cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Endothelial Ontogeny During Embryogenesis: Role of Cytokine Signaling Pathways

Efficient distribution of oxygen and nutrients are fundamental and universal requirements of tissue homeostasis. In adults, angiogenesis from existing vessels occurs during routine tissue repair and is a prerequisite for the advance of tumor growth. Indeed, proliferation of any solid tissue beyond microscopic scales, in vivo or in vitro, is inherently dependent on vascularization. Endothelial ontogeny is hugely relevant to clinical science, as millions of patients each year succumb to vascular diseases resulting in mortality and morbidity due to tissue ischemia. Medical interventions are only partially effective in revascularizing ischemic tissues; moreover, recent clinical trials to induce revascularization using adult marrow-derived stem cells have yielded only minor benefit. Human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) have the potential to provide an unlimited source of vascular tissue for cell-based therapies, while also providing insight into the molecular events underlying human vascular development. In order for human ESCs to fulfill this potential, however, it will first be necessary to define the developmental events that influence endothelial differentiation and blood vessel formation. The molecular pathways involved in developmental vasculogenesis in mouse have been well studied, yet many elements of this process are obscure, and the correlation of these studies to human biology remains to be seen. Below, we review the current understanding of mammalian vascular development gained from studies of mouse genetic models and ESCs, focusing on the cytokine-mediated signaling pathways that govern this process.
Abstract 162: Everolimus Prevents Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation by Repressing Cell Cycle-Dependent Telomerase Activation

INTRODUCTION: Everolimus is a potent antiproliferative agent that prevents growth factor-stimulated proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells and is frequently used as platform for drug-eluting coronary stents to prevent restenosis after coronary artery angioplasty. We have previously demonstrated that telomerase plays a crucial role in vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. However, whether telomerase is involved in the anti-proliferative activity of everolimus and the putative molecular mechanisms underlying this activity remain elusive. In this study, we assessed the hypothesis that telomerase is a key downstream target for the anti-proliferative activity of everolimus. METHODS AND RESULTS: We demonstrate that everolimus treatment resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of mitogen-induced telomerase activity in human coronary artery VSMCs (hcVSMCs). Moreover mitogen-induced telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter activity and protein expression were dose-dependently repressed by everolimus treatment. Everolimus inhibited mitogen-induced cell proliferation as a result of a G1 →S phase arrest of the cell cycle. In addition, everolimus repressed protein expression of cell cycle-regulated genes (MCM 7, PCNA and Cyclin A) without altering phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma (Rb) protein, being the key gatekeeper of cell cycle transition. In addition, the effects of everolimus were not related to telomere shorting and cellular senescence, supporting the concept of a noncanonical telomere length-independent mechanism. Finally, we demonstrated in transient transfection studies that TERT overexpression abolished the anti-proliferative effect of everolimus in hcVSMC, pointing to a key role of telomerase as a target for the anti-proliferative effects of everolimus. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that telomerase constitutes a key target for the anti-proliferative activity of everolimus and identify a novel mechanism for the inhibition of hcVSMC proliferation.
Abstract CN07-03: CD47 is an adverse prognostic factor and therapeutic antibody target on human AML stem cells

Human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is organized as a cellular hierarchy initiated and maintained by rare self‐renewing leukemia stem cells (LSC), which must be eliminated in order to cure the patient. We identified increased expression of CD47 on human AML LSC compared to their normal counterparts. CD47 is a cell surface molecule that serves as the ligand for SIRP‐alpha on the surface of phagocytes, which in turn transmits a dominant inhibitory signal for phagocytosis. In this way, CD47 essentially functions as a “don9t eat me” signal. We hypothesized that increased CD47 expression contributes to pathogenesis by inhibiting phagocytosis of AML LSC. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that increased CD47 expression predicted worse overall survival in 3 independent cohorts of adult AML patients. Furthermore, we predicted that disruption of the interaction of CD47 with SIRP‐alpha would result in phagocytosis and elimination of AML LSC. We found that blocking monoclonal antibodies directed against CD47 enabled phagocytosis of AML LSC, but not normal CD34+ human bone marrow progenitor cells, by human macrophages in vitro. Additionally, coating of human AML LSC with anti‐CD47 monoclonal antibodies inhibited their engraftment in vivo in a xenotransplantation assay. Finally, analogous to a clinical therapy, treatment of human AML‐engrafted mice with anti‐CD47 antibody eliminated AML cells in the peripheral blood and bone marrow and targeted LSC. In summary, increased CD47 expression is an independent poor prognostic factor that can be targeted on human AML stem cells with monoclonal antibodies capable of stimulating phagocytosis and elimination of LSC. Targeting of CD47 with blocking monoclonal antibodies to induce phagocytosis is a novel mechanism for antibody cancer therapy. While anti‐CD47 antibodies can be effective monotherapy for human AML, such antibodies may be equally, if not more, effective as part of a combination strategy. The combination of an anti‐CD47 antibody, able to block a strong inhibitory signal for phagocytosis, with a second antibody able to bind an LSC‐specific molecule and engage Fc receptors on phagocytes, thereby delivering a strong positive signal for phagocytosis, may result in a synergistic stimulus for phagocytosis and specific elimination of AML LSC. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12 Suppl):CN07-03.
Mechanisms of Southern Ocean Heat Uptake and Transport in a Global Eddying Climate Model

AbstractThe Southern Ocean plays a dominant role in anthropogenic oceanic heat uptake. Strong northward transport of the heat content anomaly limits warming of the sea surface temperature in the uptake region and allows the heat uptake to be sustained. Using an eddy-rich global climate model, the processes controlling the northward transport and convergence of the heat anomaly in the midlatitude Southern Ocean are investigated in an idealized 1% yr−1 increasing CO2 simulation. Heat budget analyses reveal that different processes dominate to the north and south of the main convergence region. The heat transport northward from the uptake region in the south is driven primarily by passive advection of the heat content anomaly by the existing time mean circulation, with a smaller 20% contribution from enhanced upwelling. The heat anomaly converges in the midlatitude deep mixed layers because there is not a corresponding increase in the mean heat transport out of the deep mixed layers northward into the mode w...
Feeding Preferences and Consumption Rates of Stalk Borer (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Larvae Using Plants Found in No-Till Corn

In feeding preference tests using either leaf disks or stem sections, higher numbers of stalk borer (SB), Papaipema nehris (Guenee), fed on grasses than on broadleaf plants. Cool-season perennial grasses, such as orchard grass or fescue, were preferred. Feeding preferences did not exhibit a sharp demarcation between acceptable and unacceptable hosts. Degrees of preference were observed as a graded continuum between highly acceptable to less acceptable host plants. A higher percentage of individuals (65.5) chose to wander and did not feed on leaf disks, as compared with the percentage that chose to wander (48.2) when presented stem sections. In no-choice feeding tests on plants in the laboratory, first-instar SB infested plants at the same rate that they damaged plants, showing a tendency to tunnel into acceptable host plants. Annual rye sustained the greatest amount of damage (74%) and had the highest percentage (27) infestation. Using third- or fourth-instar SB in no-choice field cage studies, infestation levels were greatest for orchard grass and annual rye. Damage levels were lowest for red clover and cheat. Larvae recovered from field corn showed preferences for feeding on field corn, as compared with sorghum, orchard grass, and alfalfa.
RIGHT VENTRICULAR (RV) LINEAR DIMENSIONS ON ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY (ECHO) ARE RELIABLE INDICES OF CARDIAC MAGNETIC RESONANCE (CMR) QUANTIFIED CHAMBER REMODELING: A MULTIMODALITY VALIDATION STUDY

RV chamber remodeling impacts prognosis. Echo linear dimensions are widely used for LV assessment, but are not well validated as quantitative indices of RV size. The population comprised post MI pts undergoing transthoracic echo and CMR within 1 day. On echo, RV end diastolic (ED) and end systolic
The persephone syndrome

The Persephone syndrome is epitomized in over sixty cases of married Greek immigrant women involved in long-term psychiatric treatment. While the presenting conditions were anxiety, depression, psychophysiologic manifestations, and gross stress reactions, transient psychotic episodes necessitating short hospitalizations were often observed. The basic dynamic constellation revealed strong, unresolved emotional attachment to the mother which the patient unconsciously attempted to compromise by re-establishing her union with the mother through the manifest illness. The marriages of these women were often based on pretence and adherence to custom; often they indicated only a superficial interest in adapting to marriage and resisted accepting the new cultural environment, actions and attitudes which they rationalized in various ways. These female Greek immigrant spouses demonstrated consistently the unique resolution of their husband-mother ambivalence through the development of clinical symptoms, the failure to adapt to new cultural and social demands and the eventual flight to their mothers. It can be hypothesized that the typical cohesive constellation of the Greek family unit encourages mother-daughter “loyalty” and dependency but that the stress produced by geographic separation, for which the daughter was never emotionally prepared, results in a conflict which eventually leads to neurotic solutions. It is possible that the Persephone syndrome is a manifestation of a more pervasive phenomenon which encompasses the Greek woman's basic orientation to life. The study shows that, among these patients, while the mother-daughter attachment in the country of their origin may not be recognized as pathological being variously compromised through transactional patterns consistent with that culture, it becomes overtly pathological with exposure to a different culture.
The Influence of Aggregation Pheromones on the Behavior of Argas Cooleyi and Ornithodoros Concanensis (Acari: Ixodoidea: Argasidae)

Tests of unfed virgin adults of Argas cooleyi and Ornithodoros concanensis to determine their responses to paper discs previously in contact with fed virgin ticks demonstrated that both species produce aggregation pheromones. The aggregation pheromones (1) elicited conspecific clustering of individuals of both the same and the opposite sex and (2) stimulated only slightly weaker trans-specific clustering of individuals of the opposite sex.
Informed Consent and the Disclosure of Surgeon Experience

This chapter reviews ethical issues and legal precedent relevant to informed consent for surgical procedures using a shared decision-making framework. The process of informed consent is examined in a systematic fashion, including reviewing ways to improve doctor-patient communication and important considerations for documentation of the consent process. Disclosure of surgical experience will also be explored, including the complexities of dealing with statistics from surgeon-specific reports. Ethical principles including respect for patient autonomy, beneficence, and distributive justice and duty to tell the truth will be explored as relevant to the doctrine of informed consent.
Fracture Failure of Bent Pipe of Roof Superheater in Supercritical Boiler

Through the methods of microscope analysis,mechanical analysis,chemical analysis,metallographic examination and scanning electron microscope,the causes resulting in rupture of bent pipe(12Cr1MoV) of roof superheater in insupercritical boiler were analyzed.The results indicate that the bent pipe fracture failure is brittle fracture.The welding defects,excessive stress and lower working temperature in bending are the primar reasons for fracture failure.
Integration of newer strategies into the management of RCC.

In this issue of ONCOLOGY, Dutcher, Mourad, and Ennis provide a current review of some newer strategies in the surgical and systemic treatment options for localized and advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
Using the North American Breeding Bird Survey to assess broad-scale response of the continent's most imperiled avian community, grassland birds, to weather variability

ABSTRACT Avian populations can respond dramatically to extreme weather such as droughts and heat waves, yet patterns of response to weather at broad scales remain largely unknown. Our goal was to evaluate annual variation in abundance of 14 grassland bird species breeding in the northern mixed-grass prairie in relation to annual variation in precipitation and temperature. We modeled avian abundance during the breeding season using North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data for the U.S. Badlands and Prairies Bird Conservation Region (BCR 17) from 1980 to 2012. We used hierarchical Bayesian methods to fit models and estimate the candidate weather parameters standardized precipitation index (SPI) and standardized temperature index (STI) for the same year and the previous year. Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda) responded positively to within-year STI (β = 0.101), and Baird's Sparrow (Ammodramus bairdii) responded negatively to within-year STI (β = −0.161) and positively to within-year SPI (β = 0.195...
Time to Panic! Disability Justice, Sex Surrogacy, and Sexual Freedom

Sex and disability provokes moral panic. Not only does This panic not only functions to delegitimize and stigmatize the sexual agency of people with disabilities, but also incites sexualized violence against women, men, and gender-variant individuals with disabilities. I utilize narratives of sex surrogacy by disabled women and gender-variant persons as a vehicle to co-think sex and dis/ability and re-imagine possibilities therein that challenge and resist processes of uneven biopolitical incorporation by the nation-state and by the carceral net- work apparatus more broadly. This chapter is indebted to the work of scholar-activists who are blurring the boundaries of the supposed “community/academy” binary, and whose work questions the normal- ized violences of militaristic capitalism and its inextricable relationship to disciplinary knowledge production in the corporatized, neoliberal academe. On theories of uneven biopolitical incorporation, the INCITE! Organization “stresses the importance of transcending the ‘politics of inclusion’ to actually address the concerns of women of color” (Smith et al. 2006, 3). In asking what are the conditions of possibility for the sexual agency of women and gender-variant persons with disabilities to come to fruition we must simultaneously question: what would it take to eradicate sexualized violence against women and genderqueer bodies with disabilities?
Women and Work: Teaching the Pay Gap

Learning objectives for Sociology of Work courses often require that students evaluate the influences of gender, race, class and sexuality in the structuring of the rewards of work. College students have limited capacities to identify the structural sources of inequalities and tend to assume social equity can be achieved through efforts to increase human capital. In this chapter we discuss ways to address these challenges through active learning techniques that increase student awareness of the pay gap as a social problem and promote critical thinking that can lead to social change. We offer a teaching strategy that moves students through theory, data and dissemination. Our goal is that students not only come to understand the sociology of the pay gap but also gain the skills and tools to combat inequalities in the workplace.
Metal-Zeolite Catalysts for the Conversion of Synthesis Gas to Selected Hydrocarbon Products

It is well known that the medium-pore zeolite ZSM-5 can catalytically convert methanol or other oxygenates to hydrocarbons containing aromatics [1]. The conversion is normally carried out in the temperature range 300°–400°C. The acid function of ZSM-5 is responsible for the catalytic synthesis of aromatics. The shape-selective behavior stemming from the medium-pore size (diameter of 5.5 A results in a sharp cut-off in the aromatic product distribution at C10. The reaction path [2–4] involves the following steps:(a) dehydration of methanol to dimethylether and subsequently to ethylene and propylene, (b) oligomerization of light olefins to heavier olefins, and (c) isomerization, cyclization, and aromatization. The liquid hydrocarbon product contains blanched paraffins, blanched olefins, naphthenes, and aromatics, and has a high octane rating.
Particle in a Box: An Experiential Environment for Learning Introductory Quantum Mechanics

Quantum mechanics (QMs) is a foundational subject in many science and engineering fields. It is difficult to teach, however, as it requires a fundamental revision of the assumptions and laws of classical physics and probability. Furthermore, introductory QM courses and texts predominantly focus on the mathematical formulations of the subject and lay less emphasis on its conceptual understanding. Consequently, students struggle to build robust mental models of the concepts. This paper posits that games can provide an effective platform for an experiential and conceptual understanding of introductory QM. Games are particularly suitable for demonstrating QM characteristics because their repetitive nature is conducive to demonstrating probability concepts that form a core part of QM. Games can also immerse students in an engaging environment that motivates them to learn. This paper presents the design and evaluation of a digital game for learning introductory QM concepts. The evaluation of the game indicates an improvement in students’ conceptual understanding of probability. Students also reported an increase in comfort level with key concepts taught in the game.
The role of carbon dioxide capture and storage in reducing emissions from cement plants in North America

Publisher Summary This chapter illustrates that stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases requires addressing important emission sources. The cement industry faces several challenges in reducing its CO2 emissions such as: its heavy dependence on fossil fuels, especially high-carbon fossil fuels, its dependence on limestone-based clinker, and the age and efficiency of its capital stock. The industry has several options for reducing cement-related CO2 emissions. Conventional CO2 management approaches are available to address technological and product improvements that can reduce emissions per unit of cement produced, and that to some degree are already being deployed within the industry. Advanced CO2 management approaches include technologies and alternative products that are in an early stage of technical development or acceptance, including carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS), hybrid cement-energy facilities, and the use of non-cement binders that have lower specific emissions. The present cost curves for the marginal cost of mitigating CO2 emissions through conventional approaches as well as for CCS deployment for the North American cement industry. These cost curves provide insight into the emissions-reduction roles that these different options may fill for the industry over the near and longer terms, based on estimated future demand and possible climate policy emissions reduction targets.
Human induced pluripotent stem cells illuminate pathways and novel treatment targets for age-related macular degeneration.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of legal blindness in the United States and is the leading cause of visual impairment in the aging population, especially in those over 55 years of age. By 2020, an anticipated 196 million individuals will be affected with AMD (1). Geographic atrophy is characterized by a slow progressive degeneration of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), resulting in the gradual loss of photoreceptors. The wet, or neovascular, form is characterized by the growth of abnormal new blood vessels from beneath the retina that can cause severe and rapid vision loss due to hemorrhage and exudation. Most current treatments are directed against neovascular AMD and are focused against stimulators of angiogenesis (such as vascular endothelial growth factor). These treatments are limited in their applicability, require invasive intravitreal injections, which are burdensome for both patient and physician, and are not capable of preventing or reversing vision loss over the long term. Currently, there are no effective treatments for atrophic AMD.
Benchmarking Ultrawideband Phased Antenna Arrays: Striving for Clearer and More Informative Reporting Practices

This article presents embedded element design and measurement data for an ultrawideband (UWB) flared-notch (Vivaldi) array. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) built this all-metal dual-polarized phased array specifically as a benchmarking reference for other planar phased-array apertures in the 2-21.2-GHz frequency range. It is suitable for comparative reporting of new array radiator performance, a practice favored by the Navy for effective technology readiness level (TRL) assessment. The 256-port (16 t 16, 7-mm array lattice spacing) slant-linear array is precision machined to ensure consistent agreement between measured performance results and predictions from simulated full-wave models, making the array desirable for benchmarking new array hardware as well as validating computational modeling tools. The optimally sampled aperture has excellent matching and zero scan blindness out to 80d in all scan planes, for grating-lobe-free scans over roughly 2-21.2 GHz. Benchmarking is tailored to highlight cross-polarization (cross-pol) performance in all scan planes, an important metric that should be tested during array radiator design. This data can be made available to design engineers for comparative evaluation of new UWB radiator performance under a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA). NRL provides this and similar benchmarking data sets (and related measurement services) in the 0.8-75-GHz range.
Abstract 289: Probing the non-enhancing component of glioblastoma: Targeting what is left behind

While genomic profiling and therapeutic selection support individualized GBM treatment, such therapeutic decision-making is usually made with reference to tumor obtained from the enhancing core region. GBM is known to be heterogeneous and exhibits a high resistance to standard therapies. To address whether non-enhancing tumor (representing the majority of tumor left behind after surgery) shows distinct genomic characteristics and therapeutic targets compared to the enhancing tumor core, we performed genome-wide exome-sequencing and RNA-sequencing for 12 patients with matched enhancing region and at least one non-enhancing region. Non-enhancing biopsies show a surprisingly high level of tumor content, with a median of 28% tumor cells and 6 of the 22 samples having greater than 50% tumor cells. Cognate non-enhancing and enhancing specimens demonstrated overall concordance in therapeutically actionable alterations (single nucleotide variants) and copy number alterations. However, non-enhancing regions were not genetically identical and did reveal additional and distinct variants compared to enhancing cores. For example, the non-enhancing region of patient 1 showed two nonsense NF1 mutations (R1534X; R2517X) while the enhancing region showed an NF1 frameshift mutation (F1247fs). Clonality analysis by LumosVar also indicated that 7 out of 12 patients harbored dissimilar cellular prevalence patterns between enhancing and non-enhancing regions. In addition, comparison of alternative polyadenylation between enhancing and non-enhancing regions uncovered distinct 39 UTR usage: e.g. SGMS2 and TOB1 tended to have longer 39 UTR in enhancing regions whereas longer 39 UTR of SYNPO and NOS1AP were prevalent in non-enhancing regions. We posit that the enhancing component of glioblastoma probably underrepresents the genomic alterations in patients9 tumors. Given non-enhancing tumor is left behind after surgical debulking, genomic profiling of this region would potentially reveal more accurate tumor vulnerabilities and lead to more effective therapy. Supported by a grant from the Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation. Citation Format: Sen Peng, Rebecca Halperin, Harshil Dhruv, Sara Byron, Christophe Legendre, Joanna Phillips, Michael Prados, Michael Berens, Nhan Tran. Probing the non-enhancing component of glioblastoma: Targeting what is left behind [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 289.
Effect of State of Condensation on the Ionization Potential of Associated Liquids

Liquid water and alcohols have been shown to undergo photoionization when subjected to vacuum ultraviolet in the range 210-180 nm. Hydrated electrons have been identified as products of photolysis in liquid water by a number of characteristic reactions using competition kinetics as a quantitative criterion. The reactions e− aq + SF6, e− aq + H3O+, and e− aq + Cd++ have been used as the principal analytical tools of investigation. The photoproduction of electrons was shown to be the result of a single photon process. A parallel investigation of the photodissociation of water to H + OH suggests that photoionization and photodissociation of liquid water involve the same excited state; the cross section for photodissociation being about ten times larger than for photoionization.
Assessing the dissolution of horizontal marketing relationships: The case of corporate sponsorship of sport

Abstract Despite the theoretical and practical importance of marketing relationships, the factors influencing their dissolution are under-researched. Thus, this study investigates the causes of the dissolution of horizontal marketing partnerships, utilizing survival analysis modeling to analyze a longitudinal dataset of 136 U.S.-based title sponsorships. Several predictors of either the dissolution or persistence of such relationships were identified, including regional proximity of the sponsor and the sponsorship level offered. From the perspective of the sponsoring brand, a business-to-business perspective caused a statistically significant reduction in the probability of dissolution, whereas the presence of high technology increased the probability the relationship would be dissolved. Contrary to past research, neither congruence or brand equity were influential. This research furthers understanding of conditions that may contribute to the dissolution of sponsorship-related horizontal marketing partnerships, allowing for these factors to be monitored prior to and during what is intended to be a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship.
Characterization of the Astrophysical Diffuse Neutrino Flux with IceCube High-Energy Starting Events

The IceCube neutrino observatory has established the existence of an astrophysical diffuse neutrino component above $100$ TeV. This discovery was made using the high-energy starting event sample, which uses the outer layer of instrumented volume as a veto to significantly reduce atmospheric background. We present the latest astrophysical neutrino flux measurement using high-energy starting events. This latest iteration of the analysis extends the sample by $1.5$ years for a total of $7.5$ years, updates the event properties with newer models of light transport in the glacial ice, and has an improved systematic treatment. As part of this new analysis, we report on compatibility of our observations with detailed isotropic flux models proposed in the literature as well as the standard generic models such as single, double power-law scenarios. We find that none of the tested models are substantially preferred with respect to a single power law.
Determination of Death by Neurologic Criteria in the United States: The Case for Revising the Uniform Determination of Death Act:

Although death by neurologic criteria (brain death) is legally recognized throughout the United States, state laws and clinical practice vary concerning three key issues: (1) the medical standards used to determine death by neurologic criteria, (2) management of family objections before determination of death by neurologic criteria, and (3) management of religious objections to declaration of death by neurologic criteria. The American Academy of Neurology and other medical stakeholder organizations involved in the determination of death by neurologic criteria have undertaken concerted action to address variation in clinical practice in order to ensure the integrity of brain death determination. To complement this effort, state policymakers must revise legislation on the use of neurologic criteria to declare death. We review the legal history and current laws regarding neurologic criteria to declare death and offer proposed revisions to the Uniform Determination of Death Act (UDDA) and the rationale for these recommendations.
Report of the ALCTS Technical Services Workflow Efficiency Interest Group Meeting. American Library Association Annual Conference, Washington, DC, June 2019

The ALCTS Technical Services Workflow Efficiency Interest Group (TSWEIG) held its meeting at the American Library Association Annual conference in Washington, D.C. on June 24, 2019.The program bega...
Even his friend said he's bad: Children think personal alliances bias gossip.

Abstract Children learn about other people through gossip. Although gossip can be a valuable and efficient way to learn about others, evaluating gossip's credibility requires understanding when people may be biased, and using this information to update the truth-value placed on the gossip. For instance, people may be motivated to improve their and their friends' reputations (or to worsen their enemies' reputations). Therefore, testimony that cuts against these social motivations may be more credible. Here, in four studies with 3- to 13-year-old children (total N = 860), we examined (1) children's expectations about the type of gossip people were likely to spread about friends versus enemies, and (2) children's ability to discount testimony that is in line with a speaker's social biases (e.g., negative testimony about a friend). We found that children expect speakers to say nice things about their friends, and mean things about their enemies. And, children were less likely to endorse potentially biased testimony, though the strength of their ability to avoid endorsing biased testimony varied based on the domain of testimony. Overall, these studies suggest that children expect a speaker's testimony to be systematically biased based on her relationships. Our results underscore the importance of tracking and using relationships when evaluating testimony, because relationships have immense power for helping us effectively make sense of an ambiguous world.
Precipitation and Temperature Impact on Woody Plant Invaders in the Flint Hills Region of Kansas

The Flint Hills region of Kansas represents one of the largest tracts of tallgrass prairie remaining in North America. Among others, a persistent threat to tallgrass prairie is invasion by native woody plants. Fire is frequently used to combat this threat, but numerous species remain able to encroach upon prairie. We conducted a survey of three habitat types (prairie, a transitional woodland, and a forest edge) to identify potential prairie invaders, their influence on graminoid cover, and the influence of climatic variability on woody plant growth. A total of 71 trees were cut and sampled for annual woody growth rate and were used as a centroid for collection of understory plant cover data. There was a generally positive correlation between increased precipitation and increased woody growth. However, temperature had very little influence on woody plant growth. There were significant intraspecific differences in woody plant growth among habitat types. Similarly, there were differences among species within each habitat area. Graminoid cover was inversely related to overstory canopy cover.
Emergency Physician Twitter Use in the COVID-19 Pandemic as a Potential Predictor of Impending Surge: Retrospective Observational Study.

Background: The early conversations on social media by emergency physicians offer a window into the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: This retrospective observational study of emergency physician Twitter use details how the health care crisis has influenced emergency physician discourse online and how this discourse may have use as a harbinger of ensuing surge. Methods: Followers of the three main emergency physician professional organizations were identified using Twitter’s application programming interface. They and their followers were included in the study if they identified explicitly as US-based emergency physicians. Statuses, or tweets, were obtained between January 4, 2020, when the new disease was first reported, and December 14, 2020, when vaccination first began. Original tweets underwent sentiment analysis using the previously validated Valence Aware Dictionary and Sentiment Reasoner (VADER) tool as well as topic modeling using latent Dirichlet allocation unsupervised machine learning. Sentiment and topic trends were then correlated with daily change in new COVID-19 cases and inpatient bed utilization. Results: A total of 3463 emergency physicians produced 334,747 unique English-language tweets during the study period. Out of 3463 participants, 910 (26.3%) stated that they were in training, and 466 of 902 (51.7%) participants who provided their gender identified as men. Overall tweet volume went from a pre-March 2020 mean of 481.9 (SD 72.7) daily tweets to a mean of 1065.5 (SD 257.3) daily tweets thereafter. Parameter and topic number tuning led to 20 tweet topics, with a topic coherence of 0.49. Except for a week in June and 4 days in November, discourse was dominated by the health care system (45,570/334,747, 13.6%). Discussion of pandemic response, epidemiology, and clinical care were jointly found to moderately correlate with COVID-19 hospital bed utilization (Pearson r=0.41), as was the occurrence of “covid,” “coronavirus,” or “pandemic” in tweet texts (r=0.47). Momentum in COVID-19 tweets, as demonstrated by a sustained crossing of 7- and 28-day moving averages, was found to have occurred on an average of 45.0 (SD 12.7) days before peak COVID-19 hospital bed utilization across the country and in the four most contributory states. Conclusions: COVID-19 Twitter discussion among emergency physicians correlates with and may precede the rising of hospital burden. This study, therefore, begins to depict the extent to which the ongoing pandemic has affected the field of emergency medicine discourse online and suggests a potential avenue for understanding predictors of surge.
The Road to Achieving a Critical Mass of Sociologists and Anthropologists in the World Bank

