cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Genetic aspects of feed efficiency in broilers.

Abstract DIFFERENCES among individuals in their ability to convert feed into body tissue are important in determining net income from the production of broiler chickens. However, measuring individual feed consumption is costly and time consuming. The result has been that most improvement in efficiency has come about as a correlated response to selection for growth. The associations among feed efficiency, growth rate, and feed consumption are complex and difficult to understand; however, it is extremely important that the industry has information regarding the effects of continuing to approach the subject as in the past. Therefore, the following important questions arise. What is the relationship between feed consumption and feed efficiency? To what extent is growth rate controlled by feed consumption and metabolic efficiency (the efficiency of an individual metabolic system in converting feed energy to body tissue)? Is metabolic efficiency genetically controlled and, if so, to what extent? What is the…
Effect of Low Levels of Fluorine Intake on Bones and Teeth

SummaryThe data here reported show clearly that fluorine additions of 8 to 14 ppm. to a basal diet containing 3 ppm. results in growing rats in increases in the fluorine content of the bones and teeth, which are marked and roughly proportional to the level fed. They show sodium fluoride and bone meal to be equally effective in causing these changes. They suggest that analysis for fluorine is a more sensitive measure than the enamel pigment changes which are also noted at these low levels. The data indicate that the fluorine content of the bones and teeth increases with age during growth.
Lex Llewellyn and the Tribal Tax Status Act: 'Fallible Gropings' in Law and Society

This article is the result of our inquiry into two proximate fields in which issues of law, custom and markets arise in sociolegal scholarship and praxis: the mid-20th century jurisprudence of the legal realist Karl Llewellyn and the contemporary debates surrounding efforts by tribal governments in the U.S. to issue tax-exempt bonds. Both are sites for efforts by legal scholars and practitioners to grapple with the convergence of social categories that, until very recently, are normally held apart – Native Americans, law, and commerce. We first explore Llewellyn’s efforts at drafting the Uniform Commercial Code, and the extent to which in this and his The Cheyenne Way (written at virtually the same time), he drew considerable influence from the American pragmatist philosophical tradition. In so doing, we find that his jurisprudence and lawmaking (often maligned for its circular reasoning) can be better understood as an effort to announce a philosophy of law and enact commercial legislation that was more a method for doing legal analysis and taking legal action than it was an expression of legal principles. Once understood in this way, we suggest it offers a fresh way of accounting for the performative force of law that can move sociolegal research beyond certain constructivist impasses. We then offer how such an approach can be brought to bear on the unfolding relationships among custom, law and commerce in the back and forth between scholars, law-makers, and tribal leaders around tribal tax-exempt bonds and their regulation.
How sensory maps could enhance resolution through ordered arrangements of broadly tuned receivers

We investigate the properties of a model recently introduced by Heiligenberg (1987) for an array of sensors tuned to progressively higher ranges of a continuous stimulus variablex and with bell shaped single response curve with width parameterd. The main result is that asd increases, the overall response rapidly becomes almost linear in a very smooth and robust fashion. Biological relevance and implications of the model and of its extensions are discussed together with a few examples.
The Forensic Stage: Initiating justice: threat, summons, and arrest

Characters in New Comedy often engage in conduct that appears to be a prelude to a courtroom trial or that is a substitute for its formal apparatus: they warn friends of potentially indictable behavior and recommend legal action when their interests are infringed; they threaten their enemies with lawsuits and self-help remedies; they issue summonses and make arrests. Yet for all this pre-trial activity, only one character appears on stage who has clearly undergone a prosecution during the course of the play, and only one character actually suffers a self-help punishment endorsed by law. What, then, are we to make of all the summonses, arrests, and threats of legal action that do not end up in court? Or of the threats of self-help remedies that are not carried out? It is the specific argument of this chapter that such activities are often strategies – pervasive in fourth-century Athens and so reflected in New Comedy – designed to coerce opponents to accept out-of court settlements. In the last chapter, we noted how frequently the orators give reports of plaintiffs who try to induce their opponents to enter into private arbitration after a suit has been lodged. The pattern harmonized well with the Athenian system of justice: a plaintiff who dropped a dike would not be penalized. Threatening court action while intending to settle in private also provides, as we shall see, ready-made scripts: it ensures that certain roles will be played – plaintiff and defendant, accuser and accused – and it delineates, even as it attempts to control, the avenues of settlement.
Evolution of the United States Marijuana Market in the Decade of Liberalization Before Full Legalization

The past decade has seen a remarkable liberalization of marijuana policies in many parts of the United States. We analyze data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) for coinciding changes in the marijuana market from 2002 to 2013, including market size, number and demographics of customers, and varying means of acquiring the drug. Results suggests that (a) the national market has grown, especially in terms of the number of daily users; (b) marijuana users remained economically “downscale” over this period, and in many ways resemble cigarette users; (c) distribution networks appear to be professionalizing in a sense, as fewer users obtain marijuana socially; (d) the typical purchase has gotten smaller by weight but not price paid, suggestive of a trend toward higher potencies; (e) marijuana expenditures vary by user group; and (f) respondents with medical marijuana recommendations differ from other users in systematic ways.
An empirical study of race times in recreational endurance runners

Studies of endurance running have typically involved elite athletes, small sample sizes and measures that require special expertise or equipment. We examined factors associated with race performance and explored methods for race time prediction using information routinely available to a recreational runner. An Internet survey was used to collect data from recreational endurance runners (N = 2303). The cohort was split 2:1 into a training set and validation set to create models to predict race time. Sex, age, BMI and race training were associated with mean race velocity for all race distances. The difference in velocity between males and females decreased with increasing distance. Tempo runs were more strongly associated with velocity for shorter distances, while typical weekly training mileage and interval training had similar associations with velocity for all race distances. The commonly used Riegel formula for race time prediction was well-calibrated for races up to a half-marathon, but dramatically underestimated marathon time, giving times at least 10 min too fast for half of runners. We built two models to predict marathon time. The mean squared error for Riegel was 381 compared to 228 (model based on one prior race) and 208 (model based on two prior races). Our findings can be used to inform race training and to provide more accurate race time predictions for better pacing.
Une étude descriptive et podoscopique des déformations du pied dans le syndrome de Down

Abstract Introduction Subjects with Down syndrome (DS) are known to be affected by various foot deformities. Despite the fact that some of these deformities have been reported in the literature, a more comprehensive description would be of benefit. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of known foot deformities in patients with DS and of other previously non-described foot anomalies in this population. Hypothesis Subjects with DS have an increased prevalence of foot deformities compared to control subjects. Methods Fifty-five subjects with DS (age: 14.6 ± 7.4 years) had undergone podiatric clinical and podoscopic examinations to study their main foot deformities and their footprints, respectively. The results of these examinations were compared to those of an age-matched asymptomatic control group of fifty-three subjects (age: 13.4 ± 11.2 years). Results Significantly more prevalent foot deformities were found in the DS group: hallux valgus (36.4%), syndactyly between the 2nd and 3rd toes (9.1%), grade II pes planus (39.1%) and grade III pes planus (30%). Moreover, joint laxity (43.6%) was significantly more prevalent in the DS group. Furthermore, the presence of an increased space between the 1st and 2nd toes in patients with DS and its prevalence (73.6%) were described for the first time. A multivariate analysis revealed a significant relationship between the presence of joint laxity and flatfoot in only the control but not the DS group. Other foot deformities were found to be consistently more frequent in the DS population but not significantly higher than the control group. Discussion Although subjects with DS had significantly greater joint laxity and BMI compared to the control group, neither of these factors was found to be related to the increased prevalence of flatfoot in DS patients. Level of evidence IV – retrospective study.
Perceptions of Nursing in Appalachia: A State of the Science Paper.

Introduction: Nursing practice is continuously evolving in response to global health care need, sociopolitical culture, and advancing medical knowledge necessitating ongoing evaluation of professional practice. The purpose of this state of this science paper was to explore current perceptions of nursing and critique the depth of knowledge specific to nursing practice in the Appalachian region. Methodology: A review of the literature in multiple databases was conducted to explore perceptions of nursing in Appalachia. Results: Categories of perception included the following: (a) perceptions of nurses and education leaders that practice in the Appalachian region, (b) perceptions of communities of Appalachia and Appalachian health care systems, and (c) perceptions of patients possessing inherent cultural characteristics of the Appalachian region. Discussion: None of the literature specifically addressed perceptions of nursing. Much of the available literature was over 5 years old. A significant deficiency in ...
Management of Amniotic Fluid Embolism

Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a rare clinical syndrome that occurs intrapartum or immediately postpartum. The exact cause of this syndrome is not known although it is widely suspected that there may be an immune etiology causing an anaphylactoid-like reaction with complement activation. The syndrome occurs with greater frequency in parturients who are older and multiparous, have twin pregnancies, and experience difficult labors. It is also seen more frequently in preeclamptic patients and in women who have Cesarean sections. The classic presentation of this syndrome is cardiopulmonary collapse usually preceded by respiratory failure, cardiogenic shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and neurologic changes including seizures and coma. Severe and refractory hypoxemia results from ventilation/perfusion mismatching as well as from cardiogenic pulmonary edema associated with acute left heart failure. The diagnosis of this syndrome is difficult and AFE remains a diagnosis of exclusion since there are no laboratory or radiographic tests which confirm the diagnosis. The constellation of signs and symptoms in a pregnant woman who experiences the typical symptomology and a high degree of suspicion usually are sufficient to make the diagnosis of AFE.
Scalable Photogrammetry with High Performance Computing

Photogrammetry is used to build 3-dimensional models of everything from terrains to ancient statues. In the past, the stitching process was done on powerful PCs and could take weeks for large datasets. Even relatively small objects often required several hours to stitch together. With the availability of parallel processing options in the latest release of Agisoft PhotoScan, it is possible to leverage the power of high performance computing on large datasets.This poster presents the results of benchmarking tests for three datasets processed at two different model quality levels, medium and high (there are four times more points in the dense point cloud at the high setting) using 2, 4, 8, and 16 nodes. The purpose of the benchmarking is to determine how to optimize software license usage and compute resources against time and output quality.The poster also details the matrix of user-specified parameters that have been built into the python script that submits the parallel jobs. These parameters have evolved through the assessment of needs of users who are using the HPC deployment of photogrammetry as a service. We are excited by the uptake of this new service around campus in different fields across multiple disciplines. A group of cultural heritage experts will be using the service from Italy this summer, and a graduate student in anthropology will be stitching aerial data sets from Mexico.
The White Racial Frame: A Roundtable Discussion

The chapter engages a focused study of the white racial frame as a theoretical concept and analytical tool. As Joe R. Feagin’s students during the time he developed the concept, the authors draw on their knowledge of the frame at various stages of development and areas of expertise. Using a roundtable format, they explore three questions: (i) what is the white racial frame and what does it theorize; (ii) what does it explain; and (iii) what does it contribute to our understanding of race/racism that other extant theories do not or cannot? Building from these, they conclude the chapter with a real-time dialogue. The discussion deepens public understanding of the white racial frame and enhances utility for future scholarship.
International Students in Their Own Country: Motivation of Vietnamese Graduate Students to Attend a Collaborative Transnational University.

Higher education institutions in Vietnam have embraced opportunities to collaborate internationally to address specific educational needs that have emerged as a result of an accelerated economic and political society. The shift to a global market-driven economy has resulted in the need to produce better prepared graduates, advance in technology, and a shift in teaching and learning practices. In this study, we examine the motivations of 22 Vietnamese graduate students to attend Vietnamese-German University (VGU). The site is of particular importance because VGU is a true collaboration between two different governments, resulting in a collaborative transnational university. The findings from this study indicate three connected pull factors for graduate students: instruction conducted in English, benefits of a German degree, and the low cost for an international degree. Implications from findings illuminate why Vietnamese graduate students make educational choices and provide insights on their academic experiences as they relate to societal priorities. The full text of the article can be found at 10.18275/fire201704021134
Dielectric and energy-storage performance of Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3-SiO2 ceramic-glass composites

Abstract Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) nanoparticles coated with SiO2 were used as the starting material to prepare BST-xSiO2 (x = 0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 wt%) ceramic-glass composites. The coated SiO2 results in the sintered composites with a lower porosity. All the composites exhibited an almost frequency independent dielectric constant that corresponds with a quite low dielectric loss (tanδ
Law and Social Movements: Reimagining the Progressive Canon

This Article examines the “progressive legal canon” — iconic legal campaigns to advance progressive causes — and explores the implications of canon construction and critique for the study of lawyers and social movements. Looking backward, it reflects on why specific cases, like Brown v. Board of Education and Roe v. Wade, have become fundamental to progressive understandings of the role that lawyers play in social movements and how those cases have come to stand for a set of warnings about lawyer and court overreach. It then explores what might be gained from constructing a contemporary progressive legal canon and under what criteria one would select cases for inclusion. A core contribution of the Article is to synthesize examples of significant contemporary campaigns that respond to original canon concerns and complicate notions of lawyering in current movements of social import around labor, the War on Terror, LGBT rights, immigrant rights, and racial justice. The comparison of old canon to new yields an important insight. Although the form of legal mobilization is generally quite different in contemporary campaigns, with greater emphasis on constituent accountability and integrated advocacy, the outcome is often quite familiar: legal success and positive change alongside weak implementation, countermobilization, and intramovement dissent. Although the comparison is not systematic, it points toward a potentially significant conclusion: that the progressive critique of old canon lawyering is misplaced. What stymied old canon campaigns was not an overreliance on law or top-down planning, but rather the inevitable pushback by more powerful forces, causing gains to slide back or be undercut in the enforcement stage and aggravating internal movement debates over goals and strategies.
Medical Therapy for Stent Discomfort

Indwelling ureteral stents are associated with high rates of morbidity, including urinary frequency, urgency, and flank pain. These symptoms have been associated with increased narcotic requirement, decreased quality of life, and decreased attendance in the workplace. Methods to ameliorate stent-related morbidity are needed to provide comprehensive care following ureteroscopy with stent placement. The pathophysiology of stent discomfort is likely related to trigonal irritation, ureteral spasm, changes in stent position with ambulation, and vesicoureteral reflux. Ureteral contraction is mediated by intracellular calcium influx, and this process is regulated by alpha-stimulatory and beta-inhibitory adrenergic signaling. This system has served as the primary target for pharmacologic agents to reduce stent pain.
The Helix Grooved Elastomeric Pump

The helix grooved elastomeric pump (HGEP) is a cylindrical viscous screw pump which will pump high viscosity fluids at high pressures and low flow rates. It incorporates an elastomeric O-ring as part of the pumping mechanism. The theory is developed using the smoothed pressure method. Numerical methods are used to develop data for the HGEP performance. Results are presented for a given pump. The results include the effect of film thickness clearances, groove angles, groove depths, and ridge-to-groove width ratios. The aim of the investigation is to provide a theoretical background for the design of an HGEP. The theory is developed for the smoothed pressure formulation and an elastomeric O-ring model is established. The smoothed pressure formulation and the elastomeric O-ring model is set up for numerical solutions; the data obtained show the effects of various film thickness, clearances, groove angles, groove depths, and ridge-to-groove ratios for a given size pump and pumping fluid. The total volumetric flow rate increases with the reduction of the film thickness clearances. The maximum flow rate is obtained with -.0894 mm film thickness clearances. The computer solution is unstable for clearances less than -.0894 mm. The smaller the ridge-to-groove ratio, the performance is better.
Cognitive dimensions of notation tailored to environments for visualization and insights

Visualization diversity is a core resource for interpreting and getting insights about data. Different representations can support real-time decision-making and make more knowledge available for forecast and planning processes involving historical data analysis. Cognitive characteristics of visualization resources are crucial for visualization and insights environments. We present an initial tailored definition of Cognitive Dimensions of Notations (CDN) to support the evaluation and (re)design of such an environment. Using WISE (Weather InSights Environment) as a use case, we show evidences of how the tailored CDN can support HCI evaluation and discussions about the (re)design.
Jorge Manrique's Coplas por la muerte de su padre: A History of the Poem and its Reception

Completed shortly before Jorge Manrique's death in 1479, the 'Coplas por la muerte de su padre' is arguably the most famous poem in the Spanish language. Since its first circulation in the same era, the text has occupied a prominent place in the Spanish literary tradition, becoming, along with its author, a cultural icon. This book explores the ways in which successive generations of readers and scholars have engaged with the poem. It also contextualizes the 'Coplas', Manrique's life, and his enduring reputation. The book is divided into four chapters. The first provides information about the historical setting of the 'Coplas' and its earliest transmission. A chronological survey of the poem's reception comprises chapter 2 (the Renaissance and Baroque eras) and chapter 3 (literary reception in the eighteenth to twenty-first centuries). Chapter 4, "Shifting Literary Perspectives", examines how different perceptions of the meaning and form of the text have changed over the centuries, and the way in which translations have also revealed a variety of interpretations and transformations. Nancy Marino is Professor of Spanish, Adjunct Professor of History, and Consultant to the Vice President for Research at Michigan State University.
Do overweight and obesity prevalence rates converge in Europe

Abstract We exploit recently published data to evaluate the long-run evolution of overweight and obesity rates among European economies between 1975 and 2016. We find that overweight rates for both females and males converge in Europe. In particular, the convergence is driven by the nations in the EU. This fact is consistent with food patterns as well as trade, agricultural, and health policies that are common among EU members. Across our model specifications, the steady-state average overweight rate ranges between 60% and 77% for European female individuals and lies above 82% for their male counterparts. Confidence intervals suggest that such gender differences are statistically significant. In the EU, the point estimates of these rates are 62% and 91%, respectively. Obesity prevalence in Europe would reach long-term rates of 39% and 45% for females and males respectively, whereas these rates would be similar in the EU (approximately 28%).
Pi3k/Akt/Mtor Pathway Activity Is Increased in Lymph Node Tissue from Idiopathic Multicentric Castleman Disease Patients with Tafro Syndrome

Castleman disease (CD) describes a group of heterogeneous diseases defined by shared lymph node histopathology, including atrophic or hyperplastic germinal centers, prominent follicular dendritic cells, hypervascularization, polyclonal lymphoproliferation, and/or polytypic plasmacytosis. Unicentric CD (UCD) involves a solitary enlarged lymph node that displays CD histopathology, and patients rarely experience systemic symptoms. In contrast, multicentric CD (MCD) involves multiple regions of enlarged lymph nodes, systemic inflammation, cytopenias, and vital organ dysfunction due to a cytokine storm often including interleukin-6. MCD is caused by uncontrolled infection with Kaposi sarcoma-associated/human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) in ~50% of cases. The etiology of the remaining HHV-8-negative MCD cases is idiopathic (iMCD). In iMCD patients, blockade of IL-6 signaling with siltuximab, the only FDA-approved iMCD treatment, induced responses in 34% of cases in the phase II registrational trial. The large proportion of non-responders suggest that alternative pathways are responsible for driving disease pathogenesis in some patients. For these individuals, identification of molecular and cellular abnormalities for therapeutic targeting is urgently needed, particularly for those with the most severe clinical presentations. In fact, a clinical subgroup of iMCD was recently described with a very severe presentation: thrombocytopenia, anasarca, myelofibrosis, renal dysfunction, and organomegaly (iMCD-TAFRO). We previously reported increased phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling--a central pathway downstream of multiple cell surface receptors, implicated in both autoimmune and oncologic disorders--in a treatment refractory iMCD-TAFRO case that experienced an extended remission on treatment with an mTOR inhibitor. To extend these findings, herein we report immunohistochemistry for phosphorylated ribosomal protein S6 (phospho-S6), a marker of mTOR activation, in lymph node tissue from additional iMCD-TAFRO cases (n=10) and sentinel lymph nodes from breast cancer patients without evidence of metastasis (n=5). Anti-phospho-S6 (Ser235/236, Clone D57.2.2E) was used following standard protocols, and Aperio ImageScope and Image Analysis Toolkit software (color deconvolution v9 algorithm) were used to quantify pixel staining intensity in the germinal center, mantle zone, follicular and interfollicular regions. This analysis identified an increased number of pixels staining weak, medium, and strong for phospho-S6 in the interfollicular region of iMCD-TAFRO cases (p Disclosures Fajgenbaum:Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Research Funding.
600.48 Clinical Significance of Patent Foramen Ovale in Patients Undergoing Liver Transplantation: A Retrospective Multicenter Study

The clinical significance of a patent foramen ovale (PFO) in patients undergoing liver transplantation (LT) has not been extensively studied. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of a PFO in the early post-operative outcomes following LT. A retrospective medical record review of
Salt-free and environment-friendly reactive dyeing of cotton in cottonseed oil/water system

This research studies the reactive dyeing in cottonseed oil/water dual-phase solvents system (CWDS) and establishes sustainable industrial dyeing procedures using cottonseed oil. The conventional aqueous dyeing generates large quantities of wastewater containing high concentrations of salts and dyes and has very low dye-fixation. Substituted dyeing technologies not only failed to completely solve problems of aqueous dyeing but also generated new problems such as high cost for modifications of dyeing facilities and new environmental pollution. Using cottonseed oil as external dyeing phase notably increases the dye concentration in the internal solvent phase via raising the chemical potential of dyes at outer phase without the use of salts. The dye fixation based on the total dye added to the dyebath for CWDS increases by up to 30% compared to aqueous dyeing. Besides, the external phase in CWDS is recyclable and biodegradable. Furthermore, using CWDS, fabrics are dyed in current jet-dyeing facilities on a pilot scale and have the same levelness and colorfastness as those from aqueous dyeing. Dye fixation using pilot-scale jet dyeing machines in CWDS achieves 90%+. The materials and energy costs of CWDS are lower than those of aqueous dyeings.
Witchcraft in the American Colonies Beyond the Limits of Salem

In the United States, witchcraft has become synonymous with Salem. When it comes to the history of witchcraft in the United States the conversation tends to be dominated by Salem, as the words witchcraft and Salem seem to have become synonymous. What is also well known is that the Salem Witch Trials led to the deaths of so many and the imprisonment of dozens more. However, fears of witchcraft and witch hunts and trials have occurred all over the world. There is documentation of witches and persecution of people thought to be witches on every continent that people inhabit. In the last few decades, as the subject of women's history has flourished there has been an abundance of research done on the topic of witchcraft and its impacts in the American colonies. However, a majority of this research and the scholarly writings have focused on the Salem Witch Trials. While this has drawn more of the general population into the topic, there is still far more research that is needed on the other witch trials that occurred in the American colonies. Salem has a well-publicized and understood history when it comes to witchcraft and trials, but there are many trials that preceded and followed those that occurred in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Autumn flooding disrupts seasonal nitrogen storage and impacts spring growth in Quercus texana seedlings

Autumn flooding reduced nitrogen uptake and fine root mass. Leaf nitrogen resorption increased, but overall autumn nitrogen accumulation was negligible in flooded seedlings. Subsequently, spring survival and growth were decreased. Since nitrogen (N) is often limiting in terrestrial ecosystems, N is conserved in trees by resorption before leaf senescence. Bottomland forests are prone to flooding, which could reduce N uptake, and may decrease phloem transport, which is essential for N resorption. Therefore, we hypothesized that autumn flooding may diminish both N uptake and N resorption in trees, and this would reduce spring growth. Two-year-old Quercus texana seedlings either had no flood or had their complete root system flooded during dormancy induction, the period in autumn when trees prepare metabolically and physiologically for winter dormancy. We measured seedling growth and nutrient contents before flooding and after leaf fall and determined impacts of autumn flooding on growth during the subsequent spring. Autumn flooding resulted in a small increase in N resorption from leaves. In non-flooded seedlings, much more N accumulated in stems and roots than the amount resorbed from leaves, suggesting that there was substantial N uptake during the autumn dormancy induction period. However, flooding severely reduced accumulation of N in roots and stems during autumn, probably by directly reducing uptake and by increasing fine root mortality. Winter survival was reduced 50% by autumn flooding. Autumn-flooded seedlings that survived winter had greater new root growth in spring than non-flooded seedlings, but substantially decreased stem diameter growth. Our results indicate that Q. texana seedlings which are flooded during dormancy induction may be less competitive the following spring due to fine root mortality and reduced nutrient storage, which negatively impact spring growth.
Study the past if you would define the future (Confucius)

Li et al 1 reported the results of an elegant study to estimate the prevalence and incidence of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in the European Union (EU), where AMD is the leading cause of legal blindness and visual impairment. Importantly, the second objective was to predict future EU prevalence and incidence figures out to the year 2050. The authors performed a systematic review and identified relevant articles in the literature: 22 prevalence but only four incidence studies. Since different studies used different AMD classification systems, the authors recategorised the data according to the Beckman Initiative for Macular Research system.2 They then synthesised the data by meta-analysis to obtain prevalence and incidence estimates by AMD stage. Specifically, they used random-effects meta-analysis, which assumes that results vary between studies not just from random error but also from true variation (ie, ‘heterogeneity’, from differences in study protocols, regions, etc). Next, they performed random-effects meta-regression to investigate potential sources of heterogeneity. In this way, the authors derived population prevalence estimates, expressed as percentages, for early/intermediate AMD, late AMD, neovascular AMD and geographic atrophy (GA). They reported incidence estimates in a similar way, but only for late AMD. To obtain estimates for the actual numbers of people with AMD, they applied their age-stratified prevalence and incidence estimates to current Eurostat population estimates. Similarly, they used Eurostat population projections to estimate how many EU individuals might be affected by AMD in the future. The current prevalence of early/intermediate AMD in EU adults aged 60 years and older was estimated at 25.3%, while that for late AMD was 2.4%. This corresponds to 67 million individuals with AMD, comprising 56.7 million with early/intermediate AMD and 10.2 million with late AMD. The annual incidence of late AMD was estimated at 1.4 per 1000 individuals, which corresponds to 400 000 new cases per …
Experimental study of fluid penetration and opening geometry during hydraulic fracturing

Abstract The effect of penetrating and non-penetrating fluids, and of opening shape, on hydraulic fracturing has been extensively studied, both theoretically and experimentally. These factors are important because of their effect on fracture initiation and breakdown pressure. This paper revisits these problems, but with a novel experimental procedure that allows one to see details of fluid penetration and fracturing. Prismatic gypsum specimens were tested under external biaxial loads and with hydraulically pressurized openings. Unlike previous experimental research, that used different materials, fluid viscosities and/or pressurization rates to vary the fluid penetration, this study keeps these testing conditions constant and only modifies the permeability of the material around the opening by sealing or not sealing its interior faces with wax. Most importantly, while previously fluid penetration and fracture initiation and propagation patterns could only be visually observed after completing the experiments, the imaging techniques employed in this paper enable us to see the entire fracturing process in detail through high-speed video. Four types of geometries were tested, namely a 5 mm circular flaw, a single vertical ovaloid flaw, and 5 mm circular openings with short and long notches (2.5 mm and 5 mm length, respectively). The first two shapes were analyzed with both, penetrating and non-penetrating fluids. The results confirm that fluid penetration lowers breakdown pressure, does not affect the fracturing pattern, and influences the difference between fracture initiation and breakdown. Also, the high-speed imaging makes it possible to see a distinct fracturing behavior (stable, unstable) within the sealed and not sealed zones. The main contribution is that these effects are not only inferred but are clearly observed during the tests.
Do Teacher Candidates in English-Speaking Countries Understand the Structure of the English Language?

This chapter presents a qualitative comparison of initiatives from four English-speaking countries (Canada, England, New Zealand, United States) that outline the components of teacher content knowledge in teaching reading, including bottom-up skills related to reading acquisition at the word level (i.e., phonemic awareness and alphabetic principle/phonics generalizations) and top-down holistic processes (i.e., comprehension). The chapter authors contend that an understanding of the structure of the language is essential to delivering the explicit and systematic literacy instruction that is needed especially for students at-risk for reading difficulties. The authors developed, validated, and administered a knowledge survey of basic language constructs to compare teacher candidates’ performance from the four different countries. Findings show that teacher candidates from all four countries and in general lack knowledge of certain basic language constructs needed to teach early reading skills. Suggestions regarding how to improve teacher preparation to teach reading in English language arts are provided.
Plasticity of fibroblast transcriptional response to physical and biochemical cues revealed by dynamic network analysis

Data on human skin fibroblast transcriptional responses to external cues were used to reconstruct dynamic gene regulatory networks. The goal of the reconstruction was to determine dynamic network interactions (quantitative predictive relationships of mutual regulatory influences of and on transcription factor expression) from time course data on 56 transcript expression levels obtained following different external cues. The inherently under-determined nature of this problem was addressed in part by excluding putative regulatory motifs that did not appear to be functional in multiple independent experiments from different independent external perturbations. Data were obtained from a previously published experiment in which the 56 transcripts were assayed by bioluminescence in live cells cultured on substrates of varying levels of stiffness and exposed to different levels of arginylglycylaspartic acid (RGD) peptide. The inferred dynamical networks were validated via comparison of predictions to known interactions from gene databases. We discovered that exposure to different substrate stiffnesses and to RGD stimulate responses that are mediated through GATA4, SMAD3/4, ETS-1, and STAT5 and other genes, which can initiate hypertrophic, fibrotic, and inflammatory responses.
Phenotypic and Genetic Identification of Mercenaria mercenaria, Mercenaria campechiensis, and Their Hybrids

The goal of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of phenotypic traits and two genetic assays to distinguish between Mercenaria mercenaria, an important aquaculture species, and Mercenaria campechiensis, a conspecific species that is partially sympatric, but that has not been successfully farmed. The objectives were to evaluate (1) four established diagnostic phenotypic traits (lunule shape, thickness of concentric shell ridges, prominence of anterior side of the concentric ridges, and presence of purple nacre inside of the shells) to distinguish between species, (2) size polymorphism of PCR fragments from four genes [16S rRNA, 18S rRNA, Internal Transcribed Spacer genes (ITS1 and ITS2)], and (3) PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) on three of these genes (16S, ITS1, and ITS2). Phenotypic traits correctly distinguished two geographically distant conspecific populations (two locations in Maine for M. mercenaria and in Bradenton, FL, for M. campechiensis); however, among all other locations, both species had overlapping phenotypic trait values. Although PCR fragments were obtained for all genes tested, size polymorphism was not identified between the two species. Restriction enzyme digestion of PCR fragments resulted in diagnostic fragments distinguishing the two species for 16S, ITS1, and ITS2. Although phenotypic scores failed to delineate between the two species in most locations, PCR-RFLP results failed to identify hybrids in wild or hatchery samples. Further investigation is needed to apply the PCR-RFLP assays on known hybrid offspring from crosses of M. mercenaria and M. campechiensis. Results have elucidated the difficulties in confidently detecting hybridization in quahogs; however, determining effective methods for species identification and hybrid detection will be important to address issues such as the prevalence and distribution of hybridization in aquaculture and in wild populations, and to determin the presence of M. campechiensis which are currently difficult to find.
Regional lymph node sampling in hepatoma resection: insight into prognosis

Abstract Background The importance of regional lymph node sampling (LNS) during resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is poorly understood. This study sought to ameliorate this knowledge gap through a nationwide population-based analysis. Methods Patients who underwent liver resection (LR) for HCC were identified from Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER-18) database (2003–2015). Cohort-based clinicopathologic comparisons were made based on completion of regional LNS. Propensity-score matching reduced bias. Overall and disease-specific survival (OS/DSS) were analyzed. Results Among 5395 patients, 835 (15.4%) underwent regional LNS. Patients undergoing LNS had larger tumors (7.0vs4.8 cm) and higher T-stage (30.9 vs. 17.6% T3+, both p Conclusion Regional LNS is seldom performed during resection for HCC, but it provides useful prognostic information. As the era of adjuvant therapy for HCC begins, surgeons should increasingly consider performing regional LNS to facilitate optimal multidisciplinary management.
Modulation of SARS-CoV-2 Spike-induced Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) in HEK293T cells by selected small chemical molecules

