cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A cytoplasmic fine-structure study of two spumellarian Radiolaria and their symbionts

Abstract Although fossil radiolarian skeletons have been intensively studied, relatively little fine-structure research has been done on cytoplasmic morphology and skeleton deposition which are of interest to micropaleontologists. The fine structure of endoplasm, ectoplasm and the central capsular membrane of a skeletonless and a skeleton-bearing species is presented with particular attention to the symbionts, perforations in the central capsular membrane, and mode of food gathering and digestion. A cytochemical examination of the proximal ectoplasm layer (assimilative layer) confirms that this is a region of digestive activity. The deposition of skeleton within cytoplasmic sheaths, which may act as a template for skeletal morphology, is examined and the significance of these findings for radiolarian physiology and skeleton architecture is discussed.
The Three Cities Test: Preliminary Validation of a Short Bedside Memory Test in Persons with Acute Stroke

Screening tests for memory can be administered more quickly than standard tests of memory. They can be particularly useful with patients with acute medical illness or with the elderly who are unable to tolerate complex or lengthy memory testing, such as patients with acute stroke. However, screening measures for memory often lack validation and may have significant psychometric limitations. The purpose of this study was to validate and determine the psychometric properties of the Three Cities Test (TCT), a short test of memory that uses a selective reminding paradigm and the names of well-known cities as stimuli. The TCT was administered to 115 subjects: 60 patients with acute cerebrovascular accidents (Stroke group) and 55 age-matched orthopedic control patients (Ortho group). Results show that the TCT was significantly correlated with general measures of cognition (MMSE), another well-validated measure of learning and memory (HVLT-R), and clinical variables such as length of hospitalization and functional recovery. Compared to the Ortho group, the Stroke group had significantly worse performance on the TCT in terms of number of trials to criterion, delayed recall, and recognition discrimination. Preliminary results suggest that this instrument is well-received by patients with acute medical illness and cognitive impairment and that it possesses good construct and discriminative validity. Sensitivity and specificity performance as well as recommended cut scores are offered for the TCT.
The scavenger device for nitrous oxide administration

Nitrous oxide levels of 300 to 500 ppm occur when nitrous oxide is administered in the emergency department using the Nitronox machine without use of the scavenger device, which traps expired nitrous oxide gases and vents them to the outside environment. A scavenger device that can limit nitrous oxide gas to zero ppm in the emergency department setting has been developed. We think that development of the scavenger device is a significant advance for the safe administration of nitrous oxide in the emergency department.
OBSERVATIONS ON SOME HIGH ENERGY COSMIC-RAY COLLISIONS IN PHOTOGRAPHIC EMULSIONS

A brief account is given of some high energy disintegrations initiated in photographic emulsions by primary cosmic-ray particles at about 90,000 feet above sea level. In particular, six events which show only relativistic or near relativistic fragments and a typical forward cone of shower particles are described in detail. The angular distribution of the shower particles is, in some of these cases, consistent with them, being due to the multiple production of mesons in a single interaction between an incoming nucleon and a hydrogen nucleus, or a nucleon on the edge of a heavier nucleus, according to the mechanism of Fermi's recent theory. One of these events has thus been interpreted as a collision between an incoming lithium nucleus with an energy of about 2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{12}$ ev per nucleon and a hydrogen nucleus in the emulsion.
Delphi Survey of Barriers and Organizational Factors Influencing Nurses' Participation in Patient Care Rounds

Each year in the United States, 195 000 individuals die as a result of medical mistakes. Communication among health care providers is repeatedly cited as the core principle in effecting patient care outcomes. Regrettably, well-intentioned nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) often fail to speak up during patient care rounds (PCRs). The purposes of this study were to determine the perceived barriers and organizational factors that influence nurses' participation in PCRs and to determine the health care team member's perceptions of the nurses' contributions to patient management decisions within these rounds. A descriptive study using the Delphi technique that involves a series of surveys to develop group consensus was used to identify barriers, organizational factors, and contributions of nurses during PCRs. A convenience, all-inclusive sample of interdisciplinary health care team members who routinely participate in PCRs in the NICU in one large tertiary care urban hospital located in the southwestern United States was recruited to participate in the study. Eighty-seven health care team members participated in the final round of the study. Data demonstrated that nurses tend to be indifferent regarding satisfaction with their presence and level of contributions during PCRs. Data suggest that physicians tend to be dissatisfied if nurses are not physically present during rounds, but when nurses are present, they are satisfied with their level of participation and contributions to PCRs. The 2 most important barriers to nurses' participation in PCRs were other patient responsibilities and lack of a standard time for PCRs. For optimal participation, data demonstrated that PCRs should occur at the bedside, the nurse must be available to participate, and the nurse must feel that his/her input is valued and respected. Data demonstrated that more than 98% of participants agreed that nurses make important contributions to PCRs including the infant's response to interventions/medications, feeding issues, and patient advocacy. These data constitute the first step in understanding the barriers and organizational factors that would positively influence nurses' participation in PCRs. The long-term aim of this study is to help health care providers in the NICU engage more effectively and hold crucial conversations in PCRs that ultimately improve patient outcomes and expand staff and organizational effectiveness.
How much can we gain from improved efficiency? An examination of performance of national HIV/AIDS programs and its determinants in low- and middle-income countries

