cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Use of PDE10A and PDE9 Inhibitors for Treating Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia (Scz) is a chronic and debilitating neurological disorder that afflicts approximately 1% of the general population with an increased incidence within families. Signs of this disorder typically appear between the ages of 16–30 although rare cases of childhood (<13) onset exist. Diagnosis of scz requires symptoms that persist for a duration of 1 month over a 6-month time period. The broad spectrum of symptoms are typically split into three categories: positive, negative, and cognitive. Implicit within these categories is the difficulty for stand-alone treatment methods, suggesting a combination of pharmacological and psychological treatment strategies is needed to manage this disease. Furthermore, while current pharmaceuticals are moderately effective at managing positive symptoms, the severe side effects lower patient compliance. Additionally, drugs used to treat negative and cognitive symptoms only have modest benefits, at best. Due to these limitations, there is a clear need for novel pharmaceuticals that modulate dysfunctional neurological pathways in scz patients. As such, both academic and pharmaceutical researchers are focused on identifying enzymes that can attenuate neurological signaling in disease-relevant brain regions. Specifically, this chapter will provide an in-depth review of current drug discovery efforts focused on inhibiting phosphodiesterase 10 and 9 (PDE10A, PDE9A, respectively).
Simulation-based estimation of the real demand in bike-sharing systems in the presence of censoring

Abstract Data on successful bike pickups/drop-offs censor the demand from customers/riders that were unable to pickup/drop-off a bike due to bike/dock unavailability (i.e., balks). The objective of this paper is two-fold: (1) provide a formal comparison between the distribution of satisfied bike/dock demand and the true (latent) demand in bike-sharing systems through simulation experiments and nonparametric bootstrap tests to show when and how the two may differ; and, (2) propose a novel methodology combining simulation, bootstrapping, and subset selection that harnesses the useful partial information in every bike pickup/drop-off observation (even if it is subject to censoring) to estimate the true demand in situations where data filtering/cleaning approaches commonly used in the bike-sharing literature fail due to lack of valid data. The results reveal that the distribution of inter-pickup/drop-off times may differ (statistically) from the distribution of the actual inter-arrival time of customers/bikes primarily for higher percentile values and even if the demand rate is slower than the supply rate, especially if customer/bike inter-arrival times follow a heavy-tailed distribution. The statistical power of the proposed demand estimation approach in identifying an appropriate model for the underlying demand distribution is tested through simulation experiments as well as a real-world application. The paper has important academic and practical impacts by providing additional means to obtain and use statistically valid demand estimates, enhancing decision-making related to the design and operation of bike-sharing systems.
Borderland environmental justice and governance apertures

The theorization of borderland environmental justice is expanded by examining the specificities of fragmented governance and accountability and how this affects environmental injustice in the regio...
Convergence spasm in Wernicke’s encephalopathy (P5.192)

Objective: To describe a case of convergence spasm in Wernicke’s encephalopathy. Background: Convergence spasm features excessive convergence, accommodation, and miosis frequently associated with psychogenic disorders, although may develop secondary to various organic conditions including Wernicke’s encephalopathy. Design/Methods: A 48 year old man with alcoholism and previous gastric bypass surgery presented with a convulsive episode after heavy alcohol use. He had not adhered to his multivitamins since the procedure and his caloric source was mainly from alcohol for the preceding few weeks. On examination he was confused with orthophoric gaze and equal and reactive pupils. Extraocular movements were full in all directions but with short forceful spasms medially with miosis consistent with convergence spasm (see figures and video). Results: The patient was diagnosed with Wernicke’s encephalopathy and treated with parenteral doses of thiamine. He had gradual improvement in his mentation and resolution of convergence spasm over the course of several days. Conclusions: Thiamine deficiency can occur between 2–3 weeks of poor nutritional intake due to limited body stores and large daily turnover. Classically, Wernicke’s presents with ophthalmoplegia, nystagmus, and conjugate gaze palsy, but can have rare presentations that respond well to thiamine repletion. Disclosure: Dr. Shabbir has nothing to disclose. Dr. Tong has nothing to disclose.
The Basic Model of Nuclear Theory: From Atomic Nuclei to Infinite Matter

A major goal of nuclear theory is to explain the wealth of data and peculiarities exhibited by nuclear systems in a fully microscopic way. In such an approach, which we refer to as the basic model of nuclear theory, the nucleons interact with each other via many-body (primarily, two- and three-body) effective interactions, and with external electroweak probes via effective current operators. These effective interactions and currents are the main inputs to ab-initio methods that are aimed at solving the many-body Schrodinger equation associated with the nuclear system under consideration. In this talk, I will review recent progress in Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of low-lying spectra and electroweak properties of light nuclei as well as nucleonic matter equation of state. Emphasis will be on calculations based on chiral effective field theory approach.
Comprehensive motor skills assessment in children with autism spectrum disorder yields global deficits

