cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Skin diseases in companion guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus): a retrospective study of 293 cases seen at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, University of California at Davis (1990-2015).

Background Guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) are popular companion animals with reported skin diseases, but most reports are accessed from textbooks or review articles. Hypothesis/Objectives To document skin diseases and their prevalence in companion guinea pigs in northern California, USA, and to investigate predilections for the most common conditions over a 25 year period. Animals Two hundred and ninety three guinea pigs from the hospital population met inclusion criteria. Methods A retrospective study was performed by searching computerized medical records seen at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH), School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California from 1 January 1990 to 31 July 2015 using key words relevant to dermatology. Results Of the 580 guinea pigs seen at the VMTH, 50% (293) had skin disease. Of the 293 cases, 154 (52%) presented for nondermatological reasons. Guinea pigs with skin disease were significantly older than those without skin disease (P = 0.0002); females with skin disease were more likely to have cystic ovaries (P = 0.0203), although these were not always associated with alopecia. Pododermatitis and infestation with Trixacarus caviae or lice were the most common skin diseases. Ivermectin or selamectin was used for ectoparasite treatment. Abscesses unassociated with pododermatitis were the most common nodules. Benign follicular tumours were the most common neoplasm. Despite the frequent mention of dermatophytosis in the veterinary literature, only two cases of Trichophyton mentagrophytes were diagnosed. Conclusions and clinical importance Cutaneous conditions in companion guinea pigs in the USA are common. Clinicians should include a dermatological examination when examining these rodents regardless of the reason for presentation.
On The Euler-Poisson Equations of Self-Gravitating Compressible Fluids

Compressible Euler-Poisson equations are used to model the evolution of stars of compressible fluids. In this paper, we survey some recent results on the stability of non-rotating and rotating star solutions and discuss some related open problems.
Pulmonary sarcoidosis: an update.

ABSTRACTSarcoidosis is a multisystem disease characterized by the presence of noncaseating granulomas, the exact etiology of which is yet to be determined. Pulmonary involvement occurs in the majority of patients and its severity ranges from asymptomatic involvement of mediastinal lymph nodes to progressive pulmonary fibrosis and chronic respiratory failure that is insensitive to treatment. Diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis requires a compatible clinical picture supported by radiologic and pathologic data. A recent development in establishing the diagnosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis is endobronchial ultrasound that increases the yield of transbronchial needle aspiration of hilar and/or mediastinal lymph nodes. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) is highly sensitive in detecting occult sites of disease and is of value in guiding biopsies of these sites. A combined imaging modality using both FDG-PET and CT scan is more sensitive than PET alone and is now the standard of care in patient...
Erythropoietin Fusion Proteins Comprised of Identical Head-to-Tail Repeats with Enhanced Biological Activity.

Abstract Recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO, epoetin) is used widely for treatment of chronic anemia due to renal failure, cancer, and other causes. However, considerably high and frequent doses of EPO are required to maintain therapeutic effectiveness, since it has a relatively short in vivo half-life. Thus, alternatives with higher efficacy and/or longer half-life are being developed. We have shown previously that EPO-dimers, either produced by chemical cross-linking of monomeric EPO or expressed as a recombinant fusion protein from COS cells, exhibit enhanced biological properties in vitro and in vivo (Sytkowski, et.al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95, 1184; Sytkowski, et.al. J. Biol. Chem. 274, 24773). We now report increased activities of EPO-dimer fusion protein and EPO-trimer fusion protein comprised of identical head-to-tail repeats and a 15 or 20-amino acid linker (for dimer), or 17-amino acid linkers (for trimer) produced from stably transfected CHO cells. EPO-fusion proteins were expressed under a CMV promoter with a signal peptide present on the first monomer coding sequence. The EPO-dimer fusion protein was connected with either three or four repeats of Gly-Gly-Gly-Gly-Ser as a 15 or 20-amino acid linker sequence, respectively. The expression levels of EPO-dimer fusion protein from cloned CHO cells to supernatant of protein-free medium ranged from 4 to 40 mg/L determined by EPO-ELISA, and from 2.0×105 to 4.5×106 IU/L determined by in vitro bioassay. We selected clones producing EPO-dimer fusion protein with the greatest extent of glycosylation, as indicated by SDS-PAGE and isoelectric focusing. Subcutaneous injection of mice with three doses of EPO-dimer fusion protein resulted in percent increases in mean hematocrit of 32.6% (300 IU/kg) or 18.2% (100 IU/kg), while equivalent unit doses of EPO-monomer increased mean hematocrit by 12.5% (300 IU/kg) or 6.4% (100 IU/kg). Moreover, a single dose of EPO-dimer fusion protein (100 IU/kg) increased their mean hematocrit by 4.3% within 7 days, while an equivalent unit dose of EPO-monomer had no effect. Importantly, three doses of EPO-trimer fusion protein increased their mean hematocrit by 8.83% per IU injected, which was much greater than that observed with EPO-monomer (0.69%) or EPO-dimer fusion protein (1.81%). The results show that EPO-fusion proteins exhibit biological activities superior to those of EPO-monomer, suggesting important therapeutic advantages.
Analytical and graphical techniques for solution of transistor circuit transfer functions

Modern Focal Plane Array (FPA) image sensors are highly-integrated, microelectronic processor chips comprising both analog and digital circuitry and are as complex as modern computer processor chips. A complete picture of how these devices operate requires a deep understanding of analog and digital microelectronic circuit analysis, and therefore, can be very intimidating to the engineer and/or project manager who is the end-user of the device in a system application. The overwhelming barrier to understanding how these devices work can be significantly lowered by analyzing the operation of individual sub-circuits that comprise the device. Here we will analyze a particular sub-circuit, the Source Follower (SF), which is used substantially in FPA designs as both a charge-to-voltage converter at the unit-cell (UC) input node as well as an all-purpose voltage buffering/level shifting element for driving subsequent circuit stages of low input impedance. The goal of this paper is to systematically analyze the Source Follower circuit using an equation -based approach. The analysis starts with the Sah equation which describes the DC (i.e. steady state) electrical operation of all Field Effect Transistors (FETs). Reasonable simplifications to the Sah equation then yield a tractable solution to the problem requiring only algebraic manipulation and use of the quadratic formula. Novel graphical techniques will also be used along with the resultant algebraic expressions to provide an intuitive feel for the circuit operation. The systematic approach taken here can provide useful tools and techniques for a novice in the field of microelectronic circuits who is interested in gaining a deeper understanding of FPA operation and/or analog-digital mixed-signal microelectronic designs.
Immunological Monitoring, Functional Genomics and Proteomics

Outcome from critical illness is affected not only by the nature of the physiologic insult, such as the severity of multisystem trauma or the site and microbiology of infection, but also by the individual patient’s response. While genetics is the fundamental underpinning that determines cellular activation and host mechanisms that are initiated by pathophysiologic events, such as sepsis, blood loss, or tissue injury, clearly such responses are also modulated by events distinct from genetic background. Such external factors include pharmacologic and other interventions, such as blood transfusion and even the mode of mechanical ventilation, utilized to treat the patient. Monitoring cellular function and responses in the future will involve not only determination of parameters of intracellular activation, but also the expression of genes and proteins in response to critical illness and its treatment. Some techniques currently used, including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), will permit rapid analysis of patterns of cellular activation in the future, allowing determination not only of cellular response to the factors initiating the intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalization, but also of how such cellular alterations change during the course of hospitalization, in response to therapeutic interventions or the progression of disease. While techniques that measure specifi c parameters of cellular function may be useful in monitoring a patient’s condition, a more global determination can be achieved by assessing alterations in the expression of genes (genomics) and proteins (proteomics) among distinct cellular populations and relevant anatomic compartments. For example, knowing how neutrophils or macrophages increase or decrease the expression of groups of genes relating to apoptosis or infl ammation, or monitoring the concentrations of large numbers of anti-apoptotic or pro-infl ammatory proteins in plasma or bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fl uid will permit assessment of host response to critical illness, and also will guide therapies to generate appropriate counter-regulatory events aimed at improving outcome in the critically ill patient. Currently available gene arrays provide assessment of almost all of the human genome. Similarly, proteomic techniques permit measurement of alterations in thousands of proteins in serum, BAL fl uid, cell extracts, or other relevant samples. While it would seem that the ability to determine alterations in such large numbers of genes and proteins would reduce the utility of measurement of specifi c steps in cellular activation or function, genomic and proteomic techniques Immunological Monitoring, Functional Genomics and Proteomics
Censored Demand Estimation in Retail

In this paper, the question of interest is estimating true demand of a product at a given store location and time period in the retail environment based on a single noisy and potentially censored observation. To address this question, we introduce a non-parametric framework to make inference from multiple time series. Somewhat surprisingly, we establish that the algorithm introduced for the purpose of "matrix completion" can be used to solve the relevant inference problem. Specifically, using the Universal Singular Value Thresholding (USVT) algorithm [2], we show that our estimator is consistent: the average mean squared error of the estimated average demand with respect to the true average demand goes to 0 as the number of store locations and time intervals increase to infty. We establish naturally appealing properties of the resulting estimator both analytically as well as through a sequence of instructive simulations. Using a real dataset in retail (Walmart), we argue for the practical relevance of our approach.
Hepatic steroid inactivating enzymes, hepatic portal blood flow and corpus luteum blood perfusion in cattle

Production from the corpus luteum (CL) and/or hepatic steroid inactivation impacts peripheral concentrations of P4, which can alter reproductive performance. Our primary objective was to examine hepatic steroid inactivating enzymes, portal blood flow, and luteal blood perfusion at 10 days post-insemination in pregnant versus non-pregnant beef and dairy cows. Twenty early lactation Holstein cows and 20 lactating commercial beef cows were utilized for this study. At day 10 post-insemination, hepatic portal blood flow and CL blood perfusion were measured via Doppler ultrasonography. Liver biopsies were collected and frozen for later determination of cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A), 2C (CYP2C), 3A (CYP3A), uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) and aldo-keto reductase 1C (AKR1C) activities. Pregnancy was determined at day 30 post-insemination and treatment groups were retrospectively assigned as pregnant or non-pregnant. Data were analyzed using the mixed procedure of SAS. Steroid metabolizing enzyme activity was not different (p > .10) between pregnant versus non-pregnant beef or dairy cows. Hepatic portal blood flow tended (p < .10) to be increased in pregnant versus non-pregnant dairy cows. Luteal blood perfusion was increased (p < .05) in pregnant versus non-pregnant dairy cows. Pregnant dairy cows appear to have an increased rate of hepatic clearance of P4 in combination with increased synthesis from the CL. This could account for the lack of difference in peripheral P4 concentrations between pregnant and non-pregnant dairy cows. This study highlights the relevance of further investigation into steroid secretion and inactivation and their impact on the maintenance of pregnancy in cattle.
Can Diversity Management Improve Job Satisfaction for Military Veterans in the Federal Government

On November 9, 2009, Executive Order 13518 established the Veterans Employment Initiative and invigorated veteran hiring within the federal government. By fiscal year 2016, 635,266 veterans account...
Minors' refusal of life-saving therapies.

Courts considering teenagers' refusal of life-saving treatments often consider their maturity, the beliefs underlying the refusal, their parents' wishes, and the chances that treatment would cure them.
Development of Nanosensors and Bioprobes

We describe the development and application of nanosensors having bioreceptor probes for bioanalysis. The nanoprobes were fabricated with optical fibers pulled down to tips having distal end sizes of approximately 30–60 nm. The use of two different types of receptors was investigated. Fiberoptic nanoprobes were covalently bound either with bioreceptors, such as antibodies, or with other receptors, such as cyclodextrins that are selective for the size and chemical structure of the analyte molecules. Theoretical calculations were performed to model the binding of beta-cyclodextrin with pyrene and 5,6-benzoquinoline, and to illustrate the possibility of comparing experimental data with theoretical data. The antibody-based nanoprobe was used for in situ measurements of benzopyrene tetrol in single cells. The performance of the nanosensor is illustrated by intracellular measurements performed on a rat liver epithelial cell line (Clone 9) used as the model cell system. The usefulness and potential of these nanotechnology-based biosensors in biological research and applications are discussed.
Study of Nanoparticle-Stabilized Foams in Harsh Reservoir Conditions

Many oil reservoirs are at high temperatures and contain brines of high salinity and hardness. The focus of this work is to develop robust foams stabilized by a mixture of nanoparticles and surfactants for such reservoirs. Two types of silica nanoparticles (Si-NP1, Si-NP2) with different grafted low molecular weight ligands/polymers were used. First, aqueous stability analysis of these nanoparticle dispersions were conducted at high-temperature (80 °C) and high-salinity conditions (API Brine; 8 wt% NaCl and 2 wt% CaCl2). The screened nanoparticles were used in combination with an anionic surfactant. Second, bulk foam and emulsion stability tests were performed to investigate their performance in stabilizing the air–water and oil–water interface, respectively. Third, foam flow experiments in the absence of oil were performed to characterize the foam rheology. Finally, oil displacement experiments were conducted in an in-house, custom-built 2D sand pack with flow visualization. The sand pack had two layers of different mesh size silica sand which yielded a permeability contrast of 6:1. Brine floods followed by foam floods (80% quality) were conducted, and foam flow dynamics were monitored. The grafting of low molecular weight polymers/ligands on silica nanoparticle surfaces resulted in steric stabilization under high-temperature and high-salinity conditions. Foam flow experiments revealed a synergy between Si-NP2 and surfactant in stabilizing foam in the absence of crude oil. In the oil displacement experiments in the layered sand packs, the waterflood recoveries were low (~ 33% original oil in place) due to channeling in the top high-permeability zone, leaving the bottom low-permeability zone completely unswept. Foam flooding with just the surfactant leads to a drastic improvement in sweep efficiency. It resulted in an incremental oil recovery as high as 43.3% OOIP. Different cross-flow behaviors were observed during foam flooding. Significant cross-flow of oil from low-permeability zone to high-permeability zone was observed for the case of surfactant. Conversely, the Si-NP2-surfactant blend resulted in no cross-flow from the low-permeability region with complete blocking of the high-permeability region due to the formation of in situ emulsion. Such selective plugging of high-perm zones using nanoparticles with tailored surface coating and concentration has significant potential in recovering oil from heterogeneous reservoirs.
Sofosbuvir-Based Regimens for Chronic Hepatitis C in a Well-Insured U.S. Population: Patient Characteristics, Treatment Adherence, Effectiveness, and Health Care Costs, 2013-2015.

BACKGROUND: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and has imposed a high health care burden in the United States. Direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimens are well t...
ASSOCIATION OF HUMANIN A NOVEL MITOCHONDRIAL PROTEIN WITH HUMAN HEART FAILURE: AN ASSESSMENT OF MORTALITY AND CLINICAL BIOMARKERS

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in the early pathophysiology of heart failure (HF) of varied etiologies. Humanin (HN) is a novel mitochondrial peptide that promotes mitochondrial biogenesis and anti-apoptotic effects. Prior studies suggest that HN is cardioprotective by these
Approximate analytical time-domain Green’s functions for space-fractional wave equations

Approximate and exact time-domain Green’s functions are available for time-fractional wave equations that describe power law attenuation in soft tissue, where each expression contains a stable probability distribution function. Previous work has also demonstrated that the exact time-domain Green’s functions for time-fractional and space-fractional wave equations that describe power law attenuation are similar. Approximate analytical time-domain Green’s functions have recently been derived for the Chen-Holm and Treeby-Cox space-fractional wave equations, where the approximate time-domain Green’s function for the Chen-Holm wave equation contains a symmetric stable probability distribution function and the approximate time-domain Green’s function for the Treeby-Cox wave equation contains a maximally skewed stable probability distribution function. Comparisons between the exact numerical and approximate analytical expressions for these time-domain Green’s functions are evaluated for published values of the power law exponent and attenuation constant for breast and for liver. The results for both breast and liver converge very close to the source, and similar performance is observed in time-domain Green’s functions computed for linear with frequency attenuation. Despite minor differences in the arguments, the approximate analytical time-domain Green’s functions derived for dispersive time-fractional and space-fractional wave equations are also quite similar. [Work supported in part by NIH Grants EB023051 and EB012079.] Approximate and exact time-domain Green’s functions are available for time-fractional wave equations that describe power law attenuation in soft tissue, where each expression contains a stable probability distribution function. Previous work has also demonstrated that the exact time-domain Green’s functions for time-fractional and space-fractional wave equations that describe power law attenuation are similar. Approximate analytical time-domain Green’s functions have recently been derived for the Chen-Holm and Treeby-Cox space-fractional wave equations, where the approximate time-domain Green’s function for the Chen-Holm wave equation contains a symmetric stable probability distribution function and the approximate time-domain Green’s function for the Treeby-Cox wave equation contains a maximally skewed stable probability distribution function. Comparisons between the exact numerical and approximate analytical expressions for these time-domain Green’s functions are evaluated for published values of the po...
Abstract 4878: Prognostic significance of Arginase and CK19 expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma after surgical resection: Correlation with recurrence-free survival

Background. Arginase-1 is an enzyme that is responsible for the conversion of arginine to urea in the urea cycle. A previous study has shown prognostic value of arginase expression in HCC following surgical resection. However, clear distinction on the role of arginase-1 as a predictor of recurrence in hepatocellular carcinoma remains unanswered. Occasionally, CK19, a cholangiocytic marker can be expressed in HCC, but the combination of arginase-1 and CK19 expression has never been evaluated. In this study, we investigate the usefulness of arginase-1 and CK19 expression alone and in combination in the determination of tumor recurrence following surgical resection in patients with HCC. Design: Formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue sections from 112 HCCs were immunostained by an automated method (DAKO enVision + Dual Link System-HRP) using mouse monoclonal Arginase-1 (clone SL6ARG, Dako) and mouse monoclonal CK19 (clone RCK108, invitrogen). Nuclear and/or cytoplasmic reactivity was scored based on the intensity and percentage of positive cells in the tumor cells. Arginase-1 expression was separated into high (intense diffuse or regional positivity in > 50% of tumor cells) and low (weak or negative expression). The clinicopathologic variables including recurrence and survival were obtained from the patients charts and were correlated with the immunochemical results. Results: High arginase-1 expression was detected in 93 patients (83%), whereas CK19 was positive in 19 patients (17%). In the univariate analyses, CK19 positivity (+) in HCC was associated with decreased recurrence free survival when compared with CK19 negative HCC (P=0.001). Arginase-1 expression was not associated recurrence-free and overall survival. However, the combination of arginase-1 and CK19 is associated with decreased recurrence-free survival (p Conclusion: The combination of arginase-1 and CK19 immunoreactivity are potential biomarkers of adverse prognosis in HCC, correlating with presence of multiple tumors, vascular invasion and advanced stage. The results of this study may explain why clear beneficial effects of recombinant human arginase have not been demonstrated in clinical studies. Further study of arginase expression and its potential role as a therapeutic target in HCC appear warranted. Citation Format: Ifeyinwa E. Obiorah, Joeffery Chahine, Kyungmin Ko, ByoungUk Park, Jose deGuzman, Bhaskar Kallakury. Prognostic significance of Arginase and CK19 expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma after surgical resection: Correlation with recurrence-free survival [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4878.
Accurate Ambulatory Gait Analysis in Walking and Running Using Machine Learning Models

Wearable sensors have been proposed as alternatives to traditional laboratory equipment for low-cost and portable real-time gait analysis in unconstrained environments. However, the moderate accuracy of these systems currently limits their widespread use. In this paper, we show that support vector regression (SVR) models can be used to extract accurate estimates of fundamental gait parameters (i.e., stride length, velocity, and foot clearance), from custom-engineered instrumented insoles (SportSole) during walking and running tasks. Additionally, these learning-based models are robust to inter-subject variability, thereby making it unnecessary to collect subject-specific training data. Gait analysis was performed in N=14 healthy subjects during two separate sessions, each including 6-minute bouts of treadmill walking and running at different speeds (i.e., 85% and 115% of each subject’s preferred speed). Gait metrics were simultaneously measured with the instrumented insoles and with reference laboratory equipment. SVR models yielded excellent intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) in all the gait parameters analyzed. Percentage mean absolute errors (MAE%) in stride length, velocity, and foot clearance obtained with SVR models were 1.37%±0.49%, 1.23%±0.27%, and 2.08%±0.72% for walking, 2.59%±0.64%, 2.91%±0.85%, and 5.13%±1.52% for running, respectively. These findings provide evidence that machine learning regression is a promising new approach to improve the accuracy of wearable sensors for gait analysis.
Mobile home residence as a risk factor for adverse events among children in a mixed rural-urban community: A case for geospatial analysis.

Background: Given the significant health effects, we assessed geospatial patterns of adverse events (AEs), defined as physical or sexual abuse and accidents or poisonings at home, among children in a mixed rural–urban community. Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study of children (<18 years) living in Olmsted County, Minnesota, to assess geographic patterns of AEs between April 2004 and March 2009 using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes. We identified hotspots by calculating the relative difference between observed and expected case densities accounting for population characteristics (; hotspot ≥ 0.33) using kernel density methods. A Bayesian geospatial logistic regression model was used to test for association of subject characteristics (including residential features) with AEs, adjusting for age, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES). Results: Of the 30,227 eligible children (<18 years), 974 (3.2%) experienced at least one AE. Of the nine total hotspots identified, five were mobile home communities (MHCs). Among non-Hispanic White children (85% of total children), those living in MHCs had higher AE prevalence compared to those outside MHCs, independent of SES (mean posterior odds ratio: 1.80; 95% credible interval: 1.22–2.54). MHC residency in minority children was not associated with higher prevalence of AEs. Of addresses requiring manual correction, 85.5% belonged to mobile homes. Conclusions: MHC residence is a significant unrecognized risk factor for AEs among non-Hispanic, White children in a mixed rural–urban community. Given plausible outreach difficulty due to address discrepancies, MHC residents might be a geographically underserved population for clinical care and research.
Chapter Three – Stable and Unstable Motion, II

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses an alternate approach to find linearization about an equilibrium state that yields local stability information. The approach depends on the ability to find a suitable function in a neighborhood of . If an orbit begins inside a level curve of V, where total energy is l, it cannot escape outside to higher energy levels. If R is a set in U, containing no invariant subsets, then whenever an orbit enters R it must leave again after a finite amount of time. The asymptotic stability is only local in nature. Structural stability is a property of a differential equation model whenever a small perturbation of the system equations leads to solution orbits that are qualitatively the same as before. Equation coefficients are approximations to parameter values that are not precisely known. Eigen values of a linearized system can therefore vary if these parameters are slightly altered.
Comparison on serological effect of aerosolized measles vaccine and subcutaneous measles vaccine: a meta-analysis

Objective To compare the different seroconversion rates after vaccination of aerosolized measles vaccine (AMV) and subcutaneous measles vaccine (SMV).Methods National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and Cochrane Library databases were searched to retrieve all randomized controlled trials (RCT) or controlled prospective study (tS) on comparison of serological effect (SE) after vaccination of AMV and SMV.Statistical analysis was performed by RevMan5.1 software.Results Nine studies (6 RCT documents and 3 PS documents) were selected,including 2 349 subjects enrolled in the study (n=1 289 in AMV group,n=1 060 in SMV group).No significant difference was found in seroconversion rate after AMV compared to SMV (OR=0.91,95％ CI:0.36-2.31,P＞0.05).In 6 RCT designs,no statistically difference was noted in seroconversion rate between AMV and SMV (OR=1.32,95％ CI:0.43-4.01,Z=0.49,P＞0.05).The seroconversion rate of AMV was 0.17 times lower than that of SMV among children aged 4-18 months (OR=0.17,95％CI:0.04-0.70,P＜0.01),but 3.45 times higher than that of SMV among children aged 5-14 years (OR=3.45,95％CI:1.62-7.35,P＜0.01).Conclusions The AMV has serological effect as good as SMV,and AMV appears to have more immunogenicity than SMV does in children under the age of 2 years. Key words: Vaccines; Measles; Serological effect; Meta-analysis
Constrained attractor selection using deep reinforcement learning

This study describes an approach for attractor selection (or multistability control) in nonlinear dynamical systems with constrained actuation. Attractor selection is obtained using two different d...
25.3 An 8Gb GDDR6X DRAM Achieving 22Gb/s/pin with Single-Ended PAM4 Signaling

Several factors drive the demand for DRAM bandwidth scaling: in addition to established applications in visualization, there has been a proliferation of data-intensive applications enabled by advancements in AI, ML and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) [1]. While high-bandwidth memory (HBM) provides an alternative solution, its high cost makes it impractical for many applications. On the other hand, extending the GDDR roadmap beyond GDDR6 through per-pin bandwidth scaling presents significant obstacles: including the reduced link-timing budget and the slow DRAM transistors. This paper introduces an 8Gb DRAM with a single-ended PAM4 interface to redirect and extend the GDDR roadmap. The design supports 22Gb/s/pin, a 22% increase over the highest published GDDR6 DRAM bandwidth [2], in a conventional 1Ynm DRAM process.
Enhancement of signals on the background of high-intensity noise via nonlinear transformations

The examples of using nonlinear transformations are considered when one has to do with of selecting a signal on the background of noise interference. A possibility to increase the initial value of the signal/noise ratio under the stochastic resonance is shown.
Abstract NT-087: NANOFORMULATION OF TALAZOPARIB SUPPRESSES TUMOR GROWTH AND ASCITES IN A DISSEMINATED CANCER MODEL

Talazoparib, a potent PARP inhibitor (PARPi), induces synthetic lethality in BRCA-deficient cancers making it an attractive candidate for ovarian cancer treatment. However, its potency lends itself to side effects associated more closely with traditional chemotherapeutics than other clinically approved PARPi9s. We sought to formulate Talazoparib in a nanoparticle delivery system such that the drug could be administered intraperitoneally, localizing the entire dose at the disease site, to increase therapeutic efficacy and minimize toxicity. NanoTalazoparib was formulated and characterized and found to have a mean diameter of 70 nm and a neutral surface charge. Talazoparib and NanoTalazoparib were tested on a panel of murine tubal and human HGSOC cell lines and dose response compared to the first clinically approved PARPi, Olaparib. Dose response data indicated all cell lines were more sensitive to Talazoparib and NanoTalazoparib than Olaparib and all lines showed the same sensitivity to nanoformulations as free drugs. The human cell lines had various BRCA mutations and deletions, as well as a homologous recombination proficient (HRP) line, however, the HRP line was more sensitive to treatment than some HRD lines. Therapeutic efficacy was tested in vivo in a murine cancer model that mimics disseminated peritoneal disease. NanoTalazoparib 3X weekly for 8 weeks did not shrink tumors but resulted in tumor growth inhibition of 64% while an equivalent dose of oral Talazoparib only resulted in 34% growth inhibition. NanoTalazoparib suppressed the average volume of ascites at the study endpoint by 3.45 times more than oral Talazoparib. HE Sep 13-15, 2018; Seattle, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2019;25(22 Suppl):Abstract nr NT-087.
A Note on the Unprovability of Consistency in Formal Theories of Truth

Why is it that even strong formal theories of truth fail to prove their own consistency? Although Field (Mind, 115, 459, 2006) has addressed this question for many theories of truth, I argue that there is an important and attractive class of theories of truth that he omitted in his analysis. Such theories cannot prove that all their axioms are true, though unlike many of the cases Field considers, they do not prove that any of their axioms are false or that any of their rules of inference are not truth preserving. I argue that it is the fact that such theories are not finitely axiomatizable that stops them from proving their own consistency.
Culturing astrocytes on substrates that mimic brain tumors promotes enhanced mechanical forces.

Abstract Astrocytes are essential to brain homeostasis and their dysfunction can have devastating consequences on human quality of life. Such deleterious effects are generally due in part to changes that occur at the cellular level, which may be biochemical or biomechanical in nature. One biomechanical change that can occur is a change in tissue stiffness. Brain tumors are generally associated with increased brain tissue stiffness, but the impact increased tissue stiffness has on astrocyte biomechanical behavior is poorly understood. Therefore, in this study we cultured human astrocytes on flexible substrates with stiffness that mimicked the healthy human brain (1 kPa), meningioma (4 kPa), and glioma (11 kPa) and investigated astrocyte biomechanical behavior by measuring cell-substrate tractions, strain energies, cell-cell intercellular stresses, and cellular velocities. In general, tractions, intercellular stresses, and strain energy was observed to increase as a function of increased substrate stiffness, while cell velocities were observed to decrease with increased substrate stiffness. We believe this study will be of great importance to the fields of brain pathology and brain physiology.
Flexible fast-mapping: Deaf children dynamically allocate visual attention to learn novel words in American Sign Language

Word learning in young children requires coordinated attention between language input and the referent object. Current accounts of word learning are based on spoken language, where the association between language and objects occurs through simultaneous and multimodal perception. In contrast, deaf children acquiring American Sign Language (ASL) perceive both linguistic and non-linguistic information through the visual mode. In order to coordinate attention to language input and its referents, deaf children must allocate visual attention optimally between objects and signs. We conducted two eye-tracking experiments to investigate how young deaf children allocate attention and process referential cues in order to fast-map novel signs to novel objects. Participants were deaf children learning ASL between the ages of 17 and 71 months. In Experiment 1, participants (n = 30) were presented with a novel object and a novel sign, along with a referential cue that occurred either before or after the sign label. In Experiment 2, a new group of participants (n = 32) were presented with two novel objects and a novel sign, so that the referential cue was critical for identifying the target object. Across both experiments, participants showed evidence for fast-mapping the signs regardless of the timing of the referential cue. Individual differences in children's allocation of attention during exposure were correlated with their ability to fast-map the novel signs at test. This study provides first evidence for fast-mapping in sign language, and contributes to theoretical accounts of how word learning develops when all input occurs in the visual modality.
Sprague dawley rats gaining weight on a high energy diet exhibit damage to taste tissue even after return to a healthy diet

Many reports detail taste dysfunction in humans and animals with obesity. For example, mice consuming an obesogenic diet for a short period have fewer taste buds than their lean littermates. Further, rats with diet-induced obesity (DIO) show blunted electrophysiological responses to taste in the brainstem. Here, we studied the effects of high energy diet (HED)-induced peripheral taste damage in rats, and whether this deficiency could be reversed by returning to a regular chow diet. Separate groups of rats consumed a standard chow diet (Chow), a HED for 10 weeks followed by a return to chow (HED/chow), or a HED for 10 weeks followed by a restricted HED that was isocaloric with consumption by the HED/chow group (HED/isocal). Fungiform taste papilla (FP) and circumvallate taste bud abundance were quantified several months after HED groups switched diets. Results showed that both HED/chow and HED/isocal rats had significantly fewer FP and lower CV taste bud abundance than control rats fed only chow. Neutrophil infiltration into taste tissues was also quantified, but did not vary with treatment on this timeline. Finally, the number of cells undergoing programmed cell death, measured with caspase-3 staining, inversely correlated with taste bud counts, suggesting taste buds may be lost to apoptosis as a potential mechanism for the taste dysfunction observed in obesity. Collectively, these data show that DIO has lasting deleterious effects on the peripheral taste system, despite a change from a HED to a healthy diet, underscoring the idea that obesity rather than diet predicts damage to the taste system.
Children’s Contact with Incarcerated Parents: Summary and Recommendations

One in 28 children in the United States has a parent behind bars and even more children are affected if one examines risk for having an incarcerated parent across childhood. Given these statistics, it is not surprising that children are common visitors in corrections facilities. Because children are frequent visitors and the experiences can be emotionally intense for children and their family members, it is important to examine policies, procedures, and interventions that might improve the experience of visitation and other forms of contact for this vulnerable group of children. In the summary of this monograph, I first discuss important considerations when examining parent–child contact and delineate several methodological contributions of the papers in this volume. I then offer suggestions relating to changes in policies, procedures, and practices that may improve the experience of parent–child contact during parental incarceration as well as fostering the well-being of affected children and families.
Twenty Year Trends (1975-1995) in the Incidence, In-hospital and Long-Term Death Rates Associated With Heart Failure Complicating Acute Myocardial Infarction A Community-Wide Perspective

OBJECTIVES To describe from a population-based perspective, recent and temporal (1975-1995) trends in the incidence, in-hospital and postdischarge case-fatality rates of heart failure (HF) complicating acute myocardial infarction (AMI). BACKGROUND Extremely limited data are available describing the incidence and case-fatality rates associated with HF complicating AMI from a community-wide perspective. METHODS The medical records of 6,798 residents of the Worcester, Massachusetts metropolitan area with validated MI and without previous HF hospitalized in 10 annual periods between 1975 and 1995 were reviewed. RESULTS The proportion of AMI patients developing HF during hospitalization declined between 1975-1978 (38%) and 1993-1995 (33%) (p < 0.001). After controlling for potentially confounding factors, the risk of developing HF declined progressively, albeit modestly, over time. In-hospital case-fatality rates of patients with AMI complicated by HF declined by approximately 46% between 1975-1978 (33%) and 1993-1995 (18%) (p < 0.001). Improving trends in hospital survival were observed after adjusting for potentially confounding prognostic factors. The one-year post-discharge mortality rate for hospital survivors of HF did not change over the 20-year period under study, even after controlling for additional prognostic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS The results of this community-wide study suggest encouraging declines in the incidence and hospital death rates associated with HF complicating AMI. Continued efforts need to be directed towards the prevention of HF given the magnitude of this clinical syndrome. Efforts of secondary prevention are needed to identify and improve the treatment of patients with symptomatic left ventricular dysfunction following AMI given the lack of improvement in the long-term prognosis of these patients.
The flamingo software package on approximate string queries

An important operation in data cleaning is similarity search on textual strings. A simple example is "finding actor names similar to schwarzeneger," given the fact that few people know the exact spelling of our former governor in California. It is challenging to support this operation efficiently on large amounts of data. Despite its importance, the problem did not receive enough attention in the research community a decade ago. In this talk, I will give an overview of recent results on this problem, and describe the development history of the Flamingo package, an open-source software that supports efficient approximate string queries. I will also describe my outreach activities to apply our research results of data cleaning in real applications, which led to a startup called Bimaple that specializes in powerful instant search on large data sets.
On-board three-dimensional constrained entry flight trajectory generation

This dissertation presents a method for on-board generation of three-degree-of-freedom (3D0F) constrained entry trajectory. Given any feasible entry conditions and terminal area energy management (TAEM) interface conditions, this method generates rapidly a 3D0F trajectory featuring a single bank-reversal that satisfies all the entry corridor con­ straints and meets the TAEM requirements with high precision. First, the longitudinal reference profiles for altitude, velocity, flight path angle, and the corresponding controls with respect to range-to-go. are designed using the quasi-equilibrium glide condition (QEGC). Terminal backward trajectory integration and initial descent approaches are used to make the longitudinal references intrinsically flvable. Then the 3D0F entry trajectory is completed by tracking the longitudinal references with the approximate receding-horizon control method, while the bank-reversal point is searched such that the TAEM heading and distance to the Heading Alignment Circle (HAC) requirements are satisfied within specified precision. For extreme entry cases that marginally allow a single bank-reversal or no bank-reversals, a terminal reference ground path tracking method and a terminal open-loop trajectory search method are developed respectively to complement the on-board 3D0F trajectory generation method. The overall compu­ tational load needed by this method for any entry trajectory design amounts to less than integrating the 3 DO F trajectory five times on average. Simulations with the X-33 and X-38 vehicle models and a broad range of entry conditions and TAEM interface requirements demonstrate the desired performance of this method. The on-board entry guidance scheme is then completed and tested by integrating this trajectory generation
Culture as a determinant of the importance level business students place on ten teaching/learning techniques

Purpose – Seeks to examine the impact of national culture on the importance level students place on ten teaching techniques commonly used by US business instructors.Design/methodology/approach – Undergraduate and MBA business students, including students born in the USA and students born in a foreign country, rated the techniques.Findings – Ratings by students from cultures preferring techniques where the instructor provides high structure differ slightly from the ratings by students from cultures preferring techniques where the instructor provides lower structure.Research limitations/implications – The respondents are from one US university. Therefore, the results cannot be generalized.Practical implications – The framework is useful in that it reminds instructors/trainers that, if a group of learners is from the same culture, a customized technique may be effective but, if the group is from diverse cultures, it reminds them that they may have to provide more structure to those students and trainees from...
Seeing relationships through the lens of psychological contracts: the structure of consumer service relationships

Serving as mental models, psychological contracts guide consumers’ service interactions with their service providers. This study incorporates a psychological contract perspective into the relationship marketing literature, exploring service customers’ beliefs about the terms and conditions of the resource exchange process and the types of relationships they form with service providers. It provides new insights that explain why and how some customers respond favorably to a company’s relationship overtures and investments while others do not. A latent class analysis on a sample of 700 consumers across three different service industries reveals that consumers form four distinct types of psychological contracts: relational, standard, transitional, and captive. To further validate the differences between the contract types, open-ended responses from the respondents were sorted by each class. The distinctive themes that emerged provide a richer understanding of the characteristics of each class beyond those inferred from the quantitative results. Each contract type is also profiled against its underlying level of trust, satisfaction, and commitment to understand the relationship between the contract types and these traditional relationship marketing variables. Marketers can differentiate their relationship marketing strategies and allocate their resource investments more effectively by segmenting consumers according to their psychological contract type.
Metabolic and hormonal derangements in pulmonary hypertension: from mouse to man

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a complex disease with significant morbidity and mortality. Recent animal and human studies have highlighted abnormalities in regulation and metabolism of insulin, sex hormones, adipokines and lipids that may play a role in disease development. Mouse studies suggest features of the metabolic syndrome (MS) including insulin resistance, deficiencies in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ and apolipoprotein E, and low adiponectin are linked to development of PAH. In humans, insulin resistance, the MS and low levels of high-density lipoprotein have been associated with PAH. In addition, abnormal metabolism of oestrogens has been demonstrated in human and animal models of PAH, suggesting an important relationship of sex hormones and pulmonary vascular disease. Improved understanding of how metabolic and hormonal derangements relate to development and progression of pulmonary hypertension may lead to better disease therapies and understanding of potential risk factors. This review will focus on the animal and human data regarding metabolic and sex hormone derangements in PAH.