The economic downturn exacerbates the inadequacy of resources for combating the worldwide HIV/AIDS pandemic and amplifies the need to improve the efficiency of HIV/AIDS programs. We used data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate efficiency of national HIV/AIDS programs in transforming funding into services and implemented a Tobit model to identify determinants of the efficiency in 68 low- and middle-income countries. We considered the change from the lowest quartile to the average value of a variable a "notable" increase. Overall, the average efficiency in implementing HIV/AIDS programs was moderate (49.8%). Program efficiency varied enormously among countries with means by quartile of efficiency of 13.0%, 36.4%, 54.4% and 96.5%. A country's governance, financing mechanisms, and economic and demographic characteristics influence the program efficiency. For example, if countries achieved a notable increase in "voice and accountability" (e.g., greater participation of civil society in policy making), the efficiency of their HIV/AIDS programs would increase by 40.8%. For countries in the lowest quartile of per capita gross national income (GNI), a notable increase in per capita GNI would increase the efficiency of AIDS programs by 45.0%. There may be substantial opportunity for improving the efficiency of AIDS services, by providing more services with existing resources. Actions beyond the health sector could be important factors affecting HIV/AIDS service delivery.
Refining the Blood Pressure Phenotype in Children When Does Target Organ Damage Begin

Recent publications on blood pressure (BP) in children and adolescents report evidence that the prevalence of childhood hypertension is increasing,1,2 and the increasing rates of hypertension are largely attributable to the childhood obesity epidemic. The current estimates on the prevalence of childhood hypertension, based on repeated BP measurements ≥95th percentile (for sex, age, and height), are 3.2% to 3.6%.3,4 The prevalence of prehypertension, using the same method of repeated BP measurements, is 3.4% throughout childhood,3 with even higher rates among adolescents.4 These reports and others consistently document a significant effect of obesity on BP level throughout childhood. BP levels that are in the prehypertension range as well as in the hypertension range are considered high-risk BP levels. The combined child high BP risk of hypertension plus prehypertension now approaches 7%, a prevalence that ranks high BP as a leading childhood health issue. The report in this issue by Lurbe et al5 provides a novel view of the childhood obesity-BP relationship. Because of BP variability in the young, BP status is best characterized by multiple BP measurements. These investigators used ambulatory BP monitoring achieve a more rigorous ascertainment of the BP phenotype in a total of 422 children 10 to 18 years of age. Children with clinical hypertension were excluded, and all participants were considered healthy. The children were then stratified to normal weight and obese groups and then subgrouped by normal birth weight and low birth weight. Developing ambulatory BP monitoring data on 422 healthy children is a substantial achievement. With this body of data, the investigators were able to examine the effect of 2 leading BP determinants of childhood BP: obesity and low birth weight. Their results demonstrate the advantage of ambulatory BP monitoring over office BP in defining the BP phenotype in late …
Bayesian learning for sparse signal reconstruction

Sparse Bayesian learning and specifically relevance vector machines have received much attention as a means of achieving parsimonious representations of signals in the context of regression and classification. We provide a simplified derivation of this paradigm from a Bayesian evidence perspective and apply it to the problem of basis selection from overcomplete dictionaries. Furthermore, we prove that the stable fixed points of the resulting algorithm are necessarily sparse, providing a solid theoretical justification for adapting the methodology to basis selection tasks. We then include simulation studies comparing sparse Bayesian learning with basis pursuit and the more recent FOCUSS class of basis selection algorithms, empirically demonstrating superior performance in terms of average sparsity and success rate of recovering generative bases.
A Study of Al°, Zn°, Sn°, V°, Ti°, Co°, Cu°, Ni° or Fe° as Sole Electron Sources for Methanogenesis, and the Effects of Organotins on Methanogenic Bacteria

It was recently shown that elemental iron, either as pure iron or as mild steel, can be used in place of H2 as the sole electron donor for methanogenesis from CO2 (Daniels et al., 1987). Desulfovibrio has also been demonstrated to use some electrons from Fe° to reduce sulfate (Cord-Ruwisch and Widdel, 1986). Thermodynamically, the use of Fe° as an electron donor for both methanogenesis and sulfate reduction to sulfide is favorable, with ∆GO′ values of −136 and −152 kJ/mole product, respectively. It is thought that, due to electron consumption from the iron and due to sulfide production by both groups of organisms (Daniels et al., 1986), both methanogens and sulfate reducers can contribute to biocorrosion of ferrous metals. Other metals have now been examined here for their ability to donate electrons for methanogenesis.
Participatory Arts for Older Adults: A Review of Benefits and Challenges

