cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Hydrogen Sensor Based on Pd-Functionalized Microcantilever with Surface Design

In this study, a hydrogen sensor based on microcantilever with Pd surface functionalization was developed. Since the absorption-actuated cantilever suffers from the junction sliding between functionalization coating and cantilever surface, this work is focused on improving the adhesive properties between Pd and cantilever surface for efficient chemi/mechanical transduction. Experimental results revealed that sputtering deposition technique benefits the adhesion of Pd functionalization for superior hydrogen detections. Furthermore, a surface design via trench-modification is proposed to cantilever surface for interlocking the Pd functionalization with cantilever surface. With this surface design, the trenched-cantilever hydrogen sensor demonstrated the superior sensing characteristics with higher sensitivity and lower detection limit.
TEMPORAL SHIFTS IN GENE FLOW AND SEED SET: EVIDENCE FROM AN EXPERIMENTAL POPULATION OF CUCUMIS SATIVUS.

The pollen component of gene flow in insect-pollinated plants, critical for microevolutionary changes among populations, is known to be affected by the pollinator guild (Primack and Silander, 1975; Schmitt, 1980; Handel, 1983a), pollinator behavior (Butler et al., 1943; Free, 1966; Heinrich, 1976; Levin, 1978; Waddington and Heinrich, 1981), dynamics of pollen carryover among plants (Thomson and Plowright, 1980; Levin, 1981; Courtney et al., 1982; Handel, 1982; Morse, 1982; Price and Waser, 1982; Waser and Price, 1982), morphological properties of flowers and inflorescences (Faegri and van der Pijl, 1971; Levin and Berube, 1972; Proctor and Yeo, 1972; Leppik, 1977; Wyatt, 1982), and the spatial arrangement of the plants within a population (Handel, 1983a). Movements of pollinators among flowers have been frequently used as indirect estimators of pollen flow (Levin and Kerster, 1974; Levin, 1979; Schaal, 1980). However, little is known about changes in gene flow through pollen movements and subsequent seed set during a complete growing season, when both flowering pattern and pollinator guild characteristics may change. To test whether the actual gene flow pattern, as measured by contributions to the next generation's gene frequency, remains static in a homogeneous population at different times during the course of a single growing season, we used the direct approach of interplanting contrasting genotypes in an experimental population, and analyzing the progeny.
Station Keeping for Earth-Moon Lagrangian Point Exploration Architectural Assets

The 2010 National Space Policy set wide reaching goals for the United States space program, however these milestones are in serious jeopardy due the economic down turn and budget restrictions. There is an increasing need to examine the current exploration architecture to determine if there are more economical, yet still technically feasible options. The Earth-Moon Lagrangian points in the cis-lunar space have long been proposed as staging points to enable lunar colonization and missions to Mars and other planetary bodies. The placement of an orbital propellant depot near Lagrangian points enables a more robust and economical way to accomplish NASA’s exploration goals. The primary technical challenge of placing assets near the L1 and L2 points is the inherent instability of orbits around the Lagrangian points. Trajectory simulation of in-plane Lyapunov orbit shows that near the Earth-Moon L1 point, the station keeping cost decreases as the orbital altitude decreases, however, the insertion cost increases as the altitude decreases. Similar trajectory simulation shows that a 9,000km altitude L2 Lyapunov orbit provides a minimum station keeping cost as well as low insertion cost. The phasing of the Earth-Moon orbital plane makes the departure orbit inclination a viable candidate for optimization as well.
Electronic Thermal Conductivity Effects of Nanoscale Conductors in a Gaseous Flow Environment

The surrounding ambient introduces a gaseous boundary to many nanotechnology applications such as nanosensors, nanoelectromechanical systems and nanocoatings. Despite the large surface area to volume ratio of nanostructures, a formal study of the surface scattering effects induced by a gaseous boundary has received little attention. In this work, we consider the perturbing effects to the electron cloud or jellium of conducting nanostructures when submitted to a gaseous interface of varying interaction energies. Specifically, we incorporate the novel experimental method of Dynamic Electron Scattering (DES) to measure electronic thermal conductivity of 30 nm thick Au and Cu metal films in He and Ar atmospheres. The gas particle impact energy is varied by changing the flow speed from stationary (non-moving gas field) to high speed flow over the metal films. The scattering effects of each gas are clearly observable through electronic thermal conductivity reductions as the gas impact energy increases. We find the high collision density of He to induce greater reductions in thermal conductivity than the much heavier Ar with lower collision density. The perturbed transport properties of the Au and Cu thin films are explained by kinetic surface scattering mechanisms that dominate the scattering landscape of high surface area to volume ratio materials as suggested by comparative measurements on bulk Cu.
Patterns of Substance Use During Cognitive Enhancement Therapy: An 18-Month Randomized Feasibility Study.

