cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Overweight women and management of asthma.

Purpose We sought to describe clinical and psychosocial characteristics of overweight women with asthma. Methods Telephone interview and medical record review involving 808 women with asthma participating in a randomized study to identify those who were overweight. We assessed the relationship of their weight to asthma symptoms, health care use, quality of life, self-esteem, need for social support, and demographic characteristics. Regression analyses were used to investigate relationships between overweight and asthma. Findings Sixty-eight percent of the women in the study were overweight or obese. Demographic characteristics associated with overweight in women with asthma included being minority ( p = .000), having a lower education level ( p = .000), and a lower household income ( p = .024). Overweight was associated with greater health care use, comorbidities (acid reflux, urinary incontinence), and persistent disease ( p = .001). Overweight women exhibited lower self-esteem ( p = .002) and lower perceived quality of life ( p = .000). Conclusion Overweight females with asthma experience significant challenges because of their weight, more persistent and severe disease, specific comorbidities, and lower rates of obtaining psychosocial resources. Clinical consultations and interventions should account for the influence of overweight on asthma control and health status in female patients.
Synergistic Activation of G Protein–Gated Inwardly Rectifying Potassium Channels by the βγ Subunits of G Proteins and Na+ and Mg2+ Ions

Native and recombinant G protein–gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels are directly activated by the βγ subunits of GTP-binding (G) proteins. The presence of phosphatidylinositol-bis-phosphate (PIP2) is required for G protein activation. Formation (via hydrolysis of ATP) of endogenous PIP2 or application of exogenous PIP2 increases the mean open time of GIRK channels and sensitizes them to gating by internal Na+ ions. In the present study, we show that the activity of ATP- or PIP2-modified channels could also be stimulated by intracellular Mg2+ ions. In addition, Mg2+ ions reduced the single-channel conductance of GIRK channels, independently of their gating ability. Both Na+ and Mg2+ ions exert their gating effects independently of each other or of the activation by the Gβγ subunits. At high levels of PIP2, synergistic interactions among Na+, Mg2+, and Gβγ subunits resulted in severalfold stimulated levels of channel activity. Changes in ionic concentrations and/or G protein subunits in the local environment of these K+ channels could provide a rapid amplification mechanism for generation of graded activity, thereby adjusting the level of excitability of the cells.
Preoperative evaluation of the lung cancer resection candidate

Anatomical lung resection offers the best chance of cure for patients with localized lung cancer. Many people who have lung cancer have additional comorbidities, including other lung problems. Lung resection will affect our patient’s pulmonary function. When evaluating patients for lung resection we use measures of pulmonary function, predictions of postoperative lung function and measures of exercise capacity to determine their short- and long-term risks from resection. This article attempts to relate the evidence that is available regarding the physiologic evaluation of lung-resection candidates to guidelines that have been developed to help us coordinate our assessment. Testing algorithms are provided from these guidelines. In addition, perioperative considerations and alternative surgical approaches are discussed.
Assimilated inversion of NOx emissions over east Asia using OMI NO2 column measurements

[1] Assimilated inversion on a daily basis using OMI tropospheric NO2 columns is developed and applied in a regional chemical transport model (REAM) to constrain fossil fuel (FF) NOx emissions over east Asia in 2007. The iterative nature of the assimilated inversion improves upon the widely used monthly-mean inversion by accounting for the chemical feedbacks of changed NOx emissions and reducing the dependence of the a priori emissions. The assimilated a posteriori emissions from FF combustion over east Asia are 9.5 Tg N/yr comparable to 10.9 Tg N/yr of the a priori. Significant changes in the spatial distribution of FF NOx emissions are found in the assimilated inversion from the a priori or monthly-mean inversion. The assimilated inversion shows that the a priori FF NOx emission inventory tends to overestimate the emissions over the economically developed areas and underestimate over the underdeveloped areas in East China, which may reflect in part FF NOx emission reductions resulting from the urban-centric air quality controls in China.
Molecular profiling indicates orthotopic xenograft of glioma cell lines simulate a subclass of human glioblastoma.

Cell line models have been widely used to investigate glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) pathobiology and in the development of targeted therapies. However, GBM tumours are molecularly heterogeneous and how cell lines can best model that diversity is unknown. In this report, we investigated gene expression profiles of three preclinical growth models of glioma cell lines, in vitro and in vivo as subcutaneous and intracerebral xenografts to examine which cell line model most resembles the clinical samples. Whole genome DNA microarrays were used to profile gene expression in a collection of 25 high-grade glioblastomas, and comparisons were made to profiles of cell lines under three different growth models. Hierarchical clustering revealed three molecular subtypes of the glioblastoma patient samples. Supervised learning algorithm, trained on glioma subtypes predicted the intracerebral cell line model with one glioma subtype (r = 0.68; 95% bootstrap CI –0.41, 0.46). Survival analysis of enriched gene sets (P < 0.05) revealed 19 biological categories (146 genes) belonging to neuronal, signal transduction, apoptosis- and glutamate-mediated neurotransmitter activation signals that are associated with poor prognosis in this glioma subclass. We validated the expression profiles of these gene categories in an independent cohort of patients from ‘The Cancer Genome Atlas’ project (r = 0.62, 95% bootstrap CI: –0.42, 0.43). We then used these data to select and inhibit a novel target (glutamate receptor) and showed that LY341595, a glutamate receptor specific antagonist, could prolong survival in intracerebral tumour-implanted mice in combination with irradiation, providing an in vivo cell line system of preclinical studies.
Sudden oak death disease progression across two forest types and spatial scales

