cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mg2+ Shifts Ligand-Mediated Folding of a Riboswitch from Induced-Fit to Conformational Selection

Bacterial riboswitches couple small-molecule ligand binding to RNA conformational changes that widely regulate gene expression, rendering them potential targets for antibiotic intervention. Despite structural insights, the ligand-mediated folding mechanisms of riboswitches are still poorly understood. Using single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET), we have investigated the folding mechanism of an H-type pseudoknotted preQ1 riboswitch in dependence of Mg2+ and three ligands of distinct affinities. We show that, in the absence of Mg2+, both weakly and strongly bound ligands promote pseudoknot docking through an induced-fit mechanism. By contrast, addition of as low as 10 μM Mg2+ generally shifts docking toward conformational selection by stabilizing a folded-like conformation prior to ligand binding. Supporting evidence from transition-state analysis further highlights the particular importance of stacking interactions during induced-fit and of specific hydrogen bonds during conformat...
Placental transport of creating in the rat

Pregnant rats near term were injected iv with creatine-1-14C or creatinine-1-14C and the distribution of radioactivity was studied in maternal and fetal blood as well as in the visceralyolk sacs and chorioallantoic placentae. After injection of creatine-1-14C into the dam, the level of radioactivity in fetal blood was somewhat higher than that inmaternal blood at 30 min, reached maximal levels after 30 min, and remained essentially constant for at least 4 hr. The radioactivity in the labyrinth and junctional zone portions of the chorioallantoic placenta and the yolk sac was maximal after 30-6- min and was always considerably higher than that in the fetal and maternal blood. Furthermore, the level of radioactivity in the labyrinth was several times higher than that in the junctional zone portion of the chorioallantoic placenta and the yolk sac in which the radioactivity remained essentially constant after 1 hr. On the other hand, the radioactivity in the labyrinth declined rapidly after the first hour and reached levels which were about one-third of the maximal value after 4 hr. When labeled creatine was injected into the dam, 90% of the radioactivity present in the fetal blood and chorioallantoic placenta was found in free creatine as shown by paper chromatography in three different systems. Ancillary studies showed that the creatine concentration in fetal blood was several times higher than that in the maternal blood on the 21st-22 day of gestation. Creatine concentration in both portions of the chorioallantoic placenta as well as the visceral yolk sac was higher than that in the fetal blood, indicating that a downhill concentration gradient existed between creatine in placental tissues and that in the fetal circulation. When creatinine-1-14C was injected iv into pregnant rats, the level of radioactivity in fetal blood rose to a maximum after 5-15 min, but the radioactivity in the maternal blood was considerably higher than that in either the fetal blood or the chorioallantoic placenta and yolk sac. These studies indicate that creatine is actively accumulated and released by the placental unit to the growing rat fetus, while creatinine is passively transported from mother to conceptus across the placentae, at least during the later stages of rat gestation.
HIV-1 Tat causes cognitive deficits and selective loss of parvalbumin, somatostatin, and neuronal nitric oxide synthase expressing hippocampal CA1 interneuron subpopulations

Memory deficits are characteristic of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) and co-occur with hippocampal pathology. The HIV-1 transactivator of transcription (Tat), a regulatory protein, plays a significant role in these events, but the cellular mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Within the hippocampus, diverse populations of interneurons form complex networks; even subtle disruptions can drastically alter synaptic output, resulting in behavioral dysfunction. We hypothesized that HIV-1 Tat would impair cognitive behavior and injure specific hippocampal interneuron subtypes. Male transgenic mice that inducibly expressed HIV-1 Tat (or non-expressing controls) were assessed for cognitive behavior or had hippocampal CA1 subregions evaluated via interneuron subpopulation markers. Tat exposure decreased spatial memory in a Barnes maze and mnemonic performance in a novel object recognition test. Tat reduced the percentage of neurons expressing neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) without neuropeptide Y immunoreactivity in the stratum pyramidale and the stratum radiatum, parvalbumin in the stratum pyramidale, and somatostatin in the stratum oriens, which are consistent with reductions in interneuron-specific interneuron type 3 (IS3), bistratified, and oriens-lacunosum-moleculare interneurons, respectively. The findings reveal that an interconnected ensemble of CA1 nNOS-expressing interneurons, the IS3 cells, as well as subpopulations of parvalbumin- and somatostatin-expressing interneurons are preferentially vulnerable to HIV-1 Tat. Importantly, the susceptible interneurons form a microcircuit thought to be involved in feedback inhibition of CA1 pyramidal cells and gating of CA1 pyramidal cell inputs. The identification of vulnerable CA1 hippocampal interneurons may provide novel insight into the basic mechanisms underlying key functional and neurobehavioral deficits associated with HAND.
Evaluation of Therapy and Screening for Congenital Hypothyroidism in Neonates

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of therapy and to analyze the data of follow-up by screening of congenital hypothyroidism(CH) in infants.Methods The levels of thyroid-stimulatin hormone(TSH) of dried blood sample on filter paper were measured by time-resolved fluoroimmunoassay.The values of serum TSH,triiodothyronine(T_3),thyroxine(T_4) were detected by chemilumine-(sence) in the recalled cases suspected CH.Patients confirmed with CH were treated by levothyroxine(L-T_4) initiated with 4-6 μg/((kg·d)) for 2-3 years.Growth and development,scintigraphy or ultrasonography of thyroid,intelligence,and bone age were investigated to(evaluate) the efficacy after stopping the treatment.Results A total of 557 193 neonates were screened for CH,339 cases of them were confirmed with CH(account for 1/1644).Two hundred and twenty-one cases were followed-up for more than 18 months during the(period) of treatment(lasting for 2 years 34 cases,3 years 34 cases,more than 3 years(75 cases)).One hundred cases were imaged on thyroid by scintigraphy and 150 cases by ultrasonography.The results revealed that 48 patients were of abnormal gland(32 cases with hypogenetic gland,8(cases) with ectopic gland,8 cases without any image of thyroid) and other 173 cases with normal gland.The average score of development quotient(DQ) was 106.5 and the cases of DQ larger than 85 was 98.6%.The bone age was normal in 75% cases and delay to normal in 25% cases.The high and weigh measured in all cases had reached normal criteria.Fourty-eight cases were confirmed with primary CH were received L-T_4 treatment forever,and that 86 out of 173 cases with temporary CH were continued no drugs.Among them,69 cases were confirmed temporary CH,9 cases with subclinical CH,and 8 cases with follow-up.Conclusion Neonatal screening together with efficacy treatment and regular follow-up is very important for the patient to attain normal body development and intelligence development.
Ultrastructural Methods for Neurotoxicology and Neuropathology

Publisher Summary This chapter presents an outline of methods that are universal in the study of ultrastructure using examples that are specific to the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous systems (PNS). Subtle early structural changes of certain cellular organelles or structures may give an important clue as to the pathogenetic mechanisms of the effect of toxicants. For detailed morphological investigations, use of the electron microscopic technique is highly recommended. The procedural description is largely limited to the application of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and a brief description of special methods. Artifacts of these methods are indicated. Special methods included are immunocytochemistry, enzyme cytochemistry, autoradiography, tracers, freeze-fracture, Golgi EM, and high voltage electron microscopy. This chapter discusses about fixatives that are required to prevent deterioration of ultrastructure, to add electron contrast to the tissue, and to harden the tissue for ultramicrotomy. Fixatives are composed of fixing agents, a buffer, and sometimes additives. The methods for tissue preparation for TEM, including fixation, dehydration, embedding, ultramicrotomy, staining, and microscopy are covered in detail in this chapter.
An open-access endoscopy screen correctly and safely identifies patients for conscious sedation

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Open-access scheduling is highly utilized for facilitating generally low-risk endoscopies. Preprocedural screening addresses sedation requirements; however, procedural safety may be compromised if screening is inaccurate. We sought to determine the reliability of our open-access scheduling system for appropriate use of conscious sedation. METHODS We prospectively and consecutively enrolled outpatient procedures booked at an academic center by open-access using screening after in-office gastroenterology (GI) consultation. We collected the cases inappropriately booked for conscious sedation and compared the characteristics for significant differences. RESULTS A total of 8063 outpatients were scheduled for procedures with conscious sedation, and 5959 were booked with open-access. Only 78 patients (0.97%, 78/8063) were identified as subsequently needing anesthesiologist-assisted sedation; 44 (56.4%, 44/78) were booked through open-access, of which chronic opioid (47.7%, 21/44) or benzodiazepine use (34.1%, 15/44) were the most common reasons for needing anesthesiologist-assisted sedation. Patients on chronic benzodiazepines required more midazolam than those not on chronic benzodiazepines (P = .03) of those patients who underwent conscious sedation. Similarly, patients with chronic opioid use required more fentanyl than those without chronic opioid use (P = .04). Advanced liver disease and alcohol use were common reasons for patients being booked after in-office consultation and were significantly higher than those booked with open-access (both P < .01). CONCLUSIONS We observed that the majority of patients can be triaged for conscious sedation using a multi-tiered screening process. Importantly, few patients (<1.0%) were inappropriately booked for conscious sedation. The most common reasons for considering anesthesiologist-assisted sedation were chronic opioid, benzodiazepine and/or alcohol use and advanced liver disease. This suggests that these entities could be included in screening processes for open-access scheduling.
Interval Changes in Myocardial Performance Index Predict Outcome in Severe Sepsis.

Objectives Septic cardiomyopathy is a well-described consequence of septic shock and is associated with increased sepsis-related mortality. The myocardial performance index (MPI), a parameter derived from echocardiographic tissue Doppler measurements, allows for a more sensitive assessment of global cardiac function than do traditional metrics for cardiac function. The authors hypothesized that changes in left ventricular MPI in patients with severe sepsis would be associated with a higher 90-day mortality. Design Prospective, observational study. Setting Intensive care units of a tertiary medical center. Participants The study comprised 47 patients admitted with new diagnoses of severe sepsis or septic shock. Interventions All patients underwent transthoracic echocardiograms with assessment of MPI at enrollment and 24 hours later. Hemodynamic data and information on sepsis-related mortality were collected. In the primary analysis, the association between change in MPI from enrollment to 24 hours and sepsis-related 90-day mortality was assessed. Measurements and Main Results Of the 47 patients enrolled, 30 demonstrated an improvement in MPI from 0 to 24 hours (“improved” group), and MPI worsened in the remaining 17 patients (“worsened” group). Despite no significant differences in ejection fraction or severity of illness, the median MPI at enrollment in the “improved” group was higher than baseline values in the “worsened” group (p = 0.005). A worsening MPI over the 24-hour study interval was associated with increased mortality at 90 days (p = 0.04), which remained significant (hazard ratio 3.72; 95% confidence interval 1.12-12.41; p = 0.03) after adjusting for severity of illness (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score), intravenous fluids, and vasopressor use. Conclusions In patients admitted to the intensive care unit with a diagnosis of severe sepsis or septic shock, a worsening MPI during the first 24 hours after intensive care unit admission was associated with higher 90-day mortality.
Novel Functional Properties of Drosophila CNS Glutamate Receptors

Phylogenetic analysis reveals AMPA, kainate, and NMDA receptor families in insect genomes, suggesting conserved functional properties corresponding to their vertebrate counterparts. However, heterologous expression of the Drosophila kainate receptor DKaiR1D and the AMPA receptor DGluR1A revealed novel ligand selectivity at odds with the classification used for vertebrate glutamate receptor ion channels (iGluRs). DKaiR1D forms a rapidly activating and desensitizing receptor that is inhibited by both NMDA and the NMDA receptor antagonist AP5; crystallization of the KaiR1D ligand-binding domain reveals that these ligands stabilize open cleft conformations, explaining their action as antagonists. Surprisingly, the AMPA receptor DGluR1A shows weak activation by its namesake agonist AMPA and also by quisqualate. Crystallization of the DGluR1A ligand-binding domain reveals amino acid exchanges that interfere with binding of these ligands. The unexpected ligand-binding profiles of insect iGluRs allows classical tools to be used in novel approaches for the study of synaptic regulation. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
The President’s Dentist

Someone asked me once, “Why dentistry?” This caused me to think about what brought me to the desire to become a dentist. I was hoping it would be some bright moment in my life or a “life changing” moment until my mom showed me my eighth grade autobiography. I had written about how I wanted to become a dentist and how that would be the foundation for my life. A role model in my life, my family dentist influenced my desire for dentistry. I had some rough appointments with dentists growing up until I became a patient of Dr. Webster. He was all that I thought I wanted to be and he opened up my curiosity for the field of dentistry. I wanted to be that type of person, someone who, through a profession, could care for others with compassion and integrity.
Obstetrical Care in the ICU Patient

Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to Identify the major causes and incidence of maternal morbidity and mortality. Distinguish the physiologic circulatory and respiratory adaptations of pregnancy from those of disease. Understand aspects of airway management and acute resuscitation unique to pregnant patients. Describe hypertensive disease of pregnancy and its contribution to maternal morbidity and mortality. Recognize the potential role of pregnancy in developing hemorrhagic, cardiogenic, septic, and obstructive shock. Understand diagnostic approaches and treatment of venous thrombosis and thromboembolism in pregnancy. Understand critical illnesses unique to pregnancy such as amniotic fluid embolism, tocolytic-induced pulmonary edema, and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.
Staying in the Loop: Relational Agency and Identity in Next-Generation DBS for Psychiatry

In this article, we explore how deep brain stimulation (DBS) devices designed to “close the loop”—to automatically adjust stimulation levels based on computational algorithms—may risk taking the individual agent “out of the loop” of control in areas where (at least apparent) conscious control is a hallmark of our agency. This is of particular concern in the area of psychiatric disorders, where closed-loop DBS is attracting increasing attention as a therapy. Using a relational model of identity and agency, we consider whether DBS designed for psychiatric regulation may require special attention to agency. To do this, we draw on philosophical work on relational identity and agency, connecting it with reports from people using first-generation DBS devices for depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. We suggest a way to extend a notion of relational agency to encompass neural devices.
E-book Accessibility Evaluations

This paper illustrates how the level of accessibility of e-textbooks can be evaluated using a process developed by Human Factors researchers. We report the results from accessibility evaluations of 140 publically available e-textbooks from the California Open Online Library for Education (COOL4ed). Each textbook was evaluated for adherence to 15 SkillsCommons accessibility checkpoints developed by the MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) project using accessibility manuals and a scoring system developed for e-textbooks. Some books were made available in more than one format (e.g., EPUB, HTML, or PDF), and each e-textbook was evaluated in the formats that it was made available. Moreover, each book was evaluated for accessibility using assistive technologies (AT) and using non-assistive technologies (NAT). A total of 166 evaluation reports using non-assistive technologies and 163 evaluation reports using assistive technologies were produced. We found that e-textbooks in HTML and EPUB formats were more accessible than PDF. We also examined how the technical content of the textbook differed in terms of accessibility. There was no difference in accessibility scores between books with STEM versus no STEM content; however, when examining the “passing rate” of the books, there were differences depending upon whether the evaluation was performed using NAT or AT. Overall, this project provides evidence that methodology for evaluating e-textbooks can be applied to a broad library of books. Providing accessibility scores rather than simply whether the e-textbook is compliant with the American Disability Act (ADA) can be useful to a variety of stakeholders.
AFB's Computerized Travel Aid: Two Years of Research and Development:

Describes progress in developing an effective, versatile, and inexpensive computerized travel aid (CTA) by combining Polaroid's ultrasonic ranging technology with a microprocessor.
Modeling and Security Analysis of a Commercial Real-Time Operating System Kernel

This chapter summarizes the modeling and formal analysis effort that led to an EAL6+ certification for a commercial real-time operating system kernel. We begin by describing the INTEGRITY-178B kernel, as well as the approach taken for the Common Criteria evaluation effort. We present a generalization of the GWV theorem, formulated in order to capture the meaning of separation in a dynamic system. We detail how the INTEGRITY-178B kernel was modeled, including System State, Behavior, and Information Flow. We discuss the proof architecture used to demonstrate correspondence and conclude with a description of the informal analysis of the hardware abstraction layer.
Projecting Impacts of Climate Change on Water Availability Using Artificial Neural Network Techniques

AbstractLago Loiza reservoir in east-central Puerto Rico is one of the primary sources of public water supply for the San Juan metropolitan area. To evaluate and predict the Lago Loiza water budget...
Barriers to Follow-up Colonoscopies for Patients With Positive Results From Fecal Immunochemical Tests During Colorectal Cancer Screening

Background & Aims Colorectal cancer is common yet largely preventable. The fecal immunochemical test (FIT) is a highly recommended screening method, but patients with positive results must receive a follow-up colonoscopy to determine if they have precancerous or cancerous lesions. We characterized colonoscopic follow-up evaluations and reasons for lack of follow-up in a Veterans Affairs (VA) cohort. Methods We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of patients 50 to 75 years old with a positive FIT result from January 1, 2014, through May 31, 2016, in a network of 12 VAs sites in southern California. We determined the proportion of patients who received a follow-up colonoscopy, median time to colonoscopy, and colonoscopy findings. For patients who did not undergo colonoscopy, we determined the documented reason for lack of colonoscopy and factors associated with declining the colonoscopy examination. Results Of the 10,635 FITs performed, 916 (8.6%) produced positive results; 569 of these (62.1%) were followed by colonoscopy. The median time to colonoscopy after a positive FIT result was 83 days (interquartile range, 54–145 d), which did not vary between veterans who received a colonoscopy at a VA facility (81 d; interquartile range, 52–143 d) vs a non-VA site (87 d; interquartile range, 60–154 d) (P = .2). For the 347 veterans (37.9%) who did not undergo follow-up colonoscopy, the reasons were patient-related (49.3%), provider-related (16.4%), system-related (12.1%), or multifactorial (22.2%). Overall, patient decline of colonoscopy (35.2%) was the most common reason. Conclusions In a cohort of veterans with positive results from FITs during CRC screening, reasons for lack of follow-up colonoscopy varied and included patient, provider, and system factors. These findings can be used to reduce barriers to follow-up colonoscopy and to address system-level challenges in scheduling and attrition for colonoscopy.
The riesz decomposition theorem

In Section 15 we defined a function to be superharmonic if its negative is subharmonic. This is equivalent to saying that F is superharmonic on the open set Ω in ℝn if for every xo ∈ Ω ∃ r(x0) > 0 with $$F\left( {x_0 } \right) \geqslant \frac{1} {A}\int\limits_{\left| {x - x_0 } \right| = a} {F\left( x \right)} dS,$$ (17.1) for all a < r(x0), where A is the area of the sphere {x| |x-x0| = a}, and $$\frac{{lim}} {{x \to x_0 }}F\left( x \right) \geqslant F\left( {x_0 } \right), for all x_0 \in \Omega .$$ (17.2) on any ball.
Dielectric Relaxation in Critical Polar Mixtures; Derivation of Glarum-Cole Equation by Projection Operator Method

We suggest a simple physical picture for the cause of the anomalous dielectric response of critical dipolar mixtures: The state of critical fluctuation of composition within the Ornstein-Zernike sphere of radius k –1 is of a highly ordered state of orientation much like that found in liquid crystals. The insertion of an electric field will exert a torque on the oriented cluster thereby producing an intrinsic angular-momentum field. This field decays into a vortex field which subsequently back reacts on a molecule at its center, thereby producing an additional anomalous polarization. In the critical region, the assumption is that molecules can rotate cooperatively over the correlation length k –1, thereby setting up an enormous vortex field and a concomitant anomalous polarization. Comparison of this work with that of Ailawadi and Berne on the long-time persistence of intrinsic angular momentum in non-critical viscous fluids is made, along with suggestions for new experiments for the direct measurement of critical orientational correlations, including the rotational diffusion constant, by ‘Pico-Second Kerr Fluctuation-Spectroscopy’in equilibrium.
The Natural History of Facial Schwannomas: A Meta-Analysis of Case Series

Objective This study is to establish predictors of facial paralysis and auditory morbidity secondary to facial schwannomas by assimilating individualized patient data from the literature. Design A systematic review of the literature was conducted for studies regarding facial schwannomas. Studies were only included if they presented patient level data, House–Brackmann grades, and tumor location by facial nerve segment. Odds ratios (OR) were estimated using generalized linear mixed models. Main Outcome Measures Facial weakness and hearing loss. Results Data from 504 patients were collected from 32 studies. The geniculate ganglion was the most common facial nerve segment involved (39.3%). A greater number of facial nerve segments involved was positively associated with both facial weakness and hearing loss, whereas tumor diameter did not correlate with either morbidity. Intratemporal involvement was associated with higher odds of facial weakness (OR = 4.78, p Conclusion The most important factors associated with facial weakness and hearing loss are tumor location and the number of facial nerve segments involved. An understanding of the factors that contribute most heavily to the natural morbidity can help guide the appropriate timing and type of intervention in future cases of facial schwannoma.
Report on the 2018 IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Low Power Electronics and Design

The IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Low Power Electronics and Design (ISLPED) is the premier forum for the presentation of innovative research in all aspects of low power electronics and design. The conference has a unique mix of topics attacking power and energy optimization at all levels of the design space from circuit design to high-level architectures, as well as software optimizations. The ideas here can help run your electronics on smaller batteries or push the density of data centers.
Effect of catchment lithology on dissolved inorganic carbon budgets in suburban streams of Baltimore, Maryland, during rainfall minima

Urbanization has the potential to affect riverine carbon exports, but relatively few studies have evaluated the potential effect of lithology on carbon fluxes in urban settings. To address this gap, four first-order streams in the Baltimore metropolitan area exhibiting different levels of impervious surfaces and catchment lithologies were examined for a span of ten weeks during a period of rainfall minima with the purpose of identifying sources and magnitudes of inorganic carbon transported by these streams during base flow conditions. Discharge, alkalinity, pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen were measured in situ, whereas the carbon isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was determined in the laboratory. Abundances of DIC and pCO2 were estimated from the collected data, revealing that the stream with an increased forest coverage and a calcareous catchment consistently had the highest values for DIC, pCO2, alkalinity, and stable isotope ratios. DIC yields for the four studied streams were relatively low, ranging from 2.6 to 21.8 mmol C/m2-yr, and calculated pCO2 evasion rates were some of the lowest recorded values in temperate and boreal regions, ranging from 184 to 6451 g C/day. These low values possibly resulted from the low rainfall amount that prevailed during the sampling period, which limited both the transfer of soil-derived DIC to the studied streams and the subsequent emission of CO2 to the atmosphere. Stable isotope data linearly correlated with DIC, and this relation could reflect the lithological control of inorganic carbon in the studied streams, with a 13C-enriched source of DIC probably representing the dissolution of calcareous metamorphic rocks and some contribution of soil-respired CO2 and with a 13C-depleted source interpreted to result from a predominant contribution of soil-respired CO2. Thus, our results point to the dominant effect of catchment lithology in regulating stream DIC budgets in the studied suburban streams during low discharge conditions.
Syntheses and Antibacterial Activity Studies of New Oxazolidinones from Nitroso Diels—Alder Chemistry.

A series of novel oxazolidinone antibiotics, e.g. (III) and (V), having [2.2.1] and [2.2.2] bicyclic oxazine moieties at the C-5 side chain of the A-ring is synthesized via nitroso Diels—Alder reaction.
Fundamental Equations and Their Simplification

Dynamical processes in shallow seas and over continental shelves differ markedly from those in the deep ocean for several reasons. The horizontal scales of motion are much smaller and the presence of coasts is a strong constraining influence in most locations. The depths involved are only of the order of 100 m, so that surface effects such as wind stress or surface cooling or heating extend to a large fraction of the water column, sometimes to all of it, whereas in the deep ocean the same influences reach what amounts to only a thin skin at the surface. At the same time, basins or continental shelves with characteristic horizontal dimensions of the order of 100 km behave in an ‘oceanic’ manner in the sense that motions in them are strongly affected by the Earth’s rotation. Seas of this size and larger, with depth ranges of up to a few hundred meters will be taken to constitute the coastal ocean. This defmition includes enclosed shallow seas such as the North American Great Lakes, open seas such as the broad and flat continental shelves of ‘Atlantic’ type, or the narrow and steep shelves of ‘Pacific’ type, as well as semi-enclosed bodies of water such as the Gulf of Maine or the North Sea.
Ghost Riders: When US and German Soldiers Fought Together to Save the World‘s Most Beautiful Horses in the Last Days of World War II. By Mark Felton. (New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 2018. Pp. 294. $27.00.)

Ghost Riders, Mark Felton's captivating book, tells the history of soldiers from enemy nations who worked together to rescue prized horses from becoming a feast for the advancing Soviet military at...
Dual Function FH MIMO Radar System with DPSK Signal Embedding

In this paper, we propose a method for information embedding into the emission of frequency hopping (FH) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar. The differential phase shift keying (DPSK) modulated communication symbols are embedded into each pulse of the FH radar waveforms. We examine the effect of DPSK symbol embedding on the radar operation by analyzing the range sidelobes performance, power spectral density (PSD) and data rate of the system. The proposed system shows significant reduction in range sidelobes, good spectral containment and achieves high communication data rates. The latter is enabled by synthesizing a large number of orthogonal waveforms.
IoT Botnet Detection via Power Consumption Modeling

Abstract Many IoT botnets that exploit vulnerabilities of IoT devices have emerged recently. After taking over control of IoT devices, the botnets generate tremendous traffic to attack target nodes. It is also a threat to the smart health area since they have used IoT devices more and more. To detect the malicious IoT botnets, many researchers have proposed botnet detection systems; however, these are not easily applicable to resource-constrained IoT devices. Moreover, since the botnet's early stage makes marginal differences in terms of traffic, it is hard to detect when they first attack the victim nodes. However, we observe that the IoT botnets generate distinguishable power consumption patterns. Thus, we aim to classify whether the IoT device is affected by malign behaviors through power consumption patterns so that we can protect the healthcare ecosystem from the malicious IoT botnets. We propose a CNN-based deep learning model that consists of a data processing module as well as an 8-layer CNN. Prior to applying the CNN model, we segment and normalize the collected power consumption data to help our CNN model to achieve higher accuracy. The 8-layer CNN classifies the processed data into four classes including a botnet class, which is our primary target. To demonstrate the performance, we run self-evaluation, cross-device-evaluation, leave-one-device-out, and leave-one-botnet-out tests on three common types of IoT devices, which are Security Camera, Router, and Voice Assistant devices. The self-tests achieve up to 96.5% classification accuracy whereas the cross-evaluation tests perform about 90% accuracy. Leave-one-out tests also introduce higher than 90% accuracy for botnet detection.
A graph-based multi-sample test for identifying pathways associated with cancer progression

Cancer is in general not a result of an abnormality of a single gene but a consequence of changes in many genes, it is therefore of great importance to understand the roles of different oncogenic and tumor suppressor pathways in tumorigenesis. In recent years, there have been many computational models developed to study the genetic alterations of different pathways in the evolutionary process of cancer. However, most of the methods are knowledge-based enrichment analyses and inflexible to analyze user-defined pathways or gene sets. In this paper, we develop a nonparametric and data-driven approach to testing for the dynamic changes of pathways over the cancer progression. Our method is based on an expansion and refinement of the pathway being studied, followed by a graph-based multivariate test, which is very easy to implement in practice. The new test is applied to the rich Cancer Genome Atlas data to study the (epi)genetic alterations of 186 KEGG pathways in the development of serous ovarian cancer. To make use of the comprehensive data, we incorporate three data types in the analysis representing gene expression level, copy number and DNA methylation level. Our analysis suggests a list of nine pathways that are closely associated with serous ovarian cancer progression, including cell cycle, ERBB, JAK-STAT signaling and p53 signaling pathways. By pairwise tests, we found that most of the identified pathways contribute only to a particular transition step. For instance, the cell cycle and ERBB pathways play key roles in the early-stage transition, while the ECM receptor and apoptosis pathways contribute to the progression from stage III to stage IV. The proposed computational pipeline is powerful in detecting important pathways and gene sets that drive cancers at certain stage(s). It offers new insights into the understanding of molecular mechanism of cancer initiation and progression.
Quantitative Assessment of Surgical Ergonomics in Otolaryngology.

ObjectivesObjective evaluation of the ergonomic risk of common otolaryngology procedures and assessment of work-related musculoskeletal pain and injury.Study DesignCross-sectional intraoperative as...
Converging shock flows for a Mie-Grüneisen equation of state

Previous work has shown that the one-dimensional (1D) inviscid compressible flow (Euler) equations admit a wide variety of scale-invariant solutions (including the famous Noh, Sedov, and Guderley shock solutions) when the included equation of state (EOS) closure model assumes a certain scale-invariant form. However, this scale-invariant EOS class does not include even simple models used for shock compression of crystalline solids, including many broadly applicable representations of Mie-Gruneisen EOS. Intuitively, this incompatibility naturally arises from the presence of multiple dimensional scales in the Mie-Gruneisen EOS, which are otherwise absent from scale-invariant models that feature only dimensionless parameters (such as the adiabatic index in the ideal gas EOS). The current work extends previous efforts intended to rectify this inconsistency, by using a scale-invariant EOS model to approximate a Mie-Gruneisen EOS form. To this end, the adiabatic bulk modulus for the Mie-Gruneisen EOS is construc...
In situ biomineralization-constructed superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic PVDF-TiO2 membranes for superior antifouling separation of oil-in-water emulsions

Abstract In situ construction has emerged for fabricating superwetting PVDF membranes with uniform organic coatings and improved resistance to oil fouling, but it remains almost unexplored to apply this strategy to attain durable inorganic coatings and prepare superior antifouling PVDF membranes. Herein, we developed a novel in situ biomineralization method to fabricate superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic PVDF-TiO2 membranes with conformal TiO2 coatings on both the top and internal surfaces. An initial flux of 400 L m−2 h−1 (LMH) with a final flux of 200 LMH at 2.5 h under 0.1 bar, oil rejection higher than 99.7%, and highly stable cycling performance (5 cycles at 130 min each) were achieved on crossflow filtration of surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions. We used a new “flux map” to make a relatively fair comparison among the reported membranes, which suggested the superior performance of our PVDF-TiO2 membrane. The demonstrated exceptional performance was attributed to the low oil adhesion and great hydrophilicity enabled by the durable and superwetting coatings composed of densely packed TiO2 nanoparticles on the entire membrane, as well as to the relatively smooth top surface with an appropriate surface pore size that alleviate the oils being trapped by the surface structures.
Health disparities and equity in the era of COVID-19

Over the last year, COVID-19 has emerged as a highly transmissible and lethal infection. As we address this global pandemic, its disproportionate impact on Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities has served to further magnify the health inequities in access and treatment that persist in our communities. These sobering realities should serve as the impetus for reexamination of the root causes of inequities in our health system. An increased commitment to strategic partnerships between academic and nonacademic health systems, industry, local communities, and policy-makers may serve as the foundation. Here, we examine the impact of the recent COVID-19 pandemic on health care inequities and propose a strategic roadmap for integration of clinical and translational research into our understanding of health inequities.
Rectus sheath haematoma due to drug-drug interaction.

A 68-year-old man presented with complaints of abdominal pain. A week earlier, he had influenza-like symptoms with fever as high as 40°C, chills and persistent cough. He was prescribed azithromycin 250 mg daily for 5 days. Two days after being started on azithromycin, he experienced abdominal
Optogenetic Activation of V1 Interneurons Reveals the Multimodality of Spinal Locomotor Networks in the Neonatal Mouse.

In the spinal cord, classes of interneurons have been studied in vitro to determine their role in producing or regulating locomotion. It is unclear whether all locomotor behaviors are produced by the same circuitry or engage different subsets of neurons. Here, in neonatal mice of either sex, we test this idea by comparing the actions of a class of spinal, inhibitory interneuron (V1) expressing channelrhodopsin driven by the engrailed-1 transcription factor on the rhythms elicited by different methods. We find that even though the overall locomotor activities in vitro are similar, V1 interneuron depolarization produces opposite effects depending of the mode of activation of the locomotor circuitry. The differential behavior of V1 neurons suggests that their function depends on how the locomotor rhythm is activated and is consistent with the idea that the functional organization of the corresponding locomotor networks also differs. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT : The neural networks dictating the execution of fictive locomotion are located in the spinal cord. It is generally assumed that the mode of activation of these spinal networks should not change the recruitment or function of neurons. Here, we manipulated the activity of a class of interneuron (V1) which targets these networks and found that their activation induces opposite effects depending on the mode of activation. This suggests that the mode of activation of the spinal networks differentially recruits either V1 interneurons, or other interneurons, or both.
Does geographic location matter for transportation risk behaviors among U.S. public high school students

Abstract Introduction Teen motor vehicle crash fatality rates differ by geographic location. Studies assessing teen transportation risk behaviors by location are inconclusive. Therefore, we explored the role of census region and metropolitan status for driving prevalence and four transportation risk behaviors among U.S. public high school students. Methods Data from 2015 and 2017 national Youth Risk Behavior Surveys were combined and analyzed. Multivariable models controlled for sex, age, race/ethnicity, grades in school, and school socioeconomic status. Results Overall, 41% of students did not always wear a seat belt. Students attending schools in the Northeast were 40% more likely than those in the Midwest to not always wear a seat belt. Among the 75% of students aged ≥16 years who had driven during the past 30 days, 47% texted/e-mailed while driving. Students in the Northeast were 20% less likely than those in the Midwest to text/e-mail while driving, and students attending suburban or town schools were more likely to text/e-mail while driving (20% and 30%, respectively) than students attending urban schools. Nineteen percent of students rode with a driver who had been drinking alcohol, and 7% of drivers aged ≥16 years drove when they had been drinking alcohol, with no significant differences by location for either alcohol-related behavior. Conclusions We found few differences in teen transportation risk behaviors by census region or metropolitan status. Age at licensure, time since licensure, driving experience, and the policy and physical driving environment might contribute more to variation in teen fatal crashes by location than differences in transportation risk behaviors. Regardless of location, teen transportation risk behaviors remain high. Future research could address developing effective strategies to reduce teen cell phone use while driving and enhancing community implementation of existing, effective strategies to improve seat belt use and reduce alcohol consumption and driving after drinking alcohol.
The Occult Life of Things: Native Amazonian Theories of Materiality and Personhood

Reviewed Medium: book Year: 2009 Pages: 288 Publisher: University of Arizona Press ISBN: 978-0-8165-2874-5 (hard cover).
Mobility of individual 5-fluorouridine residues in 5-fluorouracil-substituted Escherichia coli valine transfer RNA. A 19F nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation study.

Abstract 19 F nuclear magnetic resonance (n.m.r.) relaxation parameters of 5-fluorouracil-substituted Escherichia coli tRNA 1 Val were measured and used to characterize the internal mobility of individual 5-fluorouridine (FUrd) residues in terms of several models of molecular motion. Measured relaxation parameters include the spin-lattice ( T 1 ) relaxation time at 282 MHz, the 19 F 1 H NOE at 282 MHz, and the spin-spin ( T 2 ) relaxation time, estimated from linewidth data at 338 MHz, 282 MHz and 84 MHz. Dipolar and chemical shift anisotropy contributions to the 19 F relaxation parameters were determined from the field-dependence of T 2 . The results demonstrate a large chemical shift anisotropy contribution to the 19 F linewidths at 282 and 338 MHz. Analysis of chemical shift anisotropy relaxation data shows that, relative to overall tumbling of the macromolecule, negligible torsional motion occurs about the glycosidic bond of FUrd residues in 19 F-labeled tRNA 1 Val , consistent with the maintenance of base-base hydrogen-bond and/or stacking interactions at all fluorouracil residues in the molecule. The dipolar relaxation data are analyzed by using the “two-state jump” and “diffusion in a cone” formalisms. Motional amplitudes (θ) are interpreted as being due to pseudorotational fluctuations within the ribose ring of the fluorinated nucleoside. These amplitudes range from approximately 30 ° to 60 °, assuming a correlation time ( τ i ,2 ) of 1.6 ns. By using available 19 F n.m.r. assignment data for the 14 FUrd residues in 5-fluorouracil-substituted tRNA 1 Val , these motional amplitudes can be correlated directly with the environmental domain of the residue. Residues located in tertiary and helical structural domains show markedly less motion (θ ∼- 30 to 35 °) than residues located in loops (θ ∼- 45 to 60 °). A correlation between residue mobility and solvent exposure is also demonstrated. The amplitudes of internal motion for specific residues agree quite well with those derived from X-ray diffraction and molecular dynamics data for yeast tRNA Phe .
Molecular Hydrogen Absorption in the z = 1.97 Damped Lyα Absorption System toward Quasi-Stellar Object Q0013–004*

We present a new ultraviolet spectrum of the quasi-stellar object Q0013-004 with 0.9 A resolution obtained with the Multiple Mirror Telescope Blue Spectrograph. The υ = 0-0, 1-0, 2-0, and 3-0 Lyman bands of H2 associated with the z = 1.9731 damped Lyα absorption-line system have been detected. The H2 column density is N(H2) = 6.9(±1.6) × 1019 cm-2, and the Doppler parameter b = 15 ± 2 km s-1. The populations of different rotational levels are measured and used to derive the excitation temperatures. The estimated kinetic temperature TK ~ 70 K, and the total particle number density n(H) ~ 300 cm-3. The UV photoabsorption rate β0 ~ 6.7 × 10-9 s-1, about a factor of a few times greater than that in a typical diffuse Milky Way interstellar cloud. The total hydrogen column density is N(H) = 6.4(±0.5) × 1020 cm-2. The fractional H2 abundance f = 2N(H2)/[2N(H2) + N(H I)] ~ 0.22 ± 0.05 is the highest among all observed damped Lyα absorbers. The high fractional H2 abundance is consistent with the inferred presence of dust and strong C I absorption in this absorber.
Conditional lethal mutants of avian sarcoma viruses. I. Physiology of ts 75 and ts 149.

Abstract Ts 75 and ts 149 are two temperature-sensitive mutants of avian sarcoma virus B77 which fail to reproduce and to induce neoplastic transformation at 41°. Both mutants are indistinguishable from wild type in somatic properties of the virion: host range, type-specific antigenicity, and rate of inactivation at 41°. The temperature-sensitive step of ts 75 occurs late in the infectious cycle allowing the synthesis of group-specific antigen in increased amounts and of viral RNA under nonpermissive conditions. Ts 149 has an early temperature sensitive phase and does not produce group-specific antigen at 41°. The maintenance of some neoplastic properties in cells transformed by either ts 75 or ts 149 is continuously dependent on a temperature sensitive viral function: Shift of transformed cells to 41° results in disappearance of neoplastic traits. Double infection of cells at 41° with wild-type avian sarcoma virus and ts 75 or ts 149 results in the rescue of 3 markers derived from the mutant virus: temperature sensitivity, host range, and morphology of the transformed cell. Rescue of ts 75 or ts 149 with wild-type avian leukosis viruses at 41° has not been accomplished.
Using sampling and queries to extract rules from trained neural networks

Abstract Concepts learned by neural networks are difficult to understand because they are represented using large assemblages of real-valued parameters. One approach to understanding trained neural networks is to extract symbolic rules that describe their classification behavior. There are several existing rule-extraction approaches that operate by searching for such rules. We present a novel method that casts rule extraction not as a search problem, but instead as a learning problem. In addition to learning from training examples, our method exploits the property that networks can be efficiently queried. We describe algorithms for extracting both conjunctive and M -of- N rules, and present experiments that show that our method is more efficient than conventional search-based approaches.