cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modeling Cytomegalovirus Infection in Mouse Tumor Models

The hypothesis that cytomegalovirus (CMV) modulates cancer is evolving. Originally discovered in glioblastoma in 2002, the number of cancers, where intratumoral cytomegalovirus antigen is detected, has increased in recent years suggesting that CMV actively affect the pathobiology of certain tumors. These findings are controversial as several groups have also reported inability to replicate these results. Regardless, several clinical trials for glioblastoma are underway or have been completed that target intratumoral CMV with anti-viral drugs or immunotherapy. Therefore, a better understanding of the possible pathobiology of CMV in cancer needs to be ascertained. We have developed genetic, syngeneic, and orthotopic malignant glioma mouse models to study the role of CMV in cancer development and progression. These models recapitulate for the most part intratumoral CMV expression as seen in human tumors. Additionally, we discovered that CMV infection in Trp53-/+ mice promotes pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcomas. These mouse models are not only a vehicle for studying pathobiology of the viral-tumor interaction, but also a platform for developing and testing cancer therapeutics.
Role of prostacyclin in pulmonary hypertension

Prostacyclin is a powerful cardioprotective hormone released by the endothelium of all blood vessels. Prostacyclin exists in equilibrium with other vasoactive hormones and a disturbance in the balance of these factors leads to cardiovascular disease including pulmonary arterial hypertension. Since it's discovery in the 1970s concerted efforts have been made to make the best therapeutic utility of prostacyclin, particularly in the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. This has centred on working out the detailed pharmacology of prostacyclin and then synthesising new molecules based on its structure that are more stable or more easily tolerated. In addition, newer molecules have been developed that are not analogues of prostacyclin but that target the receptors that prostacyclin activates. Prostacyclin and related drugs have without doubt revolutionised the treatment and management of pulmonary arterial hypertension but are seriously limited by side effects within the systemic circulation. With the dawn of nanomedicine and targeted drug or stem cell delivery systems it will, in the very near future, be possible to make new formulations of prostacyclin that can evade the systemic circulation allowing for safe delivery to the pulmonary vessels. In this way, the full therapeutic potential of prostacyclin can be realised opening the possibility that pulmonary arterial hypertension will become, if not curable, a chronic manageable disease that is no longer fatal. This review discusses these and other issues relating to prostacyclin and its use in pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Temperature- and flow-enhanced detection specificity of mutated DNA against the wild type with reporter microspheres

Detection of mutated (MT) deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) amongst the wild type (WT) requires the probe DNA (pDNA) that is complementary to the MT to discriminate the WT by one or two nucleotide mismatches. Traditionally this is achieved by raising the temperature to above the melting temperature (Tm) of the WT (TWT) but below that of the MT (TMT). However, a raised temperature is also accompanied by a weakened binding of the MT to the pDNA which can reduce the detection sensitivity. In this study, we investigated flow as a way to enhance MT detection specificity at a lower temperature. Gold-coated glass (GCG) slides immobilized with pDNA complementary to the target MT were placed at the center of the flow cell. The detection was done by flowing MT or WT at various concentrations followed by flowing 10(5) ml(-1) fluorescent reporter microspheres (FRMs) that were 6 μm in size and coated with reporter DNA complementary to the MT or WT but different from the pDNA at various flow rates and temperatures. The detection of MT or WT was characterized by counting the FRMs captured on the GCG. Hepatitis B virus 1762/1764 double mutation (HBV DM) was the model MT and the TMT and TWT were 47 °C and 22 °C, respectively. It was shown that at room temperature, flow initially increased the binding of both the MT and WT at lower flow rates but decreased the binding at flow rates ≥4 ml min(-1) due to the increase in the flow-induced impingement force on the FRMs to overcome the binding of the MT and the WT to the GCG at higher flow rates. At ≥30 °C the decrease in binding of the WT with an increasing flow rate was more than that of the MT because 30 °C was above the TWT but still well below the TMT. As a result, the detection of MT at 30 °C with a flow rate of 4 ml min(-1) was more specific than at 35 °C without flow. These results indicate that flow can diminish WT binding at a lower temperature than without flow and allow MT detection to occur at a lower temperature with high specificity.
vocd: A theoretical and empirical evaluation

A reliable index of lexical diversity (LD) has remained stubbornly elusive for over 60 years. Meanwhile, researchers in fields as varied as stylistics, neuropathology, language acquisition, and even forensics continue to use flawed LD indices — often ignorant that their results are questionable and in some cases potentially dangerous. Recently, an LD measurement instrument known as vocd has become the virtual tool of the LD trade. In this paper, we report both theoretical and empirical evidence that calls into question the rationale for vocd and also indicates that its reliability is not optimal. Although our evidence shows that vocd's output (D) is a relatively robust indicator of the aggregate probabilities of word occurrences in a text, we show that these probabilities — and thus also D — are affected by text length. Malvern, Richards, Chipere and Duran (2004) acknowledge that D (as calculated by vocd's default method) can be affected by text length, but claim that the effects are not significant for t...
Anticipating Divine Protection? Reminders of God Can Increase Nonmoral Risk Taking

