cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role of the cytosolic chaperones Hsp70 and Hsp90 in maturation of the cardiac potassium channel HERG.

The human ether-a-gogo-related gene (hERG) encodes the alpha subunit of the cardiac potassium current IKr. Several mutations in hERG produce trafficking-deficient channels that may cause hereditary long-QT syndrome and sudden cardiac death. Although hERG currents have been studied extensively, little is known about the proteins involved in maturation and trafficking of hERG. Using immunoprecipitations, we show that the cytosolic chaperones heat shock protein (Hsp) 70 and Hsp90, but not Grp94, interact with hERG wild type (WT) during maturation. The specific Hsp90 inhibitor geldanamycin prevents maturation and increases proteasomal degradation of hERG WT, while reducing hERG currents in heterologous expression systems. In ventricular myocytes, inhibition of Hsp90 also decreases IKr, whereas geldanamycin had no effect on IKs or heterologously expressed Kv2.1 and Kv1.5 currents. Both Hsp90 and Hsp70 interact directly with the core-glycosylated form of hERG WT present in the endoplasmic reticulum but not the fully glycosylated, cell-surface form. For the trafficking-deficient LQT2 mutants, hERG R752W and hERG G601S, interactions with Hsp90 and Hsp70 are increased as both mutants remained tightly associated with Hsp90 and Hsp70 in the endoplasmic reticulum. Incubation at lower temperature for R752W or with the hERG blocker astemizole for G601S dissociates channel-chaperone complexes and restores trafficking. In contrast, nonfunctional but trafficking-competent hERG G628S is released from chaperone complexes during maturation comparable to WT. We conclude that Hsp90 and Hsp70 are crucial for the maturation of hERG WT as well as the retention of trafficking-deficient LQT2 mutants. The full text of this article is available online at http://www.circresaha.org.
Agreement between Physician and Patient's Self Assessment of Heart Failure Symptoms Using New York Heart Association Classification

Although spirometry results are worse in the COPD group, only FEV1 was statistically significant. Conclusion: Self reporting of COPD or asthma is a poor predictor of COPD diagnosis by GOLD criteria, and achievement of optimal dose of carvedilol. This finding suggests a larger safety and tolerability study of the use of betablocker therapy in chronic heart failure patients with COPD and/or asthma.
Interactions of the Stereoisomers of α-Hydroxytamoxifen with Human Hydroxysteroid Sulfotransferase SULT2A1 and Rat Hydroxysteroid Sulfotransferase STa

Tamoxifen (TAM) is a nonsteroidal antiestrogenic drug that is widely used for the treatment of estrogen receptor-dependent breast cancer. An increased risk of endometrial cancer in some patients treated with TAM has been linked to the metabolic formation of α-hydroxytamoxifen (α-OHTAM) and its subsequent sulfation. α-OHTAM has been found to be a substrate for rat and human hydroxysteroid sulfotransferases (STa and SULT2A1, respectively). Since stereochemistry plays an important role in the interactions of hydroxysteroid sulfotransferases with their substrates, we have now investigated the interactions of each of the stereoisomers of α-OHTAM with highly purified recombinant STa and SULT2A1. Methods for the preparation of the enantiomers of E- and Z-α-OHTAM were developed. When each of the four enantiomers was examined with rat STa, E-(+)-α-OHTAM was the only substrate for the enzyme, whereas E-(-)-α-OHTAM, Z-(+)-α-OHTAM, and Z-(-)-α-OHTAM were inhibitors of the sulfation of E-(+)-α-OHTAM catalyzed by STa. The dissociation constants for the α-OHTAM enantiomers indicated that they bound to STa with similar affinity, but only the E-(+)-enantiomer was a substrate. In contrast to the results obtained with rat hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase STa, all enantiomers of α-OHTAM were substrates for the human SULT2A1. Moreover, kcat/Km values with SULT2A1 were higher with the Z enantiomers than with the E enantiomers. As a result of the potential for interconversion of the E and Z geometric isomers upon metabolism, the sulfation of the Z isomers may be of greater concern in human tissues than has been previously assumed.
Notions of resource-bounded category and genericity

The author investigates the strength of resource-bounded generic sets for deciding results in relativized complexity. He makes technical improvements to J.H. Lutz's notion of resource-bounded Baire category (1987, 1989) to show that almost every exponential-time set (in the author's sense of category) separate P from NP. It is shown that the author's improved notion of category, while strictly more powerful, still has all the other desirable properties of Lutz's characterization of resource-bounded category in terms of Banach-Mazur games. He then considers the amount of genericity needed to prove result of M. Blum and R. Impagliazzo (1987) regarding NP intersection co-NP and one-way functions. It is found that although these results hold for 1-generic sets, they cannot be guaranteed even by extremely powerful but slightly weaker generics. A crucial difference between 1-genericity and weaker notions is thus isolated. The author studies this weaker notion of genericity and shows that it has recursion-theoretic properties radically different from 1-genericity. >
Land use and climatic factors structure regional patterns in soil microbial communities

Aim Although patterns are emerging for macroorganisms,we have limited understanding of the factors determining soil microbial community composition and productivity at large spatial extents. The overall objective of this study was to discern the drivers of microbial community composition at the extent of biogeographical provinces and regions.We hypothesized that factors associated with land use and climate would drive soil microbial community composition and biomass.
Skeleton based performance prediction on shared networks

