cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Race, Paternalism, and Foreign Aid: Evidence from U.S. Public Opinion

Virtually all previous studies of domestic economic redistribution find white Americans to be less enthusiastic about welfare for black recipients than for white recipients. When it comes to foreign aid and international redistribution across racial lines, I argue that prejudice manifests not in an uncharitable, resentful way but in a paternalistic way because intergroup contact is minimal and because of how the media portray black foreigners. Using two survey experiments, I show that white Americans are more favorable toward aid when cued to think of foreign poor of African descent than when cued to think of those of East European descent. This relationship is due not to the greater perceived need of black foreigners but to an underlying racial paternalism that sees them as lacking in human agency. The findings confirm accusations of aid skeptics and hold implications for understanding the roots of paternalistic practices in the foreign aid regime.
Lens induction requires attenuation of ERK signaling by Nf1

Aphakia (lack of lens) is a rare human congenital disorder with its genetic etiology largely unknown. Even in model organisms, very few mutations are known to result in such a drastic ocular defect. In this study, we have shown that homozygous deletion of Nf1, the Ras GTPase gene underlying human neurofibromatosis type 1 syndrome, causes lens dysgenesis in mouse. Although early lens specification proceeded normally in Nf1 mutants, lens induction was disrupted due to deficient cell proliferation. Further analysis showed that extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling was initially elevated in the invaginating lens placode, but by the lens vesicle stage, ERK phosphorylation was significantly reduced. Only after intraperitoneal treatment of U0126, an inhibitor of ERK phosphorylation, was lens development restored in Nf1 mutants. Hyperactive Ras-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling is known to cause neuro-cardiofacial-cutaneous (NCFC) syndromes in humans. As a member of NCFC family genes, Nf1 represents the first example that attenuation of Ras-MAPK kinase signaling pathway is essential for normal lens development.
Pediatric Urinary Tract Infections

Pediatric urinary tract infections are common. These infections have been recognized as a source of acute morbidity and long-term medical consequences in adulthood. There are various risk factors and clinical presentations in children with urinary tract infections. The main objectives in management include prompt diagnosis, appropriate antimicrobial therapy, identification of anatomic anomalies, and, in select patients, long-term follow-up.
Optimal aspect ratio and number of separable row/column buses for mesh-connected parallel computers

A two-dimensional mesh of PEs with separable row and column buses has been shown to be quite effective for semigroup, prefix, and a wide class of other parallel computations. The authors show how semigroup and prefix computations can be performed with the same asymptotic time complexity on meshes having separable buses for a subset of rows and columns. They find that with this basic arrangement, square grids are not optimal but that a hierarchical method of synthesizing large meshes builds optimal square meshes from rectangular submeshes. The time-complexity results are shown to correspond to those previously published when certain parameters of the design are fixed at special values. >
Midlife Women’s Physical Activity Goals: Sociocultural Influences and Effects on Behavioral Regulation

A better understanding of midlife women’s exercise goals could offer insight into the psychosocial facilitators and barriers to their participation. A random sample of US working women (40–60 years) was taken, and resulted in 262 participants. Cluster analysis identified participants’ most important physical activity goal. A five goal cluster solution was identified: (1) sense of well-being; (2) weight loss; (3) health benefits; (4) stress reduction; and (5) weight maintenance/toning. The goal cluster solution was validated and suggested relevant sociocultural influences and potential effects on behavioral regulation (p < .05). Data showed that weight- and health-related goals have sociocultural influences and are associated with more extrinsic and less intrinsic behavioral regulation compared to stress reduction and sense of well-being goals.
Updating Positive and Negative Stimuli in Working Memory in Depression

Difficulties in the ability to update stimuli in working memory (WM) may underlie the problems with regulating emotions that lead to the development and perpetuation of mood disorders such as depression. To examine the ability to update affective material in WM, the authors had diagnosed depressed and never-disordered control participants perform an emotion 2-back task in which participants were presented with a series of happy, sad, and neutral faces and were asked to indicate whether the current face had the same (match-set) or different (break-set or no-set) emotional expression as that presented 2 faces earlier. Participants also performed a 0-back task with the same emotional stimuli to serve as a control for perceptual processing. After transforming reaction times to control for baseline group differences, depressed and nondepressed participants exhibited biases in updating emotional content that reflects the tendency to keep negative information and positive information, respectively, active in WM. Compared with controls, depressed participants were both slower to disengage from sad stimuli and faster to disengage from happy facial expressions. In contrast, nondepressed controls took longer to disengage from happy stimuli than from neutral or sad stimuli. These group differences in reaction times may reflect both protective and maladaptive biases in WM that underlie the ability to effectively regulate negative affect.
Containment Control with Multiple Leaders

This chapter introduces a containment control problem, where a group of followers is driven by a group of leaders to be in the convex hull spanned by the leaders. The problem has applications in hazardous material handling, search and rescue, and cooperative transport. We consider three cases, namely, containment control with multiple stationary leaders, containment control with multiple dynamic leaders, and containment control with swarming behavior. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the theoretical results.
How the animal rights zealots threaten medical progress.

