cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
More chemistry in small spaces.

This Account is about coaxing molecules into spaces barely big enough to contain them: encapsulation complexes. In capsules, synthetic modules assemble to fold around their molecular targets, isolate them from the medium for relatively long times, place them in a hydrophobic environment, and present them with functional groups. These arrangements also exist in the interior spaces of biology, and the consequences include the familiar features of enzymes: rapid reactions, stabilization of reactive intermediates, and catalysis. But inside capsules there are phenomena unknown to biology or historical chemistry, including new structures, new stereochemical relationships, and new reaction pathways.In encapsulation complexes, as in architecture, the space that is created by a structure determines what goes on inside. There are constant interactions between the container and contained molecules: encounters are not left to chance; they are prearranged, prolonged, and intense. Unlike architecture, these reversibly ...
Neuroplasticity and Young Children with Autism: A Tutorial

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction skills, as well as repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, and activities. Theories related to neuroplasticity and brain development before 3 years of age lend support the notion of critical periods during which cortical circuits in the brain are refined by experience. Advances in early identification of ASD have led to an increased focus on early interventions targeting critical developmental skills in the first three years of life. The purpose of this tutorial is threefold. First, the principles of neuroplasticity and factors that support neuroplasticity will be addressed. Next, the malleability of the developing brain and the importance of early intervention for young children with ASD will be discussed. And finally, practical suggestions for caregivers and health-care professionals will be outlined including screening for early markers of autism spectrum disorder, encouraging active caregiver engagement in the intervention process, embedding intervention in natural environments, and using an integrated approach to early intervention.
Improved shortest-path ray tracing with locally linear velocity variations

Summary Shortest-path algorithm has been used widely to calculate first arrival traveltimes and ray paths. It assumes that the velocity in each model cell is constant. When the velocity field varies continuously, models using too few constantvelocity cells will result in too much error, and models using too many constant-velocity cells will be inefficient. We made an improvement to this problem by allowing velocity increases linearly with depth at each model location. This improvement leads to a more accurate and faster ray tracing, and incorporates fewer model parameters for tomographic inversion at places of continuous velocity variation. The improved method is shown using 2D and 3D ray tracing examples.
Utilization of Computed Tomography in the Evaluation of Pediatric Neck Abscess

Deep space neck abscess is one of the leading causes of pediatric emergency consultation for the Pediatric Otolaryngologists. These infections often require prompt surgical incision and drainage. However, in recent years, many patients have been successfully managed with intravenous antibiotics and careful observation. Computed tomography (CT) of the neck is the most common imaging modality for the evaluation of possible neck abscesses in children, which often requires sedation or general anesthesia. With the increasing concern for ionizing radiation exposure in children, the utilization of CT has come under increasing …
Advances in Measuring Cerebral Oxygen Delivery and Consumption in the Clinic

I will present the first fully integrated FDNIRS-DCS system. I will show results of this technology in measuring infants affected by hydrocephalus in Africa, and measuring pediatric and adult patients in intensive care settings in Boston.
Perfect Technology Running up for Olympics ——The Technology Innovation of Tiexi Gymnasiums' Construction

In this paper, a comprehensive introduction about the Tiexi Olympic soccer Gymnasiums' technology innovation was offered, such as the new cylindrical steel template, the high- performance waterproof concrete, the high-color lighting technology, the exterior insulation technology, the outdoor training field artificial turf technology , and other new materials and new technologies, not only increased the technology content of the project, but also accelerated the progress and ensure the quality of this object, it has certain reference importance to Gymnasiums' construction and others construction.
Functional characterization and expression of folate receptor-α in T47D human breast cancer cells

Purpose: The objective of this study was to investigate the functional and molecular expression of a carrier mediated system responsible for folate uptake in breast cancer (BC) (T47D) cells and to delineate the mechanism of intracellular regulation of this transport system. Materials and Methods: [ 3 H]-folic acid uptake was studied in T47D cells with respect to time, pH, temperature, sodium and chloride ion dependency. Inhibition studies were conducted in the presence structural analogs, vitamins, metabolic and membrane transport inhibitors. [ 3 H]-folic acid uptake was also determined with varying concentrations of cold folic acid. Uptake kinetics was studied in the presence of various modulators of intracellular regulatory pathways; calcium-calmodulin, protein kinases A and C (PKA and PKC) and protein tyrosine kinase (PTK). Molecular evidence was studied by qualitative and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot analysis. Results: Linear increase in [ 3 H]-folic acid uptake was observed over 30 min. The process followed saturation kinetics with an apparent K m of 11.05 nM, V max of 1.54 * 10−8 μmoles/min/mg proteins and K d of 9.71 * 10−6 /min for folic acid. Uptake process was found to be dependent on pH, sodium ions, chloride ions, temperature and energy. Uptake was inhibited in the presence of structural analogs (cold folic acid, methyltetrahydro folate and methotrexate), but structurally unrelated vitamins did not show any effect. Membrane transport inhibitors such as SITC, DIDS, probenecid and endocytic inhibitor colchicine significantly inhibited the [ 3 H]-folic acid uptake process. PKA, PTK and Ca 2+ /calmodulin pathways positively regulate the uptake process. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT PCR) analysis had shown mRNA expression of folate receptor (FR)-α at 407 bp. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis showed significantly higher FR-α mRNA levels in T47D cells compared to MCF-7 cells and Western blot analysis confirmed the FR-α protein expression at 37 kDa. Conclusions: This work demonstrated the functional characterization and molecular presence of FR-α in the T47D cell line. The high expression of FRs in T47D human breast carcinoma cells supports their validity as molecular therapeutic targets in BC.
New Product Development: An Implementation Model

