-distance dispersal, then dominants, which are in better condition, should disperse further than subordinates. We examined effects of social rank on the timing and distance (to wintering area) of dispersal movements by juvenile western screech-owls, Otus kennicottii, in southwestern Idaho. Based on observations of aggressive interactions made using video cameras attached to nestboxes, we assigned dominance ranks to nestlings within nine broods. We radiotracked young throughout the postfledging period to determine order of dispersal, and we located them after leaving their natal areas to determine distances to apparent overwintering areas. In six of seven broods, for which dispersal information could be recorded, the most dominant juvenile dispersed first. Moreover, in five of seven broods, the least dominant individual was the last individual to disperse, and the order of dispersal matched the dominance hierarchy in four of seven broods. In contrast, social status did not affect postfledging dispersal distance. We conclude that social dominance relationships influenced the timing of dispersal in juvenile western screech-owls but not distance travelled to overwinter sites. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.
The Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuresis

A 62-year-old woman who reported dysgeusia was found to have a serum sodium level of 122 mmol per liter. The serum osmolality was 250 mOsm per kilogram of water, and the urinary osmolality 635 mOsm per kilogram of water. Chest CT showed a mass in the lower lobe of the left lung, which proved to be a small-cell carcinoma. How should her hyponatremia be treated?
Prevalence and stability of self-reported sexual orientation identity during young adulthood.

Based on date from Wave 3 and Wave 4 from National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (N = 12,287), known as Add Health, the majority of young adults identified their sexual orientation as 100% heterosexual. The second largest identity group, “mostly heterosexual,” was larger than all other nonheterosexual identities combined. Comparing distributions across waves, which were approximately 6 years apart, stability of sexual orientation identity was more common than change. Stability was greatest among men and those identifying as heterosexual. Individuals who identified as 100% homosexual reported nearly the same level of stability as 100% heterosexuals. The bisexual category was the most unstable, with one quarter maintaining that status at Wave 4. Bisexual men who changed their identity distributed themselves among all other categories; among bisexual women, the most common shift was toward mostly heterosexual. Reflecting changes in identity, the proportion of heterosexuals decreased between the two waves.
Errors in radiation oncology: a study in pathways and dosimetric impact.

As complexity for treating patients increases, so does the risk of error. Some publications have suggested that record and verify (RV photon energy (6 MV vs. 18 MV), on average 16% depending on depth, electron energy, approximately 0.5 cm of depth coverage per MeV (mega-electron volt). Of these examples, incorrect distances were most likely but rapidly detected by in vivo dosimetry. Errors were categorized by occurrence rate, methods and timing of detection, longevity, and dosimetric impact. Solutions were devised according to these criteria. To date, no one has studied the dosimetric impact of global errors in radiation oncology. Although there is heightened awareness that with increased use of ancillary devices and automation, there must be a parallel increase in quality check systems and processes, errors do and will continue to occur. This study has helped us identify and prioritize potential errors in our clinic according to frequency and dosimetric impact. For example, to reduce the use of an incorrect wedge direction, our clinic employs off-axis in vivo dosimetry. To avoid a treatment distance setup error, we use both vertical table settings and optical distance indicator (ODI) values to properly set up fields. As R&V systems become more automated, more accurate and efficient data transfer will occur. This will require further analysis. Finally, we have begun examining potential intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) errors according to the same criteria.
A metabolic role for mitochondria in palmitate-induced cardiac myocyte apoptosis.

After cardiac ischemia, long-chain fatty acids, such as palmitate, increase in plasma and heart. Palmitate has previously been shown to cause apoptosis in cardiac myocytes. Cultured neonatal rat ca...
Modeling Premixed Combustion-Acoustic Wave Interactions: A Review

