cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The clinical implications of myocardial perfusion abnormalities in patients with esophageal or lung cancer after chemoradiation therapy

Purpose This study aims to identify the clinical implications of myocardial perfusion defects after chemoradiation therapy (CRT) in patients with esophageal and lung cancer. Methods We retrospectively compared myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) results before and after CRT in 16 patients with esophageal cancer and 24 patients with lung cancer. New MPI defects in the radiation therapy (RT) fields were considered related to RT. Follow-up to evaluate for cardiac complications and their relation with the results of MPI was performed. Statistical analysis identified predictors of cardiac morbidities. Results Eleven females and twenty nine males at a mean age of 66.7 years were included. Five patients (31%) with esophageal cancer and seven patients (29%) with lung cancer developed myocardial ischemia in the RT field at mean intervals of 7.0 and 8.4 months after RT. The patients were followed-up for mean intervals of 15 and 23 months in the esophageal and lung cancer groups, respectively. Seven patients in each of the esophageal (44%) and lung (29%) cancer patients (P = 0.5) developed cardiac complications of which one patient with esophageal cancer died of complete heart block. Six out of the fourteen patients (43%) with cardiac complication had new ischemia on MPI after CRT of which only one developed angina. The remaining eight patients with cardiac complications had normal MPI results. MPI result was not a statistically significant predictor of future cardiac complications after CRT. A history of congestive heart failure (CHF) (P = 0.003) or arrhythmia (P = 0.003) is a significant predictor of cardiac morbidity after CRT in univariate analysis but marginal predictors when multivariate analysis was performed (P = 0.06 and 0.06 for CHF and arrhythmia, respectively). Conclusions Cardiac complications after CRT are more common in esophageal than lung cancer patients but the difference is not statistically significant. MPI abnormalities are frequently seen after CRT but are not predictive of future cardiac complications. A history of arrhythmia or CHF is significantly associated with cardiac complications after CRT.
Microscope-assisted anterior cervicaldecompression and plating techniques for multilevel cervical spondylosis

Abstract The use of the operating microscope during anterior cervical decompressions can markedly improve visualization forthe surgeon as well as the assistants. The enhanced visualization can result in safer, faster, and more complete decompressions. After decompression and grafting, numerous cervical plating systems are available. These can provide immediate stability to the reconstruction, decreasing the risk of graft extrusions. Meticulous care must be exercised in sizing and applying the plate to avoid complications. The long-term outcome of arthrodeses augmented by plates and the true incidence of complications associated with cervical plates are unknown.
Influence of Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccination on cellular immune response of guinea pigs challenged with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) currently remains the only licensed vaccine for the prevention of tuberculosis. In this study, we used a newly described flow cytometric technique to monitor changes in cell populations accumulating in the lungs and lymph nodes of naive and vaccinated guinea pigs challenged by low-dose aerosol infection with virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis. As anticipated, vaccinated guinea pigs controlled the growth of the challenge infection more efficiently than controls did. This early phase of bacterial control in immune animals was associated with increased accumulation of CD4 and CD8 T cells, including cells expressing the activation marker CD45, as well as macrophages expressing class II major histocompatibility complex molecules. As the infection continued, the numbers of T cells in the lungs of vaccinated animals waned, whereas the numbers of these cells expressing CD45 increased. Whereas BCG vaccination reduced the influx of heterophils (neutrophils) into the lungs, an early B-cell influx was observed in these vaccinated animals. Overall, vaccine protection was associated with reduced pathology and lung damage in the vaccinated animals. These data provide the first direct evidence that BCG vaccination accelerates the influx of protective T-cell and macrophage populations into the infected lungs, diminishes the accumulation of nonprotective cell populations, and reduces the severity of lung pathology.
Learner‐centered instructional practices supporting the new vocationalism

Instructional priorities have shifted to accommodate new categories of learners and acknowledge students' multiple intelligences. Constructivist curriculum theories have been employed to meet learners' needs in vocational programs.
Adapting and evaluating distributed real-time and embedded systems in dynamic environments

Quality of Service (QoS)-enabled publish/subscribe (pub/- sub) middleware provides much needed infrastructure for data dissemination in distributed real-time and embedded (DRE) systems. It is hard, however, to quantify the performance of mechanisms that support multiple interrelated QoS concerns, e.g., reliability, latency, and jitter. Moreover, once an appropriate mechanism is selected, it is hard to maintain QoS properties as the operating environment fluctuates since the chosen mechanism might no longer provide the needed QoS. For DRE systems operating in such environments, adjustments to mechanisms supporting QoS must be both timely and resilient to unforeseen environments. This paper describes our work to (1) define composite metrics to evaluate multiple interrelated QoS concerns and (2) analyze various adjustment techniques ( i.e., policy-based approaches, machine learning techniques) used for the QoS mechanisms of a DRE system in a dynamic environment. Our results show that (1) composite metrics quantify the support that mechanisms provide for multiple QoS concerns to ease mechanism evaluation and creation of related composite metrics and (2) neural network machine learning techniques provide the constant-time complexity needed for DRE pub/- sub systems to determine adjustments and the robustness to handle unknown environments.
Alpha-2 Adrenergic Receptors and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Pharmacologic management of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has expanded beyond stimulant medications to include α-2 adrenergic agonists. These agents exert their actions through presynaptic stimulation and likely involve facilitation of dopamine and noradrenaline neurotransmission, both of which are thought to play critical roles in the pathophysiology of ADHD. Furthermore, frontostriatal dysfunction giving rise to neuropsychological weaknesses has been well-established in patients with ADHD and may explain how α-2 agents exert their beneficial effects. In the following review, we consider relevant neurobiological underpinnings of ADHD with respect to why α-2 agents may be effective in treating this condition. We also review new formulations of α-2 agonists, emerging data on their use in ADHD, and implications for clinical practice. Integrating knowledge of pathophysiologic mechanisms and mechanisms of drug action may inform our medication choices and facilitate treatment of ADHD and related disorders.
Dynamics of Tire Blowout Events and Driver Assist System for Controlling Them

Dynamics of a pickup truck undergoing a rear tire blowout are analyzed as a system controlled by a human driver. Analysis is based on a large nonlinear vehicle dynamics model combined with a human driver model. The main reason why some tire blowouts result in accidents is identified. Insight is generated in experiments with human drivers in a driving simulator that runs the same vehicle model as the one used for analysis. A driver assist system for controlling tire blowouts is developed and validated in real time in the driving simulator.
Measurement of absolute differential cross sections for the excitation of atomic hydrogen to its n =2 level by electron impact

Using a crossed-beam method, we have measured absolute differential cross sections for the excitation of atomic hydrogen to its $n=2(2{}^{2}S+2{}^{2}P)$ level by electron impact. The angular range covered was from 12\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} to 156\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} in 12\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} increments, while the impact energies treated were 15, 20, 30, and 40 eV. Absolute integrated excitation cross sections were calculated from the differential ones. Agreement of our data with other recent data and calculations is quite good, but there are still some discrepancies among our results and the older data.
Nothing Tastes as Local: Jordanians’ Perceptions of Buying Domestic Olive Oil

AbstractTo date, little is known about how consumers perceive local and foreign olive oil. This study was conducted with the intention of exploring key trends in Jordanian consumers’ perceptions toward local olive oil and to examine whether they are ethnocentric toward purchasing their local olive oil in the era of the Arab Spring. The research design is a combination of quantitative with a qualitative technique to support and expand on the research findings. Data were collected from a total number of 196 Jordanians who live in Amman city. The results revealed that Jordanians are loyal to their country’s olive oil; they expressed strong ethnocentric tendencies toward purchasing it, and their purchasing tendencies are influenced by nationalism. Jordanians ranked their local olive oil as the best worldwide. This article provides original insights into the development and marketing strategies for local and global olive oil producers in the Jordan market and other Arab country markets.
Numerically nonreflecting boundary and interface conditions

Accurate nonreflecting or radiation boundary conditions are important for effective computation of aeroacoustic and compressible flow problems. The performance of such boundary conditions is often degraded upon discretization of the equations with finite-difference and time marching methods. In particular, poorly resolved, "sawtooth," waves are generated at boundaries due to the dispersive nature of the finite difference approximation. These disturbances can lead to spurious self-sustained oscillations in the flow (self-forcing), poor convergence to steady state, and long time instability of the numerics. In the present work, exact "discretely" nonreflecting boundary closures (boundary conditions for a downwind "artificial" boundary and an upwind "physical" boundary) are derived by considering a one dimensional hyperbolic equation discretized with finite difference schemes and RungeKutta time advancements. The current methodology leads to stable local finite-difference-like boundary closures which are nonreflecting to an essentially arbitrarily high order of accuracy. These conditions can also be applied at interfaces where there is a discontinuity in the wave speed (a "shock") or where there is an abrupt change in the grid spacing. Compared to other boundary treatments, the present boundary and interface conditions can reduce spurious reflected energy in the computational domain by many orders of magnitude.
The Requirement of Caring: Humanism in ‘The Middle Years’

‘The Middle Years’ is the most autobiographical portrait in James’s stories about writers.1 Moreover, despite the death of the hero and the disinheritance of his loyal admirer, it is the most optimistic, most humanistic of the stories. It is closest in spirit to ‘The Great Good Place’, which James may have begun to think about at the time he wrote ‘The Middle Years’ in 1893 but did not publish until 1900 (Notebooks p. 123). In both, James dramatises the regenerative experience which may come when the work of the writer-artist creates a bond of mutual understanding and affection with his reader. Within the context of James’s other fictions in this series, this story is the first to portray the convergence of imagination between the writer-artist and his audience that James came to believe is necessary to the creation of art. Moreover, as expressed here, this convergence through recognition of shared, mutually reinforcing intellectual and artistic ideals creates the opportunity for human relations that are ‘exquisitely personal’, as James describes them in ‘The Great Good Place’. The bond between the writer and reader created by the text enables Den-combe, the writer-hero, to see that the value of the artist’s life lies in his ability to have ‘made somebody care’.
Automated Lane Change: Theory and Practice