The purpose of this paper is to present a new product implementation model which hopefully will reduce the significant risk inherent in new product ventures in the industrial marketplace. While there may be some debate over the number of failures, there is little debate over the fact that the new product failure rate is high. This model should permit the user the ability to exert some control over both the internal and external environment critical to this process.
The reversible denaturation of DNA and its use in studies of nucleic acid homologies and the biological relatedness of microorganisms

Les chaines complementaires de la molecule d’ADN, qui sont liees l’une a l’autre par des liaisons hydrogene au niveau des paires de bases adenine-thymine et guanine-cytosine, peuvent etre separees par l’action de la chaleur, d’un acide, d’une base ou du formamide. Cette separation des deux chaines d’ADN et leur renaturation specifique par refroidissement consecutif a des temperatures inferieures a la temperature de « fusion », ont rendu possible la formation de molecules hybrides entre les ADN provenant de souches de microorganismes apparentes. On peut reconnaitre les molecules hybrides par centrifugation en gradiant de densite en CICs. La densite de l’hybride est intermediaire entre celle des deux constituants : le lourd (marque avec 15 N et le deuterium) et le leger, ADN normal. Pour que la formation d’un hybride puisse avoir lieu, la condition minimale est que l’ensemble des bases qui rentre dans la constitution des echantillons d’ADN soit semblable et que son heterogeneite de constitution soit relativement faible. Ainsi il a ete trouve que seuls les microorganismes genetiquement voisins possedent un ADN qui donne une molecule hybride in vitro par denaturation thermique et recombinaison ulterieure. On pense que la compatibilite genetique et la formation d’hybrides in vitro dependent d’une sequence homologue des bases et que la formation d’hybrides indique une telle sequence et devrait permettre de prevoir des relations genetiques et taxonomiques etroites.
A simplified electronic circuit for combined single-cell stimulation and recording using loose cell-attached electrodes

While tight-seal patch clamp recordings have found wide use in neuroscience and in other fields, the requirement to replace the glass pipette after every attempted recording represents an impediment to high throughput studies such as searching for monosynaptically connected pairs of neurons. Loose cell-attached recording was introduced in 2000 to circumvent this problem since it enabled combined recording and stimulation of visually-identified neurons without necessitating a tight (gigaohm) seal. Since the stimulus voltages required to evoke action potentials through low resistance seals are beyond the capacity of most commercial amplifiers, Barbour and Isope introduced a variation of classic patch clamp amplifier circuit that is able to deliver stimulus voltages that are effective in triggering action potentials under the loose cell-attached patch clamp configuration. The present report presents the design and operation of a simpler amplifier that contains only two integrated circuits and is able to effectively stimulate and record action potentials in mitral cells in rodent olfactory bulb slices. The addition of an accessory analog gating circuit enables manual control of the stimulus voltage with pulse timing controlled by a digital output from a computer. This system may be useful in studies that require surveying many potential pairs of neurons for synaptic connections and for sampling and manipulating single-cell activity in in vivo electrophysiology experiments.
Las reformas laborales: ¡algo más que mercado!

Work is an essential human dimension. For many people it is their main way, if not the only one, of participating in the income and wealth of the productive system, of personal fulfillment and of social inclusion. Although regulated in the labour market, work is much more than a commodity.The editorial takes as its starting point the personalist consideration of human labour in the perspective of its contribution to the common good. In the descriptive part, the editorial deals with the structural aspects of the labour market characteristics in Spain.Following this presentation, the third section analyses as a circumstantial aspect the labour market behaviour during the crisis. Section four deals with the two recent reforms carried out during both Zapatero Government (2010) and Rajoy Government (2012), considered within a wider framework. Conclusions, after a brief consideration on the change of this new era in the reality of the human labour, highlight some aspects about social culture, its moral basis and ethics at work, the role of education and the new ways of thinking about work.
Disgust, Anxiety, and Political Learning in the Face of Threat

Emotions feature prominently in political rhetoric and media frames, and they have potent effects on how people process information. Yet, existing research has largely overlooked the influence of disgust, which is a basic emotion that leads people to avoid contamination threats. We illustrate how disgust may impede learning, as compared to the more commonly studied emotion of anxiety. Disgust and anxiety are natural reactions to many kinds of political threats, but the two emotions influence political engagement in different ways. This study investigated the distinctive effects of disgust in a series of experiments that manipulated information about the outbreak of an infectious disease. People who felt disgusted by a health threat were less likely to learn crucial facts about the threat and less likely to seek additional information. Thus, disgust has the counterintuitive effect of decreasing public engagement in precisely those situations where it is most critical.
Coordinated Responsive Arrays of Surface-Linked Polymer Islands—CORALs

The concept of co-ordinated responsive arrays of surface-linked islands (polymer CORALs) is introduced. This study targets a responsive system capable of revealing or covering the substrate surface in response to environmental changes in a reversible way. A convenient method of fabrication of polymer CORALs is proposed. It is based on microphase separation that occurs in thin films of supramolecular assemblies of block copolymers with reactive blocks. Such blocks form nanometer-size domains that may serve as anchors for surface-linked polymer islands. Two characteristics of the islands are critically important for the switching function: high grafting density within the islands and small lateral separation that allows interactions between polymer chains grafted to the neighboring islands. This combination permits complete coverage of the substrate surface upon exposure to a good solvent (relaxed state). In a weak solvent, the chains collapse within the islands, thus revealing the substrate (compact state)...
Internal Carotid Artery Bifurcation Aneurysms: Microsurgical Strategies and Operative Nuances for Different Aneurysmal Directions.

Background Internal carotid artery bifurcation aneurysms (ICAbifAs), comprising approximately 5% of intracranial aneurysms, are characterized clinically by their tendency to occur at a younger age and surgically by the technical difficulties posed by their domes being adherent to the frontal lobe, their location at the apex of the sylvian fissure, and their relation to myriad perforator complexes. Objective To review the nuances of technique and operative strategy specific to aneurysmal direction in the light of our experience with ICAbifAs. Methods ICAbifAs managed at our institute from January 2001 to July 2016 were analyzed. Detailed analysis of clinical data, pre- and postoperative radiology, operative notes and videos, and clinical outcome was done. Results Fifty-one patients with ICAbifAs were treated in the study period out of which 40 patients underwent microsurgical clipping. The median age was 48 yr (range 14-68 yr). Nearly 95% of the patients presented in a good clinical grade (World Federation of Neurological Surgeons grade 1 and 2). At 6-mo follow-up, 36 patients (90%) had good clinical outcome (Glasgow Outcome Scale 4 and 5). According to their direction, ICAbifAs were grouped as anteriorly directed (10 cases), superiorly directed (23 cases), and posteriorly directed (7 cases). Operative techniques and nuances utilized depend on aneurysmal direction and are presented here. Conclusion An appropriate surgical strategy based on the direction of ICAbifAs as per the preoperative radiology, meticulous dissection of aneurysmal wall from adjacent perforators, and clip application with the aim of remodeling the ICA bifurcation are integral to achieving a good outcome.
The Contribution of Physical Activity to Health-Related Quality of Life: New Population Estimates from National Survey Data

Sedentary lifestyles have been linked to higher rates of stroke, hypertension, depression, certain types of cancers, and cardiovascular disease, and increased risk of mortality. The link between physical inactivity and health has led to research on how physical activity (PA) interventions might improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Estimates of HRQoL improvements are typically focused on targeted at-risk groups, however. Given that almost half of the U.S. adult population is physically inactive, it would be helpful to broaden our understanding of how PA relates to quality of life for the population at large. In this study, we calculated the HRQoL gains attributable to PA across three nationally representative data sets that use different quality of life measures, and assessed the reliability in the results. The data sets used were the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Quasi-likelihood regression modeling with a beta distribution was used to generate the estimates. We found mean HRQoL scores were very similar across the three data sets and the estimated HRQoLs gained from PA varied only slightly, suggesting that all three provide reliable estimates for the general population.
Category IV: Neoplasm—Undetermined Malignant Potential

Neoplasms of low malignant potential represent a group of rare tumors of diverse differentiation that behave mostly in a benign fashion but have unpredictable capacity to recur locally or at distant sites. The majority of these tumors can occur in other sites of the body but can present as incidentally discovered pulmonary masses mimicking pulmonary malignant tumors. Patients are often asymptomatic. Aspiration biopsy or small biopsies are necessary to rule out malignancy. Therefore it is important for cytopathologists and cytotechnologists to be familiar with the cytological features of these rare neoplasms and their diagnostic pitfalls.
On the Associations Between Indicators of Resting Arousal Levels, Physiological Reactivity, Sensation Seeking, and Psychopathic Traits

Abstract Despite consistent findings associating autonomic activity, such as resting heart rate, with antisocial behavior, the research connecting autonomic variables to related phenotypes, such as psychopathy and sensation seeking, has been mixed. The existing research in this area has been limited by underpowered samples, focused predominantly on incarcerated males, frequently dichotomized samples into “psychopaths” and controls, and failed to consider potential gender differences. The current study sought to address some of these limitations using a relatively large undergraduate sample (N = 453), four measures of autonomic activity (e.g., resting heart rate, resting skin conductance, heart rate reactivity, and skin conductance reactivity), a sensation seeking scale, and two measures of psychopathic traits. In order to thoroughly assess possible gender differences, the analyses were conducted for males and females separately. Few significant associations were found between the autonomic and psychological variables, and most became insignificant after controlling for age and race and correcting for multiple comparisons. The current study offers little support for an association between autonomic activity and sensation seeking or psychopathic traits.
Musculoskeletal Women's Health Education in Physiatry: A Mismatch in Residency Education and Clinical Practice.

BACKGROUND Musculoskeletal Women's Health (MSK WH) is a niche subspecialty within physical medicine & rehabilitation (PMR as of February 2017). METHODS A single, multiple choice, computer-generated Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) survey with branching logic was sent to all ACGME-accredited PM&R residency programs (N = 86). OUTCOMES The primary outcome was to assess the prevalence of women's health curricula at ACGME-accredited PM&R residency programs in the United States. The secondary outcome was to assess the prevalence of WH physiatrists at these programs. RESULTS Eighty-six ACGME-accredited PM&R residency programs were contacted with 55 completed responses (64% response rate). Only six programs (11%) reported the presence of a formal WH curriculum at their residency program. In contrast, 25 programs (45%) reported having WH physiatrists at their institutions, and 36 programs (65%) reported that general physiatrists were providing WH-related care. CONCLUSIONS The study findings identify a mismatch between the prevalence of MSK WH residency education (11% of programs) and the prevalence of physiatrists providing MSK WH care (66% of programs). Physiatrists are ideally suited to manage MSK WH care. Based on the findings of this cross-sectional study, residency programs and governing bodies should evaluate these trends and consider the addition of topics pertinent to women's musculoskeletal health into PM&R graduate medical education. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III.
Tertiary Alcohols as Radical Precursors for the Introduction of Tertiary Substituents into Heteroarenes

Despite many recent advances in the radical alkylation of electron-deficient heteroarenes since the seminal reports by Minisci and co-workers, methods for the direct incorporation of tertiary alkyl substituents into nitrogen heteroarenes are limited. This report describes the use of tert-alkyl oxalate salts, derived from tertiary alcohols, to introduce tertiary substituents into a variety of heterocyclic substrates. This reaction has reasonably broad scope, proceeds rapidly under mild conditions, and is initiated by either photochemical or thermal activation. Insights into the underlying mechanism of the higher yielding visible-light initiated process were obtained by flash photolysis studies, whereas computational studies provided insight into the reaction scope.
Population distribution patterns and changes in China 1953-2010: A regionalization approach

This study uses six censuses (1953, 1964, 1982, 1990, 2000, and 2010) at the county level since the foundation of the People’s Republic of China to examine the changes of population density pattern in mainland China over time. Based on the Gini coefficient, the change of disparity in population density followed a “U-shaped” trend, i.e., decreasing during 1953–1982 and increasing during 1982–2010. The shrinking disparity in the pre-reform periods was largely attributable to various ill-conceived political movements, and the enlarging gap in population growth rates in the post-reform era reflected a natural outcome of urbanization, which will continue in the foreseeable future. In addition, this research employs a GIS-automated regionalization method, REDCAP, to uncover a natural demarcation line like the classic “Hu Line” that divides China into two regions of similar area sizes but a strong contrast in population. The results show that the regionalization-derived lines were largely consistent with the Hu Line over time. Therefore, the disparity between the high-density southeast and low-density northwest regions is likely due to differing physical environments that form a natural barrier. Any public policy to overcome this barrier at a large scale is destined to be a vain attempt.
The Coerciveness of the Primary Key: Infrastructure Problems in Human Services Work

