cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The SOP for miniaturized, mixed-signal computing, communication, and consumer systems of the next decade

From cell phones to biomedical systems, modern life is inexorably dependent on the complex convergence of technologies into stand-alone products designed to provide a complete solution in small, highly integrated systems with computing, communication, biomedical and consumer functions. The concept of system-on-package (SOP) originated in the mid-1990s at the NSF-funded Packaging Research Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology. This can be thought of as a conceptual paradigm in which the package, and not the bulky board, as the system and the package provides all the system functions in one single module, not as an assemblage of discrete components to be connected together, but as a continuous merging of various integrated thin film technologies in a small package. In the SOP concept, this is accomplished by codesign and fabrication of digital, optical, RF and sensor functions in both IC and the package, thus distinguishing between what function is accomplished best at IC level and at package level. In this paradigm, ICs are viewed as being best for transistor density while the package is viewed as being best for RF, optical and certain digital-function integration. The SOP concept is demonstrated for a conceptual broad-band system called an intelligent network communicator (INC). Its testbed acts as both a leading-edge research and teaching platform in which students, faculty, research scientists, and member companies evaluate the validity of SOP technology from design to fabrication to integration, test, cost and reliability. The testbed explores optical bit stream switching up to 100 GHz, digital signals up to 5-20 GHz, decoupling capacitor integration concepts to reduce simultaneous switching noise of power beyond 100 W/chip, design, modeling and fabrication of embedded components for RF, microwave, and millimeter wave applications up to 60 GHz. This article reviews a number of SOP technologies which have been developed and integrated into SOP test bed. These are: 1) convergent SOP-based INC system design and architecture, 2) digital SOP and its fabrication for signal and power integrity, 3) optical SOP fabrication with embedded actives and passives, 4) RF SOP for high Q-embedded inductors, filters and other RF components, 5) mixed signal electrical test, 6) mixed signal reliability, and 7) demonstration of SOP by INC prototype system.
Medical Perceptions of Menopausal Symptoms

Thirty-five physicians in family practice or gynecology, 43 practicing nurses, and 35 menopausal or postmenopausal women rated the frequency, severity, and causality of 15 menopausal symptoms commo...
G-protein βγ subunit genes expressed in olfactory receptor neurons

The expression of genes encoding G-protein beta gamma subunits was investigated in isolated olfactory receptor neurons from channel catfish. DNA sequencing of PCR products showed that the beta 1, beta 2, gamma 2 and gamma 3 genes were expressed in the neurons. Western blotting showed that at least three of these subunit proteins were expressed. This first analysis of the expression of beta gamma genes in olfactory receptor neurons suggests that these subunits may be involved in a variety of transduction events in these cells.
Seeing a curve in multiple regression

Start with a multiple regression in which each predictor enters linearly. How can we tell if there is a curve so that the model is not valid? Possibly for one of the predictors an additional square or square-root term is needed. We focus on the case in which an additional term is needed rather than the monotonic case in which a power transformation or logarithm might be sufficient. Among the plots that have been used for diagnostic purposes, nine methods are applied here. All nine methods work fine when the predictors are not related to each other, but two of them are designed to work even when the predictors are arbitrary noisy functions of each other. These two are recent methods, Cook's CERES plot and the plot for an additive model with nonparametric smoothing applied to one predictor. Even these plots, however, can miss a curve in some cases and show a false curve in others. To give a measure of curve detection, the curve can be fitted nonparametrically, and this fit can be used in place of the predic...
THE RESPIRATION OF LUMINOUS BACTERIA AND THE EFFECT OF OXYGEN TENSION UPON OXYGEN CONSUMPTION

1. The respiration of luminous bacteria has been studied by colorimetric and manometric methods. 2. Limulus oxyhaemocyanin has been used as a colorimetric indicator of oxygen consumption and indicator dyes were used for colorimetric determination of carbon dioxide production. 3. The Thunberg-Winterstein microrespirometer has been used for the measurement of the rate of oxygen consumption by luminous bacteria at different partial pressures of oxygen. 4. The effect of oxygen concentration upon oxygen consumption has been followed from equilibrium with air to low pressures of oxygen. 5. Luminous bacteria consume oxygen and produce carbon dioxide independent of oxygen pressures from equilibrium with air (152 mm.) to approximately 22.80 mm. oxygen or 0.03 atmosphere. 6. Dimming of a suspension of luminous bacteria occurs when oxygen tension is lowered to approximately 2 mm. Hg (0.0026 atmosphere) and when the rate of respiration becomes diminished one-half. 7. Pure nitrogen stops respiratory activity and pure oxygen irreversibly inhibits oxygen consumption. 8. The curve for rate of oxygen consumption with oxygen concentration is similar to curves for adsorption of gasses at catalytic surfaces, and agrees with the Langmuir equation for the expression of the amount of gas adsorbed in unimolecular layer at catalytic surfaces with gas pressure. 9. A constant and maximum rate of oxygen consumption occurs in small cells when oxygen concentration becomes sufficient to entirely saturate the surface of the oxidative catalyst of the cell.
Experimental support for a predictive osmotic model of clay membranes

Osmosis has been cited as a mechanism for explaining anomalously high fluid pressures in the subsurface. Clays and shales act as membranes, and osmotic flux across these units may result in pressures sufficiently high to explain these anomalies. The theoretical osmotic pressures as calculated solely from solution properties can be quite large; however, it is not yet resolved whether these geologic membranes are sufficiently ideal to generate such pressures.
The pyruvate kinase model system, a cautionary tale for the use of osmolyte perturbations to support conformational equilibria in allostery

In the study of rabbit muscle pyruvate kinase (M1-PYK), proline has previously been used as an osmolyte in an attempt to determine a role for preexisting conformational equilibria in allosteric regulation. In this context, osmolytes are small molecules assumed to have no direct interaction with the protein. In contrast to proline's proposed role as an osmolyte, the structure of M1PYK-Mn-pyruvate-proline complex reported herein demonstrates that proline binds specifically to the allosteric site of M1-PYK. Therefore, this amino acid is an allosteric effector rather than a benign osmolyte. Other compounds often used as osmolytes (polyethyleneglycol and glycerol) are also present in the structure, suggesting an interaction with the protein that would, in turn, prevent the usefulness of these compounds in the study of this and most likely other proteins. These findings highlight the need to verify that compounds used as osmolytes to perturb preexisting conformational equilibrium do not directly interact with the protein, a consideration not commonly addressed in the past.
Failure of pesticides to alter migration of cancerous and non-cancerous breast cell lines in vitro

Organochlorine pesticides are routinely used in agricultural processes across the United States. Compared to surrounding areas, Illinois ranks as one of the highest users of triazine herbicides due to corn and soybean production. These pesticides have been detected in dietary sources and drinking water, thus leading to risks to human health. With conflicting reports as to whether pesticides play a role in tumor metastasis, we examined the migration rate for cancerous (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) and normal (MCF-10A) breast cells after exposure to six different pesticides using an in vitro scratch assay. Physiological concentrations of two insecticides (chlorpyrifos and resmethrin) and four herbicides (acetochlor, atrazine, cyanazine, and simazine) were applied to the cells for up to 72 hours and the ability of treated cells to regrow over a wounded area was assessed in 24 hour increments. Interestingly, significant differences in recovery after exposure to these compounds were not observed for any pesticide tested. However, reductions in recovery percentages were observed when comparing pesticide exposure to 17β-estradiol, a known trophic hormone for many breast cancers, in a cell type-dependent manner. Thus, although statistically significant increases in migration could be observed after estrogen exposure, short-term exposure to pesticides did not increase cell migration in this wound assay.
Job Burnout in Probation and Parole Its Extent and Intervention Implications

Data are presented from a sample of almost 1000 probation and parole workers concerning job burnout, as measured by one currently accepted indicator. The problem was not as extensive as some popular accounts have implied, but a sizable proportion of the sample did report experiencing the difficulty. Findings on the levels of burnout at different seniority levels suggest that burnout is worst for employees past their initial period of employment and lowest for the newly hired and for the most experienced. Intervention implications based on this preliminary analysis include attention to consciousness raising, orientation program development, and utilization of more experienced probation officers as mentors.
Agricultural image target segmentation based on fuzzy set

Abstract Target objects are direct characteristics of image description, but there are significant limitations, including the image being sensitive to changes in global illumination, etc., which lead to lack direct descriptive ability for objects in an image. Image target segmentation is one of the primary image processing operations, which means it is the first operation of the processing of an image. For the segmentation of a target area from the image, there are two kinds of existing methods. One method is to manually remove the obstructions to be a uniform color fill or outline its contours; and another way is to use the shortest path algorithm or the expansion of biology technique to extract optimal edges. For an image with unclear target boundaries and background, it is very necessary to eliminate the interfering information by transforming the interference information into fuzzy sets. In this paper, to solve the complex background images and the image target segmentation error, considering the dominance on image processing of fuzzy sets, the maximum fuzzy correlation criterion is proposed. Image is converted to a fuzzy domain, and then the maximum fuzzy correlation criterion is calculated. It is important to optimize the image maximum fuzzy membership function. Finally, experiment on leaf and fruit agricultural images, the results show that more edge details can be detected by fuzzy sets.
Divorce Mediation: Sweeping Conflicts Under the Rug, Time to Clean House

