cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modern management of otitis media

In summary, infants and children who have acute otitis media should receive antimicrobial therapy. Amoxicillin is the standard of therapy for infants and children with acute otitis media, because it is safe and effective for most of the causative bacterial pathogens. Amoxicillin has also been shown to be effective for treatment of selected children with otitis media with effusion ("secretory" otitis media) and is the recommended prophylactic antimicrobial agent for prevention of frequently recurrent acute otitis media. During the past decade, however, an increasing rate of bacteria that are resistant to amoxicillin has occurred, primarily beta-lactamase-producing H. influenzae and B. catarrhalis. Because of the emergence of these bacteria, other antimicrobial agents, both old and new, have been advocated for treatment and prevention of otitis media; amoxicillin-clavulanate, cefuroxime axetil, and cefixime are the newer agents. These agents are indicated for selected infants and children; however, for most patients, amoxicillin remains a safe and relatively inexpensive effective drug. The common surgical procedures, such as myringotomy with tympanostomy tube insertion, and adenoidectomy with myringotomy with or without tympanostomy tube insertion, have now been shown to be effective for patients who have recurrent acute otitis media and chronic otitis media with effusion. The decision for or against these procedures should not only include consultation with an otolaryngologist but should also involve the parents and the child, if old enough. The risks, costs, and benefits of nonsurgical and surgical management should be discussed with all parties concerned.
The night after surgery. Postoperative management of the pediatric outpatient--surgical and anesthetic aspects.

Outpatient or “ambulatory” anesthesia and surgery has revolutionized the way surgery is practiced in the United States. Safe, reliable, inexpensive, and convenient outpatient surgery is an attractive option for parents, children, health care providers, and insurers.
Using an Animal Model to Explore the Prenatal Origins of Social Development

Prenatal experience is both a formative and regulatory force in the process of development. As a result, birth is not an adequate starting point for explanations of behavioral development. However, little is currently known regarding the role of prenatal experience in the emergence and development of neonatal social orienting, social motivation, or social learning. Our lack of knowledge in this area is due in part to the very restricted experimental manipulations possible with human fetuses. A comparative approach utilizing animal models provides an essential step in addressing this gap in our knowledge of the development of social responsiveness and providing testable predictions for studies with human fetuses and infants. In this chapter we review animal-based research exploring how aspects of prenatal experience can facilitate the development of postnatal social motivation, social recognition, and social learning. We conclude that infant social responsiveness has its roots in prenatal development and that intersensory redundancy present in the prenatal environment promotes the salience of social stimuli during early postnatal development.
Remediation of the Conduct Problem Child in the Special Class Setting

This paper describes principles and assumptions which underlie an experimental special class for conduct problem children which has been developed cooperatively by an interdisciplinary university research center and a public school. A conceptualization of the nature of children's behavior disorders is offered, and some principles of behavior modification and remediation of academic deficiencies are discussed. Some particular characteristics of the conduct problem child relevant to the education process are outlined. Also considered are factors relevant to remediational efforts within the public school setting, including the problem of group versus individual techniques, the role of mental health professionals, the place of other than classroom treatment, the goals of the special class, and the utilization in the regular class of techniques developed in the special class.
Epidemiology of Melanoma

As of 2015, melanoma is the fifth most common malignancy in males and sixth among females in the United States (US), and its incidence is one of the fastest growing among all cancers in the United States. Moreover, melanoma accounts for the majority of skin cancer deaths, leading to over 9900 deaths in the US in 2014 (1). Our increasing knowledge of the molecular underpinnings of melanoma has been leveraged into remarkable therapeutic triumphs. In 2002, the discovery of the V600E mutation in the protein kinase BRAF was published in Nature (2). This missense mutation, which results in a valine to glutamic acid substitution at the 600th amino acid, constitutively activates BRAF and serves as an important driver of malignancy in 40 to 60 % of melanomas. This discovery has consequently served as an important therapeutic target, and the first anti-BRAF (V600E) targeted-drug was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only nine years later after the initial discovery. This story highlights the explosive pace of discovery and clinical translation in the field. This chapter reviews our current understanding of the epidemiology of melanoma, informed by the ongoing revolution in our molecular understanding of the disease. 1. Siegel et al. (CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 64:9–29, [118]). 2. Davies et al. (Nature 417:949–954, [42]).
Emetic potential of daily oral etoposide

18618 Background: Chemotherapy agents are classified by their degree of emetogenicity. Agents with high or moderate emetogenicity are treated with a 5HT3 antagonist + dexamethasone to mitigate acut...
Association of self-reported physical activity with obstructive sleep apnea: Results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL)

Abstract We examined associations of mild and moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA; apnea-hypopnea index ≥ 5 and ≥ 15, respectively) with recommended amounts of moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) or vigorous physical activity (VPA) and by type of activity (i.e., recreational, transportation, and work activity). The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), a multicenter population-based study, enrolled individuals from 2008 to 2011 from four U.S. metropolitan areas (Bronx, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida; San Diego, California). Participants in this study included 14,087 self-identified Hispanic/Latino ages 18 to 74 years from the HCHS/SOL. Survey logistic regression analysis was used to compute odds ratios [OR] and 95% confidence intervals [CI], adjusting for sociodemographics, smoking status, and body mass index (BMI). Relative to being inactive, performing some MVPA (> 0 to
Experimental study on bond durability of glass fiber reinforced polymer bars in concrete exposed to harsh environmental agents: Freeze-thaw cycles and alkaline-saline solution

Abstract This study presents an experimental investigation on the bond durability of GFRP bars in concrete when subjected to harsh environments. The pullout specimens having different concrete covers were designed based on a created database to demonstrate the generality of the current experimental program. The freeze-thaw (FT) cycles, alkaline-saline (AS) solution, and both coupled effects were used to simulate environmental conditions in cold regions. The durability performance in terms of the failure mode, weight loss, relative dynamic modulus of elasticity, durability factor, as well as the bond strength, were measured and investigated accordingly. The test results revealed that the concrete cover with three times of the bar diameter was not sufficient to resist the environmental agents when exposed to weathering, including FT cycles, in which all the pullout specimens failed by concrete splitting. The coupled scenario of FT cycles and AS solution was observed to be the worst case among all the environmental conditions. Moreover, the analytical models: modified Bertero-Eligehausen-Popov (mBPE) model and Cosenza-Manfredi-Realfonzo (CMR) model, were calibrated by considering the environmental influences based on the experimental data to better demonstrate the degradation of GFRP-concrete bond.
False Memory Susceptibility in OEF/OIF Veterans With and Without PTSD

False memory susceptibility was measured in 80 Iraq/Afghanistan veterans with (n = 32) and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; n = 48) using a modified Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) word ...
Evolution of the Middle and Inner Ears of Mammaliaforms: The Approach to Mammals

Transformations of ear structures in the evolution of early mammals can be studied with the fossils of mammaliaforms. The middle ear is fully attached to the mandibles in mammaliaforms; however, in Mesozoic eutriconodont and spalacotherioid mammals, it is only connected to the mandible by an ossified Meckel’s cartilage, with the ectotympanic and malleus already displaced from the mandible. Recent morphogenetic studies have shown that the developmental potential for ossification of Meckel’s element is conserved in extant mammals. New fossils further revealed that this pattern actually evolved in mammaliaform phylogeny and that disconnection of the ear from the mandible occurred independently in monotremes, in therians, and in multituberculate mammals. The inner ear of mammaliaforms is derived in having a single petrosal bone enclosing the entire inner ear and a promontorium for an elongate cochlear canal. Mammaliaforms and most Mesozoic mammals had ancestral features of a simple cochlear canal with a single cochlear nerve foramen but no interior bony laminae nor did they have a bony canal for the cochlear ganglion. The sieve-like foramina for cochlear nerve fibers to enter the cochlear canal evolved independently three times in Mesozoic mammals. Cochlear canal curvature is homoplastic among mammaliaform groups, and a curvature beyond 270° only evolved in cladotherians, accompanied by Rosenthal’s canal for the cochlear ganglion. The homoplasies of ear structures in early mammalian evolution, although seemingly complex, are consistent with the new understanding of a labile morphogenesis of mammalian ears under a complex developmental genetic network.
Akt-1 Regulates Angiogenesis in Skin.

Abstract The major mechanism to adapt to ischemic conditions is the development of neovascularization, i.e. angiogenesis, a process driven by members of VEGF family of growth factors. Phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway is a critical component of the signaling network that regulates endothelial cell function related to angiogenesis. VEGF treatment of endothelial cells results in rapid phosphorylation of Akt. Our studies demonstrated that Akt kinase activity is necessary for VEGF-induced and integrin-mediated endothelial cell adhesion and migration. Moreover, cell transfection with a constitutive active form of Akt (myr-Akt) leads to increased function of integrin receptors. Using Akt-1 null mice we found that Akt-1 controls VEGF-induced and integrin-dependent endothelial cell responses in vitro. Impaired endothelial cell migration and adhesion to extracellular matrix and a reduced rate of cell proliferation were observed in Akt-1 (−/−) endothelial cells compared to WT. There are three Akt isoforms with different tissue distribution, however, it appears that Akt-1 is a predominant isoform in skin and in skin microvasculature. This observation prompted us to perform series of in vivo experiments designed to assess the angiogenic response in skin in the absence of Akt-1. Angiogenesis assay using matrigel plugs revealed that the weight and hemoglobin content of matrigel plugs is about two fold higher in Akt (−/−) mice compared to WT mice. Tumor angiogenesis also appears to be enhanced in Akt(−/−) mice, resulting in the significantly lower degree of tumor necrosis. Blood vessels in Akt (−/−) mice appear to be smaller in diameter and have reduced laminin content. Our analysis revealed significant changes in blood vessel wall matrix composition of Akt (−/−) mice as compared to WT animals. These changes resulted in increased vascular permeability in skin of Akt (−/−) mice. Akt-1 is known to target multiple cellular processes including adhesive properties, cell survival, transcription and translation. It appears that the phenotype of Akt-1 (−/−) mice depends on the equilibrium between pro-angiogenic and anti-angiogenic roles of Akt-1 and reveals a central role for Akt-1 in the regulation of matrix production and maturation of blood vessels.
Bridging the Relational Space Between First- and Second-Generation Chinese American Christians