Abstract In this paper, the primary focus of study is the background mathematics in automated lane change maneuvers and the systematic development of controllers to have an autonomous vehicle accomplish a smooth lane change in the context of AHS. The analyzed maneuver considers optimality in elapsed time at an operating longitudinal velocity. Although the analysis is performed assuming that the road is straight, the generalization of the proposed algorithm to arbitrary road segments is rather straightforward. The outlined lane change algorithm is implemented on OSU test vehicles and has been tested at various occasions. Some of the experimental results will be presented throughout the paper.
Association of PIK3CA-activating mutations with more disseminated disease at presentation and earlier recurrence in glioblastoma.

2029 Background: The PI3K signaling pathway is a potent pro-survival pathway and associated with increased grade of malignancy in glioma. Activating mutations in PIK3CA are observed in 6% to 15% of...
Use of Belimumab throughout 2 Consecutive Pregnancies in a Patient with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

To the Editor: Effects of belimumab on pregnant patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are unknown. To our knowledge, we described the first case of a patient with active SLE who was treated with belimumab throughout her pregnancy1. The patient became pregnant again and we describe its successful outcome here. Ethical board approval for case reports is not required per institution policy. Informed consent was obtained from the patient. A 41-year-old woman with difficult-to-control SLE (antinuclear antibody–positive, SSA, dsDNA, antigranulocyte antibody–positive, and lupus nephritis) reported to be pregnant again while receiving belimumab. Belimumab was used successfully during her first pregnancy because of contraindications or side effects to azathioprine, mycophenolate, rituximab, and cyclophosphamide (Table 1). Her second conception resulted in a miscarriage, which was because of aneuploidy and was not thought to be because of SLE. Her SLE was in remission for 18 months before her third conception (Table 1). She maintained treatment with belimumab 10 mg/kg, hydroxychloroquine 400 mg, prednisone 5 mg, and low molecular weight heparin. She … Address correspondence to Dr. A. Kumthekar, Oregon Health and Science University, Division of Arthritis and Rheumatic Diseases (Mail code: OP09), 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, Oregon 97239, USA. E-mail: kumthean{at}ohsu.edu
Disparities in major surgery for esophagogastric cancer among hospitals by case volume.

Background: The purpose of this study was to characterize disparities among centers performing major surgery for esophageal or gastric cancer stratified by case volume. Methods: The National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) was queried for cases of esophagectomy or total gastrectomy. Centers were compared based on number of cases during 2004–2013: low volume [1–99], middle [100–200], and high [>200]. Results: For esophagectomy, 17,547 patients were included; 73.5% were treated in low volume centers, 14.6% in middle, and 11.9% in high. For gastrectomy, 20,059 patients were included, with 87.5%, 8.3%, and 4.3%, respectively. Patients treated at low volume centers were more likely to be of racial/ethnic minorities, uninsured, and have lower socioeconomic status. Overall survival (OS) was superior for patients treated at high volume centers. On multivariable analysis for either procedure, a higher number of disparate factors was identified in the low and middle volume centers compared to the high volume centers, which were associated with poorer OS. Conclusions: This study identified higher numbers of disparate patient factors associated with low/middle volume centers compared to high volume centers, which were associated with worse OS, and further makes the case for performance of esophagectomy and total gastrectomy at high volume centers.
The Razor’s Edge: Social Impact Bonds and the Financialization of Early Childhood Services

In a growing number of U.S. cities, social impact bonds (SIBs) introduce an experimental strategy into the politics of fiscal constraint. With limited political willpower and public funding, some h...
Opportunities for the use of computer algebra systems in middle secondary mathematics in England and Wales

This paper presents and discusses a number of ways in which mathematical attainment targets specified for pupils aged 11–16 in the revised National Curriculum can be achieved when teachers deploy computer algebra systems.
The Water-Soluble Cytochromes of Cyanobacteria

The water-soluble cytochromes of cyanobacteria were first characterized in a biochemical sense in 1963. Three distinct cytochromes—cytochrome c554, cytochrome c552 and cytochrome c550 were named by the location of their absorption peak near the red end of the visible spectrum. These cytochromes were similar in size, heme coenzyme and redox behavior compared to the soluble cytochrome c found in eukaryotic mitochondria and so became cytochrome cs. Cytochrome c554 became cytochrome c6 and was found to transfer electrons to Photosystem I in photosynthesis. This cytochrome is also the donor of electrons to the respiratory cytochrome oxidase in cyanobacteria. The functional roles of cytochrome c552 and c550 are still tentative. Cytochrome c550 is often called low potential cytochrome c550 since its reduction potential is distinctively lower than that of the other two. With the advent of genome sequencing of cyanobacteria, we realized that some organisms have multiple paralogs encoding proteins similar to the water-soluble cytochromes. There are cases where 1, 2, 3 or 4 putative cytochrome c6 genes are recognized in the same cyanobacterium. The presence of different cytochrome c6 analogs in extracts of cells grown in conditions of optimum photosynthesis has not been reported. There follows here a review of the water-soluble cytochromes and their coding sequences that have appeared in cyanobacterial genomes. As of March 2009, 36 complete and 35 incomplete genomes ranging in size from 1.6 to 10 Mbp are available from the National Centre for Biotechnology Information database. It is likely that there will be many more genomes at the time of publication and many more interesting insights.
Hardware and Performance Considerations for Computational Medicine

Computer-aided simulations have a profound impact on day-to-day operations in medical centers. They represent one of the building blocks towards personalized medicine, which allows the treatment of patients and diseases on an individual basis. The computation requirements of these simulations can be, however, tremendous, posing unique challenges to software and hardware infrastructure. In this chapter we discuss recent computer hardware developments and evaluate them based on two representative application to understand how the new hardware can be used to reduce the execution time of these applications.
Life in Action: Nutritive Souls in Aristotle

Aristotle saw nutrition as the most fundamental life activity, the ability to turn not-self into self. That activity undergirds and supports all the others. He spoke concretely of three souls, identified by their life activities. Vegetables operate through nutrition and reproduction. They consume resources and have offspring. Animals interact with their environment through sensation and locomotion. They have the vegetable activities but they also sense and respond to stimuli. Finally, humans reason. Aristotle provides both etiological and a physiological accounts of vegetable souls. The etiological account can be usefully compared to evolution by natural selection. The physiological account, invoking vital heat, does not fit well with modern science. Nor do the concepts of form necessary to animal and rational souls.
Concurrent Design of Feedforward and Feedback Controller for Building Thermal System

In this paper, a concurrent design of feedforward and feedback controllers is proposed for the building thermal system. The algorithm aims at finding a balance between building occupants' thermal comfort and the energy consumption. The influence of disturbance from ambient environment and inside human activities is considered. The controller design is formulated as an optimization with feedforward and feedback controllers as two decision variables. In order to take advantage of the nearly repetitive property of the disturbances, iterative learning control (ILC) technique is utilized to reject the repetitive disturbance components. This applies to building systems in the tropics such as Singapore. For the iteration varying and unpredictable disturbance components, a feedback controller with Youla-parameterized structure is selected. To guarantee that the controllers are stabilizing and implementable in practice, stability, causality and robustness requirements along with the control saturation limit are included as constraints. The optimization is convexified via introducing new variables and relaxation. The solution to the optimization simultaneously gives the feedforward and feedback controllers to be applied in the next iteration. The proposed algorithm is demonstrated on a four-room system by simulation.
A comparison of drawing and writing on facilitating word retrieval in individuals with aphasia

ABSTRACTBackground: Drawing has long been a focus in aphasia research as a compensatory strategy for improving functional communication in individuals with aphasia, but fewer studies have addressed...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza H7N9 viruses with reduced susceptibility to neuraminidase inhibitors showed comparable replication capacity to their sensitive counterparts

Human infection with avian influenza H7N9 virus was first reported in 2013. Since the fifth epidemic, a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H7N9 virus has emerged and caused 33 human infections. Several potential NAI resistance sites have been found in human cases. However, the drug susceptibility and replication ability of HPAI H7N9 virus with such substitutions have not yet been studied. Thirty-three HPAI H7N9 virus strains were isolated from human cases in China, and then sequences were analyzed to identify potential NAI resistance sites. Recombinant influenza viruses were generated to evaluate the effect of NA amino acid substitutions on NAI (oseltamivir or zanamivir) susceptibility and viral replication efficiency in MDCK cells. Four potential NAI resistance sites, R292 K, E119V, A246T or H274Y, were screened. All four substitutions conferred either reduced or highly reduced susceptibility to oseltamivir or zanamivir. 292 K not only highly reduced the susceptibility of HPAI H7N9 to oseltamivir but also induced an increase in the IC50 of zanamivir. 119 V or 274Y conferred reduced susceptibility of HPAI H7N9 to oseltamivir. Additionally, 246 T conferred reduced susceptibility to zanamivir. All tested NAI-resistant viruses were capable of replication in MDCK cells. The virus yields of rg006-NA292K were lower than those of rg006-NA292R at 24, 48, 72 and 96 h postinfection (P<0.05). Rg006-NA119V, rg006-NA246T or rg006-NA274Y showed comparable replication capacity to wild-type virus (except for rg006-NA274Y at 96 h, P<0.05). All 4 amino acid substitutions (R292 K, E119V, A246T or H274Y) in NA reduced the susceptibility of HPAI H7N9 to NAIs. The NAI-resistant mutations in HPAI H7N9, in most cases, did not reduce the replication ability of the virus in mammalian cells. Special attention needs to be paid to these mutations, and the development of new anti-H7N9 drugs is of great importance.
Kras Mutational Status and Oxaliplatin Sensitivity: The Other Side of the Moon?