The interactions between acoustic waves and a premixed combustion process can play an important role in the characteristicunsteadinessofcombustiondevices.Inparticular,theyareoftenresponsiblefortheoccurrenceofselfexcited, combustion-driven oscillations that are detrimental to combustor life and performance. A tutorial review is provided of current understanding of these interactions. First, the mutual interaction mechanisms between the combustion process and acoustic, vorticity, and entropy waves are described. Then, the acoustic‐ e ame interaction literatureisreviewed,primarily focusingon modeling issues.Thisliteratureisessentially organized into fourparts, depending on its treatment of 1) linear or 2) nonlinear analyses of 1) e amelets or 2) distributed reaction zones. A sizeable theoretical literature has accumulated to model the unsteady response of the laminar e ame structure, for example, the burning rate response to pressure perturbations. However, essentially no serious experimental effort has been performed to critically assess these predictions. As such, it is dife cult to determine the state of understanding in this area. On the other hand, good agreement has been achieved between well-coordinated experiments and theory describing the interactions between inherent e ame instabilities and acoustically induced e ow oscillations. Similarly, both the linear and nonlinear kinematic response of simple laminar e ames to acoustic velocity disturbances appear to be well understood, as evidenced by the agreement between surprisingly simple theory and experiment. Other than kinematic nonlinearities, additional potential mechanisms that introduce heat release‐ acoustic nonlinearities, such as e ame holding, or extinction, have been analyzed theoretically, but lack experimentalverie cation.Unsteadyreactormodelshavebeenusedextensivelytomodelcombustionprocessesinthe distributed reaction zone regimes. None of thesepredictionsappears to have been subjected to direct experimental scrutiny. Itisunlikelythatthismodeling approach willbeusefulforquantitativecombustion responsecalculations, due to their largely heuristic nature and the dife culty in rationally modeling the key interactions between reaction rate and the global characteristics of the combustion region, such as its volume. Several areas in need of work are particularly highlighted. These include e nite amplitude effects, modeling approaches for interactions outside of the e amelet regime, turbulent e ame wrinkling effects, and unsteady vortex‐ e ame interactions.
A Kantian Critique Of The Care Tradition: Family Law And Systemic Justice

Liberal theories of justice have been rightly criticized for two things by care theorists. First, they have failed to deal with private care relations’ inherent (inter)dependency, asymmetry and particularity. Second, they have been shown unable properly to address the asymmetry and dependency constitutive of care workers’ and care-receivers’ systemic conditions. I apply Kant’s theory of right to show that current care theories unfortunately reproduce similar problems because they also argue on the assumption that good care requires only virtuous private individuals. Giving up this assumption enables us to solve the problems regarding both private care relations and systemic injustice.
Adaptive turbo reduced-rank equalization for MIMO channels

An adaptive iterative (turbo) decision-feedback equalizer (DFE) for channels with intersymbol interference (ISI) is presented. The filters are computed directly from the soft decisions and received data to minimize a least-squares (LS) cost function. Numerical results show that this method gives a substantial improvement in performance relative to a turbo DFE computed from an exact channel estimate, assuming perfect feedback. Adaptive reduced-rank estimation methods are also presented, based on the multistage Wiener filter (MSWF). The adaptive reduced-rank turbo DFE for single-input/single-output channels is extended to multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) channels with ISI and multiple receive antennas. Numerical results show that for MIMO channels with limited training, the reduced-rank turbo DFE can perform significantly better than the full-rank turbo DFE.
High-performance designs of AES transformations

Both area and throughput are significant for hardware implementations of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Previous works mostly focused on area without providing full control on critical path delay (CPD), which ultimately determines throughput. To address this issue, we propose a delay-aware common subexpression elimination (DACSE) algorithm that is novel in two aspects: it not only takes advantage of implicit common subexpressions to further reduce area, but also minimizes area while satisfying any feasible CPD requirement. Using our DACSE algorithm, we propose high-performance designs for two major transformations of the AES, MixColumns and SubBytes. Compared with prior works, our designs achieve the same or shorter CPDs with the same or smaller gate counts.
trans-spliced Caenorhabditis elegans mRNAs retain trimethylguanosine caps

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has an unusual small nuclear RNA, containing a 100-nucleotide RNA molecule, spliced leader RNA, which donates its 5' 22 nucleotides to a variety of recipient RNAs by a trans-splicing reaction. The spliced leader RNA has a 5' trimethylguanosine (TMG) cap, which becomes the 5' end of trans-spliced mRNAs. We found that mature trans-spliced mRNAs were immunoprecipitable with anti-TMG cap antibodies and that TMG-containing dinucleotides specifically competed with the trans-spliced mRNAs for antibody binding. We also found that these mRNAs retained their TMG caps throughout development and that the TMG-capped mRNAs were polysome associated. Since the large majority of C. elegans mRNAs are not trans-spliced, the addition of the spliced leader and its TMG cap to a limited group of recipient RNAs may create a functionally distinct subset of mRNAs.
Analysis of defocused image data for 3D shape recovery using a regularization technique

The reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D) information from defocused image data is formulated as an inverse-problem that is solved through a regularization technique. The technique is based on modeling the sensing of defocused images in a camera system using a three-dimensional (3D) point spread function (PSF). Many images are acquired at different levels of defocus. The difference (mean-square error) between this acquired image data and the estimated image data corresponding to an initial solution for 3D shape is minimized. The initial solution for 3D shape is obtained from a focus and defocus analysis approach. A regularization approach that uses a smoothness constraint is proposed to improve this initial solution iteratively. The performance of this approach is compared with two other approaches: (1) gradient descent based on planar surface patch approximation, and (2) a local error minimization based on a limited search. We exploit some constraints such as the positivity of image brightness unique to this problem in the optimization procedure. Our experiments show that the regularization approach performs better than the other two and that high accuracy is attainable with relatively moderate computation. Experimental results are demonstrated for geometric optics model of 3D PSF on simulated image data.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Psychometric Evaluation of the Midlife Women’s Symptom Index in Multiethnic Groups:

The Midlife Women's Symptom Index (MSI) was designed to measure menopausal symptoms specifically in a multiethnic sample of midlife women. This study involved a psychometric property test to evaluate MSI among 512 multiethnic groups of midlife women (White, Hispanic, African American, and Asian American). Across the ethnic groups, the MSI had an adequate internal consistency in all subdomains except psychosomatic symptoms. The item-total correlation coefficients of lost weight and nosebleeds were lower than .20 among all ethnic groups. The discriminant validity was confirmed among all ethnic groups except Asian Americans. Overall, the MSI may work better for Whites compared with other ethnic groups. Additional studies with diverse groups of multiethnic midlife women are needed, however, to confirm the psychometric properties of the MSI because the samples tended to be a select group.
The Association Between Socioeconomic Status, Renal Cancer Presentation, and Survival in the United States: A Survival, Epidemiology, and End Results Analysis

Objective To determine whether socioeconomic status (SES) predicts the size and local extent of tumors at presentation, and if this association leads to differences in survival. Materials and Methods The National Cancer Institute's Survival, Epidemiology, and End Results registry was queried for patients diagnosed with renal cancers between 2004 and 2010. Demographic, tumor, survival, and socioeconomic data were obtained. Cancers with T0 classification, nonrenal cell histology, or missing clinical or pathologic data were excluded. An SES measure was created from available metrics. Outcomes analyzed were tumor size, TNM classifications at diagnosis, tumor grade and histology subtype, and survival duration. Results A total of 40,212 cases were identified. On regression modeling, lower SES was an independent risk factor for tumor size ≥4 cm ( P = .003) and for T classification ≥T2 ( P = .040) at presentation, but did not predict histology subtype, positive lymph nodes, or metastasis. Lower SES predicted high-grade disease on univariate analysis ( P = .012) but lost significance in the multivariate model. Lower SES was also independently predictive of shortened cancer-specific survival on multivariate analysis after adjusting for available cofactors (lowest vs highest SES quartile; P = .001). Conclusion This study suggests that low SES is correlated with poorer survival outcomes in renal cancer, and this may be related to a tendency toward larger and more locally advanced tumors at diagnosis. Additional investigation is needed to ascertain whether these effects could be mediated by relatively lower rates of incidental detection via abdominal imaging in disadvantaged populations.
Musculoskeletal model for analyzing manipulation deformation of an automated poultry-meat deboning system

Automated handling of compliant musculoskeleton has been an area of growing interest due to the needs of processing natural products mechanically. Motivated by the interests to understand the effect of bio-structural deformation on the blade location/force in poultry industry where high yield breast meats are harvested at production speed, a dimension-based method is proposed to characterize bio-structural (bone and soft tissue) deformation when wings are manipulated during processing. This method models the clavicle bone as a compliant beam with breast meat as elastic foundation to derive a closed-form solution to characterize the deformation. The solution has been verified numerically using shooting methods. Analyses show that approximation errors vanish as external loadings increase. Another model has been developed to capture the highly nonlinear characteristics of the soft-tissue. In spite of large variation in force profiles among specimens, the model prediction closely agrees with experimental results. Finally, the musculoskeletal model has been illustratively applied to wing manipulation, which analyzed the effects of size variation on required manipulating force and shoulder deformation. This musculoskeletal model can be potentially used to develop design criteria to automate the process of de-boning chicken breast-meat. While this paper is written in the context of poultry meat de-boning, the method can be used in other bio-tissues, joints, and systems.
Treatments for Patients With Dual Diagnosis: A Review

Background: Comorbid substance use and mental illness is prevalent and often results in serious consequences. However, little is known about the efficacy of treatments for patients with dual diagnosis. Methods: This paper reviews both the psychosocial and medication treatments for those diagnosed with a substance-related disorder and one of the following disorders: (a) depression, (b) anxiety disorder, (c) schizophrenia, (d) bipolar disorder, (e) severe mental illness, and (f) nonspecific mental illness. We made no restriction of study design to include all published studies, due to the dearth of studies on treatments of patients with dual diagnosis. Results: Fifty-nine studies were identified (36 randomized-controlled trials; RCT). Limited number of studies, especially RCTs, have been conducted within each comorbid category. This review did not find treatments that had been replicated and consistently showed clear advantages over comparison condition for both substance-related and other psychiatric outcomes. Conclusions: Although no treatment was identified as efficacious for both psychiatric disorders and substance-related disorder, this review finds: (1) existing efficacious treatments for reducing psychiatric symptoms also tend to work in dual-diagnosis patients, (2) existing efficacious treatments for reducing substance use also decrease substance use in dually diagnosed patients, and (3) the efficacy of integrated treatment is still unclear. This review provides a critique of the current state of the literature, identifies the directions for future research on treatment of dual-diagnosis individuals, and calls for urgent attention by researchers and funding agencies to conduct more and more methodologically rigorous research in this area.
Espin Contains an Additional Actin-binding Site in Its N Terminus and Is a Major Actin-bundling Protein of the Sertoli Cell–Spermatid Ectoplasmic Specialization Junctional Plaque

The espins are actin-binding and -bundling proteins localized to parallel actin bundles. The 837-amino-acid “espin” of Sertoli cell–spermatid junctions (ectoplasmic specializations) and the 253-ami...
Effect of Structured Physical Activity on Respiratory Outcomes in Sedentary Elderly Adults with Mobility Limitations.

Objectives To evaluate the effect of structured physical activity on respiratory outcomes in community-dwelling elderly adults with mobility limitations. Design Multicenter, randomized trial of physical activity vs health education, with respiratory variables prespecified as tertiary outcomes over an intervention period of 24–42 months. Physical activity included walking (goal of 150 min/week) and strength, flexibility, and balance training. Health education included workshops on topics relevant to older adults and upper extremity stretching exercises. Setting Lifestyle Interventions and Independence in Elders (LIFE) Study. Participants Community-dwelling persons aged 70–89 with Short Physical Performance Battery scores less than 10 (N = 1,635). Measurements Dyspnea severity (defined as moderate to severe according to a Borg index >2 immediately after a 400-m walk), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) (<lower limit of normal (LLN) defined low breathing capacity), and maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) (<LLN defined respiratory muscle weakness) were assessed at baseline and 6, 18, and 30 months. Hospitalization for exacerbation of obstructive airways disease (EOAD) and pneumonia was also ascertained over the 42-month follow-up period. Results The randomized groups were similar in baseline demographics, including mean age (79) and sex (67% female). The effect of physical activity on dyspnea severity, FEV1, and MIP was no different from that of health education but was associated with higher likelihood of respiratory hospitalization, significantly for EOAD (hazard ratio (HR) = 2.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.19–4.61, P = .01) and marginally for pneumonia (HR = 1.54, 95% CI = 0.98–2.42, P = .06). Conclusion In older persons with mobility limitations, physical activity was associated with higher likelihood of respiratory hospitalization than health education, but differences in dyspnea severity, FEV1, and MIP did not accompany this effect—indicating that higher hospital use could be attributable to greater participant contact.
The Rigidity of Polyhedral Surfaces

1813 Cauchy: all convex polyhedral surfaces are rigid.1974 Gluck: almost all triangulated surfaces are rigid.1977 Connelly: not all triangulated surfaces are rigid.
Reply to “Letter to the editor: ‘Quantifying albumin permeability with multiphoton microscopy: why the difference?’”

reply: two-photon excitation microscopy (which also goes by the names multiphoton microscopy and nonlinear optical microscopy) has proliferated because of instrumental advances that make it as easy to use as any other fluorescence microscopy technique. Now, it is almost 15 years since completely
Modes of ever marijuana use among adult tobacco users and non-tobacco users-Styles 2014.

AbstractBackground: Tobacco and marijuana use are related behaviors; therefore, it is important to identify how users consume marijuana, and how it varies with tobacco use status. We estimated the modes of ever marijuana use among current, former, and never adult tobacco users.Methods: Weighted data were analyzed for 4181 adults from 2014 Styles, an online consumer panel survey of US adults, to estimate proportions for modes of ever marijuana use. Differences in modes of ever marijuana use between categories of tobacco use status were assessed (p-value <0.05).Results: More than half of current (56.6%) and former tobacco users (50.9%) had ever used marijuana, whereas only 13.0% of never tobacco users had ever used marijuana. Among ever marijuana users, joint use was the most common mode of use among current (86.4%), former (92.5%), and never (79.8%) tobacco users. Similarly, other modes of marijuana use were significantly higher in current and former tobacco users compared to never tobacco users.Conclusion...
Nanos-mediated repression of hid protects larval sensory neurons after a global switch in sensitivity to apoptotic signals