Purpose: Although children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often display motor deficits, the nature of these motor deficits remains unspecified. The purpose of this study was to establish a rob...
Investigating Aberrant Results in Microbiological Examination of Nonsterile Product Assays

Microbiologists dread investigating results that are outside of the specifications. However, the investigation must be performed. A decision to reject the batch does not remove the requirement to investigate the failure. Unfortunately, microbiological assay samples are often consumed during the test or the results of the data are obtained several days after the sample is tested. This delay from testing to results often renders the original sample dilution not valid for further testing. Thus, this delay can hinder finding a root cause. Knowing the root cause can aid with microbial control, defining corrective actions, and defining preventative actions that are required to minimize or eliminate the potential for reoccurrence. The root cause is an essential component in understanding the patient impact, status of the product, and regulatory reporting requirements. This article discusses out of specification results obtained from the microbial examination of nonsterile product assays and the subsequent root cause investigation. The focus of this article is on aberrant results obtained from a validated assay with established acceptance criteria.
Fault Tolerance through Invariant Checking for the Lanczos Eigensolver

The Lanczos eigensolver is a popular iterative method for approximating a few maximal eigenvalues of a real symmetric matrix, particularly if the matrix is large and sparse. In recent years, graphics processing units (GPUs) have become a popular platform for scientific computing applications, many of which are based on linear algebra, and are increasingly being used as the main computational units in supercomputers. This trend is expected to continue as the number of computations required by scientific applications reach petascale and exascale range. In this paper, we introduce an efficient error checking mechanism for the Lanczos eigensolver. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to introduce such a scheme for the Lanczos method. We evaluate our fault tolerant scheme using an open-source sparse eigensolver on a GPU platform, with and without the injection of faults. We use sparse matrices from real applications, and show that our fault tolerant method has good error coverage and low overhead.
Heuristic Global Optimization in Chemical Compound Space.

We report developments in combinatorial optimization under constraints in chemical space. We considered random functions, which serve as a baseline to measure performance, and constrained optimizations over two databases of electrochromic molecules (∼5000 and 1012, respectively). These problems were optimized using sequential heuristic next-neighbor search (HNNS) (introduced in Elward and Rinderspacher Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2015, 17, 24322 and Elward and Rinderspacher Mol. Syst. Des. Eng. 2018, 3, 485) and kernel-based efficient global optimization (EGO) with two reordering strategies. In addition to the average ordering method introduced with sequential HNNS, a new reordering based on a locally separable linear model is formulated and applied. Presented is the analysis of periodic kernels for EGO: the modified Dirichlet kernels Dn(x) = ∑in[cos(2πix) - (-1)i]/i, the minimalist kernel KN(x) = cos(πx/N)2/2 - δx/2, and an analogue to the popular Gaussian kernel, GNσ(x) = e-|x mod N|2/(2σ2), where n is the order of the Dirichlet kernel, N is the number of choices on a combinatorial site, and σ is a broadening factor. We find that reordering is pivotal for high optimization efficiency, in both the average and worst-case scenarios. The new linear-estimation ordering paradigm is superior in the chemistry context. Furthermore, with judicious use of hyperparameters and algorithmic choices, EGO outperforms HNNS. The global optimum for the small chemical problem is found with >98% likelihood for all global search methods employing a linear reordering heuristic for organizing the search space.
First-principles simulation of photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers using rigorous coupled wave analysis

We show that the threshold of a photonic crystal surface-emitting laser can be calculated from first-principles by the method of rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA), which has been widely used to simulate the response spectra of passive periodic structures. Here, the scattering matrix (S-matrix) of a surface-emitting laser structure with added gain is calculated on the complex frequency plane using RCWA, and the lasing threshold is determined by the value of the gain for which the pole of the S-matrix reaches the real axis. This approach can be used for surface emitting laser structures in general and is particularly useful for those with complex in-plane structures.
Influenza Vaccination and COVID-19 Mortality in the USA: An Ecological Study

The COVID-19 mortality rate is higher in the elderly and in those with pre-existing chronic medical conditions. The elderly also suffer from increased morbidity and mortality from seasonal influenza infections; thus, an annual influenza vaccination is recommended for them. In this study, we explore a possible county-level association between influenza vaccination coverage in people aged 65 years and older and the number of deaths from COVID-19. To this end, we used COVID-19 data up to 14 December 2020 and US population health data at the county level. We fit quasi-Poisson regression models using influenza vaccination coverage in the elderly population as the independent variable and the COVID-19 mortality rate as the outcome variable. We adjusted for an array of potential confounders using different propensity score regression methods. Results show that, on the county level, influenza vaccination coverage in the elderly population is negatively associated with mortality from COVID-19, using different methodologies for confounding adjustment. These findings point to the need for studying the relationship between influenza vaccination and COVID-19 mortality at the individual level to investigate any underlying biological mechanisms.
Is ventriculomegaly and hindbrain herniation seen before and after prenatal neural tube defect repair associated with a worse functional level than anatomical level at birth

OBJECTIVE To determine if the evaluation of the fetal ventricular system and hindbrain herniation (HBH) is associated with motor outcome at birth in prenatally repaired open neural tube defect (NTD). METHODS Retrospective cohort study of 47 patients with NTD who underwent prenatal repair (17 fetoscopic; 30 open-hysterotomy). At referral and 6 weeks postoperatively, the degree of HBH, ventricular atrial widths and ventricular volume were evaluated by MRI. Head circumference and ventricular atrial widths were measured on ultrasound at referral and during the last ultrasound before delivery. Anatomic level of the lesion (LL) was determined based on the upper bony spinal defect detected by ultrasound. We considered the functional level as worse than anatomical level at birth when the motor level was equal or worse than the anatomical LL. RESULTS 26% (12/47) of the cases showed worse functional level than anatomical level at birth. Having a HBH below C1 at the time of referral was associated with a worse functional level than anatomical level at birth (OR = 9.7, CI95 [2.2-42.8], p < 0.01). None of the other brain parameters showed a significant association with motor outcomes at birth. CONCLUSIONS HBH below C1 before surgery was associated with a worse functional level than anatomical level at birth.
A Multiple Streams Framework Approach to Access to Domestic Violence Services in an Indigenous Community.

This article focuses on access to domestic violence services within Belize. Using data from community asset mapping, interviews with key informants, and focus groups with community members, the mul...
WORKSHOP: Using Experiential Learning to Teach Toward Social Justice Awareness in the 21st Century (40 mins)

The role of experiential learning is central to social justice pedagogy (Adam, 2016). However, not all experiences are educational; some have the opposite effect. According to Dewey (1997), “Any experience is mis-educative that has the effect of arresting or distorting the growth of further experience” (p. 25). The challenges of social justice education through experiential learning are designing effective experiential activities and developing students’ efficacy and capacity to take action as change agents because individuals engage in critical action when they perceive that they have the capacity to affect social and political change, whether individually or collaboratively (Watts, Diemer, & Voight, 2011). This process starts with individuals’ participation, but they need to continue the examination, action, and reflection processes (Kolb, 1984; Montero, 2009). Therefore, an instructor’s responsibility is to design quality experiential learning. Previous studies have affirmed the importance of promoting learning environments that value experience and actively integrate it with evolving knowledge through service learning (Everett, 1998; Mayhew & Engberg, 2011; Tinkler, Hannah, Tinkler, & Miller, 2015). This can be challenging for students who have limited time outside of class to interact with their communities as part of the social justice and human rights learning process. Therefore, this session will take a closer look at this gap in practice regarding students with competing demands. In this session, the presenters will share the following strategies, approaches, and resources: 1) We will share the results of our recent study, in which we examined how experiential learning activities help to move students toward greater awareness of social justice and human rights issues and what types of experiential learning activities play larger roles in evolving students’ awareness of social justice and human rights issues as future change agents. 2) We will provide the participants with tools and strategies for designing experiential learning to equip students with the critical analysis skills they need to develop awareness, knowledge, and processes with which to examine the effects of inequality and oppression on the individual, institutional, and societal levels and to help students cultivate skills and tools to interrupt those inequalities and oppressions. In order for the participants to learn the strategies, approaches, and resources described above, the participants will share their own challenges and goals, and will have an opportunity to brainstorm effective experiential learning designs. This session will also address effective experiential learning in online classes, and the strategies, approaches, and resources explored would be broadly applicable.
Helping a Distressed Person: Social, Personality, and Stimulus Determinants

Publisher Summary This chapter describes a series of experiments that show the multiplicity of influences promoting and/or inhibiting the giving of aid to those in physical distress. Physical distress represents one of the most basic and important conditions requiring assistance; this is the reason for selecting helping behavior in response to physical distress as the focus of study. In a series of experiments, Berkowitz and his associates explored the conditions under which a person was willing to expend effort to help another person gain prestige and material reward. They found that, the greater the dependence of one person on another, the more likely it is that the latter will work hard in order to help. Berkowitz and Daniels suggested that a norm of social responsibility, which prescribes that people should help others who are dependent on them, guides this helping behavior. The chapter presents a general theoretical discussion of what motivates or restrains helping behavior, what are some reasons for helping or not doing so. Several groups of experiments have been presented, each introduced by a more detailed discussion of certain relevant determinants of helping.
Water Content and Potential

