cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Forebrain renin-angiotensin system has a tonic excitatory influence on renal sympathetic nerve activity

All elements of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) are present in the forebrain, particularly in circumventricular organs surrounding the third cerebral ventricle. We tested the hypothesis that forebrain angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) has a tonic excitatory influence on sympathetic drive. Neurally intact and sinoaortic-denervated pentobarbital-anesthetized rats were treated with forebrain-directed intracarotid artery (ICA) versus intravenous injections of angiotensin I (ANG I) and of the ACE inhibitor captopril. In intact rats, ICA ANG I elicited a rise in arterial pressure and a concomitant reduction in renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA; ICA captopril elicited the opposite responses). In barodenervated rats, ICA ANG I increased and ICA captopril decreased arterial pressure and RSNA in parallel; intravenous ANG I had no effect on RSNA. The findings suggest that the intrinsic forebrain RAS has a tonic excitatory influence on sympathetic drive that is overshadowed in normal rats by baroreflex mechanisms, but may assume a more prominent role in pathophysiological states (e.g., heart failure) in which baroreflex mechanisms are impaired and RAS activity is augmented.
The equilibrium length of high-current bunches in electron storage rings

An equilibrium theory of the length of intense electron bunches circulating in a storage ring is presented. The consequcnce of electrical interaction with various resonant structures is expressed in terms of quadratures over the impedance of the structures, and impedance functions for a variety of elements are evaluated. I t is shown that elements having resonances at high frequency call, above transition, cause bunches to increase in length with increasing current. The parametric dependence of the bunch lengthening is found to be in good agreement with observations, and numerical estimates, which are in substantial agreement with experiment are presented.
0055 Association of occupational trajectories with alcohol use disorders in a longitudinal national survey

Objectives We posited mutually-reinforcing longitudinal pathways between occupation and alcohol use disorders (AUD). Method Longitudinal trajectories of work substantive complexity were constructed by growth mixture modelling (GMM) of occupational data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and O*NET work variables. AUD was determined using a set of 25 questions that map onto 9 criteria for alcohol dependence. Prevalent AUD was one occurred at or before the first alcohol questionnanire in 1989; an incident AUD was a new case between 1989 and the 1994 survey. The association between work trajectories and AUD was modelled using Poisson regression in a generalised linear model adjusting for covariates. Results Lower work trajectories were associated with higher AUD prevalence (prevalence ratio 1.41; 95% confidence interval 1.04–1.91 for lowest versus highest class). Incident AUDs were associated with risk of a decline in work trajectory class in both high (OR=2.68; 95% CI 1.34–5.35) and low (OR=1.62 95% CI 1.01–2.60) initial classes. Interval educational attainment was not associated with AUD within a specific occupaitonal trajectory class Conclusions Low occupational trajectories are associated with increased AUD prevalence. Incident AUDs may be followed by a decline in work SC. These findings suggest self-reinforcing relations between the development of AUD and both prior and subsequent work.
n 6 Li(α,d) 8 Be reaction and the importance of exchange processes

The $^{6}\mathrm{Li}(\ensuremath{\alpha},d)^{8}\mathrm{Be}_{\mathrm{g}.\mathrm{s}.}$ reaction is studied in the expectation that exchange contributions will be enhanced relative to the more usual light particle stripping process. Angular distributions of deuterons were measured at bombarding energies of 20 and 24 MeV and are found to exhibit back-angle peaking characteristic of the exchange process. Calculations including only a direct stripping mechanism are not able to account for the back-angle peaking and disagree with the back-angle data by more than two orders of magnitude. A two-mode finite-range distorted-wave Born-approximation analysis including cluster exchange contributions accurately describes the observed backward peaking at both energies. The importance of exchange contributions is attributed to favorable kinematic conditions and large cluster amplitudes associated with the exchange process.
The Influence of Age, Starvation, and Nutrition on Endogenous Respiration of Mycelium of Pythium Aphanidermatum

There have been few studies concerned primarily with endogenous respiration in nonseptate fungi. Ingraham and Emerson (10) working with Allomyces arbusculus Butler found that after 48 hr of starvation the mycelium had a very low Qo2 and did not respond to an addition of an available substrate. Wolf and Shoup (14) demonstrated that mycelia of A. arbusculus, A. javanicus Kniep, A. moniliformis Kniep, and A. cystogenus Emerson did not respond to additions of glucose after 7 days of starvation in distilled water. However, a number of substrates including dextrin, peptone, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid were utilized by all 4 species after the starvation period. In general the species were capable of utilizing a greater variety of amino acids than of sugars. Brown and Cantino (4) demonstrated with Blastocladiella emnersonii Kanouse that endogenous respiration levels were reduced 35% after 5 hr of starvation without impairing succinoxidase activity. Work with septate fungi has demonstrated that starvation reduces endogenous Qo2 values. Darby and Goddard (7) studying Myrothecium verrucaria (Alb. & Schw.) Ditmar found that the Qo. of 2-day-old cultures fell from 70 to about 10 in 1 day and to about 2 in 2 days. The addition of glucose to well-starved mycelium caused as high as an 8-fold increase in Qo2. Cochrane et al. (6) demonstrated that the Qo2 of 2-dayold shaker-grown mycelium of Fusarium solani (Mart.) Appel & Wr. was 19.4 and dropped to 2.0 at 6 days. Pythium aphanidermatum (Edson) Fitz. is a soil inhabiting fungal plant pathogen with a high growth rate and short mycelial reactivation time in soil (9). For these reasons it was thought of interest to deter-
Comparative effectiveness of six antiviral agents in Herpes simplex type 1 infection of mice.

SummaryThe therapeutic effectiveness of six antiviral agents and certain combinations were evaluated under the same experimental conditions during systemic HVH infection of mice. The agents used were adenine arabinoside (ARA-A), cytosine arabinoside (ARA-C), idoxuridine (IDU), polyinosinic polycytidylic acid (In Cn), interferon, and phosphonoacetic acid (PAA). Treatment with ARA-A begun as late as 3 days after the virus infection was highly effective in preventing death. Interferon begun on Day 4 prolonged survival. In similar experiments, no antiviral effect of either IDU or PAA could be demonstrated, while therapy with ARA-C potentiated the infection. Of the drug combinations tested, none was more effective than the better agent alone. Unexpectedly a protective and nontoxic dose of ARA-A when combined with a nontoxic dose of In Cn resulted in a synergistic mortality in uninfected mice.
Delta Checks for Random Error Detection in Hematology Tests

We developed a computerized algorithm for real-time hematology delta checks, comparisons between current and previous patient automated blood cell counts. Delta checking is restricted to an arbitrarily set maximum of seven days and uses linear as well as variable-rate nonlinear discriminant functions.Two delta levels were used–one for intralaboratory use and one requiring interaction with the referring unit or physician. The delta checks are useful for (1) random error detection mainly using a combination of two RBC parameters, mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), that remain stable over time; (2) warning for significant clinical changes in hemoglobin, MCV, WBC, and/or platelets; and (3) the elimination of manual checks on abnormal RBC morphology, WBC counts, and for platelet counts in specimens with repeatedly abnormal values.
Interfacial Solvation within n-Alkane Monolayers in Contact with Supercritical CO2

We report on the rotational reorientation dynamics of a fluorescent reporter molecule, BODIPY 494/503, within n-alkyl (n = 1–18) monolayers formed on quartz in contact with pure supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) at 313 K (reduced temperature, Tr = 1.03) between a reduced CO2 density (ρr = ρexp/ρc) of 0 and 1.8. The BODIPY 494/504 rotational dynamics are described by free (n ≥ 4) and hindered rotor (n ≤ 6) models. As the CO2 density increases, hindered rotation shifts toward free rotation, and the local viscosity in the cybotactic region surrounding the BODIPY 494/504 reporter within the monolayer decreases. These results are interpreted in terms of n- and density-dependent scCO2 alkyl chain solvation.
Epidemic Features and Prevention of Keshan Disease in Liangshan Prefecture During 1961-2006

Objective To obtain the information on the historical and current epidemic situation of Keshan disease in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture so as to carry out sustainable prevention and treatment.Method Data of historical epidemics(1961-2006), data of investigations performed in counties under surveillance and data of identified Keshan epidemics in certain regions with sound three levels of prevention and treatment networks were collected and analysed.Results Keshan disease prevails in 15 out of total 17 counties in Liangshan Prefecture.13 097 cases were identified from 1961 to 1996 with an everage incidence rate of 22.61/105.Since 1997,among the 15 counties,124 cases in only 6 counties were reported.Sodium selenite showed remarkable control effect.Conclusion Liangshan Prefecture was one of the areas with the most severe Keshan disease in the country, and at present, the disease is still very rampant in some local places.It's an important task to implement and strengthen the control measures of Keshan disease in remote areas.
Preliminary Explorations on Floral Reversion of Autumn Flowering Chrysanthemum under High Temperature

25～35℃ High-temperature in summer leads to the development of abnormal inflorescence of some autumn flowering chrysanthemum cultivars that were already different, some of which were in diapause. When the temperature decline 15～25℃ in short day condition within three weeks, experiment materials can form vegetative shoot and be differentiated to normal inflorescence. When pinching out to abnormal inflorescence autumn flowering chrysanthemum cultivars, with the temperature decline in autumn, experiment materials can form vegetative shoot and different normal inflorescence. The research demonstrates that the floral reversion process of some autumn flowering chrysanthemum cultivars was influenced by not only photoperiodism but also the thermoperiodism.
Hair Loss in Children

This well-detailed article discusses the common, and some of the less common, causes of hair loss in children.
42 Months of Experience with the Mentor Inflatable Penile Prosthesis

AbstractThe Mentor inflatable penile prosthesis is a hydraulic device that was introduced in May 1983 for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Since its introduction further technical modifications and improvements have been made on the product. From the onset the reliability, function and cosmetic effect of this physiological device have been excellent. The modifications have served to improve the ease of operation and to increase further the reliability as demonstrated by our progressive decrease in the incidence of mechanical failures. From May 1983 to November 1986 we implanted 137 Mentor inflatable penile prostheses. Our over-all mechanical failure rate was 7.3 per cent. As a result of the modifications, however, the mechanical failure rate decreased to 3.1 per cent during the last 38 months of that period when 129 (94 per cent) of the prostheses were implanted, and during the last 24 months of that period when 86 (63 per cent) of the prostheseswere implanted the mechanical failure rate was only 1....
Curative Surgical Resection as a Component of Multimodality Therapy for Peritoneal Metastases from Goblet Cell Carcinoids

The impact of histopathologic features on oncologic outcomes for patients with peritoneal metastases from goblet cell carcinoid (GCC) undergoing multimodality therapy, including cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (CRS-HIPEC), is unknown. This study prospectively analyzed 43 patients with GCC undergoing CRS-HIPEC between 2005 and 2013. Pathology slides were re-reviewed to classify GCC into histologic subtypes according to the Tang classification. Kaplan–Meier survival curves and multivariate Cox-regression models identified prognostic factors affecting oncologic outcomes. The 43 patients in this study underwent 50 CRS-HIPEC procedures for peritoneal metastases from GCC, and the majority received neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant systemic chemotherapy. The GCC demonstrated an aggressive phenotype with frequent lymph node and peritoneal metastases without systemic dissemination. The majority of the patients had Tang B GCC. The estimated median overall survival times after surgery for the patients with Tang A, B, and C GCC were respectively 59, 22, and 13 months. In a multivariate Cox-regression analysis, poor survival was associated with patients who had Tang B or C GCC, those undergoing incomplete macroscopic resection, and those with symptoms at the time of CRS-HIPEC. The patients with Tang A GCC demonstrated oncologic outcomes similar to those with intermediate-grade (American Joint Committee on Cancer [AJCC] grade 2) disseminated mucinous appendiceal neoplasms, whereas the patients with Tang B and C GCC demonstrated survival rates similar to or worse than those with high-grade (AJCC grade 3) disseminated mucinous appendiceal neoplasms. Tang classification is an independent prognostic factor for poor survival after multimodality therapy for GCC. Patients with Tang C GCC demonstrate limited survival and are not ideal candidates for a surgical approach.
Biosynthesis of Polyamines in Eukaryotes, Archaea, and Bacteria

As with all metabolic pathways, not only has polyamine biosynthesis been subject to divergent and convergent evolution and horizontal gene transfer, but many pathogenic and commensal organisms have abandoned the task altogether and instead obtain polyamines from the environment. Reflecting primary metabolism in general, polyamine biosynthesis is more diverse in Bacteria than it is in eukaryotes and Archaea. Each of the three physiologically relevant triamines, that is, spermidine, sym-homospermidine, and sym-norspermidine, can be synthesized by at least two distinct, evolutionarily independent pathways. Synthesis of tetraamines has evolved independently in Bacteria, Archaea, plants, yeasts, and animals. Because of the relative ease of genomic sequencing and the ever-increasing number of complete genome sequences available, it will now be easier to determine which polyamines are likely to be present in an organism by using genomic rather than chemical analysis. The following chapter is a guide to the biosynthetic diversity of polyamine formation and the evolutionary mechanisms generating that diversity.
Freeboard Allowances for Wave in Inland Reservoirs

Factors to consider in selection of freeboard allowances for wind generated waves in large inland reservoirs; studies conducted by Corps of Engineers concerning estimating characteristics of wind-waves generated in inland reservoirs; outline of wind-tide relations as associated with inland reservoirs; hydraulic model studies and related analyses examined; sample computations presented to illustrate applications of generalized relationships described.
Combination capecitabine/temozolomide (CAPTEM) in patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs): A single institution review.

e15184 Background: Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are commonly treated with multimodality therapy including surgery, somatostatin analogs, targeted agents, chemotherapy and others. The combination of...
Conditioned medium from adenoviral-mediated interferon treated cells is cytotoxic to cancer cells resistant to the interferon protein: Further evidence for a strong bystander effect

3306 We have previously shown that Ad-IFN is cytotoxic to bladder cancer cells which are resistant to high concentrations of the IFN protein and has a strong bystander effect (Benedict et. al. Mol.Therapy 10,525-532, 2004). More recently we have provided evidence for soluble factors producing this bystander effect using a co-culture system involving membrane inserts (Zhang et. al. Cancer Gene Therapy, in press). Conditioned medium from Ad-IFN treated cancer cells resistant to the IFN protein has now been found to be similar in eliciting the bystander effect in various cancer types. The conditioned medium could be filtered, frozen and thawed and diluted to at least 1 part conditioned medium to 5 parts control medium and still show a similar cytotoxicity as 100% concentration of fresh conditioned medium. This was observed by both flow cytometry and MTT assays. In addition equal cytotoxicity was seen whether the cells were treated with Ad-IFN for 48, 72 or 96 hours and the conditioned medium collected. Of interest the cytotoxicity could not be blocked by the pan-caspase inhibitor, BOC-Asp(Ome)-fluro-methylketone. Since Ad-IFN is presently being evaluated in a Phase l trial for superficial bladder cancer elucidating the identity of the soluble factor(s) causing this Ad-IFN produced bystander effect in cell culture is a particularly important goal in our laboratory.
NEW ULTRA-WIDE-FIELD ANGIOGRAPHIC GRADING SCHEME FOR RADIATION RETINOPATHY AFTER IODINE-125 BRACHYTHERAPY FOR UVEAL MELANOMA.

