cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pericytes are required for blood–brain barrier integrity during embryogenesis

Vascular endothelial cells in the central nervous system (CNS) form a barrier that restricts the movement of molecules and ions between the blood and the brain. This blood-brain barrier (BBB) is crucial to ensure proper neuronal function and protect the CNS from injury and disease. Transplantation studies have demonstrated that the BBB is not intrinsic to the endothelial cells, but is induced by interactions with the neural cells. Owing to the close spatial relationship between astrocytes and endothelial cells, it has been hypothesized that astrocytes induce this critical barrier postnatally, but the timing of BBB formation has been controversial. Here we demonstrate that the barrier is formed during embryogenesis as endothelial cells invade the CNS and pericytes are recruited to the nascent vessels, over a week before astrocyte generation. Analysing mice with null and hypomorphic alleles of Pdgfrb, which have defects in pericyte generation, we demonstrate that pericytes are necessary for the formation of the BBB, and that absolute pericyte coverage determines relative vascular permeability. We demonstrate that pericytes regulate functional aspects of the BBB, including the formation of tight junctions and vesicle trafficking in CNS endothelial cells. Pericytes do not induce BBB-specific gene expression in CNS endothelial cells, but inhibit the expression of molecules that increase vascular permeability and CNS immune cell infiltration. These data indicate that pericyte-endothelial cell interactions are critical to regulate the BBB during development, and disruption of these interactions may lead to BBB dysfunction and neuroinflammation during CNS injury and disease.
Exploration-exploitation tradeoff in interactive relevance feedback

We study an interesting optimization problem in interactive feedback that aims at optimizing the tradeoff between presenting search results with the highest immediate utility to a user (but not necessarily most useful for collecting feedback information) and presenting search results with the best potential for collecting useful feedback information (but not necessarily the most useful documents from a user's perspective). Optimizing such an exploration-exploitation tradeoff is key to the optimization of the overall utility of relevance feedback to a user in the entire session of relevance feedback. We frame this tradeoff as a problem of optimizing the diversification of search results. We propose a machine learning approach to adaptively optimizing the diversification of search results for each query so as to optimize the overall utility in an entire session. Experiment results show that the proposed learning approach can effectively optimize the exploration-exploitation tradeoff and outperforms the traditional relevance feedback approach which only does exploitation without exploration.
Differential proteomic analysis of proteins induced by glucocorticoids in cultured murine podocytes

Differential proteomic analysis of proteins induced by gluco- corticoids in cultured murine podocytes. Background. The glomerular podocyte is the kidney cell most affected during the development of nephrotic syndrome, and mutations in podocyte proteins are responsible for a variety of inherited forms of nephrotic syndrome. Although glucocor- ticoids are a primary treatment for nephrotic syndrome, nei- ther their target cell nor mechanism of action are known. In order to describe the proteome of the podocyte, and to identify podocyte proteins whose expression is altered by glucocorti- coids, we performed a differential proteomic analysis of control and dexamethasone-treated cultured murine podocytes. Methods. Podocyte proteins were separated by two- dimensional-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry and peptide fingerprinting. Comparisons of stained two-dimensional-PAGE separations were used to identify proteins whose expression was altered by treatment with the glucocorticoid dexamethasone, and these results were confirmed by quantitative Western blotting. Results. A total of 106 protein spots yielded MALDI-TOF results, and 92 were identified by protein fingerprinting. Of the 88 unique proteins and four protein isoforms identified, six proteins were found whose expression was altered by dexam- ethasone. The proteome of cultured murine podocytes is partic- ularly rich in actin cytoskeletal proteins and proteins involved in responses to cellular stress. The change in expression of three proteins (ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), aB-crystallin, and heat shock protein 27 (hsp27)) was confirmed by quantitative Western blotting. Conclusion. Three proteins with known roles in protecting cells from injury were up-regulated by dexamethasone, demon- strating that glucocorticoids exert a direct effect on cultured podocytes resulting in changes in the expression of proteins with potential relevance to the therapeutic action of glucocorticoids in diseases such as nephrotic syndrome.
“Dangerous Instrumentality”: The Bystander as Subject in Automobility

The automobile has been rendered invisible as a designed object that injures not only its consumers but other users of the street. This blind spot in how liability has been distributed in crash injuries has had three primary effects. First, it has resulted in a material distribution of goods in which the legal liability of automobile design as a cause of injury has been minimized. Second, it has determined how goods such as public space have been distributed, and third, it has had a constitutive role on how social and legal subjects such as a bad mothers and negligent drivers have been produced.
Do psychological scores improve as an effect of time and treatment in advanced heart failure patients

Do Psychological Scores Improve as an Effect of Time and Treatment in Advanced Heart Failure Patients? Lorraine S. Evangelista, Cheryl Westlake, Kathleen Dracup, Virginia Erickson, Gregg C. Fonarow4—School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; School of Nursing, California State University Fullerton, Fullerton, CA; School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA; Ahmanson Cardiomyopathy Heart Failure Center, UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Is fullerene C60 large enough to host a multiply bonded dimetal

Some dimetal fullerenes M2@C60 (M = Cr, Mo, W) have been studied with computational quantum chemistry methods. The transition metal diatomic molecules Cr2, Mo2, W2 form exohedral complexes with C60, while U2 forms a highly symmetric endohedral compound and it is placed in the center of the C60 cavity. This highly symmetric structure is an artifact due to the small size of the C60 cavity, which constrains U2 at the center. If a larger cavity is used, like C70 or C84, U2 preferentially binds the internal walls of the cavity and the U−U bond no longer exists.
“Nobody Loves a Fat Man”: Masculinity and Food in Film Noir

This article uses the proverb “nobody loves a fat man” to examine the interplay between representations of masculinity, physique, and “appetite” in American culture during the first half of the twe...
Major Surface Protein 2 of Anaplasma phagocytophilum Facilitates Adherence to Granulocytes

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is an obligate intracellular bacterium that infects myeloid cells in the mammalian host. Msp2 (p44) is the major immunodominant outer-membrane protein of these bacteria. We hypothesized that Msp2 acts as an adhesin for A. phagocytophilum entry into granulocytes. This potential role was investigated by blocking binding with Msp2 monoclonal antibodies and by antagonizing binding and propagation with recombinant Msp2 (rMsp2) in vitro. With HL-60 cells, fresh human peripheral blood neutrophils, and a cell line devoid of the fucosylated platelet selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 (PSGL-1) receptor for A. phagocytophilum or one that was transfected to express this ligand, Msp2 monoclonal antibody and rMsp2 used as the antagonist caused concentration-dependent reductions in bacterial adhesion (P < 0.007 and P < 0.02, respectively) and propagation (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001), although inhibition of adhesion or propagation was moderate and incomplete. Likewise, rMsp2 bound to surfaces of the transfected cell at a level similar to that of extracellular A. phagocytophilum and significantly (P < 0.05) beyond that of nontransfected cells. Moreover, a dose-dependent reduction (P < 0.019) in PSGL-1 monoclonal antibody binding to HL-60 cells was elicited with rMsp2. We conclude that Msp2s of A. phagocytophilum are involved in bacterial adhesion to ligands on host myeloid cells before intracellular infection.
International agenda-setting effects of Saudi Arabian media: A case study

The purpose of the present study was to examine the impact of Saudi Arabian media in setting the intrapersonal, interpersonal and international agenda for the civil servant employees in Riyadh, the capital city. Al-Riyadh and Al-Sharq Al-Awsat were selected for analysis as they were reported to be the most popular Arabic language newspapers in Riyadh. In addition, the two television channels in Saudi Arabia were also examined for their agenda- setting effects. The results of our study indicated that while the mass media were not successful in influencing the intrapersonal and interpersonal agendas of the public, they were very effective in influencing the salience of issues in the public's international agenda. The crosslagged correlations showed that the direction of influence was from the mass media to the public and not vice-versa. The findings of this study have important implications for the agenda-setting functions and impact of the media in countries with a tightly controlled information processing...
Defect analysis of photodarkened and gamma-ray irradiated ytterbium-doped silica glasses

Defects in photodarkened and gamma-ray irradiated ytterbium (Yb)-doped silica glasses has been experimentally investigated. The results indicate that the formation of Al-oxygen hole center (Al-OHC) is the prime cause of the photodarkening loss.
Knowing What to Do: A Rededication to the Scholarly Mission of Creativity, Intelligence, and Humanity:

How does one start to pinpoint or mark the impact one being has had on others? As we recollect our many moments with Joe, two important factors in any learning experience came to mind, langugage and lineage... most significantly through the sharing of stories and deciphering of imagery. With these experiences all too fresh in our minds, below we construct a textual/visual bricolage of unforgettable traces of Joe's impact on us, as teachers, thinkers, scholars, artists and most of all human beings.
Heterochromatin Regulates Cell Type-Specific Long-Range Chromatin Interactions Essential for Directed Recombination

Mating-type switching in Schizosaccharomyces pombe involves replacing genetic information at the expressed mat1 locus with sequences copied from one of two silent donor loci, mat2-P or mat3-M, located within a 20-kb heterochromatic domain. Donor selection is dictated by cell type: mat2 is the preferred donor in M cells, and mat3 is the preferred donor in P cells. Here we show that a recombination-promoting complex (RPC) containing Swi2 and Swi5 proteins exhibits cell type-specific localization pattern at the silent mating-type region and this differential localization modulates donor preference during mating-type switching. In P cells, RPC localization is restricted to a recombination enhancer located adjacent to mat3, but in M cells, RPC spreads in cis across the entire silent mating-type interval in a heterochromatin-dependent manner. Our analyses implicate heterochromatin in long-range regulatory interactions and suggest that heterochromatin imposes at the mating-type region structural organization that is important for the donor-choice mechanism.
Stabilization of Premixed Propane-Air Flames in Recessed Ducts

An alternate m e t h o d of flame stabil ization is proposed in an effort to obviate the pressure drop associated wi th bluff body flameholders. The proposed method consists of us ing recesses in the walls of the test chamber. It is shown that use of such recesses results in a wider range of stabil ization l imits and higher blowout velocities as c o m pared to an arbitrary V-gutter flameholder, while indicating a pronounced decrease in the associated pressure drop.
Inflammatory Spleen Monocytes Can Upregulate CD11c Expression Without Converting into Dendritic Cells

Monocytes can differentiate into various cell types with unique specializations depending on their environment. Under certain inflammatory conditions, monocytes upregulate expression of the dendritic cell marker CD11c together with MHC and costimulatory molecules. These phenotypic changes indicate monocyte differentiation into a specialized subset of dendritic cells (DCs), often referred to as monocyte-derived DCs or inflammatory DCs (iDCs), considered important mediators of immune responses under inflammatory conditions triggered by infection or vaccination. To characterize the relative contribution of cDCs and iDCs under conditions that induce strong immunity to coadministered Ags, we analyzed the behavior of spleen monocytes in response to anti-CD40 treatment. We found that under sterile inflammation in mice triggered by CD40 ligation, spleen monocytes can rapidly and uniformly exhibit signs of activation, including a surface phenotype typically associated with their conversion into DCs. These inflammatory monocytes remain closely related to their monocytic lineage, preserving expression of CD115, scavenging function, tissue distribution and poor capacity for Ag presentation characteristic of their monocyte precursors. In addition, 3-4 d after delivery of the inflammatory stimuli, these cells reverted to a monocyte-associated phenotype typical of the steady state. These findings indicate that, in response to anti-CD40 treatment, spleen monocytes are activated and express certain DC surface markers without acquiring functional characteristics associated with DCs.
A novel scan chain diagnostics technique based on light emission from leakage current

Scan chain diagnostics have become more important than ever due to the increasing complexity of VLSI designs, as more and more scan latches/flip-flops are utilized in designs, especially in microprocessors. At the same time, the off-state leakage current of CMOS technology grows exponentially from one generation to the next one. This fact imposes a big challenge on the chip design, packaging, cooling, etc. However, innovative applications, based on the detection of light emission due to off-state leakage current (LEOSLC) have been developed for testing and diagnosing modern VLSI circuits. We show that LEOSLC can be used to effectively debug, diagnose, and localize defects in a broken scan chain.
Micrometer Scale Silicon Dioxide Tunnels for On-chip Fluidic Sample Delivery to Nanometer-scale Chemical Sensors

We have developed a low temperature, CMOS compatible back-end-of-the-line process of making micrometer scale silicon dioxide tunnels for fluidic sample delivery to nanometer scale CMOS based chemical sensors. The fabrication process for these tunnels involve deposition of silicon dioxide over sacrificial photoresist and removal of the sacrificial resist from small holes opened on the top surface. The fabrication process allows arbitrary tunnel widths, about one micrometer and larger, if the supporting pillars are used. The highest process temperature is 135 C. The fabricated structures are compatible with cleaning steps in strong base or acid solutions and can withstand anneal steps at higher temperatures. It is possible to implement complicated, multilevel chemical sensor and mixer networks where microfluidic tunnels cross over each other by repeating the fabrication sequence.
Infectious Mononucleosis and Complications

Infectious mononucleosis (IM) is a febrile illness of older children and young adults caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The diagnosis is based on the triad of physical, hematologic and serologic findings. In this chapter we review the discovery of IM, the typical and atypical cases. We emphasize immunologic determination of the outcome of the infection by EBV. Several monographs discuss the historical and clinical aspects of IM (12,39,54).
Rights as a Functional Guide for Service Provision in Homeless Advocacy

Rights-based approaches to advocacy on behalf of homeless persons have long sought to vindicate important dignitary, liberty, and equality interests, as well as establish entitlements to housing, mental health, substance abuse, and other services. This advocacy has had some success in shaping the systems that define the interaction between homeless persons and the state. Rights paradigms, however, can be undermined by the day-to-day reality of the lives of homeless individuals and families that are often shaped by profound need less for protection from the state than for meaningful support. Rights at the center of homeless advocacy thus can serve an additional function. The values underlying core rights asserted on behalf of those without shelter can provide a functional tool for providers of services to homeless individuals and families. Deploying rights in this way would serve less to hone an adversarial relationship between clients and service providers, and more as a set of guiding principles for program design and implementation. This essay accordingly argues that a self-conscious rights advocacy can help shape the systems that support homeless individuals and families, outlining core norms that advocates have asserted on the front lines of fighting for the rights of homeless persons and demonstrating how this is working in practice through examples from recent important developments in the field.
Thin-film flows with moving contact lines: An approach to reducing computing time.

