cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Trans-dominant cellular inhibition of DC-SIGN-mediated HIV-1 transmission

Dendritic cell (DC) transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to CD4+ T cells occurs across a point of cell-cell contact referred to as the infectious synapse. The relationship between the infectious synapse and the classically defined immunological synapse is not currently understood. We have recently demonstrated that human B cells expressing exogenous DC-SIGN, DC-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3 (ICAM-3)-grabbing nonintegrin, efficiently transmit captured HIV type 1 (HIV-1) to CD4+ T cells. K562, another human cell line of hematopoietic origin that has been extensively used in functional analyses of DC-SIGN and related molecules, lacks the principal molecules involved in the formation of immunological synaptic junctions, namely major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules and leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1). We thus examined whether K562 erythroleukemic cells could recapitulate efficient DC-SIGN-mediated HIV-1 transmission (DMHT). Here we demonstrate that DMHT requires cell-cell contact. Despite similar expression of functional DC-SIGN, K562/DC-SIGN cells were inefficient in the transmission of HIV-1 to CD4+ T cells when compared with Raji/DC-SIGN cells. Expression of MHC class II molecules or LFA-1 on K562/DC-SIGN cells was insufficient to rescue HIV-1 transmission efficiency. Strikingly, we observed that co-culture of K562 cells with Raji/DC-SIGN cells impaired DMHT to CD4+ T cells. The K562 cell inhibition of transmission was not directly exerted on the CD4+ T cell targets and required contact between K562 and Raji/DC-SIGN cells. DMHT is cell type dependent and requires cell-cell contact. We also find that the cellular milieu can negatively regulate DC-SIGN transmission of HIV-1 in trans.
Proliferative expansion and acquisition of effector activity by memory CD4+ T cells in the lungs following pulmonary virus infection

The memory CD4 + T cell response to the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) attachment (G) protein in the lungs of primed BALB/c mice undergoing challenge pulmonary RSV infection is dominated by effector T cells expressing a single Vβ-chain, Vβ14. We have used Vβ14 expression to examine the kinetics of the activation, accumulation, and acquisition of the effector activity of memory CD4 + T cells responding to pulmonary infection. This analysis revealed that proliferative expansion and effector CD4 + T cell differentiation preferentially occur in the respiratory tract following rapid activation within and egress from the lymph nodes draining the respiratory tract. These findings suggest that, in response to natural infection at a peripheral mucosal site such as the lungs, memory CD4 + T cell expansion and differentiation into activated effector T cells may occur predominantly in the peripheral site of infection rather than exclusively in the lymph nodes draining the site of infection.
Sites of Organic Acid Production and Patterns of Digesta Movement in the Gastrointestinal Tract of Dogs

Twelve swine were used to assess the movement of fluid and particulate digesta through their gastrointestinal tracts and to determine the diurnal variations in organic acid levels for various segments of the tract. Animals were fed twice daily at 12-hour intervals. Fluid (polyethylene glycol and chromium-labeled ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid) and particulate markers (2 mm OD, and 2 mm and 1 and 2 cm long) were administration of markers. The gastrointestinal tract was divided into 12 segments for measurements of markers, pH, volatile fatty acids (VFA), and lactic acid (LA) contents. The data indicated a rapid evacuation of the fluid and the smaller particles from the stomach and their relatively rapid passage through the small intestine and cecum. There was, however, prolonged retention of both fluid and particulate markers first in the ascending and then in the descending colon. Larger particles (2 cm) were retained in the stomach throughout much of the 60-hour experimental period. LA levels were observed 8 hours postfeeding. The highest levels of VFA in gastric contents averaged 20 mmoles/liter. Gastrointestinal pH values showed significant changes with time postfeeding only within the stomach, where they did not reflect the changes in LA of VFA concentrations. VFA constituted 92% of the organic acids present in the large intestine. Their concentrations varied markedly with time (150-230 mmoles/liter), but the VFA at all times constituted the major anions in the large intestinal contents. The results demonstrated that digesta can be retained for prolonged periods of time in that swine stomach and colon. The high concentrations of organic acids also indicated that substantial degrees of microbial digestion of carbohydrates occurred at both sites.
Analysis of voltage collapse in structure preserving models of power systems

Unlike systems described by ordinary differential equations, the structure preserving model of the power system is described by a mixed set of differential and algebraic equations. The concept of bifurcation and its implication for voltage collapse is investigated. The authors clarify the problem of voltage collapse from the viewpoint of the structure preserving model of power systems. Bifurcation points of the algebraic equation and their relationship with voltage stability problems are explored. The dynamics of voltage collapse near the bifurcation surfaces of the algebraic equations is explicitly described using singular perturbation theory. The results are illustrated by a simple power system example. >
Disadvantaged Adult Learners: Can Career Counseling Enhance Adult Education Program Effectiveness?

The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term impact of career counseling on the career development of educationally disadvantaged adult education students. Follow-up questionnaires were ma...
A Guide to the Discharging Method

We provide a “how-to” guide to the use and application of the Discharging Method. Our aim is not to exhaustively survey results that have been proved by this technique, but rather to demystify the technique and facilitate its wider use. Along the way, we present some new proofs and new problems.
862 — The sequence and energetics of cell membrane transductive coupling to intracellular enzyme systems☆

Abstract We have shown that weak oscillating electromagnetic fields in the pericellular environment modulate key steps in coupling of signals from humoral stimuli at cell surface receptors to intracellular systems. This paper summarizes evidence that enzymatic activity within the cell provides sensitive molecular markers about both the sequence and the energetics of transmembrane coupling mechanisms. As research tools, these imposed fields appear to offer unique opportunities for understanding highly non-linear, non-equilibrium aspects of these coupling mechanisms, including the basis for amplification of weak pericellular stimuli to achieve an energetic threshold in signaling to intracellular enzyme systems. A three-stage model of membrane transductive coupling is proposed: a first stage in which weak pericellular electrochemical oscillations and binding of humoral stimulating molecules at receptor sites initiates a highly cooperative modification of calcium binding, a second stage involving transmission of signals initiated at receptor sites to the cell interior; and a third stage dealing with intracellular response to the transmembrane signal. Low frequency pulsed magnetic fields modulate stimulation of adenylate cyclase by parathyroid hormone (PTH) in bone cells. From collateral studies of field effects on PTH-binding to its receptor and from studies of fluoride activation of adenylate cyclase, there is evidence that an important field action is on membrane coupling proteins between receptors for PTH and adenylate cyclase. In addition to an action on adenylate cyclase, weak pericellular fields modulate activity of messenger enzymes, the protein kinases, and of an enzyme essential for cell growth, omithine decarboxylase. In human lymphocytes, cAMP-independent protein kinases are transiently inhibited by exposure to weak (athermal) microwave fields sinusoidally modulated at 16 Hz. In liver and ovary cells exposed to the same fields, and in bone cells exposed to low frequency pulsed magnetic fields, omithine decarboxylase activity is increased. Experimental data and models interrelating the pericellular electrochemical environment, cancer-promoting phorbol esters and activities of protein kinases and ornithine decarboxylase are discussed.
The reflection-antisymmetric counterpart of the Kármán-Howarth dynamical equation

Abstract We study the isotropic, helical component in homogeneous turbulence using statistical objects which have the correct symmetry and parity properties. Using these objects we derive an analogue of the Karman–Howarth equation, that arises due to lack of mirror-reflection-symmetry in isotropic flows. The main equation we obtain is consistent with the results of Chkhetiani [JETP 63 (1996) 768] and L’vov et al. [Exact result for the 3rd order correlations of velocity in turbulence with helicity, 1997. http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/chao-dyn/9705016 ] but is derived using only velocity correlations, with no direct consideration of the vorticity or helicity. This alternative formulation offers an advantage to both experimental and numerical measurements. We also postulate, under the assumption of self-similarity, the existence of a hierarchy of scaling exponents for helical velocity correlation functions of arbitrary order, analogous to the Kolmogorov prediction for the scaling exponents of velocity structure function.
Neuronal control of leech swimming movements: interactions between cell 60 and previously described oscillator neurons

A recently discovered member of the neuronal oscillator underlying swimming movements in the medicinal leech,Hirudo medicinalis, is described. This interneuron, named cell 60, exhibits membrane potential oscillations that are phase-locked to the swim oscillations observed in other oscillator neurons (phase angle, approximately 220°) and, when depolarized, acts to shift the phase of the swim oscillations. The soma of cell 60 lies near the posterior-lateral margin on the ventral aspect of most (and possibly all) segmental ganglia. The neurite crosses the midline, then turns anteriorly and projects into the lateral intersegmental connective. Cell 60 is connected to cell 28, a previously described dorsal swim oscillator neuron, via an electrically rectifying junction. Two interactions link cell 60 with cell 208, a swim oscillator neuron found on the ventral aspect of segmental ganglia: a short-latency, fatiguing inhibitory synapse and a powerful electrical interaction. The electrical interaction acts as a diode, in that current can pass from cell 60 to cell 208, but not in the reverse direction. The coupling coefficient in the forward direction is about 0.5 and is independent of the membrane potential difference between cells 60 and 208 provided that the ‘diode’ connection is forward biased. The rectifying junction acts as a switch which is ‘off’ during swimming activity because cell 208 oscillations are superimposed on a tonic depolarization of about 10–15 mV. This tonic potential reverse biases the electrical ‘diode’ connection between cell 60 and cell 208, leaving the inhibitory synapse as the only effective interaction between these cells. The diode switch is ‘on’ when cell 208 is hyperpolarized. In this circumstance, the dominant connection is electrical; therefore induced potential oscillations in cell 60 induce in-phase oscillations in cell 208.
Tax-Exempt Institutions, Non-Tax-Exempt Institutions, and Dividend Clientele

Using overall institutional holdings as the proxy for tax-exempt investors, many existing literature has found mostly unfavorable evidence against dividend clientele theories. This paper categorizes institutions into two types, tax-exempt and non-tax-exempt institutions, to test dividend clientele theories. By examining the changes of institutional holdings after extreme dividend policy changes, we find that both tax-exempt and non-tax-exempt institutions tend to increase (decrease) holdings after firms initiate (omit) dividends. Moreover, when firms substantially decrease dividends, tax-exempt institutions are likely to reduce their holdings, while non-tax-exempt institutions tend to increase holdings. Our findings suggest that the traditional method using all institutional holdings as a proxy of tax-exempt institutional ownership may be problematic. In addition, because non-tax-exempt institutions prefer dividend-paying stocks to non-dividend-paying stocks, but favor stocks paying fewer dividends to more, so the traditional cross-sectional regressions of firm dividends neglect the fact that different dividend levels can have opposite impacts on non-tax-exempt institutions' preferences. This may partly generate the current unfavorable empirical evidence of the dividend clientele theory.
Should all patients have a resting 12-lead ECG before elective noncardiac surgery?

If the risk is low, an ECG could unnecessarily delay surgery, drive up costs, trigger further testing, and increase anxiety.
Combining Prostate Specific Antigen with Cancer and Gland Volume to Predict More Reliably Pathological Stage: The Influence of Prostate Specific Antigen Cancer Density

AbstractThe serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level was determined in 311 men with documented prostate cancer (stages T1cN0, T2N0 and T3N0) before bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy and radical retropubic prostatectomy. The prostates were whole mounted, serially sectioned, and examined for cancer volume, capsular perforation, seminal vesicle invasion, lymph node involvement, Gleason grade, nuclear grade and nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid content. Median serum PSA level was significantly different between cancers that were organ confined, those that had capsular perforation or seminal vesicle invasion and those with positive lymph nodes (p <0.001). Median serum PSA level was also significantly different between tumors with Gleason scores of less than 6 and those with higher Gleason scores (p <0.001), and between tumors with greater than 30% of poorly differentiated cancer (Gleason primary grades 4 and 5) and those with 30% or less poorly differentiated cancer (p <0.001). Bivariate analysis revealed that t...
Effect of pulse spectral structure on inhomogeneous absorption in a resonant molecular absorber

In a multitier classification of molecular energy levels in the vibrational QC of polyatomic molecules the laser is strongly coupled to the molecules via the first tier states. For C2F5Cl, an inhomogeneously broadened small-signal absorption Implied essential decoupling of the first tier states.1 Obviously, the extent of first-tier coupling is governed by the saturation characteristics. We present an analysis of the effect of pulse spectral structure on a study of the absorption characteristics of a molecular system.
An application of the constraint programming to the design and operation of synthetic aperture radars

The design and operation of synthetic aperture radars require compatible sets of hundreds of quantities. Compatibility is achieved when these quantities satisfy constraints arising from physics, geometry etc. In the aggregate these quantities and constraints form a logical model of the radar. In practice the logical model is distributed over multiple people, documents and software modules thereby becoming fragmented. Fragmentation gives rise to inconsistencies and errors. The SAR Inference Engine addresses the fragmentation problem by implementing the logical model of a Sandia synthetic aperture radar in a form that is intended to be usable from system design to mission planning to actual operation of the radar. These diverse contexts require extreme flexibility that is achieved by employing the constraint programming paradigm.
The Relaparotomy in the Delayed (2–3 Week) Postoperative Period

The main questions when approaching a patient who potentially requires a relaparotomy in the delayed postoperative period can be split into the following categories: preoperative decision-making, intra-operative management, and postoperative challenges. The most important question to answer preoperatively is whether this patient indeed requires another laparotomy or will the cure, operative, or non-operative be worse than the situation at hand. Advances in imaging techniques, particularly computed tomography, not only have greatly enhanced our ability to make more educated decisions regarding the need for reoperation but have also greatly assisted our ability to preoperatively plan. Reentry into the abdomen can be difficult. An extension of the existing open incision or even an alternate incision may be helpful in gaining entry into the peritoneal cavity. Limiting the re-exploration to the minimum that is needed to address the issues at hand without causing further harm is essential. Utilizing native tissue for closure is the most desired option if at all possible. If the fascia will not close without tension, a fascial release with or without buttressing with an underlay of vicryl mesh or a biologic can be used. Postoperatively, the re-operative patient is at a much higher risk for wound complications and fascial dehiscence than after the primary operation. The surgical site should be carefully inspected for any signs and symptoms of infection and/or dehiscence. In conclusion, relaparotomy in the delayed postoperative period can be accomplished safely. Taking a stepwise approach to the patient is essential as there are potential pitfalls at every step.
The so-called Sainte-Chapelle Windows of Soissons Cathedral: another look

The stained glass in the axial chapel of Soissons Cathedral was moved there from the nave in the late eighteenth century. It was made circa 1250 by the "principal atelier" of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, and consists of fragments that survived the Huguenot attacks of 1567. This study establishes that these figural fragments glazed the nave aisles, while coeval grisailles -which survive only minimally- glazed the nave clerestories. The grisailles, known chiefly from nineteenth-century drawings, thus provide evidence for the nave glazing in the Lower Chapel of the Sainte-Chapelle, which was lost in 1690.
Assessment of Cost Drivers in Transsphenoidal Approaches for Resection of Pituitary Tumors Using the Value-Driven Outcome Database.

Background Reducing health care costs while improving quality of care has become imperative in neurosurgical care. The Value-Driven Outcome database at the University of Utah identifies cost drivers and tracks changes over time. Methods Retrospective review was performed for transsphenoidal resections of pituitary adenomas from July 2012 to September 2016. Total cost, subcategory costs, and potential cost drivers were evaluated. Results There were 272 patients (mean age 51.5 years ± 17.7, 45.6% male) with mean length of stay of 4 days ± 4 evaluated. Total costs included facility utilization (60%), physician professional fees (16%), pharmacy (11%), supplies and implants (7%), laboratory studies (5%), and imaging (1%). Facility costs were driven by neurocritical care unit (30.7%), neurosurgical operating room (16.6%), and neurosurgical floor (11.2%) costs. Multivariable linear regression, after adjusting for length of stay and American Society of Anesthesiologists grade, showed that overall cost was heavily influenced by facility utilization (ρ = 0.98, P = 0.001), pharmacy (ρ = 0.71, P = 0.001), supplies and implants (ρ = 0.51, P = 0.0001), imaging (ρ = 0.51, P = 0.0001), and laboratory (ρ = 0.79, P = 0.001) costs. The top 10 outlier patients accounted for 18.7% of total costs (mean cost for all patients 0.24% ± 0.29). Conclusions Our results highlight the importance of facility utilization and pharmaceutical, supply/implant, imaging, and laboratory costs as overall cost drivers during transsphenoidal pituitary tumor resection. Facility utilization was a stronger cost driver than any other aspect of care. Strategies to mitigate cost include stratifying low-risk patients to an intermediate care unit and reducing length of stay.
Next generation deep sequencing corrects diagnostic pitfalls of traditional molecular approach in a patient with prenatal onset of Pompe disease

Pompe disease is a rare inherited metabolic disorder of glycogen metabolism caused by mutations in the GAA gene, encoding the acid α-1,4 glucosidase. Successful diagnosis of Pompe disease is achieved by clinical and biochemical evaluation followed by confirmation with DNA testing. Here, we report a male infant with a prenatal onset of cardiac symptoms and enzyme testing consistent with Pompe disease, but DNA testing by Sanger sequencing revealed no pathogenic variants. Due to the strong indication from clinical, enzymatic, and histological studies (despite the absence of molecular confirmation by traditional Sanger sequencing), enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) for Pompe disease was initiated. Reanalysis of the patient's DNA sample using next generation sequencing (NGS) of a panel of target genes causing glycogen storage disorders demonstrated compound heterozygosity for a point mutation and an exonic deletion in the GAA gene. This case illustrates the value of astute clinical judgement in patient management as well as the power of target capture deep NGS in the simultaneous detection of both a point mutation and a heterozygous exonic deletion by correcting pitfalls of the traditional PCR based sequencing, namely; allele dropout and the inability to detect exonic deletions.
Raising IQ among school-aged children: Five meta-analyses and a review of randomized controlled trials.

Abstract In this paper, we examine nearly every available randomized controlled trial that attempts to raise IQ in children from once they begin kindergarten until pre-adolescence. We use meta-analytic procedures when there are more than three studies employing similar methods, reviewing individual interventions when too few replications are available for a quantitative analysis. All studies included in this synthesis are on non-clinical populations. This yields five fixed-effects meta-analyses on the roles of dietary supplementation with multivitamins, iron, and iodine, as well as executive function training, and learning to play a musical instrument. We find that supplementing a deficient child with multivitamins raises their IQ, supplementing a deficient child with iodine raises their IQ, and learning to play a musical instrument raises a child’s IQ. The role of iron, and executive function training are unreliable in their estimates. We also subject each meta-analytic result to a series of robustness checks. In each meta-analysis, we discuss probable causal mechanisms for how each of these procedures raises intelligence. Though each meta-analysis includes a moderate to small number of studies (
Cultural adaptation of a pediatric functional assessment for rehabilitation outcomes research

Significant racial and ethnic health care disparities experienced by Hispanic children with special health care needs (CSHCN) create barriers to enacting culturally competent rehabilitation services. One way to minimize the impact of disparities in rehabilitation is to equip practitioners with culturally relevant functional assessments to accurately determine service needs. Current approaches to culturally adapting assessments have three major limitations: use of inconsistent translation processes; current processes assess for some, but not all, elements of cultural equivalence; and limited evidence to guide decision making about whether to undertake cultural adaptation with and without language translation. The aims of this observational study are (a) to examine similarities and differences of culturally adapting a pediatric functional assessment with and without language translation, and (b) to examine the feasibility of cultural adaptation processes. The Young Children’s Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM), a pediatric functional assessment, underwent cultural adaptation (i.e., language translation and cognitive testing) to establish Spanish and English pilot versions for use by caregivers of young CSHCN of Mexican descent. Following language translation to develop a Spanish YC-PEM pilot version, 7 caregivers (4 Spanish-speaking; 3 English-speaking) completed cognitive testing to inform decisions regarding content revisions to English and Spanish YC-PEM versions. Participant responses were content coded to established cultural equivalencies. Coded data were summed to draw comparisons on the number of revisions needed to achieve cultural equivalence between the two versions. Feasibility was assessed according to process data and data quality. Results suggest more revisions are required to achieve cultural equivalence for the translated (Spanish) version of the YC-PEM. However, issues around how the participation outcome is conceptualized were identified in both versions. Feasibility results indicate that language translation processes require high resource investment, but may increase translation quality. However, use of questionnaires versus interview methods for cognitive testing may have limited data saturation. Results lend preliminary support to the need for and feasibility of cultural adaptation with and without language translation. Results inform decisions surrounding cultural adaptations with and without language translation and thereby enhance cultural competence and quality assessment of healthcare need within pediatric rehabilitation.
Effects of Acarbose on Experimental Diabetic Nephropathy, Metabolic Control, and Intestinal Glycosidase Activity in Normal and Genetically Diabetic Mice

Acarbose is a complex oligosaccharide and a potent inhibitor of intestinal glycosidase activity. It decreases postprandial hyperglycemia and is most effective when administered with a carbohydrate-containing meal. In the present studies acarbose was given to normal and genetically diabetic mice (C57 BL db/db) for periods ranging from 1 to 10 weeks. Acarbose was administered as a drug-food mixture with a concentration of 40 mg per 100 g chow. In normal nondiabetic controls acarbose did not influence growth, food, or water consumption during a 10-week observation period. In diabetic mice acarbose reduced water intake, urinary glucose excretion, and glycosylated hemoglobin but did not affect body growth, food intake, or fasting blood glucose. After 10 weeks of treatment diabetic nephropathy was significantly attenuated, as judged by decreased glomerular mesangial immunoglobulin deposition and diminished mesangial thickening and sclerosis.
Force Spectroscopy with Optical and Magnetic Tweezers

Micromanipulation of individual cells and molecules is increasingly important for a wide range of biophysical research because, although ensemble biochemical analysis provides excellent qualitative and quantitative descriptions, it seldom describes phenomena at the molecular level. By observing the force spectroscopy of single molecules, the kinetics, mechanics, and variation of structure, function, and interactions can be fully explored to provide a more complete physiological picture. The use of electric and magnetic fields for manipulating particles dates back more than a century, with a rich tapestry of applications in separation, filtering and trapping. Recognizing the non-contact advantages of magnetic manipulation, Crick and Hughes probed the physical properties of a cell’s cytoplasm more than fifty years ago using magnetic particles [1]. Two decades later, with the development of intense electromagnetic fields from lasers, the manipulation of latex particles with light was experimentally demonstrated by Ashkin in 1970 in his “levitation traps” [2]. Ashkin went on to pioneer optical trapping of both atoms and biomolecules, leading to one of the most successful technology transfers from a physics lab to cell biology. For many applications, in particular for characterizing biomolecules and their interactions, it is desirable to have a non-contact technique for exerting a force. A non-contact technique allows the behavior of a single molecule under stretching or torsional forces to be measured and manipulated without complicating surface effects or material response limitations. Non-contact techniques also benefit from being easier to multiplex into exerting force on multiple sites of the same molecule or multiple heterogeneous molecules, or to collect parallel statistics on homogeneous copies of the same system. In general they are not limited by access constraints to the interaction volume, and therefore integrate more readily with the desired environmental conditions and other imaging and spectroscopic techniques. For these reasons, and practical reasons such as low cost and biocompatibility, optical and magnetic tweezers have become prominent methods for manipulating and measuring single biological entities and their interactions. To experience a force in an optical or magnetic field, a molecule must possess either dielectric or magnetic contrast against the surrounding medium. Often the entity under observation does not have favorable intrinsic properties either for imaging or for generating a force, and it is necessary or desirable to label the molecule with a particle or tag to improve contrast. These particles or tags can be multifunctional, acting passively as a position and force sensor and actively as a handle through which a force can be exerted on the attached molecule. 2
An Update on the Global Epidemiology of Syphilis

Syphilis continues to cause morbidity and mortality worldwide. While syphilis infection is easily identifiable and treatable, rates of syphilis infection continue to increase among select populations in high-income countries and remain at endemic levels in low- and middle-income countries. World Health Organization recommended strategies have led to the dual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis and HIV in several countries; however, outbreaks among select populations need to be adequately addressed. Continued vigilance and investment are needed to address syphilis worldwide. The epidemiology of syphilis differs in high-, and low- and middle-income countries.
Building and deploying a cyberinfrastructure for the data-driven design of chemical systems and the exploration of chemical space

The use of modern data science has recently emerged as a promising new path to tackling the complex challenges involved in the creation of next-generation chemistry and materials. However, despite ...
An internet utopia? Government use of web technologies to engage citizens in the US

Abstract In recent decades, scholars and politicians have concerned themselves with how to more robustly engage people in public life. “Internet Utopians” have looked to various web technologies, including social media, to be helpful; even transformative. This article looks at extant research on which technologies governments in the US use, whether their use of technologies facilitates offline and online civic engagement, and the extent to which the government-citizen relationship has changed or may be changing. For Internet Utopians the picture is dismal, though not without some bright spots. This article ends with areas for future research.
Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics with a Capital Q

With recent developments in optical cavity QED pioneered in the Quantum Optics Group at Caltech, optical physics has progressed to a domain wherein processes are driven by single atoms interacting with optical fields with average energy corresponding to much less than one photon. This unique situation opens doors for new and exciting phenomena which manifestly rely on the quantum nature of the atom-field interaction. The system that we have developed to access this realm consists of an atom strongly coupled to a single mode of a high finesse optical resonator [1]. To introduce the notation, the dipole coupling of the atom to the cavity mode is described by a rate g, while the dissipative rates are γ || for atomic energy decay (with the polarization decay rate γ ┴ = γ || /2 as appropriate for purely radiative relaxation) and k for cavity decay.
Setting the Operating Parameters

The goal of this chapter is to systematically look at each decision made in obtaining images from a sample stained with single or multiple fluorochromes. While in this chapter most of the specific examples of choices made in setting instrument parameters are given by using images collected on a Zeiss LSM 510 META confocal microscope equipped with the following lasers: 405 nm blue diode, argon with peaks at 458, 477, 488 and 514 nm, 543 nm HeNe and 633 nm HeNe lasers, the basic choices made are the same regardless of the manufacturer of the system being used and the available hardware. When operating various confocal instruments, it is often simply a matter of identifying the terminology used, for example, pinhole versus iris or the name of a specific look up table (LUT), or finding where a particular software function is hidden in the multiple menus necessary to operate the system. Once the basic principals are understood, it is possible to quickly learn to operate any confocal microscope and to obtain publication quality images. Figure 9.1 illustrates a generalized flowchart that can be used to start an imaging session and to obtain the initial images. Detailed information on each of the steps involved is presented below.
Faces Face to Face

Peirce shows how he presupposes that a 'most general science of semeiotic' is entirely a miatter of culture. Semiotics unfolds even beyond the debate on specific differences between nature and culture. That insight leads not only to linguistic but also to other expressive phenomena, among which the human body. Faces are perhaps the most outstanding bodily carriers of signs and expressions, so that Peirce's analyses of Thirdness relate to the human face not as a natural, but as a cultural datum, in particular an artifice. The cases in this chapter show how the human face is an artifice and how realities can appear to be fictitious within patterns of semiotic nature. Any sign can thus be a correlative to a fictitious world.
The Tensile and Compressive Fracture of Ice

The brittle fracture of ice under uniaxial tension and compression is discussed in terms of the nucleation and the propagation of internal cracks. The discussion reveals that fracture under both applied stress states can be understood in terms of theories previously developed for the fracture of brittle solids. Also, it shows that the applied strain rate which marks the transition from ductile to brittle behavior under compression can be expressed quantitatively by invoking a fracture model which incorporates crack-tip creep and frictional crack sliding.
An improved topology for high power soft-switched power converters

Abstract The push to higher switching frequencies and a desire for lower losses in high power converters requires that switching losses be significantly reduced. Resonant, soft-switching technologies such as the ARCP (Auxiliary Resonant Commutated Pole) attempt to minimize power converter losses by switching the semiconductors at zero voltage or zero current. Deficiencies, however, exist in current ARCP topologies. A novel configuration has been demonstrated that achieves better performance than a conventional ARCP while maintaining essentially the same efficiency and nearly the same power density. This paper describes our new approach and gives simulation and experimental results. A 10 kW, 3-phase inverter, used primarily for driving induction motors, has been constructed and used to experimentally verify the concept.
Selective and synergistic cobalt(III)-catalyzed three-component C-H bond addition to dienes and aldehydes.

Two-component C–H bond additions to a large variety of coupling partners have been developed with applications towards materials, natural product and drug synthesis. Sequential three-component C–H bond addition across two different coupling partners potentially enables the convergent synthesis of complex molecular scaffolds from simple precursors. Here, we report three-component Co(iii)-catalysed C–H bond additions to dienes and aldehydes that proceed with high regio- and stereoselectivity, resulting in two new carbon–carbon σ-bonds and four to six new stereocentres. The reaction relies on the synergistic reactivity of the diene and aldehyde, with neither undergoing C–H bond addition alone. A detailed mechanism is supported by X-ray structural characterization of a Co(iii)-allyl intermediate, observed transfer of stereochemical information, and kinetic isotope studies. The applicability of the method to biologically relevant molecules is exemplified by the rapid synthesis of the western fragment of the complex ionophore antibiotic lasalocid A. Multicomponent couplings allow the rapid formation of molecular complexity from simple starting materials. Now, Ellman and co-workers report a three-component coupling that proceeds via aryl or vinyl C–H addition to dienes and aldehydes, and elucidate the mechanism by isolating a catalyst-bound intermediate. The C–H addition does not occur without all three components in place.
Postoperative Imaging of Intrinsic Brain Tumors

Abstract Radiological imaging is the mainstay of posttreatment follow-up of brain tumors. The role of immediate postoperative imaging is to determine completeness of resection, delineate residual tumor, and identify surgical complications such as infarction, hemorrhage, or extra-axial collection. Subsequent imaging follow-up is aimed at assessing treatment response, recurrence or progression, and adverse treatment effects. The surgical and adjuvant treatment of brain tumors often also leads to unexpected changes in the normal brain. These changes can pose a significant challenge in interpretation of postoperative imaging.
Face-Saving, Materialistic, and Ethical Values as Related to Chinese Consumers’ Attitudes of Counterfeit Fashion Goods: An Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Chinese consumers’ attitudes toward counterfeit fashion goods and their “face-saving,” materialistic, and ethical values. The topic of this study coincides with the conference theme “finding new ways to engage and satisfy global consumers” while also addressing a significant and costly challenge for luxury fashion brands today: counterfeits. Since entering the global marketplace and joining the World Trade Organization in 2001, China has rapidly become the world’s largest fashion producer, exporter, and marketplace for fashion and luxury goods, including counterfeit goods.
Carbon Nanotubes Readily Disperse in Linear Silicones and Improve the Thermal Stability of Dimethylsilicone Elastomers.

Stable silicone fluid–carbon nanotube dispersions were prepared in minutes by simple mixing processes, without the addition of solvents or surfactants and without the chemical modification of the n...
Prevalence and correlates of obstructive lung disease among people who inject drugs, San Diego, California.

Abstract Background Pulmonary tissue damage leading to obstructive lung disease (OLD) could result from intravenous administration of insoluble particles found in illicit drugs. This study described the prevalence and identified correlates of OLD among people who inject drugs (PWID). Methods In 2012–2016, a community-based cohort of PWID who had injected within the past month were enrolled in a study to assess HIV, hepatitis C virus (HCV) andMycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infections and their related risk factors. Data were obtained through face-to-face interviews, serological testing and spirometry. Baseline data were used for a cross-sectional analysis of the prevalence and correlates of OLD, defined as FEV1/FVC Results Among 516 participants who had complete spirometry and interview results, the mean age was 43.3 years, 73.6 % were male, 9.5 % were Black, 91.1 % smoked cigarettes and 18.2 % had OLD. Few (9.6 %) PWID with OLD reported a previous diagnosis of COPD although many (44.7 %) reported related symptoms. Black race (AOR = 2.66, 95 %CI: 1.37, 5.17), pack-years smoked (AOR = 1.06/5 years, 95 %CI: 1.01, 1.12), and duration of injection drug use (AOR = 1.13, 95 %CI: 1.01, 1.27) were independently associated with OLD after controlling for age. Conclusions The prevalence of OLD was high in this cohort and associated with Black race and cigarette smoking—known risk factors. In addition, OLD prevalence increased with greater duration of injection drug use, suggesting a link between cumulative exposure to injected insoluble particles and OLD. Further examination of these adulterants and lung pathology are needed.
Prediction of Human Injury Due to Impact

