cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Influence of Temperature on Spring Flight Initiation for Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Bark Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae)

Determination of temperature requirements for many economically important insects is a cornerstone of pest management. For bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae), this information can facilitate timing of management strategies. Our goals were to determine temperature predictors for flight initiation of three species of Ips bark beetles, five species of Dendroctonus bark beetles, and two genera of bark beetle predators, Enoclerus spp. (Coleoptera: Cleridae) and Temnochila chlorodia (Mannerheim) (Coleoptera: Ostomidae), in ponderosa pine forests of northcentral Arizona. We quantified beetle flight activity using data loggers and pheromone-baited funnel traps at 18 sites over 4 yr. Ambient air temperature was monitored using temperature data loggers located in close proximity to funnel traps. We analyzed degree-day accumulation and differences between minimum, average, and maximum ambient temperature for the week before and week of first beetle capture to calculate flight temperature thresholds. Degree-day accumulation was not a good predictor for initiation of beetle flight. For all species analyzed other than D. adjunctus Blandford, beetles were captured in traps only when springtime temperatures exceeded 15.0 degrees C. D. adjunctus was collected when maximum temperatures reached only 14.5 degrees C. Once initial flights had begun, beetles were often captured when maximum ambient air temperatures were below initial threshold temperatures. Maximum and average air temperatures were a better predictor for beetle flight initiation than minimum temperature. We establish a temperature range for effective monitoring of bark beetles and their predators, and we discuss the implications of our results under climate change scenarios.
Evaluation of the genes encoding CD39/NTPDase‐1 and CD39L1/NTPDase‐2 in horses with and without abnormal hemorrhage and in horses with pathologic evidence of exercise‐induced pulmonary hemorrhage

Background Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) is a common disorder of equine athletes. The role of polymorphisms in genes encoding hemostasis-regulatory proteins in horses with abnormal hemorrhage is unknown. Objectives The goal of this study was to evaluate the genes encoding 2 ectonucleotidases, CD39/NTPDase-1 and CD39L1/NTPDase-2, and one ecto-5′ nucleotidase, CD73, in horses with abnormal hemorrhage or pathologic changes consistent with EIPH. Methods Twenty-three horses with histories of abnormal hemorrhage, 8 horses with gastrointestinal signs, and 45 healthy horses were evaluated using polymerase chain reaction-based techniques. Formalin-fixed tissues from 21 horses with pathologic changes consistent with EIPH were also evaluated. Results Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in the gene encoding CD39 and one SNP was identified in the gene encoding CD39L1. No SNPs were identified in the gene encoding CD73. CD39 SNPs were identified in 19 of 20 (95%) horses with unexplained hemorrhage and 20 of 21 (95%) horses with pathologic features consistent with EIPH. CD39L1 SNPs were identified in 6 of 20 (30%) horses with unexplained hemorrhage and 8 of 21 (38%) horses with pathologic features consistent with EIPH. CD39 and CD39L1 SNPs were identified in 5 of 8 (62.5%) and one of 8 (12.5%) horses, respectively, presenting with colic or weight loss. CD39 and CD39L1 SNPs were identified in 28 of 45 (62%) and 13 of 45 (28.8%) healthy horses, respectively. Conclusions CD39 and CD39L1 are critically important in maintaining normal hemostasis and limiting inflammation. Further studies are needed to evaluate their role in the pathogenesis of equine EIPH.
Fluid-controlled grain boundary migration and switch in slip systems in a high strain, high temperature contact aureole, California, USA

Abstract Within the highly strained aureole surrounding the Eureka Valley–Joshua Flat–Beer Creek (EJB) composite pluton of eastern California, an inversion in microstructures and crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs) exists with distance from the contact. An inner aureole ( slip in quartz. Within the outer aureole (250 m to 1500 m from the contact), quartzites are interbedded with pelitic schist and are completely recrystallized and microstructures are indicative of extensive GBM. CPOs are indicative of prism [c] slip. Oxygen isotope ratios in the inner aureole are only slightly shifted from their original values. Oxygen isotopes from the outer aureole are shifted more, which is consistent with equilibration with locally derived fluids. We suggest that recrystallization in the outer aureole was aided by pore water, water derived from fluid inclusions, and water generated by prograde reactions in the schists. The pore fluids in the inner aureole were also probably initially water-rich. However, during prograde reactions in the intervening calc-silicate rocks, and perhaps more importantly, between calcite cement and quartz in the quartzites, the pore fluid composition in the inner aureole changed to become dominated by CO2, which acted as a non-wetting phase and decreased the fugacity of water slowing grain boundary mobility. Low water fugacity also suppressed the activity of prism [c] slip. Therefore, we propose that dry conditions or a grain boundary fluid with a significant non-wetting component (CO2) can result in apparent temperatures of deformation that are more than 100 °C lower than the real temperatures of deformation.
Linear anisothermal theory for a viscoelastic laminated composite

A homogeneous continuum model is presented to describe the dynamic behavior of a laminated medium, including the effects of temperature variations. On the basis of assumed two-term expansions of the displacements and the temperature increments across the thicknesses of the layers, the state of deformation and the temperature distribution in the composite are described by six fields, i. e., gross displacements, local deformations, gross temperatures and local temperature variations. Balance equations are derived for the stress resultants and the first moments of the stresses across the thicknesses of the layers, as well as for resultant heat fluxes and their moments. A set of constitutive equations is presented for a laminated medium composed of layers of two anisotropic thermoviscoelastic solids. The special cases of isotropic thermoviscoelastic layers, anisotropic thermoelastic layers, and isotropic thermoelastic layers are discussed briefly.
Science, geography, and nation: the global creation of Thumba

AbstractThe origins of the Indian space program are typically traced back to the founding of a rocket launch base in Thumba in the state of Kerala in India in the 1960s. In creating infrastructure at Thumba, Indian scientific elites used geography as an instrument to create a vast international network of scientific and political actors committed to the science that was possible within India, particularly cosmic ray studies. They were drawing on a long tradition of linking geography to science redolent of the colonial era but were inspired by their newly constituted political imaginary of independent India as a place where science, geography, and nation were perfectly mapped on to each other. NASA’s help was crucial in this regard, enabled as a tool in Cold War high politics, as American technocrats sought to steer India towards the West, while India itself was keenly aware of a more proximate phenomenon, Pakistan’s own burgeoning efforts to do the same. Concerned about domestic opprobrium to large Indian...
The Post-Industrial Revolution and the Transforming Economies

Markets were an incredible innovation. So robust and efficient, they were also versatile, adapting to new trade routes on land and over water, and accommodating new currencies and other mediums of exchange. But the essential role of the marketplace, as a location to exchange goods and services for a common currency, has remained unchanged, up to the Renaissance.
Experimental Studies Long-term Behavior of FRP Retrofitted RC Columns with Earthquake Loading Damage

Despite the significant importance,long-term seismic behavior of reinforced concrete(RC) columns retrofitted with fiber-reinforced plastic(FRP) has received little attention.In this paper,the residual performance of FRP retrofitted columns damaged after simulated seismic loading is studied.Eight model columns with a shear aspect ratio of 5.0 were tested first under cyclic lateral force and a constant load equal to 20% of the column gross axial load capacity.The main parameters considered were the type of FRP jacket and peak drift ratio where the lateral loading was interrupted.Glass-fiber-reinforced plastic(GFRP) and Carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic(CFRP) were both used for retrofitting.Five of the model columns were subjected to long-term axial loading after subjected to limited damage by lateral cyclic loading.The deformation of retrofitted columns under long-term axial loading depended on the previous damage intensity and the modulus of FRP.Under the testing condition of this study,the long-term axial deformation of retrofitted column tends to be stable,despite subjected simulated earthquake damage.
Oblique rifting and the Late Eocene–Oligocene demise of Laurasia with inception of Molloy Ridge: Deformation of Forlandsundet Basin, Svalbard

Abstract Final breakup of the Laurasian supercontinent occurred within a residual continental bridge that spanned Svalbard, Greenland and Arctic Canada from Late Cretaceous to Oligocene time, but the timing and precise kinematics of that breakup have remained obscure. Dextral oblique motion between Svalbard and northeastern Greenland initially generated the West Spitsbergen Fold-Thrust Belt (a transpressional orogen) but evolved into oblique rifting until the ultimate demise of the continental bridge with the Early Miocene formation of the Molloy Ridge. The Forlandsundet basin stands as a critical entity within the Svalbard continental margin whose fill captured the progressive transition between oblique convergence and divergence. The basin originated as a Late Eocene piggyback basin within the fold-thrust belt during deposition of the oldest unit, the marine fluvio-deltaic Sarsbukta conglomerate. Structural mapping highlights early deformation of the Sarsbukta strata expressed as (1) fractured cobbles in which fractures formed by consistent NNW–SSE stretching were injected with sandy matrix (when poorly lithified), (2) stylolites recording WSW–ENE shortening, and (3) conjugate dextral- and sinistral-normal mesoscale faults that indicate WSW–ENE shortening (P axes) and NNW–SSE extension (T axes). Between 38 and 31 Ma, this episode of orogen–normal shortening with orogen–parallel extension evolved progressively into oblique divergence (NW–SE extension) recorded in the Sarsbukta strata as basin-wide strike-slip/normal faults, transtensional folds, and sub-horizontal stylolite surfaces (subvertical P axes). Thus NW–SE extension, consistent with present spreading on the Molloy Ridge, was established at least 9 m.y. before the first emergence of recognized oceanic lithosphere. Deformation occurred at upper-crustal temperatures of ≤ 104 °C based on new vitrinite reflectance data. Transtension resulted in intrabasinal exposures of the Caledonide metamorphic basement during deposition of the second unit, the ≥ 31 Ma marine fan-deltaic Sarstangen conglomerate, in the Forlandsundet graben sensu stricto. Such oblique stretching severed the continental bridge heralding ultimate oceanic spreading at the Molloy Ridge.
Pottery Use Alteration

The previous chapter defined ethnoarchaeology and experimental archaeology and discussed their relationship to archaeological inference. This chapter outlines the role of pottery use-alteration studies in archaeology, focusing on how they can be employed to determine technofunction. Research of pottery technofunction focuses on two different components of pottery utilization: intended and actual use. Recent work in each area is reviewed, and it is argued that research that reconstructs how pottery was actually used, principally through use-alteration analysis, provides the best information for reconstructing past activity. The final section of the chapter outlines a framework for pottery use alteration. Drawing on lithic use-wear research, this framework incorporates all forms of ceramic alteration (use- and nonuse-related) from pottery manufacture through archaeological recovery.
Ab initio calculation of As-vacancy deactivation and interstitial-mediated As diffusion in strained Si

We investigate As-vacancy deactivation and interstitial-mediated As diffusion in strained Si by using density functional theory calculation. First, we find that biaxial tensile strain will not have a significant effect on the binding energies of As-vacancies. Second, tensile strain increases the stability of the diffusing As-Sii pairs. Our results could be one of the reasons that explain why As activation/deactivation and interstitial-mediated As TED has a weak dependence on biaxial tensile strain experimentally.
Sex Chromosomes, Sex Chromosome Disorders, and Disorders of Sex Development

It can be argued that the sex chromosomes are the most important pair of chromosomes given their role in determining gender and, therefore, allowing for reproduction and procreation. Considered together, sex chromosome aneuploidies are the most common chromosome abnormalities seen in live-born infants, children, and adults. Physicians in many specialties including pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, endocrinology, internal medicine, and surgery commonly encounter individuals with sex chromosome disorders. There has been a great deal of misinformation in the past regarding outcomes and developmental profiles of these patients, leading to bias and discrimination. This chapter attempts to provide a summary of information regarding the sex chromosomes, sex chromosome disorders, and disorders of sex development.
Alien vs. predator: bacterial challenge alters coral microbiomes unless controlled by Halobacteriovorax predators

Coral microbiomes are known to play important roles in organismal health, response to environmental stress, and resistance to disease. The coral microbiome contains diverse assemblages of resident bacteria, ranging from defensive and metabolic symbionts to opportunistic bacteria that may turn harmful in compromised hosts. However, little is known about how these bacterial interactions influence the mechanism and controls of overall structure, stability, and function of the microbiome. We sought to test how coral microbiome dynamics were affected by interactions between two bacteria: Vibrio coralliilyticus, a known temperature-dependent pathogen of some corals, and Halobacteriovorax, a unique bacterial predator of Vibrio and other gram-negative bacteria. We challenged reef-building coral with V. coralliilyticus in the presence or absence of Halobacteriovorax predators, and monitored microbial community dynamics with 16S rRNA gene profiling time-series. Vibrio coralliilyticus inoculation increased the mean relative abundance of Vibrios by greater than 35% from the 4 to 8 hour time point, but not in the 24 & 32 hour time points. However, strong secondary effects of the Vibrio challenge were also observed for the rest of the microbiome such as increased richness (observed species), and reduced stability (increased beta-diversity). Moreover, after the transient increase in Vibrios, two lineages of bacteria (Rhodobacterales and Cytophagales) increased in coral tissues, suggesting that V. coralliilyticus challenge opens niche space for these known opportunists. Rhodobacterales increased from 6.99% (±0.05 SEM) to a maximum mean relative abundance of 48.75% (±0.14 SEM) in the final time point and Cytophagales from <0.001% to 3.656%. Halobacteriovorax predators are commonly present at low-abundance on coral surfaces. Based on the keystone role of predators in many ecosystems, we hypothesized that Halobacteriovorax predators might help protect corals by consuming foreign or "alien" gram negative bacteria. Halobacteriovorax inoculation also altered the microbiome but to a lesser degree than V. coralliilyticus, and Halobacteriovorax were never detected after inoculation. Simultaneous challenge with both V. coralliilyticus and predatory Halobacteriovorax eliminated the increase in V. coralliilyticus, ameliorated changes to the rest of the coral microbiome, and prevented the secondary blooms of opportunistic Rhodobacterales and Cytophagales seen in the V. coralliilyticus challenge. These data suggest that, under certain circumstances, host-associated bacterial predators may mitigate the ability of other bacteria to destabilize the microbiome.
Managing Self-Discovery: Diagnostic Monitoring of a Portfolio of Projects and Programs

Abstract The chapter discusses a new open economy industrial policy, a set of procedures institutionalizing disciplined experimental search for capacity-enhancing connections to the global economy. The key discipline is diagnostic (problem solving) monitoring of a relevant project portfolio. We introduce the notion of a “Schumpeterian development agency”—with the capability and motivation to experiment, make mistakes, and correct them—and give recommendations on how to graft embryos of a Schumpeterian development agency and diagnostic monitoring procedure into smart specialization practice and methodology.
Experimental and numerical study of permeability reduction caused by asphaltene precipitation and deposition during CO2 huff and puff injection in Eagle Ford shale

Abstract The permeability reduction associated with asphaltene precipitation and deposition in gas injection EOR processes has been widely observed and well-studied in conventional plays. In our previous research, such permeability reduction due to asphaltene deposition during gas huff and puff injection process in shale core plugs were observed. In this study, experiments were conducted to investigate the permeability reduction caused by asphaltene deposition in shale core samples during the CO 2 huff and puff injection process. A dead oil sample from a Wolfcamp shale reservoir was used. A core scale simulation model was built up to mimic the huff and puff injection process in the experiment and the parameters for the asphaltene deposition in shale were obtained by matching the experimental oil recovery and permeability reduction data. The asphaltene precipitation and deposition process during the CO2 huff and puff injection experiment are discussed in details based on the simulation results. Experimental results showed that severe permeability damage was caused by asphaltene during CO2 huff and puff injection (e.g., 48.5%), especially in the first cycle (e.g., 26.8%). Analysis of the experiments using simulation approach show that oil recovery factor reduction starts right after the beginning of CO2 huff and puff injection and the effect of asphaltene deposition on oil recovery factor accumulated during the later cycles. The asphaltene deposition was mainly formed in the near surface area of the core plug. As the CO2 concentration is quickly increased in the first cycle and more oil is near the rock surface in the first cycle, asphaltene precipitation and deposition were most significant during the huff period in the first cycle compared with the subsequent cycles. In the puff period of the first cycle, asphaltene precipitation is quickly decreased, as CO2 flow back. In addition, although oil in the inner blocks continuously flows to the outer blocks during the puff period, due to the extremely low permeability of the core plug, the amount of oil is small and this oil has already experienced the asphaltene precipitation process during the previous huff period, very small amount of increase in the asphaltene deposition occurs during the subsequent puff periods.
Short communication: A comparison of biofilm development on stainless steel and modified-surface plate heat exchangers during a 17-h milk pasteurization run.

ABSTRACT Flow of milk through the plate heat exchanger (PHE) results in denaturation of proteins, resulting in fouling. This also accelerates bacterial adhesion on the PHE surface, eventually leading to the development of biofilms. During prolonged processing, these biofilms result in shedding of bacteria and cross-contaminate the milk being processed, thereby limiting the duration of production runs. Altering the surface properties of PHE, such as surface energy and hydrophobicity, could be an effective approach to reduce biofouling. This study was conducted to compare the extent of biofouling on native stainless steel (SS) and modified-surface [Ni-P-polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)] PHE during the pasteurization of raw milk for an uninterrupted processing run of 17 h. For microbial studies, raw and pasteurized milk samples were aseptically collected from inlets and outlets of both PHE at various time intervals to examine shedding of bacteria in the milk. At the end of the run, 3M quick swabs (3M, St. Paul, MN) and ATP swabs (Charm Sciences Inc., Lawrence, MA) were used to sample plates from different sections of the pasteurizers (regeneration, heating, and cooling) for biofilm screening and to estimate the efficiency of cleaning in place, respectively. The data were tested for ANOVA, and means were compared. Modified PHE experienced lower mesophilic and thermophilic bacterial attachment and biofilm formation (average log 1.0 and 0.99 cfu/cm 2 , respectively) in the regenerative section of the pasteurizer compared with SS PHE (average log 1.49 and 1.47, respectively). Similarly, higher relative light units were observed for SS PHE compared with the modified PHE, illustrating the presence of more organic matter on the surface of SS PHE at the end of the run. In addition, at h 17, milk collected from the outlet of SS PHE showed plate counts of 5.44 cfu/cm 2 , which were significantly higher than those for pasteurized milk collected from modified PHE (4.12 log cfu/cm 2 ). This provided further evidence in favor of the modified PHE achieving better microbial quality of pasteurized milk in long process runs. Moreover, because cleaning SS PHE involves an acid treatment step, whereas an alkali treatment step is sufficient for the modified-surface PHE, use of the latter is both cost and time effective, making it a better surface for thermal processing of milk and other fluid dairy products.
3β-Methyl-Neurosteroid Analogs Are Preferential Positive Allosteric Modulators and Direct Activators of Extrasynaptic δ-Subunit γ-Aminobutyric Acid Type A Receptors in the Hippocampus Dentate Gyrus Subfield

Neurosteroids are powerful modulators of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-A receptors. Ganaxolone (3α-hydroxy-3β-methyl-5α-pregnan-20-one, GX) and synthetic analogs of the neurosteroid allopregnanolone (AP) are designed to treat epilepsy and related conditions. However, their precise mechanism of action in native neurons remains unclear. Here, we sought to determine the mode of action of GX and its analogs at GABA-A receptors in native hippocampal neurons by analyzing extrasynaptic receptor-mediated tonic currents and synaptic receptor-mediated phasic currents. Concentration-response profiles of GX were determined in two cell types: δ-containing dentate gyrus granule cells (DGGCs) and γ2-containing CA1 pyramidal cells (CA1PCs). GX produced significantly greater potentiation of the GABA-A receptor-activated chloride currents in DGGCs (500%) than CA1PCs (200%). In the absence of GABA, GX evoked 2-fold greater inward currents in DGGCs than CA1PCs, which were 2-fold greater than AP within DGGCs. In hippocampus slices, GX potentiated and directly activated tonic currents in DGGCs. These responses were significantly diminished in DGGCs from δ-subunit knockout (δKO) mice, confirming GX’s selectivity for δGABA-A receptors. Like AP, GX potentiation of tonic currents was prevented by protein kinase C inhibition. Furthermore, GX’s protection against hippocampus-kindled seizures was significantly diminished in δKO mice. GX analogs exhibited greater potency and efficacy than GX on δGABA-A receptor-mediated tonic inhibition. In summary, these results provide strong evidence that GX and its analogs are preferential allosteric modulators and direct activators of extrasynaptic δGABA-A receptors regulating network inhibition and seizures in the dentate gyrus. Therefore, these findings provide a mechanistic rationale for the clinical use of synthetic neurosteroids in epilepsy and seizure disorders.
The role of mirtazapine in patients with fibromyalgia: a systematic review.

Mirtazapine is commonly used to treat major depressive disorder. Due to its effects on multiple neurotransmitters, it has been investigated for possible benefits in patients with fibromyalgia. The objective of this systematic review is to assess the efficacy and safety of mirtazapine in the treatment of patients with fibromyalgia. Pubmed (1946-May 2018), Embase (1947-May 2018), CENTRAL, and ClinicalTrials.gov were queried using the search term combination: fibromyalgia, pain, chronic pain, neuralgia, neuropathic pain, chronic widespread pain, or chronic pain syndrome and mirtazapine. Studies appropriate to the objective were evaluated, including three randomized, placebo-controlled trials and one open-label trial, investigating the effect of mirtazapine in patients with fibromyalgia. In patients with fibromyalgia, treatment with mirtazapine resulted in improvements in pain, sleep, and quality of life. Study durations ranged from 6 to 13 weeks and studies used varying dosing strategies for mirtazapine. Minor occurrences of somnolence, weight gain, nasopharyngitis, dry mouth, and increased appetite were reported with mirtazapine use. Based on the reviewed literature, mirtazapine appears to be a promising therapy to improve pain, sleep, and quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia. These benefits were demonstrated in patients that were treatment naive and those that had failed previous therapies. Additional clinical evidence through larger and longer length trials would be of benefit to further define the role of mirtazapine for patients with fibromyalgia.
Does Accounting Conservatism Make Good News Forecasts More Credible and Bad News Forecasts Less Alarming

I investigate whether conservatism in financial statements helps investors to interpret the information revealed through voluntary disclosure, specifically earnings guidance. Research shows that in...
Jaspers’ Achsenzeit Hypothesis: A Critical Reappraisal

Jaspers idea of a grand shift in the spiritual paradigm of unrelated civilizations, located rather generously somewhere around the middle of the first millennium BC, inspired only few historians, but a closer reading reveals that Jaspers was always more concerned with what we can learn for the situation of our own time from what is generally true about our perception of antiquity. Jaspers made this argument twice, namely, in 1931 and again in 1949. The post-modern situation, globalization, and the question of how we understand human existence under these conditions are still of obvious relevance. This essay also brings Jaspers’ idea of an axial age to bear on an ongoing study of the millennial history of Jerusalem.
A Theoretical Process Model for Smartphones

Smartphones are increasing in popularity due to functionality, portability, convenience and affordability. Because of this, examiners must acquire and analyze these devices when criminal activity is suspected to have occurred. In order to obtain this information, it has to be extracted in a way that is repeatable and testable. There are several process models available for guidance, but the ad-hoc approach is a popular alternative. The dilemma is that ad-hoc approaches and the forensic investigative process models available are not well suited for the examination of such devices. These approaches may cause the validity of investigator skill and methods to fall under scrutiny. To address this, there is a need for an investigative framework tailored to the unique qualities of smartphones. A group of forensic researchers, examiners, and students were surveyed in order to gauge whether this audience feels that this type of process model is needed and the results are presented.
Parental education, gender preferences and child nutritional status in Peru

ABSTRACTThis paper examines whether the distribution of bargaining power between parents affects nutritional indicators in the early stages of a child’s life, giving evidence that the allocation of...
170 ROZIGLITAZONE ATTENUATES CHRONIC HYPOXIA-INDUCED PULMONARY HYPERTENTION.

Chronic hypoxia (CH) causes pulmonary hypertension through complex mechanisms that continue to be defined. In human subjects, pulmonary hypertension was associated with reduced PPARγ expression. Because PPARγ activation stimulates vascular endothelial nitric oxide (NO) production and reduces superoxide production, we hypothesized that CH causes pulmonary hypertension by reducing PPARγ and NO bioavailability and increasing oxidative stress, thereby contributing to pulmonary vascular dysfunction. To test this hypothesis, male C57BL/6 mice (age 8-10 weeks) were exposed to CH (FiO2 10%) or room air for 3 weeks. During the last 10 days of exposure, each animal was treated with either the PPARγ ligand, roziglitazone (10 mg/kg/d) or with equal volume of vehicle (100 μL 0.5% methylcellulose) by gavage daily. At the end of the treatment period, measurements of right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) were obtained. After sacrifice, hearts were dissected for calculation of right ventricle (RV) to left ventricle (LV) + septum (S) weight ratio as an index of right ventricular hypertrophy. Serum was collected for measurement of nitrosyl-hemoglobin (NO-Hgb), an index of NO bioavailability, using electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR). Exposure to CH for 3 weeks reduced lung PPARγ expression and caused pulmonary hypertension as indicated by elevation of RVSP and RV:LV+S ratio. Treatment with roziglitazone during the final 10 days of CH exposure attenuated CH-induced pulmonary hypertension as well as CH-induced reductions in serum levels of NO-Hgb. These preliminary data suggest that PPARγ represents a novel and potentially effective therapeutic target in pulmonary hypertension that modulates nitroso-redox balance in the vasculature. This abstract is funded by grants from the NIH and VA Research Service.
Demonstrating the impact of POLST forms on hospital care requires information not contained in state registries.

Background Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) programs have expanded rapidly, but evaluating their impact on hospital care is challenging. Objectives To demonstrate how careful study design can reveal POLST’s impact at hospital admission and why analyses of state registry data are unlikely to capture POLST’s effects. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting and participants Adult in-patients with Do Not Intubate and/or Do Not Resuscitate (DNR/I) orders in the electronic medical record at the time of discharge from Johns Hopkins Hospital over 18 months. For patients with unplanned readmissions within 30 days, records were reviewed to determine if a Maryland Medical Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) form was presented and for the time from readmission to a DNR/I order in the EMR. Analyses were stratified by whether patients could communicate or were accompanied by a proxy at readmission. Results Among 1,507 patients with DNR/I orders at discharge, 124 (8%) had unplanned readmissions, 112 (90%) could communicate or were accompanied by a proxy at readmission, and 12 (10%) could not communicate and were unaccompanied. For patients who were unaccompanied and could not communicate, MOLST significantly decreased the median time from readmission to DNR/I order (1.2 vs 27.1 hours, P = .001), but this association was greatly attenuated among patients who could communicate or were accompanied by a proxy (16.4 vs 25.4 hours P = .10). Conclusion Among patients who wanted to avoid intubation and/or CPR, MOLST forms were protective when the patient was unaccompanied by a healthcare proxy at admission and could not communicate. Fewer than 10% of patients met these criteria during unplanned readmissions, and state registry data does not allow this sub-population to be identified.
Propagation of I0-Bessel correlated beams carrying orbital angular momentum in weak atmospheric turbulence

The scintillation index of the I0-Bessel-correlated beams generated as temporally incoherent superposition of Laguerre-Gaussian modes with different coherence states and different values of the Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) index on propagation in atmospheric turbulence is reported. The scintillation index is shown to decrease with the increase in the OAM index.
Associations between health-related family environment and objective child sleep quality.

AIM This study aimed to assess the relationship between the family environment and behaviours with objective child sleep quality. METHODS Twenty-four children (aged 2-5 years) and their parents participated. Child sleep was assessed by accelerometer. Health of the family environment was quantified using the Family Nutrition and Physical Activity Screening Tool (FNPA). Exact Wilcoxon rank sum tests and linear regression were used to determine associations between FNPA scores and child sleep. RESULTS Healthier Total FNPA, Physical Activity FNPA, and Sleep Routine scores were associated with earlier bedtime. Healthier Sleep Routine score was associated with more total minutes of sleep per night. Healthier screen time-related FNPA construct scores were associated with earlier bedtime. CONCLUSIONS A composite score of family environment and behaviours, including physical activity- and nutrition-related constructs, was related to child sleep quality. Focus should be placed on the obesogenic family environment and healthy sleep routines to promote overall health among pre-school-aged populations.
Open Standards and the Digital Age: History, Ideology, and Networks

How did openness become a foundational value for the networks of the twenty-first century? Open Standards and the Digital Age answers this question through an interdisciplinary history of information networks that pays close attention to the politics of standardization. For much of the twentieth century, information networks such as the monopoly Bell System and the American military's Arpanet were closed systems subject to centralized control. In the 1970s and 1980s, however, engineers in the United States and Europe experimented with design strategies to create new digital networks. In the process, they embraced discourses of "openness" to describe their ideological commitments to entrepreneurship, technological innovation, and participatory democracy. The rhetoric of openness has flourished - for example, in movements for open government, open source software, and open access publishing - but such rhetoric also obscures the ways the Internet and other "open" systems still depend heavily on hierarchical forms of control.
Quantum controllers for quantum systems