Questions How is sudden oak death disease progression affected by forest type? Which specific factors influence mortality rates and patterns? How do these trends vary across spatial scales? Location Point Reyes National Seashore, California, USA. Methods Sudden oak death, caused by the exotic pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, is affecting forests throughout coastal California. We investigated disease progression in tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus syn. Lithocarpus densiflorus), the most susceptible species, in two distinct forest types: coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii). Within each forest type, we used a variant of a split-plot design to sample proximate areas at two different stages of disease progression (relatively unaffected vs severely impacted), and used generalized linear mixed effects models to analyse these data. Results Annual mortality rates were much higher in Douglas-fir (10.1–26.2%) than in redwood (3.2–8.2%) forest, and data suggested that similarly divergent rates will continue into the future (proportions of surviving trees with disease symptoms remained constant from the beginning to the end of the study period). Across both forest types, survival probabilities were lower for tanoaks with larger diameters and tanoaks in plots (1/20 ha) and neighbourhoods (3-m radius) with greater basal area of previously killed tanoak. All variables were significant when included in the same model, suggesting that disease spread is occurring simultaneously at two local spatial scales. Several other biotic and abiotic variables were unrelated to tanoak survival probability. Conclusions We detected mortality rates that exceed any rates previously associated with sudden oak death, while demonstrating that these rates can vary substantially between adjacent forest types. However, because the Douglas-fir forests of our study area are adjacent to the ocean, which is somewhat uncommon for this forest type, our findings do not necessarily indicate that all Douglas-fir forests with a substantial tanoak component are at risk of similar impacts. Our data also suggest that, in both forest types, local patchiness in disease presence/severity is an ephemeral condition resulting primarily from stochastic processes (e.g. long-distance dispersal events), while intra-plot spread around infected trees is deterministic and probably inevitable. Our findings should inform scientists and managers throughout the world attempting to understand disease progression in regions recently invaded by P. ramorum (e.g. Europe) and/or affected by other exotic forest pathogens.
Nystagmus in Infancy and Childhood: Characteristics and Evidence for Treatment

Purpose: To discuss the common characteristics of infants and children with nystagmus and review treatments and their evidence. Methods: The NEI-sponsored classification of eye movement abnormalities and strabismus and a PubMed search for papers from 1995 through 2005 on interventions for Infantile Nystagmus Syndrome (INS) are reviewed. Results: The review of treatments revealed 18 papers on surgical or pharmacological interventions and six papers describing other interventions. There is only one randomized controlled trial, with all the other studies being uncontrolled trials/case series. Conclusions: Previous science and studies on interventions for nystagmus in infancy and childhood have laid an important foundation for future work in this field, which should include a randomized clinical trial.
Fibulin-5 initiates epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and enhances EMT induced by TGF-β in mammary epithelial cells via a MMP-dependent mechanism

Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a normal physiological process that regulates tissue development, remodeling and repair; however, aberrant EMT also elicits disease development in humans, including lung fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer cell metastasis. Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is a master regulator of EMT in normal mammary epithelial cells (MECs), wherein this pleiotropic cytokine also functions as a potent suppressor of mammary tumorigenesis. In contrast, malignant MECs typically evolve resistance to TGF-β-mediated cytostasis and develop the ability to proliferate, invade and metastasize when stimulated by TGF-β. It therefore stands to reason that establishing how TGF-β promotes EMT may offer new insights into targeting the oncogenic activities of TGF-β in human breast cancers. By monitoring alterations in the actin cytoskeleton and various markers of EMT, we show here that the TGF-β gene target, fibulin-5 (FBLN5), initiates EMT and enhances that induced by TGF-β. Whereas normal MECs contain few FBLN5 transcripts, those induced to undergo EMT by TGF-β show significant upregulation of FBLN5 messenger RNA, suggesting that EMT and the dedifferentiation of MECs override the repression of FBLN5 expression in polarized MECs. We also show that FBLN5 stimulated matrix metalloproteinase expression and activity, leading to MEC invasion and EMT, to elevated Twist expression and to reduced E-cadherin expression. Finally, FBLN5 promoted anchorage-independent growth in normal and malignant MECs, as well as enhanced the growth of 4T1 tumors in mice. Taken together, these findings identify a novel EMT and tumor-promoting function for FBLN5 in developing and progressing breast cancers.
Comparison of five radiographic views for assessment of the medial aspect of the humeral condyle in dogs with osteochondritis dissecans