Predicting rare events of a non-linear process can prove to be a difficult challenge. In this paper, the linearization of a non-linear process, namely impact loading, was completed by performing a gaussianization of a sample non-linear, non-gaussian time series to predict the probability of human injury in a specified sea state. The gaussianized time series was then input into the Design Loads Generator (DLG) to estimate a lower bound to the non-gaussian extrema as well as providing an ensemble of extreme time series of the gaussianized process. The DLG takes an input spectrum, transfer function, and associated exposure time to optimize phase sets of a modified gaussian distribution such that the extreme realizations with return periods equal to the exposure time of the desired process, as well as the input that leads to those realizations, can be generated. In the present application, the input to the corresponding gaussian extreme time series was used as input in the non-linear, non-gaussian model to estimate the extremes of the non-linear process, conditioned on the gaussian process being extreme. The process of gaussianizing the non-linear time series, entering into the DLG, and using the resulting input time series as input into the non-linear model was iterated to further develop the conditional extreme pdf. The relationship between these conditional, developed extrema and the observed extrema of the process was applied to determine the probability of human injury. Here, injury is assumed to be related to two possibly correlated random variables: the magnitude and duration of an extreme acceleration event.
Total and formal syntheses of fostriecin

Two formal syntheses and one total synthesis of fostriecin (1) have been achieved, as well as, the synthesis of its related congener dihydro-dephospho-fostriecin. All the routes use the Sharpless dihydroxylation to set the absolute stereochemistry at C-8/9 positions and a Leighton allylation to set the C-5 position of the natural product. In the formal syntheses a Noyori transfer hydrogenation of an ynone was used to set the C-11 position while the total synthesis employed a combination of asymmetric dihydroxylation and Pd-π-allyl reduction to set the C-11 position. Finally in the total synthesis, a trans-hydroboration of the C-12/13 alkyne was used in combination with a Suzuki cross coupling to establish the Z,Z,E-triene of fostriecin (1).
The varied relationship between hypnosis and dissociative phenomena: Implications for traumatology.

Although metanalytic evidence exists to support the long-term efficacy of hypnotic interventions in the treatment of trauma, assertions that hypnosis may induce trauma or exacerbate existing posttr...
Reorganization and reactivation of a preexisting taste-responsive hippocampal network

Animals need to remember the locations of nourishing and toxic food sources for survival, a fact that necessitates a mechanism for associating taste experiences with particular places. We have previously identified such responses within hippocampal place cells, the activity of which is thought to aid memory-guided behavior by forming a mental map of an animal9s environment that can be reshaped through experience. It remains unknown, however, whether specific place cells are preconfigured to respond to tastes, or whether taste-responsiveness emerges as a result of experience that reorganizes spatial maps. Here, we recorded from neurons in the dorsal CA1 hippocampal region of rats running for taste rewards delivered via intra-oral cannulae at specific locations on a linear track. We found that taste responsiveness was inherent to a subset of cells that, even prior to taste delivery, had larger place fields than non-taste-responsive cells overlapping with stimulus delivery zones. Taste-responsive cells9 place fields then contracted, as a result of taste exposure, to be more restricted to stimulus delivery zones, leading to a stronger representation of rewarded areas on the track. These remapped units exhibited increased sharp-wave ripple co-activation during the taste delivery session, which correlated with the degree of place field contraction. Our results suggest that taste responsivity is preconfigured in a subset of hippocampal place cells, whose spatial representations are then refined by sensory experience to signal reward. This represents a possible mechanism by which animals identify and remember locations where ecologically relevant stimuli are found within their environment.
Acute Exposure to European Viper Bite in Children: Advocating for a Pediatric Approach.

Viper bite is an uncommon but serious cause of envenoming in Europe, especially in children. Our study aim is to better describe and analyze the clinical course and treatment of viper bite envenoming in a pediatric population. We retrospectively reviewed 24 cases of pediatric viper bites that were admitted to the Pediatric Emergency Department and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of the Bambino Gesu Children Hospital in Rome between 2000 and 2020. Epidemiological characteristics of the children, localization of the bite, clinical and laboratory findings, and treatment approaches were evaluated. The median age of the patients was 4.2 years, with male predominance. Most cases of viper bite occurred in the late summer. Most patients required admission to the ward for prolonged observation. The most common presenting signs were pain, local oedema, and swelling. Patients with a high severity score also had a significantly higher white blood cell count and an increase of INR, LDH, and CRP levels. No fatality was reported. Viper bite envenomation is a rare pediatric medical emergency in Italy but may sometimes be severe. A new pediatric severity score may be implemented in the screening of children with viper bites to favor a selective and prompt administration of antivenom.
Assessing Dimensionality of the Ideal Point Item Response Theory Model Using Posterior Predictive Model Checking

Although the use of ideal point item response theory (IRT) models for organizational research has increased over the last decade, the assessment of construct dimensionality of ideal point scales ha...