cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Outcomes after normal dobutamine stress echocardiography and predictors of adverse events: long-term follow-up of 3014 patients.

Aims Normal exercise echocardiography predicts a good prognosis. Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) is generally reserved for patients with comorbidities which preclude exercise testing. We evaluated predictors of adverse events after normal DSE. Methods and results We studied 3014 patients (1200 males, 68±12 years) with normal DSE, defined as the absence of wall motion abnormality at rest or with stress. During median follow-up of 6.3 years, all-cause mortality and cardiac events, defined as myocardial infarction and coronary revascularization, occurred in 920 (31%) and 231 (7.7%) patients, respectively. Survival and cardiac event-free probabilities were 95 and 98% at 1 year, 78 and 93% at 5 years, and 56 and 89% at 10 years, respectively. Age, diabetes mellitus, and failure to achieve 85% age-predicted maximal heart rate were independent predictors of mortality and cardiac events. Patients with all three of these characteristics had a 13% probability of cardiac events within the first year and higher risk throughout follow-up. Conclusion Prognosis after normal DSE is not necessarily benign, but depends on patient and stress test characteristics. Careful evaluation, using clinical and stress data, is required to identify patients with normal DSE who are at increased risk of adverse outcomes during long-term follow-up.
Acute traumatic central cord syndrome—experience using surgical decompression with open-door expansile cervical laminoplasty

Abstract Background Open-door expansile cervical laminoplasty (ODECL) is an effective surgical technique in the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy. In the present study, we reviewed the safety and short-term neurological outcome after expansile cervical laminoplasty in the treatment of acute central cord syndrome. Methods We retrospectively reviewed our database over a 3-year period (January 1997-January 2001) and identified 69 surgically treated cervical spinal cord injuries, including 29 cases of acute traumatic central cord syndrome (ATCCS). Fifteen of these patients underwent expansile cervical laminoplasty, whereas 14 did not because of radiographic evidence of sagittal instability. We collected data on the preoperative and the immediate postoperative and 3-month neurological examinations. Neurological function was assessed using the Asia Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) grading system. We also reviewed the occurrence of complications and short-term radiological stability after the index procedure. Results The median age was 56 years. All patients had hyperextension injuries with underlying cervical spondylosis and stenosis in the absence of overt fracture or instability. The average delay from injury to surgery was 3 days. The preoperative ASIA grade scale was grade C, 8 patients, and grade D, 7 patients. There were no cases of immediate postoperative deterioration or at 3 months follow-up. Neurological outcome: 71.4% (10/14) of patients improved 1 ASIA grade when examined 3 months post injury. Conclusions Surgical intervention consisting of ODECL can be safely applied in the subset of patients with ATCCS without instability who have significant cervical spondylosis/stenosis. Open-door expansile cervical laminoplasty is a safe, low-morbidity, decompressive procedure, and in our patients did not produce neurological deterioration.
A modified-Volterra-series technique for improving the accuracy of quasi-static harmonic balance analysis in coupled device and circuit simulation

A modified-Volterra-series (MVS) approach for improving the accuracy of the harmonic balance method in coupled device and circuit simulation is presented. This approach is compared with a previous quasi-static implementation for accuracy and performance. The new technique significantly improves accuracy over the quasi-static approach for high frequency, small amplitude signals.
Atypical Protein Kinase C-Dependent Polarized Cell Division Is Required for Myocardial Trabeculation

A hallmark of cardiac development is the formation of myocardial trabeculations exclusively from the luminal surface of the primitive heart tube. Although a number of genetic defects in the endocardium and cardiac jelly disrupt myocardial trabeculation, the role of cell polarization remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that atypical protein kinase C iota (Prkci) and its interacting partners are localized primarily to the luminal side of myocardial cells of early murine embryonic hearts. A subset of these cells undergoes polarized cell division with the cell division plane perpendicular to the heart's lumen. Disruption of the cell polarity complex by targeted gene mutations results in aberrant mitotic spindle alignment, loss of polarized cardiomyocyte division, and loss of normal myocardial trabeculation. Collectively, these results suggest that, in response to inductive signals, Prkci and its downstream partners direct polarized cell division of luminal myocardial cells to drive trabeculation in the nascent heart.
A comprehensive joint analysis of the long and short RNA transcriptomes of human erythrocytes

