cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Circulating corticosterone levels vary during exposure to anthropogenic stimuli and show weak correlation with behavior across an urban gradient in house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus).

Abstract Urban environments are rapidly expanding and presenting animal populations with novel challenges, many of which are thought to be stressors that contribute to low biodiversity. However, studies on stress responses in urban vs rural populations have produced mixed results, and many of these studies use a standard stressor that cannot be replicated in the wild (e.g. restraining an animal in a bag). Pairing physiological and behavioral measurements in response to urban-related stressors improves our understanding of the mechanism underlying animal success in human-dominated landscapes. Here, we examined the physiological stress (plasma corticosterone, CORT) responses of a songbird species (the house finch, Haemorhous mexicanus ) to two different anthropogenic stimuli – (1) the presence of a human and (2) a captive environment containing man-made objects. During three field seasons (summer 2012, winter 2014, and winter 2015), we captured birds at six sites along an urban gradient in Phoenix, Arizona, USA and measured plasma CORT levels both before and after each trial. Though CORT levels did increase post-human exposure, though not during exposure to novel environment, indicating only one of the treatments caused a physiological response, baseline or post-trial plasma CORT levels did not differ between finches between urban and rural birds in 2012 or 2014. However, rural birds demonstrated relatively low pre- and post-trial plasma CORT levels during the human-exposure trials in 2015. Furthermore, we found few correlations between behavioral and physiological responses. A significant positive correlation was only detected between activity behavior after human approach and post-trial plasma CORT levels in 2012. Taken together, our results reveal a weak, conditional relationship between stress physiology, behavioral responses, and urbanization in house finches.
ecTALK: Energy efficient coherent transprecision accelerators — The bidirectional long short-term memory neural network case

Reduced-precision computing has recently emerged as a promising approach to improve energy efficiency by tolerating some loss of quality in computed results. A key barrier to a widespread adoption of reduced-precision computing is the lack of an architecture exploiting arbitrary precision, supported by a software layer that controls the precision of computations. In this paper we propose an end-to-end architecture to improve the energy efficiency by i) using an FPGA device for accelerating applications, ii) introducing flexible reduced-precision (transprecision) data-paths. The hardware implementation on FPGA leverages High-Level-Synthesis on top of IBM POWER81 CAPI (Coherent Accelerator Processor Interface) technology, which simplifies the software design for coupling accelerators to commodity processors. By applying the design to the BLSTM algorithm, it was possible to increase energy efficiency of an FPGA accelerator by up to 52x compared to that of a POWER81 processor, within an accuracy loss of only 0.6%.
Bacterial Glycogen Inclusions: Enzymology and Regulation of Synthesis

Many bacteria accumulate amylopectin-type/glycogen-type polymers as inclusion bodies. The synthesis of bacterial glycogen occurs with synthesis of its glycosyl donor, adenosine diphosphate-glucose (ADP-Glc), and then its utilization for synthesis of the α-1,4 glucosidic bond in the glycogen molecule. This reaction is catalyzed by glycogen synthase. After extensive elongation of the α-glucosidic chain, branching enzyme then catalyzes formation of α-1,6 linked branch chains. The synthesis of ADP-Glc is catalyzed by ADP-Glc pyrophosphorylase. This is the first committed step in bacterial glycogen synthesis and is allosterically regulated. The enzyme is activated by glycolytic intermediates. The nature of the activator is dependent on the major carbon assimilatory pathway dominant in the organism. For example, the enterics that utilize glycolysis for glucose utilization have fructose-1,6-bisphosphate as the activator, while cyanobacteria, being oxygenic photosynthesizers, have 3-phosphoglycerate as the activator. The allosteric inhibitors are adenosine monophosphate, orthophosphate or ADP, indicating that ADP-Glc and glycogen synthesis are also controlled by the energy status of the cell. The enzymatic and structural properties of the three glycogen biosynthetic enzymes are reviewed and the regulatory properties of the various bacterial ADP-Glc pyrophosphorylases are compared.
Earning the MFA: Investigations of Curricula and Pedagogies as a Means of Developing Graduate Studio Art Students' Sense of Self

This research study critically examined personal and professional issues related to visual arts MFA graduate students and myself as we participated in a course entitled, "Issues of Relevance and Character in the Fine Arts." The course explored a graduate student's developing sense of self and its impact on the different roles he or she often embodies while pursuing an MFA (individual, student, artist, teacher, and future professional). Employing an educational participatory action research methodology, I was also a participant in the study and documented the oral, written, and visual data that emerged from the participants' interactions. This paper briefly reviews studies conducted on graduate student development, students in MFA programs, and the historical development of the MFA degree. Findings indicated the following: First, strong convictions seemed to be intrinsic to the participants' pursuit of their MFA degrees, and each participant expressed interest in teaching in higher education. Second, participating in the course seemed to offer a receptive platform to convey the voices of the "characters" the participants embodied as MFA students. Their personal and professional development was influenced by the complex relationships they shared with others in their MFA programs. A third theme addressed the impact of my participation within the study. With an established background in art making and teaching within Art and Visual Culture Education, the findings suggest that I was able to empathize with the three other participants on several fronts. The implications of this research study suggest the need for more action research studies of MFA graduate students.
DESKTOP DESIGN: A TOOLKIT APPROACH ON COST AND PLANNING MODELLING

The purposes of the paper are three-fold: – to lay out a theoretical framework on toolkits, the integration of tools in a computer-enhanced environment, tool organization, tool navigation issues and the role of design rationale ,
Raman Structural Correlations from Stress-Modified and Bombarded Vitreous Silica

This chapter deals with angle and length correlations related to microscopic structures in vitreous silica. These correlations result from changes in the vitreous silica structure produced by stress modification and particle bombardment — they were determined by Raman spectroscopy of samples in optical fiber as well as bulk form. In this work, stress modification refers to the following conditions: (1) large reversible tensile stress, optical fiber, (2) irreversible uniaxial compaction, ≥ 90 kbar, bulk, (3) reversible hydrostatic compression at room temperature, and at elevated temperature, bulk and (4) large reversible torsion, optical fiber. Particle bombardment refers to: (5) intense neutron bombardment, bulk, and (6) prolonged bombardment by alpha particles, mostly bulk.
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF ANALYTE SPECIES IN THE INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA

Large, matrix dependent changes in emission intensity are observed in certain zones of the inductively coupled plasma. Lateral plasma profiles for specific species were obtained at several vertical positions in the plasma. These lateral data were fit to a polynomial function and the Abel inversion of the function computed. The instrument included a hollow cathode source behind the plasma which permitted atomic and ionic absorption measurements as well as emission. The final outputs were computer generated three dimensional plots relating emission intensity or absorbance to radial distance and height in the plasma. Current emphasis is on the effect of easily ionized matrix elements such as Li on atomization, ionization and excitation behavior of the alkali metals low in the plasma where the effect of lithium is large. The fact that we observe both emission and absorption for a given atomic or ionic species allows us to separate effects due to atom or ion formation from those due to excitation. If one measures calcium atomic or ionic emission or ionic absorption, the lower part of the plasma is “hollow” with little or no response in the center. If, however, atomic absorption is measured, the bullet-shaped initial radiation zone shows no central minimum. Thus atom formation is complete or nearly so in this plasma region. Ionization and/or excitation occur only higher or farther from the center in the hotter plasma regions. Lithium has little effect on calcium atomic absorption, it suppresses ionic absorption, but it enhances both atomic and ionic emission in most regions low in the plasma. The effective excitation of the plasma is increased by the lithium matrix but the excitation temperature measured by the iron two line method is not affected by the presence of lithium.
Affect as a foundational psychological process for spirituality and empathy

There is growing interest in understanding the manner by which spiritual experiences, religious beliefs and behaviours, and prosocial traits (e.g., empathy, altruism) are related. Research has rece...
Application of evidence-based recommendations for heat acclimation: Individual and team sport perspectives

Heat acclimation or acclimatization (HA) occurs with repeated exposure to heat inducing adaptations that enhance thermoregulatory mechanisms and heat tolerance leading to improved exercise performa...
Influence of Age on the Clinical Outcome of Breast Cancer for Men and the Development of Second Primary Cancers.

Low incidence of breast cancer in men (BCM) ( 65 years). Kaplan–Meier methods were used to compare overall survival (OS) and breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS). Competing-risk methods analyzed time to second primary cancers (SPCs), with any-cause death treated as a competing risk. The study identified 152 BCM patients with a median age of 64 years (range 19–96 years). The median body mass index (BMI) was 28 kg/m2. Men age 65 years or younger (n = 78, 51%) were more overweight/obese than men older than 65 years (n = 74, 49%) (89% vs 74%, respectively; P = 0.008). Both groups had similar nodal metastases rates (P = 0.4), estrogen receptor positivity (P = 1), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)neu overexpression (P = 0.6). Men 65 years of age or younger were more likely to receive chemotherapy (P = 0.002). The median follow-up period was 5.8 years (range 0.1–14.4 years). The 5-year OS was 86% (95% confidence interval [CI] 80–93%), whereas the 5-year BCSS was 95% (95% CI 91–99%). The BCM patients 65 years of age and younger had better OS (P = 0.003) but not BCSS (P = 0.8). The 5-year cumulative incidence of SPC was 8.4% (95% CI 3.4–13.4%). The prior SPC rate was higher for men older than 65 years (n = 20, 31%) than for those age 65 years or younger (n = 7, 11%) (P = 0.008). This did not account for differences in life years at risk. No difference was observed in SPC cumulative incidence stratified by age (P = 0.3). Men 65 years of age or younger received more chemotherapy and had improved OS, but not BCSS, compared with men older than 65 years. For all BCM, SPC is a risk, and appropriate screening may be warranted.
Solving the Global Crisis in Access to Pain Relief: Lessons From Country Actions

Annually, more than 61 million people worldwide experience about 6 billion days of serious health-related suffering that could be alleviated with access to palliative care and pain relief. However, palliative care is limited or nonexistent in most parts of the world. The access abyss is so stark that 50% of the world's poorest populations live in countries that receive only 1% of the opioid analgesics distributed worldwide. By contrast, the richest 10% of the world's population live in countries that receive nearly 90% of the opioid pain relief medications.The Lancet Commission on Global Access to Palliative Care and Pain Relief developed a framework to measure the global burden of serious health-related suffering and generated the evidence base to address this burden.We present the inequities in access to pain relief and highlight key points from country responses, drawing from and building on recommendations of the Lancet Commission report "Alleviating the Access Abyss in Palliative Care and Pain Relief-An Imperative of Universal Health Coverage" to close the access abyss in relief of pain and other types of serious health-related suffering.
Dissolution of antiphase domain boundaries in GaAs on Si(001) via post-growth annealing

GaAs-on-Si epitaxial crystal quality has historically been limited by a number of growth-related defects. In particular, antiphase domain boundaries (APBs) can nucleate at the GaAs/Si interface and propagate throughout the entire GaAs layer. Still little is known about how thermal processing can affect the APB density in GaAs. In this study, GaAs was grown on nominally on-axis Si(001) by metal–organic chemical vapor deposition. The effect of ex situ post-growth annealing was evaluated for a temperature range of 550–700 °C. It was found that upon annealing the APB density was decreased significantly. The rate of APB density decrease was found to be temperature dependent. At annealing temperatures of 650 °C and above, the APB density was reduced from 0.10 μm−1 to approximately 0.010 μm−1 in less than 10 min. The activation energy for APB dissolution was determined to be 3.8 eV. The mechanism of APB dissolution is discussed.
Abstract P341: Reduction of Insulin Resistance and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Older African American Women: A Randomized Comparison of Transcendental Meditation and Health Education

Background: High stress level is thought to be a factor in the disproportionate rates of mortality from CHD and stroke in African Americans. Stress-related CVD risk factors such as hyperglycemia, d...
Characterizing lysine acetylation of Escherichia coli type II citrate synthase

The citrate synthase (CS) catalyzes the first reaction of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, playing an important role in central metabolism. The acetylation of lysine residues in the Escherichia coli Type II CS has been identified at multiple sites by proteomic studies, but their effects remain unknown. In this study, we applied the genetic code expansion strategy to generate 10 site-specifically acetylated CS variants which have been identified in nature. Enzyme assays and kinetic analyses showed that lysine acetylation could decrease the overall CS enzyme activity, largely due to the acetylation of K295 which impaired the binding of acetyl-coenzyme A. Further genetic studies as well as in vitro acetylation and deacetylation assays were performed to explore the acetylation and deacetylation processes of the CS, which indicated that the CS could be acetylated by acetyl-phosphate chemically, and be deacetylated by the CobB deacetylase.
Vaccines, Immunization, and Viruses

Vaccines have virtually wiped out most common childhood diseases. They have done this by helping children (and adults, too) to develop an immunity that protects them from the disease-causing agent.
Towards consideration of epistemic uncertainty in shear-wave velocity measurements obtained via seismic cone penetration testing (SCPT)

Seismic cone penetration testing (SCPT) is a powerful geotechnical site characterization tool, allowing for simultaneous collection of routine cone penetration testing data and rapid downhole-type ...
Stability of Fluid Queueing Systems With Parallel Servers and Stochastic Capacities

This note introduces a piecewise-deterministic queueing (PDQ) model to study the stability of traffic queues in parallel-link transportation systems facing stochastic capacity fluctuations. The saturation rate (capacity) of the PDQ model switches between a finite set of modes according to a Markov chain, and link inflows are controlled by a state-feedback policy. A PDQ system is stable only if a lower bound on the time-average link inflows does not exceed the corresponding time-average saturation rate. Furthermore, a PDQ system is stable if the following two conditions hold: the nominal mode's saturation rate is high enough that all queues vanish in this mode, and a bilinear matrix inequality involving an underestimate of the discharge rates of the PDQ in individual modes is feasible. The stability conditions can be strengthened for two-mode PDQs. These results can be used for design of routing policies that guarantee stability of traffic queues under stochastic capacity fluctuations.
Mixed Messages: I. The Consequences of Communicating Negative Statements Within Emotional Support Messages to Cancer Patients.

Background:Not all emotional support messages consist purely of positive statements. Some emotional support messages received by cancer patients simultaneously communicate statements of caring but ...
Noncoding RNAs in inflammation and colorectal cancer.

Despite advanced clinical treatments, mortality in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) remains high. Three critical determinants in CRC progression include the epithelial proliferation...
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a ­neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by the presence of both obsessions and compulsions (American Psychiatric Association, 2000), and is expressed in approximately 2–4% of children (Esser, Schmidt, & Woerner, 1990; Flament et al., 1988; Maggini et al., 2003; Thomsen 1993). On the one hand, obsessions are composed of recurrent and persistent thoughts, impulses, and/or images that are experienced as intrusive and unwanted by the individual, with the most common including thoughts of contamination and images of violence (Leonard, Ale, Freeman, Garcia, & Ng, 2005; March & Leonard, 1996; Storch et al., 2009). Compulsions, on the other hand, are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that the individual feels compelled to perform (Carter & Pollock, 2000; Leonard et al., 2005; March & Leonard, 1996; Riddle et al., 1990), with the most common being excessive washing of the hands and a repetitive checking or touching of objects (Storch et al., 2009). In most cases, obsessions and compulsions are present together, and may relate in a meaningful way (e.g., obsessive thoughts about hygiene paired with compulsive hand-washing); however, neither a dual nor a meaningful presentation of obsessions and compulsions is required for a diagnosis of OCD (Carter & Pollock, 2000; Keeley, Storch, Dhungana, & Geffken, 2007). OCD is diagnosed when at least one obsession or compulsion is present and causes significant interference to the child’s life. In this context, significant interference is defined by the loss of 1 or more hours per day to an obsession or compulsion (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). In general, OCD is chronic and debilitating in its effects: without treatment only 10% of diagnosed children experience a remission; 10% experience a worsening of symptoms (and/or associated impairments) over time; and the other 80% experience a fairly stable, unremitting course (Hollander & Evers, 2004; Keeley et al., 2007).
I Matched but Not to the Program of My Top Choice, What Do I Do?

Every applicant who gets matched may not be to the program of their choice all the time. According to the NRMP data, it shows the match percentage of the individual applicants to their first choice is 36.6%, and the top three choices are more than half, which is 51.5%. The top reasons to prefer a program, in particular have well to do with the support from partner, family, other residents, and perception of being rested. The various channels where a resident could find information regarding an open position in the program of their choice is through portals like residencyswap.org or FREIDA. However, the critical criteria needed are timely communication with their chosen program for any opening, which is very uncommon.
Rapid Prototyping of Multilayer Microphysiological Systems

Microfluidic organs-on-chips aim to realize more biorelevant in vitro experiments compared to traditional two-dimensional (2D) static cell culture. Often such devices are fabricated via poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) soft lithography, which offers benefits (e.g., high feature resolution) along with drawbacks (e.g., prototyping time/costs). Here, we report benchtop fabrication of multilayer, PDMS-free, thermoplastic organs-on-chips via laser cut and assembly with double-sided adhesives that overcome some limitations of traditional PDMS lithography. Cut and assembled chips are economical to prototype ($2 per chip), can be fabricated in parallel within hours, and are Luer compatible. Biocompatibility was demonstrated with epithelial line Caco-2 cells and primary human small intestinal organoids. Comparable to control static Transwell cultures, Caco-2 and organoids cultured on chips formed confluent monolayers expressing tight junctions with low permeability. Caco-2 cells-on-chip differentiated ∼4 times faster, including increased mucus, compared to controls. To demonstrate the robustness of cut and assemble, we fabricated a dual membrane, trilayer chip integrating 2D and 3D compartments with accessible apical and basolateral flow chambers. As proof of concept, we cocultured a human, differentiated monolayer and intact 3D organoids within multilayered contacting compartments. The epithelium exhibited 3D tissue structure and organoids expanded close to the adjacent monolayer, retaining proliferative stem cells over 10 days. Taken together, cut and assemble offers the capability to rapidly and economically manufacture microfluidic devices, thereby presenting a compelling fabrication technique for developing organs-on-chips of various geometries to study multicellular tissues.
NemaLife chip: a micropillar-based microfluidic culture device optimized for aging studies in crawling C. elegans

In this study, we report a microfluidic device for the whole-life culture of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans that allows the scoring of animal survival and health measures. This device referred to as the NemaLife chip features: (1) an optimized micropillar arena in which animals can crawl, (2) sieve channels that separate progeny and prevent the loss of adults from the arena during culture maintenance, and (3) ports that allow rapid accessibility for feeding the adult-only population and introducing reagents as needed. The pillar arena geometry was optimized to accommodate the growing body size during culture and emulate the body gait and locomotion of animals reared on agar. Likewise, feeding protocols were optimized to recapitulate longevity outcomes typical of standard plate growth. Key benefits of the NemaLife Chip include eliminating the need to perform repeated manual transfers of adults during survival assays, negating the need for progeny-blocking chemical interventions, and avoiding the swim-induced stress across lifespan in animals reared in liquid. We also show that the culture of animals in pillar-less microfluidic chambers reduces lifespan and introduces physiological stress by increasing the occurrence of age-related vulval integrity disorder. We validated our pillar-based device with longevity analyses of classical aging mutants (daf-2, age-1, eat-2, and daf-16) and animals subjected to RNAi knockdown of age-related genes (age-1 and daf-16). We also showed that healthspan measures such as pharyngeal pumping and tap-induced stimulated reversals can be scored across the lifespan in the NemaLife chip. Overall, the capacity to generate reliable lifespan and physiological data underscores the potential of the NemaLife chip to accelerate healthspan and lifespan investigations in C. elegans.
CD73+ Dendritic Cells in Cascading Th17 Responses of Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis-Induced Mice.

Previous studies have shown that CD73 is pivotal in the conversion of pro-inflammatory adenosine triphosphate into anti-inflammatory adenosine and that immune cells of the same type that express different levels of CD73 are functionally distinct. In this study we show that adenosine enhances the Th17 promoting effect of dendritic cells (DCs), and DCs expressing CD73 critically augment Th17 responses. Bone marrow dendritic cells (BMDCs) do not constantly express CD73; however, a significant portion of the BMDCs expressed CD73 after exposure to Toll-like receptor ligand, leading to stronger Th17 responses by converting adenosine monophosphate to adenosine. We show that the CD73+ BMDCs play a critical role in cascading Th17 responses, and CD73+ BMDCs are functionally augmented after treatment with Toll-like receptor ligand. Splenic antigen presenting cells (DCs) of CD73-/- mouse have a poor Th17-stimulating effect, even after exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or γδ T cells, indicating that induction of CD73+ DCs is critically involved in augmented Th17 responses. We conclude that CD73+ DCs critically trigger cascading Th17 responses, and the activated Th17 cells that express CD73 further augment Th17 responses, leading to cascading exacerbation. Hence, disabling the CD73 function of DCs should block this cascading response and mitigate Th17 responses.
Data-Driven Analysis of Neutron Diffraction Line Profiles: Application to Plastically Deformed Ta

Non-destructive evaluation of plastically deformed metals is particularly valuable both for assessing dislocation microstructures and validating constitutive models. Among other methods, diffraction line profile analysis has been widely used to extract dislocation densities in deformed bulk single crystals and polycrystals. To date, the interpretation of whole line diffraction profiles relies on the use of semi-analytical models such as the extended convolutional multiple whole profile (eCMWP) method. This study proposes and assesses the prospects of a data-driven approach to extract dislocation densities from experimentally gathered whole line diffraction profiles. A database of virtual diffraction whole line profiles of Ta single crystals containing varying dislocation densities is generated. The dislocation microstructures are synthesized using discrete dislocation dynamics, and two distinct strain-based virtual diffraction algorithms are used to generate diffraction profiles. Instrumental broadening is applied to the synthetic profiles. The databases inform two Gaussian process regression-based surrogate models, allowing dislocation densities to be extracted from experimental profiles. The method is applied to 11 experimentally obtained whole line diffraction profiles gathered from plastically deformed Ta polycrystals. Upon applying both surrogate models to the experimental data and using eCMWP as a point of comparison, it is found that data-driven predictions of dislocation density can clearly capture the evolution of dislocation density with applied strain. Finally, the data-driven model is used to explore the effect of heterogeneous dislocation densities in microstructures containing grains, which may lead to more accurate data-driven predictions of dislocation density in plastically deformed polycrystals.
Mechanistic studies of dinucleotide and oligonucleotide model cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) DNA lesions under alkaline conditions

Abstract Cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) are the most abundant mutagenic DNA lesions formed in mammalian cells upon exposure to UV-B radiation (280-315 nm) in sunlight. These lesions are thought to be chemically stable and to withstand high concentrations of acids and bases. Indeed, while earlier investigations of DNA lesions containing saturated pyrimidines have shown that the C4 carbonyl is a potential target of nucleophilic attack, similar reactions with thymine nucleobase model CPDs clearly showed that the cis-syn CPD (major isomer) is stable in the presence of a high concentration of alkali at room temperature. Here is described the alkaline reactivity of these lesions when contained within a dinucleotide CPD model system. Results using cis-syn CPD formed from dinucleotide 5-TpT-3 combined with [ 18O]-labelling indicated that CPD undergoes a water addition at the C4=O groups of these now saturated rings. The intermediate formed, however, completely reverts to the starting lesion. Along with confirming the target of water addition within CPD lesions, it was also determined that the two C4 carbonyls present on adjacent saturated pyrimidine rings of the photolesion react asymmetrically and undergo water exchange at different rates (3′ > 5′). Moreover, the difference in reactivity exhibited by these two positions is not limited to a dinucleotide and was observed also in oligonucleotides. Overall, a full understanding of the chemistry of CPD lesions is crucial to our knowledge of DNA modifications and may lead to further insight into their chemical detection, modification, and biochemical recognition & repair.
Initiation of Pumping and Milk Weight in Mothers of Nonnursing Preterm Infants

Studies of lactating mothers who must use mechanical expression to initiate and maintain their milk supply are limited. No studies were found that have examined timing of first breast pumping after birth and subsequent milk volume in mothers of preterm infants using mechanical expression. Thus, the purpose of this secondary data analysis examined the amount of milk in grams mechanically expressed weeks 2 through 5 after birth by mothers of preterm infants in relation to the first initiation of breast pumping and frequency of pumping.
The Cartan—Hadamard Theorem and Rauch’s First Theorem

In §5.5, we estimated the growth of certain Jacobi fields using the first few terms of a power series. That was valid only for a short time interval. In the present section, we use a more delicate approach—known as a comparison argument. The resulting estimate holds for long time intervals.
Efficient Link Cuts in Online Social Networks

Due to the huge popularity of online social networks, many researchers focus on adding links, e.g., link prediction to help friend recommendation. So far, no research has been performed on link cuts. However, the spread of malware and misinformation can cause havoc and hence it is interesting to see how to cut links such that malware and misinformation will not run rampant. In fact, many online social networks can be modeled as undirected graphs. In this paper, we investigate different strategies to cut links among different users in undirected graphs so that the speed of virus and misinformation spread can be slowed down the most or even cut off. Two measures are chosen to evaluate the performance of these strategies: Average Inverse of Shortest Path Length (AIPL) and Rumor Saturation Rate (RSR). AIPL measures the communication efficiency of the whole graph while RSR checks the percentage of users receiving information within a certain time interval.
Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Operation for Interruption of Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Adults

Abstract Background . Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a frequent congenital heart disease encountered in premature neonates, infants, and children. Video-assisted endoscopic techniques have been used in PDA interruption since 1993. Almost all the experiences are in pediatric patients. Applications in adults with PDA have been limited. Methods . We report our experience of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical ligation of PDA in adults. From August 1995 to January 1996, 60 patients with PDA were operated on with a video-assisted thoracoscopic technique. Twelve adults were identified with mean age of 30 years (range, 20 to 57 years). With the patient under general anesthesia and double-lumen endotracheal intubation, two 5-mm holes were made in the left lateral chest wall. Another 4-cm incision was made in the left third intercostal space for manipulation, dissection, and ligation. Conventional surgical instruments were used except an endoscopic grasper and an endoscopic tube that connected to a video camera. The surgical procedure was viewed on a video screen. Transesophageal echocardiography was used for monitoring during PDA ligation. Results . All patients had successful ligation of the PDA. There was no surgical mortality, but there was one morbidity; transient recurrent nerve injury, which recovered 3 months later. Ten patients were extubated in operative room and 2 patients were extubated 2 hours after the operation. Tube thoracostomy was performed in the first 2 cases; it was omitted thereafter. No patients needed narcotic to control chest pain. Postoperative follow-up by echocardiography showed faint ductal flow in 1 patient without any murmur. All patients were discharged within 3 days after the operation. Conclusions . Our experience suggests that with refinement of instruments and surgical technique, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical ligation can be safely applied not only in pediatric patients, but also in adults with PDA. (Ann Thorac Surg 1997;63:175–9)
Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis—genetics and syndromes

Infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (IHPS) is a common condition in neonates that is characterized by an acquired narrowing of the pylorus. The aetiology of isolated IHPS is still largely unknown. Classic genetic studies have demonstrated an increased risk in families of affected infants. Several genetic studies in groups of individuals with isolated IHPS have identified chromosomal regions linked to the condition; however, these associations could usually not be confirmed in subsequent cohorts, suggesting considerable genetic heterogeneity. IHPS is associated with many clinical syndromes that have known causative mutations. Patients with syndromes associated with IHPS can be considered as having an extreme phenotype of IHPS and studying these patients will be instrumental in finding causes of isolated IHPS. Possible pathways in syndromic IHPS include: (neuro)muscular disorders; connective tissue disorders; metabolic disorders; intracellular signalling pathway disturbances; intercellular communication disturbances; ciliopathies; DNA-repair disturbances; transcription regulation disorders; MAPK-pathway disturbances; lymphatic abnormalities; and environmental factors. Future research should focus on linkage analysis and next-generation molecular techniques in well-defined families with multiple affected members. Studies will have an increased chance of success if detailed phenotyping is applied and if knowledge about the various possible causative pathways is used in evaluating results.
Effects of hemorrhagic shock, aspirin, and ethanol on secretagogue-induced experimental pancreatitis

The effects of hemorrhagic shock, aspirin, and ethanol on the biochemical and morphologic changes of experimental pancreatitis were evaluated. Pancreatitis was induced by infusing rats with a supramaximally stimulating dose (5 µg/kg/h) of caerulein. Hemorrhagic shock was established by removing sufficient blood to reduce mean arterial pressure by 30%, where it was maintained for 30 min. Aspirin (25 mg/kg) and ethanol (2 g/kg) were administered through an orogastric tube at 8-h intervals for 48 h. Hemorrhagic shock did not alter the degree of hyperamylasemia, pancreatic edema, cathepsin subcellular redistribution, or in vitro LDH leakage that characterize this model of pancreatitis. Hemorrhagic shock did, however, worsen the morphologic evidence of pancreatic injury. Administration of aspirin with ethanol did not alter the degree of hyperamy-lasemia, pancreatic edema, or subcellular cathepsin redistribution. Aspirin-ethanol pretreatment also did not alter the morphologic severity of pancreatitis. These observations indicate that hemorrhagic shock worsens the microscopic evidence of pancreatitis induced by supramaximal secretagogue stimulation. In contrast, aspirin-ethanol pretreatment, which might have been expected to increase pancreatic ductal permeability, did not alter the severity of this model of experimental pancreatitis.
Clinical performance and utility of a DNA methylation urine test for bladder cancer.

Abstract Introduction Abnormal gene methylation has been observed in several cancers. A prior study reported methylation of TWIST1 and NID2 as a quantitative biomarker for urothelial carcinoma, but external validation has yet to be performed. We sought to externally validate a urine-based methylation assay combining TWIST1 and NID2 and assess its clinical utility. Methods A prospective trial was conducted comparing the methylation assay to cystoscopy and biopsy in patients with hematuria or prior non–muscle invasive bladder cancer. Sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values, and likelihood ratios of the methylation assay were calculated. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for each gene and the combined assay were computed. Bayesian analyses were performed to assess utility of the assay for a variety of clinical scenarios. Results Complete data were available for 111 patients. In validating the prior assay definition in the current cohort, sensitivity and specificity were 79% and 63%, respectively, and when optimized for the current cohort were 75% and 71%, respectively. The area under the curve for the assay was 0.73 compared with biopsy and 0.71 compared with cystoscopy. Conclusions We failed to replicate the excellent performance of the methylation assay in this external validation; however, this assay may have utility for screening or surveillance for non–muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Conscientious Objection, Coercion, the Affordable Care Act, and US States

While NFIB v. Sebelius largely upheld the Affordable Care Act (ACA), it did not do so as as to the proposed expansion of Medicaid. Seven of the nine US Supreme Court Justices (all except Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor) endorsed a ‘coercion’ argument that gave individual States a right of objection grounded in the Constitution’s Spending Clause, wherein individual states could refuse to expand Medicaid as demanded by the federal government without being directly penalized by a denial of federal funding. Two Justices in dissent focused on the lack of judicial administrability of such a standard, and suggested it would open up a Pandora’s box of future constitutional challenges without any clear rules. In this article, part of a symposium on philosophical analysis of the Court's decision published in the peer-reviewed journal Ethical Perspectives, I discuss what I see as a more fundamental question: by what theory is the Medicaid expansion coercive, and even if coercive, by what theory is it coercive in a problematic way that justifies constitutional redress?The Court’s failure to address this issue stems, in part, from confusion over what it means for an offer to be coercive. In some sense, Justice Kagan seemed to recognize this issue in a question to Paul Clement, the lawyer for the challengers to the ACA, at oral argument: “Why is a big gift from the federal government a matter of coercion?” Kagan asked. “It’s just a boatload of federal money for you to take and spend on poor people’s health care,” Kagan added. “It doesn’t sound coercive to me, I have to tell you.” The exchange is all the more curious because, despite her scepticism, Kagan signed on to the Court’s holding that the Medicaid expansion was coercive.I will examine this issue by first discussing whether Medicaid itself and the ACA’s expansion are coercive (as stand-alone offers). I will then examine whether the offer to change from the existing Medicaid program to the ACA’s Medicaid expansion was problematic. I will analyze these questions under the assumption that the Court is not committing a category error by treating States as the kinds of entities subject to this kind of coercion inquiry. In my conclusion, however, I briefly consider whether that assumption is warranted.
Population Structure and the Conundrum of Local Adaptation

The black pineleaf scale insect (Nuculaspis californica Coleman) is a parasite of western yellow pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson) and 11 other conifer species (Ferris 1938; Furniss and Carolin 1977). The insects are short-lived relative to their host trees, largely sedentary, and achieve persistent, damaging infestations in areas where airborne dust or the drift of orchard insecticide compromises biological control agents. The abundance of black pineleaf scale varies within an infested stand and correlates with the age and size of the trees; larger, older pines harbor more scales than smaller, younger ones. In the same paper that laid out this basic biology, George Edmunds (1973, p. 765) was first to suggest that “scale populations apparently become adapted to specific host individuals, and population densities can become high only with genetic fitness of the population to the host species and individual.”
Determination of the Minimal Temperature for Growth of Escherichia coli

The minimal temperature for growth of Escherichia coli ML30 in glucose minimal medium is between 7.5 and 7.8 C. After transfer to subminimal temperature, growth occurs but is not sustained.
Two-phase flow in rough-walled fractures: Experiments and a flow structure model

[1] Despite some successful studies of two-phase or unsaturated flows in ideal smooth-walled fractures, the more realistic issues regarding fundamentals of two-phase interactions in rough-walled fractures are still poorly understood. In this study, we suggest a new approach to describe relative permeability behavior in rough-walled fractures based on experimental observations of two-phase flow structures. This approach lumps the microscale physical mechanism (viscous and capillary forces) into an apparent observable parameter, the channel tortuosity, which was found to dominate the reduction of the relative permeabilities from the values that would be expected based on the linear X curve (i.e., relative permeability equals saturation). Two analog fractures, the homogeneously rough-walled and randomly rough-walled fractures, combined with a smooth-walled fracture investigated previously were studied to represent distinct surface geometry and heterogeneity. The uncertainty and quality of measured relative permeabilities in the fractures were discussed in the aspects of high-resolution relative permeability and different averaging techniques. The experimental results from these three fractures could be described successfully by the proposed approach. Furthermore, we found that the magnitude of the channel tortuosity increases when the heterogeneity of the fracture surface increases. We also showed that the rates' (velocities) effects on flow structures within the experimental ranges were insignificant. Generalizing from channel tortuosities occurring in these three fractures, we were able to derive empirical, tortuous channel models. These models represent the current experimental data as well as observations from earlier studies with good agreement.
Sum rule analysis of hyperon magnetic moments

Sum rules for baryon magnetic moments are tested using accurate new hyperon magnetic moment measurements reported at this conference. The difference (Ξ0−Ξ−) of Ξ hyperon moments is inconsistent with the sum rules indicating large SU(3) breaking non‐static contributions to baryon magnetic moments. The new measurments for the Σ− moment would imply an anomalously small strange quark contribution to the Σ magnetic moment.
The mouse palate and its cellular responses to midpalatal suture expansion forces

Objectives To investigate the anatomy of the mouse palate, the midpalatal suture, and the cellular characteristics in the sutures before and immediately after midpalatal suture expansion.
Observation of DNA transport through a single carbon nanotube channel using fluorescence microscopy.

DNA transport through a single multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT) channel was directly observed via fluorescence microscopy.
Molecular Structure of Frizzled, a Drosophila Tissue Polarity Gene

The function of the frizzled (fz) locus is required to coordinate the cytoskeletons of pupal epidermal cells so that a parallel array of cuticular hairs and bristles is produced. We report here the molecular cloning and characterization of the fz locus. The locus is very large. Mutations that inactivate the gene are spread over 100 kb of genomic DNA. The major mRNA product of the gene is a 4-kb RNA that is encoded by 5 exons spread over more than 90 kb of genomic DNA. Conceptual translation of this mRNA indicates that it encodes an integral membrane protein that is likely to contain both extracellular and cytoplasmic domains.
Emissions from nine heavy trucks fueled by diesel and biodiesel blend without engine modification

Biodiesel, a fuel that can be made from renewable biological sources such as vegetable oils or animal fats, has been recognized recently as an environment friendly alternative fuel for diesel engines. In this paper, we describe a study that compared exhaust emissions from in-use heavy trucks fueled with a biodiesel blend with those from trucks fueled with petroleum diesel. The biodiesel blend tested is a mixture of 35% biodiesel and 65% petroleum diesel, a blend designated as B35. The study is based on the field test results from West Virginia University's Transportable Heavy Duty Chassis Dynamometer Emissions Testing Laboratory and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. The heavy trucks we tested performed well when the originally equipped compression-ignition engine (diesel engine) was fueled with B35 without any engine modifications. Fuel economy (in terms of gallon per mile) of the two fuels was about the same. The emissions test results have shown that the heavy trucks fueled by B35 emitted sign...
Generation of superoxide from reaction of 3H- 1,2-dithiole-3-thione with thiols: implications for dithiolethione chemoprotection

3H-1,2-Dithiole-3-thione (D3T), a potent member of dithiolethiones, induces phase 2 enzymes by activating an Nrf2/Keap1-dependent signaling pathway. It was proposed that interaction between D3T and two adjacent sulfhydryl groups of Keap1 might cause dissociation of Keap1 from Nrf2, leading to Nrf2 activation. This study was undertaken to investigate the reactions between D3T and thiols, including the dithiol compound, dithiothreitol (DTT), and the monothiol, glutathione (GSH). We reported here that under physiologically relevant conditions incubation of D3T with DTT caused remarkable oxygen consumption, indicating a redox reaction between D3T and the dithiol molecule. Incubation of D3T with GSH also led to oxygen consumption, but to a less extent. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies showed that the redox reaction between D3T and DTT generated superoxide. Superoxide was also formed from the redox reaction of D3T with GSH. These findings demonstrate that D3T reacts with thiols, particularly a dithiol, generating superoxide, which may provide a mechanistic explanation for induction of Nrf2-dependent phase 2 enzymes by D3T.
Recursive properties of abstract complexity classes (Preliminary Version)

It is proven that complexity classes of abstract measures of complexity need not be recursively enumerable. However, the complement of each class is r.e. Properties of effective enumerations of complexity classes are studied. For any measure there is another measure with 'almost' the same complexity classes such that almost every class admits an effective enumeration in terms of speedy devices. Finally complexity classes are shown to not be closed under intersection.