The per-mass or per-volume fraction of water in the soil is expressed in terms of soil wetness. The wetness of the soil pertains to the relative amount rather than the absolute amount of water in a soil body, independent of its size. The physicochemical condition or state of soil water is characterized in terms of its free energy per unit mass called the potential. Of the various components of this potential, the matric potential manifests the tenacity with which soil water is held by the soil matrix. Wetness and matric potential are functionally related, and the graphical representation of this relationship is termed as the “soil-moisture characteristic curve.” The traditional (gravimetric) method of measuring mass wetness consists of removing a sample by augering into the soil and then determining its moist and dry weights. An alternative method of drying, suitable for field use, is to impregnate the sample in a heat-resistant container with alcohol, which is then burned off, thus vaporizing the water. The mass wetness, also called gravimetric wetness, is the ratio of the weight loss in drying to the dry weight of the sample. Additional approaches to measure soil wetness include the techniques that are based on the dependence of soil thermal properties on water content and the use of ultrasonic waves, radar waves, and microwaves.
Blood and Home in Early Modern Drama: Domestic Identity on the Renaissance Stage

Introduction 1. The Bleeding Bride: Consummation and The "Fight of Love" in Othello, As You Like It, and Cymbeline 2. The Bleeding Husband: Cuckoldry and Murder in Arden of Faversham and A Warning for Fair Women 3. The Bleeding Child: Sons and Daughters in The Spanish Tragedy, Henry VI, and Titus Andronicus 4. The Bleeding Patient: Honor and Bloodline in The Duchess of Malfi, The Maid's Tragedy, and El medico de su honra 5. Afterword
Mechanisms regulating differential freezing tolerance of suspension cell cultures derived from contrasting alfalfa genotypes

A major factor limiting persistence of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in the northern US is poor winter hardiness. Our hypothesis is that suspension cell cultures derived from dormant, winter-hardy alfalfa cultivars would cold acclimate and survive sub-zero temperatures better than cell cultures derived from non-dormant, non-hardy cultivars. Our objectives were (1) to determine if genetic differences in winter hardiness between dormant and non-dormant alfalfa were retained by suspension cells derived from these contrasting cultivars; and (2) to determine the physiological and biochemical bases for differences in freezing tolerance of suspension cells. Cell suspensions derived from `5262' (fall dormant) and `5929' (fall non-dormant) were cold hardened at 2 °C for 14 days. Cells were frozen in a cooling bath and cell survival determined by measuring 2, 3, 5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) reduction. Cold acclimation improved cell survival of both cultivars to −5 °C when compared to unacclimated cells. Only acclimated cells of 5262 survived temperatures of −10 °C to −25 °C. The freezing tolerance of cold-acclimated 5262 cells was associated with high sugar and starch concentrations, lower α-amylase activities and slightly lower cell protein levels when compared to 5929. No differences in polypeptide composition were evident when comparing acclimated and unacclimated cells of 5929, but polypeptide composition did change with acclimation of 5262 cells. As expected, expression of RootCAR1 in 5262 cells increased with cold acclimation, but high levels of RootCAR1 transcript were unexpectantly found in both cold acclimated and unacclimated 5929 cells. With the exception of the RootCAR1 expression, many of the physiological responses of these alfalfa cell lines to cold acclimation were similar to those that have been reported for field-grown plants.
Natural selection in utero induced by mass layoffs: the hCG evidence

Evolutionary theory, when coupled with research from epidemiology, demography, and population endocrinology, suggests that contracting economies affect the fitness and health of human populations via natural selection in utero. We know, for example, that fetal death increases more among males than females when the economy unexpectedly contracts; that unexpected economic contraction predicts low secondary sex ratios; and that males from low sex ratio birth cohorts live, on average, longer than those from high sex ratio cohorts. We also know that low levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (i.e., hCG) measured in the serum of pregnant women predict fetal death. We do not, however, know whether male survivors of conception cohorts subjected to contracting economies exhibit, as theory predicts, higher hCG than those from other cohorts. We show, in 71 monthly conception cohorts including nearly two million California births, that they do. We thereby add to the literature suggesting that the economy, a phenomenon over which we collectively exercise at least some control, affects population health. Our findings imply that the effect arises via natural selection – a mechanism we largely ignore when attempting to explain, or alter, how collective choice affects our biology.
The relevance of somatosensory auras in refractory temporal lobe epilepsies

The purpose of this study is to look at the prevalence, characteristics, and prognostic value of somatosensory auras (SSAs) in patients who have undergone temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) surgery to treat drug-resistant focal epilepsy. We retrospectively reviewed all patients with drug-resistant epilepsy who underwent TLE surgery at Cleveland Clinic between 2005 and 2010 (n = 333) to study the prevalence, characteristics, and prognostic implications of SSA in the context of TLE surgery. Analyses were performed using two seizure outcome definitions: complete seizure freedom and Engel classification. Of the 333 patients, 26 (7.8%) had SSA. Almost half (12 patients) had unilateral sensory symptoms, whereas the rest had bilateral symptoms. Tingling and numbness were the most frequently reported sensations. Compared to their non-SSA counterparts, patients with SSA had the same clinical and imaging characteristics, but had a higher rate of breakthrough seizures (p = 0.03), although most (54%) were still able to achieve Engel class of I (p = 0.02). Based on our results we would encourage detailed presurgical testing, which may include an invasive evaluation to analyze the extent of the epileptogenic zone in patients with SSA and suspected TLE.
PAF-acether induced cardiac dysfunction in the isolated perfused guinea pig heart.