ABSTRACT Background Oxaliplatin is a milestone of colorectal cancer therapy, but it is still lacking of a validated predictive biomarker of response. In a recent retrospective study we found a greater efficacy of oxaliplatin in KRAS mutated patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Aim of the present study is to investigate “in vitro” the molecular basis of this finding and the possible role of ERCC1, the main mechanism of oxaliplatin resistance. Methods We selected four colorectal cancer cell lines, two KRAS wild type (wt)(HCT-8, HT-29) and two KRAS mutated (mt)(SW620, SW480). The sensitivity of these cell lines to oxaliplatin was evaluated by MTT-test. ERCC1 levels before and after exposure to oxaliplatin were determined by RT-PCR. KRAS was silenced in a KRAS mt cell line (SW620) in order to evaluate the effect on oxaliplatin sensitivity and on ERCC1 levels. ERCC1 was also silenced in all cell lines to confirm his role in the KRAS-mediated oxaliplatin resistance pathway. Results KRAS mt cell lines were more sensitive to oxaliplatin (OR 2,68; IC 95% 1.511-4.757 p Conclusions KRAS mt cell lines were more sensitive to oxaliplatin probably due to their inability to upregulate ERCC1 after exposure to this drug. Therefore, KRAS mutational status could represent a predictor of response to Oxaliplatin in colorectal cancer patients, as a surrogate for ERCC1 modulation. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Effects of a campus-wide tobacco-free policy on tobacco attitudes, norms and behaviors among students, staff and faculty

Objective: In 2016 a private Missouri university implemented a campus-wide tobacco-free policy to change social norms and prevent tobacco use among students, staff and faculty. This study assesses impact on tobacco and policy-related perceptions and behaviors. Methods: Before the policy went into effect and again one year later, all university students, staff and faculty were invited to participate in an online survey. Missouri Assessment of College Health Behaviors survey findings supplement results for students. Results: Policy support and norms disapproving tobacco use on campus increased, and self-reported use of any tobacco decreased after the ban was enacted. Conclusions: Our results suggest that the policy led to an increase in the proportion of university community members who agree that smoking on campus is unacceptable, which contributed in turn to a decline in tobacco use on campus, consistent with our theory of effects.
Nucleation Effects in the Atomic Layer Deposition of Nickel-Aluminum Oxide Thin Films

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has become an important technique to synthesize a wide variety of materials on the sub-nanometer length scale. Expanding the library of ALD into ternary materials is vital for applications in which ternary materials allow for tuning of physical, optical, and electronic properties. In this work, we demonstrate the first report of nickel-aluminum oxide (Ni-Al-O) films deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD), using nickelocene-ozone and trimethylaluminum-water as reactants. While deposition of a wide range of compositions is achieved, the observed growth per cycle (GPC) did not follow the simple combination of GPCs observed for the binary ALD processes. Nucleation studies performed to better understand this behavior reveal that the deposition of aluminum oxide is greatly enhanced on a NiO surface prepared by nickelocene and ozone. A model is developed that considers nucleation effects to predict composition and thickness as a function of supercycle recipe. Characterization of...
Optimized Physical DFT Synthesis of Unified Compression and LBIST for Automotive Applications

Test Compression and logic built-in self-test (LBIST) are proven DFT solutions to address the quality and safety requirements of automotive electronics but their high impact to backend physical implementation can be a huge barrier to successful adoption. Unified compression is a new approach that unifies scan compression and LBIST. It leverages recent innovations in Physical DFT Synthesis to solve routing congestion and area issues from traditional discrete approaches and paves the road to high-quality testing. Area savings of 35-47%, and scan wirelength savings of 63-77% for the same scan chain length can be achieved while reducing test application time by 50%.
Impact of systemic corticosteroids on survival outcomes in patients with immune-checkpoint inhibitor enterocolitis.

e15065Background: Current guidelines for immune-checkpoint inhibitor enterocolitis (ICI-EC) recommend systemic corticosteroids (SCS) for moderate to severe cases, but whether these therapies have a...
The Ribbon-Helix-Helix Domain Protein CdrS Regulates the Tubulin Homolog ftsZ2 To Control Cell Division in Archaea.

