cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neurobiology of Early Life Stress in Women

Early life stress can have lasting effects on neurobiology and cognition in women that can lead to an array of negative physical and mental health outcomes. Early life stress can lead to chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adulthood, as well as other mental health disorders like depression and substance abuse. In addition, changes in neurobiology, acting either directly or through associated mental disorders, can have an effect on physical health function. One area that is influenced by stress-induced changes in neurobiology and that is a focus of this chapter is cardiovascular disease. Lasting changes in stress-responsive neurohormonal systems, including the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and noradrenergic systems, are associated with exposure to chronic stress. Childhood abuse also has long-term effects on brain areas involved in memory and emotion, including the hippocampus, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex. These brain areas have outputs to peripheral sympathetic and hormonal systems that activate the cardiovascular response to stress. We review in this chapter mechanisms by which early life stress affects neurobiology and in turn can have a deleterious effect on cardiovascular disease outcomes for women in adulthood.
Multiobjective Planning: Concepts and Methods

Present day water resources planning encompasses social, environmental, and economic objectives in developing and choosing among alternative plans. Recent efforts to operationalize multiobjective planning have engendered a variety of new techniques. Where the emphasis has been on methodological developments, this paper considers how developing methodologies relate to the water resources planning process. In terms of the basic problem of multiobjective analysis, the function of the planning process is seen as integrating technical information from the planning team and social value information from the publics to arrive at a socially preferred alternative. A model of this process is presented and some desired attributes of multiobjective methods to support the process are identified. Several classes of multiobjective methods are described and compared as to their implementation requirements and their characteristics relative to both technical and value aspects of the planning process.
Abstract 4203: Retinoic acid signal and annexins: A vicious circle of breast tumorigenesis

Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA Physiological retinoic acid (RA), the bioactive derivative of Vitamin A, is a signal necessary for epithelial cell morphogenesis. During acinar morphogenesis of normal breast epithelial cells in three dimensional (3D) culture, physiological RA activates in a spatiotemporal fashion both genomic and non-genomic RA receptor alpha (RARA) signalings, thus leading to growth-arrested acini with a lumen lined by a layer of polarized cells. In contrast, lack of activation of genomic RARA by physiological RA results in the formation of 3D amorphous acini without lumen and with uncontrolled proliferation of the luminal cells. This is similar to what is observed in early in situ breast cancer lesions, such as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). Different factors that, directly or indirectly, affect genomic RARA in normal breast epithelial cells and, consequently, the morphogenetic action of RA signal, lead to deregulation of members of the Annexin family, including Annexin A8 (ANXA8). Interestingly, upregulation of ANXA8 is sufficient to affect the genomic RARA-mediated RA signaling with consequent development of 3D amorphous acini. Thus, ANXA8 upregulation consequent to functional inhibition of genomic RARA by different factors seems to reinforce through a feedback loop the extent of functional inhibition of genomic RARA itself. It is of significance that ANXA8 upregulation in DCIS does correlate with tumor grade and stage. Acknowledgements: Funding for this study was provided by the NCI R01 CA127614 grant, the Susan Komen Foundation, the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester, the Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test, the Terri Brodeur Breast Cancer Foundation. Citation Format: Stefano Rossetti, Wiam Bshara, Johanna Reiners, Francesca Corlazzoli, Austin Miller, Nicoletta Sacchi. Retinoic acid signal and annexins: A vicious circle of breast tumorigenesis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 4203. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-4203
Targeted Inhibition of B-Raf

The hunt for mutated and activated kinases in cancer has proceeded at an accelerated pace since the successful treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia with imatinib and with the development of new genomic sequencing technologies. The identification of activating mutations in B-Raf in a major subset of melanomas was first reported in 2002. Basic laboratory experiments confirmed the ability of mutant B-Raf to function as a driver oncogene in vivo. Relatively rapidly, inhibitors that preferentially target the mutated kinase were developed and tested clinically, and these studies revealed that the majority of patients bearing V600E B-Raf mutant melanomas showed a clinical response. Positive results of a randomized phase III clinical trial were released in early 2011. The current phase of this remarkable story is focused upon understanding mechanisms of primary and secondary resistance to B-Raf inhibitors in the clinic.
African American Parents and Attitudes About Child Disability and Early Intervention Services

ABSTRACTFew studies have explored the attitudes of African American parents about child disability and early intervention services. Research and data suggest that early intervention services are effective in preparing preschool-aged children identified with disabilities for school. However, the underrepresentation of African American children enrolled in early intervention is an ongoing policy concern. This exploratory study examined the perceptions and attitudes of African American parents about child disability and early intervention services. In-depth, qualitative interviews were conducted with ten African American mothers with preschool-aged children, ages birth to five, who were diagnosed with a developmental disability. Parental social support, parental spiritual connection, healthy parental childhood experiences with disability, parental comprehension of early intervention policy, and involvement of the child's father were significant findings identified by the mothers as contributors to positive a...
HPCCloud: A Cloud/Web-Based Simulation Environment

Advanced modeling and simulation has enabled the design of a variety of innovative products and the analysis of numerous complex phenomenon. However, significant barriers exist to widespread adoption of these tools. In particular, advanced modeling and simulation: (1) is considered complex to use, (2) needs in-house expertise, and (3) requires high capital costs. In this paper, we describe the development of an end-to-end, advanced modeling and simulation cloud platform that encapsulates best practices for scientific computing in the cloud, and demonstrate using Hydra -- TH as a prototypical application. As an alternative to traditional advanced modeling and simulation workflows, our Web-based approach simplifies the processes, decreases the need for in-house computational science and engineering experts, and lowers the capital investments. In addition to providing significantly improved, intuitive software, the environment offers reproducible workflows where the full lifecycle of data from input to final analyzed results can be saved, shared, and even published.
"Have no regrets:" Parents' experiences and developmental tasks in pregnancy with a lethal fetal diagnosis.

Abstract Significance Lethal fetal diagnoses are made in 2% of all pregnancies. The pregnancy experience is certainly changed for the parents who choose to continue the pregnancy with a known fetal diagnosis but little is known about how the psychological and developmental processes are altered. Methods This longitudinal phenomenological study of 16 mothers and 14 fathers/partners sought to learn the experiences and developmental needs of parents who continue their pregnancy despite the lethal diagnosis. The study was guided by Merleau-Ponty's philosophic view of embodiment. Interviews ( N = 90) were conducted with mothers and fathers over time, from mid-pregnancy until 2–3 months post birth. Data analysis was iterative, through a minimum of two cycles of coding, theme identification, within- and cross-case analysis, and the writing of results. Results Despite individual differences, parents were quite consistent in sharing that their overall goal was to “Have no regrets” when all was said and done. Five stages of pregnancy were identified: Pre-diagnosis, Learning Diagnosis, Living with Diagnosis, Birth & Death, and Post Death. Developmental tasks of pregnancy that emerged were 1) Navigating Relationships, 2) Comprehending Implication of the Condition, 3) Revising Goals of Pregnancy, 4) Making the Most of Time with Baby, 5) Preparing for Birth and Inevitable Death, 6) Advocating for Baby with Integrity, and 7) Adjusting to Life in Absence of Baby. Prognostic certainty was found to be highly influential in parents' progression through developmental tasks. Conclusion The framework of parents' pregnancy experiences with lethal fetal diagnosis that emerged can serve as a useful guide for providers who care for families, especially in perinatal palliative care. Providing patient-centered care that is matched to the stage and developmental tasks of these families may lead to improved care and greater parent satisfaction.
Abstract 5035: Stable transfection of the osteosarcoma cell line SaOs2, genetically transformed MSCs and osteoblasts with insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most commonly seen primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. With neo-adjuvant chemotherapy and other treatment regimens developed, event-free survival has increased to 70%, but the prognosis remains poor for those patients with unresectable or metastatic tumors or less responsive tumors. Insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) and its receptor (IGF2R) are known to be over-expressed in several cancers including OS and have roles in regulating cellular growth and proliferation. Although IGF2R is thought to be a tumor suppressor, the research results in different experimental systems are variable. Our recent studies have demonstrated that IGF2R is consistently over-expressed, relative to other known transmembrane receptors on the cell surface across, 4 standard and 10 patient-derived OS cell lines. To further elucidate the effects of IGF2R in OS, the OS cell line SaOS2 and two cell lines which were genetically transformed, as follows; mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and osteoblasts (OB) with human telomerase reverse transcriptase and SV40Tag (MSC-TS and OB-TS) were transformed with IGF2R by lentiviral transfection. Drug resistant colonies were picked up 21 days after selection to obtain stably transfected SaOS2, MSC-TS, and OB-TS cell lines now named, SaI, MSC-TSI and OB-TSI, respectively. After cloning, the highest and the lowest IGF2R expression clones were selected from these different cell lines via real-time PCR and western blot for further analysis. The comparison between the lines and characterizations are underway. Initial results suggest introduction of IGF2R changes the phenotype by enhancing cellular motility. Further studies will be presented and include the following: 1) cell proliferation assays, 2) motility and migration assays, 3) subcutaneous tumorigenicity assays, 4) expression profiling, and 5) differentiation assays. In the context of osteosarcoma introduction of IGF2R enhances motility, which is unexpected given prior expectations based on the non-signaling nature of this receptor. Citation Format: Huayi Qu. Stable transfection of the osteosarcoma cell line SaOs2, genetically transformed MSCs and osteoblasts with insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5035. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-5035
Low-Labor Method for Rearing the Tarnished Plant Bug (Hemiptera: Miridae)

A low-labor method for rearing Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) was developed by using sprouting potatoes as a food source and oviposition medium. One feeding will maintaina population of ca. 40 bugs per kg of potatoes for at least 104 days.
The Enlightenment on the Construction of Ecological Civilization Based on Heaven-Man Theory

The Heaven-Man Theory regards the Heaven and Earth as the origin of Man,and Man and all natural beings are equal in view of existence,which constitutes an organic whole of the two parts. Man should keep self-restraint in the process of consuming the natural beings,for everything has not only practical value,but also aesthetic and moral meaning. To be harmonious with Nature is the fundamental principle in dealing with the relationship between Man and Nature. Under the premise of understanding and respecting for all the things in Nature,Man's behavior should always be consistent with the characteristics and development of natural things.Man should comply himself with the naturality of everything in Nature and never go beyond the limits that all the things in Nature can tolerate. Man can achieve his purpose only by restraining himself within the limits. Once Man breaks through these limits,the natural resources will be excessively consumed,human lives will be harmed,Man's morality will be ruined,and social conflicts will be touched off. Hence,the enlightenment of the construction of ecological civilization is that Man should respect and revere Nature,discard the pure utilitarian relationship with all the other beings in Nature,restore the rich and comprehensive relationship with them,be harmonious with Nature,and restrain his excessive material desires.
The Art/History of Resistance: Visual Ephemera in Public Space

As the introduction to this collection of essays, “The Art/History of Resistance: Visual Ephemera in Public Space” lays out the conceptual framework for discussion of what is defined as the “epheme...
Sensitivity of Allelic Divergence to Genomic Position: Lessons from the Drosophila tan Gene.

To identify genetic variants underlying changes in phenotypes within and between species, researchers often utilize transgenic animals to compare the function of alleles in different genetic backgrounds. In Drosophila, targeted integration mediated by the ΦC31 integrase allows activity of alternative alleles to be compared at the same genomic location. By using the same insertion site for each transgene, position effects are generally assumed to be controlled for because both alleles are surrounded by the same genomic context. Here, we test this assumption by comparing the activity of tan alleles from two Drosophila species, D. americana and D. novamexicana, at five different genomic locations in D. melanogaster. We found that the relative effects of these alleles varied among insertion sites, with no difference in activity observed between them at two sites. One of these sites simply silenced both transgenes, but the other allowed expression of both alleles that was sufficient to rescue a mutant phenotype yet failed to reveal the functional differences between the two alleles. These results suggest that more than one insertion site should be used when comparing the activity of transgenes because failing to do so could cause functional differences between alleles to go undetected.
Dynamic performance enhancement of a utility-scale solar PV plant

Recent studies on Power Electronic Interfaces (PEI) demonstrate that enhanced performance of a PEI can be achieved through optimal tuning of its controller parameters. As an example nowadays, voltage source converters (VSC) are extensively utilized as the interface between DC energy sources and the power system. Photovoltaic (PV) inverters have emerged as one of the most indispensable and widely utilized components in smart grid operations. Considering the complexity, costliness, and possible ineffectuality of PEI conventional manual tuning processes, an automated controller self-tuning approach has been proposed through harnessing the capabilities of particle swarm optimization (PSO), a heuristic optimization method. The multi-megawatt solar PV-plant has been connected to a benchmark two-area four-machine power system. The entire system is simulated using a real-time digital simulator (RTDS). The solar PV plant enhanced performance in conjunction to both improved steady-state and dynamic operation of each of its voltage source inverters (PV-VSI) concludes the effectiveness and benefits of the proposed tuning approach. This enables smoother renewable energy integration, reliable delivery of energy at a lower cost, and further reduced carbon footprints worldwide.
Opportunities for maternal transport for delivery of very low birth weight infants.

Objective To assess frequency of very low birth weight (VLBW) births at non-level III hospitals. Study design Retrospective cohort study using linked California birth certificate and discharge data of 2008 to 2010 for deliveries of singleton or first-born infant of multiple gestations with birth weight 400 to 1500 g. Delivery rates by neonatal level of care were obtained. Risk of delivery at non-level III centers was estimated in univariable and multivariable models. Results Of the 1 508 143 births, 13 919 (9.2%) were VLBW; birth rate at non-level III centers was 14.9% (8.4% in level I and 6.5% in level II). Median rate of VLBW births was 0.3% (range 0 to 4.7%) annually at level I and 0.5% (range 0 to 1.6%) at level II hospitals. Antepartum stay for >24 h occurred in 14.0% and 26.9% of VLBW births in level I and level II hospitals, respectively. Conclusion Further improvement is possible in reducing VLBW infant delivery at suboptimal sites, given the window of opportunity for many patients.
Pilot Study of Thrice-Weekly Low-Dose Rituximab (RTX) in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL): Decreased CD20 Loss Via “Shaving” and a Novel Strategy for Enhanced Therapeutic Targeting.

Treatment of CLL patients with RTX 375 mg/m 2 induces 90% loss of CD20 from circulating cells via “shaving” of RTX-CD20 complexes from B cells, presumably by tissue macrophages (Kennedy, et al, J Immunol, 2004). To reduce CD20 loss and potentially enhance leukemic cell clearance, we investigated frequent low-dose RTX for CLL. Following informed consent, patients were treated 3 times/wk with RTX 20 or 60 mg/m 2 x 2 wks (1 pt) or 4 wks (11 pts) with frequent blood sampling during and post-RTX. 9/12 were previously treated (1–4 prior therapies); only 2 had received prior RTX. Cytogenetics by FISH analysis: del 17p13 (6 pts), del 13q14 (5 pts) and trisomy 12 (1 pt). Results: In each initial infusion, the first 30 mg of RTX caused a 3 to >10-fold decrease in leukemic cells in 11/12 patients. 60 mg/m 2 group (n=6): Two hrs after the 1st RTX infusion, cells expressed 20 mg/m 2 group (n=6): Two hrs after the 1st RTX infusion, cell surface CD20 levels were at ≥50% of initial values (4/6 pts) and were preserved throughout RTX therapy in 5/6 patients. 3/6 achieved normal lymphocyte counts with subsequent RTX infusions. One patient achieved CR lasting 8 mo. There was 1 PR, 3 SD and 1 with no response; 4 required subsequent therapy. The 2 patients with highest cell surface CD20 expression achieved CR, despite the presence of the del 17p13 in both cases. RTX infusion activated Complement (C); large amounts of the C3 activation product C3dg were deposited on targeted cells. However, 70% of deposited C3dg was demonstrable on circulating cells which had lost CD20 and persisted in the circulation. Toxicity: Treatments were well tolerated, with grade 1–2 infusion reactions and transient neutropenia and thrombocytopenia during initial infusions. Conclusions: Thrice-weekly low-dose RTX is clinically active and can induce remissions in patients with CLL. Low-dose RTX may promote enhanced cytotoxic attack and clearance of circulating CLL cells via CD20 target preservation; 20 mg/m 2 dosing better preserves CD20 levels via decreased shaving vs 60 mg/m 2 . Our findings suggest that C3dg can serve as a molecular marker for circulating CLL cells which have lost CD20 due to shaving during RTX therapy. These results support further investigation of thrice-weekly low-dose RTX as a novel strategy for improved therapeutic targeting of RTX in CLL.
HARE: hardware accelerator for regular expressions

Rapidly processing text data is critical for many technical and business applications. Traditional software-based tools for processing large text corpora use memory bandwidth inefficiently due to software overheads and thus fall far short of peak scan rates possible on modern memory systems. Prior hardware designs generally target I/O rather than memory bandwidth. In this paper, we present HARE, a hardware accelerator for matching regular expressions against large in-memory logs. HARE comprises a stall-free hardware pipeline that scans input data at a fixed rate, examining multiple characters from a single input stream in parallel in a single accelerator clock cycle. We describe a 1GHz 32-character-wide HARE design targeting ASIC implementation that processes data at 32 GB/s — matching modern memory bandwidths. This ASIC design outperforms software solutions by as much as two orders of magnitude. We further demonstrate a scaled-down FPGA proof-of-concept that operates at 100MHz with 4-wide parallelism (400 MB/s). Even at this reduced rate, the prototype outperforms grep by 1.5–20x on commonly used regular expressions.
Secularism Meets Coloniality: Mariategui's Andean Political Theology

This article seeks to clarify the link between Mariategui's political theology and his critique of modern-secular-coloniality. I argue that understanding the place and the significance of Mariategui's critique of secularism/colonialism helps us grasp the fuller extent of Mariategui's thought, a pioneering critic of modernity in the early twentieth century who keenly understood the limits of modern-liberal framework for analyzing the political problems of Latin America. Mariategui's reading of Marx and revolution raises important challenges to various forms of twenty-first-century political theologies that tackle modernity from within Western liberal modernity (postmodern theories and philosophies). Mariategui offers important insights not only for critics of the secular and modernity who fail to attest to the important question of coloniality from which secularism/modernity must be disentangled, but also for critics of colonialism/coloniality who fail to view religion as the key fabric of coloniality.
Reduced disparities and improved surgical outcomes for Asian Americans with colorectal cancer.

Abstract Background Studies suggest Asian Americans may have improved oncologic outcomes compared with other ethnicities. We hypothesized that Asian Americans with colorectal cancer would have improved surgical outcomes in mortality, postoperative complications (POCs), length of stay (LOS), and readmissions compared with other racial/ethnic groups. Methods We queried the 2011-2014 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program for patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer and stratified patients by race. Primary outcome was 30-d mortality with secondary outcomes including POCs, LOS, and 30-d readmission. Stepwise backward logistic regression analyses and incident rate ratio calculations were performed to identify risk factors for disparate outcomes. Results Of the 28,283 patients undergoing colorectal surgery for malignancy, racial/ethnic groups were divided into Caucasian American (84%), African American (12%), or Asian American (4%). On unadjusted analyses, compared with other racial/ethnic groups, Asian Americans were more likely to have normal weight, not smoke, and had lower American Society of Anesthesiologists score of 1 or 2 ( P P P P Conclusions Asian Americans undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer have shorter LOS and fewer POCs when compared with other racial/ethnic groups without differences in 30-d mortality or readmissions. The mechanism(s) underlying these disparities will require further study, but may be a result of patient, provider, and healthcare system differences.
Relations between speech production, speech perception, and spelling in children with complex communication needs: a preliminary examination

Purpose: To determine the influence of speech production and speech perception upon spelling abilities in children with complex communication needs (CCN).Methods: Eight children (3 females, 5 males...
The future of plastics recycling

The environmental consequences of plastic solid waste are visible in the ever-increasing levels of global plastic pollution both on land and in the oceans. But although there are important economic and environmental incentives for plastics recycling, end-of-life treatment options for plastic solid waste are in practice quite limited. Presorting of plastics before recycling is costly and time-intensive, recycling requires large amounts of energy and often leads to low-quality polymers, and current technologies cannot be applied to many polymeric materials. Recent research points the way toward chemical recycling methods with lower energy requirements, compatibilization of mixed plastic wastes to avoid the need for sorting, and expanding recycling technologies to traditionally nonrecyclable polymers.
The Surgical Abdomen

Abdominal pain is a common and challenging problem in the geriatric population, characterized by abrupt severe pain that requires an urgent and specific diagnosis. A rapidly worsening prognosis may occur in absence of prompt intervention. The most common causes of acute abdomen in the older age group are cholecystitis, appendicitis, perforated peptic ulcer disease, pancreatitis, intestinal obstruction, ischemic bowel disease, diverticulitis, and obstructed hernias. Symptoms and physical findings are unreliable in the elderly, contributing to misdiagnosis in approximately 40% of the patients. Inordinate delays of initial assessment, diagnosis, and treatment contribute to significantly increased mortality. Upright chest X-ray initially to exclude free intraperitoneal air, followed by CT, has the highest yield. Older adults have acceptable survival rates after major abdominal surgery, but tolerate complications poorly. Early diagnosis, aggressive resuscitation, and prompt surgical intervention tailored to the physiologic status improve survival in the geriatric patient.
Inhibition of ovarian tumor cell invasiveness by targeting SYK in the tyrosine kinase signaling pathway

Cell motility and invasiveness are prerequisites for dissemination, and largely account for cancer mortality. We have identified an actionable kinase, spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK), which is keenly tightly associated with tumor progression in ovarian cancer. Here, we report that active recombinant SYK directly phosphorylates cortactin and cofilin, which are critically involved in assembly and dynamics of actin filament through phosphorylation signaling. Enhancing SYK activity by inducing expression of a constitutively active SYK mutant, SYK130E, increased growth factor-stimulated migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cells, which was abrogated by cortactin knockdown. Similarly, SYK inhibitors significantly decreased invasion of ovarian cancer cells across basement membrane in real-time transwell assays and in 3D tumor spheroid models. SYK inactivation by targeted gene knockout or by small molecule inhibition reduced actin polymerization. Collectively, this study reported a new mechanism by which SYK signaling regulates ovarian cancer cell motility and invasiveness, and suggest a target-based strategy to prevent or suppress the advancement of ovarian malignancies.
Termination of Experimental Galactosemia in Rats, and Progression of Retinal Metabolic Abnormalities

PURPOSE. To investigate the effect of termination of galactose feeding after a very short duration of experimental galactosemia on the biochemical abnormalities that are postulated to contribute to the development of retinopathy. METHODS. Experimentally galactosemic rats (normal rats fed a 30% galactose-rich diet for 2 months) were fed a galactose-free diet for an additional 1 month. At the end of 3 months, retinas were removed to measure oxidative stress, nitric oxides (NOs), activity of PKC, and levels of nitrotyrosine. Data were compared between rats in the control group (fed a normal diet) and those in the experimentally galactosemic group (30% galactose diet for the entire 3 months). RESULTS. Interruption of 2 months of galactose feeding by withdrawal of galactose from the diet for 1 additional month had partially beneficial effects on retinal lipid peroxides, but the levels of an endogenous antioxidant, reduced glutathione (GSH), remained subnormal in the retina of galactose-withdrawal rats (P 0.05 vs. galactose group). Cessation of the galactose-rich diet had partially beneficial effects on NO levels in the retina, but the levels of nitrotyrosine, an indicator of the formation of peroxynitrite, and activation of PKC were not affected. CONCLUSIONS. The results show that retinal dysmetabolism continues to progress after experimental galactosemia is terminated in rats: Particularly, antioxidant levels remain subnormal, and nitrotyrosine levels are elevated for at least 1 month. Identification of metabolic abnormalities associated with the progression of incipient retinopathy after hyperglycemia is normalized may help in the search for the cause of retinopathy.
Phase Transitions in Colloidal Suspensions of Virus Particles

Colloidal liquid crystals are a useful experimental system for studying fundamental aspects of liquid crystal ordering, because the time, energy, and size scales involved allow one to interact with the system with laboratory scale probes and forces, in a way that is not possible in small molecule systems. In the colloidal systems, liquid crystalline ordering arises from simple particle shape and excluded volume effects, rather than more complex interactions that occur in molecular systems involving van der Waals attractions, dipolar effects, and more complicated molecular interactions. The study of hard rod systems has recently been a subject of intensive theoretical investigation [1, 2, 3] prompted by a series of remarkable computer simulations [4, 5, 6, 7]. For comparing this body of theoretical work to a real physical system, solutions of virus particles have provided the only suitable experimental tests [8, 9, 10]. These studies have implications for all liquid crystals, because the symmetry and the nature of the ordered phases being studied are universal to a wide range of systems, including low molecular weight thermotropics and polymer liquid crystals. In this chapter we will discuss experiments exploring the liquid crystalline properties of colloidal suspensions of virus particles. Since an article summarizing TMV research at Brandeis was published recently [11], we will focus on studies not reviewed previously. A second review article on TMV research by Wetter [12] is especially recommended for its abundance of splendid photographs.
Early Computer Science Adventures of a Mathematician

I had several experiences involving computer science before I knew that it was what I was doing. The first of these took place when I was visiting the Institute for Advanced Study during the two years 1957–59. Larry Wilets, a professor of physics at the University of Washington, asked me to help him with the many calculations he needed to make in order to find the eigenvalues of a sparse binary matrix which arose from his observed data in experimental physics. He challenged me to find a graph theoretic method which would save him enormous amounts of time. I was pleasantly surprised when I solved this problem with a matrix algorithm for finding the strongly connected components of a digraph. Later I learned that in 1962 a paper was published which presented “Warshall’s Algorithm”. He had published his paper in a computer journal whereas mine appeared in the Journal of Mathematical Physics [4]. That is why the determination of the transitive closure of a binary relation is attributed to him. In 1962, I applied this method to the inversion of a sparse matrix [8]. Gabriel Kron visited me at University of Michigan to tell me about his “method of tearing” which utilizes the same method for matrix inversion. His work preceded mine.
Different Ways of Thinking about Burnout

The term burnout refers to a phenomenon in the human services that is not new. Over 30 years ago, Schwartz and Will (1969) described essentially the same process as they observed it in a nurse on a psychiatric ward. But they did not call it burnout; instead, they used the term, low morale syndrome. They used terms such as anxiety, guilty and withdrawal. In this chapter, I shall propose that how we label and conceptualize the social problem of burnout reveals much about the underlying values and assumptions of our culture. Our labels and conceptualizations also dictate how we study and attempt to solve the problem. And finally, new ways of thinking about burnout ultimately could lead to a fundamental rethinking of human service delivery systems in our society.
Methods for Detecting Cytotoxic Amyloids Following Infection of Pulmonary Endothelial Cells by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Patients who survive pneumonia have elevated death rates in the months following hospital discharge. It has been hypothesized that infection of pulmonary tissue during pneumonia results in the production of long-lived cytotoxins that can lead to subsequent end organ failure. We have developed in vitro assays to test the hypothesis that cytotoxins are produced during pulmonary infection. Isolated rat pulmonary endothelial cells and the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa are used as model systems, and the production of cytoxins following infection of the endothelial cells by the bacteria is demonstrated using cell culture followed by direct quantitation using lactate dehydrogenase assays and a novel microscopic method utilizing ImageJ technology. The amyloid nature of these cytotoxins was demonstrated by thioflavin T binding assays and by immunoblotting and immunodepletion using A11 anti-amyloid antibody. Further analyses using immunoblotting demonstrated that oligomeric tau and Aβ were produced and released by endothelial cells following infection by P. aeruginosa. These methods should be readily adaptable to analyses of human clinical samples.
Learning Assisted Estimation for Time- Varying Channels

Channel estimation is a critical module to determine the performance of wireless receivers. For some communication systems, the channels are time-varying and without well-justified models, e.g., underwater acoustic channels, high mobility channels, and mm Wave channels. These channels are usually hard to use finite parameters to estimate and track. Channel estimation in these cases may significantly affect the symbol detection performance. In this paper, we develop learning assisted (LA) channel estimation algorithms. We use CNN and DNN based channel estimators to track channel variations. We demonstrate that the estimators can be dynamically updated using pilots through incremental learning. Different from the existing channel estimators, our algorithms combine learning techniques with preamble training symbols and pilots, and thus can track channel variations on-line and fit better for the current cellular systems, vehicular communications, and underwater acoustic systems. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of our algorithms.
The commissioning and validation of Monaco treatment planning system on an Elekta VersaHD linear accelerator

Accurate beam modeling is essential to help ensure overall accuracy in the radiotherapy process. This study describes our experience with beam model validation of a Monaco treatment planning system on a Versa HD linear accelerator. Data were collected such that Monaco beam models could be generated using three algorithms: collapsed cone (CC) and photon Monte Carlo (MC) for photon beams, and electron Monte Carlo (eMC) for electron beams. Validations are performed on measured percent depth doses (PDDs) and profiles, for open-field point-doses in homogenous and heterogeneous media, and for obliquely incident electron beams. Gamma analysis is used to assess the agreement between calculation and measurement for intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans, including volumetric modulated arc therapy for stereotactic body radiation therapy (VMAT SBRT). For all relevant conditions, gamma index values below 1 are obtained when comparing Monaco calculated PDDs and profiles with measured data. Point-doses in a water medium are found to be within 2% agreement of commissioning data in 99.5% and 98.6% of the points computed by MC and CC, respectively. All point-dose calculations for the eMC algorithm in water are within 4% agreement of measurement, and 92% of measurements are within 3%. In heterogeneous media of air and cortical bone, both CC and MC yielded better than 3% agreement with ion chamber measurements. eMC yielded 3% agreement to measurement downstream of air with oblique beams of up to 27°, 5% agreement distal to bone, and within 4% agreement at extended source to surface distance (SSD) for all electron energies except 6 MeV. The 6-MeV point of measurement is on a steep dose gradient which may impact the magnitude of discrepancy measured. The average gamma passing rate for IMRT/VMAT plans is 96.9% (±2.1%) and 98.0% (±1.9%) for VMAT SBRT when evaluated using 3%/2 mm criteria. Monaco beam models for the Versa HD linac were successfully commissioned for clinical use.
AFFOGATO: runtime detection of injection attacks for Node.js

Node.js took JavaScript from the browser to server-side web applications, and injection vulnerabilities are now commonly reported in Node.js modules. However, existing taint analysis approaches for JavaScript require extensive manual modelling, and fail to analyse simple Node.js applications that contain hundreds of third-party modules. For this reason, we developed AFFOGATO, a robust and practical grey-box taint analysis tool that uses black-box reasoning to overcome the need for manual modelling while using white-box program analysis to reason about critical program operations. We evaluate AFFOGATO on a suite of Node.js modules and show how it can detect all publicly disclosed injection vulnerabilities with an acceptable overhead, outperforming existing state-of-the-art tools for Node.js.
DRINKING ELICITED BY ANGIOTENSIN OR HYPEROSMOTIC STIMULATION OF THE RAT ANTERO-VENTRAL THIRD VENTRICLE: SINGLE OR SEPARATE NEURAL SUBSTRATES?

Publisher Summary Lesions of tissue surrounding the anterior aspect of the third ventricle result in a chronic impairment of the drinking response to two normally potent stimuli of thirst, namely, angiotensin and hyperosmolarity of body fluids. An adipsic syndrome is observed after the lesion also, which is temporary in the rat or long-lasting in the goat. Drinking is elicited in the rat by antero-ventral third ventricle (AV3V) injections of angiotensin II (AII), and hyperosmotic NaCl supports the hypothesis that this region has a focus of receptive elements mediating drinking to these stimuli. The demonstration of behavioral differences in the drinking responses and the failure to observe greater than additive drinking to combined injections or infusions of AII and hypertonic NaCl suggests that while the receptive substrates are closely associated anatomically, separate neural systems mediate drinking to AII and hypertonic NaCl.
Common Habits, Adverse Events, and Opinions Regarding Pre-Workout Supplement Use Among Regular Consumers.

The purpose of the present study was to examine characteristics of multi-ingredient pre-workout supplement (MIPS) users, their common patterns/habits of MIPS ingestion, and their associated feelings about the effectiveness and safety of this class of supplements. An online electronic survey was distributed through social media to assess self-reported supplementation practices and preferences among adult males and females who reported regular MIPS use. A total of 1045 individuals responded, with 872 of these individuals (males: n = 636, 72.9%; females: n = 233, 26.7%; mean ± SD; age = 27.7 ± 7.9 years; training age = 8.2 ± 7.3 years) completing the survey. The majority of respondents reported the length of current or past MIPS consumption as greater than one year (n = 630, 72.2%), with ingestion frequencies primarily of four (n = 210, 24.1%) or five (n = 212, 24.3%) days per week of training. In addition, the three most popular goals for ingesting MIPS were increased energy and focus (n = 776, 89.0%), muscular endurance (n = 325, 37.3%), and blood flow or “pump” (n = 322, 37.0%). Although most users reported ingesting one serving size with each use, 14% reported ingesting two or more, and 18% indicated they ingest MIPS more than once per day. Importantly, over half (54%) of the respondents reported experiencing side-effects following MIPS use, including skin reactions, heart abnormalities, and nausea. Females were more likely than males to experience these side effects, despite being less likely to consume two or more serving sizes per dose. Our findings also indicated that MIPS users should consume no more than the recommended serving size of a given supplement, as the potentially significant variability in the caffeine content of MIPS products is compounded as more doses are consumed. Furthermore, MIPS users should minimize the ingestion of other supplements which contain high levels of niacin and caffeine, as the concurrent consumption of such products may put users above the tolerable upper limits for these substances.
Kidney volume loss following percutaneous nephrolithotomy utilizing 3D planimetry.

Parenchymal damage and renal function impairment following percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) are of great concern. This study aims to evaluate post-operative changes in renal volume after PCNL. We retrospectively analyzed baseline and post-PCNL CT images from 25 eligible patients from a single tertiary care center. All CT imaging was reviewed using 3D planimetry software (3D Splicer®, Version 4.0). Segmentation was utilized to obtain total kidney volume (TKV), total kidney surface area, total stone surface area, and total stone volume. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used for pair analysis, and univariate and multivariable analyses were performed to examine the relationships between clinical and planimetry data and renal volume loss. The median age of the cohort was 62 years, with the majority of the patients having undergone a previous PCNL (52.0%). The median TKV (cm3) pre- and post-PCNL were 225.25 and 178.09, respectively (p = 0.001), with average volume decline of 21%. While there was a statistically significant kidney volume loss in our cohort, there was no difference between pre- and post-operative serum creatinine (mg/dL): 0.93 and 0.94 (p = 0.696), respectively. Multivariable analysis showed a higher TKV loss with a larger kidney stone surface area (OR 1.002, CI 1–1.003, p = 0.035), while younger age was found to be protective (OR 0.791, CI 0.587–0.925 p = 0.028). Patients with previous history of PCNL experiences a more pronounced TKV loss (53.77 cm3, p = 0.031), as compared to PCNL naive patients (13.05 cm3, p = 0.224). Our study consistently revealed a decrease in TKV following PCNL. Furthermore, among patients with larger stone surface areas, and history of previous PCNL there was an increase in the loss of TKV after the procedure.
Implementing Intelligent Water Loop Heat Pump Controller on Cloud for Sustainable Buildings

Buildings consume a large portion of the world’s energy and it is thus crucial to improve their energy efficiency. This paper presents a cloud-based control scheme for water loop heat pump system in building applications. An intelligent control system that improves the operation efficiency of the water loop heat pump system using parallel asynchronous particle swarm optimization algorithm is proposed. The control system employs a cloud utility service to perform the computing task. The energy efficiency and computational time of the proposed control strategy are evaluated in this study. This paper also discusses the vulnerability of the cloud service and evaluates the control system performance in the presence of probable cloud service failures and cyberattacks.
The Monge–Ampère equation

Abstract We review recent advances in the numerical analysis of the Monge–Ampere equation. Various computational techniques are discussed including wide stencil finite difference schemes, two-scaled methods, finite element methods, and methods based on geometric considerations. Particular focus is the development of appropriate stability and consistency estimates which lead to rates of convergence of the discrete approximations. Finally we present numerical experiments which highlight each method for a variety of test problem with different levels of regularity.
Benserazide, an Inhibitor of Peripheral Kynurenine Metabolism, Attenuates Olanzapine-Induced Weight Gain, Insulin Resistance, and Dyslipidemia in C57Bl/6j Mice

Schizophrenia (Sz) patients, especially treated with atypical antipsychotics, are at high risk of the development of metabolic syndrome that increases morbidity and mortality and impairs compliance with treatment. Mechanism of the high association of metabolic syndrome with the use of atypical antipsychotics is not clear. Literature and our data suggest that chronic inflammation- or stress-induced dysregulation of the peripheral down-stream kynurenine (Kyn) metabolism, shared by both Sz and metabolic syndrome, contributes to the development of metabolic syndrome in Sz patients treated with atypical antipsychotics. Correction of dysregulation of the peripheral down-stream metabolism of Kyn would prevent/treat metabolic syndrome. This is a pre-clinical trial of the effect of benserazide (BRZ), an inhibitor of the key enzymes of Kyn metabolism, on olanzapine-induced mouse model of metabolic syndrome. Olanzapine is one of the most effective atypical antipsychotics but has high potential to induce metabolic syndrome. Olanzapine (4 mg/kg, p.o) and/or BRZ (100 mg/day, p.o.) were administered to 6-week-old C57Bl/6 female mice, 5 days/week, for 10 weeks. The study was approved by the Tufts Medical Center Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. BRZ attenuated olanzapine-induced excessive weight gain, impairment of glucose tolerance, and elevation of plasma cholesterol and triglycerides. Present results suggest that peripheral down-stream Kyn metabolism is a new target for prevention/treatment of olanzapine-induced metabolic syndrome. BRZ has a high translational potential as medication already approved for human use.
POTENTIAL EXPLANATION FOR DISPROPORTIONATE LEFT VENTRICULAR ENLARGEMENT IN BARLOW's DISEASE: INSIGHTS FROM CARDIOVASCULAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE

Barlow's disease is characterized by large prolapsing leaflets that can harbor significant amount of blood - prolapse volume (PV) - at end-systole. Barlow's left ventricles (LV) can be disproportionately enlarged relative to the severity of mitral regurgitation (MR), leading to speculation of a
Abstract TMP95: Structured Screening for Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment in the Outpatient Stroke Clinic

Introduction: Cognitive impairment (CI) affects 30% of stroke survivors and impacts ability to return to work, drive and perform ADLs. However, there is no standardized screening for post-stroke CI...