A numerical method to reduce the computing times of thin-film flows with moving contact lines is presented. The flows of a film and a droplet are calculated in a frame that moves with a nonconstant velocity $U(t)$. The criterion employed to define this velocity is to reduce the maximum height change in the flow's most critical zone. The efficiency of the algorithm in reducing the CPU time is tested in gravity-driven flows, where the computing time is reduced by up to a factor of 13 depending on the parameters of the problem.
PI3K as a Potential Therapeutic Target in Thymic Epithelial Tumors

Abstract Introduction Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are rare tumors originating from the epithelium of the thymus with limited therapeutic options beyond surgery. The pathogenesis of TETs is poorly understood, and the scarcity of model systems for these rare tumors makes the study of their biology very challenging. Methods A new cell line (MP57) was established from a thymic carcinoma specimen and characterized using standard biomarker analysis, as well as next-generation sequencing (NGS) and functional assays. Sanger sequencing was used to confirm the mutations identified by NGS. Results MP57 possesses all the tested thymic epithelial markers and is deemed a bona fide thymic carcinoma cell line. NGS analysis of MP57 identified a mutation in the gene PIK3R2 , which encodes a regulatory subunit of PI3K. Further analysis identified different mutations in multiple PI3K subunit genes in another cell line and several primary thymic carcinoma samples, including two catalytic subunits ( PIK3CA and PIK3CG ) and another regulatory subunit ( PIK3R4 ). Inhibiting PI3K with GDC-0941 resulted in in vitro antitumor activity in TET cells carrying mutant PI3K subunits. Conclusions Alterations of PI3K due to mutations in its catalytic or regulatory subunits are observed in a subgroup of TETs, in particular, thymic carcinomas. Targeting PI3K may be an effective strategy to treat these tumors.
Unique Fruit Development of Ornamental ‘Teapot’ Jujube

Jujube or chinese date (Ziziphus jujuba) has fruit that is developed mainly from ovary plus some nectary disk tissue, and the fruit can appear smooth or bumpy on the surface. The objective of this study was to investigate the unique fruit development of ornamental ‘Teapot’ jujube. Unlike ‘Li’ and ‘Lang’, ‘Teapot’ jujube fruit had one to five protuberances on the shoulder of the fruit and few entirely lack protuberances. The stamens of ‘Teapot’ jujube flowers were fewer in number, misplaced in location, and deformed in shape—some stamens were anthers only while others were filament only. Deformed stamens of ‘Teapot’ jujube were always anchored in the nectary disk instead of at their normal location—near the edge of the nectary disk. After bloom, the residue of stamens, nectary disk, and ovary were all constituents of the developing fruit. The deformed stamens developed into the fleshy protuberances and equaled them in number. Fruit with only two protuberances predominated, which is how the ‘Teapot’ jujube acquired its name, but the ratio among protuberance categories varied between trees. With its unique and decorative fruit shape, and acceptable fruit quality, ‘Teapot’ jujube could be used as a backyard tree, both as an ornamental and for its fruit.
A driver circuit for latching ferrite phase shifter based on CPLD

In this paper,a driving circuit for latching ferrite phase shifter was designed and prepared using commerically available ICs.The circuit using CPLD as core of controlling system and several power devices and other ICs were applied to compose the periphery circuit,features easy realizability and flexibility.The circuit was built up and tested with waveforms verifying the function of the designed circuit.
Displacement of free fatty acids from albumin by chlorophenoxyisobutyrate.

A two-phase hexane-aqueous salts buffer, pH 7.45, has been used as a model system to study the displacement of strongly bound long-chain free fatty acids (FFA) from bovine serum albumin by a more weakly binding drug, chlorophenoxyisobutyrate, that is insoluble in the organic phase. The hydrophobic phase serves to trap unbound FFA, thereby reducing the bound ligand concentration, but does not solvate the more hydrophilic drug. At equilibrium chlorophenoxyisobutyrate displaces [ 14 C]FFA from albumin, in the order stearate > palmitate > myristate. A drug to albumin molar ratio of 2.2 reduces the binding of [ 14 C]palmitate to albumin by only 2%, but increases the organic concentration by 50%. The binding curve of [ 14 C]palmitate-albumin is shifted to the right by 1 mM chlorophenoxyisobutyrate, indicating competitive displacement. At a constant ratio of total drug to bound FFA, a greater fraction of FFA is displaced from albumin at higher FFA to albumin ratios, suggesting that FFA bound to lower-affinity sites are removed more readily. Thus, in a two-phase system, a ligand which binds weakly to albumin can competitively displace a tightly bound ligand that partitions favorably in the hydrophobic phase. The model may have general applications in explaining the mechanism of action of albumin-bound drugs that reduce circulating FFA levels.
Transitional Cell Carinoma of the Ureteral Stump 23 Years After Radical Nephrectomy for Adenocarcinoma

AbstractWe report a case of simultaneous invasive transitional cell carcinoma in a ureteral stump and superficial bladder tumor occurring 23 years after ipsilaterai radical nephrectomy for adenocarcinoma of the kidney. We review the literature on similar cases and discuss potential etiologies of tumor formation in the ureteral stump.
Carry-Over Effects in Professional Advertising and their Implications for Public Policy

There are indications that attitudes of individual professionals toward advertising within their profession may be influenced by advertising practices of professionals in another category.
Controversies in Neoplastic Myeloplasia

The neutrophilia observed in cancer patients is associated with T-cell immunosuppression, disease progression, and a poor prognosis. In recent years, this has been reported to be due to the expansion of immature myelopoietic progenitors whose differentiation has been arrested and which are identified as myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). However, despite the recent and intense focus on these cells, their phenotypes and their role in tumor progression remain controversial. In this chapter, we have focused on five of these controversies: (1) What are MDSCs phenotypically? (2) Is T-cell suppression by MDSCs antigen specific? (3) What are the differences between PMN-MDSCs and neutrophils (PMNs)?; (4) What are the differences between M-MDSCs and monocytes/macrophages?; and (5), What are the clinically effective therapeutic interventions for MDSCs? While there are other controversies in the MDSC realm, we suggest that these are currently the critical questions on which our understanding of their basic, translational and clinical importance.
The Impact of Larger Basis Sets and Explicitly Correlated Coupled Cluster Theory on the Feller–Peterson–Dixon Composite Method

Abstract The degree of completeness in the one-particle expansion, which in most standard orbital–based electronic structure methods involves atom-centered Gaussian basis functions, is central to the prediction of accurate atomic and molecular properties. While there are hundreds of basis sets in the literature capable of yielding low-to-medium quality results, high accuracy requires the use of a convergent and computationally efficient sequence of basis sets capable of systematically addressing the painfully slow one-particle expansion. This issue will be discussed in the context of the Feller–Peterson–Dixon composite method which is intended for well-converged thermochemical and spectroscopic properties across a large portion of the periodic table. Two strategies, one involving very large basis sets and the other involving newly developed, explicitly correlated methods, will be contrasted. Comparison with well-established experimental data covering hundreds of chemical systems (neutral molecules, anions, and cations in both ground and excited states) demonstrates that this admittedly computationally expensive approach is capable of achieving root–mean–square deviation agreement for atomization energies, electron affinities, and ionization potentials within ±0.5 kcal/mol and maximum errors within ±1 kcal/mol.
Genome-Wide Analysis Reveals MYC-Dependent Cell Death and Identifies Predictive Biomarkers of Ixazomib Sensitivity in Preclinical Models of T-Cell Lymphoma (TCL) and Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL)

Background: We investigated the potency, biological mechanisms of action, and described the role of MYC in cell death to the proteasome inhibitor, ixazomib (MLN2238), in TCL and HL in vitro and in vivo tumor models. In addition, we sought to identify molecular biomarkers that were associated with response/resistance to ixazomib. Methods: TCL cell lines (Jurkat, Hut78, HH) and HL cell lines (L428, L540, L1236) were treated with ixazomib for 24-72 hours, cell viability and apoptosis were analyzed by MTT and Annexin/PI by flow cytometry (FC). In vivo anti-tumor activity and survival of tumor bearing SCID mice were determined using xenografts derived from Jurkat (TCL) and L540 (HL) cell lines. Gene expression profiling (GEP) was performed using Human Affymetrix 2.0 HT array, which included Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), for Jurkat, L540, and L428 cell lines. Results: Treatment with 20-100 nanomolar (nM) of ixazomib resulted in time- and dose-dependent cytotoxicity and apoptosis in all TCL and HL cell lines with all IC50’s In vivo experiments with SCID tumor xenografts showed significant inhibition of tumor growth (P Figure 1 ). Most notably, ixazomib prominently down-regulated protein levels of MYC and its target genes in both Jurkat (TCL) and L540 (HL) cells. Conversely, there was an increase in MYC protein levels without changes in its target gene expression in resistant L428 cells. Additionally, experiments showed that histone acetylation and lysosomal functions affected MYC levels and cell death response to ixazomib. Furthermore, inhibition of HDAC with belinostat (at 250nM) resulted in synergistic cell death with ixazomib treatment (combination index=0.8) in L428 as determined using Calcusyn software. Finally, GEP data from ixazomib-treated cell lines Jurkat, L540 and L428 using Ingenuity pathway analysis, identified CD68, TNFS10, and PSAP as biomarkers that were for ixazomib response/resistance. Further experiments with L428 (HL) cells with acquired resistance to ixazomib validated these genes as critical biomarkers of ixazomib sensitivity. Conclusions: Ixazomib induced potent cell death at nanomolar and concentrations in TCL and HL cell lines and showed antitumor activity in vivo xenograft SCID models. Results with ixazomib from GEP and GSEA studies showed global changes in gene expression consistent with inhibition of tumor progression in both TCL and HL cells. While ixazomib treatment down-regulated MYC and its downstream substrates in TCL and HL cells, resistance to ixazomib treatment appeared to occur through a MYC-dependent mechanism. In addition, we identified several potential novel biomarkers of ixazomib response/resistance in TCL and HL. Continued examination of ixazomib in lymphoma is warranted and rational combinations with MYC and HDAC inhibitors should be explored. Disclosures Evens: Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd: Consultancy, Research Funding.
The racialization of electoral fairness in the 2008 and 2012 United States presidential elections

President Obama’s historic status as the nation’s first African American president has led to a “spillover” of racialization in the form of a strengthened relationship between racial attitudes and ...
The Danger of USB Drives

This study suggests that average users don't recognize the danger of connecting unknown peripherals to a computer, underscoring the continued risk posed by USB drives. Steps organizations can take to safeguard against USB-based attacks are discussed.
Impact of Cardiorespiratory Fitness on Frequency of Atrial Fibrillation, Stroke, and All-Cause Mortality.

Benefits of cardiorespiratory fitness on cardiovascular health are well recognized, but the impact on incidence of atrial fibrillation (AF) and stroke, and, particularly, risk of stroke and mortality in patients with AF is less clear. From 1993 to 2010, patients referred for a treadmill exercise test (TMET) at the Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, were retrospectively identified (N = 76,857). From this, 14,094 local residents were selected. Exclusions were age <18 years; history of heart failure, structural or valvular heart disease, AF or flutter, or stroke. Subjects were divided into 4 groups at baseline based on quartiles of functional aerobic capacity (FAC) and followed through January 2016. The final study cohort included 12,043 patients. During median follow-up of 14 (9 to 17) years, 1,222 patients developed incident AF, 1,128 developed stroke, and 1,590 patients died. Each 10% increase in FAC was associated with decreased risk of incident AF, stroke, and mortality by 7% (0.93 [0.91 to 0.96, p < 0.001]), 8% (0.92 [0.89 to 0.94, p < 0.001]), and 16% (0.84 [0.82 to 0.86, p < 0.001]), respectively. In patients who developed incident AF with baseline FAC <75% versus ≥105%, risks of both stroke (1.40 [1.04 to 1.90, p = 0.01]) and mortality (3.20 [2.11 to 4.58, p < 0.001]) were significantly higher. In conclusion, better cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with lower risk of incident AF, stroke, and mortality. Similarly, risk of stroke and mortality in patients with AF is also inversely associated with cardiorespiratory fitness.
Virtual Issue on Tax Research Published in the Journal of Accounting Research

In this invited note, we provide a historical context and a brief review of tax research published in the Journal of Accounting Research over the past decade. We also describe five areas within tax research that are relatively poorly understood or sparsely researched, but have potential for significant advancement in the future.
Assessing the future susceptibility of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) in the Great Lakes Region using forest composition and structural attributes

The potential expansion of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) from western North America into the Great Lakes Region (Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario) could negative...
Posterior Tracheopexy for Severe Tracheomalacia Associated with Esophageal Atresia (EA): Primary Treatment at the Time of Initial EA Repair versus Secondary Treatment.

Purpose: We review outcomes of posterior tracheopexy for tracheomalacia in esophageal atresia (EA) patients, comparing primary treatment at the time of initial EA repair versus secondary treatment. Methods: All EA patients who underwent posterior tracheopexy from October 2012 to September 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical symptoms, tracheomalacia scores, and persistent airway intrusion were collected. Indication for posterior tracheopexy was the presence of clinical symptoms, in combination with severe tracheomalacia as identified on bronchoscopic evaluation, typically defined as coaptation in one or more regions of the trachea. Secondary cases were usually those with chronic respiratory symptoms who underwent bronchoscopic evaluation, whereas primary cases were those found to have severe tracheomalacia on routine preoperative dynamic tracheobronchoscopy at the time of initial EA repair. Results: 118 patients underwent posterior tracheopexy: 18 (15%) primary versus 100 (85%) secondary cases. Median (IQR) age was 2 months (1-4 months) for primary (22% type C) and 18 months (8-40 months) for secondary (87% type C) cases (p0.1). Total tracheomalacia scores improved significantly in primary (p=0.013) and secondary (p<0.001) cases. Multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated no differences in persistent airway intrusion requiring reoperation between primary and secondary tracheopexy adjusting for imbalances in age and EA type (p=0.67). Conclusions: Posterior tracheopexy is effective in treating severe tracheomalacia with significant improvements in clinical symptoms and degree of airway collapse on bronchoscopy. With no significant differences in outcomes between primary and secondary treatment, posterior tracheopexy should be selectively considered at the time of initial EA repair.
Improving Clinical Decision Making by Excising the Physician's Judgment.

Despite their added benefit in assisting physicians with clinical decision making, statistical prediction rules have not been widely used since their introduction in 1954. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Role of Nonhistone Protein Phosphorylation in the Regulation of Mitosis in Mammalian Cells

The postsynthetic modification of proteins via reversible phosphorylation-dephosphorylation by phosphoprotein kinases and phosphatases has been reported to be an important mechanism in the regulation of numerous intracellular events (15,26,30). A strong correlation between the phosphorylation of histone H1 and (H3) and chromosome condensation and initiation of mitosis has been shown by several investigators (7,8,11,13,14,18,21,23). More recently, it was shown that histone H1 is also phosphorylated during premature chromosome condensation (8,22,27). However, many investigators believe that the superphosphorylation of histone H1 alone is not sufficient for chromosome condensation (10,20,22,27,38). Furthermore, chromosome decondensation could still occur even when dephosphorylation of histone H1 was blocked in mitotic cells (38). There is increasing evidence to suggest that phosphorylation of nonhistone proteins (NHP) may also be required for mitosis-related events. For example, phosphorylation of high mobility group (HMG) proteins has been suggested to be responsible for the shutting off of gene transcription during mitosis (12,28,34), increased phosphorylation of intermediate filament proteins like vimentin at mitosis (17,33), phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of laminar proteins have been implicated in the dissolution and reformation of the nuclear envelope (19,25).
Modification of Dendritic Cells to Enhance Cancer Vaccine Potency

Antigen-specific immunotherapy has emerged as an attractive approach for the treatment of cancers because it has the potency to specifically eradicate systemic tumors and control metastases without damaging normal cells. It is now clear that professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs), such as dendritic cells (DCs) play a central role in the generation of antigen-specific immune responses induced by cancer vaccines. Therefore, strategies to enhance the potency of cancer vaccines should focus on the modification of the properties of DCs either in vivo or ex vivo. These strategies include (1) increasing the number of antigen-expressing DCs; (2) improving antigen expression, processing, and presentation in DCs; (3) promoting DC activation and function; and (4) enhancing DC and T cell interaction to augment vaccine-elicited T cell immune responses. Because many of these strategies modify the properties of DCs to enhance cancer vaccine potency through different mechanisms, they could potentially be combined to generate highly potent cancer vaccines. The encouraging results from preclinical studies employing these strategies have led to several clinical trials. Continued exploration of innovative strategies to enhance cancer vaccine potency through the modification of DC properties may lead to the generation of more effective vaccines for the control of cancer.
Dynamic wave propagation in a single lap joint

Dynamic photoelasticity was used to study the stresses when an impulse wave propagates through a single lap joint. An explosive was detonated in one of the adherends. The resulting stress wave propagated down the adherend and through the joint area. At the junction between the adherends, the stress wave interacted with the ends of the adherends and significant changes in the stress wave occurred. The stress wave then propagated through the joint and, in doing so, interacted with the two square corners at the adhesive/adherend interface. It was found that a significant biaxial tensile stress occurs at one of the corners. With only the usual black and white photographs, the ordering and interpretation of the photoelastic-fringe orders was difficult. The paper indicates how color photographs were used to simplify identification of the fringes.
Locked in Sequence and Stuck on Skills in a College-for-All Culture for Urban Latinx Youth:

This case study of one small urban California high school enrolling predominantly low-socioeconomic status (SES) Latinx youth and many emergent bilinguals found that a college-for-all school cultur...
Automatic Detection of Prostate Tumor Habitats using Diffusion MRI.

A procedure for identification of optimal Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) thresholds for automatic delineation of prostatic lesions with restricted diffusion at differing risk for cancer was developed. The relationship between the size of the identified Volumes of Interest (VOIs) and Gleason Score (GS) was evaluated. Patients with multiparametric (mp)MRI, acquired prior to radical prostatectomy (RP) (n = 18), mpMRI-ultrasound fused (MRI-US) (n = 21) or template biopsies (n = 139) were analyzed. A search algorithm, spanning ADC thresholds in 50 µm2/s increments, determined VOIs that were matched to RP tumor nodules. Three ADC thresholds for both peripheral zone (PZ) and transition zone (TZ) were identified for estimation of VOIs at low, intermediate, and high risk of prostate cancer. The determined ADC thresholds for low, intermediate and high risk in PZ/TZ were: 900/800; 1100/850; and 1300/1050 µm2/s. The correlation coefficients between the size of the high/intermediate/low risk VOIs and GS in the three cohorts were 0.771/0.778/0.369, 0.561/0.457/0.355 and 0.423/0.441/0.36 (p < 0.05). Low risk VOIs mapped all RP lesions; area under the curve (AUC) for intermediate risk VOIs to discriminate GS6 vs GS ≥ 7 was 0.852; for high risk VOIs to discriminate GS6,7 vs GS ≥ 8 was 0.952. In conclusion, the automatically delineated volumes in the prostate with restricted diffusion were found to strongly correlate with cancer aggressiveness.
Evaluation of Vascular Parameters in Patients With Pulmonary Thromboembolic Disease Using Dual-energy Computed Tomography.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate patterns of vascular and lung parenchymal enhancement in patients with suspected chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) and in those with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) and compare those two groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS We retrospectively studied 186 thoracic DECT studies referred for evaluation of CTEPH or pulmonary hypertension. A total of 80 of these patients had a negative scan (control group), 13 had acute PE, and 53 had chronic thromboembolic disease (CTED)/CTEPH. Five different DECT-based parameters were evaluated that highlight patterns of vascular kinetics. Specifically, total DECT-based parenchymal attenuation in Hounsfield Unit (HU) (LungHU), percentage of perfused blood volume (PBV), peak enhancement of main pulmonary artery (PApeak in HU), maximum enhancement corresponding to 100 (PAmax), and the ratio of PApeak to LungHU were calculated. RESULTS Compared with patients with negative CT, patients with CTED/CTEPH tended to have lower LungHU (median: 27 vs. 38, P<0.001), lower PBV (median: 39 vs. 51, P=0.003), and higher PApeak/LungHU ratio (median: 17 vs. 13, P=0.003). Compared with patients with acute PE, patients with CTED/CTEPH tended to have lower LungHU (median: 27 vs. 39, P=0.006), lower PBV (median: 39 vs. 62, P=0.023), and higher PApeak/LungHU ratio (median: 17 vs. 11, P=0.023). No statistically significant differences were observed between patients with acute PE and those with negative CT. CONCLUSIONS DECT-based vascular parameters offer the potential to differentiate patients with acute versus chronic PE. These various anatomic and functional vascular DECT-based parameters might be reflective of the state of the underlying vascular bed.
Learning Convolutional Neural Networks from Ordered Features of Generic Data

Convolutional neural networks (CNN) have become very popular for computer vision, text, and sequence tasks. CNNs have the advantage of being able to learn local patterns through convolution filters. However, generic datasets do not have meaningful local data correlations, because their features are assumed to be independent of each other. In this paper, we propose an approach to reorder features of a generic dataset to create feature correlations for CNN to learn feature representation, and use learned features as inputs to help improve traditional machine learning classifiers. Our experiments on benchmark data exhibit increased performance and illustrate the benefits of using CNNs for generic datasets.
Ideological Themes in Family Policy

In this exploration of family policy, the author identifies the basic assumptions that shape differing perspectives on such policies. Focus is on the definition of the family, the privileging of ce...
On the Design of a Mobile Executive Functioning Coaching Solution for Students with and without Disabilities in Post-secondary STEM Education

This study investigated the insights of post-secondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students with and without disabilities regarding their experiences with academic coaching through mobile phones and examined whether e-mentoring is effective in supporting the executive function skills (EFs) of those students. The researcher explored the design of a mobile EF coaching solution to satisfy individuals with diverse learning needs, especially students with disabilities, and to provide academic support to their post-secondary STEM gateway course. A parallel mixed methods study design was adopted. A total of seven participants completed the mobile coaching study. The pre/post-test results and the analysis of qualitative content showed improved EFs and learning strategies/skills for those students. Two levels of coding were used to analyse the qualitative data. This study added to the limited but growing research on implementing EF coaching via innovative technology tools to support students' academic goals and performance.
Energy-Sensitive GaSb/AlAsSb Separate Absorption and Multiplication Avalanche Photodiodes for X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Detection

Demonstrated are antimony‐based (Sb‐based) separate absorption and multiplication avalanche photodiodes (SAM‐APDs) for X‐ray and gamma‐ray detection, which are composed of GaSb absorbers and large bandgap AlAsSb multiplication regions in order to enhance the probability of stopping high‐energy photons while drastically suppressing the minority carrier diffusion. Well‐defined X‐ray and gamma‐ray photopeaks are observed under exposure to 241Am radioactive sources, demonstrating the desirable energy‐sensitive detector performance. Spectroscopic characterizations show a significant improvement of measured energy resolution due to reduced high‐peak electric field in the absorbers and suppressed nonradiative recombination on surfaces. Additionally, the GaSb/AlAsSb SAM‐APDs clearly exhibit energy response linearity up to 59.5 keV with a minimum full‐width half‐maximum of 1.283 keV. A further analysis of the spectroscopic measurement suggests that the device performance is intrinsically limited by the noise from the readout electronics rather than that from the photodiodes. This study provides a first understanding of Sb‐based energy‐sensitive SAM‐APDs and paves the way to achieving efficient detection of high‐energy photons for X‐ray and gamma‐ray spectroscopy.
Do Separation Laws Matter? An Experimental Study of Commitment

Coasian reasoning predicts that the conditions under which parties may terminate a partnership will affect bargaining between partners, but not the durability of partnerships. This paper endeavors to test both predictions in an experimental setting that allows agents to form and end partnerships endogenously and to bargain over resources. We find that separation rules have less effect on bargaining than predicted by theory, but larger effects on partnership stability. Perhaps surprisingly, agents who are weaker relative to their partners are more successful when either party can end a partnership unilaterally than when both must consent to a separation.
Testicular Torsion in Monorchism Diagnosed with Point-of-care Ultrasound: A Case Report.

Author(s): Correa, Chad; Onishi, So; Abrams, Eric | Abstract: Introduction: Emergency department physicians should incorporate point-of-care-ultrasound (POCUS) in the assessment of patients presenting with acute scrotal pain for rapid identification of the time sensitive urologic emergency, testicular torsion.Case Report: A 20-year-old otherwise healthy male, with a history of monorchism, presented to the emergency department with vague testicular pain. A POCUS was performed, which demonstrated attenuated arterial flow of the patient’s single testicle as well as twisting (“whirlpool sign”) of the spermatic cord, both highly specific ultrasonographic findings of testicular torsion. Conclusion: These findings expedited definitive management resulting in the salvage of the single ischemic testicle.