Fanatics who would end experimentation on laboratory animals don't understand that people are more important than rats, says this author.
Pronunciation Learning from Continuous Speech

This paper explores the use of continuous speech data to learn stochastic lexicons. Building on previous work in which we augmented graphones with acoustic examples of isolated words, we extend our pronunciation mixture model framework to two domains containing spontaneous speech: a weather information retrieval spoken dialogue system and the academic lectures domain. We find that our learned lexicons out-perform expert, hand-crafted lexicons in each domain. Index Terms: grapheme-to-phoneme conversion, pronunciation models, lexical representation
The Tendency of Animal Testing Alternatives on Safety Evaluation for Medical Devices

Animal testing alternatives have been the tendency of safety evaluations about healthy product in the world nowadays.However safeties of medical devices are mostly evaluated by animal testing in China.No-animal invitro toxicology study methods haven't been established yet.There are no special institute about methods evaluation and standard studies on invitro animal testing alternatives also.As more and more Chinese medical devices come into EU and world markets,new technical bulwark must emerge in our inspection technology and standards of medical devices.We should spend more scientific research to animal testing alternatives of medical devices safety evaluation in order to keep up with the international advanced technology.
Long-term weight cycling reduces body weight and fat free mass, but not fat mass in female Wistar rats.

OBJECTIVE : The effects of repeated weight gain and loss, the weight cycling (WC) phenomenon, on body composition have been controversial. WC history and age are two confounding factors which may contribute to this inconsistency. In the present investigation, we examined the effects of WC on body weight regulation, body composition and feeding efficiency in a long-term study when WC history was controlled. METHOD : Six groups of female Wistar rats were used in this study. Five of these six groups were made obese by feeding a high fat (HF) diet for 11 weeks and then divided into five groups : non-cycling control group (HFCON) ; one group which cycled three times (HFCYC) ; and three one-cycle groups which cycled only once corresponding to each of the three cycles in the HFCYC group. The sixth group was fed the low fat diet without cycling (LFCON). Weight cycling (WC) was produced by feeding 50% of a HF diet with extra protein, vitamin and mineral mixture until body weight of the cycled groups reached the level of the LFCON group. After three cycles (52-56 weeks), all rats were killed. RESULTS : Results showed that repeated WC reduced final body weight and fat free mass, but not body fat mass in the HFCYC group. Repeated WC also reduced rate of weight regain. During the third cycle, the amount of fat regained during refeeding was more than the fat mass lost during restricted feeding in the HFCYC group. For the three one-cycle groups, the rate of weight regain was slower but rate of weight loss was the same in older rats as in the younger rats. CONCLUSION : Thus repeated WC may favor more body fat retention in later cycles. Aging affected rate of weight regain but not rate of weight loss, nor body composition, while repeated WC affected both rate of weight loss and regain.
Sonographic Diagnosis of Thoracic Ectopia Cordis With Acrania

Ectopia cordis is a rare congenital anomaly in which the heart is displaced outside of the thoracic cavity. This case report describes the in utero diagnosis of thoracic ectopia cordis in conjunction with fetal acrania, both of which were thought to result from an amniotic band located near the fetal head.
General ophthalmologic examination

Caring for patients with eye emergencies will always challenge even the most experienced emergency clinician. The threat of loss of sight is anxiety provoking for patients and requires the physician to act in an organized and expeditious manner. By avoiding these pitfalls and examining each patient in a systematic and comprehensive fashion, the physician can ensure the best possible outcome. The ensuing articles describe the approach to diagnosing and treating significant eye emergencies in greater detail.
Reforming Science and Mathematics Education

Discussion of the State Systemic Initiatives (SSI) Program to reform science, mathematics, and technology education.
Decomposition in Integer Linear Programming

Both cutting plane methods and traditional decomposition methods are procedures that compute a bound on the optimal value of an integer linear program (ILP) by constructing an approximation to the convex hull of feasible solutions. This approximation is obtained by intersecting the polyhedron associated with the continuous relaxation, which has an explicit representation, with an implicitly defined polyhedron having a description of exponential size. In this paper, we first review these classical procedures and then introduce a new class of bounding methods called integrated decomposition methods, in which the bound yielded by traditional approaches is potentially improved by introducing a second implicitly defined polyhedron. We also discuss the concept of structured separation, which is related to the well-known template paradigm for dynamically generating valid inequalities and is central to our algorithmic framework. Finally, we briefly introduce a software framework for implementing the methods discussed in the paper and illustrate the concepts through the presentation of applications.
Pricing Tools in Financial Engineering

