cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Association Between the Natriuretic Action of Angiotensin-(1-7) and Selective Stimulation of Renal Prostaglandin I2 Release

Abstract We previously reported that angiotensin-(1-7) [Ang-(1-7)], a heptapeptide derived from the metabolism of either Ang I or Ang II, was biologically active in the rat isolated kidney, producing a marked diuresis and natriuresis that could be dissociated from the modest increase in glomerular filtration rate. The natriuretic response was accompanied by an increase in sodium concentration and concomitant decrease in urinary potassium concentration. Ang-(1-7) has also been shown to stimulate arachidonic acid release from isolated proximal tubules and elicit prostaglandin release from a number of tissues. Therefore, in the present study we tested the hypothesis that prostaglandins participate in the renal actions of Ang-(1-7). Rat isolated kidneys were perfused at 37°C with gassed (95% O 2 /5% CO 2 ) Krebs-Henseleit buffer containing oncotic agents and amino acids for six 10-minute clearance periods at a constant pressure of 90 mm Hg. Ang-(1-7) was infused at a rate that achieved a final concentration of 3 pmol/mL in the presence and absence of 10 μmol/L indomethacin. Prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) and PGI 2 released into ureteral and venous effluents were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay. During Ang-(1-7) infusion there was a selective increase in 6-keto-PGF 1α , an index of PGI 2 , appearing in both urine and perfusate; PGE 2 levels were unchanged. Inhibition of stimulated 6-keto-PGF 1α release with indomethacin halved the fourfold increase in urine flow and sevenfold increase in sodium excretion rate without altering the increase in urinary sodium concentration produced by Ang-(1-7). In contrast, the increased potassium excretion rate was unchanged, despite the reduction in urine flow, as indomethacin abolished the fall in urinary potassium concentration caused by Ang-(1-7) infusion alone. Thus, Ang-(1-7) is a specific stimulus for renal PGI 2 versus PGE 2 release. This effect may mediate Ang-(1-7)–induced natriuresis and diuresis and fall in urinary potassium concentration but does not appear to be involved in the doubling of urinary sodium concentration. It is possible that these observations have relevance to the link between prostaglandins and converting enzyme inhibitors in view of earlier reports that these antihypertensive agents substantially increase Ang-(1-7).
Models for Predicting Fuel Consumption in Sagebrush-Dominated Ecosystems

Fuel consumption predictions are necessary to accurately estimate or model fire effects, including pollutant emissions during wildland fires. Fuel and environmental measurements on a series of operational prescribed fires were used to develop empirical models for predicting fuel consumption in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) ecosystems. Models are proposed for predicting fuel consumption during prescribed fires in the fall and the spring. Total prefire fuel loading ranged from 5.3‐23.6
Progress in the Diagnosis of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy/Dysplasia by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using Feature Tracking.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy/dysplasia (ARVC/D) is a condition which continues to pose diagnostic challenges for noninvasive imaging. The 2010 ARVC/D Task Force criteria was a major step forward for diagnosis.1 These Task Force criteria emphasized the role of quantitative imaging for both echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR). In particular, multicenter study data were used to generate sex-specific cut-off values that distinguished borderline and definite ARVC for volumetric CMR data. The Task Force criteria were established to achieve high specificity of an imaging feature (eg, right ventricular (RV) volume or ejection fraction) at approximately the 95th percentile. That relatively high specificity resulted in lower sensitivity (68% to 76%) for CMR criteria in the original North American ARVC/D Registry.1 Major CMR criteria include RV ejection fraction ≤40% or RV end-diastolic index ≥110 mL/m2 for men or 100 mL/m2 for women. The rationale for choosing stringent criteria for any one diagnostic test, such as CMR, is that the combination of several criteria is used for the final diagnosis of disease. The use of several diagnostic criteria (structural changes, tissue characterization, arrhythmia, repolarization abnormalities, and family history) is the current standard of care for diagnosis of ARVC/D. See Article by Prati et al The task force criteria for CMR require a regional wall motion abnormality to be present (in addition …
Renal artery stenosis: "fortuitous diagnosis," problematic therapy.

The carefully designed study by Buller et al. [(1)][1]in this issue of the Journal suggests that 60 additional renal artery stenosis (RAS) cases may be found per 1,000 cardiac catheterizations (2,428 patients screened, 1,149 met at least one selection criteria, 298 excluded, resulting in 120
Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections in Intensive Care Unit Patients.

OBJECTIVE To delineate the epidemiology of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) and to better understand the value of urine cultures for evaluation of fever in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting DESIGN Two-year retrospective review (2012–2013) SETTING A single tertiary center with 1,200 hospital beds and 158 adult ICU beds PATIENTS ICU patients with a CAUTI event METHODS The cohort was identified from a prospective infection prevention database. Charts were reviewed to characterize the patients. CAUTI rates and device utilization ratio (DUR) were calculated. Clinical outcomes were recorded. RESULTS A total of 105 CAUTIs were identified using the National Health and Safety Network (NHSN) definition. Fever was the primary indication for obtaining urine culture in 102 patients (97%). Of these 105 patients, 51 (51%) had an alternative infection to explain the fever, with pneumonia (55%) being the most common followed by bloodstream infection (22%). A total of 18 patients (18%) had fever due to noninfectious cause, and 32 patients (32%) had no alternative explanation. Of these, 66% received appropriate empiric antimicrobial therapy, but no targeted therapy changes were made based on urine culture results. The other 34% did not receive antimicrobial therapy at all. Only 6% of all CAUTIs resulted in blood cultures positive for the same organism within 2 days. The urinary tract was not definitely established as the source of bloodstream infection. CONCLUSIONS Urine cultures obtained for evaluation of fever form the basis for identification of CAUTIs in the ICU. However, most patients with CAUTIs are eventually found to have alternative explanations for fever. CAUTI is associated with a low complication rate. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2015;36(11):1330–1334
Multiply Scattered and Diffusing Ultrasound: Applications, Experiments, Theory

The study of ultrasonic waves in random media in a strong multiple scattering limit is becoming increasingly relevant to applied techniques of nondestructive characterization of material microstructures. This paper reviews the state of that art within the context of engineering applications and also reviews the evidence for the Anderson Localization of ultrasound. While ultrasound has long been employed as a nondestructive probe of material microstructure, it has usually been the rapidly attenuated coherent wave, and in particular, its speed and attenuation, which has been scrutinized for that purpose. The theory of such waves is discussed here. However, recent experiments and theory are increasingly addressing the diffuse speckle wave field. This small but growing body of work is also reviewed. While there has been much work recently on optical and microwave realizations for the study of the Anderson localization of classical waves, there has been little such investigation with sound waves. Recent work demonstrating the Anderson Localization of Ultrasound in two dimensions may be the first such for any classical waves in dimension greater than one.
The role of prosecutorial independence and prosecutorial accountability in domestic human rights trials

ABSTRACTA prosecutorial organ is always in charge of the investigation and prosecution of crime, which makes this institution a key gatekeeper to the courts. Empowered with prosecutorial discretion, a prosecutorial organ dictates what, when, and whom to prosecute. The institutional design of the prosecutorial organ varies across time and across countries, which raises an important, yet quite understudied question: Does institutional design matter for how states respond to human rights violations and, if so, how? In this article, I develop a theoretical framework that highlights the importance of prosecutorial independence and prosecutorial accountability. I argue that understanding the factors that impact the use of prosecutorial discretion in human rights cases can potentially provide a more complete understanding of why and when states fail to investigate, to prosecute, and to punish human rights violations committed by state agents.
A validated intrinsic religious motivation scale.

Research on intrinsic and extrinsic religion has been troubled by conceptual diffuseness and questionable scale validity. Hunt and King have proposed greater specificity in conceptualization and measurement in future work. This paper attempts to specify and measure a single crucial dimension identified by Hunt and King, namely ultimate versus instrumental religious motivation. Two validation studies were done utilizing persons nominated by ministers as having either ultimate (intrinsic) or instrumental (extrinsic) religious motivation. A new 10-item Intrinsic Religious Motivation Scale is proposed, and measurement problems are discussed.
The Matching Number Condition of a Graph

Let G be a simple graph. The size of any largest matching in G is called the matching number of G and is denoted by v(G). In this paper, we obtain the following. (1) Let G be connected and incomplete. Then v(G-{x, y})=v(G)-1 for x,y ∈V(G) with xy(?)E(G) if and only if (a) G[A(G)] is complete and each of A(G) is adjacent to every point of C(G). (b) c(D(G)) =|A(G)| + 1. and (c) y∈D(G-x) for x.y∈C(G). (2) Let G be connected and incomplete. Then v(G-{x,y}) = v(G)-2 for x,y ∈V(G) with xy(?) E(G) if and only if G(?)Kn,n. where n (?) 2.
The Ethics of Medical Experiments: Have We Learned the Lessons of Tuskegee and the Holocaust?

Although several decades have passed since the human subjects research abuses of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and the Nazi medical experiments were uncovered, ethical misconduct in various forms continues today. An analysis of contextual factors of the times during which those abuses occurred is useful in understanding how health professionals abandoned their professional standards as well as their sworn oaths.
Estimating Treatment Effects for Recurrent Events in the Presence of Rescue Medications: An Application to the Immune Thrombocytopenia Study.

In many clinical studies, patients may experience the same type of event of interest repeatedly over time. However, the assessment of treatment effects is often complicated by the rescue medication uses due to ethical reasons. For example, in the motivating trial in studying the Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP), when the interest lies in evaluating the treatment benefit of investigational product (IP) on reducing patient’s repeated bleeding, rescue medication such as platelet transfusions may be allowed to raise platelet counts. Both the intention-to-treat analysis and treating the intermediate rescue medication as covariate tend to attenuate the treatment benefit, and the estimates can be biased if interpreted as causal. In this paper, we propose a general causal framework when intermediate rescue medications are informative. We adopt the inverse weighted estimation approach to estimate the treatment effect, where weights are constructed to reflect time-dependent medication use probabilities. The proposed estimators are shown to be asymptotically normal and are demonstrated to perform well in small-sample simulation studies. The application to the ITP studies reveals a stronger benefit of using IP in reducing bleeding.
Ruminations on Ruins: Classical versus Romantic

Ruins evoke meditations, and none more than those of Rome. Not only historians from Gibbon to Toynbee have been inspired by those ruins. Writers of the German Classical period from Goethe to Schiller, Wilhelm von Humboldt, and A.W. Schlegel, not to mention Ludwig I of Bavaria or August von Platen, have reflected in their poems on the glory of that Roman past and its meaning for the present. The German Romantics, in contrast, shifted their gaze from antiquity to the Middle Ages and to such monuments as the castles of Heidelberg, Weibertreu, and Marienburg and the monastic ruins of Eldena and Sankt Wolfgang. Poets from Brentano and Chamisso to Eichendorff and Kerner regarded them not so much as cultural-historical treasures for the cultivated few but, rather, as popular symbols of nationalistic pride and future unification. Classicists and Romantics alike sought to preserve those pasts through memory and art.
Nobody Wants to Date a Whore: Rape-Supportive Messages in Women-Directed Christian Dating Books

Despite advances in gender and sexual equality, women are still constrained by standards and norms in American culture. Women hear messages that they must remain sexually abstinent, and if they violate these proscriptions, they are met with negative social consequences. The present study examined a potential source for such messages: women-directed Christian dating books, using hypothesis-driven thematic analysis. Based on Moon and Reger’s findings of rape myths, dehumanization and objectification of women, and sexism among mixed-gender dating books, it was expected that the women-directed books would contain both messages of purity culture, which mandates that women either remain virgins or be considered whores, and messages of rape culture, which supports sexual violence and invokes consequences for women who deviate from socially proscribed gendered norms. These hypotheses were supported. Content analysis of both mixed-gender and women-directed Christian dating books revealed themes such as: the belief that sex devalues women; men and women were created for different, complementary purposes; sex should only be for procreation; women are responsible for sexual violence that men perpetrate; women should expect and accept sexual violence as a normal part of life; and women who are not submissive should be derogated. The implications of finding these themes in media meant to convey lessons of purity are discussed.
Chapter 8 – Common Technical Procedures in Rodents

When working with laboratory animals in conjunction with an experimental protocol, care must be taken to avoid injury to both the animal technician and the animal. To obtain accurate results from animal studies, all technical procedures must be performed by properly trained technicians or other animal handlers, including undergraduate and graduate students. Basic animal handling and animal identification are the first components to be mastered. Techniques to obtain samples, administer compounds, and perform humane euthanasia can then be taught. A person must be deemed proficient at technical procedures prior to being approved to perform them without supervision. This chapter will cover the basic handling and identification of the most commonly used laboratory animals, mice and rats. Common techniques for blood withdrawal, compound administration, surgical procedures, and euthanasia methods will also be discussed.
The effect of classical ballet and contemporary dance training on hip extensor flexibility and strength in novice dancers: A pilot study

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an 11-week intervention of classical ballet and contemporary dance training on hip extensor flexibility and strength in college-aged students with no prior dance experience. An experimental group of college students enrolled in an introductory college dance course (n = 22) were compared to a control group of college students (n = 7). Measurements of flexibility and strength were taken at baseline and after the 11-week intervention, which consisted of 160 min of classical ballet or contemporary dance technique training per week. A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed statistically significant changes in bilateral hip extensor flexibility in the experimental group (p
MOOC Dropout Prediction: How to Measure Accuracy?

In order to obtain reliable accuracy estimates for automatic MOOC dropout predictors, it is important to train and test them in a manner consistent with how they will be used in practice. Yet most prior research on MOOC dropout prediction has measured test accuracy on the same course used for training, which can lead to overly optimistic accuracy estimates. In order to understand better how accuracy is affected by the training+testing regime, we compared the accuracy of a standard dropout prediction architecture (clickstream features + logistic regression) across 4 different training paradigms. Results suggest that (1) training and testing on the same course ("post-hoc") can significantly overestimate accuracy. Moreover, (2) training dropout classifiers using proxy labels based on students' persistence -- which are available before a MOOC finishes -- is surprisingly competitive with post-hoc training (87.33% v.~90.20% AUC averaged over 8 weeks of 40 HarvardX MOOCs) and can support real-time MOOC interventions.
Thermal response of carbon fiber epoxy laminates with metallic and nonmetallic protection layers to simulated lightning currents

Nonlinear finite element (FE) simulations to characterize lightning-induced thermal damage in AS4/3506 carbon/epoxy composites with metallic and nonmetallic protection layers were performed and then compared with those for unprotected composites. In this study, FE estimates of matrix thermal decomposition in composites subjected to 40 kA peak currents were performed. Two protection layers were considered: (1) a traditional copper mesh (CM) commonly used for aircraft lightning strike protection and (2) a single layer of highly conductive pitch carbon fiber paper (PCFP). Temperature-dependent material properties of each constituent were used to predict the matrix thermal decomposition induced by simulated lightning current waveforms. The lightning strike FE models suggest that both the CM and the PCFP lightning protection layers successfully mitigated thermal damage development in the underlying composites as a consequence of reduced through-thickness electrical current flow/heat conduction. The CM provided excellent protection from thermal damage; the predicted matrix decomposition only penetrated the first AS4/3506 ply. Similarly, the PCFP outer layer limited thermal damage to the top three composite plies, while the predicted matrix decomposition of the unprotected composite penetrated the sixth ply. Improved PCFP protection layers appear possible to design by varying the in-plane and through-thickness electrical conductivities, as well as the PCFP-to-first ply gap conductance. This suggests that PCFP outer layers or similar lightweight carbon-based layers may serve as efficient lightning protection layers. POLYM. COMPOS., 2017. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers
El acontecimiento entre el presente y la historia

Los planteamientos de Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht y Francois Hartog sobre la crisis del historicismo y la instauracion del “presentismo” —un regimen de relacion con el tiempo basado en la experiencia del presente— han ocupado un lugar central en las discusiones recientes sobre la historia. El presentismo ha convivido con otro discurso acerca del tiempo historico: el del “retorno del acontecimiento”, al que han aportado autores como Alain Badiou y Slavoj Žižek. Este discurso, aunque expone puntos en comun con el historicismo y el presentismo, representa la enunciacion de una forma especifica de la experiencia del tiempo.
What can one chromosome tell us about human biogeographical ancestry

We study the problem of predicting human biogeographical ancestry using genomic data. While continental level ancestry is relatively simple using genomic information, distinguishing between individuals from closely associated subpopulations (e.g., from the same continent) is still a difficult challenge. In particular, we focus on the case where the analysis is constrained to using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from just one chromosome. We thus propose methods to construct such ancestry informative SNP panels, and assess the performance of such SNP panels from just one chromosome, for both continental-level and sub-population level ancestry prediction. We present results on the performance of the proposed methods, including a comparison with other related methods.
A social-cognitive perspective on identity construction.

This chapter examines identity formation in terms of a social-cognitive model. Identity is conceptualized as a cognitive structure or self-theory, which provides a personal frame of reference for interpreting self-relevant information, solving problems, and making decisions. Identity is also viewed as a process that governs and regulates the social-cognitive strategies used to construct, maintain, and/or reconstruct a sense of personal identity. Three different identity-processing orientations or styles are explicated: Informational, normative, and diffuse-avoidant. Individuals with an informational processing style are skeptical of their own self-views and they intentionally seek out, process, and utilize identity-relevant information to personally resolve identity conflicts. In contrast, individuals with a normative processing style more automatically adopt a collective sense of identity by internalizing the standards and prescriptions of significant others and referent groups. Those with a diffuse-avoidant processing style are reluctant to confront and face up to identity conflicts; they procrastinate and delay as long as possible. Their actions tend to be influenced more by immediate situational rewards and demands than personally informed decisions or normative standards. Empirical evidence from several lines of research on identity-processing style is reviewed including linkages between identity style and a number of identity and cognitive processes; developmental changes in identity styles; and factors that may contribute to individual differences in identity styles such as gender, culture, parental processes, and personality traits. The role that identity-processing styles may play in effective and ineffective self-regulation and in maintaining a coherent sense of self-continuity is considered.
The National Oncology PET Registry (NOPR): A monumental effort by a few leaders.

![Figure][1] Johannes Czernin This current volume of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine ( JNM ) features 2 manuscripts by the National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR) team that may represent the final chapter of their monumental work ([1][2],[2][3]). Previous efforts by the group led by the
On graphic matroid minors that guarantee their duals as minors

Abstract A natural question for matroids follows: Which matroids N guarantee that, when present as minors in a larger matroid M, their duals are present as minors? The main result of this paper focuses on this question with the additional constraints that N and M are 3-connected and graphic. We also solve the problem with other connectivity constraints.
Restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movements during sleep in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Study objectives To investigate the prevalence of concurrent periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMS) and restless leg syndrome (RLS), as well as the prevalence of PLMS and RLS separately. Additionally, we document these prevalences by age, race/ethnicity, sex, and obesity status. Methods Cross-sectional data from 2041 Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Sleep ancillary study participants were used. PLMS (>15 periodic limb movements per hour of sleep) was measured by polysomnography. RLS symptoms were assessed using the 2009 International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group clinical criteria. Results The prevalence of RLS with PLMS was 6.7%, RLS alone 16.1%, and PLMS alone 21.2%. RLS with PLMS was prevalent in 7.0% of whites, 4.9% of blacks, 10.1% of Hispanics, and 3.3% of Chinese-Americans. In adjusted models, odds of RLS with PLMS was higher for those older than 67 years versus those younger (odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval [CI]] = 1.62 [1.09-2.40]). Relative to white participants, the prevalence of RLS with PLMS tended to be lower among blacks (0.56 [0.32-0.96]). The prevalence of concurrent RLS and PLMS did not statistically differ by sex or obesity status. RLS alone was more common in women. Conclusions Approximately 7% of our sample had RLS with PLMS ("electro-clinical RLS"). This condition was more common among older individuals, did not vary by sex, and was less common among blacks. The findings provide some of the first information about the prevalence of concurrent RLS and PLMS in a community-based sample and show distinct sex and race associations for RLS versus electro-clinical RLS.
Distributed Optimization for Control

Advances in wired and wireless technology have necessitated the development of theory, models, and tools to cope with the new challenges posed by large-scale control and optimization problems over ...
Papers on the role of natural resources in international trade

In this work we present three papers that consider the economic implications of international trade in goods when exhaustible natural resources are used as inputs in the production process. In the first paper we investigate the possibility of violation of the static trade theorems when natural resource intensities in two goods are different. In this and the second paper we build on the generalized H-O framework of Kemp and Long (1984). The second paper analyzes the dynamic implications of incorporating natural resources into trade models. Issues relating to production and trade patterns and natural resource extraction rates are investigated under alternative assumptions of factor intensities and natural resource extraction technologies;The third paper of this work considers natural resource extraction and trade issues as they apply directly to developing countries. In this paper developing country debt burden, default risk, creditor response and capital investment are some of the issues considered. The role of the world interest rate and the discount factor is also analyzed. Various useful propositions are derived some of which relate the conservation of the natural resource to the rate of interest, whether or not the debtor nation defaults and the uncertainty in income.
A multi-resolution pyramid for outdoor robot terrain perception

This paper addresses the problem of outdoor terrain modeling for the purposes of mobile robot navigation. We propose an approach in which a robot acquires a set of terrain models at differing resolutions. Our approach addresses one of the major shortcomings of Bayesian reasoning when applied to terrain modeling, namely artifacts that arise from the limited spatial resolution of robot perception. Limited spatial resolution causes small obstacles to be detectable only at close range. Hence, a Bayes filter estimating the state of terrain segments must consider the ranges at which that terrain is observed. We develop a multi-resolution approach that maintains multiple navigation maps, and derive rational arguments for the number of layers and their resolutions. We show that our approach yields significantly better results in a practical robot system, capable of acquiring detailed 3-D maps in large-scale outdoor environments.
Impact of Procedure Time on Outcomes of Thrombectomy for Stroke

Abstract Background Endovascular thrombectomy (ET) for acute ischemic stroke is the current standard of care. Although successful ET has high efficacy in improving functional outcomes, the decision to abort a long procedure remains a challenge. Longer procedure time (PT) has been associated with lower rates of functional independence. Objectives The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of PT on outcomes and complications after ET using different techniques at a multicenter level and to define the risk of procedure extension in different patient cohorts. Methods Patients undergoing ET with a stent retriever (SR) or a direct aspiration at first pass technique at 7 U.S. centers between June 2013 and February 2018 were reviewed from prospectively maintained databases that include baseline variables and technical and clinical outcomes. Multivariate analyses were used to assess impact of PT on 90-day modified Rankin scores, successful recanalization, post-procedural symptomatic hemorrhage (sICH), and complications. Results The study included 1,359 patients and demonstrated a decreased likelihood of good functional outcomes (modified Rankin score 0 to 2) when PT extended beyond 30 min (p 30 min, fewer attempts predicted the success of ET and good outcomes (p Conclusions Longer ET procedures lead to lower rates of functional independence and higher rates of sICH and complications. Exceeding 60 min or 3 attempts should trigger careful assessment of futility and risks of continuing the procedure.
TO COMMUNICATE OR TO SCAN: PROSPECT THEORY EXTENSION OF A STOCHASTIC GAME

In this paper, we consider the problem of how a joint radar and communication system should divide its effort between supporting the radar and communication objectives when the system operates in an environment with hostile interference. In our model, we consider that the radar mode also represents a threat to the adversary since, while in this this mode, the adversary might be detected and eliminated. We model the problem by a stochastic game (SG) involving the joint radar/communication system and a jammer. To explore how irrational behavior by the rivals can affect the equilibrium strategies we formulate a Prospect Theory (PT) extension of the SG, which includes the solution of the original SG as boundary case. The stationary PT equilibrium strategies are found in closed form, and uniqueness of PT solution is proven.
Cooperative and Communal Breeding

The study of cooperative breeding in birds has a long history in the New World tropics, beginning with Alexander Skutch’s seminal observations of helpers at the nest. Recent studies of Neotropical birds have revealed a diversity of cooperative systems, ranging from small family groups to complex societies composed of relatives and immigrants. This chapter focuses on the communally breeding cuckoos—the anis and their allies—which breed in social groups with several unrelated co-breeders. Data from a long-term field project on greater anis in Panama sheds light on the selective pressures shaping reproductive strategies, including effects on reproductive fitness, mating and parental care patterns, and alternative reproductive tactics such as conspecific brood parasitism.
Surviving and thriving in graduate school.

Graduate school is critical period of professional development in the lives of aspiring scholars, presenting a number of challenges and opportunities. Synthesizing insights from an online survey of...
Direct Transcatheter Valve Deployment via Sternotomy for Complex Aortic Valve Reoperation.

Reoperative aortic valve replacement is associated with increased morbidity. Valve-in-valve transcatheter aortic valve replacement offers a less invasive alternative to traditional reoperation. How...
Thermodynamics of Antisite Defects in Layered NMC Cathodes: Systematic Insights from High-Precision Powder Diffraction Analyses

While it is accepted that paired NiLi and LiNi antisite defects are present in the important family of NMC cathode materials with the general formula Li(NixMnyCoz)O2, their formation mechanism and ...
The Embedded Repository: Introducing an Institutional Repository to a New Audience Via Location-Aware Social Networking

The authors report the outcome of a partnership between a university marketing and communications department and a university library. The research aimed to determine whether providing links to institutional digital repository content on location-based social media is a viable marketing approach . Foursquare Tips were added to locations on the Texas A&M University campus with links to repository content. The authors subsequently monitored repository traffic using Google analytics to determine how many users were being referred by the Foursquare service. Research indicates that users will click through links on Foursquare to visit the institutional repository, and that they will explore further once they are there. This was an initial exploration. More data will be needed to determine precisely the best way to market services through location-based or location-aware services.
The distribution of police use of force across patrol and specialty units: a case study in BWC impact

To examine differences in use of force by police patrol and specialized units, and the impact of body-worn cameras (BWCs) on use of force in these groups. We use administrative data from the Tempe (AZ) Police Department collected during a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of BWCs. t tests of means and ARIMA models were constructed to analyze unit-level variation in use of force. Tempe officers in specialized units use substantially more force than patrol officers. BWCs had no impact on use of force among patrol officers but were associated with a significant decline in force among specialty unit officers who received BWCs in the second phase of the study. Unit-level variations in force can have implications for selection, training, and other areas of police practice. Additionally, our findings show the necessity of accounting for group variation within departments when assessing the impact of BWCs on outcomes like use of force.
Agents of the Regime? Traditional Leaders and Electoral Politics in South Africa

Traditional leaders are often given subnational authority in developing democracies. Although ubiquitous, the electoral consequences of their power have received little attention, often due to empi...
First experience with hyperpolarized 129xe imaging in a recovered covid-19 patient

Introduction: There are a growing number of reports of persistently reduced exercise capacities, dyspnea or cough in a small fraction of Covid-19 survivors, suggesting ongoing impaired lung function long after the acute infection has resolved. The cause of these symptoms is unclear, though they likely originate in subtle damage to alveolar septa or vasculature. Here, we present the case of a patient with persistent post-COVID-19 symptoms who was evaluated with hyperpolarized xenon-129 MRI methods, which are sensitive to both ventilation and exchange in both non-specific tissue-plasma and red-blood-cell bound compartments in the lungs. Case: A 58-year-old never-smoker female patient was diagnosed COVID-19 positive in August 2020. She continued to experience nonspecific symptoms of fatigue, pins-and-needles in the feet, dyspnea, and daily productive cough (green, non-bloody sputum). Chest x-ray showed clear lungs without focal consolidation, pleural effusion, or pneumothorax. The subject underwent xenon-129 MR imaging on December 11, 2020 using a multi-breath scheme, in which sets of 6 ad libitum breaths containing 50mL of hyperpolarized xenon-129 (balance room air) were followed by four breaths of room air, and that 10-breath sequence was repeated until the polarized xenon-129 gas supply was exhausted. As shown in Figure 1, ventilated lung volumes are visually patchy, with heterogeneity corresponding to lobar structures or segmental and subsegmental volumes that are likely fed by airways with varying degrees of blockage. This is consistent with the persistent sputum production experienced by the patient. Further, saturation pulses at the frequency of hemoglobin-bound and tissue-plasma xenon-129 resonances selectively destroy signal in their respective compartments, which is subsequently exchanged to the gas phase. Compared to a healthy volunteer, the fractional depolarization achieved when applying identical saturation pulses is reduced by an average of approximately 40% in the patient. The response to saturation pulses also exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity. Discussion: Although a single case study is unable to determine the origin of alterations seen in a recovered COVID-19 patient, these changes are consistent with an overall reduction in the rate of gas exchange into dissolved compartments, as well as with a somewhat heterogeneous pattern of ventilation characteristic of mild obstructive disease. Further studies will be required to determine if these changes are associated with severe or persistent morbidity, and if correspondence to an age-matched healthy cohort increases as recovery continues.
Toxicity Index, Patient-Reported Outcomes, and Early Discontinuation of Endocrine Therapy for Breast Cancer Risk Reduction in NRG Oncology/NSABP B-35

PURPOSEThe US National Cancer Institute Moonshot initiative calls for improving analysis and reporting of toxicity to inform treatment tolerability. We used existing clinician-reported adverse even...
Adhesion and Traction Forces in Migration: Insights From Mathematical Models and Experiments

The migration of mammalian tissue and white blood cells plays a critical role in a diverse array of physiological and pathological phenomena, including the proper development and repair of organs, inflammation, angiogenesis, and metastasis (Trinkaus, 1984). The phenomenon of migration is complex, depending on coordinated interactions among many underlying biochemical and biophysical processes. Much information has been obtained at the molecular level about the identity and properties of components involved in these processes, especially receptor-mediated adhesion (Buck and Horwitz, 1987; Hynes, 1992) and cytoskeletal force generation (Stossel et al., 1985; Bray and White, 1988), as well as at the cell behavioral level (Lackie, 1986; Singer and Kupfer, 1986; Devreotes and Zigmond, 1988; Heath and Holifield, 1991).
d-Serine Dehydratase from Escherichia coli III. RESOLUTION OF PYRIDOXAL 5'-PHOSPHATE AND COENZYME SPECIFICITY

Abstract d-Serine apodehydratase is much more labile to inactivation by oxidation and denaturation than the corresponding holoenzyme (EC 4.2.1.14). In the presence of dithiothreitol and acetylated serum albumin, which stabilize the apoenzyme at high dilutions, reversible dissociation of holoenzyme (20 nm) to pyridoxal-P and apoenzyme occurred over several hours; both resolution and reactivation with pyridoxal-P are slow processes. The rate of resolution is greatly increased by l-cysteine, and less so by d-cysteine. In phosphate buffer, l-cysteine reacts with free pyridoxal-P about 10 times faster than with d-serine holodehydratase. Inactivation (resolution) of the holoenzyme by l-cysteine proceeds at the same rate as do spectral changes at 325 nm and at 415 nm; it is much faster in imidazole-citrate than in phosphate buffer, and is faster at pH 7.8 than at pH 6.8. 2-Norpyridoxal-P, 2'-methylpyridoxal-P, 2'-hydroxypyridoxal-P, 6-methylpyridoxal-P, 2-nor-6-methylpyridoxal-P, and 5'-methylpyridoxal-P combine with d-serine apodehydratase to yield active analogue-holoenzymes of varied catalytic efficiencies. 2',2'-Dimethylpyridoxal-P, 2'-propylpyridoxal-P, pyridoxal 5'-methylphosphonate, pyridoxal 5'-(β-cyanoethylphosphate), and β-(2-methyl-3-hydroxy-4-formylpyridine-5)-propionate combined with the apoenzyme, as shown by both spectral data and inhibition of reactivation by pyridoxal-P, but the complexes formed were catalytically inactive. N-Methylpyridoxal-P, 3-O-methylpyridoxal-P, and 5'-deoxypyridoxal neither activated nor inhibited, and failed to show spectral evidence of interaction with the apoenzyme. Thus a free phenolic group at position 3 and the unsubstituted heterocyclic nitrogen of pyridoxal-P contribute importantly to binding of this coenzyme; they may be required for catalytic activity as well. Alterations at positions 2 and 6 modify the affinity of the coenzyme analogues for the apoenzyme, but do not preclude their functioning in a catalytic capacity. All replacements of the 5'-phosphate group of pyridoxal-P led to analogues that were catalytically inert; however, since the geometry of binding may differ for such analogues, the result does not necessarily imply a catalytic role for the phosphate group. At high concentrations, pyridoxal-P inhibits d-serine holodehydratase, apparently by binding reversibly at a second site on the enzyme.
Inflammatory response induced by intrapleural injection of antiserum to IgE in rat: An evaluation of the role of histamine

Abstract Intrapleural injection of antiserum to rat IgE (anti-IgE) into rats resulted in release of histamine from mast cells and rapid effusion of fluid and plasma proteins into the pleural cavity. By 4 hr this was followed by infiltration of neutrophils. These responses were dependent on the amount of anti-IgE injected, and maximal responses were greater than those obtained with compound 48/80. The effusion of fluid and protein, but not the infiltration of cells, was partially suppressed by prior treatment with the H1 histamine receptor antagonist mepyramine (5 mg/kg, s.c.) or the H2 antagonist metiamide (100 mg/kg, s.c.) and was almost totally suppressed (85–88%) when both drugs were administered simultaneously. Neither methysergide (1 and 4 mg/kg, s.c.) nor indomethacin (5 and 10 mg/kg, i.v.) had an effect on the responses to anti-IgE. Although it seemed likely that histamine was a primary mediator of increased vascular permeability, the intrapleural injection of histamine agonists or histamine in large amounts (50 μg) provoked a much less intense response than did anti-IgE. The effects of injected histamine may not, therefore, mimic those induced by histamine released from mast cells in situ. The intrapleural injection of histamine releasers such as anti-IgE may serve as a useful model to test the therapeutic efficacy of antihistamine drugs. The present results also confirm previous reports that localized neutrophil infiltration occurs after mast cell degranulation.
Current Systems in Radio Jets

The structure of the magnetic field in radio jets is a topic of recent interest, especially due to the possibility that some high pressure jets are confined by a magnetic pinch. Several such jets have been found which cannot be confined by external cluster gas pressure, on which there are observational limits; nor can they be in free expansion, since they do not show evidence of adiabatic expansion losses. Recent radio interferometer observations of surface brightness and polarization allow the possibility of determining the magnetic field structure. In this paper I present some basic considerations of the current and field structure required if the observed jets are to be magnetically confined.
Apgar index: A statistical tool

Abstract Twenty-seven years has elapsed since Virginia Apgar proposed a new method of evaluation of the newborn infant. The proposal gained rapid and almost universal acceptance and has stood the test of time. Considered at first to be both a guide for resuscitation and a statistical tool, the latter is now its main use. Although the original score was applied at 1 minute of age, both a 1-minute scoring and a 5-minute scoring are now the general custom. There is, however, no general consensus as to which is the better indicator of outcome. Use of both as separate entities is cumbersome. A method which with a single number gives weight to both the 1-minute score and the 5-minute score and also to the relative change is described. An analysis of selected variables with the use of this index is presented.
A glimpse of a possible amyloidogenic intermediate of transthyretin

Studies have indicated that partially unfolded states occur under conditions that favor amyloid formation by transthyretin (TTR), as well as other amyloidogenic proteins. In this study, we used hydrogen exchange measurements to show that there is selective destabilization of one half of the beta-sandwich structure of TTR under such conditions. This provides more direct information about conformational fluctuations than previously available, and will facilitate design of future experiments to probe the intermediates critical to amyloid formation.
Pharmacology of pyrazolopyridines.

Pyrazolopyridines (PZP's) in general represent a chemically unique class of non-sedative anxiolytic agents. Tracazolate (ICI 136,753) is a member of pyrazolopyridine series that has shown anxiolytic properties in animal models. Tracazolate demonstrates a wider separation between sedative and therapeutic doses than do benzodiazepines. In addition, tracazolate appears to cause fewer adverse interactions than the benzodiazepines in combination with barbiturates and alcohol. In interaction studies, tracazolate potentiated both the antimetrazol and anticonflict effects of chlordiazepoxide. Pyrazolopyridines cause enhancement of both 3H-flunitrazepam (3H-FLU) and 3H-GABA to their binding sites in brain. The enhancement of 3H-FLU binding by PZP's and GABA are additive and reversed by bicuculline. The enhancement of 3H-GABA binding by PZP's and benzodiazepines are additive and reversed by picrotoxin. It is hypothesized that the action of PZP's, and particularly tracazolate, may be related to their effects upon a GABA-stimulated chloride ionophore site. Finally, benzodiazepine antagonists (e.g., RO-15 1788) fail to reverse either the anxiolytic properties of 3H-FLU enhancers or their 3H-GABA binding enhancement effects. In contrast, benzodiazepine antagonists readily reverse the anxiolytic effects of benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepines which cause 3H-FLU displacement. These data suggest that tracazolate, a non-benzodiazepine, has a pharmacological profile suggestive of novel anxiolytic activity.
ReAgents: behavior-based remote agents and their performance

We present a performance analysis of an agent-based middleware system we have developed based on "reAgents," remotely executing agents that enhance the performance of client/server-based Internet applications. ReAgents simplify the use of mobile agent technology by transparently handling data migration and run-time network communications, and provide a general interface for programmers to more easily implement application-specific logic. This is made possible through the use of behaviors, i.e., common patterns of actions that exploit the ability to process and communicate remotely. We model the performance of each of the primary behaviors, and provide an experimental evaluation of reAgent performance.
Searches for New Physics in Heavy Flavor Decays at CDF

We present the most recent CDF heavy flavor results with sensitivity to physics beyond the standard model. These results include the search for and measurements of rare decays of B hadrons, and the measurement of CP violating asymmetries of charm and B hadrons. A number of the results represent the worldʼs best measurements at this time, while others are among the worldʼs best.