cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Factors associated with straight allies' current engagement levels within Gay–Straight Alliances

Abstract Gay–Straight Alliances (GSAs) can foster action-oriented engagement among straight youth allies. The objective of the current exploratory study was to identify factors related to straight youth allies' greater engagement in GSAs. Participants included 156 straight members of 48 high school GSAs (78.2% female, M age = 15.71) who attended regional GSA conferences in 2013. The survey asked youth to report their engagement in their GSA based on multiple items, and it measured factors external to the GSA and GSA-specific experiences that could be related to GSA engagement. In an overall model with all factors as independent variables and engagement as the dependent variable, initial positive feelings after the first few GSA meetings and having more current LGBT friends emerged as the clearest contributors. This study broadens our understanding of how factors external to the GSA and GSA-specific experiences relate to straight youths' role in promoting social change through their GSA engagement.
Anterior Subluxation of the Talus: A Complication of Malreduction of the Ankle Syndesmosis

The goal of operative treatment of unstable ankle fractures is to obtain an anatomic reduction of the ankle mortise and provide stable fixation until osseous union and ligamentous healing occur1. The syndesmosis, an important secondary stabilizer of the ankle joint, may be injured in rotational ankle fractures and require stabilization. However, placement of a transsyndesmotic screw is an independent risk factor for inferior outcomes2, which may be caused by the high incidence of syndesmosis malreduction when a closed reduction is attempted3,4. The tibiotalar joint is highly conforming, bearing more weight per unit area than any other joint. Therefore, small changes in the relationship between the tibia and the talus may lead to posttraumatic arthritis5,6. The literature has focused on reduction of the mortise in the coronal plane since l mm of lateral talar translation decreases the tibiotalar contact area by 42%, consequently increasing cartilage pressures7. The clinical relevance of lateral talar shift is corroborated by studies demonstrating poor outcomes in patients with widening of the mortise after an ankle fracture1,8. We report a series of three patients with malreduction of the tibiotalar joint in the sagittal plane after closed reduction of the syndesmosis and placement of transsyndesmotic screws. In all three of these cases, the talus subluxated anteriorly after placement of a syndesmotic screw and was rigidly fixed in the malreduced position. This complication results from avoidable technical errors that result in malreduction of the syndesmosis and secondarily affect the tibiotalar joint. The patients were all informed that data concerning the cases would be submitted for publication, and they all provided consent. We reviewed 364 consecutive cases of operatively treated ankle fractures that included fixation of the syndesmosis. Based on postoperative radiographs …
Abstract C228: Renal insufficiency secondary to Erlotinib: Is it real?

Objective: We conducted a retrospective chart review to assess the extent of renal insufficiency noted in patients receiving Erlotinib for refractory/relapsed non small cell lung cancer at our Institute. Methods: We reviewed the charts of 285 patients at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, who received Erlotinib for varying durations of time during 2004 and 2009. Baseline and post‐erlotinib serum creatinine (SCr) and serum creatinine clearance (SCrCl) levels were noted. Cases with worsening of serum creatinine levels during treatment with erlotinib were isolated. Extent of worsening, associated co‐morbidities and medications and other factors possibly contributing to renal dysfunction were noted along with improvement in renal status after discontinuation of erlotinib. Results: Of the 175 patients with data available for evaluation, 21(12%) had worsening of their baseline SCr level while on erlotinib. 13(62%) of the patients with renal insufficiency had documented hypertension as co morbidity and were on anti‐hypertensives including diuretics and ACE inhibitors. 8(38%) were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and 6(28%) had coronary artery disease. 6(28%) patients had established chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) at baseline and had worsening after initiation of erlotinib. 1 patient had CRI secondary to prior history of renal cell cancer and was post nephrectomy. 1 patient had evidence of autoimmune disorder with Reynaud9s phenomenon and polycystic kidneys. Another patient had history of lupus without evidence of CRI at baseline. 6(28%) concomitantly had diarrhea as a side‐effect with erlotinib and in at least 3(14%) patients was the reason for discontinuation of further drug administration. In the remainder of the patients, the cause of discontinuation of erlotinib was progression in 13(52%), severe rash in 2(9%) and 3(14%) were still on the drug at the time of this analysis. Overall 5(21%) of patients with renal insufficiency after initiation of erlotinib did not have any other confounding factors identified. The onset of worsening renal status ranged from 14 days up to 333 days with a mean of 60 days. Baseline SCrCl of patients ranged from 26.2 to 100.5 ml/min with a mean of 49.8 and baseline SCr levels ranged from 0.9 to 2.4 mg/dl. Post therapy SCrCl in patients with worsening ranged from 18.5 to 59.8 with a mean of 35.9 and SCr levels from 1.3 to 3.4. Hence mean decline in SCrCl in these patients was by approximately 14 ml/min and serum creatinine of 0.5mg/dl. Of the 19 patients not currently on erlotinib any more, 12(63%) were noted to have improvement in SCrCl in mean of 33 days. Conclusion: The incidence of isolated renal insufficiency due to erlotinib is rare but does exist. Most often it is confounded with preexisting hypertension and diabetes mellitus leading to baseline chronic renal dysfunction and multiple other medications or concomitant diarrhea as a side effect of erlotinib leading to pre‐renal worsening of kidney function. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12 Suppl):C228.
Optimized Software Splatting Using FastSplats on Rectilinear Grid

Splatting is widely applied in many areas, including volume,point-based, and image-based rendering. Improvements tosplatting, such as eliminating popping and color bleeding,occlusion-based acceleration, post-rendering classification andshading, have all been recently accomplished. These improvementsshare a common need for efficient framebuffer accesses. Wepresent an optimized software splatting package, using a newlydesigned primitive, called FastSplat, to scan-convert footprints.Our approach does not use texture mapping hardware, butsupports the whole pipeline in memory. In such an integratedpipeline, we are then able to study the optimization strategies andaddress image quality issues. While this research is meant for astudy of the inherent trade-off of splatting, our renderer, purley insoftware, achieves 3 to 5 times speedups over a top-end texturehardware (for opaque data sets) implementation. We furtherpropose a way of efficient occlusion culling using a summed areatable of opacity. 3D solid texturing and bump mapping capabilitiesare demonstrated to show the flexibility of such an integratedrendering pipeline. A detailed numerical error analysis, inaddition to the performance and storage issues, is also presented.Our approach requires low storage and uses simple operations.Thus, it is easily implementable in hardware.
Angular and internal state distributions of H2+ generated by (2 + 1) resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization of H2 using time-of-flight mass spectrometry

We report direct measurement of the anisotropy parameter β for the angular distribution of the photoelectron and photoion in (2 + 1) resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization process of H2 X (1)Σg (+) (v = 0, J = 0) molecules through the intermediate H2 E,F (1)Σg (+) (v' = 0, J' = 0) level (λ = 201.684 nm) using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The time-of-flight spectra were recorded as the direction of polarization of the ionizing laser was varied with respect to the flight axis of the H2 molecular beam and were fitted to an angular distribution in an appropriately rotated coordinate system with the z-axis oriented along the time-of-flight axis. The anisotropy parameter β was found to be 1.72 ± 0.13 by fitting the time-of-flight spectra and agreed with previous measurements. Using secondary ionization with a delayed laser pulse of different wavelength, we also determined the vibrational energy distribution of the ions, showing that 98% ± 4% of the ions are generated in their ground vibrational state, in agreement with the calculated Franck-Condon factors between the H2 E,F (1)Σg (+) (v' = 0) and H2 (+) X (1)Σg (+) (v″) vibrational levels.
Integrated personnel training

The concept of “integrated personnel training” in both large and small corporations is increasingly relevant not only to broad health and safety objectives, but also to converging economic and marketing interests that underlie any modern business. All personnel training is best viewed in the context of corporate risk management which is inclusive of all corporate effort to control losses in productivity, capital resources, human resources, and market performance. Deficiencies in personnel training related to human health and safety, including not only the health and safety of employees but also of the public at large, must be assumed to contribute both directly and indirectly to such losses. Regulatory requirements are best viewed as de minimus requirements that apply under all circumstances. An in-plant health and safety training program must first be integrated with an overall business ethos that gives the highest priority to sound health, safety, and environmental (HSE) management practices.
African American and Mexican American Youths’ College Adjustment and Perceptions of Parental Academic Socialization: Interactions Between Ethnicity and Parental Education

In a sample of 283 African American and Mexican American college students, we investigated the effects of ethnicity and parental education on three dimensions of parental academic socialization (PAS), active involvement, autonomy support, and demanding hard work, and their impact on college adjustment. Controlling for parental education, African Americans reported higher parental active involvement. Academic self-efficacy mediated the effects of both demanding hard work and autonomy support on college adjustment, controlling for parental education. Moderated mediation models suggested that effects of both demanding hard work and autonomy support on academic self-efficacy were stronger for African Americans than for Mexican Americans.
Preliminary observations on the occurrence of Campylobacter jejuni at four California chicken ranches

During a 3-month period from April to July, 1983, three Campylobacter jejuni survey studies were done at four chicken ranches in Northern California. In Survey 1, 29 of 200 (14.5%) total cloacal swab and dropping samples collected from the 20 occupied houses on the four ranches were positive for C. jejuni . Positive samples were from two of the four ranches. On one of these ranches, both occupied houses were positive. However, on the other ranch, only one of six houses was positive. Follow- up feed, water, litter and dropping samples were collected from three houses on this latter ranch during Survey 2. Again, positive samples were from only one house with 26 of 30 (86.7%) droppings positive for C. jejuni and 3 of 20 (15%) water samples positive. No feed or litter samples were positive. During Survey 3, cloacal swabs or bird dropping samples were collected from two houses on each of three ranches at approximately weekly intervals from the time of arrival of new flocks of chickens. All six houses ultimately became positive. The first positive samples were collected from one house when chickens in that house were 12 d old. This house had contained C. jejuni -positive chickens during Survey 1, had old litter, and had not been very thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. First positive samples in each of the other five houses were collected when chickens were between 40 and 46 d old. Two of these houses had previously been positive for C. jejuni but had old litter replaced with new and had been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. The three other houses had been negative for C. jejuni during Survey 1. Two of these houses had new litter and had been well cleaned. The other house contained old litter and had not been well cleaned. When each house became positive, virtually all samples from that house were positive within a week indicating that C. jejuni likely spreads rapidly among birds in the house.
Gene Editing Approaches against Viral Infections and Strategy to Prevent Occurrence of Viral Escape.

Powerful new gene editing techniques promise groundbreaking opportunities for novel therapeutic options to important illnesses, including cancer, genetic disorders [1], and viral infections [2]. These techniques include zinc finger nucleases (ZFN) [3], transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN) [4], and clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated 9 (Cas9) [5, 6]. In particular, CRISPR/Cas9 provides an effective, highly specific, and versatile tool applicable to important human viruses, including HIV-1 [7]. CRISPR/Cas9 is elegant and simple compared to ZFN and TALEN because it uses one or more guide RNAs (gRNA), which are simple to produce and specifically target any sequence in an adaptable and flexible way for different targets, such as viral genes, by changing the gRNA sequence [8]. Cas9 cuts both strands of the DNA target, resulting in a double-strand break (DSB), usually repaired by nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ), an error-prone arm of the DNA repair pathway that introduces insertions and deletions (InDels) at the break site. While InDel introduction is quite rare, the products of accurate repair are targets for recleavage by CRISPR/Cas9, whereas InDel products are not, and, hence, InDel products accumulate with repeated cleavage cycles [9, 10]. In this short review, we discuss CRISPR/Cas9 in combating human viruses by specifically targeting and disrupting essential viral genes. We will also discuss generation of viral escape mutants resistant to Cas9/gRNA and how this may be overcome.
“A Very Steep Climb”: Therapists’ Perspectives on Barriers to Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse Experiences for Men

Recent studies indicate that men experience unique barriers to disclosure of child sexual abuse. Blind spots held by mental health providers and social service agencies may inadvertently help produce and sustain these barriers. However, therapists who specialize in treating this population may also hold important insights into the barriers clients face. Because delayed and nondisclosure of child sexual abuse have been associated with negative mental health outcomes for adult survivors, understanding these barriers is critical to improve clinical practice and facilitate help-seeking. Using conventional content analysis, this study examined the perceptions of nine therapists who specialize in the treatment of men who were sexually abused in childhood, many of whom are considered pioneers in the field. Analyses identified nine types of barriers, which were organized into three categories: intrapersonal experience (difficult feelings, lack of language, and self-engagement), social milieu (internalized social stigma, negative responses, social loss or judgment, and masculine identity dissonance), and health care environment (structural barriers, relational challenges with therapists, and unhelpful therapeutic strategies). Implications for future research, clinical training, and clinical practice are discussed.
Video Game Based Upper Extremity Assessment Tool for Individuals with Neuromuscular Disease (P07.039)

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the reliability and validity of a prototype upper extremity measure that quantifies workspace volume, reaching velocity, and rate of arm fatigue using the Microsoft Kinect system to capture data during a custom video game. BACKGROUND: New treatments are emerging for neuromuscular diseases such as gene therapy, small molecules and drugs. Clinical trials are being conducted using timed walking as a primary outcome measure due to the ease of administration, ability to quantify distance, and established validity. Unfortunately, participation in clinical trials is not equally accessible to all individuals due to the lack of a of reliable, valid and sensitive upper extremity measure for the non-ambulatory population. It is essential that this gap in knowledge be filled, as upper body movement is required for many activities of daily living impacting quality of life across the lifespan and abilities in individuals with neuromuscular disease. The Microsoft Kinect Windows 7 used for this project is a controller-free gaming device that projects an infrared reference matrix that is reflected off of the person and generates a high-resolution depth map of each pixel allowing for tracking of movement. Software was designed to capture positional data while the subject plays a custom designed video game. DESIGN/METHODS: Test retest reliability of subjects with upper extremity impairment due to a neuromuscular disease and controls was evaluated during repeated trials of the game in the same day. Performance was compared to marker based motion capture and traditional upper extremity assessments. RESULTS: Pilot data were able to differentiate individuals based on Brooke9s upper extremity level. Comparison to marker- based motion analysis showed a consistent over estimation of average velocity by 20%. CONCLUSIONS: Initial data suggest that this assessment if a reliable and valid tool for measuring upper extremity function in subjects with neuromuscular disease. Supported by: Nationwide Children9s Hospital Technology Development Fund. Disclosure: Dr. Lowes received personal compensation for outcome measure consultant for GlaxoSmithKline. Dr. Lowes received a grant from Novartis Pharmaceuticals for an investigator initiated trial on outcome measures for Inclusion Body Myositis. Dr. Alfano has nothing to disclose. Dr. Yetter has nothing to disclose. Dr. Worthen-Chaudhari has nothing to disclose. Dr. Bing has nothing to disclose. Dr. Flanigan has received personal compensaiton for activities with AVI Therapeutics, Prosensa Therapeutics, and PTC, Inc. Dr. Flanigan has received research support from PTC Therapeutics. Dr. Mendell has received research support from AVI BioPharmaceuticals Inc.
Germany Versus Germany: Resistance Against Hitler, Postwar Judiciary and the 1952 Remer Case

My contribution to the Handbook scrutinizes aspects of the 1952 trial against Major General Otto Ernst Remer (1912–1997), who infamously contributed to the crashing of the rebellion of July 20, 1944. He was the person ordered to arrest Josef Goebbels, but reversed against the conspirators, contributing to their downfall. After the war, he continued to partake in political life, leading a Socialist Reich Party. He created an outrage at one of his party meetings in May 1951 in Braunschweig, publicly labeling leaders of the resistance he crashed as traitors on the foreign payroll. Families of executed resistance members felt hurt and filed a complaint, which attracted the attention of Fritz Bauer (1903–1968), a prosecutor of Jewish descent who returned to Germany in 1945 not hiding his intention to “bring along some of the spirit and determination of resistance in the emigration in their fight against governmental injustice.” His office endorsed the case, indicting Remer for breaching article 186 of StBG (ubler Nachrede, defamation), transforming therefore a civil case into a criminal one. The so-called Remer-Prozess was a crucially important didactic trial, well researched in Germany (Frohlich, Burghardt), yet barely known outside. In the light of a growing literature that critically investigates the relationship between criminal justice and historical truth (Osiel, Douglas), it is worth detailing a case that stands for liberal, justified, and successful show trials, if there ever were one. To that end this case chapter investigates the evolution of the case in its wider context. It includes scrutinizing prosecutorial decisions that led to indictment against Remer and framing his utterances as defamation; it also investigates biographies of leading people involved in the case and their motivation to take part (Wojak). Legal means employed in the case are particularly scrutinized, with special attention to the selection of eyewitnesses and experts, as two historical experts were major conveyers of messages on the German recent past the prosecutor wanted to push forward (Kraus). The prosecution mounted a complex case in order to demonstrate that (1) the military situation of the Third Reich in summer 1944 was already hopeless and that (2) resisting Nazism cannot be equalized with betraying Germany. Therefore, in the view of the prosecution, conspirators of July 1944 were not traitors and Remer was their slanderer. Its strategy of building a consensus is typical for the achievements and limits of Vergangenheitsbewaltigung in Adenauer’s times. Germany (Frei, Eichmuller) also underscores the importance of political context for the success of didactic trial, which in this case ended with a verdict against Remer, his flight from Germany, and stabilization of a narrative on heroic German resistance against Hitler as one of the foundation pillars of post-war German democracy.
Increasing the Prevalence of Successful Children: The Case for Community Intervention Research

This paper makes a case for research on community interventions on child rearing. Sufficient evidence has accumulated about the development of children’s problem behavior to justify evaluating efforts to reduce the prevalence of these problems in whole communities. The contextual risk factors for diverse child behavior problems are well understood, and interventions to ameliorate individual risk factors have been developed and evaluated. Because interventions with individual children have proven to be efficacious, it is now appropriate to direct energy toward reducing the prevalence of children with behavior problems. At the same time, existing interventions have limitations. Community interventions may be needed to modify the larger social context for families. This paper enumerates possible components of a community intervention to improve child-rearing outcomes. Existing evidence indicates that communities would benefit from making parent training and family support programs available to parents. Validated methods of identifying and remediating academic and behavioral problems in schools are available, but influencing schools to adopt them remains a problem. Community organizing could mobilize communities to allocate the resources necessary to support such parenting and schooling programs as well as encourage their adoption. Media campaigns could foster community support and directly influence parenting practices. Efforts to modify peer influences to use illicit substances have received empirical support; similar efforts may be relevant to preventing other problems. The development of a science of community interventions on child rearing is hampered by overreliance on randomized control trials. For this reason, two examples of time-series experimental evaluations of community intervention components are described here.
Imagination and Creativity in the Adolescent

E. Cassirer (1928) tells of a patient with complex disturbances of higher intellectual functions whom he observed in a Frankfurt neurological institute. This patient could previously repeat a phrase he heard with no difficulty, but could now relate only real situations that matched his own concrete, sensory experience. One time during a visit in clear and bright weather, he was asked to repeat the sentence, “The weather today is bad and rainy.” He could not do this. The first words were pronounced easily and confidently, then the patient became confused, stopped and could not finish the sentence as it was said to him. He always made a transition to another form that agreed with reality.
The highest attainable standard of evidence (HASTE) for HIV/AIDS interventions: toward a public health approach to defining evidence.

OBJECTIVES: Evidence-driven decisions have become a standard for health interventions policy and programs. While randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are encouraged for public health interventions there are limitations with RCTs as the gold standard of evidence for HIV interventions. We developed a novel system of evaluating evidence for assessing HIV preventive interventions termed the Highest Attainable Standard of Evidence (HASTE). METHODS: The HASTE system focuses on triangulation of three distinct categories of evidence: efficacy data implementation data and plausibility. We conducted systematic reviews including experimental and observational data to assess all available interventions for men who have sex with men (MSM). We collected implementation and programmatic data using a global electronic consultation Internet searches and in-person consultations. We assessed plausibility with expert analyses of both biological and public health evidence. RESULTS: HASTE includes four grades of evidence: Strong (Grade 1) Conditional (Grade 2) Insufficient (Grade 3) and Inappropriate (Grade 4). We used the HASTE system to evaluate the evidence for HIV interventions for MSM in low- and middle-income countries. Several differences emerged in the strength of recommendation with the use of the HASTE system including strong recommendations for voluntary counseling and testing and for structural interventions. CONCLUSIONS: The HASTE system addresses a need for an evidence evaluation tool that is specific for HIV interventions and facilitates an evaluation of biomedical behavioral and structural approaches using the highest standard of attainable evidence. HASTE represents a tool that balances scientific integrity and practicality in assessing the quality of evidence of preventive interventions targeting the most-at-risk populations for HIV.
Topology and Continuity

The structure of Markov chains is essentially probabilistic, as we have described it so far. In examining the stability properties of Markov chains, the context we shall most frequently use is also a probabilistic one: in Part II, stability properties such as recurrence or regularity will be defined as certain return to sets of positive ψ-measure, or as finite mean return times to petite sets, and so forth.
Infections in Pediatric Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is a state of acquired immune deficiency. Children with ESRD have a shortened life expectancy without transplantation. Deaths due to infection are only second in frequency to cardiovascular causes in both children and adults with ESRD. Although loss of skin barrier due to the presence of indwelling catheters seems to be the most obvious explanation, other factors such as malnutrition, dysregulated inflammation, and acquired immune dysfunction due to uremia contribute to the immune deficiency of ESRD. Infectious complications also constitute a large morbidity, leading to frequent hospitalization and increased resource utilization in the ESRD population. This chapter reviews factors predisposing to infections in children with ESRD and examines the burden of infectious complications in two common dialysis modalities, hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Definitions of dialysis-related infections are presented as well as their epidemiology, microbiology, and management including indications for catheter removal versus medical treatment with catheter in situ. Renal transplantation, conventionally considered hand in hand with ESRD, is outside the scope of this chapter and will not be discussed.
Parental Personal Sense of Duty as a Foundation of Pediatric Medical Decision-making.

We describe a model of parental (or more broadly, surrogate) decision-making that includes 5 aspects of decision-making that other models simplify or omit. First, we describe problem structuring recognizing that parents often face multiple potential problems or decisions with multiple potential solutions, rather than a single problem, and the initial challenge is deciding which of the problems to focus on. Second, we discuss sense-making recognizing that difficult decisions are not made in isolation but are often part of a confusing, labyrinthian situation in which disoriented parents must make a series of decisions over time in hopes of getting closer to 1 or more goals. Third, we describe path dependency recognizing that decisions influence what and how decisions are made later. Fourth, we discuss personal sense of duty recognizing that parents and other surrogate decision-makers have central personal roles, self-identities, and relationships with the patient, culminating in a personal sense of duty, such as what they perceive they should do to be in their own judgment a “good parent,” which substantially affects their decision-making. Fifth, we describe self-judgments recognizing that parents experience distress when they judge themselves as falling short of their duties or if they think others are judging them for falling short. Clinical practice, medical ethics, and research regarding decision support can all benefit by acknowledging and addressing these key aspects of medical decision-making.
STUDIES WITH A BACTERIOPHAGE INHIBITORY MEDIUM

Summary A phage resistant starter culture medium was examined for its ability to inhibit bacteriophages under several conditions. The medium also was tested for its ability to support growth of single strain starter culture organisms and for its effect on viability of starter bacteria during storage at 2 and −20 C. When prepared according to manufacturer's directions, the medium prevented phage proliferation and eliminated phages from infected cultures within three transfers. Preparation of the medium with water of 500 ppm hardness did not affect its phage-inhibiting properties. Single strains of Streptococcus lactis, Streptococcus cremoris and Streptococcus diacetilactis grew well in the medium though there was variation between strains; Leuconostoc species were not able to grow well. Storage survival of starter organisms in the phage resistant medium also revealed considerable variation between strains; Leuconostoc sp. and S. diacetilactis survived poorly when stored in the medium, especially at 2 C, wh...
Expression of SOX9 and p63: A study of 200 cases to determine their role in human gastric cancer

2197 Background: SOX9, a member of highly mobility group box transcription factor family, has recently been implicated in the development, homeostasis and disease of the gastrointestinal tracts. P63, an isolated p53 homologue, has been used as a marker for metaplastic carcinoma. Expression of SOX9 and p63 have been associated with myoepithelial differentiation of cells. However, the role of SOX2 and p63 in gastric cancer has not been evaluated. The aims of this study were to examine the expression pattern of SOX9 and p63 in human gastric cancer, and to assess their diagnostic value in gastric cancer. Design: The study consisted of200 consecutive patients with gastric cancer who had received no preoperative treatment. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed using monoclonal antibodies against SOX9 and p63. Unequivocal nuclear staining was recorded as positive, ranging from 1+ to 3+ and depending on the number of positive cells and staining intensity. Normal gastric tissue was used as control. The expression of SOX9 and p63 was analyzed, along with clinicopathologic parameters which included age, sex, as well as location, size, histology, and pathologic stage of the tumor. Results: SOX9 was readily seen in antral-type glands (1+), and for tumor cases, 66 were negative, and 85, 34, and 15 were 1+, 2+, and 3+ positive for SOX9, respectively. SOX9 tended to be more frequently expressed in well to moderately differentiated carcinoma than in poorly differentiated cancer (p = 0.06). For p63, 191 cases were negative, and 5, 1, and 3 cases were 1+, 2+, and 3+ positive, respectively. Among the nine p63-positive cases, all were sarcomatoid carcinoma. Specifically, p63 was expressed only in the sarcomatoid component of sarcomatoid carcinoma, but not in the adenocarcinoma component (p
Performance Evaluation of Asphalt Mixtures with Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement and Recycled Asphalt Shingles in Missouri

This study investigates the performance of eighteen different dense-graded asphalt mixtures paved in Missouri. The sections contain a wide range of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and recycled asp...
MULTIPLE FORMS OF RNA POLYMERASE IN PREIMPLANTATION MOUSE EMBRYOS

ABSTRACT. Multiple forms of DNA-dependent RNA polymerase have been characterized from adult mouse liver nuclei. The form I isozymes are most active at low ionic strength, have a low Mn 2+ /Mg 2+ activity ratio, and are insensitive to inhibition by 0.30 μg/ml of α-amanitin. Isozyme II is most active at high ionic strength, has a high Mn 2+ /Mg 2+ activity ratio, and is completely sensitive to inhibition by 0.30 μg/ml of α-amanitin.
Rapid increase in hybrid surgery for the treatment of peripheral artery disease in the Vascular Quality Initiative database

Abstract Objective Advances in technology have increased the use of endovascular therapy for lower extremity revascularization (LER), but the impact on hybrid surgery has not been studied. This study aims to (1) investigate the contemporary national trends in frequency of hybrid LER and (2) compare the outcomes of open bypass (BYP) and hybrid surgery for isolated femoropopliteal revascularization. Methods Using the national Vascular Quality Initiative database from 2010 to 2017, all patients receiving bypass or hybrid LER for PAD were identified. A trend of all hybrid LER compared with open LER was obtained. Next, only patients who underwent hybrid or open isolated femoropopliteal LER were identified. Patients treated with hybrid surgery underwent femoral endarterectomy and antegrade endovascular intervention of the femoropopliteal vessels (HYB), whereas patients treated with BYP underwent femoral endarterectomy and femoropopliteal bypass. These two groups of patients were matched based on age, gender, race, indication, ambulatory status, emergency status, diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hemodialysis. Patient characteristics and the perioperative and 1-year outcomes of the two groups were compared. Results The overall rate of hybrid LER procedures increased from 6.1% in 2010 to 32% in 2017 (P = .03). Hybrid LER was significantly more commonly used in patients with claudication (47%) and BYP surgery was used in patients with tissue loss (38.5%; P = .019). There were 456 HYB and 2665 BYP for isolated femoropopliteal revascularization. After propensity matching, the cohort comprised 425 patients in each group. HYB was associated with lower rate of myocardial infarction (1.9% vs 5.7%; P = .005) and renal complications (2.1% vs 6.7%; P = .003), length of stay (4.7 vs 6.1 days; P = .001), and higher rate of discharge to home (90.8% vs 81.4%; P Conclusions Hybrid LER for PAD has been increasingly used and accounts for up to one-third of open LER in the Vascular Quality Initiative. Hybrid femoropopliteal revascularization improves perioperative outcomes compared with femoropopliteal bypass. However, the 1-year outcomes between the two procedures are comparable, suggesting that hybrid femoropopliteal revascularization should be favored in high-risk patients because of its perioperative advantages.
Ligand‐Controlled C(sp3)‐H Arylation and Olefination in Synthesis of Unnatural Chiral α‐Amino Acids.

The presented Pd catalyzed reaction allows the mono and diarylation by choosing pyridine or quinoline ligands.
Predictors of Seizure Recurrence after Acute Symptomatic Seizures in Ischemic Stroke Patients

Purpose. Seizure is a well-recognized complication of both remote and acute ischemic strokes. Predictors of seizure recurrence and epilepsy in patients with ischemic stroke who develop acute symptomatic seizures (ASyS) on continuous electroencephalography (cEEG) have not been well studied. Methods. We present a five-year retrospective study of acute and remote ischemic stroke patients who developed ASyS on cEEG. We then identified risk factors for the development of seizure recurrence. Results. Sixty-five patients with ischemic stroke and ASyS were identified and reviewed. All ASyS were noted to be nonconvulsive seizures. Clinical recurrence of seizures was identified in 19 of these patients (29.2%) at follow-up. Rate of seizure recurrence was higher in remote ischemic stroke patients (84.2%), compared to acute ischemic stroke patients (15.8%, , OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.049–0.65). Sharp waves/spikes on follow-up EEG significantly correlated with seizure recurrence ( , OR 0, 95% CI 0–0.3926). Patients discharged on ≥3 antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were at a higher risk of having seizure recurrence ( , OR 0.05, 95% CI 0.0089–0.37). Conclusion. We identified risk factors of seizure recurrence in patients with ASyS as remote ischemic stroke, requiring multiple AEDs, and the presence of sharp waves on follow-up EEG. This study highlights the usefulness of cEEG in evaluating patients with acute or remote strokes.
Targeting Liver Cancer Stem Cells Using Engineered Biological Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Hepatocellular Cancer

By exploiting their biological functions, the use of biological nanoparticles such as extracellular vesicles can provide an efficient and effective approach for hepatic delivery of RNA-based therapeutics for the treatment of liver cancers such as hepatocellular cancer (HCC). Targeting liver cancer stem cells (LCSC) within HCC provide an untapped opportunity to improve outcomes by enhancing therapeutic responses. Cells with tumor-initiating capabilities such as LCSC can be identified by expression of markers such as epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) on their cell surface. EpCAM is a target of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, a fundamental pathway in stem-cell growth. Moreover, mutations in the β-catenin gene are frequently observed in HCC and can be associated with constitutive activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. However, targeting these pathways for the treatment of HCC has been challenging. Using RNA nanotechnology, we developed engineered biological nanoparticles capable of specific and effective delivery of RNA therapeutics targeting β-catenin to LCSC. Extracellular vesicles isolated from milk were loaded with small interfering RNA to β-catenin and decorated with RNA scaffolds to incorporate RNA aptamers capable of binding to EpCAM. Cellular uptake of these EpCAM-targeting therapeutic milk-derived nanovesicles in vitro resulted in loss of β-catenin expression and decreased proliferation. The uptake and therapeutic efficacy of these engineered biological nanotherapeutics was demonstrated in vivo using tumor xenograft mouse models. Conclusion: β-catenin can be targeted directly to control the proliferation of hepatic cancer stem cells using small interfering RNA delivered using target-specific biological nanoparticles. Application of this RNA nanotechnology-based approach to engineer biological nanotherapeutics provides a platform for developing cell-surface molecule-directed targeted therapeutics.
Pharmacokinetics and Bioavailability Enhancement of Natural Products

Many natural products show promising activities in in vitro studies and preclinical in vivo studies, including cancer chemoprevention agents. However, results of human clinical trials with some of these natural products often vary. One of the major reasons for the unsuccessful translation of in vitro and animal studies to human studies is the poor bioavailability associated with natural products. Recent research has progressed much in the way of isolating individual active natural products and investigating their potential, leading to exciting treatment possibilities. The continued characterization of the mechanisms of their pharmacokinetic dispositions yields helpful information about issues that need to be managed to realize successful clinical utility. This chapter gives an introduction to the pharmacokinetics of six selected natural product chemopreventive agents. We discuss their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination (ADME), based on in vitro and in vivo experimental models. Next, we discuss approaches to improve oral bioavailability of natural compounds. A few of the novel approaches undertaken to make formulations of natural compounds with improved pharmacokinetic profiles and higher oral bioavailability are described. Finally, we present select natural compounds which have been or may be used as bioavailability enhancers in in vivo studies. Some mechanisms for bioenhancement include inhibition of metabolic enzymes (enzyme inhibition) and inhibition of the transporters involved in the elimination of molecules. Natural products have a wide range of promising biological effects, but their pharmacokinetic properties need to be understood in order to better address biopharmaceutical challenges. Addressing these challenges will allow us to better explore the pharmacological potential of these compounds, either as single agents or in bioenhancing combinations.
Ethics, New Colonialism, and Lidar Data: A Decade of Lidar in Maya Archaeology

Maya archaeology has witnessed a paradigm shift in interpretations of the past with regards to the structure and organization of ancient societies as a result of the introduction of lidar to the field a decade ago. Lidar provided control of spatial parameters in a way that had not been previously possible. But, the introduction of this technology has also involved researchers in a series of broader ethical debates. While archaeology has always provided huge data sets for processing, the digital lidar files are even larger and also need appropriate long-term storage and management considerations. It is here that there are differences of opinion worldwide on how to treat lidar data as scientific and open yet national and protected datasets. Some countries do not want fully public access to these files because of the potential danger posed to the looting of their heritage and security or military concerns. Yet, to a large extent, technology is overtaking some of the debate over accessibility, especially as newer satellite technology will surely alter the perceived physical boundaries and challenge the sovereignty of modern nation-states. However, how lidar is used and accessed in the future has become a cross-national issue that is worthy of being addressed in greater detail.
Abstract IA25: Tumors alter gut microbiota to suppress immunity and foster progression

Immune dysfunction is commonly observed in patients with cancer contributing to tumor progression. While previous work established a connection between the gut microbiota and the immune system, the mechanisms by which microbiotas contribute to cancer-associated immune dysfunction are not well understood. Using multiple mouse cancer models, we demonstrated robust alterations of gut microbiota in tumor-bearing mice and a substantial change in antimicrobial peptides produced by the gut epithelium. We identified an overall reduction in IFN-γ T cells in tumor-bearing mice, which was rescued with antibiotics treatment or by co-housing tumor-bearing mice with healthy mice. Similar to mouse, we observed changes in gut microbiota and antimicrobial peptides levels of patients diagnosed with ovarian or lung cancer. We identify Firmicutes Ruminococcus members as key promoters of immune dysfunctions and tumor development. These findings identify a new mechanism of immune modulation utilized by tumors to undermine the immune responses and promote tumor progression. Citation Format: Mireia Hribe-Herranz, Kyle Bittinger, Ceylan Tanes, Stavros Rafail, Stefano Pierini, Edgar Ben-Joseph, Janos Tanyi, Andrea Facciabene. Tumors alter gut microbiota to suppress immunity and foster progression [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on the Microbiome, Viruses, and Cancer; 2020 Feb 21-24; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(8 Suppl):Abstract nr IA25.
130 – Management of Intracerebellar Hematomas and Infarcts

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the diagnosis and treatment options for intracerebellar hematomas and infarcts. Cerebellar hemorrhage and cerebellar infarction are two clinical entities with entirely different pathophysiologies, however, the clinical syndrome is quite similar and the surgical treatment and surgical considerations are nearly identical. For this reason, surgical consideration of either cerebellar hemorrhage or cerebellar infarction should be listed under the rather broader category of management of vascular-related mass effect in the posterior fossa. Open suboccipital craniectomy with either a paramedian or midline approach with hematoma evacuation is the standard surgical treatment for cerebellar hemorrhage. Stereotactic aspiration procedures have been described but are less widely accepted at present. These techniques involve aspiration of as much clot as possible with postoperative delivery of fibrinolytic agents through an indwelling catheter to dissolve and aspirate the remaining hematoma. The treatment of cerebellar infarction has also progressed remarkably with the availability of tomographic imaging. Patients with early signs of posterior fossa compression can have immediate confirmation of cerebellar hemorrhage, cerebellar infarction, or other space occupying process in the posterior fossa as well as the presence of associated hydrocephalus, and management schemes can be formulated accordingly.
Agranulocytosis Following COVID-19 Recovery

Clinicians have continued to report on the clinical behavior and characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as our knowledge of the virus continues to mature. Herein, we report the case of a 39-year-old male with multiple comorbidities who became critically ill with COVID-19 infection, requiring mechanical ventilation and vasopressors, and then developed agranulocytosis following clinical improvement and resolution of symptoms of COVID infection. The period of agranulocytosis coincided with the development of thrombocytosis, and following resolution of agranulocytosis, the platelet count also normalized, suggesting a possible related mechanism. Interestingly, the patient was treated with TBO-filgrastim 480 mcg daily with a rapid reconstitution of neutrophils. While the mechanism of agranulocytosis remains unknown, we report, to our knowledge, the first known case of agranulocytosis following COVID-19 infection and its successful treatment with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.