cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Circulatory and metabolic effects of beta-adrenergic blockade in the hyperinsulinemic ovine fetus

Offspring of women with poorly controlled diabetes exhibit hypoxemia, elevated catecholamine concentration at birth, and an increased incidence of fetal death. Experimental fetal hyperinsulinemia results in increased catecholamine concentration and hemodynamic changes including increased combined ventricular output and vasodilation of select fetal organs. We hypothesized that insulin-induced catecholamine-mediated beta-adrenergic stimulation supports some of these hemodynamic changes in the hyperinsulinemic ovine fetus. To study this, 24 chronically instrumented fetal sheep receiving insulin for 24 h were exposed to beta-(propranolol),beta 1-(metoprolol), and beta 2-(ICI 118,551) adrenergic blockade. Insulin infusion resulted in hyperinsulinemic-hypoglycemia, a surge in epinephrine and norepinephrine concentration, and increases in the combined ventricular output and regional blood flow to the heart, adrenal glands, kidney, gastrointestinal tract, liver, fat, muscle, carcass, and placenta. In the hyperinsulinemic state, beta-adrenergic blockade was associated with significant reductions in the combined ventricular output and blood flow to fat, carcass, lungs, and the placenta; beta 1-blockade was associated with reductions in the combined ventricular output and blood flow to the lungs; and beta 2-adrenergic blockade was associated with reductions in blood flow to muscle and lungs. Because beta-adrenergic blockade was associated with reductions in placental blood flow during hyperinsulinemia, oxygen and glucose metabolism were also compromised. We conclude that in the hyperinsulinemic-hypoglycemic normoxemic ovine fetus, insulin-induced catecholamine-mediated hemodynamic changes are modulated in part by beta-adrenergic receptor stimulation.
The Importance of Interpolation in Computerized Growth Charting

Computer growth charting is increasingly available for clinical and research applications. The LMS method is used to define the growth curves on the charts most commonly used in practice today. The data points for any given chart are at discrete points, and computer programs may simply round to the closest LMS data point when calculating growth centiles. We sought to determine whether applying an interpolation algorithm to the LMS data for commonly used growth charts may reduce the inherent errors which occur with rounding to the nearest data point. We developed a simple, easily implemented interpolation algorithm to use with LMS data. Using published growth charts, we compared predicted growth centiles using our interpolation algorithm versus a standard rounding approach. Using a test scenario of a patient at the 50th centile in weight, compared to using our interpolation algorithm, the method of simply rounding to the nearest data point resulted in maximal z-score errors in weight of the following: 2.02 standard deviations for the World Health Organization 0-to-23 month growth chart, 1.07 standard deviations for the Fenton preterm growth chart, 0.71 standard deviations for the Olsen preterm growth chart, and 0.11 standard deviations for the CDC 2-to-18 year growth chart. Failure to include an interpolation algorithm when designing computerizing growth charts can lead to large errors in centile and z-score calculations.
Bioinstrumentation: A Project-Based Engineering Course

This paper presents the development, implementation, and assessment of a project-based Bioinstrumentation course. All course lectures and hands-on laboratory activities are related to a central project theme: a cardiac pacemaker. The students create a benchtop cardiac pacemaker by applying instrumentation knowledge acquired in the course to each stage of device development. This approach emphasizes both conceptual and practical student learning: The students must apply theory learned in the course to create their devices. Indirect and direct assessment performed with respect to the major course objective demonstrated that course participants were able to successfully design, construct, and test a bioinstrumentation system. The students perceived a marked increase in their instrumentation knowledge, objectively corroborated by their performance on specific exercises related to the creation of their benchtop pacemakers. The outcomes of the course development presented here, along with the course structure and pedagogical methodology, may enhance engineering education by acting as a guideline for the creation of courses in which a central project theme is used as a platform for concept instruction.
Red cell 2,3-diphosphoglycerate and intracellular arterial pH in acidosis and alkalosis.

With the use of 14C-DMO (14C-5, 5-dimethyl-2,3-oxazolidinedione), a weak organic acid, we measured the intraerythrocytic hydrogen ion concentration in 16 acidotic and alkalotic patients. Whole blood pH, red cell 2,3-diphosphoglycerate, hemoglobin, oxyhemoglobin, plasma pCO2, and plasma bicarbonate were measured simultaneously on heparinized arterial blood. The results show: (1) hydrogen ion concentration in the red cell varies directly with that of whole blood, (2) red cell concentration of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate varies inversely with the whole blood hydrogen ion concentration, and (3) red cell 2,3-diphosphoglycerate concentration also varies inversely with the intracellular hydrogen ion concentration. There were no significant relationships between the arterial total hemoglobin or oxyhemoglobin and intracellular or whole blood pH, nor was there any relationship between plasma pCO2 or plasma bicarbonate and intracellular or whole blood pH. We concluded that in a number of clinical conditions in which the hydrogen ion concentration is altered, the cellular pH parallels that of the whole blood and that the 2,3-diphosphoglycerate concentration varies with the hydrogen ion concentration.
Three-body correlations in liquid and solid 4He.

