cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Speciation in the highlands of Mexico: genetic and phenotypic divergence in the Mexican jay (Aphelocoma ultramarina)

The pine-oak woodlands of the Mexican highlands harbour significant biological diversity, yet little is known about the evolutionary history of organisms inhabiting this region. We assessed genetic and phenotypic differentiation in 482 individuals representing 27 populations of the Mexican jay (Aphelocoma ultramarina) — a widespread bird species of the Mexican highlands — to test whether populations in the central and northern Mexican sierras display discrete breaks between groups, which would be consistent with a role for the different mountain chains in divergence and speciation. We found abrupt breaks in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA; ND2 and control region) delineating four major genetic groups found in the Sierra Madre Occidental, Sierra Madre Oriental, southern Central Plateau (Bajio), and Transvolcanic Belt. These mtDNA groups were largely corroborated by data from nuclear microsatellites and phenotypic data, except that clades from the Central Plateau and Sierra Madre Oriental showed clinal change in these data sets. Uncertainty about the mutation rate for our mitochondrial markers warrants considerable caution with regard to estimating divergence times, but the major genetic groups appear to have split before the most extreme period of glacial cycling that marked the last 0.7 million years and after Mexico’s period of major mountain formation. The fact that some genetic breaks do not coincide with wellknown geographic barriers suggests a role for ecology in divergence and speciation, and we discuss implications for taxonomy and conservation.
Stamping of thermoplastic matrix composites

The recent growth in the use of polymer composites has resulted in the need for higher productivity manufacturing processes than are currently used in most thermoset composite production. One of the ways to provide increased productivity in composite manufacturing is to use thermoplastic matrix sheet composites. In this investigation the part forming characteristics of several thermopolastic composites were investigated. Glass fiber reinforced composites based on polypropylene, nylon 12, poly(butylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(phenylene sulfide), and poly(etheretherketone) were examined. The processing conditions required for solid-state stamping of these composites were determined. A temperature process window for stamping each of these composites was determined, and found to correlate with the melting and re-crystallization peaks from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) scans.
Die konstruktive Ausführung

Nach der Festlegung der Hauptabmessungen mus die Welle so ausgebildet werden, das sie an jeder Stelle den Anforderungen des Gesamtbauwerkes entspricht. Bei den Oberflachen haben wir es mit Sitzflachen, Laufflachen und freien Oberflachen zu tun. Im allgemeinen wird jede Welle aus geschmiedetem Material schon auf Grund ihrer Herstellung vollkommen bearbeitet, nur bei einfachen Transmissionswellen kann man die freie Oberflache unbearbeitet lassen, wie sie als gewalzte oder komprimierte Wellen angeliefert werden. Je hoher die Beanspruchung und die Drehzahl der Welle, desto sorgfaltiger mus die Bearbeitung sein, d. h. glatt und riefenfrei, bei hochsten Anspruchen geschliffen und poliert, besonders an allen unvermeidlichen Kerbstellen. Genaue zentrische Bearbeitung ist bei hohen Drehzahlen wegen der Gefahr einer Unwucht zu beachten. Fur die Sitz- und Laufflachen versteht sich eine saubere Bearbeitung mit den entsprechenden Toleranzen der DIN-Passungen, wobei heute auch meistens geschliffen wird. Open image in new window Abb. 43a-b. Abrundung an abgesctzten Wellen.
Cyclooxygenase-Deficient Pancreatic Cancer Cells Use Exogenous Sources of Prostaglandins

Genes that are differentially expressed in pancreatic cancers and under epigenetic regulation are of considerable biological and therapeutic interest. We used global gene expression profiling and epigenetic treatment of pancreatic cell lines including pancreatic cancer cell lines, pancreatic cancer-associated fibroblasts, and cell lines derived from nonneoplastic pancreata. We examined expression and epigenetic alterations of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and COX-2 in pancreatic cancers and normal pancreas and performed proliferation, knockdown, and coculture experiments to understand the role of stromal sources of prostaglandins for pancreatic cancers. We identify COX-1 as a gene under epigenetic regulation in pancreatic cancers. We find that COX-1 expression is absent in many pancreatic cancer cells and some of these cancers also lack COX-2 expression. Suspecting that such cancers must rely on exogenous sources of prostaglandins, we show that pancreatic cancer stromal cells, such as fibroblasts expressing COX-1 and COX-2, are a likely source of prostaglandins for pancreatic cancer cells deficient in COX. Knocking down the prostaglandin transporter multidrug resistance-associated protein-4 in fibroblasts suppresses the proliferation of cocultured pancreatic cancer cells lacking COX. Pancreatic cancers that lack COX can use exogenous sources of prostaglandins. Blocking multidrug resistance-associated protein-4 may be a useful therapeutic strategy to deplete COX-deficient pancreatic cancers of prostaglandins.
Colloidal Processing of Ceramics

Colloidal processing of ceramics is reviewed with an emphasis on interparticle forces, suspension rheology, consolidation techniques, and drying behavior. Particular attention is given to the scientific concepts that underpin the fabrication of particulate-derived ceramic components. The complex interplay between suspension stability and its structural evolution during colloidal processing is highlighted.
TNF-α and LPA promote synergistic expression of COX-2 in human colonic myofibroblasts: role of LPA-mediated transactivation of upregulated EGFR

Enhanced EGF receptor (EGFR) signaling is a hallmark of many human cancers, though the role of enhanced EGFR signaling within the surrounding tumor stroma has not been well studied. The myofibroblast is an important stromal cell that demonstrates enhanced EGFR expression in the setting of inflammation, though the functional relevance is not known. We recently reported that TNF-α and the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) agonist lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) lead to synergistic cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression, an enzyme strongly associated with the development of colitis-associated cancer. Here, we investigate whether EGFR signaling plays a role in the synergistic COX-2 expression induced by LPA and TNF-α. 18Co cells, a model of human colonic myofibroblasts, were grown to confluence on 35 × 10mm cell culture dishes and were used from passages 10–14. 18Co cells were treated with TNF-α (8.3 ng/ml) and LPA (10 μM). EGFR and COX-2 protein expression, Y1068 phosphorylation, and p42/44 MAPK phosphorylation were assessed by Western Blot, in the presence and absence of various inhibitors. Exposure of 18Co cells to either TNF-α or LPA alone had no effect on EGFR autophosphorylation at Y1068. However, chronic exposure to TNF-α led to upregulation of EGFR in association with sustained LPA-mediated EGFR phosphorylation at Y1068. TNF-α and LPA also led to sustained p42/44 MAPK phosphorylation and synergistic COX-2 expression, effects that were partially inhibited by the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor AG1478. p42/44 MAPK phosphorylation and COX-2 expression were inhibited to the same degree by the MMP inhibitors GM6001 and BB-94, suggesting that LPA-mediated EGFR transactivation involved MMP-mediated release of EGFR ligands from the cell surface. The Src inhibitor SU6556 inhibited TNF-α/LPA-mediated EGFR phosphorylation at Y1068, p42/44 MAPK phosphorylation, and COX-2 expression in a dose-dependent fashion, suggesting an upstream role of Src in the transactivation of EGFR. Synergistic COX-2 expression induced by TNF-α and LPA involves Src/MMP-mediated transactivation of EGFR and downstream p42/44 MAPK activation in human colonic myofibroblasts. Enhanced EGFR expression induced by TNF-α promotes GPCR-mediated EGFR transactivation in colonic myofibroblasts, providing an important mechanism for stromal COX-2 over-expression that may predispose to the development of colitis-associated cancer.
Title VII, Mediation, and Collective Action

Many commentators have noted that existing Title VII doctrine and its enforcement mechanisms do not adequately protect employees from discrimination. While most of these commentators suggest changes to Title VII doctrine or changes with the litigation system, I propose a mediation-centered approach to resolving problems of workplace discrimination. I attempt to demonstrate how this approach responds to many of the inadequacies of the Title VII status quo. However, power imbalances between the employer and employee may have a greater impact on mediated outcomes, due to the absence of safeguards available in litigation. I propose that this power imbalance problem might be minimized by involving employee caucuses - employee groups organized around identity lines - in the mediation process. The article considers the benefits and costs related to caucus participation in workplace governance, and, particularly, in mediation of discrimination claims. Finding that the benefits exceed the costs, I suggest that changes to Title VII antiretaliation law may be necessary to facilitate the development of caucus groups.
On the long-term deformation process in viscoelastic composites around an elliptical hole

This paper deals with the dependence of stress redistribution around an elliptical hole in a composite on viscoelastic properties of the composite components. The results are obtained for composites with elastic and viscoelastic reinforcement. It is shown that the stress on a surface of the hole can change non-monotonically for the case of viscoelastic reinforcement, i.e., there can be maxima on the stress–time diagrams during the lifetime of the composite.
A preliminary assessment of the seismic hazard of the Nevada Test Site region

A deterministic analysis employing a map of active faults and using Schnabel and Seed (1973) attenuation curves suggests mean expected peak accelerations range from 0.2 to 0.7 g at various locations at the Nevada Test Site for M = 7 maximum magnitude. Geological evidence suggests that recurrence intervals for these magnitudes average several thousand years. Hazard analyses for upper and lower bounds of expected test site seismicity indicate that accelerations of the size given by the deterministic analysis have return periods of 1,500 to 15,000 years. If the variability in peak accelerations for a given distance and magnitude are taken into account, the accelerations for return periods of 1,500 to 15,000 years would be larger by a factor of 3 than the deterministic accelerations.
Screening for Iron Deficiency Anemia and Iron Supplementation in Pregnant Women to Improve Maternal Health and Birth Outcomes.

A 28-year-old woman presents for a routine antepartum visit. She is 33 weeks pregnant and also has a four-year-old son. She has no particular problems, and the findings from your examination are unremarkable. She asks if her blood iron level should be tested.
The Fort St. Vrain high temperature gas-cooled reactor: I. Low power physics tests

Abstract The core was loaded with fuel and reflector elements with subcriticality ensured by temporary neutron absorbers. Pulsed-neutron measurements initially showed the core to be more subcritical than calculated. Adjustment of the calculational model by including the correct reflector impurities led to good agreement between calculated and measured values of the multiplication constant and prompt neutron generation time. Axial fluxes showed consistent good agreement between calculated and measured values for a variety of configurations, but the ratios of average regional fluxes in the top half of the core to their respective regional averages in the bottom half differed from the calculated ratios by as much as 10%. The helium pressure coefficient was essentially zero. The calculated and measured isothermal temperature coefficients up to 300°F agreed within 3%. Control rod calibrations using the reactivity computer were satisfactory only for the central rod pair. Peripheral rod pairs were calibrated by comparison to the central rod pair.
Gene-microbiota interactions contribute to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with risk variants in the human genome and dysbiosis of the gut microbiome, though unifying principles for these findings remain largely undescribed. The human commensal Bacteroides fragilis delivers immunomodulatory molecules to immune cells via secretion of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). We reveal that OMVs require IBD-associated genes, ATG16L1 and NOD2, to activate a noncanonical autophagy pathway during protection from colitis. ATG16L1-deficient dendritic cells do not induce regulatory T cells (Tregs) to suppress mucosal inflammation. Immune cells from human subjects with a major risk variant in ATG16L1 are defective in Treg responses to OMVs. We propose that polymorphisms in susceptibility genes promote disease through defects in “sensing” protective signals from the microbiome, defining a potentially critical gene-environment etiology for IBD.
Evaluation Model of Eco-Experiencescape

This article introduces an alternative way of looking at and researching ecological experiential economy by translating Actor-Network Theory (ANT) into the provinces of these studies. The objective of this study was to offer a Structural Equation Modeling for identifying eco-experiencescape attributes relationship in research area. The eco-experiencescape's factors structure and four latent attributes factors were derived: town life landscape, ecological environment, Leisure Activities and Economy Activities are identified. An eco-experiencescape attributes model is proposed in which the variables of the causal link are connected with arrow path. The fit indices showed that the model fitted the data well.
WeQuest : a mobile alternate reality gaming platform and intelligent end-user authoring tool

An Alternate Reality Game (ARG) is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform. An ARG layers a fictional world over the real world such that, as a player moves through the real world, a narrative structure plays out. Although ARGs are growing in popularity, they are significantly limited in several ways that prevent ARGs from being utilized by mainstream game players. First, there is a substantial cost in running an ARG, limiting the number of players that can participate in an ARG at any given time. Second, ARG storylines reference real world geographical locations and landmarks in the real world to advance the narrative structure. In this paper, we introduce a suite of technologies designed to overcome scalability issues of ARGs by automating the delivery of the game and by encouraging end-user authoring of new location-specific storylines.
Online processing of Verb–Argument Constructions: lexical decision and meaningfulness

This paper discusses how patterns of construction usage, implicitly learned over lifelong experience, tune the language processing system for fluent interactive lexical, syntactic, and semantic access. It reports on three experiments that investigate online processing of Verb–Argument Constructions (VACs) and the degree to which this is effected by (i) verb frequency in the language, (ii) verb frequency in the VAC, (iii) VAC-verb contingency, and (iv) verb prototypicality in terms of centrality within the VAC semantic network. Experiment 1 tested lexical decision of VAC exemplars presented as successive verb–preposition pairs. Experiment 2 tested lexical decision of VAC exemplars presented as arbitrarily interrupted verb–adverb–preposition pairs. Experiment 3 had participants judge whether two-word utterances were meaningful or not. All of the experiments show effects of Verb Frequency and Verb-VAC frequency: learners have rich implicit statistical knowledge of verb-VAC type–token frequency that guides processing. Lexical decision is additionally driven by semantic prototypicality (but not VAC-verb contingency ΔPcw), whereas meaning judgment is affected by VAC-verb contingency ΔPcw (but not semantic prototypicality). These findings, I argue, index the spreading activation of unconscious meaning representation in lexical decision in comparison to the election of a unitary interpretation in conscious comprehension. I conclude that speeded automatic VAC processing involves rich associations, tuned by verb type and token frequencies, their contingencies of usage, and their histories of prototypical and specific interpretations which interface syntax, lexis, and semantics.
An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846–1873. By Benjamin Madley

An American Genocide: The United States and the California Indian Catastrophe, 1846–1873 . Lamar Series in Western History. By Benjamin Madley. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016. xi + 692 pp. Illustrations, map, tables, appendices, notes, bibliography, index. $38.00.) Prior to its nineteenth-century Euroamerican conquest, California was the most densely and diversely settled portion of the native North American West, with approximately 150,000 Indians. And yet by the time of the 1870 census, that number had plunged to just 30,000. Scholars have debated the reasons for this precipitous decline, with some citing starvation and disease as well as other forces of social dislocation attendant to the gold rush. But in An American Genocide , Benjamin Madley offers another explanation (one raised–if only obliquely–in decades past, though never pursued so doggedly): genocide. After reading his important and relentlessly grim … agraybill{at}smu.edu
Rhabdomyolysis and Myoglobinuria

Rhabdomyolysis and myoglobinuria are commonly encountered in clinical practice. This chapter reviews the present state of knowledge of the clinical and biochemical diagnosis of rhabdomyolysis, its pathophysiology, classification, provocative factors and associated diseases, and the management of patients including diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines.
My femme friendship

This autoethnographic study of femme friendship explores the connection and relationship between two femme lesbians—my femme friend Amber and myself. The shared experience of invisibility and the r...
The Geopolitics of China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative

ABSTRACTChina’s “One Belt, One Road” project is comprised of two components: the Maritime Silk Road Initiative (MSRI) and the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB)—that were announced separately in 2013. Each component has the potential to transform the global geopolitical landscape through the construction of interrelated infrastructure projects including ports, highways, railways and pipelines. Such hard infrastructure requires the complementary construction of soft infrastructure, such as free trade and investment agreements, and other accords. We introduce a special section focusing specifically on the geopolitics of the MSRI that stems from a workshop hosted in November 2015 in Shanghai. The origins, scope and content of the MSRI are described, along with a summary of the current literature discussing the project, and dominant geopolitical representations. The MSRI is a geopolitical project that involves a number of actors (governments, private companies and Chinese state-owned enterprises) at a number of g...
ABILITY ANALYSIS BASED ON MATH PROBLEM COMPLETING THE EARLY MATH SKILLS AND COGNITIVE STYLE ON CLASS VIII SMPN 13 MAKASSAR

This research is qualitative descriptive which aims 1) to describe the ability of solving mathematical problems of students in terms of the level of prior knowledge of mathematics and cognitive styles of students, 2) to describe the ability of solving mathematical problems in terms of the level of prior knowledge of mathematics students, 3) to describe the ability solving mathematical problems in terms of students' cognitive style. The results of this study were 1) Subject style FI cognitive ability in problem solving sequence, clearly and analytically. because the ability to lower the accuracy of less than 2) Subject FD think thoroughly but because of the ability initially so that the subject early ability high to resolve a given problem, while having a low ability can not resolve a given problem, 3) Based on the style of cognitive subject can resolve problems, have prior knowledge of mathematics is high but the workmanship is subject FI neater and analytical, while on the subject of FD solution is in shambles and many coretannya, 4) subject capable of beginning low with the FI can think of steps that must be taken even if there is a mistake in solving a given problem FD subject while the subject is simply not complete, 5) the relationship between cognitive styles and abilities early. Cognitive styles are influenced by high and low initial capability seemingly solving mathematical problems, namely, the truth and the truth calculation steps completion. While the initial capability is affected by the FI and FD cognitive style seemingly solving mathematical problems, namely, the result of his work in which the subject is more analytical and sequential FI and have their own perception of the subject while the FD is more intuitive and chaotic in solving a given problem
Concept Formation and Stimulus Sequencing

The effect of stimulus sequencing on concept formation was investigated by comparing the performance of four groups of six adults presented with different amounts of sequencing in a conditional discrimination task. One group was presented with the entire task which consisted of nine related stimulus-response contingency rules. Other groups were given either one-, two-, or three-step sequences based on the instructional principle of proceeding from simple to complex. Results indicate that increased sequencing facilitated learning and the three-step sequence produced concept formation, correct responding to novel stimuli. This implies that adults inferred the single rule that related the nine specific contingencies. The study is discussed in terms of the application and extension of behavioral analysis to traditional cognitive domains.
A review of condition monitoring of induction motors based on stray flux

The induction motors are widely used in different industry areas which can experience various kinds of faults in stators and rotors. In order to early diagnose motor faults, the classical condition monitoring method focusing on stator current spectrum is well researched and presented. There are already some review papers related to traditional current monitoring method. However, when it comes to the stray flux detection, almost no researchers did a general review on this topic. This paper mainly presents the review of stray flux detection of induction machine. The development and application of stray flux detection method are detailed presented. Comparison with stator current detection is presented aiming at stator insulation failure, bearing fault, eccentricity and broken rotor bar/end-ring. Although stray flux method is used mostly for induction machine, its potential application in PMSM will be included as well.
Self-motivated withdrawal from physician prescribed medications as an artist's creative act: an interview with Ms. Lorel J. Michel, artist*

Interviewer:I understand you have recently completed a self-motivated withdrawal from physician prescribed medications, and that you kept a diary of your experiences with the withdrawal as a creati...
Resident T cells stand up to HIV

HIV-specific resident memory T cells are abundant in lymphoid tissues of elite controllers and exhibit distinct functional properties.
Inherited Structural Heart Diseases Associated with Arrhythmias: Defects in Laterality

The clinical presentation of patients with defects in the determination of laterality is extremely varied. Abnormalities can occur in 1) establishment of visceral and atrial situs resulting in situs inversus or heterotaxy, 2) looping of the cardiac tube resulting in ventricular inversion, and 3) positioning of the heart in the chest resulting in dextrocardia. These disorders are usually easily recognized, and can be associated with complex cardiac anomalies. Affected individuals may be completely asymptomatic or may present at any age with a broad range of severity of symptoms. Conduction defects occur most frequently in patients with heterotaxy or with “corrected” transposition of the great arteries. The clinical and conduction system manifestations of these diseases will be presented, followed by a discussion of the molecular and genetic bases for these disorders.
Interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor: Rheumatoid arthritis and pain

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology. It is a common disease, with a prevalence of 1 to 2% in the United States. Women are more commonly affected than men (average ratio is 3:1), and the disease produces substantial morbidity as well as an increase in mortality [1]. Although the etiology of RA is unknown, it is generally agreed that it represents an autoimmune disease that involves both the humoral and cellular arms of the immune response. A complex interaction of genetic, immunological, and local factors has been invoked to account for the differing patterns of joint involvement and progression of disease. Certainly RA may be caused by inflammatory CD4 T cells specific for a joint antigen which triggers the release of cytokines (and other mediators) that initiate local inflammation within the joint. This causes swelling, accumulation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and macrophages, and damage to cartilage, leading to the destruction of the joint. Laboratory and clinical evidence suggests that proinflammatory cytokines, particularly interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), have an important role in the pathogenesis of RA [2].
Modeling Students' Mathematics Using Steffe's Fraction Schemes

Teaching Children Mathematics / August 2008 Anderson H. (Andy) Norton, norton3@vt.edu, teaches in the mathematics department at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, where he also conducts research on children’s mathematical development. He concentrates on building models of students’ mathematics and studying how students form mathematical conjectures. Andrea V. McCloskey, amcclosk @indiana.edu, is a doctoral student in mathematics education at Indiana University in Bloomington, Illinois. She is interested in supporting the efforts of mathematics teachers, especially their attempts to obtain valid and helpful assessment information. By Anderson H. Norton and Andrea V. McCloskey Each year, more teachers learn about the successful intervention program known as Math Recovery (USMRC 2008; Wright 2003). The program uses Steffe’s whole-number schemes to model, understand, and support children’s development of whole-number reasoning. Readers are probably less familiar with Steffe’s fraction schemes, which have proven similarly useful in supporting children’s development of fractional reasoning. The purpose of this article is to introduce some of these schemes. We provide examples of student work accompanied by discussions of how fraction schemes can be used as tools for insight into student reasoning. We hope that teachers will find the schemes useful in understanding their students as mathematicians. In their Fractions project, Steffe (2002) and Olive (1999) conducted teaching experiments with six pairs of students over a three-year period—from their third-grade year through their fifth-grade year. Steffe and Olive hypothesized that the students’ fractional schemes could be constructed through reorganizations of their whole-number schemes, which Steffe and colleagues identified in previous research (e.g., Steffe, Cobb, and Glasersfeld 1988). As a former student of Steffe, Bob Wright built on this research of students’ whole-number schemes by engaging teachers in teaching experiments with students in the early grades (2000; 2003). Wright’s increasingly popular Math Recovery program uses teaching experiments as interventions for struggling students, during which teachers challenge students at the “cutting edge” of their knowledge and strategies (2000, p. 142). We have extended the work of Steffe, Olive, and Wright by engaging elementary school teachers in conducting their own teaching experiments with pairs of students. The teachers posed fraction tasks to the students and observed their problem-solving strategies in an effort to understand how students think. As part of the project, we administered pretests and posttests to all of the students in the participating teachers’ classrooms. The test tasks were similar to tasks the teachers posed in the teaching experiment. We use student work from the pretests to provide examples of responses that indicate the fraction schemes described here.
Coagulopathic hemorrhage with use of synthetic cannabinoids.

Abstract Synthetic cannabinoids contain many different chemicals and compounds, which pose new health risks to the population using these drugs. In May of 2018 the Center for Disease Control issued a health alert providing information on a multistate outbreak of coagulopathy from exposure to synthetic cannabinoid products containing a Vitamin K-dependent antagonistic agent such as brodifacoum. Recognizing signs, symptoms and imaging findings related to this outbreak is essential for clinicians caring for patients with a history or suspicion of using synthetic cannabinoids. To our knowledge, there are no studies that report the imaging findings demonstrating the coagulopathic complications associated with these synthetic compounds.
Low use of routine medical care among African Americans with high CKD risk: the Jackson Heart Study