PAF-acether (1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glyceryl-3-phosphorylcholine) has been implicated in a variety of inflammatory and ischaemic disorders (e.g., myocardial ischemia, anaphylactic shock). Recently, the peptide leukotrienes (i.e., LTC4, LTD4) have been shown to mediate the increase in coronary vascular resistance induced by PAF-acether in the isolated perfused rat heart. In isolated perfused guinea pig hearts, PAF-acether produced a dose-dependent increase in coronary perfusion pressure (CPP) and a decrease in contractile force (CF). At 50 μmol/l, PAF increased CPP by 13 ± 3 mm Hg and decreased CF by 47 ± 12% in 8 hearts. Radioimmunoassay of the coronary effluent did not detect peptide leukotrienes or thromboxane B2 (TxB2) in response to PAF. Addition of a specific PAF-acether receptor antagonist, CV-6209 (25 nmol/l), blocked the increase in coronary perfusion pressure and decrease in contractile force. OKY-1581 (400 nmol/l), a thromboxane synthetase inhibitor or LY-171,883 (7.3 μmol/l) a leukotriene D4 receptor antagonist, failed to prevent the increase in CPP or the decrease in CF. These data indicate that the PAF-acether induced increase in CPP is not mediated by the peptide leukotrienes or thromboxane A2 (TxA2). Possible mechanisms for the increase in CPP induced by PAF-acether in the isolated perfused guinea pig heart include a direct receptor mediated constriction of coronary resistance vessels, release of a non-eicosanoid coronary constrictor as a mediator of the response, or via enhancement of coronary microvascular permeability.
Efficient real-time divisible load scheduling

Providing QoS and performance guarantees to arbitrarily divisible loads has become a significant problem for many cluster-based research computing facilities. While progress is being made in scheduling arbitrarily divisible loads, current approaches are not efficient and do not scale well. In this paper, we propose a linear algorithm for real-time divisible load scheduling. Unlike existing approaches, the new algorithm relaxes the tight coupling between the task admission controller and the task dispatcher. By eliminating the need to generate exact schedules in the admission controller, the algorithm avoids high overheads. We also proposed a hybrid algorithm that combines the best of our efficient algorithm and a previously best-known approach. We experimentally evaluate the new algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate that the algorithm scales well, can schedule large numbers of tasks efficiently, and performs similarly to existing approaches in terms of providing real-time guarantees.
Identity Construction in Centenarian Human Service Agencies: Coherence amid Change:

Three central and enduring themes related to the construction and reconstruction of the organizational identities of 24 charitable organizations in a Southern city are examined: communicating found...
Fluorescence measurements of environmental relaxation at the lipid-water interface region of bilayer membranes

Abstract Nanosecond time-resolved emission spectroscopy is used to characterize the complex fluorescence behavior of the probe 2-p- toluidinonaphthalene 6-sulfonate (2,6 p- TNS ) when adsorbed to several bilayer membrane system. These include egg phosphatidylcholine vesicles with and without added cholesterol as well as erythrocyte ghost membranes. In each case a nanosecond time-dependent shift of the fluorescence emission to lower energy follows pulsed photo-excitation. The properties of the time-resolved surfaces obtained are consistent with a non-exponential decay law which describes a continuous interaction process of 2,6 p- TNS with its local environment in the membrane. This environment consists in part of polar residues (water plus polar head region) undergoing nanosecond motions. The pure phosphatidylcholine bilayer system was studied at four temperatures and electronic and spectral relaxation contributions to the total fluorescence decay were separated. Temperature coefficients for empirical rate parameters derived for the separated processes were obtained. It appears that a treatment of the fluorescence behavior of amphiphilic probes such as 2,6 p- TNS adsorbed to bilayer membranes at temperatures near ambient in which a single lifetime and radiative decay channel have been assumed is inappropriate.
Systematic desensitization in sexual disorders

Abstract A modified version of systematic desensitization therapy using in vivo stimuli and incorporating assertive confidence training was applied to persons suffering from severe sexual disorders. Physiological and subjective report measures of change were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the technique. This therapy was compared with a conventional psychoanalytically oriented group treatment and an untreated control group. The results indicated that the modified desensitization technique was significantly more successful in eliminating sexual dysfunctions and reducing associated sexual and social anxieties than the comparative conditions. The dependent variables measured correlated highly with each other in each group.
Missing Data: Dial M for ???