We present the analysis of three-body correlations in the fluid and solid phases of $^{4}\mathrm{He}$. The results are from exact (Green's-function Monte Carlo) and variational calculations of $^{4}\mathrm{He}$ described by the Lennard-Jones two-body potential. A set of angular order parameters derived from the three-body distribution function are defined and we find that certain of these parameters change significantly at the onset of freezing to a quantum solid. We then trace the evolution of the parameters from the quantum solid regime, near melting, to an approximately harmonic solid at high density. We have also computed the angular order parameters for two different kinds of variational functions: the traditional Jastrow function and a function which includes triplet correlations. The parameters computed from the Jastrow function show clear differences from the exact results. The variational function with triplet correlations, however, closely resembles the exact results in both the fluid and solid phases. In this respect it is clearly superior to the Jastrow function.
Synthesis and reactivity of 4'-deoxypentenosyl disaccharides.

4-Deoxypentenosides (4-DPs) are versatile synthons for rare or higher-order pyranosides, and they provide an entry for structural diversification at the C5 position. Previous studies have shown that 4-DPs undergo stereocontrolled DMDO oxidation; subsequent epoxide ring-openings with various nucleophiles can proceed with both anti or syn selectivity. Here, we report the synthesis of α- and β-linked 4′-deoxypentenosyl (4′-DP) disaccharides, and we investigate their post-glycosylational C5′ additions using the DMDO oxidation/ring-opening sequence. The α-linked 4′-DP disaccharides were synthesized by coupling thiophenyl 4-DP donors with glycosyl acceptors using BSP/Tf2O activation, whereas β-linked 4′-DP disaccharides were generated by the decarboxylative elimination of glucuronyl disaccharides under microwave conditions. Both α- and β-linked 4′-DP disaccharides could be epoxidized with high stereoselectivity using DMDO. In some cases, the α-epoxypentenosides could be successfully converted into terminal l-id...
THE GENUS TRABUTIA AND ITS POSITION IN THE ASCOMYCETES

Trabutia possesses unitunicate asci and must be removed from the Loculoascomycetes. The characteristics ofbiotrophic habit, centrum of thin-walled asci at maturity among paraphyses, and pycnidial anamorph dictate its disposition in the Phyllachoraceae of the Phyllachorales.
Research Progress of Spinosad as a Stored-grain Protectant

Spinosad,highly active on a wide variety of insect pests,less-persistent,safe for non-target organisms,having unique insecticide mechanism and no cross-resistance to the existing stored-grain insecticides,was a novel microbial and green stored-grain protectant with high prospects.In this paper,the construction and insecticide mechanism of spinosad were briefly introduced,and its efficacy on preventing stored-grain pests and application tests in grain depots were mainly specified,coming up with the principle of prevention first and comprehensive treatment to prevent stored-grain pests with spinosad.
Graphene-based microfluidics for serial crystallography

Microfluidic strategies to enable the growth and subsequent serial crystallographic analysis of micro-crystals have the potential to facilitate both structural characterization and dynamic structural studies of protein targets that have been resistant to single-crystal strategies. However, adapting microfluidic crystallization platforms for micro-crystallography requires a dramatic decrease in the overall device thickness. We report a robust strategy for the straightforward incorporation of single-layer graphene into ultra-thin microfluidic devices. This architecture allows for a total material thickness of only ∼1 μm, facilitating on-chip X-ray diffraction analysis while creating a sample environment that is stable against significant water loss over several weeks. We demonstrate excellent signal-to-noise in our X-ray diffraction measurements using a 1.5 μs polychromatic X-ray exposure, and validate our approach via on-chip structure determination using hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) as a model system. Although this work is focused on the use of graphene for protein crystallography, we anticipate that this technology should find utility in a wide range of both X-ray and other lab on a chip applications.
Maturation of HCO3- transport in rabbit collecting duct.

Newborn rabbits maintain a state of hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis with plasma HCO3- concentrations generally exceeding 27 mM. The large amounts of potential net base in mother9s milk probably contribute to the generation of this alkalosis. We surmised that immature handling of H+ or HCO3- by the neonatal collecting duct helps maintain this alkalosis. Net HCO3- transport was measured in perfused collecting ducts taken from maturing rabbits, in solutions simulating adult rabbit plasma ultrafiltrate and then in presence of Cl(-)-free bathing solution. Cortical collecting ducts (CCD) from newborn and 4-wk-old rabbits failed to secrete HCO3- under baseline conditions and could not be stimulated to secrete HCO3- in Cl(-)-free bath. Neonatal segments perfused at very slow flow rates showed significant HCO3- absorption; inhibition of HCO3- secretion by removal of luminal Cl- revealed a substantial HCO3- absorptive flux. Segments from 6-wk-old and mature animals secreted net HCO3- and generally showed more than a fivefold increase in HCO3- secretion after Cl- removal from the bath. Outer medullary collecting ducts (OMCD) from newborn rabbits absorbed HCO3- at rates approaching that of mature segments. We conclude that relatively high rates of HCO3- absorption in OMCD and lack of HCO3- secretion in CCD may contribute to the metabolic alkalosis of the neonatal rabbit.
Quantitative assessment of binding affinities for nanoparticles targeted to vulnerable plaque

Recent successes in targeted immune and cell-based therapies have driven new directions for pharmaceutical research. With the rise of these new therapies there is an unfilled need for companion diagnostics to assess patients' potential for therapeutic response. Targeted nanomaterials have been widely investigated to fill this niche; however, in contrast to small molecule or peptide-based targeted agents, binding affinities are not reported for nanomaterials, and to date there has been no standard, quantitative measure for the interaction of targeted nanoparticle agents with their targets. Without a standard measure, accurate comparisons between systems and optimization of targeting behavior are challenging. Here, we demonstrate a method for quantitative assessment of the binding affinity for targeted nanoparticles to cell surface receptors in living systems and apply it to optimize the development of a novel targeted nanoprobe for imaging vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques. In this work, we developed sulfated dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles with specific targeting to macrophages, a cell type whose density strongly correlates with plaque vulnerability. Detailed quantitative, in vitro characterizations of (111)In(3+) radiolabeled probes show high-affinity binding to the macrophage scavenger receptor A (SR-A). Cell uptake studies illustrate that higher surface sulfation levels result in much higher uptake efficiency by macrophages. We use a modified Scatchard analysis to quantitatively describe nanoparticle binding to targeted receptors. This characterization represents a potential new standard metric for targeted nanomaterials.
Resonance ionization spectroscopy for detection of tropospheric NO

It is generally accepted that nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in the complex chemistry of the formation and destruction of atmospheric ozone.1 However, its low concentration in the nonurban troposphere, believed to often be ≤10 pptv, presents the analyst of the troposphere with a challenging measurement problem. Investigations in our laboratory show that resonance ionization spectroscopy (RIS) is a promising technique for measuring NO concentrations in the troposphere and also that this technique may be applicable to the detection of a variety of trace tropospheric molecules.
Functional Transcranial Doppler Ultrasound for Measurement of Hemispheric Lateralization During Visual Memory and Visual Search Cognitive Tasks

Functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound (fTCD) is a noninvasive sensing modality that measures cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) with high temporal resolution. CBFV change is correlated to changes in cerebral oxygen uptake, enabling fTCD to measure brain activity and lateralization with high accuracy. However, few studies have examined the relationship of CBFV change during visual search and visual memory tasks. Here a protocol to compare lateralization between these two similar cognitive tasks using fTCD is demonstrated. Ten healthy volunteers (age 21±2 years) were shown visual scenes on a computer and performed visual search and visual memory tasks while CBFV in the bilateral middle cerebral arteries was monitored with fTCD. Each subject completed 40 trials, consisting of baseline (25 s), calibration (variable), instruction (2.5 s), and task (20 s) epochs. Lateralization was computed for each task by calculating the bilateral CBFV envelope percent change from baseline and subtracting the right side from the left side. The results showed significant lateralization ( $p ) of the visual memory and visual search tasks, with memory reaching lateralization of 1.6% and search reaching lateralization of 0.5%, suggesting that search is more right lateralized (and therefore may be related to “holistic” or global perception) and memory is more left lateralized (and therefore may be related to local perception). This method could be used to compare cerebral activity for any related cognitive tasks as long as the same stimulus is used in all tasks. The protocol is straightforward and the equipment is inexpensive, introducing a low-cost high temporal resolution technique to further study lateralization of the brain.
Survey of Spectral Approximations

Chapter 4 surveys spectral methods as it derives six approximations to the advection-diffusion and scalar advection equations in one space dimension. The methods developed are the Fourier collocation and Galerkin methods, polynomial collocation and Galerkin methods, and nodal continuous and discontinuous Galerkin methods. At the end of the chapter, after it is clear what the methods are, how they are derived, and how they are implemented, a discussion is presented on how to choose between them.
Probing the Catalytic Charge-Relay System in Alanine Racemase with Genetically Encoded Histidine Mimetics.

Histidine is a unique amino acid with an imidazole side chain in which both of the nitrogen atoms are capable of serving as a proton donor and proton acceptor in hydrogen bonding interactions. In order to probe the functional role of histidine involved in hydrogen bonding networks, fine-tuning the hydrogen bonding potential of the imidazole side chain is required but not feasible through traditional mutagenesis methods. Here, we show that two close mimetics of histidine, 3-methyl-histidine and thiazole alanine, can be genetically encoded using engineered pyrrolysine incorporation machinery. Replacement of the three histidine residues predicted to be involved in an extended charge-relay system in alanine racemase with 3-methyl-histidine or thiazole alanine shows a dramatic loss in the enzyme’s catalytic efficiency, implying the role of this extended charge-relay system in activating the active site residue Y265, a general acid/base catalyst in the enzyme.
A corpus-aided ecological discourse analysis of the Rosemont Copper Mine debate of Arizona, USA:

This article reports a corpus-aided ecological discourse analysis (EDA) of texts from an international mining company and an environmental advocacy group regarding a proposal to build a massive ope...
Rapid, Exponential Extra-Splenic Platelet Consumption in WASP Deficient Mice.

The thrombocytopenia seen in patients with the Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WAS) is thought to be due primarily to rapid platelet consumption, and is markedly improved by splenectomy. While a murine model of WAS shows only mild thrombocytopenia, we have previously demonstrated rapid platelet turnover in this model; that splenectomy improves the platelet count in WASP-(C57Bl/6J) mice; and that the latter mice do not achieve the same platelet count found in splenectomized WT mice. Here we show that CMFDA-labeled WASP- platelets are consumed rapidly and exponentially in WT recipients, with an estimated lifespan of 18 hours (vs. 87 hours for WT platelets). WASP- platelets are consumed only slightly more slowly in splenectomized WT recipients (lifespan 28 hours, vs. 102 hr for WT platelets). On the C3H background, WASP- mice have normal platelet counts but show a similar rapid, exponential platelet consumption rate (lifespan 25 hours in either C3H or C57Bl/6J recipients, vs 85 hours for WT platelets). In vivo platelet biotinylation studies demonstrate less effective labeling of WASP- (C57Bl/6J) platelets than of WT platelets. After a plateau phase, in vivo labeled WASP- platelets show the same kind of rapid platelet turnover seen with ex vivo labeling (figure 1). Our results imply a three-fold increase in platelet production rate in WASP- mice on either background, consistent with the markedly increased splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis seen in WASP- mice. WASP- mice also show an increased number of bone marrow megkaryocytes, the ploidy distribution of which is normal. We conclude that WASP- mice demonstrate a significantly increased rate of extra-splenic platelet consumption that is largely (on the C57Bl/6 background) or completely (on the C3H background) compensated by increased platelet production. The ability of WASP- mice to compensate for their rapid platelet consumption, and the normal ploidy of their megakaryocytes, suggests that platelet production is not impaired by WASP deficiency in this model.
Chasing the Lights in Lights Out

SummaryLights Out is a game played on a grid of light-up buttons. At the start of the game, the lights are lit in a seemingly random configuration. A button changes states whenever it or one of its neighbors is pressed. The goal is to turn all of the lights out. Light chasing is a simple strategy for winning Lights Out by using a lookup table. In this article we examine how to construct these lookup tables for several variations of the game.
An automated smartphone-based diagnostic assay for point-of-care semen analysis

Male infertility affects up to 12% of the world’s male population and is linked to various environmental and medical conditions. Manual microscope-based testing and computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) are the current standard methods to diagnose male infertility; however, these methods are labor-intensive, expensive, and laboratory-based. Cultural and socially dominated stigma against male infertility testing hinders a large number of men from getting tested for infertility, especially in resource-limited African countries. We describe the development and clinical testing of an automated smartphone-based semen analyzer designed for quantitative measurement of sperm concentration and motility for point-of-care male infertility screening. Using a total of 350 clinical semen specimens at a fertility clinic, we have shown that our assay can analyze an unwashed, unprocessed liquefied semen sample with
Using Facebook as a Platform to Direct Young Black Men Who Have Sex With Men to a Video-Based HIV Testing Intervention: A Feasibility Study.

Objective: A randomized control pilot study was conducted with Black men who have sex with men (BMSM; N = 42) aged 18–30 years to examine the feasibility of implementing a video intervention delivered using Facebook to motivate HIV testing. Methods: At baseline, participants were unaware of their HIV status and had not tested for HIV in the past 6 months, residing in Los Angeles County. The intervention content included topics such as social influence, HIV knowledge, stigma, HIV positive knowledge, and benefits of knowing one’s HIV status. Findings: Logistic regression revealed that those receiving the video intervention were 7 times more likely to have tested for HIV than those in the control group at 6-week follow-up (odds ratio [ OR ] = 7.00, 95% confidence interval [1.72, 28.33], p = .006). Conclusion: Data suggest that the intervention was feasible for motivating HIV testing.
Langerhans Cells Orchestrate TFH-Dependent Humoral Immunity

