cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
TH-EF-BRA-11: Feasibility of Super-Resolution Time-Resolved 4DMRI for Multi-Breath Volumetric Motion Simulation in Radiotherapy Planning

Purpose: To develop a novel super-resolution time-resolved 4DMRI technique to evaluate multi-breath, irregular and complex organ motion without respiratory surrogate for radiotherapy planning. Methods: The super-resolution time-resolved (TR) 4DMRI approach combines a series of low-resolution 3D cine MRI images acquired during free breathing (FB) with a high-resolution breath-hold (BH) 3DMRI via deformable image registration (DIR). Five volunteers participated in the study under an IRB-approved protocol. The 3D cine images with voxel size of 5×5×5 mm3 at two volumes per second (2Hz) were acquired coronally using a T1 fast field echo sequence, half-scan (0.8) acceleration, and SENSE (3) parallel imaging. Phase-encoding was set in the lateral direction to minimize motion artifacts. The BH image with voxel size of 2×2×2 mm3 was acquired using the same sequence within 10 seconds. A demons-based DIR program was employed to produce super-resolution 2Hz 4DMRI. Registration quality was visually assessed using difference images between TR 4DMRI and 3D cine and quantitatively assessed using average voxel correlation. The fidelity of the 3D cine images was assessed using a gel phantom and a 1D motion platform by comparing mobile and static images. Results: Owing to voxel intensity similarity using the same MRI scanning sequence, accurate DIR between FB and BH images is achieved. The voxel correlations between 3D cine and TR 4DMRI are greater than 0.92 in all cases and the difference images illustrate minimal residual error with little systematic patterns. The 3D cine images of the mobile gel phantom preserve object geometry with minimal scanning artifacts. Conclusion: The super-resolution time-resolved 4DMRI technique has been achieved via DIR, providing a potential solution for multi-breath motion assessment. Accurate DIR mapping has been achieved to map high-resolution BH images to low-resolution FB images, producing 2Hz volumetric high-resolution 4DMRI. Further validation and improvement are still required prior to clinical applications. This study is in part supported by the NIH (U54CA137788/U54CA132378).
Schopenhauer: Renouncing Pessimism

Comparisons between the work of Freud and Schopenhauer are common in the secondary literature,1 and Freud himself recognizes the affinity of their approaches, as the epigraph indicates. But few critics go beyond the fact that they share similar conceptions of formless drives that motivate our behavior to consider what they recommend we do about it. Despite the proximity of their views of human nature and human motivations, Schopenhauer and Freud have very different ideas of what sort of life we ought to lead, or what a healthy response to this self-recognition ought to be. Schopenhauer encourages us to renounce the will and embrace nothingness, whereas Freud attempts to bring about a compromise among the competing demands in an individual’s psychological life.
Introduction: Merleau-Ponty and Social Thought

This is a study of Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s social thought, its often troubled relations with Edmund Husserl’s phenomenological philosophy, and its equally ambivalent stance toward those approaches in the human sciences which take Ferdinand de Saussure’s structural linguistics as their point of departure. It seeks to do justice to one of the more complex and elusive figures in contemporary philosophy and social theory. By the time of his death, Merleau-Ponty was regarded as ‘the greatest of French phenomenologists’; yet his last writings questioned the very coherence of Husserl’s project.1 He built a case for Marx’s philosophy of history which is among the most subtle in the Marxian tradition; and he produced one of the most powerful and merciless critiques Marxism has ever received.2 He was the first French philosopher to appreciate the importance of Saussure’s linguistics; but even his admirers admit that the things he purported to find in Saussure are simply not there to be found.3 He was the author of a corpus of works whose relevance for contemporary social theory has been matched only by the striking indifference which they all too often have received.4 He was and remains an enigmatic and compelling thinker. As one of his most able readers once confessed, ‘Thinking about him produces a kind of verbal vertigo.’5
Deletion of calponin 2 in macrophages alters cytoskeleton-based functions and attenuates the development of atherosclerosis

Arterial atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease. Macrophages play a major role in the pathogenesis and progression of atherosclerotic lesions. Modulation of macrophage function is a therapeutic target for the treatment of atherosclerosis. Calponin is an actin-filament-associated regulatory protein that inhibits the activity of myosin-ATPase and dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton. Encoded by the gene Cnn2, calponin isoform 2 is expressed at significant levels in macrophages. Deletion of calponin 2 increases macrophage migration and phagocytosis. In the present study, we investigated the effect of deletion of calponin 2 in macrophages on the pathogenesis and development of atherosclerosis. The results showed that macrophages isolated from Cnn2 knockout mice ingested a similar level of acetylated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) to that of wild type (WT) macrophages but the resulting foam cells had significantly less hindered velocity of migration. Systemic or myeloid cell-specific Cnn2 knockouts effectively attenuated the development of arterial atherosclerosis lesions with less macrophage infiltration in apolipoprotein E knockout mice. Consistently, calponin 2-null macrophages produced less pro-inflammatory cytokines than that of WT macrophages, and the up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines in foam cells was also attenuated by the deletion of calponin 2. Calponin 2-null macrophages and foam cells have significantly weakened cell adhesion, indicating a role of cytoskeleton regulation in macrophage functions and inflammatory responses, and a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of arterial atherosclerosis.
Sprouting STEMs: Recruiting future science librarians through an undergraduate science information internship

ABSTRACTThe challenge of recruiting science librarians is an ongoing issue, despite efforts to isolate, address, and remedy the deficiency. Most research has focused on investigating why current science librarians chose their careers and on ways library information science (LIS) programs can entice Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) candidates into science librarianship. At Brooklyn College, librarians created a science information internship for undergraduate science majors. By exposing these students to librarianship as a potential career path, we hope to attract and groom future science librarians. This article discusses the development of the internship, the challenges and successes of the pilot, and the assessment of the pilot for improvements and expansion.
Sport Transitions as Epiphanies

Sport managers design development systems with the intent of retaining and advancing athletes through that system (Green, 2005). Important to this basic goal is the participant’s transition from one sport context to another. Transition research has focused primarily on elite athlete’s adaptation to career transitions as they advance at the highest levels or retire from sport (Wylleman & Lavallee, 2004). This orientation places a priority on the external transitions between sport structures before the internal, cognitive development of the athlete. This study examined the transitions of sport participants from an interpretive framework with the goal of understanding the individual’s experience of transition without it necessarily being linked to a typical external change. The sport stories of 48 students at a mid-sized, private university were collected and analyzed utilizing an interpretive paradigm. The disruption stage of these stories represents a time of crisis and transition. Denzin (2001) provided a typology for moments of crisis through four types of epiphanies: major , cumulative , illuminative , and relived . Using this typology of epiphanies can help sport managers to understand these transition events within the life of the participant. Analysis resulted in all disruptions being coded into one of the four original epiphany types. However, a large number of stories were categorized as major epiphanies. Further inductive coding yielded three sub-types of major epiphanies: major bodily , major life change , and major success . The stories within each type or subtype contained similarities in the speed of transition and the breadth of impact of the transition event. For example, stories of major bodily epiphany shared the immediate, life altering impact of significant injury while stories of cumulative shared the slow realization that the sport context had changed without the participant’s realization. Sport managers will be able to use the results of this study to understand and accommodate the pace and breadth of transition experienced by participants in their sport development systems thus maximizing the retention and advancement to the elite ranks.
Mechanical motion and spatiotemporal modulation to realize non-reciprocal and active metamaterials

Non-static media have recently raised significant attention in the research community for their ability to break reciprocity without the use of magnetic fields. Different approaches to realize such media have been proposed in electromagnetics and acoustics, including mechanical motion and spatiotemporal modulation. Here, we connect these two approaches and show that they can both be derived from the same fundamental relativistic principles. We start our analysis with linear mechanical motion, and show that in the case of near-zero refractive index it is possible to achieve positive and negative refractive index for opposite propagation directions. Next, we show that a similar effect can be achieved with a moving Bragg grating, which can be realized through spatiotemporal modulation, thus avoiding any practically-challenging physical motion. We also show that similar remarks apply to the case of spinning ring resonators, which can form the basis of magnet-less acoustical and electromagnetic circulators. Finally, we discuss the consequences of the equivalence between physical motion and spatiotemporal modulation to applications beyond non-reciprocity, such as spontaneous light generation from dielectric or plasmonic slabs in relative motion with each other.
Student and Parent IEP Collaboration: A Comparison across School Settings

The purpose of this study was to determine if differences existed across rural, urban, and suburban environments when special education teachers reported perceived levels of student and parent invo...
Progressive Insurance: Making Pay as You Drive a Snap for Consumers

Heather Day, a marketing director and brand manager, must evaluate her options for Progressive Insurance's next Snapshot product advertising campaign. Working on a limited budget, Day must select between employing television ads featuring the popular character known as Flo and continuing with the launch of advertising campaigns already in use, such as “Rate Sucker.” The case places Progressive's proposed advertising campaign into a broader historical context and asks how the Snapshot product both fits into the company's current business model and affects its channel strategy. Students are presented with a myriad of exhibits that help make this authentic marketing scenario come to life.This case is used in Darden's first-year course “Marketing” and would also be an appropriate selection for an “Integrated Marketing Communications” or “Brand Management” course. It is intended to replace “Progressive Insurance” (UVA-M-0633), “Changing Channels: Progressive Insurance Drive Insurance” (UVA-M-0756), and “Does TripSense Make Sense?” (UVA-M-0757). Excerpt UVA-M-0873 Rev. Sept. 6, 2016 Progressive Insurance: Making Pay As You Drive a Snap for Consumers It was fall 2013, and Heather Day, marketing director for the Progressive Corporation's Snapshot program, was sitting in her office in Mayfield, Ohio, evaluating her options for the next Snapshot advertising campaign. Her budget was almost exhausted and she needed one more campaign to take the program into 2014. Day knew that the Progressive executives viewed Snapshot as a strategic tool with which to maintain the company's competitive pricing edge within the industry. It was her job to convince consumers that the new Snapshot technology was attractive. She was struggling to decide which campaign to recommend. Should Day recommend leveraging Snapshot with Flo? The always perky Flo, with her classic navy headband and matching sneakers along with her tricked-out name tag, had turned Progressive Insurance into a household name. Flo first appeared in television commercials in 2008 as the upbeat Progressive store clerk. She quickly gained a following on various social media sites such as Twitter. By 2013, some would argue, she had reached iconic status—she had almost 5million fans on Facebook alone. Could Flo do it again and turn Snapshot into a household program, or were there limits to how far Progressive could push the character? . . .
Average Chronic Pain Medication Needed in Adult Patient with Sickle Cell Disease and Its Relation to Vitamin D Level

Introduction : The chronic pain in sickle cell disease (SCD) arises from chronic bone damage as a consequence of bone marrow infraction during vaso-occulsive events. There are certain barriers to adequate pain management in adult patients with SCD, namely, limited knowledge among the clinicians, inadequate assessment, concerns about addiction, and biases against opioid use. We did retrospective analysis to investigate the average pain medication needed by adult patient with SCD. We also did analysis to see if there was a relation between plasma vitamin D level and amount of pain medication needed. Methods: We take care of approximately 300 active adult SCD at Hematology clinic at our institute. We did a retrospective analysis of 458 adult patients with SCD seen at our clinic between 2001 and 2016. We collected data on type of SCD, plasma 25 -hydroxyvitamin d level and amount of opioid pain medication in mg. To get uniform units of opiates, we converted all the different opiates into morphine. Results: The average morphine dose in a 24 hours period needed to manage chronic pain in an adult patient with SS type was 84 mg with standard deviation of 72, for SC type was 60 mg with standard deviation of 72 and for sickle beta thal type was 72 mg with standard deviation of 71. There were 4 patients with SS with hereditary persistence of hemoglobin F and average opiate dose in them was 84 mg. We obtained vitamin d level on 223 patients and out of them, 47 had vitamin d level of <4.2 ng/ml (lowest level reportable by our lab). We also found negative correlation between amount of pain medication and vitamin D level. The spearman correlation coefficient was -0.2 and p value was <0.01. Conclusion: Because we were unable to find any previous reports of the correlation of vitamin D levels and opiate use in an adult population with SCD, we believe that this is the first study to report this correlation. It also provides a rough estimate regarding average amount of opiates that an adult patient with SCD needs. This correlation between Vitamin D levels and opiate requirement supports our current practice of screening all patients for Vitamin D deficiency using 25hydroxy vitamin D levels and treating all patients who are found to be deficient. We do not know if this Vitamin D replacement will reduce pain, bone health or the amount of opiate medication needed in the future. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Programmable control plane for mission critical wireless networks

The control plane is an essential element to manage the data plane communications in wired and wireless networks. In a traditional network architecture, the control plane is embedded in the hardware and it lacks programmability. Military wireless networks are historically heterogeneous in nature and require complicated manual setups to create interoperability because of a discontinuous control plane. In the present work, we describe a simple programmable control plane model along with associated network abstractions to create a unified control plane interface that can communicate across heterogeneous wireless networks. We chose an ns-3 based network simulation engine to create, test, and validate the functional fidelity of our models. In addition to the network objects and interfaces available in ns-3, we modified ns-3 codes to capture the characteristics of our proposed model. Furthermore, we proposed a tractable mathematical framework to optimize the performance of the proposed control plane model.
Left Septal Slow Pathway Ablation for Atrioventricular Nodal Reentrant Tachycardia.

Background: Immunohistochemistry studies suggest that the anatomic substrate of the slow pathway in atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) is the left inferior nodal extension. We hypothesized that slow pathway ablation from the left septum is an effective alternative to right-sided ablation. Methods and Results: We analyzed our databases of AVNRT in search of cases that had used slow pathway ablation from the left septum because of failure of right septal ablation, and then prospectively subjected consenting patients to a left septal–only procedure. Of 1342 patients subjected to right septal slow pathway ablation for AVNRT, 15 patients, 11 with typical and 4 with atypical AVNRT, had a left septal approach after unsuccessful right-sided ablation (R+L group). Eleven patients were subjected to a left septal–only approach for slow pathway ablation without a previous right septal attempt (L group). Fluoroscopy times in the R+L and L groups were 30.5 (21.0–44.0) and 20.0 (17.0–25.0) minutes, respectively ( P =0.061), and radiofrequency current delivery times were 11.3 (5.0–19.1) and 10.0 (7.0–12.0) minutes, respectively ( P =0.897). There was no need for additional ablation lesions at other anatomic sites in either group, and no cases of atrioventricular block were encountered. Recurrence rates of the arrhythmia for the R+L and L groups were 6.7% and 0%, respectively, in the 3 months after ablation ( P =1.000). Conclusions: Left septal ablation at the anatomic site of the left inferior nodal extension is an alternative for ablation of both typical and atypical AVNRT when ablation at the right posterior septum is ineffective.
Tin and germanium based two-dimensional Ruddlesden–Popper hybrid perovskites for potential lead-free photovoltaic and photoelectronic applications

Despite their high power conversion efficiency, the commercial applications of hybrid organic-inorganic lead (Pb) halide perovskite based solar cells are still hampered by concerns about the toxicity of Pb and the structural stability in open air. Herein, based on density-functional theory computation, we show that lead-free tin (Sn) and germanium (Ge) based two-dimensional (2D) Ruddlesden-Popper hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites with a thickness of a few unit-cells, BA2MAn-1MnI3n+1 (M = Sn or Ge, n = 2-4), possess desirable electronic, excitonic and light absorption properties, thereby showing promise for photovoltaic and/or photoelectronic applications. In particular, we show that by increasing the layer thickness of the Sn-based 2D perovskites, the bandgap can be lowered towards the optimal range (0.9-1.6 eV) for solar cells. Meanwhile, the exciton binding energy is reduced to a more optimal value. In addition, theoretical assessment indicates that the thermodynamic stability of Sn-/Ge-based 2D perovskites is notably enhanced compared to that of their 3D analogues. These features render the Sn-/Ge-based 2D hybrid perovskites with a thickness of a few tens of unit cells promising lead-free perovskites with much improved structural stabilities for photovoltaic and/or photoelectronic applications.
Pediatric Evaluation of the Child with Developmental Delay

Children with behavioral or emotional difficulties are at increased risk to have an underlying or concomitant developmental disability. Children with developmental disabilities also have increased frequency of behavioral difficulties. Information about developmental progress, the medical and family histories, and the physical and neurologic examination findings provide clues for early identification of a developmental disability and the associated deficits that may have additional impact on the functioning of the child and family. Factors suggesting referral for additional medical investigation include loss of developmental milestones, lack of expected progress, severe mental retardation or pervasive developmental disorder without determined cause, and significant unexplained abnormalities on neurologic examination.
Supreme Court Sluggers: Behind the Numbers

Issued last fall, the Chief Justice John G. Roberts “Supreme Court Sluggers” trading card pictured on page 213 above is the first in what should be a very long series of “Sluggers” cards. The first Associate Justice card – of John Paul Stevens – will be out this spring. Others, of the sitting Justices and of their predecessors, will follow in the coming months and years. The Green Bag’s ambitions for this project are simple, if not small: (a) to develop and share comparable measurements of the work of every member of the Supreme Court since 1789; (b) to gradually expand and refine those measurements with an eye to making them as useful and interesting as possible; (c) to create informative, entertaining, and unorthodox yet respectful portraits of the Justices by first-rate artists; and (d) to present all of this material in a way that will be enjoyable for the producers, consumers, and subjects of the “Sluggers” cards. As an introduction to the “Sluggers” project, we offer here short descriptions of what went into the development of the front and back of the Chief Justice Roberts card. The front is a work of art that makes light-hearted connections between its subject and the game of baseball. The back is packed with statistics and sprinkled with quotations drawn from the subject’s judicial work.
Epidemiology of falls among patients in a rehabilitation hospital.

Falls in institutional settings have been associated with considerable morbidity. Although risk factors for falls have been described for acute care and geriatric settings, data from the rehabilitation setting are sparse. To provide a descriptive epidemiology, incident reports of falls were reviewed at a 151-bed rehabilitation facility. Of 567 patients admitted between January 1 and December 31, 1984, 71 (12.5%) experienced at least one fall; most (75%) of the falls occurred in patients using wheelchairs. Risk for falls was associated with increasing age (p less than 0.05), a diagnosis of stroke, or lower extremity amputation (p less than 0.05). Of the 71 fallers, 31% experienced repeat falls which tended to occur more frequently with older age, disorientation, and nonambulatory status at first fall. Nearly 13% sustained injuries, which tended to occur more frequently among disoriented and wheelchair or bedfast patients. These data suggest that groups of patients who are at high risk for falls within the rehabilitation setting can be identified for the purposes of prevention, and targeted for preventive measures. Language: en
Radiation Therapy in the Management of Cushing’s Disease

The clinical management of Cushing’s disease is complex and should always be undertaken with a multimodality approach, utilizing specialists in endocrinology, neuroradiology, neurosurgery, neuroopthalmology, and radiation oncology. The goals of intervention are: 1. Correct hormonal abnormalities 2. Remove or control growth of tumor masses 3. Prevent or minimize normal tissue injury
AI policy matters

AI Policy Matters is a regular column in AI Matters featuring summaries and commentary based on postings that appear twice a month in the AI Matters blog (https://sigai.acm.org/aimatters/blog/). We welcome everyone to make blog comments so we can develop a rich knowledge base of information and ideas representing the SIGAI members.
State of rhetoric: neoliberal discourses for education in state of the state addresses and gubernatorial press releases

Policy elites use rhetoric in speeches and press releases to provide framing that is intended to influence public opinion. These rhetorical events can be treated as instances in which speech useful...
Tongue lacerations in children: to suture or not?

Aims of the study Tongue lacerations are common in children, occurring mostly from falls or sports injuries. Optimal treatment of tongue lacerations is a challenge for paediatricians due to contradictory recommendations and a lack of current guidelines. It remains unclear which tongue lacerations should be sutured and which would benefit from spontaneous healing, which is a promising alternative. In recent years, the treatment of choice in our paediatric emergency department (ED) has shifted from generally suturing the wounds to more frequently advising secondary wound healing. The aim of this study was to analyse tongue lacerations treated at our ED in order to develop guidance for the optimal management of tongue lacerations in children. Methods This retrospective study was conducted to assess tongue lacerations at the ED of a University Children's Hospital Zurich from January 2010 to August 2015. All families were contacted for informed consent and photo documentation of the healed tongue. Clinical records of all the patients included were reviewed and different variables were defined and analysed. Results A total of 73 children with tongue lacerations were included (75.3% boys, mean age ± standard deviation 4.0 ± 2.6 years). The mean size of the lacerations was 12.4 ± 8.3 mm, with affected tongue borders in 51 cases (69.9%) and a through-and-through laceration in 23 patients (31.5%). A primary wound closure was performed in 12 children (16.4%). These wounds were significantly larger than those of the secondary wound healing group (21 ± 10 mm compared to 10.8 ± 6.8 mm), presented gaping wound edges with the tongue at rest more frequently (91.7% compared to 32.8%), and showed through-and-through lacerations more often (91.7% compared to 19.7%). The group with wound suturing needed longer to recover (median 13 days compared to 6.2 days) and had a higher rate of complications (25 vs 3.3%). Conclusions Suturing is not required in gaping tongue lacerations less than 2 cm long that do not involve the tip of the tongue. The Zurich Tongue Scheme was developed as a guide for clinicians when deciding which tongue lacerations need suturing.
Nonlocal transport in bounded two-dimensional systems: An iterative method.

The concept of transport mediated through the dynamics of ``jumping'' particles is used to develop an iterative method for obtaining steady-state solutions to the nonlocal transport equation in two dimensions. The technique is self-adjoint and capable of correctly treating spatially nonuniform, asymmetric systems. An appropriate reduced version of the iteration method is used to compare with results obtained with a self-adjoint one-dimensional transport matrix approach [Maggs and Morales, Phys. Rev. E 94, 053302 (2016)]. The transport ``jump'' probability distribution functions are based on L\'evy \ensuremath{\alpha}-stable distributions. The technique can handle the entire L\'evy \ensuremath{\alpha}-parameter range from one (Lorentz distributions) to two (Gaussian distributions). Cases with $\ensuremath{\alpha}=2$ (standard diffusion) are used to establish the validity of the iterative method. The capabilities of the iterative method are demonstrated by presenting examples from systems with various source configurations, boundary shapes, boundary conditions, and spatial variations in parameters.
Social Context of Sexual Minority Adolescents and Relationship to Alcohol Use

Abstract Purpose Peer relationships are especially relevant during adolescence and may contribute to sexuality-based disparities in substance use. This study uses social network analysis to examine how social networks may serve as risk or protective factors for sexual minority youth in the context of alcohol use. Methods Social network analysis was applied to 11th to 12th graders in three diverse high schools in a rural area of the Southeast United States. The network consists of 1,179 students, 607 of whom were participants in the study and nominated friends. Regression models were used to examine how potential predictors of alcohol use may function differently for sexual minority and majority students. Results Approximately one fourth of students were classified as sexual minorities, inclusive of students who self-identified or reported any same-sex romantic attraction or sexual experience. These students did not use alcohol in greater amounts than students in the sexual majority. They received fewer incoming friendship nominations (p Conclusion Sexual minorities occupied less prominent positions within their social networks. However, these network differences did not place sexual minorities at increased risk of alcohol use.
Marijuana use history in patients presenting with localized prostate cancer.

129Background: Determine the incidence of past marijuana use in a large cohort of men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer to determine if marijuana use was correlated with: patient age; pretre...
The effect of promotional interest rates on customer borrowing and payment behavior in the credit card industry

Credit card companies typically offer limited-time teaser interest rates [also known as promotional annual percentage rates (APRs)] to attract new customers. Firms hope that the promotional APRs will encourage consumers not only to open accounts, but also to transfer balances from other credit cards, revolve credit card balances, or take cash advances, each of which would lead to an increase in the firm’s profit. It is important to understand the effect of the promotional rates on customer behavior. Important research questions include: Does the lure of a low APR increase indebtedness of a customer over the short run and the long run? Between two segments—needy and opportunistic customers—which group is more likely to take advantage of the offer? A related important question for firms is whether the low APRs increase the financial risk (i.e., probability of delinquency or the probability of default of a customer) thus imposing costs of monitoring and balance recovery on the firm. Given the limited published research on these topics, we take a closer look at some of the behavioral patterns associated with the offer of promotional APRs in this study.
More Drugs for More Developing World Diseases

The research-based pharmaceutical industry has a key role in improving access to medicines. By continuing to pursue innovative research and development (R&D), it can improve the availability and effectiveness of drugs. By adopting tiered prices for more drugs — charging people in different countries different prices according to ability to pay and market size — the industry can also increase the number of people who are able to buy medicines, improving consumer welfare while retaining and even improving profit margins. It can work with its competitors and partners in nonprofit and government sectors to explore the practicality of public-private partnerships and the synergies that may come with them. The United Nations (UN), however, appears to want these companies to assume the responsibilities of government — a role with dubious legal and practical implications. If the UN and its supporters get their way, the long-term consequences for public health could be dire.
Challenging projects and virtual labs in web-enhanced networking technology classes

Effective ways of instruction in networking technology classes (students' papers with technology overviews, research projects, virtual labs, analytical exercises, and Web resources) are discussed with demonstration of lecture notes, OPNET™ lab assignments, "warm-up" exercises, homework and test problems, and final projects that are available on the instructor's Websites. The project-based approach motivates students in selecting topics for their technology overviews and research projects and provides them with knowledge, instructions, and hands-on experience.
Sustained virologic suppression with abacavir, emtricitabine, and crushed dolutegravir and tenofovir alafenamide in a patient with HIV and eosinophilic esophagitis

We report the use of crushed dolutegravir (DTG) and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) tablets in a 27-year-old man with progressive dysphagia due to eosinophilic esophagitis, which severely limited compl...
Preoperative Mental Health May Not Be Predictive of Improvements in Patient-Reported Outcomes Following a Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion.

ABSTRACT Background Prior literature has associated poor preoperative mental health with inferior patient-reported outcomes (PROs) after spinal procedures. Therefore, the objective of this study was to test for association of preoperative Short Form 12 (SF-12) mental health composite score (MCS) with improvements in Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and back and leg visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores after a minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS TLIF). Methods A surgical database of patients who underwent a primary, 1 level MIS TLIF was reviewed. Preoperative SF-12 MCS was tested for association with preoperative ODI, back VAS, and leg VAS. Preoperative MCS was then tested for association with changes in ODI, back VAS, and leg VAS from preoperative to postoperative visits. These tests were conducted using multivariate regression controlling for baseline characteristics and the preoperative score of the PRO being assessed. Results A total of 113 patients were included in the analysis. At baseline, higher preoperative MCS was associated with lower preoperative ODI (coefficient: −0.58, P .05). The percent of patients achieving a minimum clinically important difference in PROs at 6 months did not differ between the bottom and top MCS halves (P > .05). Conclusions The results of this study suggest that better preoperative mental health is associated with lower perceived preoperative disability and decreased severity of back and leg pain. In contrast to other studies, the present study was unable to demonstrate that preoperative mental health is predictive of improvement in PROs at any postoperative timepoint after MIS TLIF. Level of Evidence 3 Clinical Relevance These results suggest that surgeons should exercise care in assuming that patients with poorer preoperative mental health are inferior surgical candidates.
Chapter 10 – Fabrication Technologies

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the various available conventional and advanced technologies, including—casting, milling, spark erosion, forging, powder metallurgy, a combination of milling or spark erosion with laser welding fabricating medical, and dental prostheses or devices. There are various unusual features associated with titanium casting. These features are—there are no commercial titanium alloys developed strictly for casting applications, and that the titanium castings are equal or nearly equal in strength to their wrought counterparts. Examples of machines used to cast titanium include: Ohara and the Castmatic. In Ohara, the atmospheric argon shielded arc melting is followed by centrifugal casting. While in Castmatic—the pressurized argon shielded arc melting is followed by gravity casting that is accelerated by two atmospheres argon pressure above and one atmosphere vacuum below. These casting machines are designed and manufactured to overcome the challenging parameters, such as the high activity and low density of titanium. The dental titanium castings in these machines are susceptible to surface oxygen contamination, causing a tripling of surface hardness.
Brief Report: HIV Testing, Diagnosis of HIV Infection, Linkage to Medical Care, and Interview for Partner Services Among Transgender Persons-United States, 2012-2017.

BACKGROUND Transgender persons are at high risk for HIV infection. Testing is a key component of the national effort to end the HIV epidemic in the United States. SETTING Sixty-one local and state health departments and 150 community-based organizations funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct HIV testing programs. METHODS We analyzed HIV testing data submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by funded health departments and community-based organizations during 2012-2017. Descriptive analysis examined patterns of HIV testing and key outcomes (diagnosis of HIV infection, linkage to HIV medical care, and interview for partner services) among transgender persons. Multivariate robust Poisson regression was used to assess associations between HIV testing outcomes and demographic characteristics, census region, and test setting. RESULTS A total of 82,818 HIV tests were provided to transgender persons. Of these, 2280 (2.8%) transgender persons were diagnosed with HIV infection; 1556 (1.9%) received a new and 724 (0.9%) a previous diagnosis with HIV infection. The highest percentage of new HIV diagnosis was found among persons tested in correctional settings (4.6%), non-Hispanic Blacks (3.5%) and transgender women (2.4%). Among newly diagnosed persons, 85.0% were linked to HIV medical care ≤90 days after diagnosis and 63.5% were interviewed for partner services. CONCLUSIONS HIV positivity was high, and the delivery of partner services was low, among transgender persons. HIV testing outcomes among transgender persons varied significantly by demographic characteristics and test setting. HIV prevention programs that are responsive to the needs of transgender persons may address gender-related disparities in HIV testing outcomes.
Testing Composite Based Nonlinear Transmission Lines with Various Pulsed Power Drivers

Nonlinear transmission lines (NLTLs) offer a compact, solid state alternative to more traditional vacuum high power microwave (HPM) devices 1 . NLTLs have been realized in several topologies; however, these systems are typically limited by power handling capabilities, size, and/or the need for cumbersome auxiliary systems 1 . To mitigate these limitations, we have alternatively designed distributed NLTLs made of composites containing various loadings of ferroelectric and/or ferrimagnetic inclusions 2 , 3 .
Management Model for Wastewater Disposal on Land

A model based on water and nitrogen balances in an effluent storage lagoon and in the soil at potential land application sites is developed and illustrated. A solution procedure is proposed that yields the minimum land area required for wastewater disposal systems given the drainage capacity of the soil and various constraints on the nitrate-nitrogen content of the drainage water. An example problem is solved which indicates the desirability of designing land disposal systems for maximum throughput of wastewater effluent.
Sampling Culturable Heterotrophs from Microcosms: a Statistical Analysis

The contributions of different sources of error in sampling mixed and unmixed bacterial microcosms were evaluated by using analysis of variance. Culturable heterotrophic bacteria from a turbid freshwater impoundment were sampled from 9-liter tanks that were unagitated or mixed with magnetic stirrers or pumps and from dilution bottles that were unagitated or agitated with a mechanical shaker. Axenic cultures of Enterobacter aerogenes were also sampled from manually shaken test tubes. In both agitated and unagitated tanks and in unagitated dilution bottles, dilutions made from the same sampling pipette were significantly different, showing a clumping of bacteria on the scale of millimeters. Also, microcosms within a single experiment differed from one another by a large margin. Dilution mean squares and tank or bottle mean squares were homogeneous for all types of tanks and unagitated bottles, indicating that the gentle mixing provided by pumps and stir bars did not reduce either millimeter scale or intermicrocosm variability over what prevailed in unagitated microcosms. By contrast, the vigorously shaken bottles and test tubes showed no millimeter scale variability. Intermicrocosm variability was undetectable in test tubes and two orders of magnitude less in shaken bottles than in unshaken bottles. When these facts are coupled with the inherent statistical advantage of replicating large rather than small experimental units, it is concluded that sampling error in the enumeration of aquatic bacteria in microcosms will be reduced by using numerous, small, violently agitated microcosms with a minimum of subsampling per microcosm.
Experimental Study of Vertical Flight Path Mode Awareness

Abstract An experimental simulator study was run to test pilot detection of an error in autopilot mode selection. Active airline air crew were asked to fly landing approaches by commanding the Flight Path Angle mode while monitoring the approach with both a Head Up Display and Head Down Displays. During one approach, the Vertical Speed mode was intentionally triggered by an experimenter instead, causing a high rate of descent below the intended glide path. Of the 12 pilots, 10 did not act to decrease the high descent rate prior to significant glide path deviation.
A Replication Study of Alan Blinder's 'How Many U.S. Jobs Might Be Offshorable?'

In a 2007 working paper, Alan Blinder assessed the offshorability of hundreds of U.S. occupations and estimated that between 22% and 29% of all U.S. jobs were potentially offshorable. This note reports the results of an exercise in which members of Harvard Business School's MBA Class of 2009 collectively attempted to replicate Blinder's study. Overall, the MBA students' assessments of offshorability matched Blinder's well. Across occupations, the correlation between Blinder's offshorability rating and the students' was 0.60. The students estimated that between 21% and 42% of U.S. jobs are potentially offshorable. Echoing Blinder, the student data suggested a positive correlation between offshorability and education. The student data also revealed a positive or inverted-U relationship between offshorability and wage level, where Blinder found no correlation. While Blinder found a slight wage penalty for the most offshorable jobs, the student data exhibited no evidence of wage depreciation from job contestability due to offshoring.
The neurochemical and behavioral effects of β-amyloid peptide(25-35)

Beta-amyloid protein (A β) fragments have been shown to be neurotoxic and/or enhance neuronal vulnerability when injected into the hippocampus. We investigated alterations in monoamine contents, including norepinephrine (NE), 5-HT and dopamine (DA) in the rat locus coeruleus (LC) one week following the injection of beta-amyloid peptide fragment 25–35 (β(25–35)) into the left dorsal hippocampal areas CA1–3. A single treatment of β(25–35) had no effect on any monoamine levels. Rats that received two treatments (separated by 7 days) revealed significant elevations in NE, 5-HT, and 5-HIAA as compared with the control group injected with ddH2O. However, these changes were observed in the LC on the contralateral side, whereas the injected side exhibited no significant change. These effects may result from an enhanced synthesis of NE by the contralateral LC neurons to compensate for the loss of tyrosine hydroxylase and accompanying recurrent inhibition in a small number of their population. In a second experiment, the influence of β(25–35) on spatial learning was evaluated using a Morris water maze task. Rats received bilateral injections of β(25–35) into hippocampal areas CA1–3. The results indicate that β(25–35)-treated rats exhibited significantly longer latencies and swim distances to locate the submerged platform than did members of the control group.
Protection of Chinese hamster ovary cells from paraquat-mediated cytotoxicity by a low molecular weight mimic of superoxide dismutase (DF-Mn)☆

Abstract Paraquat exerts a cytotoxic effect of Chinese hamster ovary cells in culture via the superoxide radical (O2−. We have described a superoxide dismutase (SOD) mimic based on manganese (DF-Mn) which consists of a one-to-one complex between desferrioxamine B (Desferal) and MnO2. It is a small molecular weight molecule, easy to prepare and possesses considerable stability. It is now shown to protect mammalian cells from paraquat toxicity. Thus, 20 μM DF-Mn affords up to complete protection against the cytotoxicity of 200 μM paraquat in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Desferrioxamine B or MnO2 alone gave no protection. MnCl2 or catalase provided little or no protection against the paraquat, respectively. Equivalent amounts of human Cu-Zn SOD in terms of activity, also provided no protection. Copper diisopropylsalicylate (CuDIPS) provided limited, yet significant, protection, but this is explained in terms other than SOD activity. Finally, at higher concentrations, purified human SOD, exerts a limited toxicity as well as a protective ability against paraquat (similar to DF-Mn) both of which are eliminated upon heat denaturation of the enzyme. It appears that the SOD mimic, DF-Mn, can enter mammalian cells and can protect against the cytotoxic effects of O2−.
EFFICACY OF A VAGINAL SLING PROCEDURE IN A RAT MODEL OF STRESS URINARY INCONTINENCE

ABSTRACT Purpose: We validated the efficacy of the vaginal sling procedure for the restoration of leak point pressure (LPP) in the rat model of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Materials and Methods: SUI was created in 10 female Sprague-Dawley rats by bilateral pudendal nerve transection (PNT) under urethane anesthesia. Vaginal dissection was performed, followed by placement of a 2 × 0.3 cm strip of Prolene (Ethicon, Somerville, New Jersey) mesh at the mid urethral level. LPP was measured before and after PNT through a suprapubic tube using a Crede maneuver. It was also measured after vaginal dissection (sham sling) and after true sling placement. All procedures and measurements were done at the same experimental setting. In each animal LPP was measured 4 or 5 times and the mean was taken. Pairwise differences in LPP between the true and sham slings were calculated using the Wilcoxon signed rank test with p Results: Mean LPP at baseline in all rats was 65.1 ± 6.0 cm water. LPP decreased to 42.7 ± 3.7 cm water after PNT. The sham sling further decreased LPP to 26.5 ± 2.2 cm water, whereas the true sling restored LPP to 56 ± 4.8 cm water. LPP after true sling placement was not different from baseline (p = 0.16), whereas LPP after sham sling placement was significantly different from baseline (p = 0.002). Conclusions: This rat vaginal sling model represents a valid surgical method for LPP restoration in the rat model of SUI. This animal model could be used for future studies related to SUI and its treatment relevant to sling surgery.
Prolactin and its involvement in fluid regulation in the bovine

Abstract 1. 1. Plasma prolactin (PRL) concentrations, osmolality, water consumption, feed intake, urine excretion, and fecal water output were determined in twelve steers of 3 breeds exposed to 5 feed and water regimes. 2. 2. Breed differences were found in water intake and plasma PRL concentrations when feed and water were ad lib. , however, during any of the other 4 treatments, responses were similar between breeds. 3. 3. During dehydration and feed restriction, water intake, urine, fecal water, and plasma prolactin decreased; however, during hydration and refeeding such changes were not as clearly related. 4. 4. No consistent relationships between plasma prolactin and osmolality were found. 5. 5. Data suggests that PRL's role in fluid regulation in the bovine is most likely associated with alterations in renal hemodynamics rather than by changes in plasma osmolality.