cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Association of preresidency peer-reviewed publications with radiation oncology resident choice of academic versus private practice career

Abstract Introduction The decision of radiation oncology residents to pursue academic versus private practice careers plays a central role in shaping the present and future of the field, but factors that are potentially predictive of this decision are lacking. This study was performed to examine the role of several factors publicly available before residency on postresidency career choice, including preresidency peer-reviewed publications (PRPs), which have been associated with resident career choice in comparably competitive subspecialties such as neurosurgery. Methods and materials Using a combination of Internet searches, telephone interviews, and the 2015 Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology directory, a list of 2016 radiation oncology resident graduates was compiled, along with their postresidency career choice. PRP was defined as the number of PubMed publications encompassing the end of the calendar year (2010) in which residency applications were due; this number was then correlated with career choice. Results A total of 163 residents from 76 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education–certified programs were examined: 78% were male, 22% were MDs/PhDs, and 79 graduates (48%) chose academic careers. Fifty-two percent of graduates had at least 1 PRP at the time of application to radiation oncology residency; 35% had more than 1 PRP. Regarding career choice, the difference between 0 and 1+ PRP was statistically significant (odds ratio, 3.3; P 1 PRP. Sex, PhD, or non-PhD dual degree status were not associated with career choice. Conclusions Radiation oncology residency graduates with 1 or more PRPs at the time of residency application were roughly 2 times more likely to choose an academic career as their initial career choice than graduates with no preresidency PRPs. This information may prove useful to medical students, medical school advisors, and residency program directors and deserves further prospective investigation.
The Unity (and Disunity) of Our Hope

In a divided and often polarized world, the emerging ecumenical consensus on the church’s mission deserves much more attention than it generally receives. Increasingly, Christian theologians and leaders from a variety of churches are affirming that the church’s mission is to witness to, and to work for, the unity of the world. This chapter explores the ecumenical opportunity our shared ecclesiology provides for Christians to work together not only for Christian unity but also for the unity of all of creation. Much depends, however, on how the church’s mission is understood: this chapter also argues against some common distortions of communion ecclesiology, especially those that support not unity but uniformity.
Palliative care from cancer diagnosis for all: Memorial Sloan Kettering’s “One-Two-Three” program.

111Background: Early, universal palliative care is an unmet need for cancer patients. Our new program aims to provide palliative care, by primary oncology teams with support from palliative care sp...
Percutaneous Mitral Valve Repair with the Edge-to-Edge Technique

Mitral regurgitation (MR), a common finding, is clinically significant, in part the result of its detrimental effect on left ventricular function. Patients with mild MR can remain asymptomatic for many years. However, moderate to severe MR gradually produces ventricular contractile dysfunction and dilation. Although left ventricular filling pressures are initially maintained in the near-normal range, ultimately left ventricular failure occurs and clinical symptoms develop. Because MR causes volume overload of the left ventricle, a vicious cycle develops. Volume overload leads to remodeling with left ventricular dilation and consequent left ventricular dysfunction. Left ventricular dilation also produces abnormalities of mitral valve support and enlargement of the mitral annulus. These changes lead to progressive worsening of MR (1).
Collaboration Among Nonprofit Organizations: Factors that affect contribution to education in Egypt

Education represents a critical component of development and poverty reduction for countries. In Egypt the low standard of education have resulted in several partners that collaborate with the gove...
Strain-Specificity and Disease-Specificity of Probiotic Efficacy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background. As the use and diversity of probiotic products expands, the choice of an appropriate type of probiotic is challenging for both medical care professionals and the public alike. Two vital factors in choosing the appropriate probiotic are often ignored, namely the probiotic strain-specificity and disease-specificity for efficacy. Reviews and meta-analyses often pool together different types of probiotics, resulting in misleading conclusions of efficacy. Methods. A systematic review of the literature (1970-2017) assessing strain-specific and disease-specific probiotic efficacy was conducted. Trials were included for probiotics with an identifiable strain (either single strain or mixtures of strains) that had at least two randomized, controlled trials for each type of disease indication. The goal was to determine if probiotic strains have strain and/or disease specific efficacy. Results. We included 228 trials and found evidence for both strain specificity and disease specificity for the efficacy of specific probiotic strains. Significant efficacy evidence was found for 7 (70%) of probiotic strain(s) among four preventive indications and 11 (65%) probiotic strain(s) among five treatment indications. Strain-specific efficacy for preventing adult AAD was clearly demonstrated within the Lactobacillus species [e.g., by the mixture of L. acidophilus CL1285, L. casei LBC80R and L. rhamnosus CLR2 (Bio-K+®), by L. casei DN114001 (Actimel®) and by L. reuteri 55730], while other Lactobacillus strains did not show efficacy. Significant disease-specific variations in efficacy was demonstrated by Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Saccharomyces boulardii CNCM I-745, as well as other probiotic strains. Conclusions. Strong evidence was found supporting the hypothesis that the efficacy of probiotics is both strain-specific and disease-specific. Clinical guidelines and meta-analyses need to recognize the importance of reporting outcomes by both specific strain(s) of probiotics and the type of disease. The clinical relevance of these findings indicates healthcare providers need to take these two factors into consideration when recommending the appropriate probiotic for their patient.
The phenology of the subnivium

The subnivium is a seasonal refuge that exists at the interface between the snowpack and the ground, and provides a haven for a diversity of species to survive extreme winter temperatures. Due to the fitness of many plants and animals being strongly influenced by winter conditions, much attention has been given to changes in the timing of snow cover extent and duration in seasonally snow-covered environments; however, these broad-scale characteristics do not capture the finer-scale dynamics of the subnivium. To study the factors associated with subnivium development, we quantified three critical phenophases of the subnivium: establishment, maintenance, and disintegration along a latitudinal and land cover gradient in the Great Lakes Region of North America. We hypothesized that subnivium phenophases would depend primarily on snow depth and air temperature, but that these would be mediated by latitude and land cover. We found that patterns in both establishment and disintegration were affected by latitude more than land cover, but that variability in the timing of early season snowfall events overrode the effects of both factors in subnivium establishment. In contrast, disintegration was predictably later in more northerly sites, regardless of interannual variation in weather patterns. We found that the subnivium was the result of a balance between ambient temperature, snow depth, and snow density, but that ambient temperatures constrained the system by contributing to the frequency of snowfall and inducing changes in snow depth and density. Areas in lake effect zones, characterized by high snow depths and persistent snow cover, may be the last refugia for subnivia-dependent species given the predicted shifting climate regimes of the 21st century.
Spectra of Free Radicals and Molecular Ions Produced by Vacuum Ultraviolet Photolysis in Low-Temperature Matrices

The matrix isolation technique has proved to be an extremely valuable tool for the direct spectroscopic observation of photochemical reaction intermediates [1]. In a typical experiment, a gas mixture of a suitable reactive molecule precursor with a large excess of an inert diluent is frozen onto a cryostat window maintained at a temperature sufficiently low to afford complete inhibition of molecular diffusion, and the sample is subjected to vacuum ultraviolet radiation to produce the species of interest. The inert diluent, or matrix material, is usually argon or another of the rare gases or nitrogen. These substances yield rigid deposits, transparent over a very wide infrared and ultraviolet spectral range, at temperatures between 4° and 20°K, conveniently attained using liquid helium or liquid hydrogen as coolants in conventional cryostats. Suitable sources of vacuum-ultraviolet radiation have included a microwave-excited discharge through hydrogen, which provides an intense source of 1216-A radiation, and xenon, krypton, and argon resonance lamps. In order to prevent filtering of vacuum-ultraviolet radiation from the inner portions of the deposit by trace impurities and by photolysis products, it is very advantageous to subject the sample to vacuum ultraviolet radiation concurrently with the sample deposition.
Cushing's syndrome: complication of triamcinolone injection for urethral strictures in children.

Abstract We report 2 cases of Cushing’s syndrome following intralesional triamcinolone acetonide injections of urethral strictures in children. The pharmacology of triamcinolone and its 2 parenteral forms, triamcinolone acetonide and triamcinolone diacetate, is discussed. For children we recommend the short-acting triamcinolone diacetate at 4-week intervals with dosage adjusted to age. In adults either type of triamcinolone may be used but triamcinolone acetonide should be given at 6-week intervals.
Control or Reversal of Atherosclerosis Through Therapy of Lipid Disorders

Until recently, experiments designed to test the hypothesis that human atherosclerotic lesions can be modified by reducing levels of “atherogenic” plasma lipoproteins have relied on indirect endpoints (cardiac death; signs or symptoms of ischemic vascular disease). Large numbers of persons must be enrolled in such trials and the hypolipidemic treatment must therefore be simple in application. Experience has shown that only small reductions of the level of cholesterol-rich lipoproteins (usually evaluated by changes in serum cholesterol) can be obtained in such studies. Furthermore, in order to achieve a requisite sample size, it has not proved feasible to limit enrollment to persons whose risk of experiencing the defined endpoint is very much higher than that of the population at large. The results of such studies have been equivocal, although in the main they provide some encouragement that intervention with diet or drugs may modify the course of atherosclerotic disease. In the next few months, the results of the most extensive such trial will be published—the Lipid Research Clinics Coronary Primary Prevention Trial1.
Erythropoietic Response of Germfree Mice to Erythropoietin

It is known that germfree and conventional animals possess differing hematological properties. In the germfree animal total leucocyte counts are lower, and there is a general diminution in the size of the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, and other organs comprising the reticuloendothelial system (1, 2). Since differences in hematological properties between the germfree and conventional animals have been observed, the question arose whether there were differences in the humoral mechanism which regulates erythropoiesis between the two types of animals. Keighley et al (3) have described differences in the erythropoietic responses to erythropoietin (ESF) in the fasted, specific pathogen-free rat and the conventional rat. Therefore, ESF, a hormone activated or produced by the kidney, was studied in these animals and this report describes particularly the differences in erythropoietic response to exogenous ESF between the germfree and conventional mice.
Forces, Constitutive Equations, Simple Materials

Of all the axioms of mechanics, those for systems of forces and torques are the most difficult to formulate. Forces are vectors of a special kind. The usual treatments of mechanics do not even mention explicitly the difference between forces and more general vectors and do not write out any formal properties of forces. The treatment I present now is likewise an informal one, though a little more careful.
Research Productivity of Directors of U.S. Advanced Education in Prosthodontics Programs

The aims of this study were to measure the research productivity of directors of U.S. advanced education in prosthodontics programs (AEPP) and to identify associations between the directors' publication metrics and professional characteristics. A list of AEPP directors was obtained from the American College of Prosthodontists website in December 2015. Information on gender, academic rank, and highest degree was collected from the institutional website for each individual. Citation databases (Scopus and Google Scholar) were searched for each director's h-index and i10-index (both indexes are based on numbers of citations of the author's articles) and total numbers of publications and citations. The search identified 50 AEPP directors. The majority were male and had a primary appointment at a university. Most held the rank of associate professor or professor and held both DDS and MS degrees. The mean h-index and i10-index of all directors were 6.32±6.97 and 6.84±10.77, respectively. Their mean numbers of publications and citations were 24.60±31.21 and 288.40±625.97, respectively. The analysis showed that the program directors affiliated with a university had significantly higher mean values for all indexes than those of non-university-affiliated program directors. Professors had productivity metrics significantly higher than those of other ranks in all measures of research productivity.
Traditional and emerging technologies for washing and volume reducing blood products

Millions of blood components including red blood cells, platelets, and granulocytes are transfused each year in the United States. The transfusion of these blood products may be associated with adverse clinical outcomes in some patients due to residual proteins and other contaminants that accumulate in blood units during processing and storage. Blood products are, therefore, often washed in normal saline or other media to remove the contaminants and improve the quality of blood cells before transfusion. While there are numerous methods for washing and volume reducing blood components, a vast majority utilize centrifugation-based processing, such as manual centrifugation, open and closed cell processing systems, and cell salvage/autotransfusion devices. Although these technologies are widely employed with a relatively low risk to the average patient, there is evidence that centrifugation-based processing may be inadequate when transfusing to immunocompromised patients, neonatal and infant patients, or patients susceptible to transfusion-related allergic reactions. Cell separation and volume reduction techniques that employ centrifugation have been shown to damage blood cells, contributing to these adverse outcomes. The limitations and disadvantages of centrifugation-based processing have spurred the development of novel centrifugation-free methods for washing and volume reducing blood components, thereby causing significantly less damage to the cells. Some of these emerging technologies are already transforming niche applications, poised to enter mainstream blood cell processing in the not too distant future.
New Comparative Metric for Evaluating Spacecraft Radiation Shielding

Given the lack of human medical data available to calibrate and tie the sophisticated model calculations of various space radiation exposure metrics, such as “dose equivalent,” to the actual biolog...
Medicating Children: ADHD and Pediatric Mental Health

* Acknowledgments * Introduction * An Introduction to ADHD * A Survey of the Evolution of ADHD and Pediatric Stimulant Use, 1900--1980 * The Transformation of Mental Disorders in the 1980s: The DSM-III, Managed Care, and "Cosmetic Psychopharmacology" * ADHD and the Politics of Children's Disability Policy * The Backlash against ADHD and Stimulants * Current Questions about Stimulant Treatment for ADHD * Conclusion * Notes * Selected Bibliography * Index
Distinct Source Water Chemistry Shapes Contrasting Concentration-Discharge Patterns

Author(s): Zhi, W; Li, L; Dong, W; Brown, W; Kaye, J; Steefel, C; Williams, KH | Abstract: Understanding concentration-discharge (C-Q) relationships are essential for predicting chemical weathering and biogeochemical cycling under changing climate and anthropogenic conditions. Contrasting C-Q relationships have been observed widely, yet a mechanistic framework that can interpret diverse patterns remains elusive. This work hypothesizes that seemingly disparate C-Q patterns are driven by switching dominance of end-member source waters and their chemical contrasts arising from subsurface biogeochemical heterogeneity. We use data from Coal Creek, a high-elevation mountainous catchment in Colorado, and a recently developed watershed reactive transport model (BioRT-Flux-PIHM). Sensitivity analysis and Monte-Carlo simulations (500 cases) show that reaction kinetics and thermodynamics and distribution of source materials across depths govern the chemistry gradients of shallow soil water and deeper groundwater entering the stream. The alternating dominance of organic-poor yet geo-solute-rich groundwater under dry conditions and organic-rich yet geo-solute-poor soil water during spring melt leads to the flushing pattern of dissolved organic carbon and the dilution pattern of geogenic solutes (e.g., Na, Ca, and Mg). In addition, the extent of concentration contrasts regulates the power law slopes (b) of C-Q patterns via a general equation (Formula presented.). At low ratios of soil water versus groundwater concentrations (Cration=nCsw/Cgwnln0.6), dilution occurs; at high ratios (Crationgn1.8), flushing arises; chemostasis occurs in between. This equation quantitatively interprets b values of 11 solutes (dissolved organic carbon, dissolved P, NO3−, K, Si, Ca, Mg, Na, Al, Mn, and Fe) from three catchments (Coal Creek, Shale Hills, and Plynlimon) of differing climate, geologic, and land cover conditions. This indicates potentially broad regulation of subsurface biogeochemical heterogeneity in determining C-Q patterns and wide applications of this equation in quantifying b values, which can have broad implications for predicting chemical weathering and biogeochemical transformation at the watershed scale.
Ant nurse workers exhibit behavioural and transcriptomic signatures of specialization on larval stage

Division of labour within and between the worker and queen castes is thought to underlie the tremendous success of social insects. Colonies might benefit if subsets of nurse workers specialize further in caring for larvae of a certain stage or caste, given that larval nutritional requirements depend on stage and caste. We used short-term (
NiII complexes of 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradec-4,11-diene and 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane bearing C-styrenyl: Synthesis, structures and voltammetry

Abstract The reaction between [Ni(HMD)](OTf)2 (HMD = 5,7,7,12,14,14-hexamethyl-1,4,8,11-teraazacyclotetradeca-4,11-diene) and benzaldehyde in the presence of NaOH afforded the 5,7-di(styrenyl) derivative [Ni(HMD-Styr)](OTf)2 (1), which was converted to the corresponding cyclam complex [Ni(HMC-Styr)](OTf)2 (2) upon NaBH4 reduction. Addition of NaBPh4 to the reduction reaction mixture led to the isolation of [Ni(HMC-Styr)](BPh4)2 (2′). Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies of 1 and 2′ revealed a square planar NiII center in both [1]2+ and [2]2+, which is characteristic of a low spin NiII d8 center. Complexes 1 and 2 remain low spin in acetonitrile solution as evidenced by their 1H NMR spectra and Vis absorption spectra. Complex 1 displayed two irreversible one-electron reductions between −1.4 and −1.8 V (versus Fc(+1/0)) under Ar in 20% aqueous acetonitrile, and exhibited a new peak around −1.9 V under CO2, indicating a mild activity towards CO2 reduction. In contrast, complex 2 displayed a reversible one-electron reduction at −1.59 V (versus Fc(+1/0)) under Ar, and a less reversible reduction under CO2 without shift in potential, revealing the lack of activity towards CO2.
Late Pleistocene exploration and settlement of the Americas by modern humans

North and South America were the last continents to be explored and settled by modern humans at the end of the Pleistocene. Genetic data, derived from contemporary populations and ancient individuals, show that the first Americans originated from Asia and after several population splits moved south of the continental ice sheets that covered Canada sometime between ~17.5 and ~14.6 thousand years (ka) ago. Archaeological evidence shows that geographically dispersed populations lived successfully, using biface, blade, and osseous technologies, in multiple places in North and South America between ~15.5 and ~14 ka ago. Regional archaeological complexes emerged by at least ~13 ka ago in North America and ~12.9 ka ago in South America. Current genetic and archaeological data do not support an earlier (pre-17.5 ka ago) occupation of the Americas.
Distributed renewable energy resource trust metrics and secure routing

Abstract To ensure reliable and predictable service in the electrical grid between distributed renewable distributed energy resources (DERs) it is important to gauge the level of trust present within critical components and DER aggregators (DERAs). Although trust throughout a smart grid is temporal and dynamically varies according to measured states, it is possible to accurately formulate communications and service level strategies based on such trust measurements. Utilizing an effective set of machine learning and statistical methods, it is shown that establishment of trust levels between DERAs using behavioral pattern analysis is possible. It is also shown that the establishment of such trust can facilitate simple secure communications routing between DERAs. Providing secure routing between DERAs enables a grid operator to maintain service level agreements to its customers, reduce the attack surface and increase operational resiliency.
SAT0450 SENSITIVITY OF DUAL-ENERGY CT SCANNING, ULTRASOUND, AND X-RAY FOR CRYSTAL-PROVEN PSEUDOGOUT

Background Advanced imaging modalities such as ultrasound (US) and dual-energy CT (DECT) can help diagnose crystalline arthritis. DECT is highly sensitive and specific in gout and has not been well studied in pseudogout. Objectives To compare the sensitivity of DECT, US, and x-ray (XR) in pseudogout. Methods We prospectively enrolled patients with crystal-proven pseudogout at a tertiary care center, 3/2018-11/2018. We searched the electronic medical record for synovial fluid crystal lab orders and reviewed the record to identify candidates. Eligible patients were 18 years old with acute monoarthritis, joint aspiration, and synovial fluid calcium pyrophosphate (CPP) crystals on polarized microscopy. Patients with both monosodium urate and CPP crystals were excluded. Subjects provided informed consent and underwent DECT, US, and XR of the aspirated joint and standardized joint (right wrist). All images were interpreted by a musculoskeletal radiologist and a rheumatologist trained in US; consensus was reached on each image. DECT images were post-processed using Siemens Syngo.via software, applying color-coded overlay indicating volume and location of CPP deposits. We considered two volume thresholds (cm3) for a positive DECT scan. Imaging abnormalities defining a positive scan were: color-coded changes consistent with CPP (DECT); hyperechoic deposits in hyaline-, fibro-cartilage, or tendon (US); and chondrocalcinosis in hyaline- or fibro-cartilage (XR). We calculated sensitivity and 95% confidence interval (CI) of positive scans in the aspirated joint and prevalence (95% CI) in the standardized joint. Results Ten of 27 eligible patients enrolled. Mean (SD) age was 73 (9.7) years; 40% were female. Eight knees and two wrists were aspirated a mean (SD) of 17 (9) days before enrollment. Six subjects received intra-articular steroids before enrollment. Imaging results are shown in Table 1. In the aspirated joint, sensitivity (95% CI) was 90% (71-100%) for DECT volume >0.40 cm3, and 100% (100-100%) for DECT volume >0.01 cm3; 100% (100-100%) for US; and 70% (42-98%) for XR. In the standardized joint, DECT was positive in 20% (0-45%) for volume >0.40 cm3, and 90% (71-100%) for volume >0.01 cm3. XR chondrocalcinosis was present in 30% (2-58%) and US was positive in 80% (55-100%) of wrists. Conclusion DECT and US had high sensitivity for pseudogout using synovial fluid CPP crystals as the gold standard. Larger studies testing DECT sensitivity and specificity in pseudogout vs. other arthritis and establishing a volume threshold are needed. References none Disclosure of Interests Sara Tedeschi: None declared, Daniel Solomon Grant/research support from: Abbvie, Amgen, Genentech, Janssen, and Pfizer, Kathleen Vanni: None declared, Neal Suh Grant/research support from: Pfizer, Stacy Smith: None declared
A Unified Calibration Framework for 21 cm Cosmology

Calibration precision is currently a limiting systematic in 21 cm cosmology experiments. While there are innumerable calibration approaches, most can be categorized as either ‘sky-based,’ relying on an extremely accurate model of astronomical foreground emission, or ‘redundant,’ requiring a precisely regular array with near-identical antenna response patterns. Both of these classes of calibration are inflexible to the realities of interferometric measurement. In practice, errors in the foreground model, antenna position offsets, and beam response inhomogeneities degrade calibration performance and contaminate the cosmological signal. Here, we show that sky-based and redundant calibration can be unified into a highly general and physically motivated calibration framework based on a Bayesian statistical formalism. Our new framework includes sky-based and redundant calibration as special cases but can additionally support relaxing the rigid assumptions implicit in those approaches. We present simulation results demonstrating that, in a simple case, working in an intermediate regime between sky-based and redundant calibration improves calibration performance. Our framework is highly general and encompasses novel calibration approaches including techniques for calibrating compact non-redundant arrays, calibrating to incomplete sky models, and constraining calibration solutions across frequency.
Illiberal Governance and the Rise of China's Public Firms: An Oxymoron or China's Greatest Triumph?

The early 21st century will be remembered for its shift in global economic power dynamics. In the past two decades, the Chinese government has fostered the growth of many of the world’s most valuable firms, advanced complete integration of Chinese companies in global supply chains, and positioned its firms as key players in cross-border infrastructure and investment transactions. Perhaps even more striking is the speed of China’s capital market growth. It took merely three decades for China’s capital market to advance as the world’s second most meaningful market. Chinese firms—many of which are subject to an illiberal, political governance—are increasingly integrated with global financial markets, attracting domestic and foreign public investors. Neither state ownership and control, political influence, or weakly functioning legal institutions stand in the way of these firms’ access to capital. Such reality challenges law and development theories and notions of corporate governance best practices. This Article discusses the puzzling allure of Chinese public firms to external suppliers of capital while illuminating the functions of illiberal governance through the Chinese state’s and Communist Party capacities within firms. It argues that Chinese public firms were able to grow and expand, attracting external finance, not despite the function of “bad” corporate governance institutions but because of them. The Article shows how alongside its many obstructions, China’s illiberal governance system plays an important role in promoting market regularity, providing investors with the assurances necessary to secure the flow of external finance. Against the backdrop of the U.S.-China trade war and calls for economic decoupling, policymakers are trying to comprehend the various implications of China’s rising powers while considering appropriate regulatory and policy responses. Yet while aspects of trade, national security, and labor carry the headlines, corporate governance is largely missing from the discussion. Only now, as a result of escalating geopolitical wariness, Congress and the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) have extended efforts to grapple with corporate governance aspects as well. This Article supports such recent intentions. It examines the implications of China’s illiberal corporate governance for global investors and assesses recent policy developments while pointing to the potential fallacies of adhering to conventional notions of corporate ownership and control. * Please refer to the published Article for the final version.
Absence of Remotely Triggered Large Earthquakes: A Geometric Explanation

It is known that seismic waves from a large earthquake can trigger earthquakes in distant locations. Some of the triggered earthquakes are strong themselves. Interestingly, strong triggered earthquakes only happen within a reasonably small distance (less than 1000 km) from the original earthquake. Even catastrophic earthquakes do not trigger any strong earthquakes beyond this distance. In this paper, we provide a possible geometric explanation for this phenomenon.
The Contribution of Environmental Complexity to Phenotypic Variation in Mice and Rats

Abstract The reproducibility and translation of neuroscience research is assumed to be undermined by introducing environmental complexity and heterogeneity. Rearing laboratory animals with minimal (if any) environmental stimulation is thought to control for biological variability but may not adequately test the robustness of our animal models. Standard laboratory housing is associated with reduced demonstrations of species typical behaviors and changes in neurophysiology that may impact the translation of research results. Moreover, modest increases in environmental enrichment (EE) mitigate against insults used to induce animal models of disease, directly calling into question the translatability of our work and may in part underlie the disconnect between preclinical and clinical research findings. Enhancing environmental stimulation for our model organisms promotes ethological natural behaviors but may simultaneously increase phenotypic trait variability. To test this assumption, we conducted a systematic review and evaluated coefficients of variation between EE and control housed animals. Overall, animals housed in enrichment were not more variable than controls. Therefore, environmental heterogeneity introduced into the laboratory does not compromise data integrity. Highlights -Environmental complexity is thought to increase phenotypic variability, undermining research translation -We conducted a systematic review to compare between environmentally enriched and control housed animals -Coefficients of variation were evaluated across several phenotypic traits -Animals housed in environmental enrichment were not more variable than controls -We also provide a methodological reporting table for environmental enrichment use in neuroscience research
Effect of Resident Gender and Surname Origin on Clinical Load: Observational Cohort Study in an Internal Medicine Continuity Clinic.

Studies show patients may have gender or racial preferences for physicians. To determine the degree to which physicians’ gender and name characteristics influenced physician clinical load in medical practice, including patient panel size and percent of slots filled. Observational cohort study of a continuity clinic site in Rochester, MN, from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2017 (“historical” period) and July 1, 2018 to January 30, 2020 (“contemporary” period). Internal medicine resident physicians. Resident gender, name, and race came from residency management system data. Panel size, percent of appointment slots filled (“slot fill”), panel percent female, and panel percent non-White came from the electronic health record. Multivariable linear regression models calculated beta estimates with 95% confidence intervals and R2 for the impact of physician gender, surname origin, name character length, and name consonant-to-vowel ratio on each outcome, adjusting for race and year of residency. Of the 307 internal medicine residents, 122 (40%) were female and 197 (64%) were White. Their patient panels were 51% female (SD 16) and 74% White (SD 6). Female gender was associated with a 5.3 (95% CI 2.7–7.9) patient increase in panel size and a 1.5% (95% CI −0.6 to 3.7) increase in slot fill. European, non-Hispanic surname was associated with a 5.3 (95% CI 2.6–7.9) patient increase in panel size and a 4.3 percent (95% CI 2.1–6.4) increase in slot fill. Race and other name characteristics were not associated with physician clinical load. From the historical to contemporary period, the influence of name characteristics decreased from 9 to 4% for panel size and from 15 to 5% for slot fill. Female gender and European, non-Hispanic surname origin are associated with increased physician clinical load—even more than race. While these disparities may have serious consequences, they are also addressable.
Fast GPU Graph Contraction by Combining Efficient Shallow Searches and Post-Culling

Efficient GPU single-source shortest-path (SSSP) queries of road network graphs can be realized by a technique called PHAST (Delling et al.) in which the graph is contracted (pre-processed using Geisberger's Contraction Hierarchies) once and the resulting contracted graph is queried as needed. PHAST accommodates GPUs' parallelism requirements well, resulting in efficient queries. For situations in which a graph is not available well in advance or changes frequently contraction time itself becomes significant. Karimi et al. recently described a GPU contraction technique, CU-CH, which significantly reduces the contraction time of small-to medium-sized graphs, reporting a speedup of over 20× on an NVidia P100 GPU. However CU-CH realizes little speedup on larger graphs, such as DIMACS’ USA and W. Europe graphs. The obstacle to faster contraction of larger graphs is the frequently performed witness path search (WPS). A WPS for a node determines which shortcut edges need to be added between the node's neighbors to maintain distances after the removal of the node. GPUs' strict thread convergence requirements and limited scratchpad preclude the bidirectional Dijkstra approach used in CPU implementations. Instead, CU-CH uses a two-hop-limit WPS tightly coded to fit GPU shared storage and to maintain thread convergence. Where two hops is sufficient speedup is high, but for larger graphs the hop limit exacts a toll due to the accumulation of unneeded shortcuts. The problem is overcome here by retaining the efficient CU-CH WPS but using it both for its original purpose and also to identify unnecessary shortcuts added in prior steps. The unnecessary shortcuts are culled (removed). Culling shortcuts not only dramatically reduces the time needed to contract a graph but also improves the quality of the contracted graph. For smaller graphs such as DIMACS Cal (travel time) contraction time is 61 % faster compared to CU-CH. For the DIMACS Europe and USA graphs contraction times are 40× and 12× faster, respectively. SSSP query times also improve dramatically, approaching those obtained on aggressively contracted graphs. The speedup over Geisberger's CPU code is over 100 times for NVidia VI00 GPUs on most graphs tried.
Across‐Species Meta‐Analysis of Dexamethasone Pharmacokinetics Utilizing Allometric and Scaling Modeling Approaches

The pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters of dexamethasone (DEX) in 11 species were collected from the literature and clearances (CL) assessed by basic allometric methods, and concentration-time course profiles were fitted using two PK models incorporating physiological or allometric scaling. Plots of log CL vs. log body weights (BW) correlated reasonably with R2 = 0.91, with a maximum ratio of actual to fitted CL of 6 (for pig). A minimal physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (mPBPK) model containing blood and two lumped tissue compartments and integrated utilization of physiological parameters was compared to an allometric two-compartment model (a2CM). The plasma PK profiles of DEX from 11 species were analyzed jointly, with the mPBPK model having conserved partition coefficients (Kp ), physiologic blood and tissue volumes, and species-specific CL values. The DEX PK profiles were reasonably captured by the mPBPK model for 9 of 11 species in the joint analysis with three fitted parameters (besides CL) including an overall tissue-to-plasma partition coefficient of 1.07. The a2CM with distribution CL and central and peripheral volumes scaled allometrically fitted the plasma concentration profiles similarly but required a total of six parameters (besides CL). Overall, the literature reported that DEX CL values exhibit moderate variability (mean = 0.64 L/h/kg; coefficient of variation = 105%), but distribution parameters were largely conserved across most species.
Physiological and transcriptomic response of Medicago truncatula to colonization with high and low benefit arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form a root endosymbiosis with many agronomically important crop species and both enhance the ability of their host to obtain nutrients from the soil and increase host tolerance to biotic and abiotic stressors. However, AM fungal species differ in the benefits they provide to their host plants. Here, we examined the putative molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of the physiological response of Medicago truncatula to either Rhizophagus irregularis or Glomus aggregatum, a high or a low benefit AM fungus, respectively. Colonization with R. irregularis led to higher growth and nutrient uptake benefits than the colonization with G. aggregatum. These benefits were linked to an elevated expression in the roots of genes involved in strigolactone biosynthesis (NSP1, NSP2, CCD7, and MAX1a), mycorrhiza-induced phosphate (PT8), ammonium (AMT2;3), and nitrate (NPF4.12) transporters and the putative ammonium transporter NIP1;5. R. irregularis also stimulated the expression of photosynthesis-related genes in the shoot and the upregulation of the sugar transporters SWEET1.2, SWEET3.3 and SWEET 12 and the lipid biosynthesis gene RAM2 in the roots. In contrast, G. aggregatum induced the expression of biotic stress defense response genes in the shoots and several genes associated with abiotic stress in the roots. This suggests that either the host perceives colonization by G. aggregatum as a pathogen attack or that G. aggregatum can prime host defense responses. Our findings reveal novel insights into the molecular mechanisms that control the host plant response to colonization with high- and low-benefit arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal symbionts.
Modeling cell protrusion predicts how Myosin II and actin turnover affect adhesion-based signaling

ABSTRACT Orchestration of cell migration is essential for development, tissue regeneration, and the immune response. This dynamic process integrates adhesion, signaling, and cytoskeletal subprocesses across spatial and temporal scales. In mesenchymal cells, adhesion complexes bound to extracellular matrix (ECM) mediate both biochemical signal transduction and physical interaction with the F-actin cytoskeleton. Here, we present a mathematical model that offers insight into both aspects, considering spatiotemporal dynamics of nascent adhesions, active signaling molecules, mechanical clutching, actin treadmilling, and nonmuscle myosin II (NMII) contractility. At the core of the model is a positive feedback loop, whereby adhesion-based signaling promotes generation of barbed ends at, and protrusion of, the cell’s leading edge, which in turn promotes formation and stabilization of nascent adhesions. The model predicts a switch-like transition and optimality of membrane protrusion, determined by the balance of actin polymerization and retrograde flow, with respect to ECM density. The model, together with new experimental measurements, explains how protrusion can be modulated by mechanical effects (NMII contractility and adhesive bond stiffness) and F-actin turnover.
Gender and Historical Archaeology: Eastern Dakota Patterns in the 19th Century

The investigation of gender in the past has finally begun to receive serious attention from archaeologists. Because of the infancy of the study, however, many theoretical and methodological questions have yet to be resolved concerning the kinds of gendered questions that can be asked of archaeological data and the ways in which archaeological information can inform one about past gender systems. Historical archaeology, because of the availability of historic documents and ethnographic information, can provide crucial information about the ways in which gender is represented in archaeological deposits. This is illustrated in an examination of mortuary data from a 19th-century Dakota cemetery, the Black Dog Burial site. Thirty-nine individuals were interred in 24 different burials with a wide variety of historic Dakota and Euroamerican artifacts. Simple sexto-artifact correlations revealed little evidence of sex-linked artifacts although age-specific artifact categories were found. However, factor analysis did reveal patterns of artifact clusters which may reveal gender categories that are not ascribed on the basis of biological sex. Archaeological and ethnohistoric evidence indicates a more fluid system of gender construction, consistent with Dakota cultural traditions, in spite of intense pressure from Euroamericans to adopt Western gender roles.
Is the feeding volume a major factor that affects the rate of gastric emptying in gastroesophageal scintigraphy (milk scan)

2005 Objectives Gastroesophageal scintigraphy (milk scan) is commonly used in pediatric patients not only in the evaluation of gastroesophageal reflux but also in the assessement of the rate of the gastric emptying. It is perceived that the feeding volume can significantly affect the rate of the gastric emptying determined by milk scan. However, convincing data is rare in confirming such a view. This investigation was undertaken to determine whether the feeding volume in the milk scan can significantly affect the rate of the gastric emptying. Methods Results of 1000 pediatric patients under age of 7 years (ranging from 0.4 to 71 month, average 19.8 months) with milk scan were retrospectively analysed. The patients with known gastro-intestinal diseases were excluded and the patient with feeding via G or NG tube feeding of the milk were also excluded since tube feeding is known to affect gastric emptying, which resulted in 473 patients remaining. These 473 patients were then divided into 3 groups: Group 1 were those fed 3 oz or less (n = 165); Group 2 were those fed with 3.1-5 oz (n = 133) and those with more than 5 oz (n = 175) were group 3. The feeding volumes and the rate of the gastric emptying in these patients was compared. Results For those patient in group 1 who were fed 3 oz or less (average feeding volume: 2.3 oz), the average gastric residual at the end of 1 hour study was 53.2%. For the group 2 patients who were fed with 3.1-5 oz of the milk (average feeding volume: 4.2 oz), the everage end study residual was 59.3%. For the patients in group 3 who were fed with more than 5 oz (average feeding volume: 7.2 oz), the average gastric residual was 67.6%. The average rates of the gastric emptying between the groups were statistically different (p Conclusions The amount of the milk fed to the patients is a factor influencing the rate of the gastric emtying during gastroesophageal scintigraphy. Increased feeding volume is related to slower gastric emptying.
How do sperm activate eggs

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of the recent evidence for involvement of the inositol cycle and G-proteins in egg activation and also thoughts and hypotheses on egg activation mechanisms. This question of how sperm activate eggs has occupied many developmental biologists over the years and has recently received much attention, stimulated by new information on the signal transduction mechanisms in other cell types. A transient intracellular calcium ion concentration increase and a permanent intracellular pH increase accompany egg activation in many species, and the treatments that activate eggs usually generate these ionic changes. Further evidence for the stimulation of phosphatidylinositol monophosphate (PIP), turnover, and Ins(1,4,5)P 3 and diacylglycerol (DAG) production in sea urchin eggs has appeared. These observations suggest that inositol lipid hydrolysis occurs naturally during egg activation; however, the direct evidence for endogenous Ins( 1,4,5)P, release is underwhelming. Another approach that supported the involvement of PIP hydrolysis is a study of the isolated egg cortices measured in vitro . Yet another line of evidence that suggests the involvement of inositol lipid hydrolysis in egg activation is the activating ability of agents that stimulate or activate guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding proteins (G-proteins).
Influence of deep ocean sewage outfalls on the microbial activity of the surrounding sediment.

The microbial activity near two deep ocean sewage outfalls off the coast of the island of Oahu, Hawaii, was characterized. Water samples and sediment samples to a depth of 4.5 cm were analyzed from an area of approximately 4.5 × 104 m2 surrounding the outfalls. Although the effluent water at both sites exhibited heterotrophic activity that was 2 orders of magnitude greater than water from a control site, ambient water samples taken within 1 m of the discharge ports exhibited activity only twice that of the control water. The heterotrophic activity of the outfall sediment was only elevated above that of the control site for surface samples collected within 10 m of the outfall. Likewise, the rates of microbial nucleic acid synthesis and carbon production in the sediment were only elevated immediately adjacent to the outfalls. Total microbial biomass, as determined by the ATP content of the sediment, varied spatially but was generally elevated at the outfall sites. The specific growth rates calculated for the sediment microbial populations, however, were not greater at the outfall sites. At one site the rocks surrounding the diffuser pipe were covered with copious amounts of slime that appeared to be composed entirely of microbial cells and filaments. This microbial mat was extremely active with respect to heterotrophic activity and biomass production. Overall, it appears that the impact of the sewage discharge on the ambient seawater microbiota is slight and that the effect on the sediment microbiota is confined to an area immediately adjacent to the diffuser ports. In the sand itself, the effect is limited to the upper 2 cm at most.