cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Selective activation of cat primary auditory cortex by way of direct intraneural auditory nerve stimulation.

Objectives/Hypothesis: Although cochlear implants have been successfully used by many individuals with profound hearing impairment, limitations still remain with this approach to hearing restoration, including poor stimulation selectivity because of cross-talk between electrodes and poor low-frequency percepts. These limitations may be mitigated by direct intraneural stimulation of the auditory nerve by way of an array of penetrating microelectrodes. Such an approach should provide focal stimulation and selective activation of the nerve fibers, thereby minimizing cross-talk among implanted stimulating electrodes and evoking narrow-band frequency percepts. Study Design: We investigated the activation of primary auditory cortex evoked by such direct intraneural electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. Methods: We implanted 11 penetrating microelectrodes in the cat auditory nerve, simulated the nerve by way of these electrodes, and recorded the evoked neuronal activity patterns in cat primary auditory cortex. We compared these activation patterns with acoustically evoked cortical activity patterns obtained in a different animal. Results: Our results showed that direct stimulation of the auditory nerve evoked localized activity patterns in primary auditory cortex similar in spatial extent to those evoked by acoustic stimulation and that the extent of cortical activation by both acoustic and electrical stimuli was graded with stimulus intensity. These results suggest that the implanted electrodes can excite independent and small populations of nerve fibers. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the functional feasibility of direct intraneural auditory nerve stimulation with an array of penetrating microelectrodes and that such an approach could form the foundation for an auditory prosthesis with improved frequency coding.
Parallel Duplication and Partial Subfunctionalization of β-Catenin/Armadillo during Insect Evolution

β-Catenin is a multifunctional scaffolding protein with roles in Wnt signaling, cell adhesion, and centrosome separation. Here, we report on independent duplications of the insect β-Catenin ortholog armadillo (arm) in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum and the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. Detailed sequence analysis shows that in both species, one paralog lost critical residues of the α-Catenin binding domain, which is essential for cell adhesion, and accumulated a dramatically higher number of amino acid substitutions in the central Arm repeat domain. Residues associated with aspects of Wnt signaling, however, are conserved in both paralogs. Consistent with these molecular signatures, the effects of specific and combinatorial knockdown experiments in the Tribolium embryo indicate that the duplication resulted in redundant involvement in Wnt signaling of both β-Catenin paralogs but differential inheritance of the ancestral cell adhesion and centrosome separation functions. We conclude that the duplicated pea aphid and flour beetle β-catenin genes experienced partial subfunctionalization, which appears to be evolutionarily favored. Providing first evidence of genetic separability of the cell adhesion and centrosome separation functions, the duplicated Tribolium and Acyrthosiphon arm paralogs offer new inroads for context-specific analyses of β-Catenin. Our data also revealed the conservation of a C-terminally truncated Arm isoform in both singleton and duplicated homologs, suggesting an as yet unexplored role in Wnt signaling.
Welcoming What Comes: Sovereignty and Revolution in the Colonial Philippines

After more than three hundred years of colonial rule, Filipinos began a revolution against the Spanish empire in August of 1896. By June of 1898, revolutionary forces had managed to overwhelm the Spaniards who were already reeling from the destruction of their navy in the initial days of their war with the United States and had been fatally weakened by the decade-long revolution in Cuba. In the Philippines, a Revolutionary government was formed under the dictatorship of Emilio Aguinaldo. It declared independence, convened a convention to write a constitution and briefly succeeded in forming a Republic led by the wealthiest men of the archipelago by January of 1899. But by February, Filipinos were engulfed in a new war against an emergent U.S. empire that was to last through much of the first decade of the twentieth century, leading to U.S. colonization of the Philippines until 1941.
On the accuracy of generalized Fokker-Planck transport equations in tissue optics

Forward-peaked and large-angle scattering approximations of the radiative transport equation give rise to generalized Fokker-Planck equations whose main feature is the replacement of the integral scattering operator with differential operators in the direction-space variables. Using the PN method, an appraisal of generalized Fokker-Planck equations due to Gonzalez-Rodriguez and Kim [Appl. Opt.47, 2599-2609 (2008)], Leakeas and Larsen [Nucl. Sci. Eng.137, 236-250 (2001), and J. Opt. Soc. Am. A20, 92-98 (2003)], and Pomraning [Math. Models Meth. Appl. Sci.2, 21-36 (1992)] is carried out by computing the relative error between the backscattered and transmitted surface flux predicted by the generalized Fokker-Planck equations and the transport equation with Henyey-Greenstein phase function for anisotropies ranging from 0 to 1. Generalized Fokker-Planck equations whose scattering operators incorporate large-angle scattering and possess eigenvalues similar to the integral scattering operator with Henyey-Greenstein phase function are found to minimize the relative error in the limit of unit anisotropy.
LTP requires a reserve pool of glutamate receptors independent of subunit type

Long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic transmission is thought to be an important cellular mechanism underlying memory formation. A widely accepted model posits that LTP requires the cytoplasmic carboxyl tail (C-tail) of the AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid) receptor subunit GluA1. To find the minimum necessary requirement of the GluA1 C-tail for LTP in mouse CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons, we used a single-cell molecular replacement strategy to replace all endogenous AMPA receptors with transfected subunits. In contrast to the prevailing model, we found no requirement of the GluA1 C-tail for LTP. In fact, replacement with the GluA2 subunit showed normal LTP, as did an artificially expressed kainate receptor not normally found at these synapses. The only conditions under which LTP was impaired were those with markedly decreased AMPA receptor surface expression, indicating a requirement for a reserve pool of receptors. These results demonstrate the synapse’s remarkable flexibility to potentiate with a variety of glutamate receptor subtypes, requiring a fundamental change in our thinking with regard to the core molecular events underlying synaptic plasticity. The minimal possible requirement for AMPA receptor trafficking during long-term potentiation is explored, revealing that no region of the receptor subunit is necessary, in contrast with previous work; the only requirement for LTP seems to be a large reserve of glutamate receptors. Learning and memory formation are thought to involve long-term potentiation (LTP), a rapid and lasting increase in synaptic strength between two neurons. LTP has been well described at glutamatergic synapses in the hippocampus, a region of the brain that is required for the formation of new memories. This study suggests, however, that the prevailing model for LTP, focusing on a single neurotransmitter receptor protein — the AMPA receptor subunit GluA1 — needs to be reconsidered. Rather, it seems that no one particular glutamate receptor is critically important for the production of LTP: if there is a large enough pool available locally for a synapse, LTP will occur.
Oral vs. Vaginal Sex Experiences and Consequences Among First-Year College Students

To fully understand late adolescents’ experiences of oral sex, we must consider both risk and normative developmental perspectives. Sexual experiences include a range of behaviors, but research on sexual behaviors and consequences focuses primarily on vaginal sex. Oral sex occurs at rates similar to vaginal sex, and carries some, though less, risk than vaginal sex. The current study examined the event-level prevalence and consequences of oral sex compared to vaginal sex with other-sex partners in first-year college students. Daily data were from recently sexually active first-year college students (N = 253 people, 834 days; M age, 18.4 years; SD = 0.4; 56 % female; 31 % Hispanic/Latino; 17 % African American, 14 % Asian American/Pacific Islander, 25 % European American, 12 % multiracial) who reported on sexual behaviors and consequences. Both positive (intimacy, physical satisfaction) and negative (worrying about health, guilt) consequences were less common for oral than vaginal sex. Gender differences suggested that female adolescents may find vaginal sex more rewarding than oral sex, whereas male adolescents may find them equally rewarding.
Platelet-derived growth factor-BB and Ets-1 transcription factor negatively regulate transcription of multiple smooth muscle cell differentiation marker genes

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB, a potent mitogen for mesenchymal cells, also downregulates expression of multiple smooth muscle (SM) cell (SMC)-specific markers. However, there is conflic...
Refined Live Attenuated Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium and Enteritidis Vaccines Mediate Homologous and Heterologous Serogroup Protection in Mice

Invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) infections constitute a major health problem among infants and toddlers in sub-Saharan Africa; these infections also occur in infants and the elderly in developed countries. We genetically engineered a Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain of multilocus sequence type 313, the predominant genotype circulating in sub-Saharan Africa. We evaluated the capacities of S. Typhimurium and Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis ΔguaBA ΔclpX live oral vaccines to protect mice against a highly lethal challenge dose of the homologous serovar and determined protection against other group B and D serovars circulating in sub-Saharan Africa. The vaccines S. Typhimurium CVD 1931 and S. Enteritidis CVD 1944 were immunogenic and protected BALB/c mice against 10,000 50% lethal doses (LD50) of S. Typhimurium or S. Enteritidis, respectively. S. Typhimurium CVD 1931 protected mice against the group B serovar Salmonella enterica serovar Stanleyville (91% vaccine efficacy), and S. Enteritidis CVD 1944 protected mice against the group D serovar Salmonella enterica serovar Dublin (85% vaccine efficacy). High rates of survival were observed when mice were infected 12 weeks postimmunization, indicating that the vaccines elicited long-lived protective immunity. Whereas CVD 1931 did not protect against S. Enteritidis R11, CVD 1944 did mediate protection against S. Typhimurium D65 (81% efficacy). These findings suggest that a bivalent (S. Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis) vaccine would provide broad protection against the majority of invasive NTS infections in sub-Saharan Africa.
Identity Performances in a US–Mexico Border Celebration

ABSTRACTThis analysis discusses how individuals living in Laredo, Texas, a city situated in the US–Mexico border region, celebrate and negotiate their identities through experiences in the annual Washington Birthday Celebration (WBC). The study provides insight into how a city that has been identified as the least diverse city in the United States, with 98% of its population being Latino (Lee, Barrett A., John Iceland, and Gregory Sharp. 2012. Racial and Ethnic Diversity Goes Local: Charting change in American Communities over Three Decades. Department of Sociology and Population Research Institute The Pennsylvania State University.) and about 91% of the population speaking Spanish (United States Census Bureau. 2013. Language use in the United States: 2011. [Data file]. http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf), celebrates US American figures in a patriotic event established in 1898. Through engagement in this celebration, individuals take part in performing and constructing their identities, with p...
Natural kinds, psychiatric classification and the history of the DSM

This paper addresses philosophical issues concerning whether mental disorders are natural kinds and how the DSM should classify mental disorders. I argue that some mental disorders (e.g. schizophrenia, depression) are natural kinds in the sense that they are natural classes constituted by a set of stable biological mechanisms. I subsequently argue that a theoretical and causal approach to classification would provide a method for classifying natural kinds that is superior to the purely descriptive approach adopted by the DSM since DSM-III My argument suggests that the DSM should classify natural kinds in order to provide predictively useful (i.e. projectable) diagnostic categories and that a causal approach to classification would provide a more promising method for formulating valid diagnostic categories.
Managing the Broad Spectrum of Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes encompasses a broad spectrum of chronic, heterogeneous, complex and progressive metabolic defects resulting in hyperglycemia. The condition is characterized by insulin resistance and an initial compensatory hyperinsulinemia, followed by progressive loss of β-cell function. In the last two decades clinical studies have broadened our understanding of the complex genetic defects involved in the development of type 2 diabetes. Within the evolving multifactorial pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes, glucose intolerance is a continuum, and individuals move along this spectrum as a function of their insulin secretion/insulin resistance index. Consequently, the expression of different proportions of these pathogenic factors will cause a diverse array of presentations of type 2 diabetes as well as differences in the rate of progression in each patient. Clinicians will need to implement early lifestyle interventions and use pathophysiologically-based paradigms for the prevention and treatment of this condition.
Distributed Data Fusion: Neighbors, Rumors, and the Art of Collective Knowledge

Distributed data fusion (DDF) is the process whereby a group of agents sense their local environment, communicate with other agents, and collectively try to infer knowledge about a particular process. The applications are many and include cooperative robots mapping a room, cooperative unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) geolocating a moving object on the ground, a distributed formation of space telescopes, and a group of people discussing an interesting issue, either in person or online.
Competition does not explain the absence of a carnivorous pitcher plant from a nutrient-rich marsh

Why is the carnivorous pitcher plant, Sarracenia alata Wood, largely absent from eutrophic habitats? Two hypotheses are addressed: (1) Sarracenia alata is competitively excluded by non-carnivorous plants where resource availability is high and (2) S. alata cannot tolerate stressful conditions unrelated to competition in a eutrophic wetland. We tested these hypotheses using a reciprocal transplant experiment to compare the performance of Sarracenia alata in eutrophic marsh and oligotrophic bog, crossed with soil source and neighbor removal treatments. Multiple environmental co-variables were also measured to identify factors responsible for transplant performance. Survivorship was 46.5% greater in the bog than in the marsh, and a significant proportion of the variation was explained by higher redox potential in the bog. Transplants were not negatively impacted by neighbors in either community. Results lead us to reject the competitive inferiority hypothesis and provide support for a hypothesis of inadequate stress avoidance. We suggest that a lack of tolerance of abiotic stressors, as opposed to competition, be given greater consideration when explaining the distributions of terrestrial hydrophytic carnivorous plants.
Array Comparative Genomic Hybridization

Array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) is a method to measure relative content of two genomic DNA samples using microarrays and nucleic acid hybridization. This technique is invaluable for identifying differences in the number of DNA copies of parts of the genome (copy-number variations or CNVs) between two species, between two individuals, or between different tissues in one subject. aCGH has enabled the genome-wide detection of CNVs, explaining copious phenotypic variation constituting both disease states and benign traits. aCGH is used in clinical and research settings, aiding in clinical genetics and cancer genetics diagnoses and disease gene identification.
Simple Reactor for Ultrasonic Spray Synthesis of Nanostructured Materials

Developing a facile and general synthetic strategy toward particles with size, shape, and compositional control is of importance to nanotechnology applications. Ultrasonic spray synthesis (USS) is a continuous route to micro- and nanoscale particles with structural control, which are often difficult to obtain for inorganic solids with complex compositions or of metastable phases. This protocol describes the design and assembling of components for a simple reactor for USS. Components include a nebulizer, a nebulization chamber, a furnace, a furnace tube and the corresponding adapters, and a product collection apparatus. Details of our house-made components are provided as well as insights on material selection based on different synthetic requirements. We exemplify USS with a step-by-step procedure to single-crystalline NaSbO3 nanoplates, and this procedure can be easily modified to accommodate other chemistries. The integration of USS and molten salt synthesis for single-crystalline NaSbO3 nanoplates demo...
Orbital angular momentum multiplexing using low-cost VCSELs for datacenter applications