ABSTRACT Precise control of the cell cycle is central to the physiology of all cells. In prior work we demonstrated that archaeal cells maintain a constant size; however, the regulatory mechanisms underlying the cell cycle remain unexplored in this domain of life. Here, we use genetics, functional genomics, and quantitative imaging to identify and characterize the novel CdrSL gene regulatory network in a model species of archaea. We demonstrate the central role of these ribbon-helix-helix family transcription factors in the regulation of cell division through specific transcriptional control of the gene encoding FtsZ2, a putative tubulin homolog. Using time-lapse fluorescence microscopy in live cells cultivated in microfluidics devices, we further demonstrate that FtsZ2 is required for cell division but not elongation. The cdrS-ftsZ2 locus is highly conserved throughout the archaeal domain, and the central function of CdrS in regulating cell division is conserved across hypersaline adapted archaea. We propose that the CdrSL-FtsZ2 transcriptional network coordinates cell division timing with cell growth in archaea. IMPORTANCE Healthy cell growth and division are critical for individual organism survival and species long-term viability. However, it remains unknown how cells of the domain Archaea maintain a healthy cell cycle. Understanding the archaeal cell cycle is of paramount evolutionary importance given that an archaeal cell was the host of the endosymbiotic event that gave rise to eukaryotes. Here, we identify and characterize novel molecular players needed for regulating cell division in archaea. These molecules dictate the timing of cell septation but are dispensable for growth between divisions. Timing is accomplished through transcriptional control of the cell division ring. Our results shed light on mechanisms underlying the archaeal cell cycle, which has thus far remained elusive.
Establishing Novel Molecular Algorithms to Predict Decreased Susceptibility to Ceftriaxone in Neisseria gonorrhoeae Strains.

BACKGROUND Globally, decreased susceptibility to ceftriaxone in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is rising. We aimed to compile a global collection of N. gonorrhoeae strains and assess the genetic characteristics associated with decreased susceptibility to ceftriaxone. METHODS We performed a literature review of all published reports of N. gonorrhoeae strains with decreased susceptibility to ceftriaxone (>0.064 mg/L minimum inhibitory concentration) through October 2019. Genetic mutations in N. gonorrhoeae genes (penA, penB, mtrR, and ponA), including determination of penA mosaicism, were compiled and evaluated for predicting decreased susceptibility to ceftriaxone. RESULTS There were 3821 N. gonorrhoeae strains identified from 23 countries and 684 (18%) had decreased susceptibility to ceftriaxone. High sensitivities or specificities (>95%) were found for specific genetic mutations in penA, penB, mtrR, and ponA, both with and without determination of penA mosaicism. Four algorithms to predict ceftriaxone susceptibility were proposed based on penA mosaicism determination and penA or non-penA genetic mutations, with sensitivity and specificity combinations up to 95% and 62%, respectively. CONCLUSION Molecular algorithms based on genetic mutations were proposed to predict decreased susceptibility to ceftriaxone in N. gonorrhoeae. Those algorithms can serve as a foundation for the development of future assays predicting ceftriaxone decreased susceptibility within N. gonorrhoeae globally.
Correction to: Integrated Extremal Control and Explicit Guidance for Quadcopters

Due to oversight, an incorrect figure in Ref. [1] was printed for Fig. 17. but the original wording and description of Fig. 17 is correct.
Automatic Synthesis of Parallel and Distributed Unix Commands with KumQuat.

We present KumQuat, a system for automatically synthesizing parallel and distributed versions of Unix shell commands. KumQuat follows a divide-and-conquer approach, decomposing commands into (i) a parallel mapper applying the original command to produce partial results, and (ii) an ordered combiner that combines the partial results into the final output. KumQuat synthesizes the combiner by applying repeated rounds of exploration; at each round, it compares the results of the synthesized program with those from the sequential program to discard invalid candidates. A series of refinements improve the performance of both the synthesis component and the resulting synthesized programs. For 98.2% of Unix commands from real pipelines, KumQuat either synthesizes a combiner (92.2%) or reports that a combiner is not synthesizable (7.8%), offering an average speedup of 7.8$\times$ for the parallel version and 3.8$\times$ for the distributed version.
Implication of stigmatization on investors financial risk tolerance: The case of gay men

Abstract This study evaluates whether the salience of discrimination and perceived stigmatization influence gay men’s financial risk tolerance (FRT). This evaluation is conducted using the FRT measure of Grable and Lytton (1999), a “two-study ruse” approach and a hierarchical linear regression model. The findings show that individuals with anticipated stigmatization, after being exposed to information about bias against their community, exhibited greater FRT. These results support the hypothesis that risk-taking behavior by members of stigmatized populations increases when they experience discrimination.
Do institutional investors exacerbate managerial myopia

Abstract This study analyzes corporate expenditures for property, plant and equipment (PP&E), and research and development (R&D) for over 2500 US firms from 1988 to 1994. We find no support for the contention that institutional investors cause corporate managers to behave myopically. Indeed, we document a positive relation between industry-adjusted expenditures for PP&E and R&D and the fraction of shares owned by institutional investors. This relation is robust to a variety of empirical tests, including those that account for endogeneity between institutional ownership and firm-level discretionary expenditures.
The Development of an Instrument to Measure School Readiness for a Prevention Program.

There is a need to understand how environmental characteristics of a school influence the effectiveness of prevention efforts. Although researchers have discussed the importance of conducting needs assessments before implementing interventions, few of these types of assessments focus on the relational aspect. Furthermore, few assessments have the appropriate psychometric evidence to support that they are reliably assessing an environmental concept (e.g., a construct at the school level versus at the individual level). To fill this void, we developed a scale assessing the level of school problems and the quality of relationships among principals, teachers and students. Test data were collected from 368 teachers in 37 schools who participated in a randomised controlled trial of a violence prevention program. The many-faceted Rasch rating scale model was used to analyse the data. Information on construct dimensionality, school-level reliability, internal consistency, concurrent validity and predictive validity indicated satisfactory psychometric properties for this measure. We discuss contributions of this study to the measurement of school settings and the potential benefit of implementing more effective school-based interventions by collecting this type of baseline information.
From GWAS to Therapy: Fatty Acid Synthase in Uterine Leiomyomata

Uterine leiomyomata (UL) pose apublic health problem given high prevalence (>70%) in women of reproductive age and being a major indication for hysterectomies. Genome-wide association studies for U...
An integrated-nanophotonics polarization beamsplitter with 2.4 × 2.4 μm2 footprint

Researchers used an inverse design algorithm and experimentally demonstrated an integrated polarization beamsplitter with a footprint of 2.4 × 2.4 μm2.
Additional factors influencing enzyme responses to the adenylate energy charge

Abstract Energy charge responses of yeast hexokinase, rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase, soluble rat brain hexokinase, and rabbit muscle phosphofructokinase were observed. Several additional factors that were shown to influence markedly the sensitivity of these enzyme responses to the adenylate energy charge include pH, total adenylate concentration, levels of non-adenylate reaction products, and non-adenine nucleotides. Computed response curves also indicated that the value of the adenylate kinase mass action ratio can also affect enzyme responses to the energy charge. Other simulations suggest that there is no apparent theoretical basis for energy charge stabilization in the range of 0.75 to 0.90. Finally, it is suggested that in vitro energy charge responses may be quite misleading, depending upon the relative influence of a number of experimentally adjusted factors.
The kinetics of heterogeneous mutual radiation grafting

The grafting-time curves of heterogeneous mutual radiation grafting systems are often of the same type. There is a small auto-accelerative period after which the rate rises to a maximum and then levels off to a steady, lower rate. The grafting of styrene to wool fibers is shown to give this type of conversion curve. The reasons for this particular rate-time behavior have not been successfully explained although a number of kinetic treatments have been presented. A kinetic treatment is presented in this paper which postulates that the radical content continues to build up during the grafting process, leading to the gradual depletion of monomer in the substrate polymer and a final diffusion-controlled rate of grafting. This situation leads to the maximum rate type of grafting-time curve actually found. The necessary kinetic parameters have been estimated for the two extreme portions of the grafting curve in the case of the wool-styrene system and further approximated by trial and error. Good agreement between the calculated and experimental rates of grafting was obtained. Die in heterogenen Systemen durch γ-Bestrahlung gestarteten Pfropfungsreaktionen zeigen oft ahnliche Zeitabhangigkeiten. Nach anfanglicher Selbstbeschleunigung erreicht die Polymerisationsgeschwindigkeit ein Maximum, um dann zu einem tieferen, konstanten Wert abzusinken. Eine derartige Umsatzkurve wurde bei der Pfropfung von Styrol auf Wolle gefunden. Eine befriedigende Begrundung fur diese spezifische Zeitabhangigkeit der Pfropfungsreaktion wurde bisher trotz zahlreicher kinetischer Behandlungen nicht gegeben. Die in vorliegender Arbeit gebrachte kinetische Behandlung grundet auf der Annahme, das wahrend der Pfropfungsreaktion die Menge an freien Radikalen stetig zunimmt, wodurch im gequollenen Mutterpolymeren eine Verarmung an Monomerem eintritt, die schlieslich zu einer diffusionsbestimmten Pfropfungsgeschwindigkeit fuhrt. Ein solcher Mechanismus ergibt eine Zeitkurve mit einem Maximum der Pfropfungsgeschwindigkeit, wie auch experimentell gefunden wurde. Fur die beiden extremen Bereiche der Pfropfungsreaktion wurden beim System Wolle-Styrol die notigen kinetischen Parameter abgeschatzt und durch Iteration verbessert. Eine gute Ubereinstimmung zwischen experimentellen und berechneten Pfropfungsgeschwindigkeiten wurde erhalten.
Carbon Taxation and Policy Labeling: Experience from American States and Canadian Provinces

A vast economics literature embraces taxation of the carbon content of fossil fuels as the superior policy approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, experience around the world suggests that carbon taxes face exceedingly difficult political hurdles. Federal experience in the United States and in Canada confirms this pattern. This article reviews sub-federal policy development among American states and Canadian provinces, a great many of which have pursued climate policy development. With one major exception, explicit carbon taxation appears to remain a political nonstarter. At the same time, states and provinces have been placing indirect carbon prices on fossil fuel use through a wide range of policies. These tend to strategically alter labeling, avoiding the terms of “tax” and “carbon” in imposing costs. The article offers a framework for considering such strategies and examines common design features, including direct linkage between cost imposition and fund usage to build political support.
Cabannes versus Rayleigh scattering and terrestrial backscatter ratio revisited in LITE in support of CALIPSO

In order to make optimal quantitative use of multi-wavelength spaceborne lidar data in the upcoming satellite lidar mission CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations), it is essential that the lidar be well calibrated. In view of the use of a narrow bandwidth receiver filter in CALIPSO, it is necessary to quantitatively distinguish Cabannes scattering from the full bandwidth Rayleigh scattering for correct calibration of the 532 nm channel based on Rayleigh normalization. This also affects the 1064 nm calibration when it is implemented by the 532/1064 calibration ratio approach. Secondly, the calibration obtained by normalizing to a nearly Rayleigh background signal depends on the backscatter ratio R, defined as the ratio of the total backscattering coefficient [aerosol backscattering coefficient, /spl beta//sub a/(z), plus molecular backscattering coefficient, /spl beta//sub m/(z)] to the molecular backscattering coefficient, /spl beta//sub m/(z). How well this backscatter ratio, R, can be estimated in clean air regions will play an important role in lidar measurements of aerosol and cloud by CALIPSO. The LITE (Lidar In-space Technology Experiment) mission, the first lidar designed for atmospheric studies to fly in Earth orbit, provided an important database for doing the analysis and simulations for future lidar systems on free-flying satellite platforms. This paper presents calculations of Rayleigh/Cabannes scattering cross sections that should apply for CALIPSO by incorporating different depolarization factors appropriate for different spectral bandwidths. LITE data are analyzed to recover estimates of R characteristic of clean air regions. Errors in recovering R resulting from uncertainties in the calibration constant and two-way transmission from the calibration reference height are simulated and assessed.
The Anal Character and Social Severity in Attitudes

Summary In order to test the hypothesis that anal character traits would be reflected in taking a tough stance in regard to the behavior of teenagers and social welfare recipients, two scales measuring anality and social severity, respectively, were developed. An adult nonstudent sample of 562 respondents was administered both instruments in person to person interviews. Modest support for the hypothesis was revealed in the correlation of anality with severity.
FACTORS AFFECTING UNDERSTORY ESTABLISHMENT IN COASTAL SAGE SCRUB RESTORATION

ABSTRACT Coastal sage scrub (CSS) is a target for restoration because it provides habitat for numerous special-status species and it has been impacted by urbanization, agriculture and invasion by non-native species. Many restoration designs have neglected the herbaceous understory component of CSS, although it may comprise the majority of vascular plant species in a natural CSS stand. The omission of an understory may promote invasion by non-native plants and reduce overall success. This study investigated the role of native seed addition, non-native species removal, gaps in the shrub canopy, and soil moisture, upon establishment of a native understory. Native biomass increased significantly with seed addition, and the abundance of experimentally seeded native species was positively correlated with soil moisture. Natives were not affected by competition with non-natives or the presence of gaps. Although all seeded native species germinated, only two of seven established successfully, perhaps due to very l...
Value-Added Model (VAM) Research for Educational Policy: Framing the Issue.

In this manuscript, the guest editors of the EPAA Special Issue on “Value-Added Model (VAM) Research for Educational Policy” (1) introduce the background and policy context surrounding the increased use of VAMs for teacher evaluation and accountability purposes across the United States; (2) summarize the five research papers and one research-based commentary that were peer-reviewed and selected for inclusion in this special issue; and (3) discuss the relevance of the papers both individually and collectively. Their importance is discussed in terms of each paper’s contribution to the general research on this topic and each paper’s potential to inform educational policy. In addition, the papers reflect our shared thinking about VAMs, VAM output, and the inference-based decisions for which VAMs are increasingly being used.
Galactic chemical evolution and 26Al production by supernovae

Nucleosynthesis in the intermediate mass range (carbon through nickel) has been calculated for a grid of stellar masses between 10 and 40 M⊙ for solar metallicity, and 12 and 75 M⊙ for zero metallicity, with a total of 26 stars evolved to the presupernova state. Explosions have been simulated in 13 of these and the final nucleosynthetic yields, including the ν‐process, determined. Except for the products of the neutrino process (fluorine and boron), the presupernova abundances of isotopes lighter than about A=40 (including 26Al), closely resemble the final yields. These results, when incorporated into a multi‐zone model for Galactic chemical evolution that includes contributions from lower mass stars and Type Ia supernovae, give present day abundances that are in good agreement with those observed in the solar system when a particular choice is made for the 12C(α,γ)16O reaction rate (S(300 keV)=0.17 MeV barns). We find the production rate of 26Al in the present epoch to be 1.78–2.14 M⊙ Myr−1, depending on...