Objective—To compare 5 radiographic views for the detection of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) in dogs with signs of elbow joint pain. Animals—53 dogs (100 elbow joints) with forelimb lameness and signs of elbow joint pain. Procedures—Mediolateral (ML), flexed ML, craniocaudal (CC), craniolateral-caudomedial oblique (Cr15L-CdMO), and distomedial-proximolateral oblique (Di35M-PrLO) radiographic views of the 100 elbow joints were obtained. Four examiners graded radiographs with regard to elbow joint OCD. Joints were assessed by use of arthroscopy. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, kappa measure of agreement, and Fisher exact tests for association between median diagnostic value and actual status were computed. Results—47 joints had an abnormal medial aspect of the humeral condyle (MAHC), and among them, 11 had OCD. The presence of fractures of the medial coronoid process was significantly and positively correlated with the presence of abnormalities of the MAHC (r = 0.40), but was negatively co...
Work in progress- rubric for assessing student-led teams: students speak out

This paper reports on a research project that set out to uncover ways in which senior level Organizational Leadership and Supervision (OLS) students measure group behaviors and teamwork dynamics. The research raised such important questions as: What behaviors will the senior OLS students identify as group behaviors? What will the students identify as teamwork behaviors? How will the students measure or assess the effectiveness of these behaviors? In order to answer the aforementioned questions, a focus group of OLS seniors was created and allowed to compile their own list of behaviors deemed necessary to measure teamwork dynamics. Using this list, the students were instructed to develop a rubric to measure teamwork dynamics. The results were then compared to relevant literature, specifically Hoegl and Gemuenden's Teamwork Quality Construct (TWQ) which measures the quality of teamwork collaboration
Debating clean energy: Frames, counter frames, and audiences

In the United States, both scholars and practitioners have repeatedly emphasized the importance of “issue framing” for garnering public support for climate change policy. However, the debate frequently overlooks the importance of counter frames. For every framing attempt by advocates of climate policy, there will be a counter frame by the opponents of climate policy. How do counter frames influence the effectiveness of issue framing as a communication strategy? To answer this question, we report results from a survey experiment on a nationally representative sample of 1000 Americans on clean energy policy, a key policy issue in the public debate on climate change in the United States. Overall, we find that different combinations of positive and negative frames have remarkably little effect on support for clean energy policy. A follow-up on-line survey experiment with a convenience sample of 2000 Americans suggests that the counter frames are responsible for undermining the effects of the original frames.
Regulation of G Protein-Coupled Receptor Function by Na+/H+ Exchange Regulatory Factors

Many G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) exert patterns of cell-specific signaling and function. Mounting evidence now supports the view that cytoplasmic adapter proteins contribute critically to this behavior. Adapter proteins recognize highly conserved motifs such as those for Src homology 3 (SH3), phosphotyrosine-binding (PTB), and postsynaptic density 95/discs-large/zona occludens (PDZ) docking sequences in candidate GPCRs. Here we review the behavior of the Na+/H+ exchange regulatory factor (NHERF) family of PDZ adapter proteins on GPCR signalling, trafficking, and function. Structural determinants of NHERF proteins that allow them to recognize targeted GPCRs are considered. NHERF1 and NHERF2 are capable also of modifying the assembled complex of accessory proteins such as β-arrestins, which have been implicated in regulating GPCR signaling. In addition, NHERF1 and NHERF2 modulate GPCR signaling by altering the G protein to which the receptor binds or affect other regulatory proteins that affect GTPase activity, protein kinase A, phospholipase C, or modify downstream signaling events. Small molecules targeting the site of NHERF1-GPCR interaction are being developed and may become important and selective drug candidates.
Precursors for Vapor Deposition of Blue Phosphors for Electroluminescent Flat Panel Displays

New strontium (host lattice constituent) and cerium (doping element) precursor sources have been developed and evaluated for deposition of blue color emitting SrS:Ce thin films by ALE (Atomic Layer Epitaxy). In the case of strontium, the monomeric derivative [Sr(hfac)2}•triglyme has been synthesized and structurally characterized, whereas, for cerium, the utilization of its homoleptic tris amide derivative Ce{N[Si(CH3)3}2}3 has led to a blue color emitting SrS:Ce. In a further effort, emission characteristics of SrS:Ce doped with the β-diketonate-related Ce(tmhd)4 derivative have been weighed against data obtained employing the cerium tris amide composition.
The Formulation of Protection Standards for Lasers

A variety of problems are associated with any specifications for and use of “safe exposure” levels. Even the phrase “safe exposure” evokes arguments from some quarters, regardless of how conservative the levels may be; hence we shall refer to “safe exposure levels,” “Maximum permissible exposure (MPE)” values, “threshold limit values (TLVs),” and other values used to limit exposure of the skin or eye to laser radiation as protection standards. Unfortunately, not all of the problems of setting such standards have a definitive answer at the present time.
The pneumococcus and some men who came to Yale: the Dorothy M. Horstmann Lecture.

Abstract Yale has been fortunate indeed to have had Dorothy Horstmann as a member of its faculty for all but one of the last 50 years. It has had also the wisdom to take cognizance of her value as an individual and of her contributions to biomedical science and human welfare on two occasions in recent years. Her studies of poliomyelitis, hepatitis, and rubella, executed with perceptiveness, rigor and modesty, have benefited countless numbers; and for her many achievements all are in her debt. I am beholden to her colleagues for this opportunity to pay tribute to a wise and gracious friend. In casting about for a subject befitting this occasion, the thought occurred that it might be of interest to examine the contributions of some former and present members of Yale's faculty to the subject of a group of infections still endemic in all human societies, namely those caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae or the pneumococcus. The list is doubtless not exhaustive but includes such notables as Winternitz, Blake, Paul, Trask, Eaton, and Beeson of former days, as well as reflecting ongoing investigations today by Eugene Shapiro and his colleagues. In reviewing some of this earlier work, it will be my endeavor to place it in the context of contemporary understanding. In the interest of some semblance of order, the material will be examined in topical rather than in chronological order, dealing with bacteriologic and immunologic, pathogenetic, therapeutic, and prophylactic considerations in that sequence.
Hunting the Elusive Young Voter

Abstract It is generally assumed that mobilizing young voters is infeasible. This belief can be broken into two separate questions: (1) Are young people responsive to Get Out The Vote appeals? (2) Is it possible to deliver the message to the intended audience? By pooling together the results of six GOTV field experiments, this paper demonstrates that young voters are equally responsive to blandishments to vote as mature voters, but that they are roughly three times more difficult to contact.
Intervention or exercise?: the answer is yes!

Intermittent claudication is the most common symptomatic form of peripheral artery disease (PAD). The magnitude of the disability from claudication is severe, such that patients report a marked decrease in their quality of life [(1)][1]. Despite vigorous investigative efforts, only 4 treatments
Formation of whey protein–polyphenol meso-structures as a natural means of creating functional particles

Whey proteins provide structure and nutritional properties in food, while berry juices are thought to have biological activity that can impart anti-inflammatory health effects. In combination, the two could be an excellent source of necessary and supplemental nutrients as well as expand the functionality of whey proteins in food structures. The objectives of this investigation were to (1) develop an approach for particle formation between whey protein and cranberry, blackcurrant, or muscadine grape juices, (2) determine resulting particle composition and physical characteristics, and (3) evaluate properties related to food structure stability and maintenance of phytochemical bioactivity. Particles were formed by combining 20% w/w whey protein with juice containing 50, 250, or 500 μg g−1 total phenolics, adjusting pH to 4.5, and centrifuging to collect aggregated particles. Particles had an approximate molar ratio of 9–50 proteins per polyphenol, and the ratio increased with increasing phenolic content of the juice used to create the particles. Particle size ranged from 1–100 μm at pH 4.5, compared to 10 μm particles that formed when whey protein isolate alone was precipitated at pH 4.5. Polyphenols and other juice components, such as acids and sugars appeared to be involved in particle formation. Particles improved foam stability, and the anti-inflammatory properties of entrapped polyphenols were maintained in the particles. Highly functional protein–polyphenol particles can be designed to stabilize food structures and simultaneously deliver polyphenols associated with health benefits.
Regulatory Control and Depression in Adolescents: Findings from Neuroimaging and Neuropsychological Research.

Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide (Mathers & Loncar, 2006; World Health Organization, 2012). Adolescent depression is especially concerning due to its association with significa...
What is a Life Worth

An unpleasant but necessary job of policymakers is to place a value on saving a human life. Because society has limited resources that it can spend on health and safety improvements, it should obtain the greatest benefit for each dollar spent, and ascertaining an appropriate value is necessary to that effort. As one would expect, the correct numerical value to place on a life, typically called the value of a statistical life, or VSL, is a matter of great controversy. Hundreds of analyses using widely varying methodologies have been conducted to determine this value. Despite their differences, most of the studies center on one basic idea: The VSL should roughly correspond to the value that people place on their lives in their private decisions.
The First Report of a Pregnancy in a Patient with Purine Nucleoside Phosphorylase Deficiency.

ABSTRACTBackground: The cause of primary immunodeficiency has expanded to nearly 200 distinct disorders. An improved understanding of these disorders has resulted in decreased morbidity and mortality with reciprocal improved life expectancy. Obstetricians should have knowledge of primary immunodeficiency, as more women with these disorders will reach reproductive age. Case: 21-year-old G1P0 with purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) deficiency delivered a viable infant vaginally at 37 weeks. Although the patient's diagnosis and pregnancy placed her at increased risk for infection, she remained asymptomatic and infection-free throughout pregnancy. Conclusion: The management of pregnancy complicated by PNP deficiency requires strict immune surveillance and regimented immunoglobulin replacement.
Abstract 2887: From fruit extract to structure activity relationship studies: Alpha-mangostin promotes G1 cell cycle arrest in PC3 cells and inhibits tumor formation in athymic nude mice

The angosteen fruit (Garcinia mangostana) is native to southeast Asia and has been receiving increased attention for its health promoting properties that include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anit-microbial and anti-diabetic properties. The principle constituents isolated from the mangosteen fruit are the xanthones with alpha-mangostin being the most abundant. Here we report on the properties of dietary xanthones for cancer chemoprevention using prostate cancer (PCa) as a model disease. In a separate abstract we provide promising results suggesting that a standardized mangosteen fruit extract promotes cell cycle arrest and decreases tumor formation in an athymic nude mouse model. To gain an understanding of the pharmacology of xanthones in cancer inhibition we selected alpha-mangostin as the lead compound and evaluated it against fifty different protein kinases deregulated in cancer in a cell free kinase assay. A kinase that is often deregulated in a variety of cancers including prostate is cyclinD1/CDK4 where alpha-mangostin was found to significantly inhibit the activity. Using two different cells lines (PC3 and CWR22) we have evidence suggesting alpha-mangostin promoted G1 cell cycle arrest by flow cytometry and western blot analysis of cyclins and CDKs with observed effects in the range of 5-10 μM. Further confirmatory studies were performed by western blot analysis. A preliminary pharmacokinetic analysis of mice administered 1 mg of alpha-mangostin intraperitoneally resulted in a plasma concentration of 7.3 μM - within the concentration of in vitro mechanistic studies. Next, using an athymic nude mouse model implanted with CWR22Rv1 cells we randomized mice to receive intraperitoneally the alpha-mangostin (>95%) or placebo two times weekly with tumors measured twice weekly. At the conclusion of the study the treatment group had a significantly smaller tumor with an average tumor volume of (400 mm3) compared to the placebo group (1225 mm3) representing a 69% smaller tumor in the treatment group. Based on these promising results we used purified xanthones from the mangosteen fruit and selected 9 xanthones for structure activity relationship studies against cyclinD1/CDK4 using cell free biochemical assays and molecular modeling. Collectively these data indicate that the purified xanthone alpha-mangostin could be a promising agent for PCa prevention. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2887.
Adaptive beam nulling in multihop ad hoc networks against a jammer in motion

Abstract In multihop ad hoc networks, a jammer can drastically disrupt the flow of information by intentionally interfering with links between a subset of nodes. The impact of such attacks can escalate when the jammer is moving. As a countermeasure for such attacks, adaptive beam-forming techniques can be employed for spatial filtering of the jamming signal. This paper investigates the performance of adaptive beam nulling as a mitigation technique against jamming attacks in multihop ad hoc networks. Considering a moving jammer, a distributed beam nulling framework is proposed. The framework uses periodic measurements of the RF environment to detect direction of arrival (DoA) of jamming signal and suppresses the signals arriving from the current and predicted locations of the jammer. Also, in the calculation of the nulled region, this framework considers and counters the effects of randomness in the mobility of the jammer, as well as errors in beam nulling and DoA measurements. Survivability of links and connectivity in such scenarios are studied by simulating various node distributions and different mobility patterns of the attacker. Also, the impact of errors in the estimation of DoA and beam-forming on the overall network performance is also examined. In comparison with an omnidirectional configuration, results indicate a 57.27% improvement in connectivity under jamming when the proposed framework is applied.
PET/SPECT/MRI Multimodal Nanoparticles

Hybrid imaging is an emerging technology that typically fuses a combination of high-sensitivity, nuclear imaging techniques, such as positron emission tomography (PET) or single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), with high-resolution, anatomical imaging using computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CT was the first partner in hybrid imaging systems and modern interest has focused on development of MRI hybrids. To fully exploit the benefits of hybrid imaging technology, researchers have been investigating the use of radiolabeled and paramagnetic, nanoparticle-based probes to allow simultaneous imaging with PET/SPECT and MRI for a variety of applications including targeted tumor imaging, stem cell tracking, and monitoring of response to therapy. This chapter provides an overview of unique designs for nanoparticle-based SPECT/MRI and PET/MRI probes, and their imaging applications, reported in the period of 2010–2015.
Interventions to Improve Antibiotic Prescribing for Uncomplicated Acute RTIs.

What are the effectiveness and adverse consequences of strategies for reducing antibiotic use in adults and children with uncomplicated acute respiratory tract infections (RTIs)?
Exploring Predictors of Mobile Device Proficiency Among Older Adults

Technology adoption rates of older adults typically lag behind those of their younger counterparts; a digital divide. This is unfortunate because technology has many potential benefits for older people. Among older adults, attitudes and cognitive abilities predict computer and Internet adoption, use, and proficiency. However, an important trend over the past two decades has been the rise of mobile computing (specifically with respect to smartphones and tablet computers). High quality interactions with mobile technology critically depend upon individuals’ technology proficiency, making it important to understand how mobile device proficiency might be anticipated. This paper explored predictors of mobile device proficiency among older adults (65+) using a dataset from a cognitive intervention study that included 60 participants. Measures of computer and mobile device proficiency were obtained. Demographic variables and assessments of reasoning ability, processing speed, and executive control were collected and explored as predictors of mobile device proficiency. Even within this older adult sample, mobile device proficiency was related to age, but contrary to predictions, cognition was not significantly related to mobile device proficiency; the strongest predictor of mobile device proficiency was computer proficiency. This implies some transfer of proficiency from one technology platform to another. These results have implications for predicting quality technology interactions given the link between interaction quality and technology proficiency.
BIOHACKING GENDER: cyborgs, coloniality, and the pharmacopornographic era

This essay explores how, for many minoritized peoples, cyborg ontology is experienced as dehumanizing rather than posthumanizing. Rereading Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto through a decolonial, transfeminist lens, it explores the implications of Haraway’s assertion that cyborg subjectivity is the “illegitimate offspring of militarism and patriarchal capitalism” by examining the modern/colonial development and deployment of microprosthetic hormonal technologies – so often heralded as one of the technologies ushering in a queer, posthuman, post-gender future – as mechanisms of gendered and racialized subjective control operative at the level of the biomolecular.
Metabolism of Cyclic GMP in Vascular Smooth Muscle, Leukocytes, and Lung

There are obvious historical reasons for the fact that our understanding of cyclic GMP metabolism in 1974 is far more limited than that relating to cyclic AMP. Over the almost 20 years that cyclic AMP has been known, the methodology has been consistently improved and refined whereas experience in the extraction, purification and measurement of cyclic GMP from tissues is much less extensive. The radioimmunoassay of Steiner et al. (1) with its sensitivity and specificity is obviously an extremely powerful tool. Nevertheless, perhaps in large part because of the low cyclic GMP content of most mammalian cells, there are often technical problems encountered in attempting to apply the assay successfully with tissue extracts (2, 3). In our laboratory it has been invariably necessary to purify cyclic GMP samples before assay, and to modify the purification procedures depending on the system studied.
A novel technique to construct a neo-scrotum out of preputial skin for agenesis and underdeveloped scrotum.

Summary Introduction Congenital scrotal agenesis (CSA) is an extremely rare condition with fewer than 10 cases reported in the literature. These patients are often further complicated by undescended testicles as well as systemic developmental disorders. Herein, we report our experience and an innovative surgical technique for creation of a neo-scrotum in three children. Materials and methods We evaluated the records of three children in our database who were labeled as having an absent (1 patient) or severely underdeveloped scrotum (2 patients). Patients were aged 6, 14, and 16 months. All patients were uncircumcised, and the decision was made to create a neo-scrotum using the foreskin. The prepuce was harvested on a pedicle of dartos and transposed over the perineal cleft to create a neo-scrotal pouch. The flap was allowed to heal for 12–14 weeks, at which time the orchidopexy was performed. Results The follow-up to the surgery was 5 years, 3 years, and 6 months, respectively. There were no instances of flap necrosis, dehiscence, or wound infection. The three children had a capacious, aesthetically pleasing scrotal sac, which in all cases accommodated both testicles. Conclusion In our experience, a well-vascularized preputial skin flap rotated to the perineum based on its ventral dartos pedicle provides an excellent source of tissue for creation of a neo-scrotum. We believe that the esthetic outcome of our technique rivals that of other reported techniques.
Diagnosing NFS errors: Preliminary Findings from a Syslog Analysis of Bridges

Bridges is the current main system at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center. Given the complexity of the system and the volume of its use, it is a very good environment for exploring the potential of machine learning techniques in studying sub-optimal performance. This short report discusses preliminary and ongoing work of a new graduate student exploring this novel realm. Our initial focus has been on learning to predict the occurrence of NFS time out errors from preceding syslog messages.
How Many Tanks

During World War ll, Allied intelligence reports on German production of tanks and other war materials varied widely and were somewhat contradictory. Statisticians set to work on improving the estimates. In 1943 the developed a method that used the information contained in the serial number stamped on captured equipment. One particularly successful venture was the estimation of the number of Make V tanks, whose serial numbers, they discovered, were consevutive.That is, the tanks were numbered in a manner equivalent to 1,2,3,..., N.Capturing a tank was like randomly drawing a ran dom integer from this sequence.
Sporophytic Screening and Gametophytic Verification of Phytotoxin Tolerance in Sugarbeet ( Beta vulgaris L. )

The rationale for developing crop cultivars that can tolerate phytotoxic agents such as herbicides has been discussed at length. Perhaps, the most convincing argument for such development is that, with traditional methods, the cost of developing a new crop cultivar is only 1 to 5% of the developmental cost of a new herbicide (Faulkner, 1982). However, selection for herbicide resistance or tolerance in the field by traditional breeding techniques is very time (years) and labor-intensive and, at best, very inexact. Low frequency of resistant individuals, low heritability of tolerance, escapes — all associated with high environmental variability — account for severely limited progress.
Determination of the Best Mean Contents for A "Canning Problem"

This paper deals with a canning problem. Consider the contents of a can to be a normally distributed random variable with a known variance and a mean that is set by the canner. An overfilled can is sold in the regular market for a fixed price; an underw..
Fundamental Concepts in Combinatorial Geometry

Two of the main subjects studied in combinatorial geometry and therefore in this book are finite sets of points and finite sets of hyperplanes. Not all questions about finite sets of points or hyperplanes are combinatorial, though, and one has to keep in mind that a strict classification into combinatorial and non-combinatorial problems is neither reasonable nor desirable. Nevertheless, there are a few characteristics that identify a problem as combinatorial. For example, a typical combinatorial question that can be asked about a set P of n points in d-dimensional Euclidean space E d is the following: “How many partitions of P into two subsets can be defined by hyperplanes?” If H is a set of n hyperplanes in the same space, then it is a combinatorial question if one asks “What is the number of cells the space is cut into by the hyperplanes in H?” We will investigate both problems and many related ones in this chapter and, more generally, in this book.
Intestinal helminthes infestation in pregnancy: a case report and literature review.

Background Pregnancy and parasitic infection are globally prevalent conditions that frequently coexist. Most pregnant patients with intestinal parasitic infections may be managed without antiparasitic chemotherapy. Case Shortly after a visit to her nation of origin, a 22-year-old native of Ethiopia presented during her first trimester with gastrointestinal complaints and worms in her stool, which were identified as Taenia. Microscopic examination of her stool also demonstrated Strongyloides stercoralis larvae, likely the residue of an infection that had occurred several years prior to her presentation. She was treated with appropriate antihelmenthic agents, and her subsequent prenatal course has been uncomplicated. Conclusion The ability of Strongyloides to sustain an intestinal infection through autoinvasion and to cause serious disease (hyperinfection syndrome) among certain hosts makes it unique among intestinal helminths. In this case, the patient was treated to manage her symptoms and prevent subsequent Strongyloides hyperinfection.
Glycemic Control of People With Type 1 Diabetes Based on Probabilistic Constraints

The objective of the paper is to develop an open loop insulin infusion profile, which is capable of controlling the blood glucose level of people with Type 1 diabetes in the presence of broad uncertainties such as inter-patient variability and unknown meal quantity. For illustrative purposes, the Bergman model in conjunction with a gut-dynamics model is chosen to represent the human glucose-insulin dynamics. A recently developed sampling based uncertainty quantification approach is used to determine the statistics (mean and variance) of the evolving states in the model. These statistics are utilized to define chance constraints in an optimization framework. The solution obtained shows that under the assumptions made on the distribution of the model parameters, all possible glucose trajectories over time satisfy the desired glycemic control goals. The solution is also validated on the FDA approved Type 1 Diabetes Metabolic Simulator suggesting that the proposed algorithm is highly suitable for human subjects.
Using a data science approach to predict cocaine use frequency from depressive symptoms.

Abstract Background Depressive symptoms may contribute to cocaine use. However, tests of the relationship between depression and severity of cocaine use have produced mixed results, possibly due to heterogeneity in individual symptoms of depression. Our goal was to establish which symptoms of depression are most strongly related to frequency of cocaine use (one aspect of severity) in a large sample of current cocaine users. We utilized generalized additive modeling to provide data-driven exploration of the relationships between depressive symptoms and cocaine use, including examination of non-linearity. We hypothesized that symptoms related to anhedonia would demonstrate the strongest relationship to cocaine use. Method 772 individuals screened for cocaine use disorder treatment studies. To measure depressive symptoms, we used the items of the Beck Depression Inventory, 2nd Edition. Cocaine use frequency was measured as proportion of self-reported days of cocaine use over the last 30 days using the Addiction Severity Index. Results Models identified 18 significant predictors of past-30-day cocaine use. The strongest predictors were Crying, Pessimism, Changes in Appetite, Indecisiveness, and Loss of Interest. Noteworthy effect sizes were found for specific response options on Suicidal Thoughts, Worthlessness, Agitation, Concentration Difficulty, Tiredness, and Self Dislike items. Conclusions The strongest predictors did not conform to previously hypothesized “subtypes” of depression. Non-linear relationships between items and use were typical, suggesting BDI-II items may not be monotonically increasing ordinal measures with respect to predicting cocaine use. Qualitative analysis of strongly predictive response options suggested emotional volatility and disregard for the future as important predictors of use.
Reading the Genotext in Harryette Mullen’s Muse & Drudge: “Sapphire’s lyre styles…”

In her early work on Modernist poetry and avant-garde poetics, Julia Kristeva proposed a bifurcated view of the poetic text as simultaneously constituted by both a “genotext” and a “phenotext.” Reading the “genotext” of any given poem might start by “pointing out the transfers of drive energy that can be detected in phonematic devices (such as the accumulation and repetition of phonemes or rhyme) and melodic devices (such as intonation or rhythm)”; and, in her words, it would also need to take into consideration “the way semantic and categorial fields are set out in syntactic and logical features.” This essay seeks to demonstrate how Harryette Mullen’s Muse & Drudge might be analyzed at the level of its genotext, taking (arbitrarily) as its primary example the first of the book’s eighty poems to illustrate how a straightforwardly genotextual analysis might proceed. The essay contends that, by closely observing the genotext of Mullen’s poetry in Muse & Drudge , one may eventually arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the “polyvocal” and “polymorphous” nature of the language and poetic design of the poems in this enigmatic collection.
THE FORDYCE MITCHEL COLLECTION AT THE YALE UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY – PART II

In 2018, the Numismatics department at the Yale University Art Gallery received a donated collection of 223 bronze and silver coins, broadly from the Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. The collection was assembled in the 1950s and 1960s by Professor Fordyce W. Mitchel, a Yale alumnus, and was donated by his three children, Fordyce, Henry, and Magdalen. Prof. Mitchel received numismatic tutelage from the renowned numismatist Alfred R. Bellinger, who at the time served as de-facto curator for the Yale numismatic collection. This article serves to document and highlight the body of material in order to make its existence known to the wider academic community. A catalogue of the coins is included In 2018, the Numismatics department at the Yale University Art Gallery received a donated collection of 223 bronze and silver coins, broadly from the Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. The collection was assembled in the 1950s and 1960s by Professor Fordyce W. Mitchel, a Yale alumnus, and was donated by his three children, Fordyce, Henry, and Magdalen. Prof. Mitchel received numismatic tutelage from the renowned numismatist Alfred R. Bellinger, who at the time served as de-facto curator for the Yale numismatic collection. This article serves to document and highlight the body of material in order to make its existence known to the wider academic community. A catalogue of the coins is included and images of the coins are freely available online on the Yale University Art Gallery website. and images of the coins are freely available online on the Yale University Art Gallery website.
Patient perspectives of high-quality care on the liver transplant waiting list: a qualitative study

The prevalence of advanced liver disease and listing for liver transplantation is increasing. Prior assessments of quality of care neither incorporate nor emphasize the patient perspective on quality of care, which may impact clinical outcomes. Our aim was to identify patients' perceptions on what constitutes high quality of care, comparing the findings to existing frameworks and assessments to determine if a patient-derived tool assessing quality of care could facilitate efforts to improve health care. We conducted semistructured interviews of patients wait-listed for liver transplantation, asking patients to describe the quality of their health care with a specific focus on how coordination, communication, office visits, hospitalizations, and cost affect their perceptions of the quality of their care. Data collection conducted concurrently with analyses determined emerging themes and saturation. Themes were mapped to an existing quality-of-care conceptual framework. Qualitative analysis revealed thematic saturation after 15 interviews, and an additional 15 interviews were analyzed that confirmed thematic saturation, maximizing the strength of the results. The 30 patients had a median age of 56 years (range, 32-72 years) and included 15 (50%) men. Although patients believed they received a high quality of care, which was substantiated on current existing measures, a qualitative analysis suggested that patient priorities emphasized 5 themes not currently assessed: managing expectations, providing education, responding to patient needs, executing the care plan efficiently, and utilizing interdisciplinary communication and coordination of care. In conclusion, transplant candidates perceived 5 themes that constitute quality of care, and existing quality-of-care measures do not assess these domains, suggesting a role for creating a patient-derived quality-of-care tool to improve health care and clinical outcomes.
Four Commentaries: How We Can Better Protect Children from Abuse and Neglect.

Editor’s note: Douglas J. Besharov, J.D., LL.M., is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and a professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Affairs. He was the first director of the U.S. National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, and now serves on New York City’s Child Fatality Review Panel, consults to public and private child welfare agencies nationwide, and writes on issues relating to child abuse.
Inpatient obstetric management of COVID-19.

Abstract Objective To describe inpatient management strategies and considerations for pregnant patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Findings The novel coronavirus has posed challenges to both obstetric patients and the staff caring for them, due to its variable presentation and current limited knowledge about the disease. Inpatient antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum management can be informed by risk stratification, severity of disease, and gestational age. Careful planning and anticipation of emergent situations can prevent unnecessary exposures to patients and clinical staff. Conclusion As new data arises, management recommendations will evolve, thus practitioners must maintain a low threshold for adaptation of their clinical practice during obstetric care for patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection.