cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mitochondria Damage and Kidney Disease.

The kidney is a vital organ that demands an extraordinary amount of energy to actively maintain the body’s metabolism, plasma hemodynamics, electrolytes and water homeostasis, nutrients reabsorption, and hormone secretion. Kidney is only second to the heart in mitochondrial count and oxygen consumption. As such, the health and status of the energy power house, the mitochondria, is pivotal to the health and proper function of the kidney. Mitochondria are heterogeneous and highly dynamic organelles and their functions are subject to complex regulations through modulation of its biogenesis, bioenergetics, dynamics and clearance within cell. Kidney diseases, either acute kidney injury (AKI) or chronic kidney disease (CKD), are important clinical issues and global public health concerns with high mortality rate and socioeconomic burden due to lack of effective therapeutic strategies to cure or retard the progression of the diseases. Mitochondria-targeted therapeutics has become a major focus for modern research with the belief that maintaining mitochondria homeostasis can prevent kidney pathogenesis and disease progression. A better understanding of the cellular and molecular events that govern mitochondria functions in health and disease will potentially lead to improved therapeutics development.
The Golgin protein Coy1 functions in intra-Golgi retrograde transport and interacts with the COG complex and Golgi SNAREs

Extended coiled-coil proteins of the Golgin family play prominent roles in maintaining the structure and function of the Golgi complex. Here we further investigate the Golgin protein Coy1 and document its function in retrograde transport between early Golgi compartments. Cells that lack Coy1 displayed a reduced half-life of the Och1 mannosyltransferase, an established cargo of intra-Golgi retrograde transport. Combining the coy1Δ mutation with deletions in other putative retrograde Golgins (sgm1Δ and rud3Δ) caused strong glycosylation and growth defects and reduced membrane association of the Conserved Oligomeric Golgi complex. In contrast, overexpression of COY1 inhibited the growth of mutant strains deficient in fusion activity at the Golgi (sed5-1 and sly1-ts). To map Coy1 protein interactions, co-immunoprecipitation experiments revealed an association with the Conserved Oliogmeric Golgi (COG) complex and with intra-Golgi SNARE proteins. These physical interactions are direct, as Coy1 was efficiently captured in vitro by Lobe A of the COG complex and the purified SNARE proteins Gos1, Sed5 and Sft1. Thus, our genetic, in vivo, and biochemical data indicate a role for Coy1 in regulating COG complex-dependent fusion of retrograde-directed COPI vesicles.
Inhibitory Effects of Triptolide Nanovehicles on Tumor Growth and Metastases.

5459 Triptolide (TPL), a diterpenoid triepoxides-like small molecule purified from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F., has been used as an anti-tumor and anti-inflammation agent with very promising results from clinical trails. For the better targeting on tumor and the reducing of TPL toxicity, the improvement of deliver formula of TPL is needed. Four forms of TPL Nan vehicles were prepared as follow: 1) TPL-PEG-Lip, which was made by enrapture of TPL in liposome (Lip) with 1,2-Dipalmitoyl-sn-Glycero-3-Phosphoethanolamine-N-[Amino (Polyethylene Glycol) 2000] (H2N-PEG-DPPE); 2) TPL-Fol-PEG-Lip, which utilized the folate to enhance the targeting ability to tumor cells via the over-expressed folate receptors; 3) TPL-Transferrin-Lip, which utilized the transferrin to target tumor cells via transferring receptors; and 4) TPL-hyaluronan (HA)-Lip, which utilized the hyaluronan as ligand for CD44 over-expressed on surface of tumor cells. The effects of different TPL nanovehicles on the tumor cell growth were examined in vitro. The effect of TPL-PEG-Lip or TPL-Fol-PEG-Lip on tumor growth or experimental lung metastasis was tested in vivo.In vitro, when B16 melanoma cells were exposed to the same concentration (5 ng/ml) of TPL, the extent of inhibition rate of proliferation was greater in cells treated with TPL-PEG-Lip, TPL-Fol-PEG-Lip, TPL-Transferrin-Lip and TPL-HA-Lip as compared with parental TPL. Similar results were obtained with 4T1 breast cancer cells treated with TPL nanovehicles. In vivo, the effects of TPL nanovehicles were tested in two models. First, the xenografts of B16 melanoma in C57BL/6 and 4T1 breast cancer model were used. At the same dose of TPL (0.15 mg/kg, three times a week), the mice treated with TPL-PEG-Lip achieved a better tumor inhibition rate than those treated with other nanovehicles and the parental TPL. The TPL-PEG-Lip used at a dose of 0.15 mg/kg/three times a week could have a similar inhibitory effect as TPL used at a dose of 0.25 mg/kg/three times a week. Second, the experimental lung metastasis formed by 4T1 breast cancer cells was used. At the TPL dose of 0.2 mg/kg three times a week, the TPL-PEG-Lip and TPL-Fol-PEG-Lip achieved a similar inhibition effect on lung metastases as parental TPL. The LD50 in BALB/C mice indicated that TPL-Fol-PEG-Lip, TPL-HA-Lip and TPL-PEG-Lip did not have an increased toxicity. These data indicate that the increase of size of TPL and linkage of TPL with targeting molecules might enhance the treatment effect of TPL.
Regulation of erythropoiesis (XXIV). Studies on the post-hypoxic "rebound" phase.

