cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Non-Newtonian model study for blood flow through a tapered artery with a stenosis

Abstract The blood flow through a tapered artery with a stenosis is analyzed, assuming the blood as tangent hyperbolic fluid model. The resulting nonlinear implicit system of partial differential equations is solved analytically with the help of perturbation method. The expressions for shear stress, velocity, flow rate, wall shear stress and longitudinal impedance are obtained. The variations of power law index m, Weissenberg number We, shape of stenosis n and stenosis size δ are discussed different type of tapered arteries.
QUANTITATIVE GENETIC ANALYSIS OF DIVERGENCE IN MALE SECONDARY SEXUAL TRAITS BETWEEN DROSOPHILA SIMULANS AND DROSOPHILA MAURITIANA

The sibling species Drosophila simulans and D. mauritiana differ significantly in a number of male secondary sexual traits, providing an ideal system for genetic analysis of interspecific morphological divergence. In the experiment reported here, F1 hybrids from a cross of two inbred lines were backcrossed in both directions and about 200 flies from each backcross were scored for several traits (bristle numbers and cuticle areas), as well as 18 markers distributed throughout the genome. Each trait was analyzed by composite interval mapping to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) and estimate their effects. For each trait, from one to eight loci were detected, with more divergent traits showing evidence for greater numbers of QTL. Estimates of additive effects varied widely, with a range of 0.4 to 4.1 environmental standard deviation units and an average of 2.2 units. There was substantial evidence for nonadditive effects, since the magnitude of estimates often differed significantly between the two backcrosses. The sign of the estimated effect differed among QTL for bristle traits, but not for cuticle area traits, suggesting that these two types of trait may have undergone different types of selection. Finally, several similarities were found between different traits in the estimated positions of QTL, suggesting that pleiotropy and/or linkage of QTL may have been important in the evolution of these traits.
A Comparative Study of the Similarities and the Differences among the Three Representative International Financial Crises

Since 1900,three representative international financial crises have occurred respectively between 1929 and 1933,between 1997 and 1998,and in 2008.There are both similarities and differences among the three representative financial crises in the aspects of sphere of influence,duration,causes,evolving stages,degree of influence,etc.
Operational State of Surveillance System for Acute Flaccid Paralysis in Xi'an City in 2008

[Objective]To analyze the epidemiologic features of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) patients with poliomyelitis virus (PV) infection,so as to increase the sensitivity of AFP surveillance system.[Methods]Epidemiological analysis was performed on AFP cases in Xi'an City in 2008.[Results]Totally 23 AFP cases were reported in Xi'an City in 2008,22 were confirmed without PV infection,.The reported incidence of AFP cases without PV infection among children under 15 years was 2.12/100 000.A total of 21 specimens were collected,20 (90.90%) were qualified,1 strain of PV II virus was isolated and identified as vaccine variant PV,its variant rate of viral protein 1(VP1) sequence did not reach vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) standard of classification.3 strains of non-polio enterovirus (NPEV) were identified,the isolation rate was 14.29%.The other monitoring indicators were all met the requirements of WHO.[Conclusion]For the aim of maintaining the state of polio-free,it is necessary to continue running the AFP surveillance system with high quality to keep the OPV immunization coverage rate of high-level.
Analysis of 226 Cases of Adverse Drug Reactions Induced by Traditional Chinese Medicine Injections

Objective To Understand adverse drug reactions of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Injections occurred in our city and provide alerts for clinical medicine.Methods 226 serious Adverse Drug Reactions Induced by Traditional Chinese Medicine Injections collected by Chuzhou City during 2009~2010 were analyzed using retrospective study method.Results out of the 226 cases ADR reports,higher ADR occurrence is observed in elderly patient group,amount to 40.52% percent.The clinical expression of ADR is showed mostly skin and appendix harms,amount to 33.63% percent;secondly a general harm,amount to 20.80% percent.ADR involving four types traditional Chinese medicine injection,the highest incidence of activating blood flow types,amount to 51.52% percent;involving 28 species,most of which occurred Shuanghuanglian injection,amount to 12.55% percent.Conclusion Traditional Chinese Medicine Injection shoud be used reasonably and ADR Induced by Traditional Chinese Medicine Injections should be intensively monitored to avoid personal injury caused by irrational use.
Microbiology: microbial antigen detection.

While other areas of laboratory medicine have been undergoing great growth and innovation, standard approaches remain the norm in clinical microbiology. Immunologic methods currently available for the detection of microbial antigens are assessed, and a brief discussion of chemical methods of detection reveals a valuable area for future research.
Preservice physical educators' perspectives of sport education.

Although many researchers have investigated sport education (SE) as a curriculum model at different educational levels (Bennett & Hastie, 1997; MacPhail, Gorely, Kirk, & Kinchin, 2008; MacPhail & Kinchin, 2004; Spittle & Byrne, 2009), there has been limited research on preservice physical education (PE) teachers’ perceptions of SE. In particular, investigations of preservice PE teachers’ perceptions of participating in activity courses in which they used the SE curriculum model are lacking. The purpose of the study was to examine preservice PE teachers’ perceptions of an advanced basketball class that was taught by a novice instructor using the SE curriculum model. Participants included 38 preservice PE teacher education students enrolled in an advanced basketball class and their instructor. Data were collected through formal interviews with 10 preservice PE teachers (seven males, three females) and the course instructor. In addition, document data in the form of lectures given by the instructor, written assessments, sample practice plans, course syllabi, course outline, and grading plan were also collected. Data were analyzed by developing categories and examining them for common elements that ran throughout and tied them together. Themes were then extracted out of these categories. Data were then selectively coded for examples that illustrated the themes. The analysis revealed three main findings. First, the results indicate that students were empowered in the class because they directed their learning and believed that using SE would benefit them when they became inservice teachers. Second, there was a great deal of formal accountability embedded in the class, and although students were informed that they would be evaluated on their performance, they believed that effort would count more toward their final grade in the class. Third, the preservice PE teachers perceived that basketball taught with the SE model was meaningful in that it was enjoyable and they learned more about the game in contrast to their lack of learning in their high school PE experiences playing basketball.
A Novel NF-kB:NFAT Enhanceosome Synergistically Regulate CD154 Gene in Aggressive B Cell Lymphomas.

Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) causes many deaths world wide, and is one of the few cancers that have a continual increase in incidence and mortality rates over the last few decades. Diffused large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is an aggressive B cell lymphoma that accounts approximately 40% of all NHL-B cells. We have previously shown that dysregulated CD40 ligand (CD40L/CD154) expression in DLBCL maintains lymphoma cell growth and cell survival. CD40 ligand is a member of the TNF superfamily of proteins that has a wide variety effects throughout the immune system and is critical for both cellular and humoral immunity. It was originally thought that CD154 expression was restricted to activated CD4+ T lymphocytes. However, expression of CD154 has also been demonstrated in non-lymphocytic leukocytes such as mast cells, basophils, eosinophils, dendritic cells and macrophages. More importantly, dysregulated CD154 expression has been noted in a number of diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Alzheimer’s, and in B cell lymphomas. Although the functional analysis of CD154 has been extensive, little is known about the mechanisms controlling CD154 expression in activated T cells, let alone in normal and malignant B cells. In this study, we show that constitutive NF-kB and NFAT activation in aggressive lymphoma B cells directly interact and synergistically regulate CD154 gene expression. Immunoprecipitation and confocal analyses indicate that NFATc1 and NF-kB (p65 and c-rel) complex and colocalize in lymphoma B cells. Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (CHIP) assays analysis demonstrate that NFATc1, p65 and c-rel bind to the CD154 promoter, that is enhanced by HDAC inhibitor (TSA or SAHA) treatments. HDAC inhibitors also enhance CD154 promoter activity, providing evidence that CD154 transcriptional regulation involves histone acetylation. Over-expression studies show a synergistic effect by NFATc1 and NF-kB (c-rel) on the CD154 promoter. Promoter deletion and site direct mutagenesis studies on the CD154 promoter reveal that the transcriptional regulation of CD154 requires two sites, the distal kB site at −1180 and a proximal NFAT site at −250. These sites bind to both, NFAT and NF-kB proteins, as wells as the DNA architectural protein HMG-1, indicating that the CD154 promoter DNA may loop and form an enhanceosome-like complex. Studies using siRNA to p65, c-rel, or NFATc1 repress CD154 promoter activity, indicating that these transcription factors are necessary and sufficient for CD154 gene transcription. These findings strongly suggest a novel control mechanism for CD154 gene transcription, therefore, providing potential treatment modalities for lymphoma B cells as well as other disorders involving dysredulated CD154 expression.
Competition policy in the global era

ABSTRACTI discuss some of the implications of globalization to the design and application of competition policy. My analysis is divided into three different areas: price fixing, mergers and abuse of dominant position. I also consider the importance of China as an emergent player in the global competition policy arena.
Consistent regions: guaranteed tuple processing in IBM streams

Guaranteed tuple processing has become critically important for many streaming applications. This paper describes how we enabled IBM Streams, an enterprise-grade stream processing system, to provide data processing guarantees. Our solution goes from language-level abstractions to a runtime protocol. As a result, with a couple of simple annotations at the source code level, IBM Streams developers can define consistent regions, allowing any subgraph of their streaming application to achieve guaranteed tuple processing. At runtime, a consistent region periodically executes a variation of the Chandy-Lamport snapshot algorithm to establish a consistent global state for that region. The coupling of consistent states with data replay enables guaranteed tuple processing.
A Gradient of Sitewise Diversity Promotes Evolutionary Fitness for Binder Discovery in a Three-Helix Bundle Protein Scaffold