Mediation, on its face, seemed like the natural panacea to the hostile environment frequently created by traditional divorce litigation. Mediation is, after all, a process whereby an impartial third party facilitates discussion between the parties which will hopefully result in a mutually acceptable resolution. In the definition alone, we find an absence of some of the major irritants usually present in a divorce: the advocate attorneys, the adversarial courtroom atmosphere, (although, to be fair, most divorces, like most other issues, never actually go to trial) and, of course, an agreement (often in name only) reached only after angry negotiations or dictated by the court, and frequently and loudly denounced by one and all. Instead, we have a supposedly impartial facilitator, one who has no direct interest or opinion in the case but who exists solely to help the parties find their own solution, one they theoretically will be happy, or at least able, to live with.This article addresses the concerns raised by divorce mediation, most notably the conflicts inherent for both attorneys and non-attorneys involved in its practice, and by extension, the harm perpetrated on the participating parties. Specifically, it deals with the inability, under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, its earlier counterpart, the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility, and various state specific versions (hereinafter "Rules"), for an attorney to "take off his lawyering hat" to be an impartial mediator, as required under the ABA Standards of Practice for Lawyer-Mediators in Family Disputes and the other assorted rules of conduct for mediators" (hereinafter, collectively, "ABA Standards"). After the introduction in Part I, Part II discusses a short history and evolution of the mediation process, including its use in divorce situations by both lawyers and non-lawyers. Part III analyzes the process under both of these types of practitioners and discuss the ethical implications and problems for both lawyer-mediators and non-lawyer mediators in divorce. Part IV attempts to determine the validity of the ethical concerns addressed above, especially in light of the positive aspects of mediation, and will make recommendations for resolution of existing conflicts.
Abstract WP123: Determinants Of Cerebral Hyperperfusion Syndrome After Extracranial-intracranial Artery Bypass In Severe Intracranial Steno-occlusive Disease

Background: Patients with intracranial stenoses are at considerable risk for ischemic events. Recent trials on stenting for intracranial stenoses and external carotid-internal carotid (EC-IC) bypass in carotid occlusions failed to show benefit over best medical therapy. We perform EC-IC bypass in patients with severe steno-occlusive disease of intracranial internal carotid (ICA) or middle cerebral artery (MCA) with impaired cerebral vasodilatory reserve (CVR). EC-IC bypass may lead to cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome (HPS) in some cases, presenting as neurological deficits during early post-operative period. We evaluated possible predictors of HPS. Methods: Patients with severe intracranial ICA or MCA stenosis and impaired CVR on transcranial Doppler (TCD) derived breath-holding index (BHI) were evaluated with acetazolamide-challenged 99Tc-HMPAO-SPECT. Patients with significantly impaired CVR on SPECT were offered EC-IC bypass with close post-operative monitoring. Results: Of the 112 patients with severe intracranial ICA/MCA stenosis, 77 (69%) showed impaired CVR and 46 (41%) underwent STA-MCA bypass. Transient neurological deficits, mainly contralateral weakness within 7-days of surgery, were noted in 8 (17%). HPS was confirmed by CT perfusion and/or SPECT in 7 cases. Strong correlation was observed between HPS and pre-operative TCD-BHI (0% cases with BHI 0.3-0.69; 6.3% with BHI 0-0.3 and 41% with BHI Conclusion: Symptomatic cerebral HPS is common in early post-operative period after EC-IC bypass surgery. Early diagnosis and appropriate management might prevent the complications of this syndrome
Using AHP BOCR analysis for experiential business education and prioritisation of international opportunities

This article reports the use of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to teach BOCR, an important managerial skill, to graduate management students, using the principles of experiential learning and working on the prioritisation of actual university international cooperation projects in a liberal arts university. The University-Uganda initiatives propose overseas cooperation between the university, Bright Kids Uganda, and project to end human trafficking Uganda. Three graduate teams utilised the AHP methodology to evaluate and prioritise each of the proposed initiatives from the three different perspectives of the schools of nursing, education, and psychology. The purpose of this article is two-fold: first, to report on this educational experience, and suggest best practices and lessons learned and second, to report on the BOCR results which will undoubtedly be useful for any higher-education institution considering overseas cooperation initiatives.
Trajectory Characteristic Based Identification of Ill-conditioned DSP in EEAC

In extended equal area criterion(EEAC),dynamic saddle points(DSP)encountered in disturbed trajectories can be regarded as not only the criterion of power system instability,but also the observation point for the quantitative analysis of stability degree.However,the strong time-varying of image systems might result in some special trajectory points,which although satisfy the definition of DSP,are not suitable for accurately assessing the stability degree.If the above ill-conditioned DSPs(IDSPs)can be distinguished,the computational burdens can be further reduced in the engineering application via early termination of the integration process.The studies show that around IDSPs,image systems not only exhibit the strong time-varying characteristic,but also exist the potential energy.With this knowledge,an ill-condition index of DSP and the corresponding identification method for IDSP are proposed.They are thoroughly verified in the New England system.This research also contributes to the study on stability mechanisms of general nonlinear dynamic systems.
Assessment of stable ischemic heart disease. Which tests are best for which patients

PreviewEver since Heberden's classic description of angina pectoris almost 200 years ago, most clinicians have devoted a major part of their practice to the assessment and management of patients either known to have coronary artery disease (CAD) or at high risk for its development. In this article, Dr Lavie and his colleagues discuss the importance of reducing risks for CAD and the factors to consider when deciding which screening tests to use in assessing patients with known or suspected CAD.
Capirotada: A Renewed Chicana Spirituality Through a Chicana Literary Lens

“Capirotada: A Renewed Chicana Spirituality through a Chicana Literary Lens,” Gabriella Gutierrez y Muhs, Seattle University. Gutierrez y Muhs discerns new currents of Chicana spirituality, which she characterizes as eclectic, in works by three Chicana writers (Norma E. Cantu, Demetria Martinez, and Sandra Cisneros).
Ethnic Newspaper Writers and the Transformation of US and CircumCaribbean Literature

This chapter analyzes the rise of ethnic topics and writers in US newspapers, and then concentrates on three important contributors in particular: the Greek/British Lafcadio Hearn, whose postings in New Orleans newspapers helped acquaint Southerners with the creole/black cultures of their city, and later, with the people of the Caribbean; Abraham Cahan, whose columns, stories, and editorials led to his appointment as the editor of New York’s Yiddish language Jewish Daily Forward; and Alexander Posey, a Creek Indian, whose comic columns for the Eufaula Indian Journal epitomized the energies of the nascent Native American press. All three writers celebrated unique cultures, criticized forces inimical to Creoles, Jews, and Native Americans in US society, and used humor as a subversive weapon and snare, as they set about capturing and captivating living-room audiences of readers as a crucial maneuver in Americanization.
Introducing Evolutionary Computing in Regression Analysis

A typical upper-level undergraduate or rst-year graduate level regression course syllabus treats \model selection" with various stepwise regression methods. In this paper, we implement the method of evolutionary computing for \subset model selection" in order to accomplish two goals: i) to introduce students to the powerful optimization method of genetic algorithms, and ii) to transform a regression analysis course into a regression and modeling course without requiring any additional time or software commitment. Furthermore, we employ the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) as a measure of model tness instead of the commonly used measure of R-square. The model selection tool uses Microsoft Excel, which makes the procedure accessible to a very wide spectrum of interdisciplinary students, with no specialized software requirement. An Excel macro, to be used as an instructional tool, is freely available through the author’s website.
Dilated Cardiomyopathy Induced by Chronic Starvation and Selenium Deficiency

Protein energy malnutrition (PEM) has been rarely documented as a cause of cardiovascular abnormalities, including dilated cardiomyopathy. Selenium is responsible for antioxidant defense mechanisms in cardiomyocytes, and its deficiency in the setting of PEM and disease related malnutrition (DRM) may lead to exacerbation of the dilated cardiomyopathy. We report a rare case of a fourteen-year-old boy who presented with symptoms of congestive heart failure due to DRM and PEM (secondary to chronic starvation) along with severe selenium deficiency. An initial echocardiogram showed severely depressed systolic function consistent with dilated cardiomyopathy. Aggressive nutritional support and replacement of selenium and congestive heart failure medications that included diuretics and ACE inhibitors with the addition of carvedilol led to normalization of the cardiac function within four weeks. He continues to have significant weight gain and is currently completely asymptomatic from a cardiovascular standpoint.
Lung-Derived Microvesicles Induce Stable Long-Term Epigenetic Changes In Marrow Cells

Abstract 4799 We have previously shown that microvesicles derived from irradiated murine lung cells enter murine bone marrow cells and induce expression of the pulmonary epithelial cell-specific mRNAs Surfactants A-D (Sp-A-D), Aquaporin-5 (Aq-5) and Clara Cell Specific Protein (CCSP). The early mRNA increases are due to direct delivery of mRNA and due to the transfer of a transcription factor to marrow cells (Aliotta JM, et al, Exp Hematol, 2010). The modulated marrow cells produce pulmonary epithelial cell-specific protein and have an enhanced ability to convert into pulmonary epithelial cells after transplantation into lethally-irradiated mice. In the present studies, we evaluated the stability of pulmonary epithelial cell-specific mRNA expression in cytokine-stimulated liquid culture and after in vivo transplantation into lethally-irradiated mice. Whole bone marrow cells isolated from C57BL/6 mice were cultured for seven days opposite C57BL/6 lung fragments, but separated from them by a 0.4 micron cell-impermeable membrane. Marrow cells were then either infused into lethally-irradiated C57BL/6 mice or established in culture with DMEM supplemented with IL-3, IL-6, IL-11 and steel factor. Engrafted mice were sacrificed six weeks after transplantation and real-time RT-PCR was carried out on marrow, liver, spleen and thymus tissue. Expression of Sp-A, B and D, CCSP and Aq-5 were variably seen in all tissues and increases over control ranged from 12-fold to 58-fold. Liquid culture was analyzed every two weeks out to 12 weeks and high levels of expression of different pulmonary epithelial cell-specific mRNAs and proteins (by western blot and Immunohistochemical staining) were observed. In order to determine the mechanism for the increased expression in culture, we established co-cultures of Fischer-344 rat lung opposite C57BL/6 mouse bone marrow cells and, using species-specific primers, determined whether the increased pulmonary epithelial cell-specific mRNA expression at each time point of secondary cytokine-supported culture was rat or mouse-specific. In every instance, the pulmonary epithelial cell-specific mRNA which was detected was mouse-specific, not rat-specific, and thus the long-term expression of lung-specific mRNA in mouse marrow was due to induced transcription by the mouse marrow cells. These data indicate that lung-derived microvesicles induce long-term stable epigenetic changes in marrow cells and suggests that the genetic changes induced by tissue microvesicles in neighboring cells may be biologically important. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Greater Discourse or Higher Superstition: Which Path for Higher Education?

