cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Confirmatory analysis of etanercept in equine plasma by LC-MS for doping control

Etanercept is a protein-based medication for the treatment of human patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune-based diseases; its pharmacological action is to inhibit and antagonize tumour necrosis factor alpha. Etanercept was rumoured to be used in horse racing in North America. To detect such use, the aim of this study was to develop a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method for confirmation of etanercept in equine plasma. Etanercept was extracted from plasma by anti-human IgG antibody linked to magnetic beads. The analyte was reduced and alkylated, and then digested by trypsin. Tryptic peptides (T1 from human tumour necrosis factor receptor 2 of etanercept, T15 and T27 from human IgG1 of the protein) were employed for detection and confirmation of the analyte. The limit of detection was 5 ng/mL, and the limit of confirmation 10 ng/mL. This method is specific for confirmation of etanercept, as assessed using the results from BLAST and SEQUEST searches. The results from SEQUEST searches also revealed an unexpected unique specificity of product ion spectrum of IgG1 T27 with only a single product ion for identification of etanercept. It is the first report for such a finding, to the authors' knowledge. The method was successful in analyses of the plasma samples collected post administration of etanercept to horses. Etanercept was detected up to 11 days post administration. This method will be helpful for confirmation of etanercept or other protein-based drugs consisting of human IgG1, in equine drug testing. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Hemangioendotelioma epitelioide hepático: Pesquisa em três centros universitários

Objective: To determine common imaging findings of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma on magnetic resonance images. Materials and Methods: A search was made of three institutional databases between January 2000 and August 2012. Seven patients (mean age, 47 years; range, 21-66 years; 6 women) with pathology-confirmed diagnosis of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma who had undergone magnetic resonance imaging were identified. None of the patients had received any treatment for hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma at the time of the initial magnetic resonance imaging examination. Results: Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma tumors appeared as focal masses in 7/7 patients, greater than 5 in number, with a coalescing lesion in 1/5, and peripheral localization in 6/7. Capsular retraction was present in 4/7, and was associated with peripherally located lesions. Early ring enhancement was appreciated in the majority of lesions in 7/7 patients. Centripetal progressive enhancement was shown in 5/7 patients on venous phase that exhibited a distinctive thick inner border of low signal on venous phase images, and a central core of delayed enhancement. Small lesions did not show this. Conclusion: The combination of multifocal round-configuration lesions that are predominantly peripheral and exhibit early peripheral ring enhancement and late appearance of an inner thick border of low signal and central core of high signal may represent an important feature for hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.
Genome-Wide Transcriptional Regulatory Networks Downstream of TAL1/SCL in T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Abstract Aberrant expression of transcription factor oncogenes is a common feature in the pathogenesis of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), however, oncogenic transcriptional programs downstream of T-ALL oncogenes are mostly unknown. We used chromatin immunoprecipitation combined with promoter microarrays (ChIP on chip) to identify direct transcriptional targets of TAL1/SCL, a bHLH transcription factor aberrantly expressed in 60% of patients with T-ALL. Using the Hu12K arrays that contain over 12,000 human promoter regions, we have identified 71 direct targets of TAL1 in the Jurkat T-ALL cell line by ChIP on chip, and have been able to validate 80% of them by conventional chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by quantitative real time PCR. It has previously been demonstrated that TAL1 needs to bind to E proteins (E2A, HEB or E2-2) to achieve an efficient interaction with DNA. We verified that promoters occupied by TAL1 are bound by both the E-proteins E2A and HEB in at least 50% of TAL1-bound promoter regions, suggesting that TAL1/E2A as well as TAL1/HEB heterodimers play a role in the transformation of T-cell precursors. Using RNA interference to knock down TAL1, we have demonstrated functional regulation through TAL1-binding of a significant percentage of the targets identified by ChIP on chip. Results demonstrate that some TAL1 direct targets are repressed by the binding of this transcription factor, while others seem to be activated or are not altered, indicating a high level of complexity in the organization of TAL1-mediated transcriptional regulatory networks. Also, specific association of the expression levels of TAL1 targets in TAL1 positive primary leukemia samples has been shown by comparing gene expression arrays from the different T-ALL subsets. Our results indicate that TAL1 acts as a master transcriptional regulator at the top of a complex regulatory network that contributes to leukemogenesis by regulating T-cell differentiation, proliferation and survival.
The search for Fort Armstrong: Dendroarchaeology of the Williamson “Snow Hill” Plantation, Cherokee County, Alabama, U.S.A.

Abstract Tree-ring dating has been applied to three historical log buildings in northeastern Alabama to determine if any of the structures could have been associated with historic Fort Armstrong. Fort Armstrong was constructed near Cedar Bluff, Alabama by militia members under the ultimate command of Andrew Jackson to support actions against the “Red Stick” faction of Creeks during the First Creek War in 1813. Comparison of tree-ring samples from the structures with reference chronologies from nearby living trees strongly indicates that none of the three buildings was constructed prior to about 1849 and therefore could not have been contemporaneous with Fort Armstrong. However, the dating does indicate that the buildings are Antebellum in age and were very likely constructed as part of the early development of Snow Hill Plantation. As such these structures provide insight into the physical and cultural patterns of an early Alabama plantation. We believe that this project represents the first dendroarchaeological research reported from Alabama.
Detection of Degenerative Osteophytes of the Spine on PET/CT Using Region-Based Convolutional Neural Networks

The identification and detection of degenerative osteophytes of the spine is a challenging and time-consuming task that is important for the diagnosis of many spine diseases. Previous attempts to automate this task have been focused on using image features derived from radiographic diagnostic expertise rather than directly learning features. In this paper, we present a bottom-up approach to generate features for classification using a region-based convolutional neural network with unwrapped cortical shell maps from 18F-NaF positron emission tomography and computed tomography scans of the vertebral bodies of the thoracic and lumbar spine. We evaluated osteophyte detection performance on 45 individuals with 5-fold cross validation and achieved state-of-the-art performance with 85% sensitivity at 2 false positive detections per patient.
Randomized Clinical Trials of Gene Transfer for Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction.

Despite improvements in drug and device therapy for heart failure, hospitalization rates and mortality have changed little in the past decade. Randomized clinical trials using gene transfer to improve function of the failing heart are the focus of this review. Four randomized clinical trials of gene transfer in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) have been published. Each enrolled patients with stable symptomatic HFrEF and used either intracoronary delivery of a virus vector or endocardial injection of a plasmid. The initial CUPID trial randomized 14 subjects to placebo and 25 subjects to escalating doses of adeno-associated virus type 1 encoding sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (AAV1.SERCA2a). AAV1.SERCA2a was well tolerated, and the high-dose group met a 6 month composite endpoint. In the subsequent CUPID-2 study, 243 subjects received either placebo or the high dose of AAV1.SERCA2a. AAV1.SERCA2a administration, while safe, failed to meet the primary or any secondary endpoints. STO...
A Disturbance Attenuation Approach to Adaptive Control

Abstract This paper discusses the the control of systems with poorly known, not necessarily constant parameters under the effect of process and measurement noise. To limit the effects of the uncertainties and disturbances, a disturbance attenuation function is constructed, and converted to a performance index. A multi-player game is then considered, in which the control attempts to minimize the performance index, which the uncertainties and disturbances attempt to maximize. By taking a dynamic programming approach, the problem is decomposed into a forward-looking optimal control problem and a past-time filtering problem. These are each much simpler than the original problem, allowing a larger class of problems to be tackled. Most of the results presented here are for linear systems, with some suggestions for their extension to non-linear cases.
Conic Through Five Points

Five points determine a conic. If you pick five points in the plane, what is the resulting conic that interpolates those points?
The approach to Celiac Disease in children.

Celiac Disease (CD) is a permanent, irreversible but treatable multifactorial disease triggered by the ingestion of gluten (a plant storage protein contained in wheat, barley and rye) in genetically predisposed individuals and resulting in an autoimmune small intestinal inflammation with systemic implications. While the gastrointestinal manifestations secondary to an inflammatory enteropathy with variable degrees of severity are what defined it for many decades, CD is in fact characterized also by a wide range of extra-intestinal complaints and elevated titers of celiac-specific autoantibodies. 1.1. Epidemiology and pathogenesis The prevalence of CD is increasing at a remarkable pace during the past few decades [1], [2], [3]. Once thought to be a rare condition, affecting no more than 1/10,000 people, thanks to the availability and widespread use of specific and sensitive serological markers, CD is now recognized worldwide as a common disorder, with a prevalence varying between 0.3 and 3 per 100. Only a limited portion of the expected celiac patients are however actually identified, with proportions varying between different countries: in the USA, even though overall CD prevalence is estimated to be around 1%, only about 15% of this population (including children and adults) has been diagnosed and can therefore be treated [4]. This phenomenon of under-diagnosis is likely due to a combination of inadequate awareness and a high prevalence of asymptomatic or oligo-symptomatic patients. Like most multifactorial disorders, CD is the result of a complex interaction between genes, immune status of the host, and environmental triggers. Gluten is a heterogeneous molecule. The gluten fractions that are toxic to celiac patients are a mixture of alcohol-soluble proteins called gliadins. Gliadins are rich in glutamine and proline residues, which even the healthy human intestine cannot fully digest. As a result, intact gliadin peptides are left in the lumen, and some cross the intestinal barrier. These fragments come into contact with the intracellular enzyme tissue transglutaminase (tTG), which deamidates them, leading to a change in shape and increased negative charge. This creates peptides that can easily be captured by the HLA-DQ2 and/or DQ8 molecules expressed on the surface of the lamina propria-associated antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and are presented to CD4+ T cells triggering an inflammatory reaction [5]. The end result of this autoimmune-triggered inflammatory reaction is a varied degree of small intestinal mucosal damage, typically more severe proximally than distally. The role of additional environmental factors is still the object of an intense research. Recently, our group showed evidence for a plausible role of an otherwise innocuous viral infection (Reovirus) in creating a pro-inflammatory milieu conducive to the development of overt CD [6].
A non-local model t-matrix in a quasi-three-body reaction

Abstract The (p, 2p) cross section is calculated using local and non-local p-p effective interactions in order to distinguish off-energy-shell effects between the interactions. The quasi-three-body assumption is used in which the effects of other channels are taken into account with a complex potential. The formalism used is the distorted wave t -matrix approximation in the static limit. The distorted waves are approximated by fairly simple but realistic optical wave functions. The parameters involved in these approximate optical waves are determined using a local t -matrix and a good fit to the more complicated DWTA theory is obtained. The effects of these parameters on the (p, 2p) cross sections are indicated. Then three values for the non-local range parameter R are chosen, one of which is zero and the parameters in all the t -matrices are adjusted to fit p-p scattering as closely as possible. The theoretical calculations fit the experimental p-p energy distribution at 90° in the centre-of-mass system over a wide range of energies. Then the (p, 2p) angular distributions are calculated using the non-local t -matrices, and the local and non-local (p, 2p) cross sections are compared to experiment. It is seen that the off-energy-shell effects associated with each t -matrix are discernible and a fairly good fit to experiment is obtained with R = 0.5 fm.
Potential Neuroprotective Strategies for Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by physical trauma to the brain tissue that temporarily or permanently impairs brain function. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 2 million people sustain a TBI in the USA each year, of which approximately 70,000–90,000 suffer from long-term disability (Nolan, 2005). Symptoms and severity of a TBI can be mild, moderate, or severe depending on the intensity of impact and extent of the damage to the brain. Some TBI symptoms appear immediately, while others do not appear until several days or weeks. Mild TBI symptoms include headache, confusion, lightheadedness, dizziness, blurred vision, fatigue, and trouble with memory (Bahraini et al., 2009). Moderate TBI produces a headache that gets worse with time, seizures, inability to awaken from sleep, dilation of one or both pupils of the eyes, slurred speech, loss of coordination, increased confusion.
Multifacet Universes of Admissible Observations and G Study Designs

Often, generalizability analyses may be viewed as two-stage processes. The goal of the first stage is to obtain estimated variance components for a G study design, given a universe of admissible observations. The second stage involves using these estimated variance components in the context of a D study design and universe of generalization to estimate quantities such as universe score variance, error variances, and coefficients. This dichotomy of stages is somewhat arbitrary at times, but it is a conceptually meaningful distinction. Therefore, this chapter treats multifacet G study designs and universes of admissible observations, while Chapters 4 and 5 treat multi-facet D study design considerations and universes of generalization.
Membrane receptors for very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) inhibitor of lymphocyte proliferation.

Physiologic concentrations of human plasma very low density lipoproteins inhibit the DNA synthesis of lymphocytes stimulated by allogeneic cells or lectins. In this report we have compared the effects of isolated lipoproteins [very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), low density lipoproteins (LDL), and high density lipoproteins (HDL)] and lipoprotein-depleted plasma (LDP) on DNA synthesis by phytohemagglutinin-stimulated human lymphocytes. The relative potency for the inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation was VLDL greater than LDL greater than HDL greater than LDP. Fifty percent inhibition of DNA synthesis was observed at a VLDL protein concentration of 1.5--2.0 microgram/ml. We have further demonstrated the presence of specific receptors for VLDL on human lymphocytes. Native VLDL was more effective than LDL in competing for 125I-VLDL binding sites. Subsequent to binding to lymphocytes, 125I-VLDL was internalized and degraded to acid- soluble products. Based on a Scatchard analysis of VLDL binding at 4 degrees C, the number of VLDL receptors per lymphocyte was estimated at 28,000 +/- 1300. Based on an estimated mean binding affinity for the VLDL receptor complex at half saturation of approximately 8.8 X 10(7) liter/mole, it is estimated that 91% of lymphocyte VLDL receptors are occupied at physiologic VLDL concentrations in blood. Although the immune regulatory role of plasma lipoproteins is uncertain, we suggest tha VLDL and LDL-In may maintain circulating blood lymphocytes in a nonproliferative state via their respective cell receptor mechanisms.
Congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens and cystic fibrosis: a genetic commonality

CF and CBAVD are really just ends of a clinical spectrum. The type and nature of the mutations in the CF gene probably determine the phenotypic expression of the patient. Perhaps all patients homozygous for ΔF508, for example, will have severe pulmonary and pancreatic disease as well as absent vasa, whereas those with other combinations, such as ΔF508/D1270N, will be unaffected in terms of pulmonary and pancreatic function but will have absent vasa. Besides contributing to a better understanding of the nature of CBAVD, this linkage of CF and CBAVD most importantly mandates genetic screening and counseling for appropriate family members and even the patient's spouse. In addition, a broader understanding of CF is now at hand, as this brings a whole new cohort of patients under the CF umbrella. Many of these will have at least one, if not two, rare or novel CF gene mutations. Once all of these mutations have been detected and defined, our knowledge of the CF gene, its mutations, and their implications will be dramatically expanded.
Ending Use of Oral Poliovirus Vaccine — A Difficult Move in the Polio Endgame

Ending Use of Oral Poliovirus Vaccine The global health community has taken the first step toward eliminating use of oral poliovirus vaccine: switching from trivalent to bivalent vaccine. The polio endgame requires monitoring the effects on circulating viruses, followed by other challenging steps.
A climatic delineation of the ‘real’ Chihuahuan Desert

The Chihuahuan Desert is one of the least-known regions in North America. The lack of scientific investigation by any discipline is reflected by the vague and inconsistent boundaries assigned to this arid zone. Placing the Chihuahuan Desert into a regional framework is further complicated by the lack of studies which extend across the international boundary between the United States and Mexico. This investigation was undertaken to provide a more detailed and definitive map of the Chihuahuan Desert. Mean annual temperatures and precipitation values, obtained for nearly 800 weather stations, were utilized to delineate the Chihuahuan Desert based upon the de Martonne aridity index. Using an aridity index ≤ 10, it was found that the Chihuahuan Desert occupies approximately 350,000 km2, and includes 115 weather stations. As large areas exist where climatic data are not available, or where long-term climatic records are non-existent, twelve other delineations of this arid zone were mapped at the same scale to make possible a comparison, and provide additional basis for establishing relatively firm boundaries for North America’s least known desert.
FALLS DATA COLLECTION METHODS FROM A FALL PREVENTION TRIAL IN OLDER WOMEN CANCER SURVIVORS

Women with cancer are more likely to fall than women without cancer placing them at high risk of fall-related fractures, other injuries and disabilities. Determining the efficacy of fall prevention programs depends upon reliable self-reporting of falls. The purpose of this paper is to describe the approach used to collect falls as a primary endpoint of a 12-month fall prevention exercise trial in older women cancer survivors. GET FIT (Group Exercise Training for Functional Improvement after Treatment) was a randomized controlled trial of women cancer survivors aged 50–75 years who had completed chemotherapy and were randomized into one of three exercise groups: strength training, tai chi, or seated stretching (control). We captured falls and injurious falls through monthly and quarterly self-report. Women with an e-mail address received surveys electronically via REDCap and women without one completed the survey by phone, postcard, or in exercise class. Out of 442 randomized women, 96% (n=422) reported having an e-mail. Women with an email address were more likely to be white race (p<0.01) and married/partnered (p<0.01). On average, 92% of participants with an e-mail completed the monthly survey electronically with less than 1% missing a monthly survey at any given month. Women without an e-mail took significantly more time to respond compared to women with an email (5 ± 4 days vs. 2 ± 4 days; p=0.003). Electronic data capture of self-report falls from older cancer survivors is feasible and efficient and may result in less recall error due to a shorter time to completion.
Use of economic predictions to make formulary decisions.

Purpose The accuracy of cost savings and reimbursement predictions for medications added to an academic medical center formulary was assessed. Methods Formulary changes over a 5-year period were reviewed by the investigators. Medications were included if the medication was added to formulary and the monograph included cost savings or reimbursement data that indicated a positive net margin. The primary endpoints were percent predicted cost savings and net margin per medication based on medication cost only. Secondary endpoints included the percent of medications with at least 100% predicted cost savings or net margin and evaluation of median percent predicted savings or net margin individually. Results The pharmacy and therapeutics committee reviewed 558 formulary agenda items, 184 of which were selected for further analysis. In total, 19 medications were identified as having a predicted monetary advantage. The endpoints of percent predicted cost savings and net margin yielded a median of 76.5% (range 72.9-188.71%) (n = 3) and 148.2% (IQR 108.9-543.3%) (n = 16), respectively. For 13 (68%) of 19 medications, the percent predicted cost savings or net margin was at least 100%. Conclusion Economic predictions utilized for formulary management at an academic medical center generated net positive monetary value for medications where predicted cost savings or reimbursement factored into the decision to add a medication to the formulary.
Utility of a Simple and Robust Flow Cytometry Assay for Rapid Clonality Testing in Mature Peripheral T-Cell Lymphomas.

Objectives Flow cytometry immunophenotyping is limited by poor resolution of T-cell clones. A newly described antibody was recently used to distinguish normal peripheral blood T cells from malignant T-cell clones. Here, we evaluate this antibody as a new diagnostic tool for detecting T-cell clonality in mature peripheral T-cell lymphomas. Methods Immunostaining for the T-cell receptor β chain constant region 1 (TRBC1) along with routine T-cell markers was performed on 51 peripheral blood and two bone marrow samples submitted to the flow cytometry laboratory for suspected T-cell malignancy. Results TRBC immunophenotyping identified malignant T-cell clones with 97% sensitivity and 91% specificity. Findings correlated with molecular T-cell clonality testing. In cases with equivocal molecular results, TRBC1 immunophenotyping provided additional diagnostic information. Conclusions TRBC1 flow cytometric immunophenotyping is a robust and inexpensive method for identifying T-cell clonality that could easily be incorporated into routine flow cytometric practice.
An Example Program

Excerpts from a course scheduling application have been used to illustrate the concepts presented in the first four chapters of this book. This chapter presents the complete application, shows the complete class hierarchy of all classes, explains its overall object-oriented organization, and provides all C++ class descriptions plus a main C++ program. This application also shows the existence and use of classes and objects that are provided by supporting libraries.
Nanoparticle Deposition in Rhythmically Moving Acinar Models with Interalveolar Septal Apertures

Pulmonary delivery of nanomedicines has been extensively studied in recent years because of their enhanced biocompatibility, sustained-release properties, and surface modification capability. The lung as a target also offers many advantages over other routers, such as large surface area, noninvasive, quick therapeutic onset, and avoiding first-pass metabolism. However, nanoparticles smaller than 0.26 µm typically escape phagocytosis and remain in the alveoli for a long time, leading to particle accumulation and invoking tissue responses. It is imperative to understand the behavior and fates of inhaled nanoparticles in the alveoli to reliably assess therapeutic outcomes of nanomedicines or health risk of environmental toxins. The objective of this study is to numerically investigate nanoparticle deposition in a duct-alveolar model with varying sizes of inter-alveolar septal apertures (pores). A discrete phase Lagrangian model was implemented to track nanoparticle trajectories under the influence of rhythmic wall expansion and contraction. Both temporal and spatial dosimetry in the alveoli were computed. Wall motions are essential for nanoparticles to penetrate the acinar region and deposit in the alveoli. The level of aerosol irreversibility (i.e., mixing of inhaled nanoparticles with residual air in the alveolar airspace) is determined by the particle diffusivity, which in turn, dictates the fraction of particles being exhaled out. When deposition in the upper airways was not considered, high alveolar deposition rates (74–95%) were predicted for all nanoparticles considered (1–1000 nm), which were released into the alveoli at the beginning of the inhalation. The pore size notably affects the deposition pattern of inhaled nanoparticles but exerts a low impact upon the total deposition fractions. This finding indicates that consistent pulmonary doses of nanomedicine are possible in emphysema patients if breathing maneuver with the same tidal volume can be performed.
Improved Field Evaluation of Reference Cell Using Spectral Measurements

Output from a reference solar cell mounted on a one-axis tracking surface is investigated using 350 nm to 1650 nm spectral irradiance measurements on selected days throughout the year. Comparisons are made to a Class-A pyranometer also mounted on the tracking surface. The ratio of the reference cell’s measurements to reference pyranometer measurements exhibit systematic biases over the day and year. Most of this bias is linked to spectral, temperature, and angle-of-incident effects that differ for the reference cell and the pyranometer. The comparison is done for selected clear and totally cloudy days to determine the magnitude of the effects and to characterize they influence the measurements made with reference cells.
Nephropathic cystinosis: A cause of renal fanconi syndrome

We hereby describe a case of nephropathic cystinosis who presented as growth failure, polydipsia, and renal Fanconi syndrome. The diagnosis was based on demonstration of elevated leukocyte cystine content and mutations in CTNS. Management with oral cysteamine and cysteamine eyedrops along with adequate nutrition and appropriate supplements, was associated with improvement in growth and development.
Optimizing the Learning Experience: Examining Interactions Between the Individual Learner and the Learning Context

The modern educational environment extends beyond the lecture-based classroom and now involves virtual, simulated, and applied learning contexts. Due to innate individual differences, no learning environment is ideal for all individual learners. Each learner exhibits individual difference factors that can impact one’s involvement, achievement, and satisfaction in learning across different learning contexts. This paper discusses the unique dynamics between individual difference variables and modern learning environments including online classrooms, simulation-based, and applied learning contexts. Recommendations to better support the full range of individual learners are discussed and presented.
Demonstration for Weaving a Second Skin: Exploring Opportunities for Crafting On-Skin Interfaces Through Weaving