Engineered proteins provide clinically and industrially impactful molecules and utility within fundamental research, yet inefficiencies in discovering lead variants with new desired functionality, while maintaining stability, hinder progress. Improved function, which can result from a few strategic mutations, is fundamentally separate from discovering novel function, which often requires large leaps in sequence space. While a highly diverse combinatorial library covering immense sequence space would empower protein discovery, the ability to sample only a minor subset of sequence space and the typical destabilization of random mutations preclude this strategy. A balance must be reached. At library scale, compounding several destabilizing mutations renders many variants unable to properly fold and devoid of function. Broadly searching sequence space while reducing the level of destabilization may enhance evolution. We exemplify this balance with affibody, a three-helix bundle protein scaffold. Using natural...
Early life stress leads to developmental and sex selective effects on performance in a novel object placement task

Disruptions in early life care, including neglect, extreme poverty, and trauma, influence neural development and increase the risk for and severity of pathology. Significant sex disparities have been identified for affective pathology, with females having an increased risk of developing anxiety and depressive disorder. However, the effects of early life stress (ELS) on cognitive development have not been as well characterized, especially in reference to sex specific impacts of ELS on cognitive abilities over development. In mice, fragmented maternal care resulting from maternal bedding restriction, was used to induce ELS. The development of spatial abilities were tracked using a novel object placement (NOP) task at several different ages across early development (P21, P28, P38, P50, and P75). Male mice exposed to ELS showed significant impairments in the NOP task compared with control reared mice at all ages tested. In female mice, ELS led to impaired NOP performance immediately following weaning (P21) and during peri-adolescence (P38), but these effects did not persist into early adulthood. Prior work has implicated impaired hippocampus neurogenesis as a possible mediator of negative outcomes in ELS males. In the hippocampus of behaviorally naive animals there was a significant decrease in expression of Ki-67 (proliferative marker) and doublecortin (DCX-immature cell marker) as mice aged, and a more rapid developmental decline in these markers in ELS reared mice. However, the effect of ELS dissipated by P28 and no main effect of sex were observed. Together these results indicate that ELS impacts the development of spatial abilities in both male and female mice and that these effects are more profound and lasting in males.
Electrogenerated Chemiluminescence of Semiconductor Nanoparticles and Their Applications in Biosensors

Compared to fluorescence, electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) can be a superior analytical tool in terms of sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratios due to the absence of background emissions from unwanted photoexcitation. Semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs) are highly promising in many analytical applications, because they can produce stable ECL and possess surface-dependent, tuneable ECL properties. This minireview deals with the brief overview of ECL energetics and processes; the current progress of ECL of semiconductor NPs; and recent advances in biological sensing based on ECL of semiconductor NPs. The current challenges and perspectives on ECL of semiconductor NPs and their biological sensing applications are also discussed.
Dendrimer and dendrimer–conjugate protein complexes and protein coronas

Dendrimers and dendrimer conjugates are widely employed for biological applications such as bio-imaging and drug delivery. Understanding the interaction between dendrimers and their biological envi...
Representational and Experimental Modeling in Archaeology

I distinguish, by specificity and representational function, several different types of archaeological models: phenomenological, scaffolding, and explanatory models. These take the form of concrete, mathematical, and computational models (following Weisberg’s taxonomy), and they exemplify what Morgan describes as the double life of models; they vary significantly in the degree to which they are intended to accurately represent a particular target, or are media for experimental manipulation of idealized cultural processes. At the phenomenological end of the spectrum, representational models of data include typological constructs that selectively represent variability in archaeological data on several dimensions: formal (material), spatial, and temporal. Archaeologists also build phenomenological models of data drawn from nonarchaeological sources – cultural and natural – that are relevant for interpreting archaeological data as evidence. Assemblages of these target and source models provide the necessary scaffolding for building and evaluating more ambitious explanatory and experimental models of cultural systems and processes, actual and hypothetical.
Blur Adaptation to Central Retinal Disease.

Purpose The long-term, low-resolution vision experienced by individuals affected by retinal disease that causes central vision loss (CVL) may change their perception of blur through adaptation. This study used a short-term adaptation paradigm to evaluate adaptation to blur and sharpness in patients with CVL. Methods A variation of Webster's procedure was used to measure the point of subjective neutrality (PSN). The image that appeared normal after adaptation to each of seven blur and sharpness levels (PSN) was measured in 12 patients with CVL (20/60 to 20/320) and 5 subjects with normal sight (NS). Patients with CVL used a preferred retinal locus to view the images. Small control studies investigated the effects of long-term and medium-term (1 hour) defocus and diffusive blur. Results Adaptation was reliably measured in patients with CVL and in the peripheral vision of NS subjects. The shape of adaptation curves was similar in patients with CVL and both central and peripheral vision of NS subjects. No statistical correlations were found between adaptation and age, visual acuity, retinal eccentricity, or contrast sensitivity. Long-term blur experience by a non-CVL myopic participant caused a shift in the adaptation function. Conversely, medium-term adaptation did not cause a shift in the adaptation function. Conclusions Blur and sharp short-term adaptation occurred in peripheral vision of normal and diseased retinas. In most patients with CVL, neither adaptation nor blur perception was affected by long-term attention to peripheral low-resolution vision. The impact of blur/sharp adaptation on the benefit of image enhancement techniques for patients with CVL is discussed.
WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? INTEREST-CONVERGENCE AS A LENS TO VIEW STATE RATIFICATION OF POST EMANCIPATION SLAVE MARRIAGES

As an honored participant in the Western New England University School of Law’s Building the Arc of Justice: The Life and Legal Thought of Derrick Bell Symposium, I examined and reflected on the late Professor Bell’s contribution to my understanding of life and law. I looked for his legacy, mark, and influence on notions of fairness, justice, and motives. I hope to go beyond the veneer, the glossy wax coating, on the life that we know and the stories that we tell, or that we avoid telling, in the hope of revealing a more well-rounded truth. If eight people stand in a circle and describe an inanimate object resting at the center of the circle, each will have a different view, a different story, a different description. Consider a crowd on a busy street witnessing a purse snatching. Each saw the event, but it takes several eyewitnesses to arrive at a composite sketch of the perpetrator because each witness has a different vantage point or view. Finally, consider a nation watching the emancipation and the journey toward freedom of hundreds of thousands of former slaves—men, women, and children. The different angles, views, perspectives, reflections, and vantage points are countless. Each account is valid and truthful but perhaps none will be exactly
The First Alkaline-Earth Fluorooxoborate Ba[B4O6F2]—Characterisation and Doping with Eu2+

The very first alkaline-earth fluorooxoborate Ba[B4 O6 F2 ] was synthesised by solid state methods starting from Ba(BF4 )2 , β-BaB2 O4 , and B2 O3 . The crystal structure derived from single-crystal X-ray diffraction (P21 /n, a=6.6384(2) A, b=7.6733(3) A, c=11.3385(4) A, β=91.281(2)°, Z=4, Rint =0.0269, R1 =0.018, wR2 =0.034) comprises layers of BO3 F tetrahedra condensed through triangular BO3 units according to the descriptor 2Δ2□: Δ. The extraordinary thirteen-fold coordination of barium by oxygen and fluorine leads to interesting optical properties of a sample doped with divalent europium, where a 4f→4f emission was recorded around 359 nm together with a broad emission band of a 5d→4f emission peaking at 366 nm. The compound is further characterised by IR-, Raman-, and solid-state NMR-spectroscopic methods. Moreover, DFT calculations as well as TGA and DSC measurements were performed.
Measuring Machine Intelligence of an Agent-Based Distributed Sensor Network System

A measure of machine intelligence facilitates comparing alternatives having different complexity. In this paper, a method for measuring the machine intelligence quotient (MIQ) of human-machine cooperative systems is adapted and applied to measure the MIQ of an agent-based distributed sensor network system. Results comparing the MIQ of different agent-based scenarios are presented for the distributed sensor network application. The MIQ comparison is contrasted with the average sensor network field life, a key performance indicator, achieved with each scenario in Monte Carlo simulations.
The idempotent structure of an infinite dimensional Clifford algebra

A Clifford algebra for an infinite-dimensional real vector space is constructed. Any such Clifford algebra is simple. The identity is the only central idempotent; there are no primitive idempotents. There exists a sequence f i ,i = 1, 2,..., of pairwise orthogonal idempotents.
Risk and cost of immobility in the presence of an immobile predator

Escape latency theory models the tradeoff between maintaining crypsis by remaining immobile near an immobile predator versus moving to flee or engage in fitness-enhancing activities. The model predicts that latency to flee increases as cost of fleeing increases and decreases as cost of remaining immobile increases. As predation risk increases, cost of fleeing, primarily due to abandoning crypsis due to immobility, decreases. Predictions have been tested for few risks and a single cost of immobility factor in only two species of active foragers. To gauge the breadth of applicability of the model, we tested effects of four risk factors and two cost of immobility factors in ambush-foraging phrynosomatid lizards, which we selected for testing because foraging mode strongly affects many aspects of ecology and behavior of lizards. Latency to flee decreased as standing distance (predator–prey distance before fleeing) decreased, predator approach speed increased, directness of approach increased, and predator persistence increased. Latency to move was shorter in the presence of food and shorter for males in the presence of females. Lizards often moved toward food or females instead of fleeing. Latency was affected as predicted by all risk and by cost of remaining immobile factors. Our findings agree with previous results for the same four risk factors and the foraging cost of immobility. That social cost of immobility affects latency as predicted is a novel finding. The model is robust, applying to ecologically diverse prey and to a wide range of factors affecting costs of fleeing and of immobility.
Estimating Marginal Posterior Densities