ABSTRACTObjective: Substance use problems are common among people with schizophrenia, as are significant cognitive impairments. Because of potential shared neurobiological pathways, it is possible that cognitive remediation interventions may be associated with improvements in both substance use and cognition. This study examined the impact of cognitive remediation on alcohol and cannabis use and the cognitive correlates of changes in substance use among outpatients with schizophrenia. Methods: Individuals with schizophrenia who were receiving outpatient services at a psychiatric clinic and had moderate or higher addiction severity scores (N = 31) were randomized to 18 months of cognitive enhancement therapy (n = 22) or usual care (n = 9). Cognitive enhancement therapy is a cognitive remediation approach that integrates computer-based training in attention, memory, and problem solving with a group-based social cognition curriculum. Usual care was provided to all participants and consisted of routine psychi...
School Discipline as a Turning Point The Cumulative Effect of Suspension on Arrest

Objectives:To examine how school discipline may serve as a negative turning point for youth and contribute to increased odds of arrest over time and to assess whether suspensions received across multiple years may present a “cumulative” increase in odds of arrest.Methods:Using four waves of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we use a longitudinal hierarchical generalized linear model (HGLM) to explore how school suspensions contribute to odds of arrest across time while controlling for a number of theoretically important dimensions such as race, age, delinquency, and gender among others.Results:Results show that youth who are suspended are at an increased risk of experiencing an arrest across time relative to youth who are not suspended and that this effect increases across time. Further, with each subsequent year the youth is suspended, there is a significant increase in odds of arrest.Conclusion:Supporting prior work, we find that youth who receive a suspension are at an increased odds...
Recurring patterns among scrambled genes in the encrypted genome of the ciliate Oxytricha trifallax.

Abstract Some genera of ciliates, such as Oxytricha and Stylonychia, undergo massive genome reorganization during development and provide model organisms to study DNA rearrangement. A common feature of these ciliates is the presence of two types of nuclei: a germline micronucleus and a transcriptionally-active somatic macronucleus containing over 16,000 gene sized “nano-chromosomes”. During conjugation the old parental macronucleus disintegrates and a new macronucleus forms from a copy of the zygotic micronucleus. During this process, macronuclear chromosomes assemble through DNA processing events that delete 90–98% of the DNA content of the micronucleus. This includes the deletion of noncoding DNA segments that interrupt precursor DNA regions in the micronucleus, as well as transposons and other germline-limited DNA. Each macronuclear locus may be present in the micronucleus as several nonconsecutive, permuted, and/or inverted DNA segments. Here we investigate the genome-wide range of scrambled gene architectures that describe all precursor-product relationships in Oxytricha trifallax, the first completely sequenced scrambled genome. We find that five general, recurrent patterns in the sets of scrambled micronuclear precursor pieces can describe over 80% of Oxytricha's scrambled genes. These include instances of translocations and inversions, and other specific patterns characterized by alternating stretches of consecutive odd and even DNA segments. Moreover, we find that iterating patterns of alternating odd–even segments up to four times can describe over 96% of the scrambled precursor loci. Recurrence of these highly structured genetic architectures within scrambled genes presumably reflects recurrent evolutionary events that gave rise to over 3000 of scrambled loci in the germline genome.
Senseless Violence Against Central American Unaccompanied Minors: Historical Background and Call for Help

The southwestern U.S. border has recently seen a significant increase in the number of unaccompanied children from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador illegally crossing the Mexican border into the United States. Many of these children leave home to flee violence, starvation, impoverished living conditions, or other life-threatening situations. The treatment of acute stress, anxiety, and depression associated with traumatic events is crucial in helping these children address these negative psychological events they have experienced so that they can move forward with their lives. Untreated, traumatic events experienced by this population can develop into Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a potentially life-changing and physically threatening psychological and medical issue. The United States needs to effectively address the serious matter of responding to mental health issues facing refugees from war-torn or impoverished nations so as to help them to successfully adjust to American systems. There is a need for researchers in the mental health field to focus efforts in designing, implementing, and evaluating methodologies that can help these children develop healthy strategies for living with a very difficult and complex past.
A pilot study examining the impact of exercise training on skeletal muscle genes related to the TLR signaling pathway in older adults following hip fracture recovery.

These pilot data demonstrate that 3 mo of exercise training in older adults recovering from hip fracture surgery was able to mitigate skeletal muscle gene expression related to inflammation and cer...
Striking a Balance: User-Experience and Performance in Computerized Game-Based Assessment

Game-based assessment (GBA) is a new frontier in the assessment industry. However, as with serious games, it will likely be important to find an optimal balance between making the game “fun” versus focusing on achieving the educational goals. We created two minigames to assess students’ knowledge of argumentation skills. We conducted an iterative counter-balanced pre-survey-interaction-post-survey study with 124 students. We discovered that game presentation sequence and game perceptions are related to performance in two games with varying numbers of game features and alignment to educational content. Specifically, understanding how to play the games is related to performance when users start with a familiar environment and move to one with more game features, whereas enjoyment is related to performance when users start with a more gamified experience before moving to a familiar environment.
Food For Thought: Family food routines and literacy in Latino kindergarteners