PURPOSE Radiation retinopathy remains incompletely characterized and may cause severe vision loss. Ultra-wide-field fluorescein angiography provides a pan-fundus view of vascular alterations caused by radiation treatment and may predict visual and ocular outcomes. We have developed a grading scheme to describe pan-fundus severity and to predict the progression of radiation retinopathy in patients treated for uveal melanoma with iodine-125 brachytherapy. METHODS A retrospective review of patients treated with standard iodine-125 brachytherapy for uveal melanoma at the Ophthalmic Oncology Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, who had undergone both baseline and postbrachytherapy ultra-wide-field fluorescein angiography. A grading scheme was devised based on observations of vascular leakage, retinal perfusion status, and retinal proliferation. The correlation of grade severity with patient characteristics, tumor features, visual acuity, optical coherence tomography findings, and neovascular glaucoma was measured with chi-square and one-way analysis of variance analyses. RESULTS Sixty-seven patients were identified for review. Consistent wide-field angiographic patterns after brachytherapy were observed and graded as follows: Grade 0: normal; Grade 1: late foveal leakage; Grade 2: late peripheral leakage; Grade 3: presence of nonperfusion; and Grade 4: retinal neovascularization. Six eyes (8.9%) were Grade 0; 16 (23.8%) were Grade 1; 25 (37.3%) were Grade 2; 16 (23.4%) were Grade 3; and 4 (6.0%) were Grade 4. Higher grade radiation severity correlated significantly with duration of follow-up (P < 0.02); younger age (P = 0.035); worse visual acuity (P = 0.001); cystoid macular edema or atrophy on optical coherence tomography (P < 0.0001); and neovascular glaucoma (P = 0.003). CONCLUSION Wide-field fluorescein angiography revealed distinct fundus-wide patterns of vascular damage, which were progressive in nature in eyes treated with iodine-125 brachytherapy for uveal melanoma and correlated with signs of progressive vascular injury. This grading scheme may have prognostic value to predict the progression of radiation retinopathy and to prognosticate visual outcomes in patients undergoing brachytherapy.
Abstract 20804: Models of Ischemia/Reperfusion Need to Consider Cardiac Sympathetic Nerve Injury

Introduction: Substantial damage and scarring to the heart can result following a myocardial infarction (MI) even when the tissue is successfully reperfused. The physiological and biochemical cause...
Economics of Peak Shaving and Cogeneration: Using On-Site Generating Systems in the Citrus Industry

Energy cost is a topic discussed in citrus management circles and it will draw increasing attention in years to come. Beginning with the oil embargo in 1973, the energy crisis started, sending costs skyrocketing. The days of everincreasing electrical charges are fact. In most citrus plants, energy costs are the fastest growing expense. We all feel it in our own personal pocketbooks.Paper published with permission.Compilation Copyright © 2018 ASME
The combined administration of vancomycin IV, standard prophylactic antibiotics, and vancomycin powder in spinal instrumentation surgery: does the routine use affect infection rates and bacterial resistance?

Background: Surgical site infections (SSI) poses significant risk following spinal instrumentation surgery. The 2013 North American Spine Society (NASS) Evidence-Based Clinical Guidelines found that the incidence of SSI in spine surgery ranged from 0.7–10%, with higher rates with medical comorbidities. National guidelines currently recommend first-generation cephalosporins as first line prophylaxis. Due to an increase in MRSA cases in our institution, a combined antibiotic strategy using vancomycin IV, standard prophylactic antibiotics, and vancomycin powder was implemented for all spinal instrumentation surgeries. Methods: All spinal instrumentation surgeries performed at this institution from 2013–2016 were identified. Chart review was then performed to identify the inclusion and exclusion criteria, demographic data, diagnosis, type of surgery performed, and bacterial culture results. Rates of SSI, as defined by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), were calculated and antibiotic resistance was determined. As control, SSIs were identified and reviewed from 2010, prior to the implementation of the combined strategy. Results: One thousand and seventy four subjects were identified in the combined cohort. Mean age was 52.3 years, 540 males (50.2%), 534 females (49.8%). There were 960 primary surgeries (89.4%), 114 cases revision surgeries (10.6%). Cervical myelopathy (27.9%), lumbar stenosis (16.2%), lumbar spondylolisthesis (14.0%), and scoliosis (pediatric and adult)/deformity (13.7%) were leading diagnoses. The standard prophylactic antibiotic was cefazolin IV in 524 cases (48.8%), gentamicin IV in 526 cases (49.0%), vancomycin powder was used in 72.3% of cases. Four SSI cases out of 1,074 were identified (0.37%), 3 deep and 1 superficial, with no antibiotic resistance. In the control group, there were 11 infections of 892 cases (1.23%). There were significantly lower rates of SSI in the combined group versus control (P=0.05). Conclusions: The combined antibiotic strategy led to low SSI rates in this retrospective case control study. Limitations of this study include retrospective design and small sample size. A large multicenter randomized clinical trial may provide further insight in the effectiveness of this strategy. Level of evidence 3. Clinical relevance: the combined antibiotic protocol may be considered in institutions with concern for SSI and methicillin resistant infections associated with spinal instrumentation surgeries.
Use of Intravenous Immunoglobulin in Small Fiber Neuropathy associated with FGFR3 (P2.433)

Objective: NA Background: Small fiber neuropathy typically presents as a sensory syndrome characterized by burning pain, most often in a length-dependent pattern. A variety of immunological syndromes present with a similar neuropathy, including a paraneoplastic syndrome associated with anti-Hu antibodies, but other antibody targets are not well understood. A previously published study identified patients with pure sensory syndromes and antibodies to fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3), including a subset with progressive small fiber pain syndromes. Although most carried previous diagnoses of systemic autoimmune disease, some were idiopathic. Response to immunotherapy in FGFR3 patients has not been reported. Design/Methods: We present two cases of progressive small fiberneuropathy with FGFR3 receptor antibodies, both of whom responded to therapy with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). Results: A 32-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman presented with subacute progressive numbness and pain. Both had normal contrast-enhanced MRI of the neuraxis and normal spinal fluid. Serum studies failed to show persistent abnormalities. Electrodiagnostic studies were normal save for an absent left dorsal ulnar cutaneous (DUC) nerve in the male patient; biopsy of this nerve was unrevealing. Skin biopsy in both patients showed a reduced epidermal nerve fiber layer and the male patient also had sudomotor dysfunction on autonomic testing. Both patients tested positive for anti-FGFR3 and were started on IVIg subsequently endorsing a dramatic reduction in pain and numbness. Conclusions: These cases add to a growing literature on the presence of FGFR3 in some patients with progressive, painful small fiber neuropathy. This is of relevance in younger patients without systemic autoimmune disease, as it may suggest an auto-immune etiology in cases otherwise considered idiopathic; these patients might not otherwise be offered disease-modifying treatment. Furthermore, these cases suggest a role for IVIg in select patients with progressive, painful, small fiber neuropathy and positive FGFR3 antibodies. Disclosure: Dr. Dave has nothing to disclose. Dr. Smith has nothing to disclose.
Development of a Dynamic Model for Subsurface Damage in Sandwich Composite Materials

Despite the advantages of lightweight composite materials over metals and metal alloys, many challenges remain in their inspection and failure prediction. Researchers have found that subsurface damage accumulation due to fiber breakage and delaminations can be detected by observing localized nonlinear vibrations in composite structures [1,2,3,4]. A mathematical model to describe these nonlinearities does not exist in the literature. This research presents an experimental approach to identify a single degree of freedom (SDOF) nonlinear dynamic system model that represents subsurface damages in lightweight sandwich composites as localized stiffness or damping nonlinearities. The forced vibration of a damaged and pristine fiberglass laminated honeycomb sandwich composite panel is tested in this research. A test fixture is designed to clamp the panels in order to constrain the transverse oscillatory response of the material inside the clamped area to that of an equivalent SDOF system. Damage is introduced by cutting away the bond between the face sheet and core material. A linear vibration study is performed to quantify the changes in the mass, stiffness and damping properties of the material in the test fixture. A large decrease in the single degree of freedom stiffness is observed for the damaged case. Restoring force analysis of the damaged fiberglass material shows a clear bi-linear stiffness behavior.
Molecular Biomarkers in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common leukemia in the Western World and remains incurable with conventional chemotherapy treatment approaches. CLL has a highly varied clinical course. The substantial clinical variability in the clinical course of CLL has motivated intense efforts at identifying molecular markers that can be used for CLL prognostication. While many such markers have been proposed, few have stood the test of time; this is due to various reasons outlined in detail in this chapter.
Ignorance and the Incentive Structure Confronting Policymakers

The paper examines one of the considerations that determines the extent to which policymakers pursue the objectives demanded by constituents. The nature and extent of their ignorance serve to determine the incentives confronted by policymakers to pursue their constituents' demands. The paper also considers several other consequences of policymaker ignorance.
Natural Products in the "Marketplace": Interfacing Synthesis and Biology.

Drugs are discovered through the biological screening of collections of compounds, followed by optimization toward functional end points. The properties of screening collections are often balanced between diversity, physicochemical favorability, intrinsic complexity, and synthetic tractability (Huggins, D. J.; et al. ACS Chem. Biol. 2011, 6, 208; DOI: 10.1021/cb100420r). Whereas natural product (NP) collections excel in the first three attributes, NPs suffer a disadvantage on the last point. Academic total synthesis research has worked to solve this problem by devising syntheses of NP leads, diversifying late-stage intermediates, or derivatizing the NP target. This work has led to the discovery of reaction mechanisms, the invention of new methods, and the development of FDA-approved drugs. Few drugs, however, are themselves NPs; instead, NP analogues predominate. Here we highlight past examples of NP analogue development and successful NP-derived drugs. More recently, chemists have explored how NP analogu...
The upper level: examining the risk of excess micronutrient intake in pregnancy from antenatal supplements.

Micronutrient deficiencies are prevalent and co-occurring among pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). To prevent and treat deficiencies, antenatal vitamin and mineral supplements are the most common interventions during gestation. With most micronutrients, there can be health risks when intake regularly exceeds a high amount, and an upper threshold value set by the United States and Canada, the World Health Organization, and other groups is commonly called an upper intake level (UL). This review summarizes what is known about risks in pregnancy when ULs are exceeded and assesses the potential risk of exceeding the UL if a pregnant woman is taking a multiple micronutrient supplement. Overall, there is limited information on pregnancy-specific risks from excess intake. When assuming high dietary intake plus the amount in a standard multiple micronutrient supplement (with 30 mg of iron), only niacin and iron would be expected to slightly exceed the UL. Known risks for this level intake for each nutrient are transient and mild.
Relationship between natural language processing and AI

The use of constrained formal/computational systems just adequate for modeling various aspects of language-syntax, semantics, pragmatics and discourse, among others-has proved to be not only an effective research strategy but has led to deeper understanding of these aspects, with implications to both machine processing as well as human processing. This approach enables one to distinguish between universal and stipulative constraints. The other approach is to start with the most general and most powerful formal/computational system and use it to model these phenomena, thus making all constraints stipulative, in a sense. The tension between these approaches, together with the increasing use of empirical methods combining structural and statistical information, has made the relationship between natural language processing and AI quite stormy. I will review some of the past and current research following the first approach and also suggest how the stormy relationship could be improved.
“Breaking the news … on a weekly basis”: trolling as rhetorical style on Last Week Tonight

ABSTRACTComedy news show Last Week Tonight, hosted by John Oliver, expands the genre of satirical news by incorporating the rhetorical style of trolling. The show’s host coordinates raids, propagat...
Poster Abstract: Analysis of Cyber-Security Vulnerabilities of Interconnected Medical Devices

With advances in sensing, networking, and computing, smart medical devices have been widely deployed in various clinical settings. However, cyber attacks on hospital networks and critical medical devices are serious threats to patient safety, security, and privacy. This paper studies the cyber-security attacks that target hospital networks and other interconnected clinical environments. Our goal is to characterize threat models in such environments by studying the public data from vulnerability databases on medical devices and reports on real attacks targeted at hospital networks. We use a keyword-based approach to identify security reports on medical devices. We summarize our observations from the analysis of the vulnerability reports and provide insights into the types and impacts of vulnerabilities.
The Water-Economy Nexus: a Composite Index Approach to Evaluate Urban Water Vulnerability

Resource scarcity is a driving force behind water conservation and reuse as urban areas seek strategies to adapt to population growth and environmental challenges. Although there are numerous indicators that examine urban water resource and demand characteristics, these approaches do not tie together how aspects like economic health, environmental conditions, and population growth correlate with local water conservation to demonstrate a city’s ability to cope with water resource vulnerability. This research develops a conceptual framework for the Water-Economy Index (WEI) which characterizes social, economic, and environmental dynamics of water reuse and conservation. The application specifically utilizes a principal component analysis (PCA) to evaluate how hydro-economic indicators (including water demand intensity, demand for recycled water, economic productivity of water, unemployment, and allocations of water resources) are correlated and can impact sustainability goals. The PCA method aggregates indicators into three groups: socio-economic, water allocation, and socio-environmental indicators. The most influential indicators within each group are economic productivity of water, wastewater reuse, and consumptive water demand, respectively. The WEI ranks of 49 cities are compared to identify shared traits across individual indicators and to demonstrate the application of the WEI for benchmarking. The results provide insight into the complex relationship between the characteristics of an urban area’s water demand and socio-economic performance.
Two Cases of Meningitis Associated with Ocrelizumab Therapy (P4.2-010)