This chapter considers how Chinese American Christians navigate the intersection of family, culture, and spirituality. Results from this interpretative phenomenological study (n = 16) of first- and second-generation family members highlight the shared experience of intergenerational tension and disconnect across both generations’ experiences, as well as how they navigate this tension and disconnect. Culturally honoring clinical implications are discussed for support of these family members, taking into consideration their gender, generational status, and integration of their Christian faith.
Abstract P183: Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Prevent Cyclosporine A-Induced Hypertension, Endothelial Dysfunction, and Renal Injury in Mice

Cyclosporine A (CsA) is an immunosuppressive drug used to treat focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, reduce autoimmune diseases, and prevent allograft rejection; however a limitation of CsA is that it can induce vascular and renal injury as well as hypertension. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous population of immature granulocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells that suppress pro-inflammatory immune responses by secreting anti-inflammatory cytokines, inhibiting innate and adaptive immune cells, and inducing regulatory T cells (Tregs). We hypothesized that adoptive transfer of MDSCs would prevent CsA-induced vascular and renal injury and hypertension. Daily treatment of male C57BL6/J mice for 1 week with CsA (50 mg/kg/day, i.p. injection) significantly increased systolic blood pressure (Day 7 SBP in mmHg: Con=97±2 vs. CsA=145±3, p<0.05 vs. Con), decreased aortic endothelium-dependent relaxation responses, increased aortic fibronectin levels, increased renal glomerular mesangial expansion, increased renal fibronectin levels, and decreased splenic Treg levels. Adoptive transfer of 1 million MDSCs by i.p. injection on days 1, 4, and 7 partially prevented the CsA-induced rise in systolic blood pressure (CsA+1M MDSCs=120±3 mmHg) and the detrimental vascular and renal effects. However, adoptive transfer of 2 million MDSCs fully prevented the CsA-induced hypertension (CsA+2M MDSCs=105±1 mmHg) and vascular and renal effects. The anti-hypertensive and vascular and renal protective effects of 2 million MDSCs were independent of Treg induction as splenic Treg levels remained significantly decreased. These data suggest that MDSCs can prevent the hypertension and toxicity caused by CsA independent of Tregs and may be a therapeutic target for CsA-treated patients.
Controlled Substrate Destruction using Nanothermite

The experiments described in this paper look to further transient electronic device development by exploring the fracturing capabilities of aluminum copper (II) oxide and aluminum bismuth (III) oxide nanothermites. In particular, a quick, inexpensive test was developed that was able to characterize the substrate fracturing capability of these selectively deposited energetic materials. Using this test, aluminum bismuth (III) oxide nanothermite with near stoichiometric composition was shown to be an effective material for fracturing silicon wafers of two different thicknesses for the configuration considered. Nanothermites were deposited at various equivalence ratios, resulting in a range of damage, which enables material preparation in a given practical application to be based on the desired level of resultant fracturing. This data was subsequently compared with thrust measurements and gas shock formation in an effort to correlate thrust production to the severity of fracturing produced.
Comprehensive Dynamics of Distribution and Metabolism of Thyroid Hormones in Blood and Tissue Pools Using Sequentially Optimized Experiment Designs And A Priori Inequality Analyses

Abstract Two key aspects of our approach to identification of endocrine, metabolic and pharmacokinetic systems are presented and applied to experimental studies of thyroid hormone distribution and metabolism dynamics in the rat and human. First, we use unidentifiable but 'parametrically isomorphic' topologies for realistically structuring our models. The additional technical problems introduced by this structuring approach are then partially overcome by introducing additional a priori information, in the form of physico-chemically based inequality constraints, to obtain 'quasi-identiflability,' in special cases, and physiologically or clinically useful parameter space boundaries in general. Second, we use a sequential optimization method for kinetic experiment design, based on an information matrix scheme, that provides maximally accurate models, consistent with usually severe data limitations (a 'small-sample' theory for dynamic systems). Our results to date have uncovered some remarkable similarities in thyroid hormone distribution and metabolism between the laboratory rat and the human species.
Book Review: This Moment is Gone:

This Moment Is Gone. By George Goode. New York; McNally Jackson, 2014. 72 pp. $15.00 (paper).George Goode is a poet who has stepped into the Heraclitian stream one too many times. In his first collection of poems, This Moment Is Gone, Goode probes the ontological problems of presence and change. Trying to reconcile the subjective moment with the relentlessness of nature in time, Goodes poems offer hope through restless surrender.Goode, a native of Virginias verdant and ancient Shenandoah Valley, reveres nature as a means of memory while recognizing the limitation that nature presents. Goodes response in "The Blue Ridge" is acceptance and embrace: "I see them clearly" writes Goode of Virginia's storied mountains, "without shame or nostalgia / these contours, blue friends, distant and at hand, / who define both nobility and the limits of my being" (p. 72). The contemplation of these familiar "blue friends" opens the poet to both limitation and its antidote: presence. The mountains, which define the limits of the valley with their bulk and the poets transience with their intransience, are placeholders for Goode as he tries to understand his own fleeting subjectivity.The same dichotomy is put another way in "Still." Goode writes: "Still shines. Still is" (p. 42). For Goode, a moving gleam of refracted light is motion and presence, a moment and a moving line. Stillness is arrested motion, a kind of ending. But there is an eye-catching beauty to the "still-ness," which is not simply the cessation of movement, but rather the enduring "still" of the "still here."Goode grapples with these notions of stillness and motion throughout This Moment Is Gone. Notably his first collection, the book is an adventure in describing the moving moment, by a poet who is painfully self-aware of his own mysterious ephemerality. In "The Second Self," Goode imagines that "someone in you has gotten up / and walked out, slamming the door, / never to be seen again" (p. 1). The poet's inability to understand his own selfhood, desires, and potentialities inspires pursuit: "Now you must get up and try to find him / in another time zone," the poet exhorts. "Having broken through / the cocoon that insulated your old future, / he's already out there living the authentic life" (p. 1). There's always more "out there," and the possibility of many futures indwells us. But we remain cut off from these possibilities, by time and by our own limitation.In light of these realities, Goode is sobered. …
Technoeconomic Analysis of a Hybrid Biomass Thermochemical and Electrochemical Conversion System

This study explores an integrated biomass conversion system based on a common fast pyrolysis step and two subsequent bio-oil upgrading pathways. The two options are bio-oil thermochemical upgrading to drop-in transportation biofuels through hydrotreating and hydrocracking, and bio-oil electrochemical conversion for electrical power generation using a direct bio-oil fuel cell method. The technoeconomic performances of biomass-to-biofuels and biomass-to-electricity pathways are first examined individually, and then integrated for the analysis of a hybrid biomass conversion system. A biomass facility of 2000 tonnes per day is investigated as a baseline. The minimum fuel-selling price (MFSP) is estimated to be $ 2.48 per gallon, with biomass feedstock and other operating costs as major contributors. A very high minimum electricity-selling price (MESP) of $ 5.36 per kWh is projected based on the current laboratory-scale fuel cell configuration. Sensitivity analysis reveals that the effective reactant content in bio-oil, the degree of oxidation, and the fuel cell system efficiency play key roles in the MESP. The estimate can be reduced to $ 0.96 per kWh if target values of the three parameters are met. The results of the hybrid system suggest that the MESP can be reduced substantially from $ 0.96 to $ 0 per kWh when the hybrid system increases the bio-oil fraction for biofuel production from 0 to 75.8 %, given a biofuel MFSP of $ 3 per gallon.
Using sequence mining to reveal the efficiency in scientific reasoning during STEM learning with a game-based learning environment

Abstract The goal of this study was to assess how metacognitive monitoring and scientific reasoning impacted the efficiency of game completion during learning with Crystal Island, a game-based learning environment that fosters self-regulated learning and scientific reasoning by having participants solve the mystery of what illness impacted inhabitants of the island. We conducted sequential pattern mining and differential sequence mining on 64 undergraduate participants’ hypothesis testing behavior. Patterns were coded based on the relevancy of what items were being tested for, and the items themselves. Results revealed that participants who were more efficient at solving the mystery tested significantly fewer partially-relevant and irrelevant items than less efficient participants. Additionally, more efficient participants had fewer sequences of testing items overall, and significantly lower instance support values of the PartiallyRelevant -- Relevant to Relevant -- Relevant and PartiallyRelevant -- PartiallyRelevant to Relevant--Partially Relevant sequences compared to less efficient participants. These findings have implications for designing adaptive GBLEs that scaffold participants based on in-game behaviors.
Animal Feed Mill Biosecurity: Prevention of Biological Hazards