The chapter discusses models of asset pricing. Pricing comes with at least two problems that seem difficult to surmount in any satisfactory way. Investors like the return, but dislike the risk. This means that assets associated with nondiversifiable risks will carry risk premia. The chapter discusses the ways in which one can measure such risk premia objectively when buying assets; it is essentially a matter of subjective preferences. Modeling risk premia using utility functions may be feasible theoretically, but this is not attractive from a trader's point of view if hundreds of millions of dollars are involved in the process. The potential relationship between risk premia and utility functions of players in the markets is the first unpleasant aspect of practical pricing decisions. The second problem follows from the first. One way or another, the pricing approach needs to be based on measuring the volatility of future cash flows. But volatility is associated with randomness and with some probability distribution.
Social media use, community participation and psychological well-being among individuals with serious mental illnesses

BackgroundLittle research exists on social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc.) use among individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMI). One particular question of interest is the extent to which online social media use is associated with these individuals' community participation, civic engagement and psychosocial outcomes. MethodsTwo-hundred and thirty-two individuals with SMI receiving services at 18 mental health organizations throughout the continental U.S. completed questionnaires on their community participation, civic engagement, quality of life, loneliness, and psychiatric symptoms. They were also asked which social media sites they used; the duration, frequency and importance of, and reasons for, social media use; and the number of contacts they had on social media. ResultsApproximately a third of the sample reported having at least one social media account. Greater frequency, intensity and longevity of social media were associated with higher levels of community participation, and greater intensity of social media use was positively associated with civic engagement. For instance, those who used social media at least 30min a day had 16.4 more days of participation and voting rates that were higher by 17.4%. Social media use was not found to be significantly associated with loneliness, psychiatric symptoms or quality of life. Discussion and implicationsGreater social media use appears to be associated with greater community engagement without negative repercussions on loneliness, symptoms, or quality of life. Interventions that support social media use among individuals with SMI could have important community integration benefits. The study examined social media use among individuals with serious mental illnesses.Approximately 1/3 of the 232 participants had at least 1 social media account.Social media use was positively associated with community participation.Social media use was not associated with participants' psychological well-being.
Sexually Harmful Youth: Successful Reintegration to School

This chapter introduces and defines sexually harmful behavior versus typical sexual development, as exploration and experimentation can be a very natural part of sexual development. Several different theories of sexual offending are examined and two are specifically highlighted as the most relevant theories for school based practitioners. This chapter is meant to elucidate a conceptual understanding of sexually harmful youth from a theoretical base.
Circadian time signatures of fitness and disease

Biological clocks are autonomous anticipatory oscillators that play a critical role in the organization and information processing from genome to whole organisms. Transformative advances into the clock system have opened insight into fundamental mechanisms through which clocks program energy transfer from sunlight into organic matter and potential energy, in addition to cell development and genotoxic stress response. The identification of clocks in nearly every single cell of the body raises questions as to how this gives rise to rhythmic physiology in multicellular organisms and how environmental signals entrain clocks to geophysical time. Here, we consider advances in understanding how regulatory networks emergent in clocks give rise to cell type–specific functions within tissues to affect homeostasis.
Endocannabinoid Signaling and the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis

The elucidation of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol as the active principal of Cannabis sativa in 1963 initiated a fruitful half-century of scientific discovery, culminating in the identification of the endocannabinoid signaling system, a previously unknown neuromodulatory system. A primary function of the endocannabinoid signaling system is to maintain or recover homeostasis following psychological and physiological threats. We provide a brief introduction to the endocannabinoid signaling system and its role in synaptic plasticity. The majority of the article is devoted to a summary of current knowledge regarding the role of endocannabinoid signaling as both a regulator of endocrine responses to stress and as an effector of glucocorticoid and corticotrophin-releasing hormone signaling in the brain. We summarize data demonstrating that cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) signaling can both inhibit and potentiate the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis by stress. We present a hypothesis that the inhibitory arm has high endocannabinoid tone and also serves to enhance recovery to baseline following stress, while the potentiating arm is not tonically active but can be activated by exogenous agonists. We discuss recent findings that corticotropin-releasing hormone in the amygdala enables hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation via an increase in the catabolism of the endocannabinoid N-arachidonylethanolamine. We review data supporting the hypotheses that CB1R activation is required for many glucocorticoid effects, particularly feedback inhibition of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation, and that glucocorticoids mobilize the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol. These features of endocannabinoid signaling make it a tantalizing therapeutic target for treatment of stress-related disorders but to date, this promise is largely unrealized. © 2017 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 7:1-15, 2017.
Multiple access wiretap channel with cribbing

