cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electronic Visibility Management of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identities and Relationships in Young Adulthood

ABSTRACTVisibility management is a process the lesbian, gay, and bisexual-identifying (LGB) people use to manage the extent to which they will identify (“out”) themselves in various contexts such as school, work, family, and home-based settings. The purpose of this study then was to explore LGB persons' experiences of electronic visibility in online environments such as social networking sites and the manner in which LGB persons most commonly monitor their electronic visibility as individuals and in couple relationships. Analysis of the survey responses of 61 young adult participants indicated that this sample felt more positive about their identities overall compared with a national sample and that they frequently reported their sexual orientation online, most often on Facebook. In addition, participants reported online disclosure did not have an effect on their relationship satisfaction. Discussion and implications for research and clinical practice are presented.
Soyfood intake, ERa gene polymorphisms, and breast cancer risk

492 Results from in vivo and in vitro studies suggest that soyfoods and their constituents may be protective against breast cancer. Analytical epidemiologic studies, however, are inconsistent. Soyfoods are the major sources of isoflavones, a group of phytoestrogens showing both weak estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities. These phytochemicals have been shown to compete with endogenous estrogens for estrogen receptors in many in vitro and in vivo systems. In this study, we evaluated whether the association of soyfood intake with breast cancer risk may be modified by genetic polymorphisms in the ERa gene. Included in this analysis were 1,069 breast cancer cases and 1,166 age-frequency-matched community controls who were recruited into the Shanghai Breast Cancer Study, had completed interview and donated a blood sample. Participation and blood donation rates were over 90% and 80%, respectively. Genotyping assays were completed for the Pvu II and Xba I polymorphisms using PCR-RFLP technique. Overall, soy protein intake was weakly related to breast cancer risk. In the stratified analyses by Pvu II polymorphism, the risk of breast cancer was reduced with increasing intake of soy protein among women with the Pvu II PP genotype, with adjusted ORs (95% CI) of 1.00, 0.78 (0.36-1.70), 0.66 (0.31-1.43), 0.31 (0.13-0.73) and 0.60 (0.26-1.38) across quintile intake of soy protein (p for trend, 0.05). However, soy protein intake was not associated with breast cancer risk among women with the Pvu II Pp or pp genotypes. Stratified analysis by Xba I polymorphism showed that the inverse association of soy protein with breast cancer also appeared primarily among women with the X allele, although the trend test was not statistically significant (p for trend, 0.11). These results suggest that soy consumption may be associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer only among a subset of women with a wild type allele in the ERa gene.
Janet Taylor Spence: Innovator in the Study of Gender

Janet Spence’s contributions moved gender researchers beyond a simple understanding of psychological gender in terms of individual differences in masculinity and femininity. In early work, she constructed the Personal Attributes Questionnaire, or PAQ, consisting of a masculine and a feminine scale, which she interpreted as assessing the core of psychological masculinity and femininity. Spence subsequently recognized that the masculine, or instrumental, scale reliably predicts only self-assertive, dominant behaviors and that the feminine, or expressive, scale reliably predicts only other-oriented, relational behaviors. Moreover, as her work developed, Spence came to understand this self-ascribed instrumentality and expressiveness, not as gender identity, but as two of the several types of psychological attributes that may become associated with individuals’ self-categorization as male or female. She then defined gender identity as the basic, existential sense of being male or female, which generally corresponds to one’s biological sex. Building on her ideas, we argue that gender identity instead encompasses both the sex categorization of oneself, usually as male or female, and self-assessments on gender-stereotypic instrumental and expressive attributes. These two levels of gender identity are linked by people’s self-stereotyping to the extent that they value their group membership as male or female.
Impaired intestinal barrier function and relapsing digestive disease: Lessons from a porcine model of early life stress.

Within this issue of Neurogastroenterology and Motility, an article by Pohl et al highlights new insights from a powerful porcine model of the link between early life adversity and relapsing functional gastrointestinal disorders. Early weaning stress closely mimics the early life psychosocial stressors that have been linked to adult onset gastrointestinal dysfunction. This early weaning model provides reproducible and highly translatable outcomes in young stress-challenged pigs. Due to the convincingly comparable neurological and gastroenterological anatomy and physiology between pigs and human beings, gastrointestinal stress and injury studies utilizing swine models will provide invaluable insights to improve our understanding and treatment of gastrointestinal disease in human beings. Future studies to examine mechanisms underlying this link between early life adversity and functional gastrointestinal disorders will explore the roles of gender and hypomaturity in gastrointestinal responses to stress.
Skeletal Muscle Injury Biomarkers: Assay Qualification Efforts and Translation to the Clinic:

Skeletal muscle (SKM) injury or myopathy results in structural or functional defects in SKMs that can be caused by variety of factors such as (1) genetic, (2) drug-induced, (3) disease progression (cachexia), or (4) aging (sarcopenia). Creatine kinase (CK) and aspartate transaminase (AST) activity assays have been routinely used as SKM injury biomarkers, but they lack sensitivity and tissue specificity. In collaboration with the Predictive Safety Testing Consortium, we evaluated the diagnostic performance of a muscle injury biomarker panel (MIP) compared to CK and AST and their correlation with the histology scores across 34 different rat studies. The MIP panel included the analytes skeletal troponin I, myosin light chain 3, fatty acid binding protein 3, and a CK mass (versus activity) assay. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve for MIP panel ranged from 0.82 to 0.91 as compared to 0.71 and 0.82 for CK and AST activity assays, respectively. Because the MIP biomarkers outperformed the routine biomarkers, the European Medicines Agency and U.S. Food and Drug Administration posted Letters of Support encouraging further study of these analytes and acknowledged the utility of the MIP panel. Ongoing efforts are directed toward the application of the MIP panel biomarkers in clinical studies and regulatory qualification.
Glyphosate Plus 2,4-D Deposition, Absorption, and Efficacy on Glyphosate-Resistant Weed Species as Influenced by Broadcast Spray Nozzle

The introduction of 2,4-D-resistant soybean will provide an additional POST herbicide site of action for control of herbicide-resistant broadleaf weeds. The introduction of this technology also brings concern of off-site movement of 2,4-D onto susceptible crops such as sensitive soybean and tomato. The 2,4-D formulation approved for use in 2,4-D-resistant soybean restricts application of the herbicide to nozzles that produce very coarse to ultracoarse droplet spectrums. The use of larger droplet spectrums for broadcast applications can reduce herbicide deposition onto target weeds and thus influence herbicide efficacy. Field experiments were conducted to evaluate the influence of nozzle design on herbicide deposition onto target plants and the resulting efficacy of a POST application of 280 g ha-1 glyphosate plus 280 g ha-1 2,4-D. The TTI11004 nozzle produced an ultra-coarse droplet spectrum and reduced coverage and deposition density on spray cards as compared with the XR11004 and TT11004 nozzles that produced medium droplet spectrums. The AIXR11004 nozzle also reduced deposition density on spray cards but did not reduce coverage. Herbicide solution deposition onto glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth, tall waterhemp, giant ragweed, and horseweed ranged from 0.28 to 0.72 µl cm-2 and was not influenced by nozzle design. Herbicide efficacy was reduced by the TTI11004 nozzle on Palmer amaranth and horseweed compared with the AIXR11004, TT11004, and XR11004 nozzles when applications were made to either high densities of plants or plants exceeding the labeled height. The use of the AIXR11004 and TTI11004 nozzles that are listed as approved nozzles for glyphosate plus 2,4-D applications on 2,4-D-resistant soybean did not reduce herbicide deposition onto four of the most troublesome broadleaves and did not reduce herbicide efficacy when applied in conjunction with lower weed densities and smaller weeds.Nomenclature: 2,4-D; glyphosate; giant ragweed; Ambrosia trifida L. AMBTR; horseweed; Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq. ERICA; Palmer amaranth; Amaranthus palmeri S. Wats. AMAPA; tall waterhemp; Amaranthus tuberculatus (Moq.) Sauer (=A. rudis) AMATU; soybean; Glycine max (L.) Merr.; tomato; Solanum lycopersicum L.
Expanding and characterizing esophageal epithelial cells obtained from children with eosinophilic esophagitis.

Background The role of epithelial cells in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is not well understood. In this study, our aim was to isolate, culture, and expand esophageal epithelial cells obtained from patients with or without EoE and characterize differences observed over time in culture. Methods Biopsies were obtained at the time of endoscopy from children with EoE or suspected to have EoE. We established patient-derived esophageal epithelial cell (PDEEC) lines utilizing conditional reprogramming methods. We determined integrin profiles, gene expression, MHC class II expression, and reactivity to antigen stimulation. Results The PDEECs were found to maintain their phenotype over several passages. There were differences in integrin profiles and gene expression levels in EoE-Active compared to normal controls and EoE-Remission patients. Once stimulated with antigens, PDEECs express MHC class II molecules on their surface, and when co-cultured with autologous T-cells, there is increased IL-6 and TNF-α secretion in EoE-Active patients vs. controls. Conclusion We are able to isolate, culture, and expand esophageal epithelial cells from pediatric patients with and without EoE. Once stimulated with antigens, these cells express MHC class II molecules and behave as non-professional antigen-presenting cells. This method will help us in developing an ex vivo, individualized, patient-specific model for diagnostic testing for causative antigens.
Radiation Matters of the Heart: A Mini Review

Radiation Therapy (RT) has been critical in cancer treatment regimens to date. However, it has been shown that ionizing radiation is also associated with increased risk of damage to healthy tissues. At high radiation doses, varied effects including inactivation of cells in treated tissue and associated functional impairment are seen. These range from direct damage to the heart; particularly, diffuse fibrosis of the pericardium and myocardium, adhesion of the pericardium, injury to the blood vessels and stenosis. Cardiac damage is mostly a late responding end-point, occurring anywhere between 1 and 10 years after radiation procedures. Cardiovascular disease following radiotherapy was more common with radiation treatments used before the late 1980s. Modern RT regimens with more focused radiation beams, allow tumors to be targeted more precisely and shield the heart and other healthy tissues for minimizing the radiation damage to normal cells. In this review, we discuss radiation therapeutic doses used and post-radiation damage to the heart muscle from published studies. We also emphasize the need for early detection of cardiotoxicity and the need for more cardio-protection approaches where feasible.
Measuring the performance of network virtualization tool N2N in the design of a cyber warfare training and education platform

Developing realistic cyber warfare training environments enables individualized hands-on training of cyber security topics without using operational networks. Cost, space, time, and reproducibility are major factors that prevent large-scale network replications for individual training purposes. Network virtualization provides an alternative training approach. Network virtualization is an important component in building a decentralized cyber warfare education platform. It allows for software defined, virtual network topologies that are independent of the underlying physical network topology. This creates an environment where students have increased flexibility over the creation and connections of their individual virtual networks. However, there is overhead associated with the virtualization of the network layer. Additional software drivers must encrypt and repackage inbound and outbound packets destined for the virtual network. This research presents a set of experiments that characterize this virtualization performance overhead relative to direct physical connections. Results indicate two to four times reduction in performance with respect to both latency and bandwidth when the network is virtualized relative to direct network connections. The benefit to this cost in performance is the ability to create scalable, flexible network topologies that can be used to create a robust, isolated cyber training environment.
Services for competitive and sustainable manufacturing in the smart grid

With the growing emphasis on the triple bottom line of people, planet and profits, innovative services will be enablers and drivers of growth of next generation of manufacturing enterprises that are competitive and sustainable. This chapter presents a desiderata for such services for architecting highly distributed intelligent operation of manufacturing enterprises consisting of production processes, lighting and HVAC systems, renewable energy systems, and energy storage systems to cooperatively achieve load control, implicitly thereby emission management, in real-time. Such distributed architectures will leverage emerging developments in service oriented architectures and in interoperability standards for the smart grid. Research challenges for engineering such systems include understanding their dynamics, ensuring responsiveness, and ensuring humanistic process automation. The work extends recent developments in intelligent product-driven production for combining distributed production scheduling and power consumption scheduling. Preliminary results of an analysis and simulation of the distributed system dynamics are also presented.
Application of Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) in a Cardiovascular Critical Care Unit

The nursing profession is moving toward developing a standardized language. Benefits of such a language are outlined. Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) (Iowa Intervention Project, 1992), a standardized language for nursing interventions, has been recently developed by the Iowa Intervention Project. This article describes how NIC was incorporated into a nursing care plan in a tertiary acute care facility. Teaching strategies, which include aspects of adult learning theory and motivational theory, are discussed. Utilization of creativity and variability in the planning and implementation of a unit based inservice program were the most beneficial strategies used.
Predicting reaching postures using a kinematically constrained shoulder model

We present a new muscle effort criteria for predicting physiologically accurate upper limb motion in human subjects based on skeletal kine- matics, muscle routing kinematics, and muscle strength characteristics. The new criteria properly accounts for the cross-joint coupling associ- ated with the routing kinematics of multi-articular muscles. We also employ a new kinematically constrained model of the human shoulder complex, which is critical for the proper evaluation of our muscle effort criteria. Through a set of subject trials we have shown good correlation between natural reaching postures and our proposed criteria.
Abstract 1869: Role of Nef secretion modification region (SMR) peptides and the chaperone mortalin in breast cancer and leukemia cells

BACKGROUND: Mortalin/GRP-75(mt-hsp70, HSPA9) is a mitochondrial chaperone protein, also found in the cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum and cytoplasmic vesicles. It functions in many cellular processes such as mitochondrial biogenesis, intracellular trafficking, cell proliferation, signaling, immortalization and tumorigenesis, Thus, inhibition of mortalin is a promising avenue for cancer therapy. Previous studies in our lab have suggested that mortalin contributes to breast cancer development and progression. We showed tumor exosome secretion was decreased by knockdown of mortalin expression using HIV-1 Nef peptides. Specifically, these peptides can block exosome secretion and also mediate cell cycle arrest in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells. AIMS: This study aims to investigate further the function and mechanism of interaction of PEG- SMR-CLU peptide and SMR-CPP peptide, and chaperone mortalin and to explore the effect of SMR-derived peptides and mortalin on human breast cancer and leukemia cell lines. RESULTS: Our results demonstrate that the modified SMRwt peptides not only affect breast cancer cell proliferation and arrest breast cancer cell growth, but they also inhibit migration of breast cancer cells. SMRwt peptides also block exosome-mediated release of complement, and allow the cells to die via complement induced cell death, and reduced mortalin protein expression. We further determined that expression levels of the mesenchymal markers vimentin (VIM) was decreased in presence of SMRwt peptides and MKT-077. CONCLUSIONS: Mortalin may promote cell proliferation and invasion via induction of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cancer cells, which has a potential therapeutic target in cancer immunotherapy. SMRwt peptides block tumor exosome release and reduce the expression of mortalin. This may be a means to decreases breast cancer cell invasion and metastasis, which may have important clinical applications for late stage breast cancer chemotherapy. Furthermore, SMRwt peptides and inhibition of mortalin suppressed the migration and invasive capacity of cancer cells and is associated with a diminished EMT. These findings support a role for SMR peptide and mortalin in the induction of EMT, prompting a further investigation into their therapeutic value in cancer metastasis. Citation Format: Ming B. Huang, Vinvent C. Bond. Role of Nef secretion modification region (SMR) peptides and the chaperone mortalin in breast cancer and leukemia cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1869.
The good, the bad, and the ugly: What behavioral business ethics researchers ought to be studying.

Kristin Smith-Crowe and her colleagues have written some pretty potent words that those of us who identify as behavioral business ethics researchers should hear. Warren and Smith-Crowe (2008) wrote the following: “While behavioral ethics is descriptive rather than prescriptive, good social science requires a thorough understanding and deinition of one’s constructs-researchers only want to predict and describe ethical behavior , but in doing so, they must deine what is ethical, and, therefore, they must be in some sense prescriptive” (p. 84). Tenbrunsel and Smith-Crowe (2008), in their terriic review of the literature, go further by stating, “e [behavioral] ethics ield is in a quandary. If we don’t believe it is important to deine what an ethical decision is, or don’t believe it is our place to do so, then we are a ield without meaning” (p. 551).
Wind of Change: The Future of Cross-Cultural Negotiation

The past generation is unprecedented in the swift changes that have swept across every aspect of human life. Many of these changes relate to our living in a technologically immersed world. Change has not only affected international business, it has more fundamentally changed people—their actions, feelings, and even their bodies. As people have changed, so too has the way they engage as negotiators. As these changes increase and impact our negotiation behavior, we might reach the point at which we acknowledge that the very act of negotiation has changed. Interconnectedly, change is affecting us at the societal and the cultural levels as well. In light of this book’s focus on culture and negotiation, changes in culture converge with, and contribute to, changes in negotiation. This chapter addresses the topic of change at all these levels and suggests how negotiators can evolve, adapt, and develop to succeed in cross-cultural interactions in a changing world.
TD-04 Plaquenil discontinuation is associated with increased damage accumulation in SLE

Background There is ample evidence demonstrating that hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) prevents lupus flares, increases long-term survival, and protects against irreversible organ damage in SLE (Pons-Estel Arth Care Res 2010). However, in recent years, ophthalmology guidelines have encouraged providers to limit cumulative HCQ exposure to prevent ocular toxicity. We examined whether a) HCQ use in our UCLA cohort has changed over time and b) whether patients who discontinue HCQ accumulate damage at a different rate than continuous or never users. Methods SLE subjects participating in our longitudinal ‘Biomarkers of Atherosclerosis’ carotid ultrasound cohort were evaluated. Medication use (and reasons for disuse) were recorded at cohort entry, and at each subsequent study visit. 303 SLE subjects participated in the baseline study (2004–2006), 229 in the 2nd follow-up (2008–2010), and 102 in the 3rd follow-up exam (2015-present). For continuity, SLICC Damage Index (SDI) was measured at baseline, 3 years, and 5 years after cohort entry. Results At baseline, 69.8% of patients were taking HCQ, 62.1% at first follow-up, and 58.6% at second follow-up (p=ns). Patient preference and physician preference were the most common reasons for HCQ non-use. Less than 3% of subjects who discontinued HCQ did so due to concern for eye toxicity at baseline and first follow-up, but this increased to 7.4% at second follow-up. We compared SDI at baseline in patients who were never HCQ users (n=29), vs previous users (n=93), vs continuously users (n=181). We found evidence of SLE-related damage (SDI≥1) in 75.9% of never HCQ users, 74.1% of previous users, and 52.4% of subjects on HCQ at baseline (p=0.001, Chi-Square). At 5 years, we found SDI≥1 in 94.7% of never HCQ users, 82.7% of previous users vs 68.2% of subjects on HCQ at baseline (p=0.004, Chi-Square). Conclusions Although the frequency HCQ use in our longitudinal SLE cohort has decreased slightly over the last 13 years, the percentage of subjects who discontinued HCQ due to eye-related eye toxicity has increased recently. Further studies will be required to determine whether this increase is due solely to cumulative HCQ dose vs more frequent detection because of adherence to ophthalmology testing guidelines vs earlier detection due to more sensitive testing modalities. Our data also demonstrate that damage accumulation is similar in subjects who previously used HCQ and those who never used, and higher compared to continuous users, suggesting continuous HCQ use may be important for damage prevention in SLE.
Relationships of deployment and combat experiences to postdeployment negative health conditions among Army National Guard soldiers

An interest of researchers and practitioners has been postdeployment adjustment of returned soldiers, though the primary focus has been investigating the prevalence of psychiatric conditions. Less ...
Inactive Cas9 blocks vitreous-induced expression of Mdm2 and proliferation and survival of retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Abstract Mouse double minute (MDM)2 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) 309G allele in the second promoter of MDM2 enhances vitreous-induced expression of Mdm2 and degradation of the tumor suppressor protein p53. This MDM2SNP309G contributes to certain cancer development and experimental proliferative vitreoretinopathy. The goal of this study is to discover a novel strategy to only block vitreous-induced expression of Mdm2 for preventing vitreous-induced cell proliferation and survival and thus find a potential novel strategy to treat proliferation-related diseases. We created two mutations (D10A and H840A) in Streptococcus pyogenes (Sp)Cas9 within the nuclease domains (RuvC1 and HNH, respectively) to render this SpCas9 nuclease dead named as dCas9 in a lentiCRISPR v2 vector. Then an MDM2-sgRNA targeting the second promoter of human MDM2 gene was cloned into this vector for producing lentivirus to infect human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells with, which carry a heterozygous genotype of MDM2SNP309 T/G. lacZ-sgRNA was used as a control. As a result, we discovered that vitreous from experimental rabbits induced a 1.9 ± 0.2 fold increase in Mdm2 and a 2.0 ± 0.2 fold decrease in p53 in the RPE cells with dCas9/lacZ-sgRNA compared to those with dCas9/MDM2-sgRNA, suggesting that dCas9 under the guidance of the MDM2-sgRNA prevented RV-stimulated increase in Mdm2. In addition, we found that the rabbit vitreous significantly enhanced cell proliferation (1.5 ± 0.2 fold), survival against apoptosis (2.2 ± 0.2 fold), migration (10 ± 1.5%) and contraction (112.7 ± 14.1 mm2) of the cells with dCas9/lacZ-sgRNA compared with those with dCas9/MDM2-sgRNA. These results indicated that application of the dCas9 targeted to the P2 of MDM2 is a potential therapeutic approach to diseases due to the P2-driven aberrant expression of Mdm2 – such as proliferative vitreoretinopathy.
Developmental anomalies and South American paleopathology: A comparison of block vertebrae and co-occurring axial anomalies among three skeletal samples from the El Brujo archaeological complex of northern coastal Peru.

Abstract Though developmental anomalies have been noted for over a century in South American paleopathology, they have received less attention than other pathological conditions. When anomalies are reported, they tend to be unusual case studies or incidental findings. Paleopathological research should also consider anomalies from a population perspective, to broaden our understanding about the frequency of specific anomalies, and potentially offer insight into genetic relationships, cultural behavior, or environmental factors. This investigation compared block vertebrae and co-occurring postcranial axial anomalies among three skeletal samples reflecting an occupational sequence at the El Brujo Archaeological Complex of Peru. Block vertebrae demonstrate both considerable antiquity and persistence through time, though frequencies, vertebral level, and co-occurring anomalies varied by sex and cultural period. Among the Late Preceramic sample, the frequency of C2-C3 block vertebrae was highest and only seen among females, which may suggest familial influence, genetic isolation, and potentially matrilocality. The Moche sample demonstrated a moderate frequency of blocks, which in combination with the frequencies of other developmental anomalies, may suggest population continuity paired with an influx of new genes, demographic expansion, and possible cultural change with regard to postmarital residence. The Lambayeque sample demonstrated the lowest frequency of blocks and the highest frequency and greatest diversity of anomalies, which may suggest genetic continuity from the Moche, an expanded gene pool, broader opportunities for mate choice, and cultural change. It is hoped that this investigation will provide data for future comparisons and call attention to the need for the broader study of developmental anomalies in South America.
Optimized Combination of Multiple Graphs With Application to the Integration of Brain Imaging and (epi)Genomics Data

With the rapid development of high-throughput technologies, a growing amount of multi-omics data are collected, giving rise to a great demand for combining such data for biomedical discovery. Due to the cost and time to label the data manually, the number of labelled samples is limited. This motivated the need for semi-supervised learning algorithms. In this work, we applied a graph-based semi-supervised learning (GSSL) to classify a severe chronic mental disorder, schizophrenia (SZ). An advantage of GSSL is that it can simultaneously analyse more than two types of data, while many existing models focus on pairwise data analysis. In particular, we applied GSSL to the analysis of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and DNA methylation data, which accounts for genetics, brain imaging (endophenotypes), and environmental factors (epigenomics) respectively. While parameter selection has been an open challenge for most models, another key contribution of this work is that we explored the parameter space to interpret their meaning and established practical guidelines. Based on the practical significance of each hyper-parameter, a relatively small range of candidate values can be determined in a data-driven way to both optimize and speed up the parameter tuning process. We validated the model through both synthetic data and a real SZ dataset of 184 subjects from the Mental Illness and Neuroscience Discovery (MIND) Clinical Imaging Consortium. In comparison to several existing approaches, our algorithm achieved better performance in terms of classification accuracy. We also confirmed the significance of several brain regions associated with SZ.
Senescence and ion and protein concentrations in shrunken2 sweet maize inbreds

Senescence patterns in stalk internode pith were rated, and concentrations of ions and proteins, and protein profiles in SDS-PAGE gels in internodes 7 and 9 (17, 19) at developmental stages from V9 to R6 were determined in five shrunken2 (sh2) sweet maize (Zea mays L.) inbreds. Senescence in shanks and cobs was rated at R3 and R6. There was no effect due to inbred. Senescence rating increased with plant age. Concentrations of total nitrogen in a Kjeldhal digest, K+, and SO42- decreased with plant age in both years, Generally there were fewer protein bands on SDS-PAGE gels in 1995 than 1996. In 1995, numbers of protein bands at R6 were higher than at V9 or VT for 17 or 19, respectively. In 1996, numbers of bands in 17 and 19 decreased at V9 or VT to R6. Low protein masses averaged 24 kD for all inbreds in both years, and did not fluctuate with developmental stage. In 1995, high protein masses in 17 and 19 increased from V9 or VT through R3 and decreased by R6. In 1996, high protein masses in 17 were lower at R6 than V9, and in 19 were higher at R6 than at V9. There were only occasional instances where ion or protein concentrations were correlated with senescence rating. Results suggest that these inbreds should contribute similar characteristics in crosses.
Innate immune signaling in Drosophila shifts anabolic lipid metabolism from triglyceride storage to phospholipid synthesis in an ER stress dependent manner.

During infection, cellular resources are allocated toward synthesis and secretion of effector proteins that neutralize and kill invading pathogens. In Drosophila, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are produced in the fat body, an organ that also serves as a major nutrient storage depot. Here we asked how the innate immune response activated by fat body Toll signaling alters lipid metabolism as a model for understanding how the cellular and energetic demands of the immune response are met. We find that genetic activation of fat body Toll signaling leads to a tissue-autonomous reduction in triglyceride storage that is paralleled by decreased transcript levels of Lipin and midway, enzymes that carry out the final steps of triglyceride synthesis. In contrast, Kennedy pathway enzymes that synthesize phospholipids and their products, phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine, are induced in fat bodies with active Toll signaling. Induction of these enzymes depends on the unfolded protein response mediator Xbp1, and examination of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) morphology by transmission electron microscopy revealed significantly expanded ER in fat body cells with active Toll signaling. Together these results indicate that Toll signaling induces a metabolic switch from triglyceride storage to phospholipid synthesis and ER expansion; this occurs in response to AMP production and may sustain AMP synthesis and secretion during infection. Better understanding of how this anabolic switch in lipid metabolism is induced, as well as the long-term consequences of reduced triglyceride storage at the expense of phospholipid synthesis, should yield insight into metabolic diseases that stem from chronic inflammation.
Ubc9 deletion in adipocytes causes lipoatrophy in mice

Objective: White adipose tissue (WAT) expansion regulates energy balance and overall metabolic homeostasis. WAT absence or loss occurring through lipodystrophy and lipoatrophy contributes to the development of dyslipidemia, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance. We previously demonstrated the sole small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) E2- conjuguating enzyme Ubc9 represses human adipocyte differentiation. Germline and other tissue-specific deletions of Ubc9 frequently cause lethality in mice. As a result, the role of Ubc9 during WAT development remains unknown. Methods: To determine how Ubc9 impacts body composition and energy balance, we generated adipocyte-specific Ubc9 knockout mice (Ubc9a-KO). CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing inserted loxP sites flanking exons 3 and 4 at the Ubc9 locus. Subsequent genetic crosses to AdipoQ-Cre transgenic mice allowed deletion of Ubc9 in white and brown adipocytes. We measured multiple metabolic endpoints that describe energy balance and carbohydrate metabolism in Ubc9a-KO and littermate controls during postnatal growth. Results: To our surprise, Ubc9a-KO mice developed hyperinsulinemia and hepatic steatosis. Global energy balance defects emerged from dysfunctional WAT marked by pronounced local inflammation, loss of serum adipokines, hepatomegaly, and near absence of major adipose tissue depots. We observed progressive lipoatrophy that commences in the early adolescent period. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that Ubc9 expression in mature adipocytes is essential for maintaining WAT expansion. Deletion of Ubc9 in fat cells compromised and diminished adipocyte function that provoked WAT inflammation and ectopic lipid accumulation in the liver. Our findings reveal an indispensable role for Ubc9 during white adipocyte expansion and endocrine control of energy balance.
The interprofessional VA quality scholars program: Promoting predoctoral nursing scientists and their career trajectories.

Abstract Background The VA Quality Scholars (VAQS) program is an interprofessional fellowship that provides a unique opportunity for predoctoral nurse scientists to embed their work in quality improvement learning “laboratories” to inform their scholarship, science, and research. Purpose To describe the VAQS program in relation to promoting nursing science and predoctoral nurse scientist (PhD) career trajectories, and to propose policy implications. Method Data were collected on all predoctoral (PhD, DNP) nurses who entered and completed the VAQS program nationally. Findings A total of 17 predoctoral nurses (11 PhD and 6 DNP) have completed the VAQS program. Ten predoctoral PhD nurses (91%) completed their degree while in the program. Nine predoctoral PhD nurses (82%) entered a postdoctoral fellowship, and many obtained positions as faculty at research-intensive universities postfellowship. Discussion The knowledge, skills, and experiences gained by predoctoral nurse scientists from the VAQS's program contribute to their nursing research and professional career growth.
Quaternary Oxide Photoanode Discovery Improves the Spectral Response and Photovoltage of Copper Vanadates

Summary Copper vanadates are a promising class of solar fuel photoanodes with broad spectral response and excellent operational stability. The present performance limitations of these photoanodes are most evident in the rapid decrease in photoactivity with decrease in either photon energy or applied bias, the former limiting efficient utilization of the solar spectrum and the latter limiting photovoltage. We designed high-throughput photoelectrochemical screening to characterize these two aspects of improving Cu-V-based photoanodes in quaternary oxide composition spaces of the form Cu-V-X-O, where X = Mg, Ca, Sr, Fe. The results reveal that alloying of 2+ cations onto the Cu site of copper vanadates can improve photoelectrochemical properties, and Sr-alloyed Cu5V2O10 emerges as the most promising photoanode providing the best combination of photovoltage and spectral response. Six quaternary oxide phases are discovered as photoanodes with visible light activity below 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, highlighting the high-throughput photoanode discovery.
Sore Throat and Tonsillar Asymmetry in a 10-year-old Boy

1. Sarah S. Cole, MD, MAJ, USA, MC* 2. Jacob M. Wessler, MD, Lt Col, USAF, MC† 1. *US Army MEDDAC, Winn Army Community Hospital, Fort Stewart, GA 2. †Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, VA A previously healthy 10-year-old boy presents with a 4-week history of progressively worsening sore throat and odynophagia. There is no history of fever, weight loss, dyspnea, upper respiratory symptoms, or skin rash. He initially presented to an urgent care clinic after 2 weeks of sore throat and was noted to have an exudate on his left tonsil only with an otherwise unremarkable examination. At this time, he had a negative oropharynx culture for group A β -hemolytic streptococcus as well as a negative heterophile antibody test. He was treated symptomatically and instructed …
Evaluation of intervention components to maximize outcomes of behavioral obesity treatment delivered online: A factorial experiment following the multiphase optimization strategy framework.

Abstract Background Behavioral lifestyle intervention (BLI) is recommended as a first-line treatment for obesity. While BLI has been adapted for online delivery to improve potential for dissemination while reducing costs and barriers to access, weight losses are typically inferior to gold standard treatment delivered in-person. It is therefore important to refine and optimize online BLI in order to improve the proportion of individuals who achieve a minimum clinically significant weight loss and mean weight loss. Study design Five experimental intervention components will be tested as adjuncts to an established 12-month online BLI: virtual reality for BLI skills training, interactive video feedback, tailored intervention to promote physical activity, skills for dysregulated eating, and social support combined with friendly competition. Following the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) framework, the components will first be refined and finalized during Preparation Phase pilot testing and then evaluated in a factorial experiment with 384 adults with overweight or obesity. A priori optimization criteria that balance efficacy and efficiency will be used to create a finalized treatment package that produces the best weight loss outcomes with the fewest intervention components. Mediation analysis will be conducted to test hypothesized mechanisms of action and a moderator analysis will be conducted to understand for whom and under what circumstances the interventions are effective. Conclusion This study will provide important information about intervention strategies that are useful for improving outcomes of online BLI. The finalized treatment package will be suitable for testing in a future randomized trial in the MOST Evaluation Phase.
Smectic vortex glass

We show that in type-II superconductors a magnetic field applied transversely to correlated columnar disorder drives a phase transition to a distinct ``smectic'' vortex glass (SmVG) state. SmVG is characterized by an infinitely anisotropic electrical transport, resistive (dissipationless) for current perpendicular to (along) columnar defects. Its positional order is also quite unusual, long-ranged with true Bragg peaks along columnar defects and logarithmically rough vortex lattice distortions with quasi-Bragg peaks transverse to columnar defects. For low temperatures and sufficiently weak columnar-only disorder, SmVG is a true topologically ordered ``Bragg glass,'' characterized by a vanishing dislocation density. At sufficiently long scales the residual ever-present point disorder converts this state to a more standard but highly anisotropic vortex glass.
Pause in immunosuppressive treatment results in improved immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in autoimmune patient: a case report.

Patients on immunosuppressive drugs have been excluded from studies of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines’ (mRNA-BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273) clinical trials that resulted in their Emergency Use Authorization in the USA and Europe. Since the initiation of the global vaccination campaign, it became apparent that patients on immunosuppressive drugs may not generate optimal immune response following vaccination.1 Prednisone and mycophenalate are potent inhibitors of immune responses. Prednisone acts at many levels of immunity including the innate and adaptive responses, whereas mycophenalate mainly targets T and B cells.2 These and other immunosuppressive drugs used to treat patients with autoimmune disorders and organ transplant patients were shown to significantly curtail antibody responses following SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines.3–5 We report on a 75-year-old male patient with an underlying autoimmune disorder, myasthenia gravis, which was controlled after receiving high doses of prednisone and mycophenalate for 9 months. At his first SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, he was receiving 7.5 mg prednisone on alternate days and 3 g mycophenalate daily (figure 1A). He received two doses of Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccine with a 4-week interval between doses. Neutralisation titres were measured using a pseudovirus neutralisation assay (PsVNA) as described previously.6 No SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibodies were detected in plasma at 4 weeks after the second mRNA-1273 …
Perineuronal nets in the dorsomedial striatum contribute to behavioral dysfunction in mouse models of excessive repetitive behavior

Abstract Background Excessive repetitive behavior is a debilitating symptom of several neuropsychiatric disorders. Parvalbumin-positive inhibitory interneurons in the dorsal striatum have been linked to repetitive behavior, and a sizeable portion of these cells are surrounded by perineuronal nets (PNNs), specialized extracellular matrix structures. Although PNNs have been associated with plasticity and neuropsychiatric disease, no previous studies have investigated their involvement in excessive repetitive behavior. Methods We used histochemistry and confocal imaging to investigate PNNs surrounding parvalbumin-positive cells in the dorsal striatum of four mouse models of excessive repetitive behavior (BTBR, Cntnap2, Shank3, prenatal valproate treatment). We then investigated one of these models, the BTBR mouse, in detail, with DiI labeling, in vivo and in vitro recordings, and behavioral analyses. We next degraded PNNs in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) using the enzyme chondroitinase ABC and assessed dendritic spine density, electrophysiology, and repetitive behavior. Results We found a greater percentage of parvalbumin-positive interneurons with PNNs in the DMS of all four mouse models of excessive repetitive behavior compared to controls. In BTBR mice, we found fewer dendritic spines on medium spiny neurons (targets of parvalbumin-positive interneurons), and differences in neuronal oscillations as well as inhibitory postsynaptic potentials, compared to controls. Reduction of DMS PNNs in BTBR mice altered dendritic spine density and inhibitory responses, and normalized repetitive behavior. Discussion These findings suggest that cellular abnormalities in the DMS are associated with maladaptive repetitive behaviors and that manipulating PNNs can restore normal levels of repetitive behavior while altering DMS dendritic spines and inhibitory signaling.
Inevitable and incomplete abortion An evaluation of aggressive management

Abstract 1. 1. A study of 951 consecutive cases of inevitable and incomplete abortion seen over a 28 month period is presented. 2. 2. No feature of etiologic significance was detected. 3. 3. It is felt that prompt transfusion, preoperative oxytocin infusion, and surgical evacuation of the uterus will reduce mortality and morbidity, as well as the period of hospitalization. The use of antibiotics prophylactically is not advocated, but there should be no hesitation when their use is indicated. 4. 4. The range of hospitalization was from a few hours to 14 days. Seven hundred ninety-six (83.7 per cent) of 951 patients were discharged within 48 hours of admission. 5. 5. The over-all complication rate was 5.3 per cent. There were no deaths among the 951 patients treated.
Impulses in Nerve and Muscle Cells

This chapter reviews the properties of the electric field, electric current, and membrane capacitance that are needed to understand the propagation of the nerve- or muscle-cell action potentials. The resting voltage across the cell membrane is related to the concentration of ions inside and outside the cell. Then the cable model is used to describe the electrical properties of a nerve axon. We analyze both the passive spread of current along the axon, called electrotonus, and the propagation of the action potential. The Hodgkin–Huxley model for the current through sodium and potassium ion channels is analyzed in detail. We explore the differences between propagation along unmyelinated and myelinated axons.
Lung Cancer Prevention

Lung cancer continues to exact a huge toll on the health status of Americans and people worldwide. In the USA, the number of new lung cancer cases diagnosed per year has reached epidemic proportions. In 2012 an estimated 226,160 new cases of lung cancer were diagnosed, representing approximately 14 % of the 1,638,910 new cases of all cancers diagnosed in 2012. While prostate cancer and breast cancer lead new cancer cases in American men and women respectively, lung cancer is a more deadly cancer and it remains the leading cause of cancer-related death for both men and women. While once thought to be mainly a man’s disease, lung cancer is now represented in a nearly equal fashion between the sexes; in the USA, women diagnosed with lung cancer represented 48 % all new lung cancer cases in 2012. Globally, lung cancer causes more than one million cancer deaths each year and is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality (Siegel et al., CA Cancer J Clin 62:10–29, 2012).
A Computational Study of Naíve Bayesian Learning in Anti-spam Management

It has been argued that Bayesian learning can be used to filter unsolicited junk e-mail (“spam”) and outperform other anti-spam methods, e.g., the heuristics approaches. We develop a Bayesian learning system, and conduct a computational study on a corpus of 10,000 emails to evaluate its performance and robustness, particularly the performances with different training-corpus sizes and multi-grams. Based on the computational results, we conclude that the Bayesian anti-spam approach is promising in anti-spam management as compared with other methods at the client side, and may need additional work to be viable at the corporate level in practice.