Weaving as a craft possesses the structural, textural, aesthetic, and cultural expressiveness for creating a diversity of soft, wearable forms that are capable of technological integration. In this paper, we extend the woven practice for crafting on-skin interfaces, exploring the potential to "weave a second skin." Weaving incorporates circuitry in the textile structure, which, when extended to on-skin interface fabrication, allows for electrical connections between layers while maintaining a slim form. Weaving also supports multi-materials integration in the structure itself, offering richer materiality for on-skin devices. Using a fabrication approach which leverages skin-friendly PVA film for on-skin adherence, we present a series of case studies illustrating the functional and design potential of adapting weaving for crafting on-skin interfaces. This is the demonstration abstract accompanying the full paper.
Social-ecological predictors of school functioning in Hispanic children treated for cancer with central nervous system-directed therapies

BACKGROUND Children with brain tumor or acute leukemia are at risk for neurotoxic side effects associated with their cancer therapies. These long-term deficits include poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in school and lower educational achievement. Although social-ecological factors may impact these outcomes, it is not known which factors play a role. Our objective was to evaluate the factors affecting school HRQOL in Hispanic childhood cancer survivors, an important at-risk group. PROCEDURE Multivariable regression analyses examined whether selected social-ecological factors contribute toward suboptimal school HRQOL in 73 Hispanic children treated with central nervous system (CNS)-directed cancer therapies after accounting for effects associated with established cancer-related risk factors. RESULTS Consistent with expectations from prior research, in our multivariate analysis, the cancer-related factors of having a brain tumor diagnosis and being younger at cancer diagnosis were significant predictors of reduced parent-reported school HRQOL (F(2,65) = 5.46, P < .01) and accounted for 14% of the variance. Adding the social-ecological variables of parent education, child motivation, and parental knowledge accounted for an additional 25% of the variance in school HRQOL, where higher levels were associated with better child school HRQOL. Parenting knowledge was a contributor even after controlling for effects associated with the other variables in the model (F(1,62) = 4.88, P < .05). CONCLUSIONS Cancer survivorship care should incorporate parent education interventions to enhance the child's school functioning, particularly for Hispanic childhood cancer survivors from predominantly Spanish-speaking families. Future research should consider other at-risk groups and incorporate social-ecological indicators to predict HRQOL outcomes.
The DARPA SubT Urban Circuit Mapping Dataset and Evaluation Metric

Software solutions to the Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) problem have successfully transitioned from the laboratory to the commercial sector in recent years; however, these systems often operate under ideal conditions and in structured environments.
Short and long-term outcomes of surgical intervention for empyema in the post-fibrinolytic era

Open window thoracostomy (OWT) is indicated for patients with bronchopleural fistula (BPF) or trapped lung in the setting of empyema refractory to non-surgical interventions. We investigated the role of OWT in the era of minimally invasive surgeries, endobronchial valves and fibrinolytic therapy. A retrospective chart review of all patients who underwent OWT at a single institution from 2010 to 2020 was performed. Indications for the procedure as well as operative details and morbidity and mortality were evaluated to determine patient outcomes for OWT. Eighteen patients were identified for the study. The most common indication for OWT was post-resectional BPF (n = 9). Prior to OWT, n = 11 patients failed other surgical or minimally invasive interventions. Patient comorbidities were quantified with the Charlson Comorbidity index (n = 11 score ≥ 5, 10-year survival ≤21%). Three (16.7%) patients died < 30 days post-operatively and 12 (66%) patients were deceased by the study’s end (overall survival 24.0 ± 32.2 months). Mean number of ribs resected were 2.5 ± 1.2 (range 1–6) with one patient having 6 ribs removed. Patients were managed with negative pressure wound therapy (n = 9) or Kerlix packing (n = 9). Eleven patients (61.6%) underwent delayed closure (mean time from index surgery to closure 4.8 ± 6.7 months). Our study illustrates the significant comorbidities of patients undergoing OWT, the poor outcomes therein, and pitfalls associated with this procedure. We show that negative pressure wound therapy can be utilized as potential way to obliterate the pleural space and manage an open chest in the absence of an airleak; however, OWT procedures continue to be extremely morbid.
Deep Generative Models for Spatial Networks

Spatial networks represent crucial data structures where the nodes and edges are embedded in a geometric space. Nowadays, spatial network data is becoming increasingly popular and important, ranging from microscale (e.g., protein structures), to middle-scale (e.g., biological neural networks), to macro-scale (e.g., mobility networks). Although, modeling and understanding the generative process of spatial networks are very important, they remain largely under-explored due to the significant challenges in automatically modeling and distinguishing the independency and correlation among various spatial and network factors. To address these challenges, we first propose a novel objective for joint spatial-network disentanglement from the perspective of information bottleneck as well as a novel optimization algorithm to optimize the intractable objective. Based on this, a spatial-network variational autoencoder (SND-VAE) with a new spatial-network message passing neural network (S-MPNN) is proposed to discover the independent and dependent latent factors of spatial and networks. Qualitative and quantitative experiments on both synthetic and real-world datasets demonstrate the superiority of the proposed model over the state-of-the-arts by up to 66.9% for graph generation and 37.3% for interpretability.
Riding Out the Immigration Storm: Higher Education Responses and Support Provided to International Students in the U.S. During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The immigration and travel restrictions imposed by the U.S. government during the pandemic affected both international students preparing to start their academics in the U.S. and those currently enrolled. Reviewing the websites of 160 U.S. colleges and universities enrolling the highest numbers of international students, this study investigated if and how these institutions supported their international students during the time of global crisis. The results, obtained thought discourse analysis, revealed that the majority of websites (74%) provided such guidance, while the remaining 26% did not include any COVID-related content. Further, only 10% of the institutions issued official statements to and in support of their international students during the pandemic. In addition to portraying the volume and scope of support provided to international students by their institutions, this research also presented recommendations for all colleges and universities that are yet to respond to the international members of their academic communities.
Solar array experiments on the SPHINX satellite

The Space Plasma, High Voltage Interaction Experiment (SPHINX) is the name given to an auxiliary payload satellite scheduled to be launched in January 1974. The principal experiments carried on this satellite are specifically designed to obtain the engineering data on the interaction of high voltage systems with the space plasma. The classes of experiments are solar array segments, insulators, insulators with pin holes and conductors. The satellite is also carrying experiments to obtain flight data on three new solar array configurations; the edge illuminated-multijunction cells, the Teflon encased cells and the violet cells.
Living on the Edges: Spatial Niche Occupation of Asian Citrus Psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), in Citrus Groves.

The spatial niche occupation of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, 1908, was evaluated to determine its field colonization and food resource exploitation strategies in citrus groves. Mature grapefruit and sweet orange groves were surveyed as part of an area-wide program in 2009–2010 to determine D. citri population densities and between-tree distribution. In both cultivars, significantly more psyllids were found on perimeter trees throughout the study period suggesting a strong edge effect in D. citri distribution in the groves. D. citri densities and infestation levels gradually declined from the edge to the center of grove. Higher numbers of D. citri were recorded on trees located on the east and south sides of the groves than those on the west and north sides. Citrus groves located at the outer edge of the study with at least one side non-surrounded to other citrus groves harbored significantly more D. citri than groves located within the block cluster and entirely surrounded by other groves. In detailed field studies during 2012, infestation of D. citri started from border trees in the grove where possibly one generation is completed before inner trees become infested. In addition, psyllid densities decreased significantly with increasing distance from the grove edge. Using the selection index, D citri exhibited a strong niche occupation preference for border trees.
Size-Adjusted Sliding Window LFU - A New Web Caching Scheme

Web caching is a scalable and effective way to reduce network traffic and response time. In this study, we propose a new cache replacement policy for proxy and Web servers, the Size-Adjusted Sliding Window LFU (SSW-LFU). In this policy, we use the rates of recent accesses within a sliding window to estimate the probability of future document accesses. In addition, we take into account the variable sizes of documents. Simulations with real-life web access data are conducted to evaluate the performance. SSW-LFU outperformed other algorithms in hit ratio and had comparable byte hit ratio when compared with other algorithms such as LFU, LRU, Size, LRU-Min, etc.
Seeing Is Believing

Many metabolic reactions involve the enzyme-catalyzed transfer of phospho groups, but the intimate detail of such transfers and how they are catalyzed have been unclear. Knowles discusses new, direct, structural information ( Lahiri et al.) that vividly suggests that these reactions proceed by a partly associative in-line mechanism.
Financial crisis begets financial reform? The origin of the crisis matters

The empirical literature assessing whether crisis begets reform has paid little attention to the role of the origin of crises. This paper considers seven dimensions of financial reform, as well as an aggregate index of these dimensions, and focuses on crises defined as sudden stops in financial flows. Recent work on gross financial flows provides a suitable strategy to distinguish between domestic crises (sudden flight) and external crises (true sudden stops). While the origin of the crisis plays no role in explaining the likelihood of reform in the case of the aggregate index of financial reform, different origins of crises affect different individual dimensions of financial reform. Thus, the origin of the crisis matters when assessing the nexus between financial crisis and financial reform. The evidence is particularly compelling for the case of sudden flight and reform of capital account restrictions, and more tentative for the case of true sudden stops and reform of banking regulation and supervision. These findings underscore the need to pay greater attention to the origin of crises in empirical work focusing on the relationship between financial crisis and financial reform, and also in theoretical models of the political economy of financial reform.
Meeting delay requirements in computer networks with wormhole routing

We study high performance networks with wormhole routing and investigate their performance in terms of meeting message delay constraints. Traditional system uses unregulated greedy transmission control. This may result in unfairness of network access and unbounded packet blocking time, making it very difficult to efficiently support real-time applications. To overcome this problem, we propose a regulated transmission control method in which packet transmission at the source is regulated and hence unnecessary network contention is eliminated The regulated method is a generalization of the unregulated method and can be easily implemented in most of the commercially available networks.
Elements of the Anatomy and Physiology of the Respiratory System

The principal function of the respiratory system is to extract oxygen (O2) from atmospheric air in the lungs, transport it to body tissues, and evacuate excess carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O) by expelling them from the lungs back into the atmosphere. In so doing, this system also controls the body’s acid-base balance, on which the O2 transport system and metabolism depend.
Separating psychological factors from brain trauma in treating a hyperactive child.

Discussing treatment planning for a young child this month is Major Peter S. Jensen, M.D., who is assistant chief if the child, adolescent, and family psychiatry service at the Eisenhower Army Medi...
Drivers' judgments of the effect of headlight glare on their ability to see pedestrians at night

Abstract Introduction Several studies have concluded that pedestrians typically overestimate their own conspicuity to approaching drivers at night. The present experiments extended this research by exploring the accuracy of drivers' judgments of pedestrian conspicuity while facing varying degrees of headlight glare. Method In Experiment 1, participants on an open road estimated their ability to see a roadside pedestrian in each of two clothing configurations and with each of three different glare intensities present. In Experiment 2, participants responded to a roadside pedestrian under the same open road conditions; the participants were naive with regard to both the position of the pedestrian and to the clothing and glare manipulations. Results Consistent with earlier research, estimates of response distance were, on the average, over three times greater than actual recognition distance. The extent to which participants overestimated conspicuity was greater when the pedestrian wore a retroreflective vest, and participants incorrectly judged that headlight glare would not degrade drivers' ability to see a pedestrian wearing a retroreflective vest. Conclusions and Practical Applications These results confirm that road users' understanding of issues involving drivers' night vision is limited. These misunderstandings may result in road users behaving in ways that increase the risk of nighttime collisions with pedestrians.
Mitochondrial dysfunction in mouse models of Parkinson's disease revealed by transcriptomics and proteomics.

It has been long thought that neuronal loss in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is related to reactive oxygen species from mitochondrial dysfunction. However, there have been few investigations surveying both transcriptome and proteome in PD. This review focuses on recent work using microarrays and mass spectrometry to examine neurotoxicological models of PD in the mouse. Molecular pathways involved in oxidative phosphorylation, oxidative stress, apoptosis/cell death, signal transduction and neurotransmission were highlighted. Analysis of tyrosine nitration suggested that this important post-translational modification, due to conjugation of reactive oxygen species with nitric oxide, may play an important role in signal transduction as well as the molecular pathology of PD. Thus, the combined investigations highlight known pathways in PD but also point to new directions for research, implicating particularly the role of relatively understudied classes of post-translational modifications in normal cell signaling and neurological disorders.
STOCHASTIC DYNAMICS OF ELECTRORECEPTORS IN PADDLEFISH

Electroreceptors in paddlefish serve as accessible and well-defined biological models for studying the functional roles in sensory nervous systems of noisy oscillations and the nonlinear phenomena associated with them, including synchronization, noise-induced transitions, and noise-induced bursting. The spontaneous dynamics of paddlefish electroreceptors show two oscillatory modes: one associated with 26 Hz oscillations in the sensory epithelia, and another with 30-65 Hz periodicities of afferent terminals. This novel type of organization of peripheral sensory receptors, with two distinct types of embedded oscillators, results in stochastic biperiodic firing patterns of primary afferents. The biperiodicity can be explained qualitatively in terms of a simple model based on a stochastic circle map. Stimulation with broadband Gaussian noise changes the tonic firing pattern of electroreceptors to a bursting mode, indicating a noise-induced transition. This qualitative change in dynamics leads to burst synchronization among different electroreceptors.
Adsorption of copper cyanide on chemically active adsorbents

An inorganic chemically active adsorbent (ICAA), SG(1)-TEPA (tetraethylenepentaamine)-propyl, is developed for removal, recovery, and recycling of copper cyanide from industrial waste streams. Equilibrium studies are executed to determine and model adsorption of the copper cyanide complex from aqueous solutions in a batch and packed column. It appears that adsorption is dependent on anionic copper cyanide species and the basicity of the ligand. Aqueous-phase equilibrium modeling shows that monovalent (Cu(CN)2-), divalent (Cu(CN)32-), and trivalent (Cu(CN)43-) species of copper cyanide exist in the solution, depending on the pH and the concentration of total cyanide ions. Batch adsorption data are modeled using a modified multicomponent Langmuir isotherm which includes aqueous-phase speciation and basicity of the SG(1)-TEPA-propyl. This developed model is applied with a mass balance equation to describe the adsorption of copper cyanide complexes in a packed column.