Development of 4×28 Gb/s free space data communications link based on OAM multiplexing using 850nm VCSELs is presented. Passive optical mode sorters are used for MUX (transmit) and DeMUX (receive).
Happiness: An Alternative Objective for Sustainable Community Development

Happiness is often reduced to an individual characteristic, solely the responsibility of its owner. However, happiness also is a community characteristic that is influenced by and helps to shape conditions external to the individual. This chapter explores the interdependence of individual happiness, community well-being, and sustainability and argues for individual happiness as an alternative objective for sustainable community development. First, a review of the strengths and limitations of mainstream community development frameworks is performed. Individual happiness is then presented as a missing link between sustainable community development and community well-being. We introduce the Sustainability Through Happiness Framework (STHF) as a conceptual path for sustainable community development. Finally, the chapter concludes by considering the contributions and challenges of a framework focused on individual happiness.
Problematizing Gender in Higher Education: Why Leaning In Isn’t Enough

The demographic data on academic women paints a bleak picture of advancement into the upper ranks of colleges and universities. Women represent only 31% of full professors and only one in four of all college presidents, with the bulk of these leaders serving at community colleges versus more prestigious research universities. We problematize the recent discussion of women “leaning in” as a way to progress into leadership positions (Sandberg, Lean in: Women, work, and the will to lead. New York: Alfred A. Knopf/Random House, 2013). The premise of Sandberg’s book, Lean In, is that greater willpower and fortitude can address barriers that have prevented women from ascending to top-level positions. We use structuration theory (Giddens. The constitution of society. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984) to question how Sandberg’s call for women’s increased agency intersects with organizational and structural frameworks in college and university settings, and Foucault’s (The subject and power. In Michel Foucault: Beyond structuralism and hermeneutics, ed. Hubert L. Dreyfus, and Paul Rabinow, 208–226. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1982) notion of power to critique how structures reinforce barriers for women. Finally, we offer implications for practice, both at an individual and an institutional level.
Probability of detection improvements based upon scan rate regulation, fuzzy control rules, and scan-to-scan processing

The objective of this research is to improve monostatic radar detection performance via scan-to-scan processing (SSP) and scan rate modulation (SRM). This concept employs two mechanically scanned radars (MSRs), scanning at different scan rate. The scan rate modulation increases the probability of detection and scan-to-scan processing reduces the probability of false alarm. Our goal is to characterize the performance at the fusion area and to control the scan rate inside the fusion area to provide the minimum satisfactory probability of detection per scan with highest scan rate. Decreasing the fusion scan time increases the number of scans, which improve the cumulative probability of detection inside (and outside) the fusion area. The scan inside the fusion area is regulated for each antenna beam. Once a detection is declared the estimator predict the target appearance position and time within the fusion area. Then the controller uses a rule matrix to select the best scan rate to improve the total performance inside and outside the fusion area.
History of the Proposal

This project trains graduate students and local professionals in effective evaluation research. The genesis of the idea came about as a result of a visit by Dr. George Weber of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to the Texas Christian University (TCU) campus in fall, 1975. According to Dr. Larry Adams, one of the project designers, Dr. Weber talked of the current “time of accountability” in research programs, and expressed NIMH’s interest in a project to train researchers to improve their research and evaluation skills.
Abstract #SY34-3: Cytosolic p53-Bcl-2 family interactions: Biological insights from structural studies

Following genomic stress, the nuclear and cytosolic pro-apoptotic functions of p53 cooperate to induce mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) and apoptosis. The ability of cytosolic p53 to activate BCL-2 effector molecules (e.g., BAX and/or BAK) leading to MOMP is blocked when cytosolic p53 is sequestered in a BCL-xL-cytosolic p53 complex. De-repression of cytosolic p53 from BCL-xL uniquely requires binding of the BH3-only protein PUMA (p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis). The goal of the present study was to elucidate the structural basis underlying the interactions between BCL-xL, PUMA and p53 to promote MOMP and apoptosis. High-resolution structural investigations of PUMA and the BCL-xL-PUMA BH3 domain complex by NMR spectroscopy and x-ray crystallography reveal a novel, PUMA-induced carboxyl terminal domain-swap dimerization of BCL-xL that depends upon a \#960; stacking interaction between PUMAW71 and BCL-xLH113. Biochemical and cellular data support the idea that this PUMA-induced structural remodeling of BCL-xL modulates its affinity for cytosolic p53 and promotes p53-dependent MOMP and apoptosis. While these data provide a mechanistic model for PUMA-induced release of cytosolic p53 from BCL-xL, they also provide structural insights into the regulation of the BCL-2 family. Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr SY34-3.
Food abundance, prey morphology, and diet specialization influence individual sea otter tool use

Lay SummaryWhether sea otters use tools to dine depends on what’s for dinner. When calorie-rich food is plentiful, all otters eat the best foods and use tools only if hard-shelled prey like large clams are present. But when the menu includes less-desirable options including small, hard-shelled snails, only some otters eat snails and use tools to crack them. Similar factors may also drive tool use in other animals like crows or dolphins.
Topological photonic structures for nanophotonics

Topological photonic structures in analogy to their electronic counterparts can provide new functionalities in nanophotonics. In particular, they can possess topologically protected photonic modes that can propagate unidirectionally without scattering and can have an extreme photonic density of states (PDOS). These unique properties can directly impact many photonic systems in optical communications and in quantum information processing applications such as single photon transport. In analogy to spin Hall effect in electronics, photonic systems can exhibit helicity or pseudo-spin dependent light transport. Below we describe such a system in a honeycomb two-dimensional hole-array photonic crystal. Enabling such properties at optical frequencies and on chip-scale will be very important for practical applications of such phenomena.
Numerical Computation of Surface Plasmon Polariton Propagation and Dispersion in the Presence of Nonlocality

We develop a surface-hydrodynamic numerical model for studying the impact of nonlocality on propagating surface plasmon polaritons in metallic nanostructures, resulting in a larger (~2×) SPP wavelength compared to the local case at plasma resonance.
The dynamics of disconnection: Differences in disconnection among working-age adults by sex, 2001–2011

ABSTRACTIn the wake of welfare reform and the Great Recession, the number of disconnected families – those without earnings and not receiving cash assistance through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), general assistance (GA), unemployment insurance (UI), or Social Security – has increased. Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), this paper examines disconnection by sex from 2001 to 2011. Discrete-time hazard models reveal sex differences in disconnection. Young men with less labor market experience and single mothers heading households are the most vulnerable to disconnection, suggesting that different policy levers are necessary to reduce disconnection for men and women.
Transitions from Ideal to Intermediate Cholesterol Levels may vary by Cholesterol Metric.

To examine the ability of total cholesterol (TC), a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) proxy widely used in public health initiatives, to capture important population-level shifts away from ideal and intermediate LDL-C throughout adulthood. We estimated age (≥20 years)-, race/ethnic (Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic/Latino)-, and sex- specific net transition probabilities between ideal, intermediate, and poor TC and LDL-C using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007–2014; N = 13,584) and Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (2008–2011; N = 15,612) data in 2016 and validated and calibrated novel Markov-type models designed for cross-sectional data. At age 20, >80% of participants had ideal TC, whereas the race/ethnic- and sex-specific prevalence of ideal LDL-C ranged from 39.2%-59.6%. Net transition estimates suggested that the largest one-year net shifts away from ideal and intermediate LDL-C occurred approximately two decades earlier than peak net population shifts away from ideal and intermediate TC. Public health and clinical initiatives focused on monitoring TC in middle-adulthood may miss important shifts away from ideal and intermediate LDL-C, potentially increasing the duration, perhaps by decades, that large segments of the population are exposed to suboptimal LDL-C.
New Fever in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit Patient

Fever is defined as an increase in core body temperature above 38.3 °C (101 °F). It can be considered part of the body’s adaptive and regulated response to infection, trauma, and tissue injury, or it can be considered maladaptive and dysregulated, as when caused by a drug side effect, venous thrombosis, thyroid storm, or a neurological injury. Fever has been shown to enhance the immune response to invading pathogens, while on the other hand, fever increases cardiac output, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production, and energy expenditure, which can have untoward effects in those with poor cardiopulmonary reserve, those suffering from neurologic insult, and pregnant patients. Determining the etiology of fever and the appropriate clinical treatment is therefore an important element in improving outcomes for critically ill patients.
The Mountain Car Problem

The mountain car problem is commonly used as a benchmark reinforcement learning problem to evaluate learning algorithms. The problem places a car in a valley, where the goal is to get the car to drive out of the valley (Fig. 5.1). The car’s engine is not powerful enough for it to drive out of the valley, and the car must instead build up momentum by successively driving up opposing sides of the valley. This chapter explores the mountain car problem using sequential CART and stochastic kriging to understand the parameter space.
Automated creation of clinical-practice guidelines from decision models