Abstract This study examined the feasibility of a new literacy program, Food For Thought, which aimed to help Latino parents learn how to utilize family food routines to foster their kindergarten children's language and literacy skills. Feasibility was assessed via: (1) recruitment, attendance, and retention rates; (2) associations between program attendance and children's language and literacy growth, and (3) parents' and school staff's perspectives about the program's strengths and barriers to participation and implementation. Participants were 68 low-income Latino parents and their kindergarten children, 3 school principals and 3 family liaisons. The observed recruitment, attendance and retention rates met or exceeded the expected rates. Program attendance was positively related to growth in children's vocabulary, but not decoding or early writing. A main strength of the program was community building and a main barrier to participation was parents' work schedules. Implications for future intervention programs working with Latino families are discussed.
Abstract WP326: Improving Follow-up Visits for Patients from the Stroke Service

Background: Follow-up services after stroke may improve functional outcome and decrease readmissions. We aimed to improve discharge of patients from the stroke service by ensuring that they have a follow up appointment with Neurology scheduled at the time of discharge, to evaluate factors impacting appointment scheduling, and to evaluate factors impacting appointment attendance. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that access to an online scheduler would increase appointments scheduled at the time of discharge. Methods: This retrospective analysis included patients diagnosed with ischemic stroke, TIA, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) or subarachnoid hemorrhage (1/2013 - 9/2014 time) discharged from the stroke service, but excluded patients who were deceased, transferred to another inpatient facility, clinical trial patients, and those with outside providers. The following metrics were collected from 975 patient discharges: diagnosis, date of hospitalization, length of hospitalization, discharge location, time from discharge to clinic appointment, if appointment was made at the time of discharge, and if the clinic appointment was attended. Results: Access to an online scheduling tool did not increase the number of patients who were discharged with an appointment (35% v. 41%; p=0.087). However, appointments were scheduled significantly more frequently for patients hospitalized for > 5 days, ICH and Ischemic stroke patients, and those discharged to a facility (Figure 1). Patients for whom an appointment was made prior to discharge did not follow up more frequently than those who were asked to call to make an appointment (45% v. 43%, p=0.64); however, follow up was influenced by length of stay, diagnosis, discharge location and time to appointment (Figure 2). Conclusion: Scheduling an appointment prior to discharge did not improve post-discharge follow-up. Future directions will work to elucidate the reason for poor clinic attendance and increase follow-up.
Dual inhibition of cathepsin G and chymase reduces myocyte death and improves cardiac remodeling after myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury.

Early reperfusion of ischemic cardiac tissue increases inflammatory cell infiltration which contributes to cardiomyocyte death and loss of cardiac function, referred to as ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury. Neutrophil- and mast cell-derived proteases, cathepsin G (Cat.G) and chymase, are released early after IR, but their function is complicated by potentially redundant actions and targets. This study investigated whether a dual inhibition of Cat.G and chymase influences cardiomyocyte injury and wound healing after experimental IR in mice. Treatment with a dual Cat.G and chymase inhibitor (DCCI) immediately after reperfusion blocked cardiac Cat.G and chymase activity induced after IR, which resulted in decreased immune response in the infarcted heart. Mice treated with DCCI had less myocardial collagen deposition and showed preserved ventricular function at 1 and 7 days post-IR compared with vehicle-treated mice. DCCI treatment also significantly attenuated focal adhesion (FA) complex disruption and myocyte degeneration after IR. Treatment of isolated cardiomyocytes with Cat.G or chymase significantly promoted FA signaling downregulation, myofibril degeneration and myocyte apoptosis. Conversely, treatment of cardiac fibroblasts with Cat.G or chymase induced FA signaling activation and increased their migration and differentiation to myofibroblasts. These opposite responses in cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts were blocked by treatment with DCCI. These findings show that Cat.G and chymase are key mediators of myocyte apoptosis and fibroblast migration and differentiation that play a role in adverse cardiac remodeling and function post-IR. Thus, dual targeting of neutrophil- and mast cell-derived proteases could be used as a novel therapeutic strategy to reduce post-IR inflammation and improve cardiac remodeling.
Single nucleotide polymorphisms and microsatellites in the canine glutathione S-transferase pi 1 (GSTP1) gene promoter.

Genetic polymorphisms within the glutathione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) gene affect the elimination of toxic xenobiotics by the GSTP1 enzyme. In dogs, exposure to environmental chemicals that may be GSTP1 substrates is associated with cancer. The objectives of this study were to investigate the genetic variability in the GSTP1 promoter in a diverse population of 278 purebred dogs, compare the incidence of any variants found between breeds, and predict their effects on gene expression. To provide information on ancestral alleles, a number of wolves, coyotes, and foxes were also sequenced. Fifteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and two microsatellites were discovered. Three of these loci were only polymorphic in dogs while three other SNPs were unique to wolves and coyotes. The major allele at c.-46 is T in dogs but is C in the wild canids. The c.-185 delT variant was unique to dogs. The microsatellite located in the 5′ untranslated region (5′UTR) was a highly polymorphic GCC tandem repeat, consisting of simple and compound alleles that varied in size from 10 to 22-repeat units. The most common alleles consisted of 11, 16, and 17-repeats. The 11-repeat allele was found in 10% of dogs but not in the other canids. Unequal recombination and replication slippage between similar and distinct alleles may be the mechanism for the multiple microsatellites observed. Twenty-eight haplotypes were constructed in the dog, and an additional 8 were observed in wolves and coyotes. While the most common haplotype acrossbreeds was the wild-type *1A(17), other prevalent haplotypes included *3A(11) in Greyhounds, *6A(16) in Labrador Retrievers, *9A(16) in Golden Retrievers, and *8A(19) in Standard Poodles. Boxers and Siberian Huskies exhibited minimal haplotypic diversity. Compared to the simple 16*1 allele, the compound 16*2 allele (found in 12% of dogs) may interfere with transcription factor binding and/or the stability of the GSTP1 transcript. Dogs and other canids exhibit extensive variation in the GSTP1 promoter. Genetic polymorphisms within distinct haplotypes prevalent in certain breeds can affect GSTP1 expression and carcinogen detoxification, and thus may be useful as genetic markers for cancer in dogs.
Effects of serelaxin on renal microcirculation in rats under control and high-angiotensin environments

Serelaxin is a novel recombinant human relaxin-2 that has been investigated for the treatment of acute heart failure. However, its effects on renal function, especially on the renal microcirculatio...
PAF Receptor Anchors Streptococcus Pneumoniae to Activated Human Endothelial Cells

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a Gram positive bacteria that is a major cause of pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis1. In contrast to the severity of invasive disease, ~40% of individuals harbor pneumococcus asymptomatically in the nasopharynx2. Further, it has long been recognized that the mere presence of pneumococci in the pulmonary alveolus does not infer progression to pneumonia3,4. These disparate courses suggest that as yet unknown elements of the encounter between host and pathogen determine the outcome. A clinical clue to the nature of these elements is the observation of the propensity of patients and experimental animals to progress to bacterial pneumonia in the context of an intercurrent upper respiratory tract viral infection5. Taken together with the recent observation that pneumococci have been shown to adhere in greater numbers to virally infected cells in vitro6, we hypothesized a change from a state of simple bacterial binding to the surface of the nasopharyngeal or pulmonary epithelium to a state promoting translocation across underlying endothelial cells into the blood stream in the context of an inflammatory stimulus.
Hessian matrix-free lagrange-newton-krylov-schur-schwarz methods for elliptic inverse problems

This study focuses on the solution of inverse problems for elliptic systems. The inverse problem is constructed as a PDE-constrained optimization, where the cost function is the L2 norm of the difference between the measured data and the predicted state variable, and the constraint is an elliptic PDE. Particular examples of the system considered in this stud, are groundwater flow and radiation transport. The inverse problems are typically ill-posed due to error in measurements of the data. Regularization methods are employed to partially alleviate this problem. The PDE-constrained optimization is formulated as the minimization of a Lagrangian functional, formed from the regularized cost function and the discretized PDE, with respect to the parameters, the state variables, and the Lagrange multipliers. Our approach is known as an "all at once method." An algorithm is proposed for an inverse problem that is capable of being extended to large scales. To overcome storage limitations, we develop a parallel preconditioned Newton-Krylov method employed in a Hessian-free manner. The preconditioners have an inner-outer structure, taking the form of a Schur complement (block factorization) at the outer level and Schwarz projections at the inner level. However, building an exact Schur complement is prohibitively expensive. Thus, we use Schur complement approximations, including the identity, probing, the Laplacian, the J operator, and a BFGS operator. For exact data the exact Schur complements are superior to the inexact approximations. However, for data with noise the inexact methods are competitive to or even better than the exact in every computational aspect. We also find that nousymmetric forms of the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker matrices and preconditioners are competitive to or better than the symmetric forms that are commonly used in the optimization community. In this study, iterative Tikhonov and Total Variation regularizations are proposed and compared to the standard regularizations and each other. For exact data with jump discontinuities the standard and iterative Total Variation regulations are superior to the standard and iterative Tikhonov regularizations. However, in the case of noisy data the proposed iterative Tikhonov regularizations are superior to the standard and iterative Total Variation methods. We also show that in some cases the iterative regularizations are better than the noniterative. To demonstrate the performance of the algorithm, including the effectiveness of the preconditioners and regularizations, synthetic one- and two-dimensional elliptic inverse problems are solved, and we also compare with other methodologies that are available in the literature. The proposed algorithm performs well with regard to robustness, reconstructs the parameter models effectively, and is easily implemented in the framework of the available parallel PDE software PETSc and the automatic differentiation software ADIC. The algorithm is also extendable to three-dimensional problems.
Challenges in Teaching Tertiary English: Benefits of Action Research, Professional Reflection and Professional Development

