cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Disparities in 17-Hydroxyprogesterone Caproate Offer and Uptake in Pregnancies at a Risk of Preterm Birth.

Objective To evaluate the offer, acceptance, uptake, and patient experience with 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17OHP-C) over the course of 10 years. Study Design This is a retrospective cohort study with a qualitative component. We identified all women with spontaneous preterm deliveries with subsequent births in our hospital between 2005 and 2015. We used linear regression to calculate unadjusted odds ratios for 17OHP-C offer, acceptance, and doses received associated with predictors of interest, and multivariable modeling further adjusted for potential confounders. A grounded theory approach was used to glean recurrent themes surrounding the patient experience. Results A total of 265 women fit the eligibility criteria; 39.6% were offered 17OHP-C and 83.8% accepted 17OHP-C. The mean number of documented 17OHP-C doses was 15.7 ± 5.4. Women were less likely to be offered 17OHP-C if they had public insurance or if their earliest preterm birth was of greater gestational age. Non-Hispanic black women were documented to have received four fewer doses than white women. We also identified recurrent themes that hindered acceptance and adherence to 17OHP-C: insurance difficulties, unstable housing, lack of childcare, and job inflexibility. Conclusion Women at a risk of preterm birth are more likely to be offered and receive 17OHP-C if they have private insurance and have had an earlier preterm birth. Non-Hispanic black women were documented to have received fewer doses of 17OHP-C than white women. Further inquiry into the structural causes that lead to disparities in care for women at a risk for preterm birth is important.
Testosterone moderates the effects of social support on cardiovascular disease risk factors among older US men.

OBJECTIVES Social support positively affects health through pathways such as shaping intrapersonal emotional and psychological well-being. Lower testosterone often interrelates with psychological and behavioral orientations that are beneficial to participation in emotionally supportive relationships. Yet, little research has considered the ways in which testosterone may contribute to health outcomes related to emotional support. METHODS We draw on testosterone, social support data, and cardiovascular disease (CVD)-relevant indicators (inflammatory markers; blood pressure [BP]) from older men (n = 366) enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a US nationally representative study. We test whether men's testosterone moderates associations between emotional social support and markers related to CVD risk. RESULTS For men with relatively lower testosterone, higher levels of social support predicted lower white blood cell (WBC) counts, consistent with reduced inflammation. In contrast, men with higher testosterone exhibited elevated WBC counts with greater support. In a diverging pattern, men with lower testosterone had higher systolic and diastolic BP with higher support, whereas the slopes for systolic and diastolic BP, respectively, were comparatively flatter for men with higher levels of testosterone. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that our findings are theoretically consistent with the idea that testosterone helps shape intrapersonal and interpersonal experiences and perceptions of men's emotional support networks, thereby affecting the health implications of that support. The somewhat divergent results for WBC count vs BP highlight the need for inclusion of other neuroendocrine markers alongside testosterone as well as refined measures of perceived and received support.
Cost of hospitalization for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in the United States.

Abstract Objective Recent large-scale studies describing hospitalization cost trends secondary to aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) in the United States are lacking. We sought to discover the impact of aSAH-related factors upon its hospitalization cost. Patients and methods Patients with a primary diagnosis of aSAH were selected utilizing the National Inpatient Sample. Regression analyses were used to evaluate the impact of aSAH-related factors on hospitalization costs. Results From 2002–2014, 22,831 cases of aSAH were identified. The inflation-adjusted mean cost of hospitalization was $82,514 (standard deviation ± $54,983). The proportion of males was lower (31%), but a higher cost of $3385 (± $685; p Conclusion aSAH is a significant financial burden on the United States healthcare system. We were able to identify many important factors associated with higher costs, and these results may help us understand resource utilization and develop future cost-reduction strategies.
Combination therapy targeting both innate and adaptive immunity improves survival in a pre-clinical model of ovarian cancer

Despite major advancements in immunotherapy among a number of solid tumors, response rates among ovarian cancer patients remain modest. Standard treatment for ovarian cancer is still surgery followed by taxane- and platinum-based chemotherapy. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop novel treatment options for clinical translation. Our approach was to analyze the effects of standard chemotherapy in the tumor microenvironment of mice harboring orthotopic, syngeneic ID8-Vegf-Defb29 ovarian tumors in order to mechanistically determine a complementary immunotherapy combination. Specifically, we interrogated the molecular and cellular consequences of chemotherapy by analyzing gene expression and flow cytometry data. These data show that there is an immunosuppressive shift in the myeloid compartment, with increased expression of IL-10 and ARG1, but no activation of CD3+ T cells shortly after chemotherapy treatment. We therefore selected immunotherapies that target both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system. Survival studies revealed that standard chemotherapy was complemented most effectively by a combination of anti-IL-10, 2′3’-cGAMP, and anti-PD-L1. Immunotherapy dramatically decreased the immunosuppressive myeloid population while chemotherapy effectively activated dendritic cells. Together, combination treatment increased the number of activated T and dendritic cells as well as expression of cytotoxic factors. It was also determined that the immunotherapy had to be administered concurrently with the chemotherapy to reverse the acute immunosuppression caused by chemotherapy. Mechanistic studies revealed that antitumor immunity in this context was driven by CD4+ T cells, which acquired a highly activated phenotype. Our data suggest that these CD4+ T cells can kill cancer cells directly via granzyme B-mediated cytotoxicity. Finally, we showed that this combination therapy is also effective at delaying tumor growth substantially in an aggressive model of lung cancer, which is also treated clinically with taxane- and platinum-based chemotherapy. This work highlights the importance of CD4+ T cells in tumor immunology. Furthermore, the data support the initiation of clinical trials in ovarian cancer that target both innate and adaptive immunity, with a focus on optimizing dosing schedules.
Interactive effects of fuels reduction and large herbivores on shrub assemblages in dry conifer forests of the interior west, USA

Abstract Deciduous shrubs are widely distributed throughout temperate and boreal conifer forests and influence a wide range of ecological processes and forest resources. In the interior western U.S., many deciduous shrubs are highly preferred forage by wild (elk, Cervus canadensis; deer, Odocoileus spp.) and domestic (cattle) ungulates which can influence shrub abundance, composition, structural characteristics, and related ecological processes and interactions. Stand disturbances and silvicultural practices can also affect shrub assemblages and managers in the interior western U.S. are increasingly implementing fuels reduction treatments such as stand thinning and prescribed fire to reduce fuel loads caused by more than a century of fire suppression. We evaluated the effects of ungulate herbivory and fuels reduction, alone and in concert, on deciduous shrub assemblages in coniferous dry forests of the interior west. We measured shrub richness, diversity, height, abundance and community composition in forest stands that underwent fuels reduction 15–17 years earlier, compared to untreated stands where no silvicultural treatments have occurred in over 50 years. Within each stand type, we also measured shrub assemblages in stands with and without ungulate herbivory. Shrub richness, diversity, frequency and height all declined in stands subjected to either fuels reduction treatments or herbivory; effects were most pronounced under the combined effect of fuels reduction and herbivory. Fuels reduction and herbivory also resulted in significant differences in shrub abundance and assemblage composition. Fuels reduction in dry forests with abundant ungulates may contribute to suppressed, more homogenous shrub communities. These effects may result in unintended impacts or alterations to important ecosystem processes and forest resources. Our results highlight the importance of considering responses of forest resources with low economic value, such as shrubs, in forest management activities.
Hierarchical global plant biophysical regions as potential analysis units

Regional and global vegetation simulations can be problematic when analysis units to which parameters are assigned do not align with plant productivity and phenology. Having a suite of predefined biophysical regions at a variety of scales that correspond to differences in plant productivity and phenology would allow analysts to select a set of analysis units at the scale needed. In other cases, environmental or social responses may be hypothesized to be related to differences in plant dynamics. One may compare the discrimination in such data that biophysical regions at different scales provide to determine which best distinguishes the responses in question, such that like responses fall within the same regions to the degree possible. If those relationships are significant, the responses may then be extrapolated based on the biophysical regions. I defined hierarchical biophysical regions based on plant productivity and phenology by clustering global 0.083 degree resolution normalized difference vegetation indices (NDVI) over a 10 year period. Agglomerative average-linkage distances based on squared error between clusters were conducted using an iterative sampling approach to merge more than 2 million clusters into fewer and fewer clusters based on NDVI greenness profiles comprised of 240 values over 10 years, until all cells were in a single cluster. Greater and greater differences in greenness profiles were ignored at higher levels of the hierarchy. Using a difference increment of 0.1, 253 non-duplicative sets of clusters were created, and 107 of those were included in animations that may be used to explore differences in global plant dynamics. Differences in clusters were quantified based on comparing the focal set of cluster results with 10 other cluster sets. Analysts may use the hierarchical clusters to improve the alignment of their parameter sets that inform plant growth and other dynamics with real-world plant dynamics.
Engineering peptide-targeted liposomal nanoparticles optimized for improved selectivity for HER2-positive breast cancer cells to achieve enhanced in vivo efficacy

Abstract Here, we report rationally engineered peptide-targeted liposomal doxorubicin nanoparticles that have an enhanced selectivity for HER2-positive breast tumor cells with high purity, reproducibility, and precision in controlling stoichiometry of targeting peptides. To increase HER2-positive tumor cell selective drug delivery, we optimized the two most important design parameters, peptide density and linker length, via systematic evaluations of their effects on both in vitro cellular uptake and in vivo tumor accumulation and cellular uptake. The optimally designed nanoparticles were finally evaluated for their tumor inhibition efficacy using in vivo MMTV-neu transplantation mouse model. In vitro, we demonstrated that ~1% peptide density and EG8 linker were optimal parameters for targeted nanoparticle formulations to enhance HER2-positive cancer cellular uptake while preventing non-selectivity. In vivo results demonstrated that at 0.5% peptide density, enhancement of tumor cell uptake over non-targeted nanoparticles was ~2.7 fold and ~3.4 fold higher for targeted nanoparticles with EG8 and EG18 linker, respectively, while their accumulation levels at tumor tissue were similar to the non-targeted nanoparticles. These results were consistent with in vivo efficacy outcomes that ~90% tumor growth inhibition was achieved by Dox-loaded HER2 receptor targeted nanoparticles, TNPHER2pep, over control while all nanoparticle formulations minimized overall systemic toxicity relative to free Dox. This study highlights the significance of understanding and optimizing the effects of liposomal nanoparticle design parameters for enhancement of tumor selectivity to achieve improved in vivo therapeutic outcomes.
Mess in Science and Wicked Problems

This paper discusses the claim that science is “messy.” Part I argues first, that a good portion of today’s discussions about messy science is just a portrayal of familiar features of science in ne...
Design Guidelines and Recommendations for Multimodal, Touchscreen-based Graphics

With content rapidly moving to the electronic space, access to graphics for individuals with visual impairments is a growing concern. Recent research has demonstrated the potential for representing basic graphical content on touchscreens using vibrations and sounds, yet few guidelines or processes exist to guide the design of multimodal, touchscreen-based graphics. In this work, we seek to address this gap by synergizing our collective research efforts over the past eight years and implementing our findings into a compilation of recommendations, which we validate through an iterative design process and user study. We start by reviewing previous work and then collate findings into a set of design guidelines for generating basic elements of touchscreen-based multimodal graphics. We then use these guidelines to generate exemplary graphics in mathematics, specifically bar charts and geometry concepts. We discuss the iterative design process of moving from guidelines to actual graphics and highlight challenges. We then present a formal user study with 22 participants with visual impairments, comparing learning performance on using touchscreen-rendered graphics to embossed graphics. We conclude with qualitative feedback from participants on the touchscreen-based approach and offer areas of future investigation as these recommendation are expanded to include more complex graphical concepts.
Liver Transplant Surgery in the Elderly

Liver transplant becomes a real clinical practice for end-stage liver disease and liver failure patients. General population becomes older. Liver transplant recipients in elderly have increased over the years. The older patients tend to have more comorbidities and higher surgical risk. It is especially important for transplant program to balance risks and benefits of liver transplant in elderly. To make a fine balance between accepting organ offer and risking the life while on waitlist is a real clinical issue. Transplant program needs to consider all the factors carefully in order to have a good outcome. The chronological age itself is an important factor but not the best factor to assess the transplant outcome. Physiological age is more important than chronological age. To make a good decision for proceeding the liver transplant in elderly becomes the clinical realities. UNOS data shows that percentage of liver transplants performed in recipients over 65 years old has steadily increased over time. In this chapter, we reviewed the national data, publications, and our experience. We also discussed the donor, pretransplant evaluation and management, waitlist, liver transplant surgery, post liver transplant, immunosuppression, and future.
The Role of Genetically Determined Glycemic Traits in Breast Cancer: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

Author(s): Jung, Su Yon; Mancuso, Nicholas; Han, Sihao; Zhang, Zuo-Feng | Abstract: BackgroundCirculating glycemic traits (GTs) have been considered a risk factor for breast cancer, but studies using GT-associated genetic variants as an instrumental variable are limited and inconclusive.MethodsOur Mendelian Randomization analysis used the most recent genome-wide datasets focusing on European women.ResultsOf 44 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with GTs, 38 fasting-glucose and 6 fasting-insulin SNPs showed heterogeneous associations with breast cancer, without significant directional pleiotropy observed.ConclusionOur findings indicate a null association between genetically determined GTs and breast cancer risk among European women. Our findings may contribute to more complete characterizing of metabolic pathways in GTs and breast cancer.
Heart Transplantation Selection Committee Meetings: Transitioning from In-Person to Remote Video Meetings

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced numerous changes to clinical and administrative practices in heart transplantation. One change is the transition of transplant selection committee meetings from in-person to remote video conference in order to maintain social distancing requirements. The impact of this transition on committee members and patient care is unknown. Methods A 35-item anonymous survey, adapted from the validated Telehealth Usability Questionnaire, was developed and distributed electronically to the UCLA heart transplant selection committee. Quantitative and qualitative descriptive analyses were performed. Results Of 83 committee members queried, 46 (55%) responded. 50% were non-physician members and 50% were physician members, including 48% cardiologists, 13% anesthesiologists, and 9% surgeons. Over a 6 week period, there was a 5% increase in the average number of attendees from in-person to video meetings. Respondents were satisfied with the ease of use, interface quality, and interaction quality of the video conference system, except for the ability to see meeting attendees. Overall, respondents were satisfied with video meetings, agreeing that they could contribute effectively and achieve their goals over video. However, if given the choice, 54% still preferred the in-person format. Respondents did not feel that video meetings impacted patient care, such as ability to clarify clinical questions, create management plans, and determine and/or update transplant listing status. Multitasking, technology integration, and location convenience were the predominant positive aspects of video meetings, while communication was the main negative, including inability to see attendees, audio interruptions and barriers to communication flow. Communication and clinical decision-making were the predominant positive aspects of in-person meetings (Figure). Conclusions The transition from in-person to remote video conference heart transplantation selection committee meetings during the COVID-19 era has been well-received and does not appear to affect committee members’ perception of their ability to deliver patient care. Future, longer-term studies are needed to evaluate the impact of video meetings on transplant-related outcomes.
Taming the Thoughts in the Writings of Maximos the Confessor

St. Maximos the Confessor, a 7th-century monk, wrote several ascetical treatises that addressed the monastic life. This article explores the role of unwanted intrusive thoughts, the logismoi, outli...
Whither Clinical Courses and Bar Exam Passage

Bar examination passage rates have declined for a number of years. In response to the decline, some blame enrollment in too many electives (in particular, experiential courses) and too few bar subject courses by recent law school graduates. This short essay reviews published studies and finds no available evidence that law students who take more experiential or clinical courses do worse on the bar exam, and only a limited, weak positive correlation between bar courses and exam success.
Single-Agent Indirect Herding of Multiple Targets using Metric Temporal Logic Switching

This paper focuses on the single-agent indirect herding problem where a herder agent is tasked with regulating a group of target agents to a desired goal state. To achieve this goal, the herder must switch between controlling different targets, resulting in a switched dynamical system. Lyapunov-based switched system analysis methods are used to develop sufficient dwell-time conditions. These dwell-time conditions are then encoded into Metric Temporal Logic (MTL) specifications that constitute the constraints in a switched nonlinear Model Predictive Control (MPC) problem that is formulated to synthesize a desired switching protocol. The synthesized switching protocol ensures the herding objective is achieved while simultaneously satisfying the dwell-time MTL specifications.
Reinvestigating the acyl cyclization to the precursor of diptoindonesin G

Abstract We reinvestigated the synthesis of the precursor of diptoindonesin G (2) by the intramolecular acyl cyclization of compound 1 or compound 3 in the presence of trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAA) [1,2]. Although the reaction of 3 with TFAA generated 2 smoothly as reported, the reaction of 1 with TFAA failed to afford 2, and compound 1 was partially decomposed under the reaction conditions tested.
Improving Workforce Readiness Skills Among Community College Adult Learners Through New Technologies:: Lessons From Two Schools

Employers report struggles to find work-ready candidates who possess a desired combination of job-specific technical, general math and reading, and social and behavioral skills. Community colleges are ideally situated to address these shortages, delivering a trained local labor force and often collaborating directly with employers and regional development boards to ensure the employability of their students and the economic vitality of their regions. One tactic to address these shortages is to introduce trainings geared directly toward soft and basic skill development. This paper presents case studies of two schools that use technology-enhanced trainings to incorporate work-readiness skill trainings in career technical education programs that are (1) flexible and learner-centric due to technology-enhanced delivery, and (2) use evidence-based assessment and intervention strategies to promote soft skill and literacy expectations. The trainings were provided by a non-profit education research and measurement company, which served as developer and research partner for the community colleges. Results demonstrate adult learner satisfaction and commitment with these blended learning and mobile technology solutions. Factors that facilitate training success, which include securing student buy-in and developing collaborative partnerships, are discussed.
Synergistic effect of sleep depth and seizures correlates with postictal heart rate

Our objective was to determine the effect of sleep on heart rate following a recorded seizure. We prospectively acquired heart rate data in hospitalized epilepsy monitoring unit patients. We analyzed heart rate trends for multiple seizures (n = 101) in patients (n = 42) with electroencephalographically confirmed events. The patient's sleep state was scored for the 5 min preceding each seizure and correlated with the postictal nadir heart rate (PINHR). The depth of sleep during the 5 min before a seizure correlated (correlation coefficient [CC] = -.229, p < .05) with PINHR. This result was more significant and strengthened (CC = -.272, 95% confidence interval = -.392 to -.152, p < .001) when adjusted for covariates of age, generalized tonic-clonic seizures, and baseline heart rate. Sleep depth is an independent predictor of the change in heart rate following a seizure. Diminished heart rate following a seizure in the setting of sleep is likely secondary to non-rapid eye movement sleep's synergistic effect on parasympathetic tone.
Cardiac retinoic acid levels decline in heart failure

Although low circulating levels of the vitamin A metabolite, all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality, few studies have addressed whether cardiac retinoid levels are altered in the failing heart. Here, we showed that proteomic analyses of human and guinea pig heart failure (HF) were consistent with a decline in resident cardiac ATRA. Quantitation of the retinoids in ventricular myocardium by mass spectrometry revealed 32% and 39% ATRA decreases in guinea pig HF and in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM), respectively, despite ample reserves of cardiac vitamin A. ATRA (2 mg/kg/d) was sufficient to mitigate cardiac remodeling and prevent functional decline in guinea pig HF. Although cardiac ATRA declined in guinea pig HF and human IDCM, levels of certain retinoid metabolic enzymes diverged. Specifically, high expression of the ATRA-catabolizing enzyme, CYP26A1, in human IDCM could dampen prospects for an ATRA-based therapy. Pertinently, a pan-CYP26 inhibitor, talarozole, blunted the impact of phenylephrine on ATRA decline and hypertrophy in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes. Taken together, we submit that low cardiac ATRA attenuates the expression of critical ATRA-dependent gene programs in HF and that strategies to normalize ATRA metabolism, like CYP26 inhibition, may have therapeutic potential.
Improving Caregiver Self-Efficacy and Children's Behavioral Outcomes via a Brief Strength-Based Video Coaching Intervention: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial

Many existing preventive intervention programs focus on promoting responsive parenting practices. However, these parenting programs are often long in duration and expensive, and meta-analytic evidence indicates that families facing high levels of adversity typically benefit less. Moreover, due to a lack of specification and evaluation of conceptual models, the mechanisms underlying program-related changes in caregivers and their children often remain unclear. The current study aimed to test the effectiveness of a video feedback parenting intervention program, Filming Interactions to Nurture Development (FIND), in improving caregivers’ self-efficacy and reducing children’s behavioral problems. Data derived from a randomized controlled trial using pretest–posttest design with low-income families reporting high levels of stress (N = 91, children aged 4 to 36 months old, 41.8% female). Families were randomly assigned to an active control or FIND intervention group. Results indicated that caregivers in the FIND group exhibited significant improvement in self-report sense of parenting competence and self-efficacy in teaching tasks. These program impacts were particularly pronounced among caregivers who experience high levels of childhood adversity. Findings provide preliminary support for the FIND conceptual model. Specifically, caregivers’ improved self-efficacy in teaching tasks was linked to children’s reduced internalizing and externalizing problems (notably, direct FIND intervention effects on children’s behavioral outcomes were not observed). Overall, results support the effectiveness of FIND in enhancing caregivers’ sense of parenting competence and potentially promoting optimal child development.
The minimum wage and teen educational attainment

Abstract Teen employment effects are central to the minimum wage debate, but important indirect effects on education receive relatively little attention. I investigate the effect of changes in the minimum wage on high school dropout decisions. Consistently across two sources of variation and three individual-level datasets, I find that increases in the minimum wage substantially reduce the dropout likelihood of low-socioeconomic status (SES) teens but have no effect on other teens.
Nearshore Wave Direction Gage

Bow wave formation can cause large variation in peak water level around a thin circular pile in shallow-water waves. The symmetry of this variation might be used to measure wave direction on a crest-by-crest basis. This paper empirically examines the resolution possible in objectively estimating the symmetry point of data sets consisting of small numbers of peak-water-level measurements made around a pile in laboratory wave action. Data sets for several types of single incident crests, in wave action of steepness such that 0.007≤\NH/≤\N0.05, were analyzed by three different estimation methods. For example, with 10 peak water level measurements (36° spacing around the pile), one estimation method gave directions within a range of 2.8°, on the average, for all test crests. The results indicate that four water-level sensors embedded in a vertical pile at 60° spacing might be used to measure the direction of single nearshore wave trains to a point within ±\N3° over a 120° range, in an instrument that can be made fully automatic.
A novel method for forming gate spacer and its effects on the W/WN/sub x//poly-Si gate stack

A novel method for forming the SiO/sub 2//Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/ (O/N) gate spacer has been developed through applying a low temperature atomic layer deposition (ALD) SiO/sub 2/ film. Using this scheme, the Si-O rich interfacial dielectric layer formation and the metal (W) contamination caused by the selective oxidation (SO) process were controlled. Our technique also suppresses the thickness increase of the gate oxide during the SO and enhances the rounding of gate bird's beak (GBB) at the gate edges. Furthermore, the O/N gate spacered device exhibits less junction leakage currents, about 1 order of magnitude lower gate induced drain leakage (GIDL) currents at the same V/sub t/, and better hot carrier degradation (HCD) immunity compared to the N/O/N gated spacer device.
Grooming Tomorrow’s Advocates: Preparing Elementary Social Studies Teachers Today

The effects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) upon teaching and learning social studies at the elementary level are already well known. In light of the discipline’s increasing marginalization in the schools, the methods used to prepare elementary educators for teaching social studies and developing professional advocacy must be reexamined. This article, with reference to relevant scholarship, discusses eight key strategies to promote more effective teacher preparation, including a pledge of advocacy, meaningful pedagogy, pre-service professional development, knowledge of curriculum standards, content expertise, curriculum integration, significant field experience before student teaching, and reevaluation of NCLB.
Dual-Use Review and the IRB.

Given the growing threat of the misuse of biomedical research by terrorists or others, institutional review boards (IRBs) are likely to encounter research protocols that raise dualuse issues. While IRBs should be informed about these issues and should be prepared to address them, they should not be burdened with the responsibility of conducting their own dual-use review. A dual-use committee (DUC), institutional biosafety committee (IBC), or other committee should handle this task and convey its findings and recommendations to institutional officials.
High-dose etoposide and cyclophosphamide without bone marrow transplantation for resistant hematologic malignancy

Seventy-five patients with resistant acute leukemia or lymphoma received high-dose cyclophosphamide and etoposide to explore the activity of this combination in resistant hematologic malignancies, and to determine the maximum doses of these drugs that can be combined without bone marrow transplantation. Etoposide was administered over 29 to 69 hours by continuous infusion corresponding to total doses of 1.8 g/m2 to 4.8 g/m2. Cyclophosphamide, 50 mg/kg/d, was administered on 3 or 4 consecutive days total 150 to 200 mg/kg ideal body weight). At all dose levels myelosuppression was severe but reversible. Mucosal toxicity was dose-limiting with the maximum tolerated dose level combining etoposide 4.2 g/m2 with cyclophosphamide 200 mg/kg. Continuous etoposide infusion produced stable plasma levels that were lower than would be achieved after administration by short intravenous infusion, and this could explain our ability to escalate etoposide above the previously reported maximum tolerated dose. There were 28 complete (35%) and 12 partial (16%) responses. Median duration of complete response (CR) was 3.5 months (range 1.1 to 20+). Seventeen of 40 patients (42%) with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) achieved CR, including 6 of 20 (30%) with high-dose cytosine arabinoside resistance. We conclude that bone marrow transplantation is not required after maximum tolerated doses of etoposide and cyclophosphamide. This regimen is active in resistant hematologic neoplasms, and the occurrence of CR in patients with high-dose cytosine arabinoside-resistant AML indicates a lack of complete cross-resistance between these regimens.
Tracing zoonotic pathogens in dairy production.

Abstract: Dairy farming has become a highly productive system producing ample amounts of high-quality milk and meat from fewer cows on less land on fewer, but larger, farms. Despite this consolidation and modernization, zoonotic pathogenic bacteria and protozoans remain problems on the modern dairy farm. Although pasteurization has greatly reduced illness due to contaminated dairy products, post-processing contamination and an apparent increase in the consumption of raw milk, raw milk products and meat from dairy cows continue to result in outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness. Methods used for pathogen detection, identification, subtyping and characterization methods have shown the relationships between pathogens from cow feces and the surrounding environment and those contaminating milk and meat; however, control of these pathogens on the farm remains difficult.
Moisture drives surface decomposition in thawing tundra

