cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pretreatment methods comparison of virus PCR detection in seafoods

Objective To compare PEG precipitation method and mashing method without PEG in viral PCR detection in seafoods. Methods Commercial hepatitis A vaccine as standard substance were diluted to various concentrations with gradient method. Then seafoods were contaminated with the hepatitis A vaccine,and the viral nucleic acid was extracted following treatment by pretreatment method for hepatitis A vaccine detection of GB / T22287- 2008 and PBS mashing digestive glands,then fluorescent PCR was employed for qualitative analysis and semi- quantitative detection of hepatitis A virus severally,finally the difference of the two different pretreatment methods were compared. Results Hepatitis A virus could be detected by both methods. The lgCCID 50 of the highest dilution ratio were 1,2 and 4 for vaccine solution,sample pretreated by PEG precipitation method and that by mashing method without PEG. Conclusion Pretreatment by PEG precipitationt method is better for virus PCR detection in seafoods due to easy operation and better sensitivity.
Murine progressive ankylosis is not immunologically mediated

Objective. Murine progressive ankylosis is an autosomal recessive disorder in mice similar to the human spondyloarthropathies. The gene responsible for progressive ankylosis, ank, has not been identified and its product is unknown. We investigated whether the immune system plays a role in the pathogenesis of progressive ankylosis. Methods. Reciprocal transfers of spleen or bone marrow cells or serum between ank/ank and normal mice were performed. CD4 T cells were depleted in vivo by injection with monoclonal antibody. Ank/ank ; nu/nu mice were bred from double heterozygote offspring of homozygote parents. Results. Disease was neither ameliorated nor induced by these immune system manipulations. Conclusion. We conclude that progressive ankylosis is not immune mediated. The similarities between ankylosing spondylitis and murine progressive ankylosis may be due to mechanisms producing osteogenesis in nonosseous tissues.
Attachment of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Other Bacterial Cells Grown in Two Media to Beef Adipose and Muscle Tissues

Three strains of Escherichia coli O157:H7 were grown in tryptic soy broth (TSB) or in a sterile cattle manure extract at 35°C for 18 ± 2 h. Aliquots from both inocula containing 10 6 CFU/ml were used to inoculate 1-cm 3 cubes of beef muscle or adipose tissue by immersion for 20 min at 21°C. After removal from the inoculum, one-half of the samples were analyzed for bacterial cell numbers and pH, and the other half were stored at 4°C for 2 or 3 h before analysis. Samples were analyzed by enumerating bacteria present in liquid droplets deposited on the tissue and bacteria loosely or strongly attached to the tissue in order to determine attachment strength. Total numbers of cells on beef muscle tissue (bacteria in liquid droplets, as well as those loosely and strongly attached) were 5.65 ± 0.14 and 5.76 ± 0.26 log CFU/cm 2 for E. coli 0157:H7 inocula grown in TSB and manure extract, respectively. The differences in attachment strength between inocula from the two media were not significant (P > 0.05). A 2-h storage period after exposure of muscle tissue to an E. coli O157:H7 inoculum did not influence attachment strength. Numbers of bacteria attached to adipose tissue and muscle (5.31 ± 0.08 and 5.48 ± 0.09 log CFU/cm 2 , respectively) were not significantly different (P > 0.05). After 3 h at 4°C, the attachment strength of E. coli 0157:H7 cells on muscle or adipose tissue had not changed. Overall, the culture medium and type of beef tissue did not affect the numbers of E. coli O157:H7 cells attached, nor the strength of their attachment, to muscle or adipose tissue.
Linguistics and Evolution: Historiography’s contribution to theoretical linguistics

Given the rich, multidisciplinary developments that have influenced linguistic theory and practice over the past fifty years, we historiographers are uniquely positioned to provide some much needed theoretical integration for the discipline in these post-Chomskyan times. We do so when we shift from practicing historiography as a subdiscipline to deploying it as a method of theoretical intervention. The goal of this essay is to sketch the results of a historiographicallyinformed critique of introductory linguistics textbooks – all of whose formats extend back to Leonard Bloomfield’s Language (1933) – and to offer the outline of a newer developmental linguistics which is: (a) reframed pragmatically by establishing from the beginning an embodied brain embedded in a context; and (b) organized not around the questions: What is language? or What do we know when we know a language? but rather around: How is it that hearing a sequence of sounds (or seeing a sequence of signs or reading a sequence of words) have the effects that they do? This conceptual shift entails addressing two new questions: How does a living being become a languaging living being? and How do we become the particular languaging living beings that we do? In order to answer these questions, both a phylogenetic script and an ontogenetic script need to be provided. Such an approach avoids the problem of the linguist who inherits a construct (e.g. Universal Grammar) and then must retrofit it to contemporary evolutionary and neurological research. It offers instead to our students – the future of the field – a theoretical account of our subject matter (language/ languaging) whose evolutionary and neurological plausibility have been factored in from the beginning.
Adsorption of Hg and NOX on coal by-products

Abstract The adsorption of Hg and NO X on gasifier and combustion by-products was investigated. Carbon-rich fractions were produced by a density separation technique from a gasifier char (GC) and a pulverized coal combustion blended fly/bottom ash (CC) recovered from a pond. Both fractions were subjected to steam activation at 875 °C. As-received and activated chars and two commercial carbons developed specifically for Hg and NO X adsorption were tested and compared for Hg and NO X adsorption capacities. The Hg adsorption capacity of GC was found as good as a specialty commercial carbon designed for Hg capture from flue gases. Steam activation or heating to 900 °C destroyed GC's adsorption capability. GC adsorbed one-third of the NO X uptake of a commercial carbon used for NO X adsorption. Hg-laden GC captured even more NO X than the as-received GC. Possible explanations for the performance of GC will be discussed. The CC material was a poor performer for both Hg and NO X capture.
Abstract 3481: Sigma-2 ligands sensitize triple negative breast cancer cells to PARP inhibitor treatment

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 15-25% of breast cancer cases. Effective targeted treatment for TNBC is lacking. Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is a key enzyme involved in single-strand DNA break repair. PARP inhibitors have been used in combination with various chemotherapeutic agents in TNBC with limited success. The sigma-2 receptor is associated with cellular proliferation and quiescence and has been used as the target for imaging solid tumors by positron emission tomography. The sigma-2 receptor has been identified as progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1) protein complex. Recent work has suggested that the sigma-2 receptor may also be an effective therapeutic target. In this study we looked for potential synergy between PARP inhibitors and sigma-2 ligands using a triple negative breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB231. We showed that the sigma-2 ligand, SW43, and a PGRMC1 ligand, AG205, induced cell toxicity and caspase 3 activation in a dose-dependent manner. The combination of SW43 and PARP inhibitor, Olaparib, resulted in additive cytotoxicity by cell viability assay and colony forming assay. Olaparib inhibited PARP activity in MDA-MB231 cell line, suggesting that the single-strand DNA break repair may be inhibited. SW43 and AG205 treatment decreased PGRMC1 and EGFR protein levels, suggesting that sigma-2/PGRMC1 ligands reduce growth factor signaling. In conclusion, SW43 and Olaparib induce cell death by separate signaling pathways. Sigma-2 ligands may selectively sensitize tumors to PARP inhibitor treatment in triple negative breast cancer patients. Citation Format: Chenbo Zeng, Julia Mankoff, Robert H. Mach. Sigma-2 ligands sensitize triple negative breast cancer cells to PARP inhibitor treatment. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3481. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3481
Abstract 811: Induction of stem-like cells with malignant properties by chronic exposure of immortalized normal human urothelial cell line to arsenic

Although there is extensive epidemiologic evidence of increased risk for the development of urothelial carcinoma (UC) associated with arsenic exposure, the mechanisms by which arsenic participates in tumorigenesis are not well understood. To gain mechanistic insights, we recently developed an in vitro arsenic model in an immortalized normal human bladder cell line (HUC1) and in this study we performed extended phenotypic and molecular characterization of the arsenic exposed in vitro model. To assess the impact of arsenic exposure at a time progressive manner, we performed MTT assay using the arsenic exposed and unexposed HUC1 cells. The growth of the HUC1 cells was increased in a time dependent manner after arsenic exposure. In soft agar assay, colonies were observed only in arsenic exposed cells. Similarly, invaded cells in invasion assay were observed only in arsenic exposed cells. To identify whether arsenic exposure induce self-renewal properties, we performed spheres forming assay and our data showed arsenic exposed cells formed more spheres under serum-free medium and non-adherence condition, and the number gradually increased with longer periods of exposure. The sphere forming ability was maintained through two subsequent serial passages, indicating of self-renewal ability. The spheroid cells showed differentiated morphology when cultured in serum containing medium. Finally, to identify epigenetic events associated with the later phenotypic alterations, we performed illumina methylation array and expression array and determined a panel of genes that are epigenetically altered that may be related to arsenic-induced tumorigenesis. Among 29 genes that exhibited reduction of promoter methylation and up-regulation of the expression, 6 genes (EDNRA, GJB2, KRT17, GDF15, S100P, and LCN2) were reported as the oncogenes. Furthermore 2 genes (GJB2 and KRT17) were maintained the alteration even in withdrawal of arsenic for 2.5 months. While, among 13 genes that exhibited induction of promoter methylation and down-regulation of the expression, one gene (TSPYL5) as a tumor suppressor gene was maintained the alteration in withdrawal of arsenic for 2.5 months. In conclusion, chronic arsenic exposure induces malignant phenotype with the acquisition of stem-like activity, and epigenetic alteration might be partial mechanism of tumorigenesis. Validation and detail molecular understanding of later genes are ongoing to determine the arsenic associated pathway alterations in the genesis of UC. Citation Format: Akira Oki, Shahnaz Begum, Mariana Brait, David Sidransky, Mohammad Obaidul Hoque. Induction of stem-like cells with malignant properties by chronic exposure of immortalized normal human urothelial cell line to arsenic. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 811. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-811
Robotics and Pelvic Floor

Pelvic floor disorders can be categorized as primarily colorectal, gynecologic, or urologic. A multidisciplinary approach is often taken when there is a complex prolapse involving multiple organ systems [1]. Rectal prolapse, rectocele, enterocele, uterine prolapse, cystocele, and functional disorders of the pelvic floor muscles are all problems that can be treated surgically. Over a hundred operations have been described in the literature to repair pelvic organ prolapse. Generally, the operations can be divided into two broad categories, transabdominal and perineal. Evidence suggests that transabdominal procedures are more effective and applied to healthy patients while the perineal approach should be reserved for frail elderly patients with multiple comorbidities [2, 3].
Highly Selective Vertically Aligned Nanopores in Sustainably Derived Polymer Membranes by Molecular Templating

We describe a combination of molecular templating and directed self-assembly to realize highly selective vertically aligned nanopores in polymer membranes using sustainably derived materials. The approach exploits a structure-directing molecule to template the assembly of plant-derived fatty acids into highly ordered columnar mesophases. Directed self-assembly using physical confinement and magnetic fields provides vertical alignment of the columnar nanostructures in large area (several cm2) thin films. Chemically cross-linking the mesophase with added conventional vinyl comonomers and removing the molecular template results in a mechanically robust polymer film with vertically aligned 1.2–1.5 nm diameter nanopores with a large specific surface area of ∼670 m2/g. The nanoporous polymer films display exceptional size and charge selectivity as demonstrated by adsorption experiments using model penetrant molecules. These materials have significant potential to function as high-performance nanofiltration memb...
Site-Selectivity Control in Organic Reactions: A Quest To Differentiate Reactivity among the Same Kind of Functional Groups

On our path to the perfection of organic synthesis lies the challenge of controlling site selectivity, which is the differentiation of reactivity among the same kind of functional groups. Overcoming this challenge would significantly enhance synthetic efficiency and minimize waste production, which in turn calls for the development of new catalysts, reagents, tactics, and innovative strategies.
Alcohol and cardiovascular disease

Big data puts the link between moderate drinking and lower risk under the microscope Over four decades ago, Klatsky and his colleagues published perhaps the first carefully conducted epidemiological investigation of alcohol consumption and risk of myocardial infarction,1 a case-control study nested within the health records of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan in California. Taking advantage of some 120 000 health plan members who completed a standardized set of over 500 individual questions, the authors identified 464 members who sustained an incident myocardial infarction at local Kaiser hospitals. They compared the alcohol consumption reported on a previous questionnaire among these members with that of two sets of controls drawn from the same source population. Among non-smokers, the odds of myocardial infarction were about twice as high among non-drinkers as among drinkers, raising the possibility that alcohol consumption could lower risk of coronary heart disease.1 In subsequent analyses of members of the Kaiser-Permanente health maintenance organization, Klatsky and colleagues went on to show that alcohol consumption has diverse associations with various forms of cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, including a roughly …
Integrin-mediated traction force enhances paxillin molecular associations and adhesion dynamics that increase the invasiveness of tumor cells into a three-dimensional extracellular matrix

Metastasis requires tumor cells to navigate through a stiff stroma and squeeze through confined microenvironments. Whether tumors exploit unique biophysical properties to metastasize remains unclear. Data show that invading mammary tumor cells, when cultured in a stiffened three-dimensional extracellular matrix that recapitulates the primary tumor stroma, adopt a basal-like phenotype. Metastatic tumor cells and basal-like tumor cells exert higher integrin-mediated traction forces at the bulk and molecular levels, consistent with a motor-clutch model in which motors and clutches are both increased. Basal-like nonmalignant mammary epithelial cells also display an altered integrin adhesion molecular organization at the nanoscale and recruit a suite of paxillin-associated proteins implicated in invasion and metastasis. Phosphorylation of paxillin by Src family kinases, which regulates adhesion turnover, is similarly enhanced in the metastatic and basal-like tumor cells, fostered by a stiff matrix, and critical for tumor cell invasion in our assays. Bioinformatics reveals an unappreciated relationship between Src kinases, paxillin, and survival of breast cancer patients. Thus adoption of the basal-like adhesion phenotype may favor the recruitment of molecules that facilitate tumor metastasis to integrin-based adhesions. Analysis of the physical properties of tumor cells and integrin adhesion composition in biopsies may be predictive of patient outcome.
Real-time detection and classification of traffic light signals

Traffic light detection is an important part of Advanced Driver Assist as well as autonomous vehicle systems which ensures timely and appropriate reaction to traffic lights (TLs) in cross sections. In this paper we introduce a robust and realtime approach to detect TLs and recognize its status in complex traffic scenes solely based on image processing techniques. The proposed system uses color properties of the scene to detect TLs in real-time. An innovative technique has been developed to significantly decrease compute requirement for detection of TL color by using one Lookup Table independent of lighting conditions. Each candidate region is further analyzed, using features analysis, to segregate actual TL signals among all candidate regions. As in similar machine learning techniques, an unsupervised classifier using a set of significant features has been developed to accurately segregate circular, semi-circular, and arrow shaped TL signals without using a training dataset. The final C++ code has been implemented and optimized on intelplatform using 1920x1080 frame resolution to recognize the status of TLs during day-time and night-time scenes, achieving 95% precision and 94.7% recall at 30FPS.
Toward a Theory of Associational Governance of Law

Given the Western legal tradition's proclivity for dividing polities into three parts, it is not surprising that American society has been conceptualized as having three jurisdictional sectors: the public (government) sector, the private (business or market) sector, and the independent (nonprofit or nongovernmental) sector. However, given their provenance within the earliest days of the nation, what does seem surprising is the current confusion over their jurisdictional boundaries and the acrimonious debates over their respective roles in society. After all, the associations that comprise each sector are manmade institutions, created and designed to perform certain roles for the benefit of society, and for the most part, they have seemed previously to work reasonably well. The purpose of this article is to take a fresh look at this contemporary problem through the lens of Complex Adaptive Systems Theory. In this paper I intend merely to put down suggested markers of a frame that offers new venues for future research. The framework I propose here indicates some of the ways in which this theory might be applied to the three sectors and their constituent organizations. The utility of this kind of project is that, as an analytical tool, it may help to untangle the Gordian Knot of confusion that has brought policy formation and lawmaking with regard to the three sectors, to an unproductive, if not a dangerous impasse.
Sui Commutatori Degli Anelli Semplici: Conferenza tenuta il 3 maggio 1962

Dimostriamo che un elemento di un anello semplice (ristretto da una condizione sulla caratteristica) che soddisfa ad un’ipotesi sui commutatori piu alti, dev’ essere d’ una forma molto specifica.
Computer Modeling: The Future of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Patient Selection?

See Article by Kalscheur et al Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a well-proven therapy for a select group of patients with symptomatic heart failure (HF) with a reduced ejection fraction and interventricular conduction delay. Multiple large, prospective, randomized trials have established the potential for CRT to improve quality of life, exercise capacity, and systolic function, as well as reduce heart failure hospitalizations and mortality.1–5 Despite the large and consistent overall benefit of CRT noted in clinical trials, a significant proportion of patients are considered nonresponders or partial responders on the basis of a variety of objective and subjective measures.1–6 Several factors have been identified, which are associated with CRT response rate, including patient selection, device programming, and lead position. With regard to patient selection, the US and European guidelines …
Thioclava electrotropha sp. nov., a versatile electrode and sulfur-oxidizing bacterium from marine sediments.

A taxonomic and physiologic characterization was carried out on Thioclava strain ElOx9T, which was isolated from a bacterial consortium enriched on electrodes poised at electron donating potentials. The isolate is Gram-negative, catalase-positive and oxidase-positive; the cells are motile short rods. The bacterium is facultatively anaerobic with the ability to utilize nitrate as an electron acceptor. Autotrophic growth with H2 and S0 (oxidized to sulfate) was observed. The isolate also grows heterotrophically with organic acids and sugars. Growth was observed at salinities from 0 to 10% NaCl and at temperatures from 15 to 41 °C. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the strain belongs in the genus Thioclava ; it had the highest sequence similarity of 98.8 % to Thioclava atlantica 13D2W-2T, followed by Thioclava dalianensis DLFJ1-1T with 98.5 % similarity, Thioclava pacifica TL 2T with 97.7 % similarity, and then Thioclava indica DT23-4T with 96.9 %. All other sequence similarities were below 97 % to characterized strains. The digital DNA–DNA hybridization estimated when compared to T. atlantica 13D2W-2T, T. dalianensis DLFJ1-1T, T. pacifica TL 2T and T. indica DT23-4T were 15.8±2.1, 16.7+2.1, 14.3±1.9 and 18.3±2.1 %. The corresponding average nucleotide identity values between these strains were determined to be 65.1, 67.8, 68.4 and 64.4 %, respectively. The G+C content of the chromosomal DNA is 63.4 mol%. Based on these results, a novel species Thioclava electrotropha sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain ElOx9T (=DSM 103712T=ATCC TSD-100T).
Optimal Container Location in Miniload AS/R Systems

A procedure for determining optimal storage locations for containers in a miniload automated storage and retrieval system is presented. Dominance conditions are developed to restrict the search space. An example demonstrates that turnover based assignment is not optimal for miniloads implementing dual cycles.
Asynchrony of erythroblast maturation induced by riboflavin deficiency.