Abstract Coronaviruses (CoV) exploits the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of the host cells for replication and in doing so, increases ER stress. evokes Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) and possibly autophagy, which could all attribute to the pathophysiology of the viral infections. To date, little is known about the roles of ER stress, UPR, and autophagy in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here we over-expressed the viral Spike (S) protein in cultured HEK293T cells, as it has been shown that such protein is largely responsible for UPR activation in other CoV-infected cells. We noticed, in the transfected cells, heightened ER stress, activation of the PERK-eIF2α arm of the UPR, induction of autophagy and cell death. When we treated the transfected cells with Tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), 4-phenyl butyric acid (PBA), Salubrinal, Trazadone hydrochloride, and Dibenzoylmethane (DBM), we saw reduced the BiP/GRP78 levels, but only PBA and TUDCA could significantly diminish the levels of peIF2α and autophagy expression.
Aging mechanisms of filled cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) cable insulation material exposed to simultaneous thermal and gamma radiation

Abstract Thermal and simultaneous thermal and gamma radiation aging experiments were conducted on an industry grade cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) cable insulation material, which is a composite material with XLPE as polymer matrix and various additives and fillers. Reverse engineering was conducted to identify and quantify the material composition given that this information was not revealed by the cable manufacture. Samples were then aged at temperatures of 60, 90, and 115 °C, exposed to gamma radiation for total doses of 0–324 kGy, and at dose rates of 0–540 Gy/h. Aging mechanisms were studied using various materials characterization techniques including pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GCMS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), and gel-fraction tests. Results show that the flame-retardant components were decomposed into smaller molecules when the material was exposed to gamma radiation, while no changes were observed when the samples were aged thermally without gamma radiation. With exposure to gamma radiation, the crystalline phase of the XLPE were damaged by gamma radiation introducing defects in the crystals, resulting in smaller and less perfect crystals. The dominance of chain scission or chain reformation process largely depends on the chain mobility, which is decided by the aging temperature. Chain scission was seen to dominate when the material was exposed to gamma radiation at 60 °C. Chain cross-linking slightly dominated when the material was exposed to gamma radiation at 90 °C and became more dominant with exposure to gamma radiation at 115 °C. No significant change to the XLPE polymer matrix was observed when the samples were exposed to thermal aging without gamma radiation. Antioxidant is more effective in protecting the XLPE polymer matrix under thermal aging, but less effective with sample exposure to gamma radiation.
Identification of organ-specific transcriptomic shifts in the vasculature during systemic inflammation using TrendCatcher

A recent analysis of endothelial cell (EC) gene expression suggests that ECs of distinct organs vary in their gene expression profiles and respond distinctly to the systemic inflammatory stimulus of endotoxemia (Jambusaria et al., 2020). There is a need to systematically define tissue-specific gene expression dynamics in response to inflammation but such an analysis is in part limited by the availability of appropriate algorithms to analyze differential expression across a time course. Here, we present TrendCatcher (https://jaleesr.github.io/TrendCatcher_1.0.0/), an R package designed for time course RNA-seq data analysis which identifies distinct dynamic transcriptional programs. When applied to ECs, we observed that approximately 85-95% of EC genes in all three organs followed a biphasic response following endotoxemia. The rapid upregulation of innate immune response and bacterial response genes occurred within 6 hours in all three vascular beds but the subsequent upregulation of reparative EC mitosis and cell cycle genes occurred most rapidly in lung ECs (24-48h) and was most delayed in cardiac ECs (72h-168h). The distinct kinetics of EC inflammatory injury and regeneration identify vascular-bed specific temporal windows for targeted therapeutics.
Antibody immunosuppressive therapy in solid organ transplant: Part II.

Currently, a wide variety of both polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies are being routinely utilized to prevent and treat solid organ rejection. More commonly, these agents are also administered in order to delay introduction of calcineurin inhibitors, especially in patients with already compromised renal function. While these antibody therapies dramatically reduced the incidence of acute rejection episodes and improved both short and long-term graft survival, they are also associated with an increased incidence of opportunistic infections and neoplastic complications. Therefore, effective patient management must necessarily balance these risks against the potential benefits of the therapy.
Magnetoelectric excitations in hexaferrites utilizing solenoid coil for sensing applications

Abstract We have developed techniques for H - and E -field sensors utilizing single phase magnetoelectric hexaferrite materials in the frequency range of 100 Hz to 10 MHz. Novel excitation method incorporating solenoid coils and single and multi-capacitor banks were developed and tested for sensor detections. For H -field sensing we obtained sensitivity of about 3000 V/mG and for E -field sensing the sensitivity was 10 −4 G/Vm −1 . Tunability of about 0.1% was achieved for tunable inductor applications. However, the proposed designs lend themselves to significant (~10 6 ) improvements in sensitivity and tunability.