This article reviews the scientific literature on the enhancement of healthy aging in older adults through active participation in the arts. Methodologies and conclusions are described for studies of dance, expressive writing, music (singing and instrumental), theatre arts, and visual arts including documentation of mental/physical improvements in memory, creativity, problem solving, everyday competence, reaction time, balance/gait, and quality of life. In addition to these gains in measures of successful aging, the article also provides (in a Supplementary Appendix) some selected examples of arts engagement for remedial purposes. Finally, it offers suggestions for expanding inquiry into this underinvestigated corner of aging research.
Comparative Survival and Cost-Effectiveness of Advanced Therapies for End-Stage Heart Failure

Background—Treatment options for end-stage heart failure include inotrope-dependent medical therapy, orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT), left ventricular assist device (LVAD) as destination therapy or bridge to transplant. Methods and Results—We developed a state-transition model to simulate 4 treatment options and associated morbidity and mortality. Transition probabilities, costs, and utilities were estimated from published sources. Calculated outcomes included survival, quality-adjusted life-years, and incremental cost-effectiveness. Sensitivity analyses were performed on model parameters to test robustness. Average life expectancy for OHT-eligible patients is estimated at 1.1 years, with 39% surviving to 1 year. OHT with a median wait time of 5.6 months is estimated to increase life expectancy to 8.5 years, and costs <$100 000/quality-adjusted life-year gained, relative to inotrope-dependent medical therapy. Bridge to transplant-LVAD followed by OHT further is estimated to increase life expectancy...
Optical and fluidic design for guaranteed trapping and detection of particles in a silicon microfluidic and photonic crystal system

In recent studies, optical forces have been exploited to guide particles along waveguides and to trap particles near refractive index sensors. But the ability of photonic devices to bind a freely flowing particle from an adjacent microfluidic channel has yet to be fully characterized. In order to determine the ability of a given device to trap an arbitrary particle, we develop a method to numerically calculate the trajectory of a particle flowing near a model system. We determine the trajectories of 50 nm radius particles in a fluid flowing at an average velocity of 1 cm/s near a photonic crystal resonator pumped at 1 W. The finite element method is used to calculate the force of the fluid on the particles and finite-difference time-domain simulations are used to calculate optical forces. The particle equation of motion is solved using the adaptive Runge-Kutta method.
Direct extraction of GaAs MESFET intrinsic element and parasitic inductance values

A simple method is described for extracting the intrinsic element and parasitic inductance values for the GaAs MESFET equivalent circuit. The intrinsic element values are extracted from low-frequency y-parameter data deembedded through previously determined parasitic resistances. Parasitic inductance values are then evaluated by comparing the resulting modeled z-parameters with the extrinsic measured z-parameters. All elements are extracted from the same set of hot FET S-parameter measurements. The method is very fast, and the resulting equivalent circuit provides an excellent match to measured S-parameters through 18 GHz. >
Discovery of candidate genes and pathways that may help explain fertility cycle stage dependent post-resection breast cancer outcome

Breast cancer relapse and death occur more often and sooner among young pre-menopausal women. Breast cancer resected during luteal phase cures about a quarter more women than if the operation is performed during follicular phase. We have identified candidate breast cancer gene signatures that may point to the potential mechanisms of cycle stage-dependent surgical cure. We performed whole murine genome microarrays on mammary tumors resected during pre-ovulatory (diestrus, follicular) and post-ovulatory (estrus, luteal) phases of the estrous cycle with known post-surgical cure or relapse (pulmonary metastasis) outcome. A set of genes whose expressions are differentially modulated by fertility cycle stage of tumor resection and also associate with prognosis were identified. These identified genes were validated by qRT-PCR. From two independent microarray studies, we identified 90 genes in mammary tumors whose expressions change significantly (up to 100-fold) across the estrous cycle, 69 genes that are associated with cure/relapse independent of cycle stage at resection, and 24 genes that change significantly (up to 12-fold) across the estrous cycle and also associate with the outcome. The mRNA expression patterns of these 24 identified genes were 100% validated by qRT-PCR in the same samples. We have identified candidate breast cancer genes and pathways that may point to the potential mechanisms by which the post-resection breast cancer outcome is influenced by the menstrual cycle phase of cancer resection. Since human breast cancer outcome is influenced by the menstrual cycle phase of breast cancer resection, we consider this study in a mouse breast cancer model to be a proof of principle that such signatures may well exist in human premenopausal breast cancer. It remains to be determined in human breast cancer whether woman to woman and/or tumor to tumor variability will mask cycle phase dependent and outcome predictive genomic signatures in human premenopausal breast cancer. The pathways identified by these studies are potential targets for the development of peri-surgical neoadjuvant therapies, which may delay or prevent relapse by preventing dormant micrometastatic tumor cells from escaping that dormant state post-operatively.
Gas Exchange During Maximal Upper Extremity Exercise

Study Objective to characterize gas exchange and cardiopulmonary performance during maximal progressive arm crank exercise. Design Cardiopulmonary variables were measured and arterial blood gases were determined in blood samples obtained from an indwelling radial arterial catheter during arm crank exercise (34 watts/min). Arm crank exercise was compared to maximal leg exercise performed by a different but comparable group of subjects from a previous study. Participants 19 healthy young (mean ± SEM: 20 ± 1 yr) black males. Results Peak arm crank exercise resulted in lower values compared to peak leg exercise for: power (129 ± 2 vs 253 ± 10 W), V ˙ O 2 (2.17 ± 0.04 vs 3.26 ± 0.14 L/min); V ˙ CO 2 (2.9 ± 0.11 vs 4.32 ± 0.17 L/min); HR (168 ± 3 vs 189 ± 3 beats/min); AT (1.15 ± 0.05 vs 1.83 ± 0.07 L/min); and V ˙ E (101 ± 2 vs 144 ± 8 L/min), respectively. Arm crank exercise (baseline vs peak) elicited an impressive improvement in PaO2 (85 ± 1 to 97 ± 1 mm Hg), no change in SaO2 (96 ± 0.2 to 96 ± 0.2 percent), no significant increase in P(A-a)O2 (3 ± 0.7 to 5 ± 0.9 mm Hg) and an appropriate trending decrease in VD/VT (0.22 ± 0.01 to 0.17 ± 0.01). Peak arm crank values were significantly different from peak cycle exercise for PaO2 (82 ± 2.2 mm Hg), SaO2 (93 ± 0.4 percent), P(A-a)O2 (21 ± 1.9 mm Hg) and VD/VT (0.08 ± 0.01). At comparable levels of V ˙ O 2 for arm crank and cycle exercise (2.17 ± 0.04 vs 2.26 ± 0.08 L/min), significant differences were observed for PaO2 (97 ± 1.4 vs 81 ± 1.9 mm Hg); SaO2 (96 ± 0.2 vs 94 ± 0.4 percent); P(A-a)O2 (5 ± 0.9 vs 14 ± 1.5 mm Hg); and VD/VT (0.17 ± 0.01 vs 0.08 ± 0.01), respectively. Conclusions Maximal arm crank exercise represents a submaximal cardiopulmonary stress compared to maximal leg exercise. The differences in gas exchange observed at peak exercise between arm crank and leg exercise for the most part reflect the lower V ˙ O 2 achieved. However, the persistence of these gas exchange differences even at a comparable level of V ˙ O 2 suggests that factors other than V ˙ O 2 may be operative. These (actors may include differences in alveolar ventilation, CO2 production, ventilation-perfusion inequality, diffusion, and control of breathing. (Chest 1991; 99:420-25)
More than a Game: Sociological Theory from the Theories of Games*:

Sociologists are fond of game metaphors. However, such metaphors rarely go beyond casual references to generic games. Yet games are little social systems, and each game offers a distinctive perspective on the relationship between rules and constraints, on the one side, and emergent order, on the other. In this article, we examine three games—chess, go, and (Texas hold ‘em) poker—for sociological insights into contested social arenas such as markets, warfare, politics, and the professions. We describe each game's rules and emergent properties, and then offer a brief theorization of the social world through the “lens” of that game. Then we show how a study of the three games advances the sociology of strategy by enriching ideas about skill, position, and strategic dilemma.
Automatic prototype stroke generation based on stroke clustering for on-line handwritten Japanese character recognition

An automatic method for generating prototype strokes is proposed for on-line handwritten character recognition. The method consists of two steps: an intra-category step and an all-category step. In the first step, which has already been proposed by the author, handwritten stroke examples are clustered to obtain prototype strokes for each category. In the second step, these prototypes are merged to obtain common prototype strokes for all categories. This two step approach alleviates the difficulty in determining initial clusters for a large number of examples. To assess the quality of them, recognition experiments are conducted to see the relationship between the number of prototypes and the accuracy. It is found that the two relationships in kanji categories and in non-kanji ones differ from each other. This observation indicates that a set of prototype strokes for Japanese characters can be made of common prototypes for all kanji categories and prototypes for each non-kanji categories.
Specific and Nonspecific Factors in the Effectiveness of a Behavioral Approach to the Treatment of Marital Discord.

This study compared two behavioral treatments for marital discord with a nonspecific control and a waiting-list control. The behavioral treatments combined training in problem-solvi ng skills with training in contingency management procedures, differing only with respect to the contracting form: One group learned to form good faith contracts, and the other, quid pro quo contracts. Thirty-two couples were randomly assigned to one of these treatment conditions and one of three therapists. Improvement was assessed by two observational measures and by two self-report questionnaires. On all measures, both behavioral groups improved significantly more than waiting-list couples. On three of the four measures, behavioral couples improved significantly more than nonspecific couples. The two behavioral groups did not differ from one another on any of the measures. Although an increasing number of reports have attested to the effectiveness of using social-learning principles in treating marital problems, most of these reports consist of uncontrolled case studies (cf. Jacobson &
Emotion recognition from congruent and incongruent emotional expressions and situational cues in children with autism spectrum disorder

In this research, the emotion recognition abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing children were compared. When facial expressions and situational cues of emotion were congruent, accuracy in recognizing emotions was good for both children with autism spectrum disorder and typically developing children. When presented with facial expressions incongruent with situational cues, children with autism spectrum disorder relied more on facial cues than situational cues, whereas typically developing children relied more on situational cues. The exception was fear. When presented with incongruent information (i.e. a smiling boy surrounded by a swarm of bees), most children based their response on the situation and indicated that the boy felt scared. While the majority of typically developing children commented on the disparity between facial expressions and situational cues, children with autism spectrum disorder did not mention the conflicting cues. Although typically developing children were more accurate in recognizing emotion with situational cues, children with autism spectrum disorder were still adequate at identifying emotion from situational cues alone. These findings suggest that children with autism spectrum disorder show an understanding of simple emotions in prototypical situations, but may prefer facial expressions when facial expressions and situational cues are incongruent. Reasons for these findings are discussed.
Vasa genes: emerging roles in the germ line and in multipotent cells

Sexually reproducing metazoans establish a cell lineage during development that is ultimately dedicated to gamete production. Work in a variety of animals suggests that a group of conserved molecular determinants act in this germ line maintenance and function. The most universal of these genes are Vasa and Vasa-like DEAD-box RNA helicase genes. However, recent evidence indicates that Vasa genes also function in other cell types, distinct from the germ line. Here we evaluate our current understanding of Vasa function and its regulation during development, addressing Vasa's emerging role in multipotent cells. We also explore the evolutionary diversification of the N-terminal domain of this gene and how this impacts the association of Vasa with nuage-like perinuclear structures.
Test Schedules for VLSI Circuits Having Built-In Test Hardware

In this correspondence, the concept of a test schema which describes how a test methodology is to execute is introduced. We also introduce the powerful concept of an I path which is used to transfer data unchanged from one place in a circuit to another. The process of embedding a test schema into an actual circuit is described. This produces a test plan for the circuit which specifies the sequence of actions that need to be carried out to execute the test. A theory of test plan execution overlap is presented, and is used as the basis for constructing test schedules with optimal execution times.
Potential Repurposing of Known Drugs as Potent Bacterial β-Glucuronidase Inhibitors

The active metabolite of the chemotherapeutic irinotecan, SN-38, is detoxified through glucuronidation and then excreted into the gastrointestinal tract. Intestinal bacteria convert the glucuronidated metabolite back to the toxic SN-38 using β-glucuronidase (GUS), resulting in debilitating diarrhea. Inhibiting GUS activity may relieve this side effect of irinotecan. In this study, we sought to determine whether any known drugs have GUS inhibitory activity. We screened a library of Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs with a cell-free biochemical enzyme assay using purified bacterial GUS. After triage, five drugs were confirmed to inhibit purified bacterial GUS. Three of these were the monoamine oxidase inhibitors nialamide, isocarboxazid, and phenelzine with average IC(50) values for inhibiting GUS of 71, 128, and 2300 nM, respectively. The tricyclic antidepressant amoxapine (IC(50) = 388 nM) and the antimalarial mefloquine (IC(50) = 1.2 µM) also had activity. Nialamide, isocarboxazid, and amoxapine had no significant activity against purified mammalian GUS but showed potent activity for inhibiting endogenous GUS activity in a cell-based assay using living intact Escherichia coli with average IC(50) values of 17, 336, and 119 nM, respectively. Thus, nialamide, isocarboxazid, and amoxapine have potential to be repurposed as therapeutics to reduce diarrhea associated with irinotecan chemotherapy and warrant further investigation for this use.
Efficacy of audio-prompted rate guidance in improving resuscitator performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation on children.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of audio-prompted rate guidance during chest compressions on the performance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on children. METHODS This 24-month prospective study occurred in the pediatric intensive care units of a university hospital and a children's hospital. Intubated children with nontraumatic cardiac arrest were eligible. After placement of an infrared capnometer between the endotracheal tube and resuscitation bag, an audiotape instructed the resuscitator to perform chest compressions at 100 per minute or 140 per minute for one minute, followed by another minute at the other rate. End-tidal carbon dioxide partial pressure (PETCO2) was recorded prior to audiotape instruction and after one minute of CPR at each rate. RESULTS Six patients, two boys and four girls, with a mean age of 15 +/- 13 months (range 2-36 months) were studied. All had asystole or pulseless electrical activity. CPR was provided for 14 +/- 9 minutes prior to institution of the study protocol. PETCO2 at 140/min was higher than at baseline (12 +/- 7 torr verus 4 +/- 3 torr, p < 0.05). There was a trend towards higher PETCO2s at 100/min compared with baseline (11 +/- 12 torr versus 4 +/- 3 torr, p = 0.08). PETCO2s did not differ at 100/min compared with 140/min. CONCLUSIONS In support of prior adult and animal investigations suggesting that basic CPRR is often performed poorly and at inappropriately slow rates, audio- prompted rate guidance during CPR in children resulted in higher PETCO2, suggesting improved CPR performance.
helminthR: an R interface to the London Natural History Museum's Host–Parasite Database

The understanding of the diversity and distribution of helminth parasites is currently constrained by the limited number of host–parasite interaction databases, and the difficulty in accessing existing data. The London Natural History Museum's Host–Parasite Database represents one such underutilized database, containing over a quarter million helminth parasite occurrence records, accessible through a web interface. To enable users to programmatically search and manipulate data from this database, I developed an R package called helminthR. Here, I introduce the core functions of the package, and detail how helminthR can be used to obtain host–parasite interaction records, citations for interactions, and host taxonomic data.
Silence of the ROS

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated during T cell activation and serve a signaling function but can also be damaging. In this issue of Immunity, Zhang et al. (2016) show that miR-23a prevents ROS-elicited necrosis by suppressing cyclophilin D (PPIF), a regulator of ROS escape from mitochondria.
Receptor and Membrane Function in the Alcohol Tolerant/Dependent Animal

Neurochemical changes which are associated with the development or expression of tolerance to or physical dependence on ethanol may be expected to display a time course of appearance and disappearance which correlates positively with the time course for tolerance or de-pendence. Previous studies of striatal dopaminergic receptor function indicated that ethanol-withdrawn mice displayed decreased physiological and biochemical responses to dopamine (DA) agonists, which could be best explained by postulating an inefficient coupling between DA receptors and various receptor-mediated processes, possibly as a result of ethanol-induced changes in neuronal membrane properties. The membrane-bound enzyme, (Na+-K+)ATPase, obtained from ethanol-withdrawn animals, displays an altered transition temperature and resistance to the effects of ethanol on enzyme activity. These changes also suggest compensatory alterations in neuronal membrane properties. All of these alterations show a time course of disappearance which corresponds to that for the disappearance of tolerance to the hypothermic and sedative effects of ethanol. Ethanol-withdrawn mice also display increased numbers of hippocampal muscarinic cholinergic receptors; however, the time course for the increase in receptor number appears to correlate with that of withdrawal symptomatology. Thus, compensatory changes in neuronal membrane properties in response to ethanol may be expressed via diverse functional changes.
Breath-Holding Spells and Syncope

The prognostic and therapeutic importance of a distinction between breath-holding spells and convulsive disorders in children is obvious, and important differences are discernible. The ocular compression test is particularly useful. Usually, breath holding is best treated by counseling and reassuring the parents.
Release of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) from Carpet and Clothing in Model Anaerobic Landfill Reactors

Discarded carpet and clothing are potential sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in landfill leachate, but little is known about their release when disposed in landfills. The concentrations of 70 PFASs in the aqueous phase of anaerobic model landfill reactors filled with carpet or clothing were monitored under biologically active and abiotic conditions. For carpet, total PFAS release was greater in live than abiotic reactors, with an average of 8.5 nmol/L and 0.62 nmol/L after 552 days, respectively. Release in live carpet reactors was primarily due to 5:3 fluorotelomer carboxylic acid (FTCA – 3.9 nmol/L) and perfluorohexanoic carboxylic acid (PFHxA – 2.9 nmol/L). For clothing, release was more dependent on sample heterogeneity than the presence of biological activity, with 0.63, 21.7, 2.6, and 6.3 nmol/L for two live and two abiotic reactors after 519 days, respectively. Release in the clothing reactors was largely due to perfluorooctatonic carboxylic acid (PFOA), with low relative conc...
Chemotherapy of Recurrent Breast Cancer

This article reviews the status of chemotherapy in the treatment of recurrent breast cancer with emphasis on single drugs, combination agent regimens, and combined modality approaches.
Water consumption from hydroelectricity in the United States

Abstract Understanding the relationship between water and energy systems is important for effective management of both resources. Improved data availability has made more comprehensive modeling of hydropower and its water use possible, even as droughts and climate change have made questions about reservoir evaporation responsiveness more timely. This work makes three main contributions: first, it presents national and regional estimates of gross evaporation and evaporation net of evapotranspiration from local land cover (“net evaporation”) for U.S. hydroelectricity, arguing that net evaporation is more consistent with other measures of energy-related water intensity; second, it introduces and validates a method for estimating system-wide evaporation based on primary purpose allocation that reduces data requirements by two orders of magnitude; and third, it makes available for public use a full Penman–Monteith model with multiple built-in sensitivity analyses. Based on this model, the U.S. hydropower system consumes an estimated average of 1.7 m3 of net freshwater per GJ electricity produced (11 m3/GJ gross).
Brainstem Tumors and Neurofibromatosis I

Seventeen children with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and MRI evidence of brainstem tumor are reported from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, PA.
Activation of heat shock response augments fibroblast growth factor-1 expression in wounded lung epithelium

We previously showed that coincident exposure to heat shock (HS; 42°C for 2 h) and TNF-α synergistically induces apoptosis in mouse lung epithelium. We extended this work by analyzing HS effects on human lung epithelial responses to clinically relevant injury. Cotreatment with TNF-α and HS induced little caspase-3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage in human small airway epithelial cells, A549 cells, and BEAS2B cells. Scratch wound closure rates almost doubled when A549 and BEAS2B cells and air-liquid interface cultures of human bronchial epithelial cells were heat shocked immediately after wounding. Microarray, qRT-PCR, and immunoblotting showed fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) to be synergistically induced by HS and wounding. Enhanced FGF1 expression in HS/wounded A549 was blocked by inhibitors of p38 MAPK (SB203580) or HS factor (HSF)-1 (KNK-437) and in HSF1 knockout BEAS2B cells. PCR demonstrated FGF1 to be expressed from the two most distal promoters in wounded/HS cells. Wound closure in HS A549 and BEAS2B cells was reduced by FGF receptor-1/3 inhibition (SU-5402) or FGF1 depletion. Exogenous FGF1 accelerated A549 wound closure in the absence but not presence of HS. In the presence of exogenous FGF1, HS slowed wound closure, suggesting that it increases FGF1 expression but impairs FGF1-stimulated wound closure. Frozen sections from normal and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) lung were analyzed for FGF1 and HSP70 by immunofluorescence confocal microscopy and qRT-PCR. FGF1 and HSP70 mRNA levels were 7.5- and 5.9-fold higher in IPF than normal lung, and the proteins colocalized to fibroblastic foci in IPF lung. We conclude that HS signaling may have an important impact on gene expression contributing to lung injury, healing, and fibrosis.
Plane wave image quality improvement using ADMIRE algorithm

We previously introduced a model-based clutter suppression algorithm that operates on channel data and can recover degraded ultrasound images. We call the algorithm aperture domain model image reconstruction (ADMIRE). In previous work, ADMIRE demonstrated substantial improvements of image quality in vivo due to its suppression of reverberation artifacts while preserving the signals of interest. ADMIRE also suppresses off-axis clutter. Because of these characteristics, we are interested in applying ADMIRE to plane wave images. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of ADMIRE in conjunction with plane wave synthetic aperture sequences acquired from data with minimal reverberation. To evaluate the ADMIRE algorithm, we used the Plane-wave Imaging Challenge in Medical UltraSound (PICMUS) data and selected 1, 2, 11 and 75 plane waves for image formation. We applied plane wave synthetic aperture delays and then implemented ADMIRE followed by a minimum variance (MV) beamforming. We then evaluated the resulting plane wave images using the image quality metrics specified by the PICMUS. The contrast measurements having a simulated cyst phantom were 12.61 dB, 14.32 dB, 18.57 dB and 19.16 dB for 1, 2, 11 and 75 plane waves, respectively.
Interface symmetry and spin control in topological-insulator–semiconductor heterostructures

Heterostructures combining topological and nontopological materials constitute the next frontier in the effort to incorporate topological insulators (TIs) into electronic devices. We show that the properties of the interface states appearing at the boundary between a topologically trivial semiconductor (SE) and a TI are controlled by the lowering of the interface symmetry due to the presence of the SE. For the [111]-grown heterostructure, SE-TI interface states exhibit elliptical contours of constant energy and complex spin textures with broken helicity, in contrast to the well-studied helical Dirac surface states. We derive a general effective Hamiltonian for SE-TI junctions, and propose experimental signatures such as an out of plane spin accumulation under a transport current and the opening of a spectral gap that depends on the direction of an applied in-plane magnetic field.
South Asian Digital Humanities: An Overview

AbstractWhile digital humanities is relatively new within South Asian studies, it offers methods and tools that can supplement scholarship on South Asia. This article identifies the stakes and challenges of digital humanities for South Asians. It considers projects in literary scholarship and cultural heritage that have engaged digital methods, emphasizing how digital representation negotiates the challenges of decentralized archives, unheard and subaltern voices, and diasporic histories. The article further offers advice for South Asian studies scholars who are new to digital humanities but want to learn more or develop projects of their own.
Impact of Salinity and Mineralogy on Slick Water Spontaneous Imbibition and Formation Strength in Shale

Spontaneous imbibition is one of the mechanisms proposed to reveal the fate of fluids used during fracturing operations in shale reservoirs. However, the influence of salinity and mineralogy on the imbibition kinetics is not yet well understood. We performed imbibition experiments on samples collected from Woodford and Caney shale outcrops with slick water having salinities up to 15 wt % KCl. The impact of salinity on the imbibition rate and capacity shows a different trend for samples of varying mineralogy. A correlation between the carbonate/clay ratio and the imbibition rate is observed. This ratio and the illite content were linked to be factors affecting the impact of salinity on imbibition. This correlation suggests a maximum volume of imbibition at a ratio of 1.5. The impact of salinity on the formation strength seems to correlate with the amount of siderite and anhydrite present in the rock. It is worth noting that the swelling of the expansive clay minerals could mask the imbibition signature of ...
Walkability in the Connected and Automated Vehicle Era: A U.S. Perspective on Research Needs:

Walkability and walking activity are of interest to planners, engineers, and health practitioners for their potential to improve safety, promote environmental and public health, and increase social...
Thermal injuries from exploding electronic cigarettes.

Abstract Introduction There are an estimated 2.75 million electronic cigarette (EC) users in the United States. ECs have become the most commonly used nicotine-containing product in young adults ages 18–24 years. Thermal, blast, and missile injuries from EC explosions has grown rapidly in recent years. Burn surgeons must remain up to date regarding management and treatment of burn injuries related to EC device ignition. Methods An IRB approved retrospective review of all patients admitted to the Massachusetts General Hospital Burn Center from January 2015 to April 2017 was performed. Fourteen patients with injuries associated with EC use were identified. Patient demographics, injury location, size and degree of burn, treatments required, length of stay (LOS), time to 95% closure, associated complications and injuries, and the circumstances that led to the injury were identified. Results The mean age was 28.6 ± 8.6 years with a range of 19–50 years (n = 14). EC burns occurred in males 93% (13/14) of the time. The majority of EC explosions caused 2nd and 3rd degree burns (57%) within the same wound bed, followed by deep 2nd degree (29%), and superficial 2nd degree (14%). The average TBSA from EC burns was 4.7 ± 2.4% with a range of 1–10%. The most common location of the device or battery at the time of the injury was a pant pocket 86% (12/14), followed by 7% hand (1/14) and 7% purse (1/14). Isolated lower extremity burns occurred in 43% (6/14) of patients, while lower extremity and hand burns occurred in 21% (3/14) of patients. Nine of 14 patients required an operating room encounter under general anesthesia. Eight of 14 patients required skin grafting for definitive wound closure. The mean hospital length of stay was 6.6 ± 4.7 days with a range of 0–15 days. Time to 95% wound closure was 18.4 ± 10.8 with a range of 8–40 days. Conclusion Thermal and blast injuries associated with EC device failure tend to cause small TBSA burns that are deep 2nd and 3rd degree wounds. The most common location for EC device storage among males was the front pants pocket. EC device users should be made aware of the dangers associated with EC use and advised to carry EC devices away from their body in dedicated carrying cases without loose metallic items.
OPTIMAL LIMITS FOR ATTRIBUTES CONTROL CHARTS

Attributes control charts have historically been used with 3-sigma limits. When such an approach is used there is the implicit assumption that the normal approximation to the binomial and Poisson distributions will be adequate. Control chart properties ..
Phosphorylase and the Control of Glycogen Degradation

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the factors that lead to glycogenolysis as it occurs in mammalian skeletal muscle; it would be limited to the initial step of this pathway. The chemical, physical, and enzymatic properties of rabbit muscle phosphorylase are discussed because this enzyme has served as the prototype for many of these studies. The complex mechanisms that control its interconversion, particularly in relation to muscle contraction, have also been discussed. This chapter presents the regulatory mechanisms that rely on protein-protein—or other kinds of macromolecular—interaction. The phosphorylase system is regulated by a highly complex mechanism in which several enzymes act on one another. It has been proposed that the main reason for the multiplicity of steps is to allow for a concerted regulation of several physiological processes.
Trust in Computing

Trust is a very frequently used term in Computer Science. In this chapter, we will review some of the different contexts in which it is used and draw parallels when applicable with social cognitive trust constructs.
A Generalized Finite-Gap Lumped-Port Model

A lumped-port model that improves network parameter extraction accuracy of integral-equation methods is presented. The model is a generalization of a recently introduced finite-gap model to the case where port terminals are of unequal length and the gap between the terminals is trapezoidal. It enforces line integrals of the electric field along straight (radial) paths in the gap to be equal to the port voltage and the total current conducted into/out of the gap to be equal to the port current. The port model is implemented by using novel divergence-conforming testing functions at the gap and scaled half-basis functions connected across the gap. Solutions of sample packaging problems show that the proposed model outperforms the traditional delta-gap lumped-port model for coaxial ports.
Confronting US Moral Hypocrisy on Child Soldiers, Inventing Antiracist Solidarity

When articulating a US-based response to child soldiering in Africa, which US political, cultural, and Christian ethical starting points provide guidance? To identify the harm in the recruitment and deployment of girl child soldiers requires assessment of our communal moral attitudes and practices related to gender norms, sexual violence, childhood, and war. To meaningfully contribute to a framework for stopping the exploitation of children in this practice demands scrutiny that interrogates US hypocrisies. We must sort out moral and religious commitments that help to support the practice from those that help to dismantle it. Racist devaluation of Africans may remain embedded in an ethical response based on pity, revulsion, or some other form of critical lens that morally divides them (Africans) from us (United States Americans). Might we instead create an antiracist Christian ethical response acknowledging shared complicity in the abuse and use of children on the frontlines in dangerous conflicts national leaders wage?