This study identifies challenges that teachers face in English classrooms at the tertiary educational level. A focus on the complications that commonly arise from curricular, extra-curricular and professional hurdles helps to resolve those problems and provide answers through recommendations for increased collaboration, reflection and action research. The results indicate the benefits to teachers of participating in professional and language development courses, creating a more comprehensive course syllabus/outline, professional reflection and increasing efficiency by using action research.
Reconstruction of Nasal Dorsum, Sidewall, Cheek, and Medial Orbit

The patient was a 31-year-old female with a 2-year history of being treated for dacryocystitis of the left eye. A biopsy in the region of the lacrimal sac revealed an adenoid cystic carcinoma. Surgical resection of the tumor necessitated a medial maxillectomy and resection of the entire medial and inferior bony orbit and the medial canthal tendon. Portions of the medial aspect of the upper and lower eyelids were resected along with the medial periorbita and medial rectus muscle. A full-thickness resection of the bony dorsum and nasal sidewall was also performed. The anterior and posterior ethmoidal cells were removed (Fig. 30.1).
GAMS/BARON: A Tutorial and Empirical Performance Analysis

The purpose of this chapter is threefold. First, to provide modelers, students, and practitioners with easily accessible models and reproducible computational results. Second, to demonstrate that the algorithms proposed in this book can be used to solve global optimization models with minimal user intervention. Third, to provide a tutorial for the recently developed version of BARON integrated with the GAMS modeling environment. To achieve these goals, we provide in GAMS format many of the models used throughout the book, including the molecular design problem of Chapter 8, the pooling problems of Chapter 9, as well as multiplicative programs, benchmark factorable problems from the engineering and optimization literature, just-in-time flowshop design problems, and the Gupta-Ravindran collection of MINLPs of Chapter 10. Finally, we demonstrate that the techniques proposed in this book can be easily used to find all feasible solutions to systems of nonlinear equations as well as hard combinatorial optimization problems with no user intervention.
Calorie Restriction and Cancer: An Update

In the U.S., cancer is the second most common cause of death overall (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/FASTATS/lcod.htm) and the first in large subsets of the population; any interventions which delay or prevent cancer offer a dramatic extension of healthspan and lifespan, along with a reduction in suffering and disability and decreased health care costs. Calorie restriction (CR), initially studied as restriction of all nutrients and micronutrients (and thus known initially as “dietary restriction”), has been known since the early 1900s to delay or prevent cancer. Early efforts to understand the interaction of calories and carcinogenesis were hindered by the technology of the day, but recent advances in molecular genetics have allowed us to begin making progress that was hitherto impossible. This chapter explores some of the emerging mechanisms behind CR’s anticancer effects and discusses the relevance of CR strategies to human health.
Trabecular cells of the eye express messenger RNA for transforming growth factor-beta 1 and secrete this cytokine.

Purpose To determine whether trabecular tissue in vivo and cultured trabecular cells have the messenger RNA transcript for transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1), and to examine whether these cells synthesize and secrete TGF-beta 1 in vitro. Methods Total RNA was isolated from the trabecular meshwork, iris, and ciliary body freshly excised from porcine eyes as well as from cultured trabecular cells, and the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and Southern hybridization were used for detection of TGF-beta 1 messenger RNA. The amount of TGF-beta 1 secreted by trabecular cells in culture was determined by radioimmunoassay. Results Excised whole trabecular tissue, iris, and ciliary body, as well as cultured trabecular cells expressed messenger RNA transcripts for TGF-beta 1. On the ethidium bromide-stained agarose gel, two PCR-amplified products (161 and 400 base pairs) were found in the total RNA isolated from cultured trabecular cells. The oligonucleotide probe specific for TGF-beta 1 detected only one band with the expected length of 161 base pairs. The secretion of TGF-beta 1 into conditioned medium was at the level of 16.7-20 pg/ml per 2 million trabecular cells during a 24-hr period. Conclusions These investigations show that the trabecular meshwork, iris, and ciliary body in vivo express the messenger RNA transcript for TGF-beta 1, and that trabecular cells in vitro synthesize and secrete this cytokine. The TGF-beta 1 present in normal aqueous humor may be derived locally, at least in part, from the cells of the trabecular meshwork, iris, and ciliary body. Abnormal synthesis, secretion, activation, and clearance of TGF-beta 1 may contribute to the pathogenesis of many ocular disorders, including primary open-angle glaucoma.
Phytochrome and Photoperiodism in Plants