Ultrastructural studies indicate that galactoflavin-induced riboflavin deficiency induces asynchrony of rat erythroblast maturation. During the latter stages of maturation erythroblasts retain significantly larger numbers of ribosomes as compared to control cells. Nucleoli are not evident in erythroblasts whose nuclei indicate cells in the latter stages of development. Membrane whorls develop within the mitochondria of plasma cells, eosinophils and neutrophils during the fifth week of riboflavin deficiency. No further evidence of degeneration was noted among aditional cell organelles.
Bernard de Jussieu and the Petit Trianon

The vacancy left at the Jardin du roi by Vaillant’s death in May of 1722 was filled on 30 September of that year when Bernard de Jussieu assumed the position of sousdemonstrateur des plants. His elder brother, Antoine, Vaillant’s old rival, had arranged this more congenial appointment. While nepotism was so common in the 18th century as to make the appointment unexceptional, its novelty proved to be the striking competence of the appointee. In fact, a botanical dynasty was in the making that would be distinguished well into the 19th century. The family was Lyonnais, traditionally in pharmacy until Antoine achieved his medical degree. Their adoption of the particle dein the 18th century was self-improvement as the family was not noble. The original spelling had been Dejussieu.
Graphical Trust Models for Agent-Based Systems

Human interactions are founded on trust and reputation. When someone purchases an item, he or she trusts in the transaction without giving it much thought. A buyer rarely questions whether the cashier is reputable, if the transaction is safe, or what previous customers thought about the buying experience. Verifying all of these issues each time would be prohibitively expensive. The burgeoning field of computer-aided transactions needs trust models to achieve suf f icient trust levels without burdensome verification costs.
RoGUE: RDMA over Generic Unconverged Ethernet

RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE) promises low latency and low CPU utilization over commodity networks, and is attractive for cloud infrastructure services. Current implementations require Priority Flow Control (PFC) that uses backpressure-based congestion control to provide lossless networking to RDMA. Unfortunately, PFC compromises network stability. As a result, RoCE's adoption has been slow and requires complex network management. Recent efforts, such as DCQCN, reduce the risk to the network, but do not completely solve the problem. We describe RoGUE, a new congestion control and recovery mechanism for RDMA over Ethernet that does not rely on PFC. RoGUE is implemented in software to support backward compatibility and accommodate network evolution, yet allows the use of RDMA for high performance, supporting both the RC and UC RDMA transports. Our experiments show that RoGUE achieves performance and CPU utilization matching or outperforming native RDMA protocols but gracefully tolerates congested networks.
Cerebrovascular disorders associated with genetic lesions

Cerebrovascular disorders are underlain by perturbations in cerebral blood flow and abnormalities in blood vessel structure. Here, we provide an overview of the current knowledge of select cerebrovascular disorders that are associated with genetic lesions and connect genomic findings with analyses aiming to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms of disease pathogenesis. We argue that a mechanistic understanding of genetic (familial) forms of cerebrovascular disease is a prerequisite for the development of rational therapeutic approaches, and has wider implications for treatment of sporadic (non-familial) forms, which are usually more common.
The TENNLab Exploratory Neuromorphic Computing Framework

Spiking, neuromorphic computing systems are in a period of active exploration by the computing community. While they feature computational expressiveness beyond both von Neumann computing models and feed-forward neural networks, they are also challenging to design and program. The TENNLab exploratory neuromorphic computing framework is a software infrastructure, soon to be open-source, whose goal is to enable potential users of spiking, neuromorphic computing systems to develop applications and evaluate computing architectures, and for architecture researchers to develop and evaluate their architectures with a variety of applications. In this letter, we present the software architecture of the TENNLab framework.
Exendin-4 overcomes cytokine-induced decreases in gap junction coupling via protein kinase A and Epac2 in mouse and human islets.

Key points The pancreatic islets of Langerhans maintain glucose homeostasis through insulin secretion, where insulin secretion dynamics are regulated by intracellular Ca2+ signalling and electrical coupling of the insulin producing β-cells in the islet. We have previously shown that cytokines decrease β-cell coupling and that compounds which increase cAMP can increase coupling. In both mouse and human islets exendin-4, which increases cAMP, protected against cytokine-induced decreases in coupling and in mouse islets preserved glucose-stimulated calcium signalling by increasing connexin36 gap junction levels on the plasma membrane. Our data indicate that protein kinase A regulates β-cell coupling through a fast mechanism, such as channel gating or membrane organization, while Epac2 regulates slower mechanisms of regulation, such as gap junction turnover. Increases in β-cell coupling with exendin-4 may protect against cytokine-mediated β-cell death as well as preserve insulin secretion dynamics during the development of diabetes. Abstract The pancreatic islets of Langerhans maintain glucose homeostasis. Insulin secretion from islet β-cells is driven by glucose metabolism, depolarization of the cell membrane and an influx of calcium, which initiates the release of insulin. Gap junctions composed of connexin36 (Cx36) electrically couple β-cells, regulating calcium signalling and insulin secretion dynamics. Cx36 coupling is decreased in pre-diabetic mice, suggesting a role for altered coupling in diabetes. Our previous work has shown that pro-inflammatory cytokines decrease Cx36 coupling and that compounds which increase cAMP can increase Cx36 coupling. The goal of this study was to determine if exendin-4, which increases cAMP, can protect against cytokine-induced decreases in Cx36 coupling and altered islet function. In both mouse and human islets, exendin-4 protected against cytokine-induced decreases in coupling and preserved glucose-stimulated calcium signalling. Exendin-4 also protected against protein kinase Cδ-mediated decreases in Cx36 coupling. Exendin-4 preserved coupling in mouse islets by preserving Cx36 levels on the plasma membrane. Exendin-4 regulated Cx36 coupling via both protein kinase A (PKA)- and Epac2-mediated mechanisms in cytokine-treated islets. In mouse islets, modulating Epac2 had a greater impact in mediating Cx36 coupling, while in human islets modulating PKA had a greater impact on Cx36 coupling. Our data indicate that PKA regulates Cx36 coupling through a fast mechanism, such as channel gating, while Epac2 regulates slower mechanisms of regulation, such as Cx36 turnover in the membrane. Increases in Cx36 coupling with exendin-4 may protect against cytokine-mediated β-cell dysfunction to insulin secretion dynamics during the development of diabetes.
Four-wave mixing in Si3N4 microresonators: from frequency combs to quantum photonics (Conference Presentation)

