cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
STABLE ISOTOPE VARIATION AMONG THE MUSSEL BATHYMODIOLUS CHILDRESSI AND ASSOCIATED HETEROTROPHIC FAUNA AT FOUR COLD-SEEP COMMUNITIES IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

Abstract Efforts to determine the utilization of Gulf of Mexico (GOM) chemosynthetic production by benthic predators have relied on stable isotope differences between photosynthetic and chemosynthetic production. Whereas the photosynthetic δ13C value in GOM surface waters is relatively uniform, chemosynthetic production may differ in different areas depending on prevalence of thiotrophy versus methanotrophy and inorganic carbon source. In this paper we compare the δ13C and δ15N signatures of the symbiont-containing mussel, Bathymodiolus childressi Gustafson, 1998, from four different chemosynthetic sites to test the hypothesis that methanotrophic production results in significant differences among them. Bathymodiolus childressi from two areas characterized by brine seepage and biogenic methane (GC425 and GC233) had very low δ15N (−3.7‰ and −16.6‰) and δ13C (−57.5‰ and −63.5‰) relative to areas with substantial thiotrophic production (GC234 and GC185). Bathymodiolus childressi from each chemosynthetic comm...
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) sightings and recordings south of the aleutian Islands

Blue whales have been sighted throughout the North Pacific Ocean (Mizroch et al. 1984), and were harvested around the Pacific Rim from Mexico to Japan (Fig. 1). The International Whaling Commission (IWC) currently recognizes only one stock of blue whales in the North Pacific (Donovan 1991); however, there may be up to five (reviewed in Stafford 2003). While past shipboard and aerial surveys in the Aleutian Island chain found no blue whales (Rice and Wolman 1982, Stewart et al. 1987), their contemporary presence in this area has been well documented by acoustic monitoring (Watkins et al. 2000, Stafford et al. 2001). In this note we present the results of a shipboard survey during which blue whales were seen south of the Aleutian Islands and recordings of blue whale vocalizations were obtained. Blue whale calls vary geographically (Thompson et al. 1996), and these geographic differences may be useful in discriminating different populations of blue whales. Two geographically and spectrographically distinct blue whale call types have been recorded in the North Pacific. The northeastern Pacific blue whale call type is well known and has been recorded from locations in the northeast Pacific, ranging from the equator along the west coast of North America up to the Gulf of Alaska (Stafford 2003). The northwestern Pacific blue whale call type is less well known, but has been recorded from remote hydrophones near Kaneohe, Hawaii, Midway Island, and locations along the Aleutian Islands and northwest Pacific and Gulf of Alaska (Northrup et al. 1971, Thompson and Friedl 1982, Stafford et al. 2001, Stafford 2003). This call type is recorded annually from June through December by seafloor hydrophones just south of the central Aleutian Islands (Stafford et al. 2001). Prior to this report, the western calls had never been visually linked to a blue whale. The calls have nevertheless been attributed to blue whales based on their similarity to other blue whale calls worldwide: they are long (>10 s), low-frequency (fundamental <100 Hz), frequency-modulated (FM) tonal calls (Thompson et al. 1996, Stafford et al. 2001, Stafford 2003, Rankin et al. 2005). Although fin whale calls are also low
Transplants of cells genetically modified to express neurotrophin‐3 rescue axotomized Clarke's nucleus neurons after spinal cord hemisection in adult rats

To test the idea that genetically engineered cells can rescue axotomized neurons, we transplanted fibroblasts and immortalized neural stem cells (NSCs) modified to express neurotrophic factors into the injured spinal cord. The neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) or nerve growth factor (NGF) transgene was introduced into these cells using recombinant retroviral vectors containing an internal ribosome entry site (IRES) sequence and the b-galactosidase or alkaline phosphatase reporter gene. Bioassay confirmed biological activity of the secreted neurotrophic factors. Clarke’s nucleus (CN) axons, which project to the rostral spinal cord and cerebellum, were cut unilaterally in adult rats by T8 hemisection. Rats received transplants of fibroblasts or NSCs genetically modified to express NT-3 or NGF and a reporter gene, only a reporter gene, or no transplant. Two months postoperatively, grafted cells survived at the hemisection site. Grafted fibroblasts and NSCs expressed a reporter gene and immunoreactivity for the NGF or NT-3 transgene. Rats receiving no transplant or a transplant expressing only a reporter gene showed a 30% loss of CN neurons in the L1 segment on the lesioned side. NGF-expressing transplants produced partial rescue compared with hemisection alone. There was no significant neuron loss in rats receiving grafts of either fibroblasts or NSCs engineered to express NT-3. We postulate that NT-3 mediates survival of CN neurons through interaction with trkC receptors, which are expressed on CN neurons. These results support the idea that NT-3 contributes to long-term survival of axotomized CN neurons and show that genetically modified cells rescue axotomized neurons as efficiently as fetal CNS transplants. J. Neurosci. Res. 65:549 ‐564, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Semantic integration: a survey of ontology-based approaches

Semantic integration is an active area of research in several disciplines, such as databases, information-integration, and ontologies. This paper provides a brief survey of the approaches to semantic integration developed by researchers in the ontology community. We focus on the approaches that differentiate the ontology research from other related areas. The goal of the paper is to provide a reader who may not be very familiar with ontology research with introduction to major themes in this research and with pointers to different research projects. We discuss techniques for finding correspondences between ontologies, declarative ways of representing these correspondences, and use of these correspondences in various semantic-integration tasks
Do ophthalmology training programs affect corrective procedure rates after cataract surgery

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) plays a major role in training surgeons in the United States. This study examined the rates of corrective procedures after routine cataract surgery stratified for VHA institutions according to the presence or absence of ophthalmology training programs. There was a wide range of rates of corrective surgeries in the 111 centers that performed cataract surgery. VHA medical centers affiliated with training programs had nearly twice the rates of corrective surgery after cataract extraction than those institutions without such programs. Variation in secondary procedure rates has implications for the development of quality improvement in ophthalmology.
Specific Knowledge and Divisional Performance Measurement

This paper discusses five common divisional performance measurement methods—cost centers, revenue centers, profit centers, investment centers, and expense centers—and provides the beginnings of a theory that attempts to explain when each of these five methods is likely to be the most efficient. The central insight of the theory is that each of these methods offers an alternative way of aligning decision-making authority with valuable “specific knowledge” inside the organization. The theory suggests that cost and revenue centers work best in cases where headquarters has good information about cost and demand functions, product quality, and optimal output mix. Profit centers—defined as business units whose managers have responsibility for overall profits, but not the authority to make major capital spending decisions—tend to supplant revenue and cost centers when the line managers have a significant informational advantage over headquarters and when there are few interdependencies (or “synergies”) between divisions. Investment centers—that is, profit centers in which unit managers are allowed to make major investment decisions—tend to prevail when the activity is capital-intensive and when it is difficult for headquarters to identify the value-maximizing investment strategy. In evaluating the performance of profit centers, rate-of-return performance measures like RONA (return on net assets) are likely to be effective when unit managers have little influence over the level of new investment. But, in the case of investment centers, Economic Value Added, or EVA, is likely to be the most effective single-period measure of performance because it is best designed to encourage value-maximizing investment decisions.
The Cpx envelope stress response is controlled by amplification and feedback inhibition

In Escherichia coli, the Cpx two-component regulatory system activates expression of protein folding and degrading factors in response to misfolded proteins in the bacterial envelope (inner membrane, periplasm, and outer membrane). It is comprised of the histidine kinase CpxA and the response regulator CpxR. This response plays a role in protection from stresses, such as elevated pH, as well as in the biogenesis of virulence factors. Here, we show that the Cpx periplasmic stress response is subject to amplification and repression through positive and negative autofeedback mechanisms. Western blot and operon fusion analyses demonstrated that the cpxRA operon is autoactivated. Conditions that lead to elevated levels of phosphorylated CpxR cause a concomitant increase in transcription of cpxRA. Conversely, overproduction of CpxP, a small, Cpx-regulated protein of previously unknown function, represses the regulon and can block activation of the pathway. This repression is dependent on an intact CpxA sensing domain. The ability to autoactivate and then subsequently repress allows for a temporary amplification of the Cpx response that may be important in rescuing cells from transitory stresses and cueing the appropriately timed elaboration of virulence factors.
Reactive gliosis in the adult zebrafish retina

In contrast to mammals, zebrafish posses the remarkable ability to regenerate retinal neurons. Damage to the zebrafish retina induces Muller glia to act as stem cells, generating retinal progenitors for regeneration. In contrast, injury in the mammalian retina results in Muller glial reactive gliosis, a characteristic gliotic response that is normally detrimental to vision. Understanding the signaling pathways that determine how Muller glia respond to injury is a critical step toward promoting regeneration in the mammalian retina. Here we report that zebrafish Muller glia exhibit signs of reactive gliosis even under normal regenerative conditions and that cell cycle inhibition increases this response. Persistently reactive Muller glia increase their neuroprotective functions, temporarily saving photoreceptors from a cytotoxic light lesion. However, the absence of a sustained proliferation response results in a significant inhibition of retinal regeneration. Interestingly, when cell cycle inhibition is released, a partial recovery of regeneration is observed. Together, these data demonstrate that zebrafish Muller glia possess both gliotic and regenerative potential.
Origins and Mechanisms in the Establishment of Cerebral Dominance

“Cerebral dominance” refers to a gross functional asymmetry between the right and left halves of the brain. In humans, this functional asymmetry seems to be best represented in the hemispheres, or at least it is there that the right and left differences have attracted the greatest clinical attention. Speculations on the origins of this phenomenon differ in considering symmetry or asymmetry as the primitive condition.
Diabetes-Related Conditions and Complications in Orthopaedic Surgery

A number of orthopaedic conditions and complications are associated with diabetes mellitus including fractures, infection, plantar ulcers, and upper extremity disorders. Hip fractures have higher incidence, higher complication rate, and higher mortality rate in diabetic than nondiabetic patients. Diabetic ankle fractures also have higher complication and amputation rates. Infection is a concern with any orthopaedic surgery, but diabetes increases the rate of surgical site infection and periprosthetic infections. Plantar ulcers in diabetic patients are predictors of poor long-term outcomes including amputation, and are best prevented with consistent screening for risk factors and treated by early multidisciplinary intervention. A number of upper extremity conditions are also associated with diabetes, including trigger finger, Dupuytren’s disease, carpal tunnel syndrome, and adhesive capsulitis. Each upper extremity disorder has a higher incidence rate in diabetic patients, although the direct causal factors are not well understood.
Online portfolio selection with group sparsity

In portfolio selection, it often might be preferable to focus on a few top performing industries/sectors to beat the market. These top performing sectors however might change over time. In this paper, we propose an online portfolio selection algorithm that can take advantage of sector information through the use of a group sparsity inducing regularizer while making lazy updates to the portfolio. The lazy updates prevent changing ones portfolio too often which otherwise might incur huge transaction costs. The proposed formulation leads to a non-smooth constrained optimization problem at every step, with the constraint that the solution has to lie in a probability simplex. We propose an efficient primal-dual based alternating direction method of multipliers algorithm and demonstrate its effectiveness for the problem of online portfolio selection with sector information. We show that our algorithm OLU-GS has sub-linear regret w:r:t: the best fixed and best shifting solution in hindsight. We successfully establish the robustness and scalability of OLU-GS by performing extensive experiments on two real-world datasets.
Scalable, Binderless, and Carbonless Hierarchical Ni Nanodendrite Foam Decorated with Hydrous Ruthenium Dioxide for 1.6 V Symmetric Supercapacitors

Herein, Ni nanodendrite (ND) with diameter ≈30–100 nm directly synthesized on Ni foam is utilized as an effective support for hydrous RuO2 in symmetric supercapacitors operated at 1.6 V. Highest specific capacitance 678.57 F g−1 can be achieved with energy density 60.32 Wh kg−1. Even at large current density 100 A g−1, high energy density 19.73 Wh kg−1 can still be maintained with power density 40 kW kg−1 owing to the pristine metal nanostructure without any carbon additive and resistive binder. Long lifespan is shown with marginal performance improvement (≈4%) over 10 000 cycles. More importantly, the template-less and self-assembled Ni ND synthesis requires only low temperature and eco-friendly chemicals, and can be simply dip-coated with RuO2 nanoparticles. All of these render the RuO2-Ni ND foam readily adapted into mass manufacturing without efforts.
Communication: CDFT-CI couplings can be unreliable when there is fractional charge transfer

Constrained density functional theory with configuration interaction (CDFT-CI) is a useful, low-cost tool for the computational prediction of electronic couplings between pseudo-diabatic constrained electronic states. Such couplings are of paramount importance in electron transfer theory and transition state theory, among other areas of chemistry. Unfortunately, CDFT-CI occasionally fails significantly, predicting a coupling that does not decay exponentially with distance and/or overestimating the expected coupling by an order of magnitude or more. In this communication, we show that the eigenvalues of the difference density matrix between the two constrained states can be used as an a priori metric to determine when CDFT-CI are likely to be reliable: when the eigenvalues are near 0 or ±1, transfer of a whole electron is occurring, and CDFT-CI can be trusted. We demonstrate the utility of this metric with several illustrative examples.
Matrix Metalloproteinase-Mediated Neuroinflammation in Vascular Cognitive Impairment of the Binswanger Type

Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) is a heterogeneous group of diseases linked together by cerebrovascular disease. Treatment of VCI has been hindered by the lack of a coherent pathophysiological process that could provide molecular targets. Of the several forms of VCI, the small vessel disease form is both the most prevalent and generally has a progressive course. Binswanger's disease (BD) is the small vessel form of VCI that involves extensive injury to the deep white matter. Growing evidence suggests that there is disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) secondary to an inflammatory state. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are increased in the brain and CSF of patients with BD, and have been shown to disrupt the BBB in animal studies, suggesting that they may be biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Multimodal biomarkers derived from clinical, neuropsychological, imaging, and biochemical data can be used to narrow the VCI population to the progressive inflammatory form that will be optimal for treatment trials. This review describes the role of the MMPs in pathophysiology and their use as biomarkers.
Functional characterization of glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase (GlmS) in Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis

Salmonella is a threat to public health due to consumption of contaminated food. Screening of a transposon library identified a unique mutant that was growth and host cell binding deficient. The objective of this study was to determine the functional role of glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase (GlmS) in the biology and pathogenesis of Salmonella. To examine this, we created a glmS mutant (ΔglmS) of Salmonella and examined the effect on cell envelope integrity, growth, metabolism, and pathogenesis. Our data indicated ΔglmS was defective in growth unless media were supplemented with D-glucosamine (D-GlcN). Examination of the bacterial cell envelope revealed that ΔglmS was highly sensitive to detergents, hydrophobic antibiotics, and bile salts compared to the wild type (WT). A release assay indicated that ΔglmS secreted higher amounts of β-lactamase than the WT in culture supernatant fractions. Furthermore, ΔglmS was attenuated in cell culture models of Salmonella infection. Taken together, this study determined an important role for GlmS in the pathogenesis and biology of Salmonella.
Vascular Responses to Norepinephrine in Adrenal Insufficiency.

SummaryFemoral vascular resistance as calculated from pressure/flow ratios was used as an index of vascular responsiveness to norepinephrine in control and adrenalectomized dogs. As indicated by changes produced by small intra-arterial doses of norepinephrine, there was no impairment in vascular responses of adrenalectomized animals when compared to controls.
Setlow RB: Ergosterol and substitutes for the ultraviolet radiation requirement for conidia formation in Stemphylium solani.

Stemphylium solani preconidiophores respond by subsequent pigmentation and conidia production to treatment with certain solvents and carriers alone or with added ergosterol. Treatment consisted of ...
Tolerance of the rat for N, N'-diphenyl-p-phenylenediamine.

SummaryInclusion of N, N'-diphenyl-p-phenylenediamine in a vit. E-low diet fed to female rats through growth and reproduction has resulted in varying degrees of reproductive failure. Toxicity was encountered during growth at a level of 0.5% but not at 0.1% or below. Rats receiving 0.1% dppd exhibited uterine and vaginal hemorrhages at parturition accompanied by anorexia, anemia and emaciation. Concentrations of 0.025%, 0.01% and 0.005% resulted in a high incidence of stillbirths. No adverse effects were encountered from feeding 0.0006% dppd in the diet. The data show that dppd elicits symptoms of toxicity in the rat at concentrations below those used in commercial mixed feeds.
Firm Effects and Industry Effects in the Analysis of Market Structure and Profitability

The Federal Trade Commission's recent public policy emphasis has been on antitrust action to break up firms in certain industries. The basis for such action is often the market structure-profitabil...
Checking the Court

What can the political branches of national and state governments legitimately and constitutionally do when, in their good faith judgment, the Supreme Court has careened out of control and exercised not legal judgment, but lawless will? What legitimate “checks” exist, and can appropriately exercised, against willful abuse of the judicial power? This article explores the full array of possible constitutional checks on the federal judicial power, analyzing their legal validity and practical usefulness. They are, in ascending order of constitutional difficulty – and also of effective power, if constitutionally valid – as follows: (1) full substantive ideological review at the appointment and confirmation stage of a judicial candidate’s judicial philosophy, including the posing of “litmus test” questions; (2) control over the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction through aggressive use of the Exceptions Clause power (“jurisdiction stripping”); (3) manipulation of the size of the Supreme Court (both “Court packing” and Court “unpacking”); (4) impeachment of judges and justices for believed abuse of judicial power, violation of the judicial oath, and violation of the Constitution; (5) legislation prescribing correct substantive and methodological “rules of decision” governing the judiciary’s interpretation and application of federal law of all types and abrogating the judicial policy of (occasional) stare decisis with respect to precedent decisions departing from such rules; and (6) presidential (and perhaps state and lower court) non-execution of judicial decisions inconsistent with the objective original meaning of the Constitution or other federal law. Which of these purported checks might be constitutionally valid? Which ones are likely to be effective? What is the proper occasion for the exercise of these stronger and weaker devices for “Checking the Court”?
Pre-clinical Effects of Oral Treatment with Hydrolyzed Collagen Drink

To study the effects of oral treatment with hydrolyzed collagen drink on improving female skin moisture,8 weeks of pre-clinical study showed that moisture of cheek,forearm and leg had been improved significantly in testing group(14 cases) after 4 weeks compared to the baseline before intake collagen drink,while the moisture of forehead,cheek,forearm and leg had been all improved significantly compared to the baseline after 8 weeks.It indicated that this collagen drink could improve the female skin's moisture effective.
Neighbor-sensitive hashing

Approximate kNN (k-nearest neighbor) techniques using binary hash functions are among the most commonly used approaches for overcoming the prohibitive cost of performing exact kNN queries. However, the success of these techniques largely depends on their hash functions' ability to distinguish kNN items; that is, the kNN items retrieved based on data items' hashcodes, should include as many true kNN items as possible. A widely-adopted principle for this process is to ensure that similar items are assigned to the same hashcode so that the items with the hashcodes similar to a query's hashcode are likely to be true neighbors.In this work, we abandon this heavily-utilized principle and pursue the opposite direction for generating more effective hash functions for kNN tasks. That is, we aim to increase the distance between similar items in the hashcode space, instead of reducing it. Our contribution begins by providing theoretical analysis on why this revolutionary and seemingly counter-intuitive approach leads to a more accurate identification of kNN items. Our analysis is followed by a proposal for a hashing algorithm that embeds this novel principle. Our empirical studies confirm that a hashing algorithm based on this counter-intuitive idea significantly improves the efficiency and accuracy of state-of-the-art techniques.
U.S. adults' addiction and harm beliefs about nicotine and low nicotine cigarettes

Abstract This research described U.S. adults' beliefs about nicotine and low nicotine cigarettes (LNCs) using the nationally-representative Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS-FDA 2015; N = 3738). About three quarters of people either were unsure of the relationship between nicotine and cancer or incorrectly believed that nicotine causes cancer. People who were non-White, less educated, age 65 +, and never established smokers were most likely to be unaware that nicotine is not a cause of cancer. More than a quarter of people held the potentially inaccurate beliefs that LNCs would be less harmful and addictive than typical cigarettes. Whites were more likely than Blacks to believe LNCs were less harmful than typical cigarettes, and never smokers were more likely to believe this than established quitters. Whites and people with at least a college degree were more likely to believe that LNCs would be less addictive than typical cigarettes. Overall, we found that many people, particularly the demographic subgroups identified here, held incorrect beliefs about nicotine and potentially inaccurate beliefs about LNCs. Findings should be considered in assessing the public health impact of marketing low nicotine products. Incorrectly believing that nicotine causes cancer could discourage smokers from switching to safer nicotine-containing alternatives, and could lead nonsmokers to experiment with low nicotine tobacco products, believing that cancer risk would be reduced. Findings underscore the need to educate the public on the health effects of nicotine and LNCs, and can help public health practitioners determine which subgroups should be prioritized in targeted educational efforts.
Trajectories of Functional Change After Inpatient Rehabilitation for Traumatic Brain Injury.

Abstract Objective To examine trajectories of functional recovery after rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design Prospective study. Setting Inpatient rehabilitation hospitals in the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation. Participants A subset of individuals receiving inpatient rehabilitation services for TBI from 2002 to 2010 who also had postdischarge measurement of functional independence (N=16,583). Interventions Inpatient rehabilitation. Main Outcomes Measures Admission, discharge, and follow-up data were obtained from the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation. We used latent class mixture models to examine recovery trajectories for both cognitive and motor functioning as measured by the FIM instrument. Results Latent class models identified 3 trajectories (low, medium, high) for both cognitive and motor FIM subscales. Factors associated with membership in the low cognition trajectory group included younger age, male sex, racial/ethnic minority, Medicare or Medicaid (vs commercial or other insurance), comorbid conditions, and greater duration from injury date to rehabilitation admission date. Factors associated with membership in the low motor trajectory group included older age, racial/ethnic minority, Medicare or Medicaid coverage, comorbid conditions, open head injury, and greater duration to admission. Conclusions Standard approaches to assessing recovery patterns after TBI obscure differences between subgroups with trajectories that differ from the overall mean. Select demographic and clinical characteristics can help classify patients with TBI into distinct functional recovery trajectories, which can enhance both patient-centered care and quality improvement efforts.
Mastitis and breast abscess

Breast abscess is a common clinical problem. Management of these patients can be challenging and requires an understanding of pathophysiology and microbiology to achieve optimal outcomes. This chapter also highlights management considerations for granulomatous mastitis, periductal mastitis, and lactational abscesses
Structural basis of interstrand cross-link repair by O6-alkylguanine DNA alkyltransferase

DNA interstrand cross-links (ICL) are among the most cytotoxic lesions found in biological systems. O6-Alkylguanine DNA alkyltransferases (AGTs) are capable of removing alkylation damage from the O6-atom of 2′-deoxyguanosine and the O4-atom of thymidine. Human AGT (hAGT) has demonstrated the ability to repair an interstrand cross-linked duplex where two O6-atoms of 2′-deoxyguanosine were tethered by a butylene (XLGG4) or heptylene (XLGG7) linkage. However, the analogous ICL between the O4-atoms of thymidine was found to evade repair. ICL duplexes connecting the O4-atoms of 2′-deoxyuridine by a butylene (XLUU4) or heptylene (XLUU7) linkage have been prepared to examine the influence of the C5-methyl group on AGT-mediated repair. Both XLUU4 and XLUU7 were refractory to repair by human and E. coli (OGT and Ada-C) AGTs with comparably low μM dissociation constants for 2 : 1 or 4 : 1 AGT/DNA stoichiometries. The solution structures of two heptylene linked DNA duplexes (CGAAAYTTTCG)2, XLUU7 (Y = dU) and XLGG7 (Y = dG), were solved and the global structures were virtually identical with a RMSD of 1.22 A. The ICL was found to reside in the major groove for both duplexes. The linkage adopts an E conformation about the C4–O4 bond for XLUU7 whereas a Z conformation about the C6–O6 bond was observed for XLGG7. This E versus Z conformation may partially account for hAGTs discrimination towards the repair of these ICL, supported by the crystal structures of hAGT with various substrates which have been observed to adopt a Z conformation. In addition, a higher mobility at the ICL site for XLUU7 is observed relative to XLGG7 that may play a role in repair by hAGT. Taken together, these findings provide insights on the AGT-mediated repair of cytotoxic ICL in terms of its processing capability and substrate specificity.
Excited-State Dynamics of Isocytosine: A Hybrid Case of Canonical Nucleobase Photodynamics

We present resonant two-photon ionization (R2PI) spectra of isocytosine (isoC) and pump-probe results on two of its tautomers. IsoC is one of a handful of alternative bases that have been proposed in scenarios of prebiotic chemistry. It is structurally similar to both cytosine (C) and guanine (G). We compare the excited-state dynamics with the Watson-Crick (WC) C and G tautomeric forms. These results suggest that the excited-state dynamics of WC form of G may primarily depend on the heterocyclic substructure of the pyrimidine moiety, which is chemically identical to isoC. For WC isoC we find a single excited-state decay with a rate of ∼1010 s-1, while the enol form has multiple decay rates, the fastest of which is 7 times slower than for WC isoC. The excited-state dynamics of isoC exhibits striking similarities with that of G, more so than with the photodynamics of C.
RNA takes over control of DNA break repair

Small RNAs generated at DNA break sites are implicated in mammalian DNA repair. Now, a study shows that following the formation of DNA double-strand breaks, bidirectional transcription events adjacent to the break generate small RNAs that trigger the DNA damage response by local RNA:RNA interactions.
The factor bias of technical change and technology adoption under uncertainty

This dissertation examines the impact of uncertainty on the factor bias of technical change and technological adoption behavior. An Ito stochastic control model, which is characterized by endogenous factor-augmenting technical change, is developed to investigate the relationship between uncertainty and the bias of technical change;The results show that, if a risk-averse firm faces input price uncertainty, technical change will be biased toward the input that has the more certain price. Output price uncertainty does not affect the direction of technical change bias but does affect the degree of bias. Under output price uncertainty and an input price uncertainty, technical change may be biased toward the input that has a certain price if the contemporaneous correlation coefficient between the two processes is negative or insignificantly positive. On the contrary, if the coefficient is significantly positive, technical change may be biased toward the input that has an uncertain price;It is also shown that, under production uncertainty, technical progress will be biased toward risk-reducing inputs and against risk-increasing inputs. The degree of technical change bias would be increased as the riskiness increases or as the firm becomes more risk averse;The model is integrated to incorporate hedging or forward contracts. Under output price uncertainty, the existence of forward markets has no effect on the direction of technical change bias but has an effect on the degree of bias. Under output price uncertainty and an input price uncertainty, if the forward market is unbiased, technical change will be biased toward the input that has a certain price;This dissertation also examines the effect of price uncertainty on technology adoption patterns and technological change. The results indicate that a reduction in the variance of output price will increase the rate of technology adoption and the intrafirm diffusion speed of yield-increasing technologies. The opposite is true for cost-reducing technologies.
Warming rate drives microbial nutrient demand and enzyme expression during peat decomposition

Abstract Recent developments of enzyme-based decomposition models highlight the importance of enzyme kinetics with warming, but most modeling exercises are based on studies with a step-wise warming. This approach may mask the effect of temperature in controlling in-situ activities as in most ecosystems the rate of warming is more gradual than these step warming studies. We conducted an experiment to test the effects of contrasting warming rates on the kinetics of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) degradation enzymes in subtropical peat soils. We also wanted to evaluate if the stoichiometry of enzyme kinetics shifts under contrasting warming rates and if so, how does it relate to the stoichiometry in microbial biomass. Contrasting warming rates altered microbial biomass stoichiometry leading to differing patterns of microbial demand for C vs. nutrient (N and P) and enzyme expression following the optimum foraging strategy. Activity (higher Vmax) and efficiency (lower Km) of C acquisition enzymes were greater in the step treatment; however, expressions of nutrient (N and P) acquiring enzymes were enhanced in the ramp treatment at the end of the experiment. In the step treatment, there was a typical pattern of an initial peak in the Vmax and drop in the Km for all enzyme groups followed by later adjustments. On the other hand, a consistent increase in Vmax and decline in Km of all enzyme groups were observed in the ramp treatment. These changes were sufficient to alter microbial identity (as indicated by enzyme Km and biomass stoichiometry) with two apparently different endpoints under contrasting warming rates. This observation resembles the concept of alternate stable states and highlights a need for improved representation of warming effects on enzymes in decomposition models. Using peat soils of Florida Everglades, here we have demonstrated that contrasting warming rates can influence the dynamics of microbial and enzymatic kinetics. Hence, we suggest that future laboratory and field warming studies could consider our approach to accurately represent microbial and enzymatic kinetics in biogeochemical models.
Examining a measure of spiritual capital: Perceptions of business and education majors:

The purpose of this article is to examine an instrument designed to measure an individual’s spiritual capital. Spiritual capital represents a relatively new concept that relates to one’s relationsh...
Bilateral proficiency over time leads to reduced donor morbidity in living donor hepatectomy.

Background: Although left-lobe donation is considered safer, right-sided donor hepatectomy predominates in adult living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). We hypothesized that bilateral proficiency with donor hepatectomy reduces overall donor complications. Methods: A retrospective review of 834 adult LDLT donors (221 left lobes) from January 2004 to December 2014 was performed, dividing cases into two eras based on left-graft experience. Donor complications within 6 months were investigated, focusing on graft side and surgical era. Results: The overall complication rate was 17.6%, and was higher in right-lobe donors. In Era 2, during which left-lobe donation rates were three times higher, total complications decreased (14.7% vs. 20.9%, P=0.02). A significant reduction in postoperative ascites accounted for the lower overall complication rate. The proportion of major biliary complications (BCs) was halved from 62.5% to 25.0%. Right-lobe donor complications also decreased significantly (15.8% vs. 22.9%, P=0.032), demonstrating that it was not only increased left-lobe donations leading to lowered complication rates, but also greater experience with donor hepatectomy in general. Conclusions: Accumulating experience with bilateral donor hepatectomy leads to decreased donor morbidity and comparable outcomes for right and left lobes, further enhancing the goal of donor safety while balancing recipient needs.
Rivaroxaban Versus Warfarin for Stroke Prevention and Venous Thromboembolism Treatment in Extreme Obesity and High Body Weight

Background: Limited clinical data exist describing the use of direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in patients with body mass index (BMI) >40 kg/m2 or body weight >120 kg. Thus, DOAC therapy in this population remains controversial. Objectives: To investigate rivaroxaban as a safe and effective alternative to warfarin for venous thromboembolism (VTE) treatment and prevention of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation identified as extremely obese or of high body weight. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed at 2 academic medical centers in patients ≥18 years old and BMI >40 kg/m2 or weight >120 kg, newly initiated on warfarin or rivaroxaban for atrial fibrillation or VTE treatment. The primary end point was incidence of clinical failure, defined as VTE recurrence, stroke incidence, and mortality, within 12 months of initiation. Secondary end points included length of stay (LOS) and bleeding complications. Results: A total of 176 patients were included, with 84 and 92 patients in the rivaroxaban and warfarin arms, respectively. Clinical failure was lower in the rivaroxaban group but did not reach statistical significance when compared with warfarin (5% vs 13%; P = 0.06). LOS was significantly shorter in the rivaroxaban arm (2 days [1-3] vs 4 days [2-7], P < 0.0001). Percentage of bleeding complications was higher in the rivaroxaban arm but not statistically significant (8% vs 2%, P = 0.06). Conclusion and Relevance: Although not statistically significant, rivaroxaban trended toward a lower incidence of clinical failure while demonstrating a significantly shorter LOS when compared with warfarin for VTE treatment or atrial fibrillation in morbidly obese or high-body-weight patients.
Early Polyethylene Failure in a Modern Total Hip Prosthesis: A Note of Caution.

Abstract Background Historically, there has been excellent survivorship of total hip arthroplasty with newer implants expected to outperform prior generations. Review of our institutional database identified problems with one particular cross-linked polyethylene liner in mid-term follow-up, which has not been reported in the literature. We report on the technical aspects of this liner, as well as the clinical and radiographic factors associated with early failure of this bearing in our practice. Methods A retrospective review of our institutional database was performed from January 2009 to June 2019 of patients who presented with significant osteolysis in the setting of prior total hip arthroplasty with a contemporary polyethylene liner. Demographic and radiographic measures were collected for all patients. Results Twelve patients were identified, with nine undergoing revision surgery. All patients demonstrated radiographic osteolysis at the time of revision surgery. The average time to diagnosis of failure was 55.9 months (range: 12-120 months). Average cup position preoperatively was 44 degrees inclination (range: 36-53 degrees) and 21 degrees anteversion (range: 10-34 degrees). Nine patients underwent revision of the acetabular component, with two also undergoing femoral component revision. The Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience database revealed 22 reported cases of wear-related failure from 2009 to 2019. Conclusions Considering that no identifiable risk factors related to patient demographics or implant position were identified, the Exactech Connexion GXL liner may be prone to a high rate of early failure from wear and severe secondary osteolysis. We recommend close surveillance of patients with this bearing surface.
The 20th Annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism

The Annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference in Hospitality and Tourism (hereafter, the Annual Graduate Conference) was founded 20 years ago by Dean Kaye Chon in 1996 when...
Process- and Product-Oriented Worked Examples and Self-Explanations to Improve Learning Performance.

Worked examples and self-explanations studies have been conducted predominantly with college students in controlled laboratory settings. While there is evidence showing the independent effects of these learning strategies with college students, little is known about the combined effects with K-12 students in ecologically-valid environments. Additionally, most studies have only examined a single self-explanation format. In the current study, we seek to fill these gaps by examining middle school students learning performance with either worked examples (product vs. process) or self-explanation (menu-based vs focused). Participants (N =122) were randomly assigned to one of the four groups to study materials on geometric area and then assessed on their performance (practice problems, multiple-choice test and self-explanation) as well as their cognitive load. Results indicate significant main effects of self-explanation format on self-explanation scores, however no further main effects or interaction effects were obtained. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Targeting PI3K and AMPKα Signaling Alone or in Combination to Enhance Radiosensitivity of Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive breast cancer subtype and is characterized by poor survival. Radiotherapy plays an important role in treating TNBC. The purpose of this study was to determine whether inhibiting the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathways alone or in combination potentiates radiotherapy in TNBC. AMPKα1 and AMPKα2 knockdown diminished cyclin D1 expression and induced G1 cell cycle arrest but did not induce apoptosis alone or in combination with radiotherapy. Next, we analyzed the role of PI3K p85α, p85β, p110α, p110β, Akt1, and Akt2 proteins on TNBC cell cycle progression and apoptosis induction. Akt1 and p110α knockdown diminished cyclin D1 expression and induced apoptosis. Silencing Akt1 promoted synergistic apoptosis induction during radiotherapy and further reduced survival after radiation. Treatment with the Akt inhibitor, MK-2206 48 h after radiotherapy decreased Akt1 levels and potentiated radiation-induced apoptosis. Together, our results demonstrate that AMPKα, p110α, and Akt1 promote TNBC proliferation and that Akt1 is a key regulator of radiosensitivity in TNBC. Importantly, combining radiotherapy with the pharmacological inhibition of Akt1 expression is a potentially promising approach for the treatment of TNBC.
A Brief Note on the History of the Dielectric Barrier Discharge and its Application for Biological Decontamination

The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is one of the most used low temperature plasma sources. Its industrial and biomedical applications are numerous. In this paper first the history of the development of the DBD is recounted and then its use in biomedical applications is discussed with a focus on biological decontamination. Recent events and challenges related to food contamination, chronic wound infections, rise in antibiotic resistance, and viral driven pandemics have revealed the potential importance of this cold plasma application.
Probing metal-organic frameworks during water oxidation electrocatalysis

Zhao et al. employed operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy to examine the structural change of Ni0.5Co0.5-MOF-74 during electrochemical water oxidation. Ni and Co metal nodes undergo a simultaneous transition from hydroxide to oxyhydroxide analogs as higher anodic potentials are applied.
Using Race with Caution in the ASCVD Calculator.

The use of race in clinical decision-making is a source of controversy in U.S. modern medicine. Definitions of race are inconsistent throughout the medical literature and in medical education, and most experts in biology and social sciences agree that race has a limited biologic basis and is actually a social concept influenced by culture and politics, not genetics.
Strategies to enhance the success of mid-career nurse scientists

Abstract Background The mid-career nurse scientist, defined as an associate professor with/without tenure, is often faced with a multitude of challenges and opportunities Purpose This paper shares strategies to assist mid-career scientists as they juggle required career demands and navigate the mid-career phase in pursuit of the rank of full professor. Method A review of the literature was performed on mid-career nurse scientists. Discussion A combination of increased research responsibilities, increased institutional teaching and service demands, and dwindling support can result in a sense of overwhelm and burnout. The mid-career nurse scientist must balance several balls in the air at one time to remain successful. Conclusion Strategies aligned with the Ecological Framework, focus on intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, organizational, and public policy domains to provide a wide scope of strategies that target the mid-career scientist and engage the larger nursing community.
Enhanced DOA Estimation Exploiting Multi-Frequency Sparse Array

In this paper, we develop a general framework of multi-frequency sparse array to estimate the direction-of-arrival (DOA) of a significantly higher number of targets than the number of physical sensors. The multi-frequency sparse arrays are designed to offer zero lag redundancy in the rendered difference coarray so that the available degrees of freedom are fully utilized to enable high-resolution DOA estimation. A modified sensor interpolation technique is developed to accurately estimate the signal correlation matrix so that the effect of holes in the difference coarray is mitigated. The proposed technique accounts for both self-lags between signals corresponding to the same frequencies and the cross-lags between signals corresponding to different frequencies. As such, it enhances the DOA estimation performance compared to existing methods that either perform array interpolation utilizing only the self-lags or carry out group sparse reconstruction without exploiting array interpolation. Simulation results verify the offerings of the multi-frequency sparse arrays.
Estrogen Receptor in a Human Cell Line (MCF-7) from Breast Carcinoma

Abstract A stable cell line (MCF-7) derived by pleural effusion from a breast cancer patient has been demonstrated to contain significant amounts of 17β-estradiol receptor. This binding protein is specific for 17β-estradiol and has a Kd equal to 2.5 nm, a sedimentation constant of 4.0 S (and 9.2 S), and a mechanism capable of transporting the 17β-estradiol into the nucleus.
Kl3 from factors and (8, 8) model of chiral symmetry breaking

Abstract Kl3 form factors are calculated in the single particle approximation to the spectral functions. The so-called sigma terms and current divergences are calculated in the (8, 8) model of chiral symmetry breaking. Comparison with the experimental results and the (3,3∗) + (3∗, 3) model is made. It is concluded that it is not possible to rule out the (8, 8) model in favor of the (3,3∗) + (3∗) + (3∗, 3) model at present.