Development of effective clinical-practice guidelines (CPGs) requires input from experts in clinical medicine and in evidence synthesis; at the local level, such resources often are not available, or are prohibitively costly. Global CPGs may need to be adapted to local settings. In addition, traditional guidelines are normally static and thus may become out of date. I developed a new approach that allows CPG developers to create, disseminate, and tailor CPGs, using normative decision models (DMs). I propose that guideline developers can use computer-based DMs that reflect known global and site-specific data to generate CPGs. Such CPGs are of high quality, can be tailored to specific clinical settings, and can be modified automatically over time as the underlying DM or evidence evolves. To validate this hypothesis, I defined conceptual models for representing CPGs and DMs, and formalized a method for mapping between these two representations. To make this mapping possible, I designed a DM annotation editor that queries the decision analyst for missing knowledge. I describe implementation of the ALCHEMIST system that encompasses these two conceptual models, the mapping algorithm, and the resulting tailoring abilities. I evaluated my thesis work in three ways. First, to show that the DM conceptual model and DM annotation editor provide information necessary for the efficient transformation of a DM into a CPG, I evaluated the design of both conceptual models, and demonstrated the accuracy of the mapping algorithm. Second, to show that ALCHEMIST produces CPGs that satisfy criteria for high-quality guidelines, I had guideline users rate the quality of produced CPGs using a guideline-rating key and the performance of ALCHEMIST's CPG browser. Finally, I evaluated ALCHEMIST's tailoring abilities. Because it creates CPGs from normative DMs, ALCHEMIST can specify explicitly the alternatives, outcomes, and evidence in a clinical problem. ALCHEMIST automates the DM-to-CPG process and distributes the produced CPG over the web to allow guideline developers at local sites to apply, tailor, and maintain a globally produced CPG. I argue that my DM-to-CPG framework is a method for guideline developers to create and maintain automated CPGs, and that it thus promotes high-quality and cost-effective health care.
Chronic effects of air pollution on respiratory health in Southern California children: findings from the Southern California Children's Health Study.

Outdoor air pollution is one of the leading contributors to adverse respiratory health outcomes in urban areas around the world. Children are highly sensitive to the adverse effects of air pollution due to their rapidly growing lungs, incomplete immune and metabolic functions, patterns of ventilation and high levels of outdoor activity. The Children’s Health Study (CHS) is a continuing series of longitudinal studies that first began in 1993 and has focused on demonstrating the chronic impacts of air pollution on respiratory illnesses from early childhood through adolescence. A large body of evidence from the CHS has documented that exposures to both regional ambient air and traffic-related pollutants are associated with increased asthma prevalence, new-onset asthma, risk of bronchitis and wheezing, deficits of lung function growth, and airway inflammation. These associations may be modulated by key genes involved in oxidative-nitrosative stress pathways via gene-environment interactions. Despite successful efforts to reduce pollution over the past 40 years, air pollution at the current levels still brings many challenges to public health. To further ameliorate adverse health effects attributable to air pollution, many more toxic pollutants may require regulation and control of motor vehicle emissions and other combustion sources may need to be strengthened. Individual interventions based on personal susceptibility may be needed to protect children’s health while control measures are being implemented.
Influenza virus: transmission between species and relevance to emergence of the next human pandemic

Although influenza viruses are not spread from human to human through the conventional food chain, this is not necessarily the case for the transmission of the precursors of the human pandemic influenza viruses. Aquatic birds of the world are the reservoirs for all influenza A viruses; the virus is spread by fecal-oral transmission in untreated water. Influenza A viruses are frequently transmitted to domestic poultry and two of the 15 subtypes H5 and H7 can become highly pathogenic and have the capacity to decimate commercial poultry flocks. Less frequently, avian influenza viruses are transmitted between species-to pigs, horses and sea mammals. This transmission involves mutational, reassortant or recombinational events and can occur through fecal contamination of unprocessed avian protein or through the water. The transmission of avian influenza viruses or virus genes to humans is postulated to occur through pigs that act as the intermediate host. This involves either multiple mutational or reassortant events and is believed to occur by airborne transmission. Once avian influenza viruses are established in mammals, they are transmitted from animal to animal by the respiratory airborne route. The transmission of avian influenza virus from their reservoir in wild aquatic birds to domestic poultry and to mammalian species including humans can be prevented by treatment of the water supply and of avian protein sources with disinfectants or by heating. Agricultural authorities have recommended the separation of wild aquatic and domestic poultry and of pig and poultry farming. It is theoretically possible to reduce the possibility of the next pandemic of influenza in humans by changes in agricultural practices so that ducks are separated from pigs and people.
Commentary: Evolution and Nonverbal Behavior: Functions and Mediating Processes

The articles in this special issue provide important, new insight into the evolutionary roots of expressive behavior. Across the three articles, a strong argument is made for behavioral mimicry, expressivity, and laughter providing adaptive value to ancestral humans that is still reflected in our modern world. The place of an evolutionary analysis in the development of a broader functional approach to nonverbal communication is described and discussed. Each article proposes specific dynamics through which expressive behaviors predispose receivers to respond in a manner benefitting the sender. The mediating mechanisms advanced in the articles are examined more closely and modifications in the proposed processes are considered.
1729. Effect of Glove Disinfection on Bacterial Contamination of Healthcare Worker Hands

Background Disinfection of gloves and gowns was recommended to decrease healthcare worker (HCW) self-contamination during doffing of gloves and gowns in the Ebola epidemic. To understand the potential role of this practice in preventing bacterial transmission, we examined the effect of disinfectants on bacterial contamination of HCW hands following glove removal.
Spouse and Patient Beliefs and Perceptions About Chronic Pain: Effects on Couple Interactions and Patient Pain Behavior.

