cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of the aging pulmonary system on the response to exercise

The older adult demonstrates several alterations in the ventilatory response to exercise relative to the young adult. These differences are primarily caused by the aging-induced loss of elastic recoil of the lung, which reduces expiratory airflow rates along the effort-independent portion of the maximal volitional flow-volume envelope. Despite these distinctions in the response to exercise of the aged adult, alveolar ventilation is adequate for carbon dioxide elimination (even during maximal exercise), and arterial oxygen homeostasis is generally maintained.
Expert system based automated design technique of a voltage-fed inverter for induction motor drive

The authors describe expert-system-base automate design of a pulse width modulation (PWM) voltage fed inverter for an induction motor drive on the basis of design specifications provided by the user, who could be a skilled or a semiskilled designer. During a typical consultation with the expert system, the user undergoes an interactive dialogue session in simple English to supply the details of load condition, power supply, etc., to the expert system. The expert system then designs the converter system in detail and the solution is displayed on the screen. The program is developed with the help of an expert system shell named Personal Consultant Plus (PC PLUS). The present program can design inverter systems for the range of machines of 1-50 HP using bipolar junction transistors or insulated-gate bipolar transistors, but can be expanded for higher power range using other power devices. The knowledge base of the program incorporates the domain expertise of a power electronics design engineer and the database contains the ratings of power semiconductor devices from a particular vendor. >
Biodiesel from Waste Vegetable Oils

Vegetable oils and Animal Fats (triglycerides) were the first liquid fuels used in the rise of civilization, and again are a potential source of alternate diesel fuel. They are twenty times as viscous as diesel fuel however, and so form carbon deposits on diesel cylinders and injectors. Transesterification with methanol cleaves the oil/fat molecule and removes the glycerine, yielding a viscosity and other properties comparable to that of diesel. The resulting esters have been called “biodiesel” and are now being tested in Europe and the U. S. The heat of combustion of biodiesel is 95% of that for conventional diesel (on a volume basis). Biodiesel has a Cetane number of 50-80 (compared to typically 42 for diesel). The Cetane number is important in determining emissions.
Measures of Complexity of Global Banks

Size and complexity are viewed as contributing to the too-big-to-fail status of financial institutions. Yet, there is no standard accepted metric for an organization’s complexity, much less for a large firm engaged in global finance. We provide perspective on the issue of complexity by examining affiliate counts, types, and geography within global financial institutions. We show that standard measures of institution size are strongly related to total counts of affiliates in an organization, but are more weakly aligned with other measures of complexity. Considerable heterogeneity exists across global financial organizations in measures of business and geographic complexity. Some business models and geographic tendencies have strong regional characteristics that are linked to the organization’s parentage. Since complexity is distinct from organizational size, we argue that its consequences and its policy relevance warrant much broader study.
Incorporation of fluorophore-cholesterol conjugates into liposomal and mycobacterial membranes.

Fluorescently-labeled steroids that emit intense blue light in nonpolar solvent (λem (CH2Cl2)≈440nm, ΦF=0.70) were prepared by treating cholesteryl chloroformate with 4-amino-1,8-naphthalimides. The lipid portion of the conjugates embeds into liposomal membrane bilayers in minutes, leaving the fluorophore exposed to the external aqueous environment. This causes a 40-nm red-shift in λem and significant quenching. DFT optimizations predict the conjugates to be about 30A long when fully extended, but rotation about the linker group can bring the compounds into an 'L'-shape. Such a conformation would allow the cholesteryl anchor to remain parallel to the acyl chains of a membrane while the fluorescent group resides in the interfacial region, instead of extending beyond it. When incubated with Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2 155, a bacterial species known to use natural cholesterol, the labeled steroids support growth and can be found localized in the membrane fraction of the cells using HPLC. These findings demonstrate stable integration of fluorescent cholesterols into bacterial membranes in vivo, indicating that these compounds may be useful for evaluating cholesterol uptake in prokaryotic organisms.
Factors associated with the use of elective single-embryo transfer and pregnancy outcomes in the United States, 2004-2012

