cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Obesity and cell-free DNA “no calls”: is there an optimal gestational age at time of sampling?

Background Cell-free DNA screen failures or "no calls" occur in 1-12% of samples and are frustrating for both clinician and patient. The rate of "no calls" has been shown to have an inverse relationship with gestational age. Recent studies have shown an increased risk for "no calls" among obese women. Objective We sought to determine the optimal gestational age for cell-free DNA among obese women. Study Design We performed a retrospective cohort study of women who underwent cell-free DNA at a single tertiary care center from 2011 through 2016. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals for a "no call" were determined for each weight class and compared to normal-weight women. The predicted probability of a "no call" with 95% confidence intervals were determined for each week of gestation for normal-weight and obese women and compared. Results Among 2385 patients meeting inclusion criteria, 105 (4.4%) had a "no call". Compared to normal-weight women, the adjusted odds ratio of a "no call" increased with increasing weight class from overweight to obesity class III (respectively: adjusted odds ratio, 2.31; 95% confidence interval, 1.21–4.42 to adjusted odds ratio, 8.55; 95% confidence interval, 4.16–17.56). A cut point at 21 weeks was identified for obesity class II/III women at which there is no longer a significant difference in the probability of a "no call" for obese women compared to normal weight women. From 8-16 weeks, there is a 4.5% reduction in the probability of a "no call" for obesity class II/III women (respectively: 14.9%; 95% confidence interval, 8.95–20.78 and 10.4%; 95% confidence interval, 7.20–13.61; P trend Conclusion The cut point of 21 weeks for optimal sampling of cell-free DNA limits reproductive choices. However, a progressive fall in the probability of a "no call" with advancing gestational age suggests that delaying cell-free DNA for obese women is a reasonable strategy to reduce the probability of a "no call".
Bronx Teens Connection's Clinic Linkage Model: Connecting Youth to Quality Sexual and Reproductive Health Care

Abstract Purpose Teen pregnancy and birth rates in the Bronx have been higher than in New York City, representing a longstanding health disparity. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene implemented a community-wide, multicomponent intervention to reduce unintended teen pregnancy, the Bronx Teens Connection. The Bronx Teens Connection Clinic Linkage Model sought to increase teens' access to and use of sexual and reproductive health care by increasing community partner capacity to link neighborhood clinics to youth-serving organizations, including schools. Methods The Bronx Teens Connection Clinic Linkage Model used needs assessments, delineated the criteria for linkages, clarified roles and responsibilities of partners and staff, established trainings to support the staff engaged in linkage activities, and developed and used process evaluation methods. Results Early results demonstrated the strength and feasibility of the model over a 4-year period, with 31 linkages developed and maintained, over 11,300 contacts between clinic health educators and teens completed, and increasing adherence to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–defined clinical best practices for adolescent reproductive health. For those eight clinics that were able to provide data, there was a 25% increase in the number of teen clients seen over 4 years. There are many factors that relate to an increase in clinic utilization; some of this increase may have been a result of the linkages between schools and clinics. Conclusions The Bronx Teens Connection Clinic Linkage Model is an explicit framework for clinical and youth-serving organizations seeking to establish formal linkage relationships that may be useful for other municipalities or organizations.
Guanine-nucleotide Exchange Modulator, GIV/Girdin, Serves as a Tunable Valve for Growth Factor-Stimulated Cyclic AMP Signals

Cellular levels of the versatile second messenger, cyclic-(c)AMP are regulated by the antagonistic actions of the canonical G protein → adenylyl cyclase pathway that is initiated by G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and by phosphodiesterases (PDEs); dysregulated cAMP signaling drives many diseases, including cancers. Recently, an alternative paradigm for cAMP signaling has emerged, in which growth factor-receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs; e.g., EGFR) access and modulate G proteins via cytosolic guanine-nucleotide exchange modulator (GEM), GIV/Girdin; dysregulation of this pathway is frequently encountered in cancers. Here we present a comprehensive network-based compartmental model for the paradigm of GEM-dependent signaling that reveals unforeseen crosstalk and network dynamics between upstream events and the various feedback-loops that fine-tune the GEM action of GIV, and captures the experimentally determined dynamics of cAMP. The model also reveals that GIV acts a tunable control-valve within the RTK → cAMP pathway; hence, it modulates cAMP via mechanisms distinct from the two most-often targeted classes of cAMP modulators, GPCRs and PDEs.
Biomodel Formulation and Identification Using Optimal and Other Effective Experiment Designs

Abstract Several inten'clated methodological issues of this symposium are addressed, with the focus of formulating and quantifying kinetic models whose purpose is to answer particular quantitative questions about living systems. The unifying concept is kinetic experiment design, that is, decisions about what to do in the experimental laboratory to achieve this goal, and also how to do it “best.” The overriding factor in this endeavor is the paucity of “good-enough” data available from many types of biosystem studies. More often than not, the data are too few, too noisy, or both, and the number of output “ports” available to experimental probes are also too few. Optimal sampling schedule (OSS) design, based in information theory and asymptotic theory of mathematical statistics, represents one approach to optimizing the precision of model parameter estimates from small data sets. Some practical results of kinetic experiments perfomied with optimal sampling schedule designs are discussed, based on experiences in real endocrine and metabolic system studies in several animal species. Some potential pitfalls of this ap-proach are also discussed. A related problem is how to quantify unidentifiable models, i.e., models with “too many parameters”, more parameters than the number or variety of data available to quantify all or even some of them. Interval identifiahility and parameter interval analysis methods and results are reviewed, for several classes of multicompartmental models, because this is one approach to circumventing the unidentifiability problem, without the need for distorting or further abstracting relatively realistic model structures by reducing the dimensionality of their state variables or parameters. Finally, for models and systems with more than just a few pools, i.e., complex models, a case is made for using easier steady state experiment designs and models, rather than more complicated transient response studies, to reduce the dimensionality of the parameter estimation problem, rendering it more identifiable, or completely identifiable. Cut-set analysis, a graph theoretic approach, is used to help solve this problem. This is all done in the context of matching the model and the experiment design to the goals of a study, and an example is presented illustrating how a multidimensional system can be explored so that a 1-dimensional model fits the data best, and helps to answer some common questions in kinetic analysis.
Animal and Robotic Locomotion on Wet Granular Media

Most of the terrestrial environments are covered with some type of flowing ground; however, inadequate understanding of moving bodies interacting with complex granular substrates has hindered the development of terrestrial/all-terrain robots. Although there has been recent performance of experimental and computational studies of dry granular media, wet granular media remain largely unexplored. In particular, this encompasses animal locomotion analysis, robotic system performance, and the physics of granular media at different saturation levels. Given that the presence of liquid in granular media alters its properties significantly, it is advantageous to evaluate the locomotion of animals inhabiting semi-aquatic and tropical environments to learn more about effective locomotion strategies on such terrains. Lizards are versatile and highly agile animals. Therefore, this study evaluated the brown basilisk, which is a lizard species from such habitats that are known for their performance on wet granular media. An extensive locomotion study was performed on this species. The animal experiments showed that on higher saturation levels, velocity of the animal was increased due to an increase in the stride length. A basilisk-inspired robot was then developed to further study the locomotion on wet granular media and it was observed that the robot can also achieve higher velocities at increased saturation levels. This work can pave the way for developing robotic systems which can explore complex environments for scientific discovery, planetary exploration, or search-and-rescue missions.
Materials and Chemical Analysis of Electronic Devices

The performance of a microelectronic device is critically dependent on its structure and composition. Since the manufacture of the more complicated devices involves hundreds of operations, each individual manufacturing step must be controlled within very small tolerances to produce a large percentage of devices with good performance, i.e., there must be an economically meaningful product yield. The procedures defined in the other chapters of this book are intended to monitor and control these manufacturing operations. When these procedures are able to detect a problem, but not identify it, a more detailed analysis is needed.
The Critical Research Evaluation Tool (CRET): A Teaching and Learning Tool to Evaluate Research for Cultural Competence

The aim of this study was to present the Critical Research Evaluation Tool (CRET) which teaches evaluation of the researchers' worldview, applicability to multicultural populations, and ethics surrounding potential harms to communities. To provide best cultural care nurses' need to understand how historical/social/political experiences impact health and also influence research. The Student using the CRET reported receiving a strong foundation in research fundamentals, gaining a better understanding of critical frameworks in research, and learning more about themselves and reflecting on their own privileges and biases. The CRET provides nursing students and nursing faculty with a tool for examining diversity and ultimately decreasing health disparity.
Trophoblast Cell Differentiation: Expression of the Placental Prolactin Family

Normal growth and maturation of a specialized extraembryonic structure, the placenta, are essential for the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. The placenta acts as the interface between maternal and embryonic compartments, developing in parallel with the embryo and facilitating the acquisition of maternal resources required for embryonic and fetal development. This essential responsibility of the placenta is accomplished in a number of important ways, including (i) regulation of the transport of nutrients and wastes, (ii) an immunologic role in preventing fetal rejection, and (iii) an endocrine/communication/signaling role between fetal and maternal compartments. Consequently, understanding the control of placental development is fundamental to an appreciation of the initiation and maintenance of pregnancy and various abnormalities associated with altered growth and development. The cells responsible for these diverse functions of the placenta are trophoblast cells.
An ellipsoidal expansion algorithm for estimating and representing regions of attraction for large power systems

This paper proposes an algorithm for efficient offline computation and representation of regions of attraction (RoA) to speed up assessing transient stability on-line of large lossy power systems. The RoAs are obtained for prescribed normal and post-fault circuit topologies in the form of unions of ellipsoids. The RoAs provide the basis of the decision support for a Secondary Protection (SP) scheme designed to recover from the Primary Protection (PP) misoperations. The algorithm iterates between a simulation step and an ellipsoidal expansion step. In the simulation step an electromechanical model of the system is utilized to generate state trajectories originating from randomly selected points on the surface of an ellipsoid, from which a new polyhedron is defined. In the expansion step, a convex optimization problem is solved to find the maximum volume inscribed ellipsoid on the polyhedron. The proposed algorithm is applied to the IEEE 68-bus test system for which the RoAs are obtained for all anticipated contingencies. One normal and forty- eight post-fault ellipsoidal RoAs are produced, with the estimated smallest critical clearing time at 131 milliseconds, sufficiently large for an SP to correct any of the anticipated cases of failure to trip or false trip by the PP.
Electric vehicles for improving resilience of distribution systems

Abstract In this study, improving the resilience of residential customers through employing Electric Vehicles (EV) is investigated. This solution is especially effective in case of unavailability of distribution systems for a considerable amount of time. An example of this situation is the aftermath of a hurricane when existing grid infrastructure may be fully or partially disabled. In this paper, specific attention is paid to hybrid electric vehicles, as their gasoline can be used as a sufficient source of energy during such conditions. In order to have a fair comparison, selected models of both hybrid and non-hybrid electric vehicles are considered. Moreover, based on available data from reliable literature, this paper has generated different load profiles for various consumption scenarios to model the severity of conditions and estimate the required energy. Moreover, two seasonal conditions are considered and the load profiles are developed based on characteristic curves of major household appliances, instead of their rated powers. Then, the selected electric vehicles are considered as the main power supply and the available serving time of each electric vehicle is computed. Results show that a typical hybrid electric vehicle can supply power to residential units for a reasonable amount of time during a power outage.
Pregnancy urinary bisphenol-A concentrations and glucose levels across BMI categories.

Abstract Background Pregnancy exposure to bisphenol-A (BPA) may be associated with gestational diabetes (GDM), but evidence from human studies is limited. Moreover, adiposity is associated with both higher BPA concentrations and GDM risk, and may act as a confounder or an effect modifier of the association. Methods We included 350 term births from the Lifecodes pregnancy cohort (Boston, MA), who had 1st and 2nd trimester measures of urinary BPA concentrations available. BPA measures were SG-adjusted and categorized into quartiles (Q). Multivariable-adjusted linear regressions were used to determine the association between BPA, at both 1st and 2nd trimester, and glucose, in the overall population and by categories of 1st trimester BMI. Results No clear associations were seen between BPA and glucose levels in the overall population. From stratified analyses there was suggestive evidence of effect modification by maternal 1st trimester BMI, with significant associations observed among obese/overweight participants (1st trimester BPA concentrations for Q3 vs Q1: adj.β = 14.1 mg/dL; 95% CI: 1.5, 26.6) (2nd trimester BPA concentrations for Q2 vs Q1: adj. β = 16.9 mg/dL; 95% CI: 2.6, 31.2). Conclusion No associations were found between BPA and glucose levels in the overall population. However, moderately high BPA concentrations were associated with increased glucose levels among overweight/obese women—a subgroup at high-risk of elevated glucose levels in pregnancy.
Multiple functions for the catenin family member plakoglobin in cadherin-dependent adhesion, fibronectin matrix assembly and Xenopus gastrulation movements

Shaping an embryo requires tissue-scale cell rearrangements known as morphogenetic events. These force-dependent processes require cells to adhere to their neighbors, through cadherin-catenin complexes, and to their extracellular matrix substrates, through integrin-based focal contacts. Integrin receptors are not only important for attachment to the extracellular matrix, but also for its fibrillar assembly. Fibrillogenesis requires actomyosin contractility, regulated in part by cadherin-catenin complexes. One such catenin, plakoglobin, mediates the attachment of actin stress fibers to cadherin cytoplasmic tails through its interactions with actin-binding proteins. In Xenopus gastrulae, plakoglobin has been identified as an essential member in the force-induced collective migration of the mesendoderm tissue. In the current study, we have further characterized the role of plakoglobin in two additional morphogenetic processes, epiboly and convergent extension. Plakoglobin-deficient tadpoles are 40% shorter and gastrulae contain notochords that are 60% wider than stage-matched controls, indicating convergent extension defects. The radially intercalating ectoderm of morphant animal caps is nearly twice as thick as controls. Furthermore, morphant embryos exhibit a failure to assemble a fibronectin matrix at the notochord-somite-boundary or along the blastocoel roof. The loss of the fibronectin matrix, while not due to changes in overall patterning, is a result of a failure to assemble the soluble dimers into long fibrils. The force of attachment to a cadherin or fibronectin substrate is reduced in plakoglobin morphants, indicating defects in adhesion to both cadherin and fibronectin. These data suggest that plakoglobin regulates morphogenesis and fibronectin assembly through cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion.
Naomi Prawer Kadar (Ed.), Raising Secular Jews: Yiddish Schools and Their Periodicals for American Children, 1917–1950 (Brandeis University Press/University Press of New England, Lebanon, NH, 2017)

The fastest growing religious group in the United States today is “Religious Nones,” a category of identification that has about tripled since the 1990s in the United States. “Religious Nones” are ...
Endoscopic Hemostasis of Nonvariceal, Non-Peptic Ulcer Hemorrhage

The majority of patients who present with acute upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage are found to be bleeding from acid peptic disease including ulcer, esophagitis and gastritis, and variceal disease. Mallory-Weiss tear, Dieulafoy's lesion, cancer, and other rare lesions account for the bleeding source in the remaining patients. Endoscopic hemostasis may be effective in many of the conditions, but only Mallory-Weiss tear and Dieulafoy's lesion are encountered frequently enough to be clinically significant.
Transport in Membrane Vesicles Isolated from the Mammalian Kidney and Intestine

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the development of techniques for the isolation of the brush border and basal-lateral membranes and for the use of these membranes as model systems to examine the translocation of solutes and fluid. The kidney and intestine possess analogous transepithelial transport systems by which solutes common to the tubular and intestinal lumen enter the cell via the luminal brush border membrane and exit from the cell via the basal-lateral membrane. The renal basal-lateral membrane forms many interdigitating ridges and processes that significantly enlarge the area of the basal and lateral surfaces and increase the lateral intercellular spaces. The technique of free-flow electrophoresis of membranes has been adopted to separate the basal-lateral membranes from brush border microvillus membranes of intestinal epithelial cells. The plasma membranes are initially fragmented during homogenization of the cortex and the segments later separated by electrical charge
Teaching Evidence-Based Vocabulary Instruction to Undergraduate Clinicians: A Feasibility Study of Recorded Teaching Modules

Purpose The objective of this feasibility study was to determine whether or not brief, recorded teaching modules would increase the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for vocabulary instruction...
TLR9 and IL-1R1 Promote Mobilization of Pulmonary Dendritic Cells during Beryllium Sensitization

Metal-induced hypersensitivity is driven by dendritic cells (DCs) that migrate from the site of exposure to the lymph nodes, upregulate costimulatory molecules, and initiate metal-specific CD4+ T cell responses. Chronic beryllium disease (CBD), a life-threatening metal-induced hypersensitivity, is driven by beryllium-specific CD4+ Th1 cells that expand in the lung-draining lymph nodes (LDLNs) after beryllium exposure (sensitization phase) and are recruited back to the lung, where they orchestrate granulomatous lung disease (elicitation phase). To understand more about how beryllium exposures impact DC function during sensitization, we examined the early events in the lung and LDLNs after pulmonary exposure to different physiochemical forms of beryllium. Exposure to soluble or crystalline forms of beryllium induced alveolar macrophage death/release of IL-1α and DNA, enhanced migration of CD80hi DCs to the LDLNs, and sensitized HLA-DP2 transgenic mice after single low-dose exposures, whereas exposures to insoluble particulate forms beryllium did not. IL-1α and DNA released by alveolar macrophages upregulated CD80 on immature BMDC via IL-1R1 and TLR9, respectively. Intrapulmonary exposure of mice to IL-1R and TLR9 agonists without beryllium was sufficient to drive accumulation of CD80hi DCs in the LDLNs, whereas blocking both pathways prevented accumulation of CD80hi DCs in the LDLNs of beryllium-exposed mice. Thus, in contrast to particulate forms of beryllium, which are poor sensitizers, soluble or crystalline forms of beryllium promote death of alveolar macrophages and their release of IL-1α and DNA, which act as damage-associated molecular pattern molecules to enhance DC function during beryllium sensitization.
Recovery of copper from copper blast furnace slag

Secondary copper blast furnace slag was treated with carbon to derive the conditions for maximum recovery of copper with minimum simultaneous reduction of iron oxide. Experiments were carried out to study the effects of parameters such as temperature, carbon addition and CaO addition to the slag on the efficient recovery of copper. A two-stage reduction process was also employed to study the efficiency of copper recovery. The results were compared with those of single-stage reduction. The maximum recovery of copper in alloy phase was obtained with 5% (by weight) initial carbon in the feed, 2% (by weight) CaO addition to the slag and a reducing temperature of 1573 K. A higher grade of the alloy phase with respect to copper was obtained by employing a two-stage reduction process. The results obtained in this study are comparable to those of the earlier research on the recovery of copper from reverberatory furnace discard slags.
Thoracic splenosis: correct imaging diagnosis prevents invasive procedures like biopsy and thoracoscopy.

A 48-year-old woman presented to the emergency department with acute shooting type of left-sided chest pain. There was no radiation of the pain to the arm, no aggravating or relieving factors. The patient denied cough, haemoptysis or weight loss. Medical history was significant for stage 2 breast carcinoma treated with radical mastectomy and radiotherapy 5 years ago. Since then she was on hormone therapy with tamoxifen. Investigations including routine blood counts, ECG and cardiac enzymes were normal. Chest radiograph did not reveal any abnormalities. CT scan of the chest with intravenous contrast revealed three enhancing pleural based masses in the left hemithorax, measuring up to 2.6 cm in size. Initial diagnosis was pleural metastases from breast carcinoma and biopsy was considered. But the images also revealed bullet fragment in the thoracic spine and postsurgical changes of splenectomy. This raised the …
Elongated mitochondrial constrictions and fission in muscle fatigue.

ABSTRACT Mitochondria respond to stress and undergo fusion and fission at variable rates, depending on cell status. To understand mitochondrial behavior during muscle fatigue, we investigated mitochondrial ultrastructure and expression levels of a fission- and stress-related protein in fast-twitch muscle fibers of mice subjected to fatigue testing. Mice were subjected to running at increasing speed until exhaustion at 45 min–1 h. In further experiments, high-intensity muscle stimulation through the sciatic nerve simulated the forced treadmill exercise. We detected a rare phenotype characterized by elongated mitochondrial constrictions (EMCs) connecting two separate segments of the original organelles. EMCs are rare in resting muscles and their frequency increases, albeit still at low levels, in stimulated muscles. The constrictions are accompanied by elevated phosphorylation of Drp1 (Dnm1l) at Ser 616, indicating an increased translocation of Drp1 to the mitochondrial membrane. This is indicative of a mitochondrial stress response, perhaps leading to or facilitating a long-lasting fission event. A close apposition of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) to the constricted areas, detected using both transmission and scanning electron microscopy, is highly suggestive of SR involvement in inducing mitochondrial constrictions.
Eternal Inflation and the Refined Swampland Conjecture.

I apply recently proposed ``swampland'' conjectures to eternal inflation in single-scalar field theories. Eternal inflation is a phase of infinite self-reproduction of a quasi--de Sitter universe which has been argued to be a generic consequence of cosmological inflation. The originally proposed de Sitter swampland conjectures were shown by Matsui and Takahashi, and by Dimopoulos, to be generically incompatible with eternal inflation. However, the more recently proposed ``refined'' swampland conjecture imposes a slightly weaker criterion on the scalar field potential in inflation, and is consistent with the existence of a tachyonic instability. In this Letter, I show that eternal inflation is marginally consistent with the refined de Sitter swampland conjecture. Thus, if the refined conjecture is correct, the existence of a landscape-based ``multiverse'' in string theory is not incompatible with a self-consistent ultraviolet completion, with significant consequences for model building in string theory.
Cox regression model with randomly censored covariates.

This paper deals with a Cox proportional hazards regression model, where some covariates of interest are randomly right-censored. While methods for censored outcomes have become ubiquitous in the literature, methods for censored covariates have thus far received little attention and, for the most part, dealt with the issue of limit-of-detection. For randomly censored covariates, an often-used method is the inefficient complete-case analysis (CCA) which consists in deleting censored observations in the data analysis. When censoring is not completely independent, the CCA leads to biased and spurious results. Methods for missing covariate data, including type I and type II covariate censoring as well as limit-of-detection do not readily apply due to the fundamentally different nature of randomly censored covariates. We develop a novel method for censored covariates using a conditional mean imputation based on either Kaplan–Meier estimates or a Cox proportional hazards model to estimate the effects of these covariates on a time-to-event outcome. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method through simulation studies and show that it provides good bias reduction and statistical efficiency. Finally, we illustrate the method using data from the Framingham Heart Study to assess the relationship between offspring and parental age of onset of cardiovascular events.
Stereoelectroencephalography in epilepsy, cognitive neurophysiology, and psychiatric disease: safety, efficacy, and place in therapy

For patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, surgical intervention may be an effective treatment option if the epileptogenic zone (EZ) can be well localized. Subdural strip and grid electrode (SDE) implantations have long been used as the mainstay of intracranial seizure localization in the United States. Stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) is an alternative approach in which depth electrodes are placed through percutaneous drill holes to stereotactically defined coordinates in the brain. Long used in certain centers in Europe, SEEG is gaining wider popularity in North America, bolstered by the advent of stereotactic robotic assistance and mounting evidence of safety, without the need for catheter-based angiography. Rates of clinically significant hemorrhage, infection, and other complications appear lower with SEEG than with SDE implants. SEEG also avoids unnecessary craniotomies when seizures are localized to unresectable eloquent cortex, found to be multifocal or nonfocal, or ultimately treated with stereotactic procedures such as laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT), radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RF-TC), responsive neurostimulation (RNS), or deep brain stimulation (DBS). While SDE allows for excellent localization and functional mapping on the cortical surface, SEEG offers a less invasive option for sampling disparate brain areas, bilateral investigations, and deep or medial targets. SEEG has shown efficacy for seizure localization in the temporal lobe, the insula, lesional and nonlesional extra-temporal epilepsy, hypothalamic hamartomas, periventricular nodular heterotopias, and patients who have had prior craniotomies for resections or grids. SEEG offers a valuable opportunity for cognitive neurophysiology research and may have an important role in the study of dysfunctional networks in psychiatric disease and understanding the effects of neuromodulation.
Cathy O’Neil. Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, Crown Publishers, New York (2016). 259 pp., ISBN: 9780553418811.

This hard-hitting book delves into the inner workings of the algorithmic indicators used by banks, employers and other agencies to score people for a variety of purposes. It is written for a genera...
The Arms Race Between KRAB-Zinc Finger Proteins and Endogenous Retroelements and Its Impact on Mammals.

Nearly half of the human genome consists of endogenous retroelements (EREs) and their genetic remnants, a small fraction of which carry the potential to propagate in the host genome, posing a threat to genome integrity and cell/organismal survival. The largest family of transcription factors in tetrapods, the Kruppel-associated box domain zinc finger proteins (KRAB-ZFPs), binds to specific EREs and represses their transcription. Since their first appearance over 400 million years ago, KRAB-ZFPs have undergone dramatic expansion and diversification in mammals, correlating with the invasions of new EREs. In this article we review our current understanding of the structure, function, and evolution of KRAB-ZFPs and discuss growing evidence that the arms race between KRAB-ZFPs and the EREs they target is a major driving force for the evolution of new traits in mammals, often accompanied by domestication of EREs themselves.
Actuator energy and drag minimization of a blended-wing-body with variable-camber continuous trailing-edge flaps

This article conducts a multiobjective optimization study for minimizing both the actuator energy and the total drag of a NASA N + 2 aircraft, the Blended-Wing-Body (BWB), during cruising, by using...
A frequency domain analysis algorithm for predicting variance of quasi-static and dynamic wave-driven loads on a monopile-supported offshore wind turbine

The purpose of this work is to develop and validate a frequency domain analysis (FDA) algorithm to predict loads on a monopile-supported offshore wind turbine (OWT). FDA is faster than the time domain simulations that are conventionally used to perform structural analyses of OWTs. An FDA algorithm that could accurately predict loads would enable expedient design and assessment of risk for OWTs. The current work presents an FDA algorithm for predicting variance of wave-driven loads during the non-operational condition with validation from both simulated and measured data.
Undergraduate Quantitative Biology Impact on Biology Preservice Teachers

Quantitative biology is a rapidly advancing field in the biological sciences, particularly given the rise of large datasets and computer processing capabilities that have continually expanded over the past 50 years. Thus, the question arises, How should K-12 biology teachers incorporate quantitative biology skills into their biology curriculum? The teaching of quantitative biology has not been readily integrated into undergraduate biology curricula that impact preservice teachers. This has potential to cascade effects downward into the quality of learning about quantitative biology that can be expected in K-12 contexts. In this paper, we present the perspectives of a mathematics educator, a science educator, and two biologists, and discuss how we have personally incorporated aspects of quantitative reasoning into our courses. We identify some common challenges relevant to expanding implementation of quantitative reasoning in undergraduate biology courses in order to serve the needs of preservice teachers—both in their disciplinary courses and methods courses. For example, time constraints, math pedagogical content knowledge, and personal views about the relevance of quantitative principles in biology teaching and learning can impact how and to what extent they become implemented in curricula. In addition, although national standards at the K-12 level do address quantitative reasoning, the emphasis and guidance provided are sparser than for other content standards. We predict that both K-12 standards and guidelines for undergraduate education will only increase in their emphasis on quantitative skills as computation, “big data,” and statistical modeling are increasingly becoming requisite skills for biologists.
Attosecond XUV probing of vibronic quantum superpositions in Br 2

Ultrafast laser excitation can create coherent superpositions of electronic states in molecules and trigger ultrafast flow of electron density on a few femtosecond timescale. While recent attosecond experiments have addressed real-time observation of these primary photochemical processes, the underlying roles of simultaneous nuclear motions and how they modify and disturb the valence electronic motion remain uncertain. Here, we investigate coherent electronic-vibrational dynamics induced among multiple vibronic levels of ionic bromine (${\mathrm{Br}}_{2}^{+}$), including both spin-orbit (${X}^{2}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Pi}}}_{3/2,g}\ensuremath{-}{X}^{2}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Pi}}}_{1/2,g}$) and valence (${A}^{2}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Pi}}}_{3/2,u}\ensuremath{-}{}^{4}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{3/2,u}$) electronic superpositions, using attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. Decay, revival, and apparent frequency shifts of electronic coherences are measured via characteristic quantum beats on the Br-$3d$ core-level absorption signals. Quantum-mechanical simulations attribute the observed electronic decoherence to broadened phase distributions of nuclear wave packets on anharmonic potentials. Molecular vibronic structure is further revealed to be imprinted as discrete progressions in electronic beat frequencies. These results provide a future basis to interpret complex charge-migration dynamics in polyatomic systems.
Identifying and managing infectious disease syndemics in patients with HIV.

Purpose of review We will present recent articles focusing on HIV synergistic interactions with other sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, and hepatitis, as well as recent advances in the study of social and behavioral determinants that facilitate this clustering of infectious disease. For each synergistic interaction, we highlight evidence-based interventions that clinicians and policymakers should consider to tackle HIV and infectious disease syndemics. Recent findings Significant advances in understanding the behavioral and structural determinants of HIV and other infectious disease synergisms have been made in the past years. Intervention strategies based on these new models have also been developed. It is now well understood that treating infectious disease syndemics will require a multidisciplinary and multipronged approach. Summary HIV is synergistic with multiple other infectious diseases because the risk behaviors that lead to HIV acquisition may be similar to the other infections. The influence of HIV on the other infection may be due to immunosuppression associated with disease progression resulting in increased susceptibility (e.g., HIV and tuberculosis), especially when patients are not virologically suppressed using antiretroviral therapy. In reverse, another infectious disease may, when not treated, influence HIV disease progression. Social/structural determinants like homelessness, mass incarceration, and structural discrimination precipitate psychiatric comorbidity, substance use, and risky sex behavior which lead to the spread and co-occurrence of infectious disease.
Gay-Tex-Mex: Autoethnographic Vignettes:

A series of autoethnographic narrative vignettes recount the author’s personal memories from his upbringing in Texas as a Mexican American and his emergent identity as a gay man. The vignettes begi...
Beyond the Classroom: Collaboration or Exploitation?

Contact with students often leads to successful collaborative work outside of the classroom. Some contact is not as collaborative and may result in faculty learning how to protect their intellectua...
Oríkì and the making of an African sociologist: Akìwọwọ (Ifá priest who recites Ifá divination texts profusely by rote like pouring rain)

Chief J.A. Ayọrinde explains that ‘all chiefs and prominent personalities have oriki describing their character and achievements, which serve, as it were, as their “signature tunes” to announce the...
ESG Investing: How Corporate Tax Avoidance Affects Corporate Governance & ESG Analysis

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing is arguably the most popular and fastest growing investment strategy of the twenty-first century. This rise in sustainable investing has coincided with an increasing scrutiny of companies that utilize aggressive tax avoidance strategies. In response to this growing scrutiny, ESG rating agencies and institutional investors have penalized companies that pursue these strategies, although the direct effect that these strategies have on ESG scores and analysis remains empirically unclear. First, this paper explains the history of and surge in ESG investing and its place in today’s markets. Second, it details one of the most prominent aggressive tax avoidance strategies used by U.S. corporations — the “Double Irish, Dutch Sandwich.” With the recent closure of this strategy via tax reform, this paper examines the past use of the Double Irish, as well as the replacement strategies employed by large U.S. technology firms, such as the “Single Malt” and the “Green Jersey” strategies. Finally, this paper explores the negative effects that aggressive tax avoidance may have on a company in a time when socially conscious investing is at an all-time high.
Carotid body chemosensitivity is not attenuated during cold water diving.

Tonic carotid body (CB) activity is reduced during exposure to cold and hyperoxia. We tested the hypotheses that cold water diving lowers CB chemosensitivity and augments CO2 retention more than th...
Using Interactive Graphics for the Preparation and Management of Finite Element Data

Interactive graphics is an aid which eliminates the data management problems that arise when manually preparing finite element models. Line and surface data representations of sheet metal automotive stampings are displayed on a cathode ray tube (CRT), and these data are then used for building finite element models. Elements are built by creating node points with the light pen or by using automatic mesh generating techniques. By using the interactive capability, the user immediately sees the results of his modeling decisions and can make changes in his model as a result of viewing his work.
The aged microenvironment contributes to the age-related functional defects of CD4 T cells in mice.

CD4 T cells, and especially T follicular helper cells, are critical for the generation of a robust humoral response to an infection or vaccination. Importantly, immunosenescence affects CD4 T cell function and the accumulation of intrinsic defects decreases the cognate helper functions of these cells. However, much less is known about the contribution of the aged microenvironment to this impaired CD4 T cell response. In the current study, we have employed a preclinical model to determine whether the aged environment contributes to the defects in CD4 T cell functions with aging. Using an adoptive transfer model in mice, we demonstrate for the first time that the aged microenvironment negatively impacts at least three steps of the CD4 T cell response to antigenic stimulation. First, the recruitment of CD4 T cells to the spleen is reduced in aged compared to young hosts, which correlates with dysregulated chemokine expression in the aged organ. Second, the priming of CD4 T cells by DCs is reduced in aged compared to young mice. Finally, naive CD4 T cells show a reduced transition to a T follicular helper cell phenotype in the aged environment, which impairs the subsequent generation of germinal centers. These studies have provided new insights into how aging impacts the immune system and how these changes influence the development of immunity to infections or vaccinations.
The TOVS Pathfinder Path A data set

TOVS (TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder) is the operational temperature-moisture profile sounding system on the NOAA polar orbiting satellites, comprised of HIRS2, a 20 channel IR sounder, MSU, a 4 channel microwave sounder, and SSU a 3 channel IR pressure modulated stratospheric temperature sounder. The authors have analyzed data from NOAA 9 for Dec. 1985-Dec. 1986 and NOAA 10 for Dec. 1986-Dec. 1988 as part of the Pathfinder project. Products, produced twice daily, on a 1/spl deg//spl times/1/spl deg/ latitude-longitude grid, include land/ocean surface skin temperature, atmospheric temperature and humidity profile, total atmospheric O/sub 3/ column burden, cloud top height and amount, outgoing longwave radiation and longwave cloud radiative forcing, and precipitation estimate. A brief description of the methodology to analyze the data is given, stressing the need for simultaneous IR and microwave observations. Results showing interseasonal and interannual variability and the effects of El Nino are shown. Water vapor distribution is validated compared to radiosondes and shows considerable skill in the interannual variability sense. Cloud fields are validated indirectly by their use in the computation of OLR, which shows almost perfect agreement with the ERBE OLR product. Cloud fields are compared with those produced by ISCCP, and significant qualitative differences in cloud height distribution are shown. Perhaps the most important scientific finding is the very close positive relationship between the distribution of tropical upper tropospheric water vapor and precipitation in space and time. >
A Review of “To Kill Another: Homicide and Natural Law”

This elegant but provocative book casts a critical eye on humanitarianism, which it argues threatens to become the reigning ethic and the legitimating ideology for a new form of totalitarianism in ...
Biophysical feedbacks between the Pleistocene megafauna extinction and climate: The first human‐induced global warming?

[1] A large increase in Betula during a narrow 1000 year window, ∼13,800 years before present (YBP) in Alaska and Yukon corresponded in time with the extinction of mammoths and the arrival of humans. Pollen data indicate the increase in Betula during this time was widespread across Siberia and Beringia. We hypothesize that Betula increased due to a combination of a warming climate and reduced herbivory following the extinction of the Pleistocene mega herbivores. The rapid increase in Betula modified land surface albedo which climate-model simulations indicate would cause an average net warming of ∼0.021°C per percent increase in high latitude (53–73°N) Betula cover. We hypothesize that the extinction of mammoths increased Betula cover, which would have warmed Siberia and Beringia by on average 0.2°C, but regionally by up to 1°C. If humans were partially responsible for the extinction of the mammoths, then human influences on global climate predate the origin of agriculture.
Slm9, a novel nuclear protein involved in mitotic control in fission yeast.

In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe , as in other eukaryotic cells, Cdc2/cyclin B complex is the key regulator of mitosis. Perhaps the most important regulation of Cdc2 is the inhibitory phosphorylation of tyrosine-15 that is catalyzed by Wee1 and Mik1. Cdc25 and Pyp3 phosphatases dephosphorylate tyrosine-15 and activate Cdc2. To isolate novel activators of Cdc2 kinase, we screened synthetic lethal mutants in a cdc25-22 background at the permissive temperature (25°). One of the genes, slm9 , encodes a novel protein of 807 amino acids. Slm9 is most similar to Hir2, the histone gene regulator in budding yeast. Slm9 protein level is constant and Slm9 is localized to the nucleus throughout the cell cycle. The slm9 disruptant is delayed at the G 2 -M transition as indicated by cell elongation and analysis of DNA content. Inactivation of Wee1 fully suppressed the cell elongation phenotype caused by the slm9 mutation. The slm9 mutant is defective in recovery from G 1 arrest after nitrogen starvation. The slm9 mutant is also UV sensitive, showing a defect in recovery from the cell cycle arrest after UV irradiation.
Ian Maclean. Scholarship, Commerce, Religion: The Learned Book in the Age of Confessions, 1560–1630. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2012. 400p. $49.50 (ISBN 978-0674062085).

Based on the Lyell Lectures in Bibliography that Professor Ian Maclean delivered at Oxford in 2009 and 2010, Maclean’s book has expanded these lectures to produce an interesting, detail-rich history of the late Renaissance book market for scholarly works. Though Maclean concentrates on the European learned book market, he also does a fine job of evoking the realities of the general European book trade during 100 years he covers; consequently, someone without a strong knowledge of the history of the book will find this work informative. Maclean includes chapters covering all aspects of the trade: labor, the evolution of some . . .
Mechanical Properties of Molecular Composites

Various methods have been developed to make molecular composites, including coagulation, in situ polymerization of a matrix polymer, and the addition of a rigid chain to a flexible chain in block copolymers. However, many systems eventually phase separate due to inherent immiscibility of component polymers on heating; thus, they are not appropriate for melt processing, usually necessary for large-scale production. In addition, most of the mechanical properties reported are tensile properties of fiber and film specimens. Bulk sample data are rare. This is again due to a lack of thermal consolidation without causing phase separation in many molecular composites. One promising approach to circumventing this problem is introduction of strong intermolecular interactions, such as ion–ion and ion–dipole interactions. In this article, after citing some results on mechanical properties of molecular composites based on nonionic rod-like molecules, mechanical properties of molecular composites made via ionic interactions (ion–dipole interactions) are described. Keywords: molecular composites; mechanical properties; ionic interactions; PPTA; polymer