Abstract To maintain the sustainable production of animal agriculture to feed the growing human population, animal feed manufacturers must use a variety of feed ingredients. These ingredients can be derived from plant- and animal-based sources, and both can present challenges regarding contamination with biological hazards. Biological hazards in animal feed can be categorized as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and microbiological contaminants, with a more comprehensive draft list published by the FDA in 2006. More recently, feed has been identified as a vector for the transmission of viral particles, specifically porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. With the majority of animal feed being produced at commercial feed mills, these facilities play an important role in preventing the introduction of biological hazards from contaminating finished feeds. Although the complete elimination of biological hazards in finished animal feeds is not obtainable, multiple interventions can be implemented to reduce the risk. The following is a brief overview of animal feed ingredients and how they are derived and processed into finished feeds, associated biological hazards with various animal feed ingredients, recent regulatory guidelines regarding biological hazards, and an outline of the steps required to implement a biosecurity plan at a feed mill.
Flying under the radar: Histoplasma capsulatum avoidance of innate immune recognition

Abstract The dimorphic fungal pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum takes advantage of the innate immune system, utilizing host macrophages as a proliferative niche while largely avoiding stimulation of signaling host receptors. As a result, innate immune cells are unable to control H. capsulatum on their own. Not all host phagocytes respond to H. capsulatum in the same way, with neutrophils and dendritic cells playing important roles in impeding fungal growth and initiating a protective TH1 response, respectively. Dendritic cells prime T-cell differentiation after internalization of yeasts via VLA-5 receptors and subsequent degradation of the yeasts. Dendritic cell-expressed TLR7 and TLR9 promote a type I interferon response for TH1 polarization. In contrast to dendritic cells, macrophages provide a hospitable intracellular environment. H. capsulatum yeasts enter macrophages via binding to phagocytic receptors. Simultaneously, α-glucan masks immunostimulatory cell wall β-glucans and a secreted endoglucanase removes exposed β-glucans to minimize recognition of yeasts by Dectin-1. This review highlights how phagocytes interact with H. capsulatum yeasts and the mechanisms H. capsulatum uses to limit the innate immune response.
Hepatitis C in Injection-Drug Users — A Hidden Danger of the Opioid Epidemic

Hepatitis C in Injection-Drug Users Hidden beneath the escalating crisis of opioid-overdose deaths in the United States lies another danger: the increasing spread of hepatitis C virus associated with injection-opioid use. The social and economic costs of this epidemic could be staggering.
Physiological constraints on marine mammal body size.

Body size has widely been recognized as one of the most important determinants of organismal form and function (1). Extremes in size can be especially illuminating of the drivers and constraints in body size evolution, and marine mammals provide a remarkable set of test cases because their independent invasions of the sea have produced a stunning array of sizes, from sea otters to blue whales that span several orders of magnitude in body mass. Why should whales have become so huge and why aren’t they larger? One scale-dependent physiological process that may shed light on these questions relates to energy flux: how animals obtain energy from the environment and how they use stored energy (2). Although larger animals have higher absolute metabolic requirements than smaller ones, the rates are not proportional to body size (3). The negative allometry of metabolic rate, whereby larger animals exhibit lower mass-specific rates of metabolism, confers a suite of physiological and ecological benefits at greater body sizes. These advantages include a low cost of transport (4); enhanced fasting ability (5); and, for air-breathers in aquatic environments, the ability to dive longer and deeper in search of food (6). There is a tendency of many vertebrate lineages to increase body size through time, but the environmental drivers and physiological constraints of body size evolution remain poorly understood. In PNAS, Gearty et al. (7) analyze the evolution of body size in several independent mammalian lineages that underwent land-to-sea transitions in their evolutionary histories. They use comparative phylogenetic analyses and an examination of the fossil record to test several hypotheses that attempt to explain why mammals evolved larger size in aquatic ecosystems. Physical and energetic constraints on maximum body size are a common theme in several previously proposed hypotheses regarding the phenomenon of large mammals in the ocean. … [↵][1]1Email: jergold{at}stanford.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
The Vibration of Cylindrical Shells

The vibration of cylindrical shells, as well as shells of more complex shapes, is rather involved, far beyond the scope and intended purpose of this text. It is complicated due to several factors: a. All but some very simple modes involve non-axially symmetric mode shapes. b. There are numerous shell theories, each of which differ one from the other. c. There are several simplifications, such as the Donnell approximations, but it is not clear when they can be made, and obtain accurate results. d. The curvature of the shell forces a coupling of the differential equations involving the displacements u 0, v 0, and w. e. Many forcing functions of practical importance are also non-axially symmetric.
Genetic Variation Affects C-Reactive Protein Elevations in Crohn's Disease.