This paper Introduces the discrete memoryless multiple access wiretap channel with noiseless cribbing, where the cribbing may be either causal or strictly causal. We derive lower bounds for secrecy rates for both causal and strictly causal cribbing under either a decode-forward or partial-decode-forward strategy. Our results recover the achievable rate regions of the MAC wiretap and MAC with cribbing, and demonstrate improvement of secrecy rate due to cribbing. An outer bound is presented for this channel under causal cribbing, which also serves as an outer bound for strictly causal case.
Practical stability of Au25(SR)18−1/0/+1

Superatom electron shell and/or geometric shell filling underlies the thermodynamic stability of coinage and alkali metal clusters in both theoretical and experimental results. Factors beyond simple shell filling contribute substantially to the lifetime of ligated clusters in solution. Such factors include the nature of the solvent, the atmosphere and the steric size of the ligand shell. Here we systematically lay out a ‘practical’ stability model for ligated metal clusters, which includes both shell-closing aspects and colloidal stability aspects. Cluster decomposition may follow either fusion or fission pathways. Solvent polarity can be determinative of the decomposition pathway.
Proactive routing mutation against stealthy Distributed Denial of Service attacks: metrics, modeling, and analysis:

Infrastructure Distributed Denial of Service (IDDoS) attacks continue to be one of the most devastating challenges facing cyber systems. The new generation of IDDoS attacks exploits the inherent we...
If These Walls Could Speak: Tangible Memories

If These Walls Could Speak provides an alternative memory storage system using tangible objects versus the written words common in diaries. Using river rocks as a memory token, a user can listen to past audio memories stored in the stones, or record their own new ones. This piece explores new forms in tangible memory collection and retrieval by allowing users to store their memories in a physical object. In this way, the project contributes to the development of ubiquitous tagging and computing as an aide for sharing and preserving stories.
The self and others : Imitation in infants and Sartre's analysis of the look

In Being and Nothingness Jean-Paul Sartre contends that the self's fundamental relation with the other is one of inescapable conflict. I argue that the research of the last few decades on the ability of infants - even newborns - to imitate the facial expressions and gestures of adults provides counter-evidence to Sartre's claim. Sartre is not wrong that the look of the other may be a source of self-alienation, but that is not how it functions in the first instance. An earlier and more primary form of looking with and at the other is a source of self-discovery. In early imitation, the infant and adult each see the other not as objects of experience but as subjects of action. Such looking is necessary for the infant to realize its own potential as a self-conscious, goal-directed subject of perception and action.
Body mass index and body composition measures by dual x-ray absorptiometry in patients aged 10 to 21 years with spinal cord injury.

AbstractBackground/Objective: To determine the body composition of adolescents with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to assess whether established cutoff values for obesity determined by body mass index (BMI) are valid for this population.Methods: Sixty patients, aged 10–21 years, with traumatic SCI (50 with paraplegia and 1 0 with tetraplegia) were compared with 60 gender–, age–, and BMI-matched controls (CTRL). Dual–energy x–ray absorptiometry was used to estimate regional and total bone mineral content, lean tissue mass, fat tissue mass, and body fat percentage. BMI was calculated from measured weight and stature (kg/m2) .Results: Total percent body fat was significantly higher in the paraplegia group (31.4%±1.2%; mean±SE) than in the tetraplegia and CTRL groups (25.7%±2.7% and 22.9%±1.1 %, respectively). This change in percent total body fat was associated with a reduction of lean tissue mass in the paraplegia (37.6±1.1 kg; mean±SE) and tetraplegia (32.8±2.5 kg) subjects as compared to the CTRL group (46....
X-ray absorption studies of La2-x(Ba,Sr)xCuO4 superconductors.

Oxides with the general formula La2−x(Ba,Sr)xCuO4 have been found to have Tc’s of up to 40 K. An important question concerns the nature of the electronic structure in these systems. The crystal structure is highly anisotropic, containing planes of copper atoms in a square lattic with an oxygen atom between each pair of coppers. In a purely ionic model for x=0, the Cu atoms would have a 2+ valence with a 3d9 configuration, while the oxygen is 2− with filled 2p levels. Band structure calculations indicate that the Cu 3d and 0 2p states hybridize to form broad bands, the topmost one being half-filled. As La3+ ions are replaced by Sr2+ or Ba2+, the number of valence electrons is reduced and the Fermi energy is lowered through the band. In such a picture, the superconductivity is due to strong electron-phonon interactions which are induced by the shape of the Fermi surface. At the other extreme, many workers have suggested that the reduction in valence electrons due to doping causes some Cu2+ to become Cu3+. The higher valence would cause the oxygen neighbors to be displaced in order to screen the charge, resulting in polarons. Superconductivity would then result from a polaronic or excitonic mechanism.
58 Identification of systemic lupus erythematosus subgroups using electronic health record and genetic databases