Dendritic arbor morphology is a key determinant of neuronal function. Once established, dendrite branching patterns must be maintained as the animal develops to ensure receptive field coverage. The translational repressors Nanos (Nos) and Pumilio (Pum) are required to maintain dendrite growth and branching of Drosophila larval class IV dendritic arborization (da) neurons, but their specific regulatory role remains unknown. We show that Nos-Pum-mediated repression of the pro-apoptotic gene head involution defective (hid) is required to maintain a balance of dendritic growth and retraction in class IV da neurons and that upregulation of hid results in decreased branching because of an increase in caspase activity. The temporal requirement for nos correlates with an ecdysone-triggered switch in sensitivity to apoptotic stimuli that occurs during the mid-L3 transition. We find that hid is required during pupariation for caspase-dependent pruning of class IV da neurons and that Nos and Pum delay pruning. Together, these results suggest that Nos and Pum provide a crucial neuroprotective regulatory layer to ensure that neurons behave appropriately in response to developmental cues.
Study on Discharge Standard of Water Pollutants for Paper Industry of Shandong Province

After the analysis of the performance evaluation based on the discharge standard of water pollutants for paper industry of Shandong Province,this paper shows the effect of local discharge standard in improving energy conservation,emission reduction,structural adjustment,technical progress and environmental quality improvement of high-consumption and high-emission industries.During implementing the scientific concept of development and promoting environmental protection,local discharge standard is the powerful tool of environmental management by using legal,economic,technological and necessary administrative measures.
Three Attempts to Establish Judicial Review in Russia

Some judicial review mechanisms are successful whereas others are not. It has been argued here that a constitutional court becomes a powerful political actor when its opinion is sought increasingly by politicians to resolve political disputes regarding the distribution of power within the government. In order to become powerful, its decisions must also be respected and enforced by other political actors. This does not happen in every instance.
Airway Pressure Release Ventilation May Result in Occult Atelectrauma in Severe ARDS.

To the Editor: In a recent issue of Respiratory Care, Mireles-Cabodevila and Kacmarek[1][1] did an excellent job reviewing the pros and cons of airway pressure release ventilation (APRV). The paper and the discussion session raised serious concerns about ARPV, particularly regarding imposed work
Structural basis for subtype-specific inhibition of the P2X7 receptor

The P2X7 receptor is a non-selective cation channel activated by extracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Chronic activation of P2X7 underlies many health problems such as pathologic pain, yet we lack effective antagonists due to poorly understood mechanisms of inhibition. Here we present crystal structures of a mammalian P2X7 receptor complexed with five structurally-unrelated antagonists. Unexpectedly, these drugs all bind to an allosteric site distinct from the ATP-binding pocket in a groove formed between two neighboring subunits. This novel drug-binding pocket accommodates a diversity of small molecules mainly through hydrophobic interactions. Functional assays propose that these compounds allosterically prevent narrowing of the drug-binding pocket and the turret-like architecture during channel opening, which is consistent with a site of action distal to the ATP-binding pocket. These novel mechanistic insights will facilitate the development of P2X7-specific drugs for treating human diseases.
Reverse engineering gene regulatory networks from measurement with missing values

Gene expression time series data are usually in the form of high-dimensional arrays. Unfortunately, the data may sometimes contain missing values: for either the expression values of some genes at some time points or the entire expression values of a single time point or some sets of consecutive time points. This significantly affects the performance of many algorithms for gene expression analysis that take as an input, the complete matrix of gene expression measurement. For instance, previous works have shown that gene regulatory interactions can be estimated from the complete matrix of gene expression measurement. Yet, till date, few algorithms have been proposed for the inference of gene regulatory network from gene expression data with missing values. We describe a nonlinear dynamic stochastic model for the evolution of gene expression. The model captures the structural, dynamical, and the nonlinear natures of the underlying biomolecular systems. We present point-based Gaussian approximation (PBGA) filters for joint state and parameter estimation of the system with one-step or two-step missing measurements. The PBGA filters use Gaussian approximation and various quadrature rules, such as the unscented transform (UT), the third-degree cubature rule and the central difference rule for computing the related posteriors. The proposed algorithm is evaluated with satisfying results for synthetic networks, in silico networks released as a part of the DREAM project, and the real biological network, the in vivo reverse engineering and modeling assessment (IRMA) network of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. PBGA filters are proposed to elucidate the underlying gene regulatory network (GRN) from time series gene expression data that contain missing values. In our state-space model, we proposed a measurement model that incorporates the effect of the missing data points into the sequential algorithm. This approach produces a better inference of the model parameters and hence, more accurate prediction of the underlying GRN compared to when using the conventional Gaussian approximation (GA) filters ignoring the missing data points.
Morphology and plasticity of maize (Zea mays L.) male inflorescence development and pollen production

