cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High throughput structural genomics and its general applicability to structural biology

Over the past 7 years, the JCSG (www.jcsg.org) has evaluated, developed, adapted and integrated various methodologies and technologies into a high throughput (HT) production pipeline for all steps from target selection, cloning, expression, crystallization to structure determination. The pipeline which was initially developed using the full proteome screen of T. maritima as our main source of targets, now forms the base of our current production pipeline. As one of the 4 PSI production centers, we have focused on large Pfam families without structural coverage, as well as on proposing and validating new protein families, that have recently been add to Pfam. Our biomedical theme project revolves around, The Central Machinery of Life, proteins that are conserved in all kingdoms of life. New and exciting projects in our target portfolio are focused on metagenomes, in particular, the Global Ocean Sampling (GOS) and human microbiomes. To date. we have processed over 11.000 targets, solved over 435 structures and deposited over 405 in the PDB. The T. maritima effort has resulted in 163 structures (total unique structures in PDB: 282) that now account for a 15% direct structural coverage of its predicted soluble proteome. Moreover, of its 1877 predicted ORFs, only 95 proteins (5% of the predicted soluble) are currently without fold predictions. As a result of processing such a large number and variety of targets through our HT pipeline, we have been able to test and validate various strategies to increase efficiency, improve yield, and lower cost per structure. This large scale focused studies have resulted in adding a number of routine salvage pathways to our pipeline. Many of these advances in technologies and methodologies can easily be implemented on a smaller scale in individual structural biology labs. The JCSG, located at The Scripps Research Institute, Genomic Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, U.C. San Diego, Burnham Institute, and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory/Stanford University, is supported through the NIH Protein Structure Initiative (U54-GM074898), (www.nigms.nih.gov/psi).
Is Prostate-Specific Antigen Screening “Proven Ineffective Care”?

A recently proposed quality measure, “Non-Recommended PSA-Based Screening,” has generated considerable debate. It would be one of the first U.S. quality metrics to focus on the delivery of too much...
The Size and Transit Time of Nondividing Subpool of Precursor Cells in Acute Leukemia

1. In order to elucidate the postulation and to quantitate the size and transit time of the nondividing subpool of precursor cells in acute leukemia, mathematical formulas based on a prolonged-labeling model were derived for the following kinetic parameters: (1) DNA synthesis time and generation time of dividing precursor cells in normal hemopoiesis and in acute leukemia. (2) size and transit time of the nondividing subpool of precursor cells in acute leukemia. The validity of the assumptions made in the model was discussed. 2. In vitro experimental estimation of the above kinetic parameters was done for the myeloid precursor pool in four cases: two with normal hemopoiesis; one, acute myeloid leukemia; one, subacute myeloid leukemia. 3. Variable decrease with time in availability of tritiated thymidine given initially in single dose to the in vitro system was observed and discussed. 4. DNA synthesis time and generation time of the dividing myeloid precursor cells in the two leukemic patients were not significantly different from, and were no shorter than, the corresponding values for normal myeloid precursor cells in the two nonleukemic patients. Thus it allows the prediction that as much as 86 per cent of the myeloid precursor cells in the marrow may be nondividing in acute myeloid leukemia. 5. In a case of acute myeloid leukemia about 87 per cent of the myeloid precursor cells in the marrow were estimated as nondividing with nondividing subpool transit time of about 32 days in closed in vitro system. The probable meanings of these in vitro estimates in vivo were discussed. 6. The result and analytical review of literature support the postulation of heterogeneous acute leukemia precursor cells with the nondividing fraction consisting of end cells being maintained by the dividing fraction. It is also suggested that a small fraction of nondividing cells may be capable of DNA synthesis and thus be initially-labeling. More definitive approaches to the problems await future investigation.
Repositioning Yunnan: security and China’s geoeconomic engagement with Myanmar

ABSTRACTChina’s geoeconomic engagement with Myanmar derives from three Myanmar-related security concerns (social security along the Yunnan–Myanmar border, economic security for the global expansion of Chinese capital and energy security). To facilitate this engagement, Yunnan is repositioned as a strategic bridgehead. To understand this geoeconomic engagement, this paper examines two specific transnational projects: Yunnan’s agricultural investment in northern Myanmar; and the Sino-Myanmar oil and gas pipelines. The construction of Yunnan as a bridgehead shows that the Chinese state incorporates economic rationale into geopolitical concern with Myanmar. Through Yunnan’s geoeconomic repositioning, the Chinese state hopes to build a China-oriented transnational network of production and consumption which includes Yunnan and neighbouring countries.
Ambiguous Aims: English-language Voluntourism as Development

ABSTRACTEnglish-language voluntourism is a practice whereby people from the Global North teach English in the Global South as an alternative form of travel and means of development assistance. As part of a larger, multisited ethnography, I investigate how in-service and former English-language voluntourism program participants frame short-term English language teaching as development. Findings suggest that the relations among volunteer tourism, English, and development remain largely unexamined. It is widely assumed that English is a commodity, a tool that can help individuals, and by consequence, states connect materially to the global economy. Yet, participants also speak in ways that conflate English language learning with cosmopolitanism, cultural change, and deeper forms of identity transformation. In that sense, English-language voluntourism’s development agenda is unclear, and akin to other forms of volunteer tourism, English-language voluntourism would benefit from moving away from development dis...
Antepartum fetal heart rate testing: VII. The significance of fetal bradycardia

Abstract Antepartum fetal heart rate testing (AFHRT) was utilized in the assessment of fetal status on a large clinical service. The nonstress test (NST) was used as the primary approach. The contraction stress test (CST) was used in the face of persistent nonreactivity. The significance of fetal bradycardia occurring during AFHRT was assessed. Bradycardia was defined as a fetal heart rate (FHR) of 90 bpm or a reduction in FHR of 40 bpm below baseline, for 60 seconds or greater. In a 2-year period, there were 28 cases of bradycardia during 3,754 tests. A total of 24 cases were sent for delivery on the same day while four cases were managed in variable fashion. In 16 cases the tests were classified as nonreactive (abnormal) and the patients were sent for delifery on the same day. There was a 50% incidence of emergency delivery for fetal distress in labor in this group. In eight cases the tests were classified as reactive (normal) and the patients were sent for delivery on the same day. The incidence of fetal distress in labor with emergency delivery was 50%. Five of 10 patients with decreased amniotic fluid volume either on ultrasonic evaluation or by clinical estimation developed fetal distress in labor. There were three cases of congenital anomalies and one case of intrauterine growth retardation which exhibited diminished amniotic fluid. The occurrence of fetal bradycardia during AFHRT denotes a fetus at increased risk of developing fetal distress in labor. This type of test should be considered abnormal and consideration should be given to delivery of the fetus.
Temperament, Gender, and Cultural Differences in Maternal Emotion Socialization of Anxiety, Somatization, and Anger

Individual differences exist in emotional experiences, and cultural context is believed to play an important role in emotion socialization. How parental meta-emotion philosophy (MEP) is related to children’s anxiety, somatization, and anger was examined cross-culturally. Cultural group and child’s gender as moderators to parental MEP and emotional outcomes were also examined. Adolescents (9–13 years, M age = 11.8) and mothers from three groups [Caucasians (n = 40), Indian Americans in U.S.A. (n = 32), Indians (n = 64)] completed measures on temperament [negative affect (NA) and effortful control (EC)], MEP (emotion coaching and emotion dismissing), and emotional outcomes (anxiety, somatic complaints, and anger). Data were analyzed using t tests, ANOVA, and multiple regressions. NA was positively associated with emotional outcomes. EC was not significantly related to emotional outcomes. Children with low EC reported fewer somatic complaints and less anger when mothers used emotion coaching. Emotion dismissing was positively associated with anxiety. Maternal emotion coaching was found to be a buffer for somatization in children with high NA. Indian children were significantly more anxious, and higher on NA than their counterparts. Indian mothers engaged in more emotion dismissing and less emotion coaching compared to the other groups. Implications for parenting and intervention are discussed.
P48 Implantable loop recorders: The search for perfect patient selection

Introduction Implantable Loop Recorders (ILR) permit long term electrocardiographic monitoring allowing symptom-rhythm correlation in children who are suspected to have an arrhythmia. We reviewed the presenting complaint and previous investigations in order to aid patient selection for the ILR. Method We conducted a retrospective review identifying patients 16 years and younger with structurally normal hearts undergoing ILR implantation in Bristol Children’s Hospital through the Heartsuite database over a 10 year period from 2004 – 2014. Statistical analysis was performed with the Fishers exact probability test. Results One hundred children were identified. Mean age was 11.0 years (range 1.2 – 16.9 years) with a male: female ratio of 1.2:1. The predominating complaint was syncope in 62.7%, palpitations in 32.5% and dizziness in 4.8%. Eighty-three of the 100 children had explantation data (8 patients had follow-up out of region, 9 ILR remained in situ ) with 79 having a documented ECG/Holter prior to ILR. Overall 24/79 (30%) of patients required intervention following ILR implantation, either permanent pacemaker (PPM) (n = 7), medication or ablation (n = 17). There was a significantly higher number of patients requiring intervention post ILR if the prior ECG/Holter was abnormal (Table 1). Fifty percent (13/26) of patients presenting with palpitations required further intervention for an arrhythmia identified on the ILR compared with 20% (10/49) of those presenting with syncope (p = 00.01). Of those presenting with syncope, a PPM was required in 5/22 (23%) with an abnormal ECG/Holter compared with 2/27 (7%) with a normal ECG/Holter (p = 00.2). None of the children presenting with palpitations or dizziness required PPM placement. Use of event recorders was low (6/79, 7.6%). Incidence of complication was 5% with 2 infections (1 requiring removal of the ILR, 1 treatment with antibiotics), 1 hypertrophic scar and 1 re-implanted due to discomfort. Conclusions Presenting complaint does seem to influence the outcome following ILR implantation. The need for further intervention following ILR implantation was more likely if children present with an abnormal ECG/Holter monitor. Therefore longer-term non-invasive monitoring could be justified in those with normal ECG/Holter monitoring rather than using ILR’s. Further prospective study and protocol development is warranted in order to establish the perfect patient selection.
Optical properties of InP from infrared to vacuum ultraviolet studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry

Abstract The optical properties of an epitaxial indium phosphide (InP) film deposited on an Fe compensated InP (InP:Fe) wafer have been measured at room temperature by ex-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry over a spectral range of 0.038–8.5 eV. The complex dielectric function spectra, e (E) = e1 (E) + ie2 (E), have been determined by fitting a parametric model to the experimental ellipsometric data. Kramers-Kronig consistent parameterizations have been applied to describe interband transitions and defect-based sub-bandgap absorption in the 0.73–8.5 eV spectral range, and both phonon modes and free carrier properties in the 0.038–0.73 eV range. Spectra in e from 0.73–8.5 eV shows ten higher energy interband critical point transitions at 1.36, 1.42, 3.14, 3.34, 4.71, 4.97, 5.88, 6.45, 7.88, and 8.22 eV. The direct band gap energy of 1.37 eV and Urbach energy 46 meV are also determined from spectra in e. A strong optical phonon mode is identified near 305 cm−1. Electronic transport properties, carrier concentration (N) and mobility (μ), calculated from Drude model with N = 1.9 × 1018 cm−3 and μ = 1559 cm2/Vs agree well with direct electrical Hall effect measurement values of N = 2.2 × 1018 cm−3 and μ = 1590 cm2/Vs. A parameterization of e from 0.038 to 8.5 eV for the epitaxial InP film is reported.
Structural basis of co-translational quality control by ArfA and RF2 bound to ribosome

Quality control mechanisms intervene appropriately when defective translation events occur, in order to preserve the integrity of protein synthesis. Rescue of ribosomes translating on messenger RNAs that lack stop codons is one of the co-translational quality control pathways. In many bacteria, ArfA recognizes stalled ribosomes and recruits the release factor RF2, which catalyses the termination of protein synthesis. Although an induced-fit mechanism of nonstop mRNA surveillance mediated by ArfA and RF2 has been reported, the molecular interaction between ArfA and RF2 in the ribosome that is responsible for the mechanism is unknown. Here we report an electron cryo-microscopy structure of ArfA and RF2 in complex with the 70S ribosome bound to a nonstop mRNA. The structure, which is consistent with our kinetic and biochemical data, reveals the molecular interactions that enable ArfA to specifically recruit RF2, not RF1, into the ribosome and to enable RF2 to release the truncated protein product in this co-translational quality control pathway. The positively charged C-terminal domain of ArfA anchors in the mRNA entry channel of the ribosome. Furthermore, binding of ArfA and RF2 induces conformational changes in the ribosomal decoding centre that are similar to those seen in other protein-involved decoding processes. Specific interactions between residues in the N-terminal domain of ArfA and RF2 help RF2 to adopt a catalytically competent conformation for peptide release. Our findings provide a framework for understanding recognition of the translational state of the ribosome by new proteins, and expand our knowledge of the decoding potential of the ribosome.
Performance of Fast Inverse Scattering Solutions for the Exact Helmholtz Equation Using Multiple Frequencies and Limited Views

We have previously reported fast algorithms for imaging by acoustical inverse scattering using the exact (not linearized) Helmholtz wave equation [1]. We now report numerical implementations of these algorithms which allow the reconstruction of quantitative images of speed of sound, density, and absorption from either transmission or reflection data. We also demonstrate the application of our results to larger grids (up to 64 × 64 pixels) and compare our results with analytically derived data, which are known to be highly accurate, for scattering from right circular cylindrical objects. We report on the performance of our algorithms for both transmission and reflection data and for the simultaneous solution of scattering components corresponding to speed of sound and absorption. We have further examined the performance of our methods with various amounts of random noise added to the simulated data. We also report on the performance of one technique we have devised to extract quantitative density images from our algorithms.
Approaches to Automated Scoring of Speaking for K–12 English Language Proficiency Assessments

This report is the fifth in a series concerning English language proficiency (ELP) assessments for English learners (ELs) in kindergarten through 12th grade in the United States. The series, produced by Educational Testing Service (ETS), is intended to provide theory- and evidence-based principles and recommendations for improving next-generation ELP assessment systems, policies, and practices and to stimulate discussion on better serving K–12 EL students. The first report articulated a high-level conceptualization of next-generation ELP assessment systems (Hauck, Wolf, & Mislevy, 2016). The second report addressed accessibility issues in the context of ELP assessments for ELs and ELs with disabilities (Guzman-Orth, Laitusis, Thurlow, & Christensen, 2016). The third report focused on critical policy and research issues of summative ELP assessments that state use for accountability purposes (Wolf, Guzman-Orth, & Hauck, 2016). The fourth report dealt with one of the major uses of ELP assessments—the initial identification and classification of ELs (Lopez, Pooler, & Linquanti, 2016). The present report discusses approaches to using automated scoring technology for the evaluation of student-spoken responses on K–12 ELP assessments. As many states have begun to use computer-based ELP assessments, there is a growing interest in automated scoring of spoken responses to increase the efficiency of scoring. This report delineates major areas to consider in using automated speech scoring for K–12 ELP assessments (i.e., assessment construct and task design, scoring and score reporting, and artificial intelligence (AI) model development and test delivery) and makes recommendations for states on how to evaluate these considerations and determine a path forward.
Relationship between Health Information Sharing Behavior Using Social Media and Breast Cancer Screening

Background: Despite established screening guidelines, breast cancer screening rates are below targeted goals. Pharmacists and other health care providers can promote breast cancer screening using tools such as social media. However, little is known about the use of social media among the breast cancer screening eligible population. Objective: To describe the health information sharing behavior using social media of the breast cancer screening eligible population, and to identify if sharing health information on social media was associated with breast cancer screening. Methods and materials: Data from the 2013 Health Information National Trends Survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate logistic regression to evaluate the association between sharing health information on social media and receipt of a mammogram. Results: Women sharing health information via social media were significantly younger than those who did not. A significantly higher percentage of Hispanics (17.8%) and other races (27.0%) chose to share health information on social media compared to African Americans (8.6%) and Whites (12.9%). Mammogram rates did not differ based on social media health information sharing habits. Conclusion: Race and age differences were noted in health information sharing behavior. No association was found between health information sharing behavior and breast cancer screening. Conflict of Interest We declare no conflicts of interest or financial interests that the authors or members of their immediate families have in any product or service discussed in the manuscript, including grants (pending or received), employment, gifts, stock holdings or options, honoraria, consultancies, expert testimony, patents and royalties Type: Original Research
Ticagrelor breaks up the tumor-platelet party.

In this issue of Blood, Cho et al demonstrate that blocking adenosine 5′-diphosphate (ADP) signaling to the P2Y12 receptor on platelets reduces the growth of ovarian cancer cells, implicating the P2Y12 inhibitor ticagrelor as a potential therapeutic option for primary and secondary prevention of ovarian cancer.
Performance of implant sonication culture for the diagnosis of periprosthetic shoulder infection.

Background Diagnosing infection after shoulder arthroplasty can be a challenge because of the high prevalence of low-virulence organisms, such as Propionibacterium acnes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of implant sonication fluid cultures in the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection compared with standard culture techniques in patients undergoing revision shoulder arthroplasty. Methods Routine perioperative testing was performed in 53 patients who underwent revision shoulder arthroplasty. In addition to routine tissue and fluid culture, the retrieved shoulder implants underwent sonication with culture of the sonicate fluid. Diagnostic performance of implant sonication culture was determined on the basis of previously defined infection criteria and compared with standard intraoperative cultures. Results Of the 53 revision cases that underwent implant sonication fluid culture, 25 (47%) were classified as infected. Intraoperative culture (tissue and fluid) sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy were 96%, 75%, 77%, 95%, and 85%, respectively. Using a cutoff of >20 colony-forming units per milliliter to exclude contaminants, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of implant sonicate culture were 56% (P Conclusions Implant sonication fluid culture in revision shoulder arthroplasty showed no significant benefits over standard intraoperative cultures in diagnostic utility for periprosthetic joint infection.
Borderline personality disorder affective instability: What you know impacts how you feel

The current study examined the role of conceptual knowledge and language in affective instability (AI) associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Forty-six females meeting criteria for BPD and 51 nonclinical female control participants without BPD completed a measure of general vocabulary and a semantic similarities task that provided estimates of the degree to which participants weighted information about valence and arousal in their understanding of emotion language. Feelings of valence and arousal were assessed using the Self-Assessment Manikin in response to 62 emotionally evocative images, which was used to derive estimates of AI. BPD status was associated with valence and arousal AI at a bivariate level, but not after controlling for language variables (general vocabulary and semantic valence and arousal foci). Participants with stronger as opposed to weaker vocabularies exhibited less AI, and participants who emphasized arousal more in their conceptual representations of emotions exhibited less AI than those who emphasized it to a lesser degree. With the inclusion of language variables in a regression equation with BPD status predicting AI, semantic arousal focus, but not general vocabulary, was a significant predictor of AI. Consistent with psychological constructionist models of emotion that specify an active role of language throughout the emotion generation process, these findings suggest that language capacity (general vocabulary and the degree to which arousal influences understanding of emotion words) is an important determinant of the AI associated with BPD. (PsycINFO Database Record
Boltzmann-distribution-equivalent for Lévy noise and how it leads to thermodynamically consistent epicatalysis.

Nonequilibrium systems commonly exhibit Levy noise. This means that the distribution for the size of the Brownian fluctuations has a "fat" power-law tail. Large Brownian kicks are then more common as compared to the ordinary Gaussian distribution. We consider a two-state system, i.e., two wells and a barrier in between. The barrier is sufficiently high for a barrier crossing to be a rare event. When the noise is Levy, we do not get a Boltzmann distribution between the two wells. Instead we get a situation where the distribution between the two wells also depends on the height of the barrier that is in between. Ordinarily, a catalyst, by lowering the barrier between two states, speeds up the relaxation to an equilibrium, but does not change the equilibrium distribution. In an environment with Levy noise, on the other hand, we have the possibility of epicatalysis, i.e., a catalyst effectively altering the distribution between two states through the changing of the barrier height. After deriving formulas to quantitatively describe this effect, we discuss how this idea may apply in nuclear reactors and in the biochemistry of a living cell.
Painful Limbs Moving Extremities (PLME)

Painful limbs, moving extremities (PLME) is a disorder characterized by involuntary unilateral or bilateral toe or finger movements. PLME has been associated with peripheral and central nervous system disease, although idiopathic cases have been reported. Its etiopathogenesis is unknown and treatment approaches remain largely empirical with nerve blocks, botulinum toxin type A, and oral medications providing some symptomatic relief.
Current status of pyrazoloacridine as an anticancer agent

Pyrazoloacridine (PZA) is the first of a new class of rationally synthesized acridine derivatives to undergo clinical testing as an anticancer agent. Recent studies suggest that PZA might be a dual inhibitor of DNA topoisomerase I and DNA topoisomerase II that exerts its effects by diminishing the formation of topoisomerase-DNA adducts. Consistent with this unique mechanism of action, PZA exhibits broad spectrum antitumor activity in preclinical models in vivo. In addition, this agent displays several unique properties including solid tumor selectivity, activity against hypoxic cells, and cytotoxicity in noncycling cells. PZA also retains full activity against cells that are resistant to other agents on the basis of overexpression of P-glycoprotein or the multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP). PZA has been studied in phase I trials in adults and children, and is currently undergoing broad phase II trials in a number of tumor types. No significant anti-tumor activity has been seen in gastrointestinal malignancies and prostate cancer. Results from ongoing or recently completed trials are awaited before the utility of this agent in our current armamentarium can be defined. Because of its unique properties, combination studies with other antineoplastic agents are warranted.
Fine Structure of Aging Skeletal Muscle

Diminution of motor performance and decrease in muscle weight relative to body weight are prominent features in old age, but the mechanisms involved in these changes are not known. The histological alterations in skeletal muscles that might account for these deficits have been examined in both human and animal studies, and several reviews have been published recently (e.g., Gutmann, 1977; McComas, 1977; Kaldor and DiBattista, 1978). In general, it has been found that there is a reduction in both the number and the diameter of muscle fibers (Tucek and Gutmann, 1973; Adams and Victor, 1977) as well as an increased variation of fiber sizes, with some fibers becoming hypertrophic perhaps to compensate for the loss and atrophy of others (Rowe, 1969; Jennekens et al., 1971).
CD4 T cell expression of PTIP is necessary for epigenetic maintenance of Th1/Th17 responses during Cryptococcus neoformans infection

Containment and clearance of opportunistic fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans (CN) requires Th1/Th17 polarized CD4 T cells. Studies show that Th1/Th17 T-cell polarization is linked to enriched chromatin activation at histone 3 lysine 4 (H3K4). DNA repair enzyme PTIP forms a complex with MLL3/4 H3K4 methyl transferases, but its role in regulation of immune-related genes remains unknown. We hypothesized that the absence of PTIP in CD4 T cells would result in a defect in generation and/or maintenance of Th1/Th17 driven immune protection against CN infection. CD4Cre+, PTIP knockout mice (CD4-PTIP-KO) and their control Cre- littermates were infected with CN and their fungal burden and T cell polarization assessed at 3 and 6 weeks post-infection (wpi). There were few statistically significant differences at 3 wpi, but no defects in IFNγ and TNFαproduction in these mice. However, by 6 wpi we observed profound defects in fungal clearance and the expression of hallmarks of Th1 and Th17 responses. CD4-PTIP-KO mice had diminished fungal clearance by 1.5-log and showed diminished frequency of IFNγ, TNFα, and IL-17 producing CD4 T-cells as well as suppressed global production of these cytokines. Furthermore, frequency of IFNγ-IL-17 dual-producing CD4 T cells, previously found to correlate with clearance, was diminished in CD4-PTIP-KO mice. Interestingly no T-cell activation defect (frequency of CD44hi and CD62L low) was altered in CD4-PTIP-KO mice. Collectively, we conclude that PTIP is not necessary for induction of Th1 and Th17 polarized T cells but it is crucial for maintaining robust Th1/Th17 cytokine production by polarized T cells throughout C.neo infection, presumably via epigenetic stabilization of CD4 T cells Th1/Th17 programing.
“I try, I do”: Child feeding practices of motivated, low-income parents reflect trade-offs between psychosocial- and nutrition-oriented goals

Abstract Although there is increased focus on behavior change programs targeting parents to promote healthy child feeding, success of these programs has been limited. To close this gap, we sought to understand parents' goals for child feeding and their motivations, abilities, and contextual environment that challenged or enabled goal achievement, with a focus on parents' own childhood food experiences. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 21) with low-income parents of at least one child aged 3–11 years in three semi-rural counties in upstate New York to explore their emic perspectives on child feeding goals and practices. Transcripts were coded by at least two researchers using the constant comparative approach. Emergent themes were identified and interpreted in the context of the Motivation-Ability-Opportunity framework. Low-income parents articulated and were clearly motivated to achieve both nutrition- and psychosocial-oriented goals. Salient psychosocial goals (e.g., family meals to promote family relationships, help child feel secure), often led to different child feeding practices than indicated by parents' nutrition-oriented child feeding goals (e.g., nutritious diet, healthful relationship with food). Sometimes these psychosocial goals were in conflict with the nutrition-oriented goals; for example, some parents gave into child food preferences to avoid conflict or hesitated to introduce changes in diets of overweight children to preserve child self-esteem. Prominent contextual barriers included child preferences, life disruptions, and the inflexible time and financial restrictions of poverty. Parents exhibited awareness and motivation to achieve healthy eating goals but success was often thwarted by the salience of psychosocial goals that often motivated less-healthy practices. Thus, behavior change programs should acknowledge the value and relevance of both types of goals and help parents develop strategies to address the tensions between them.
VraSR and Virulence Trait Modulation during Daptomycin Resistance in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection.

ABSTRACT Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) threatens human health in hospital and community settings. The lipopeptide antibiotic daptomycin (DAP) is a frequently used treatment option for MRSA infection. DAP exposure can cause bacterial resistance because mutations are induced in genes implicated in cell membrane and cell wall metabolism. Adaptations aimed at surviving antimicrobial pressure can affect bacterial physiology and modify in vivo aptitude and pathogenesis. In this study, clinical DAP-susceptible (DAPs) and DAP-resistant (DAPr) MRSA isolates were used to investigate associations between DAP resistance and staphylococcal virulence. We previously found that VraSR is a critical sensor of cell membrane/wall homeostasis associated with DAP acquisition during MRSA infection. The present study found that DAPr CB1634 and CB5014 MRSA strains with vraSR upregulation were less virulent than their susceptible counterparts, CB1631 and CB5013. Differential gene-transcription profile analysis revealed that DAPr CB1634 had decreased agr two-component system expression, virulence factors, and highly suppressed hemolysis activity. Functional genetic analysis performed in DAPr CB1634 strains using vraSR inactivation followed by gene complementation found that vraSR acted as a transcriptional agrA regulator. These results indicated that VraSR has a broad range of regulatory functions. VraSR also appeared to affect DAPr adherence to epithelial cells, which would affect DAPr strain colonization and survival in the host. The correlation between DAP resistance and decreased virulence was also found in the CB5013 (DAPs) and CB5014 (DAPr) pair. Taken together, these findings are the first evidence that DAP resistance and MRSA virulence are tightly connected and involve compromised expression of regulatory and virulence determinants. IMPORTANCE Methicillin-resistant S. aureus continues to develop resistance to antimicrobials, including those in current clinical use as daptomycin (DAP). Resistance to DAP arises by mutations in cell membrane and cell wall genes and/or upregulation of the two-component VraSR system. However, less is known about the connection between the pathogen and virulence traits during DAP resistance development. We provide new insights into VraSR and its regulatory role for virulence factors during DAP resistance, highlighting coordinated interactions that favor the higher persistence of MRSA DAP-resistant strains in the infected host.
Mental health stigma in depressed Latinos over the course of therapy: Results from a randomized controlled trial.

Objective The current study examined the course, correlates, and predictors of mental health stigma among depressed, Spanish-speaking Latinos that were receiving treatment. This population faces significant disparities in mental health treatment and carries high levels of mental health stigma. Method The study utilized data generated from a randomized clinical trial (N = 46) that evaluated the efficacy of Behavioral Activation and Supportive Counseling for depression among Latinos. Results Mental health stigma decreased over time; these decreases were more pronounced among individuals who were randomized to Supportive Counseling. Mental health stigma was positively associated with depressive symptoms and therapeutic alliance over time. Mental health stigma was not related to treatment attrition. Conclusions These preliminary findings indicate that mental health stigma continues to be relevant among individuals who are actively participating in treatment. Receiving mental health treatment may be sufficient to dispel some of the stigmatizing views endorsed by underserved clinical populations.
Diagnosis and Management of Perianal Skin Tumors

Squamous cell neoplasms are the most commonly encountered perianal malignancy. A number of other malignancies can arise in the perianal region—these are rare and frequently misdiagnosed. Those covered in this chapter include Paget’s disease, basal cell cancer, and rhabdomyosarcoma in the pediatric population. Workup of these perianal lesions is similar, consisting of histologic tissue diagnosis followed by clinical and radiographic staging evaluation. Treatment almost invariably involves surgical resection, ranging from local excision to radical resection with abdominoperineal resection, and frequently utilizes a multimodal approach combining chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Sleep: Slow Waves Quiet the Fly’s Mind

Slow-wave sleep is a marker of sleep need, but its presence and function in non-mammalian species have been controversial. A new study finds sleep-dependent slow wave oscillations in the fruit fly, which act to inhibit sensory input during sleep.
Can State Courts Cure Partisan Gerrymandering: Lessons from League of Women Voters v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (2018)

In League of Women Voters et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania et al. (2018), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down that state’s congressional plan as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. It did so entirely on state law grounds after a three-judge federal court had rejected issuing a preliminary injunction against the plan. The aim of this essay is to examine the implications of LWV for future partisan gerrymandering litigation. In particular, we look toward the applicability of the Pennsylvania court’s approach to other potential partisan gerrymandering challenges brought under state law, especially those in the twelve states whose state constitutions have provisions essentially identical to the one relied upon by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and in states with similar provisions. We pay particular attention to how the Court made use of the expert witness testimony in the case, relying on some of it, while rejecting or critiquing the applicability of other elements, since such a discussion can inform future litigation in state courts drawing on the LWV opinion for ideas. In our concluding discussion we contrast the criteria used to evaluate partisan gerrymandering by this court with those used by federal courts, and we look at how it may impact the decisions of legislators about line drawing in 2020.
Whiteness as a Stumbling Block in Learning to Teach Mathematics for Social Justice

Using mathematics as a tool to interrogate (in)justice and take action toward a more socially just world in PreK–12 mathematics shows promise for disrupting marginalization of Black and Brown stude...
FEAR: feature extraction for aerial registration in large-scale LiDAR point clouds

Image registration is a major field within computer vision and is often a required step in fulfilling other computer vision and pattern recognition tasks such as change detection, scene classification and image segmentation. Recent advances in 3D computer vision and lowered costs in Light Detection and Ranging devices, better known as LiDAR, have given way to an increase in readily available 3D image datasets. These 3D captures give an extra dimension to computer vision data and allow for improvements in a multitude of tasks when compared to their 2D counterparts. However, due to the large scale and complex nature of 3D point cloud data, classical methods for registration often require increased hardware usage and time and can fail to proper register data with a low degree of error. The strategy presented in this paper aims to minimize the number of points representing a point cloud to reduce the time and hardware overhead needed to perform registration while allowing the algorithm to improve registration accuracy and reduce error between registered clouds. This is done by extracting key edge features from the point clouds using eigenvector analysis to remove ground planes and large normal planes within the point cloud. The algorithm is further improved by performing set differencing on two separate edge extractions to remove large clusters of points representing natural objects that can often cause confusion for registration of outdoor LiDAR scenes. The method for key point registration is evaluated on large scale, complex LiDAR point clouds obtained from aerial sensors. Tests are performed on both fully overlapping and partially overlapping clouds to ensure that the method increases performance on full and partial registration tasks. The tests are also performed on clouds of varying resolution to test the algorithms ability to maintain integrity regardless of cloud resolution. Point reduction results, registration statics and visual results are presented for comparison. A brief look into possible applications of the method and future improvements to the algorithm are included.
Population structure and introgression among recently differentiated Drosophila melanogaster populations

Understanding the factors that produce and maintain genetic variation is a central goal of evolutionary biology. Despite a century of genetic analysis, the evolutionary history underlying patterns of exceptional genetic and phenotypic variation in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster remains poorly understood. In particular, how genetic and phenotypic variation is partitioned across global D. melanogaster populations, and specifically in its putative ancestral range in Subtropical Africa, remains unresolved. Here, we integrate genomic and behavioral analyses to assess patterns of population genetic structure, admixture, mate preference, and genetic incompatibility throughout the range of this model organism. Our analysis includes 174 new accessions from novel and under-sampled regions within Subtropical Africa. We find that while almost all Out of Africa genomes correspond to a single genetic ancestry, different geographic regions within Africa contain multiple distinct ancestries, including the presence of substantial cryptic diversity within Subtropical Africa. We find evidence for significant admixture--and variation in admixture rates--between geographic regions within Africa, as well as between African and non-African lineages. By combining behavioral analysis with population genomics, we demonstrate that female mate choice is highly polymorphic, behavioral types are not monophyletic, and that genomic differences between behavioral types correspond to many regions across the genome. These include regions associated with neurological development, behavior, olfactory perception, and learning. Finally, we discovered that many individual pairs of putative incompatibility loci likely evolved during or after the expansion of D. melanogaster out of Africa. This work contributes to our understanding of the evolutionary history of a key model system, and provides insight into the distribution of reproductive barriers that are polymorphic within species.
Metal-Responsive Regulation of Enzyme Catalysis using Genetically Encoded Chemical Switches

The design of allosteric regulation in proteins to dynamically control function is a challenge in synthetic biology. To address this challenge, we developed an integrated computational and experimental workflow to incorporate a metal-responsive chemical switch into proteins. Pairs of bipyridinylalanine (BpyAla) residues were genetically encoded into two structurally distinct enzymes, a serine protease and firefly luciferase, so that metal coordination would bias the conformations of these enzymes, leading to reversible control of activity. MD-simulations guided rational BpyAla placement, significantly reducing experimental workload, and cell-free protein synthesis coupled with high-throughput experimentation enabled rapid prototyping of variants. Ultimately, this strategy yielded enzymes with a robust 20-fold dynamic range in response to divalent metals over 24 on/off switches, demonstrating the potential of this approach. We envision that this strategy of genetically encoding chemical switches into enzymes will complement other protein engineering and synthetic biology efforts, enabling new opportunities for applications where precise regulation of protein function is critical.
Evolutionary Computation and Intelligence

Just as the connectionist networks of the previous chapter received much of their early support and inspiration from the goal of creating artificial neural systems, other biological analogs have influenced the design of search and learning algorithms in AI. This chapter considers algorithms patterned after the processes underlying evolution: shaping a population of individuals through the survival and reproduction of its most fit members. Chapter 6 has four parts. Section 6.1 introduces genetic and evolutionary computing. Section 6.2 describes genetic algorithms and programming and gives several examples of their uses. In Sect. 6.3, artificial life, or a-life, is explored, and Sect. 6.4 considers genetic and evolutionary approaches to creating intelligent programs from an epistemic perspective. We conclude, Sect. 6.5, with some summary thoughts on Part II.
Marine-Derived Antibiotics

Publisher Summary This chapter describes marine-derived antibiotics. In a procedure described in the chapter, the dried sponge was extracted exhaustively with methanol. The concentrated extracts were triturated with benzene, dissolved in water, then extracted with ethyl acetate followed by n-butanol. The wet sponge was ground twice in a blender with methanol. The solvent was removed in vacuo and by freeze-drying to a dark-green residue, which was then extracted with ethyl acetate, dried, and evaporated. The fresh sponge was extracted four times with acetone at room temperature for three days, then concentrated and extracted four times with ether. The animals were extracted with water-chloroform and bioactivity was concentrated in the chloroform phase using the in vitro P-388 and KB bioassays as guides. Three successive partitions using hexane, carbon tetra chloride, and chloroform, 10%, 25%, and 35% water in methanol, respectively, with bioactivity again localized in the chloroform phase, followed by chromatography through Sephadex LH-20 with methanol and through silica gel with acetone-hexane mixtures gave crystalline. Slow evaporation from benzene afforded clear prismatic needles.
Parietal mechanisms of attentional control: locations, features, and objects

Two distinct components of attentional control have been documented within subregions of parietal cortex. First, broad regions of intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and frontal eye fields (FEFs) are tonically active when attention is directed to a particular location, feature, or object in a visual scene. This tonic activity in IPS may be the source of a signal to maintain the current state of attention in visual cortex. Second, regions of superior parietal lobule, IPS, and precuneus are transiently active when attention is shifted between attentive states. This transient activity may reflect an attentional control signal that initiates abrupt changes of attentional state in sensory areas of visual cortex.
Ureaplasmal Pneumonia and Sepsis Associated With Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn

Ureaplasma urealyticum was isolated from the lower respiratory tract of three infants with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. In one, cultures positive for U urealyticum were obtained on multiple occasions from trachea, blood, and pleural fluid prior to the infant's death on postnatal day 6. Autopsy findings confirmed the presence of severe pneumonia and the organism was again recovered from multiple sites. A second infant had no apparent predisposing factors for development of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn but U urealyticum and Staphylococcus epidermidis were recovered from the trachea antemortem and from lung tissue obtained during autopsy on the 12th postnatal day. The third infant had persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn and a pulmonary infiltrate within hours after birth with tracheal cultures positive for both U urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis. Erythromycin was given for ten days, and the infant gradually improved. Prolonged ventilation with supplemental oxygen was necessary, and chronic lung disease developed. This is the first report of neonatal ureaplasmal pneumonia with sepsis and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn as well as the first time a microorganism other than streptococci has been specifically implicated in the pathogenesis of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. Respiratory infections with U urealyticum or other bacteria should be considered as possible causative or contributory factors in infants with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn.