cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rapid Proliferation of Repetitive Palindromic Elements in mtDNA of the Endemic Baikalian Sponge Lubomirskia baicalensis

Animal mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a remarkably compact molecule largely because of the scarcity of noncoding ‘‘selfish’’ DNA. Recently, however, we found that mitochondrial genomes of several phylogenetically diverse species of demosponges contain small repetitive palindromic sequences, interspersed within intergenic regions and fused in protein and ribosomal RNA genes. Here, I report and analyze the proliferation of such elements in the mitochondrial genome of the endemic sponge of Lake Baikal Lubomirskia baicalensis. Because Baikal sponges are closely related to the circumglobally distributed freshwater sponge Ephydatia muelleri with which they shared a common ancestor approximately 3‐10 Ma, both the rate of single nucleotide substitutions and the rate of palindromic repeat insertions can be calculated in this system. I found the rate of nucleotide substitutions in mtDNA of freshwater sponges to be extremely low (0.5‐1.6 ! 10 " 9 per site per year), more similar to that in plants than bilaterian animals. By contrast, the per/nucleotide rate of insertions of repetitive elements is at least four times higher. This rapid rate of proliferation combined with the broad phylogenetic distribution of hairpin elements can make them a defining force in the evolution of mitochondrial genomes of demosponges.
Spontaneous coronary artery dissection: a disease-specific, social networking community-initiated study.

OBJECTIVE To develop and assess the feasibility of a novel method for identification, recruitment, and retrospective and prospective evaluation of patients with rare conditions. PATIENTS AND METHODS This pilot study is a novel example of "patient-initiated research." After being approached by several members of an international disease-specific support group on a social networking site, we used it to identify patients who had been diagnosed as having at least 1 episode of spontaneous coronary artery dissection and recruited them to participate in a clinical investigation of their condition. Medical records were collected and reviewed, the original diagnosis was independently confirmed by review of imaging studies, and health status (both interval and current) was assessed via specially designed questionnaires and validated assessment tools. RESULTS Recruitment of all 12 participants was complete within 1 week of institutional review board approval (March 18, 2010). Data collection was completed November 18, 2010. All participants completed the study questionnaires and provided the required medical records and coronary angiograms and ancillary imaging data. CONCLUSION This study involving patients with spontaneous coronary artery dissection demonstrates the feasibility of and is a successful model for developing a "virtual" multicenter disease registry through disease-specific social media networks to better characterize an uncommon condition. This study is a prime example of patient-initiated research that could be used by other health care professionals and institutions.
Outcome and Acute Care Hospital Costs After Warm Water Near Drowning in Children

OBJECTIVE: Predictive efforts using individual factors or scoring systems do not adequately identify all intact survivors, and therefore all drowning victims are aggressively resuscitated in most emergency departments. More reliable outcome prediction is needed to guide early treatment decisions. METHODS: The charts of 274 near drowning patients admitted to Loma Linda University Children's Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Patient outcome was categorized into good (near normal function), and poor (vegetative or dead) categories. Discriminant analysis was used to identify combinations of variables most able to predict outcome and a clinical classification system was constructed. The acute care hospital costs for each group were compared. RESULTS: Discriminant analysis classification achieved 95% accuracy, predicting death in 6 intact survivors. No combination of variables could accurately separate all intact survivors from the vegetative and dead groups. The clinical classification method achieved 93% overall accuracy, predicting death in 5 intact survivors. Of patients predicted to have a poor outcome, 5 (6.3%) survived intact. Children may experience an unpredictable, prolonged vegetative state followed by full recovery. Vegetative patients are the most expensive to care for (consuming 53% of total costs) while intact survivors are the least expensive. The majority of costs were spent on patients with poor outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Individual outcome cannot be reliably predicted in the emergency department; therefore, aggressive resuscitation of near drowning victims should be performed. Decisions to subsequently withdraw life support should be made based on integration of likelihood of survival, high (but not absolute) certainty, and parental/societal issues. The vegetative patients are the most expensive to care for, while intact survivors are least expensive. Reduction of expenditures on patients likely to have vegetative or dead outcome would result in substantial savings, but loss of normal survivors. Language: en
Flavonoids inhibit VEGF/bFGF-induced angiogenesis in vitro by inhibiting the matrix-degrading proteases.

Flavonoids have been proposed to act as chemopreventive agents in numerous epidemiological studies and have been shown to inhibit angiogenesis and proliferation of tumor cells and endothelial cells in vitro. Angiogenesis requires tightly controlled extracellular matrix degradation mediated by extracellular proteolytic enzymes including matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and serine proteases, in particular, the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA)-plasmin system. In this study, we have investigated the antiangiogenic mechanism of the flavonoids, genistein, apigenin, and 3-hydroxyflavone in a human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) model. The stimulation of serum-starved HUVECs with vascular endothelial growth factor/basic fibroblast growth factor (VEGF/bFGF) caused marked increase in MMP-1 production and induced the pro-MMP-2 activation accompanied by the increase in MT1-MMP expression. However, pretreatment with flavonoids before VEGF/bFGF stimulation completely abolished the VEGF/bFGF-stimulated increase in MMP-1 and MT1-MMP expression and pro-MMP-2 activation. Genistein blocked VEGF/bFGF-stimulated increase in TIMP-1 expression and decrease in TIMP-2 expression. Apigenin and 3-hydroxyflavone further decreased TIMP-1 expression below basal level and completely abolished TIMP-2 expression. VEGF and bFGF stimulation also significantly induced uPA expression, most strikingly the level of 33 kDa uPA, and increased the expression of PA inhibitor (PAI)-1. Genistein, apigenin, and 3-hydroxyflavone effectively blocked the generation of 33 kDa uPA, and further decreased the activity of the 55 kDa uPA and the expression of PAI-1 below the basal level. In conclusion, these data suggest that genistein, apigenin, and 3-hydroxyflavone inhibit in vitro angiogenesis, in part via preventing VEGF/bFGF-induced MMP-1 and uPA expression and the activation of pro-MMP-2, and via modulating their inhibitors, TIMP-1 and -2, and PAI-1.
The Medical Home: Health Care Access and Impact for Children and Youth in the United States

The medical home concept encompasses the elements of pediatric care considered essential for all children. We describe here the characteristics of children with medical homes and the relation- ship between presence of a medical home and selected health care outcomes by using new data from the 2007 National Survey of Chil- dren's Health (NSCH). METHODS: We used a medical home measure comprising 5 compo- nents: having a usual source of care; having a personal physician or nurse; receiving all needed referrals for specialty care; receiving help as needed in coordinating health and health-related care; and receiv- ing family-centered care. A total of 83 448 children aged 1 to 17 years had valid data for all applicable medical home components. The NSCH is a random-digit-dial population-based telephone survey. RESULTS: In 2007, 56.9% of US children aged 1 to 17 years received care in medical homes. Younger children were more likely to have a medical home than their older counterparts. Substantial racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and health-related disparities were present. Children who received care in medical homes were less likely to have unmet medical and dental needs and were more likely to have annual preven- tive medical visits. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately half of the children in the United States have access to all components of a pediatric medical home. Because the medical home is increasingly promoted as the standard for provi- sion of high-quality comprehensive health care, these findings rein- force the need to continue and expand federal, state, and community efforts to ensure that all children have access to this model of care. Pediatrics 2011;127:604-611
Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy of the Interactions Between Platelet Integrin αIIbβ3 and Monomeric Fibrin

Platelet-fibrin interactions under hydrodynamic blood shear are mediated by the integrin αIIbβ3, but the mechanism of αIIbβ3 binding to fibrin is largely unknown, although interactions with fibrinogen have been extensively studied. We used the optical trap to measure forces required to separate a laser-trappedbead coated with monomeric fibrin from a pedestal coatedwith purified αIIbβ3. Experiments were performed with recombinant fibrin obtained from thrombin-treated fibrinogen, either wild-type or variants lacking putative integrin-binding sites. Integrin-fibrin interactions manifested as a bimodal force histogram with rupture forces from 20 pN to 140 pN, similar to αIIbβ3-fibrinogen but with somewhat higher binding probability. To test a role of the γ-chain C-terminal 400-411 dodecapeptide, the major αIIbβ3-binding site in fibrinogen, the most abundant fibrin (γA/γA) was replaced with a splicing variant (γ’/γ’), in which the γC-terminus has new amino acids from 408 to 427. Unexpectedly, the lack of the γC400-411 motif did not affect the ability of fibrin to interact with αIIbβ3, suggesting that this structure may not be a major integrin-binding site in fibrin. At the same time, fibrin-integrin interactions were partially inhibited by the γC-dodecapeptide, indicating that the γC400-411 motif still may be involved, perhaps indirectly. Two RGD motifs, one located in the αC region and the other in the coiled-coil connector, were tested as the potential binding sites by using fibrin(ogen) variants αD574E and αD97E. Both of them had a reduced integrin-binding strength and displayed the cumulative binding probability about 2/3 of that of the wild-type fibrin, suggesting that the RGD motifs play a role in the αIIbβ3-fibrin interactions. Free γC-dodecapeptide did not affect the reactivity of the D574E and D97E mutants. The results suggest that the αIIbβ3-fibrin interactions involve the RGD sites rather than the γC400-411 motif.
Resilient algorithms for reconstructing and simulating gappy flow fields in CFD

It is anticipated that in future generations of massively parallel computer systems a significant portion of processors may suffer from hardware or software faults rendering large-scale computations useless. In this work we address this problem from the algorithmic side, proposing resilient algorithms that can recover from such faults irrespective of their fault origin. In particular, we set the foundations of a new class of algorithms that will combine numerical approximations with machine learning methods. To this end, we consider three types of fault scenarios: (1) a gappy region but with no previous gaps and no contamination of surrounding simulation data, (2) a space–time gappy region but with full spatiotemporal information and no contamination, and (3) previous gaps with contamination of surrounding data. To recover from such faults we employ different reconstruction and simulation methods, namely the projective integration, the co-Kriging interpolation, and the resimulation method. In order to compare the effectiveness of these methods for the different processor faults and to quantify the error propagation in each case, we perform simulations of two benchmark flows, flow in a cavity and flow past a circular cylinder. In general, the projective integration seems to be the most effective method when the time gaps are small, and the resimulation method is the best when the time gaps are big while the co-Kriging method is independent of time gaps. Furthermore, the projective integration method and the co-Kriging method are found to be good estimation methods for the initial and boundary conditions of the resimulation method in scenario (3).
Thiophilic Adsorption Chromatography

Thiophilic adsorption is useful for the purification of immunoglobulins under mild conditions (e.g., see ref. 1). Although there are several established procedures for the purification of immunoglobulins (2-5), thiophilic adsorption appears thus far to be unique in its capacity to adsorb three major classes of immunoglobulins (and their subclasses) (6-8). Furthermore, in contrast to other affinity purification methods (e.g., see refs. 3,4), recovery of the adsorbed (purified) immunoglobulins from the thiophilic adsorption matrix is accomplished efficiently at neutral pH, without the need for perturbation of protein structure (1). The most important utility of thiophilic adsorption is perhaps its use for the selective depletion of immunoglobulins from complex biological fluids (e.g., calf serum and hybridoma culture media, colostrum and milk) (6,7,9). This latter development has been particularly useful with hybridoma cell culture applications (9,10), and in the investigation of milk-immunoglobulin function during early periods of human infant nutrition (6,7).
High Variability in Outcome Reporting Patterns in High-Impact ACL Literature.

BACKGROUND: ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) reconstruction is one of the most commonly performed and studied procedures in modern sports medicine. A multitude of objective and subjective patient outcome measures exists; however, nonstandardized reporting patterns of these metrics may create challenges in objectively analyzing pooled results from different studies. The goal of this study was to document the variability in outcome reporting patterns in high-impact orthopaedic studies of ACL reconstruction. METHODS: All clinical studies pertaining to ACL reconstruction in four high-impact-factor orthopaedic journals over a five-year period were reviewed. Biomechanical, basic science, and imaging studies were excluded, as were studies with fewer than fifty patients, yielding 119 studies for review. Incorporation of various objective and subjective outcomes was noted for each study. RESULTS: Substantial variability in reporting of both objective and subjective measures was noted in the study cohort. Although a majority of studies reported instrumented laxity findings, there was substantial variability in the type and method of laxity reporting. Most other objective outcomes, including range of motion, strength, and complications, were reported in CONCLUSIONS: Substantial variability in outcome reporting patterns exists among high-impact studies of ACL reconstruction. Such variability may create challenges in interpreting results and pooling them across different studies. Language: en
Crustal structure in Missouri by seismic-refraction methods

abstract Two reversed seismic-refraction profiles, each about 300 km long, were established in Missouri. One profile was in northern Missouri, oriented east-west. The other was in southern Missouri, oriented in a northeasterly direction across the Ozark uplift. Interpretation of the seismic refraction data indicates that the crust in northern Missouri may be characterized by three major layers. Approximate velocities and depths of these layers are 6.1 km/sec from near the surface to a depth of 8 km, 6.2 km/sec to 20 km, and 6.6 km/sec to 40 km. Upper-mantle velocity is 8.0 km/sec. A westward component of dip is indicated on all these layers such that the crust is a few kilometers thicker along the west portion of the profile than along the east. An alternate interpretation based upon the Herglotz-Wiechert method indicates that the velocity variation in the upper 15 km of the crust is similar to that suggested by Birch for a granitic material. The velocity of 6.6 km/sec in the lower portion of the crust is further supported by interpretation of reflected phases. The seismic data do not require the pressence of a low-velocity channel within the crust. The data from southern Missouri were more difficult to interpret, possibly because of the effect of lateral inhomogeneities within the crust. If a layered crustal model is assumed for this region, then the interpreted crustal structure does not differ greatly from that derived for northern Missouri.)
Rationale and design of the allogeneiC human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) in patients with aging fRAilTy via intravenoUS delivery (CRATUS) study: A phase I/II, randomized, blinded and placebo controlled trial to evaluate the safety and potential efficacy of allogeneic human mesenchymal stem cell infusion in patients with aging frailty

// Samuel Golpanian 1,2 , Darcy L. DiFede 1 , Marietsy V. Pujol 1 , Maureen H. Lowery 3 , Silvina Levis-Dusseau 3,5 , Bradley J. Goldstein 1,7 , Ivonne H. Schulman 1,3,6 , Bangon Longsomboon 1 , Ariel Wolf 1 , Aisha Khan 1 , Alan W. Heldman 1,3,4 , Pascal J. Goldschmidt-Clermont 3,4 and Joshua M. Hare 1,3,4 1 Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA 2 Department of Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA 3 Department of Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA 4 Division of Cardiology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA 5 Division of Endocrinology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA 6 Division of Nephrology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA 7 Department of Otolaringology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA Correspondence to: Joshua M. Hare, email: // Keywords : aging, frailty, mesenchymal stem cells, allogeneic, Gerotarget Received : December 20, 2015 Accepted : January 30, 2016 Published : February 25, 2016 Abstract Frailty is a syndrome associated with reduced physiological reserves that increases an individual’s vulnerability for developing increased morbidity and/or mortality. While most clinical trials have focused on exercise, nutrition, pharmacologic agents, or a multifactorial approach for the prevention and attenuation of frailty, none have studied the use of cell-based therapies. We hypothesize that the application of allogeneic human mesenchymal stem cells (allo-hMSCs) as a therapeutic agent for individuals with frailty is safe and efficacious. The CRATUS trial comprises an initial non-blinded phase I study, followed by a blinded, randomized phase I/II study (with an optional follow-up phase) that will address the safety and pre-specified beneficial effects in patients with the aging frailty syndrome. In the initial phase I protocol, allo-hMSCs will be administered in escalating doses via peripheral intravenous infusion (n=15) to patients allocated to three treatment groups: Group 1 (n=5, 20 million allo-hMSCs), Group 2 (n=5, 100 million allo-hMSCs), and Group 3 (n=5, 200 million allo-hMSCs). Subsequently, in the randomized phase, allo-hMSCs or matched placebo will be administered to patients (n=30) randomly allocated in a 1:1:1 ratio to one of two doses of MSCs versus placebo: Group A (n=10, 100 million allo-hMSCs), Group B (n=10, 200 million allo-hMSCs), and Group C (n=10, placebo). Primary and secondary objectives are, respectively, to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of allo-hMSCs administered in frail older individuals. This study will determine the safety of intravenous infusion of stem cells and compare phenotypic outcomes in patients with aging frailty.
BOTTLENECK EFFECTS ON AVERAGE HETEROZYGOSITY AND GENETIC DISTANCE WITH THE STEPWISE MUTATION MODEL.

When a population goes through a small bottleneck, the genetic variability of the population is expected to decline rapidly, but as soon as population size becomes large, it starts to increase owing to new mutations (Wright, 1931; Mayr, 1954). Recently, Nei et al. (1975) studied this problem mathematically and showed that the pattern of change in genetic variability largely depends on the size of bottleneck, rate of population growth, and mutation rate. They provided a general formula for computing the average heterozygosity per locus in a population of changing size. This study is based on the assumption that new mutations occurring in a population are always different from the preexisting ones (Kimura and Crow's (1964) infinite allele model). This assumption seems to be roughly correct if allelic differences are studied at the nucleotide or codon level. In practice, however, the genetic variability of natural populations is usually studied by electrophoretic mobility of proteins. Electrophoretic mobility of a protein is determined mainly by the net charge of the protein, and a positive or negative change in the net charge due to an amino acid substitution may be canceled by the second opposite charge change. Therefore, strictly speaking, the infinite allele model is not appropriate for the study of protein variation detected by electrophoresis. In view of this circumstance, Ohta and Kimura (1973) introduced the so-called stepwise mutation model. In this model each allele is represented as one of the infinite sequence of allelic states and mutation is assumed to produce a one-step change in either the positive or the negative direction. They derived a formula for average heterozygosity in an equilibrium population. Later, Wehrhahn (1975) and Li (1976) extended Ohta and Kimura's work to the case of nonequilibrium populations. On the other hand, Nei and Chakraborty (1973) studied the expected genetic distance between two populations when these are separated for an arbitrary number of generations, using a similar genetic model. The purpose of the present paper is to study the bottleneck effects on average heterozygosity and genetic distance by using the stepwise mutation model. Some studies on the bottleneck effect (the effect of reduction in population size) on genetic distance have been made by Chakraborty and Nei (1974) and Nei (1976), using the infinite allele model. These authors have shown that the reduction in population size results in an accelerated increase in genetic distance in the early generations. In the present paper we shall employ the method of generating function first used by Nei and Chakraborty (1973) in the study of protein variation and extended considerably by Wehrhahn ( 19 7 5).
Identification of hydrolytic activities expressed by Aspergillus flavus grown on cotton carpel tissue

Abstract To identify proteins important for invasion into host plant tissue, Aspergillus flavus was cultured on medium containing cotton carpel tissue as the sole carbon source. We identified several hydrolases suggesting they are important as A. flavus virulence factors for plant colonization. Specifically, Aspergillus flavus AF13 secreted at least two endoxylanase activities and a pectolytic activity when grown on the cotton carpel tissue medium. A concentrated sample derived from the A. flavus growth medium (6-day) was subjected to gel filtration chromatography on a BioGel P-30 column. A major endoxylanase activity was separated from the other fungal-secreted proteins. Additional fungal secreted proteins were partially resolved by gel filtration chromatography on a BioGel P-60 column. Multiple proteins with molecular weights in the 20 to 70 kD range were present in the harvested fungal growth medium. Analysis of these fungal-secreted proteins by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry identified both endo- and exo-glucanase proteins, α- l -arabinofuranosidase, glucoamylase, α-amylase A, pectate lyase A, xylanase F1, acetylxylan esterase, glutaminase A, as well as conserved hypothetical proteins of unknown function. These proteins likely assist A. flavus in the maceration of plant cell walls, allowing for pathogenic entry and accession of host nutrient resources. Pectolytic and xylanolytic hydrolases, as well as glucanases, appear to be important A. flavus virulence factors.
Profit-loss Equilibrium Analysis to Oil and Gas Exploitation Enterprise

Firstly, the paper pointed out that oil and gas exploitation enterprise do not satisfy the conditions of traditional profit-loss equilibrium analysis, and then defined profit-loss equilibrium analysis of oil and gas exploitation enterprise, gave the analytical methods.
DESIGN OF VERSATILE ANALYSIS SOFTWARE FOR WAVEFORM DATA

The possibility of developing versatile analysis system for waveform data and its key technique are expounded. Through the analysis of the features of the recorded waveform data of power system, the recorded data is abstracted andclassified by object-oriented method, the concrete design frame of the inner core for the development of the analysis software for the recorded waveform data is put forward andimplemented by Visual C++ programming language. Thedeveloped software is successfully applied to many devices. The thought of the design is flexible suitable to groupwaredevelopment. With this method, the development cycle can be shortened and the developed software possesses goodmaintenability.
Changes in the Lymphatic Dynamics After Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection

AbstractLymphatic dynamics in the retroperitoneal space are altered after retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. Obstruction with or without visible collaterals is seen frequently. Lymphaticovenous communications and lymphocysts are also common findings. The immediate sequelae are of minor importance, although the mass effect of lymphocysts may be serious. The collateral pathways and lymphaticovenous anastomoses may result in the appearance of metastases in unusual sites.
Spring cleaning for the “messy” construct of teachers’ beliefs: What are they? Which have been examined? What can they tell us?

The research on teachers ’ beliefs, to our knowledge, spans more than 57 years ( Oliver, 1953 ) and runs the gamut of research methodologies, theoretical perspectives, and identifi cation of specifi c beliefs about any number of topics. It seems that the initial goal of the research on teachers ’ beliefs was to establish a clear psychological construct, beliefs, that could serve as an explanatory and predictive mechanism for explaining differences in teachers ’ practices (e.g., Abrami, Poulsen, & Chambers, 2004 ), outcomes with students (e.g., Muijs & Reynolds, 2002 ), and experiences (e.g., McAlpine, Eriks-Brophy, & Crago, 1996 ). Unfortunately, this has not been the case. Although the published empirical research on teachers ’ beliefs includes more than 700 articles, the lack of cohesion and clear defi nitions has limited the explanatory and predictive potential of teachers ’ beliefs. Still, the pervasive conviction in the literature, schools, and teacher education programs is that teachers ’ beliefs matter. We also believe they do. However, the manifestation of beliefs in teachers ’ practice is complicated, and the understanding of what is meant by teachers ’ beliefs in the research literature remains murky.
Strong Start for Families: An Innovative Use of High Fidelity Wraparound with Mothers in Early Recovery from Substance Use Disorders

Low-income women who begin treatment for substance use during pregnancy often have mental health conditions, lack social supports, and struggle to meet basic family needs. These factors can jeopardize both recovery and caregiving capacity. To address these issues, the Strong Start Study piloted a team-based Wraparound approach to complement treatment programs for mothers through their first-year postpartum. As a systems of care practice model, Wraparound facilitated collaboration in service delivery and provided additional support for sustaining recovery. This chapter overviews important considerations in working with this population of mothers and young children and discusses the outcomes of the study.
Metabolic variations in normal and fibrotic human laryngotracheal‐derived fibroblasts: A Warburg‐like effect

Objectives/Hypothesis Laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS) is a chronic fibrotic disease characterized by fibroblast proliferation, collagen deposition, and matrix remodeling in the lamina propria of the larynx and/or trachea. Current medical therapies are limited by a poor understanding of the effector cell's (fibroblasts) cellular biology and metabolism. The purpose of this study was to compare cellular proliferation, function, and metabolism between normal and LTS-derived fibroblasts in vitro. We hypothesize that LTS-derived fibroblasts will demonstrate aberrant behavior with faster proliferation, increased collagen production, and altered metabolic allocation compared with normal fibroblasts. Study Design In vitro comparative analysis. Methods Human biopsies of normal and iatrogenic LTS tissue (n = 7) were obtained, and fibroblasts were isolated and cultured in vitro. Cellular proliferation, cellular histology, gene expression, and metabolic analyses were performed. Statistical analyses comparing normal and scar-derived fibroblasts were performed. Results LTS fibroblast proliferation rate, cellular surface area, and collagen-1 expression were increased compared to normal fibroblasts. Cellular metabolic analysis of LTS-derived fibroblasts demonstrated reduced oxidative phosphorylation and increased glycolysis/oxidative phosphorylation ratio compared with normal fibroblasts. Conclusions Human iatrogenic LTS-derived fibroblasts demonstrated aberrant behavior when compared with normal fibroblasts. A Warburg-like effect was revealed, suggesting human iatrogenic LTS fibroblasts drive their proliferation with aerobic glycolysis. The distinct metabolism suggests metabolic inhibitors could reduce fibroblast hyperplasia and hypertrophy in LTS and fibrosis in general. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope, 2016
347. Tagging FKRP and LARGE by CRISPR/Cas9 for Monitoring Expression and Localization

Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2I is caused by mutations in the gene for fukutin-related protein (FKRP). This protein is a putative glycosyltransferase shown to play an important role in the addition of glycans to the muscle membrane protein alpha-dystroglycan (α-DG). The glycosylation of α-DG is accomplished through the function of more than 17 putative and known glycosylatransferases including LARGE, which, when overexpressed, has been shown to compensate for the loss of function in FKRP and Fukutin. However, the exact localization of the endogenous proteins is unknown and no reliable antibody is available for monitoring the changes of their expression. The use of CRISPR/Cas9 for gene editing has been growing in populatiry as a method for introducing mutations into endogenous proteins or as a way of introducing specific sequences, such as a reporter gene. Here we present the use of the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system for the addition of a GFP tag to endogenous FKRP and LARGE for the identification of localization as well as to act as a marker for examining changes in expression as a results of treatment with specific compounds. We have applied several techniques to determine the effectiveness of the CRISPR/Cas9 system and encountered many different barriers. The results of these experiments provide valuable information in understanding the role of FKRP in α-DG glycosylation as well as new ways of examining the effects of experimental therapies targeting this glycosylation. With the new knowledge and methods obtained it will be easier to eventually move into in vivo studies to examine their effects in an animal model.
Open visitation and nurse job satisfaction: An integrative review.

Aims and objectives To explore the effect of open visitation on critical care nurse job satisfaction. Background Open visitation has many benefits for ICU patients and families. However, ICU open visitation affects nurses’ work environment too. Because nurse satisfaction is crucial to overall patient satisfaction, nurses’ perceptions, experiences, and opinions about open visitation should be considered. Design A literature search was performed through CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE Complete, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Academic Search Premier and PsychINFO. Methods Key terms, inclusion criteria, and exclusion criteria were applied. Duplicates and articles focusing on family presence during end of life care were excluded. Articles were evaluated for data quality, resulting in 14 articles. Results Family presence can negatively affect nurses’ workflow and environment. Nurses report a loss of control, interruptions in care, and increased workloads with open visitation. Therefore, nurses prefer restricted visitation. Conclusions The literature evidence supports visitation policies that support nurses in managing the additional work and stress of meeting patient and family needs. Implementation of evidence-based strategies to support nursing staff in stressful ICU environments can improve job satisfaction. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Perceptions of Religious Hypocrisy: When Moral Claims Exceed Moral Action

In this study, we investigated perceptions of hypocrisy among Christian and non-Christian individuals. Specifically, participants (N = 121) were asked to evaluate people of different religious orientations in terms of perceptions of both claimed morality, actual behavior, and general hypocrisy. Across all designations, perceptions of moral hypocrisy were determined to be greater to the extent that moral claims exceeded actual behavior. Among non-Christian participants, perceptions of hypocrisy were highest with respect to “devout” and “evangelical” Christian targets. In contrast, among Christian participants, the highest ratings of hypocrisy were reserved for “casual” Christians (i.e., Christians who do not incorporate their faith into their daily life). Our findings have both theoretical implications regarding the nature of religious hypocrisy perceptions, as well as real-world implications for understanding inter-faith perceptions and interactions.
Therapeutic Aspects of Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine

Abstract Regenerative medicine is the process of replacing or regenerating human cells, tissues, or organs and establishing normal function. In the last 20 years “stem cell research” has made significant advancement of their fundamental understanding of therapeutic intervention. The different kinds of organ-specific, embryonic, and induced pluripotent stem cells-based therapies offer potentially very strong and promising treatment regimens for contemporary and future medicine. Some of them are even approved and legalized for medical practice by the regulatory bodies of health research, such as US Food and Drug Administration. In the present review, we have compiled the overview of some of the stem cell–based therapies, which are widely linked to important human diseases. Our major aim is to sensitize the readers precisely about therapeutic potentials and application in precision medicine of different kinds of stem cells in disease-specific manner rather than providing the details of the fundamentals of signaling pathways and molecular biology involved in identification and propagation. We have also discussed about the clinically relevant stem cells implicated in regenerative medicine and finally cancer stem cells. The medicolegal issues are also discussed in this chapter.
Heavy Mg-doping of (Al,Ga)N films for potential applications in deep ultraviolet light-emitting structures

Doping of high aluminum-containing (Al,Ga)N thin films has remained a challenging problem that has hindered progress in the development of deep ultraviolet light-emitters. This paper reports on the synthesis and use of heavily doped (Al,Ga)N films in deep ultraviolet (∼274 nm) light-emitting structures; these structures were synthesized by molecular beam epitaxy under liquid-metal growth conditions that facilitate the incorporation of extremely high density of Mg dopant impurities (up to 5 × 1019 cm−3) into aluminum-rich (Al,Ga)N thin films. Prototypical light-emitting diode structures incorporating Al0.7Ga0.3N films doped with Mg impurities that ionize to give free hole carrier concentrations of up to 6 × 1017 cm−3 exhibit external quantum efficiencies of up 0.56%; this is an improvement from previous devices made from molecular beam epitaxy-grown materials. This improvement is believed to be due to the high hole carrier concentration enabled by the relatively low activation energy of 220 meV compared to...
On the faithfulness of the representation of $\mathrm{GL}(n)$ on the space of curvature tensors

We prove that the standard representation of GL(n) on the space of algebraic curvature tensors is almost faithful by showing that the kernel of this representation contains only the identity map and its negative. We additionally show that the standard representation of GL(n) on the space of algebraic covariant derivative curvature tensors is faithful.
“Killing Me Softly”: New Questions About Therapeutic Self-Determination in the Italian Society and Old Answers from the Criminal Code

Euthanasia and assisted suicide are both considered criminal offences under Italian penal law. This chapter examines the provisions of the Italian Criminal Code relevant to the end-of-life debate, i.e. articles 575 (murder), 579 (murder by consent), and 580 (aiding or abetting suicide), and the practical difficulties arising in their application to complex end-of-life cases, where these norms prove to be to some extent inadequate and outdated. It also offers an overview of recent case law, especially the Englaro and Welby cases, from the criminal perspective and highlights the shortcomings of the Calabro Bill on advance directives regulation.
2 – Gender, Race, and Class: From Epidemiologic Association to Etiologic Hypotheses

Until the 20th century, the average life expectancy for men was greater than that for women, owing to women's very high risk of death during childbirth. Thanks to vast improvements in maternal survival, women's average life expectancy now exceeds men's in all but the most primitive societies. Despite major progress towards elimination of health-related gendered discrimination, women continue to be disadvantaged with respect to men in the control they exercise over their environment. Women's health status is consistently found to be associated with gender, race/ethnicity, and social class. In general, poorer and minority women suffer poorer health, with a dose–response relationship between degree of disadvantage and extent of health problems. There are exceptions that challenge to look beyond simplistic explanations for these associations and seek to develop causal theories that can both further science and, eventually, lead to better health for all. Some would argue that the only way to eliminate these health disparities is to eliminate social disparities. While social equality is an important public health goal, it is not likely to be achieved soon. Others would argue that because social inequities seem firmly imbedded in modern culture, continuing to document the health costs associated with social disparities will do nothing to improve women's health.
On optimal connectivity restoration in segmented sensor networks

This paper investigates the optimal connectivity restoration in segmented sensor networks, where mobile/relay nodes are optimally placed to form "bridges" among segments, such that both the average path length from nodes to the sink and the number of mobile nodes used are minimized. We formulate the optimal connectivity restoration as a multi-objective optimization problem and develop centralized and distributed algorithms for solving it. Given global network topology information, our centralized algorithm (i.e., Cut Restoration Genetic Algorithm or CR-GA) produces a Pareto Optimal set consisting of multiple non-dominated solutions. For scenarios where the global network topology is unknown (e.g., due to unexpected network segmentation) we develop a Distributed Connectivity Restoration algorithm (i.e., DCR). DCR restores network connectivity with lower overhead (when compared with CR-GA), at the cost of a suboptimal solution (i.e., the average path length and/or number of mobiles used). Through theoretical analysis, we prove that the worst case performance of DCR is bounded. We also show the effectiveness of our solutions through extensive simulations and a proof-of-concept system implementation and evaluation.
The Oliquric Neonate

Recent improvements in medical and nursing care of the newborn infant have resulted in a significant decrease in infant morbidity as well as mortality. In the main, these improvements have been technological with development of sophisticated monitoring devices and expansion of nursing care to that of clinician/practitioner with independent but supervised diagnostic and treatment skills. The latter has greatly enhanced successful implementation of improved monitoring technology. Despite technological advances, high-level care of the newborn infant requires continued use of traditional data gathering skills by history taking and physical assessment. Evaluation of the neonate with apparent oliguria is a classic example of the need to merge traditional techniques with current technology.
19F MR Characterization of Fluorinated Proteins and Relaxation Rate Enhancement with Gd-DTPA for Faster Imaging

Proton magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a well established clinical modality, which provides excellent anatomical definition. The judicious use of magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agents enhances anatomical definition and novel agents with enhanced specificity are being developed. Currently, there is a major thrust to achieve functional imaging providing local physiological parameters with high temporal and spatial resolution.
Spiritual resilience: Understanding the protection and promotion of well-being in the later life

Spirituality is important to a large percentage of the older adult population and serves as a key factor of resilience. Using qualitative research, we conducted and analyzed interviews with 64 participants willing to discuss their experiences with adversity; ranged in age from 52 to 93 with a mean age of 74. For the purposes of this study, we analyzed 46 of the 64 interviews selecting participants who indicated that spirituality was an important resource for managing hardship. The researchers examined the connections between spirituality and resilience. Using in-depth interviews, we explored the interplay between spirituality and resilience and the importance spirituality plays in dealing with adversity and hardship. A grounded theory analysis of the 46 interviews was performed. Major findings include participants' use of spirituality as a tool to promote and maintain resilience in late life in five key domains: reliance on relationships, spiritual transformation, spiritual coping, power of belief, and commitment to spiritual values and practices. Results are presented as an interpretation of the participants' perceptions of their spirituality, and indicate their reliance on spirituality to overcome hardship. In addition, we discuss the connections between spirituality and resilience and how these connections play out in the lives of older adults when considering their generational and cohort status. The roles these two constructs play in the lives of older adults are considered.
Correction to: Chronic prescribed burning alters nutrient deposition and sediment stoichiometry in a lake ecosystem.

The publication contained a dating model that was based on AD/BC dates instead of years before present (YBP) dates for the three C14 AMS values. As a result, dates reported as YBP should be reported as BC. While all of the dates for the prescribed burning period are correct given that they were based on the 210Pb model, all dates reported as YBP should read BC. Specific changes to the manuscript are as follows: The abstract should read, “throughout the last 8000 years.” The final paragraph in the introduction should read, “from the mid-Holocene (~ 6000 BC) to present.” The end of the first paragraph in the Results section should read, “the sediment core represented the past ~ 8000 YBP and the core sections below the 210Pb record averaged sedimentation rates of 1.73 ± 2.1 mg cm−2 year−1.” All dates presented as Years Before Present or YPB for the remainder of the manuscript should be reported as BC. Added to Acknowledgements: “The authors would like to thank Sally Horn and Matt Boehm with help with the age model and dating.” Table 1 has been updated with the “Calibrated Age” column reflecting the correct dates in YBP notation. Figure 2 has been updated to reflect the BC to YBP changes in the calibrated AMS C14 dates. Both panels have been changed to include the older dates.
The Problem of Comprehension in Psycholinguistics

Most research in psycholinguistics relies on online measures such as reading time to inform and test theories of language comprehension. However, the value of offline measures such as question-answ...
Examining the community consequences of arrests for low‐level criminal activity

This study was designed to examine the effects of arrests for low-level criminal activity on key features of police-community relations and the capacity of the neighborhood to regulate behavior of residents. Multilevel mixed-effects modeling was used with residents (N = 826) living in police beats (N = 51) in Chicago to test the hypotheses that higher arrest rates were associated with less police legitimacy, less willingness to work with the police and less neighborhood informal social control. The results indicated that more aggressive enforcement was associated with less capacity for informal social control. The findings also suggested that higher arrest rates were directly related to more legitimacy and indirectly related to less legitimacy through residents' negative experiences with police. For residents affected by crime and disorder but not burdened by aggressive enforcement, the use of arrests to reduce incivilities may be viewed positively and related to stronger beliefs about legitimacy. In contrast, trust and confidence in police may be reduced for those residents who experience the costs associated with low-level arrests. Regardless of the short-term effects, if aggressive low-level policing undermines the effectiveness of social control systems in the neighborhood, communities will be less safe in the long term.