Human erythrocytes are terminally differentiated, anucleate cells long thought to lack RNAs. However, previous studies have shown the persistence of many small-sized RNAs in erythrocytes. To comprehensively define the erythrocyte transcriptome, we used high-throughput sequencing to identify both short (18–24 nt) and long (>200 nt) RNAs in mature erythrocytes. Analysis of the short RNA transcriptome with miRDeep identified 287 known and 72 putative novel microRNAs. Unexpectedly, we also uncover an extensive repertoire of long erythrocyte RNAs that encode many proteins critical for erythrocyte differentiation and function. Additionally, the erythrocyte long RNA transcriptome is significantly enriched in the erythroid progenitor transcriptome. Joint analysis of both short and long RNAs identified several loci with co-expression of both microRNAs and long RNAs spanning microRNA precursor regions. Within the miR-144/451 locus previously implicated in erythroid development, we observed unique co-expression of several primate-specific noncoding RNAs, including a lncRNA, and miR-4732-5p/-3p. We show that miR-4732-3p targets both SMAD2 and SMAD4, two critical components of the TGF-β pathway implicated in erythropoiesis. Furthermore, miR-4732-3p represses SMAD2/4-dependent TGF-β signaling, thereby promoting cell proliferation during erythroid differentiation. Our study presents the most extensive profiling of erythrocyte RNAs to date, and describes primate-specific interactions between the key modulator miR-4732-3p and TGF-β signaling during human erythropoiesis.
Body size variation among mainland populations of the western rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis).

In general, squamate reptiles follow the converse to Bergmann's rule, attaining smaller sizes in cooler environments, whereas other vertebrate groups follow Bergmann's rule, attaining larger sizes in cooler areas. Intensive studies of body size evolution for species of squamates are necessary to understand the processes responsible for this trend. Here I present data on body size variation among mainland populations of the western rattlesnake, Crotalus viridis. This species consists of two well-differentiated phylogenetic clades, therefore all analyses were performed for the C. viridis group as a whole and separately for each of the two clades within the C. viridis group. Although both phylogenetic and nonphylogenetic analyses were performed, the data did not show phylogenetic conservatism, and therefore the nonphylogenetic results are preferred. I found no significant relationships between mean adult female snout-vent length and any of the physical and climatic variables that were examined for the C. viridis group using simple linear regression analysis. Examined separately, I found that individuals of the western clade, C. oreganus, were smaller in cooler and more seasonal environments, whereas individuals of the eastern clade, C. viridis sensu stricto, were larger in cooler and more seasonal areas. Thus, the observed size trends were in opposite directions for the two clades. Multiple regression analysis revealed that seasonality was a stronger predictor of body size variation than was temperature for both clades. The differences in body size trends between these clades may be due to differences in mortality rates among populations.
PHYLOGENY, CONCERTED CONVERGENCE, AND PHYLOGENETIC NICHE CONSERVATISM IN THE CORE LILIALES: INSIGHTS FROM rbcL AND ndhF SEQUENCE DATA

Abstract Calochortus and the family Liliaceae s.s. have often been considered each other's closest relatives, based partly on their shared possession of bulbs, visually showy flowers, winged wind-dispersed seeds, and narrow parallel-veined leaves. We present a well-supported molecular phylogeny for these groups and their close relatives in the core Liliales, based on sequence variation in the chloroplast-encoded rbcL and ndhF genes. This analysis identifies Liliaceae s.s. as monophyletic, including one clade (((Lilium, Fritillaris, Nomocharis), Cardiocrinum), Notholirion) that appears to have diversified in the Himalayas roughly 12 million years ago and another ((Erythronium, Tulipa), (Gagea, Lloydia)) that arose in East Asia at about the same time. Medeola and Clintonia are sister to Liliaceae s.s. and bear rhizomes, inconspicuous flowers, fleshy animal-dispersed fruits, and broad reticulate-veined leaves. Calochortus is sister to Tricyrtis; both Tricyrtis and the neighboring clade of Prosartes-Streptopu...
A longitudinal analysis of students’ autobiographical memories of participation in multiple Sport Education seasons

The purpose of this study was to examine middle school students’ recollections of their participation in a significant number of Sport Education seasons over a period of five years.Thirty-one (18 b...
Quantitative Analysis of Genetically Altered Reaction Centers Using an In Vitro Cytochrome Oxidation Assay

In the analysis of complex phenomena such as the biogenesis or photochemical function of reaction center proteins, the approach of a geneticist is to generate and characterize a large number of mutants affecting specific steps in the process. In some analyses, spontaneous mutants which possess selectable characteristics may be informative. For example, the role of specific amino acid residues in herbicide and quinone binding can be deduced from the analysis of spontaneous herbicide resistant mutants. However, the analysis of spontaneous mutations as a general approach to study structure-function relationships has serious limitations. Many mutations have phenotypes which possess unselectable characteristics. With the determination of the structure of the reaction center1, this class of mutations can be generated by replacing important amino acid residues adjacent to chromophores throughout the protein by site-directed mutagenesis.
Microstructure Dependence of Fracture Toughness and Hardness of Silicon Nitride

Silicon nitride, doped with 2.5, 5.0, and 7.5wt% MgO, was hot-pressed under various temperature-time conditions. Fracture toughness and Vickers hardness were measured, and these properties have been correlated with the fraction of β phase determined by X-ray diffractometory. Comparison with a theoretical curve confirmed that the crack deflection at rod-like crystal contributed to the increase in fracture toughness.
Demonstration of a marked Bence-Jones proteinemia.

SummarySimultaneous electrophoretic and ultracentrifugal studies of the serum proteins of a multiple myeloma patient have conclusively demonstrated a considerable Bence-Jones proteinemia. The properties of the serum component correspond to those of one of the major urinary components.
Nuclear Propulsion based on Inductively Driven Liner Compression of Fusion Plasmoids

A critical limitation for the exploration and development of space stems from the fact that existing propulsion technology can not achieve cost effective payload delivery due to the low exhaust velocity and specific energy provided by chemical combustion compared to that required for rapid planetary travel. In the propulsion system described here, the optimal velocity and thrust is obtained with a solid propellant that is initially in the form of an assembly of metal rings or liners that are inductively driven both radially inward and axially by electromagnetic coils. The large specific energy required for rapid manned space travel is obtained from the dual use of the metal liners for compression of a magnetized target plasmoid to fusion conditions as well as a propellant. With an inductively driven, axially segmented metal liner a fully three dimensional target compression can be realized. This permits a wider range of fusion reactions including D-T, D-D and D3 He that can be employed to provide for efficient coupling of the fusion energy into propulsion and electricity. During the fusion burn, the drifting liner is rapidly heated by fusion products, plasma radiation and Ohmic heating that powers a rapid re-expansion of the liner. With the liner at this point having drifted into a divergent magnetic field, the liner expansion is reacted against the ambient magnetic field causing flux compression which provides for a direct method for extracting the electrical power via the back emf experienced by the magnetic field coils. The divergent field geometry also acts to convert any remaining liner thermal energy into directed thrust at high Isp. An analysis of the conditions required for unity gain fusion as well as other possible embodiments for the fusion based thruster will be presented.
Multi-view Hilbert transformation in full-ring-transducer-array based photoacoustic computed tomography(Conference Presentation)

Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) exploits optical contrast and ultrasonic detection principles to form images of absorbed optical energy density within tissue. Based on the photoacoustic effect, PAT directly and quantitatively measures specific optical absorption. A full-ring ultrasonic transducer array based photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) system was recently developed for small animal whole-body imaging with a full-view detection angle and high in-plane resolution (100 µm). However, due to the band-pass frequency response of the piezoelectric transducer elements, the reconstructed images present bipolar (both positive and negative) pixel values, which is artificial and counterintuitive for physicians and biologists seeking to interpret the image. Moreover, bipolar pixel values hinder quantification of physiological parameters, such as oxygen saturation and blood flow speed. Unipolar images can be obtained by deconvolving the raw channel data with the transducer’s electrical impulse response and applying non-negativity during iteration, but this process requires complex transducer modeling and time-consuming computation. Here, we present a multi-view Hilbert transformation method to recover the unipolar initial pressure for full-ring PACT. Multi-view Hilbert transformation along the acoustic wave propagation direction minimizes reconstruction artifacts during envelope extraction and maintains the signal-to-noise ratio of the reconstructed images. The in-plane isotropic spatial resolution of this method was quantified to 168 μm within a 20 × 20 mm2 field of view. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm was first validated by numerical simulations and then demonstrated with ex-vivo mouse brain structural imaging and in-vivo mouse wholebody imaging.
Investigation and management of an acute schistosomiasis infection in Xiantao City

The investigation on an acute schistosomiasis infection in Xiantao exposed the local weakness in 6 aspects,that is,spring snail control,health promotion,farm cattle examination,protection measures,schistosomiasis control awareness and knowledge among township and village health workers and schistosomiasis diagnosis.
The theoretical foundation of the distribution according to productive factors

By analyzing the "Trinity Formulas"proposed by vulgar capitalist economists,Marx severely criticized the productive factors participating in distribution in Capital Analysis .But what Marx denied was the rationality of the distribution according to productive factors under capitalist society,and he did not deny its objective existence.The CCP members combine the common Marxism with the Chinese realistic reality,and clearly put forward the principle of"combination of the distribution according to work with the distribution according to productive factors",and point out that the "distribution according to productive factors"not only tallies with the distribution principle of market economy,but also tallies with the Basic Principle of Marxism.It is a development and enrichment to the Marxism by our party.
Hepatitis C Virus and Schizophrenia: Expanding the Role of the Community Psychiatrist

Received March 30, 2016; revised May 17, 2016; accepted May 20, 2016. From Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA (SH, OF); Erich LindemannMental Health Center, Boston, MA (SH, OF); Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (OF). Send correspondence and reprint requests to Sarah Herold, M.D., Erich Lindemann Mental Health Center, 25 Staniford St, Boston, MA 02114; e-mail: sherold@partners.org & 2016TheAcademy of PsychosomaticMedicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Introduction
Restoration of Spermatogenesis and Subsequent Fertility by Direct Intratesticular Hormonal Therapy

Testosterone-laden microspheres (TLM) were used in an attempt to restore spermatogenesis and sustain fertility in rats with previously suppressed gonadal function. Adult rats received 62.5 micrograms. gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist (GnRH-antagonist) per day for 15 days prior to being divided into three groups: 1) animals to be examined immediately, 2) animals to continue receiving 62.5 micrograms. GnRH-antagonist per day alone, and 3) animals to continue receiving GnRH-antagonist + a single intratesticular injection of 20 mg. TLM per testis. Unoperated control and sham-operated animals were also studied. Testicular interstitial fluid (TIF) testosterone concentrations, testicular sperm production and fertility were assessed 105 days after initiation of the experiment. Testicular interstitial fluid testosterone concentrations and sperm production were significantly reduced from control values after the initial 15-day GnRH-antagonist treatment (p < .05). After 105 days of GnRH-antagonist treatment, these values were further reduced (p < .05), but the TIF testosterone and sperm production values of GnRH-antagonist treated animals receiving TLM supplementation were not different from those of controls (p < .05). Fertility trials were also performed. Animals which had received GnRH-antagonist alone for 90 days were completely infertile, but animals receiving GnRH-antagonist + TLM for 90 days had fertility values not different from those of control animals (p < .05). Thus, spermatogenesis reduced because of testicular insufficiency was restored to normal, as was fertility, by intratesticular administration of TLM. This technique has possible clinical applications in selected groups of infertile men.
Supramolecular Affinity Labeling of Histone Peptides Containing Trimethyllysine and Its Application to Histone Deacetylase Assays.

Lysine methylation is an important histone post-translational modification (PTM) for manipulating chromatin structure and regulating gene expression, and its dysregulation is associated with various diseases including many cancers. While characterization of Lys methylation has seen improvements over the past decade due to advances in proteomic mass spectrometry and methods involving antibodies, chemical methods for selective detection of proteins containing PTMs are still lacking. Here, we detail the development of a unique labeling method wherein a synthetic receptor probe for trimethyl lysine (Kme3), CX4-ONBD, is used to direct selective fluorescent labeling of Kme3 histone peptides. This supramolecular approach reverses the paradigm of ligand-directed affinity labeling by making the receptor the synthetic component and the ligand the component to be labeled. We show that the probe mediates a strong turn-on fluorescence response in the presence of a Kme3 histone peptide and shows >5-fold selectivity in ...
Monitoring fetal development with magnetocardiography

Fetal heart rate variability (fHRV) is useful for noninvasive assesssment of the status of the autonomic nervous system of the developing fetus. In this pilot study we acquired fetal magnetocardiograms (fMCG) in a magnetically shielded environment. Each recording was of 5-minute duration and was subsequently repeated in a high-frequency noise environment to examine the feasibility of conducting future recordings in clinical environments that lack facilities for magnetic shielding. The fMCG (n=17) were recorded at 9 spatial locations above the pregnant abdomen at 26 to 35 weeks gestational age (GA) by a second-order SQUID gradiometer. The signal-to-noise was adequate for reliable QRS detection even in the noisy environment, especially for GA ≥ 30. The total spectral power of the RR-series, as well as band powers at low (0.05 to 0.25 Hz) and high (0.25 to 1.00 Hz) frequencies independently exhibited an increasing trend with GA. There was no evidence of bias in spectral power due to lack of shielding. These results provide experimental evidence supporting further studies in magnetically unshielded environments and may have an important implication for future clinical use of fMCG in the assessment of fHRV.
Magnetic Microbead Affinity Selection Screening (MagMASS) of Botanical Extracts for Inhibitors of 15-Lipoxygenase.

To expedite the identification of active natural products in complex mixtures such as botanical extracts, a magnetic microbead affinity selection screening (MagMASS) procedure was developed. This technique utilizes target proteins immobilized on magnetic beads for rapid bioaffinity isolation of ligands from complex mixtures. A MagMASS method was developed and validated for 15-lipoxygenase. As a proof of concept, several North American prairie plants used medicinally by Native Americans were extracted with MeOH and screened. A hit from an extract of Proserpinaca palustris, also known as mermaid weed, was flagged for further characterization using high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry, dereplication, and identification using XCMS online. Through the application of high-resolution product ion tandem mass spectrometry, comparison with natural product databases, and confirmation using standards, the hit was identified as quercitrin, which is a known inhibitor of 15-lipoxygenase. The overall workflow of MagM...
Connecting visual presents to archival pasts in multilingual California: Towards historical depth in Linguistic Landscape

Linguistic Landscape (LL) research has emerged as an approach to document and analyze language use in public spaces in present-day multilingual California and elsewhere in the world. This paper extends the conceptual and methodological frame of LL beyond the visual, ethnographic present. It seeks to create dialogue between text-oriented archival research into historical contexts of language and identity, and the present-oriented ethnographic focus of LL grounded in current sociolinguistic, applied linguistic, anthropological, and educational research. Building upon research into monuments and memorialization, this paper develops “memorization” to conceptualize the multilayered historicity, intertextuality and materiality that commit to public memory linguistic, political, and educational discourses — with their constitutive ideologies, practices, and policies — designed to “make the past present for the future” in public space. This paper offers an interdisciplinary perspective on the memorization of the colonial Spanish missions in California and the 2015 canonization of their founder, Junipero Serra. Several methodological opportunities and challenges for LL are discussed for critically connecting present and past landscapes of multilingualism, and their future ethical implications.
Superconducting Phases of Phosphorus Hydride Under Pressure: Stabilization by Mobile Molecular Hydrogen