Two books published nearly three decades apart confront higher education with important questions about knowledge, communication, and community—the building blocks of the academy. Higher Superstition defends the traditional logical positivist approach to science from challenges from alternative interpretive schools that are gaining momentum throughout higher education. Academic Discourse focuses on the gap between teaching and learning at the university. Both books draw attention to the elitism and ethnocentrism that segment the academic community and restrict higher education’s contributions to society.
Historical Review of Irreversible Electroporation in Medicine

The objective of this chapter is to present a historical review of the field of irreversible electroporation (IRE) in the context of its medical applications. Although relevant scientific observations were made since the 18th century, the electroporation phenomenon was not identified as an increase of membrane permeability until mid 20th century. After that, multiple applications of reversible electroporation emerged in vitro (DNA electrotransfer) and in vivo (electrogenetherapy and electrochemotherapy). Irreversible electroporation was tested commercially in the 60s as a bactericidal method for liquids and foods but its use in the context of medical applications was not studied until the early 2000s as an ablative method. The cell destruction mechanism of IRE is not based on thermal damage and this fact provides to IRE an important advantage over other physical ablation methods: the extracellular scaffolding, including the vessels, is preserved. Several surgical applications are now under study or even under clinical trial: ablation of hepatocarcinomas, ablation of prostate tumors, treatment of atrial fibrillation and treatment of vascular occurrences such as restenosis and atherosclerotic processes.
Multiple Sclerosis Lesion Segmentation Using Joint Label Fusion.

This paper adapts the joint label fusion (JLF) multi-atlas image segmentation algorithm to the problem of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesion segmentation in multi-modal MRI. Conventionally, JLF requires a set of atlas images to be co-registered to the target image using deformable registration. However, given the variable spatial distribution of lesions in the brain, whole-brain deformable registration is unlikely to line up lesions between atlases and the target image. As a solution, we propose to first pre-segment the target image using an intensity regression based technique, yielding a set of “candidate” lesions. Each “candidate” lesion is then matched to a set of similar lesions in the atlas based on location and size; and deformable registration and JLF are applied at the level of the “candidate” lesion. The approach is evaluated on a dataset of 74 subjects with MS and shown to improve Dice similarity coefficient with reference manual segmentation by 12% over intensity regression technique.
Robust and Safe N-Spacecraft Swarming in Perturbed Near-Circular Orbits

This paper presents a new guidance and control methodology for spacecraft swarms based on relative orbital elements, that generalizes flight-proven techniques used for binary formations to accommod...
One-to-Many Distribution with Transshipments

Designing a one-to-many logistics system with transshipments is a complex task, as one must decide how many terminals will be operated, their location, the routes and schedules of the various vehicle types operated, and the allocation of customers to specific terminals and routes. Daganzo and Newell (1986) shows how the design problem can be reduced to a simpler terminal sizing and location problem, as explained in Sec. 5.2. This reference is also at the core of the design discussion in Secs. 5.3 and 5.5.
A Bayesian Approach to Robust Local Facet Estimation

The facet model for image processing takes the observed pixel values to be a noisy discretized sampling of an underlying gray tone intensity surface that in each neighborhood of the image is simple. To process the image requires the estimation of this simple underlying gray tone intensity surface in each neighborhood of the image. Prewitt (1970), Haralick and Watson (1981), and Haralick (1980, 1982, 1983, 1984) all use a least squares estimation procedure. In this note we discuss a Bayesian approach to this estimation problem. The method makes full use of prior probabilities. In addition, it is robust in the sense that it is less sensitive to small numbers of pixel values that might deviate highly from the character of the other pixels in the neighborhood.
Hypophosphatemia Regulates Molecular Mechanisms of Circadian Rhythm

Transcriptomic analysis showed that the central circadian pathway genes had significantly altered expression in fracture calluses from mice fed a low phosphate diet. This led us to hypothesize that phosphate deficiency altered the circadian cycle in peripheral tissues. Analysis of the expression of the central clock genes over a 24–36 hour period in multiple peripheral tissues including fracture callus, proximal tibia growth plate and cardiac tissues after 12 days on a low phosphate diet showed higher levels of gene expression in the hypophosphatemia groups (p < 0.001) and a 3 to 6 hour elongation of the circadian cycle. A comparative analysis of the callus tissue transcriptome genes that were differentially regulated by hypophosphatemia with published data for the genes in bone that are diurnally regulated identified 1879 genes with overlapping differential regulation, which were shown by ontology assessment to be associated with oxidative metabolism and apoptosis. Network analysis of the central circadian pathway genes linked their expression to the up regulated expression of the histone methyltransferase gene EZH2, a gene that when mutated in both humans and mice controls overall skeletal growth. These data suggest that phosphate is an essential metabolite that controls circadian function in both skeletal and non skeletal peripheral tissues and associates its levels with the overall oxidative metabolism and skeletal growth of animals.
Collection and Preservation of Terrestrial Arthropods

Arthropods comprise an amazingly diverse group of life forms that are extensively studied in almost every field of the biological sciences. Given that the vast majority of animals are arthropods (primarily insects, arachnids, and crustaceans), knowledge of the specific methods to collect and preserves these organisms for scientific purposes can be indispensable. The application of this research can play major roles in fundamental aspects of human society, including agriculture and medicine. With something on the order of 5-10 million or more arthropod species in existence, it is a challenge for any biologist to attempt to assess and document biodiversity, but many of us find ourselves in a position to either perform this task, or assist others in doing so. It is therefore of utmost importance that proper collection and preservation techniques are used for arthropods which are then made available to scientists for diverse fields of research. The actual practical details of collection and preservation are nearly as diverse as the organisms themselves, so we can only attempt to give basic guidelines here, discussing equipment, trapping techniques, preservation methods, and documentation methods necessary for scientists inexperienced in arthropod collecting to preserve research-quality specimens.
An integrated simulation framework for examining resiliency in pharmaceutical supply chains considering human behaviors

The growing epidemic of drug shortages in the United States causes challenges for providers all across the critical health care infrastructure and demonstrates the lack of resiliency within drug delivery supply chains. With many drugs having no acceptable substitute, drug shortages directly translate to a public health and safety risk. One of the understudied elements driving this crisis is the role of human behavior and human decision making across the supply chain echelons. We propose an integrated simulation framework which allows for instantiating, testing, and improving supply chains when accounting for human components of the system. We demonstrate the potential insights that can be obtained with our method through several experiments in which supply chain decision makers account for how others might react to their decisions.
Approaches and Methods to Measure Oxidative Stress in Clinical Samples: Research Applications in the Cancer Field

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are common by-products of normal aerobic cellular metabolism and play important physiological roles in intracellular cell signaling and homeostasis. The human body is equipped with antioxidant systems to regulate the levels of these free radicals and maintain proper physiological function. However, a condition known as oxidative stress (OS) occurs, when ROS overwhelm the body's ability to readily detoxify them. Excessive amounts of free radicals generated under OS conditions cause oxidative damage to proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, severely compromising cell health and contributing to disease development, including cancer. Biomarkers of OS can therefore be exploited as important tools in the assessment of disease status in humans. In the present review, we discuss different approaches used for the evaluation of OS in clinical samples. The described methods are limited in their ability to reflect on OS only partially, revealing the need of more integrative approaches examining both pro- and antioxidant reactions with higher sensitivity to physiological/pathological alternations. We also provide an overview of recent findings of OS in patients with different types of cancer. Identification of OS biomarkers in clinical samples of cancer patients and defining their roles in carcinogenesis hold great promise in promoting the development of targeted therapeutic approaches and diagnostic strategies assessing disease status. However, considerable data variability across laboratories makes it difficult to draw general conclusions on the significance of these OS biomarkers. To our knowledge, no adequate comparison has yet been performed between different biomarkers and the methodologies used to measure them, making it difficult to conduct a meta-analysis of findings from different groups. A critical evaluation and adaptation of proposed methodologies available in the literature should therefore be undertaken, to enable the investigators to choose the most suitable procedure for each chosen biomarker.
Medication for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder

Long-term medication treatment has been demonstrated to be the most effective treatment for opioid use disorder. This chapter covers the treatment of opioid withdrawal and the use of methadone, buprenorphine, and extended-release naltrexone, the three medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for long-term treatment of this condition. It includes an overview of the pharmacology of each medication, specific criteria for patient selection, and guidelines for clinical use of the medications. Other topics covered include federal methadone regulations, procedures for obtaining the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) waiver to prescribe buprenorphine, criteria for an appropriate medication diversion control plan, care for pregnant women, patients with co-occurring psychiatric disorders, and the management of acute pain in patients on addiction pharmacotherapy. Guidance is provided for integrating medication into a comprehensive addiction recovery program that includes medical and psychiatric care, addiction counseling, and participation in mutual support programs. Addiction pharmacotherapy is presented as the most critical element in the successful management of an opioid use disorder.
Spinal Cord Injury