Publisher Summary Plants adapt to seasons by differences in vegetative and reproductive growth and by buds and tissues becoming dormant. Adaptation implies metabolic control through interaction of the plant with variables of the environment. The patterns of temperature change and differences in light duration are the dominant variables. A response to light, or darkness, implies a photochemical reaction. There are three such principal reactions in plants, namely, photosynthesis, phototropism, and photomorphogenesis in the sense of the responses produced. These reactions are complex in the way of expression in metabolic patterns of the plant and are simple in principle in the initial photochemical change. Two or more photoreactions are involved in photomorphogenesis. One of these is photosynthesis, but only in the sense of supplying materials for metabolism. One of the other photoreactions, and possibly a third involves a photoreversible change of a chromoprotein, known as phytochrome.
Alternatives for managing a finite groundwater supply in an arid region

Like many urban communities in arid regions, Tucson, Arizona, is totally dependent on underlying and nearby aquifers for its water supply. Tucson is sited in southern Arizona in the Santa Cruz River Basin. The Avra Valley Basin is just west of the City, over the north–south trending Tucson Mountains. Water is withdrawn from both basins, but mostly from the Santa Cruz River Basin. Combined urban, agricultural, industrial and mining groundwater withdrawal from the Santa Cruz River Basin alone exceeds natural aquifer replenishment by 5676 hectare-meters (ha.m) annually. This problem is discussed. Four ameliorative water management alternatives are presented singly and in combination with one another. These alternatives are importing Colorado River water, exchanging treated effluent with mining and agricultural interests for groundwater, interbasin water transfer, and retiring farmlands for groundwater rights. These management philosophies are applicable to most economically emergent urban areas in arid and semiarid regions.
Habits of Whiteness: How Racial Domination Persists in Multiethnic Neighborhoods:

As demographers and policy makers laud steps toward neighborhood integration, urban ethnographers remind us that diverse communities can perpetuate inequality if the dynamics that produce it are le...
Tetrapod Teeth: Diversity, Evolution, and Function

Teeth provide an excellent model system for understanding evolutionary change and how it has led to adaptive diversity across tetrapods. Their durability over geological timescales and their ubiquity in the fossil record make teeth unique and allow direct comparison of dental structure for both extant and extinct species. We can detail diversity of size, shape, and structure, past and present, and in doing so explore what nature can accomplish with a little embryonic tissue and some signaling proteins—common and novel solutions to the problems of food acquisition and processing. Teeth are especially important for understanding the process of evolution because of their central role in ecology; eater to eaten is the most fundamental relationship between living organisms. Teeth mediate this relationship, and so are the front line in nature’s “struggle for existence.” This chapter presents a survey of dental form and function in both stem- and crown-tetrapods. Each of the major groups—Amphibia, Reptilia, and Mammalia and their stem-groups—is considered separately. We begin with a general discussion of how teeth work, focusing on their roles in food acquisition and processing. We then review distinctive dental forms for extinct and extant taxa, group by group, to give the reader a sense of the extraordinary range of adaptive solutions among the tetrapods to the challenges associated with food acquisition and processing. Our survey culminates with an overview of the origin, evolution, and adaptive radiation of the mammalian masticatory system.
First Report of the Presence of Slugs in a Commercial Potato Storage Facility in the United States

Potatoes, Solanum tuberosum L., are a major crop in the Columbia Basin of Oregon and Washington. In the field, aphids including the green peach aphid Myzus persicae Sulzer, potato aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae Thomas, beet leafhopper Circuliffer tenellus Baker, potato tuber worm Phthorimaea operculella Zeller, Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say, and potato psyllid Bactericera cockerelli Sulc, are among the primary pests in the region. In storage, few insect pests are reported and occurrences may be related to field infestations that have been inadvertently moved into the storage units. In 2017, a report was made regarding the presence of ‘slugs’ in a controlled storage unit. The ‘slug’ was identified by R. Mc Donnell, as the gray field slug, Deroceras reticulatum (Muller) (Gastropoda: Agriolomacidae). To our knowledge, this is the first report in the United States of the presence of D. reticulatum infesting potatoes in storage. With this first report of D. reticulatum in a commercial storage facility, which appears to be an isolated event, it is clear that there are a number of knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. In a series of experiments, it was determined that D. reticulatum can feed on potato tubers and can cause considerable damage. However, low temperatures inside storage units slow D. reticulatum population ability to produce subsequent offsprings. Although it appears to have been an isolated incident, growers and other stakeholders should be aware that D. reticulatum is present in the Columbia Basin and can potentially inflict damage to potatoes.
Evaluating the Role of Molecular Heredity in the Optical and Electronic Properties of Cross-Conjugated Benzo[1,2-d:4,5-d′]bisoxazoles

A series of eight benzo[1,2-d:4,5-d']bisoxazole (BBOs) were synthesized using the heredity principle as a design motif, whereby we investigated which characteristics of the linear parents were inherited by their cross-conjugated children. Four linear parents bearing 4-tert-butylbenzene (P) or 1,3-bis(4-tert-butylphenyl)benzene (M) at either the 2,6- or 4,8-position on the BBO and four cross-conjugated children bearing various combinations of the two isoelectronic aryl substituents were evaluated. Due to the bulky nature of the M substituent compared to that of the P substituent, the influence of steric hindrance along the BBO axes was explored theoretically and experimentally. The optical and electronic properties of each molecule were investigated in the solution and solid state using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) and characterized using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The well-correlated theoretical and experimental results showed that the selective tuning of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels was possible through the strategic placement of substituents without impacting the H → L transition energy. Specifically, the theoretical results demonstrated that for the BBO children the HOMO and LUMO energy levels were inherited from the 4,8- and 2,6-parents, respectively. Each molecule was found to exhibit emission maxima ≤451 nm, making them ideal candidates for blue organic light-emitting diode (OLED) materials.
Evaluation of a clinical pharmacist team-based telehealth intervention in a rural clinic setting: a pilot study of feasibility, organizational perceptions, and return on investment.

Remote, centralized clinical pharmacist services provided by board-certified clinical pharmacists have been shown to effectively assist in chronic disease management. We assess the feasibility of implementing a pharmacist-led, remote, centralized pharmacy service to improve A1c levels in patient with diabetes in a rural clinic setting. This was a non-randomized pilot and feasibility study. Participants were enrolled in a pharmacist-led telehealth intervention service, with data prior to enrollment used as baseline data for control. To be included, patients needed to have A1c readings of greater than 7% to be considered uncontrolled. A1c changes were reported for two groups based on A1c ranges: between 7 and 10% and ≥ 10%. Clinical pharmacists and clinical pharmacy interns initiated contact with patients via telephone communication and managed the patients remotely. The following outcomes were evaluated: organization perceptions (patients, providers, and clinic staff), changes in A1c, medication discrepancies, impact of an internally operated Patient Assistance Program, and potential return on investment (ROI). Fifty-two patients were initially identified and referred to the service with 43 patients consenting to participate in the intervention. Patient and provider survey responses were recorded. In the initial analysis occurring during the first 3 to 5 months of the program, there was considerable improvement in diabetes control as measured by A1c. For patients with uncontrolled diabetes with a baseline A1c > 7% but less than < 10% and ≥ 10%, the intervention resulted in an A1c decrease of 0.57% and 2.55%, respectively. Clinical pharmacists and clinical pharmacy interns identified at least one medication discrepancy in 44% of patients, with number of discrepancies ranging from 1 to 5 per patient. At the conclusion of the study window, 42 potentially billable encounters were documented, which would have generated a net profit of $1140 USD, had they been submitted for reimbursement. Given the potential revenue generation, the service theoretically yields a ROI of 1.4 to 1. Initial results suggest that a pharmacist-led telehealth intervention has potential to decrease A1c levels in patients with diabetes, assist in identification of medication discrepancies, provide a positive return on investment for rural clinics, and potentially increase reimbursement for providers and clinics tasked with managing patients with uncontrolled diabetes.
Structural Neuroplasticity Following Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for the Treatment of Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial with Secondary MRI Outcomes

Abstract The extent of white matter (WM) and Grey matter (GM) structural neuroplasticity following cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain management remains undetermined. In the current study, we investigated structural alterations in GM morphometry, as well as WM complexity and connectivity, before and after an 11-week group CBT for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain. We hypothesized that effective pain management would influence WM structural metrics indicative of brain plasticity, particularly within cognitive and limbic circuitry as well as GM volume within pain matrix structures. To determine this, patients were randomized into two groups: 1) CBT group that received CBT once-weekly for 11-weeks, or 2) EDU group consisting of an active patient control group that received educational materials by mail. All subjects completed behavioral assessments and underwent neuroimaging at: baseline prior to any intervention (TP1), 11-weeks following either CBT or EDU (TP2), and four months following completion of the intervention (TP3). CBT resulted in significant clinical improvements, assessed via behavioral self-reports, compared to EDU. Compared to EDU, region of interest WM analysis revealed several fiber tracts that had significantly increased WM complexity following CBT intervention, including the bilateral posterior internal capsule and the left cingulum within the temporal lobe. Conversely, several tracts exhibited a decrease in WM complexity including the right external capsule, the left posterior internal capsule, and the right cingulum within the temporal lobe. Changes in clinical outcomes were predictive of alterations in WM complexity metrics immediately following intervention and at long-term follow-up. No between-group differences were observed in either WM connectivity or GM volume. In conclusion, psychotherapeutic interventions such as group CBT influence coping strategies for effective pain relief that influence WM microstructure, however, the mechanisms of these changes remain undetermined. Future studies will be required to uncover the biological underpinnings of these alterations in pain populations. Clinicaltrialsgov Can Therapy Alter CNS Processing of Chronic Pain: A Longitudinal Study (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01794988?term=naylorcNCT01794988). The study protocol was registered in the Clinical Trials Database.
Pharmacologic approaches to amino acid depletion for cancer therapy