The question mark is common notation for the missing data that occur in most applied statistical analyses. Over the past century, statisticians and other scientists not only have invented numerous methods for handling missing/incomplete data, but also have invented many forms of missing data, including data augmentation, hidden states, latent variables, potential outcome, and auxiliary variables. Purposely constructing unobserved/unobservable variables offers an extraordinarily flexible and powerful framework for both scientific modeling and computation and is one of the central statistical contributions to natural, engineering, and social sciences. In parallel, much research has been devoted to better understanding and modeling of real-life missing-data mechanisms; that is, the unintended data selection process that prevents us from observing our intended data. This article is a very brief and personal tour of these developments, and thus necessarily has much missing history and citations. The tour consists of a number of M's, starting with a historic story of the mysterious method of McKendrick for analyzing an epidemic study and its link to the EM algorithm, the most popular and powerful method of the twentieth century for fitting models involving missing data and latent variables. The remaining M's touch on theoretical, methodological, and practical aspects of missingdata problems, highlighted with some common applications in social, computational, biological, medical, and physical sciences.
Polypeptide synthesis directed by lymph node ribonucleoprotein in a reticulocyte cell-free system.

Abstract A ribonucleoprotein with messenger activity (mRNP) was isolated from rabbit lymph node polyribosomes. This ribonucleoprotein stimulated the incorporation of 14C-amino acids into acid-insoluble polypeptides in a cell-free system containing reticulocyte monoribosomes. The peptides synthesized in the cell-free system stimulated by lymph node mRNP were compared with the peptides formed in an unstimulated system (endogenous), and those formed in a system stimulated by reticulocyte mRNP. Peptides synthesized in the cell-free system stimulated by lymph node mRNP incorporated alanine and valine in a ratio which differed from both the endogenous and the reticulocyte mRNP-stimulated cell-free system. The product of the lymph node mRNP-stimulated system was precipitated by antirabbit gamma globulin antibody and had the amino acid alanine as the predominant N-terminal amino acid. The products of the unstimulated system, and the system stimulated by reticulocyte mRNP were not precipitated by specific anti-gamma globulin antibody and contained valine as the N-terminal amino acid. These data suggest that mRNP can direct protein synthesis in mammalian cell-free systems and support the suggestion that ribosomes are relatively nonspecific structures whose function in protein synthesis is directed by the messenger which they contain.
Paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia with syncope during pregnancy.

Abstract Paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia (VT) inducing syncope is usually associated with organic heart disease, but it can occur in a person with a structurally normal heart. 1,2 Although the disorder is rarely found in pregnant women, many reports of this have been published. 3–7 When life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias occur during pregnancy, choosing optimal therapy can be difficult. Beta-adrenergic blocking agents have been used for treatment of a variety of disorders in pregnant patients as well as ventricular arrhythmias in both pregnant and nonpregnant patients. 1,2,6–10 We describe the clinical histories of 2 patients without structural heart disease who presented with paroxysmal VT inducing syncope during pregnancy. In each case, maternal arrhythmia was abolished with cardio-selective β blockade without deleterious effect to the fetus.
Solvent-enabled nonenyzmatic sugar production from biomass for chemical and biological upgrading.

We recently reported a nonenzymatic biomass deconstruction process for producing carbohydrates using homogeneous mixtures of γ-valerolactone (GVL) and water as a solvent. A key step in this process is the separation of the GVL from the aqueous phase, enabling GVL recycling and the production of a concentrated aqueous carbohydrate solution. In this study, we demonstrate that phenolic solvents—sec-butylphenol, nonylphenol, and lignin-derived propyl guaiacol—are effective at separating GVL from the aqueous phase using only small amounts of solvent (0.5 g per g of the original water, GVL, and sugar hydrolysate). Furthermore, using nonylphenol, we produced a hydrolysate that supported robust growth and high yields of ethanol (0.49 g EtOH per g glucose) at an industrially relevant concentration (50.8 g L−1 EtOH). These results suggest that using phenolic solvents could be an interesting solution for separating and/or detoxifying aqueous carbohydrate solutions produced using GVL-based biomass deconstruction processes.
The effect of motion on visual acuity of the compound eye: a theoretical analysis.

Abstract Spatial resolution of moving objects is examined at the level of the photoreceptor axons on a theoretical basis using a linear description of the receptor potential for low object contrasts, and computer simulation with a nonlinear model for high object contrasts. It is shown that: (1) the dynamic properties of transduction by the photoreceptors can cause visual acuity to be significantly affected by motion within the domain of biologically meaningful velocities; (2) eyes with better static visual acuity need faster photoreceptor dynamics if their visual acuity is to be retained up to a reasonable velocity. This requirement appears to be met by the compound eyes of several different species, and in a given eye as it changes its state of adaptation.
Better care is the best defense: high-value clinical practice vs defensive medicine.

Viewing every patient as a potential lawsuit is bad for patients, practice, and the health care system.
A new acetone detection device using cavity ringdown spectroscopy at 266 nm: evaluation of the instrument performance using acetone sample solutions

Acetone in human breath gas has been established as a biomarker for type-1 diabetes (T1D). Non-invasive breath gas analysis for diabetes diagnostics using breath acetone as a biomarker depends on the availability of a portable, fast-response and sensitive acetone detection device. So far such an instrument is not available yet. We report on the first acetone detection device using cavity ringdown spectroscopy and evaluate its performance prior to breath gas testing. Taking advantage of the coincidence of the largest absorption cross-section of acetone in the UV being at 266 nm with the availability of the palm-size 266 nm laser source, we construct a portable ringdown acetone detection device. The high quality single mode laser beam allows us to simplify the optical design for coupling the laser beam into the cavity, which consists of a pair of high reflectivity mirrors (R = 99.87%) separated by 45 cm. The ringdown signal observed by a miniature detector is processed by a laptop computer. The instrument performance on sensitivity, response time and sampling methods is evaluated using acetone diluted in deionized water in the concentration range of 6 drops l−1 to 0.5 drop l−1. The device operating with two different sampling methods is investigated and shows different measurement sensitivities and response times. The minimum detectable concentration of acetone sample solutions is 0.5 drop l−1 or 7.9 µg l−1, which corresponds to a gas concentration of 0.49 ppmv derived from the measured absorbance (based on 1-σ). The typical measuring time in the second sampling method, including the times for the sample introduction, the purge of the gas cell and the data processing, is less than 50 s. Since the average concentration of acetone in healthy human breath gas is approximately 0.79–1.4 ppmv, this instrument has sufficient sensitivity to detect breath acetone with elevated concentrations. Issues in future developments towards an instrument suitable for breath gas testing are discussed.
Estimating major ion and nutrient concentrations in mangrove estuaries in Everglades National Park using leaf and satellite reflectance

Abstract Coastal mangrove ecosystems are under duress worldwide because of urban development, sea-level rise, and climate change, processes that are capable of changing the salinity and nutrient concentration of the water utilized by the mangroves. This study correlates long-term water chemistry in mangrove environments, located in Everglades National Park, with mangrove spectral reflectance measurements made at both the leaf and canopy scales. Spectral reflectance measurements were collected using a handheld spectrometer for leaf-level measurements and Landsat 5TM data for regional coverage. Leaf-level reflectance data were collected from three mangrove species (i.e., red, black and white mangroves) across two regions; a tall mangrove (~ 18 m) and dwarf mangrove (1–2 m) region. The reflectance data were then used to calculate a wide variety of biophysical reflectance indices (e.g., NDVI, EVI, SAVI) to determine signs of stress. Discrete, quarterly water samples from the surface water, groundwater, and pore water (20 and 85 cm depths) and daily autonomous surface water samples were collected at each site and analyzed for major anions (Cl− and SO42−), cations (Na+, K+, Mg2 +, and Ca2 +), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP). Mangrove sites that exhibited the highest salinity and ionic concentrations in the surface and subsurface water also had the lowest near-infrared reflectance at both the leaf and satellite levels. Seasonal reflectance responses were measured in the near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths at both the leaf and canopy scales and were strongly correlated with nutrient and ionic concentrations in the surface and subsurface water, even though there was no significant separability between the three mangrove species. Study sites that experienced the greatest variability in surface and subsurface water ionic concentrations also exhibited the greatest fluctuations in NIR spectral reflectance. Landsat 5TM images were able to detect tall and dwarf mangroves by the differences in spectral indices (e.g., NDVI, NDWI, and EVI) because of the variability in the background conditions amongst the environments. In addition, Landsat 5TM images spanning 16 years (1993–2009) were successfully used to estimate the seasonal variability in ionic concentrations in the surface water across the Florida Coastal mangrove ecotone. This study has shown that water chemistry can be estimated indirectly by measuring the change in spectral response at the leaf- or satellite-scale. Furthermore, the results of this research may be extrapolated to similar coastal mangrove systems throughout the Caribbean and world-wide wherever red, black, and white mangroves occur.
LGBTQ Street Youth Talk Back: A Meditation on Resistance and Witnessing.