A copious quantity of pollen production is desirable from the male parent in hybrid maize (Zea mays L.) seed production. However tassel size and presumably pollen production varies across environments. This research was conducted to better understand if variation in pollen production is due to stress during initiation of specific pollen production components. If component compensation for pollen production occurs, then components that form later should show plasticity with reduced production of earlier formed components. This was also investigated. To conduct such studies, a pollen production measurement technique was devised since current methods do not adequately quantify total pollen produced per tassel. In addition, knowledge of the morphological development of tassel components that lead to pollen production is critical for these studies. Thus tassel morphological development was characterized relative to plant development and heat units. To develop best management practices for high pollen production, a reliable pollen production measurement tool is necessary. A new method was developed involving extraction of pre-shed pollen from tassels through grinding tassels, wet sieving to separate pollen from tassel debris, and counting pollen. This technique compared favorably with other established pollen yield measurement techniques. Benefits of the new technique include the quantification of all pollen produced by a single tassel, a direct count of pollen grains, and a comparatively low CV. This technique is resource intensive compared to other methods. Tassel developmental events leading to pollen production were characterized in relation to plant development and heat unit accumulation in two modern dent inbreds. Tassel initiation occurred from fourth leaf stage, six leaf tips (V4:T6) to V5:T7. Branch meristems appeared promptly after tassel initiation. Pollen mother cells entered meiosis from V9:T14 to V12:T15. In this study the rate of tassel development relative to leaf emergence was the same between inbreds, but the rate of plant development relative to accumulated heat units
Probing the influence of SIBLING proteins on collagen-I fibrillogenesis and denaturation.

ABSTRACTBone tissue is comprised of collagen, non-collagenous proteins, and hydroxyapatite and the SIBLING (small integrin binding, N-linked glycoprotein) family of proteins is the primary group of non-collagenous proteins. By replicating the native interactions between collagen and the SIBLING proteins at the interface of an implant, it is believed that a bone scaffold will more easily integrate with the surrounding tissue. In this work, bone sialoprotein, osteopontin (OPN), dentin sialoprotein (DSP), dentin phosphoprotein (DPP), C-terminal fragment of dentin matrix protein 1 (DMP1-C), and proteoglycan versions of DSP (DSP-PG) and DMP1 (DMP1-PG) were tested individually to determine their roles in collagen fibrillogenesis and the prevention of denaturation. It was shown that DSP and DPP slowed down fibrillogenesis, while other SIBLINGs had limited impact. In addition, the denaturation time was faster in the presence of DSP and OPN, indicating a negative impact. The role of calcium ions in these processes...
On the cohomology groups of certain quotients of products of upper half planes and upper half spaces

Abstract A theorem of Matsushima–Shimura shows that the space of harmonic differential forms on the quotient of products of upper half planes under the action of certain groups, when the quotient is compact, is the direct sum of two subspaces called the universal and cuspidal subspaces. We generalize this result to compact quotients of products of upper half planes and upper half spaces (hyperbolic three spaces) under the action of certain groups to obtain a similar decomposition.
Answer to June 2016 Photo Quiz

Answer: Naegleria fowleri . Naegleria fowleri is a free-living ameba commonly found in warm freshwater environments such as hot springs, lakes, and natural mineral water ([4][1]). It causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), an acute fatal disease of the central nervous system (CNS). The
Lessons learned from 29 lymphoepithelial cysts of the pancreas: institutional experience and review of the literature.

Abstract Background Lymphoepithelial cysts (LECs) are rare pancreatic cystic lesions. Since LECs are benign, preoperative diagnosis is important to differentiate from a cystic neoplasm and avoid unnecessary surgery. The aim of this study was to identify clinical, radiographic and cytopathologic features associated with LECs. Methods A retrospective review was performed of patients diagnosed with LEC between 1995 and 2017 at our hospital. Clinicopathologic and radiographic imaging features were documented. Results Of 29 patients with pancreatic LEC, 22 underwent surgical resection. The majority were male (n = 24) with a median age of 55 years (range, 21-74). During the evaluation, all patients underwent a CT, with endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy (n = 22) and/or MRI/MRCP (n = 11) performed in a smaller number of patients. A combination of exophytic tumor growth on imaging and the presence of specific cytomorphologic features on the EUS-FNA cytology biopsy led to the correct diagnosis of LEC and prevention of unnecessary surgery in 7 patients. Discussion Differentiating LECs from premalignant pancreatic cystic neoplasms remains difficult. Findings of an exophytic growth pattern of the lesion on abdominal imaging and the presence of specific cytomorphologic features in the EUS-FNA biopsy could help clinicians diagnose LEC preoperatively.
Response to Difficult Patients in Group Analysis: The Personification of I:A/M

The author focuses on the application of Hopper's proposal of an additional basic assumption (I:A/M) using a model of “clinicians' theories”: bridging theory, psychological theory, and clinical theory (Michels, 1999). This paper will describe the potential for advances in understanding particular group formations seen in clinical practice and other settings.
Engineered protein scaffolds as leads for synthetic inhibitors of protein–protein interactions

Rationally designed protein-protein interaction inhibitors mimic interfacial binding epitopes, specifically residues that contribute significantly to binding. However, direct mimicry often does not lead to high affinity ligands because the natural complexes themselves are functionally transient and of low affinity. The mimics typically need to be optimized for potency. Engineered proteins displaying conformationally-defined epitopes may serve as attractive alternatives to natural protein partners as they can be strictly screened for tight binding. The advantage of focused screens with conformationally-defined protein scaffolds is that conservation of the geometry of the natural binding epitopes may preserve binding site specificity while allowing direct mimicry by various synthetic secondary structure scaffolds. Here we review different classes of engineered proteins for their binding epitope geometry and as leads for synthetic secondary and tertiary structure mimics.
Long-term declines of a highly interactive urban species

Urbanization generates shifts in wildlife communities, with some species increasing their distribution and abundance, while others decline. We used a dataset spanning 15 years to assess trends in distribution and habitat dynamics of the black-tailed prairie dog, a highly interactive species, in urban habitat remnants in Denver, CO, USA. Both available habitat and number of prairie dog colonies declined steeply over the course of the study. However, we did observe new colonization events that correlated with habitat connectivity. Destruction of habitat may be slowing, but the rate of decline of prairie dogs apparently remained unaffected. By using our estimated rates of loss of colonies throughout the study, we projected a 40% probability that prairie dogs will be extirpated from this area by 2067, though that probability could range as high as 50% or as low as 20% depending on the rate of urban development (i.e. habitat loss). Prairie dogs may fulfill important ecological roles in urban landscapes, and could persist in the Denver area with appropriate management and habitat protections.
The impact of wildfire smoke on compositions of fine particulate matter by ecoregion in the Western US.

Epidemiological studies of wildfire PM2.5 constituents are hindered by the limited information on the population exposure to ambient PM2.5 constituents during high-pollution episodes from wildfires ("smoke waves"). The chemical composition of wildfire-related PM2.5 can be affected by different ecosystems. Current literature assessing the differences in PM2.5 pollution from wildfire smoke by ecosystems often analyzes air samples collected from the smoke near the center of an individual fire, but the results might not represent the exposure of the general public living away from the fire center but affected by the smoke of the fire. We assessed the population-based exposure to wildfire-related PM2.5 species by integrating monitor measurements on 29 PM2.5 species and previous findings on smoke waves during 2004-2009 in 51 Western US counties across six ecoregions. We found that across all ecoregions, smoke waves were associated with an increase in the fraction of organic carbon of total PM2.5 by 20 percentage points (95% confidence interval (CI): 17, 23), an increase in the fraction of elemental carbon by 0.99 percentage points (95% CI: 0.43, 1.6), and decreases in fractions of sulfate and crustal species. While the PM2.5 mixtures were dominated by the same source (wildfires), compositions in North American Deserts and the Great Plains during smoke waves were distinct. Besides expanding the knowledge of wildfire PM2.5, our study has implications beyond wildfires and could aid future population-based epidemiological research on PM2.5 mixtures by source and region.
Defining the things we can change to improve access to mental health care

Access and utilization of mental health care are critical components of ensuring public health. In this conceptual article, we define modifiable factors affecting mental health care utilization with the goal of providing a pragmatic framework for providers and clinics to increase access to mental health care. Five shared constructs emerged from a review of prominent health behavior theories: (a) mental illness beliefs, knowledge, and recognition; (b) mental health treatment beliefs and knowledge; (c) stigma including perceived norms, public stigma, and self-stigma; (d) help-seeking behaviors including knowledge, motivation, self-efficacy, and skills; and (e) external barriers and facilitators such as cues, logistics, and social support. We explore how these constructs influence mental health care utilization including interpretation and perception of mental health symptoms, acceptability and awareness of treatment options, and skills and ability to find, schedule, and attend mental health care. Finally, we make recommendations on how this broader framework can be used by primary care clinician innovators to implement interventions to reduce disparities and improve access to mental health care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Sector retinitis pigmentosa: Report of ten cases and a review of the literature.