[1] Permafrost thaw can affect decomposition rates by changing environmental conditions and litter quality. As permafrost thaws, soils warm and thermokarst (ground subsidence) features form, causing some areas to become wetter while other areas become drier. We used a common substrate to measure how permafrost thaw affects decomposition rates in the surface soil in a natural permafrost thaw gradient and a warming experiment in Healy, Alaska. Permafrost thaw also changes plant community composition. We decomposed 12 plant litters in a common garden to test how changing plant litter inputs would affect decomposition. We combined species' tissue-specific decomposition rates with species and tissue-level estimates of aboveground net primary productivity to calculate community-weighted decomposition constants at both the thaw gradient and warming experiment. Moisture, specifically growing season precipitation and water table depth, was the most significant driver of decomposition. At the gradient, an increase in growing season precipitation from 200 to 300 mm increased mass loss of the common substrate by 100%. At the warming experiment, a decrease in the depth to the water table from 30 to 15 cm increased mass loss by 100%. At the gradient, community-weighted decomposition was 21% faster in extensive than in minimal thaw, but was similar when moss production was included. Overall, the effect of climate change and permafrost thaw on surface soil decomposition are driven more by precipitation and soil environment than by changes to plant communities. Increasing soil moisture is thereby another mechanism by which permafrost thaw can become a positive feedback to climate change.
Can Governance Mitigate Real Earnings Management

This study investigates whether corporate governance can mitigate real earnings management. In recent years, firms have been switching from accrual based to real earnings management and the incidence of real earnings management is also increasing. The role of corporate governance to reduce accrual based earnings management is well documented in the literature, however there is no firm evidence regarding the role of corporate governance to constrain real earnings management. To fill the gap in the literature, I examine whether corporate governance can play any role to reduce real earnings management. I find evidence that firms may engage in real earnings management either to avoid reporting losses or to meet analysts’ forecasts. Cross-sectional analysis reveals that these activities are less prevalent for the firms that have larger institutional investors. However, I fail to find any evidence regarding the role of board to prevent real earnings management.
Making Voluntary Disclosures to the IRS

This paper discusses the IRS Voluntary Disclosure Practice, including tips for the practitioner. Topics include noisy disclosures and quiet disclosures as well, in some cases, just making no disclosure at all. The article places particular emphasis on the recent offshore financial account voluntary disclosure program and its alternatives.
Effect of Cooking Method, Distiller's Grains, and Vitamin E Supplementation on the Vitamin Content of Value Cuts from Beef Steers Fed Wet Distiller's Grains and Solubles and Supplemental Vitamin E

Vitamin E, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B(6), and vitamin B(12) concentrations of flat iron steaks and petite tenders from steers fed finishing rations containing 0% and 40% corn wet distiller's grains and solubles (WDGS) with and without supplemental vitamin E were determined. Feeding treatment groups were: 0% WDGS with basal vitamin E, 0% WDGS with supplemental vitamin E (500 IU daily), 40% WDGS with basal vitamin E, and 40% WDGS and supplemental vitamin E. Cattle can be fed 40% WDGS diets more economically than corn diets. The incorporation of 40% WDGS, with and without vitamin E, was hypothesized to have little effect on the vitamin concentrations of these value meat cuts. Flat iron steaks and petite tenders were broiled and/or grilled to 70 degrees C internal temperature. Mean cooking yields ranged from 68.7% to 78.2%. The majority of the vitamin concentrations of broiled and of grilled meat were significantly different (P < 0.05) from that of raw meat. Vitamin E concentrations of raw and cooked meat from steers that received supplemental vitamin E were significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those fed basal vitamin E. Significant differences in thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B(6), and vitamin B(12) concentrations in raw flat iron steaks and in vitamin B(6) in raw petite tenders were observed by WDGS. Thiamin, vitamin B(6), and vitamin B(12) concentrations of broiled flat iron steaks were significantly different (P < 0.05) than grilled. A few differences in vitamin concentrations of the flat iron steaks and petite tenders were observed by WDGS, vitamin E supplementation, and cooking treatments, but most of the vitamin concentrations were statistically similar.
Sickle cell crisis associated with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

Sickle-beta+ (β+) thalassemia is a double heterozygous genetic disorder characterized by both a qualitative and quantitative abnormality. We present a case of an African American male who was first diagnosed with sickle cell disease (SCD) at the age 23 years when he presented with generalized bone pain, fever, and hepatosplenomegaly. Laboratory findings included thrombocytopenia, microcytic anemia, and markedly elevated ferritin. He was subsequently diagnosed with a sickle-beta thalassemia hemoglobinopathy. Findings in the bone marrow aspirate and biopsy were consistent with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). HLH resolved with the resolution of sickle cell bone pain crisis without use of immunosuppressive therapy. To the best of our knowledge this is the first documented case of HLH associated with sickle cell bone pain crisis. Am. J. Hematol. 77:229–232, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Two years of Early Start Denver Model reduces cognitive and language impairments in very young children with autism spectrum disorders

1 Abstracted from: Dawson, G., Rogers, S., Munson, J., Smith, M., Winter, J., Greenson, J., Donaldson, A., & Varley, J. (2010). Randomized, controlled trial of an intervention for toddlers with autism: The Early Start Denver Model. Pediatrics, 125, 17–23. Source of funding and disclosure of interest: The study was supported by a grant from National Institute of Mental Health; Sally Rogers and Geraldine Dawson are authors of Early Start Denver Model for Young Children with Autism, from which they receive royalties. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
The written word in psychotherapy with a latency age girl.

ABSTRACT Play therapy is the treatment of choice with young children, while "talking" therapy is used with older children and adults. There have been reports of written communication being employed in therapy both with children (e.g., diaries and stories) and with adults (e.g., letters and contracts), but little has been reported about the use of the exchange of written words during therapy sessions with "literate" children. The author presents segments of the treatment of a latency age girl to illustrate how the exchange of written language can allow treatment to proceed when children are too distressed to play or to talk at certain points in therapy. Samples of this communication are offered. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry , 1993, 32, 5:1028–1031.
EFFECTS OF ZIDOVUDINE ON CLONAL PROLIFERATION OF HEMATOPOIETIC PROGENITORS OF THE HUMAN FETUS. • 1791

The Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group recently reported that perinatal Zidovudine (AZT) reduces maternal-fetal transmission of human immunodeficiency virus, type 1, but results in lower hematocrits in the neonates. Although the benefits of this treatment are obvious, the Group cautioned that adverse effects of AZT on the fetus and neonate require more definition. With this in mind, we compared the effects of AZT on clonal maturation of hematopoietic progenitors obtained from the bone marrow of women of child-bearing age (n=7) with its effects on progenitors from the marrow, liver, and blood of human fetuses (n=5-7). We also sought to determine whether the adverse effects of AZT on fetal hematopoiesis resulted exclusively from an action on progenitors, or also involved inhibiting production of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) or erythropoietin (Epo). Using AZT concentrations measured in the blood of women and their fetuses receiving perinatal AZT (0.1-10 μM), we observed that mature erythroid progenitors (CFU-E) were consistently the most sensitive to the adverse effects of AZT and that multipotent progenitors(CFU-MIX) were consistently the most resistant. Erythroid and granulocyte progenitors from fetal and neonatal sources were more sensitive to AZT than were those from the marrow of adult women. AZT inhibited not only the growth of progenitors, but resulted in fewer erythrocytes per erythroid progenitor and fewer neutrophils per granulocytic progenitor. The inhibitory effects of AZT were explained by an action on CD34+ cells. No effect was observed on production of G-CSF protein or mRNA by monocytes of either fetal or adult origin, or on production of Epo protein or mRNA by HEP3B cells (as a model of cells producing Epo). We speculate that the low hematocrits of neonates delivered after antenatal AZT treatment are the result of reduced clonal maturation of fetal CD34+ erythroid progenitors, and that fetal progenitors are inhibited to a greater extent than are maternal progenitors.
“'Dis poem is vex bout apartheid': Representations of South Africa in Three West Indian Poems”

This article examines the ways in which three West Indian poems written between 1979 and 1992 — “Soweto” by Kamau Brathwaite, “Bedspread” by Lorna Goodison and “We Are Formed from Volcanoes” by Opal Palmer Adisa — engage the history of South Africa under apartheid. I argue that while Africa as a place with its own historical destiny is rarely encountered in West Indian literature, the texts that I probe constitute a minor yet important exception to this rule. At the same time, however, it is clear that the three poets and others who have written or sung about Africa and South Africa have done so in ways that reveal their own preoccupations, desires and anxieties as West Indians. That is, the representation of “South Africa” as a “real elsewhere” is always already bound up with its representation as an imagined or invented land, one that has been idealized or in some way essentialized.
NEUTRINO CAPTURE INDUCED SUPERNOVA EXPLOSIONS

Motivated by the success of kinetic theory in the description of observables in intermediate and high energy heavy-ion collisions, we use kinetic theory to model the dynamics of core collapse supernovae. The specific way that we employ kinetic theory to solve the relevant transport equations allows us to explicitly model the propagation of neutrinos and a full ensemble of nuclei and treat neutrino–matter interactions in a very general way. With these abilities, our simulations have observed dynamics that may prove to be an entirely new neutrino capture induced supernova explosion mechanism.
Dipole-Bound Anions of Adenine-Water Clusters. Ab Initio Study

An interesting configuration landscape has been predicted for dipole-bound (DB) anions of [adenine−(water)N] complexes for N = 1, 2, and 3 using ab initio calculations. In these systems, the excess...
Escape from the rocking chair: young adults' changing perceptions of elderly persons as a function of intergenerational contact.

Attitudes toward elderly persons were assessed among 79 undergraduates who maintained frequent, regular contact with one or both elderly grandparents. The results suggested that these young adults were more likely to hold positive attitudes than those who lack such contact. Sex differences in attitudes as well as suggestions for additional study are discussed.