cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Programmed Cell Death in Plants : Orchestrating an Intrinsic Suicide Program Within Walls

Plants are remarkable organisms in that they constantly adjust their growth and developmental patterns in response to changes in their environment. Part of this repertoire of dynamic readjustment of its body plan is the induction of programmed cell death in order to remove unwanted or unneeded cells and/or tissues. In addition, the programmed demise of specific cells can also be used to create specialized cell types, such as tracheary elements. In spite of its importance in the life of plants, the mechanistic understanding of how cell death is orchestrated remains poorly defined at the molecular and biochemical levels. In recent years, genetic and molecular studies are beginning to generate a growing list of good candidates for the central core of a possible cell death “engine”. These include the metacaspase protease family and the highly conserved plant orthologues to mammalian Bax Inhibitor-1. However, further characterization of the biochemical functions for these proteins and the resolution of the pat...
Clinical Experience With Prophylactic Fondaparinux in Critically Ill Patients With Moderate to Severe Renal Impairment or Renal Failure Requiring Renal Replacement Therapy

Background: Fondaparinux has an increased bleeding risk in patients with a CrCl ≤ 50 mL/min and is contraindicated if CrCl < 30 mL/min. Data regarding dosing and anti-Xa monitoring are lacking in this population. Objective: To describe dosing, monitoring, and safety outcomes of prophylactic fondaparinux in critically ill patients with moderate to severe renal impairment, including renal replacement therapy (RRT). Methods: Retrospective analysis from October 2006 to November 2012 of patients ≥ 18 years old who received fondaparinux for ≥ 72 hours with ≥ 1 dose in an intensive care unit and a CrCl ≤ 50 mL/min or RRT during therapy. Participants were divided into 4 cohorts: moderate impairment (CrCl = 30-50 mL/min), severe impairment (CrCl < 30 mL/min), hemodialysis (HD), or continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH). Outcomes included the incidence of clinically significant bleeding and thromboembolic events. Fondaparinux dose, dosing frequency, and anti-Xa level monitoring are described. Pharmacokinetic m...
Quantifying the effects of recent protocol improvements to TCP: Impact on Web performance

We assess the state of Internet congestion control and error recovery through a controlled study that considers the integration of standards-track TCP error recovery and both TCP and router-based congestion control. The goal is to examine and quantify the benefits of deploying standards-track technologies for contemporary models of Internet traffic as a function of the level of offered network load. We limit our study to the dominant and most stressful class of Internet traffic: bursty HTTP flows. We find that for HTTP flows (1) using SACK only improves performance for larger-than-typical HTTP transfers, (2) unless congestion is a serious concern (i.e., unless average link utilization is approximately 80% or higher), there is little benefit to using RED queue management, (3) above 80% link utilization there is potential benefit to using Adaptive RED with ECN marking, however, complex performance trade-offs exist and the results are dependent on parameter settings.
Kinins as Neuropeptides

The kinins, including the nonapeptide bradykinin (BK) as well as several other peptide analogues of BK, have been known since their initial discovery (Rocha e Silva, 1949) to be highly active in a number of peripheral organ systems. The recent explosion of research on brain peptides has renewed interest in the possibility that kinins may also play roles as neuropeptides. In this chapter I review evidence that BK and other kinins may be acting as neuroactive peptides, especially in the central nervous system.
A Scalable ET2RAM (SETRAM) with Verify Control for SoC Platform Memory IP on SOI

We had reported TTRAM (Morishita, 2005) and ET2RAM (Arimoto, 2006) which are high-density capacitor-less SOI-CMOS compatible memory IP's. A platform design methodology becomes the main stream in SoC world because the system integration progress and complexity requires the implementation of many lands of IP's and induces the longer design turn around time and design cost up. This time, we have up-graded ET2RAM with scalable function named SETRAM (scalable enhanced twin-transistor RAM). This memory IP can be applied to the many kinds of applications by the verify control technique with compact ABC (automatic body control) sense amplifier. The scalable functions are, for example, 263MHz high speed random cycle memory to replace the high density on chip SRAM, 79mW/4Mb lower active power dissipation for mobile application, 453MHz data transfer of page/burst mode for cache memory and graphics memory applications and lower stand-by current mode of 5 sec data retention time. These are also supported as the programmable functions. The SETRAM can provide the scalable memory IP's in SoC platform on SOI devices and can improve the performance of many future applications
A policy management framework for trusted crossdomain collaboration

Cross-domain collaboration between enterprises needs a trusted execution environment. Policy-based management is a promising and convenient way to construct and manage such an environment. Since management of security and trust policies from collaborating domains has to handle different policies and heterogeneous policy enforcement platforms, an architectural innovation of policy management in this environment is needed. In this paper, a policy management framework is designed and implemented to provide a trusted cross-domain collaboration environment. Merits of this new framework are illustrated through an application in the web services environment.
Concomitant Activation of miR-107/PDCD10 and Hypoxamir-210/Casp8ap2 and Their Role in Cytoprotection During Ischemic Preconditioning of Stem Cells

Abstract Aims: To establish a functional link between microRNA-107 (miR-107) and stem cell survival during ischemic preconditioning (IPC) of stem cells with multiple cycles of brief anoxia/re-oxygenation (10 or 30 min, one to three cycles) and show that the cytoprotective effects were independent of hypoxamir-210. Results: We demonstrated the induction of miR-107 in response to the IPC-induced activation of Akt/hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in preconditioned mesenchymal stem cells (PCMSC), which showed improved survival during subsequent exposure to 6 h of lethal anoxia (p<0.05 vs. non-preconditioned MSC[non-PCMSC]). In silico analysis and luciferase activity assay confirmed programmed cell death-10 (PDCD10) as a putative target of miR-107 in PCMSC, which was significantly reduced during IPC and inversely related to stem cell survival under 6 h of lethal anoxia. Loss-of-function studies with miR-107 antagomir showed a significantly reduced survival of PCMSC. A comparison of miR-107 and miR-210 show...
Rapamycin plays a new role as differentiator of vascular smooth muscle phenotype. Focus on “The mTOR/p70 S6K1 pathway regulates vascular smooth muscle differentiation”

Aberrant vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) growth and migration are associated with many vascular occlusive diseases, including atherosclerosis, transplant vasculopathy, and restenosis after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTCA). Upon injury of the arterial wall, VSMC dedifferentiate into a
Characterization of leaf starch from HLB-affected and unaffected-girdled citrus trees

Abstract Starch content in leaves of HLB (Huanglongbing or citrus greening)-affected branches increases sharply compared to those from non-HLB trees. Starch not only over-accumulates in photosynthetic cells, but starch grains become prominent in vascular parenchyma and sieve elements as well. These observations imply strong disturbances in starch metabolism and photoassimilate partitioning in HLB-affected trees. Based on the elevated starch content, appearance of starch granules in phloem elements, and previous reports of the pathogen effect on starch properties, we hypothesized that starch from HLB-affected citrus trees may differ morphologically, physically and/or chemically from starch accumulated in otherwise healthy leaves. To obtain starch granules from healthy trees of comparable size to those of HLB-affected trees, we girdled 2-year-old branches and allowed starch to accumulate for 3 months. Starch morphology was investigated under brightfield, polarized light and SEM. HLB-induced starch grains were not morphologically different in size, shape and overall appearance from those of girdled branches. When reacted with 2% I 2 , no significant difference was observed in the absorption spectra of whole starch fractions ( λ max for HLB = 604.1 and girdled 606.2 nm, respectively; n = 6; p ≤ 0.05) nor in their amylose/amylopectin ratio (HLB = 1.4 ± 0.17 and girdled = 1.16 ± 0.07, p ≤ 0.05) after chromatographic separation. However, λ max for individual fractions of HLB-affected leaves increased between 11 and 14 nm indicating a significant increase in the degree of polymerization of chain lengths of 12–45 glucose units. The increase in amylopectin chain length was confirmed by the rise in gelatinization temperature of approximately 10 °C observed by polarized light microscopy. Our results indicate that starch grains from leaves affected by HLB were morphologically similar but differed biochemically from those formed by healthy trees after phloem blockage caused by mechanical injury.
Adaptive Wyner-Ziv Decoding Using Particle-Based Belief Propagation

In this paper we propose an adaptive Wyner-Ziv (WZ) coding scheme for non-binary correlated sources with side information at the decoder. At the encoder, a low density parity check (LDPC) code is employed to implement Slepian-Wolf (SW) coding for each bit-plane independently. The joint "source-channel" decoder, which combines SW decoding and dequantizing in a single step, preserves the symbol-domain correlation and decreases the distortion. Moreover, the incorporation of particle-based belief propagation (BP) in the decoder can extend the scheme to perform an online estimation of the correlation and enhance the BP decoding performance simultaneously. Our proposed framework is universal and can be applied to any parametric correlation model.
An enantioselective synthesis of (+)-crotanecine by an intIIIolecular azide 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition

Abstract An efficient, enantioselective synthesis of (+)-crotanecine ( 1 ) been acplised by an intramolecular azide [2+3] dipolar cycloaddition starting from 2,3- O isopropylidene-D-erythrose ( 8 ).
Project-based Instruction

Project-based instruction is an extension of problem-based learning (see also) but Capraro and Slough (2013) emphasize that they two are not the same. “Project based learning is broader and often is composed of several problems student will need to solve” and “provides the contextualized, authentic experiences necessary for students to scaffold learning and build meaningfully powerful science, technology, engineering, and mathematics concepts” (p. 2) supported by other school disciplines.
Beyond Their Gender: Contemporary Coptic Female Monasticism

The story of Coptic women monastics is usually dismissed when recounting the history of monasticism in Egypt. This essay attempts to document the achievements of women monastics in Egypt from the beginning of the twentieth century, lest their achievements be forgotten as were their predecessors’. The difficulty that such an attempt faces is the lack of available data. Women monastics are larger in number than their male counterpart yet historical accounts are silent or are scant on data. This essay will contribute to the accumulation of data on contemporary female monasticism in Egypt by documenting and recording some information about Coptic women moanstics of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The essay introduces a range of monastic models in the Coptic Orthodox Church. These models witnessed rapid change by the end of the nineteenth century affected by the changing political and social climate in Egypt that transformed the status of women in the society. The ecclesial hierarchy gave special attention to the education of women. The women who joined the monastery in the early twentieth century reflected this change and they prepared the way for the college-educated women that joined the monasteries in the early nineteen sixties. These educated women transformed the role of female monastics and monasteries within the Egyptian Christian society. Monasteries became spiritual centers for women. These monastics became spiritual leaders and role models that inspires the younger generation of Coptic women. They contributed to the spiritual revival of monasticism in the church. Their vocation extended beyond the traditional monastic work. They built new monasteries in the desert, published books, contributed to the artistic revival of Coptic icons, and engaged in spiritual direction to monastery visitors. Their monastic model and spiritual example extended beyond the boundaries of Egypt to sister churches. This essay records the story of this transformation and mentions some of the pioneering figures that affected this new history of women monastics in Egypt.
Autonomic Nervous System Responses During Perception of Masked Speech may Reflect Constructs other than Subjective Listening Effort

Typically, understanding speech seems effortless and automatic. However, a variety of factors may, independently or interactively, make listening more effortful. Physiological measures may help to distinguish between the application of different cognitive mechanisms whose operation is perceived as effortful. In the present study, physiological and behavioral measures associated with task demand were collected along with behavioral measures of performance while participants listened to and repeated sentences. The goal was to measure psychophysiological reactivity associated with three degraded listening conditions, each of which differed in terms of the source of the difficulty (distortion, energetic masking, and informational masking), and therefore were expected to engage different cognitive mechanisms. These conditions were chosen to be matched for overall performance (keywords correct), and were compared to listening to unmasked speech produced by a natural voice. The three degraded conditions were: (1) Unmasked speech produced by a computer speech synthesizer, (2) Speech produced by a natural voice and masked byspeech-shaped noise and (3) Speech produced by a natural voice and masked by two-talker babble. Masked conditions were both presented at a -8 dB signal to noise ratio (SNR), a level shown in previous research to result in comparable levels of performance for these stimuli and maskers. Performance was measured in terms of proportion of key words identified correctly, and task demand or effort was quantified subjectively by self-report. Measures of psychophysiological reactivity included electrodermal (skin conductance) response frequency and amplitude, blood pulse amplitude and pulse rate. Results suggest that the two masked conditions evoked stronger psychophysiological reactivity than did the two unmasked conditions even when behavioral measures of listening performance and listeners' subjective perception of task demand were comparable across the three degraded conditions.
Molecular detection approaches for smoking associated tumors

Smoking is directly responsible for approximately 90% of lung cancers and is also strongly associated with cancers of the head and neck, esophagus and urinary bladder. Our growing understanding of the molecular changes that underlie cancer progression has contributed to the development of novel molecular approaches for the detection of cancer. In this study, we review a number of recent studies that have used molecular techniques to detect neoplastic DNA from lung, head and neck, esophagus and bladder cancer. The majority of these approaches are based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based assays. These PCR-based techniques can detect a few clonal cancer cells containing a specific DNA mutation, microsatellite alteration, or CpG island methylation among an excess background of normal cells. The ability to accurately detect a small number of malignant cells in a wide range of clinical specimens including sputum, saliva, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, urine, serum, plasma, or tissue has significant implications for screening high-risk individuals (such as cigarette smokers) for cancer.
Controlled Sensitivities For Marine CSEM Surveys

We introduce the concept of controlled sensitivities which enable the sensitivities of a geophysical survey to be focused on a specific volume of interest. In particular, this method increases the sensitivity of the geophysical survey within a specific volume of interest in the subsurface, where potential geological targets of interest (e.g., hydrocarbon-bearing reservoirs) may be located. We have developed a numerical method for constructing the controlled sensitivities for a given a priori resistivity model. We demonstrate this approach with a 3D model study of the sensitivities for marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) surveys.
Ethical Considerations for Clinicians Treating Victims and Perpetrators of Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV), a subcategory of domestic abuse, is a prevalent national health concern that many clinicians will face during their careers. It is important that clinicians become aware of the numerous ethical considerations that are relevant to this population. The existing literature has not yet examined the ethical issues faced by clinicians working with IPV clients through the lens of the most recent American Psychological Association ethics code. This article provides a brief overview of the historical context and the current state of the literature pertaining to IPV. Then it examines the unique ethical challenges associated with the treatment of IPV clients through the American Psychological Association ethics code. Recommendations are provided throughout this article to help clinicians make ethical decisions, maximize the benefits their clients receive from therapy, and minimize violence risk.
Epidemiological Characteristics of Viral Hepatitis E in Guangzhou

Objective To better understand the prevalence of viral hepatitis E among registered permanent residents in Guangzhou and to collect scientific evidence for the development of preventive / control measures and future hepatitis E vaccination policy. Methods A stratified,multi-stage cluster sampling design was employed. A total of 4 989 registered permanent residents aged 1 to 59 years from the 12 districts / townships of Guangzhou were selected. Serum samples were collected and tested for HEV IgG by ELISA. Weighted HEV IgG prevalence was estimated with design weight and adjusted according to the population structure of Guangzhou. Variance was estimated with Taylor Series approach and corresponding 95% confidence intervals were applied in the hypothesis testing. Results HEV IgG prevalence among registered permanent residents aged 1 to 59 years in Guangzhou was 10.77% (95% CI:9.33%-12.2%). HEV IgG prevalence increased with age and the differences among different age groups were statistically significant. However,no statistically significant differences in HEV IgG prevalence was observed among different gender,residential type,educational status or occupational groups. Conclusion The prevalence of viral hepatitis E in Guangzhou cannot be underestimated. Intensified efforts in monitoring and investigating viral hepatitis E are warranted.
Pelvic Fracture and Injury to the Lower Urinary Tract

The presence of a urologic injury must be considered in all patients with pelvic fracture. Uroradiographic evaluation starting with retrograde urethrography is indicated in all male patients with concomitant gross hematuria, bloody urethral discharge, scrotal or perineal ecchymosis, a nonpalpable prostate on rectal examination, or an inability to urinate. If the urethra is normal, a catheter may be passed, and in the presence of gross hematuria, a cystogram must be performed. Female patients rarely suffer urethral lacerations. The urethra is examined, and a Foley catheter may be passed without a urethrogram. The immediate management of associated urologic injuries continues to evolve and evoke controversy. Selected cases of extraperitoneal bladder perforation may be safely managed solely by catheter drainage. Intraperitoneal perforations require surgical exploration and repair. Urethral disruption (partial or complete) may be safely managed by primary cystostomy drainage with management of potential complications (stricture, impotence, incontinence) in 4 to 6 months.
Breast Cancer as an Embodied Life Event: A Synthesis of Research and Theory and Directions for Intervention and Future Work

With the present work, we reviewed literature exploring breast cancer and body image and invoked this synthesis as a platform from which to develop (a) theoretical applications for understanding th...
Soils of Hawaii and the US Territories in the Pacific: LRRs Q and V

The islands of the State of Hawaii , the US territories of Guam and American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands make up the area that is sometimes referred to as the “American Pacific”. These islands span an area that is larger in size than the contiguous 48 states. However, despite the large expanse, the actual land area is <20,000 km2 (75 % of that total in the Hawaiian Islands ). The region sits within the “true tropics” and, with the exception of high elevation areas on the Big Island of Hawaii and on Maui, is characterized by a tropical maritime climate that is generally warm to hot and dry to humid. Elevation ranges from sea level to over 4200 m at the top of Mauna Kea on the Big Island. All of the islands in the region are of volcanic origin, but the ages of the islands vary widely from over 40 million years (Guam) to a few hours (active volcanoes on the Big Island and the far northern Mariana Islands). This wide range in soil forming factors has led to the development of a wide variety of different soils ranging from shallow organic soils (Folists) over aa and pahoehoe lava flows, to young soils that developed in volcanic ash (Andisols) , to very deep, highly weathered soils (Oxisols and Ultisols) on stable landscapes of the older islands. All of these soils support unique natural ecosystems and all present management challenges. This chapter describes the important soils of the region with a focus on how the interaction between the soil forming factors has led to their development. We also describe and discuss the major impacts that these varied soil properties have on common management activities and on the inherent resilience and vulnerability of these island ecosystems.
GPU Accelerated Path-Planning for Multi-agents in Virtual Environments

Many games are populated by synthetic humanoid actors that act as autonomous agents. The animation of humanoids in real-time applications is yet a challenge if the problem involves attaining a precise location in a virtual world (path-planning), and moving realistically according to its own personality, intentions and mood (motion planning). In this paper we present a strategy to implement – using CUDA on GPU – a path planner that produces natural steering behaviors for virtual humans using a numerical solution for boundary value problems. The planner is based on the potential field formalism that allows synthetic actors to move negotiating space, avoiding collisions, and attaining goals, while producing very individual paths. The individuality of each character can be set by changing its inner field parameters leading to a broad range of possible behaviors without jeopardizing its performance. With our GPU-based strategy we achieve a speed up to 56 times the previous implementation, allowing its use in situations with a large number of autonomous characters, which is commonly found in games.
Can we replace curation with information extraction software

Can we use programs for automated or semi-automated information extraction from scientific texts as practical alternatives to professional curation? I show that error rates of current information extraction programs are too high to replace professional curation today. Furthermore, current IEP programs extract single narrow slivers of information, such as individual protein interactions; they cannot extract the large breadth of information extracted by professional curators for databases such as EcoCyc. They also cannot arbitrate among conflicting statements in the literature as curators can. Therefore, funding agencies should not hobble the curation efforts of existing databases on the assumption that a problem that has stymied Artificial Intelligence researchers for more than 60 years will be solved tomorrow. Semi-automated extraction techniques appear to have significantly more potential based on a review of recent tools that enhance curator productivity. But a full cost-benefit analysis for these tools is lacking. Without such analysis it is possible to expend significant effort developing information-extraction tools that automate small parts of the overall curation workflow without achieving a significant decrease in curation costs.Database URL.
Ventricular arrhythmias in the elderly: prevalence, mechanisms, and therapeutic implications.

Abstract Aging is associated with an increase in both the prevalence and complexity of ventricular ectopic beats (VEB), whether detected by resting ECG, 24-hour ambulatory monitoring, or exercise testing. Frequent and/or multiform VEB, ventricular couplets, and short runs of ventricular tachycardia have been detected by these techniques in a sizeable percentage of apparently healthy subjects in the seventh decade and beyond. Although the mechanism for the increase in VEB with advancing age is uncertain, possibilities include latent coronary artery disease, left ventricular hypertrophy or dilatation, elevated plasma catecholamines, and a relative prolongation of the QT interval. Because the age-related increase in VEB does not appear to increase cardiac mortality in older subjects without demonstrable heart disease, and given the significant likelihood of adverse effects from antiarrhythmic drugs in their age group, these drugs should be reserved for elderly patients with organic heart disease and frequent or complex VEB.
Subdecomposable Operators and Rationally Invariant Subspaces

We develop a 2x2 matrix model for a decomposable operator T relative to a certain open covers {U1, U2} of the spectrum of T. This model is used to construct new and different proofs of the facts such as decomposable and subdecomposable operators have the single-valued extension property and satisfy Dunford’s Condition C. We discuss rationally invariant subspaces, and given an operator T and an invariant subspace M, we categorize those complex numbers λ for which M is invariant for (T— λ)-1. Finally, we give an example of a pure cyclic hyponormal T operator and a nonzero vector w for which the local spectrum of w with respect to T is not equal to the spectrum of T. This answers negatively the question of whether the local spectrum of each vector with respect to T is equal to the spectrum of T for a pure cyclic hyponormal operator T.
Brief Announcement: A New Improved Bound for Coflow Scheduling

Many data-parallel computing frameworks in today's datacenters consist of multiple computation and communication stages. A stage often cannot start or be completed unless all the required data pieces from the preceding stages are received. Coflow is a recently proposed networking abstraction to capture such communication patterns. We consider the problem of efficiently scheduling coflows with release dates in a shared datacenter network so as to minimize the total weighted completion time of coflows. This problem has been shown to be NP-complete, and several polynomial-time approximation algorithms have been recently proposed with provable performance guarantees. Our main result in this paper is a new polynomial-time approximation algorithm that improves the best prior known results. Specifically, we propose a deterministic algorithm with an approximation ratio of 5, which improves the prior best known ratio of 12. For the special case when all the coflows are released at time zero, we obtain an algorithm with an approximation ratio of $4$ which improves the prior best known ratio of 8.
Randomized sham-controlled trials in endoscopy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of adverse events

Background and Aims Sham procedures in endoscopy are used with the intention of controlling for placebo response, potentially allowing more precise evaluation of treatment effect. Nevertheless, this type of study may impose significant risk without potential benefit for those in the sham group. The aim of the current study was to systematically review and analyze the endoscopic literature to assess the safety of sham controls. Methods MEDLINE and Embase databases were searched for endoscopic sham procedures for all dates to July 2017. Only randomized controlled trials comparing an endoscopic therapy with a sham were included. Primary outcome was adverse events (AEs) categorized as mild, moderate, or severe. Results were combined using a random-effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed with the I 2 statistic, and publication bias was assessed with the Egger test and funnel plots. Results Data were extracted from 34 publications (1987-2017; 100% full text), with a total of 2492 procedures (1355 treatment/1137 sham). Sham procedures involved upper endoscopy (31 studies) and ERCP (3 studies). Treatment arms included procedures with the following indications: weight loss (38.2%), GI bleeding (26.5%), GERD (20.6%), sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (8.8%), and dysphagia (6.2%). Overall percentage of severe adverse events (SAEs) in the sham group was 1.7% (19/1137). Of these, the most common SAEs in the sham groups were need for surgery/intensive care unit stay (35.3%), post-ERCP pancreatitis (23.5%), and perforation (11.8%). There was no significant difference in the odds of developing an SAE between the treatment group and the sham group (odds ratio, 1.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.7-2.3). The pooled additional risk incurred from being initially randomized to the sham arm and then receiving a cross-over intervention was significant (RR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.14-1.56; P Conclusion The frequency of AEs in endoscopic sham procedures is substantial, and patients are subjected to considerable morbidity. These results raise a serious ethical dilemma regarding the use of sham-controlled trials.
Chemical Consequences of Radioactive Decay and their Biological Implications

The chemical effects of radioactive decay arise from (1) transmutation, (2) formation of charged daughter nuclei, (3) recoil of the daughter nuclei, (4) electron "shakeoff" phenomenon and (5) vacancy cascade in decays via electron capture and internal conversion. This review aims to reiterate what has been known for a long time regarding the chemical consequences of radioactive decay and gives a historical perspective to the observations that led to their elucidation. The energetics of the recoil process in each decay mode is discussed in relation to the chemical bond between the decaying nucleus and the parent molecule. Special attention is given to the biological effects of the Auger process following decay by electron capture and internal conversion because of their possible utility in internal radiotherapy.
The evolution of male mate choice and female ornamentation: a review of mathematical models

The evolution of male preferences and of female ornaments in species with traditional sex roles (i.e., polygyny) have been highlighted as areas in need of more active research by an accumulation of recent findings. The theoretical literature on these topics is relatively small and has centered on the evolution of male choice. Mathematical models have emphasized that, under polygyny, the evolution of male preferences faces much greater competition costs than does the evolution of female preferences. We discuss ways in which costly male choice can nonetheless evolve, via (1) direct selection that favors preferences, primarily through mating with highly fecund females, (2) mechanisms that rely on indirect selection, which weakly counters competitive costs of male preferences, and (3) genetic constraints, primarily in the form of pleiotropy of male and female preferences and traits. We also review a variety of mathematical models that have elucidated how costs to male preferences can be avoided. Finally, we turn our attention to the relatively scant theoretical literature on the effects of male mate choice on the evolution of female traits. We emphasize the finding that the presence of male preferences cannot be assumed to lead to the evolution of female ornaments during polygyny, and point out situations where models have elucidated ways in which female ornaments can nevertheless evolve.
Hyperosmotic and Hypovolemic Thirst

The volume and composition of the extracellular fluid is controlled within very narrow limits in terrestrial mammals. This process depends upon the ability of the animal to vary urinary volume and concentration over a wide range and on the ability to regulate water intake homeostatically.1 Additionally, it is becoming clear that sodium excretion and possibly sodium intake may also be regulated in order to maintain a constancy of plasma osmolality.2 For example, if a dog is deprived of water for 24 hours while allowed access to food, its plasma osmolality increases by approximately 10 mosmol/Kg. This is accomplished by renal conservation of water together with a marked natriuresis. Dogs will rapidly make up their water deficits when allowed access to water.3 The major emphasis in this review will be the mechanisms which regulate water intake.
Sharing Process Knowledge in Business Networks

Increasingly, firms worldwide are moving away from monolithic structures with vertically integrated businesses spanning large value chains and towards more tightly focused business capabilities that more effectively leverage each firm’s core competencies. A major factor enabling this trend has been the dramatic improvement in inter-firm communication and coordination processes enabled through a broad array of information technologies, ranging from email and the Internet to EDI and Web services. This is consistent with economic theories such as Transaction Cost Economics that argue the merits of market mechanisms for business transactions (Williamson, 1981), but recognize the inherent risks and costs of using markets rather than intra-firm hierarchies (Malone et al., 1987). As a result, it is becoming necessary today for a firm to develop strategic plans that include consideration of the roles and activities of a variety of business partners as well as its own. In other words, such firms increasingly function as entities within a business network, or business web, rather than as standalone monoliths. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the design of smart business networks, which can be characterized by the following features:
What explains black-white differences in survival in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy ? The Washington, DC, dilated cardiomyopathy study

We have found race to be an independent predictor of mortality in a preliminary analysis of data from an ongoing study of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Our previous, analyses, however, were based on only 12 to 24 months of follow-up. In the present analysis, which is based on up to 5 years of follow-up, we extended our earlier observations and examined whether other socioeconomic factors account for the association with race. A total of 128 patients from five Washington, DC, area hospitals were included in the analysis. One hundred three (80.5%) of the patients were black and 25 (19.5%) were white. The black patients were less likely to have private health insurance, less educated on average, and more likely to have a household income < or = $15,000. No racial differences were found in cardiac medication usage, with the exception of beta blockers and antiarrhythmics. The cumulated survival among black patients at 12 and 60 months was 71.5% and 39.1%, respectively, compared with 92% and 31.4% among whites. Age, ventricular arrhythmias, and ejection fraction were significant predictors of survival in univariate analysis. The univariate association with black race was of borderline significance. In multivariable analysis using the proportional hazards model, age and ejection fraction were significant independent predictors of survival. The association with ventricular arrhythmias was of borderline significance. The association with black race, which was statistically nonsignificant, was diminished even further by adjustment for income and type of health insurance. Thus, the previously reported association with black race may be accounted for by socioeconomic factors related to access to health care.
A Microfluidics Workflow for Sample Preparation for Next-Generation DNA Sequencing.

Next-generation sequencing technology requires amplified, short DNA fragments with known end sequences. Samples must undergo processing steps, including extraction and purification of genomic DNA (...
Rural living environment predicts social anxiety in transgender and gender nonconforming individuals across Canada and the United States.

Abstract Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) individuals frequently confront discrimination, rejection, and violence. Such experiences may put TGNC individuals at risk for minority stress and associated psychiatric symptoms. Protective factors like social support, pride in one’s gender identity, or connectedness to similar others may make TGNC individuals less vulnerable to psychiatric symptoms, and the presence of risk and protective factors may vary depending on living environment. This study examined the relationship of living environment (urban vs. suburban vs. small-town/rural) to social anxiety (SA) in a sample of 902 TGNC individuals who participated in the Trans Health Survey. Analysis of variance revealed a significant difference in SA across living environments. Those living in small-town/rural environments reported significantly higher levels of SA compared to those living in urban environments. There was a trend-level difference in SA in suburban compared to urban environments. Linear regression analyses revealed that living environment significantly moderated the relationship between social support and SA. Higher social support was more protective against elevated SA in urban and suburban than in small-town/rural environments. This study is the first to demonstrate the experience of elevated SA among TGNC individuals living in rural environments. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.
Complete Genome Sequence of Serratia Phage Muldoon.

ABSTRACT Serratia marcescens is a ubiquitous Gram-negative bacterium that is linked with emerging opportunistic infections. In this report, we describe the isolation and annotation of an S. marcescens myophage called Muldoon. Related to T4-like phages, such as Serratia phage PS2, Muldoon contains 257 predicted protein-coding genes and 4 tRNA genes.
Risk factors for injury among military working dogs deployed to Iraq

Abstract There is limited literature concerning the types of injuries that military working dogs (MWDs) face while in a deployed theater of operations and associated risk factors. To summarize injuries and identify injury risk factors in MWDs during their first deployments to Iraq, demographic and medical data were collected for 794 MWDs from the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps that deployed to Iraq between March 20, 2003 and December 31, 2007. Sixty-two percent (n = 490) had a medical encounter during deployment. Injuries were categorized as traumatic or musculoskeletal. MWD demographics, characteristics, and injury types were summarized. Injury risk factors were assessed using multivariable logistic regression. A majority of the population were German Shepherds (56 %), intact males (49 %), and dogs certified in both patrol and explosives detection (73 %). During their first deployment to Iraq, 20 % (n = 156) experienced an injury. Risk factors included breed, age, and occupational certification. Belgian Malinois and Labrador Retriever dogs had greater odds of injury compared to German Shepherds (p = 0.04 and p = 0.02) and the oldest MWDs had about a 50 % higher risk of injury compared to the youngest (p = 0.01), especially for musculoskeletal injuries. MWDs with Specialized Search certification were at increased injury risk (p = 0.02). Training, equipment, and supplies for veterinary service personnel, MWD handlers, and MWDs should be tailored with consideration of the injury risks of the MWD population. Further study is needed to investigate chronic injuries in military working dogs to better understand causation and prevention.
Menopause and Midlife Aging in Cross-Cultural Perspective: Findings from Ethnographic Research in China.

Based on longitudinal mixed methods ethnographic research conducted in China from the mid-1990s to 2018, this article argues that Chinese lay language use divides what Americans and Canadians refer to as "menopause" into two distinct though overlapping concepts of the narrow juejing or end of menstruation and the broader non-gender-specific gengnianqi or "transition between middle and old age." While comparison with research done by Lock in Japan shows that Japanese language uses a similar set of two overlapping yet distinct terms called heikei and konenki, there are important differences between Chinese and Japanese views and experiences of female midlife amidst the similarities. While views and experiences of juejing in China are very similar to notions of heikei in Japan, gengnianqi is quite different from konenki. Like in Japan, the end of menstruation tends to be welcomed by women in China. Also like in Japan, midlife women in China had a lower prevalence of hot flashes than that found in the US and Canada. Also similar to Japan, Chinese women rarely associate hot flashes with embarrassment. However, unlike in the Japanese sample, the Chinese women reported a higher rate of irritability than even the American and Canadian samples. Contrasting with konenki, which is primarly associated with bodily aches and self-restraint in Japan, gengnianqi is commonly viewed as a time of vulnerability to irritable outbursts which must be allowed, though managed carefully. Overall, I show how menopause and midlife aging as concepts and as lived experiences are subject to variation related to differences in language, cultural ideas and practices, local biologies, and culturally-mediated generational experiences of historical change.
PERSPECTIVES: Plato or Aristotle: Who Got It Right? Evidence from the Equity Markets

1. Paul L. Davis 1. was head of equity trading and co-head of quantitative investing at TIAA-CREF (retired) and is now an adjunct professor in mathematics at Marymount Manhattan College in New York, NY, teaching at the Taconic Correctional Facility. (paullawrencedavis{at}yahoo.com) 2. Robert
Synthesis and Evaluation of Cellulose-Based, 1,2,3-Triazolium-Functionalized Polymerized Ionic Liquids: Thermal Transitions, Ionic Conductivities, and Morphological Properties

A series of 1,2,3-triazolium-functionalized cellulose derivatives were prepared using an azide–alkyne “click” cyclization strategy, followed by quaternization. As cellulose represents an inexpensiv...
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy linked to increased internet search queries for side effects on fertility potential in the initial rollout phase following Emergency Use Authorization.

The Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of the COVID-19 vaccine on December 11, 2020 has been met with hesitancy for uptake with some citing potential impacts on future fertility. We hypothesised that irrespective of sex, fertility-related queries would markedly increase during the 48 days following EUA of the coronavirus vaccine. We sought to objectively identify trends in internet search queries on public concerns regarding COVID-19 vaccine side effects on fertility that might impact vaccine uptake. We used Google Trends to investigate queries in Google's Search Engine relating to the coronavirus vaccine and fertility between 10/24/2020 and 1/27/2021. The five most queried terms were identified as: 'COVID Vaccine Fertility', 'COVID Vaccine and Infertility', 'COVID Vaccine Infertility', 'COVID Vaccine Fertility CDC', and 'COVID 19 Vaccine Infertility' with an increase of 710.47%, 207.56%, 264.35%, 2,943.7%, and 529.26%, respectively, all p < .001. This study indicates that there was an increase in online COVID-19 vaccine-related queries regarding fertility side effects coinciding with the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) on December 11, 2020. Our results objectively evidence the increased concern regarding the vaccine and likely demonstrate a major cause for hesitancy in vaccine uptake. Future studies and counselling with patients should be undertaken to help mitigate these concerns.
Worker Productivity in Operations Management

From Frederick Taylor's study of brick laying manual laborers in the early 20th century, to the multi-year benchmarking of automotive plant productivity as part of the International Motor Vehicle Program, the systematic observation, measurement, and analysis of work has a strong tradition in operations management. Traditional manufacturing provided the setting for much of the early research on worker productivity. However as we have now seen an inexorable shift towards more service driven economic output, especially in the industrialized economies, the research in operations management on worker productivity has also increasingly focused on services. This monograph will take stock of the literature in operations management on worker productivity. The research is not exhaustive, but is meant to showcase some of the interesting and relevant papers that fall into a few key themes. Mainly, the individual worker is the focal unit of analysis, and the goal is to explore the various operational factors that allow the worker to become more productive. Key areas of emphasis include the behavioral microfoundations of productivity, the effect of peers and workplace dynamics, the design and organization of work, and ways to improve human capital. Although much is known about the drivers of worker productivity, much remains unexplored. Furthermore, looming changes to the modern workplace call for new ways to think about worker productivity. For example, artificial intelligence, new models of business, and novel workplace arrangements, all have important implications for the design and organization of the modern workplace, and for the roles and responsibilities of the knowledge worker. Collectively, these developments will continue to make worker productivity a rich and exciting area of research.
Targeting Human Transmission Biology for Malaria Elimination

Malaria remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, despite decades of public health efforts. The recent commitment by many endemic countries to eliminate malaria marks a shift away from programs aimed at controlling disease burden towards one that emphasizes reducing transmission of the most virulent human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Gametocytes, the only developmental stage of malaria parasites able to infect mosquitoes, have remained understudied, as they occur in low numbers, do not cause disease, and are difficult to detect in vivo by conventional methods. Here, we review the transmission biology of P. falciparum gametocytes, featuring important recent discoveries of genes affecting parasite commitment to gametocyte formation, microvesicles enabling parasites to communicate with each other, and the anatomical site where immature gametocytes develop. We propose potential parasite targets for future intervention and highlight remaining knowledge gaps.