Use of routine medical care (RMC) is advocated to address ethnic/racial disparities in chronic kidney disease (CKD) risks, but use is less frequent among African Americans. Factors associated with low RMC use among African Americans at risk of renal outcomes have not been well studied. We examined sociodemographic, comorbidity, healthcare access, and psychosocial (discrimination, anger, stress, trust) factors associated with low RMC use in a cross-sectional study. Low RMC use was defined as lack of a physical exam within one year among participants with CKD (estimated glomerular filtration rate 30 mg/g) or CKD risk factors (diabetes or hypertension). We used multivariable logistic regression to estimate the odds of low RMC use at baseline (2000–2004) for several risk factors. Among 3191 participants with CKD, diabetes, or hypertension, 2024 (63.4%) were ≥ 55 years of age, and 700 (21.9%) reported low RMC use. After multivariable adjustment, age < 55 years (OR 1.61 95% CI 1.31–1.98), male sex (OR 1.71; 1.41–2.07), <high school diploma (OR 1.31; 1.07–1.62), absence of hypertension (OR 1.74; 1.27–2.39) or diabetes (OR 1.34; 1.09–1.65), and tobacco use (OR 1.43; 1.18–1.72) were associated with low RMC use. Low trust in providers (OR 2.16; 1.42–3.27), high stress (OR 1.41; 1.09–1.82), high daily discrimination (OR 1.30; 1.01–1.67) and low burden of lifetime discrimination (OR 1.52; 1.18–1.94), were also associated with low RMC use. High-risk African Americans who were younger, male, less-educated, and with low trust in providers were more likely to report low RMC use. Efforts to improve RMC use by targeting these populations could mitigate African Americans’ disparities in CKD risks.
Affinity Purification with Natural Immobilized Ligands

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses affinity chromatography-based techniques to examine protein interaction between other proteins or small ligands. The first procedure involves the use of toxin microcystin LR (MC-LR) conjugated to a biotin or Sepharose matrix to biochemically examine phosphatase–protein interactions. MC linked to biotin has the advantage of using mild conditions to elute bound proteins and also the holoenzyme components remain intact. Once the ATP-binding proteome is captured, various drugs are applied to the column. If the drug can compete with the natural ligand, the protein is eluted. Proteins are resolved by 1DE and identified by mass spectrometry. Proteome mining involves homogenizing 10 g of tissue in 40 ml of lyses buffer until mixture turns frothy. One needs to combine the supernatant with the ATP-Sepharose and rotate for 30 min at room temperature. MC-biotin has to be prepared fresh and is not reusable as it is lost during elution. It is important to know solubility conditions of the drugs used to elute proteins off the resin.
Effect of OH scavenging on the yield of radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks in isolated nuclei.

Isolated nuclei from Chinese hamster ovary cells were used to study the importance of ·OH scavenging in protection against the formation of locally multiply damaged sites (LMDS) by ionizing radiation. This system was selected because washed nuclei should be relatively free of low molecular weight endogenous OH scavengers. LMDS were assayed as DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) by neutral filter elution. The results are compared to the predictions of a model which considers ·OH radical diffusion, recombination, reaction with scavenger, and reaction with DNA.
Scaling Deep Spiking Neural Networks with Binary Stochastic Activations

The modern era has witnessed a proliferation of portable devices that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance user experiences. Majority of these AI tasks are performed by large neural networks, which require a good amount of memory and compute power. This has resulted in a growing interest in Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) which communicate through binary activations or 'spikes', as they offer a bio-plausible and energy efficient alternative to traditional deep neural networks (DNNs). In this work, we present deep spiking neural networks with binary stochastic activations, that are tailored for implementation on emerging hardware platforms. We evaluate two deep neural network models, VGG-9 and VGG-16 on CIFAR-10 and CIFAR-100 datasets, respectively, with binary stochastic activations. We achieve state of the accuracy and achieve 1.4x improvement in energy consumption because of spike-based communication versus a network with ReLU neurons. We further investigate extremely quantized version of these networks having binary weights and show an energy benefit of 28x over full-precision neural networks. Thus we present scalable deep spiking neural networks that achieve performance comparable to DNNs while achieving substantial energy benefit.
Juventudes, tecnologias e educação: contextos emergentes

espanolEl articulo, de un enfoque hermeneutico, tiene como objetivo identificar los problemas y desafios que rodean los debates sobre los jovenes, las tecnologias y la educacion, analizando las tesis doctorales producidas en las universidades publicas brasilenas, Disponible en el portal de dominio publico, de la Biblioteca Digital Brasilena de Tesis y tesis (BDTD), en el periodo 2012-2016. Los resultados ponen en tela de juicio los limites de los campos de las tecnologias educativas y los jovenes, ofreciendo bases para repensar las dimensiones sociales de las tecnologias en las practicas movilizadoras de educar, presentar con un potencial conocimiento reconstructivo dando visibilidad a estas preocupaciones y tendencias actuales. EnglishThe article, of a hermeneutic approach, aims to identify the problems and challenges surrounding the debates about youths, technologies and education, analyzing the doctoral theses produced in Brazilian public universities made available in Public domain portal of the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD), in the period from 2012 to 2016. The results put into question the boundaries of the fields of educational technologies and youths, offering bases to rethink the social dimensions of technologies in the mobilizing practices of educating, presenting challenging, critical and with potential reconstructive knowledge by giving visibility to these concerns and current trends. portuguesO artigo, de abordagem hermeneutica, teve por objetivo identificar as problematicas e desafios em torno dos debates sobre juventudes, tecnologias e educacao, analisando as teses de doutorado produzidas em universidades publicas brasileiras, disponibilizadas no portal de dominio publico da Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e Dissertacoes (BDTD), no periodo de 2012 a 2016. Os resultados colocam em questao as fronteiras dos campos das tecnologias educacionais e das juventudes, oferecendo bases para repensar as dimensoes sociais das tecnologias nas praticas mobilizadoras do educar, apresentando propostas desafiadoras, criticas e com potencial reconstrutivo de conhecimentos ao dar visibilidade a essas preocupacoes e tendencias atuais.
Chapter 8 – Equalization

This chapter has reviewed an array of strategies for dealing with the ISI that arises because of dispersive channels. Linear and decision-feedback equalizers transform the ISI channel into an effective ISI-free channel, which enables us to quantify their performance by the postequalization SNR. This postequalization SNR was in turn shown to be related in a simple way to the harmonic and geometric means of the SNR spectral density. In practice the DFE SNR falls short of the SNR predicted by this theory because of error propagation; in the case study example the penalty was seen to be about 0.5 dB. The Viterbi and BCJR detectors have no notion of a postequalization SNR, although their performance is bounded and typically close to the matched-filter bound at low error probabilities. Which strategy to choose for a particular design scenario will depend on many factors, including the severity of the ISI, the computational resources, and the availability of reliable channel knowledge at the transmitter.
Real-Time Passive Acoustic Mapping Using Sparse Matrix Multiplication

Passive acoustic mapping enables the spatiotemporal monitoring of cavitation with circulating microbubbles during focused ultrasound (FUS)-mediated blood–brain barrier opening. However, the computational load for processing large data sets of cavitation maps or more complex algorithms limit the visualization in real-time for treatment monitoring and adjustment. In this study, we implemented a graphical processing unit (GPU)-accelerated sparse matrix-based beamforming and time exposure acoustics in a neuronavigation-guided ultrasound system for real-time spatiotemporal monitoring of cavitation. The system performance was tested in silico through benchmarking, in vitro using nonhuman primate (NHP) and human skull specimens, and demonstrated in vivo in NHPs. We demonstrated the stability of the cavitation map for integration times longer than 62.5 $\mu \text{s}$ . A compromise between real-time displaying and cavitation map quality obtained from beamformed RF data sets with a size of ${2000} \times {128} \times {30}$ (axial $\text {pixels} \times \text {lateral}\,\,\text {pixels} \times \text {samples}$ ) was achieved for an integration time of $1.44~\mu \text{s}$ , which required a computational time of 0.27 s (frame rate of 3.7 Hz) and could be displayed in real-time between pulses at PRF = 2 Hz. Our benchmarking tests show that the GPU sparse-matrix algorithm processed the RF data set at a computational rate of $0.03\,\,\pm \,\,0.01~\mu \text{s}$ /pixel/sample, which enables adjusting the frame rate and the integration time as needed. The neuronavigation system with real-time implementation of cavitation mapping facilitated the localization of the cavitation activity and helped to identify distortions due to FUS phase aberration. The in vivo test of the method demonstrated the feasibility of GPU-accelerated sparse matrix computing in a close to a clinical condition, where focus distortions exemplify problems during treatment. These experimental conditions show the need for spatiotemporal monitoring of cavitation with real-time capability that enables the operator to correct or halt the sonication in case substantial aberrations are observed.
Snapchat page Mitú: challenging the patriarchy? Or just obsessing over Flaming Hot Cheetos?

In this analysis of a personal social media user experience, I will consider how the Snapchat discovery page fulfills their proclamation as “culturally relevant content” (We are Mitu YouTube) that ...
Clinical Translation of Scarless 0.33-mm Core Microbiopsy for Molecular Evaluation of Human Skin.

Background Skin scarring can occur after punch biopsies, prohibiting their routine use especially in the central face. Objectives This paper describes a scarless 0.33mm in diameter skin microbiopsy for molecular analysis of skin. Methods This is a single center, randomized, prospective study with fifteen subjects receiving no biopsy, or biopsy on the left or right nasolabial fold. Six blinded raters assessed subject photos at baseline, one month, and three months post biopsy to evaluate for a visualized scar. Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) was completed. Additionally, biopsies from various skin regions of body along with arm skin after treatment with a single Erbium-YAG laser were processed for molecular analysis. Results All subjects did not exhibit scar formation based on evaluation of photographs and patient feedback. There was no mark at the biopsy site seven days post-procedure. Optical Coherence Tomography showed a complete closing of the biopsy-punch wound 48-hours post-biopsy. One-month post-biopsy, photography reviewers were unable to identify a scar, on average, 90% of the time at three-month follow-up. Microbiopsies from various anatomical regions were successfully extracted for histology, electron microscopy and gene expression analysis. Selected skin rejuvenation markers in the biopsies from Erbium-YAG treated forearm skin resulted in significant gene upregulation in extracellular matrix molecules following one-month post treatment compare to untreated skin. Conclusions A core micro-biopsy of 0.33mm can be extracted reproducibly for histological, ultrastructural and gene expression analysis without scarring. This allows repeated sampling for assessment of skin treatments and diseases including aesthetics and wound healing progress.
Tele-Echocardiography for Congenital Heart Disease Screening in a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with Hybrid Telemedicine System

Introduction: The nationwide shortage of pediatric cardiologists in medically underserved areas poses a challenge to congenital heart disease (CHD) screening requiring echocardiography, resulting i...
Establishment of a predictive nomogram and its validation for severe adenovirus pneumonia in children.

BACKGROUND Severe adenovirus pneumonia (SAP) of children is prone to multi-system complications, has the high mortality rate and high incidence of sequelae. Severity prediction can facilitate an adequate individualized treatment plan. Our study try to develop and evaluate a predictive nomogram for children with SAP. METHODS An observational study was designed and performed retrospectively. The data were categorized as training and validation datasets using the method of credible random split-sample (split ratio =0.7:0.3). The predictors were selected using Lasso (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) logistic regression and the nomogram was developed. Nomogram discrimination was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the prediction accuracy was evaluated using a calibration curve. The nomogram was also evaluated for clinical effectiveness by the decision curve analysis (DCA). A P value of <0.05 was deemed statistically significant. RESULTS The identified predictors were fever duration, and interleukin-6 and CD4+ T cells and were assembled into the nomogram. The nomogram exhibited good discrimination with area under ROC curve in training dataset (0.79, 95% CI: 0.60-0.92) and test dataset (0.76, 95% CI: 0.63-0.87). The nomogram seems to be useful clinically as per DCA. CONCLUSIONS A nomogram with a potentially effective application was developed to facilitate individualized prediction for SAP in children.
From Worse than Dogs to Heroic Tigers: Situating the Animal in Dalit Autobiographies

Dalit autobiographies narrate the journey of protagonists from the ‘untouchable’ communities of India towards self-realisation and their struggle for human rights. A vigilant reading recognises the...
A Comparison of Bipolar Electrocautery and Chemical Cautery for Control of Pediatric Recurrent Anterior Epistaxis

ObjectiveTo compare the outcome of children with anterior epistaxis treated intraoperatively with either bipolar electrocautery or silver nitrate chemical cautery.Study DesignCase series with chart...
Stimulated VUV Radiation from HD Excited by a Picosecond ArF* Laser

Stimulated emission on E,F → B, B → X, and C → X transitions of HD is observed following two-photon excitation in the E,F state with a picosecond ArF* laser. The efficiency of the strongest B → X line is u ~ 1%. Electron collisions are found to play an important role for C → X emissions.
A Macroglobulin (12 S) Agglutinin for Brucella Bovine Milk

Abstract Since milk from cattle infected with Brucella abortus may contain specific agglutinins for Brucella, milk is now widely used in several presumptive tests to detect brucellosis-suspicious herds. In the brucellosis eradication program, some herds have been encountered in which the milk of a single animal reacted in high dilution to the Ring Test (13), yet blood serum from these animals did not give significant reactions to the tube agglutination test (1) and repeated attempts failed to isolate Brucella from the milk of these individual cows. Studies to determine the nature and cause of this phenomenon resulted in the isolation of a macroglobulin (12 S) agglutinin for Brucella from milk and the development of a procedure which appears to differentiate this agglutinin from those observed concurrently with the isolation of Brucella abortus . The 12 S Brucella agglutinating component has been isolated from two nonvaccinated cows (No. 2002 and 2159) of the type described above, which were obtained from herds with a history of no Brucella infection during the previous 4 yr.
Comparing lending decisions of minority-owned and White-owned banks

Abstract A recent paper by Black, Collins and Cyree [J. Financ. Serv. Res. 11 (1997) 189.] attempted to determine if Black-owned banks discriminated against Black applicants for mortgage credit. They concluded that Black applicants were more likely to be rejected than White applicants when applying for mortgage credit at a Black-owned bank. However, the use of the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) as the geographic delineation from which minority-owned and non-minority-owned banks are compared may not provide a narrowly defined market from which an accurate comparison can be made. Here, the zip code cluster technique developed by Clair [Econ. Rev. (1988) 11.] is used to control for differences in applicant base that may result when using a broader geographic definition such as an MSA. The results reported in this study show that contrary to the results of Black, Collins and Cyree, Black-owned banks are not statistically more likely to reject Black applicants. The study also considers Asian-owned and Hispanic-owned banks. The results show that Asian-owned banks are equally as likely to provide a mortgage to Asian applicants, while Hispanic applicants are more likely to receive a mortgage from a Hispanic-owned bank.
New Amino Acid Regulatory Locus Having Unusual Properties in Heterozygous Merodiploids

Abstract Spontaneous mutants of Escherichia coli B/r resistant to 5′,5′,5′,-trifluoro-dl-leucine contain defects in a gene which maps to the left of the threonine region. Low-level constitutive expression of the isoleucine-valine and leucine operons is caused by this mutation in haploid strains. This is in contrast to extremely high levels of gene expression in the heterozygous merodiploids (F' wild type/mutant allele). The properties of these mutants define a new locus and suggest that it encodes a subunit protein which is involved in the repression of the structural genes for the branched-chain amino acid pathways.