Religiosity and participation in religious activities have been linked with decreased risky behavior. In the current research, we hypothesized that exposure to the concept of God can actually increase people’s willingness to engage in certain types of risks. Across seven studies, reminders of God increased risk taking in nonmoral domains. This effect was mediated by the perceived danger of a risky option and emerged more strongly among individuals who perceive God as a reliable source of safety and protection than among those who do not. Moreover, in an eighth study, when participants were first reminded of God and then took a risk that produced negative consequences (i.e., when divine protection failed to materialize), participants reported feeling more negatively toward God than did participants in the same situation who were not first reminded of God. This research contributes to an understanding of the divergent effects that distinct components of religion can exert on behavior.
Current Status of Nonculture Methods for Diagnosis of Invasive Fungal Infections

The incidence of invasive fungal infections has increased dramatically in recent decades, especially among immunocompromised patients. However, the diagnosis of these infections in a timely fashion is often very difficult. Conventional microbiologic and histopathologic approaches generally are neither sensitive nor specific, and they often do not detect invasive fungal infection until late in the course of disease. Since early diagnosis may guide appropriate treatment and prevent mortality, there has been considerable interest in developing nonculture approaches to diagnosing fungal infections. These approaches include detection of specific host immune responses to fungal antigens, detection of specific macromolecular antigens using immunologic reagents, amplification and detection of specific fungal nucleic acid sequences, and detection and quantitation of specific fungal metabolite products. This work reviews the current status and recent developments as well as problems in the design of nonculture diagnostic methods for invasive fungal infections.
Construction of Protograph LDPC Codes with Linear Minimum Distance

A construction method for protograph-based LDPC codes that simultaneously achieve low iterative decoding threshold and linear minimum distance is proposed. We start with a high-rate protograph LDPC code with variable node degrees of at least 3. Lower rate codes are obtained by splitting check nodes and connecting them by degree-2 nodes. This guarantees the linear minimum distance property for the lower-rate codes. Excluding checks connected to degree-1 nodes, we show that the number of degree-2 nodes should be at most one less than the number of checks for the protograph LDPC code to have linear minimum distance. Iterative decoding thresholds are obtained by using the reciprocal channel approximation. Thresholds are lowered by using either precoding or at least one very high-degree node in the base protograph. A family of high- to low-rate codes with minimum distance linearly increasing in block size and with capacity-approaching performance thresholds is presented. FPGA simulation results for a few example codes show that the proposed codes perform as predicted
CellJoin: a parallel stream join operator for the cell processor

Low-latency and high-throughput processing are key requirements of data stream management systems (DSMSs). Hence, multi-core processors that provide high aggregate processing capacity are ideal matches for executing costly DSMS operators. The recently developed Cell processor is a good example of a heterogeneous multi-core architecture and provides a powerful platform for executing data stream operators with high-performance. On the down side, exploiting the full potential of a multi-core processor like Cell is often challenging, mainly due to the heterogeneous nature of the processing elements, the software managed local memory at the co-processor side, and the unconventional programming model in general. In this paper, we study the problem of scalable execution of windowed stream join operators on multi-core processors, and specifically on the Cell processor. By examining various aspects of join execution flow, we determine the right set of techniques to apply in order to minimize the sequential segments and maximize parallelism. Concretely, we show that basic windows coupled with low-overhead pointer-shifting techniques can be used to achieve efficient join window partitioning, column-oriented join window organization can be used to minimize scattered data transfers, delay-optimized double buffering can be used for effective pipelining, rate-aware batching can be used to balance join throughput and tuple delay, and finally single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) optimized operator code can be used to exploit data parallelism. Our experimental results show that, following the design guidelines and implementation techniques outlined in this paper, windowed stream joins can achieve high scalability (linear in the number of co-processors) by making efficient use of the extensive hardware parallelism provided by the Cell processor (reaching data processing rates of ?13 GB/s) and significantly surpass the performance obtained form conventional high-end processors (supporting a combined input stream rate of 2,000 tuples/s using 15 min windows and without dropping any tuples, resulting in ?8.3 times higher output rate compared to an SSE implementation on dual 3.2 GHz Intel Xeon).
Case method teaching: An effective approach to integrate the basic and clinical sciences in the preclinical medical curriculum

Background: Recent efforts to identify the essential skills and competencies required for medical practice have resulted in an expansion of the educational outcomes for which medical schools are accountable. Teachers in the preclinical years, formerly focused on the transmission of biomedical principles and factual information, are now charged with presenting discipline-specific concepts with an emphasis on clinical relevance while advancing active learning, critical thinking, communication skills, and other professional competencies. Problem-based learning has been widely introduced to support these educational goals but other, less resource-intensive, discussion methodologies have not been extensively explored.Aim: To examine the feasibility of case-method teaching (CMT) during the preclinical curricula to integrate basic science concepts in the management of clinical problems.Methods: CMT sessions were conducted with students during the first- and second-year of hybrid curricula at two US medical schoo...
Lectio Doctoralis: the geometric progress of knowledge and the erratic course of a life: a memoir.

hormones with proteins have shed new light on the mechanisms of transport (influx and efflux) of the lipophylic hormones across the plasma membrane. Scientist and charismatic scholar, Jack Robbins attracted several Italian scientists to his branch. The earliest was Mario Andreoli, professor of medicine at the University La Sapienza. Professor Andreoli is present today with all the Italian fellows of Jack Robbins. These fellows have now reached, or are on their way to reaching, top academic positions. Indeed, these fellows are acknowledged scientists in the international scientific community, also because of the relationship that the unforgettable Gaetano Salvatore established with Jack Robbins. After the premature departure of Nino, Giancarlo Vecchio, who is a distinguished scientist and Fogarty Scholar, and a member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, has continued that relationship. Together with Mario Andreoli and Giancarlo Vecchio are Fabrizio Monaco, Luigi Bartalena and Alfredo Pontecorvi, Marco Centanni, Salvatore Benvenga, Daniela Foti, Antonella Farsetti, Gianni Salabe, and Settimio Grimaldi. With these Italian fellows and two Belgian fellows (Philippe De Nayer and Daniel Glinoer), many eminent scholars have also gathered here. These scholars are Aldo Pinchera, a worldwide recognized scientist who is deputy vice president of the Consiglio Universitario Nazionale; Riccardo Vigneri, a leading scientist in the field of endocrine and metabolic physiopathology, and thyroid oncology; Enio Martino, president of the collegium of the full professors of endocrinology; Eduardo Consiglio, director of Centro di Endocrinologia ed Oncologia Sperimentale of the National Research Council, which is an institution founded by Nino Salvatore and a hinge of the Italy-National Institutes of Health relationship. The presence of these scholars signifies that Italian endocrinology is pleased by the tribute that the University of Messina is paying to Jack Robbins.
Economic instability in petroleum-based economies

Etude de la variation de la production, de l'effectif embauche, du prix du petrole et du revenu petrolier, au cours de la duree de vie de gisement, situes en Alaska
A receding horizon approach to generating dynamically feasible plans for vehicles that operate over large areas

We present an approach to planning dynamically feasible vehicle trajectories for applications where the vehicle operates in very large environments and for which a kinematic model is poor approximation of the vehicle's dynamics. Using a standard receding horizon control framework, we compute a sequence of short-horizon optimal trajectories that can be computed in real-time. We also compute a global path that is updated only occasionally. Because the environment is very large, we presume that the global path cannot be updated in real-time. By selecting a terminal state cost in the finite-time optimal control problem that approximates the cost-to-go, we are able to propose a formal condition under which the sequence of dynamically feasible trajectories is guaranteed to converge to a desired goal location. Moreover, we show that the global path need be updated only when the formal condition is not satisfied, which allows us to delay update of the global path.
Identifying and addressing potential conflict of interest: a professional medical organization's code of ethics.

The new Consumer Alliance agreement between the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and The Coca-Cola Company provides a valuable opportunity to illustrate AAFP’s adherence to its ethical foundation, demonstrate the AAFP’s commitment to serving physicians and the public, and maintain the trust Americans put in their family physicians and the organization that represents them. Throughout the development of this program, as well as in all business interactions, the AAFP consistently addresses possible conflict of interest openly and directly, sharing with our members and the public exactly what measures we take to ensure that, in fact, no unethical conduct or breach of trust would—or will in the future—occur. In this case, the AAFP saw a public health and education need that was both unmet and undermined by the barrage of marketing messages and confusing information, and acted to fill that need. In so doing, the AAFP hewed to its high ethical standards, its core values, and its mission in the decisions made and the actions that followed.
NV: Nessus vulnerability visualization for the web

Network vulnerability is a critical component of network security. Yet vulnerability analysis has received relatively little attention from the security visualization community. This paper describes nv, a web-based Nessus vulnerability visualization. Nv utilizes treemaps and linked histograms to allow security analysts and systems administrators to discover, analyze, and manage vulnerabilities on their networks. In addition to visualizing single Nessus scans, nv supports the analysis of sequential scans by showing which vulnerabilities have been fixed, remain open, or are newly discovered. Nv operates completely in-browser, to avoid sending sensitive data to outside servers. We discuss the design of nv, as well as provide case studies demonstrating vulnerability analysis workflows which include a multiple-node testbed and data from the 2011 VAST Challenge.
Synchrony Preference: Why Some People Go With the Flow and Some Don't

As work in organizations becomes more fluid and fast paced the effective execution of tasks often requires people to be temporally adaptable in working with others. This paper brings to light the importance of understanding how people relate to time in the context of social interactions. By integrating the research on time and social motives, we develop a relational perspective about time. We introduce the construct of synchrony preference, an individual difference that describes a willingness to adapt one's pace and rhythm within social interactions for the purpose of creating synchrony with others. We develop a measure of synchrony preference that we validate using multiple methods across 4 studies and 7 samples, which include over 1,400 individuals. In particular, we establish a nomological network and show that synchrony preference predicts flexible pacing behaviors, interpersonal facilitation, contribution to team synchrony, contribution to team performance, and job dedication. Our results reveal that both scholars and practitioners can benefit from considering people's preference for synchrony when working with others
Predictors of Thiopurine Treatment Failure in Biologic-Naïve Ulcerative Colitis Patients

Thiopurines (azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine) have been used in the management of UC patients for over three decades. Nearly half of patients with UC treated with thiopurines fail to achieve remission or lose remission during treatment. Factors associated with thiopurine failure are poorly understood. The primary aim of our study was to investigate patient-related factors which are associated with thiopurine failure. TNF-alpha antagonist-naive patients with histological diagnosis of UC, receiving thiopurine therapy, with follow-up data from 1 to 3 years were included in the study. Data regarding demographics, laboratory results, and disease characteristics were collected. The primary endpoint was failure of thiopurine therapy, defined as treatment with steroids, therapeutic escalation to TNF-alpha antagonist therapy, or need for surgery. Of the 563 patients identified using ICD-9 codes, 78 TNF-alpha antagonist-naive patients with a histological diagnosis of UC, receiving thiopurine treatment, were identified. Over the three-year follow-up period, 38 patients failed thiopurine treatment. On adjusted Cox regression, BMI < 25 kg/m2 (HR 3, 95 % CI 1.55–5.83; p value = 0.001) was significantly associated with thiopurine failure. Furthermore, although not statistically significant, there was a strong trend toward thiopurine failure among patients with serum albumin level < 4 g/dL (HR 1.98, 95 % CI 0.97–4; p value = 0.06), non-smoking status (HR 2.2, 95 % CI 0.96–5.06; p value = 0.06), and higher degree of colon inflammation (HR 1.49, 95 % CI 0.96–2.32; p value = 0.08). Our results show that low body mass index is associated with increased risk of failure of thiopurine treatment. Furthermore, there was a strong trend toward thiopurine failure among patients with low serum albumin level (<4gm/dL). These factors should be considered as markers of non-response to thiopurine monotherapy for patients with moderately severe ulcerative colitis.
Telomerase activity during spontaneous immortalization of Li-Fraumeni syndrome skin fibroblasts

Telomerase activity during spontaneous immortalization of Li-Fraumeni syndrome skin fibroblasts
Surgical management of ulcerative colitis in the era of biologicals.

PURPOSE Proctocolectomy has been a curative option for patients with severe ulcerative colitis. In recent years, there has been a growing use of medical salvage therapy in the management of patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. We aimed at reviewing the role of surgical management in a time of intensified medical management on the basis of published trial data. The aim was to determine the efficacy of aggressive medical versus surgical management in achieving multifaceted treatment goals. METHODS A comprehensive search of Pubmed, Medline, the Cochrane database was performed. Abstracts were evaluated for relevance. Selected articles were then reviewed in detail, including references. Recommendations were then drafted based on evidence and conclusions in the selected articles. RESULTS The majority of patients with UC will not need surgery. However, steroid-refractoriness and steroid-dependence signal a subset of patients with more challenging disease. Biological therapy has been shown to achieve short-term improvement and temporarily reduce the need for a colectomy. However, there is a substantial financial and medical price to pay because a high fraction of these salvaged patients will still need a curative colectomy but may be exposed to the negative impact of prolonged immunosuppression, chronic illness, and a higher probability to require 3 rather than 2 operations. Proctocolectomy with ileo-anal pouch anastomosis-performed in 1, 2, or 3 steps depending on the patient's condition-remains the surgical procedure of choice. Even though it has its share of possible complications, it has been associated with excellent long-term outcomes and high levels of satisfaction, such that in the majority of patients they become indistinguishable from unaffected normal individuals. CONCLUSIONS The current data demonstrate that use of medical salvage therapy in the treatment of UC will likely continue to grow and evolve. Consensus is being developed to better define and predict failure of medical therapy and clarify the role of the different treatment modalities. For many patients, sacrificing the nonresponsive diseased colon is an underused or unnecessarily delayed chance to normalize their health and life. Biologicals in many instances may have to be considered the bridge to that end.
Determining the colloidal behavior of ionically cross-linked polyelectrolytes with isothermal titration calorimetry.

Mixtures of polyelectrolytes and multivalent counterions can self-assemble into colloidal complexes. These complexes attract widespread interest in applications such as medicine, household product formulations, and separation processes. To facilitate the development of these colloidal dispersions, we examined isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) as an automated screening tool for identifying the polymer and multivalent counterion compositions that (1) form ionically cross-linked colloidal complexes and (2) lead to their rapid coagulation (and macroscopic phase separation). By studying various polyelectrolyte/multivalent counterion mixtures, we have identified and generalized the features in the ITC data that indicate colloidal complex formation and coagulation. The limitations of this calorimetric screening method were also elucidated. These analyses suggest that ITC can be effective for screening the short-term colloidal behavior of polyelectrolyte/multivalent counterion mixtures but are unreliable in ...
Survey on urine-fluoride and dental fluorosis among children in defluoridation area in Shijiazhuang city

Objective To evaluate the effects in deflurioidation area in Shijiazhuang city.Methods Portable water fluorine content was measured among 4delfluoredation villages and 1village with normal water fluorine.The dental fluorosis and urine-fluoride of students aged 8-12were tested.Results The results showed that the fluorine content in drinking water of all investigated villages were lower than 1mg/L.The median of Urine-fluoride was 0.82mg/L(0.35-1.88mg/L).Index of dental fluorosis was 0.15.There was a linear correlation between urine-fluoride and the prevalence of suspected fluorosis and dental fluorosis(F=41.307,P=0.000),R2=0.821.Conclusions After water-improvement,water-fluorine concentration was lower than the hygiene standard of our country.Indexes of Urine-fluoride and dental fluorosis were in normal range.In very few villages,the madian of urine-fluoride stayed high.We should enhance our monitoring over fluoride in water and other sources of fluorine.
Backtracking in MLISP2: an efficient backtracking method for LISP

An efficient backtracking method for LISP, used in the MLISP2 language, is described. The method is optimal in the following senses: (1) Only necessary state information is saved. The backtracking system routines are sufficiently efficient to require less than ten percent of the execution time of typical jobs. (2) Most common operations -- fetching/storing the value of a variable or the property of an atom, function entry/exit -- take no longer with backtracking than without it. This is achieved by not changing the way values are stored. (3) If backtracking is not used, an insignificant overhead is involved in maintaining the backtracking capability. The MLISP2 algorithm and philosophy are briefly contrasted with those of several existing backtracking systems, with historical comments on the development of the theory of backtracking.
Chemotherapy in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer

This chapter will outline the application of chemotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) chronicling the evolution of treatment since its inception at the hands of Paul Ehrlich in the late 1800s. We will discuss the discoveries in cancer kinetics and the clinical trials that have established the current standards of treatment and conclude with a discussion of ongoing research endeavors. Surgical excision has remained the mainstay of curative efforts over the years. Contrary to many other cancers, HNSCC treatment failure tends to occur with locoregional recurrence. The addition of radiation therapy to advanced stage tumors and/or those with high-risk features has improved outcomes; adding chemotherapy in select cases has further improved our ability to treat HNSCC patients. By targeting rapidly dividing cancer cells, and more recently targeting-specific molecular signaling pathways of cancer cells, chemotherapy has become an important part in treatment of advanced stage HNSCC and remains the key player in palliative therapy of metastatic disease. Generally employed as adjuvant treatment together with radiation to improve locoregional control and prevent recurrence, concurrent chemoradiation therapy can also serve as organ preservation therapy in an attempt to avoid surgical removal of vital structures. Despite many clinical trials evaluating variations in chemotherapy modalities and agents, the standard of care has remained largely unchanged over the last 15 years. The emergence of HPV+ tumors has garnered much attention in the media, and while these tumors appear to behave differently and add further research questions, the publicity has sparked a tremendously needed increase in conversation about HNSCC and the gap in our ability to treat it. Recent research advances have positioned us on the horizon of a new field of chemotherapy that includes biotherapies such as the already utilized antibody cetuximab and T cell receptor ligands such as PD-L1, which is currently the subject of clinical trials for HNSCC and other late-stage solid tumors. Hope remains that as our understanding of the molecular biology of cancer evolves, an increasing array of agents including those targeting-specific molecular signaling pathways unique to cancer cells will become available.
Bringing order to neutral atom arrays.

In quantum science, the control of individual particles that was once unimaginable is now routine and expanding rapidly to a variety of platforms harnessing atoms, photons, solid-state circuits, molecules, and more. Yet, implementation on a large scale that retains individual particle control remains a frontier challenge. Large-scale quantum control is predicted to have revolutionary consequences for studying synthetic quantum matter and for information processing that harnesses quantum mechanics—that is, quantum computing. On pages 1021 and 1024 of this issue, Barredo et al. ( 1 ) and Endres et al. ( 2 ) report on an experimental approach in which controlling the spatial distribution of neutral atoms is taken to a new scale.
Optical Properties of MoS2/MoSe2 Heterostructures

We present MoS2/MoSe2 heterostructures formed through dry transfer method. We report significant quenching of the photoluminescence in MoS2 and a red shift of the photoluminescence in MoSe2 as signs of interlayer charge transfer.
New techniques for realizing desired raiation patterns of antennas and arrays mounted on complex platforms

A new approach for realizing the radiation patterns of antenna systems located on a complex platform is proposed in this paper. The proposed technique is based on the use of Characteristic Basis Functions (CBFs). The CBFs are generated by exciting a number of antenna elements, typically specified by the user, and placed at “allowable” locations on the platform. The Characteristic Basis Function Patterns (CBFPs) are derived from the CBFs, and are used as the basis functions in the pattern space to realize the desired pattern. An novel eigenvalue problem, which is numerical considerably more efficient to solve, is developed to find the best-fit solution that maximizes the energy radiated in the desired angular range, while minimizing the undesired radiation outside of this range.
Force-Dependent Recruitment of Cross-Bridges from the Myosin Off-State can Contribute to Length-Dependent Activation

Cardiac muscle cells develop more force if they are stretched before they are activated. The Ca2+ concentration that is required to produce half-maximal force also decreases. These effects are known as length-dependent activation and are thought to contribute to the Frank-Starling Mechanism. The precise mechanisms underlying length-dependent activation remain unclear. Kampourakis et al. (PMID 27162358) recently showed that increasing the length of cardiac muscle causes myosin head domains to adopt orientations that are more perpendicular to the thick filament axis.
The roots of Trumpism

This essay examines the social origins of the election of Donald Trump in November 2016, and assess the possible direction of his presidency. Riding the wave of middle class radicalism that began w...
The Iowa Voiding Improvement Partnership experience: Early observations with a collaborative pediatric uro-psychologic clinic.

Summary Introduction Bladder and bowel dysfunction (BBD) are common problems in children presenting for pediatric urology referral. Psychiatric issues may be present in these children, making their treatment difficult. In 2013, the University of Iowa Voiding Improvement Partnership (VIP) Clinic was established for the treatment of these patients. Study Objective This study sought to evaluate early experience with this specialized clinic, to determine the pre-existing urologic and psychologic conditions seen in these clinic patients, and to evaluate the clinical outcomes after VIP treatment. Study Design A retrospective, Institutional Review Board-approved review of all patients seen in the VIP Clinic was performed. The following were evaluated: patient demographics, underlying urologic and psychologic diagnosis, and treatment decisions. All patients were asked to complete the University of Iowa Pediatric Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction questionnaire at each visit. Questionnaire scores from the patients' first and most recent clinic visits were compared. Results To date, 66 patients have been evaluated at the VIP Clinic, accounting for 112 clinic visits. The mean age of the VIP patients was 8.5 years (range, 4–16) and 59% of the patients were female. Pre-existing urological conditions and psychological conditions are shown in the Summary Table. A large number (62%) of patients required further psychological evaluation, secondary to concern for an undiagnosed psychiatric issue. In addition, the clinic had improved patients' BBD symptoms over time. When first evaluated in clinic, patients had an average Iowa BBD Questionnaire score of 31 (range, 47–13), which improved to an average score of 25 (range, 47–7) (P = 0.03). In addition, 23% of the patients improved to where they could be discharged from uro-psychologic care. Conclusions It was feasible to establish the present multidisciplinary uro-psychology clinic. Such a clinic may unearth undiagnosed psychological issues, and improve bowel and bladder dysfunction in these difficult-to-treat patients. Summary Table . Patient and clinic characteristics. Mean patient age, years (range) 8.5 (4–16) Sex, mean n (%) Male 27 (41%) Female 39 (59%) Pre-existing urologic conditions, mean n (%) Urinary incontinence 64 (98%) Constipation 63 (97%) Nocturnal enuresis 45 (68%) Recurrent UTI 26 (40%) Voiding dysfunction 17 (26%) Pre-existing psychological conditions, mean n (%) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) 50 (77%) Anxiety disorders 23 (35%) Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) 17 (26%) Autism spectrum disorders 8 (12%) Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) 3 (5%) Parent–child relationship problems 3 (5%) Questionnaire results, mean number of points (range) First clinic visit 31 (47–13) Most recent clinic visit 25 (47–7) Clinic treatment decisions, mean n (%) Maintained in VIP clinic 51 patients (77%) Discharged from care 15 patients (23%) Referred for further psychological evaluation 48 patients (62%) VIP, Voiding Improvement Partnership.
Immigrant mothers’ beliefs and transnational strategies for their children's heritage language maintenance

ABSTRACTThis qualitative study investigates immigrant mothers’ beliefs and practices toward supporting maintenance of their children's heritage language (HL) in the context of transnationalism. The data are primarily drawn from formal and informal interviews and observations of six mothers who immigrated to the United States from Japan and Korea. The findings demonstrate that the immigrant mothers view their children's HL maintenance as a bridge that connects intergenerational families across countries, and as a positive asset that will open up academic and career opportunities for their children in the future. Nevertheless, challenges in maintaining a balance between HL and English were noted. The participants shared three transnational strategies to support HL maintenance, including (1) use of transnational media to teach cultural knowledge and to motivate HL learning, (2) frequent visits to home countries for children to participate in public schooling, and (3) using print and literacy resources in HL ...
Butterfly Feeding Preferences for Buddleja Selections in the Landscape

Abstract In landscape studies conducted in 2002 and 2003, Buddleja davidii (Franch.) ‘White Profusion’, ‘Pink Delight’, and ‘Honeycomb’ were visited by native butterflies to a greater extent than to the remaining four Buddleja examined. In general, the lowest visitation was experienced by B. crispa (Benth.) and B. lindleyana (Fortune) ‘Miss Vicie’. Overall, B. davidii ‘Pink Delight’ was visited by the greatest number of species, while B. crispa and B. lindleyana ‘Miss Vicie’ were visited by the least. Total visit duration by one randomly selected butterfly was greater for B. davidii ‘White Profusion’, ‘Honeycomb’, ‘Pink Delight’, and ‘Royal Red’ in 2003, while no differences among cultivars were found in 2002. Differences in duration per visit were observed in 2003 with B. davidii ‘White Profusion’, ‘Pink Delight’, and ‘Royal Red’ having the greatest and B. crispa the least. Plant characteristics including inflorescence number, growth index, flower morphology, and flower color characteristics differed amo...
Patient outcomes from lung cancer and diabetes mellitus: a matched case-control study.

Aim: This case–control study examined the impact of diabetes mellitus (DM) on survival in lung cancer patients and lung cancer on glycemic control in DM. Materials & methods: Patients with a new lung cancer diagnosis and DM (n = 124) were matched to 124 lung cancer patients without DM. Laboratory results and DM and cancer therapies were obtained from electronic records. Results: Five-year overall survival for lung cancer patients with and without DM was 20 versus 29% (p = .12). Glycemic control among DM patients did not change significantly with time. Conclusion: DM does not cause adverse impact on lung cancer survival. Lung cancer does not affect glycemic control.
Comparative study of dual-linear versus dual-circular horns for 18 to 45 GHz repeaters

The difference in far-field performance between linear and circular polarizations of a millimeter wave quad ridge horn for a dual channel RF repeater is discussed. When integrated with a compatible 90° hybrid having amplitude and phase imbalances, it is seen that co-polarized boresight gain varies by 0.5 dB, 3 dB beamwidth by 2.5° and radiation patterns are different. Therefore, it is important to consider performance of both polarizations for dual channel RF repeaters.
Utility of Adjunctive Procedures With Balloon Dilation of the Eustachian Tube.

Objective To assess the role and effect of concomitant adjunctive procedures when combined with balloon dilation of the Eustachian tube (BDET), including a new technique for treating obstructive disease within the bony Eustachian tube (ET). Study design Retrospective case series. Setting Tertiary medical center. Subjects Adults with persistent (≥2 years): 1) OME or non-fixed TM retraction AND type B or C tympanogram OR 2) Consistent symptoms of barochallenge with flights or diving, all despite medical treatment for ≥6 weeks. Methods Balloon dilation of the cartilaginous ET (BDET) was performed under general anesthesia using concomitant myringotomy with or without tube placement if indicated. Adjunctive turbinectomy, adenoidectomy, and/or tympanoplasty were used in selected cases. For suspected disease in the bony ET, an illuminated guidewire was used for probing and clearing the lumen. Outcome measures were tympanogram, otomicroscopy, ET mucosal inflammation score, Valsalva maneuver, and PTA audiometry. Results 67 ETs (48 patients) underwent BDET: 1) 30/67 balloon w/wo myringotomy, w/wo tube, 2) 20/67 plus adjunctive procedure or 3) 17/67 plus guidewire. Follow-up was ranging from 0.4 to 3.4 years (mean 1.3 year, SD = 0.7). Significant improvement occurred in 79%. There was no significant difference in the failure rate comparing balloon dilation with adjunctive procedures 5/20 (25%) or without adjunctive procedures; 4/30 p = 0.45 (13%). Failure rate for BDET plus guide wire was 5/17 (29%) and resistance within the bony ET occurred in 8/17 (47%). Conclusion Balloon dilation of the cartilaginous ET demonstrated significant improvement despite expansion of indications that necessitated the addition of adjunctive procedures. Level of evidence 4.
Machining Specific Fourier Power Spectrum Profiles into Plastics for High Energy Density Physics Experiments

AbstractThe High Energy Density Physics program at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has had a multiyear campaign to verify the predictive capability of the interface evolution of shock propagation through different profiles machined into the face of a plastic package with an iodine-doped plastic center region. These experiments varied the machined surface from a simple sine wave to a double sine wave and finally to a multitude of different profiles with power spectrum ranges and shapes to verify LANL’s simulation capability. The MultiMode-A profiles had a band-pass flat region of the power spectrum, while the MultiMode-B profile had two band-pass flat regions. Another profile of interest was the 1-Peak profile, a band-pass concept with a spike to one side of the power spectrum. All these profiles were machined in flat and tilted orientations of 30 and 60 deg. Tailor-made machining profiles, supplied by experimental physicists, were compared to actual machined surfaces, and Fourier power spectra were ...
Effects of Fungicides on Enzymes

Enzymes are often the primary sites of attack by fungicides. Information about the action of fungicides on enzymes has been limited by knowledge of fungous metabolism and techniques of enzymology. Because enzymes representative of particular functional groups showed little relationship between inhibition of a particular type of enzyme and fungitoxicity [Owens, 1953 (1)], a search for enzymic blocks in fungous metabolism that are concomitant with toxicity had to be employed. Numerous workers have shown that respiration and, in turn, activity of respiratory enzymes were inhibited by toxic concentrations of fungicides. Although respiration is necessary for growth, it is not clear whether or not these actions are causes of or are secondary to inhibition of growth. Recent attention has been focused on the inhibition of protein and nucleic acid synthesis in fungi. Increase in protein content is related directly to increases in protoplasm. The discovery of pathways of synthesis for these compounds has made these studies possible and contributed to the knowledge of fungicide effects on enzymes.
Computational Methods in Fluid Flow

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses computational methods in fluid flow. Computational methods are an important tool in predicting the response of heterogeneous geological systems to coupled or uncoupled flow, transport, and deformation processes. As a domain method, elements must be distributed throughout the body of interest and the dependent variables defined at nodal points. Extensive meshing and the large number of resulting equations mandated by the domain-type methods can be circumvented by certain integral techniques. For certain classes of linear problems, boundary element methods are particularly powerful. The competing integral and domain solution techniques are largely complementary. Domain-type methods are unmatched in their ability to represent complex-coupled and nonlinear phenomena, while integral techniques are ideally suited to describe accurately linear, but volumetrically extensive, far-field of infinite body problems. Thus, the procedures can be used in isolation or in a coupled format to extract the most useful features from each. The behavior of the dual porosity continuum is described by the interaction of the basic components, namely, the porous medium and the surrounding fracture system. Irrespective of the particular choice of solution technique, computational methods provide a powerful tool in the quantification of flow and transport phenomena in rock mechanics.
A Single-Phase ac to Three-Phase ac Converter with a Small Link Capacitor

Single-phase ac to three-phase ac converters are needed in numerous applications including motor drives used for residential applications. These converters suffer from an inherent problem, which is mismatch of instantaneous input and output powers. The instantaneous power of single-phase ac source has a dc component along with an alternating component the frequency of which is twice the input source (double-frequency); while the instantaneous power of the three-phase ac load contains only a de component. The state of the art converters typically use large electrolytic capacitors to handle this mismatch of power. However, electrolytic capacitors have high failure rates which contribute to short lifetime of these converters. Moreover, these capacitors are bulky and heavy. This paper introduces a new single-phase ac to three-phase ac converter that uses a small film capacitor instead of large electrolytic capacitors. Despite using a small film capacitor, the double frequency harmonic does not appear at the input and output currents/voltages. Another advantage of this converter is that galvanic isolation can be provided by adding a high frequency transformer. The principles of the operation of the proposed topology are presented in this paper, and its performance is evaluated through simulations.
Valvular Heart Disease Assessment by CMR

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) has exceptional capability of performing comprehensive evaluation of simple and complex valvular heart disease. CMR has emerged as an alternative imaging modality without ionizing radiation that is applicable in patients with valvular heart disease. An important value of CMR is its ability to provide many imaging planes, which can be tailored to individual anatomy. CMR can provide quantitative measure of valvular stenosis and regurgitation, which is comparable to echocardiography. An additional advantage of CMR for assessment of valvular heart disease is its true and reproducible measurements of ventricular volumes and function, which can guide a clinician regarding appropriate timing of surgery. Furthermore, CMR is able to evaluate great vessel anatomy and the presence of the myocardial scar, which can be of prognostic significance. Therefore, CMR is an attractive alternative or complimentary modality for thorough assessment of valvular pathology and can significantly guide the clinician and advance patient’s care.
On the Finite W-Algebra for the Queer Lie Superalgebra

In this paper, we study the finite W-algebra \(W_{\chi }\) for the queer Lie superalgebra \({\mathfrak {g}= Q(N)}\) associated with an arbitrary even nilpotent element \(\chi \) in the coadjoint representation. We describe the annihilator \({\mathfrak {g}^{\chi }}\) and construct a set of elements in the generalized Whittaker module \({U(\mathfrak {g})/I_{\chi }}\) which under certain map project onto a homogeneous basis in \({\mathfrak {g}^{\chi }}\). In the case when the corresponding nilpotent element has Jordan blocks of equal size, these elements form a set of generators for \(W_{\chi }\).