Background Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multifactorial disease with genetic and environmental risk factors that encompass a wide range of disease severity and heterogeneous manifestations. Long-term outcomes for individual patients are difficult to predict and little is known about why an affected individual might develop a particular SLE phenotype. Identifying nuanced patterns in clinical and molecular data of patients could reveal distinct clusters of disease which could in turn lead to more refined and personalized treatment regimens. Previous studies have used phenotype-mapping approaches to identify subtypes of SLE using genome-wide association studies and gene expression data; however, no studies have integrated both genetic and clinical data from electronic health records (EHR) to identify SLE phenotypes using bioinformatic approaches. Methods We characterized subgroups of patients using sociodemographic and clinical EHR data, and genetic data from previously collected cohorts, for 416 individuals with SLE. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped on the ImmunoChip. In our analysis, we included 95 variants previously associated with SLE risk. Variables extracted from the EHR included age, sex, race, ethnicity, and disease-associated laboratory results: complement C3 and C4, SSA, SSB, RNP, anti-Smith, and anti-dsDNA. We first determined subtypes by clustering variables using multi-trait finite mixture of regressions (MFMR), a new clustering method designed for large, multi-trait genome-wide datasets that appropriately accounts for the complex structure of our multi-ethnic dataset. We then used regression analyses to examine whether clinical and genetic variables had differential effects across clusters. Results Approximately 90% of patients were female; 52% were white, 13% African-American, 13% Asian, and 22% other/mixed race. Results demonstrated three distinct clusters (Figure). Cluster 1 (n=165) was characterized as predominately white, non-Hispanic/Latino patients with higher age of onset. Cluster 2 (n=121) had a higher percentage of other/mixed race individuals with mild disease. Cluster 3 (n=130) was categorized by more severe disease, including individuals with a higher percentage of abnormal laboratory values (C3 and C4 levels,+RNP,+anti dsDNA,+SSA,+SSB) and lower age of onset. Eleven SNPs demonstrated significant genotype-cluster interaction with various phenotypes after correction for multiple testing. Conclusions We identified three distinct subgroups of SLE via unsupervised clustering of sociodemographic and clinical variables derived from EHR and genetic data. Future work will further define these genotype-phenotype clusters and perform validation studies in additional cohorts. Our findings may assist in identifying disease treatments for SLE using a more personalized approach. Funding Source(s): NIH-NIAMS F32 AR070585 and UCSF PREMIER Core Usage Grant
Case report of a laryngotracheal reconstruction with anterior and posterior costal cartilage graft and stent placement – Surgical technique

Abstract Objective The purpose of this report is to examine a grade III subglottic stenosis case with double-stage laryngotracheal reconstruction using a costal cartilage graft and to explore the relevant literature regarding these topics. Context In this report, the authors examine a severe grade III subglottic stenosis pediatric case and its subsequent laryngotracheal reconstruction with costal cartilage graft. This case demonstrates a surgical intervention which has become infrequently utilized since neonatologists began using noninvasive positive pressure airway support rather than intubation; thus, the incidence of acquired subglottic stenosis is decreasing. Features of the case and its surgical correction are discussed in detail. Case Report Summary The patient is a 3-year-old African-American female born prematurely at 30 weeks by emergent cesarean section complicated by placenta previa, twin gestation and absent end diastolic flow. The patient has a past medical history significant for apnea of prematurity, necrotizing enterocolitis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, hyaline membrane disease, pneumonia, abnormal electroencephalogram, cardiac arrest due to respiratory disorder, parainfluenza infection, chronic respiratory failure, laryngomalacia and grade III subglottic stenosis. The patient’s surgical history is significant for supraglottic laryngoplasty, tracheostomy placement, gastrostomy tube placement and laryngotracheal reconstruction with anterior and posterior costal cartilage graft and stent placement with subsequent stent removal. As of March 2019, the patient continues to have follow up laryngoscopy/bronchoscopy with dilation. Ultimately, the patient will maintain her own airway with tracheostomy tube removal. Data sources and overall comparisons A PubMed literature review of subglottic stenosis and laryngotracheal reconstruction with costal cartilage graft was performed. Twenty sources were reviewed leading to greater understanding of the evidence supporting the laryngotracheal reconstruction with graft treatment modality. Conclusion Optimal management and correction of subglottic stenosis is possible via laryngotracheal reconstruction with cartilage graft. The reconstruction procedure, first utilized in the 1970’s, allows correction of severe (grades III and IV) subglottic stenosis. After healing is complete, the patient regains function of her own airway.
The Information Environment and Blameworthy Beliefs

Thanks to the advent of social media, large numbers of Americans believe outlandish falsehoods that have been widely debunked. Many of us have a tendency to fault the individuals who hold such beli...
Intravascular ultrasound is a key diagnostic tool in subclavian vein varicosity.

Abstract Varicose veins of the neck are far less common than lower extremity varicosities. Often, neck varicosities can be a sign of a more central venous obstruction. Here, we describe a patient with no risk factors for central venous obstruction who presented with a recurrent left subclavian vein (LSV) varicosity causing significant pain and discomfort that was recalcitrant to repeated phlebectomy. Venography revealed a dilated LSV with no significant venographic stenosis in the LSV or brachiocephalic vein. Intravascular ultrasound subsequently revealed a culprit hypertrophied valve that was successfully treated with valvuloplasty, resulting in durable resolution of the patient's symptoms, suggesting that intravascular ultrasound was essential in the diagnosis and treatment of this hypertrophied valve.
Backward bifurcation in neutrophil-pathogen interaction

Bacterial infections elicit immune responses including neutrophils, whose recruitment is stimulated by the bacteria’s presence but which die after eliminating those bacteria. This dual interaction between bacteria and neutrophil concentrations, more complicated than the simple predator-prey relationship that describes macrophage-bacteria interactions, creates an environment in which neutrophils may only be able to clear sufficiently small infections. This study describes this relationship using a simple nonlinear dynamical system which exhibits bistability behavior known as a backward bifurcation. Bacterial growth is assumed limited by a key nutrient. In contrast to a previous study which held neutrophil and nutrient levels constant and required saturation terms to produce bistability, our model shows that simple bilinear terms support bistability when nutrient and neutrophil densities are allowed to vary in response to bacterial density. An example application involving Borrelia burgdorferi, which feeds on manganese, illustrates why neutrophils’ rapid response is key to their ability to contain bacterial infections.
Minimally Invasive Spinous Process Fixation and Fusion

Minimally invasive spinal techniques have been developed to minimize the perioperative morbidity associated with traditional, open spinal procedures, all the while maintaining similar or superior clinical outcomes. Interspinous rigid fixation/fusion devices (IFDs), which can be implanted in the lumbar spine through small midline incisions with minimal soft tissue dissection, allow for rigid spinal fixation, most commonly when implanted to supplement anterior, lateral, or posterior interbody fusions. These devices are distinct from the class of interspinous “bumpers” or spacers designed to distract the interspinous space and provide dynamic fixation. While an abundance of biomechanical data exists to support the use of IFDs, particularly as compared to stand-alone interbody, unilateral, or bilateral pedicle screw constructs, clinical studies reporting of surgical morbidity and patient outcomes are more sparse. The familiar surgical approach and minimal soft tissue dissection required for implantation of IFDs may mitigate both the steep learning curve required for minimally invasive posterior pedicle screw placement and perioperative morbidity, though more study is required to draw definitive conclusions.
Solder Bond Degradation of Fielded PV Modules: Correlation between Performance, Series Resistance and Electroluminescence Imaging

One of the most dominant degradation modes affecting the degradation rate and lifetime of field deployed modules is the degradation of interconnect-metallization system. The effect of solder bond degradation on the performance of three 10-year-old modules installed at a Florida site has been quantified through the cell series resistance (R s ) acquired from dark current-voltage (I-V) curves, which has been correlated with performance loss and electroluminescence (EL) intensity. The regions of poor solder joints are identified in EL image through high luminescence spots at interconnect ribbons because of current crowding. Each individual cell of the tested modules was accessed by cutting off a small segment of backsheet and soldering at cell interconnect. A spatial distribution of R s in the modules is mapped, which demonstrated a good correlation with fill factor and output power as identified by two parallel trendlines. This implies that the performance loss of these fielded modules is significantly dictated by the solder bond degradation. Further, the ultraviolet fluorescence images showed an identical encapsulant browning pattern over the cells, indicating considerable current loss in all cells of the module.
An ecological monetary theory

Abstract While money is critical to the modern world, ecological economics does not have a theory of money that is applicable to its theoretical framework and policy prescriptions. Accordingly, the field often defers to an orthodox conception of money that is historically inaccurate and ontologically inconsistent. The dualized nature of Western philosophy informs orthodoxy by defining money according its function as a medium of exchange. This conceptualization creates logical and historical problems that can be addressed by exploring an interdisciplinary literature that defines money according to its nature as a social relation expressed in a unit of account. This paper develops an ecological monetary theory that is simultaneously rooted in a socio-historical understanding of money's nature, and in an ontology of social and ecological embeddedness. Such a theory provides ecological economists, and others concerned with social and ecological equity, with a framework from which to address monetary systems and policy.
“First-Best,” “Second-Best,” and “Third-Best”: Definitions, Elaborations, and Other Economists’ Usages

Section 4.1 states that, on my definition, first-best-allocative-efficiency (FBLE)-analysis protocols and concrete FBLE economic-efficiency analyses proceed on the assumption that the Pareto imperfection whose alteration’s economic efficiency is at issue is the only Pareto imperfection in the relevant economy. Section 4.1 also points out that the FBLE magnitude of any Pareto imperfection is zero. Section 4.2 explains that, on my definitions, second-best-allocative-efficiency (SBLE)-analysis protocols and concrete SBLE analyses are the protocols and analyses that would be economically efficient if all theoretical and empirical research could be executed perfectly accurately and financed at no allocative cost. Section 4.2 also indicates that the SBLE magnitude of any Pareto imperfection is the magnitude of that imperfection that minimizes the amount of economic inefficiency generated in the relevant situation. Section 4.3 states that, on my definitions, third-best-allocatively-efficient (TBLE) protocols for economic-efficiency analysis and TBLE concrete economic-efficiency analyses are, respectively, the protocols and analyses that are ex ante economically efficient, given the inaccuracy of relevant research and the allocative cost and benefits of executing and financing it and assessing its economic-efficiency implications. Section 4.3 also states that the TBLE magnitude of any Pareto imperfection is the magnitude that a TBLE concrete analysis will deem economic-inefficiency-minimizing. Section 4.4 contrasts my definitions of “first-best,” “second-best,” and “third-best” with the usages of two other prominent Second-Best theorists.
Regulation of plasmodesmata at specific cell-cell interfaces

Abstract Precise exchange of information and resources among cells is essential for multicellular organisms. Intercellular communication among diverse cell types requires differential mechanisms to achieve the specific regulation. Despite the significance of intercellular communication, it is largely unknown how the communication between different cells is regulated. Here, we report that two members of plasmodesmata-located proteins modulate plasmodesmata at two distinct cell-cell interfaces.
Grain Size and Mechanical Property of Magnesium Experienced Rolling and Post Heat Treatment

The pure magnesium (Mg) sheet with remarkably refined grains was achieved through the route of 200 °C rolling and 400 °C post heat treatment. To explore the relations of grain size and mechanical properties of pure Mg at room temperature, the rolled Mg sheets were kept at 400 °C for 10 min, 30 min, 2 h, 4 h, 8 h, and 24 h to get different grain sizes. The microstructures were characterized through optical microscopy (OM) after metallographic preparation. Although the grain size was not very sensitive to the heat time, the longer the heat time was, the larger the average grain size was, and the wider size distribution was. Stress-strain curves were obtained through testing. The yield strength and tensile strength of the rolled Mg were the highest, but the fracture strain was only 6%. For heat treated samples, 24 h treatment sample had the highest strength and 8 h treatment sample had 13% strain at fracture.
Language agnostic model: detecting islamophobic content on social media

Social media platforms can struggle to enforce rules preventing online abuse and hate speech due to the large amount of content that must be manually reviewed. Machine learning approaches have been proposed in the literature as a way to automate much of these labors, but social content in multiple languages further complicates this issue. Past work has focused on first building word embeddings in the target language which limits the application of such embeddings to other languages. We use the Google Neural Machine Translator (NMT) to identify and translate Non-English text to English to make the system language agnostic. We can therefore use already available pre-trained word embeddings, instead of training our models and word embeddings in different languages. We have experimented with different word-embedding and classifier pairs as we aimed to assess whether translated English data gives us accuracy comparable to an untranslated English dataset. Our best performing model, SVM with TF-IDF, gave us a 10-fold accuracy of 95.56 percent followed by the BERT model with a 10-fold accuracy of 94.66 percent on the translated data. This accuracy is close to the accuracy of the untranslated English dataset and far better than the accuracy of the untranslated Hindi dataset.
Is academic research useful to EU officials? The logic of institutional openness in the Commission

This paper contributes to the ‘reflective turn’ in academic research on the EU (AREU) by asking: is AREU useful to EU policymakers? The findings come from a survey of 57 Commission officials of mix...
Adoptive Immunotherapy for Renal Adenocarcinoma: Use of Oxidizing Mitogen-Treated Mononuclear Leukocytes and Continuous Infusion of Interleukin-2

Infusion of recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2) in combination with autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBM) treated with rIL-2 can induce regression of tumors in some patients with metastatic renal adenocarcinoma or melanoma. Initial response rates in metastatic renal adenocarcinoma of 16%–33% were reported [1, 5].
Conditions Sufficient to Infer Causal Relationships Using Instrumental Variables and Observational Data

Econometritions frequently believe that standard instrumental variables (IV) methods can prove causal relationships. We review the relevant formal causal inference literature, and we demonstrate that this belief is not justified. Couching the problem in terms of falsification, we describe the more stringent conditions that are sufficient to reject a null hypothesis concerning observed, but not deliberately manipulated, variables of the form $$H_{0}$$H0: $$A\not \rightarrow B$$A?B in favor of an alternative hypothesis $$H_{A}$$HA: $$A\rightarrow B$$A?B, even given the possibility of causally related unobserved variables. Rejection of such an $$H_{0}$$H0 can rely on the availability of two observed and appropriately related instruments. We also characterize, using Monte Carlo simulations, the confidence that can be placed on such judgments for linearly-related, jointly normal random variables. While the researcher will have limited control over the confidence level of such tests, type I errors occur with a probability of less than 0.15 (often substantially less) across a wide range of circumstances. The power of the test is limited if there are but few observations available and the strength of correspondence among the variables is weak. We demonstrate the method by testing a hypothesis with critically important policy implications relating to a possible cause of childhood malnourishment.
MUC2 siRNA reduces growth of LS174T human colon cancer cells

2240 MUC2, a high molecular-weight glycoprotein, is the major secreted mucin produced from the intestinal goblet cells. It covers intestinal epithelium and thus provides a lubricating barrier that protects mucosal surface. In this study, we determined the in vitro effect of MUC2 suppression in LS174T colon cancer cell line that produces MUC2. Cell survival was 10% and 15% lower in MUC2 small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfected cells at 48h and 96h respectively compared to controls, as quantified using a 4-methylumbelliferyl heptanoate (MUH) viability assay. Apoptotic cell death was increased by 9% and 13% in MUC2 transfected cells at 48h and 96h respectively compared to controls, as detected by the number of TUNEL-positive apoptotic cells. Expression of apoptosis-associated enzymes was increased 48h following MUC2 siRNA transfection as shown by immunoblotting for cleaved PARP and cleaved caspase-3. The number of cell counts for six days was decreased by 50% in MUC2 siRNA transfected cells when compared to controls. DNA content analysis revealed that the S-phase population was two-fold greater in MUC2 siRNA treated cells compared to controls. In summary, we have shown that siRNA knockdown of MUC2 arrested cells in S-phase, decreased cell survival and increased apoptosis. Collectively these results suggest that MUC2 augments LS174T cells survival, modulates progression through S-phase, and suppresses its apoptotic cell death. Based on these data we propose that MUC2 mucin promotes tumorigenesis of the highly aggressive mucinous colorectal cancers.
The lac repressor-operator interaction. VII. A repressor with unique binding properties: the X86 repressor.

Abstract The i x86 allele results in Escherichia coli strains that are constitutive for lac operon function and inducer ligands will either repress or induce the enzymes of the operon depending on inducer concentration. The inducer and operator binding properties of the X86 repressor are characterized in vitro . The dissociation constant for the repressor-operator interaction is K d = 10 −15 m. This binding is 40 times tighter than the binding of wild type i + repressor to operator. The increased affinity is a specific increase in binding to operator because the binding of the X86 repressor to non-operator DNA is unchanged. The binding of the repressor-inducer complex to operator is easily detectable since the ternary complex has a K d of 10 −12 m. The existence of the ternary complex is conclusively demonstrated by measurements of the kinetics of association and dissociation of the repressor-inducer complex to and from the operator. The binding characteristics of the X86 repressor clarify only part of the complex induction pattern. However, in vivo experiments suggest that the repression seen at low inducer concentrations is due to a reversible activation of repressor by inducer.
Toward a General Theory of Unicast-Based Multicast Communication

Multicast, also known as one-to-many communication, is the problem of sending a message from a single source node to several destination nodes. In this paper, we study the problem of implementing multicasts via a technique called Unicast-Based Multicast (UBM). In particular, we focus on the problem of finding optimal UBM calling schedules for arbitrary topologies using restricted inclusive routing schemes (a natural class of restricted routing schemes which includes most practically implemented restricted routing schemes) given source limited routing information. Previous work has focused on finding optimal UBM calling schedules for arbitrary topologies using free routing schemes given complete routing information and specific topologies using specific restricted routing schemes given complete routing information. We first show that implementing UBM in arbitrary topologies with restricted routing schemes is fundamentally different than implementing UBM in arbitrary topologies with free routing schemes. We then develop the Smart Centroid Algorithm, a polynomial time approximation algorithm which produces UBM calling schedules that are at most four times as long as the optimal UBM calling schedule for arbitrary topologies using restricted inclusive routing schemes given source limited routing information. The question of determining the NP-hardness of producing optimal UBM calling schedules for arbitrary topologies using any restricted routing scheme remains open.
Creation by mutagenesis of a mammalian Ca2+ channel β subunit that confers praziquantel sensitivity to a mammalian Ca2+ channel

Abstract Voltage-gated Ca2+ channel β subunits are important modulators of the pore-forming α1 subunit. We have cloned two schistosome β subunits that confer sensitivity to the antischistosomal drug praziquantel (PZQ) to an otherwise insensitive mammalian α1 subunit. The primary site of β subunit interaction with α1 subunits is the beta interaction domain (BID). The BID contains two conserved serines (225, 235 in rat β2a) that constitute consensus sites for protein kinase C phosphorylation. However, these serines are absent in these schistosome β subunits. Here we show that the capability to confer PZQ sensitivity can be created in the rat β2a subunit by eliminating both serines in the BID. These results are consistent with, and should help our understanding of, the selective toxicity of PZQ.