cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Human Performance in Timing of Discrete Actions

An experiment on human timing performance is described. A scenario of street crossing without the aid of traffic lights was presented on a computer screen. The subjects' task was to let a pedestrian to cross the street between successive vehicles by pressing a key. Independent variables were the size of the gap between vehicles and the speed of the traffic stream. The subjects' performance was evaluated by the distributions of the crossing initiation times and the proportions of two types of timing errors in the experimental conditions: Too early and too late releases of the pedestrian. Increasing the accuracy requirement by reducing the duration of the window of opportunity resulted in a shift to earlier release times, smaller standard deviations of the release time distributions, and increased proportions of the “too early” errors. Our results show a way to include also the tails of the response distributions in the analyses.
5',11'-Dihydro-dispiro-[cyclo-hexane-1,6'-indolo[3,2-b]carbazole-12',1''-cyclo-hexa-ne].

The title compound, C28H30N2, is a symmetrical 2:2 product from the condensation of indole and cyclo­hexa­none. It is the only reported 5,11-dihydro­indolo[3,2-b]carbazole compound in which the spiro atoms are quaternary C atoms. Crystals were grown by vapor diffusion in a three-zone electric furnace. The mol­ecule resides on a crystallographic inversion center. The cyclo­hexyl rings are in a slightly distorted chair conformation, whereas the indole units and the spiro-carbons are coplanar within 0.014 A.
Comparison of dietary casein or soy protein effects on plasma lipids and hormone concentrations in the Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus)

The effects of dietary animal protein (casein) or soy protein (soy isolate) on plasma lipids and hormones were investigated in the gerbil. Diets, fed to male gerbils (initial weight, 60 g) for 4 wk, contained either 18% casein or soy isolate as the protein source. The dietary fat sources were lard (16%) and safflower oil (1%). The cholesterol content of the diet was 0.1%. Plasma total cholesterol concentrations were lower in gerbils fed the soy protein diet (159 mg/dl) than in the gerbils fed the casein diet (190 mg/dl). Absolute HDL-cholesterol concentrations were unaffected by the protein source, but LDL-cholesterol concentrations were lower in the soy-fed gerbils. Thus, the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol was lower in the soy-fed gerbils (0.42) compared with the casein-fed gerbils (0.70). Plasma insulin levels were higher in the soy-fed gerbils as were plasma thyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone levels. The results indicate that the gerbils can be used to study dietary effects on cholesterol parameters. These data also suggest that changes in plasma thyroxine levels may in part account for the hypocholesterolemic effect of soy protein.
A Novel Cooling Method and Comparison of Active Rewarming of Mild Hypothermia

and disaster medicine skills. Methods.—Diverse groups of medical university students, healthcare professionals, and community members were enrolled between 2011 and 2014. The course consisted of an online questionnaire, didactic lectures, small-group exercises and 2 live, multipatient mass casualty incident (MCI) scenarios. When not participating as responders during an MCI, trainees served as patients, significantly increasing the “chaos” of the scenario. They also filled out team performance observations cards, greatly simplifying performance data collection. Results.—Seven hundred and eight participants completed training between November 2011 and August 2014, including 49.9% physicians, 31.9% medical students, 7.2% nurses, and 11% various other healthcare professions. All participants completed the pretest and 71.9% completed the post-test, with average correct answers increasing from 39% to 60%. After didactics, trainees met 73% and 96% of performance objectives for the 2 small group exercises and 68.5% and 61.1% of performance objectives for the 2 MCI scenarios. Average trainee self-assessment of both overall knowledge and confidence with clinical disasters improved from 33/100 to 74/100 (overall knowledge) and 33/100 to 77/ 100 (overall confidence). The course assessment was completed by 34.3% of participants, 91.5% of whom highly recommended the course. Conclusion.—Our EPT course demonstrated improved trainee knowledge, confidence, and disaster medicine skills with the help of trainees acting as responders, patients, and observers. This unique EPT curriculum may help educators with limited resources implement performance-based medical team training effectively and efficiently.
Penicillamine-Induced Signs of Wilson Disease

A 9-year-old boy with asymptomatic Wilson disease who developed neurologic symptoms after treatment with penicillamine is reported from the Department of Pediatrics, Universita Federico II, Naples, Italy.
Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis prevalence in pre-transplant patients and its effect on survival and graft loss post-transplant.

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis prevalence in pre-transplant patients and its effect on survival and graft loss post-transplant
Cannabinoid Regulation of Intraocular Pressure: Human and Animal Studies, Cellular and Molecular Targets

Abstract This chapter focuses on the effects of cannabinoids on intraocular pressure (IOP), a major risk factor in the development of glaucoma. A review of original papers, published in English and indexed in PubMed up to Jun., 2014, is discussed in this chapter. All three classes of cannabinoids, including phytocannabinoids, synthetic cannabinoids, and endocannabinoids, have been demonstrated to lower IOP in human subjects, as well as in animal models. The molecular targets mediating the IOP-lowering effects cannabinoids include CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, non-CB1/CB2 cannabinoid receptors, endocannabinoid metabolizing enzymes, and transporters. These molecular targets are found in the regions of the eye that are important for IOP regulation, including ciliary epithelium, trabecular meshwork, and ciliary muscle. Cannabinoids exhibit their IOP-lowering effects either through reducing aqueous humor production, or by enhancing aqueous humor outflow through conventional or uveoscleral routes. Cannabinoids represent a class of promising therapeutic agents for the treatment of glaucoma.
Allosteric Modulation of a Serine Protease by Conformationally Selective Nanobodies

Trypsin-like serine proteases regulate many important physiological processes including digestion, blood coagulation, tissue remodelling, complement activation and fibrinolysis. It is well known that ligand binding to allosteric sites modulates the function of the active site region through conformational and/or dynamic changes leading to a change in protease activity and altered substrate specificity. Furthermore, increasing biophysical evidence supports the existence of multiple active and inactive conformational states. However, molecular details about sparsely populated protease conformations, and how ligands modulate the activity of a given protease remains largely elusive. Here we report the X-ray crystal structure of an unappreciated inactive conformational state of the serine protease urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA). Next, two distinct uPA conformations were stabilized by different single domain camelid antibodies – an active conformation captured by an active site binding (orthosteric) nanobody (Nb22) and an inactive conformation captured by an allosteric nanobody (Nb7). By combining X-ray crystallography and hydrogen deuterium-exchange mass spectrometry, we identify the mechanism of allostery, which explains at the molecular level how ligand binding regulates uPA activity by changing the dynamics of several surface-exposed loops surrounding the active site region. Collectively, our data supports a model which assumes equilibrium amongst at least three conformational states and shows that ligands modulate the biological activity of the protease by differentially stabilizing a specific protease conformation.
The use of pressure monitoring to standardize fetal arterial visualization

The application of a new x-ray opaque postmortem perfusion system for the visualization of vascular structures in fetal models is presented. This new system allows pig fetus perfusion to be performed at pressures of less than 30 mmHg. At higher pressures, extravasations were observed in known weak spots in the fetal vasculature, and multiple perfusions at the same pressure exhibited similar patterns of extravasation (demonstrated at all pressures studied). Therefore this technique is controllable and predictable. It will allow determination of fetal vascular malformations which have been implicated as causes of many birth defects.
Acoustic and Radio Telemetry

Acoustic and radio telemetry have revealed new information on the behavior and migration of fish and invertebrate species, and telemetry is a powerful tool for stock identification. This chapter will provide readers with an overview of telemetry technology, experimental methods, and data analysis techniques, as well as a discussion of the relative strengths and weaknesses of telemetry. Case studies are presented to demonstrate how telemetry has been used to investigate critical areas of stock identification research, such as homing, contingent structure, and stock mixing. Finally, we discuss future innovations in telemetry research. We predict that telemetry will become an increasingly important component of multidisciplinary stock identification studies in the years ahead.
Corporate social responsibility performance under various economic conditions

This paper examines how economic conditions impact a firm's corporate social responsibility performance and influence the relationship between financial performance and corporate social responsibility. One theory suggests that in a good economy, firms engage in more corporate social responsibility to reap the marginal benefits of increased consumer purchasing power. Another theory suggests that during a bad economy, firms engage in more corporate social responsibility to chase reduced market share and manage reputation. The expected impact of the economy on corporate social responsibility performance, therefore, depends on which theory dominates. Using data from 2005–2010, we found that firms' corporate social responsibility performance changed significantly during the financial crisis, relative to both the pre- and post-crisis periods. Further, the relationship between financial performance and corporate social responsibility varied based on economic conditions. These results indicate that the motivations for conducting corporate social responsibility hinge on both economic conditions and firms' profitability.
The Decline and Fall of Legislative History? Patterns of Supreme Court Reliance in the Burger and Rehnquist Eras

This article examines and analyzes possible reasons behind the Supreme Court's declining reliance on legislative history over the past two decades. The authors report, based on a dataset of some 650 majority opinions in the area of workplace law from 1969 through 2005, that reliance on legislative history has fallen from nearly 50% during the Burger era to less than 30% in the Rehnquist years. Examining majority opinions written by individual justices over this period, the authors demonstrate that Justice Scalia has played an important role - both through overt resistance to legislative history expressed in his own opinions and through his apparent influence on the writings of several colleagues. Subject matter considerations have contributed as well: sharp declines in reliance have occurred between the Burger and Rehnquist eras for statutes that aged notably during the 36 years covered by this study. As a regulatory scheme (such as Title VII or the NLRA) advances to middle age and beyond, the Court may well conclude that other interpretive resources (such as Supreme Court precedent and agency deference) are more trustworthy or malleable in clarifying and developing the meaning of inconclusive text. The article also reports findings that indicate the Court's reliance on legislative history is intriguingly non-ideological in direction. With respect to the Court as a whole and distinctly ideological subgroups of justices, legislative history reliance for liberal/redistributive workplace law statutes is associated with pro-employer results more often than one might expect. The authors offer several principled explanations for these findings, and suggest the Court's use of legislative history may be deliberative and coherent in ways that legislative history sceptics have not imagined.
Exploration of resist effect in source mask optimization

The resist effect may have a significant impact on source mask optimization (SMO), because the CD change in response to dose, defocus and mask size variations can be substantially modified by the resist effect. In this paper, we elaborate on how the resist effect, represented by compact resist models, changes the cost function of SMO and affects the optimized source shapes and the corresponding lithographic performance. Based on the results, we present the guidelines of using compact resist models in SMO, especially for the case of the negative tone development (NTD) process.
10-WDM 64-GBaud PDM-64QAM Transmission over all-Raman amplified 840 km SSMF using Digital Back Propagation

1.2Tbit (2∗64GBaud PDM-64QAM) data transmission is successfully demonstrated over 840km SSMF. The characteristics of transmitter and receiver was precisely calibrated and non-linear effect was compensated by digital back propagation in all-Raman amplification configuration by Q-factor improvement of 0.7dB.
Multiplexed Isobaric Tag‐Based Profiling of Seven Murine Tissues Following In Vivo Nicotine Treatment Using a Minimalistic Proteomics Strategy

Nicotine is a major addictive compound in tobacco and a component of smoking-related products, such as e-cigarettes. Once internalized, nicotine can perturb many cellular pathways and can induce alterations in proteins across different cell types, however the mechanisms thereof remain undetermined. We hypothesize that both tissue-specific and global protein abundance alterations result from nicotine exposure. As such, we present the first proteome analysis of multiple tissues from nicotine-exposed mice. We treat mice via oral administration of nicotine at 200μg/mL in drinking water for 21 days. We investigate 7 tissues (brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung, pancreas, and spleen) from treated (n=5) and untreated control (n=5) mice. For each tissue, a TMT10-plex experiment (5 versus 5) was assembled. We apply a minimalistic proteomics strategy was employed using TMT reagents efficiently and fractionating by centrifugation-based reversed-phase columns to streamline sample preparation. Combined, we quantified over 11,000 non-redundant proteins from over 138,000 different peptides in 7 TMT10-plex experiments. Between 7 and 126 proteins are significantly altered in tissues from nicotine-exposed mice. Among these proteins, only 11 are altered in two or more tissues, many classified as from extracellular exosomes or involved in lipid metabolism. Our data showcase the vast extent of nicotine exposure across murine tissue.
Disease outbreak thresholds emerge from interactions between movement behavior, landscape structure, and epidemiology.

Disease models have provided conflicting evidence as to whether spatial heterogeneity promotes or impedes pathogen persistence. Moreover, there has been limited theoretical investigation into how animal movement behavior interacts with the spatial organization of resources (e.g., clustered, random, uniform) across a landscape to affect infectious disease dynamics. Importantly, spatial heterogeneity of resources can sometimes lead to nonlinear or counterintuitive outcomes depending on the host and pathogen system. There is a clear need to develop a general theoretical framework that could be used to create testable predictions for specific host–pathogen systems. Here, we develop an individual-based model integrated with movement ecology approaches to investigate how host movement behaviors interact with landscape heterogeneity (in the form of various levels of resource abundance and clustering) to affect pathogen dynamics. For most of the parameter space, our results support the counterintuitive idea that fragmentation promotes pathogen persistence, but this finding was largely dependent on perceptual range of the host, conspecific density, and recovery rate. For simulations with high conspecific density, slower recovery rates, and larger perceptual ranges, more complex disease dynamics emerged, and the most fragmented landscapes were not necessarily the most conducive to outbreaks or pathogen persistence. These results point to the importance of interactions between landscape structure, individual movement behavior, and pathogen transmission for predicting and understanding disease dynamics.
Studies on the fate of lymphocytes. I. Labeling small thymic lymphocytes with tritiated thymidine.

A procedure is described whereby 0.5 ml. suspensions containing 3-5 x 108 small lymphocytes per ml., nearly 50 per cent of which were labeled with H3 thymidine, have been prepared from rat thymus. Repeated doses of thymidine totaling 7-8 µc/Gm. and from two to three days were required to produce this percentage, and it is suggested that longer times would not be much more effective. Preliminary results indicate that cells of such suspensions injected in irradiated hosts are widely distributed, do not appear to disintegrate rapidly or to be massively ingested by the macrophages of the reticuloendothelial system, and are still present in good condition one and two days after injection.
Assessing the Relationship Between Intercultural Competence and Leadership Styles: An Empirical Study of International Fulbright Students in the U.S.

As U.S. higher education institutions strive to educate students to meet the needs of an increasingly complex world, there is great importance in studying the interplay between leadership and culture to enhance preparation of global-ready graduates. This inquiry examines the relationship between intercultural competence and leadership styles. The construct of intercultural competence focuses on effectiveness in engaging people across cultural differences, while the construct of leadership style or “connective leadership” focuses on the achieving styles employed to engage diverse followers. The Fulbright International Student Program offers an unparalleled opportunity to examine the dynamic interplay of intercultural and leadership development. More than 100 participants were surveyed using the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale and Achieving Styles Inventory psychometric instruments. Statistically significant correlations emerged between intercultural competence and connective leadership across four critical themes: individual development, the Fulbright Program, international education, and higher education. Overall, multiple leadership styles can be achieved through curiosity and continuous learning about cultural differences. Implications for individual learning and organizational development are discussed. INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE AND LEADERSHIP STYLES ii DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to the many teachers in my life that have guided, mentored, and often gently prodded me to continue to learn and grow. There are many people who have played this role over the years, some for decades, some for minutes ... all have been generous and wise. I owe thanks to all of you. INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE AND LEADERSHIP STYLES iii
Model-Based human teeth shape recovery from a single optical image with unknown illumination

Several existing 3D systems for dental applications rely on obtaining an intermediate solid model of the jaw (cast or teeth imprints) from which the 3D information can be captured. In this paper, we propose a model-based shape-from-shading (SFS) approach which allows for the construction of plausible human jaw models in vivo, without ionizing radiation, using fewer sample points in order to reduce the cost and intrusiveness of acquiring models of patients teeth/jaws over time. The inherent relation between the photometric information and the underlying 3D shape is formulated as a statistical model where the effect of illumination is modeled using Spherical Harmonics (SH) and the partial least square (PLS) approach is deployed to carry out the estimation of dense 3D shapes. Moreover, shape and texture alignment is accomplished using a proposed definition of anatomical jaw landmarks which can be automatically detected. Vis-a-vis dental applications, the results demonstrate a significant increase in accuracy in favor of the proposed approach. In particular, our approach is able to recover geometrical details of tooth occlusal surface as well as mouth floor and ceiling as compared to SFS-based approaches.
Normal and Injured Ankle Ligaments on Ultrasonography With Magnetic Resonance Imaging Correlation

Ultrasonography (US) has been increasingly used in the evaluation of ankle ligamentous injuries given its advantages as a dynamic, efficient, noninvasive, and cost-effective imaging method. Understanding the anatomy of the ankle ligaments is critical for correct diagnosis and treatment. This pictorial essay describes and illustrates the US scanning technique and potential pitfalls in evaluating the ankle ligaments and also provides an overview of the US appearance of normal and injured ankle ligaments with magnetic resonance imaging correlation. Highlighted structures include the lateral complex, medial/deltoid complex, spring (calcaneonavicular) ligament complex, and syndesmosis.
Pediatric Fontan Associated Liver Disease: Non-invasive Evaluation with Serologic Markers and Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) Elastography.

Hepatic fibrosis is a significant complication in adult Fontan patients suggesting development as a function of time since the surgery. Children with Fontan circulation are not routinely assessed for development of liver disease. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of serologic biomarkers and acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography to detect liver disease in pediatric Fontan patients. Patients ≥ 1 year after Fontan operation prospectively had hepatic US with acoustic radiation force impulse and laboratory testing. Clinical cardiac data (echocardiograms, cardiac catheterizations) were reviewed. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson's correlation coefficient, Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Kruskal-Wallis test. Forty patients were enrolled with median age of 11 years and median time since Fontan of 6.5 years. Platelet count negatively correlated with years since Fontan (p 10 years from the Fontan (DORV) operation. Alanine transaminase (ALT, p = 0.034) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST, p = 0.009) were higher in patients with Extracardiac Conduit Fontan and not in other Fontan operations. Heterogeneous echotexture on liver ultrasound correlated with years since Fontan (p = 0.022), however all acoustic radiation force impulse values were elevated (> 1.34 m/s) and did not correlate with age, years since Fontan, labs or imaging. FibroSure values did not correlate with years since Fontan. This suggests that ARFI may be elevated due to passive hepatic congestion, limiting its value in this patient population. Additional testing is necessary to identify reliable noninvasive screening modalities for hepatic fibrosis in Fontan patients. Our study is the largest pediatric study to evaluate ARFI in patients after the Fontan operation and showed increased shear wave speed for all patients with no correlation with time since palliation. Decreasing platelet count may indicate the development of liver fibrosis.
The clinical and radiographic impact of center of rotation lateralization in reverse shoulder arthroplasty: a systematic review.

Background Reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) has been widely adopted in the United States since its approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 2003. Advancements in metallurgy and design (including locking screws) have yielded clinically successful prostheses with a lateralized center of rotation (COR). This systematic review compared postsurgical outcomes and failure rates for lateral vs. medial COR RSA. We hypothesized that progressive lateralization of the COR results in greater ROM, improved clinical outcome scores, fewer acromial stress fractures, and less notching but a higher rate of glenoid implant baseplate failure and dislocation. Methods PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases were searched from inception through June 7, 2017, following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Eighteen articles were included after final review. Studies were stratified on whether a prosthesis with a lateral or medial COR was used. Comparisons included shoulder range of motion (ROM), functional outcome scores, and reported complications. Results RSA demonstrated significant improvements in outcome scores postsurgery regardless of prosthesis type. Overall, this study found no clear difference in outcome scores between the lateralized and medialized COR groups. The lateralized COR group displayed increased postoperative ROM. There was a higher reported incidence of scapular notching with medial COR prostheses. Otherwise, there were no clear differences in complications between the 2 groups. Discussion The data suggest no significant differences exist between groups in outcome scores. The lateralized COR prosthesis showed increased postoperative external rotation and decreased scapular notching. Additional well-constructed randomized controlled trials would allow more effective comparison of these prosthesis designs.
Modeling Player Knowledge in a Parallel Programming Educational Game

This paper focuses on tracing player knowledge in educational games. Specifically, given a set of concepts or skills required to master a game, the goal is to estimate the likelihood with which the current player has mastery of each of those concepts or skills.The main contribution of the work is an approach that integrates machine learning and domain knowledge rules to find when the player applied a certain skill and either succeeded or failed. This is then given as input to a standard knowledge tracing module (such as those from Intelligent Tutoring Systems) to perform knowledge tracing. We evaluate our approach in the context of an educational game called Parallel to teach parallel and concurrent programming with data collected from real users, showing our approach can predict students skills with a low mean-squared error. We also provide results from our initial deployment of our system in a classroom environment.
Cognitive Change After Cardiac Surgery Versus Cardiac Catheterization: A Population-Based Study.

Background Despite concern that cardiac surgery may adversely affect cognition, little evidence is available from population-based studies using presurgery data. With the use of the Health and Retirement Study, we compared memory change after participant-reported cardiac catheterization or cardiac surgery. Methods Participants were community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and older who self-reported cardiac catheterization or “heart surgery” at any biennial Health and Retirement Study interview between 2000 and 2014. Participants may have undergone the index procedure any time in the preceding 2 years. We modeled preprocedure to postprocedure change in composite memory score, derived from objective memory testing, using linear mixed effects models. We modeled postprocedure subjective memory decline with logistic regression. To quantify clinical relevance, we used the predicted memory change to estimate impact on ability to manage medications and finances independently. Results Of 3,105 participants, 1,921 (62%) underwent catheterization and 1,184 (38%) underwent operation. In adjusted analyses, surgery participants had little difference in preprocedure to postprocedure memory change compared with participants undergoing cardiac catheterization (−0.021 memory units; 95% confidence interval: −0.046 to 0.005 memory units, p = 0.12). If the relationship were causal, the point estimate for memory decline would confer an absolute 0.26% or 0.19% decrease in ability to manage finances or medications, respectively, corresponding to 4.6 additional months of cognitive aging. Cardiac surgery was not associated with subjective memory decline (adjusted odds ratio 0.93, 95% confidence interval: 0.74 to 1.18). Conclusions In this large, population-based cohort, memory declines after heart surgery and cardiac catheterization were similar. These findings suggest intermediate-term population-level adverse cognitive effects of cardiac surgery, if any, are likely subtle.
High Amperage Operation at Alcoa Deschambault Booster Section

Always striving to increase molten aluminum annual production, since its commissioning, Alcoa Aluminerie de Deschambault has used its booster section to test new pot designs and technologies at higher amperage. Learnings from this section are later transferred to the whole potline, which has enabled continuous amperage increase from the original 300 kA nominal capacity. However, the smelter recently set a new goal for high amperage operation, requiring major modification and extensive testing in its booster section. Higher booster capacity was required; a magnetic compensation loop was also installed, and several anode plant improvements were made. After careful planning and execution of the capital project, operation of different pot designs was demonstrated at high amperage for a five month period. This paper presents results from some of the special measurements taken during this first step of high amperage operation, as well as key pot performance indicators.
Convergent and Discriminant Validity of Self-Report and Performance-Based Assessment of Object Relations.

This study evaluated the Social Cognition and Object Relations Global Rating Method (SCORS–G; Stein, Hilsenroth, Mulford, & Pinkser, 2011; Stein and Mulford, 2018; Westen, 1995) and the Bell Object...
Effects of membrane lipid composition on Mycobacterium tuberculosis EsxA membrane insertion: A dual play of fluidity and charge.

Abstract As a key virulence factor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, EsxA or 6-kDa early secreted antigenic target (ESAT-6) has been implicated in phagosome rupture and mycobacterial translocation from the phagosome to the cytosol within macrophages. Our previous studies have shown that EsxA permeabilizes liposomal membrane at acidic pH and a membrane-permeabilization defective mutant Q5K attenuates mycobacterial cytosolic translocation and virulence in macrophages. To further probe the mechanism of EsxA membrane permeabilization, here we characterized the effects of various lipid compositions, including biologically relevant phagosome-mimicking lipids and lipid rafts, on the structural stability and membrane insertion of EsxA WT and Q5K. We have found a complex dual play of membrane fluidity and charge in regulating EsxA membrane insertion. Moreover, Q5K affects the membrane insertion through a structure- and lipid composition-independent mechanism. The results of this study provide a novel insights into the mechanism of EsxA membrane interaction.
Mitigating the Antecedents of Sports-related Injury through Yoga.

Context: Injury risk among athletes is an epidemic. The psychological and physical loads imposed on athletes through psychosocial stressors and training regimens significantly increase athletes' injury risk. Aims: This feasibility study assessed whether a 10-week yoga intervention could be implemented successfully and mitigated antecedents of sports injury. Methods: Using a prospective, nonexperimental design, 31 male soccer players attending a college in the Pacific Northwest enrolled in the yoga intervention. The Recovery-Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-Sport) was completed at three time-points before and after the yoga intervention. The RESTQ-Sport scales, identified as strongest predictors for injury, were hypothesized to be mitigated through yoga. Results: Two stress-related scales were significant in the hypothesized direction: injury and fatigue. The general recovery scale, General Well-Being, was significant at one time-point, but in the opposite direction as hypothesized. Conclusions: Positive findings are discussed and explanations for unexpected changes are explored, along with study limitations. Results suggest that yoga can be successfully integrated into the athletic program of soccer players and provisionally support the potential of a yoga intervention to mitigate two significant antecedents of injury, namely, perception of propensity to sustain injury and generalized fatigue.
PGC-1α overexpression increases transcription factor EB nuclear localization and lysosome abundance in dystrophin-deficient skeletal muscle

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by the absence of functional dystrophin protein and results in progressive muscle wasting. Dystrophin deficiency leads to a host of dysfunctional cellular processes including impaired autophagy. Autophagic dysfunction appears to be due, at least in part, to decreased lysosomal abundance mediated by decreased nuclear localization of transcription factor EB (TFEB), a transcription factor responsible for lysosomal biogenesis. PGC-1α overexpression decreased disease severity in dystrophin-deficient skeletal muscle and increased PGC-1α has been linked to TFEB activation in healthy muscle. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which PGC-1α overexpression increased nuclear TFEB localization, increased lysosome abundance, and increased autophagosome degradation. We hypothesized that overexpression of PGC-1α would drive TFEB nuclear translocation, increase lysosome biogenesis, and improve autophagosome degradation. To address this hypothesis, we delivered PGC-1α via adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector injected into the right limb of 3-week-old mdx mice and the contralateral limbs received a sham injection. At 6 weeks of age, this approach increased PGC-1α transcript by 60-fold and increased TFEB nuclear localization in gastrocnemii from PGC-1α treated limbs by twofold compared to contralateral controls. Furthermore, lamp2, a marker of lysosome abundance, was significantly elevated in muscles from limbs overexpressing PGC-1α. Lastly, increased LC3II and similar p62 in PGC-1α overexpressing-limbs compared to contralateral limbs are supportive of increased degradation of autophagosomes. These data provide mechanistic insight into PGC-1α-mediated benefits to dystrophin-deficient muscle, such that increased TFEB nuclear localization in dystrophin-deficient muscle leads to increased lysosome biogenesis and autophagy.
Age-based messaging strategies for communication about COVID-19

Responding to the COVID-19 crisis across the world has required a massive and sudden shift in human behaviors, with an end goal of slowing the spread of the disease. Importantly, this type of behavioral change requires messaging from governmental agencies and officials. However, we are uncertain about what types of messages are most influential at inducing behavioral change. In this study, we find that messages highlighting the risk to older adults have little additive power in influencing attitudes and behaviors beyond the effect of a broad informational message. However, messages highlighting risks to younger adults, in addition to risks to older adults, make individuals perceive COVID-19 as a more serious threat, though this effect seems to be limited to areas where infection rates are high.
Prospective Longitudinal Evaluation of the Peripheral Choroidal Thickness in High-Risk Infants with Retinopathy of Prematurity: A Pilot Study.

Objective. The purpose of this study was to prospectively follow up the peripheral choroidal development and thickness for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in high-risk premature infants using optic coherence tomography. Materials and Methods. All infants included in the analysis had an optical coherence tomography (OCT) evaluation, serially over 6 weeks, starting at the first ROP screening exam and at each follow-up screening exam. We included infants born at or earlier than 25 weeks of gestation, weighing less than 700 grams, and those who developed interventricular hemorrhage. We evaluated the choroidal thickness and development, centrally and at the extreme nasal and temporal periphery, for each eye with each ROP screening exam. Changes in the choroidal thickness and the choroidal thickness to retinal thickness ratio (C/R ratio) were evaluated over time not only for each individual infant, but between the infants as well. Results. Six infants met our inclusion criteria. Infants with severe ROP had a mean choroidal thickness that was significantly thinner in the extreme temporal periphery than infants that did not develop significant ROP ( ). The mean value of the C/R ratio was smaller in infants with severe ROP compared to those that did not develop any significant ROP at any of the evaluated locations ( ). Conclusion. The peripheral choroid appears to be significantly thinner relative to the retinal thickness in infants with severe ROP.
A Case Report of Disseminated Blastomycosis With Thyroid Involvement in a Pregnant Patient.

Blastomyces dermatitidis is the causal agent of blastomycosis, an invasive and often serious fungal infection. Blastomycosis typically presents as a pulmonary infection, but common extrapulmonary manifestations of blastomycosis include the skin, bones, and reticuloendothelial systems. Disseminated blastomycosis occurs more prominently in immunocompromised individuals, such as organ transplant recipients, HIV patients, and pregnant women. We report here a rare case of disseminated blastomycosis to the thyroid in a pregnant patient. This case emphasizes the unique challenges of diagnosing and treating disseminated fungal infections in pregnancy.
Endogenous ANP augments fractional excretion of Pi, Ca, and Na in rats with reduced renal mass

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) infusion increases fractional excretion of many solutes including sodium, chloride, bicarbonate, phosphate, calcium, and magnesium. Because fractional excretion of ...
The Palomar/MSU Nearby Star Spectroscopic Survey III: Chromospheric Activity, M-dwarf Ages and the Local Star Formation History

We present high-resolution echelle spectroscopy of 676 nearby M dwarfs. Our measurements include radial velocities, equivalent widths of important chromospheric emission lines, and rotational velocities for rapidly rotating stars. We identify several distinct groups by their H alpha properties, and investigate variations in chromospheric activity amongst early (M0-M2.5) and mid (M3-M6) dwarfs. Using a volume-limited sample together with a relationship between age and chromospheric activity, we show that the rate of star formation in the immediate Solar Neighbourhood has been relatively constant over the last 4 Gyr. In particular our results are inconsistent with recent large bursts of star formation. We use the correlation between H alpha activity and age as a function of colour to set constraints on the properties of L and T dwarf secondary components in binary systems. We also identify a number of interesting stars, including rapid rotators, radial velocity variables, and spectroscopic binaries.
Structured to Fail: Lessons from the Trump Administration's Faulty Pandemic Planning and Response

The Trump Administration’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder that poorly designed government can be a matter of life and death. This article explains how the Administration’s careless and delayed response to the crisis was made immeasurably worse by its confused and confusing reallocation of authority to perform or supervise tasks essential to reducing the virus’s ravages. After exploring the rationale for and impact of prior federal reorganizations responding to public health crises, the article shows how a combination of unnecessary and unhelpful overlapping authority and a thoughtless mix of centralized and decentralized authority contributed to the Trump Administration’s slow and ineffective effort to stem the virus’s tide. Furthermore, the Administration’s earlier dismantling of the structure built in the wake of prior outbreaks disabled a mechanism crucial to any federal response to public health threats—its ability to coordinate the efforts of public and private actions to effectively combat the crisis. The article identifies numerous valuable lessons about government organization from the COVID-19 experience that should guide policymakers’ deliberations in the likely event that they embark upon an effort to address the mistakes plaguing the Trump Administration’s dismal response. More generally, it uses the government’s response to COVID-19 to explore a number of insights about how to better think about and configure government institutions to prepare for and manage complex social problems like a pandemic.
Analyses stratified by maternal age and recombination further characterize genes associated with maternal nondisjunction of chromosome 21.

OBJECTIVE In our previous work, we performed the first genome-wide association study to find genetic risk factors for maternal nondisjunction of chromosome 21. The objective of the current work was to perform stratified analyses of the same dataset to further elucidate potential mechanisms of genetic risk factors. METHODS We focused on loci that were statistically significantly associated with maternal nondisjunction based on this same dataset in our previous study and performed stratified association analyses in seven subgroups defined by age and meiotic recombination profile. In each analysis, we contrasted a different subgroup of mothers with the same set of fathers, the mothers serving as cases (phenotype: meiotic nondisjunction of chromosome 21) and the fathers as controls. RESULTS Our stratified analyses identified several genes whose patterns of association are consistent with generalized effects across groups, as well as other genes that are consistent with specific effects in certain groups. CONCLUSIONS While our results are epidemiological in nature and cannot conclusively prove mechanisms, we identified a number of patterns that are consistent with specific mechanisms. In many cases those mechanisms are strongly supported by available literature on the associated genes.
The amino acid sequence of hemoglobin III from the symbiont-harboring clamLucina pectinata

The cytoplasmic hemoglobin III from the gill of the symbiont-harboring clamLucina pectinata consists of 152 amino acid residues, has a calculated Mm of 18,068, including heme, and has N-acetyl-serine as the N-terminal residue. Based on the alignment of its sequence with other vertebrate and nonvertebrate globins, it retains the invariant residues Phe45 at position CD1 and His98 at the proximal position F8, as well as the highly conserved Trp16 and Pro39 at positions A12 and C2, respectively. The most likely candidate for the distal residue at position E7 is Gln66.Lucina hemoglobin III shares 95 identical residues with hemoglobin II (J. D. Hockenhull-Johnsonet al., J. Prot. Chem. 10, 609–622, 1991), including Tyr at position B10, which has been shown to be capable of entering the distal heme cavity and placing its hydroxyl group within a 2.8 A of the water molecule occupying the distal ligand position, by modeling the hemoglobin II sequence using the crystal structure of sperm whale metmyoglobin. The amino acid sequences of the twoLucina globins are compared in detail with the known sequences of mollusc globins, including seven cytoplasmic and 11 intracellular globins. Relative to 75% homology between the twoLucina globins (counting identical and conserved residues), both sequences have percent homology scores ranging from 36–49% when compared to the two groups of mollusc globins. The highest homology appears to exist between theLucina globins and the cytoplasmic hemoglobin ofBusycon canaliculatum.
An LC-MS/MS assay and complementary web-based tool to quantify and predict compound accumulation in E. coli.

Novel classes of broad-spectrum antibiotics have been extremely difficult to discover, largely due to the impermeability of the Gram-negative membranes coupled with a poor understanding of the physicochemical properties a compound should possess to promote its accumulation inside the cell. To address this challenge, numerous methodologies for assessing intracellular compound accumulation in Gram-negative bacteria have been established, including classic radiometric and fluorescence-based methods. The recent development of accumulation assays that utilize liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) have circumvented the requirement for labeled compounds, enabling assessment of a substantially broader range of small molecules. Our unbiased study of accumulation trends in Escherichia coli using an LC-MS/MS-based assay led to the development of the eNTRy rules, which stipulate that a compound is most likely to accumulate in E. coli if it has an ionizable Nitrogen, has low Three-dimensionality and is relatively Rigid. To aid in the implementation of the eNTRy rules, we developed a complementary web tool, eNTRyway, which calculates relevant properties and predicts compound accumulation. Here we provide a comprehensive protocol for analysis and prediction of intracellular accumulation of small molecules in E. coli using an LC-MS/MS-based assay (which takes ~2 d) and eNTRyway, a workflow that is readily adoptable by any microbiology, biochemistry or chemical biology laboratory. This protocol describes an LC-MS/MS assay and complementary web tool for analysis and prediction of intracellular accumulation of small molecules in E. coli based on their physiochemical properties, which could aid in future antibiotic discovery.
Fault-Tolerant Z-Source-based Isolated DC-DC Building Blocks for Mission-Critical DC Distribution Applications

This paper proposes Z-source-based isolated DC-DC building blocks with voltage gain boosting and fault tolerance capability. A modified Z-source impedance network along with a dc-dc dual active bridge (DAB) represents the main parts of the proposed topology. In addition to the Z-source impedance voltage gain feature, fault tolerance operation introduced by integrating a simple controller with the impedance network. Three operating conditions are investigated: shoot-through (ST) and non-shoot through (NST) as conventional operating conditions for Z-source impedance-based power converters, and fault handling operation. For each operating condition, a detailed mathematical representation is provided, which explains the proposed design approaches based on the specific application requirements. By taking advantage of ST state, the input dc voltage can be boosted using the Z-source impedance. For fault tolerance condition, the power switch at the input of the Z-source impedance network is replaced with a FET or an IGBT, instead of a diode, to realize fault tolerance for each building block. Simulation results are provided to validate the proposed concepts and the converter’s features. These building blocks can be very useful for mission-critical DC distribution applications such as subsea oil and gas, offshore wind, electric ships, aircrafts, etc.
RESPONSE TO FUROSEMIDE IN HYPERKALEMIC RENAL TUBULAR ACIDOSIS (RTA)

Hyperkalemic RTA in young children usually indicates renal or adrenal insufficiency, adrenal hyperplasia or a form of tubular resistance to mineralocorticoid. NH4Cl used to evaluate acidifying ability may augment pre-existing hyperkalemia to potentially dangerous cardiotoxic levels. An infant with profound neonatal metabolic alkalosis secondary to maternal psychogenic vomiting was found to have hyperkalemic RTA at two months of age. Lab values included, in mEq/L: Na 138, Cl 105, K 5.8, HCO3 18. BUN, blood sugar, serum creatinine and cortisol levels and BP were normal. Serum aldosterone (225 ng/ml) and plasma renin activity (20.1 ng/ml/hr) were high. Neither Florinef .1 mg/day nor Florinef + 4 days of supplemental NaCl 6 mEq/kg/day corrected the hyperkalemia, but renin and aldosterone levels dropped during this time. After Furosemide (F) 1 mg/kg IV: