cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Use of near-infrared spectroscopy as an indicator of emerald ash borer infestation in white ash stem tissue

Abstract Emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis), is a non-native beetle responsible for widespread mortality of several North American ash species (Fraxinus sp.). Current non-destructive methods for early detection of EAB in specific trees are limited, which restricts the effectiveness of management efforts to contain this invasive threat. This study explored the application of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as a novel method for detection of EAB in white ash (Fraxinus americana). Increment borers were used to non-destructively and efficiently collect increment cores from visibly healthy and EAB infested white ash trees for subsequent NIR analysis. White ash trees were sampled across sites of different land use categories (i.e., natural forests versus recreational areas) and different latitudinal regions in the eastern Lower Peninsula and in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. NIR diffuse reflectance spectra were collected from three stem tissue types (outer bark, phloem, and xylem) using a NIR spectrometer over the wavelength range of 1134–2190 nm. Spectral measurements were treated with a Savitzky–Golay smoothing filter, followed by a 1st and 2nd derivative transformation to increase spectral sensitivity. Near-infrared spectroscopy was successfully able to discriminate between EAB infested and visually healthy trees using step-wise linear discriminant analysis for each of the three stem tissue types (outer bark, phloem and xylem). The NIR spectra of xylem tissue transformed using a Savitzky–Golay smoothing filter with a 1st derivative transformation over the full NIR wavelength range (1134–2190 nm) had the highest classification accuracy (97%) for discriminating between healthy versus EAB infested trees. This study underscores potential for future research in developing NIR spectroscopy as a cost-effective method of early detection and monitoring of emerald ash borer and other stem-boring insects in support of current detection methods.
Air Cargo Market Outlook and Impact Via the NASA Class Project

An overview is given of the Cargo/Logistics Airlift Systems Study (CLASS) project which was a 10 man-year effort carried out by two contractor teams, aimed at defining factors impacting future system growth and obtaining market requirements and design guidelines for future air freighters. Growth projection was estimated by two approaches: one, an optimal systems approach with a more efficient and cost effective system considered as being available in 1990; and the other, an evolutionary approach with an econometric behavior model used to predict long term evolution from the present system. Both approaches predict significant growth in demand for international air freighter services and less growth for U.S. domestic services. Economic analysis of air freighter fleet options indicate very strong market appeal of derivative widebody transports in 1990 with little incentive to develop all new dedicated air freighters utilizing the 1990's technology until sometime beyond the year 2000. Advanced air freighters would be economically attractive for a wide range of payload sizes (to 500 metric tons), however, if a government would share in the RD and T costs by virtue of its needs for a slightly modified version of a civil air freighter design (a.g. military airlifter).
Rasburicase‐induced methemoglobinemia: case report, literature review, and proposed treatment algorithm

Rasburicase for the treatment of tumor lysis syndrome has been associated with hemolytic anemia and methemoglobinemia, usually in patients with G6PD deficiency. Risks and benefits should be considered prior to use of rasburicase in at-risk patients. Methylene blue will worsen the hemolytic anemia in G6PD deficiency and should be avoided.
Efficient n-GaAs photoelectrodes grown by close-spaced vapor transport from a solid source.

n-GaAs films were grown epitaxially on n+-GaAs substrates by a close-spaced vapor transport method and their photoelectrochemical energy conversion properties studied. Under 100 mW cm–2 of ELH sola...
Regulation of cholesterol oxidation by liver in vitro.

SummaryA feedback mechanism, whereby conjugated bile acids control oxidation of cholesterol in liver, has been discerned in vitro. Addition of cholic acid conjugates depressed oxidation of cholesterol, but not that of sodium pyruvate or 3a, 7a, 12a-trihydroco-prostane, by fortified rat liver mitochondrial preparations. Preparations from livers of rats, deprived of bile salts by interruption of enterohepatic circulation, oxidized cholesterol to a greater extent than controls. The site of action of the feedback effect is discussed briefly.
Folic acid fortification and prevalences of neural tube defects, orofacial clefts, and gastroschisis in California, 1989 to 2010

Background We examined whether prevalences of neural tube defects (NTDs), orofacial clefts, and gastroschisis changed more rapidly after than before folic acid fortification in California. Methods This population-based study used vital statistics and birth defects registry data. The study population included all live births and stillbirths delivered in central California counties from 1989 to 2010. Cases included deliveries with NTDs, orofacial clefts, and gastroschisis. Weighted least squares regression was used to estimate slopes during prefortification (before 1997) and postfortification (after 1998), respectively. The difference of the two slopes with the 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated. Results For all NTDs combined, slopes indicated that NTD prevalence was decreasing by 8.7 (slope: -8.7; 95% CI, -13.5–−3.9) cases per 100,000 deliveries per year before fortification and by 1.7 (slope: -1.7; 95% CI, -3.7–0.3) after fortification; thus the decline had slowed by 7.0 (95% CI, 2.7–11.3) cases per 100,000 deliveries per year. For orofacial clefts, slopes for cleft lip with/without palate as well as for cleft palate alone indicated that the postfortification slope was lower than the prefortification slope suggesting a more accelerated decrease in the postfortification time period. For gastroschisis, the slope after fortification was lower compared with prefortification, indicating a less accelerated prevalence increase in the postfortification time period. Stratification by race/ethnicity did not substantially alter results. Conclusion We observed a slower decline in prevalence of NTDs, an emergence of a decline in orofacial clefts, and a slower increase in gastroschisis, during the postfortification period in central California, relative to the prefortification period. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 106:1032–1041, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Teaching communication and supporting autonomy with a team-based operative simulator.

Abstract Background Changing residency structure emphasizes the need for formal instruction on team leadership and intraoperative teaching skills. A high fidelity, multi-learner surgical simulation may offer opportunities for senior learners (SLs) to learn these skills while teaching technical skills to junior learners (JLs). Methods We designed and optimized a low-cost inguinal hernia model that paired JLs and SLs as an operative team. This was tested in 3 pilot simulations. Participants' feedback was analyzed using qualitative methods. Results JL feedback to SLs included the themes "guiding and instructing" and "allowing autonomy." Senior Learner feedback to JLs focused on "mechanics," "knowledge," and "perspective/flow." Both groups focused on "communication" and "professionalism." Conclusions A multi-learner simulation can successfully meet the technical learning needs of JLs and the teaching and communication learning needs of SLs. This model of resident-driven simulation may illustrate future opportunities for operative simulation.
Differential Effects of E2 on MAPK Activity in the Brain and Heart of Aged Female Rats

Aging and the coincident loss of circulating estrogens at menopause lead to increased risks for neurological and cardiovascular pathologies. Clinical studies show that estrogen therapy (ET) can be beneficial in mitigating these negative effects, in both the brain and heart, when it is initiated shortly after the perimenopausal transition. However, this same therapy is detrimental when initiated >10 years postmenopause. Importantly, the molecular mechanisms underlying this age-related switch in ET efficacy are unknown. Estrogen receptors (ERs) mediate the neuroprotective and cardioprotective functions of estrogens by modulating gene transcription or, non-genomically, by activating second messenger signaling pathways, such as mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK). These kinases are critical regulators of cell signaling pathways and have widespread downstream effects. Our hypothesis is that age and estrogen deprivation following menopause alters the expression and activation of the MAPK family members p38 and ERK in the brain and heart. To test this hypothesis, we used a surgically induced model of menopause in 18 month old rats through bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) followed by an acute dose of 17β-estradiol (E2) administered at varying time points post-OVX (1 week, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, or 12 weeks). Age and E2 treatment differentially regulated kinase activity in both the brain and heart, and the effects were also brain region specific. MAPK signaling plays an integral role in aging, and the aberrant regulation of those signaling pathways might be involved in age-related disorders. Clinical studies show benefits of ET during early menopause but detrimental effects later, which might be reflective of changes in kinase expression and activation status.
The City is flatter: Changing patterns of job and labor access

Abstract This study measures accessibility by automobile for the Minneapolis - Saint Paul (Twin Cities) region from 1995 to 2005. In contrast to most previous analyses of accessibility, this study uses travel time estimates derived, to the extent possible, from actual observations of network performance by time of day. A set of cumulative opportunity measures are computed with transport analysis zones (TAZs) as the unit of analysis for 1995 and 2005. Analysis of the changes in accessibility by location over the period of study reveals that, for the majority of locations in the region, accessibility increased over this period, though the increases were not uniform. A “flattening” or convergence of levels of accessibility across locations was observed over time, with faster-growing suburban locations gaining the most in terms of employment accessibility. An effort to decompose the causes of changes in accessibility into components related to transport network structure and land use (opportunity location) reveals that both causes make a contribution to increasing accessibility, though the effects of changes to the transportation network tend to be more location-specific. Overall, the results of the study demonstrate the feasibility and relevance of using accessibility as a key performance measure to describe the regional transport system.
Predicting kinetic nanocrystal shapes through multi-scale theory and simulation: Polyvinylpyrrolidone-mediated growth of Ag nanocrystals.

In the shape-controlled synthesis of colloidal Ag nanocrystals, structure-directing agents, particularly polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), are known to be a key additive in making nanostructures with well-defined shapes. Although many Ag nanocrystals have been successfully synthesized using PVP, the mechanism by which PVP actuates shape control remains elusive. Here, we present a multi-scale theoretical framework for kinetic Wulff shape predictions that accounts for the chemical environment, which we used to probe the kinetic influence of the adsorbed PVP film. Within this framework, we use umbrella-sampling molecular dynamics simulations to calculate the potential of mean force and diffusion coefficient profiles of Ag atom deposition onto Ag(100) and Ag(111) in ethylene glycol solution with surface-adsorbed PVP. We use these profiles to calculate the mean-first passage times and implement extensive Brownian dynamics simulations, which allows the kinetic effects to be quantitatively evaluated. Our results show ...
Authoritarian legitimation: assessing discourses of legitimacy in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

ABSTRACTWhat are the sources of authoritarian persistence in Central Asia? This study explores the argument that authoritarian regimes persist through effective authoritarian legitimation. Drawing on the theory and analysis of discourse, it develops an approach to authoritarian legitimation and examines discursive appeals to legitimacy by the Kazakh and Uzbek presidents. The study also assesses the effectiveness of the presidential discourses of legitimacy for public perception of the governing regimes in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. This research shows that by defining what constitutes legitimate power and presenting political rule as consistent with this definition, authoritarian governments can foster certain modes of reasoning and evaluation among citizens, and create possibilities for their acceptance of the regime as ‘right’ or ‘proper’.
Learning from small sample sets by combining unsupervised meta-training with CNNs

This work explores CNNs for the recognition of novel categories from few examples. Inspired by the transferability properties of CNNs, we introduce an additional unsupervised meta-training stage that exposes multiple top layer units to a large amount of unlabeled real-world images. By encouraging these units to learn diverse sets of low-density separators across the unlabeled data, we capture a more generic, richer description of the visual world, which decouples these units from ties to a specific set of categories. We propose an unsupervised margin maximization that jointly estimates compact high-density regions and infers low-density separators. The low-density separator (LDS) modules can be plugged into any or all of the top layers of a standard CNN architecture. The resulting CNNs significantly improve the performance in scene classification, fine-grained recognition, and action recognition with small training samples.
Metformin prevents ischaemic ventricular fibrillation in metabolically normal pigs.

Metformin is the drug most often used to treat type 2 diabetes. Evidence suggests that metformin may reduce mortality of individuals with type 2 diabetes, but the mechanism of such an effect is unknown and outcomes of metformin treatment in people without diabetes have not been determined. If metformin favourably affected mortality of non-diabetic individuals, it might have even broader therapeutic utility. We evaluated the effect of metformin on myocardial energetics and ischaemic ventricular fibrillation (VF) in metabolically normal pigs. Domestic farm pigs were treated with metformin (30 mg kg−1 day−1 orally for 2–3 weeks; n = 36) or received no treatment (n = 37). Under anaesthesia, pigs underwent up to 90 min low-flow regional myocardial ischaemia followed by 45 min of reperfusion. Pigs were monitored for arrhythmia, monophasic action potential morphology, haemodynamics and myocardial substrate utilisation, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation activity and ATP concentration. Death due to VF occurred in 12% of pigs treated with metformin compared with 50% of untreated controls (p = 0.03). The anti-fibrillatory effect of metformin was associated with attenuation of action potential shortening in ischaemic myocardium (p = 0.02) and attenuation of the difference in action potential duration between ischaemic and non-ischaemic regions (p < 0.001) compared with untreated controls. Metformin had no effect on myocardial contractile function, oxygen consumption, or glucose or lactate utilisation. During ischaemia, however, metformin treatment amplified the activation of AMPK and preserved ATP concentration in myocardium compared with untreated controls (each p < 0.05). Chronic treatment of metabolically normal pigs with metformin at a clinically relevant dose reduces mortality from ischaemic VF. This protection is associated with preservation of myocardial energetics during ischaemia. Maintenance of myocardial ATP concentration during ischaemia is likely to prevent action potential shortening, heterogeneity of repolarisation, and propensity for lethal arrhythmia. The findings suggest that metformin might be protective in non-diabetic individuals with coronary heart disease.
Health capital investment and time spent on health-related activities

One key component in the health capital investment model in (Grossman, M. Journal of Political Economy, 80: 223–255, 1972) is time spent on improving health. However, few empirical studies have examined how time spent on health investment is determined. In this paper, we fill this void in the literature by investigating how people allocate their time for different types of health-related activities in response to economic variables. Using the American Time Use Survey, we distinguish health-enhancing and health-deteriorating leisure activities, with the rationale that these activities may respond differently to socioeconomic environment. We find that health-enhancing and health-deteriorating time respond to economic variables in opposite directions. Specifically, a higher wage rate leads to a reduction in health-deteriorating activities but an increase in health-enhancing activities, particularly those with an investment nature. This finding holds for most subsamples we examine. Our result implies substantial substitution within nonmarket time.
A Social Media Roadmap—Tips on Developing a Content Marketing Plan for a Hospital Library

Hospitals and their libraries are actively engaged through outreach and marketing to communicate about services and programs that support high-quality patient care, build brand loyalty, and ultimat...
Policy and Practice-Relevant Youth Physical Activity Research Center Agenda.

Background: The Physical Activity Research Center developed a research agenda that addresses youth physical activity (PA) and healthy weight, and aligns with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health. This paper summarizes prioritized research studies with a focus on youth at higher risk for inactive lifestyles and childhood obesity in urban and rural communities. Methods: Systematic literature reviews, a survey, and discussions with practitioners and researchers provided guidance on research questions to build evidence and inform effective strategies to promote healthy weight and PA in youth across race, cultural, and economic groups. Results: The research team developed a matrix of potential research questions, identified priority questions, and designed targeted studies to address some of the priority questions and inform advocacy efforts. The studies selected examine strategies advocating for activity-friendly communities, Play Streets, park use, and PA of youth in the summer. A broader s...
Efficacy of Alectinib in Patients with ALK-Positive NSCLC and Symptomatic or Large CNS Metastases.

Background Central nervous system (CNS) metastases represent a significant source of morbidity and mortality for patients with ALK tyrosine kinase gene (ALK)-positive NSCLC. Alectinib has demonstrated robust CNS activity in both crizotinib-naive and crizotinib-resistant settings. However, the CNS efficacy of alectinib has not been established in patients with untreated symptomatic, large CNS metastases. Methods In this retrospective study, patients were eligible if they had advanced ALK-positive NSCLC with large (defined as ≥1 cm) or symptomatic CNS metastases and received alectinib. Medical records and radiographic imaging were reviewed to determine treatment outcomes. CNS efficacy was assessed per the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1. Results Of the 19 patients, 15 (79%) had measurable CNS disease at baseline and were evaluable for response. The CNS objective response rate in these patients was 73.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 44.9%-92.2%), the CNS disease control rate was 100.0% (95% CI: 78.2%-100.0%), and the median CNS duration of response was 19.3 months (95% CI: 14.3 months-not evaluable). In 18 evaluable patients with measurable and/or nonmeasurable baseline CNS disease, the CNS objective response rate was 72.2% (95% CI: 46.5%-90.3%), the CNS disease control rate was 100.0% (95% CI: 81.5%-100.0%), and the median CNS duration of response was 17.1 months (95% CI: 14.3 months-not evaluable). All eight patients with symptoms attributable to CNS metastases had clinical improvement upon starting alectinib therapy. Six patients (32%) eventually required salvage brain radiotherapy. Conclusions Alectinib demonstrated meaningful CNS efficacy in patients with ALK-positive NSCLC with untreated symptomatic or large brain metastases.
Energy Democracy: Redistributing Power to the People Through Renewable Transformation

As the expansion of renewable energy accelerates, the transformative potential of moving away from fossil fuel reliance is becoming increasingly clear. Around the world, individuals, communities, o...
Fat-Specific Protein 27 Regulation of Vascular Function in Human Obesity

Background Pathophysiological mechanisms that connect obesity to cardiovascular disease are incompletely understood. FSP27 (Fat‐specific protein 27) is a lipid droplet‐associated protein that regul...
Tl2Ch22- (Ch = Se and/or Te) Anions: X-ray Crystal Structures and Raman Spectra of (2,2,2-crypt-K+)2Tl2Se22- and (2,2,2-crypt-K+)2Tl2Te22- and Solution 77Se, 203Tl, and 205Tl NMR Spectroscopic and Theoretical Studies of Tl2Ch22-, In2Se22-, and In2Te22- †

The seleno- and tellurothallate(I) anions Tl2Ch22- (Ch = Se and/or Te) and the 77Se-enriched Tl2Se22- anion have been obtained by extraction of the alloys MTlCh (M = Na, K; Ch = Se, Te), KTlSe0.5Te0.5, and 77Se- enriched KTlSe in ethylenediamine and liquid NH3 and in the presence of a stoichiometric excess of 2,2,2-crypt with respect to M+. The butterfly-shaped Tl2Ch22- anions were characterized in solution by 77Se, 203Tl, and 205Tl NMR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography in (2,2,2-crypt-K+)2Tl2Ch22-. The energy-minimized structures of the Tl2Ch22- (Ch = Se and/or Te) anions were calculated by using density functional theory calculations confirming the nonplanar geometries of all three anions, which are compared with those of the presently unknown In2Ch22- (Ch = Se, Te) anions. The magnitudes of the relativistically corrected reduced coupling constants, (KTl-Ch)RC, are consistent with essentially pure p-bonded rings whereas the magnitudes of (KTl-Tl)RC suggest significant s electro...
Protein Solubility during the Aging Period in Bos Taurus and Bos Indicus Beef

ObjectivesDuring the postmortem period, muscle cells are unable to maintain reducing conditions and this leads to oxidation of proteins that could affect function, solubility, and susceptibility to degradation. Compared to Bos taurus steers, Bos indicus influenced cattle exhibit differences in beef tenderness as well as muscle metabolic characteristics. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar protein solubility in beef during the aging period.Materials and MethodsBos taurus (Angus), Bos indicus (Brahman) and Brangus steers were harvested according to standard industry procedures (n = 2 per breed group for 3 harvest d). Longissimus lumborum was collected at 24h and 14d. Sarcoplasmic protein solubility was determined by homogenizing triplicate 0.1 g muscle samples with 0.025 M potassium phosphate (pH 7.2) buffer. The homogenate was incubated overnight at 4°C and then centrifuged at 1500 × g for 30 min. The supernatant was collected and protein concentrations were measured using the BCA protein assay. Total protein solubility was determined by homogenizing triplicate 0.1 g muscles samples with buffer containing 8M urea, 2M thiourea, and 3% SDS. The homogenate was incubated at 4°C for 30 min and then centrifuged at 1500 × g for 30 min. The supernatant was collected and protein concentrations were measured using the Pierce 660 nm protein asay. Myofibrillar protein was calculated from the difference between total and sarcoplasmic protein solubility. Values are expressed as mg protein/g tissue. Data were analyzed using SAS (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC) JMP and the model included fixed effects of breed, time, breed × time, and harvest day.ResultsSarcoplasmic protein solubility decreased from 24 h to 14 d (time, P < 0.05). Curiously, the decrease in sarcoplasmic protein solubility over time tended to be dependent on breed (breed × time, P < 0.1); sarcoplasmic protein solubility decreased less in Brahman compared to Angus and Brangus. Breed did not influence myofibrillar protein solubility.ConclusionBreed-related changes in sarcoplasmic protein solubility suggest the cellular environment during the aging period may differ in longissimus muscle of Bos indicus compared to Bos taurus steers. Further work is needed to determine if protein oxidation or other cellular factors contribute to these protein solubility changes during aging.
Prognostic Value of Neutrophil-lymphocyte Ratio in Patients with Severe Alcoholic Hepatitis.

Background Prednisolone is considered the cornerstone treatment for severe alcoholic hepatitis (AH). However, its use is limited by the increased risk of infection in an already immunocompromised patient population. Among patients with severe AH, there exists a group of non-responders who do not benefit from prednisolone therapy. Day-4 Lille score is a widely employed prognostic model used to identify this non-responder subgroup. The present study evaluates the prognostic ability of the inflammatory marker, the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), as a stand-alone model and in conjunction with the day-4 Lille score. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records of patients diagnosed with AH. Demographic and biochemical data at diagnosis were collected to calculate Maddrey’s discriminant function (MDF) and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score upon admission and also on day 4. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted for day-4 NLR and day-4 Lille score for prediction of 90-day mortality, and optimal cut-off values were determined. Patients were then subcategorized into groups based on the generated optimal cut-off values. Categorization was validated by comparing the mortality rate in each group with the chi-squared test. We then performed a multivariate analysis for prediction of 90-day mortality using day-4 Lille score and day-4 NLR, constructing a new prediction score based on the odds ratio (OR). The ROC curve of the new score was plotted and the area under a curve (AUC) was reported and compared with previously validated scores. Results Our analysis demonstrated that both day-4 NLR and Lille score individually predicted 90-day mortality with statistical significance (p: 0.049, p: <0.001, respectively). The ROC analysis of day-4 Lille score for the prediction of 90-day mortality revealed an AUC of 0.819 with an optimal cut-off value of 0.45 (sensitivity: 83.3%, specificity: 76.1%). Day-4 NLR had an AUC of 0.756 with an optimal cut-off value of 12.3 (sensitivity: 66.7%, specificity: 78.1%) The combined day-Lille-NLR model with a cut-off of 0.55 had an AUC of .889, which was higher than day-4 Lille score and NLR independently. Conclusion Day-4 NLR is an easily assessed prognostic model of mortality in alcoholic hepatitis. However, it often underperforms relative to day-4 Lille score. Combining these two models to create a "modified" Lille score adds increased performance characteristics to the prediction of outcomes/mortality. The "modified" Lille score presented in this study can be used to further cut down the number of non-responders who are often forced to undergo costly and potentially harmful treatment courses.
A System for Improved Prediction of Ocean Optical Properties

Abstract : A system is proposed that will measure oceanic optical properties from a variety of platforms and will allow for improved quantification of their relationships to parameters retrieved from ocean-color remote sensing and in-situ oceanic processes (i.e. the dynamics of particulate and dissolved matter). Improvement will come primarily from increase in optical data currently limited in space and time (e.g. weighed heavily towards the summer in the Atlantic). The system involves a variety of sampling platforms including profiling floats, in-line samplers on ships and bottom mounted tripods. The data collected will be used to improve models describing the evolution of optical properties in time (e.g. describing sediment dynamics in the bottom boundary layer and ecosystem dynamics near the ocean s surface). Improvement in models will come from having a large amount of quality optical data to constrain models with (by tuning the models to agree with the data and exploring disagreement for processes that are poorly represented), or alternatively provide data for model validation. Improvement in models will allow for better prediction of underwater light fields, visibility and transmission of optical communication. In addition, data collected with profiling floats will allow for improved modeling of sub-surface optical properties (measured with the floats) from surface optical properties (measured using from space).
Sex-dependent effects of chronic variable stress on discrete corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 1 cell populations.

Anxiety and depression are strikingly more prevalent in women compared with men. Dysregulation of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) binding to its cognate receptor (CRFR1) is thought to play a critical role in the etiology of these disorders. In the present study, we investigated whether there were sex differences in the effects of chronic variable stress (CVS) on CRFR1 cells using CRFR1-GFP reporter mice experiencing a 9-day CVS paradigm. Brains were collected from CVS and stress naive female and male mice following exposure to the open field test. This CVS paradigm effectively increased anxiety-like behavior in female and male mice. In addition, we assessed changes in activation of CRFR1 cells (co-localization with c-Fos and phosphorylated CREB (pCREB)) in stress associated brain structures, including two sexually dimorphic CRFR1 cell groups in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV/PeN; F>M) and paraventricular hypothalamus (PVN; M>F). CVS increased CRFR1-GFP cell number as well as the number of CRFR1/pCREB co-expressing cells in the female but not male AVPV/PeN. In the PVN, the number of CRFR1/pCREB co-expressing cells was overall greater in males regardless of treatment and CVS resulted in a male-specific reduction of CRFR1/c-Fos cells. In addition, CVS induced a female-specific reduction in CRFR1/c-Fos cells within the anteroventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and both sexes exhibited a reduction in CRFR1/c-Fos co-expressing cells following CVS within the ventral basolateral amygdala. Overall, these sex-specific effects of CVS on CRFR1 populations may have implications for sex differences in stress-induction of mood disorders.
Quantitative determination of nanoscale strain in in 2D semiconductors using hyperspectral nano-optical imaging

We demonstrated a facile recipe using nano-optical and topographical measurements to estimate nanoscale strain in 2D materials. This method is generally applicable to nanostrained regions of arbitrary shape and can be easily applied to complex fields of interacting nanobubbles. Using state of the art nano-optical characterization tools, we show that the photoluminescence energy shift agrees with the estimated strain of single non-circular nanobubble. By combining the simultaneously solved strain maps of dozens of irregular nanobubbles, we reproduce the Gruneisen parameter of the in-plane Raman active mode for the 1L-WS2, showing the quantitative accuracy of our method for truly “nano” nanobubbles with radii on order 10-100 nm.
Low and very low carbohydrate diets for diabetes remission.

Dietary interventions that restrict carbohydrate intake for the management of diabetes are of particular interest to researchers, healthcare providers, and patients. Based on evidence of moderate to low certainty from 23 randomized trials (n=1357), evidence synthesis suggests that patients who adhere to low or very low carbohydrate diets for six months might achieve diabetes remission without adverse consequences. But the definition of low and very low carbohydrate diets, the long term health effects of carbohydrate restricted diets, and the working definitions of diabetes remission are debated, requiring further investigation, particularly for longer term health outcomes based on evidence from randomized trials.
Nuevas especies de la tribu Agrypnini Candèze, 1857 (Coleoptera: Elateridae) de Chile, con notas taxonómicas sobre la validez del género Carlota Arias-Bohart, 2014 y designación del lectotipo de Adelocera vitticollis Fairmaire y Germain, 1860

Se describen e ilustran cuatro nuevas especies de Agrypnini de Chile: Dilobitarsus holomelas sp. nov., D. crassus sp. nov., D. sagittatus sp. nov. y Candanius pehuenche sp. nov. Los ejemplares tipo de Lacon chilensis (Solier, 1851), L. fairmairei (Candeze, 1882) y Dilobitarsus vitticollis (Fairmaire y Germain, 1860) son ilustrados por primera vez. En base a la examinacion de este material, el lectotipo y dos paralectotipos de Adelocera vitticollis Fairmaire y Germain, 1860 son designados. Adicionalmente, se aportan nuevos caracteres morfologicos que justifican la sinonimia entre Carlota Arias-Bohart, 2014 y Candanius von Hayek, 1973, y se proporcionan claves actualizadas para el reconocimiento de las especies de Dilobitarsus y Candanius de Chile.
A Theory of Justification: Societal Harm as a Prerequisite for Criminal Liability

All would agree that the criminal law seeks to prevent harmful results rather than to punish evil intent that produces no harm. If one views deterrence as the proper function of the criminal law, a harm requirement is appropriate. To the extent that the criminal law punishes nonharmful conduct, it weakens the stigma and deterrent effect of criminal conviction for harmful conduct. If a defendant who has caused no harm feels that he is punished unjustifiably, rehabilitative efforts will be hampered. Indeed, one may ask: If no harm has been caused, what harm will be deterred by punishment, and what harm-causing characteristic will be rehabilitated? If one believes that the role of the criminal law is to provide retribution, a harm requirement is also proper; in the absence of harm there is nothing for which to seek retribution. The consistency of a requirement of harm with these fundamental purposes of the criminal law is reflected in the fact that harm has, from the earliest of civilized times, been treated as a de facto requirement. If the criminal law is limited in operation to situations involving a harm of some sort, then an act found to be beneficial, or at least not harmful, should be of no concern to the criminal law.
Severe Asthma in School-Age Children: Evaluation and Phenotypic Advances

Although the majority of children with asthma have a favorable clinical response to treatment with low to moderate doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), a small subset of children have "severe" asthma characterized by ongoing symptoms and airway inflammation despite treatment with high doses of ICS and even oral corticosteroids. Although there is symptom heterogeneity in the affected children, children with severe asthma share the risk for adverse outcomes, including recurrent and potentially life-threatening exacerbations, which contribute to substantial economic burden. This article reviews current knowledge of severe asthma in school-age children (age 6-17 years) with a focus on recent literature published after January 2012. Clinical management approaches for children with severe asthma are discussed as well as current phenotyping efforts and emerging phenotypic-directed therapies that may be of benefit for subpopulations of children with severe asthma in the future.
Oxidation of Zrb2‐Sic

In this paper the oxidation behavior of ZrB2-20 vol% SiC is examined. Samples were exposed in stagnant air in a zirconia furnace (Deltech, Inc.) at temperatures of 1327, 1627, and 1927 C for ten ten-minute cycles. Samples were removed from the furnace after one, five, and ten cycles. Oxidized material was characterized by mass change when possible, x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Oxidation kinetics, oxide scale development, and matrix recession were monitored as a function of time and temperature. Oxidation and recession rates of ZrB2 - 20 vol% SiC were adequately modeled by parabolic kinetics. Oxidation rates of this material are rapid, allowing only very short-term application in air or other high oxygen partial pressure environments.
Bioassessment Methods for Determining the Hazards of Dredged Material Disposal in the Marine Environment

Approximately 325 million m3 of sediment are dredged annually for navigation purposes in the United States. Of this, 46 million m3 are disposed of annually in the ocean (Peddicord, 1987). Decisions regarding the ocean disposal of dredged material result, in large part, from bioassessment-based estimates of contaminant exposure and ecological impacts (U.S. EPA/COE, 1977). Predictions of impacts for an individual dredging project are estimated from laboratory determinations of the magnitude, bioavailability, bioaccumulation, and hazards (toxicity) of dredged material contaminants. Disposal site management of individual and multiple dredging projects requires monitoring for contaminant transport, availability and accumulation in biota, and the hazards to ecologically and commercially important populations. Because of their importance, suites of bioassessment methods representing several levels of biological organization have been proposed for predicting and assessing the hazards resulting from the ocean disposal of dredged material (Gentile and Scott, 1987; Gentile et al, 1988c).
Geographic Constraints on Social Network Groups

Social groups are fundamental building blocks of human societies. While our social interactions have always been constrained by geography, it has been impossible, due to practical difficulties, to evaluate the nature of this restriction on social group structure. We construct a social network of individuals whose most frequent geographical locations are also known. We also classify the individuals into groups according to a community detection algorithm. We study the variation of geographical span for social groups of varying sizes, and explore the relationship between topological positions and geographic positions of their members. We find that small social groups are geographically very tight, but become much more clumped when the group size exceeds about 30 members. Also, we find no correlation between the topological positions and geographic positions of individuals within network communities. These results suggest that spreading processes face distinct structural and spatial constraints.
New local estimation procedure for a non-parametric regression function for longitudinal data

This paper develops a new estimation of nonparametric regression functions for clustered or longitudinal data. We propose to use Cholesky decomposition and profile least squares techniques to estimate the correlation structure and regression function simultaneously. We further prove that the proposed estimator is as asymptotically efficient as if the covariance matrix were known. A Monte Carlo simulation study is conducted to examine the finite sample performance of the proposed procedure, and to compare the proposed procedure with the existing ones. Based on our empirical studies, the newly proposed procedure works better than the naive local linear regression with working independence error structure and the efficiency gain can be achieved in moderate-sized samples. Our numerical comparison also shows that the newly proposed procedure outperforms some existing ones. A real data set application is also provided to illustrate the proposed estimation procedure.
Effects of the Subtalar Sling Ankle Taping Technique on Combined Talocrural-Subtalar Joint Motions:

Background: The findings of research on the effectiveness of ankle taping for protection against ligament injury have been inconsistent, and the topic remains controversial. The precise orientation...
Genome neighborhood network reveals insights into enediyne biosynthesis and facilitates prediction and prioritization for discovery

The enediynes are one of the most fascinating families of bacterial natural products given their unprecedented molecular architecture and extraordinary cytotoxicity. Enediynes are rare with only 11 structurally characterized members and four additional members isolated in their cycloaromatized form. Recent advances in DNA sequencing have resulted in an explosion of microbial genomes. A virtual survey of the GenBank and JGI genome databases revealed 87 enediyne biosynthetic gene clusters from 78 bacteria strains, implying that enediynes are more common than previously thought. Here we report the construction and analysis of an enediyne genome neighborhood network (GNN) as a high-throughput approach to analyze secondary metabolite gene clusters. Analysis of the enediyne GNN facilitated rapid gene cluster annotation, revealed genetic trends in enediyne biosynthetic gene clusters resulting in a simple prediction scheme to determine 9- versus 10-membered enediyne gene clusters, and supported a genomic-based strain prioritization method for enediyne discovery.
Spray‐Dried Structured Lipid Containing Long‐Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids for Use in Infant Formulas

Human milk fat (HMF) analogs are structured lipids (SLs) modified to have palmitic acid content at the sn-2 position of the triacylglycerol (TAG) and fatty acid composition comparable to HMF. Some of these SLs are also designed to incorporate long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) because of their important role in infant development. In this study, Maillard reaction products (MRPs), obtained from heated whey protein isolates and corn syrup solids (CSS) solution, were used as encapsulants for microencapsulation of 2 enzymatically synthesized SLs for infant formula applications. The encapsulated SL powders were obtained through spray-drying and evaluated in terms of their microencapsulation efficiency, chemical and physical properties, oxidative stability, and dispersibility. The microencapsulation efficiency of the SLs was 90%. Dispersibility test using particle size measurement demonstrated that these powders dispersed quickly into a homogeneous suspension. The encapsulated SL powders had low peroxide and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances values. Lower oxidative stability was obtained in the powder containing SL with a higher degree of unsaturation and a lower concentration of tocopherols. The results demonstrated that the degree of fatty acid unsaturation and concentration of endogenous antioxidant in starting oils influenced the oxidative stability of the encapsulated SLs.
A Review of “Hoboes: Bindlestiffs, Fruit Tramps, and the Harvesting of the West”

Mark Wyman, an accomplished historian of immigration and migration, has written a new book focusing on migratory workers and the development of the American West. Looking at how workers arrived to ...
Controversies in the surveillance of patients with well differentiated thyroid cancer.

Purpose of reviewThyroid cancer incidence is rising in the USA, likely due to increased surveillance. Over the past several years, new approaches have developed for the long-term monitoring of differentiated thyroid cancer patients. The most recent developments in this area, as well as interesting d
Individual differences in relative metacomprehension accuracy: variation within and across task manipulations

In recent decades, increasing numbers of studies have focused on metacomprehension accuracy, or readers’ ability to distinguish between texts comprehended more vs. less well. Following early findings that suggested readers are fairly poor at doing so, a number of studies have identified specific tasks to supplement a single reading of text that have resulted in greater metacomprehension accuracy. One assumption underlying these studies is that, in the absence of such tasks, metacomprehension accuracy is uniformly poor, and given their implementation, readers uniformly improve. Here we describe the individual variation that occurs both in the absence (e.g., within a single text reading manipulation) and presence (e.g., within a rereading or selective rereading task manipulation) of these supplementary tasks (N = 214), in order to make a case for greater attention to individual differences in metacomprehension accuracy. We also introduce a new manipulation in metacomprehension research, selective rereading, and argue that certain types of tasks may be more likely to reveal individual differences in metacomprehension accuracy due to the nature of the task being more or less demanding on working memory capacity.
AFLP Comparisons Among Claviceps africana Isolates from the United States, Mexico, Africa, Australia, India, and Japan

Eighty-seven isolates of the sorghum ergot pathogen, Claviceps africana, from diverse geographic locations were analyzed using four different amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) primer combinations to determine genetic relationships among isolates. Most isolates showed unique AFLP haplotypes, indicating that substantial genetic variation is present within C. africana populations. Two major groupings of isolates were observable, with ca. 70% similarity between the two groups. One group consisted of Australian, Indian, and Japanese isolates and the other of U.S., Mexican, and African isolates. In spite of overall high levels of genetic diversity observed in C. africana, isolates within the two major groups were between 75 and 100% similar. The observed associations of C. africana isolates from worldwide sources could be the result of intercontinental trade and/or movement of seed. The data indicate that Africa was the likely source of C. africana that has become established in the Americas since 1996. Analysis of additional isolates in future studies will reveal whether these groupings are being maintained or whether population subdivision or reshuffling may occur.
Use of ultrasonics in laboratory development tests of cupro-nickel alloys for desalination

Abstract Ultrasonic agitation of the salt water bath is suggested as a simple laboratory corrosion test method for evaluating the relative performance of alloys intended for use at moderate or high sea water velocities.