In Bayesian inference, a joint posterior distribution is available through the likelihood function and a prior distribution. One purpose of Bayesian inference is to calculate and display marginal posterior densities because the marginal posterior densities provide complete information about parameters of interest. As shown in Chapter 2, a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling algorithm, such as the Gibbs sampler or a Metropolis-Hastings algorithm, can be used to draw MCMC samples from the posterior distribution. Chapter 3 also demonstrates how we can easily obtain posterior quantities such as posterior means, posterior standard deviations, and other posterior quantities from MCMC samples. However, when a Bayesian model becomes complicated, it may be difficult to obtain a reliable estimator of a marginal posterior density based on the MCMC sample. A traditional method for estimating marginal posterior densities is kernel density estimation. Since the kernel density estimator is nonparametric, it may not be efficient. On the other hand, the kernel density estimator may not be applicable for some complicated Bayesian models. In the context of Bayesian inference, the joint posterior density is typically known up to a normalizing constant. Using the structure of a posterior density, a number of authors (e.g., Gelfand, Smith, and Lee 1992; Johnson 1992; Chen 1993 and 1994; Chen and Shao 1997c; Chib 1995; Verdinelli and Wasserman 1995) propose parametric marginal posterior density estimators based on the MCMC sample. In this chapter, we present several available Monte Carlo (MC) methods for computing marginal posterior density estimators, and we also discuss how well marginal posterior density estimation works using the Kullback—Leibler (K—L) divergence as a performance measure.
Extracellular aspartic proteinases from Candida yeasts.

Infections caused by Candida opportunistic yeasts are becoming one of the major threats for immune compromised patients (Douglas, 1988).
Invasive Snakehead and Introduced Sport Fish Illustrate an Environmental Health Paradox of Invasive Species and Angler Demand

The invasive snakehead fish, which is native to Africa, Asia, Indonesia, and Malaysia, has been found in nine states in the United States and has notably developed a reproducing population in South Florida, Maryland, and Hawaii. This case study discusses the environmental impact and policies surrounding the snakehead fish population in the United States’ waters, as well as three other fishes (smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and trout) that are native to some bodies of water in the United States, but non-native to others. This case study will examine the paradox that exists when the support of anglers and/or other important stakeholders in wildlife management does not match the potential a species has to damage a native habitat. Readers should be able to think critically about how people have come to define what is seemingly good for the environment based on personal human interest rather than environmental interest. They should also think about how easily the environment can be changed, even permanently, due to small cases of invasive species spreading rapidly from human practices.
Fitness Cost of Aflatoxin Production in Aspergillus flavus When Competing with Soil Microbes Could Maintain Balancing Selection.

ABSTRACT Selective forces that maintain the polymorphism for aflatoxigenic and nonaflatoxigenic individuals of Aspergillus flavus are largely unknown. As soils are widely considered the natural habitat of A. flavus, we hypothesized that aflatoxin production would confer a fitness advantage in the soil environment. To test this hypothesis, we used A. flavus DNA quantified by quantitative PCR (qPCR) as a proxy for fitness of aflatoxigenic and nonaflatoxigenic field isolates grown in soil microcosms. Contrary to predictions, aflatoxigenic isolates had significantly lower fitness than did nonaflatoxigenic isolates in natural soils across three temperatures (25, 37, and 42°C). The addition of aflatoxin to soils (500 ng/g) had no effect on the growth of A. flavus. Amplicon sequencing showed that neither the aflatoxin-producing ability of the fungus nor the addition of aflatoxin had a significant effect on the composition of fungal or bacterial communities in soil. We argue that the fitness disadvantage of aflatoxigenic isolates is most likely explained by the metabolic cost of producing aflatoxin. Coupled with a previous report of a selective advantage of aflatoxin production in the presence of some insects, our findings give an ecological explanation for balancing selection resulting in persistent polymorphisms in aflatoxin production. IMPORTANCE Aflatoxin, produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus, is an extremely potent hepatotoxin that causes acute toxicosis and cancer, and it incurs hundreds of millions of dollars annually in agricultural losses. Despite the importance of this toxin to humans, it has remained unclear what the fungus gains by producing aflatoxin. In fact, not all strains of A. flavus produce aflatoxin. Previous work has shown an advantage to producing aflatoxin in the presence of some insects. Our current work demonstrates the first evidence of a disadvantage to A. flavus in producing aflatoxin when competing with soil microbes. Together, these opposing evolutionary forces could explain the persistence of both aflatoxigenic and nonaflatoxigenic strains through evolutionary time.
Combined Effects of Three High-Energy Charged Particle Beams Important for Space Flight on Brain, Behavioral and Cognitive Endpoints in B6D2F1 Female and Male Mice.