After exposure to hypoxia there was only a moderate stimulation of erythropoiesis in a strain of mouse which produces minimal amounts of erythropoietin in response to such a stimulus. This was associated with minimal changes in bone marrow CFU’s, but there was a striking decrease in splenic CFU’s. This splenic depopulation seemed related to a specific effect of hypoxia rather than stem cell depletion secondary to erythroid differentiation. On return to ambient pressure there was a prompt onset of splenic red cell aplasia, but only a gradual decrease in marrow erythropoiesis. Despite the prompt splenic red cell aplasia, there was only a slow return to splenic CFU’s to normal levels during the first 4-5 days. Thereafter a slight rebound or overshoot was noted. Although differentiated erythroid elements were still present in the marrow on the fourth post-hypoxic day, a moderate rebound in marrow CFU’s to 150 per cent of control was evident. These findings might best be explained by a migration of stem cells during the post-hypoxic interval. Marrow lymphocytes decreased during hypoxia and rose gradually there-after following, rather than preceeding, the increase in bone marrow CFU’s.
Safety of long-term anticoagulation in patients with brain metastases.

Anticoagulation is thought to be associated with the risk of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) in patients with brain metastases; however, the data on this topic are limited. This study was conducted to determine the incidence of ICH associated with anticoagulant use in adult patients with brain metastases. Consecutive patients with brain metastases occurring from 2006 to 2014 were identified from a single-institution database. Long-term anticoagulant therapy was defined as outpatient anticoagulation therapy of > 1 month. Chi-square tests and Fisher’s exact test were used to compare rates of ICH by groups. This cohort included 125 patients with brain metastases. Of these, 64 had primary of non-small cell lung cancer (51.2%). Of these patients, 12/125 (9.6%) patients developed ICH. Neither the primary tumor site nor the number of brain metastases was associated with the development of ICH. ICH incidence was not associated with the use of anticoagulant therapy, with 8/67 (11.94%) patients on outpatient anticoagulation and 4/58 (6.9%) not on anticoagulation experiencing ICH (p = 0.33). The type of treatment did not significantly influence ICH, although those having combined WBRT and SRS were numerically more likely to experience ICH (4/15; 26.67%) of this cohort. In patients on enoxaparin, there was no difference in the incidence of ICH for daily versus twice-daily dosing (p = 1.0). Long-term anticoagulant use is not associated with an increased incidence of ICH in patients with intracranial metastases.
Treating Maternal Depression: Considerations for the Well-Being of the Mother and Child:

Maternal depression is a serious mental illness that not only affects the health of the mother but also affects the fetus and child. Treatment with antidepressants (especially serotonin reuptake in...
The Gift of Competence: A Conversation With Michael George:

Michael George’s career has focused on children and youth with significant behavior and emotional challenge. His career has spanned experiences as a direct service provider, university professor, a...
PDCD5 says no to NO.

Blood vessels are more than mere conduits, and their dynamic function is regulated to a large extent by their inner layer, the endothelium. Endothelial cell-derived nitric oxide (NO), a product of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), is important for normal endothelial function and vascular health. Programmed cell death 5 (PDCD5) is a regulator of multiple cellular processes through its interactions with other proteins. In PNAS, Lee et al. (1) describe a novel mechanism by which PDCD5 alters vascular function by reducing NO production. Integrated function of the cardiovascular system is essential for the maintenance of homeostasis in complex multicellular organisms. Mutations that affect components of this system frequently result in embryonic lethality (2, 3), and maladaptive changes during adulthood lead to cardiovascular disease, the number one cause of death worldwide (4, 5). The endothelium functions as a selective barrier and controls vascular tone, hemostasis and thrombosis, inflammation, and redox balance (6). Endothelial cells regulate these functions in part by producing NO, which can diffuse across cell membranes to work as a paracrine factor on neighboring smooth muscle cells and circulating leukocytes and platelets. Impaired NO synthesis or availability contributes significantly to vascular diseases, including hypertension and atherosclerosis (6, 7). Endothelial cells produce NO from l-arginine mainly through the activity of eNOS, although other isoforms may be involved (7). Regulation of eNOS activity is complex and occurs at transcriptional, posttranscriptional, and posttranslational levels. Posttranslational modifications such as phosphorylation, acylation, and nitrosylation control eNOS subcellular localization and activity (8). For instance, phosphorylation of human eNOS at Ser-617, Ser-635, and Ser-1177 is stimulatory, while phosphorylation at Ser-116 or … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: richard.kitsis{at}einstein.yu.edu or nicholas.sibinga{at}einstein.yu.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
A deep neural network method for analyzing lung density using lung ultrasound surface wave elastography

Lung density is directly associated with lung pathology. Computed Tomography (CT) evaluates lung pathology using the Hounsfield unit (HU) but not directly the lung density. We recently developed a lung ultrasound surface wave elastography (LUSWE) technique for measuring the surface wave speed of superficial lung tissue. The objective of this study is to analyze lung density of superficial lung tissue using deep neural network (DNN) and wave speed measurements obtained from LUSWE. The synthetic training dataset (7,88,000 in total) in terms of wave speeds of superficial lung tissue at different excitation frequencies from LUSWE, viscoelasticity and density of lung tissue was used to train the DNN. DNN is composed of 3 hidden layers of 1024 neurons and trained for 10 epochs with a batch size of 4096 and a learning rate of 0.001 with Adam optimizer. Test dataset in terms of wave speeds at different excitation frequencies (100, 150, and 200 Hz) as well as elasticity was used to predict the lung density and eva...
Microfluidics for Neuronal Imaging

In neurobiology studies, the use of well-controllable microenvironments that can actively interact with biological samples is becoming increasingly popular. Microfluidic systems due to their precise micron-size dimensions are becoming the gold standard for manipulating small-model organisms in vivo, such as the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster as well as for assembling and interacting with neuronal cell cultures in vitro. The reproducible microenvironment, the automation of time-consuming protocols, and the low manufacturing cost of microfluidic chips offer unique experimental capabilities and a large amount of high-quality data to the neurobiologist over traditional methods. This chapter highlights a certain aspect of microfluidic technology that facilitates the study of neuronal physiology and function through imaging.
Germplasm Preservation of Edible Eungi in Culture Through Cryogenic Storage

Abstract Outstanding success has been achieved in preserving living cultures of edible fungi through cryogenic storage at liquid nitrogen temperatures (-150 to -196 C), providing an insurance against the loss of genotypes and phenotypes of special interest to mushroom sciences and industry. With this technique, an international culture collection and germplasm bank of viable edible fungi has been established at the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). These genetic resources are essential for scientists to enhance productivity and diversification of cultivated mushrooms to meet the world market requirements.
How can 50 years of solute transport data in articular cartilage inform the design of arthritis therapeutics

Summary Objective For the last half century, transport of nutrients and therapeutics in articular cartilage has been studied with various in vitro systems that attempt to model in vivo conditions. However, experimental technique, tissue species, and tissue storage condition (fresh/frozen) vary widely and there is debate on the most appropriate model system. Additionally, there is still no clear overarching framework with which to predict solute transport properties based on molecular characteristics. This review aims to develop such a framework, and to assess whether experimental procedure affects trends in transport data. Methods Solute data from 31 published papers that investigated transport in healthy articular cartilage were obtained and analyzed for trends. Results Here, we show that diffusivity of spherical and globular solutes in cartilage can be predicted by molecular weight (MW) and hydrodynamic radius via a power-law relationship. This relationship is robust for many solutes, spanning 5 orders of magnitude in MW and was not affected by variations in cartilage species, age, condition (fresh/frozen), and experimental technique. Traditional models of transport in porous media exhibited mixed effectiveness at predicting diffusivity in cartilage, but were good in predicting solute partition coefficient. Conclusion Ultimately, these robust relationships can be used to accurately predict and improve transport of solutes in adult human cartilage and enable the development of better optimized arthritis therapeutics.
DAXX Mutation Status of Embolization-Treated Neuroendocrine Tumors Predicts Shorter Time to Hepatic Progression.

Abstract Purpose To identify common gene mutations in patients with neuroendocrine liver metastases (NLM) undergoing transarterial embolization (TAE) and establish relationship between these mutations and response to TAE. Materials and Methods Patients (n = 51; mean age 61 y; 29 men, 22 women) with NLMs who underwent TAE and had available mutation analysis were identified. Mutation status and clinical variables were recorded and evaluated in relation to hepatic progression-free survival (HPFS) (Cox proportional hazards) and time to hepatic progression (TTHP) (competing risk proportional hazards). Subgroup analysis of patients with pancreatic NLM was performed using Fisher exact test to identify correlation between mutation and event (hepatic progression or death) by 6 months. Changes in mutation status over time and across specimens in a subset of patients were recorded. Results Technical success of TAE was 100%. Common mutations identified were MEN1 (16/51; 31%) and DAXX (13/51; 25%). Median overall survival was 48.7 months. DAXX mutation status (hazard ratio = 6.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.67–14.48; P Conclusions DAXX mutation is common in patients with pancreatic NLMs. DAXX mutation status is associated with shorter HPFS and TTHP after TAE.
MR fat segmentation and quantification for abdominal volumetric and composition analysis

Fat deposition in the human body can be imaged using MR. MR fat imaging is used in studies ranging from examining body habitus to evaluating organ composition. A detailed method of segmenting and quantifying fat by post-processing MR image volumes using Synapse 3D and custom Matlab softwares is presented.
Simulation of Dural Repair in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery With the Use of a Perfusion-Based Cadaveric Model.