T follicular helper cells contribute to the development of long-lasting humoral immunity by germinal center formation. Somatic hypermutation and affinity maturation take place in germinal centers leading to the generation of memory B cells and plasma cells. As such, T follicular helper cells impact immunodeficiencies, autoimmunity, and cancer. This necessitates further understanding of how T follicular helper cells are regulated in health and disease. The current study by Levin et al. builds on prior work to further substantiate a critical role for skin migratory dendritic cells and in particular Langerhans cells at governing T follicular helper and germinal center formation after intradermal immunization with HIV p24-coated polylactic acid nanoparticles.
Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis Manifesting with Primary Psychiatric Symptoms

Neurocognitive effects of multiple sclerosis are increasingly recognized in both adult and pediatric MS populations. In addition, secondary mood disorders related to being diagnosed with a neurodegenerative condition, to especially include depression, are not uncommon and can negatively affect long-term quality of life outcomes. Primary psychiatric manifestations of multiple sclerosis are unusual, and the underlying demyelinating disease may not be discovered until more typical attack symptoms occur. This chapter presents pediatric multiple sclerosis with an initial psychiatric presentation. A 14-year-old boy initially presented with symptoms of depression, paranoia, and new-onset migraine. He required inpatient psychiatric hospitalization for worsening of these symptoms as well as new visual and auditory hallucinations. During the hospitalization he developed facial numbness, visual complaints, and leg weakness. He was ultimately diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) which responded to treatment with glatiramer acetate and psycho-pharmacotherapy. Aspects of primary psychiatric disease in multiple sclerosis and its treatment will be reviewed.
The functional brain organization of an individual predicts measures of social abilities in autism spectrum disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is associated with multiple complex abnormalities in functional brain connectivity measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Despite much research in this area, to date, neuroimaging-based models are not able to characterize individuals with ASD with sufficient sensitivity and specificity; this is likely due to the heterogeneity and complexity of this disorder. Here we apply a data-driven subject-level approach, connectome-based predictive modeling, to resting-state fMRI data from a set of individuals from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange. Using leave-one-subject-out and split-half analyses, we define two functional connectivity networks that predict continuous scores on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and confirm that these networks generalize to novel subjects. Notably, these networks were found to share minimal anatomical overlap. Further, our results generalize to individuals for whom SRS/ADOS scores are unavailable, predicting worse scores for ASD than typically developing individuals. In addition, predicted SRS scores for individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from the ADHD-200 Consortium are linked to ADHD symptoms, supporting the hypothesis that the functional brain organization changes relevant to ASD severity share a component associated with attention. Finally, we explore the membership of predictive connections within conventional (atlas-based) functional networks. In summary, our results suggest that an individual9s functional connectivity profile contains information that supports dimensional, non-binary classification in ASD, aligning with the goals of precision medicine and individual-level diagnosis.
Is Milton Friedman a Libertarian

Milton Friedman calls himself a small “l” libertarian. Just because he does so, however, does not mean we have to concur with this self-styled description. Friedman is thus maintaining that while he does not vote for the latter, perhaps for strategic reasons, its philosophy on political economic issues is closest to his own, of all political parties. As with all empirical matters, we must check the evidence if we are to properly evaluate such a claim.
An evaluation of the importance of sulfate reduction and temperature to P fluxes from aerobic-surfaced, lacustrine sediments

We examined the influence of temperature and sulfate reduction rates onP-release from aerobic-surfaced, littoral sediments in a coolingreservoir. Annually, significant differences in P release from sediments at twosites (thermal effluent and non-effluent) were related to differenttemperature regimes, with higher rates of P release and decomposition at highertemperatures. Site-specific differences in solute fluxes were mostpronounced in late summer, when water temperatures reached40°Cat the effluent site and solute fluxes increased dramatically. The thermaleffluent site retained 65% of its annual P load, while thenon-effluent site retained 92%. Relative P release(P-release normalized to inorganic carbon fluxes; RPR) data indicatedthat lake sediments retained P selectively (relative to C) throughout the year,except at the effluent site during late summer when stored P was released inexcess of supply rates.Sulfate reduction rates were often typical of those measured in otherfreshwater lakes, but unusually high rates were measured at thethermal-effluent site especially in early fall and suggested higher DICfluxes than we measured. These high rates suggest that sulfate reduction rateswere overestimated and/or that most sulfide was recycled within the sediments.In any case, the highest sulfate reduction rates did not coincide with thehighest P release rates. Furthermore, the total reduced inorganic sulfurcontentof surficial sediments did not significantly correlate to RPR, althoughconcentrations varied widely throughout the year. Temperature was the onlyvariable examined that significantly correlated to RPR (R2 =0.53, P-value = 0.017). Coupling between temperature and sedimentP release was likely mediated through temperature effects on bioturbation andmicrobial metabolic rates.
Genome-wide identification and analysis of the ALTERNATIVE OXIDASE gene family in diploid and hexaploid wheat

A comprehensive understanding of wheat responses to environmental stress will contribute to the long-term goal of feeding the planet. ALERNATIVE OXIDASE (AOX) genes encode proteins involved in a bypass of the electron transport chain and are also known to be involved in stress tolerance in multiple species. Here, we report the identification and characterization of the AOX gene family in diploid and hexaploid wheat. Four genes each were found in the diploid ancestors Triticum urartu, and Aegilops tauschii, and three in Aegilops speltoides. In hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum), 20 genes were identified, some with multiple splice variants, corresponding to a total of 24 proteins for those with observed transcription and translation. These proteins were classified as AOX1a, AOX1c, AOX1e or AOX1d via phylogenetic analysis. Proteins lacking most or all signature AOX motifs were assigned to putative regulatory roles. Analysis of protein-targeting sequences suggests mixed localization to the mitochondria and other organelles. In comparison to the most studied AOX from Trypanosoma brucei, there were amino acid substitutions at critical functional domains indicating possible role divergence in wheat or grasses in general. In hexaploid wheat, AOX genes were expressed at specific developmental stages as well as in response to both biotic and abiotic stresses such as fungal pathogens, heat and drought. These AOX expression patterns suggest a highly regulated and diverse transcription and expression system. The insights gained provide a framework for the continued and expanded study of AOX genes in wheat for stress tolerance through breeding new varieties, as well as resistance to AOX-targeted herbicides, all of which can ultimately be used synergistically to improve crop yield.
An Attempt to Discover Analytical Information for Multi-Dimensional Data Sets

We propose an algorithm to improve the cluster analysis process. Clusters are subgroups in a data set that contain data points with similar characteristics within the same subgroup. Cluster analysis is the process of defining and calculating the similarity between data points and grouping them into the same cluster. We present the issues involved in cluster analysis, and present an algorithm to divide the original data set into multiple smaller data sets in the same data space, then perform cluster analysis on each new data set, and finally integrate the clustering results from all the smaller data sets into the final clusters. We discuss various situations where clusters will be discovered in the data space, and conduct experiments and discuss the results of our algorithm.
Through-Metal Wireless Communications with Magnetic Induction

Through-Metal (TM) wireless communication is a key technology to connect sensors and robots in metallic-constrained environments, such as pipelines and gas containers. Due to the high conductivity of the metal, electromagnetic signals experience strong attenuation which significantly reduces the received signal strength. In this paper, we develop a theoretical channel model for TM communications at low-frequency bands to predict the wireless communication performances. We provide insightful analysis by simplifying the developed model. In addition, a testbed based on the software defined radio is designed. Both the numerical and empirical results validate the feasibility of TM wireless communications using magnetic induction. The results suggest that with a centimeter-size coil and 1 kHz carrier frequency, 100 bps communication data rate can be achieved.
Effects of Docosahexaenoic Acid and Its Peroxidation Product on Amyloid-β Peptide-Stimulated Microglia.

Growing evidence suggests that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) exerts neuroprotective effects, although the mechanism(s) underlying these beneficial effects are not fully understood. Here we demonstrate that DHA, but not arachidonic acid (ARA), suppressed oligomeric amyloid-β peptide (oAβ)–induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in primary mouse microglia and immortalized mouse microglia (BV2). Similarly, DHA but not ARA suppressed oAβ-induced increases in phosphorylated cytosolic phospholipase A2 (p-cPLA2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in BV2 cells. LC-MS/MS assay indicated the ability for DHA to cause an increase in 4-hydroxyhexenal (4-HHE) and suppress oAβ-induced increase in 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE). Although oAβ did not alter the nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway, exogenous DHA, ARA as well as low concentrations of 4-HHE and 4-HNE upregulated this pathway and increased production of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in microglial cells. These results suggest that DHA modulates ARA metabolism in oAβ-stimulated microglia through suppressing oxidative and inflammatory pathways and upregulating the antioxidative stress pathway involving Nrf2/HO-1. Understanding the mechanism(s) underlying the beneficial effects of DHA on microglia should shed light into nutraceutical therapy for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Muerte y resurrección de la portada de discos

The recording industry is facing yet another pivotal moment of redefinition. Imagery has been one of its key elements, whether through graphic design, album art design, posters, videos and applications for digital devices. Throughout the more than hundred years of existence, music and images have shared a common space, in an ever-changing and evolving relationship. The main goal of the paper is to present how album cover design has expanded its boundaries far beyond its initial rol in the music industry, to trespass now into the textile, decoration and popular culture industries. We also aim to prove the evolution of the album cover and its reinterpreattion as objects of popular culture. Therefore, the paper is divided in three acts. We begin explaining the origin, evolution and significance of the discographic design from the outset of the industry. In the following act, we explain the death of the album cover due to the crisis experienced by the industry in the nineties. The final act studies the surprising comeback of the format, yet in another context, possessed with a much more symbolic function. This resurrection is part of the vinyl revival, pushed by elite consumers who are now looking for something else in music, apart from the music itself. As a result, we will witness how record covers have migrated from their original function and are now part of the realm of popular culture.
Flash sintering incubation kinetics

The microstructural mechanisms leading to onset of the flash sintering are demonstrated experimentally and theoretically for Yttria Stabilized Zirconia, YSZ. Three regimes leading to flash event are identified: (1) Radiation-dominated regime, where the oven controls the heating of the sintered sample, and a small subset of particle-particle contacts and surfaces of the green body define percolative paths for the charge to flow along and across the interfaces; (2) Transition regime, where charge transport is suppressed across particle contact misorientations and deflects to surficial and small angle particle contact misorientations. As a result, internal Joule heating takes over externally-driven radiation heating. Finally, (3) Percolative regime, where the concentration of oxygen vacancies drastically increases at particle contacts, surfaces, and triple junctions, and enables charge to flow through multiple paths, generating large amounts of Joule heating, resulting in the onset of a flash event. The validated theory sets the stage to rationalize the microstructural evolution and charge transport on a ceramic green body during flash sintering.
PepVAE: Variational Autoencoder Framework for Antimicrobial Peptide Generation and Activity Prediction

New methods for antimicrobial design are critical for combating pathogenic bacteria in the post-antibiotic era. Fortunately, competition within complex communities has led to the natural evolution of antimicrobial peptide (AMP) sequences that have promising bactericidal properties. Unfortunately, the identification, characterization, and production of AMPs can prove complex and time consuming. Here, we report a peptide generation framework, PepVAE, based around variational autoencoder (VAE) and antimicrobial activity prediction models for designing novel AMPs using only sequences and experimental minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) data as input. Sampling from distinct regions of the learned latent space allows for controllable generation of new AMP sequences with minimal input parameters. Extensive analysis of the PepVAE-generated sequences paired with antimicrobial activity prediction models supports this modular design framework as a promising system for development of novel AMPs, demonstrating controlled production of AMPs with experimental validation of predicted antimicrobial activity.
Calculation of Metallocene Ionization Potentials via Auxiliary Field Quantum Monte Carlo: Towards Benchmark Quantum Chemistry for Transition Metals

The accurate ab initio prediction of ionization energies is essential to understanding the electrochemistry of transition metal complexes in both materials science and biological applications. However, such predictions have been complicated by the scarcity of gas-phase experimental data, the relatively large size of the relevant molecules, and the presence of strong electron correlation effects. In this work, we apply all-electron phase-less auxiliary-field quantum Monte Carlo (ph-AFQMC) utilizing multi-determinant trial wavefunctions to six metallocene complexes to compare the computed adiabaticand vertical ionization energies to experimental results. We find the ph-AFQMC mean averaged errors (MAE) of 1.69±1.02 kcal/mol for the adiabatic energies and 2.85±1.13 kcal/mol for the vertical energies. This significantly outperforms density functional theory (DFT), which has MAE’s of 3.62 to 6.98 and 3.31 to 9.88 kcal/mol, as well as a localized coupled cluster approach (DLPNO-CCSD(T0) with moderate PNO cut-offs), which has MAEs of 4.96 and 6.08 kcal/mol, respectively. We also test the reliability of DLPNO-CCSD(T0) and DFT on acetylacetonate (acac) complexes for adiabatic energies measured in the same manner experimentally, and find higher MAE’s, ranging from 4.56 kcal/mol to 10.99 kcal/mol (with a different ordering) for DFT and 6.97 kcal/mol for DLPNO-CCSD(T0), indicating that none of these approaches can be considered benchmark methods, at least for these complexes. We thus demonstrate that ph-AFQMC should be able to handle metallocene redox chemistry with the advantage of systematically improvable results. By utilizing experimental solvation energies, we show that accurate reduction potentials in solution can be obtained.
Nanomagnet Logic: A Magnetic Implementation of Quantum‐dot Cellular Automata

The system-level, information processing architectures to be discussed here are potential targets for devices that can be organized in the automata-like architecture proposed in [1]–which suggested using the position of electrons on quantum dots to represent binary state and process information.
Quantitative Verification and Control via the Mu-Calculus

Linear-time properties and symbolic algorithms provide a widely used framework for system specification and verification. In this framework, the verification and control questions are phrased as boolean questions: a system either satisfies (or can be made to satisfy) a property, or it does not. These questions can be answered by symbolic algorithms expressed in the μ-calculus. We illustrate how the μ-calculus also provides the basis for two quantitative extensions of this approach: a probabilistic extension, where the verification and control problems are answered in terms of the probability with which the specification holds, and a discounted extension, in which events in the near future are weighted more heavily than events in the far away future.
Spread of infectious microbes during emergency medical response.

Background To our knowledge, no studies to date demonstrate potential spread of microbes during actual emergency medical service (EMS) activities. Our study introduces a novel approach to identification of contributors to EMS environment contamination and development of infection control strategies, using a bacteriophage surrogate for pathogenic organisms. Methods Bacteriophage ΦX174 was used to trace cross-contamination and evaluate current disinfection practices and a hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) wipe intervention within emergency response vehicles. Prior to EMS calls, 2 surfaces were seeded with ΦX174. On call completion, EMS vehicle and equipment surfaces were sampled before decontamination, after decontamination per current practices, and after implementation of the intervention. Results Current decontamination practices did not significantly reduce viral loads on surfaces ( P = .3113), but H 2 O 2 wipe intervention did ( P = .0065). Bacteriophage spread to 56% (27/48) of sites and was reduced to 54% (26/48) and 40% (19/48) with current decontamination practices and intervention practices, respectively. Conclusion Results suggest firefighters' hands were the main vehicles of microbial transfer. Current practices were not consistently applied or standardized and minimally reduced prevalence and quantity of microbial contamination on EMS surfaces. Although use of a consistent protocol of H 2 O 2 wipes significantly reduced percent prevalence and concentration of viruses, training and promotion of surface disinfection should be provided.
Knockout of Lmod2 results in shorter thin filaments followed by dilated cardiomyopathy and juvenile lethality

Leiomodin 2 (Lmod2) is an actin-binding protein that has been implicated in the regulation of striated muscle thin filament assembly; its physiological function has yet to be studied. We found that knockout of Lmod2 in mice results in abnormally short thin filaments in the heart. We also discovered that Lmod2 functions to elongate thin filaments by promoting actin assembly and dynamics at thin filament pointed ends. Lmod2-KO mice die as juveniles with hearts displaying contractile dysfunction and ventricular chamber enlargement consistent with dilated cardiomyopathy. Lmod2-null cardiomyocytes produce less contractile force than wild type when plated on micropillar arrays. Introduction of GFP-Lmod2 via adeno-associated viral transduction elongates thin filaments and rescues structural and functional defects observed in Lmod2-KO mice, extending their lifespan to adulthood. Thus, to our knowledge, Lmod2 is the first identified mammalian protein that functions to elongate actin filaments in the heart; it is essential for cardiac thin filaments to reach a mature length and is required for efficient contractile force and proper heart function during development.
Efficacy of Fluconazole in Experimental Invasive Aspergillosis

The efficacy of fluconazole against Aspergillus fumigatus was evaluated in an immunosuppressed, temporarily leukopenic rabbit model of invasive aspergillosis. Fluconazole was given at a dosage of 60 mg/kg twice daily and was compared with amphotericin B given intravenously at a dosage of 1.5 mg/(kg.d). Fluconazole reduced the tissue burden of Aspergillus from that in untreated controls by 10- to 100-fold in liver, kidney, and lung. However, at these doses amphotericin B was more effective in sterilizing tissues and in reducing the tissue burden of Aspergillus in those organs. Both fluconazole and amphotericin B decreased or eliminated circulating Aspergillus antigen and improved survival over that of untreated controls. Thus fluconazole shows activity in this rabbit model of invasive aspergillosis and should be further evaluated for use in the treatment of this disease.
An experimental investigation of the effects of interest-group endorsements on poorly aligned partisans in the 2008 presidential election:

In this article, we test the effects of interest group endorsements on potential voters in the 2008 presidential election. Specifically, we use a posttest-only, multiple control group experiment (N...
The Design and Characterization of a Testing Platform for Quantitative Evaluation of Tread Performance on Multiple Biological Substrates

In this study, an experimental platform is developed to quantitatively measure the performance of robotic wheel treads in a dynamic environment. The platform imposes a dynamic driving condition for a single robot wheel, where the wheel is rotated on a translating substrate, thereby inducing slip. The normal force of the wheel can be adjusted mechanically, while the rotational velocity of the wheel and the translational velocity of the substrate can be controlled using an open-loop control system. Wheel slip and translational speed can be varied autonomously while wheel traction force is measured using a load cell. The testing platform is characterized by testing one micropatterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) tread on three substrates (dry synthetic tissue, hydrated synthetic tissue, and excised porcine small bowel tissue), at three normal forces (0.10, 0.20, and 0.30 N), 13 slip ratios (−0.30 to 0.30 in increments of 0.05), and three translational speeds (2, 3, and 6 mm/s). Additionally, two wheels (micropatterned and smooth PDMS) are tested on beef liver at the same three normal forces and translational speeds for a tread comparison. An analysis of variance revealed that the platform can detect statistically significant differences between means when observing normal forces, translational speeds, slip ratios, treads, and substrates. The variance due to within (platform error, P = 1) and between trials (human error, P = 0.152) is minimal when compared to the normal force (P = 0.036), translational speed ( P = 0.059), slip ratio (P = 0), tread (P = 0.004), and substrate variances ( P = 0). In conclusion, this precision testing platform can be used to determine wheel tread performance differences on the three substrates and for each of the studied parameters. Future use of the platform could lead to an optimized micropattern-based mobility system, under given operating conditions, for implementation on a robotic capsule endoscope.