Caring for a patient with a spinal cord injury (SCI) presents unique challenges in the perioperative period. Chronic complications of SCI and dysfunction often result in need for urologic, orthopedic, and plastic surgical interventions. Moreover, atypical presentations of acute conditions below the level of lesion may lead to need for urgent or emergency surgery requiring perioperative management (Petsas et al., BJA Education, 2015). In addition, SCI causes changes in physiology that can predispose to perioperative complications. In addition, the increasing percentage of SCI in the elderly (age over 60) has resulted in a population of SCI patients with several preexisting comorbid major medical conditions that require management in the perioperative period.
Improved Breastfeeding Outcomes Following an On-site Support Intervention in an Academic Family Medicine Center

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Despite the importance of breastfeeding, most US women do not meet recommendations for length of any or exclusive breastfeeding. Support in primary care settings is recommended (US Preventive Services Task Force, 2016), but optimal implementation strategies are not established. We evaluated the effect on breastfeeding rates of on-site breastfeeding support within an academic family medicine center with a diverse patient population. METHODS We conducted a retrospective chart review 10 months before and 10 months following the implementation of integrated breastfeeding support provided by an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) or MD-IBCLC. Two hundred eighty-one infants were identified, 140 before implementation and 141 after. A research assistant extracted data from the electronic medical record. We performed bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses using STATA. RESULTS There were no significant demographic differences before and after the intervention. The proportion of infants with any breastfeeding at 2, 4, and 6 months was greater in the postimplementation group (71.7% vs 86.7% at 2 months, P=.05; 61.5% vs 77.1% at 4 months, P=.08; and 50.7% vs 64.4%, P=.09 at 6 months). The proportion of infants exclusively breastfed was also greater in the postimplementation group (58.7% vs 77.8% at 2 months, P=.04; 50.5% vs. 54.2% at 4 months, P=.06; and 44.0% vs 49.3% at 6 months, P=.12). CONCLUSIONS Providing on-site IBCLC breastfeeding support services within an academic family medicine clinic is associated with significant increases in breastfeeding, supporting the provision of lactation services on-site where mothers and children receive primary care.
Updated Perspectives and Hypotheses on the Mineralogy of Lower Mt. Sharp, Mars, as seen from Orbit

Previous studies have shown that Mt. Sharp has stratigraphic variation in mineralogy that may record a global transition from a climate more conducive to clay mineral formation to one marked by inc...
New-Onset Abnormal Vocalizations in an Adult Woman With Down Syndrome.

Abstract The case of a 32-year-old woman with Down syndrome (DS) with new-onset abnormal vocalizations as a manifestation of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is described highlighting the clinical features, differential diagnosis, work-up, results, and treatment course. A broad differential diagnosis, including the contribution of common medical co-morbidities, should be considered in patients with DS and other neurodevelopmental disorders presenting with new-onset abnormal vocalizations. This is especially important for patients with impaired communicative and cognitive ability that may have difficulty describing physical pain and/or emotional distress.
Cluster Randomized Trial of a College Health Center Sexual Violence Intervention.

Introduction Sexual violence, particularly in the context of drinking, is prevalent on college campuses. This study tested a brief intervention to prevent sexual violence among students receiving care from college health centers. Study design This study was a two-arm, unblinded cluster RCT. Setting/participants On 28 campuses with health/counseling centers (1:1 randomization allocation; 12 intervention and 16 control), from September 2015 to March 2018, a total of 2,291 students seeking care at college health centers completed surveys before the appointment, immediately after, 4 months later, and 12 months later. Intervention Intervention college health center staff received training on delivering sexual violence education to all students seeking care. Control sites provided information about drinking responsibly. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was students’ change in recognition of sexual violence. Additional outcomes included sexual violence disclosure and use of services among students with a history of sexual violence at baseline. Generalized linear mixed models accounting for campus-level clustering assessed intervention effects. Data were analyzed from September 2018 to June 2019. Results Half (55%) of students seeking care at college health centers reported any history of sexual violence exposure. No between-group differences in primary (β=0.001, 95% CI= −0.04, 0.04) or secondary outcomes emerged between intervention and control students. Post-hoc analyses adjusting for the intensity of intervention delivery (intensity-adjusted) revealed an increase in self-efficacy to use harm reduction strategies (β=0.09, 95% CI=0.01, 0.18) among intervention participants. Among those who reported sexual violence at baseline, intervention students had increased odds of disclosing violence during the visit (AOR=4.47, 95% CI=2.25, 8.89) in intensity-adjusted analyses compared with control. No between-group differences emerged for remaining outcomes. Conclusions Sexual violence exposure is high among students seeking care in college health centers. A brief provider-delivered sexual violence intervention, when implemented with fidelity, was associated with improved self-efficacy to use harm reduction and increased disclosure of sexual violence during clinical encounters but no increased use of services. More interventions that are stronger in intensity are needed to connect students to sexual violence services. Trial registration This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT02355470.
Postoperative vasoactive inotropic score is predictive of outcomes in pediatric heart transplantation.

Vasoactive inotrope score (VIS) is scarcely studied in pediatric orthotopic heart transplantation (pOHT). We conducted a retrospective review of pOHT ( 10) and low (≤10). In our group (n = 104), patients with high max and mean VIS groups at 0-24 and 24-48 hours had longer bypass times (high: >130 minutes; low: 215 minutes; low: 0.8 for primary graft dysfunction (PGD).
A systematic review of remote telehealth assessments for early signs of autism spectrum disorder: Video and mobile applications

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts an individual's developmental trajectory across several domains, supporting the importance of early detection and identification, which is ultimately the first step toward treatment planning Children should be exposed to an ASD screening at 18 and 24 months of age, but such services are not always available across demographic groups or accessible to underserved communities Screenings can be especially limited in circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic or other situations dictating that people stay at home Thus, it is important to expand the accessibility of assessment services that can provide accurate identification of ASD in young children through the use of technology such as video or mobile application platforms This systematic review aimed to summarize the state of the literature as it relates to accessible telehealth assessments and screening tools for infants and toddlers suspected to have ASD in remote populations Seven studies that utilized video or mobile applications to assess young children in underserved communities were found, including individuals within their first 3 years of life Although some positive results were found regarding effectiveness, there is a need for more sustainable research for this age group, especially for those with limited access to services (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement Clinical Impact Statement-This systematic review aimed to understand the current video- and mobile application-based assessments that have been used to assess infants and toddlers in remote areas who are suspected to have autism spectrum disorder Findings suggest that there are a limited number of studies that utilize telehealth platforms in underserved communities The seven studies found did reveal effectiveness of these telehealth assessment tools, but there is still a strong need for more research in this area (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)
Correlation between FDG PET for neuronal function and 11C-UCB-J PET for synaptic density using SUV ratios with cerebellum reference in Alzheimer’s disease

422 Objectives: 11C-UCB-J is a specific PET ligand for synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) and has been proposed as a biomarker for synaptic density (1-3). Previously, we found significant reduction (~ 40%) of hippocampal SV2A binding in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) compared to age-matched cognitively normal (CN) participants (4). We also found an overall good correlation between synaptic density measured by 11C-UCB-J PET and neuronal function measured by FDG PET in the hippocampus and susceptible brain regions in the same AD and CN participants. Here we explore the use of the simplified quantitative method of SUV ratio (SUVR) to cerebellum reference for 11C-UCB-J in correlation with SUVR of FDG. Methods: Nine AD and 8 CN participants were enrolled for both 11C-UCB-J and FDG PET scans on the HRRT. AD participants were all confirmed Aβ+ by 11C-PiB and spanned the disease stages from amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n=4) to mild dementia (n=5). CN participants were all confirmed Aβ-. SUV images (60-90 min) were generated for both 11C-UCB-J and FDG PET. Multiple ROIs were taken using both AAL and FreeSurfer (FS) templates from individual MR images: hippocampus, caudate, putamen, thalamus, entorhinal, anterior and posterior cingulate, and frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital cortices. Regional SUVRs were calculated with the cerebellum (CB) as reference region. Separate comparisons of regional SUVRs for 11C-UCB-J and FDG between AD and CN groups were performed with two-tailed, unpaired t-test with P Results: There was an excellent correlation between SUVs from FS and AAL templates in most cortical regions for both 11C-UCB-J and FDG (R=0.96-0.99), with the SUVs from FS segmented ROIs being higher than SUVs from AAL for both tracers. Using FS ROIs with CB reference, we found significant reduction of 11C-UCB-J SUVR in the hippocampus of AD compared to CN (16.0%, P 0.5 with P 0.05). The correlation values between 11C-UCB-J and FDG were larger than our previous findings using centrum semiovale white matter as reference. Conclusions: We demonstrated significant reduction of 11C-UCB-J SUVRs in the hippocampus, thalamus and posterior cingulate of AD participants. The simplified SUVRs for 11C-UCB-J PET with no arterial blood sampling could provide a reliable alternative for large scale clinical trials in AD. There was an overall better correlation between 11C-UCB-J and FDG using SUVRs with the same CB reference region, which could be due to lower noise from a larger reference region or artifactual correlation by using the same region. Further exploration in other projecting brain regions with partial volume correction in a large scale cohort study is needed to better elucidate these relationships and their significance in AD pathophysiology. Funding: The Dana Foundation, NIH P50AG047270, R01AG52560