The radiation environment in deep space includes the galactic cosmic radiation with different proportions of all naturally occurring ions from protons to uranium. Most experimental animal studies for assessing the biological effects of charged particles have involved acute dose delivery for single ions and/or fractionated exposure protocols. Here, we assessed the behavioral and cognitive performance of female and male C57BL/6J × DBA2/J F1 (B6D2F1) mice 2 months following rapidly delivered, sequential irradiation with protons (1 GeV, 60%), 16O (250 MeV/n, 20%), and 28Si (263 MeV/n, 20%) at 0, 25, 50, or 200 cGy at 4-6 months of age. Cortical BDNF, CD68, and MAP-2 levels were analyzed 3 months after irradiation or sham irradiation. During the dark period, male mice irradiated with 50 cGy showed higher activity levels in the home cage than sham-irradiated mice. Mice irradiated with 50 cGy also showed increased depressive behavior in the forced swim test. When cognitive performance was assessed, sham-irradiated mice of both sexes and mice irradiated with 25 cGy showed normal responses to object recognition and novel object exploration. However, object recognition was impaired in female and male mice irradiated with 50 or 200 cGy. For cortical levels of the neurotrophic factor BDNF and the marker of microglial activation CD68, there were sex × radiation interactions. In females, but not males, there were increased CD68 levels following irradiation. In males, but not females, there were reduced BDNF levels following irradiation. A significant positive correlation between BDNF and CD68 levels was observed, suggesting a role for activated microglia in the alterations in BDNF levels. Finally, sequential beam irradiation impacted the diversity and composition of the gut microbiome. These included dose-dependent impacts and alterations to the relative abundance of several gut genera, such as Butyricicoccus and Lachnospiraceae. Thus, exposure to rapidly delivered sequential proton, 16O ion, and 28Si ion irradiation significantly affects behavioral and cognitive performance, cortical levels of CD68 and BDNF in a sex-dependent fashion, and the gut microbiome.
Bifurcation or state tipping: assessing transition type in a model trophic cascade

Ecosystems can experience sudden regime shifts due to a variety of mechanisms. Two of the ways a system can cross a tipping point include when a perturbation to the system state is large enough to push the system beyond the basin of attraction of one stable state and into that of another (state tipping), and alternately, when slow changes to some underlying parameter lead to a fold bifurcation that annihilates one of the stable states. The first mechanism does not generate the phenomenon of critical slowing down (CSD), whereas the latter does generate CSD, which has been postulated as a way to detect early warning signs ahead of a sudden shift. Yet distinguishing between the two mechanisms (s-tipping and b-tipping) is not always as straightforward as it might seem. The distinction between “state” and “parameter” that may seem self-evident in mathematical equations depends fundamentally on ecological details in model formulation. This distinction is particularly relevant when considering high-dimensional models involving trophic webs of interacting species, which can only be reduced to a one-dimensional model of a tipping point under appropriate consideration of both the mathematics and biology involved. Here we illustrate that process of dimension reduction and distinguishing between s- and b-tipping for a highly influential trophic cascade model used to demonstrate tipping points and test CSD predictions in silico, and later, in a natural lake ecosystem. Our analysis resolves a previously unclear issue as to the nature of the tipping point involved.
"Nobody Don't Really Know What That Mean": Understandings of "Queer" among Urban LGBTQ Young People of Color.

Drawing from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 40 urban LGBTQ young people of color, I explore their uses, understandings, and meanings of “queer.” With several notable exceptions—those who...
Health-Related Quality of Life After Cytoreductive Surgery/HIPEC for Mucinous Appendiceal Cancer: Results of a Multicenter Randomized Trial Comparing Oxaliplatin and Mitomycin.

This study evaluated health-related quality of life (HRQOL) using patient-reported outcomes in subjects with mucinous appendiceal neoplasms who underwent cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) as part of a randomized trial comparing mitomycin with oxaliplatin. In this prospective multicenter study, 121 mucinous appendiceal cancer patients, with evidence of peritoneal dissemination who underwent CRS, were randomized to receive mitomycin (divided 40 mg) or oxaliplatin (200 mg/m2) for HIPEC. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Neurotoxicity (FACT-G/NTX) questionnaire was utilized to assess HRQOL. The Trial Outcome Index (TOI) is a summary index responsive to changes in physical/functional outcomes. Repeated measures mixed models with an unstructured variance matrix were applied to assess changes in HRQOL longitudinally. Baseline questionnaire compliance was 95.9%. Baseline physical well-being (PWB) was independently associated with overall survival (hazard ratio 0.79, 95% confidence interval 0.66–0.96; p = 0.017). The TOI was significantly lower in the mitomycin group compared with the oxaliplatin arm at 12 weeks (p = 0.044; score difference 6.35) and 24 weeks after surgery (p = 0.049; score difference 5.61). At 12 weeks after surgery, declines from baseline were significant in the TOI (p = 0.004; score decline 8.99), PWB (p < 0.001; score decline 2.83), and FWB (p < 0.001; score decline 3.42) in the mitomycin group but not the oxaliplatin group. Compared with mitomycin, HIPEC perfusion with oxaliplatin results in significantly better physical and functional outcomes. With similar survival outcomes and complication rates, oxaliplatin should be considered as the chemoperfusion agent of choice in mucinous appendiceal cancer patients undergoing CRS/HIPEC.
A combined variable metric — Conjugate Gradient algorithm for a class of large scale unconstrained minimization problems

