cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantifying neural information content: A case study of the impact of hippocampal adult neurogenesis

Through various means of structural and synaptic plasticity enabling online learning, neural networks are constantly reconfiguring their computational functionality. Neural information content is embodied within the configurations, representations, and computations of neural networks. To explore neural information content, we have developed metrics and computational paradigms to quantify neural information content. We have observed that conventional compression methods may help overcome some of the limiting factors of standard information theoretic techniques employed in neuroscience, and allows us to approximate information in neural data. To do so we have used compressibility as a measure of complexity in order to estimate entropy to quantitatively assess information content of neural ensembles. Using Lempel-Ziv compression we are able to assess the rate of generation of new patterns across a neural ensemble's firing activity over time to approximate the information content encoded by a neural circuit. As a specific case study, we have been investigating the effect of neural mixed coding schemes due to hippocampal adult neurogenesis.
Persistent Gaps in Appropriate Use of Empiric Acyclovir in Neonates

The use of empiric acyclovir for suspected neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection has been debated for years. To identify the gap in the decision to initiate empiric acyclovir, we performed a retrospective chart review and administered a survey to pediatricians to assess current practices regarding evaluation for possible HSV infection. Seventy infants received empiric acyclovir over a 1-year period; of these, 3 infants (4.3%) had positive HSV testing. Fourteen infants were identified as "high-risk" for HSV infection; of these, 13 infants had incomplete testing. Survey results revealed uncertainty in the decision to initiate acyclovir and in the composition of complete diagnostic testing. This study confirmed the clinical uncertainty in the decision to initiate empiric acyclovir. Using this chart review and survey as a baseline, future efforts will focus on a quality improvement project to reduce empiric acyclovir use in low-risk infants and to ensure complete diagnostic evaluation in high-risk infants.
PARACENTRAL ACUTE MIDDLE MACULOPATHY ASSOCIATED WITH BILATERAL OPTIC DISK SWELLING AND MENINGITIS.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE To present a novel case of paracentral acute middle maculopathy associated with bilateral optic disk swelling. METHODS Retrospective case report. RESULTS A 67-year-old woman presented with sudden onset of central vision loss and subsequent bilateral optic disk edema, retinal vessel attenuation, and anterior uveitis. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis showed signs of inflammation. Spectral domain optical coherence tomography demonstrated the pathognomonic hyperreflectivity of the middle retinal layers consistent with paracentral acute middle maculopathy. Swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography with custom vessel analysis demonstrated a 18.3% decrease in the deep retinal vascular density and 2.4 times increase in absent flow area in the affected eye compared with the fellow eye. CONCLUSION This case demonstrates a novel association between paracentral acute middle maculopathy and bilateral optic disk swelling secondary to central nervous system inflammation and possible infection. Although spectral domain optical coherence tomography is valuable in detecting paracentral acute middle maculopathy, optical coherence tomography angiography with vessel analysis can provide additional insight into the disease mechanism.
Transport of β-Hydroxy-β-Methyl-Glutarate and β-Hydroxbutyrate by Renal Brushborder Membrane Vesicles

Summary: The uptake of β-hydroxy-β-methyl-glutarate (HMG) and β-hydroxy-butyrate (β-HB) by renal brushborder membrane vesicles prepared from normal and starved rats was examined. HMG and β-HB uptake show a Na+ gradient-induced overshoot, suggesting luminal cotransport of these organic acids. Kinetic analysis of HMG and β-HB uptake revealed a single component carrier system and a diffusional component for each compound. Vesicles from starved rats exhibit the same transport characteristics as those from normal rats. The transport interactions of other organic acids with HMG were examined and revealed that citrate is a competitive inhibitor, which implies that the compounds share a common organic acid carrier. Speculation: The possibility exists that by administration of high oral doses of citrate, urinary citrate can be elevated sufficiently to competitively inhibit the tubular reabsorption of β-hydroxy-β-methyl-glutarate. This, in addition to the buffering properties of citrate, could be of significance in the treatment of the severe metabolic acidosis seen in patients with β-hydroxy-β-methyl-glutarate-CoA lyase deficiency.
Jonathan Buehl

This book examines the multimodal rhetoric of scientific arguments as they have been expressed in professional journals over the course of the past century. Through a series of chronologically ordered case studies, the author applies and develops a syncretic model for understanding scientific argumentation, which he articulates in Part 1 of the book and which relies heavily on major concepts in rhetorical theory. By applying the model to the case studies, the author demonstrates how rhetoric can provide the analytical machinery needed to grapple with the multimodal means used to create scientific arguments. In Part 2, the focus is a groundbreaking 1912 publication in the field now known as X-ray diffraction crystallography, specifically a set of X-ray photogram images included in the article that would help scientists at the time gain a better understanding of both the nature of X-rays and the atomic structure of crystals. Parts 3 and 4 present the book’s more interesting (from a multimodal perspective) case studies in terms of how arguments are assembled, circulated, and reassembled over time. In Part 5, Chapter 12 examines the rise of Photoshop as a material affordance for scientific arguments and the ethical dilemmas that this rise has precipitated. Chapter 13 provides description and tabular analysis of the use of videos in published scientific arguments, from an era when VHS tapes were mailed with journal issues through the YouTube era. It is in these chapters where the salience of and potential for the author’s model becomes clearer: As the use of multimodality rises in scientific arguments through the use of new technologies, new and better means for understanding how arguments are conceived, assembled, and circulated are needed both for authors and for teachers. Both audiences would benefit from reading Assembling Arguments. The book does not have a specific engineering focus, but it does provide a broad framework for professional communicators, teachers, and students to consider and improve visuals and multimodality in document design.
Prospective evaluation of low health literacy and its impact on outcomes in trauma patients

BACKGROUND Health literacy is an emerging focus of interest in public health and is evolving as an important component of national health policy. Low health literacy (LHL) is associated with poor outcomes. We aimed to identify factors associated with LHL and its relationship with health outcomes in trauma patients. METHODS We prospectively enrolled all adult trauma patients (age, > 18 years) in our analysis. Patients were surveyed at discharge and followed up at 4 weeks postdischarge. At discharge, patient's health literacy was assessed using the Short-Assessment of Health Literacy score. Low health literacy was defined as Short-Assessment of Health Literacy score less than 14. Patients were surveyed regarding their understanding of their injuries, treatment received, discharge instructions, and interaction with the physician. Four weeks postdischarge, all patients were inquired about clinic follow-up details and recovery. RESULTS We enrolled 140 patients, of which 70% were white. Mean age was 45 ± 20 years, and median Injury Severity Score was 10 (6-12). Overall, 24% (34) patients had LHL. There was no difference in the Injury Severity Score between LHL and health literate (HL) patients (p = 0.41). The LHL patients were more likely to be Hispanic-white (78% vs. 41%, p = 0.02), had lower socioeconomic status (91% vs. 51%, p = 0.01), uninsured (45% vs. 18%, p = 0.01), and were less likely to have graduated (0% vs. 49%, p = 0.01) compared with the HL patients. At discharge, both groups were satisfied with the time spent by a physician to explain the condition, however, the LHL patients were less likely to recall their injuries (p = 0.03) or how they were treated (p = 0.01). Patients with LHL had lower follow-up rates (p = 0.01) with no difference in the readmission rate (p = 0.71) compared with HL. CONCLUSION Every 1 in 4 trauma patients have LHL. Low health literacy is associated with poor understanding of injuries and treatment provided to them, leading to a decrease in compliance with discharge instructions and longer time to recovery. Identifying LHL in high-risk patients and developing appropriate intervention before discharge may help improve outcomes. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic study, level I.
Classroom Management in Self-Contained Classrooms for Children with Autism: Extending Research on the Color Wheel System

The color wheel is an evidence-based classroom management system that has been used to decrease inappropriate behaviors and increase on-task behaviors in general education elementary classrooms but not in classrooms for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A multiple-baseline design was used to evaluate the effects of the color wheel system (CWS) on disruptive behaviors (being out of seat for one classroom, inappropriate vocalizations for two classrooms) in three self-contained elementary classrooms for students with ASD. Partial-interval time sampling was used to record class-wide disruptive behaviors. Visual analysis of a time-series graph suggests that the CWS decreased disruptive behaviors across all three classrooms. Discussion focuses on limitations of the study and directions for researchers interested in modifying, applying, and evaluating the effects of the CWS in settings for children with ASD.
Price Dispersion in a Model with Middlemen and Oligopolistic Market Makers: A Theory and an Application to the North American Natural Gas Market

We develop a microstructure model of a market for a homogeneous good in which trade amongst heterogeneous consumers and producers is intermediated by middlemen and oligopolistic market makers (gatekeepers). Market makers post bid and ask prices which are freely observable. Middlemen stand ready to trade at bid and ask prices they quote on a private basis to consumers or producers who identify these intermediaries via a costly search process. We model competition between market makers as a two-stage game: capacity setting in the first stage and bid and ask price setting in the second stage. We characterize the equilibrium market structure of intermediaries and the distribution of prices in equilibrium. Our main focus is the effect on prices that emerges following a change in the market structure of intermediation, specifically through the exit of a market maker. Exit of a market maker initially results in a shift of trade from market makers as a whole to middlemen resulting in an increase in price dispersion. Following transition to the new market structure with fewer market makers, price dispersion returns to its pre-exit level when total trade passing through the remaining market makers is roughly equal to the pre-exit level. We present an empirical study of price dispersion in the North American natural gas market for the period before and following the exit of Enron, a major market maker in late 2001. The empirical evidence supports the main propositions of our theory: price dispersion jumped 4-fold immediately following Enron's exit but returned to its pre-exit level within roughly 2 months following the exit date.