Cancer cells undergo metabolic reprogramming to support increased demands in bioenergetics and biosynthesis and to maintain reactive oxygen species at optimum levels. As metabolic alterations are broadly observed across many cancer types, metabolic reprogramming is considered a hallmark of cancer. A metabolic alteration commonly seen in cancer cells is an increased demand for certain amino acids. Amino acids are involved in a wide range of cellular functions, including proliferation, redox balance, bioenergetic and biosynthesis support, and homeostatic functions. Thus, targeting amino acid dependency in cancer is an attractive strategy for a number of cancers. In particular, pharmacologically mediated amino acid depletion has been evaluated as a cancer treatment option for several cancers. Amino acids that have been investigated for the feasibility of drug-induced depletion in preclinical and clinical studies for cancer treatment include arginine, asparagine, cysteine, glutamine, lysine, and methionine. In this review, we will summarize the status of current research on pharmacologically mediated amino acid depletion as a strategy for cancer treatment and potential chemotherapeutic combinations that synergize with amino acid depletion to further inhibit tumor growth and progression.
Exploiting Long-Distance Interactions and Tolerating Atom Loss in Neutral Atom Quantum Architectures.

Quantum technologies currently struggle to scale beyond moderate scale prototypes and are unable to execute even reasonably sized programs due to prohibitive gate error rates or coherence times. Many software approaches rely on heavy compiler optimization to squeeze extra value from noisy machines but are fundamentally limited by hardware. Alone, these software approaches help to maximize the use of available hardware but cannot overcome the inherent limitations posed by the underlying technology. An alternative approach is to explore the use of new, though potentially less developed, technology as a path towards scalability. In this work we evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of a Neutral Atom (NA) architecture. NA systems offer several promising advantages such as long range interactions and native multiqubit gates which reduce communication overhead, overall gate count, and depth for compiled programs. Long range interactions, however, impede parallelism with restriction zones surrounding interacting qubit pairs. We extend current compiler methods to maximize the benefit of these advantages and minimize the cost. Furthermore, atoms in an NA device have the possibility to randomly be lost over the course of program execution which is extremely detrimental to total program execution time as atom arrays are slow to load. When the compiled program is no longer compatible with the underlying topology, we need a fast and efficient coping mechanism. We propose hardware and compiler methods to increase system resilience to atom loss dramatically reducing total computation time by circumventing complete reloads or full recompilation every cycle.
The Cysteine Desulfhydrase of Salmonella typhimurium FORMATION OF AN ALTERED ENZYME BY CRYOLYSIS

Abstract The effects of cryolysis on the inducible regulatory enzyme, cysteine desulfhydrase from Salmonella typhimurium, were examined. The stoichiometry of product formation catalyzed by partially purified preparations changes from one sulfide to one pyruvate to as much as 1:0.3 as a function of slow freezing and thawing. The ratio of the value for Vmax of sulfide formation to the value for Vmax of pyruvate formation also changes. The order of substrate dependence (n from Hill plots) does not change when velocity is measured via sulfide formation but changes from 1.9 to as much as 3 when velocity is measured via pyruvate formation. Cryolyzed preparations apparently catalyze the abnormal decomposition of cysteine to alanine and sulfide instead of pyruvate, ammonia, and sulfide. Methionine and dithiothreitol prevent the changes that occur upon freeze-aging. Sephadex G-200 chromatography revealed the presence in crude extracts of a protein (P II) with a Kd three times greater than that of cysteine desulfhydrase, and which is capable of converting altered enzyme to native enzyme. The addition of P II to cryolyzed preparations restores the 1:1 stoichiometry of product formation, restores the native order of substrate dependence of pyruvate formation, and prevents the formation of alanine. This restorative protein is heat stable. It has thiopyruvate desulfurase activity and is induced in parallel with cysteine desulfhydrase. It is proposed that: (a) P II activity represents a catalytic subunit of cysteine desulfhydrase which displays thiopyruvate desulfurase activity instead of cysteine desulfhydrase activity; (b) the catalytic subunit is cold-labile when present in native enzyme but is stable to both heat and cold when in the free subunit form; (c) the cryolysis of native enzyme results in the formation of an altered enzyme containing an altered catalytic subunit. This altered enzyme catalyzes the abnormal production of alanine and sulfide from cysteine instead of pyruvate, ammonia, and sulfide, resulting in a decrease of the 1:1 stoichiometry of pyruvate and sulfide production; (d) the addition of P II to freeze-altered enzyme results in the exchange of "good" catalytic subunits for altered ones, regenerating the native enzyme.
Central points of control and surveillance on a “decentralized” Net: Internet service providers, and privacy and freedom of speech online

This paper focuses on the complex nature of privacy and freedom of speech issues as they arise at the ISP. It addresses these critical issues by way of an examination of multiple specific contemporary examples and legal cases. Also discussed are a number of different approaches to more clearly define the status of the ISP and its multi‐faceted functions. Finally, some of the possible implications of various proposals for regulatory and legal schemes are examined. The author concludes that ultimately any such scheme must foreground the integral role that the ISP plays with respect to fundamental privacy and free speech rights on the Internet.