The performance skeleton of an application is a short running program whose performance in any scenario reflects the performance of the application it represents. Such a skeleton can be employed to quickly estimate the performance of a large application under existing network and node sharing. This work presents and validates a framework for automatic construction of performance skeletons of parallel applications. The approach is based on capturing the compute and communication behavior of an executing application, summarizing this behavior and then generating a synthetic skeleton program based on the summarized information. We demonstrate that automatically generated performance skeletons take an order of magnitude less time to execute than the application they represent, yet predict the application execution time with reasonable accuracy. For the NAS benchmark suite, we observed that the average-error in predicting the execution time was 6%. This research is motivated by the problem of performance driven resource selection in shared network and Grid environments.
Characterization of a volumetric metamaterial realization of an artificial magnetic conductor for antenna applications

The design, fabrication and measurement of a volumetric metamaterial realization of an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) is presented. In contrast to most current realizations of AMCs, such as the mushroom and the uniplanar compact photonic bandgap surfaces, the present design has no perfect electric conductor ground plane. The perfect magnetic conductor properties were designed with capacitively loaded loops for X band operation at 10 GHz. Very good agreement between the numerical and experimental scattering results was achieved. The performance of a dipole antenna radiating in the presence of this volumetric metamaterial AMC is quantified numerically. Resonant interactions of the antenna and metamaterial structure lead to a significant enhancement of the radiated field amplitudes and isolation measured as the front-to-back ratio.
Metabolites of Nuatigenin ((22S,25S)22,25-Epoxy-3β,26-Dihydroxy-Furost-5-Ene) Accumulate in the Bile of Rabbits Fed Oats

In spite of frequent occurrence of steroidal saponins in nutritionally important plants, little is known about metabolism of the corresponding sapogenols. Only relatively recent data indicate that certain saponins are of a considerable health significance to livestock and this toxicity seems to be related to discrete metabolites of sapogenols identified in the bile. It has been noted that lambs grazing on a kleingrass, Panicum coloratum, develop photosensitization secondary to the hepatic dysfunction with lesions, necrosis of hepatocytes and obstruction of small bile ducts with a crystalline material.1 Similar material, accumulating in sheep fed Agave lecheguilla, has been identified as either smilagenin ((25R)3β-hydroxy-5β-spirostane) la or sarsapogenin ((25S)3β-hydroxy-5β-spirostane) 2a.2 Diosgenin ((25R)3β-hydroxyspirost-5-ene) 3 and yamogenin ((25R)3β-hydroxyspirost-5-ene) 4, released from saponins of P. coloratum upon hydrolysis, may give rise to these insoluble products.3 Two related species, P. dichotomiflorum and P. schinzii, are also hepatotoxic to sheep and their intake causes accumulation of a calcium salt of β-D-glucuronide of epi-smilagenin ((25R)3α-hydroxy-5β-spirostane) lb.4,5,6,7 Subsequently, however, the true sapogenol of P. dichotomiflorum has been identified as (25R)-3β,22α,26-trihydroxy-furost-5-ene 5.8 Thus, in case of Panicum, furostanols and not spirostanols may serve as precursors of these bile-insoluble products. In addition, it has been found that in case of the intoxication of sheep grazing on signal grass Brachiaria decumbens, epi-sarsapogenin ((25S)3α-hydroxy-5β-spirostane) 2b and epi-smilagenin lb accumulate in the rumen content,9,10 whereas feeding furostanol saponins of Trigonella foenum graecum to dogs results in the fecal excretion of smilagenin la, diosgenin 3, and gitogenin ((25R)2α, 3β-dihydroxy-5α-spirostane) 6.11
The Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake of October 1, 1987—CSMIP Strong Motion Data

Abstract The Whittier Narrows earthquake of October 1, 1987 generated the largest set of strong‐motion records ever obtained from a single earthquake. The California Strong Motion Instrumentation Program (CSMIP) recovered 128 strong‐motion records from 101 stations. Of these 101 stations, 63 are ground‐response stations and 38 are extensively‐instrumented structures. The structures include 27 buildings, eight dams, a suspension bridge, an airport tower, and a power plant. This paper summarizes that data set and highlights records of particular interest. The duration of strong shaking was approximately 3 to 4 seconds at most stations. The maximum peak acceleration values in the CSMIP data set are 0.62 g on the ground and 0.54 g in a structure. The largest acceleration (0.62 g) was recorded at a station near Tarzana, approximately 45 km from the epicenter. Other records of particular interest discussed here include the record from a soft‐story building on the Los Angeles State University campus and the reco...
Examining the Interaction of Extroversion and Network Structure in the Formation of Effective Informal Support Networks

This study on informal support networks bridges the traditionally disparate disciplines of personality theory and social network theory, and examines the impact of extroversion on the structure of support networks, as well as the relative contribution of network structure versus extroversion to a critical element of network effectiveness: trust. Two uestionnaires measuring extroversion and social support network characteristics were administered to 113 university business students. Although no impact of extroversion was found on certain dimensions of network structure (e.g., size, diversity, behavioral aspects of strength of ties), introverts and extroverts differed in terms of affective aspects of strength of ties and embeddedness. Furthermore, although we failed to find a significant interaction effect of extroversion and embeddedness on trust, both extroversion and strength of ties predicted trust. In addition, extroverts’ networks were characterized by higher levels of intimacy and trust, which may
Experimental determination of Pb partitioning between sulfide melt and basalt melt as a function of P, T and X

Abstract We have measured the partition coefficient of Pb (KdPb) between FeS melt and basalt melt at temperatures of 1250–1523 °C, pressures of 1.0–3.5 GPa and oxygen fugacities at iron–wustite and wustite–magnetite. The total observed range of KdPb is 4.0–66.6, with a strong negative dependence on pressure and a strong negative dependence on FeO of the silicate melt (Fe+2 only). The FeO control was constrained over a wide range of FeO (4.2–39.5%). We found that the effect of oxygen fugacity can be subsumed under the FeO control parameter. Prior work has established the lack of a significant effect of temperature (Kiseeva and Wood, 2015; Li and Audetat, 2015). Our data are parameterized as: KdPb = 4.8 + (512 − 119*P in GPa)*(1/FeO − 0.021). We also measured a single value of KdPb between clinopyroxene and basalt melt at 2.0 GPa of 0.020 ± 0.001. This experimental data supports the “natural” partitioning of Pb measured on sulfide globules in MORB (Patten et al., 2013), but not the low KdPb of ∼3 inferred from sulfides in abyssal peridotites by Warren and Shirey (2012). It also quantitatively affirms the modeling of Hart and Gaetani (2006) with respect to using sulfide to buffer the canonical Nd/Pb ratio for MORB and OIB (Hofmann, 2003). For the low FeO and pressure of segregation typical of MORB, KdPb ∼ 45, and the Nd/Pb ratio of erupted basalts will be the same as the Nd/Pb ratio of the mantle source. The remaining puzzle is why MORB and OIB have the same Nd/Pb when they clearly have different FeO and pressure of melt segregation.
Revisiting powdered sugar for varroa control on honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)

(2012). Revisiting powdered sugar for varroa control on honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) Journal of Apicultural Research: Vol. 51, No. 4, pp. 367-368.
Higher Sensitivity of Capillary Electrophoresis in Detecting Hemoglobin A2′Compared to Traditional Gel Electrophoresis

HbA2' (also called Hb B2) is the most common delta-globin chain defect and is reported to occur in 1-2% of the African American population. The major clinical significance of HbA2' is that the failure to detect it might lead to an underestimation of the total HbA2, leading to failure to diagnose β-thalassemia minor. In order to diagnose β-thalassemia minor, both HbA2 and HbA2' levels must be combined.Hb A2' accounts for a small percentage (1-2%) of the total hemoglobin in heterozygotes. It is difficult to detect this small amount by traditional gel electrophoresis. Using HPLC Hb A2' is easily detected as it produces a minor peak in the S window. Other conditions which might interfere with detection of HbA2' by HPLC include Hb S trait or Hb SS disease (Hb A2' hidden in the S peak), transfused Hb SS (Hb S peak may be very small), Hb C trait or Hb CC disease (glycosylated Hb C elutes in the S window), and Hb G (Hb G2 elutes in the S window). All of the above conditions, including Hb A2', occur most commonly in the same ethnic group (African American). We reviewed 654 consecutive cases over a period of three months for the presence of Hb A2' in our laboratory where capillary electrophoresis is used as the primary diagnostic tool. We detected seven cases (1.07 %) of HbA2'. In contrast, we did not detect any HbA2' using conventional gel electrophoresis in the last one year (2,580 cases). Although in none of the seven cases the sum of Hb A2 and Hb A2' exceeded 3.5%, we believe that capillary electrophoresis allows for a better detection of Hb A2' than gel electrophoresis and HPLC.
Mast cell phenotypes in the allograft after lung transplantation.

BACKGROUND The burden of mast cell (MC) infiltration and their phenotypes, MC-tryptase (MCT ) and MC-tryptase/chymase (MCTC ), after lung transplantation (LT) has not been evaluated in human studies. METHODS We reviewed 20 transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) specimen from patients with early normal allograft ( 6 months, n=5), A2 or worse acute cellular rejection (ACR, n=5), and chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD, n=5). Slides were immunostained for tryptase and chymase. Total MC, MCT , MCTC and MCTC to-MCT ratio were compared between the four groups using a generalized linear mixed model. RESULTS Irrespective of clinicopathologic diagnosis, MC burden tends to increase with time (r(2) =.56, P=.009). MCTC phenotype was significantly increased in the CLAD group (8.2±4.9 cells per HPF) in comparison with the other three groups (early normal: 1.6±1.7, P=.0026; late normal: 2.5±2.3, P=.048; ACR: 2.7±3.5, P=.021). Further, the ratio of MCTC to MCT was significantly increased in CLAD group as compared to the other three groups (P<.001 for all comparisons). CONCLUSIONS The burden of MC may increase in the allograft as function of time. Patients with CLAD have an increased relative and absolute burden of MCTC phenotype MC. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings and evaluate the potential pathologic role of MCTC in allograft dysfunction.
Impaired resistance to infection.

