cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The novel dopamine D3 receptor antagonists/partial agonists CAB2-015 and BAK4-54 inhibit oxycodone-taking and oxycodone-seeking behavior in rats.

Abstract The use of prescription opioid analgesics, particularly oxycodone, has dramatically increased, and parallels escalated opioid abuse and drug-related deaths worldwide. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of opioid dependence and expanding treatment options to counter prescription opioid abuse has become a critical public health matter. In the present study, we first evaluated the reinforcing effects of oxycodone in a rat model of self-administration and then explored the potential utility of two novel high affinity dopamine D3 receptor (D3R) antagonists/partial agonists, CAB2-015 and BAK4-54, for treatment of prescription opioid abuse and dependence. We found that rats acquired oxycodone self-administration rapidly within a range of unit doses that was similar to that for heroin, confirming that oxycodone has significant abuse potential. Strikingly, pretreatment with either CAB2-015 or BAK4-54 (0.4–10 mg/kg, i.p.) dose-dependently decreased oxycodone self-administration, and shifted the oxycodone dose-response curve downward. Repeated pretreatment with CAB2-015 or BAK4-54 (0.4–4 mg/kg) facilitated extinction and inhibited oxycodone-induced reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior. In addition, pretreatment with CAB2-015 or BAK4-54 (4–10 mg/kg) also dose-dependently decreased oxycodone-enhanced locomotor activity, but only CAB2-015 decreased oral sucrose self-administration. These data suggest that D3R antagonists may be suitable alternatives or adjunctive to opioid-based medications currently used clinically in treating opioid addiction and that the D3R-selective ligands (CAB2-015 or BAK4-54) provide new lead molecules for development.
Difference of Means Formulations for Selected Indices

In this chapter I review the implementation of the difference of means framework for calculating indices of uneven distribution for five indices: the delta or dissimilarity index (D), the gini index (G), the separation index (S), the Theil entropy index (H), and the Hutchens square root index (R). For each index I introduce the relevant scoring systems for residential outcomes (y) that makes it possible to obtain the index scores as simple differences of group means on individual residential outcomes (y). To facilitate discussion, I replace the abstract terms “Group 1” and “Group 2” with the more concrete example of Whites and Blacks which has been investigated in hundreds of empirical analyses of uneven distribution in U.S. cities, urban areas, and metropolitan areas. As I move from index to index, I provide comments on the nature of the scaling function that maps scores for contact and exposure based on pairwise area proportion White (p) onto index-specific residential outcome scores (y). In addition, I sometimes offer commentary on the index. Note, however, that I do not provide a comprehensive review of the five indices because this task has been addressed previously in the existing literature and does not need to be repeated here.
Anterior vena caval oxygen profiles in a deep-diving California sea lion: arteriovenous shunts, a central venous oxygen store and oxygenation during lung collapse.

Deep-diving California sea lions ( Zalophus californianus ) can maintain arterial hemoglobin saturation (S O2 ) above 90% despite lung collapse (lack of gas exchange) and extremely low posterior vena caval S O2 in the middle of the dive. We investigated anterior vena caval P O2 and S O2 during dives of an adult female sea lion to investigate two hypotheses: a) posterior vena caval S O2 is not representative of the entire venous oxygen store and b) a well-oxygenated (arterialized) central venous oxygen reservoir might account for maintenance of arterial S O2 during lung collapse. During deep dives, initial anterior vena caval S O2 was elevated at 83.6 + 8.4 % (n=102), presumably due to arteriovenous shunting. It remained high until the bottom phase of the dive and then decreased during ascent, whereas previously determined posterior vena caval S O2 declined during descent and then often increased during ascent. These divergent patterns confirmed that posterior vena caval S O2 was not representative of the entire venous oxygen store. Prior to, and early during descent of deep-dives, the high S O2 s of both the anterior and posterior venae cavae may enhance arterialization of a central venous oxygen store. However, anterior vena caval S O2 values at depths beyond lung collapse reached levels as low as 40%, making it unlikely that even a completely arterialized central venous oxygen store could account for maintenance of high arterial S O2 . These findings suggest that maintenance of high arterial S O2 during deep dives is due to persistence of some gas exchange at depths beyond presumed lung collapse.
Modeling Cardiomyopathy and Arrhythmias in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes.

See Article by El-Battrawy et al Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) are genetic heart diseases associated with arrhythmias, which are sometimes fatal, and progressive heart failure leading to heart transplantation.1 An overlap of DCM with muscular dystrophies is well known and was first noted in the case of the dystrophinopathies, Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophies, where Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy gene ( DMD ) mutations lead to both skeletal and cardiac muscle diseases. In some instances, a cardiac-only phenotype with heart failure and sudden cardiac death, X-linked DCM, results from DMD mutations.2 The discovery of DMD mutations leading to DCM and arrhythmias provided the connection between mutations in the lamin A/C gene ( LMNA ) and DCM. LMNA mutations are responsible for a variety of phenotypes including LGMD1B (limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 1B), Emery–Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, and DCM with or without conduction disease and with or without subclinical muscle involvement.3 DCM caused by LMNA mutations have been extensively studied, and it has been shown that LMNA can cause a particularly malignant phenotype both in terms of refractory heart failure and severe ventricular arrhythmias causing premature sudden cardiac death. The identification of a distinct arrhythmogenic phenotype in laminopathies had an important clinical impact and, in the new 2017 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology/Heart Rhythm Society guidelines, prompted specific recommendations for the prevention of sudden …
Public cartels, private conscience:

Many contributors to debates about professional conscience assume a basic, pre-professional right of conscientious refusal and proceed to address how to ‘balance’ this right against other goods. He...
Relationships Between Viscosity Factors and Cerebral Blood Flow and Porous Bed Viscometry in Normals and Stroke Prone Subjects

The main determinants of whole blood viscosity are hematocrit and fibrinogen. This communication discusses the relationship between these factors and cerebral blood flow (CBF) and porous bed viscometry (PBV). It examines their associations in young and stroke-age normals and in stroke prone patients. Because whole blood is a non-Newtonian fluid and hematocrit-fibrinogen interaction (HFI) alters viscosity at different shear rates, we also have examined how one mathematical index of the effects of this interaction on viscosity — the yield shear stress — correlates with CBF, as well. The formula for the yield shear stress interpolates the force required to start a moving column of blood; it depends on the square of the fibrinogen and the cube of the hematocrit [5]. PBV [4] is an indirect estimate of viscosity at low shear rates which measures the time required for a column of blood to pass through a microcapillary bed simulating the microcirculation of the brain.
Polymer-Based Packaging Platform for Hybrid Microfluidic Systems

A polymer-based packaging platform for creating hybrid microfluidic systems is presented. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is cast into an acrylic mold frame with suspended elements that are removed after curing to form chip cavities, inlet and outlet ports, microchannels, and reservoirs. The packaging approach enables the integration of off-the-shelf components such as pumps and valves with glass microfluidic devices, electronic chips, sample reservoirs, and flow channels. A particle pre-concentration module with a glass capture chip and integrated micropump is shown as an example. A pneumatically driven microfluidic pumping module is also shown. Custom microfluidic interconnects for interfacing to micro-scale fluidic systems are presented. The connectors are capable of withstanding more than 1000 psi and allow microdevices to be rapidly connected to macroscopic devices and systems, without the use of tools.
Chapter 5 Reconfiguring Public Life: Refugee Education as Joint Inquiry

Abstract The initiative featured here constructs a partnership between a refugee community with roots in South Sudan and the United States largest university writing program in an international resettlement city. The initiative positions inquiry, as a premise for authentic learning, in public as a participatory practice; it approaches difference as a resource for joint problem solving. Here, inquiry is something both public-workers-in-training and adult refugee learners do together – with one another and a host of other stakeholders with vested interests in the capacity of public institutions in order to become more responsive to diverse constituents resettling in Phoenix, Arizona, under conditions of forced migration. The research is presented across four phases. In counterpoint to the prevailing narrative of South Sudanese as a people “in need,” the culmination of the chapter presents interviews with citizens across South Sudan. These interviews bear witness to communities’ self-determination that instead casts education not only as their responsibility, but also their desire—one to which they have historically committed significant resources. In this fourth phase, findings with community members in South Sudan are put in conversation with the previous three phases wherein South Sudanese refugees tell of their encounters with credentialing institutions in Phoenix.
Healthcare Event and Activity Logging

The health of patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) can change frequently and inexplicably. Crucial events and activities responsible for these changes often go unnoticed. This paper introduces healthcare event and action logging (HEAL) which automatically and unobtrusively monitors and reports on events and activities that occur in a medical ICU room. HEAL uses a multimodal distributed camera network to monitor and identify ICU activities and estimate sanitation-event qualifiers. At the core is a novel approach to infer person roles based on semantic interactions , a critical requirement in many healthcare settings where individuals’ identities must not be identified. The proposed approach for activity representation identifies contextual aspects basis and estimates aspect weights for proper action representation and reconstruction. The flexibility of the proposed algorithms enables the identification of people roles by associating them with inferred interactions and detected activities. A fully working prototype system is developed, tested in a mock ICU room and then deployed in two ICU rooms at a community hospital, thus offering unique capabilities for data gathering and analytics. The proposed method achieves a role identification accuracy of 84% and a backtracking role identification of 79% for obscured roles using interaction and appearance features on real ICU data. Detailed experimental results are provided in the context of four event-sanitation qualifiers: clean, transmission, contamination, and unclean.
Neighborhood formation in St. Louis, 1930:

What are the social bases of neighborhood formation in urban areas, and at what spatial scale are they most distinct from other neighborhoods? We address these questions in the case of St. Louis, M...
Exploration: Dopamine and the Hard Work of Learning Science

Introductory science courses are often large-enrolment, lecture-based courses emphasizing the memorization of facts. Integrating purposeful play into our classrooms can inspire students to move beyond rote learning and help them discover the beauty of science and scientific inquiry. In this chapter, we describe the role of play in science, the importance of play in science pedagogy and ways we use play in our teaching to create engaging learning environments. We’ll share play examples that engage students within and beyond the course, as well as highlight others designed to help students gain a deeper, more authentic, understanding of scientific processes.
Reflections on a Half-Century of Hypertext

2019 marks not only the 30th anniversary of the falling of the Berlin Wall, but also the 50th anniversaries of equally momentous events of 1968-1969 in the US and elsewhere. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. Hippie "flower power" and the closely related anti-Vietnam war movement were socio-political revolutions. In Europe, 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the "war to end all wars" and the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Counterpointing this societal turmoil, technology gave us hope. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. Doug Engelbart and his team presented the "Mother of All Demos" of NLS at the '68 Fall Joint Computer Conference. Ivan Sutherland's pioneering Sketchpad (that demo'd interactive graphics in 1963) and Engelbart's NLS demo were two landmark events that were early examples of interactive computing in an era of batch computation. Interactive computing on time-sharing systems, combined with microminiaturization, would lead more than a decade later to the birth of the personal computer. It caused a revolution in the dominant model of computing that was centered on large mainframes and minicomputers used for science and engineering, finance and commerce. Interactive computing based on computer graphics and its use in hypermedia systems characterizes most of my research career. In 2019, it is difficult to remember the impact that interaction-based information structuring and sharing had on society; it certainly shaped my research career. In this presentation, I will reflect on the development of five decades of hypermedia systems and will demo three systems that have been highlights of my journey in hyperland. First, I'll show our FRESS hypertext system (still running 50-year old assembly code!), with the database of poetry used by a class of English students in 1976 in what is arguably the first online scholarly community. Next, I will demo our TAG (Touch Art Gallery) used by the Nobel Foundation a few years ago for a traveling exhibition on Alfred Nobel and all the Nobel Laureates. Finally, I'll interweave the hypertext-centric parts of my talk with some source material stored in an unbounded 2D workspace, using our current hypermedia system Dash, which is still under development and in an early but already useful state. These systems will be presented in the context of the research trends that led, ultimately, to the interconnected society in which we live. All of us working on our first hypertext systems in the '60s understood the potential of this technology. What I did not predict is that 50 years later the revolution in human-centered computing would remain far too unfinished in terms of its positive societal impact. Indeed, that impact and utility are increasingly in jeopardy from a variety of forces, both economic and political. I will close with some thoughts on both deliberately designed and unanticipated societal issues of social media that I feel we technologists must urgently help address.
Large-scale Characteristics of Tropical Convective Systems through the Prism of Cloud Regime

We employ the Cloud Regime (CR) concept to identify large-scale tropical convective systems and investigate their characteristics in terms of organization and precipitation. The tropical CRs (TCRs) are derived from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Cloud Optical Thickness (COT) and Cloud Top Pressure (CTP) two-dimensional joint histograms. We focus on the TCRs that have relatively low CTPs and high COTs, as well as heavy precipitation, namely TCR1 (convective core-dominant), TCR2 (various high clouds), and TCR3 (anvils). The horizontal size of aggregates of TCR1, 2, or 3 occurrences (TCR123) is identified as the number of contiguous 1°×1° grid cells occupied by either of these three TCRs. For the small to intermediate size aggregates (TCR123 size 20 to 160 one-degree grid cells), there is large variability in the fraction of the aggregate each TCR occupies, but generally TCR2 exhibits the highest fraction. As the total system size grows, the variability shrinks and for the largest systems ratios eventually converge to 0.3, 0.2, and 0.5 for TCR1, 2, and 3, respectively. The mean precipitation of convective core-rich TCR1 is generally high for the systems of intermediate size (80-160 one-degree grid cells), but with the highest mean coming from smaller systems of 20-40 grid cells. For the largest systems, their mean precipitation in areas containing cores (TCR1) are relatively low with suppressed variation. The mean precipitation rates of TCR2 and TCR3 in a TCR123 aggregate tend to be stronger when accompanying TCR1 mean precipitation rate is also high.
Juliane Braun, Creole Drama: Theatre and Society in Antebellum New Orleans

Braun’s detailed study explores the development of New Orleans’s francophone drama and nuances the familiar narrative arc of Americanization. It invites scholars of US theatre history to rethink an...
Influence of establishment timing on growth and fecundity of two itchgrass (Rottboellia cochinchinensis) biotypes grown in Louisiana

Itchgrass [Rottboellia cochinchinensis (Lour.) W.D. Clayton] is among the most troublesome weeds in subtropical climates where sugarcane (Saccharum spp. interspecific hybrids) is cultivated. Two R. cochinchinensis biotypes commonly infest sugarcane in Louisiana. The Louisiana-1 biotype is daylength neutral, but Louisiana-2 flowered when daylength decreased to 13 h. Coupled with biotype diversity, seedling emergence has been reported to occur earlier in the growing season, as sugarcane emerged from winter dormancy. Both R. cochinchinensis biotypes were established in a common garden experiment in Louisiana during periods of sugarcane development and field preparation to simulate discontinuous emergence. Plant height and raceme production were recorded weekly for each biotype and establishment timing; aboveground biomass was harvested in autumn. Louisiana’s subtropical humid climate stimulated rapid plant growth that typically began in May and persisted through September. Without sugarcane competition, maximum R. cochinchinensis heights for Louisiana-1 and Louisiana-2 were 206 and 179 cm and growing degree days to 20-cm height in 2017 ranged from 546 to 832 and 865 to 1,160, respectively. Slower initial growth reported with Louisiana-2 would allow more time for growers to treat escaped plants with POST herbicides. Total raceme production, by autumn, was zero for Louisiana-2 established in June or later, but Louisiana-1 established in June produced up to 202 racemes. The present study demonstrated the importance of managing the Louisiana-2 biotype in March and April to limit seed production, but fields infested with Louisiana-1 were at greater risk for potential crop yield loss, because plants produced high quantities of seed when established over a wide period of time.
High-Throughput Synthesis and Screening of Iridium(III) Photocatalysts for the Fast and Chemoselective Dehalogenation of Aryl Bromides

A high-throughput optical screening method for the photocatalytic activity of a structurally diverse library of 1152 cationic iridium(III) complexes ([Ir(C^N)2(N^N)]+), corresponding to all combina...
Outer retina changes on optical coherence tomography in vitamin A deficiency.

Vitamin A deficiency is rare in the United States and can be missed in patients with malabsorption syndromes without a high dose of suspicion. Ocular complications of hypovitaminosis A include xerosis and nyctalopia, and to a lesser extent reduction in visual acuity and color vision. Outer retinal changes, as seen on spectral domain optic coherence tomography (SD-OCT), in patients with vitamin A deficiency have previously not been documented. We present two cases with symptoms of severe nyctalopia who were subsequently diagnosed with severe Vitamin A deficiency and their unique findings on SD-OCT of outer nuclear layer diffuse thinning with irregular appearance of the interdigitating zone and the ellipsoid zone as well as normalization after vitamin A supplementation. Outer nuclear layer thinning and disruption of the outer retinal bands on SD-OCT are reversible with correction of vitamin A deficiency. Improvement in visual acuity, color vision, and nyctalopia are possible with early diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
Association Between Egg Consumption and Risk of Cardiovascular Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Abstract Introduction Considerable controversy remains on the relationship between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease risk. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to explore the association between egg consumption and overall cardiovascular disease events. Methods We systematically searched Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Ovid Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Scopus, and Web of Science from database inception in 1966 through January 2020 for observational studies that reported the association between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease events. Two investigators independently reviewed data. Conflicts were resolved through consensus. Random-effects meta-analyses were used. Sources of heterogeneity were analyzed. Results We identified 23 prospective studies with a median follow-up of 12.28 years. A total of 1,415,839 individuals with a total of 123,660 cases and 157,324 cardiovascular disease events were included. Compared with the consumption of no or 1 egg/day, higher egg consumption (more than 1 egg/day) was not associated with significantly increased risk of overall cardiovascular disease events (pooled hazard ratios, 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.93-1.06; P Conclusions Our analysis suggests that higher consumption of eggs (more than 1 egg/day) was not associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but was associated with a significant reduction in risk of coronary artery disease.
Real-time Artificial Intelligence for Accelerator Control: A Study at the Fermilab Booster

We describe a method for precisely regulating the gradient magnet power supply at the Fermilab Booster accelerator complex using a neural network trained via reinforcement learning. We demonstrate preliminary results by training a surrogate machine-learning model on real accelerator data to emulate the Booster environment, and using this surrogate model in turn to train the neural network for its regulation task. We additionally show how the neural networks to be deployed for control purposes may be compiled to execute on field-programmable gate arrays. This capability is important for operational stability in complicated environments such as an accelerator facility.
Copper oxide-based cathode for direct NADPH regeneration.

Nearly a fourth of all enzymatic activities is attributable to oxidoreductases, and the redox reactions supported by this vast catalytic repertoire sustain cellular metabolism. In many biological processes, reduction depends on hydride transfer from either reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) or its phosphorylated derivative (NADPH). Despite longstanding efforts to regenerate NADPH by various methods and harness it to support chemoenzymatic synthesis strategies, the lack of product purity has been a major deterrent. Here, we demonstrate that a nanostructured heterolayer Ni-Cu2O-Cu cathode formed by a photoelectrochemical process has unexpected efficiency in direct electrochemical regeneration of NADPH from NADP+. Remarkably, two-thirds of NADP+ was converted to NADPH with no measurable production of the inactive (NADP)2 dimer and at the lowest reported overpotential [- 0.75 V versus Ag/AgCl (3 M NaCl) reference]. Sputtering of nickel on the copper-oxide electrode nucleated an unexpected surface morphology that was critical for high product selectivity. Our results should motivate design of integrated electrolyzer platforms that deploy this heterogeneous catalyst for direct electrochemical regeneration of NADH/NADPH, which is central to design of next-generation biofuel fermentation strategies, biological solar converters, energy-storage devices, and artificial photosynthesis.
Hymenolepis diminuta-based helminth therapy in C3(1)-TAg mice does not alter breast tumor onset or progression.

Background and objectives An individual's risk of breast cancer is profoundly affected by evolutionary mismatch. Mismatches in Western society known to increase the risk of breast cancer include a sedentary lifestyle and reproductive factors. Biota alteration, characterized by a loss of biodiversity from the ecosystem of the human body as a result of Western society, is a mismatch known to increase the risk of a variety of inflammation-related diseases, including colitis-associated colon cancer. However, the effect of biota alteration on breast cancer has not been evaluated. Methodology In this study, we utilized the C3(1)-TAg mouse model of breast cancer to evaluate the role of biota alteration in the development of breast cancer. This model has been used to recapitulate the role of exercise and pregnancy in reducing the risk of breast cancer. C3(1)-TAg mice were treated with Hymenolepis diminuta, a benign helminth that has been shown to reverse the effects of biota alteration in animal models. Results No effect of the helminth H. diminuta was observed. Neither the latency nor tumor growth was affected by the therapy, and no significant effects on tumor transcriptome were observed based on RNAseq analysis. Conclusions and implications These findings suggest that biota alteration, although known to affect a variety of Western-associated diseases, might not be a significant factor in the high rate of breast cancer observed in Western societies. Lay summary An almost complete loss of intestinal worms in high-income countries has led to increases in allergic disorders, autoimmune conditions, and perhaps colon cancer. However, in this study, results using laboratory mice suggest that loss of intestinal worms might not be associated with breast cancer.
Formation and Fate of Nitromethane in Ozone-Based Water Reuse Processes.

Ozonation is widely used in wastewater reclamation treatment trains, either for micropollutant control or as a disinfectant and preoxidant in certain reuse processes. We recently found that ozonati...
Are Mortgage Regulations Affecting Entrepreneurship

I show that rules designed to reduce high debt-to-income mortgage lending restrict self-employed households’ access to credit and reduce entrepreneurship. I identify the effects of a recent policy by using local variation in exposure to banks subject to the regulation. The policy reduced mortgage credit in high self-employment census tracts and banks receiving exemptions expanded market share in these areas. Growth in self-employment and new small business employment was lower in areas where more banks were affected. I estimate that the policy reduced self-employment by around 2 per cent and new small business employment by at least 3 per cent. This unintended effect on entrepreneurship demonstrates that mortgage finance is important for early stage businesses, and is an additional cost to be taken into account when evaluating mortgage policy.
A Message From the Editors for the 2020 Conference Special Issue

The year 2020 will certainly be remembered as the year the citizens of the globe fought a deadly pandemic. Besides the horrors of illness and personal loss, travel was severely limited; economies w...
National Trends and Perioperative Outcomes of Robotic-assisted Hepatectomy in the USA: A Propensity-score Matched Analysis from the National Cancer Database.

A paucity of data exists on the national use of robotic hepatectomy. We assessed national trends and perioperative outcomes of robotic hepatectomy in the USA. In addition, factors associated with use of the robotic approach were analyzed. The National Cancer Database (NCDB) was queried for patients undergoing hepatectomy from 2010 to 2016. Patients undergoing total hepatectomy for transplant were excluded. Factors associated with the use of the robotic approach were assessed using logistic regression multivariable analysis. Propensity-score analysis was performed (robotic vs. laparoscopic and robotic vs. open approaches), and perioperative outcomes were compared between the matched groups. The robotic approach was used in 287 patients (110 hospitals). Utilization of the robotic approach increased significantly on the national level from 0.8% in 2010 to 4.1% in 2016 (P<0.001). The number of hospitals performing a minimum of one robotic hepatectomy per year increased from 8 in 2010 to 35 in 2016. The median hospital length of stay was 4 days (IQR 3–6), 30-day readmission rate was 5%, and 30-day/90-day mortality rates were 3%/4%. Factors associated with using robotic approach were African-American race (95% CI 1.02–2.11), recent year of surgery (95% CI 1.11–1.32), HCC histology (95% CI 1.01–52.03), tumor size (95% CI 0.87–0.96), and early-stage tumor (Stage I-II, 95% CI 1.27–3.99). On propensity-matched analysis, there were no differences between robotic and open approaches (n=184 each group) in 30-day readmission (5% vs. 7%, P=0.651), 30-day mortality (2% vs. 4%, P=0.106), 90-day mortality (3% vs. 7%, P=0.080), or 5-year overall survival (58% vs. 43%, P=0.211). However, the robotic approach was associated with a significantly shorter hospital stay (median: 4 vs. 6 days, P<0.001). There were no differences between matched groups of patients undergoing robotic and laparoscopic approaches (n=182 in each group) in perioperative outcomes or length of hospital stay. National use of robotic-assisted hepatectomy has increased by fivefold over the seven-year study period. It was associated with a shorter hospital length of stay compared to the open approach without compromising perioperative outcomes or survival.
Genetic Manipulation of the Equine Oocyte and Embryo

As standard in vitro fertilization is not a viable technique in horses yet, many different techniques have been used to create equine embryos for research purposes. One such method is parthenogenesis in which an oocyte is induced to mature into an embryo-like state without the introduction of a spermatozoon, and thus they are not considered true embryos. Another method is somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), in which a somatic cell nucleus from an extant horse is inserted into an enucleated oocyte, creating a genetic clone of the donor horse. Due to limited availability of equine oocytes in the United States, researchers have investigated the potential for combining equine somatic cell nuclei with oocytes from other species to make embryos for research purposes, which has not been successful to date. There has also been a rising interest in producing transgenic animals using sperm exposed to exogenous DNA. The successful creation of transgenic equine blastocysts shows the promise of sperm mediated gene transfer (SMGT), but this method is not ideal for other applications, like gene therapy, because it cannot be used to induce targeted mutations. That is why technologies like CRISPR/Cas9 are vital. In this review, we argue that parthenogenesis, SCNT, and interspecies SCNT can be considered genetic manipulation strategies as they create embryos that are genetically identical to their parent cell. Here, we describe how these methods are performed and their applications and we also describe the few methods that have been used to directly modify equine embryos: SMGT and CRISPR/Cas9.
Delayed thalamic astrocytosis and disrupted sleep–wake patterns in a preclinical model of traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) involves diffuse axonal injury and induces subtle but persistent changes in brain tissue and function and poses challenges for early detection of neurological injury. The present study uses an automated behavioral analysis system to assess alterations in rodent behavior in the subacute phase in a preclinical mouse model of TBI, controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury. In the first few weeks following CCI, mice demonstrated normal exploratory behaviors and other typical home-cage behaviors. However, beginning 4 weeks post-injury, CCI mice developed disruptions in sleep-wake patterns, including an increased number of awakenings from sleep. Such impaired sleep maintenance was accompanied by an increased latency to reach peak sleep in CCI mice. These sleep disruptions implicate involvement of the thalamocortical network, the activity of which must be tightly regulated to control sleep maintenance. After injury, there was an increase in reactive microglia in thalamic regions as well as delayed reactive astrocytosis that was evident in the thalamic reticular nucleus, which preceded the development of sleep disruptions. These data suggest that cortical injury may trigger inflammatory responses in deeper neuroanatomical structures, including the thalamic reticular nucleus. Such engagement of the thalamus may perturb the thalamocortical network that regulates sleep/awake patterns and contribute to sleep disruptions observed in this model as well as those documented in patients with TBI.
The Role of Speech Regarding Constraints on Attorney Performance: An Institutional Design Analysis

This article provides an account of the legal profession’s growing openness to acknowledging and assessing the extent to which lawyers appearing in court sometimes provide something less than full representation, using the courts’ response to this past fall’s “robo-signing” scandal as an example. It relies primarily on the theoretical frame of institutional design principles, with a focus on the role of information in institutional design. It describes the judiciary’s Twentieth Century dedication to the notion of a lawyer as the means to provide access to the courts, accompanied by a resistance to examining the level of representation lawyers provide, particularly in the indigent defense context. It then examines several trends that have emerged over the past decade: the Supreme Court’s increasing embrace of professional practice standards to assess ineffective assistance of counsel claims, an ABA ethics opinion requiring indigent defense counsel to seek a reduction in their caseloads when they can no longer perform essential tasks, judicial openness to the use of engaged judging techniques in cases involving pro se litigants, and open acknowledgement of the limited scope representation provided by attorneys in private practice. Finally, it contemplates what would happen if, in all cases, the profession established a baseline set of attorney tasks and a route for attorneys to convey information about which tasks they will and will not perform.
Automated on-chip burn-in system for TAB reels

A tape automated bonding (TAB) burn-in on reel system is discussed. This system has demonstrated its ability to produce significant cost advantages over singulated TAB carrier burn-in systems. The cost advantages result from the elimination of burn-in boards, higher burn-in process yields, and reduced part load/unload times. The costs for reliability testing have also decreased because of design, purchase, and debug of long-term life and moisture resistance boards is no longer required. The elimination of reliability test hardware allows larger sample sizes to be used for product reliability qualifications. Hence, higher part quality and reliability can be obtained. >
Genetic Analysis of Mecillinam-Resistant Mutants of Caulobacter crescentus Deficient in Stalk Biosynthesis

Stalk synthesis in Caulobacter crescentus is a developmentally controlled and spatially restricted event that requires the synthesis of peptidoglycan at the stalk-cell body junction. We show that the beta-lactam antibiotic mecillinam prevents stalk synthesis by inhibiting stalk elongation. In addition, mecillinam causes an increase in the diameter of the stalk at the stalk-cell body junction. We describe two mutations that confer resistance to mecillinam and that prevent stalk elongation. These mutations are probably allelic, and they map to a locus previously not associated with stalk synthesis.
Preliminary evaluation of a new test for the rapid differentiation of Candida albicans and Candida stellatoidea

A preliminary investigation test was carried out concerning the use of esculin hydrolysis to differentiate Candida albicans from Candida stellatoidea is described. This test provides a rapid and reliable means of distinguishing C. albicans from C. stellatoidea.
Effect of pantothenic acid deficiency on insulin sensitivity and response to ACTH of intact and diabetic rats.

DEANE and McKibbin (1946) observed in the adrenal cortex of pantothenic acid deficient rats cytochemical changes which were consistent with an early phase of adrenocortical hyperfunction followed by a phase of exhaustion and adrenocortical hypofunction. These observations have stimulated many investigators to study the functional capacity of the adrenal cortex in this deficiency state. However, only a few studies have been reported which are concerned specifically with the effects of this deficiency state on those phases of carbohydrate metabolism influenced by the adrenal cortex. Irwin and Ralli (1948) were unable to find any effect of pantothenic acid deficiency on the severity of the diabetes of a small group of rats with alloxan diabetes. Hurley and Morgan (1952) demonstrated a decreased ability of the liver to store glycogen and a lowered blood glucose in rats with acute pantothenic acid deficiency subjected to anoxia. Since these abnormalities were corrected by administration of adrenal cortical ext...
Developing an Ethical Basis for Student-Teacher Interaction.

This article first reviews the literature on the development of ethical content within nursing curricula and its impact on nursing education. This is followed by a discussion of faculty responsibility for the preparation of ethically competent graduates. Faculty behaviors that appear to be related to ethically sound education practices are discussed along with examples of positive and negative behaviors. The article concludes with five principles to use in developing an ethical basis for student-teacher relationships. These principles include mutual respect, open communication, demonstration of linkages between ethical principles and behavior, facilitating students' understanding of their behaviors, and recognition of legitimate individual differences in ethical positions.
Developing a Digital Map Collection for Research and Teaching: The “Planning Atlanta: A New City in the Making, 1930s–1990s” Collection

The Georgia State University Library's “Planning Atlanta: A New City in the Making, 1930s–1990s” collection is transforming a once seldom used and disconnected assortment of city planning maps and city planning documents into an organized and sought-after interactive digital collection. By digitizing and collating this material into a distinct digital collection and creating meaningful descriptive metadata, this once largely hidden collection is now easily discoverable. Seeking to move beyond the traditional digital library model of simply providing digital equivalents of tangible objects, the Planning Atlanta digital collection has been developed with the goal of providing multiple ways for users to access and engage with these maps. This collection not only provides users with traditional access to digitized maps and full text publications, the Planning Atlanta collection also provides users with direct access to georectified TIFF images and also offers users the option to view each map as a Google Maps...
Surviving inside a macrophage: The many ways of Brucella

Bacteria of the genus Brucella are intracellular pathogens capable of survival and replication within macrophages of mammalian hosts. Recent advances have shed light on virulence factors and host functions involved at various stages of the Brucella intracellular life cycle. This review focuses on how this pathogen uses multiple strategies to circumvent macrophage defense mechanisms and generate an organelle permissive for replication.
Calcification of vessels in cheek of patient with medial arteriosclerosis

T he demonstration of calcified vessels in the cheeks by means of routine dental roentgenograms is infrequent. It is possible to mistake these calcifications for artifacts or imperfections arising during development of the roentgenogram; nevertheless, oral and roentgenologic examination may be the first opportunity for detection of the signs or symptoms of a systemic vascular disease. The case to be reported illustrates the presence of calcifications in the facial artery.
Enhancing services to youths leaving foster care: Analysis of recent legislation and its potential impact

Abstract Recent federal legislation has provided funding to states to provide additional services and supports for youth and young adults leaving foster care. The Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 and the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program allow states to design enhanced programming in the areas of education, housing, life skills and other needed supports. Additionally, the Education and Training Voucher Program specifically provides financial assistance to former foster youth attending post-secondary education. This article is designed to examine the implementation status of these policies, potential areas of strength and weakness, and further steps in policy development to support youth transitioning from foster care.
Symmetry and regularity of extremals of an integral equation related to the Hardy–Sobolev inequality

Let α be a real number satisfying 0 < α < n, \({0\leq t<\alpha, \alpha{^\ast}(t)=\frac{2(n-t)}{n-\alpha}}\). We consider the integral equation $$u(x)=\int\limits_{{\mathbb{R}^n}}\frac{u^{{\alpha{^\ast}(t)}-1}(y)}{|y|^t|x-y|^{n-\alpha}}\,dy,\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad(1)$$ which is closely related to the Hardy–Sobolev inequality. In this paper, we prove that every positive solution u(x) is radially symmetric and strictly decreasing about the origin by the method of moving plane in integral forms. Moreover, we obtain the regularity of solutions to the following integral equation $$u(x)=\int\limits_{{\mathbb{R}^n}}\frac{|u(y)|^{p}u(y)}{|y|^t|x-y|^{n-\alpha}}\, dy\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad(2)$$ that corresponds to a large class of PDEs by regularity lifting method.
The LAMP-like protein p67 plays an essential role in the lysosome of African trypanosomes.

Summary RNAi knockdown was employed to study the function of p67, a lysosome-associated membrane protein (LAMP)-like type I transmembrane lysosomal glyco- protein in African trypanosomes. Conditional induction of p67 dsRNA resulted in specific ~90% reductions in de novo p67 synthesis in both mam- malian bloodstream and procyclic insect-stage parasites. Bloodstream cell growth was severely retarded with extensive death after > 24 h of induction. Biosynthetic trafficking of residual p67, and of the soluble lysosomal protease trypanopain, were unimpaired. Endocytosis of tomato lectin, a surrogate receptor-mediated cargo, was only mildly impaired (~20%), but proper lysosomal targeting was unaffected. p67 ablation had dramatic effects on lyso- somal morphology with gross enlargement (four- to fivefold) and internal membrane profiles reminiscent of autophagic vacuoles. Ablation of p67 expression rendered bloodstream trypanosomes refractory to lysis by human trypanolytic factor (TLF), a lysosoma- lly activated host innate immune mediator. Similar effects on lysosomal morphology and TLF sensitivity were also obtained by two pharmacological agents that neutralize lysosomal pH - chloroquine and bafilo- mycin A1. Surprisingly, however, lysosomal pH was not affected in ablated cells suggesting that other physiological alterations must account for increased resistance to TLF. These results indicate p67 plays an essential role in maintenance of normal lysosomal structure and physiology in bloodstream-stage African trypanosomes.
Calorimetric Determination of the Average Total Kinetic Energy of Fragments from Fission of U 235

The average kinetic energy of the fragments from thermal neutron fission of ${\mathrm{U}}^{235}$ has been redetermined calorimetrically; a value of 166\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2 Mev is obtained, in excellent agreement with other measurements. The calorimeter and the method of correction for beta absorption are described. The number of fissions occurring in the samples was determined by a ${\mathrm{Mo}}^{99}$ radiochemical analysis which is described in detail. An improved value for the half-life of ${\mathrm{Mo}}^{99}$, 66.00\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.15 hr, has been determined.
Seattle smart traveler: dynamic ridematching on the World Wide Web

Seattle Smart Traveler (SST) is an application of World Wide Web (WWW) technology to test the concept of automated dynamic rideshare matching. In SST, the rideshare clientele interact with the rideshare system using only WWW pages. SST collects spatial and temporal trip information using a series of WWW pages, performs a match using structured query language (SQL) specifications to a database engine, and supports both the standard phone-based contact methodology as well as two new, unique e-mail-based contact methodologies. SST was operated in parallel to a traditional, regional rideshare system for one year, and the two systems were marketed to the user community on a side-by-side basis. SST and the traditional system acquired approximately the same number of new users over a nine-month test period; however, there was little overlap in the population using the two parallel systems. SST demonstrates that there is a user population that can be reached using Internet technologies for immediate/dynamic ridematching that is not reached by traditional ridematch programs. This paper also reports a new statistical model for quantifying rideshare matching and carpooling. The model is validated using the SST experimental results, and the model demonstrates that the carpooling process is a quadratic function of the number of users participating.
The primary plan of the Battersea Shield

The decorative motifs of palmettes and interlocking S-patterns on the Battersea Shield have a clear place in a well-understood tradition of Celtic art, while the plan of the shield – its schema – has not had such a place. Its essential form is a deliberately constructed configuration crafted specifically by a constructional geometry, within a tradition which persisted and later pervaded Insular art.
Properties of the PbSe diode laser

Diode laser action has been obtained at 8.5μ with PbSe. This laser is of potential interest for terrestrial communications since its emission is in the 8-to-14-μ atmospheric window, a spectral region of high atmospheric transparency where attenuation due to scattering by haze is low. Fabrication techniques are described which are based on controlling carrier type and concentration by adjusting the Pb:Se ratio. Below threshold for laser action, the emission exhibits two spectral peaks, one near 8.5μ which increases superlinearly with current and another near 10.1μ which increases slowly with current. Laser action associated with the 8.5μ peak is observed above a threshold Current density of 2000 A cm-2. From measurements which did not resolve the cavity mode structure, the emission peak was found to shift to higher energies in a [100] oriented magnetic field at the rate of 7.1 \times 10^{-8} eV per gauss, or 17 Mc/s per gauss. This is the expected shift if the emission is associated with band-to-band transitions. The threshold current decreased to a fraction of its zero field value in a magnetic field of approximately 10 kilogauss, then increased slowly with higher fields.