Objective: To describe meningitis associated with ocrelizumab therapy Background: Ocrelizumab has received widespread use for both relapsing-remitting (RRMS) and primary-progressive MS (PPMS) after recent US market introduction in 2017. Unanticipated morbidities associated with ocrelizumab in “real world” populations outside clinical trials may further inform shared decision-making discussions with patients considering MS disease-modifying therapies. Design/Methods: Case report Results: Case 1: 70 year old female with PPMS, estimated EDSS 6.0, diagnosed 9 years prior who had received fingolimod for 3 months in 2014 as part of a clinical trial. Ocrelizumab had been initiated due to clinical progression 11 months prior to presentation with 24hrs of encephalopathy and fever. CSF protein was 282mg/dl, had 179 nucleated cells (83% lymphocytes) and remaining laboratory testing was negative. Brain MRI was unchanged from previous. Aseptic meningitis was diagnosed and recovery proceeded with conservative treatment. Case 2: 54 year old male with stable RRMS diagnosed 17 years prior, estimated EDSS 1.0, had previously received glatiramer acetate, then fingolimod in 2011 due to injection fatigue, and switched to ocrelizumab in 2017 due to safety concerns with fingolimod. He had received ocrelizumab for 12 months at the time of presentation of 1 week of headache, meningismus, and fever. CSF protein was 323 mg/dl and had 123 nucleated cells (66% lymphocytes). Lyme CSF IgG was reactive, but index was negative. Serum Lyme Ab was positive, but western blot negative. Additional infectious evaluation was negative. Aseptic meningitis was considered, but treatment for atypical Lyme meningitis presumed secondary to anti-CD20 therapy was pursued. Recovery proceeded after treatment with ceftriaxone. Conclusions: We describe two cases of meningitis associated with ocrelizumab therapy in MS patients with very different phenotypes. Meningitis has been described in association with anti-CD20 therapies, but to our knowledge, these may be the first cases described in association with ocrelizumab. Disclosure: Dr. Theriault has nothing to disclose. Dr. Solomon has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Biogen. Dr. Solomon has received research support from Biogen.
The impact of real-time clinical alerts on the compliance of anesthesia documentation: A retrospective observational study

Abstract Introduction Clinical alert systems (CAS) have been used to analyze deviations from hospital standards in the electronic medical record to identify missing documentations and send alerts to the appropriate providers to increase adherence to required elements. To improve compliance, an alert system for documentation of the Immediate Preoperative Assessment (IPOA) was implemented at our institution in August 2018 with the goal of improving documentation compliance rates. We hypothesized that implementation of this alert system would increase the compliance of on-time documentation of the IPOA. Methods An initial data query in our institutional data warehouse was made for all patients who had a completed anesthetic during our study period. This date range corresponded to 6 months before and after August 2nd, 2018, the date when the IPOA alert was implemented and the anesthesiology department. The following analyses were performed: testing the proportion of cases compliant with on-time documentation of the IPOA pre- versus post-implementation for the full cohort and among subsets of interest, testing the time when the IPOA was completed relative to anesthesia end, and testing whether time of day of when surgery occurred had an impact on the time when the IPOA was completed relative to the drapes off/IPOA alert sent time. The proportion of compliance for pre- versus post-implementation was tested by Chi-square test. Results Through retrospective chart review of electronic patient records, 47,417 cases matched our inclusion criteria of patients that had a completed anesthetic between February 2nd, 2018 to February 2nd, 2019. In total, we excluded 5132 cases. The compliance rate of IPOA completion increased from 76% to 88% (P Conclusion In summary, we demonstrate that automated Clinical Alert Systems operating via a single page notification can improve the compliance rate for documentation of key anesthesia events and that this observation is sustained six months after the implementation date. Furthermore, improvement in compliance is highest shorter cases and cases that occur early in the day. This study shows promising results in the use of automatic CAS system alerts to help hospitals meet the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission (TJC) standards.
Safe Control Algorithms Using Energy Functions: A Uni ed Framework, Benchmark, and New Directions

Safe autonomy is important in many application domains, especially for applications involving interactions with humans. Existing safe control algorithms are similar to one another in the sense that: they all provide control inputs to maintain a low value of an energy function that measures safety. In different methods, the energy function is called a potential function, a safety index, or a barrier function. The connections and relative advantages among these methods remain unclear. This paper introduces a unified framework to derive safe control laws using energy functions.We demonstrate how to integrate existing controllers based on potential field method, safe set algorithm, barrier function method, and sliding mode algorithm into this unified framework. In addition to theoretical comparison, this paper also introduces a benchmark which implements and compares existing methods on a variety of problems with different system dynamics and interaction modes. Based on the comparison results, a new method, called the sublevel safe set algorithm, is derived under the unified framework by optimizing the hyperparameters. The proposed algorithm achieves the best performance in terms of safety and efficiency on the vast majority of benchmark tests.
Evaluation of the USDA sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] germplasm collection for tolerance to the herbicide clomazone

Sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.], is an important food crop worldwide. Weed management is consistently ranked among the top priorities of the sweetpotato industry in the United States (U.S.). Unfortunately, weed management of sweetpotato in the U.S. can be challenging as there are few herbicides labeled for use on the crop. Clomazone is one of the most widely used herbicides on sweetpotato in the U.S. and is effective in controlling several annual broadleaf weed and grass species and there is interest in developing germplasm that is tolerant to the herbicide. There is a lack of information concerning clomazone tolerance for sweetpotato plant introductions (PIs) that are contained within the germplasm collection of the USDA, ARS, Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit. The present study evaluated 564 sweetpotato PIs for tolerance to clomazone under a recommended rate in a field plot, with the objective of identifying sources of tolerance to clomazone. Clomazone injury ratings [1 = no chlorosis, 3 = minor chlorosis ( 50%)] of the 564 sweetpotato PIs indicated that the majority (N = 497 PIs) had either no chlorosis or minor damage. There is ample phenotypic diversity for periderm (skin) and stele (flesh) color and dry matter present within the clomazone tolerant PIs. Additionally, there is sufficient genetic diversity present, as 108 PIs have been characterized and assigned to four genetic clusters with another 81 PIs having high levels of mixed ancestry. The results reported here provide critical baseline data for future studies of resistance and practical breeding for tolerance to clomazone.
Endovascular Versus Open Aortic Reconstruction: A Comparison of Outcomes.

Abstract This manuscript attempts to comprehensively compare and contrast the growth and evolution of both open and endovascular aortic aneurysm repair in a systematic fashion with a focus on long term outcomes. Repair of aneurysmal and occlusive aortic disease has been revolutionized by modern endovascular techniques for both thoracic and abdominal portions of the aorta. Despite the advent of complex endovascular repair techniques, there still remains a significant place for open reconstruction. This review will assess the differences and compare outcomes between the two techniques for aortic repair.
Tales of a department: How the COVID-19 pandemic transformed Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital, Department of Neurology - Part I: The surge

The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the way healthcare systems operate around the world. The major hurdles faced have been availability of personal protective equipment, intensive care unit beds, ventilators, treatments and medical personnel. Detroit, Michigan has been an epidemic ‘hotspot’ in the USA with Wayne County among the hardest hit counties in the nation. The Department of Neurology at Henry Ford Hospital, in the heart of Detroit, has responded effectively to the pandemic by altering many aspects of its operations. The rapid engagement of the department and enhanced utilisation of teleneurology were two of the pivotal elements in the successful response to the pandemic. In this review, we describe the transformation our department has undergone, as it relates to its infrastructure redesigning, coverage restructuring, redeployment strategies, medical education adaptations and novel research initiatives.
Non-spousal family support, marital status, and heart problems in adulthood.

Support from one’s spouse has long been documented as a significant determinant of health for married individuals. However, non-spousal family support may play an important role in health particula...
Association of Low Systolic Blood Pressure with Postmortem Amyloid-β and Tau.

Background Vascular mechanisms may contribute to the accumulation of AD pathology. Objective We examined whether the burden of vascular risk factors proximate to death is associated with amyloid-β and tau levels or modified their known association. Methods We examined the brains of 1, 585 participants from two longitudinal community-based studies of older adults. Amyloid-β and tau were quantified by postmortem examination. The burden of vascular risk factors was summarized by calculating the Framingham general cardiovascular risk score (FRS) proximate to death. Using linear regressions, we examined the association of the FRS with the amyloid-β and tau levels and examined if the FRS modified the association of the amyloid-β with tau. Results On average, participants were nearly 90 years old and two-thirds were women. The FRS was not associated with amyloid-β (Spearman r = -0.00, p = 0.918) or tau (r = 0.01, p = 0.701). However, the FRS as a whole (estimate = -0.022, SE = 0.008, p = 0.009), and specifically the systolic blood pressure (SBP) component (estimate = -0.033, SE = 0.012, p = 0.009), modified the association of the amyloid-β with tau. Further analysis showed that the association between amyloid-β and tau was stronger at lower levels of SBP. Conclusion Late-life vascular risk scores were not related to postmortem levels of amyloid-β or tau. However, lower levels of vascular risk scores and SBP were associated with a stronger association between amyloid-β and tau. These data suggest that vascular risk factors may modify the relation of AD pathology markers to one another.
Object Tracking Comparison for Automated Vehicles Using MathWorks Toolsets

Object trackers are a tool to achieve accurate object state estimation over time. Due to their complexity, a framework to experiment with different variations of trackers and their subcomponents is desired. This drove the authors research and experimentation with object tracking using MathWorks toolsets. In this paper, three object trackers - Point Target Tracker (PTT), Gamma Gaussian Inverse Wishart Probability Hypothesis Density (GGIW-PHD), and Gaussian Mixture Probability Hypothesis Density (GM-PHD) - are compared in simulation for track statistics and object/track accuracy. The results show that a rectangular GM-PHD multi object tracker outperforms the other trackers. A follow up is shown using real-world data and the process used to get the sensor data into the appropriate MathWorks format. The impact of COVID-19 prevented the collection of ground truth data so the real-world data cannot be compared using the same metrics. For this reason, the simulation portion of this paper will act as the detailed discussion of fusion and tracking while the real-world testing portion is an overview of the authors' process of converting real-world sensor data into a format compatible with MathWorks object tracking tools. © 2021 SAE International. All rights reserved.