This paper discusses fully coherent quantum feedback control, in which the sensors, controller, and actuators are quantum systems and interact coherently with the system to be controlled: as a result, the entire feedback loop is coherent. Unlike conventional semiclassical feedback control of quantum systems, feedback control by quantum controllers is not stochastic, preserves the initial state of the controlled system, and can control quantum systems in ways that are not possible using conventional, incoherent feedback control. In particular, the target state to which the quantum controller drives the system can be entangled with another quantum system. This paper investigates quantum controllers and states necessary and sufficient conditions for a Hamiltonian quantum system to be observable and controllable by a quantum controller.
A Review of “Islam and Christianity in the Horn of Africa: Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan”

Although the region is often portrayed in today's media solely as a site of conflict, Erlich's new book gives the recent history of the Horn of Africa important new analysis. Erlich shows how dicho...
Neurogenesis in colorectal cancer is a marker of aggressive tumor behavior and poor outcomes

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer staging criteria do not rely on examination of neuronal tissue. The authors previously demonstrated that perineural invasion is an independent prognostic factor of outcomes in colorectal cancer. For the current study, they hypothesized that neurogenesis occurs in colorectal cancer and portends an aggressive tumor phenotype. METHODS: In total, samples from 236 patients with colorectal cancer were used to create a tissue array and database. Tissue array slides were immunostained for protein gene product 9.5 (PGP9.5) to identify nerve tissue. The correlation between markers of neurogenesis and oncologic outcomes was determined. The effect of colorectal cancer cells on stimulating neurogenesis in vitro was evaluated using a dorsal root ganglia coculture model. RESULTS: Patients whose tumors exhibited high degrees of neurogenesis had 50% reductions in 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival compared with patients whose tumors contained no detectable neurogenesis (P = .002 and P = .006, respectively). Patients with stage II disease and high degrees of neurogenesis had greater reductions in 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival compared with lymph node-negative patients with no neurogenesis (P = .002 and P = .008, respectively). Patients with stage II disease and high degrees of neurogenesis had lower 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival compared with patients who had stage III disease with no neurogenesis (P = .01 and P = .008, respectively). Colorectal cancer cells stimulated neurogenesis and exhibited evidence of neuroepithelial interactions between nerves and tumor cells in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: Neurogenesis in colorectal cancer appeared to play a critical role in colorectal cancer progression. Furthermore, the current results indicated that neurogenesis functions as an independent predictor of outcomes and may play a role in therapy stratification for patients with lymph node-negative disease. Cancer 2011;. © 2011 American Cancer Society.
A novel fibrocartilaginous tendon from an elasmobranch fish ( Rhinoptera bonasus).

Tendons of the jaw adductor muscles of a hard prey crushing stingray exhibit similar adaptations to compressive and shear loads as those seen in mammalian tendons. Ventral intermandibular tendon from the cownose ray, Rhinoptera bonasus, has a prominent fibrocartilaginous pad that lies between a fibrous region of the tendon and the mineralized tissue of the jaw. Histologically the pad is similar to the fibrocartilaginous meniscus of mammals, and these tissues also share some biochemical traits. Proteoglycan (PG) content in the fibrocartilaginous pad is nearly four times higher than in the linearly arrayed tendinous tissue. The predominant PGs appear to be an aggrecan-like molecule and a decorin-like molecule. The decorin-like molecule is quite small when compared to mammalian decorin (20–80 kDa vs. 100–200 kDa). This study is the first to document adaptations to compressive/shear loading in tendon from a cartilaginous fish, and the similarities to the mammalian condition argue for the early evolution of this reactive ability of tendinous tissue.
Iodination-deiodination. A radiochemical method for detection of structure and changes in structure in RNA.

Abstract Bound iodine is released from radioiodinated nucleotides in polymers exposed to sodium bisulfite. The rate of bisulfite-catalyzed deiodination of pyrimidines can be controlled both by change of temperature or pH and is also dependent on the molecular association of the nucleotide. The rate of release of iodine from iodocytidine in polycytidylate is greater than the rate of elimination from RNA. Experiments testing the influence of base-pairing of the iodopyrimidines in synthetic polynucleotides showed that pairing of the substituted nucleotide protected the iodine bond. The rates of bisulfite-catalyzed deiodination of several radioiodinated RNAs were measured. The action of bisulfite on all single stranded RNAs tested was multiphasic consisting of a rapid early deiodination reaction supplanted by a slower phase which was followed by reacceleration of release. The release of iodine from double stranded RNA and DNA-RNA duplexes was retarded in comparison with the release from ribosomal and messenger RNA fractions. The deiodination profiles of single and double stranded RNA suggested that the intermediate stage iodine release is governed by melting of paired zones of low stability. Late release may result from destabilization of the molecule through the addition of bisulfite to the pyrimidine ring or deamination. The effect of several substances expected to complex with polynucleotides was tested. Acridine orange and ethidium bromide increased loss of iodine from ribosomal RNA but slightly decreased elimination from double stranded viral RNA. A basic protein fraction isolated from ribosomal particles accelerated the deiodination of ribosomal RNA. While the destabilization caused by this protein fraction was greater than that caused by an equal amount of albumin, as tested the effect was non-specific. The results show that a change in sensitivity to chemical deiodination may follow the interaction of small amounts of protein with polynucleotides.
Glatiramer Acetate Treatment Regulates CD44, Receptor For Osteopontin In EAE Mice (P1.214)

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) starts with increased migration of autoreactive lymphocytes across the blood-brain barrier. Transfer of glatiramer acetate (GA) conditioned B cells leads to increased production of immunoregulatory cytokines/chemokines and reduced CNS inflammation in EAE disease (Begum-Haque, 2011). There is evidence that CD44+ cell and its ligand osteopontin (OPN) can play a critical role in the regulation of MS/EAE. The deletion of CD44+ cells was shown to mediate a Th2-biased immune response in MS/EAE. Recently, others and we have linked OPN expression by DCs to the production of IL-17 and have demonstrated that Th1-Th2-Th17 cytokines balance affects the MS disease progress or recovery (Steinman, L. 2007; Begum-Haque, 2011). Objective: To investigate OPN and its’ receptor expression in cell from GA treated EAE mice. Methods and Results: Tissues from immune organs were collected from GA treated and untreated EAE 2D2TCRTg mice. OPN expression and the proinflammatory/Anti inflammatory cytokines/chemokines were determined by RT-PCR in lymphocytes and DCs following in vitro MOG stimulation. GA suppresses OPN expression in DCs and B cells, coincident with the down-regulation of RORγt and IFNγ expression. In transmigration assays, stained CD19+CD44+ cells were added to the top compartment and brain cells with rOPN added to the bottom. Migrated cells were counted by FACS. The migration of cells from GA treated mice was significantly reduced compared with cells from untreated EAE mice. Conclusions/Relevance: Our studies indicate that CD44 and its ligand OPN plays a crucial role in the regulation of neuroinflammation during EAE/MS. GA treatment downregulate OPN expression and CD44+ cell in EAE mice with an associated decrease in IL-17 expression and a concomitant rise in the regulatory cytokines IL-10 and IL-13 expression within the CNS. These findings further support the potential therapeutic effect of GA in controlling CNS demyelination. Further mechanistic evidence is needed for the effect of GA on the role of CD44 in ensuing pathogenesis. Supported by Teva Neuroscience Disclosure: Dr. Begum-Haque has received research support from Teva Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Christy has nothing to disclose. Dr. Telesford has nothing to disclose. Dr. Wang has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kasper has nothing to disclose. Dr. Haque has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kasper has received personal compensation for activities with Teva Neuroscience, EMD Serono, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corp., Genentech Inc., and Mederex as a consultant and scientific advisory board member. Dr. Kasper has received research support from Teva Neuroscience, EMD Serono, and Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corp.
Sex, Class and Social Work

Abstract Key concepts in social welfare and clinical social work - concepts such as person-in-environment, women's rights, prevention and outreach-had as precedents the pioneering theory and practice of Europe's free psychoanalytic clinics of the 1920s. Sex-Pol, a Viennese community-based clinical network created in 1927 by Wilhelm Reich, perhaps the most overtly political of the first psychoanalysts, was motivated by reformist social goals he shared with Sigmund Freud. This historical study of Sex-Pol draws on Reich's own words to explore his use of the term “social work” where clinical work is predicated on an activist ideology of human liberation.
Glaucoma Blindness at a Tertiary Eye Care Center.

Background Glaucoma is an important cause of irreversible blindness. This study describes the characteristics of a large, diverse group of glaucoma patients and evaluates associations between demographic and clinical characteristics and blindness. Methods Data were gathered via retrospective chart review of patients (N = 1,454) who were seen between July 2007 and July 2010 by glaucoma service providers at Duke Eye Center. Visual acuity and visual field criteria were used to determine whether patients met the criteria for legal blindness. Descriptive and comparative statistical analyses were performed on the glaucoma patients who were not blind (n = 1,258) and those who were blind (n = 196). A subgroup analysis of only those patients with primary open-angle glaucoma was also performed. Results In this tertiary care population, 13% (n = 196) of glaucoma patients met criteria for legal blindness, nearly one-half of whom (n = 94) were blind from glaucoma, and another one-third of whom (n = 69) had glaucoma-related blindness. The most common glaucoma diagnosis at all levels of vision was primary open-angle glaucoma. A larger proportion of black patients compared with white patients demonstrated vision loss; the odds ratio (OR) for blindness was 2.25 (95% CI, 1.6-3.2) for black patients compared with white patients. The use of systemic antihypertensive medications was higher among patients who were blind compared with patients who were not blind (OR = 2.1; 95% CI, 1.4-3.1). A subgroup analysis including only patients with primary open-angle glaucoma showed similar results for both black race and use of systemic antihypertensive medications. The relationship between use of systemic antihypertensive medications and blindness was not different between black patients and white patients (interaction P = .268). Limitations Data were based on chart review, and associations may be confounded by unmeasured factors. Conclusions Treated systemic hypertension may be correlated with blindness, and the cause cannot be explained solely by race. In addition, this study demonstrated that there is continued disparity between black patients and white patients with regards to blindness from glaucoma.