At 80 GPa, phases with the PH2 stoichiometry, which are composed of simple cubic like phosphorus layers capped with hydrogen atoms and layers of H2 molecules, are predicted to be important species contributing to the recently observed superconductivity in compressed phosphine. The electron–phonon coupling in these phases results from the motions of the phosphorus atoms and the hydrogen atoms bound to them. The role of the mobile H2 layers is to decrease the Coulomb repulsion between the negatively charged hydrogen atoms capping the phosphorus layers. An insulating PH5 phase, the structure and bonding of which is reminiscent of diborane, is also predicted to be metastable at this pressure.
Creativity and Identity

Abstract This chapter reviews theoretical and empirical contributions proposing a link between identity and creativity, a link commented upon by several writers, artists, and psychologists. In particular, we review the thinking of Erik and Joan Erikson, and research stimulated by Eriksonian theory, as well as research grounded in the “(inner–outer) location of identity” perspective. Studies of college students indicate that more creative individuals generally are invested in exploring and developing identity and are inner-directed in this quest; in contrast, their less creative peers are more conforming to family and peer group expectations for “who they are.” More recent studies on creative identity and creative role identity within Personnel and I/O Psychology are reviewed and suggestions are offered for the next generation of identity–creativity researchers.
Foreign language faculty’s appropriation of an academic publishing policy at a US university

ABSTRACTAs a result of internationalisation, many universities have developed policies that encourage publications in English. This study explores this issue by examining multilingual scholars’ experiences of publishing policies in an Anglophone context and more specifically within the discipline of foreign languages – an inherently plurilingual discipline since its primary research focus is language. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews, we examine scholars’ appropriation of a foreign language department’s multilingual publishing policy at a US university. Policy appropriation, which principally took the form of English-only publishing, was informed by four factors: English as the academic lingua franca, English as the language of academic prestige, nativeness and promotion. Scholars’ policy appropriation simultaneously reified (English) monolingual publications and negated multilingual publications – 88% of research production was conducted in English – contributing to the monolingual mindset of t...
Creating chimeras: Embryonic stem cells incorporated

Gene modification within the murine genome has become a powerful and invaluable tool to investigate development. One example of the utility of such technology is providing a method by which researchers can follow cells throughout development via the introduced genetic modifications.
Rotational Energy Transfer Non-Reactive Hydrogen-Hydrogen Collisions at Low Temperatures of Astrophysical Interest

We perform a pure quantum-mechanical calculation for the non-reactive scattering in atomic and molecular hydrogen-hydrogen collisions, i.e. H2+H2 and H+H2. Different potential energy surfaces (PESs) for the H3 and H4 atomic systems have been used. The rigid rotor model of the diatomic molecules, i.e. when the distance between hydrogen atoms is fixed at some average equilibrium value, has been applied in our calculation. After this preparatory stage the astrophysical H2-cooling function can be estimated at different astrophysical conditions and temperatures.
Tomás Buesa Oliver y Luis Flórez, El atlas lingüistico-etnográfico de Colombia (ALEC). Cuestionario preliminar. Instituto Caro y Cuervo, Bogotá, 1956; 171 pp. / Tomás Buesa Oliver y Luis Flórez, Cuestionario para el atlas lingüístico-etnográfico de Colombia. Segunda redacción, en experimentación. Instituto Caro y Cuervo, Bogotá, 1960; 157 pp.

Se resenaron: El atlas linguistica-etnografico de Colombia (ALEC) . Cuestionario preliminar y Cuestionario para el atlas linguistico-etnografico de Colombia . Segunda redaccion, en experimentacion .
Abnormal arterial-venous fusions and fate specification in mouse embryos lacking blood flow

The functions of blood flow in the morphogenesis of mammalian arteries and veins are not well understood. We examined the development of the dorsal aorta (DA) and the cardinal vein (CV) in Ncx1 -/- mutants, which lack blood flow due to a deficiency in a sodium calcium ion exchanger expressed specifically in the heart. The mutant DA and CV were abnormally connected. The endothelium of the Ncx1 -/- mutant DA lacked normal expression of the arterial markers ephrin-B2 and Connexin-40. Notch1 activation, known to promote arterial specification, was decreased in mutant DA endothelial cells (ECs), which ectopically expressed the venous marker Coup-TFII. These findings suggest that flow has essential functions in the DA by promoting arterial and suppressing venous marker expression. In contrast, flow plays a lesser role in the CV, because expression of arterial-venous markers in CV ECs was not as dramatically affected in Ncx1 -/- mutants. We propose a molecular mechanism by which blood flow mediates DA and CV morphogenesis, by regulating arterial-venous specification of DA ECs to ensure proper separation of the developing DA and CV.
Integrating System Dynamics and Remote Sensing to Estimate Future Water Usage and Average Surface Runoff in Lagos, Nigeria

The goal of this study was twofold; first analyze the patterns of water consumption in Lagos, Nigeria and use them in a System Dynamics (SD) model to make projections about future demand. The second part used remote sensing to quantify the contribution of extensive land use/cover change to urban flooding. Land use/cover dynamics over the past decade was analyzed using satellite imagery provided by Landsat Thematic Mapping (TM). Unsupervised classification was performed with false color composite using the Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis (ISODATA) technique in a Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The study area was divided into four different land use types during image classification: bare land, built-up area, water bodies, and vegetation. For water demand, two different scenarios of population growth including 5.5% and 2.75 % annual increase were considered. The results showed that water demand dropped by 67% of its current value when losses in distribution were reduced by 20% and population annual growth rate kept at 2.75% over the study period. Bare land and water bodies lost 1.31% and 1.61% of their current area respectively while built-up area grew by 1.11%. These changes in land use/cover changes led to a 64% increase in average surface runoff, mostly attributable to increasing surface imperviousness and the absence of an adequate urban drainage system.
Optimization Problems and Methods in Quality Control and Improvement

This is an overview of some of the more frequently encountered optimization problems in statistics, with a focus on quality control and improvement. Optimization procedures are described, including: direct search methods; mathematical programming algor..
Metabolism of steroids in insects.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses metabolism of steroids in insects. Insects require a dietary or exogenous source of sterol for normal growth, metamorphosis, and reproduction, and the only known exceptions to this are those species in which a sterol source can be attributed to associated symbiotes. The hornworm utilizes the major sterols of its primary host plant, tobacco—campesterol, sitosterol, and stigmasterol—through their dealkylation and conversion to cholesterol. These conversions proceed through a series of oxidation-reductive steps, and a number of the metabolites and intermediates involved can be characterized. Cholesterol serves both as a structural component of cells and tissues and as a precursor for the ecdysones or molting hormones. While the sulfate and glucoside conjugates of sterols and ecdysteroids function, primarily, in the inactivation and excretion of steroids in insects, these conjugates can have other equally important roles related to the biosynthesis, metabolism, and transport of steroids, or the regulation of hormone titer.
Curious q-Series as Counterexamples in Padé Approximation

Basic hypergeometric, or q-series, are usually investigated when |q| 1, and the case where q is on the unit circle is extremely rare. It is the latter curious, exotic, choice of q that has yielded a number of interesting examples and counterexamples in Pade approximation, including a counterexample to the Baker-Gammel-Wills Conjecture. We survey some of these, and also pose a number of problems involving q-series for q on the unit circle.
Sociology, Psychology and Social Psychology (and Social Science)

A little over a decade ago, I wrote one of the numerous papers of the 1970s analyzing the perceived “crisis” of social psychology of that time (House, 1977). My particular diagnosis of that crisis was that it reflected the division of social psychology into three increasingly isolated domains or faces: (1) psychological social psychology, (2) symbolic interactionism, and (3) what I termed psychological sociology or what is more often labelled as the study of social structure and personality. I saw the solution to the crisis in greater unification of, or at least interchange between, the three faces and their disparate substantive and methodological concerns, though I had only tentative ideas on how that might be achieved, and was uncertain that it could be. Much of what I wrote ten years ago remains valid in my view, but I also have revised or extended my thinking on some issues.
Adapting influence approaches to informed consumers in high-involvement purchases: are salespeople really doomed?

The availability of information and variety of online purchase options are increasing for consumers shopping for complex products (e.g., cars, real estate). This situation, and consumers’ resulting sense of informedness, has led many to suggest that the need for business-to-consumer (B2C) salespeople is diminishing. Yet, despite these claims, many purchases—especially those associated with high prices and, therefore, high consumer involvement—still require consumers to interact with salespeople. This interaction, between consumers (at varying levels of informedness) and B2C salespeople, is the focus of the current study. Merging theories of consumer informedness and adaptive interpersonal influence, we suggest that the interaction between salesperson influence attempts and consumer informedness plays an important role in purchase decisions. To study this notion, Study 1 matches automobile shoppers’ survey responses with objective purchase data from 480 sales interactions. Study 2 is a scenario-based experiment that investigates informedness and influence in a financial services setting. The findings of both studies suggest that understanding a consumer’s informedness, and adapting the proper influence approach to it, is critical if salespeople are to influence modern consumers’ purchase decisions and, thus, avoid irrelevancy.
Nanocomposite coatings of poly(3-Fluoro-p-anisidine)/modified polyethersulfone filled with graphene

This study reports on novel corrosion protection polymer/graphene nanocomposite coatings. Owing to the potential of conducting polymers in corrosion inhibition, poly(3-Fluoro-p-anisidine) (PFANI) w...
Long-Term Liabilities: Leases

A lease as a contract, or part of a contract, conveys the right to control the use of identified property, plant, or equipment (an identified asset) for a period of time in exchange for consideration. Control over the use of the identified asset means that the customer has both (1) the right to obtain substantially all of the economic benefits from the use of the asset and (2) the right to direct the use of the asset.
Locally optimal designs for mixed binary and continuous responses

Abstract We consider locally optimal designs for experiments involving bivariate responses of mixed data types. To efficiently obtain optimal designs, we adapt a recently proposed complete class approach and derive sharp bounds for the number of design points of candidate designs.
Using Sequence-Predicted Contacts to Guide Template-free Protein Structure Prediction

Template-free protein structure prediction seeks three-dimensional structures that organize the serially-bonded amino acids in ways that lower interatomic energy. It is now well understood that energy functions are unreliable guides towards biologically-active structures. This realization raises questions on the proper role and utilization of energy functions. Recent work suggests employing complementary information in the form of amino-acid contacts. Here, we advance this line of work and leverage multi-objective optimization to investigate a variety of combinations of interatomic energy and contact-based scoring. Evaluation on diverse datasets demonstrates the superiority of combining contact information with energy functions in a multi-objective optimization setting for template-free protein structure prediction.
Post-antibiotic gut dysbiosis-induced trabecular bone loss is dependent on lymphocytes.

Abstract Recent studies in mouse models have shown that gut microbiota significantly influences bone health. We demonstrated that 2-week oral treatment with broad spectrum antibiotics followed by 4 weeks of recovery of the gut microbiota results in dysbiosis (microbiota imbalance)-induced bone loss in mice. Because gut microbiota is critical for the development of the immune system and since both microbiota and the immune system can regulate bone health, in this study, we tested the role of the immune system in mediating post-antibiotic dysbiosis-induced bone loss. For this, we treated wild-type (WT) and lymphocyte deficient Rag2 knockout (KO) mice with ampicillin/neomycin cocktail in water for 2 weeks followed by 4 weeks of water without antibiotics. This led to a significant bone loss (31% decrease from control) in WT mice. Interestingly, no bone loss was observed in the KO mice suggesting that lymphocytes are required for dysbiosis-induced bone loss. Bray-Curtis diversity metrics showed similar microbiota changes in both the WT and KO post-antibiotic treated groups. However, several operational taxonomic units (OTUs) classified as Lactobacillales were significantly higher in the repopulated KO when compared to the WT mice, suggesting that these bacteria might play a protective role in preventing bone loss in the KO mice after antibiotic treatment. The effect of dysbiosis on bone was therefore examined in the WT mice in the presence or absence of oral Lactobacillus reuteri treatment for 4 weeks (post-ABX treatment). As hypothesized, mice treated with L. reuteri did not display bone loss, suggesting a bone protective role for this group of bacteria. Taken together, our studies elucidate an important role for lymphocytes in regulating post-antibiotic dysbiosis-induced bone loss.
Dithiocarbamate prodrugs activated by prostate specific antigen to target prostate cancer

Abstract Disulfiram in conjunction with copper has been shown to be a potent anticancer agent. However, disulfiram’s therapeutic potential in prostate cancer is hindered by off-target effects due to its reactive and nucleophilic thiol-containing component, diethyldithiocarbamate (DTC). To minimize undesirable reactivity, we have strategically blocked the thiol moiety in DTC with a cleavable p-aminobenzyl (pAB) group linked to peptide substrates recognized by prostate specific antigen (PSA). Here we report the synthesis and evaluation in cancer cell models of two PSA-activatable prodrugs: HPD (Ac-HSSKLQL-pAB-DTC and RPD (RSSYYSL-pAB-DTC). In vitro exposure to PSA was found to trigger activation of HPD and RPD to release diethyldithiocarbamate, and both prodrugs were found to induce toxicity in prostate cancer cells, with HPD showing the most promising selectivity. With copper supplementation, the IC50 of HPD was 1.4 µM in PSA-expressing LNCaP cells, and 11 µM in PC3 cells that do not express PSA. These studies demonstrate the utility of using peptide recognition handles to direct the activity of dithiocarbamate prodrugs for selective cytotoxicity of cancer cells.
Pathology and genome sequence of a Lymantria dispar multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdMNPV) isolate from Heilongjiang, China

The pathogenicity and genome sequence of isolate LdMNPV-HrB of the gypsy moth alphabaculovirus, Lymantria dispar multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus from Harbin, Heilongjiang, China, were determined. A stock of this virus from one passage through the gypsy moth New Jersey Standard Strain (LdMNPV-HrB-NJSS) exhibited 6.2- to 11.9-fold greater pathogenicity against larvae from a Harbin colony of L. dispar asiatica than both Gypchek and a Massachusetts, USA LdMNPV isolate (LdMNPV-Ab-a624). Sequence determination and phylogenetic analysis of LdMNPV-HrB and LdMNPV-HrB-NJSS revealed that these isolates were most similar to other east Asian LdMNPV isolates with 98.8% genome sequence identity and formed a group with the east Asian LdMNPV isolates which was separate from groups of isolates from Russia, Europe, and USA.
Straddling Death and (Re)birth: A Disabled Latina’s Meditation on Collective Care and Mending in Pandemic Times

This critical autoethnography, informed by Critical Race Theory (CRT), intersectionality, and DisCrit, explores the lived experience of a disabled Latina mother-scholar during COVID-19. She uses me...
Urban fox squirrels exhibit habituation to humans but respond to stimuli from natural predators

Animals in urban areas that experience frequent exposure to humans often behave differently than those in less urban areas, such as less vigilance or anti-predator behavior. These behavioral shifts may be an adaptive response to urbanization and caused by habituation to humans. A possible negative consequence is cross-habituation to natural predators where urban animals exhibit reduced anti-predator behavior in the presence of humans but also to their natural predators. We tested the hypothesis that habituation to humans in urban populations of fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) causes cross-habituation to stimuli from two possible predators (hawks and domestic dogs). We exposed squirrels in multiple urban and less urban sites to acoustic playbacks of a control stimulus (non-predatory bird calls), a natural predator (hawk), and dogs and recorded their vigilance and three different anti-predator behaviors when a human approached them while either broadcasting one of these three playbacks or no playbacks at all. In trials with no playbacks, urban squirrels exhibited reduced vigilance and anti-predator behavior compared to those in less urban areas but there was little evidence that urbanization altered the correlations among the different behaviors we quantified. Urban squirrels exhibited increased vigilance and anti-predator behavior when exposed to a human paired with hawk playbacks compared to the control playbacks. This indicates that urban squirrels did perceive and assess risk to the natural predator appropriately despite exhibiting habituation to humans. There is currently little evidence that habituation to humans causes animals to lose their fear of natural predators.
Rideshare use among parents and their children

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for young children. Millions of ridesharing trips are taken each day, and use of these services is predicted to increase. Therefore, it is important to examine the safety of children in these vehicles. We conducted a survey of a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults aged 18 years or older (N = 2017). Of the total sample, 450 respondents reported being a parent or legal guardian of children below the age of 10. Of these, 307 or 68% had ever used ridesharing. Among those who had used ridesharing, a total of 253 or 82% reported using ridesharing with their children below the age of 10 years. Among this group, rideshare use was significantly higher among individuals with college education, and in higher income households. Given that the majority of U.S. states have legislation exempting rideshare vehicles from child restraint system law coverage, our finding of high rates of rideshare use among parents suggests that a large number of children could be at risk of injury due to a lack of appropriate restraint use.
Arguing About the Earth’s Motion

Galileo’s Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems, Ptolemaic and Copernican (1632) can be read from the viewpoints of methodological judgment and critical reasoning; methodological judgment means the avoidance of one-sidedness and extremes; and critical reasoning means reasoning aimed at the analysis and evaluation of arguments. Classic sources for these readings are Thomas Salusbury (1661) and the Port-Royal logicians (1662). This focus does not deny the book’s scientific, historical, rhetorical, and aesthetic dimensions; it is critical of excessively rhetorical readings; and it suggests solutions to the problems of hermeneutical pluralism, interpretation versus evaluation, and theory versus practice. And the book’s methodological judgment and critical reasoning can be shown to correspond to Galileo’s own self-reflections.
Impact of Labeling Schemes on Dense Crowd Counting Using Convolutional Neural Networks with Multiscale Upsampling

Gatherings of thousands to millions of people frequently occur for an enormous variety of educational, social, sporting, and political events, and automated counting of these high-density crowds is...
Elements and Intervals

Considerations about the ordering of elements in terms of their number and their extent are necessarily very general. We must now turn to relations that affect or involve elements in a much more material manner. The first of these, a direct result of the compresence of elements, is a remarkable phenomenon that without doubt holds within itself the key to the superiority of visual and auditory data as materials of the arts.
Stochastic Gene Expression and Regulatory Networks

Genetically identical cells exposed to the same environmental conditions can show significant variation in molecular content and marked differences in phenotypic characteristics. This intrinsic variability is linked to the fact that many cellular events at the genetic level involve small numbers of molecules (low copy numbers).
Importance and Implementation of Baldrige Practices for Small Businesses

An empirical survey was conducted to determine how small business perceive and implement the high-performance management practices outlined by the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence. The survey identifies the practices that small firms..
Computer algebra systems: Issues and inquiries

Abstract This is an educational-philosophical survey article on issues of special importance to all who are involved with the instructional uses of computers in the mathematical sciences.
The EUVE Guest Observer Program

Following the completion of the EUVE all-sky survey, the balance of the mission is being conducted as a Guest Observer Program, under which the astronomical community may propose to make pointed spectroscopic observations in the EUV. The spectrometer covers the wavelength range 70-760 A in three overlapping bands at a resolution of 100-400. Guest observers receive time-tagged photon event lists together with instrument and spacecraft housekeeping data. Data are delivered with software tools that run in the Image Reduction and Analysis Facility and are tailored for handling EUVE satellite data.
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

Childhood disintegrative disorder is an apparently uncommon condition that, once established, is similar to autism in its behavioral features. It apparently differs from autism in terms of its onset, course, and outcome. Guidelines for diagnostic features of the condition are summarized. Research on this condition may be helpful in clarifying pathogenic features relevant to autism.