cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nrf2 Signaling and the Slowed Aging Phenotype: Evidence from Long-Lived Models

Studying long-lived animals provides novel insight into shared characteristics of aging and represents a unique model to elucidate approaches to prevent chronic disease. Oxidant stress underlies many chronic diseases and resistance to stress is a potential mechanism governing slowed aging. The transcription factor nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 is the "master regulator" of cellular antioxidant defenses. Nrf2 is upregulated by some longevity promoting interventions and may play a role in regulating species longevity. However, Nrf2 expression and activity in long-lived models have not been well described. Here, we review evidence for altered Nrf2 signaling in a variety of slowed aging models that accomplish lifespan extension via pharmacological, nutritional, evolutionary, genetic, and presumably epigenetic means.
Controlling ligand surface density optimizes nanoparticle binding to ICAM-1.

During infection, pathogens utilize surface receptors to gain entry into intracellu- lar compartments. Multiple receptor-ligand interactions that lead to pathogen internalization have been identified and the importance of multivalent ligand binding as a means to facil- itate internalization has emerged. The effect of ligand density, however, is less well known. In this study, ligand density was examined using poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles (PLGA NPs). A cyclic peptide, cLABL, was used as a targeting moiety, as it is a known lig- and for intercellular cell adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). To modulate the number of reactive sites on the surface of PLGA NPs, modified Pluronic R with carboxyl groups and Pluronic R
The production of turbulence near a smooth wall in a turbulent boundary layer

The structure of the flat plate incompressible smooth-surface boundary layer in a low-speed water flow is examined using hydrogen-bubble measurements and also hot-wire measurements with dye visualization. Particular emphasis is placed on the details of the process of turbulence production near the wall. In the zone 0 < y+ < 100, the data show that essentially all turbulence production occurs during intermittent ‘bursting’ periods. ‘Bursts’ are described in some detail.The uncertainties in the bubble data are large, but they have the distinct advantage of providing velocity profiles as a function of time and the time sequences of events. These data show that the velocity profiles during bursting periods assume a shape which is qualitatively distinct from the well-known mean profiles. The observations are also used as the basis for a discussion of possible appropriate mathematical models for turbulence production.
Retroviral Recombination In Vivo: Viral Replication Patterns and Genetic Structure of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) Populations in Rhesus Macaques after Simultaneous or Sequential Intravaginal Inoculation with SIVmac239Δvpx/Δvpr and SIVmac239Δnef

To characterize the occurrence, frequency, and kinetics of retroviral recombination in vivo, we intravaginally inoculated rhesus macaques, either simultaneously or sequentially, with attenuated simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) strains having complementary deletions in their accessory genes and various degrees of replication impairment. In monkeys inoculated simultaneously with SIVmac239Deltavpx/Deltavpr and SIVmac239Deltanef, recombinant wild-type (wt) virus and wild-type levels of plasma viral RNA (vRNA) were detected in blood by 2 weeks postinoculation. In monkeys inoculated first with SIVmac239Deltavpx/Deltavpr and then with SIVmac239Deltanef, recombination occurred but was associated with lower plasma vRNA levels than plasma vRNA levels seen for monkeys inoculated intravaginally with wt SIVmac239. In one monkey, recombination occurred 6 weeks after the challenge with SIVmac239Deltanef when plasma SIVmac239Deltavpx/Deltavpr RNA levels were undetectable. In monkeys inoculated first with the more highly replicating strain, SIVmac239Deltanef, and then with SIVmac239Deltavpx/Deltavpr, wild-type recombinant virus was not detected in blood or tissues. Instead, a virus that had repaired the deletion in the nef gene by a compensatory mutation was found in one animal. Overall, recombinant SIV was eventually found in four of six animals intravaginally inoculated with the two SIVmac239 deletion mutants. These findings show that recombination can occur readily in vivo after mucosal SIV exposure and thus contributes to the generation of viral genetic diversity and enhancement of viral fitness.
Boundary value problems and periodic solutions for contingent differential equations

It is well known that fixed point theorems play a main role in the proof of existence theorems of differential equations. The papers of Granas (see [5, 61) have extended the notion of topological degree to set-valued mappings and the fixed point theorems of Rothe and Borsuk have also been successfully established for the set-valued case. In this paper we shall prove two existence theorems for contingent differential equations by using the degree theory. The results obtained here are motivated by Theorems 2.1 and 2.2, of [8, p. 4131 and are also generalizations of the results in [4, lo].
A discrete operator calculus for finite difference approximations

In this article we describe two areas of recent progress in the construction of accurate and robust finite difference algorithms for continuum dynamics. The support operators method (SOM) provides a conceptual framework for deriving a discrete operator calculus, based on mimicking selected properties of the differential operators. In this paper, we choose to preserve the fundamental conservation laws of a continuum in the discretization. A strength of SOM is its applicability to irregular unstructured meshes. We describe the construction of an operator calculus suitable for gas dynamics and for solid dynamics, derive general formulae for the operators, and exhibit their realization in 2D cylindrical coordinates. The multidimensional positive definite advection transport algorithm (MPDATA) provides a framework for constructing accurate nonoscillatory advection schemes. In particular, the nonoscillatory property is important in the remapping stage of arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) programs. MPDATA is based on the sign-preserving property of upstream differencing, and is fully multidimensional. We describe the basic second-order-accurate method, and review its generalizations. We show examples of the application of MPDATA to an advection problem, and also to a complex fluid flow. We also provide an example to demonstrate the blending of the SOM and MPDATA approaches.
In vitro-in vivo extrapolation of CYP2D6 inactivation by paroxetine: prediction of nonstationary pharmacokinetics and drug interaction magnitude

Attempts at predicting drug-drug interactions (DDI) perpetrated by paroxetine (PX) from in vitro data have utilized reversible enzyme inhibition models and have been unsuccessful to date, grossly underpredicting interaction magnitude. Recent data from our laboratories have provided evidence for mechanism-based inactivation (MBI) of CYP2D6 by PX (Bertelsen et al., 2003). We have predicted the pharmacokinetic consequences of CYP2D6 inactivation by PX from in vitro inactivation kinetics (kinact 0.17 min−1, unbound KI 0.35 μM) and estimated enzyme-available inhibitor concentrations, using a mathematical model of MBI (Mayhew et al., 2000). The model-predicted accumulation ratio of PX at 30 mg QD was 5 times that expected from single dose kinetics, which is in excellent agreement with the observed 5-6-fold greater ratio. The magnitude of DDI produced by 20-30 mg/day PX with desipramine, risperidone, perphenazine, atomoxetine, (S)-metoprolol and (R)-metoprolol have been predicted, considering the contribution of CYP2D6 to their oral clearance. Predicted interaction magnitudes (fold-increase in AUC) were 5, 5, 4, 6, 4 and 6-fold, respectively, and are in reasonable agreement with observed values of 5, 6, 7, 7, 5 and 8–fold, respectively. Failure to consider microsomal binding in vitro adversely affected the model's predictive accuracy. The sensitivities of these predictions to accuracy in estimating inhibitor concentrations and CYP2D6 half-life have been characterized. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2004) 75, P38–P38; doi: 10.1016/j.clpt.2003.11.144
Wireless virtualization on commodity 802.11 hardware

In this paper we describe specific challenges in virtualizing a wireless network and multiple strategies to address them. Among different possible wireless virtualization strategies, our current work in this domain is focussed on a Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM) approach. Hence, we we present our experiences in the design and implementation of such TDM-based wireless virtualization. Our wireless virtualization system is specifically targeted for multiplexing experiments on a large-scale 802.11 wireless testbed facility.
Policy Learning for Motor Skills

Policy learning which allows autonomous robots to adapt to novel situations has been a long standing vision of robotics, artificial intelligence, and cognitive sciences. However, to date, learning techniques have yet to fulfill this promise as only few methods manage to scale into the high-dimensional domains of manipulator robotics, or even the new upcoming trend of humanoid robotics, and usually scaling was only achieved in precisely pre-structured domains. In this paper, we investigate the ingredients for a general approach policy learning with the goal of an application to motor skill refinement in order to get one step closer towards human-like performance. For doing so, we study two major components for such an approach, i.e., firstly, we study policy learning algorithms which can be applied in the general setting of motor skill learning, and, secondly, we study a theoretically well-founded general approach to representing the required control structures for task representation and execution.
Ultrastructure of the sperm of Plumbago zeylanica : II. Quantitative cytology and three-dimensional organization.

Pollen grains of Plumbago zeylanica L. were serially sectioned and examined using transmission electron microscopy to determine the three-dimensional organization of sperm cells within the microgametophyte and the quantity of membrane-bound organelles occurring within each cell. Sperm cells occur in pairs within each pollen grain, but are dimorphic, differing in size, morphology and organelle content. The larger of the two sperm cells (Svn) is distinguished by the presence of a long (approx. 30 μm) projection, which wraps around and lies within embayments of the vegetative nucleus. This cell contains numerous mitochondria, up to two plastids and, infrequently, microbodies. It is characterized by a larger volume and surface area and contains a larger nucleus than the other sperm cell. The second sperm cell (Sua) is linked by plasmodesmata with the Svn, but is unassociated with the vegetative nucleus. It is smaller and lacks a cellular projection. The Sua contains relatively few mitochondria, but numerous (up to 46) plastids and more microbodies than the other sperm. The degree of dimorphism in their content of heritable cytoplasmic organelles must at fertilization result in nearly unidirectional transmission of sperm plastids into just one of the two female reproductive cells, and preferential transmission of sperm mitochondria into the other.
Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy of ScS (X2Σ+) and YS (X2Σ+)

Abstract The pure rotational spectra of the transition metal sulfide radicals ScS and YS in their 2 Σ + ground states have been measured in the range 8–48 GHz using Fourier transform microwave (FTMW) spectroscopy. The radicals were synthesized from the reaction of metal vapor, produced by laser ablation, and H 2 S gas, heavily diluted in argon. A DC discharge was needed in the case of ScS. Four rotational transitions were recorded for each molecule, in which multiple fine and hyperfine components were resolved. The spectra were analyzed with a case (b) Hamiltonian, and rotational, fine, and hyperfine constants were determined for both molecules, improving the precision of previous parameters established from optical and double resonance data. The quadrupole coupling constant eQq has been accurately established for ScS for the first time, as well. From the rotational constants, the bond lengths were determined to be 2.1288 A for ScS and 2.2614 A for YS. The hyperfine parameters suggest that, although ScS and YS are principally ionic molecules, they are more covalent than their oxygen analogs.
A study of the impedance and pattern bandwidths of aperture-coupled cylindrical dielectric resonator antennas

Aperture-coupled cylindrical dielectric resonator antennas (DRAs) fed by a microstrip line are investigated by varying their aspect ratio and permittivity to maximize their impedance bandwidth, while maintaining an acceptable radiation pattern. Although the maximum impedance bandwidth attainable by an aperture-coupled DRA is comparable to that of a probe-fed one (40% vs. 45%), the maximum combined bandwidth (which also accounts for the pattern shape) is smaller—about 30% versus 45%. The study reveals a very important conclusion: while a probe feed is good for obtaining broadband DRAs that are tall or pencil-like, an aperture-coupled feed is more suitable for applications that require low-profile or pancake-like broadband DRAs. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 56:2129–2132, 2014
Sparse Spectro-Temporal Receptive Fields Based on Multi-Unit and High-Gamma Responses in Human Auditory Cortex.

Spectro-Temporal Receptive Fields (STRFs) were estimated from both multi-unit sorted clusters and high-gamma power responses in human auditory cortex. Intracranial electrophysiological recordings were used to measure responses to a random chord sequence of Gammatone stimuli. Traditional methods for estimating STRFs from single-unit recordings, such as spike-triggered-averages, tend to be noisy and are less robust to other response signals such as local field potentials. We present an extension to recently advanced methods for estimating STRFs from generalized linear models (GLM). A new variant of regression using regularization that penalizes non-zero coefficients is described, which results in a sparse solution. The frequency-time structure of the STRF tends toward grouping in different areas of frequency-time and we demonstrate that group sparsity-inducing penalties applied to GLM estimates of STRFs reduces the background noise while preserving the complex internal structure. The contribution of local spiking activity to the high-gamma power signal was factored out of the STRF using the GLM method, and this contribution was significant in 85 percent of the cases. Although the GLM methods have been used to estimate STRFs in animals, this study examines the detailed structure directly from auditory cortex in the awake human brain. We used this approach to identify an abrupt change in the best frequency of estimated STRFs along posteromedial-to-anterolateral recording locations along the long axis of Heschl’s gyrus. This change correlates well with a proposed transition from core to non-core auditory fields previously identified using the temporal response properties of Heschl’s gyrus recordings elicited by click-train stimuli.
Glutamate, Ornithine, Arginine, Proline, and Polyamine Metabolic Interactions: The Pathway Is Regulated at the Post-Transcriptional Level

The metabolism of glutamate into ornithine, arginine, proline and polyamines is a major network of nitrogen-metabolizing pathways in plants, which also produces intermediates like nitric oxide, and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) that play critical roles in plant development and stress. While the accumulations of intermediates and the products of this network depend primarily on nitrogen assimilation, the overall regulation of the interacting sub-pathways is not well understood. We tested the hypothesis that diversion of ornithine into polyamine biosynthesis (by transgenic approach) not only plays a role in regulating its own biosynthesis from glutamate but also affects arginine and proline biosynthesis. Using two high putrescine producing lines of Arabidopsis thaliana (containing a transgenic mouse ornithine decarboxylase gene), we studied the: (1) effects of exogenous supply of carbon and nitrogen on polyamines and pools of soluble amino acids; and, (2) the expression of genes encoding key enzymes in the interacting pathways of arginine, proline and GABA biosynthesis as well as the catabolism of polyamines. Our findings suggest that: (1) the overall conversion of glutamate to arginine and polyamines is enhanced by increased utilization of ornithine for polyamine biosynthesis by the transgene product; (2) proline and arginine biosynthesis are regulated independently of polyamines and GABA biosynthesis; (3) the expression of most genes (28 that were studied) that encode enzymes of the interacting sub-pathways of arginine and GABA biosynthesis does not change even though overall biosynthesis of Orn from glutamate is increased several fold; and (4) increased polyamine biosynthesis results in increased assimilation of both nitrogen and carbon by the cells.
Visual Analytics

The information revolution is upon us, and it is guaran-teed to change our lives and the way we conduct our daily business. The fact that we have to deal with not just the size but also the variety and complexity of this in-formation makes it a real challenge to survive the revolu-tion. Enter Visual Analytics, a contemporary and proven approach to combine the art of human intuition and the science of mathematical deduction to directly perceive patterns and derive knowledge and insight from them.
Enterohepatic Circulation and Conversion of Protoporphyrin to Bile Pigment in Man

Summary and ConclusionsProto-14C was administered through a duodenal tube in a normal subject. Serial isolations of crystalline 2-COOH porphyrin and stercobilin from the feces during the next 12 days, and radioactivity measurements provided evidence that some fraction of the administered Protounderwent an enterohepatic circulation. A small proportion (1.5-3%) was converted to bile pigment. The data point to a continuous partial enterohepatic circulation of Proto-with loss of a constant fraction on each circulation.
Chemical Imaging and Distribution Analysis of Mono-, Bi-, and Tridentate Alkanethiol Self-Assembled Monolayers on Gold by Sum Frequency Generation Imaging Microscopy

Sum frequency generation (SFG) microscopy was used to investigate the structure and orientation of multidentate alkanethiolate monolayers on gold surfaces. Adsorbate molecules in which one, two, or three sulfur atoms coordinated to the surface of gold afforded self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with controlled spacing between the alkyl chains. SFG imaging was used to determine the orientation of the molecules on the surface and to visualize spatial variations across the surface. Using SFG imaging, the average orientation of the terminal methyl group is measured as well as the standard deviation. Further, the presence of film defects is measured by the CH2/CH3 intensity ratio and the distribution quantified through the standard deviation. The results demonstrate that the tridentate adsorbate forms a monolayer in which the alkyl chains are highly disordered on the surface when compared to SAMs derived from normal alkanethiols (i.e., monodentate adsorbates). The results are consistent with a model in which the...
Azimilide causes reverse rate-dependent block while reducing both components of delayed-rectifier current in canine ventricular myocytes.

Most class III antiarrhythmic drugs reduce the rapidly activating component of delayed-rectifier current (I Kr ) without affecting the slowly activating component (I Ks ). Recently the novel antiarrhythmic agent azimilide (NE-10064) was reported to enhance I Ks at low (nanomolar) concentrations and to block both I Kr and I Ks at higher (micromolar) concentrations. Further to understand the electrophysiologic effects of azimilide, we compared its effects on I Kr and I Ks (by using whole cell clamp techniques) and action potentials (microelectrode and perforated-patch techniques) on canine ventricular myocytes. A lower azimilide concentration (50 nM) did not enhance I KS . In contrast, a therapeutic azimilide concentration (2 μM) was equieffective in reducing I Kr (300-ms isochrones) and I Ks (3-s isochrones) by 40% during depolarizing test pulses, as well as reducing I Kr (38% decrease) and I Ks (33% decrease) tail currents on repolarization. Block of I Ks was independent of voltage at positive test potentials. In action-potential studies, 50 nM azimilide had no effect on the action-potential duration (APD), whereas 2 μM azimilide delayed repolarization and caused reverse rate-dependent effects on the APD. Whereas the extent of APD prolongation by azimilide was not correlated with the drug-free APD, azimilide preferentially exaggerated the APD-rate relationship of myocytes displaying the steepest APD-rate relationship under drug-free conditions. In conclusion, therapeutic concentrations of azimilide that cause comparable reduction of canine ventricular I Kr and I Ks exert reverse rate-dependent effects, which are dependent on the steepness of the APD-rate relationship.
Clinical Efficacy Study on Elderly Lung Cancer Patients with Intercostal Neuralgia after Thoracotomy by Paravertebral Nerve Block Combined Drug Therapy

Objective: To investigate the clinical efficacy of elderly lung cancer patients with intercostal neuralgia after thoracotomy by paravertebral nerve block combined nimesulide tablet.Methods: The clinical data of sixty-eight elderly lung cancer patients who were treated in our hospital from August 2010 to August 2012 were collected,then patients were divided into A group and B group by using a random number table.Patients in A group wasgiven paravertebral nerve block,but patients in B group was given paravertebral nerve block combined nimesulide tablet.The other measures were the same.The anesthesia effect and safety of them was evaluated.Results: Visual analogue scale and sleep quality score in patients was higher at the beginning than that at the points of one week,two weeks and three weeks(P0.05),visual analogue scale and sleep quality score in patients in B group was lower than that in A group at the points of three weeks(P0.05),the anesthesia effect was lower in B group than that in A group(97.06% vs 79.41%,P0.05),the incidence of adverse reaction was not different in two groups(P0.05).Conclusion: The the clinical efficacy study on elderly lung cancer patients with intercostal neuralgia after thoracotomy by paravertebral nerve block combined drug therapy is good and safe,with high efficiency,less adverse reactions.It obviously improves patients' experience of pain and sleep quality in order to obviously improve the prognosis of patients.
Where a Subdivision Is Not a “Subdivision” State Enabling Statutes and the Local Regulation (or Not) of Land Division in the United States

Subdivision control has long been a central pillar of planning. Nonetheless, many American states statutorily exempt entire classes of land division from local subdivision control. This legal analy...
A graphical framework for model selection criteria and significance tests: refutation, confirmation and ecology

Summary 1.In this paper we use a novel graphical heuristic to compare the way four methods: significance testing, two popular information-theoretic approaches (AIC and BIC), and Good's Bayes/Non-Bayes compromise (an underutilized hypothesis testing approach whose demarcation criterion adjusts for n) evaluate the merit of competing hypotheses, e.g., H0 and HA. 2.A primary goal of our work is to clarify the concept of strong consistency in model selection. Explicit considerations of this principle (including the strong consistency of BIC) are currently limited to technical derivations, inaccessible to most ecologists. We use our graphical framework to demonstrate, in simple terms, the strong consistency of both BIC and Good's compromise. 3.Our framework also locates the evaluated metrics (and ICs in general) along a conceptual continuum of hypothesis refutation/confirmation that considers n, parameter number, and effect size. Along this continuum, significance testing, and particularly AIC are refutative for H0, whereas Good's compromise, and particularly BIC are confirmatory for the true hypothesis. 4.Our work graphically demonstrates the well-known asymptotic bias of significance tests for HA, and the incorrectness of using statistically non-consistent methods for point hypothesis testing. To address these issues we recommend: 1) dedicated confirmatory methods with strong consistency like BIC for use in point hypothesis testing and confirmatory model selection; 2) significance tests for use in exploratory/refutative hypothesis testing, particularly when conjoined with rational approaches (e.g., Good's compromise, power analyses) to account for the effect of n on P-values; and 3) asymptotically efficient methods like AIC for exploratory model selection. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
RIFT VALLEY FEVER VIRUS INTRACELLULAR RNA: A FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS

Publisher Summary Rift Valley fever (RVF) virus is a member of the genus Phlebo virus in the family Bunyaviridae. Bunyaviridae are composed of three, unique, negative stranded RNA genome segments associated with a major nucleocapsid protein (N) in the form of helical ribonucleoproteins. As at least two of the genome segments have been shown to code for multiple polypeptides, it becomes important to determine if the individual polypeptides are generated by the transcription of multiple messages from a single genome segment or alternatively, if the polypeptides are derived by proteolytic cleavage of precursor polypeptides. The nucleocapsid proteins are surrounded by a lipid envelope containing two virus specific glycoproteins, Gl and G2. In addition, a high molecular weight protein is also located in the interior of the particle that may be responsible for the RNA polymerase activity found in the preparations of purified virus.
Robot-to-robot nurturing: A call to the research community

Nurturing behaviors comprise a fundamental class of actions that can occur between individuals. They are vital components of the behavioral repertoires of numerous biological organisms and are objects of study in numerous disciplines. In this call to the community, we consider what nurturing means for biological and artificial systems, how robot-to-robot (R2R) nurturing is related to developmental robotics including epigenetic and morphogenetic robotics, why R2R nurturing should be considered an important topic, and why we advocate using an evolutionary framework to develop R2R nurturing. We also suggest next steps for the research community.
Developing and evaluating a hands-on lab for teaching local area network vulnerabilities

Verizon's Data Breach Investigations Report states that local area network (LAN) access is the top vector for insider threats and misuses. In Ethernet, the common vulnerabilities come from Address Resolution Protocol (ARP). It is critical for students to learn these vulnerabilities, understand the mechanisms of exploits, and know the countermeasures, which include static ARP cache entries, improved ARP module in operating systems, encryption, intrusion detection, and data backup. In this paper, we introduce a hands-on lab to help students learn how ARP spoofing attack works. The objective of this lab is to let students successfully become a Man-In-The-Middle by manually creating attack packets. Although tools exist that carry out ARP spoofing attack automatically, asking students to create raw ARP spoofing packets themselves can help them understand the mechanisms of this attack method much deeper than with the automatic tools. We have studied the effectiveness of this lab on the students' understanding of LAN vulnerabilities. Tests were conducted to measure the performance of students before and after using this tool. We gave students surveys after they completed the hands-on lab. A few students were selected for an interview by an independent evaluator. The result shows that this tool can help students understand the concept of ARP spoofing attacks and motivate them in learning more about cyber security.
Laser-assisted dealloying for direct-write patterning of plasmonic nanostructures

Recently, nanoporous gold (NPG) has attracted significant interest due to its unique properties such as large specific surface area, bi-continuous nanostructure, high electrical conductivity and the applicability of thiol-gold surface chemistry. Patterned NPG disks showcase tunable pore and ligament sizes ranging from nanometers to microns. The nanoporous structure and sub-wavelength nanoparticle shape contribute to its unique LSPR properties. NPG disk not only features large specific surface area, but high-density plasmonic field enhancement known as “hot-spots”. Hence, NPG disks have found many applications in nanoplasmonic sensor development. In our recent studies, we have shown that NPG disks array chip can be utilized for high-sensitivity detection by various enhanced spectroscopic modalities, as photothermal agents, and for disease biomarker detection. To date, patterned NPG disks have been exclusively fabricated by colloidal nanosphere lithography. Starting with pattern transfer into alloy disks, dealloying subsequently turns the alloy disks into NPG disks. In this paper, we present another NPG patterning method by localized laser heating, during which dealloying occurs at the laser focal spots due to elevated temperature. This approach has enabled us to pattern NPG entity with various sizes and shapes. We have investigated fabrication parameters such as laser power, irradiation duration, and solution environment. We have also characterized the plasmonic resonance of the patterned NPG disks by extinction spectroscopy. The noncontact nature of this technique is well suited for the processing of substrates immersed in an aqueous environment. Further, this technique shares the same advantages as maskless laser direct writing.
Reflection and transmission by thick wires in reinforced concrete

In this paper, the reflection and transmission properties of reinforced concrete are investigated by using a two-dimensional (2D) Method of Moments/Green's function (MoM/GF) model for an array of parallel circular cylinders inside a lossy dielectric slab. In doing so, a thin wire grid is used to model each thick circular cylinder subject to the “same surface area” rule of thumb. As a result, this model helps enhance the accuracy of reflected and transmitted fields by means of wire grid modeling.
Providers’ Perspectives on Autism Service Access in the West Bank: an Application of the Three Delays Model

Little is known about autism service barriers in the West Bank. The current study elicited the perspectives of Palestinian service providers (n = 7) at West Bank agencies serving children with autism and other special needs. Data were analyzed using qualitative grounded theory methods. Using the Three Delays Model as an organizing framework, we identified complex, interrelated themes related to children’s access to autism services. Providers reported stigma, gender-based caregiving disparities, and social isolation increased family burden and impacted parents’ willingness to seek services. However, once parents sought professional assistance, they often faced a second delay of economic and physical barriers to reach disability service agencies. Themes related to the third delay, the quality of services, were the most commonly reported and included nonexistent screening practices, inappropriate diagnostic procedures, limited availability of autism-related therapies and other services, and insufficient service coordination and staff training. Additionally, providers reported children with autism were routinely denied access to schools, exacerbating stigma and other challenges faced by these children and their families. Our findings suggest improvements in provider training and overall autism service quality will positively impact parents’ willingness to engage in services and build family-provider partnerships. Eliminating educational barriers can potentially create opportunities to improve overall service quality. Providers offered suggestions to decrease the impact of delays relating to physical barriers such as military checkpoints, including increasing community-based and in-home services. Other novel applications of the Three Delays Model to frame barriers to disability services in resource-poor regions are discussed.
Mental Retardation and Intellectual Disability

Cognitive or intellectual disability (ID) in humans is a common trait that has a genetic etiology in as many as one-half of cases. Genetic causes range from single-gene defects to trisomies. The discovery of mutations that lead to ID has led to improved diagnosis and the opportunity for reproductive decisions based on prenatal diagnosis. In addition, understanding the gene defects in ID has elucidated molecules and pathways important for normal cognition, assisting with efforts to understand brain function. This chapter touches on the definition and history of ID, then considers in detail several classifications of gene defects that lead to ID. These include unbalanced gene dosage, with attention to Down syndrome and Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes, and single gene disorders, particularly X-linked disorders Fragile X and Rett syndromes. Each disorder illustrates important principles in human genetics. Future directions in gene discovery, mutation detection and treatment are discussed.
How shall we save the planet

Charles Mann9s new book, The Wizard and the Prophet , is about two pivotal but largely forgotten men of science. Mann casts the "prophet" William Vogt (1902-1968) as the central figure of mid-century "Malthusianism" and pied piper of "apocalyptic environmentalism," while Norman Borlaug (1914-2009) who played a starring role in the Green Revolution and believed that the application of science and technology could liberate humans from the shackles of nature plays the part of the "wizard." But the achievement of the book goes beyond detailing the accomplishments of these two individuals. With his trademark interdisciplinary wisdom, Mann travels the globe to visit other wizards and prophets working on the world9s most challenging environmental problems.
Overview of genetic models of autism spectrum disorders

Abstract Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of neurodevelopment disorders that are characterized by heterogenous cognitive deficits and genetic factors. As more ASD risk genes are identified, genetic animal models have been developed to parse out the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of ASD. In this review, we discuss a subset of genetic models of ASD, focusing on those that have been widely studied and strongly linked to ASD. We focus our discussion of these models in the context of the theories and potential mechanisms of ASD, including disruptions in cell growth and proliferation, spine dynamics, synaptic transmission, excitation/inhibition balance, intracellular signaling, neuroinflammation, and behavior. In addition to ASD pathophysiology, we examine the limitations and challenges that genetic models pose for the study of ASD biology. We end with a review of innovative techniques and concepts of ASD pathology that can be further applied to and studied using genetic ASD models.
Docosahexaenoic acid decreased neuroinflammation in rat pups after controlled cortical impact.

Abstract Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of acquired neurologic disability in children, yet specific therapies to treat TBI are lacking. Therapies that decrease the inflammatory response and enhance a reparative immune action may decrease oxidative damage and improve outcomes after TBI. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) modulates the immune response to injury in many organs. DHA given in the diet before injury decreased rat pup cognitive impairment, oxidative stress and white matter injury in our developmental TBI model using controlled cortical impact (CCI). Little is known about DHA effects on neuroinflammation in the developing brain. Further, it is not known if DHA given after developmental TBI exerts neuroprotective effects. We hypothesized that acute DHA treatment would decrease oxidative stress and improve cognitive outcome, associated with decreased pro-inflammatory activation of microglia, the brain's resident macrophages. Methods: 17-day-old rat pups received intraperitoneal DHA or vehicle after CCI or SHAM surgery followed by DHA diet or continuation of REG diet to create DHACCI, REGCCI, SHAMDHA and SHAMREG groups. We measured brain nitrates/nitrites (NOx) at post injury day (PID) 1 to assess oxidative stress. We tested memory using Novel Object Recognition (NOR) at PID14. At PID 3 and 7, we measured reactivity of microglial activation markers Iba1, CD68 and CD206 and astrocyte marker GFAP in the injured cortex. At PID3, 7 and 30 we measured mRNA levels of inflammation-related genes and transcription factors in flow-sorted brain cells. Results: DHA decreased oxidative stress at PID1 and pro-inflammatory microglial activation at PID3. CCI increased mRNA levels of two interferon regulatory family transcription factors, blunted by DHA, particularly in microglia-enriched cell populations at PID7. CCI increased mRNA levels of genes associated with “pro- “ and “anti-“ inflammatory activity at PID3, 7 and 30. Most notably within the microglia-enriched population, DHA blunted increased mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory genes at PID 3 and 7 and of anti-inflammatory genes at PID 30. Particularly in microglia, we observed parallel activation of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory genes. DHA improved performance on NOR at PID14 after CCI. Conclusions: DHA decreased oxidative stress and histologic and mRNA markers of microglial pro-inflammatory activation in rat pup brain acutely after CCI associated with improved short term cognitive function. DHA administration after CCI has neuroprotective effects, which may result in part from modulation of microglial activation toward a less inflammatory profile in the first week after CCI. Future and ongoing studies will focus on phagocytic function and reactive oxygen species production in microglia and macrophages to test functional effects of DHA on neuroinflammation in our model. Given its favorable safety profile in children, DHA is a promising candidate therapy for pediatric TBI.
Axillary-bifemoral and axillary-unifemoral artery grafts have similar perioperative outcomes and patency.

Abstract Objective It has been suggested that more bypass outflow targets for bypass grafts improve patency and outcomes. Our objective was to examine this in a multicenter contemporary series of axillary to femoral artery grafts. Methods The Vascular Quality Initiative database was queried for all axillary-unifemoral (AxUF) and axillary-bifemoral (AxBF) bypass grafts performed between 2010 and 2017 for claudication, rest pain, and tissue loss. Patients with acute limb ischemia were excluded. Patients' demographics and comorbidities as well as operative details and outcomes were recorded. Univariable, multivariable, and Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to assess long-term outcomes. Results There were 412 (32.9%) AxUF grafts and 839 (67.1%) AxBF grafts identified. Overall, the mean age of the patients was 68.3 years, 51.1% were male, and 84.7% were white. Compared with AxBF grafts, AxUF grafts were more often performed for urgent cases; in patients who were younger, male, nonambulatory, and diabetic; and in those with preoperative anticoagulation, critical limb ischemia, prior bypass, aneurysm repair, peripheral vascular intervention, and major amputation (P Conclusions AxUF and AxBF grafts have similar perioperative and 1-year outcomes. Graft patency was not significantly different between an AxBF graft and an AxUF graft at 1 year. Overall, patients treated with these reconstructions have many comorbidities and low long-term survival.
Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Preferentially Impacts Patients by Primary Malignancy Type: Multi-Center Nationally Representative Analysis of over 6 Million Hospitalizations

Introduction Cancer is a known adverse predictor of cardiovascular outcomes, yet little is known about its role in Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy (TTC). This study sought to provide the first multi-center nationally representative study of TTC according to primary malignancy. Methods Pearson chi square bivariable analysis was conducted for malignancy overall and primary malignancy type in a case-control study using the 2016 National Inpatient Sample (NIS), the United States’ largest all-payer inpatient dataset. Results Among the 6,039,969 inpatient admissions meeting study criteria, the mean age was 57.51 (20.33), 931,146 (15.43%) had malignancy, and 7,803 (0.13%) had diagnosed TTC. Those with TTC compared to those without it had significantly (all p Conclusions This study is the first known nationally representative analysis demonstrating that TTC can preferentially impact patients according to their primary malignancy type, underscoring a specific pathophysiological mechanism between tumor and cardiomyopathy biology. These findings suggest heart failure treatment of patients may be improved as cardiologists and oncologists better risk stratify patients according to their specific malignancy history presenting to the hospital with heart failure symptoms concerning for TTC.
Experimental Evidence of Geomagnetic Orientation in Elasmobranch Fishes

Marine sharks, skates, and rays are endowed with an electric sense that enables them to detect voltage gradients as low as 0.01 μV/cm within the frequency range of direct current (DC) up to about 8 Hz. Their electroreceptor system comprises the ampullae of Lorenzini, which are delicate sensory structures in the snouts of these elasmobranch fishes. Sharks, skates, and rays use their electric sense in predation, sharply cueing in on the DC and low-frequency bioelectric fields of their prey. Swimming through the earth’s magnetic field, they also induce electric fields that may provide them with the physical basis of an electromagnetic compass sense. Their ability to orient magnetically has in fact been demonstrated in recent training experiments.
Autocatalytic replication of a recombinant RNA.

Abstract We demonstrate that a heterologous RNA sequence can be copied in vitro by Qβ replicase when it is inserted into a naturally occurring Qβ replicase template. A recombinant RNA was constructed by inserting decaadenylic acid between nucleotides 63 and 64 of MDV-1 (+) RNA, using phage T4 RNA ligase. The insert was located away from regions of the template known to be required for the binding of the replicase and for the initiation of product strand synthesis. To minimize the disruption of template structure, we inserted the heterologous sequence into a hairpin loop on the exterior of the molecule. Qβ replicase copied this recombinant RNA in vitro, and the complementary product strands served as templates for the synthesis of additional copies of the original recombinant RNA. The reaction was therefore autocatalytic and the amount of recombinant RNA increased exponentially. A 300-fold amplification of the recombinant RNA occurred within nine minutes. Insertion of biologically significant RNAs into the MDV-1 RNA sequence should allow them to be replicated autocatalytically.
Upgrade rate of intraductal papilloma without atypia on breast core needle biopsy: A clinical, radiological and pathological correlation study.

Abstract Background The aim of the study was to determine the upgrade rate on excision of intraductal papilloma (IDP) without atypia diagnosed on breast core needle biopsy (CNB). Methods We searched our pathology department database for breast CNB with a diagnosis of IDP from 2013 to 2018. The exclusion criteria included radiologic-pathologic discordance, atypia on the same CNB, absence of histologic slides to review or absence of excision information. Upgrade was defined as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or invasive cancer identified on excision. Results 126 IDP without atypia cases from 94 patients were identified. The upgrade rate was 1.58% (2/126). Both upgrade cases showed DCIS with low and intermediate nuclear grade. Histologic size of IDP ≥1 cm was the only statistically significant predictor factor for an upgrade on excision. Conclusion The results suggest that non-surgical management of patients with radiologic-pathologic concordant IDP without atypia diagnosed on CNB may be appropriate in routine practice.
The Evidence for the accelerating universe: endorsement and robust consistency

The 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to researchers from the Supernova Cosmology Project and the High-z Supernova Search Team for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe. In this paper, I provide a historical analysis of the supernova cosmology evidence put forward by these teams for the accelerating universe, in terms of an iterative model of scientific progress developed by Hasok Chang in the context of his study of the development of measurement standards. I argue, using the key concept of epistemic iteration, that the iterative model adequately accounts for evidence production in experimental science as well. In order to apply Chang’s model to the experimental evidence for the accelerating universe, I introduce the concept of endorsement as a particular mode of progress, and argue that supernova scientists produced an endorsed measurement system to claim evidence for their discovery. Furthermore, I show that the credibility of the evidence was not based on a particular measurement, rather, what proved to be decisive was the “robust consistency” of many individual results.
Plant hydraulics accentuates the effect of atmospheric moisture stress on transpiration

Transpiration, the dominant component of terrestrial evapotranspiration (ET), directly connects the water, energy and carbon cycles and is typically restricted by soil and atmospheric (for example, the vapour pressure deficit (VPD)) moisture stresses through plant hydraulic processes. These sources of stress are likely to diverge under climate change, with a globally enhanced VPD but more variable and uncertain changes in soil moisture. Here, using a model–data fusion approach, we demonstrate that the common empirical approach used in most Earth system models to evaluate the ET response to soil moisture and VPD, which neglects plant hydraulics, underestimates ET sensitivity to VPD and compensates by overestimating the sensitivity to soil moisture stress. A hydraulic model that describes water transport through the plant better captures ET under high VPD conditions for wide-ranging soil moisture states. These findings highlight the central role of plant hydraulics in regulating the increasing importance of atmospheric moisture stress on biosphere–atmosphere interactions under elevated temperatures. Evapotranspiration links productivity with water cycling between land and atmosphere. A model including plant hydraulics better describes the response of evapotranspiration to stress from vapour pressure deficit and soil moisture under rising temperatures than approaches common in Earth system models.
The Perils of the Historian: Edward Dneprov and Experimental Educational Reform in the Tsarist and Gorbachev Eras

One neglected aspect of the Gorbachev perestroika era in Russia [1985–1991] was the remarkable “pedagogy of cooperation” (or pedagogika sotrudnichestva) movement, a renewal of the experimental trad...