In this ethnography of LGBTQ street youth, I argue that despite the regulation and containment of their bodies, queer street youth consistently create spaces of resistance that move them away from the tropes of infection, contamination, and deservedness that are inscripted onto the bodies of queer youth. Using the work of feminist philosopher Maria Lugones, this essay articulates a framework for resistance researchers – scholars who enact a “faithful witnessing” in solidarity with the communities they are describing, a movement away from the radical othering that often happens in social science research. It is in this positioning as a faithful witness that researchers can attend to the deconstruction of the discursive climates of deficit tropes that obscure the gestures and maneuvers of resistance. The tropes of contamination and irresponsibility intersect many of the experiences of LGBTQ street youth in ways that implicate not only LGBTQ street youth, but also other marginalized bodies.
Lateral motor column axons execute a ternary trajectory choice between limb and body tissues

Background Neuronal topographic map formation requires appropriate selection of axonal trajectories at intermediate choice points prior to target innervation. Axons of neurons in the spinal cord lateral motor column (LMC), as defined by a transcription factor code, are thought to innervate limb target tissues exclusively. Axons of the medial and lateral LMC divisions appear to execute a binary decision at the base of the limb as they choose between ventral and dorsal limb trajectories. The cellular logic that guides motor axon trajectory choices into non-limb tissues such as the ventral flank remains unclear.
Ectropion of the Lower Eyelid Secondary to Müller's Muscle-Capsulopalpebral Fascia Detachment

A patient developed severe lower eyelid ectropion after a bilateral levator aponeurosis and Muller's muscle advancement-and-truck blepharoptosis procedure and bilateral attachment of the lateral canthi to the lateral canthal tendons. The cause of this ectropion was detachment of Muller's muscle and capsulopalpebral fascia from the inferior tarsus and recession of these tissues into the orbit. This left the inferior tarsal border with only redundant conjunctiva attached to it, which could not maintain it in a downward direction; thus, an ectropion occurred. Muller's muscle and capsulopalpebral fascia were detached from the inferior tarsus and recessed 15 mm into the orbit. Reattaching Muller's muscle and capsulopalpebral fascia to the inferior tarsus relieved the ectropion.
Nature, nurture, and memory in a Socialist utopia: delineating the Soviet socio-ethnic body in the age of Socialism.

Therefore as soon as a spark appears it must be snuffed out, and the yeast separated from the vicinity of the dough, the rancid flesh cut off, and the mangy animal driven away from the flock of sheep, lest the entire house burn, the dough spoil, the body rot, and the flock perish. [The heretic] Arius was one spark in Alexandria; but because he was not immediately suppressed, the entire world was devastated with his flame.
Nonparametric Tests for Perfect Judgment Rankings

The ranked-set sampling literature includes both inference procedures that rely on the assumption of perfect rankings and inference procedures that are robust to violations of this assumption. Procedures that assume perfect rankings tend to be more efficient when rankings are in fact perfect, but they may be invalid when perfect rankings fail. As a result, users of ranked-set sampling must decide between efficiency and robustness, and there is at present little to guide their decision. In this article we introduce three rank-based goodness-of-fit tests that may be consulted in making these decisions. Our strategy in producing these tests is to think of the judgment order statistic classes as separate samples, compute the ranks of the units from each sample within the combined sample, and use these ranks to test whether the judgment rankings are perfect. Consideration of both power and ease of use leads us to recommend use of a test that rejects when the concordance between the vector of mean ranks and its...
The Stability of Self-Reported Physical Symptoms in African American Mothers and Their Impact on Children

Self-reported physical symptoms are an important marker of health and well-being, particularly among African American women. The stability of African American women’s physical symptoms or the impact of their symptoms on their children, however, has yet to be examined. This longitudinal study examined the stability of maternal self-reported physical symptoms, as well as their role in shaping child-reported physical symptoms, among 137 low-income African American families. Findings revealed that mothers’ self-reported physical symptoms were stable over 2.5 years. Mothers who reported higher levels of physical symptoms were more likely to have children who concurrently reported higher levels of symptoms. Physical symptoms reported by mothers at the first assessment also predicted child-reported physical symptoms 2.5 years later, but only for boys. Physical symptoms appear to be an important, yet understudied, symptom domain that may have significant implications for the health and well-being of African American families.
The Activity of Parafusin Is Distinct from That of Phosphoglucomutase in the Unicellular Eukaryote Paramecium

In this paper we identified the presence of a Paramecium phosphoglucomutase enzymatic activity which is clearly distinct from that of parafusin-the exocytosis-related phosphoglycoprotein. Since the recently cloned parafusin showed homology to rabbit muscle phosphoglucomutase, we have designed a specific peptide parafusin antibody-generated to a region not present in any known sequenced phosphoglucomutases-to distinguish parafusin from the Paramecium phosphoglucomutase. Separation of these two proteins was obtained using liquid chromatography, enzymatic activity assay and immunoblotting analysis with the specific parafusin peptide antibody. Parafusin fractions incorporated [B35S]UDP-Glc but not [35S]Glc-1-P whereas Paramecium phosphoglucomutase fractions incorporated [35S]Glc-1-P but not [B35S]UDP-Glc. This indicates that these two proteins are separate entities exhibiting different properties and most likely distinct functions in the cell.