Third-order nonlinearity is the dominant nonlinear response in centrosymmetric materials such as silicon, silicon dioxide and silicon nitride. To enhance light-matter interactions, high Q microresonators can be employed. In this talk, we will discuss the use of third-order nonlinearity in high Q silicon nitride microresonators for several important applications. The first example is focused on the design and demonstration of octave-spanning frequency combs. Optimized dispersion design not only allows us to obtain an octave span of spectrum (1um to 2um), but also enables two harmonically linked dispersive wave emission which is particularly useful for frequency self-referencing. In the second example, we shift our focus from the classical domain to the quantum domain, where quantum states of light and quantum frequency conversion are both achieved by the same third-order nonlinearity of SiN. Specifically, one photon from a quantum-correlated microresonator photon pair source is frequency shifted by four-wave mixing Bragg scattering in a second microresonator, without degrading the level of quantum correlation. With the developed technologies, we demonstrate tunable quantum interference of the initially non-degenerate photons comprising the pair, and observe the quantum beat of single photons as the photon frequencies are tuned across each other. Our work showcases the versatility of the nanophononics for both classical and quantum information processing.
Abstract 113: Mitral Leaflet Clip Procedure Outcomes: Analysis from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry

Introduction: Mitral regurgitation is one of the most common valvular diseases worldwide. Treatment for severe mitral regurgitation (MR) commonly involves surgical replacement of the mitral valve, ...
A Pilot Study of Partner Chair Massage Effects on Perinatal Mood, Anxiety, and Pain

Background: Women worldwide experience perinatal mood, anxiety, and pain contributing to pregnancy and birth challenges, maternal and infant bonding, and childhood development. Perinatal women seek massage therapy for relax-ation, pain management, and emotional support, but may encounter socioeconomic barriers. Prior studies demonstrated improved perinatal health by teaching partners of pregnant women a side-lying massage. Purpose: This study examined health effects to perinatal mood, anxiety, and pain, by teaching partners of pregnant (PG) women a chair massage. Setting: Participant’s homes in Tucson, Ari-zona, USA. Participants: Twelve PG women with minor mood, anxiety, and pain: 67% white, 33% His-panic, college educated, married, aged 32 years (± 3.86 SD), 67% expecting a first child, annual incomes ? $50,000 (33%), > $50,000 (67%).Research Design: A pre/postintervention pilot study in a single group for eight weeks.Intervention: Twice weekly partner-delivered chair massage and its relation to perinatal mood, anxiety, and pain.Main Outcome Measures: Pre/poststudy peri-natal massage effects were measured with the Edinburgh Depression Scale (mood), the STAI-AD (anxiety), and the VAS (pain). Weekly text messag-ing tracked dose and frequency, follow-up surveys measured sustainability, and birth outcomes were acquired by texting. Results: Study retention was 86%, protocol compliance 94%, with couples averaging 10-min-ute, twice weekly chair massage over the eight-week study period. Paired-sample t tests indicated statistically significant improvements to perinatal mood and anxiety, Cohen’s d, a large strength of effect size (p = .012, d = 0.87; p = .004, d = 1.03). A trend was observed for reduced pain, with a medium strength of effect size (p = .071; d = 0.58). Follow-up surveys indicated most couples were sustaining at least weekly massage. Birth outcomes showed healthy infants with no complications, mean birth weight of 7.26 pounds, and mean ges-tation of 39 weeks.Conclusion: This is the first evidence of partner chair massage as safe and effective complementary home management of perinatal mood, anxiety, and pain.
Clinical pregnancy (CP) and live birth (LB) increase significantly with each additional fertilized oocyte up to nine, and CP and LB decline after that: an analysis of 15,803 first fresh in vitro fertilization cycles from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology registry

Objective To study the association between the total number of fertilized oocytes available and pregnancy outcomes in first fresh IVF cycles with a single blastocyst transfer. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Not applicable. Patient(s) A total of 15,803 patients from SART reporting fertility clinics. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Primary outcomes were clinical pregnancy (CP), live birth (LB), and miscarriage rates. Logistic regression was used to investigate the association between the number of fertilized eggs and each outcome. Result(s) The median number of total oocytes was 15, and the median number of fertilized oocytes was nine. The odds of a clinical pregnancy were 8% higher for each additional fertilized oocyte up to nine (odds ratio [OR] 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07–1.10) and declined by 9% for every additional fertilized oocyte after nine (OR 0.91; 95% CI 0.89–0.94). Similarly, the odds of an LB was 8% higher for every additional fertilized oocyte up to none (OR 1.08; 95% CI 1.06–1.10) and declined by 8% for every additional fertilized oocyte over nine (OR 0.92; 95% CI 0.90–0.94). Conclusion(s) Odds of pregnancy outcomes (CP, LB) increase significantly with every additional fertilized oocyte up to nine, and CP and LB decline after that in first fresh autologous cycles with a single blastocyst transfer.
Updates in the management of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic leukemia:

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is one of the most common lymphoid malignancies. Often treatment modalities are tailored to individual patients based on age, presence of comorbidities and cytogenetics. The advent of ibrutinib has significantly changed the management of the disease in all patient groups and has had the largest impact on clinical practice to date. Over the last 15 years, a series of trials have established that chemoimmunotherapy improves both progression-free survival and overall survival compared to chemotherapy alone. Despite its proven role, efficacy of ibrutinib has not been well established in young, fit patients and in comparison with standard care and as combination therapy with other agents such as venetoclax. New data have strengthened the role of ibrutinib in the front-line setting and establish its place in therapy. In addition, combination therapies are geared to achieve negative minimal residual disease and allow patients to potentially be off of therapy. The management of this leukemia has extensively changed over the past years, and this review article will aim to highlight key trials that have changed practice and led to guideline updates. It is not unlikely that treatment modalities will continue to improve in light of new data.
On the use of Printed Complementary Split Ring Resonators for Dual-Band Applications

The patch antenna is regarded as one of the key components for compact, low cost wireless platforms. In this paper, a novel dual-band patch antenna with complementary split ring resonators (CSRRs) is presented. This antenna is designed to operate at the 915 MHz and 2.4 GHz bands. Furthermore, antenna miniaturization is achieved by etching the CSRR in the ground plane. This reduces the antenna size by 23% when compared to conventional patch antennas. A prototype antenna is also fabricated and tested, and measured results are in good agreement with simulations. Furthermore, the performance influence of the CSRR is discussed.
Contributions of the Women's Health Initiative to understanding associations between sleep duration, insomnia symptoms, and sleep-disordered breathing across a range of health outcomes in postmenopausal women.

Abstract The Women's Health Initiative (WHI), a longitudinal study of more than 161,000 postmenopausal women across the United States, provides an opportunity to investigate the link between sleep health and healthy aging. The purpose of this paper was to systematically review all published WHI articles examining sleep as a predictor of health outcomes and health behaviors/quality of life outcomes. A strength of the WHI is that for most participants, sleep measures were completed before a major health diagnosis, with a significant portion of participants also providing sleep measures after diagnosis. Twenty-three WHI articles were identified and examined for this review. The combination of sleep duration and insomnia symptoms was the most commonly investigated sleep measure. The results indicated that both short (≤6 hours) and long (≥9 hours) sleep duration were associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer, mortality, cognitive decline, and poor diet. Insomnia symptoms, frequent snoring, and risk of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) were also associated with increased risk for ischemic stroke and cardiovascular disease. However, many significant results were attenuated after multivariable adjustment. Limitations of these WHI examinations include the use of different categories for sleep measures across studies and a lack of examination by race/ethnicity. Owing to the longitudinal study design, large sample size, and long-term follow-up for health outcomes, the WHI serves as a rich resource for examining associations between sleep characteristics, demographics, and health in postmenopausal women.
From Missing Data to Boltzmann Distributions and Time Dynamics: The Statistical Physics of Recommendation

The challenge of building a good recommendation system is deeply connected to missing data---unknown features and labels to suggest the most "valuable" items to the user. The mysterious properties of the power law distributions that generally arises out of recommender (and social systems in general) create skewed and long-tailed consumption patterns that are often still puzzling to many of us. Missing data and skewed distributions create not just accuracy and recall problems, but also capacity allocation problems, which are at the roots of recent debate on inclusiveness and responsibility. So how do we move forward in the face of these immense conceptual and practical issues? In our work, we have been asking ourselves ways to deriving insights from first principles and drawing inspiration from fields like statistical physics. Surprised, one might ask---what does the field of physics has to do with missing data in ranking and recommendations? As we all know, in the field of information systems, concepts like information entropy and probability have a rich intellectual history. This history is deeply connected to the greatest discoveries of science in the 19th century---statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, and specific concepts like thermal equilibrium. In this talk, I will take us on a journey connecting Boltzmann distribution and partition functions from statistical mechanics with importance weighting for learning better softmax functions, and then further to reinforcement learning, where we can plan better explorations using off-policy correction with policy gradient approaches. As I shall show, these techniques enable us to reason about missing data features, labels, and time dynamic patterns from our data.
Decentralized Control for 3D M-Blocks for Path Following, Line Formation, and Light Gradient Aggregation

This paper presents a decentralized control frame-work for lattice-based Modular Self-Reconfigurable Robots (MSRR) which utilizes a novel magnetic fiducial system to facilitate neighbor identification and to enable algorithms which promise scalable functionality for systems with many modules. In this system individual modules autonomously follow simple behaviors while periodically accepting input from a centralized controller. This system is demonstrated with three initial behaviors: (1) Path following: modules follow a three dimensional path based on magnetic fiducial tags embedded in their neighbors, (2) Line formation: modules transform from a 3D structure into a line following a partially decentralized control algorithm, and (3) Light gradient aggregation: the formation of a group of modules guided by a global stimulus (i.e. visible light). This paper provides details of the neighbor identification system, introduces the three behaviors and presents the results of physical experiments performed with a system of twelve 3D M-Block robotic modules.
Effects of iron precursor and loading on the catalytic performance of FeOx/CeO2 catalysts for NO reduction by CO

Abstract During the catalyst synthesis process, the precursor chosen could have great impact on the physiochemical and surface properties of the catalysts. More importantly, the precursor could result in very different catalytic activities of the catalyst. In this work, two series of FeOx/CeO2 catalysts were prepared using iron nitrate/sulfate precursors with a wide range of Fe loading (1 wt% – 30 wt%). The catalytic activity, physical property, surface morphology and surface/molecular structure were investigated using GC, BET, XRD, Raman, FT-IR as well as SEM and EDS techniques. From the results, although the physical properties (specific surface area, total pore volume) of the catalyst were similar with different precursors, the surface composition and molecular structures were very different. The iron nitrate precursor fully transformed into FeOx after the calcination process, whereas the iron sulfate precursor only partially transformed into FeOx, leaving some FeSO4 on the catalyst surface. The catalytic activity results suggested that a near monolayer coverage of FeOx on the catalyst surface was crucial to increase the catalytic activity in the NO reduction by CO reaction, while the presence of FeSO4 had advert impacts on the catalytic activity.
Cardiac Surgery in the Elderly

Cardiac disease is one of the most common chronic conditions among adults and is the leading cause of death with advancing age. As people age, the incidence, prevalence, and severity of cardiac disease progress. Surgical management is often indicated with the progression of coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, and aortic disease. As a result, over half of cardiac surgical procedures are performed in patients over 70 years of age. Outcome data indicates that surgical management of coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, and aortic disease in the elderly is safe with low associated mortality and preservation of quality of life. These findings hold true in well-selected octogenarians and nonagenarians.
ODE analysis of antibiotic/antimicrobial resistance

Abstract The parameters of the ODE model of Chapter 1 are studied to determine when r ( t ) , the population of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, persists at steady state, r ( t → ∞ ) > 0 . An algebraic condition for the model parameters is derived for this persistence. The algebraic condition is then tested for several sets of parameters to demonstrate that the steady state resistant bacteria population approaches the expected positive value, including the case for a zero initial population.
Deep Learning for Accelerated Seismic Reliability Analysis of Transportation Networks

Abstract To optimize mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery procedures for infrastructure systems, it is essential to use accurate and efficient means to evaluate system reliability again...
The Effect of the Traditional Mediterranean-Style Diet on Metabolic Risk Factors: A Meta-Analysis.

The Mediterranean-style diet (MedSD) has gained attention for its positive effects on health outcomes, including metabolic risk factors. However, it is unknown as to which components of MedSD interventions are most beneficial in reducing risk. The objective of this meta-analysis was to obtain effect sizes for metabolic risk factors and explain the variability across the current literature based on study design, sample, and diet characteristics. Six electronic databases were searched from inception until 9 February 2016. Data from 29 studies (N = 4133) were included. There were significant effects in favor of the MedSD for waist circumference, triglycerides, blood glucose, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure (d+ = −0.54; d+ = −0.46; d+ = −0.50; d+ = −0.72; d+ = −0.94, respectively). The MedSD was significantly beneficial when the intervention was longer in duration, was conducted in Europe, used a behavioral technique, and was conducted using small groups. The traditional MedSD had significant beneficial effects on five of the six metabolic risk factors. Results from this study provide support for population specific dietary guideline for metabolic risk reduction.
Using Professionally Trained Actors in Social Work Role-Play Simulations

The literature available to social work educators contains limited discussion of the use of role play simulation in the classroom. This paper presents the experiences of first-year MSW students in a foundation generalist practice class who were evaluated using role play for their final examination. In a unique arrangement, clients in these simulations were role-played by first-year acting students from the university's theater arts department. The reaction of the social work students to role play with professionally trained actors is described and discussed from voluntarily submitted descriptions of the experience