Background and importance In an era of curtailed work hours and concerns over achieving technical proficiency in the repertoire of procedures necessary for independent practice, many residencies have turned to model simulation as an educational adjunct. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak repair after inadvertent durotomy in spine surgery is a fundamental skillset for any spine surgeon. While primary closure with suture is not always necessary for small durotomies, larger defects, on the other hand, must be repaired. However, the dire consequences of inadequate repair dictate that it is generally performed by the most experienced surgeon. Few intraoperative opportunities, therefore, exist for CSF leak repair by trainees. Objective To simulate dural repair in spine surgery using minimal-access techniques. Methods A cohort of 8 neurosurgery residents was evaluated on their durotomy repair efforts in a perfusion-based cadaveric model. Results Study participants demonstrated consistent improvement across trials, with a significant reduction in closure times between their initial (12 min, 7 sec ± 4 min, 43 sec) and final attempts (7 min, 4 sec ± 2 min, 6 sec; P = .02). Moreover, all trainees-irrespective of postgraduate year-were able to accomplish robust dural closures resistant to simulated Valsalva maneuvers. Participants reported high degrees of model realism and exhibited significant increases in postprocedure confidence scores. Conclusion Our results support use of perfusion-based simulation models as a complement to neurosurgery training, as it affords unrestricted opportunities for honing psychomotor skillsets when resident learning is increasingly being challenged by work-hour limitations and stricter oversight in the context of value-based healthcare.
Logic is a harsh mistress: welfare economics for economists

Every economic explanation assumes maximization. How strange, then, that few economists accept one of maximization's most straightforward implications: every observed institution is efficient. My aim is to persuade economists of this fact and thus to dissuade them from making illogical claims about social welfare. To frame my argument, I consider the “property rights approach” to institutions developed by Yoram Barzel. I speculate that economists resist what maximization implies about institutional efficiency because they think that efficiency-always precludes them from improving the world, and hope of improving the world is what attracted them to economics in the first place. But, besides being inconsistent, resistance is unnecessary: efficiency-always does not preclude economists, or anyone else, from improving the world.
Cell-cell interactions in the regulation of glomerular inflammation by arachidonate lipoxygenase products.

Deposition of antigen-antibody complexes is a common initiating mechanism in a wide variety of human glomerulopathies. While the site of formation of these complexes, the route(s) by which they gain access to the glomerulus, their localization, and the nature of the histopathologic reaction they elicit can vary considerably, the central role of the activated leukocyte in the subsequent pathogenesis is well-established (1). In most immune-mediated glomerulopathies, complement activation in the early phase of injury triggers a polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocyte infiltrate, and activates resident glomerular macrophages (1–3). This is often followed by macrophage infiltration and proliferation, accompanied, at times, by a proliferative reaction of glomerular mesangial and/or epithelial cells (1). These leukocyte-dependent stages of injury frequently coexist within the same glomerulus, ultimately leading to its sclerosis. Even when an overt inflammatory reaction is absent (as in membranous nephropathy), there is convincing evidence to suggest that the activation of resident macrophages is a central component of the pathogenetic pathways which eventually result in the impairment of glomerular functions (3, 4).
Globalized authoritarianism: Megaprojects, slums, and class relations in urban Morocco, Globalization and Community, Volume 27, by Koenraad Bogaert

Globalized Authoritarianism, by Koenraad Bogaert, is an analysis of the authoritarian political system in Morocco through the lens of urban development and governance policies. Since around 1980, M...
ASSESSMENT OF CORONARY ATHEROSCLEROSIS USING CALCIUM SCORES IN SHORT AND LONG DISTANCE RUNNERS

Background: Studies have suggested that extreme exercise may have negative cardiac effects. We hypothesized that endurance athletes would have a higher plaque burden as measured by Computed Tomography (CT) calcium scores when compared to shorter distance competitive runners. Methods: We recruited
Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Differentially Inhibit Placental Trophoblast Migration and Invasion In Vitro.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used as industrial surfactants and chemical coatings for household goods such as Teflon. Despite regulatory efforts to phase out legacy PFAS, they remain detectable in drinking water throughout the United States. This is due to the stability of legacy PFAS and the continued use of replacement compounds. In humans, PFAS have been detected in placenta and cord blood and are associated with low birth weight and preeclampsia risk. Preeclampsia is a leading cause of maternal mortality and is driven by insufficient endometrial trophoblast invasion, resulting in poor placental blood flow. PFAS alter invasion of other cell types, but their impact on trophoblasts is not understood. We therefore assessed the effects of PFAS on trophoblast migration, invasion, and gene expression in vitro. Trophoblast migration and invasion were assessed using a modified scratch assay in the absence or presence of Matrigel, respectively. Treatment with perfluorooctanoic sulfate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and GenX (1000 ng/ml) each decreased trophoblast migration over 24 h. However, only GenX (1000 ng/ml) significantly inhibited trophoblast invasion. Treatment with PFOS, PFOA, and GenX also decreased trophoblast expression of chemokines (eg, CCL2), chemokine receptors (eg, CCR4), and inflammatory enzymes (eg, ALOX15) involved in migration. Inhibition of chemokine receptors with pertussis toxin (10 ng/ml), a G-protein inhibitor, inhibited trophoblast migration similar to the PFAS. Taken together, PFAS decrease trophoblast migration, invasion, and inflammatory signaling. By understanding the mechanisms involved, it may be possible to identify the biological and exposure factors that contribute to preeclampsia.
Natural Course of Pediatric Portal Hypertension.

The etiology of portal hypertension (pHTN) in children differs from that of adults and may require different management strategies. We set out to review the etiology, management, and natural history of pHTN at a pediatric liver center. From 2008 to 2018, 151 children and adolescents with pHTN were identified at a free-standing children's hospital. Patients were stratified by etiology of pHTN (intrahepatic disease [IH], defined as cholestatic disease and fibrotic or hepatocellular disease; extrahepatic disease [EH], defined as hepatic vein obstruction and prehepatic pHTN). Patients with EH were more likely to undergo an esophagoduodenscopy for a suspected gastrointestinal bleed (77% vs. 41%; P < 0.01). Surgical interventions differed based on etiology (P < 0.01), with IH more likely resulting in a transplant only (65%) and EH more likely to result in a shunt only (43%); 30% of patients with IH and 47% of patients with EH did not undergo an intervention for pHTN. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a significant increase in mortality in the group that received no intervention compared to shunt, transplant, or both and lower mortality in patients with prehepatic pHTN compared to other etiologies (P < 0.01 each). Multivariate analysis revealed increased odds of mortality in patients with refractory ascites (odds ratio [OR], 4.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00, 18.88; P = 0.05) and growth failure (OR, 13.49; 95% CI, 3.07, 58.99; P < 0.01). Conclusion: In this single institution study, patients with prehepatic pHTN had better survival and those who received no intervention had higher mortality than those who received an intervention. Early referral to specialized centers with experience managing these complex disease processes may allow for improved risk stratification and early intervention to improve outcomes.
Program Synthesis Using Deduction-Guided Reinforcement Learning

In this paper, we present a new program synthesis algorithm based on reinforcement learning. Given an initial policy (i.e. statistical model) trained off-line, our method uses this policy to guide its search and gradually improves it by leveraging feedback obtained from a deductive reasoning engine. Specifically, we formulate program synthesis as a reinforcement learning problem and propose a new variant of the policy gradient algorithm that can incorporate feedback from a deduction engine into the underlying statistical model. The benefit of this approach is two-fold: First, it combines the power of deductive and statistical reasoning in a unified framework. Second, it leverages deduction not only to prune the search space but also to guide search. We have implemented the proposed approach in a tool called Concord and experimentally evaluate it on synthesis tasks studied in prior work. Our comparison against several baselines and two existing synthesis tools shows the advantages of our proposed approach. In particular, Concord solves 15% more benchmarks compared to Neo, a state-of-the-art synthesis tool, while improving synthesis time by 8.71\(\times \) on benchmarks that can be solved by both tools.
Associations of adverse childhood experiences with stress physiology and insulin resistance in adolescents at risk for adult obesity.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) heighten the risk for adult obesity and cardiometabolic disease, but physiological factors underlying this connection are not well understood. We determined if ACEs were associated with physiological stress response and insulin resistance in adolescents at risk for adult obesity. Participants were 90 adolescents 12.0-17.5 years (50% female, 30% Hispanic/Latinx), at risk for adult obesity by virtue of above-average body mass index (BMI; kg/m2 ≥ 70th percentile) or parental obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 ). ACEs were determined as presence (vs. absence) based upon the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children. Physiological stress response was measured as heart rate/blood pressure response to the Trier Social Stress Test. Homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance was determined from fasting glucose/insulin. Sixty-one percent of adolescents reported positive ACE history. The presence of ACEs predicted greater heart rate (p .08). Findings suggest heightened sympathetic stress response in adolescence could be explanatory in how ACEs increase the risk for later cardiometabolic disease. Future studies should characterize ACEs in relationship to day-to-day variations in adolescents' stress physiology and glucose homeostasis.
Acute Calcific Band Keratopathy as an Adverse Effect of Recombinant Human Nerve Growth Factor (Cenegermin): A Multicenter Case Series.

Purpose Cenegermin, (OXERVATE) a recently Food and Drug Administration-approved topical formulation of recombinant human nerve growth factor, has been used for the treatment of neurotrophic keratopathy (NK). Corneal deposits have been previously reported as a potential adverse effect; however, the clinical characteristics, visual significance, and treatment options have not been fully described. The purpose of this article is to better characterize corneal deposits occurring during treatment with cenegermin for neurotrophic keratopathy. Methods This was a retrospective, multicenter consecutive case series. Results We identified 5 patients from 3 institutions who developed a white opacity in varying layers of the cornea, consistent with calcium deposition, during treatment with cenegermin. In all cases, the opacity occurred rapidly over the course of a few weeks after initiation of treatment. Histopathologic examination of the cornea from one corneal patient demonstrated extensive calcification of the stroma extending to 90% depth. Before treatment, all patients had stage 2 or 3 NK (Mackie classification). The deposits were visually significant in all patients and did not resolve after cessation of cenegermin. There were no differences in age, sex, etiology of the NK, corneal transplant status, or concurrent medications between the patients who developed a deposit and 15 other patients with stage 2 or 3 NK who did not. One patient was successfully treated with superficial keratectomy with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid chelation, one patient underwent penetrating keratoplasty, and one patient received a Boston keratoprosthesis. Conclusions We report the rapid onset of a corneal opacity after initiation of treatment with cenegermin in patients with stage 2 or 3 NK, consistent with acute calcific band keratopathy. This visually significant adverse finding has not previously been described. We could not identify any risk factors for development. We recommend close monitoring of patients receiving cenegermin therapy because the opacity may be irreversible and may require keratoplasty for visual rehabilitation.
No longer an imaginary case: Community, plans, and actions in canoeing rapids

Background: We investigate the nature of planning the canoeing of rapids and its reasoning processes, while at the same time advancing a syncretic approach to cognitive and situative theories of le...
Prevalence of pediatric eye disease in the optumlabs data warehouse.

PURPOSE To define the prevalence of medical eye disease diagnoses among children enrolled in commercial insurance plans in the United States and to evaluate differences among groups based on the US census region, race/ethnicity, and familial net worth. METHODS : Retrospective study of de-identified claims data from the OptumLab® Data Warehouse (OLDW) between 2007 and 2018. All children ( $500,000 household net worth groups, p > .001). CONCLUSION : Diagnosis of significant eye diseases is relatively common in American children. The most common medical eye disease diagnosis is strabismus. Prevalence of eye disease diagnosis from claims data varies between geographical regions and different income groups. This may reflect differences in healthcare utilization rather than true disease prevalence.
Why Academic STEM Mothers Feel They Have to Work Harder than Others on the Job

Scholars have documented that the masculine work cultures characteristic of academic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines create an unwelcome climate for women. One way academic STEM cultures can negatively impact women, especially mothers, is by shaping how hard they think they have to work on the job—a perception that can affect job satisfaction, stress levels, and attrition. This study assesses faculty member’s reports of how hard they have to work on the job and the extent to which their sex, parental status, and academic discipline shape these reports. Survey data from roughly 300 tenure-line faculty members in a research university find that mothers in STEM disciplines perceive that they have to work harder than STEM and non-STEM fathers and mothers not in STEM disciplines. These differences remain net of controls for institutional tenure, rank, perceived job demands, work-family overlap, and time spent on job and family responsibilities. I interpret findings as evidence that STEM mothers encounter challenges to their competence—as mothers and as female experts in STEM disciplines with masculine cultures—that make them feel they must work harder than others. I discuss implications of findings for the experiences of women in academic STEM disciplines and policy reform intended to shift these perceptions.
Space Lattice Symmetry

Some properties of crystalline solids, such as the directions and symmetry of diffraction (X-ray, neutron, electron), the anisotropy of transport phenomena (electrical, thermal conduction, matter diffusion), and the anisotropy of thermal expansion and interactions of crystals with optical radiation are directly related to the underlying three-dimensional periodicities that characterize many crystalline materials. It is therefore important to understand such periodicity in order to better understand the phenomenology of the interactions of crystalline solids. It is also necessary to understand three-dimensional periodicity as a basis for development of the abstract theory of symmetry in crystalline solids (the theory of space groups and their representations). The three-dimensional periodicities are conveniently discussed in terms of space lattices, which are three-dimensional spatial arrays of descrete points which correspond to the translational symmetries of solids. The theory of space lattices, developed below, is the theory of the allowed symmetries of the periodicity of three-dimensionally crystalline solids.
Knowledge, attitudes and practices surveys of blood donation in developing countries.

Background and Objectives Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) surveys have been used in many countries to understand factors that influence blood donation and as the basis for communication and donor mobilization strategies. Materials and Methods A search was conducted of publically available databases, and studies with the following characteristics were selected: (1) the study was a knowledge, attitude and practice or KAP plus behaviour survey; (2) the subject of the survey was blood donation; (3) the survey was performed between 1995 and 2011; and (4) the survey was performed in countries classified as emerging and developing by the International Monetary Fund. Results Eighteen KAP studies conducted in seventeen developing countries were identified. There was considerable difference in the structure, population surveyed and conduct of the KAP studies. The common following themes emerged: misinformation about blood donation, fear of blood donation, willingness to donate for family and friends, concern about selling blood and a failure to transfer positive attitudes into actual blood donation. Conclusion Despite considerable differences in the culture and demographics of developing countries, several common themes emerged from different KAP surveys.
Neural Network Simulations on Massively Parallel Computers: Applications in Chemical Physics

A fully connected feedforward neural network is simulated on a number of parallel computers (MasPar-1, Connection Machine CM5, Intel iPSC-2 and iPSC-860) and the performance is compared to that obtained on sequential vector computers (Cray YMP, Cray C90, IBM-3090) and to a scaler workstation (IBM RISC-6000). Peak performances of up to 342 million connections per second (MCPS) could be obtained on the Cray C90 using a single processor while the optimum performance obtained on the parallel computers was 90 MCPS using 4096 processors. Efficiency such as these has enabled neural network computations to be carried out for a number of chemical physics problems. Several examples are discussed: multi-dimensional function/surface fitting, coordinate transformations, and predictions of physical properties from chemical structure.
Generalization of final algebra semantics by relativization

We consider the semantics of algebraic specifications viewed as evolving rather than static entities. This leads to a relativization of final algebra semantics with respect to the space of evolutionary possibilities open to a given specification. The evolutionary space itself, which we call a language, has significant semantic content. The unit of application for our semantics is such a language of specifications. We formalize relevant notions of languages and language models and derive conditions to establish the existence of a final object in the category of models for a language. The results can be used to broaden the applicability of final algebra semantics and to fine tune the balance between the desired strength of semantically valid assertions and the range of evolutionary possibilities to be considered.
The Yin-Yang of Sirtuins

Two related proteins protect cells from age-associated neurodegenerative disease, but one needs to be activated whereas the other must be inhibited.
Factors Motivating and Inhibiting Faculty in Offering Their Courses via Distance Education

While many colleges and universities have moved forward with implementing distance education (D.E.) programs, administrators still find difficulty in getting faculty to participate willingly. An understanding of faculty motivators and inhibitors, especially faculty perception of the “hassle factor” involved with D.E., will give administrators an edge in D.E. implementation. This study also provides important information that will help administrators understand why some faculty members are more open to involvement with D.E.
Teaching signal processing concepts using the SPC toolbox

We discuss an interactive software developed to complement the teaching of digital signal processing (DSP) concepts in various courses taught by the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the Naval Postgraduate School. While DSP is quite important to electrical engineering education, the mathematical concepts used in DSP can be rather difficult when presented in a classical classroom setting. These concepts become more meaningful when they are actually applied to specific problems. The Signal Processing and Communications (SPC) software we developed was designed to assist in the application of the signal processing concepts learned in the classroom and to illustrate their advantages and drawbacks. The MATLAB Version 4 environment is used to take advantage of the graphical user interface. SPC is a window-based, user-friendly tool that allows the user to develop digital filters, analyze signals, and easily design basic signal modeling tools. >
Wafer level forward current reliability analysis of 120GHz production SiGe HBTs under accelerated current stress

A wafer-level reliability (WLR) technique is presented to assess the forward current mode degradation of polysilicon emitter bipolar transistors. Using this technique, we show results for the first time on degradation properties of high-speed self-aligned SiGe HBTs featuring 120 GHz f/sub T/ and 100 GHz f/sub max/. Accelerated current stress up to as high as J/sub C/=34 mA//spl mu/m/sup 2/ was employed to assess the device degradation. It is shown that current accelerated stress may be used to effectively predict shifts in device characteristics. No catastrophic failures were observed, and thus this technique is used principally to demonstrate parametric shifts rather than end-of-life failures. Since the current stress also involves substantial self-heating of the device, we compare the degradation with temperature-only acceleration at both wafer and module level. It was found that the current acceleration is dominant over the temperature acceleration in the observable mechanisms. The mechanism for the parametric shifts is believed to be related to interfacial properties between the polysilicon and single-crystal portions of the device emitter. Through these studies, it is shown that the device is highly robust to parametric shifts for over 10/sup 6/ hours. The comparison with module level stress results verified their consistency with wafer level stressing, thus providing a viable WLR methodology for parameter shift projection in a relatively short stress time and moderate temperature.
Simulating human intuitive decisions by Q-learning

Simulations have become a great tool for research in the natural sciences. However their potential has not been reached far enough in the social sciences. This is in part due to the difficulty in simulating human decision making and reproducing human-like behavior. Recent advances in neo-classical decision making have defined specific differences between the decision making capabilities of rational agents and humans as well as speculations into the cause. Presented is a Q-learning model for simulating human-like decision making based upon the intuition deliberation model proposed by psychologists Kahneman and Tversky. The model is tested against the classic economic bargaining game. In this game humans and rational agents consistently converge onto distinctly different strategies. Our experiments show that a selfish agent defers from the strategy of the rational agent and is more similar to human strategy.
Lipid Emulsion as Rescue for Local Anesthetic-Related Cardiotoxicity