A succession of dominant academic and applied disciplines influenced the intellectual paradigm, policies, and lending operations of the World Bank before, during and immediately after the presidency of Robert McNamara. The account that I document below about one part of this disciplinary succession and intellectual expansion of the World Bank’s outlook is based on the author’s work in the Bank between 1971 and 1986, during which I served as the Bank’s first Science and Technology Adviser.
Delayed rFGF21 Administration Improves Cerebrovascular Remodeling and White Matter Repair After Focal Stroke in Diabetic Mice.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major comorbidity exacerbating ischemic brain injury and impairing post-stroke recovery. Our previous study suggested that recombinant human fibroblast growth factor (rFGF) 21 might be a potent therapeutic targeting multiple aspects of pathophysiology in T2DM stroke. This study aims to evaluate the potential effects of rFGF21 on cerebrovascular remodeling after T2DM stroke. Permanent distal middle cerebral artery occlusion was performed in heterozygous non-diabetic db/ + and homozygous diabetic db/db mice. Daily rFGF21 administration was initiated 1 week after stroke induction and maintained for up to 2 weeks thereafter. Multiple markers associated with post-stroke recovery, including angiogenesis, oligodendrogenesis, white matter integrity, and neurogenesis, were assessed up to 3 weeks after stroke. Our results showed an impairment in post-stroke vascular remodeling under T2DM condition, reflected by the decreased expression of trophic factors in brain microvessels and impairments of angiogenesis. The defected cerebrovascular remodeling was accompanied by the decreased oligodendrogenesis and neurogenesis. However, delayed rFGF21 administration normalized post-stroke hyperglycemia and improved neurological outcomes, which may partially be via the promotion of pro-angiogenic trophic factor expression in brain microvessels and cerebrovascular remodeling. The better cerebrovascular remodeling may also contribute to oligodendrogenesis, white matter integrity, and neurogenesis after T2DM stroke. Therefore, delayed rFGF21 administration may improve neurological outcomes in T2DM stroke mice, at least in part by normalizing the metabolic abnormalities and promoting cerebrovascular remodeling and white matter repair.
Accuracy of A Handheld Accelerometer-Based Navigation System for Femoral and Tibial Resection in Total Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract Restoration of mechanical axis in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is correlated with improved implant survivorship. We assessed the accuracy and required surgical time using a hand-held accelerometer-based navigation system for TKA. Data collected on 53 patients included assembly, resection, and tourniquet times. Implant alignment and mechanical axis were measured on radiographs. Femoral alignment was 0.29 o ± 2.2 o varus. Tibial alignment was 0.09 o ± 1.4 o valgus. Postoperative mechanical axis was 0.2 o ± 2.1 o varus. Malalignment rates for the femur, tibia, and axis were 13%, 3.8%, and 17%, respectively. Average time for pinning and navigating was 3.6 minutes for the femur and 2.6 minutes for the tibia; mean tourniquet time was 62 minutes. This navigation system accurately re-established mechanical axis without increasing surgical time.
REITs and the Private Real Estate Market

Financial economists have long been interested in the dual-market nature of real estate. Real estate is in a unique position among alternative asset classes in that an active market transacting commercial and residential real estate assets exists alongside public pricing and trading of real estate investment trusts (REITs) on the stock market. This chapter summarizes past research on how these two markets are connected and whether investors in REITs receive a return consistent with the direct real estate market. To investigate this issue, an analysis is conducted using multivariate cointegration techniques on a data set that includes the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and a carefully matched set of control variables. Researchers have previously used matched controls to address this issue. The findings suggest that REITs and the private real estate market adjust together toward a long-run equilibrium. Evidence also indicates that the financial markets lead movements in the real estate market
Analysis of Citrulline, Arginine, and Methylarginines Using High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography

Citrulline is a product of arginine degradation by nitric oxide synthase and is a precursor for arginine synthesis in animal cells. After arginine is incorporated into proteins, it may undergo methylation to form N(G)-monomethylarginine, which may be converted to asymmetric dimethylarginine and symmetric dimethylarginine. The degradation of these methylated proteins produces free methylarginines. This chapter focuses on the analysis of these amino acids in biological samples (including plasma/serum, urine, cell culture medium, and tissues) using high-performance liquid chromatography that involves precolumn derivatization with o-phthaldialdehyde. Fluorescence is monitored at excitation and emission wavelengths of 340 and 455 nm, respectively. Detection limits are 5 nM for amino acids. The assays are linear between 1 and 100 microM for citrulline and arginine and between 0.1 and 10 microM for methylarginines. These chromatographic methods are highly sensitive, specific, accurate, and easily automated and provide a useful tool to study the regulation of the arginine-nitric oxide pathway.
The metabolism of Acetobacter peroxidans. I. Oxidative enzymes.

Abstract Several oxidative enzymes of the catalase-negative bacterium Acetobacter peroxidans have been investigated. Alcohol and acetaldehyde dehydrogenases are TPN-specific. TPNH oxidase, TPNH-linked cytochrome c reductase, diaphorase, peroxidase, and the H2O2 peroxidations of reduced TPN and or reduced cytochrome can be demonstrated in cell-free extracts. The entire electron transport chain is antimycin A insensitive. The conversion of acetaldehyde to acetate is not CoA dependent. It appears as if the usual tricarboxylic acid cycle is inoperative during acetate oxidation by this microorganism.
Nucleosome distribution and linker DNA: connecting nuclear function to dynamic chromatin structureThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in a Special Issue entitled 31st Annual International Asilomar Chromatin and Chromosomes Conference, and has undergone the Journal’s usual peer review process.

Genetic information in eukaryotes is managed by strategic hierarchical organization of chromatin structure. Primary chromatin structure describes an unfolded nucleosomal array, often referred to as...
A study of evolution in the presence of source-derived partial design representations

When performing evolution tasks, software engineers focus on both the low-level changes required and the effects those changes will have on the system's design. The Design Snippets Tool generates partial design representations intended to help engineers address one design criterion: ease of change. We describe a study in which participants used the Design Snippets Tool and other aids to perform a restructuring task focused on ease of change. Our findings describe how participants proceeded through the restructuring task and how they used the Design Snippets Tool. The results show that participants used the Design Snippets Tool for high-level tasks such as discovery of design problems, identification of restructuring goals, and confirmation of design improvements.
Combining sparse NMF with deep neural network: A new classification-based approach for speech enhancement

In this work, we consider enhancing a target speech from a singlechannel noisy observation corrupted by non-stationary noises at low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). We take a classification-based approach, where the objective is to estimate an Ideal Binary Mask (IBM) that classifies each time-frequency (T-F) unit of the noisy observation into one of the two categories: speech-dominant unit or noise-dominant unit. The estimated mask is used to binary weight the noisy mixture to obtain the enhanced speech. In the proposed system, the sparse non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) is used to extract features from the noisy observation, followed by a Deep Neural Network (DNN) for classification. Compared with several existing classification-based systems, the proposed system uses minimal speech-specific domain knowledge, but is able to achieve better performance in certain low SNR regions. Moreover, the proposed system outperforms the traditional statistical method, especially in terms of improving the intelligibility.
Control of hepatitis B: to be or not to be?

The needs of children should not be made to wait. —John F. Kennedy, 1963 The recent recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Infectious Diseases and the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee of the Centers for Disease Control to immunize all infants against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection have engendered concerns and questions which should not eclipse the import and intent of these recommendations.1,2 Behind these statements lay much deliberation and expertise drawn from those in pediatrics, medicine, infectious diseases, and public health. The undeniable conclusions of both committees are that control of HBV infection and its consequences (1) is necessary, (2) requires a new approach, and (3) must include universal infant immunization and should include immunization of adolescents whenever resources permit.
The Effect of Tip Removal on the Natural Vibrations of Uniform Cantilevered Triangular Plates

Abstract : Experimental results are obtained for the lowest 6 natural frequencies and the associated nodal lines of trapezoidal plates of uniform thickness clamped on one edge. Three series of plates are investigated. Each series consists of 6 plates and is developed from a triangular plate by progressively cutting off portions of its tip parallel to its clamped edge, giving a clipped wing effect. Two of the series originate from triangular plates of delta wing plan form with aspect ratios of 2 and 4. A triangular plate with a mean chordline sweepback angle of 45 is used as the basis for the third series. Results are presented in form of graphs, tables, and photographs. A method of treating plates of nonisotropic material is described. The use of interpolation to extend the results to a broader field of plate shapes is also discussed.
Polymerase Chain Reaction and Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) enables one to determine if a specific needle is present in a haystack, and it can be used as a step toward the characterization of the needle. It is a quick, powerful, inexpensive DNA amplification technique that has become a fundamental tool in molecular pathology.