Abstract Patient beliefs and perceptions about the causes and meaning of their chronic pain are related to their psychosocial functioning. Beliefs and perceptions about chronic pain held by spouses may also be related to patient functioning. We used a laboratory procedure to evaluate whether spouse beliefs about and perceptions of chronic pain were related to spouse negative responses toward patients with chronic low back pain during a conflictual discussion and to their attributions about patient pain behavior during a subsequent pain-induction task. Patients (n = 71) and their spouses (n = 71) participated in a 10-minute discussion followed by the patient undergoing a 10-minute structured pain behavior task. Findings were that a) spouse perceptions that patient's pain was a mystery were significantly related to greater patient perceived spouse critical/invalidating responses toward the patient during the discussion; and b) spouse perceptions that patient's pain was a mystery were related to internal and negative attributions spouses made while observing patients display pain behaviors during the structured pain behavior task. Inasmuch as both spouse critical/invalidating speech toward patients and negative attributions regarding the cause of patient behavior are related to poor patient functioning, spouse uncertainty about the source and potential legitimacy of their partner's pain may play crucial roles in affecting patient well-being. Perspective Spouse beliefs about and perceptions of patient chronic pain were related to spouse behavior toward patients during a discussion and to attributions explaining patient pain during physical activity. If spouse confusion and doubt about patient pain is related to negative behavior and attributions, then modifying these perceptions may be a fundamental intervention target.
Putting Cell Competition under the Microscope.

In two recent issues of Nature, Ellis et al. (2019) and Liu et al. (2019) examine mechanisms that influence clonal dynamics in the epidermis during development and homeostasis, respectively. These studies provide insight into the selection process that determines which cells expand and which cells are lost.
Automated Patient Matching for Electronic Health Record and Child Welfare Databases

Purpose There are 427,000 children in protective custody (i.e., foster care) in the United States. Children remain in protective custody an average 19 months, with 26% of children in custody for 2 years or longer. A lack of integration between the child welfare data system maintained by the State (State Automated Child Welfare Information System; SACWIS) and electronic health record (EHR) systems maintained by healthcare providers who care for children in protective custody complicates the communication of critical health history details to caregivers. This is particularly challenging when placements …
Dispersive toric code model with fusion and defusion

We introduce a two-parameter family of perturbations of Kitaev's Toric Code Model in which the anyonic excitations acquire an interesting dynamics. We study the dynamics of this model in the space of states with electric and magnetic charge both equal to 1 and find that the model exhibits both bound states and scattering states in a suitable region of the parameters. The bound state is a Majorana fermion with a dispersion relation of Dirac cone type. For a certain range of model parameters, we find that these bound states disappear in a continuum of scattering states at a critical value of the total momentum. The scattering states describe separate electric and magnetic anyons, which in this model each have a sin k dispersion relation.
Yoga, Health-Related Quality of Life and Mental Well-Being: A Re-analysis of a Meta-analysis Using the Quality Effects Model.

Background Provide robust and practically relevant information regarding the association between yoga, health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL), and mental well-being (MWB) in older adults. Methods Data were derived from a recent meta-analysis of 12 randomized controlled yoga trials representing 752 adults ≥60 years of age. Standardized mean difference effect sizes (ESs) were pooled using the recently developed quality effects model and 95% compatibility intervals (CI). Small-study effects were examined using the Doi plot and Luis Furuya-Kanamori (LFK) index. Sensitivity and cumulative meta-analyses were conducted as well as percentile improvement, number needed to treat (NNT), and number to benefit. The grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) instrument was used to assess the strength of the evidence. Results Yoga was associated with improvements in both HRQOL (ES = 0.51, 95% CI, 0.25-0.77, I2 = 63.1%) and MWB (ES = 0.39, 95% CI, 0.15-0.63, I2 =56.2%). Percentile improvements were 19.5 for HRQOL and 15.3 for MWB whereas the NNT was 4 for HRQOL and 5 for MWB. An estimated 378,222 and 302,578 U.S. yoga-practicing adults ≥65 years of age could potentially improve their HRQOL and MWB, respectively. Major asymmetry suggestive of small-study effects was observed for MWB but not HRQOL. Further examination for asymmetry revealed that greater improvements in MWB were associated with more (151 vs. 68) minutes of yoga per week (p = .007). Overall strength of evidence was considered "high" for HRQOL and "moderate" for MWB. Conclusions Yoga is associated with improvements in HRQOL and MWB among older adults, with approximately 150 minutes or more per week possibly optimal.
Host engulfment pathway controls inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease.

Chronic diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) urgently need new biomarkers as a significant proportion of patients, do not respond to current medications. Inflammation is a common factor in these diseases, and microbial sensing in the intestinal tract is critical to initiate the inflammation. We have identified ELMO1 (engulfment and cell motility protein 1) as a microbial sensor in epithelial and phagocytic cells that turns on inflammatory signals. Using a stem cell-based 'gut-in-a-dish' coculture model, we studied the interactions between microbes, epithelium, and monocytes in the context of IBD. To mimic the in vivo cell physiology, enteroid-derived monolayers (EDMs) were generated from the organoids isolated from WT and ELMO1-/- mice and colonic biopsies of IBD patients. The EDMs were infected with the IBD-associated microbes to monitor the inflammatory responses. ELMO1-depleted EDMs displayed a significant reduction in bacterial internalization, a decrease in pro-inflammatory cytokine productions and monocyte recruitment. The expression of ELMO1 is elevated in the colonic epithelium and in the inflammatory infiltrates within the lamina propria of IBD patients where the higher expression is positively correlated with the elevated expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, MCP-1 and TNF-α. MCP-1 is released from the epithelium and recruits monocytes to the site of inflammation. Once recruited, monocytes require ELMO1 to engulf the bacteria and propagate a robust TNF-α storm. These findings highlight that the dysregulated epithelial ELMO1 → MCP-1 axis can serve as an early biomarker in the diagnostics of IBD and other inflammatory disorders.
9 – Early development

Human development is a complex interplay between biology, psychology, and society. Any discussion that focuses on talented/gifted individual development inevitably addresses the challenges experienced by creatively gifted people and those that support their development. Talented children tend to develop outside the parameters of the typical stages of development. Their unique talents set up a cascade of uneven developmental landmarks; consequently it is more difficult to predict developmental sequencing and more challenging to offer supportive developmental environments. At a very early stage of development talented children begin to establish a sense of identity that is tied to their domain-specific interests. Musicians, dancers, and actors claim that their early interests were frequently directed toward career aspirations; with early support these interests can be reinforced. This chapter discusses development into early adulthood, following Erikson’s psychosocial developmental stages.
Patient with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

Pain is one of the most commonly reported symptoms among patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The location of many pain symptoms are beginning to fall parallel to the aging general population such as osteoarthritis, degenerative disk disease and spinal stenosis—with this in mind we will emphasize neuropathic pain as it relates to the HIV viral and treatment exposure. The following chapter will start with a discussion on epidemiology and the history of disease. We will create a foundation of understanding by discussing known and proposed pathophysiology for pain symptoms. Diagnosis and management will proceed in a stepwise and organized fashion, addressing established and novel approaches to treatment. At the end of the chapter, we will explore some of the management considerations as well as obstacles specific to HIV related pain in the hospitalized patient.
A simple approximation of the QT nomogram

Dear EditorA century has passed since Bazett and Fridericia separately published their seminal works in electrocardiography [1,2]. Each proposed a mathematical relationship between heart rate (HR) ...
Influences of North Pacific Ocean Domain Extent on the Western U.S. Winter Hydroclimatology in Variable-Resolution CESM

Author(s): Rhoades, AM; Jones, AD; O'Brien, TA; O'Brien, JP; Ullrich, PA; Zarzycki, CM | Abstract: Variable-resolution global climate models (VRGCMs) are a dynamical downscaling method that can reach spatiotemporal scales needed for regional climate assessments. Over the years, several users of VRGCMs have assumed where the location and extent of the refinement domain should be based on knowledge of the prevailing storm tracks and resolution dependence of important regional climate processes (e.g., atmospheric rivers [ARs] and orographic uplift), but the effect of high-resolution domain size and extent on the simulation of downstream hydroclimatic phenomena has not been systematically evaluated. Here, we use variable resolution in the Community Earth System Model (VR-CESM) to perform such a test. To do this, three VR-CESM grids were generated that span the entire, two thirds, and one third of the North Pacific and evaluated for a 30-year climatology using Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project protocols. Simulations are compared with reanalysis products offshore (fifth-generation of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts atmospheric reanalysis [ERA5]) and onshore (Livneh, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2015.42, and Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model [PRISM]) of the western United States. The westward expansion of refinement domain influenced integrated vapor transport (IVT), which was generally high biased but minimally impacted AR characteristics. Due to slight differences in landfalling AR counts in the western United States, California winter precipitation generally improved with westward expansion of the refinement domain. Western U.S. mountain snowpack and surface temperatures were insensitive to refinement domain size and were more influenced by changes in topographic resolution and/or land surface model version. Given minimal dependence of simulated western U.S. hydroclimate on refinement domain size over the North Pacific, we advise future VR-CESM studies to focus grid resolution on better resolving land surface heterogeneity.