cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Race-ethnic, family income, and education differentials in nutritional and lipid biomarkers in US children and adolescents: NHANES 2003–2006

Background: Children from ethnic minority and low-income families in the United States have higher rates of poor health and higher mortality rates. Diet, an acknowledged correlate of health, may mediate the known race-ethnic and socioeconomic differentials in the health of US children. Objective: The objective was to examine the independent association of race-ethnicity, family income, and education with nutritional and lipid biomarkers in US children. Design: We used data from the NHANES 2003–2006 to examine serum concentrations of vitamins A, D, E, C, B-6, and B-12; serum concentrations of folate, carotenoids, and lipids; and dietary intakes of corresponding nutrients for 2–19-y-old children ( n= w2700– 7500). Multiple covariate–adjusted regression methods were used to examine the independent and joint associations of race-ethnicity, family income, and education with biomarker status. Results: Non-Hispanic blacks had lower mean serum concentrations of vitamins A, B-6, and E and a-carotene than did nonHispanic whites. Both non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican Americans had higher mean serum vitamin C, b-cryptoxanthin, and lutein + zeaxanthin but lower folate and vitamin D concentrations compared with non-Hispanic whites. In comparison with non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks were less likely to have low serum HDL cholesterol or high triglycerides. Family income and education predicted few biomarker or dietary outcomes, and the observed associations were weak. Moreover, modification of race-ethnic differentials by income or education (or vice versa) was noted for very few biomarkers. Conclusion: Race-ethnicity, but not family income or education, was a strong independent predictor of serum nutrient concentrations and dietary micronutrient intakes in US children and adolescents. Am J Clin Nutr doi: 10.3945/ajcn.112.035535.
The lens: local transport and global transparency.

The perception of the lens changed remarkably during the career of David Maurice. The early view was that it was an inert sack of protein that assisted the cornea in focusing light on the retina. As investigators looked more carefully, more and more complexity was revealed and today we know the lens is a living, dynamic organ that carries out a host of biochemical and physiological processes necessary for homeostasis. We have worked on the lens over this period and have provided a small part of the data on lens physiology. This paper is an overview of our own contributions, in the context of the ever evolving view of the lens. Given this is a brief tribute to the career of David Maurice, there is not enough space nor is it appropriate to provide a complete review of all the work that has contributed to this evolving view.
Donor PNPLA3 rs738409 genotype affects fibrosis progression in liver transplantation for hepatitis C

The rs738409 G>C single nucleotide polymorphism occurring in the patatin-like phospholipase 3 gene has been identified as a novel genetic marker for hepatic steatosis. Recent studies also associated rs738409 with fibrosis in hepatitis C (HCV). Therefore, we sought to determine the impact of donor and recipient rs738409 genotype on the progression of fibrosis after liver transplantation for HCV. This cohort study included 101 patients infected with HCV who underwent liver transplantation between January 2008, and June 2011. Donor and recipient rs738409 genotypes were determined from donor wedge biopsies and recipient explants. The time to Ishak stage 3 fibrosis, or HCV-related mortality/graft loss was analyzed by the Cox model adjusting for HCV-Donor Risk Index, warm ischemic time, pretransplant Model for Endstage Liver Disease (MELD) and viral load. The rs738409 CC variant was present in 56% of donors and 57% of recipients. The median follow-up period was 620 days. A total of 39 patients developed the primary outcome of ≥stage 3 fibrosis or HCV-related mortality/graft loss, the time to which differed by donor (P = 0.019) but not recipient (P = 0.89) genotype. In the multivariate model, donor GC or GG variants had 2.53 times the risk (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.25-5.02, P = 0.008) compared to CC variants. In the alternative endpoint: stage 3 fibrosis or all-cause mortality/graft loss, the effect of donor genotype was attenuated but remained significant at 1.98 (95% CI 1.11-3.53). Conclusions: The rs738409 genotype is an important predictor of posttransplant outcome in HCV. Liver, and not adipocytes, is the site at which this effect occurs. Our finding may be useful in donor selection for liver transplantation with HCV, and may guide decisions regarding early antiviral treatment. (Hepatology 2014;59:453–460)
Spud: A Structured Methodology For The Design Of Web Sites

The World Wide Web (web) grows apace, yet many web sites possess a confusing design, frustrating would-be users. We offer a structured approach, called SPUD (Site Purpose – Users – Design) to the task of designing, not implementing, web sites. Our methodology focuses upon a structured walkthrough of a web site and consists of three phases (and 15 substeps), with possible iteration between the stages. (1) Define the audience characteristics of users of the web site, including their motives for visiting, their demographics, and their likely technological capabilities. (2) Plan accordingly the structure of the web site, the page layouts, and the navigation procedures between pages. (3) Develop and test functions useful to the users of the web site, such as a search function (for a complex web site) or an order function (for a retail web site).
BH3 domain-independent apolipoprotein L1 toxicity rescued by BCL2 prosurvival proteins.

The potent trypanolytic properties of human apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) can be neutralized by the trypanosome variant surface antigen gene product known as serum resistance-associated protein. Howeve...
Consumer Food Price Subsidies in Pakistan

Consumer food price subsidies have been a feature of Pakistan’s economy since World War II. They operate through a system of government-licensed, privately owned ration shops that sell fixed quantities of wheat and sugar. They were initiated, not in response to an existing nutritional need, but as a way of allocating essential consumer items in the face of wartime shortages of goods and transport. The system has persisted to the present, however, with beneficial results for the level of food consumption of the population.
Home Environment, Cognitive Processes, and Intelligence: A Path Analysis

Information from longitudinal studies conducted in the last 20 years indicates a strong link between cognitive development and the quality of stimulation available in the early home environment. To date, however, primary attention has been devoted to the direct relationship between environmental stimulation and various cognitive outcomes (i.e., IQ, achievement test scores, language performance). Very few data are available on the relations between environmental quality and the cognitive processes which may facilitate intellectual attainment.
GENO-09LANDSCAPE OF GENOMIC ALTERATIONS IN PITUITARY ADENOMAS

BACKGROUND: The genetic underpinnings of sporadic pituitary adenomas remain incompletely understood, despite their prevalence in adults. We describe a comprehensive genetic characterization of the largest mixed cohort of pituitary macroadenomas, including hormonally active and atypical adenomas. METHODS: 42 pituitary adenomas were selected to represent a spectrum of histopathologic subtypes, de novo and recurrent tumors, and MIB-1 proliferative indices to interrogate the heterogeneity intrinsic to pituitary tumors. Whole-exome sequencing was performed on tumor and paired blood to identify somatic copy-number alterations, mutations, insertions and deletions. RESULTS: We appreciated two classes of pituitary tumors based upon the fraction of the genome disrupted. The first class (71% of tumors) had somatic copy-number alterations involving less than 6% of the genome; the other class (29%) had significantly greater levels of genomic disruption, up to 99% of the genome involved. The widespread genomic disruption observed in the second class was largely accounted for by arm-level events, with minimal involvement of focal events, which is rare among tumor types. Levels of genomic disruption were associated with phenotype. Among the less disrupted group, 87% (26/30) were clinically non-functional adenomas, whereas the majority of the disrupted group were functional or atypical null-cell adenomas. The high and low genomic disruption classes did not differ in mean MIB-1 proliferative index. Frequent loss of chromosomes 11 and 1p were observed, as well as significant recurrent amplifications of chromosome 5, 7, 9, 12, and 14q. On the whole, the tumors harbored a low rate of mutations, similar to other benign brain tumors. CONCLUSIONS: Genomic characterization of a large series of sporadic pituitary adenomas reveals two distinct classes of tumor, based on genomic disruption from broad copy-number alterations, and associates with tumor subtype.
On the stability relations of hydrous minerals in water-undersaturated magmas

Reaction of a hydrous mineral with a water-bearing silicate melt is analyzed in terms of the sto- ichiometry of (in)congruent dissolution. Application of the law of mass action provides an explana- tion for the presence of an isobaric thermal maximum that manifests itself in terms of enhanced stability of the phase under conditions of water undersaturation. It is shown that the water content of the melt at which the maximum develops is independent of pressure and water speciation, but is strongly dependent on the identity of other ("anhydrous") melt species and upon the stoichiometric numbers of additional solid phases involved in the reaction. Utilizing MELTS, the analysis is applied to the cummingtonite-bearing rhyolitic magmas of the Taupo volcanic zone of New Zealand.
Simplified analyses of methanol droplet combustion for comparison with microgravity experimental results

Theoretical investigations were conducted by employing asymptotics with a two-step reduced chemistry for methanol droplet burning in air. Starting with a short mechanism involving fourteen steps, it is shown that a useful twostep approximation is described qualitatively by CH3OH + 02 -* CO + 2H20 and CO + |O2 -> C02, in which CO stands for the mixture of CO and H2 needed to maintain water-gas equilibrium. The rate of the first of these steps is controlled mainly by that of the elementary step CH3OH + H -» CH2OH + H2, in which CH20H stands for both isomers, and the rate of the second by that of H + 02 + M -»• HO2 + M. The maximum temperature, that of the fuel-consumption zone, is calculated as a function of the rate of scalar dissipation at the stoichiometric mixture fraction. Along the resulting C-shape curve, the extinction condition is identified at the maximum scalar dissipation. The corresponding extinction diameters are calculated for methanol burning in air at three different pressures, for droplets consisting of various percentages of water in methanol. When methanol burns, water produced in the flame is absorbed by the liquid fuel, and best agreement between theory and experiment was obtained under the assumption of perfect liquid-phase mixing. It is hypothesized that this mixing is produced by a unique diffusocapillary instability, which is driven by the difference of the surface tension between water and methanol. The theoretical curve of the droplet diameter as a function of the water mass flux is found to be independent of the transport properties. Eventually, the extinction diameter is identified as the intersection of this curve and that of the asymptotic extinction diameter calculated by including water absorption. This model not only qualitatively exhibits the experimentally observed phenomenon that flame-generated water dissolves into the droplet and then vigorously evaporates as extinction conditions are approached, but also quantitatively calculates the burning rate and the extinction diameter. Agreement with previously reported burning rates and extinction diameters, obtained from microgravity droplet combustion experiments, is thereby achieved. These simplified analyses provide a theoretical method for calculating methanol droplet combustion and extinction under microgravity.
The International Polar year 2007-2008; the Arctic human health legacy.

Life expectancy in Arctic populations has greatly improved over the last 50 years. Much of this improvement can be attributed to health research that has resulted in a reduction in morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, and the vaccine-preventable diseases of childhood. However, despite these improvements in health indicators of Arctic residents, life expectancy and infant mortality remain higher in indigenous Arctic residents in the US Arctic, northern Canada, and Greenland when compared to Arctic residents of Nordic countries. The International Polar Year (IPY) represents a unique opportunity to focus world attention on Arctic human health and to further stimulate Circumpolar cooperation on emerging Arctic human health concerns. The Arctic Human Health Initiative (AHHI) is an Arctic Council IPY initiative that aims to build and expand on existing Arctic Council and International Union for Circumpolar Health (IUCH) human health research activities. The human health legacy of the IPY will be increased visibility of the human health concerns of Arctic communities, revitalization of cooperative Arctic human health research focused on those concerns, the development of health policies based on research findings, and the subsequent implementation of appropriate interventions, prevention and control measures at the community level.
A primer on aldosterone for gynecologists/obstetricians.

An historical perspective on the role of aldosterone in the pathophysiology of hypertension and heart disease, and data supporting the advantages of blocking the mineralo-corticoid receptor with anti-aldosterone agents.
Transapical Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement has become an acceptable and increasingly common treatment for aortic stenosis. While its use was initially limited to patients deemed prohibitively high risk for surgery, indications for transcatheter therapy continue to expand. Although the transfemoral route is increasingly utilized, the transapical approach is an indispensable part of the surgeon’s armamentarium for difficult-access patients. Moreover, since future transcatheter interventions will likely utilize the transapical approach, it is incumbent on cardiac surgeons to become facile with this exposure.
Influences of prior miscarriage and weight status on perinatal psychological well-being, exercise motivation and behavior

Abstract Objectives women who have experienced miscarriage may be at increased risk for elevated depressive and anxiety symptoms in subsequent pregnancies. Exercise may be a useful strategy for coping with these symptoms. Little is known about how miscarriage influences prenatal exercise behavior. The study purpose was to examine the influences of miscarriage history and prepregnancy weight status on pregnant women's psychological health, exercise motivation, and behavior using the Theory of Planned Behavior. Participants/Setting Pregnant women (N=203; 41 with prior miscarriage; 72 overweight/obese; BMI > 25.0) in the northeast United States. Design Women prospectively reported their depressive/anxiety symptoms and exercise motivation/behavior in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimesters via mailed surveys. Group differences in depressive/anxiety symptoms, exercise behavior, and its motivational determinants were examined using Chi Square analyses and Univariate and Multivariate Analyses of Covariance. Measurements and findings Women with a history of miscarriage had higher 1st and 2nd trimester depressive/anxiety symptoms and lower 1st trimester attitudes about exercise and 1st and 2nd trimester perceived behavior control than women without a history of miscarriage. Overweight/obese women had higher 1st and 2nd trimester pregnancy depressive/anxiety symptoms, engaged in less prepregnancy exercise, and had lower levels of exercise intention, attitude, and perceived behavior control throughout pregnancy than normal weight women. Key Conclusions Women with a history of miscarriage and overweight/obese women have poorer psychological health and lower motivation to exercise during pregnancy than women without a history of miscarriage and normal weight women. Implications for practitioners Interventions and healthcare provider communications aimed at promoting perinatal exercise behavior and psychological health should take into account pre-pregnancy weight status and pregnancy history to identify strategies to help women, particularly overweight/obese women with a history of miscarriage, to overcome exercise barriers.
Anatomical region-dependent enhancement of 3-dimensional chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells by soluble meniscus extracellular matrix

Abstract Extracellular matrix (ECM) derived from decellularized tissues has been found to promote tissue neogenesis, most likely mediated by specific biochemical and physical signaling motifs that promote tissue-specific differentiation of progenitor cells. Decellularized ECM has been suggested to be efficacious for the repair of tissue injuries. However, decellularized meniscus contains a dense collagenous structure, which impedes cell seeding and infiltration and is not readily applicable for meniscus repair. In addition, the meniscus consists of two distinct anatomical regions that differ in vascularity and cellular phenotype. The purpose of this study was to explore the region-specific bioactivity of solubilized ECM derived from the inner and outer meniscal regions as determined in 2D and 3D cultures of adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). When added as a medium supplement to 2D cultures of MSCs, urea-extracted fractions of the inner (imECM) and outer meniscal ECM (omECM) enhanced cell proliferation while imECM most strongly upregulated fibrochondrogenic differentiation on the basis of gene expression profiles. When added to 3D cultures of MSCs seeded in photocrosslinked methacrylated gelatin (GelMA) hydrogels, both ECM fractions upregulated chondrogenic differentiation as determined by gene expression and protein analyses, as well as elevated sulfated glycosaminoglycan sGAG content, compared to ECM-free controls. The chondrogenic effect at day 21 was most pronounced with imECM supplementation, but equivalent between ECM groups by day 42. Despite increased cartilage matrix, imECM and omECM constructs possessed compressive moduli similar to controls. In conclusion, soluble meniscal ECM may be considered for use as a tissue-specific reagent to enhance chondrogenesis for MSC-based 3D cartilage tissue engineering. Statement of Significance The inner region of the knee meniscus is frequently injured and possesses a poor intrinsic healing capacity. Solubilized extracellular matrix (ECM) derived from decellularized meniscus tissue may promote homologous differentiation of progenitor cells, thereby enhancing fibrocartilage formation within a meniscal lesion. However, the meniscus possesses regional variation in ultrastructure, biochemical composition, and cell phenotype, which may affect the bioactivity of soluble ECM derived from different regions of decellularized menisci. In this study, we demonstrate that urea-extracted fractions of ECM derived from the inner and outer regions of menisci enhance chondrogenesis in mesenchymal stem cells seeded in 3-dimensional photocrosslinkable hydrogels and that this effect is more strongly mediated by inner meniscal ECM. These findings suggest region-specific bioactivity of decellularized meniscal ECM.
Trends in Food and Beverage Consumption Among Infants and Toddlers: 2005–2012

BACKGROUND: Nutritional guidance for infants and toddlers is lacking, and the diets of American children in the first 2 years of life are not well characterized. METHODS: Cross-sectional data from the NHANES were used to describe the diets of 0- to 23-month-olds in the United States. Participants with complete dietary data were eligible for the analysis (N = 2359). Linear regression models were constructed to identify changes from 2005 to 2008 and from 2009 to 2012 in food and beverage consumption, both overall and within sociodemographic groups. RESULTS: We observed several trends toward meeting early-feeding recommendations, such as a decline in the prevalence of complementary feeding among 0- to 5-month-olds. However, the prevalence of vegetable consumption was consistently lower than desired (∼25% of 6- to 11-month-olds and 20% of 12- to 23-month-olds had no reported vegetable consumption on dietary recall days in the 2009–2012 set). Subgroup analyses revealed that some trends were limited to certain populations (eg, a decline in juice consumption was observed among 6- to 11-month-old non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic blacks but not among Mexican Americans), and additional trends emerged within groups (eg, the prevalence of breast milk consumption declined among 0- to 5-month-old Mexican Americans). CONCLUSIONS: Although there have been some improvements in the diets of 0- to 23-month-olds in recent years, there are areas in which this population continues to fall short of current recommendations. This underscores the need for additional policy guidance for providers and education for parents and caretakers on helping infants and toddlers achieve healthy diets.
The Paradox of Partisan Responsiveness: The Psychological Cost Versus the Expressive Benefit of Party Identity Change

If party identification constitutes a psychological attachment, we should expect there to be a cost to changing one's identity. This means that for party identification change to occur, there must be some benefit that exceeds this cost. Because the expected policy benefits associated with identity updating are minimal, it is hypothesized that party identity change is driven by one's sense of civic duty as opposed to concerns about policy stakes. To test this hypothesis, considerations of duty and policy stakes are primed in a national experiment. Results of the experiment confirm the prediction.
School Choice, Gentrification, and the Variable Significance of Racial Stratification in Urban Neighborhoods:

Racial and socioeconomic stratification have long governed patterns of residential sorting in the American metropolis. However, recent expansions of school choice policies that allow parents to sel...
Literature Review: Interdisciplinary Findings on Diversity and Inclusion

In 2016, the Supreme Court issued its ruling on Fisher v. University of Texas, a case which spoke all across America’s universities and to the heart of recent challenges to higher education’s diversity and inclusion commitments. The decision in this case, a continuation from an appealed ruling made in 2013, favored the University of Texas at Austin in a 4–3 decision. The complaint had originated with plaintiff Abigail Fisher, a student who applied to the University of Texas at Austin in 2008, but was denied admission. Fisher, a young white female, filed charges against the University, alleging they had violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by discriminating against her on the basis of race. The oral arguments, first heard by the Supreme Court in October 2012, are particularly revealing, as they exhibit the many tensions and struggles that those engaged in diversity and inclusion work, both professionally and academically, must overcome.
Neuronal Transmitters and Modulators

Some of the most exciting discoveries in recent years concern the chemical nature of neuronal systems. About 30 different substances are known or suspected transmitters, and many more are likely to be discovered. The various substances can be identified within neuronal cell bodies and axon terminals by the aid of fluorescence histo-chemical and immunocytochemical techniques, and it has been shown that each of the transmitters has a specific pattern of location in the brain.
Drug-Induced Liver Injury: Introduction and Overview

The liver is a particular target for drugs because of its role in clearing and metabolizing chemicals. The parent drug, or more frequently the metabolites, may either affect critical functions or elicit an immune response. This often occurs in an unpredictable (idiosyncratic) fashion, implying that environmental and genetic factors alter the susceptibility to these adverse events. A wide range of liver diseases can occur as adverse events but the individual drug tends to induce a characteristic signature reaction with respect to latency and clinicopathological manifestations. Hepatotoxicity from drugs poses a major challenge in drug development and postmarketing surveillance. Over the three editions of this book, we have seen the field shift from a focus on drug metabolism to cellular pathways of injury to the innate immune/inflammatory system to the current and future focus on the adaptive immune system.
Reputational Ploys: Reputation and Ratings in Online Markets

Existing literature and theory suggest that efficient transactions in online markets are undergirded by reliable reputational signals. Increasingly, however, research has highlighted several limita...
Noam Chomsky (1928-), Fierce and Formidable Critic of the Vietnam War.

The article discusses Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor of language and linguistics Noam Chomsky, focusing particularly on his criticisms of the Vietnam War and the U.S. government. Topics include his essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals," his 1969 book "American Power and the New Mandarins," his political activism, and his fifty years as a dissident with targets including the Cold War, the Iraq War, and the Occupy Movement.
People Like Me: Designing for Reflection on Aggregate Cohort Data in Personal Informatics Systems

Increases in data complexity in personal informatics systems require new ways of contextualizing personal data to facilitate meaningful reflection. An emerging approach for providing such context includes augmenting one's personal data with the data of others "like them" to help individuals make sense of their data. However, we do not yet understand how an individual's self-reflection process is affected when the data of others is made available. In this paper, we investigate how people reflect on three types of personal data when presented alongside a large set of aggregated data of multiple cohorts. We conducted personal and cohort data reviews using a subset of participants from a mobile-sensing study that collected physical activity, digital social activity, and perceived stress, from 47 students over three weeks. Participants preferred to use characteristics of the data (e.g., maxima, minima) and graphical presentation (e.g., appearance of trends) along with demographic identities (e.g., age, gender) when relating to cohorts. We further characterize how participants incorporated cohort data into their self-reflection process, and conclude with discussion of the implications for personal informatics systems that leverage the data of "people like me" to enable meaningful reflection.
An Approach to Abdominal-Wall Endometriosis: A Retrospective Case Series

Objective: This article offers insight into an academic institute's approach to the rare phenomenon of abdominal-wall endometriosis (AWE). The article also provides data on concurrent pelvic endome...
Assessing the influence of treatment nonadherence on noninferiority trials using the tipping point approach

In noninferiority (NI) trials, an ongoing methodological challenge is how to handle in the analysis the subjects who are nonadherent to their assigned treatment. Some investigators perform the intent-to-treat (ITT) as the primary analysis and the per-protocol (PP) analysis as sensitivity analysis, whereas others do the reverse since ITT results may be anticonservative in the NI setting. But even when there is agreement between the ITT and PP approaches, NI of the experimental therapy to the comparator is not guaranteed. We propose that a tipping point method be used to further assess the impact of nonadherence on the results of a NI trial. In this approach, data from the nonadherers obtained after treatment discontinuation is not used, and their outcomes under the counterfactual situation of complete adherence are considered missing. The tipping point analysis indicates how sensitive the NI trial results are to the values of these missing counterfactual outcomes. The advantages of this approach are that a model or mechanism for the missing outcomes does not have to be assumed, and all subjects who were randomized are included in the analysis. We consider both binary and continuous outcomes and propose extensions to accommodate different types of nonadherence. The methods are illustrated with examples from two NI trials, one to evaluate different doses of radiation therapy to treat painful bone metastases and the other to compare treatments for reducing depression in adolescents.
Refining Convolutional Neural Network Detection of Small-Bowel Obstruction in Conventional Radiography.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate improvement of convolutional neural network detection of high-grade small-bowel obstruction on conventional radiographs with increased training ...
Permeability changes and effect of chemotherapy in brain adjacent to tumor in an experimental model of metastatic brain tumor from breast cancer

Brain tumor vasculature can be significantly compromised and leakier than that of normal brain blood vessels. Little is known if there are vascular permeability alterations in the brain adjacent to tumor (BAT). Changes in BAT permeability may also lead to increased drug permeation in the BAT, which may exert toxicity on cells of the central nervous system. Herein, we studied permeation changes in BAT using quantitative fluorescent microscopy and autoradiography, while the effect of chemotherapy within the BAT region was determined by staining for activated astrocytes. Human metastatic breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231Br) were injected into left ventricle of female NuNu mice. Metastases were allowed to grow for 28 days, after which animals were injected fluorescent tracers Texas Red (625 Da) or Texas Red dextran (3 kDa) or a chemotherapeutic agent 14C-paclitaxel. The accumulation of tracers and 14C-paclitaxel in BAT were determined by using quantitative fluorescent microscopy and autoradiography respectively. The effect of chemotherapy in BAT was determined by staining for activated astrocytes. The mean permeability of texas Red (625 Da) within BAT region increased 1.0 to 2.5-fold when compared to normal brain, whereas, Texas Red dextran (3 kDa) demonstrated mean permeability increase ranging from 1.0 to 1.8-fold compared to normal brain. The Kin values in the BAT for both Texas Red (625 Da) and Texas Red dextran (3 kDa) were found to be 4.32 ± 0.2 × 105 mL/s/g and 1.6 ± 1.4 × 105 mL/s/g respectively and found to be significantly higher than the normal brain. We also found that there is significant increase in accumulation of 14C-Paclitaxel in BAT compared to the normal brain. We also observed animals treated with chemotherapy (paclitaxel (10 mg/kg), erubilin (1.5 mg/kg) and docetaxel (10 mg/kg)) showed activated astrocytes in BAT. Our data showed increased permeation of fluorescent tracers and 14C-paclitaxel in the BAT. This increased permeation lead to elevated levels of activated astrocytes in BAT region in the animals treated with chemotherapy.
Exploiting Mutual Fractional Synchronization to Improve Amplitude and Frequency Stability in Micromechanical Oscillators

In this paper we present our observations of the effect of mutual fractional synchronization of two oscillators created from two distinct resonance modes of a single micromechanical resonator on the noise of the oscillators. The modes have a 3:1 fractional frequency ratio and by increasing the amplitude of the lower frequency mode the synchronization range will increase. We show by increasing the amplitude of the lower frequency mode, the white noise in frequency and amplitude of the higher mode will decrease. We show that when synchronized the frequency fluctuations of the higher frequency mode will reduce 4 times in comparison with the fluctuations of the same oscillator operating at the same amplitude when not synchronized. The same amount of reduction is also observed in the amplitude fluctuations of the higher frequency mode.
The epizootiological importance of foot-and-mouth disease carriers. II. The carrier status of cattle exposed to foot-and-mouth disease following vaccination with an oil adjuvant inactivated virus vaccine.

1. Fourteen of 30 vaccinated cattle became carriers of foot-and-mouth disease following exposure to virus Types A, O, and C. Nineteen of 32 unvaccinated cattle similarly exposed became carriers. A purified virus acetylethyleneimine-inactivated, oil adjuvant vaccine was used. 2. No appreciable differences were observed among the 3 virus strains in the number of carriers produced or the virus titers of oesophageal-pharyngeal fluid. The number of carriers was lower than might be expected on the basis of previous studies using a strain isolated from carrier cattle. 3. Previous work was confirmed by the finding that the immune status of the cattle exposed to the three strains did not prevent the establishment of the carrier state. Neither was there a demonstrable relationship between the presence of epithelial lesions and the development of the carrier state. 4. Mean virus titers of oesophageal-pharyngeal fluid from vaccinated and unvaccinated carriers were of the same order.
Translocation as a Conservation Strategy

To minimize biodiversity loss, conservationists have moved organisms from one location to another. These translocations are composed of reintroductions in areas where historic populations went extinct, supplementation of existing populations to enhance them, and introductions to novel locations. Populations and species may not be able to occupy historic sites in the future, and this introduces a new role for translocation. Some guidelines exist to increase the chances of successful translocation, but all translocations are fraught with risk. Scientists can evaluate these risks, but society must judge if humans have a responsibility to counteract the effects of global environmental change.
Partial Breast Reconstruction: Inferior Pedicle Techniques

The inferior pedicle reduction mammoplasty technique is a very reliable and versatile technique for the immediate reconstruction of lumpectomy defects. It is a common reduction technique that is easy to learn and can be applied in the oncoplastic reduction approach for a tumor defect in almost any location other than pure inferior. The complication rates are favorable, and aesthetic results are predictable in well-selected patients. The decision process, surgical technique, and appropriate postoperative protocols are all discussed.
Slot-Excited Wideband Horn Antenna with Microstrip Line Feeding for Ka-Band Applications

An exponentially tapered horn antenna for symmetrical radiation patterns in E/H-planes is presented. The horn antenna is incorporated with the planar feeding network. The antenna is excited through a slot engraved in the ground plane that is transverse to the packaged microstrip feed line (MSL). The single antenna element provides 46% (S 11 <-10 dB) bandwidth in the Ka-band with a gain value of 10.3 dBi. An array of 2×2 elements with an MSL corporate-feeding network achieves the gain of 15.7 dBi. The antenna/array shows an excellent radiation performance across the frequency band of 25~40 GHz.
Exploring the neural basis of selective and flexible dimensional attention: An fNIRS study.

Between the ages of 3 and 5, children develop greater control over attention to visual dimensions. Children develop the ability to flexibly shift between visual dimensions and to selectively proces...
Comparison of the Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment with the Capital Punishment System in California

The State of Illinois commissioned a study on the death penalty in that state. The report resulting from that study found eighty-five deficiencies in that state's capital punishment system. This article compares the eighty-five deficits in the Illinois system with the capital punishment system in California. The article documents that California only complies with 6.17% of the recommendations of the Illinois report. Furthermore, certain aspects of the California capital punishment system were flawed in other ways or in the same ways more profoundly than Illinois. For instance, California has more and broader descriptions of what qualifies as a capital case such that there is little or no narrowing of cases to impose death only on the worst of the worst.As a result of the Illinois study, the Governor commuted the sentences of all of that state's death row inmates to life after finding that seventeen of the 171 death row should be exonerated. California still retains the death penalty. Since publication of this article, Illinois repealed its death penalty law entirely. California has not.
Lymphatic malformations adjacent to the airway in neonates: Risk factors for outcome

PURPOSE: To evaluate imaging, treatment, and outcomes in neonates with a lymphatic malformation (LM) adjacent to the airway and to evaluate risk factors that can predict outcome. METHODS: A retrospective case series was conducted of ten patients treated between January 2011 and July 2019. The main outcome measures included airway compromise and clinical response to sclerotherapy +/- surgery. Categorical data were compared using the Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: Ex-utero intrapartum therapy was performed in four cases, among whom one died due to sepsis. All patients underwent schlerotherapy, with surgical debulking in two. Four patients showed a good clinical response, and five started experimental systemic treatment. Patients with bilateral disease and patients with an LM with >180 degrees tracheal surrounding were significantly at risk for airway compromise (bilateral: n = 6/6 versus n = 0/4, p = 0.005; >180 degrees : n = 5/5 versus n = 1/5, p = 0.048). The need for LM treatment in the neonatal period was indicative of a poor clinical response ('non-responders' 5/6, 'responders' 0/4; p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that bilateral disease and >180 degrees tracheal surrounding are risk factors for airway compromise in neonates with an LM adjacent to the airway. In addition, the need for early treatment seems to be indicative of a poor clinical response.
Promoting vegetable intake in preschool children: Independent and combined effects of portion size and flavor enhancement

Abstract This study investigated the independent and combined effects on preschool children's vegetable intake of serving a larger portion of vegetables and enhancing their flavor. In a crossover design, lunch was served in childcare centers once a week for four weeks to 67 children aged 3–5 y (26 boys, 41 girls). The meal consisted of two familiar vegetables (broccoli and corn) served with fish sticks, rice, ketchup, applesauce, and milk. Across the four meals, we varied the portion of vegetables (60 or 120 g total weight, served as equal weights of broccoli and corn) and served them either plain or enhanced (6.6% light butter and 0.5% salt by weight). All meals were consumed ad libitum and were weighed to determine intake. Doubling the portion of vegetables led to greater consumption of both broccoli and corn (both p 0.31). All versions of vegetables were well-liked, as indicated by ≥ 76% of the children rating them as “yummy” or “just okay”. Serving a larger portion of vegetables at a meal was an effective strategy to promote vegetable intake in children, but when well-liked vegetables were served, adding butter and salt was not necessary to increase consumption.
Assessment of experiments and CFD for the semi-planing R/V Athena Model in calm water

Abstract The advancements in numerical tools has opened the opportunity for simulations to provide a more accurate prediction of the structural response of a semi-planing hull than the current empirical methods that use historical data from early generation hull designs. Numerical tools first need to be able to predict the hydrodynamic response of a semi-planing hull before attempting to predict the structural response. To prove this, an extensive study of a semi-planing hull in waves has been conducted where the experiments were designed to work concurrently with simulation tools to understand the underlying hydrodynamics. This work independently evaluated the effect of speed, wave steepness, and wavelength on the hydrodynamic response. In addition to the experimental results, a comprehensive analysis quantified the uncertainty and showed small differences between methods for the analysis. As part of the unified approach to this study, the test setup of the experiments have been well documented to improve the accuracy of the initial conditions in the simulations. The assessment the simulations showed the usefulness of simulations by predicting time history trends that matched the experiments well. The simulations were able to predict the vertical accelerations well while the error trends were larger for heave, pitch, and pressure.
Digital Twin Modeling for Photovoltaic Panels Based on Hybrid Neural Network

An data-driven approach for Photovoltaic(PV) panel digital twin is proposed and practised in this paper. A hybrid neural network is applied to simulate PV power-voltage characteristics. Various environmental features such as uneven lighting conditions, temperature and humidity are selected and modified to manifest the physical mechanism to the utmost extent. Additionally a reduction method for lighting conditions as well as an improved genetic coding scheme are adopted to optimize the digital twin parameters. Above-mentioned data is acquired from an IoT management platform linked to specific PV panel and applied in the practice of digital twin modeling, performance of which is verified and discussed at the very end. The conclusions show that the digital twin is able to restore PV power-voltage characteristics under various lighting conditions as the average error of the testing simulation results is within 6%.
Central Blood Pressure and Subclinical Atherosclerotic Risk in Young Hispanic American Women.

Background: The incidence of younger women being hospitalized from cardiovas­cular disease (CVD) events is on the rise. Hispanic women are generally thought to have higher CVD risk factor burden than non-Hispanic White (NHW) women yet Hispanic Americans have lower mortality from CVD. Traditional measures of CVD may not accurately capture CVD risk in His­panic Americans. Hence, the purpose of this study was to assess the impact of ethnicity on vascular reactivity and central hemody­namic load to gain insight into subclinical CVD risk in young women. Methods: Brachial flow-mediated dilation (FMD), low-flow mediated constriction (L-FMC), carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), and pulse wave analysis (from synthesized aortic pressure waveforms) were measured in 25 Hispanic women and 31 NHW women aged between 18-35 years. FMD and L-FMC were combined to provide an index of total vessel reactivity. Results: NHW and Hispanic women did not differ in age or traditional CVD risk factors (P>.05 for all). Compared with NHW women, Hispanic women had greater vascular reactivity (8.7±4.1 vs 11.7±4.1 %, P=.011), lower central pulse pressure (28±5 vs 24±3 mm Hg, P=.001) and lower pressure from wave reflections (12±2 vs 10±1 mm Hg, P=.001). There were no differences in cfPWV between NHW women and Hispanic women (5.4±0.7 vs 5.3±0.7 m/s, P=.73). Conclusion: Young Hispanic women have greater vascular reactivity and lower central pulsatile hemodynamic load compared with NHW women, suggesting lower subclinical CVD risk. Ethn Dis. 2021;31(4):489-500; doi:10.18865/ed.31.4.489
Isolation and Characterization of Myelin

In the second edition of the book Neurochemistry, Rossiter (1962) stated, “Since pure ‘myelin’ is not available for direct chemical analysis, the neurochemist has been compelled to deduce the constituents of myelin from such analyses as are practicable.” The available analyses were extensive. Qualitative information had been accumulating from histological staining techniques since the latter half of the nineteenth century. Quantitative studies on brain constituents from which information on myelin could be deduced began shortly after the turn of the century. Thus in his chapter on “The Myelin Sheath, Metabolism of Myelin and Experimental Demyelination,” Rossiter was able to discuss myelin composition and metabolism with considerable assurance and accuracy. The direct analysis of myelin constituents was, however, not possible until techniques were developed for isolating myelin membranes essentially free of other subcellular structures. The first of such procedures were being developed and published in the same year Neurochemistry was published. In this chapter, I will discuss isolation procedures and the composition of purified myelin obtained by these procedures.
Hydrogen sulphide inhibits Ca2+ release through InsP3 receptors and relaxes airway smooth muscle

Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is a signalling molecule that appears to regulate diverse cell physiological process in several organs and systems including vascular and airway smooth muscle cell (SMC) contraction. Decreases in endogenous H2S synthesis have been associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases and asthma. Here we investigated the mechanism of airway SMC relaxation induced by H2S in small intrapulmonary airways using mouse lung slices and confocal and phase-contrast video microscopy. Exogenous H2S donor Na2S (100 μm) reversibly inhibited Ca(2+) release and airway contraction evoked by inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) uncaging in airway SMCs. Similarly, InsP3-evoked Ca(2+) release and contraction was inhibited by endogenous H2S precursor l-cysteine (10 mm) but not by l-serine (10 mm) or either amino acid in the presence of dl-propargylglycine (PPG). Consistent with the inhibition of Ca(2+) release through InsP3 receptors (InsP3Rs), Na2S reversibly inhibited acetylcholine (ACh)-induced Ca(2+) oscillations in airway SMCs. In addition, Na2S, the H2S donor GYY-4137, and l-cysteine caused relaxation of airways pre-contracted with either ACh or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). Na2S-induced airway relaxation was resistant to a guanylyl cyclase inhibitor (ODQ) and a protein kinase G inhibitor (Rp-8-pCPT-cGMPS). The effects of H2S on InsP3-evoked Ca(2+) release and contraction as well as on the relaxation of agonist-contracted airways were mimicked by the thiol-reducing agent dithiothreitol (DTT, 10 mm) and inhibited by the oxidizing agent diamide (30 μm). These studies indicate that H2S causes airway SMC relaxation by inhibiting Ca(2+) release through InsP3Rs and consequent reduction of agonist-induced Ca(2+) oscillations in SMCs. The results suggest a novel role for endogenously produced H2S that involves the modulation of InsP3-evoked Ca(2+) release - a cell-signalling system of critical importance for many physiological and pathophysiological processes.
Upper bound of direct-remove suboptimum for perturbation-iteration method in bin packing problems

Nonpreemptive scheduling for multiprocessor systems with hard deadline, i.e. the bin-packing problem, is addressed. The perturbation and iteration (PI) method is bin packing and the upper bound of a suboptimal scheduling are investigated. The p-q exchanges and direct removes are introduced. Suboptimum, such as direct-remove and 0-1 suboptimum, is defined according to the perturbations. The results show that the PI method improves the performance of an existing schedule. The upper bound of direct-remove suboptimum is obtained. >