Objective To evaluate factors associated with elective single-embryo transfer (eSET) utilization and its effect on assisted reproductive technology outcomes in the United States. Design Historical cohort. Setting Not applicable. Patient(s) Fresh IVF cycles of women aged 18–37 years using autologous oocytes with either one (SET) or two (double-embryo transfer [DET]) embryos transferred and reported to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinic Outcome Reporting System between 2004 and 2012. Cycles were categorized into four groups with ([+]) or without ([−]) supernumerary embryos cryopreserved. The SET group with embryos cryopreserved was designated as eSET. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcomes Measure(s) The likelihood of eSET utilization, live birth, and singleton non–low birth weight term live birth, modeled using logistic regression. Presented as adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Result(s) The study included 263,375 cycles (21,917 SET[−]cryopreservation, 20,996 SET[+]cryopreservation, 103,371 DET[−]cryopreservation, and 117,091 DET[+]cryopreservation). The utilization of eSET (SET[+]cryopreservation) increased from 1.8% in 2004 to 14.9% in 2012 (aOR 7.66, 95% CI 6.87–8.53) and was more likely with assisted reproductive technology insurance coverage (aOR 1.60, 95% CI 1.54–1.66), Asian race (aOR 1.26, 95% CI 1.20–1.33), uterine factor diagnosis (aOR 1.48, 95% CI 1.37–1.59), retrieval of ≥16 oocytes (aOR 2.85, 95% CI 2.55–3.19), and the transfer of day 5–6 embryos (aOR 4.23, 95% CI 4.06–4.40); eSET was less likely in women aged 35–37 years (aOR 0.76, 95% CI 0.73–0.80). Compared with DET cycles, the likelihood of the ideal outcome, term non–low birth weight singleton live birth, was increased 45%–52% with eSET. Conclusion(s) Expanding insurance coverage for IVF would facilitate the broader use of eSET and may reduce the morbidity and healthcare costs associated with multiple pregnancies.
ISOLATION, ENDEMISM, AND MULTIPLICATION OF SPECIES IN THE DARWIN FINCHES

In this paper we use multiple-regression analysis to consider the general evolutionary problem of the relative importance of the various factors governing the proliferation of related subspecies or species on member islands of an archipelago. From this quantitative analysis of the relation of isolation to endemism and sympatry' in the Darwin finches, deductions are made concerning (i) the location within the Galapagos Archipelago of insular sites of origin of the species and (ii) whether or. not these sites are also the ones where the remarkable, external morphological divergences characteristic of the group occurred. Together these considerations constitute a reinvestigation of factors underlying the processes of species multiplication and differentiation within an archipelago, and it is hoped that this will encourage students of other groups of organisms to make comparable comparisons and determine if our generalizations are universally applicable. For the Darwin finches (Geospizinae), which have undergone a moderate, adaptive radiation2 within the strongly isolated complex of the Galapagos Islands, we have found it useful to ask the question: Why, in this bird group of restricted distribution, is there a tendency for many species and few endemic subspecies to occur on some islands, and for few species but more endemics to occur on other islands (see fig. 1)? Explanation of the negative relation (correlation coefficient or r =-0.60) between insular numbers of species and insular numbers of endemic subspecies relates to the evolutionary problem cited. Under various guises, the problem has been taken up by others, with Ridgeway (1896), Swarth (1931, 1934), Lack (1947), and Bowman (1961) being major references to the topic. We seek in the present study of the Darwin finches an evaluation that is more statistically oriented than is usual for such problems (cf., however, Kramer and Mertens, 1938). Our determination of partialregression coefficients by the method of least squares involves estimation of the "partial" influences on total insular numbers of either species or endemic subspecies of the following four factors: insular area; insular numbers of land plant species; insular isolation as measured by distance from nearest island; and insular isolation as measured by distance from Indefatigable Island located in the central archipelago area.
Electrocorticographic Activation within Human Auditory Cortex during Dialog-Based Language and Cognitive Testing.

Current models of cortical speech and language processing include multiple regions within the temporal lobe of both hemispheres. Human communication, by necessity, involves complex interactions between regions subserving speech and language processing with those involved in more general cognitive functions. To assess these interactions, we utilized an ecologically salient conversation-based approach. This approach mandates that we first clarify activity patterns at the earliest stages of cortical speech processing. Therefore, we examined high gamma (70-150 Hz) responses within the electrocorticogram (ECoG) recorded simultaneously from Heschl’s gyrus (HG) and lateral surface of the superior temporal gyrus (STG). Subjects were neurosurgical patients undergoing evaluation for treatment of medically intractable epilepsy. They performed an expanded version of the Mini-mental state examination (MMSE), which included additional spelling, naming, and memory-based tasks. ECoG was recorded from HG and the STG using multicontact depth and subdural electrode arrays, respectively. Differences in high gamma activity during listening to the interviewer and the subject's self-generated verbal responses were quantified for each recording site and across sites within HG and STG. The expanded MMSE produced widespread activation in auditory cortex of both hemispheres. No significant difference was found between activity during listening to the interviewer's questions and the subject's answers in posteromedial HG (auditory core cortex). A different pattern was observed throughout anterolateral HG and posterior and middle portions of lateral STG (non-core auditory cortical areas), where activity was significantly greater during listening compared to speaking. No systematic task-specific differences in the degree of suppression during speaking relative to listening were found in posterior and middle STG. Individual sites could, however, exhibit task-related variability in the degree of suppression during speaking compared to listening. The current study demonstrates that ECoG recordings can be acquired in time-efficient dialog-based paradigms, permitting examination of language and cognition in an ecologically salient manner. The results obtained from auditory cortex serve as a foundation for future studies addressing patterns of activity beyond auditory cortex that subserve human communication.
A Study on the Defaults and Countermeasures of Venture Capitalists' Reward Incentive Mechanism

High-quality venture capitalists is the soul of venture capital,so it is significant to incite venture capitalists.The paper analyzes the mechanism of prompting "sharecropping" for venture capitalists,and concludes that such a mechanism is not an effective incentive one,because as investors achieve maximal benefits,venture capitalists fail to meet the their expectation.It proposes that this can be improved by means of incentive stock option and reputation,which may result in the accordance of the mutual utility functions.
Research Progress of Ecological Adaptability of Rice

The researches on ecological adaptability of rice have important significance for stable and high yield of rice.In this article,the research results on ecological adaptability of rice were summarized,and then the research prospect on ecological adaptability of super hybrid rice was put forwarded according to the physiological and ecological characteristics of super hybrid rice.
A Deep Learning Method for Microaneurysm Detection in Fundus Images

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness in the working-age population. Microaneurysms (MAs), due to leakage from retina blood vessels, are the early signs of DR. However, automated MA detection is complicated because of the small size of MA lesions and the low contrast between the lesion and its retinal background. Recently deep learning (DL) strategies have been used for automatic feature extraction and classification problems, especially for image analysis. In this paper, a Stacked Sparse Autoencoder (SSAE), an instance of a DL strategy, is presented for MA detection in fundus images. Small image patches are generated from the original fundus images. The SSAE learns high-level features from pixel intensities alone in order to identify distinguishing features of MA. The high-level features learned by SSAE are fed into a classifier to categorize each image patch as MA or non-MA. The public benchmark DIARETDB is utilized to provide the training/testing data and ground truth. Among the 89 images, totally 2182 image patches with MA lesions, serve as positive data, and another 6230 image patches without MA lesions are generated by a randomly sliding window operation, to serve as negative data. Without any blood vessel removal or complicated preprocessing operations, SSAE learned directly from the raw image patches, and automatically extracted the distinguishing features to classify the patches using Softmax Classifier. By employing the fine-tuning operation, an improved F-measure 91.3% and an average area under the ROC curve (AUC) 96.2% were achieved using 10-fold cross-validation.
Tracking in muscular lipid storage in the thigh of elderly women after diet or exercise with MRI/MRS

W have developed a proton magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy (MRI/MRS) protocol to quickly and noninvasively assess in vivo fat composition in human skeletal muscle. The protocol was applied to quantify gross adipose tissue depots and intramuscular lipid concentrations towards developing and substantiating the use of MRI/MRS to measure muscle quality in the thigh in three groups of older women varying in adiposity and habitual physical activity levels: obese (O); lean and sedentary (LS), and lean and active (LA). In the cross-sectional portion of the study, no significant differences in relative adipose tissue volumes or intramuscular lipid concentrations were found between the groups O and LS, revealing that the lipid distribution and storage were similar between obese and lean, sedentary subjects. However, group LA had 10% less relative fat volume and double the relative amount of lipids stored in a metabolically active state than O and LS. The longitudinal portion of the study involved two different four-month interventions on the thigh adipose composition of the O group: weight-loss diet (DI) and weight-stable exercise (EX). Group DI increased lipid concentrations without a change in distribution, due to loss of lean mass, whereas group EX had a favorable redistribution of intramuscular lipids without a loss of overall lipid concentration. In addition to other potential applications of our protocol in the area of analytical techniques for metabolomics, our results add to the growing literature regarding the importance of physical activity for the management of intramuscular lipids, even in individuals who are normal weight.
Procoagulants and Subclinical Atherosclerosis in Young Adults: The CARDIA Study.

Abstract 2973 Poster Board II-948 Background: Elevated levels of procoagulants (FVII, FVIII, vWF) have been associated with cardiovascular disease, but whether they play a role in atherogenesis is unclear. Study of these factors in young adulthood, prior to clinically manifested disease, and years later when subclinical atherosclerosis has developed, might clarify these associations. The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study provides an opportunity to examine this issue. Methods: Assays of FVII, FVIII, and vWF were performed in 1255 participants ages 23-37 (Year 7,Y7) and repeated at ages 38-50 (Year 20,Y20). Coronary artery calcification (CAC) prevalence and mean intimal-medial thickness (IMT) in the common carotid (CC) and internal carotid (IC) were measured at Y20. Prospective (Y7 clotting factors, Y20 CAC & IMT) and cross-sectional (Y20 clotting factors, Y20 CAC & IMT) analyses were performed. We also grouped participants according to whether they had one or more procoagulants in the highest tertile at Y7, Y20, or both, and evaluated their associations with subclinical disease. Results: Y7 levels of procoagulants (%), mean(SD) were: FVII 76(18), FVIII 102(38), and vWF 108(47). At Y20, all had increased by 40% to 55%, and CAC>0 was present in 20% of participants. After adjustment for age, the prospective analyses showed a trend of progressively greater CC thickness from the lowest to the highest tertile of FVII activity in the total group (P=0.007) and in whites (P=0.002) and men (P=0.015). Associations of FVII with IC thickness (0.82 mm to 0.84 mm) and the prevalence of CAC (18.6% to 23%) were weaker (P-trend, 0.1-0.3). Higher FVIII levels were associated with greater IC thickness in the total group, in whites, and in women (highest vs lowest tertile, P Conclusion: FVII is a marker but not an independent risk factor for future atherosclerosis in young adults; FVIII is associated with IC thickening, and no associations were observed for vWF. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Building confidence and credibility into CAD with belief decision trees