Congenital disorders of host defense are unusual and thus, unless a prior infant in the family has been similarly affected, they are not often given much consideration in the management of infection in the neonatal period. This article discusses those primary disorders which have been well defined and appear to arise on a genetic basis.
Biogenic sedimentation and geochemical properties of deep-sea sediments of the Demerara Slope/Abyssal Plain: Influence of the Amazon River Plume

Abstract The Amazon River Plume has a major impact on sedimentation at abyssal depths throughout a broad area (450,000 km2) and far (500–1000 km) from the river mouth. As the plume mixes into the North Atlantic Ocean, it may support ecological niches favorable for N2 fixation driven by the symbiosis between diatoms and diazotrophic cyanobacteria. This proposed diatom-diazotroph association (DDA) should result in increased carbon export from a limited region of plume influence. Here we used 32 multicores collected throughout the Demerara Abyssal Slope and Plain at depths ranging from 3000 to 5000m to assess patterns and rates of export and accumulation of organic carbon (Corg or POC) and biogenic SiO2 (bSi). Sediment accumulation rates were determined from 14C ages of foraminifera obtained at 2–5 depths from 9 cores and were further constrained by 230Th measurements. The sedimentation rate (1–5 cm ky− 1), representing the average accumulation over the past 8000 years, was combined with Corg and bSi sediment concentrations to establish biogenic matter burial fluxes. Burial of POC represents 4–16% of the Corg raining to the deep sea floor, which is high for water depths > 4000 m. Burial of bSi represents 1–9% of the total bSi rain. Clastic sedimentation dominates regions underlying the plume, while carbonate sedimentation dominated otherwise. Sediment mixing (bioturbation) was studied in 13 cores using 210Pb as a tracer and showed no spatial patterns. Diffusional mixing coefficients ranged from 0.03 to 3.2 cm year− 1, values consistent with other deep sea mixing rates, however, sites with the highest mixing rates did not have the highest Corg content. Sediment focusing was studied in at 7 sites using 230Th as a tracer; surficial sediments had focusing factors that ranged from 1 to 2, indicating little sediment redistribution. Biogenic sedimentation in general and bSi deposition in particular is not concentrated in the region of DDA abundance. The NW axis of primary plume trajectory is coincident with the maximum deposition and burial of POC and bSi but not CaCO3.
Capacitative Ca2+ entry and tyrosine kinase activation in canine pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells

We investigated the role of capacitative Ca2+ entry and tyrosine kinase activation in mediating phenylephrine (PE)-induced oscillations in intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in canine ...
Using Multi-Scale Measurements to Improve Methane Emission Estimates from Oil and Gas Operations in the Barnett Shale Region, Texas

A growing body of work using varying analytical approaches is yielding estimates of methane emissions from the natural gas supply chain. For shorthand, the resulting emission estimates can be broadly described as top-down or bottom-up. Top-down estimates are determined from measured atmospheric methane enhancements at regional or larger scales. Bottom-up estimates rely on emissions measurements made directly from components or at the site level. (We note that bottom-up emission estimates (e.g., refs 4 and 13) may rely on data obtained with emission quantification methods sometimes labeled as top-down (e.g., refs 6, 7, and 9−12).) Both approaches have strengths and weaknesses. Top-down estimates cannot easily distinguish emissions from specific source types, limiting the development of informed mitigation strategies. Bottom-up estimates are resource intensive, and may not provide sufficient statistical characterization of each source type to accurately estimate total emissions. Previously published large-scale top-down studies report higher methane emissions than estimated by bottom-up emission inventories. Recent reviews of this work suggest that differences may result from (i) incorrect attribution of emissions among methane sources (e.g., fossil vs biogenic sources); (ii) obsolete or incomplete emission inventories, possibly based on emission factors developed using small or unrepresentative samples (including potential bias introduced by sampling only at cooperating facilities) and poor infrastructure activity data (e.g., site or event counts); (iii) failure to account for emissions from uncommon but anomalously high emitting sources (sometimes called superemitters); and (iv) the impact of intermittent, short-duration events. This issue contains 10 articles reporting results from a coordinated, twoweek field campaign that examined methane emissions using a diversity of analytical approaches in an effort to address these issues. The Barnett Shale Coordinated Campaign focused on a region of north Texas that includes the Barnett Shale oil and gas fields and the metropolitan area around Dallas and Fort Worth (population ∼7 million). With about 30 000 active wells, the region produced ∼2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2013, or 7% of total U.S. production. As summarized below and in Figure 1, measurements from the campaign, supplemented with two recent national data sets, were used to develop topdown and bottom-up estimates of oil and gas methane emissions in the Barnett Shale region.
Validating the Use of D for Measuring Lexical Diversity in Low-Income Kindergarten Children.

Purpose Children from low–socioeconomic status families often perform poorly on standardized vocabulary assessments. The primary purpose of the study was to determine whether lexical diversity as m...
Intraoperative Endpoints of Resuscitation

Perioperative evaluation and management of the patient has become a major focus of the strategy needed to minimize the risk of complications and to decrease surgical mortality. The endpoints of intraoperative resuscitation depend on the patient’s preoperative condition, including comorbidities, and the type and duration of the surgery being performed. Certain physiological principles apply from the standpoint of the relationship between cellular oxygen delivery and consumption during major surgical procedures, depending on the depth and duration of anesthesia, the magnitude of the planned procedure, and on the risk stratification of the patients with its associated predicted mortality. Attention should be directed to the intraoperative variables that may affect the postoperative course of the patient. The degree and type of hemodynamic monitoring should be selected based on the preoperative condition of the patient and the type of surgery being performed. Simple endpoints that could assure a safe intraoperative and postoperative course in a standard low-risk patient, such as measurement of heart rate, blood pressure, central venous pressure, and urine output, may be inadequate in an operation in a high-risk patient associated with massive fluid shift and blood loss.
Algebra Underperformances at College Level: What Are the Consequences?

Many college instructors consider the final problem-solving steps in their respective disciplines as “just algebra”; however, for many college students, a weak foundation in algebra seems to be a source of significant struggle with solving a variety of mathematics problems. The purpose of this chapter is to reveal some typical algebra errors that subsequently plague students’ abilities to succeed in higher-level mathematics courses. The early detection and mindfulness of these errors will aid in the creation of a model for intervention that is specifically designed for students’ needs in each course.
Marsupial Brains Are Not as “Primitive” as Expected

Due to their early emergence in mammalian evolution and absence of some characteristics found in their eutherian sister group, marsupials have been commonly considered primitive in comparative analyses of the brain for decades. However, it now appears that some rules that govern the cellular composition of marsupial brains are not shared with those proposed to have applied to the mammalian ancestor, and some features such as the allocation of neurons across brain structures and encephalization quotients are shared by Australasian marsupials, primates, and artiodactyls. These findings suggest that only the brain of South American marsupials may be considered as a proxy of the ancestral mammalian brain, whereas Australasian marsupial brains seem as derived as any eutherian brain.
Seizure Monitoring and Ambulatory EEGs

Infrequent abnormalities in a person’s EEG, particularly those associated with epilepsy, pose severe problems, as they may not be identified in a routine laboratory study. To address this problem, a special technique known as seizure monitoring is increasingly being used at many hospitals and epilepsy centers. In some EEG laboratories, seizure monitoring is used routinely with patients suspected of having seizures. Additionally, some laboratories have begun doing prolonged monitoring on ambulatory patients using a system in which the EEGs are recorded on a portable tape recorder worn by the patient. In view of these recent developments, a discussion of these topics is warranted in a general text dealing with the technique and practice of clinical electroencephalography. We begin with a discussion of seizure monitoring.
Aerial bombing and catastrophic modernism

This article approaches the narration of catastrophe by focusing on the aerial bombing of cities during the Second World War as represented in German, French, and British modernist novels. It makes two claims. First, of all the literary modes available for representing bombing as a catastrophic event, modernism seems to be the most adequate for conveying its complexity and multiple dimensions. Second, the modernism of experimental works on aerial bombing is a function of the catastrophe that they depict. For this reason, this paper argues for the existence of a catastrophic modernism; its main family resemblances are analyzed throughout its pages.
Predictability and Practicality of Image-Based Scoring Systems for Patient Assessment and Outcome Stratification During Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy: a Contemporary Update

Preoperative nomograms offer systematic and quantitative methods to assess patient- and stone-related characteristics and their impact on successful treatment and potential risk of complication. Discrepancies in the correlation of perioperative variables to patient outcomes have led to the individual development, validation, and application of four independent scoring systems for the percutaneous nephrolithotomy: Guy's stone score, S.T.O.N.E. nephrolithometry, Clinical Research Office of the Endourology Society nomogram, and Seoul National University Renal Stone Complexity. The optimal nomogram should have high predictive ability, be practically integrated into clinical use, and be widely applicable to urinary stone disease. Herein, we seek to provide a contemporary evaluation of the advantages, disadvantages, and commonalities of each scoring system. While the current data is insufficient to conclude which scoring system is destined to become the gold standard, it is crucial that a nephrolithometric scoring system be incorporated into common practice to improve surgical planning, patient counseling, and outcome assessment.
Characteristics of Cases With Repeated Sexually Transmitted Infections, Massachusetts, 2014-2016.

Background Persons with prior sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are at high risk for reinfection. No recent studies have examined frequency with which persons are diagnosed and reported with multiple bacterial STIs over time. Methods We conducted a retrospective, of confirmed syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydial infections reported to Massachusetts state surveillance system within a 2-year period, 28 July 2014-27 July 2016. Results Among Massachusetts population aged 13-65 years (4847510), 49142 (1.0%) were reported with ≥1 STIs; 6999 (14.2% of those with ≥1 STI) had ≥2 STIs, accounting for 27.7% of STIs. Of cases with ≥5 or more STIs (high-volume repeaters), 118 (74%) were men and 42 (26%) were women. Men spanned the age spectrum and were predominantly non-Hispanic white; 87% reported same-sex contacts. Women were younger, predominantly nonwhite, and without known same-sex contacts. Women were reinfected with gonorrhea and chlamydia or chlamydia alone; none had syphilis or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. All men with syphilis also had gonorrhea and/or chlamydia; 35% were diagnosed with HIV before, during, or within 10 months after study period. The majority (56%) of high-volume repeaters were seen at more than 1 care site/system. Conclusions In Massachusetts, a large proportion of bacterial STIs are reported from a small subpopulation, many of whom have repeated infections and are likely to have higher impact on STI and HIV rates. Public health can play a crucial role in reaching high-volume repeaters whose STI histories may be hidden from clinicians due to fragmented care.
The Role of Mothers in the Development of Complex Skills in Chimpanzees

A contribution to: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects: Building Babies: Proximate and Ultimate Perspectives of Primate Developmental Trajectories. Compared to other mammals, primates experience long periods of pre-reproductive dependency. During this time, they acquire an astonishing array of skills, including how to find food, how to avoid predators, and in group-living species, how to navigate complex social situations. Chimpanzees are unique among primates with regards to the number and variety of tool-assisted skills present in their behavioral repertoire. The mechanisms by which these are acquired, and the extent to which behaviors are learned remain an important area of research. Several recent studies have focused on how young chimpanzees develop complex, tool-assisted foraging techniques. These include studies of nut-cracking (reviewed in Biro et al. 2003), termite-fishing (Lonsdorf 2005), and ant-dipping (Humle et al. 2009), all of which present strong evidence that social learning plays a key role in the development of these behaviors. The role of mothers in the development of these behaviors is particularly important, since chimpanzee offspring remain with their mothers well after they have become nutritional dependent. Evidence from the field suggests that rather than actively teaching or facilitating their young, chimpanzee mothers simply tolerate close observation, and individuals may vary in how tolerant they are. This chapter will review what is known about the role of mothers in the development of complex skills in both wild and captive chimpanzees and suggest new directions for future research.
Systemic exertion intolerance disease/chronic fatigue syndrome is common in sleep centre patients with hypersomnolence: A retrospective pilot study.

Symptoms of the central disorders of hypersomnolence extend beyond excessive daytime sleepiness to include non-restorative sleep, fatigue and cognitive dysfunction. They share much in common with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, recently renamed systemic exertion intolerance disease, whose additional features include post-exertional malaise and orthostatic intolerance. We sought to determine the frequency and correlates of systemic exertion intolerance disease in a hypersomnolent population. One-hundred and eighty-seven hypersomnolent patients completed questionnaires regarding sleepiness and fatigue; questionnaires and clinical records were used to assess for systemic exertion intolerance disease. Sleep studies, hypocretin and cataplexy were additionally used to assign diagnoses of hypersomnolence disorders or sleep apnea. Included diagnoses were idiopathic hypersomnia (n = 63), narcolepsy type 2 (n = 25), persistent sleepiness after obstructive sleep apnea treatment (n = 25), short habitual sleep duration (n = 41), and sleepiness with normal sleep study (n = 33). Twenty-one percent met systemic exertion intolerance disease criteria, and the frequency of systemic exertion intolerance disease was not different across sleep diagnoses (p = .37). Patients with systemic exertion intolerance disease were no different from those without this diagnosis by gender, age, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, depressive symptoms, or sleep study parameters. The whole cohort reported substantial fatigue on questionnaires, but the systemic exertion intolerance disease group exhibited more profound fatigue and was less likely to respond to traditional wake-promoting agents (88.6% versus 67.7%, p = .01). Systemic exertion intolerance disease appears to be a common co-morbidity in patients with hypersomnolence, which is not specific to hypersomnolence subtype but may portend a poorer prognosis for treatment response.
Can we increase smokers' adherence to nicotine replacement therapy and does this help them quit?

To examine the effects of five intervention components on smokers’ adherence to combined nicotine patch and nicotine gum during a quit attempt and assess whether adherence is related to cessation. Smokers interested in quitting (N = 513; 59% female; 87% White) received nicotine patch plus nicotine gum and participated in a 2x2x2x2x2 randomized factorial experiment (i.e., 32 treatment conditions) evaluating five intervention components: (1) medication adherence counseling versus none; (2) automated medication adherence calls versus none; (3) electronic medication monitoring with feedback and counseling versus e-monitoring alone; (4) 26 versus 8 weeks of nicotine patch plus nicotine gum; and (5) maintenance counseling versus none. Adherence was assessed over the first 6 weeks post-target quit day via timeline follow-back (nicotine patch) and electronic medication dispenser (gum). In the first 6 weeks post-quit day, 12% of participants used no patches or gum, and 40% used the patch every day. Only 1.4% used both patch and gum adherently every day in the 6 weeks post-target quit day. E-monitoring counseling increased gum use (from 1.9 to 2.6 pieces/day; p < .001) but did not increase abstinence. More adherent patch and gum use in the first 6 weeks were each associated with higher point-prevalence abstinence rates through 1 year. This large experiment with electronic monitoring of nicotine gum adherence showed that e-monitoring counseling increased gum use but not abstinence. Adherence to nicotine patch and to gum were each strongly related to abstinence, but it is unclear whether adherence increases abstinence, or relapse causes medication discontinuation. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01120704.
Cultural Neuroscience of Social Cognition

A contemporary mystery for both social neuroscientists and social cognitive neuroscientists has been to distill the core mechanisms in the human brain that facilitate complex social behavior. The purpose of this chapter is to examine this mystery from a cultural neuroscience perspective. Opening with a description of the social brain hypothesis, the chapter first describes research on the neurobiological basis of human social behavior, as well as an account of the culture–gene coevolutionary theory. In the next section, the chapter examines the theory and methods used by cultural neuroscientists to investigate the development of the social brain over the course of culture–gene coevolution. This section reviews recent evidence for cultural influences on social cognitive brain function across a range of domains from self-knowledge and interpersonal perception to empathy and theory of mind. Finally, the chapter ends with questions open to future research endeavors using cultural neuroscience methods to examine social cognition.
Design of radiation tolerant FPGAs for the LLNL nanosecond gated CMOS camera program

The Nano-Second Gated CMOS Camera (NSGCC) team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has developed a radiation tolerant camera for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) experiments at NIF with total yields of 10^16 neutrons. To achieve the desired level of operational reliability in a prompt dose environment, several firmware hardening strategies were evaluated, such as redundancy, auto-recovery from single-event upsets (SEU), and remote manual recovery if a SEU causes the system to hang. These approaches work well in a low-dose rate space environment; however, it was not clear how they would perform in a high-dose rate environment. The team generated several exploratory FPGA firmware builds with varying levels of protective circuitry and timing margin, subjected the camera to prompt dose radiation using a 20 ns short pulse x-ray source, and varied the dose. Based on this testing, a hardening strategy to achieve the highest level of radiation tolerance was identified, resulting in an FPGA firmware design that had a high probability of remaining operational in NIF’s radiation environment during a high yield shot.
Effects of Hepatic Ischemia-Reperfusion Injuries and NRF2 on Transcriptional Activities of Bile Transporters in Rats.

BACKGROUND The effect of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) on bile transporter (BT) gene expression is unknown. We hypothesized that abnormal expression of BTs during hepatic IRI is dependent on nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), which contributes to the cholestasis after reperfusion. METHODS Sham surgery and short (60 min) or long (90 min) periods of warm ischemia time (WIT) with or without reperfusion for 24 h were applied to wild-type Sprague-Dawley rats and Nrf2 knockout rats (n = 5 per group). At each stage of IRI, the serum levels of aminotransferase, total bilirubin, and bile acids were measured. In addition, hepatic tissue was sampled to determine the histologic score of IRI (Suzuki score), measure adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and identify the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions of BTs (Oatp1, Ntcp, Mrp2, Bsep, and Mrp3). RESULTS In short periods of WIT, BT expression increased during the ischemia stage and returned to the baseline after reperfusion. However, in long periods of WIT, BT expression did not increase after ischemia and decreased further after reperfusion. Short WIT did not increase BT expression in Nrf2 knockout animals. The level of BT expression was correlated with the Suzuki score, the serum levels of aminotransferase, bilirubin, and bile acids, and tissue ATP level. Stepwise multiple regression analysis derived equations to predict the Suzuki score (R2 = 76.8, P < 0.001), serum total bilirubin (R2 = 61.2, P < 0.001), and tissue ATP (R2 = 61.1, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Short WIT induces the transcriptional activities of BT, whereas long WIT depresses them, and the effect was blunted by Nrf2 knockout status. BT expression can be considered a surrogate marker for hepatic IRI.
Suppressing corrosion in primary aluminum–air batteries via oil displacement

Primary aluminum–air batteries boast high theoretical energy densities, but negative electrode corrosion irreversibly limits their shelf life. Most corrosion mitigation methods are insufficient or compromise power and energy density. We suppressed open-circuit corrosion by displacing electrolyte from the electrode surface with a nonconducting oil during battery standby. High power and energy density are enabled by displacing the oil with electrolyte for battery discharge. The underwater-oleophobic wetting properties of the designed cell surfaces allow for reversible oil displacement. We demonstrate this method in an aluminum–air cell that achieves a 420% increase in usable energy density and 99.99% reduction in corrosion, which lowers self-discharge to a rate of 0.02% a month and enables system energy densities of 700 watt-hours per liter and 900 watt-hours per kilogram.
Impact of aeration change and beam arrangement on the robustness of proton plans.

This study determines the impact of change in aeration in sinonasal cavities on the robustness of passive-scattering proton therapy plans in patients with sinonasal and nasopharyngeal malignancies. Fourteen patients, each with one planning CT and one CT acquired during radiotherapy were studied. Repeat and planning CTs were rigidly aligned and contours were transferred using deformable registration. The amount of air, tumor, and fluid within the cavity containing the tumor were measured on both CTs. The original plans were recalculated on the repeat CT. Dosimetric changes were measured for the targets and critical structures. Median decrease in gross tumor volume (GTV) was 19.8% and correlated with the time of rescan. The median change in air content was 7.1% and correlated with the tumor shrinkage. The median of the mean dose Dmean change was +0.4% for GTV and +0.3% for clinical target volume. Median change in the maximum dose Dmax of the critical structures were as follows: optic chiasm +0.66%, left optic nerve +0.12%, right optic nerve +0.38%, brainstem +0.6%. The dose to the GTV decreased by more than 5% in 1 case, and the dose to critical structure(s) increased by more than 5% in three cases. These four patients had sinonasal cancers and were treated with anterior proton fields that directly transversed through the involved sinus cavities. The change in dose in the replanning was strongly correlated with the change in aeration (P = 0.02). We found that the change in aeration in the vicinity of the target and the arrangement of proton beams affected the robustness of proton plan.
Monte Carlo fuel burnup analyses of the Accelerator-Driven Subcritical systems

Abstract This paper describes the Monte Carlo fuel burnup analysis performed for the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) Accelerator-Driven Subcritical (ADS) conceptual design. The ANL ADS conceptual design was developed to dispose of the 131 tons of Minor Actinides (MA) fuel of the current United States Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) inventory. It uses a neutron source from 1 GeV 25 MW proton beam with the liquid lead target to drive the subcritical fission assembly. It utilizes the liquid metal slurry fuel concept to load the MAs fuel. The subcritical fission assembly has a neutron multiplication factor of 0.98. The total fission power generated in the system is about 2.67 GW. The system is designed to operate for 35 full power years. Monte Carlo fuel burnup analyses were performed to calculate the amount of MAs consumed by the ANL ADS conceptual design. The MCNP6 computer program was used to simulate the high energy physics of the protons striking the liquid lead target for generating the neutron source. The MCB5 and SERPENT Monte Carlo burnup computer programs were used to simulate the fuel burnup during the ADS operation. In the ANL ADS conceptual configuration, the reactivity loss during the fuel burnup is compensated by adding fresh fuel into the subcritical assembly. In this paper, both batch and continuous fueling modes are examined. The fresh fuel particles are loaded into the slurry fuel carrier at the beginning of each burnup step of the batch-fueling mode and loaded continuously into the slurry fuel carrier during the operation in the continuous fueling mode. Monte Carlo fuel burnup analyses show that one ANL ADS conceptual design can consume about 25.7 tons of MAs fuel during the 35 full power years with the continuous fueling mode. About five units is required to dispose of the 131 tons of MAs.
Techno-Economic Analysis of an Intensified Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) Power Plant Featuring a Combined Membrane Reactor - Adsorptive Reactor (MR-AR) System

In this work, the novel concept of a combined membrane–adsorptive reactor sequence (MR-AR) is developed and implemented in an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant. This novel MR-AR I...
David Oliver: Does doctors’ admin take up too much time?

An essay by Atul Gawande in the New Yorker , “Why doctors hate their computers,” made me reflect on the growing burden of administrative tasks doctors face at the expense of patient care, personal development, and their lives outside work.1 When I started as a hospital consultant 22 years ago, hospital email had only just begun. Now, a week’s holiday means several hundred messages on my return. Many need no action or refer to issues already resolved, but plenty need careful reading or a reply. And replying to emails with many recipients begets more emails. Remote working and emailing outside working hours intensify the pressure, if we feel forced to keep checking emails. Not …
A Homemade Smart Phone Microscope for Single-Particle Fluorescence Microscopy

Imaging tools advance nanoscience education by enabling students to see and engage with matter that is not visible to the human eye. However, undergraduate students generally lack access to expensi...
Effective Dimensionality: A Tutorial

The topic of this tutorial is the effective dimensionality (ED) of a dataset, that is, the equivalent number of orthogonal dimensions that would produce the same overall pattern of covariation. The...
Applications and barriers to use of an mHealth iPhone application for self-management of chronic recurrent medical conditions: A Pilot Study

Abstract Management of chronic recurrent medical conditions (CRMC), such as migraine headaches, chronic pain and anxiety/depression, is a major challenge for modern providers. The fact that often the most effective treatments and/or preventative measures for CRMCs vary from patient to patient lends itself to a platform for self-management by patients. However, to develop such an mHealth app requires an understanding of the various applications, and barriers, to real-world use. In this pilot study with internet-based recruitment, we conducted an assessment of user satisfaction of the iMTracker iOS (iPhone) application for CRMC self-management through a self-administered survey of subjects with CRMCs. From May 15, 2019 until March 27, 2020, we recruited 135 subjects to pilot test the iMTracker application for user-selected CRMCs. The most common age group was 31–45 (48.2%), followed by under 30 (22.2%) and 46–55 (20%). There were no subjects over 75 years old completing the survey. 38.8% of subjects were college graduates, followed by 29.6% with a Master’s degree, and 25.9% with some college. No subjects had not graduated from high school, and only 2 (1.5%) did not attend college after high school. 80.7% of subjects were self-identified as Caucasian, and 90.4% as not Hispanic or Latino. The most common CRMC was pain (other than headaches) in 40% of subjects, followed by mental health in 17.8% and headaches in 15.6%. 39.3% of subjects experienced the condition multiple times in a day, 40.0% experienced the condition daily, and 14.8% experienced the condition weekly, resulting in a total of 94.1% of subjects experiencing the condition at least weekly. Among the concerns about a self-management app, time demands (54.8%) and ineffectiveness (43.7%) were the most prominent, with privacy (24.4%) and data security (25.2%) also noted. In summary, we found internet-based recruitment identified primarily Caucasian population of relatively young patients with CRMCs of relatively high recurrence rate. Future work is needed to examine the use of this application in older, underrepresented minorities, and lower socioeconomic status populations.