The premise of a primary key is simple enough: every record or row in a table should have some number or string that can uniquely identify it. Primary keys are essential for linking data spread across database tables, and for looking up and retrieving data from specific records. Yet for an identifier that seems so straightforward and uncontroversial, we find myriad ways that this unassuming bit of infrastructure has an outsized influence in human services work. Through case studies of the organizational networks of two nonprofit human services organizations, we find that different stakeholders use variants of identifiers to support work practices that are far more complex and social than the linking of tables or the lookup of data. Yet we also find that the low-level technical properties of the primary key are often coercive, forcing end-users to work on the infrastructure's terms-influencing the nature and order of the work, creating new forms of work, and influencing the tenor of the relationships among stakeholders. The technical abstractions of the underlying infrastructure, then, start to become the de facto public policy. We conclude by offering design provocations for better supporting identification across a variety of contexts.
“Latin Power to Latin People”: the Black Panther Party’s Influence on the Revolutionary Politics of the Young Lords Organization

The Young Lords gang transformed in late 1968 into the Young Lords Organization (YLO)—a revolutionary political body modeled after and allied with the Black Panther Party (BPP). This article explores the role of the BPP in the transformation and political development of the Young Lords. In particular it examines the BPP’s influence on the organizational structure, political ideas, and major organizing activities of the YLO.
Evaluation of Dual Electrode Configurations for Microchip Electrophoresis Used for Voltammetric Characterization of Electroactive Species

Microchip electrophoresis coupled with amperometric detection is more popular than voltammetric detection due to the lower limits of detection that can be achieved. However, voltammetry provides additional information about the redox properties of the analyte that can be used for peak identification. In this paper, two dual electrode configurations for microchip electrophoresis are described and evaluated for obtaining voltammetric information using amperometry. The dual-series electrode configuration was first evaluated to generate current ratios in a single run by applying two different potentials to the working electrodes placed perpendicular to the separation channel. However, it was found that it is difficult to obtain realistic current ratios with this configuration, primarily due to the relative placement of electrodes with respect to the channel end of the simple-t microchip. Correction factors were needed to obtain current ratios similar to those that would be obtained for sequential injections at two different potentials using a single electrode. A second approach using a dual-channel chip with two parallel electrodes was then developed and evaluated for obtaining voltammetric identification. The newly developed microchip permitted the injection of same amount of sample into two unique separation channels, each with an electrode at a different detection potential. Migration times and current ratios for several biologically important molecules and potential interferences including nitrite, tyrosine, hydrogen peroxide, and azide were obtained and compared to the responses obtained for analytes found in macrophage cell lysates.
SAE Automotive Human Factors Standards: Finding Them and What They Contain:

An HFES Task Force is considering if, when, which, and how HFES research publications should require the citation of relevant standards, policies, and practices. To support the Task Force activitie...
A Natural Resource Dependence Perspective of the Firm: How and Why Firms Manage Natural Resource Scarcity:

Although natural resource scarcity is a pressing issue for many organizations, it has received little attention in management research. Drawing on resource dependence theory, this article theorizes...
A mediator-ion nitrobenzene - iodine nonaqueous redox flow battery with asymmetric solvents

Abstract Nonaqueous redox flow batteries (RFBs) are recently receiving growing attention as a promising candidate for grid energy storage applications. Primary benefits of nonaqueous RFBs over the aqueous RFBs are high cell voltage and ability to operate at low temperatures. However, due to the relatively low solubility of the redox couples in nonaqueous solvents and the crossover tendency of the redox species, the low energy density and limited cycle life of nonaqueous RFBs are two major concerns that hamper their applicability. We present here an asymmetric electrolyte approach that employs two different organic solvents in a single RFB to access high concentrations of both the anolyte (nitrobenzene (NB) in acetonitrile (ACN) solvent) and catholyte (iodine in tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME) solvent). To avoid a crossover of the two redox-active solutions between the anode and cathode, a sodium-ion conductive solid electrolyte (Na3Zr2Si2PO12) membrane is employed as a separator. Sodium salts (NaClO4 or NaI) are added into the anolyte and catholyte as a supporting electrolyte. During the operation of the NB–I2 nonaqueous RFB, the electrochemical reactions of the redox couples are connected ionically by the shuttling of sodium ions through the Na3Zr2Si2PO12 membrane, i.e., Na+-ions are not involved in the electrode reactions but serve as mediator ions.
Involvement of the CDKL5-SOX9 signaling axis in rhabdomyolysis-associated acute kidney injury

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common clinical syndrome associated with adverse short- and long-term sequelae. Renal tubular epithelial cell (RTEC) dysfunction and cell death are among the key pathological features of AKI. Diverse systemic and localized stress conditions such as sepsis, rhabdomyolysis, cardiac surgery, and nephrotoxic drugs can trigger RTEC dysfunction. Through an unbiased RNA inhibition screen, we recently identified cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (Cdkl5), also known as serine/threonine kinase-9, as a critical regulator of RTEC dysfunction associated with nephrotoxic and ischemia-associated AKI. In the present study, we examined the role of Cdkl5 in rhabdomyolysis-associated AKI. Using activation-specific antibodies and kinase assays, we found that Cdkl5 is activated in RTECs early during the development of rhabdomyolysis-associated AKI. Furthermore, we found that RTEC-specific Cdkl5 gene ablation mitigates rhabdomyolysis-associated renal impairment. In addition, the small-molecule kinase inhibitor AST-487 alleviated rhabdomyolysis-associated AKI in a Cdkl5-dependent manner. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that Cdkl5 phosphorylates the transcriptional regulator sex-determining region Y box 9 (Sox9) and suppresses its protective function under stress conditions. On the basis of these results, we propose that, by suppressing the protective Sox9-directed transcriptional program, Cdkl5 contributes to rhabdomyolysis-associated renal impairment. All together, the present study identified Cdkl5 as a critical stress-induced kinase that drives RTEC dysfunction and kidney injury linked with distinct etiologies.
Genetic-Based Hypertension Subtype Identification Using Informative SNPs

In this work, we proposed a process to select informative genetic variants for identifying clinically meaningful subtypes of hypertensive patients. We studied 575 African American (AA) and 612 Caucasian hypertensive participants enrolled in the Hypertension Genetic Epidemiology Network (HyperGEN) study and analyzed each race-based group separately. All study participants underwent GWAS (Genome-Wide Association Studies) and echocardiography. We applied a variety of statistical methods and filtering criteria, including generalized linear models, F statistics, burden tests, deleterious variant filtering, and others to select the most informative hypertension-related genetic variants. We performed an unsupervised learning algorithm non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) to identify hypertension subtypes with similar genetic characteristics. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to demonstrate the clinical meaningfulness of genetic-based hypertension subtypes. Two subgroups were identified for both African American and Caucasian HyperGEN participants. In both AAs and Caucasians, indices of cardiac mechanics differed significantly by hypertension subtypes. African Americans tend to have more genetic variants compared to Caucasians; therefore, using genetic information to distinguish the disease subtypes for this group of people is relatively challenging, but we were able to identify two subtypes whose cardiac mechanics have statistically different distributions using the proposed process. The research gives a promising direction in using statistical methods to select genetic information and identify subgroups of diseases, which may inform the development and trial of novel targeted therapies.
Identity construction in social media: a study on blogging continuance

Trusted online identities in social media are viable sources of information in the digital world. Among different types of social media, blog continues to play important roles in promoting social c...
Intrinsic hardness of covalent crystals: a unified multiparametric framework

Bond resistance, bond strength and electronegativity models have been widely utilized for predicting intrinsic hardness of novel covalent materials. Although these models are generally perceived to be distinct, this manuscript recognizes them to be drawing input parameters from the same basis set comprising of bond density, bond length, electronegativity, and coordination number, while primarily differing in the exponents assigned to them. A numerical bound on the feasible space of these exponents is derived, followed by a search operation of this space to determine optimal values. The resulting model yields hardness estimates in good conformance with experimental data for numerous binary and ternary ceramic compounds. The study also provides a plausible explanation for the diversity of parameter–exponent combinations in the existing intrinsic hardness models, that is derived from the variability exhibited by these exponents in capturing a given experimental dataset at a constant fitting error.
Examining the Impact of Polyzwitterion Chemistry on Lithium Ion Transport in Ionogel Electrolytes

A series of polyzwitterion-supported gels featuring two classes of lithium-containing ionic liquid (IL) electrolytes have been created to examine the impact of different zwitterionic (ZI) group che...
Community predictors of COVID‐19 cases and deaths in Massachusetts: Evaluating changes over time using geospatially refined data

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for targeted local interventions given substantial heterogeneity within cities and counties. Publicly available case data are typically aggregated to the city or county level to protect patient privacy, but more granular data are necessary to identify and act upon community-level risk factors that can change over time. Methods Individual COVID-19 case and mortality data from Massachusetts were geocoded to residential addresses and aggregated into two time periods: "Phase 1" (March-June 2020) and "Phase 2" (September 2020 to February 2021). Institutional cases associated with long-term care facilities, prisons, or homeless shelters were identified using address data and modeled separately. Census tract sociodemographic and occupational predictors were drawn from the 2015-2019 American Community Survey. We used mixed-effects negative binomial regression to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs), accounting for town-level spatial autocorrelation. Results Case incidence was elevated in census tracts with higher proportions of Black and Latinx residents, with larger associations in Phase 1 than Phase 2. Case incidence associated with proportion of essential workers was similarly elevated in both Phases. Mortality IRRs had differing patterns from case IRRs, decreasing less substantially between Phases for Black and Latinx populations and increasing between Phases for proportion of essential workers. Mortality models excluding institutional cases yielded stronger associations for age, race/ethnicity, and essential worker status. Conclusions Geocoded home address data can allow for nuanced analyses of community disease patterns, identification of high-risk subgroups, and exclusion of institutional cases to comprehensively reflect community risk.
Conversion of a Two-Stroke Detroit Diesel Allison Model 12V-149T Diesel Engine to Burn Natural Gas with Pilot Injection of Diesel Fuel for Ignition

Conversion d'un moteur diesel deux temps Detroit Diesel Allison modele 12V-149T en vue d'utiliser du gaz naturel comme carburant. L'allumage est obtenu par injection de carburant diesel
Mass Spectrometry: Peptide Sequencing

Electrospray and MALDI (matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization) are two versions of desorption/ionization that allow modern mass spectrometry to be applied to the analysis of peptides and proteins. In addition to a direct indication of the molecular weight, the sequence of amino acids in a peptide can be deduced from the fragmentation pattern (the mass spectrum itself). Keywords: electrospray; MALDI; signal suppression; mass spectrum; matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization
Augmented sympathetic vasoconstriction in exercising forearms of postmenopausal women is reversed by oestrogen therapy

Sympathetic vasoconstriction is normally attenuated in exercising muscles of young men and women. Recent evidence indicates that such modulation, termed functional sympatholysis, may be impaired in older men. Whether a similar impairment occurs in older women, and what role oestrogen deficiency might play in this impairment, are not known. Based on the strong positive correlation between circulating oestrogen levels and functional sympatholysis previously reported in female rats, we hypothesized that sympatholysis would be impaired in oestrogen-deficient postmenopausal women, and that this impairment would be reversed by oestrogen replacement. To test these hypotheses, we measured vasoconstrictor responses in the forearms of pre- and postmenopausal women using near infrared spectroscopy to detect decreases in muscle oxygenation in response to reflex activation of sympathetic nerves evoked by lower body negative pressure (LBNP). In eight premenopausal women, LBNP decreased muscle oxygenation by 20 ± 1% in resting forearm, but only by 3 ± 2% in exercising forearm (P 0.05). After 1 month of transdermal oestradiol replacement in these women, the normal effect of exercise to blunt sympathetic vasoconstriction was restored (rest, −19 ± 3%; exercise, −2 ± 3%; P < 0.05). These data indicate that functional sympatholysis is impaired in oestrogen-deficient postmenopausal women. The effect of short-term unopposed oestrogen replacement to correct this impairment implicates a role for oestrogen in the sympathetic neural control of muscle haemodynamics during exercise.
The Geology and Geography of Floods

From a global perspective, the magnitude, duration, and volume of riverine floods vary widely depending on source mechanism, global location, geology, and physiography. But despite this variance, there are real physical limits as to how large a flood can be. Meteorological floods result from individual storms ofvarious types that deliver water volumes as great as 101I m3 over a few days or weeks as well as from seasonally persistent climate patterns that deliver upwards of 1012 m3 over several weeks or months and cause peak discharges of as much as 105 m3/s within large, continental-scale basins. The fundamental limits to meteorologic flooding depend primarily on precipitation rates and volumes, and the efficiency with which distributed rainfall concentrates into channel networks. Global and U.S. flood records show that for basins primarily affected by individual storms, the largest flows are in areas where atmospheric moisture or storm tracks are intercepted by local topographic relief. For larger basins, the largest flows result from seasonably persistent climate patterns and, on a global basis, are generally in the tropical regions where there is more precipitable moisture. Especially notable is the contribution of high-relief topography to meteorologic flooding because of its double effect of (1) lifting of atmospheric moisture, thus increasing local precipitation, and (2) promoting faster concentration of flow into channels. Floods from dam failures and terrestrial freshwater sources such as lakes and ice caps involve similar total volumes as meteorological floods, up to 1013 m3, but with much larger discharges-as great as 2· 107 m3/s. The largest well-documented dam-failure floods have been during Pleistocene ice ages when glaciers and changing hydrologic conditions deranged drainage systems, causing large lakes to breach ice dams and basin divides. The
Bearing Strength of Concrete Blocks

The problem of end bearing in a post-tensioned concrete beam may be idealized and simplified to the problem of a circular cylindrical or a square prismatic concrete block with a longitudinal cable duct loaded by two circular or square punches applied on the cable duct at both ends. Bearing capacity solutions for the idealized problem were presented recently. Good experimental verifications of the solutions were available for the special case of concrete blocks with eccentricity but without cable duct. No suitable experimental data were available, however, for concrete blocks with both punch eccentricity and cable duct. The purpose of this note is to test specimens with variations of duct diameters and eccentricities with both plain and random wire reinforced concrete. The test results are presented and compared with the theoretical linear elastic and perfectly plastic solutions.
Just-in-time pedagogy: teachers' perspectives on the response to intervention framework

The purpose of this mixed methods research is to examine teachers' perspectives on the response to intervention (RTI) framework and its implementation in Michigan and Texas schools. Both states have been leaders in literacy, increasing preservice and in-service teacher certification standards and developing similar batteries for assessing literacy skills. Using the International Reading Association's RTI principles, the following question directed this inquiry: what are the perspectives of teachers in various educational, geographic, economic and cultural settings of the RTI? The research was developed through questionnaires, focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that teacher professional development, assessments and collaboration for instruction were highly integrated themes when developing RTI strategies as reforming practice and increasing student literacy. Michigan and Texas teachers were more confident and comfortable in measuring and identifying students with reading difficulties over their ability to prevent learning disabilities through their instruction.
A comparison of daily water use estimates derived from constant-heat sap-flow probe values and gravimetric measurements in pot-grown saplings

Use of Granier-style heat dissipation sensors to measure sap flow is common in plant physiology, ecology and hydrology. There has been concern that any change to the original Granier design invalidates the empirical relationship between sap flux density and the temperature difference between the probes. Here, we compared daily water use estimates from gravimetric measurements with values from variable length heat dissipation sensors, which are a relatively new design. Values recorded during a one-week period were compared for three large pot-grown saplings of each of the tropical trees Pseudobombax septenatum (Jacq.) Dugand and Calophyllum longifolium Willd. For five of the six individuals, P values from paired t-tests comparing the two methods ranged from 0.12 to 0.43 and differences in estimates of total daily water use over the week of the experiment averaged < 3%. In one P. septenatum sapling, the sap flow sensors underestimated water use relative to the gravimetric measurements. This discrepancy could have been associated with naturally occurring gradients in temperature that reduced the difference in temperature between the probes, which would have caused the sensor method to underestimate water use. Our results indicate that substitution of variable length heat dissipation probes for probes of the original Granier design did not invalidate the empirical relationship determined by Granier between sap flux density and the temperature difference between probes.
Coronal somatosensory unit responses in cats with dorsal column lesions

Summary (1) Extensive chronic dorsal column (DC) lesions (greater than 90% of cross-sectional DC area) decrease the proportion of coronal somatosensory cells which respond to somatic stimuli, reduce the proportion of cells which borders, and increase the average receptive field size. Such lesions were estimated to involve approximately 90% of the DC fibers from the forepaw contralateral to the recording electrode. (2) Cats with extensive chronic DC lesions have proportionately fewer units with short latencies (10 msed or less) than intact cats. (3) Cats with chronic DC lesions showed a higher proportion of units with prolonged depression of post-response excitability; this property was related, not to the extent of the lesion, but to the length of time since surgery. (4) A higher proportion of units with latencies of 20 msec or less and small receptive fields (0–5 sq. cm) are found in cats with acute DC, acute dorsolateral, or chronic dorsolateral lesions. (5) The results show that, as in behavioral studies, functional deficits can be detected following nearly complete DC lesions.
Exact Results for a Semiflexible Polymer Chain in an Aligning Field

We provide exact results for the Laplace-transformed partition function of a wormlike chain subject to a tensile force and in a nematic field, in both two and three dimensions. The results are in the form of infinite continued fractions, which are obtained by exploiting the hierarchical structure of a moment-based expansion of the partition function. The case of an imaginary force corresponds to the end-to-end distance distribution in Laplace−Fourier space. We illustrate the utility of these exact results by examining the structure factor of a wormlike chain, the deformation free energy of a chain in a nematic field, and the self-consistent-field solution for the isotropic−nematic transition of wormlike chains.
Abdominal computed tomography scan as a screening tool in blunt trauma.

Background. One of the most difficult problems in blunt trauma is evaluation for potential intraabdominal injury. Admission for serial abdominal exams remains the standard of care after intraabdominal injury has been initially excluded. We hypothesized a normal abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan in a subgroup of minimally injured patients would obviate admission for serial abdominal examinations, allowing safe discharge from the emergency department (ED). Methods. We reviewed our blunt trauma experience with patients admitted solely for serial abdominal examimations after a normal CT. Patients were identified from the trauma registry at a Level 1 trauma center from July 1991 through June 1995. Patients with abnormal CTs, extraabdominal injuries necessitating admission, hemodynamic abnormalities, a Glasgow Coma Scale less than 13, or injury severity scores (ISSs) greater than 15 were excluded. Records of 238 patients remained; we reviewed them to determine the presence of missed abdominal injury. Results. None of the 238 patients had a missed abdominal injury. Average ISS of these patients was 3.2 (range, 0 to 10). Discharging these patients from the ED would result in a yearly cost savings of $32,874 to our medical system. Conclusions. Abdominal CT scan is a safe and cost-effective screening tool in patients with blunt trauma. A normal CT scan in minimally injured patients allows safe discharge from the ED.