Regional anesthesia techniques use local anesthetics to provide sensory and motor block for surgical intervention. Intravascular absorption of the local anesthetics may induce toxic effects, such as seizure activity or cardiac depression, leading to cardiac arrest. Standard, prolonged resuscitation efforts are not always successful in the event of local anesthetic cardiotoxicity. Research in animals, however, has shown that, with the administration of intravenous lipid emulsion, hemodynamic stability can be restored after local anesthetic-induced cardiac arrest. Recent case reports have detailed successful resuscitation from cardiac arrest in several patients with local anesthetic-induced cardiotoxicity.
RETHINKING TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER POLICY

Contemporary technology transfer policy consists of a mix of three different and often contradictory paradigms. The National Defense Paradigm, the National Competitiveness Technology Transfer Paradigm, and the Global Economy Technology Transfer Paradigm. This paper explores technology transfer policies from the outlook of each of the three differing paradigms. The argument is made that, while the National Competitiveness Paradigm is the current dominant paradigm, to a certain extent the other two paradigms guide contemporary decision makers. The fact that each of the three paradigms continues to inform policy making is problematic because of the contradictions between and among them. Overlapping paradigms result in muddled thinking and confused public policy. Clear thinking about policy assumptions and problem definitions should also help decision makers formulate and implement better technology policy today and in the future.
A Review of Clinical Trials of Hypothermia Treatment for Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Clinical trials of hypothermia treatment of traumatic brain injury can be divided into (1) trials designed to abort the biochemical cascade after injury—neuroprotection, (2) trials primarily designed to test the effect of hypothermia in reducing elevated intracranial pressure (ICP), and (3) trials with features of both neuroprotection and elevated ICP control. Three of the four clinical trials testing hypothermia induction after failure of conventional means of ICP control showed decreased mortality rate, though sample sizes were small and findings were not always statistically significant. Nine randomized trials have tested hypothermia as a neuroprotectant, inducing it from 2.5 to 15 hours after injury and continuing it for a predetermined period of time regardless of ICP. Eight of these nine trials have been negative with three finding an effect in patients with evacuated hematomas, two of these if hypothermia is rendered before or soon after craniotomy. Despite extensive clinical testing over a range o...
Precoder design and node power allocation in multi-antenna amplify-and-forward (AF) relay systems

In this paper, the problem of precoder design and node power allocation in a three node cooperative multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) relay system is discussed. All the nodes are assumed to be equipped with multiple antennas and the source and the relay nodes are subject to a total transmit power constraint. We first introduce an upper bound on the received mean square error (MSE), then we suggest suboptimal structures to the source and the relay precoders to minimize this bound. Unlike the previous works in this area, the proposed precoders are easy to calculate and does not involve in computationally costly iterative methods. Next, based on the precoder structures, it is shown that proper transmit power assignment to the source and relay nodes can further improve the system performance and the optimal power allocation for the special case of single symbol transmission is derived. Simulation results show significant improvement in the received mean square error (MSE) by applying the proposed precoding and node power allocation schemes. The node power allocation scheme is also shown to be most effective when the relay and destination nodes have different noise levels.
Theoretical modelling of spiral chaos in Rayleigh-Benard convection

Abstract The spiral chaos state recently observed in Rayleigh-Benard convection is studied using the long wave length phase equation and numerical simulations of two-dimensional equations modelling the pattern formation in convection. The phase equation description of a single spiral, which may also be investigated experimentally, shows that the motion is dominated by wave vector frustration, rather than the rotational motion driven by a vertical vorticity field. This leads to a continuum of spiral frequencies in the spiral chaos state, and a spiral may rotate in either sense depending on the wave vector of its local environment. The formation of the spiral chaos state is understood in terms of invasive defects , i.e. defects that through their intrinsic dynamics expand to take over the system. Numerical simulations of the chaotic state as a function of the model parameters provide confirmation of these results. In addition the mechanisms of spiral creation and destruction, the axisymmetric target to spiral transition, and a novel core oscillation, are described.
Effects of variations in stem and response options on teaching evaluations

This study was designed to investigate the effects of strength of descriptors in teaching evaluation items on global ratings of the instructor and the course. Six teaching evaluation forms were selected for this study with items that varied in either the descriptor in the item stem or the descriptors labeling the scale points. The forms were distributed in nine university classes from two different colleges. The total number of usable returns was 586. Analysis of variance results indicated that the version of the evaluation form has a significant effect on both instructor ratings and course ratings. These findings suggest that one should exercise caution in comparing ratings of one group of instructors with another without considering how the item stems and response options are worded.