Purpose To describe the genotypes and phenotypes of ten patients with sector retinitis pigmentosa (RP). We also review previously reported mutations associated with sector RP and provide a discussion of possible underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. Methods Patients underwent detailed ophthalmologic examinations, fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), as well as visual field and electroretinographic testing. All patients underwent genetic testing to identify the molecular etiology of their disease. Results A total of ten patients were studied. Among these patients, nine had mutations in RHO (c.677T>C; p.Leu226Pro (novel), c.68C>A; p.Pro23His, c.808A>C; p.Ser270Arg, c.44A>G; p.Asn15Ser, and c.325G>A; p.Gly109Arg), and one patient had a mutation in RPGR (c.3092_3093delAG; p.Glu1031Glyfs*47). All patients with missense mutations in RHO had visual acuities (VAs) better than 20/30 and showed a retained foveal ellipsoid zone and overlying retinal structures. The patient with the c.3092_3093delAG deletion in RPGR had VA of 20/60 oculus dexter (OD) and 20/400 oculus sinister (OS), as well as significant foveal thinning and contour atrophy. All patients showed pigmentary changes, or marked atrophy along the inferior arcades, or both. This pattern of degeneration corresponded to hypo- and hyperFAF and superior visual defects. Conclusions Sector RP is an uncommon form of RP in which only one or two retinal quadrants display clinical pathological signs. The great majority of cases result from mutations in RHO. The present data confirmed previously reported phenotypic manifestations of sector RP. Inferior retinal quadrants are possibly more severely affected due to greater light exposure.
Developing Data-Driven Solutions to Firearm Violence

Firearm-related injuries remain a major public health crisis in the USA with significant impact on society. Communities nationwide have a growing need for solutions to mitigate the public health impact through data-driven innovative solutions built on the collective expertise of multiple stakeholders. There is an overall increasing incidence of firearm-related injuries over the past couple of years with more severe injuries and a higher mortality rate. The best available data clearly shows that restrictive legislation, non-liberal licensing, comprehensive background checks, and responsible firearm ownership are associated with lower firearm injury rates. A nationwide firearm research infrastructure is also needed to verify the potential role of these solutions. Firearm-related injuries remain a multifaceted national public health crisis that imposes a significant burden on many medical and social systems. Multiple data-driven targeted interventions can address different dimensions of the problem.
An arrestin-1 surface opposite of its interface with photoactivated rhodopsin engages with enolase-1

Arrestin-1 is the arrestin family member responsible for inactivation of the G protein–coupled receptor rhodopsin in photoreceptors. Arrestin-1 is also well-known to interact with additional protein partners and to affect other signaling cascades beyond phototransduction. In this study, we investigated one of these alternative arrestin-1 binding partners, the glycolysis enzyme enolase-1, to map the molecular contact sites between these two proteins and investigate how the binding of arrestin-1 affects the catalytic activity of enolase-1. Using fluorescence quench protection of strategically placed fluorophores on the arrestin-1 surface, we observed that arrestin-1 primarily engages enolase-1 along a surface that is opposite of the side of arrestin-1 that binds photoactivated rhodopsin. Using this information, we developed a molecular model of the arrestin-1–enolase-1 complex, which was validated by targeted substitutions of charge-pair interactions. Finally, we identified the likely source of arrestin's modulation of enolase-1 catalysis, showing that selective substitution of two amino acids in arrestin-1 can completely remove its effect on enolase-1 activity while still remaining bound to enolase-1. These findings open up opportunities for examining the functional effects of arrestin-1 on enolase-1 activity in photoreceptors and their surrounding cells.
Intractable Scapular Pain Due to Undiagnosed Osteoid Osteoma: A Case Report

A 36-year-old female patient presented to our stroke neurology clinic for progressively worsening intractable, sharp, shooting interscapular pain radiating to the right shoulder and neck, which she had experienced for 4 years. She had previously seen an orthopedist and was referred to a neurosurgeon for surgical intervention after an MRI of the cervical spine showed the C3-C4 right vertebral artery loop protruding into the right C3-C4 neural foramen and compressing the exiting C4 nerve root. MR neurography showed a stable tortuous right vertebral artery loop, causing a mass effect on the dorsal root ganglion. A neuroforaminal decompression surgery was planned. However, the patient visited our stroke neurology clinic for a second opinion before surgery. An MRI of the thoracic spine showed an enhancing soft tissue mass at the right T4-T5 pedicles and adjacent body. A chest CT with contrast showed a 1 cm radiolucent lesion in the superior articular facet of T5, which represented a nidus. A technetium bone scan showed focal increased uptake within the right T5 pedicle, which is indicative of osteoid osteoma. The patient underwent laminectomy/resection and was pain-free at a 6-month follow-up; biopsy confirmed osteoid osteoma. This case illustrates the importance of neurolocalization during diagnostic testing.
Understanding and Addressing Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors in Children with Autism

Restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) in ASD include stereotyped movement, repetitive use of objects and speech, restricted interests, insistence on sameness, and atypical sensory responses. The way these symptoms present vary across children and development, but often cause significant challenges for individuals and families. Although comprehensive treatment approaches have shown limited effect on RRBs in young children, there are effective strategies to reduce RRBs and/or their effect on children and families. These include a range of behavioral and cognitive behavioral strategies such as functional communication training, use of visual schedules and cues, interruption and redirection, physical exercise, differential reinforcement, and exposure and response prevention, all to be discussed in this chapter.