Creating classifiers for computer-aided diagnosis in the absence of ground truth is a challenging problem. Using experts’ opinions as reference truth is difficult because the variability in the experts’ interpretations introduces uncertainty in the labeled diagnostic data. This uncertainty translates into noise, which can significantly affect the performance of any classifier on test data. To address this problem, we propose a new label set weighting approach to combine the experts’ interpretations and their variability, as well as a selective iterative classification (SIC) approach that is based on conformal prediction. Using the NIH/NCI Lung Image Database Consortium (LIDC) dataset in which four radiologists interpreted the lung nodule characteristics, including the degree of malignancy, we illustrate the benefits of the proposed approach. Our results show that the proposed 2-label-weighted approach significantly outperforms the accuracy of the original 5- label and 2-label-unweighted classification approaches by 39.9% and 7.6%, respectively. We also found that the weighted 2-label models produce higher skewness values by 1.05 and 0.61 for non-SIC and SIC respectively on root mean square error (RMSE) distributions. When each approach was combined with selective iterative classification, this further improved the accuracy of classification for the 2-weighted-label by 7.5% over the original, and improved the skewness of the 5-label and 2-unweighted-label by 0.22 and 0.44 respectively.
Bias, Subjectivity, and Wrongful Convictions

This article, adapted from a 2017 symposium presentation, talks about bias, subjectivity and wrongful convictions. In law, we apply lessons from the past to contemporary problems. When we look at a wrongful conviction after exoneration, we get to look back at what might have caused it. This is valuable because we learn lessons we can then apply to prevent future miscarriages of justice. This article discusses a little about what we know from past exonerations and some of the factors that can contribute to wrongful convictions. Examining wrongful convictions that were later overturned with new DNA evidence allows us to identify six factors that significantly contribute to wrongful convictions. The influence of these factors may be slightly different percentage wise for DNA versus non-DNA cases, but they are significant in both contexts. Wrongful convictions often occur as a result of incentivized testimony from witnesses, like jailhouse informant or “snitch” testimony, false confessions, eyewitness identification error, bad lawyering, government misconduct and faulty forensic science. This article focuses on faulty forensic science.
Experimental and Theoretical Study of Strong Low-Terahertz Absorption of Thymine

The absorption coefficient of a nucleobase-thymine-in powder form was measured with terahertz spectroscopy in both frequency- and time-domain experiments. For frequencies below 3 THz, a strong signature was observed at 1.27 THz. Furthermore, molecular-dynamic simulations were conducted to reveal that the 1.27 THz absorption signature is related to a transverse optical phonon mode. The simulations also indicated that bound water molecules are vital to the vibrational mode.
Anterior Versus Posterior Approach for Thoracic Corpectomy: An Analysis of Risk Factors, Outcomes, and Complications.

Background Thoracic corpectomies are performed for various reasons, including spinal deformity, trauma, neoplasms, and infection. Regardless of indication, both anterior and posterior approaches are surgical options, selected based on pathology, anatomy, patient characteristics, and surgical experience. Risk profiles and outcomes for these procedures are poorly characterized, however, and the choice between the 2 approaches remains inconclusive. Objective To compare risk factors and complications for adult patients undergoing anterior and posterior thoracic corpectomies. Methods A review of the American College of Surgeons National Quality Improvement Program database was performed, with 30-day patient outcomes after anterior or posterior thoracic corpectomy queried from 2005 to 2016. Preoperative risk factors and postoperative outcomes (e.g., deaths, reoperations, readmissions) were identified and compared. Results In total, 1327 corpectomies were studied, 861 (64.9%) by an anterior approach and 465 (35.1%) by a posterior approach. Patients undergoing a posterior approach were generally male, older, and had a greater American Association of Anesthesiologists class, whereas those subject to anterior approaches had a greater average body mass index. After we controlled for these baseline characteristics, no significant difference in postoperative events was observed, with 9.3% of anterior approach patients and 7.1% of posterior approach patients returning to the operating room within 30 days. Conclusions No significant difference in rates of reoperation, readmission, death, average length of stay, or medical complications exists between anterior and posterior thoracic corpectomy approaches. Both have relatively low-risk profiles and, in situations in which either strategy is reasonable, each can be selected at the surgeon's discretion with comparable risk.
Optical Activity and Conformation of Bradykinin and Related Peptides

The large number of synthetic analogs and homologs of brady-kinin now available have allowed substantial progress in understanding the sequence and specific amino acid residues required for full biological activity. The molecule must contain amino- and carboxylterminal arginines, prolines at positions 2 and 7, and phenylalanine at positions 5 and 81.
Examining the responses of the zebrafish (Danio rerio) gastrointestinal system to the suspected obesogen diethylhexyl phthalate.

Abstract Epidemiological evidence suggests that phthalate plasticizers may act as “obesogens”, which are chemicals that exacerbate obesity. The gastrointestinal (GI) system is the primary exposure route for phthalates, however, the relationship between phthalate-driven perturbations of GI system functions that can influence obesity has yet to be examined. To address this knowledge gap, we exposed Danio rerio (zebrafish) for 60 days to either (1) Control feeding (5 mg/fish/day), (2) Overfeeding (20 mg/fish/day) or (3) Overfeeding with diethyl-hexyl phthalate (DEHP) (20 mg/fish/day with 3 mg/kg DEHP). After 60 days, Overfed and Overfed + DEHP zebrafish had elevated body mass, and hepatosomatic and gonadosomatic indices. RNAseq analysis of the GI revealed enrichment of gene networks related to lipid metabolism in the Overfed + DEHP group. Many of the enriched networks were under transcriptional control of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (pparα), a known modulator of lipid metabolism, immune function, and GI function. Real-time PCR confirmed that pparα was overexpressed in the Overfed + DEHP zebrafish, further revealing a pathway by which DEHP may influence lipid metabolism via the GI. These data increase our understanding of phthalate-driven effects on GI function and lipid metabolism, identifying gut-specific gene networks that may drive phthalate-exacerbated obesity.
Implementing Investor–state Mediation in China’s Next Generation Investment Treaties

This paper attempts to discuss the possible proposal of implementing an investor-state mediation mechanism in China’s next generation BITs, especially for disputes where the Chinese state will be acting as the Respondent. It first discussed the rise of mediation in international commercial and business dispute settings and mediation’s potential applications in resolving investor-state claims. It then discussed the background of recent rise of ADR in China and why that might lead to the adoption of an investor-state mechanism in the country’s future BITs, and how such a mechanism shall be devised. At the end, it wrapped up the discussion by arguing that rather than returning to political means of settling investor-state disputes, the recent rise of interest-based investor-state mediation indicates the benevolent interaction between parties as they become more experienced with investment treaty claims
An Uncomplicated Delivery in a Patient with Covid-19 in the United States.

Uncomplicated Delivery in a Patient with Covid-19 The peripartum care of a woman with Covid-19 at 39 weeks of gestation is described. The woman and the neonate were discharged home on hospital day ...
EZH2-Mediated Downregulation of the Tumor Suppressor DAB2IP Maintains Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells

The majority of women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer eventually develop recurrence, which rapidly evolves into chemoresistant disease. Persistence of ovarian cancer stem cells (OCSC) at the end of therapy may be responsible for emergence of resistant tumors. In this study, we demonstrate that in OCSC, the tumor suppressor disabled homolog 2–interacting protein (DAB2IP) is silenced by EZH2-mediated H3K27 trimethylation of the DAB2IP promoter. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deletion of DAB2IP in epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines upregulated expression of stemness-related genes and induced conversion of non-CSC to CSC, while enforced expression of DAB2IP suppressed CSC properties. Transcriptomic analysis showed that overexpression of DAB2IP in ovarian cancer significantly altered stemness-associated genes and bioinformatic analysis revealed WNT signaling as a dominant pathway mediating the CSC inhibitory effect of DAB2IP. Specifically, DAB2IP inhibited WNT signaling via downregulation of WNT5B, an important stemness inducer. Reverse phase protein array further demonstrated activation of noncanonical WNT signaling via C-JUN as a downstream target of WNT5B, which was blocked by inhibiting RAC1, a prominent regulator of C-JUN activation. Coadministration of EZH2 inhibitor GSK126 and RAC1 inhibitor NSC23766 suppressed OCSC survival in vitro and inhibited tumor growth and increased platinum sensitivity in vivo. Overall, these data establish that DAB2IP suppresses the cancer stem cell phenotype via inhibition of WNT5B-induced activation of C-JUN and can be epigenetically silenced by EZH2 in OCSC. Targeting the EZH2/DAB2IP/C-JUN axis therefore presents a promising strategy to prevent ovarian cancer recurrence and has potential for clinical translation. Significance: These findings show that combining an epigenetic therapy with a noncanonical WNT signaling pathway inhibitor has the potential to eradicate ovarian cancer stem cells and to prevent ovarian cancer recurrence.
Hypergravity effects on litter size, nursing activity, prolactin, TSH, T3, and T4 in the rat.

In a recent study of the effects of hypergravity (HG) on the reproductive system of the rat, it was found that the estrous cycle is perturbed in a pseudopregnancy-like pattern upon first exposure of animals to HG. This can be prevented by previous exposure to HG or by administration of bromergo cryptin. Adapted rats can mate and deliver in HG. However, little is known of the condition of the individual pregnant rat, fetuses, and newborn pups in this environment. There are also questions regarding the effects of HG on the number of fetuses, the mortality rate in different HG levels, and the effects on production and secretion of PRL and TSH. The present investigation is concerned with such questions, taking into account possible approaches to avoid or minimize the lethal effects of HG. The obtained results suggest that peripartum plasma PRL levels and thyroid hormone levels are critical for the survival of the litter.
Abstract 14490: Sarcopenia Defined by Computed Tomography Psoas Muscle Area Predicts Morbidity and Mortality in Patients Undergoing Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation

Objective: This study aimed to assess the correlation between psoas-muscle sarcopenia and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. Methods: Patie...
Acclimation to warm temperatures has important implications for mitochondrial function in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

In fishes, the capacity of thermal acclimation to preserve cardiac mitochondrial function under future warming scenarios is important to understand given the central role that cardiac energy metabolism and performance play in this taxa's thermal tolerance. We acclimated Atlantic salmon to 12 and 20°C (for>2 months), and investigated the effects of acute and chronic warming on cardiac mitochondrial respiration and ROS production (release rate) using high-resolution fluorespirometry. Further, we compared the sensitivity of mitochondrial respiration to nitric oxide (i.e., the NO IC50), and assessed the mitochondrial response to anoxia-reoxygenation (AR). Acute exposure to 20°C increased maximal mitochondrial respiration by ∼55%, however, the mitochondria's complex I-respiratory control ratio was 17% lower and ROS production was increased by≥60%. Acclimation to 20°C: i) preserved mitochondrial coupling and aerobic capacity; ii) decreased the mitochondria's ROS production by ∼30%; iii) increased the mitochondria's NO IC50 by ∼23%; iv) and improved mitochondrial membrane integrity at 20°C. AR did not affect mitochondrial function at 12°C, but acute exposure to 20°C and AR depressed maximal mitochondrial respiration (by ∼9%) and coupling (by ∼16%) without impacting ROS production. Finally, warm acclimation did not improve the capacity of mitochondria to recover from AR, indicating that there was no 'cross tolerance' between these challenges. Our findings provide compelling evidence that thermal plasticity of cardiac mitochondrial function contributes to the Atlantic salmon's capability to survive at≥20°C for prolonged periods, but question whether this plasticity may allow them to withstand high temperatures when combined with other stressors.
Damages for Privileged Harms

The law often permits us to impose substantial harm on others without incurring liability. Once liability is triggered, compensatory damages require a defendant to pay for the harm caused by his wrongful conduct. Calculating these damages requires consideration of the harm that the defendant could have caused without incurring liability in the first place. This harm is “privileged,” in the sense that the defendant would have been free to impose it in a counterfactual universe in which he complied with the substantive law. Having transgressed that law, he is responsible for damages. But the question is whether these damages should be reduced to account for the harm he could have imposed without owing damages at all. The treatment of privileged harm is fundamental to the calculation of compensatory damages. Nonetheless, it has received little scholarly attention and has been the subject of conflicting decisions in the courts. In some areas of law, damages are routinely reduced to account for privileged harm; in others, this credit is given only sporadically, or not at all. Critically, there is not yet any sound theoretical explanation for why the rule ought to be different in one set of cases than another. This Article begins by exploring the effects of crediting or not crediting privileged harm. It then relates the treatment of privileged harm to several well-known questions of remedial design. Finally, it proposes several general principles that a court or policymaker might follow in determining whether to reduce damages to account for privileged harm.
The 'other' hardwood: Growth, physiology, and dynamics of hickories in the Central Hardwood Region, USA

Abstract Hickories (Carya spp.) are common species in eastern US forests. Despite being a noted component of the most prevalent forest type in the eastern US, remarkably little is known about the ecology and silvics of the genera, especially compared to oaks (Quercus spp.). To improve our understanding about the dynamics of hickories in stand development and forest succession, we used a variety of datasets from oak-hickory forests of the Central Hardwood Region to assess growth, physiology, and demography. Our findings suggest that hickories may have a conservative root-centered growth strategy that exceeds that of oaks, with highly plastic physiology. This allows for long-term persistence of hickories in the mid and understory while being responsive to favorable increases in available light. The reproduction dynamics of hickories suggest a gradual and consistent recruitment to the mid and overstory in contrast to the single, unimodal age distribution of oaks following historic disturbance. This is achieved by periods of higher growth rates and lower mortality rates, especially in subordinate canopy positions when compared to oaks. These findings suggest that contemporary removal of historic disturbance regimes may continue to support hickory recruitment to the overstory, but active forest management is necessary to maintain the oak-hickory forest type in the Central Hardwood Region.
The Expert Next Door: A Commentary on Interactions with Friends and Family During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic thrust the field of public health into the spotlight. For many epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and other public health professionals, this caused the professional aspects of our lives to collide with the personal, as friends and family reached out with concerns and questions. Learning how to navigate this space was new for many and required refining our communication depending on context, setting, and audience. Some of us took to social media, utilizing our existing personal accounts to share information after sorting through and summarizing the rapidly emerging literature to keep loved ones safe. However, those in our lives sometimes asked unanswerable questions, or began distancing themselves when we suggested more stringent guidance than they hoped, causing additional stress during an already traumatic time. We often had to remind ourselves that we are also individuals experiencing this pandemic, and that our time-intensive efforts were meaningful, relevant, and impactful. As this pandemic and other public health crises continue, we encourage our discipline to consider how we can best use shared lessons from this period, and recognize that our professional knowledge, when used in our personal lives, can promote, protect, and bolster confidence in public health.
Do Pediatric Patients Who Receive Care Across Multiple Health Systems Have Higher Levels of Repeat Testing

Abstract Repetition by clinicians of the same tests for a given patient is common. However, not all repeat tests are necessary for optimal care and can result in unnecessary hardship. Limited evidence suggests that an electronic health record may reduce redundant laboratory testing and imaging by making previous results accessible to physicians. The purpose of this study is to establish a baseline by characterizing repeat testing in a pediatric population and to identify significant risk factors associated with repeated tests, including the impact of using multiple health systems. A population-based retrospective cross-sectional design was used to examine initial and repeat test instances, defined as a second test following an initial test of the same type for the same patient. The study population consisted of 8760 children with 1–25 test claims over a 1-year period. The study setting included all health care service organizations in Minnesota that generated these claims. In all, 17.2% of tests met the d...
Seasonal Variation in Callus Proliferation from Explants of Mature Pinus Strobus Trees

In vitro propagation from expiants of mature trees must be achieved before plant tissue culture technique can become a viable method for mass propagation of superior forest trees. One possible route for in vitro mass propagation is differentiation of plantlets from callus cultures. As the first step towards achieving this goal, experiments were done to establish callus cultures from shoots of 15- to 18-year-old Pinus strobus (white pine) trees. The study was started in the spring of 1982 just after the end of dormancy of winter buds. Young shoots were collected early in the morning and were surface sterilized by treatment with 2.625% sodium hypochlorite for 15 min, followed by 70% ethanol for 2 min and 2.625% sodium hypochlorite for an additional 5 min. The surface-sterilized shoots were thoroughly washed with sterilized double-distilled water and cut into approximately 5 mm long segments, which were put on nutrient media. Cultures were incubated at 26 ± 1°C under 450–500 μW/cm2 cool white fluorescent illumination. Day length was 16 hr. Shoot samples were collected at 2-week intervals during May and June, and at monthly intervals during the rest of the year. Best callus proliferation occurred from segments of shoots collected in early spring. A modified Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 0.2 mg/1 α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 2 mg/1 N6-benzyladenine (BA) was the best for callus proliferation. The callus could be maintained on this medium through several subcultures. The extent of callus proliferation varied with the age of the shoots. Surface contamination was a major problem in shoots collected in late spring or later. Surface contamination could be controlled to a large extent by heat treatment of expiants during the process of surface sterilization.
A Review of “Faith in Children: Stories from Faith-Based Children's Centers”

Rarely in seminary education is the area of ministry with young children given much attention. Seminary professors fail to recognize that the number of programs for preschoolers housed in churches ...
Insource the Shareholding of Outsourced Employees: A Global Stock Ownership Plan

With the American economy stalled and another federal election campaign season well underway, the "outsourcing" of American jobs is again on the public agenda. Latest figures indicate not only that claims for joblessness benefits are up, but also that the rate of American job-exportation has more than doubled since the last electoral cycle. This year's political candidates have been quick to take note. In consequence, more than at any time since the early 1990s, continued American participation in the World Trade Organization, in the North American Free Trade Agreement, and in the processes of global economic integration more generally appear to be up for grabs.It isn't clear, on reflection, how to regard these developments from a normative point of view. On the one hand, there seems no gainsaying that the gradual removal of transnational trade and investment barriers have resulted in more rapid economic growth worldwide. And that growth appears to be lifting many once desperately poor persons out of their erstwhile penury. Yet on the other hand, there also is no denying that global trade and investment liberalization are wreaking losses at least as conspicuous as the gains. For many if not most of the victims of globalization are those who till recently occupied positions much like those now coming to be occupied by globalization's more sympathetic beneficiaries, and who climbed out of them via precisely those legislated standards that offshoring firms now evade. Might we pay Peter without robbing Paul?This Article proposes an ethically and intuitively attractive answer to that question rooted in financial engineering. The key is to channel a portion of the globalization-wrought gains reaped by outsourcing firms to the outsourced employees themselves. That way the latter are directly benefited by the very processes that currently are harming them. The method proposed is to adapt the already familiar Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or "ESOP," to spread shares not simply to current labor, but now to "shadow" labor as well. The Article also proposes means of diversifying the portfolio risk that will face "OutsourceSOP" participants, and sketches a supporting role for such international financial institutions as the IMF and the World Bank. In the long run, the Article concludes, we have here the makings of a future "Global Shareholder Society."
Novel Molecular Design Technique Using Property Operators Based on Signature Descriptors

Abstract In this work, we are introducing an algorithm that uses molecular signature descriptors for reverse problem formulations. This algorithm utilizes molecular property operators based on signatures for solving the reverse problem of obtaining the molecular structures corresponding to the property targets estimated during the process design step. The algorithm allows property models based on different Topological indices (TI) and group contribution models to be represented on the same property platform.
An Algorithm Used in a Power Monitor to Mitigate Dark Silicon on VLSI Chip

Data with increasing bandwidth requires future general-purpose as well as application specific microprocessors to improve performance endlessly. Transistor scaling, novel transistor structures, novel state-of-art VLSI design techniques and new computer architectures are the key drivers for boosting power and performance of microprocessors. Unfortunately, the processor cooling technique is unable to keep pace with higher density of transistors and high performance. For appropriate trade-offs between performance and limitation of power dissipation, dark silicon has appeared in the current processors. With the number of transistors increasing in future chips, we could envision that next generation processors might be getting darker and darker. This compromise could reduce multiple-core processors' efficiency. In this paper, power dissipation and circuit optimization are discussed in an attempt to mitigate dark silicon for future processors. A power monitor and its algorithm are proposed mainly to explain how to efficiently regulate voltage and power in the future processors with multiple cores.
[Zinc metabolism of young college women on self-selected diets].

This study was undertaken to determine the cobalt intake in food and milk, and the excretion of cobalt in the urine and feces of young college women living in the home management house at the North Texas State College and consuming a self-selected diet.
Adaptive Probabilistic Neural Network-Based Crane Type Selection System

Due to the central role of cranes in construction operations, specialists in the construction industries have cooperated in the development of structured methods and software for crane selection. Most of these software tools are for crane model selection, and integrated systems that handle both crane type and model selection are not readily available. This paper presents the crane type selection features of IntelliCranes, a prototype integrated crane selection tool that assists in both crane type and crane model selection based on a set of inputs describing the construction operation under consideration. By using historical data and advanced artificial intelligence computing tools such as artificial neural networks, IntelliCranes automates crane type selection. Crane type and crane model selection are seamlessly integrated in a comprehensive crane selection tool, and consistency in the selection of cranes for similar situations is increased.
Life Change and Spirituality Among a College Student Cohort

Objective: Because college marks a time when life-change is typically high, the authors designed this study to determine whether life-change was related to degree of spirituality, the "directing" component of health, among a college student cohort. Participants and Methods: The sample group, consisting of 180 northeastern US undergraduate college students, completed the 48-item Life Attitude Profile-Revised (LAP-R) and the Schedule of Recent Experience (SRE) in the fall semester of 2004. Results: Findings indicate that college students who reported experiencing higher levels of life change, both positive and negative, also scored lower on spirituality. Nevertheless, these students had scores indicative of a higher desire to find spirituality, even though their motivation to do so was low. Conclusions: Although life changes among college students likely will remain high, lower spirituality can be enhanced; therefore, interested health educators are encouraged to help students increase their degree of spiri...
Analysis of Insulin Action Using Differentiated and Dedifferentiated Hepatoma Cells

Hepatoma cells in culture exhibit a range of differentiated functions. Well differentiated hepatoma cells retain most of the functions of the adult liver, whereas dedifferentiated cells have lost most of them. In the present study, insulin binding and insulin effects were studied in four differentiated and two dedifferentiated cell lines derived from the Reuber hepatoma and in a partially differentiated cell line, HTC, derived from the Morris 7288C hepatoma. Specific insulin binding was lower in dedifferentiated cells than in partially differentiated and differentiated ones. In all cell lines, analysis of insulin binding yielded linear Scatchard plots. Although some variations in affinity of insulin for its receptor were observed, most of the differences in binding were accounted for by differences in insulin receptor number. In differentiated hepatoma cells, tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT)-specific activity was easily detectable, and insulin produced a 2-to 3-fold increase in enzyme activity within 4-6 h...