An algorithm is being presented for a special class of unconstrained minimization problems. The algorithm exploits the special structure of the Hessian in the problems under consideration. It is based on applying Bertsekas' [1] Scaled Partial Conjugate Gradient method with respect to a metric that is updated by the Rank One update, using gradients obtained in the preceeding steps. Two classes of problems are presented having the structure assumed in designing the proposed algorithm. In both cases the algorithm uses only first derivative information. Furthermore, it possesses quadratic termination in considerably fewer steps than the number of variables.
Teaching the Nonprofessional Worker

The principles and methods of clinical instruction discussed thus far are basically those used in teaching all nursing personnel, regardless of how they are categorized. Nevertheless, these methods must be adapted to the work-role and to the educational background of the nonprofessional group—the practical nurse, the nurses’ aide, the nursing assistant and the orderly. In this chapter we will consider some methods of adapting techniques of clinical instruction to nonprofessional workers, some of the dilemmas which arise when nonprofessionals are assigned to give nursing care, and some measures which can help the clinical instructor and team leader to work effectively with this group of nursing personnel.
Remarkable Enhancement of Nucleotide Excision Repair of a Bulky Guanine Lesion in a Covalently Closed Circular DNA Plasmid Relative to the Same Linearized Plasmid.

The excision of DNA lesions by human nucleotide excision repair (NER) has been extensively studied in human cell extracts. Employing DNA duplexes with fewer than 200 bp containing a single bulky, b...
Co-Expression of the α2-Subunit of Laminin and the Metastatic Phenotype in Melanoma Cells

Previous studies in this laboratory demonstrated the presence of laminin M or “M” subunit of about 300 kDa, which was shown to be absent in EHS tumor laminin or in laminin synthesized by some neoplastic cell lines (Ohno et al., 1983, 1986; Jenq et al., 1993). Because of the large number of isoforms of the laminin chains isolated in different laboratories, a new nomenclature has been proposed (Burgeson, et al., 1993). Table I shows the new names given to the “classical” laminin chains isolated from the mouse EHS tumor as well as to the new isoforms of laminin isolated from a variety of normal tissues. Thus, AB1 B2 is now designated α1s1γ1. The “M” subunit first isolated by Ohno et al. (1983, 1986) in our laboratory has been given the new name α2. Merosin, the laminin which contains the α2-subunit has been designated α1s1γ1. Merosin has been identified in human placenta, striated muscle, peripheral nerve and Schwannoma cells (Leivo and Engvall, 1988; Ehrig et al., 1990; Engvall et al., 1992).
Pediatric Cardiorenal Syndromes

Cardiorenal syndrome (CRS) describes a specific acute and chronic clinical picture in which the heart or the kidney are primarily dysfunctioning and secondarily affect each other. CRS is classified into five classes: acute (I) and chronic (II) CRS, acute (III) and chronic (IV) reno-cardiac syndromes, and secondary dysfunction (V) of both heart and kidneys (i.e. during systemic clinical syndromes as sepsis, diabetes, auto-immune conditions, etc.). Pediatric CRS (pCRS) are currently well established conditions, with peculiar aspects with respect to adult patients. Acute CRS (type I) in infants generally relates to patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass, whereas CRS type 2 (CRS II) is related to children with chronic heart dysfunction, such as dilated cardiomyopathy. The prevalence, risk factors and outcomes of CRS in children is less described. The present chapter will specifically detail epidemiology, risk factors, therapeutic options and outcomes of CRS I and II, in order to highlight all the clinical conditions that secondarily affect renal function due to heart failure.
Brain Functional Connectivity Pattern Recognition for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder Diagnosis

This research proposes a descriptive network analysis approach to recognize brain functional connectivity patterns for Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Diagnosis. We apply network analysis to reveal changes at different time points and distinguish between ADHD and Contol states by constructing binary networks from correlation matrices. Network metrics are computed and compared across different time points. Based on our study, significant changes of the network features are observed after a certain time point. Density and median of triangles are the most distinguished features. In distinguishing ADHD and Control, the average shortest path distance and the average number of neighbors are the most significant features. We also tested the collected network metrics using machine learning models. Our results indicate that using network metrics can enhance the knowledge representation of brain functional connectivity and improve machine learning model performance.
GLP-1 receptor agonists: an updated review of head-to-head clinical studies:

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RA) are attractive options for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) because they effectively lower A1C and weight while having a low risk of hypog...
An Exploration of Health and Safety Information in Sustainability Reports Based on GRI 403 Occupational Safety and Health 2018 Guidelines

Environmental information has been included in sustainability reports for several years; however, some organizations have recently focused sustainability on other areas, such as social responsibili...
P94 Preliminary Efficacy of the ‘Super Dads Super Kids’ Web-Based Nutrition Education Program on Determinants of Behavior and Health Behaviors of Asian Indian Fathers and Their Elementary School-Age Children

Background Fathers’ nutrition knowledge, attitudes and child feeding practices impact children's eating behavior and future weight. There is a need to target fathers in child nutrition education interventions, especially in ethnic groups like Asian Indians (AI). Objective The study aimed to examine the efficacy of a social cognitive theory (SCT) based online nutrition education program on determinants of behavior (knowledge, self-efficacy) and behavior (healthy eating, physical activity) in AI fathers and their children. Study design, Settings, Participants Ninety-eight AI fathers of 6-11-year-old children from various Indian communities in Florida were recruited to participate in the web-based nutrition education program. Fathers were asked to engage with the intervention for 6 weeks and topics included father's role in child health, ideal child feeding practices, healthy eating and physical activity. Validated survey questionnaires at baseline, post-intervention (6 weeks) and follow up (12 weeks) assessed participants’ knowledge, child feeding, self-efficacy, self-regulation, diet and physical activity for fathers and their children. Analysis Descriptive statistics and Repeated Measures ANOVA were performed through SPSS v 26. Results Majority of AI fathers were between 35-44 years (75.5%). There was a statistically significant increase on the AI fathers’ nutrition knowledge (F = 120.93, P Conclusion Web-based interventions are effective to improve behavioral determinants and behavior in AI fathers’ and their children. Future studies should consider diverse AI father groups for childhood obesity prevention.
A local Hopf lemma and unique continuation for elliptic equations

Abstract We prove results on unique continuation at the boundary for the solutions of real analytic elliptic partial differential equations of the form Δ u + ∑ i = 1 n b i ( x ) ∂ u ∂ x i + c ( x ) u = 0 . The work is motivated by and generalizes the main results of X. Huang et al. in [15] and [16] , and M.S. Baouendi and L.P. Rothschild in [5] .
Review of the Stata statistical package

Stata is a general purpose statistical system produced by Stata Corporation, College Station, Texas (http:// www.stata.com). It is available forMacintosh,Windowsand many avours of Unix. This includes Linux, FreeBSD, and various other PC-based systems, and until the recent release of S-PLUS 5.0 for Linux it was the only major commercial statistics package for PC-based Unix systems. I have used Stata 5.0 on Windows 95 and NT, Solaris, and Linux. Stata is primarily a command-line system, though the Windows andMacintosh version provide multiple windows for input, output, variable lists, help and other purposes, and the Windows version allows the user to customise the menu system. The functionality provided is the same on all the platforms, with the exception of graph printing, which is substantially more exible on Windows than Unix. In my experience Stata is easy to use and easy to teach to epidemiology and biostatistics students. The program comes with good online help and excellent manuals and there is a very useful user-run email discussion list to which the Stata programmers and many users contribute. In addition to basic statistical procedures Stata has good features for epidemiology and appears from my non-expert viewpoint to have good coverage of many areas of econometrics. It has less good coverage of time series and multivariate analysis. The availability of recent statistical methods, the power and exibility of the programming language and the production-quality graphics support is generally but not universally inferior to S-PLUS; the speed is generally superior. In the remainder of this review I will concentrate on Stata's ®t to what I want from a statistical package as a biostatistician involved in teaching, and statistical and medical research.
Microwave Power Transmission

Microwave power transmission (MPT ) is the wireless transfer of large amounts of power at microwave frequencies from one location to another. MPT is often referred to in the literature as wireless power transmission (WPT ) at microwave frequencies. MPT research has been driven primarily by the desire to remotely power unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV s) and by the concept of space solar power (SSP ) first conceived by Dr. Peter Glaser of the Arthur D. Little Company in 1968. SSP is an MPT system with the addition of solar cells and magnetrons for microwave power generation. The SSP idea calls for a constellation of solar power satellites (SPS s) to capture the energy from the sun using arrays of solar cells. The solar cell panels output large DC voltages to awaiting cavity magnetrons positioned on various subarrays within each SPS phased-array aperture. These magnetrons convert the high-voltage DC outputs of the solar panel arrays to microwave power. The microwave energy is then beamed to Earth to farms of rectifying antenna (rectenna) arrays that convert the incoming microwave energy back to DC power. Since its inception, SSP has gained considerable attention since it has the potential of providing clean, renewable, and continuous power for generations to come. MPT has been shown experimentally as a way for people on Earth to remotely power unmanned high-altitude platforms such as UAV s. Additional uses for MPT include powering space probes from future space stations into deep space and powering robots to enter dangerous environments such as nuclear-contaminated areas. Keywords: wireless power transmission; space solar power; rectifying antennas
Three-dimensional abruptly autofocusing optical wave packet

We generate a three-dimensional (3D) autofocusing wave packet by combining counter-propagating Airy pulses and an Airy ring beam. A 3D profile measurement reveals unique 3D autofocusing of such wave packet in a linear medium.