BACKGROUND C-reactive protein (CRP) is a serum marker that is used to measure disease activity in Crohn's disease (CD). However, a subset of CD patients have normal CRP during flares. In rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, genetic variants can restrict CRP elevations during flares. This study sought to determine if common CRP genetic variants affect CRP values during active CD. METHODS Subjects with CD who participated in the Partners HealthCare BioBank were genotyped for 5 common CRP genetic variants (rs2794520, rs3122012, rs3093077, rs2808635, and rs1800947). Medical records were reviewed to determine disease activity and the highest CRP value during active CD. CRP values during active infection or malignancy at the time of the test were excluded. CRP values were compared by genotype using the Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS The study included 199 subjects with active CD (21 to 86 years of age). Subjects with the rs2794520 TT genotype had a lower CRP than subjects with the CC genotype (58.3 mg/L vs 28.4 mg/L, P = 0.008). Subjects with the rs1800947 CG genotype had a lower CRP than those with the CC genotype (54.3 mg/L vs 22.4 mg/L, P < 0.0001); 41.6% of TT subjects had a normal CRP compared with 24.1% of CT subjects and 16.5% of CC subjects (P = 0.041). CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that rs2794520 and rs1800947 are associated with a restriction of CRP elevations during active CD. While CRP is typically a reliable biomarker in CD, there is a subset of CD patients with a genetically determined restriction of CRP in whom other disease markers should be utilized.
Economic Evaluation of Concussion Programs in the State of Idaho: The Collective Potential of Prevention and Clinical Care

Concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury, especially among young children, teenagers, and young adults, is a significant problem in Ada County, Idaho, and the United States. Although much has been learned about concussion, considerable controversy and gaps in knowledge still exist in many areas of research, leading to variation in concussion assessment, treatment, and management protocols. Health systems can positively impact concussion outcomes through community education and outreach, and provision of timely, coordinated, evidence-based clinical care. Collectively, these measures serve to reduce concussion incidence (primary prevention), enable more timely recognition of concussion by parents, coaches, and teachers of youth athletes (secondary prevention), and improve treatment of concussion after it has occurred (tertiary prevention). Using the concussion prevention and clinical care coordination activities of St. Luke's Health System in Idaho as a benchmark, this analysis estimates the economic value of these preventive measures, in particular those preventive measures that target the pediatric population, for Ada County and the state of Idaho, and includes both year of injury and long-term costs of concussion. This study adopts a societal perspective, incorporating savings in direct medical, indirect, and quality of life costs.
Positional Behavior of Cercopithecus petaurista

I studied the positional behavior and habitat use of Cercopithecus petaurista, the lesser spot-nosed monkey, in the Ivory Coast's Tai Forest for 15 months. I compare these data with similar information collected on sympatric groups of Cercopithecus diana and C. campbelli in order to examine further the relationships between locomotion, posture, support use, stratal use, body size, diet, activity patterns and foraging behavior. Spot-nosed monkeys are predominantly quadrupedal primates that frequent the top layer of the understory during all maintenance activities. Locomotion is characteristically slow and cautious; travel takes place on branches and boughs while foraging occurs on twigs and branches. Postural behavior of Cercopithecus petaurista reflects their reliance on more ubiquitously distributed, less mobile food items. The relationship between body size, climbing, leaping and support use among Tai guenons is weak; interspecific differences are more likely functions of strata use and overall behavioral characteristics, e.g. crypticity. I also compare the locomotion and support use of Cercopithecus petaurista with that of C. ascanius from Uganda's Kibale Forest (Gebo and Chapman, 1995a) in order to assess the behavioral similarity of members of the same superspecies. Although overall support use is quite similar, the monkeys differ significantly in frequencies of quadrupedism, leaping and climbing. I present possible reasons for and implications of these differences.
Caravans and Containers: Children on the Move, Immobilized.

On the Greek island of Leros, newly arriving families from Syria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and beyond are routinely received at the landing dock and escorted into barbed wire–lined refugee camps. Many ask if they are being taken to prison. Inside these barrack-like camps, residents are assigned an Isobox, or converted shipping container, in which to live. Although these metal units are certainly sturdier and safer than tents or huts made from tarpaulin and bamboo, they are far from anything that resembles a home. However, because most refugees are held in these camps (or “registration centers”) for months to years while their asylum papers are processed, these containers become obligatory homes of sorts. As several camp staff explained to me, many prefer to call them “caravans,” recognizing the inappropriateness of housing any human in something called a container. Nearly 40% of those living in such containers are children, with >2200 arriving unaccompanied each year according to recent statistics from the Greek Council for Refugees.1 These children do not attend school. They must line up in long queues to see the doctor and in longer queues to receive daily rations. Many of their parents, if they are alive, are emotionally absent. Child abuse, gender-based violence, and suicide are rampant. Although a life of containers and queues would be difficult for any human, the impact on young humans is immeasurable. All the children in these camps … Address correspondence to B. Emily Esmaili, DO, MA, FAAP, Duke Hubert-Yeargan Center for Global Health, Duke University, 310 Trent Dr, Durham, NC 27710. E-mail: bee6{at}duke.edu
UTILITY OF CARDIAC MRI AND LATE GADOLINIUM ENHANCEMENT IN NEW ONSET BIVENTRICULAR HEART FAILURE: A CASE OF A YOUNG FEMALE WITH ACQUIRED HYPERCOAGULABLE STATE AND NORMAL CORONARY ARTERIES

Cardiac MRI can provide key data about structure and function when ascertaining the etiology of heart failure. We present a case of a patient with new onset heart failure where cardiac MRI helped establish a diagnosis. A 30-year-old obese female presented with progressive dyspnea on exertion. Her
Effect of altering the left ventricular pressure on epicardial activation time in dogs with and without pacing-induced heart failure.

Background: The influence of an increased left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) on the development of lethal arrhythmias in chronic heart failure is unclear. We investigated the effect of chronic and acute LVEDP increase on the epicardial activation time of sinus (SB) and paced (PB) beats. Methods: Six dogs underwent rapid ventricular pacing at 220–280[emsp4 ]beats/min for 6–14 weeks for induction of heart failure. On the study day, baseline (ba) LVEDP was determined for the surviving heart failure animals (HF-ba), and for seven control animals (C-ba). The epicardial activation time (EAT, time between the earliest and latest epicardial activation) for five consecutive SB and five ventricular PB during the baseline hemodynamic state were recorded using a 504 electrode mapping-sock. In the control animals a 2-litre volume (vl) was infused over 10[emsp4 ]min to acutely increase the LVEDP (C-vl) to a level comparable to the chronic increased LVEDP of the HF-ba. The same volume challenge was performed in two HF animals (HF-vl) and the EAT for SB and PB was redetermined. Results: Three of six HF animals died during induction of heart failure. In the three remaining HF animals, chronic LVEDP increased from 6±1 to 17±10.8[emsp4 ]mmHg (P=0.07), EAT for SB increased by 68±% compared to control animals (HF-ba vs. C-ba, P<0.05). In contrast, in the control animals the acute rise in LVEDP from 6.8±4.5 to 14.7±6.2 mmHg P<0.05), shortened the EAT for SB (C-ba vs. C-vl, P<0.05). A similar decrease in EAT for SB caused by acute volume load was seen in the HF animals, but did not reach significance due to the small sample size (one of the three remaining HF animals died of spontaneous ventricular fibrillation before the volume load). Chronic LVEDP elevation significantly prolonged the EAT for PB from 72±11 to 120±31[emsp4 ]ms (C-ba vs. HF-ba) while acute LVEDP increase had no significant effect on EAT for PB. Conclusion: Chronic HF increases LVEDP and prolongs EAT, while an acute increase in LVEDP shortens the EAT for sinus beats. A prolongation of EAT in heart failure may make the heart more susceptible to ventricular arrhythmias and electromechanical dissociation.
Mental health outcomes among individuals with 46,XY disorders of sex development: A systematic review:

This review summarizes research on the mental health outcomes of genetic males with a disorder of sex development (46,XY DSD). Databases were systematically searched, yielding 19 studies included in this review. Results varied widely, with mental health outcomes ranging from very poor to similar to comparison groups. A small number of studies demonstrated that patients with hypospadias or complete androgen insensitivity syndrome reported better mental health than patients with other 46,XY (DSD) diagnoses. Future studies should include larger samples of patients within a similar developmental stage, display results separately by DSD diagnosis and gender identity, and consider the potential impact of medical/surgical events on their mental health.
Resisting the Detrimental Effects of Grade Inflation on University Faculty and Students through Critical Communication Pedagogy

Despite university faculty’s efforts to maintain rigor and high expectations in their classrooms, grade inflation continues to rise. While numerous factors exist to explain this problem, the primary contributor is the ubiquitous pressure of neoliberal forces on the university. Neoliberalism has inculcated society, namely undergraduate students, to resist the belief that the university is a place in which they collectively gather to learn, think, be challenged, grow through failure, and build character. Rather, students now largely believe that they university is merely a business from which they purchase a product—a degree. This producer-consumer mindset has created a deleterious situation for both students and faculty. Students believe that they are merely purchasing a degree; and, they demand that high grades accompany that degree. To them, high grades, coupled with their degree, are the currency with which they purchase a career. Because of this prevalent ideology, faculty are placed in a perilous position because they feel internal and external pressure to reduce the rigor of their courses and/or artificially inflate the grades that students earn. Although all faculty feel the pressure to conform to this neoliberally driven practice, it is especially troublesome for tenure-track, non-tenure track, and other contingent faculty because their continued employment is, often to a large extent, dependent of student ratings of teaching effectiveness. This chapter will address these issues through the lens of critical communication pedagogy (CCP) by offering ways in which faculty can resist the neoliberal pressure to engage in grade inflation by teaching students about the neoliberal system which has inculcated them to believe that profit, success, and individualism are the only measures of a meaningful life. Following CCP, I will discuss how instructors can challenge students to resist neoliberal hegemony, hold high academic standards for themselves, and tie learning to outcomes that affect their futures—power and their response to it. Overall, I will argue that in order for tenure-track and contingent faculty to be able to resist the pressure to inflate grades, they must work to teach students to resist neoliberal ideology that instills the thought processes that lead to grade inflation. In so doing, students may begin to learn to engage in resistance behaviors to neoliberal power structures that marginalize them.
Colon Involvement in Necrotizing Pancreatitis: Incidence, Risk Factors, and Outcomes.

Objective To investigate the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of colon involvement in patients with necrotizing pancreatitis. Summary/background data Necrotizing pancreatitis is characterized by a profound inflammatory response with local and systemic implications. Mesocolic involvement can compromise colonic blood supply leading to ischemic complications; however, few data exist regarding this problem. We hypothesized that the development of colon involvement in necrotizing pancreatitis (NP) negatively affects morbidity and mortality. Methods Six hundred forty-seven NP patients treated between 2005 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed to identify patients with colon complications, including ischemia, perforation, fistula, stricture/obstruction, and fulminant Clostridium difficile colitis. Clinical characteristics were analyzed to identify risk factors and effect of colon involvement on morbidity and mortality. Results Colon involvement was seen in 11% (69/647) of NP patients. Ischemia was the most common pathology (n = 29) followed by perforation (n = 18), fistula (n = 12), inflammatory stricture (n = 7), and fulminant C difficile colitis (n = 3). Statistically significant risk factors for developing colon pathology include tobacco use (odds ratio (OR), 2.0; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.2-3.4, P = 0.009), coronary artery disease (OR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.1-3.7; P = 0.04), and respiratory failure (OR, 4.7; 95% CI, 1.1-26.3; P = 0.049). When compared with patients without colon involvement, NP patients with colon involvement had significantly increased overall morbidity (86% vs 96%, P = 0.03) and mortality (8% vs 19%, P = 0.002). Conclusion Colon involvement in necrotizing pancreatitis is common; clinical deterioration should prompt its evaluation. Risk factors include tobacco use, coronary artery disease, and respiratory failure. Colon involvement in necrotizing pancreatitis is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality.
Down with Weierstrass

We offer an alternative to the so-called Weierstrass substitution for a class of trigonometric integrals, with references to Euler, Hardy, and others.
Testing excess returns on event days: Log returns vs. dollar returns

Abstract The results of academic and practitioners’ event studies are often translated from excess log returns into excess dollar returns. The prior literature argues for a difference between the statistical significance of excess log returns and that of excess dollar returns. In contrast, we show analytically and using simulations that specifying event study hypotheses in terms of excess dollar returns is equivalent to specifying them in terms of excess log returns. The prior literature’s result was due to a bias in the estimator of expected excess dollar returns, an incorrect assumption that it is approximately normally distributed, and a misapplication of the delta method.
Is Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) Effective in Reducing Trauma Symptoms among Traumatized Refugee Children? A Systematic Review

In 2019, more than 25.9 million children under 18 were displaced due to unending political conflicts. Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) has a high level of empirical evidence to support its efficacy in processing trauma and behavioral problems in non-refugee children. Yet, little is known about its long-term effectiveness in refugee children. This study conducted a systematic review that assessed the evidence of the effectiveness of TF-CBT in reducing trauma symptoms among refugee children under 18 years of age. A systematic review was conducted from peer-reviewed literature databases (12 databases): PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT), Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, PROSPERO, EBSCOHost, Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic Reviews, Social Sciences Index, and grey literature sources published from 1990 to 2019. The search yielded 1650 articles, and 4 peer reviewed studies were identified that met inclusion criteria and yielded a sample size of 64 refugee children from 21 different countries. All 4 studies provided evidence that supported TF-CBT’s effectiveness in decreasing trauma symptoms and sustainment during the follow-up assessment among refugee children participants. Despite TF-CBT effectiveness for trauma symptoms treatment, there is still limited evidence to suggest that TF-CBT is effective for all refugee children due to the pilot nature of the studies, and its underutilization in traumatized refugee children from different cultural backgrounds. Future studies should conduct more TF-CBT interventions with diverse refugee children to provide more empirical support for its effectiveness with that population.
Big Data on Ice: The Forward Observer System for In-Flight Synthetic Aperture Radar Processing

We introduce the Forward Observer system, which is designed to provide data assurance in field data acquisition while receiving significant amounts (several terabytes per flight) of Synthetic Aperture Radar data during flights over the polar regions, which provide unique requirements for developing data collection and processing systems. Under polar conditions in the field and given the difficulty and expense of collecting data, data retention is absolutely critical. Our system provides a storage and analysis cluster with software that connects to field instruments via standard protocols, replicates data to multiple stores automatically as soon as it is written, and provides pre-processing of data so that initial visualizations are available immediately after collection, where they can provide feedback to researchers in the aircraft during the flight.
Lie Algebras and the Exponential Mapping

The exponential of a matrix plays a crucial role in the theory of Lie groups. The exponential enters into the definition of the Lie algebra of a matrix Lie group (Section 2.5) and is the mechanism for passing information from the Lie algebra to the Lie group. Since many computations are done much more easily at the level of the Lie algebra, the exponential is indispensable in studying (matrix) Lie groups.