cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bilateral Hemiarthroplasty in a Patient with Below-Knee and Above-Knee Amputations: A Case Report.

Case: This case involved a sixty-two-year-old male patient with bilateral femoral neck fractures that occurred six months apart in the setting of bilateral lower-extremity amputation. Hemiarthroplasty was performed at each presentation, with the use of a standard femoral stem on the right side and a short stem on the left. At the time of follow-up, the patient had returned to his preoperative ambulatory status. Conclusion: This case report illustrates successful bilateral hemiarthroplasty in a patient who had previously undergone bilateral lower-extremity amputation, with use of an implant with a short stem for the limb with above-knee amputation.
Migration Velocity Analysis For Anisotropic Models

Anisotropic models are recognized as a more realistic representation of the subsurface where complex geological environment exists. These models are widely needed by all kinds of migration and interpretation schemes. However, anisotropic model building is still a challenging problem in the industry. In this paper, we propose an approach to building anisotropic models from surface seismic data based on the theory of WaveEquation Migration Velocity Analysis (WEMVA). Because of the ambiguity between depth and δ , we parametrize our model space using only NMO velocity (Vnmo) and the anellipticity parameter η . We present a synthetic data example of anisotropic WEMVA applied to the shallow part of the Hess anisotropic synthetic VTI model. The results show that anisotropic WEMVA is effective in resolving the anisotropic perturbation; however, a unique solution to the inversion requires additional constraining information.
Lymphodepleting chemotherapy with donor lymphocyte infusion post-allogeneic HCT for hematological malignancies is associated with severe, but therapy-responsive aGvHD

Donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) is an option for relapsed hematologic malignancies or incomplete chimerism of non-malignant diseases following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). We analyzed the incidence of acute GvHD (aGvHD) in patients treated with DLI. From 1995 to 2013, 171 DLIs were given to 120 patients. The cumulative incidence of post-DLI grade II-IV aGvHD was 33% (CI 25-42%, n=40; 12 grade II), and of grade III-IV 24% (CI 16-32%, n=28). GvHD after DLI (n=46) involved the skin in 70% (n=32), lower gastrointestinal (GI) 65% (n=30), upper GI 43% (n=20) and liver 35% (n=16). Patients receiving chemotherapy accompanying the DLI (chemo-DLI) (n=37) had more frequent aGvHD and particularly lower GI GvHD. Risk factors for grade II-IV aGvHD included age >40, chemo-DLI, malignant disease and time from HCT to DLI <200 days. aGvHD response to treatment at 8 weeks was complete in 40% and complete/partial (CR/PR) in 52%. Chemo-DLI had higher response rates to aGVHD treatment in non-CML malignancies. We observed frequent, yet therapy-responsive aGvHD following DLI. GI GvHD in particular is a significant risk when giving chemotherapy prior to DLI. Improvements in DLI efficacy and GvHD management are still needed.
Democracy and Demographic Inheritance: The Influence of Modernity and Proto-Modernity on Political and Civil Rights, 1965 to 1980

Macrosocial theories of democratization point to the pluralism attendant on industrialization, class conflicts and alliances, the state and its social environment, and transnational linkages as influential in the growth of political and civil rights. Unfortunately, these theories neglect the ecological and technological histories of many contemporary states. Proto-modernity, defined as a rich demographic and institutional inheritance rooted in the preindustrial past, is theorized to lay the foundations of pluralism and class structure, in essence allowing some states to democratize more easily than others. In this longitudinal, cross-national analysis using data from a maximum of 83 countries, I find robust support for the importance of modernity and proto-modernity to the growth of democracy. By contrast, results are inconclusive on whether stratification affects democratization.
Practice Analysis of Classified Protection Self-Evaluation in Power Generation Groups

According to the situation that the relative lack of information security professional talents in power generation groups classified protection construction and evaluation,as well as the increasing IT human resources cost,this paper analyzes the practice of the self-evaluation stage and the difference analysis stage in the information system classified protection construction process,designs the investigation table,and then proposes a sophisticated self-evaluation method for employees to improve work efficiency and save resources.Practice shows that the reasonable and efficient self-evaluation is an essential aspect of making security services autonomic,and can actually propel the classified protection and make information security normalization.
The Presentation of Power Consuming Administrative System and it′s Smart Collect Nuit Based on GPRS

Electric larceny in industrial huge user damaged the benefit of power enterprise seriously.Adopting power consuming administrative system is very important for industrial huge users.The currently broadly used communication network which based on GPRS mode, has entered industrial communication field step by step. GPRS mode has the excellence of real time response and low cost of construction, widely covered scope, and it is very suitable to be the communication network for power consuming administrative system on industrial huge users. In this article, the power consuming administrative system and it′s smart collect unit, which is based on GPRS communication, were introduced in detail. After given the necessary condition and flexibility, the structure of this system and the principle and complete method of the smart collect unit is showed. Introduced the widely adopted RS232/GPRS convert kernel module and the more well-rounded device. This article give a method of prevent electric larceny. and improvement on management and analysis on power supply and using.
New method for the design of high perveance guns

In this paper we describe new methods for the design of electron and ion guns. The designer of these guns has always been limited in the past in his choice of gun designs to meet particular specifications, and considerable effort has been made over the years to make gun design methods more versatile. It is our purpose in this paper to describe two new methods which should increase this versatility. Before discussing these methods in detail, it would be well to put them in proper perspective.
Tracking Iodide and Bromide Ion Segregation in Mixed Halide Lead Perovskites during Photoirradiation

Mixed halide lead perovskites (e.g., CH3NH3PbBrxI3–x) undergo phase segregation creating iodide-rich and bromide-rich domains when subjected to visible irradiation. This intriguing aspect of halide ion movement in mixed halide films is now being tracked through excited-state behavior using emission and transient absorption spectroscopy tools. These transient experiments have allowed us to establish the time scale with which such separation occurs under laser irradiation (405 nm, 25 mW/cm2 to 1.7 W/cm2) as well as dark recovery. While the phase separation occurs with a rate constant of 0.1–0.3 s–1, the recovery occurs over a time period of several minutes to an hour. The relative photoluminescence quantum yield observed for Br-rich regions (em. max 530 nm) is nearly 2 orders of magnitude lower than that of I-rich regions (em. max 760 nm) and arises from the fact that I-rich regions serve as sinks for photogenerated charge carriers. Understanding such cascading charge transfer to localized sites could furth...
MYBPC1, an Emerging Myopathic Gene: What We Know and What We Need to Learn.

Myosin Binding Protein-C (MyBP-C) comprises a family of accessory proteins that includes the cardiac, slow skeletal, and fast skeletal isoforms. The three isoforms share structural and sequence homology, and localize at the C-zone of the sarcomeric A-band where they interact with thick and thin filaments to regulate the cycling of actomyosin crossbridges. The cardiac isoform, encoded by MYBPC3, has been extensively studied over the last several decades due to its high mutational rate in congenital hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathy. It is only recently, however, that the MYBPC1 gene encoding the slow skeletal isoform (sMyBP-C) has gained attention. Accordingly, during the last five years it has been shown that MYBPC1 undergoes extensive exon shuffling resulting in the generation of multiple slow variants, which are co-expressed in different combinations and amounts in both slow and fast skeletal muscles. The sMyBP-C variants are subjected to PKA- and PKC-mediated phosphorylation in constitutive and alternatively spliced sites. More importantly, missense and nonsense mutations in MYBPC1 have been directly linked with the development of severe and lethal forms of distal arthrogryposis myopathy and muscle tremors. Currently, there is no mammalian animal model of sMyBP-C, but new technologies including CRISPR/Cas9 and xenografting of human biopsies into immunodeficient mice could provide unique ways to study the regulation and roles of sMyBP-C in health and disease.
Abstract B37: Urinary melatonin levels and risk of breast cancer in the Nurses' Health Study II

Shift work has been hypothesized to increase breast cancer risk as two recent meta-analyses suggest a 21- 51% increased risk of breast cancer in women reporting night shift work. Melatonin, a hormone produced by the pineal gland that follows a circadian rhythm with highest levels observed at night, is frequently referenced as the biological mechanism through which shift work may increase breast cancer risk. While decreased urinary melatonin levels are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women, only three studies have evaluated the association between melatonin levels and breast cancer in premenopausal women with inconsistent findings. Therefore, we investigated this relationship in predominantly premenopausal women by conducting a nested case-control study in the prospective Nurses9 Health Study II cohort. From 1996 to 1999, first morning urine was collected from 29,613 cancer-free participants who were followed through June 2007. Incident breast cancer was confirmed through review of medical records and pathology reports, and potential confounders were reported on biennial questionnaires and a questionnaire administered at urine collection. Concentrations of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s), the major metabolite of melatonin, were available for 603 cases and 798 controls matched for age, menopausal status, ethnicity, fasting status, luteal day of menstrual cycle, and month, year, day, and time of urine collection. We used multivariable conditional logistic regression models to estimate the risk of breast cancer by quartile of urinary aMT6s concentrations, with cutpoints based on values of control participants. We did not observe an association between melatonin levels and risk of breast cancer (odds ratio for highest versus lowest aMT6s quartile: 0.87, 95% confidence interval: 0.57-1.35). Our results were largely unchanged when we examined the relationship between urinary melatonin levels and invasive breast cancer (n=443 cases, odds ratio for highest versus lowest aMT6s quartile: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.54-1.56), in situ breast cancer (n=160 cases, odds ratio for highest versus lowest aMT6s quartile: 1.23, 95% CI: 0.45-3.35), and among women with ER+ tumors (n=398 cases, odds ratio for highest versus lowest aMT6s quartile: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.44-1.34). These prospective data do not provide strong support for a significant association between urinary melatonin levels and breast cancer risk in predominantly premenopausal women. Citation Format: Susan Boyer Brown, Susan E. Hankinson, Eva S. Schernhammer. Urinary melatonin levels and risk of breast cancer in the Nurses9 Health Study II. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2013 Oct 27-30; National Harbor, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Can Prev Res 2013;6(11 Suppl): Abstract nr B37.
DNA charge transfer: Hot holes break the speed limit

Charge transfer through DNA has been well studied over recent decades from both a biological and electronics perspective. It has now been shown that charge transfer can be accelerated one hundredfold by using highly energetic 'hot holes', revealing a new mechanism that could help to create useful electronic biomaterials.
Brief for Amici Curiae Law Professors in Support of Petitioners, In re Jevic ( Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp. )

This is the merits brief submitted by 19 law professors in support of Petitioners in In re Jevic.
Patterns of red tree vole distribution and habitat suitability: implications for surveys and conservation planning

Environmental regulations often require wildlife surveys prior to habitat disturbance to avoid impacts or as the basis for planning mitigation, yet project-level surveys may not provide the insights needed to guide long-term management. Management of the red tree vole (Arborimus longicaudus) has largely been based on such surveys. As an alternative approach, we evaluated distribution patterns using frequency of red tree vole occurrence and habitat suitability models to guide conservation planning. We developed a suite of models based on subsets of covariates from two previously developed models and evaluated the extent to which spatial covariates improved the models. We used presence–absence data that were collected from 364 randomly selected 1-ha Current Vegetation Survey and Forest Inventory and Analysis plots to develop models and describe occurrence patterns. The best models included a spatial covariate, maximum tree diameter, distance from suitable habitat, forest age class, and the interaction between maximum tree diameter and forest age class. We compared performance of the previously published models, our best model, and an ensemble model that used predictions from all three models. Under the ensemble model, correct classification rates were relatively high and considerably improved, suggesting that the application of all three models provided greater accuracy than any individual model. We argue that habitat models, coupled with spatial patterns of the frequency of occurrence, can provide useful tools for addressing species management and may provide more insight than project-level surveys. The use of habitat suitability models can therefore be closely tied to red tree vole management decisions and conservation strategies, as well as reducing survey costs that otherwise often make projects infeasible.
Using FMCW Doppler Radar to Detect Targets up to the Maximum Unambiguous Range

Most applications of frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar described in the literature involve targets that are in relatively close proximity to the radar. In these cases, the round-trip travel time of the target’s radar signature is small relative to the transmit chirp duration, simplifying the processing required for range and velocity extraction. This is not the case for more distant targets, where much of the radar signature is received after the start of the subsequent transmit waveform. In this letter, we examine various signal-processing options for coping with this long-range condition. We analytically demonstrate how to retain both range and Doppler shift information for an arbitrary number of targets spaced anywhere from very near the target up to the radar’s unambiguous range. The motivation for this work is to develop a 95-GHz Doppler radar for measuring ice and dust particle dynamics in cometary jets. Simulations and experimental results are provided to validate our methods.
A Novel Phosphoregulatory Switch Controls the Activity and Function of the Major Catalytic Subunit of Protein Kinase A in Aspergillus fumigatus

Invasive aspergillosis (IA), caused by the filamentous fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus, is a major cause of death among immunocompromised patients. The cyclic AMP/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway is essential for hyphal growth and virulence of A. fumigatus, but the mechanism of regulation of PKA remains largely unknown. Here, we discovered a novel mechanism for the regulation of PKA activity in A. fumigatus via phosphorylation of key residues within the major catalytic subunit, PkaC1. Phosphopeptide enrichment and tandem mass spectrometry revealed the phosphorylation of PkaC1 at four sites (S175, T331, T333, and T337) with implications for important and diverse roles in the regulation of A. fumigatus PKA. While the phosphorylation at one of the residues (T333) is conserved in other species, the identification of three other residues represents previously unknown PKA phosphoregulation in A. fumigatus Site-directed mutagenesis of the phosphorylated residues to mimic or prevent phosphorylation revealed dramatic effects on kinase activity, growth, conidiation, cell wall stress response, and virulence in both invertebrate and murine infection models. Three-dimensional structural modeling of A. fumigatus PkaC1 substantiated the positive or negative regulatory roles for specific residues. Suppression of PKA activity also led to downregulation of PkaC1 protein levels in an apparent novel negative-feedback mechanism. Taken together, we propose a model in which PkaC1 phosphorylation both positively and negatively modulates its activity. These findings pave the way for future discovery of fungus-specific aspects of this key signaling network. Importance Our understanding of signal transduction networks in pathogenic fungi is limited, despite the increase in invasive fungal infections and rising mortality rates in the immunosuppressed patient population. Because PKA is known to be essential for hyphal growth and virulence of A. fumigatus, we sought to identify fungus-specific regulatory mechanisms governing PKA activity. In this study, we identify, for the first time, a novel mechanism for the regulation of PKA signaling in which differential phosphorylation of the PkaC1 catalytic subunit can lead to either positive or negative regulation of activity. Furthermore, we show that inactivation of PKA signaling leads to downregulation of catalytic subunit protein levels in a negative-feedback mechanism distinct from expression patterns previously reported in the yeasts. Our findings represent a divergence in the regulation of PKA signaling in A. fumigatus, which could potentially be exploited as a target and also open the avenue for discovery of fungus-specific downstream effectors of PKA.
Scalable Uncertainty-Aware Truth Discovery in Big Data Social Sensing Applications for Cyber-Physical Systems

Social sensing is a new big data application paradigm for Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), where a group of individuals volunteer (or are recruited) to report measurements or observations about the physical world at scale. A fundamental challenge in social sensing applications lies in discovering the correctness of reported observations and reliability of data sources without prior knowledge on either of them. We refer to this problem as truth discovery . While prior studies have made progress on addressing this challenge, two important limitations exist: (i) current solutions did not fully explore the uncertainty aspect of human reported data, which leads to sub-optimal truth discovery results; (ii) current truth discovery solutions are mostly designed as sequential algorithms that do not scale well to large-scale social sensing events. In this paper, we develop a Scalable Uncertainty-Aware Truth Discovery (SUTD) scheme to address the above limitations. The SUTD scheme solves a constraint estimation problem to jointly estimate the correctness of reported data and the reliability of data sources while explicitly considering the uncertainty on the reported data. To address the scalability challenge, the SUTD is designed to run a Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) with thousands of cores, which is shown to run two to three orders of magnitude faster than the sequential truth discovery solutions. In evaluation, we compare our SUTD scheme to the state-of-the-art solutions using three real world datasets collected from Twitter: Paris Attack, Oregon Shooting, and Baltimore Riots, all in 2015. The evaluation results show that our new scheme significantly outperforms the baselines in terms of both truth discovery accuracy and execution time.
ALLOZYME VARIABILITY, ISOLATION, AND DISPERSAL OF EUSATTUS MURICATUS (COLEOPTERA: TENEBRIONIDAE) WITHIN SILVER STATE DUNE COMPLEX, GREAT BASIN, WESTERN NORTH AMERICA

Genetics of Eusattus muricatus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) populations within Silver State Dune Complex in the northern Great Basin of North America were assayed using allozyme electrophoresis. Hierarchical F -statistics showed no significant population subdivision among 3 valleys comprising Silver State Dune Complex. A regression of estimated pairwise gene flow ( Nm ) against pairwise geographic distance was not significant for populations within these valleys, but it was significant over larger distances. A neighbor-joining phenogram did not represent geographic relationships among populations in the 3 valleys but reflected the past geologic history of these dunes. Pairwise divergence times were low (>7000 yr) for populations within Silver State Dune Complex but were high (>18,000 yr) in outgroups.
Cell-Specific Pathways Supporting Persistent Fibrosis in Heart Failure.

Abstract Background Only limited data exist describing the histologic and noncardiomyocyte function of human myocardium in end-stage heart failure (HF). Objectives The authors sought to determine changes in noncardiomyocyte cellular activity in patients with end-stage HF after left ventricular assist device (LVAD)-induced remodeling to identify mechanisms impeding recovery. Methods Myocardium was obtained from subjects undergoing LVAD placement and/or heart transplantation. Detailed histological analyses were performed, and, when feasible, mononuclear cells were isolated from fresh, dissociated myocardium for quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction studies. Echocardiographic and catheterization data were obtained during routine care. Results Sixty-six subjects were enrolled; 54 underwent 8.0 ± 1.2 months of LVAD unloading. Despite effective hemodynamic unloading and remodeling, there were no differences after LVAD use in capillary density (0.78 ± 0.1% vs. 0.9 ± 0.1% capillary area; n = 42 and 28, respectively; p = 0.40), cardiac fibrosis (25.7 ± 2.4% vs. 27.9 ± 2.4% fibrosis area; n = 44 and 31, respectively; p = 0.50), or macrophage density (80.7 ± 10.4 macrophages/mm2 vs. 108.6 ± 15 macrophages/mm2; n = 33 and 28, respectively; p = 0.1). Despite no change in fibrosis or myofibroblast density (p = 0.40), there was a 16.7-fold decrease (p Conclusions Despite robust cardiac unloading, capillary density and fibrosis are unchanged compared with loaded hearts. Fibroblast-specific collagen expression was decreased and might be due to decreased stretch and/or altered macrophage polarization. Dysfunctional myocardium may persist, in part, from ongoing inflammation and poor extracellular matrix remodeling. Understanding these changes could lead to improved therapies for HF.
The Moral Status of Human Embryos and Other Possible Sources of Stem Cells

Some critics claim that modern biology has debunked the prohibition of abortion and restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research by blurring the line between humans and non-human animals. These debunking arguments depend on the premise that an organism can be wronged only if it has conscious interests. After I criticize this premise, I argue that people should not harvest stem cells in a way that kills an organism with a rational nature. An organism has a rational nature whenever it is ordered towards using reason, in the sense of evaluating different reasons for its actions and beliefs. Contrary to some critics, the idea of a rational nature does not depend on any theological premises. I conclude by applying the rule about killing an organism with a rational nature to two proposed techniques for producing stem cells: using altered nuclear transfer and creating animal-human chimeras. Whether an entity produced by these techniques has a rational nature depends on the details of the technique.
For the good of the game: diffusing the dangers of football through the National Football League’s ‘A Crucial Catch’ campaign

ABSTRACTThis article examines and critiques the National Football League’s (NFL) ‘A Crucial Catch’ corporate social responsibility campaign and interrogates its use by the NFL to diffuse broader co...
Collaborative Framework to Advance Symptom Science: An Intramural Perspective

Purpose To describe the collaborative framework used by National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) investigators to advance symptom science and to provide a research exemplar. Model The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Symptom Science Model (SSM) was developed to guide symptom science researchers to understand the molecular underpinnings of symptoms using innovative "omics" approaches. The process begins with a review of the literature to understand the state of the science of the symptoms of interest and is followed by cross-sectional, case-controlled, or longitudinal studies to identify potential biological correlates of these symptoms. The final steps include validation of these potential symptom biomarkers using multidisciplinary, collaborative, preclinical experiments, and proof-of-concept clinical trials. Research exemplar Using the NIH SSM as a guide, the identification of biologic correlates of symptoms using omics and bioinformatic strategies depends on determining the distinct phenotype of the symptoms of interest. The identified biologic correlates of these symptoms are then validated for their functional relevance using in vitro and ex vivo experiments, or through proof-of-concept clinical trials. NINR investigators observed that activation of specific receptors in neural networks can trigger inflammation-related fatigue development and predispose patients to develop chronicity of symptoms. Specifically targeting these neural receptors can reduce symptom intensity. Conclusions Through using the NIH SSM as a guide, NINR investigators quickly generate data and discoveries that significantly advance symptom science by simultaneously collaborating with multiple experts and core laboratories to identify more correlates and validate their functional relevance in order to further understand the biological underpinnings of the symptoms of interest. Clinical relevance The collaborative framework used by NINR investigators as guided by the NIH SSM identifies functionally relevant clinical markers that can explain the biological underpinnings of symptoms and can be targeted to optimize symptom management.
The Impact of Computational Pharmacology

Pharmacology is the study of how drugs interact within the human body. The field covers a variety of topics such as pharmaceutical capabilities and interactions. Early studies in pharmacology focused on the effects of natural substances in the body as a means of therapeutic treatment. Modern pharmacology uses computation and modeling as research tools on a cellular level. Computational models are useful in almost every scientific and engineering discipline especially when practical and ethical considerations prevent experimenting with real systems. The models are needed to design various parts of the drug discovery process. Computer programs for designing compounds is one key area of computational pharmacology. Another area of interest are digital repositories for investigating chemical interactions. Modern pharmacology now involves using a computational method. This paper provides a brief introduction to computational pharmacology.
Monte Carlo simulation (MCS)-based uncertainty analysis of rock mass quality Q in underground construction

Abstract Uncertainties in a rock mass quality measure are due largely to the inherently heterogeneous nature of the rock mass itself. Traditional deterministic methods for the assessment of rock mass quality are not based upon a complete understanding of these inherent uncertainties, which can result in adverse impact on overall design performance. To address this problem, a Monte Carlo simulation (MCS)-based uncertainty analysis framework is proposed in this study to probabilistically quantify the uncertainties in the Q-system of rock mass classification. The proposed framework is then implemented in a highway tunnel case study. The probability distribution of the Q-value is obtained using the MCS technique in which the relative frequency histograms of the input parameters are used to probabilistically assess the rock mass properties and responses with appropriate empirical correlations. The probabilistic estimates of the rock mass properties are also adopted as the input for a finite element model for probabilistic evaluation of the excavation-induced tunnel displacement. In addition, a probabilistic sensitivity analysis is conducted to rank the relative importance of the input parameters in the Q-system according to the regression coefficients, Spearman’s rank-order correlation coefficients, contributions to variance and effects on output mean. The effects of the distribution types of uncertain input parameters in the Q-system are also examined. The proposed framework is shown to be capable of systematically assessing the uncertainty in the rock mass quality measure before construction as well as providing insightful information for the probabilistic evaluation of the ground response and support performance of underground structures. Although applied specifically to the Q-system, the proposed probabilistic framework should also be applicable to other rock mass classification systems.
Combination Therapy for Bladder Dysfunction in Patients with Neurogenic Detrusor Overactivity

Neurogenic bladder is a common condition and top health priority present in 20–70% of patients with neurologic diseases including multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease (PD), spinal cord injury (SCI), and cerebrovascular accidents (CVA). Current gold-standard medications for overactive bladder (OAB), such as anti-muscarinics, have undesirable side effects, or have limited data in neurogenic patients. Combining therapy for urinary urge incontinence (UUI) has shown the potential to increase efficacy while maintaining or improving tolerability of treatment. Our objective was to review and synthesize recent combination therapy studies for UUI in patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO). Non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic combination therapies have been investigated for UUI in patients with NDO. Adding intravaginal neuromuscular electrical stimulation (IVES) or transcutaneous tibial stimulation (TTNS) may not be superior to pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) on its own. Recent studies on dual therapies have focused on combining drugs with different mechanisms. In adults, a combination of desmopressin with mirabegron showed superior efficacy compared to either drug alone or solifenacin. In children, combination studies have focused on adding gabapentin to drug regimens with promising safety and efficacy. Overall, there are few combination therapy trials for OAB in neurogenic patients compared to those in patients with idiopathic OAB. There is an unmet medical need for combination therapies in patients with UUI due to neurogenic bladder. It is important to gather practice patterns and encourage providers to share their experiences. In addition, more rigorous clinical studies are needed to explore new combinations.
Did the banking sector foresee the financial crisis? Evidence from risk factor disclosures

Beginning in December 2005, the SEC required registrants to discuss “the most significant factors that make the company risky” under the Risk Factors item (Item 1A) in annual reports. The objective of this research is to evaluate the informativeness and timeliness of Item 1A in the setting of the banking industry during the financial crisis of 2008, and to investigate the characteristics of banks that moved fastest in communicating information through Item 1A as the crisis developed. We first document that the average number of risks disclosed by the national banks increased significantly from 2008 to 2009 and the tone of Item 1A, based on a standard dictionary (Loughran and McDonald in J Finance 66(1):35–65, 2011), also became more negative over this period. By creating a dictionary of financial crisis related words in press articles using an application of Latent Dirichlet Allocation, we show that the appearance of those words also increased from 2008 to 2009. Overall, the results support a finding that the banking industry failed to disclose business risk on a timely basis in their item 1A disclosures even though the purpose of this item is to allow firms to communicate information about all eventualities including those that may not be realized. The results also provide some information about the characteristics of the banks that had better disclosures in anticipation of crisis. Our finding suggests that the firms that disclosed earlier did a better job in pro-actively managing their operations over the financial crisis period.
Associations of diet quality and blood serum lipoprotein levels in a population at high risk for diabetes: the Strong Heart Family Study.

Previous studies consistently report that diet quality is inversely associated with risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes. However, few studies have assessed the association of diet quality with serum lipoproteins, an intermediate marker of cardio-metabolic health, or assessed whether type 2 diabetes modifies these associations. This study assessed associations of diet quality (evaluated using the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)), and the interaction of diet quality with diabetes, on total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), apolipoprotein A (apoA1), and apolipoprotein B (apoB) among American Indians (AIs). Participants comprised AIs who participated in the Strong Heart Family Study (SHFS)—a study of CVD and its risk factors in 12 AI communities. Generalized estimated equations (GEEs) were used to examine the following associations: (1) the cross-sectional associations of diet quality (as determined by AHEI) with serum lipoproteins (n = 2200); and (2) the prospective associations of the AHEI measured at baseline with serum lipoproteins (n = 1899). In cross-sectional analyses, associations of AHEI with TC (p < 0.0001) LDL-C (p = 0.005), and ApoB (p = 0.002) differed according to diabetes status. In prospective analysis, AHEI was associated with more favorable levels of TC (p = 0.029) and LDL-C (p = 0.008) among participants with diabetes independent of other demographic, behavioral, and health factors; associations of diet quality with TC, LDL-C, and ApoB were much weaker among participants without diabetes. There was no association of diet quality with TG, HDL-C, or ApoA. The associations of diet quality with TC, LDL-C, and ApoB differ according to diabetes status.
Understanding Hailstone Temporal Variability and Contributing Factors over the U.S. Southern Great Plains.

AbstractHailstones are a natural hazard that pose a significant threat to property and are responsible for significant economic losses each year in the United States. Detailed understanding of thei...
EBOLA OUTBREAKS AND INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS: CASE STUDIES OF CENTRAL AND WEST AFRICA REGIONS

Ebola outbreaks in Africa have occurred mostly in the Central and West Africa regions that are politically identified as the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and Economic Commun...
Donald Trump Is Redefining the Role of 'Big Government' in America

Donald Trump’s government is largely streaming billions of dollars to the private sector, to be distributed by businesses, rather than forming new government agencies or programs, or safety nets.
Comparative Floral Morphology and Anatomy of Gagea s. str. and Lloydia

Flowers of the five species from the four sections of the genus Gagea (that is, G. lutea , G. pusilla , G. reticulata , G. fragifera , and G. serotina (syn. Lloydia serotina ) were investigated by light microscopy. All investigated species had similar flower organization, vertical zonality of the gynoecium, and floral vascularization. In all species, the flowers were trimerous, with the superior ovary and short complete or semicomplete syntepalous zone at the base. The presence of the syntepalous zone allows consideration of such flowers as an intermediate between hypogynous and perigynous. All investigated species had nectaries at the base of the tepals. However, in Gagea s. str., they were represented by relatively small nectariferous areas of the tepals located at the beginning of the synascidiate zone of the gynoecium. In contrast, the nectaries in G. serotina were represented by elongated tepalar outgrowths located higher, at the level of the fertile symplicate zone of the gynoecium. Considering reports on the potential peltate origin of the nectaries in G. serotina , it is probably incorrect to interpret them as homologous to the nectaries in Gagea s. str. The gynoecium in the studied species demonstrated identical vertical zonality with synascidiate, symplicate, and asymptomatic zones, and corresponded to type C of the syncarpous gynoecium. At the base of the ovary, three carpels were congenitally isolated (primary synascidiate zone); however, they were isolated only postgenitally (secondary synascidiate zone). This secondary synascidiate zone originated from a symplicate zone due to the fusion of the carpelar margins. Although it looks like a synascidiate zone, for correct interpretation of the gynoecium’s vertical structure, it should be considered symplicate. The vascularization of the flower in all investigated species was similar, with the participation of lateral vascular bundles in the supply of placentas.
Teaming for excellence: challenges and collaboration in the world of reproductive clinical and translational research

To succeed in the conduct of clinical trials in reproductive medicine, teams must be trained and cultivated to collaborate and achieve a common goal. Here I share my personal experiences and lessons learned in teaming in the research setting by covering topics in time management, resource allocation, collaboration, publishing, and communication.
Modeling User Attitude toward Controversial Topics in Online Social Media

The increasing use of social media platforms like Twitter has attracted a large number of online users to express their attitude toward certain topics. Sentiment, opinion, and action, as three essential aspects of user attitude, have been studied separately in various existing research work. Investigating them together not only brings unique challenges but can also help better understand a user's online behavior and benefit a set of applications related to online campaign and recommender systems. In this paper, we present a computational model that estimates individual social media user's attitude toward controversial topics in terms of the three aspects and their relationships. Our model can simultaneously capture the three aspects so as to predict action and sentiment based on one's opinions.Experiments on multiple social media campaign datasets demonstrated that our attitude model can more effectively predict people's sentiment, opinion and action than approaches that treat these aspects separately.
Don't scratch! self-adaptors reflect emotional stability

A key goal in agent research is to be able to generate multimodal characters that can reflect a particular personality. The Big Five model of personality provides a framework for codifying personality variation. This paper reviews findings in the psychology literature to understand how the Big Five trait of emotional stability correlates with changes in verbal and nonverbal behavior. Agent behavior was modified based on these findings and a perceptual study was completed to determine if these changes lead to the controllable perception of emotional stability in virtual agents. The results reveal how language variation and the use of self-adaptors can be used to increase or decrease the perceived emotional stability of an agent. Self-adaptors are movements that often involve self-touch, such as scratching or bending one's fingers backwards in an unnatural brace. These results provide guidance on how agent designers can create particular characters, including indicating that for particular personality types, it is important to also produce typically non-communicative gestural behavior, such as the self-adaptors studied.
Are unemployment and out of the labor force behaviorally distinct labor force states

Abstract This paper uses the J-test developed by Mackinnon et al. (1983) and US Gross Change Data for six age-sex demographic groups to test the hypothesis that unemployment and out of the labor force are behaviorally meaningless distinctions. Results obtained with these data and test confirm those obtained by Flinn and Heckman (1983). We found that for young (ages 16–19) and young adult (ages 20–24) males and females, the two states are distinct; whereas for prime age males and females (ages 25–44), this distinction is meaningless.
Reasoned Legal Research, 3rd Edition

Update: As of January 1, Reasoned Legal Research will be found online. We've made it into an interactive website so students receive immediate feedback on exercises and multiple-choice questions. Putting it on a website also allows us to update videos and text to immediately reflect changes to government websites, Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg Law. Please do not download the PDF associated with this abstract. It is now out of date. Reasoned Legal Research teaches students how to research legal authority. It consists of a workbook, 30 videos, and multiple exercises to teach students effective strategies, guidelines, and tips for researching the law.
Inhibitory effect of antagonists of bombesin and growth hormone-releasing hormone on orthotopic and intraosseous growth and invasiveness of PC-3 human prostate cancer in nude mice.

Purpose: To determine whether antagonists of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and bombesin/gastrin-releasing peptide (BN/GRP) can inhibit the orthotopic and metastatic growth of PC-3 human androgen-independent prostate cancers. Experimental Design: The effects of administration of GHRH antagonist MZ-J-7-118, BN/GRP antagonist RC-3940-II, and their combination on the growth and metastatic spread of PC-3 tumors implanted orthotopically into nude mice were evaluated. The efficacy of this treatment on PC-3 tumors implanted intratibially and s.c. was also determined. Results: Treatment with MZ-J-7-118, RC-3940-II, or their combination significantly inhibited the growth of PC-3 tumors implanted orthotopically, intraosseously, and s.c. The combination of the two antagonists had the greatest effect, inhibiting orthotopic tumor growth by 77%, intratibially implanted tumors by 86%, and s.c. tumors by 86%. The therapy with BN/GRP and GHRH antagonists, especially in combination, also reduced the local tumor spread and distant metastases in animals bearing orthotopic tumors. Combination therapy was likewise the most effective in reducing the incidence and severity of tibial osteolytic lesions and pathologic fractures in intraosseously implanted tumors. High-affinity binding sites for BN/GRP and GHRH were found in s.c. and orthotopic PC-3 tumor samples. MZ-J-7-118, RC-3940-II, and the combination of both compounds inhibited in vitro growth of PC-3 cells. Conclusions: Our findings show the efficacy of BN/GRP antagonists and GHRH antagonists for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer in preclinical metastatic models. As BN/GRP antagonists are already in clinical trials and GHRH antagonists are effective in androgen-independent prostate cancer models, these analogues could be considered for the management of advanced prostate carcinoma.
Introduction to and Perspectives from the Symposium on Nutrient Disease Relationships: Closing the Scientific Knowledge Gap

The U.S. Congress through the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 authorized the use of health claims on food labels. These claims describe the relationship between a substance and a disease or health-related condition. In addition, Congress directed the U.S. FDA to apply a significant scientific agreement standard in approving these claims. Since 1990, the FDA has approved several health claims, but has also denied claims that did not meet this standard. The purpose of The Nutrient Disease Relationships: Closing the Scientific Knowledge Gap symposium was to provide researchers with perspectives to keep in mind when designing studies that examine the relationship between a nutrient and a disease or health-related condition, to help close the scientific knowledge gap for nutrient-disease relationships of scientific, consumer, and public health interest.
The role of catecholamines in behavioral arousal during ontogenesis.

Effect of catecholamine depletion on normal hyperactivity in the neonatal rat was examined. Both α-methyl-para-tyrosine and reserpine significantly depressed behavioral arousal at 15 days postpartum, the age of greatest excitability. Heightened activity could be restored in drug-treated animals by administration of l-Dopa. These results indicate that the ontogenetic hyperactivity effect is a result of accelerated catecholamine function.
Phosphoserine phosphatase: Development formation and hormonal regulation in rat tissues

Abstract Phosphoserine phosphatase was measured in rat liver and kidney as a function of age, sex, and treatment with different endocrine or metabolic factors. Several differences were found between liver and kidney in the regulation of this enzyme. The phosphoserine phosphatase activity of adult liver was 595 units per g for males, 383 for females, and for adult kidney of both sexes it was 1266. Estrogen treatment raised the level of phosphoserine phosphatase in kidneys after the age of 25 days but not in livers. The high levels of phosphoserine phosphatase in fetal liver, 2500 units per g, decreased to 900 during the last 4 days of gestation and the first 3 postnatal days. During the same time period kidney phosphoserine phosphatase increased from insignificant levels to about 600 units per g. The administration of hydrocortisone (but not of thyroxine, glucagon, or serine) to fetal rats enhanced the decline of liver phosphoserine phosphatase, suggesting that adrenocortical secretion is the stimulus for the normal decrease in liver phosphoserine phosphatase during late fetal life. The injection of hydrocortisone to the pregnant rat also resulted in lower phosphoserine phosphatase in the livers of her fetuses or newborns.
Scene analysis using regions

Abstract One of the vision projects of the Stanford Research Institute Artificial Intelligence Group is described. The method employed uses regions as basic data and progresses by successive partitioning of the picture toward an interpretable “goal partition”, which is then explored by a heuristic decision tree. A general structure is discussed and an example problem is shown in detail.